Vivid Strike commission - A different kind of battle (Patreon)

Fuka and Einhard walked into the Frontier Gym, taking cover from the baking hot afternoon sun on a lovely day. They were looking for their friend Rinne, and that generally meant making their way around the training rooms in the Gym until they found the white haired girl.

And indeed, after three rooms they laid eyes on their friend.

Rinne was just taking a break from her work out, wiping the sweat from her forehead and obscuring her vision just as Fuka and Einhard entered the room.

"Hey Rinne!" Fuka chimed. "You training again?"

"Yes, I want to make sure in tip top shape for my title fight."

"You are always in shape." Einhard smiled calmly. "But I can't blame you for wanting to feel prepared. It's a big chance after all."

"Thank you, Einhard."

The white haired girl got up from her bench. “Why did you two come here, actually?”

“We were planning to head out and visit the mall.” Fuka replied cheerfully. “Wanna come?”

The cute fighter fidgeted on the spot. It was clearly visible she wanted to join her friends. But she was only halfway her training regimen of the day.

“Well…”

“What’s wrong? Don’t feel like it?” The brunette asked.

“That’s not it. I just-“

“It’s fine, Rinne.” Jill suddenly joined the conversation. The bespectacled coach put a hand on each of the white girl’s shoulders. “You’ve done enough for today. Go and have fun.”

“Are you sure?”

“Too much training can have and an adverse effect you know.” She smiled. “Go out and have some fun, we’ll have a thorough workout tomorrow.”

The timid fighter smiled brightly. “Thank you, Jill.”

She turned to her friends. “Well, let’s go!”

A quick trip later the three walked into the mall.

“Where should we head to first?” Fuka cheered.

“I’m fine with anything.” Einhard said calmly. “What about you, Rinne?”

“U-uhm, what about checking out the clothes stores first? Maybe they have new collections in.”

“Great idea! Let’s go and look for something that’ll make you look even cuter!” The brunette grinned.

Rinne’s cheeks lit up, and she fidgeted with the end of her dress as she stared at her red lacquered shoes. “I’m not cute…”

“Of course you are, Rinne.” Her silver haired friend replied, taking her by the arm. “Let’s go and check out the clothes stores.”

The three young women spent well over two hours trying on different dresses, cutes scarves and hats, checking out the new range of shoes and a few jewellery stores.

Eventually though, the need for a drink was too great and they searched for a café to sit down and chat.

“That was a lot of fun!” Fuka sighed, picking up her glass of iced tea. “But I’m bushed. Trying out all those outfits is more draining than training to fight!”

Einhard chuckled. “Then you should learn to make your mind up faster.”

“But seeing yourself in all those clothes is half the fun!” The brunette countered. “Don’t you think so, Rinne?”

The white haired girl nodded, nod saying anything.

“Rinne? Is anything wrong?”

"No, nothing." She replied, somewhat startled from being pulled out of her thoughts.

"Rinne, please." Einhard said kindly. "You can talk to us."

"I'm just a little sad that we won't get to face off for the belt."

Her fellow fighter just smiled calmly. "There's nothing to worry about, Rinne. When you win the U15 title you can promote up to the U19 division. I'll be waiting for you there."

The slender girl blushed. "It may be a little too soon to say that. I still have the championship bout ahead of me."

"Oh please!" Fuka grinned. "It's like Einhard said: you have nothing to worry about. After all, you already beat the best fighters in our group!"

Einhard chuckled. "Glad to see your confidence hasn't diminished whatsoever."

"Never!" The brunette giggled.

They turned to Rinne again.

"So not only do we know you'll do great in the final battle, I'm even willing to be you'll win by knockout in the very first round!" Fuka proclaimed with enough confidence for both herself and Rinne.

The white haired girl's cheeks turned almost as red as her lacquered shoes. "T-thank you both. For everything. I never would have made it this far if I hadn't had you two to count on." 

"No sweat, Rinne. We'll always be there for you." Fuka promised.

"But I must point out you're being too modest again, Rinne." Einhard lectured. "You are an incredibly capable fighter, so it's a shame to sell yourself short."

"Thanks." The white haired girl said softly, still a tad embarrassed but visibly happy.

"Now, enough chatting. Let's eat!" Fuka chimed, browsing the menu for something to eat.

The others soon followed suit, and after placing their order the topic of conversation returned to the day out they'd just had.

Suddenly, Rinne felt her purse vibrate and turned to fish out her mobile phone just as it began playing the cheerful tune indicating she had a caller.

"Hello?"

"We have your parents hostage in a secure location. Do not say anything and listen carefully to my instructions."

The svelte fighter nearly dropped her phone on the ground as those words sunk in. She stopped herself from asking who she was dealing with, waiting for the scrambled voice to tell her what to do.

"Head outside the mall through the east exit and cross the road. Take a left, two rights and keep going until you pass a blue van parked across a narrow alley way. Enter that alleyway. You have 10 minutes. If you get here in time, your parents will be perfectly fine..."

Rinne's heart was pounding and her chest felt so tight she could hardly breathe. But by some miracle she managed to preserve her calm expression.

That didn't mean her friends didn't know something was amiss though. Especially when the white haired girl sprung up from her seat.

"I have to go." She muttered, visibly distracted.

"Where to?" Fuka asked, but Rinne had already thrown her share of the payment onto the table and slid her chair back.

"I forgot about another appointment. I have to run. See you guys later!" She hastily rattled before dashing off.

Fuka frowned at Einhard. "That was weird."

"Yes, it was. Enough for us to chase after her... Without her noticing."

Rinne’s heart was still racing and her mind was in disarray as she followed the directions the man on the phone had given her. After turning the final corner and rushing through the alleyway she found herself in front of a large loading bay of a warehouse.

