Marzia Servelli [D] vs. Katsumi Oshiro

[CaptainL]

Marzia wasn't really surprised that such a rudimentary pin attempt like that proved unhelpful in keeping Katsumi down. It was simple, owing considerably to her own diminishing stamina as the match dragged on, but she figured she might actually have a chance if Katsumi was as tired out as she was. But no. Katsumi managed to buck Marzia off, sending her tumbling over on her side as she let out a low groan.

Regardless, though, that count had lasted for longer than Marzia might've anticipated. That was an encouraging thought. It seemed like Katsumi really was being worn down. But Marzia wasn't in the best of shapes herself. As soon as she felt the warm flesh of her opponent break contact with her own, she rolled over further to get away from any other potentially precarious positions, then righted herself, quickly getting up onto her hands and knees. While she panted hard, having to brush a few stray strands of hair away from her sweaty brow, she saw that Katsumi was still on her back. Maybe, she thought, that was an opportunity she could take advantage of. She started to crawl forward, slowly but with purpose in her labored strides.

[CyanDimitrik]

A little longer. Just a little longer. She needs to pool as much of her strength as she can. Katsumi shifts onto her back, almost as if playing possum for Marzia. Her chest and stomach rise and fall heavily with each breath, her eyes open but staring up at the ceiling. She may look spaced out, but she's far from it. Each movement Marzia makes towards her creates a reverberation along the ring. She's keeping track of those tremors; watching her without watching her.

When the other girl reaches her, Katsumi springs like a trapdoor spider. She rolls towards her, aiming to catch her neck under her left arm, her left knee in her right arm, and scissor her right knee with her legs, before thrusting herself back over to attempt rolling Marzia into a surprise small package pin!

[CaptainL]

Sure enough, Katsumi managed to get Marzia while her guard was down. The Italian didn't suspect a thing as she came in closer and closer, only for the truth to hit her when her guard was down and she least expected it. Katsumi was upon her in a moment, sending Marzia straight onto her back with a yelp as she was caught by surprise.

"One!" the ref counted.

But, as had saved her life multiple times this match, the ropes were right there, ready for Marzia to avail herself of. The pin attempt wasn't even bothering her much any more, now that this had become routine. All it was doing was slowing her down, and making her more and more frustrated. But she could use that to her benefit. The more this dragged on, the more she'd get fed up with Katsumi for continuing to try this. And the more she hated her, the more she'd want to fight. She reached out and grasped the ropes, drawing another cry from the referee to break up the pin. But Marzia didn't stop there, as she began to pull herself up using the ropes, holding onto them tight as she got to her feet and pulling them taught behind her. Using the ropes like a sling, Marzia threw herself forward with a knee raised, hoping to drive it into Katsumi as she was getting up. It was a long shot, but if it did hit, it'd hit hard, she thought.

[CyanDimitrik]

Katsumi held the pin tight, and she was pretty confident in how well she'd secured her dark-haired opponent! But the referee once again interferes, calling for a rope-break. "Wha- come on!," she shouts. She disengages and tumbles back from Marzia to end on her knees. She couldn't see whether or not Marzia actually had the rope from the angle they'd been in, their limbs all a-tangle. All she could go on was the referee's word. Naturally, that's not satisfying for the young Punk Princess.

"Count the pins! It's what you're paid to do!"

"She had the ropes!"

"You gave her the rope!"

"Never!"

Katsumi turns to Marzia as she resumed her raise, only to find a knee thrust towards her. It slams hard into her chest, knocking Katsumi back down to the mat with enough force to tumble her over onto her front. A ragged cough escapes her, her hands planting to the mat in hopes of raising before Marzia has a chance to take advantage of her. Progress is slow, though. She's painfully aware of every second it takes her to gather herself.

[CaptainL]

The odds played in Marzia's favor, as it became apparent that Katsumi was going to be too focused in her ever-intermittent battle with the ref girl to pay any heed to what her opponent was doing. In a weird way, Marzia had to be thankful for how petulant Katsumi was in contesting the ref's decisions. It might not have been very sportswomanlike - Marzia had no idea how they even let her get away with it - but it did lend her golden opportunities like this one.

The Punk Princess ended up flat on the mat, and even as Marzia picked herself up from the ground, she could see her struggling to rise. Evidently this match was wearing on her just as much as it was on Marzia. But the Italian could use that. The match was dragging on long enough as it was. Now, it was time to end it, before the last of Marzia's strength gave out.

Bending down, she grabbed Katsumi by the wrist, pulling up on it to drag her to her feet roughly. Not giving Katsumi any chances to gain her bearings, Marzia grabbed her to pull her into a bear hug, squeezing down on her back and sides as hard as she could. It might not have been the most flashy of holds, but Marzia was too tired herself to want to do anything fancy at this point. And more to the point, it should be enough to do the job. Those were the thoughts running through Marzia's head as she gave a few tight squeezes to Katsumi. She was all set now, and there was nothing that could go wrong. Right?

