THE ARENA
Part 1
Sera toed the mat, her toes slightly sinking into the firm synthetic rubber material. Her mind was already clear of the cheers, jeers, and bedlam of the crowd. She had one focus, and only one focus: her opponent. The slight burn in Sera’s chest signified the first onset of adrenaline, her breath already becoming short, each inhale felt like it was forever short of fueling her lungs of what they needed. This match was coming down to the wire. Just Sera and remaining member of the opposing team.
Soft steps now, making a wide circle on the perimeter of the ring. Her eyes locked onto her prey…or potential predator. She absent mindedly stepped over one of her fallen allies, Felicity. Sera didn’t even hear the muffled “Mmnhf!” Behind the several layers of fabric stretched tightly over Felicity’s face, the contours of her nose and chin were shown, and the slight dip in the bright red material that clung to her eyes. The scarlet material contrasted with Felicity’s garb, a loose fitting garb of a ninja, inky black. An angry red wrap of red cloth tightly wound around her ankles, leaving only her feet free to wriggle uselessly inside their black silk tabi. Felicity’s wrists were captured behind her back by the same material, a thick knot placed just inside her crossed wrists, keeping it safely out of reach from her prying fingers. It wouldn’t matter even if she could reach at it now; she had already been disqualified for having been Full Captured for two minutes.
Felicity’s defeat came at the hands of Hannah, a member of the opposition. Hannah herself was dangling precariously from her ankles in the center of the ring. Black rope noosed about her ankles, with a long length traveling upwards to a small metal hook attached to the ceiling. With Hannah’s arms harnessed up in a box tie behind her back, there was no way for her to escape unaided. She swayed gently to and fro as she wriggled in defeat, her the lower half of her face hidden behind a black silk ninja mask placed upon her by Sera. She too, was disqualified.
That just left Sera and Katrina. The last half of a Doubles Match. Sera continued her circle, careful to match her pacing with Katrina’s so Sera wouldn’t lose sight of her for even a second, and certainly not allowing Hannah’s bound form to break Sera’s line of sight.
~~~
“And if you’re just joining us, it’s Sera of the Ninja Blacksox and Katrina of the Scarlet Snakes staring each other down! Felicity Free and Hannah Matthews have been disqualified meaning it’s down to Sera and Hannah to decide which team takes this one home! What do you think Mongo?” The Announcer spat into his microphone after being signaled by one of the film crew that he was back on air.
“That’s right, Jim! Stunning display by both the Sox and Snakes this match, but only one can take the victory. Keep in mind, viewers, that this is the semi-final of the Season! While this isn’t the big leagues, it certainly is an extremely important match for these two as the winning team will go on to face the Southtown Silkers in the North American Youth League Open! The winner of that final match will be Champions for the Season. And you know what that means, Jim?” Mongo Mars replied, pitching the exchange back to Jim Weathers.
“Suh-suh-suh-sponsorships!” Jim exclaimed. “The big leagues are in the off-season and you just know their scouts are en force watching how this championship pans out for potential recruits! The champions will certainly get offers to move on up, but it is not unheard of for runner-ups to have a few offers tabled, as well! While it might be the Youth League, athletes who are at least 16 qualify for moving up to the Pro League!”
“Ab-soh-lutely, Jim! Now remember, in order to defeat your opponent, you must secure at a wrist tie, ankle tie, and a gag in order to start the countdown. If your opponent can’t escape within two minutes, they’re out!” Mongo replied.
“Indeed, indeed! And that countdown timer only starts if the required bindings are secured first, not a second sooner! Who do thi-“ Jim began, but quickly changed up his pacing and intensity when the action in the ring took a turn. “-and here we go! It looks like Sera’s finished sizing up her opponent and is making a move!!”
~~~
Sera Finn, 16, just under 5 feet tall, was widely regarded as the star rookie of the Ninja Blacksox. She had made her debut two years ago and quickly became noticed by the fan of the Youth League for her acrobatic ability, alacrity, dexterity, and overall ability to out-think her opponents. Her rigging skills weren’t too shabby, either. Though she wasn’t Gifted, she made up for it through sheer prowess, and a lot of it, even for a Natural.
