Kyoko's First Challenger is....

[Fairy Dragon]

A week had passed since Kyoko had announced on Twitter that she'd be taking an open challenge, an offer for everyone in the middleweight division to speak about if they had what it took to be champion. In the 7 days since then Kyoko had been given many offers, some which were more tempting than others and now everyone knew her decision was made when her music started to play through the arena.

Spoiler

Spoiler

Kyoko Akan marched out smiling with both the Middleweight Belt and the Belly Belt around her waist. Once again the crowd drowned in mostly boos as Kyoko had recently demolished the sweet Aika in the ring and the memory was not lost on most of them. Kyoko ignored it to strut down the ring with her hands on her waist, keeping the belts displayed since they mostly covered the abs she usually would show off. She would climb up the steps and walk into the ring before taking both belts off and raising them in the air for all to see, with the reaction of the crowd growing as she raised them. For many, her continuing to wear the Belly Queen belt after winning the Middleweight was a sign of her thinking her title was on equal terms with LAW's official one, and it was seen as an arrogant move by an already arrogant wrestler. Kyoko would let the belts rest on her shoulder before taking a mic from the staff.

"I'm not here to waste too much time. I've been waiting a week so I know that you are just as eager to see who my first opponent is going to be." Kyoko said to cheers. Kyoko smiled at the change in crowd reaction. "Oh you really think My first opponent is going to take this from me?" Kyoko asked. The crowd responded with more enthusiasm with some audible words such as yes could be heard as well. "Hopeful and stupid. Strange how much those two kinds of characteristics keep getting found in the same people. The smart ones know that this belt isn't going anywhere for a long time. And that's for one simple reason, I'm so good it doesn't matter who I pick. I know wrestling better than anyone in the entire world, I've studied it and trained since I was a child. It's why I dedicate this title win to my late father Denji who's been my inspiration for as long as I can remember. He and every Akan that's ever laced up a pair of boots are true warriors in the ring ready to do battle on any field they were given and I've lived up to that. I don't back down from a fight just because it's hard or because I'm inexperienced or how big or small my opponent is. I fight and I win...with few exceptions and should those exceptions happen, my opponent is only walking out of there with a limp after I'm done. So the question is when no one can hope to be better than you, who could you possibly pick?" Kyoko asked, a question that got many more boos since it seemed as if Kyoko was saying no one was even worthy of challenging her. If she really wasted everyone's time just to say she wasn't going to take on an opponent, how could they not hate her for that after all the talking she did the day she was awarded the Middleweight championship?

"In the past Dumbo Dan made the mistake of giving other champions too much power in who they challenged until he had to revoke it. Mainly because he kept looking for alternatives or ways to sidestep me getting a shot at it. If actually becoming champ became merit based he'd have to give it to me, and he couldn't have that. Obviously that didn't work out so well and the Middleweight championship suffered for it until eventually Dan had to step in and vacate the title. The problem is for the man who likes to boast that it's his show it really isn't and when you try to keep the people down who really own this show things start to crumble around you. Now I'm champion like I should've been for years now and I'm not stopping until all of LAW recognizes that I've been denied for so long and that I'm the greatest champion it's ever going to get. That involves doing what no one else has the guts to do and taking on people who actually know how to fight. Who aren't the safe or easy choices some of my peers have taken. So with that in mind I went to my dad's favorite spot to relax when he was still with us and I could feel that the only real challenger for someone who's had to work with the scraps I've been given is someone who's also used to fighting for scraps. My match at We Are LAW 6 will be against..." Kyoko said as she would take a second, letting everyone wait for the announcement.

"W Y V E R N!"

[Hills]

A discontented rumble fills the arena as the audience makes their unhappiness known when Kyoko announces her first challenger. Wyvern, to an outside watcher's perspective, was an odd choice. She was middling in popularity, part of LAW for barely over a year, and known primarily for her bad temper and standoffishness when it came to direct interactions. Her propensity for violence fueled a small, devoted fanbase, but apart from that she was a relative unknown in the competitive, star-studded LAW middleweight division. Backstage, while many wrestlers likely envied the Irishwoman's rapid ascension to the title scene, the choice was less surprising. Many of Wyvern's opponents, win or lose, had recognized her potential and the explosive growth she'd exhibited over the course of the last year. Hers was a name many expected to hear more of in the coming months and years, not less.

Wyvern's Theme

Boos, jeers, and cheers alike die in the audience's throats as the entire arena goes black, shrouded in darkness apart from a single spotlight highlighting the champion. Wyvern's entrance music blares out over the arena, stark white letters flashing on the titantron in time with the opening beats to spell her name out sequence. Brief scenes of Wyvern delivering powerful strikes to past opponents begin playing haphazardly across the screen as the drums kick in, a collage of sweat and blood illustrating her time in LAW. Starting at the flanks of the bottom of the entrance ramp, a pair of red spotlights aiming up to the ceiling ignite with each line of the lyrics, slowly making their way up to the stage.

"You make me wanna break you, no matter who you are..."

With these last words, the final set of lights are inverted, casting crimson beams down from the rafters and meeting in the center of the stage, where the crouched figure of Wyvern kneels. The pose lacks even the slightest hint of supplication. This is not a gesture of respect; it is the coiled visage of a hunter staring down its prey. Slowly rising to her feet, Wyvern stalks down the entrance ramp. Her intensity is clear even from a distance, but no one can feel it more clearly than Kyoko Akan. From the moment she became visible, Wyvern's intense gaze has never deviated from the champion's eyes. Reaching the ring, the challenger smoothly swipes a mic from a waiting member of the ring crew before hauling herself up onto the apron and stepping through the ropes. As she does so, the music fades away and the lights return to normal. Standing up to her full height, she brings the microphone to her lips.

