The term 'on the ropes' is now a common idiom, borrowed from boxing. When a fighter is up against the ropes of the ring, getting hit by an aggressive opponent, he is on the ropes. It can be the sign the fighter is losing, or it can be a tactic.
This drabble is 200 words.
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On the Ropes
"You're done, Naraku. Done," Kagome growled out, her teeth bared. She pulled at zip ties that bound her hands behind her back, even as Byakuya guided her forward with a hand between her shoulder blades. The people working the lines in the warehouse barely lifted their eyes as she passed. Their fingertips glowed with droplets of Shikon no Tama as they applied the pink liquid to blotter paper. "Do you know how much time you'll get for this?"
"Somehow, I find myself unconcerned," Naraku said as he came to a stop in front of a solid steel door. "Why don't we sit down for a little chat?"
Kagome suppressed the urge to kick his shin. If he'd paraded her through his drug factory, she knew that he wouldn't be releasing her to go tell someone about it. She wasn't looking to hasten that inevitability though. "I don't have anything to say to you."
"Hm. Shame." He produced a key from his sleeve with a flourish and unlocked the door. "It might help him."
Someone cut away the zip tie as she crossed the threshold, so that she could throw her arms around the figure on the ground. "Sesshoumaru," she breathed.
