Down by the Arena
Baraki the raccoon, in his shrewd tailored black suit and bow tie, had a big proud look on his black-masked coned-shape of a face. The arena had made a killing so far in the betting parlor, in a manner of speaking, and this next match had the biggest bets of all. Regardless of who won, he was going to see a big payout, that was for sure. Tonight was going really well. The arena itself was alive like an electric current, full of screaming fans jumping and making noise all around him. It almost felt like his golden days back in the WBWF promotions, back when he was 'talent' and could generate a 'pop' on his own or rather the reactions he and his partner got in their heyday.
Pops were practically common slang in the wrestling business that meant to describe spectator reactions to the entertainment, akin to orgasm or the phrase 'busting a nut'. The arena was on the verge of its own climax he could tell. Nights like this always gave him a nostalgic walk through yesteryear. They had all come to see some real fighting and damn it they were all satisfied because of his booking. It was like an orchestra symphony and he was the maestro. And now? It was time to begin the final selection of the night.
"Back Alley Market! Are you ready for more?!" He announced, gripping his handheld mic at his commentary table. The small raccoon promoter's shrill voice was amplified to the audible levels of a tiger's roar and his voice carried as it blared over the arena's loudspeakers. He received an equally thunderous response of: "YEAAAHHHH!" from the hyped audience as they jumped up in their seats and screamed for more. However, the black-masked raccoon just shook his head disappointedly. He felt they could do better. He could tune the creatures better than this.
"Ah ah, Back Alley! C'mon now..." He wagged his finger at the crowd. "I asked you… ARE YOU READY FOR MORE?!" He screamed again at them with such intensity. His challenge got an even larger reaction as they all gave their voices for a blasting shout of: "HELL YEAH!", that was so loud that even a bystander on the edge of the block could hear them.
"That's more like it! That's the Back Alley I know! And guess what?! You are in luck fight fans!" Baraki announced, hopping up on his table and hyperactively pointing to all the beasts around him with the animation of a circus showman, practically devouring his microphone as he addressed them. "Our gracious hosts, the Inarigumi, may just have one more fight on the card this evening for ya, but oh boy let me tell you! THIS! IS! THE! MATCH! OF THE WEEEEK! GUARANTEED! Hit the lights!" The lights dimmed as the stage attendants directed a spotlight onto one of the entranceways.
"Hailing from a faraway Latin American Paradise, tearing through the lightweight bracket with the force of a typhoon! Standing in at 4'8" and weighing in at a lean 63 pounds, with a recorded tally of 16 victories, 1 draw, and 0 losses. The Whirlwind Warrior. The Twisting Terror from the Treetops. Everyone give a warm welcome to the challenger and current lightweight contender, Pao….the Cycloooooone!" He exclaimed, rolling the spider monkey's name off his tongue with a fancy Latin flair as he pointed with the exaggerated swagger of a gameshow host.
The whole crowd thunderously popped , the building itself shook like a tremor for the bare-chested challenger, clad in his long yellow and green striped capoeira abadás. The pulsating crowd chanted the title "Cyclone Cyclone Cyclone" over and over again as he and his ape manager trudged towards the cage. A very warm welcome for the simian, seemed a bit too much for the raccoon. Maybe even the spider monkey himself, who looked anything but enthused.
The challenger had an aloof attitude about him. He barely gave his screaming fans much notice. Only his manager, the older gray and black-furred chimp wearing the black and orange cabana fashion seemed to recognize the enviable worship they were basking in, waving in his stead as they passed the clamoring spectators. The ape even tried to raise his protege's hand to wave back and even touch many of their outstretched hands, but the younger simian yanked his arm free and flashed the bonobo his canines with a scowl.
What was his problem? Baraki pondered, crossing his arms. Maybe it was pre-fight jitters? He'd had those before in his early days, everyone usually did. You hate yourself for getting involved with the ring, the pressure, the anticipation, the unknowable, the inevitability of pain. He remembered himself throwing up before his first match. So maybe he was feeling a bit of that? The raccoon could only hope he wasn't about to give a sour performance tonight. The last thing he needed was a fighter with his head in the clouds getting wasted too early by Psycho. The crowd was at peak hype and he couldn't hand out a dud now.
Suddenly, one of his many underlings came up behind him and whispered in his ear. Speak of the devil, that the rabbit had just arrived at the entryway with her llama counterpart. Baraki breathed a sigh of relief, as he was all too pleased to get this show started quickly before Monkey Boy brought the whole arena down with his mood. Mic in hand and in the zest for some flair, he hopped up onto the announce table once more and directed his stage crew to point the spotlights smack dab on the herbivore duo standing in the opposite entranceway.
