Sanae Saitou vs. Toshimi Minami - Submisson Match

[CaptainL]

It was ironic - Sanae had set out to show she wouldn't bow to Minami's whims. Her very presence in Apex was an act of defiance, a challenge to anyone who believed she wasn't capable and that she wasn't worthy of being in the main event. She wanted to prove that no matter what her ultimate goals were, she took her time in wrestling just as seriously as her lifelong dream of becoming an idol, and she was going to commit to it wholeheartedly. But Minami already knew that - and she had planned accordingly. She used Sanae's stubbornness and her desperation to prove herself against her, leading her along by a string to set her up for just the sorts of tricks she had in mind to get the upper hand! And for now, at least...it was working. Sanae had fallen into her trap, and now Minami had her caught up in the shame hold!

Sanae wasn't going to say it wasn't embarrassing to be stuck in a compromising position like this. It was - her face was growing red, and sweat was beading on her brow with her rising anxiety. She knew that every eye and camera in the arena was pointed right at her crotch as her shorts rode up further and further between her legs, and that the moment would be captured in all its high-definition glory for the paying audiences at home. But she knew that this was exactly what Minami wanted. She wanted Sanae to fold and crumple, to surrender her dignity and admit defeat. But Sanae was here to prove she was better than that. She wanted to show the world she could still fight - and when she called back to Minami, she told her as much!

But Sanae was calling out a submission master, telling her to do better. She was poking the bear, and Minami was about to demonstrate the folly of her actions. Just then, she rolled to the side, moving one leg back to ensnare Sanae's leg while she held the other with her hands - and pried them apart with a banana split!

Once again, the aspiring idol's crotch was on full display; the camera could see every bit of the fabric pulling tighter and tighter against her smooth thighs, and the sweat beading on the inside of her legs. But this time, it hurt even worse! Her legs were being wrenched in either direction with enough force to feel as though they could be pulled out of their sockets! Sanae threw her head back, letting loose a wail of agony. Her eyes squeezed shut, but not even that could stop the tears running down her reddening cheeks. If nothing else, she couldn't say that Minami hadn't lived up to her challenge...

But then, something hit Sanae. As she stopped to pant for breath, when her scream ran through the last bit of air in her lungs, she noticed this hold was familiar - she used it herself, in her match against Alizeh. Multiple times, in fact, refining on the technique each time! Even when her legs still felt like jelly, Sanae couldn't help but smirk. Minami had surely been studying her qualifier matches closely...but if she thought she could use this move on her, she had made a serious lapse in judgment. Sanae already knew how the banana split worked. And she knew how she could counter it, too!

Even through her weary voice, Sanae managed a chuckle. "You think...that's going to stop me..?" she said, in between pants. Then, she attempted to roll forward to flip herself over Minami, hopefully forcing her to release her grip in the process! She hissed through her teeth as she craned her spine into an arc to tip herself over - it would cause no shortage of strain on her own body to do so. But it was worth it if she could save herself, and more importantly, show Minami she wasn't giving up!

[Bare]

Minami was no fool. She knew very well that the leg split was a move Sanae had used in her match against Alizeh, and in general was something the wanna be idol had used a few times. Despite this however Minami didn't expect much of the girl or her ability to defend against the move itself. This was perhaps the first and foremost mistake Minami made. Her own arrogance in her own ability and simultaneous underestimation of Sanae leaving the veteran blind to the girl's actual abilities.

As such Sanae had, despite all odds shot back at Minami with a down right defiant tone. One that made the Venus of Submission's eyes narrow dangerously as she prepared to add another tug to the girls legs... well up until the green haired girl managed to push herself up and over Minami's legs and tearing the girl's other leg from Minami's hands. Eyes widening in shock Minami would grunt as Sanae landed almost right on top of her. "Get off me!" Minami would hiss as she looked to shove Sanae away from herself to gain some distance as she rolled away with an annoyed click of her tongue.

