"Here goes!" Kirin warned Niela first before thrusting her right fist at her. Niela quickly leaned to her right, avoiding the jab. She dodged the attack with her eyes closed. "Another one!" Niela heard her and opened her eyes to see an incoming hook. "Aaaahh...!" She screamed as she moved away from the punch.
Niela was able to dodge Kirin's strikes, though Kirin wasn't satisfied. "Niela..." She called to Niela who remained in the direction she moved to and still has her fists close to her face. "You don't scream like that when evading attacks" Kirin furrowed one brow. "Also, open your goddamn eyes, you were relying on my signals. Your opponent will never say they're about to hit you" She began stretching her arms.
"Every second counts, even the slightest, tiniest moment. You have to be completely aware of your opponent's move, it's called reading your enemy. You don't just blindly throw punches and dodge. If you're like that, you're not any different from a punk in a street brawl" Kirin shook her head slightly. "Come on, evade my punches once more!" The two readies themselves once more. After a second, Kirin began throwing punches at Niela. She was able to evade one but the next two strikes managed to scrape the side of her head.
"Move quicker! And for the last time, open your damn eyes!" Kirin shouted at her. "I...I can't, you're making me flinch...!" Niela replied. Kirin sighed deeply and relaxed. "That's what we're training for, come on. Open your eyes and try not to close them. Don't fear your opponent's strikes, always think that you can outpower them and perform a counter or something" Niela looks at her. "Remember, you're fighting. You're competing with your opponent who's better at taking down your opponent, so be confident about yourself! If you're not confident... well, at least put up the effort of hiding your fear because you're giving your opponent the strength to beat you up by simply appearing weak" Kirin raises a finger and swings it sideways.
"I... I will try..." Niela replied with a small confidence. "Good! Let's go have another round! Maybe try something you remember from those movies!" The two readies again. Niela quickly thinks back to the movies she can remember. As she thinks, Kirin throws a right hook at her. Giving her best not to close her eyes, she squinted and had a small sight of Kirin. Remembering a move from a movie, she thrusts her right fist to Kirin's stomach. "Oof...!" Kirin stepped a foot back. "I thought we were just focusing on dodging?" She said as she rubs her stomach.
"S-sorry... You said remember the moves from the movies, so I thought I'd try" Niela shyly replied. Kirin nods. "Yeah, well, whatever... That was great. If your opponent is overconfident, you can surprise them and bury that confidence down on the ground" She chuckled slightly. "Are you ready to go again? Remember some more cool moves, and try to train yourself at performing them" With her words, she thinks up some more. After a few seconds, Kirin asked her to be ready, and the two readied themselves once more.
Kirin throws a jab just like last time. Seeing the same move, Niela dodges in the same direction as before. She saw an opening just like last time and throws a jab at Kirin's stomach. However this time, Kirin moves sideways and pushed her wrist away. Niela was quick to recover from her block and spun slightly. She straightened her left leg and swings it at Kirin.
Seeing this move, Kirin forcefully pushes her leg off, throwing Niela onto the ground. Quick to recover again, Niela spun to her right with her right leg straight. Like that, she sweeps her leg at Kirin's, but Kirin raised her leg, avoiding her sweep. Not hitting Kirin, Niela falls to her back and quickly sits up. "Wait..." She asked Kirin to wait to catch her breath. "Hey! Not bad!" Niela looked up at her and saw the smile on her. "The moves you did was great! They just need some more energy and quicker movement, and you will definitely be fighting for real!" Kirin chuckles proudly.
"For real...?" Niela asked. Kirin nods. "Yeah! You moved too slowly, you were predictable! But with practice, you will be agile and perform those moves like the wind, your opponent will never see them coming!" She strikes a thumbs up at her. Niela was a little bit energized by her words. "We'll do one more round! Do you remember any more moves?" Kirin asked and Niela nods confidently. "Hah! I can see that smile!" Without realizing it, Niela started to enjoy performing the violent strikes she used to see and dislike from the movies she watched together with her sister.
"Alright! Let's go!" The two readies themselves for their final practice. They stare at each other, eager to do and see action. Niela started the fight with a low kick with her left foot, aimed at Kirin's left leg. Kirin quickly pushed away her leg by sweeping it away with her right foot, preventing Niela from hitting it. Using the strength from Kirin's kick, Niela spun around and uses her right leg to sweep at Kirin's.
"Whoa!" Kirin loses her footing slightly, making her bend to her right a bit. In quick succession, Niela thrusts her right fist at Kirin's stomach, but Kirin quickly turned her body to the right and pushed her fist away. The two stopped for a while. "No way you can do those moves by just watching movies" Kirin said. "Chirlin made me... do all kinds of moves, and we sometimes... Do pretend exchanges like this..." Niela said between her breaths. "So you're now putting those into training, huh? More training, and you will be better at those" Kirin nods.
