Hathiya vs Kaihua: The strings behind the curtains.

Kaihua’s ears were pointed right at Hathiya. His fluffy, feline ears sensitively listening to Hathiya’s every word as she pondered his questions. The Earthshaker was thinking silently, setting Kaihua’s rival question aside to instead assure him that she could indeed be defeated. She had been bested before, and she implied that he just might be the second person to do so. The white tiger appreciated the thought, but couldn’t help but think how he had just hit her with both momentum and most of his power, only for her to chuckle in a softhearted manner. She was built like a tank, and yet she spoke so much sweeter than anyone with strength he had met before. A part of the tiger couldn’t help but wonder just who could take down someone known as “Earthshaker”, but Hathiya would interrupt his thoughts by taking a rumbling step forward.

“And to answer your second question, if I am stronger than your rival…”

With a single swing, Hathiya’s fist came faster than Kaihua had been with his entire body with the assistance of the ropes. Her fists stopped a few feet away, and yet a wall of wind struck the tiger enough to knock him off his feet and send him rolling to the other side of the arena! He dug his claws deep into the floor, the cameramen tumbling along with Kaihua as their cameras collapsed to the floor. Kaihua would have wondered how pricey those things were if his eyes weren’t glued to the Earthshaker. His hair was ruffled by the winds, but as the forced whirlwind made by Hathiya’s blow faded away, Kaihua’s question was thoroughly answered.

“W…who…who beat you?” He uttered in disbelief, wondering who in Gaia could defeat her. “W…was weird hat lady?”

Hathiya calmly receeded her fist, before rubbing the back of her head in an awkward manner. She noticed the cameramen who had fallen off their feet and felt a bit sheepish despite the fact the rest of the small crowd had been awestruck and were clapping and cheering at her small display there. Cirkot himself was amazed......and then realized the sheer precision Hathiya must need daily to keep that strength not only in check, but to use it with such precise enough force and strength to just do normal things around smaller people.

For a second, he almost felt frightened. Hathiya meanwhile answered Kaihua's question.

"Nah, it was a girl named Becky. Very ferocious."

And with that, she simply stood, hands on her hips, almost like she was just waiting for him to try something. Her trunk even motioned him to bring it, swirling through the air tauntingly.

The white tiger blinked. Becky? It wasn’t a name he had heard of before, but he would certainly keep his ear to the ground for it now. Someone who could take the Earthshaker down would certainly have to be an impressive warrior. Maybe one Kaihua could look for in the future? But that would have to wait, as Hathiya seemed to beckon the tiger to get back into the fight. The feline wasn’t even sure he could hurt Hathiya, much less defeat her. But he wasn’t about to give up and accept defeat! This was his last chance, and so he would quickly get back into his proper hunting stance and begin to circle Hathiya.

After going around a few times and studying her physique, Kaihua would try and guess where her center of gravity was. He blinked, carefully calculating an attack with the least amount of risk but the most impact. Once he was finished, he would rush forward once again, rising up to his feet to swing a heavy paw strike at Hathiya’s arm to try and cause a crack in her seemingly indestructible defense!

Hathiya again stood her ground, just watching Kaihua moving, only her head and eyes tracking him, and her ears facing him like antennae dishes. She was quite curious now about this boy, and she had decided that this little show had gone on long enough and Cirkot had gotten enough footage for whatever promos they wanna try and edit.

As Kaihua made his move and lunged, Hathiya stood there for a second, right before her upper body turned around and she in a blur, brought her arm that Kaihua had been going for, stopping just short of his body, but it fired another powerful gust of wind from the force of it, enough to launch Kaihua downwards as he dribbled hard off the mat like a basketball! And as he came upwards, Hathiya snatched his head and face with a swift grab and slammed him hard to the canvas!

What happened next came so fast that very few audience members could understand what happened. One moment, Kaihua was rushing at the Earthshaker with a staggering amount of speed only for his opponent’s arms to turn into a gray blur. In the literal blink of an eye, Kaihua was down! Hitting the floor with such force that he practically bounced back up in the air from the ruthless impact! A pained grunt slipped through Kaihua’s lips, only to be muffled by Hathiya’s hand! In a mobe that was almost as quick as before, Hathiya would SLAM the young tiger’s head into the ground, marking a definite end to the match! Kaihua was out like a light, with no chance of recovering any time soon.

The audience cringed in pain at the finisher, and then burst into clapping and cheers at the speedy display. Cirkot's mouth hung slightly agape, amazed at just how fast Hathiya could be. Which made him wonder how on Earth did she lose to Becky. Was she THAT fast? Or did she just let the bird take the win?

That aside, Hathiya's face was quite neutral. There was neither happiness nor glory on her face. She didn't even look at the crowd, her eyes were on the poor tiger boy she had just nearly flattened. She gently placed a finger on his forehead, a way of counting her pinfall.

The referee that had avoided being blown by her wind currents quickly counted the three count. Everyone already knew it; there was no way Kaihua was gonna break out of that, he had just been destroyed.

