Year of the Dragon

There was some fear here, even though Army was trying his best not to show it. Imugi was a strong woman. She was fierce. She was wild. With them so close, they could sense each other, feel the attraction, and he knew that if he wavered, he wouldn’t be the guy she was hoping to meet here. He needed the same intensity he’d had in the ring, the same spark he’d used to light the fire.

All the same, he couldn’t help but worry that, maybe, he was coming on to strong. He didn’t like listening to his id too much, wanted to go off his instincts, but the rational parts of his mind had their warning bells flaring. He was going too fast. Too soon. Too strong. Too dangerous, after what happened the last time he’d been in a similar situation with a woman.

And he just did not care.

It seemed like she didn’t, either.

There was the blush, of course, and he was so thankful his skin helped hide whatever his own face was going through. He hadn’t been sure how well his quick idea would go over with her, but she was down, so down, and the gentle touch of her lips seemed to give him new energy to work with. He was still aching from their fight, still had a dozen scattered pains, but it didn’t matter. He wanted Imugi. Now. Setting something up for later just wouldn’t cut it, ran the risk of letting this heat between them cool off.

”Desk. On it.” Army was quick to hop off the bed and make his way over to the desk, giving it a hard push around the room and sending a few magazines to the floor in the process. He’d just started to toss them back on - didn’t want either of them to slip - when last words perked him up.

He shook his head and stepped forward, arms folded, a bit puffed up. Didn’t work to impress her the last time, he doubted it would now, but there was no harm in mixing in some show. For fun. ”A little, maybe. I’m thinking you need the advantage, though.” He waved his finger around the room. ”You had all that space to work with in the ring, but here? Nowhere to run. So I think you’re mine, Imugi.” He licked his lips, getting them nice and wet as he stepped back and began a few quick stretches. ”Rules? Pins, submit, knockout or…” His voice trailed off with a little laugh. ”...do you just want to go for it and see what happens?”

A pleasant little smile grew on Imugi’s face the moment after Army sprung into action. It was reassuring, in a way, to see his eagerness match her own. She took the initiative after him, kicking some the chair to the side and pushing a couple others to the wall beside it, along with the doctor's stool. She grabbed the bed frame by one side and lifted the leg slightly as she pushed forward, pivoting it on the spot. Once she made a bit of progress, she dropped the leg and came back to its side, pushing right up against the wall’s length. She went to the other side of the room and did the same with the other bed, leaving them a nice, open square space to run around in.

She turned around and made her way back to Army’s bed, picking up the bag she walked in with and tossing it nonchalantly onto one of the chair’s with a noticeably wide grin on her face. She couldn’t help it, really. The air was thick with anticipation and every second they spent not tearing into each other was another second they risked losing all the intense heat finally dying down.

But he did bring up a good point. Imugi was no stranger to close quarters, but that was with men that were, frankly, far below her. Most of them were either sluggish or out of practice, just desperate to make a quick buck or cop a feel. But all of them made the same mistake of underestimating her. That wasn’t the case here. It wasn’t enough that Army was just good, plenty of men were good, but he got his first impressions out of the way early. He didn’t have the arrogance, nor the disrespect, of holding back just because his opponent was a woman half his size. This wasn’t going to be easy, but if anything that just spurred her on even more. Already, her mind was coming up with interesting ways of keeping Army on the same wavelength.

In one smooth motion, she brought her leg up and her foot high close to her head, bringing one hand under her thigh and another a bit higher to the side of her shin. She leaned forward, keeping Army in the corner of her eye as she put her leg on the edge off the mattress and leaned the rest of her body into it. “Nah~...” She said, somewhere between a sigh and a straight response. She switched legs and repeated the motion, her ring shorts making a bare minimum attempt to cover the soft spot between her legs. “No rules.”

