Song and Dance - Satsuki Hayano v. Uta Toyama

[FreestylePoet]

Standard Match
Victory by pinfall or submission.

Another day, another match for the Queen of Clubs. Satsuki really felt as if she was starting to find her footing here in LAW, and management must have agreed, seeing as how they just kept booking her for matches. Tonight's match was slated to be a standard affair, but she nonetheless relished the chance to continue to test herself in this new world of hers.

And make no mistake -- eventually, it would be hers. Now that she started to get a sense of what she was doing in the ring and in the business, Satsuki also started to set her ambitions. To hear her tell it, she saw PPVs, big matches, title shots, and belts in her future. Of course, the matches and titles themselves meant little to Satsuki; it was what they represented that mattered. The promise of testing herself against the most talented women that LAW could find and coming out on top was like a siren song to the young gambler.

... But she was getting ahead of herself, wasn't she? Tonight was just a standard match against some chick that she'd never bothered to look up. Then again, Satsuki wasn't fond of looking any opponent up, and around here, almost every opponent was either more experienced or more skilled than she was at this early stage in her career. The fight would still be a good one, and that was what really mattered in the end, wasn't it?

Satsuki Hayano, the Queen of Clubs

Satsuki's Entrance Music - GAMBLER by MONSTA X

As Satsuki entered the ring, she realized that the swell of the crowd started to feel... different. At first, they cheered the promise of the unknown, the sheer excitement that came with a new wrestler. Now, it felt as if their cheering was more routine, more obligatory. She didn't feel as if she needed the support of the crowd for her own validation, but if they wanted something to cheer for? Satsuki would damn well try to give it to them -- her opponent's thoughts on the matter be damned. As she settled into her corner, leaning casually with her arms spread out, Satsuki Hayano awaited her opponent, grinning to herself at the show she'd use them to put on.

[PrinceArjuna332]

Uta was slated for a match tonight, and she couldn't wait. She needed to win as many matches as possible to build up her reputation. She knew that she still had a long way to go before she could stand on the same level as the big names here in LAW. So, for the time being, she would focus on getting wins in her record so that she could pave her way up to greatness someday down the line.

Now that her opponent had made her entrance, it was time for Uta to make hers. Soon, her music was played, and she walked out to the ramp, receiving a moderate pop from the crowd. She tried to get the crowd cheering, with some good result. Then she energetically jogged down the ramp, heading over to the ring where she would wrestle her opponent tonight.

Uta Toyama

Soon, Uta arrived at the ring, and after climbing up the apron, she made her way to her corner, waiting for the match to begin. She looked at the direction of her opponent as she prepared herself for the match. She had no idea what her opponent was like, and she would be cautious regardless of whether she knew anything about her opponent or not. So, she waited there until it was time for them to start the match.

[FreestylePoet]

You could learn a lot from the way a person walked. So Satsuki watched her opponent's entrance closely, looking for tells like she would at a poker table. Sure enough, the dark-haired girl spoke volumes with nothing but her movements. She was lively and spirited, and judging by the way she played a bit to the crowd, she was also someone who wanted to enjoy herself in the ring. Definitely someone who wanted to be here, someone who thought she belonged here.

More importantly, based on the way that her countenance shifted from energetic to cautious as soon as she stepped between the ropes, it seemed that Satsuki's opponent for the night knew what she was doing. That meant she was an ambitious girl who knew what she was doing. Skill would be determined later, but this woman had the makings of a solid opponent. So tonight would be fun, after all.

"Not one for banter, huh? S'fine with me. Satsuki Hayano, by the way." When the bell rang, she crouched down, giving her opponent just enough time to respond in kind if she so wished. Then, she surged forward, shooting a leg out for a flurry of distant kicks! Quick, varied blows meant more to find her range and get the measure of her opponent than anything else. But dangerous nonetheless!

[PrinceArjuna332]

When Satsuki spoke to her, Uta tilted her head before she grinned. "Uta Toyama. Sorry if I got no banter. No offense, I'm here to win, not talk." Sure, she might sound a tad arrogant while saying that, but it was true. She didn't feel like bantering with someone she had no prior engagement with, though things might change in this match.

The match had started, and when Uta saw Satsuki suddenly surging forth, she would quickly take a defensive position, preparing herself to take on whatever her opponent would throw at her. She would try to ensure to deflect and block most of those kicks that Satsuki was throwing at her, though she would still take some of them. In retaliation, Uta would try to response in kind with a roundhouse kick aimed to Satsuki's side.

