ANIMAL INSTINCT
--------------------------
She always felt an incredible moment of calm, when she stood atop a diving board. Jewel Jackson breathed in slowly, exhaling as she opened her eyes and stared forward. Her feet pounding against the diving board as she ran forward, the girl sprang into the air and fell gracefully down towards the water, slipping through the surface and into the clear-blue pool with a small splash.
Jewel took her time getting out of the water, pushing back her dyed-blue hair and glancing at the lanes in the neighboring pool. She watched a diminutive girl with short red hair who had been doing laps since she herself arrived at the facility. Jewel had seen the girl around campus all week since classes had begun, and continued to find herself drawn to the almost-primal nature of how the redhead carried herself.
All her life, Jewel pushed to seek thrill and excitement, all while often being the smallest girl in the room. She took Judo and Aikido lessons to feel confident in defending herself against larger people, and soon found another passion in diving. She grew to adore both the excitement of the jump and the soothing feeling of being in the water. It became a substitute for self-defense classes, as she began to find them boring. She never wanted to admit to herself that it was due to the lack of conflict.
For the past week, however, Jewel’s focus had been all but consumed by the mysterious red-haired girl. Just as short in height as she was herself, but emanating an aura of primal intensity.
“I’m gonna talk to her,” she said to herself for the eighth time, watching silently from a distance as the red-haired girl finally clambered out of the pool and quickly left to get changed. Jewel nodded to herself, and proceeded to take far too long to leave the poolside area herself.
----
Barely getting out of the changing room in time to see the red-haired girl briskly walking away, Jewel cursed herself for another lapse in confidence, and decided to engage in distant pursuit. The girl moved very quickly, and Jewel tried to ignore the sweat that began to form on her brow as she walked city block after city block to follow her.
“What am I even doing?” thought Jewel, her eyes locked on the red-haired girl in the distance.
Finally, Jewel saw the girl enter a large warehouse, and then realized that she was near the dockyards and the sun was steadily going down. “No time to turn back now,” she thought, making her way to the warehouse and heading inside.
----
“Watching or fighting,” asked a large man that almost appeared on top of Jewel once she was inside.
“I’m...with her!” she blurted in response, gesturing at the door that had just closed behind the red-haired girl.
“Fighters go in back,” responded the man, jerking a thumb at the door.
Jewel crept forward, seeing a crowd formed around the center of the large room that she had to cross through to reach the door. “Fighter?” she thought, “Oh...oh okay…” She realized that she had walked into a shady fight venue, and just introduced herself as wanting to take part.
Going through the door, she finally saw the girl she had been following. Now clad in a ragged brown top and shorts, the short-haired redhead was doing a very animate warm-up. Jewel stared at the girl’s animalistic athleticism, until she blinked and caught on that the girl was staring back at her.
“H-Hi!” said Jewel, waving with a grin. “I’ve, um, seen you around. The campus.”
The girl simply stared back at her blankly.
“The pool too,” continued Jewel, looking at a wall as she stepped forward. “And um, wow, turns out we both fight at the same place too! I mean, tonight’s the first night I’m FIGHTING here, but…”
“NEXT MATCH! MONKEY ROUGE...VERSUS....ELLA WHITE!”
The girl immediately looked to the door as a name was called in the main room, and immediately headed towards the ring.
“Ella?” asked Jewel. After an awkward beat of non-response, she tried again. “...Monkey Rouge?”
The red-haired girl paused, looking back over her shoulder and quickly nodding, before heading through the door.
----
With a crowd surrounding its four sides, the ring was a simple raised wooden platform topped by a layer of fairly unforgiving canvas. Monkey Rouge’s red hair was short and messy, while her two-piece fighting attire revealed a slim and compact musculature in her five-foot-three-inch form. Ella was a fairly average-looking girl with curly blonde locks wearing a white top and shorts, who appeared to have a moment of boosted confidence when she saw how short her opponent was.
After the bell rang, Ella was quickly lost as she tried to keep track of Monkey Rouge, who fell to all fours and began moving wildly around the ring. The redhead rolled to avoid Ella’s attempts to strike her, and hopped back when the blonde girl tried to initiate a grapple. Monkey Rouge responded with a twirling kick across Ella’s face, resuming her unpredictable motions and following up with a few more sudden kicks to her opponent’s face and chest, never pausing once from her animalistic technique.
A leg-sweep caused Ella’s feet to fly up in front of her as she squealed and crashed to the mat. Monkey Rouge gave a shrill whoop as she leapt high into the air and pounced onto Ella’s chest, slamming her palms down onto the blonde girl’s shoulders. The redhead squeezed her thighs around her opponent’s hips and seated herself on the struggling fighter, and proceeded to pound at her face and chest with closed fists like a hungry little beast. Ella did not expect so much force from such a small body, and began to cry out in desperation as she tried to cover up. The blonde fighter began throwing desperate punches back at her foe, managing to catch Monkey Rouge across the chin and stun the small fighter. Ella squirmed, freeing one leg enough to push her opponent away and scramble back to her feet.
Rolling head over heels, Monkey Rouge made a shrill battlecry as she vaulted forward towards her recovering target. Ella braced her feet against the mat at the sight of her opponent jumping at her, and then made a confused sound as she felt the redhead’s legs wrap around her midriff. Monkey Rouge locked her ankles to mount her standing foe, and grabbed the back of the blonde girl’s head with one hand. Then, she slammed open-palm strikes against Ella’s skull with the other. Ella staggered, trying and failing to push Monkey Rouge away from her, and then making a feeble attempt to bearhug the small girl since she had put herself in position for it. The squeeze of the hug made Monkey Rouge wince, and she responded by grabbing Ella’s head with both hands and headbutting her. The little fighter headbutted her opponent again, causing Ella’s arms to fall to her sides, and then resumed beating her skull until she collapsed to the mat.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Monkey Rouge leapt into the air and splashed her small body down onto Ella’s. Closing her fists and pounding her opponent’s head twice, the redhead paused to look at the state of the blonde girl. She pulled Ella’s head up off the mat with one hand, looking over the girl’s face like a curious animal. Ella was barely conscious, her lower lip twitching as she stared glassily at nothing. Monkey Rouge raised a hand with a whooping battle cry, striking Ella’s head once more to knock her out cold. The blonde fighter flopped to a rest with her opponent sitting on her chest, as Monkey Rouge raised both fists and whooped again in victory.
