Alaina Sanders vs. Kozue Kaburagi - Long Time, No See

”It…” Kozue wheezed out a laugh. ”It was a joke.”

Whistling in the dark? Yeah, that was the way her Dad would describe her current situation. She didn’t have much left to give, she was drained, but she’d be damned if she wasn’t going out with a smile. After all this, after trading blows with the Amazon for near on thirty minutes, she felt it was deserved.

She was curious to see how Alaina would be closing this out, and she didn’t have to wait too long for her answer - she was pulled up, legs closed around her skull, and she found herself in the middle of a tight triangle hold. It would’ve been a tough move from just about any wrestler, but from someone with Alaina’s power, those legs might as well have been iron bars.

Didn’t mean she was giving up, though. Far from it.

With her throat constricted, she couldn’t very well speak, but she managed to shake her head enough to get the point across. With a slim, fading smile, her eyes drifted downward and her motions slowed, her struggles coming to a rest as Alaina kept pouring on the pressure.

Alaina felt Kozue slacking and her struggles weakening. The referee was checking up on Kozue and Alaina kept the hold applied. She was not surprised it was coming to Kozue passing out before tapping out but Alaina couldn't let go until she heard that bell ringing. She kept the hold in place, pressure applied while the referee checked up on Kozue, raising her hand and letting it drop once. Then twice. Alaina kept her eyes locked on the official as they did the third test to see if Kozue was officially out or if she still had some fight left in her.....

The crowd looked on, breaking into a frenzy as the match reached its apparent conclusion. They had been fairly rowdy since the start of this, happy to see two well-known wrestlers go at it, a never-before-seen dream match. As a Friction favorite, the lion’s share of the chants went to the Amazon, but there were plenty of those pulling for Kozue to come out on top, wanting her Tokyo career to start on a high note.

Even now, they were still going for her, pulling for her to get out of this, somehow, and come out on top. It was a beautiful sentiment.

But it wasn’t going to happen.

The referee lifted Kozue’s hand up a third time, let it fall and then called for the bell, signaling Alaina as the undisputed winner of this hellacious match.

Alaina heard the bell ring and let go of the hold immediately.  She stood up and took in the cheers of the crowd for a moment before heading over to Kozue kneeling down next to her.

"Hey are you all right?  You were kicking my ass all around the ring for most of the match."  Alaina asked once she saw Kozue slowly waking up.  It was really true because Alaina was reeling, on the ropes as Kozue took it to her.

”Huhzat?”

Kozue opened her eyes wide, coming to consciousness fast - too fast. It was an information overload, hitting her with blinding lights, and she had to close them shut an instant later. She shook her head and groaned, not even knowing where she was for a few seconds, but Alaina’s voice brought it all back soon enough.

She was in Tokyo, she was in Friction, and she’d just lost.

It wasn’t the easiest pill to choke down. But she could almost hear Benikage chiding her, knew full well what the woman would say. Every match was a learning experience, win or lose. Always progressing. Always improving.

”Yeah, but you don’t get wins from points, right? This ain’t boxing.” She grinned and made an attempt at sitting up - an attempt. She wound up flopping back down. A second try this time with more energy devoted to rising, was enough to get all the way back up. ”Great match, Al. Knew you were good, but damn.”

"Well ya caught me in a stretch where I have been trying to make up for being carted out of the arena during a PPV so I have just been extra focused and zeroed in. I got lucky though because if I didn't roll out of the way of that crazy dive at the end I would have been beat convincingly by you in a pretty one sided affair." Alaina said, knowing when her fortunes turned and knowing that the match would in fact have been all Kozue had that move landed. She really was an impressive talent inside the ring and only got better since she last saw her.

"If ya ever want a rematch I am down, and I am always looking for training opportunities. Hell, you could probably teach Peggy a thing or three now that I think about it." Alaina said thinking out loud as she tried to help Kozue up and towards the ropes.

Was that really the way it had went down? It was such a blur, now, a slurry mix of moves, and Kozue was honestly having a hard time putting it all together. She did remember how well she’d been doing at one point, so well that she thought things were wrapped up, but she made a mistake, and…

”Eh, I mean, it is what it is. Doesn’t matter that I had the leg up halfway through the match - you came through, you were standing tall in the end.” She shrugged and waved it off, then perked up at the mention of that name.

”Peggy, Peggy - your tag team partner, right? Not the cowgirl, the other one.” It had been a while since she’d seen the Irish Amazons in actions, but she vaguely remembered the redhead. ”Yeah, sure, I’ll take a swing at her and her pretty little butt sometime. Name the place, name the time.”

Alaina chuckled a bit at Kozue mentioning Peggy and describing her as such. Peggy had gotten herself in better shape so any sort of positive in that regard would be music to Peggy's ears. However after an absence from the ring Alaina knew Peggy would just want to get in there and pound away at anyone she could. "I will try to set something up. She is good... she may not be an amazon of course but... if ya take her lightly she may very well surprise you." Alaina said with a smile as the two moved on to head to the back after a very hard fought matchup.

Winner via submission/KO: "Amazon" Alaina Sanders