Best Served Cold

“Hmm…and modest too. Though I’m afraid our viewpoints differ on this matter, Cassandra. What are not the titles of this federation but shining criterions for all wrestlers to ‘compete’ towards? Those who aspire towards and hold those belts are truly the crème de la crème, the gold standards so to speak. Wouldn’t you wish to be counted among them?” While Cass may not have thought much about the titles, to Gwen they were the single minded goal she strove towards since flying out to Japan in the first place.

Gwendolyn took half a step back and raised her arms to a defensive stance when Cass abruptly approached her mid-conversation, her heart racing a tad faster when the petite jiujitsu master embraced her in a caring hug? Gwen stalwartly resisted the initial humanistic urge to hug back, but was still horribly confused and drastically put off her game by the sudden show of affection from someone whom she could have sworn hated her!!

“I…you…F-fine, whatever!!” Pressing forward in the match with a flustered expression, Gwen approached Cassie with her arms raised to imply a tie-up, but at the last second would dart to the side and aim a swift kick to the back of the grappler’s inner thigh to hopefully bringing her down to one knee.

"Ack!" Cassie's knee buckled and she fell, and rather than try to right herself she dropped onto her back. She kept her knees up and hands ready, in case she could ensnare Gwendolyn in her guard. She was just as comfortable working from the bottom as she was on top... Back home she spent more time on her back than anywhere else.

If there had been any doubt as to the ground rules of their spar, it was removed with that kick. Cassie knew to be careful, especially if is was a sign that Gwendolyn was getting frustrated.

She remained calm. Her focus while grappling was almost eerie, as if she flipped a switch and turned off her affect. She scooted toward Gwen and reached out to see if she could hook one of her knees with her ankles and pull her down.

A smug grin grew on Gwen’s face after her feint lock up duped Cassie into being tripped up by her side kick, a small victory in a war that she had been losing since the spar had started. What the heiress may have lacked in upper body physique she made up for with exceptionally toned leg muscles which took most surprise by how much of a wallop they could pack, Asuka Kotori in particular could attest to that.

“Nngh…” The tugging to the back of her knee made her buckle but not fall, bending her knees to help maintain her balance. If there was a pattern to Cassie’s plan of attack it was slowly dawning upon Gwen, annoyed at how the red-headed grappler once again attempted to ensnare their legs together.

“Enough of this!!” Already half way to the mat as a result Cassie’s efforts, Gwen made a grab attempt for the same leg still angled behind her knee as she teetered down to sitting position on the mat. If quick enough, Gwendolyn would harshly yank the ankle of the captured leg behind her armpit and tighten her muscled thighs around the knee joint of the captured appendage, applying a sophisticated kneebar on poor Cassie.

Gwendolyn's harsh treatment of Cassie's got her attention. The girl had a chip on her shoulder, and Cassie knew how dangerous that could be in the gym. She would have to be careful.

Cassie propped herself up while Gwen yanked her leg into place. The heiress was certainly tenacious with her submission attempt, but unfortunately for her there were just a few details missing...

Cassie rolled to the side until Gwendolyn's grip could only force her leg to bend in the correct direction. "You forgot to control my toes," she said, just being helpful. "Grab the toes, lock it in. Think big toe, like the thumb with an arm bar." She wasn't in trouble, though Gwendolyn still had her leg trapped. For the time being, she was content to stay there and see what else the girl had in store for her.

Even with Gwendolyn’s legs clamping down around her knee Cassie still managed to find the leverage twist her body over to her side and render the leg lock harmless. The laid back manner in which she doled out advice to the stunned heiress, the ease in which she countered Gwen’s leg submission. It was almost as if Gwendolyn was hardly a threat to her…

Gwen lowered her head and closed her eyes in trembling anger at how Cassandra continued to outclass her in the ring, shaking her pride even further once the heiress realized Cass’ was actually absolutely correct. Her own hubris and resentment towards Cass’ caused her to implement the move incorrectly. She made an amateurish mistake, with only herself to blame.

With swift motions Gwendolyn abandoned any chance to correct her mistake and instead flexed her legs forward while pulling back and contorting the ankle of the foot still captured under her arm. She made sure to properly apply the ankle lock this time around, gritting her teeth as she attempted to viciously wrench in the hold and vent all her bottled up frustration.

"Ow!" Cassie exclaimed as Gwendolyn's wrist bit into her Achilles tendon and applied a painful amount of pressure. The pain, as it often did, triggered a giggle-fit. Some girls cried, some got angry, some shouted when in pain, Cassie giggled as if being tickled.

