Panther Risako vs. Beauty Ichigaya - Eye of the Beholder

Ugh, and here it came. Beauty was groaning as Panther continued to bend her backwards and work her spine, but it wasn’t solely from the pain she was suffering. Not even mostly, if truth be told - as much as it hurt, she’d been through the wringer enough to maintain control in such situations.

But it was Panther’s smugness, her holier-than-thou attitude that was the most grating thing.

She had to endure it even now, as she hauled up and sent running to the ropes. Her exhaustion getting the better of her, she fell prey to a hard knee in the stomach, one that was strong enough to even pierce her abs, and she fell to the floor in a coughing fit.

But there was a laugh mixed in there, too. ”’What I did to Blade’.” She spat off to the side. ”You really think you know everything, don’t you?”

Ichigaya crumpled to the ring floor in a heap as Risako drilled a knee into her stomach, sending the blonde collapsing and gagging for breath. From here, Risako had a lot of options: she could hoist Ichigaya up onto the corner post to set her up for an elevated suplex or bulldog. She could push her under the ropes and maybe throw her against the fence, throw some chairs into the mix before she had to get into the ring. Or maybe she could just stomp Ichigaya until there was nothing left but a quivering puddle...

Before she could decide on an option, though, Ichigaya said something that made her pause. Something snarky, accompanied by a laugh. Staring down at Ichigaya, Risako felt her jawline tighten.

"I know you intervened in her match," she hissed, her anger showing through the usual ice of her expression. "I know you brutalized her while she was down. And I know what kind of person you are, Ichigaya, so that's enough!"

Grabbing a hold of Ichigaya's long blonde locks, half inclined as she was to tear them out of the other woman's scalp...though instead she was going to settle for running forward and using them to whip Ichigaya head over heels to the mat in a brutal snapmare!

‘What kind of person she was’.

Those words alone lit a spark in Beauty’s brain, started up a fire that wasn’t going to simmer anytime soon. Right then and there, she made a promise to herself, that when she finally turned this around and got a hold of Panther, she was going to make the woman pay for each and every self righteous statement she’d made during their match. If she thought what happened to Blade was bad…

A pleasant thought, but before she could make it a reality, she would need an opening, and the universe was being irritatingly picky with those today.

Beauty let her irritation be known with a shriek as Panther grabbed her hair - her luscious golden locks, the product of hours and hours of intense care - and had the nerve to flip her over like a rookie, whipping her about with the snapmare. ”Always so quick to play the mother hen,aren’t you?” She hissed back at Panther as she tried to stand up, hoping to at least get back to her feet before her foe could take advantage of the position.

Risako's execution, as usual, was flawless. Ichigaya was now grounded on the mat, stunned by the snapmare, looking vulnerable to any follow up that the Queen of Queens may have had available. And Risako wasn't one to disappoint: after Ichigaya's comment about her being the mother hen, she was more than ready to finish her opponent off. Personally, she thought of herself as more of a big sister, but the thought was the same: if anyone messed with her friends, they messed with her as well.

Seeing Ichigaya struggling to get back up, Risako would run back, bouncing off the mats for some added momentum, before springing forwards, kicking her leg up and aiming to bring it down in an elegant yet brutal axe-kick on Ichigaya's blonde head! Unlike Ichigaya, she did not want to prolong this match to make her opponent suffer, no matter how much she deserved it: she just wanted to finish this, cleanly and decisively.

There.

Beauty was on the floor, hurting, aching. It was to be expected, she supposed. This was her first match in a few months. She’d been training during her time off, spending time in the gym, running the ropes, trying to keep her edge...but in the end, there was nothing like the real thing. The ring rust was a real thing, and it was taking a toll.

And it didn’t help that Panther was good, either. Really good. Irritatingly good. One of the best.

But not perfect, despite what she probably thought of herself. And, as she came running back, Beauty saw an imperfection that she could exploit.

Instead of staying down, she summoned her strength and rose up, powering up with a sudden burst as Panther neared. She spun about as she moved forward, her hair twirling around in a graceful circle, extended her arm, and came towards her opponent with a powerful discus clothesline, looking to plant her on the floor.

Risako moved with a refined grace, one that came from years of ring experience. Her purple hair flowed behind her like air made form as she ran at Ichigaya, the move almost balletic as she brought her leg up before kicking it down like an executioner's axe...

...and then, at that moment, Ichigaya burst into movement of her own. Ichigaya was no less graceful, her blonde locks flowing behind her. If one were to freeze this moment, then one would have a scene of perfection, two graceful beauties suspended in mid-movement, fierce Nd beautiful in their wrath...

