Present-day - The Livestock Tower Basement- Just down the hall from the infirmary
"Did you see that drag?! Have you ever seen an arm drag like that before, Back-Alley?! He used his foot! His foot! Primates are something else I tell you!"
"Could say that again," Kyuu commented, knowingly rubbing her oldest fading facial bruise.
The acoustics in the lop's small cell almost made the quality of San's cell phone recording sound like they were in a movie theater. The phone picked up everything, the absolute pandemonium of the arena goers going nuts, she could almost even hear some of the grunts and loud smacks of flesh hitting flesh as the monkey took some hard shots from the brutish honey badger. It was almost like they were there in Priscilla's fancy skybox. The announcer's commentary really sold the mood.
Baraki the Raccoon called the match between Pao the Cyclone and Rashid the Rampaging Ratel with so much explosive energy the small animal somehow managed to surpass the booming volume of the wild audience's cheers and jeers in the skybox and arena proper. It might as well have been the match of the century as far as he was concerned. Kyuu couldn't help but feel left out. That should be her down there.
"The Cyclone just swept up the Rampage off his foundations and took the carnage to the floor for some- Whoa, whoa, whoa! What a reversal! Now the Cyclone is in trouble again! The badger is cashing in for some ground and pound!"
"Get him off of you, you smarmy bastard!" Kyuu shouted at the recording of Pao, rooting for him as if the spider monkey could even hear her.
The injured rabbit could barely contain herself as she fidgeted from overexcitement. She always got like this when she watched the preceding fights at the arena. She loved watching the scraps almost as much as she liked being in them. She usually caught glimpses of them from her partner's shoulders from behind the crowd where no one would bother them.
A clear view though, like this one from the skybox, even a bootleg camera perspective was like a luxury for her. This bird's eye view gave her everything she wanted as she saw the monkey try the same tricks she had witnessed on the hulking black and white carnivore. Tricks that weren't so effective.
"He wins this one right?" She turned around to ask the llama, whose lap she sat in as he administered first-aid to her fight wounds. He had patched her bruising and covered up her swollen eye; now he was trying to work on the gash Lùn had opened up on her shoulder.
"Yes. Now could you please sit still?" San asked impatiently, as he played his semi-usual role of back-alley surgeon, needle and thread in hand, stitching close the laceration. She was so excited she barely registered the pricks as he slid in the thread and needle.
She only cared about the match as she looked back down at the phone in her hands. "Look, look! That's what I meant by his tail! It's crazy strong!" She shouted, hyperactively jerking at San's shoulders as Pao struck his opponent in the face, staggering him.
Just then a sharp pain had shot into her arm, causing her to violently recoil and almost drop the smartphone on the floor.
"Ow!" She looked over her shoulder to see his needle lodged in her skin and quickly looked up to see San with an impish expression on his face.
"I told you to sit still while I work. If you get stuck it's your own fault. Haha." He jokingly reprimanded, as he wiggled the needle out of her flesh.
"Was just trying to show you what I meant." She grumbled as she straightened up in his lap. "That tail of his hits like a truck."
"You know I saw it. I was there. Remember?" He reminded her, a slight grin on his face. "Now stop squirming." He said as he gripped her shoulders and held her in place.
"I-I know that…" She mumbled, making a pained snort before turning her attention back to the recording. She rubbed the end of her throbbing and bloodied snout and winced. Her whole body ached actually after her confrontation with Lùn but she barely noticed it, studying the recording looking for some edge to exploit.
"Hey what gives?!" She asked suddenly, cocking her head at the screen as it began making weird movements.
"Huh?" He inquired, just as confused.
"The fight's shaking!" She shouted.
"Shaking?" He asked, puzzled, stopping to glance down at the feed. The view was becoming unstable like he was about to drop the phone. Still the device's impeccable audio also still picked up the goings-on… which were becoming just as strange as the movement. Odd background noises, people talking; his voice, and Priscilla's to be exact. The phone began picking up flirty commotion between the vixen and him, that night at that point was a blur. However, it sounded like they were... fooling around in their seats.
"Oh, you gotta be kidding." The lop exclaimed, looking up at her taller counterpart.
Panic set in as the llama began to recollect that part of his night. The party upstairs in the VIP lounge, with all the carnivores around them. He had a scuffle with the leopards and she had been drunk… no both of them had gotten drunk. Priscilla, already drunk before he got there, had got him to drink a few more drinks after the match had started, and eventually, things got a bit... irresponsible.
"Cut it out…ahaha!" He uttered a light giggle as her claws tiptoed over the leg of his pants and ventured towards his fly. The camera slightly tilted its angle towards his crotch which showed the fox's dark claws trying sloppily to unzip them.
"C'moooon, let's have some fuuun." She whined. The sounds of the fox's purring on his neck came through the speakers. "Hehehe. Can't a girl sample the goods a bit?"
He looked down at Kyuu and as she gazed back she could already read the 'Oh noooo,' expression upon his panic-stricken mug.
