Bloody Plushies - Masuyo Ai vs. Seren Morgan

She could hardly focus on much else. The only thing she was concerned with was putting Seren down.

That was the only goal drifting through Masuyo’s mind as she planted her knee on the woman’s wrist. It was the position more than anything that was making her so aggressive. The back of the skull was by far the most vulnerable area in any fight. Impossible to guard,  Gin had told her time and time again to never let up when the spot was exposed. It could turn the tide in an instant. It was a ripe opportunity and one she desperately needed to even the odds a bit.

The Demon pounded her relentlessly. Breathing heavy as she reeled her arm back, eyes focused on nothing but the target laid before her. Stay down. Stay down. Stay dow-

The second strike managed to clip her, but the third strike whiffed right past Seren and hit nothing but the canvas, leaving a slight dent in the material. The next thing she knew, her opponent had buried her heel into her cheek, putting the Demon on her back. When she looked up, Seren was already rolling away, headed out of the ring to recover undoubtedly.

Masuyo had no intention of letting her slip away so easily. The doll breaker had never afforded her such a luxury, after all. The last thing she needed from this woman was for her to get her head back in the game. She’d rather whatever sparks were going off in that twisted mind of hers to keep going. To have her on edge and always guessing what to expect from the Demon for just a little longer. Although, her next move was straightforward enough.

The MMA maven took after Seren. As the doll breaker nursed her ravaged arm, Masuyo would slide sideways beneath the bottom rope and shoot her leg out, aiming straight for Seren’s face. Whether she hit her target or not, she’d land the same way: on two feet, knees tucked low, and staring the monster straight in the face, doing her best not to blink as their eyes locked.

The sensation she might have had from burying her heel in the demon's face was lost on her as she rolled to escape the ring. She had spotted her marker, the massive plushie at ringside and chose to head there where she knew what awaited her.  The distance was further then other ways to leave the ring, but this way assured her an advantage. She clutched her right arm, wincing as each roll only heightened the throbbing pain coursing through it. Clearing the bottom ropes she spilled out onto the floor with a noticeable lack of grace, her head was spinning too much to manage something with more finesse. It didn't matter. A small fall was the least of her worries. She had precious little time to execute her plan and an arm working against her.

Through a snarl she worked her injured arm, shakily flexing her bicep. She spit on the ground in response to the pain, a thin tendril of saliva still managing to hang on from her lips. Her fingers traced the ground, finding what she was looking for, the reason she came to this end of the ring. Willing her right arm to comply, she grasped at the weapon beneath her, gripping it in both hands as she pushed herself up into a crouch, head craning to peer into the ring from over the apron. Masuyo was charging, almost at her in fact. She waited, remaining low as one of her feet slipped back in preparation.

She sprang backwards accompanied by a loud metallic jingling, narrowly avoiding the demonic torpedo as she exited the ring. She wasted no time in glaring or spitting insults at this woman she now despised, no, she just wanted to see her laid out in a bloodied pool along side the ring she had abandoned. Out here, truly was her playground. Every surface, every item  could be warped into a tool of destruction to serve her ends. She was more at home here than she ever would be confined to the ring, caged in by springy ropes.

Boom... squish. Goodbye, demon.

She had moved immediately to intercept Masuyo as she landed, everything coming together as it should be. Her arms had been pulled back to her side, and now, with the twist of her body she was swinging them up, from left to right. The large metallic chain she gripped so tightly, the very same chain which had been used to drag her chariot to the ringside briefly dragged along the floor kicking up small sparks before it took flight, shipping violently out at Masuyo where she had landed. Regardless if the chain struck the demon or not, her arms raised, circling the chain overhead before swinging it back down for a second chance to obliterate the woman before her.

In her rush to break her face beneath her heel, Masuyo hadn’t noticed Seren’s subtle search along the edge of the ring. All that she saw in her mind was a woman on the retreat. She dove low, shot her leg out...and missed. Frustrating, but at least she was keeping the pressure on. Denying her opponent the chance to recover. She didn’t plan on stopping there, either. Her feet planted on the ground and ready to spring forward.

