-Welcoming Committee-
Lunch hour was a hectic time, and for some undoubtedly a very nervous and stressful time. Girls in milling crowds, tightly organized into the little groups they formed - a sociology lesson presented in color for the solitary Izumi. She could see the knots of crowd from where she strolled along beside the south wall of the cafeteria, and to hear their high and sometimes hysterical gossiping and whining voices. As yet the delinquent transfer didn't feel comfortable enough with the allies she'd only in passing met a few days previous to attempt to join them for the break. In truth she was not really in any mood for company anyway, missing Terry horribly as she'd become spoiled by being in her company for so many days in a row prior to her arrival at the compound that week. Short on appetite as well, she was just chewing the last of the single onigiri she'd carried around in her pocket for lunch, a tiny hand absently slipping the crumpled wrapper with it's Sunny Mart label into a pocket. Whatever her motivations for seeking solitude, to the trio of girls following her some twenty-five yards back and gaining, her isolation and apparent lack of concern for her surroundings marked her as a foolish novice.
"Let's get a little closer," Madison Decker whispered to her pair of accomplices Mei Lin and Natalie Draper, picking up the pace a little faster even though it seemed Izumi made a sluggish target with her playful one foot in front of the other walk that traced lines in the courtyard paving. "She might bolt before we can grab her"
In truth the Rodent had ears as good as the animal she'd been nicknamed for at another school in another place and had been aware of the girls from the moment they'd broken off from the crowd at the fountain to pursue her. Of course she'd heard the gossip, rumors and conjecture about her in the few days she'd been attending, in most cases those remarks were deliberately floated to her with every intention that she hear them. Notions flying that she was no more than a play toy for King and had been given access to the higher realms of the school for no other reason. Opinions seemed to her, from the floaters that reached her ears that presenting herself as a delinquent in image and being a total phony was going to get her punished badly. Smiling, she recalled even hearing one student make a bet that she would cry before the first blow even landed, another taking more optimistic odds against a three packs of cigarettes that she'd hold her tears in til after the initial hit. She'd expected this before the end of the first week, and bolting for safety was not even considered. Better to just take her licks now and try to dish out some trouble if an opportunity arose.
The yanki made the corner of the cafeteria building before she felt arms grasp her from behind, Madison, the tallest and heaviest of the three, and a basketball player of some minor renown taking up the job of wrapping her in a tight unfriendly embrace that pinned her arms to her sides. She was still smiling when Mei and Natalie passed by her sides to the open area at the building's corner to face her, not struggling a bit in the hold. Mei, the shortest took up the space directly in front of her while Natalie settled to one side to serve the ever important role of lookout, actively scanning their area of the grounds for any approach of any nuns that might require them to relocate this meet and greet.
"Missed orientation" Mei teased, balling up fists and raising them. "So we will be your mentors and teach you how things work here"
At that, the lookout moved in to Izumi's flank, grabbing a handful of inky hair to hold her head still as Mei's punch looped in over hand toward her face. The diminutive delinquent was unable to resist the instinct to flinch and try to twist away from the incoming punch, even with the knowledge that she wouldn't be able to. The fist aimed at her nose hit her cheekbone just under the right eye socket instead, misguided due to her minimal movement of avoidance. Seeing stars, her head recoiled a bit, increasing the painful tug on the handful of her hair held fast.
"Hold her still would ya?" Mei complained in a whiny nagging voice as she cocked back a fist ready to continue the punishment. The area beneath Izumi's eye was reddened from the blow, a white line of laceration with a trivial amount of skin left over it finally and belatedly began to seep blood in a trickle that dripped in shocking spots on her bright white collar. Natalie shifted her grip, getting a better hold, and in a moment Mei launched the second strike, fist landing on Izumi's nose this time in earnest and bringing an instant stream of red from both nostrils. Held fast, she could only produce a little cry of fright and pain as two more looping overhand rights crashed into her left side jaw line, rocking her upper body in spite of the snared strands of black and making the pattering fall of blood onto the white uniform top take on little trailing patterns.
