Ch 2 Cowgirl Blues

Reiko's strategy for the fight was the same employed throughout the ages by smaller, faster, more agile combatants against larger, slower, clumsier ones. To stay out of range of the opponent, wait for an opportune moment, then strike hard and fast. Rinse and repeat, until the charging beast, or armoured warrior, or muscle-bound wrestler, as it might be, was weakened; then close in to finish them.

All very well, in theory. Of course the supposed patsy of these tactics might be found to have a trick or two up their sleeves: unexpected resilience, say, or surprising strength, or perhaps even they might not be so clumsy after all. As Reiko prepared to square up to Dixie, she told herself not to take anything for granted. The Texan could not have been this successful without possessing hidden resources, and she no doubt had her own plan to counter whatever Reiko threw at her.

"Roses, on your marks! FIGHT!"

Almost at the same time as the bell rang, Dixie came charging at Reiko like an enraged steer, an obviously planned attempt to catch the debutante off-guard. The speed of her movement for someone 5' 11" and 140 pounds, along with the alarming sight of a woman the Texan's size in full motion, almost did achieve its objective. Reiko's muscles froze for a millisecond, and it was only her meticulous preparation for this moment that saved her from sustaining a crippling body slam. As Dixie hurtled towards her, Reiko side-stepped, then aimed a perfectly-timed drop kick at the Southerner's face. The momentum of her charge created a jarring impact of devastating effect. Dixie went down like a log.

Reiko immediately moved to exploit her advantage with a body drop onto the recumbent wrestler, causing her to expel air. Then as Dixie started to rise, Reiko seized her leg, using it to slam her to the floor again. For the second time Dixie tried to regain her feet, but this time Reiko grabbed the Texan by her blonde locks, using the leverage to get hold of her upper body; then rolling backwards, she threw her opponent over her head in a classic full sacrifice. The trajectory caused Dixie to hit the ropes and bounce back off them, finally landing on her back with a heavy crash and a muffled groan.

The throw also took Reiko to the floor, but rolling out of it, she quickly regained her feet, although some distance away from her opponent. Dixie was not surprisingly slower to recover, and she got to her feet only to find that Reiko had bounced off the ropes, and was racing towards her; too late she tried to avoid the clothes-line, which caught her across the throat, sending her tumbling again.

Instantly Reiko tried to apply a choke-hold as she followed Dixie down to the canvas. Wrenching at her opponent's neck, she elicited a series of muffled gurgles. But for the first time, Reiko had a hint of Dixie's real strength and skill. The older woman was working herself free of the hold with consummate ease. Reiko decided that was enough for now. She quickly released the grapple, stood up and moved back to a safe distance.

Dixie got up, and, interlocking her fingers, stretched herself, elbows pointing outwards. The serene, mocking smile was still on her lips.

"Very impressive, hon'. Ain't you the clever one? But you'll have to do a lot, lot better'n that to worry ole Dixie."

Reiko was still thinking of a suitable reply when she became aware that Dixie was edging forward almost imperceptibly, trying to trap her in one of the corners. The woman was crafty! Responding to Dixie's taunt merely by placing a finger over her lips, Reiko circled away. She waited for the next move.

Dixie continued to track her round the ring, moving now a shade faster. "Run away if you like, girlie. You cain't run for ever. Unless you wanna be known as Yellow Reiko."

This enraged Reiko. She felt the American was sneering, not only at her unwillingness to stand and fight, but also her race. At one time the Chinese had been known as the Yellow Peril. As a proud Japanese, she did not wish to be spoken of in these insulting terms. She must punish this stupid redneck as she deserved.

As Dixie advanced, Reiko stepped forward and aimed a kick at stomach level. But Dixie was ready, catching the foot and twisting it. Reiko was completely off-balance. She fell to the floor with Dixie still holding her leg.

With a grimace, the Texan savagely twisted the leg again, causing Reiko to bite her lip to avoid crying out with the pain. She felt something in her leg click and give. Dixie released it contemptuously.

"You'll not be dancing away so fast now, sugar." She made an impatient gesture. "Get up."

Reiko had little choice. She felt her foot partially give way as she rose, but before she could fully assess the damage, Dixie had grabbed her by the hair, then used it to slam her into the turnbuckle. Reiko's forehead rebounded off the post, stars exploding in her head, standing stunned with her back to Dixie. Taking advantage of her confusion and vulnerability, Dixie grabbed the Japanese woman from behind. Applying a full nelson, she dropped Reiko to the canvas with a sitout bomb, slamming the base of her spine into the floor and causing her to wince in pain.

Reiko got unsteadily to her feet, now cornered as well as dazed. As she tried to twist away, Dixie punched her in the abdomen, followed by a forearm smash to the head. Reiko crumpled. She had never been hit so hard in her life, the Texan's hands felt like iron. She knew even a few more blows like these could finish her.

In desperation Reiko focused, and tried to guess Dixie's next move. She guessed right, as Dixie threw another punch, Reiko deflected and caught her arm, countered by twisting it and stepping behind her, then finally swept Dixie's legs forward and from under her. The Southerner's feet whooshed up, and she fell on her back with cry of agony.

Reiko began to suspect that Dixie had been hurt more by the opening exchanges than she had let on. The leg sweep alone could not have hurt her that badly, but being thrown through the air onto the ropes could've easily inflicted major damage. She remembered that Dixie had moved only slowly after that, but she, Reiko, had believed the more experienced wrestler was merely being cautious. This could be her chance to turn the fight again.

