Kawaii Martial Artists - Rain vs. Maria

Maria's last fight had, unfortunately, been a bust- declared a NO CONTEST, she had no wins or losses on her record and, as of now, was looking to make her place in the ring. Still, she too was just as nervous as, unbeknownst to her, her opponent was. Still, she watched and waited for her turn to come up. When it did, the lights dropped a bit and Maria's entry theme began to play. Her image was displayed on the screen, tightening her gloves, and Maria finally took a deep breath.

Maria had been working hard o keep her agility up, not letting her last match's disappointment slow her down. Maria walked onto the stage, smiling in her form fitting, tailored suit. Her red tie matched her hair, and the red head ran down the ramp. She watched her speed, keeping it up, and calmed herself- and as she reached the edge of the ring she leapt. Her heels came up over her head as she spun and flipped, arms spread to her sides. She turned and landed, moving over the top rope in the single bound, and her feet planted perfectly on the mat. Her spread arms snapped behind her, and she bowed humbly to her opponent

"Ah... g,good evening... My name is Maria Aschcroft... I am honored to be your opponent tonight, so ummm p,please don't underestimate me ma'am..."
She spoke gently and honestly, a warm and sincere show of respect for her opponent- which was a bit of a departure from the norm, Maria knew, but she still wanted to make friends here. She pulled herself up to standing after the respectful greeting.
"And ummm p,please don't think ill of me if I win."

"I will be giving it my all as well!"
Maria pulled herself up to a standing position, smiling slightly as she came to a standing position. As Rain dropped into her stance, Maria slipped into her in the same moment- and was in for quite a shock herself. While not an exact match for Rain's at all, Maria's stance was remarkably similar. Maria had her hands up in front of her, palms turned towards her opponent with her fingers curled slightly- not into fists, but with her palms exposed and bared. Her legs were bent a bit more and closer together than Rain's as well. It was very obvious from the look on Maria's face that nobody had informed her that her opponent was a martial artist as well.

Maria blinked her red eyes in surprise, tilting her head inquisitively- she was more than a little curious, it seemed. Though she didn't ask so as not to be rude, Maria was definitely much more focused then she had been before; she would have never underestimated an opponent, but there was a huge difference between using martial arts to fight a wrestler or mixed style fighter and using martial arts to fight another skilled practitioner. Even more importantly, this was about pride as a martial artist now- if she didn't hold her own against Rain, she didn't deserve to call herself a martial artist. Still, she was even more curious about Rain now as well, but Maria knew that she and Rain could best communicate through their skill in the ring. So she waited, calmly, for the bell, every muscle in her body tensed and ready for the fight ahead. Though, she did smile again
"Ah... your a martial artist as well Miss Rain?"

When the bell rang, Maria matched her opponent, carefully moving closer as well, sizing up her foe. She kept her hands up, her tailored black suit keeping to her form. It was made so as not to hamper her movement in any way, her red hair pulled back over her shoulder. Maria looked every bit like the stereotype of the combat butler- which was how she liked it. Her red eyes watched her opponent, every move, every twitch.

When Maria thought she saw her opening, she lashed out as well- one palm came up for her opponent's face, the other for her gut. She was trying to catch her opponent off guard, make her choose between blocking her face or her gut to try and get in a solid, noticeable impact early in the match. Maria wanted to win just as much as her opponent did-
so, imagine her surprise when her attack collided with her opponents, who was clearly thinking along the same lines. She gasped slightly, but kept her focus. Her attack and her opponent's had stopped each other dead, and Maria attempted to break the tie, turning her wrists to try and move into the opponent's guard and strike, hoping to knock her arms wide.

Maria' now seeing the opening her opponent had left her with, stepped in to her opponent's now broken guard. She brought her hand forward, the heel of her hand leading as she brought it straight in. Her strike was fast, and worse, it was aimed. The heel of Maria's hand was aimed for a very specific spot, a few inches below where the shoulder met the neck. Maria had been trained in striking the pressure points, bundles of nerves, and bones in an opponent's body- simply put, it was because Maria wasn't that strong, but she was fast and precise. If her attack struck, it would hurt- but there would be little to no lasting damage or hospital trip. Most people didn't recognize Maria's target for what it was until after she had connected....
but than again, her opponent this time was another martial artist, so who was to say she wouldn't.

Rain's sweep found it's target, as Maria was not completely prepared for her opponent's answer. She felt her ankle caught by Rain's foot and eeped as it was pulled clean out from under her. Her balance failed and she fell on her back, hard, wincing as she did so. The wind was momentarily knocked out of her as she bounced once on the ring, her head snapping forward slightly. Maria wasn't completely helpless or unskilled though- she did have some presence of mind as to her situation, and she immediately attempted to roll away from the other martial artist. The red haired girl knew she was no good when it came to grappling, and she had no desire to be caught in Rain's grip- if she did, it would be trouble for her.