Finding One's Thorns I: Aoi Hoshino vs Rosie Knuckles

[Misfit_Alien]

Aoi lets out a painful huff, gasping and coughing a bit after having floored Rosie with a powerful attack. She takes a second to breathe and recollect herself, needing a moment to do so...and now was better than any other time considering her opponent's current condition. Meanwhile, as Rosie lay on the canvas without a single twitch or shake, the referee stepped over to check on Rosie and they went to lift up her arm to test for any responsiveness or signs of consciousness. Rosie's arm gets lifted up into the air, the referee lets go, and-

[Dubski]

The referee had lifted up Rosie's hand once, and she immediately used it to shove away the referee from her, groaning on the mat through gritted teeth. The axe kick had hurt like hell, but it was hardly about to stay down from it. Eventually, she pushed her face off the mat with a grunt of exertion, getting to her knees and throwing her head back, one hand moving to clutch the back of her head. "Fucking... shit," remarked Rosie Knuckles, wincing.

Pounding her other hand on the mat, Knuckles got up to her feet and shook her head clear, trying to wipe out the stars from the back of her eyes. "That better not be the best you got... because if it is, your ass is in trouble," said the Pink-Haired Pugilist bitterly, shaking out her hurt leg once before adopting a boxing pose again.

[Misfit_Alien]

Aoi was annoyed that Rosie was still fighting. It was already hard enough trying to knock her down once, now it appeared like she was stronger than ever...while also looking more pissed off than ever. Rosie was used to this kinda stuff, it made sense considering who she was. Meaning, she had PLENTY of stamina left. Oh well, Aoi knew it wasn't going to be easy. Though, in a way, that's exactly what she was asking for...she wanted credibility, if it was easy, no one would bat an eye. So when Rosie stood back up, Aoi let out a huff but shortly after, she took in a deep breath and smirked.

"Course not...I came here to win. I wouldn't challenge you without thinking I had a shot, however slim it may be." She said, getting a stance of her own. "Now bring it!!" She said.

[Dubski]

"However slim..." Rosie said, repeating her opponent's words before rolling her eyes and laughing. "You absolute chicken shit. You're not winning anything with that half-cocked confidence," continued Knuckles. She hated that attitude.

But still, she was ready to shut up her opponent once and for all as she stepped forward feinting a cross towards Hoshino's face before ducking down and throwing a jab for her gut, hoping to absolutely blast Aoi and leave her utterly winded for what may come next!

[Misfit_Alien]

Aoi's eyes widened as Rosie rushed her, catching her off guard with that feint as she left just enough room for that jab to come in and crash into her stomach, forcing her to grunt and cough. She backs up, stumbling a bit, trying to quickly toss a kick toward Rosie's body in order to put some distance between her and the pink-haired pugilist.

[Dubski]

Having nailed Aoi in the gut, Rosie was grinning as she watched her opponent stagger back. With a big grin on her face, she watched Hoshino, loving every second of this brawl.

Then the kick came after, hitting Rosie in the stomach and making her step back a pace or two, holding her midsection with one hand with a groan. "Really sick or you..." muttered Knuckles before stepping forward and firing an uppercut right for Aoi's chin!

[Misfit_Alien]

The uppercut connects and Aoi's head is knocked upwards, forcing her to stumble back into some ropes, almost falling over them and spilling out of the ring to the outside. She wipes her chin, feeling the metallic taste of blood in her mouth. She growls, the exhaustion and soreness in her muscles beginning to really compound and hit her all at once. She puts her fists back into place and stares Rosie down, not backing away as she charges in with a spear tackle right for the woman's midsection.

[Dubski]

Rosie Knuckles smirked as she watched Aoi stagger back towards the ropes smirking and confidently shrugging at the crowd before looking back at Hoshino still standing. Leaning back a bit and groaning, Rosie rolled her eyes. "For fuck sake..." muttered the Pink-Haired Pugilist before adopting another boxing pose, only to be tackled almost immediately by her opponent again.

Knuckles landed on her back, holding onto Aoi and sent a few clubbing blows to her back, gritting her teeth before wrestling her over onto her back. From there, she began to lay punches for Aoi's face, sending one, two, three, four--but the referee was demanding her off. Rosie felt the referee grab at her shoulder as she began counting for her to get off of Hoshino.

Then, Rosie Knuckles suddenly got up and got into the referee's face, backing the poor official towards one of the corners with Rosie even looking up at her. "You don't touch me when I'm trying to get my win!" shouted Rosie before turning away from the referee and pounding her chest, looking out at the crowd. "Because I'm the god damn greatest! Don't get it twisted!" And then Rosie held up a fist in the air, looking as fierce as ever before suddenly putting an arm to her midsection, having just been the target of that tackle.

[Misfit_Alien]

Aoi crashed into Rosie, taking her down to the ground as she tried to fight back. Several of Rosie's punches landed dead center, knocking around Aoi and stunning her further, forcing her to go numb and limp as each successive hit began to wear her down. Her eyes faded and became glassy, she was starting to see flashes of white amongst all the black that had begun to settle in her vision. She tried to fight back but her body betrayed her, ignoring all commands as it started to shut down on her. She was laid out on the canvas, having used up the last of her energy in this harrowing bout.

She started to get back up, the referee standing over her on standby, ready to call it either way. In a show of defiance, she pushed herself up further and further, almost getting to her feet before she crashed back down to the canvas on her side, coughing and sputtering, silently cursing herself for not being able to rise once more. However, she didn't cry or pout, nor did she whine or complain...while there was some disappointment, there was no sight of regret or lack of self-confidence. She had the drive and the will to keep going, but unlike the trained lightweight scrapper that was Rosie Knuckles, she didn't quite have the body for it yet. So, as her body hit the floor for the last time, the referee called off the match as Aoi slowly slipped into unconsciousness, hair draping over her face as she lay in a heap...

However, some people were actually CHEERING for her...but she had lost, but even so, it was a start to the rookie gaining some traction and respect. Though she was beaten, she took a chance to go out and claim some respect for herself. In a way, she had succeeded in the end somewhat...but she wouldn't be awake enough to realize it.

[Dubski]

While Rosie Knuckles was popping off at the crowd, the referee had already went to check on Aoi, starting a count. By the time Rosie had turned back around, she looked at Hoshino and rolled her eyes as she was trying to push herself up. Instead, Knuckles just bent over with her hands on her knees and waved her on. "Oh, please. I don't mind knocking your ass down again," said Rosie. "It's your concussion."

Then, as soon as Aoi got up, she collapsed right down, making Rosie laugh outright, standing back up straight, waving a hand to the referee. "Check her sorry ass," said Knuckles, dismissively walking away from her opponent as the referee checked to see if she was conscious. As it turned out, Hoshino was out now and the ref called for the bell!

Rosie's theme song hit as she arrogantly smirked, nodding to the referee as she held her fist up. The referee held it up high as the Pink-Haired Pugilist stuck out her tongue, satisfied with her win. She would then pull her hand away from the ref and start walking towards her downed opponent.

And then she would step over her to get to the corner, throwing up a fist again as the crowd gave her a loud ovation of cheers and boos, Rosie Knuckles looking thrilled all the way as she laughed. "You just can't call me out! I'll beat your ass with or without any notice! I'm just that good!" yelled Rosie to the crowd before hopping off the turnbuckle and snatching back her glasses and jacket from the referee and hopping out of the ring, heading to the back victorious in her impromptu match up, and showing everyone that she could win anywhere, anytime.

Winner: Rosie Knuckles