9. Fight

I take a step back when she successfully dodges my punch. I hadn't expected her to be able to do so. Granted, I hadn't given her my all. But still. I was expecting her to be knocked down. I stare at her, confused, before I throw a kick at her, anticipating hitting her in her abdomen, and push her to the ground.

However, she caught me by surprise yet again as she jumped in the air, just as my leg swung up and grabbed it. Pulling me off balance and onto the mat below us. I hadn't expected her to move like that, but I didn't let it get to me. Instead, treat this fight like any other. Just because it's against Mariposa doesn't change a thing. I manage to spin us around so that I have her pinned below me. I lean in close as I pin her hands above her head. I shift my face so that's next to her ear. I whisper to her so that no one else can hear what I'm saying.

"You're fast, mariposa. But not quick enough. If you give up now, I'll let you walk." I let her know, giving her an out. I shift upwards so that I'm looking down at her.  I notice how her eyes look directly into mine, captivating me. Her eyes are amber in colour, but they don't seem normal. Making me wonder what her natural eye colour must be. She must be wearing contacts, but why? Was she trying to hide?

I find myself drawn to her; my lips just inches from her luscious ones. I so badly want to run my thumb over her plump lips. It felt as though something was pulling me towards her. The distance decreases the longer I hold her under me. She must feel the pull to me as well, as I don't feel her struggle underneath me. I close the distance between us until my lips caress hers. I feel a fire light up within me as our lips dance together. No woman has ever made me feel like this before. I don't even know her name, yet she already has me by my balls. This kiss was electric. I couldn't explain the effect she had on me. I've never been one to get a girl to submit by kissing her. Let alone have I ever been interested in even kissing girls. They served one purpose only- to be f*cked. But Mariposa was in a league of her own. I could feel my brain fog from the intensity of our kiss. I loved that she was kissing me back. It meant that she could feel it too. 

A cough from behind us seemed to have gathered her attention as if remembering that we were supposed to be sparring.

"Never." She remarks, making me cock a brow at her in confusion. However, before I realize what's going on, I hunch over in pain as her knee connects with my groin. As if that wasn't painful enough, she forces her head into mine, smacking me directly in the face. I lose my hold on her and fall back from the sudden and abrupt impact. She doesn't even flinch. Mariposa was turning out to be more of a ruthless minx than I'd anticipated. She was like a panther waiting to pounce once she was free of my hold. 

I was annoyed. No one had ever gotten out of my hold before. Not only that, but her enthusiasm to take me down was wearing my patience thin. Until now, I had been holding back, not wanting to hurt her. But after her last stunt, the patient man in me left. Replaced by the ruthless monster. She would live to regret ever challenging me. That is, if she didn't die first.

I ran towards her. I was done with the back and forth. I had even offered her a way out, something unprecedented before. But she was too stubborn to accept it. Now she will pay with her life. I reached out to grab her; however, once again, she successfully dodged me. Each dodge was like adding fuel to the fire. The more she evaded my attacks, the more I wanted to punish her. 

She was small but fast. She used her height to her advantage, flying between my legs as I towered over her. I reached down to grab her. However, her foot connected with my head, making me spit out blood from the impact.

The crowd around us had gone deathly quiet as they watched our exchange in anticipation. No one dared to even make a peep. I could sense their fear, which only encouraged me. The crowd had been stunned silent. No one challenged the Reaper. It was inevitable that she would die. Everyone else knew that as well. But I think they were shocked to see how well she was holding her own against me. I can't deny I was any less surprised. 

"You know they say it's wrong to hit a woman. However, I've never been one for morals." I remark, spitting more blood on the mat. I look at her with my monster side forcing its way out of me. I look at her with a vengeance, which is when I see her smirk.

Huh?

Is this what she wanted all along? Did she know I had been holding back? But how? Instead of being afraid, she seemed to love that my monster had come out. It was as though she has toying with me or taunting me. She seemed to know I was barely putting any effort in, which only seemed to annoy her more, making me even more curious. Mariposa was surprising me again and again.

I could tell that she could read my moves, so I decided to fake her. Shifting my weight so she thinks I'm about to kick her. Just as I expected, she dodges to the left, assuming I'm about to strike on her right. However, I jump up and change feet in mid-air, sending a flying kick to her gut, just below her lungs. I smile as she stumbles backwards. Though I notice she seems to be having a hard time breathing, and for the first time, her strong girl composure is replaced by one of terror. Her eyes go wide as if she only just realized something. I watch as she looks around, panicked. I don't understand why. That kick surely couldn't have hurt her that bad. So what was wrong?

