Hearts of Darkness

Manami was never one for conversation.

Everyone always looked at her the wrong way, telling her that she could work on being more “approachable”. How they tried to convince her that she needed to change. But she didn’t need to change. It was everyone else that needed to change. Meeting people like Styx only renewed her confidence in those thoughts. Clearly, there were people out there who truly understood the way things were. That knew how to get what they wanted and wouldn’t let anyone stand in their path. It was enough to make her smile from ear to ear.

Little did she know, that toothy grin of hers wasn’t going to last long. She saw her opponent charging in again and immediately ducked to the side, attempting to slip past whatever move was coming at her next. Except it wasn’t a move. It was a grab. A very tight one at that.

“Damn it-” She choked on those words as Styx wrapped her arms tightly around her torso, squeezing every bit of life out of the wolf.

Son of a bitch. Now she could empathize with those lemons Fumika had brought her this morning This is most definitely the last position she wanted to be in. Her head felt like it was going to pop off. She felt her spine grating and crying out in pain. No doubt about it. These arms were more than capable of snapping bones and putting wrestlers into early retirement. Seems River was more than capable of keeping up with her promise. What a dangerous woman.

Only one real way to handle this. She did warn her about the legs.

Getting her thighs around Styx’s waist, Manami locked her shins squeezed with all her might. If she wanted to break bones, the Wolf Girl was more than happy to start things off. Losing a rib or two wouldn’t be a big deal for someone so fierce, would it?

”Gotcha.”

Styx had a harsh laugh the moment she managed to latch onto Manami, finally putting an end to all that acrobatic annoyance. This was always the most satisfying moment of any match where her opponent tried to play the whole raging bull/matador routine. They always thought they could wear her down, pick her apart, death by a thousand cuts. But this wasn’t a stadium, she wasn’t a dumb animal, and they only had so much space to work with. Sooner or later, one way or the other, they got the horns.

With Manami closed, she could feel the differences in their bodies, compare their frames as she crushed with her inexorable grip. Manami was smaller, but had tighter muscle, focused, the product of a rigorous routine. Styx’s muscle was rougher, covered up by bulk, but as she flexed and drew out her power, it became more and more pronounced. Between the two of them, it felt like you could’ve crushed diamonds.

Or ribs. ”Grah!”

Styx hissed as iron cables disguised as legs clamped down around her midsection, making her wish she’d drank much more milk in her early years. She could already feel her innards bending and bowing to the might of those steely thighs, and it was only a matter of time - seconds, surely - before they gave.

Good. That hiss turned to a rough laugh, as a rare chill went up her spine. It had been a long time, too long, since she’d legitimately felt threatened in a match, like her life was on the line. She’d missed it. ”Think I love you, Manami.” She ran her tongue up the She-Wolf’s neck. ”And not like a sister.”

With that moment of craziness out of her system, she went about responding in kind, charging forward at full speed to ram Manami’s back into the nearest turnbuckle, looking to slam her with all the momentum she could muster. At the same time, she dug her teeth into her foe’s shoulder and clawed at her back, scratching away like the beast she was increasingly feeling like, wanting to inflict the maximum amount of damage.

Not that there was much room for it, but if anyone doubted the overwhelming strength residing in this woman’s iron body, all they had to do was take a peek into the ring and see those thoughts disappear.

From the outside, it must have looked like absolute torment. The poor smaller woman being utterly crushed and ravaged in the middle of the squared circle like an oversized chewtoy. Her desire to scream muffled by the intense pressure bearing down on her lungs, threatening to shatter her ribcage and bend her in half.

But Manami loved it. Every second of their contact was another second that stimulated her more and more. Everything about this was simply looked far too promising. The blood in the air. The raging rhythm of their heartbeats joining the battle for dominance. Even the warm tongue that ran up her neck was welcomed all the same.

“Don’t know….the meaning of the word.” She said between struggles, looking back into the woman’s dark eyes. “But...you’ve got my blood going good, River.”

Not so subtly, it all reminded her of her ameatur career. The biting. The scratching. The licking. Ah, how nostalgic.

No way to avoid it this time. She hit the turnbuckle hard, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t use it, even if it was just in a small way. As the force pushed them hard into the corner, Manami would snap forward before Styx could She didn’t want to stop there though. The bloodlust had taken root in her mind now. She needed to savor this.

Keeping her face close, she’d bare her teeth and lean down and bite down strongly on Styx’s bottom lip. Forcing down just enough to let a trickle of blood run down her chin, the Wolf Girl would tug it back slightly as she locked eyes with the beast woman before releasing, letting an audible smack fill the distance between them.  It could hardly be considered romantic. It more resembled an animal staking its claim than anything intimate, but it was more than enough for her. Even with the oxygen being squeezed out of her, Manami was psyched beyond belief.

Back to it. Stuck firmly between a rock and a hard woman, her body twisted this way and that for freedom while her legs went back to work. She still had that rib to claim.

