Ready to Blow: Alizeh Midori, The Emerald Storm Vs "Cherry Bomb" Sayumi Arai

Matche Type:  Standard
Victory Condition:  Pinfall, Submission, KO, or Disqualification

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"Mhmm, I can come by next week and we can review the recordings together… one second.” It was a careful balancing act between cosmetics and electronics and while she had fought the good fight the battle was lost. Sayumi gave up on trying to manage her smartphone on her shoulder, carefully placing it face up on the edge of the sink. It took a few taps to hit the speakerphone. It was hard to see what she was doing while she applied the last of her eyeshadow.

“It’ll be good to have you over to spend the New Years with Bubbles and me so you don’t have to be alone. I’ll order in, so don’t you dare cook or bake anything alright?” It had been a rough year and Mariah had done everything in her power to try to ease that burden. There was only she could do though. Despite knowing it was for the best, breaking away from her other half had been a taxing affair but a necessary one. There was only so much heartbreak one could be made to endure for the sake of love all of things.

“Sayu... Honey?”

“Hm?” She caught herself staring into her own reflection, a small frown tugging at the corner of her lips. After a long pause, she forced it back, smiling in a practiced way. No one else was here, so it was just for her. “Sorry, just a bit distracted. It's been a bit since I laced my boots.”

“I’ll make sure to send a taxi to come pick you up alright honey? Enough about that though-”

“Knock’m dead girl!”

"Try to behave." Sayumi couldn’t help but giggle at the muffled noises coming from the other side of the phone, knowing full well it was the sound of two people fighting over a phone… and by the sounds of it Bubbles was winning.  She let their quiet horseplay go on without comment, just enjoying the ambient sounds of a healthy relationship through the phone and wondering what that was like. With the last finishing touches she slipped her compact and a few various tubes into a small cosmetic bag on the floor “Alright love birds, I’m off. See you for New Years. Give Mariah a kiss for me Bubbles.”

“Pfff. As if you needed to ask… commere you minx!”

“I was on with a client!”

“Sayumi doesn’t count.” She took no offense, she knew the relationship she had with her manager and her wife was a bit of a different circumstance and Bubbles didn't mean anything by it.

A genuine smile reached her eyes. Sayumi tapped the phone to hang up the call when she heard the girlishly happy squeal of Mariah and the undeniable sound of exaggerated kisses. She was just intruding on a moment at that point. It was time to head on stage anyway.

Brand New Theme:

Cherry Bomb Sayumi:

When she crossed that curtain, she left Sayumi behind, storming out onto the stage as Cherry Bomb. Taking long bounding strides she came to a hopping stop center stage, bobbing with the music. She threw up the V sign with two fingers, pumping her arm at the chorus of “Cherry-Cherry bomb”. The crowd sang back in time with her rhythm, still as popular as ever before her time away. She made her way down the ramp, hopping down off the side once it was longer to the ground to run along the barricades, giving high fives and hand touches to anyone reaching out for one.

A whole round rip along the whole ringside area without breaking a sweat. She could recall the early days when she expended everything in her entrances to impress, it seemed as though she had a much better handle on it now pacing herself and spending that energy wisely. Making her way up the steel steps, she blew a few kisses and struck a cute pose. It all came back to her and fit like a glove. Slipping into the ring, she gave the referee a small nod of acknowledgment and headed to her corner, turning to curiously watch the entryway.

Alizeh took a deep breath in preparation for her next match. Things had been going touch and go in AFW thus far, and while she wasn't as successful as she would have liked but in a way she preferred it that way. Challenges and obstacles are what gave Alizeh life, what pushed and motivated her to do want to do more and she welcomed it. Tonight was no exception with her opponent Sayumi looking to be quite interesting as far as a challenge went, especially since it seemed to have been a bit since her last match. So both of them would have something to prove.

Spoiler:

Music started up acting as her que Alizeh would take a breath of anticipation before nodding to herself and getting up before stepping through the curtain, walking out before the crowd to some cheers! Smiling out at the crowd and raising her arms to get them a bit louder Alizeh wouldn't waste much time before breaking out into a run, heading towards the ring and leaping up and between the bottom and middle rope, rolling into the ring and popping up to her feet with a smile before turning and posing a bit, showing off her gear for the fans who cheered in appreciation!

Spoiler:

Stopping towards the center of the ring Alizeh would turn towards her opponent and smile at the former idol before taking a few steps towards her and raising her hand up. "Hey nice to meet ya. Here's to a good match yeah?" Alizeh said amicably towards the woman while waiting to see if she would take her hand for a moment of good sportsmanship prior to the match beginning.

Sayumi’s attention was caught immediately by the sound of crackling lightning and remained as the music thumped. She wasn’t overly familiar with American music outside of the older rock and pop tracks that gained traction over here and was always happy to hear something new with a good beat to it. She found herself nodding along, by the time the chorus hit. Her opponent had gotten a healthy reaction, cheers, no jeers or boos which was noted. She was known and liked. In AFW that could mean a lot of things, but it painted a good impression in her eyes.