"And now Market-goers on the right-hand side… standing in at 3'7" and weighing in at 45 pounds, with an insane undefeated record of 19 consecutive victories, 6 confirmed kills some of which very much outside her weight class! Rumored to have escaped the chopping block of some butcher's shop deep in the market itself. I give you the Usagi Assassin! The Hellacious Hair-raising Hare! The Bruuuuutal Bunny Bear Slayer! The Most Lethal Leporid to ever step foot in a fighting ring… probably the only one mind you. You know her, you hate her! The Back Alley's very own... KYUUUUU THE PSYCHOOOO RABBIT!"
By the Entranceway.
San winced and covered his ears as the whole arena came unglued as the loud-mouthed raccoon screamed Kyuu's ring name.
"BOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooo!"
"BOOOOooooooo!"
"I hope you die tonight!"
"STOMP HER GUTS OUT!"
The reaction to her arrival was like night and day. It was clear from the warm welcome of boos and vicious insults who was the real favorite of this matchup. There was even garbage and produce thrown at them on their way to the cage from the stands above.
"Well, I sure didn't miss this," San grumbled, shielding himself from an onslaught of trash. He could see most of the projectiles coming well enough, but it was an annoying task ducking and dodging incoming refuse. Especially the more brazen critics who threw food and drinks. Stuff like vegetables, beer cans, even half-eaten cuts of meat. He had to duck a whole head of lettuce and a soda cup nearly beaned him in the head.
"Hey! Nice aim, assholes!" He exclaimed, feeling his fluffy fleece atop his head for any dampness. It would be just his luck he get covered in who knows what right after he had taken a shower. Pissed, he scoped where it had come from and hawked and spat a loogie right back at them with unnerving accuracy. A pissed-off ferocious-looking lynx was left wiping the llama's saliva from his eye as he shook his fist down at the pair.
"Augh! You disgusting son of a bitch!" They shouted, "I'll claw yer eyes out for that!"
"Well why don't you go for the smaller target next time then, huh?!" San retorted back at them. "The first place prize for that is something much more pointy!" The camelid snorted hot air as he stomped next to Kyuu. "Jerks…"
Outside of some retaliation like that, he had never really hadn't done anything to deserve this shit. He didn't have the infamous rep. That was all Kyuu. But that didn't matter to the collection of angry carnivores. He guessed if they hated her, then they had to hate him by association. Like one of those bad guy wrestlers on TV that the crowd just loved to hate. Whether it was her or him, they were the bad guys tonight.
Kyuu, despite the negative reception, still had a much more chipper attitude. She never really did give a damn about the crowd or their scornful jeers. No, rather her focus was always fixated on beating her opponent, and right now, her sights were set firmly on the black-furred bare-chested monkey pacing about his corner of the cage like a restless beast. She clenched her fists as confidence practically radiated off of her as she waded through the hail of trash and vegetables.
Seeing Pao right now in his fighting attire, just did something for her. Him in his gear and she in her own new outfit, it made the match feel like an… affair. At least she thought that was the word. Something more than their chance encounter in the park. In fact, it almost felt like she was cheating on Lùn as crazy as that sounded. She had never really been in a relationship like most people, but she was privy to how some animals behaved when you were unfaithful to them or like you started fucking another person instead of them. They'd get all jealous, mad, and feel betrayed. And she knew just how jealous Lùn was that she was facing the monkey and not her and in a way that made her want this fight even more. So… this felt like cheating, like an affair.
Although unlike actually being unfaithful, she wasn't going to fuck him, at least not in a sexual sense, she thought, smirking slightly. No, she just was going to beat him up something bloody and prove to herself that she still had what it takes. He had humiliated her that day and that wasn't going to slide with her. Her nerves tingled all over her taut little body as she made her first anticipated step into the wire-meshed octagon. Weeks of waiting, now over. The hot lights above shined down upon her, the smell of the bloody cage hit her nostrils. She was back in her element.
On the contrary, in his corner, Pao exhaled sharply as he made himself turn around to face her. He felt like there was a stone dropped into his gut as he laid eyes on her. She looked… good. She actually looked cute in her outfit, like a red ladybug in her red and black sports top that covered her voluptuous chest and dark bottoms that gave a nice shape to her curvy ass. She was a fine little girl, he thought. Ah, come on… now you think she's cute. He groaned. And of course, they wanted him to kill her? He was supposed to kill someone he thought was cute? He would have killed that asshole from last week after he menaced his tail, but the rabbit? No fair. Those bastards got the wrong guy for this. Fighting is one thing, but killing? Porro!, he cursed and groaned.
"Lembre-se, termine isso rápido." Gustavo whispered, massaging his neck as he got behind him like so many times before. "Será mais fácil para você assim."
