Meet and Greet

Cicilia smiled a bit as Bubbles helped her up, appreciating her kindness. At least she wasn't rubbing her win in her face... More than she could say for most people SHE'S fought over the years... The Juggernaut always wondered why that was... Impulse probably... Something she was taught down to the unconscious level by her own family. Her eldest sister, her parents... they all loved in rubbing in their superiority after the match had been won and eventually, after watching and was subject to this form of treatment.... She had been infected with it as well.

Didn't make her feel any better, it just felt like something she had to do. Natural, not pleasant. That probably meant she had some hope because she didn't enjoy making her opponents more miserable than she already did in the ring... She hoped that was the case. She was trying her hardest to be a better woman not just for Sayumi or for the people who'd give her a chance like Bubbles, but for herself as well. Hindsight was the best distributor of guilt and karma by her experience... Manned by her moral code, it had delivered swift justice upon her each and every day at least once for the things she deemed as the worst she's done. It'd happen for but an instant, a mere sting that would slowly ebb away as the day went on... but those stings began to last after a while.She began to expect it.

She had never really considered her own personal improvement as something she should do for herself before... Training and strength, yeah, but not emotional improvement... She never considered the tax it would take on her own well-being as it disciplined itself. She thought it was selfish...

'Twas funny how much just a simple gesture could cause so much self-reflection. She smiled and nodded as Bubbles went and retrieved their gloves for them, Cicilia taking hers as the two of them returned to their respective corners. With her gloves slipped on, Cicilia slipped into her basic guard, watching to see if the much larger woman would mimic her stance, give her an idea of where her hands should be.

"Ready?" Cicilia asked, her entire muscle-structure toughening, almost like a suit of armor.

To say Bubbles had her doubts about this would be something of an understatement.

Her experience with boxing started and ended with movies - Rocky, Million Dollar Baby and...that was about it, come to think of it, unless you stretched it really far and took into account Real Steel. She knew the basics, sure. No low blows, watch the rabbit punches, no kicking, nothing like that. But, truth told, the sport as a whole just sort of bored her. None of the crazy moves, none of the over-the-top zaniness that made wrestling such a treat. Boxing was so methodical and slow and paced and just...not her.

And she was about to take on a boxer. A real boxer with real experience in real rings with real opponents for real belts. As optimistic as she liked to be, there was a difference between optimism and stupidity.

But, oh, well, she’d agreed to this. In for a penny…

On went the gloves and into the corner she came, getting ready and psyching herself up. When it was time to start, she came out with a mirror image of Cicilia’s own stance...or a poor attempt at one, anyway. Her arm was probably too low. And her legs were either too far or too close, couldn’t be sure which. And was she supposed to bend like this?

Deciding to dive in head first, she came at Cicilia with a right cross. Because...why not? Seemed like a good way to kick it off.

In for a penny, in for a pounding or so the saying went in this case. Bubbles appeared to try and mimic Cicilia's boxing stance, though it was quite a shoddy replica. Low arms, her feet far too wide apart, her stance wishy-washy in whether it wanted to be a fluid or solid guard... It would be no trouble punching through that! Judging by her guard, it appeared that the American would be banking on her muscle-armor and pure strength to get anywhere in this match. OH HAVE THE TABLES HAD TURNED! Cicilia would be a liar if she didn't admit at least to herself how good it felt to be on the winning side of experience for once. Her wrestling matches had always been on the back foot, forcing her to be a reactionary force rather than the full-steam-ahead monster she always wanted to be in battle but here... With an opponent just about as new to her sport as she was to hers...

It was irony in the best way possible, especially given how their last match ended a minute ago. Bubbles opened up with the first move, a wild right cross at her cheek, a classic and to be expected from just about any opponent, Cicilia instantly raised her arms to intercept the incoming punch, the padded fist crashing into her forearms with considerable force! Oh yeah... Even though she lacked a solid stance, she could still throw her punches. OH well! Let's see how she went on the defense!

Cicilia shoved Bubbles' fist away with her arms, returning the sentiment with an overhand right to crash right through her sickly defense and smash upon her face! Whether or not it hit wouldn't stop Cicilia as she unloaded a quick jab at Bubbles' chin with her left as she retracted her right before returning her right arm to the Virgin Killer with gusto, this time from the opposite angle of a crushing uppercut to her gut!

