Keqing vs. Azura - Submission Mat Wrestling

[pu-level-up]

Mat wrestling match

Win by submission only

Though mat wrestling rules were not something that played to Keqing's advantage, she wasn't feeling too worried about her upcoming match. The Chinese athlete was feeling more established at the LAW league now that she had a few matches under her belt. She still had a lot to learn and improve, but she was becoming a better competitor at a rapid pace, and was eager to show off her skills in any match that came her way. Even if she wouldn't be able to use her usual high-flying moves in a mat wrestling setting, she was eager to show that she could grapple just as well as she flew, and perhaps take this opportunity to pick up a few new moves as well from her opponent.

The "ring" for this match was nothing more than a circle on the ground on top of a layer of thin mats. A smaller live audience than the usual were spectating, all of them seated around the ring in folding chairs, giving the match a more indie feel. Though they were sitting with a little distance from the ring, there was nothing stopping the girls from fighting into the audience should they get a bit too excited. But that was part of the reason many in the audience came to watch this kind of match, for the opportunity to accidentally "participate".

"Introducing our first contestant for the match tonight!" the announcer said as she stepped into the center of the mats, "Standing at 5'6", weighing 125 pounds, Su Keqing!"

With the announcement of her name, Keqing stood up from her seat beside the ring, letting the robe she wore drop to reveal her attire underneath. She had on a cute white one-piece swimsuit that hugged her curves tightly, showing off just enough of her fit body to be enticing while also being rather modest. Keqing raised her hand into the air in a closed fist, then opened her hand and gave everyone a small wave. An appreciative wave of applause came from the audience. The Chinese athlete took her place on one side of the mats, stretching her arms above her head before bending over and stretching her legs, limbering up for the coming match. Her heart pumped in her chest as she waited to see what her opponent would be like for this coming match.

Spoiler

[dlamp]

This was going to be an interesting match for sure, all things considered. Submissions weren't initially part of Azura's wheelhouse. Her background in dance gave her plenty of flexibility, but most of that background was what gave her kicks their power. She knew a good amount of submissions, and even a few of the flashier ones, but they weren't the main focus of Azura's abilities. At least... at first. With her last few matches being so submission focused she was getting a decent among of opportunities to heighten her abilities in using holds. And it seemed the officials in LAW were realizing that as well with the next match. But more interesting was the location and fight venue. Mat wrestling brought back a lot of memories of her time in the indie leagues. Wrestling in smaller venues and with minimal equipment and outfits. It felt like a throwback of sorts for Azura. And... it excited her, just a little, despite what little emotion her face showed.

"And her opponent! Standing at 5'4" and weighting 118 pounds! The Waterside Songstress, Azura!"

Spoiler

After her opponent walked onto the mats and Azura's own announcement, she too stood and removed her robe, revealing a pure white one-piece that wrapped around her body. The crowd was a wave of whistles and cheers at the sight, Azura only giving them a small nod in turn before making her way to the mats. Her eyes focused on her opponent, examining her as she approached. All in all she looked quite cute. A wayward thought, but one that stuck. The girl might be taller, but that didn't detract from the cuteness. And seeing the girl stretch and warm-up like a spirited newcomer had Azura tempted to follow suit had she not already warmed up beforehand. Instead, she simply kept light on her toes as gave Keqing one more look over. "It's... Su-san, correct?" She said. "Apologies. Chinese names aren't my forte." She paused her bouncing, giving a small bow in turn. "I look forward to facing you."

[pu-level-up]

As she stretched out, Keqing gave Azura's body a quick scan, sizing her up to figure out what kind of opponent she would be. Though Azura was a bit shorter and lighter than Keqing, the Chinese athlete knew that it wouldn't make enough of a difference for it to be a mismatch. Her opponent was quite similar in build to her, athletic and slim with nice long legs. They were even dressed quite similarly, with Azura sporting a white one-piece just like Keqing. Physically speaking she felt quite even against Azura. She had no idea how the girl fared when grappling though, hoping that like Keqing it was not her forte. She didn't like her chances against someone who was a skilled grappler.