Make it quick, huh? Pao's fur tensed up as he jerked away from his so-called mentor's clutches. He had got him into this and he was just damn nonchalant about it. How could he be? "Não fale comigo, porra!" The monkey hissed at him, giving him a deathly stare, and flashed his canines in a fierce display. Gustavo however snarled right back at him.
"Paulo, get yer head in the game here! Stop being so soft!" The ape growled, prodding him and hulking up larger than his protege, flashing his fangs as well. "Softness gets you killed out here! You hear these hungry beasts, doncha?" He thumbed behind him to the pack of bloodthirsty carnivores clamoring for the fight to begin. The majority were behind him, they wanted him to win, but he knew just how fickle they could be. They didn't care about him, they just wanted him to line their pockets and satiate their animosity for the rabbit. If he died out here, they'd just eat him right down to the bone. "You best show dat girl da same fierceness you give me!" The ape snapped, poking his student in the chest.
Though he had a point, the resentment still lingered in the monkey's heart. The ape sickened him. "Terminamos mais tarde!" He growled at the bonobo. He meant it. After this, he didn't know if he ever wanted to speak to Gus again. Probably best they went their separate ways.
"Você vai me agradecer mais tarde!" Gus growled right back, stepping away from him and facing forward, and eyed the competition with a serious glare. " Se houver mais tarde." He muttered to himself as he studied the rabbit who looked more ready for war.
Pao finally picked his head up, just to look at her once more. Sound advice, make it quick? Yeah right. He thought, letting the apes' words gestate in his mind. But could he really do that? He had to. He'd just have to shove that gentleman stuff aside as he said. Just pretend you don't know her, Paulo. He told himself. Hell, you don't know her. You barely know her. Just met her that one time. She's just a rude little girl you taught a lesson too and that's it. That is it. That is all she is, right?" He slapped his face a few times trying to get himself in the zone. "Just look over there and just make her 'the opponent'. She's just an opponent. No, theyare the opponent, yeah. They are your enemy. He closed his eyes and tried to just envision some despicable creature facing him. He opened his eyes and… still, he saw her. He saw the rabbit. Uuuuh…. Porro! He cursed out loud.
Back in their corner, Kyuu kept herself limber as San scoped out the simian, trying to get a last-minute read on the guy as he stretched and warmed up. Right off the bat, he read something very off about the monkey and he knew there was a different animal from the beast he saw the other week. The monkey had been asking for her wellbeing which meant he was friendly plus Kyuu had said he'd been kind enough to wake up after their little encounter. Now though… none of that was present. In fact, he looked annoyed, jaded.
"Kyuu…I'm going to be honest. Your opponent's giving me some bad vibes over there. He seems… either constipated or he's very conflicted I guess? Yeah... I'm going to go with conflicted. You say this guy is friendly right?"
Kyuu took a cursory glance herself. "Yeah, he's a softy… like when he beat me the first time, he could have left me lying out there in the park unconscious, but instead, he stuck around and even bought me a drink even when I had lost the bet. I mean he's a cocky weirdo, but he strikes me as a soft guy with a 'good moral compass'" She said, trying out that word the sheep Matty had used for her.
"Well, I think something's up with him, Kyuu." He said, squinting his large eyes at the simian. "Call it a hunch."
"I don't know. I guess." She said rather dismissively again, studying the grim-faced monkey who was strangely trying his hardest not to look her in the eye. "He hasn't even waved at me or tried to flirt or anything like that… so it is kinda weird. Maybe he's just focused on winning. We are about to fight after all and not have a friendly chat. I should be focused too."
"Well… I wouldn't take any chances," San advised. "I think you should end this quickly." He gulped and exhaled as he risked her temper. "Now now… Kyuu I'm not suggesting-"
"Sannn…" The rabbit tilted her head and glared at him, already sensing what he was going to say.
A bead of sweat rolled down his temple as a nervous smile streaked across his mouth. "Well I definitely don't really want you to… y'know kill him, Rex knows I don't want that… but maybe you should use your knives." He ran his hands through his fleece as the smile graduated to a full grin. "For old times sake? Give yourself an edge? Force a victory over him."
"Is this what this is all about?" She asked, scoffing at the notion. "Don't stress your big wooly head!" Kyuu reassured, playfully punching his tower of a leg. "Telling you now, Pao doesn't rate my knives… I ain't gonna gut him." She narrowed her eyes across the cage, setting her sights back on the shifting monkey who stared right back, mirth still missing from his person. "I'm just gonna bruise his face up is all." She boasted. "That's the worst he's got coming for misleading me and making me look like a fool." A few furious combos thrown Pao's way punctuated her feelings.