"Well? We're not done yet!" Kirin, without further warning, throws a jab at Niela. She was surprised and flinched. Like before, she closed her eyes and moves her head away. But she was quick to realize this and opened her eyes. Quickly seeing Kirin's posture, Niela thrusts her right fist at her stomach, but Kirin steps back to prevent her from hitting her. Niela quickly spins herself to the left and thrusts her right foot, hitting Kirin on her stomach. "Ow..." The kick causes Kirin to step back, she holds the spot where Niela has kicked her. "Haaaa...!" She heard Niela shout.
As she looks up to her, Niela grabs her right arm and pulls it down to boost her jump. Like that, Niela was above the height of Kirin. She raised her right arm and folded them, her elbow aimed to land at Kirin's head. Kirin nimbly covers her head with her left arm. Niela's elbow landed on her arm, hurting her. With Niela's jump, Kirin staggered back for a second while holding Niela. "Whoa, whoa..." Once she regained balance, she puts Niela back on the ground.
She rubs the arm Niela has hit. "Ow... that hurts..." She also felt a slight numbness in her left leg. When she looked down, she saw sand around her knees. She quickly realized why. "Not only did you use my arm to jump like that, but you also stepped on my knees too" She looked at Niela. "What the hell... you're just better than me!" She said. "I... I don't think so, Miss Kirin" Niela became red. "Well, yeah... That's partly true, you're still slow, but the moves you just did... Those are the moves you would see in martial arts" She then began to chuckle. "Here I am, I thought I will be teaching you how to swing punches and avoid getting punched!" The two laughed.
"You're more capable than you believe, Niela. Be confident in yourself and do your practices best" Kirin said and Niela nods to her. "I want to see one last crazy move, like, really crazy" Kirin chuckled. "Hmm..." Niela places a hand on her chin, thinking. "There's one move Chirlin really liked, it involves being in the air, I always scold her for doing that" Kirin nods. "Well, don't tell me about it! Do it!" She said as she readies herself. Niela prepares herself, then performs a low kick with her left foot.
Seeing the same move, Kirin kicks away her leg like last time. And as she believes, Niela spun around and thrusts her right foot at her. Kirin quickly catches her foot, immobilizing her. Kirin smiled at her. "Have I reminded you not to do the same moves?" She said. As she said that, Niela jumps with her only foot on the ground. "Wh-!" Before she could react, Niela spun as she jumps, making her lose grip on her foot. In the slightest second, she saw Niela's leg reaching her face fast. "Wh..Whoa...!!!" but Niela wasn't able to put strength on her jump, lost her momentum, and just fell down on the sand, failing to reach Kirin.
"Ow...!" Niela rubs her back as she sits up. "W-well? That's the move Chirlin wanted, she asks me to hold her foot and she will jump like that. I always end up catching her in the air" She laughs slightly. "That was indeed crazy..." She sighs as she looks at Niela. "Really, you're just better... You know, for someone who's just forced to make those moves by her sister" She said. "You have no idea... How real she wanted me to move like those" The two laugh. "When you do your posture, you looked nothing like a rookie either. Chirlin must have taught you those" Kirin raises a brow as she smiles. "Yes..." Niela shyly nods.
"Alright, well... Let's wrap it up for today. I will be training you every night like these, yeah?" Kirin said as she stretches her arms up. "Sure, Miss Kirin. I couldn't believe I was able to impress you" Niela fidgets her fingers. "I couldn't believe it either. You appear as shy, timid and have low confidence, but you have the strength within you. Y'know, it's better that you hide your true abilities than show them off. I hope you don't start bragging about yourself tomorrow" The two laugh. "I won't..." Kirin nods at her. "Good. Off you go now, good night" Kirin yawned and covers her mouth as she turns her back to Niela.
With Kirin heading to her own tent, Niela heads to theirs. Opening the zipper of the tent, she saw Chirlin sitting in front of her. "Chirlin?" She calls as she went inside. She closes the tent behind her and faced Chirlin. "That was cool!" Chirlin suddenly burst into joy. "You did the crescent kick, the jumping one!" She forms her fists in front of her in excitement. "So you were watching" She said as she crawls to her own sheet. "Which one was it?" She asked.
"It's the last one! When Miss Kirin held your feet! You kicked her on purpose, didn't you?!" Chirlin hurryingly crawls to her own sheet beside her sister's. "So she can hold your foot like that?!" She asked. Niela lightly scratches her cheek. "Yes... I was lucky. I know she was aware that I was doing the same move as our last exchanges. I was lucky she decided to hold my foot like that like you always wanted me to" She lightly giggled. "And the elbow strike from above when you jumped!!!" Chirlin squirms excitedly. "You looked just like in the movies!!!" Niela leans to reach Chirlin's head and pats her.
"I know a lot more! I will teach you!" She looked up to her sister. "Sure..." With one last rub to her head, Niela leans back on her sheet and lies down. "For now, let's go to sleep. Good night" She looks at Chirlin. "Good night~!" Chirlin lays on her own bed and faces away. She quietly hums happily, her body slightly rocking back and forth. Niela chuckles at her before turning away. Remembering how she executed the moves Chirlin has taught her in actual training, Niela slowly drifts to sleep.