That Bushido Called 'Love'

Never would she have thought to have the chance to talk history stuck in this federation run rampant with pompous shills and meatheads. It was the earliest subject Manami could remember admiring, but never had any practical use for since those early kinder years long gone.

She knew Eka was something of an academic before she arrived, and it was a major reason for what was about to happen to her was going to happen. It was only when she spoke that Manami found her ears clinging to every word. It was nothing more than mere chance that her particular disciple aligned so well with Manami’s fascination with everything violent and anciently so. Nevertheless, her intrigue was genuine, and she hoped that Eka recognized it as such.

“What do you mean? You’ve been following my steps pretty closely, haven’t you?” She wagged a finger to Eka with a small, knowing smile. “Set your mind to it and anyone can accomplish a great many things. Some of us are just so fortunate enough to avoid an ordinary life. Make the most of it.”

Though she would prefer if the Georgian didn’t recognize anything else. The wolf had no reason to be worried with her prey so close, practically trapped between her jaws. Even so Ms. Gumarshivili was a wiry woman. It was hard to tell how much of her was merely being cautious or whether she was simply this diminutive and pathetic all the time. It was far from an uncommon look amongst wide-eyed foreigners outside of the comforts of home, but Eka seemed to have some awareness of being in over her head. It would be cute if it didn't disgust her so much.

Manami let a finger run down her chin as she studied the Georgian once more. There was something commendable about her other's eagerness to face a superior adversary, even if every instinct begged otherwise. Beneath that meek demeanor was a healthy and burning competitive spirit, dancing with flowery embers off the heart. A smirk upturned on one side of Manami's face.

It was unfortunate they were never going to have the chance to speak like this again. She could almost feel herself regretting this little plot of hers. But just almost.

"’Throwing ourselves’. I like the sound of that.” The green-clad champion held her hands out and lowered herself into a comfortable attack stance. One hand out and another close, hips squared; a sight better suited for an octagon than a ring. “We won’t be here long.”

Eka paused for a second. She had an instinctive mistrust of anyone who thought too highly of themselves, so she naturally balked when Manami suggested that she was a legend. It seemed premature. The look of confusion on her face quickly dissipated as she listened to the rest of Manami's words. They were true. Right now, the task that she was setting her mind to was taking down the Entropy champ, which was only slightly short of herculean. While she wouldn't call her life ordinary, she was certainly going to try to make the most of this moment. She was all wires and Manami was all muscles. But she knew that if she were smart, she would be able to take her opponent down.

The Georgian girl took a step back and bounced up and down. There were still some jitters. While this was not going to be a PPV match, or even a regular match, she still wanted to do well. A quick glance around the room did not reveal any AFW brass, but as her blue eyes focused back on Manami, she thought about how she was not going to do this for anyone but herself.

"Good luck!" She shouted.

And with that, she tore across the ring. Even if she didn't want to do it, she had no doubt that her muscle memory would bend her back forward so that her level was low as she approached the champion. She was muscular, and her stance was wide. But Eka was coming in as hard and as fast as she could, a fact that was evinced as her long dark hair flowed behind her. She brought her hands up to protect her face before she made impact. From the strength in the arm she had just felt, she knew that any blow could spell a knockout for her.

But that was not what she was thinking of as she slammed into her opponent. The Georgian girl was shooting for a double legged takedown to get things going in her favor.

Was it sad that she could picture Eka and herself being rather close in another life? Even a little?

Manami could only see it in faint flashes. A pleasant discussion over a mutual interest in ancient history that could have unraveled into so much more. Afternoons at the bookstore, nights out at the best holes in the wall, sleepovers with cheesy movies and bad television. A kind person with the vast world stuck in each eye; there was a curious amount of familiarity in the gaze that met her from across the room. Yes. In some other reflection of a tainted mirror, this day would have been with a handshake and a smile as genuine as the love she would have felt in her heart.

But that would have been a weaker version of herself. A pitiful nobody unworthy of recognition or concern. Someone like that was born to be forgotten, the stepping stones of the strong.

The Wolf Girl tightened her outstretched hand into a fist. Despite the confident sneer on her face, the sudden shift in the room was palpable. Eka’s overwhelming enthusiasm spoke for itself. It wasn’t a terrible surprise for her to see just how fast the Georgian really was when she broke into her lunge. She had a slimmer build between the two and a longer pair of legs that wouldn’t have gone amiss on a treadmill. Most people would have been caught off guard and found themselves on their back with a pair of empty lungs.

