AV 20 Masuyo Ai vs. Roxy Ashworthy

Match Type: MMA style match in an octagon ring
Win Conditions: Submission or Knockout only

"Wait, waitwaitwaitwait. You're serious here? Kid, really?” Gin could hardly keep his jaw from falling to the floor after he heard that. His pupil was busy squaring up with an imaginary Roxy in the light from the entrance curtain. He knew better than to interrupt her as he watched with his back to the wall. He had been in this same place countless times on the back of a career he was probably better off forgetting. Those long seconds just before the bell were, honestly, just as important as the seconds after it. His pupil had to get her head in the game for her first fight in an octagon since she'd started this whole pro-wrestling business. He could feel the tension radiate off her in waves, lingering in every muscle from each punch she threw, every slight contour of her shuffling feet. This was her time and she needed it.

But she couldn’t have expected him to just let that slide.

“You're talkin' nonsense. She didn't 'clobber' me. I intentionally let my guard down because there was no point in fighting.” He stepped away from the wall, rounding to her side as she threw a roundhouse kick by him.

“Trust me. You haven’t squared off with her in that ring. She’s a master of deception, foxier than any foe I’ve ever fought. Be careful once you’re in there. That woman is beyond cunning. I've seen her kind before. Let her get in your head, even for a single second, and it’s all over."

Masuyo suddenly stopped moving, all just to stand straight and throw her head back with a groan. “Gin, it was a tank top.”

“You've learned nothing!" He practically threw his hands in the air as he turned to her. "What self-respecting man did you expect to win that fight, huh?! Tell me! I’m waiting!”

Masuyo shook her head and went back to her routines, throwing a couple punches and a knee that whiffed in the air. "You didn't have to come all the way here."

Gin scoffed to himself. “Neither did you, in case you forgot.” Masuyo threw two last, hard jabs into the air before she stood up straight again. Gin stepped away from the wall and rounded to her side, just enough to catch a scowl on her face as she adjusted her gloves. “You think I can’t handle things myself? Just how old do I look?”

Masuyo spun to face him. “You don't get it. She disrespected you, shisho! A master! A master and an elder!”

“I’m thirty-eight.”

“She spat on our gym’s name! On your name and MMA! Someone like that can’t just walk into Shibuya and mess with whoever they want.” Her hand clenched tight into a white-knuckled fist. “You think this is just about you but it's not. I promised I wouldn’t ever let something like that happen ever again and I meant it. I’m going to protect everyone."

There she went again. It was hard to tell this far away from the hallway light, but Gin knew the look she had in her eyes. That glint of determination that had only seemed to grow brighter each day. The kid was settling into her position. He opened his mouth to say something before a crew member poked through the curtain, only to disappear as quickly as he came. Gin turned his attention back to her, standing straight and beginning the long march already. His eyes watched her back, feeling them turn solemn without his permission.

"You can't get by just with idealism." He muttered. "The world isn't that nice."

The arena was flowing with a newfound energy tonight. Avalanche was only one reason, and it was expected. Tonight was the event that wrestling fans worldwide look forward to every winter. The other reason would come in the next few moments. It had been a couple of years since she’d been here, hadn’t it?

Senbonzakura:

Through the darkness came a flash of red and white lights. The pleasant sound of the koto and accompanying an unfamilair theme rang out strongly as the Demon of Shibuya, clad in a purple robe, emerged shrouded in reflecting light top of the ramp. Prideful whistles, claps, and shouts from her countrymen built up around her. Masuyo held a fist high, channeling the overwhelming applause that came her way until her bare feet reached the ring floor. As expected, the octagon was waiting for her. She stopped in front of it and placed a hand on her hip, taking in the sight for a moment, impressed by its size and sturdiness. There were even AFW and Tension logos plastered along with the corners and rails. They were treating this every bit as professional as a proper MMA league. Technically this was her pro debut as a mixed martial artist. She should have been psyched out of her mind and given her silver-haired trainer the biggest hug he would ever have for the rest of his life. Masuyo huffed and tossed her robe aside.

