Hunting the Dragon — Asuka Satō [D] versus Blair Yuen

[Ichi]

Match Type: MMA-Style Match
Rules:

Win via knockout or submission only.

Backstage

     "Nothing ventured, nothing gained," mused the caramel-haired beauty, her grin-adorned face illuminated by the overhead fluorescent lights of the dressing room. Her heart had a solid beat to it, elevated and ready to go, eager to capitalize on the opportunity before her. But underneath it all lie an undercurrent of trepidation. This was not the LAW debut she had planned on.
     The caramel-haired beauty was nominally signed to LAW, but obligations from her modeling career had delayed her debut for months. LAW had tried to book a debut for the model on numerous occasions, only for her to turn down each offer because of scheduling conflicts. At that point, a lesser woman might have been released from the promotion. But the caramel-haired beauty was a prominent active model, and LAW was more than willing to have such a woman on its roster. And, without active pressure from LAW, the model was content to postpone her debut until a convenient time.
     There was little reason to believe the status quo would change. However, a loose end from the model's past resurfaced, presenting a compelling impetus to act. This demanded that the caramel-haired beauty put her LAW career on the fast track. With a blazing inferno beneath her feet and flames licking at her soles, she set out to make her debut as soon as possible

For more context, read the second part of Asuka Satō's backstory.

.
     Finding the right opponent on such short notice was difficult, if not near-impossible without making concessions. With such a small pool of potential opponents, there would be no Goldilocks fit. In fact, there was only one opponent available, a girl whose opponent had to drop out for unknown reasons.
     And that girl was Blair Yuen.
     The so-called "Little Dragon of Muay Thai": an ostentatious name for a paper threat. The little dragon's name still held weight though, given her status as a former MMA champion. But currently, she was broken. A husk of her former self. She never bounced back after losing her MMA title, jumped ship from MMA to professional wrestling, and eventually ended up in LAW, where she went on to suffer a string of defeats, some of which were to utter scrubs

This statement is from Asuka's point of view, not mine.

. Sure, Blair had skill and experience to fall back on, but her mental game was her downfall.
     The caramel-haired beauty was going to sink her claws into that mental Achilles heel, tear the "Little Dragon of Muay Thai" apart, and use that vaunted former champion status of Blair's as a stepping stone. This would be neither the first nor the last time the caramel-haired beauty tore down a competitor for personal gain. And should the caramel-haired beauty somehow lose, she could write the loss off with minimal anguish, selling it as a case of experience versus inexperience.
     Yet, even telling herself all of that, the caramel-haired beauty could not help but manifest a slight shake in her hand for the briefest of moments. But a deep breath quieted the tremor. She knew exactly what she was going to do and how she was going to win—she had mentally rehearsed the sequences thousands of times, and practiced them physically as well. The movements were bottled up inside of her, screaming to be released. All she had to do was manifest them into reality.

     A series of three firm knocks echoed from outside the caramel-haired beauty's dressing room, followed by a brief pause. The door creaked open, and a stagehand peeked his head inside.
     "Asuka Satō?" chimed the stagehand, the voice tentatively ringing out amidst the backdrop of ambient noise coming from outside.
     The words hung in the air for several moments, without so much of an acknowledgement from the caramel-haired beauty, Asuka Satō. Her pose was feminine and composed, with her legs crossed and hands folded neatly in her lap. Without moving from the posh chair she was seated on, Asuka slowly turned her head to face the man. Her head settled in a slightly upturned posture, cocked barely to the side, with an indifferent gaze on her face.
     "You're up soon. Get ready," the stagehand stammered, backing up.
     Asuka waved the man off, shooing him away while turning away from the interruption. The soft thud of the door closing soon followed, leaving Asuka as the room's sole occupant once more. The caramel-haired beauty held her hand out, palm extended and fingers down, checking her nails one last time. Once satisfied, she stood up, unraveling the Brunello Cucinelli scarf

Brunello Cucinelli is a luxury brand of clothing.

from around her neck and leaving it on the vacated chair.
     "Nothing ventured, nothing gained."

