Wolves Not Far

Valley was clinging to consciousness as all of this happened, and she frankly wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t like it was going to make her situation any better. She wasn’t going to make some kind of miraculous comeback, that was for sure. Even if the trio left her alone - and dear God, it didn't seem like they were going to - she would be hard pressed to move under her own power for a long while. She needed a doctor. She needed a scan. She needed to make sure that these three hadn’t ended her career.

Those were all thoughts for the back of her brain, minor musings in the muddled mess that passed for her current thought processes. She was just conscious enough to put together Manami’s words, and she wished she had the strength to say something back and form a decent retort. She wanted to tell this woman just how wrong she was, how far off the mark she was with what she was saying, threaten her, throw some taunting words her way.

But she couldn’t. Mostly because she was just physically incapable of doing anything more with her lungs than bare breathing, but also because, as much as she hated to admit, Manami wasn’t wrong. Not completely.

Five, ten years ago, this wouldn’t have happened. She would’ve been familiar enough with the Friction roster that she would’ve known to be wary of this woman and her compatriots. She would’ve been ready for their attack, would’ve been able to at least get away. She wouldn’t have been so trusting and oblivious to a serious threat sitting next to her.

She let her guard down and here she was, a broken doll, unable to so much as twitch in defense as she was hoisted up. Manami’s minions worked her around, moving her into position without much trouble. The most she could do was weakly shake her head as she realized what they were doing and what would come next.

The last thing Valley remembered was the feel of the table crashing against her skull, followed by this loud, defeaning noise, and then...silence. Darkness. A pure, black void that enveloped her everything and left her in a cold, dark place.

The plastic on the table’s surface was left with a Valley’s head-size indentation after their vertebreaker sent the champion to a long and dreadful nightmare. Yuki dropped the woman’s legs and Fumika released the hold on her arms. They both slid off to the side of the table, taking their positions at Manami’s side.

Yuki crossed her arms and looked off to the side, seeing a crowd of onlookers beginning to accumulate now that it seemed the excitement was over. Fumika brushed her hair back, breathing in a deep breath of the lovely spring air, rising up to her tippy toes before standing back upright with her arms crossed behind her back. Indistinct rabble began to surround them, the sound of clicking cameras and faint gasps as more and more passersby began to surround them.

Manami, however, only continued to look down at Valley’s limp form. The twisted smirk on her face appeared plastered on, unmoving and haunting with the depths of malice. Her fangs glistened in the afternoon sun. The entire world seemed to stop moving as she took in the magnificent sight before her.

The sounds of sirens could be heard in the distance. It was enough to drag Manami out of her fantasies just long enough for their current position to dawn on her. She looked off to the side, past the crowds to the sound of emergency vehicles approaching, just out of sight.

“We have what we came for.”

With those words, the three turned to their right and continued down the path. Yuki lingered behind, giving Valley one sidelong glance as they began to walk before she kicked her leg out to her left, knocking the table over on its side and sending the champion tumbling along with it. As they walked through the woods, Manami noticed a figure slumped against a tree in the corner of her vision. An unsuspecting Japanese man, dressed in an ordinary dress shirt and tie, as if he were on break and come to bask in the quiet scenery for a nap between shifts. That may have been the case, aside from the heavy pool of blood streaming from his mouth, covering his shirt which appeared torn upon closer inspection. Many cuts and bruisers lined his face and hands, the only indication he was still alive being the heavy breaths he appeared to be drawing in his half-conscious state.

It reminded her...

“Hold this.” Manami said as she handed Yuki the signed poster. The blonde wolf gave her a curious look, then took the merchandise and off-handedly glanced at it.

“Souvenir?”

Manami’s smile grew twice its size. “Something like that.”