Kyoko Akan vs. Masuyo Ai - Iron Sharpens Iron

Trust Masuyo. That was not nearly as easy as she likely made it look.

Kyoko was tired. They were both tired, but the former was really the only reason that move worked at all. It was well outside of skill set, something that wasn’t exactly a common sight in MMA. It was all instinct, really, as many things were with her. Some weird mixture of moves she’d been exposed to since coming to this federation and a single flash of inspiration that came completely out of nowhere.

That inspiration was the only reason she hadn’t lost the match. It put Kyoko on temporary shutdown, but if the MMA maven was being honest with herself, she wasn’t much better off. She hadn’t stuck the landing and came down in a heap, just barely summoning the last of her dwindling energy reserves to bring herself up to one knee. Through a hazy gaze and hair damp with sweat, she stole a glance at the clock.

0:29

Shit.

She didn’t have time to be slow. Didn’t have time to be unsure. Didn’t have time for another breakout on Kyoko’s behalf when she went for the pin. When she went for it, Masuyo had to make sure the woman stayed down. So, she positioned herself just right, and the second Kyoko started to rise, the Demon would burst forward with a rush of speed, raising her foot to step up on the Belly Queen’s thigh before swinging her other leg into the back of her neck, knocking her senseless with a devastating enzuigiri.

Slammed and left staggering on the mat Kyoko was trying to find her bearings. She had no idea how much time there was but she knew spending it on her backnwas not ideal. However her ring awareness was shot and she had no idea where she was after being spun around like that. Her eyes blinked and her hand came up and moved around in the air like someone who was blind and let there cane. Though as she started to rise up she heard the fans counting. The match must have been down to there last few seconds which meant she just had to hold on.

But as she was starting to rise her world went dark. She was set upon by a big enziguri kick that smacked her across the head and Kyoko felt her head fall back afterwards dropping completely to the floor with her head glazed over. She wasn't out of it but her mind wasn't at the place it should be to get herself moving in the event she needed to move.

Bang.

Masuyo wasn’t sure how fast she moved, when she did it, let alone how she even managed it. Her body was practically moving on its own, onward unto victory no matter the cost to itself. Sweat clad her body from head to toe, running through her silky hair, clinging her sports bra tightly to her chest despite her fierce movements, flying free from her body and shining like jewels in the air as her kick cracked against the back of Kyoko’s neck, sending her back down to the mat in a heap with Masuyo not far behind.

She didn’t really move at first. It was too difficult, her body giving in to the fatigue without any inquiry on her part. For a second, and only a second, she stayed numb. But that was all the time she could afford. Just enough to get her senses back in order. Flipping herself onto her stomach, the Demon slowly but surely crawled over to Kyoko, flopping down on the Belly Queen as she hooked her leg.

“ONE!”

As the kick floored Kyoko and left her pretty much out on the floor she felt the pressure of Masuyo dropping on her still. The weight didn't stir her much and with the timer so short one kick out could float The Beast everything. Keeping everyone in attendance on there feet entirely. The ref started to count and the crowd was stuck airing with a red breath.

The ref's hands hit the mat once and Kyoko still didn't stir much. Her eyes began to flutter but the question of it she was concious enough to know where she was at was played. How much time did she have to kick out and would it be enough or would the final fall go to Masuyo and tie this up in the last seconds.?!

"TWO!"

Masuyo sucked in a bit of air and leaned forward with all her might as the second count came down. Her enziguri had been solid, and the whole world had seemed to agree as they watched with bated breath. She had to do this, she had to have had this, but doubts kept flooding her mind at the instant of truth. What if her kick had landed short? What if Kyoko wasn’t kicking out, but finding some other way free she wasn’t realizing? What if she kicked out now? Would she have time to pin her again if she did it straight away? Did she even have the strength?

“THREE! Point, Ai!”

And just like that, they all vanished. The Demon breathed out and dropped Kyoko’s leg to the side, falling flat onto the woman. She took a couple deep breaths to herself before sneaking the slightest glance at the clock out of the corner of her eye.

0:00

“An amazing recovery by Masuyo Ai has tied the match! Sixty seconds until Sudden Death!”

Masuyo barely registered the announcer. Her sound and sight distorted for a brief moment as her body adjusting to the fact that it could finally have a decent supply of oxygen in its lungers for once. Her body rose and fell steadily as it slumped across Kyoko’s. Their battered stomachs and chests pressing into one another as Masuyo looked up into her adversary’s eyes, sprouting her trademark grin. “Nearly had me there! Guess...I’m way closer to your level than you thought, huh?”

