Akino Sanada vs Samiya Kusanagi

LARIATO: Another swing and another miss. Fortunately Akino didn’t end up on the bad end of a potentially devastating hold this time around, but she was sent for a rather embarrassing drop right onto her front thanks to a perfectly timed drop toe hold. She hit the mat with a grunt, then braced herself to defend against whatever Samiya tried next. But...there was nothing.

Glancing back to see the violet haired rookie smirking and taunting her, the maid growled through gritted teeth like an angry dog. This was turning into more of a bullfight than a wrestling match, with Akino taking on the role of the foolish bull. But the thing about bullfights was that all it took was one bad step from the matador, and it was game over. Once Akino finally got her hands on this girl, there’d be no mercy.

Fully intent on bringing that about as soon as possible, Akino suddenly bolted from her spot on the mat and charged once again, this time diving at her legs, attempting to wrap the limbs up with her arms while throwing her upper body into Samiya’s midsection. Hopefully that’d bring her down to the mat, and keep her from being able to do much with those wonderfully dangerous legs of hers.

Liesmith: She was definitely getting to Akino. Actually, Samiya was almost disappointed with how easy it was proving to wind the more experienced grappler up. She knew the refusal to follow up would sting – it was an obvious gesture of contempt even if she hadn’t made that plain by her grin and beckoning. Combined with the way the match had been swinging so far and Akino’s recent misfortunes and, well, it would take a different woman entirely not to be angry.

She imagined the bit where she’d ducked into the bluenette’s blind spot had to be particularly grating.

Of course, there was a potential downside to riling up a woman with Akino’s reputation for submission genius, and that was all the horrible things she’d be able to do to Samiya if she had the chance. Thus a substantial part of Samiya’s strategy was making sure that Akino did not get that chance.

Somewhere in the back of her head too, the tattooed beauty was absolutely relishing the jeering. The posturing wasn’t entirely for the sake of getting Akino to see red.

Though that seemed to be working, judging by the way the bluenette bolted to her feet and charged her, all but roaring.

The results were perhaps not to her liking. Samiya might be short but she was stocky and thick with muscle and, digging her heels in, she was able to absorb Akino’s charge. The newcomer grunted with the effort and her booted feet slid back across the mat but she was able to hold her ground – just.

Feeling like showing she could do more than just submissions, the purple-haired woman went to wrap her arms around Akino’s own belly, clasping her hands together. And then she’d go to demonstrate her own power by hefting the bluenette up and slamming her back down with a shockingly authoritative powerbomb.

LARIATO: The opening minutes of this bout had not been good for Akino’s blood pressure. A more patient woman might have coped better with the string of unfortunate events, ranging from her blindness being taken advantage of to getting trapped in very dangerous holds with apparent ease. But no, Akino just couldn’t handle it well, particularly considering the cocky attitude Samiya insisted on having about it.

She intended to wipe that smug look right off her foe’s face... Unfortunately, that was task was proving to be increasingly difficult.

For a split second Akino felt a sense of relief that her charge actually led her into Samiya, and not onto her back with her arm suddenly in danger of being broken. But that relief died away at the immediate realization that the girl had steadied herself to prevent the takedown.

The maid grunted in irritation, but before she could even try to do anything about it she was abruptly hoisted and rolled up into the air, then slammed down hard onto the mat! “GAH!” she cried out at the impact, cringing and writhing about as intense pain surged through her back.

Liesmith: For a woman of five feet and not many inches, Samiya was no pushover. She’d done her time powerlifting and, while power moves were not her go to option, there were definitely times when being able to press her own body weight and change was a definite asset in the ring. Akino might be a couple of inches taller than she was but she was still slighter and lighter than the stocky Samiya.

Between that and Akino failing to struggle – probably caught entirely off her guard by the sudden change of style – the tattooed newcomer brought the bluenette crashing down on the mat. It might not have been the crispest display of a powerbomb in wrestling history. It was more function than form but still it more than did the trick.

While Akino writhed, Samiya took her move to its logical next step. Refusing to release her grip on the other wrestler, she shifted her hold to wrap her arms firmly around Akino’s legs. And then she somersaulted forward over her opponent, going to pin Akino’s legs up by her ears in a way that would have the ref rushing to start the count.