Her opponent wasted no time in charging down to the ring and making an expert dive into it. Sayumi patiently waited, allowing the other girl to make her rounds within the ring while moving opposite her to allow Alizeh to go where she pleased without the threat of a potential attack. She took this time to give the other woman a close look over, or rather, her ring attire. She was enamored by the small details and intricacies in how it was presented, curiously considering how the stitching was done and the material used.

"Kon'nichiwa!" Sayumi dipped forward in a practiced bow, her hands clasped before her. When she leaned back she found a waiting hand and blinked at it. She gave a small laugh, a faint flush of red on her cheek at having missed the pleasantry and substituted her own. With a tiny little hop, she came closer, reaching out to take Alizeh’s hand and give it a small shake. She was gentle with it, perhaps a bit awkward.

“A pleasure. I look forward to seeing just how much of a raging storm you will be Ms.Midori.” She didn’t seem quite sure what to do with the other woman’s hand so gave it one last small shake, and a bow of her head again before finally releasing it.

Entering the ring after finishing her entrance Alizeh's first instinct was to approach the center of the ring and offer her hand for a friendly bit of sportsmanship before the match began. Of course she wasn't quite expecting a bow in return making her curse internally. 'Duh that's gonna be the norm.' She thought to herself, about to drop her hand bow herself, if not for Sayumi hopping up in apparent realization as well about their little mixed up pleasantries but was faster in changing tactics as she quickly approaching.

Hand starting to dip Alizeh quickly pulled it back up to accept Sayumi's hand as she finally clasped it with Alizeh's own and offered a bashful chuckle before nodding along to her words. While awkward the greeting itself was at least reciprocated and it was clear both women wanted to get off to a good start.

Chuckling a bit more confidently at her words though Alizeh would nod with a confident expression on her face. "Hehe, likewise I'm eager to see how much of it you'll be able to brave." Alizeh shot back before dropping Sayumi's hand taking a few steps backwards, raising her fists up in preparation for the bout ahead. Sayumi definitely looked like the speedy type so Alizeh knew she'd have to be ready for whatever the girl would pull out.

“I’ve never shied away from a bit of rain before.” Sayumi gave her opponent a small wink as they separated, taking steps back. She shook out her arms and briefly tapped the toes of her boots to the canvas one after the other. When Alizeh’s fists came up, so too did her own hands, though she adopted more of a grappling stance. Legs parted, bouncing lighting on the balls of her feet.

Her mind was already working to deduce anything she could based solely on appearance. Her opponent's choice of fighting stance being the first indicator that the woman might have been a preferred striker. Eyeing her attire, there were no telltale signs of a method though. No forearm guards or kick pads to allow her to deduce anything, though the warrior-style skirt around her waist was something rather common for MMA attire. Nothing solid to go off of though. She would just need to be careful.

When the bell rang, she fought the urge to lunge and lock up. She had ample experience in squaring off against boxers in the past and was hesitant to make herself a predictable target this early into the match. She carefully sidestepped, circling opposite Alizeh, her fingers anxiously flexing, eager to grasp hold of her opponent. Without warning, Sayumi threw a leg up, letting the other follow into a snappy transition into one of her signature Stinger Dropkicks. It practically came out of nowhere without having anything more than a step-up lead in before her heels were rocketing towards Alizeh’s chest in an unorthodox match opener. It was a gamble, a miss here would leave her on the ground but landing a surprise move like this early might put her on track to sweep up some early momentum.

Out of the gate Alizeh and Sayumi seemed to be on the same page, if in no other way than in attitude and a mutual respect based on competition. For now at least, after all, things could always change but as things were Alizeh was hoping they would stay that way since she was much more partial to this particular dynamic than a hateful one. "Trust me, you'll want to look out for the wind more." Alizeh said back at Sayumi with a smirk on her face, hands up already as she now began to circle her opponent with the bell having rung.

Eyes traveling up and down the former idol's form Alizeh refrained from making the first move for now. Largely out of recognition that, even if she didn't know much of Sayumi, what she was able to tell of how tight and efficient her stance was meant she was surely a dangerous foe. Beyond that though Alizeh had nothing to go off of for what Sayumi may try so for now, the safe route of waiting and acting based on what the woman would try first.

Thankfully Alizeh wouldn't have to wait long as Sayumi darted forward. Unfortunately however she chose an opening maneuver that was not easy to read whatsoever, starting with a step up that made Alizeh instinctively raise her arms up in preparation for what she thought would be a potential enziguri, but was something even bigger in the form of a dropkick instead! Thankfully Alizeh's raised arms at least served some use as they acted as a guard against the drop kick, but she wasn't ready for such a move and was still taken off her feet by the force of it!

"Ngh!" Alizeh grunted out as she hit the mat but sucked in a breath as she did so, attempting to curl inwards after making contact, trying to roll back with the force and get her feet under her and get back to her feet. If successful in managing to do so she would try and focus back in on Sayumi, before breaking into a run, trying to pick up what speed she could before leaping up, trying not to get overwhelmed so early in the match by lashing back out with a running knee strike!

