Electro Pyro Overload! Keqing [D] vs. Tomoe [D]

[pu-level-up]

The agony coursing through Keqing's back kept her awake as she writhed on the mats. She was unable to resist as Tomoe reached over and rolled her onto her back again to try and lock in a pin. The Chinese girl knew she needed to move if she didn't want to lose, but her back was in such agony that every part of her body felt paralyzed. At least she felt everything though, meaning nothing was broken.

Luckily for her Tomoe was nearing the end of her ropes as well. The muscled woman could only flop on top of her with a single arm to hold her down for the pin. Had Keqing not been in such pain, breaking out would have been easy. But right now she could barely muster any strength.

"One! Two! Thr-" The ref's hands fell in quick succession, but right before she could finish the count Keqing managed to shove Tomoe's arm off of her to just barely break the pin in time.

"Ahh... Haaa..." Keqing groaned, "Dammit!" Lying on her back, she brought her knees up and got her feet underneath her. She still made no moves to get up yet, but it seemed she was beginning to recover.

[FreestylePoet]

That Tomoe's single-arm pin almost ended the match was a testament to both her own strength and the fervor with which they'd both fought tonight. The ensuing thumbs-up was all she could muster in approval at Keqing's last-second escape.

In the corner of her eye, the chef saw her foe rising to her feet. Tomoe knew that, for her own part, she'd need more time to recover, so she decided to give herself a bit of an out, just in case. With a groan, the savvy powerhouse rolled away from Keqing until she reached the ropes. There, she could rise to her feet with the knowledge that even if Keqing harried her, the rulebook might protect her from outright losing.

If she managed to regain her bearings unmolested, Tomoe would fix her gaze on her purple-clad opponent. Her eyes twinkled with passion still, the very last embers of the Izakaya Fire never quite losing their glow. She knew this was it -- as tired as they both were, whoever could put the other down first would likely come away with the win.

Still, she didn't rush in for one last pass. Her last few charges had gone completely dodged by Keqing. Probably a result of her tiredness. She hated being so passive, especially in a fun match like this, but sometimes the right answer was to wait, watch, and react. Still, she springloaded her legs, even going so far as to prop one up on the lowest rope behind her in case she needed to push off or up.

[pu-level-up]

The normally speedy Keqing was slow to get up to her feet even after Tomoe rolled away towards the ropes and began pulling herself up. Keqing was pretty new to combat sports, so her body wasn't used to this level of punishment and she hadn't felt this kind of pain before. After her failed move, her back felt like it was broken. Her stomach ached after taking some powerful hits, and her entire body felt exhausted. Still, she wasn't willing to just let things end like this. This was her debut after all, and she wanted to make sure she left a lasting impression on everyone watching!

So while Tomoe got up, so did she. Rolling onto her front, Keqing pushed herself up to her hands and knees, arms shaking the whole time. Then she slowly got onto her feet. Her long hair clung to her sweaty back, knees quivering as they barely held her up, her face wincing in pain as every part of ber body ached. But she was standing, and she was ready to finish things.

Her amythyst eyes flashed as they met Tomoe's, reflecting the same burning fire that fuelled the chef. "Come on Tomoe, let's go!" Keqing said, beckoning for her opponent to come at her one last time. She hoped Tomoe would push off the ropes and charge in, knowing that if she went to her opponent and her attack got countered, she'd be finished. Keqing staked her chances on a gamble, hoping that Tomoe would take the bait!

[FreestylePoet]

Well, so much for being smart about it. Watching Keqing get up, shake off her exhaustion, and taunt the heavyweight, literally asking her to come forth? All of it stoked her fires even more. "GAHAHA!" Tomoe gave a hearty chortle as she threw her head back in approval. She would have clapped as well, had one of her hands not been tasked with steadying herself on the ropes. "Wanna finish this how we started it, eh? Full speed? In that case..." Her leg bounced a few times as she was chomping at the bit to run right at Keqing!

"LET'S DO IT!!!" And that she did, pushing off the rope to take one massive bound towards her foe! If this was really gonna be their last hurrah, then Tomoe was gonna need every last boost she could get! The adrenaline throbbed through her veins, and all the soreness in her body seemed to melt into the half-second trip. She lunged for Keqing's waist, hoping to sweep her up in her muscular arms. And if she was able to do so? She would lift her off the ground and squeeze as hard as she could, going for a brutal bearhug -- a momentary shock of pain to set up for what she hoped to be a last finisher!

[pu-level-up]

Keqing grinned as Tomoe got fired up. "Yeah, time to go all out!" she said. Everything was on the line now in this final exchange, Keqing knew she only had the strength left for one major attack, and it seemed like Tomoe was on her last legs as well despite all her enthusiasm. The purple-haired athlete would have to time her move perfectly, because she only had one shot.

Tomoe lunged in, going low again with her arms open wide. Keqing's amethyst eyes remained focused, narrowing as Tomoe came closer and closer. She wasn't going to jump to avoid the hit this time. No, she was going to counterattack and time her hit perfectly. It was all or nothing!

"YAAAAH!" Keqing yelled, jumping and throwing a powerful kick out straight at Tomoe's cheek! The crowd let out a gasp as she did so, the boldness of her move catching everyone off guard. Keqing put her all into this kick, deep in her hear hoping and praying that it would land. If she missed, she would get swept away by her opponent and lose for sure!

