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Finn Kühn · (10-05-2022)

1 October 2022
Brooklyn, New York City

The satisfying 'thump' of a basketball hitting pavement was enough for me to keep my focus occupied as the sound provided an almost-rhythmic bass. This wasn't quite wrestling, but basketball might as well have been close to my second 'passion' sport. And it allowed me to work out my own level of frustration alone as in the evening, it was just me alone in the court, and that was the way I liked it.

My dribbling was rusty, but... passable. I had nearly lost it a few times off of my fingertips, having to try and recover it and keep going as well as possible before I spun in to hit a lay-up, before shaking my head. I needed more practice at this... Whatever. At least it was providing me with something to keep my mind occupied after how Relentless wen-

THUD!

"SHIT!" I audibly cursed, rubbing the growing sore spot on my head as I turned around, seeing the source of it all. The almost intimidating sight packed within five feet and five inches of height gave that smile at me once again as Skyla Hawkins bore her teeth at me in that same smile.

"I thought I told you to stay alert at all times," the new trainer said, dark eyes staring right at me. Her crimson spear was tightly held onto as she crossed her arms while eyeing me up. "You never know when someone is going to be sneaking up on you..."

"With how hard that stupid spear's hitting, at this rate I'm starting to think I'm gonna be getting a concussion before anything else..." I half-jokingly grumbled.

"That sounds rather like a 'you' problem, I must admit," Skyla remarked, not missing a beat when it came to teasing me and keeping the pressure on me. For the past few days, she had popped up out of the blue, trying to test my reflexes. I've been having to try and keep eyes in the back of my head especially when I turn a corner. How does a woman manage to keep herself hidden so well despite everything?

I collected my basketball, but before I could continue the conversation on my end, Skyla's voice continued on me.

"So, when did you learn such an effective flying armbar?" The question was an innocuous one, one that had merit in being asked. I had pulled that armbar out of nowhere from sheer reflex at Relentless against Buster Gloves. I had been two seconds from having my head caved in by that pop-up uppercut, but it was only from reaching out and acting on those reflexes that I had turned near-certain defeat into... into... well, I couldn't really call that a win in spite of what the record books wrote about me, couldn't I?

Regardless, it was a question that made me froze on the spot. The last time I had used an armbar like that in the ring was back in Germany on the independent circuit. I couldn't even get it fully cinched in, but the technique had still been present even then, and transitioning it to a Bicep Slicer in the manner I did... it broke his damn arm. And I literally got to profit off of a mistake.

Usually, if I anger someone, I don't typically care. I try to focus on myself, and myself alone. Still, such irresponsibility from me leading to getting the big looks and bigger opportunities now that I was in XWF had a pit of disgust within me. I should check sometime soon to see how they're doing... but that was beside the point.

I spun the basketball around my fingers, collecting my thoughts. "I dunno," I finally told Skyla as I turned around. "It kind of just... happened."

I could tell from her face alone that there was no way she believed me, but she didn't really have any kind of proof to call me out on things, so for the time being, she left well enough alone. But I could still tell she wanted to talk about my moves. Her first question, however, was nothing of the sort.

"Up for a game?" She asked with that mischievous smile of hers.

"What, have you even played before?" I snorted out in response. Still, I wasn't saying no as I begun to dribble again.

"I'm better than you think I am. Besides, I figure it can help pass the time while we discuss matters. I trust you won't go... easy on me, right?" Those eyes of hers bore into my own, and I grumbled out an affirmation while beckoning her over to the top of the key. Skyla smirked, leaving behind her spear, and I tossed her the ball to get things started.

Immediately, Skyla begun dribbling in place, sizing me up as her dribbling begun to pick up in speed. "So then, what's all this about? What'd you want to talk about, exact-?" My question had been cut off by an attempted crossover as Skyla tried breaking past me on a solid crossover maneuver with the ball, and I had to use my length to try walling her off away from the basket and keep her in the mid-range area.

"Something I noticed at Relentless, actually-!" Skyla faked breaking to the left, before slipping the ball behind the back to dribble with her opposing hand, trying instead to drive in through the right hand side. Once again, my length allowed me to recover, but she was getting closer to the basket now. "Your moves don't nearly work as well for you as they should!"

"Say what?" I got out in response, and Skyla bared her teeth as she turned around, showing me her back instead as she tried to force me further and further back. I tried using my weight, but damn, was she good with her feet. Just by planting her feet properly, I was finding it hard just to push her back as she exhaled noticing my attempts. The two of us were forcing each other into a stalemate like this as my defense was holding up for now.

