AV 18 Entropy Championship - Manami Kuroda (c) vs Cicilia De'Reignhardt

There was no mistake Cicilia was in pain... but pain was never a deterrent for her! Agony, suffering, these flames had forged her into a weapon that crushed and thrashed... even if it were directed into one of the most vulnerable points on her person! She was stronger than any one blow... It was what she had built herself to be... This durability was what she had trained for!

...And Manami paid for it... Her arrogance and insolence got her a swift KICK across her face, sending her stumbling back! The German would waste NO time in capitalizing on the champion's well-deserved disorientation, SPRINTING her way with her shoulders and head tucked in, a football player going in for a tackle! She had pushed through the weakening pain, through the natural mental barriers that requested time to tend to herself... Her anger gave her the focus she needed to tune out EVERYTHING but her one goal of crushing this cowardly mutt...

If Manami was unable to recover and/or counter in time, she would feel Cicilia do exactly that! The German's shoulder would SLAM into her spine, the boxer's arms wrapping around her belly as she carried her FULL sprint into the turnbuckle, aiming to CRUSH her between the full weight of her might and the padded steel bar of the ring itself! She focused her power into the point of that shoulder... as if intending to SNAP the woman's back in two with it's vice-like force!

Manami would hit the corner FACE-first, the Boxer retreating only with the coaxing of their rebound, Cicilia cocking back a massive fist... and HURLING it at the back of the woman's head thugishly! Play to her strengths, hm...? That was the rule of fighting...? Very well then... Cicilia would play to her strengths... AND GRIND THE WOLF INTO FUCKING DUST BENEATH HER UNSTOPPABLE MIGHT!

"RRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" She snarled, her knuckles impending on the champion's precious head should everything come to pass!

I’ll kill you. I’ll kill you. I’ll kill you.

Cicilia didn't have to say those words aloud for Manami to hear them. She could read it in her eyes, in the cracks and crevices streaking across her countenance. She’d seen that look so many times, from so many angles and in so much animosity, she could practically taste it as she looked at the German’s trembling state, glaring that blood-red gaze straight at her.  She was going to lash out, soon, very soon. Bite, tear, eviscerate. It sent a shiver up her spine.

Do it, you insolent wretch. Do it.

And do it she did. Manami may have studied the pugilist aplenty, but actually trading blows was a different beast entirely. Her speed was something she’d underestimated and would pay for in a flash, that expert footwork launching the berserker into a shoulder rush that collided with Manami’s spine. The Wolf Girl gasped out, nearly being bent in half as they took off the ground. Her front met the turnbuckle with relentless force, crushing her ribs against the padding and metal with a hard smack. The force shook through her, ached so tenderly from the inside and out.

Delicious.

Of course, Cicilia, fat little glutton that she was, wasn’t going to be satisfied with just that. No, she backed away almost immediately, taking strong steps back as Manami’s rattled body was left to recoil and stumble back. The Juggernaut tensed, chambered her fist back, and let out a mighty roar as her punch shot towards the back of her head.

Did she not think she could feel her killer intent? Oh, she had much to learn about the great hunt. Manami stumbled back with lethargic steps, an unsteady posture...and sharp pupils that looked off to the side. Her ears perked, hearing the cut through the air as the fist drew close. Just a second from the killing blow, Manami suddenly dropped. She spun on the spot as she ducked, twisting her hips and jutting her back leg out. As Cicilia’s fist sailed over her head, Manami would deliver a spinning back kick to her gut, aiming to send the pugilist stumbling back.

Once her kick landed flush, she’d stand back up, albeit a bit lethargically, cracking her neck from side to side. “...that’s more like it…” Her smile darkened slightly, slouching forward as the pain in her back forced her posture to degrade. It stung so nicely...

Cicilia had anticipated the Wolf-Queen would be stunned by her blow, that the German's tackle would've knocked all that arrogance and wind out of her... and for her troubles, the Juggernaut received a spinning back-kick that did the same to her in return! A punch that surely would've ended the match RIPPED the air over Manami's head as the champion ducked under her fist, her boot planting FIRM into the boxer's rock-hard abs!

"GGHS!" Cicilia hissed as she was forced back another couple steps, her eyes shooting wide... but not an inch of fury was lost within them! Breathing heavily from both the labor of her adrenaline-fueled fury and from the breath she had just lost, Cicilia glared VENOM at her opponent... who seemed to enjoy every ounce of agony she suffered! Disgust instantly bubbled in her stomach as she realized that this was one of THOSE freaks, ones that just loved to be hurt and throttled every which way... It always frustrated her when Cicilia tried to get into that head-space, to try and understand HOW one could possibly want to suffer like this! Wasn't the whole point of fighting in the first place to end it as soon as possible and take minimal damage?

