Kyo Akamatsu vs. Carmen Rodriguez - Let's You and Him Fight

[align=center:20v7cmp7][url=http://afwrpg.informe.com/forum/post1880.html?hilit=akamatsu#p1880:20v7cmp7][/url:20v7cmp7][/align:20v7cmp7]
[align=center:20v7cmp7][size=150:20v7cmp7]Kyo Akamatsu[/align:20v7cmp7]

[align=center:20v7cmp7][size=120:20v7cmp7]-VS-[/align:20v7cmp7]

[align=center:20v7cmp7][url=http://afwrpg.informe.com/forum/tension-pro-females-f61/carmen-rodriguez-t9867.html:20v7cmp7][/url:20v7cmp7][/align:20v7cmp7]
[align=center:20v7cmp7][size=150:20v7cmp7]Carmen Rodriguez[/align:20v7cmp7]

Match Type: Tap or Sleep
Victory Conditions: Kyo is only allowed to score with a submission, Carmen is only allowed to win with a boxing-style knockout (Kyo must remain incapacitated on the floor for ten seconds. This doesn't count if Kyo and Carmen are wrestling on the floor, but if Carmen knocks Kyo down with a strike, she has to observe standard boxing rules - she cannot simply hammer Kyo while he's down, she has to let the referee do the countout)
Stipulations: Falls Count Anywhere, No Count Out

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Ever since her fight with Clyde, Carmen was starting to pick up a little bit of a following. She was hardly a 'big name' in the company yet, but when [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRfM8t6uvQw:20v7cmp7]Hanuman[/url:20v7cmp7] started to play over the loudspeakers, there were more than a few cheers in the Tension crowd. Carmen wasn't the flashiest, she wasn't the loudest, but she had some interesting matches and she brought a style Tension hadn't seen before. She was different, and people always liked a change of pace. Tonight, she wouldn't disappoint.

She came out dressed in her boxing robe, pumping her taped fist out to the crowd as she made her way down the ramp. It was good to be back in action after, what? A month in the bed. Her last match with Lorenza Saldano had been beyond insanity, nearly broke her in two, but she had to give the AFW credit for one thing: they were willing to pay out of the ass when it came to getting their people back in the ring. They got her the best doctors, the best treatment, made sure she was well-rested and ready for action in about a fourth of the time she would have been otherwise. It made sense - they hired her to make them money, and she sure wasn't going to do that from a hospital bed. She still had a few aches and pains here and there, but nothing serious. Fighting condition, no question.

There were more than a few confused looks her way as she made her way up the steps, probably wondering where her brother, Army, was. It was unusual to see her come to the ring along, her brother almost always backed her up. Today wouldn't have been an exception, but Army had a match of his own to prepare for next week, and he was deep in training mode. It was hard enough to get him focused without dragging him down to the ring for backup she didn't really need. She'd done her homework on Kyo Akamatsu, seen his match with Abbey Abraxas, and she knew he wasn't the cheating type. This one would be nice and clean...as 'nice' as her matches ever got, anyway.

Carmen took off the robe and handed it to the ref, revealing her outfit for the evening - a boxing, wrestling hybrid look. The same sort of black sports bra she would have work in a bout, fully taped fists, but mixed with black wrestling trunks on the bottom and boots to complete the ensemble. Her last name was emblazoned around the waist in bright red, the final nod to her boxing heritage. A good mix of where she'd been and where she was going.

She tied her brown hair back and started shadow boxing as the music died down and her blood started racing. Waiting for Kyo, ready to get this on. One other thing she had to give credit to the AFW for was their creativity when it came to match types. Kyo was one of the better known submission wrestlers in Tension, an old vet with experience all the way back to the Sex Wars days. He would have been a serious threat in a regular match, but in this sort of fight he'd be downright deadly. A fight where he was only allowed to win by submission, her weakest point. Every match she'd lost so far had been by a tapout, and if she lost here, it would just continue the trend.

But there was hope for Carmen, too. She was a boxer, and she could win with boxing rules for once. She'd been knocking girls down for the ten count her entire life. She had a few TKO wins under her belt, too, but eight straight knockouts overshadowed them. While she still planned to use her growing repertoire of wrestling moves, for once she could focus on her bread and butter. Straight, hard, unadulterated punching power was on her side.

On top of it all, both of them hailed from families with long, extensive histories in combat. Fighting was in their blood, tied into their DNA. Victory was a matter of family pride, and they both had the sort of energy and experience that could only come from growing up in the martial arts. Most people adopted fighting later on in their life, but they were born into it. Natural fighters. This was going to be a tight one.

Carmen tapped her fists together and tried to calm down, save all her energy for the fight. She'd need it.

It had been a few days since Kyo's brutal match against Abbey Abraxas, and during those few days, his body more or less recovered from the stress of that gruelling bout. Plenty of rest and recuperation had allowed his stretched muscles to finally stop throbbing with pain, though if Kyo was honest with himself, he was still feeling a sore weight from that match. It wasn't the fact that he had lost-- he had been defeated before, after all, by powerful female opponents like Rebecca Tomoko and Haruka Tenou, who had simply been stronger and more skilled. He had felt no shame in losing to them, having been pinned both times after fighting a good fight.

