[Standard Match] Hawk Moth vs The Black Fang - Motivation And Respect

Accustomed to living one day, Karen was not sure that tomorrow she would wake up with the same feeling of relief that literally came to her just now. As she once said, having drunk almost to death in a bar, "the past is forgotten, what can happen no one knows, which means only the present moment is important". Indeed, she did not know what would happen tomorrow, but now she was sure that she was ready to do everything in order to defeat her rival. Even if for this she has to rise to her feet in an unconscious state. Speaking of which...

The moment the Hawk Moth's forehead collided with Ryoko's, the world darkened in her eyes. She had to take a quick breath in order to regain her sight. And although she staggered slightly, she remained on her feet. In a moment, she saw that the Black Fang, unlike her, dropped to one knee. It wasn't gloating, but Karen smirked because of that moment. It seems that after she was by a hair's breadth from defeat, she has already managed to regain that confidence in the outcome of the match that she once possessed.

It just needed a little more time. One or two movements and her opponent will no longer stand up. That was exactly what Karen was thinking as she was about to let go of Ryouko's wrist in order to… but what was not important anymore, since the Japanese girl felt a strong grip on her own wrist. The street fighter's eyes widened as the long-haired brunette rose to her feet. No, she didn't just get to her feet, she immediately took a step forward, pointing her head at Karen's.

The annoying sound of the bell ringing was now in the girl's ears. Literally for a moment, but the mind lost control of the body, her legs relaxed and she fell to one knee, her head down. Karen's breath hitched as her hair covered her face. The canvas doubled in her eyes, while she felt nauseous from dizziness. It seems she was mistaken at the moment when she thought that her renewed passion was enough. Damn... how tough was this girl?

Drip-drip-drip.

"What the?.." Karen thought.

Something small appeared on the mat, while there was some unpleasant sensation right in the middle of her forehead. Ah, she understood what it was. Small, but still incision. It has been a long time since she had seen her own blood. Even during her debut match, it was she who make her opponent bleed, and not vice versa. The Hawk Moth's body trembled a little, as if an electric current passed through her body. Ryёko did have a fucking hard skull. Without raising her head, Karen made a circular motion with her wrist in order to grab her rival's wrist again.

Finally, she looked up. There was not much blood, but the cut was hard to miss. But what could be seen much more clearly was the fire in her eyes. The fire, which only spoke of the fact that she was ready to accept this challenge. She was ready to see whose skull would be stronger and which of them would fall on the mat first, unable to continue this competition any longer! And the audience only supported them, they had not yet had time to believe that Karen had broken free of the pin, but what was in front of their eyes now did not fit into any expectations.

"Rrrrrraaaahhhh!" she screamed, getting to her feet and tugging Ryoko's hand towards her.

Lily was incredibly stubborn and had to work hard to defeat the Englishwoman. However, Lily was still an emotionless doll and Karen could not feel it during their match. But now she felt it with every cell of her body. Neither she nor Ryoko was going to back down. And now it was a matter of principle. The Hawk Moth wasn't going to leave an empty space on the wall in her room today. Today she was going to crush the Black Fang. She clenched her left fist and then bent her left arm at the elbow. With a wild scream and fire in her eyes, she sent her left elbow straight into her opponent's jaw! She was going to win this battle of skulls with a crushing short-arm elbow smash!

She was willing to swear that if she hadn't been close, her rival would have collapsed on her back after the elbow Karen had sent into Ryoko's jaw. Yet, using the street fighter as a foothold, the Black Fang remained on her feet. And judging by her fierce look, Karen's blow wasn't all that serious for her. Amazing, truly amazing. The Hawk Moth has not felt such a true passion in her heart for a long time, but even longer she has not faced such a worthy rival.

Karen was even ready to continue this exchange of blows. Well, at least morally. She felt that her body was approaching the limit. But the street fighter was determined to see which of them hit that limit first. She didn't manage to get a good exchange of punches with Lily, but Karen was going to fix that in this match. She found it very competitive, in a way she saw it as a real battle of determination. But…

Instead of continuing to exchange blows, Karen got something different. Ryoko decided to change tactics and instead of sending another punch to the Hawk Moth's face, she placed her palms on the back of the street fighter's head. Yes, of course, it was impossible to blame her for anything. Yet Karen's eyes widened in surprise. Confident that they both wanted to resolve this issue through an exchange of blows, she was genuinely surprised the moment her opponent jumped.

Not anticipating this turn of events, Karen leaned forward under Ryoko's weight. At first she felt the brunette's knees pressing against her chest. And then she felt her lungs ripped apart. When the Black Fang fell on her back, knocking Karen's chest against her knees, the street fighter couldn't even scream. She bounced off her rival's knees, straightening up to her full height for only a moment, and then she collapsed onto her back, clasping her chest in her arms. Karen wriggled like a maggot, unable to contain the pain, there were even tears in her eyes. But the worst thing was that she could not even take a normal breath. Now her lungs seemed to collapse under pressure, as if all the air had been released from a balloon. And Karen's inhalation power was not enough to inflate this balloon again.

"Fucking fucked up..." the girl thought.