Although, even in her rush, it was hard to ignore the sound of swaying metal that followed in Seren’s wake. That in itself was rather foreboding. Then she saw...sparks? It wasn’t until her eyes glanced away from the woman’s unmoving eyes that she noticed the chain clutched in her hands. Masuyo still had her arms low when the doll breaker swung it upward, striking the Demon on the cheek. A wad of blood spat out of her mouth as she stumbled to the side. A hand reached up to her cheek, feeling the torn skin before looking back at Seren. A chain fighter. Great. She knew how to throw it too.

Swinging it over her head, however, was a true feat. Most people just kept it close, cracking it like a whip and using it more as an extension of their fists. Not this one. Those muscles weren’t just for show. When she held a weapon, it was one with herself. In the most twisted way possible.

That left Masuyo in a rough position. The smack had sent a shock through her system, messing with her reflexes. If she tried to dodge, she didn’t have the confidence to get away from the chain in time. That left one option.

Tsk.

The chain suddenly came down, splitting the air as it drew near. It struck with a disgusting crunch on her shoulder, a spurt of blood coming from beneath the shackles. She bit down, denying Seren the pleasure of hearing her cry and keeping the pain from overtaking her. The second after the chain clashed, Masuyo reached up and snatched it, never breaking her gaze from Seren. The scowl became a grin in the blink of an eye.

“Not bad. These things aren’t easy to use.”

Quickly, she wrapped the chain around her hand while reaching over and firmly grasping it with both hands. With a strong yank, she’d pull the doll breaker towards her as she stepped forward, throwing her chain-wrapped arm towards Seren’s face with a lariat. Wonder if that half of her face was still tender?

"Peek-a-boo!"

As she brought the chain upwards and caught the demon watching her reel back almost quelled the rage. Though brief, her defensive spat helpless beneath Masuyo had stoked a fire deep inside her that few ever did.

She loathed being subjected to many of the simple pleasures she delivered onto others. Being restrained was among one of if not thee most frustrating for her.
She could go blow for blow, hours a day and be as happy as a clam. There was a thrill to it all, and while pain could often times be too intense to enjoy for her, it was fleeting. Being shackled down was something that always stayed with her and drove her to a dark place. Darker than usual which was saying something.

"I... See... You."

She spoke in time with the swinging chain over head, one fluid motion carried in part to her one good arm. While the other helped, it was there for stability more than power. This really only served as a demonstration to what she was capable when driven to act. Masuyo looked hazy, she looked like a sitting duck, she looked like a dead woman. Her arms swung down in a swift coup de grâce motion bringing with them a harbinger of bad tidings. The chain struck, she felt the rattle, she saw the flash of red. Her fingers clenched over the chain, her intention wasn't to stop there.

The demon took the blow in strides, even complimenting her. She wasn't certain if it had been genuine or simply a tool to offend her with the casual nature of it, but she actually took it to heart. For a moment she didn't want this woman to drop dead. It was a very brief moment. She had wrapped the chain around her arm, so it was to be a game of tug of war then? Had she been at her full capacity, there was no telling what the outcome would have been. Masuyo willingly wrapping up her arm could have been immeasurably damaging if she had lost in this moment. Seren however, blinded by hubris, accepted the challenge. As both women yanked the chain, she had already lost. Her right arm didn't have the capability to face Masuyo in a battle of strength head on any longer. Her grip fainted as her muscles rebelled to being asked to push themselves with how battered they had become with no room to recover.

She was pulled forward, stumbling. She saw her fate and there was nothing she could do about it. Or was there? She threw out her hand in a vain attempt to intercept the lariat. It proved ineffective, and ultimately more damaging as Masuyo's arm roared over her like a wild fire, a pinky and ring finger caught up in the force defying naturally anatomy as they bent beyond where they should. It had done precious little to halt the attack as it shuck her in the collar. Her body kept moving despite her upper half being knocked towards the ground causing her to awkwardly flip, before finally thudding against the hard ground with a rasping gasp.

Finally, there it was. The tide was turning.

The smack of her opponent’s skin echoed across the arena. The sound of rattling metal filled her ears. Masuyo’s stretch from ear to ear upon seeing Seren leave the Earth, just before falling back in earnest. Masuyo tilted her head up to the ceiling for a moment, breathing heavily as her raven locks as she heard the terrible gasp escape her opponent’s lips behind her. This was her chance. The Demon turned around and took a step forward, ready to capitalize on her advantage...until the pressure started building up in her shoulder.

