Tension in Ueno: Cross-Promotion 2 out of 3 Falls Match: Suzumi Ishikawa vs Kyo Akamatsu

Kyo slid the last of his pads on as he heard the shouts of the fans outside, and took a deep breath, trying unsuccessfully to the excitement buzzng in his chest. His breathing was soft yet rapid, and he jogged on the spot a little to put that anxious energy to good use and regulate his heart rate. He had been grateful when he had recieved the tournament invitation from Mariko Ishii, a Tension star like himself who he had been eyeing as a potential future opponent. What had taken him by surprise, however, was that he had been slotted into a cross-promotional match against someone from Friction. At first, he had wracked his brains wondering who it might be. Had he been slotted against a veteran like Akashi Tanikaze or Adrian Kytes? Was he going to be pitted against one of the up and comers like Diana Accera or Gwendoline DuPont? For all Kyo knew, Mariko might even be playing a practical joke and pitting him against one of the many hentai challengers in the Friction roster, a thought that had made him go red with nervous embarassment.

Imagine his surprise when he had discovered that he would be facing a Wrestle Angel. A Wrestle Angel. And not just any Wrestle Angel, but the Tsunami, Suzumi Ishikawa.

Unknown to most of his fans, Kyo had been something of a WA fanboy when he had just been breaking into the wrestling circuit himself. He had avidly followed every match, even the ones tied to dumb storyline elements. Although he had followed JPW and Puroresu for the longest time, Wrestle Angels offered something new, and he had been spellbound by the skills and talent of the WA girls. The fact that they were all quite attractive didn't hurt either, to this course, and to this day, Kyo still didn't believe himself when he said that that had in no way influenced his decision to join AFW and participate in regular intergender matches.

And he remembered Suzumi-- in particular, one match where she had demonstrated her submission skills by trying Reiko Kanamori in knots, practically pretzling her before she tapped out. She didn't have the sheer vivacity of the league's poster girl, Mighty Yukiko, or the indomitable skills of Panther Risako, or even half of the submission skills of Kyo's secret crush, Toshimi Minami, but it couldn't be denied that the Tsunami was a rising star in her own right and a force to be reckoned with. And very soon, Kyo would be tussling with her in a two out of three falls match.

He stopped jogging and caught his breath, hearing his music begin to play. He shouldn't be this nervous, he told himself. He had fought tough opponents in the ring before. But none were wrestlers he was already fans of.

Calming himself, he stepped out into the arena, his fans cheering at his entrance. He wore his usual knee-length black wrestling tights with matching boots and pads, and he nodded in acknowledgement to his fans as he strode towards the arena. Sliding under the ropes, he hopped to his feet, waiting for his opponent to arrive...all the while trying to hide just how nervous he really was.

Suzumi was more than happy to do her pal Mariko a favor. Mariko kept an eye on Blaise to make sure he didn't do anything exceptionally stupid over in Tension to get himself hurt, a debt which Suzumi couldn't fully repay. So when she was trying to get volunteers for her wrestling show in her hometown, Suzumi was happy to lend her star power to the mix.

As she walked out in her wrestling attire the crowd, small as it was, erupted in cheer! They likely didn't know her from her Wrestle Angels days as much as the recognized her from her two year acting stint during her original injury-induced retirement. Suzumi waved with both hands to the crowd, and blew some kisses as she paused before the ring. "Like, hey guys! I totally love ya and appreciate you coming out to watch me in action today!" Suzumi playfully climbed up onto the apron and swung her hips before climbing through he ropes.

It was then that she really noticed her opponent. She never wrestled a guy before, and this guy was big. Bomber Kishima big, or even bigger! Suzumi wasn't intimidated though, she had take down bigger women before. She looked over at him and smiled a bit. So... ah, I am totally not at all into that weird sex stuff inside the ring. Like, this is about wrestling and an athletic competition." Suzumi said, doing her best to address the fact that she was in no way a hentai wrestler. She cautiously extended her hand to Kyo, keeping an eye on him to see if he showed any sign of pulling a fast one on her.

As Kyo watched, his soon-to-be opponent made her way into the arena, to the thunderous applause of her legions of fans. Kyo had to admit, he'd never once imagined he'd be facing someone with the star power of Suzumi Ishikawa, and he felt a knot of nervousness tighten suddenly in his stomach when he realized just how many of Suzumi's fans would be watching and judging him. Calm down, Kyo, don't let the fact that she's a high-profile wrestler and TV star scare you.

