Kyoko Akan vs. Masuyo Ai - Iron Sharpens Iron

Rules: The time limit for the match is one hour. Both contestants will attempt to gain the greatest combined number of pinfalls, submissions, or knockouts within the allotted time. Points will be tallied at the end of the match by the designated offical. If a contestant is unable to continue, the match will end and points will then be tallied.
Victory Conditions: The contestant with the greatest combined number of pinfalls, submissions, or knockouts will be declared the winner. In the event of a tie, the match will enter sudden death and the next point will decide the victor.

Had she ever visited a doctor for a sports-related injury?

Masuyo only pondered it for a moment or two before giving the physician across from her roughest estimate with a tentative shrug of her shoulders. The woman’s eyes peered over the clipboard for only a second before she went back to writing something down.

The last place she’d expected to be headed for her match today was the medical ward. At least, not before the match had even started, but management was very specific about it. Apparently, the condition was legally binding for Ironwoman matches.

Hardcore matches were one thing. Those could be brutal, but they were also often brief. There were only so many steel chairs or wooden planks to the face you could take before the lights went out and the bell was called. Ironwoman matches, though? Those seemed like they were the gauntlets. She couldn’t even just walk into this one. The medical center had to test her reflexes first. Check for lasting injuries, chronic illnesses, anything that showed she wasn’t in peak physical condition. Because when she came out...well, she sure as hell wouldn’t be.

That stuff didn’t help calm her nerves any, but neither did finding out who her opponent was going to be. She didn’t know much about Kyoko Akan, aside from that she’d been here longer and was a contender for the world championship once. Didn’t tell her much off the bat, but anyone who could go toe-to-toe with Cecilia Northman promised a hard-fought match. And given the match, Masuyo was going to have to give it her all.

None of it was enough to kill her excitement, however. She practically leaped off the examination table once the doctor cleared her. A minute later she was at the gorilla position, waiting for her cue as she did some stretches with the biggest grin on her face.

Head in the game, tiger. Head in the game.

Masuyo Ai:

Theme Music:

The koto echoed across the arena as Masuyo made her way down the ramp, all smiles and handshakes as she made her way towards the ring. She probably milked it for a bit more than it was worth too. Taking the time to give some hugs and a take a picture or two, because the next time she walked past these people, it wasn’t going to be for another hour. She felt exhausted just thinking about.

Wouldn’t slow her down, though. She slid underneath the bottom rope with a burst of speed and popped up to her feet. She gave a couple, appreciative bows to both sides of the arena before making her way to her corner for some last minute stretches. She placed one leg on the middle rope and leaned in before moving to the other, taking some deep breaths as she did so. Her eyes never went to the entrance. When her opponent came, she’d pay attention. Right now though, she had to get ready. The last thing she needed was a sprain straight out the gate.

There was never a rest for anyone who deemed themselves the best, and for Kyoko she saw herself as nothing else but that, regardless of a lack of titles around her waist. Summer splash was nearing again and despite the bad memories of a near memorable win Kyoko still had an optimistic opinion on her chances going forward. Afterall she tipped off her year as a contender for the world title and she was only going to get better from there, but of course she had to prove she earned it against newer and equally hungry opponents, namely the girl in question she was facing now. This Masuyo Ai may not have been on the roster anywhere near as long but that didnt mean shed been squandering her time here, quickly reaching a big tag title match of her own and trying to prove she could hang with the top brass, so of course it was only natural that she would find her way to her. Though it being an ironwoman match was a bit surprising though not an unpleasant one in the slightest, it was going to be a test of one of Kyoko's best trait, her raw endurance and desire to win.

Spoiler:

Vapor Rock started playing soon after Masuyo was done and Kyoko came out with a confident strut, her hands on her hips as she looked around the cheering crowd. Her smile never fading as she came down to the ring, each step emphasized by an aura of cockiness and strength she was known for as she looked at her opponent for the long, long night she was in for. She looked like she could run the gauntlet at least, which was more then she could say for half of the cream puffs in this place but looks were cosmetic, what could she bring was the real question. Though even then she wasnt hurting in Kyoko's favorite department either...."Dont think ive been in one of these yet, at least not in this place. Congratulations. Looks like ill be testing my limits with you."