----
Jewel had been watching from the locker room door, and quickly stepped back when Monkey Rouge returned.
“You’re...amazing!” she said. “I’ve never seen somebody fight like that before!”
The red-haired girl responded with a blank stare, as though she was waiting for something.
“I just, um,” stammered Jewel, “I was hoping I could...I’ve just meant to say hello all week, and...huh?”
Monkey Rouge interrupted her with a hand gesture, pointing at the door.
“I-I...do you want me to leave?” asked Jewel.
The red-haired girl shook her head, and pointed at the door again with an intense expression on her face.
“You want me to...fight?” Jewel realized she was still standing in her tracksuit, and still carrying her duffel bag on one shoulder. “Right, I’m...that’s what I said I came to do.”
Jewel put down her bag and took off her tracksuit jacket, then looked back at Monkey Rouge. “Wait up for me, right?”
The red-haired girl nodded quickly and then went back to where her things were left in the locker room, seeming to have resumed ignoring Jewel.
Jewel bit her lower lip as she tried to think of a plan, and decided to simply change back into her swimsuit. “It’s this, or fight in my underwear,” she thought, feeling very foolish for putting herself into such a predicament. However, she also felt something she hadn’t felt since her self-defense classes. A pang of excitement swam around in the back of her mind, as she thought more and more about the idea of having a real fight in front of a real crowd. Jewel thought about the onlookers seeing her five-foot-three-inch swimsuited body standing in a ring like a true underdog, and began to grin as her cheeks grew flush.
Heading into the empty shower area, Jewel began turning on faucets until water began raining down on her from both sides of the room. She held out her arms, taking in a deep and careful breath as her body grew damp. Then, she went through the warm-ups that she hadn’t done for weeks, preparing herself to become a combatant. She never noticed Monkey Rouge silently watching her from around corner.
----
“NEXT MATCH! TAIMA ATLAS...VERSUS...JEWEL JACKSON!”
Her bare skin and blue hair still glistening with moisture, Jewel Jackson’s small body was clad in a sparkling aquamarine swimsuit. Her large sparkling eyes grew wider as she looked up at her opponent: a tall black girl with a bodybuilder’s physique in a golden leotard. Taima Atlas grinned widely, her frizzy afro bouncing as she walked forward and offered her opponent a handshake. Jewel timidly reached forward, wincing slightly at the firm handshake as her opponent proceeded to say, “Hope you had a nice shower, little girl.”
“Hope you’re ready to hit the showers soon yourself,” said Jewel with an overconfident grin, slightly surprised at the words coming out of her mouth.
“Hah!” laughed Taima, as she stepped back. “I ain’t gonna be done with you THAT quickly.”
The bell rang, and Jewel’s adrenaline flowed. She inched around her opponent nervously, knowing that her best chance was to use Taima’s height and weight against her, and guessing that somebody built that well would know a thing or two about grappling herself. Jewel’s stance was crouched, her fingers outstretched as she kept her hands out and ready to wrestle. Looking eager, Taima approached with a similar intent, though her stance was more upright and aggressive. The two fighters locked up, with Jewel trying very hard to overpower her opponent, and Taima easily ending that endeavour after a few moments with a sudden scooping motion. Jewel yelped as she found herself suspended in the air, staring wide-eyed down at the floor as her bare feet waved helplessly behind her. Taima grinned as she held the swimsuited girl aloft, and then bodyslammed her with flourish. Crying out in pain as she banged against the canvas, Jewel was slow to rise, and Taima was happy to wait.
Rushing back into a grappling contest, Jewel was determined to pay Taima back for the humiliating opening maneuver. Her arms went through the same motions as before, weaving with her opponent’s but not able to overpower the black girl’s strength. Taima once again slid an arm forward and leaned down to scoop up Jewel. This time, the swimsuited girl moved her grip to the incoming arm, turning her entire body to pull Taima into a countering throw. Taken off balance more than anything else, the black girl was surprised to find herself half-flipped-over and hitting the mat shoulder-first. Jewel sprang forward onto Taima’s back, going for a chokehold while the muscular girl was still down. Acting quickly once she felt pressure on her neck, Taima grabbed her opponent’s wrists and slowly pried the chokehold open, her arms flexing powerfully as Jewel shouted in frustration. The swimsuited girl’s arms quivered with effort as they fought a losing battle of raw power. Taima rose to her knees, holding Jewel’s arms apart. She yanked forward, flipping her opponent over her head to land on the mat in front of her.
Now taking the fight more seriously, Taima did not let Jewel get to her feet before stepping in to wrestle with the smaller girl once more. Now, Jewel found herself trapped in a battle of attrition. Taima did not let her escape, nor did she go for any follow-up maneuvers. Jewel felt herself being leaned from side to side, goaded into trying to push and pull against muscles that maintained superior positions no matter what she did. The swimsuited girl saw Taima’s legs, and grabbed hold of their powerful thighs in an attempt to perform a wrestling takedown. Jewel strained, her muscles visibly flexing to their limit. Sweating and panting between heaving groans of effort, Jewel finally gave up the attempt. Just as an upset expression of defeat washed over her face, her eyes met Taima’s, and the black girl grinned back. Then, Taima forced Jewel to bend over before locking her arms around the weary girl’s waist. Taima lifted Jewel up and carried her under one arm, walking confidently as her opponent’s arms and legs flailed wildly in the air. Finally, Taima leaned back, flipping Jewel around and slamming her body into the floor. Without letting go, the black girl stood up with her stunned opponent still in her arms, now carrying Jewel horizontally across her chest. The swimsuited girl began to regain her senses, making several fearful and pained cries as she tried to beat at Taima’s back with her fists. Jewel was rewarded with a backbreaker that bent her over Taima’s knee. Her mouth was wide open in a squealing howl, and her body shuddering as it became overwhelmed by the beating.
