Eva's Atonement (A Catfight Novel): Fighting for Justice, #2

Foreword

This story takes place in the distant future on twin planets, one occupied by men and the other by women. Duels to the death are not only legal, they are mostly fought on live tv.  

In Book 1, Eva's Revenge, Eva joined a fighting academy when she turned eighteen to learn the fighting skills required to kill another woman in a duel to the death. The woman she wanted to kill was the woman whom she blamed for her mother's death in a deathmatch on live tv. The owner of the fighting academy recognised an opportunity to make a fortune. She had information Eva did not have. After signing a contract with the young woman, in which Eva agreed to fight two death matches before she would face her rival, the owner set a plan in motion to make Eva fight her best friend and lover, Jana, to the death.

After the deathmatch between the two best friends, Eva lost most of her friends. She promised herself never to fight again, while trying to repair all the bridges she had burned.

Chapter 1 – Fundraising

Eva and Jenny are having drinks at a pub near the university to discuss plans for their new business venture. At first, Eva thought of it as a nice distraction, but she soon realised that Jenny sees this as an opportunity to make a decent living. Although Eva does not need money, she decided to put all her energy into their business to make a success of it, as she can see how much it means to Jenny. Jenny called this meeting to discuss a few ideas with Eva before they meet with Dana and Marian to arrange the next fundraising tournament with them. As usual, Jenny is very businesslike during the meeting.

'I think we should get into the touring market. Arranging fundraising events will make us some money, but not enough. I have done some research and the companies which offer female fighting tours to Apollo mainly do oil wrestling matches combined with sex tours. There is only one company which offers fights with catfighting rules and they seem to allow slapping, hair pulling and breast mauling only.'

Eva has never been to Apollo and the idea of doing tours to this planet excites her. 'What kind of fights do you propose we do?'

'I am thinking of cat-scratch and MMA matches. I have a lot of experience with cat-scratch matches and you have a lot of experience with MMA matches. We have the skills to train women well enough to put on exciting fights. I was also thinking of boxing matches, but maybe at a later stage. For now, I want us to concentrate on cat scratch and MMA matches.'

'I like your idea. Have you thought of a training venue and where we will get our fighters from?'

'I am not sure about a training venue yet, but I want to chat with Dana and Marian about whether some students may be interested in trying this for some extra money.'

'Good idea. I think we can also convince a few women, who are not happy at the academies, to join us.'

'Do you know any women who want to leave the academies?

'My friend Reka has been looking for an opportunity to leave the Combat Sport Academy after what Nancy has done to Jana and me.'

'Have you spoken to Jana yet?'

'No, she and Janet are still not willing to talk to me. They still believe I used Jana to get to her mother. I really miss them, but I am not sure how to win their trust back.'

'Just hang in there. Time heals all wounds.'

They drink in silence for a while. Eva does not want the talk about her relationship with Jana, as she knows it will sour the mood, so she steers the conversation back to Jenny's plans. 'I think we could get more women from the Combat Sport Academy to join us. I also think I may have a solution for our training venue, but I need to discuss it with the owner first.'

The mood improves a lot when the two students join them. Eva is not much older than them, but she finds their energy and propensity to have fun almost irritating. These women only have one emotion, being happy. As soon as the students sit down, they order a round of shots and they do not slow down after that. After an hour, Eva has forgotten her earlier sadness. The women joke and laugh and by the time Eva and Jenny have to leave, they have not discussed the fundraising event yet. Jenny is irritated by this, but she also enjoyed spending time with the students. She wants to at least get an indication of what the students want to achieve with the fundraiser before they leave. 'What do you guys expect from the fundraiser?'

Dana looks at Marian before she answers. 'We trust you. Do what you think will make us good money.'

'Okay, will you be able to give us sixteen fighters?'

'Yes.'

'I also have a further opportunity I want to discuss with you. We want fighters for tours to Apollo. Can we discuss it after the fundraiser?'

'It sounds like fun. We are in.'

'Okay, we will discuss details after the fundraiser then.'

The women hug and kiss before they go their separate ways.

