Kyoko Akan vs. Masuyo Ai - Iron Sharpens Iron

This is the last spot that Masuyo thought she would be in when this match got underway. Kyoko had come out of the gates fairly strong, swinging those deadly fists with enough accuracy and power that were better serviced in the octagon rather than the wrestling ring, but nothing she thought she couldn’t handle. Now here she was, on the ground and taking labored breaths, struggling to muster even an ounce of resistance to the Queen’s onslaught. It was her own fault, really. She’d gotten complacent after her earning her first point, a mistake that Kyoko never allowed herself to make. Masuyo had her on the retreat only moments ago, and now she was back at square one, all over again. The fourth bell had taken so much energy out of her, and it would have been so easy to simply lay down and let the match be called…

But she couldn’t lose heart. Not now. Not while there was still time on the clock. Not when there was even the slightest chance at turning things around. The slightest twitch set her abdomen on fire, her back ached from the hold Kyoko had put her through, but there was still some fight left.

I’ve been through worse. I’ve been through worse.

Masuyo kept repeating that little mantra in her head before her attention turned back to Kyoko, just managing to catch them with so much of her attention devoted to the pain. She was planning something. The MMA maven couldn’t tell what exactly, but it had to involve her adversary gaining another point in this grueling gauntlet. She had to move. Had to do something. As the Belly Queen’s footsteps neared, Masuyo tensed her body, priming herself for just the right moment. As an eclipse dawned over the stage lights above her, a majestic angel of judgement soaring above, the Demon surged every last bit of energy forward and quickly rolled to the side, letting Kyoko find nothing but empty ground awaiting her at the end of her descent.

Kyoko was trying to make sure to finish off Masuyo as quickly as possible. The Demon was a tough opponent but she had felt like she had weathered the worst of what she had and could take it from here. Afterall with the damage they had done to each other if Kyoko could go up 4-1 there was little doubt she might be able to keep the match in her favor as it would have been both a demoralizing situation both physically and mentally for her opponent. Masuyo though, tough as ever must have realized that too, as her own grit and determination struck through the pain and her body moved out of the way of the incoming attack to avoid it and leave Kyoko high and dry.

"Mggh!" Having her own momentum used to do nothing but kiss the mat left a rather painful smack across her back pain running across her spine and causing the Belly Queen no short amount of trouble for her efforts. Kyoko turned and covered her back, unable to just shrug off the pain as she kept moving to her side looking to at least get to her knees before anything could come of the rest of the match.

Masuyo wasn’t a betting woman. Not much for a gambler at all really. Never touched a pachinko machine in her life. Hadn’t so much as sampled a bit of alcohol between her lips.

But is she had to guess what that kind of feeling was like, betting everything on a coin flip, it must have felt a lot like what she was experiencing as Kyoko’s shadow cascaded over her. She’d already taken the Belly Queen for a well-rounded opponent, but seeing the brawler bearing down on her with a move she hadn’t seen since her tag title match with a certain pompous redhead fully cemented in her mind just how experienced this woman was. She’d lived and breathed every corner of this federation. That was the gap between them that made up Kyoko’s two-point lead, and what had Masuyo helpless on the floor. Her blood ran cold for an instant before she made her move, a brief flash of doubt in her actions.

It paid off in the end. Kyoko was down on all fours, reeling from the shock in her back as the Demon narrowly avoided the de facto end to this long match. Masuyo scrambled forward, jumping onto Kyoko’s back like a rambunctious spider monkey, slipping her arms underneath the woman’s and wrapping them around the back of her neck to lock in a full nelson. At the same time, she’d move to lock her legs around the woman’s abdomen, locking in a scissorhold. With a strong yank to the side, she’d attempt to roll the both of them onto their sides, squeezing Kyoko’s ribs for all they were worth as she kept her restrained with her arms raised high.

