Cherry Blossoms And Roses (Moonlight Katsu vs Takeshi Kawai)

Jin had arrived a good few hours ahead of schedule for his debut match tonight, managing to slip away from his father's ever watchful eye. The man didn't approve of his son's career in pro wrestling, so he had to resort to crafting a secret persona that masked his identity in the ring. And quite literally at that - one of his trusted servants was able to drive him to the league while he quickly changed into his wrestling gear in the car. The dark windows between the driver and passenger as well as the side ones meant he was allowed some privacy.

When he put the final touches on himself, he grinned at himself in the reflection. He'd managed to dye his hair secretly at home before coming out, as well as placing in the red contacts for his eyes. The fangs he bared were a perfect way to finish off his wrestling persona - Moonlight Katsu! Demon of the full moon and the ring!

"We're arrived, sir. Your match is due to start in five minutes. I suggest you hurry to the arena. And don't worry. I've come up with a good cover story for your father should he query your whereabouts."

"Oh, thanks!" Katsu gave a thumbs up. "This won't take toooooo long, so maybe just drive around the area until then? I'll call you when I need picking up!" The car was only just rolling to a stop, but Katsu burst out of the car towards the arena at a sprint, making his way through the lobby to the backstage area. There were a few lategoers, so fortunately no one queried the running 'demon'. Hopefully that meant a full house tonight!

He signaled to the staff that he was ready, who quickly began to play his entrance music. Good, he'd made it just in time! He bounded onto the entrance ramp and shot both index fingers into the air as the crowd cheered, flashing a wild grin. "STRAIGHT FROM THE FLAMES OF HELL, BABY!!!" He roared, the sounds of the audience peaking as he dashed down towards the ring and slid under the bottom ropes. Katsu would bounce to his feet, his black yukata trailing behind him as he rolled his shoulders in preparation. With excitement tingling over his body, Katsu made his way to the corner and lounged against the ropes, awaiting the arrival of his foe.

Step, sway, right jab followed with a left hook, then move to the side, unleash several body shots, uppercut. This was the pattern that Takeshi Kawai took as he shadow boxed by his locker, waiting for his cue to head to the entrance way to the ring. Dressed in his usual boxing attire the young man was prepared to make his debut in Tension, his opponent being another newcomer going by the ring name of Moonlight Katsu. As he finished his shadow boxing he blinked as he heard his phone ring in his bag and, as he knew he had at least a bit of time before he was called up, he picked it up and answered, "Hello? Hey sister, yes that's right I'm just about prepared for my first match, I'll be sure to give you and the others a good show. Give the others my regards. Alright, take care, bye." After his call Takeshi nodded to himself, before he was given his cue.

Heading up to the entrance he smiled a bit as his entrance music, a track made by himself, began to play and the members of his fan club that had been in the building went absolutely nuts to hear it. Stepping onto the top of the ramp he raised a fist on the air to the cheers of his fans before heading down to the ring, going between the ropes, once more raising a fist for his fans. After that he turned to size his opponent up, steel grey narrowed a bit as he took his appearance in. "Well, someone certainly seems to be in character. I hope your skills match your appearance." He noted, keeping his eyes locked onto him, this would be a different type of fight then he was used to but Takeshi was determined to win no matter what as he was certain his opponent was in turn.

Katsu raised an eyebrow as gentle piano music began to play, announcing the arrival of his opponent. When Takeshi stepped out, he winced at the shrill sounds of fangirls (and even a few guys) going insane as the younger male made his way towards the ring. He hoped that wasn't going to be a common thing, or else he'd need a hearing aid after this match.

As Takeshi entered the ring and analysed his opponent, Katsu flashed a cocky grin at the other man...and then shook his head incredulously. He came out of the corner and swiped the microphone from the announcer. "Alright alright, cut that piano crap!" He yelled, to the boo of some of Takeshi's fans. He turned his focus to his opponent and sighed. "Look, I'm gonna level with you. I've heard you're a boxer trying to make a place for yourself in the wrestling world. But here's the bitter truth - you just don't belong here!" More boos followed this as Katsu shrugged. Clearly Takeshi's fans didn't like hearing it, but he enjoyed riling them up. And he was going to enjoy riling up the boxer even more.

