Mariko Ishii vs. Divine - Killer Queens

And that was where Divine could shine. Maybe Mariko had more power on her side and had superior experience, but if this match was played smart and all opportunities were seized, it wouldn't matter much.

The referee gave her a fresh round of chiding and the crowd began to shower her with boos and shouts of disapproval, but Divine couldn't have cared less. She knew from personal experience how painful a slap to that particular area couldfeel, and Mariko was definitely withering under the effects, wide open as she slumped in the corner. That pretty little neck of hers was a tempting target, too...

"Sorry, couldn't resist." She grabbed hold of the ropes for balance, steadying herself for the move to come. "Here, let me help you back up."

She brought her leg up and tried to press her boot against Mariko's neck while she did a split, pinning her in the corner and holding her in place. The referee would start to count, sure, so she wouldn't be able to hold it for longer than five seconds, but it was just another step on the road to establishing dominance in this match.

The crowd boo’d the Valkyrie for the cheap shot, and the ref girl certainly wasn’t happy about it either. Nonetheless, the tactic accomplished its job excellently, made clear just with one look at Mariko who slumped in the corner while holding her stinging chest. That sharp pain was going to linger for a little while, and it also left the Japanese beauty wide open.

Divine wasn’t just about to let that opportunity go to waste. And seconds later the sole of her foe’s boot was pressing right up against Mariko’s throat. “Gwah!” she choked out, her hands moving to grab around Divine’s leg in a likely futile attempt to pry it away. She kicked and squirmed, but she wasn’t going anywhere as the Valkyrie’s foot kept her right in place.

The crowd again boo’d, but not nearly as loud this time. There were likely more than a few men in the crowd enjoying the nice view of Divine’s leg as she choked Mariko. But the ref girl clearly didn’t care for it, and almost immediately began the warning count, threatening to disqualify the Brazilian if she didn’t back away before the count of five.

“One! Two! Three!...”

Divine had to be honest - initially, when Mako first proposed joining the AFW, she was skeptical about the idea. She was even more skeptical about being in a solo match and handling business by herself. But now that she was in the ring with Mariko, she was starting to feel a little thrill, a strong desire to put on the boots for more matches. Especially if it meant being able to use said boots like this.

She had a dark chuckle as Mariko squirmed and struggled under her heel, thoroughly enjoying the sight of her feeble. Divine felt like she could do it all night, and given half a chance, she gladly would've...

"Four! Fi-"

..but five seconds would have to do. She let go of the hold and finally backed away, sauntering towards the center of the ring with long strides while the audience showered her with their jeers. The referee took the time to check on Mariko, and Divine turned around from the center of the ring to throw a little wink her way.

"Having fun so far?" She curled her finger at Mariko, beckoning her on as a fresh wave of confidence started to sink in.

Mariko was being choked under Divine’s boot for the full duration of the ref girl’s warning count, and some in the crowd even started to think a disqualification would soon be coming. But the trapped Ishii sibling could tell the Valkyrie was imply ensuring she got the most she could out of the choke.

And as soon as Divine finally moved away and backed to the middle of the ring, Mariko dropped onto her hands and knees, with one hand moving over her throat as she coughed profusely for a few moments. She looked up just in time to see Divine wink and beckon to her, while also throwing a few taunting words her way.

“Trust me, the fun’s only just getting started.” Mariko replied, before bolting out from her kneeling position into a sprint right toward her beautiful adversary. And after a couple steps, she would then throw herself through the air at Divine while aiming the soles of her boots at the woman’s chest with a potentially explosive dropkick.

Maybe giving Mariko time to breath wasn't the best tactic on Divine's part, but she saw a few benefits. They were still early in the match, and it wasn't like anything she did would solidify a win, especially not a fook choke. It was more about intimidation than anything else, playing a few mind games, and she felt that mission had been accomplished. As Mariko stood tall and taunted the fallen Ishii sibiling, she thought the message had been sent, loud and clear: there could only be one queen. Right?

Wrong.

Divine started to approach Mariko, striding toward her for a follow up, when, out of nowhere, she came bursting out of the corner. Like a bat out of hell? No. A bat wouldn't have hit her with nearly that much impact, as the dropkick dug into her chest and knocked Divine clear off her feet, dropping her hard to the mat.

Now it was her turn to cradle her chest in pain, and she rolled over to the side while her legs feebly moved back and forth. Moaning and groaning all the way, face contorted into a twisted mask of pain.

Charging out of the corner like that was a somewhat reckless move, and was something Mariko didn’t do often. That was more the type of thing her brother might try, but she normally opted for caution in moments like these. In truth, she wasn’t even sure why she elected to do it this time. Maybe the excitement of the tournament was still on her mind, or maybe she was just feeling more daring than usual in that moment.

