Nari knew nothing at all about boxing. Well. Not quite nothing, exactly. She knew it was that sport which involved two opponents of similar weights wearing doofy-looking gloves punching each other inside a raised canvas surrounded on all four sides by tightly pulled ropes. Beyond that was pop culture awareness. She knew it was decided by either knock out or judge’s decision. And… That was right about it.
“Come on!” Hatsue screamed. “Knock him down! Get under his guard and work the body!”
The only other thing she knew was that watching Hatsue cheer on her favourite boxer was, in its own way, more exciting than the event itself. So far as Nari was concerned. Hatsue was a bit of a tomboy, but there was something about that energy that Nari found completely… Enthralling. It was so easy to get swept up in it.
“That’s it! He’s open! Knock his teeth in!”
Nari sighed and stared at Hatsue’s profile. She was so pretty in this light. So very beautiful and -
“Good fight, huh?” Hatsue said, enthusiastically jostling Nari. “Nothing like watching two guys at the top of their game slug it out!”
Someone behind Nari took a very inappropriate action, and the next thing she knew she was face first in Hatsue’s cleavage. Oh dear! She hadn’t planned to spend time in here until maybe after the show. She stood up and straightened herself out, a blush tinging both girls faces, but Hatsue seemed equal parts annoyed and embarrassed while Nari was just the latter.
“Hey, creep!” Hatsue said. “Watch what you’re doing!”
“Don’t worry about it,” Nari said, gently putting her arm on Hatsue’s. “I’m sure he didn’t mean anything by it.”
“… Okay. But only because you asked me to,” Hatsue said. “You think you’ll be okay by yourself for a bit? I’m gonna get us a couple drinks.”
“I’ll be fine!” Nari said. “What could possibly happen out here in the middle of a crowd? Go on. If anyone tries being fresh, I’ll be sure to tell you all about it.”
Hatsue nodded, and waved at Nari as she vanished into the crowd. “Okay!” she said. “See ya in a bit!”
Oh, it was such a shame her presence was gone. There wasn’t really much for it but for Nari to watch the big muscular men in the ring with sweat dripping off their bodies move around with precision and grace and all of a sudden she was starting to get the appeal. She was almost disappointed when the end of the round came. The two competitors returned to their corners, and a woman emerged wearing a rather revealing bunnygirl outfit. She started walking around the ring, and the men in attendance whistled obnoxiously.
“That’s right, shake that booty!” one guy called.
“Now that’s what I call a rack!” yelled another.
“Typical male attitude!” a booming (yet somehow familiar) voice yelled. “You think women are for ogling or pushing around. Ain’t that right? Hey?! You listening to me or what?!”
The rumbling of the crowd indicated that actually, only Nari had heard her at all. A shadow passed overhead, and suddenly a woman landed in the middle of the ring. And what a woman it was! She had a figure that put the bunnygirl to shame and didn’t seem to have a problem in showing it off.
While Nari wasn’t especially memorable on history, it seemed to her that the intruder was wearing some form of ancient armour - Though a rather abbreviated version of it. Roman influence, maybe? She was wearing a helmet with a face mask covering half her face, and what looked like steel plate across her breasts. And only her breasts. That alone probably did take a lot of metal, and certainly more than was used to make the skirt she was wearing.
The funny thing was that for every bit as sexy as the girl looked, she was every bit as powerful as well. Her muscles weren’t bulging or anything, but anyone could tell at a glance that she was powerful.
“Listening now?” the armour-clad girl asked. “Or too busy staring with your jaws on the floor?”
The security team made its move at long, long last. One of them grabbed the girl by the arm. All she did was shrug, and the man was flying from the ring. He was easily twice the girl’s size, which was itself no mean feat.
“I am Savage Gladiator! And I feed upon the spirit of competition!” the woman said. “The two of you! Take off your gloves and fight until one of you is unconscious. Then, I shall give a kiss to the winner. How does this sound?”
The two boxers had already backed out of the ring, which made a good bit of sense really. It wasn’t their job to deal with security issues. If anything they’d just get in the way. But now… Now they were looking up at the intruder and there was definitely something weird in their eyes. They were staring at their gloves, then each other, but they stared the longest and hardest at the sexy woman standing in the ring.
“What do you think?” Savage Gladiator cried. “Do you want to see them fight for my favour?”
The crowd screamed in agreement, and Nari was surprised to find herself among them. Yes. That did seem like it might be quite a lot of fun! The boxers tugged at their gloves and threw them aside, then began to climb into the ring. Oh gosh! If only Hatsue were here to see this! Now Nari’s heart was really pumping. She’d better hurry back with those drinks, or she’d miss all the fun!
<hr>
Nanako crashed onto her bed, feeling exhausted from the night’s activities. That weird encounter on her way home after being trounced by that accursed Wild Patroller once again! The humiliation of it all! Next time! Next time she’d win! Next time she would -
She threw her pillow against the wall. An irrational action, but sometimes one needs to let out a little anger. She stalked over to her desk and opened a secret compartment, which just so happened to contain her diary. Her real diary. Not the fake one that she kept in case her family got nosy. Her real one. She flipped it open to the most recent entry and prepared to write about how her sorry ass got kicked by Wild Patroller again -
Then stopped and stared at the most recent entry.
<i>“Boo! Nari didn’t go out with me today! I’m going to crash that meanie Satoko’s date with her, and while I’m at it… Yes! This is the perfect opportunity! Bwahahaha!”</i>
…Huh! She didn’t realise she actually took to writing out her evil laugh while writing in her diary. But there was one other detail that was starting to trouble her. Namely…
“Who the hell is Nari?” she asked, scratching her head and trying to think of if she knew anyone with that name. Nobody sprang to mind. So why did she suddenly feel so cold and empty when she thought that?
<hr>
Savage Gladiator, AKA Hatsue Kusunoki, stared at the enraptured audience with a smirk on her face. Serves ’em right for pushing Nari around. Tomorrow they’d all wake up drained and tired. ’Cept Nari herself, who Savage Gladiator would happily ensure didn’t get a drop stolen. She could feel the competitive spirit washing all over the entire area. Nothing like a good fight, right? After a night like tonight, Nari would wanna spend all her time with Hatsue! Sure, she’d miss competing with the other girls, but what was the spirit of competition if you didn’t try to win in the end?
The boxers stood in opposite corners, and Savage Gladiator blew a kiss to them both to ensure the spell was complete. No chance of resistance. Beauty, brains and brawn. The perfect combination. With a drain like this she’d become even more powerful, and then even that interfering nuisance wouldn’t be able to stand up to her!
“Not so fast!” yelled the very irritating voice. Speak of the devil, and here she comes. Standing in the rafters in her ridiculous uniform, ready as ever to spoil Savage Gladiator’s plans. “You won’t get away this time, Savage Gladiator! This time I will stop you once and for all!”
“I’d like to see you try,” the villain said, pounding her fist into an open palm. “Bring it on, bitch!”
“My name is not ‘bitch’! My name is -”
- Conjuress Smasher
- Cuddly Guardian
- Noble Marquessa
- Infinite Thief Queen
- A different name
- Focus our attention elsewhere
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