Clearly Sanae was going to be stubborn all the way through, much to Minami's growing chagrin. But fine if thats how Sanae wanted to play it, so be it, Minami would just be sure to thoroughly punish the girl once she had her in her clutches once again. Getting up to her feet Minami would glare at Sanae, just knowing that the toll of the submissions Minami used had likely done a number on the girl's body and would likely leave her worn out and a easy target for more moves from Minami. In fact reaching forward the veteran would look to seize a handful of Sanae's hair to pull her up to lock eyes with Minami. "You have such a smart mouth don't you!?" Minami demanded as she swung her hand forward to lay into Sanae with a disrespectful slap to the face! "Well what do you have to back it up?! Huh?!" Minami snapped as she swung her arm back around for a backhanded slap if Sanae didn't do anything!

[CaptainL]

As soon as Sanae felt Minami's hands drop away from her leg, the smile grew a little wider across her face. It meant that the pain would stop, it meant she had escaped - and most importantly, it meant that she wasn't going to let the Venus of Submissions boss her around! Already, that meant she was succeeding at one of the things she had set out to do tonight. And it meant that the possibility existed that Sanae could accomplish so much more.

Before she had the chance to press her advantage, however, Minami shoved her off. The green-haired girl rolled aside, tumbling a few times before she righted herself on her hands and knees. She needed a moment to catch her breath - and when she did, she was reminded once again of the soreness in her legs. She might have been encouraged by her success, but she'd still had her legs wrenched out to the sides, further than they were ever meant to go, and even when she had rolled over Minami it had put a fair amount of strain on her joints. It may have gotten Sanae her freedom, but the lingering damage it did was going to hold her back. That caught up with her now, as she hunkered down and grabbed at her leg as she let out a pained hiss under her breath when the sensation ran back up through her nerves. It would also leave her open for Minami to take advantage of - as she grabbed the girl by the hair, yanking her up to her knees before landing a couple of slaps across her face!

Sanae let out a yelp, her head turning this way and that with a crack as Minami knocked it in either direction. The crowd booed her for the disrespect she showed toward her foe, but it wasn't slowing Minami down. Sanae was left on her knees, her shoulders heaving as she gasped for air just to try and get it back in her lungs. But she knew she couldn't afford to do this. The slaps hurt, but what hurt more was that she was letting Minami get the last word - that she was being belittled and talked down to and she had nothing to say in her defense!

Sanae realized then that she had enough. She looked back up at Minami, her eye twitching and her face still showing the red mark where her opponent's slap had landed, but she glared at her in defiance all the same. "You think...I'm all talk? Then...let me show you something-!" With both hands, Sanae grabbed for the wrist holding her hair, attempting to pry it off of her - and at the same time, to twist backward on Minami's wrist to deal some damage. It wouldn't be a lot, but Sanae wasn't about to go down without a fight!

[Bare]

When this match started, despite Minami's feelings towards Sanae, she had gone into this match feeling confident and even relaxed, not taking her younger opponent seriously enough to warrant much else. Now however Sanae was fighting back, showing glimmers of something that Minami refused to recognize about the girl, that she could be a threat. That was really starting to piss Minami off more than anything. Luckily despite the escape Sanae had managed Minami was able to stay on top of her, picking her up by the hair and laying into her with multiple slaps to the face, hitting her hard and rattling her in between asking some not so nice questions to also rattle her confidence in addition to her brain.

Knocking the girl's head for a loop however apparently wasn't enough. As her hand went in for another slap Minami's eyes would widen slightly seeing that her hand was grabbed and held rather tightly by Sanae in a vice grip. "Damn you..." She hissed out angrily as she tried to pull her arm away from the girl only to be unable with how tight it was, or before Sanae pulled back on her hand, bending it painfully. "Agh!" Minami yelped out, her face cringing in pain from the move Minami would glare at Sanae before raising her other hand over her head and swinging it down to slam her fist into Sanae's face! "Release me!" Minami snapped out furiously to try and force her release from Sanae so she could back away and nurse her wrist a bit.

[CaptainL]

With her face still stinging from Minami's slaps, and with the veteran holding her in place by the hair, Sanae wasn't able to do much to resist. But there was something - and as long as the green-haired girl had a chance, she was going to do whatever she could to make it count! With her eye narrowed into a squint and her teeth clenched, Sanae grabbed at the hand with which Minami held onto her tresses, yanking upward as hard as she could at her wrist. Not only would this hopefully weaken her hold and allow Sanae to gain back more ground, she could do damage with it in the process - and sure enough, the pressure on her scalp slowly began to slip away, until Minami's hand was being wrenched backward with a wristlock! A confident grin flashed across Sanae's face in that moment. Not only had she dealt some damage to her seemingly unshakable foe, she was using careful joint locks and counters - the same techniques that Minami herself was known for! Every move Sanae made was a calculated effort to prove Minami was wrong to underestimate her. And from the looks of it, it was working!

