[FWC] Diana Accera Vs Asami Asagiri - Bad Timing

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In a space of a short few months, Diana had gone to supreme fighter, to tearful mess, to a mix of the two. The mutual respect of Alaina Sanders, the gaining of Mako Adachi's friendship, and the meeting and sparring with kindred spirit Lucy Kage had all aided in the latter; via means of distraction. Still, Diana knew she needed a break, atleast a short one from ring activity. The roar of the often mindless crowd wasn't exactly appreciated atop the shoulders of a woman who needed to regain focus.

Although, she simply couldn't resist one last dance as it were, before said break.

She'd gain such from a woman fitting in reputation alone let alone skills in the ring. Asami Asagiri. A woman seemingly with a passion for the larger, amazonian sort. And whilst Diana was no giant, especially in terms of AFW, and especially given she had shared the ring with Rebecca Tomko, she was absolutely determined to fill the boots on the 'amazonian' part. A reputation such as Asami's practically made it impossible for the Italian to refuse. The ninjette had essentially baited such a woman back into the ring, whether she realised such or not.

And weirdly enough, despite being anything but a patriot, Diana would find this last match before her break to be her first entry into the Friction World Cup. Had any extra effort or planning gone into such, she would of likely not even bothered. She shared no national pride, nor love of Italy, nor love of any nation for that matter. But given the match qualifying towards the World Cup itself was a simple matter of both fighters saying yes or no, Diana simply figured why not.

Clad already in that tight fitting, revealing wrestling bikini of hers, Diana would would rotate her shoulders with a flicking of wrists as she prepared for her music to blare. She tried to gain the mindset for the fight ahead as best she could, knowing full well that all that had happened outside the ring would have it's moment of tending soon enough. Tonight, was about the fight only.

With 'Monster' already filling the air of the arena, Diana metaphorically pounced from out of the crimson entrance curtain, arms raised as her face kept a content gaze. As ever she did not care for the roar of the crowd, but simply opted to 'feed' them as it were one last time given she knew such would be her last chance for a while. Once her feet were within those ropes, the might aswell of not existed.

Breaking into a steady pace as her walk turned into a run down the ramp, Diana used the momentum from said sprint to dive under the bottom ropes. Propelling herself towards the centre of the ring, sliding on her front, she'd soon rise with arms raised as the crowd gave her a more modest roar than she was used to. Whether it was because this was perhaps the first time Diana had actually paid them any mind, or simply out of respect for a woman who always vowed to give her best was unknown. And as ever, deemed unimportant to the Italian.

Finding her place in the corner with arms crossed under her modest chest, her eyes would find themselves to the ramp with stern look equipped.

Time to meet the 'giant killer,' it seemed.

A resurgence. A promise to the fans. A return to action.  Asami had come back to the AFW in the Tension side of things, taking a match against a fellow acrobatic high flyer Kozue Kaburagi. A contest she had barely won out. Definitely a lot more than the simple tune up a returning wrestler might take. But it was what she needed. Asami had needed to know if the more brutal, darker fighting instincts that she gained during her time as the masked vigilante Kunoichi would resurface, and the only way to do that was to fight against someone she'd have to go all out against.

Also 'tuneup matches' were dumb, and boring. Asami believed if you were going to be in the ring, in an active match, then it was either go all out or don't show up. But, Asami's fears were put to rest. There was no relapse, no tragedy that was made by her own hands, or any other melodramatic events. Just the thrill that could only be found between these ropes, in the heat of the fight. The clean thrill that she had missed so much.

But now, it was her Friction homecoming. Asami had been put into a match against Diana Accera. Of course, her absence from the AFW meant that the name wasn't as familiar to the Asian as say, Rebecca Tomko. But a quick look at the AFW's website told her the woman's reputation. Although not as big as some of the women Asami had faced, Diana was strong, powerful and could be utterly devastating in the ring. Also, Asami was still giving up five inches and forty pounds in terms of physical statistics. Still....she had faced down longer odds.

The Beginning Against The Current Cover began to play as Asami Asagiri dashed out, greeted by a roar from the fans. Her promise to them on her return was that she was giving them a show with every appearance, and she had delivered with a high flying spectacle against Ninjette. The Asian's high energy was infectious as she continued her run to the ring, the fans continuing to cheer. Hopping from the floor to the ring apron with a standing leap, Asami would grab the top rope and vault over it with a head over heels front flip, landing on her feet. Quickly scrambling to the nearby corner and up the turnbuckles to nimbly balance on the very top one she would raise a fist to the crowd and let out a loud, wordless yell of exuberance. Then she would throw herself backwards, curling into a backflip to land on her feet.  

