-.This short story takes place 3 years before the 1st arc (Beginnings).-
All the gorillas waited anxiously for the girl to utter the words with which she would finally admit defeat. Her situation was quite precarious. There was no possible way she could free herself from that advanced wrestling maneuver. Or at least, no one had ever succeeded in doing that before. That was one of many reasons why Na'ek remained unbeaten. In all his combats, once the gray gorilla figured out his opponent, there was nothing more to do. It was an assured victory for him. But the monkey girl Y'shaati was reluctant to give up. She knew this was the great test for which she had trained for so many months. Giving up was simply unacceptable to her. To surrender would mean accepting the humiliation and dishonor in front of the entire troop, including her master K'uno.
"Y'shaati not see? Na'ek invincible! Y'shaati surrender now, ook ook!", the ape ordered. "Y'shaati lost... don't force Na'ek to hurt Y'shaati more...", he warned. It was clear that he had nothing personal against her, but he also wasn't going to take responsibility for what might happen if the girl didn't obey.
"Hnnnngghh... uuugghh... Y-Y-Y'shaati... su-surr...", the blonde moaned with low voice.
"Oh? Yes! Ook ook! Y'shaati repeat that again, heh heh...", Na'ek said while grinning and bringing his ear closer to her mouth to listen.
"Y-Y'shaati... su-rren-der... NEVER!!", she exclaimed before turning and savagely biting the gorilla's ear.
"Goooaaaaaaargh!!!", the gorilla roared in pain, shaking its head in an attempt to free himself. But Y'shaati had no plans to let go until he released her first. With no choice, Na'ek had to use one of his hands to grab the girl by her hair to pull her off his face, freeing one arm in the process. She took advantage of that moment to deliver a strong headbutt right in the gorilla's forehead. Na'ek was stunned for an instant. Freed completely, she proceeded to kick his stomach and roll on the ground to get away from him.
The spectators were left speechless at this last action. What seemed to be a settled fight was still far from being finished. From above, K'uno couldn't help but show a slight smile.
Taking a safe distance, Y'shaati knelt down for a while to regain her composure. But now she had a new problem: she could neither feel nor move both arms. They were completely numb due to the gray gorilla's powerful grip. She was going to need some time to regain her strength if she wanted to use them again. Surprisingly, she didn't seem distressed about this. On the contrary, she was already planning her next strategy. She thought of something her master had mentioned during her training:
Believe it or not, your arms aren't the strongest parts of your body. Your legs and feet are. Never hesitate to use them effectively and change the course of battle.
Across the arena, Na'ek was beginning to look noticeably frustrated. He firmly believed that the girl's good performance so far was simply a product of good fortune. But he was willing to change that soon.
"Hmph... Na'ek admit Y'shaati smart and cunning. But Y'shaati no smarter than Na'ek!", the ape boasted beating his chest.
"Really? Hah hah, ook ook!! Then Na'ek not smart as Na'ek believe...", Y'shaati said to provoke him.
"What!? Grrrrr!! How little monkey dare...", he said offended.
"Na'ek dumber than a worm. Na'ek's head empty like coconut! Hah hah hah hah!! Ook ook ook ook!!", the girl laughed as she mocked him.
"Rooooaaaaaaarrgh!!! Y'shaati take that back!!!", he demanded.
"Nah-ah... come and make Y'shaati, big dumb-dumb! Ook ook!", she answered.
Just then, the gray ape growled and ran frantically towards her. He had taken the bait. It didn't take much insight to realize that this was clearly a mind trap. But the gorilla's pride had clouded his judgment to see the obvious. He wouldn't allow his intelligence to be insulted.
Na'ek launched an aggressive wave of attacks that had neither direction nor grace. The only thing on his mind was to teach this disrespectful little brat a lesson she would never forget. Y'shaati had no trouble dodging them all, jumping from side to side and ducking underneath him. There, she slid down and kicked him right in his ankles. That would reduce his mobility considerably for the rest of the battle. Roaring in pain, the gorilla tried to crush her by dropping his huge butt on her, but the girl managed to get out of there before that. She immediately climbed up his back until she reached his neck and hung onto him.
"What is it? Y'shaati too fast for dumb-dumb? Hya!", the blonde said while delivering a tough knee straight to his chin. Na'ek fell backwards. She then jumped and squatted on top of him, stomping hard on his face with both feet and rubbing her soles on his mouth. "Dumb-dumb can't touch little monkey, ook ook!"
