Benikage vs. Kozue Kaburagi - Out of the Shadows

”Goddamn son of a motherfucking shit-”

Profanities spilled out of aKozue’s lips at random, as they tended to do whenever she was too wrecked to form proper sentences. For the moment, it was all she could to do stumble around on the floor in a poor attempt to gather her bearings, desperately trying to put two and two together so she could figure out exactly where this all went wrong.

She knew Benikage was good. Duh. But she shouldn’t have been having that much trouble with her. She was older and slower, right? Kozue should’ve been running circles about her. Should’ve been able to outpace. So why did it feel like the exact opposite was happening?

She was doing her level best to rise up and recover, figuring this was the best time to do it - either Benikage would have to wait for her to get back in, or she’d come out and leave herself open. Both options she could work with.

Unfortunately, the elder ninja took a third choice. One that involved her feet crashing into Kozue’s chest like a battering ram.

The blow wouldn’t knocked Kozue out of her boots, if she’d been wearing any. She was sent careening into the barricade, hitting with enough force to make it move a few inches behind her, and gravity dragged her down to her butt from there. She wound up sitting on the floor, upright against the steel barrier, as she rubbed her aching ribs and let out a long groan. Would’ve cursed, too, but her innards were temporarily closed for business, and that included unneeded talking.

The inaction from the bell-keeper at ringside indeed indicated that a proper victor had not yet been decided so far, but Benikage was already feeling as if she had accomplished a few moralistic victories this day. Whether it was by upholding her inherent responsibilities as a Jonin Kunoichi by demonstrating to Kozue firsthand the extensive contrast between their respective skill levels as fellow practitioners of the ninja arts...or by finally teaching Kozue the value of silence by hushing that expletive-laden mouth of hers. Sometimes the smaller victories meant more to her than the ones tallied in her win/lose ratio.

Beni collapsed to the thinly padded floor on her hip with a smacking thud after sending the New Jersey Native tumbling backward into the feebly attached metal barricade. Her more high-flying variant of the blindsiding kick having the benefit of not being slowed down due to the friction that came with sliding across the ring canvas, but it also meant crash landing from at least four feet in the air. A maneuver that was a bit of a double-edged sword, but was nevertheless worth the risk provided you made contact, and especially if your opponent had earned your ire. Beni winced as she rubbed the side of leg while standing tall once more, approaching the slumping genin with a bit of an impeded waltz.

"If you find yourself frantically searching a reason for why you are losing...I suggest you begin with blaming your own hubris..." Beni coldly stated while both literally and figuratively looking down on Kozue, than reaching down to grasp onto her arm and the back of her head to bring the New Jersey native back to her feet. Beni backpedaled a half-step...put some space between them...took a steady breath while adopting a firm fighting stance...and attempted what would be a flurry of chops and punchs peppering Kozue's embattled frame, all culminating with a swiftly spinning backfist.

This was bad. This was real bad.

Kozue didn’t have a perfect win record, sure. She’d been beaten by some of the best and they’d been nasty losses - Killer King, Reira, Crazy Pirate Bitch, all of them had whipped her from pillar to post. Nasty times.

But there was getting your butt kicked and then there was getting your ass kicked, and this was starting to feel far closer to the latter than she had any comfort in admitting. Try as she might, there was no getting around the fact that Benikage had her by the metaphorical balls.

She couldn’t deny it as she laid on the floor, reeling.

She couldn’t deny it as she was hauled up to her feet, too winded to fighting back or do much more than stand.

She damn sure couldn't deny when Benikage started working on her like the world’s hottest sandbag.

The first three or so blows cracked against her face at mach speed before Kozue had the wherewithal to get her hands up for defense, but even then she was too out of it to do much more than defend, and even that was a losing effort. Blow after blow slipped by her guard, to the point where she almost needn’t have bothered. Benikage was everywhere, relentless and ruthless.

The backfist at the end was all Kozue could take, clocking her hard upside the noggin and spinning her around. She flopped forward and would have fallen flat on her face if not for the barricade. As it was, she would up coming down on top of it with her arms over, using it for support as she attempted to rise again, her back towards her older, tougher, more skilled opponent.

Divorcing yourself from all emotion was an early lesson imbued upon all young hopefuls taking their first steps down the path of being a true kunoichi. Whether it was to rid yourself of empathy towards a target whose life you were tasked with cutting short, or to simple not allow an adversary to toy with your emotions and distract you. Despite her many years of espionage and training in the ninja arts, even Benikage was not always capable of adhering to that core rule. Her vitriolic disdain for Anesthesia always bubbling to the surface whenever that vile witch started spewing her hateful machinations and her deceitful, twisted words...