     The lights of the arena dimmed to black, quieting the previously boisterous crowd. Spotlights aimed at the stage casted slowly intensifying light onto the stage area, which was slowly filling up with golden mist. The light refracted and scattered through the fine particulate smokescreen, casting deep yellow shadows across the stage.
     "AND NOW, STANDING AT 168 CENTIMETERS AND WEIGHING IN AT 58 KILOGRAMS... AN ACTIVE SUPERMODEL MAKING HER COMBAT SPORTS DEBUT—" The announcer paused right as illumination on on the stage reached its apex. Suddenly, white lights adjacent to the stage and entrance ramp lit up sequentially, starting from the top and making their way to the bottom. And with each light's activation, the thud of a relay slamming shut could be heard. "—INTRODUCING, ASUKA 'GOLDEN' SATŌ!"

Soul's Refrain — Yoko Takahashi

(Start at 0:52 for replays)

     The arena's speakers began to render Asuka's entrance music, right as her shadowy form materialized from within the mist. As she exited the smokescreen, tendrils of smoke clung to her, as if trying to rein her in. But they could not restrain Asuka, and soon Asuka found herself standing in the limelight once again.

     This lighting sucks, thought Asuka as she gazed down the entrance ramp, outwardly unfazed by the garish illumination. She started to strut down the ramp, her gait like that of a supermodel on the runway. Her long caramel-brown hair trailed not far behind her, the silken tresses flowing and rippling with each graceful step.
     The model's body was barely ensconced in a light teal blue dress, the hem of which was cut high, revealing her long, shapely legs. A tailor-made, form fitting dress hugged her figure, accentuating her thin hourglass figure. And a low-cut neckline revealed ample cleavage, complementing her womanly hips.
     Meanwhile, Asuka's stunning dark hazel irises brimmed with life, complementing the color of her flowing mane. On her face was a flirty smile, a stark contrast with the stoic, expressionless faces that runway models usually bear in order to keep the focus on the fashion. But for once, clothes were not the product—she was. A stone-cold demeanor would do nothing to sell herself.
     As she walked down the entrance ramp, Asuka's gaze gravitated towards the ring ahead of her. But she could see spectators out of the corner of her eye. Of course, Asuka did not ignore the crowd entirely. She gave fleeting, suggestive glances towards the attractive members of the crowd, the small handful of men who were eights and above.
     Midway down the entrance ramp, Asuka gave a flirty twirl, giving the audience a 360-degree view of her carefully cultivated supermodel body. Her skirt flared up, nearly revealing her white panties without completely betraying her modesty. Following the controlled spin, the fabric of her skirt fell down, once again draping itself over the model's shapely ass. The crowd popped at this display, and Asuka gave a sultry smirk right at one of the cameras. Befitting of her status as a supermodel, Asuka moved like a graceful cat, despite the fact that she was wearing high heels on an inclined surface.
     Asuka's ring entrance was deft, a sleek practiced move executed naturally despite it not being a movement that one could find in a supermodel's repertoire. She did so effortlessly, like a feline slipping through a small hole. Asuka took the time to pace around the ring a couple of times, waving to the cameras and select fans as she did so.
     Finally, Asuka settled into a corner of the ring, one that faced away from the entrance ramp. She bent one of her legs back, balancing on one leg as she looked over her shoulder, slipping off her high heel. She repeated the process with her other shoe, leaving herself barefoot in the ring. Blair may have been washed up, but Asuka was not about to risk handicapping herself with such footwear.
     From an invisible pocket in her dress, Asuka pulled an ultra-fine sharpie and proceeded to autograph both of her high heels. She scanned the crowd, searching for a worthy recipient. Once she spotted what she wanted—a handsome man with a pleasantly muscular physique—a series of underhanded throws bequeathed her footwear to its new owner.
     Afterwards, Asuka extended her hand outwards, gazing upon her neatly manicured rose-red nails. She did so with her other hand as well, switching between her hands periodically. All the while, she paid no heed to the entrance of her opponent, concerning herself more with the state of her nails than the girl she was about to fight.
     Asuka looked out-of-place in the ring. Her attire, while not as ostentatious as other outfits in her wardrobe, was more suited for a fun night out than an MMA fight. And her casual vanity belied the violence that was set to occur. However, everything from her entrance to her current in-ring behavior was carefully curated. They were tailor-made to piss off her hapless opponent and to paint herself as a model, unfit for the ring—all the better for crushing the little dragon's spirit. And better yet, she could amuse herself while doing so, like a cat toying with its prey before delivering the killing bite.

