SS 19 MITB Final - Sophia Salt vs. Kaylee Day vs. Harumi Hazama

What was the legendary sea striker doing while Kaylee and Harumi were duking it out? Well, she was still tucked away in her cozy little corner; out of sight, out of mind. 
Not seeing any point in risking further injury she would stay under the radar until one of her opponents went for the ladder, then she would pounce.

Kaylee didn't blink, staring across at Harumi as they circled one another. She wore a large smile on her face, one that seemed to easily win over the crowd. Broadcast into homes and hearts for years, her fame was born long before she came to AFW and it seemed no act she did, no matter how morally questionable, was too wrong for her fans to justify them somehow. They would still love her if she lost, they would still follow her every tweet if she cheated, hell, she could probably take out one of these other women's eyes with a thumb and her zealotus fanbase would defend the action as being a necessity.

There wasn't a world in which Harumi locked hands with Kaylee in which the social media superstar didn't have a trick up her sleeve. The blond was counting on her opponent being just and fair, one of those goody-goody people who always liked to play by the rules and take the moral high ground. It's why she slipped her fingers so readily into Harumi's and moved to follow suit with the other.

Her mistake had been thinking that being a righteous hero meant you were forced to make dumb choices. It seemed as though the martial artist had enough of Kaylee's bratty games and when offered a chance to square up on supposedly even ground, she saw fit to strike first.

The blonde's eyes shot wide at the sudden movement from her opponent, trying to jerk herself back but a firm palm had already gripped her shoulder. With no place left to run with her hand entangled she drew back, cocking her arm in what would be a swift rabbit punch aimed at the throat… if she hadn't been ripped backwards with a help, not even aware Harumi had gotten a leg behind her.

Kaylee hit the mat hard with a thunderous clap, shaking the ring hard enough to displace the ladder with a light rattle. She lay blinking on the canvas, mouth wide in a look of absolute shock as she gasped for air, having not at all been ready to take a hit like that. She had to reconsider a few things...

The moment Harumi seized Kaylee’s shoulder, it was all over. The social media star didn’t even seem to consider that Harumi may have been fed up with being used and cheated on, and so was taken by total surprise when the judoka flipped the tables on the internet idol. Harumi didn’t bother being gentle, slamming Kaylee down with as much force as she could muster, the ring shaking so violently the ladder wobbled just a little bit, enough to make its instability audible. Kaylee’s shocked expression would meet nothing but the overhead lights and Harumi’s rock-hard eyes, glaring down at her without even a shred of remorse.

Harumi still had a hold of Kaylee’s wrist, and had this been a formal one on one match, she would have proceeded to crank the limb back with a standing armbar…but Harumi was no so foolish as to let what happened mere moments ago happen again. If she stuck herself in a submission, Sophia would doubtlessly move to attack. The sea striker had shown her yellow belly and cravenous personality. Even now, the smaller girl sat waiting in the corner, waiting for one of the two fighters to fall. Harumi wouldn’t blame the young girl, but neither would she side with her. These pair had swarmed her like vultures, and were likely to do so again.

Harumi knew she needed to keep Kaylee down, but was unsure of how to proceed. As much as she knew she couldn’t, she really wanted to but her through a submission and wear her foe down. The emerald eyes of the stoic woman occasionally flashed to Sophia, waiting to see if she would come to Kaylee’s rescue until she eventually decided what to do.

It was crude, and somewhat unsportsmanlike, but Harumi had decided these two already crossed that line; Sophia when she moved to strike a downed foe on her knees, and Kaylee for bringing a weapon into the fight.

Harumi released Kaylee’s wrist, letting it fall to the floor limply. The Judoka would silently inhale, bringing her fist to her side as she eyed her target. Without hesitation, Harumi would move to drive her fist into Kaylee’s unprotected belly, looking to drive any remaining air from her lungs out of her body. Should the Judoka succeed, then all that would be left was dealing with Sophia. The emerald eyed warrior already had a plan to deal with her smaller opponent, but she needed to ensure the bigger threat was subdued for the moment at least.