Romantic? No, that definitely wasn’t the right word for anything going on, here. Styx hated the notion, anyway. If the AFW had proven anything to her, it was that the idea of pure romance was pretty much dead. It was hard to imagine a place like this flourishing in a world where that was a real thing

No, no - this was more primal. More natural. Styx wasn’t flirting, wasn’t overthinking her approach here, and Manami clearly wasn’t going out of her way to impress. They were just letting everything go and running the way the were meant to. Raw. Pure. Brutal.

Styx loved it. She loved it even more when Manami responded to her bitter bite in kind, by gnashing away on her lip and yanked it about like an unruly terrier. The noise that came from Styx’s gut was a mix of rage, surprise, and arousal, so intertwined that it was impossible to tell which drove it the hardest. She wouldn’t have been able to answer the question, herself, but she did know one thing: she wanted more. The taste of blood ran wild over her tongue, demanding she spill some of her foe’s to even the equation. ”You fuck.” She spat, hammering Manami against the corner again. Her words were fire, but there was the slightest bit of playfulness underneath. She meant what she said, always did, just not as much as she would’ve for most. ”I will-”

Her threat was ended early when a raw pain burst through her insides, making her croak and arched her back, teeth clenched tight. Manami had taken a rib, it seemed, and she couldn’t even say if she was more mad about the pain or the fact that she’d been beaten to it. More would be soon to follow, either way, if she didn’t change this around.

As much as she didn't want to make this a ground war, she didn’t see much choice at the moment. With Manami still clenched tight, Styx stepped out of the corner, turned around, got a running start and leaped forward, doing a bellyflop towards the center of the ring - one that would have Manami’s entire body for the cushion.

Over 200 pounds of solid weight, crushing her on top while an unforgiving canvas pummeled her from beneath? Styx was about to find out how durable Manami really was.

That wicked look was everything she could want from Styx.

By way of reaction, there was only one thing she could expect from her opponent. Something in line with every other action she’d taken by now. Specifically, being really fucking angry. And sure enough, here it came. Not that it was wholly unpleasant. Manami could feel the energy in the movement and the undertones in her voice. This is just the way things are.

Then came the body slam. She had the foresight to predict a move like that was on its way, but it didn’t prepare her in the slightest. When she hit the canvas, she hit it dead on. A cry escaped her lips as her arms and legs slapped back down onto the canvas. She felt limp and dead to the world for a moment. The wolf’s eyes were closed and mouth hung open as everything went black for her.

But from that darkness came a flash of light. A spark. Undying inside of her. More. She needed more.

Despite the pain surging through her body, she couldn't let this slip her by. In spite of the shock rippled through her, Manami could get one more between them. Wrapping her arm around Styx’s beck, shed tighten her legs and arms into a guillotine choke.

Styx wanted to test her endurance, Manami wanted to test hers. Sure, she had a big body with the bulk to match, but what did that really mean? That she could lift bigger weights. How intimidating. This woman was no doubt used to being on the offensive. How would she react when the tables were turned?

Manami had a few guesses.

Down she came, all of her weight crashing down on Manami’s taut but smaller frame, and you didn’t need a physics degree to get the gist of what was about to happen. It wouldn’t be quite as devastating as if she’d flew off the top rope or something crazy like that, but the impact would be resounding, one that was guaranteed to take her breath.

She hit. Manami took the full brunt of the blow. It worked.

For a moment, anyway, but it was a sweet. For an instant, Manami’s legs stopped their ceaseless squeezing, the constriction ended, and she could take full breaths. She savored them, too, letting out a long sigh as the pain left her ribs and gave her a moment of much-needed relief. More than that, she was on top of a vulnerable Manami, and she was of a mind to do all sorts of damage. ”Now,” She started to pull up. ”Now comes the fun part.”

Not yet, not exactly. Before she could straighten up, Manami yanked her back down, and the not-so-gentle giantess found herself in another hold, this one constricting her wind pipe as well as her midsection. Her grunt was one of surprise, pain, and panic, she fought in vain to get free of the She-Wolf’s jaws, but it wasn’t happening. The woman was like an octopus, and every moment struggling seemed to make the next moment even harder.

She needed out of this, even worse than she needed out of the last one. And unlike last time, her options were even worse.

Gritting her teeth hard, she started the slow crawl towards the ropes, pulling her way along the mat as Manami kept the hold. All the while, the referee looked over her, confused and shaking her head. ”Uh...excuse?” She squeaked. ”There’s no rope break in this match, what are you-”

She showed the referee exactly what she had in mind, when she wrapped her arms around Manami and proceeded to sloppily roll her way out of the ring, falling over the apron and taking them both for a crash landing on the floor below. Her bet was that it would be enough to jar the She-Wolf and give her a moment to escape those lethal legs, before she got cut in half. Plus, it would put her within reaching distance of some interesting toys.

That shut her up well enough.