"Hmmpfff! Hmmppff! Gaaaargh! Stop!", Na'ek clapped his hands in a attempt to grab her and apply another wrestling hold. But she got away from him once more. The gray ape stood up again, but this time more furious than ever.
"HNNGGRRRR!!! Na'ek feed snakes with Y'shaati after this, OOK OOK!!", he threatened while smashing the ground and spitting saliva. The spectators watched concerned. No one had seen the always solemn and calculating Na'ek in such primal state. He looked like an unleashed beast with low intelligence, driven only by pure instinct. Exactly as Y'shaati wanted it. This was all still part of her plan to defeat him. She was putting into practice the last, and perhaps most important lesson K'uno could teach her:
No matter how big, strong or intimidating your enemies may be... everybody has a weakness. It's up to you to discover it and exploit it to gain the advantage and claim victory.
It was evident that Na'ek's weakness was his anger. And that same anger was making him lose the fight so far.
Just then, Na'ek assumed a bipedal posture and began to make circles with his right arm. The crowd gasped in amazement. They all knew that was a sign that he was preparing his most powerful and definitive attack of his repertoire: his famous 'Silver Fist'. A brutal punch with which he had knocked out countless opponents in the past. Everything indicated that he was fed up with this fight and intended to finish it now. But unexpectedly, Y'shaati began to walk bravely towards him.
"OHHHHH! HA HA HA HA, OOH OOH OOH!!", the gorillas began to howl and laugh at the monkey girl, thinking she had probably lost her mind. No one would be so stupid to receive a frontal blow and think of surviving that. They thought she surely was about to accept her fate. But without warning, Y'shaati rushed at Na'ek, running on all fours at full speed. The gray ape kept spinning his arm like an helicopter, ready to discharge all his accumulated wrath on her. The clash seemed inevitable.
"Na'ek become champion... and make Y'shaati pay for her insolence! ROOOOAAAAAAAAARGH!!!", the gorilla exclaimed before releasing his mighty punch. However, what happened seconds later was simply unbelievable.
In an extraordinary way, Y'shaati managed to do a somersault to evade Na'ek's attack just in time. Next, she propelled herself with both arms and extended her legs to land both feet on the gorilla's face again, but now with much greater force and momentum. The impact was so strong it generated a shock wave accompanied by a thunderous sound. Na'ek rolled his eyes as Y'shaati grinned. But the blonde didn't stop there. She stomped his whole face more than a dozen times while in midair. After the last kick, Na'ek went flying until he crashed against the tall rock on which K'uno was sitting.
The viewing gorillas turned to see their promised champion. He was completely knocked out. Even the rock had cracked from the violent impact. Fortunately, his life wasn't in danger. Nobody could believe it. Na'ek, the pride of the Tahuayo troop, had been vanquished.
K'uno descended to the ground to inspect the gray ape's body and declare to the crowd:
"Ooh ook ook! Na'ek cannot continue... Y'shaati winner!!"
The gorillas turned to look at Y'shaati, keeping a profound silence. The poor girl remained frozen. She didn't know how to react to the news. She had just won her first official fight in The Provings. For a second she thought that maybe the apes would hate her from now on for humiliating their next leader like that. But just then, the whole troop exploded in joy.
"OHH AHH OOK OOK!! Y'shaati so strong! How Y'shaati do that!? What that technique called!? Y'shaati very powerful! AHH OOK OOK!!"
All the apes cheered for her, carrying her on their shoulders. She felt a little embarrassed but also unexpectedly glad to know that they now respected her for accomplishing such impressive feat. From afar, his always serious master K'uno said nothing to her, but a slight smile in his face was enough to demonstrate that he was very proud of his apprentice.
Minutes later, having regained consciousness, a few gorillas helped Na'ek back to his feet. The gray gorilla wished to exchange a few words with the winner. Y'shaati accepted his request and approached him to talk.
"Hmph! Na'ek underestimate rival this time... but Na'ek admit defeat... little monkey fought well."
"Ah! Th-Thanks! Uhm, Y'shaati sorry for calling Na'ek dumb-dumb..."
"Y'shaati not need to apologize. Na'ek make mistakes... Y'shaati win fair and square. Y'shaati be a true Tahuayo now."
"Ah!? Na'ek really think that?"
"Indeed. But Na'ek not stop here. Na'ek continue training. Na'ek become stronger and defeat Y'shaati someday! That's a promise, ahh ook ook!"
"Heh... Y'shaati keep training too! Y'shaati look forward to next fight with Na'ek, ook ook!"
That day a great rivalry between them was born. A rivalry that still burns deep in their hearts to this day...
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