"Most of your moves are inefficient, and you waste time with needless additional movements in your step! Like- THIS!" Skyla turned around, bringing the ball up with her hands to make like she was about to shoot. It was enough for me to bring my hands up, trying to defend against the obvious shot attempt. However, she managed to pivot herself before releasing the ball, instead finding exactly the shot she wanted as she slipped past my side, throwing the ball up-and-under the basket as it sailed inside with the ever-satisfying swish.

Skyla collected the ball, and we went back to the top of the court for her to pass to me for me to start on my own drive now. As the ball hit my hands and started dribbling once again, she continued with her words. "You need to fundamentally alter your game. You're adept at several fields within the ring, but you need to sharpen your instincts and choose better moves. Your repertoire wouldn't last nearly long enough once you get to the top, and if you keep your moveset the way it is, Charlie Nickles is going to prove that fact to you."

"You think I'm worried about him?" I questioned, raising my eyebrow as I continued. Skyla was more worried about footwork and technique, while I had speed and strength in my own right. I tried testing her own reflexes, dribbling the ball in between my legs and trying to make her bite on any of my fake lunges to the basket as I sized her up.

"I know this match is intimidating you, actually," Skyla said as she stared right into my eyes. The joking, mischievous, smug demeanor dissipated, leaving a rock-solid sense of importance being drilled right into me. "It's written in your eyes. Your face. Your demeanor. How things went at Relentless is living inside your own head because you're still not sure if you can beat Buster Gloves since you literally got saved by Who-Knows-What."

My heart - and my dribbling - stopped for a split second as my eyes widened at her. I sputtered, trying to keep my confidence about me. "Please, as if-"

My attempted retort was quickly and ruthlessly interrupted by Skyla, who didn't give a damn about any possible excuses as her hands darted in faster than I could keep up with, snatching the ball and stealing it from me as she dribbled outside of the three-point line. "Mine."

I blinked, trying to readjust and figure out what just happened with how fast that woman just moved. "Son of a..." My legs moved on their own, pumping and kicking in order to bring me back to right over in front of her. The smug attitude was still gone, and she was managing to cut through to me like it was absolutely nothing to her.

Words were such an effective tool to get to people, and Skyla knew exactly how to wield them to break me down as she tried powering through my defense yet again with fast-paced dribble moves. "Nickles excels at knowing how to press every single button imaginable with just his words before the match even begins. Imagine how well he can tackle a walking pile of insecurities such as how you're acting right now. If he gets inside your head before Wednesday, October 12th, then you've already lost." Further accentuating her point, she managed to spin past me, performing a very similar move to what I did before she revealed herself as she spun past me and managed to hit a tough, twisting layup into the basket.

Damn it, she was schooling me at this rate. This had the potential to get almost out of control as the score went to 2-0. Shaking my head, I once again got back into position as Skyla tossed me the ball for me to start making my move. Maybe I needed to try jumpshooting... "As if he has any right to try talking about failure," I spat back. "Charlie's well acquainted with failure. He's a streaky guy. Get on a roll for a couple weeks, then trip and fall on his own face as he tries keeping up with the world around him. That hasn't changed, and he fell upwards to get back to here just like I did with how his career was going before he came to the XWF."

"Maybe," Skyla said as I started to dribble around the three-point line, trying to find a way to create some separation now. "But he rarely gets his past failures get in his own head. He knows how to block out the noise once it's time for battle in the ring, because he can always get on a string of successes whenever he damn well wants to. Even before he came to the XWF, his assaults got him on the map. Much like how you made your name in your first run..."

Damn it, she was really starting to get on my nerves now. I managed to take a powerful step inside, trying to fake her with a lunge to the basket, only for me to pick up the ball and take a big step back past the three-point line as I tried to take a jumpshot and tie things up. Skyla's own jumps were deceptive, however, as she managed to leap forward enough to keep a hand in my face and ensure along with my rust at this game that it ended off bouncing off of the front of the rim. "Those times are long past, now," I said as I shook my head. "That's not who I am now."

The two of us lunged for the ball as it bounced up in the air, but Skyla was quicker and now showing off her own strength as this girl who wasn't even five and a half feet was stretching her arms to hold me back? I huffed air out as I reached, but she managed to hop up into the air and collect the rebound before dribbling back out to reset the ball. "You think he cares about that?" Skyla challenged me, showing off more of her fancy footwork. "Nickles has no honor. He's shown time and again that he does not care about the depths of depravity he sinks to, so long as he wins and wins and wins. And he's en route to doing so at Warfare yet again!"