The three count rang out, and Hathiya was declared the winner. The crowd burst into further cheering and clapping, as Cirkot smugly smiled. "That should put some humility back in that idiot. And maybe a few more brain cells to rub together." His smile broke into an "O" as Hathiya then bent over, picked up Kaihua, and cradled him in her arms like a small child, as she gently walked over and out of the ring, and towards the exit, the ground lightly trembling with every footstep.

"..................................where is she going?"

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Hathiya's footsteps were the only thing making the whole place tremble, and the only noise, as she walked through the hallways, occasionally passing staff who looked at the 9 foot tall Titan with an unconscious tiger boy in her arms. She had him cradled and cuddled up to her chest, her eyes calmly looking forwards and not betraying any emotions. Her eyes then shifted to Kaihua, and then silently up ahead as she got to her destination; her dressing room. Entering the room and gently squeezing in, while making sure Kaihua didn't get hurt in any way, she looked around her room.

The young feline didn’t move even an inch after he was taken down. With ruthless efficiency, Kaihua was forced into a deep and heavy slumber that brought nothing but a large blanket of darkness to his consciousness. Time passed by without him noticing, as did the resounding cheers of Hathiya’s fans and the smug remarks from Cirkot. All that the young tiger could feel was a dull throb in the back of his head and the distant sounds of memories that had been hastily buried.

Sharp voices, angry screams and yelling filled his ears, as imaginary sand scrunched beneath his paws. Claws were bared, sharpened from constant use as his heart beat like a drum. Shadows of figures stood before him, constantly changing shapes and voices as an orchestra of anger and disappointment singed his ears. The feeling of icy cold water splashed onto his back, only to disappear in an instant as he felt the tight metal bars of a cage gently squeeze his shoulders  and hit his head, forcing him to hunch down. He knew if he failed, he would not eat, could not sleep, or be sold again. But, in his dream Kaihua didn’t know what it was he was trying to achieve. The angry voices were too loud to think, they demanded action! Kaihua found himself running, his claws ripping up dirty as he reached top speed to catch the shadowy figures, only to remain out of reach. More yelling, more anger singed his chest! His muscles burning all of the sudden as his stomach growled and cramped from hunger. His attention was off, and his paw slipped, causing him to fall into the dirt! Panic suddenly stabbed right through him! His bright blue eyes quickly lifted up from the ground to find the shadowy figures upon him, reaching out to grab him with Talon like fingers! They reached down, their hands engulfing his vision!
–

Kaihua suddenly flinched awake with a yelp! Sweat covered his body as a soft light devoured what remnants of darkness that remained in his eyes. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust, and he squinted as he tried to figure out where exactly he was. His mind was still in his dream, his eyes seeing the familiar room of his previous masters when it was not there. His back arched, his heart raced, but as his eyes adjusted to the gentle lights the feline would begin to notice inconsistencies. Small details that were unknown to him that became more apparent the more he looked around. This wasn’t a room he had been in before. He had never seen this room…

Only then did he notice the strong arm that seemed to cradle him. With muscle like rock but skin that was soft and smooth, Kaihua would trace the arm back to its owner, finding Hathiya holding him. He blinked, his mind slowly processing what had happened as he realized where he was…and what had happened.

He had lost…which meant he was a slave again. This time, to his rival.

Hathiyas eyes for a moment looked down to notice Kaihua was now awake, but her eyes went up to the room again. She walked up to the spot near the front mirror (where a squished mattress was) as she calmly sat down, still cradling Kaihua, as her seating gently rocked the room.

After a small pause, she looked down properly at Kaihua and asked, "What brought you here, Kaihua? Who hurt you? Be honest with me. I will not judge you. I'll wipe away your tears." and with that, her trunk slowly and gently came up to his face, lightly brushing it. "But I need you to be honest with me."

Kaihua was in shock. His head swirling in a whirlpool of thoughts and emotions that made him twirl back and forth in a sea of despair and rage. He was angry at himself, Hathiya, everyone he could think of! With a hiss, Kaihua began to flail about! Quickly escaping Hathiya’s intentionally soft grip as he slipped away to the furthest corner of the room. He wanted to be alone, or at least some place familiar. Being stuck here alone with his former opponent made his fur stand on end! Her questions lingered in the air, and he bared his fangs with increased aggression.

“Not cry! Kaihua come here on Kaihua own! Rival humiliate Kaihua, so Kaihua humiliate them! Get pride back! Whole plan! But ruined now! Weird lady make me rival’s slave now! So leave Kaihua alone!”

The tiger was pressed tightly into the corner, his claws bared and back arched! It was like he was a trapped animal…but he put himself there. Was a corner or cage where he was most comfortable? Even with all his growling and hissing, Kaihua couldn’t seem to look at Hathiya.

Hathiya's eyes widened when the boy slipped out, and seeing him act like a wounded animal in the corner, and then referring to her as a "rival" and he was now her "slave", made her momentarily silent. She then calmly looked away, and silently said, "You are not my slave, Kaihua. I could never do such a thing. The door is right there. You are free to walk away any time. But..." with that, her eyes came back to rest on him, "....I will always be ready to hear what you have to say."

If Kaihua heard the last part carefully, he would've heard a small wobble in Hathiya's voice, her eyes quivering and looking a bit wet. Her body remained stiff and motionless like a statue, but her eyes were still having that little bit of light in them, and they were looking at him.