How would you like your training today?

If it was a "one step at a time" situation for Alicia, it was a "hopefully the last step" -situation for Isa. The continued applying of pressure with her thighs was really starting to wear them out, and Alicia wasn't really showing any signs of quitting her resistance. Unknown to Isa, the redhead was counting on a soon-to-be release from the hold, but Isa was still blissfully unaware of her pinned position.

However, Isa's position wasn't really the best one, and Alicia's efforts seemed to be increasing. The redhead finally managed to pull one of her arms free. Combined with the stomping of her foot, Isa found the situation to be dangerously close to the redhead managing to free herself from the blonde's holds.

Maybe there was still one thing she could try. Isa hadn't used a pure neckscissors that often, as she was usually rather worried of actually harming her opponents with the move. Sure, sometimes her opponents had basically begged for it, but now it seemed to be instinctively the only hope she had left to come out on top of the situation.

Now holding with both hands on the only one of Alicia's wrists still left trapped in her hold, Isa used her thighs to push herself slightly backwards. From there it was be easier to attempt shifting the scissor hold to Alicia's neck, hoping that to be the move that would finally break Alicia's resistance.

It’d be a stretch to say she was turning things around but, as far as the redhead was concerned, getting a hand free was a good start. There wasn’t much she could do with it at present, but it was another tool in her arsenal.

Stomping her foot a second time, Alicia was starting to decide she had this when Isa went for broke.

Except Alicia did not want to be thinking ‘broke’ or ‘broken’ or anything like that when she had Isa’s thighs wrapped firmly around her neck. With only one free hand…

Well, Alicia was a strong woman. But there was no way that she’d be able to make Isa’s legs do anything Isa didn’t want them too, not even with both hands. That meant, while she instinctively grabbed at one of the blonde’s hamstrings as the legs shifted, it was futile.

It did give her a chance to see what the blonde was playing with though. Her thighs were rock-solid, the muscle firm and curvy. Impressive, definitely impressive.

While breathing had been tricky for the redhead (and her face was more or less the same shade as her hair), now the only thing she could manage was a croak. It felt like the blonde was trying to cut her head off her shoulders and, if something didn’t change soon, like she might succeed.

Assuming she didn’t knock Alicia out first, of course. The blonde very clearly needed no tuition on this one, her inner thigh muscles clamping arteries closed like a pro.

Starting to feel herself weakening, the kickboxer prepared to stomp her foot for the third time – was Isa really going to let herself be pinned? Did she really think she could make Alicia tap or nap in the space of one count?

Seconds felt like minutes for Isa, as she was desperately hoping for Alicia to finally tap. Even though this was supposed to be just a friendly training session, somehow Alicia had gotten the blonde by now into a mindset where she really wanted to get the redhead to tap. She wanted to prove her thighs were worthy.

But what on earth was Alicia doing with that stomping?

Isa could only interpret it as some strange effort to weaken her scissor hold. It was only making her more wary. Maybe the redhead was planning something that she couldn't see coming... Or then it was just a way for Alicia to steam off her pain. Now that she had moved her thighs towards Alicia's neck, Isa was starting to be well aware of the color on her trainer's face.

A creeping thought in the back of her head was suggesting Isa she was being too hard on Alicia. It was apparent the redhead had difficulties to breathe. But thinking it straight, if Alicia really was in such a bad position, surely she would tap. Unless having to do so on a newcomer would've been too embarrassing?

No, Isa wanted to finish this now. The blonde tried to adjust her position, and shoulders, just a bit so that she could get some more leverage to work with. It was important also because her thighs were really starting to wear out from the continued scissorhold, and Isa didn't want Alicia to notice the possible shivering of her legs that it might have caused.

In fairness to Isa, Alicia’s stomping was probably not an immediately obvious count. In fairness to Alicia… Well, she didn’t have many other options. She certainly wasn’t using her hand – that’d look like she was tapping. So stomping it was, the sensation also helping with the pain admittedly as well as her slight frustration. Her slight frustration at the situation. Alicia didn’t mind losing. She didn’t even mind losing to Isa.

But her inability to affect this match was what bothered her, leaving her with only the one way out.

She wasn’t too pleased about having to try an escape by pinning either.

