Countess Dante vs. Orime Akasa

[CaptainL]

Orime was, in truth, justified to be suspicious of Isabella's offer. The Countess knew that she would be vulnerable while she was focused on crawling back into the ring, and she would surely be able to keep on with her punishment in that moment of weakness. But rather than take the bait, Orime was going to come back swinging - she knew she was being insulted, and she wasn't going to take this lying down! Instead, she grabbed for Isabella's foot, and with a sharp tug at her ankle, she swept her off her footing, leaving her to drop down. Isabella cried out in shock, flailing her arms in the air - but it wouldn't save her from her fate, and as her feet left the ground, she dropped straight down into the mat below, leaving Orime to pull her out onto the outside!

Now, Isabella was flat on her back, with Orime bearing down on her - and every stomp the white-haired girl threw was backed by her righteous fury; her determination to prove that no matter how little the Countess thought of her, she was still going to carve out a niche for herself, whether anyone liked it or not! And to see her stand up for herself in the face of such mockery only won the hearts of more and more of the cheering fans! To Isabella, on the other hand, the fact that she was taking this beatdown from a joke like Orime was only adding insult to injury. She knew she should well have been better than this! And yet, as she was knocked this way and that, she could hardly keep herself focused. The world around her was spinning, and every stomp shook her from one side to the other as she let out gasps and groans! It had just been a bad streak of luck, but now she was being made to look like a fool!

With the action spilling out onto the floor, the referee ran to the ropes, going to begin the count. "One! Two!" But so far, Isabella herself wasn't having much luck when it came to keeping up with Orime's assault...and she hated that.

[Jman2113]

Orime would grit her teeth as she delivered stomp after stomp. At the referees count of five, she would stop. She stood, breathing hard, then reached down, hauling up Isabella by her outfit and hair. When she was on her feet, she let go of her outfit, clutching her chin hard. "You WILL respect me!" She said, then gave her a hard slap to her face, before trying to get her back in the ring.

[CaptainL]

Even with the referee's count threatening to disqualify Orime if she spent too long outside of the ring, the white-haired girl wasn't about to stop any time soon - not until she had given Isabella a piece of her mind! She knew how little regard the martial artist had for her, and if she couldn't convince her to respect her, she would take that respect by force - pounding her foot down against her with stomp after stomp! Every time Orime struck, Isabella's body cracked from side to side as she went reeling, coughing and gagging against the impact. She scrambled with her hands to shield herself from the blows, but every time she tried to block, it was too late - Orime had already landed her shot and moved on to the next one. By the time Orime lifted her back up, she was sore from head to toe; she was too numb to even care about the pressure on her scalp. Dangling limp from Orime's fingers, Isabella panted for breath, her face red and her eyes glazed over. She thought she was sore all over - but when Orime sent a slap straight across her cheek, turning her head to the side with a crack that echoed through the arena, the sharp, stinging pain was still enough for her to let out a yelp!

Orime got back in the ring, leaving the Countess on the outside. As she let go, Isabella slumped against the floor, dropping down into a seated position as she panted for breath. The red imprint of Orime's palm was plastered across her face, and her shoulders lurched with every gasp she took for air. All the while, the referee was still counting. It seemed as though Isabella stood to be counted out, then and there...

"Six! Seven! Eight! Nine!"

"HOLD IT!!" Just then, Isabella roared in rage - and at that, the whole arena fell silent, as every set of eyes turned toward the Countess. Isabella might have been sore...but the last thing she was going to allow was for herself to be beaten by a session wrestler so easily. Let alone from a count-out, which was completely lame. If her pride was what it took to stir her back into action, then so be it - she'd take it! Shaking out her hair, Isabella jumped straight up, climbing up the apron and through the ropes to come storming closer to Orime - all the while, launching into another impassioned rant.

"I am NOT going to lose today! Not to your filthy-minded ilk! And not to the count of some IDIOTIC official who doesn't even need to be here! A real fight is one where anything goes, where people are trying to win, and there's no imbecile in a striped shirt ready to stop things the moment someone doesn't stay in the arbitrary bounds for an arbitrary amount of time! You think a real fighter would stand by that!? That's stupid, and you're stupid! A true master of the DEADLY FIGHTING ARTS waits for NOBODY!!"

Indeed, Isabella would display that philosophy well enough. She was advancing on Orime even through her tirade - but when she closed into range, without breaking a sweat or pausing for even a moment, she would lunge forward and strike out with an elbow strike aimed right at Orime's sternum, hoping she had been too distracted to keep up her guard!

[Jman2113]

Orime just rolled her eyes. She looked to the ref. "Just let the fight keep going...I don't want to hear her whine." The white haired girl said. It was then Orime got an elbow strike to her sternum, a very hard one. She was hunched over, groaning. Once again the petty and cruel Countess had the advantage, the crowd raining boos on her.