Holding her opponent by the back of her neck, Taima helped Jewel up into a standing position straight off of her knee. The swimsuited girl gasped a sob as her body tried to continue to function, and went slightly limp as she was then hoisted up onto Taima’s shoulders. Hands slid beneath her pelvis and her collarbone. Barely keeping up with what was happening to her, Jewel was snapped awake by adrenaline when she realized she was about to go higher. Just as Taima pressed her body up like a small set of weights, Jewel shouted, “Wuh-WHOA! WHOOOA NO, NO, NO!!” The swimsuited girl’s eyes went wide as she saw how long a fall it would be back to the mat, and began kicking her legs and clawing at one of Taima’s arms as she broke down in fear. The black girl lowered and lifted Jewel several times, showing off her strength as she heard her opponent’s cries.
“Sounds like you give up, girl!” taunted Taima.
Blinking back embarrassed tears as she felt shame mix with fear, Jewel sobbed again before she was suddenly dropped. Her body slammed face-down into the mat hard enough to make her head and limbs bounce. Jewel lay still, blacked out for only a moment before she curled up and gasped for the breath that had been knocked out of her gut. Taima stood over her, reaching down to collect the girl off the mat and into an unfriendly hug. Jewel’s arms were pinned against her sides as she blinked unevenly, her head rocking around in a daze.
“Don’t worry, baby. You gave a good fight for a newbie. I ain’t gonna break anythin’,” cooed Taima, hugging Jewel closer. “But it might look like it. And it’ll probably FEEL like it!”
Punctuating her words, Taima began to crush her opponent in a bearhug. Jewel was no longer rational and barely even conscious, shaking her head wildly as she howled and screamed. As Jewel’s head began to sag back, Taima adjusted her grip, releasing Jewel’s arms but also lifting her into the air to squeeze her into oblivion. Jewel’s arms flopped up and down as Taima applied more pressure and drew a final wail of agony from her opponent. The swimsuited girl’s legs kicked limply, her mouth hanging open as her eyes began to roll back. Taima roared, forcing her opponent into a full-body spasm with a brutal squeeze that bent Jewel’s body backwards. Jewel croaked irregularly between wheezing breaths. Taima roared once more, squeezing Jewel’s unconscious form until a foamy trickle of drool ran from the swimsuited girl’s mouth. Taima finally tossed Jewel to one side, and planted a foot on the back of her beaten and sprawled opponent’s head as she flexed her arms and posed for the cheering crowd.
----
Jewel woke up to the sight of Monkey Rouge staring down at her in the locker room. The swimsuited girl sat up quickly, then winced and rubbed her aching ribs and back. “Th-thanks for waiting…” she said.
Monkey Rouge nodded, then turned and put on a beat-up brown jacket.
“Wait!” blurted Jewel, “I...wanted to talk to you, still.”
With a shrug, Monkey Rouge then tapped her wrist and pointed at the door.
“No, wait, don’t go yet,” said Jewel, getting up and stumbling towards the red-haired girl. “I lied, earlier, a little, I was just following you because I wanted to talk. This is the first time I’ve ever fought, like in a real ring.”
Monkey Rouge looked blank and indifferent, as though she was waiting to be surprised.
“I just, I…” Jewel shook her head, trying to think of what to say. Then, she got a firm look on her face. “I want to fight you. Give me five minutes and I’ll fight you in that ring.”
The red-haired girl tilted her head. Then, a small smirk appeared on the right side of her mouth, and she nodded. Monkey Rouge immediately took her jacket back off, and headed for an opposing corner of the locker room to begin warming up once again.
Jewel headed for the showers, began to soak her body, and slowly counted backwards from 100 as she tried to figure out what her instincts were making her do.
----
“WE’VE GOT A GRUDGE MATCH, FOLKS! TWO FIGHTERS WANT A PIECE OF EACH OTHER BEFORE THE NIGHT IS OVER! MONKEY ROUGE...VERSUS...JEWEL JACKSON!”
Monkey Rouge crouched, bouncing softly on the balls of her feet for a few moments as she watched her opponent. Jewel was refreshed from the water, and her chest was already breathing heavily from the adrenaline of returning to the ring so quickly. Her body ached, her eyes were fiery and alive, and her grappler’s stance was slightly more reserved and confident than before. Monkey Rouge waited for Jewel to take the first step forward, and then began to move around her. The swimsuited girl shifted in place, keeping her eyes locked with her opponent’s. Jewel knew pursuing Monkey Rouge would just tire her out, so she beckoned with both hands and hissed, “C’mon…come and get it!”
Even though she had asked to be attacked, Jewel’s vision filled suddenly with a kick that she failed to catch. Monkey Rouge’s foot cracked across her face, making Jewel stumble in place as her delayed attempt to parry simply made her flail her arms at nothing. The red-haired girl leapt with another kick that connected in the opposite direction, as Jewel cried out in confused pain and barely stayed on her feet. Monkey Rouge firmly gripped her opponent’s shoulder to hold her steady, before delivering a brutal chop straight into her head. Falling to her knees, Jewel covered up desperately as Monkey Rouge began pounding fists down onto her head and shoulders without remorse. The thought of crumpling to the floor in the first minute ran through Jewel’s mind, filling her pounding head with shame.
