Post by hawkeye on Feb 6, 2023 2:33:06 GMT
[CAUTION: This is a hardcore match, with a lot of blood and over the top violence. Reader discretion is advised]
The FAWN Faithful are abuzz with anticipation following the hype package that had just finished, hyping the next match. Following the extracurricular activities between these two following their match last month, and the subsequent promo laying out this challenge, fans were considerably hyped for what promises to be a violent crescendo to the war between these two.
DINGDINGDING!!!
“The following contest,” the ring announcer bellows over the din of the crowd, “is scheduled for one fall! And it is the WHIPPING POST MATCH!!!” He pauses as the FAWNatics explode in applause. “There is no disqualification, no countout, and no time limit!!” Another pause for more cheers before continuing, “This match can only be won via pinfall or submission within the confines of the ring.”
And then the lights go out.
The roar of the crowd reaches a fever pitch as the sound of air raid sirens fill FAWN Arena, and a pair of red searchlights scan the audience. On the FAWNTron, a set of kanji characters appears, looking as though they’d been painted in blood. As the sirens fade and the searchlights halt at the top of the entrance ramp, Halestorm’s “Black Vultures” starts playing over the PA system, and the kanji characters morph into their English translation: Kanako Akiyama!
BLACK VULTURES: youtu.be/rwHXqeYhtZI
KANAKO AKIYAMA:
“Introducing first…From Los Angeles, California…She stands five feet, two inches tall and weighs in tonight at one hundred nineteen pounds…She is the Modern Day Ronin…This is KANAKO AKIYAMA!!!”
As the house lights come up, Kanako Akiyama emerges from behind the curtain to thunderous applause. The Modern Day Ronin is wearing torn jeans with black combat boots, a white tank top over a red t-shirt, tied at the bottom to show off her impressive abs, and full length black sleeves with green lines. She marches to the ring with her signature shinai strapped to her back aand she is hefting a steel garbage can over her shoulder. She makes no kind of play to the audience, her focus solely on one thing: The destruction of her bitter foe. Arriving at ringside, she tosses the trash can into the ring, spilling various weapons and other tools of violence. She rolls into the ring and settles into a far corner, draping her arms over the sides and keeping her steely gaze locked on the entrance ramp.
“...Not gonna pat me down?” she asks head referee Nick Castle, who’s standing nearby, without looking at him.
Nick merely shrugs, “Why bother?”
She nods and replies, “Just giving you some advice, Nick; You should probably keep a safe distance away, for your own good.”
“Don’t worry,” Nick answers, “I remember your Three Stages of Hell match, I know better than to get in your way when there’s no DQ. I’m just here to count the fall, and make sure you two don’t actually kill each other.” Kanako bows her head to him in reverence. The idea that they might actually kill one another seems hyperbolic on its face, but inwardly, Kanako would admit that the concern was not without merit, considering the things that she plans to do to her rival, and likely vice versa. Just then, “Black Vultures” begins to fade and the unmistakable twang of country music guitars fills the air.
THREE SHADES OF BLACK: youtu.be/oRidagsQAFw
“And her opponent…From Leland, Mississippi…She stands five feet, eleven inches tall, and weighs in tonight at one hundred forty-eight pounds…This is TAFFY BLACK!!!”
TAFFY BLACK:
The Mississippi Mauler stomps onto the stage, dressed similarly to Kanako; A faded white wifebeater, black leather biker’s gloves, jeans, and dingy Doc Martens. In her right hand, she’s carrying a tackle box, no doubt filled with everyday items that the Backwater Brawler plans to use as implements of torture against the object of her hatred. The crowd showers her with boos and jeers. But unlike their first match, where she practically bathed in the FAWNatics’ vitriol, now she pays them no heed, her eyes locked on Kanako with singular focus. Gone was her smug cockiness, although it was admittedly just below the surface. In its place was a grim facade, laser-focused on the annihilation of Kanako Akiyama. Upon her arrival at ringside, Black slides the tackle box into the ring and climbs up onto the ring apron…
CRACK!
The second Taffy sticks her head through the ropes, Kanako pounces, nailing Taffy right between the eyes with her shinai. Nick hurriedly calls for the timekeeper to ring the bell to start the match while Kanako continues to wail on Black, and immediately retreats to the relative safety of the far corner. Meanwhile, Taffy tries her best to blunt the blows of the wooden sword to little avail. Finally realizing that the relentless little twerp wasn’t getting tired after the twelfth swing of the shinai, she opts to try and create some separation by rolling to the outside. Annoyed, Kanako tosses her shinai aside with a huff before climbing through the strands to chase after her quarry, only to be met with a knee to the gut when she gets within striking distance.
“You little rat!” Taffy growls as she stumbles over to the ringpost, grabbing the tackle box. She then zeroes in on her target, looking at Kanako with a look of contempt and hatred. After the towering brunette takes one long stride, she clocks Kanako on the side of her head with the tackle box, making a sickening CLANG!. On commentary, Gordie and Joanna marvel at how the vicious blow drew no blood. It did however, knock the Tokyo Tiger for a loop as she staggers for a few moments before dropping to one knee. After returning her makeshift bludgeon to its spot in the corner, Taffy follows up with a running big boot that puts Kanako on her back. She then takes the opportunity to pull a few tables out from under the ring to the cheers of the more bloodthirsty of the FAWN Faithful. She slides one into the ting, sets one up against the barricade right where the gladiatrices are situated, and the final one gets set up at the foot of the entrance ramp. By now, Kanako has pulled herself to her feet by the ring apron, and Taffy stalks her prey once more. However as soon as she gets within striking distance, Kanako cuts her off with a straight right to the breadbasket, stunning the larger woman and doubling her over. Kanako then shows why she’s, pound for pound, one of the most dangerous strikers in the league, peppering Taffy with rights and lefts that rock the Mississippi Mauler and puts her on her heels.
But Taffy fires back, throwing heavy rights which are almost immediately answered by Kanako’s lightning fast hands. The crowd is slowly whipping themselves into a frenzy at the slugfest unfolding before them. Back and forth, they exchange blows, neither one giving any quarter to the other. Finally, tiring of this stalemate, Taffy rears back, only to take Kanako’s head off with a perfectly aimed big boot. Taking a moment to catch her breath, the Backwoods Brawler picks Kanako up by the hair and tosses her back into the ring underneath the bottom rope.
“Now, the party begins, bitch!” Taffy barks at Kanako as she climbs into the ring herself, the sadistic grin returning to her face. Laying a solid forearm shot to the back of Kanako’s head to keep her down, she goes over to her tackle box, opening it instead of wielding it as a weapon, and pulling out…
“….Is that a cheese grater???”
Taffy holds the kitchen tool aloft for all to see, eliciting a mix of shocked gasps and sympathetic groans from the audience, as they brace themselves for the Backwater Brawler to use it in ways it was never meant to be used. With a self-satisfied smirk, she brings the box grater down on the top of Kanako’s head, just as the Tokyo Tiger was starting to push herself up to crawling. The blow causes Kanako to yelp in pain, but it does fail to put her back down to the mat. That suits Taffy just fine, as she mounts Kanako’s back and pulls her head back by the hair, drawing out what everyone knows is coming over agonizing moments, letting the dreadful anticipation build. Finally, she brings the grater down and begins raking it across Kanako’s forehead, forcing a scream from the Japanese girl’s lips and a groan from the crowd.
“...Oh, god, I think I’m gonna be sick!” Gordie moans from the commentary table, leading Joanne to pass an empty bucket over to him. This isn’t, by any means, FAWN’s first foray into ultraviolence, and it seems their color commentator has a weak stomach for such things. Back to the action, blood runs down Kanako’s face as Taffy climbs off of her. Amidst a chorus of boos, the Mississippi Mauler, having just lived up to her nickname, holds the now-bloody grater up and slowly licks some of the blood off before tossing it aside. “You never fucking learn, do ya, Akiyama?” Taffy taunts as she goes back to her personal treasure chest of plunder, pulling out….
“….Is that a staple gun???”
“You asked for this, you dumb bitch!” Taffy continues as she hovers menacingly over Kanako while she slowly crawls towards the ropes, “Just like last month, you literally asked for this match!” She then halts Kanako’s progress by grabbling the back of her tank top. There’s no slow burn this time, as Taffy presses the staple gun right between Kanako’s shoulder blades and pulls the trigger. Another sympathetic groan from the FAWN Faithful, while Kanako rolls around frantically on the mat, her shrieks of agony piercing through the din of the crowd. While Kanako is screaming and trying to somehow mentally compartmentalize the intense pain she’s been subjected to, Taffy returns to the tackle box and pulls out an 8x10 glossy of Kanako that she didn’t pay for, along with a black marker. She yanks Kanako up to sitting position by the hair and slaps the 8x10 on her forehead, the blood holding it in place somewhat as she presses the staple gun to it and pulls the trigger once more. Kanako lets out another scream from behind the photo while Taffy holds her in place forcefully. She pops the cap of the marker off and proceeds to write “SLUT” in large letters across the glossy print. She then shoves Kanako back down roughly to let her writhe on the canvas while she slides out of the ring. Lifting the apron up, she reaches under the ring and starts sliding one chair after another into the ring. After the fifth chair enters the ring, Taffy pulls out a sixth, only to have it dropkicked into her face!
Kanako lets out a guttural growl as she rips the photo off of her face, revealing a bloody face that’s a mask of rage. Meanwhile, Taffy is knocked into the guardrail by Kanako’s baseball slide dropkick. She grunts upon hitting the steel, and she briefly clutches her ribs. However, she quickly recovers, glaring hatefully at Kanako, and she hops back up onto the ring apron. The Modern Day Ronin is waiting for her, however, having seen Taffy coming and running the ropes. Timing her return trip to perfectly coincide with Taffy climbing up onto the ring apron, she launches herself at her, flippin over in midair as she clears the top rope and grabbing her around the neck in a cutter position. Her momentum carries the both of them the rest of the way, as she finishes delivering her running blockbuster to the outside that she calls Cliffjumper!