[CaptainL]

Blair Yuen was not in the least bit happy with this.

She was a proud champion in the fields of Muay Thai and MMA. In her heyday, she was up there with the greats. She had tasted success like she had never experienced before in her life. But it seemed as though ever since losing her MMA title, it was a slow decline from there on out. Her return to the octagon for her match against Zira Cabalero had been a disaster, and she was relegated to fighting Young Lionesses like Reny Selene - as though, despite her credentials, LAW considered her to be on the level of their developmental talent. And now, they had her fighting a supermodel? Blair had never heard of Asuka Sato before, but when she heard her history, she was downright incensed that this had happened. The fact that she was in this match at all was an insult to all the work and training she had put in to honing her striking skills.

"AND HER OPPONENT, STANDING AT 155 CENTIMETERS AND WEIGHING IN AT 50 KILOGRAMS, THE LITTLE DRAGON OF MUAY THAI - BLAIR YUEN!"

Entrance Music

Spoiler

In fact, when Blair stepped onto the entrance ramp and saw Asuka in the ring, she could feel the bile rising in the back of her throat. This was a joke. Asuka wasn't even dressed for a fight. That told Blair all she needed to know about what this really was. This was a publicity stunt - Asuka clearly didn't know the first thing about wrestling, and was putting herself up against an opponent she thought she'd be able to beat in order to raise her profile and get people talking. And, to Blair, the thought of being considered a stepping stone to some bimbo's personal vanity project was about the gravest insult she could imagine.

Her teeth clenched in a sneer as she studied Asuka from the ramp. But she lifted her hands and cracked her knuckles. If this was what Asuka wanted...Blair would give that to her, all right. She stormed down to the ring, her eyes focused in on her foe. Seeing that Asuka had taken off her shoes - really, what was she thinking wearing heels into the arena, even if just for her entrance? - Blair placed her foot up on the apron and untied her boot, then did the same with the other, slipping them off before climbing into the ring and staring the taller woman down. She was more used to competing barefoot anyway, and she was happy to meet Asuka on her terms if it would give her the edge.

"Look. I don't want to be here," Blair huffed. "So let's get this mess over with."

[Ichi]

     Asuka continued studying her nails, not seeming to pay any attention to her opponent. But once Blair was in the ring, Asuka made sure to keep her in her peripheral vision. The model could almost feel her glowering opponent's piercing gaze drilling holes into her—it was vaguely unsettling, but Asuka could not help but show a slight smirk: her instincts told her that she was already starting to get into her opponent's head, although it was far too early to tell.
     "Look. I don't want to be here," the little dragon huffed. "So let's get this mess over with."
     For a moment, there was no reaction from Asuka. No acknowledgement, nothing. But slowly, her head turned to face the source of the noise. A friendly, yet possibly patronizing, smile grew on the model's face. She walked towards the little dragon, her gait even and unhurried.
     Asuka came to a stop right in front of her shorter opponent. She bent down at the waist, lowering her head down to Blair's level and giving both Blair and the cameras a subtle angle down her low-cut shirt. The model scanned her gaze across the woman in front of her, her dark hazel eyes going up, then down, then up again to meet her opponent's eyes.
     "Don't worry," said the model, extending out her hand for a handshake. "It's normal to be nervous before a match."
     As the words came out, the corner of Asuka's mouth gave a slight upturn, a slight manifestation of a sneerish grin amidst an otherwise mundane smile. She knew full well why Blair was unhappy, and it was not because Blair was nervous. But Asuka played ignorant, continuing her faux-friendly act. She wanted to see how her opponent would react, and if possible, try to get into the little dragon's head.