Manami was enjoying this. Almost too much. It was surprising to say the least that she had actually managed to recover from that slam so quickly. The strikes up to now had been anything but gentle. Then again, her mind was flushed with adrenaline. Overtaken in the lust for battle. If she fell on a thumbtack, she probably wouldn’t feel it. No, it would take much more than this to stop her now.

When Styx started making her way to the edge of the ring, Manami was all but certain that her mind had been flushed with desperation. She must have been in a panic, desperate for a way out now that she was on the ground and out of options. Even worse that she was down one rib, and likely wasn’t keen on losing another. Too bad for her. Once the wolf sunk her teeth into her meal, she seldom let go.

Really, she should have known better. Her opponent for this bout was anything but a weakling. She’d sooner die before surrender. It was her match. She knew the stakes and proceeded as such. Once they were both dragged to the edge of the ring, Manami hadn’t fully realized what her plan was until they both tumbling out and onto the ground.

“Clever bi-”

WHAM! Those were the only words to escape Manami’s mouth before she hit the ground. Hard. Two hundred pounds of muscle coming down with you will do that. Wasn’t the worst pain someone could feel. Wasn’t the easiest either. It felt like she had been turned into a human pancake. All of her senses were blown out of her. For the moment, the Wolf Girl merely laid on the ground with her hands at her sides and legs spread wide, eyes closed and life gradually returning to her over time.

This wasn’t a good idea. Styx didn’t have an delusions on that. The fall wasn’t exactly a ball of fun for her body. Manami was clearly many thing, but soft wasn’t one of them in any sense of the word - landing on top of her hardened body was only a smidge better than just flopping on the floor, and equally jarring. It did no favors for her aching rib. Or aching ribs. It was hard to tell with so much pain still in that area, but she wouldn’t have been surprised to learn that Manami broke another one.

But it worked. Fuck it.

They hit, and if Styx had been the sort to believe in anything beyond herself, she would’ve thanked god for them coming down with her on top. Sloppy, but it worked, as she felt Manami turn off like a switch, the life fleeing her body. It wouldn’t last long, Manami was too tough, tenacious, and batshit crazy to stay down. But it was a good start.

Styx rolled off her body and flopped down on her back, laying beside her with one arm draped across the She-Wolf’s chest. She took a moment, only a moment to catch her breath, pushing past the pain and recollecting herself.

Only a moment. After that, she raised her arm up and brought it down hard, driving her elbow into the middle of Manami’s face, aiming right for the nose.

If Styx was planning something for her - and she most definitely was, no doubt about that - Manami wasn’t seeing any of it. She hit the back of her head hard. Even without the extra two-hundred pounds of crushing force, it was a bad way to fall. Her body was still recovering and her mind focused on the repairs. The only visible signs of life were the steady rise and fall of her chest. Another moment or two, she would probably be back in it.

Probably. Maybe. But it didn’t happen that way. Styx made sure of that. One strong elbow came down square on her nose, snapping the Wolf Girl awake in an instant. She heard the crunch and felt the structure denting against the impact. Her hands immediately rushed to her face as she rolled over onto her knees, curling up and planting her forehead onto the ground. Her teeth clenched, her body tensed, her face felt like it was on fire.

Her hands went up and down the ridge, inspecting the damage. Not broken, but definitely bruised the bone. Blood started running out from her nostrils, dripping bit by bit from between her fingers to the floor.

“I'll...fucking get you for that.”

Easier said than done. Manami wasn't in the position to do much if anything at the moment. The nose was a bad place to get struck even casually. Styx went for anything but that. The blow sent her mind reeling and her head thumping with pulse after pulse of agonizing pain. As much as she could admire the harsh brutality of it all, there was a point where it stopped being fun even for her.

Okay. Maybe she’d get a little angry.

Styx couldn’t see the impact of her elbow thanks to the way she was laying on the floor, but she could feel it well enough. She’d hit enough people in the face over her lifetime that she could pretty much assess the damage she had done in an instant - a busted nose, and a nasty one at that. Bullseye.

She sat up, looked over, and sure enough, Manami was gushing the red stuff as she reeled from the blow, no doubt thinking all sorts of unhappy thoughts. She wanted to revel in the fact that she’d scored first blood, but as she sat up and the pain in chest flared up, she knew better. Definitely two busted ribs, and Manami would break a few more if given half the chance.

She would just have to do something about that, wouldn’t she? The first step was doing something about those lethal legs of hers.

”Yeah, yeah, I’m sure you will.” Styx reached under the ring apron and rooted around in the dark until her fingers happened across something hard and metal and slender - a folding chair. One of the classics. Nice. She pulled it out, stood up, and held it tight as she paced around Manami, planning her next shot carefully. ”Until you do, though? Your body’s mine.”

And, just to emphasize that point, she raised the chair up and drove the edge of it into the back of Manami’s knees, targeting those tender tendons with a forceful strike. Biceps femoris, if she remembered the name correctly.