Mariko Ishii vs. Armando 'Army' Rodriguez - Bow Down

Through it all, through all the pain and embarrassment he was going through, in spite of the  way his cheeks were reddening for a variety of reasons, he couldn’t help but be impressed with Mariko’s skills. You would think his size would help and even things up between them, but no - if anything, it was just making her that much harder to take on. She was nimble where he was slow, flexible where he was stiff. And she could crank the armbar like a man twice her size, he swore. He had to admit, he was giving some thought to her offer. It wouldn’t have been the best thing for his pride, but his body would undoubtedly enjoy it far more than the current situation.

He didn’t know if she could yank his arm out of its socket, but he thankfully didn’t have to find out, managing to get to the ropes before serious damage could be done. He let himself breath a sigh of relief as she let go off his burning arm…

...only to have that sigh replaced with a gasp, as she drove her heel deep into his gut, giving him a parting gift before she moved away. Some in the audience thought that was funny, though there were a few boos, too. Army, for his part, was too busy caressing his aching abs to take in the audience reaction.

”Cheap...” He rolled to his side and grabbed the ropes, pulling his way back to his feet and giving her a look through his narrowed eyes. ”Cheap shot.”

"Was it? So sorry about that," Mariko replied. Though despite her words, anyone could tell she didn't have a single shred of remorse or regret over it. She didn't even bother addressing the disapproving glare the ref was sending her way.

And why should she feel bad over it? She wasn't being disqualified, and the kick clearly was serving its purpose. Army's arms, one of them likely still in quite a bit of pain, were busy protecting his midsection and pulling on the ropes. With only one part of him covered up and the rest of him wide open, Mariko had lots of options here.

Deciding on the one that seemed most most effective, she took a few quick strides to close the distance between them before throwing a knee up, aiming to bring it crashing directly into Army's handsome face.

That wasn’t the first time Army had been in an armbar, but he had to admit, Mariko made one of the nastier ones he’d ever had to endure. His arm wasn’t dislocated, not quite that serious, but it wouldn’t be in punching or slamming shape for about a minute.

Wouldn’t be that big of a deal, if he had a minute to spare. He didn’t.

Mariko must’ve smelled blood in the water, because she moved in fast, closing in with speed that would’ve impressed most of the men and women he’d ever seen in a boxing ring. One second she was five or so feet away, the next she was in his face with a knee rapidly rising towards it. He managed to get his good arm up in time for a hasty block, but his bad one couldn’t join the party in time, and there just wasn’t enough defense with one. Her knee sliced through his guard with only a small loss in force, more than enough to rock his world and send him staggering back to the corner.

He hit the turnbuckle and his training - his father’s training - immediately kicked in. Army brought his arms up as best as he could and turtled up, expecting Mariko to lay into him soon after.

Despite the attempts of a lone arm to prevent it, Mariko’s knee hit right on the mark, sending the big guy stumbling back into the corner. As hard as that had hit, more than a few men would’ve been too dazed to know to defend themselves. Or at least, to do so effectively.

But Army’s experience and training showed its value once again. The moment she saw those arms go up, Mariko knew she’d need to really think through whatever she did next. A boxer would have no problem approaching and teeing off on Army, ready to trade with whatever strikes he threw back in resistance. But Mariko was no boxer. She couldn’t punch with that sort of proficiency. Closing in like that in her case would just be asking for all her hard work to be undone by one or two big punches.

However, just leaving him alone for too long would give him far more recovery time than she was comfortable with. Mariko wanted to strike while he was still dazed and weakened, though his guard didn’t really leave any good openings. At least, not from the waist up. But boxers didn’t tend to be the best at defending their legs.

With that in mind, Mariko bolted forward before dropping down, aiming a low dropkick right at one of Army’s knees. If she could upset his balance - or better yet, take the leg out from under him, she just might be able to find some more openings to make use of.

As Army turtled up, he couldn’t help but think back to a similar situation in his earliest training, where his father and Carmen had taught him the value of a good defense. Even at a young age, he was big, had good arms, was strong with pouring on the pressure. His blocking sucked, but the way he figured, what did it matter if his opponent was too busy getting smacked in the face?

Then, in a spar, Carmen dodged every blow he threw, worked him into a corner, and kept at him until he could form a decent guard. The point was made clear.

Good lesson. Never figured he’d be applying it quite like this.

Thankfully, his fist covered up his reddened face, protecting it from both attacks and embarrassment. Either it would buy him a few moments of rest until the referee pulled him away, or Mariko would press on, slam into a wall, and he could get her while she recoiled. It worked for him, either way.

Only, instead of coming high like he’d expected, she came low, moving in with a deft drop kick that cracked him right on the knee. Army cried out as the sharp pain lit up his bone, then fell forward like a chopped tree.

More importantly, he was falling on Mariko, or would be if she didn’t move in time.