After greeting Jenny, Eva makes her way to the restaurant where she arranged to meet Margaret for dinner. She and Margaret have been talking regularly, despite the fact that it puts a strain on Margaret and Janet's relationship. Janet does not want anything to do with Eva and she also does not want Margaret to have anything to do with her. However, Margaret is stubborn if she believes she is right and she made it clear to Janet that she will continue being friends with Eva. When Eva found out that Janet and Margaret have regular arguments about their friendship, she told Margaret that it would be best if they do not see each other anymore. However, Margaret was adamant that she wanted to spend time with Eva. She told Eva that she and Janet would sort out their differences their own way and that Eva should not lose any sleep over it. Under different circumstances, Eva may have put up more of an argument, but she knows that Margaret is her best chance to rebuild her relationship with Jana and Janet, so she accepted Margaret's argument, without any attempt to convince her otherwise. Margaret has a huge smile on her face when Eva joins her at their table. She hugs and kisses Eva. 'I am so glad to see you. I have been missing you this whole week.'

'I missed you, too. How are you doing?'

'I am doing very well and I have some good news for you as well.'

'What? Is Jana willing to talk to me?'

Margaret's face immediately turns sad. 'No, sorry, I did not mean to give you false hope. What happened still hurts her and I don't think she will be ready to be your friend again soon. The good news does not sound great anymore.'

'I am sorry. I did not want to spoil your surprise. What is it?'

'Janet agreed to talk with you. I convinced her to listen to your side of what has happened. She and Jana are close friends at the moment and she may be able to convince Jana to at least listen to you.'

'It is good news. I also miss Janet a lot. I would love to see her again.'

Eva does her best to look excited about seeing Janet, but Margaret can see it was not the news she was hoping for. Eva tells Margaret about the plans she and Jenny have for a business and Margaret cautions her against poaching some of Nancy's fighters, but Eva has decided to do whatever she can to undermine Nancy. She knows Nancy was involved with the murder of her aunt, but she has no proof. Although she tried to, she could not find the woman who shared a cell with her. The police could not get any information from this woman, but she hopes she will be able to convince her to be honest about what happened the night they killed her aunt. After dinner, the two women walk together to their vehicles. They hug each other and Eva is about to turn towards her car when Margaret pulls her back into another hug. Her face is sad and serious. 'Don't ruin your life. There are other ways to solve issues than to put your life on the line. Talk to me before you make any decisions which may change your life.'

'I will, I love you.'

'I love you, too. Everything will work out. Just give it time.'

Jenny has done most of the planning for the fundraiser and she is very excited, but also nervous, as they make their way to the indoor sports arena. Although Eva was sceptical about the format of the fundraiser, Jenny convinced her and most of the sixteen fighters to try her idea. Eva was of the view that the contests will be too tough for amateur fighters and a few of the fighters withdrew after Jenny shared the rules with them, but Dana and Marian replaced them with other students. Because Jenny knew the rules may be a bit much for the students, she offered half of their twenty per cent fee as an incentive for the students to agree to fight using her rules. Of this amount, she allocated ten per cent each for the two losers in the semi-finals, thirty per cent for the loser of the final and fifty per cent for the winner of the tournament. She saw this as an investment in their business and she had no difficulty in convincing Eva. The reason she decided on the specific rules for the fundraiser is to make a name in the market for offering exciting fighting tournaments, with the kind of fights which are not available anywhere else. She also offered two students a small fee for recording the fights and promised all the fighters a share, based on the number of fights they fought during the tournament, of half of the income from sales of the fights on the internet. Her gamble paid off almost immediately. They hoped to sell five hundred tickets, and she booked the university gym for the fights. However, the demand for the tickets was tremendous, and they soon had to move the venue to the five thousand seater indoor sports arena. Their fee, even after giving away half as prize money and paying for the use of the indoor sports arena, was four times as much as estimated. Further, the hockey sides made eight times as much as the original estimate. Due to the success of the ticket sales, Jenny offered another fifty per cent of their remaining fees as prize money for the fighters. She decided that all fighters would share equally in seventy per cent of this amount and that the fighters who fought in the best fight, as voted for by five judges, in each of the three fighting styles, would share the remaining thirty per cent. She hoped that this would encourage the sixteen fighters to give their all during the tournament.

