Chloe Mason vs. Kaede Komatsuzaki – II: Bred for the Hunt

God fucking damn it, why was this woman so fucking tough?

Kaede hadn’t invested a lot of time into Chloe’s background, didn’t know much of her history that didn’t involve what she needed to take the blonde bitch on, but as near she could figure, she was some kind of high society prick. Her outfits screamed it, the way she carried herself screamed it, that perfect hairstyle all painted the picture of a perfect, pampered, primadonna princess. Kaede made her bones in high school thrashing little know-nothings like that all day.

So why was this one such a tough nut to crack? How could she take all the choking and bashing in the face and still work her way up?

It was a hard thing to fathom from her point of view, as she drilled Chloe in the face with shot after shot. There was only so much force she could put into her attacks like this, but even so, unprotected blows to the face were nothing to scoff at. This would’ve been enough to at least bring most AFW wrestlers to their knees, but she just kept rising.

It was more than a little frustrating, but Kaede tried to not let it bug her too much. Just a little more, a little harder, a little longer, and Chloe would be out like a light. She put her all into the hold, strained with it, and then…

She wasn’t sure what struck her, but given the source, it was probably a kick. Whatever it was, it hit with enough force to leave Kaede seeing stars, and her whole body went slack and dropped the hold. She fell on the mat and rolled to her side, cradling her aching head while she dealt with the pain.

Was Chloe just some high society socialite? Definitely not. Most would instead be taking a seat at ringside than to be inside of a ring. And while Chloe has had her time doing so, actually taking part in the combat was where she prefers. Even when Natasha Loclear and Gwendolyn DuPont Bettencourt are among the ranks, the fact that Kaede still hasn’t got it showed how much she underestimated her. Even the first match should have quashed all notions that she was just some; what was it again?

A perfect, pampered, primadonna princess.

Such blatant disrespect towards Chloe would not be tolerated, and Chloe is anything if not well known for punishing mistakes. Loathe as she was to admit it, the fact that she would still push on was a trait shared by her father. And while he has never dared stepped foot inside a ring, he was not a man that would give up. Relentless and persevering till he gets what he wants. Chloe hated that those traits were inherited, but that is why she has had so much success. Why Chloe was in the position she’s in. This wasn’t the first time she has been punched in the face. Neither was it the first to be slammed down to the ground or twisted into a pretzel. Kaede may have gone through a lot during her time with the Dire Pack. But Chloe has gone through her own hardships.

So even though her neck was crushed so tight, even as Chloe felt her own blood being drawn from the unprotected punches, one thing was evident. Chloe was not going to give.

Her heel struck down with all the force she could muster. While it may not have been 100 percent, it was enough to make Kaede yield the hold. Chloe flopped to the mat immediately after being freed. She landed on her back, gasping as she looked upon the lights shining over the two combatants. Chloe’s eyes blinked hard, her lips dripping with a different shade of red, a trail leaking down her nose. It was not the best of looks, but Chloe has looked worse. The blonde pushed onto her hands and knees, her hair fell towards the mat. Almost acting like a veil ad drops of sweat and blood dripped down from her face. The pain still stings, and the flex of her lips brought a twinge of pain that made her grunt. It was unsightly. And to think Kaede got her to that point.

”Oh...fuck. Come on...just…fuck.”

Kaede couldn’t think. At least, she couldn’t get any thoughts in her head worth holding. Right now, her brain was trying to piece together what had just happened, where it had come from, what she could’ve done to stop it. Interesting questions, sure, but none of them were all that important - no, the only thing she really needed to know now was what she was going to do about her current sad state, and she was low on answers.

First thing first, though - standing up. If she couldn’t do that, she couldn’t do much of anything.

One palm on the mat...good start. Then another. Better. Kaede gritted her teeth and tested her muscles, pushing her way up with shaky arms. She managed to get halfway before things gave way and she plopped down again, smacking her face on the canvas. She balled her fists, placed them against the mat, and made another attempt.

It was slow going all the way, but she managed to rise all the same. Lucky for her, Chloe wasn’t doing much better. Unlucky for her, she wasn’t in anywhere near a good enough position to make something of that. For now, she had to settle for crawling away towards the ropes, gripping the middle for support, and pulling her way up from there.

She just needed to stand up, get her feet on the ground. Then...well, she’d work on that step two later.

Contrary to what people think, this wasn’t the first time Chloe has bled.

At least here in this Japanese federation, it was, but outside of AFW, she did. Chloe remembered getting punched in the nose that needed surgery afterwards. It’s not as if Chloe didn’t care about her appearance, far from it. The scar is so slight that you wouldn’t notice it upon seeing her usually. Sometimes these things happen, no matter how careful Chloe was not to get hit this badly.

But she did remember what happened when she realised her nose turned into a leaky faucet. When her blood spilt, and for that brief moment, she made them pay for it. Chloe tried to look past that Kaede was not that blowhard that couldn’t fight worth a damn. She was better, stronger, hungrier. That triangle choke was not easy to get out of, and just a second more would have seen the blonde getting knocked out.

And yet…

The ex-commissioner snarled, irritated at the stinging pain on her lips; the more it curled. Her head turned to see the young cub crawling towards the ropes. She was still up. Shaky, but still up. There. The wounded cub. She wasn’t bleeding.

Not yet.

Chloe’s fingers curled into the canvas itself, breathing hard before her body suddenly surged into life, stalking towards the prey. Her feet were pressing down to push her body forward before she’d pounce, her body twisted in the air towards Kaede, who’s seeking refuge from the ropes. Then right at the apex, she sought to bring her knee down, lashing out where she anticipates her prey’s spine would be. Elegant. Wild. Dangerous.