Katsu moved towards the ropes and rested on them. "See, I might not be scared of anything being a devil and all, but even I can't stand getting mobbed by angry fangirls after I pummel their obsession. So how about this?" He pressed his knee down onto the middle rope, widening it to make an opening. "You can step away right now and give up this fantasy, and that'll save you the humiliation of getting beat by yours truly to boot." He turned to the crowd, winking. "Plus you'll get to retain those girls instead of them falling for me. Pretty generous, no? So c'mon! Roll out right now - it's a no brainer that you don't stand a chance against me!" He lowered the microphone and stared at Takeshi with a smirk, awaiting the pretty boy's decision.

Takeshi observed the masked male calmly, he certainly seemed like a tough one, a suitable first opponent in his view to show his own merits. At his first words however Takeshi's eyes narrowed slightly, more than a little irked at the blatant disrespect to the work of his other craft. The glare picked up at his following words but Takeshi didn't let himself get too worked up, he would not let himself fall for these kinds of mind games. Instead he merely stood there with a hand on his hip as he raised an eyebrow, letting the other talk and get his taunting done with.

At the other's 'generous offer' the other eyebrow shot up to join the other as his eyes followed the other as he went to the ropes, a slight smirk forming. As he finished his ultimatum and waited for his response Takeshi remained silent for a moment before letting a small laugh escape him before waving over someone to give him a mic of his own. Taking it he turned back to face Katsu, "Well you most certainly are a generous man I see. However I'm afraid to say that I won't be accepting that offer." He began, gaining cheers from the crowd as he began to pace back and forth a bit, keeping his eyes square on the other male. "After all while it might be true I'm new to the world of wrestling I've become used to taking on large odds and coming out with my fist raised in victory. Besides, along with my fans here I have friends and family watching this match and I'm not about to surrender without a fight for my debut." He continued, "So in short, save your generosity and get ready to fight."

The smirk on his face vanished like water washing it away as Takeshi laughed at Katsu. It was a dismissive, cocky kind that Katsu himself would have given. As the boxer continued to address him and the crowd, Katsu listened, lazily leaning on the ropes and twirling his microphone idly in his hand. “Family and friends, huh? I think that'd be more of a reason to roll out so they don't witness your humiliating defeat tonight!”

He threw his hands up in resignation, standing up fully and beginning to parade round the ring as he addressed the crowd with his mic. “Well, you heard him folks! This human wants to trade fists with a devil!” Katsu came to a halt before Takeshi, his back to the boxer as he kept ignoring the jeers from the crowd. "So let’s treat the pretty boy to a wrestling lesson, one that'll make him think twice before entering a ring again!”

With that abrupt warning, Katsu tightened his hand around the mic and suddenly swung around towards Takeshi. He'd bring his fist towards his opponent and aim to strike him in the face with the microphone, perhaps taking him by surprise! Or maybe if he was a real boxer, he'd anticipate the blow and be able to evade and counter! That was Takeshi’s first test tonight!

Takeshi kept a close eye on the other male, tuning out the taunt regarding how he should leave even more since he had friends and family watching with a light shake of his head. In all honesty both his old teammates and his sister would have been more disappointed if he had simply walked away from the match than if he had lost after giving his all. Though he had no intention of losing either as he clenched a fist in preparation for the fight to come.

He continued to let the other go on and on, making his big talk as the crowd continued to boo and jeer at him and if it was riling him up it certainly didn't show at the moment. However Takeshi began to take note of Katsu's body language and what he saw put him on guard. As a boxer trained from childhood he was good at reading certain signs from someone else and one of those certain signs was when someone was about to strike.

Sure enough Katsu had suddenly swung the mic straight towards him, causing his eyes to briefly widen before he leaned back, letting the fist fly past him. With that he quickly stepped back, looking to him with a more serious expression, ignoring the boos for the moment. "..... Careful your form seems a bit sloppy." He notes in a taunting tone as he gets into his usual stance, waiting for the bell to ring to officially start the match, keeping his eyes and attention focused on the masked male.

Katsu was surprised to discover his fist connected with only air - Takeshi had swiftly evaded his hit with a subtle hint of grace. The shock on the masked wrestler's face as his opponent ridiculed him twisted into an eager grin as he drew his fist back. "Well I'll be damned, you're more than a pretty face after all. Guess this won't be as boring as I thought!"