But in this instance...it was her frustration with Kozue that was leading her actions as each fist embedded itself into her opponent’s cheeks and each kick smacked into the side of her thighs. Her frustration with being deceived by Kozue's false handshake...her frustration with being mocked at the beginning of the match...and her frustration with seeing the untapped potential in Kozue go to waste because of her own crippling immaturity. Her teeth gritting with every precision strike connecting with pinpoint accuracy until her spinning backfist served to be the final blow.

Beni adjusted her martial arts stance by bending her arms at the elbow with her fists extended outward and taking in a deep and soothing breath. It helped center her mind and finally truly witness Kozue's overwhelmed, battered, and downtrodden state...and wonder if perhaps she had gone too far...

"3!...4!..."

The referee counting them both out did give Beni an idea as to how to end this match could end without any more needless violence, so she expressed her plan to Kozue from behind as plainly as she could put it. "You are defeated...and I no longer have any desire to keep fighting you. Feign an injury...stay where you are...do whatever you want. But do NOT...go back into this ring." Beni coldly advised before turning her back to Koz with a slight waft to her hair before re-entering the ring from under the bottom rope. She would stride past the referee and fold her arms...waiting for this match to be done with...

"5!..."

Kozue and Benikage weren’t having a match anymore. Oh, sure, it looked like they were, but only to someone who wasn’t familiar with the way a match was supposed to work. Matches were supposed to be equal tests of a wrestler’s skill. Were supposed to be back and forth. Were supposed to be between peers.

No, this had stopped being that a while ago, if it ever was. Now? Now it was just a beatdown.

That much became painfully clear as Kozue was draped over the barricade, scarcely able to keep her feet under her. She couldn’t remember the last time she was this thoroughly thrashed...actually, wait, yeah Scarlet had thrashed her pretty fucking hard. Twice. God, she’d been getting her ass kicked more than usual lately.

But this felt personal. Too personal. Scarlet had just swatted her like a fly, but Benikage felt like she was ripping the wings off. She only backed off when it was clear that there wouldn't be any counter attack coming, and that was when it got really nasty.

Kozue leaned and listened as Benikage gave her the choice - no, an ultimatum. Get back in the ring and get your body wrecked, or stay out and just suffer your pride. The smart thing to would be to just back off and let it end. She wasn’t winning this, and if the fight rolled on, it would just end in blood and sweat. Maybe tears.

She looked around as Benikage made her way back in and the referee continued her count, with the audience echoing her all the way. For a moment, just a couple of seconds, she really considered taking Benikage’s advice and staying on the lowroad.

”9!”

Then again, no one ever accused her of being smart, so…

Kozue dashed back in under the bottom rope right as the referee was going for the final count, pushed up to her feet, and made a mad dash for Benikage, attempting to just straight up tackle her to the floor. ”Fuck off!”

Showing mercy to an opponent went against every core tenet of her ninjitsu training, even against an opponent who was clearly incapable of fighting back. There was scant room for leniency when's own life was on the line, and the slightest moment's hesitation on a mission could end up costing you not just your life, but the lives of your squadmates. But this wasn't a mission and Kozue was far from being a tangible threat at the moment. The New Jersey native incapable of even turning around to face Benikage let alone perform some type of miraculous comeback when simply standing appeared to be a chore.

So Benikage offered the brash genin an opportunity to leave this match with some sliver of dignity still intact. A feigned injury no doubt being right up her alley considering that Beni herself was fooled by her earlier deceitful handshake. Beni no longer wished to strike a wounded animal when it was down, and it seemed to be a reasonable way of ending this matchup without anyone else getting needlessly injured...so of course Ninjette continued to prove herself to be an obstinate and pig-headed fool by spitting on her offer and re-entering the ring one second before she could have ended this frivolous fight.

"Tch...Impudent!!" Benikage belted out once she turned in place to see why the referee had stopped counting, and was alerted to the delirious genin dashing right for her. The bloody shadow angled herself so her side was facing Ninjette before balancing herself on one foot and shooting out her other for an attempted superkick right to the New Jersey's native jaw.

...wait. How did Kozue end up on the floor?

She was on her back, staring up at the lights, which seemed ten times brighter than she remember them being, desperately trying to piece things back together as the world spun about her. Something had happened to her, but for the life of her, she could remember what, and the only real clue she had was the aching pain in her jaw.