The backbridge pin would almost certainly not lead to a win but it’d tire Akino out as she tried to escape, it was another way to display her own talents and having her butt stuck up in the air would almost certainly rile Akino still further.

LARIATO: Getting powerbombed was never pleasant, but in this particular situation the element of surprise had only made it worse for Akino. Samiya didn’t look like a weak girl, but this didn’t really seem like the kind of move to expect from her. Then again, she didn’t look agile enough to catch her mid-sprint with a flying armbar either, but look what had happened.

Right after the unexpected display of strength from her foe, Akino was then folded up as Samiya rolled over her and pulled her legs up into a bridging pin. The maid’s skirt fell down to expose her panties, much to the delight of the crowd, who did absolutely nothing to hide their enjoyment of the sight as whistles and catcalls flew in. Added to that was the fact that Samiya’s own butt was hovering just inches over Akino’s face. Oh, and if that wasn’t enough...

“One! Two...!”

Amidst everything else happening at the same time, Akino was being pinned. But with a grunt she shoved Samiya off to the side and jerked a shoulder off the mat to break the pin then and there. She’d kept things from ending embarrassing early, but that damn sure didn’t do anything to improve the one-eyed maiden’s mood.

Liesmith: Bridge pins were many things – flashy, embarrassing (particularly if you wore a skirt), a pretty impressive display of acrobatics – but stable pins they were not. That was fine by Samiya, who had been looking more to humiliate Akino a bit more and wear her down than really go for the pin. But it did mean that she didn’t have the base to stop the bluenette from breaking out.

As a result, the maid’s shove sent the purple-haired newcomer rolling off to the side, breaking the pin before the ref’s hand could come down for the ‘three’. Under normal circumstances, that would be cause for a scene while the wrestler insisted that had been a three or at least slapped the mat in frustration. Samiya did neither of those things.

She hummed, almost sounding amused, as she rolled away from Akino into a crouching position.

”Is that really the best you’ve got?”

The Schoolgirl Assassin did a good job of sounding like she was doing nothing more strenuous than going for a walk in the park.

”Maybe you should have just retired after that match with Carmen. You’re slowing down, one-eye.”

Grinning like a particularly malevolent shark, she began to circle Akino.

”Or maybe she should have done you a favour and retired you – at least that way it’d have been the champ who ended your career, not little old me.”

LARIATO: Once Samiya was off of her, Akino rolled over onto her front and pushed herself up to a knee. By the time she got that far her foe was already up, circling and taunting her, without the slightest inclination that this one-sided affair had taken any effort on her part.

Akino growled through grit teeth at the mention of Carmen, and at the not-so-welcomed nickname Samiya had decided to give her. “I’ll gladly end your career the second I get my hands on you!” she spat back. Though, as she’d clearly learned, that was much easier said than done. And as much as Akino wanted to rush full speed right at Samiya again, she’d quickly learned how futile that strategy was. Akino had no interest in getting tied up in another immediate hold, or slammed down to the mat again. As annoying as it was, she needed to simmer down and think of a new gameplan.

Taking a few deep breaths, Akino slowly rose to her feet, keeping her eye locked onto her foe all the way. She clenched her gloved fists, fought back the urge to bolt forward, then began to circle right along with Samiya, practically mirroring her steps. Gradually she inched her way closer to her foe. She kept her hands ready to move at a moment’s notice, but rather than lash out the maid elected to be patient, and waited first to see what Samiya would do next...

Liesmith: ”Promises, promises,” Samiya threw back, matching Akino step for step as they closed, her hands loose and ready to grapple as opposed to the clenched fists the other wrestler sported, ”C’mon then, one-eye.”

Taking a risk, she stopped more or less centre of the ring and held her hands out in the universal invitation for a test of strength.

The crowd roared for Akino to be careful, not to take the bait after what had happened to Blossom Fields, but the tattooed newcomer stood her ground in the midst of the storm of disapproval. And her hands didn’t waver once.

It would have been a stretch to say it was an entirely honest invitation but Samiya wanted to prove a point – she was going to give Akino that chance. And she was going to beat her anyway. And she knew just how she was going to do it.

It was a risk. But she thought she’d worked Akino into enough of a frenzy that the maid would take the invitation even though she was clearly at a disadvantage in pure muscle.