A gang of thugs was standing around nearby, smirking at her.

They must be the ones!

She rushed a them. “where are my parents?”

The group started laughing and grinning at her, their boss stepping forward. “No idea, at home probably.”

“W-what?!”

“Don’t you get it? We never had your parents. It was just a ruse to get you here!” He yelled, his comraded bellowing with laughter.

“I-I don’t-“

“Kidnapping two adults in broad daylight is far too risky. It’s much easier to pretend you did so. Especially when your target is someone as gullible as you!”

His men started laughing even harder, and Rinne’s confusion was complete.

“B-but if my parents aren’t here, then-“

*WHACK!*

A metal bat to the back of her head cut off her sentence, and the white haired girl stumbled forward to the tune of the tugs’ laughing.

Meanwhile a second guy lined up for another strike.

“She ain’t so though! I don’t get why they hired all of us to-“

But Rinne dodged the attack and immediately countered, with a punch powerful enough to send him flying through the air and crashing into the a nearby car.

That silenced the group instantly. Most of them were left with dropped jaws and wide eyes.

The only unfazed one was the man in charge.

“Hahaha, as expected! Well guys, time to earn your pay check. Good luck, try not to die!”

The group just looked at him in confusion.

Try not to die?

What is he talking about? That must’ve been a fluke!

That’s right! That was pure luck, because the other guy charged her or something!

We can take her easily!

“Hraaahhh!” They shouted and roared as the group rushed the slender fighter standing all by herself.

Despite over a dozen thugs storming towards her, Rinne calmly took up her stance and began dodging and weaving through the thugs.

She effortlessly navigated the onslaught of arms, legs, knives and bats aimed in her direction. Not only that, she also managed to counter each failed attack with blows powerful enough to send her assailants either skyward or into the ground.

Less than five minutes after their leader gave the order, the white haired girl took out the last of the hoodlums.

She turned to the only man standing: a tall and muscular man with short black hair and a confident grin.

“That was fast. But of course, I should have expected nothing less from a U15 striker, especially one of your calibre, Rinne.”

“You know me?”

“Of course I do. Why else would I be after you? Although it’s not me personally, I was sent here.”

“Sent here?”

“Oops, let’s not talk about that just yet. I have to take you in first.”

“You intend to fight me as well?”

“Of course. I’m curious to see how you’ll handle a real opponent rather than these deadbeat thugs.”

To Rinne’s surprise, her opponent took up an actual fighting stance. A good one too.

This man… is dangerous.

She quickly charged at him to get the first blow in, but to her shock the man dodged her first strike!

He’s fast!

She pivoted on her right leg to follow her foe and send a flurry of punches in his direction. But just like her first strike the man dodged them all.

However, the white haired fighter counted on it and took advantage of his focus on her fists to line up a powerful kick to his gut.

Yes!

“Not bad.” The man replied. “I can see what all the fuss is about you.”

Rinne gasped, her eyes wide. He wasn’t even winded from her strike, in fact it seemed to have done barely anything to him!

He shoved her back with incredible force.

"To be honest from watching your fights I expected your punches to be a bit more powerful, but I guess your technique more than makes up for it."

The white haired girl glared at him. You want power huh?

She grabbed her Scuderia from her pocket intending to transform. But before she could call upon it, her opponent closed the distance with shocking speed and landed a blow to her gut.

A blow so hard it felt like he'd pushed every ounce of air out of her lungs.

Rinne staggered backward, struggling to remain conscious under the intense pain. She'd never felt a blow with that much weight behind it. This man wasn’t just strong, he was an expert fighter!

He took handful of her hair and pulled on it to make her stand upright.

Still gasping a little, the beautiful young woman glowered at her opponent.

"HEY YOU!" Suddenly came from a distance.

The man turned his head just barely in time to see a boot flying his way at high speed. He just barely sidestepped it, having to drop Rinne to the ground again to make it.

Fuka flew by him and upon landing immediately sped for Rinne.

"Rinne?! Are you okay?"

"… R-run." The white haired fighter pushed out of her lungs mere seconds before passing out.

Her friend gawked at Rinne with wide eyes.

She's out cold?! How the hell did he do that?!

The brunette got to her feet. "You'll pay for this!"

"Will I now?"

"I'm going to make you!" She cried out, charging at him with a series of fast punches aimed for his face and gut.

But the tall man proved nimble enough to seamlessly dodge and block Fuka's attacks. Just like Rinne, the young warrior didn't stand a chance without transforming.

She nearly instantly grasped that, but at this point leaving herself open to bring out her Huracan would end in her defeat, just like had happened to Rinne.

However, even without dropping her defence the man lined up another punch like the one that took out Rinne. By pushing back the brunette after blocking her last strike he'd created enough distance for a properly lunged attack.

But thanks to his focus on offence, he was too late in spotting an attack coming from behind the brunette.

A blow to his face powerful enough to make his head ring and force him several steps back had saved Fuka from being knocked out. That blow had come from Einhard Stratos, who had had the sense to jump into the fray already transformed.

Her pale green army style vest and short skirt, and her black army style boots made her look a lot more impressive than her usual girly dress. 

But that was only on the outside. After getting a good look on the man she just punched, the young fighter didn’t feel confident in the slightest. 

"Good shot Einhard!" Fuka cheered. "But why'd you transform? We're up against just one opponent."

"Fuka, take Rinne and get out of here!" The world class fighter shouted, her voice trembling a little.

That only confused the brunette more. "What are you talking about? I can't just turn my back on an opponent and leave you behind."

"Stop wasting time Fuka!" Einhard insisted. "Just get Rinne and run!"

What is going on?! Fuka thought bewildered. Einhard seems really nervous! She's never this emotional! Who IS that guy?