Not that it seemed to be working. Isa’s scissors showed no signs of slackening meaningfully. Alicia could feel what might be a slight tremor in her muscles but, if that signalled a reprieve, she wasn’t feeling it.

And the adjustment just made things worse. The extra leverage made up for any lack of power and Alicia was in the stage where she knew she was starting to fade.

Her hand tried to grab for Isa’s locked ankles but without success.

Third stomp. Feeling definitely woozy now, Alicia would give Isa a three count to show some signs she’d registered what happened and then she’s start tapping.

Looking a touch grumpy as she did. She’d need to get her breath back, but she was definitely going to be asking why the blonde hadn’t already let her go.

Isa was being stubborn with her hold, but even her stubborness was closing in on its limits. Maybe she was just going to have to admit being unable to make Alicia tap. But seeing the redhead's suffering face gave the blonde some added hope. Maybe if she just held on a little bit longer....

And finally, Isa got the tremendous success she had been looking for. She could hear Alicia tapping.

The blonde immediately released her hold, rolling then over to lay on her belly on the mat. If Alicia was on the verge of napping, Isa didn't look too good either. Facing away from the redhead, it would be clear to see that the blonde had used her legs to the limit of their capabilities. Isa definitely needed some time to rest herself.

But still, she was feeling great. Surely Alicia would have to consider her to have potential now. And the fact that she had managed to make such a big woman tap was raising Isa's own confidence remarkably as well. It seemed to be a proof that she was able to be competent in the ring even here in Japan.

While Isa was feeling good, she was still slightly nervous about how Alicia would be commenting on their second round. Well, more curious than nervous, but there was always the possibility of Alicia not being quite as impressed as the blonde was of her own capabilities right now.

Still, she had shown the redhead her best now.

The third stomp didn’t get Alicia the freedom she’d been looking for. Ruthlessly, the redhead pushed back the immediate surge of panic; she could feel unconsciousness rising to claim her but she refused to waste energy. Three seconds passed, her face getting redder and redder, then the kickboxer finally tapped out – and Isa immediately released the hold.

The second the support the blonde had been providing her (however accidentally) vanished, Alicia slumped forward, only just catching herself on her hands and knees as she panted for breath, shoulders heaving. Slowly, the redhead pulled herself back together again.

She was certain to have a stiff neck in the morning, she was sure of that much. While the woman some called the Scissor Queen couldn’t compare the blonde’s leg power and skill with the hold to her own, she did know that it was impressive and easily better than anyone else she’d met in AFW.

Maybe not Mikayla.

That… was not an empty statement either.

Isa’s lack of commentary didn’t hurt her standing in Alicia’s eyes either. Boasting or crocodile tears would have counted against her, but both women seemed to be happy to take a moment to themselves.

In the redhead’s case, she needed it to gather her breath and thoughts regardless.

Once she’d managed that, the curvy Brit moved to sit on the mat.

”Not bad,” Her throaty tones were somewhat croaky, raspier than usual. Her blade-thin smirk made a reappearance.

”Except letting yourself get pinned. Watch your shoulders.”

Maybe that was something else Isa wasn’t used to. Alicia certainly hadn’t been, until she came here, then she’d been in the same position Isa had. Except she’d done it in a real match and lost as a result.

So she was speaking from experience there.

Seconds felt like minutes as Isa was laying on the mat. And on the other hand, even minutes sounded like too short. First one was due to the eager awaiting of Alicia's comments, second one from the need of getting her strength back.

Alicia stayed surprisingly silent. And the blonde figured out that it had to be a good sign. If she wanted to give Isa training, silence suited best when there was nothing to be taught, right?

Finally hearing the redhead move her position, Isa turned herself over to face her.

"Not bad". OK. Well, that sounded actually quite good. The blonde wasn't really expecting any commendations, Alicia didn't just seem that kind of type. That was probably as good of a grade she could get...

"What? P-pinned?" Isa stuttered out in surprise after the next comment. "Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't even realise..." the blonde had to explain herself. Quite frankly, she couldn't really still comprehend how that had actually happened, but she wasn't one to question Alicia's words.

Alicia's guesses were spot on. It had been very rare for the blonde to get herself pinned, and even on those occations it had been so clear that nobody could have missed that.

"So, technically, I lost again?" Isa asked Alicia in a submissive tone. The blonde wanted to be quick to admit her mistakes, and not make the redhead think that she had just wanted to get a win of their second round by any means.