She brought her leg back down and turned back to Army, rolling her arms behind her and cranking her neck, her blue ponytail flitting gently behind her. She dropped her hands to her sides and crouched down slightly, just ready to cut loose. “Just you and me and-” Her eyebrows suddenly raised when a little lightbulb flicked on in her head. As much as she liked the idea of just going ‘till they dropped, it was also pretty vague. Pretty exhausting. She wanted to at least have some energy left over after this, just like she knew Army did. The idea she was getting now, though, just might have fixed that.

“Actually…” She stood back up and looked back to the bed. With a brisk walk over, she would grip one side of it with both hands. With a couple strong heaves, she hoisted it up and out of the frame, letting it crash onto the tiled floor with a loud splat. Leaning down with her grip still on it, she tugged it over to the center of the room before letting go and standing back up with a slight breath to the side. “Alright, how ‘bout this?” She turned back to him with a slight smirk. “I’ll play nice and let you have the chance to avenge yourself.” She held up one finger as she turned. “One pin. Just like before.” She pointed it down to the mattress. “But it’s gotta be on this bed. Move it around all you want, but the three seconds can’t be anywhere else.” She placed a hand on her hip, taking a second to gauge Army’s reaction. She crouched down with her hands apart, looking with predatory eyes as her blood boiled and the hair on the back of her neck stood up on end. “So? Ready for another nap?”

What if the doctor came back? What if Felina came back? What if they  broke something? What if they broke a lot of somethings? What if Army fucked up any of the numerous injuries he’d taken on from the proper match? What if people heard the noise and came calling?

What if, what if, what if.

Army’s mind was running a list of scenarios, imagining all the ways he could fuck this up without even really trying, thinking about the multitude of outcomes. There were a lot of them. Many different realities where this ended in them getting suspended or locked up or even worse. He had an angel on his shoulder, telling him to just talk sense with Imugi, do this at another time, set something up in a safe environment. They could use one of the rings in the gym, reserve a private sparring ring, or just lay some mats in his apartment. Numerous options.

But then he turned around saw Imugi stretching. A small body, but she didn’t waste an inch of it. Her muscles rippled, shown clear while she lifted her leg up with amazing flexibility.  He’d spent more than enough time in the gym to know the work that went into a fine figure like that, the hours and training and the toll it took on you. It was a marvel, and it was so close, and…

...and she was looking at him, wasn’t she? Yup. Right out of the corner of her eye.

Yeah, the angel could fuck off. The only question on Army’s mind now was whether or not he’d take the shirt back on. Off. On. Off. On.

Off, yeah. With that quick deliberation, he pulled it over his head, sliding it over while she moved the bed about and laid out an interesting set of rules. He liked the idea of pinning her. He liked the idea of pinning her under a bed even more. But what he liked most of all was knowing that she wouldn’t make it easy for him, that he would have to claw tooth and nail to do it, that she might just as easily put him down there instead. Two victories in a row? She’d never stop giving him shit over it.

Army snapped his arms out, then brought them in tight, going into his orthodox stance. He stood on the opposite side of the mattress, just outside of range, and leaned forward while his legs began to move. Bouncing. Finding his rhythm. Just about ready.  ”Nap? I’m wide awake.” He smacked his lips. ”Ding, ding.”

The bell rang and Army sprang forward without a single pause. They knew each other now, so they could skip the feeling out phase - he came in and threw out a hard right cross at her head, holding nothing back in the blow.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Imugi was kind of patting herself on the back for coming up with that stipulation.

For all the comfort she was feeling towards Army right now, there were still a few impressions from their match she was working over. He may have been hurting, but she hadn’t exactly gotten away unscathed either. Her body still felt a little sluggish, her muscles still tense from all the adrenaline and injury they’d been forced to soak in. With the mattress rule, it would at least tempt him from just grabbing her and slamming her into an on-the-spot pin count. She could kick out of one Orange Crush today. She wasn’t so confident about another one. Not on this floor.

