Behowl the Moon

It was a tense night in the arena. All the evening’s matches had concluded. There would be a signing event afterward in the atrium, but no one moved from their seats. They were waiting. Watching. Listening for any change in the air like a clustered colony of ants. Everyone knew what was coming next on the itinerary. One last appearance that had everyone holding their breath for the wolven storm to come.

Then, out from the darkness came the sound…

A wolf howls but once:

Manami Kuroda walked down the ramp alone, lights blaring to the guitar of her new theme, the Entropy belt slung over her shoulder and thinly-veiled smile upon her lips. Her stride was slow, yet beaming with strength and resolve. The audience became electrified in an instant, the memories of Summer Splash still fresh in their mind despite the months that had passed since then. The Wolf Girl had been absent from Friction since then, an unfortunate side effect of falling headfirst into a pit of vicious green whip snakes. She shrugged her shoulder, creasing her cropped jacket a bit as she worked out some leftover stiffness.

But she was back this evening. Her first time striding into the arena, not as a newcomer, but their next AFW champion. Between her injuries, Valley being ousted, and the next seasonal event just around the corner, there were plenty of questions in the air. Manami slid through the bottom ropes and popped up to her feet, mic already in hand as she approached the center of the ring and waited for the voices to die down. Even then, her gaze lingered for a moment longer, scanning the room before slowly bringing the device to her lips and speaking in her sweet, inviting tones.

“It’s been quite some time, hasn’t it, Tokyo?” A mixed reaction came to greet her. There were plenty who were evidently watching closely from her match at Avalanche, others not entirely sure of what to think of their latest champion. Valley Doll, whatever one wanted to say of her career, was undeniably a fan favorite. Many of the old guard filled the stands this evening. Anyone attempting to follow in the Slamazon’s footsteps was going to have a hard time winning them over, even those coming with the warmest smiles and friendliest of voices. She was a presence that wasn’t easily going to be wiped away.

If only any of that mattered to Manami Kuroda. “My sincerest apologies for the hiatus. It was a hard recovery. A lot of time to spend licking my wounds, reflecting on life, dwelling on future tidings...Avalanche.” That got them going. A cheer made its rounds across the arena, making her twitch on the spot. But she kept her faux smile there for a moment longer. “Yes yes, I realize my duties as...oh hoh...Entropy Champion~.” She chuckled darkly, bringing a hand to her mouth as she composed herself. That wasn’t going to get old any time soon. “But I think we should deliberate on that for a moment. What does it mean to be an AFW champion? I’ve been told that its to be among the best, the most talent, the strongest in the entire world.” Murmurs began to circle around the crowd, encircling her from front to back as some nodded in agreement.

Manami's smile dimmed. "I beg to differ." A moment of silence followed, with some sporadic jeers popping out from the crowd and some hurled expletives. Some non-believers in attendance tonight, hm? “Experience, camaraderie, friendship? You’ve been told time and time again that these are the building blocks of one’s career, that dedication and hard work are all it takes to achieve, what everyone seems to believe, are the highest rungs of this industry.” She circled the ring as she spoke, addressing the audience with a lone finger. “Well, I’d argue that none of that means anything. Not a single, solitary thing. They’re words of comfort. Meaningless, abstract concepts and immeasurable quantities meant to provide a single ounce of comfort to the hopeless. There are but two relates to life: you are wolf, or you are sheep. What separates those two?” She paused. “Killer. Instinct. Without it, you move not as a hunter, but as prey. You don’t fight, you hesitate. You’re born to run, hide, die, cry, cower, become feed for the Earth. And I’ve proven it! Where did all of Valley Doll’s experience bring her? Her friends?! Her talent?! Her drive to be the best?! You see it all now! Your champions are pathetic! Spineless! Fallible! Complete and utter fools!”

