A comeback – Physiotherapy
“Flubbing hell,” Maki exclaimed, as her physiotherapist with the mundane name of Sandra put her through her paces. The well-built Sandra was bending Maki’s left ankle from side to side with sharp bursts and the pain flooded her body. The English Assassin smiled as her masochistic side took over. The pain was always enjoyable. It didn’t compare to the pain she unleashed on others, but it came a close second. The rush of pain and adrenaline was almost orgasmic. Even if Sandra was rather mannish, she still enjoyed the sensations, but she needed to find out the real truth once Sandra was finished trying to snap her ankle ligaments for the third time in Melissa’s career.
She shook off the pain that Sandra has inflicted on her and strode to the office of Doctor Jackman. She sat in the waiting area, she looked around and noticed some familiar faces from the world of sport but was unsure who they were. She mused if they thought the same about her but not one person had looked up from their phones except the odd selfie to announce to the world where they were so all, and sundry could come and stalk them. Bloody idiots.
She was reading the complete works of Carl Jung as she waited. She knew if she checked her phone, she would be like these narcissistic nincompoops in this waiting room. They all were begging for the comments whether by fans or by trolls, seeing how many likes, how many followers they could gain. This was elite sportsmanship these days and she sighed. Was she the only one in the world who didn’t care about such trivialities?
She looked up to see the buxom Caribbean receptionist with a clip board in hand surveying the room as she looked down at her piece of paper. Melissa fantasised about making love to the lovely receptionist Janet and see if it got a reaction from the men and women in the waiting area but it probably wouldn’t plus she would never cheat on her wife but it was a nice thing to think about. She wondered what Jung would say if she had told him about this…probably nothing as he is dead and she didn’t have a time machine but nevertheless he would probably deride her with scorn and start interpreting her dreams the damned scamp!
Janet and Melissa locked eyes, both smiling at the other as Janet proclaimed, “Doctor Jackman will see you now, Melissa Aki.” No one looked up but Maki. She got up, pressed down her flannel shirt and straightened her denim skirt as she winked at Janet who looked flustered and went on to the cream coloured door and opened it.
What she saw was a very sterile room, a nice little oak desk, a tablet and a very suave man. She had forgotten how delicious the doctor was as he motioned her to sit on the chair opposite his desk and obsequiously, she did as he ordered. He had floppy brown hair, with flecks of white here and there. Same as the well-designed beard he had. She started to think about him as a fellow bed mate down the line but again thoughts of her wife interrupted her lusty imagination.
“How are you feeling today, Melissa?” He said with such charm it almost melted her knickers off. “Itching to get back to work?” He took his mask off and rubbed anti-bacterial lotion on his hands.
She took her own “Maki” mask off which was a gold-plated demonic mask. No one cared about it or asked her why she was wearing it and it was not a normal mask. People were just strange.
She cleared her throat quite loudly, “Why does it matter how I am feeling? Look Doc, I couldn’t give a flub about how you are feeling so why should you care? I am not here to be psychologically inspected by you. Just tell me if I am cleared to face that mindless motherjamming whore Courtney Pierce!”
He frowned. “Well, Melissa, I know you have this built in need to be active and especially in your chosen sport but we have had to temper your need to compete before. You need to be careful. It has been ten weeks since you had an operation on your peroneus longus tendon of your left ankle. So let’s take a look at that ankle of yours.”
He bent his legs to spring up but then she held a hand up, stopping the Doctor in his tracks. She leaned in, still on the chair, as his face seemed to morph with his own. A flicker of her reflection in his face. It shimmered and disappeared. Still bent forward, she replied, “Have you not had my rehab reports? Seen the X-rays? I have been cleared by the SCW doctors but I need you to clear me too so come on, I can walk freely, I have no pain in the ankle. I have been training with my sparring partner, doing strikes and it’s all fine. So, just clear me so legally my bosses can approve it. I need to beat the shit out of the Pierce bitch, you get it, right?”