True to their name, the Blacksox’s gimmick was that of ninjas. Sera had on the usual uniform for her team, the loose fitting garb consisting of flowing bottoms that gathered at the ankles, a gi vest with Velcro to fasten it closed…having a belt was just asking for an opponent to use it against you. Gauntlets extended up to her elbows, the gloves had grippy-bits on the finger pads but the palms were smooth; perfect for working the sleek black rope the team liberally used in their matches. A form-fitting BodyClad™ shirt hugged her body under the gi. The gi and bottoms were a dark purple, different from the rest of her team’s black to signify that she was Team Captain, while the BodyClad™ was black with a bit of sheen to it. It matched Sera’s stark black hair, shoulder length and pulled into a set of short twin-tails. Finishing off her outfit, a silky pair of ankle length tabi. The Blacksox never wore shoes during matches, wanting to go for the perfect look.
Short, even for her age, she was built like a gymnast that came with her ability to move fluidly about the ring. Strong for her size but still outclassed in that metric by a majority of opponents she faced off in, she used her speed to attack with angles. She preferred it when she could wear her ninja mask, and practice was the only time that was allowed; the rules prohibited facial coverings for athletes as it was viewed as an obstruction for gags. Instead, the team had a tradition of using their own masks as a final layer for gags for their opponents instead…a mark that they had been captured and defeated by the Ninja Blacksox.
Not that she had a horrible visage, Sera would be described as mousey and cute; Bubbly and energetic when in practice, but quiet, cold, and calculating when in a match. Her fellow teammates learned not to take her height as a disadvantaged as any initial hair tousling or head patting habit her comrades had when Sera was first introduced to the team was quickly broken when they ended up hogtied or suspended from the team’s gym ceiling. All in good fun, in the end.
~~~
“She’s stronger, taller, and older” Sera thought as she made a mental game plan. “But a little light on brains…” Her hand moved down to her hip, lifting a coiled up set of bolas off the small Velcro strap from her belt. She made no attempt to conceal this, extending her arm out and beginning to twirl them until the weights were all but a blur to the eye. At this distance, Katrina would certainly be able to dodge the bolas, but Sera knew that. “But which direction…?” was the question. If she threw it at about Katrina’s midsection, she doubted if her opponent could make the jump to clear it. Lateral movement. “Right. She’ll go right. That’ll block my vision to her thanks to Hannah’s body. Then she’ll charge.” Sera formulated, her other hand reaching down to the belt again to grip a coil of black ninja rope. She knew this coil had a pre-tied loop in it to serve as a lasso. Smirking mentally, and keeping a stone cold stare, Sera’s armed wound back and gave the bolas a final spin-up…
“It looks like Sera’s finished sizing up her opponent and is making a move!!” Jim shouted. The bolas whistled through the air on its course towards Katrina, arcing a bit to the right before hooking left to give Katrina more reason to side step to Sera’s right to avoid it. The Scarlet Snake’s uniform was a bit less dramatic than the Sox: red and black spats that stopped a little above the knee with a snakeskin pattern woven into the stretchy fabric. A simple red t-shirt with the Snake’s logo on it in black for a top, and slip-on sneakers with black ankle socks rounded out Katrina’s uniform. Her dirty blonde hair was pulled into a tight ponytail, which bounced with her movements and efforts to evade Sera’s attack.
By the time Katrina had started her bounding sidestep right to evade the bola, Sera had already flung the lasso towards where she thought Katrina might step. It was a blind shot, for sure, but Sera had little to lose if it didn’t work. The balls of Katrina’s sneakered feet sank ever so slightly into the rubber mat as she landed, and no sooner than she did, felt a tight noose of rope yanked tight around each ankle! With a hard tug, the loop pulled close, and Katrina’s legs were forced to slide together until they were ankle to ankle.
“What a move!” Mongo shouted, “Baited hook, line, and…lasso!” Another hard pull on Sera’s end of the rope upended Katrina and there was a dull thud as she landed on her bottom.
“Agh!” Katrina grunted into surprise, the air rushing out of her lungs. “Whah!” Another dull thud as Sera yanked hard to get Katrina on her back.
