Yuki Kazikura vs. Angelina Tarrant

[CaptainL]

It hurt. That much was clear enough. Her throat was burning; even now it spasmed against all the punishment it had endured, forcing Yuki to gasp and gag to keep the air down in her lungs, and thanks to the blood in her eyes she couldn't even see where she was going; everything was a blur of red and black. As soon as the ref was out of the picture, Angelina Tarrant had been quick to establish herself as one of the deadliest and most ruthless opponents Yuki had ever had to contend with - and the price of underestimating her threat was quickly catching up to her. However, Yuki knew she couldn't lose hope now. She needed to prove she was stronger than this - if the universe was going to put her up against greater and greater threats, she needed to rise to each one, no matter what it took! The last thing she could do was to accept defeat, and she was going to resist even to the end!

They had blended together into a blur of red, black, and yellow as they went rolling across the ring. Their bodies pressed into each other, bucking with their hips and shoulders to try and shake each other off, but their legs tangled together, grasping at each other like pythons in order to anchor themselves in place. The whole time, though, Yuki never changed her strategy - she held as tightly as she could to Angelina's wrist, her knuckles blanching under the pressure of her own grip, and her other arm flung punch after punch along her sides, desperate to inflict as much damage as possible. At last, they spilled out from beneath the rope, dropping to the floor below. With both girls going outside of the ring, the two landed on their sides - yet even as Yuki's clenched teeth rattled from the force of the impact, she kept up her volley of blows, determined to pay Angelina back for all the pain she'd caused her! The crowd was cheering for her to keep the pressure on her foe as much as they were cheering for the redhead to get loose, but Yuki didn't hear any of it. She was lost in a bout of bloodlust, focused only on making sure Angelina hurt!

Even as Yuki felt the shifting of her opponent's body beneath her, with Angelina kicking and bucking to free her legs, she only tightened her grip even further on the redhead, practically burying her nails into the skin of her arm now. Her fist whipped in all directions, trying to keep up with the motions Angelina took as she fought to straighten herself, and she heaved for breath the more she exerted herself. Blinded by her own blood, Yuki couldn't hope to aim anything, but she wanted to make everything she could count!

Yuki fought valiantly, but in the end, it was inevitable. Angelina had gotten her legs out from around Yuki's, and her knees on the ground beneath her, giving her the leverage to roll herself upward - and bringing Yuki up to her knees as well. The Japanese girl felt her hold on Angelina's wrist slipping with the shift in their altitude, but she grabbed for her arm nonetheless, looking for something, anything, to hold onto, and she threw as many punches as she could manage even as her motions grew slower and sloppier with her dwindling stamina. And then, with another tug, Angelina pulled herself to her feet, the momentum dropping Yuki onto her back. At last, unable to keep up, her free arm fell at her side - and then, Angelina brought up her foot to slam a stomp straight down into her opponent's gut!

Yuki let out a scream, her hips lifting off the ground and her spine bending in an arc as she spasmed from the pain. Now, it was Angelina's turn to dominate! She wouldn't stop there; she kept hammering away at Yuki with stomp after stomp, each shot causing the girl to twitch and flail in a desperate, but hopeless, attempt to hold her off. Her screams grew louder and louder, and she gasped with the air knocked out of her lungs; her throat was burning and her stomach grew sore as a bruise formed beneath Angelina's stomps. She could no longer hold onto Angelina's arm, but even as her other hand fell at her side, the Marauder kept things coming! Yuki didn't know what she could do - all she knew was that this had to stop, and she would do whatever she could to make that happen!

At last, when Yuki bucked upward one more time, she kicked her legs in the air, attempting to draw on enough momentum to knock Angelina's foot off of her. Hopefully, that would get the redhead to step back, while Yuki's legs and hips continued to arc over her upper body in a jackknife motion. But she wasn't reeling in pain. This was a directed move, a display of resistance - when she brought those legs back down, they would kick forward to try and drive the soles of her boots into Angelina's stomach, hoping to knock her backward into the barricade!