CLIFFJUMPER: youtu.be/DWGzjCcPvek
Taffy yells out in anguish as her back meets the concrete. Kanako isn’t much better off, as she arches her back to try and alleviate some of the pain. Ultimately, though, the Tokyo Tiger is the first to her feet, quickly reaching under the ring and pulling out yet another chair that she launches at Taffy just as she’s gotten to one knee. As the Mississippi native starts to slump over, Kanako picks up the chair that Taffy had just dropped and chucks that one at her as well. She then slides into the ring and goes about setting up her own violent playground. She upends her trash can, revealing various implements of violence. Notably, there is a heavy six-foot long chain, several strands of barbed wire, intertwined to form a single cord, and a small, ominous-looking burlap sack. After opening up one of the chairs and setting it down near the center of the ring, she goes over and picks up the burlap sack, holding it aloft for all to see. She then pulls the string to open it, and then upends it, creating a cascade of sparkling metallic rain just behind the chair.
“….Thumbtacks. They’re thumbtacks….”
The crowd roars its approval at the reveal of the pushpins and the anticipation of their violent promise. In the meantime, Taffy slowly manages to pull herself into the ring. She perhaps unwisely, given the environment she was in, opts to take a breather, laying out on the mat, face down. Kanako tosses the now empty sack aside and turns around to see the prone Black. An evil grin slowly stretches across the Tokyo Tiger’s lips, as in that same glance, she spies the staple gun that had been used against her. She strides over to Taffy and gives her a pair of stomps to the small of her back, which had the added effect of forcing the brunette to roll over. She then mounts Taffy, immobilizing her arms underneath her legs, and presses the staple gun to her forehead. “One ill turn deserves another, bitch!” she growls before squeezing the trigger. She fires off three rapid fire staples into her hated foe’s forehead amidst her screams.
“AAAAAHHH!!! GAHHH!! FUCK!!! GODDAMNIT, STOP!!!”
“After everything you’ve done to me? In your own words, I’m just getting started!” Kanako shoots back with a snarl. She moves the staple gun south, pressing it against Taffy’s right breast. With a pull of the trigger, another staple is forcefully discharged into the Mississippi native’s bountiful titty meat. Taffy’s voice hits another register, as she lets out a shriek of shock and anguish as shockwaves of pain, the likes of which she’s rarely felt, ripple through not just the point of impact, but throughout her entire five foot eleven inch frame. But her tormentor isn’t done just yet! Kanako reaches behind her, bringing the staple gun between Taffy’s legs.
“NO!!” Taffy pleads, “Nononononono!! PLEASE!!” Kanako pays her no heed, only shaking her head as she pulls the trigger one more time and climbs off of her, leaving the Backwater Brawler to howl in misery and roll around on the mat. She sets the staple gun aside and slides it across the ring and then returns to her own toys. She picks up the chain, wraps one end around her fist, and advances on the prone Taffy Black, who’s still moaning in agony, clutching her groin. Once Taffy rolls onto her back, Kanako
makes her move. She mounts her bitter rival and begins laying in brutal chain-augmented fists to Taffy’s face, including three precision shots to the forehead, aiming to pound those staples even deeper into the brunette’s skull! Having busted up Taffy’s face to her grim satisfaction, Kanako climbs off of her, but not before pulling up her tank top to expose her torso and delivering a parting gut shot that pulls a groan from the Mississippi native’s lips, followed by a fit of coughing.
Kanako unwraps and drops the chain and picks up the barbed wire cord. She then advances on Taffy, curled up in a ball, once more. Kanako puts a boot to Taffy’s side to (not so) gently push her onto her back again, and then plants that same boot on her chest to keep her there. She then uses the cord like a whip, lashing Taffy’s exposed abs and dragging the jagged barbs across her torso. Taffy screams, and in a burst of pain-fueled adrenaline, she shoves Kanako’s boot off of her chest and thrashes around on the mat in agony. A stomp from the Tokyo Tiger to the small of Taffy’s back puts a stop to that, and she brings the whip down one more time across one more time. Before Taffy can roll around some more, Kanako hops onto her back. Immobilizing Taffy’s arms beneath her, Kanako then wraps the barbed wire around her neck and pulls back on it for all she’s worth, several of the barbs digging into her neck as she’s being choked. Taffy desperately claws alternately at the mat to pull herself closer to the ropes and at the wire around her neck to try and alleviate the strangling. The audience, by and large, understood that there were no rope breaks in a no disqualification match, so they were curious as to what the Deep South Powerhouse had in mind. Eventually, Black manages to get one hand on the bottom strand, and then the other. Now that she had a little bit of leverage, Taffy is able to slowly pull herself to her feet. However, Kanako is tenacious. With a wild-eyed expression of hatred on her face, the Japanese girl clings to Taffy’s back, even as the bigger woman was climbing up to her feet, maintaining her stranglehold with the barbed wire.
Beginning to see spots, and realizing that Kanako’s not going to stop until she’s choked the life out of her - quite possibly literally - Taffy realizes that she needs to get Kanako off of her, and fast! With that in mind, she hooks Kanako’s legs, as if she’s giving her a piggyback ride, and then she leaps backward, crushing the Tokyo Tiger between herself and the canvas. Kanako lets out a pained shout and loosens her grip on the barbed wire, allowing Taffy to free herself and crawl away. By the time Kanako gets her wind back and gets back up, she sees that Taffy has done the same, standing on the ring apron, catching her breath. Not wanting to give the Mississippi native any chance to recover, she runs the ropes, looking to take Taffy down with another Cliffjumper…
…Only for Taffy to catch Kanako at the last possible moment and hurl her foe to the outside, sending her crashing through the table that she had set up at the foot of the entrance ramp!
Kanako crumples into a heap amongst the wreckage while Taffy drops to one knee, using the lucky break (no pun intended) to gather her strength to resume her assault on the diminutive Japanese girl. Finally, she hops down from the apron and grabs Kanako, scooping her up in bodyslam position.Taffy then charges for the ringpost, violently sandwiching Kanako between herself and the unforgiving steel. She then follows that up by swinging her around in one fluid motion and dropping her chest-first onto the guardrail directly behind them. Now that she reckons she bought herself some time, Taffy goes to work preparing her personal house of horrors for Akiyama inside the ring. She goes under the ring, pulls out a pane of glass and slides it into the ring. She then rolls into the ring herself and sets the glass into a corner, and goes over to the chair Kanako set up and flips it over so that the legs are sticking up. At this point, Kanako has managed to pull herself up on shaky legs, with the help of the ring itself holding her up. Seeing this, Taffy reaches through the ropes, grabbing Kanako by the hair and pulling the Los Angeles transplant into the the ring.
A sadistic grin stretches across the Mississippi Mauler’s bloody face as she backs Kanako into the corner opposite the window, and starts ripping Kanako’s tank top off, tearing it down the middle, leaving her with one less layer of protection. She also forcibly removes Kanako’s sleeves, exposing her arms. Taffy then Irish whipsKanako, only to have that reversed on her. However, the larger woman plants her feet and reverses the reversal, whipping Kanako hard into the original corner. Kanako hits the turnbuckles chest-first with such force that the ring itself rattles as she hits the mat. Taffy then picks Kanako up and stuffs her head between her thighs.The fans buzz with grim anticipation as Taffy points across the ring making her intentions clear. Sure enough, she flips Kanako up on her shoulders, dashes across the ring, and launches her into the opposite corner and through the pane glass window!
A collected gasp falls over the FAWN Faithful as Kanako crashes through the glass, causing it to shatter all around her as she hits the turnbuckles. Taffy smirks with smug satisfaction when she sees blood trickling from multiple small cuts on her arms and face and, presumably, her back. “Y’know, Akiyama,” she says as she advances on the fallen Ronin, “they say that it ain’t work if you enjoy it. Even before I started this wrestling stuff, when I was doing…”odd jobs,” let’s call it….you wanna know what the best part was? More than gettin’ paid for beating motherfuckers up, you know what made it less work and more of a hobby?” She then pulls something from her back pocket. What is that?
“Is that…It’s the serrated edge from a plastic wrap box!”
She holds the household item turned weapon menacingly in front of her face as she answers her own rhetorical question, “...Torture!” With that, she takes the blade and proceeds to carve up Kanako’s arms, slicing up one and down the other, Akiyama’s screaming causing Taffy to leat out a low moan, and her eyes to roll slightly. “Mmmm, yeah! That’s the good stuff!” she purrs, “But we ain’t even close to done yet!” She then forces Kanako down to the mat, face down, and pulls up her t-shirt, exposing her back. Reasoning that after she wins, those ten lashes will hurt all the more with some fresh wounds, Taffy drags the makeshift blade across Kanako’s back slowly, sadistically savoring every second of the Tokyo Tiger’s suffering. Satisfied with her handiwork, Taffy carelessly tosses the serrated edge away and picks Kanako up tp to a seated position. “Hold still!” she barks as she takes up position behind her, putting one arm around the Girl With No Fear to keep her struggling to a minimum as she reaches into her back pocket with her other hand, and pulls out…
“…a fishhook? What in god’s name is she going to do with that?”
Grabbing underneath Kanako’s chin, Taffy forces her mouth open. Then, to the horror of everyone watching, Taffy forces her hand inside, hook nestled between her middle and pointer fingers, and proceeds to slowly force the fishhook through her left cheek! Kanako’s eyes widen in shock and extreme pain as she feels the point of the hook against her cheek, her panicked screams muted by Taffy’s invading fingers. “Ahhh!” Taffy sighs with a sadistic chuckle, “Reminds me of when I used ta go fishin’ for catfish in them Mississippi swamps!” Having completely penetrated Kanako’s cheek, Taffy fits the other end of the hook just outside the corner of her mouth and begins to tug on it, simultaneously yanking on her dark locks to thrash her head about painfully to go along with the damage the hook is doing, blood pouring from the wound.
“Why lookee here!” Taffy laughs derisively as she maintains her tortuous hold on Kanako, “I caught me a guppy!” She then stands up, pulling Kanako with her, “Aww, but she looks a bit on the puny side. Looks like I’m gonna hafta throw her back!” With that, she beals Kanako out of the corner, hurling her right onto the upturned steel chair. The Mississippi Mauler’s aim proves to be true, as Kanako’s back is impaled by the waiting legs of the chair, causing the diminutive Japanese girl to bounce off of them and howl in agony, arching her back to try and relieve some of the intense pain that she was experiencing. “I gotta thank ya, Akiyama,” Taffy says as she walks up to Kanako, crouching down to get face to face with her, “Kate said that your biggest weakness was that fiery temple of yours, and damn if she wasn’t dead on! Humiliating you and beating you like the dog you are was all it took to get you to offer me the chance…” She lets the sentence hang in the air as she slides out to ringside, going under the ring…
…And pulls out a cinder block that she slides into the ring…
The context of the significance of the cinder block is lost on almost everyone in attendance, as FAWN has been uncharacteristically tight-lipped about just how this bitter feud has escalated into the stratosphere. Three people in particular, however, know exactly what the significance of it is, and they all commence to freaking out. Bethany Christian has the power to put a stop to it, but she’s loathe to interfere in such a widely publicized pay per view match. Meanwhile, Black and Akiyama’s partners in this war, Kate Grimm and Trixie Decker respectively, fly into apoplectic fits, albeit for different reasons, when they see Taffy introduce the block. However, they both vowed to stay out of this match, so they could do nothing but stare wide-eyed and impotent as Taffy brought the block over to Kanako’s side. Taffy then picks Kanako up by her hair and stares her in the eyes, her own eyes wild with hatred, “Ya gave me the chance to finish what I started!” The FAWNatics collectively hold their breath as Taffy quickly cinches in a front facelock, throws one of Kanako’s arms over her head, and hoists the lightweight into the air.