After finishing her stretches, Keqing made her way to the center of the ring to face off against her opponent. "Susan?" Keqing frowned, wondering how her opponent managed to get that from her Chinese name, "That's... Not even close!" She wondered for a moment if Azura was making fun of her or just completely clueless, deciding to give her opponent the benefit of the doubt. "Just call me Katie," Keqing said, giving Azura an easier option.

She extended her hand, offering Azura a fair shake before getting the match started. "Let's have a good fight!" she said, giving her opponent a small but confident smile. After the handshake Keqing would immediately raise her arms, looking to lock up with her opponent in a tight collar and elbow grapple as she tested to see how strong and skilled Azura was.

[dlamp]

Azura rose an eye at Keqing's reaction, blinking. That... was a bigger reaction than she thought. She might had mispronounced the name, but the sudden shout had the Songstress bring a hand to her mouth in surprise. "Ah... Katie-san then." She remained locked in place for a moment, looking over her opponent again. I feel like I stepped on a nerve. She frowned, more disappointed in herself than anything, but quickly brushed it off as Keqing offered her hand, which Azura took. "Yes... let's both do our best and have no regrets."

With the handshake given the bell rung the fight was on. Immediately Keqing was in a grappling stance, and Azura followed suit. Arms raised, legs apart, body leaned forward as she readied herself to wrestle, locking neck and shoulders with Keqing as her eyes narrowed and she made the first move. "Hn-!" She gave a hard tug back, hoping to unbalance Keqing's footing and force her to the ground.

[pu-level-up]

Keqing relaxed a bit when Azura defaulted to using her suggested name of Katie. She knew Keqing was a bit hard for non-speakers to pronounce right, but it baffled her how Azura was able to get Susan from that. At least it seemed to be just a mistake without malice behind it. No need to get all worked up over something like that.

Azura seemed a bit shocked by Keqing's strong reaction, and not wanting the match to start off on the wrong foot, Keqing extended her hand and gave her opponent the chance for a fair shake. That seemed to break the tension a little bit, as Azura brushed things off and took Keqing's hand. Keqing wanted nothing more than a fair fight with this girl, to roll around on the mats and see just how she compared in grappling and mat wrestling to the competition. So long as Azura would do the same, there would be no hard feelings.

They locked up right afterwards, Keqing grabbing Azura's shoulders and leaning in, testing her opponent's strength and trying to overpower her. Azura stood her ground though, matching Keqing's efforts. She then suddenly tugged backwards, making Keqing gasp out as she got unbalanced. Bare feet skidding against the mat, Keqing had to stomp down hard and dig her foot into the ground to keep from falling over.

"Nngh! Almost got me there!" Keqing admitted to her opponent, commending her on that move. But it wasn't quite enough to take her down. With her stance widened and her body lower, Keqing quickly abandoned the grapple and went down low, her arms shooting down to wrap around one of Azura's legs. If successful, she would pull up and back, attempting to take out Azura's footing and send her crashing to the mats on her back!

[dlamp]

Azura gave a hard pull, catching Keqing off guard and staggering forward. For a moment she readied herself to continue with the momentum and move into a hold to start wearing the woman down, but Keqing kept her balance after a hard stomp and steadying herself. "Gnh-" Azura let out a huff, raising an eye in slight surprise, but quickly recover. "Good reflexes," She commented. It wasn't a bad showing so far. Keqing had potential. But recognizing that potential wasn't going to win Azura the match, and Keqing quickly moved to give her own assault, bending down for Azura's legs and getting her arms around one of them. Azura's eyes sharpened. Smart, but-

"Sloppy!" Feeling Keqing's hands starting to pull her leg up Azura reacted fast, hopping off on her good leg and swinging her hips and body for torque as she moved her leg to nail Keqing in the face with her foot with a harsh and sudden enzuigiri kick to rattle her.

[pu-level-up]

"Thanks!" Keqing said in response to Azura's compliment about her reflexes. She didn't slow down one bit though, immediately moving on Azura's legs to try and take the girl down to the mats. She managed to get her arms around one of Azura's legs, and was just about to straighten up and throw her off balance, when suddenly her bluenette opponent jumped up and clocked her right on the side of her head with an enzuigiri!

"GAH!" Keqing gasped as her opponent's shin smacked into her cheek. The blow immediately sent her into a daze, knocking her off balance as she released Azura's leg and fell onto her side. She was caught completely be surprise, not expecting such a strike from her opponent when the match had mat wrestling rules! Lying on her side, Keqing groaned as her head ached from the blow, stunned by her opponent's attack!