[CaptainL]

If Blair didn't know any better, she would all but be convinced that the promoters put her in this match to mock her. But she was convinced that Asuka was here to mock her. All she did was study her nails, even as Blair got into the ring and made her intentions clear that she was here to put up a fight. As though studying her nails was anything a respectable combatant would do in a situation like this. That told Blair exactly what she needed to know about Asuka. Her opponent was nothing more than a vapid bimbo who didn't belong in the ring, and who couldn't possibly have known the first thing about fighting. But the fact she was this smug about it just made things worse. Everything told Blair that Asuka was in over her head - and Asuka herself was too dense to even recognize that fact. She still thought she was better than the woman who had made this her life's purpose.

In fact, she even had the nerve to tease Blair about it - as though Blair wasn't a champion martial artist, and she wasn't a supermodel who had wandered into the wrong place at the wrong time. When Asuka called her nervous - really, what would Blair have to be nervous about? - it just made the Canadian's eyes narrow into a glare, and her teeth to clench in a sneer. If Asuka thought that she could get away with this...well, Blair would give her a rude awakening, that was for sure.

*DING DING DING*

With that, the match had begun. And Blair was determined to make it count! Wasting no time, she took a few strides toward Asuka, looking to quickly close the distance on her opponent. She raised her fists, settling into a stance - and hurled a punch straight toward the model's face. She'd see how "nervous" she really was!

[Ichi]

     Asuka shrugged as Blair left her hanging with the handshake—it was about what she expected. But what almost brought a smile to Asuka's face was seeing Blair glare and clench her teeth. Of course, the model was not about to flash some garish grin, so she settled for the vestiges of a smirk. She took a moment to take in the scene, before banishing her seething opponent from her sight with a quick 180, her skirt flaring up as she whipped around.
     There was a certain liveliness, a certain levity, to Asuka's stride as she walked towards her corner. She gave smiling waves to the cameras, and even threw in a sultry wink. But once she reached the corner, she turned around instantly, facing towards the general direction of her opponent. Her movement was not rushed, but it was quick enough to imply slight urgency. A subtle accentuation of her breasts followed from a deep breath, and Asuka turned her gaze towards the referee. A tension threatened to intrude on her muscles, but conscious relaxation staved it off.
     *DING DING DING*
     The bell rang, marking the start of the match, and Asuka centered Blair's form in her vision. The model took a couple walking strides forward, covering distance at a slower pace than her advancing opponent. However, with the space between the two rapidly shrinking, Asuka's stance became more bladed, falling into an orthodox striking stance

An orthodox striking stance is one where the left foot is kept forward.

. Habit insisted that Asuka raise her hands into a guard, but she took special care to keep her hands down at her hips. The model wanted to hide her striking skills for the time being, but she made a concession with adopting an orthodox stance with her feet—sure, she was confident, but she was not arrogant enough to stand hips-squared in front of an opponent like Blair, even if Blair was nowhere near her peak form.
     It barely took any time for the distance to close, with Asuka finding herself on the cusp of Blair's striking range. Instincts raised her hands by several centimeters, putting them near her waist. Her eyes slightly widened, primed to pick up on whatever cues she could. In this game of split-seconds, Asuka needed to be finely attuned to her opponent's movements, ready to react in an instant.
     A sudden flash of movement, motion in Blair's upper body, reached Asuka's vision. Unconscious thought took over, telling Asuka that a punch was coming, and likely towards her head—but what sort of a punch? Left or right? Straight, hook, or uppercut? Asuka did not have time to figure this out. Instead, she focused on making sure that her head was not in the place it was before. Aided by her low-held hands, Asuka executed something between a right slip and a pull, moving her head off the center line back and to her right.
     The punch tore through the empty space where Asuka's head used to be, missing by a few centimeters. Air displaced from the flight of the punch blew lightly against Asuka's face. It was a harrowing feeling, coming that close to a strike. But Asuka was not simply content to evade: she wanted to disrespect Blair. As Asuka executed her slip-pull, her lead left hand shot up towards Blair's right cheek, open palmed and primed to slap. Asuka would attempt to slap Blair in the face, hoping to land at roughly the same time that Blair's punch would have landed, had it not whiffed.
     Asuka would not stay in the pocket, however. Regardless of whether her slap landed, she would attempt to back up, hoping to create space and put herself outside of both her and Blair's striking ranges.