However, Taffy’s planned brainbuster doesn’t come to pass, as Kanako slips out of Taffy’s clutches and behind the bigger brunette. The suddenly reawakened Ronin then rears back and kicks Taffy with all the force that she can muster right between the brunette bully’s legs, actually lifting Black a couple inches off the ground. Taffy howls in pain and slumps to her knees. Kanako follows up the low blow with a wicked buzzsaw kick to the back of Taffy’s head that finishes cutting down the five foot eleven tree. Now Kanako stands over Taffy, looking down at her bitter foe, her contempt for the Deep South Powerhouse plain on her face. Then, her gaze shifts to the cinder block. She bends down and picks it up, and now it’s Kanako’s turn to be menacing. As this is happening, the haze from the headshot lifts and Taffy sees the bloody Tokyo Tiger standing over her and her eyes go wide with panic. She tries to scoot away on her butt, but Kanako plants a foot on her chest to put a stop to that. “It would be so easy…” Kanako says wearily as she holds up the block, looking at it curiously, “An eye…for an eye…”
The FAWN Faithful cry out, urging Kanako not to do whatever it is she was thinking of, not wanting their hero to go down that dark path. Taffy, as well, was now begging the Japanese girl for mercy. If Kanako hears any of this, she gives no indication of it. Finally, after agonizing moments staring at the concrete, she hefts it over her head.
…And she chucks it out of the ring, the cinder block shattering upon impact with the floor below.
“No. I won’t go that far…” Kanako finally says with a growl, “I’m better than that, Black. I’m better than you!” she then quickly grabs Taffy and pulls her up to her feet. “But I’m also not done beating your ass!” She then applies a modified headlock, locking her hands from under Taffy’s arms in a butterfly position. She then lifts her up a little off the mat and drops, driving Black headfirst into the thumbtacks.
youtu.be/zZpFvMQM5Oc?t=32
Taffy quickly rolls over and sits up, screaming in pain and shock, her body shaking as she looks wide-eyed at the multitude of pushpins stuck into her skin. But Kanako isn’t finished, and she doesn’t allow Taffy any time to breathe. She hauls the still-twitching Black to her feet, lifts the larger woman up in vertical suplex position, then delivers a gordbuster, tossing Taffy face first onto the broken glass!
youtu.be/zf6p-Y_R12A
Luckily, Taffy has the presence of mind to cover her face with her hands just before impact. That doesn’t save her, however, from the glass slicing into her skin in multiple places. Again, Kanako is quick to pile on the punishment, grabbing Taffy by her long, brown hair and dragging her across the jagged shards, drawing more screams from the Backwater Brawler’s lips. Once clear of the glass, Kanako simply tosses Taffy out of the ring, between the bottom and middle ropes. As Black tumbles down to the floor, Akiyama grabs the trash can and hefts it over her head. Just as Taffy manages to struggle to her feet, Kanako hurls the bin at her, connecting with a loud CLANG! While Taffy stumbles around, using the guardrail to keep her upright, Kanako climbs through the ropes to follow after her quarry. Somehow managing to get herself spun around so her back is to Kanako, the smaller Japanese girl grabs Taffy and rams her into the ringpost, exacerbating the bleeding from her forehead and sending her spinning down to the floor right at the foot of the entrance ramp.
Kanako pounces on Taffy, mounting her and laying in heavy rights to the Backwater Brawler’s forehead and face. Barely able to put up a defense against Kanako’s onslaught, she instead opts to try and create some separation to give her some room to breathe. With that in mind, she grasps Kanako’s shoulders and shoves her back with all of her fading - but still significant - might. Kanako’s size works against her in this instance, as she flies backwards, stopping only when her back hits the edge of the ring apron. The Modern Day Ronin grunts in pain upon impact with the hardest part of the ring, but she’s able to quickly shake it off, just in time to see Taffy scramble to her feet. Her eyes narrow as she zeroes in on her target. Unwilling to give her any chance to recover, Kanako swiftly closes ranks, rocking the larger brunette with a pair of solid right crosses, forcing her to retreat up the ramp.
Finally coming to the realization that separation would not be sustainable, Taffy begins firing back, nailing Kanako square in the jaw with a straight left. There aren’t many on the FAWN roster that can hang with Kanako Akiyama in terms of pure striking ability, pound for pound. Taffy Black is one of those people. Indeed, had she not been offered such a lucrative contract to sign with FAWN, Taffy could very well have made a serious go at a professional boxing career. As it is, the two women trade blows at a ferocious pace as they make their way up the ramp, onto the stage. However for each heavy blow Black scores, Akiyama retaliates with two of her own, illustrating both her quickness and her toughness, as if anybody needed any proof of either trait at this point.
Before long, the bloodied brawlers arrive at the stage at the top of the ramp. Taffy is lying in wait for Kanako to join her, and when she does, she drives a knee deep into the Japanese girl’s gut, doubling her over. Showing that, despite the grueling pace and brutal nature of the match itself, Taffy still has something left in the tank, she grabs Kanako by her collar and her crotch and hoists the lightweight above her head in a gorilla press position. “You’re about to go for a ride, short stack!” Taffy growls as she parades her cargo around before stopping at the edge of the stage just above the electrical equipment. “And if yer still breathin’ after that, I’ll finish the job and break you! Once and for alLLAAAARRRGH, SHIT!!!”
Taffy’s threat is cut short by Kanako’s nails raking her eyes. With this done, Kanako is easily able to slip free and take up position behind her. As soon as her foe turns around to face her, Kanako is waiting for her to unleash one of the biggest weapons in her arsenal; her devastating spinning back fist, the Uraken!
youtu.be/u_MjHqsYwFI
Kanako connects squarely with Taffy’s cheek, making her legs wobble, but not collapse, to her credit. Kanako simply goes for another spin in response. Again, she makes solid contact with her target, and again Taffy staggers and stumbles but still does not fall. Nodding in acknowledgement of what her next move ought to be, Kanako takes several steps back. Once she gets Taffy in her sights, she dashes for her, bringing her hands together and delivering a running, two-handed Uraken! The third time proves to be the charm, as Taffy drops like a stone, startlingly close to falling over the ledge. Kanako nearly falls over herself, such was her momentum as the proverbial redwood falls. Nevertheless, Kanako steadies herself and stands over the seemingly barely conscious Taffy Black. After taking a moment to catch her breath, Kanako then…disappears behind the curtain? Before long though, the Tokyo Tiger returns, dragging something behind her…
“…What the hell is that?? Holy crap, is that a BED OF NAILS??!!”
Taffy is just beginning to stir from the near-knockout blows upon Kanako’s return. Kanako drops the strap that she had been using to drag the bed of nails onto the stage, setting it just to the left of center stage, and she advances on Taffy once more. Grabbing her by her long brown locks, Kanako drags Taffy over to the horrifying platform. She hauls Black up to her feet, locks in a headlock, throws one of her arms over her head, hooks her jeans with her other hand, and hoists her up in a vertical suplex position. She then releases, flipping Taffy over as she lets go, delivering an x-plex that is aimed squarely for the bed of nails!
youtu.be/1qt3zI5GEY4
Upon impact with the multitude of metal points, Taffy’s eyes widen in shock and she screams, but she is kept in place by a series of punches from the Modern Day Ronin to Taffy’s already battered face. As the Mississippi native lays back onto the nails, moaning wearily, Kanako relents, satisfied that she’s been sufficiently subdued for what’s to come. Looking down at her for with a look of naked contempt, Kanako flips Taffy off and then...disappears behind the curtain again. A buzz rolls through the FAWN Faithful, wondering amongst themselves just what their beloved warrior has planned. Shortly, to their dismay, they get their answer, as a spotlight shines upward…
“Oh my god, OH MY GOD!!! Kanako Akiyama is on top of the FAWNTron!!!”
While many fans watched, mouths agape, as Kanako raises herself to her full height as she stood atop the massive screen, others let out a bellow of awe at the realization of what Kanako is about to do. With that in mind, a chant booms through FAWN Arena.
“PLEASE DON’T DIE!!! PLEASE DON’T DIE!!! PLEASE DON’T DIE!!!”
After a few rounds of this, Kanako’s voice can be heard above the din, as she answers her fans, shouting at the top of her lungs…
”I DON’T GIVE A FUCK IF I DIE!!!
Her declaration silences the masses, shocked as they are by her words. That silence doesn’t last for long, for after Kanako makes this statement, she takes flight. She launches herself into the air, tucking her legs in and turning ever so slightly as she closes in on her target, her near twenty-foot drop finishing in an awe-inspiring cannonball senton aimed squarely for Taffy’s chest!
youtu.be/FOlZ3HQN2l8
Her potentially kamikaze attack proves successful, literally bouncing off of Taffy’s voluptuous body upon impact. For her part, Taffy’s body shudders as Kanako’s back meets her torso, and she lets out a brief pained cry before the wind is fully driven from her lungs. Amidst a thunderous chant of “HO-LY SHIT!!! HO-LY SHIT!!!”, a wide-eyed Kanako shakes herself alert, astounded that her stunt actually worked! However, she realizes that her work is not yet done. Nonetheless, she takes a moment to get her wind back, and soak in the deafening noise of the FAWNatics collectively losing their minds. While this horror show is indeed no disqualification, and no countout, it is not falls count anywhere. So, in order to put an end to this war, she needs to drag Taffy’s flattened carcass back to the ring to finish it. With that in mind, she stands and strides over to the bed of nails, peeling Taffy off of it and throwing her down carelessly. Taffy tumbles down, barely having the strength to crawl along to the steel entrance ramp. Kanako hovers over her menacingly, and helps hasten her trip back to the ring planting a boot into her side and shoving her down the ramp, causing Taffy to roll downwards, halting about two-thirds of the way to the ring. Following after her, Kanako leans down and grabs her by the hair and continues on her way to the ring, forcing Taffy to crawl with her, lest she be brutally dragged behind her. Once at ringside, Kanako reaches down, hefts the larger brunette up, and dumps Taffy into the ring. SHe then climbs into the ring and searches for something. Just beating her bitter foe isn’t enough; she wants to punish her for her transgressions. Finally, she finds what she’s looking for, and she wraps the six-foot chain around her fist. Once Taffy struggles to her feet, Kanako pounces, looking uncork one more Uraken, this one augmented by the chain…
…Only to be cut off by a gloved hand closing around her throat. In a seemingly last-ditch burst of energy, Taffy hoists Kanako up and chokeslams her right into the thumbtacks.
youtu.be/Ue6g-7qK6sw
Kanako screams and rolls around in the tacks before Taffy stops her, covering her and hooking both legs as Nick springs into action to count the pin.