It seems she got too carried away, forgetting the most important rule that she learned in early childhood. You can't trust anyone, you always need to be ready to get a knife in the back. She hoped she had learned this lesson for life, but the passion that awakened in her today eclipsed her mind. At the moment of the exchange of blows, she forgot about the most important thing. And now the Hawk Moth was more like not a moth, but a different stage in the development of this organism, much less beautiful and much less protected.

She had no doubt that if her rival had pulled her legs a little higher, then everything would most likely be over. If it was not Karen's chest but Karen's face that collided with the Black Fang's knees, then now she would be lying in a pool of her blood and most likely unconscious. Although, apparently, now it was only a matter of time, because thanks to Ryoko's efforts, she now almost could not even breathe.

"Breathe... breathe... just breathe..." the girl mentally ordered herself.

However, saying or thinking was much easier than doing it. And although Karen was never one of those who deny her mistakes, now it was hard for her to come to terms with the fact that she was the only one to blame for the situation. If she weren't so reckless, she probably would have been able to assume that in addition to an honest exchange of blows, everything could go according to a different scenario. And now the street fighter was forced to do her best just to stay awake.

The microscopic breaths she could afford now were nothing more than a small battery that only supported the last remnants of her life. Due to the lack of oxygen, her mind was clouded, and every silhouette in her eyes doubled. But the Hawk Moth knew one simple thing. Even now, she couldn't just keep lying down. Considering that her rival hadn't lifted her to her feet, she was probably gathering strength now to finish off Karen with one last move. The experience that Karen has accumulated helped her understand this, even taking into account the wild dizziness.

With a painful groan, the Japanese girl rolled onto all fours and then wiped the tears and blood from her face. She will probably have to undergo an examination for injuries in her ribs, as now it seemed to her that her chest was literally torn apart after such a wild and quick attack from Ryoko. She didn't even quite understand why she was even trying to continue the match after what happened. Or she did?

She was honest with herself, Karen couldn't even remember the last time her body was so beaten. And yet, right now, she tried to take a deep breath in order to push herself up. Did she strive to win just because it was her job? Just because the best thing she could do in life was beat the shit out of other people? Is it worth trying to get to your feet, overcoming the pain?

Staggering, the Hawk Moth rose to her feet to the cheers of the audience. Clutching her jaw so hard that even she thought she would break her own teeth, Karen cleared her vision. But she did not like what she saw. After all, it was at this moment that her opponent grabbed the top rope in order to use it as a springboard. For Karen, time seemed to slow down. Yes, she was indeed able to get to her feet, but even she didn't know if she had the strength to do something about the Black Fang, who was approaching her with a deadly attack.

Karen exhaled almost all the air that was in her lungs. She did not rise to her feet to be killed here and now. Her heartbeat slowed down. Karen pushed off the mat and and rolled forward, dodging flying Ryoko. The street fighter hoped that her rival would not have enough time to group. If the Hawk Moth took this knees attack, it would have been her end. But now she wanted the Black Fang's knees to hit only the mat, not her body!

Karen heard a whistle over her head as she did a forward roll. And when the street fighter put her hands in front of her to stop, there was a deafening collision sound behind her, indicating that Ryoko had hit a mat. For a moment, the Hawk Moth put her hand to her mouth, thinking that she was about to vomit. Given how weakened her body was now, this somersault was not the best medicine for her vestibular apparatus.

"Pull yourself together, damn it!" she mentally ordered herself.

She certainly didn’t expect everything to turn out that way. On the street, she ran into all kinds of people. But already the first two matches here showed her that everything she had seen before was just a pitiful semblance of a real confrontation between fighters. First, she met the Englishwoman, who literally impressed her with boxing skills and composure. And now Karen was in the ring with a girl who literally refused to accept defeat.

Exactly. Ryoko refused to accept defeat. The thought plunged into Karen's head like a drill. If she does not pull herself together and seize the chance that she has obtained with such difficulty, then the Black Fang will again find a way to turn the game around. This girl was too incredible, even for Karen, who had seen enough in her life. The long-haired brunette reminded her why she started fighting. Because the adrenaline and the desire to be the best was worth not giving up until the very end.

Karen spun around to watch her opponent's body roll involuntarily after an uncontrolled fall. Today the Hawk Moth had seen enough to make the assumption that Ryoko would do whatever it took to try to defend herself as quickly as possible, and perhaps even attack Karen again. The girl took a deep inhale, and then no less deep exhale, at this moment she looked like a bull, which is preparing to rush at the matador.

Amid the screams of the audience, Karen took off, starting a run towards her rival. Even now, there were tears in her eyes. Almost her entire body was in pain. It wasn't just the bruising she received. Her endurance was also at the limit, the girl felt pain in the muscles, which meant that the finish line was beginning for her. Or she. Or Ryoko. And Karen would have preferred the first option.

She had already covered half the way when her rival stopped. Karen's brain was not capable of calculating all possible outcomes, but she hoped that when the Black Fang turned to face her, the brunette would not have enough time to dodge. However, there was always the possibility that Ryoko could defend herself from Karen's attack instead of trying to dodge.

“Then…” Karen took the deepest possible breath in order to put in everything she had at that moment to achieve maximum speed.