He handed the microphone back to the rest and backed towards the turnbuckle, cracking his knuckles in preparation before the sound of the bell echoed throughout the arena, followed by the cheers of the audience. Katsu made to move out of the corner, but kept a cautious distance from Takeshi to begin with. His opponent was a boxer, and that demanded he keep space between them. If Takeshi got even within a few feet of him, Katsu didn't want to think about how long his jaw would be able to last.

But if he got right up in Takeshi's face, the boxer would be hard pressed to utilise his arms properly. And that meant he'd be at the demon's mercy! Katsu paused in the middle of the ring, baring his fingers in a grin. "So you say you're used to overcoming the odds when they're stacked against you? In that case, care to see if you can out grapple a demon?" The masked man bent his hand and beckoned Takeshi towards him with a cocky expression, before bracing his arms for the potential lock-up if the pretty boy accepted. "Don't want your friends and family thinking you're a coward, right?"

Takeshi was a bit amused to see the shock on the other's face at him dodging the attempted cheap shot. "Well you aren't the last person to have made the mistake of assuming that. We'll see if you're the only one to avoid getting dropped to the mat after making said mistake." He replied as he watched him move to the turnbuckle. As the bell rung he moved out of his corner as well but kept some distance, observing his opponent.

Takeshi knew that in this new environment he would be at a disadvantage if he couldn't keep up his footwork and good use of his arms. He had a strong feeling that if he let his guard down even for a moment that Katsu would make him pay for it and it would be near impossible to gain back momentum. For now he would play it defensively, waiting for an opening to move in and strike.

However at Katsu's raising his hands and barring his fingers Takeshi paused, confused but still cautious, keeping his hands clenched into fists as he kept a close eye on the other. At the challenge and taunting Takeshi's eyes narrowed, a flicker of anger formed and he was almost going to take him up immediately on his challenge but the rational side of him came to the forefront. Even in boxing he had several times where one boxer going in at response to a taunt had been to both his aid and his hindrance and he felt this would be no different. "As tempting as that is I'm going to have to decline. I mean how do I know you wouldn't use the chance to blind side me? Besides you were talking a big talk moments before, why not try and out strike a boxer?" He challenged back with a small smirk.

Takeshi was a calm and composed individual from what he had seen so far, not the sort to easily rise to taunts. But Katsu still caught the brief trace of anger on his expression. Maybe if he could chip away bit by bit, he could get Takeshi to lose his focus? As long as the boxer kept his wits about it, the masked wrestler knew he'd have a rough time taking him down.

"Me, blindside someone? Never." Katsu placed a hand on his chest as if he was offended by the very notion. He could hear the restless murmurs of the audience who were eager to see some kind of action take place, and Takeshi was deliberately goading him to approach him. He scowled, not liking the situation, or the fact that the pretty boy had turned the challenge back round to him...but he couldn't just stand around. The crowd was beginning to make their displeasure known.

"Fine, I'll take you up on your little challenge. I've gotta admit, I'm shocked your face is as pretty as it is considering you're a boxer." He punched a fist into an open palm, looking excited. "Enjoy those looks for now, because after tonight you're not gonna be looking so handsome anymore!"

Katsu tensed and began to move towards the boxer. Sure, Takeshi had beckoned him to make a strike, but that didn't mean the masked wrestler couldn't show his opponent how he defined a strike. Suddenly, he rolled forward across the mat towards his foe, shooting his arms up as he rose back up while baring his teeth. His target was Takeshi's head, which he'd try to latch onto. It was a big of a risk - if Takeshi was able to avoid his attempt, Katsu would be left wide open. But if he successfully managed to grab him, he'd bring Takeshi's head down and rocket his knee upwards, aiming for the boy's jaw!

Takeshi kept his eyes on the masked male observing him as he kept up his stance, he was focused and determined. As Katsu moved forward Takeshi also moved forward before he blinked at Katsu's reply to his earlier taunt, a bit confused. His eyes widened in realization at the meaning of the masked wrestler's words but he was a bit too late as he felt the hands grip his head and the knee slam into his jaw.

Takeshi let out a small yell of surprise and pain at the impact, staggering back but he wasn't about to let his opponent get away with those kinds of bragging rights. As he staggered he used their closeness to aim a punch at where he felt his side was. If he was successful he would try and hit more to force his foe to loosen his grip and give him the chance to recover.