San exhaled as he ran his fingers through his hair. Her confidence was way up, which he thought was good, but he still felt the urge to recommend caution. "Kyuu, just hear me out." He said. "Just be careful around this guy. Alright? Treat this like a real fight. He doesn't look like he's here to play. Mind your spacing with him. Outpace him."
"Yeah well, I'm not here to play fight either, San," Kyuu retorted. "C'mon give me that mouthpiece."
Reaching down into their duffel bag, he pulled out a small red herbivore mouthpiece designed for rabbits. Further gifts from the Inarigumi, now that she was training with them. "Here. I'm hoping you'll be fast enough and on guard not to really need this. Like, try not to get hit in the mouth." He advised. "I don't think Priscilla-chan is going to pay for dental… not for you at least. Ahaha." She could hear the nervousness in his chuckle.
"Pfft." She commented, rolling her eyes slightly amused as she slid the piece in. "I'll try my best to keep that in mind." The mouthpiece muffled her voice.
"Will the cornermen please leave the cage at this time!" The raccoon voice ordered over the speakers. "Ladies and gentlemen of the Back Alley Market! I hope you all placed your bets cuz it's tiiiiiime to let the furrrrrrr flyyyy! Ha haa!"
The spectators all went nuts around them. The lynx ring attendant announced it was time for San to leave and he followed, but a thought popped in his head. He turned around and pulled her bundle of lasso from the bag.
The lynx gave the llama a sour look. "Come on buddy! You're holding us all up! We all want to see her get creamed!" He grumbled, forking his thumb out of the cage.
The llama just gave the feline a scowl. "It'll be just a second, pal, this is my friend here," San explained, before turning to Kyuu. "You sure you don't want the rope?" He asked, smiling. "It's an edge y'know…"
"I got this. San." She said confidently, locking eyes with the monkey. "Get outta here."
"Your call. Heh." He issued a light chuckle as his smile faded. Knowing her position, he finally headed out. "Remember our strategy!" He shouted, just as the door slammed shut behind him with a loud clang and the attendant locked them in.
Kyuu nodded his way and marched herself over to the center ready while her opponent did the same. The rabbit wore a foolhardy smirk as she and the primate faced off, he stood a head taller than her and she came up to his chest. She had the clear height disadvantage, but that was most fights for her anyway. She pretty much oozed confidence though, while Pao still looked unfocused. He could barely keep his eyes on her, which was a little concerning. In fact, the rabbit found it weird, much as San had. There was no greeting. No friendly welcome. No weird language. No jokes. Nothing. She'd have at least thought they'd have that going on.
The raccoon's high-pitched voice boomed over the speakers once more: "ALRIGHT FIGHTERS! GET REAADDDY!"
Instead, right to the point, Pao slowly started off his fancy shifting while she started off with a more traditional boxer's stance and bounce. Just a slight stare and the sound of his breathing washing down over her was his only acknowledgment of her presence.
"What's wrong, Pow? Huh?" She teased with a smug grin as she bounced in front of him with a fighter's gait, raising her guard. "You seemed troubled? What? You having second thoughts? Huh? Cuz it's too late for that." She badgered him. His mouth twisted up to speak and she could practically see the words in his mouth, but instead, he withheld, only exhaling and shaking his head dismissively.
"The hell's wrong with you?" She asked, curiously cocking her head at him.
"Nada pessoal, Pequena…" The monkey solemnly responded, raising a brow from the cocky rabbit, who felt disturbed by his lack of merriment. He was a clown that refused to be funny.
"So where is that trickster smile of yours that you had at the park? Huh?!" Kyuu snapped angrily. "You felt oh sooo smug when you revealed you fought down here. You felt so in control when you promised me we'd meet again here and now that we're here, you look all disheartened. I thought you'd be looking forward to this. Cuz I am!" She shouted, jabbing her finger his way.
The crowd couldn't make out what they were saying, but they ate it all the same. It looked like trash talk to them and trash talk before a fight was a common occurrence. It just added spice to the whole spectacle.
"Don't think just cuz you're acting like this now that I'm gonna show you any mercy in here. I'm on the clock and this is my livelihood at stake." She continued, giving him her fiercest scowl. "So you better bring it!"
Pao said nothing to her tirade, not even to laugh off her brazen bravado or comment something cheeky in his language. He just sighed at her and closed his fists, adopting his bizarre dancey ready position, bouncing and swaying from side to side.
Kyuu tilted her head at him. She was sure that would have gotten something lively out of him. Something was off about him, she could sense it, maybe San was right to stress, she thought. She subtly bounced a few steps back as she pendulum'd back and forth to increase her spacing as her llama coach had advised. Soon all the rest of the world faded away, and it was just him and her.