She stopped walking and stood once again in the center, looking out at those in attendance with an admonishing glare. “No. More. Whether you accept the reality before you or not, this is the beginning of the end. Your age of little jesters with belts. Your repugnant, shameless debauchery. Your vapid ignorance and insulting appreciation for this eyesore of a federation. Your little daydreams from reality. They’re all over. These are the days of bloodshed. Rage. Woe. Conquest. I’m going to show you all...what you really are.”

She raised a single solitary finger to the sky, her menacing smirk slowly returning with a harsh glare against the light. “And I’ve found the perfect quarry to do just that…”

…

Yuki wandered through the halls with a careless gait, her thumbs hooked into her jean pockets as her eyes drifted left and right to every nook and cranny she walked past one stumbling crew member after another. Some were careful to avoid her gaze, evidently hearing of what typically went down when one of the Pack was strolling backstage, others had the more natural reaction of gawking as she strolled past. It was a symptom that came with being a tall, muscular woman in Japan, but one she’d been accustomed to.

If she cared, that was. Each person she brushed shoulders with may as well have been on ants on the sidewalk for all they deterred Yuki on her walk. There was only one individual on her mind right now, and she was positive they were in tonight. Rumor had it they scarcely were. Always causing a fuss, always letting out steam at the gym. She’d earned herself a decent spot on the “Avoid at All Times” list for the backstage crew. A woman like that shouldn’t have been too hard to find. AFW was full of foreigners, but not enough that they’d blend into the crowd. Not this one.

She just had to know what to look out for. “Let’s see.” She muttered to herself as she rounded the corner. “Red eyes...red eyes…”

Cicilia sat in the wings of the AFW locker-room, looking up questioningly at each one of the staff who passed her by. Why was she even here right now...? She wasn't a contestant and she wasn't fighting tonight so why did they ask her to show up... in uniform? Whatever the reason was, the staff certainly weren't going to spill the beans to her. God, today was giving her the damn creeps... How was she supposed to do what they wanted her to do if she wasn't told what it was? She had been sitting here for at least HALF AN HOUR and she was no more informed than she was when she was told to come!

Bah... Someone would drop by eventually. She doubted that she'd be called here just to inconvenience her. The boxer muttered unintelligibly to herself, frustrated that she had to give up dinner with her girlfriend for this stupid job... She loved fighting people but DAMN IT if it didn't get in the way of her own personal life. Sometimes she wondered if it was her that caused these problems, that it was her fault and not that of her employers. Sometimes she wondered if it was the ways she treated people that caused these inconveniences... It wasn't like she was bullying anyone but... sometimes she might've come off as a bitch when she just wanted to be left alone...

She sighed heavily, glancing off in the direction of the door as she hunched over, resting her elbows on her thighs. Maybe she could just... go home now and disregard this entire event that she didn't even know her role in. Maybe she could even get home soon enough to treat Sayumi to something good! It... might not be what she had in mind but... at least it'd be something!

Yeah... She shouldn't even be here if she wasn't fighting. The boxer got up from her seat before making her way out of the locker-room and into backstage, the only way out of this place. If they had a problem, they could take it up with Mariah... assuming Cicilia could get her help looking over her contract.

AFW had too many fucking hallways. Didn’t help in the slightest that they all looked near identical to one another. Navigating the place could be like a working your way through a submarine if too much time was spent away from them. Maybe that’s what happens to all the rookies that show up on the roster and suddenly disappear overnight. They all ended up lost in this labyrinth and some custodian tucked their bones away in a broom closet somewhere.

Yuki spared herself a chuckle at the thought, then kept moving when she caught a glimpse of a TV set and noticed Manami’s scowl staring back at her. Right. Promo was happening now.

The bleached blonde had been walking these halls since well before the event started, but time had this habit of getting away from her when she was essentially chasing ghosts. It probably would have been easier to make Cicilia come to them, but if their observations on the woman’s behavior were correct, that wasn’t the best idea. She wasn’t one of the many glory hounds that riddled this stinking promotion, nor was she all that naive. If she smelled a rat, she’d be gone in a heartbeat. The element of surprise was the best way to handle this. Don’t even give her time to think, just act.