Whatever the case, it worked, and Divine was blasted right in the chest with a pair of white boots courtesy of the younger Ishii sibling, dropping the Valkyrie right onto the mat. The crowd went form boos to cheers in a heartbeat as momentum seemed to shift in Mariko’s direction. That wasn’t normally a factor she was one to care that much for, but it never hurt having the extra support, and it even helped bring back Mariko’s smirk.

Moving over to her downed opponent, the Japanese woman would then grab Divine’s left leg and pick it up, folding it across the back of Mariko’s neck to try to lock the woman into a stretch muffler. And for the cherry on top, she’d then lift her boot and step down right Divine’s pretty head with it, as a bit of payback for the foot choke in the corner moments ago.

“You having fun yet?” she’d ask tauntingly, practically repeating the Valyrie’s words from only moments ago.

And, of course, the crowd went wild as Mariko temporarily turned the tables around and stole Divine's momentum away. She hated to take Mako's more cynical view on things, but sometimes she could really see where their fun-sized leader came off with her disdain for the audience. 'Bleating sheep', she liked to call them. Ready to go with any cute-eyed hero who went their way. Divine hadn't even cheated yet, and they were already on her bad side. What kind of incentive was that to stay clean?

She had little time to contemplate this before Mariko came in to capitalize on the moment, not even giving Divine time to make her way back up. Her leg was lifted, her head was stepped on, and she found herself in one of the most uncomfortable positions imaginable, forming a human version of the letter 'C'.

Divine's history as a dancer gave her a good deal of flexibility to work with, and that was probably the main thing that made the hold bearable. It hurt - agonizing pain - and she banged her fist on the canvas a few times. But she didn't tap. She wouldn't.

"Not bad..." Divine managed to squeeze out a few words, while she reached behind her head and made a go at pushing Mariko's foot away. "Maybe you can try this next."

Mariko understood how fickle the fans were, which was one of the reasons why she tended to pay them very little attention. Still, she’d be willing to bet her entire salary for the year there wasn’t a single person on the roster who wouldn’t like being cheered on, even including the dirtiest heels around. There’s just something about it that really boosts one’s confidence, and that’s exactly how Mariko felt as she bent and stretched Divine in her hold.

She gave a small chuckle at the woman’s comment, while keeping up the pressure on her hold. “Thanks, but I’ll pass. Some other time, perhaps.” she replied, twisting and grinding the sole of her boot against Divine’s head to add even more discomfort to the Brazilian’s less than favorable predicament. The match couldn’t be won by submission, though Divine still banged on the mat with her fist while fighting to keep herself from tapping out.

When the Valkyrie started to push on Mariko’s foot, the white boot finally slid off of the woman’s head. But if Divine thought she’d just be let off there, she had another thing coming. And as soon as Mariko’s foot was pushed away, she simply turned her body along with the movement of her leg, still holding onto Divine’s leg while moving to sit on the woman’s back, attempting to transition from the stretch muffler into a single leg crab.

The referee would usually be in Divine's face at this point, asking if she wanted to admit, and for a moment she was puzzled by the absense. Then it clicked - maybe she'd gotten lost in the moment, maybe mind-numbing pain had messed with her memory, but she'd almost forgotten the very special rules behind this match. It was all about the facesits, though the two had been playing it more aggressively than those sort of deals typically went. Mariko wasn't trying to get a submission, she was trying to soften Divine up. Lovely.

Divine breathed a short sigh of relief when Mariko took away the heel that was digging a hole into her skull, but the breath had barely left her lips before a scream followed after it. The single-leg  boston crab was every bit as torturous as the last hold, and Divine's legendary thighs were starting to feel the limit.

The only light at the end of the tunnel was that this hold gave her a modicum of freedom, and she immediately took advantage of it as best as she could, desperately trying to claw her way to the ropes to break the hold.

Mariko was still holding onto that guess that one of Divine’s strongest assets, aside from her... “assets,” was speed. There hadn’t been much of a chance to confirm that to this point, but in Mariko’s mind that probably meant she was doing something right. And if she was correct, then she had little doubt the damage she was inflicting on her foe’s leg would be a big problem for Divine as the match progressed.

Hearing the woman scream as the single leg crab was locked in, Mariko giggled and rubbed her derrière from side to side over the small of Divine’s back. “Mmmm, your soft skin makes such a nice seat.” she teased as she continued wrenching on her leg. “If this is how nice it feels sitting on your back, I can hardly wait to give that pretty face of yours a try.”

The hold didn’t last much longer, however, as Divine crawled to the ropes and the ref girl told Mariko to let her go. *Sigh* “Aww, already? Alright then.” she said with a little pout before releasing her foe’s leg. Before she completely got off of her though, Mariko gave a good bounce of her hips right on Divine’s back. She then climbed right off immediately after, holding her hands up to let the ref girl know she wouldn’t be trying anything funny as she took a couple steps toward the center of the ring.