Qi Lingxian vs Blaise Cameron

Qi looked like such a nice girl, but she could throw down with just about anyone. Even before she was adopted by her dojo she fought as an orphan, it was all she knew. Then when she was taken in her parents instilled senses of right and wrong, if Blaise thought he'd be able to push Qi around he was wrong. Fight till the last was Qi's mantra.

After slamming Blaise down into the mat Qi took a moment to compose herself, just because Qi tanked the strike attack didn't mean it didn't hurt. It stung to be sure, but trying to strike it out against Qi wasn't recommended unless you were an expert in it yourself.

The wise thing for the fist of compassion to do was to try and mount him, and rain down blows on Blaise. But after what happened Qi was reluctant to try it, instead trying to attempt a submission. With that in mind the fist of compassion tried to mover herself over and around Blaise, to try and cinch in a dragon sleeper on him. Although submissions weren't her forte, so the grip on the hold might not be as secure as she'd like it to be.

Blaise's body is lagging, jarred and still coping with the impact against the mat. After the punishment he's taken so far, it's taking him longer to bounce back from the hits. Qi has enough time to move in behind him and set on the sleeper. His legs shift against the mat, his free fist swinging around her shoulder, head - anywhere he can reach, really.

The audience is getting an excellent view of his lean body, at least, arched back and taut in the submission hold, skin glistening under the overhead lights with a light sheen of sweat.

Qi wasn't too good with submissions, she knew it to be true. And in retrospect perhaps this wasn't such a good idea, after all Blaise still had fight in him. The fist of compassion grunted out as she tried to keep the hold cinched in, she picked the dragon sleeper because of how Blaise was down on the ground. But maybe she should have practised it just a little bit longer, instead of exchanging blows with her Brother.

Blaise was putting up one heck of a struggle though, more than Qi could cope with. A lucky shot struck her across the side of her head, right near the eye. Qi grunted and held her eye with one hand, granted it didn't feel like it was going to be a shiner. Still it rendered the fist of compassion's vision blurry, her grip on the hold slipping as that occurred.

Blaise's defiance remains strong, though his body's been beaten on. He's determined to purge this growing aggression on Qi, and the more she puts obstacles in his way, the more he wants it. It isn't even about enjoying the match anymore. It's about this surge of emotion, this... what even is it? Anger? She hasn't exactly done anything special to earn ire from him, and considering how ridiculously slow he is to anger, what the Hell could it be? Others have done worse things to him, and he's still told them what a great fighter they are.

Nevermind that. Qi has a face, and he has fists.

Feeling her arm slack around him, Blaise growls and twists on the mat to pop his head out of the restraint. Both remain low on the mat, and Blaise makes use of that, applied with his own brand of spry agility. He suddenly kips from that position to bring his legs out from under him and ram the heels of his boots out at the girl in a short dropkick. And while he's sure to land on the mat again, he has no further distance to drop than a foot, maybe a foot and a half. Even with the pain wracking his body, he's capable of tanking that impact easily.

Qi was thinking that perhaps Blaise wasn't the person she thought him to be, perhaps that was the point. The fist of compassion had heard of wrestlers who tried to use that, lure the opponent in and use a good façade and then win in an underhanded fashion. Qi would never stoop to that level, her parents would never have allowed that.

Suddenly Blaise broke free of Qi's dragon sleeper, and in an instant was countering her. The speed, it was greater than that of Chuang's. Before Qi could even begin to consider what to do next a dropkick hit her directly in the chest.

The fist of compassion could only manage a grunt as she was sent reeling back, her head hitting the mat with a thud. Qi groaned in pain, knowing that now the situation wasn't looking good for her. Her mind screaming for her to get back up, but her body wasn't listening as her arms crossed in an X shape to try and nurse the pain.

"N-Nǐ bùnéng dǎpò wǒ!" Qi hissed out, the least she could do was glare at Blaise and remain defiant.

Blaise is left lying on his back, and he isn't smiling, but make no mistake: he's happy. He felt his boots drive against Qi's chest, and how hard it impacted. He's certain it has to feel different for females than males - most likely, it feels worse. But that's the point, isn't it? Lump on as much pain as possible so they can't fight back?

Speaking of which, when the teen props himself up again, he spots Qi's position. She's flat on the mat with her arms crossed, looking... winded? It's a golden opportunity. What was it he'd just thought? Lump on as much pain as possible? Amy showed him a good way to do just that.

Without hesitating, he springs at her, hands going for her wrists to uncross her arms and force them down against the mat at either side. If successful, his knees will quickly press over her biceps to secure her position while he remains mounted just beneath her breasts. His left hand will go for the back of her head to pull it up slightly and present his target while his right fist cocks back at the ready to begin hammering blows against her feminine face.

But the first punch won't be coming immediately.

Qi felt like she was going to need painkillers later, although this wasn't the worst scrape she had been in. Far from it, but she and her Brother still bled just like the next person. Even if they were badass martial artists.

