Sanae Saitou vs. Alizeh Midori II: Submission Match

[CaptainL]

When it came to submissions, Alizeh definitely had the edge. Sanae had a rudimentary control of holds and grappling, but she was a high-flyer first and foremost - Alizeh, by comparison, was a submission master. Already, putting the two against one another in a submission match seemed like it was rigged for the start. And, indeed, Sanae had spent the early part of this match taking a fair few holds from Alizeh, which were making her legs grow sore and weary. But Alizeh and Sanae had trained together - and, in all that time, the lightweight had begun to pick a few things up from her friend and tag partner. She was still exploring anything that went deeper than the basics, but those basics included how to transition from one hold to another, and how to use an opponent's momentum against them in order to counter a submission attempt. When she saw Alizeh was going for the armbar, she knew that part of that would include Alizeh's legs crossing her arm - and she could just as easily use that to set up a grab!

Alizeh needed some time to drag herself away from the ropes in order to set up her next move - time that gave Sanae all the more opportunity to set herself up. Suddenly, she rolled over her opponent, getting on top of her and tightening her arms around her leg! In an instant, Alizeh cried out in pain, and the crowd cheered even wider for Sanae's come-from-behind move. The aspiring idol only grinned wider, her grip on Alizeh's leg pulling tighter. If she was able to catch Alizeh in a hold of her own, she knew she was making progress!

As Alizeh threw herself around the ring, thrashing from side to side, Sanae struggled to hold on. Alizeh was bigger than her, and her kicks carried a greater amount of force; the momentum was shaking Sanae, and her grip was beginning to slip even before she began striking at her sides. She clenched her teeth to steel herself and tighten her grip - but she knew what else she could do, too. She was learning from Alizeh even right now in the ring, and she was prepared to use her own tactics against her! The first few kicks Alizeh landed caused Sanae to groan as her body bucked and twisted - but then, she would swing her leg over to hook Alizeh's free leg to keep it in place as she wrenched it to the side to put Alizeh in a banana split, at the same time flipping herself over again to put the middleweight on her back!

Spoiler

[Bare]

Alizeh had taught Sanae many things over their time together. Deepening her knowledge on aerial moves, bulking her up and increasing her toughness, and most importantly to Alizeh had given the girl a crash course on submissions. A area she knew Sanae was lacking in from the get go. Even then however it still was a weak area for Sanae with the girl only having a rather basic understanding of most holds with a few certain exceptions. In fact it was something that Alizeh had expected to be a advantage of hers when this match had been announced as submissions only. Between them Alizeh was one of the best at LAW in submissions, only really being topped by a select few, most of which being veterans at this longer than either of them. One such example being the woman who had organized this match, Toshimi Minami.

All that being said however Sanae was always someone full of surprised all the time and she was proving that here just like in their first match. As a result the younger girl managed to reverse Alizeh's attempt at a hold, and instead trapped her in a submission of Sanae's own! A submission that was rather familiar since Alizeh had used it on Sanae but minutes ago. 'she's leaning as we wrestle?!' Alizeh thought to herself in a confusing mix of pain, pride and shock.

But that wasn't the worst to come. Because despite the impressive reversal Alizeh was far from one to accept her fate easily and she began kicking wildly as a result try and loosen Sanae's grip while thrashing to try and get away. A tactic that normally worked but Sanae knew that and began to suddenly shift positions... starting when she managed to grab Alizeh's now formerly free leg. 'Shit!' Alizeh thought to herself as they suddenly rolled against, Sanae's legs further twisting around her own while she grabbed Alizeh's leg for a move she recognized very well... the Banana split. "Aghhhhh!" Screaming in pain with a light blush on her face Alizeh clenched her eyes shut, not just in pain but from her legs being forcibly spread for the cheering crowd, and all Alizeh could do right now was lay there and take it!