By now spectators had drifted over, murmering to each other excitedly. Rumors of this occasion's brewing had many of the girls excited for the past two days, some satisfaction in an insolent newcomer getting her expected punishment giving the whole ordeal a bit of a bit of a festival atmosphere. A few King haters in the gathering called encouragement, prompting Mei to shower a rain of pistoning fists into Izumi's ribs. At this stage the delinquent was dangling in Madison's grasp, looking as fragile as fine china with the red blood so stark on a face gone pale from the abuse being delivered to her. It was precisely this frail and pitiful appearance that prompted Natalie to release the twist of hair she held, intent on getting a few shots herself. Once she felt her head free, Izumi burst back into life, the one eye not half shut and watering profusely glittering with a sudden infernal amusement. Uniform loafers scuffed the ground as she spread her feet at shoulder width, simultaneously dropping her center of gravity and forcing her hips back to break the balance of the girl still clutching her from behind. Knocking Madison's center of gravity high, it seemed for a moment she might flip her right on over her back. The battered delinquent however had a better plan, further leaning down and reaching between her own knees. Her arms had slipped beneath Madison's grasp and were free to latch on to the bigger girl's upper right ankle in both diminutive hands. With the girl's weight mostly held for the moment on her back, she was able to easily yank the captured leg forward, raising it until she was straddling the limb like a witch riding a broom. So sudden was the sweep that Mei and Natalie were still blinking stupidly when Izumi dropped backward onto the ground still holding the leg high by the lower calf, coming down with all her weight on her butt onto the now extended knee.
Mei and Natalie finally were broken from their shocked trance, as much by the hideous crunch of their leader's knee joint bending in a direction completely different from the way it was built to, but the inevitable rusty screech of agony from Madison's mouth only rattled them in an unconstructive way. They hesitated when Izumi leaped quickly up and released the injured leg, hands now free to send a rapid barrage of repeated lefts onto the suddenly recoiling Mei's chin, causing the girl to begin drunkenly leaning to the left. Once that leftward fading pattern was installed, Izumi followed it with the right at last, a headhunter's cross that crashed into the off balance girl's nose like a runaway satellite.
Natalie, at last recovering enough to take action stepped forward and spun Izumi around by the shoulder; one hand grasping the small yanki by the front of her uniform top. Moving into her rather than trying to tear away, Izumi's now blood grimed hand immediately fell over top of the hand wound in her blouse, fingers hooking into the thumb and rolling the whole wrist toward her opponent's weak side.
"Oh no you don't.. what a bad idea!" the delinquent crooned as she kept pressure on the wristlock, bulling her way forward and keeping her footwork inside so that Natalie could never recover her balance and try to escape. The former attacker whimpered, not even really aware of the subtle way this hoodlum judoka was leading and timing her footsteps until the moment Izumi's foot sped to hook behind her knee at the opportune moment in their little dance, shoulder shoving forward and down to propel the girl into the sweep more effectively. Wincing at the sound of her opponent's head bouncing off the hard ground, she looked suddenly pensive. Paying no attention to Mei who was now fleeing with both hands plastered over her pouring nostrils,the prone and unconscious Natalie was the subject of her attention. "Huh, wonder what that felt like.." she mused, contemplatively pressing fingertips into her own aching jaw to test the extent of injury.
Madison had lost all interest in the further details of the fight, spending the few decisive moments of it clutching her already swelling knee. Gritting teeth at the overcast sky, just enough ordered thought was left to her to reach an almost bemused understanding that her basketball playing days had just come to a sudden conclusion. Eyes sought and settled on the distant building that housed the infirmary and she'd managed to get her hands and uninjured leg under her when Izumi stepped along beside her.
"Trying to get up, sweetheart?" Izumi crooned, following along her dragging pace on light skipping steps as she swiped blood away from her own pouring nose with the back of her hand. "Leg doesn't look so good. You prob'ly should rest" With those words, she brought up a foot and stomped down on the helpless Madison's hand causing the girl to flop over onto her back clutching the hurt fingers to her chest with a sad and indignant squawk of pain that brought a sympathetic groan from the line of spectators. That groan reached Izumi's ears, and deciding that some of them might intervene if she conjured too much more vengeance. Not gracing any of the watchers with a look, she began moving away from the wreckage she'd left and trudged along to the dorms. The high of the sadistic catharsis was wearing off, and like any hard fighting Rodent she needed find a dark and warm place to curl up for a while and nurse her wounds.
