Marzia Servelli vs. Hanabi Kawai [D] - Submission Match

[CaptainL]

Marzia had made a close save in pulling Hanabi back from the ropes. Now she decided it was time to step things up from a simple ankle lock, and now that her opponent's legs had been worn down from her manipulation of the joint, the Italian thought to apply even more force to the limb. Dropping down into a figure four leglock, she could feel Hanabi's struggles as she fought to get herself out of the hold. But Marzia wasn't content to simply let go - she had to ride this out!

Gritting her teeth as the muscles in her body went rigid, Marzia tried to resist the motions; whenever Hanabi twisted to one side, Marzia went for the other, evening out their struggle. She sucked in a breath as the veins in her neck bulged and she forced her legs to squeeze even tighter. The Italian girl had faith in her abilities, and she needed to prove herself to the fullest of her capacity. Hanabi's resistance would only be an invitation for her to go harder.

Still, Marzia couldn't hold out forever, and her efforts proved as draining to her as they were to her opponent. The longer their struggle went on, the more slack her hold became. Eventually, as Hanabi twisted and turned, it would be enough to push the two over the edge, and Marzia at last rolled onto her stomach. Her eyes went wide in shock as she let out a gasp, which was soon drowned out in the cry of pain from her legs and spine being wrenched; her own hold was now turned against her!

[Scourger X]

Right after making Marzia's figure four leglock ineffective, actually reversing it. Even so, out of reflex Hanabi separated from her opponent's legs and crawled to the ropes, still feeling sore from all the pressure. She used the ropes to stand herself up, she knew that this match suddenly took a dangerous turn for her.

Heading to the italian girl's direction, Hanabi decided to finish this as quickly as possible because she was starting to be at her limit. Her step was slow and less balanced than when she started, Marzia had a chance to attack the rookie while she was weakened.

[CaptainL]

Fortunately for Marzia, her predicament in being caught in a reverse figure four leglock wouldn't last long. Though she gagged and winced against the pressure mounting on her legs, Hanabi would soon let go nonetheless, the strain on her own limbs making it hard for her to keep up. Marzia had a moment of respite as she lay on her back in the center of the ring, catching her breath. Her legs ached, more from the struggle of keeping her hold locked in place for so long against an opponent who wouldn't sit still, but it was still enough to keep her down.

Even still, by the time she got back up, Hanabi was moving in closer, and Marzia could tell the damage had been done from the slower and more labored pace of her steps. Marzia took in a deep breath to center herself, only to lash out with a swift punch to Hanabi's gut as she came within range, looking to stagger her. If she could do this, it would be all the easier to make her next move.

[Scourger X]

Maybe she wasn't thinking as clearly as she normally did, so instead of waiting to recover herself, Hanabi made her move, and her weakened condition earned her a hit to the gut. She hoped to block it with her arms, but it still penetrated against her smooth abdomen, this caused her to loose her breath and bend down. This would be used by Marzia to attack once again. With this in mind, she intended to jump back to get out of her range.

Did she managed to get out of the hook? Or was the italian senior wrestler faster than her and she managed to make her move on the rookie?

[CaptainL]

Hanabi may have raised her arms to block, but Marzia could still hit hard when it came to it. Her punch bounced against her guard, driving the purple-haired girl's arms closer into her abs in the process and causing her to stagger back as she doubled forward. Marzia took a step closer, preparing to seize on her advantage while the girl was stunned, but Hanabi was quick to get out of the way, hopping backward as the Italian only grabbed at the air.

The two of them now managed to get some distance between them, and Marzia looked up, catching her breath. The match had come to a momentary lull as both hung back, but the competitors knew it was far from over. The strain was starting to come to Marzia, as she took steady breaths, her face red from the exertion and her brow slick with sweat. She looked up to Hanabi, her eyes narrowing in focus. Her arms and legs were sore, and she didn't know how much longer she was going to last. But whatever it was, she had to finish what she started.

For now, all she could do was hang back and collect herself. All the same, she watched Hanabi, preparing to ready herself for whatever she would do next.

[Scourger X]

Hanabi was getting way more of a fight than she bargained for, At first she underestimated her opponent, big mistake, the few times Marzia had control she wasn't really able to do much about it. Right now she was exhausted, in the run, about to be cornered by the other wrestler. She could see that Marzia really wasn't that good either right now, it seemed like both of them were about to run out of fuel, Hanabi knew that she needed to do something to secure her win.

For now, her body was so tired, her mind also was bleary that the only immediate thought in her head was to talk. "Gotta hand it to you, Marzia-chan, when we stood up in this ring I thought that for my first match, they would put me with a total pushover, and when i saw you, I thought you were that pushover..." Hanabi actually backed down to the turnbuckle while speaking to the small wrestler in front of her.

"When I asked for your help in the middle of the fight, I knew you would show me your moves, because you seemed like the kind of person who helps when it's asked for..." While she didn't thought that Marzia would suddenly attack, the rookie still kept her guard up in case either one of them decided to finish this. "And now I see that you really worked hard to be where you are..."

