L.A.W. - League of Anime Wrestling

Match Type: Standard Match
Rules: Victory by pinfall, submission, or knockout.
Another day, another match for Viper Hoshiwara. She'd like to say that she had been looking forward to this one, but really, it was just the same old, same old. Standard matches like these hardly moved the needle for her any longer. A true adrenaline junkie, Viper craved more and more - more excitement, more danger, higher stakes. It had carried her through her career in deathmatch wrestling, and she had won a reputation as someone who could take falls off of great heights onto stacks of light tubes without even batting an eye. But for Viper, putting her life on the line was one of the few things that could truly make her feel.

She had been chasing after that same rush in LAW, hoping that coming to a major promotion would allow her to go up against some world-class names in wrestling; the sorts of people who would give her a fight she would really need to push herself to her limits to get through. But even if Viper had had some memorable matches in LAW...that still wasn't enough for her. Just being in the ring wouldn't be enough. She needed an opponent who would make her fight for dear life; who would surpass everything she'd seen before.

So far, Viper hadn't had an opponent quite like that. But from what she had heard of Miki Shinonome, she'd heard that she had experience in underground fight clubs. That was something that caught Viper's eye - maybe she'd have some rougher edges; maybe she wouldn't be such a stickler for the rules. Maybe she wouldn't be as predictable as some of Viper's opponents. As long as she could make Viper feel that taste of danger, it would be well worth it.

"Coming first to the ring, from Akishima, Japan! Standing at 5'8 and weighing 145 pounds, VIPER HOSHIWARA!!"

Spoiler

Music

The entrance ramp was bathed in red light as Viper's music came over the speakers. She plodded out from behind the curtains, taking her place on the ramp and holding her fist to the sky. A few fans cheered, and others booed, but Viper met it all with the same blank, disinterested look on her face. She didn't care about what anyone thought. All she cared about was what this match could do for her. And, as she came down the entrance ramp, flicking her knife out to run her tongue along the edge of the blade before she slipped through the ropes and into the ring, she could only hope that Miki could give her what she was after.

Butterflies were still fluttering in her stomach as she awaited her cue with anxious anticipation. Almost nothing about tonight was within the realm of her comfort zone, but that's probably not saying much considering what passes for "normal" in her life these days. Strange how she's become more accustomed to fighting to the tune of drunken revelers bellowing for blood to be spilled over the significantly more civilized and accommodating LAW general staff. She'd definitely have to apologize to that poor backstage worker she socked in the breadbasket who was just offering to carry her book-bag and guide her to the locker-room when he placed his hand on her shoulder. *Hrm, GREAT first impression, Miki...Starting to wonder if this hobby of mine is beginning to make me antisocial or something.* The schoolgirl pondered as she scribbled the finishing touches on her book report whilst sitting on an equipment crate backstage, not having the time to finish the assignment on the train ride to the stadium. A calming way to pass the time and soothe her anxiousness as she patiently waited to be given the signal that her entrance was starting.

Conflicted thought the Student Council President was about signing up with LAW in the first place, she merely chalked it up to the federation's talent scouts seeing potential within her from her underground fights. Tried though she might to jabber out an immediate refusal at the prospect of showcasing her concealed afterschool activities to the world, her ears couldn't help but twitch once she heard the numbers being bandied about in terms of her potential paycheck. A chance to help her family pay the bills and leave some donated to her school clubs budget helped justify the decision, when in reality...

"Shinonome-san, you're up!!!"

Before she could finish that thought however, Miki perked up, shuffled away her belongings, hopped off the equipment crate, took a deep breath, slapped her cheeks perhaps a bit too hard, and went jogging off towards where she heard her name being bellowed. Smirking excitement illuminated upon her facials.

"And now, hailing from Kobe City, Japan.! Standing at 5'8 and weighing 125 pounds, Miki Shinonome!!"

Spoiler

Theme Music

Miki sprinted out from behind the black curtain at the top of the ramp, bounding out with a flourish to her chipper and uplifting theme song. The schoolgirl taking an awestruck moment to soak in the bewildering expanse of onlookers. Brandishing a jubilant smile as she jogged onward down the ramp and in a nimble sequence would hop one foot onto the ring apron and vault over the ropes seamlessly. "Whew, now I'm feelin pumped!!! OH, Greetings, nice to meet you~...Say, do I know you from somewhere else? You look like the type who'd be hanging around school dumpsters after school..."

Viper had no idea what to expect from her opponent...but this was certainly not it. She had heard her opponent was a veteran of underground fight clubs where anything went - but when the curtains parted, out stepped a schoolgirl who wouldn't even have lasted three minutes in some of the matches Viper had been through, by the looks of her! Playing to the cheering crowd and hopping up the ropes with a poised grace, she seemed like a natural fan-favorite. The cute, personable, cheerful type...and the exact sort of person Viper would've expected would be offered up as enhancement talent. How could this girl possibly handle herself against Viper in a standard match, let alone something more extreme? For a moment, she had to wonder if there was a mistake here, but when time went on and no one said anything, it became clear that, yes, this really was happening.