Sanae wouldn't have long to be smug, however. Minami would soon pay her back for her efforts with a sharp jab to the face! As the blow struck, the aspiring idol's head cracked backward, and she let out a yelp as she was forced to drop Minami's wrist, with both hands shooting up to shield her skull. She took a few steps backward, stumbling and rubbing at her face to dull the pain. But when she looked back at her opponent, her eyes settled on Minami with a glare. Even if it hurt, she wasn't about to let up on the pressure she was putting on the former Wrestle Angel. She couldn't give her even a moment to relax, lest she think Sanae was done for!

"I'm not done yet!!" Sanae shouted, taking off toward Minami. As she came close, she would leap off the ground and swing her arm to try and catch the older woman by her head, to bring her down in a bulldog!

[Bare]

Minami had thought she had done a good job breaking Sanae down both physically and mentally over their journey to Apex. Forcing the girl to fight her friend, as well as her own student, both matches that had been physically gruelling and mentally torturous in their own ways. Frankly Minami had been more shocked Sanae made it to Apex at all but she had worked with it. Continuing to physically torture Sanae with twisted submissions and painful moves, on top of mocking the girl relentlessly and aiming to humiliate her as much as humanly possible while breaking down that foolish prideful mentality of Sanae's. Something that had really irked her up until now.

But even with that in mind that damn brat was still not giving up. She even had the audacity to grab Minami's hand and twist it in a painful wrist lock. Something that Minami recognized as a move from her own playbook. After all it wasn't hard, she was the master of technical moves and joint locks, so she would absolutely be able to recognize when such moves were used back against her. It was damn aggravating that Sanae had the utter gall to do so to her. Something she would be sure to make the girl pay for, starting with a painful smack on the chin with her elbow. Turning instinctively as she raised her hand Minami would nurse her wrist, trying to soothe the throbbing that was coursing through the joint.

Unfortunately the veteran would take just a few seconds too long doing so. Looking up as she heard running Minami's eyes would widen seeing Sanae take to the air, too slow to react before Minami found her head seized by Sanae and her body was soon taken for a ride, her feet leaving the mat almost instantly before getting spiked head first into the mat with a bulldog! "Ngh!" She yelled out in pain, bouncing off the mat before instinctively covering her head with her hands to nurse the now sore area, but now officially vulnerable to Sanae's attacks!

[CaptainL]

Sanae's heart was pounding in her chest. Her veins were surging with adrenaline. When she saw Minami's head slam into the canvas at her side, she knew she was doing what she would have thought impossible just a few months ago, when the Venus of Submissions had first issued the challenge. She was actually doing this - she was standing up to a well-accomplished veteran wrestler, she was holding her own, and now, that same veteran was left sprawled out on the mat, stunned, all at Sanae's hands. Minami wasn't a terrifying insurmountable obstacle any more, the kind who Sanae was terrified by even the prospect of facing. Now, she could hurt her. And if she hurt her...she could beat her.

Sanae saw her opportunity, and she wasn't about to let it slip away. She wouldn't waste any time - as soon as Minami had gone down, she pounced on top of her, attempting to tackle her against the mat beneath her weight! If she could keep Minami down, she would have her set up for her next move, one that would be thrown with just as much force and passion behind it! Roaring in defiance, she reached out to grab for the veteran's jaw, attempting to pull her head back in a camel clutch to put pressure on her spine! Before, when Sanae had dealt with Minami, she had feigned confidence, trying to make her believe she felt ready when there was always that fear at the back of her mind that she wouldn't be enough. Now, though, it was different - now, when she told Minami she could take her down, she believed everything she said!

"I'm not letting go!!"