Given how insistent her friend was, she didn't want to argue the point anymore and turning to lift Rinne up in her arms.

Einhard meanwhile had assumed a highly defence position, her guard fully up as she prepared for her opponent to counterattack. Worrying about why he was here in the first place would come later.

Because the young warrior with the teal-coloured hair knew full well who this individual was, and how strong and dangerous he was.

I probably can't beat him in a straight-up fight. But biding time for Fuka to get away with Rinne and the police to get here should be manageable.

She planted her heels firmly on the ground, determined to bar the dark haired man's path to Fuka. The dark look in his eyes sent a shiver down her spine.

His head finally fully cleared up from the surprise blow to his skull, he cricked his neck and lined up for an attack.

"This is starting to get out of hand." He grumbled. "This job's barely worth the money..."

Money? What is he talking abou-

Reinhard's was forced to break off her train of thought because her adversary had opened attack on her.

His rush and subsequent punch was so fast she only barely managed to dodge. It did however bring him in close enough for her to land a counter-kick.

But to the young girl's shock, despite her putting a lot of force into her kick the man still took it in stride! Not only that, there was barely a delay in her next attack, which Einhard managed to block by raising both arms for guard.

The two continued trading blows, Einhard doing her best to keep his attention on her and not on the escaping Fuka. But eventually he spotted the brunette's waving ponytail in the corner of his eye.

"OY!" He shouted.

And as if that hadn't been bad enough, the distant sound of sirens closing in now were added to the mix.

"Son of a-" The tall man cursed as he tried to dash after Fuka, only to be intercepted by Einhard with a punch that had her entire weight behind it. Finally, she managed to make him stumble back.

"Aarrhh!" He gasped and reeled. "Enough of this! I'm sick of dealing with children!"

In the blink of an eye, he'd closed the distance and launched a fully powered punch at Einhard.

The experienced fighter only just managed to track his arm and put up a guard for his attack. But the impact was so great it still overpowered her completely and even blasted her off the ground, flying through the air into a parked bus several dozen feet away.

She'd also flown straight past Fuka, who didn't believe what she saw!

"Einhard!" She shrieked, gently putting Rinne down and trying to transform so she could defend both her friends.

But the man had rushed after the airborne Einhard and reached Fuka's side mere seconds after she crashed into the bus. He planted another of his powerful blows inside Fuka's gut before she could even utter the words to transform.

The poor brunette weaved and gasped as she collapsed on the ground, her stomach felt hot from the pain.

Can't breathe!

With both girls out, nothing stood in his way to finally pick up Rinne and finally make his getaway.

Fuka's vision was already going blurry, her arms and legs too heavy to push her up again as the assailant threw the white haired girl over his shoulder and started running.

"Come... ba-" She gasped before finally losing consciousness.

Just a few minutes later, Einhard had finally recovered enough to pull herself out of the wreckage that once was a minivan.

She touched down on the concrete parking lot and frantically looked for Rinne and the man, but found only an unconscious Fuka.

She ran towards her friend just as the cops arrived.

"Fuka! Are you okay? Fuka!" The young fighter tried to wake her friend up, gently shaking her by the shoulder.

The brunette regained consciousness soon enough, but when she recalled what happened she began looking around, confused and freaked out.

"Where's Rinne? Where is that guy?!"

To her despair, Einhard just shook her head. "I'm sorry Fuka, I couldn't stop him."

"That's okay, I don't blame you at all, I was helpless against him. But who was that guy? The moment you laid eyes on him you looked terrified! I never thought I'd see that look in your eyes!"

"That man is a former pro division Striker."

Fuka gasped in shock. "No way! But that's the only explanation for him being so strong. He didn't even use a barrier jacket to fight us."

"It's no his strength that worries me, it's his vicious nature."

"His what?!"

"That man was a celebrated warrior, extremely talented and strong. But his thirst for blood led him to be banned from the competition after intentionally trying to kill an opponent. The match was already over with his victory, but he still tried to go in for a finishing blow."

"You can't be serious?!" Fuka shrieked. "But this is a sport!"

Einhard nodded. "Like I said, he was banned after that fight. Last I'd heard he disappeared into the underground, no doubt fighting in unregulated competitions. And judging by his performance just now, he's only become a bigger monster."

"But what reason would someone like him have to go after Rinne, and only Rinne?"

Her fellow gym member shook her head. "I have no idea. Let's go tell the police what we know so they can start looking into this further."

Fuka nodded. "There's nothing more we can do for now."

The two got back to their feet and met with the police officer already walking in their direction to describe what had transpired, both of their hearts heavy with worry for Rinne.

About half an hour later, Rinne came to. The pain in her stomach had nearly subsided and apart from a few small bruises she had no injuries to speak of.

She was staring at ceiling unknown to her. Judging from the stains it belonged to a run down hotel located in the less savoury part of town.

The white haired fighter tried to get up to examine more of her surroundings, only to find her arms and legs were completely stuck.

"Hmrn-?!" She yelped as she looked at her own body to see what was wrong. Her hear skipped a few beats when she realized:

Her kidnapper had tied and gagged her!

And not half-heartedly either.

Her arms had been trapped in a black leather armbinder, tightly zipped up and with a strap running over either shoulder, crossing in front of her body and coming back along the other one. 

Thanks to that armbinder design, slipping it off was nearly impossible to begin with. But her plight had been made a great deal worse by the mass of red leather straps and belts.

Either side of her body - along her legs, hips, waist and shoulders - ran a long thick strap which had been secured at both ends. The bottom parts had been buckled around her ankles, the top joined up by means of a sturdy leather belt looping around her shoulders and running just above her chest. Not only did it keep the whole construction neatly in place, the top belt even helped draw in the part of her arms not covered by the armbinder, making it even harder to move.