And then Ichigaya's clothesline hit home. Risako's air was ripped from her lungs by the blow as she was swatted from the air and slammed hard onto the mat. For a few seconds, the Queen of Queens lay sprawled on her back, staring up at the stadium lights in a daze...

It was a glorious moment. For Beauty, it was probably the most satisfying, fulfilling sensation that she’d felt since hammering Blade into the mat, the little incident that got this entire ball rolling. All of Panther’s smugness, her self-righteous prattle, the way she’d been looking down on Beauty since the match started and even a few moments before that. Her and high horse, trotting around, judging her.

In retrospect, it was all fine for Beauty. Being so high and mighty just meant that she had a longer way to fall, and knocking her off that vaunted pedestal was so much more satisfying when she was high up to start with.

Beauty almost fell to her knees after the contact, so worn out from the match that the exertion took a good toll. Breathing hard and heavy, yes...but she was standing. The same couldn’t be said for Panther, who was laid out and staring at the ceiling. A golden opportunity, finally arrived.

”You look a little groggy, Panther. What’s wrong?” She tossed her hair to the side as she strutted back, doing her best to regain poise. ”Let me help you wake up.”

Beauty planted her feet on those luscious strands of violet hair that Panther took so much pride in, then reached down to grab her by the wrists. With a hard tug, she yanked her opponent’s arms upwards, forced her upperbody to come along for the ride, but her hair? That was staying pinned to the ground, yanking hard on the roots of her scalps. Oh, the referee would protest and start the count, Beauty was sure, but hopefully she wouldn’t have to give the hold up before she heard a few good screams.

After a few seconds, air flooded back into Risako's lungs as she remembered to breathe. She blinked groggily, the light of the stadium blurry across her vision. She had almost forgotten how hard Ichigaya could hit...that is, if you let her get a chance to land a hit on you. Risako had been controlling the flow of the match from the beginning, and she had gotten careless...and Ichigaya, damn her, had managed to get one, crucial hit in as a result.

She heard Ichigaya taunting over her, and then her wrists were grabbed. For a moment, she thought Ichigaya was going to haul her to her feet...but instead, her boots stamped down on her hair. Risako only had a fleeting moment of looking upskirt at Ichigaya, the other woman looming over her like some cruel blonde idol carved from a mountainside, before yanking hard on Risako's wrists.

"AAAAAAAH!" Risako screamed as her scalp burned, fire flooding through her head as her hair was pulled. She struggled to break free, but her arms were neatly trappped, and her feet were forced in vain to prop her up. All she could do was close her eyes, clench her teeth, and try to stop screaming...

And there was the scream. Beauty knew they would be coming sooner or later, had been anticipating the shrill shrieks from Panther when she finally got ahold of the irritating woman, but even she had to admit that they were better than she could’ve dreamed. Panther had a lovely voice, Beauty always though, and it was so rare to even hear her raising her voice. Getting this sort of volume out of her was an opportunity not to be passed up.

”1!”

But, oh yes, there was that. The referee. The rules, such as they were. Had to abide by them.

”2!”

Just a little longer.

”3!”

A little more. Stretch, stretch, stretch...

”4!”

The referee was just about to raise her hand for the final count when Beauty let go of the hold, giving Panther’s scalp some relief. With her hands held out and a shimmering grin, she stepped back as the audience her with jeers, basking in her glory. They could hate her all they liked, it wouldn’t do a thing to dampen her moment.

”Having a little trouble, Risako? Slowing down in your old age?” She snickered and threw her hair back as she sauntered towards her foe, reaching down to grab her head as the referee moved out of the way. ”Up, up. I’m not even close to being finished with you…”

Her hair. If Risako was honest, she considered her long, velvet mane to be one of her best features, and spent a good amount of time trying to get it to a perfect, glossy sheen. And now, Ichigaya, in a move that only showed her for the cruel heel that she really was, was trying to wrench it from her scalp! Risako couldn't help it, she soon found herself screaming in pain even as she was forced to arch up against her opponent's hair pull.

And then the ref began her countdown. Risako was relieved when Ichigaya finally released her: gasping, she clutched her scalp, rolling onto her side as she released a pained hiss of breath. Hearing Ichigaya taunting over her, she felt her head being grabbed again. As she was hoisted to her knees, she felt her anger give her a surge of energy: balling a fist, she tried to retaliate while she could, aiming a hard punch at Ichigaya's midsection.