"The beasts in here, they're staring!" He observed. "I can see their eyes all around us."
"Quit being such a prude, babe." The adventurous arctic fox's voice teased just as her large hands reached inside and grabbed something that made Kyuu quickly avert her eyes out of disgust.
"Besides, it wouldn't be the first time they caught a show like this good in one of our joints. Hehehe!"
"This is too much. Let's not...Aaah! You got quite a grip. Ah!" A nervous but pleasure-filled moan slipped through the speakers followed by some mischievous giggles.
"And you have such soft and pleasing wool. You're like a cloud."
There was also an assortment of noticeable closer sounding laughs and cheers in the background. It seemed they were starting to get a captive audience. "Check it out! Even the herbivore is getting some action! Haha!" A few of the guests said. "Never a dull moment in the Inarigumi's domain."
"Can't we do this later?" San suggested, sounding anxious. "Pris-chan? Seriously, the other beasts are watching us."
"Let 'em look." Her voice responded, suddenly the camera jerked around erratically and Kyuu could see the fox climbing up onto San's lap, the llama desperately trying to keep a hold on the phone and turn it back around. "Just relax, you are with me. This is my parlor and here I do what I want and I do whoI want. And we haven't even begun our little adventure just yet." She whispered in his ear, with a playful tone.
"You definitely feel much lighter than before. Is it the drinks?" He asked, his voice sounding very jovial.
"Noticing that little bubbly feeling huh? Not so bad is it?" The vixen in the feed commented.
"No...mmm. Not at all. I like it." He said.
"I knew you would. Now just get comfortable, I'll take real good care of you." She whispered enticingly.
"Are we going to do...that?" He asked.
"No, not yet, that comes later." She said with a sing-songy tone. "Now kiss me."
Kyuu's eyebrow tilted up as she listened to them loudly smooching.
"Really?" She asked, staring incredulously at the very same she-fox standing in the corner of her cramped cell.
Priscilla pulled herself away from her own phone's screen and just radiated an air of arrogance and smugness right back at her. "Jealous?" She asked, with a flirty purr.
"Fuck. You." The herbivore swiftly responded, a deadly imaginary glare shooting from her eyes that could practically bore a hole through steel.
The vixen just continued to grin at her. "I'll let that slide because your face is hilarious."
San, on the other hand, couldn't have felt any more awkward. "Please don't start, Priscilla-san." He said, giving her a worried look. She was making jokes, but the rabbit with knives was in his lap, not hers.
"You like that huh? Am I making you break your temple's taboos right now Mr. Mysterious Ninja Monk? Hmmm?" Priscilla's recorded voice teased.
"Uh...stop..ah.. stop calling me that. I'm not a monk, ahaha. Oh god, ahhhh!" He sounded as if someone had dropped an ice cube down his back.
"Woooooo!" One of the beasts around them cheered. "Is she eating him or fucking him?"
"She's about to make him pop!" Another said.
"Rex, I really was horny. Hehehe!" Priscilla sniggered as she walked over to watch for herself.
"Why don't you put that thing down and hold me?" The recording of her begged. "Forget about this dull fighting. Let's have some real fun."
"Ah. Come on, Pris… Aaah! You know I'm trying to record this for Kyuu. I need to focus." San's disembodied voice said, trying almost dutifully so to keep the focus on the arena below, however, the phone suddenly flipped around to reveal the two of them cuddling together in their fancy love seat, their lips locked as the vixen embraced him. It had changed hands, Priscilla now held it as they kissed for a hot minute before parting presumably for air.
Finally, fully onscreen, the rabbit could see the both of them. San blushed and Priscilla looked directly into the camera seductively.
"You're recording this right?" She asked. "Hehehe. She can see this? Hi, Cueball, " She said, drunkenly waving at the lens with her free hand.
Priscilla in the flesh snickered at her own self-indulgent dig at the round-headed herbivore who silently flipped her double birds in response.
"That was way too far, Pris." The embarrassed llama worried as he tried to play off the incident with a nervous chuckle. "Please don't stab me." He begged Kyuu under his breath as he continued to work on her wounds.
"I don't give a shit," Kyuu replied, still giving them both the iciest stares imaginable. "Just how about next time you record a fight for me, you leave out your little shitty amateur porno?"
"Sorry. We both had a...well a little too much to drink." He explained, nervously scratching the scruff of wool on his neck.
"Guilty!" The Arctic fox mix chirped. "And I can be quite an exhibitionist from time to time." She confessed with the bite of her lip, while San looked off into the distance awkwardly, his pale underfur turning a complete shade of pink.
"Whatever, don't care." The unimpressed bunny said dismissively before slapping the inner part of his thigh, "San, just keep this thing in your pants under control while I'm sitting here or I will care." She threatened.
"Yeah, sorry." He apologized again, taking a large gulp.
Suddenly Kyuu's eyes widened as the action on the phone's screen shifted back down to the action in the arena.
