Ciara's Debut: Veteran vs Veteran (for psychopatrick88)

Ciara slowed to a halt, looked back over her shoulder at Rose, and flashed a grim smile back at her, her eyes now combining a look of respect and confidence with an air of challenge.

"What made you think that I ever wanted you to hold back? Windowpane, Price, and Ghost beat me bloody and senseless all the time in practice, so you think I'm going to let you say no just because you're another person willing to give me a legitimate scrap? Besides, Katsumi doesn't get here for a while, a week at least, so if we do pound each other raw, I have plenty of time to heal. Besides, you're off about one thing, Rose. You and I know what we actually did for a living. It's that simple, you've held back in the ring because no one's dead yet. I'm not even sure if you realize it. You're immediately separating your intent in the field with your intent OUT of the field... although you still bring some of your...*ahem* your combat practicality with you to the ring. Which brings me to my next point."

The raven-haired girl reached down, unzipped the bag, and pulled out a wide, heavily-armored gauntlet, olive-drab and brimming with metal plates. She looked Rose straight in the eye, this time with the deathly serious look of a soldier.

"I'm not against you giving it your all here, but I have one request. Take away those brass knuckles and whatever else you've got concealed, and I won't wear these. At the very least, THIS ring is a ring, not a battlefield. We'll whale on each other regardless, but you're the one who decides if we do that with metal or muscle."

Ciara knew she was taking a definite risk here. If the soldier had ticked off the older woman too much and they both fought while armed, Ciara was pretty sure that they'd both have to be taken straight to the hospital afterwards. But she respected the other veteran well enough that she believed Rose would honor the request... and they could beat each other senseless anyways. Still, Ciara saw fit to lighten the tension a little.

"Which reminds me, Katsumi REALLY didn't appreciate what you did to Akashi at the end of your fight, but I've got enough intuition to know that you two lovebirds aren't really cut out to be 'mortal enemies.' You may want to wrap up your little feud without TOO much fuss, though. If it gets too ugly... well... you'll probably have to deal with two "sumo whores" instead of just one."

Rose smirked a little when she said Ciara was up for a full beating, but what Ciara said next shot through her like a sniper round. She was taken aback by this fact, and it was true, no one had died yet. She then shook her head. "Only because I don't wish to be put in prison again." She defended herself.

She watched as Ciara reached down into her bag, and pulled out a large gauntlet, and raised an eyebrow at it. When she heard her request, she mulled it over in her head, and snorts a little. "Hmph... fine." She declared, and reached down into her corset, and pulled out her brass knuckles, dropping them to the ground.

She raised an eyebrow at what Ciara said next. "..Lovebirds?" She said with a low growl, and then took a swing at her with her right fist. That comment REALLY rubbed her the wrong way.

A mildly relieved Ciara barely had time to drop the gauntlet near the gym bag with a loud clank when Rose snapped and took a swing at her. The raven-haired girl's eyes widened in surprise and a small amount of amusement as she shifted herself back and out of range. Despite her swift reaction, her attacker's fist still glanced off her cheekbone and Ciara winced as she began to backpedal towards the ring. Inwardly she relished the pain that blossomed lightly on the side of her face; one punch and Ciara knew she was going to have a great fight. For now, though, she brought up her arms in a loose fighting readiness and backed up towards the ring she knew was behind her, grinning all the way.

"Now, now," Ciara taunted, noticing the damaged exercise machine over the incensed Rose's shoulder, "we don't want to wreck the iron in here more than we have to."

Rose snorts after she manages to nail her cheek, and watched her backpedal away from her. She started to walk after her, more wanting to kick her ass more than she was interested in a fair fight now.

"I'll wreck whatever I damn well please." She retorted, and lunged in to try and clothesline the girl, not really caring where they fought; outside or inside the ring. She'd follow wherever Ciara ran.