Mariko’s boots met Army’s knee with a loud smack. Between that, her foe’s anguished shout and the collective wincing and groaning by those in the crowd, it was pretty obvious the blow had done everything it was meant to. The only danger for Mariko was that she was on the ground, and Army was tipping over like a chopped down tree, getting ready to fall right on top of her!

Fortunately she became aware of the danger in time to roll out of the way at the last second, giving the boxer nothing but the mat to collapse onto. Mariko imagined she wouldn’t have at all hated the feeling of a big, muscular guy like Army on top of her. But pain definitely would have outweighed pleasure if that collision had happened. And now that he was down and vulnerable, he’d be much easier to take advantage of.

Moving quickly, Mariko went to swing a leg over Army’s body and sit down on the mall of his back, planting her feet on the mat by either side of him. From there she’d reach out to grab at his arms and try to pull them back over her thighs, before moving her hands to clasp around his chin and wrench back, attempting to put the handsome Puerto Rican into a camel clutch.

It would’ve been nice - if a little bit funny and embarrassing for them both - if Army just beat Mariko by falling down on her. Not the best win he could ask for, but in a decade, all they’d know or care about was that he’d won the match. He’d gladly take it.

Lucky for her and unlucky for him, that wasn’t to be. Army just feel forward, barely able to get his hands up in time to avoid a full faceplant. It was a shocking impact, and what made it worse was the way it left him vulnerable. As he was quickly figuring out, Mariko wasn’t a woman who passed up opportunities.

A camel clutch wasn’t the sort of move Army would expect a refined woman like Mariko to pull it off, but damned if she didn’t have the technique down. It only took her a moment to lock it in, snapping him into the hold before he even knew what he needed to resist, and then came the pain. Army croaked as his body was pulled back at a bad angle, forced upright as his arms dangled over her legs. He kicked his feet, squirmed, tried to get free, but there was little he could do from this position. His back lacked the flexibility to even think of anything fancy. He was trapped. He knew. She knew.

Even so… ”Good move.” He grunted and balled his fists tight to fight the pain. ”Had worse, though. Not giving up that easy. Nice…” He clamped his teeth down hard as his spine bent back just a little further. ”Nice try.”

Army Rodriguez was a tough guy, no question about it. Yes, he did have a pretty young Japanese woman using his body like a piece of furniture while bending his spine in a way it wasn’t meant to bend. But lesser men would be screaming, maybe even begging for mercy in his position. Army on the other hand, despite all the obvious pain he was in, was still able to talk like it was nothing. Ballsy, but perhaps not wise.

“Have you now?” Mariko asked sarcastically after Army said he’d had worse. She giggled, then leaned in until her lips were right by his ear. “In that case, I suppose I’ll just have to try something else then, won’t I?~” And with that she immediately began to shift around on Army’s back. Keeping his arms where they were, she let go of his chin and let his torso fall to the mat, only to snake her legs around his arms and lock her feet right behind his neck to transition from the camel clutch into a lotus lock.

If Army had just kept quiet, maybe she might’ve stayed in the camel clutch for a while longer. Painful as that would’ve been, he eventually probably would’ve been able to squirm over to the ropes. But now Mariko was not only still torturing him from her comfortable perch on his back, but now she was once again focusing on his arms. And the vixen was eager to see if he’d be able to act just as tough in this hold as he had in the last one.

Yeah. Yeah, in hindsight, that was a really dumb thing for Army to say, and he kind of regretted saying it the moment it escaped his lips. His thinking had been that there wasn’t anything worse she could’ve done to him, at least not without letting go of the hold, but he figured that was wrong the moment she started talking. Mariko had a plan. Of course she had a plan.

”Hey, what-” He turned his head about as she started to move around on him, shifting, capturing his arms, starting to bring them together. ”No, no, fuck, shit-”

He tried to squirm free, but it was too late. She’d completed the hold, his face was on the floor, and the pressure was being applied. Army wasn’t exactly renowned for his flexibility, and this move pushed him to the absolute limits, feeling like his arms were going to come right out of their sockets. That would’ve been bad enough, but the way her weight came down, it was making it supremely hard to lift his chest up and move forward, which he desperately needed to do.

He was stuck. For the moment, all he could do was futilely try to push forward with his leg, and that wasn’t getting him anywhere fast. ”Gah, come on!”

Mariko couldn’t help but laugh a bit at Army’s reaction as she locked in her new hold. It was pretty clear even before she’d finished applying it that the boxer knew his little display of “toughness” had already come back to bite him on the ass. And now he was having to endure the consequences, all while Mariko just ever so casually sat on him and tortured his arms.

“What’s wrong, Army-chan? If I didn’t know better I’d say you’re having a bit of trouble down there~” she teased with a playful giggle. Then to add further insult to injury, she adjusted her boots until the tops of her feet were resting right against the sides of Army’s handsome face.

“I’ll make you a deal. Kiss them both, submit, and beg me to let you go, then I’ll think about it. How’s that sound?” Mariko asked, squeezing with her legs to crank up the pressure on his arms just a bit more while she waited to see if he was ready to surrender.