Butterflies and beef left Yutaka's stomach in a state where he was certain that if he attempted any action more strenuous than sitting down he would projectile vomit. He spent the ride to the training center with his forehead pressed against the cool window of his parents' satomobile feeling a little queasy.
Then Ren'ai took the clip out of her hair and suddenly Yutaka felt able to bend.
It was like a cliche in plays where the mousy, bespectacled librarian let her hair down and went from plain to beautiful. The difference was that to Yutaka Ren'ai went from beautiful to breath-taking goddess worthy of worship and song.

Yutaka paid for two matches to the clerk who looked at the well-dressed couple with an amused smile.
It was a slow time, to Yutaka's great relief and the mens' locker room was blissfully empty. Seeing men parading amount naked with their chiseled muscles and greater bending experience did the flabby city worker's self-esteem no favors. He opened the locker where he was to keep his clothes and looked in the mirror inside of the door.
"You lost fifteen pounds. You're doing good. Don't get discouraged."
It was a great help that he had women in his life that would light a fire under him, sometimes literally, when he felt like slacking off.

The "new" bending gear Yutaka purchased months ago looked like it might have been through more rebirths than the Avatar. Black tape covered tears in the dark gray torso armor as well as his gloves. The twin dragons of clumsiness and practicing against firebenders who were on a professional level were not kind to used sporting goods. Mentally, Yutaka shopped for and purchased new bending equipment with his newly attained yuans. Everything except for the green belt he wore to represent his element was worn out, including the man inside.

Once in the practice arena Yutaka went through his mental checklist to make sure he had everything he needed. Helmet. Pads. His stomach was feeling fine for a second until he saw Ren'ai stretching in her dress, then it got nervous again.
"Ready to lose?"
Yutaka gave a exaggerated smirk of arrogance. "Are you ready to win with an ounce of grace?"
He felt ready. Padded, calm, stretched, then in a cold sweat when he remembered he forgot to stretch and warm up.

Yutaka looked down at the bending disks and sighed as he lowered himself into the horse stance, the most basic form of all of bending as well as the most vulnerable. He slowly slid his right foot a quarter-circle until only his left side was facing his opponent and girlfriend. From there he raised to stand on the balls of his feet and raised his fists in front of his face.
Three successive punches launched three separate earth disks at Ren'ai but only one seemed to be anywhere remotely near her.

Three months prior Yutaka would not have taken Airi's teasing well. In that time he'd grown a little thicker of skin. It helped that he had the excuse that he trained with people on a much higher level than himself. He found that his self-deprecating sense of humor was something of an asset in times of stress during training.
He made a loud grunt after the fireballs Ren'ai sent his way knocked him back into a different zone. He wasn't particularly proud of being knocked back so early but not instinctively curling up in a ball every time a fireball came his way was something he took pride in.
"Next thing you know you'll be telling me to dodge."

Lacking any mentorship in the earth bending aspect of pro bending, Yutaka was forced to be his own tutor and discovered he had a talent for neither teaching nor learning. That made what little he did learn on his own all the more worthy of his pride.
Once more Yutaka launched three disks his girlfriend's way and once more two were off-target. It was always the second one that was accurate. It took the first disk to get him acclimated to the relative positions of him and his opponent which made the second one accurate. The third disk, however, suffered from him over thinking. There were physical problems with his first disk and mental ones with his third.

Last week, while on break Yutaka was practicing his bending throwing rocks at a spot on a wall in an abandoned building he was inspecting. There, he thought of Ren'ai and her penchant for kicks and tried the same. He couldn't hit his target but the sound of it banging against the wall was louder. He had a power move now...inaccurate as it was. He just had no idea if he could string it together with his ever-present three-punch combo.
Yutaka pressed down on the ball of his right foot and raised the a fourth bending disk to shin height and kicked it towards Ren'ai with his left.
One of his co-workers suggested naming his attacks like a hero from a wuxia pulp novel. Naturally, Yutaka dismissed this idea as childish but named his attack anyway.
To his chagrin the best he could think of was:
"My left foot!"
Even more embarrassing was calling out his attack's name. He swore he would not do that.