Damn...that could have been the end of it. If she secured a pin there she would be in a very comfortable position and it seemed Masuyo's will refused to let that come to fruition. Down 2 falls the Demon was willing herself to continue on as Kyoko tended to her back, slowly to deal with the aches in the rest of her. Masuyo made it clear she was fighter to the end, as she knew many tough opponents who couldnt overcome this little deficient and would let the reality of the uphill battle destroy them, so far it didnt feel like the fact she was down by this much register as she instead willed herself to fight on harder, grabbing her arms and pulling her into a full Nelson as Kyoko struggled in the move before felt her legs wrap around her.

"Rnngghh! Still alive..are we?" Kyoko grappled and pushed while she was restrained, desperate to try and get free somehow someway. To no avail sadly as she pretty tightly held back with her waist being squeezed and forcing a groan from the Belly Queen as she was yanked down and too her side. Still stuck despite her best efforts to turn her fortune around.

This hurt. This really goddamn hurt.

Oh, Masuyo wasn’t doing a great job of showing it, but Kyoko could rest assured that all the damage she’d done hadn’t been for naught. Every inch of pressure she’d try to assert onto the Queen’s sides felt like another needle jabbed into Masuyo’s abdomen. Her core was searing with pain, her arms heavy and her shoulders aching as they worked to keep Kyoko’s arms restrained over her head. There was some relief once they fell to the side, but not by much. The MMA maven was giving it her all to try and make sure her opponent was hurting just as bad as she was, but by the sound of Kyoko’s retort, it wasn’t quite enough.

But that only furthered her resolve. She couldn’t let this advantage slip away from her. Even if Kyoko likely believed she had this match locked away, the Demon was determined to prove her wrong.

“More...than you know.”

Kyoko was a stubborn woman. Maybe even more stubborn than Masuyo in a lot of respects. This wasn’t a submission that was going to come easy, but the Demon was more than willing to stick with it. She was down two points, running low on energy, and even lower on time. There wasn’t any room to second guess herself, no place for her to retreat from here on out. She was going to keep the pressure up no matter how much her body would persuade her to stop, tightening her legs for all they were worth. She couldn’t leave with another loss tonight. No way in hell...

here was no two ways about it. Kyoko was stuck, the full nelson kept her from using her hands in any meaningful way and the scissors around her waist not only hurt her sides but neutralized her legs and her bringing them to there sides made it so Kyoko couldnt bridge back and push Masuyo to her back and force a break cause of a pinfall. It was the perfect move for this situation and the only reason Kyoko hadn't submitted yet was stubbornness and her impress abs still holding it down for her agaisnt her legs. But even that wouldnt last, she needed to do something.

Problem was she had no idea what to do. She was still stuck and Masuyo's squeezing was starting to wear on her abs, she tried to put pressure on Masuyo's aching belly hoping the pain to overwhelm her but the Demon had the determination to ignore her aches and not give up so easily. All Kyoko could thin of was to try and hold out as long as she could, not praying for an escape but just trying to eat up time. This was an Ironwomen match, she could hold out. She still had another fall to give up.

“No...no...no...no…”

Masuyo couldn’t recall the last time she’d was this desperate to force a submission, even back in her MMA days. Kyoko was restrained, but she was plenty strong. Stronger than most people would probably think. She didn’t have the traditional bodybuilder mold, more a physique you’d find on the streets, picking fights in dark and dusty corners. Didn’t mean she was any less strong, just that that muscle had a clear purpose behind it. Every slight twitch, every bit of effort to break free of the hold sent a painful surge through Masuyo’s body. It would be a serious lie to say she was completely confident in holding Kyoko down.

On the bright side, it was at least paying off that she’d learned from her mistakes the last time she went for a move like this. Kyoko couldn’t just escape like before, use her knowledge of the ring against her. Her efforts wouldn’t be for naught.