[CaptainL]

As far as Blair was concerned, every motion of Asuka's body seemed tailor-made to taunt her - and she hated every bit of it. The way she held her hand out to her? That was just to mock her; an insinuation that a highly capable martial artist was on equal standing to a model doing an ill-advised publicity stunt. The slow walk she took toward her after the bell rang? It was Asuka's way of showing that she didn't fear trouble, and no doubt it would also ensure the cameras lingered on her form a little longer, taking the spotlight for herself. To Blair, Asuka was simultaneously a stupid bimbo who was out of her league, and a cunning mastermind who had calculated everything just to annoy her. But she would deal with both of those things the same way - and she would make it quite clear what she thought of this whole farce when she thrust a quick jab out toward Asuka's face. Her delusions of grandeur would shatter the moment she took a solid blow.

At least, that was what Blair thought. But the moment Blair's fist thrust forward, Asuka swerved to the side! The Muay Thai fighter found her fist hanging in midair. At first, she blinked a few times in shock. How good must Asuka's reaction time have to have been for her to dodge like that? But only half a second later, Asuka traded back a blow of her own - when she threw a slap that struck Blair square in the cheek!

The sound of skin hitting skin rang out through the arena, and Blair's head turned to the side, her teeth clenched in a grimace. A cry of "Oooooh" could be heard through the stands. A slap like that wasn't going to take Blair down. In fact, the Canadian just rolled her eyes as she turned back to her foe, rubbing at her sore cheek. She wouldn't have expected anything less from a supermodel. But the impact that had on Blair went far deeper than pain. The disrespect in Asuka's slap was almost palpable. The fact that she could treat Blair like that and fear no retribution was an insult as grave as any - and Blair wouldn't dare let that insult go unanswered.

Asuka went doubling back, but Blair met that with a hiss. She wasn't going to let her retreat that easily! Taking a long stride forward, Blair tailed after her opponent. She wouldn't let Asuka get out of range - in fact, in the same motion Blair stepped forward, she swung her elbow out toward Asuka, going for a cross upside her head!

[Ichi]

     Seeing Blair's reaction to getting slapped put a smirk on Asuka's face. There was something gratifying about seeing her efforts to infuriate Blair succeed. But Asuka's emotions ran deeper than just smug satisfaction. In the back of her mind, she knew she was playing an abjectly risky gambit: pissing off one's opponent can entice them to make mistakes, but it can also inspire overwhelming aggression. And Blair, despite not being in top form, was not the sort of opponent that Asuka could easily write off.
     Not wanting to linger in her opponent's striking range, Asuka backed up, making sure to do so at an angle instead of straight back so Blair would have to readjust. The model's movements were nimble, rapidly creating distance while still maintaining an orthodox fighting stance with her feet—now was not the time to be careless with her footwork, since Blair could come charging in at any moment. Asuka readied herself, preparing herself to meet any sudden incursion into her space with a specific counter.
     For a moment, Asuka felt relatively safe. The distance gave her confidence that she could react in time to any advance. She figured that it would take two, maybe three strides for Blair to close the gap. With little fear of being hit in the immediate future, a slight sense of relaxation fell onto Asuka.
     But it only took Blair a single motion to obliterate the distance and threaten to obliterate Asuka's face with an elbow. The model's eyes shot wide open as a chill radiated through her spine. It was as if a tomahawk was flying right at her, a split second away from embedding itself in her jaw.
     Asuka threw her planned counter, but being taken by surprise forced a slight mistiming. Her lead left foot hastily stepped out to her left while her torso and feet rotated to the right, bringing her head off of the center line and momentarily putting her in a southpaw stance. The tip of Blair's elbow grazed the model's mouth, sending her lips crashing into her teeth and slightly jolting her head—it was not a damaging shot by any means, but the shock that Asuka did feel was enough to tell her that she came centimeters away from taking a concussive blow.
     However, just like before, Asuka did not simply content herself with evading Blair's strike. As Asuka did her simultaneous step and pivot, she threw her left hand in a left hook-like motion, her hand open-palmed and aiming to slap. Her target was Blair's right cheek, the same place that she hit earlier. The entire movement was similar to a check left hook, but with a slap instead of a punch. But since Asuka's timing was slightly off, there was no guarantee that the slap would find its familiar target.