"FIGHT!"
The gong sounded and immediately a large dark blur sped into Kyuu's vision, Pao had opened with a fast sweeping low kick trying to topple her right off the bat. The rabbit reacted swiftly, backflipping safely out of its path and landing on her palms. Endorphins pumped into her body as she bounced back to her feet with a kip-up and began playing her usual game of keep away. The simian pursued, living up to his ring name as he rolled to the mat and spun like a top, kicking out at her in a whirlwind of lightning-fast strikes. As she pushed herself to evade and avoid getting swept up she soon began finding the size of the ring shrinking fast behind her.
However, panic was not a thought on her mind. On the contrary, the wire mesh became a boon of sorts as she utilized it to quickly launch herself off like a springboard. She rolled and landed behind Pao, forcing him to quickly spin and reorient, and then she rushed in on her terms and engaged. Grimacing with a frustrated scowl, the monkey suddenly pivoted and then cartwheeled, bringing his foot down like a sledgehammer with a loud thud. The crowd erupted with ecstatic cheers that echoed around the arena.
The rabbit evaded, rolling forward out of the way and into his flank. Her red-covered knuckles slammed hard into his open face with the quickest and heaviest punches she could muster. Pao's face jerked to the side as he grunted sharply, but it soon became clear that he wasn't the fox by any stretch of the imagination. The rabbit's lighter but speedier punches only mostly served to annoy the taller monkey, who grunted savagely as he swung on her with his own punches. The energetic rabbit bobbed and weaved, one punch nearly clipping her nose as she twisted her head and marveled at the speeding yellow taped blurs fly by precariously. Another punch landed closer, grazing her cheek, forcing a retreat as she back-footed away from him as he tried to follow with a heavy kick that swept him up on his palms with its momentum. Her energetic swift prey agility had her hopping swiftly out of his range before he could properly regain his stance, giving them both a brief respite and time to breathe.
She was definitely more cautious, he evaluated, balancing upside down as he tracked the red and light-colored blur dancing about like flickering fire in his vision. She's brazen like last time, but she knows her limits and she's wary of what I can do. A sense of admiration started to build in him, but he quickly reminded himself of his task. She had to go down and he had to take her out brutally if he wanted to make it to tomorrow unmolested by those leopard goons. He just needed one big blow to the skull. Put her out of her misery. That'd be humane, he thought. Put her lights out then…ugh. The dark thoughts still had an uneasy feeling building in his stomach.
"Quit showing off and fight me, c'mon!" He heard her taunt, pulling him away. She bounced back and forth, baiting him as she energetically shifted her stance. Annoyed, he grunted as he righted him and began his flamboyant ginga swaying once more, his green gaze locking in firmly on her as they circled. Both of them were waiting for the next move.
The monkey acted first, eager to end this all quickly, rolling on her once more, this time attempting an upside-down spinning leg lock, hoping to hook his arm under her legs and pin her to the mat under his weight, but the grapple missed by a wide margin allowing her to escape his range. Undeterred, he kept his momentum and went for another sweeping low kick, however with some slyness he purposefully undershot it. Just as she preemptively hopped back in anticipation he followed through with another kick that landed.
Her eyes went wide when she realized the trap she had just sprung. The foot nearly caved in her gut and her mouthpiece nearly ejected itself from the force that propelled her across the cage like a cannonball. The world was a messy blur as she tumbled across the mat in front of San, who grimaced down at his cellmate. The vicious spectators popped with thunderous cheers for the monkey and San just groaned and slapped his long face.
Of course, it was inevitable that she'd get hit, he knew that, but still, it didn't make seeing her take a hit like that any more pleasant. "Get up! We just started Kyuu! Shake it off! C'mon. Kyuu!" He screamed down at her at the top of his lungs banging against the cage, fighting against the volume of the mob, trying to get through to her.
Thankfully the downed rabbit still had some neurons firing up in that rattled dome of hers as heard the llama's muffled words. Life shot into her as she rose, sharply inhaling precious air and coughing harshly. Her abdominals were on fire. Shit! She mentally cursed herself trying to conserve her breathing and slurped the wet hard plastic piece back inside her mouth, rising up on her knees just in time to see the large black figure of the simian towering over her about to slam his foot down with a loud thud, almost startle San on the outside.
SHIT! Kyuu cursed again as fight or flight kicked in, and she instantly reacted with flight. She frantically juked to the right and scrambled up to her feet up against the cage as the monkey tried to swarm her with a furious set of kicks that had deadly force behind them. He really was trying to get her, she thought.
