Hana Fujioka vs. Army Rodriguez ~Big Guy, Bigger Girl~

Hana's only response to Army's words was a smirk, a wide smirk creeping across the length of her face. Not an insulting or a mean smirk, but rather a more playful, friendly one. She took a short step back from him, keeping his arm held with one hand, as the other reaching up for his hair. She grabbed a thick handful of it, and yanked him down, forcing the large man to double over, bending down in front of her. Then she pulled him forwards, shoving his head right in-between her thick, sweat-covered thighs, clamping them around his face as she prepared for her finisher.

If she had been back home, she would have been expecting to hear the cheers and roars of the crowd around her. They would know what was coming. The AFW audience, however, had no clue of what Hana was preparing for. They would learn soon enough though, once she had lifted up Army.

That was her next step. She leaned down towards him, letting her arms creep forward, wrapping around his waist, hugging him nice and tightly, her body just barely pressing against his back as she paused, taking a moment to gather her strength. Then, with a low growl, one that was slowly rising in volume, she began to lift him, her arms flexing, her powerful muscles bulging, as she began to haul Army off of his feet. Was she tired? Yeah, she was. Was she aching? Of course. But did she still have enough strength for one more big, powerful attack? Damn straight she did!

It took quite a bit of effort, the Amazonian grappler forced to exert herself pretty hard to get the big, heavy Army back up off of his feet and up into the air again. Once he was up, though, she hefted him over, turning him in midair so that he lied atop of one of her shoulders.

She stood there for a moment, Hana letting him rest in that position, her hands holding him up by his armpits. Normally she would have just let him drop, but this time, for her debut? She wanted to make sure that everyone could see how strong she was. The audience, her fellow wrestlers backstage, even Carmen standing there at ringside. She was going to make a name for herself here in Tension, and this was her first sign to everyone of what they had to look forward to in the future.

She stood there for a few seconds longer, her legs slightly wobbling as she held Army in place, and then...she simply let him have it. She started to drop Army downwards, back towards the canvas, as she fell onto her own ass, dropping him into her finishing move, the crucifix powerbomb that her friends, fans, and family back home knew as The Moon Rising Over the Sea!

The entire concept of being manhandled was a new thing for Army. Even at his weakest and his worst, most women couldn't manipulate him all that well. He was a spit away from being a solid 200 pounds of hardened, Puerto Rican muscle, and he was used to the advantages that brought with it. When Army didn't want to be moved, people couldn't move him. Period. Especially not a girl.

But Hana was a different sort of beast. A much more powerful, dominating beast. So, when she hauled him up and forced him down and trapped his head between her legs, he wasn't really all that surprised. It figured she'd go for a powerbomb, right? A little revenge. Maybe he could even reverse it like she did with him. A hurricanrana couldn't be that hard to do.

When Hana lifted him up and placed him on top of her massive shoulder, though, then he was surprised, and judging from the way the audience gasped, they were sharing in the shock. He hung there, looking out into the crowd with wide and wild eyes, as he waited for the plunge to come. And waited. And waited.

She was holding him up. All his weight, all the effort she'd exerted through this match, and she was suspending him in the air. Not easily, sure, but it was happening. The crowd's roar grew with every passing moment, reaching a crescendo, like an orchestra building up to the final crash, and Army winced tighter and tighter as they did. This was it. No doubt in his mind. "Holy shit."

Army hit the mat with tremendous force, landing with an impact that rattled every fiber of every bone in his body. The crash itself was loud enough to make his ears ring and his eyes water, and all he could do was lay flat on his back, staring up at the ceiling as he trembled and quivered in her grasp.

"1...!" He was vaguely aware of the referee starting a count, but he wasn't even sure why she bothered. Count to three, count to thirty, it didn't matter. He was done.

Hana closed her eyes, sitting there with Army's legs draped over her shoulders. It felt good. It felt damn good to slam Army down with her powerbomb, and finally bring the match to what she hoped was it's long-awaited conclusion. She had enjoyed her match with Army, of course, but she was tired, and she really did hope it was finally over.

She leaned forwards and slid her hands onto his chest, pushing down against him as she listened to the referee counting the pin. Just a few moments more, and it would all be over.

"2...!"

You couldn't have seen it from the stands, but Army was trying to kick out. His legs wiggled a little. His shoulder twitched a little. His hips bucked a little. But a little just wasn't enough. Not with Hana Fujioka.

"3...!"