In between those two were a quite a few more straps located. Fourteen of them in fact, spread out equidistantly along her body ranging her ankles to her shoulders. Each one had been tightly wound around her slender body, tightly buckled and with the brass buckles neatly lining up centrally behind her.

"Ah ish ish (What is this)?!" She mewled through the red ball gag adorning her cute pink lips. 

What is going on? Why is this happening to me?!

Slowly but surely, the events that led up to her capture were coming back to her, right up to the point where Fuka came to her aid.

FUKA!

She looked around the room but couldn't find the brunette.

"Ffuh-ha?!" She tried to call out, saliva already pooling in her mouth thanks to the annoying rubber ball taunting her lips and tongue.

No response.

Where is she? What happened to her? Please don't tell me that guy hurt her!

So many bad thoughts were racing through the poor fighter's mind right now. One eventually came out on top:

I have to get out of here. I have to escape!

"Hmrrnggg!" Rinne grunted as she started straining against her armbinder and leather belts with all her might, thrashing around on the bed as her body flopped up and down from her exertions.

But after just five minutes of that, she felt equally tired as after a workout of fifty minutes. And her bonds hadn't budged in the slightest. It was clear by how immobile she still was that all of her struggles had proven to be utterly useless.

I can't get out?! No!! This can't be!

"Hmmmmnnn!" She cried out once more, her heart beating wildly in her chest as her lungs tried to suck in enough air, but were limited by the tight belts wrapped around her.

Immediately, dark flashbacks from her childhood kidnapping.

Keep it together Rinne! You're not that weak little child anymore! You've become strong, you can beat this!

With great difficulty, she managed to shuffle her athletic body to the edge of her bed and gently lower her feet onto the ground.

"Hmrnn!" The white haired girl grunted as she rocked back and forth to get her body off the mattress. With her arms so awkwardly positioned and the rest of her body almost fully immobilized, it took her a lot more effort than she expected. Not to mention she nearly toppled the other way when she finally made it off the bed since she had so little room to balance herself.

After getting herself steady, she gradually began hopping around the room in search of something sharp.

However, with each new hop the many belts constraining her body felt like they hugged her tighter, which made it hard to stay balanced. She was making frustratingly slow progress and wasting more energy than she could afford.

Until finally, one hop landed her on a piece of filthy and greasy carpet, making her lose balance and fall to the ground.

“Oooohwww!” She moaned as her poor butt took the brunt off the fall.

Stupid straps! Stupid thing around my arms! I couldn’t brace myself at all!

Her buns still throbbing, she rolled onto her front and began worming her way along the floor, more out of stubbornness than with an actual plan.

But rubbing her body into that carpet only made her feel more embarrassed and humiliate.

What am I doing here? There’s no point to crawling around like a worm, I can’t reach any drawers or handles!

“Hmrnnn!” She groaned in anger. Why did she have to fall over?! Getting back to her feet was impossible with all these straps in the way.

She’d jus rolled onto her side to try and get more comfortable when the door to the outside opened.

“Oh?” Said the man with a smug grin on his face. “You look like you’re having fun.” He joked, walking past her to put the food he’d bought on the table and sit down on one of the table chairs.

“Oooh (You)!” Rinne shouted.

“Of course me, who else?”

“U-hagh hee (ungag me)!”

“What for?”

“Ai ohw aih hih (I don’t like it).”

“Obviously, but it is effective in keeping you quiet.”

“Hmrrnn! Aehih ih oww (take it out)!” She pleaded.

“Why should I?”

“Ish aho-hiih (it’s annoying)!” Rinne moaned, her lips and the gag itself already shiny from the saliva.

“I think it’s kind of funny.”

“Hmrrnn! AEK HIH OOOHWW (TAKE IT OOUUUUT)!” The white haired damsel screamed, bucking around on the floor like an untamed stallion.

“Haaah, fine. But only if you stop making such a racket. It’s useless to scream anyway, there’s no one around for miles.”

He got up from his seat and removed her ball gag.

“Paaahh!” She gasped in relief. “W-where’s Fuka?”

“Hmm? You mean the girl with the brown hair? I’m sure she’s alright, I didn’t hit her that hard after all.”

“She’s not here?!”

“Of course not, she wasn’t my target. You were.”

"Your target? For what? What are you going to do with me?" She asked nervously.

To her confusion, the man just shrugged. "Nothing."

"Nothing? What do you mean?"

"I mean: nothing." He replied calmly. "I've been contracted to kidnap you and keep you with me for a couple of days. After that I can just cut you loose again. Easiest money I ever made. At least if your friends hadn't shown up, those two hell cats nearly ruined the whole thing!"

Two? Was Einhard there too?! Judging by his tone, they put up quite a fight. I hope they're not too badly hurt.

But her captor's story still didn't clarify why she was here.

"I don't get it. Is no one coming here to see me then? Your contractor?"

"Nope. He or she wants to stay away as far as they can."

"Then what's the whole point of this?!"

The former striker now began smirking. "Think about it: what would happen if no one could find you tomorrow? When you're supposed to show up for the title fight..."

Rinne's eyes shot wide open and she gasped in shock. "NO!" She yelped, bucking around on the floor.

The man chuckled. "Finally on board I see. Don't get me wrong, I don't approve of match fixing. But the money I was offered made it impossible to refuse. Someone out there either really hates you or is a big fan of your opponent."

Barely any of that had registered with the poor fighter. She was in too much of a shock to think about anything other than her missing a shot at the title.

The entire time she'd been pushing her body to try and break free from her armbinder and straps. Her arms and hands had been twisting inside the armbinder, her legs flopping up and down as she thrashed around. But she remained completely secure.