Kyoko senses were recovering just as she was cost the fall, tying things up with no time to recover or keep her lead. Kyoko felt herself internally groan and then it became very external when she started to move around once more, feeling very worn out but very determined to put the Beast down Kyoko started to push on her a little to try and get up as well feeling Masuyo's attempts to rise as well as the two of them were now in the sudden death stage, that meant they couldn't afford to rest or wait or find a new opportunity to do anything, whoever got the killing blow won.

"Your a tough rookie...but still a rookie compared to me, now it's just a matter of proving...just how ahead of you I am." She said keeping up the competitive tone she was feeling as she tried to find her feet. She had a better chance of holding her ground standing up then she did fighting her on the floor like this.

She knew that Kyoko wouldn’t disappoint from the second she stepped into the ring. The queen carried this heavy aura to her, this confidence and demeanor that only came from a long well experience. Masuyo didn’t know exactly how deep that well ran, nor how far that would take the two of them, until right here and now. As she brought herself up to two feet, her gray eyes shone with new life. The energy ran through her veins, bolstered by her opponent’s stance and words. The muscles on her frame accentuated as she tensed up, barley able to contain the exctiment before she let out a couple deep breaths.

Fighting could be so much fun, huh?

“Sounds...great!” She took a few steps back, making some needed distance from their sweltering bodies as the referee forced them apart. “Makes victory all the sweeter!”

Her smile was beaming now, casting its own faint light from the center of the ring. Her senses were in overdrive, her body felt like a thousand tons. Her heart was going a million beats a minute, and the very second it exploded...was when the bell sounded once again. Masuyo didn’t wait to close the distance. She lunged straight toward Kyoko, throwing a quickly flurry of jabs at her face to dig into the Belly Queen’s personal space, and then, if she made it close enough, force her down bit by bit with a few elbow strikes to the side of the head.

With the fight reaching its apex and both of them finding the last of there strength the battle reached a new level of intensity. A battle of endurance it still was but now it called for determination above and beyond what they had delivered beforehand. Kyoko wasn't about to let up on Masuyo and it was clear that's exactly what she wanted, so with her hands up she prepared to strike when the Demon rushed in and attempted the combo of punches she was known for.

Kyoko's hands were ready to defend her as the punches kept on coming keeping her from going on the attack immediately, and her guard wasn't perfect allowing some punches to slip through the cracks and nail her face. Eventually Kyoko would try and move below an elbow and try to throw a right to her body, followed by a left and then an Uppercut to the chin.

Keep pressuring her. Keep boxing her in. Things were down to the wire now, both for the match and their own bodies. Every shot had to be one that counted, every breath a step forward. Masuyo had gone into this match blind, but she had some experience on her side now. A strong offense was the only real way to go. Bring the fight to her opponent, keep her down and tired and limit her chances to swing. And, unless she had been seriously misreading who Kyoko Akan was this whole time, she wasn’t going to just let that happen.

It wasn’t much of a surprise, then, when Kyoko went to fire back with her own shots. The counter was clean, and by the time her eyes caught the Belly Queen after she ducked her elbow, her fist had already landed flush in Masuyo's right side. The Demon croaked, stiffing just long enough for Kyoko’s next shot to drill into her opposite side. Not fun. Her ribs were going to be feeling that and she swore the woman’s punching power hadn’t dropped an inch.

She recognized the combination, though, and Masuyo bobbed her head back, letting the uppercut drift past with a slight scrape against the bottom of her chin. She went to take advantage of that brief opening, shooting her knee up to bury it in Kyoko’s side before she could rechamber that skyward punch and knock some wind from her sails.

As the fight came down to a slow brawl with the two trying to wear down what was left of the two of them. Kyoko was keeping her guard up and watching smash go for an opportunity and she found it to dig into her soft sides with punches. The body having been the area she had worked over the most and the most obvious area to weaken he foe. But as she was trying to get Masuui to drop her fist went past her head and instead the Demon nailed her side with a body with a knee.

This time Kyoko had to hide and take a few steps in the other direction her hand briefly dropping to rub the wounded area. Impressed she still had such speed and power after an hour of brutal combat and having been nearly out of it a few times before. Kyoko almost wanted to know just how tough that whole body was. And wanted to see how much she had.