Well, either Isa was the world’s greatest actress or she’d just answered Alicia’s question. And, to be honest, the redhead was pretty sure she’d been caught entirely off-guard at that revelation. Not that she was the greatest judge of character in history but there was something just honest about the blonde.

She laughed at the apology, waving it away. ”It’s fine. I got caught like that in my second match. Had her in a bodyscissors, she rolled me over and got the pin before I could make her tap.”

That was still a disappointing way to end a fight in Alicia’s book, so it was something she’d be happy to teach Isa to avoid.

Particularly if losing led to that tone. That was just… pathetic. That lack of enthusiasm. She wanted to kill that tone as soon as she could.

”Technically?” Alicia pulled herself up to standing, accompanied by a mirthless little chuckle – it had just been a sparring match after all, ”Nothing technical about it. You came close though.”

She rubbed at her neck absently.

”I don’t see many wrestlers lasting that long. Nice scissors. Had a lot of practice?” She was betting on ‘yes’. True, the obvious standout had been Isa’s power, which was up there.

On the other hand, there’d been technique there too. The way she’d adjusted, known where to squeeze. Isa clearly knew what she’d been doing but Alicia’s tone definitely invited her new friend to elaborate.

There were still probably some tricks she could teach the blonde though. Still it was weirdly nice to meet someone else who shared her skill with and love for the hold.

While it was quite embarrassing to have completely missed the pin Alicia had set up, luckily for Isa the redhead didn't seem to be too bothered by it. It was somewhat surprising - Alicia seemed to be really competitive. But apparently she'd been through the same situation before, and Isa's mistake was an easy one for her to understand.

And it definitely was a mistake the blonde didn't want to repeat. Luckily they had just been training...

Still the topic wasn't the most pleasant one, and Isa was glad that Alicia soon queried something different. And surprisingly, she came up with compliments as well.

Isa couldn't prevent a small blush creeping on her face. First of all, that was the natural reaction she had for receiving commendations. Second, her scissor holds were something she was very proud of. But pride was something she was often hesitant to show.

"Oh... Thanks! Yeah, I've just always had pretty strong legs... It's something that just happens when you do horseback riding up and down volcanoes!" the blonde explained herself. "And because of that, I've gotten used to using scissors a lot... It's been quite easy to control others with them!"

And she was telling the truth - at least halfway there.

What she didn't tell about was all the training she had actually done with them. At first, her countless bed wrestling matches with Julie had really sparked her love for the hold. She had had great opportunities to practice her scissors with her Irish room mate, who had sometimes seemed to be even a little too eager to get caught in them. Later on during the times of the uni wrestling league, Isa had actually begun secretly training her legs. More power in them meant her scissors were even deadlier weapon, and she had found great joy in controlling her opponents with the hold.

But all that was much nicer to be left unsaid. Isa was a kind girl-next-door. And that's what she wanted to be. Image.

Nodding along with Isa’s explanation, the Brit admitted that sounded about right. Some people, like herself, just had very strong legs. True, she also had put tons of work and training into sculpting her own gams into the deadly weapons they were today, but they were just naturally more powerful than most women her size could boast even with that training.

It wasn’t much of a surprise that Isa’s were the same. It made sense.

”Not many volcanoes around where I grew up,” Alicia offered, ”But I suppose I could see that doing it. Is that because you’re using them to grip the horse?”

She’d heard that horseback riding was good for the legs, and she could definitely see riding up and down Iceland’s famously steep mountains being all the more so. She’d just never had a chance to test that out for herself.

London was short on both volcanoes and horses.

”I’m sure,” She agreed though, leaning against the ropes to see what Isa did, ”How do you like it though?”

The redhead grinned. ”I mean, when I don’t like someone, I just love making ‘em tap on my thigh. It’s too much fun. Don’t you agree?”

Alicia’s interest, she had to admit, was at least partly down to them sharing what she saw as a common interest. Sure, there were plenty of wrestlers on the Friction roster who used scissors. But few of them, save Mikayla who she’d not seen much lately, had it as a core part of their moveset like she did.

Wrap that up in a hot package, with some brains and enough mystery to be a little intriguing, and Alicia definitely wanted to know more about Isa.