[FreestylePoet]

"HAHA!" Tomoe's enthusiasm, it seemed, was infectious, judging by Keqing's body language. And how could it not be? This was their final clash, the ultimate determinant of whose passion burned brighter! Giddy with glee, Tomoe charged towards her foe, reaching for her in an effort to sweep her up into her powerful arms. Her left forearm touched Keqing's hipbone. All she needed to do was grip the chick and this match would be over! But right when Tomoe made contact with Keqing's waist, she noticed the smaller girl's foot flying right for her! Gritting her teeth, she resolved to plow through, curling her arm and-

A flashbang exploded inside Tomoe's head. When the white cleared, somehow she was standing straight up. All she saw was the wobbling form of Su Keqing. Or, wait, maybe it wasn't Keqing wobbling... It was Tomoe and her brain. All on her own, the purple-clad woman swam through Tomoe's field of vision, and everything else -- ring, ropes, crowd, lights (oh God, the lights) -- became bleary smudges.

She took one step back, and the canvas suddenly had a certain magnetism to it. She took one step forward, raising a fist as if she still had a shot of striking her opponent. If she could just make it the last few miles to Keqing, all it'd take would be one swipe to regain control of this fight! Just... one... swipe...

"Guh."

Tomoe gave Keqing one last thumbs up and crumpled to the mat, well and truly out of it.

[pu-level-up]

The impact of Keqing's brutal kick rocked the rookie's body, knocking her off balance as well. It felt like she had just kicked a brick wall that was falling towards her. The purple-haired beauty hissed in pain as she fell on the mat, wincing as she watched Tomoe stand straight up after the kick on wobbly legs. She was surprised for a moment, her eyes widening as she thought Tomoe had somehow recovered from the hit. Then she watched as Tomoe swayed, her legs crumpling before falling to the mat with a powerful thud.

Keqing let out a sigh of relief. She stood back up, favoring her leg a little as she walked over to Tomoe. The huge woman had fallen on her front, so Keqing couldn't just lie on top of her to get the pin. Not that she needed to, as it looked like Tomoe was out cold. The referee came over to check in on Tomoe, grabbing her arm and letting it fall as Keqing watched. Once, twice, three times Tomoe's arm fell limply on the mat. That made Keqing worry quite a bit, as she didn't want Tomoe to be permanently hurt because of her.

The referee raised her hands, calling for the end of the match. Keqing let out a sigh of relief. Instead of celebrating though, she immediately knelt down next to Tomoe, gently pushing on the giantess's shoulder to try and wake her up.

"Hey! Tomoe, hey!" Keqing said, "Oh gosh please be ok!"

[FreestylePoet]

Nanami opened the door. Instantly, a buffet of brasses and strings fell upon her, piping a sweet tune into the air. Though the band was the first thing Nanami noticed, it only occupied her senses for but a moment. As soon as she passed through the threshold, the scents of a thousand dishes wafted into her nose! Peering over the sardine-packed partygoers, Nanami spotted the object of her desire. A table, laden with every party-adjacent dish she could think of: Finger foods to satisfy classic desires. Cupped soups and ice creams to provide some textural variety. Fountains of cheese and chocolate. And more. So. Much. More. Practically drooling over herself, Nanami sliced her way through the crowd like a hot knife through butter! The crowd seemed limitless, but eventually, she made it. Without further ado, Nanami picked up the nearest empty plate, reached down into a pile of food, and...

"-ease be ok!"

...And blinked her eyes open. Which was a major problem, mostly because the lights up there were way too bright. And, now that she thought of it, they were way too numerous too. As were the five Keqings peering down at her. Or was it six? When the Keqings finally dwindled down to three, Tomoe realized what must've happened. The ear-splitting headache, the concern on her opponents' faces, the unfamiliar theme music warbling in the background.

Tomoe placed her palm over her eyes. "Damn. I lost, huh?" Then she opened her fingers scant millimeters, peering at Keqing and her twin through the gaps. "Mm'okay," she slurred out, tossing another thumbs up into the air. "Guess y'got me, hehe!"

The heavyweight waved off the ringside medical crew, standing up despite their protests. Tomoe even managed to stand up mostly straight! "Y'won't be able to lift the gurney anyway." She'd be fine. Eventually. Anyone as boisterous as Tomoe was bound to get a few knocks throughout her life, and this wasn't anywhere near the worst she'd had it. Keqing had proven that she wasn't hard-headed enough to escape a loss by knockout, but she'd at least be able to walk herself to the nearest dark, quiet room... Once she got checked out by some hot doc, of course.

"Eh... Che-king?" Tomoe didn't even notice how she mispronounced her former opponent's name. "Iiiii can walk, but..." She stuck a meaty hand out, the other one still shielding her eyes from the many stadium lights. "Just, like, lead me around like a dog 'til we get to the infirmary. Pleazh?"

[pu-level-up]

Seeing Tomoe wake up, Keqing let our a small sigh of relief. The dazed state her former opponent was in still worried her though. Even as Tomoe waved away the medical personnel, Keqing beckoned them back with her hand, making sure that they would at least follow Tomoe backstage and get her the medical treatment she needed.

Keqing stood back as Tomoe got back up, letting her get steady on her feet before helping her out. Keqing held out her hand, letting Tomoe take it to lead her backstage where she could get some help. "Of course Tomoe, no problem," Keqing said, still feeling rather bad that she hat hit Tomoe so hard she passed out. "Come on, let's get you somewhere safe!"

Win by KO: Keqing