Before stepping to the middle of the ring, the Asian took off her tail and bell, letting them drop outside the ring. Once there, she would wait for Diana to join her. Looking up at larger woman, Asami raised an eyebrow.

"Ok, pictures don't do you justice....seeing you in person is something else." she said, with an impressed whistle. In addition to height, Diana made for quite the image, her revealing bikini displaying a form that despite the muscle it sported, was distinctly feminine. Asami definitely approved as she gave her a subtle look over. *And I thought I had revealing ring attire.* she added to herself mentally.

"Still, I hope you came ready to battle..."

Truth be told, it was often difficult to comprehend the scale of someone by just one photograph. More was readily available if Diana had only bothered to browse through them on Asami's profile, but she chose not to. Call it over confidence, or simple laziness. It was only when Asami appeared that she realised the sheer scale of the girl. Or more, the lack of. She wasn't considerably short, easily the shortest Diana had faced, but such did not matter to her. There was barely a ounce of muscle or meat on her. She didn't know what she expected from a woman deemed a form of giant killer. But she was not so much expecting this.

Hands to hips as the baying crowd roared for their hyper little favourite, Diana held a smug smile as the girl evidently showed her favour for a flair of the dramatic, or more, acrobatic. It made sense. The girl certainly wasn't a power lifter.

"Speak for yourself..." Verbally jousting back with her soon-to-be-foe, Diana would take but a few steps forward out of the corner. Not to be aggressive, but instead just demonstrating to the official that she was more than ready.

"There better be more to you then there looks to be." A jeer put sharply, Diana raised her fists slowly into that signature posture as the referee gave the signal to begin. The Italian would accept fights from all comers, left and right, and such rarely let her down.

She near enough hoped Asami had the skill and determination to make up for her shorter stature.

"You know..that is awfully judge-y for someone who just met me." Asami replied.

Although the tone of her voice was still friendly and upbeat, there was a brief narrowing of her eyes, her irritation momentarily visible to an observant person. She hated it when people thought that just because she was one of the smaller people on the roster, they could dismiss her as a non-issue, and not consider her a threat. It was what sent Asami on her 'giant-slaying' spree before her absence from the AFW.

"But you're in luck. There is more than me, perhaps more than what you can handle, you female yeti....."

With that, she stepped back as the ref got ready to start the contest. Bouncing up and down lightly on the balls of her feet, she prepared herself for that adrenaline high that the AFW always sent rushing through her.

When the bell rang, Asami was off like a shot from a gun, rushing right at Diana. Hoping that her sudden move was catching the Italian off guard, the Japanese woman would dart in, looking to tag Diana with a hard forearm strike at the side of her head before lunging back back out of reach, putting the bigger woman on notice about her speed and hinting at her striking ability.

Diana didn't mean her insult to be personal, a simple jest at the girls appearance. If anything, she hoped that such a deriding comment would only spur Asami onto fight to her outright best straight from the get go.

A sort of, 'prove me wrong' thing.

The yeti comment merely rolled off Diana's back, albeit not without making the Italian's serious smile grow a touch more. Now that the verbal fighting was out of the way, it was time to get to what she loved the most. And first things first, she had to figure out whether this girl was all size, or more lack of, or had something more to her. Being no fool, she was already aware of that whilst her own speed was nothing mediocre, the simple lack of weight to carry on her foes side meant she was always going to be the quicker.

Such became evidently apparent, as Asami shot out towards her whilst she had taken but one step forward. Eyes already latched on the smaller beauty, she would attempt her best at a rolling counter; crossing her arms high whilst sidestepping, attempting to mitigate impact altogether by outright avoiding it. Before Asami was a woman predominantly a boxer, and Diana wanted her to know this.

"I'm not impressed..."

As Asami came on, the larger Diana made a move off to the side, faster than the Asian would have given her credit for. But Asami was fast, and blessed with great reflexes. She adjusted, keeping her course locked on target.

*No escape, Giganta.....* she thought.

But then Diana crossed her arms as Asami let loose with her forearm. The blow slammed against the Italian's guard, and the other woman didn't even seem to flinch!

Asami sprung backwards, taking note of the way Diana moved and the style of guard she used.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm not impressed." Asami did a poor mimic of Diana's voice. "Whatever. So you can block a hit. I didn't know they made boxers your size."