Note
Asuka attempts to throw a check left hook with a slap instead of a punch. In real life, check left hooks can be useful against opponents who are advancing aggressively. There are multiple variants of check left hooks, but the one shown below and the one closest to what Asuka does has been called a Soviet/Russian/Cuban check left hook.

     Finding herself uncomfortably close to her opponent and in a southpaw stance, Asuka tried to take a step back with her lead right leg to try to put herself back into an orthodox stance. But her right foot caught against the mat, sending her momentarily backpedaling, stumbling while trying to regain her balance. However, if left unhindered, Asuka would recover quickly, her feet once again settling into an orthodox stance and her hands held low near her hips, forming a disrespectfully absent guard. And, if given the chance, she would take special care to flash Blair a smug smile. Close call or not, the elbow practically missed, a fact that Asuka was more than willing to rub in the little dragon's face.

[CaptainL]

Blair was convinced that a model like Asuka, who seemed far more focused on showing off than on serious competition, couldn't possibly know the first thing about martial arts. But she did have to concede that she seemed to know just enough to be an annoyance. She had mobility on her side - no matter how Blair tried to catch up with her, she seemed to know almost instinctively how to dance around her, slipping just out of range before Blair had a chance to return fire. The Canadian looked back at her with her eyes narrowed into a withering glare - one that would surely tell Asuka just how little she was willing to tolerate her antics. But it wouldn't save her. If Asuka wanted to play the evasive game, Blair knew how to answer her - she would just close the distance and hit her hard enough to make up for it!

That was what was going through her mind as she stormed closer to Asuka, swinging her elbow up through the air like she was swinging an axe. Asuka did manage to dip back, slipping out of the path of the impact - but not enough to go unscathed. Blair's blow might not have hit at its full force, but it did still manage to knock Asuka's head back with a satisfying snap. For just a moment, a small smirk came to Blair's face. She'd managed to get a hit on her - and she wasn't about to stop there, not by a long shot. Asuka's luck couldn't last forever.

But Blair's satisfaction would prove short-lived. Asuka was still drawing on that mobility - because with the very same motion she had used to dodge the full brunt of Blair's punch, she whipped her hand around to the side, meeting the Muay Thai fighter with a slap upside the face! A loud smack rang out, and Blair's head turned to the side. Once again, it wouldn't be enough to take her off her feet. But Blair was starting to realize that wasn't what Asuka was after - not really. The smug look on her face told her enough. She just wanted to taunt her. And Blair would only answer those taunts with a piercing glare.

She wasn't here to play around. In fact, if Asuka just wanted to mock her, Blair was going to put her money where her mouth was and focus on sheer offense! It wasn't lost on her that Asuka had let down her guard. In fact, that would be exactly where she'd strike, as she flung a lightning-fast jab aimed right at her midsection!

[Ichi]

