Esther Savato-Howell vs Mai Nagasawa

Esther's kick hit home. She was rather fortunate it did so; the ups and downs so soon after taking Mai's brutal kick were getting to her badly. She rolled to her hands and knees and shook her head. Looking up, she saw Mai sitting in the corner and forced herself to her feet. She stepped in toward the corner, aiming a fierce kick right at Mai's face.

Mai was only thankful that Esther's kick seemed designed to buy the boxer her own precious seconds to regroup rather then create offense against the idol. But Mai was still slower to rise than Esther as she rubbed her head, seeing the flash of a kick aimed at her and only able to dodge it by flopping to the ground. She grunted as she hit the mat and flailed out her legs to try and hold them around Esther's leg and put her back to the mat once more. What an unceremonious beginning to this match. Mai was a little embarrassed for herself but Esther was definitely a tough cookie.

Esther's foot hit air and went through the ropes. She gasped in shock, and tried to pull her foot back, but Mai was quicker. She took Esther down, tangling her foot in the ropes and slamming her to the mat. "Gah! Ow!" She yelped in more shock than pain. Hanging upside down, her shoulders on the mat, she quickly struggled to jerk her foot free, but at the moment, she was helpless.

Mai watched with rosy cheeks as she managed to cause a combination to occur that would leave the snide boxer in a rather uncompromising position. "G-Gomen!" Mai whispered. She couldn't help herself. she rolled away and spun around to her hands and knees. Mai hopped forward, her face looking down at Esther's as she reached for the woman's shoulders and tried to drag her quickly to the center of the ring. For all her embarrassment, Esther wasn't in a bad position. Anything Mai wanted to try would be stopped with Esther tangled in the ropes. She had to get her to the center of the ring.

If she could pull the woman to the center of the ring, she would then try and flop downward onto Esther, looking to put her chest onto the boxer's face. Not to smother, though it would be a bonus, but so that Mai could hook her arms underneath Esther's and put her in a hold that would hopefully keep Esther on the ground and worn down.

Esther's foot came free, but at Mai's direction, not Esther's own. The boxer quickly found herself dragged into the middle of the ring. She sought to get back to her feet only for the idol to slam down atop her, her breasts landing right in Esther's face. "MMMF!" She grunted in pain and shock. Esther quickly tried to bring her arms up to force the idol off her, but Mai moved faster, taking the advantage and locking Esther's arms. Undeterred, Esther bucked with her feet and her weight, trying to roll back and get Mai off of her.

Mai felt Esther's bucking and tried to move with it. She looked to keep her long legs spread wide so that Esther couldn't flip them over and while she wasn't actually trying to smother the boxer, she knew that breathing wouldn't exactly be easy. She was panting softly too as she tried to keep Esther in the current position while she tried to figure out what her next position would be.

When she felt Esther bridge, she knew she had a good plan. She pushed herself up, released the hold and tried to jam the point of her elbow into Esther's stomach to bring her body back down to the mat. While she was doing that, she would attempt to bend her sleek body and catch Esther in a head scissor with her long, powerful legs.

Esther let out a huff as Mai's sharp elbow drove the air from her and stopped her momentum cold. Stunned for a moment, she quickly found herself constricted between Mai's legs. "Geeayyah!" Esther shrieked as she struggled. Already oxygen starved before being taken into the hold, having her head crushed and her air cut off was a potentially deadly combination. Esther grit her teeth and cocked her arm, trying to send snap punches into Mai's stomach. It was unlikely they would hurt her more than Mai was hurting Esther but she could only hope they would be enough.

Mai felt good when she clamped her steely legs down upon the boxer's head. NOW she could work a submission or a knockout. She was in a much better position for THAT. That was, until, she felt the solid punch smash into her taut abs. Her eyes widened and her grip loosened a bit. It was becoming fairly obvious where Esther's strength was, even from her awkward position on the mat. Though she'd put her long legs up against Esther's fists any day, she still didn't want to get punched anymore. Deciding discretion was the better part of valor, Mai released her hold and rolled away. It would be better to try and start from an advantageous position than needlessly get punched while she HOPED she knocked out Esther. And if she didn't? Then she'd be in the bad spot. The fight was still young and Mai still had a few tricks to help wear down the spunky boxer.

That scissors hold could have ended the fight. The power in Mai's legs was considerable. Thankfully, she was able dissuade Mai from the hold with a few well-placed punches. Once again, being good at punching, especially in awkward situations where she could not call upon her stance for power, came in handy. That would SURELY teach those losers at the gym for gawking at her more awkward training routines. Shakily, Esther rose to her feet. She tried to dispel the cobwebs in her head. Esther's hard head was also coming in handy. As much as she hated to admit it, Mai had the upper hand so far, but that would not last. "Nice try!" She called out, "But they don't call me the Storm for nothing!" With a wicked grin, she returned to her stance, one hand hanging low, the other up high. "No singing squirrel is gonna take me down!"

Kicks were slower than punches, and they took more energy... but their range and power were considerable. If she could just get into Mai's guard she could unleash hell on this dumb singer and they could all go home. She needed to see more of Mai's kicks, and preferably take a lot fewer of them to the head. That one STILL hurt. Bouncing lightly on her feet, Esther would try to step in toward Mai, bobbing her head, crooking her hand as if she was aiming to launch a power hook, but she would hop back at the last second. She wanted Mai to kick and miss. Each kick would tire her and the more she saw, the more she could see her style in action and exploit it.

Mai got to her feet as she hopped up and spun around. Her fists were up and she bounced on her heels. The punches to the stomach hurt, even after the initial strike and she knew she couldn't handle any sustain offense from Esther. What she needed to do was make sure she stayed at leg's length but she also knew the dangers of doing that. Her feet would be Esther's target and if she got caught, then she'd still be in trouble. it felt like they were both playing a game of chicken. Who would swerve first?"

"I'm a cat!" Mai said, furrowing her brow at Esther's taunt and when Esther came forward, Mai tightened her body. She wasn't going to swing a kick but she flashed her leg up. if Esther got close, she would take a hard knee to the gut. Mai might eat a hook, but maybe she could block it as she threw her hands up.

But she never felt the knee impact and when she peeked through her guard, she saw Esther back away. She quickly extended her leg to try and snap it into Esther's face while she was retreating. If she connected, she'd be back in business but if not, she'd be left horribly wide open. But she hadn't thought. She just kicked.