"Ooh! Finally, about time! Here we go!" She shouted excitedly, as to her great relief, the camera viewpoint eventually moved from the couple's explicit behind-the-scenes shenanigans and focused on what Kyuu had really wanted to see; Pao firmly taking back control of the fight.
The monkey was now making a comeback, strangling the dominant badger with just his tail as he tried to free himself from the mount. Baraki at the commentary desk was going nuts.
"The Cyclone's holding him back! Rashid has the contender on his back, shoulders pinned, wearing him down, but you always have to be wary of monkeys and their tricks! The Cyclone has that tail of his around his neck like a regular Boa constrictor! Somehow he's holding him back and getting some choice shots in!"
Then the badger bit him.
There was a loud gasp from the audience as the carnivore sank his fangs into Pao's ropey tail, the monkey let out such a high-pitched blood-curdling scream that it made it all the way up to the skybox.
The AAAAAGGGHH! was promptly followed by a loud foreign expletive that didn't take much imagination to understand what he meant.
"Ouch, that's gotta hurt!" The Raccoon commented. "Looks like Rashid is trying to get some early tasting going on before the market can get their monkey meat! Tail biting is usually looked down upon in the fighting circuit, but you know how we at the Show Arena feel about rules! Ha ha ha! What a wild and brutal ride!"
Rubbing her fading black eye, Kyuu couldn't help but snicker at the monkey getting his tail bit like that. She almost felt a bit of jealousy wishing she had come up with that.
"The Cyclone seems pissed! He's out for revenge! He's out for blood! He's smashing the badger with shots that I'm sure would make a gorilla pause! He's pounding him like they pound the chicken at Shohei's Skewery!"
The battered badger eventually grappled with the simian, locking him into a bearhug briefly before Pao managed to power out of it and break free; using his thick tail again and then delivered a few kicks to great effect to tear down Rashid's defense. And then to her amazement, the fight soon came to a quick and sudden finish.
After a few swift hands later, Pao ended the fight then and there, breaking the black and white badger's nose with a surprise counter kick right after Rashid had caught hold of Pao's leg mid-kick. The badger's faculties all seemed to just shut down at once as he stood like a statue before falling like a tree as Pao backed off, making a loud, satisfying thud that even the phone picked up.
The crowd both down by the arena and in the fancy skybox popped, sending a loud thunderous roar blasting through the phone's speakers and echoing down the empty stone halls of the basement.
"I don't think he's going to make it back to his feet! The Cyclone just came through and leveled the Rampage and left nothing standing!" The raccoon on commentary screamed at the top of his lungs. Pao then fell over himself out of exhaustion. "...Not even himself! Haha!" Baraki cheekily commented. Ring the gong, this contest is over!" He shouted followed by the gong being rung. "Your winner and still the Number One Contender for the Lightweight Division... Pao the Cyclone!"
The crowd went nuts. The echo traveled all throughout the empty basement for a brief period of time.
"That's a wrap, folks! Those with empty bellies, sorry to say it looks like we're skimping the market once more but hey two corpses is better than none! What a match-up that was!"
Then the recording stopped and Kyuu immediately felt jealous. She wished it could have been her down there in that fierce match. Seeing it unfold in such spectacular fashion from this voyeuristic point of view, just made her heart quiver with a longing for her chance. She wanted another shot at Pao, and she wanted it bad.
"That was amazing!" she shouted, almost jumping off of San's lap before he caught her. It was rare to see her this animated about something, though unsurprisingly it was about fighting.
"I can't wait to get down there and punch his lights out myself! Hell, I won't even need Chimera or my weapons."
"What do you mean you won't?" San asked, looking at her, a puzzled expression upon his long face.
"Uh...I ain't using Chimera," The dark muzzled rabbit admitted as she clenched her fist. "I'm gonna kick his ass the old-fashioned way."
"But...why?" he asked, concerned. "The way I see it, it's an easy win if you go in with Chimera. He's a hand-to-hand guy, you got a big edge with your weapons. All you need to do is snare him with your rope and you got him."
"Exactly." The rabbit spouted. "There is no challenge in it! Besides, Chimera is a liability. I'm surprised you don't see it."
"Oh, do tell, Kyuu." The camelid implored, rolling his eyes as he concluded with her stitching. "What's so wrong with Chimera now?"
"Think about it, San. Why do you think you're sewing me back up right now? It's cuz Chimera did shit all for me when Lùn kicked my ass."
"She figured it out?"
"Yeah." The rabbit growled. "Besides I want to beat Pao myself, no bullshit. I don't need Chimera."
"Kyuu are you nuts?" A beat went by before he quickly told her not to answer that. "You lost with it. Okay? That doesn't mean you should abandon it outright."
"I ain't using it, San." The rabbit reaffirmed. "I'm going in, just me."
"What's this… Chimera ?" Priscilla asked, confused and out of the loop.
"Uh…," San started out, but a sour look from the angry lop made him quickly reconsider. "It's just… a meditation thing. Gets her in the zone before a fight." He said trying to fabricate a believable lie.