Not to these sub-humans it wasn't. Fucking. Freaks.

"Shut UP!" Cicilia growled, her voice dripping with menace as she approached the champion, her arms held wide as if to corner her in the turnbuckle... She was well aware of her vulnerable body... and she WELCOMED Manami to target it!... Because when she did... she would find herself in a vice that would crush her to DUST. "Just shut up and fight, you worthless excuse of a champion!"

Some time ago, Manami would have envisioned herself becoming bored with the federation fairly quickly. Women like her weren't treated with the degree of respect they were rightly deserved, sidelined in favor of the soft and shameless that fancy only wealth, valor, and perversion. She intended to change all of that, yes, but what after? There had to be others. Other to see that light, drink from the blood she’d taken so much care to spill all over them.

And then there women like Cicilia. And that gave her hope. Every time she looked into those sanguine eyes and saw not hope, nor light, nor heroism. Not ambition, nor delusion, nor vanity. Only the enemy. Only bloodshed. Rage. Her nature. That was the look that deserved applause, that deserved to be broadcast far and wide...

Yes...yes. She made the right choice with this one.

The Wolf Girl straightened herself with a delighted shiver, the aftertaste of the German’s raw power echoing through her being for one last time. She savored it, let the memory linger for a moment longer before she went back on the approach properly. She took careful steps away from the corner, watching for any sudden movements from the pugilist's seemingly vulnerable stance. Of course, she didn’t care to make that caution too obvious, allowing herself a light, genuine chuckle at Cicilia’s bravado. It was nice to see she was taking this so seriously. She didn’t want to waste time getting the woman into the mood. They had a show to put on, after all.

“You bark loud, dog. I have to wonder why that is.” She leaned forward into her words, her eyes glaring not at, but straight through Cicilia, digging for the answer to her curiosity inside of her very heart. “Don’t tell me...you’re scared…”

She didn’t care for Cicilia’s reply. Manami broke into a lunge not a moment later. She closed the distance on her prey with a single step, pivoting on it and swinging her right leg straight towards Cicilia’s side with a roundhouse kick. Or, that was what it seemed at least. But a second away from contact, Manami would pull the leg back, chambering it for an instant before shooting it straight back out with a stiff, piercing strike towards the Juggernaut’s exposed abdomen. She gave her opening, why not make use of it? While she was feeling so...daring.

Cicilia growled in response to the wolf's taunts, the boxer only encroaching more and more on the champion's space, boxing her in! She didn't bother to conjure up a retort... This woman wasn't worthy of it. All she deserved from her was a brutal beat down and, after the boss had fallen, she'd pick off her little minion next... The Juggernaut wasn't exactly thinking too clearly with how much burning flames engulfed her mind, her rage slowly growing greater and greater.

...If Manami could not keep her mouth shut... She would make sure it would never open again... There were various ways she had learned from her family how to break someone's jaw... How to make sure it never healed just right, what punches, how hard and where to target exactly to get the best effect... These people saw themselves as above the rest, different in the way they could stand above them... She could tell from the way Manami spoke, how little she cared about ANYTHING apparently! As the boxer continued to eat away at Manami's room, she simply laughed, questioning if Cicilia was afraid of her...

Whether she was or not... Did not matter. All that mattered was that the German was here... and she was going to take Manami down one fucking peg at a time! She would make her see how fucking STUPID she was for trying to get her attention this way, she would make her pay for her dumb fucking threats against her and her career.

...She would be her karmic retribution... a role she severely needed.

Manami lashed out with one kick, a roundhouse which the German was anticipating... But she did not react... She would simply walk through it to get to her target as she had so many blows before this one... If taking this blow would assure her the reach she needed to get her hands on her... then so be it!

...But such a sacrifice would not be needed... Fore Manami was too devious for her own good. JUST Before that leg would've connected with Cicilia's side, Manami retracted it and sent her foot FLYING at the boxer's stomach... just as the German wanted. INSTANTLY, the boxer's arms closed in on the woman's ankle like the jaws of a venus fly trap, her fingers CLAMPING down on her ankle harshly, entrapping her foot!

