Kieda Uzai vs. Kozue Kaburagi - Ninjas Do It Stealthily

”Get. The fuck. Off.”

It was kind of a weak protest, Kozue knew it, but it was about all she could do at the moment with her face pinned against the pads. She needed a plan, but first and foremost she needed to get out of this damn corner. Lucky for her, that was on Kieda’s to-do list.

Still dazed, she blinked to clear her vision as she was dragged out of the corner and placed in the center of the ring, ground zero for whatever would be coming her way next. She didn’t have to wait long to find out, either - a moment later, she was in motion against, hitting the ropes and flipping through the air in an amazing display of ninja agility.

Shame that Kozue had no intention of letting her land it.

”Nope!”

The New Jersey Ninja rolled away just in time to avoid the blow. With some space created, she rolled back and shot her leg out, trying to give her opponent a quick, shoving kick to the chest.

*While remarkably officious on Kieda's behalf, knowing that a simplistic knee drive or face stomp would have been equally as effective at disposing Kozue, The essence of excess was something Kieda thrived on. Unfortunately, this was a double edged sword, and she ultimately wound up impaled upon it.*

"Gggnnnhh!" *The blunt force her leg came into contact with was enough to paralyze the enraged prowler, an uncomfortable sensation crawling up her lower extremities while Kozue began to reclaim the reins of the fight!*

"N..no wait...!!!" *But her faint pleas fell upon deaf ears, the seething hatred fueled Kozue's retaliatory shunt that sent Kieda flopping backwards, spread eagle across the ring!*

Right on target.

Kozue’s kick found its mark in splendid fashion, connecting clean and laying Kieda out, much to the audience’s shock. She was laying there, spread-eagled, and the New Jersey Ninja would’ve loved to follow up with something big after a hit like that, but her body wasn’t on board with the effort. That being said, thought, there was still a way she could take advantage.

Kozue rolled over and crawled over Kieda’s prone body, slithering over her to straddle the woman’s - admittedly pretty nice - chest and sitting her rump down on it. A pin, and one with a little humiliation added in. ”Be a good girl and stay down, ‘kay?”

She gave Kieda a quick pat on the head, as the referee came in and started the count, slapping her hand on the mat nearby. ”1…”

*With her eyes flickering open and shut like a light switch, The Fashion Assassin's inner masochism was beginning to bubble to the surface as Kozue decided it was time to plant her posterior against the center of her prominent cleavage, receiving a miniature* "Oooof!" *From the impromptu force. Her cheeks suddenly flushed a shade of vermillion before the moderator reached* "TWO!" *Coaxing Kieda to snap out of it, twisting her shoulder sideways to break the count!*

"I..I've never been considered..t..too obedient, sorry~" *She meekly simpered out, a defiant gaze present in her eyes while allowing her tongue to unfurl out of her teasing maw.* "G..guess you'll just have to try harder, darling~" She'd invite Kozue to thrash her harder, only serving to motivate Kieda to redouble her own efforts.*

Being honest, Kozue didn’t think she would get that pinfall for one, single second that her pinfall would’ve worked. Hell, winning off a quick kick to the face? She would’ve been disappointed as hell if that was what clenched it. No way for two kunoichi to end things.

So it wasn’t a surprise when Kieda got her shoulder up. The comment was a little bit funny, though. ”Try harder, huh?” She flicked her finger at her foe’s lip, tweaking it. ”Maximum effort. I can do that.”

She was still a little shaky from the last few hits she took, but Kozue was able to gather herself well enough to stand in shorter, grabbing Kieda by the arm to drag her up along the way. As soon as they were both up, she went back to work, pulling her opponent into a tight clench and unloading with a couple of stiff knees to the stomach, looking to drive her back hard to the corner.