"Right…" Priscilla wasn't buying it though, she narrowed her eyes at him. "You're freaking out over her not using a meditation technique ?"
"It's not really that important," He sheepishly insisted, trying to smile. "It's like yoga in the morning and...uh stretches. We always do it before matches as like a ritual."
"San, don't bullshit me." The fox said, shaking her head. "I know a con when I hear one."
"Fucking nosey-" Kyuu cursed, getting tired of the egg-shell walking. "It's just a technique that I use against carnivores to give me an edge. That's all you need to know, Ice Princess."
"Snow Queen." The fox corrected sharply.
"Whatever you want to call yourself!" The lop retorted, rolling her eyes. The vixen just glared at her with an unamused expression.
"So... Flopsy. Why aren't you using this so-called secret technique?" She asked.
"Why do you care?!" Kyuu shot back. "I ain't fighting you. And my name is Kyuu."
"Because if you are screwing up an attraction at myarena, I'd like to know… Kyuu." The fox expressed with an accusing tone, tilting her head at Kyuu. "Believe it or not, I run a business and have a reputation to uphold."
"Didn't stop you from fucking him…" The rabbit off-handedly rebounded under her breath.
Priscilla purposefully let her jaw slouch slightly at the remark, revealing her fangs. Still, she kept her lady-like composure.
"I don't need another riot on my hands if you fail to give a good performance. The beasts who come to see the Psycho Rabbit fight want to see the Psycho Rabbit fight like a psycho, so it's in my best interests to make sure they get that. Got it? So if this dragon or chimera whatever thingy is important to your fighting you best have a damn good reason why you aren't using it."
Kyuu just blew her off. "Performance? Look fox, I'm just a fighter. You don't have to worry about any of that bullshit. The audience doesn't see the technique, only my opponents. All they see is me kicking ass. As to why am I not using it? It's because I'm worried it's not going to be effective in this fight. It's failed me before now, once with that one cat with the sword up her ass and twice now with Lùn, and now I think Pao probably already knows about it."
"He does? Wha-" San asked, shocked at this revelation. "How did that happen?"
"I dunno, but my guess is he probably heard about it from one of my surviving opponents. I don't know what he knows about it for sure, but he knows something. He'll be ready for something, so I don't feel like going into that match with an uncertainty like that. Besides, I owe him a proper beating. He humiliated me and I'm going to return the favor."
"You still need to at least try!" San insisted. "Even if it's not effective, it's something. If not your knives, use the rope. You might be able to counter his tail."
"I can beat him without it!" Kyuu asserted.
"Did you not see him beat that badger's face in? I know the camera might make him look small, but that Rashid guy was a monster brick house, I'm surprised he was even in your division!"
"Well, I'm not worried about him now, I'm facing Pao. And why are you so afraid? I beat the bear without it!" She reasoned. "If we plan, I can take him."
"The big, bulky, and slow bear?" San quickly reminded her. "I only recommended you go in against that guy without Chimera because I knew you could take advantage of his lack of speed and stamina. We practiced for guys like that before, I wasn't worried and you at least used your knives to finish it. This Cyclone guy is nothing like that, though. I thought you would have first-hand knowledge of that, what with those bruises you walked in here last week with."
"San, I know how quick he is!" She shouted. "I also know if I close the distance, his reach becomes a disadvantage as his long limbs can't maneuver so close. I'm shorter and faster. Once he misses, I have plenty of time to work." The rabbit boastfully exclaimed, patting her chest, "Get me close, I can take him apart, Chimera or not."
"Getting close…" San frowned as he looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "Just how exactly do you plan on getting close? And how exactly are you going to deal with that tail?" He asked, knowing that was a pertinent question she probably didn't have an answer for.
"I-I'll come up with something!" She replied, just in the fashion he was expecting. "I always do."
"You need to be a little bit more reassuring than 'I'll come up with something, " The llama replied mocking her as he craned down over her with his hands at his waist.
"I wasn't used to his weird dancey style then." She insisted. "I went at him angry and he stomped me because I wasn't ready. Hell, I didn't even know he was a fighter at the arena until after we squared up. But now I got an idea of how he moves and I know now to look out for that blasted tail of his."
"Okay, so you have half a plan," San said. "Where is the rest of it?"
"I don't have anything concrete, but I was thinking maybe sprinkle in some Jiu-jitsu and grappling?" She said, throwing around some options off the top of her head. "The badger gave him trouble with grappling right. If I can lock down his movement and hit him hard, I can make that same headway I had in the park happen again."
"You made headway?" He asked, still skeptical.
"Yeah, I managed to catch one of his kicks and jumped on his face. From there I just beat the crap out of him. You remember how I caught hold of your arm in the shower the other week? Y'know when you grabbed my ears?"
The llama's face sorta sunk as he thought about that particularly sour memory. "Yeeeeah?"
"I did that, but to his face and pummeled the crap out of him before he could pull me off." She boasted, thumping her chest again feeling proud.