The bell was called and the crowd went wild, and even though Army was currently upside down, he could see quite a few standing ovations out there and smiles all around. It was funny, really - he lost. He hadn't come out on top. But even so, he still felt proud. He'd gone the distance against an awesome opponent. No shame. Now, for the first time he could think of, he felt like he really understood wrestling.

Hana almost didn't realize that she had won at first. She was still kind of expecting Army to kick out or break free again. It took her several seconds after the referee's hand hit the mat for the final time for it to sink it for her. It wasn't until she heard the roar of the crowd around her that she realized that she had done it. She had won her first match in the company. She had made her debut in Tension and she had won.

She slowly opened her eyes, and she smiled. More then smiled. She grinned, a wide, toothy grin, the woman seeming excited, despite her fatigue and her exhaustion. She gently pushed Army's legs to the side, and Hana slowly rose back up to her feet again, turning away from him and looking directly at the crowd. She stood there a moment, basking in their cheers, their applause, and then thrust both of her fists into the air, standing there victoriously in the ring. She had won, and she could only hope that everyone back home had watched it and had seen how far she had come.

Army didn't get up as fast as Hana did. Understably.

His head was still reeling from Hana's massive finisher. At least, he assumed it was her finisher. It felt like it was supposed to finish him off, and it damn sure accomplished the job, so he didn't know what else to call it. His mind was still trying to process the whole thing, nevermind dealing with the conflicting feelings - on one hand, he didn't like losing. On the other hand, holy shit, that was some awesome stuff. He made a little mental note to watch the match and see the last move over a few times, and he didn't know what that said for his sanity. Then he remembered he didn't care.

Match was over, Hana won, he lost. Clean. Only one thing left to do.

Army started to rise up behind Hana, and the crowd started to boo, probably thinking he was going for some behind-the-back bullshit. He reached over, put a hand on her shoulder, and...

"Hey." He managed to smile through the wincing and extended a hand. "Good match. For real."

Hana looked back over her shoulder towards Army as he put his hand on her shoulders, and smiled back at him. She turned back to face him, and reached out with her own hand, taking Army's in her own and giving it a solid, firm handshake.

"Damn right," she answered, reaching up with her other hand to wipe the sweat off of her forehead. "You're pretty tough. I almost didn't think I'd be able to put you down there." She shook her head, and glanced back towards the crowd again.

"...they really don't seem to like you, huh?"

Army returned Hana's handshake and kept it strong. Good, solid, hard. It was the first time in a long time that he'd been able to shake a hand like this without having to worry about breaking bones and getting lawsuits.

"Yeah, I don't win popularity contests. Bad PR. Working on it, though." He sighed and spared the audience a moment's glance, before looking back at her. "And it was close...really close." He bit his lip, looking anxious. "In fact, if you're up for round 2..."

"Please forgive my idiot brother." Carmen came up behind them, carrying a towel for both of the weary warriors to dry off with - there'd been a few stacked by the announcer's table. "I think you gave him a little brain damage with that last move. More than he usually  has."

"Funny." Army rolled his eyes and ran the towel over his face. "Real funny."

"I try."

Hana gladly accepted the towel from Carmen, running it over her own face, then tossing it over her shoulder, letting it hang there as she gave the Rodriguez sibling a nod of thanks.

"Round 2?" she grinned, turning her attention back towards Army. "I'd definitely be up for that sometime. But first though?"

She reached out, grabbing for his hand again, and flashed him a wink. "Let's see if I can help you with the crowd problem. They seem to like me well enough, right?"

She then stepped to to the side of him, and the mighty Amazon lifted both her and Army's hands into the air, looking out towards the crowd again, thrusting her other fist up again as well. She hoped to rally even a few cheers for him if she could, and hoped she could use some of her own sudden popularity to get the crowd onto his side.

Army raised an eyebrow, not sure where Hana was going with this, but she made it clear enough a moment later when his hand shot up in the air, locked tight with the girl who'd be drilliing him into the canvas a few minutes ago. The boos died and the cheers rose up in their ashes, as the crowd gave them both a fresh round of applause. It was nice. The sort of reaction he'd always wanted when he grew up, after a hard boxing match.

This was different. But, in a way, it actually felt better.

He just hoped he wasn't blushing.

"You're blushing, Army."

Crap.

Carmen watched from the side with a little smile, as Army enjoyed his moment in the sun. When it was over, he lowered his hand and gave Hana a quick pat on the shoulder. "Thanks. That was unspeakably cool."

He started to step away and slip through the ropes, as the crew began to clean the ring for the next match. Army and Hana had left a few small puddles around the ring, so they needed the time. "Welcome to Tension. Think you'll fit in great around here."