SD III: Mariko Ishii vs. Ninjette

Kozue may have been quite adept with her high risk style, but there was still a good reason it was called "high risk." All it had taken was one kick at the rope, and the brunette was brought right down out of the sky. And it wasn't a pretty landing either.

Mariko paused for a moment to let herself catch some air. But once she saw Kozue roll over and start to crawl to the ropes, she knew she had to spring back into action now before this potentially enormous opportunity could wind up slipping through her fingers.

It was also about then that she finally noticed a familiar pair of boots covering Kozue's feet and shins, prompting a chuckle and a click of her tongue. Amusing, but it only encouraged Mariko to make sure what came next hurt even more than it was originally going to.

Striding over to the ropes Kozue was crawling toward, Mariko grabbed the top rope and stepped one foot onto the middle rope, then pushed off it to propel herself backward through the air. She aimed herself right over Kozue, then attempted to come down stomping both feet down right on the middle of her foe's back as hard as she could.

The boots actually helped Kozue when she was on the ropes, giving her more stability and a better base. The reason she went barefoot was to keep herself lighter, give herself a little extra speed as she maneuvered around the ring...and because she didn’t like wearing shoes, to be honest. But in this particular instance, they could’ve given her an advantage. And the idea of kicking Mariko in the chest with her own boots was just too sweet.

But they didn’t let her defy gravity. So when she came down after that well-timed kick, there was only the splat.

She expected Mariko would go for another submission hold - she seemed to have a talent for them - so she thought the ropes would be her safe haven. She was wrong, and she learned just how wrong when Mariko came over, grabbed the ropes, and-

”Gah! Fuck!” Without the shoes, Mariko’s stomp hurt a little less than it might’ve otherwise, but she doubted it would be much less. It felt like two raw nails being driven into her spine, and her body jackknifed on impact. She writhed about on the mat, but continued to try and crawl her way to the ropes, hoping to make it out onto the apron.

As much as Mariko liked her boots, she did find the feeling of stepping on people so much more enjoyable without them. It may not have hurt Kozue quite as much that way, but it was more comfortable on Mariko's end.

She shifted off of Kozue right after the impact and watched her continue to scramble toward the apron. It seemed keeping her foe grounded in the middle of the ring wasn't going to be an easy task at this point. So rather than waste an abundance of valuable energy toward that goal, she decided to step through the ropes and move out to the apron just a bit ahead of Kozue.

From there she'd reach down and grab onto her opponent's ponytail once again to guide her out to the apron, and back up toward a vertical base. The second she was up high enough, Mariko would then fire a knee forward and attempt to slam it right into Kozue's midsection.

Kozue had a ‘plan’ in mind as she crawled forward, if you could call a desperate attempt to not get her ass-kicked and smothered a ‘plan’. The way she figured, if she could bring things to the floor for a moment, she could get Mariko by limiting her options, force her to fight in a way they were more even, and there would be a lot of chances to do big damage fast.

It wasn’t the best idea...or even a good idea...but it was an idea. And with Mariko stalking her like a starving panther, hammering her into the mat with ease, she’d be happy to take what she could get.

Luckily for her, Mariko didn’t stop her. Hell, she hurried her along, though not in the way Kozue would’ve liked.

”Ah!” She hissed as her hair was yanked yet again, pulled out on the apron through the ropes. ”Okay, the hair-pulling is going to stop-”

It was half-joke, half-threat, but it all came to an end when Mariko’s knee slammed into her stomach, hitting with enough force to fold Kozue in half. Her first instinct was to fall down, but she knew she couldn’t afford to, not now.  This was the time to make a stand, better or worse.

Kozue grabbed the middle rope, not just for much-needed support, but to aid her for what she had in mind. She pulled herself up hard and returned fire as best she could, swinging her leg out and around for a roundhouse kick towards Mariko’s stomach.

Mariko had nothing against Kozue, or the long, beautiful brown locks on her head. But there were times when they worked in her advantage, and she wasn't quite nice enough to just overlook it. Not that she'd be yanking on the ponytail every time she could, but she damn sure wouldn't hesitate to do so if there was something to be gained from it.

Getting Kozue up enough for her to send her knee into the girl's belly was more than enough to justify it this time, at least in her mind. And given how it doubled her foe over and practically had her falling off the apron, it seemed pretty worth it. But this was dangerous territory - specifically for Mariko, who typically tended to keep the fight in the ring as much as she could.

It was clear Kozue understood that too, as she fought past the pain of Mariko's knee strike to retaliate with a kick of her own. The leg did smack against the side of Mariko's belly, causing her to hiss in pain, but one of her arms immediately moved around it to hold it in place, while the other wrapped around Kozue's shoulder and pulled her in nice and tight. Once again the two would have a brief, glorious moment to enjoy the feeling of their bodies pressing tightly together. And for the proverbial "cherry on top," Mariko smirked while leaning in and giving Kozue a very quick peck of a kiss right on the lips.

And right after that, she jerked back and attempted to send Kozue flipping through the air with one of her signature Exploder Suplexes right on the apron!

There it was. Kozue had a feeling it would be coming soon. It had been working its way towards her for a little bit now, and she thought she had a chance of avoiding it, but now it was here and in her face and there was no escaping what had come her way.