Quickly Reiko followed up with another body drop, causing Dixie to groan again. She appeared unable to get up immediately. Reiko seized on the moment. She started to climb the nearby turnbuckle, and prepared to execute her own special finishing move, Angel Dive. As she climbed, she felt her leg hurting her again, but she ignored the pain.

Dixie was finally trying to rise, but it was too late. Reiko leapt from the post like an avenging Valkyrie, landing on Dixie's chest and stomach with a sickening thud, instantly applying a pin. The impact seemed to stun the Texan, and the referee began the count "One!" without any response from the prone figure. Reiko began to hope.

Then as the count reached "Two", Reiko was surprised as her opponent came to life, making a sudden, violent wrench, which forced Reiko to press her body forwards to maintain the weakening cover hold. With the referee about to raise her hand to signal a winning pinfall, the count of "Three" died on her lips, as Dixie abruptly spun in the opposite direction, sending Reiko rolling off her chest, tumbling over and over, slipping through the ropes to fall outside the ring.

Dixie rose on one knee, then completely regained her feet. She was breathing hard. Reiko meanwhile hadn't suffered any real harm falling out the ring, but found that her left foot was dragging slightly. It was bearable and would probably recover with rest. The real turmoil was in her mind. She had thrown her best shots at Dixie, and the American had taken them all. What would it take to stop her?

"Told y'all, din' I? You don't win easy in Rumble Roses." Dixie took the opportunity to throw another taunt, while moving forward to slip between the ropes after her.

Reiko backed away slightly as the Texan came towards her. Making sure the angle of the ring was between them, she tried to speak with conviction.

"I'll keep fighting right until the end!"

"Wouldn't have it any other way." Dixie made a sudden spurt of movement to follow Reiko round the outside of the turnbuckle. As she appeared around the angle, Reiko launched a drop kick with all her remaining strength. But at the last moment Dixie checked, and avoiding the kick, caught Reiko in mid-air, holding her across her body, spinning round and round before throwing her heavily to the ground. The impact drove the air out of Reiko's lungs, leaving her gasping and helpless at Dixie's feet.

"Get up." When Reiko didn't move, Dixie leaned forward, pulling the panting woman semi-erect by her mop of dark brown hair. Holding her up with one hand, she used the other to deliver a series of brutal punches to her chest and stomach. Some members of the audience winced.

Dixie let Reiko fall again. "Don't think you're getting off easy, darlin'." Reiko moaned in pain as Dixie trod casually on her tender mid-section. Leaving her opponent in a crumpled heap, the American took her time climbing back into the ring.

Reiko slowly got back up. She hurt all over, her ribs and belly seemed like they were on fire, and she felt weak and unsteady. Nevertheless honour demanded that she re-enter the ring. Dixie was waiting, the same ironic smile remaining on her face as they squared off. Reiko on the other hand looked wary, holding her arm tight across her stomach to protect it.

With a contemptuous toss of her head, Dixie offered a hand to Reiko, challenging her to grasp it in a test of strength. There was only going to be one winner in such a contest, but Reiko was running out of ideas, and was glad to have longer to nurse her battered ribs. She extended her own arm, locking fingers with Dixie, then found herself being slowly forced backwards and downwards, eventually brought to her knees.

Dixie kept up the pressure, gradually twisting Reiko's arm into a lock. Pain came shooting up her arm, and there seemed nothing the younger woman could do to stop it.

"This is where it really starts to hurt, sugar." Dixie's voice was very low, and sounded almost gentle. Perhaps low enough not to be picked up by the ring mikes. The pain got steadily worse, and Reiko could feel her will to resist ebbing away. She tried to focus on an escape, even though the agony was making concentration difficult.

Unexpectedly Dixie released the lock herself. Keeping tight hold of Reiko's arm she catapulted the surprised girl towards the ropes. Reiko bounced off them and before she could react, Dixie caught her with a thumping clothesline. As Reiko collapsed to the floor, it was becoming obvious to everyone that she was nearly out of the fight, and was practically Dixie's plaything.

Taking hold of the helpless girl's neck, Dixie began to apply a submission hold, wrenching and twisting at her head. Reiko bit her lip and moaned in agony; what felt really excruciating was not so much the extent of the pain, but that it failed to stop. In despair, she had virtually resigned herself to defeat. She did not want to suffer unnecessary injury in an exhibition match, even an important one like this one.

Suddenly, unexpectedly the pain stopped. Dixie still held her in what felt like an unbreakable grip, but she had let up on the torsion of Reiko's neck. Bringing her head closer to the younger woman, she whispered very softly, "Don't worry, Reiko, it'll soon be over." Cradling her head, she gently brushed the smooth cheek.

Reiko felt a strange warmth. Dixie seemed to be holding her in a way that was almost comforting. It reminded her, it reminded her of ...

"Don't cry, darling!" Her mother brushed her hair, enfolding Reiko in her arms. "It'll only hurt for a little time. Look, I'll make it go away!" She felt a soft kiss on her cheek. "See. That's my little girl. So strong and brave and beautiful."

Then the memory had gone, and the pain returned. In her mind, Reiko screamed, Mother you have betrayed me! There was no longer any point in fighting. She had to submit, her hand tapping the canvas without a conscious decision.

"Sorry, hon'. I said you had to beg." Dixie's voice was loud in her ear. The torment continued unbearably. Why didn't somebody stop it?

"Dixie, please!" It sounded like her own voice, but also that of a stranger. The struggle was over. The pain faded, and so did the warmth of the embrace. She was allowed to slump to the canvas, feeling horribly isolated and alone. Tears of loss and humiliation poured down her cheeks for all to see.

Dixie was already striding away, jumping onto the turnbuckle to salute the crowd. The response was a cacophony of cheers and boos.