The crowd erupted with more cheers at each loud *clink* every time the monkey's foot rattled the chain fence with a near-miss strike. The shorter lagomorph's evasion reflexes pretty much saved her as she ducked and dodged each frenetic attack, her soft heels barely touched the floor as the speedy lagomorph danced around the monkey's onslaught. Eventually, he caught her with a roundhouse that barreled for her head.
Kyuu instinctively blocked, but fortunately, her newly purchased wrist guards cushioned her wrists, softened the car crash of a blow as her own fist slammed into her face. Slobber flew from her mouth and just as quickly another kick landed just under her defenses into her flank. She collided hard against the cage and almost as an insult to injury, his swinging tail slapped her right across the face as he completed his spin, dropping her like a tough punch. The crowd reveled in her knockdown once more, but she remained in the fight.
She rose, only for her to catch sight of an incoming kick seeking her stomach, causing her to dive wildly off to the side to avoid. The monkey's kick just grazed her abdomen as it smash in the cage with another loud *clink!* that earned another collection of shouts from the audience. She gathered herself quickly, wincing, and rolled to escape. He quickly gave chase, trying to keep up the swarm, but the rabbit however still had tricks. As he rushed in on her, she pulled a 180-degree turn and swept her shin right into his with a swift and devastating low kick of her own.
"Augh!"
The red shin plates Kyuu wore did their job as well as the wristguards, cushioning her limbs while also amplifying her kicks by a slight margin. The pained shout the monkey made afterwards made her really appreciate Loba's investment in her. Ducking a swift counter from the hurt simian, Kyuu followed through again landing another kick to the side of his calf and began a barrage of a few more strikes, abusing her shin guards on him, attempting to make him falter.
San's early observation eventually rang true, Pao's limbs weren't as defined as most beasts his size. He was simply more lean and tall than he was muscular, given he was a tree-dwelling animal. The wincing simian tried to kick at her himself but stumbled after putting weight on his ailing now swelling leg, hobbling off-balanced. A spinning heel kick from the bunny smashed right into his jaw, putting him right down on his palms. Kyuu felt a bit content with herself as she saw a bit of red leaking from his lips and nose as well indicating she had busted him open good.
Her self-congratulatory praise was a fleeting thought however, Pao quickly countered by swinging his long arm out and clipped her head with a speeding hook punch. The desperate blow only skimmed her snout, but it still sent her stumbling back and giving him time to get back up. She briefly rubbed her nose, the bridge of her nostrils hurt a bit but she didn't let it discourage nor distract her. She instead refocused her attention on him as the black simian rose up once more and hunched over in a more unorthodox and playful style, one suited for grappling. He was still limping from her damage, but he still possessed unprecedented mobility via rolling and using his arms.
However, his facial expression was what really caught her more off guard. He was smiling now. For the first time since their reunion, he actually smiled somewhat. A small one, but a smile nonetheless. It was fleeting however and quickly faded into the more depressing glower. He was suppressing his enjoyment, that she could tell. She gauged that he liked fighting and that this should be just as fun for him as it was for her, yet he was acting like this was a chore. It vexed her.
"What's wrong, huh?" She flat-out asked, risking precious oxygen. "You ain't having fun?! You've been a sourpuss this whole match!" She jabbed her finger.
Pao continued to give her the silent treatment as he rushed in again trying to swarm her with more vicious kicks and takedowns that continued to put her on the back foot as she bobbed and weaved on instinct. After another kick missed its mark, she had had enough. After evading a fast high kick with a backflip, she bounced back off her palms with a devastating mule kick right to the chops that had his head swimming.
"Guess I'm just going to have to beat the answer out of you, huh?! Fine!" Kyuu shouted, seizing the opportunity and beginning to aggressively pepper him with fast punches and kicks of her own, blasting his chest and face. She found his defense utterly pathetic as she began picking him apart. His counters were much too deliberate and telegraphed, they lacked confidence. Another roundhouse from her sent Pao reeling to the mat one more time.
She was becoming less engaged with the fight and could hear the audience around then, a lot of them voicing their displeasure in his performance as well. "What is wrong with you?!" She exclaimed.
He got up coughing and slightly winded rubbing his ribs. "I should be asking you dat. *cough* Where is your monstro , huh? You promised to fight me with the monstro ." I could use dat right about now, he thought to himself. He needed something to distract him…make him go all out. "Give me da monstro ."
Kyuu just flashed him a semi-amused expression. "Oh? Do you want Chimera? Well, You ain't getting it!" She hissed and scowled at him with a sneer. "I decided I'm gonna beat you without it. But as pathetic as you're fighting now. I definitely don't need it." She declared. "Besides… what is with you?"