Whatever the case was, Viper was not amused. She was hoping for an opponent who would make her feel something, but by the looks of it she was going to be disappointed yet again. Folding her arms, the deathmatch veteran took a few steps closer before fixing her eyes on Miki with a flat, unamused look.

"I don't know. Do you know me? Probably not. Because the kinds of places I hang around would eat a girl like you alive." She narrowed her eyes on Miki, firming up her stance. "I hope you know what you're getting yourself into, little girl. But I don't think the janitorial crew gets paid enough to clean up what'll be left of you by the end of this."

Miki certainly hoped she wasn't misjudging someone based on first impressions...but Viper absolutely looked the type when it comes to unscrupulous hooligans gambling and peddling drugs next to her school's trash dumpster. Viper practically screamed juvenile delinquent right off the bat. And given the frequency with which Miki dabbles in underground fight pits, she's practically become all too accustomed to the disreputable class of hoodlums she crosses paths with down there. Apathetic demeanor. Shredded jeans. Hidden switchblade. Faint scent of cheap cigarette smoke. Sinister gleam in their eyes rife with malicious intent. Yep, Viper just about checks every box. Miki figured this all makes sense given what she'd heard about her adversary beforehand in terms of her undefeated streak and Viper's own hardcore pedigree...

"Oh yeah? Well, if you're inviting, I'd be down for accompanying you to these hangouts of yours. And you can see firsthand why people who underestimate me tend to walk away regretting that decision. If they can walk, anyway. Fact is, by now I'm just as comfortable in places like that as I am in the school cafeteria~..." Miki merrily remarked while performing some elongated leg stretches from side to side, tongue protruding out the side of her mouth before bounding up with a spring to her step. "But it's honestly pretty thoughtful of you though. Showing concern about me being in over my head and everything. But if I were you, I'd be more worried about how you're gonna explain losing to a schoolgirl when you shuffle back to these old haunts of yours with a black-eye and battered ego." Miki smirked before entering a hunched brawling stance to the ringing of the bell.

Miki certainly wasn't wrong about her assessment of Viper. She was someone who lived on the wild side, always craving more and more when it came to thrills and excitement, and that had led to her seeking out company among the broken and the destitute. She certainly felt more at home on the wrong side of the tracks than with the high society elite she had grown up around - they, at least, were honest, and they actually cared about truly living. But when Miki herself claimed familiarity with the same low-lifes Viper associated with it was enough to give the deathmatch veteran some pause. She certainly didn't look it. But if that was the case...maybe Miki could give her the excitement she was after.

"Hmph." With a flat look on her face as always, Viper brought her fist up and planted it against the palm of her opposite hand before cracking her knuckles. Her stony face never betrayed a hint of emotion or surprise with what she had been confronted with. She just hoped that Miki could live up to her claims. "I'll believe it when I see it. Until then...don't disappoint me."

*DING DING DING*

When the bell rang, Viper settled into a stance, watching Miki closely. She didn't make a move or advance closer, however - she just kept her eyes on the schoolgirl, waiting for her to come closer. But if she did, she would be ready to show off her lightning-quick agility by throwing a fist straight for Miki's throat! If that worked, she'd follow it up with a swift boot to her gut!

Unbeknownst to them and despite their obvious stark differences, seeking an escape from their individual circumstances within the depths of gangland criminality could perhaps be the thread that binds them. In actuality, Miki couldn't blame Viper for calling foul when it came to the schoolgirl's professed familiarity with the type of decrepit fighting pits her adversary was alluding to. She still gets sideways glances from degenerate patrons whenever they witness a prim and poised schoolgirl like her casually hanging around those types of areas. In fact, Miki herself was only beginning to earn a modicum of respect around there once she'd started showcasing a fire-hearted tenacity in the ring with her panting face smeared in sanguine crimson. But now she wondered if this scrap would have to escalate to that degree just to prove her point to Viper in the end...

Well, only time will tell, she figured. "Better be careful than, cause blink and you'll miss it..." Miki confidently exclaimed with a searing blaze within her eyes as she settled into her fighting stance to the clanging of the ring bell. A calculated approach with careful footwork taken as the schoolgirl noticed Viper's defensive posture as if she were a coiled cobra readying her fanged strike, and Miki's observation paid off via narrowly sidestepping the punch. Afterward she'd swiftly clasp onto Viper's arm and swivel it behind her shoulder blades in a hammerlock. "Whew, you're faster than I thought. Guess we both gotta work on our first impressions, huh?" Playful teasing aside, Miki contorted Viper's arm against her back for several more seconds. And if uninterrupted, the Parkour Princess would abandon the arm wrenching hold and transition into a snug sleeperhold instead.