[CaptainL]

Sanae was learning. More out of necessity than anything else, but if there was one thing she was good at, it was adapting. When her back was up against the wall, and she had nowhere else to go, Sanae didn't crumble under the pressure. She tightened her focus, rose to the challenge, and tried to push herself to new heights in order to match her opponents! The last time she and Alizeh had wrestled, Sanae had forced herself to fight harder and harder in order to make up for the gap in experience between her and her foe, and she had managed to give even Alizeh a run for her money. It had proven she was capable of going up to the ultimate test, and it had won the hearts of many a fan who became convinced of what she was capable of. Now, when she and Alizeh took to the ring again, there was nowhere she could go but onward and upward - and this time, she saw that if her situation called for her to master submissons on the fly, that's what she would do! She wouldn't become a star if she didn't take the burden on her own shoulders!

As she pulled back harder at Alizeh's legs, folding them over in either direction, Sanae's teeth locked in a grimace, her face growing red from the growing exertion and her knuckles going white as she held on with an iron grip, too afraid of letting go to even give into the urge to do so. But, at the same time, when in catching her breath she looked down and saw that Alizeh was actually straining against the pressure - that she had managed to lock down even a skilled submission artist like Alizeh and made it count - it made her smile just a little bit. If she was doing so well, that was proof she had a future. She could surpass anyone's expectations of her - and she could prove Minami wrong!

All the same, it was putting some strain on Sanae's back to hold the position, bending herself into an arc in order to pull Alizeh's limbs along with her. Her back was beginning to grow sore, and a shudder went along her vertebrae. Alizeh was, after all, more used to this, and it would take the aspiring idol's body some work to adjust. Sanae could only hope that Alizeh would tap out before she couldn't do any more!

[Bare]

Alizeh was proud of Sanae and the progress she had made. When they had first met in Sanae's debut it was no secret that she was looked down upon by the fans and even some other wrestlers. After all the girl was open about her wishes to use wrestling as a springboard into a idol career. Something drew the ire of some veterans. Veterans like Toshimi Minami. But Alizeh? Alizeh could tell Sanae was earnest, that despite her intentions she wanted to prove herself as a true wrestler and Alizeh had helped her do just that in their first match alone, showing her tenacity and aptitude for wrestling in the best way possible where both girls had pushed themselves to their limits, putting on one of the best matches of their careers and a candidate for match of the year at the time. To date it was still one of Alizeh's most favorite matches so far in LAW.

So now that their rematch had started, Alizeh was being shown just how far Sanae had come. Through her trials and tribulations against villains like Rose Gold, to dealing with the criticisms of people like Eii and Minami, and of course, the fruits of Sanae's intense training under Alizeh and the experience gained with her as a team. It was all coming full circle now as Sanae showed more than anything her greatest skill was adapting. Even if this match was a disadvantage for her due to it being submissions only, her way of dealing with it was by using everything Alizeh had taught her and used against her to really lay into Alizeh with a banana split!

"Aghhhh!" Screaming in pain Alizeh knew she was at a bad point, her groin and legs felt like they were on fire, and they were too far away from the ropes too rely on that for relief. 'But... she can't be used to this.. so it must be straining her.. I can.. get free!' Alizeh thought to herself as she began thrashing, pulling and moving her legs as possible, bucking her hips and turning and twisting on her back, trying to cause enough movement for Sanae's grip to give way and free herself!

Even if she did so successfully however... Damage had been done. Significant damage and Alizeh would only be left pull her legs back and rub them softly, groaning in pain and more importantly... Vulnerable for any further attack from Sanae.

[CaptainL]

Sanae knew she was at a disadvantage. She knew that submissions were never her strong suit, but that she had been forced into a submission-only match nonetheless, and against a woman who far outstripped her in such a capacity. In fact, she was sure that Minami had set up such a situation on purpose, just to make it that much harder of a challenge to overcome. Yet, in the face of it all, she wouldn't back down, and she wouldn't let herself be intimidated. When she was challenged, she just had to push herself that much further in order to rise to that challenge. And if it took her having to master submissions on the fly, she was willing to do that - she had to prove that she wasn't going to give up so easily!

