Blue Thunder Mask vs. Stone - Duty and Honor

Match Type: Standard
Victory Conditions: Pinfall, Submission, or KO.

Stone stood with her back against the turnbuckle, taking off her jacket as she waited for her music to die down. The crowd was booing her something fierce and giving her a rowdy Japanese chant that she was nearly skilled enough with the language to understand, but she ignored them for the most important part. She had other things to think about. Like the hardest match of her AFW career, for instance.

That wasn’t hyperbole, either, though it wasn’t like Blue Thunder Mask  had much competition in that area or anything. She’d had sadly few matches in Tension since she joined, and none of them were really that big on the richter scale. That was a shame, because she wound up liking wrestling far more than she ever anticipated. It all clicked well with her.

So, in a way, she was glad that this nonsense with Makio and Makoto had wound up working in the end, since it meant she would have a challenge. Better still, she got the feeling that Blue Thunder Mask would have plenty of energy left after his ‘match’ with Devine.

That was good. That was great. For both of them, really, since she had no intention of holding back. Makoto was already pissed at her for insisting on a standard match instead of something crazy to put him at a disadvantage, so she had to make up for it by giving him hell. She doubted Makio would be inclined to pull punches, either, judging by the death glare he’d given her when Makoto roped him into this. She was willing to bet he’d want to have a word or two with her.

Blue Thunder Mask had left Makoto and Stone behind at the private ring to sort their business out. Only once he had reached gorilla position was he clued into what the stipulations were going to be. Bog standard. He was perfectly alright with that, though a slightly bit surprised Makoto would have allowed for that. Either Stone had really set her foot down or the biker leader was confident in her lieutenants abilities. Stone was the only wild card left, though with her size and build it wasn't a complete secret what her style was like. She had the makings of someone with a great deal of discipline from their few interactions, something he felt he matched up far greater against than someone like Makoto who came across as a chaotic storm of frenzied blows.

When his music hit, to the ring he went. A simple entrance that traded in the usual spectacle for a round rip around the outside with high fives and one or two hugs. He was met with an impressive pop. Not only to be wrestling again in a Tension ring, but how quickly he had apparently dispatched Devine had a few ladies in the audience flashing him looks. Someone even slipped a small slip of paper with her number in the lip of his tights... jeez. Rolling into the ring, he found himself waiting for Stone, who wasn't far behind him. Quietly watching her entrance with lack of real fanfare under a chorus of boos and jeers. They saw fit to chant about her being next and counting to three. Pretty catchy stuff.

He hadn't been joking that day in the park. Eyeing her across the ring, now that they were in his world, he was going to repay her for their last physical exchange. Devine had unwittingly clued him in on something interesting with their time alone, something he intended to use when the time was right. It was a feat, facing three people in one evening, so holding back wasn't something he was prepared to do. He certainly wouldn't cheat, he would sooner put himself to the sword before sullying himself with that. Mind games however? Those were just part of what happened in the ring. If he was reading into things correctly, he had one hell of a bender to throw the large woman on.

As the official called for the bell, he moved to the center of the ring. He was willing to give Stone the benefit of the doubt here, so he slowly raised his arms, fingers wiggling in open challenge for a test of strength. He didn't doubt the woman would be strong, but did she have technique? Even if it turned out she could overpower him physically, with a bit of finesse it was easy to apply pressure or use leverage to best even the strongest of foes. If she took him up on this, it was one of the fastest ways for him to do due diligence. "Lets see what you've got."

Stone was in no hurry here, and she had little problem showing that with her actions. As her music faded and the time came to take him on, she moved with slow, deliberate steps, taking her time to strip off her jacket, keeping her face as calm and serene as her namesake. There was the intimidation factor, of course - not that she thought such tactics would shake a man with Blue Thunder Mask’s pedigree, but it was worth the effort.

No, she was stoic because she was taking the time to think, and there was much to think about. How to approach this? She knew that Makio was good, certainly a more experience wrestler than she was. While she was confident in her strength, the question was if it would be enough to make up for the experience gap. With other men, she could bulldoze over their offense enough for it now to matter. Here, though…

The bell rang. The match began. Stone made her way to the center of the ring, tugging her gloves tight as Blue Thunder Mask did the same. No doubt he was of a similar mind to her. Testing time.

”Let’s.” She lowered her stance, brought her hands up, and laced fingers with him, getting nice and tight. From there, she began to push forward, exerting more and more strength with each passing second, leaning hard into her foe and summoning more power with ease passing second. She would hold back, let him gain some ground on her, only to surge forward with more strength a few seconds later, reclaiming her lost territory and trying to seize more on top of it.