Her left foot was in hard contact with the mat. If the opponent cannot dodge, he will defend. And in that case, the girl only needed one thing. She needed such a powerful attack that no defense could resist. Pulling off the mat, the Hawk Moth soared into the air, simultaneously flapping her arms and throwing them back. In a way, it was wonderful. The hawk moth is the fastest butterfly, which, among other things, has a very rare ability to hover in the air, which most other insects cannot. And if there were good photographers in the hall, they were obliged to capture the moment when Karen flapped her arms like wings.

She did not do it for the sake of a beautiful moment. Moving to the limit of her ability, she was going to bend her right leg at the knee and pull that knee up so that it was at the level of Ryoko's chin. A lot of people called it a high knee, but Karen called it the hangover. And now the girl hoped that her efforts would be enough to break down any defense that her rival could prepare.

Karen was on one knee with her head down and greedily gulping air through her mouth. A few moments ago, she had to make an incredible amount of effort in order to, ignoring the pain, squeeze out of herself maximum speed. She knew that she would only have one chance and that either she would get it or it would be her end. It should always be important for a fighter to be able to calculate risks, but sometimes you just need to believe that you will succeed. This is exactly what the Hawk Moth decided to do the moment she soared into the air.

Her rival turned around just as the street fighter raised her knee to ram the Black Fang. The long-haired brunette even tried to raise her arms to defend herself, but as Karen had hoped, the speed she took was enough to break through any defense. Amid loud screams from the audience, her knee slammed into Ryoko's chin, filling the space with an unnatural sound, like a click after breaking a branch.

The pain in Karen's body was so great that, coupled with a lack of oxygen, this led to the fact that she could not even land normally on her feet. As soon as her feet touched the mat, she staggered and fell to one knee. Her breath was knocked down, and there was a fog in front of her eyes. It had been a long time since she had felt something like this. Her rival literally threw her to the limits of her capabilities. The Hawk Moth knew that she was ready to fall off her feet at any moment. But it wasn't over yet. The girl looked up to see the defocused gaze of the Black Fang kneeling. The moment seemed to last forever, but Ryoko collapsed onto her front end with no sign of movement.

The audience in the hall began to shout, realizing that the match was finally coming to an end. And Karen understood this too, more than anything else she wanted to turn her rival over, grab her leg and hear the referee count to three. The temptation to try to do all of this was simply unimaginable. Given how battered Karen's body was, and the fact that she literally had no energy left, her main desire was for the match to end right now. But over the course of her life, she has learned that desires are not always compatible with reality. And more importantly, you can't always follow the easy path.

The Hawk Moth took a deep breath, trying to shake off the nausea caused by fatigue. She brushed sweat from her bloody forehead and, clenching her jaw, rose to her feet. For a moment, the viewers were sure that she would now fall to her knee again, because the girl staggered like a tree during a storm. But Karen stayed on her feet, taking a step towards the Black Fang. She wanted to pin her. But the reality was that this incredible girl could find the strength to escape at the last moment even after such a powerful knee strike. Karen knew this. She saw this in Ryoko during a match. And she understood that if her opponent breaks this pin, then she will not be able to win, she simply will not be able to once again come together with the Black Fang in an exchange of blows. Therefore…

Forcing her body to act through sheer willpower, Karen grabbed her opponent's hand and pulled her up. The girl groaned at the pain in the muscles, which reappeared due to the fact that she had to hold Ryoko's full weight. The Hawk Moth's ribcage was on fire, each breath delivering not only oxygen, but burning pain as well. Her hands began to shake as she finally lifted her rival to her feet. Ready to fall, Karen took a step to the side, moving towards her rival's back.

Grasping Ryoko's neck with her left hand and her thigh with the right hand, Karen bent down and pressed her shoulders against the Black Fang's back. A groan of tension escaped her mouth along with saliva even though her teeth were clenched. If she wanted to win, she had to do it. With a wild cry, she straightened up to her full height, placing Ryoko on her shoulders parallel to the mat. Her knees bent and Karen took a few steps to the side, her body about to break from the load. With tears in her eyes, she stopped and straightened up again. Only now she heard the insane screams of the audience.

“Fly away, little bird…” she whispered.

Gathering everything she had, she jumped up and then bent her knees in order to fall on them, destroying Ryoko's spine and knocking out all her strength, if she still had any. She called it the Hawk Moth attack! And if it went well, she would immediately let go of her rival's neck and hip, letting her body fall to the mat, while Karen herself would fall on all fours, gasping for air. Pain and fatigue were the only things she could think of now. But the match was not over yet. The Hawk Moth turned around and began to crawl towards her rival. Her arms gave way and she collapsed face down on the mat, her strength finally left her. Clenching her trembling fists, Karen began to crawl on her elbows, like a wounded soldier who lost his legs. Finally, she felt Ryoko's body beneath her. Exhausted, she lay down across her rival, pressing her modest chest against the Black Fang's. With a groan of pain, Karen reached for the brunette's leg and hooked it. Now she did the best she could. The referee girl fell down next to them and clapped her hand on the mat for the first time.

"One!"