San sighed and smiled a little, feeling a bit better. "Okay, that sounds reasonable, but again you haven't told me how you'll get close. I mean catching a kick sounds doable, but it's also risky. That takes timing and chance. You can't just base your strategy off just that. "
"That's where you come in. I just need to practice." She explained, all energetic and eager. "You're tall and spry enough, spar with me and I'll show you what I can do. How about we meet up in the courtyard for a few rounds?"
San suddenly became hesitant. "I-I can't." He said, his eyes darting towards Priscilla.
"What do you mean you can't?" She asked, looking at him surprised.
"Priscilla and I are going out again soon. Right?" He asked the fox who promptly nodded.
"We're going to my casino, the Scoundrel's Den," Priscilla explained. "I need to show him around."
"Are you kidding me?" Kyuu shouted betrayed, angrily pulling at her ears. "Didn't you two just fuck already?!" She asked incredulously.
"First of all, I don't like you talking about us like that," San responded to her crass statement.
"Oh sure, Mr. Amateur Porn, forgive me." She mocked, crossing her arms. "Rex forbid you help the one that's been there for you since you can remember instead of being so eager to make some half-cooked monster freak baby with her."
San's face went red as he tensed with rage. "I can't belie-We used condoms!" He shouted at her.
"Well, I heard you can still screw up and make kids with those!" Kyuu retorted.
"In ANY CASE, we were going out for that. We're going to see about me getting a real job for once. So we don't have to keep relying on you risking your neck for money."
"Oh, a real job ?" The bunny asked, wary and unconvinced. "What is this sex-starved carnie going to offer you? To be her personal sex slave? That's all she seems to be doing with you it seems."
"She offered me a job at her casino as her assistant. She offered you one too, but you turned her down."
"Yeah, a job to kill people!" She said with a frown. "Are you going to kill people too, Mr. Assistant or does that just mean you're going to be her personal fuck boy?"
"Fuck you!" He spat down at her. "Also since when are you on such a high standard, Kyuu? I mean I wasn't really thrilled about you getting such an offer myself, but let's face it, seems like something right up your alley. You like being violent, don't you? It probably pays more than just fighting at the arena."
"It does, contract work is very lucrative, depending on the target." Priscilla chimed in, seemingly uninterested in their conversation. "Our organization has many enemies and I feel like you have the talent."
"It's not the same…" Kyuu said dismissively, her gaze trailing towards the floor.
"I would have offered you a job at one of our clubs… but you don't have the right attitude for it." The fox dryly replied.
San just waved her off and folded his arms. "Well, in any case, I'm going with her, and to be honest, you should get some rest anyway. Training should wait until your wounds heal. In case you hadn't noticed, you took a hell of a beating from your little crush a few minutes ago."
"Crush?" Priscilla mouthed, looking confused.
"I feel fine!" She stubbornly insisted, jumping up and slugging him hard in the arm. "When have I ever let some scratches and bumps keep me from training!" She yelled.
"Oh yeah! You totally won't be on the floor hours after I leave." He snarkily commented.
"You don't know that!" She piped up, furiously poking him in the leg.
"I don't know what ?!" He asked. "That your snout is swollen and you probably can't breathe that well? Or that freshly stitched cut on your arm will probably rip open if you put stress on it?"
Kyuu quietly gave her switched shoulder a cursory glance before returning her sullen gaze to the snarky llama.
"Oh and we can just ignore those other injuries you've piled up, right?" He mocked, poking at the bruises on her face and torso. " Some old battle wounds won't stop my buddy Kyuu, right? Like you're too good for fatigue right?" He sarcastically asked. "Sure you are. You'll be fine."
The bruised and patched-up lop knew it was the truth, but all the same, exploded on him. "Fuck you and your smart-ass mouth!" She said clenching her fists.
"You're just mad because you know I'm right." He said, looking down at her with a grin.
"I'm fine!" She shouted.
"AHAHAHAHA!" The llama gave a big belly laugh. "Like hell, Kyuu! You ain't fine."
"Yes, I am!" She shouted back at him.
"No, you're not!"
"Yes, I am!"
"No, you're not!"
Priscilla's head swiveled between the two as they went back and forth, covering her ears, before having enough. "Hey Hey Hey!" The Inarigumi fox shouted, flagging them down to cease their bickering. "Could you two knock it off with the shouting? Some of us have sensitive hearing."
"Oh, do you? I had no idea. Must be such a burden." Kyuu sassily remarked, emphasizing with the tug at her own long floppy ears.
Priscilla restrained herself from snatching the rabbit and flinging her against the wall and just took a deep breath. "How about I just call off the match?"
"What?" Both of them asked, shocked and surprised by the offer.
"Well, it's obvious. Well if Coach over here doesn't feel you're up for it, I can make stuff happen and…" She struggled to say the next words, "We can move on without you again for a few more weeks." The financial side of the fox made her cringe, immediately regretting laying the offer on the cards. "That... seems... fair...right?" She said painfully trying to force a smile for San.
