MATCH TYPE: Last Woman Standing (Deathmatch Handicap Gauntlet)
Before the match
Note on names
The names that are used in this section are the respective characters' real names, not the names that they go by in LAW. The character referred to as Méi in this section is known as Méi Lǐ (李梅) in LAW. Similarly, Huīyīn goes by Liú Yīn (劉音) in LAW, and Huā goes by Húxiān Lì (利狐仙) in LAW.
"'Bad Girl', the youngest Reinhardt, and Yuki," said the first woman. "Good pull, Huā."
"It's all thanks to you." The violet-haired woman, whose name was Huā, nodded slightly as she said that.
"Méi's pretty incredible," the remaining woman said. "Setting this up mostly on her own."
"And not a damn soul knows she did it."
"Now, now. Don't make me feign modesty."
"Funny you should be talking about modesty. You wanted to throw it all away by doing hentai matches," quipped Huā.
Everyone in the room began to laugh.
"And I would've done so, if mother and father weren't so hesitant!" Méi countered, a smile adorning her face.
"At least they give a damn about you. The Reinhardt girl's parents sure as hell barely gave a damn about her." Huā paused for a moment. "Her fault for not having a birthright."
"Birthrights are overrated!"
"You would know, considering you gave up yours."
"Better than being stripped of it, like that Maria girl—she goes by Scarlaheart in the ring, right?"
"Yes. And she had a career in mixed martial arts. I believe an ACL injury ended her career," the remaining woman interjected.
"And Karla was a boxer. A pretty good one at that," remarked Méi. "But Huā has punches, kicks, and grappling. Huā can take her, wouldn't you agree, Huīyīn?"
"Definitely," responded Huīyīn. "Karla's ground game is limited. Huā should, under normal circumstances, have very little trouble taking her down and beating her on the ground."
"Pffft. Boring," replied Huā. "I like to play with my food before I eat."
"It's a three course meal though—you sure you want to play around?" asked Méi.
"'Bad Girl' shouldn't pose much of a challenge. And we all know that Yuki's just dessert—nothing to worry about."
"Now, now. Don't underestimate Yuki," chided Méi with a grin. "She's tough."
"Quit being coy, Méi. You already know the game plan," scoffed Huā. She followed up with a short laugh.
Méi smiled back while Huīyīn sat deep in thought. Huā propped her feet up on the table. The room was silent, Huā's laugh lingering in the air.
"Although," said Huīyīn, breaking the silence, "Karla's a survivor. Even when it looks like she's going to lose, she has a way of stealing victory." Huīyīn paused. "It'd be risky to play around too much."
Huā nodded once in agreement. "True, but this is fun, not business. And it's an opportunity to fuck around and brutalize a Reinhardt." A grin spread across Huā's face. "You know, she makes the most pathetic noises when she's getting her ass beat. She even begs at times."
"Maybe that's a by-product of not getting enough parental love," quipped Méi.
"Or maybe she's just pathetic."
"Not necessarily mutually exclusive. Most likely coincident."
"Figures," snorted Huā. "You would think that new money like the Reinhardts would raise their children better. Otherwise, they'll be gone in a few generations."
"I give them five generations tops."
"That's too generous. I say three."
"The various Reinhardt MNC holdings might end up outliving the family," Huīyīn pointed out. "But I give the family seven generations."
"You're too optimistic, Huīyīn!" giggled Méi. "In all likelihood, a family like that—"
"It's time to get going," Huā interrupted, looking at the clock. The two other pairs of eyes followed Huā's gaze to the clock.
"Right. We should go now," said Huīyīn as she rose from her chair. Méi and Huā followed suit.
"Before I forget—" interjected Méi, "—LAW let some other woman use Red Fraction as her entrance theme. The same one you use."
"Yes, Wyvern. She uses an English dub. I use the Japanese 'Engrish' dub."
"Want me to do something about that? I could—"
"I don't give a shit. It's not like I have some fucking brand to maintain," said Huā, smiling as she rolled her eyes. "But if I did have a 'brand', it would be violence."
This whole setup seemed less like a match and more like a punishment. And in this case, it was definitely a punishment for the woman set to run the gauntlet, Húxiān Lì. Punishment for starting a riot that left multiple people in the hospital and caused millions of yen in property damage . Punishment for giving a fan a concussion and a nasty forehead laceration and for leaving a fan sans a full set of teeth courtesy of a chair edge to the mouth. Retribution for broken fingers, a gouged eye, and for striking fans with a motorcycle.
Húxiān had already been suspended from LAW for one year, but it seemed like LAW wanted more—or perhaps it wanted to milk the situation for more money, hype, and buzz. Of course, the two contingencies were not mutually exclusive. Regardless of LAW's reasons, however, the company had decided to make Húxiān's return a grand spectacle of unmitigated violence and bloodshed.
And then there was the issue of Húxiān's motivations for taking this match. Was she forced into it? It seemed unlikely that any normal person would accept such brutal stipulations under normal circumstances. And did LAW even have anything up its sleeve that would be able to coerce someone to take such a match? Probably not. So, then, was Húxiān doing this for money? Or maybe she thought that she could actually win. Knowing Húxiān, it was not out of the question that she could have some trick up her sleeve—but how much could trickery help in this sort of situation? All of these questions bounced around in the spectators' heads.
But regardless of what LAW and Húxiān's motivations were, one thing was a given: there would be violence. A plethora of it. The question of who would ultimately triumph remained, however. And that question drove the audience to the edge of their seats.
The arena darkened. Moments later, a spotlight flicked on over the ring, bathing a lone figure in a curtain of light. The air was dead silent; any more silent and the audience would be able to hear their thumping hearts. The crowd held its breath, waiting for the figure—the announcer—to speak.
