Aarna Mehta vs. Sakura Hagiwara

[Dubski]

Aarna Mehta was still a bit loopy from that stunner as she tried to focus. She couldn't let Sakura out of her reach now. She pushed herself to her hands and knees, in disbelief that she could have let herself be caught like that. She should have known better. She should have done something different. Mehta cursed herself when she felt her legs be grabbed and she was pulled away. "Wh-what?" she said in surprise.

And then the Indian girl could feel her legs crossed and the vicious hold from Sakura being laid in. Aarna let out a cry of pain body scrambling and flailing around, trying to find her way out of the hold, but Sakura had placed her entire body weight on her, and Mehta was being stretched to her breaking point immediately! "Aaaaaah gawds!" she shouted, grabbing at her hair. Then she had another idea. Reaching back, Mehta tried to grab hold of that bad leg one more time, but she couldn't find it. Both hands went searching but it seemed like it wasn't even planted on the ground and Aarna let out a throaty gasp of pain.

Soon, Aarna could see she had very little she could possibly do from here. She did the only rational thing here. Something that would keep her from being too injured and get her out of this horrible predicament. She began slapping the mat, signaling her submission as she buried her face, giving up in the hold.

[Bare]

Locking in the strongest move in her arsenal against her opponent Sakura wrenched on the girl's knees with everything she had. Twisting the limbs in her grasp and pulling even further back, trying to make the most of this opportunity and attempt to end the bout here and now with the sharp shooter! After all it was a tap out now or bust, she knew that she wouldn't be able to do any other hold or move after this so it was all or nothing!

Luckily for her it seemed raising her hurt leg off the mat was also a smart call on her end. Noticing out of the corner of her eye as she watched Aarna make swipes and grabs for her limb where it would normally be. "Sorry Aarna but not this time!" Sakura roared with determination before throwing herself back, amplifying the hold to its maximum and bending Aarna's limbs to their absolute limit in the process! "Now tap!" She yelled as she held the hold for all it was worth, not willing to let go for anything!

Luckily for her it seemed her cry to submit had done the trick and before she even knew it she heard the signature sound of a hand slapping the mat, signalling the submission of her opponent as Sakura did it! Releasing her hold Sakura collapsed against Aarna's back, panting in exhaustion from the intensity of their bout. Rolling off the Indian girl's back Sakura would get on her knees, sweat covering her body as the referee raised her arm in victory.

He would have also helped her to her feet but Sakura pulled her arm away before that could happen. Instead Sakura would reach over, tapping Aarna on the shoulder to get her attention before holding her hand out. The gesture was clear, after such a evenly fought and intense bout Sakura was offering her hand in respect to Aarna. The only question was if she would take it.

[Dubski]

Aarna continued to pepper the mat with her hand, trying to get the match over with quicker as the pain ripped through her body. Eventually, she heard the bell ring and shortly after, Mehta felt the weight lift off of her and her limbs as she laid flat on the mat, curling in pain with a long groan. She bit her lip hard and then pounded her fist on the mat. She couldn't believe it. She had controlled so much of this match, and yet Sakura had managed to hit two moves and finish her off like this. She was angry--not at her opponent, but herself. She should have done better--she demanded better for herself.

In her own frustration, she eventually felt Hagiwara's hand touch her shoulder. Initially lashing out in frustration, she turned onto her back, cringing in pain, and saw the hand being offered to her. Giving the Idol's hand a bitter look at first, her expression softened and she let out a sigh, grabbing hold of Sakura's hand and taking it as she gingerly got to her feet.

Putting her hands on her hips, Mehta still looked disappointed before she pat Sakura on the shoulder and said, "Congratulations... And thank you for the match." Aarna knew how to maintain being professional, if nothing else. It wasn't Sakura's fault, after all. She fought hard for her win. It was Aarna who screwed it all up. She'd need to do better, and she was sure that she'd spend a lot of time figuring out what she did wrong in her downtime, determined to do much better in the future.

[Bare]

Sakura waited patiently for Aarna to look up, wondering how the girl would react given the intense nature of their match. After all despite everything that happened, including the damage to her leg, Sakura was interested in showing her respect for the girl and sportsmanship to her fellow competitor.

Soon enough she would get her answer as the girl looked up with the bitterest of looks. Wincing as she saw it Sakura prepared to lower her arm in dejection. Though thankfully this wouldn't be the case as Aarna would after a moment extend her hand back out, accepting Sakura's handshake making her smile in relief. Not that Sakura would have blamed the Indian girl for rejecting her offer, after all Sakura knew the sting of defeat quite well and the frustration that came with it.

But it was precisely this reason that made Sakura pull Aarna in for more than just a hand shake! Wrapping her arms around the girl Sakura would squeeze her nor former opponent in a gentle hug. "No thank you." Sakura said as she pulled away, hands on Aarna's shoulders with a gentle smile. "You were wonderful and had me on the ropes for most of the match and I really think you're incredible for it!" Sakura said brightly before giving Aarna a thumbs up.

"Hopefully we can make that gym time we talked about a reality sometime." Sakura said with one more encouraging smile before placing her arm over the referee's shoulder, needing the assistance to leave the ring and head back up the ramp, content with both her win and behavior after the match, only hoping that she managed to lift up Aarna's spirits a bit in the process.

[Dubski]

Winner: Sakura Hagiwara