The heavy guitar chords brought Masuyo’s attention away from her last minute preparations with a jerk of her head towards the entrance. She moved to cross one arm over the other before placing her hands to her hips, watching Kyoko’s arrival and listening to the roar of the crowd. Again, she didn’t know much about tonight’s competition. But if she had to judge from appearances alone, she could comfortably say that she was in for a very long night.

Kyoko towards the ring as if she owned it. As if this was going to be another night for her, despite the fact she was going to be stuck in the ring with the Demon of Shibuya for a whole hour. Could have been the confidence of a veteran who’d earned her stripes, or it could have just been plain arrogance. She’d find out herself soon enough.

Where her opponent kept a smile of hard-earned confidence, Masuyo wore a grin one of endless excitement and anticipation. Honestly, she had a feeling that this was going to be one of the matches she had been really waiting for ever since she’d joined the federation. A real endurance test. A match where she could push her body to the absolute limit, get an understanding of just where she stood in the grand scheme of things. Coming out on top of this could change everything, but the real challenge was in seeing just how far she could get in the time she had. Either way, win or lose, she knew she wasn’t going to regret tonight.

Masuyo gave Kyoko a quick once over as she entered the ring. Most of her attention was drawn to that core, however. It wasn’t something you’d notice off the bat. They were taut, rather than etched and compact like the Demon’s, but she noticed how pronounced and solid they truly were as she spoke. Her grin stretched into a wide smirk. The promise was just radiating off this woman, Masuyo could hardly contain herself.

“Same to you, Kyoko-san.” She said, placing her hands on her knees for one last stretch. “I’ve never fought someone for an hour straight before. Not officially, at least.” The referee called them both to the center, where Masuyo waited just a couple steps away from her opponent, giving her nose a quick rub. “Just a heads up, I’m not great at holding back. I’m really gonna push you to that limit, so try and keep up.”

Masuyo remained full of promise the closer she got to her, it was clear this wasnt someone Kyoko would just steamroll for a whole hour, hell shed be lucky to be in control of her for 10 minute of this match. Her own face started to show some signs of excitement as the prospect of a worthy challenge was seen in front of her. She wouldn't be backing down no matter how tired she got, she had brawled all across the arena once with the best this place had to offer, in comparison she was just facing another tough challenge and shed prove herself more then what she could handle. Offering a fist to the tough looking fighter she decided that showing the respect she was owed was the least she could do.

"Thats my line, besides i wouldn't want you to hold back, especially since your the only company i have for the next hour. Being against opponents like you are the very thing a real competitor should be thriving to do." Kyoko would retort as she once again looked over her foe and backed away at the ref's behest to give her the space to ring the bell. The timer would start and for the next 60 minutes Kyoko would see all this Demon had to offer for herself.

In a subtle way, the purple-haired woman across from her reminded Masuyo of why she joined this league. It wasn’t just that the competition here was tough, it was that they were eager. The people here didn’t join for fancy belts or big names that would mean nothing ten years from now. It was because they wanted to be stronger, they wanted to break those limits like no place else could. Everyone wanted to be the best.

“Couldn’t agree more.”

She bumped the woman’s fist with her own, smiling right at her, then promptly took a couple steps back as the bell went off. Masuyo brought her fists up, pacing herself as she took a moment to circle her opponent and figure out the best way to approach. Part of her wanted to go all out, take Kyoko to the mat right away and get her at a disadvantage from the outset. But those were the instincts talking. This was going to be a long match and there was no need to throw everything she had out right away.

Didn’t mean she was going to let Akan take the lead, either. Masuyo took a step forward, narrowing the distance between them. She snapped her back foot off the ground, then brought it forward and back down in front of her, feinting a kick as her feet switched positions. The next second, she followed up with a strong roundhouse kick with the opposite foot, striking for Kyoko’s side.