This is hopeless! There are too many straps and they're too thick!

"Please! I beg you! You must let me go! I've worked so hard for this fight! Not just me, all of my friends have been supporting me. I never would've accomplished what I did without them. This fight is for them too! I can't let them down!"

To Rinne's fury, her plea was met with an uninterested yawn from the tall kidnapper.

"you jerk!" She screamed, trying to keep her tears of rage from flowing out. "Let me go!"

"Pipe down or that gag is going right back in." He threatened before opening a can of beer and chugging it down in one go.

The white haired girl bit her lip in frustration. There was nothing she could do right now. 

She'd never felt so helpless in her life...

Meanwhile at the abandoned warehouse, the police had finally wrapped up their initial investigation of the scene and told Fuka and Einhard they were free to leave now that they'd provided the description of the kidnapper.

With a heavy heart, the brunette turned around to head for deeper into the slums. But Einhard suddenly grabbed her arm.

"Hang on Fuka. Don't do anything rash. Rushing off and blindly running through the streets will accomplish nothing."

"W-what are you talking about Einhard?" She replied, a tad uneasy.

"Don't lie to me." The more experienced fighter said sternly. "You're too straightforward to get away with it."

She sighed. "Fine, you got me. I was planning to look for Rinne. But it's not as reckless as you think. I know my way around the rough parts of town. With some luck someone spotted that guy coming through and I'll be able to locate Rinne that way.

The worried look on Einhard's face already told Fuka what the answer was going to be.

But the teal-haired girl had only just opened her mouth before her friend interrupted her.

"I know what you're going to say, but I refuse to let Rinne be alone in a situation like this! I promise I'll be careful and to remain in touch regularly." Fuka said heatedly before turning away from her fellow gym member.

But Einhard grabbed her arm again.

"Don't try to stop me Einhard! I'm going and that's final!" She said, almost petulantly.

"I'm not." Came back from a gently smiling fighter. "I'm going with you."

"You're what?!"

"You're not the only one who's dealt with 'the underground' before, you know. I agree that we can't just abandon Rinne, but I feel it would be foolhardy to let you go alone."

"Einhard..." Fuka gasped in awe of her sempai. "Thank you."

"Don’t thank me yet," she replied calmly, "we haven't found our friend yet."

[In the remote hotel room]

"Please! You have to let me go! You were obviously a striker once too, you have to understand how important this match is to me!" 

Rinne hadn't stopped begging and pleading to be set free for a minute. She'd been going strong for almost 10 minutes now, which turned out to be more than her kidnapper's nerves could handle.

"Alright, that's it!" He snapped after finishing his second beer. "I was planning to finally get some shut-eye after a long flight into town, but that obviously won't happen if I let you whine on and on!"

He jumped back off his chair and grabbed the gag from the table.

Rinne's eyes grew wide with fright.

"No! No please do-mmfnn!"

She was powerless to stop him from forcing the gag back into her mouth and buckling it up even tighter than before. The poor white haired girl gagged briefly from the feeling of having the rubber ball shoved past her lips.

"HMMNRRRNN!" She screamed in pain as her captor then dragged her to her feet by her hair and shoved her into small and completely empty room with only a worn-out lightbulb to provide limited lighting.

"Hmnnrr!" She groaned as she hit the floor and far wall, flinching as he harshly slammed the door shut with a loud 'BANG'.

This can't be happening! She kept telling herself, thrashing around like crazy. I'm going to miss the finals because of THIS?!

"Heehmm hheeee (Help meee)!" She mewled into her gag. But of course no one came.

That didn't mean Rinne gave up though. On the contrary, she continued squirming around in that abandoned room like her life depended on it, exerting every ounce of strength at her disposal. 

She rubbed her legs into the wall, bulged her muscles to try and force some slack in the belts, strained her arms to try and tear the armbinder or at least the straps holding it in place,… Anything she could think of to break free from her restraints, she tried.

Over two hours passed with Rinne struggling relentlessly against her bindings, pausing only to rest when she was so exhausted it felt like she'd pass out.

She was hot, sweaty, her body was aching and she still felt as helpless as when she set out. But she hadn't given up yet.

I HAVE to get out of this! Come on Rinne, once more!

"Hmrgggn!"

After another half hour of all-out struggling, she finally noticed the encouraging feeling of her restraints succumbing to her incredible strength and relentless struggles.

The leather of the armbinder was beginning to stretch just a little from all the pressure. And the themselves straps which were running over her shoulders had slowly begun to tear, as were some of the belts wrapped around her arms and legs.

Rinne's lungs were burning and her muscles were screaming for rest. But she persevered.

Almost there... One last push...

"MMRRNNNGGG!" She growled as she finally tore through, freeing up her arms enough to worm her way out of the armbinder and unbuckle the straps which had remained intact.

Once she was free the young fighter lied down for a few minutes, her limbs sprawled out on the floor to recover from her exertions.

When she felt rested enough, she put her ear against the door to listen for her kidnapper’s presence. All seemed quiet on the other side so she gently opened it up and peeked through the gap.

He was fast asleep on the bed, he’d snored right through all of Rinne’s groans and thrashing.

Good, he’s fast asleep. This is my chance!

She grabbed hold of her Scuderia and transformed into her fighting form.

Her cute dress and shoes were replaced with the white robes, boots and thick gloves that had supported her through so many fights.

In the main room of the hotel suite, the kidnapper was still fast asleep. And he continued to be until Rinne burst out of her room and crashed through the only window in a major leap out of the building. 

When she'd been struggling around on the bed upon first waking up she had already spotted from the view outside that she was on the second or third floor. Either way it was a jump she could pull off, so the white haired girl hadn't hesitated for a second in making her break for freedom.

