SD III: Mariko Ishii vs. Ninjette

Mariko’s lips stretched into a grin when Kozue suddenly jerked back up and whirled around to face her. The expression on the brunette’s face was priceless - both the initial surprise in her eyes, and the eagerness that settled in quickly after.

“Hey there~” she greeted playfully, before easing herself back down to the mat.

“Sure did. Although, I hope you know you’re going to have to finish what you started. You know, once we get to your place in a little while,” Mariko replied, referring to the orgasm she’d drawn so close to moments ago only to be denied at the last moment. All the while, her eyes remained locked onto Kozue’s carefully watching her gorgeous back away into the opposite corner.

Despite the confidence practically oozing out of Mariko, it wasn’t lost on her that the previous round had had all the potential to go very differently. As thoroughly as Kozue had controlled the first round and worn Mariko out during it, it had been as much through luck as it had been through skill that she’d been able to turn the tables in her favor. She understood that, and she knew that with everything now evened up, it was now do or die for both of them. One key move could assure victory, but one mistake could spell certain doom.

Kozue had secured the first round because she’d been able to fly and run about far too quickly for Mariko to keep up. Mariko had taken the second round by, mostly, managing to keep that lethal agility of her foe’s under control. It seemed pretty clear to her the keys to victory would be the same, so it made all the sense in the world to approach this round the same as the last. And when the bell finally rang Mariko quickly shifted out toward the middle of the ring with her hands raised. Not in preparation for an attack, but in full expectation of a speeding ninja dashing her way and the hope that she’d see whatever her foe’s move was soon enough to counter it...

It took Kozue a moment to get what Mariko was putting down, but when she did, she couldn’t keep the chuckle inside. Just like she’d thought, the little demoness hadn’t been able to get the satisfaction she’d been craving. On one hand, she was honestly a little surprised - less moral opponent's would’ve just finished up, whether Kouze was conscious for it or not. Mariko held back. She liked that. She respected that. But Kozue’s respect was absolutely not going to stop her from taking advantage of that later on, regardless of who won.

That was later, though. Now was trash-talk time. ”Confident. Liking that.” She whipped her head back, clearing her face of all the hairs, making sure her vision was clear. ”But don’t forget - if I hadn’t bumped this up to a two-out-of-three falls, it’d already be over.” She flashed a grin and ran her tongue over her teeth. ”Let’s finish it.”

The referee seemed just as eager for the climax as they both were, as promptly threw down her hands and got out of the way. Mariko was the first out of the gate, moving in her measured stance, calm and calculated and oh-so cool. Kozue’s first instinct was to come barreling out at full blast and try to take her quick, but despite popular opinion, she could remember past two minutes. The kamikaze strategy was fine for one-off matches, but it wasn’t going to work when multiple rounds were involved. Not against Mariko.

The slower pace wasn’t her typical style, but that was what she was going to try for - at least at the onset. She came out of the corner, mimicking Mariko’s form as she neared, and threw herself into a collar-and-elbow tie-up the second she was close enough, taking the voluptuous vixen head-on.

"Yeah. I'll make sure you regret that soon enough," Mariko replied with a smirk. It was true that her chances were only still alive because of the special stipulations. Hell, if it weren't for that this not only would've been over already, it would've been the most decisive and dominant defeat Mariko had ever suffered. But "what if"s didn't matter now. It was do-or-die time, and the Japanese vixen was hellbent on walking out victorious.

She was a tad surprised when Ninjette opted for a somewhat more conservative approach than typical of her. Mariko wasn't entirely sure whether it was because of fatigue, or if Kozue was just trying to be more cautious with her energy. Maybe it was both.

But when her foe lunged out for the lockup, Mariko instead dropped down to a kneel while swerving under Kozue's arms to maneuver behind her. From there she'd quickly try to throw her arms around the brunette's slender waist, wanting to throw her up and overhead with a German Suplex!

Kozue couldn't hide a little smile at Mariko’s words - well, more of a smile than she'd perpetually had since this began. ‘Regret’? Not the word she wouldve used. Sure, winning would've been nice, but she'd tripled her in-ring time, and it was turning out to be a blast. If she could go back in time and know what she knew now, she'd make the same choice. No question.

Besides, she wasn't done yet. This match was still hers to win, and when she did, it'd make the victory - and the almost-certain sex afterwards - so much sweeter.

Mariko likely felt the same way, as she came in quick and swift, putting her superior technical skills on display as she maneuvered around Kozue, getting her into the waist lock in a single motion. From there, it was all academic - The New Jersey Ninja found herself flying, ass-over-teakettle.

But Kozue was at home in the air. As she flew, she whipped her body about and turned the suplex into a backflip, so she came down on her feet instead of her back - a single foot, at least. She dropped down to a knee on the landing, as the match took its toll on her stamina, but that was still better than Mariko, who was on her back before her. Wide open. Vulnerable.

At a glance, Kozue’s options were limited from this angle. Mariko was headlong in front of her, and most of her best moves required her to come at her from the side. That would take a moment, and Mariko could move away in that short sliver of time.

But Kozue had a fix. She leaped forward and flipped her body about in he motion for a shooting star press, while turning herself around in the process, redirecting her trajectory in just the right way. The result had her coming down hard on Mariko’s prone body, dropping on her in a perpendicular position.

Mariko hadn't quite thought yet about how closely she'd watch this match back after it was over. Typically she'd analyze her matches closely, making sure she understood the things that had gone right or wrong and why - though if she tried to do that for this match, chances were she'd just end up watching the smothers for way longer than necessary...

