Year of the Dragon

It was not a graceful fall. It couldn’t be, really. Army was a big man, and he tended to make a lot of noise when he hit the floor, especially when he had insane, blue-haired miniature amazons attached to his head. Such was the case here, and the resulting impact was enough to rattle the walls, shake the cabinets, and make the overhead lights wiggle. If there was anyone in the adjacent room, they were asking questions now, no doubt. They’d probably get the staff to come over and check out this room. Maybe unlock the door.

Army could not have cared less. Audience or not, fines or not, his sister’s bitching or not, he and Imugi were finishing this.

But not right now, and not like this. Imugi’s legs clamped down on his throat, sliced into it. It wasn’t the worst scissorhold he’d been in, in terms of pure power, but she had an advantage that the last woman who went for it didn’t share - her legs were small enough to not just crush his head, but to straight-up choke him. Army never had the pleasure of having his neck in noose, but he had to imagine it wasn’t too unlike this.

Relentless pressure.

Ceaseless tightening.

Smooth, solid thighs…

Army had been making a vain effort to pull her legs apart, but at some point, his prying turned to caressing, feeling the contours of her muscles through his fingers. Impressive stuff, really, but he forced his focus back. Air and time were both at a premium.

He couldn’t pull his head out of the vice grip, but he could work with it. As she squeezed away, Army turned his head clockwise, squirming about in the hold, working for every inch, until he was facing her, looking up the length of her chest to the smiling face at the end. Cocky and sure of herself and in control of things. Could he change that?

He had some ideas on that front, at least. To start, he brought his fist up and dropped it hard into the center of her stomach, driving it in deep towards the middle, seeing if it would be good enough incentive to make her let go. If it didn’t work...well, he’d be more impressed, but he’d also have other ideas he could go for.

Imugi never felt like her legs got the appreciation they deserved. They weren’t something she surrounded her fighting style around, but they definitely weren’t something one could ignore either. She’d practiced a few kicks and did her morning runs. Even before she got into fighting, she’d worked hard as a national sensation to keep them as strong, flexible, and appealing as South Korea could want. But between her height, choice of hair color, and stonewall abs, they were rarely something her opponents seemed to take into account.

So it was a nice little surprise when she caught onto how Army’s fingers had switched tasks. At first, he went for what every guy in this position had tried, digging between their thighs and doing his best to pry them away. Then those struggles died down and she felt the tender touch, the gentle caress as his fingers trailed up and down her supple skin. It brought a small little smile to her face, very much appreciating his intrigue. For a second, she took that as is his answer. Guess he didn’t mind being stuck in this position.

That is until he punched her in the stomach. Nothing held back, either. She could tell. Flattering.

She wheezed and winced against the impact, closing one eye and keeping another on Army. For a split second, her thighs clenched, ready to repay him with some extra pressure, but stopped in the same instant. Her abs weren’t exactly feeling golden after Army’s impromptu body slam and whatever that shoulder move was called that he put in her next. Just keeping the scissorhold going was causing some strain and taking punches from a man who, as the evidence would suggest, definitely knew how to punch wasn’t going to breed anything good.

Imugi quickly unraveled her legs after the first hit, letting his neck free and pushing away on her back before going to roll to the side. She had a parting gift for him though: a quick kick to the face before she barrelled away to the side.

Army could make a long, extensive list of places that were far worse to be than between Imugi’s legs, writhing around as she squeezed the life out of him. It was fun, and not just for the immediate and obvious reasons. Just sitting there while she teased him, pulsed her legs, flexed with far more power than someone her size had any business wielding...yeah. Yeah, he could’ve done that for an hour or two. He got the feeling she wouldn’t mind it, either.

It was a weird little thought, but one he filed away for later. There was no guarantee that he’d even see Imugi beyond today, that this was anything more than a one-time thing. He just really hoped it wasn’t - he could tell, this was the sort of person he wouldn’t mind having more of in his life.

Bah. Mushy stuff. Knock it off.