Bubbles, despite her size, never had much taste for boxing. Not even foxy boxing, despite her wife trying to get into it on several occasions. Not that she had any problem getting rough with her opponents in matches and clobbering them, but something about the sport never really appealed to her. The sort of things she enjoyed doing in wrestling matches - the grinding, the kissing, the fucking - were off the table, and now she had to rely on brute strength. Which she could do, but it was just so...not sexy. So not her.

Cicilia seemed to key into her weakness, too, because the woman came at her like there was blood in the water. Her own punch was met with forearms, and then it was open season on the rest of her body.

The right crushed through her guard and landed flush on Bubbles’ face, knocking her back. She started to throw back a right cross in retaliation, but Cicilia’s jab killed it in the crib, leaving her dazed in the process. Her uppercut came in like a sledgehammer, and that was all the Juggernaut needed to put the Virgin Killer in full retreat.

Covering up as best she could, Bubbles found herself with her back against the ropes, stuck between them and the advancing Cicilia. Knowing she had to do something, she tried throwing out a right hook, before her guard came back up once more, not sure what to do beyond that.

Despite all that size and strength working for her, Bubbles was being forced on the back-foot with minimal resistance. Cicilia's punches sent her hastily retreating from the fight until the ropes themselves kept her from falling back further, leaving the massive Virgin-Killer in a most vulnerable position indeed. If she couldn't hold her ground for a few punches, what was her hope in forcing herself out of this cage she's thrown herself into? Like a shark perusing it's wounded prey, the Juggernaut wasted no time in advancing in on her to give Bubbles no time to breath!

Cicilia squinted her eyes as Bubbles tucked herself behind her arms as she fell back, trying to cover up all her vulnerable spots as the train-wreck that was the smaller boxer closed in, surprised... or disappointed that Bubbles wasn't fighting back as much as she'd hoped. Sure, she could understand a lack of experience would hurt her over-all performance, but where was than ANGER at being thrashed she had displayed earlier? Cicilia had to crush her guard so that she could no longer use it... draw out the true threat in Bubbles Burste or this wouldn't be any fun!

With Bubbles turtled behind her guard, the juggernaut dismantled the distance between them, swinging a crushing straight into the larger woman's arms! Of course, it was promptly stopped by her now decent defense, but it wasn't meant to cut through it anyway... More to send a message.

Breaking out of her shell for but a moment in a peek-a-boo style counter, Bubbles swung an arm around in a blistering hook at Cicilia's jaw... that would hit full-on. The German fell back a step, but it was that step back that solidified her position. Her retreat was halted with a heavy stomp as she threw her upper body forward, right arm swinging back up to shatter Bubbles' consciousness. Her arm was tensed, muscles clearly prominent as she threw it up in a scythe of an uppercut aimed squarely under the american's jaw! Cicilia's eyes flared with that punch, the pain it brought unleashing a beast she had kept dormant up until now.

if this punch didn't send the Virgin-Killer packing, Cicilia would simply continue with a flurry of blows, quicker but weaker: Left hook to the jaw, right straight to the nose, right hook to the ribs...

It seemed simple enough. Mariah hadn't wanted to get back into the ring. It did make her wonder why though. Had conditions been bad when she got hurt and she was scared of competing? Had she been burned out by the time she recovered? Sayumi had more trouble trying to understand what the reasoning could be as she couldn't put herself in the other woman's shoes. She seemed healthy, looked fit, so why? Bubbles and Mariah would have made for a cute tag team if they were anything like they were out of the ring while inside of it. That seemed like a bit of a shame. She wasn't really sure what Mariah had meant by private encounters. Her eyes shifted back towards Bubbles and Cicilia setting up in the ring. Something like this, or was that just her polite way of referring to hentai type matches? She wasn't sure.