ONE!
TWO!!
THR-NOOOOOO!!!
Taffy is unable to hold Kanako down, exhausted as she is, and she not only kicks out at 2.8, but she’s able to throw Taffy off of her rather forcefully. Taffy lays beside Kanako on her back, her hands covering her face, partly in disbelief, but mostly to hide her heaving sobs. She won’t stay down! she thinks, her mind racing, feverish in trying to find a path to victory, Why won’t this fucking twerp just stay down! It’s not fair! She takes her hands away and rolls onto her side, facing away from Kanako. It’s then that the chain, which Kanako had dropped when she had been hoisted up in the goozle, catches her eye. Understanding that her own strength was fading, and unable to think of any alternative, she knows what she has to do. As Kanako begins to sit up, Taffy grasps the chain and quickly wraps it around Kanako’s neck three times. Acting fast, before Kanako could react, she then hurls her over the top rope and pulls back on the chain with all of her fading might, effectively hanging the petite Japanese woman. Kanako kicks and thrashes as the chain constricts her throat tightly, trying desperately to find a foothold where she could get the chain to slacken so that she could free herself. Alas, her efforts only serve to hasten her strangulation. Slowly, her struggling slows…then stops…and then, her eyes close and her head slumps over, her world going black.
“Oh, thank god!” Nick exclaims when he sees the lights go out in Kanako’s eyes, relieved that he can finally put an end to this barbarism, and he signals for the bell. Almost simultaneously with the bell ringing, Taffy falls back onto the canvas and she releases the chain, unable to hold and pull on it any longer. Kanako falls to the floor, still unconscious as each woman’s partner, Trixie Decker for Kanako, and Kate Grimm for Taffy, rush to ringside to aid their ally.
TRIXIE DECKER:
KATE GRIMM:
“Ladies and gentlemen…The winner of this match, as a result of referee stoppage…TAFFY BLACK!!!” The assembled masses loudly boo this result, “As per the stipulations for this match, Kanako Akiyama will now be bound to one of the ringposts and will be lashed ten times by Miss Black!”
“Come on, Songbird, wake up!” Trixie urges as she holds Kanako in her arms. Shortly after that, Kanako begins to groan as her eyes flutter open.
“H-Hon Bun?” Kanako says weakly, calling Trixie by her pet name for her, just as Songbird is Trixie’s pet name for Kanako. “...Fuck, I lost, didn’t I?” she asks, realization setting in.
“‘fraid so, Kanako,” Trixie answers sadly, knowing what’s in store for her now. Meanwhile, Kate is trying to rouse Taffy. Ever since the bell rang, she’s been lying on the mat in a heap, not unconscious, but not exactly lucid either. Off to the side, whilst ringhands hurriedly clean up all of the detritus in and around the ring, Nick confers with a couple officials, as well as Bethany Christian over his earpiece, discussing the possibility that Taffy might not be able to follow through on the agreed-upon penalty. For, although Kanako was once again conscious, and standing, watching the goings-on inside the ring as she waits for direction, Taffy has yet to even stir.
“Hold on,” Nick holds up a hand, then gestures to his earpiece. After several moments, he nods and turns his attention back to his colleagues. “Miss Christian says that if Taffy Black can’t do it, then it falls to Kate Grimm.” he says, relaying The Boss’s decision.
“Like hell!” Taffy barks, finally coming around as a worried Kate helps her to her feet, “I beat that bitch! ME!! Nobody but Kate believed in me, but I did it! I earned this, and I’ll be damned if you’re gonna take it away from me!” Nick gestures towards Taffy and the other officials shrug and take their leave as Nick slips out of the ring to prepare Kanako.
“I’m sorry, Kanako, but we need to do this,” Nick says contritely as he pulls out a pair of handcuffs. Kanako and Trixie look each other in the eyes, mouth “I love you,” to each other and share a kiss. After that, Kanako takes off her shirt, revealing a red silk sports bra. She then takes up position facing the nearest ringpost, holding her hands out, reaching around it, as Nick slaps the cuffs on her, binding her to the ringpost. Taffy then approaches, brandishing the leather strap presented to her, licking her lips in anticipation, hatred and spite seemingly the only things keeping her standing. “Alright, Black, let’s get this over with. You’ve only got ten shots; make ‘em count!”
“Ohhh, don’t you worry,” Taffy purrs, “I’ve been waitin’ for this a LONG time, and I’m gonna savor every second of it!” She then leans in and hums in Kanako’s ear, “This is gonna hurt you a lot worse than it’s gonna hurt me, slut!”
“Just shut the fuck up and do it, Black!” Kanako growls back, “Unless you’re starting to lose your nerve!”
“FUCK YOU, YOU LITTLE PIECE OF SHIT!!!” Taffy spits venom as she draws her arm back.
CRACK!!!
The sound of the leather strap slapping against Kanako’s bare back echoes off of every wall of the Arena. Kanako grits her teeth and lets out a drawn-out grunt, but nothing further. Behind her, Taffy is looming, still seething at this loser’s defiance. She rears back and lets the leather fly again.
CRACK!!!
Kanako winces and hisses, but she still refuses to give Taffy the satisfaction of crying out in pain. “You’re gonna scream for me, Akiyama,” she barks, “As god as my witness, you’re gonna scream before I’m done with you!”
CRACK!!!
“NGGGH!!!” Kanako grunts and writhes in pain, “Th-that the best you got, bitch?” she taunts Taffy, “M-maybe you should’ve let Black handle this after all!” she adds with a derisive chuckle.
CRACK!!!CRACK!!!CRACK!!!
An enraged Taffy Black hauls off and lights up Kanako’s back with the strap for three rapid fire shots. Kanako yelps after the second one, and tears well up as she tries desperately to deny her tormentor the scream that she wants. “Hey…” Trixie calls to her wife, watching her from the other side of the ringpost, “...Hey…It’s okay, babe. Just focus on me. We’re over halfway there!”
“Alright, Black, you got four more!” Nick reminds Taffy, drawing a confused look from the Mississippi Mauler.
“You mean four down, right, stripes? I’ve only done four…”
“No, that was six. You just hit her three times in a row. Or did you think I wouldn’t notice if you did it fast enough?”
If looks could kill, Nick Castle would be a dead man right now, as Taffy seethes, staring at the zebra wide-eyed with rage. “Hey, chill, Taf’...” Kate intervenes, putting a hand on the taller woman’s shoulder, “It’s cool. Just make sure these last four really count!” Taffy looks at her partner in crime and nods. She then returns to the task at hand…
CRACK!!!
Kanako squeezes Trixie’s hands, as she had begun holding Kanako’s hands for support while Taffy and Nick were arguing. She winces, but only lets a slight grunt escape her lips. “Thank you, ma’am, may I have another?” she taunts Taffy again, looking behind her.
CRACK!!!
“AAARRRGH!!! FUCK!!!” Kanako shouts.
“Not good enough, Akiyama!” Taffy barks, “I’m gonna get that scream outta you, even if it kills you!”
“You mean “If it kills me”?”
“I SAID WHAT I SAID!!!”
CRACK!!!
“GAH!!! GODDAMMIT!!!” Kanako shouts, cursing like a sailor, showing the influence of her best friend, Yoona Park. Taffy huffs in frustration. Knowing she only has one shot left, she walks up the entrance ramp, to the confusion of just about everybody. Arriving at the top of the ramp, she turns around and takes off, running as fast as her powerful, but nonetheless weary, legs will carry her. As she approaches her prey once more, she rears back and lets the leather fly with all of what’s left of her might, causing herself to stumble and fall over.
CRRRRAAAAAACK!!!
Kanako bites down on the bottom rope to prevent herself from crying out. As Taffy is slowly picking herself back up, the strength clearly and rapidly draining from her body, Kate takes out a hip flask from her back pocket. “Not bad, Akiyama!” Kate says cordially, “Gotta give ya credit, I thought for sure you were gonna break there. You didn’t win the match, but here; let me give you a consolation prize!” Kate then empties the contents of her flask, not booze of some sort but lemon juice, all over the battered Japanese girl’s back. A bloodcurdling scream is ripped from Kanako’s lips as the acidic liquid hits her battle-worn flesh. Grimm cackles at Akiyama’s suffering and high five’s Taffy, who has joined her partner’s side, on unsteady legs. “C’mon, babe…Let’s get you looked at.” Kate says as she puts an arm around Taffy to help her walk, as it’s clear that Taffy doesn’t have much strength left to leave on her own power.
“Thanks, Kate…” Taffy replies as the two of them make their way up the ramp, on their way to the infirmary. “I…I did it…I broke her for you…”
“Yeah, you did, Taf’,” Kate says with a nod, patting her on the back, “I’m proud a’ya.”
As the pair disappear through the curtain to a loud chorus of vitriolic jeers, Nick frees Kanako from her bonds and she slumps to the floor. Trixie quickly joins her wife on the floor, embracing her tightly. “Songbird…You gonna be okay?” Kanako nods slowly, her eyes fixed on some point on the floor between them, completely failing to reassure her wife. “Come on, Kanako,” Trixie says with a sigh as she stands up and holds out her hand to her, “you need to get…all that…taken care of.” Kanako nods again and accepts her wife’s help, taking her hand and letting her help her get back to her feet. Trixie offers Kanako her shoulder, just as Kate had done for Taffy, but Kanako refuses, simply giving Trixie a kiss on the cheek and taking hold of her hand. Trixie manages to give her a reassuring smile, and together, they make their way up the ramp, knowing that they’re going to have to have a serious talk sooner rather than later over what went down tonight.