Kyuu however was the first to voice her opinion. "Whoa, whoa." The rabbit said, shaking her head and gave the fox a scrutinizing glare. "Don't you need me to fight? Be part of your little freak show?"
Priscilla let out a deep breath and brushed her ears back. "At the beginning of the year, when I didn't have a clue how this fight promotion business worked? Uh... Sure." She confessed. "But now, Baraki-san, the arena manager, has plenty of other attractive fighters down there to draw the crowds. You're no longer my biggest draw is what I'm saying. So, I can... cut you some slack… though I still feel like I'm probably going to miss out on a nice return. " She said, looking down with a frown.
San actually started to smile at the fox's attempt at selflessness, but the rabbit barely waited for a half-second before responding with: "Fuck that. I don't need your god damn charity."
"Kyuu?" San exclaimed, shocked by her stubborn refusal.
"I'm not washed up." The grumpy rabbit grumbled at him, punching him in the shin. "Fuck calling off this match!"
He recoiled and grabbed her by the shoulder. "She didn't say you were washed up. All she was doing was trying to give you time to recover."
"She didn't say it, but think about it." The rabbit calmed down briefly. "I keep away from the arena, those beasts are going to start thinking a lot of things. Like I died or something. Or that I ran away. They'll forget about me. They'll think I'm washed up. I don't need that. I don't need anything from her except my prize money when I kick that monkey's ass." She declared. "So she can shove her sympathy."
"Well, first off your Bitchiness, there's no fucking way I'm doing anything for you," Priscilla stated, making her intentions pretty clear as she strolled behind San. "I'm doing it for him ."
"Of course you are," Kyuu replied, rolling her eyes. "I'm sure his manhood is very persuasive."
"Fuck you, bitch." Priscilla growled, nearly losing restraint to snatch up the small herbivore. "He worries about you in case you don't see that. Almost insufferably so, but I can understand that kind of bond. So the offer is on the table. If you don't want it, fine with me."
"Keep it." The Rabbit rebuked again.
"C'mon Kyuu," San quickly tried to reason. "That's a great and smart idea. We can get you back to 100 percent and-"
"Screw that!" She spouted, impatiently.
"God damn it!" San just exploded on her, shaking her down like a sapling tree. Eyes widened with stress. "Kyuu will you stop being so fucking stubborn for once! This is a prime opp-op-" He was so flustered he couldn't even pronounce the word. He took a big gulp and swapped to a simpler option, "It's a prime chance for you and you're just throwing it away! Just digging yourself into a deeper hole!"
"San, I'm done sitting on my hands! I'm done licking my wounds in exile! And I'm done waiting for my chance! Pao's gonna get what's coming to him, and that's that. I'm going to be ready for him next week, bumps or not. And if you don't like it, both of you can get the hell out of my room! I'm done talking about it."
"Rex, why do you always have to be so frustratingly stupid!"The llama's heart was thumping like a drum after such an outburst. His breathing was heavy, he felt like he was going to pass out. He took a few breaths and just closed his eyes briefly. He was better than that. His voice calmed and he stood up straight. She just stood there, silent, glaring venomously at him.
"You know what? I guess I'm stupid too." He admitted. "I have to be because I always try my damndest to help you even when you don't realize it, expecting you to at least change."
He shook his head and headed for the door. He stopped halfway and turned.
"Look, I know you're going through a rough patch right now and you're pretty pissed off. But if anything, if you can do anything for me, can you just get some rest?" He pleaded.
"Get out." She said, trying her best not to raise her voice. She could manage at least that much.
San said nothing but frowned at her with a depressed look, but all the same, he obliged. He nodded at Priscilla before taking his leave down the hallway with his hands stuffed in his pockets. The fox lingered after he left momentarily to give the rabbit a judgemental look,
"Y'know. I've known plenty of cutthroat beasts in my day, but, you? You're a real bitch and a terrible friend." She declared with unfiltered certainty.
"Get out!" Kyuu shouted, finding herself alone once again. The nerve of that hussy, lecturing her in her own home, she thought.
Her eyes soon darted to her punching bag hanging off to the side of the cell and soon she began wrapping her fists and feet. She had some stress to work out.
A brief workout later...
"Uuuugh." The rabbit groaned as her eyes sprang open, fully regaining consciousness. The first thing she laid eyes on was the same old dreary confines of her cell. And the underside of her bed. Her vision was still shaky and unfocused, but she could see and recognize the underside of her bed cot, having hidden under one like it many times before as a youth; she was on the floor.
She was on her belly, lying flat on the side of her face. Did she fall? Her memory was kinda fuzzy. The last thing she remembered was running drills by herself, charging at her heavy bag trying to do some impromptu maneuvers, closing the distance so she could have a chance to get offense in with a larger opponent.
She must have tripped or something, lost her footing. The rabbit cursed herself for being so damn clumsy and tried to will herself up. Her body was in such a fatigued state, it protested and refused to listen.
