Love At First Kick

144

I was the third fight of the day, which gave me a chance to see the first two.

It was crazy to think that thousands of people in the arena were looking at just those two fighting. The difference was also in the noise. It's not the typical cheering on the fighters. This is mostly quiet, with applause coming from the arena and then the loud cheering when the fighter wins.

I was watching the fight before, and I thought I would be scared shitless, but right now, all the fear was replaced by excitement.

Ever since I was a kid, I dreamed of standing on that court. And now I finally get to do it. But the thing I never expected was having the love of my life, a man that loves me with every fibre of his being, being here with me. Supporting me and cheering me on.

I looked back towards our team, and I couldn't miss him even if I wanted to. He was jumping and waving at me like a complete psyshopath, smiling from ear to ear. The surrounding teams were looking at him in shock, while some of them laughed along with our team.

He started sending me flying kisses like the biggest dork, but it sure made me laugh.

'What are you laughing ab-' Coach Darby was sitting for me, so he was right next to me, and looked towards where I was laughing

'Now I'm happy I let you near him earlier. I was afraid you'd be scared. I know I would be.'

'Oh, I'm not scared at all, coach.' I was still giggling, looking at Jimin. 'He took that away, so I'm more than ready. Don't worry. I'll make you proud.'

I finally looked at him, and he had the most shocked expression on his face.
'In 10 years of coaching Olympics teams, I never had someone laughing and being so confident going into an Olympic fight.'

'There is always that first time for something.' I joke

'I watched all of your fights when you got into the choice pool. I must admit, I always wondered how scared you were before a fight.'

'I'm never scared. Nor nervous. This was the first time I had those feelings, but he helped me. So I'm back to my old self.' I smile

'Well, it's time that you show me what you can do.' He wiggles his eyebrows. 'It's time.'

The fight before mine finished while I was talking to him, and I didn't even notice. At least it wasn't my category, so I didn't miss anything important for myself.

He gestured for me to climb up the stairs, which led up to the court. The feeling is unreal. My heart is pumping so hard out of excitement. I might overheat if it doesn't calm down.

We were tapped and checked over for all the equipment and jewellery before they allowed us to proceed to our side of the court. This time, I was on the blue side.

'Listen up. I want you to play it smart. Do not show them everything you can do in one fight unless you have to. Keep some of the tricks up your sleeve if you can. I won't lie and say it will be an easy fight, but if you fight like you did in the training, I'm positive you will be okay.' He seemed more nervous than me for some reason.

'Got it.' I nod

'Also, try to ignore all the cameras and the audience. I know it might be hard and distracting, but your main focus is her.'

'Oh, no worries. I couldn't care less about that.' I chuckle. 'I'm here to fight.'

'Jesus. You'd think you were through about 10 of these.' He sighs and then chuckles

We were brought our shields and helmets to put on. The coach tied it really tight for me and passed me my mouth guard and the helmet.

'Good luck, Rin. Show them what you've got.' He fistbumped me, and we bowed to each other. I took one last look to the crowd, and even though he was far, I could hear Jimin scream like a lunatic.