[CyanDimitrik]

Katsumi's arm is taken, and she's drawn up to her feet again. Her legs wobble a little upon standing, but as it turns out, she doesn't need to rely on her own feet to stand. Soon enough, her bare waist is pressed into Marzia's the other girl's arms biting down on her ribs and spine. "Aah-!," Katsumi cries, her head tipping back. Every breath she takes mashes her body tight to her captor, straining to get a proper lungful as the pressure mounts.

Her eyes squeeze shut, and that pesky referee-girl hovers in close. "Do you give up?"

"Ahn..! No..!"

She shakes her head firmly, her hands planting first to Marzia's biceps. Teeth gritting, she refocuses her eyes on Marzia's face. Her opponent may seem to have the upper-hand, and Katsumi's compressed midsection will likely agree with that for now, but she's been in this position before. "Hanh!" Her arms suddenly loop Marzia's waist over her arms, not trying to break away from her. The smooth muscle along her arms flex as she squeezes, and she presses herself into Marzia a little more to try and gain leverage.

Then suddenly, everything might go very wrong for the Italian. She attempts to force Marzia a little off her feet, and with a quick torque, pop into the air and turn over to drive her down back-first against the mat in the Shutdown finisher, a belly-to-belly suplex slam ending with Katsumi's body landing squarely atop her!

[CaptainL]

Marzia had done it. She knew it. She could feel her heart beating faster within her chest, the anticipation building as the thought that she had won her first match in LAW came to the forefront of her mind. A smile started to grow across her face, the thought of her imminent triumph feeling sweet. But of course, she couldn't let it go that far to her head, since she still had to keep up the hold. She had no intent of letting Katsumi win this.

Of course, that didn't end up as well as Marzia had expected. At first, she didn't even notice Katsumi starting to get into position to reverse the hold on her, still focused intently on punishing the girl and getting her to tap. But then, she started to notice herself being pulled in closer against Katsumi, and it broke her concentration. As Marzia flinched, she started to withdraw her hold, which only gave Katsumi more room to steer this situation towards her favor. Her eyes went wide, and she started to tremble, unaware of what would come next to her. Though Marzia shivered from the squeeze to her ribs, it was nothing compared to what would come next.

She hit the mat hard, with Katsumi on top of her, and the blow left her coughing and stunned, as much from the psychological shock of having victory snatched out of her grasp as from the physical blow. Her mind was still racing in an attempt to process the true nature of what had just happened to her. She was in denial. She should have won, she thought. There was no way this could be happening to her.

[CyanDimitrik]

The ring shudders under the impact of their combined weight slamming into the mat! Immediately upon settling on Marzia's body, she quickly throws the other girl's arms off from her waist. Her left forearm presses against the Italian's cheek to shove her face down to the side. Her right hand grabs ahold of Marzia's left bicep to hold her down. Her back arches, pressing her body tight along her shorter opponent's while raising her shoulders and head to complete the pin in dominant poise. It's an eyeful for the audience.

The referee girl drops beside the pair and shoots Katsumi a brief, but reluctant look. Her hand raises and swings down...

"One!"

[CaptainL]

With how she had been left stunned, it wouldn't be very hard for Katsumi to shake Marzia off of her, no less push her head down. Marzia winced in pain, letting out a half-muffled growl through her teeth. Her cheeks started to flush red, from both the anger and exertion and from the sheer humiliation of being taken out like this. She could probably handle losing a match - even if it was her first, and in front of a crowd like this. But did Katsumi have to make such a show of it?

"Two! THREE!"

The second time the ref girl's hand slapped the canvas, the bells rang out, the sound filling the arena. It was as if all motion stopped then and there, as abruptly as the match itself had concluded.

[CyanDimitrik]

Katsumi turns her head to the referee-girl when she calls for the bell to sound off, giving a wicked smile. Oh, she knows it must burn up that poor little officiator to have to declare Katsumi the winner. She looks back down to Marzia who looks no more thrilled at the idea - in fact, she looks pissed! Delicious.

"Aww," coos Katsumi. She raises up to mount Marzia's hips, leaning down to gently pat at the girl's cheek. "You gave me a workout, and I'm not a pushover. Don't be too hard on yourself." She can afford to be a little sugary now that the bell has rung and the audience is roaring too loudly to hear anything she has to say. Katsumi, saying anything remotely encouraging to an opponent - now that would be a weird spin. But as soon as she's said what passes to her as encouragement, she's back to giving a somewhat fangy, cocky smirk.

She looks to the referee-girl and lifts her left wrist to her. Her eyebrows raise invitingly. Oh yes, she's supposed to raise Katsumi's hand in victory. The poor referee-girl clearly hates every moment of this, hesitantly reaching out to take hold of the wrist and raise her hand. The Punk Princess shuts her eyes and nods along before finally standing.