LARIATO: Akino had never been one to care about crowd support. It often felt like it was out of pity when it was in her favor, and naturally it didn’t feel any better on the nights they elected to boo. Besides, any wisdom they had to offer typically didn’t extend beyond the obvious. Case in point: Samiya invited her in for a test of strength, and the crowd pointed out the danger in accepting. As if Akino needed to be told.

She’d seen how quickly this girl could lock in a hold out of nowhere, and having just been powerbombed by her, Akino knew there was no advantage to be gained through brute strength. Yet at the same time, she very much wanted to show Samiya she was no pushover, despite the way things had gone to this point.

So, Akino raised a hand of her own and slowly moved it in to grab her foe’s. She kept her eye locked onto Samiya’s, as if to silently and fearlessly tell her, “challenge accepted.”

However, the second that hand interlocked with Samiya’s, Akino would immediately grab the wrist of the same arm with her other hand, then pull the girl toward her while thrusting the side of her hip into her foe’s midsection. If it went according to plan, she’d hip toss the violet haired girl to the mat, while still holding onto the arm. From there she’d try to drop right down and throw her legs out over Samiya’s chest while wrenching back on the trapped arm, hoping to catch her in a surprise armbar!

A nice bit of payback for the start of the match, if she could pull it off.

Liesmith: Feeling Akino’s fingers starting to lace with her own, Samiya’s smirk widened.

”Heh.”

A soft sound of amusement escaped her lips. Too easy.

Eyes unblinking, she clasped her fingers around Akino’s, bringing her other hand up in readiness for the second – and to begin the test of strength.

And that was where things went wrong. She’d made a bad misjudgement and she knew it the second she felt the bluenette’s other hand clamp around her wrist. Samiya went to block the hip toss that was going to follow and-

Wasn’t quick enough. Before the stocky girl could slide her counter home, she was going up and over to crash down on her back. The landing wasn’t that bad – Akino hadn’t been able to achieve the sort of elevation Samiya herself or Blossom Fields had managed – but that wasn’t the problem.

No, the problem was the fact she hadn’t relinquished the arm and, almost instantly, the tattooed fighter found herself securely locked in an armbar to the cheers of the crowd.

This time, it was a hiss of pain that escaped her clenched jaw. But she made no move to submit. It was just an armbar.

Working quickly, Samiya grabbed at the lower of Akino’s two feet and did her best to force the limb down, into a position where she could trap it with her own legs. If she could manage that, she could then work the other leg up and over her head, which would let her roll into the hold and take the sting out of it.

For all that, even if it worked, it was going to be a painful escape.

LARIATO: Finally, a lucky break.

Nothing to this point had done Akino any favors, but now she’d finally managed to bring her foe down and lock her in a nice and tight armbar. The hiss that came from Samiya’s lips was reassuring too, letting Akino know the hold hurt every bit as much as it was supposed to.

She continued to wrench back on the arm even as she felt her foot being grabbed and pushed. Judging from the obvious effort she was making to trap the limb between her legs, it was evident Samiya knew how to escape holds just as well as she knew how to apply them. Not much of a surprise, considering what Akino had seen thus far. But if she thought the maid was about to give up on tearing the arm apart, she had another thing coming.

Akino’s leg was trapped, and the other brought around Samiya’s head, giving her the opening to roll into the hold as she’d wished. But the second she did, Akino rolled onto her side and tried to shift her legs right back into their previous position over Samiya’s torso from there! Essentially, if all went well, the armbar would be reapplied, but now with Akino on her side and practically hanging off of the trapped arm of her kneeling foe.

Liesmith: First the lower leg. Then the upper. Freedom was increasingly in sight and, although Akino was working the armbar like the consummate professional her reputation indicated, she just wasn’t going to have the time to really damage Samiya’s limb.

Or that was what Samiya thought, up until Akino proved her skill again by slipping to the side and wrenching the hold tight – and now her previous escape wasn’t going to work. A combination of frustration and pain drew a second feral hiss from the tattooed wrestler before she set about extricating herself for a second time.

If she’d been bigger than she was, Samiya might have tried to lift Akino up and slam her back down. But, strong as she was, she wasn’t that strong. Nor did she have the leverage and, with the armbar tearing at the muscles of her arm, she knew she couldn’t try to power her way out. And that was fine. Strong as she was, slamming her way to freedom wasn’t ever Samiya’s first choice.

