BMMA: Bestial Mix Martial Arts

Kai felt the air whistle past his cheek as Lyra lunged, her claw swipe as swift as it had been in her fight with Robber.

With a sidestep, Kai dodged it effortlessly, his stance firm, gloves high, and eyes locked on her.

'Pathetic,' he thought, a tight smile curling his lips. 'Is that all you can do with your talent?'

The backyard, bathed in the gray dawn, smelled of worn leather and damp earth. Lyra, hands and feet in the mud, crouched like a predator, her ears pinned back.

She glared at Kai, her eyes brimming with rage and confusion.

'She looks like a stray cat,' Kai thought, suppressing a laugh. But deep down, his pulse quickened.

Those reflexes he'd seen in the alley, that inhuman speed, were why she was here.

'If she doesn't ruin everything with her chaos, she could be the fight I've waited for my whole life.'

For over ten years, Kai had honed every jab, every kick, until his technique was precise, robotic, and lethal.

Yet, despite Darius's insistence, he'd never competed. To him, tournaments were for fools chasing applause.

He wanted to believe he trained for something greater: the perfect talent, a fusion of speed, reflexes, and technique.

His few sparring sessions with Darius, brutal and clinical, had taught him to read muscles, to predict attacks before they formed in an opponent's mind.

But Lyra, with those monstrous reflexes, was different from him.

'If she could be guided by something more than raw instinct, she could be the one,' he thought.

Darius's voice echoed in his head, sharp: "That Feral's trouble, Kai. Don't bring her into this house."

'You really don't get it…' Kai thought, his eyes fixed on Lyra. 'I need this.'

"Is that it?" he said, his voice dry, goading her. Lyra growled, her claws glinting briefly under the gloves.

Lyra lunged again, pushing her body for more speed, a hook aiming for Kai's torso.

Kai saw the move forming—her shoulder tensing, her hip twisting.

He blocked with his forearm, but the strike was so fast it grazed him with pressure.

'That speed's inhuman,' he thought, his pulse spiking.

He threw a jab at Lyra's shoulder, targeting the nerve, but she ducked with an impossible twist, her tail lashing like a whip.

The strike cut through the air, and Kai frowned, tired of failing to match that speed.

His eyes sharpened, tracking every joint, catching every tiny detail in her movements.

'But none of that matters. I'll figure you out,' Kai concluded, calculating his options.

Lyra attacked with a flurry of claw swipes, pure Feral instinct, her movements erratic but lightning-fast.

Kai countered with surgical precision: a block, a sidestep, and a hook to her ribs that forced her back with a growl.

"It's not about brute force," he told Lyra, not losing his breath. "It's about knowing where and when to strike."

But Lyra didn't yield. Ignoring his words, she accelerated, so fast that for a moment Kai thought he'd lose sight of her.

Lyra threw a straight punch that shifted into a low strike when she saw Kai raising his guard to block.

Kai stepped back, narrowly dodging the attack.

'How the hell does she do that?' he thought, a spark of excitement igniting his chest. 'Those reflexes… they're a masterpiece.'

He tried a low kick to her thigh, aiming to slow her, but Lyra leapt aside, her tail balancing her like a spring.

But then Kai smiled calmly, focusing on Lyra's muscles: the tensing of her forearm, the twist of her hip.

'If I can't match your speed… it's just a matter of knowing what you'll do,' he thought.

When Lyra launched another claw swipe, Kai predicted her dodge, throwing a jab to the space where he knew she'd move.

The strike hit her shoulder, making her stumble with a groan.

'That's it,' Kai thought, his confidence returning. 'Technique always wins.'

But then Lyra did something he didn't see coming. As she staggered back, she threw an erratic swipe, pure instinct, with no form or logic.

The blow grazed his cheek, leaving a hot sting. 'Damn it,' he thought, his heart leaping. 'My reflexes can't keep up.'

For a moment, he regretted his limitation, the crack in his armor. He shook his head, his eyes locking onto Lyra's joints. 'No more mistakes.'

The fight intensified. Lyra threw desperate attacks, her reflexes letting her dodge blows that would've floored anyone else.

Kai responded with lethal precision: a jab to her abdomen, a kick to her thigh, each strike designed to maximize damage and limit her mobility.

But Lyra's speed kept him on edge, forcing him to read every move before it happened.

Kai's breathing quickened.

Lyra tried a feint, spinning for a low strike, but Kai anticipated it, blocking with his forearm and countering with an uppercut that sent her reeling, her ears flattened.

'At least you know a bit of the basics…' he thought, frustrated. He'd expected a challenge, not a wild animal throwing senseless punches.

But then he looked at her: Lyra, panting, eyes blazing, tail bristling, moving like the yard was her territory.

'But she's still got talent…' His heart jolted, excitement surging like a wildfire. 'She's raw, a mess, but she could give me the fight I've always wanted.'

Disappointment hit him at the same time. He realized something terrible.

'Without technique, she's nothing. I'll have to wait. Damn it,' he thought.

He'd hoped for a rival now, not a long-term project. But those reflexes, that inhuman speed, were the spark of something greater. 'When she learns, she'll be the perfect talent.'

Lyra, cornered, tried a desperate move: her claws tore through the gloves in a partial transformation, her eyes flashing with fury.

Kai saw it coming: the tensing of her fingers, the glint in her gaze. 'Another feint?' he thought, offended she'd think he'd fall for something so obvious.

When she shifted her angle, he was already a step ahead.

He dodged with a smooth spin and took her down with a precise lock, pinning her to the dirt. Lyra gasped, her eyes filled with rage and confusion.

Kai stood, his breathing steady, his stance unbroken. 'You're nothing against me,' he thought, but the spark in his chest burned. 'At least not now…'

He wiped his sweat with a quick motion, looking down at her.

"You're fast, Lyra. Faster than what's physically possible for a human," he said, his voice sharp. "But without technique… you're just a waste."

Lyra growled, rising with her tail rigid, but he continued, pointing to the house behind him.

"I think I've got a way for you to stay… Darius needs money, and you need a home. If you competed in BMMA, you could solve all that at once," Kai said, a smile on his face.

But he didn't tell the Feral what he really thought.

'And I need you to reach the top, Lyra. I want you to learn everything you can before I face you in the ring,' he thought, his eyes gleaming with cold obsession, his mind picturing the ultimate fight.

Lyra stared at him, narrowing her eyes, her low growl resonating in the air.

From the window, Kai noticed Darius watching them, sighing bitterly.

Kai ignored the pang in his chest. 'I'll convince him one way or another, but I need to perfect this girl.'

In his mind, there was only one certainty: Lyra, with those monstrous reflexes, was the rival he'd dreamed of. But he'd have to wait. And that ate at him.