If Yuki could find her. She rounded one corner, then the next, then the next, and just found more blanks stares and idle chatter from other wrestlers waiting for her. The place seemed to fold in on itself as she tried to keep a mental map of all the shortcuts to the ring that she’d passed. It could have been that she showed up to the wrong side of the arena, some orders from above got mixed up...or she was just shit at reading. That would be a problem. It wouldn’t be an impossible situation to salvage, but this was already starting to feel like trying to find a needle in a haysta-

Oh. There she was.

Yuki had only made it about halfway around the corner before her eyes caught her prey, and she stepped back to observe the woman stepping out from the locker room. Yeah. This was unmistakably Cicilia De’Reignhardt. If the crimson eyes and hair like midnight didn’t give it away, the resting bitch face etched across her countenance definitely sealed the deal. Her entire aura broadcasted a single, reverberating message “don’t fuck with me”.

Now her job made a whole lot of sense.

As Cicilia made her way down the hallway, Yuki trailed close behind her, hands still in her pockets as she closed the distance. Her brain dreamt up a few approaches and settled on one that brought a thin smile to her lips. She couldn’t have been a few feet from Cicilia before she finally decided to open her mouth, shouting out behind her. “Oi! Fräulein!” The instant Cicilia turned around, she’d find a big boot to the face waiting for her with enough force to put her on her back.

Yeah... This place DID have too many fucking hallways... Cicilia sometimes even got lost among the hustle and bustle, especially on the busier nights. So much for her sense of direction... This seemed to be one of those nights... With all the people moving and shifting around her, she hadn't yet noticed the woman trailing her from behind... She was too focused on getting the hell out of here... before she got frustrated and hit something she shouldn't... Oh, she could feel it starting to burn her nerves, how her mind was slowly fading from a refined goal to something more equivalent to shifting sand... impulsive.

So much shit... So much stupid god-damned fucking shit she had to put up with in this stupid fucking job... Sometimes she loved it... Sometimes, nothing made her happier than going toe-to-toe with someone in the ring. It was the best way to relieve stress, akin to how other forms of exercise did! Other times... when she met some crazy asshole wanting a piece of her or when they call on her for no reason like this...

PISSED HER THE HELL OFF!

Sometimes... She wondered what would've happened if she stayed in Germany... She never would've met Sayumi, for one thing and that already washed away any regret that might've came with with this thought experiment... but she wouldn't have had to put up with this crap either. Trade one problem for another... Cicilia reached for the door-handle that would lead to the outside, grumbling to herself...

Maybe if she...

“Oi! Fräulein!”

"What th-"

The moment Cicilia turned towards the voice, a boot SLAMMED into her chin, knocking her head up and sending her CRASHING into the door that represented her freedom...

Now it no longer existed. Not as it was supposed to.

Cicilia fell on her ass as she leaned against the door, her sanguine eyes blinking in shock and confusion... But suddenly ignited with outrage the MOMENT her vision cleared enough to see her attacker!... And she was big... Wide... Tall... Able-bodied...

ALL THE MORE FOR HER TO BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF!

"You shouldn't have done that, you fucking idiot..." Cicilia snarled as she pushed herself to her feet. "Now you're going to pay!" Without any hesitation, the Juggernaut lashed out with a brutal and almost feral hook at Yuki's jaw, hoping to break it right off her stupid fucking fat face! She wouldn't be content with an equal trade, however. No... She wanted more... This woman had done something so FUCKING DUMB, she was going to make sure she couldn't misunderstand how much! Whether or not her punch landed, Cicilia would lash out with another, an uppercut HARD into the girl's abs, hoping to break through them like a rotted wooden plank. Serves her fucking right...

Yeah. That did it.