[Monsy]

Every punch to her side was like a shallow shiv against her strength. The two had scrambled in what was becoming a disorienting death roll. For however long it went on, getting struck, continuing to toss and absorb what was given, Angelina was running on fumes and whispers. A little further. Another second. It’s only pain. You’ve already come this far. Tried this hard. Shame that grit and guile doesn’t matter when you fall. Everything throbs. You feel hollow, nauseous on the inside. Objects spin and exhaustion yanks itself around the limbs like chains, fastening her to the ground. Then to be punched continuously at the same time?! This woman was a machine. Something possessed. It was a hard pill to gorge on that she likely wouldn’t have lasted. Her strength was on tethers. The attempts to scramble free were punished, again and again. “K-h…”

So reddened was her side and punch-addled, mounted with her fall, she felt almost like a child again, tearing up from the overwhelming sensations. Each knuckled rippled against her skin, even as she got her legs free, knees underneath. She had about every urge to fall over and just sulk for a while. It would’ve been the comfortable option, if not for the burning rage to one-up this superhuman-endurance bitch. What kind of story would that be?! That proverbial trophy on the shelf, notch on the resume and jewel for her necklace. She wanted; needed it. This woman was becoming a prize in itself. And Angelina couldn’t forgive herself if she didn’t have it. It was just dragging herself there. Climbing up to her feet through fists and head-spins was like peeling back her fingernails. But once she did, everything was better. Her boot brought that wish all the closer. One after another yielded sweet screams of progress.

Another. Again. One more time. Yet again. It was automatic. She drove herself towards continued exhaustion just to continue driving her sole into that stomach. To pay back all those fists in double. Destroy any hopes of getting up again. It became so growl-infested with each stomp, spit flinging between her teeth as she drilled. Her knee raised higher and it was starting to take longer to reset. That focus was dwindling; tunnel-vision-ed, sighting only red, and watching nothing else but her leg work.

It only took a second. Yuki’s buck drove her into a heavy step back, her spine curled back as she was about to fall, then she doubled over as two feet piledrive-d into her stomach. “PUGGGGHHH!!” Might as well have been impaled. It shocked through her abdomen, back and sent her whipping into the barricade and causing the section to slide an inch. Her back stiffened against it, the back of her skull cracking off it to send her conscious spinning. “Eaaauhhhhh…” She blinked rapidly, then slowed. Her shoulders slumped as she sat propped up against the steel. Then she drooped to one side, curling and falling. A wad of drool snaked out her mouth and dropped. “W-wa…oah.”

She looked towards the black floors she was about to kiss, then threw her arm back, catching the top of the barricade. Her face now hovered. She was hardly upright. Her free arm folded across her stomach. Coughs drizzled, her mouth felt dry despite how she drooled idly. Sweat was dripping off her forehead and off her chin. Hair stuck to the side of her face. She panted like a dog. Everything hurt, from her head to her stomach and especially her ankle. There was simply no immediate answer to this. “N-Need.. hah… Time…” She whispered, peering over at Yuki’s state to see if she’d need to pull magic out of her ass just to raise fists anytime soon.

But for the moment when both were down, they got to relish in split-cheers, each side calling on their fighter to get up and carry on. Was it favouritism? Or mutual commendation? Things have slowed, at least for the second, that she got to wonder that. But - it was discarded the second after. Who cares?

[CaptainL]

At last, with Angelina being flung off of her, Yuki finally had a chance to breathe. It was going to take her a while to get up - at first, she lay right where she was, splayed out on her back. Her whole midsection felt like it was on fire, the pain still lingering even after Angelina was off her tail. Her stomach churned, and her body felt hot. Her face was red, streaked with blood and sweat; her eyes were glazed over; and her hair lay around her in a tangle as her arms and legs splayed out limp and heavy at her sides. One of her shoulder straps had slipped down off its perch, and a corner of her skirt was folded up around her hip. She blinked a few times, trying to clear away the blood from her eyes, but it still wasn't doing her much good. The whole world around her seemed like it was spinning, and her body was too heavy to move.

But then, slowly but surely, Yuki began to rise. Groaning and shuddering, she rose herself up into a seated position, where the weight of her own tired body kicked in, causing her to lurch forward as her shoulders dipped low and her head hung down. Her ribs and back moved in and out with each gasp she took. Yuki's stamina and her determination had carried her through her brawl with Angelina, but she had burned through all of those reserves, and now, she barely had enough left in her to hold her head up. Slowly, she raised a hand to wipe the blood away from her eyes, and as she blinked a few more times, she could finally see the scene before her from between the sweat-soaked strands of hair that dangled over her face. But her arm dropped at her side like a lead weight a moment later all the same, too tired to keep steady.