Army focused and started to summon his strength, intending to lift Imugi up with her scissorhold and turned into a sitout powerbomb on the mattress - it’d be murder on his ass, but even more for her spine. Before he had the chance to put that plan in motion, though, she released the hold and gave him a consolation prize with her, kicking him square in the jaw.

The impact made a sharp crack and knocked his head to the side. Stung like mad, though you wouldn’t have known it from the short laugh and the smirk. ”Over already?” He licked his lip and tasted a tinge of blood. Nice. ”Kind of enjoyed that.”

Army said those last few words as he raised forward, trying to close in on Imugi before she could get her defenses out. This time he kept it simple, lashing out with a right hook from above and a left hook from below. Long, looping blows, covering a lot of area. Not that big on speed, but that wasn’t the point. The way Army saw it, this enclosed space was made for him. If he swung around enough, he would hit her, sooner or later. She couldn’t avoid and evade forever.

God, Army was tough. And while Imugi had always held a lifelong dream of finally achieving the title of Captain Obvious, she really just felt that it had to be said. Especially after she took a couple rolls to the side and brought herself to one knee, only slightly believing what she was hearing.

They’d been running the gauntlet together barely an hour ago. He’d taken plenty of hits, hard slams, and in the end, took a long nap because of it all. Now what was he doing the moment he woke back up? Getting right back at it. Imugi put him in a scissorhold, gave him one of her better kicks today, and he just kept coming. In the rush of it all, in this close quarters, with that large and amazing body so close to her at all times, she could hardly remember the reason they were doing this. Why did she even come here?

That. That little smile on his face that she returned with one of her own. She had to see that at least one more time before this day was over. “The night’s still young.” The little Korean giggled as she went to stand back up to her feet.

Army wasn’t giving her the time to rest, though. She was still slightly hunched over when he came running at her like a freight train. The first blow came in fast, swinging wide, but with killer velocity. She hopped back a step and dodged it with relative ease, nearly catching a few strands of hair. It was immediately after that that she noticed the next blow coming from below just in her peripheral vision, zooming with the same speed as the last. Right. Armando had to be a boxer. Strikes with follow-through like this didn’t come from just anyone, and if he were up against anyone else the next strike would easily be enough to put them down for a while. But Imugi was on guard and still had enough energy to make things work. She just leaned back, going for another leap behind her…

...and felt the back of her heel hit the counter. Oh, poo.

The blue-haired harpy threw her arms up in an impromptu guard that may as well have been made of wet tissue paper for all the good it did. Army’s roaring fist came through like a hurricane, whipping her arms clear to her sides and smashing against her stomach, up her chest, and right into her jaw. Her feet took off from the ground as Army’s quick uppercut put her in the air for a good second and a half before she came crashing down atop the counter, sending an avalanche of pill bottles, pencils and loose papers over the side to the floor between them, her head lulling from side to side in a daze.

Even as Army closed in on her with the intent of knocking her senseless, he had to admire the way Imugi moved, the flow of her body as she went into action. It wasn’t just that she was fast - plenty of women in the AFW were fast. Hell, most of them were, and he’d been in situations like this more often than he cared to count. The David and Goliath thing. The ‘Catch Me If You Can’ thing. Considering the size difference he was working with nine times out of ten, it just followed.

But he couldn’t think of any who moved like this. She dodged his first punch like he’d told her about it a day in advance. The bare minimum of movement needed, wasting no effort, flawless, and she did with ease.

He could only imagine what she’d do to the Tension division when she started building momentum - he was probably one of the better trained guys on the active roster, and she was running circles around him.

Or, she would, if not for the not-so-insurmountable problem of not having enough room, something she noticed as she was trying to dodge his second punch. There was a bit of furniture in her way, and while she did an admirable job getting her guard up, well…

”Gotcha.”

It didn’t work much. At all, really. She was sent flying back in a nice arc, soaring through the air from the impact, and damn, she even looked great when she was taking a punch. How did that work?