As I thought, this was the third floor. It's a good thing I made my charge as fast as I did, I'm gaining a lot of time not bothering with all the flights of stairs.

The young fighter broke her fall by landing on all fours and immediately burning off the momentum in a few rolls before pushing herself to her feet and dashing off, all in one swift, almost graceful motion.

"Son of a-!" The tall man cursed from his room as he looked out the window to see his target soaring through the air.

Naturally the sound of Rinne bursting through the window had woken him up. But it's narrow frame made it impossible for him to fit through.

"I should've taken that stupid jewel off her!" He grumbled as he rushed out the door and also passed by the stairs by leaping onto the nearest rooftop.

"This is turning out into a far bigger headache than it should!" He complained as he started chasing his target.

"What the- Did you see that?" One of the thugs populating the streets asked his mates after a white flash came by.

"See what?" Another replied. "You high or something?"

He wasn't the only one to be surprised by Rinne dashing through the alleyways. Quite a few bums, gang members and other lowlifes had been puzzled by the girl dressed in white speeding past at inhuman speeds.

Rinne was rushing in and out of random alleyways without no real clue of where she was going. All she knew was that she had to put as much distance between herself and that monster.

I'll work out my way back to the gym when I've lost him. For now I just have to keep running...

The cute fighter could feel her body was still fatigued from the hours she spent wriggling around inside those restraints. But resting wasn't an option right now. She pushed on through sheer willpower, making lefts and rights and dodging dozens of people at the very last minute as she moved further and further away from the hotel.

Trouble was, her kidnapper was moving even faster. Not only that, he knew the area far better.

Because of that, poor Rinne almost got a heart attack when she raced around another corner and spotted her kidnapper standing at the other end of the alley.

No! 

Using her lighting reflexes, she immediately pivoted on one leg to turn in the other direction and dash off that way. 

But that route took her through a very long, thin corridor. Essentially, she'd gotten herself involved in a sprinting match. One her assailant was winning.

The dark haired man began to rapidly close the distance. Rinne could feel his presence homing in on her.

I can't get away! She realized.

Therefore, before he could grab her and wrestle her to the ground, the white haired girl made a surprise spinning jump so she could kick him in the head.

But her opponent had been fully prepared for it since he'd been gradually closing in on her and grabbed it to stop the attack before it could land.

Rinne gritted her teeth and then tried tilting her hips so she could hit him with the other leg instead, but before she could even get her leg lined up the man closed his other hand around that ankle to pin both legs down.

"Hmrrn!" The valiant fighter clenched her stomach muscles and flipped her upper body forward so she could punch him in the face.

That finally caught her foe off guard. She was too close for him to dodge and with both hands focused on her legs he couldn't block the punch either. It landed smack in the middle of his face, with enough force to make even him groan in pain as he released her legs again.

Rinne kicked the ground hard and created a little distance so she could adopt a fighting stance.

The two then began trading blows, with Rinne managing to hold her own thanks to her transformation. She cautiously examined her opponent's combat style until she spotted an opening.

She grabbed him and by kicking one of his ankles destabilized him enough to slam him into the ground. But rather than knock him out or provide a chance to escape, her opponent grabbed a hold of her mid slam and took her right with him.

Their fight continued on the dusty alleyway floor, wrestling around to try and get the high ground. 

Rinne was giving it all she had to try and get him into a headlock. But that was a mistake.

Their scuffling on the ground inside that narrow corridor meant there was very little room for technique, it all came down to power. So rather than Rinne grabbing her opponent, it was him who eventually pinned her in a headlock.

Within seconds, she felt her head starting to ache and her lungs beginning to burn.

Can't breathe! I have to get out of here!

Rinne slammed her right elbow into the man's ribs as hard as she could in a desperate bid to escape.

He groaned but endured the strike. In fact, his arms only tighten their hold on her neck and body.

The white haired girl kept pinpointing the exact same spot in his midriff with her elbow, but he endured all of them, never releasing his target from his steel grip. Eventually, the young fighter passed out, her body going limp in his arms.

"Tsk, finally. She is one stubborn brat. A few more jabs like that and I might've let her slip free..."

He immediately ripped Scuderia off her body, causing Rinne to revert back to her non-combat form. He picked her up and carried her on his shoulder as he sprinted back to the hotel room. 

A few minutes later they arrived back at the hotel room. He threw the still unconscious Rinne on the floor and pulled out a pair of handcuffs, a thick steel chain and a collar.

"These better hold her. I'm running out of things to put her in."

He first padlocked the thick leather collar around her neck. Next, he connected the chain to the collar and attached it to a bracket on the floor. He finished by cuffing her wrists together and also padlocking it to the chain so her hands would be as limited as possible considering his equipment.

The man then returned to bed, grumpy at having been interrupted after just a few hours of sleep to chase after his target.

Maybe I should've gagged her again... Screw it, I'm not getting up from this bed anymore unless the place is burning down!

He drifted off almost instantly, just as Rinne was coming to again.

It took her a few seconds to piece her capture together again. The forceful blackout had left her mind in a haze.

But the moment she registered the cold steel on her wrists and the unforgiving leather around her slender neck it sunk in.

"No..." She whimpered, tugging on the cuffs and chain. But although she had more room to move this time, these restraints were far stronger. She stood no chance of breaking free like last time.

The young woman felt like crying her eyes out.

I was so close to getting out of here! Even if I break free from this, I don't even have my Scuderia on my anymore...

The white haired fighter started fidgeting nervously, fretting over where her kidnapper could have hidden it.

She grew so frustrated with the injustice of it all that she started pulling at her chain and struggling around the floor.

The rattling noise and the sound of Rinne's disheartened moans eventually woke her kidnapper up again.