Most.

Manami’s eyes were like razors on her target as Eka came diving in close. Her feet remained planted and her arms kept their poise. What looked for all the room like a delayed reaction suddenly unraveled in the last moment. Only two steps from contact, Eka would find a snap roundhouse kick flying at the side of her face. There was more than enough power to send Eka sideways, but it carried all the finesse and gravitas of a swatting away a fly.

Eka was in the moment. The relationship that they shared was a strange thing. She had met Harumi in the ring, and knew that love could often be kindled inside of the squared circle. But she was more than happy with Harumi. As she charged at Manami, she did wonder about all the things that they had in common. Wrestling was the most obvious one, given that just such an activity was the main theme of what they were both doing at the moment. But it was more than that. They both liked history, which was quite rare in Eka's experience. And it may have been Eka projecting her own excitement onto Manami, but there was a certain eagerness that they both had to get into a spar. Eka's motivation was to see if she was good enough to take down the Entropy champion. She had no idea what Manami's was.

But she didn't have long to dwell on that. Her bounding strides got her closer and closer to her opponent, and she let go of the arm shield that she had up to stretch her arms wide. The Georgian girl was a mountain eagle, its great wings outstretched as it swooped down on its prey.

Only, Manami was not a fish. She was a wolf. And the bite of the wolf rocked her, causing her path to divert from its original course and off to the side. It was only by the grace of the wrestling gods that she managed to stay on her feet, and a hand on the mat helped her keep her balance long enough to stumble a few feet away from her opponent. She wheeled around to face Manami once more. The pain in her face made her wiser, she hoped. Manami's kick made her clutch the side of her face and wince a bit.

"That was a very good kick, yes?" Her mind flashed back to when Harumi kicked her in the match. As weird as it was to fall in love with someone who kicked you in the head, she loved the determination and creativity that it showed, especially in the heat of the moment. But there was a lot of heat in this moment as well, and the adrenaline surging through her veins demanded action.

The ravenhaired girl charged forward once more. She did not want to get kicked again, so instead of going low, she went high. Her legs, so accustomed to the treadmill, now served as the base to launch her up into the air. The Georgian girl intended to come down over her opponent's back, as she was looking to grab her hips on the way down and tuck into a flying squirrel takedown.

Take out the legs. That would have been a smart way to approach. Even if she failed at the first hurdle, Manami could see the plan that Eka might have been working with. The Georgian was up against a foe she knew nothing about, fighting an opponent unlike any other, with only the clear awareness that she was outclassed. Her best bet was to get the quickest advantage she possibly could. She had the mind for wrestling at the very least.

But a hare was still a hare no matter how fast it could run. Eka was smart, sweet, and saccharin in every sense. But strength was what beget survival no matter the age. Women like her had no place here.

Manami lowered her foot, feeling satisfied with the contact as she watched her prey stumble away before finding her sudden recovery. Eka took her lumps in stride, even throwing a dumb little compliment her way. The friendly sentiment made her stomach curl. She couldn’t remember the last time someone thanked her for kicking them in the face, typically on account of the fractures. Manami played it off with a coy little smile straight back at her as she turned to face her. “Could have been better. They’re not my forte.”

The Georgian was already on the rush again. Good. It saved her the trouble of going hunting for her. She was faster than last time, maybe using the adrenaline from that kick to give herself a much-needed boost. Manami turned rigid on the spot, anticipating another attempt at a takedown, and her guess wasn’t far off. Only instead from the ground, the Georgian took into a graceful ascent. The wolf’s eyes couldn’t help but follow with a glint of marvel at the display. That was all the time the Greco fighter would need to find a sure grip on the champion and bring her tumbling to the floor. If only that lethal smirk just below would have suggested the same. “This is.”

At the peak of her ascent, Manami’s arms shot up snatched a clump of the Gerogian’s hair. Her other hand went to the waistband of her leggings. The Wolf Girl twisted on the spot as she did so and followed with the momentum Eka had built for herself. Right into the next moment where she’d throw her straight down, driving her skull into the mat like a hammer to a nail.

