Makie Akamatsu vs Midori Himeno

"Onee-san, I still think you're worrying for nothing."

Standing outside the dressing room, leaning on a wall and waiting patiently, Kyo Akamatsu folded his arms. He was wearing a nondescript blue t-shirt and baggy black pants, and his normally calm face was marked by a troubled expression."Makie, you've only had one match so far, against that Breznov girl," he said. "By the time you came out of that one, you could barely stand."

"So? I still won!"came Makie's irritated voice from inside the change room.

"My point is, I still reserve the right to be worried about you," Kyo replied. "I've been in the ring, and I know that AFW has a lot of girls who can be downright sadistic when they want to be. Chances are, you may be fighting one of them."

"Oh, riiiiight," came Makie's sarcastic reply. He could almost imagine her sticking her tongue out at him. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Onee-san!"

He had done it again, Kyo thought with annoyance. He had walked into yet another verbal trap. "Makie...look, I have every bit of confidence in you," he said. "I'm sure that no matter what happens in that match, you'll do really well--"

"Note that you didn't say I'll win."

Kyo suppressed the urge to grind his teeth together. "My point is, for all my faith in you, I still worry," he finished. "It's not something I can help. It comes with being a big brother, Makie."

"I'm just messing with you, onee-san," Makie said. "I get it, I really do. But this is my first solid AFW match. Don't you think you could at LEAST be a little more cheerful about it?"

Kyo said nothing at first. Then, slowly, after a deep breath, he said "Well, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to this match, Makie. I know I may not be showing really well, but...I'll be cheering you on all the way. Me and Toshio both."

"That's the spirit!" came Makie's laughing reply. "Honestly, though, you need to stop sounding so solemn all the time. You're never going to get laid if you keep sounding so serious!"

The comment made Kyo go a deep shade of red. Before he could stutter a retort, Makie stepped out of the change room. She was wearing a white sports bra and matching shorts, as well as matching pads. The overall outfit showed off her slim, tomboyish figure, but at the same time gave off the impression of someone ready for a fight. "So, how do I look?"

"Like someone who will be late if she stays and asks inane questions to her older brother," Kyo said with a slight grin. "Now get going before they disqualify you."

Makie grinned. "You're just jealous because you never look this stylish." She leaned in and gave her brother a quick hug. "Wish me luck, okay?"

Kyo smiled as he hugged her back. "You won't need it."

His little sister laughed. "You're right," she said. "Wish my opponent luck instead." And with that, Makie turned and ran towards the entrance of the arena, wondering if her opponent had already made it to the ring.

Midori Himeno was sitting in the locker room. A few nights ago she had an intense match with Tigress Mckenna. She had spent a few nights recovering but she felt ready to go now. She had to get back into the swing of things.

She sat there quietly, towel over her shoulders, deep in thought. The door knocked but she did not acknowledge at first. A second knock sounded and still no response. Finally the door opened and an usher peeked in.

"Midori Himeno? It is time."

She did not look up but she nodded imperceptibly and rose up whipping the towel off her. She let it drop to the ground and headed out towards the ring. As she approached down the hall she would hear Makie's music playing indicating that her opponent had gone in before her.

Makie entered the ring with the same energy and enthusiasm with which she had left the change room. Raising a fist to acknowledge the numerous cheers she was getting, Makie made her way down the aisle, breaking into a run as her excitement got the better of her. She slid her slender frame between the ropes, hopping to her feet and shouting enthusiastic acknowledgements to her fans. She wondered why it was that so many people who had never seen her fight before were now cheering, and contemplated that maybe there were some old fans of Kyo and Toshio in the crowd. She dismissed the thought: while her brothers were good, they had never been that popular.

Either way, the cheers of the crowd invigorated her in a way she never thought possible. She felt ready to take on her opponent, whoever she was, and give her the pounding of a lifetime.

There was a silence and then Midori appeared at the top of the ramp as the entrance music played. She would cut a fairly formidable figure with her brawny dark skinned body, muscles rippling on her bare arms and legs and she would raise a fist in the air with a confident grin.

She then jogged confidently down to the ring, occasionally obliging an eager fan with a quick high five. She slid in and walked almost right past Makie with a casual smile. Was she dismissing the sight of the scrawny, boyish looking girl right away?

In any case Midori went to climb a turnbuckle and crossed her arms to crowd to endear herself a bit more. She would jump down and walk to other side to repeat the same. It was after this that she hopped down and made her way to the center of the ring, eying makie with a curious smile. She continued to move her arms and legs a bit as if working herself for the match.

Makie raised an eyebrow, but said nothing as Midori entered. The other girl was dressed similarly (blue instead of white), but the redhead had noticeably more in the way of brawn on her voluptuous figure. Nonetheless, Makie took a confident step forward. "And what the hell are you smiling at? If you're going to look, fine, but just keep in mind that this is the sight you'll see when you're lying bruised and beaten on the mat, Ginger."

Meanwhile, in the crowds, Kyo watched the proceedings quietly. A familiar figure edged through the crowd next to him-- one dressed like it had just got out of a gym, with familiar tattoos on his arm and a confident grin on his face. "Sorry I was late, bro. I was just finishing up, and there were these nice-looking redhead twins using the treadmills, and one thing led to another and--"

"Toshio, you didn't get their numbers, did you?" Kyo asked disnterestedly.

Toshio gave a half-hearted laugh. "Of course I did, bro! I got the suave genes of the family, remember?"

Kyo gave him the Stare. There were no words required-- this expression always caught Toshio flat-footed whenever he was exaggerating.

Toshio sighed. "Well, okay, I didn't, but I came VERY CLOSE! I would have scored easily if I hadn't had to rush to Makie's match. Speaking of which, how's she doing so far?"

"Nothing's happened," Kyo replied. "Nothing, that is, other than Makie engaging in trash-talk."

Toshio's eyes lit up in excitement. "That's my little sis!" he exclaimed, before cupping his hands around his mouth and leaning upright on his toes. "KICK HER ASS, SIS!"

While Kyo wasn't being nearly as exuberant as his brother, he silently wished Makie the same, his thoughts filled with nothing but pride for his sister and confidence that she would win this match.

Midori quirked a brow at her and then actually laughed.

"You certainly got a lot of spunk for someone who looks like a 90 pound weakling."

Rubs a hand along her brown skinned arm.

"And I would say I got more color than a ginger."

The she looked up.

"And as for me lying bloodied and bruised on the mat. Well let me just say that men and women twice your size have tried and failed. But you know what. I can like someone with spunk. Good luck in our fight."

Would go to give her a playful punch in the shoulder.

Although Makie knew she and this Midori girl were probably going to be battering and slamming the hell out of each other in a few minutes, she found herself smiling. "Back at you," she said. "You'll need it."

And with that, Maki moved back into her corner, letting the referee check her over for weapons as she waited for the bell to ring.

Midori turned herself and headed to her corner, facing away and pulling at top corner ropes eager for the match to begin.

The ref backed away, giving Makie the okay to begin the match. Eagerly, Makie moved towards the centre of the ring, eyeing Midori carefully and beginning to circle as she waited for the bell.

Midori also came form her corner and began to circle Makie studying her in interest. Eventually she raised her arms and would go for the lock up figuring she might have the strength advantage. If she did manage to lock up with Makie she would immediately be trying to shove and pull her around to gauge her power.