Masuyo Ai:

The Demon turned and went with heavy steps up the stairs through the cage door. She punched her bare knuckles together as she walked past the referee to her side of the ring at the blue corner, turning back around and facing the ramp as she dropped into a squat, extending one leg out, then the other as she watched and waited. Her blood was hot, her eyes shone like stainless steel.

Roxy hadn't been very active this year. After she had in her mind finished cementing her situation with Misaki Toyoda and she had humiliated a blonde powerhouse newcomer, Roxy had been lazying around. In order to stay affluent and afloat she had taken up a role for a commercial which focused heavily on her physique and proportions. It had gone viral at least and become a talking point, worth every penny though as it paid quite a lot. It was for some Japanese sports drink or whatever.

Beyond that Roxy's year had been easy going except for her little spats of boredom when she wandered about town and at times even picked fights in gyms and such. She had gotten the idea after watching some Japanese movies about Dojo-breakers. She figured it would be a fun thing to do...and honestly it was. During one of those moments of boredom she had come across a white haired fellow and well...one thing lead to another and now Roxy was here at Avalanche.

She let out a bit of a yawn as she stood in her locker room. Stretching out a bit as she would limber herself up just a bit more. Gloves, sports bra and shorts all equipped. She was ready to square off against the Japanese pest that had gotten all uppity in her face and even challenged her. Masuyo Ai....Roxy could only see her as the type that had too much stock in those kind of movie tropes from the schlocky Japanese movies she had seen during her absence form the ring.

Rolling her shoulders, the Conqueror left her locker room and soon made her way down to the Gorilla Position. She figured it was time to make her entrance...When she got to the Gorilla Position a bunch of workers buzzed and shouted and tried to hurry the Californian. Roxy was late, it was a deliberate thing though. She was about a minute late to make her entrance and as they tried to chastise her for it the greenette would just roll her eyes and wave them off. They quickly started off her music.

When finally Ready For This - By All Good Things began to play out of the speakers. Roxy Ashworthy then stepped out onto the ramp wearing her red and gold MMA attire, the infamous sight of the vile vixen, the conqueror had arrived and with it came the rampant jeers from the crowd...with a bit of cheers mixed in. After all some people just loved the bad girl. Roxy walked down the ramp in a somewhat leisurely manner as she went up towards the octagon, heading up towards the steel steps and then ascending them towards the steel mesh door, she would shove it open and then walked up into the cage.

Spoiler:

Roxy would make her way up towards the red corner, her corner. How fitting...with the attire and all. Roxy would roll her eyes a bit as she saw Masuyo and then place one hand on her hip. Giving her a sly smirk that just exuded confidence.

Masuyo had been thinking about this moment for days now. Weeks. Steeling her nerves, trying to picture Roxy and herself in between the cage walls. She did her best to bring herself in the right mindset to visualize the fight ahead. Every little detail had to be captured in her head from the events of that day. Her demeanor, her smell, her voice, her tone, the way she walked, how the Conqueror carried herself in every waking moment. And now the moment of truth was here. Her music faded away and Roxanne would be appearing any second now.

Any second…

...

...

...Masuyo fiddled with her fingers a bit. Her breath seemed to quicken with an irregular beat to heart. Murmurs from the crowd started to deflate the atmosphere with confused whispers and impatient whooping left and right. The referee waiting just outside contemplated running up the ramp to see if something had happened.

Just at that moment, her opponent’s theme came blasting throughout the arena. The appearance of her figure clad in red and gold sent the crowd into double the fervor they had before. She looked the same now as she did back then. Bored out of her mind and above it all, like this was going to be another stroll in the park for her. Even after she entered the octagon and went to her stretches, she couldn’t help but throw that confident face directly at the Demon.

Masuyo’s scowl turned even darker. She crossed one arm over the other, then rolled her shoulders to free up the last tension in her arms. Every blow had to count. They had to hurt. After allowing a few more moments of preparations, the announcer stepped through the cage door with the official at her side. The suave looking in her maroon suit took her place between the two. The lights shining down on the audience dimmed and focused in on the octagon.