With a roar and a surge of will, Jewel shoved herself forward and grabbed her opponent’s legs in two violent armfuls. She pushed her legs up, lifting Monkey Rouge off the mat. Jewel turned in place, flipping the red-haired girl around before slamming her onto the canvas. The crowd cheered at the sight of the smaller fighter finally making good on one of her attempted wrestling maneuvers, even if her second opponent was much closer to her in size. Jewel felt Monkey Rouge already slipping out from under her, as the red-haired girl’s body squirmed and wriggled wildly. Missing the chance to trap one of her opponent’s arms between her thighs, Jewel focused on getting her own arms around Monkey Rouge’s body. Almost by chance, she hooked one arm under and around her opponent’s neck, and clamped a chokehold onto Monkey Rouge as hard as she could. Jewel pushed her pelvis down onto the red-haired girl’s posterior, gripping her toes on the mat as she squeezed her arms tightly and hoped she could keep Monkey Rouge pinned down long enough to pass out.
It had never occurred to her to mind the position of her own head, and the idea came far too late as Monkey Rouge’s struggling hands managed to get a grip on her jaw and the back of her scalp. The desperate red-haired girl pulled down hard, twisting Jewel’s head and removing some of the swimsuited girl’s leverage. Jewel’s neck began to hurt sharply, and she moaned with increasing volume as she tried to continue choking her prey. She relented briefly to let herself be pulled down and relieve the cranking on her neck, and that was all Monkey Rouge needed to slide a few inches forward and throw an elbow up into Jewel’s chin. As her head recoiled, Jewel then flipped over in place as Monkey Rouge rolled out from underneath her.
There was a pause in the action as both fighters got back to their feet, and Monkey Rouge was the first to take action as she launched herself into the air to pounce on her opponent’s upper body. Jewel turned with Monkey Rouge’s momentum, using one of her opponent’s arms to throw the girl over one shoulder and onto the mat. She leapt to splash her body onto Monkey Rouge’s, and was stunned to find herself crashing onto the canvas as the red-haired girl rolled out of the way with incredible speed. Jewel almost collapsed as she felt a weight suddenly land on her, and barely managed to stand back up as she found her opponent seated atop her shoulders. Monkey Rouge began throwing hard chops down into Jewel’s head, who only managed to take three of them before falling to her hands and knees. Monkey Rouge’s feet landed nimbly on the mat, her legs still tightly gripped on either side of Jewel’s head as the swimsuited girl stared down at the floor and tried to clear her vision. The red-haired girl reached one hand down to cup Jewel’s chin, keeping the swimsuited girl’s head elevated and in place. Raising a fist, Monkey Rouge gave a whooping battle cry. Instead of sitting down to lock in a hold like a camel clutch, Monkey Rouge rather proceeded to use her raised hand to continue chopping Jewel’s skull, whose body soon flopped like a fish behind her with every impact.
Finally releasing Jewel’s chin after landing six brutal chops, Monkey Rouge stepped forward and turned around as her opponent’s head finally hit the mat. Jewel lay face-down, writhing as she tried and failed to even crawl to her knees. Her skull was throbbing and her consciousness was spinning. She gave no resistance as Monkey Rouge turned her over onto her back and sat down on her waistline. Jewel’s eyes were rolled up slightly when her opponent grabbed the back of her head and lifted it up off the mat with one hand. Then, she looked forward with glassy intensity and swang both of her arms up, grabbing messily at Monkey Rouge’s face. Jewel meant to grapple with her opponent, but was so weakened and groggy, she merely pulled awkwardly at the red-haired girl’s head and neck while kicking her legs against the mat. Quietly regarding the state of the girl who had followed her to the venue and challenged her directly, Monkey Rouge leaned her face closer to Jewel’s and whispered a question.
“You give?”
The sound of Monkey Rouge’s voice cut through the noise of the crowd in her ear. Jewel had one last trickle of adrenaline as she realized she could surrender. She could give up the match, after the long and grueling adventure of that entire day.
“Nuh...no....” stammered Jewel, reaching once again to try and grapple her opponent. “Fight...fight me…”
Suddenly, Monkey Rouge grabbed Jewel’s head with both hands and pulled her away, before delivering a cracking headbutt. Jewel made a loud noise, her eyes wide and aimless after the impact. Monkey Rouge raised both her arms with a shrill and bestial cry, then clapped her fists down together against her opponent’s temples. Jewel’s legs flopped against the mat as she made another loud noise, now gaping and barely holding onto consciousness. Monkey Rouge wrapped an arm around Jewel’s neck and forced her head down onto the mat, pushing a shoulder into the swimsuited girl’s throat and clenching her legs around the beaten fighter’s thighs. Jewel lasted only a few seconds in the hold before blacking out, her body going limp as it spasmed softly with a choked whimper.
----
Her eyelids feeling heavier and her vision even more blurred than the last time she woke up in the locker room, Jewel once again found Monkey Rouge staring down at her as she regained consciousness. “Y-you win,” said Jewel, her voice weak as she winced, “guess that’s...that.
The redhead cocked her head to one side, and then suddenly grinned. She reached out and ruffled Jewel’s hair, before turning away to put on her jacket. Jewel forced herself off the bench she was laying on, and dragged her feet as she went to get changed. She looked thoroughly beaten and defeated, but slowly realized that Monkey Rouge was still in the locker room, busying herself with the repair of one of her beaten-up sandals.
“I’ve never had a night like tonight,” said Jewel, deciding to simply speak as she got changed. “You make me feel something...primal. It was like I had to get in the ring with you to know you.”
Monkey Rouge pulled on her sandal, flexing her toes to make sure the shoe held together.
“I guess you know me like that too,” continued Jewel, blushing as she felt more and more foolish, talking to a girl she’d followed across town and subsequently been beaten by in a warehouse pitfight. “Whatever it...whatever it is you’ve woken up in me, it’s...thank you for letting me...face you.”
Jewel collected her things quickly and turned to leave, but was pulled back as a hand grabbed ahold of hers. Monkey Rouge looked at her brightly, gripping Jewel’s hand in both of her own and shaking it. Her cheeks flush, Jewel gave a nervous grin. “Wanna...get some food?” she muttered, glancing at the floor. Monkey Rouge replied by nodding and then bolting out of the locker room, holding onto her new friend’s hand tightly. Jewel was nearly dragged along behind the mysterious redhead, barely keeping her balance as she fell into an unexpected new chapter of her life.