As Suzumi made her way into the ring, she gave him an appraising eye, and Kyo did the same, trying to ignore her many curves in the process. She was light, willowy...not the sort of person one would suspect of being a submission expert, though Kyo knew that there was a lot more to her than met the eye. He was taken aback, however, when the first thing that Suzumi said to him was a warning about sex matches.

"W-what?" he gulped, his face instantly reddening. "But I wasn't...I never..." He had always, as a rule, avoided hentai matches and treated his female opponents with dignity, even when things sometimes got...distracting in the ring (he still remembered that near-kiss he had with Mindy Priest). He swallowed, realizing that he was getting flustered. "Y...you must have gotten the wrong impression about me, Ishikawa-san, I'm not the sort of person who'd...want to do that with you...in a match. I mean...not that I don't find you attractive...wait, I mean..."

Well, this was a first. The match hadn't even begun and he was already making an ass of himself.

Suzumi chuckled as Kyo spoke. He seemed like a nice guy, which eased her worries. Now she knew she had a nice little tool to use against him.

As the bell rang, she playfully rocked her hips as she held her hands up. "So, like, wanna lock up and get this show on the road?" She asked with as innocent a smile as she could muster. Trying to overpower him was out of the question, but she was confident in her ring smarts, her footwork, and her technique. Indeed, if he thought her body was doing talking right now Kyo was in for a surprise. He hadn't seen anything yet.....

Kyo was trying desperately to regain his composure now, and to get back his game face, but the damage had already been done-- Suzumi now seemed aware of his apprehension. Even worse, she seemed willing to take advantage of it-- Kyo saw her give him a playful smile, and his face reddened further as she teasingly rocked her hips. No, dammit, focus on her movements! he thought to himself. Get your head back in the game!

He almost didn't notice that the bell had rang. Startled, he nonetheless allowed instinct to take over, moving into a circle as he locked eyes with Suzumi. Steadying his breathing, he watched her as she motioned for a lockup. She's up to something, he thought, readying himself for a trap as he moved in to tie up with her...

Suzumi smiled as Kyo accepted the lockup! She remained firm for a split second before springing her trap on him! As the two locked up, Suzumi did her best to extend her arms and keep distance between his chest and hers. Keeping hold with her hands, she jumped up tucking her legs in and extending them back out into his chest as hard as she could! While not the most triumphant way to start, a surprise standing dropkick just might send Kyo down onto his back!

Suzumi knew the crowd would love it, but Kyo would be on his guard from here on out. To Suzumi it was worth the tradeoff since it meant she could potentially kick off the match decisively!

Kyo's heart raced as he tied up with Suzumi. In an instant, the two were grappling and twisting at the part of the ring. A part of Kyo's brain was racing with sheer excitement that made it difficult to focus. He was fighting a Wrestle Angel...Suzumi Ishikawa...in the ring! Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that he would be--

His train of thought was interrupted when Suzumi suddenly jumped up, neatly kicking both legs into his chest. "URGH!" he grunted as the blow knocked the air from his lungs, sending him sprawling onto his back. Instincts kicked in, and he rolled up into a crouch, catching his breath. The crowd was going wild, and there, opposite him, Suzumi was smiling sweetly and triumphantly.

Kyo glared at her, but also smiled at her. He had needed that little wake-up call from reality. Hoping that Suzumi didn't follow up, he would stand back up and circle again. "Care to try again?" he offered coyly, motioning for a grapple.

Suzumi grinned happily as she looked up at Kyo. "Whatever you like big guy."

Suzumi ran forward at him, looking to run right into the lockup! Not the most technical of things to do, however if it caught her bigger, stronger opponent off guard it would work to her advantage! Suzumi knew physically she was outmatched in terms of size and power. She would need to use every trick in the book to even the playing field this time around!

She never thought wrestling with men inside a wrestling ring could be so much fun!

Big guy. Kyo felt himself strangely irked by that comment. He wasn't exactly scrawny, and he did have a height and weight advantage over Suzumi, but even so, he wasn't exactly a titan powerhouse like Killer King. I've grown way too used to fighting muscular girls, he thought to himself.

For the second time, the two locked up, their eyes briefly meeting as they tied up. Suzumi's smile was infectious, and he found himself smiling back at her. He wasn't going to let her see too much of his smile, though-- grabbing the back of Suzumi's head, Kyo would suddenly drop back, pressing his knees against his opponent's abdomen as he tried to flip her over onto her back!

If he managed this move, then he wouldn't follow up-- he would be content to roll back to his knees and let Suzumi do the same, repaying her earlier counter and sending her the message that he shouldn't be taken lightly.