Eka felt like an eagle, soaring up the side of the mountain. An eagle was a noble creature, that didn't mind being nice to other creatures. So the compliment that she gave Manami was a sincere one. The pain that still stung her cheek attested to that, and it was a very good kick. But she was not thinking about that now, as she got airborne. What she was thinking about, behind those crystal blue eyes of hers, was the timing that she needed as she plunged down to the mat. This was something that she was good at. The Georgian girl had practiced it an untold number of times in her gym back in Alabama. And she had uncorked the move in quite a few matches, exploiting the element of surprise as she took down boys who were much more muscular than she was. Hell, she had even been able to pull it off a few times at AFW in the ring.

But she learned exactly what Manami was good at when Eka got grabbed right after she crested the Wolf Girl. Her blue eyes, so concentrated on taking her opponent to the ground, now went wide with fright and apprehension. This was not going according to plan. She felt the hand on her hair and another on her waistband, and knew that this was not going to end well for her. The Georgian girl planned to be falling to the floor under her own power, with Manami's hips in tow to bring her to the ground.

Only, that was not even close to what happened. She crashed down to the ground, headfirst, and flopped down to the mat. There was no compliment coming this time, because there couldn't be. She was not capable of speaking anything too intelligent, as only a low groan came from her lips. After her limbs went to the canvas, she didn't move at all.

Let it be known that Manami held no particular hate in her heart for Ekaterina. None that would set her apart from all the others at the least. She was educated, she was bright, unusually friendly for the environment. And that was precisely why she did not belong. She belonged among her books and with her studies. Maybe she'll discover something life-changing.

She could do that and grow old as a happy and recognized woman. The wolf was doing her a favor.

But as she was, the Georgian was something of an eyesore in her grand vision for this federation, in brief. It was sad, but reality often was. She wouldn't mind seeing this cut out before it festered. It wasn’t a glamorous fall for Eka, but so few things had the chance to be within Manami’s presence. She was the center around which everything else would either rise or fall at her beck and call. So unfortunate for Eka of all people to have to suffer the latter. The slam

She didn’t even have to look to see the damage that had been done. The resounding thud against the canvas told her what she already knew, but it was that pained and distant groan just beneath her ears that satisfied her. A cruel and knowing smile would be there to greet Eka as she turned around to look down at the Georgian, marveling those pretty eyes and the fog overtaking them. She appeared to be thoroughly rattled. A million miles away. Fortunately for her, Manami had a guaranteed remedy for that particular condition.

“Come on. Come on, you little rat. Get up.” Manami raised her boot high off the ground, a thin leer slashed across her face before it smashed down onto her throat. "Or you'll die.”

That was so often what it came down to, was it not? You can study, you can prepare, you can devote yourself to learning and growing. You can train your entire life to perfect your craft, Eka. But in the end, as the stink of beasts and their feral claws sank into your skin, that last breath is all but a certainty. Some just weren't made for this world.

It's called life.

Eka was lying on the ground. Early on in her still young career, she had wrestled with many women who were far larger than her. Most were larger in terms of raw physical size, but a select handful was larger in stature. They used not only their size but their experience to put absolutely everything into every single move and get the three count over Eka. The Georgian girl was feeling worse now than she did then, and as such could not react to the fact that Manami was now looming over her. Her blue eyes traced Manami's impressive form upwards and back down again to the boot that hovered over her. She knew that it was going to end badly for her if she didn't get her hands up to defend herself, but the pain in her arms meant that they could not raise themselves from the canvas.

So the boot was sent plunging down onto her neck. The immediate and sharp pain of the initial blow was sublimated to the pressing and overwhelming pain of the boot now lying across her throat. She was galvanized, and the arms that had been glued to the mat a moment ago now flew upwards as if they had been electrified. Her body was reacting on instinct to preserve itself because it seemed like death was nigh.

Her blue eyes went wide again. Manami stood tall above her, dauntless. Her legs kicked in the air wildly, pointlessly, desperately. Eka had come here to spar, and this was rapidly turning into something far more serious. Her panic was evident from her grimace. Eka stopped flailing for a second, as she planted her feet on the canvas to ground herself. She still had a grip on Manami's foot. While it was not going to be much given the discrepancy in strength between them, it was a start. Or at least she really hoped so.

She hoped because her life depended on it. Eka tried to plant her feet deep into the mat and push away from Manami, while she tried to dislodge Manami's foot from her throat. Eka was not sure if it was going to work but there was nothing she had left to do but try.