She came crashing down on the counter, much to the dismay of all the inanimate objects she’d clattering about. From the look in her eye, that one had left her world suitably rocked, which gave Army a rare moment to take stock. Not long, but a few seconds, enough to really consider his next move. He had quite a few moves he wouldn’t have minded trying out her, eager to see her reaction, but there was one that stuck out. Something he’d wanted to do before, but hadn’t had the chance. Couldn’t pass up the opportunity.

He took a hot second to rub his shoulder and kick a few pill bottles out of the way, then stepped over and reached out, hauling Imugi’s upper body up and forcing her to sit upright on the counter. ”Hey.” He spoke low for some reason he couldn’t fathom. ”Wake up.”

In a quick, snapping motion, he snatched Imugi off the table, wrapped his arms around her chest, and pulled in for a crushing bearhug, mashing their chests together. A crude, simple move, but one that had worked well for him in the past. His arms flexed, his muscles expanded to give her as little space as possible, and for a final bonus, it put them in a position where they could be close, see that crystal blue in her eyes, really savor the moment and still deal out damage.

It was only temporary, a set up for his next move. But he’d enjoy it until the end.

Huh. Now that Imugi thought about it, she actually kind of liked being an idol. Waking up at five in the morning every other day was a bit of a pain, all the dance rehearsals and aerobics go on for hours, and practicing for interviews felt like taking a high school test that never ended. The fans were the worst, though. Demanding, persistent, fickle. It took every inch of her to not just tell them off over national TV on more than one occasion. But she could see the point in all of it now. She was giving joy and inspiration to millions across the world. That was worth a bit of blood, sweat and sleep deprivation, wasn’t it? She could look back on these years with pride, joy and…

...where was she?

The fog obscuring her vision cleared a tad as she forced her head to give a couple shakes. She blinked once, then twice, and started to make out the room around her. She was on a desk, a doctor’s office by the looks of things. Getting examined? Was she in a fight? She...did remember that part, but she didn’t remember how it ended. Her mind was still a blur, barely registering her head being pulled away from the ceramic wall, forcing her to sit upright.

For a moment, she thought she was doing it herself, her body working on auto-pilot. Then came the voice. Low and gentle, speaking simple words that slowly brought her back into the world. Her eyes opened fully, staring at a ceiling for a moment before she slowly brought her head forward and suddenly found herself inches away from Army’s face. If her face weren’t already flushed, her cheeks would have grown a few shades darker. “Hey...”

And just like, she was back in it. Her body was wrenched right away from the counter and between a pair of strong, crushing arms. She gritted her teeth and squirmed in his grasp, unable to move her arms caught within the hold and feeling herself being crushed against his bare upper body. Every inch of it pressed against her. His smooth, marbled chest, those solid abs grinding against together, every twitch and flex of that amazing physique tightening around her. Her breathing became even lengthier, half from the air being forced from her lungs, the other from a feeling welling up in her gut. A bead of sweat ran down her forehead, the friction causing a heat to well up between her...

Focus, Imugi. You can do it. She wriggled about, but her movement was limited to a couple inches at best. The only freedom she had was in her legs. Between the crushing pain in her back and the heat welling up around her, her mind went with the first thing it could think to do. Her legs came up and wrangled around Army’s sides, locking her calves together behind him and squeezing him with a pair of bodyscissors. She couldn't really force all the pressure she had with it like before.

The whole time, she kept staring up, looking deep into Army’s eyes. “Got you...right where I want you…” She had the dumbest smile on her face. Despite the position she was in, and what she knew was likely coming next, it was one-hundred percent genuine.

God, Imugi was light. He should’ve been able to tell that just by looking at her, or, hell from the times he’d sent her ragdolling around the ring, but it still startled him, even now, when he lifted her up and crushed her between his arms. It wasn’t just that he was strong or just because she was small, either, but the way she’d shaped her body. So hard, so tight. You would’ve been hard pressed to slip a quarter between their bodies, and he kept pouring on the pressure. To hurt her, yes, because this was probably the most reversal proof thing he could put a woman like her in. But there was something to the sensation of their bodies sliding against each.