As Yuki collected herself, though, hearing the cheers and seeing the signs proclaiming her name shoot up all around the crowd, she began to focus on what she saw. Her breaths slowed, and she lifted her head higher. She might have been down, she might have been pushed up against her limit, but so was Angelina. The redhead lay in a crumpled heap against the barricade, just as weary and winded; it was only her grip on the barricade that was keeping her up. It would all be a matter of who could recover first - but with both women at their limits, that could be all they needed to turn the tide of this match. If Angelina was in this state...then Yuki could still win. Here at the end, she could turn it all around!

Sucking in a breath, Yuki clenched her fists, summoning all the strength she had in her. She pulled one foot under her, and then the other. Then, her legs shuddering and shaking with each passing second, she hoisted herself up little by little, until at last she was on her feet again! Seeing Yuki even find it in her to get back up made the fans let out another cheer. But she wasn't done yet. She still had to take Angelina out. She still had to win!

The dark-haired girl came plodding across the floor to close in on Angelina. Each step she took was a heavy, stiff one, her body lurching like a zombie. At one point, she had to stop to clutch at her shoulder, doubling over at the waist and panting to get the air back in her lungs. But she shook herself back out all the same. No matter how hard it was, no matter how much it hurt...she still had to do this. She had to keep moving forward!

At last, she came up against the barricade, face to face with her opponent. She began to sink a little lower, her feet drifting apart. One arm wrapped around her side, trying to soothe her stomach, and one eye tensed in a wince against the pain that wracked her body even now. For a time, she was silent, staring down into Angelina's eyes. But she swallowed a gulp of air, and she stood back up straight, firming herself up in preparation for her next move. She drew one leg back - and flung it forward, aiming a knee right into Angelina's sternum! With the Marauder up against the barricade, the blow was sure to knock her back into it, causing it to land with even greater force!

[Monsy]

The thing about hitting your limit…
Once you hit that floor, you can only recharge. Scrape yourself from whatever hole you found yourself in. For nothing truly gets more exerted, but simply reset, back to that floor. It didn’t matter how it manifested. Anything was better than nothing. Whether it was showing her teeth one last time, an acrobatic flip or simply watching her opponent through sticky hair needles. How they rose and clopped. Dragged themselves. It was like watching herself earlier in this match, when she took that brain buster and still gave herself in that showtime kick. Now, it was Yuki’s turn to stun Angelina into nothing short of pure bewilderment. Angelina could hardly find the energy to stop herself from drooling, let alone stand. There was no contest on who got to their feet first. Angelina wasn’t even sure if hers worked anymore.

Angelina pulled on the barricade, getting herself into an upright sitting position. Every inch they neared, Angelina felt herself sinking deeper. But it was like scraping on a smooth surface, trying to find a grain to lock her fingernail on. She bit into her lip, pulling and clenching until it seemed like she could break skin. Closer they neared. Had they not both been spent, then Angelina would’ve been in dread. Why was standing like trying to push yourself onto a blunt knife? It was like her head and shoulders gained three hundred pounds and she had to fight it.

All this effort couldn’t go to waste. The games she played were art. The earlier promise. Losing was everything; just as winning. And if she was to teach by example. Then, she’d need to match them, even if they were defenceless. Thus, one leg folded in and she wedged her knee underneath her and fought herself to be joined by the other. She looked up, meeting their stare. Angelina worked up a defiant growl, her whole body trembling, a whine as she got her feet underneath her and overexerted to try and stand. Nothing much came of it. She was still slumped, with her shoulders just over the top rail, leaning back, arms hooking over the rail. “What now?”

A second later. Angelina screamed, “UUGHK-” Her breath cut short, spat, with hardly any wind left to spare. Her body seemed to deactivate afterward. The force prompted her to reel, with her feet leaving the ground. Her spine curled over the railing, her hair first to spill into the stands, then her dead look, paralyzed. Then she just slunk over, like a snake following its body and slapping on the other side. She was a pile of limbs, sweaty with clothes sticking to her back. Eyes hardly open, not blinking. Glossy lips kissing the ground, with little pebbles and dirt sticking. She rolled onto her stomach, first two hands, then her knees, pushing up with one shoulder dipped further than the other. Then she crawled, dragging hand by hand, knee by knee. Neither did she look where she was going, except the feeling of steps as she looked between her hands, watching her fingers curl and shake. Hissing as each long draw aggravated her aching ribs, and wincing when each hard jostle pricked her headache. Just a little further.

