Having finished her swim from earlier, Hide had packed up her wetsuit and decided to take a bit of a hydration and protein break. She still needed to do at least some weight training today, or maybe some kind of contact sport. Anything that could work her legs a bit more.

She pondered this, as she against a wall with a bottle of water in hand. Apparently there was a wrestling demonstration in a couple days. That always got her hyped. Perhaps she could find someone to wrestle with? That would be fun.

"Take out the bike for a test ride Kyoko. I'm going to hit the gym for now."
"Hai Hida-sama. Your workout clothes are in the bag."
"The ones..."
"The ones your elders describe as standing out from the crowd is good but... yes."

And so Akemi exited the locker room to enter the gym proper looking like...

Well...

Hide looked up from her water bottle and nearly coughs. The Fortunes have blessed her this day! Blessed her with... A rival.

She stood up, finishing the protein bar she had opened and tossing the wrapper into the appropriately marked bin. Even at her full (short) height, she looked physically imposing. She approached the Hida, a confident energy about her. “Good morning.”

Damn. That was some impressive specimen. A bit on the short side, but outside that, damn. Akemi was a strong lady, but the other was just ripped.

"Helooooooooooo."

She bowed:

"Hida Akemi of the Crab."

Hide bowed back to the Crab, offering a friendly smile as she rose. “Matsu Hide. Been looking for a partner.”

At a miai, that could have been stated any other way. But the implications of such a statement don’t seem to enter Hide’s mind.

"So am I. Grandpa would kill me if I was to return home without a marriage contract."

She stretched both of her arms, the flesh one and the gloved metallic one.

First there was a hint of confusion on the Matsu’s face before a look a realization takes its place. “Oh! Yeah, here for the miai, too. But, no, I’m looking for a training partner.”

Hide doesn’t mind the metal arm. If it’s good enough for the Matsu Daimyo, who is Hide to judge?

"Oh. Sure. For sit-ups and co? For katas and similar exercises?

Or do you want to spar? Which style if so? Boxing? Kick-boxing? Wrestling?"

At the mention of sparring, Hide crossed her arms and grinned. “Let’s try some wrestling. Wrestling a Hida has always been something I wanted to do.”

"Fine with me. Just let me stretch for a bit before that. I'm not taking on a b... powerful girl like you without warming up first."

“I can wait. Probably should find a mat or something while you do your warm ups.” Hide rolled her shoulder in place. “I had a bit of a swim earlier, so I’m ready to start whenever.”

Hide can’t help but look over the outfit Akemi wore. “You look like a pro in that outfit. Nice.”

"Always dress as if you mean business. Because you mean it.

A quote from grandpa. I've got a ton."

She took the time to do her full warm-up routine... And to ogle a bit more the Matsu while doing so.

Huh. Hide didn’t expect a fashion-oriented quote from a Hida. She placed that thought to the back of her mind while she scouted a good spot on the mats for a good match.

“Met a Kuni on my shuttle here. Seems like your Clan is well represented at this Miai.” Making small talk was one way to pass the time as the Hida warmed up.

"We are. Gotta match the Spider one for one. I arrived here with Yasuki Nishida-sama and Fundai Tetsu-sama myself. Businessman and engineer. Sympathetic guys. Was the Kuni cool too?"

That caused the Matsu to pause her inspection of the mat. “Kuni-san didn’t seem to like the serving drone. I will have to say she whacked that floating vending machine pretty good, and that’s always a plus in my book.”

"Oh. Sounds like I need to meet her indeed."

She put to work all her joints one last time, finally walked onto the mat, and showed off her best wrestling stance.

"I'm all good. Ready?"

Seeing as her opponent was ready, Hide dropped into a low and wide stance. She knew her height put her at a disadvantage if the they started from a normal mid stance. Force your opponent to fight on equal terms.

The Matsu gave Akemi a smirk. “Come at me.”

Akemi wasn't nearly as comfortable with her mechanical arm as she pretended to be, overprotecting it like a weakness or a wound instead of using it to her advantage.

And if her reach was indeed superior, due to training mostly with bigger Crabs, she didn't have much experience into making that work in her favor.

All in one, her first attack was just bland. Try to grab a leg, try for a throw. Indeed the style of someone used to fight larger fighters.

Hide took the guarded arm into consideration, storing that information for later. The leg grab was definitely a mistake, as the Matsu’s stance made it much harder to grab and in turn easier to grab the Hida from above. Hide’s arms wrapped around Akemi’s waist, locking her into a strong grip.

Okay, not a strong start, but if she could break the hold of... Of a Matsu... A Matsu gymgirl even...

This wasn't going to be pretty, was it?