Ciara grinned at Rose's reply; normally she'd agree wholeheartedly with the fierce woman, yet deep down, she knew if Lysandra found out about any extra damages because of a brawl Ciara herself instigated, it would be the Spec Ops girl that would have to pay expenses. She checked behind herself quickly as Rose growled out her intent, finding that the ring was a mere few yards behind her and turned back.

The raven-haired fighter quickly decided to introduce Rose to a certain aspect of her fighting style as the ex-bounty hunter rushed in with the clothesline. Tucking in her chin and bringing up an arm in readiness, Ciara suddenly halted her backward motion and stepped in deep to meet Rose, absorbing the hit with her forearm and clenched jaw before her opponent could strike at full speed.

The impact jarred Ciara but an instant after she was hit, her counterattack began. Swiftly and almost instinctively, the forearm that had taken much of the hit disengaged and grabbed roughly onto Rose's shoulder. Rose would only have a moment to see the feral smile Ciara flashed her before the military girl threw a punch with her other fist, swift and hard, right into Rose's side, the same side that Rose had left open by throwing the clothesline.

Rose went in fully with the clothesline. She watched as Ciara actually stepped in towards her arm, but then blinks as she absorbs her blow with a forearm. She tried for an uppercut with her other fist afterwards, but her shoulder was grabbed before she could. She was shocked at the way Ciara basically disabled her attack, and coughed as she felt a punch slam into her side, and caused her to stagger away.

"Tsk... forgot about your damn CQC tactics..." She grumbled, raising her fists back up again, seeing this would be a much harder fight than she first anticipated.

Ciara whipped into action as Rose was recovering, this time taking long steps backward towards the ring, knowing that Rose would be much more prepared for her fighting style when they engaged again. As she backed up, Ciara quickly unzipped her sweatshirt and flung the garment over to the side, revealing a jet-black sports bra and a honed, muscular physique. She stopped only a few feet away from the ropes after a couple of strides, then hurriedly grabbed her waistband and shed her sweatpants as well, showing off a pair of black-and-camo MMA fighting shorts, the camo stretching down the sides of Ciara's legs in wide stripes while the black dominated the immediate front and back of the shorts.

"Sorry for the strip show, Rose, but my to-do list today doesn't include overheating or crashing into random metal objects. YOU on the other hand..."

Ciara finished the statement by cocking her head to the side, licking her lips seductively, and beckoning the other girl with one finger.

Rose watched as Ciara took longs steps back, and watched her stripping off her sweatshirt and sweatpants, and rolled her eyes as she revealed a sports bra and shorts. She knew she could take advantage there, and knock her down flat on her ass, but she didn't take the advantage for some unexplained reason.

"I see no reason why women choose to reveal themselves like that.." She commented before running in, and would try to fake a right at her jaw, trying to lure her into her attacking. "I don't overheat, and there's not a bit of my body that's revealed!" She shouts as throws the fake blow.

Ciara laughed, though in many ways Rose made definite sense. She moved in towards her opponent again, stepping with her left foot. Her right arm tucked in to protect that side of her body and jaw while her left fist swung for Rose's supposedly exposed side, but almost subconsciously her strike slowed when she spotted the look in the bounty hunter's eye.

It was a look of anticipation.

But Ciara had already committed, and quickly the military girl switched focus from her strike to tensing herself for the counterattack. Inwardly she cursed herself twice, once for believing a fellow veteran like Rose wouldn't already have figured out at least some basic counters to her style, and the other for ignoring Windowpane's training advice. If her strike hit, Rose would definitely feel it, but not nearly as much Ciara's last punch. Ciara's focus now was to endure whatever was thrown her way.

"Try this..." She mutters under her breath when she managed to coax her out of her stance. She'd try to sidestep her while grabbing her arm, and would try to stomp down on her calf of the leg closest to her, so that Ciara would go down on one knee, and then manuevered behind her, wrenching her arm in a submission that would no doubt seem familiar to Ciara judging by the style she'd have to learn if she was SpecOps. She kept Ciara's arm straight up while wrenched behind her, holding it with both arms, and kept her boot pinned down on her calf to keep her down to one knee.