Countess Dante dashes into the Scorpion's Den! (for CaptainL)

[Vc0m]

Chika was bored.

Any time she lost a wager to her dad to who would do chores around the dojo, Eiichiro Igarashi's - Scorpion Sting, on a lazy cold Sunday meant a very boring time for her. For a while now, they have made it a system to do a game of some kind, one against the other. Winner either rests or takes Kairi around Tokyo, the loser stays at the dojo to clean it up on the sole day it didn't welcome students - Sunday.

And yesterday, Chika lost to Eiichiro in chess, meaning she was unlucky enough to stay at the gym, while the rest of her family went to a zoo.

"Mgrrghhmmm...stupid rooks, and pawns and bishops...", Chika grumbled under her breath as she cleaned the strength machines and treadmills, moving them out of the way to properly clean the dirt between the machines, still having more than a few places to clean yet...at least the ring was cleaned and vacuumed up, ready for training matches tomorrow...

[CaptainL]

Countess Dante had only just arrived in LAW, and so far, her grand entry into the world of professional wrestling was...not exactly going according to plan. Her first match had been an absolute disaster, when she had set out to challenge an opponent who she surely should have overcome with ease - not even a full-fledged wrestler, just a substitute teacher in search of extra work - and not only had she been defeated, not only had it been an embarrassingly easy victory for Mary Green that barely allowed Isabella to get in any offense of her own, but the entire crowd laughed at her the whole time! They could only see her as a feeble, foolish girl who was hopelessly in over her head, trying to talk big and fooling nobody. But nothing could be further from the truth - she was the greatest martial artist the world had ever known, and her body was a deadlier weapon than any army!

Even when Isabella tried to go about her daily life, she still got snickers from anyone who recognized her. And she was fed up. She had come to LAW to show the world that her fighting skills could take down any foe, and being treated as a joke certainly wouldn't do. But if she couldn't have her say in a formal contest, she was going to have to take matters into her own hands. Luckily...she knew what to do.

There were a good many dojos in the city, focusing in a variety of fighting styles. If Isabella wanted to make her case as a force to be reckoned with, she would have to take it right to the source! And, as it so happened, there was one such dojo not too far from where she was staying. She had carefully hatched a plan, laying out her strategy - she'd studied maps, plotted her approach, and of course, trained for the confrontation (that was a formality, really - she would surely tear apart everyone in her path). Now, the only thing left was to put it to the test. But once she did...no one would ever laugh at the name of Countess Dante again.

Standing at the front door of the dojo, Dante looked the building up and down. She could kick through the door and enter that way, she thought...but it looked pretty sturdy, and even when she was sure she could break through any surface that stood between her and her goals, it would probably be better to conserve her strength for a true battle. Instead, she turned to one of the windows. She picked a rock up from the ground and tossed it at the glass - either she'd draw someone's attention or she'd have an opening to break through; either would suit her purposes!

Spoiler

[Vc0m]

CRASH

Chika turned.

And she saw the lack of glass on one of the windows. Her eyes then darted to the floor, where she saw a rock.

Chika blinked, wanting to think that she was just dreaming…but no, the broken window was still there in front of her.

”<What the fuck?!>”, she swore in Japanese, dashing towards the window. It was likely just a stupid prankster, but if she found them, either a very huge tell off, or a very huge beatdown, were in order…

[CaptainL]

At last, a worthy challenger had answered the call! The Countess's presence had been noticed! As soon as the woman on the other side of the wall came racing to the window, Isabella dropped down into a stance, bending at the knees and holding her fists up as though ready to strike. For a brief moment, a grin ran over her face, but it soon dropped into a serious, stone-faced stare. She knew that first appearances were important, and when she was trying to shed the image of a laughingstock, she wanted everyone to know she wasn't playing around - especially her would-be opponent! Besides, if this woman was truly a match for her abilities, she would need to stay on her toes for a true challenge! Not that it would be any issue to her, of course!

"I am Countess Isabella Caramelita Dante - the Deadliest Woman Alive, the Crown Princess of DEATH!!" Isabella boomed, the defiance in her voice standing quite at odds to her diminutive frame. "You must be a seasoned warrior of this dojo! If you so accept my challenge, I will face you in a duel, so we can determine whose teachings are the strongest - if you dare, that is!"

[Vc0m]

As Chika saw a woman standing outside the window of her father’s dojo, her emotion went from anger…to pure bafflement:

”I…uh…”

She heard and read a bit about the “dojo stormings” that used to happen in Japan between various martial art schools…in particular ones involving Judo and Karate school rivalries. Another series of these happened when arrogant pro wrestling schools invited all to challenge their dojo to showcase that they are a superior martial art…

Which was slightly weird for Chika. It wasn’t that her father’s dojo wasn’t particularly known…but it wasn’t this forward about being a “superior” school than most…she actually wondered what she should do in this case…

…before she realized that this woman has broken the window of her home, with bafflement in her face turning into quiet, serious rage:

”Inside.”, Chika would bluntly order the Countess. She wanted a taste of what her dad and his friends have taught her? She’d have it…

[CaptainL]

Chika might have looked on at Isabella incredulously, but the determined look on the girl's face didn't break even for a second. She kept her stance rigid and unmoving, ready to strike at any moment, her hands poised to turn to deadly weapons with just the right finger positions and the right pressure point targets. To Isabella, this wasn't someone staring at her in sheer bafflement, wondering what an oddly-dressed stranger was doing on their front porch after they'd broken a window. This was the staredown of two rivals, studying every stance and move their opponents took as they sized each other up before battle. And like any great warrior, Isabella was ready to win it. She couldn't concede even an inch to her foe!