Instead, gritting her teeth in a snarl and ignoring the referee’s questions about whether she gave up, she used her greater strength to stack Akino fully up onto her shoulders. Already in position, the referee was quick to slap her hand to the mat once, signalling the start of another count.

Glaring down into Akino’s eye, Samiya waited for the maid to make the choice she knew she would – to release the hold rather than lose the match.

LARIATO: For once in this match, Akino actually felt a slight urge to flash Samiya a taunting grin as she wrenched away at the arm. The fact that her frustration and anger vastly outweighed that urge was all that kept it from materializing, though the one-eyed maiden was feeling much more confident now.
The thought did pop into Akino’s head that another powerbomb might be something to be weary of. But given their positioning, and the pain she’d already inflicted to the limb, that didn’t seem likely. Though of course, that didn’t mean Samiya wouldn’t find a way out. The resourceful woman acted quick, and soon had Akino stacked onto her shoulders. Recognizing the pinning predicament, the ref dropped by Akino and slapped the mat.

“One...!”

Akino didn’t let go. She just glared up into Samiya’s eyes while continuing to pull on the arm. In a sense it wasn’t unlike how her foe had maintained the triangle choke after Akino had reached the ropes. A nice bit of payback for that. But Akino also genuinely wanted to find out if Samiya could withstand the pain long enough, or if she’d succumb and tap out.

“Two...!”

If anything Akino began to pull even harder, making one last push to try to force a submission from Samiya. But once the ref’s hand went up and started to come down again, Akino kicked a boot out right at her foe’s face, released the arm and rolled away. The pin and her hold were both broken, but at least Akino knew she had something good to work with. She rolled onto a knee and glared Samiya’s way, wanting to assess the damage done and see if there were any more immediate openings to try to pursue.

Liesmith: Despite a small, treacherous part of her mind hoping for something else, Akino did what Samiya was expecting to the letter. She kept the hold locked in, wrenching at her arm for every last second, before rolling away with a boot to the face as a parting gift. The angle meant it was nowhere near as bad a hit as it might have been but Akino kicked like a horse. It lent some extra momentum to the newcomer’s roll away, knowing that it was her turn to need her space.

Her arm… It wasn’t in a good way. It was far from useless but – while her confident little smile was back in place – Akino had worked it like an expert. It would recover but she needed to protect it from any further holds until the elbow wasn’t quite so vulnerable.

But she also needed to shut this counterattack down before Akino could make it stick. Surging to her feet as fast as she could, despite the pain in her wounded limb, she hustled across the gap between them at top speed. It was a massively risky tactic but, if she could, she wanted to plant her foot on the bluenette’s posted knee and use that as a stepping stone to slam a Shining Wizard into the maid’s skull.

LARIATO: Considering how Samiya had been content to play things conservatively thus far, Akino expected more of the same here and now. She’d done some good work on her foe’s arm, so surely now she’d want to calmly regroup and take some time to recover, before trying to lure Akino into another lethal trap. The maid was fully prepared to make sure that didn’t work.

Only problem was, that wasn’t Samiya’s plan at all.

Much to Akino’s surprise, the woman came charging right at her the moment she was back to her feet! Very much caught off guard by the sudden shift in tactics, Akino’s brain tried to piece together a hundred different reactions at once. Dive to the side. Charge back at her. Wait for a chance to counter. Etc etc. But it took maybe a second for the short distance between them to be closed, and Akino hadn’t been able to decide on an effective response that quickly.

A heavy blow smacked right up against the bluenette’s head, dropping her right back down to the mat! Her hands shot up to cradle her skull while she hissed and writhed about.

Liesmith: Samiya felt the shock of impact rush through her leg as her meaty calf smacked hard off Akino’s skull, but she didn’t know how effective her hit had been until she landed catlike on her feet and spun around. Behind her, the maid was laid out in a crumpled pile on the mat – twitching and holding her head, to be true, but not really moving.

Ideas for what she could do now flickered through her mind as the Schoolgirl Assassin stalked over, clenching and unclenching her fist again. She could probably get away with her Storm Surge now, maybe even the Vortex, and she was pretty sure either could finish Akino off. Having shut down the bluenette’s counter attack, she felt it was time to end the match before anything else might go wrong.

