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

[Vc0m]

Chika's knee rang true as Countess fell on the floor, hands and legs sprayed out as she tried to get back to her feet, and Chika letting her. She felt a little bit sad for her opponent...but then she remembered: "Window...".

Countess continued to make bold claims...but part of Chika started to feel that they weren't for her sake...but for Dante's own! Still, as angry as Chika was...she did not want to restart cleaning the dojo over again...not until she has someone helping her that is.

"We will continue this inside of the ring. But if you attack me early again, I will make sure you will sleep for a week...", Chika would say, slowly walking backwards...not quite realizing yet that maybe this act would feed her rival's ego...

[CaptainL]

Isabella grumbled, crossing her arms. This interaction had been all she needed to confirm her impressions on Chika - she might have been able to hit hard, but those talents were wasted on her. All she was was another self-proclaimed big shot martial artist who could have ranked herself among the most formidable and deadly foes around, had she not willingly held herself back with such foolish concepts of "fairness" and "honor." Dante knew that those traits meant nothing if someone was going after you with a knife; it was only a coward who would demand such artificial terms! To make matters worse, Chika wasn't only a fraud, she had no respect for Isabella, talking down to her and belittling her even now - when she had no idea of the sort of power she could unleash! The brunette could feel her eye twitching as she stared after Chika making her way to the ring. She knew she was going to have to set things straight!

Luckily, Isabella had a plan for how she would achieve just that. She rolled into the ring, clamboring to her feet - where she crossed her arms and stared Chika down with a cold, defiant stare. "ENOUGH!!" she proclaimed. "If you insist on conducting this battle on your terms, then I'll see to such terms. But if you still continue to mock me...I see I must show you just how strong I am! For that reason...I will break my warrior code just once and let you strike me first! You'll see how ineffective any attack you can imagine will be!" She stepped forward, puffing out her chest and holding her fists clenched at her sides. She fully believed she could take anything Chika would throw out - and it would prove she was a force to be reckoned with!

[Vc0m]

Thankfully, it seemed like Counteess would finally follow the Raven Knight's instruction...even though she wasn't pleased at doing this. In fact, she saw Chika's actions as belittling Dante! But Chika wasn't doing that. She was just very angry.

...which is why she smirked at Dante allowing her to get a free shot on her.

"Is that so?"

Chika gave it a thought. Part of her wanted for her first "shot" to count. She could go straight to her trusty Raven's Claw to knock the Countess out, and then wake her up and force her to help...but Chika then felt she didn't want to be this cruel to the woman. She came to challenge her and...even if she despised her methods, she still felt she deserved a fair shot.

So she started with something simple. She rushed to the ropes behind her, rebounded, and ran towards Isabella at top speed, extending her leg to the side as she tried to catch Isabella with a Leg Lariat!

[CaptainL]

Isabella stood firm, her modest chest puffed out and her chin turned to the sky. She could tell that Chika had little faith in her - no doubt underestimating her based on her small size; little did she know the sheer deadly power she held! But she was out to prove a point. When she was able to withstand whatever move her opponent threw at her, it would silence any doubts she had! It would prove she was every bit deserving of the title of Deadliest Woman Alive, and it would make Chika think twice about treating her so flippantly!

However...when she saw Chika bounce off the ropes, a fracture began to form in the Countess's smug attitude. Her eyelid began to twitch when she saw her charge, propelling herself forward on all the momentum of the rebound. She was moving incredibly fast, and with more force than Isabella was prepared for. Even she didn't know if she was going to be able to take it head-on. So, instead, at the last minute, she would hop to the side, looking to dodge! She'd never said she was going to sit still, after all. And agility could prove just as worthwhile as endurance in a fight! So it wasn't like she had lied or anything!

"A worthy effort!" Isabella boasted, dusting her hands off as she came to a stop. "But I'm afraid it doesn't stand a chance of besting me!" She bit at the inside of her cheek and sucked in a breath, trying to keep a cool head. Hopefully, Chika wouldn't think to call her out on what she'd done. But she had to admit, she was keeping her on her toes, more so than she would like.

[Vc0m]

"Tch!", Chika let out in disappointment. She should've known Dante wouldn't play fair, she jumped her already! Slowly, but surely, her anger began to build up for the Countess, angry at how she acted in spite of wanting a fair fight...and this was appearing more and more on her face as her antics continued:

"Oh does it now? How about this?!"

Chika stepped forward for something much simpler, as she tried to ram her forearm across the blonde's chest!

[CaptainL]

Isabella needed a moment to suck in a breath after she narrowly dodged Chika's last strike. For all her threatening bravado, it had dawned on her that her opponent was a threat worth taking seriously - the aggression with which she hurled herself headlong at her foe was proof enough of that, and when she had hit, she'd hit harder than the Countess would have liked! She clenched her teeth, her brow furrowing and her fists clenching tight as she looked back at Chika through narrowed eyes. Now, she knew, the Countess had to focus everything she could on survival. Maybe she'd gotten a little ahead of herself in picking this fight. But she couldn't stop to regret her decisions now. She had to fight back - it was all the more important that she win now, considering she had already promised she could beat anyone! The last thing she wanted was to make herself look like a fool!