"Will you stop that racket!" He snapped at her, making Rinne flinch nervously. "I don't understand why you're still bothering to escape. Surely you've realize that's not going to happen!"

He rolled onto his other side on the mattress, turning his back to her. "Now sit there and be quiet. If you wake me up again, I'll make sure you are the one who'll be in for a long nap!" He threatened.

The tone of his voice sent a chill up Rinne's spine, she could tell he was serious.

She didn't dare say anything and simply slumped down, staring at her cuffed hands folded on her lap whilst her captor drifted off again.

Am I really going to have to sit here while my shot at the title passes by?! The white haired damsel lamented.

That's not fair! I want to get out of here...

She looked out the window, biting away the tears escaping from her eyes. 

Meanwhile, several blocks removed from the hotel in what felt like the hundredth' alleyway, Fuka and Einhard were questioning yet another group of thugs about their friend.

After all the conversations they'd had, Fuka was no longer surprised at how polite all of these hoodlums were against Einhard.

Initially she'd been astonished at how her green haired friend seemed to be revered by these delinquents and even gangsters. But after the fifth person addressing her with 'sama' she just accepted it.

The brunette could however not help but wonder what kind of life her friend must've had, what kind of person she was before they met.

Einhard casually continued the conversation as Fuka kept an eye on the guys, but it ended up much like the other talks. Apparently their rival must have been able to break out at one point because a lot of people mention having seen a girl of Rinne's description running through the streets whilst being chased.

"Maybe that means Rinne is still out here, that she succeeded in her escape!" Fuka said hopefully.

"Afraid not little lady." One of the taller men at the back of the group replied as he made his way to the front.

"I just arrived here after witnessing a really epic fight between that friend of yours and a tall dude. The guy won, picked up the girl and carried her off."

"No!" The brunette gasped, visibly distressed.

"Do you know where they went?"

"Hell no! I'm not following a beast like that!" The guy yelped. "I can point you in the general direction though."

"That would be very helpful." Einhard replied calmly.

The two followed the thug's directions and soon met up with a pair of youngsters. One of them told the girls he recalled a guy fitting their description exiting a nearby hotel earlier that day.

"Can you show us?" Fuka asked eagerly.

"We'd be extremely grateful." Einhard replied added.

The guy blushed. "Of course, anything for you Einhard-san."

[Inside the hotel room]

Rinne was sobbing softly as she sat in a corner of the room with her legs folded underneath her and her hands balled into fists.

This is all my own fault. She thought in despair. It's happening all over again: I'm too weak! When it really counts, I'm utterly powerless!

She pulled at the handcuff rings again, but daren't use any strength for fear of making too much noise and waking up her kidnapper. But her feeble fiddling only made her feel more helpless.

If this were Einhard or Fuka, none of this would've happened. But me...

Her thinking of her friends brought her mind back to the battle she had with Fuka, and with it everything the brunette had told her since.

Her kind words, her encouragement, all of it served to soothe the white haired girl. It calmed her down, made her feel more at ease.

Until it clicked.

What am I doing? Sitting here, crying like a baby! Fuka wouldn't do that. She'd be working on an escape plan. Even if the first attempt failed, she would simply keep going until she succeeded!

Her spirits roused, the young warrior started her struggles anew. But in a more careful manner. She made sure to test her restraints as stealthily as possible, trying to make as little noise as possible whilst trying to free herself from the cuffs.

After a few minutes her wrists started feeling sore from repeatedly trying to force them through the holes. She'd made a little progress, but her hands were still far from free. At that point she noticed a torn-up crisps bag littering the floor. The burly warrior had gobbled it up in a matter of seconds shortly after shutting her inside that small room.

The shiny inside of that bag would form an ideal lubricant to slip her hands free, and after briefly judging the distance Rinne determined she'd be able to get a hold of it with the reach she had!

It took her several painstaking minutes to pull the bag in range of her hands with her outstretched foot, only moving a few inches at a time so she wouldn't be too noisy.

Eventually though, she managed to carefully slide a torn off part of the bag underneath the harsh steel of her right cuff. The greasy bag made it a lot easier to manoeuvre her hand, which slowly but surely made its way out of the first cuff!

Rinne had to bite her tongue not to cheer in relief, but instead quickly freed her other hand.

"Pffew." She sighed softly. "That's one thing out of the way. But now comes the most difficult part."

The white haired girl already knew that the padlocks holding her collar and the chain wouldn't come off without a key, which meant she was still stuck. But the refused to give up and began scanning the room for anything that could be of use.

And then she spotted it: Her Scuderia, lying on the nightstand!

If I transform, I might have enough power to tear the bracket from the floor.

Rinne cautiously crawled nearer to her jewel, afraid to even breathe too deeply. 

When her chain pulled taut the cute damsel reached out her hand, bringing her fingers to within inches of her Scuderia.

She frowned disappointed.

I can't reach it?!

But then a lightbulb pinged inside her head.

Using her limber body, she turned herself around and reached out with her leg to scoop the small gem off the nightstand and drag it along the floor so her hand could reach.

She then hurried back to the bracket, transformed on the spot and immediately began pulling the chain with all her strength.

But it had been deeply embedded in a thick layer of concrete, courtesy of the building being quite old and made out of less advanced materials.

"Hmmnrrrg!" She grunted as she heaved but failed to pull the chain out of the floor.

She eyed her captor with nervous eyes. He stirred but remained asleep for now.

Once more. She thought determined.

The white haired girl bent her knees, took hold of the chain a little lower and once again pulled with all her might.

Finally, the joyous sound of tearing concrete started coming up from the ground.

One last push!

"Hmrggnn!" Rinne groaned as the bracket was ripped from the ground.