She’d been racing into the ring, trying to crash into Benikage. It wasn’t much of a plan, really, but it seemed like a solid enough tactic. She had the jump on the elder ninja, she could take her by surprise, get her on the floor...hell, maybe that was the trick. Benikage didn’t seem like much of a mat wrestler. Then again, neither was Kozue, but if she could just get on the ground, it would be more about personal strength. Right? Seemed like a solid theory.

But it didn’t work. Clearly it didn’t work. She just remembered there being this flash of movement, far faster than she would’ve expected, and then...BAM. Over.

She stayed there for a moment, blinking, before making an attempt to sit up. She got about a quarter of the way before gravity had enough and pulled her back to the canvas. Her second try went about as well, and her third seemed to do even worse. ”Fucking...fuck…”

Benikage struggled to comprehend just what could have been going through that thick-skulled, vacuous head of Kozue's. Just what battle plan did she intend to make use of that would make up for her sluggish movements, battered frame, and somehow earned her the win this day? Perhaps madness had overtaken her...or perhaps her youthful and obstinate mindset simply refused to accept the fact that she had been bested, and that it was in her own greater interest to accept her defeat with honor, tend to her wounds, and come back to fight Benikage another day.

In the end, Benikage supposed the "Why" didn't matter. Kozue Kaburagi had made her decision to not heed Beni's warning, and therefore the seasoned veteran had to make good on her promise to ensure that Kozue would regret re-entering the ring. The stiff superkick being angled perfectly with a flexing of Beni's thigh and glutes before cracking the headstrong genin right against the bottom of her jaw, leaving her sprawled out with a dulled vacancy in her eyes. The raven-haired kunichi readjusting her stance and approaching Kozue from the side, gazing down at her with sullen eyes.

"I truly hope that you take something meaningful from this encounter...for one learns more from defeat, than they ever could from victory." Benikage wisely imparted before attempting to finally put this match to bed as she stepped over Koz, and hauled her up to a seated position from behind by yanking on her arm. One of Koz's arm would cross the other, and her legs would also be crossed in front of them as Beni sat herself behind the dazed genin. The application of Benikage's dreaded Rikudou finisher would have Kozue rolled back with Beni's leg keeping her immobilized in a tightly wound ball, with a snugly applied sleeperhold starting to take it's draining effect. Several bouncing jerks thrown in as Beni's ample breasts compressed against Koz'e spine...

The bad news was that Kozue was pretty much done. She’d nearly had her head kicked in, and even if that hadn’t been the case, Stevie Wonder could see that Benikage just had her outclassed. It was a Terminator vs. T-1000 sort of situation, with her trying to take on a superior model of herself. Benikage could do anything she could do better, could out-Kozue her in every respect.

The good was that it couldn’t much worse. Or so Kozue thought, right up until the moment it did.

It had started with Benikage sitting her up, and at first Kozue thought she was just going to lift her up and throw her around or something. Nope. Instead, she started to wrap Kozue’s limp limbs up, maneuvering her into place, and by the time Kozue figured out where it was going, it was far, far too late to stop.

”No.” She shook her head as Benikage’s arm wrapped around her throat. ”Nononofuck!”

Back she went, wrapped up in a tight place, compressed, as Benikage squeezed her windpipe. It wasn’t just the choke that was bad, but the whole move, the way it made her look.Trapped like this, neat and handled, trapped in Benikage’s warm embrace, all while the breasts she’d been mocking pancaked against her back.

She didn’t mind that last part so much, but everything else sucked. ”Let…” She hissed through her clenched teeth as she fought for every breath. ”...go!”

Given what Benikage knew about Kozue in the brief span of time they spent together in this bitter duel between kunoichis, the bloody shadow knew that a mere pinfall would not do the job here. Kozue proving herself to be just as irrationally stubborn and carelessly reckless as her beginning promo made her out to be, in particular towards knowing when she had been defeated. Benikage knew that unless she was completely lifeless, Koz would most likely jostle herself free of any pin attempt...regardless of whether or not she even had any fight left in her to give.

Rikudou was a submission tailor made for this situation. A secret submission technique passed down in her ninja clan for generations that was made expressly for these purposes...one on one combat against an adversary to prideful to admit defeat or stay down for the sake of their own good. Being trussed up like a corralled animal and bounced repeatedly was a demoralizing and humiliating spectacle to behold, and even more demeaning to submit to.

"I do intend to let go...just as soon as you do. I suggest saving your breath for your submission..." Beni whispered under her breath into Kozue's ear with a soothing calmness to her words, tightening her constriction with their mutually sweaty warmth felt against eachother's bare skin. This was a maneuver that was nigh impossible to power out of once the sleeperhold began to deprive oxygen to the brain, and takes extreme coordination to squirm free...which Beni highly doubted Kozue was capable of.