But neither felt quite right and it wasn’t until she loomed over Akino that she knew what did. Reaching down, the tattooed newcomer reached down to yank her opponent to her knees, going to smirk down at her for a long silent moment.

Then she grabbed at Akino’s eyepatch and – as the crowd’s booing spiked to a roar that sent a shiver down her spine – tried to wrench it around to cover the maid’s one good eye.

LARIATO: Amidst dealing with the pulsing pain in her head, Akino couldn’t help but be frustrated with herself. She should’ve had time to move or defend herself. But a slow reaction had cost her big time. Now all the momentum she’d just built up for herself had been yanked right out from under her.

Her thoughts were disrupted when Samiya suddenly pulled her up onto her knees, having to look at that condescending smirk once again. Just that look alone made Akino’s blood boil. But before she could do anything about it, everything went dark as her eyepatch was shifted over to cover her good eye!

“Ugh! Fuck!” Akino cried out,  immediately trying to pull away and readjust the patch. Still disoriented from the shining wizard, however, it was hard to even keep her balance, not even taking into account the fact that she couldn’t see anything. And of course, while the thought hardly registered with the panicking maid within those brief seconds, it seemed unlikely that Samiya would let her undo the little adjustment of her eyepatch so easily.

Going for the eyepatch was something that Samiya wanted to do on both a tactical and strategic level, but it felt damn good after that armbar and she couldn’t deny it. True, it left Akino vulnerable to what she had in mind next. True, it reinforced her point that Akino ought to retire anyway. But mostly, at that moment, her sadistic side wanted a little psychological retribution.

She wanted to make it clear to the crowd that the counter-attack was either a fluke or something she’d allowed. The best way to do that was to make sure that the only thing they remembered about this match was her near-total dominance.

As soon as Akino’s hands went to readjust the patch, Samiya went to drive a hard-hitting knee right into the pit of the bluenette’s belly. The Schoolgirl Assassin wasn’t known for her strikes. On the other hand, she had an easy target, not to mention the maid was panicking and already stunned. And blinded.

And Samiya was strong for her size so, technique or not, the result was likely to be breathtaking for Akino, quite literally.

With that done, she’d go to pull Akino up onto her feet, then forward into a standing headscissors.

Almost as if she was setting up for another powerbomb, even with her wounded arm.

LARIATO: Akino’s hands had just managed to grab onto the edge of her eye patch when a knee suddenly blasted right into the middle of her stomach! “GUH!!” she gasped, immediately doubling over as the strike knocked the wind right out of her.

The maid felt herself being pulled forward, stopping only when she felt what had to be Samiya’s thighs squeezing against the sides of her head. “Ngh! Let...go!” she protested, trying to push against her foe’s legs. That was when she remembered a moment earlier, when Samiya had surprised her with a powerbomb. It looked like she was planning on hitting another!

Determined not to let that happen, Akino latched her hands onto the girl’s thighs and firmly planted her feet, anchoring her weight in place as best she could. That wouldn’t help her escape the standing scissor, but it would at least prevent her from being hoisted up and slammed right back down again.

The knee to the gut took any remaining fight out of Akino, making it simplicity itself for Samiya to yank the taller woman into her standing headscissors. Immediately, she clamped her legs down, putting pressure on the bluenette’s skull. Let go? Oh no, she had no intentions of doing that and every constricting crush of her thick legs made that clear.

”I’ll let go,” Samiya agreed, her voice ringing loud and clear to the mics and to the audience in the front row, ”Once I’ve cracked your neck, one-eye. Enjoy your hospital bed.”

She could feel Akino’s hands on her tights-encased thighs and her smirk widened to frightening levels. That might have been a problem if she’d ever intended to go for the powerbomb. As it was…

With that, the Schoolgirl Assassin tightened her grip again and went to roll forward over Akino’s body. As her feet left the ground, her stocky legs coiled themselves tighter. One ankle slipped behind the other knee, that limb then hooking back into a figure-four grip. Her thick legs now entirely surrounded Akino’s neck with Samiya’s meaty calf pressing into the front of her throat, choking her with both the scissors and her bodyweight.

