Stress Test! Raya Ashberry vs Bandita!

[ellth01l]

"Too easy!" Raya smirked cockily as she stood on top of the curled Bandita, kicking her mockingly in the side. "You know what? I'm pretty generous, so I'll give you a hand up!"

After saying those words, Raya would reach down to grab Bandita by her hair and pull her right back up to her feet before launching a fist straight into her opponent's stomach with her other arm! If the punch connected successfully, she'd then follow up by letting go of Bandita's hair and then sweeping her legs in order to drop her back down to the floor and then move to perform an elbow drop right onto Bandita's stomach once again as she aimed to focus her attacks on one spot to break her opponent as quickly as possible right in front of Laxia.

[CyanDimitrik]

Bandita can hear Laxia urging her to get up somewhere behind her. But after a powerful hit like that straight out the gate, she's not in a position to spring back. Her abdominals are clenched, demanding she remain protectively curled up. She tries to reply to her, but the best she can manage yet is a pained groan.

But that groan evolves swiftly into a yelp when a boot comes in stiffly against her ribs. The teenager lurches painfully to the side, her back now arching in the opposite direction. As her shoulder comes to rest on the mat, Bandita determinedly plants a palm against the canvas and lifts her head. She won't be going down that easy! She can't! She just needs to recollect herself enough to find her footing and fight back!

She pushes herself up to an elbow before Raya brutishly seizes her by the hair. This elicits another yelp from the Latina, half in pain, half in protesting surprise. The black hair is pulled, and her hands quickly seize onto the forearm and wrist to try to lessen the pressure. But regardless, she's still forced onto her knees first, then up to her boots, her gaze burning hotly against Raya's.

"Hey! Hair! You can't pull hair!," fusses the referee near Raya's side.

It doesn't matter, as it turns out! Raya intended on releasing her hair anyway! But it comes at the cost of a fist driving hard into the center of Bandita's stomach, popping the girl's heels off the mat briefly. Her body folds over, eyes wide and mouth agape in shock, spittle flying. Her arms wrap around her midsection, eyes squeezed shut. Which leaves her defenseless to the sweep, legs taken out from beneath her.

Bandita lands hard on her back, arms snapping to either side automatically to slap the mat and disperse the impact. Which unfortunately leaves Raya to drop her elbow and bodyweight across her stomach. "UNGH!" Knees pull up, arms struggling to push the elbow off of her, but lacking the strength in the moment. Her abdominals are aching, and every second Raya remains pressuring into her midsection, the more the suffering intensifies.

[ellth01l]

As Raya grabbed Bandita by the hair, she heard the ref's complaints, but had quickly let go regardless, driving her fist into Bandita's stomach then successfully sweeping her legs, dropping her down and leaving her wide open for Raya's elbow drop which she pulled off flawlessly! But instead of pressing her advantage further, maybe even finishing the match already, she'd get up and walk back to the center of the ring and spread her arms wide tauntingly while staring right at Laxia with a cocky smirk, as if saying she didn't consider Bandita a threat at all by leaving her opponent time to recover.

Then she'd turn towards the fans who had started to boo, the first time in her law career she had ever acknowledged their presence after nearly a dozen matches, something that seemed totally out of character for her. This was not the first time the crowd booed her arrogance, especially due to the fact that she had not a single time backed it up with a victory, and yet for the first time it was not something meant to be ignored and discarded, it was not something that was beneath her, but rather something that fuelled her, and so Raya cupped her ears with a smug smile on her face in response to the noise they made, but as a result now also left her back wide open for Bandita to possibly take advantage of while she taunted the crowd!

[Letta]

Raya mocked Bandita with a sharp kick to the side, andwhen Raya seized her by the hair and hauled Bandita forcibly back to her feet, Laxia immediately shouted toward the referee.

“R-Ref...! Her hair...!”

But before she could even finish, Raya’s fist buried itself into Bandita’s stomach. A ruthless sweep took her legs out from under her, dropping her flat onto the canvas before an elbow came crashing down across the already battered midsection. Watching Bandita from so close at ringside had felt like a rare privilege, almost a luxury when it meant getting a front-row view of her at her best. Watching her get torn apart like this was something else entirely.