[Bare]

Minami's eyes were wide with shock and even horror. Not just from the nasty bulldog that sent her head careening with the mat, but from the fact it was damned Sanae that had done it. Never did Minami expect the girl to land that kind of offense on her, hell she expected some resistance when heading into this match, but true offense? It seemed so astronomical to the Venus of Submissions that she honestly didn't know how to process it for a good minute. Soon though this stupor would get wiped away the moment she felt a familiar weight tackle into her from above.

"Saitou..." Minami growled out under her breath with what could only be described as pure and unadulterated hate towards the girl. Feeling the weight drop down onto her back Minami already knew what was about to happen but wasn't able to stop it as she felt her head pulled back into the camel clutch! "Ngh!" Releasing a hitched groan of pain Minami would waste no time pulling her arms free and sending her hands immediately to Sanae's own over her chin. There was a reason Minami was known as the foremost submission expert in the world and if Sanae wanted to play at submissions... fine Minami would teach her. Starting by grabbing at the fingers around her chin and pulling them as far back as they would go to force Sanae to abandon her move!

[CaptainL]

Sanae heard what Minami had said. She had heard the disdain in her voice. She knew that her opponent felt nothing toward her but disgust, and that she deemed losing to someone like her to be not just unimagineable but unforgiveable. The green-haired girl grew stiff, her teeth clenching in a snarl as she came down on top of Minami. Knowing how much her opponent looked down on her was motivating her all the more to fight her hardest, just to prove how wrong Minami was. And more than that, she wanted to let the world know she was exceeding all expectations! The idol spirit in her wanted everyone to see her at her best and to cheer her on, and there was no better occasion than this one!

"That's right!!" Sanae shouted as her fingers coiled tighter around Minami's jaw, while her legs wrapped her arms as she clambored onto her shoulders. She hissed through her teeth, yanking back with her whole body; her head and shoulders bent into an arc as she gathered as much force as she possibly could behind her grip. "THIS is the girl you've looked down on this whole time! Who you never thought could do it! And I'm going to prove you wrong!!"

Still, for as much fire as Sanae had in her, nothing could change the fact that she was up against a world-class submission expert. And Minami was just as versed in getting out of holds like these as she was in applying them. Her arms slipped free from Sanae's legs, which caused the green-haired girl to teeter backward with a gasp as her balance was shaken. Still, she was holding on for dear life, intent on wringing everything she could out of this hold. Even as Minami fought back, struggling despertately to pry Sanae's fingers off of her, she held tight - up until, between the growing fatigue and Minami's resistance, she simply could no more, and her grip finally slipped!

Sanae's hands gave way from Minami's jaw, falling free. Now without Minami's head to anchor her upright, the arcing motion of her body worked against her, and she began to tip backward, letting out a yelp as she lost her balance. But even if Sanae was going down, it wouldn't be without a fight! She had worked hard to attain the position she did, and she needed to exploit it as much as possible! As she fell, she kicked out with her legs, attempting to grab Minami's head between her thighs from behind and apply a headscissor!

[Bare]

It was evident now to Toshimi that the frustration and anger from her various taunts and jeers towards Sanae from the moment they met till now had all bubbled up to the surface for the girl, and she was now in a furious state. One that made even the great Toshimi Minami grunt and groan in pain from the girl's submission, even if it was a more basic one. Naturally Minami wasn't having any of it though as she pried and dug at Sanae's fingers. Not just trying to lift them up but bend them back just to make it all the more painful for Sanae to experience to make ehr let go sooner and faster.

Similar to Minami's own provocations towards the girl however, Sanae's own declaration of her growing skill and confidence in comparison to the veteran's was only serving to make Minami madder by the second. The utter gall of Sanae to act as big as she was right now, to talk to her like that, it was absolutely infuriating for Minami to even conceive and she would damn well show Sanae the error of her ways.

Soon enough Minami's efforts in prying at Sanae's hands would bear fruit and force the girl to not only let go but fall backwards as well, in turn freeing Minami in the process. Or so she thought at least. Before suddenly feeling a pair of silky yet strong legs wrap around her neck for a constricting scissor hold before Sanae could fall too far away from her! "Nghhh!" Grunting in pain from the squeeze it was made all the worse by the fact that technically Sanae was behind Minami while also partially pulling her upper body up, bending her back and making it harder for her to focus, let alone reach up to try and pry at Sanae's legs and pull them apart for some space!