Private Finished Tournament Arc: Xera vs. J

A sakatottari from Xera. How unexpected, and how surprisingly appropriate, J thought to herself. It wasn't perfect, nor was it all that clean, but it was working as intended.

With her foot in place, she instantly adjusted her grip into a kakenage throw, hooking her sweeping leg around one of Xera's and lifting it up as she yanked on the arm that she was holding. The fight had become one of stability. Whoever could keep their footing at this point would win.

There were ways to counter this, but in the moment, J was struck with the greatest flaw in her expertise over so many martial arts - she had so many options that she had to take time to choose.

And the optimal options available to her at the moment all involved high risk of injury for Xera.

She didn't have the time to come up with one that wouldn't cause potentially catastrophic damage or had a low enough risk for her to take, and especially since there was nothing at stake in this fight, she made the decision to take the fall, letting the final throw go through without resistance.

Out of bounds, J thought of her training and her options. She was supremely skilled in combat to the death, but as with many assassins, though her killing techniques were top-notch, her "defeating" techniques needed a bit more polish.

"I am still far too green," J said.

"Too green, yes. I can kill, but to defeat without harming... I am no longer a killer. I must be able to 'defeat'. But I am glad I didn't have to harm you. Were the stakes higher, I might have... no, it's over now."

J stood herself up and imagined the possibilities with Xera's ability to summon weapons, tools of war. Tools like she used to be. She thought of her own ability, and how it relied so much on her own skill. Now that she was a civilian, she needed to start over on the path to non-lethality.

She could never be absolved of the deaths that she'd caused. But she could learn to protect with the new life she was given and with her skills.

She snapped out of her reverie. "I train... there's a sport gym in town that also has a self-defense program. I'm a trainer there."

"Nothing so noble. Something far less palatable," J said, dropping the matter. She didn't quite know if letting people know she used to be an assassin, a tool of murder, was quite something she should be doing.

J gave out the details to the Wolf's Den Gym in town, a place that typically catered to those who were with special physical abilities. She'd made a niche for herself there with her ability, allowing her to bring the special down to normal to teach them, or knock them down a few pegs if needed.

"I handle self-defense and combat training. It's a way to earn a living while I study, so that I don't overstep on the kindness my family's provided me with."