Sophia was conflicted. On one side was her cowardice; screaming at her to stay put until she absolutely needed to attack. On the other was her desperate need for attention; if she sat around for too long people might forget she existed! In the end, it was obvious what would win out.

While Harumi knocked the wind out of Kaylee Sophia would creep up behind her. Once within range, she would try leaping onto the teal girls back. Once latched on like an affectionate monkey she would try locking in a sleeper hold.

Kaylee stared up at Harumi from the mat, making only small subtle movements with her body. Heels gently scooting her at a small angle, taking advantage of the woman's split focus and her own winded state to work herself back to a better place. She kept her arm limp in the judoka's grasp, remaining at the ready to make a drastic change in her positioning should the woman clamp down… but she didn't.

The social media star was surprised when her wrist was let go, allowing it to fall away. She had made plans to counterattack in the case of aggression but all of that changed when no pressure had been applied. She flexed her fingers, testing her digits as if one of they may have not worked, but they all seemed fine.

Jade eyes narrowed as Harumi drew in breath. That stature, that intensity. Kaylee had an idea what came next… she could also see a suddenly brave Sophia sliding from the corner. That was good. She could instead focus on defending herself. Playing possum was nothing new for her so when the strike finally came, the sudden crisscross of her arms over her abdomen was almost surprising.

She had anticipated taking the blow, but with leverage and focus, Haurumi hit her far harder than she imagined. She had taken full on blows from Cicilia in their former bouts, a woman who was by all rights a championship worthy boxer as well as sparring with her own partner Belle who was no lightweight… this was pretty much on par with those.

"Oof!" The martial artist's fist buried itself against her forearms, crushing the woman's own arms down into her. She had saved herself the cripple effect intended for her though the cost had left her arms shaking, fingertips numb from the raw shock. Her surprise hardened into determination and anger, wanting to desperately to fight back immediately but finding herself unable to spring to action.

With a defeated growl she tucked her arms in close and threw her weight to the side, rolling away as Sophia sprang her tiny trap on Harumi. Once the blond reached the ropes, she would begin an assisted climb with some new insight moving forward.

Harumi had her focus devoted to her strike, looking to inflict just enough pain to keep her grounded and stuck to the floor. She hated fighting on two fronts, and limiting her opponents’ movements would only help her in the long run. Truth be told, she had already written off Sophia as a lost cause, the poor girl a bit too cowardly and weak for Harumi to go too serious on her. Kaylee seemed to be the mastermind, the one that seriously needed Harumi’s attention. The sooner she was out of this fight, the less Harumi needed to worry about.

The strike did not land uninterrupted. Kaylee must have been playing possum, her arms blocking the way of her fists target before Harumi could follow through with her plan. Her foe did not get away unscathed, however. The blow still had force behind it, and now Kaylee had sacrificed her arms to protect herself. It was a simple manner of catching her, and ensuring she stayed down long enough for Harumi to begin her battle with Sophia.

Except, the Sea Striker would be the one to start their battle off.

She felt the smaller woman’s weight suddenly flop onto her back, the little blonde girl wrapping her arms around her throat in a sudden chokehold. Harumi’s eyes widened in surprise as her arms naturally clasped around Sophia’s wrist. She was smaller than Harumi, weighed less too.

The hold would not last long.

Harumi squeezed on Sophia’s tiny wrists, trying to induce some pain and force the tensed muscles to relax. Afterwards, she would move to shift Sophia weight, adjusting her grip so that she could try and toss the smaller girl over her shoulder and onto the canvas! During the struggle, she accidentally crashed into the ladder, letting it topple over to the side and cause a chaotic clatter against the ring’s canvas! Harumi had been taken by surprise by Sophia’s sudden courage, and now she had to reassess what exactly the Sea Striker could do.