Yuki wasn’t exactly coming into this unprepared. She’d heard plenty of stories in the weeks spent planning this little meet-up about the dark-haired woman and her fiery temper. Stories about a woman that could punch her way through walls, send people flying, shook the earth whenever she roared. Shame for her, though, they weren’t quite enough to give Yuki any doubts. Wrestlers with an incredibly short tolerance for bullshit weren’t all that rare in AFW. In her opinion, seeing was believing.

And oh, was she becoming a believer.

Cicilia wasn’t even back on her feet before Yuki found herself taking a careful step back, half-believing the German was going to erupt right in front of her and send the entire hallway collapsing in on itself. She definitely looked the part. The venomous tone, the trembling pupils, the muscles already bulging through her clothing.  A ticking time bomb set off with one simple kick.

Nice. Yuki’s slight smile slowly shaped into a wide, cocky smirk straight out of Kaede’s playbook. She tilted her chin up, staring down at Cicilia with a condescending gaze. “Yeah. Real scary talking shit on your a-”

Cicilia was in her face. Had no fucking clue when that happened, but it was enough to wipe the smirk clean off Yuki’s face. Even if it wasn’t, the shot that came roaring towards her jaw would have taken care of that. If it hit. Yuki ducked back just in time avoid it, letting it scrape past her chin. A nice little warning shot. One that the Juggernaut was not at all satisfied with. She was out for war. Yuki had scarce a moment to bring her hands up before the next fist buried its way into her stomach, threatening to tear past her shirt and pierce through her etched abdomen. Good power. Killing intent. She was a killer in the making.

Shame she had to rush this. The strike nearly doubled her over, reeling her body forward over Cicilia’s shoulder, close enough to whisper in her ear. “...Not bad...for a two-bit boxer…” Yuki grabbed hold of the forearm still near her stomach while her other hand grabbed the back of the German’s head, getting a handful of those luscious dark locks. She used them for something useful, turning on the spot and throwing Cicilia straight into a couple of trash cans directly behind them.

Cicilia's first strike might've missed, but her second more than made her point. The larger woman practically buckled under the weight of the German's strike, her body folding nearly in half over her shoulder. Yet, the boxer wasn't satisfied... Not until this girl was coughing up her own insides on the fucking floor... She would've let this go if they were in the ring, if this was set up but this fucking bitch ambushed her... and now she would have that cowardice rippedRight. Out. She was resolved to make her pay for something so fucking stupid and unnecessary, something that didn't have to FUCKING HAPPEN! Cicilia couldn't STAND it when she was fucking attacked outside of her god-damned job! It both humiliated her for being hit out of nowhere and it was humiliating for the attacker for that cheap-shot... assuming they had any pride.

What could she say? She was a fucking optimist.

...But Yuki was stronger than just one blow, however. Cicilia's skin crawled as the woman's words slithered into her ears from where her head rested... but that moment of weakness only lasted for a second. Her glare burned into the girl as she felt her hand grab onto her arm, Her lips curling into a snarl as her hair was ripped at as well!

You're only digging your own grave... Cicilia snarled to herself as she struggled against the woman's grip, trying to first rip her way out of her restrictive grasp... then rip her to pieces right then and there!

Yuki, however, preferred to remain whole it seemed, quickly tossing the Juggernaut into a pair of metal trash-bins that rested just behind them!

"AUGH!" Cicilia screamed, more in outrage than pain as trash was thrown this way and that! Make no mistake, it hurt being thrown into a bunch of trashcans... but her rage burned stronger than her pain cut... Just as quickly as she had gotten up from the door, the Juggernaut rose again... this time one of those cans in her hands... Blood ran down her arm, dripping off her elbow, a sensation barely notable to the German in this state. Apparently, there was glass in those bags...