Now it looks like Blaise is going to take advantage of Qi's stunned body, she bites her lower lip. Letting out only grunts as he forces her arms to take the weight of his knees, Qi was no fool. She knew what was coming next, Chuang had done it to her in the past. And vice versa, only this time it was a different guy doing it.

Most people might close their eyes and wait for the inevitable, but Qi wasn't like that. She was a scrapper, one who fought to the last second. She wasn't going to try and take this lying down, Qi glared daggers at Blaise to let him know that. She was a bit surprised by how Blaise wasn't attempting to quickly start striking at her, but Qi was going to keep struggling under him as much she could. Sooner or later something would have to give, and Qi wasn't wasting time to find out.

Qi struggles, and it's a distraction. But Blaise leans more into the hold to secure his balance over her upper-half, determined to keep her down. His eyes are locked onto hers, nearly savage and predatory. He has her right where he wants her, and he knows that every direct hit he scores on her face will make it harder for her to keep going. It doesn't matter how many hits it takes, from this position, he can rain them down like hail. And he's going to hit her.

He will.

Dammit, why isn't he hitting her?

His expression twists, and Blaise breaks his gaze from hers. His fist remains cocked in the air, but that first strike doesn't come.

'What am I doing...?'

Even the referee looks confused. Does she count this as a pin? Is he... what, threatening her? Can you threaten someone into a submission? Is someone joking? She's pretty sure she should be fussing about something, but she's not entirely sure what for yet.

Blaise has the girl right where he wanted her, it's true. And thanks to experience, he knows that he could do a lot of damage here. He could slam his fist into Qi's face over and over and over again and really wreck her. But despite the girl's defiant look, he knows how intimidating it is to be in that position - heck, even scary might be the right word. She could be looking at some serious damage, too; some teeth knocked out, retinas severed, busted nose... While there are definitely risks with any number of other moves, maybe even moreso, firing fists directly into her face seem like it's something he wants to happen.

And is it? Is it something Blaise wants to do to her?

His arm lowers; slowly at first, before just dropping flat to his side.

'This isn't me.'

Even if this could mean his first win in over a year of wrestling, this isn't the way he wants it. He's not that brutal, vicious guy who doesn't care what it takes to win. It's just not him. He became a professional wrestler because he enjoys it. Not to seriously maim people. He remembers that now, and he won't be forgetting it. He won't lose himself. Brutalizing opponents might work for some, and he's not going to judge them for that. But he's tasted it, and it's bitter in his soul.

Blaise draws in a breath and exhales it in a whoosh of a sigh, letting the last remnants of his anger and frustration go. His eyes turn back to Qi, his expression softened into a small, possibly confusingly apologetic smile. She looks like she's mad at him. He realizes she's looked that way for a little while now.

'Man. I really started to lose it, huh?'

It takes a second longer, but he finally makes his move. The teen swings his left leg back, then scoots off the other arm to dismount her. His hands move forward, palms upturned in offering to help her up to her feet as he stands, himself.

Qi was considering if she should try to spit in Blaise's face, again out of defiance against him. It looked like it was going to be a lot more pain for the fist of compassion, nothing she wasn't used to though. After all she fought bigger guys than Blaise back in Beijing, and usually came out the winner.

She kept struggling, out of her nature as a fighter. Qi wasn't going to go quietly, this she knew in any match she had. The fist of compassion's face showed that she wasn't afraid and sure as hell wasn't going to back down, wasn't her nature and wasn't her style.

But then Qi got confused, why the hell was Blaise not punching her? Ms Lingxian was thinking that there would be no quarter, and then Blaise....was getting up. And offering a hand to help Qi up, and that confused the fist of compassion. She was expecting the blows to rain down on her, she'd have tanked it as best she could and then try and give it back just as bad.

Qi paused for a moment and got back up herself, she didn't slap away his hand or anything like that. It's just that that Qi was assuming that Blaise might be going for another trick attempt, her glare eased up at least. As Qi was inwardly thankful to be out of that position, of course the match was still going on. But the fist of compassion wasn't going to attack just yet, not after that dropkick which still numbed her chest area.

Blaise is still reeling at the residual feelings of what he'd done. Well, not what he'd done - it was the way he was doing it. Nothing but vindictive malice. It was possibly the furthest thing in the world from how he truly is. Wrestling's always been fun for him, winning or losing. There was nothing fun about that. That was just... cold.

Qi didn't take his offered hands, and he didn't blame her. He's sure she could feel the negative vibes he was putting out, and he feels pretty darn contrite about it. So he isn't offended; he simply nods to her and runs a hand through his sweaty hair.

"Ready?," he asks once she's steady on her feet. He isn't rushing her. He's giving up his every advantage - but that's his choice. He wants to do things right. If that means getting pinned, he can live with that. The mixed reaction the audience is giving this display isn't lost on him either, but he can only hope to make it up to them with a great showing for the rest of the match.

...Or, y'know, the next match. He feels off his game now. Rattled.

Regardless, the teen sinks into his proper stance. His legs spread to widen his balance, his hands lifting at the ready to invite a lockup with the girl. His body is still quite sore, but he can keep going. His strength isn't spent.