[CaptainL]

With what seemed to be the last of her strength, Angelina gripped tenaciously to the barricade, pulling herself up along it, enough to look Yuki in the eye. For a moment, the two of them stood there, staring each other down. Yuki didn't know how long it took, and she could have convinced herself it was an eternity that she stood there, her eyes locked on the redhead's, with none of them ever even blinking. Her chest and shoulders rose and fell as she panted for breath, her lungs still ragged from the beating she'd endured - and all the screams that were ripped from her lungs in the process. But sooner or later, Yuki knew she needed to strike. Her body was stiff, her motions were labored - but she still cracked a kick out right into Angelina's chest, and with a clang, the Marauder was flung backward into the cold steel of the barricade, drawing a few groans from sympathetic fans at ringside. More than that, as she slipped back futher and further, her balance began to shift - until at last she spilled over the top of the barricade, collapsing into a heap on the other side.

Yuki's legs buckled at the knees from the moment she set both feet back on the ground. She teetered over forward, but managed to shoot out with her hands to grab the barricade, keeping herself upright - but even then, she bent over the edge, her breaths coming in hot, hoarse pants. Everything around her was a blur, and her body was sore from both what Angelina had done to it and what she herself had forced herself through. One eye tightened into a squint, and her teeth clenched in a grimace. But Yuki knew it wasn't over yet. No matter how much it hurt, there was something deep within her that told her as much - this match wouldn't be over until she had proven she could keep Angelina down, once and for all!

Suddenly, the girl's fingers squeezed tighter around the barricade, forcing it to bear her weight. Then, pressing off the ground, she swung herself through the air and over the edge, all but vaulting over the barricade into the crowd section! The fans gasped at such a display of agility from Yuki, even when she seemed to be at her wit's end. But they were soon to clear out of the way, rushing backward to give the two combatants some space - Yuki went to crash down on top of Angelina, where she would straddle her on the ground, drawing back her fist to rain down punch after punch on her face from above!

[Monsy]

A giant bruise-feeling swelled across her chest. Her lungs felt popped.
It was more like she occupied a corpse than a living, functional body. She felt strangely cold, longing for the comforts of a lonely bed. And while she begged for vapours, her opponent seemed to catch a wind and raged towards her like a bull. Hardly a finger was raised to even object as Angelina was flattened what felt like concrete made of thumbtacks. Her arms splayed out like a half-flexed wingspan, palms pointed up, fingers partially curled. Dizzy in the eyes, sighting double, that first shot turned it quadruple. Her face whipped to one side, cracked off her cheek bone, before being snapped the other way, and her skull pinged off the concrete beneath her head, soon, the back simply rolled on it as she took swelling punch after punch.

“PUGH!! UGH!! GAAHH!!” Spit after every throw. The punishment to her mouth made her tongue feel metallic. She hardly smelled anymore. Her legs kicked, trembled and stomped. Screams turned to shrieks. Was she ready to cry, or was that a new cut over her eye? Both are true. She was breathing like an overheated dog, trying to catch-up.

At last, the survival instinct clicked.
Her arms whipped up and tried to catch one of Yuki’s fists, two applied to one. Then she opened her maw and snapped at it, hoping to chomp down onto Yuki’s knuckle, with snarls and drool just to bring out the heart-punching adrenaline. If she could find purchase, she then stomped with both feet and scooted them towards a few chairs, where her hands zipped to grasp the chilled-metal chair legs around her fingers, clasp, then swing the steel object in hopes to crash it into Yuki’s head!

[CaptainL]

From her mounted position atop Angelina's hips, Yuki could see the punishment she was inflicting on the girl. She watched the blue and purple marks grow across her face, and the blood that began to trickle out of the corner of her mouth. She bit her lip, a shudder running down her spine - Yuki had been at the receiving end of plenty of relentless beatdowns before, and she had more injuries on her record than she would've liked to admit. To inflict all of this on another competitor felt perverse. She wasn't like that, she told herself; she was better than that, more principled and composed.

But against Angelina, that wouldn't matter. No matter what, she needed to prove to the world she was made of tougher stuff than she'd led everyone to believe. She needed to go hard on her, just to demonstrate she had it in her - that she could survive against a truly merciless opponent. And Angelina had more than proven that not only was she not going to go down easily, she was going to use any dirty trick at her disposal to all but murder Yuki in the ring if she was given the chance. No matter how much she winced at the sight of what she was forcing her body to do, Yuki couldn't hold back. It was the only way, and Angelina would do the same to her if she had the advantage!