“Ladies and Gentleman! It. Is. Time!" Countless voices bellowed in a wave out of the dim darkness beyond the fencing. Masuyo couldn't see or hear any of them. "Introducing first: fighting out of the blue corner, an aikido fighter with a professional record of 27 wins, no losses. She stands five-feet, nine inches tall, weighing in at one-hundred and fifty-five pounds. Fighting out of her hometown right here in Tokyo, Japan, she is the ‘The Demoooooooon of Shibuyaaaaaaaaaaa’ Masuyoooooooooooo Ai!”

Masuyo stood tall and turned to give a bow to each side of the crowd. It was the most composed the MMA girl looked all day. When that moment passed, she was looking straight back at Roxy again. Her fist slammed into her palm, eager to meet her at the center.

Roxy could see the scowl that Masuyo threw her way and with it the cocky greenette couldn't help but smirk, she was quite enjoying the temper that the Japanese girl displayed. So far it was rather easy to read her, her expressions both in movement and facial. She wondered exactly how she would behave in an actual fight. Letting out a soft chuckle at the thought, Roxy would then place her hands on her hips as she cranked her neck from left to right.

The official had gone into the octagon and now started to introduce the two of them. Roxy would roll her eyes a bit as she heard that Masuyo was an aikido fighter. She had little respect for most but there were two kinds of martial artists that deserved an especially low place. Akido and Wingchun. When Musayo was finally finished with her little thing the official turned to Roxy.

"And fighting out of red corner, a judo fighter and former professional mixed martial arts fighter. Making her return to the octagon, with a professional record of thirty-four wins, two losses and one draw. Standing at five feet, ten inches. Weighing in at one-hundred and fifty-pounds. From California, United States of America. She is the 'Conqueror'! Rooooooooxy Ashwooooorthy!"  

Roxy wouldn't do much, she simply stood with her hip cocked and looked around a bit at the jeering crowd. She'd throw a glance at Masuyo. Stepping up to the center of the octagon soon enough. She'd remain in a rather lazy stance as she would met the Japanese fighter there.

'Conqueror.'

Masuyo resented this woman from the bottom of her heart. She'd never forgive her in a million years for what she'd done. But the Japanese girl couldn't forget that she was minutes away from fighting one of the most skilled opponents on the Friction roster. Maybe even the whole federation. Emotions and proper motivation wouldn't carry her through her tonight. She tightened her fists until they turned white at the knuckles, shaking unsteadily in a swirling mix of anticipation and focused fury.

The Demon strode forward to the center of the ring at the same time as Roxy. In a single moment, the two mixed martial artists stood over the Friction logo, separated by mere inches and only a single referee between the animosity. Masuyo’s scowl deepened as Roxy smiled back at her. The greenette wasn’t taking any of this seriously. That was going to change. The announcer stepped out of the cage promptly as if she could feel the intent lingering in the air, leaving the three left inside to their bloody business.

“Okay, you two. I want...as clean a fight as we can get. Follow my instructions at all times and we’ll all have a good night. Touch gloves and let’s go.”

A few painful seconds of nothing happening passed. Right. Should have seen that coming. Masuyo raised a finger between them, staring her down the center with a steel gaze. “Give me your best. I won’t accept anything else.”

Roxy would continue her little cocky smile all the way up to when the two of them met in the center of the octagon. The two of them standing over the Friction logo as Roxy would roll her eyes at the scowl that Masuyo gave her. She found the Demon of Shibuya to be a bit too scornful and serious. She couldn't help but enjoy the fact that her actions so far was probably pissing the Japanese girl off even more by the second.

The referee stood between them now, and the announcer had left the octagon. It seemed as if there wasn't going to be the usual song and dance as there was in wrestling match. Instead this was much more like the old days when she was an professional MMA fighter.

The Greenette would hear the command of them touching gloves and looked on at Masuyo, she wasn't about to touch gloves with Masuyo and it seemed as if the Japanese fighter wasn't about to do that either. Seeing that  raised finger, Roxy would tilt her head a bit and bring her hands away from her hips, placing them at her sides as she straightened out to stand straight. " Maybe...Don't know if you're worth it. Your teacher certainly wasn't~" Roxy would tease and mock as she threw a smug smile the way of the raven haired fighter.