Naturally that startled her kidnapper wide awake, but she didn't care. With the chain loose Rinne smashed her way through the front door and was about to jump down the side of the building when her throat closed up.

"You little brat!" He insulted her as he pulled her back inside via the chain and even send her crashing into the wall.

But Rinne was just as furious and took hold of the chain on her end and pulled the man towards her with incredible force, making him fly straight into her fist.

"Gwuaaaahh!" He roared as he stumbled back from the frontal blow.

Rinne took advantage of the opening to rush him and slam her right fist into his gut hard enough to lift the man off the ground and propel him through the air, crashing into an old van standing on the parking lot.

She jumped down after him, assuming to have won the fight.

But her enraged kidnapper climbed out of the wreckage with a bloodthirsty look in his eyes.

"But how?!" She stammered. "He doesn't even have a barrier jacket to protect him?!"

The answer was simple: he was too angry to care about the pain.

Even if he ignores the damage, it's still there! The white haired fighter thought determined. This time I'm getting out of here!

She launched another attack at her opponent, but to her shock he managed to dodge it.

Before she could retreat, his large hand had closed around her slender neck with an iron grip, picking her off the ground and slamming her straight into it, back first.

"Gaaahh!" She gasped as her lungs were emptied of air.

Before the young fighter could get back up, the burly man had climbed on top of her to keep her pinned down.

"I warned you about what would happen if you woke me up again." He hissed as he closed his hand around the collar hugging her throat, pressing the leather into her skin and choking her out. 

Rinne's eyes grew wide in fear. She slammed her fists into his gut several times, but the man endured the rapidly weakening strikes.

Her vision was already starting to go, her consciousness almost faded when both she and her attacker were startled by a knee in his face. The blow had been struck with enough force to send him flying back several feet.

Rinne coughed as her lungs began filling with hair again, shaking her head to clear the fog and look up at what had happened.

Her heart jumped when she realized: 

Standing over her was a transformed Fuka!

"Are you okay?" She asked worried, reaching out her hand to help Rinne up.

"I... I am now."

"Good, you wouldn't believe how-" but the brunette was interrupted by a tight hug from Rinne.

"Thank you." She murmured into Fuka's shoulder, who felt a warm glow bubble up inside her.

Their tender moment was nearly ruined due to the former pro striker assaulting the two of them at the same time. Luckily, an expertly aimed punch from Einhard sent the enraged man sailing right back into the destroyed van.

"It's not over yet you two." She said seriously. "We'll hug and cheer when that monster is down for the count."

"Sounds good to me!" Fuka replied, lining up with her gym member.

"And me!" Rinne concurred, taking up position on the greenette's other flank.

As Einhard expected, their opponent still had a lot of fight left in him. He got up once more and charged her, but both Rinne and Fuka had jumped out of his line of sight, making it easy for the brunette to blindside their aggravated adversary with a punch to his face.

The man stumbled back just as Rinne got him from behind with a kick to send him flying up in the air.

There, Einhard was already waiting to slam him back into the ground with a two-handed downward strike.

"Grraaahh!" The warrior roared in pain as he shook his head to make the ringing stop.

He'd just barely scrambled his defence together to deal with a combined frontal assault from Fuka and Rinne.

Slowly but surely, he lost ground to the four-armed flurry of strikes. Not to mention he had no chance to counter attack either of them since it would leave him open to Einhard's missile-like strikes.

The white and brown haired duo kept chipping away at his stamina, keeping him at bay and creating openings for Einhard to land critical blows.

The brawl continued for several minutes before the sounds of police sirens drew the man's attention.

"Crap! Just what I needed;"

A tornado of sweeping kicks forced the three girls to back off for a moment, which he used to try and make a getaway. But at that point several police men rushed onto the scene and fired customised anti-mage weapons.

Between the damage accrued in his body and the volley of shots, the monstrous fighter finally collapsed on the ground. He was out cold.

Rinne fell to her knees from exhaustion. "It's over." She gasped relieved.

"Yes, it is!" Fuka said cheerfully, kneeling beside her and hugging her again. "I'm so glad you are alright."

Rinne smiled. "Likewise. I was so worried when I woke up and you weren't there, I thought he might have hurt you..."

The white haired girl then felt her throat close up again. "And then- and then he told me about capturing me to keep me from competing for the belt, and I tried to escape but he kept capturing me again and-"

"Wow, wow, slow down!" Fuka interrupted. "What's this about you missing your shot for the belt?"

"I see now." Einhard joined the conversation. "He was contracted to keep you away until after the championship bout?"

Rinne nodded, after which she started explaining everything the kidnapper had told her.

"That's just horrible!" Fuka cried out angrily. "I can't believe anyone would stoop so low! What value does a championship belt have when you need to such underhanded tactics to get it?!"

She stamped the ground hard enough to crack the concrete beneath het boot. "I'm going to find out who caused this whole sick situation and make them pay for what they made Rinne go through!"

"Calm down Fuka." Einhard reprimanded. "You're making the officers nervous."

"But Einhard-!"

"I fully understand your anger, Fuka. But we've done enough. Isn't getting Rinne back what matters most?"

Rinne started blushing as she fidgeted on the spot.

Fuka sighed. "I guess you're right."

"Let's have the cops handle the rest and us three go home." The green haired fighter suggested, putting an arm around each girl.

Rinne nodded. "I'd like that."

"After all, you need your rest after everything you've been through." Einhard told the white haired girl. "We have to make sure you're fully recuperated by the day of the title fight."

Fuka chuckled. "With her energy I don't see how that will be a problem."

Rinne smiled at her friends. "Thanks Fuka... Thank you both."

"Hey, what are friends for?" Einhard replied with a cheeky wink before giving the others a gentle push to get them moving towards their homes.