There was no feeling better than the sensations coursing through her veins at this moment. From on high, she stared the feeble Georgian straight in the eye and watched that lingering light along her beautiful blue iris flicker and bend against the weight of her foot. The way the throat slowly crunched and collapsed as if the foundation of her very life could snap in two with a single merciless pump. And it was so tempting. But she wasn’t that woman anymore. She liked to believe she was of a more refined nature now, someone that wouldn’t give so readily into base instincts like the refuse she sought to wash away scattered all across this league. Indeed, like those beneath her heel.

She’d never be able to give this up for as long as she lived.

The Wolf pressed harder against Eka’s throat, denying another inch of precious air to the ailing Greco-girl. Her eyes savored the sight of her quarry thrashing for freedom beneath her claws. The desperation in every thrash of her limbs, every smothered breath, seemed to make the fear palpable as it permeated beyond the ring. People’s attention slowly turned towards the center of the gym. Machines stopped mid-motion, idle hands clung absentmindedly to their weights and bars. Someone opened their mouth to speak - maybe they would disapprove at the sight, maybe they would demand her to stop - but no voice rang out. Not one. One look at the woman between the ropes, at those eyes laden with hunger, that bestial visage and a smile overcome with terrible delight, that countenance grew all too familiar a sight since she’d ascended the championship.

Manami paid not one of them any mind. This was but a taste of everything she’d been working towards. Henceforth this would be her domain. Everyone would see it in time, but Eka could have the first glimpse. At the new order.

“Don’t.” As Eka’s hips rose in a desperate attempt to lift the rest of her from the floor, Manami slammed her knee down hard on her gut to plant her back flat against the floor, kneeling over her quarry as her foot jammed harder into her throat. Pinned and helpless. “It won’t be long now.”

The hot summer morning was beginning to fade into the bright and warm summer afternoon. The streets, once filled to the brim with people walking towards various workplaces and destinations began to lose its population with every passing minute. Not only was it growing warmer, but lunch was just around the corner. Businessmen were beginning to take shelter in restaurants and shops. Teenagers hunted in packs to find the closest coffee shop so that they could drink something sweet and beat back the growing heat. Everyday it was growing warmer, the heat of summer making flowers on balconies bloom and sales on frozen treats to become common. Activities were in full swing around this time of year. Everyone had a reason to be excited, be it for one reason or another.

Today, Harumi Hazama had a simple reason to be excited. She had just gotten off work serving tables part time at a restaurant not far from her apartment. While it was true the judoka also had a wrestling career, she seemed keen on keeping herself busy and saving up as much money as she could. Contact sports were a dangerous profession to be in long term, and should she get hurt...well, it wasn’t much, but at least Harumi would have a few common skills to fall back on. One bad injury was all it took to end some peoples entire careers. Judo and wrestling were not exempt from that fact.

But such dark thoughts had long since passed Harumi by. No, such things were not what she had been focusing on. Instead, her emerald green eyes were locked onto her flip phone's small screen. Eka had sent her another text message, the Georgian excitedly writing about her day and all the things she had done just that morning.Sadly, Harumi wasn’t too tech savvy herself. She didn’t know how to reply to any of Eka’s texts, and so often she was forced to respond with a phone call, or perhaps an email if she could find a computer. Once in a while, Harumi had even resorted to mailing letters to respond to a text. She was simply hopeless when it came to learning about her phone, it seemed. But even just reading the text, Harumi could feel the seemingly never ending energy Eka was loaded with since they met! The amount of emoticons Eka left throughout her message were a cute touch, and charming in their own right. Harumi’s flip phone didn’t have any emoticons or similar media on it, so she couldn’t see standard emoji’s or gifs. Eka was well aware of that fact...and she went the extra mile to type the emoticons. All so Harumi could see the expressions she wanted to convey.

It was a small touch...but one Harumi couldn’t help but smile at whenever she saw them.

It looked like Eka’s last stop for the day was the nearby gym. Harumi knew it rather well, as it was only a fifteen minute walk from her apartment...and a twenty minute walk from her restaurant job. If the Judoka were to stop by, then perhaps she might be able to visit her girlfriend in the middle of her workout. The chances of Eka being finished with her workout were slim, even if Harumi took her time getting there.

Would I seem clingy to her if I went? We saw each other last week, and popping in unannounced might be off putting.