Stay two steps ahead. That was the name of the game they were playing. Manami knew well enough to keep out of the Juggernaut’s range, and she, in turn, knew very well to not get caught up in the wolf’s jaws. It was a stare down between able predators, both deadly in their own way. The trick was in who seized the advantage first, and Manami saw no reason to dawdle in her pursuit.

The Wolf Girl didn’t move without caution, however. Cicilia, boorish and dim as she could be, had strong instincts all the same. Going on the offense wouldn’t guarantee her victory. She was playing to her strengths, letting the wolf come to her. Arms apart, guard open, looking completely vulnerable. Manami wouldn’t have been surprised if it was even part of her plan to use that resilient frame in her favor, tank a blow or two if it meant getting her opponent closer. Manami sincerely hoped she wasn’t that stupid. That attitude wasn’t going to benefit her in the long run.

Case in point, she was just about to show her the errors of that line of thinking...until her leg was stopped dead in the air. Manami winced against the impact, raising her eyebrows as the realization fell upon her. Her ankle began to yield between the pressure, bone grafting and ligaments wearing in Cicilia’s grasp. The horror dawned on her, the pain sending a chill up her leg as the encroaching doom reflecting in German’s sanguine eyes weighed on her.

That would have been the proper response, at least. Feelings worthy for the typical whelp lining Friction’s roster. Manami’s eyes saw something entirely different. For a boxer, she was quite the gambler when it came to where she kept her arms.

A flash, the briefest hint of smirk lined Manami’s lips before she leaped off her one leg and into the air. Taking advantage of the stability Cicilia’s hands were ever-so-helpfully providing, Manami would twist her body and swing her free leg through the air like a blade, aiming the point of her boot straight towards Cicilia’s jaw with an enzuigiri kick.

Cicilia slowly cranked the ankle in her grip, letting that flimsy joint CRY out in pain as she inflicted damage upon it so... She could see how it effected the champion wolf, how she winced under it's pressure, how her body was left somewhat unbalanced by the boxer's grip. The question was... How was she going to break her from here...? There were so many options... Bring her to the floor for a figure 4... Spin her around in preparation for a suplex... Something that would pin her down long enough...

Such was the strategy for the "dim" such as she: Pin her opponent's down so they couldn't struggle against the unstoppable force that would roll over them...

SUDDENLY, one of  Cicilia's hands would shoot up, catching Manami's other leg as it SWUNG AROUND, the foot SLAMMING into her arm as it intercepted her blow with a mighty CRACK! HA! Did she think that she wouldn't expect that!? What, did Manami take her for a fucking GREENHORN!? THIS WAS THE OLDEST MANEUVER IN THE FUCKING BOOK! Well... now she would pay for her idiotic mistake... and she would start with those precious legs of hers... The arm she used to block that incoming enzuigiri would hook around that leg as Manami fell to the fucking floor! Adjusting her grip on her other leg, she hooked both of them under her arms, allowing them to turn with the wolf-girl so that she would be laying face-down with her own Enzuigiri momentum!

"You've just lost your legs..." Cicilia growled as her arms tightened upon the champion's thighs like a vice. "I'm going to make you hurt...." Should everything come to pass, the German would SLAM herself down HARD on Manami's spine, pulling those legs back in an AGONIZING Boston crab, practically trying to rip those limbs RIGHT off her pelvis! Her eyes glowed darkly with a cold, freezing hatred, the flames replaced for the icy stabbing instruments of silent anger...

Hm. Not what she was aiming for.

Granted, this was far from Manami’s most elaborate plan of attack, but options were a scarce commodity in her current predicament. She could have taken a number of paths, waited for Cicilia to make her move before she swung into action, but perhaps she was growing a tad overzealous. She much preferred life on the ground, breaking limbs rather than striking with them, and there Cicilia was, taunting her with those lovely, honed, well-developed arms of hers still in mint condition. They seemed rather occupied, and she figured she could get to them sooner than later. She could outwit some two-bit boxer until then.

But Cicilia wasn’t just a boxer, now was she? That was the balance Manami was having trouble with. How much of that lifestyle did she let go, and how much did she take to this new one? Could she really contend with fists and footwork alone? Was she properly conditioned for this kind of ring? Would she see the kick coming straight toward her face? A harrowing answer plucked her foot straight out of the air, letting the Wolf Girl fall flat and ungracefully onto her side. Not a favorable situation, and one that Cicilia’s venomous words only assured her would grow worse.