That said, if she did ever seriously rewatch and break down this match in the future, she'd almost certainly kick herself for not keeping a tighter grip around Kozue's waist while executing the German Suplex. You don't take down a skilled high flyer by helping them get in the air. But Mariko realized her mistake too late. Just as she was about to scramble up, she caught a glimpse of Kozue's twisting form descending toward her. Mariko's eyes widened in a moment of panic, but that was all the reaction she had time for.

A heavy grunt burst from Mariko's lips when the ninja crashed right down on top of her torso, blasting air right out of her lungs. Again she found herself grateful that Kozue was as light as she was. Still, this was a bad point in the match to be having the wind knocked out of her...

Mariko wasn’t the only one getting the wind knocked out of her. She had a nice, soft body - especially around the chest area - but that didn’t mean she was all that pleasant to land on, especially with a body that had taken the kind of punishment Kozue’s had suffered. It wasn’t as bad as it would’ve been if she tried something from the top rope, but the impact still reawakened every little ache and pain, made her relive the beautiful battering she’d taken. As if she needed the reminder.

She rolled away while she hissed, grasping her chest and fighting the reflexive instinct to go for a pin. It was tempting to try for a smother, but Kozue knew better. Her meal needed some more tenderizing first. Just a bit more. Best to go for it when she was sure it could work.

With that in mind, she rolled back over and wrapped her arm around Mariko’s head, trying to catch her with an inverted headlock. From there, she began to stand up, pulling her opponent up along with her and forcing her to stand with her back bent. An awkward way to get her up, but it had some potential.

Plus, it doubled as an armpit smother. Not that Kozue was going for that, but it never hurt to have options.

Mariko was slightly relieved when Kozue didn't try to immediately follow up with a smother. Whether or not it would've worked yet, it was at least nice to not have to worry about expending the energy to fight her off. But what breathing room she had proved to be brief regardless.

The arm came around her head, and Mariko was eased up toward her feet, with her mouth and nose sealed off by Kozue's armpit. If her foe's arm had been just a few inches further down her body, the violet haired beauty would've been trapped in a picture perfect dragon sleeper, a hold whose deadly potential she understood as well as anyone. Even still, this was serving its purpose quite well. There was a painful strain in Mariko's spine, and the smother was effectively cutting off her breathing.

She squirmed and groaned for several seconds while pushing at her arm. Mariko had a bad feeling that alone wouldn't be enough to free her from Kozue's clutches. But she had to try...

Kozue’s original plan had been a simple one - all she wanted to do was force Mariko to stand in awkward position, one that left her open and vulnerable for anything. Maybe she'd slam her with an inverted DDT, maybe she'd just bash her in the stomach, maybe she'd give those delicious breasts a good fondling. So man possibilities.

But, as she was rising, her eyes lit up when inspiration struck like a white-hot thunderbolt. ”Oh, you're gonna love this.” She whispered with a dark chuckle. ”Almost as much as Ami did.”

With those cryptic words, Kozue suddenly dropped down to her butt and wrapped her legs around Mariko’s waist, squeezing tight with a dragon sleeper. It was one of Mariko’s signatures, with one key difference - instead of cutting off her air supply at the theist, Kozue’s armpit covered both the mouth and her nose, turning it into a smother. She kept herself clean, so it wouldn't be a nasty way to go, and it would be effective if she locked it in.

Plus, the idea of putting Mariko away with a variation of her own mainstay was just too tempting an idea to pass up.

Mariko wasn't immediately sure what vil plan was brewing in the ninja's mind, but that didn't sound good. That didn't sound good at all.

And only once she mentioned Ami did Kozue's intentions finally become clear to Mariko. But at that point there was nothing she could do to stop it. She fell, her foe's limbs coiled around her like a boa constrictor, and Mariko was suddenly being tortured with one of her own holds, the Dragon Clutch.

"MMMMMPH!!!" she screamed against Kozue's armpit while her squirming quickly turned to franticly thrashing about, or at least as much as she could while confined in this hold. Her back, her sides, her head, her neck. All were screaming in pain, and the smother was only making things even worse. At least it didn't smell terrible. As small a consolation as that was, it was one she likely wouldn't have been afforded against most other opponents.

If this were a normal match, chances were Mariko would be tapping out right now. She very much wanted to, but she knew this match couldn't be won by submission. Her options were to either endure the agony until she was smothered out, or dig and claw her way out of this hole.

Opting to at least attempt the latter, Mariko started by poking the tip of her tongue out and lightly brushing it against Kozue's armpit. It probably wouldn't be the most pleasant taste ever, though she doubted it would be the worst either. But more importantly, while she wasn't sure just how ticklish her foe was, anything that could help even slightly was worth a try. And while she did that, her fingers tried to worm their way under Kozue's bicep and push the arm off of her. Even if it worked it wouldn't free her from the body scissor. But stopping the smother first was more important.

Besides, despite the pain that came with the scissor hold, Mariko still loved the feeling of those perfect legs wrapped around her.

Kozue giggled when Mariko screamed against her armpit. In hindsight, that was a little preview of what was about to happen.

She'd always been a ticklish girl, something her last girlfriend had always enjoyed taking advantage of in the bedroom when she wanted to spice things up. She hadn't figured on it playing a part in any match, though. Especially not an intense one like this.

But then she felt the tongue flicking against her skin, her nerve endings started to light up, and, well…

”Ha!”

It began as a blurt, and once the floodgates opened, there was no stopping the flood of giggles that followed. It wasn't a problem by itself - it wasn't like Mariko was going to tickle her into submission. But the more she laughed, the harder it was to focus, the harder it was to hold on, and the harder it was to stop Mariko from squirming out and popping he head free.

Sure enough, she got her cute little purple head out from underneath Kozue’s arm, and the New Jersey Ninja could only groan as it happened. Big loss, but she still had the body scissor, so she flopped on her back, tightened up, and put all her energy into her lower body, trying to get the biggest possible bang for her buck.