Every pained expression that crossed Bandita’s face, every agonized twist of her body, seemed to make Laxia flinch along with her. Each time Raya landed another blow, the noblewoman’s brow pinched tighter, shoulders twitching as though she could somehow feel the impact herself. Before long, both hands had risen to cover part of her face, Laxia shifting restlessly at ringside with no outlet for the nervous tension building inside her. And then Raya stood. Arms spread wide, not even looking at Bandita anymore. Looking directly at Laxia.

“Kh...!”

Laxia’s hands dropped from her face, one trembling fist tightening at her side as she glared back at Raya. The smug display only grew worse when Raya turned toward the jeering crowd and cupped a hand to her ear, practically begging them to give her more. Laxia's eyes immediately slipped past Raya toward the fallen girl behind her.

“Come on... Bandita...”

[CyanDimitrik]

The pressure releases from Bandita's midsection, and the girl responds by rolling over onto her side and protectively curling up. Her expression is tight, contorted in pain as her face turns to press her cheek hard against the canvas. "Nnhh.." Her knees worry together in the ball, the first subconscious effort to distract and self-soothe. The next is controlled breathing, taking in a hard breath and exhaling it slower in a whoosh. Fortunately the beatings have stopped for now. She'd think about it later, but this is probably what people literally mean when they say they 'need a breather'.

At last, with Raya cupping her ear and working twice as hard for the crowd's hate, Bandita turns over onto all fours. She reaches out with one hand to grab onto the middle rope blindly. When her eyes open, her vision is filled with Laxia's concerned face. She stares at her a moment in silence, processing her presence.

Then a smile. Strained with the residual pain radiating from her core, but it's an echo of the confidence she'd shown her before. With a flick of her head, she tosses a few pesky bangs of black hair out of her eyes and pushes further with her knees to perk up. Her other hand grabs the top rope, and she draws herself to her full height again.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. She's centered. She's ready.

Bandita rushes Raya across the ring, arms chopping the air and strong legs pumping, propelling her across the mat fast enough that her slender ponytail whips out behind her. The last several feet of distance is covered with a sudden launch into the air, knees drawn into her chest as she rotates into a lateral position. Then those legs thrust out with the soles of her boots side-by-side, driving towards Raya's back - or chest, if she turns in time - like a lance, hoping to dropkick the other woman into either the ropes or turnbuckle! Whatever fate decides!

[ellth01l]

Raya, having been far too caught up in her newfound antagonism of the spectators, failed to notice Bandita getting back up, having managed to shrug off some of the early damage that Raya had inflicted, and then charged at her!

"Wha-" She turned around and the first thing she saw was the sole of Bandita's boots side by side, crashing right into her chest, leaving her no time to react and sending her straight into the turnbuckle with crushing force. "Aggh!"

Raya clutched her chest in pain, trying to get her breathe back after having had the wind knocked out of her by Bandita, her legs buckling as she struggled to keep standing after taking just one blow, although it was hard to say if that was a testament to Bandita's dropkick or simply Raya's own lack of endurance. As she groaned in the corner, she knew she had not only lost a golden opportunity for a first victory but had thrown it away herself just to gloat, which bit her in the back as she now found the tables slowly turning.

The pressure of needing to win started weighing heavily on Raya as she grit her teeth, she was now in a precarious situation where it would be hard for her to avoid Bandita's next move, and so needed to get her head back in the game before things spiraled!

[CyanDimitrik]

Boots collide with ample chest, and Bandita is destined to hit the mat again. But this time, her fall is much more controlled and deliberate. Her shoulder meets the canvas first, and a loose roll onto her back mitigates the impact. Though the impulse to curl in and perform her typical energetic nip-up, her core protests immediately in residual aching pain. Instead, she opts to roll aside and quickly ascend to her feet in a hands-and-knees scamper.

Seeing Raya stuck in the corner and clutching her chest, Bandita doesn't even spare enough time to think about the approach: she just needs to drill in what advantage she's eked for herself. The Latina rushes in after her and steps up onto the middle rope with her left foot. The right knee thrusts upwards, aimed to drive in hard across the taller woman's midsection before hopping back down to stand on the mat properly again.

