Chapter 12

During the last week before the qualification match, Minami met up with Pocha in the small gym where the Sumo Club met. The other wrestlers were totally shocked to see a girl in the room, and especially a gilt WITH Pocha. “So, what are we working on?” Minami asked,

“Well, I’ve been doing some thinking,” Pocha responded, “I don’t think we’ll be going up against Yakuza in the qualification match, and it’ll just be another school. However, when we get to Yakuza, you’ll need to be prepared. That's why I brought you to the Sumo Club.”

“Oh, alright,” She said before Pocha walked off and eventually came back with a mawashi belt.

“Here,” he said, “You’ll want to wear this. Of course, you can keep your bra on, but considering we’re in the Sumo Club room, it would be appropriate for you to wear a Mawashi Belt.”

“Oh, yeah, sure.” She said as she took the belt before setting down her bag. She then undid the ribbon around her neck before undoing the buttons on her blazer and white button-up shirt. She kicked off her shoes as she removed her blazer and white shirt, revealing her abs and muscles as well as her sports bra. She then undid her skirt and took it off, followed by her leggings. When she had gotten down to her panties, she then looked at the belt before saying, “Hey, Pocchan, do you think you can help me out with this?” She turned to Pocha to notice him staring at her as well as the other wrestlers in the room, “Uh…Pocchan?”

It took Pocha a few minutes before he snapped out of his daze, “Hm?! What?!”

“Can you help me put this on?”

“Oh! Yeah! Of course!” He said as he walked over to her, “Okay, so unfold it completely and then put it up between your legs, like you’re putting on panties or something.”

“Oh, alright,” she said as she did as he said,

“Now, just hold this bit back here.” He said as he held part of the belt to her lower back, “And this part up her against your chest.” He then lifted a front part of the belt to her body. She moved her hand to the front of the belt before he grabbed onto the longer part of the belt on the back, “Now you just spin around,” he said as he started to turn her and wrap the belt around her body, “After the first spin, you put down the front part,” Minami did as instructed, “Then spin around once again.” He said as he spun her around uncle more, “It needs to be really tight around you, so we’ll spin you around once more.”

As Minami spun around once more Pocha then cleared his throat before saying, “This next part is difficult, so I’ll help you out with it.”

“Oh, what do you have to do?”

“Well, I have to tuck this last part up into the back of the belt.”

Minami blushed as she looked down, “I-If he does that, then Pocchan…h-he’ll touch my butt!” She swallowed heavily before saying, “Yes, go ahead.” Pocha nodded before he gave a slightly perverted grin,

“First, I had my head crushed between her thighs! Now I’m helping her out on a Mawashi Belt! All that’s left is to ask her out, and my love life will be full and my social status elevated!” He cleared his throat before saying, “Alright, here it goes.” He then started to tuck in the loose end back through the end of the belt. Minami clasped her hand over her mouth as a soft moan escaped it. “WH-WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!” She blushed as she looked away, as Pocha grabbed the top of the end as it came out of the belt, “Now I just need to make a knot.” He said as he started to tie the belt together; once the knot was completed, he stood back and said, “Alright! You’re all finished!”

“Really?” She asked as she turned and looked at him. The eyes of the entire club dazzled, and a few of their noses bled. “Does it look okay?”

“H-Her buffness really compliments the Mawashi Belt!” Pocha said to himself before clearing his throat and saying, “Yes! It looks fine!”

“O-Okay,” she said with a smile as she tucked her hair behind her ear, “So what are we doing?”

“Oh! Yes! Of course!” Pocha said before he grabbed onto his blazer and removed his uniform down to his Mawashi in one graceful swoosh, “We’re going to be working on Sumo Strikes! In Sumo, unlike Karate, there’s no punching. Instead, they’re a thrust with the palm! Some martial arts even have techniques that they can incorporate into Sumo.” He smiled as he folded his arms and said, “Yakuza is a big scary guy; he’s got an immeasurable amount of durability and muscle mass. So we’re going to teach you some thrusts which can help you knock someone over with immense durability, such as us. Afterward you can turn those thrusts into throws as you’ll be using nearly all the same muscle groups.”

“Woah, that’s actually pretty cool….” Minami said as her eyes dazzled. She grinned as she clenched her fists before saying, “Let’s do this!!!”

“However, in exchange, we’re going to strike you in return. Just so that you could get used to being hit by a ball Yakuza would throw at you. I heard from Ryusuke you ended up in the hospital.”

“O-Oh, it was nothing really.” Minami said as she scratched the back of her head and chuckled nervously, “Honestly, I’m fine. I had a bruise for a day or two, but I’m fine now.”

“Still, we would be better off safe than sorry.”

Minami sighed before saying, “Alright, fine. Let’s do this.” As they started, Minami attempted a strike before she was then struck in return and sent flying onto her back. She groaned before she’d go back to striking, only to be thrown every time. She fell into the dirt every day that she trained until, finally, she was hit, and she slid backward on her toes one day. She performed her own strike, which made some of the members wobble, and others even stumbled. She continued to work at it until Calluses formed, the Calluses would burst and expose raw skin; after she tended to her hands, she continued to strike again, and again, and again, and again, until she was ultimately able to knock every member of the Sumo Club flat on their backs with just a thrust of her hand.

Minami sat on a bench as sweat beaded down every inch of her body. “Hey, Captain,” Pocha said as he walked over to her and handed her a bottle of water, “You did great today.”

“Thanks,” Minami said as she quickly took the water bottle and she began to chug it down.

“However, I have to warn you,” he said as he sat beside her, “Like with any punch, throw, or arm thrust, you can hyperextend your arm or even dislocate your shoulder. So don’t overdo it.”

“Yeah,” Minami responded, “I’ll remember that.” She then sighed before saying, “Did you hold back?”

