It was nothing but shock and awe what was roaming around the Tooth and claw arena, just in the middle of downtown. The public was cheering at the seats like crazy for what they were waiting for. The final match for the MMA (Or Mixed Martial Arts) National Tournament. It was organized by what was known as the BIO, which stand for Beast Interactive Organization, a major sports entertainment corporation..

The cheers and screams of the public were muffled by the walls of the locker room A. A young wolf sat on one of the benches, brushing his grey and white fur and wrapping the wrists and palms of his upper paws with bandages. He was only wearing a pair of dashing shorts in midnight blue, bloody red and gold.
He turned his eyes upon the shiny champion belt on his right,

Suddenly, the wolf heard the rubber sound of a pair of nice chucks. He could know the curves of that bunny from miles away, yet she was just a couple feet away. It was Synnabunn, his assistant.

"Five minutes for the show, Shiro. Are you ready?" said the rabbit girl.
Shiro replied by nodding and stood up on his bulky, muscled shape.
Synn looked at the champion belt over the bench. She could remember that day where Shiro had defeated the former holder of the title, Alexis Bell.
Even though it was the final match for claiming the heavyweight MMA national tournament, there was an obvious difference between the bulky, terk attitude of Alexis, and Shiro's cold and sleek moves.
Synn smiled while returning her eyes to Shiro "I can't believe we reached to this."
Shiro was too concentrated to answer then, but after some mere seconds, he said "Yeah. The title defense. This is all or nothing, babe."
Synn picked the heavy belt with both of her arms. Shiro moved towards the exit door, but then stopped as he knew that the final touch was needed.
Synn tossed the belt around his boxer's waist. She almost blushed for the heat and roughness of those grey and white furred muscles.
She began to explain "Remember. His name is Clayton Johnson. Southern guy. Lion. I heard he was in the underground barn leagues before registering for the big leagues."
"I saw him once. He leaves the sides of the chest too exposed." said Shiro.
"Yeah, but he blocks punches easy and he knows BJJ. Don't dare to kick him on the low side or you are called for." replied the bunny girl.
Shiro took a deep breath to calm down and kept talking
"Has Shred come?" he promptly said.
Synn nodded and smiled "Of course he did. He wouldn't miss you in a great fight."
"I am glad. I still miss the old times on the ZOO championships..."

Synnabunn locked the magnetic clip of the black, silver and gold huge belt and said "Me too. I remember how you two trained all day sometimes and..."
Shiro interrupted her "Time to work, Synn. We can talk about this later."
The ears of the bunny girl flickered faintly for Shiro's sudden response.
"You are worried, aren't you?" said Synnabunn.
Shiro stared back at Synn, yet facing at the exit. He couldn't said it, and yet, she was right. The pressure of such an important day and what was at stake was clearly tearing him like a wasted piece of ragged cloth, like the bandages he was wearing.
Shiro finally strapped his red and black boxing gloves over the bandages, without muttering a word. Synn knew that this was a day to important for him.
She quickly stepped towards his back and hugged him tight, surprising him to the point he could only gasp for that sudden move.
"Look, I know I am your friend, so are the brick house girls, and Shred and the crew of the Bolt n' Gear Workshop, okay?"
Shiro's heart just grew a hinch, and he nodded "I know... I am sorry, Synn, it's just..."
Synn quickly moved around the wolf, grabbed the back of his neck and pushed his head so his snout met hers in a short but sweet French kiss.
"You and Shred are the best fighters I will ever know. You are wolves. Relentless, unstoppable and straight-to-the-point, but you are loyal to the end." said Synnabunn "And it won't matter if you get your head bashed or your ass kicked. I shall be loyal to you, the same as you are with me and everyone else."

Shiro was shocked at the determination for Synnabunn. So far, and yet she didn't want that to turn into nothing. So, he could only say "Yes, I will, Synn."
The rabbit smiled happy and teased the wolf "There is a nice cinnamon bun waiting home for you later. So give me your best!"
He knew that call was too obivous "Of course."

Some would say that was fear. A fear to fail, or pain, or just not perform as good as someone normally does. But yet, Shiro knew he had the best weapon to win this tournament. It was not a technique, nor his unique style of boxing, karate and ninja reflexes. It was his trust on the others. As the old saying says: United we stand.
And that made him clear he was going to give the best, not for the glory or the gold, but for the ones who made him reach that far.

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Yes, I can do clean stuff. I wish I could do more, but in order to make them for free, it requires more effort in this site than lifting something with no arms.

© Characters:  ShoNuff44 & me
© Art:  ShoNuff44