Muscles pressing against muscles, vying for control, neither of them giving. Their sweat mix and mingle, trickling down chests. Even their breaths seemed to compete against each other, swelling and crushing with every exhale. If her skin wasn’t so pale and his wasn’t so dark, there’d be little way to tell where one of them began and the other started. They were merging, molding into something more…

Weird thoughts. Mushy thoughts. That was more Felina’s thing. Army could sum it up in simpler terms: It was hot, it was rough, it was exactly the sort of thing he was into, and that look in Imugi’s eye - that crazy, wild, insane look - told him all he needed to about her feelings on the matter.

He opened his mouth to say something. He wasn’t sure what was going to come out of his mouth at this point, but it didn’t matter, because his lungs suddenly weren’t up for the task. Imugi’s legs coiled around waist, cut into his sides, and he let out a sharp, pained gasp at the pressure. It wasn’t the worst she could do, he knew that from the earlier experience, but it was still hell on the ribs, working over a body that was already doing overtime.

And he loved it. There was a pleasured moan mixed in with the pain, one that even took him by surprise. It turned into a laugh as she spoke, a short burst, and when he brought his head back down to meet hers, he knew what to do.

He moved in, close now. Not just touching forehead, but touching noses, touching brows,almost touching lips. As close to a kiss as one could get without kissing. ”Get ready.”

A split-second later and Army spun his body around in a full circle, whipping through the air in a crazy spiral. He leaped to the side, kicked his legs out, and came crashing down on the mattress below, hammering her onto the soft space with weight behind the impact, a crushing, crippling force that would’ve been more than most of his opponents could ever stand.

But Imugi wasn’t like them. Imugi wasn’t like anyone.

Was this the worst hold Imugi had ever been in? Probably not. Her spine felt like it was on the verge of snapping in two, every breath felt like it was getting shorter than the last, she was pretty sure she couldn’t feel anything in her lower arms anymore, and there was this lightheadedness coming on that promised nothing but a splitting headache and a trip to la-la land in about a minute or so. Her struggles were becoming less and less worthy of that name with every pump that amped up the pressure around her as she squeezed her legs for all they were worth. But it was still far from the worst. She wasn’t on the ground with glass stuck in her back. Still had

Still, it wasn’t the best spot to be in either. Army may have been cautious the first time around, but he had experience on his side now. He wasn’t playing her game and trying to chase her around the ring. He locked Imugi down, got in her any hold he could to squeeze the energy out of her in the fastest way possible, using all his extra strength to his advantage. By all rights, she should have been worried. Should have been kicking up a fuss worse than she’d been before.

But there were worse places to be stuck in. Far worse than being this close to Army’s face, his chest, just...him. She couldn’t help the sensation welling up in her chest, the heat from their skin intermingling, the sweaty, velvety touch of their skin rubbing against one another. Her breaths grew heavier and heavier, letting out a playful laugh alongside Army’s. Part of her wouldn’t have minded things ending just like this. Passing out in his arms with a grin on her face, waking up on the mattress, feeling the air on her bare skin with her outfit magically removed from her body and tossed to some corner a million miles away from her thoughts.

Then again, that could have just been the lack of air talking for her. Everything seemed to be getting a bit fuzzier. Her senses were dulling, her perception waning, she hadn’t even noticed how close Army had gotten until a second after their noses touched and their eyes met again. The lightheadedness she was feeling must have been getting the better of her too, because her body started to move on its own. A fire flickered in her gut. Her hips bucked ever so subtly with the scissors still locked and her head slowly canted forward, bringing their lips, already practically touching, closer together, till she could nearly feel the moisture underneath…

...and she was ripped away with two small words. Imugi took his advice, but it may have been a bit too late. Her body tensed, ready for the impact, but not until she was already dazed from the sudden, harsh wrench to the side and was being brought down at a violent velocity to the waiting cushion below. Honestly, though, it hadn’t even felt like the mattress was there. Her back smacked against the ground, sounding like a gunshot against the bed as her body splayed out on top of it. A painful shock ravaged her body from top to bottom. She laid spread eagle with her eyes closed, her chest rising and falling steadily. Beads of sweat shined like jewels on her skin, little specks of light lining her abs and thighs. Her body felt like a million weights were holding her down, Army knocking the fight out of her like no other person had.

