Astrid Arvidsson Vs. Reiko Shishigou [A Dragon in the Lion's den]

At the moment when Astrid's body suddenly rolled over and collapsed on the mat, the Norwegian girl could not say anything good. The short-haired blonde possessed simply amazing aspiration. Yes, the Golden Dragon has repeatedly entered the ring against strong opponents, but she was ready to admit that none of them had shown the same activity as Reiko. This Lion always found a way out, despite everything Astrid tried. And even now, when the former MMA fighter was confident that she could keep her opponent down, she was able to free herself once again.

The body of the Norwegian girl moved almost by itself. After so much effort, and considering the heavy movements Reiko had given her, Astrid was already starting to feel tired. At least she couldn't remember when her body was so sweaty even before the middle of the match. After the fall, her leg went up and although this kick was more of a form of despair, it worked quite well. The Golden Dragon struck her rival directly in the head and forced her to step back. Such moments should not be missed.

Ignoring the pain and dizziness, Astrid rolled onto her stomach and got up on all fours. She glanced at the short-haired blonde, wiping sweat from her forehead. Damn it, she was really strong. The realization that this was only the first round gave Astrid chills. Was she afraid? No. She knew for sure that it was a feeling of excitement. The feeling for which she entered the ring with the strongest opponents. Grinning, the girl took a deep breath.

She pushed off the mat, darting forward. The Golden Dragon knew that if he didn't take advantage of the fact that Reiko was stunned, things would only get worse. She could not allow this, she had to deal with the Lion right now and take a point in the first round in order to continue the match according to her rules. That is why Astrid was trying to throw away the pain in order to gain maximum speed.

"Now!" she thought.

The long-haired blonde intended to bend down and accelerate as much as possible at the last moment in order to leap and slam Reiko's belly with her right shoulder! This match already seemed to be something that she was ready to call a test for herself, but she knew that the path had just begun and in order to walk this path with dignity, she must use all available forces for this! And even if her rival had managed to cope with what the Golden Dragon had prepared up to this point, Astrid was now going to slay her rival with the help of a furious spear!

This plan seemed to be quite good. The long-haired blonde was willing to admit that this was the hardest start of a match of her life. While that was fair enough given the type of match, but she still wasn't ready for it. The Golden Dragon has not yet fully accustomed to the new environment after leaving MMA. There you can save energy at a certain moment, in order to then throw out all the accumulated energy later. But now, when it was necessary to take two out of three to win, Astrid forgot that she needed to act without interruption. Every delay could lead to a defeat in the round, and then to a defeat in the match.

Forgetting all this, she allowed the Lion to take the lead in this round. It seemed that the Golden Dragon started the match very successfully, but then her opponent found her pace. And when this happened, Reiko was able not only to neutralize most of Astrid's attacks in her favor, but also to act much more harshly than the long-haired blonde. The former MMA fighter realized that her body was now in much worse condition than her rivals. Therefore, she could not stop, she had to bump into Reiko and make her lose the advantage.

Taking all possible speed, Atsrid approached the Lion. But then she saw something in the eyes of her rival, after a moment the Norwegian girl realized that there was confidence in Reiko's eyes. She conceived something and the Norwegian dragon had to stop, but the force of inertia did not allow her to do this, she took too much speed. And then the Lion lifted its leg, Astrid's eyes widening, realizing what was about to happen.

A deafening pop came as Reiko's boot hit Astrid's forehead. For a moment, she thought she had broken her neck as her head snapped back like a broken toy. Astrid's body reeled as her eyes rolled back. The long-haired blonde took a few steps back, it seemed that right now she would collapse on the mat. Astrid almost could not think clearly at the moment, before her eyes she had a white veil, even morally she was ready to fall down. But the girl clenched her fists, forcing herself to regain balance.

Instead of falling on her back, she straightened up. The audience was surprised, because it might seem that the girl was able to withstand this crushing kick in her head. But she wasn't, the Golden Dragon dropped to one knee and her chin pressed against her chest. She put one hand on her knee, and the other hand touched the mat. The girl was breathing heavily and could not bring herself to move. It was only because of her willpower and her stubbornness that she did not collapse down like a sack of potatoes. No, she is a warrior and will not give anyone such pleasure. There are no easy ways for her, and as long as she can force herself to stay on her feet, she will do it, even if it is pointless.

Astrid was now somewhere between our world and the world that was as far away from here. Although in reality it was not surprising. Many in her place would already be drooling on the mat after the damn destructive boot that Reiko gave her. On the verge of losing consciousness, the Norwegian woman perfectly understood that it was simply pride talking in her. But she had nothing to reproach herself for, she was such a person. She could not live if she knew that she had not done everything to reach the top.

But pride was a weak helper in such a disastrous situation in which the Golden Dragon finds herself now. Unable to even just lift her head, the long-haired blonde didn't even move when her rival came up to her and clasped her waist. Only when Astrid's body was parallel to the floor she did try to raise her hands in order to clasp the other blonde's waist. However, her hands sank lifelessly back down, dizziness did not allow her to control the body at this moment.