Worse still, as the tattooed wrestler’s momentum brought Akino back to a standing position with her hanging down off her back, she wrapped her arms around the bluenette’s own, preventing any escape from that direction.

And then Samiya went to apply the full power of her lower body to Akino’s neck, as if the 140 lbs of petite powerhouse hanging off her wasn’t enough.

LARIATO: Despite her protesting words, of course Akino knew Samiya wouldn’t just let go after being told to. That was just her frustration being voiced in a moment when nothing seemed to be helping her escape. So naturally, it didn’t come as a surprise when, if anything, Samiya’s stocking-clad legs only squeezed tighter against her.

But what came next certainly was a surprise.

Samiya didn’t attempt the armbar Akino felt sure was coming. Instead, she rolled over Akino’s back and coiled her legs around the maid’s neck in a figure four! Behind the eyepatch her eye shot wide open in shock and horror, knowing exactly what this was.

The Kumonosu.

Akino’s own submission hold was being used against her! As if all the taunting and use of her blindness hadn’t been disrespectful enough. The air-tight constriction against her neck was bad enough to put to rest any hope she might’ve had of breathing in the immediate future. But she also had her opponent’s full weight dangling from her neck! Akino knew this hold better than anyone, and she also knew that with it locked in this tight there was no way to escape, unless she wanted to throw herself backward and risk having her neck broken. Which she didn’t.

With her vision starting to fade, and strained groans barely making it out of her lips, the anguishing maid reluctantly decided it would be better to submit to her own move than to be knocked out by it.

“I.... I..... g-gi....” she started to say, the sounds faintly squeaking out of her lips. But then the lights went out, and her legs buckled. Akino fell to her knees, then collapsed onto her side, completely unconscious while Samiya’s legs continued to strangle her. Despite Akino’s best attempts to avoid the knockout, it was simply unavoidable.

Samiya hadn’t used this hold in a real match before. She’d watched every clip she’d been able to find of Akino herself using it and her own Tsunami was not a million miles removed from the Kumonosu. She’d had an excellent grasp of the theory behind it, had bribed a trainer to let her test it out, but that was nothing like the thrill of hearing an entire arena silenced at her brazenness. She had Akino Sanada in her own finisher, locked up tight and on the verge of going out, and it was sweeter than she’d dared to dream.

The maid couldn’t struggle. She couldn’t breathe.

She couldn’t even submit.

Only Samiya heard the rasps that might have been words and she just cranked heartlessly back, drawing the noose tighter. She didn’t want a submission on her record, but both she and Akino would know the bluenette had given up before the end. She wanted a knockout and, with this hold, she knew she wouldn’t be long in getting it.

There it was. Akino swayed like a tree before a hurricane. Her knees bent and then she crashed down on her side. The ref, who’d been hovering nearby out of concern, swooped in immediately – she grasped the wrist that Samiya helpfully released, lifted it once.

Dropped it. It fell limply to the mat.

She repeated the action. Again, no response.

Third time. The fans roared their support, but it made no difference. For the final time, Akino’s wrist hit the mat. The referee turned reluctantly and signalled. And it was only with the ringing of the bell that Samiya finally relinquished her hold.

Pulling free, she leant down to whisper in Akino’s ear.

”Nice move… But mine’s better. And I can’t wait to show you.”

Taunt delivered, she rose to her feet to acknowledge the booing of the fans with a smirking salute that saw the noise redouble.

LARIATO: The roars of the fans were typically lost on Akino, but even more so now that she couldn’t even hear them. She didn’t hear the ref count, the bell ringing or even Samiya’s taunting words right in her ear.

While the fans showered Samiya with an onslaught of boos and jeers, Akino merely laid still like a corpse. The ref checked to make sure she was breathing, which she fortunately was. It was faint, but she’d be alright...physically at least. Mentally, that was another issue.

Losing a match was always frustrating, though it was something Akino could normally handle. But to be knocked out with a hold she’d personally innovated? That would add a huge sting to this defeat, especially considering Samiya had thoroughly controlled the majority of the bout. The one good thing about being unconscious was that she wouldn’t have to think about all that right now. That would all come later.

And Akino was damn sure going to want another shot at Samiya, and avenge this humiliating loss she’d suffered tonight.

Winner via KO: Samiya Kusanagi