"Did you just lose your spark for it? Wrestling I mean. What were you like back then, before you got hurt?" She hoped she wasn't prying to much. She had nudged them off track of both the topics at hand, but she couldn't help it. Curious by nature, this is the sort of thing she would think far too hard on and conjure up scenarios in her head without more details. All of that aside though, a sudden light bulb flicked on in her brain. Her eyes lit up a bit as she pursed her lips. "Hey... About Bubble's ring gear. Maybe I could make something that is a fusion of her tastes, and your old gear. That way you two can be with each other in the ring in a sort of symbolic way." She beamed rather proudly at the suggestion. She was doing a rather poor job about hashing out all the details of taking Mariah on as a manager, but new doors were opening and she just had to take a peek.

Sayumi intended to keep up working with Cicilia as a tag team. While she was having trouble adjusting to the change, it was a good way to expose her girlfriend to as much wrestling as possible in one sitting. Be it actual experience or just being able to watch three other wrestlers work, it was going to pay dividends down the road, she knew it. Still, she preferred overall singles competition. Being a possible burden on Cicilia in the ring was one of her biggest fears. While Sayumi was decent, she was far from the best. Eventually Cicilia would be at her level, only still have mountain wrecking punches on top of it, at that point their teaming up would be rather stilted. She tilted her head curiously at the mention of Valley. She knew the name, and the woman. It was hard not to despite never having crossed paths before.

"Really?" She was pretty sure Valley was way out of her league when it came to in ring work. No real surprise, she was a veteran and a champion. Still, the chance to test her mettle against a prestigious opponent like that was almost too good to pass up. She agreed to Mariah, win or lose it would be good for her career. While if it went bad for her it might not be great for her appeal in the eyes of fans, but the personal experience she would no doubt gain would be priceless. "I would love that actually."

That punched connected?

Bubbles couldn’t tell if Cecilia was surprised that it did or not, but she could say for certain that she was. It had been more of desperation shot, something to keep her foe at bay, but it looked like it had done a good deal more than that. It connected clean. Good impact. It knocked the experienced boxer back a step, and for the first time since this round started, it felt like Bubbles was gaining good ground.

The feeling didn’t last, however, because Cecilia was all too quick to retaliate. A blow to the jaw hit with all the subtlety of a shotgun blast, and Bubbles was the one who retreated now...or started to, anyway.

She took a step back, then took a step forward, moving back into the danger zone. She was starting to feel how this game was supposed to be played. The main rule? Give no ground.

Cecilia came her way and started unloading bomb, blasting her all over. Painful shots, but Bubbles tried to maintain her place and give as good as she got. The blows to her midsection knocked the wind out of her, but she was quick to retaliate with haymakers of her own, throwing a right hook into Cecilia’s face and following up with a stiff uppercut from the left.

It was getting brutal and savage in short order, something that Mariah couldn’t help but notice from the sidelines. She kept speaking to Sayumi, but she felt her attention drift more and more with each blow, watching as her wife struggled to stay afloat. ”I’ll...talk to Bubbles about that.” She perked up, not wanting to sound dismissive of her friends offer. It was a generous idea, one she’d love to see happen.

”Bubbles is kind of an exhibitionist, is my only worry. She’d go nude if I let her, and she has a habit of ripping her own clothes off if she gets too carried away. I’d hate for you to go to all that trouble, only for her to get all hot and bothered and…” She held up her hands and ripped apart an invisible garment. ”It might work as long as it’s easy to take off, though.”

Hearing Sayumi sound so eager to take on Valley brought a smile to her face, though. So many wrestlers might’ve intimidated by the idea, thinking they weren’t up to that level, but the younger woman clearly saw the value. ”Could definitely set that up. We used to be part of the same fed, and she owes me a favor or two.” Mariah threw a knowing wink Sayumi’s way. ”Back then, I was more of all-rounder sort of wrestler. Nothing bad, but honestly? Nothing too special.” She shrugged. ”I wouldn't say I lost my passion, exactly. I get tempted every now and then. But I’m just more effective as a manager, is all. It’s a better fit.”