--------------------------
She always felt an incredible moment of calm, when she stood atop a diving board. Jewel Jackson breathed in slowly, exhaling as she opened her eyes and stared forward. Her feet pounding against the diving board as she ran forward, the girl sprang into the air and fell gracefully down towards the water, slipping through the surface and into the clear-blue pool with a small splash.
Jewel took her time getting out of the water, pushing back her dyed-blue hair and glancing at the lanes in the neighboring pool. She watched a diminutive girl with short red hair who had been doing laps since she herself arrived at the facility. Jewel had seen the girl around campus all week since classes had begun, and continued to find herself drawn to the almost-primal nature of how the redhead carried herself.
All her life, Jewel pushed to seek thrill and excitement, all while often being the smallest girl in the room. She took Judo and Aikido lessons to feel confident in defending herself against larger people, and soon found another passion in diving. She grew to adore both the excitement of the jump and the soothing feeling of being in the water. It became a substitute for self-defense classes, as she began to find them boring. She never wanted to admit to herself that it was due to the lack of conflict.
For the past week, however, Jewel’s focus had been all but consumed by the mysterious red-haired girl. Just as short in height as she was herself, but emanating an aura of primal intensity.
“I’m gonna talk to her,” she said to herself for the eighth time, watching silently from a distance as the red-haired girl finally clambered out of the pool and quickly left to get changed. Jewel nodded to herself, and proceeded to take far too long to leave the poolside area herself.
----
Barely getting out of the changing room in time to see the red-haired girl briskly walking away, Jewel cursed herself for another lapse in confidence, and decided to engage in distant pursuit. The girl moved very quickly, and Jewel tried to ignore the sweat that began to form on her brow as she walked city block after city block to follow her.
“What am I even doing?” thought Jewel, her eyes locked on the red-haired girl in the distance.
Finally, Jewel saw the girl enter a large warehouse, and then realized that she was near the dockyards and the sun was steadily going down. “No time to turn back now,” she thought, making her way to the warehouse and heading inside.
----
“Watching or fighting,” asked a large man that almost appeared on top of Jewel once she was inside.
“I’m...with her!” she blurted in response, gesturing at the door that had just closed behind the red-haired girl.
“Fighters go in back,” responded the man, jerking a thumb at the door.
Jewel crept forward, seeing a crowd formed around the center of the large room that she had to cross through to reach the door. “Fighter?” she thought, “Oh...oh okay…” She realized that she had walked into a shady fight venue, and just introduced herself as wanting to take part.
Going through the door, she finally saw the girl she had been following. Now clad in a ragged brown top and shorts, the short-haired redhead was doing a very animate warm-up. Jewel stared at the girl’s animalistic athleticism, until she blinked and caught on that the girl was staring back at her.
“H-Hi!” said Jewel, waving with a grin. “I’ve, um, seen you around. The campus.”
The girl simply stared back at her blankly.
“The pool too,” continued Jewel, looking at a wall as she stepped forward. “And um, wow, turns out we both fight at the same place too! I mean, tonight’s the first night I’m FIGHTING here, but…”
“NEXT MATCH! MONKEY ROUGE...VERSUS....ELLA WHITE!”
The girl immediately looked to the door as a name was called in the main room, and immediately headed towards the ring.
“Ella?” asked Jewel. After an awkward beat of non-response, she tried again. “...Monkey Rouge?”
The red-haired girl paused, looking back over her shoulder and quickly nodding, before heading through the door.
----
With a crowd surrounding its four sides, the ring was a simple raised wooden platform topped by a layer of fairly unforgiving canvas. Monkey Rouge’s red hair was short and messy, while her two-piece fighting attire revealed a slim and compact musculature in her five-foot-three-inch form. Ella was a fairly average-looking girl with curly blonde locks wearing a white top and shorts, who appeared to have a moment of boosted confidence when she saw how short her opponent was.
After the bell rang, Ella was quickly lost as she tried to keep track of Monkey Rouge, who fell to all fours and began moving wildly around the ring. The redhead rolled to avoid Ella’s attempts to strike her, and hopped back when the blonde girl tried to initiate a grapple. Monkey Rouge responded with a twirling kick across Ella’s face, resuming her unpredictable motions and following up with a few more sudden kicks to her opponent’s face and chest, never pausing once from her animalistic technique.
A leg-sweep caused Ella’s feet to fly up in front of her as she squealed and crashed to the mat. Monkey Rouge gave a shrill whoop as she leapt high into the air and pounced onto Ella’s chest, slamming her palms down onto the blonde girl’s shoulders. The redhead squeezed her thighs around her opponent’s hips and seated herself on the struggling fighter, and proceeded to pound at her face and chest with closed fists like a hungry little beast. Ella did not expect so much force from such a small body, and began to cry out in desperation as she tried to cover up. The blonde fighter began throwing desperate punches back at her foe, managing to catch Monkey Rouge across the chin and stun the small fighter. Ella squirmed, freeing one leg enough to push her opponent away and scramble back to her feet.
Rolling head over heels, Monkey Rouge made a shrill battlecry as she vaulted forward towards her recovering target. Ella braced her feet against the mat at the sight of her opponent jumping at her, and then made a confused sound as she felt the redhead’s legs wrap around her midriff. Monkey Rouge locked her ankles to mount her standing foe, and grabbed the back of the blonde girl’s head with one hand. Then, she slammed open-palm strikes against Ella’s skull with the other. Ella staggered, trying and failing to push Monkey Rouge away from her, and then making a feeble attempt to bearhug the small girl since she had put herself in position for it. The squeeze of the hug made Monkey Rouge wince, and she responded by grabbing Ella’s head with both hands and headbutting her. The little fighter headbutted her opponent again, causing Ella’s arms to fall to her sides, and then resumed beating her skull until she collapsed to the mat.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Monkey Rouge leapt into the air and splashed her small body down onto Ella’s. Closing her fists and pounding her opponent’s head twice, the redhead paused to look at the state of the blonde girl. She pulled Ella’s head up off the mat with one hand, looking over the girl’s face like a curious animal. Ella was barely conscious, her lower lip twitching as she stared glassily at nothing. Monkey Rouge raised a hand with a whooping battle cry, striking Ella’s head once more to knock her out cold. The blonde fighter flopped to a rest with her opponent sitting on her chest, as Monkey Rouge raised both fists and whooped again in victory.