At last, the redhead made her move. Her hands shot up, grabbing Yuki by the wrist just before her fist could come down again across Angelina's cheek. Yuki barely had any time to let out a gasp before her foe raised her head, and sank her teeth down into her skin! Once again, the limits of Angelina's brutality had taken Yuki by surprise, and she was left recoiling, letting out a shrill scream as she drew her fist back to rub at the wound. Her opponent was more akin to a wild animal than a person, and now her teeth had broken the skin over Yuki's knuckle, letting a few droplets of crimson trickle down along her glove.

But that was only the beginning! While Yuki scrambled backward to nurse her injuries, crouched on the ground, Angelina was able to grab for a nearby chair, hoisting it over her head. When Yuki looked up, it was to see that same chair being flung forward, on a collision course with her head! Her jaw dropped in a gasp as she saw it coming closer and closer. She tried to push her feet off the ground, attempting to get out of the way. But it was too late - the chair came crashing down across her head, knocking her backward as a loud metallic CLANG rang out through the arena!

Yuki fell into a daze. Her vision was swimming, and her skull was pounding. She could barely focus on one thing when the world around her was spinning too fast for her to keep track of. Groggily, she began to stumble back, up until she fell against the barricade. Her arms hooked over the top of the railing, and her feet slipped out from under her, leaving her dangling as her head hung low and limp.

[Monsy]

It was a blizzard of agony. Hot pain, numbing, the type that made her feel cold. That her heart-rate hurt on each rapid thump as her senses go haywire. There was little adrenaline to hide behind. Every knuckle was felt, compounded. She didn’t even want to move her jaw to speak, or open her eyes. But that would’ve been too easy. No, no, it would’ve been insulting. Quit now before her body gave up on itself - would just be disingenuous to the goal she set for herself. How far can she push?

So as she gripped that wrist and sank her teeth into it, she peered with rage and wet eyes. Teeth against the glove and skin. A chomp to end the offence. At long last. But that wasn’t the end of what she felt needed. No, now they needed to know that THIS animal wasn’t just surviving by the skin of its remaining teeth, but willing to give her every drop of malice. The chair was just a wondrous tool, one that sang across the skull. Angelina laid back down after the smack, then onto her side. She breathed so heavy, she looked close to choking. A wad of blood-spit was shot at the ground, her reddened teeth grit as she lifted her head, and looked to Yuki, hissing. Both hands pushed on the canvas after she rolled to her stomach. One knee after the other slid underneath, attrited by the tremble in each limb.

“The rabid dog in ya doesn’t come out often, huh?” A smile peeped, snickering, “That’s just….. great.” She was just as compelled to cry, but when the dimes fell, there was only a sense of amusement to it. Like hell she’d allow them to see that.

She pushed off, slammed a foot down and found her second, stumbling back. Her head movement was off any hinges of her neck, and her shoulders dipped where her body leaned - steps were crisscrossed, almost drunken as she grabbed a chair, spun around and strode forward and adjusted it ahead of Yuki. “Keep that up and I might just love ya.” the idea of beating you blue, more like.

Then she retreated, framing Yuki’s head with her index and thumbs. Smugness swept her face again, and she stuck her tongue out the corner to concentrate. The crowd dispersed more as Angelina created her run-way, kicking over more chairs before squatting down to a runner’s start. After a deep breath, she erupted with her sprint, one foot chasing the other. One-two-One-Two. That rhythm, needing to go faster, the rush of running came back and breathed life into her hurting frame and spirit. One foot kissed the seat of her placed seat and she flew, tucking up her knees and going head over heels. Both feet piled into one. Hair frenzied like a wild flame. And when the timing was just perfect, her feet kicked together, and aimed to bludgeon Yuki in the head like two industrial pistons hitting her at once!

[CaptainL]

Yuki knew that Angelina would prove to be a ruthless and merciless foe, one who would have no qualms about not just beating her but hurting her, with no regard for any rules or code of conduct that might keep her wild impulses in check. That had already been demonstrated well enough. But if Angelina was bad enough already, nothing could hold a candle to now, when the referee was out of the picture, and her true fury could be unleashed. The redhead was quite literally fighting tooth and nail, leaving Yuki bruised and bloodied. Yuki could feel her heart skip a beat in her chest as she thought about it; as the tension set into her body, her fingers began to coil tighter around the bars of the barricade. The last time she had been up against an opponent this manic, it had been Skylar Jones - a match that had nearly killed her. Yuki didn't want to live through that again.