But as quick as Isabella had been able to dodge Chika's last blow, she wouldn't be so lucky the next time - as the Raven Knight ran in again to connect a forearm across her chest! This time, Isabella didn't even have the chance to bring up her guard before the blow hit its mark. She was thrown back in an arc, coughing and wheezing as the air was knocked out of her lungs. Her legs paddled backward, and her arms swung in an arc through the air as her jaw dropped open in a gasp. As she teetered back and forth, it was all too clear to the Countess that she could lose her balance at any moment...

But she wouldn't let that happen! If there was one lesson she'd learned about martial arts, it was that any motion could alter the flow of a fight - but the fighters themselves could decide how so. She was going to try and direct the momentum in her favor every chance she got. As her balance shifted onto her back foot, Dante's leg swung up into the air to try and recenter the load. But while it was flying upward, she could make it double as a kick - and she would throw her foot right toward Chika's chest to try and knock the wind out of her! If anyone asked, she meant to do that!

[Vc0m]

Chika's strike rang true, and Countess would be very close to falling from a single strike...but manage to keep her balance. More than that, as she tried to regain a firm base, she forced her leg forward, managing to drive it straight into Chika's chest as she stood up straight!

"OOOOFF!", Chika stepped back, feeling the air forced out of her lungs, but managed to remain standing, smirking at the Countess's supposed creativeness...

...for that, she had to reward her with a kick of her own, swinging her leg to drive it into her rival's chest!

[CaptainL]

"HAH!!" Almost as soon as her blow had hit, Isabella's face lit up with a grin. She had done it! She'd actually managed to land a hit against her most contemptuous of foes! At this rate, she was sure it wouldn't be long before her fortune turned around. Any trouble she might have had earlier was but a minor setback - and a setback that she, as the Deadliest Woman Alive, could bounce back from with ease! Sure, she might have thrown the blow that ultimately hit Chika by complete accident, but who was counting? Now, it was well about time that Chika witnessed what power she truly commanded - she wasn't going to wait a moment to boast, as she pumped an arm in the air. "HAH!! NOW you understand the true might that a master of Dim Mak is capable of unleashing! You should consider yourself fortunate I only settled at hitting you, when such a blow to the solar plexus around 9 AM could easily-"

Isabella wouldn't have enough time to finish her sentence. Soon enough she was cut off - as Chika was about to deliver just the same sort of blow to her! When she was too caught up in her own lecture, she couldn't even see it coming, let alone defend herself. The next thing she knew, Chika slammed her foot against her chest, driving the air out of the Countess's lungs. She was thrown off her feet, going tumbling backward a few feet before landing on her side groaning. If Isabella was going to rant on how effective such a kick was...Chika was going to illustrate that principle herself!

Coughing and gasping, the small brunette slowly rolled herself up onto her hands and knees, shaking herself out. "Okay, that...wasn't bad..." Still, she would just as quickly try to roll to the side, hoping to stay clear of any follow-up offense Chika might be gearing up for while she focused on getting to her feet.

[Vc0m]

Chika didn't think that she kicked at her rival that hard...but the Countess wouldn't just fall. She would tumble down to her side, as she tried to avoid potential follow up from the Raven Knight:

"Oh, this was nothing...", Chika would giggle in an evil manner, rushing to the ropes at her side, rebounding, and zeroing in onto the Countess, jumping in the air, feet posed to drive themselves across her rival's chest one more time for a hard Dropkick!

[CaptainL]

When Chika announced that her last attack was nothing compared to what she was capable of dishing out now...even Isabella had to admit it, that rattled her more than she was willing to admit. She was still reeling from the last blow she had taken, and now, Chika had promised her even worse! As she panted for breath, propped up on all fours, her eyes went wide and her face grew pale as she looked back at her opponent with a gulp. She might have believed herself to be the Deadliest Woman Alive...but now that she found herself staring down the barrel of a metaphorical gun, Chika was making even Isabella question herself.

Dante tried to suck in a breath and steady herself. She tried to shake those doubts and fears out of her head - after all, she reminded herself, she was the Crown Princess of Death; nothing was going to get under her skin! Summoning her strength, she pushed up from the canvas to try and lift herself to her feet. But she had begun to pick herself up off the mat just in time for Chika to come thundering toward her, kicking off the ground to deliver another dropkick. She had nowhere to run to, and no way to defend herself - all she could do was take it head-on!

And when she did, she did it hard. Crying out in pain as the air was knocked from her lungs, the Countess was thrown back against the ropes under the force of Chika's feet crashing into her ribs. It was only because of the ropes that she didn't go flying out of the ring altogether - but when she landed against the cables, they stretched against her weight before bouncing her back, unceremoniously dropping her into a groaning heap at Chika's feet, flat out on her face. She could give Chika one thing - she hadn't lied.