Sophia's sudden burst of courage would not last long. After crushing her weak wrists for a few moments Harumi would loosen the Sea Strikers grip on her neck. All Sophia could do was berate her quiet opponent. "Ouch! Quit squeezing on my wrists you big ape! Just go to sleep!"

Instead of letting Sophia choke her out Harumi would toss the tiny girl over her shoulders. She would slam into the canvas back first. The usually talkative girl had nothing to say now. Instead, she silently moaned while writhing in pain.

Crouched near the ropes Kaylee's eyes narrowed as the two women staggered in the ring, watching as Harumi made short work of Sophia again. That was fine. It wasn't as if the well being of the sea striker was something she cared about. The usefulness of her other adversary was debatable, even if this was only the opening of the match. She needed to stop thinking of how to exploit the match and start focusing on winning it.

The ball of her feet pivoted, weight shifting into a forward lean as the blond came off the ground with a surge of speed like an olympic grade athlete. Her path curved, putting both women in her sights as she cut the ring in half with her full tilt run. Kaylee kicked off the mat, leaping forward to stomp both of her boots down hard on the downed Sophia's stomach, dropping low into a crouch before springing back up, flipping forward in a crisp motion to which herself towards Harumi.

The social media superstar tumbled in the air, legs flying wide as she attempted to come down attop the martial artist's shoulders in a sitting position. If she managed to land true, her thighs would snap shut like a bear trap around her opponents head, ankles locking behind her back to get a firm grip of the other woman. She would snap her weight backward, attempting to rip Harumi off the mat with a frankensteiner to sending her crashing down onto Sophia. Two birds, one stone.

Harumi felt the shockwaves of Sophia’s body vibrate through the ring. The small blonde’s mouth was agape in pain as she reached for her back, silently moaning in pain while Harumi let her other arm fall to the floor.

“Just stay down for a minute…”

Harumi reached up and rubbed her neck where the sea strike had choked her, swallowing to try and get the lump out of her throat. She didn’t suffocate too much, the woman quickly regaining her steady breathing before focusing on her other opponent. Between the two, Kaylee was the bigger threat. She seemed to callously use Sophia as both a weapon and a distraction, and she was the first one to even bring a weapon into a fight. Had Sophia not attacked her from behind, then Harumi could have comfortably kept an eye on her.

But now the snake was loose in the garden, and already coming to strike!

In seconds, Kaylee was on the pair, the social media star jumping in the air to pounce upon the both of them. Harumi was debating who her target was, wondering if she would attack the downed Sophia, or simply jump over her to fight Harumi herself. Much to her shock, Harumi’s eyes widened in horror as Kaylee looked to stomp both feet into the small girls exposed stomach. The sheer disregard for her foe made Harumi stop and watch, disgust flashing in her eyes as her body processed the cruel act happening in front of her. Harumi’s hesitation was all Kaylee needed as she jumped off and flipped in the air. The social media star landed on the Judoka’s shoulders without a hitch, and just as quickly moved to flip Harumi over. The teal woman sailed over the media star and crashed onto the ground, rolling away to try and minimize the effect of the slam and gain some distance from the two fighters.

Things had gone from bad to terrible for Sophia. Already winded and aching Kaylee piled on with a harsh stomp to her plump belly; leaving two ugly purple bootprints behind. For a brief moment, she came close to passing out. Her vision blurred as she took weak almost asthmatic breaths. If Harumi had crashed onto her it would've been a done deal. Tonight Sophia was lucky. Tonight she a shot!

The frustratingly stubborn blonde wasn't gonna let her hated opponent win that easily. She didn't have any fight in her but she could stall. Stall just long enough for Harumi to do the heavy lifting. 

The sea snake didn't quite crawl but slithered along the mat until she could cling to Kaylee's ankle. Then came the tantrum: 


"That briefcase is mine! I deserve it! Me! Me! Me!"


With each arrogant shout the unhappy blonde randomly thrashed her legs about.