He made some decent points, too. She was no stranger to close quarters. If anything, this space was more an environment she was used to, except the walls were proper plaster rather than concrete and blood splatter. She could work with it, but could she work with Army? He moved fast for a guy his size, not only on his feet but with those hands too. One haymaker to the temple and this would be pretty underwhelming for a second round.

There were some doubts, then, needless to say. But then she finished her stretches and caught him tearing off that shirt again and she honestly didn’t care whether or not he knocked her lights out, so long as her hands got around that body one way or another.

Imugi stayed crouched with her feet apart, shifting her feet from one leg to the other as she waited for the “bell” to kick things off. She watched his sides as he got into his stance, which pretty much told her what he was going for off the bat. The only question was where and when. Left or right? Left? Right? Left? Right. And he was coming in strong.

Her eyebrows shot up for a second, the rest of her body almost followed along with them at the snap movement Army made. The difference between how he was starting now and how he started some hour ago was night and day. He definitely didn’t move like he was injured, but then again, neither did she.

His fist came roaring towards her face, and she ducked low as she stepped forward, a couple strands of her hair getting caught between his knuckles. As she went low, the little Korean pivoted on her front foot, spinning on the spot as she brought her back leg up to crack her heel against the side of Army’s knee as he stormed past her.

Imugi should’ve been afraid of him. Or, at least, concerned about the position she was in. She was tough for her size, sure, but she wasn’t invincible, and she was light enough that he could ragdoll her from one side of the room to the other if he got a good grip on her body. This room was unforgiving, the floor had no give, the walls could crack and splinter. He wouldn’t even have to hit her with anything big - a regular suplex could’ve done heavy damage.

She knew. She had to know it. But when he looked into those eyes - those gleaming, haunting, glowing blue eyes - he just saw anticipation. She was waiting, either to wreck him or get wrecked. Either way, he couldn’t keep her waiting any longer.

Army charged.

The cross he shot out had enough power to knock down a man bigger than Imugi, even a man bigger than Army himself, and he was sure it could’ve won this for him...if it hit. He wanted to say that she dodged the blow, but that didn’t feel like the right word for what she pulled off, too simple. She flowed around it, water with the waves, moving with a subtle grace.

He took in every part of it, watching as she danced underneath him, seeing her sway and spin to make the most of each step. She was turning, spinning, swing her leg out, and-

Army barked, a quick, rough shout of pain, as her kick found its mark. He took one wobbly step forward, before he slammed his other heel down and threw his body backwards. He jerked his arm around, intending to hit Imugi with a quick swing of his elbow, but he would’ve been happy to slam into her at all. Anything to catch her off guard.

If Imugi knew even the slightest bit what intimidation felt like, she must have left the feeling behind with the rest of her life in Seoul. There was a tension welling up inside of her, but that was more instinct than anything. An interesting mix of anticipation, excitement, and a few other things best left in the back of her head until later on.

The only bit of anxiety she could have felt was in the charge. When things kicked off between them and she had to get reacquainted with the flow of things. How did Army move? How hard did he hit? How did he react? A million questions invaded her mind and manifested all at once in one single, smooth movement underneath his fist. She landed her shot, getting a nice shout of pain from the handsome pugilist as confirmation.

A slight smirk made its way onto her face, having drawn first blood. For all Army’s strength and experience, at the end of it all, he was still just another big guy. She knew how to deal with big guys. Keep moving, stay out of sight, don’t let them grab you. So long as she kept that in mind, she’d be-

Oh god.

“Crapcrapcr-” Her words were cut short as she attempted to scurry backward, only to be caught by Armando’s upper arm slamming into her stomach, drawing spittle from her lips as she coughed roughly, being forced to the floor back first on impact.

It wasn’t as bad as taking the elbow, but with an arm as thick and padded with hard muscle as Armando’s, it hardly made that big of a difference. A squash rather than a stab. It hurt like hell either way, forcing one hand to try and push away from the arm and the mammoth it was attached to while her other went to nurse her gut. Her legs kicked about beneath her for a moment before they slammed down on the tiled surface, her whole body caterpillaring to try and inch away from Army as best she was able from on her back.

