Overcoming Fire (Hangaku vs. Yoko)

[dlamp]

Quiet. Hangaku eyes narrowed, arching her back even further as Yoko trudged the ropes. Honestly, it'd be better to ease up a little and let Yoko actually reach the ropes. It wasn't like a tap out would give Hangaku the victory anyway. But...

"Tch," Well, putting the fear of the Gods in Yoko was a little more satisfying at the moment than being strategic. And every tick of damage counted in this desperate struggle. Still, Yoko made it to the ropes after a bit more struggle. And as tempting as it was to keep the hold for the near-four count, she let go once the ref ordered it.

"Phew..." She stood up, now debating her next move. It'd be best to press the offense a little, but... No, pushing a cornered opponent, especially a larger one, was a dangerous gamble, and she wasn't going to let the momentum completely control her. She'd wait for now, backing to the center of the ring so she had some space, both for Yoko and herself as she collected her thoughts.

[Vc0m]

In the middle of the pain, Yoko forgot that the match was Pinfalls only. The rope would only serve to get the ref off her back...and if she went past the 5 count and Hangaku didn't let go?

Yoko would be left in agony. This match was also No-DQ.

And something that made Yoko feel humiliated a second later was that...she did let go. She showed mercy for her. She let her go as a warning.

Yoko grit her teeth angrily at her rival. She tried to calm down, but she was angry at being dominated so thoroughly by an opponent that she, at a point in the match, considered weaker than her.

She rose back up to her feet, and slowly closed her way to Hangaku...before trying to unleash a hard jab to her rival's face!

[dlamp]

Given the furious look on Yoko's face Hangaku was grateful she didn't push forward. The anger and fury she had from the apparent mercy did the Warrior better anyway. An angry opponent tended to be more predictable, tended to make more mistakes that she could capitalize on. And seeing the mixed array of emotions on Yoko's face, Hangaku was certain her next move would be something she could make use of.

Yoko moved slowly, likely trying to steel her nerves after the offense she had just taken, but soon moved forward, throwing out a fast jab. "!!!" It was unexpected given the woman's mood, and Hangaku just barely moved her head out of the way, Yoko's fist clipping against Hangaku's cheek and having a cut show.

"... ..." Hangaku let out a breath, narrowing her eyes forward and throwing out an elbow to try and slam into Yoko's stomach.

[Vc0m]

Her fist didn't just slam into Hangaku's face. Her knuckle cut into her flesh, creating a small cut on the lightweight's face. Yoko showed the briefest of smirks on her face...

Before Hangaku came forward, and drove her elbow hard into the blonde's stomach!

"GAAUUUUGH!!!"

Yoko doubled over, as Hangaku packed quite a lot into the attack, leaving her vulnurable for a follow up!

[dlamp]

There! The elbow strike met its mark, and the impact only had Yoko doubling over as the crowd gasped at the sight. That... was close. A moment later and it'd be Hangaku fighting to stay standing. This was starting to get more and more danger the longer the match went on. Hangaku might be able to dip, dodge, and counter a heavyweight, but a battle of attrition would be the worst case scenario. Alright then.

Hangaku pulled back, taking a quick breath before her next maneuver. She moved fast, an arm quickly starting to wrap itself around Yoko's neck to pull her in right under Hangaku's armpit. From a layman's view it'd look like a simple headlock, but any jujitsu fighter would know the setup. Hangaku's forearm would be right under Yoko's neck, and with her free hand Hangaku grabbed the sleeve of her kimono to pull up and turn that headlock into a tight and suffocating guillotine choke.

[Vc0m]

With Yoko doubled over, Hangaku quickly got to work as she wrapped her arm around the big blonde’s neck, before she fully and firmly locked in the Guillotine Choke!

”You…!!!”

She couldn’t even speak. With the blood flow to her head firmly restricted, Yoko tried as she could to stand upright…but slowly and surely, she went limp in her rival’s arms.

[dlamp]

"... ..." From the moment Hangaku locked in the Guillotine Choke it felt like everyone in the stadium was holding their breath. The crowd, Hangaku, and even Yoko (albeit not by choice). This was it, the deciding the factor. The Warrior was finally in a good position for a decisive end to the match. Now it was just a matter of praying she could keep Yoko down. And so, they waited. With quiet murmurs and hushed whispers they waited, and Hangaku could feel the sweat start to build along her forehead and back. She waited... and waited... and waited...

And then, Yoko's body started to slack.

"... ... ..." It took a second longer before Hangaku let go. She practically dropped the woman before dropping to her knees as well, gasping as she weight and pressure finally started to leave her. It... was a struggle, but she finally got there. No... it's not over yet. Her eyes went to Yoko, scanning her over before she moved forward. This fight still wasn't over, not by the match's rules anyway.

Quickly, she dragged herself over to Yoko, starting to hook her leg to make the pin official. And soon the referee came over to confirm it.

"ONE!"

[Vc0m]

Yoko slumped, half conscious from being choked out like she was by Hangaku. Life went out of her eyes and the ref thought to potentially check her arm to ensure she was awake...

...before the lightweight turned the heavyweight onto her back, trying to pin her for the 3!

"ONE!"

"TWO!"

THR---"

Yoko grimaced in rage as she practically threw Hangaku off her body to break the pin!

[dlamp]

For a moment, everything went quiet. Hangaku had the pin, and the referee moved to quickly star the count.

Finally... And Hangaku let out a small sigh of relief. A hard-fought battle about to come to a conclusion. Desperate tactics were used, hits were exchanged... and the Warrior seemed to come out on top. All that was left to do was wait for the referee to finish the count an-

"Ough!"

A violent jolt flung Hangaku off, her opponent. She took to the air from the sudden surge of energy under her, getting a loud gasp from the crowd and a near squeal from the referee as they saw the Warrior fly of the side of the ring, rolling along the canvas a good distance from Yoko as she thudded down to earth. Using the momentum from the toss, she rolled up to her knee, taking a short huff before clicking her tongue. "Dammit..."

It wasn't enough. Her chokehold was solid, but Yoko's fiery will was just a little stronger. This wasn't the end quite yet, and Hangaku's nerves steeled themselves before she shot up to her feet. She didn't hesitate. She couldn't hesitate. She shot forward, trying to knee the woman in the face while she was down. She had to truly kill the flames of her opponent fury before ending things it seemed.

[Vc0m]

Angrily, Yoko rose back up to her feet right as Hangaku tried to attack her, nail her knee across her, only for Yoko to grab her rival by her neck mid-run:

”Die…”, she would mutter angrily, gritting the word through her teeth.

She lifted her rival up, trying to drop the Warrior onto the floor with a hard Chokeslam!