     Even though a smug grin adorned her face, a small amount of tension had seeped into Asuka's body. But Blair's piercing glare was not the issue—the model was used to attracting the ire of others. No, it was Blair's movement that perturbed Asuka. For a supposedly washed-up former champion with more losses than wins in LAW, Blair's movements were very damn explosive. There was almost no time to tell what sort of strike was coming, and only just barely enough time to tell that there was a strike coming in the first place. Truth be told, neither of Asuka's counters were explicit reactions to the specific strikes that Blair threw. During that first counter, Asuka had been merely trying to move her head out of the way of a punch—jab, cross, hook, whatever—and throw her own strike at the same time. And, for the second counter, Asuka had already been planning on throwing a check left hook—or rather, a check left slap—counter. Her reaction then had mostly been a response to the sudden incursion into her range.
     Asuka felt as if she was dancing on a razor's edge, a single misstep away from getting cleaved in two. Her shoulders tensed, and her legs started to follow. Part of her wondered if she would even be able to react to Blair's next attack, considering how she had barely managed with the first two. Any second now, Blair could come bursting in with a devastating attack—in fact, that was what Asuka was expecting.
     But that was the thing: Asuka knew what to expect. And it only took a brief moment for her to realize that, a moment that Blair had afforded the model by firing back with a glare rather than immediately pushing the attack. So far, Blair's attacks had consisted of her charging directly in with singular attacks, as if she was a raging bull incapable of higher thought. Staring down a pair of horns headed straight towards oneself may be scary, but Asuka knew that she was more than capable of playing a matador.
     Tension released from Asuka's muscles, rendering her body nimble and agile once again. The corners of the model's lips curled upwards, giving a small glimpse of the edges of her white teeth and accentuating her canines. A laugh was stifled in her throat, manifesting as a faintly heard choke. The whole situation was honestly surprising to Asuka: she could hardly believe that Blair would pull this sort of loser shit in a match. Rushing in and throwing single strikes was amateur level crap at best. Perhaps Blair was conceited enough—despite her laughable record in LAW—to believe that she could get away with such a simplistic strategy? Or maybe the little dragon's mind had been so addlepated by rage that she abandoned strategy altogether. Either way, Asuka was not about to ponder the why. Instead, her focus would be entirely on punishing Blair for her actions.
     The sudden flash of movement preceding the little dragon's swift entry was not nearly as surprising the second time around. She knew that her opponent could cover a lot of distance in a split-second, much more than what one would typically expect. Asuka was no stranger to outfighting, but after that last attack, she had made sure to give herself even more distance. That distance served as a buffer, a means to make what would have otherwise been unreactable reactable. And it also served as a defense, a substitute for the guard that she had intentionally foregone.
     Asuka's response had already been queued up in her brain, ready to manifest itself on her body the moment Blair moved to close the gap. She raised her lead left leg in a fluid motion, transiently chambering it like how one could chamber a front kick or a karate roundhouse kick

I cannot speak for all karate styles, but I believe that in some karate styles, the startup motion/chambering for front kicks and roundhouse kicks look very similar. This can create uncertainty about which technique is going to follow. In Muay Thai, this is not necessarily the case, however. Muay Thai teeps have a chamber, but Muay Thai roundhouse kicks usually do not share that same type of chamber.

. But Asuka would only hold that position for a split-second. In an instant, Asuka's leg and foot would shoot out in a linear motion, attempting to spear Blair in the torso with a side teep as she tried to move in. The model hoped that the little dragon would impale herself on her side teep, stabbing her opponent and stopping her dead in her tracks.

[CaptainL]

Blair might have been going through a streak of bad luck, and she might have found it all too easy for her to lose her cool. But there was no doubt about it - the Canadian woman was still a highly trained Muay Thai fighter who had competed at the top of her division in her prime. She knew how to hit fast, and she knew how to hit hard. The only problem was, she needed to keep a cool head in order to maintain her edge - and that was one flaw that Asuka had latched onto, and was now trying to exploit for all it was worth. And at least for now, it was working. Blair saw that smirk cross Asuka's face, and it made her fist clench tighter in a white-knuckled grip as she steadied her stance. She knew she was being mocked - that a damn supermodel of all people had gotten it into her head that she could take her down with ease! That was nothing Blair could tolerate, and she was filled with a single-minded desire to prove her opponent wrong!

A single-minded desire that would cause her to lose sight of her defense. Blair came charging toward Asuka, her body tight with pent-up energy and looking to explosively strike outward. But Asuka could see her coming, and she knew what to expect. She could use Blair's charge against her - as she would when she swung her leg out, right as the Little Dragon brought herself into range!

It all happened so quickly, Blair had no time to protect herself. Shooting forward, Asuka's foot stabbed straight into Blair's unprotected midsection, and in that instant, the air was driven out of her lungs, causing her to sputter and wheeze as she doubled over forward against her leg. Everything screeched to stillness. Her momentum was halted in its tracks, bringing her charge to a sudden halt. Blair's face was contorted in a scowl - of pain, yes, but also of her own frustration. What was she doing? What mistake did she have to make to walk directly into the line of fire like this? Why was she letting this supermodel land a hit on her?

No - she couldn't let this happen. Her teeth grit against each other as Blair reminded herself that she couldn't tolerate any more mistakes. She needed to prove she was better than this! Her stance began to waver as she teetered uneasily against Asuka's leg, but if she was going to go down, she would bring her down with her. While she was bent over forward, Blair would swing her arm around Asuka's leg to hold it in place - and then, she'd throw herself over to the side, going to toss her to the mat with a dragon screw!