The FAWN Faithful are abuzz with anticipation following the hype package that had just finished, hyping the next match. Following the extracurricular activities between these two following their match last month, and the subsequent promo laying out this challenge, fans were considerably hyped for what promises to be a violent crescendo to the war between these two.
DINGDINGDING!!!
“The following contest,” the ring announcer bellows over the din of the crowd, “is scheduled for one fall! And it is the WHIPPING POST MATCH!!!” He pauses as the FAWNatics explode in applause. “There is no disqualification, no countout, and no time limit!!” Another pause for more cheers before continuing, “This match can only be won via pinfall or submission within the confines of the ring.”
And then the lights go out.
The roar of the crowd reaches a fever pitch as the sound of air raid sirens fill FAWN Arena, and a pair of red searchlights scan the audience. On the FAWNTron, a set of kanji characters appears, looking as though they’d been painted in blood. As the sirens fade and the searchlights halt at the top of the entrance ramp, Halestorm’s “Black Vultures” starts playing over the PA system, and the kanji characters morph into their English translation: Kanako Akiyama!
BLACK VULTURES: youtu.be/rwHXqeYhtZI
KANAKO AKIYAMA:
“Introducing first…From Los Angeles, California…She stands five feet, two inches tall and weighs in tonight at one hundred nineteen pounds…She is the Modern Day Ronin…This is KANAKO AKIYAMA!!!”
As the house lights come up, Kanako Akiyama emerges from behind the curtain to thunderous applause. The Modern Day Ronin is wearing torn jeans with black combat boots, a white tank top over a red t-shirt, tied at the bottom to show off her impressive abs, and full length black sleeves with green lines. She marches to the ring with her signature shinai strapped to her back aand she is hefting a steel garbage can over her shoulder. She makes no kind of play to the audience, her focus solely on one thing: The destruction of her bitter foe. Arriving at ringside, she tosses the trash can into the ring, spilling various weapons and other tools of violence. She rolls into the ring and settles into a far corner, draping her arms over the sides and keeping her steely gaze locked on the entrance ramp.
“...Not gonna pat me down?” she asks head referee Nick Castle, who’s standing nearby, without looking at him.
Nick merely shrugs, “Why bother?”
She nods and replies, “Just giving you some advice, Nick; You should probably keep a safe distance away, for your own good.”
“Don’t worry,” Nick answers, “I remember your Three Stages of Hell match, I know better than to get in your way when there’s no DQ. I’m just here to count the fall, and make sure you two don’t actually kill each other.” Kanako bows her head to him in reverence. The idea that they might actually kill one another seems hyperbolic on its face, but inwardly, Kanako would admit that the concern was not without merit, considering the things that she plans to do to her rival, and likely vice versa. Just then, “Black Vultures” begins to fade and the unmistakable twang of country music guitars fills the air.
THREE SHADES OF BLACK: youtu.be/oRidagsQAFw
“And her opponent…From Leland, Mississippi…She stands five feet, eleven inches tall, and weighs in tonight at one hundred forty-eight pounds…This is TAFFY BLACK!!!”
TAFFY BLACK:
The Mississippi Mauler stomps onto the stage, dressed similarly to Kanako; A faded white wifebeater, black leather biker’s gloves, jeans, and dingy Doc Martens. In her right hand, she’s carrying a tackle box, no doubt filled with everyday items that the Backwater Brawler plans to use as implements of torture against the object of her hatred. The crowd showers her with boos and jeers. But unlike their first match, where she practically bathed in the FAWNatics’ vitriol, now she pays them no heed, her eyes locked on Kanako with singular focus. Gone was her smug cockiness, although it was admittedly just below the surface. In its place was a grim facade, laser-focused on the annihilation of Kanako Akiyama. Upon her arrival at ringside, Black slides the tackle box into the ring and climbs up onto the ring apron…
CRACK!
The second Taffy sticks her head through the ropes, Kanako pounces, nailing Taffy right between the eyes with her shinai. Nick hurriedly calls for the timekeeper to ring the bell to start the match while Kanako continues to wail on Black, and immediately retreats to the relative safety of the far corner. Meanwhile, Taffy tries her best to blunt the blows of the wooden sword to little avail. Finally realizing that the relentless little twerp wasn’t getting tired after the twelfth swing of the shinai, she opts to try and create some separation by rolling to the outside. Annoyed, Kanako tosses her shinai aside with a huff before climbing through the strands to chase after her quarry, only to be met with a knee to the gut when she gets within striking distance.
“You little rat!” Taffy growls as she stumbles over to the ringpost, grabbing the tackle box. She then zeroes in on her target, looking at Kanako with a look of contempt and hatred. After the towering brunette takes one long stride, she clocks Kanako on the side of her head with the tackle box, making a sickening CLANG!. On commentary, Gordie and Joanna marvel at how the vicious blow drew no blood. It did however, knock the Tokyo Tiger for a loop as she staggers for a few moments before dropping to one knee. After returning her makeshift bludgeon to its spot in the corner, Taffy follows up with a running big boot that puts Kanako on her back. She then takes the opportunity to pull a few tables out from under the ring to the cheers of the more bloodthirsty of the FAWN Faithful. She slides one into the ting, sets one up against the barricade right where the gladiatrices are situated, and the final one gets set up at the foot of the entrance ramp. By now, Kanako has pulled herself to her feet by the ring apron, and Taffy stalks her prey once more. However as soon as she gets within striking distance, Kanako cuts her off with a straight right to the breadbasket, stunning the larger woman and doubling her over. Kanako then shows why she’s, pound for pound, one of the most dangerous strikers in the league, peppering Taffy with rights and lefts that rock the Mississippi Mauler and puts her on her heels.
But Taffy fires back, throwing heavy rights which are almost immediately answered by Kanako’s lightning fast hands. The crowd is slowly whipping themselves into a frenzy at the slugfest unfolding before them. Back and forth, they exchange blows, neither one giving any quarter to the other. Finally, tiring of this stalemate, Taffy rears back, only to take Kanako’s head off with a perfectly aimed big boot. Taking a moment to catch her breath, the Backwoods Brawler picks Kanako up by the hair and tosses her back into the ring underneath the bottom rope.
“Now, the party begins, bitch!” Taffy barks at Kanako as she climbs into the ring herself, the sadistic grin returning to her face. Laying a solid forearm shot to the back of Kanako’s head to keep her down, she goes over to her tackle box, opening it instead of wielding it as a weapon, and pulling out…
“….Is that a cheese grater???”
Taffy holds the kitchen tool aloft for all to see, eliciting a mix of shocked gasps and sympathetic groans from the audience, as they brace themselves for the Backwater Brawler to use it in ways it was never meant to be used. With a self-satisfied smirk, she brings the box grater down on the top of Kanako’s head, just as the Tokyo Tiger was starting to push herself up to crawling. The blow causes Kanako to yelp in pain, but it does fail to put her back down to the mat. That suits Taffy just fine, as she mounts Kanako’s back and pulls her head back by the hair, drawing out what everyone knows is coming over agonizing moments, letting the dreadful anticipation build. Finally, she brings the grater down and begins raking it across Kanako’s forehead, forcing a scream from the Japanese girl’s lips and a groan from the crowd.
“...Oh, god, I think I’m gonna be sick!” Gordie moans from the commentary table, leading Joanne to pass an empty bucket over to him. This isn’t, by any means, FAWN’s first foray into ultraviolence, and it seems their color commentator has a weak stomach for such things. Back to the action, blood runs down Kanako’s face as Taffy climbs off of her. Amidst a chorus of boos, the Mississippi Mauler, having just lived up to her nickname, holds the now-bloody grater up and slowly licks some of the blood off before tossing it aside. “You never fucking learn, do ya, Akiyama?” Taffy taunts as she goes back to her personal treasure chest of plunder, pulling out….
“….Is that a staple gun???”
“You asked for this, you dumb bitch!” Taffy continues as she hovers menacingly over Kanako while she slowly crawls towards the ropes, “Just like last month, you literally asked for this match!” She then halts Kanako’s progress by grabbling the back of her tank top. There’s no slow burn this time, as Taffy presses the staple gun right between Kanako’s shoulder blades and pulls the trigger. Another sympathetic groan from the FAWN Faithful, while Kanako rolls around frantically on the mat, her shrieks of agony piercing through the din of the crowd. While Kanako is screaming and trying to somehow mentally compartmentalize the intense pain she’s been subjected to, Taffy returns to the tackle box and pulls out an 8x10 glossy of Kanako that she didn’t pay for, along with a black marker. She yanks Kanako up to sitting position by the hair and slaps the 8x10 on her forehead, the blood holding it in place somewhat as she presses the staple gun to it and pulls the trigger once more. Kanako lets out another scream from behind the photo while Taffy holds her in place forcefully. She pops the cap of the marker off and proceeds to write “SLUT” in large letters across the glossy print. She then shoves Kanako back down roughly to let her writhe on the canvas while she slides out of the ring. Lifting the apron up, she reaches under the ring and starts sliding one chair after another into the ring. After the fifth chair enters the ring, Taffy pulls out a sixth, only to have it dropkicked into her face!
Kanako lets out a guttural growl as she rips the photo off of her face, revealing a bloody face that’s a mask of rage. Meanwhile, Taffy is knocked into the guardrail by Kanako’s baseball slide dropkick. She grunts upon hitting the steel, and she briefly clutches her ribs. However, she quickly recovers, glaring hatefully at Kanako, and she hops back up onto the ring apron. The Modern Day Ronin is waiting for her, however, having seen Taffy coming and running the ropes. Timing her return trip to perfectly coincide with Taffy climbing up onto the ring apron, she launches herself at her, flippin over in midair as she clears the top rope and grabbing her around the neck in a cutter position. Her momentum carries the both of them the rest of the way, as she finishes delivering her running blockbuster to the outside that she calls Cliffjumper!
CLIFFJUMPER: youtu.be/DWGzjCcPvek
Taffy yells out in anguish as her back meets the concrete. Kanako isn’t much better off, as she arches her back to try and alleviate some of the pain. Ultimately, though, the Tokyo Tiger is the first to her feet, quickly reaching under the ring and pulling out yet another chair that she launches at Taffy just as she’s gotten to one knee. As the Mississippi native starts to slump over, Kanako picks up the chair that Taffy had just dropped and chucks that one at her as well. She then slides into the ring and goes about setting up her own violent playground. She upends her trash can, revealing various implements of violence. Notably, there is a heavy six-foot long chain, several strands of barbed wire, intertwined to form a single cord, and a small, ominous-looking burlap sack. After opening up one of the chairs and setting it down near the center of the ring, she goes over and picks up the burlap sack, holding it aloft for all to see. She then pulls the string to open it, and then upends it, creating a cascade of sparkling metallic rain just behind the chair.
