Kyoko Akan vs. Masuyo Ai - Iron Sharpens Iron

Confidence was the key to success. At least that’s what her parents taught her. Masuyo just wished her body was a bit more inclined to agree.

Her abdomen wasn’t recovering from that punishment for a while. Every breath was getting a bit easier than the last, but the pain wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. That much was clear. Charging at someone as capable as Kyoko might as well leave her running right back into that dragon sleeper. She couldn’t afford to lose any more falls either. As much as Masuyo hated the idea of hanging back and giving her opponent the initiative, if she was going to pull ahead, playing on the defensive was the only real option.

She kept her arms wide as the Belly Queen approached, throwing a stiff jab towards the most tender area of her body. The area that Masuyo was half-expecting. She’d attempt to bring belly out of the strike zone by pivoting on the spot, turning away from the fist and seemingly exposing her back to Kyoko. The follow-up, however, would come in the next instant, as she came full circle with her arm extended, shooting a spinning backfist at the Queen’s jaw.

Focus, Kyoko needed to be focused even now, though that was a bit hard given her sore body and fatigue. Something that sadly wasnt going away anytime soon unless they decided to take a 10 minute break, which wasnt happening. So she had to focus, to keep her lead and work down the areas she had already hurt to make sure Masuyo struggled to recover even more. Closing in and go for the body shot she knew would cause some issues for the Demon, Kyoko was instead treated to her pivoting out of the way of her incoming attack, trying to turn to ready herself when Masuyo surprised her with the sudden backhand to her face.

"Aaggh!" Kyoko groaned as she backed off for the moment as her head was knocked around and she struggled to steady herself. From there she would be able to try and move in again not wanting to give up her advantage as she went for a hook to the face, hoping for somekind of advantage to push as she would go for shots to the chest right afterward.

That twirl didn’t feel as smooth as she made it look. Her core was still crying out in pain. Even the slightest amount of strain on it was setting her abdomen alight all over. The Belly Queen was an earned nickname, evidently. More than some popular name given by overzealous fans. An odd style, but the proof was in its effectivness. She was just thankful that Kyoko hadn’t managed to preempt her backfist somehow. The last thing she needed was to get grounded by a counter shot.

Didn’t have to worry about that anymore, though. Kyoko was coming right back just as strong with a full frontal assault. Masuyo had only just managed to regain her footing when the hook came flying at cut her across the face. She stumbled back a step, keeping on eye on the Queen as her opponent moved in and caught her in the chest, forcing a harsh grunt from her lips. When the next punch came shooting towards her, however, the Demon was just alert enough to react.

She reached out and went to catch the woman’s forearm with both hands. Turning around and dropping to both knees, she’d pull forward and attempt to throw Kyoko over her shoulder with an ippon seoi nage throw, putting the queen back first onto the canvas. In the event she could pull that off, she’d wrench the woman’s arm still in her hand to the side, locking her in a standing armbar.

Masuyo seemed to be finding her groove a bit despite the beating she had taken. Kyoko thought the best way was to press her attack and never let the girl breathe properly, but she had recovered enough to stop her faster then she thought. OR maybe she had made the same error she had punished others before and underestimated the Demon. Either way she started to get an idea of how to press her attack, watching her first punch fail to connect before the blow to her chest got her. Emboldened Kyoko went for another but Masuyo saw it coming grabbing her arm and tossing her over.

"AAgh!" Kyoko screamed and fell to the mat before her arm was twisted into the armbar, bending however which way Masuyo willed as her body arched and responded in a desperate bid to get out of the hold. "AAAaaggh!" Kyoko screamed as the pain trialed through her arm.

While it may have seemed like a simple counter to anyone watching tonight, Masuyo’s mind was already working in advance as to how to snatch the lead back from her opponent. Kyoko could have held the World Title. She saw that easily now. The woman was dangerous all-around, hardbodied from head to toe, and paired with a unique strategy of attack that most people either overlooked or were simply incapable of executing.

The human gut is said to be a second brain, a haven for a whole system of nerves that were closely connected with every other inch of one’s body. It’s was a target often overlooked. Typical training focused on people’s obvious weak spots, the head, the ears, the jaw, the neck. The stomach could be every bit as devastating as a shot to the jaw and then some if the proper attention was given to it. Kyoko had that down to a fine science, shutting you down in a heartbeat with strikes aimed to kill, tearing through the body like wet tissue paper. And that was before you even got to the fact that she was just a damn good wrestler, baked in years of experience in and out of the ring. Turning things around on someone like her was far from easy.

But Masuyo had some idea of where to start. Kyoko was well-rounded, but those arms were by far her most valuable assets in the ring. She wasn’t joking about her experience. If the Belly Queen ever stepped into the octagon, she’d be far and away one of the most successful this country had ever produced. That striking ability had to go, and the Demon already had a decent start, working the arms and pulling at the joints for all they were worth. The moment Demon took those fists out of the equation, the moment she could turn things around. Just had to get her to stop shaking around.

“Down!”

With a jerk to the side, Masuyo would attempt to flip Kyoko like a flapjack onto her front, keeping the hold tight and making sure the woman’s arms still reached for the sky. As she brought her adversary onto her chest, the MMA maven would step over and tuck her arm between her legs before squatting down, going to touch her knees to the canvas and attempting to lock the Belly Queen in a fujiwara armbar.