----
Jewel had been watching from the locker room door, and quickly stepped back when Monkey Rouge returned.
“You’re...amazing!” she said. “I’ve never seen somebody fight like that before!”
The red-haired girl responded with a blank stare, as though she was waiting for something.
“I just, um,” stammered Jewel, “I was hoping I could...I’ve just meant to say hello all week, and...huh?”
Monkey Rouge interrupted her with a hand gesture, pointing at the door.
“I-I...do you want me to leave?” asked Jewel.
The red-haired girl shook her head, and pointed at the door again with an intense expression on her face.
“You want me to...fight?” Jewel realized she was still standing in her tracksuit, and still carrying her duffel bag on one shoulder. “Right, I’m...that’s what I said I came to do.”
Jewel put down her bag and took off her tracksuit jacket, then looked back at Monkey Rouge. “Wait up for me, right?”
The red-haired girl nodded quickly and then went back to where her things were left in the locker room, seeming to have resumed ignoring Jewel.
Jewel bit her lower lip as she tried to think of a plan, and decided to simply change back into her swimsuit. “It’s this, or fight in my underwear,” she thought, feeling very foolish for putting herself into such a predicament. However, she also felt something she hadn’t felt since her self-defense classes. A pang of excitement swam around in the back of her mind, as she thought more and more about the idea of having a real fight in front of a real crowd. Jewel thought about the onlookers seeing her five-foot-three-inch swimsuited body standing in a ring like a true underdog, and began to grin as her cheeks grew flush.
Heading into the empty shower area, Jewel began turning on faucets until water began raining down on her from both sides of the room. She held out her arms, taking in a deep and careful breath as her body grew damp. Then, she went through the warm-ups that she hadn’t done for weeks, preparing herself to become a combatant. She never noticed Monkey Rouge silently watching her from around corner.
----
“NEXT MATCH! TAIMA ATLAS...VERSUS...JEWEL JACKSON!”
Her bare skin and blue hair still glistening with moisture, Jewel Jackson’s small body was clad in a sparkling aquamarine swimsuit. Her large sparkling eyes grew wider as she looked up at her opponent: a tall black girl with a bodybuilder’s physique in a golden leotard. Taima Atlas grinned widely, her frizzy afro bouncing as she walked forward and offered her opponent a handshake. Jewel timidly reached forward, wincing slightly at the firm handshake as her opponent proceeded to say, “Hope you had a nice shower, little girl.”
“Hope you’re ready to hit the showers soon yourself,” said Jewel with an overconfident grin, slightly surprised at the words coming out of her mouth.
“Hah!” laughed Taima, as she stepped back. “I ain’t gonna be done with you THAT quickly.”
The bell rang, and Jewel’s adrenaline flowed. She inched around her opponent nervously, knowing that her best chance was to use Taima’s height and weight against her, and guessing that somebody built that well would know a thing or two about grappling herself. Jewel’s stance was crouched, her fingers outstretched as she kept her hands out and ready to wrestle. Looking eager, Taima approached with a similar intent, though her stance was more upright and aggressive. The two fighters locked up, with Jewel trying very hard to overpower her opponent, and Taima easily ending that endeavour after a few moments with a sudden scooping motion. Jewel yelped as she found herself suspended in the air, staring wide-eyed down at the floor as her bare feet waved helplessly behind her. Taima grinned as she held the swimsuited girl aloft, and then bodyslammed her with flourish. Crying out in pain as she banged against the canvas, Jewel was slow to rise, and Taima was happy to wait.
Rushing back into a grappling contest, Jewel was determined to pay Taima back for the humiliating opening maneuver. Her arms went through the same motions as before, weaving with her opponent’s but not able to overpower the black girl’s strength. Taima once again slid an arm forward and leaned down to scoop up Jewel. This time, the swimsuited girl moved her grip to the incoming arm, turning her entire body to pull Taima into a countering throw. Taken off balance more than anything else, the black girl was surprised to find herself half-flipped-over and hitting the mat shoulder-first. Jewel sprang forward onto Taima’s back, going for a chokehold while the muscular girl was still down. Acting quickly once she felt pressure on her neck, Taima grabbed her opponent’s wrists and slowly pried the chokehold open, her arms flexing powerfully as Jewel shouted in frustration. The swimsuited girl’s arms quivered with effort as they fought a losing battle of raw power. Taima rose to her knees, holding Jewel’s arms apart. She yanked forward, flipping her opponent over her head to land on the mat in front of her.
Now taking the fight more seriously, Taima did not let Jewel get to her feet before stepping in to wrestle with the smaller girl once more. Now, Jewel found herself trapped in a battle of attrition. Taima did not let her escape, nor did she go for any follow-up maneuvers. Jewel felt herself being leaned from side to side, goaded into trying to push and pull against muscles that maintained superior positions no matter what she did. The swimsuited girl saw Taima’s legs, and grabbed hold of their powerful thighs in an attempt to perform a wrestling takedown. Jewel strained, her muscles visibly flexing to their limit. Sweating and panting between heaving groans of effort, Jewel finally gave up the attempt. Just as an upset expression of defeat washed over her face, her eyes met Taima’s, and the black girl grinned back. Then, Taima forced Jewel to bend over before locking her arms around the weary girl’s waist. Taima lifted Jewel up and carried her under one arm, walking confidently as her opponent’s arms and legs flailed wildly in the air. Finally, Taima leaned back, flipping Jewel around and slamming her body into the floor. Without letting go, the black girl stood up with her stunned opponent still in her arms, now carrying Jewel horizontally across her chest. The swimsuited girl began to regain her senses, making several fearful and pained cries as she tried to beat at Taima’s back with her fists. Jewel was rewarded with a backbreaker that bent her over Taima’s knee. Her mouth was wide open in a squealing howl, and her body shuddering as it became overwhelmed by the beating.