FINALLY! The real match had begun! Bubbles had taken her uppercut like a champ, only being forced back a step before the two of them started trading blows! It seemed only natural that the American's defense was left shoddy and full of holes, more in favor for heavy body armor rather than a staunch shield. She took hits and brushed them off to make it much easier to go in for more choice strikes, taking a shot to the head to get at the opponent's body through their guard for example. It took a strong and tough woman to pull this strategy off without burning up in the early stages of the fight so this didn't surprise her. Bubble's was quite obviously built for this strategy. She could afford to take a lot of hits and, although she didn't have much technique to capitalize fully on the openings she made. This wasn't to say her punches didn't hurt. On the contrary, Cicilia had to grit her teeth to keep her from gasping out in pain with every strike Bubbles was landing...

But the German had much better skill in this field and wasn't dumb enough to attempt a purely armored strategy. Even if you were as tough as a brick wall, it only took a few well-placed shots to the weak parts of the body to take you down. A good couple shots to the jaw or a powerful uppercut to the unprotected gut and you're out. No matter how tough your armor was, one couldn't afford to trust it against someone that could match you in strength...

Cicilia was starting to understand that Bubbles was trying to trade blows with her... As the two of them threw punches at one another, the Juggernaut, through her arms and the occasional landed blow, got that Bubbles was merely trying to match her as if she had the skill to do so. Her mistake... When one is up against a better opponent, exploiting weaknesses is the only way one can hope to win, not driving straight through! But it seemed Bubbles was opting for the latter... A woman much like her indeed, but that didn't mean she'd get much of an advantage.

Cicilia ducked under one of Bubbles' many haymakers to her face, throwing a monster uppercut up towards the larger American's gut just below her ribs in an effort to shove all that air out of her like a squeeky-toy! Should this punch land, the German would rip that fist right up along her chest, as she shot up to her full height, her punch passing right between her breasts and into her jaw in a Mega Uppercut!

Bubbles was starting to feel a little more comfortable with this. A little. As much as a clumsy woman who’d rarely put on boxing gloves before today could feel at least.

It was clear that Cicilia held most of the advantage here, that she was quite capable of living up to her nickname. The only way to stand up to the unstoppable force was to be an immovable object, and Bubbles could at least do that well enough. Plant your feet. Drop your weight. Stand your ground. In theory, she had the advantage here, even if she and Cicilia were close in strength. Better reach, longer arms, more force. That was how it worked in her head, anyway.

In practice, it was a little different. Cicilia was not a punching bag, and while she was landing blows and doing a decent job, there was no way that Bubbles wouldn’t get an appropriate response from the German. When it came, it really came.

Cicilia’s fist sunk deep into Bubbles’ gut, finding its way past the abs to churn the meat underneath, leaving her gasping and forcing her to bend. That put her in prime position for the followup, an upwards meteor of an uppercut that left her word appropriately rocked and had her stunned, made stars dance about her vision.

Not wanting to retreat, however, she did the only thing she could think to do and reached out, trying to pull Cicilia in tight, wrapping her up under her bigger body. A ‘clench’.

Bubbles' longer range, stronger arm and deeper cutting power was indeed a threat to Cicilia and she felt just how much of one every time one of her punches slipped past her guard. They were brutal, monsterous and were more powerful than most single punches the German had taken in her long career of boxing... But Cicilia was strong as well... Strong, experienced and had a solid defense of her own that allowed her to slip inside the American's guard and deliver a pair of uppercuts to the bigger woman's body and chin, enough to put the Virgin killer on the back foot once again! The German couldn't help but smile her widest at this fight... A true rival to her attributes in many respects boxing against her... She truly hadn't had this much fun in the ring since her first time boxing professionally back home! Bubbles, despite her short-comings in this sport, felt like someone she could truly test her mettle against... Cicilia have to inform her of that after the match.

Her uppercut seemed to knock the fight RIGHT out of Bubbles but instead of throwing her back a good ways, the American came RIGHT at her, wrapping Cicilia up in a powerful clinch! The German immediately blushed as Bubbles' massive breasts smashed her chest, her mighty arms keeping hers pinned at her sides as she stared up at the larger woman in frustration and defiance. This was one of the worst places for the Juggernaut to be in, a clinch where the ability to gain momentum was effectively negated... She couldn't push back, she couldn't punch properly...

Her lips curling into frown, Cicilia would attempt to pry at least one of her arms loose and make a strike at Bubbles' cheek... If she couldn't... then that would leave her in very vulnerable position...