With her arms being bent however which way she pleased it got harder and harder for her to actually get out. Masuyo was no doubt using this to help her recover from the beating she had taken on top of making it harder for her to actually use her arms. Kyoko had never tapped out in her career but if this persisted without a way out she would be in for a tough time if she didnt. Picking your battles were alot more crucial in an Iron women match then they were otherwise. And The Demon tried to make that decision all the more convincing as she turned on her arms more and more twisting and turning them around so that suddenly Kyoko was pushed to her front before she was turned into a different kind of armbar. Bending her arms even more as she was on her front.

"Hgghrrrr..." Kyoko screamed as she shook her head and tried to struggle moving towards the ring ropes if she couldn't get out. Though the hold was doing a number on her arms as the pain made it feel like her hand was going to be snapped off. Masuyo had definitely made the most of her situations, working through the pain to not only avoid the worst of her attacks but keep her on the floor while she worked on her arms. If she didn't make any real progress in escaping soon. Kyoko would have no choice but to tap out before this pain got worse.

Her opponent may have been formidable on her own two feet, but the ground was Masuyo’s territory. Even though she was putting up some decent resistance, Kyoko had said herself she wasn’t great with submissions and that seemed to go beyond using them herself. All the same, Masuyo did her best to keep Kyoko from moving, not only to keep her from the ropes, but for the sake of her stomach as well. Every buck of resistance the Belly Queen was another painful reminder for Masuyo’s abdomen. It was a lasting testament to and how difficult it would be to put her back down once she got free.

But she was still human like the rest. She was wearing down. The MMA maven just had to push a little further. Had to keep torturing that arm until she gave. She sunk her teeth in deep and went for one more maneuver.

With another strong tug of the arm towards her, Masuyo would fall backwards and attempt to painfully roll Kyoko onto her back. As her back hit the canvas, she would lock her shins together, putting them both on the ground with another, tight armbar. In doing so, she aimed to kill two birds with one stone: to keep the Queen from moving and grabbing the first point for herself.

This was getting troublesome. Kyoko was good on her feet but she had her limits and was damn well nearing hers with this constant attacks on her arm. Twisting it one way and then moving to lock it in something else so as to make sure she couldn't properly combat it. Needless to say it was a painfully effective maneuver that changed up again a Masuyo tried to put her in an armbar, catching her on her back and forcing her into another submission hold as she put a stop to her escape tactics.

This was a tough situation and even someone as stubborn as her could see the writing on the wall. She could probably break out of this hold and if she worked hard enough from there she might be able to get the third fall, but those were two big 'maybe' in her mind, and in an ironwomen match it also has a better chance of getting her hurt and backfiring in the long run. So to the surprise of many Kyoko tapped on Masuyo's legs or whatever she could reach and in plain view of the ref to show she meant it. Tapping out for the first time since she became a wrestler. Point! Ai!

It felt like it was taking every inch of effort she could muster to keep Kyoko’s arm in her grasp. She was close. So close. She needed her to feel every ounce of pain that the MMA maven’s expertise would allow. She just needed that last push. One more, final tug.

And then she felt it. Kyoko tapped on her leg, but it wasn’t until the official saw it a second later that Masuyo even considered letting the hold go. But the instant the point was made official, she gave Kyoko’s arm back to her. Her arms and legs untangled and flopped to their sides. Masuyo’s chest rose and fell steadily as she caught her breathe. 2-1. Finally, she was gaining on her.

“Man, you are really stubborn!” She wiped a bit of sweat from her forehead, staring up at the stage lights for a moment and taking some deep breaths. Only for a moment, though. The next, she was back on one knee, going to rise back up to two feet. “Come on...get up.” She gave Kyoko’s back a quick slap. “Need two more points.”

She stood up and turned back around, looking down at the canvas as she made some distance from Kyoko to get resituated. She had a hand on her belly as she walked a couple feet away, furrowing her brows while her she tried to focus on the fact that she’d gotten her first point of the match, and not how badly her core was screaming with pain. Despite how it may have looked, an armbar didn’t rely entirely on the arms and legs. It was a full body effort, and the Belly Queen was far from the easiest to restrain. Masuyo clutched it tightly for a brief second, clenching her eyes shut as she stayed perfectly motionless.

Breathe in. Breathe out. This too shall pass.

Her eyes opened again and she dropped her hand. With a quick breathe to the side, she turned back to her opponent with her arms apart, adopting her traditional aikido stance as the Demon awaited the charge she knew was coming.

Though it was the smart choice at that point it didnt make it any easier to do. Especially since it was the first time she had ever done so. Something she had taken some measure of pride in, now taken from her to give the Demon her first fall in this match. Though Kyoko was still up by one and Masuyo as she had pointed out to herself needed two more to get the lead for the first time. That was something she couldn't let happen, Masuyo was a tough opponent, one she doubted would have there only encounter she would have with her. But when this match was over she wanted there to be no doubt she was the better women.

Grunting from the slap to her back Kyoko took a second and slowly got up rolling her hurting arm as she felt the stiffness in her leg feel tame by comparison. Breathing in and out as she tried to wipe the sweat around her face off and came back up to her feet looking at the Demon who was already getting ready for the fourth go of it. Kyoko sighed as she lowered herself and readied for the chance to try and take the match back.