A Gamer's Debut: Mariko vs. Mikoto!

Resisting the urge to scream out in pain came in part due to Mariko's slipshod application keeping the hold from being as debilitating as it could be, but mostly as a form of defiance towards the gamer girl. Mikoto was not willing to give the gamer girl the satisfaction just yet after only having her on the ropes for this short amount of time, her pride as a former Wrestle Angel compelling her to ride out the back-bending submission.

Though with her stubborn defiance came a cost. Namely Mariko wrenching in the hold with stricter authority, the priestess tapping her foot against the canvas and clawing away at the fingers clamped under her chin. With Mariko having made the rookie mistake of failing to secure the priestess' arms, Mikoto could have potentially worked her way free eventually but the gamer girl did her work for her and released the hold herself.

"Ah..." Led groggily back to her knees by her arm, Mikoto couldn't help but feel somewhat embarrassed at having let Mari wrestle control of the match out of her hands like this. Thankfully the jarring aftereffects of the sidekick were wearing off by now, allowing the priestess to think clearly of a decisive counter to hopefully swing momentum back in her favor. Once back on her feet, Mikoto would swiftly turn in place while gripping Mariko's arm and trap her bicep over her shoulder. With her back pressed against Mari's chest and her legs slightly bent, Miko will attempt to straighten herself out and yank the gamer girl up and over her shoulder in an "ippon seoi nage" judo hip throw. The swiftness of the throw would be slightly diminished due to the lingering back pains from the camel clutch, but if all goes well Mariko would find herself landing back first on the canvas and staring at the houselights.

*phew* Normally the over the shoulder judo throw was meant to be a seamless and fluid motion, performed in one flowing action to counterbalance the opponents weight with her own. But the jarring kick and lingering back pains made the straight forward judo flip more taxing than it normally is. Nevertheless the dramatic counter earned a pop from the audience who could appreciate the priestess' distinctly Japanese fighting style and how well-executed the throw was despite the slow startup.

Well after Mariko would be flipped over like a sack of potatoes, Mikoto loomed over the floored gamer girl for a brief reprieve after noticing that Mariko was struggling not only to fight back but just catch her breath. In direct contrast to Mariko's contemptuous glare, Mikoto maintained her steely-eyed and seemingly unflappable composure. A demeanor that may have made the priestess perhaps come off as conceited to some, although all Mikoto felt was puzzlement at how easily Mari seemed to turn to anger when things didn't go her way and the momentum was in her opponents favor.

Dropping to her knees once it seemed like Mariko was willing her self back into the fight, the priestess would grasp Mari's shoulders and shove her to a seated position. Mikoto would then coil her left arm right across Mariko's throat and grab the crook of her other arm, afterwards placing her other hand against the back of Mari's neck in a rear naked choke.

"You've no one to blame but yourself if the match doesn't go your way, Mariko-san..." The priestess advised while squeezing and bearing down in the constricting sleeper hold. Mikoto would add more strain by leaning forward and leaving no room between the pair with the priestess' chest unintentionally rubbing against Mari's back.

"...C-come...on..." With Mariko flopping around like a fish out of water, the priestess found it increasingly taxing to keep her under control under the weakening chokehold. Though Miko was earnestly impressed at her will and determination, she knew that all of this unfocused expenditure of energy would only exhaust Mari even quicker. A rookie mistake to abandon all rational planning and resort to panicked flailing once your opponent began constricting your airway. It was her sign that this was the right way to go, the right method in furthering her advantage.  

Mari's scrambled struggles only strengthened Miko's resolve to lock in the hold, coiling her legs tightly around her opponents waist and putting the squeeze on her while also flexing her bicep over her neck. Jostling her left and right like a subdued ragdoll in an uncharacteristic show of aggression on Miko's part to fatigue her further, one such aggressive swing would have enough momentum to spin Mariko over to lay on her front with Miko still bearing down on her from behind in a piggy back position. With her calm and composed discipline, Miko was intent on subduing the wild flailings of this "demonic youkai", so to speak.

By cinching in the rear naked choke, Mikoto was aiming towards wearing down the ill-tempered gamer girl rather than subject her to any further excruciating submissions out of fear for the rookie's safety. Not to mention that Mikoto held doubts as to whether someone as obstinate as Mariko would willingly submit before permanent damage was done to them, such as in her match with Miss U.S.A. She took great care to adjust the position of her arm so it was just below Mari's chin to not constitute an actual illegal choke hold, the ref continuously checking for that infraction while asking Mari if she would submit.

Bearing down on her from behind with continuous strained flexes of her toned arms and legs, Mikoto could tell from the slowing of Mari's breathing and her slackened limbs that the hold was whittling away at her resistance. While clinging to her tightly from behind, the rudimentary judo hold became noticeably more heated from their shared body temperatures and the rubbing of her chest against Mari's back. Mikoto hid her slightly reddened facial features by tilting her head down, only just then noticing the drops of blood on the clear white canvas from Mari's bit lip.

"E-easy, Mariko-san. That's going too far, it's just one match and there's no shame in submitting if you can't work your way free of a hold..." In response to witnessing the lengths gamer girl was going not to be rendered unconscious, Mikoto would relent ever so slightly in the hold just to enable enough breathing room to submit to the referee. While the ropes were no more than a few feet away as a result of Mikoto spinning her opponent over, she doubted her opponent had enough energy to make that miraculous trek.

Relenting in the hold and allowing Mariko to respectfully submit in the hold didn't have quite the reaction Mikoto was hoping for. The priestess would let out a long sigh after her opponent took the precious reprieve to instead reaffirm her villainous intentions, despite being in no position to do anything more than lose consciousness in the next minute. At this point it was about the reaction she expected from someone as stubbornly obstinate as Mari, not to say she wasn't hoping that Mari would have at least learned some humility by now. In her mind there was more honor in willing accepting when you are beaten than being knocked unconscious, but apparently Mari didn't quite feel the same.

"...*sigh*...Very well, I see now that I'm just wasting my breath..." With Mariko seemingly deciding for herself how this match would end, Mikoto fastened the hold just as tightly as before to hopefully put an end to this match by lulling the rookie to a blissful state of unconsciousness in the rear naked choke. Her expertly applied sleeper was unrelenting as she strengthened the squeezing pressure around her opponent's waist and neck, the priestess occasionally panting heatedly against the back of Mari's neck from strained exertion of the hold and how close the two were. Soon enough the referee would approach Mariko once it looked like she was whittled away to a senseless slump against the canvas, raising one arm to let it flop lifelessly on the mat on her way towards counting to three...

"1!"