Lu Jiao Jocelyn Vs. Yi Lan

Mercy froze when Allison spotted her. She narrowed her eyes as the blonde Brit smiled but watched as she merely... walked off... Mercy's eyes widened and she stepped back towards her timekeepers seat and sat back in the seat. It seemed like she wouldn't have to worry about Allison. If Lan was in trouble, she'd be unimpeded in trying to save her.

Jocelyn felt the punch connect and grimaced. She really hit Lan hard but it was what she had to do. She shoved Lan and stood up, looking at Allison who was now leaving. Jocelyn's heart raced and she panicked. Jocelyn once again reached for Lan's hair as she tried to step over the her country woman's lithe body and sit upon the small of her back.

She would then look to grab one of Lan's arms and drap it over her shoulder, hoping to set up Lan in her finishing move, the Canberra Clutch, a modified Camel clutch with one hand cruelly holding on to the opponent's hair. This time it would be that ashen blonde that made Lan unique. If she could get that put on Lan and make her tap before Allison even got into the backstage area, then how could Allison not accept her?

<How could I!?> Jocelyn shouted in Mandarin as she tried to secure the clutch. <How could I now!?>

Lanâ€s head spun as she flopped down onto the mat. She wasnâ€t out of it—despite her meek and unassuming nature, she actually had a pretty high pain tolerance—but she certainly had a breaking point, and, between the emotional and the physical toll that this match was taking, it was slowly coming into focus from over the horizon. She kept trying and trying to make Jocelyn understand her feelings, to make the dark-haired girl understand how serious she was when she said she wanted to be friends, but nothing she said seemed to work at all.

As Jocelyn sat down on the small of her back and began to arrange her limbs for what would certainly be a painful hold, Lan would try to fight through her steadily growing despair and roll away, trying to swing one free arm backwards to grab Jocelynâ€s dark hair and yank her down to the mat again. If she couldnâ€t do that, she would be in a very bad situation. Even if she did, she was in a very bad situation. She wanted to connect with Jocelyn, but she had no idea where to start. No idea.

<Y-you could…you could just…I m-mean…c-could you…uh…?> Lan groaned, fumbling with her words, her tongue tripping over them as she tried to pull Jocelyn off of her, even as the girl was pulling on her own hair, trying to lock her into a hold from which there might not be any escape…

Jocelyn was having a hard time securing her Canberra clutch. She hadn't put Lan down enought o keep her from struggling and was unable to secure the arms and the chin lock. All she was really doing was sitting on Lan's back and yanking on her hair. And while that probably didn't feel good for the Chinese girl, it was frustrating Jocelyn to no end.

<You don't know!> Jocelyn barked, leaning in against Lan's ear. <You can't fucking mumble your way out of this situation!> Jocelyn said. <You really are a poor excuse for a Chinese. You make me sick!> Jocelyn's words were harsh but what else could she do? If she allowed herself to get caught up in Lan's emotions, then she'd lose way more. Jocelyn tried to lift Lan's head up and slam it painfully into the mat before she stood up and abandoned the hold.

The Chistralian would then dance on her feet and watch Lan, waiting for her to even attempt to get up so she could try and send a swift kick into the girl's ribs.

Lan couldnâ€t let herself be locked into that Canberra clutch. If she lost the match now, all the effort she had put into winning Jocelyn over tonight would be for nothing. Their relationship would remain cold and confused at best, adversarial at worst, but now, Lan wouldnâ€t even have a glimmer of hope that things between the two of them might get better…

She managed to force Jocelyn to let her go, but the Chinese-Australian girl didnâ€t do so gently. Lan cried out in pain as her face slammed into the mat. She was lucky that the brutal impact didnâ€t give her a bloody nose. Slowly, Lan would turn over onto her back, then shift forward, getting onto her knees, looking up at Jocelyn, trying to meet her countrywomanâ€s gaze. <I just…I d-donâ€t care whether or not Iâ€m a good Chinese or n-not…I donâ€t care. R-really. All I care about…right now…> She paused, taking a deep breath and pushing herself up onto her feet. As she rose, however, Jocelynâ€s foot plowed into her ribs, causing another explosion of pain to wrack Lanâ€s body. The blonde Chinese girl would fall back down, but she would try to grab onto Jocelynâ€s foot as she did, hoping to trip the darker-haired girl up, or at least keep her in one place.

Jocelyn smirked down at Lan after the kick hit but it seemed like the ashen blonde wasn't just going to lay down like she should if she was smart. Jocelyn's leg was caught and she tried to maintain her balance while scowling at Lan. "Let... go!" She growled. "Why don't you care about it!?" She demanded, clenching her fists. It was almost all that mattered to Jocelyn. Why didn't it matter at ALL to Lan?! Wasn't she raised right!? Wasn't she raised to be an upstanding citizen that would make the Republic proud? That would maker her father proud?

