Mary, who's not having a great time.

Mary felt a snap in her head like an overtightened snare drum. For a second it felt like she was weightless, floating through the air, a puffy cloud of pain blossoming across her already-battered left cheek. Then she felt the ropes on her back and came back to reality.

She gave herself half a second to reorient, then she was back on her feet, circling the other woman. Millie was smiling that ferocious smile that meant she thought the match was won. Ordinarily, Mary would concede after that haymaker. Today she didn't.

With a viciousness that surprised both herself and her opponent, she charged in suddenly. She feinted a jab to the face and when Millie's arms went up she delivered a punishing blow to her ribs. She heard the other woman cry out in pain, and a vicious glee surged through her. Without pausing to wonder where it came from, she gave in to it and transitioned into an uppercut.

Millie, still reeling from the unexpected onslaught, was completely caught off guard. She went sprawling back against the ropes. After a second, she hazily got back to her feet. Mary detected a small motion in her legs - she was about to kneel, signifying a concession. Before she could get the knee down, though, Mary surged forward and delivered one last jab to the tits.

Though not illegal, this was considered bad form. It was unnecessarily painful and generally regarded as a dirty tactic. In this case, it was doubly so since her opponent had already begun to signal that she gave up.

This time Millie actually screamed in pain and clutched her chest, falling face-first onto the mat. The coach gave a perfunctory count, then grabbed Mary by the arm and pulled her aside.

"What the fuck was that?" the coach asked furiously. "She was down! Why would you do that? You just lost yourself the match with that shit!"

Mary, ordinarily intimidated by her coach, was unfazed for some reason. "She didn't have a knee down," she replied coolly. "The match isn't over till she has a knee down."

"You knew she was down! You rushed in there to knock her goddamn tits off before she could give up!" The coach's voice was raising, drawing attention from the rest of the gym. "This is a gym, not a fucking gladiator arena. Pack up your shit and go home, and I want you to think hard about this before coming back."

Mary shrugged and brushed past the coach. As she unlaced her gloves she walked past the ring, where a couple of other students were attending to the battered Millie. Millie shot her a glare as she rubbed her chest gingerly. Mary smirked. "Better luck next time."