If there was one thing Army knew, truly knew, it was when his fists landed a solid impact. Often times, he wouldn’t even have to gauge someone’s reaction to know how a blow affected them. He could sense the way his strikes landed, knew the difference between one that landed clean and one that missed all the marks.

When he hit Imugi, he could feel shiver run through him, starting at the point of impact and flowing all the way up his spine. Her body was small, but compact, tight and taut, but the blow sliced through her all the same. A deep hit. One of his strongest. Only the best for Imugi.

He spun about on his heel and watched as she staggered away, gasping and gawking, until it all became too much and she flopped on her back. Vulnerable. Open. Retreating. The initial reaction was to take pity on her, and if this was their first encounter, he damn well might’ve.

But then he remembered the Orange Crush, the way she’d taken it and kept going, how she’d knocked him out clean. She didn’t come here to have a light tussle, she’d came to fight.

He stepped forward, hopping a bit on his aching leg, going as fast as he could with a knowing smile. ”Going somewhere?”

He reached down with rough hands and grabbed her by the ankles, lifting her up with ease, as if she were nothing more than the world’s sexiest sack of potatoes. With a hard tug, he hoisted her up and hefted her onto his shoulder, forcing her to bend her spine across it. Her wrapped his arms around her torso and pressed down with his full strength, bending her in two with a Canadian backbreaker rack.

He doubted it would get a submission from her, she wasn’t the type to give in so easy. But it would wear her down, and it gave him a good excuse to feel her chest against his arms and whisper straight into her ear. ”Everything you wanted? Good so far?”

Half a taunt, half genuine curiosity.

Imugi hadn’t forgotten that this wasn’t their first bout together anymore. She felt that had to be known. She and Army had had plenty of time to get used to each other in the most straightforward way possible. He’d thrown her, she’d thrown him, and it was just enough for her to come out on top. But now, here, in this room, they’d let everything run free and were going at this no holds barred. Even she wasn’t stupid enough to think things would go exactly the same way.

She just didn’t expect the rebound to come quite so quickly, but here she was. Near crushed to death by two hundred pounds of mean muscle and with a compressed pair of lungs to boot. Her body wormed across the tiles as she kept her hands on her gut, facing the ceiling the whole way through squinted eyes. She should have been thankful that she’d gotten a moment to breathe at all with how roughly she’d had the wind taken out of her.

It was a short-lived mercy, of course. The most it amounted to was a couple scooches backward before she looked back down to see Army gaining on her, even if it was at a hobbling pace. Her eyes shot wide as the petite Korean got a nice little reminder of the kind of strength she was up against, being taken off the ground in the blink of an eye by her legs and draped over his shoulder into a hold she wasn’t quite familiar with. She got the gist of it soon enough though, when things got topsy-turvy and his arms locked down on her chest. The pain on her back was immediate and piercing, and the stretch he put on it definitely wasn’t doing any favors for the damage already lining her gut.

She shivered against the words whispered into her ear, not quite expecting the heat that brushed past it. There was a slight gap in her breathing, a heavier rise and fall of her chest than the previous breaths. Despite the intense pain building in her back that only got worse with every crank, every second she stayed in this position, Imugi grew a sly little grin on her lips.

“A little...too gentle...actually.” She said, bringing her hand away from the arm at her chest to grab the underside of Army’s jaw.

At first, there didn’t seem to be much rhyme or reason to it. She hadn’t moved her other hand, still busying herself with trying to find some relief from the torture rack. Her lower body, clear out of Army’s view, sprung into action and began to coil like her namesake. Her steel abdominals pronounced themselves as she arched her spine slightly, then immediately went to throw her legs up and over, as if attempting to touch her forehead with the tip of her right foot. However, as her body curled, she’d swing her right leg over and under Army’s exposed jaw, hooking it around his neck.