Harumi’s pace went from a brisk walk to almost a small crawl as her analytical mind began to overthink and over complicate a rather simple situation. Somehow, Harumi managed to think of at least eight worst case scenarios and also slow down the people who were walking behind her on the sidewalk all in under a minute. For every reason she wanted to go, her mind would create a doubt as to why she shouldn’t. Every second, the stoic faced warrior’s decision floundered from a “yes” to a “no”, then back again.

But it is perfectly normal to drop by and visit when the two subjects in question are dating...isn’t it? Of course, who wants to be interrupted during their routine? I wouldn’t care for that. But what would she think if she knew I wasn’t far and didn’t stop by?

“Tsk!”

She wasn’t getting anywhere thinking like this. She had no real frame of reference towards this kind of situation, with most of her relationship experience being either the romance books she read as a teenager or passively observing couples out in public. The best thing she could do is basically test the waters and go see Eka if she really wanted to. The very worst that could happen was the two of them being awkward for a few minutes. In the end, a visit in a public space wasn’t anything too disruptive.

Finally returning to her normal pace, Harumi maneuvered her way through what pedestrians there were on the sidewalk and set about finding something to bring to Eka. The gym wasn’t that far now, and if she knew Eka as well as she thought, the Georgian would be hungry after her workout. If Harumi would drop in, then she may as well add to the surprise and bring her darling some food~

--

It was a bit strange seeing the Gym during the middle of the day. Thanks to the summer heat and the lunch rush kicking in, the building that usually was bustling with weightlifters and gym goers was nearly abandoned. Just looking through the windows, Harumi could only see a few people here or there working on various machines. The lack of population made Harumi wonder if that was why Eka was working not so late. The Georgian had the looks of a professional beauty model, and the personality that made even the most hardened of individuals smile. Eka clearly had a knack for being liked and adored. Perhaps the reason she worked out so late was to avoid too many distractions from the crowds?

And yet, here Harumi was. Food in hand and planning to drop by as a surprise. Couldn’t get much more distracting than that.

Opening the doors to the gym, something immediately felt off. For one thing, there wasn’t a soul behind the counter. No receptionist, no trainers, nobody. Stepping into the main floor of the gym, there wasn’t a staff member anywhere. In fact, there was an eerie silence that clung to the air like the stench of sweat. There was always noise in the gym, be it the weights that were lifted or the machines in use. But walking in now, there was only one source of sound in the entire building. Everyone on the floor seemed focused on the source, as Harumi herself quickly recognized the symphony of pained grunts and desperate struggles she had heard dozens of times before. There was a fight going on...and judging by the atmosphere, it was going beyond what many people were comfortable with.

There was only one practice ring in use, which was exactly where everyone’s gaze was focused, including Harumi’s. Even at a glance, the judoka could see the cruelty the dominant fighter was bestowing unto her opponent. Like a rabid animal, she was holding her prey down with no shred of mercy. The woman in the green tank top whispered cruelly into her opponents ears, putting more weight onto one of her legs. Harumi followed the limb, all the way down to find her foot was-

Harumi’s eyes widened as she finally noticed the poor girl underneath the rabid fighter. The expression on her face was like something out of a nightmare, desperate and scared as her body began to panic.

The foot was pressed down on Eka’s windpipe…

The food Harumi had been holding slipped from her hand. The styrofoam containers wrapped neatly in a paper bag fell to the floor with a loud thud inside the quiet vacuum the fight had created. Plastic utensils hit the ground and created a sharp clattering sound, but Harumi was already gone. The woman had already begun sprinting towards the ring before the bag containing the food had hit the floor, dodging and weaving through what gym goers stood in her way like a living bullet! The newcomer had cut the distance between herself and the ring in the blink of an eye, but even as she made the impressive jump over the top rope of the ring, her gaze never left the two fighters in the ring.

Her feet hit the canvas of the ring hard, slowing Harumi down for a split second before she was moving again. Harumi came in just as fast as before, the judoka blitzing the woman in the green tank top and swinging her leg directly at her head! Harumi had meant to put enough force into the kick to throw the woman off of Eka, but her eyes were hard as stone. The kick had enough force in it to seriously injure someone unprepared for the attack! And yet, her primary concern was for her Darling...desperate to free her from this fighter’s death grip around her throat and help her to escape this slaughter! To the point where the only warning given to the woman in green would be from her senses and instincts!