[FreestylePoet]

Uta's words were laden with confidence. But as Satsuki had quickly learned, LAW had plenty of chicks who were all bark and no bite. The only way to really test someone's mettle was to see how they reacted to a challenge. And more than anything else, that's what Satsuki's early flurry of kicks was: A challenge, one that payed dividends in the form of an early evaluation of Satsuki's opponent.

Her opponent blocked rather that dodging outright, turning whatever kicks landed into nothing more than glancing blows. While that said little about Uta's dexterity on its own, it at least told Satsuki that she preferred to use her positioning and endurance. "Unngrh!" Similarly, Uta's first returned kick demonstrated the sheer power that she had going for her.

Satsuki winced, turning her sure-to-be-bruised side away from Uta as if to protect it. But she continued to spin, swinging her leg out as if to go for a spinning backheel... only to keep her foot on the ground and attempt a capoeira-style sweep instead!

Spoiler

If she succeeded in sweeping Uta to the canvas, Satsuki would follow up by lifting her other foot and crashing it down towards Uta's gut! The middleweight's roundhouse had unexpectedly winded Satsuki, and she needed to earn a second to steel herself for facing a strong striker.

[PrinceArjuna332]

Uta's counterattack managed to hit Satsuki right in her side, and she prepared herself to follow it up with another attack. But her opponent seemed to be using her motion to continue with her movement, and before she knew it, Uta was suddenly swept off her feet by a rather crisp capoeira-looking sweep. "Aahh!!" She landed on her back, and due to her being caught off-guard by the attack, she was unable to roll away to avoid her opponent's next attack, which was a stomp into her belly!

"UGHHH!!!"

Uta's eyes widened as air was forcibly knocked out of her lungs. She gasped and coughed as she cradled her stomach, leaving herself exposed and vulnerable to whatever her opponent would do next.

[FreestylePoet]

As Uta cradled her stomach, Satsuki half-mirrored her opponent's pose. Her hand was clutching her side, soothing away the last vestiges of pain away. Similarly, her face shifted from a wounded grimace to an excited smile. "Whoof!" she panted, a gnarly grin on her face. "Got some cannons on ya, huh?"

Striking specialists made for particularly exciting opponents. A pin could be bridged out of, and a submission attempt could be countered. In either case, the ropes were another option for escape. But a well-placed punch or kick could knock your lights right out. That was just biology; nothing could save you from that.

A more sensible fighter might have sought to neutralize Uta's striking, either by injurious attrition or by taking the fight to the ground instead. But where was the fun in that? Instead, Satsuki reached down, attempting to drag Uta to her feet by the collar of her top. If she succeeded, Satsuki would sneer at her opponent for a moment before trying to push her towards the ropes with a teep kick!

[PrinceArjuna332]

Uta grimaced after taking the blow to her stomach, and she had her hands on her belly as she tried to recover from the attack. She tried to keep her eyes on Satsuki, but her current state prevented her from doing more than that as she was pulled up by her opponent who then proceeded to send her towards the ropes.

"NRGHH!!"

Still, Uta wasn't going to let her opponent do whatever she wanted as she would try to grab onto the ropes as soon as she reached them. She would keep herself there, not rebounding back to where Satsuki was as she would try to use this opportunity to regain her strength and bearing. She knew that she could gain an upper hand if she could recover her strength.

[FreestylePoet]

Once more, Satsuki's blow struck true. Her kick forced Uta to stagger back a bit, but rather than let herself bounce off the ropes, the middleweight opted to lean against them. It wasn't just a valid strategy, it was a smart one.

After all, it made sense given Satsuki's own strategy: Keep the pressure going, not letting up for even a second. Her biggest advantage -- as a lightweight, as a recreational freerunner, as a perennial risk-taker -- was her agility. By taking advantage of that, maybe Satsuki would be able to whittle Uta down, or otherwise get her to overextend for swift punishment. With that in mind, Satsuki rushed forth before leaping in the air for her next attack -- a rising knee, aimed right at Uta's core!

[PrinceArjuna332]

Stopping herself from rebounding back to where her opponent was, Uta held onto the ropes, trying to regain her bearing, but it looked like her opponent wasn't going to give her such opportunity as she charged towards her and delivered a knee strike right at her torso!

"UAGHH!!!"

Uta's eyes widened as she took the hit. She had difficulty to breathe thanks to the attack, and she then gasped and wheezed as she held onto the ropes, hoping to keep herself steady, though at the moment, she became an easy target for Satsuki.