Reaching out, she attempts to pull Raya's arm away from her chest in favor of throwing it over the top rope at her side, as well as the other arm, if it isn't there already! And once Bandita has left her rival's body open and at the ready, she shifts her right foot back, gaze dropping to her midsection. The sight of those abdominals is intimidating enough - Raya is an athletic specimen. But Bandita has enough confidence in her own physique, her own strength, to dish out the punishment she intends.

Plus, she really wants to test out the abs directly. See if they can hold up any better than her own.

"See how you like it...!," she growls.

The Latina launches into a series of low hooking blows, attempting to drill alternating punches into Raya's midsection and pummel against her chiseled abdominals. Each strike attempts to drive in a little harder than the last, four in total!

[ellth01l]

Raya was unable to do anything as Bandita drove her right knee straight into her midsection, causing her to let out a painful grunt, but before she could even try to think of retaliating, her arms had been pulled away and thrown over the ropes, leaving her trapped and exposed for Bandita to do whatever she wanted!

"Go ahead!" she taunted in order to try and gaud Bandita, "as if those tiny arms of yours could ever do the tiniest bit of dam-aggghhh!"

Raya was unable to finish her sentence, as she was interrupted by Bandita quickly launched a flurry of hooks right into her abs that immediately proved her words wrong, each one leaving her stunned and reeling.

"uh..ugh.." she groaned, her head down, while her arms above the ropes were the only things still keeping her up at the moment as her vision blurred, she could do nothing but keep taking the hits for the moment and hope that eventually she could think of something to bail herself out.

[CyanDimitrik]

After the fourth impact of knuckles against midsection, the referee-girl steps in the way and intervenes! This isn't meant to be boxing, and Raya's on the ropes! There's supposed to be no contact! In response, Bandita quickly lifts her hands, palms presented and fingers spread.

"Fine! Fine..."

She steps back several paces to let the referee relax again. To the casual observer, she's being a good girl and demuring away to let the official take the reins. But the commentators and camera feed catch what's really going on: there's a fire behind those hazel-green eyes, a tension in her muscles, a rigidity in her frame. Latinas are known to run hot, and Bandita's blood is no different. Whether the matter be about love or hate, it's simply two sides of the same coin flipped and ruled by passion. But right now, there's no mistaking it at a closer look.

She wants to rip into Raya. This is an aggression brewing the likes of which the audience hasn't had a chance to see in her before. All thanks to what felt like a cheap shot, following the insinuation that Laxia would leave her for losing tonight. The idea is a crushing one. But that crushing feeling has gotten consumed in the fires of anger.

Now all that stands between Bandita and trying to see just how much punishment Raya is capable of handling is... a mousy referee-girl currently doting on the bigger woman.

However, the moment she drifts aside and leaves an opening, Bandita rushes right back in. She pounces into the corner, and more particularly, Raya. Hands seize upon her shoulders, boots briefly planted to her thighs before kicking out, drawing her own body into a high angle - a handstand, her svelte figure taut and sleek amidst a myriad of camera flashes.

Then she swings inwards again.

That built up momentum drives the soles of her boots against Raya's hips simultaneous to Bandita dropping back, pulling her out of the corner, onto the Latina's supporting boots, and then launching her forcefully out behind her in a high-angle monkeyflip!

If all goes right, at least.

[ellth01l]

Raya let a sigh of relief as the referee had stepped in and saved her from immediately getting knocked out at the hands of Bandita, but she wasn't out of the woodworks yet. Taking a deep breath, she prepared herself as the ref stepped away, and as Bandita rushed in for a second time, Raya thought she was ready, but she didn't expect what her opponent's next moves as she suddenly somehow found herself being launched out of the corner without even realizing what had happened! She landed on the other side of the ring, luckily she hadn't taken too much damage from this last throw, but she knew she had to find a way to counter Bandita before things started getting ugly, one or two of these would be fine but she couldn't keep racking up the hits, especially after accumulating that flurry of blows on her stomach right before.

As she got back up on her feet and started to close in the distance to Bandita while looking at Laxia in the other corner, Raya smirked and came up with a plan on the spot.

"Hey, what the hell?" She pointed in feigned shock towards Laxia, pretending that the other woman was trying to interfere even though she had been doing nothing but watch up to that point. "Ref, she's trying to get in the ring, she can't do that! Stop her! Do something!"