Still, there was only so much Sanae could do. She was still new to the submission game, especially compared to her opponent, and her body simply wasn't used to being forced into such positions. It was straining her just as much as it was straining Alizeh to hold herself in place, and even as she grit her teeth and tried to bear it, she could feel her spine popping and creaking against the effort. When Alizeh was fighting back, wriggling underneath her hold, it only made it that much harder to keep the position. Eventually, Sanae realized she had no choice. Just as Alizeh was working her way out, the aspiring idol let go, dropping to the mat and rolling aside.

She rose to her knees, panting for breath and rubbing at her side. The aches in her back flared up even hotter when she touched her spine, causing her to grimace. But she looked back up to see that Alizeh had taken just as much damage, and she too was slow to recover, sitting back up and nursing the pain in her legs. That gave Sanae hope. If she had dealt this much damage to Alizeh already, enough to slow her down...then her chances were looking up! She could keep the pressure on her!

With a smirk on her face, Sanae pushed herself back to her feet. She tightened a fist and nodded her head, readying her next move. Then, she took off in a charge across the ring to close back in on Alizeh - and, as she came close, she would drop down into a slide, using the momentum to drive the sole of her boot into the middleweight's gut!

[Bare]

Alizeh hadn't ever expected Sanae to adapt to submissions so well, otherwise she probably would have been much more ornery about it with their training. Rather Sanae made it clear she viewed herself as a highflyer and Alizeh respected that, looking to help the girl in that area, but still making sure to round Sanae out in spite of that in other areas. When it came to submissions Alizeh showed her the basics, instilling within Sanae some of the best technical fundamentals she could and making sure that if nothing else Sanae could at least recognize which holds were which, what made them dangerous and how to escape them.

Still even in a submission match such as this Alizeh only ever expected Sanae to go for more basic submissions and holds, things like camel clutches and boston crabs and the like. Stuff that can be done even by a complete amateur. Yet Sanae had shown out far beyond that, utilizing something Alizeh had never truly appreciated before, that being Sanae's adaptability and near photographic memory. Something that was now causing Alizeh a world of pain as Sanae slowly but surely took ownership of the moves Alizeh herself used and turned them around on Alizeh!

The latest of which being a banana stretch, a move that Alizeh had technically never even used on Sanae, so Alizeh wasn't sure how on earth the girl knew it or could perform it but that didn't matter. What did matter however was the fact that Sanae had secured the hold for far longer than Alizeh could really take and now, despite managing to force Sanae off of her for freedom Alizhe was still hurting all over in her lower half and was totally vulnerable to her opponent!

"Damn..." Alizeh whispered to herself softly as she tried to sit up, nursing her hurting legs in the process. Blind to what Sanae was doing until she looked up too late to see Sanae diving feet first into her! "Gah!" Alizeh cried out, getting knocked flat on her back, holding her gut and coughing up a storm as a result of the move!

[CaptainL]

Even after being forced to relinquish the banana split, Sanae was still grinning from ear to ear. She could hardly believe she was really doing it. This match had forced her to improvise and adapt on the fly; she didn't have enough time since the announcement to fully train herself in submissions, so she had to settle for watching clips of prior matches and holds. Without anyone to practice on or tell her she was doing it right, all she could do was hope for the best. But from how well the last hold had worked on Alizeh, evidently whatever Sanae was doing was working! Her heart beat even faster with excitement as she thought about how she was managing to measure up to an accomplished technical wrestler in Alizeh. Maybe she even stood a chance of taking her down - if that had worked so well, then anything was possible!

But Sanae couldn't slow down now. She had a strong start on Alizeh; now, she needed to keep on top of things to maintain her lead. The middleweight would still be weary, and after she had taken that much damage she would be slow to make a recovery. That gave Sanae some extra time to work with, and she was going to put that to good use, as she slid across the mat to drive her foot into Alizeh's gut, knocking her back down!

Now Alizeh was sprawling out on her back, sputtering and breathless. Sanae got back to her feet, dusting herself off. When she looked down at Alizeh, her smile grew even wider. When she had used the banana split before, that had only been a counter. That had been her seeing an opening and taking it, using what was available at the time. But this time, she was fully in control, with free reign to do what she wished. Now she could really get creative, and if Alizeh was watching, she had her chance to really impress her!