That was about what she expected.

To think Masuyo once thought of this woman as a worthy opponent, someone worth striving to beat in her long journey to the peak of a seemingly endless summit. But there was no respect here, not between them or for anyone. There was only one thing that Roxanne Ashworthy would respond to, and the Demon intended to give more of it to her than she could handle.

Masuyo let her hand fall back to her side and simply shook her head to herself. She looked back to the greenete with eyes that were filled with equal amounts of contempt and a reawakened determination. “Then I’m going to make you fight with your heart.”

With that, the Demon stepped back and retreated into her corner. The official would wait for Roxy to do the same before she herself backpedaled to a fair distance away from the octagon’s center. Masuyo clenched her gloved fists tightly together and slowly raised them in front of her. The sound of the roaring crowd around her seemed to fade away in the seconds before the bell sounded.

“Fight!”

Masuyo quickly rushed out of her corner to the center of the ring and immediately began circling her the green-haired judoka. She was eager to lay into her, but Masuyo likely understood better than most how well Roxy’s instincts were honed for this particular setting. The Japanese fighter would feel her out, but she would be merciless about it. She stepped forward and back, feigning a strike from the upper body that would never come. Instead, with only a few feet separating them, Masuyo’s leg whipped out once, twice with two feints from her left to slowly narrow the distance between them. The third kick would fly true to slam into Roxy’s outer thigh.

Roxy couldn't help but smirk a bit as she saw those eyes of Masuyo flare up with renewed determination. Her fighting spirit and drive was rather cute, the fact that she could get so fired up by just a few words from the grenette was enough to make Roxy confident in that she could play Masuyo as a fiddle.

Stepping back after Masuyo's words, leaving that on note of hers. She let that determination hang in the air for a few moments as she would back off into her corner. Rolling her head on her shoulders and then rolling those shoulders back, the movement made the generous rack of Roxy bounce lightly within the confines of her red sports bra like top.

The bell then rang and the match was underway. Roxy would step out of the corner and watched as Masuyo started to try and circle her, doing the same with a rather lazy looking stance as he waited for Masuyo to take the first action. Seeing her step in and feigning that strike of hers to the body, she didn't act much other than ducking backwards with her upperbody.

Next came the next set of feints from Masuyo as she would swing her leg out not once but twice, each strike getting her close and close to Roxy as she inched backwards with each swing of that leg from the Japanese woman. Though when that next one came shooting out, Roxy would smirk and step forward raising her leg up so that Masuyo's kick would smack shin first into the ball of Roxy's knee. Sure it would hurt her, but she figured it would hurt Masuyo a bit more as she aimed to check that kick and punish Masuyo for playing footsie with her.

Masuyo knew she wouldn’t catch Roxy with a feint. Not this early and not this easily. She was too experienced a competitor to fall into Masuyo’s trap. What she was after was insight. Roxy had good reflexes. Masuyo couldn’t help but click her tongue after her third feint and recognized the perfect response to her movements as her opponent's knee rose for a check.

It was all necessary to build a tempo. As determined as she was to crush this woman, as much as the sight of her made her blood boil, Masuyo resolved to be smart about her decisions. She had to keep to the same rhythm and see through her deceptive, lackadaisical attitude. She wasn’t going to be caught off guard.

She pivoted on her planted foot and aborted her kick at the last moment, stopping dead in the air as Roxy's knee slammed into her shin. Masuyo grunted as her leg fell back to her side and she brought her guard back up. Turning her leg limp like that had saved her from taking some major damage. Even so, the point of impact still throbbed harshly.

Masuyo made a mental note.

Undeterred, the Demon dashed forward at her opponent the instant her foot came back to the floor. Masuyo brought herself toe to toe with the judoka and threw two powerful left and right hooks where she expected Roxy’s jaw to be before following up a kick from her fresh leg to the greenette’s knee.