Hanabi's purple eyes looked sincere, while her objective was to delay the confrontation, her words where the truth, and even if she was catching her breath and looking for a way to strike back she also loosened up. "I can see by your mannerism that you also think little of your abilities, but I'm honest when I tell you that a real pushover would''ve been unable to corner me like you did" With the last of her motivational speech, she now thought of walking slowly to the direction of Marzia. "If you believed a little more in yourself, maybe I would've been tapping out since the beginning of this"

And fiinally, she ran to her foe, in her last attempts to fight her with strength and decide the victor. "I'll make you see that I'm also a fighter to be reckoned with!!!"

[CaptainL]

With her eyes focused on her opponent, Marzia leaned forward, an arm wrapped around her stomach as she caught her breath. With both her and Hanabi needing to stop to collect themselves, they both had the time to reflect on what had led them to this point. Marzia, too, had gone into this match underestimated by what her opponent was capable of; when Hanabi seemed to be baffled by the very concept of a submission match despite being entered in one, Marzia was sure she wouldn't put up a fight at all. But not only had she learned quickly with a few pointers from Marzia, she had made a strong recovery, and now, she was putting the Italian girl on the ropes! Marzia would never have known it at the start, but she was truly getting into a match that would test the limits of her ability.

Now, with both girls gasping for breath, it would come down to this. They could only see who would break first.

As Hanabi shared a few words, Marzia stood listening. She bowed her head in deference; she blushed for a moment and averted her gaze as Hanabi described thinking she was a pushover at first. Certainly, Marzia herself often struggled with the same thoughts and fears. But as she went on, hearing how Hanabi had faith in her abilities, she looked back at her, and her smile grew a little wider.

Hanabi was right. Marzia had risen to the challenge and shown Hanabi her true potential, and the purple-haired girl believed in her! Even if she didn't believe in herself, there was someone out there who did. The blush faded from her face, and she straightened her stance, now standing tall to lock eyes with her foe. Marzia felt a second wind come over her, one fueled by Hanabi's words. There was no holding back. She knew she had to be everything Hanabi hoped she'd be!

"You're right," Marzia said. "I...really don't think all that much of my skills. Even if I've been doing this a long time, even if I've gotten to where I am now...I've never had the best of luck. I doubt myself a lot. I feel like I'm not worthy, sometimes. But...you know, I thought the same about you, at first. When you didn't know anything about submissions, I thought this was a joke. That they'd just taken pity on me and given me a newcomer who didn't know what she was doing. But now...now, I know better! You've shown me you have what it takes, and you've given me a run for my money. So when you say such things..." Marzia balled one fist, pounding it into the open palm of her other hand. "When you say such things, I know that you mean it, because I've felt the same thing firsthand! And if you feel about me the same way I feel about you...then I know I can do it! And I'm going to prove that!"

A confident grin crossed Marzia's face now, as she followed Hanabi's lead in walking back to the center of the ring. All the fatigue in her seemed to have faded; now, there was only the determination to prove herself. She leaned in closer, putting up her hands, as she offered to lock up one last time in a test of strength!

[Scourger X]

Right after that heartfelt exchange, Hanabi clenched her teeth so she could bring her final efforts against Marzia. Grin in face, she came at her opponent and friend for their conclusive battle of attrition. Even if she still was to exhausted to try and do something fancy, Hanabi wasn't dumb muscle, no. She was trying to push her rival to the turnbuckle with the little amounts of force she could afford herself to use , if only to corner her.

Her next move would be determined depending on her success, or her failure in overpowering Marzia.

[CaptainL]

The two women linked up in the center of the ring, as their hands met one another. They grabbed at each other's palms and laced their fingers, going face to face with equal force. Their positions were mirrored, bent in closer and locking eyes; neither wanted to back down, and neither wanted to let the other surpass them. Marzia, for sure, didn't. She knew she couldn't. She had to give it her all - and she clenched her teeth and narrowed her brow as her face grew red from the strain, fighting as hard as she could to overpower Hanabi.

Each push, pull, and shove was countered by one in tune, as both wrestlers refused to be moved. Marzia dug her heels into the ground, trying to stay fixed in place, as her muscles tensed and the sweat beaded on the back of her neck. It felt like an eternity until such a deadlock would be broken - but Hanabi would be the one to do it, and Marzia soon found herself being steered toward the corner, as the purple-haired girl pushed her back inch by inch, her feet skidding across the canvas.

Marzia froze for just a second, only to retaliate with a harder shove to try and resist. She puffed out her cheeks, holding in a breath as she leaned in toward Hanabi with her body trembling; she wouldn't let this keep her down!

[Scourger X]

There it was, Hanabi just started to make her rival back down, she thought that she might be able to defeat her there by cornering her. Instead of that, the other fighter found her deep strength and putted an end to her advances, instead, Hanabi was suddenly unable to make Marzia yield.

How was she still able to pull that off in her state?!

Hanabi started to get scared because the italian girl still had strength in her. This caused her to think quickly on how to save herself from this predicament. She decided to stand back down rapidly like she did at the start of the match, only this time Marzia knew about this little trick. The rookie could only hope for it to work once again to unbalance her rival.

If it didn't work a second time? then Hanabi would still be at a disadvantage in this match, in a point where advantage meant everything...