Manami found herself on her front in an instant, and before she had even a second to herself to breathe, the Juggernaut's weight came down on her. The air that left her lungs with a painful, wordless gasp was sorely needed, as the German cranked the pressure in one of her less-favorite moves. A Boston Crab. “How...boring…” Manami’s fingers clenched together, tearing the canvas beneath her nails. Frustration boiled beneath the skin. She’d give anything to just reach behind her and grab a chunk of that tender flesh and - "Rrrggghhh!"

Right.

Words weren’t going to get her anywhere, of course. Much as she despised the maneuver, she couldn’t deny its effectiveness. Combined with Cicilia’s strength, the results may be disastrous for her spine. Intriguing as that might be, she’d prefer to ease her way into that stage of the slaughter. To that end, Manami slapped her hands against the canvas and began the arduous journey towards the ropes. They weren’t too far from her, one body length at best, but with the pugilist's musclebound frame forced upon her, it felt more like a mile.

"Who gives a damn what you think?" Cicilia responded harshly. Manami's boredom was of no concern to her. AT ALL. If she had a problem with how she chose to kick he ass, she could file a fucking complaint with her manager... For right now, she would get ONLY what the German chose to give her. Every inch Manami took towards the ropes was another inch Cicilia CRANKED back her spine, folding it end over end as if it were a lounge-chair! The satisfaction she WRUNG out of her opponent was enough to fill a jug, the pain inflicted upon her but a taste of the retribution the wolf would be forced to answer?

One body-length from the ropes, hm? Well... Cicilia would make that length the longest and most agonizing struggle of her opponent's life!

The Juggernaut would crank and crank and crank back... until she felt the reverberation of the ropes pass through her opponent as she touched them... A sign that it was her time to get off. OH! Not because she HAD too... but because they were now close enough for a brutal follow-up! letting the champion's legs fall to the floor, Cicilia would rise back up to her full height and walk around to Manami's side, staring at her harshly as she reached down to DIG her fingers into her sorter, brown locks and WRENCH HER HEAD UP!

If she managed to get a solid grip digging into Manami's skull, the Juggernaut would TUG her against the ropes, slipping her head between the bottom one and the middle, pressing her throat against the rope HARD, as if to strangle her with the pressure! Cicilia wasn't letting up, not even for a minute. All the hubris, that undue pride Manami possessed would be WRUNG out of her bit by bit until she was nothing but a tattered shell on the floor! As if to emphasize this goal, The German would adjust her grip, instead moving her BOOT up to SHOVE into the back of Manami's head for extra force, her hands instead taking position at the top rope for extra balance.

There weren’t any rope breaks in a No Holds Barred match. The only thing that could save you was yourself. More than a few in the audience must have picked that up as she started her arduous crawl towards a freedom that wasn’t there, scratching their heads and shouting their disapproval. She marked those faces for later.

Manami was betting on Cicilia’s lack of ring knowledge, taking a big risk on account of her ignorance. To anyone else, that may have seemed like a long shot, but Manami wasn’t just anyone. She was the woman who’d forced herself to sit and watch ever scrape of footage she could salvage on the Juggernaut, taking in every missed opportunity, every opening that could have exploited. There was a limit to her opponent’s abilities. She hid it well beneath all that build and angst, but it was there. It just took a keen eye and a lot of patience. A hunter’s patience. A quality that was being stretched razor thin once she finally grasped the rope.

A cruel giddiness lingered inside of her when her legs finally came free, but was short-lived. No, she didn’t expect any long-lived respite, but if the hand tugging her along by the hair was enough of a suggestion, she may have underestimated Cicilia’s malice. Her neck aligned with the rope, and she hadn’t realized what the brute was going for until the boot against the back of her head gave her an all too clear answer, gagging as the rung rammed into her windpipe.

Choking her. The waste of life was trying to choke her.

She writhed, she kicked, she struggled, but slowly, surely, her palms found the ground. The Wolf Girl pushed herself up with every inch of strength she could muster. Her teeth ground strongly against each other. She shook head from toe against the tension as her muscles strained and flared in the effort, every contour and vein in her upper body accentuating to push the German’s strength. But the real effort could be seen in her face, in the malicious glare she threw Cicilia’s over her shoulder. Burning fury and murderous intent, slowly boiling up from beneath guided her actions. Tucking her arm close, Manami loaded it like a spring before shooting her elbow straight up with piercing force straight between Cicilia’s legs, tagging her most sensitive region with the amount of respect she deserved.