“What do you mean?”

“Just now, when I pushed you over, did you hold back?”

“What makes you say that?”

“Well, with your dad being a Yokozuna, you must have incredible training.”

“Yeah, my training is intense.” Pocha said with a smile as he leaned back, “I’m only in Sumo for self-defense; however, when I’ve had bouts with my dad, he says I could be anywhere from a Makushita to a Maegashira.”

“And that means…?”

“Well, in Okinawan Karate, I would be anywhere from 5th Kyū to 3rd Kyū.”

“What?! No way! That’s bull!! I’m a 3rd Dan Black Belt, and you were kicking my ass!”

“Oh? Really?”

“My god…are Sumo really that powerful?”

“It really depends,” he said, “You know something, Captain? You’re actually pretty good at Sumo, at least learning the strikes and stuff. If you ever want to take things seriously and possibly train for real, let me know.”

“Yeah, of course.” She said, “So, you were holding back then?”

“Only a little.” He said as he scratched the back of his head,

“What?! You jerk! That’s it! Get back in the ring! I’m gonna mess you up!”

“Alright, whatever you say,” Pocha said with a laugh,

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure,”

“If you’re really this strong, why don’t you go pro?”

He sighed before he leaned back and said, “I’ve thought about it; however, I’m not really sure if it’s what I want to do with my life. With that being said, I like the way I am and how I’m able to perform, so Sumo is really a hobby.” He then looked at her and said, “However, I had an enjoyable time training you in Sumo. Perhaps I’ll become a teacher.”

“Yeah! You should! You’d be really good at it!”

Present Day

Minami looked down at the palms of her hands. They had mostly healed from her training with the Sumo Club; the only thing that bothered her was the bandage wrapped around her hand. She then looked up at Yakuza before he said, “So it appears it was inevitable.”

“Yeah,” she said, “Just to let you know, I’ve been working my ass off. I’ve been training nonstop in order to beat you. I’ll show you all the strength I’ve gained.”

“I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

She then looked down at a ball near her feet, “I don’t appreciate the way you talked about my friends; even if they aren’t the best they can be right now, they still try their hardest.” She knelt down and picked up the ball before she said, “Even if they aren’t pros now, I’m still going to train them harder than ever before and take them to the top.” She stood up and looked Yakuza in the eyes, “And that’s when all of us will be able to beat you at once.”

“Please, don’t go about spewing such-“ His eyes then widened as he noticed a ball just inches away from his face. He then quickly rotated over his left shoulder, but with the amount of force he put into the turn, he was thrown off his feet, and he rolled along the ground. The team’s eyes widened as they gasped,

“D-Did she hit him?!” Yaguchi asked,

“No! I didn’t hear the ball make contact with his face!” Daisuke said,

“My God,” Yaguchi responded, “The speed and power behind such a throw is incredible! I don’t even think I saw her or the ball move; I just saw her get into that stance as if she had just thrown something!”

Yakuza clenched his teeth as he got back onto his feet, and looked over at Minami. “She must’ve really pushed herself hard; when I first encountered Choki, her strength was less than half of what it is now.” Minami slowly looked up at him as her eyes began to glow and appeared to have flames coming from them. “I see,” Yakuza said to himself with a smirk, “She’s pushed herself beyond the physical limits she had when we first met; she’s now an entirely different person. This should be fun!”

Minami quickly picked up a ball near her feet before throwing it. Yakuza chuckled before he threw a ball of his own. The two balls clashed in midair before they flew back to the hands of their throwers. Minami and Yakuza repeated this action several times before Minami caught her ball and accelerated towards Yakuza. Yakuza swung his arm around to hit Minami in the face when suddenly she ducked beneath his arm and looked into his eyes. As his ball flew over her head, she quickly moved and sent the ball in her hand, flying upwards. Yakuza quickly bent backward before he looked down into Minami’s eyes, “This is amazing! She’s improved greatly in such little time!”

“I-Incredible…” Ryusuke said in utter shock as he and the team watched from the sidelines. It was as if two apex titans had just engaged in battle with one another, and now they were out for each other’s life. “I never knew Minami was capable of something like this…!”

“You’d be surprised.” Pocha said with a smile as he folded his arms, “Believe me, the Captain takes training very seriously.”

“How would you know…?”

“Because I taught her the moves she’s using just now.”

“WH-WHAT?!?!!!” The team said in unison,

“YOU MEAN TO TELL ME SHE’S USING SUMO RIGHT NOW PACHINKO?!?!?!?!!!” Gaoma screamed,

“Yes,” Pocha responded, “I figured, the same thrusts and strikes you use in Sumo can be applied to throwing a ball. Since I knew the Captain already knew martial arts, I figured it’d be easier to teach her rather than the rest of you.” He smiled a bit as he leaned forward, and the battle between Minami and Yakuza reflected off his eyes, “You all should’ve seen her; she was absolutely incredible. She learns quickly, not only that, but she can learn as she fights. So it’s likely the same thing won’t work on her twice. I’ve got her incredible burning spirit singed into my retinas. And there’s only one other person I know capable of something like that.”

“And that is…?” Yaguchi responded,

“My father. The Yokozuna known as Rando Kinichi. He broke the record for the world's heaviest Japanese person as well as being the strongest Yokozuna.”

“Good god…” Daisuke said, “I’ve seen a few of his matches on TV…they always end in seconds, if not that, then less.”

“Yes,” Pocha said, “I think, no, I know for a fact that our Captain has that same level of growth and potential. We just need to keep believing in her a little while longer!”

A//N

Huh?! Minami has Sumo training?! Things have gotten interesting!

If anyone is wondering what Pacho feels for Minami, he mostly likes her because he admires her strength. He doesn’t have nearly as big of a crush on her as Ryusuke.