All at once, the pain came rushing back in droves. She clutched the gash in her shoulder as she knelt down to the floor. The impact had been worse than she thought. It wouldn’t be a surprise to learn that the doll breaker had The pain resonated with the rest of her body, sending off patches of nerves like dominos. Everything was on fire. Her body ached and her head thumped relentlessly. But it wasn’t nearly enough to deter her. She couldn’t let this chance escape her. The woman was down and it wasn’t going to stay that way for long.

Bearing her teeth, Masuyo lunged forward, spinning around as she came in low and planted herself on the woman’s waist. As she went, she began to undo the chains around her arm. She gave Seren a leer, happy to give her a taste of her own medicine as Masuyo quickly wrapped the chain once around her neck before pulling tightly. She didn’t rise right away however as Seren had. Something caught her eye. Blood. Her blood. The same Seren used to mark herself. Kept from drying from the sweat and tears of their conflict. The Demon leaned closer.

“Got something on your face.”

With a flick of her tongue, she lapped the blood away, erasing it from the doll breaker’s being. Of course, she wasn’t under any delusions that she wouldn’t lose any more blood to Seren this match. Hell, when the dust settles, her opponent may be drenched from head to toe in the Demon’s vitality.

It was the implication that she was moving to erase. It was a blemish. An eyesore. Masuyo wasn’t one of her toys. She was the monster in this ring. Seren had stepped into her domain, not the other way around, and she intended to prove that now. The Demon shot back up and cranked the chain around her neck, jutting her arms out to the side as she crushed her windpipe. Whatever deterred her adversary from taking her lightly again, she was happy to apply.

The doll maker had been laid out, landing hard on the unyielding floor outside the ring. Her head lulled to the side to stare down the length of her arm. She turned her wrist, the searing pain in her hand, and the twitch from her digits as she observed two had been jammed back unnaturally and remained at a steep angle in the wrong direction... She'd have to fix that. Late though. Now she had to worry about other things. It was strange, almost an out of body experience as she saw Masuyo climb on top of her, almost as if watch from outside her body. Sounds were muffled, her vision slowly returning from the oily haze that seemed to coat everything as her eyes adjusted to the lighting shining down on her.

The chain jingled as it was coiled around her throat. A familiar feeling. Fuzzy memories of her younger years, before the prize fighting, before the wrestling. They had always loved dares as a child, before they understood how cruel and worthless other people truly were. Though they had come full circle, molding Seren into something akin to those people, only now a bigger monster. She eyes quietly followed Masuyo, felt the woman's rough tongue drag across her cheek. She must have thought herself so clever. She wondered how long that would last.

Seren threw her head suddenly forward up at the waiting face of Masuyo who had put herself far closer than she should have given how their encounters have gone so far. He leg jutted up next, knee tucking in to throw the woman back forward or drill the base of the woman's back from where she sat mounted on top of her. She'd throw up her head again trying to obliterate the woman's nose with her forehead. If the demon wanted to take back her blood, she'd have to share some more.

The biggest difference between the two choking one another was Masuyo decided to make her move before choking the life from her, and did so where Seren still have full use of her limbs. As if that all hadn't been enough, her shoulder twisted as she hooked her arm around. She couldn't close her fingers, they refused to clench bent back as they were so she left her hand open instead seeking to drive the solid base of her palm up into Masuyo's chin as hard as she could. She was going to make this woman paid for every second she stayed on top of her. Even with many of her facilities in check, she had plenty others to make up for that, as her makeshift assault from an advantageous position would prove.

That was rather out of character for her. The lingering tongue, the thousand-mile stare, the lack of remorse. It was hard to believe this woman had mastered the way of the harmonious spirit.

What is this heat coursing through her veins? The pulse traveling up and down her being. Her biceps ached, her shoulder flared, her stomach burned. So why was the pain going away? By all rights, it shouldn’t be, yet as the tension dug into her cuts and poured blood from her wounds, the more it spurred her on. Kindled the flame.  She just wanted...to let go. Why?

There wasn’t time to think about it. The only thing on her mind was Seren. Just Seren. Only Seren. Always Seren. The chain was in her hands and around the neck. All that was left was to tug down, crush her windpipe, and-

Shit.