Holding her opponent by the back of her neck, Taima helped Jewel up into a standing position straight off of her knee. The swimsuited girl gasped a sob as her body tried to continue to function, and went slightly limp as she was then hoisted up onto Taima’s shoulders. Hands slid beneath her pelvis and her collarbone. Barely keeping up with what was happening to her, Jewel was snapped awake by adrenaline when she realized she was about to go higher. Just as Taima pressed her body up like a small set of weights, Jewel shouted, “Wuh-WHOA! WHOOOA NO, NO, NO!!” The swimsuited girl’s eyes went wide as she saw how long a fall it would be back to the mat, and began kicking her legs and clawing at one of Taima’s arms as she broke down in fear. The black girl lowered and lifted Jewel several times, showing off her strength as she heard her opponent’s cries.
“Sounds like you give up, girl!” taunted Taima.
Blinking back embarrassed tears as she felt shame mix with fear, Jewel sobbed again before she was suddenly dropped. Her body slammed face-down into the mat hard enough to make her head and limbs bounce. Jewel lay still, blacked out for only a moment before she curled up and gasped for the breath that had been knocked out of her gut. Taima stood over her, reaching down to collect the girl off the mat and into an unfriendly hug. Jewel’s arms were pinned against her sides as she blinked unevenly, her head rocking around in a daze.
“Don’t worry, baby. You gave a good fight for a newbie. I ain’t gonna break anythin’,” cooed Taima, hugging Jewel closer. “But it might look like it. And it’ll probably FEEL like it!”
Punctuating her words, Taima began to crush her opponent in a bearhug. Jewel was no longer rational and barely even conscious, shaking her head wildly as she howled and screamed. As Jewel’s head began to sag back, Taima adjusted her grip, releasing Jewel’s arms but also lifting her into the air to squeeze her into oblivion. Jewel’s arms flopped up and down as Taima applied more pressure and drew a final wail of agony from her opponent. The swimsuited girl’s legs kicked limply, her mouth hanging open as her eyes began to roll back. Taima roared, forcing her opponent into a full-body spasm with a brutal squeeze that bent Jewel’s body backwards. Jewel croaked irregularly between wheezing breaths. Taima roared once more, squeezing Jewel’s unconscious form until a foamy trickle of drool ran from the swimsuited girl’s mouth. Taima finally tossed Jewel to one side, and planted a foot on the back of her beaten and sprawled opponent’s head as she flexed her arms and posed for the cheering crowd.
----
Jewel woke up to the sight of Monkey Rouge staring down at her in the locker room. The swimsuited girl sat up quickly, then winced and rubbed her aching ribs and back. “Th-thanks for waiting…” she said.
Monkey Rouge nodded, then turned and put on a beat-up brown jacket.
“Wait!” blurted Jewel, “I...wanted to talk to you, still.”
With a shrug, Monkey Rouge then tapped her wrist and pointed at the door.
“No, wait, don’t go yet,” said Jewel, getting up and stumbling towards the red-haired girl. “I lied, earlier, a little, I was just following you because I wanted to talk. This is the first time I’ve ever fought, like in a real ring.”
Monkey Rouge looked blank and indifferent, as though she was waiting to be surprised.
“I just, I…” Jewel shook her head, trying to think of what to say. Then, she got a firm look on her face. “I want to fight you. Give me five minutes and I’ll fight you in that ring.”
The red-haired girl tilted her head. Then, a small smirk appeared on the right side of her mouth, and she nodded. Monkey Rouge immediately took her jacket back off, and headed for an opposing corner of the locker room to begin warming up once again.
Jewel headed for the showers, began to soak her body, and slowly counted backwards from 100 as she tried to figure out what her instincts were making her do.
----
“WE’VE GOT A GRUDGE MATCH, FOLKS! TWO FIGHTERS WANT A PIECE OF EACH OTHER BEFORE THE NIGHT IS OVER! MONKEY ROUGE...VERSUS...JEWEL JACKSON!”
Monkey Rouge crouched, bouncing softly on the balls of her feet for a few moments as she watched her opponent. Jewel was refreshed from the water, and her chest was already breathing heavily from the adrenaline of returning to the ring so quickly. Her body ached, her eyes were fiery and alive, and her grappler’s stance was slightly more reserved and confident than before. Monkey Rouge waited for Jewel to take the first step forward, and then began to move around her. The swimsuited girl shifted in place, keeping her eyes locked with her opponent’s. Jewel knew pursuing Monkey Rouge would just tire her out, so she beckoned with both hands and hissed, “C’mon…come and get it!”
Even though she had asked to be attacked, Jewel’s vision filled suddenly with a kick that she failed to catch. Monkey Rouge’s foot cracked across her face, making Jewel stumble in place as her delayed attempt to parry simply made her flail her arms at nothing. The red-haired girl leapt with another kick that connected in the opposite direction, as Jewel cried out in confused pain and barely stayed on her feet. Monkey Rouge firmly gripped her opponent’s shoulder to hold her steady, before delivering a brutal chop straight into her head. Falling to her knees, Jewel covered up desperately as Monkey Rouge began pounding fists down onto her head and shoulders without remorse. The thought of crumpling to the floor in the first minute ran through Jewel’s mind, filling her pounding head with shame.