But now, she had little choice. She was slumped against the barricade, her shoulders rising and falling as she heaved for breath. An entire half of her head and face had gone numb, still throbbing from where Angelina had slammed a chair into her skull. She could hardly will her legs to move, or her arms to push herself back to her feet. But Angelina wouldn't stop there. She was far from done!

The joshi wrestler found just enough strength in her to lift her head, her whole body trembling as she faced Angelina down. Her eyes went wide as her face paled from the blood draining away from her cheeks when she looked out to see her opponent set the chair down. With every step backward that Angelina took, putting more distance between the two of them, Yuki could feel another hard thump in her chest, and her stomach churned with nervous energy. It wasn't that she was dreading the impact that was sure to come - although her blood ran cold nonetheless thinking of how hard Angelina was sure to strike. No, what truly chilled Yuki to the bone was the observation Angelina had made - that when forced to her limits like this, when threatened with what seemed like her very life was on the line, Yuki was willing to let her aggression loose. She had already seen what happened when she lost control, in her barbed wire match against Amano Jaku - and what she saw had terrified her. She didn't want to go back there. Not if it risked putting her back in the hospital. Not if it risked escalating things further beyond the boiling point, where it could only bring more suffering. And yet, Angelina seemed like she was going to force her!

Biting her lip, Yuki tried to shake her head, her eyes squeezed shut to try and avert her gaze from what was about to come. She didn't want to concede to Angelina's point - to even admit this could come true. But either way, Angelina struck. She leaped from the chair, launching herself clear across the floor, and her feet kicked outward to plant into Yuki's face! The Japanese girl's head whipped back as she let out a shrill scream, thrown off the barricade entirely, and going careening through the air! A few of the fans winced at the sight - especially as Yuki landed right on the steel steps leading up to the ring! With the sound of a clang, her spine bent upward into an arc and her legs kicked into the air, as another scream was ripped from her lungs!

It only lasted for a few short seconds before Yuki's whole body went limp, and she crumpled over the steps, her arms and legs hanging at her sides. Her tongue lolled out of her mouth, and her chest rose and fell with gasps for air. Even breathing too hard caused her to shudder from the pain. It was only through blurred vision, and out of the corner of her eye, that Yuki could look around - and there, she caught sight of the skateboard Angelina had rode to the ring, still leaning by the side of the ramp. A thought came to Yuki's head. She didn't ordinarily like to stoop to such lows, but if her very survival depended on it, she just might need to arm herself. The question was, could she even get to the skateboard before her body gave out?

[Monsy]

Hitting the ground again felt like multi-headed pins and serrated needles. Her body stiffened and she let her limbs flow like water. Heavy breathing was her every moment, an almost manual function, looking to the ceiling with glassy eyes. Honestly, the thought she might be turning to glass passed every second. But as her bodily limits saw her dangling off the edge, clinging to the rope of hope with her molars, she suddenly sat up. Her shoulders rocked, arms crumbled in her lap, her eyes wide, jaw hanging low with spittle on the corners. A hand reached and gripped the metal bars, a short-person prison, clawing her way up until she felt the horizontal bar curl underneath her sweat-licked fingers. She held, pulled and her body arched back, knees forward to kiss the barricade. When she leaned forward enough, she slumped, her small stomach smothering the bar. It didn’t even feel cold. More like a swampish seaweed that was sworn stiff.

She vaulted the barricade with all legs to one side, landing awkwardly to send her feet chasing its partner in dance, spinning once, then stumbling towards Yuki. One foot lifted, its heel aimed and shot for Yuki’s exposed stomach, using her as a step, “What’s the matta? Find it hard to breathe? Sad.” Her hand cocked to one side, tongue out and a finger placed underneath her right eye. It was just the gesture she needed to boost her morale. Then she continued up the steps, right to the top, reached over and grabbed two fistfuls of Yuki’s hair; tugged and tugged and tugged - all to make getting up as unpleasant as possible. “Ya know, come to think of it. I don’t even HAVE to win. I just HAVE to make sure ya can’t.”

If she could get the dynamite schoolgirl to her feet, nice and docile, she would put one hand over their shoulder, the next to the inside of their thigh, and lift with one big wrench to her woodchip spine. Her boot slid, and she nearly toppled, if not for throwing her weight forward and towards the edge of the steel steps, to which she turned to face ringside, putting Yuki’s head off the drop. I HAVE to use this. A moment’s pause took her, occupied by adjusting her already well-placed feet and finger-lock on their waist. But in the next moment, forgiveness had run dry, and she would jump off the steps.