Don't just lay here. Get up! The rabbit consciously screamed, trying to lift herself off the floor. It took some doing but eventually, she managed to hoist herself to her knees and quickly eased over towards a wall to catch her breath. As she got some much-needed oxygen, things started to become more clear.
She had been training, specifically because she had a fight next week. That blasted monkey fighter from the park, Pao or as he called himself, the Cyclone. It came back to her. She was practicing, rushing up to the heavy bag and trying to mimic getting in close, ducking under potential strikes.
San had told her that she needed to beat her opponent's gangly reach. Her strategy needed to be perfect, her speed needed to be on point, if she planned on winning.
Just wish she had a partner though, she bitterly thought. Someone she could really spar with… instead, she was alone… San was gone. He left with that stupid fox he was sweet on from the Inarigumi again. She had told him to kick rocks. No, she didn't need him. Screw him.
Fury radiated off of the bruised and battered lop as she willed her exhausted with enough energy to get herself off the ground. She stumbled into the wall, footing still unstable, and caught her breath. After her breathing stabilized and her heart slowed down to normal, she looked at her old patchwork punching bag she had hung up in her room.
She knew she wanted to vent her frustration into her training once more. The rabbit approached the bag like a predator cornering prey and then bolted into action, zigging and zagging before laying into the old heirloom, sticking and jabbing, kicking and striking.
"Keep those arms up. Stay moving." She chanted to herself as she bounced on balls of her heels and shifting in her gait as she circled the bag.
Keep your arms up, protect your head. Use your agility. The lop kept her taped hands up to her face, just like Gouhin had taught. It was like she could still hear the grizzled panda's booming voice lecturing her, coaxing her to stay nimble, stay loose.
Don't just watch their limbs, watch them. They are the threat, react to the threat first.
She whirled and weaved, ducking and evading imaginary punches and kicks, testing her reaction, finding it lacking, and pushing herself harder.
You'd be dead if this were for real, she remembered Lùn taunting her.
She could also hear her cellmate's voice too. You need to rest. What's wrong with Chimera? Why are you so stubborn?
"Shut up." She told his disembodied voice. Shunting San's voice off from her mind.
Her sore body then started to feel just as negative, protesting her activity, her wounds voiced their opinions by making her limbs heavy. She really should have rested, she was essentially trying to race in a car running on fumes.
Fatigue caused her to pause and hang onto the bag for support, giving her reprieve and a chance to take in some air. She started seeing polka dots flashing before her eyes as she stared off into space.
She silently cursed to herself for being so weak as she strained to keep focus and persisted. Fight through it, she chanted. She was too stubborn to quit. She got her second wind and stood back up and faced the bag. She projected an imaginary foe in its place to practice with. A personification of herself.
Her own self-frustration, something to spur her back into action. She mercilessly beat up herself, causing the copy to fall to their knees. The lop beckoned for them to get back up and didn't waste much time laying into them again when they did, tearing into her imaginary self like a hungry carnivore, going for all the choice targets. Floating ribs, kidneys, liver, they all got targeted as she cathartically hit the bag, projecting all of her problems on the sandbag.
The loud smack echoing down the hall as her taped knuckles and feet made rapid contact with old leather. The feel of her knuckles bouncing off the resistant material, the vibration channeling through her limbs, her muscles and body heating up as she danced and hurled blows from a practiced form before switching to another; felt good.
Catharsis.
Just like the old panda had taught all those years ago. Just pound it all away. All the rage. All the stress. All the pain. All the mistakes. It was all her own doing anyway, wasn't it? Yeah! It was always her own doing! She lost, she overreacted. She pushed him away.
"God, what a crummy day ," the bruised lagomorph fumed.
"I know right?"Who said that? She thought, going on high alert. It wasn't San and it certainly wasn't any of the Inarigumi.
Her first mind led her to scan all corners of her cell for the intruder, reaching for one of her knives for defense, but as soon as they were up, it was clear; she was alone. She poked her head outside the cell and saw the halls completely deserted.
"Today definitely could have gone better, huh?"
She quickly whirled around and her good eye widened with surprise, the image of her she had been sparing with reappeared in front of her and actually cocked their head curiously at her, hands at their hip as if waiting for a response.
"Did you say something?" She asked.
"Today could have gone better." It answered. "You got your ass kicked. You ALMOST got laid after getting laid out. San ditched you for that rich uppity vixen bitch… again! You're working yourself to death trying to get ready for a fight you're not even sure you can win. Hell, you keep blacking out just trying to train. Bad day right?"
Kyuu just stared at it, perplexed. It actually spoke. She actually spoke. The image was her after all, technically. Either Lùn had hit her pretty hard in the head during their fight earlier or she really should have listened to San, who had told her to take it easy.
Now the damn things were talking again, she grumbled to herself.
Usually, her image training partners didn't talk back, they were just figments of her imagination, simple constructs designed to just be an opponent. Usually. Yet here she was again listening to one of them just like the shadow Lùn in the park a few weeks ago.
It had to be her mind playing tricks, she reasoned.
" You probably should have listened to San though, your fatigue is slowing you down."