Female opponents in general were a new thing to him for the most part, let alone ones as large as Stone. That said, he had faced far more foes bigger than the both of them while touring the world. As far as male wrestlers were concerned, he was considered on the shorter side. While someone else might have been intimidated by her demeanor and overall look, Blue Thunder Mask wasn't really phased. Had they been strangers completely, maybe the silent guardian thing might have gotten more of a reaction from him. She had removed a great deal of her mystique that day in the park, coming away as more of what she was. Just another person.

Interlacing fingers with Stone had been easy, no hesitation on her behalf to get in close to lock in with him. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing. Originally he had pegged for for a one note bruiser, Makoto's enforcer. After speaking with her one on one, it was clear she was far sharper than one might have assumed in her silence. Confident, but not cocky. She was use to seeing results when she acted, of that he was sure.

As Stone pushed in on him, he met her with equal force, eyes flicking over her body examining every visible inch of her for strain. He knew she was stronger than this. Was she testing him just as much as he was testing her? He leaned inward slightly, finding a bit of give to their lockup. It was alarming with no real reaction from her.

She was holding back. That much was clear. What was the end game here though. She was either looking to surprise him with a sudden show of force or break the lockup to strike him... If he got close enough she could even headbutt him. He would look out for that. Rather than exert pushing power down on Stone, he tried to sure up his own end of things. Rolling his hand over hers, twisting their grip at the wrist to lock down some force over her. Only then did he start to really try to overpower her.

No sooner had he begun to gain on her than she pushed back, hard enough to break his stance, having to brace himself as a boot slid back along the canvas. He countered her downward push by wrenching their arms around to their sides. Fingers still locked in, he tucked his arms closer to his body, pushing back from a lower starting point, trying to break her sturdy form by having to lean in to actually use any leverage if she wanted.

It wasn't going to show on her face, but Stone was somewhat relieved that Devine didn’t seem to do any real damage to Makio - if she’d done anything at all. She still had her doubts on what went on behind those doors. While she barely knew Blue Thunder Mask, he didn’t seem like the type to sully his hands with a hentai match, and he damn sure wasn’t the type to do it such a rude fashion. Plus, Stone was aware of what a person smelled like after having sex with Devine, and she wasn’t getting any of that scent off the man she was grappling with.

But it didn’t matter. Now, he was her problem, and he was showing her his wrestling prowess. Her stance had to be nothing less than perfect. She needed her legs apart at the proper space, giving her a solid base to hold him off, and she vyed for position while their arms worked against each other. So far, it seemed like a stalemate, with Blue Thunder Mask’s technical skill beating out her pure power.

But something had to give, sooner or later, and she was determined to make sure that came down in her favor.

”Good…” She bit her lip and surged in with a gruff grunt, pressing with her leverage to maintain control. Crafty man. ”How about…” Stone shifted to this side and worked her foot around, changing things up to see how he’d react. ”...this?”

She planted a foot around, brought her leg behind his, and tried to trip him up, hoping to plant him on his back while she kept control from above, maybe even go for a pin. A gambit, but if she could score this advantage early on, it would pay dividends.

All things considered, he was holding his own fairly well. Once Stone actually started to push at him with her actual strength, he could tell she had a good bit of power behind her. He wasn't sure, with how he was manipulating their arms if she was outright stronger than him, but even with the change to their arm positioning to let him use his shoulders and back more into his fight, she was giving him trouble. It didn't seem likely this would end in a simple way of just one overtaking the other, so long as they held their ground they would likely be able to go back and forth for awhile. Stone possibly knew this and was first to make the move. A good one, for someone less prepared. Blue Thunder Mask shuffled his footing, twisting the two of them in their lock up, circling himself away from her attempt to step in and behind him. He had to give up some footing, but with her attempt to move in she sacrificed enough of her push to give him time to recover.

"Not bad." He grunted with a soft chuckle, visible strain in his voice. She had the right idea, but going for something safe and technical likely wouldn't work on him. He knew his way around the standard stuff to the point it was mapped to muscle reflex. He had a feeling if he tried the same to her, she'd bowl him over the second he tried to step in on her, so he had to do something else. Something risky.

Stone suddenly found herself overpowering him, completely, in fact, he was helping her out, pulling her closer as she threw her weight into their lock up. He drifted back, throwing himself to the canvas and tried to drag her down with him. His legs tucked in as he fell back, following through to try and plant the soles of his boots firmly on her abdomen. If she came down with him, he'd plant his boots firmly, and hard into her midsection to kick up up and over his head to land on her back near his head. The entire time he would keep their hands locked in, if she was flipped to the ground, he would roll through completely, right over top of her to place himself in a mounting position on top of her before finally trying to pry their hands apart.