With a roar and a surge of will, Jewel shoved herself forward and grabbed her opponent’s legs in two violent armfuls. She pushed her legs up, lifting Monkey Rouge off the mat. Jewel turned in place, flipping the red-haired girl around before slamming her onto the canvas. The crowd cheered at the sight of the smaller fighter finally making good on one of her attempted wrestling maneuvers, even if her second opponent was much closer to her in size. Jewel felt Monkey Rouge already slipping out from under her, as the red-haired girl’s body squirmed and wriggled wildly. Missing the chance to trap one of her opponent’s arms between her thighs, Jewel focused on getting her own arms around Monkey Rouge’s body. Almost by chance, she hooked one arm under and around her opponent’s neck, and clamped a chokehold onto Monkey Rouge as hard as she could. Jewel pushed her pelvis down onto the red-haired girl’s posterior, gripping her toes on the mat as she squeezed her arms tightly and hoped she could keep Monkey Rouge pinned down long enough to pass out.
It had never occurred to her to mind the position of her own head, and the idea came far too late as Monkey Rouge’s struggling hands managed to get a grip on her jaw and the back of her scalp. The desperate red-haired girl pulled down hard, twisting Jewel’s head and removing some of the swimsuited girl’s leverage. Jewel’s neck began to hurt sharply, and she moaned with increasing volume as she tried to continue choking her prey. She relented briefly to let herself be pulled down and relieve the cranking on her neck, and that was all Monkey Rouge needed to slide a few inches forward and throw an elbow up into Jewel’s chin. As her head recoiled, Jewel then flipped over in place as Monkey Rouge rolled out from underneath her.
There was a pause in the action as both fighters got back to their feet, and Monkey Rouge was the first to take action as she launched herself into the air to pounce on her opponent’s upper body. Jewel turned with Monkey Rouge’s momentum, using one of her opponent’s arms to throw the girl over one shoulder and onto the mat. She leapt to splash her body onto Monkey Rouge’s, and was stunned to find herself crashing onto the canvas as the red-haired girl rolled out of the way with incredible speed. Jewel almost collapsed as she felt a weight suddenly land on her, and barely managed to stand back up as she found her opponent seated atop her shoulders. Monkey Rouge began throwing hard chops down into Jewel’s head, who only managed to take three of them before falling to her hands and knees. Monkey Rouge’s feet landed nimbly on the mat, her legs still tightly gripped on either side of Jewel’s head as the swimsuited girl stared down at the floor and tried to clear her vision. The red-haired girl reached one hand down to cup Jewel’s chin, keeping the swimsuited girl’s head elevated and in place. Raising a fist, Monkey Rouge gave a whooping battle cry. Instead of sitting down to lock in a hold like a camel clutch, Monkey Rouge rather proceeded to use her raised hand to continue chopping Jewel’s skull, whose body soon flopped like a fish behind her with every impact.
Finally releasing Jewel’s chin after landing six brutal chops, Monkey Rouge stepped forward and turned around as her opponent’s head finally hit the mat. Jewel lay face-down, writhing as she tried and failed to even crawl to her knees. Her skull was throbbing and her consciousness was spinning. She gave no resistance as Monkey Rouge turned her over onto her back and sat down on her waistline. Jewel’s eyes were rolled up slightly when her opponent grabbed the back of her head and lifted it up off the mat with one hand. Then, she looked forward with glassy intensity and swang both of her arms up, grabbing messily at Monkey Rouge’s face. Jewel meant to grapple with her opponent, but was so weakened and groggy, she merely pulled awkwardly at the red-haired girl’s head and neck while kicking her legs against the mat. Quietly regarding the state of the girl who had followed her to the venue and challenged her directly, Monkey Rouge leaned her face closer to Jewel’s and whispered a question.
“You give?”
The sound of Monkey Rouge’s voice cut through the noise of the crowd in her ear. Jewel had one last trickle of adrenaline as she realized she could surrender. She could give up the match, after the long and grueling adventure of that entire day.
“Nuh...no....” stammered Jewel, reaching once again to try and grapple her opponent. “Fight...fight me…”
Suddenly, Monkey Rouge grabbed Jewel’s head with both hands and pulled her away, before delivering a cracking headbutt. Jewel made a loud noise, her eyes wide and aimless after the impact. Monkey Rouge raised both her arms with a shrill and bestial cry, then clapped her fists down together against her opponent’s temples. Jewel’s legs flopped against the mat as she made another loud noise, now gaping and barely holding onto consciousness. Monkey Rouge wrapped an arm around Jewel’s neck and forced her head down onto the mat, pushing a shoulder into the swimsuited girl’s throat and clenching her legs around the beaten fighter’s thighs. Jewel lasted only a few seconds in the hold before blacking out, her body going limp as it spasmed softly with a choked whimper.
----
Her eyelids feeling heavier and her vision even more blurred than the last time she woke up in the locker room, Jewel once again found Monkey Rouge staring down at her as she regained consciousness. “Y-you win,” said Jewel, her voice weak as she winced, “guess that’s...that.
The redhead cocked her head to one side, and then suddenly grinned. She reached out and ruffled Jewel’s hair, before turning away to put on her jacket. Jewel forced herself off the bench she was laying on, and dragged her feet as she went to get changed. She looked thoroughly beaten and defeated, but slowly realized that Monkey Rouge was still in the locker room, busying herself with the repair of one of her beaten-up sandals.
“I’ve never had a night like tonight,” said Jewel, deciding to simply speak as she got changed. “You make me feel something...primal. It was like I had to get in the ring with you to know you.”
Monkey Rouge pulled on her sandal, flexing her toes to make sure the shoe held together.
“I guess you know me like that too,” continued Jewel, blushing as she felt more and more foolish, talking to a girl she’d followed across town and subsequently been beaten by in a warehouse pitfight. “Whatever it...whatever it is you’ve woken up in me, it’s...thank you for letting me...face you.”
Jewel collected her things quickly and turned to leave, but was pulled back as a hand grabbed ahold of hers. Monkey Rouge looked at her brightly, gripping Jewel’s hand in both of her own and shaking it. Her cheeks flush, Jewel gave a nervous grin. “Wanna...get some food?” she muttered, glancing at the floor. Monkey Rouge replied by nodding and then bolting out of the locker room, holding onto her new friend’s hand tightly. Jewel was nearly dragged along behind the mysterious redhead, barely keeping her balance as she fell into an unexpected new chapter of her life.