Yutaka winced as if in actual physical pain when his kick sent his disk flying toward Ren'ai's shin.
"Sorry, sorry, sorry. I-"
Before he could fully explain three fireballs sailed his way. A multitude of thoughts ran through his mind:
I'm glad that didn't hit her.
I hope she forgive me for that.
I need to invest in some safety disks for when I practice with Airi
The last thought was that if Ren'ai had chosen to change into something more appropriate that he would not have gotten to see so much of her legs when she kicked at him.

Through that torrent of self-consciousness and a appreciation for the firebender's form there was no time for Yutaka to think about dodging. Rather than spend precious fractions of a second thinking about dodging Yutaka instinctively turned his side toward his opponent/girlfriend and awkwardly twisted out of the way.
He immediately regretted contorting his body into such an odd position but was pleased to feel the impact of only one fireball hit his torso.
He smiled and almost bellowed some sort of exclamation of victory but his voice was drowned out by the buzzer. In turning to the side he had stepped over the line of his zone. A heavy sigh emerged and the stepped backwards into the final zone of the practice arena.

In normal matches there were not breaks for chatter between points but it was a habit he developed in his training with Airi. Besides, he still hadn't the stamina for continuous exertion.
Such a heavy setback combined with so much pride for dodging two out of three consecutive attacks made Yutaka both grit his teeth and smile.
"This is unbelievably frustrating but a lot of fun." He looked down at the floor and saw that if they were in an actual arena he would be in the last zone and primed for a fall into the water.
He scratched his chin and grunted.
"I have a move in mind. Um, it's kind of a surprise attack so, you know, try to look surprised."
From experience Yutaka knew that experimenting amateur's could cause a lot of damage, hence the warning.

Quickly, the timid earthbender placed the ball of his right foot on the ground and then slammed down his heel bringing a single earth disk up to shoulder level. He leaned forward with what looked like a powerful straight punch but missed the disk entirel to throw off anyone timing his punches and bended the disk by contacting it with his elbow and shot it towards Ren'ai's chest.
An elbow blow hidden within a punch which he hoped would be harder for his opponent to time and dodge.

Getting a compliment from Ren'ai was ecstacy for Yutaka but getting one about his bending was something even beyond that. He couldn't speak due to the lump developing in his throat so instead he smiled and raised his hand in a silent bid of thanks.
Something as simple and mundane as: "Thank you, you're a goddess" seemed so inadequate it was almost laughable.
The best way Yutaka knew to repay the compliment was to try harder at the sport Ren'ai loved.

The flames emanating from the kicks Ren'ai aimed at him seemed off. Not smooth, not intense, not Ren'ai. It was like watching a master of the brush finger paint.
The fact that the flames came towards his legs scared him somewhat.
Are mistakes this scary? What must it be like for Ren'ai and Airi to bend against me?
As he dodged Yutaka's left foot brushed against the end the lines marking the end of the final zone. In an actual match his foot would have swiped through the open air as a prelude to his fall but to his surprise he regained his balance.
That minor victory was short-lived as another fireball, delivered via punch soared towards his chest hitting him dead on. It wasn't the impact, it was that primal fear of fire that drove him back. It was fine for lighting his cigarettes but when it was directed towards his face fire was something else entirely.

He sighed when he looked down and saw that if he was over the line.
A sigh couldn't help but be uttered and the sheer amount of disappointment he felt was a surprise. He was disappointed when he lost at chess or shogi but not at Pro Bending, not until that night.
"Splash," he said with a self-deprecating smirk.
Yutaka took a moment to ponder why he was disappointed he had lost. It was just a game, and not even a strategy game like he normally enjoyed. He had only learned the game less than three months prior but this time losing stung.
Suddenly, Pro Bending was important and he wanted to improve at it. For once, the man who was prone to giving up once things got challenging wanted to push on.

The tired and sore earthbender walked towards the center of the practice field trying and failing to suppress a smile.
"Next time....next time I'm going to push you back a zone."
Given her more ventilated garb Yutaka assumed that Ren'ai was not as sweaty as himself and might be repulsed at the idea of touching him but he extended his arms towards her for a hug.
"I'll get better. Promise."