"We're fighting ain't we? This really da time fer questions?" He shouted with frustrated anger as he swung another kick attempting to sweep her, only for her to effortlessly leap over.
"You call this a fight?!" She growled, as she weaved through another failed combination and struck him with a jab and kneed him in the chin, sending him back to the floor. "You're distracted. I can tell."
"Nothing gets past you, it seems." He muttered breathlessly. She was right, he was not in good form. He was too distracted. "I guess I should tell you den that before dis fight dat my manager made a deal with sum… uh powerful people, sim ?" He groaned.
The cream and brown-furred lop went berserk as she began to lay into him, viciously with more punches and kicks to the side. "Oh god damn it… don't tell me!" She snarled, already putting it together. She figured that of course there had been meddling. "Let me guess! The Inarigumi told you to take a dive because they were afraid I'd lose cuz of my injuries, huh? Cuz you hurt me?!"
"Not so loud… you need to let me- Urk!" He grunted as she smashed her fist poked right into his liver which forced him to drop to his knees and palms.
The audience began to voice their displeasure, this was looked like it was going to be another squash match.
"YOU THOUGHT I WOULD WANT TO WIN THAT WAY?!" She roared furiously at him as she swung a hard hook right to his face, however her fist was stopped in its tracks. The monkey caught it in the palm of his hand.
"Não… on de contrário." He said, closing his hand over hers as he rose up and coughed up a bit of blood from the beating. She struggled but he was naturally stronger. "I'm suppose to win… and I'm suppose to kill you." He admitted, causing her to freeze up in shock as he forced her down her knees. "And now I finally got you. This is nothing personal, coelha!"
Suddenly she noticed his furry black prehensile tail slowly coil behind him before lashing out like a viper striking prey. In seconds, she felt a slight stinging at the side of her neck. There was a rustic scent in the air. Iron. The scent of iron. Blood. She was bleeding. She had been cut. Somehow he had cut her.
Her eyes quickly drew upon the swaying tail behind her and gripped at the end was a dagger stained with blood… her blood. The sight of one's own blood usually does a few things. It reminds one of their mortality. It encourages caution. And sometimes it just pisses them off. Kyuu was feeling all of the above and the latter was soon becoming the dominant feeling. She began to growl and grit her teeth almost akin to a carnivore as she jerked and pulled with all her strength trying to free herself from the monkey's grasp.
"I-I miss?!" Pao was left asking himself, face in utter disbelief. He must not have had it in him to really stab her. Or maybe his tail just had better morals than him, he humorously mused. Regardless he needed to steel himself and finish the job now. He stabbed his dagger barbed tail down at her again like a scorpion's tail to pinned cricket, only for her to squirm and dodge in his grasp.
However, the surprise was gone and his opponent was alert and very much pissed. She saw the impending danger coming and managed to furiously kick the tail off course, sending it barreling into his shoulder, slashing him. The monkey released a high-pitched yelp and his grip loosened allowing the rabbit to slip free. Annoyed, he swung his tail in a wild arc and finally slashed her, a cut to the snout just below her sightline.
"Aaargh!" It was her turn to yelp in pain. Ticked off, the bleeding bunny promptly retaliated, kicking him hard in the chops with her shin. The monkey's head twisted skyward from the blow and he fell like a sack of potatoes.
The blow had him seeing spots, but he was down but not out, he picked himself up and ended up spitting out red and a loosened tooth, but not before Kyuu gained some distance to inspect herself. " I guess… I hed dat wun comin', sim? " He said, rubbing his jaw.
The bloodthirsty crowd behind them was going nuts from the sight of more 'color', regardless of who had issued the cuts or who was winning. Their mood had changed now that the match was escalating fast past the nearly one-sided beat down.
Kyuu scowled at the monkey as her fingers became damp with blood from her neck and nose. Nothing too deep, but they were enough to have a stream of crimson leaking down her shoulder and lips. "I guess I need to kiss my foot because luck just saved me once again." She said, lapping the blood away from her mouth and reaching up for her ears. "You know… I didn't want to do this, but now…" She announced, brandishing her tantōs knives and giving him a fierce snarl and a piercing glare. "Now you're going to find out why they call me the Psycho Rabbit!"
On the outside of the cage
"Should have taken the rope…. should have taken the rope. Errrrrgh…." San lamented, gripping his bangs of wool, on the verge of ripping them out. "Rex, I hate being right all the time. Well… I hate being right all the time and no one listens. " He corrected himself. "I knew we should have taken this fight seriously. But no… we just had to do things the hard way, didn't we Kyuu?" The llama griped, banging his head against the cage as he watched as one of Kyuu's knives struck against the monkey's blade with a high-pitched clang.