The feral woman’s forehead slammed square into hers, drawing a few idle blinks from Masuyo as she reeled back. That was until she was met with a knee to the back that sent her reeling forward again. Her adversary was like a bucking bronco, throwing a heinous effort this way and that to knock the Demon off. And it looked like she was about to succeed. Masuyo wasn’t letting it go that easy, however.

As the doll breaker forced her knee into the Demon’s back for the second headbutt, Masuyo met her with a fierce scowl. She clenched her teeth and, at the last moment, knocked her head forward to collide her forehead with Seren’s. She dug in, keeping their faces close as she burned her eyes into hers for a moment. A bead of blood ran down between them, slipping from Masuyo’s forehead to run between the woman’s eyes. Would this match end when one of them collapsed from blood loss? Had that ever happened before?

I’ll drain you first.

Seren disagreed. A palm striking the underside of her chin sent Masuyo back. The shock traveled up her jaw and rattled her skull. Her grip on the chain loosened as she tumbled to the side. She scrambled to her feet and leaned her back against the ring apron. She spat a bit of blood to the side. The side of her tongue had taken a bad scrape. Her head was spinning, her legs felt weak. She was shoved into a corner and Seren had managed all of it from the ground, with one arm.

What a terrifying woman.

It was conflicting. The joy she felt as she rammed her skull into the demons face. It was tempted, and tempted hard by the pain. Her brain scream out from both sides, not yet recovered from the elbows that moments earlier hammered her scalp. The pressure was almost overwhelming, the sensation was something along the lines of what she assumed it felt like to be a disembodied brain floating in a jar of formaldehyde. That wouldn't stop her from doing it again, as many times as she would have to. She would willing smash her face, bones breaking, teeth tearing from her jaw, into this woman as many times as it took to leave her in a bloodied heap. It didn't matter the cost, it would be worth it in the end.

Her body twisted to ram her knee up at Masuyo from behind, the sole intention was to bring her stupid shocked face back, close enough so she could turn her pretty features into a road map of hamburger meat and poor life choices. The demon had other ideas, meeting her head on, literally. Seren glared up at her, one eye wide the other twitching as her pupils quaked violently, boring into this woman with such malice she wonders if her thoughts alone could cause her to explode in a shower of blood, bone and broken dreams. A crimson tear slipped down along Masuyo's face before gravity peeled it free dripping down to catch the subtle ridge of her ring burned face, riding along the edge to ink it's boarder in sanguine brilliance.

Her grit teeth parted as she ground her forehead up into Masuyo's , contemplating sinking her faces into her face and tearing off a chunk of a brow, or a cheek... maybe the nose. She could feel the chain around her neck. Desperation thrown to the forefront, past rage, past violence, past everything. Her hand twitched, protesting an attempt to ball it into a fist, two fingers bent back unnaturally. She swing her palm up through them, at Masuyo, her shoulder lifting as she followed through with the blow with all her might, envisioning cracking her skull in half. She could see the X-ray set to the lit screen now in her mind. A dark blot with jagged cracks splitting it down the middle, and the doctors would wonder how it came to be. She knew though...

Her hand snapped to her throat, ripping the chain from around her neck as she staggered to her knees. Her chest heaved as she took in large ragged gasp of air, eyes locked across the way at the demon. She raised her left hand, two fingers in particular on display for her adversary to see. Her handiwork. She slowly reached out with her right hand, clenching her fingers around her mangled digits and PULLED. Her body shook as her head dipped, gasping, choking on the pain. Then nothing. She knelt there hunched... silent...

Seren threw back her head letting out a howl of pain and anguish. Her rasping cry embodied the moment for her on a primal level words and feelings could not. When it subsided, her right hand fell away as she flexed all of her fingers again, albeit rather twitchy with a noticeable twinge of pain tugging at her cheeks. Her head lulled to one side as her sunken eyes locked back on Masuyo and she rose staggering like some form of undead horror with death in her eyes.

With a quick jerk to the side, Masuyo felt the blood running through her jaw once again. There was likely damage, but that went unnoticed until the match was over. For the moment, her mind was too focused on one single individual. One individual and all her ravenous bloodlust. She pushed off the ring apron and looked back at the kneeling woman before her. Part of her wondered how Seren would claw back from this one.