“Come on in fishy, the water’s fine!” Sera chortled, starting to reel in her length of the lasso to slowly pull Katrina across the semi-smooth rubber mat a few feet at a time. Katrina rolled over and clawed at the ground, trying to overcome Sera’s force but finding it quite difficult to do given her position. Sera had considered making a long leap upwards to hook the length of rope into the hook above the ring, but figured it would be a bit too crowded with Hannah already taking up that space. Katrina tried reaching behind her and bending her knees to try and fiddle with the loop of rope about her ankles. “Oh that’s right, keep those hands riiight there so I can rope ‘em up nice and clean~” Sera said, getting a cheering reaction from the crowd. Working the crowd, especially in the Pro League, was an important aspect of the sport!
“Think you’ve won already?” Katrina spat back, frustrated at her misstep and having been caught so easily. She rolled over on her back and rolled up to a sitting position, planting her feet on the mat and springing forwards in a diving tackle at Sera. “Think again!”
“Either Katrina had a moment of clarity…” Jim began, “…or perhaps she was waiting to get close enough for that daring maneuver!” Mongo finished. Sera was taken slightly off guard by the leap, and Katrina crashed into the smaller girl. Acting quickly, Sera rolled backwards with the momentum, ending up on her back for just a moment before the roll continued, ending with the ninja on top!
“Nice reversal! Textbook, even!” Jim exclaimed. The pair wrestled on the ground, trying to get each other’s arms in a favorable position. Striking was strictly prohibited, and violent wrestling moves as well, but a mixture of wrestling and throws were all fair game. Sera ended up in a mount position, but the taller Katrina was able to wrap her legs around the shorter girl. Lacking the strength to overpower Katrina, Sera decided on another tricky move.
Keeping her grip on her end of the rope, Sera planted her hands on the mat, flanking either side of Katrina’s head. Pushing with her arms, she slid backwards like a rocket and slipped from between Katrina’s leg-wrap. The Snake might’ve figured this was a reset opportunity, a chance to regain some momentum, but as Sera slid back, the slack in the lasso tied to Katrina’s ankles quickly ran out. Pulled taut, she was unable to pull her legs back into a squatting position to stand!
Sera, now at the very edge of the ring and flush against the ringside ropes that wrapped around each of the four sides quickly looped her end of the ninja rope around one of the thicker ringside ropes. Pulling, she was able to once more drag Katrina across the mat and towards her!
“Interesting! The ‘old College Gambit!” Jim said, his voice inflecting to a higher pitch. “Named after this particular move was used in Hamburg College back in ’25!” Mongo finished. Sera didn’t haul Katrina all the way to her, but instead, left a fairly large gap between her and Katrina before tying off her end of the rope. Then another idea formed in her head.
“Crap! I’m out of rope!” Sera audibly cried, patting herself down then looking over at Felicity’s bound form which laid some distance behind Katrina. This made Katrina look, too, and they both could see a neatly bundled up coil of black rope still on Felicity’s belt!
“Hah! Amateur!” Katrina said, sitting up and starting to fervently work at trying to loosen up the lasso about her ankles. Sera hopped up and made a mad dash past Katrina and towards Felicity.
“Will she make it in time? But…wait! What’s this?” Jim started. “Shes…she’s sneaking back! She’s sneaking back!!” Mongo finished, rising out of his chair. Sera had stopped her dash just out of Katrina’s peripheral vision, and with the Snake concentrating on freeing herself, hadn’t noticed the tiny ninja tip toeing her way up behind Katrina with sneaky silken feet. The crowd grew abuzz and tried shouting warnings at Katrina, but it was too late!
“Gauf!” Katrina muffled cries were barely heard as Sera’s gloved hand clapped over her mouth to make a tight seal. “Gotchaaaa” Sera said with a grin. Katrina’s hands reflexively went up to try and pry the ninja’s hand away, but…
“She’s got a length of rope! She was bluffing!” Mongo shouted! Sera’s hand went behind her back, unclipping a final coil of rope tucked away there and smoothly made a loop around Katrina’s wrist single handedly. “Hrmf?!” Katrina’s eyes widened and shot to the left when she left the soft material cinching up snugly. Wrapping the slack around her fist several times, Sera pulled back and down until Katrina’s hand was peeled away from its attempt to dislodge Sera’s hand over her mouth. Now with her hand trapped behind her neck, palm in, Karina could do little but grope and grasp at Sera’s gi, doing little else but getting a hand full of it.