"RRRRAAH!" She roared, HURLING the full-fucking trashcan RIGHT at Yuki like she was a monster throwing a building! It must've weighed a hundred pounds at least... maybe more! It was filled with garbage after all! Cicilia wasted no time whether it connected or not, rushing down Yuki in an effort to tackle her to the fucking ground with a blistering spear!

Amidst all the blinding rage and unrelenting fury, Yuki had a curious sense of nostalgia overwhelming her. It had been a while since her last fight that wasn’t in a ring. Something without any safeguards. Just a straight-up brawl. She’d almost forgotten how cathartic it all was.

This wasn’t the time for that, though. They both had somewhere they needed to be, even if only one of them was aware of that. She had the Juggernaut’s attention, now she just had to steer in the right direction. As soon as the German was up, she’d...

Was that a fucking trash can?

Yuki was about a second away from getting her head smashed in by the tin can before she managed to duck and rolled beneath it, letting the container slam against the wall as its contents spilled out all around her. When she popped up on her feet, she was standing in the center of the hallway, turning on the spot to face Cicilia...who wasn’t where she was a second ago.

Nope. She was slamming right into her.

She just barely saved herself by putting her leg back behind her, reaching an arm around the woman’s neck to lock in a guillotine hold. But if it did anything to deter the human-sized freight train that was dragging the both of them along, Yuki couldn’t see it. Her feet skidded against the floor as they went tearing back down the hallway. In a way, it worked out for Yuki, since Cicilia was bringing her where they needed to go...except they needed to make a left here.

Needed to put the brakes on this shit. She grit her teeth and reeled back on the hold, slamming the woman face first into the ground with a DDT.

While Cicilia's feral toss of the trash-can only caused a massive mess for the poor staff looking on, Yuki's dodge-roll beneath it left her WIDE open for a tackle that was going to SHRED her along the ground!

...Or that was the intention at least. The German was shocked to discover that this crazy bitch could stand her ground after all, taking her tackle without being trampled under her feet! What was more, she locked an arm around the boxer's neck, apparently trying to choke her out... But that wouldn't dissuade the JUGGERNAUT!

"Ggggrrrrrrrr!" She snarled as she pushed on and on, forcing the woman back with each step, building up speed the more distance she covered! The wall that split in two paths was only a few meters away, the boxer could see it... If she could just get there, she could SLAM Yuki into it, bury her shoulder into that wounded stomach of hers and then...?

Karma would come collect her debt.

Even with the larger woman's boots dug in, pushing back, they did little to stop Cicilia's aggressive progression as the ground against the floor uselessly! They were only a few feet away... Cicilia would be able to take her revenge on this fucking idio-

"KKKGH!" She choked as her head was SLAMMED with all the forward momentum she had built up, all in the form of a DDT redirecting her power RIGHT into the concrete floor of the back-stage! That... that stunned her... The boxer's world spun as her skull cracked against the floor, a small trail of blood streaming down from the impact just above her hairline, down her scarred eye. Her hostile resistance faltered for a moment as she lay there, shocked and disoriented...

Yuki could give Cicilia this right away: she didn’t take shit lying down. As much as she’d like to boast about turning the Juggernaut’s force against her, slipping free with a masterful execution of the DDT, there was a hint of desperation there. Cicilia was strong. Freakishly strong. And that was no small praise from the Wolf Mother’s claw. If she let her have control for even a second, this fight would be going down a very different route in a heartbeat.

She was starting to see how this newcomer developed her little reputation. If Yuki had come into this off-the-cuff, her face wouldn’t look as nearly anywhere near as recognizable as it did right now. Woe to the poor soul that disturbed this monster’s sleep.

And of course, it had to be Yuki that was in charge of this. Never her sweet-talking protege.  What plans Manami had for this kind of woman, she had no idea. Whatever was coming, it wasn’t going to be pretty. That was for sure.