In the event she managed to secure the leg, physics would do the rest. Her body would naturally go to align itself, digging her leg further in as her hips twisted, rearing Army’s head back as she strangled him and, hopefully, off balancing him enough to bring them both down to the floor.

Army had admired Imugi’s body from the first second he saw it - purely in a professional sense, of course - but that was nothing compared to what he had now, having her over his shoulder with nigh-unrestricted access to her body. It was hard to believe someone so small could have this much muscle packed into her form, but nonetheless, here she was. He could feel every twist of her body against her arm, feel the sinews shifting and the tendons stretching, the terrible power she’d managed squeeze into her form.

He was a gym rat. He’d logged countless hours in, did more work in a week than most guys put in an entire year. He knew the kind of effort that went into creating a body like this and maintaining it, and it just made his blood that much hotter.

It was impressive. It was alluring. It was…

Army bit his lip, a hard gnash, something to keep his mind in check as he continued to jostle Imugi on his shoulder, testing her flexibility. He wanted to win, wanted to put her down and even the score, but there was another desire, too. Something swelling up, something that wanted to use that bed for purposes that were much closer to its intended design.

If Imugi’s shiver and gasp were any indication, she was having a similar struggle. Good to know. ”Too gentle?” He leaned in closer now and let his lips brush against her ear with every word spoken, testing the waters even further. At the same time, he started to take a step back and maneuver about, getting in front of the front of the mattress. Moving into position, though he couldn’t be sure what for. It would come to him. ”Think you’ll feel the same way after you wake up?”

Army was just getting ready to take Imugi for a big plunge, when her arm around his jaw and yanked it back. No big deal. Nothing he couldn’t fight his way out of. A minor setback. He could just yank his head back out, and he was about to do just that...before he leg came around his chin and made that idea much, much harder.

Her thighs were a steel vise, clamping down on his throat with inexorable force. She was light, yes, but she knew how to use what little weight she had, and this application was more than enough to send Army tumbling to the floor, crashing flat on his back. As much as that hurt, his mind was more on his sudden inability to breathe, and he reached up to pry away at her thighs, frantically fighting for every single wisp of air that he could steal. "Goddamn-"

Imugi needed out of this hold, and it wasn’t just because of the pain. That was probably her most immediate concern, of course. Army’s strength was something to be feared, and that wasn’t just because she was only able to meet him at shoulder height without getting up to her tippy toes. With the ease her put her over his shoulder and kept pressuring her torso for all it was worth, she was willing to bet that anyone caught in this spot would be having a rough time. Every second she stayed locked in was another jolt of pain to her back and another creak of her ribs.

But that was only part of the problem. The rest was whispered into her ear through a pair of lips brushing against her lobe, wafting hot breaths over it with every word. The words he was saying were one thing, the sensations that accompanied them were another. It made her body jolt, mixing together feelings of danger, pain, and pleasure into a single, amazing combination. Her fight and flight instincts were going haywire for a moment, not even registering that she was being set-up for a big splash. If there was a time she needed to get free, now was it.

She reared her leg back and over and managed to catch it underneath Army’s neck. There was the expected gasp as his airways were cut off, then she watched as she slowly leaned back, gritting her teeth as she mustered whatever she could to break free. Then, like a big oak, Army slowly teetered back on the spot and fell to the floor with a nice splat on against the tiles.

Imugi followed close beside him, landing hard on her rear with a grunt, but recovering almost instantly with Army absorbing the bulk of the shock. Her legs went to work in an instant, putting her horizontal on the ground as her legs wrapped around the pugilsit’s neck and tightened them, working his neck like a pair of steel cables. She let out a quick sigh of relief. A second longer might have done her in, but at least now she could enjoy this little reversal. Already a sly grin was growing on her face as she rested an elbow on the ground, resting her face in her palm.

“You can just give me a tap if you want and we can just skip to the part where I pin you.” She chuckled and leaned over, giving the side of his body a quick slap. “Unless you’ve come around on this…”