A Comeback for the Ages: Raiken Kibao VS. Bengal (No DQ)

[BengalTheBlazeTiger]

Bengal felt her stomach turn flips inside her, as the muscular body she was sitting on top of suddenly burst upward with the force of an exploding landmine. It seemed that Raiken wasn't down for the count after all. The Tiger was so flabbergasted, she couldn't even find her voice to yell at the referee for not counting faster. Perhaps that was for the best, because her opponent had already kipped to her feet and started charging toward her.

Bengal scrambled up to meet her, but the knee strike and Banzai drop combo had turned her legs to jelly; she moved as if she was underwater. The veteran caught her easily, hoisting the Tiger into the air. Camera flashes flickered through the arena stands, as the fans prepared to record an unforgettable moment. They wouldn't be disappointed. Raiken looked like some bizarre composite of Olympic athletes, hefting Bengal into the air like a weightlifter, but still dashing forward with the speed and grace of a sprinter. It was just the right combination of traits to execute a perfect Running Powerslam! The Tiger crashed to the canvas, sending shockwaves through the whole ring as she bounced a full two feet into the air.

SLAM! Even if everyone in the audience had been blind, they would have been able to tell that Bengal was finished from the sound of that impact alone. There was no way the younger woman would be able to come back from a hit like that. And yet...

Somehow, impossibly, Bengal continued to move. She had no hope of winning anymore - it was unclear if she could even comprehend she was in a wrestling match. But still, she clawed stubbornly at Raiken's ankles, like a drowning woman clutching at a life preserver. Dragging herself up the woman's pillar-like leg, she began flailing her free arm, beating weakly at the veteran's ribs. "Not...a coward..." she rasped, between each glancing blow. "I'm...not..." She coughed and sputtered, her words dying in her throat, while she leaned on the other fighter's thigh for support.

[TrixVii011]

The moment Bengal’s body hit the canvas, Raiken knew it had to be devastating. That was one of the cleanest, most flawless powerslams she had ever executed. A flicker of pride warmed her chest, though it was tempered by a small, almost reluctant hope that it hadn’t been too lethal, that the match wouldn’t end just yet.

When she saw Bengal stirring, using Raiken’s legs for support as she tried to rise, a slow smile appared in Raiken’s face. That meant this wasn’t over, the few weak shots Bengal managed to land against her side confirmed it, altought her strength had dropped considerably.

-Maybe I overdid it… oh well- Raiken thought, as her worked to position Bengal. She forced her opponent’s head down, trapping it between her thighs setting up her signature move "The Omega Bomb".

-Be ready. I promise you, this is going to hurt!- she roared.

With everything in place, Raiken hooked Bengal’s arms and heaved her upward, preparing to drive her down into the mat with a crushing sitting powerbomb. She wanted her rival to feel, beyond any doubt, the price of having accepted this match.

[BengalTheBlazeTiger]

Raiken doubled over, and for a second, Bengal thought that her feeble punches might actually have accomplished something. But the larger woman was simply bending over, getting into position for the coup de grace. The Tiger felt her head squashed between her opponent's burly thighs, before she was hoisted into the air once again. Raiken's previous powerslam might have already finished the story, but the veteran was determined to write a violent epilogue.

"Be ready!" the other woman had warned her. Much as Bengal hated taking an opponent's advice, she tried to do so, letting her muscles go slack so she could roll with the landing. But nothing could have prepared her for the Omega Bomb. The Tiger's arms and legs flew outward into an X-shape, as another apocalyptic impact quaked the ring. "Nnngh~!" Her muscles spasmed, body and mind alike overwhelmed as pain flooded through every fiber of her being. Her jaw clenched so hard, it threatened to shatter her teeth - but before that could happen, the tension abruptly released itself, as she faded into unconsciousness.

Bengal's vision tapered down to a narrow cone in front of her, where her own legs had been folded over her torso. Between them, Raiken's unblinking red eyes glared down at her. The Tiger stared back, hypnotized, just as she had been at the beginning of the match. She felt like she was floating up toward the crimson orbs, and then everything went black.

The referee dropped down, ready to begin the count. With Raiken in complete control, it was up to her which way this one-sided contest would end. The Omega Bomb had flattened Bengal's shoulders against the mat, allowing the older fighter to transition into an easy pin if she so desired. But with the Tiger knocked out cold, she might not even need to bother.

[TrixVii011]

Raiken looked down at Bengal lying motionless on the mat. That vacant stare in her rival’s eyes didn’t sit well with her. Just when things seemed like they were finally getting interesting again, Bengal appeared to be on the brink of defeat. Raiken couldn’t help but twist her face into a grimace of disgust, and as Bengal’s gaze met hers, like if this was to confirm her suspicion,she faded out completely.

-Shit… that wasn’t even my finisher-Raiken thought furiously.

She planned that whether the match could be a true challenge or not, she had wanted to showcase her full arsenal to the audience who wasn't familiar with her. To Raiken, victory wasn’t sweet, nor was it bittersweet, her night was ruined. She was on the verge of losing her composure.

With a sharp kick, she rolled Bengal’s limp body, followed by it getting back into its original position. Then she turned toward the ropes.

-Ring the fucking bell, she is out- she told the referee in a flat, detached tone as she stepped out of the ring.

She had barely made it halfway up the ramp when her entrance music suddenly hit.

-Tch…- she hissed in irritation.

If anyone in the crowd had been paying close attention, close enough to catch even the smallest detail of Raiken’s movements, and from just the right angle, they might have noticed her silhouette twitching erratically. It looked like her misterious shadow was unleashing a storm of furious punches against the backstage wall by the entrance

[BengalTheBlazeTiger]

Bengal grunted softly as Raiken kicked her away, but that was just the involuntary noise of air escaping from the Tiger's lungs. The younger woman's mind remained far away, lost in strange nightmares. In her restless dreams, she was floating belly-up in a shadowy sea, while her opponent's baleful red eyes rose over her in the starless sky like twin blood moons. Wherever she looked, whatever she tried, there was nowhere to escape...

Back in the waking world, Bengal's face twitched slightly. Yet otherwise, she didn't react as the referee lifted and dropped her limp wrist. She didn't hear the triumphant refrain of Raiken's music, or the sound of the bell - and she certainly didn't catch the veteran's furious outburst backstage. In a way, the Tiger's unconscious state was a mercy. It spared her, at least momentarily, from the humiliating realization of how soundly she'd been beaten - finished, without Raiken even needing to use her finisher.

Winner by Knockout: Raiken Kibao