"Hey, Alizeh..." Sanae began, looking back over her shoulder at her friend. "Get a load of THIS one!" Bending down and taking hold of Alizeh's legs, Sanae would hook one of Alizeh's legs around the other before attempting to lift her off the ground and roll her onto her stomach, where, if successful, she would twist her back over for a Texas cloverleaf! Not only was it a devastating - and spectacular - move, Sanae was sure it would also cause further strain to Alizeh's legs, which could only work in her favor!

Spoiler

[Bare]

Alizeh was stuck in a poor position right now after a surprising string of effective technical offense from Sanae. Legs hurting, stomach hurting as well from being punted Alizeh was all but helpless before her tag team partner right now. 'Damn it, this isn't good. I need to figure out a way to turn things around and fast.' Alizeh thought to herself with a wince of pain still present on her face. Despite her wish for Sanae to do well Alizeh still had to fight for her own aspirations and ideals, for her spot to be considered for Apex, and a poor performance tonight would only be a detriment to that!

Unfortunately however Alizeh wasn't exactly in the right place or time to fight her way back just yet. She was still all too vulnerable, like a turtle kicked onto its side with its belly exposed. Or in this case her legs, because before Alizeh could do anything she suddenly found hers being grabbed by Sanae and folded in a all too familiar way. "Aghhhhh!" Screaming in pain as the Texas Cloverleaf submission was locked in Alizeh's reaction was immediate and loud as she screamed out in pain, clawing at her own hair with one hand and punching at the mat with the other.

Seeing the proud technician overtaken and worked over in such a way caused a stir in the crowd, with many cheering on either Sanae or Alizeh, egging both on to either keep it up or turn things around depending on where their allegiance lied. The ref for their part was quick to get close to Alizeh's level and ask if she wanted to quit, only to be silenced by a glare and grit teeth from Alizeh. If there was one thing Alizeh would do in a submission match, it was submit to a move named after her home state.

Besides... at this point, as much as Alizeh hated to admit she was getting used to the pain. At least, enough that between her clarity and familiarity with the move in question Alizeh at least had a solid idea of what to do in her current position. 'Sorry Sanae.. you aren't.. the only flexible one!' Alizeh thought to herself as she pushed her hands under her and started to roll herself out and under until her back was on the mat and she was able to look up at Sanae. "Sup." Alizeh said, voice laced with pain but also a teasing form of satisfaction before she reached up, grabbing hold of Sanae's legs by the knees and pulling forward, aiming to try and take Sanae's feet out from under her and land the girl square on her back!

If she were successful in the move Alizeh would then immediately try and go for her counter attack, knowing that time was of the essence with how much fresher Sanae was right now. So raising one leg up Alizeh attempted to bring it down, square on Sanae's stomach to knock the air out of the idol hopeful! If successful Alizeh would attempt to roll Sanae over before grabbing at her legs and crossing them over each other for a leg submission of Alizeh's own! "How about this one Sanae!?" Alizeh would ask back to Sanae, keeping up the banter while pushing down on Sanae's leg for a innovative submission of her own!

Spoiler

[CaptainL]

Submission moves had never exactly been Sanae's strongest suit. But that didn't matter to her now - it wouldn't change the fact that she was still in a submission match against a submission expert, and she was going to have to adapt if she wanted to rise to the challenge that had been placed on her! She needed to push herself even further past her limits, forcing herself out of her comfort zone and into new and unfamiliar territory. But so far, that had been going well enough for her. With each successful hold she managed to get Alizeh locked into, Sanae's confidence was growing more and more. Her smile began to widen, and her heart quickened with excitement. No longer did the task in front of her seem daunting or overpowering. She knew that her efforts had paid off before, and she could make that same magic happen again! That was what pushed her onward as she took hold of Alizeh's legs, bending them back into a Texas cloverleaf - and, when she leaned backward to put the pressure on Alizeh's back, and when she heard the roar of pain coming from her more experienced foe, it almost made her gasp. Against all odds, she was actually doing it!