But this wasn’t doing any good. It was clear the Belly Queen had been spent in this regard, but the time was still winding down. A thick sheen of sweat enveloped her entire body, her hot body and mind searing against the effort, her arms and legs aching and crying out in pain. Masuyo’s eyebrows furrowed, one hot breath after another forced from her mouth and rolling over Kyoko’s ear. She was on the brink. Every second she spent in this hold was another she didn’t have where it really mattered. Another bit of energy tapering away. She still had to narrow this gap, and she was going to need every second that still remained.

“Give up, Kyoko! Don't lose a rib!”

She had no intentions of bringing things further than they needed to, but there was only so much one could do against a brick wall like Kyoko Akan.

Kyoko shook her head, stuck in place even as Masuyo was clearly dealing with a lot of pain. But the Demon was enduring it here to get the chance to shut her down now. She didnt seem intent to let any of it stop her and it showed with how tight and unbreakable this hold felt. Her legs squeezing her sides and making it harder and harder to try and break away. She could feel and hear the struggle her opponent was enduring just to keep her hear and so she would attempt to hold out but the squeezing agaisnt her waist started to really wear down on her abs. She didnt know how much time had assed since she had been hear but she found herself slowly running out of ways to ignore the growing pain she was enduring, and she couldnt pass out, that would just be too much for her t come back from and defend herself with. Her ribs and body were screaming in pain and she couldnt ignore it much longer.

Finally Kyoko nodded her head to which the ref saw as a clear sign of a second submission informing the ref to get another point on the board. "Point Ai!" Kyoko coughed feeling her body's core on fire as the match went 2-3. Still in her favor but now with only a one point deficit for Masuyo to overcome rather then the 2 she had a few seconds ago.

There it finally was. After all the blows, all the struggle, she finally managed it: a second submission from Kyoko. The crowd gave a rousing cheer from all sides, witnessing the relative newcomer maker her comeback. She was just one point away from tying things up, one step closer to escaping the jaws of defeat.

So why didn’t Masuyo feel any better? Maybe it was the fact that she couldn’t help but feel she was still at square one. The Belly Queen had a stolen a point away from her before, what was to stop it from happening again? She may have made some progress, but that didn’t mean she could slow down. If anything, the MMA maven was going to need to make an even greater effort to make a draw, let alone win the match.

Truth be told, when the referee ordered the hold to be broken, Masuyo was likely just as relieved as Kyoko had been to get out of it. Her arms and legs unraveled from Kyoko’s arms and waist, letting the MMA maven roll over onto her back, breathing heavily with a steady rise and fall of her chest. Sweat glistened every inch of her body and ran down her sides, adding to the damp patch beneath her, grown from her and Kyoko’s relentless struggle. She looked up at the stage lights with wide eyes, doing her best to cope with the havoc wreaking up and down her body. Every slight twitch, every breath she drew was like a searing pain going through her muscles. Managing some form of control over neck, she rolled her head off to the side to steal a glance at the clock.

10:34

There was a still a window of opportunity here, still a chance to pull through. Couldn't give up. Never give up. Clenching her fists together and willing her eyes shut with a sudden spark of agony and determination, Masuyo pushed herself up from the ground, bringing herself up to one knee. She stopped for a moment, her gaze down towards the canvas and her sodden, raven hair drooping down and swaying messily about her face. That was right. This was her moment to her recoup. No need to rush it.

Kyoko had never submitted in her entire career before today. She had just done so twice in less then an hour. While neither of them because she couldn't take anymore it still hurt to have to resort to it when before she was spotless in that regard. Her arms, sides, and leg hurt and she was feeling the adrenaline that had helped her through the match fading. And with just over 10 minutes left in this match they suddenly felt extremely important. She had to get up and recover neither girl ready to make the next attack with the Demon trying to recover and the Belly Queen making sure she was still in more then one piece.

Standing up Kyoko's hand stayed on her hurting side. Rolling her other shoulder as she looked at the fellow dark-haired fighter. The match showed the best they had to offer, a worthy opponent who didn't seem to be going anywhere but she was still the vet and intended to make sure that the difference was still clear when it was all said and done. "I know breathing has to be a bitch for you..sure you can stay up for 10 more minutes?"