But that was all in due time. Her focus now was getting the stunned pugilist from A to Z. She may have been dazed, but Yuki knew that fire in her eyes. The boxer was far from done. Fortunately, she could work with that. The ideal carrot-on-a-stick to bring Cicilia where she needed her.

She didn’t rise right away the moment after they hit the floor. Instead, she crawled out from under Cicilia and brought herself to one knee beside her. Clutching a handful of her raven hair, she’d lift the German’s head off the ground, just close enough for the woman to hear her snicker. “Guess you were all talk.” She hit the end of this little talk by slamming Cicilia’s face right back down into the floor. She stood up and walked away nonchalantly, projecting her complete confidence that this was all over and done with. She cast a careful eye over her shoulder, however. The instant she saw the pugilist charging after her, like she knew she would sooner or later, she’d take off in a run down the hall and around the next corner.

As the German began to push herself up from the floor, Yuki moved to slip herself free from beneath her, kneeling by her side. Cicilia glared up at her with utter disgust and resentment, silently branding those emotions into the attacking woman's face, a little target for her fingers to jab into and MANGLE the moment she could get back up. Yuki wasn't having it, however... She latched onto her soft, beautiful black hair, twisting in between her fingers like an anchor as she forced the boxer's head up to her lips...

"Fuck... you..." The juggernaut hissed back, defiantly... only to receive another SLAM facefirst into the concrete... It didn't hurt as much as the ddt, but it didn't have a small impact on her either... Cicilia groaned ever so softly as she peeled herself off the floor, pushing herself up to on knee, staring at the woman's back...

Images flashed through her mind, the shape of her sister replacing that of this fucking idiot, walking away with their backs to her, signifying her abandonment as she knelt there, bleeding... wounded after a fight... No graciousness, no aid, no comradery... She was left on her own... like she always was...

Always alone.

Cicilia's jaw clenched, her lips curling back into a vicious snarl as she rose back to her feet... Flames no longer burned just within her eyes, but if one could look closely, they could almost see the air around her warp and dance, as if the heat of her anger manifested into physical energy! Her joints and muscles felt heavy, locked down with the energy that built up within them, as heavy as the joints of a machine and just as powerful... Yuki continued to walk, her head slightly cocked to the side, allowing her a view of her back...

"I'll DEMOLISH you..." She rumbled darkly, the shadows within the hallway seeming to darken and stretch with her declaration. They almost seemed to come alive with her wrath, reaching out for Yuki as if to hold her down for their master.... Cicilia followed her aggressor blindly through the halls, taking her time... She could not run, not if she were to maintain even a drop of control... Her body locked down to restrain her power and the mindless rage that puppetted it. Slowly, however, she would pick up the pace, her fingers twitching by her side, anticipating the moment they would latch around her neck... The darkness within the halls, they seemed to turn their attention away from Yuki, instead seeming to envelope Cicilia, hiding her facial features... with the exception of those demonic sanguine eyes... eyes that peered into the hell she would inflict upon Yuki... Her eyes shined through the dark, locked onto their prey like it was the only thing in the world... As far as they were concerned... she was... and she had to be DECIMATED! Shadows danced across Cicilia's pale-white skin like living tattoos, writhing around her as if she were in command... Lights seemed to flicker when Cicilia walked under them, her pure anger appearing to disrupt them!

If Yuki were to break into a sprint, flee like the little cowards she was, the Juggernaut would follow, her movements stiff and restrained as if she were bound in a metal suit... for her protection and others... The woman would duck to the right...? Cicilia would follow her, but by no means was she blind... Her senses burned with the same fire that engulfed everything else, forcing them into overdrive... She expected another dirty attack... and she would rip Yuki apart piece... by PIECE if she was dumb enough to live up to her expectations...

If she did not, however, Cicilia would only follow like the shade of retribution itself, knowing that there was only so far the woman could run before she was caught... The surroundings would mean nothing to her... even as familiar land-marks made themselves known... Cicilia was being lead towards the arena and she didn't even notice... yet.