Lan tightened her grip on Jocelynâ€s leg, keeping the darker-haired girl in place while she took just a second to catch her breath. That hairpulling had been surprisingly effective, and she found herself, for the first time this match, beginning to feel a little worn down. That might have had more to do with the direction their conversation was going, however, and the emotional toll that it had taken on her than the physical fighting.

Her lips quivered as she opened her mouth to reply to Jocelynâ€s angry query. “I…I g-guess…that I, uh, I donâ€t feel like I h-have…anything…to…p-prove…” she replied, faltering a little towards the end of the sentence. She didnâ€t have anything to prove because being Chinese, for her, had been a fact of life ever since she was born. Maybe it wasnâ€t the same way for Jocelyn. Maybe that was the reason why the darker-haired girl was so angry with Lan…

Knowing she had to keep fighting, even as she thought about what Jocelyn and she herself had said, Lan would try to launch herself onto her feet, trying to pull Jocelynâ€s leg upwards and send the Chinese-Australian girl tumbling to the mat, reversing their positions.

Lan's words infuriated Jocelyn. Didn't have anything to prove!? That meant that she already thought she was the most perfect Chinese. That her blood could never be tainted! At least, that's what Jocelyn thought it meant.

Jocelyn had had enough of Lan's words. She kicked her leg up, intent on leg Dropping Lan's face with her free hand when Lan moved, standing up on her own. Jocelyn crashed to the ground and arched her back. "Shite! Fucking twat!" Jocelyn growled and tried to yank her leg free while one hand snaked behind her back to try and ease away the pain.

Lanâ€s sudden, simple maneuver managed to take Jocelynâ€s legs out from underneath her, and just like that their positions were reversed, with Lan standing and Jocelyn on her back. As the darker-haired girl started thrashing, trying to break free, Lanâ€s first instinct was to let her opponent go and let her get back up on her feet, to try to show her some goodwill. Jocelyn didnâ€t really seem to be in a mood to accept it, however, and so Lan would keep her hold on Jocelynâ€s leg, desperately resisting the girlâ€s attempts to yank it free.

Keeping as tight a hold on that leg as possible, Lan would try to turn herself around and turn Jocelyn over onto her belly. If she could do that, Lan would then lower herself down onto her countrywomanâ€s back, trying to stretch Jocelyn out a little in a single-legged Boston crab.

She looked over her shoulder at Jocelyn guiltily. <I…I never r-really thought about how, uh, how Chinese I was…or how Chinese other p-people were…but, honestly, youâ€re…y-youâ€re much better at being Chinese than I am,> Lan said. She was still holding out hope that Jocelyn would come around, even though that possibility now seemed very remote at best. <Honestly…>

Jocelyn struggled as Lan decided to try and turn her hold into a Boston crab. Jocelyn was focused on the wrong leg, trying to yank her foot from Lan's grip, rather than shove with her free leg. Though, As Lan began to sit on her back, Jocelyn thought maybe she got lucky to only be put in a half-crab.

"Arrrggghhh!" Jocelyn cried when the crab was applied. She dug her fingers into the mat and tried to crawl towards the ropes. She kicked her free leg, trying to use it to jostle herself forward while Lan spoke.

Jocelyn dug her fingers into the mat and turned her head as much as she could. "Damn, fuckin' right I am!" Jocelyn growled. She then flopped her head against the mat as she inched forward a little bit. She switched back to Mandarin. <I'm going to drag you through Hell... you know that right>

The hold evidently hurt, judging by Jocelynâ€s scream when Lan initially locked it in. The blonde Chinese girl still felt little pangs of guilt every time she hit her countrywoman, but she was trying her best to ignore them. The match was at stake, after all, and, with Jocelynâ€s mood turning from sour to downright hostile, and no words coming from Lanâ€s mouth seeming to assuage that anger, winning seemed to be the Cantonese girlâ€s only recourse if she still wanted to earn Jocelynâ€s respect…among other things.

<You…y-you r-really are…> Lan agreed with her opponent, glancing away as Jocelyn turned her head. She tried to press her rear end down harder onto the dark-haired girlâ€s back. She wanted to squish her against the mat and keep her in place until she had to submit. Despite Lanâ€s best efforts, however, Jocelyn was making progress towards the ropes.

<And…a-and I know youâ€ll do…w-whatever you n-need to do. Or, uh…or want to do, o-or…> she replied, letting that unfinished second sentence trail off before resuming: <B-but…Iâ€ll do what I…what I n-n-need to do, too.>