Seeing that move, the referee quickly stepped in to stop Azura before she could make another move. "You can't do moves like that in this kind of match!" she said, admonishing the bluenette, "No hard strikes or throws!" Keqing by this time had recovered, pushing up to a sitting position. Seeing that she was ok, the referee decided to let things slide. "I'm giving you a warning this time," she continued, "No more of those kinds of moves from either of you, got it?"

[dlamp]

There. With Keqing staggering back and Azura's legs free she quickly got to her knees, letting out a breath as her body relaxed now. Okay, now to-

"You can't do moves like that in this kind of match!"

Azura glanced up toward the referee, her ears perked and nearly twitching at the scolding.

"No hard strikes or throws! I'm giving you a warning this time, no more of those kinds of moves from either of you, got it?"

"... ..." Azura's face was frozen in its blank expression. She looked up at the referee with an almost listless gaze, as if staring past them in to the wall behind their head. "Ah," Right... this is mat wrestling... not a match on mats. The thought droned out in monotone. I can't use heavy strikes like usual. She blinked, as if the realization just struck her, though the action felt detached from her thoughts. Just like... the in the indie leagues... Her face was as expressionless as it had been since the referee first spoke up. However... Azura's cheeks were a bright and glowing red. And the sight of it had the crowd in a mixture of laughs, giggles, and jeers.

"Right... It won't happen again." The word's droned out as monotone and emotionless as her thoughts, drained of both conviction and her usual stoicism. The most she could manage was turning to Keqing with her eyebrows twitching between apologetic, embarrassment, and anger.

All before pushing her legs forward for a sudden tackle.

Despite it all, Azura knew the one of many sins of the ring, mats or otherwise, was to hesitate or lose momentum just for causing a foul. A strong offense and flashy enough effort could always make it just seem like an earnest mistake. And in this case... it'd be best to not let Keqing know the difference yet.

[pu-level-up]

It took Keqing a few moments to regain her bearings after taking that kick. Luckily for her the referee got in Azura's way, keeping the bluenette from jumping on top of her while she was down. Keqing was a bit mad that her opponent pulled such a move, but after looking up at Azura and seeing the expression on her face, she believed that Azura had either not known about the specific rules, or they had just slipped her mind. Either way she had a warning from the referee now, and she wasn't likely to break the rules more. That gave Keqing some comfort.

But that was quickly dashed when Azura suddenly sprang at her, coming in low to tackle her into the mats! "Ugh!" Keqing grunted as Azura's body smacked.into hers before she was ready, knocking her onto her back with Azura on top. "Not even... Gonna let me recover?" Keqing groaned, "You don't fight fair!"

She knew her complaint would be worthless in the eyes of her opponent though, so she quickly moved to counterattack. Kicking up both her legs, she snapped them around Azura's waist, aiming to lock her ankles behind Azura's back and squeeze down on her sides with a powerful waist scissor! She hoped the move would catch Azura by surprise, allowing her strong legs to crush down on Azura's body and squeeze the air out of her before she could put up a resistance!

[dlamp]

"You're free to hate and curse me if you must." Azura's words were nearly spat out, her tone as frigid as her gaze. In all honestly Keqing had every right to be annoyed and aggravated with the Songstress. Even if it was in the heat of the moment Azura still broke the rules, and she made no effort to reset things to be fair and give Keqing time to recover. It was cheap. It was dirty. And it was unbecoming.

But... it was also war, and hesitation wasn't going to win her the fight. She'd just make up for this by being honest for the rest of the fight.

But her tackle didn't go completely unanswered. Keqing immediately countered, snaking her legs tight around Azura's waist and bringing her in for a tight and brutal bodyscissor. "G-Ggh..." Once that had Azura's back and waist burning as her breaths became labored under the pressure. Keqing had a vice grip around her body and she wasn't keen to let go any time soon. "H-Haah... A-Aaaa..." Azura's face started to reddened from the pain and tightened airways around her lung, clamping down her on her jaw as she lowered her body against Keqing's. "You're... rather merciless... yourself... Katie-san..." She said through pained breaths, starting to scoot and jerk her upper torso to the side for freedom.