Amy Poford vs. Makoto Takeda - 24/7 at the 7-Eleven

As it turned out, Mako's crew didn't enjoy being mopped anymore than Amy did. A stream of muck flew through the air as the mop came swishing towards its target, and several of the girls took a hit right in their chest, with one of them even getting a splat in the face. The other Valkyries laughed as they broke the circle and went over to grab some napkins, cursing all the way.

Everyone was having a good time. Yay.

Mako found herself reconsidering the strategy, though. The mop wasn't the best of weapons, it didn't seem to hurt Amy, and it left her open for all sorts of things. Like, for instance, a kick in the stomach.

Amy's blow hit dead on and Mako was sent staggering away, giving up the hold on the stupid mop. She crashed into a Reese's Cup display and tumbled over it, landing in a mess of delicious Milk chocolate and Peanut Butter Cups.

"Come on!" Mako snarled and kicked what was left of the tattered cardboard display at Amy, trying to distract her long enough to make it back up to her feet.

“You come on!” Amy snarled back. She was using the lull in action to shake out her left arm- it had started stinging, which was actually a welcome change from the unresponsive, numb state that the arm was in before. The mop leaned loosely on her right shoulder; it was a joke as a weapon, but it had its uses. For example, if Mako decided to rush her, Amy planned to slide the mophead under where she was about to step and make her slip.

But as Amy opened and closed her left hand, a thought struck her. Weapons didn’t have to be wielded in-hand to be effective- that one sore spot on her back from where the counter had drilled into her was proof enough of that. Amy started to wonder if these shelves were bolted down.

Amy might have felt sorry for the part-timer who would have to clean up after Mako and Amy blew through the store if she didn’t believe that that part-timer would be the cashier who had left her to fend for herself earlier.

Amy took the mop and heaved it over into the aisle behind her, then crouched down low, arms out in a wrestler’s stance and teeth bared in a feral grin. Her arm was functional, if a little tingly. It would have to do the rest of its healing on the job. “Seriously though, schoolgirl, come on. I'm not gonna leave myself bloody on the floor.”

Mako stayed mostly focused on Amy as she swiped her way out of the candy pile, but she did spare the occasional glance towards her fellow Valkyries from the corner of her eyes. She could see enough to tell a few of them were smirking, trying to hold back a burst of laughter. None of them were stupid enough to do it within Mako's earshot, but she could tell they wanted to.

Completely unacceptable. Her leadership of the Valkyries was built and maintained by respect, and Amy needed to be put down with righteous force before she caused anymore of it to erode. "Bitch," Mako spat to the side as she rose, glaring ice-cold daggers straight at her every inch of the way "You're right about that much."

She started to bring her arms up in a wrestling stance as well and took a couple of cautious steps forward, looking like she was going to slowly move in. That notion was quickly abandoned when Mako dashed the rest of the way towards Amy, bullrushing her and trying to push her back with a collar and elbow tie-up. Amy was a little taller than her, but she was still confident enough to think she was the stronger of the two, and more than willing to try and prove it. No way she got outmuscled by some white-bread, blue-eyed prissy little American Barbie Doll, and that sure as hell wouldn't happen while her Valkyries watched.

Amy caught Mako’s glance toward her teammates. Amy had fully expected the day to end with a dozen boot imprints tattooed all over her body, but it seemed now that there was a chance that Mako's pride could insulate her from a gang beatdown. That was a pleasant surprise.

When Mako rushed her for the grapple, Amy brought up her hands and… accepted it. It was rare that she didn’t try for a opportunistic punch or knee, instead, but it was rarer still that she got to fight somebody her own size. Besides, she wanted to see how their strengths matched up.

But whether Mako was stronger or not, she had the added advantage of momentum, so, despite having planted her feet and braced herself, Amy lost ground, sliding steadily back until her feet pressed against the bottom of the shelf and the combatants came to a halt. At that point, Amy started to fight back, pushing hard, muscles straining, but getting nowhere. She wasn’t about to be toppled over- the anchor helped,- but she wasn’t winning any tiles, either.

"Jesus, is that all you’ve got?" Amy gasped with effort. "When you drop your bike, do you have to get one of the bigger girls to pick it up for you? How the fuck did a pipsqueak like you get to run a gang?"

The circle of Valkyries had to disperse and move as Mako crashed into Amy and pushed her down the middle of the candy aisle, knocking over a few cases of Starburst and M&Ms as she advanced. Good space for Mako to work in. Nice and narrow, less room for Amy to move, perfect to force a head on fight. They were both fast, but if it came down to trading blows, she knew things would come out her way. No way she couldn't outlast some bitch from suburbia.

She would've loved to keep on pushing Amy and slam her back in refrigerator, maybe even break the glass with their impact and slice her up a bit, but that wasn't happening. She grounded Mako's push to a screeching halt, and suddenly the two bite-sized brawlers were locked in a tight stalemate. Not enough to stop Amy from talking shit, though.

"Oh, you want to know, huh?" Mako jerked forward, slamming their foreheads together and gritting her teeth. "Like this!"

Mako suddenly switched gears, drawing Amy in instead of pushing her away. She brought her knees up for two quick strikes, sending the hardened bone towards her soft stomach.