But it had been different with Abbey. She had made him tap out. In all of his career, Kyo had never before been forced into a submission by a female opponent. He had always been tough or stubborn enough to hold on until his opponent released a hold, or until he managed an escape. But Abbey had gotten him into a back-splitting boston crab that had made his spine feel afire, and eventually, the hot agony of it had been more than Kyo could bear. He had submitted, verbally, to the strong American girl, and even though it had been a rough match where he had gotten a few good holds in as well, he still felt humiliated by the experience.

A part of him wanted to seek Abbey out again for a rematch, to erase what was surely some fluke, but he knew that the American girl had won fair and square-- seeking her out again would be pointless. No, he had to do better, he knew. He needed to erase the shame with another win, to demonstrate again that he could in fact still be a strong competitor in spite of this loss. Both Toshio and Makie had talked to him, and tried to console him that this loss wasn't such a big deal. It was easy for them, Kyo thought: this wasn't their first time losing by submission.

As fate...and perhaps, the subtle machinations of the AFW president...would have it, he was quickly pencilled in for another match. But this time, it would be in a deliberate clash of styles-- him, a technical grappler and submissionist, versus a girl versed in strikes and boxing. He had heard little of Carmen Rodriguez, but a quick glance at her match record told him that she was no pushover, and that she was rapidly making a name for herself in both Friction and Tension. And given that she had a stubborn streak a mile wide, she would not be tapping out any time soon.

Kyo put these thoughts from his mind as he strode into the arena, his fans cheering as "Battery" by Metallica played in the background. He wore his standard black knee-length wrestling tights with matching boots and pads, leaving his fit upper body bare. His dark hair was slack and barely combed, giving him a dark and sombre aspect as he strode resolutely towards the ring. He could already see his opponent waiting for him: Carmen was taller than he'd expected, and a lot more powerfully built-- she seemed easily a match for him in height and weight. She was dressed as though for a rough spar in the gym, and she had a look on her face that told him she was not going to hold back against him at all.

Sliding under the ropes, Kyo stepped into the ring and stood opposite Carmen. For a few seconds, he matched her glare, his eyes locking with hers as he sought to gauge her will. Then, slowly, he smiled. "Carmen Rodriguez, I presume?" he asked, remembering the courtesy that was expected from someone of his background. "I've heard much about you. I'm glad to finally meet you here in the ring."

It wasn't long after Carmen's music stopped that Kyo's began and the crowd gave him the welcome you'd expect from someone with his pedigree. Carmen threw one last hook into the shadows and backed up to the center of the ring, giving him space as he came down the ring. Watching him. Close.

She's seen plenty of him in videos for the past week - even though she was a wrestler now and not a boxer, her habit of scouting opponents remained constant, and this one had a wealth of information to look up. Even with all the matches she'd watched, there was no substitute for seeing the man in person, eyeing him from head to toe for a quick analysis. Similar height, similar weight. Kyo was probably stronger than her just by virtue of being a man, but she doubted the gap would be a real problem. Being so close in size would be a problem, though, since she couldn't push her reach advantage, like usual. Being close enough to hit meant being close enough to grab, so every punch was a risk. Speed. Speed was the key, here.

He made his way in and immediately locked eyes with her, going for a little stare down as the audience started to get hyped around them. Carmen held her gaze and looked straight on. Hardly the first time she'd ever had a face off in the ring, and she showed it. Never blinked. Never even smiled...not until he did, at least. Carmen mirrored his smirk and took a few steps towards him. "Si, the one and only." She extended her taped hand for a shake. "And likewise. They say you're the guy when it comes to submissions in the AFW. Nothing less than the best for me, all right?"

Like Carmen, Kyo took the time to analyze his opponent the moment the two of them started their staredown. It became apparent that what he had heard about Carmen was right-- she had the look of a striker, of someone who relied on speed and hitting power to win matches rather than endurance or strength. Kyo was no slouch in speed or striking, but it wasn't his specialty-- not in the same way that technical grappling was. Carmen looked like she could throw a mean punch, though, and even though he had been able to withstand a lot of punishment in the past, he also wasn't the sort of person who could simply brush off blows to the head. He'd need to be careful around Carmen, and if need be, call on his skill to counter her strikes.

As Carmen took a step forward, Kyo raised an eyebrow at his comment. "Is that what they say about me?" he asked. "I'm flattered. I'm good with submissions, but I hardly think of myself as the AFW's resident expert." He shook her hand firmly, edging closer so that his eyes were level with hers, continuing to stare at her in a silent challenge. "As for whether or not the best is good enough for you...that remains to be seen, doesn't it? From what I hear, you are a very skilled fistfighter."