Again the doctor frowned but he wanted to inspect her ankle as he put on some surgical gloves. He did so contorting it in a myriad of movements. He seemed content as he gave her back her foot and walked back to his desk. She frowned as his face once again seemed to shimmer into a reflection of herself. Daniela. But how? She had long since given her up as a host so why was she back? Was it all some hallucination? Maybe she created this illusion because she missed having Daniela around? Miss the demon? Surely not!
He sat and wrote something down on his writing pad, looked up at Melissa and wondered why she had such a weird gaze. Her brown, almond eyes looked like they were black spheres. He was overworked. That had to be it.
“So Melissa, after all the reports have come back” He said,“testing your ankle’s tolerance on the tendon I can categorically state that as far as we are concerned you can go back to work. You will need to be careful about that ankle. The tendon is getting used to mobility now since the surgery. So keep up the movement on it but try not to put too much weight on it. You mentioned strikes. Are they punches or kicks?”
The happiness turned to fury, which was rising, as she knew what he was getting at. “You know full well that my biggest weapon in my arsenal is my Makihouse kick. It is with my right foot mostly but if i cannot put weight on my left foot I will not be able to use the move. This will not do at all. As long as I am cleared then fine. Send the reports to SCW and we are done here, you flubbing jammer!”
The Doctor smiled which hid his worry that she would ignore his advice entirely. “In my research I watched some of your matches. I can see where the tendon issues arose. You have been over reliant on that move so all your weight has been on your left foot. I have also seen where you look like you are walking freer after a fight, this was because you had used your other moves. The Makinoku Driver is it? That submission move? Try to use those more than your signature kick. I have sent the reports as we talked and SCW has them.”
He smiled, got up as she did too. “Smile, Melissa,” He said with that stupid jamming look on his face. “No handshake. These times, you know, such a mess the world is in. Oops I see you want to leave. It is fine, Melissa, I know you probably want to prepare for your next fight. It was a pleasure treating you and hopefully I will never see you again but if your ankle flares up again you know where to come.”
Such a stupid joke as he guffawed at his own amusement. She stared at him as Daniela was staring right back at her so she closed her eyes and when she reopened them the demon was gone. “I’ll be seeing you, Doc. Don’t forget to tune in to my match this weekend. Oh and any merch sales would be greatly appreciated. After all, your bills have set me back quite a fortune”
He guffawed again as she exited the room and everyone in the waiting room including the receptionist, rehab assistants all had her face. She quickly paid and made her exit hastily.
To Pierce the Court –
Melissa Aki finally got home from her delayed flight from Chicago. It was good to be home. She looked around and saw her wife laying on the couch in a deep slumber. She knew she had a long flight too and had tried to wait for her. She brushed her bangs away from her face and gently kissed her cheek. She loved to see her so serene. She tiptoed out of the lounge and made her way to the home gym. She took out her ring gear from a bag in the corner, put it on and decided to shower after the workout. It had been so long since she had to go toe to toe with another competitor she even wondered if she still had it. Jessie Salco be damned.
As she began testing her ankle out with various kicks including her go to The Makihouse Kick, pump kicks, spinning heel kicks against a punch bag in the eastern corner of the room, the fear kicked in as she realised she was only hitting the bag at about 20% of her potency. Was she that scared of being injured again? Did the doctor drive home caution in her kicks? She couldn’t let it manifest . She had to deny it. She had to fight through the pain. She had to fight through the fear.
The lights flickered on and off and then settled again. She looked around and thought of Daniela as she wiped the sweat from her forehead with a blue towel. Why had she been abandoned by that errant spirit? They had become one and at times when she needed that extra thirty percent Daniela would come out and go all crazy and decimate her opposition but that match with Salco was when the demoness decided to disappear and had not come back but she could feel her around.
Her reverie was broken with a buzzing sound. She went to her phone and saw the notification: “Promo needed right now. Where are you, Maki? We need it. Send it over asap.”