The ‘Oh, shit’ moment.

It was something she’d grown used to in her matches, in the same way you might grow used to a bucket of water in the face to wake you up every morning. She’d thrown her kick out, and there was brief flash of hope when she actually connected. Hope that evaporated when she realized that she couldn’t pull her leg back. And when Mariko pulled them close together. And when she kissed her. That last part was nice, really - Mariko had the softest, most succulent lips - but she was having a bit of a hard time enjoying it, since she knew damn well what was coming next.

”God, you’re evil.”

Those words and a quick sigh were all she had time for before she was hurled back with the Exploder Suplex. It was already one of the most dangerous moves in Mariko’s arsenal, but on the apron? The hardest part of the ring? It was like lightning down Kozue’s spine. The New Jersey Ninja cried out on impact, then flopped down to the floor, landing in a writhing heap below while the crowd whipped into a frenzy.

At least they were enjoying this. Maybe she could get  some fans to donate for a chiropractor.

Mariko couldn't exactly react to Kozue's words immediately, given she was busy throwing the girl overhead. But right after the brutal impact, she laid there a moment and couldn't help but giggle. Yeah, that was pretty evil of her. It was effective though, not to mention enjoyable.

Moments to relax against an opponent as quick and agile as this weren't always very frequent, so Mariko used the next few seconds to just lay still and catch her breath a bit. She'd managed to stay in pretty firm control of this round so far, but she knew one slip up could change that in an instant. Better to make sure she had as much gas in the tank as possible just in case.

Then she finally sat up, swung her legs out to the side, and dropped down to her feet on the thinly matted ringside floors. She strode over to her downed foe and dragged her back up by an arm. "Up you go~" Once Kozue was vertical enough, Mariko put one hand behind the girl's neck and grabbed the waistband of her bottoms with the other and heaved her back into the ring under the bottom rope.

If Kozue had to come up with one word to sum up her physical state at the moment, it would be...

”Uuuuuuuuuh.”

Yeah, that would cover it nicely.  There she was, laying face down on the mat, with the faint scent of spilled Pepsi wafting through her nose. Her back, which had already been crying out in pain from the stomp, but now it was screaming - along with the crowd - as she reeled from Mariko’s hellacious blow. For a woman who excelled at giving pleasure, it was amazing what pain she could dish out. Kozue knew it going in, of course, but every minute she spent in the ring with Mariko reinforced the fact. How the hell wasn’t Mariko a champ yet?

Her lithe foe wasted little time, forcing Kozue back up to her feet and starting her back into the ring. Despite the searing pains running up and down her spine, she knew this was the time she needed to pull something out of that second-place ass of hers. She thought she had just the thing, too.

Mariko tossed her into the ring, but she didn't stay in there. Instead, she grabbed the ropes and spun around on the momentum, doing a full circle of the canvas. As she turned, she shot her legs out, wrapped them around Mariko’s pretty little head from behind, then fell off the apron and jerked her body backwards while she pulled her lower limbs up.

If it didn't work, Kozue would just bust her head on the floor and embarrass herself. If it did work, she would pull Mariko up, over, and down, spiking her head on the floor with a Reverse Frankensteiner.

Considering how bad things had been looking for her after the first round had finished, Mariko would say she'd made significant progress in turning things around. Before, everything had moved so fast she simply couldn't keep up. Now she had seemingly all the time in the world to use as she pleased.

As long as her foe still wasn't showing any signs of life once she'd been rolled into the ring, taking the second round and evening the score would be a simple matter. She'd just take a seat on Kozue's beautiful face, make herself comfy, then just wait for the ref to call it. Such was her thinking, at least. But things didn't quite play out that way.

After she tossed Kozue back in the ring, the brunette suddenly twisted out of sight, and Mariko then felt those perfect thighs press tightly against her cheeks and the girl's weight resting on her shoulders. The violet haired beauty was dragged right off her feet, everything spun upside down, then an explosion of immense pain went off in her skull as it came crashing onto the thinly matted floor!

Once again Kozue's wild acrobatics had the crowd in a frenzy. But at the moment Mariko was far too busy cradling her aching head and rapidly kicking against the floor to appreciate it quite as much as they did...

For a moment, Kozue felt amazing.

After dropping Mariko like a bad habit, she immediately popped to her feet and thrust her fist into the air with a triumphant yell, receiving the audience’s cheers. This was why she still wrestled years after coming to Tension - the rush, the excitement, the unrivaled power. It all went flowing through her like some crazy drug working its way through her veins.

Then reality hit and she fell to her knees, as her back reminded her that it was still very much hurting from the ass-kicking Mariko had been giving her just a few seconds ago. But at least she kept the mental high.

”4!”

Kozue looked up at the referee, noticing her count through the bedlam for the first time. She wasn’t entirely sure what would happen if she reached ten, who’d lose a point, what that would mean for the match. Wrestling rules in the AFW could be murky at the best of times. But she decided it was best not to find out. She could bring this back into the ring. She would.

With one hand on Mariko’s arm and the other grabbing the veil-thingy around waist, Kozue got them both standing again. ”Up you go.” She did her best impression of Mariko, flavored with her own accent, and after a quick slap on Mariko’s backside - because she had to, really - she threw her opponent under the ropes and back into the ring, rolling in right behind her.