"I've never been one for physical pursuits..." he patted the slight bulge of his stomach which had flattened a bit over the months. "Obviously. But this is fun and watching you in your element, uh, no pun intended, is just wonderful. You just light up...also not a pun. I, um, I'd like to watch you in a match some time. I'm sure you make it look like art. Is there anyway to get around the rule about having a waterbender? Couldn't you just find a water bender and train them? I bet a lot of people want to be pro benders."

He took his girlfriend's hand and looked down slightly into her amber eyes.
"I would like to help you any way that I can. I bet that seeing you bend in a professional match is something awe-inspiring. I'd like to see that one day."

It was difficult for Yutaka to immediately determine just who was being encouraged as they spoke. There were times when Yutaka felt like a heavy weight around his girlfriend's neck but no on that night. Pro bending aside, he felt as if Ren'ai was on his team and that on that night he'd been a rather good teammate.

Though he did pay for two matches Yutaka knew that he did not have another within him. His already weathered protective gear was no starting to tear and his body felt as if it had already gone though that particular process.
"Would you like to cool down by yourself while I change? I paid for two matches but it's been a nice night and I'd rather not end it being rushed to a hospital."
It was a humorous exaggeration but not much of one. Adrenalin still surged through him and the sweating earthbender avoided thinking about the crash he would be subjected to later.

More than anything at that moment Yutaka wanted a shower but there was an even greater force pulling him in the opposite direction which was the thought of another human being wandering in and seeing him naked. Airi had helped him get over some of his self-consciousness but he felt nowhere near the public nudity stage.
Sweat was easier to wash off than shame so he merely wiped himself down with a towel and dressed after stuffing his training gear into his duffel bag.

Minus his tie and a few unbuttoned buttons from his shirt Yutaka left the changing room the way he entered. At least now Ren'ai was not the only one in formal wear.
"If I was told six months ago that not only would I be dating a wonderful woman but that she would make me appreciate pro bending I'd call to have that person committed. Thanks for showing me all of this, Ren'ai."
Timidly, he placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Next time...let's do something less strenuous. Shogi or listening to records or something." Dancing crossed his mind but that seemed a little too physical for the half-comatose state he felt himself entering.
"Maybe we can shop for some new training gear for me. You probably can tell the good stuff from the bad. I decided that I can eat instant ramen and day old bread for another month to afford new gear."

Yutaka lightly punched Ren'ai in the shoulder.
"See what you did to me? You have turned me into some sort of pro bending enthusiast."
The cold air from the outside was such a departure from the moderate temperature from the practice arena that it felt twice as cold to Yutaka who rushed to get back into his car.
"Would you like to go anywhere special?" He paused and smirked. "Back to the party? I'm sure we're missed terribly."

Even though Yutaka knew it looked later than it actually was due to the winter solstice he assumed there would not be many sporting goods stores open on a holiday. It was surprising enough that the practice arena was open.
Instead of giving up and going home and eating something warm Yutaka found himself looking through the window at a display mannequin outfitted with a charcoal and light gray pro bending uniform. Before he knew it his face was pressed up against the glass and fogging it up with his breath. It was as if he'd been practicing in soiled rags before.

He stood next to the uniform's mannequin in the same arms akimbo pose so Ren'ai could imagine the uniform on him.
"What do you think? Flattering?"

Normally Yutaka felt a little odd expressing enthusiasm in front of Ren'ai as it usually prompted a the look of someone happy that he was happy but unenthusiastic about the subject. At first his interest in pro bending was limited to one particular pro bender but he knew that trying to impress someone else couldn't spur a three month long interest in him.
It was the first physcial activity he didn't give up on after his first failure and he attributed that to the woman whose opinion he currently solicited regarding training gear.
He squinted at the small black turtle logo and thought it almost too appropriate for someone as large and slow as himself.
"Is Genbu a good brand? Can it stand up to the kind of punishment you and Airi are going to put it through?"

Yutaka wondered if he looked half as excited at Ren'ai did when she spoke of pro bending. Other people talking about the sport were boring but Ren'ai talked about it with such passion that he couldn't help be drawn in.
"What's the story of your first uniform?"
He sat on the hood of his parents' car much to the chagrin of his driver but felt immune to both his annoyed stare as well as the cold of the evening. When Ren'ai spoke she was all that existed.