“….Thumbtacks. They’re thumbtacks….”
The crowd roars its approval at the reveal of the pushpins and the anticipation of their violent promise. In the meantime, Taffy slowly manages to pull herself into the ring. She perhaps unwisely, given the environment she was in, opts to take a breather, laying out on the mat, face down. Kanako tosses the now empty sack aside and turns around to see the prone Black. An evil grin slowly stretches across the Tokyo Tiger’s lips, as in that same glance, she spies the staple gun that had been used against her. She strides over to Taffy and gives her a pair of stomps to the small of her back, which had the added effect of forcing the brunette to roll over. She then mounts Taffy, immobilizing her arms underneath her legs, and presses the staple gun to her forehead. “One ill turn deserves another, bitch!” she growls before squeezing the trigger. She fires off three rapid fire staples into her hated foe’s forehead amidst her screams.
“AAAAAHHH!!! GAHHH!! FUCK!!! GODDAMNIT, STOP!!!”
“After everything you’ve done to me? In your own words, I’m just getting started!” Kanako shoots back with a snarl. She moves the staple gun south, pressing it against Taffy’s right breast. With a pull of the trigger, another staple is forcefully discharged into the Mississippi native’s bountiful titty meat. Taffy’s voice hits another register, as she lets out a shriek of shock and anguish as shockwaves of pain, the likes of which she’s rarely felt, ripple through not just the point of impact, but throughout her entire five foot eleven inch frame. But her tormentor isn’t done just yet! Kanako reaches behind her, bringing the staple gun between Taffy’s legs.
“NO!!” Taffy pleads, “Nononononono!! PLEASE!!” Kanako pays her no heed, only shaking her head as she pulls the trigger one more time and climbs off of her, leaving the Backwater Brawler to howl in misery and roll around on the mat. She sets the staple gun aside and slides it across the ring and then returns to her own toys. She picks up the chain, wraps one end around her fist, and advances on the prone Taffy Black, who’s still moaning in agony, clutching her groin. Once Taffy rolls onto her back, Kanako
makes her move. She mounts her bitter rival and begins laying in brutal chain-augmented fists to Taffy’s face, including three precision shots to the forehead, aiming to pound those staples even deeper into the brunette’s skull! Having busted up Taffy’s face to her grim satisfaction, Kanako climbs off of her, but not before pulling up her tank top to expose her torso and delivering a parting gut shot that pulls a groan from the Mississippi native’s lips, followed by a fit of coughing.
Kanako unwraps and drops the chain and picks up the barbed wire cord. She then advances on Taffy, curled up in a ball, once more. Kanako puts a boot to Taffy’s side to (not so) gently push her onto her back again, and then plants that same boot on her chest to keep her there. She then uses the cord like a whip, lashing Taffy’s exposed abs and dragging the jagged barbs across her torso. Taffy screams, and in a burst of pain-fueled adrenaline, she shoves Kanako’s boot off of her chest and thrashes around on the mat in agony. A stomp from the Tokyo Tiger to the small of Taffy’s back puts a stop to that, and she brings the whip down one more time across one more time. Before Taffy can roll around some more, Kanako hops onto her back. Immobilizing Taffy’s arms beneath her, Kanako then wraps the barbed wire around her neck and pulls back on it for all she’s worth, several of the barbs digging into her neck as she’s being choked. Taffy desperately claws alternately at the mat to pull herself closer to the ropes and at the wire around her neck to try and alleviate the strangling. The audience, by and large, understood that there were no rope breaks in a no disqualification match, so they were curious as to what the Deep South Powerhouse had in mind. Eventually, Black manages to get one hand on the bottom strand, and then the other. Now that she had a little bit of leverage, Taffy is able to slowly pull herself to her feet. However, Kanako is tenacious. With a wild-eyed expression of hatred on her face, the Japanese girl clings to Taffy’s back, even as the bigger woman was climbing up to her feet, maintaining her stranglehold with the barbed wire.
Beginning to see spots, and realizing that Kanako’s not going to stop until she’s choked the life out of her - quite possibly literally - Taffy realizes that she needs to get Kanako off of her, and fast! With that in mind, she hooks Kanako’s legs, as if she’s giving her a piggyback ride, and then she leaps backward, crushing the Tokyo Tiger between herself and the canvas. Kanako lets out a pained shout and loosens her grip on the barbed wire, allowing Taffy to free herself and crawl away. By the time Kanako gets her wind back and gets back up, she sees that Taffy has done the same, standing on the ring apron, catching her breath. Not wanting to give the Mississippi native any chance to recover, she runs the ropes, looking to take Taffy down with another Cliffjumper…
…Only for Taffy to catch Kanako at the last possible moment and hurl her foe to the outside, sending her crashing through the table that she had set up at the foot of the entrance ramp!
Kanako crumples into a heap amongst the wreckage while Taffy drops to one knee, using the lucky break (no pun intended) to gather her strength to resume her assault on the diminutive Japanese girl. Finally, she hops down from the apron and grabs Kanako, scooping her up in bodyslam position.Taffy then charges for the ringpost, violently sandwiching Kanako between herself and the unforgiving steel. She then follows that up by swinging her around in one fluid motion and dropping her chest-first onto the guardrail directly behind them. Now that she reckons she bought herself some time, Taffy goes to work preparing her personal house of horrors for Akiyama inside the ring. She goes under the ring, pulls out a pane of glass and slides it into the ring. She then rolls into the ring herself and sets the glass into a corner, and goes over to the chair Kanako set up and flips it over so that the legs are sticking up. At this point, Kanako has managed to pull herself up on shaky legs, with the help of the ring itself holding her up. Seeing this, Taffy reaches through the ropes, grabbing Kanako by the hair and pulling the Los Angeles transplant into the the ring.
A sadistic grin stretches across the Mississippi Mauler’s bloody face as she backs Kanako into the corner opposite the window, and starts ripping Kanako’s tank top off, tearing it down the middle, leaving her with one less layer of protection. She also forcibly removes Kanako’s sleeves, exposing her arms. Taffy then Irish whipsKanako, only to have that reversed on her. However, the larger woman plants her feet and reverses the reversal, whipping Kanako hard into the original corner. Kanako hits the turnbuckles chest-first with such force that the ring itself rattles as she hits the mat. Taffy then picks Kanako up and stuffs her head between her thighs.The fans buzz with grim anticipation as Taffy points across the ring making her intentions clear. Sure enough, she flips Kanako up on her shoulders, dashes across the ring, and launches her into the opposite corner and through the pane glass window!
A collected gasp falls over the FAWN Faithful as Kanako crashes through the glass, causing it to shatter all around her as she hits the turnbuckles. Taffy smirks with smug satisfaction when she sees blood trickling from multiple small cuts on her arms and face and, presumably, her back. “Y’know, Akiyama,” she says as she advances on the fallen Ronin, “they say that it ain’t work if you enjoy it. Even before I started this wrestling stuff, when I was doing…”odd jobs,” let’s call it….you wanna know what the best part was? More than gettin’ paid for beating motherfuckers up, you know what made it less work and more of a hobby?” She then pulls something from her back pocket. What is that?
“Is that…It’s the serrated edge from a plastic wrap box!”
She holds the household item turned weapon menacingly in front of her face as she answers her own rhetorical question, “...Torture!” With that, she takes the blade and proceeds to carve up Kanako’s arms, slicing up one and down the other, Akiyama’s screaming causing Taffy to leat out a low moan, and her eyes to roll slightly. “Mmmm, yeah! That’s the good stuff!” she purrs, “But we ain’t even close to done yet!” She then forces Kanako down to the mat, face down, and pulls up her t-shirt, exposing her back. Reasoning that after she wins, those ten lashes will hurt all the more with some fresh wounds, Taffy drags the makeshift blade across Kanako’s back slowly, sadistically savoring every second of the Tokyo Tiger’s suffering. Satisfied with her handiwork, Taffy carelessly tosses the serrated edge away and picks Kanako up tp to a seated position. “Hold still!” she barks as she takes up position behind her, putting one arm around the Girl With No Fear to keep her struggling to a minimum as she reaches into her back pocket with her other hand, and pulls out…
“…a fishhook? What in god’s name is she going to do with that?”
Grabbing underneath Kanako’s chin, Taffy forces her mouth open. Then, to the horror of everyone watching, Taffy forces her hand inside, hook nestled between her middle and pointer fingers, and proceeds to slowly force the fishhook through her left cheek! Kanako’s eyes widen in shock and extreme pain as she feels the point of the hook against her cheek, her panicked screams muted by Taffy’s invading fingers. “Ahhh!” Taffy sighs with a sadistic chuckle, “Reminds me of when I used ta go fishin’ for catfish in them Mississippi swamps!” Having completely penetrated Kanako’s cheek, Taffy fits the other end of the hook just outside the corner of her mouth and begins to tug on it, simultaneously yanking on her dark locks to thrash her head about painfully to go along with the damage the hook is doing, blood pouring from the wound.
“Why lookee here!” Taffy laughs derisively as she maintains her tortuous hold on Kanako, “I caught me a guppy!” She then stands up, pulling Kanako with her, “Aww, but she looks a bit on the puny side. Looks like I’m gonna hafta throw her back!” With that, she beals Kanako out of the corner, hurling her right onto the upturned steel chair. The Mississippi Mauler’s aim proves to be true, as Kanako’s back is impaled by the waiting legs of the chair, causing the diminutive Japanese girl to bounce off of them and howl in agony, arching her back to try and relieve some of the intense pain that she was experiencing. “I gotta thank ya, Akiyama,” Taffy says as she walks up to Kanako, crouching down to get face to face with her, “Kate said that your biggest weakness was that fiery temple of yours, and damn if she wasn’t dead on! Humiliating you and beating you like the dog you are was all it took to get you to offer me the chance…” She lets the sentence hang in the air as she slides out to ringside, going under the ring…
…And pulls out a cinder block that she slides into the ring…
The context of the significance of the cinder block is lost on almost everyone in attendance, as FAWN has been uncharacteristically tight-lipped about just how this bitter feud has escalated into the stratosphere. Three people in particular, however, know exactly what the significance of it is, and they all commence to freaking out. Bethany Christian has the power to put a stop to it, but she’s loathe to interfere in such a widely publicized pay per view match. Meanwhile, Black and Akiyama’s partners in this war, Kate Grimm and Trixie Decker respectively, fly into apoplectic fits, albeit for different reasons, when they see Taffy introduce the block. However, they both vowed to stay out of this match, so they could do nothing but stare wide-eyed and impotent as Taffy brought the block over to Kanako’s side. Taffy then picks Kanako up by her hair and stares her in the eyes, her own eyes wild with hatred, “Ya gave me the chance to finish what I started!” The FAWNatics collectively hold their breath as Taffy quickly cinches in a front facelock, throws one of Kanako’s arms over her head, and hoists the lightweight into the air.