From when she was young, Asami had always been something of a genius when it came to martial arts. She had stood outside of dojos and gyms, in Tokyo watching fighters getting trained through windows or fences. Some had been amused by the sight of a small girl practicing their lessons, some hadn't. But Asami had retained a vast amount of basic knowledge of various fighting styles before going moving on to the big four that made up her own style. She adjusted herself moving into a basic boxing stance as the crowd murmured. As far as martial arts went, boxing was Asami's least favorite, mainly because she couldn't utilize her strongest assets, her legs and her agility. But, she her fast striking speed and quick relexes had to count for something right? Old tapes of Ali certainly made her think so....

Although her boxing know how was amateurish at best, this seemed like a good way to see how skilled Diana was at it.

"How about it....?" Asami grinned bouncing lightly on her feet again...

Diana smirked, more so than she realised at first as her foe attempted a mock copy of her voice as if they were two young girls arguing in the playground. She kept silent though save for a tiny laugh. The girl had something about her, she'd give her that.

The Italian kept her distance, even after being tagged with that quick strike that rung straight off her forearms. She was a powerful figure, but even the tamest of fists even from someone of Asami's stature could ring her bell if enough connected. If enough could connect. Diana would be keen to see her smaller foes methods on attaining said hits, which seemed all the more likely as Asami seemed to motion for a brief bit of boxing before the rest of the match commenced.

Diana herself wished to put her boxing career behind her, which is why she left Italy for the murky clouds of Japan and the much more grappling orientated world of wrestling. But being challenged to it? That she would never refuse. She too would bounce on her toes a few times, before settling down, preferring as ever a staunch footing and bracing to one that could move rapidly.

Extending her right forward as if going for the worlds slowest jab, she'd extend her arm as a small sign of respect for her foe in a attempt at a fist bump. Neither woman had hit the other clearly, and the fight had just begun, but Diana was beyond appreciative of the fact she finally had something to put her mind to rather than her love life.

"Come on then string bean...let's dance."

Asami gave a wry grin as Diana assumed her stance and spoke.

"Heh, well then....let's see if you can keep up with my tempo..." she said, making a play off of Diana's words.

The Asian would then mimic ringing a bell, calling out "Ding!"

Then she would lunge forward, trying to pump her fist into Diana's chin twice in rapid succession with a pair lightning fast jabs before circling off to her right! Her speed and footwork were quite good, considering her lack of advanced training, so Asami planned to try and use them to wear away at Diana.....hopefully.

"How was that?" she would call conversationally after her strikes....

With their 'boxing' match now underway, Diana would recall words spoken to her back in Italy during her tenure as a pure boxer.

Don't get into a fight with what you don't know.

It was relatively simple advice, repeatedly drilled into a woman who often sought a fight before thinking things through. Usually, as expected, she would come out on top. But even then, a lack of preparation on her part had often allowed her opponent to land strikes in all fairness they simply should not have, along with the occasional fateful win over the raven haired Italian.

Advice that yet again, she opted to ignore. Again, her boxing edged out ever so slightly over her grappling skills, but there was a risk to be taken in engaging in pure boxing. Being out wrestled could put her on her back. Being out boxed could leave her without conscious.

Clanging her wrists together as if they were two swords the moment her smaller foe rung out the mock sound of a bell ringing, again Diana opted to play defence as her opponent closed the distance. This time, her opponents strikes would hit their mark, making the Italian's head snap back twice quickly before Asami found some distance. Jabs rarely won a fight, even less so this early on, but there was to be progress made by chipping down the taller Italian.

"Oh..you started...?" Diana smirked, simply to throw a more casual tone into the mix. She felt the sting of her foes jabs, but certainly wouldn't admit it out loud. Moving in, she'd keep a low posture with arms slightly over her head, given it had become apparent Asami had gained a liking for trying to cave in the woman's good looks.

When the distance was no longer against her, Diana would suddenly swing left as she outstretched the relative arm, as if going for a monstrous left hook. Instead, her right would opt to extend all the way during the feint, and instead go for a less painful but still aggravating hook to her other side.

Asami smirked and shook her head after Diana taunted her.

"Oh, I'm still warming up here Princess Di." she said as she started coming back towards the bigger woman.

"Here we go-whoa!"

The Tokyo native had come in, noting Diana's guard. But the Amazon began to throw her left hand, and Asami saw the Italian's exposed ribs. She ducked and began moving under the hook to attack Diana's body. But then motion from the other arm drew her attention. Asami saw her foe's right fist swing at her side, and quickly darted out to the side, barely escaping the impact, without being able to land a blow of her own! What was worse, her dodge began to carry her unknowingly towards the corner.....