She knew exactly what she was doing. The score for her was starting to pile up as she scored again, and again, and again. 2-0 became 3-0, which became 7-3, which became 10-4. Her heavy words were bearing down at me, causing me to grit my teeth.

The truth was, I was desperate to win. Maybe even more so than in my return match and how things went at Relentless. Because now I knew I had the talent to succeed again. People were slowly starting to take notice of me again, but my two victories so far were a case of 'right place, right time' as both of my opponents had gotten viciously screwed. At this rate, the stigma of a 'cheater' that I had worked so hard to cast off from me was in danger of coming back in force now, and I hated that fact as naturally as one would feel inclined to breathe. I hated that that fact plagued my past, and I hated that it was following me around even now.

Every word Skyla said was amplifying that frustration as she mercilessly picked me apart. It was true, of course, as much as I hated to admit it. That she-devil of a woman was showing me my own glaring faults right in front of my eyes, and as much as rage-fueled adrenaline coursed through my systems, her success in scoring the basketball hammered home her points again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

I collapsed forward finally onto all fours, sweat pouring from my skin as it was starting to hurt to even think now. I pressed my forehead onto the cool pavement, slowly shaking my head. I wasn't sure if this was really coming from the physical game I had played with Skyla, or her words that were shaped as sharp as the spear she carried around.

Her footsteps roused me from my thoughts, though I didn't dare look up. She merely set the basketball on the ground, before taking a seat on it and planting her feet down so that she didn't roll about while speaking.

"There is nothing wrong with seeking honor in your matches, Finn Kühn," she begun, her voice calming down into that of the smoothest silk. "In fact, I even applaud you for it. But do not let your quest for honor turn you drunk to the point where deviating from it turns you incensed to the point where that can become a target for you."

"Point... fucking taken, I guess..." I said as I finally managed to push myself onto my two feet, letting the cool air sink into my body again. "So about that conversation about moves earlier... did you really mean I had to revamp everything, or was that just you trying to get under my skin then too?"

"Hm... a bit of both, really. You have the raw talent to succeed, and I don't think there are many who even in your first run would disagree. It's just a matter of placing the pieces together that you start to stumble. Charlie knows that. He'll likely point that out. Let him, along with whatever else he'll go on about. If there's one thing you can be sure of, he's predictably unpredictable. But he's also nothing you haven't faced before." Skyla did not move from her miniature "throne," staring at me as she spoke.

"...I guess you're right," I muttered as I slicked my sweaty hair back. "But I won't lose. Not to him, not now. I'm not going to falter to someone who is nothing to me. Charlie can come at me all he wants in that ring, but I'm going to do my best to just go in there with a clear head and a cool conscience. He's a former champion in his own right and trying to get back to the top - but he's going to learn that his tricks are going to become relics of the past with how I'm going to let them slide off of me."

Skyla smiled gently at my confidence. "I guess we'll see if that's the case, soon. For your sake, I hope so." Pushing herself off the ball and onto her feet, she tossed me my basketball one last time. "I'll swing by your apartment for training again starting tomorrow. I meant what I said about overhauling your moves, and I intend to make good on that promise before next Warfare."

Great. More time with that She-Devil. I gave a simple nod yes, and she begun to leave-

"You are still but a mere failure."

The hairs on my end stood up as I looked around, trying to find the disturbance that grated its way into my ears. "Did you hear that?" I asked Skyla from afar.

My teacher looked over her shoulder, looking at me with a raised eyebrow and a puzzled expression. "Hear what?" She shouted back.

The lurching feeling in my stomach returned as I looked around one last time, before giving her a shrug and waving her on. This voice was going to make me go crazy at this rate. I could feel it just nagging away in my thoughts, chewing on my mind, pressing its fingers in my spine, throwing the weight of the world on my shoulders as-

"No matter how much you try, nothing will change your past. You keep living in it, and it will continue to become your future."

"You will never win a match on your own. And you will never-"

My body reacted on its own, punching the metal rail that lead up to the backboard and hoop as hard as I could. Adrenaline blocked out the pain, but as I pulled my hand away, I saw blood coating my knuckles as I stared at the crimson, murky liquid.

If I was going to win on Warfare, that was exactly what I'd need to do to Charlie. Draw his blood with my hands. A simple, yet barbaric act. But I knew what I had to do.

"You won't fucking stop me," I muttered to myself. "I'm through with sitting in second place."

Threaded Mode \| Linear Mode Act CIII: The Art of Mind Games - Part 1 of 3
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