However, Taffy’s planned brainbuster doesn’t come to pass, as Kanako slips out of Taffy’s clutches and behind the bigger brunette. The suddenly reawakened Ronin then rears back and kicks Taffy with all the force that she can muster right between the brunette bully’s legs, actually lifting Black a couple inches off the ground. Taffy howls in pain and slumps to her knees. Kanako follows up the low blow with a wicked buzzsaw kick to the back of Taffy’s head that finishes cutting down the five foot eleven tree. Now Kanako stands over Taffy, looking down at her bitter foe, her contempt for the Deep South Powerhouse plain on her face. Then, her gaze shifts to the cinder block. She bends down and picks it up, and now it’s Kanako’s turn to be menacing. As this is happening, the haze from the headshot lifts and Taffy sees the bloody Tokyo Tiger standing over her and her eyes go wide with panic. She tries to scoot away on her butt, but Kanako plants a foot on her chest to put a stop to that. “It would be so easy…” Kanako says wearily as she holds up the block, looking at it curiously, “An eye…for an eye…”
The FAWN Faithful cry out, urging Kanako not to do whatever it is she was thinking of, not wanting their hero to go down that dark path. Taffy, as well, was now begging the Japanese girl for mercy. If Kanako hears any of this, she gives no indication of it. Finally, after agonizing moments staring at the concrete, she hefts it over her head.
…And she chucks it out of the ring, the cinder block shattering upon impact with the floor below.
“No. I won’t go that far…” Kanako finally says with a growl, “I’m better than that, Black. I’m better than you!” she then quickly grabs Taffy and pulls her up to her feet. “But I’m also not done beating your ass!” She then applies a modified headlock, locking her hands from under Taffy’s arms in a butterfly position. She then lifts her up a little off the mat and drops, driving Black headfirst into the thumbtacks.
youtu.be/zZpFvMQM5Oc?t=32
Taffy quickly rolls over and sits up, screaming in pain and shock, her body shaking as she looks wide-eyed at the multitude of pushpins stuck into her skin. But Kanako isn’t finished, and she doesn’t allow Taffy any time to breathe. She hauls the still-twitching Black to her feet, lifts the larger woman up in vertical suplex position, then delivers a gordbuster, tossing Taffy face first onto the broken glass!
youtu.be/zf6p-Y_R12A
Luckily, Taffy has the presence of mind to cover her face with her hands just before impact. That doesn’t save her, however, from the glass slicing into her skin in multiple places. Again, Kanako is quick to pile on the punishment, grabbing Taffy by her long, brown hair and dragging her across the jagged shards, drawing more screams from the Backwater Brawler’s lips. Once clear of the glass, Kanako simply tosses Taffy out of the ring, between the bottom and middle ropes. As Black tumbles down to the floor, Akiyama grabs the trash can and hefts it over her head. Just as Taffy manages to struggle to her feet, Kanako hurls the bin at her, connecting with a loud CLANG! While Taffy stumbles around, using the guardrail to keep her upright, Kanako climbs through the ropes to follow after her quarry. Somehow managing to get herself spun around so her back is to Kanako, the smaller Japanese girl grabs Taffy and rams her into the ringpost, exacerbating the bleeding from her forehead and sending her spinning down to the floor right at the foot of the entrance ramp.
Kanako pounces on Taffy, mounting her and laying in heavy rights to the Backwater Brawler’s forehead and face. Barely able to put up a defense against Kanako’s onslaught, she instead opts to try and create some separation to give her some room to breathe. With that in mind, she grasps Kanako’s shoulders and shoves her back with all of her fading - but still significant - might. Kanako’s size works against her in this instance, as she flies backwards, stopping only when her back hits the edge of the ring apron. The Modern Day Ronin grunts in pain upon impact with the hardest part of the ring, but she’s able to quickly shake it off, just in time to see Taffy scramble to her feet. Her eyes narrow as she zeroes in on her target. Unwilling to give her any chance to recover, Kanako swiftly closes ranks, rocking the larger brunette with a pair of solid right crosses, forcing her to retreat up the ramp.
Finally coming to the realization that separation would not be sustainable, Taffy begins firing back, nailing Kanako square in the jaw with a straight left. There aren’t many on the FAWN roster that can hang with Kanako Akiyama in terms of pure striking ability, pound for pound. Taffy Black is one of those people. Indeed, had she not been offered such a lucrative contract to sign with FAWN, Taffy could very well have made a serious go at a professional boxing career. As it is, the two women trade blows at a ferocious pace as they make their way up the ramp, onto the stage. However for each heavy blow Black scores, Akiyama retaliates with two of her own, illustrating both her quickness and her toughness, as if anybody needed any proof of either trait at this point.
Before long, the bloodied brawlers arrive at the stage at the top of the ramp. Taffy is lying in wait for Kanako to join her, and when she does, she drives a knee deep into the Japanese girl’s gut, doubling her over. Showing that, despite the grueling pace and brutal nature of the match itself, Taffy still has something left in the tank, she grabs Kanako by her collar and her crotch and hoists the lightweight above her head in a gorilla press position. “You’re about to go for a ride, short stack!” Taffy growls as she parades her cargo around before stopping at the edge of the stage just above the electrical equipment. “And if yer still breathin’ after that, I’ll finish the job and break you! Once and for alLLAAAARRRGH, SHIT!!!”
Taffy’s threat is cut short by Kanako’s nails raking her eyes. With this done, Kanako is easily able to slip free and take up position behind her. As soon as her foe turns around to face her, Kanako is waiting for her to unleash one of the biggest weapons in her arsenal; her devastating spinning back fist, the Uraken!
youtu.be/u_MjHqsYwFI
Kanako connects squarely with Taffy’s cheek, making her legs wobble, but not collapse, to her credit. Kanako simply goes for another spin in response. Again, she makes solid contact with her target, and again Taffy staggers and stumbles but still does not fall. Nodding in acknowledgement of what her next move ought to be, Kanako takes several steps back. Once she gets Taffy in her sights, she dashes for her, bringing her hands together and delivering a running, two-handed Uraken! The third time proves to be the charm, as Taffy drops like a stone, startlingly close to falling over the ledge. Kanako nearly falls over herself, such was her momentum as the proverbial redwood falls. Nevertheless, Kanako steadies herself and stands over the seemingly barely conscious Taffy Black. After taking a moment to catch her breath, Kanako then…disappears behind the curtain? Before long though, the Tokyo Tiger returns, dragging something behind her…
“…What the hell is that?? Holy crap, is that a BED OF NAILS??!!”
Taffy is just beginning to stir from the near-knockout blows upon Kanako’s return. Kanako drops the strap that she had been using to drag the bed of nails onto the stage, setting it just to the left of center stage, and she advances on Taffy once more. Grabbing her by her long brown locks, Kanako drags Taffy over to the horrifying platform. She hauls Black up to her feet, locks in a headlock, throws one of her arms over her head, hooks her jeans with her other hand, and hoists her up in a vertical suplex position. She then releases, flipping Taffy over as she lets go, delivering an x-plex that is aimed squarely for the bed of nails!
youtu.be/1qt3zI5GEY4
Upon impact with the multitude of metal points, Taffy’s eyes widen in shock and she screams, but she is kept in place by a series of punches from the Modern Day Ronin to Taffy’s already battered face. As the Mississippi native lays back onto the nails, moaning wearily, Kanako relents, satisfied that she’s been sufficiently subdued for what’s to come. Looking down at her for with a look of naked contempt, Kanako flips Taffy off and then...disappears behind the curtain again. A buzz rolls through the FAWN Faithful, wondering amongst themselves just what their beloved warrior has planned. Shortly, to their dismay, they get their answer, as a spotlight shines upward…
“Oh my god, OH MY GOD!!! Kanako Akiyama is on top of the FAWNTron!!!”
While many fans watched, mouths agape, as Kanako raises herself to her full height as she stood atop the massive screen, others let out a bellow of awe at the realization of what Kanako is about to do. With that in mind, a chant booms through FAWN Arena.
“PLEASE DON’T DIE!!! PLEASE DON’T DIE!!! PLEASE DON’T DIE!!!”
After a few rounds of this, Kanako’s voice can be heard above the din, as she answers her fans, shouting at the top of her lungs…
”I DON’T GIVE A FUCK IF I DIE!!!
Her declaration silences the masses, shocked as they are by her words. That silence doesn’t last for long, for after Kanako makes this statement, she takes flight. She launches herself into the air, tucking her legs in and turning ever so slightly as she closes in on her target, her near twenty-foot drop finishing in an awe-inspiring cannonball senton aimed squarely for Taffy’s chest!
youtu.be/FOlZ3HQN2l8
Her potentially kamikaze attack proves successful, literally bouncing off of Taffy’s voluptuous body upon impact. For her part, Taffy’s body shudders as Kanako’s back meets her torso, and she lets out a brief pained cry before the wind is fully driven from her lungs. Amidst a thunderous chant of “HO-LY SHIT!!! HO-LY SHIT!!!”, a wide-eyed Kanako shakes herself alert, astounded that her stunt actually worked! However, she realizes that her work is not yet done. Nonetheless, she takes a moment to get her wind back, and soak in the deafening noise of the FAWNatics collectively losing their minds. While this horror show is indeed no disqualification, and no countout, it is not falls count anywhere. So, in order to put an end to this war, she needs to drag Taffy’s flattened carcass back to the ring to finish it. With that in mind, she stands and strides over to the bed of nails, peeling Taffy off of it and throwing her down carelessly. Taffy tumbles down, barely having the strength to crawl along to the steel entrance ramp. Kanako hovers over her menacingly, and helps hasten her trip back to the ring planting a boot into her side and shoving her down the ramp, causing Taffy to roll downwards, halting about two-thirds of the way to the ring. Following after her, Kanako leans down and grabs her by the hair and continues on her way to the ring, forcing Taffy to crawl with her, lest she be brutally dragged behind her. Once at ringside, Kanako reaches down, hefts the larger brunette up, and dumps Taffy into the ring. SHe then climbs into the ring and searches for something. Just beating her bitter foe isn’t enough; she wants to punish her for her transgressions. Finally, she finds what she’s looking for, and she wraps the six-foot chain around her fist. Once Taffy struggles to her feet, Kanako pounces, looking uncork one more Uraken, this one augmented by the chain…
…Only to be cut off by a gloved hand closing around her throat. In a seemingly last-ditch burst of energy, Taffy hoists Kanako up and chokeslams her right into the thumbtacks.
youtu.be/Ue6g-7qK6sw
Kanako screams and rolls around in the tacks before Taffy stops her, covering her and hooking both legs as Nick springs into action to count the pin.