Keeping Katrina’s hand trapped and her mouth sealed shut, Sera used her thumb to pinch Katrina’s nose shut while keeping her palm sealed tightly over her lips! The rules stated that this move was legal, but for no more than a minute at a time with a 10 second “rest” period in between another attempt.
“Nn, nng!” Katrina noised, the air unable to escape as she expressed her frustration. “You know how this goes. You can’t slip out of this and I can keeeeep stealing your breath till the Judges DQ you for Inability” Sera threatened in a low voice. “I take this hand away you better open up for the gag! Or it’s right back to a slow loss!”
“Nrrg…gh…” Katrina noised again, her face flushing with the embarrassment and realization that Sera was right. A few more strains with her captive hand and tugging attempts to shake the hand-gag loose…and Katrina nodded slightly. Sera kept her grip for a few seconds longer. “Mouth open~”
No sooner than Katrina sucked in a lungful of fresh air through her opened mouth, a wad of black silk was crammed right into it! “Aghfmf!” Katrina cried, surprised at Sera’s manual dexterity and speed. Still light headed from being robbed of oxygen, Sera was able to nab Katrina’s free wrist and maneuver it behind her back before pressing up against the Snake’s back with her body, keeping it pinned!
Katrina had already stared to work her jaw around, trying to dislodge the wad of silk with her tongue, but a knot of silk was quickly wedged between her teeth! With scintillating sound of silk-on-silk, it was tied off behind her head, ensuring the silk-wad would not be freed! Katrina felt her chances of winning quickly slipping away with each second, and started going into panic mode, starting to become unaware of what Sera was even doing. One second she was hand-gagged with her lungs burning for air, the next she was rolled over face down with her hands being wrestled into position behind her back. Katrina strained against Sera’s attempt, but was exhausted at this point. With a bit more pressure, she eventually caved and let Katrina position her free wrist next to its mate. Loosening up the noose around the first wrist she had captured, Sera widened it enough to accommodate both wrists before cinching it up again. A several layered wraps, a second cinch, and knotted off.
“She’s got the wrist and ankles tied, and the gag…the countdown will start as soon as Sera leaves Katrina alone!” Jim said. “But wait! There’s more!” Mongo finished. Sera pulled out her ninja mask from her belt, a spandex material, and snapped the fabric in place over Katrina’s mouth. Form fitting, it hid the cleave gag well, the only evidence was the small bump the knot made under the fabric. The moment Sera stood, Katrina started writhing around, tugging with her legs but finding them anchored to the ringside ropes. Her fingers frantically groping at the wrist tie to find any purchase. Katrina then figured she could inch her way to the ringside ropes to untie the anchor and then her ankles! Freeing herself of at least one binding would momentarily stop the countdown. However, the clock never reset. If she spent a full minute in this endeavor, she’d always have a minute left on her timer for the rest of the match. Not a great position, but better than giving up!
"Looks like Sera is thinking what Katrina is thinking!” Mongo said, shooting out an arm to point a finger. Sera untied the rope to the ringside ropes and then fed that end between Katrina’s wrists! “Yes! Yes! She’s going to lock it in with a hogtie!” Jim exploded.
“Nnrffhg! Nnrgh!” Katrina growled, her clever attempt defeated! She strained her legs to try to keep them straight as Sera pulled back on the loose end of rope, slowly forcing her ankles up off the mat! Katrina’s leg muscles burned, but Sera had the leverage now. Inevitably, Katrina’s knees were forced to bend as her feet got ever closer to her hands. When her heels were just an inch away from her body, Sera finally tied it off between Katrina’s ankles. “And that’s all she wrote!” Sera said triumphantly, taking a step back to admire her work and watch the countdown clock start to tick down…
All Katrina could do was make a sordid attempt at escape, but she was too tired and the tie too perfect. She could feel Sera’s fingers hooking into the heels of her sneakers, then. While it was prohibited to interfere with someone’s escape attempt in any way, the Judges apparently saw that Sera had something else in mind. Katrina’s ankle socks exposed, it was revealed that they had scarlet toe and heel caps, the ball of the foot looked a little threadbare from repeated usages both in practice and in matches. Sera tossed the sneakers into the crowd, a bit of souvenir for the fans to take home! With red socked toes pointed in her hogtie, the last thing Katrina saw before the bell rang was a pair of silk soled feet padding away from her, Sera was already waving and working the crowd.
