Makie Akamatsu vs Blaise Cameron

Makie grinned mischievously. "Blaise, huh? Really? Is that with a "ZE" at the end? You know, you could have been a little more imaginative." Even as she spoke, Blaise began to rise up off the mat beneath her, his powerful body pushing upright. Moving quickly, Makie rolled, spinning lightly off of Blaise's back and springing gracefully back up to her feet. Her fans clapped at this taunting, acrobatic display.

Makie eyed Blaise carefully as he stood back up. Now he'd know not to take her lightly, she thought. "Come on, hurry up, I didn't nail you that badly," she said as Blaise got up, circling him. "These people came here for a show, so let's see what you've got."

Makie is the second person to comment on his name, to even confuse it with a ring-name. Amy was much, much more receptive to it, though. She even thought it was cool! Makie... he still has no idea what her angle is. He feels more antagonized, more like her chewtoy than he did with Emi! At least with Scorpion, he knew what was up.

"Got a problem with it, take it up with my parents," grunts Blaise. They're the ones who named him. Would she catch that? "And it's not with a Z." He doesn't feel he has enough time to explain. She's already goading him to get up and keep attacking, downplaying taking a pair of boots dead-on in the face. It's true, he's bouncing back from it - he'd contest he's bouncing back faster than anyone else would've!

But given her goading and apparently low expectation of him, the teen figures she's underestimating him. He could use that. So he doesn't lift to his full height before suddenly diving towards her and whipping his right arm upwards, aimed to catch her under the chin with his bicep in a wrestling-style uppercut.

Makie was grinning, partially to herself, as Blaise stood back up. She glanced briefly at the crowd, and clapped her hands once, motioning for them to do the same. As the crowd clapped in rhythm, she hopped lightly on her feet as she circled Blaise and--

"UUUNGH!" she gasped. The moment she looked away from Blaise, he had burst into a charge and nailed her with a hard spear to her chin. Her head snapped back, and she was sent hurtling upwards before crashing down hard onto her back. Her head rolled, and she groaned as her legs kicked weakly at the mat, too stunned to do much else.

Blaise wasn't pulling any punches (so to speak!) with Makie. He had some ground to make up, and something to prove. She'd been riding him the moment he entered the ring, talking down to him, lecturing... he had to prove he wasn't wasting anyone's time!

The hit landed just perfectly. He couldn't have asked for a better result, and hopefully it would help set things straight. The completion of the uppercut leaves Blaise looking as though he's flexing, but he doesn't hold it long. He leans over and props his hands to his knees, smirking down at her proudly.

"You've been riding me the moment we spoke, Miss Akamatsu! Now what?!," he sasses. Boy, it feels good to finally fire back. But this is time that would have better been served capitalizing on the opening. But therein lies Blaise's flaw - he hasn't honed that killer instinct. Strong? No doubt. Skilled? Absolutely. But when it comes to taking every advantage and keeping the pressure on the opponent... well...

Finally, the spunky teen springs to action. Literally! With more than a small display of agility and acrobatics, Blaise leaps at the nearby ropes and plants his boots squarely upon the middle cord. The elasticity launches him backwards, his body arcing in a smooth backflip to aim his knees for Makie's torso! That is, if she remains on the mat. While there's a chance those knees might smash into her shoulders, chest, or even her head if she's standing in basically the same place, there's an equally high, if not higher chance that his knees are going to crash against nothing but mat.

There was a ringing in Makie's ears as she lay on her back. She groaned and blinked, trying to block the sound out, as her legs kicked dizzily at the mat. Slowly, she managed to rotate her body and roll up to her hands and knees. She could hear her fans chanting in the background. She couldn't afford to let them down this early, she knew.

She realized at that point that she'd made a mistake. She'd been focused on getting Blaise to take her seriously...but in fact, she had been doing the opposite by understimating Blaise. She had dismissed him as a rookie, and so had been taken completely by surprise when he nailed her with a hard counter like that. She shook her head as she pushed herself to her feet. It wouldn't happen again.

She looked up...just in time to see Blaise running at her. Swearing, she rolled on instinct, trying to avoid whatever Blaise was planning...

Those knees slam heavily into the mat, and Blaise yelps on impact! "Anh!" He bounces over onto his side, curled up with his arms folding protectively over his legs. The mat is nowhere near concrete, but it's a lot less forgiving a surface than the human body - especially if landing over a female chest, he figured. But right now, the only thing going through his head is regret.

'Should'a went straight for it, ow-ow-ow.'

But the match is early enough that the young dynamo is already starting to loosen his defense and work his way to his elbows. "Had to go'n move, huh?," he asks, voice strained in pain. He'd said it before even thinking about it. His nature is to just enjoy wrestling, and with his easygoing, boyish nature, that usually includes jokes or lighthearted jabs and remarks.

Makie took a deep breath as she rolled away, hearing Blaise unceremoniously crash to the mat behind her. Dodged a bullet there, she thought as she rolled up to her knees, seeing Blaise clutching his knees. The boy made a light-hearted comment at her, but all of the humor in the world couldn't disguise the fact that he had missed, and was now hurting for it.

"Yeah, sorry, but sitting there and being a big target just isn't my thing," she quipped back as she got up to her feet. Stepping up to Blaise, she would grab him by the head. "You seem to be having trouble moving. Here, lemme help you with that. So saying, she would grab for one of Blaise's arms and try to whip him towards the ropes.

It's clear in his voice, expression, and even the way he's carrying himself - quite literally! Yes, that impact hurt. But had it hit! Oh, if it hit! That would've been a huge payoff! At least, that's what he's convincing himself to make up for the fact that he totally just blew it.

Her fingers find his head and weave through his hair, pulling him up to his feet. His hands move to her waist for balance, though he remains hunched over, not yet ready to fully straighten his knees. But she seems to have no such qualms as she takes his arm and whips him towards the ropes!

Unable to stop himself, the teen runs at a somewhat wobbled stagger towards the far end of the ring! He turns his back, pressing into them before launching forward again! Boots hammer along the mat, his run starting to straighten up. But he has no idea what to expect and can't settle on a counter. Duck? Jump? Spear? He's running out of time rapidly! His eyes widen in panic the closer he comes to her.

'Oh crap oh crap oh crap'

Makie grinned as Blaise came running back. If the new guy wanted to be taken seriously, then that suited her fine. He seemed competent enough to give her a serious fight, and confident enough to engage in trash talk. This meant that she didn't need to worry about holding back against him, and also meant she could have a little fun with him in the meantime.

Bursting into a run, she ran up to intercept Blaise, her lithe body springing into action as she raised her arm as though for a clothesline. At the last second, though, before she could come into contact with Blaise, she would duck back, arching her body so that Blaise ran past her. As he did so, she would straighten back up, give the audience a theatrical shrug, and whip her body around, aiming to snap-kick her heel into the back of Blaise's head!

Blaise expects something harsh. And when Makie's arm lifts as though ready for a clothesline, his eyes squeeze shut for the impact... which never comes? They open again, confused to find himself pressing chest-first into the ropes. They spring, sending him stumbling backwards. His arms pinwheel about, flailing to maintain his balance.

A dull *THUNK* reverberates through his skull, blasting the teen flat against the mat on his front. "Aagh..!" His arms fold over the back of his head, eyes screwed shut again as the pain floods his senses. His knees shift along the mat, but he isn't entirely sure where he's going quite yet. Hell, he doesn't even know what hit him! The teen writhes against the mat, focused only on unrattling his brain and dulling the pain in his head.