"Ow! That's pretty good!" She sat up and grabbed onto Gwendolyn's suit as if it was the lapel of a gi and pulled her in close, stretching the suit out in the process, making it harder for the girl to lean back and apply pressure to the hold. She kicked her captive foot to slide it a little farther through Gwen's arm, so that Gwen's wrist pressed more against her calf muscle than her tendon, and she rolled onto her side so that the ankle-locked leg was on the bottom.

Now that her ankle wasn't in terrible danger, she had some time to work. She kicked her leg up to try to throw it over Gwen's body, so that she could sit up and take top position on her, but there were many disadvantages that came with her diminutive stature. Among them, short legs. She worked and adjusted her balance and propped herself up on her free hand while she tried to wriggle her way on top.

"This is fun!" She said. It wasn't often that she got to spar someone who tenaciously attacked her with submissions. Most people she knew were a little shy with their submissions around her.

The only thoughts that passed through Gwendolyn’s golden curled head were how satisfying the sound of Cassie’s pained shrieks would be once she felt her ankle twist and contort in unnatural directions in her grasp. She leaned upward with a smug grin to gain a better view of Cassie…

…chuckling like a prepubescent schoolgirl...

The heiress raised an eyebrow to Cassie’s sudden and...disturbing case of the giggles, certainly distracted enough to allow her opponent the opening to clutch the blue strands of her wrestling suit and yank her upwards to a sitting position. With her grip now fastened on Cass’ calf instead of her ankle, Gwendolyn abandoned the ankle lock to cover her chest with a flustered expression as those stretched strands slipped off her bosom. Cassie’s movements were simply too well-coordinated and quick paced for Gwendolyn to keep up, grunting as she was pushed back down to the mat with the red head straddling her abs.

Although Cassie may have been having a ball while tussling with the heiress, Gwendolyn couldn’t have been more incensed with Cass and herself over her inability to gain a solid advantage over her opponent. Bucking her hips at a high angle while Cassie was squirming for the proper positioning, Gwen would attempt to send the lightweight overhead and off her stomach. Rolling to her side on her hands and knees, the heiress would scramble to readjust her outfit in time and gain some distance from her before Cassie continued with her grappling shenanigans.

"Whee!"

Cassie's palms slapped against the mat to stop herself from faceplanting as Gwen bucked her off. Sure, she could have tried to ride her out and smother her from top position, but she was having fun. And she had already picked out her next move.

She got to her feet at the same time as Gwen and kept even with her as she backed away. She lunged to grab one of her wrists, braced her knee in Gwen's hip, and then jumped up and threw her other leg over Gwen's arm, and as she fell she pulled the girl down and flipped her onto her back with a flying armbar.

“Waitwaitwai-!!” Gwendolyn raised her arms and flailed them wildly once she saw Cassie sprinting towards her with malicious intent in her eyes. The heiress was dying for just the briefest respite from Cassie’s non-stop ju-jitsu maneuvers, but unfortunately sticking your arms out like that in a cowardly manner made them easy targets for the mini-grappler.

The added weight of her opponent’s entire body dragged Gwen down along with Cass before being effortlessly flipped over sideways on her back and ensnared in the armbar. Her cringing face occasionally breathed heavy pants into the crook of Cassie’s knee and her lower thigh, the armbar reigniting the twinging pains from the earlier hammerlock. Fear and dread once again immediately kicked in, Gwen stomping her foot on the mat repeatedly and struggling wildly in the hold in the slim chance her contorted arm could be jostled free.

"Stay calm, stay calm," Cassie said in a soothing voice. She kept her heels tight against Gwen's side, held Gwen's wrist against her chest, kept Gwen's arm pinched tightly between her knees. She had to make little adjustments to account for the girl's thrashing, but she wasn't going anywhere.

"Breathe. Don't use energy without a goal!" Of course, Cassie wasn't going to let her escape, so effectively she wasn't going to give her a goal. But still, all this thrashing around. She mentally clucked her tongue at it.

"So I'm not just going to let you out this time. It's important to learn to tap. It's an ego thing. Your ego makes it so you can't learn, but every time you tap, you've learned something. Then we can just go again, and again, and again. But for now, I'm going to add some pressure to it..." She pushed her hips up off the mat and stretched Gwendolyn's elbow in the wrong direction.

"...Until you tap."