The hall is packed to the brim when the announcer introduces the sixteen students. To pick opponents for the first round of fights, the referee allows the students to each pick a table tennis ball, marked from one to sixteen, from a bag. She then allows the women who drew balls one to eight to pick their opponents from the rest, with the woman who drew ball number one having the first pick. Some students pick opponents who they believe they can beat while others pick rivals to settle their grudges. Dana drew ball three, and she picks Marian, who drew ball fifteen. They love to compete against each other and she wants to make sure they face each other during this tournament. After the opponents for the first round are picked, Jenny calls the first two fighters to the wrestling mat in the centre of the arena. A referee and two assistants join them on the mat. The referee offers the student who drew ball number one the choice to go first or second and she chooses to go second. The assistants remove the women's tops and the assistant of the woman who chose to go second takes her in a full nelson grip. Her opponent waits for the referee to give her the signal before she throws a hard straight right to the woman's unprotected left breast. The woman screams out from the intense pain and grabs her breast as soon as her assistant releases her arms. The referee reminds her she has only five seconds to retaliate, and she punches her opponent's breast as hard as she can as soon as her opponent's assistant holds her in a full nelson. This carries on for five turns before the referee announces that each woman will have two punches per turn for the next five turns. Both women make it to the tenth turn, after which the referee allows them three punches each per turn. The student who drew ball one cannot take the pain after the twelfth turn and submits after the second punch she receives during the thirteenth turn.

The crowd goes mad with the sound of fists smacking into breasts and the sight of breasts flying all over the place. The second fight last only until turn seven when the loser burst into tears after receiving a devastating uppercut to her left breast. Dana and Marian step up and give each other a hug before Dana chooses to go first. She holds back on her first punch to Marian's left breast, hoping that Marian will also show her some mercy. However, Marian unleashes a vicious punch to her sensitive left breast, bringing a scream from Dana and tears to her eyes. The tone of the fight is set and Dana does not hold back again. What started off with a hug and a smile turns into a battle of wills. Dana switches between breasts and hopes that Marian will do the same, but Marian continues to attack Dana's left breast. By the end of turn five, Dana's left breast is bruised and swollen. Her breasts are very sensitive and if she was fighting anybody else, she would have submitted by now, but she and Marian are very competitive with each other and she does not want to give Marian the win. Tears are flowing down her cheeks, and she knows Marian is hurting her more than she is hurting Marian, but she cannot get herself to submit to Marian. Her only aim is to hurt Marian as much as she can and to hope she submits first. Marian can see that Dana has had enough, and she knows she will beat her friend soon. Her tactics to concentrate on one breast are working and now they are allowed two punches per turn. She plans to really hurt Dana's left breast. The tears in her friend's eyes just makes her more determined to beat her quickly. Dana punches Marian's left breast with two straight right punches that flatten her breast and draws a scream from her as the second punch land shortly after the first. Marian ignores the pain in her own breasts and lands a vicious uppercut, followed by a right hook to Dana's left breast. Both punches thud into her breast and she almost concedes the match, but she bites her lip and cups her breast with both her hands, trying to soothe the pain. It surprises her when the referee tells her she missed her turn as five seconds have elapsed since Marian's second got her in a full nelson hold. This devastates Dana as Marian will get another turn, without having to face any punches to her breasts. Marian knows her previous combination really hurt Dana, and she decides to repeat it. However, as she is about to throw another uppercut to Dana's left breast, Dana shouts her submission. Although she hates losing to Marian, she cannot take another punch to her breast. Marian tries to hug her, but Dana turns around and runs to the change rooms. She is in a lot of pain and she feels humiliated because her best friend beat her so easily. Marian wants to follow her, but her second grabs her by the arm and tells her that the winners have to sit on the winner's bench until the start of the next round. Eva notices that Dana is upset, and that an assistant stopped Marian from following her. She leans over to Jenny and tells her she will be back soon, before she makes her way to the change rooms, grabbing an icepack as she passes the medical area. Dana is sitting in the corner, with her knees pulled up to her chest. Tears are rolling down her face and she tries to hide her face when Eva enters. Eva sits down next to Dana and puts her arm around Dana's shoulder, pulling her closer to her. 'Put this on your breast. It will ease the pain and stop your breast from swelling any further.'

When Dana does not immediately take the icepack, Eva presses it against Dana's left breast, not waiting for her to take it. 'It's tough to fight a friend. Sometimes you are too close to each other and it feels personal when you lose. I had a friend at the academy. I loved her with all my heart, but I hated competing with her, especially when I lost. So I know how you are feeling, but remember there are no friends during a contest. During a contest, you