Almost, almost, almost...

Stone almost had Blue Thunder Mask down, and she was already thinking about the step after that. She was fairly certain she had the weight advantage over him, so could she translate that into holds, pin him down, work him over. His skill would come into play down there, too, but if she was on top…

Of course, she had to get on top first. Easier to say than to do, especially, when she was dealing with a foe as savvy as this. Her idea to trip him up was a good one that might’ve worked any other time - just not now, not against him. He was too quick, maneuvered out of the way, but that didn’t mean he was clear yet. She pushed harder, working more force into the push, pushing him back, back, back. Too back, in fact.

By the time the cogs turned and she realized what was going on, it was already too late. She being flipped over, coming down on her back, and he was rolling over on top to mount.

”1…!”

With her shoulders against the mat, the referee started a count, but she didn’t get the chance for a second slap before Stone bridged on her head and raised up. At the same time, she kept her grip tight on the hold, trying to force Makio to work with the awkward position he’d put them in, instead of turning it to his advantage.

As Blue Thunder Mask fell backwards, Stone came easily with him, she had seemingly caught on far too late to actually try to salvage things. As his boots dig into her, tossing her over his body her overall lack of weight caught him as something of note. He had expected her to be heavier, likely due to the force she packed behind her kicks in their last encounter. If anything that alone was making him more weary of being put at the opposite end of one of her blows.

As she hit the mat, the ring vibrated with the impact. He couldn't lay about and admire his takedown of the big woman, he still had so much more to do. Carried by his momentum, the monkey flip into a hip mount had gone off nearly without a hitch as he straddled her midsection. The only issue being Stone's refusal to let him slip his hands free of hers. It was a good concern for her to have. A good deal of the athletes in AFW were strikers, having a full top mount would mean a easy ground and pound. That wasn't really his thing though.

Rather than fight Stone, he let her have his hands, gripping hers as well. Pulling, struggling, all those things would lead to wasted effort. As flexible with his plans as he was with his body, he chose to play into making her think harder on her choices and where she picked her battles with him. Leaning back he tucked his arms inward, using their grip to try and pull her upright into a sitting position. From there he would lift his legs to attempt to capture her in a body scissor around the waist while keeping hold of her hands, trying to keep her arms outstretched to deny her real use of her upper body as means to escape.

It was an interesting position that Stone and Makio found themselves in, and the crowd was all too quick to pick up on, throwing a few catcalls and whistles their way, acting as if it was Devine in the ring instead. Irritating as it was, the audience was just background noise, and she wasn’t about to let the idiots in the crowd distract her. Not when she needed her wits so badly, and every single move mattered in the long run.

He was on top of her now, with the two of them vying for control. She thought her position was solid and stable enough, that he’d have to concede and back off if he wanted to get back to stable ground, but he proved that wrong with a few simple moves.

One moment she was down and safe. Relatively.

The next she was getting pulled up and had his legs wrapped tight around her waist, constricting and crushing. Not the most comfortable situation.

Stone grit her teeth hard and arched her back, fighting against the pressure. It wasn’t completely alien to her, Devine used scissors on her all the time. But these were the sensual, silky, sexy type she preferred. These were like iron bars pressing against her sides, giving nothing as they tried to meet in the middle.

Blue Thunder Mask couldn't help but be a bit disappointed with the audience reaction to the current situation. There had been a few times when he had wrestled Makoto where they had been in arguably intimate positions as well but it had been treated with the seriousness it deserved. What changed? Was it the match with Devine that had everyone's minds swirling the drain? Maybe. He was almost tempted to surrender the hold alone for that. Stone didn't deserve this sort of treatment from them.

He wouldn't give in though, not even an inch. Once the ankles of his boots had been locked in, his legs had tightened as much as he could muster. Only when she shifted  in struggle or with the simple act of breathing would he be able to worsen the hold, sealing up whatever opening was to be found for more pressure.  He was mindful to keep his back bent inward, not sure how flexible Stone was, but he didn't want to give her an opening to hook his upper body with her own legs.

"Surprised you opted for no bell or whistles..." He finally spoke, audible strain in his voice as he worked to squeeze her midsection and keep her arms pulled taut. " I figured you for at least a falls count anywhere type of woman." When they first met, he could have seen her armed with a weapon as well. After they talked, he felt as though seeing her armed outside of an order or a situation that called for such extreme measures may have been outside her comfort zone.