"THAT LYING SON OF A BITCH! Honorable champion my tail!" A high-pitched raspy voice sounded behind him, almost startling him.
He quickly turned to see three familiar vixens posted up behind him, watching the action as well. It was of course girls from his girlfriend's crew, more specifically Fa, bat-eared fox, the big brooding one, Loba, and of course Kyuu's girlfriend, Lùn the little fennec hybrid, now out of her fight attire. She had apparently taken Kyuu's advice and freshened up, now wearing a more typical Inarigumi cheongsam garment, red and black surprisingly enough very similar to Kyuu's outfit possibly in support. Perhaps they had planned this, he mused.
"That bastard said he wasn't going to hurt her!" The little pygmy screamed having a fit, so enraged that her wounds were starting to open up again and leak through her bandages.
"Lùn please calm down," Fa requested, running her hand over her smaller sister's head in a comforting manner. "You are being a little too overprotective, don't you think?"
"You don't get it Fa," The pygmy snapped, swatting the taller fox's hand away, stepping closer to the cage, and gripping the wire to get a better look. "That lying piece of monkey crap told me– ASSURED ME, that he wasn't going to be so rough! I shoulda gutted him then… Now he's trying to kill her! He's trying to cheat me!" She began rattling the cage like a wild beast as Kyuu ducked a decapitating swipe from the monkey's tail.
"Cheat you? Aren't you dating though?" Fa asked, sweat rolling down as she tilted her head at her smaller counterpart. "I thought you weren't going to kill her anymore."
"YOU FUCKING LIAR!" Lùn ignored her, screaming impotently. I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!" She was then unceremoniously yanked off by a larger savage-looking hand.
"Lùn, you really should quiet down, you're going to distract Snack like this." The hand's owner spoke. It was Loba the wox, who held her tight away from the cage. "In a fight like this, Bunny Girl needs focus and fewer distractions. Right now she has her blades, so she's at least in her element. You know that from your spars. So calm down and watch."
"But I– Yes... Loba-sensei ." The Fennec mix fox grumbled obediently under her breath, her ears drooping off to the side while her fluffy tail wagged rapidly.
"Thanks for the confidence," San said softly, a slight smile sneaking across his mug as he tore himself away from the action if only for a second. Their presence really felt comforting, it wasn't just him rooting for his cellmate. "Yeah, Kyuu can make her knives dance if she wants to," San chimed in. "I'm not that worried… I just wish she was using her full arsenal. Her rope, Chimera. This fight would have been over a lot sooner. But she was dead set on fighting him hand-to-hand. You can see how that panned out."
"Why are you guys down here anyway?" He asked, curious. The foxes rarely came down to the arena… except for when Lùn fought. Typically they only saw them around the promoter's office.
Fa just gave him a sly smirk, not unlike that of his snow fox. "Well, Fluffy. Two reasons. For one, Oneesan tasked us with your well-being. We have important guests upstairs and they're the kind that well… requires that we keep you safe and out of harm's reach, if you catch my meaning."
San could only imagine they meant a rival gang, like those leopards he had encountered the last time.
"And then, of course, Loony here came down to see her wittle girlfwen fight." The bat-ear teased, playfully tugging at the fennec's tall ears. The pygmy however paid her little mind, as she pulled away and focused on the fight.
"I'm gonna fucking skin him alive if he wins. That's what I will do." Lùn grumbled to herself as she pulled her kukri blades off of her belt. She curled her lips as she rested against the cage once more, just waiting with a murderous scowl. Her fur stood on end just from watching the lop as she deflected another attack from the monkey. "Hell… I'm probably going to skin him if she wins! He lied to my face, saying he wasn't going to hurt her too much. He's fucking dead… YOU HEAR ME!" She started screeching. "This ain't over you creep!"
"Lùn that's enough." The wox scolded, reigning her back in. "What did I just tell you? Besides, you can't just make threats like that against assets without Oneesan's express permission. Remember. You do you want more scars?"
The pygmy frowned and stepped back once more, sulking in the shadow of the wox. "Fine…"
San shook his head and returned his gaze to his cellmate. His heart beat just a beat faster as he watched his cell-mate continue to clash with the agile monkey. "All we can really do is hope that her knives are enough."
"Snack will pull through, Sheep boy…" Loba said with steely-eyed conviction. "I feel that she will."
"Thanks…uh really." He smiled. "Also for the last time stop calling me Sheep Boy, I'm a llama!" He spouted at her, clenching his fists.
"Okay, okay. You're a llama," The wox grinned, showing a few of her fangs, amused as she let him have that little outburst. "Jeez. Well, you herbivores certainly got one thing in common."
– To be continued