Another part of her wished she hadn’t even asked in the first place. The doll breaker held her hand up, displaying the disgusting twin fingers bent and twisted at angles thought to be incapable from one strike. At first, she assumed that she was showcasing them to the official, letting her know the extent of the damage and that the match should be called. The woman in stripes just stood looking on from the ring, hesitant to get near the bloodshed, and merely looking on at the feral woman with wide eyes.

Because she wasn’t looking at the referee. She was looking at her. Masuyo merely looked on as the woman grabbed her fingers. Then she heard the crunch, the tendons and cartilage wrenching beneath the skin, scraping against one another. Her mouth dropped, bringing a hand back as if to defend herself from the horrific.

Then her opponent stopped moving. Masuyo gave the ref a double take, who just kept looking towards Seren’s still form with trembling hands. She wasn’t fit to continue...was she? The Demon took a step forward.

“Seren…”

What answered back wasn’t human. It was the cry of some hellish beast, baying for death and revenge. The audience reeled back from the wail in one, collective wave. Masuyo’s blood curled beneath her skin. Her hands raised to cover her ears, wincing at the sheer pitch of her howl. When it finally ceased, she noticed the once broken hand twitching at her side. For any other wrestler, but that would have been absolute agony, leaving them bawling on the floor. As Masuyo had quickly learned, however, Seren was not just some wrestler. Not just some woman. Not just some human.

“...what...the hell are you?”

She felt herself backing away. It wasn’t a conscious decision. It was as if her body had learned what kind of a threat this woman was, and that she was to be avoided by whatever means possible. Her mind had no say in the matter. Fear was beginning to take root within her again. Damn it, she couldn’t win like this. Between the pain and the mind games, half of that fight seemed to be against her own body.

Calm down. Calm down.

Faith and aikido were one in the same. Hesitation would only dull her strikes. There was still time to recover. As Seren made her way off from her knees, Masuyo knelt down to hers. Her thighs rested gently against her shins, she closed her eyes for but a moment, exhaling one breath of relief before slowly opening them again. Here eyelids were half-closed, her pupils focused on the dull concrete beneath her as she let her mind lull into a state of reflection.

Just one second. Just one second of clarity was all she needed. She’d brave through this madness yet.

In a hunched state she lingered, right shoulder drooping into a limp extremity. Her frame had a faint sway, body loose and unsteady. She was glaring at Masyuo, though only one of her eyes were visible from how her head was dipped. This small beady eyes flicked briefly from the object of her hatred but returned to fall heavily back to the demon. "I'm fine..." She murmured to herself, with words not meant for anyone's ears. Her head bobbed, nodding to nothing.

They had argued over carrying on. Was it worth it, really?

To her answer would always be yes.

Seren had placed a black mark on this woman, and like all things she set her mine to, she saw them through. But her mind wasn't the problem. It was her body. Physical limits could only take her so far. Were she able to subvert the limitations of humans she would battle until her very existence were chipped away and ground down to a fine powder. None of that mattered. She didn't matter. It would never nor could ever come to this. She was disgusted with the reality of it all.

The doll maker wasn't certain what had set this in motion. Why she was so driven to destroy this woman in particular. Though, she was hardly the first or the last to be placed on the list for such things. The question of "Why?" was something they discussed at length but rarely did those seeds ever live long enough to bear fruit. It brought her some measure of joy, yes, to rake these people through hot coals. But was that all it was? A simple delight of causing pain. Feeling pain. Surrounding oneself with violence. No. She couldn't put it onto words. They couldn't.

Words were worthless.

"Stop." She hissed under her breath. Roughly she dragged a forearm across her face, taking with it the saliva, mucus, and blood that unflattering marred her already distorted features. Moving forward each step was a trial. She labored on with another... her body ached. Another... her head throbbed. With each step she pulled herself upright, a twist marionette whose strings had just become untangled. She found herself accepting the thrum of pain which had taken up residence in her husk. She would survive. She always did.

The doll maker paused mid step... Then withdrew to stand in silent observation at Masuyo as she knelt beside the ring. Her upper body leaned to one side with her head fixed at a strange birdlike angle. Her blood smeared, battered and scared visage wore an incredulous look of equal parts confusion and interest. She could have tried to run the woman down. She could have procured another weapon. She instend did the unthinkable.

She waited.