*While to the untrained eye, it appeared as though Kieda had sustained a tremendous amount of damage from the previous exchange. However, unbeknownst to Kozue, she used this interaction as a means of gauging how adept her reflexes were in an attempt to try and reciprocate in kind. Suffice to say, The Cerulean Shadow was in dire need of reestablishing herself as the versatile force in this fight if she wanted to emerge with a victory.*

*After hearing Kozue prattle on about maximum output or something, she took a moment to blink herself back into the task at hand. To her chagrin however, she wouldn't be allowed an ounce of time to herself before the incessant throttling of her solar plexus commenced!*

"Nngggh!" *She tightened her fists as the initial blow connected, sending a tremor of unbearable anguish jolting throughout her body. Kieda remained as tenacious as ever, though, and before the second, impending knee could leave an imprint against her ribcage, she darted forward and blitzed Kozue with everything she had! A desperate gambit indeed, but she was out of viable options and couldn't risk the excessive damage!*

Spoiler:

Yeah, overconfidence was kind of a thing with Kozue, something Benikage had gotten on her ass many, many times for. It was the sort of thing that got her messed up with her teacher in the first place, underestimating how skilled the older kunoichi was and getting faceplanted for it. But she figured she had everything under control this time. Couldn’t mess it up, she had Kieda to rights.

She was thinking that all the way up until the moment those puff pants clamped around her throat. ”Hey-”

And that was about all she had time to say before the top of her skull was introduced to the mat, slammed with thunderous force. Her body jerked up from the impact, she tattered back on her knees, then flopped onto her back, where she laid with her stunned eyes staring at the sky. It took a second for the pain to kick in, but it came hard and all at once when it did, and she was left writhing and clutching her aching skull.

*Gnashing her stainless teeth together to brace for the imminent impact, both women dropped to the floor with a sickening* "WHUD!" *That left the dyad immobile for an unprecedented amount of time. Kieda, meanwhile, decided that she and she alone would dictate how this match would transpire, crawling towards the dangling rope before her and clutching it with all her might.*

"N..not...done...yet..." *Was all she could muster, oxygen critically low until she finally inhaled from the tension welling up inside of her. Glancing over her shoulder to witness Kozue in a fetal position, the proactive kunoichi whirled around with a brutal move in mind.*

*Vaulting towards the infuriating pain in her ass with a look of sheer apathy lingering in her leer, Kieda's weaponized figure tore through the skies before finally jutting her knees downward, impaling the underprepared Kozue with a tandem knee strike to try and turn the tide in her favor!*

Spoiler:

Oooooooh, this was turning around fast. Much as Kozue hated to admit it, she had a lot in common with Kieda, and not just the surface level stuff that came from both being fashionable ninja types. Neither of them were the type to just let their opponent run over them for too long before they turned the tables, able to turn the match around in two seconds flat, easy. She’d pulled it off herself so many damn times, but this was one of the first she could recall being on the receiving end so much.

Annoying. Kind of cool, too. But annoying.

Kieda wasn’t the type to let an opponent catch her breath, either. Kozue was just starting to get her bearings back when she registered that her opponent was on the move again. She sat up, as much as she could muster, started to search for her, but by the time she locked in, it was already too late. She was in flight.

Kieda came down on Kozue’s chest like a bomb drop, driving her knees hard right on the ribs and driving all of the wind clean out of her. It left the New Jersey Ninja bouncing and gasping, and it was all she could do to roll away from the impact zone, flopping over and over until she moved under the ropes. From there, she fell off the apron and plopped hard on her back, leaving her to stare up at the lights and hiss...but at least she was kinda/sorta safe from being pinned. For the moment.

*With a reverberating* "WHUD!" *That was akin to a shotgun blast peeled throughout every inch of the packed stadium, Kieda heard the elated audience erupt in both support and astonishment from what they had just witnessed. While it was a personal joy of hers to be the catalyst for their entertainment, her body was ubiquitously overwrought from her astounding acrobatics, having reached the threshold of her physical abilities.*

"Shit..." *She murmured, wiping the sweat of her brow before shakily climbing the ropes, one hand over the other, while casting her view towards where she had heard Kozue roll away.* "That usually puts my opposition away...but she's still conscious...this might require something more drastic."

*Contemplating on what could possibly put the proverbial nail in the coffin, The Fashion Assassin decided upon something that would either guarantee her a victory, or potentially swing momentum back in Kozue's favor. The risk, however, was easily worth the reward at stake. Charging towards the general vicinity of her target's location, Kieda launched herself, shin first, to try and crush Kozue with yet another double knee driver!*

Spoiler: