A by the Numbers Match... or Something! (Mary vs. 623)

[dlamp]

Standard Match
Win via Pinfall, Knockout, or Submission

"I know it's pronounced 'Matsumi' but... why?" There were a lot of weirdos in the Young Lioness program. Mary would know, she was one of those weirdos. Ex-circus performers, a few tech nerds, and... whatever the hell Sheila was. But... despite all the weirdos Mary didn't know anyone that'd use numbers for their name. She knew the explanation, it was basically a pun, but... it was still weird, even by the standards of resident horror-weirdo Mary it was weird. Still, it'd be an interesting match. She knew a bit about 623. She wasn't some math-loving numbers nerd like her name might imply, but instead a hard-hitting, no-nonsense karateka with a passion for punching, wrestling, and showing off her well did both those things. Mary could respect that. She always liked the straight shooters, those that had a very serious aura to them.

After all, they were the ones that were the most fun to scare silly.

Spoiler

As her theme came on the lights dimmed, and Mary's glowing visage was soon staring the crowd right in the face as they gasped in shock. And then... Mary immediately darted forward, making a very literally mad dash toward the ring. Arms behind, body swaying in a seemingly unbalance fashion as if she lost control over her torso. She ran a blazing speed before hopping right into the ring under the first rope. The referee, already frazzled by the sight, took a step back as Mari immediate bounced up and flashed the crowd an eerie grin, one that barely reached her eyes. And the audience shuddered at the sight before the lights came on in full and Mary marched over to her corner.

It was going to be a good night tonight.

[Knocked]

The lights were kept dim, keeping the atmosphere of the place murky as Mary waited for her opponent. Then, frenetic progressive rock began to play, heralding the arrival of the other participant of this very match between rookies of the League of Anime Wrestling. By the time the percussion hit from the song at 29 seconds in, 623 burst in, wearing a boxing robe on top of her modest wrestling leotard. She also seems to be possessing a wooden baseball bat in hand, which she rests on her shoulder idly.

As the spotlight focused on her, she did an up-kick in a casual manner to the uproar of the crowd as in comparison to Mary, Matsumi was content to walk her portion down the ramp, circling around the ring for a lap after approaching it, before she slid the bat to her corner of the ring, giving a passing nod to the young lionesses at ringside whilst grabbing hold of the bottom rope to propel herself into the ring! With a light thud from wrestling shoes landing against the canvas, she grabbed hold of the bat, letting her hands rest on the handle as she props it up, the other end touching the mat as the music eventually fades out.

With the ever enigmatic ring announcer stepping on forth, the introductions are now beginning to set in place as a way to establish both wrestlers. "This is a standard match between two of our Young Lionesses, and their very first! To my left in the blue corner, she is a 2nd Dan Black Belt in Kyokushin Karate and has been next to undefeated in competition! Introducing forth, the Shooter Classic, 623!"

Upon having her ring name called, she slams down the tip of the bat into the ground, lining it up as her rear leg reared back, before swinging forwards suddenly, striking at the sporting equipment and snapping it in two with a loud CRACK. She then afterwards struck out a pose, with a loud "OSU!" as she did so to the roars of a cheering audience.

It seems clear that Matsumi really means business.

Music

623

[dlamp]

Mary's eye lit up as the lights maintained their low shine. Apparently her opponent also wanted a bit of atmosphere to their entrance. Oh, this oughta' be good! The moment the rock music kicked in couldn't contain her giddy expression. Donned in a boxing robe that comfortably hid her attire underneath and wielding a bat, 623 had arrived onto the scene. Mary watched as the woman ran laps around the ring (quite literally too!), gathering hype and attention from the crowd. Oooh~ I gotta' try that next time! The idea of doing a zombie run around the ring to get the crowd nice and unsettled sounded nice, she'd have to thank her fellow Lioness for the idea after the match.

And just as her number-loving opponent came into the ring with the bat quickly in her hands as the announcer listed off all of 623's titles and accolades said a lot. She couldn't help but grin even wider at the list. Despite being in training as well, the woman had quite the record on her. And soon after that announcement 623 was set to prove her titles earned, setting up the bat not as an impromptu weapon, but an example of her skill as she snapped the wooden bat in half with a single kick, getting praise from both the crowd and Mary both as she clapped along with them.

"Yo!" Mary gave a wave, a cheeky grin on her face as she hobbled over toward the center of the ring. "Pretty sweet kick there Matsumi-chan! But... this ain't exactly a karate dojo." She said, giving her rival nonchalant shrug. "I mean... unless you want it to turn into one?" She flashed the woman a grin, raising her fists in a mock fighting stance, a pretty clear exaggeration of a karate stance with her legs just a bit too wide for stability. "I mean, the trainers tell me I got a pretty wicked flying kick. Wanna' be the first victim of it?"

[Knocked]

Tilting her neck side to side as she heard the Skeleton's remarks, she dug a finger into her ear, twisting the digit as if to imply she didn't hear much from her concurrent opponent, before she got to work on taking off her robe. Untying the string that held it in place, she pulled the collar over herself once it became loose, removing the entrance garment in one fell swoop! Setting it down on the canvas where one of the ringside Young Lionesses took it away, she would then place a hand behind her back, the other in a beckoning gesture outstretched towards Skeleton Mary as her face contorted into a smug grin, raising an eyebrow as well, evocative of a certain boulder of a wrestler.

"I'd like to see you try it on me, Mary-chan. I've heard about your exploits here and there, but I'll wipe that paint off your face soon!"

She would remark, as the announcer then continued the introductions, the girl's blue suit shining in the ceiling lights as she pointed over to Mary, mic still in hand as she would usher in Matsumi's opponent for tonight, and her very first in the big leagues. One that could very much turn the tides if 623 doesn't take her seriously, as Mary may be a complete wild-card despite looking like a comedy wrestler.

"To my right in the Red corner, is the Mistress of Mischief, the Savant of Scares, the one and only... SKELETON MARY!!!"

[dlamp]

"Oh, daring~" Mary's grin widened, the crowd oohing at the comeback as it sounded throughout the stadium. Honestly, Mary didn't expect someone that came in so straitlaced to actually talk back, but it was a hell of a lot more fun to gave a partner like this. Well, at least before Mary kicked, slammed, and scared the daylights out of them. And given her straightforward, karate friend over there that might actually be a bit difficult. And soon after Mary's official introduction by the announcer the skeleton girl responded by slammed a fist into her palm, mimicking her opponents' tough-girl persona a little.

"Oh, you'll hear a bit more after tonight, Matsumi-chan. I might give you nightmares after this!" She bounced on the balls of her feet, grinning. "Maybe they'll give me a black belt after this one? That's how it works, right? Beat a black belt, get a black belt? It'd match my outfit at least."

*DING!*

And with that last taunt out the way, the match was officially on.

[Knocked]

"Perhaps. Why don't we make this a bet?" Matsumi chided as she got into a stance, preparing for what's to come. Hands raised and palms facing towards Mary, whilst standing on her back leg, front leg bouncing idly. She would be forgiven for comparing it to a more conventional Muay Thai stance than one of Karate.

As the announcer went away and slid out of the ring to point at the timekeepers to sound the bell, the fight was on! Matsumi squatted down, one leg digging into the ring mat as her course of action right now is something that might be unexpected to the other young lioness in the ring. Soon enough, 623 was bolting like a madwoman towards Mary with fury in her eyes, sprinting towards her opponent like a bull towards a matador!

Once she nears her and by extension, her corner, she would leap up mid-dash, trying to catch the unsuspecting Skeleton with a flying knee. Whatever the result it would be, it would send her (or both) crashing towards the turnbuckles and ropes due to the kamikaze attack performed at the start of the match.

[dlamp]

"Hehehe~" The smug grin on Mary's face remained plastered on, scanning over her opponent, keeping to her mock-stance for flair. Taunting aside, she hadn't really seen much of Matsumi's abilities in the ring either save for that kick she just witnessed. She knew the girl was a karate fighter, but that was it. She expected a lot of punches, kicks, and strikes, but... that was really it. And for a hit-and-run, flying gal like Mary it'd be tough to get around someone constantly on her. Miiight have to play this one smart. I want that black belt after all~

*DING!*

And the moment the bell sounded off Matsumi came in hot, running at her with blistering speed and leap up for a knee strike. "Whoa- GRAH!" One that cleanly met its mark against Mary's chest as it completely caught the Skeleton Girl off guard and rattled her bones good, slamming her light body right into the turnbuckles where she pushed down on her legs to keep standing. "A-Agh..." And it hurt, Mary felt the sting right into her sternum and was left gasping for air as a result.

[Knocked]

As 623 crashed into Mary knee first, she stumbled backwards due to the lopsided way she landed that knee. Grabbing hold of the ropes to balance herself and to keep her own body from falling over afterwards, she was intent on keeping up the pressure and not letting this opportunity pass up, she composed herself, straightening herself out to immediately start firing away on all cylinders, releasing a wave of Knife-Edge Chops and Elbow Strikes whilst Mary was trapped in her corner, trying to keep the skeleton there as she had an advantage at this position of the ring.

"ORA, ORAAA!"

Matsumi clearly was not messing around with this whole ordeal, as she made a hissing noise every time she threw her intense rush of strikes with conviction, making sure she'd not easily give up her belt without a hard-earned fight and to make a strong showing to her fellow Young Lionesses, and the audience. She was intent on victory within the confines of the rules.

Chop & Elbow Rush

[dlamp]

"Gruh-! Ugr-!" And the moment Mary was against the corner 623 kept the pressure up with some hard strikes and chops that proved the woman's martial background, each hit knocking Mary's body about within the corner. The string of each strike reached right into her flesh and bones, forcing her knees to buckle at the assault. And the crowd both winces and awed at the sight of such an early offense, seeing the sweat start to rise from Mary's painted body.

"Raagh!" But Mary could play that game too. The strikes were hard, they definitely hurt, but she could take it. Her body wasn't that fragile despite what her skeleton gimmick implied, and she shot her leg out toward Minami's shin to try forcing her to back away.

[Knocked]

As she chopped and elbowed away, she didn't see what was coming after, getting too aggressive in her approach almost immediately, leaving Matsumi open for a little razing kick aimed at her shins in the midst of one of her oncoming strikes! This made her promptly lose balance, causing her to undershoot her elbow, and made her head ram forward... Into Mary's chest. Normally the circumstances would've been different had she had a bit of bust to her, but she was like a wooden board: Flat.

It wasn't that hard of a collision in the first place due to its unintentional nature as a side effect of Mary's efforts, but it technically meant that Matsumi was still keeping her up close and personal, against the turnbuckle.