Without going near her, she stumbles backwards once more. Her face begins to deepen in colour, turning red. An indicator that something was wrong. Did I kick the air from her lungs? Is that what happened? Perhaps she just needs to catch her breath. I know it's an ugly move, attacking her while she's injured, but no one would even blink about doing the same to me. If I were struggling to breathe, they would attack harder. They wouldn't wait for me to get the air I needed back into my lungs as a courtesy. The only courtesy in life is a quick death. So instead of holding back, I give her my all. 

She stumbles backwards a second time, putting distance between us. I gather because she still hasn't caught her breath and is trying to stall to give her more time. Not sparing a moment, I grab her by her back and hold her in a firm bear hug so that she can't get away. However, she surprises me by crouching down, lowering her centre of weight. In lightning-fast movements, she manages to punch me in the nuts and sends an elbow to my shoulder. 

Instantly, the combination comes to mind. But that's impossible. Krav Maga? But how would someone like her know how to do that? There was no other explanation. She must be fluent in Krav Maga as well as other forms of martial arts. Proving how badly I'd misjudged her. 

To any normal person, this should've been enough to make me stop. However, the more her punches managed to connect with me, the more annoyed I became. I growl in frustration before rushing toward her. This had gone on long enough. It was time to put an end to all of this.

I slam my fists out to hammer punches at her. She manages to block a few of my blows. However, as she raises her arm to punch back, I grab her wrist, pulling it behind her back. I have her arm in a deadlock. If I put any more pressure on it, I'll end up dislocating her shoulder. She knows I have her trapped. No one can get out of this move. 

"ENOUGH!" I shout as I hold her arm behind her, waiting for her to submit. She winces in pain as her shoulder is close to dislocating. I feel a tug at my heart, but I can't explain why. My compassion was beaten out of me from a young age. So why all of a sudden did I feel guilty? Why did her moan of pain actually make me feel regret for hurting her? The last time I felt any kind of compassion for someone was Matías. Which meant it had been three years since I last cared for someone. I hated hearing her strangled moans of anguish. I couldn't understand why. For the first time in my life, I began to question my instincts. What was it about Mariposa that made me react to her like this?

Knowing that I have her locked, I look out into the crowd, deep in thought. Waiting for her to give the signal that she's given up. Just when I think she's about to submit, she surprises me as she screams out in pain. I look down to see that she's dislocated her shoulder herself, releasing herself from my hold. Never in my life have I ever seen anyone escape that hold before. But she did it like a champion. I could see she knew what was going to happen, as she didn't seem the least bit phased by her dangling arm. Rather, I see her face scrunch in pain as she tries to control it to focus on me. 

The crowd has gone wild by this point. Everyone here seems just as stunned by what we all witnessed. Mariposa had done the impossible and seemed to continue as though nothing had happened. As though she wasn't down to one arm. I looked out to the crowd, surprised by their sudden cheers. It appeared that mariposa had also captured the love of everyone around us. She was the undisputed underdog going against the devil himself. The sheer fact that she was still alive was a testament to how strong she truly was, which only heightened my intrigue for her.

Without even pausing for a second, I see her jump in the air, twisting over top of me, whipping her limp arm around, and using it to strangle me.

I couldn't deny how impressed I was with her move. Even though she was down to one good arm, she didn't let that stop her. On the contrary, she used it as an opportunity. Successfully managing to cut off my airway.

I fall to my knees as I feel the air escape my lungs. I reach up to pull her tiny body off my back. However, she's holding on much firmer than I anticipated, so I decide to play dirty, elbowing her hard in her ribcage. So hard that I hear at least one of her ribs break before her body even registers it. She immediately screams out in an ear-piercing scream as she releases her hold on me. I know personally how painful a broken rib can be, so I know what she's going through. Though as I look into her eyes, it's not pain I see. But rather fear. 

Fear? But why? It's like when I had hit her earlier. She didn't seem to be in pain but worried. Was there something going on that I wasn't privy to? Was someone forcing her to be here? Is that why she was so nervous all of a sudden? Did someone make her go up against me? And if so, who? My mind immediately went to Ace, as he was the only one that seemed to know her. I feel my anger boiling inside of me with the thought.