After there hands bumped Kyoko backed off to finally let this match start. Her mind racing as she pondered what to do first, she was actually excited for this and the match hadn't even gotten past the first punch. Moving in slow Kyoko noticed Masuyo doing the same, guess she was saving anything explosive for when she needed it. The two remained in a stalemate that ended pretty fast as Masuyo came in for a kick, Kyoko readied herself to check it before it was pulled back, a feint shed fallen for a bit too easy as the Demons real kick came in after hat and caught her side after shed lowered her hand.

"Tccgh." The move connected cleanly at sent a sharp pain through her side but Kyoko brushed it off quickly enough, she needed to focus. Masuyo got first hit off so shed have to make up the lost ground. Moving a bit to the side after the kick Kyoko would then try and move in looking to throw a jab at her opponents face before sending a right hook to her belly a quick test of her defenses.

There was a nice and satisfying smack waiting for her leg when it met Kyoko’s side. Akan’s reflexes weren’t bad, but they weren’t quick enough for the MMA maven. There was plenty of power behind it, enough to knock her sideways, but Masuyo never intended to follow-up. She was just testing the waters for now. Trying to gauge just what kind of punishment her opponent could take while playing defense. No need to jump into the fray just yet.

A good idea too, since Kyoko wasn’t letting that one go.

She brought her forearm up to knock away the jab striking towards her face, but that only left her guard open for the woman’s other fist as it sailed towards her stomach. Her knuckles dug into the Demon’s abdominals, testing the solid muscle beneath the skin and earning a sharp hiss from her lips. She didn’t intend to just let Kyoko slip away, however. She reached forward as the woman recoiled, looking to grab her by the back of the head and yank her forward, sending a hard knee into the purple-haired brawler’s stomach as repayment.

Moving in for the attack as soon as she had taken one they had gotten odd trade off as she tried to connect with some well placed punches to start things off. Her face punch was deflected easily enough but Kyoko caught her abs and let out a loud smack. Though the punch got a slight hiss from the Demon she felt the strong abs that they connected with and it was clear that it wasnt breaking anytime soon, which arguably just made Kyoko all the more excited about the gruesome match she had in store for herself now. Masuyo didnt stop either, quickly trying to pay her back with a knee as Kyoko brought her hands up to try and block it, but it connected anyway.

Letting out a cough as the move connected with her body as Kyoko felt her own abs getting tested. Still her arms wrapped around her legs as she would look at Masuyo with a slightly pained smirk. "Oh ho, dont worry we have an hour to test our abs, but for now let me show you just who your dealing with." She said as she would try to hook the leg she had and turn it bring Masuyo down to the floor with a corkscrew.

Wow. Those abs were actually tougher than they looked. That was kind of a first for her.

Kyoko’s core already looked fairly impressive, clearly the product of a lot of hard work, weeks of training and more than their fair share of abuse no doubt. But when she rammed her knee into it, there was next to zero give. It got a wheeze out of her opponent, but that was more or less expected from the force the Demon had just put into her. This was a real hardbody she was going to contend with.

Quick reflexes, too. Masuyo’s hit may have landed, but she wasn’t getting that leg back right away. Kyoko gave it a good twist, flipping the MMA maven over and bringing her down to the canvas flat on her chest. She was down but wasn’t out. After Kyoko flipped her, Masuyo would go to roll onto her back, yanking her hooked leg forward to bring the Belly Queen into range for a kick to the jaw from her other foot.

Quick to drive her opponent down to the floor with the move Kyoko made sure to maintain control of the leg and hold her there to get on top of her opponent. Masuyo to her credit was trying to get her back on the defensive and turn as Kyoko tried to hook and pull on the leg to bring her in and keep her in a position Kyoko control. This time though the Demon won out, pulling Kyoko in in a bit and letting loose with her free foot to catch Kyoko across the face cleanly.

The women's boot caught her on the chin and knocked Kyoko's head back as her grip on Masuyo's leg faltered and slipped a bit, Kyoko herself brought a hand to her face, keeping the other on her opponents leg, and went to her but as she pulled back, making sure she couldn't use her current position to get on top of her instead while Kyoko tried to move and hold onto her to try and control her a bit but making sure to avoid getting kicked in the face a second time.