Soon enough, Chika bid for Dante to step inside. Her own eyes may have narrowed in anger, but Isabella's face lit up with a smirk. At last, it was happening. The challenge was accepted! Soon, the destined battle would be underway, and the dominance of the Black Dragon Fighting Society would be assured! Isabella broke her stance just long enough to rise to her full, if unimpressive, height, and she nodded to Chika before lowering her head in a bow. But she would soon head through the door, taking her place in the room across from her foe.

As soon as Chika closed the door, the Countess would once again drop into a stance. "Who does the great Countess Dante have the honor of besting today, hrm? Name yourself!" When her victory came, she wanted to know who to brag about defeating!

[Vc0m]

As angry as Chika was at the Countess, she was still completely baffled by her. Yes, she did hear of Dojo raids…but usually they typically started by the raider knocking on the front door, proceeded by name calling of the dojo owner on the streets, typically nothing worse than “coward”…and only then did the window breaking and general annoyance started.

Once inside, Chika closed the door, turning to the Countess: ”Chika. Chika Igarashi. Now get inside the ring, so I can beat you up. And afterwards, you are going to clean up all the glass that you broke, and THEN you will pay for a new one!”, Chika would angrily tell her, going towards the ring…

[CaptainL]

When Isabella entered the dojo, she took a moment to look back and forth and get a feel for her surroundings. The sight of the wrestling ring was one of the first things she noticed. Admittedly, she had done little research into the Scorpion's Den or its trainees before she had set out - she just knew it was there. She didn't even know that this place dealt with pro wrestling. But that was even better for the Countess's purposes! After all, she had come to LAW in the name of dominating the competition with her superior martial arts, and what better a way to do that than demonstrating she could beat even the most capable of wrestlers on their own ground? It would also help her familiarize herself with facing off against wrestlers and how to best adapt to and counter their style - not that she would ever need to, of course!

As she spun back around to face Chika, Isabella didn't even flinch, not even as the woman threatened her on her way to the ring. She simply tightened her fists and stood as tall as her height would allow, puffing out her modest chest. When she already knew her victory was assurred, threats meant nothing! She knew just as well that Chika was only marching toward her doom! And in fact, Isabella wasn't even going to wait for her to reach the ring in order to prove that!

As she passed by, Isabella would suddenly swing around to deliver a kick with her shin aimed directly at Chika's legs! "FIRST MISTAKE!!" she called out, jabbing a finger back in her foe's direction. "A TRUE warrior wouldn't wait until we were in some arbitrary ring to ready for battle!! A TRUE warrior is ALWAYS ready for a fight!"

[Vc0m]

Chika tried to be as blunt but as polite as she could possibly allow herself to be in this situation. She already disliked cleaning but add to it needing to clean even more glass, and add to that needing to clean the ring again after already having cleaned it up...she simply couldn't wait to take down this arrogant martial artist...

But as she turned her back, she felt a sharp kick at her knees!

"AAAGH!!!"

Chika buckled, but didn't fall down, quickly turning to face her assailant.

"<Oh, that's how you want to play then?!>", she would say in her native Japanese

Chika was FAR from a stranger to fights outside the ring...before she discovered wrestling, street fighting for her life was all she knew. And given the painful example, Chika would step towards the Countess, trying to launch her knee to ram it against her stomach!

[CaptainL]

Isabella's concentration didn't break for a moment, even as Chika doubled over forward. She was pleased with her efforts in making her stagger, sure - but she knew her work was far from done! In a battle like this it was paramount that each fighter keep a careful eye on their surroundings and be prepared to strike at any moment - which went doubly so against a foe as deadly as Countess Dante! She sank lower into a stance, bending at the knees and clenching her fists as she fixed a glare on her opponent. If Chika did anything too rash, Isabella would be ready for her!

Or at least, that was what she told herself.

Chika was no less prepared. She lunged straight after Isabella, her knee swinging up to deliver a powerful strike to the American girl's midsection! Dante attempted to draw her arms inward to ready a block...but she was too late. With the sound of a thump, Chika had struck true, causing the Countess to double forward over her knee, sputtering and coughing as the air was driven out of her lungs. And with her smaller frame, the force of the blow was enough to send her toppling backward - she was thrown back from Chika, dropping to the floor, where she tumbled head over heels until she landed sprawled out flat on her back a short distance away.

Isabella panted for breath; her chest rose and fell and her arms flopped at her sides as she tried to draw the air back into her lungs. Even she had to concede that that hurt. "Nice...shot..." she muttered. But a moment later, she looked back up, fixing a baleful stare at Chika. And then, pushing off the ground, she went to roll backward, hopping back to her feet!

"But...you'll find I'm FAR tougher than that!!" Despite her boastful words, Isabella's voice was hoarse with pain, and she teetered uneasily on her feet. Still, she stared back at Chika, her teeth clenched in a snarl. She wasn't afraid of her! At her level, that would be ridiculous!