Brandon bends, not wanting to get disqualified after all the effort he put into the fight. And right before she falls, he grabs onto her shirt out of instinct, holding her up with her face centimetres away from the surface of the water.
Mizuki stares at her reflection in the sea, eyes widened as a bead of sweat falls off her forehead and sends a ripple breaking through the surface. She gulps, and then Brandon drops her on her knees where her body hits solid ground.
"You could've fought out of that," he tells her, taking it as if he wouldn't have won had she chosen to struggle.
Mizuki coughs, inhaling too sharply by mistake once she's released.
Brandon drops his pole to bend lower, making sure that he wasn't too harsh on her during the fight. She shakes her head and she seems to be trying to tell him something but her throat is scratchy from the exhaustion from the fight.