Well at least she had her gear on but she looked a mess. She pondered putting on the makeup and going full korean warrior again but they seemed pissed so she needed to do it now. She hit record on the phone and set it opposite her as she sat on her workout bench.
“I am happy to report even though the big wigs at SCW were ahead of the legal curve that yes I am cleared to compete. I may not be at my best because of this injury but pretty sure I haven’t been at my best for months. I mean who loses to Jessie Salco? Yet, there is an opportunity to be had. Blast from the past gives me a unique chance to get a title shot. We all know I am all about titles but I have to team with some random dude which is concerning. Obviously on the female side of things Alicia Lukas is the toughest of them but I have defeated her in the past and I can defeat her again and whatever tag team partner she has. It is a shame Evie is so against it as I would love to lock up with her. Yes, I may be at the bottom of the barrel right now but this is where I excel. I enjoy working my way through the division to get any title shot and becoming champion. I am under no illusions that I have a long road back to redemption but I shall make it and it is good to know that at least one of the bosses wants me on the roster forever. That shows total respect to my legacy and what I can and will accomplish here. Blast from the past will be a test of not only my ankle but also my mind and overcoming the voices in my head. I aim to win it all and will do my very best to make that happen. Win or lose, at least I will give everything to win.”
She paused, sipped on some vitamin water, wiped the sweat again and refocused. “Courtney Pierce. I mean, bravo, you have done what I aim to do and won the blast from the past before so there is that experience you have over me. Having been out of the game for a long time with injuries I feel you because I am just coming back from my own. You came back and yet what have you done since you came back? Being akin to an enhancement talent must sting you to your core. You were the one they thought could be pushed to the moon but then the fall from grace and the pretty piss poor comeback must make you feel like you are debating your decision but then comes the ultimate opportunity. We both know you see me as a lame duck and a chance to really kick into gear and start making waves in this division but I am no flubber jamming stepping stone for you to use to ascend the echelons. You might think I am just some easy victim to finally get that elusive first win but you will be mistaken. I am god damn Maki. I am the poster woman for every woman, girl and kid out there who is seen as different, who respects the traditions of their forefathers and mothers, who gives her all as any warrior should and would. I would rather be dead or unconscious than give an inch to any woman, especially some upstart that was lucky to win a tournament and then scuttle off because deep down she knew she was not good enough to win the bombshells world title. I get having an injury but two years? It smacks of fear and oh honeylove you ain't seen scared or feared until you seen me. The whole god damn locker room fears me!”
Her frustration was getting to her but she hated chick’s like this that just run off rather than face losing!
“Are you ready for war Courtney? Are you really primed for this battle because when you face me you face war on an unheralded scale. Just remember: The general who wins the battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought. The general who loses makes but few calculations beforehand. This quote is the difference between us. Hell, I know you can fight. You wouldn’t be here if you couldn’t. I know you will push me hard. Maybe not to my limits as you aren’t that good but you will give me some hard shots and some painful moves but your spirit isn’t as strong as mine and you do not seem like the kind of woman who would do her homework and just rock up and expect to win. I always scout my opponents and you, babygirl, have many many weaknesses. You may get me to my knees, you may feel the end is in sight but when I hit the Makihouse kick out of nowhere, which no one has ever kicked out of, by the way, you will crumple into the heap you are and I will win because bitches like you will never get one over on the personification of excellence. The Court of Pierce has concluded it’s session!”
She pressed stop. Attached it to an email and sent it to the front office. She flung her phone on the floor and went to leave the gym for a nice hot shower but a mysterious figure stood in front of it. Once again she was looking at her mirror image. Blood started to ooze down the white painted oak door behind the thing in front of her. Then the blood reversed into one droplet as the figure disappeared.
“STOP PLAYING THESE GAMES, DANIELA! TALK TO ME!” She heard nothing but the thumping of footsteps and the calling out of her wife. Life was getting interesting again and she smirked as she went to her wife.