[CaptainL]

Dante's plan had worked out perfectly - while she believed in every word of her impassioned speech, it had also worked out just fine when it came to distracting Orime long enough for her to let down her guard, and long enough for Isabella to move in and drive the wind out of her lungs with a well-placed elbow strike! She heard the fans booing her as the white-haired girl crumpled against her blow, but all she did was roll her eyes and shake her head in disgust. She didn't need to care what they thought - all of them were the same sorts of fools who didn't understand martial arts anyway. Countess Dante wasn't trying to show off her skills, or abide by the rules of an arbitrary contest - Countess Dante was in this to win. Orime would have to consider herself lucky that she wasn't out to kill her!

Isabella shook her head as she took a step back, letting Orime sag a little lower to the ground - which, as it so happened, would put her into position for the Countess's next move. "NONE of you know what a REAL fighter is!!" Isabella barked. "You would DARE to cheer for a talentless pervert over a GRAND MASTER OF DEATH! All because some imbecile in a striped shirt told you to! If I had my way, that idiot wouldn't even be here at all. A so-called 'champion' who can only compete under the guidance of a referee would be POWERLESS against an experienced street fighter! And one who can barely even approach that level doesn't belong in this League at all! Allow me to DEMONSTRATE!"

With that, Isabella grabbed Orime by the hair, giving it a tug downward to force her to bend even lower. Then, she would drop down onto her back, pulling Orime down with her - but with her knee raised, such that Orime's jaw would slam down onto it for a jawbreaker!

[Jman2113]

Orime heard her. She made her so angry, the white haired girl wanting to beat her badly to prove her wrong, but she was still recovering when Isabella pulled her hair. "Ahhh..." Orime tried to throw some punches into her side. It didn't stop her from driving her knee into Orime's jaw, leaving her clutching her face and writhing in pain as she fell back to the mat.

[CaptainL]

By now, most of the fans were booing the Countess after her brutal treatment of Orime, but Isabella paid it no heed at all. As far as she was concerned, the white-haired girl was getting her just desserts. She had been the one who chose to pick a fight with an opponent that was far out of her league, and she needed to be taught a hard lesson in what such cockiness would get her. The world of martial arts was ruled by the strong, and the weak had to accept their place. If people couldn't accept that, the Countess could only hope this moment would serve as a lesson to them just as much as it did to Orime!

Even now that Orime was on the ground beneath her, Countess Dante would show her no sympathy - and no mercy! She stood over the fallen girl with her hands on her hips, glowering at her with pure hatred in her eyes. It was there that she raised her foot, going to pound into the white-haired girl's ribs and sides with kicks and stomps - each punctuated with another taunt! It didn't matter whether Orime was fighting back or not at this point, the Countess just wanted her to hurt!

"This!! Is what happens!! When you!! Don't!! KNOW YOUR PLACE!!"

[Jman2113]

Orime could only look up, growling. She would try to get up, but the martial artist would continually stomp down at her ribs and sides. Orime grunted and even let of a few yells of pain as she was hit. Orime tried to crawl away, trying to make it to the ropes. She had to get a moment or two away from this narcissistic psycho!

[CaptainL]

No matter how much Orime was determined to escape, Isabella wasn't letting her. She had nothing but contempt in her eyes as she glowered down at the white-haired girl, and with a few long and well-placed strides, she closed the distance, looming over Orime from above with her arms crossed. She wasn't done with her yet! With her slim frame and less than impressive stature, Isabella had never been the most threatening of people, no matter how much she would insist to the contrary. But when Orime was no doubt still aching from the barrage of stomps and kicks Isabella had brought against her, that didn't matter. To her, the Countess was every bit the threat she had built herself up to be. And now, that threat was looking straight at her.

"Is that all you can manage? Running away?" Isabella scoffed, shaking her head. "You're an embarrassment to the fighting arts. If you had any confidence whatsoever in your ability to fight back, you'd at least try! But look at you - what are you doing now? Crawling away. Like a WORM! You've already admitted defeat! And look - I've caught up to you! You can't even do that right!"

Then, Isabella raised her foot and planted it down right on top of Orime's head. Her other foot followed, as she stood atop Orime's head, perfectly still and composed - and with all her weight pressing down on the soles of her feet. Her purpose was threefold. It would halt Orime's escape, keeping her pinned in place, and having to bear Dante's weight would surely put strain against her temples. But it was also a show of disrespect - and a message of exactly how Isabella felt about her opponent, if she was content to use her as little more than a stepstool!

"Just try it! Fight back! Do something!! I'm waiting!"

[Jman2113]

The boos were nuclear as Isabella stepped on Orime's head with her wrap covered feet. Ori whined, trying to twist her body around. Maybe the white haired girl could grab Dante's foot and pry off, maybe mount some offense. "Ughhh...just shut up..." She said, trying to get this petty bitch off of her.