Her boot heels made contact with a dull meaty sound, getting a rolling “Ooooooo” through the crowd as they witnessed Alezeh taking the blow on her arms rather than her chest. Sayumi could tell she hadn’t hit her mark but didn’t have the full visual to know what happened. She did however see the other woman go tumbling backward in time with landing on the mat herself, on her back.  She was quick to rise, spinning herself a full rotation around to get up onto a knee and intending to stand from there but her eyes went wide when she saw Alizeh already charging her down.

She brought her arms up defensively trying but didn’t intend to take the blow at all if possible. She veered to the side in hopes of dodging completely but with limited mobility, she was still clipped in the shoulder. Rather than bracing, she took the momentum and rolled with it, falling onto her back and rolling through onto her front to catch herself on all fours. "Sugar..." She hissed when she put weight on her freshly battered shoulder, tucking that arm close to her chest. The crowd was going wild for the both of them as they each kept the pace frenzied.

Staying low she scrambled on a hand and her feet to scamper away from Alizeh, pushing herself to her feet in motion to carry herself into a run towards the ropes. Turning at the last moment she threw her back into the cables and came rocketing off in a full sprint towards her opponent. She gave a small hop forward, trying to feign attempting another one of her signature dropkicks but landed early on her feet and sprang forward, flipping towards the other woman with a rolling koppo kick, trying to swing a heel of her boot down through her guard.

Match freshly begun and it was already looking as if it would be a back and forth bout between the two women as despite Sayumi landing a dropkick it was partially blocked by Alizeh who used the momentum to answer right back with a running knee! Similar to Sayumi's initial offense however it wouldn't flush. Even with the element of surprise working in her favor Alizeh wasn't quite fast enough to make contact with Sayumi who managed to roll forward and avoid the brunt of the impact with only part of it driving into the former idol's shoulder!

"Ngh.." Alizeh winced out after making contact with the less than ideal part but she would still continue on, slowing to a stop before bending down and rubbing her knee slightly, which had taken damage from hitting the hard bone of Sayumi's knee. Hearing footsteps behind her though Alizeh knew something was coming and turned quickly to see what looked like another dropkick from Sayumi coming in hot!

Eyes widening and putting her guard up in preparation Alizeh would instead be treated to to something different all together! "Wha?" Alizeh said in shock as the woman instead dropped down and roll forward before a surprise kick connected with the side of her face, right past her guard! "UGH!" Alizeh groaned taking the impact full force and getting taken off her feet, landing on her back with a groan, holding her face as she rolled back, hissing softly in pain, temporarily stunned as a result!

So far both women were putting it all out there with their opening salvo and the crowd was behind it, at the edge of their seats and the match had only just begun. Sayumi came in fast, flipping herself into a wide arching koppo kick that managed to tag Alizeh convincingly. Both women hit the mat on their backs but hers had been the softer of impacts. She kicked her legs up, using the momentum to roll onto her upper back, legs curling in. Her arms reached back, bracing her body as she tightened up before a sudden release, performing a kip-up back to her feet. It hadn't been pretty, nearly botching her rise when her shoulder gave her a painful jolt reminding her she had just taken the brunt of Alizah’s running knee.

She wasted no time in following after the other woman, jogging to catch up to where she had rolled. Reaching down she tried to grab hold of the other girl by the shoulder and back of the next, starting to haul her back to her feet. She would pause them halfway to make use of all her assets to throw a hard hip check towards Alizeh while she was being held, wanting to try and keep her dazed and compliant for the rest of her assisted rise.

"Here we go..." If she managed to maintain control of the girl, she would try to throw one of Alizah’s arms behind her own neck and hook her arm around her opponent's head. Her free hand would swing out, trying to hook itself around the woman's leg, securing it at the knee and pulling it in. She’d throw all of her weight back, attempting to heft Alizeh up and over in a fisherman suplex to slam her against the mat. The failed idol would attempt to bridge the move, pulling that hooked leg tight to go for an early pinfall attempt.

Out of the gate it was clear Sayumi and Alizeh were playing at their best, neither one wanting to back down or get caught by much offense out of the gate. However as good as each woman was one was bound to be taken for a loop first and now it was looking as if Alizeh was the one to end up at the disadvantage!

Caught by the koppo kick of her opponent and knocked down to her back as a result Alizeh was seeing stars for the moment and as she looked up was grabbed by her opponent and hauled up, but not before receiving a hip check to her gut for good measure to knock the air out of her! "Ugh!" Alizeh grunted out in the wake of it before she was hooked up by Sayumi, her limbs tangled up in Sayumi's grip before she was taken off her feet and driven into the mat with a beautifully executed fisherman's suplex! "Gahhh!" Alizeh yelled out in pain, sprawled against the mat, pressed down against it by her foe in a pinfall attempt!

"ONE!"

"TW-"

Just before the two count could be made Alizeh thrusted her shoulder up while twisting herself to the side to break free from her foe's grip and the pinfall attempt! If it worked Alizeh would lay on her side, panting and heaving softly, she was loopy, but she still had good ring awareness and she wasn't about to be taken out so easily.