The dark rabbit just stood there throwing punches and kicks, mimicking her previous moves exactly. "Yeah, we're definitely slower than usual. A carnie could easily snatch us and slam us on the ground just like that." It said with the snap of its fingers.
"Don't talk to me," Kyuu growled at… well herself. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and resumed her workout, setting back into a starting position and charging at the punching bag, furiously sliding into it with combination strikes. She tried everything from head scissors to arm drags. As soon as she would fall to the ground, she would jump right back up and try something new.
Keep switching, don't let him lock you down , she thought, thinking about the monkey and how he'd react and counter with that dancey style of his. As she shuffled and hopped potential leg sweeps, the doppelganger followed, still running their mouth, much to her chagrin.
You know what? San was right. We are stubborn. That rich bitch vixen was right too. We area terrible friend, aren't we? We just shove away all of our help, just so we can look tough. Can't be that soft bushy-tailed weakling the world sees us as huh?
Kyuu turned from the bag and buried her fist in the double's intangible guts. "I said shut it!" The other rabbit just frowned at her and shook her head.
"Aaaaaargh!"
A distant shrill scream got her attention and a loud expletive suddenly followed, sounded like it came from down the hall in the old infirmary. She knew that voice, it was Lùn, the one that busted her up today. They had to be still patching her up down there, they both put each other through the wringer earlier.
"That was your fault too." The shadow-her inferred, catching her attention. The dark rabbit in front of her taunted her with a wicked smile. She probably hates you for it now.
"There's no way I'm this mouthy," Kyuu furiously responded, toppling the figure with a set of fast knuckles to the chops. This time it actually affected them, reacting in a way she'd expect, falling to the floor. Barely fazed, her other self stood herself back up and continued to run her mouth.
"Well, I'm you… so yeah, the answer to that is yes." It said. "We just don't talk this much unless we're screwing with people. Guess what I doing?" It said in a sing-songy way.
Kyuu just raised an eyebrow at the manifestation and went back to work on the heavy bag trying not to give the rabbit her attention.
"FuUuUuUCK!" Another of Lùn's curses made it down the hall to her door.
The double quickly took advantage. "You can ignore me, but you can't ignore that she's hurt because of you."
"No, she's fine. No worse than me at least." Kyuu stoically asserted. "I barely got her. She's had worse I know."
Another anguished wail.
"You so sure?" Her other self mocked. "She sounds like she hates you even more now. Doesn't it?"
Kyuu paused briefly, taking a big gulp but then looked at the dark lapine apparition, and gave the shadow rabbit a scrutinizing gaze.
"I know what you are," Kyuu declared as she adopted a more fluid defensive stance before attacking the bag again. "You're just my inse- insec in-se-cu-rity Insecurity. You're just taking advantage of how I feel."
The other rabbit just smirked at her, devilishly. It was almost unnerving to the lop. She never smiled so openly like this. "Oh?"
"Sure, I might be thinking about it… but that doesn't make it true." She rushed in with furious intent. "And since I'm thinking you up, how about you get back to work?!" She shouted, violently kicking the bag hard, aiming for a kidney shot, then sticking the lower half of the bag again for a knee strike, wiping that creepy grin from the shadow's face.
She imagined her insecurities wincing and faltering before her as she came in with some more punches.
The manifestation still tried to talk, even as Kyuu imagined her taking damage. "Well, I'll tell you what is true, Smart-ass! Imaginary Chimera failed us! You said it yourself. Now even the Ice Bitch has us pegged. She thinks we're washed up. The whole arena is going to think so. What are you gonna do if Monkey Man figures us out? Huh?"
"I'll think of something." She told it as she readied for more strikes. She held off briefly as she was starting to tire. Her panting becoming noticeably heavier. The dots were back again. She had to blink and shake her head a few times just to clear her vision. The world was getting darker.
"Oh, yeah… that's what you told San, wasn't it. But since I'm 'you', 'I' know 'you're' full of shit!" The shadow rabbit explained. "Face it. You don't know!"
"No, I don't," She declared, looking up at the shadow. "But I won't give up that easy. I won't lose. I'll come up with something. But first... I'll get rid of you!" She screamed out loud, slamming her fist right into the bag with a heavy haymaker.
Like smoke, the apparition dispersed, leaving her alone again. Panting heavily, she just stared at her throbbing wrapped fist buried shallowly in the hard leather.
Finally, she had peace, but her body still felt at war. The punch had taken a lot out of her. Her little heart was beating so fast, it was practically rapping against her rib cage. The bright polka dots were swarming her face like bees. Then everything went dark again. Her legs gave out and the ground rushed to meet her. Was she dying or was she just passing out again? One thing was for certain; the hard floor definitely hit harder than she did.
As she laid sprawled out on the floor, only one sense remained; her hearing. She heard footsteps, coming her way. Probably him and his fox coming to say "I told you so." She deserved to hear it, she thought. She got herself into this mess. Tired, she just closed her eyes and drifted off into slumber.