The only thing she could afford at this moment was to open her eyes. And although the world in her eyes now doubled, Astrid realized that somewhere she had seen something similar. But where? This damn dizziness made it difficult for her to even think. However, the answer itself came to her. It happened exactly at the very moment when the Lion turned Astrid over, lifting her into the air. If she had the strength now, she would have chuckled. Yes, she was not mistaken when she felt that it was something familiar.

She was very familiar with this move for the simple reason that she used it as her finisher. To some extent, it was funny that today she faced not only a woman who was equal, and even maybe superior  her in strength, but also a woman who used the same destructive move. Why was it funny only to some extent? Because Astrid was now best aware of what will happen in a moment. The long-haired blonde heard a rush of air whistling in her ears as Reiko directed her body down. And then there was a thunderous clap. But Astrid didn't hear it.

Many spectators shouted and applauded at this moment, although there were those who could not believe what was happening. However, the fact was simple and clear enough. The mighty Golden Dragon lay on the mat, arms outstretched to the sides. And right now, her face was not expressing any emotion. A person almost never realizes that he is sleeping. Astrid was no exception, now she had no idea that Reiko's second devastating attack was enough to knock her out for now.

When Reiko collapsed on the long-haired blonde, she didn't even feel it. And the Lion, without any problem, pressed Astrid's shoulders to the mat and grabbed her leg. The referee girl did not waste time and quickly sank down. She slammed her palm on the mat for the first time. The spectators, whose main concern was to enjoy the tough match, repeated the count with joyful shouts after the referee.

"ONE!!"

Astrid's face frowned, the Norwegian woman opened her eyes, the clap near her head became an impressive argument for her to regain consciousness. If you could call it that. Because now she saw almost nothing, everything was too hazy. And those silhouettes that she could still see were tripled. Along with consciousness, the terrible dizziness and, most importantly, pain returned to her. The Norwegian woman in all its glory felt the consequences of her own finisher, because of which she felt like her back was chained.

"So that’s what it’s like..." she thought.

"TWO!!!!"

The second bang near her head made the Golden Dragon close her eyes painfully, the loud sounds now like a hammer blow to the head. She usually felt something like this in the morning after five liters of beer and a bottle of whiskey. Yes, that comparison was just great. Gritting her teeth, Astrid tensed the muscles of her right arm. It can't end like this. She just needs to find the strength to raise this hand in order to stop the count. Something deep inside her stirred. The long-haired blonde tore her hand off the mat a few millimeters. And then her hand collapsed almost lifelessly back onto the mat.

"THREE!!!!!"

Along with the last clap and wild shouts of the audience, the referee raised her hands and signaled that Reiko had got the first round. Breathing out in frustration, Astrid brought a shaking hand to her face, covering her eyes and part of her forehead. Even if this was not the end, now she perfectly understood a simple thing. If this was a standard match, it would be the real loss. She could not call herself presumptuous, but she made an unforgivable number of mistakes that led her to the fact that she could not even try to break a pin. For the first time in a very long time, the Golden Dragon experienced true disappointment.

"Fuck..." she thought.

When Reiko got off Astrid and rose to her feet to the applause of the audience, the Norwegian woman remained on the mat, continuing to cover her eyes and forehead with her palm. She hadn't tasted defeat for too long. Of course, the matches with Mari and Natasha were far from fun and she felt the cold somewhere nearby more than once. However, only now the Golden Dragon fully remembered the feeling she hated. Although she loved the real challenges that make her work to her maximum capacity, she preferred to overcome these challenges on the first try.

"Can you continue the match?" she heard a question.

Taking her hand away from her eyes, the long-haired blonde looked at the referee girl who was standing over her. With a short nod, Astrid rolled onto all fours and then got up on one knee. For a moment, her face contorted and she put her right hand on her back. Her opponent's last attack appears to have given her back pain for the rest of the match. The Golden Dragon felt that her muscles were very tense and this prevented her from moving, which meant that she would have to put even more effort in order to act at least with no less efficiency than before.

Taking a deep breath, the Norwegian woman rose to her feet. The referee took a step to her and asked to raise her clenched fists. Nostalgia for the days when she was only in boxing made her smile a little. Astrid clenched her fists and raised them to her chin level, indicating that she was fine and could continue the match. The referee girl made sure that everything was in order and invited the women to go to the center of the ring.

Only now did Astrid look at her rival again. Contrary to her usual behavior, she now had a swarm of thoughts in her head. She never doubted her strength, no matter the situation. But the fact that the Lion found an answer to almost every attack of the Norwegian woman made her feel nervous, at least deep down. Especially since Reiko's every answer was more effective than what Astrid did.

"Need some help?" came a sleepy voice in her head.
“Keep on sleeping, lizard, I can handle it myself,” the blonde thought.

Allowing herself to start acting at the limit of her own capabilities meant that even if she won the round two, she would not have the strength for the third round. So she just had no choice. Astrid's gaze grew more serious as she walked to the center of the ring. Resting was clearly not enough to relieve the pain, so now she had to be more careful. And maybe it was good, because if she continues to make as many mistakes as she did before, then everything will end in irrevocable defeat. When Reiko also went to the center of the ring, the referee raised her hand and then lowered it down to the loud shouts of the audience.

Ding-Ding-Ding.