Damnit, Mako was strong. Amy wasn’t about to overpower her- actually, it was taking all of her strength to keep up the deadlock. She needed to switch it up.

But Mako acted first by ramming her head into Amy’s. Amy’s head snapped back and she cried out in shock. If Mako had wanted to push her back into the wall, she could have done exactly that. But, instead, Mako yanked Amy toward her, pulling her off balance. The position was familiar- hey, I could hit Mako’s throw from here. Amy’s arms came up around Mako’s waist... then came the knees. The first struck deep into her belly, and a packet of air escaped through her mouth. Amy managed to block the second, but the first had done its damage- Amy remained doubled over, arms remaining low to protect against any further attacks from below, but otherwise stunned by the rapid turnaround that got them here.

There we go, that was what Mako was looking for, the amazing feeling of her knee sinking into some bitch's stomach. Her first knee landed straight on in, rewarding her with the memorable sound of air rushing out of Amy's lungs. The second knee caught an arm instead, blocked at the last moment. She gave a pissed off grunt at the wasted effort, but it wasn't a big deal. Not when she had so many opportunities open to her.

With Amy doubled over and reeling from the blow, she was in a prime position for a good choke, and that's exactly what Mako went for - she reached out and tried to pull Amy's head under her arm, squeeze away with a solid sleeperhold. And it was, at this very moment, that Stone finally sauntered into the store to see what all the commotion was.

She took off her helmet and sat it on a stack of Coca-Cola cases, then made her way past the smaller Valkyries and peered around the aisle. Just in time to see what was happening and exactly who Mako was fighting. "What the hell?"

The throw, the throw, Amy really wanted to hit the throw. But as she recovered from the knee, Mako slithered an arm around her neck and began to squeeze until Amy’s head felt like it would pop off like a cork. It was locked in good, too; Amy didn’t even bother to bring her arms up to pry at Mako’s sinewy vice because she knew that the attempt would be fruitless.

So Amy deployed her arms elsewhere. Her left curled in and launched two hooks into Mako’s side at short range- but they were just to soften her up. The real escape started when Amy lifted one leg and pressed her foot flat on the glass refrigerator door behind her. Amy then shoved against it while propelling her body forward, hoping that the extra force from the kick would be enough to break their stalemate. Aiming without seeing was tough, but, if Amy had angled the push right, and the women stayed on their feet, then eventually Mako would ram back-first into the steel shelving unit of the aisle that they had just left.

It was a risky move; Mako could easily just fall backwards and drive her face into the tile, and that might even knock her out. But if she stayed in this sleeper too long, a knockout would be a certainty, and she shuddered at the thought of leaving her unconscious body in the hands of the Valkyries.

Mako threw Stone a quick wink, as she continued to struggle with Amy and ride the fight out of her. This was exactly the person who needed to see this fight. Stone was getting so soft lately, trying to get the Valkyries to back off and play nice in the AFW, and it was time she really understood just how pathetic their opposition really was.

"Oh, nothing much." She licked her lips and bore down on Amy's neck with renewed vigor, even threw a quick wave towards Stone with her spare hand. "Just showing this bitch how-" Mako was interrupted by a hook, crashing into her gut. "Just showing-" And another hook.

She staggered back and focused on the fight. Even in the hold, Amy was still being a pain in the ass, but she knew exactly how to shut that down - a DDT into the floor would take all the fight out of her. She started to swing her leg, preparing to execute it, when Amy suddenly plowed forward and drove Mako into the shelf with enough force to move the whole thing a few inches. Cheap, storebrand candy fell all around them and a few metal prongs stabbed her in the back, forcing her to screech in pain and let Amy go. She started to slide down against the shelf, nursing her aching spine on the way.

Amy’s reckless assault didn’t let her escape unscathed; one of the steel hooks had caught Amy on the forehead, and a small red cut appeared over her right eye. Whatever, it was a welcome trade-off; better than being stuck in a chokehold.

Amy rolled away after impact and stood up as quickly as her legs would allow… which was a little too quick for her own good. She stumbled clumsily backwards into the aisle, dizzy with the sudden rush of blood to her head, but she kept her feet. Inside the aisle was actually exactly where Amy wanted to be. Sure, it was a little narrow in there, but Amy could work with that. She wouldn't have the mobility that she was used to, but neither would Mako, which meant that they’d have no choice but to brawl, which she was really looking forward to. She just wished the ref would get here already so they could really let loose. In fact...

“Hey Alicia- Stone, I mean. Sorry,” Amy greeted Stone while keeping her eyes on her boss. It looked like the tackle did a lot more good than free her from Mako’s clutches. Amy approached the prone Mako, candy packages crackling underfoot, and continuing to talk to Stone without actually looking at her. “Not that it’s not great seeing you, but can you do us a solid and go back outside and stand watch? Mako promised me a ref, and I’d really appreciate if you could wave her down and show her in. The sooner she gets here, the better and stuff.”

Amy reached down to grab Mako by an arm. “Up you get,” she intoned through grit teeth as she yanked her up. Then she’d plant her feet and whirl, trying to Irish whip her dazed opponent around and into the same shelf, but inside the aisle.