ONE!
TWO!!
THR-NOOOOOO!!!
Taffy is unable to hold Kanako down, exhausted as she is, and she not only kicks out at 2.8, but she’s able to throw Taffy off of her rather forcefully. Taffy lays beside Kanako on her back, her hands covering her face, partly in disbelief, but mostly to hide her heaving sobs. She won’t stay down! she thinks, her mind racing, feverish in trying to find a path to victory, Why won’t this fucking twerp just stay down! It’s not fair! She takes her hands away and rolls onto her side, facing away from Kanako. It’s then that the chain, which Kanako had dropped when she had been hoisted up in the goozle, catches her eye. Understanding that her own strength was fading, and unable to think of any alternative, she knows what she has to do. As Kanako begins to sit up, Taffy grasps the chain and quickly wraps it around Kanako’s neck three times. Acting fast, before Kanako could react, she then hurls her over the top rope and pulls back on the chain with all of her fading might, effectively hanging the petite Japanese woman. Kanako kicks and thrashes as the chain constricts her throat tightly, trying desperately to find a foothold where she could get the chain to slacken so that she could free herself. Alas, her efforts only serve to hasten her strangulation. Slowly, her struggling slows…then stops…and then, her eyes close and her head slumps over, her world going black.
“Oh, thank god!” Nick exclaims when he sees the lights go out in Kanako’s eyes, relieved that he can finally put an end to this barbarism, and he signals for the bell. Almost simultaneously with the bell ringing, Taffy falls back onto the canvas and she releases the chain, unable to hold and pull on it any longer. Kanako falls to the floor, still unconscious as each woman’s partner, Trixie Decker for Kanako, and Kate Grimm for Taffy, rush to ringside to aid their ally.
TRIXIE DECKER:
KATE GRIMM:
“Ladies and gentlemen…The winner of this match, as a result of referee stoppage…TAFFY BLACK!!!” The assembled masses loudly boo this result, “As per the stipulations for this match, Kanako Akiyama will now be bound to one of the ringposts and will be lashed ten times by Miss Black!”
“Come on, Songbird, wake up!” Trixie urges as she holds Kanako in her arms. Shortly after that, Kanako begins to groan as her eyes flutter open.
“H-Hon Bun?” Kanako says weakly, calling Trixie by her pet name for her, just as Songbird is Trixie’s pet name for Kanako. “...Fuck, I lost, didn’t I?” she asks, realization setting in.
“‘fraid so, Kanako,” Trixie answers sadly, knowing what’s in store for her now. Meanwhile, Kate is trying to rouse Taffy. Ever since the bell rang, she’s been lying on the mat in a heap, not unconscious, but not exactly lucid either. Off to the side, whilst ringhands hurriedly clean up all of the detritus in and around the ring, Nick confers with a couple officials, as well as Bethany Christian over his earpiece, discussing the possibility that Taffy might not be able to follow through on the agreed-upon penalty. For, although Kanako was once again conscious, and standing, watching the goings-on inside the ring as she waits for direction, Taffy has yet to even stir.
“Hold on,” Nick holds up a hand, then gestures to his earpiece. After several moments, he nods and turns his attention back to his colleagues. “Miss Christian says that if Taffy Black can’t do it, then it falls to Kate Grimm.” he says, relaying The Boss’s decision.
“Like hell!” Taffy barks, finally coming around as a worried Kate helps her to her feet, “I beat that bitch! ME!! Nobody but Kate believed in me, but I did it! I earned this, and I’ll be damned if you’re gonna take it away from me!” Nick gestures towards Taffy and the other officials shrug and take their leave as Nick slips out of the ring to prepare Kanako.
“I’m sorry, Kanako, but we need to do this,” Nick says contritely as he pulls out a pair of handcuffs. Kanako and Trixie look each other in the eyes, mouth “I love you,” to each other and share a kiss. After that, Kanako takes off her shirt, revealing a red silk sports bra. She then takes up position facing the nearest ringpost, holding her hands out, reaching around it, as Nick slaps the cuffs on her, binding her to the ringpost. Taffy then approaches, brandishing the leather strap presented to her, licking her lips in anticipation, hatred and spite seemingly the only things keeping her standing. “Alright, Black, let’s get this over with. You’ve only got ten shots; make ‘em count!”
“Ohhh, don’t you worry,” Taffy purrs, “I’ve been waitin’ for this a LONG time, and I’m gonna savor every second of it!” She then leans in and hums in Kanako’s ear, “This is gonna hurt you a lot worse than it’s gonna hurt me, slut!”
“Just shut the fuck up and do it, Black!” Kanako growls back, “Unless you’re starting to lose your nerve!”
“FUCK YOU, YOU LITTLE PIECE OF SHIT!!!” Taffy spits venom as she draws her arm back.
CRACK!!!
The sound of the leather strap slapping against Kanako’s bare back echoes off of every wall of the Arena. Kanako grits her teeth and lets out a drawn-out grunt, but nothing further. Behind her, Taffy is looming, still seething at this loser’s defiance. She rears back and lets the leather fly again.
CRACK!!!
Kanako winces and hisses, but she still refuses to give Taffy the satisfaction of crying out in pain. “You’re gonna scream for me, Akiyama,” she barks, “As god as my witness, you’re gonna scream before I’m done with you!”
CRACK!!!
“NGGGH!!!” Kanako grunts and writhes in pain, “Th-that the best you got, bitch?” she taunts Taffy, “M-maybe you should’ve let Black handle this after all!” she adds with a derisive chuckle.
CRACK!!!CRACK!!!CRACK!!!
An enraged Taffy Black hauls off and lights up Kanako’s back with the strap for three rapid fire shots. Kanako yelps after the second one, and tears well up as she tries desperately to deny her tormentor the scream that she wants. “Hey…” Trixie calls to her wife, watching her from the other side of the ringpost, “...Hey…It’s okay, babe. Just focus on me. We’re over halfway there!”
“Alright, Black, you got four more!” Nick reminds Taffy, drawing a confused look from the Mississippi Mauler.
“You mean four down, right, stripes? I’ve only done four…”
“No, that was six. You just hit her three times in a row. Or did you think I wouldn’t notice if you did it fast enough?”
If looks could kill, Nick Castle would be a dead man right now, as Taffy seethes, staring at the zebra wide-eyed with rage. “Hey, chill, Taf’...” Kate intervenes, putting a hand on the taller woman’s shoulder, “It’s cool. Just make sure these last four really count!” Taffy looks at her partner in crime and nods. She then returns to the task at hand…
CRACK!!!
Kanako squeezes Trixie’s hands, as she had begun holding Kanako’s hands for support while Taffy and Nick were arguing. She winces, but only lets a slight grunt escape her lips. “Thank you, ma’am, may I have another?” she taunts Taffy again, looking behind her.
CRACK!!!
“AAARRRGH!!! FUCK!!!” Kanako shouts.
“Not good enough, Akiyama!” Taffy barks, “I’m gonna get that scream outta you, even if it kills you!”
“You mean “If it kills me”?”
“I SAID WHAT I SAID!!!”
CRACK!!!
“GAH!!! GODDAMMIT!!!” Kanako shouts, cursing like a sailor, showing the influence of her best friend, Yoona Park. Taffy huffs in frustration. Knowing she only has one shot left, she walks up the entrance ramp, to the confusion of just about everybody. Arriving at the top of the ramp, she turns around and takes off, running as fast as her powerful, but nonetheless weary, legs will carry her. As she approaches her prey once more, she rears back and lets the leather fly with all of what’s left of her might, causing herself to stumble and fall over.
CRRRRAAAAAACK!!!
Kanako bites down on the bottom rope to prevent herself from crying out. As Taffy is slowly picking herself back up, the strength clearly and rapidly draining from her body, Kate takes out a hip flask from her back pocket. “Not bad, Akiyama!” Kate says cordially, “Gotta give ya credit, I thought for sure you were gonna break there. You didn’t win the match, but here; let me give you a consolation prize!” Kate then empties the contents of her flask, not booze of some sort but lemon juice, all over the battered Japanese girl’s back. A bloodcurdling scream is ripped from Kanako’s lips as the acidic liquid hits her battle-worn flesh. Grimm cackles at Akiyama’s suffering and high five’s Taffy, who has joined her partner’s side, on unsteady legs. “C’mon, babe…Let’s get you looked at.” Kate says as she puts an arm around Taffy to help her walk, as it’s clear that Taffy doesn’t have much strength left to leave on her own power.
“Thanks, Kate…” Taffy replies as the two of them make their way up the ramp, on their way to the infirmary. “I…I did it…I broke her for you…”
“Yeah, you did, Taf’,” Kate says with a nod, patting her on the back, “I’m proud a’ya.”
As the pair disappear through the curtain to a loud chorus of vitriolic jeers, Nick frees Kanako from her bonds and she slumps to the floor. Trixie quickly joins her wife on the floor, embracing her tightly. “Songbird…You gonna be okay?” Kanako nods slowly, her eyes fixed on some point on the floor between them, completely failing to reassure her wife. “Come on, Kanako,” Trixie says with a sigh as she stands up and holds out her hand to her, “you need to get…all that…taken care of.” Kanako nods again and accepts her wife’s help, taking her hand and letting her help her get back to her feet. Trixie offers Kanako her shoulder, just as Kate had done for Taffy, but Kanako refuses, simply giving Trixie a kiss on the cheek and taking hold of her hand. Trixie manages to give her a reassuring smile, and together, they make their way up the ramp, knowing that they’re going to have to have a serious talk sooner rather than later over what went down tonight.