38 - The Smoke Clears

Submerged in her own consciousness, Naoko fought mentally to swim her way to the surface. Her eyes slowly fluttering open, her dark brown eyes were unfocused, gazing lazily at the bloodstained canvas a few inches from her face. A moment later, she gradually came to realize that it was her own blood that marked the canvas near her as she felt the warm life force drip from her mouth and nose to set into the woven mat she lied on.

“4…5…”

Blinking, she remembered more of her predicament. Her opponent had knocked her down for the second time, and if she didn’t make it back to her feet soon, victory would slip through her grasp. Shuddering, the Sniper pushed up with her left glove, raising her upper body from the canvas.

“I can’t…fail here…” Naoko thought, her shoulders shaking as she reached for the nearby ropes with her right arm in an attempt to steady herself. “Not today…not…to her…”

“6…7…”

Esmeralda stood tense across the ring from the fallen Naoko, watching over her prone form intently. Her facial expression was tough, yet at the same time hard to read. Her brow furrowed slightly as she saw Naoko reach for the blue rope.

“8…”

“…Aghn!”

Just as Naoko had finally managed to get to one knee, a reverberating, shooting pain arced through her, her eyes widening momentarily as she dropped a few inches. No longer able to grip the rope for support, she had no choice but to dangle her arm limply over it as her body shook, unresponsive to her mental command to rise.

“9…10! Knockout!”

DINGDINGDING!!

As the final bell tolled, a wave of emotion washed over both combatants. La Rosa strode out from her corner, throwing her arms wide and puffing her chest out with a deafening roar. By contrast, the Senshi was crestfallen, incredulous at what had just happened and what it meant. As she struggled to come to terms, the announcer came online once more.

“…And JUST…LIKE…THAT…it’s all over! The second match of Izuna’s BeatRush Boxing has been decided. Your winner, by way of knockout, two minutes eleven seconds into the fourth round, Essssmerrrralllllldaaaaa, the “Shadooow Roooose,” Montooooyaaaa!! The Shadow Rose certainly made her presence felt here in the ring tonight, withstanding a cavalcade of piercing shots while delivering absolutely bone-crushing bombs in response! But let’s not overlook the outstanding performance given by the Sniper, who fought valiantly in her own right. This was certainly not an easy battle for either of our warriors, who have both earned our respect and admiration for the spectacle they put on!”

As the seconds passed, the weight of the moment came to settle in on Naoko.

“Watashi…” Naoko puzzled to herself as her eyes welled up, only half-believing that the fight was over. “…Watashi…shippai shimatta…otousan…senpai…”  

Finally regaining some control of her body, Naoko managed to get her legs under herself, slowly coming to a shaky stand just as Esmeralda made her way back over.

“Senorita Naoko, do not doubt yourself.” Esmeralda said reassuringly with a small smile, offering to help Naoko up although she had made it to her feet on her own by that time. “You fought remarkably, and I am honored to have been your opponent tonight. Had the match gone into the fifth round, I can’t say with any degree of certainty that the outcome would have been the same.”

“Thank you, Esmeralda-san.” Naoko replied respectfully with a short bow, sighing and wincing as she placed a gloved hand to her head where it was still sore before returning Esmeralda’s smile. “I learned a lot from our fight, and I’ll be sure to train even more to use what I learned in future matches.”

“Likewise.” Esmeralda said, placing a glove on her hip. “You’ll have to teach me some of that fancy footwork, chica.”

“Alright, but only if you show me how to hit things with the force of a bus.”