Why was this door locked?1

That was the question most prevalent in Felina’s mind at the moment, as she stood outside and gave the handle a good jingling. She’d gone to the cafeteria to get some potato chips for a light snack, figuring Army and Imugi could use the time to sort out whatever was going through their heads. It was cute, her cousin not knowing what to make of the little blue-haired wrecking ball he’d danced with, but she was confident he’d see the sense if she left him alone. Maybe take her out on a date, invite her over for dinner, something quaint.

Instead, she was promptly greeted with a locked door when she came back. And she could swear she heard rumbling around on the other side, banging about, heavy thudding, short cries...almost as if they were…

”Really, Army?” She muttered, after a quick, mandatory slap to her forehead. ”In the examination room? Really?”

Army swore he heard the jingle a few moments ago, but he paid it not the least bit of mind. His focus was below, at the sweaty miniature Amazon he’d just laid out. There was some concern, here - after all, he’d just slammed her hard into mattress with his full weight, and after already taking her for a crazy ride in their previous match.

Yet, somehow, he wasn’t too worried. If he understood Imugi like he thought he did, she wouldn’t have wanted him to be. She’d asked for this. Wanted it. They both had. If the position were reversed, she’d do the same thing to him, and he’d love every second of it. Hell, she had done the same thing to him. She knocked him out once, she could do it again. And again. And again.

He moved off her to kneel at her side, and pressed a hand on her chest, pushing down with forceful fingers. Army brushed a few stray strands of hair from her face, then used that same had to caress her cheek, handling her with care. Like that, just like that, he spoke in a low whisper, one that she wouldn’t have heard if they’d been a foot apart.

”One.” Army went with a slow count and drew closer with each number. When and if he got all the way to three, he’d use his lips for another purpose: the kiss that they’d been craving since they’d started their little rematch, and maybe a while before that.

Imugi didn’t hear the jingle at the door. She didn’t hear much of anything afterward. Despite how things may have looked, she wasn’t gone, per say. Life was there, somewhere. There was still a faint awareness of the world around her that her scrambled senses were piecing together bit by bit. From the inside, it felt as though her entire body was floating on a cloud of air. She was more aware of the lack of feeling in her back than the stabbing pain that was still clearly there.

It was peaceful. That was a good word for it. The havoc the two of them had been raging seemed far and distant. Echoes traveled to and from her ears, picking up tiny scraps of movement that she’d been blind to previously. She could hear people arriving at the front desk, footsteps passing by the door, the sound of medical equipment and doctors conversing in the next room over. And there was this warmth. This big, encroaching heat like a small sun bearing down on her, closer and closer, inch by inch. Her body arched unconsciously, the hairs on her skin standing up and her skin tightening as the distance between them closed.

Two…

Her eyelids slowly cracked open. The noises around her dulled and the quiet of the examination room filled her ears. Her vision was fogged and blurred. Her mind was gradually putting things back into perspective, but the most sensitive parts of her could make that out the heat washing over her. It danced on her skin, made her lips tingle and water as she tasted it on her tongue.

Three…

A simple touch against her lips was all it took to bring her back. Her eyes grew and relaxed all at once, her hands worked their way from her side to wrap around the back of Army’s head as she pulled him closer, her leg raised to brush her bare thigh against his, craving every bit of contact to make this moment last as long as she could. She shut her eyes and pressed her face forward, deepening the kiss and drawing deep breaths through her nose. She felt rejuvenated. The pain and exhaustion tapered away bit by bit with every second that passed, replaced with new, sensual energy welling up from beneath.

Her eyes stayed closed for a moment after their lips parted, running a tongue quickly over her lips and letting her palms slide down from the back of Army’s head to the sides of his face. She opened them a second after, staring back with half-lidded eyes, a longing gaze reflecting in those cerulean orbs.

“So...who's the winner?” She whispered with a soft smile.