And if Sin were watching, she would be damn proud.

Without thinking, Kaede’s eyes went to the crowd, scanning them, looking for approval. It was just the sort of thing that came from being a wrestler, and even before that, when she ruled the halls of her high school. She didn’t do all that shit because she liked beating the shit out of people...okay, not just because she liked beating the shit out of people. She’d craved the admiration, the respect, the cheers that you got when you were the biggest badass around, and the whole point of joining the AFW was to get a taste in the bigtime.

But she was better now. She knew better. Fight for herself, only for herself, cut out the rest of the world and fucking focus, Kaede.

Vibrations on the canvas. The subtle thuds of approaching footsteps. Kaede looked over towards the source, and sure enough, Chloe was heading her way, looking like she was on the warpath, recovering far quicker than she would’ve liked. For a skinny rich bitch, the blonde was tough, no taking that away from her.

Retreat. The smart thing, the only thing to do right now was to make some space, and Kaede started to do just that. ‘Starting to’ turned out to not be nearly enough, though, as Chloe lashed out, before she had the chance to take more than a couple of steps away from the ropes. The pinkette tried to muffle her pained cry, but it slipped out through her gritted teeth as she stumbled towards the corner, aching every step of the way. She spun about at the last second and pressed her back against the corner, standing against them. Not the best place to be, but better than being flat on the floor.

The whole thing showed where the two women’s priorities lie. Kaede’s eyes went to the crowd, scanning around, looking around the audience. Her focus was put on way too many targets to count, a multitude that she could search and comb around. But that showed the duality of the two combatants. Because Chloe only focused on her. Just one target. Just one prey that is trapped within the confines of the ring.

And that prey is still moving.

Chloe, with her knee, drove straight into the back of the young cub, sending her hurtling towards the corner. A stumble towards the turnbuckle and the pinkette would turn to face the other way, her back against the proverbial wall. The sight that she ended up seeing would give her imminent dread.

The mad blonde didn’t stop. Even after the strike to Kaede’s spine, it was easy enough to keep the momentum and begin a flip even after the strike to Kaede’s spin. Her long hair whipped all around, and the circular trail of blood danced in the air before leaving drops into the canvas. Not that Chloe cared about that. There was one objective that she had in mind.

One flip came, then the next. Soon as the ex-commissioner was nigh upon her opponent, with one last graceful arc came down onto Kaede’s pretty head. Probably would look like a sledgehammer striking down with godly force, though in her mind, she intended it to be like a scythe. One that sought to cleave her in two if she could.

It was impossible not to see the parallels to before, to not think about the way things happened last time and feel that sort of despair sinking in. Kaede had made progress, so much progress, since she joined the Pack, but there was always the chance that might not mean anything in the long run. After all, it wasn’t as if Chloe hadn't improved, either. A woman like her didn’t have any real ceiling - she’d just get better and better. The Chloe she was facing now could probably kick the Chloe that beat her all around the ring.

No, no, no. She was getting into her own head too much. This was when she faltered, when she failed. This match wasn’t over, and she was already doing far better than anyone would’ve anticipated. Now, she just had to bring it home. Focus. Survive.

Chloe was moving in now, coming her way with these graceful, light flips, quick and swift. With almost anyone else, they might’ve looked kind of dumb, someone showing off when they should’ve been fighting and giving her an opening. They were the sort of thing that Yuki would’ve beat her stupid for even trying. But Chloe had the speed to make them effect, coming at Kaede in this whirlwind of movement that was impossible to avoid at this range.

Still a little groggy, still a little stunned, Kaede couldn't make out the nature of the attack until it was already coming down on her that she was able to realize what was going on, far too late to react. The kick crashed into her skull, clean on the top, sending a shock all the way down her spine. Kaede’s legs buckled, she sagged against the corner, started to fall…

…but didn’t. Wincing, aching, she forced her knees to stop bending and held her position, leaning hard on the pads for support. What was more, she even managed to return fire, throwing out a wild jab from down low, not even caring what it hit. It was just an attempt to make Chloe back off, and show that she still had plenty of life left.

Huh.

It might be her memory, or the fact that Kaede has developed further since their first meeting, but Chloe couldn't remember if the pinkette was that durable. Perhaps that was just something she overlooked at that time, most of the torture from the first match was psychological rather than physical. Although she did took her out quite soundly, she never really gotten the chance to dig in on the piece of meat. Just to see for herself how much Kaede could take.

Then again, her anger infused mind wouldn't have had the capacity to think back, rather than focusing on the wolf cub in the corner. The sickening thud from that kick made everyone since in impact. Mostly everyone, of course. It looked like the kind of thing would crack a skull so easily. Especially with the momentum that was built up upon that climax, Chloe's heel driving into Kaede's head. Yet despite that, the pinkette didn't fall.


More of a crouch. But somehow, Kaede resisted. Had Chloe not be absolutely incensed, she would have been impressed. Not many would keep standing from a hit like that. However, that's not to say that showing your resilience would net you any favours.

Maybe to the fans who saw the inspiring display and all had the collective thought that Kaede would mount a surprise comeback. The first that came from below was a great display of a strong will and never giving up.

If only Chloe's own foot didn't just block it. "Tch. Annoying mutt."

Not even that, but the same foot that nearly caved Kaede's skull in, swiped the fist away before firing a singing slap to the cheek from her sole as punishment. Still balancing on her leg, Chloe chambered the kicking leg before firing a ferocious kick aiming at Kaede's throat. Or from the looks of things, completely crush it all together.