The crowd cheered even louder for Sanae's incredible efforts, and the green-haired girl smiled even wider, proudly puffing out her chest as she turned her head to the sky, in the process leaning back a little further to crank harder at Alizeh's spine. But for all of Sanae's luck and adaptability, nothing would change that she was still Alizeh's junior when it came to experience, both in wrestling in general and submissions in particular. Sanae might have been a quick learner, but Alizeh already knew all the ins and outs of the cloverleaf hold, and she knew just how to counter.

She managed to get her hands beneath her on the mat, bracing herself and fighting back at the pressure with which her opponent tried to keep her down. The two of them entered a tug of war; with each second they cranked back and forth, countering out each ounce of pressure they put on each other with the opposite force. Little by little, Alizeh began to rise, and slowly she turned herself around to slip free of the hold. As she felt her inch her way out, Sanae clenched her teeth and tightened the hold further to fight back, but it was already too late.

When Alizeh finally lifted her head to look Sanae in the eye, it was enough to make the crowd cheer her for such an incredible comeback in the face of danger! When Sanae looked down at her, she let out a gasp, her jaw dropping. In the process, her position slipped just a little - which gave Alizeh all the slack she needed to grab her by the legs and pull forward, sending Sanae tumbling over herself and off of Alizeh!

She dropped to her back with a groan, her arms and legs falling flat at her sides. Once again, it was time for the momentum to reverse - this time, it was Alizeh's turn to seize the advantage, delivering a hard stomp right into Sanae's gut! The impact knocked the air out of her lungs, sending her gasping and sputtering as she fell back flat against the mat. And from there, Alizeh was able to turn her foe over and twist Sanae's legs around her own, anchoring the two into position, and putting the strain on Sanae's spine!

Sanae could feel her legs twisted into a lock, and no matter how much she tried to struggle and to break free, her own legs wouldn't budge! The pressure was building, and her spine shuddered with each inch it sunk lower, the angle growing steeper and steeper! She could answer her opponent's taunts only with a scream of pain - but she stretched her arm out in front of her nonetheless, waving her hand in the air and pawing at the ground. She reached down for a handful of the canvas to drag herself forward - she knew she had to get to the ropes before her body gave out!

[Bare]

Alizeh and Sanae's match was reaching a new level of intensity for their rematch. Something that was already beginning to overshadow their first match regardless of why this happened and what Alizeh and Sanae were fighting for. But that didn't change a damn thing. The two green haired girls were going at it with everything they had, nothing more, nothing less. At least that's how it was for Alizeh, already Apex, her recent beef with Mindy, even the doubts of this match was gone. Instead being at Sanae's mercy for so long and exposed to her competitive flame had reignited Alizeh's own fighting spirit to a whole new level. Something she was eager to show Sanae after being on the back foot for so much of the early parts of this match.

So after managing to successfully escape Sanae's Texas Cloverleaf Alizeh promptly fought back, smacking at Sanae to cause distraction. Not a long one. Just enough for Alizeh to do what she had too, and she would do so expertly. Managing to get Sanae over onto her stomach Alizeh would proceed to trap the aspiring idol in a positively brutal submission hold, one that left Sanae without many avenues of escape regardless of what she did.

That didn't stop the smaller girl though, not one bit. In fact despite the seemingly inescapable nature of the hold almost everyone was sure someone would find the weakness to it, and that weakness was the lack of control over the arms, while the one to find it... None other than Sanae herself who began dragging her way to the ropes. 'Damn.' Alizeh thought to herself, not wanting Sanae to get free yet but there wasn't exactly much she could do to stop it...'

'In for a penny.' Alizeh thought to herself as she saw how much closer the were getting to the ropes and knowing she had to do something quick to at least stall Sanae's progres. As a result Alizeh lifted her leg up, holding it ominously in the air over Sanae... Before bringing the limb down, smashing her foot into Sanae's back over and over, trying to make Sanae pay for every inch of distance covered with pain before she could get a rope break, or IF should this hold work the way Alizeh wanted!