Viper wasn't usually one to betray much emotion at all, but when she heard Miki's little taunt, even she had to smirk a little to herself. If that was what this girl wanted to believe...she had seen nothing yet. If Miki wanted to boast of her speed, the green-haired woman could only imagine what she'd think of her own lightning-quick offense. But she wouldn't need to wonder much longer, because Viper was going to show her soon enough!

Except...when her fist thrust out toward Miki, it only hit the air! The schoolgirl had managed to pull off a last-second dodge, just barely skirting Viper's strike! The deathmatch veteran blinked a couple of times. That shouldn't have been possible - she couldn't possibly move that fast! Was this what Miki had been talking about? If so, it seemed that the two girls ad more in common than they thought - both of them used their quick reflexes to their advantage. And the speed of Viper's strikes wouldn't help her much when Miki could dodge her just as quickly!

The next thing she knew, her arm was pulled behind her back - not only had Miki dodged her in the blink of an eye, she had countered as well! Viper hissed, doubling over forward as pain shot along her arm - particularly as Miki twisted it even harder! Her teeth clenched tighter into a grimace, whie her eye twitched. When Miki followed it a moment later by clasping her arm around Viper's throat, it would just squeeze even more air out of her lungs - she struggled from side to side, but she couldn't get Miki to budge.

But Viper wasn't going down that easily. And if she couldn't break out of the hold by force, she had other means. She looked back over her shoulder, narrowing a glare on Miki - and then, she hopped backward, trying to throw her weight back and tackle her foe. If all went well, it would leave Miki squashed beneath her weight and against the mat!

As much as Miki would have been tempted to accept any and all praise for sidestepping and countering Viper's strike, the spry schoolgirl doubted she'd have been to accomplish the feat of athleticism about a year ago when she was still tying up her sneakers for undercard matches. Miki taking notice of the blistering velocity behind Viper's strike as it wafted through her flowing hair and inwardly acknowledging that Viper wasn't just all talk, even though she kinda didn't talk all that much in the first place. An uncontested wallop from a feral Viper could absolutely equate to a world of pain on Miki's part it appeared, hence why the school valedictorian opted to start whittling down on the potential knockout power behind those strikes in her hammerlock. A tightened strain placed on that right arm of Viper's before switching gears into a rudimentary sleeperhold. Not quite as painful but more stifling and overall difficult to break out of she figured...or at least that's what she thought before Viper started proving that theory wrong.

"...Whoa, easy there...You know you're just gonna tire yourself quicker the more you struggle, right?" The Student Council President sagely advised with a glowered grimace as she huffed in exertion from Viper's cantankerous resistance to the submission, bearing down on her adversary's windpipe and becoming all but inseparable. Miki was concentrating as best she could on the task at hand until Viper's nimble hop and tumultuous plummet left the schoolgirl squashed beneath the cunning snake queen. "OOPH!!" Miki gasped out loud and was rightfully rattled as her sleeperhold lightened up considerably, the schoolgirl reflexively abandoning it altogether and shoving Viper off of her to the side. Arising upward at a winded pace, Miki would wait until Viper was standing upright before sprinting towards her foe with an attempt at clamping her nubile legs around Viper's head. Spiraling swirls preceding an attempted headscissors takedown with Viper's only discernible view being the supple curvature of Miki's pantied backside.

Viper hissed through her teeth as Miki tightened her grip around her throat - and, as she gave her some unsolicited advice, the green-haired girl would only shoot her a piercing glare from out of the corner of her eye. She didn't come here to be talked down to by some high schooler. Viper was a veteran of the deathmatch wrestling circuit, a world that demanded its combatants push themselves to greater and greater heights in the name of getting a rise out of an ever-more-bloodthirsty crowd. She'd been thrown into thumbtacks, barbed wire, light tubes, and more. She'd learned plenty about how to handle herself in the ring, and she didn't need this brat to tell her what she should be doing instead!

Viper let out a wheeze as Miki's hold on her throat pulled even tighter - but she was about to show her just how prepared she was, when she kicked off the ground to throw herself downward, driving Miki against the mat as they fell with a thump! The impact left the smaller girl sandwiched between Viper and the canvas, driving the air out of her and forcing her to relinquish her grip. Just as quickly, though, she shoved Viper over, causing the deathmatch veteran to roll over onto her knee. There, she grumbled as she sat back up, rubbing her head. Miki definitely had her quick wits and reflexes going for her. But Viper could play that game, too - and she was just as willing to make use of those tactics.

As soon as she had gotten to her feet, Miki had already taken off toward her at full speed. She launched herself off the ground, throwing herself toward Viper with her legs extended to grab her by the head. Once again, it was clear that she wasn't going to give Viper a break. But Viper could use that same momentum against her. She began to spin in a circle as Miki tried to exert enough force to upset her balance - but before she could fall, she would attempt to grab hold of Miki's thighs and throw herself straight downward to drive her back against the mat with a powerbomb!