Carmen had heard many bad things about the male wrestlers in Tension, how most of them were either wimps with domination fetishes trying to get an easy rise or muscledbound assholes with little dicks trying to get their rocks off crushing little girls. In her experience, that was all bullshit. Every single one of the guys she'd fought so far were decent, and even the weakest of them had given her a fair challenge.

She was glad that Kyo looked like he'd continue that trend. Not brash, not loud, just a straight guy looking for a good fight. The competitive look in his eyes mirrored her own. Definitely a good sign.

"Boxer." 'Fistfighter' always sounded so unprofessional to her ears, though she knew Kyo meant no disrespect. She kept her smirk up and gave him a pat on the shoulder as she moved back to the center of the ring. "And as for my skill..."

The crowd started to cheer as Carmen moved into her classic boxing stance - knees bent, one foot out, left fist leading and right fist cocked and ready. She started to bounce on her heels, getting into her rhythm as the bell rang. "Come and see."

Carmen was wasting no time with banter as she moved back, readying herself for the match to come. Kyo's smile flattened a little into a more serious frown as he stepped back, watching her carefully. Although he was completely calm on the outside, his heart was pounding heavily in his chest at the anticipation of the fight to come.

The bell rang, and Kyo mirrored Carmen's circle, moving lightly on his heels in a deliberate pace that contrasted with Carmen's hopping. His grin returned as he stared Carmen down, raising his arms for a lockup and silently daring her to make the first move...

Carmen's eyes narrowed as he held his hands out for the lockup. Tricky, tricky, tricky.

She could go for it, just to get a feel for how strong she was, but that would be a big risk with the nature of the match. She'd likely need time to score a KO, but if he locked her into a solid submission hold, he could end the match in a few minutes flat. She needed to avoid trying to outwrestle him, at least until she'd withered him down to a safer level. Better to spend this time seeing how he handled her best weapons, figure out a solid strategy on the fly.

She kept her rhythm loose and wild, moving back and forth in perfect step, keeping their eyes deadlocked until she decided to give him the first move he was asking for. Carmen slid towards him with fake jab, going for his face, then jerked to the side and tried to tag him with the real punch, a right hook going for the ribs with shattering force. One hell of a wake-up call.

For a few seconds, Kyo waited to see how Carmen would respond to the lockup challenge. A small part of him hoped that she would go ahead and launch herself into a grapple-- the latina girl wasn't lacking in strong arms, after all, and he was more than a little curious as to how strong she was. But she was a striker, and Kyo figured that she would instead start the conversation with her fists. And given that she was an experienced striker, she wouldn't try to make the strike obvious either.

That was why, the moment Carmen launched her punch, feint or not, Kyo would spin to the side, moving in a blur as he kicked a booted foot hard into her midsection. "HYAAH!" If it connected, then he would grab her arm and whip her towards the ropes while she was nice and stunned.

"I forgot to mention...I'm a striker too," he would say. This wasn't exactly true-- he knew a good bit of martial arts, but it wasn't his strongest skill. But if it distracted Carmen and kept her second-guessing herself, then it would still be worth it.

Carmen cursed under her breath as the kick slammed into her side, knocking her back a step and giving Kyo the first hit. Not the worst blow she'd ever taken, but the annoyance of it all seemed to make the pain worse. She'd missed and wound up paying for it. Careless.

Kyo worked fast, grabbing a hold of her before she could recoup and tossing her to the ropes, giving her a little speech along the way. He was a striker, too? That didn't surprise her. She knew about his family's history in combat, skills passed down for generations, and there was no way a tradition like that could endure without giving Kyo some gifted fists. But to him, punches were another aspect of his art. They were bread and butter to Carmen, and she was more than willing to put them to the test against any man in Tension. Before this match was through, win or lose, she'd show him the true power of Puerto Rican boxing.

For now, though, she needed to mix things up and let Kyo know he wasn't the only one with some extra moves. As she bounced off the ropes and came back towards him, Carmen jumped up and shot her legs out, coming at his stomach with a lower-than-usual dropkick. A move she'd been practicing a lot recently to round out her fighting style. She still hadn't perfected it, couldn't get enough lift to strike the head like she wanted, but it was good enough for what she needed here - the element of surprise.

A brief thrill ran up Kyo's spine as he nailed Carmen with the surprise kick. As the Latina girl staggered back, winded slightly, he had no trouble grabbing her by the arm and whipping her towards the ropes. He had no idea what sort of wrestling skills she had-- he knew she was supposed to be tough, but he also knew that she was a boxer first and foremost. He was more than a little curious, he admitted to himself, to see how she handled herself in the ring.

He got his answer soon enough as Carmen came bouncing back. He ran up to intercept her, ready with a closethline, but Carmen recovered much more quickly than he anticipated. "GUUUH!" He doubled over as he was nailed by a surpirse drop kick-- he had been paying so much attention to her fists that it had never occurred to him that she might kick instead. "Uhh...not bad," he rasped, taking a back step to get some room between him and Carmen.