"Good choice."

Wyvern begins pacing in the ring, unable to sit completely still, but her stare never leaves Kyoko's face as she does so.

"I'm going to skip the part where I play hype-woman. I can't possibly talk more about what you've done than you do already, and I'm not into jilling myself off in public. Don't expect any thanks, either. I know who you are, you obviously know who I am, and you knew exactly what you were getting yourself into when you accepted my challenge. You want to show the world your limits, and I can take you to them. Past them. Nobody who steps into the ring with me leaves as the same person who entered it. First time in either of our careers that we're being offered a 'scrap' and it's actually a good thing. I'll admit, though, there is one thing I'm disappointed by."

Wyvern ceases her pacing, unflinchingly approaching the champion and getting just shy of the taller's woman's face before continuing.

"I was looking forward to seeing what the rest of your reign would have been like. If you want to cut it short, though, I'm not going to stop you. I just hope you're ready for the consequences."

She inches closer, her eyes narrowing to slits.

"You say I'll walk out with a limp? Maybe. But you? You'll be lucky to leave under your own power."

[Fairy Dragon]

The reaction from the crowd meant nothing to Kyoko. They would watch anyway but anyone Kyoko picked she would have to fight, and since she actually craved a fight Wyvern was the perfect opponent. Soon after she spoke of her, Wyvern appeared to take her place as No. 1 contender and her PPV opponent, her entrance telling everyone what fighter Kyoko had picked and showing everyone that she meant business making her first opponent someone who could get this violent. But the Belly Queen had no fear of anyone, and stared her down the entire time she came down to the ring to greet her. She expected this meeting, someone doesn't take an offer like this without getting a chance to bask in the opportunity. Wyvern considered herself someone who was going to take Kyoko's prize from her before she could really get started, now she would get the chance and show everyone where she measured compared to her. She didn't have too many words compared to Kyoko, what she did offer was boasts and promises that she would push Kyoko to her limit and warned her that she had chosen a quick end to her first run as champion. She'd see about that, and chuckled when Wyvern was done before putting the mic back up to her lips while maintaining eye contact with Wyvern.

"You don't have to worry about the rest of my reign, you'll be able to see it just fine...in the hospital bed they put you in. Right next to Emaline, the two of you can swap stories about how you thought you were going to ruin me and got a beating you'll never forget." Kyoko said her other hand patting the belts around her stomach. "I have no intention of losing this. Not you or anyone in that locker room, the only hope anyone has of surpassing me is if they spend the next few years studying how I fight because anything anyone can throw at me I can throw back and I'll hit harder. You told me you have never been pinned since you came to LAW. I can beat you and keep that going, I can make you submit, or knock you out, or render you so beaten down you can't answer a ref's 10 count. You never being pinned might be impressive to everyone else, but it means nothing to me because you're dealing with the perfect wrestler. I can beat you in so many ways I could sell tickets just off the people betting on what ways I put you down." Kyoko boasted, her arrogance higher than before and she looked close to pushing Wyvern out of the way like she was nothing with how she tried to tower over her. Eventually Kyoko brought her hand up and offered it. "Thankfully tonight is not the night that happens. You get an entire month to think of a plan to meet the greatest wrestler you will ever share a ring with. And when you find out that being my equal is impossible I hope you still come with your best, there's no shame in losing to someone as great as me so long as you can actually fight back. So in the meantime show some respect and shake my hand. Not as thanks for giving you the match, instead I want you to shake my hand because your Queen and more importantly your champion deserves your respect." Kyoko said holding her arm out and waiting to see if Wyvern would take it, but her eyes never left Wyverns and she continued to watch her with a challenging glare.

[Hills]

Despite the fiery words that made up her response to Kyoko's challenge, up close the Belly Queen can see a coldness balancing out the Irishwoman's passion. From the moment she started speaking, the upstart challenger has been measuring and analyzing every second of Kyoko's response, from body language to her own sharp reply. Saying she had a month to think of a plan was wrong. Despite her confidence, it was clear that Wyvern had started that process well before she had even been chosen for this match. Perhaps even before Kyoko had been appointed champion. She, in turn, gives back almost nothing as she takes in Kyoko's confident speech, barely moving as the champion lays out all the ways she could prove herself superior in the ring, and the consequences that had come to past opponents who thought they could do what Wyvern claimed. She remains almost as still as a statue, her eyes unwavering and her mouth twisted into a frozen hint of a smirk. When prompted to move, though, she's cooperative enough, taking Kyoko's offered hand in her own. Past the surface view visible to the audience, there's neither civility nor politeness in the gesture. Wyvern's grip is crushing; it's astonishing that she's able to exhibit such strength despite her slender frame. Apparently, her claim of being able to easily break bones was not hyperbole. Another test, another lure to see how her future opponent reacts. That acknowledgement of the threat Kyoko poses seems to be as close to "respect" as Wyvern gets. Without releasing the grasp, Wyvern fires back, leaving her mic at the side so only the champion can hear her.

"Queen? She's in a box. If you're not careful, you might join her."

Bringing the microphone up, she continues.

"I think I need to clear up a misunderstanding here. I didn't say never been pinned 'since I came to LAW.' I said...never. Been. Pinned. Not here, not in the Irish indies, not in sparring, not by other students during my basic training, not even by my instructors. I used to think that it was because I was a shark in a pond, but after coming here, I'm starting to see that looking for someone who can pull it off hasn't failed because I'm not looking hard enough. You can't find what doesn't exist. So it's not a boast. I can't take pride in a limit I haven't found. It's a warning, to keep things fair. I don't want you to make this easy for me because you think you can accomplish the impossible.

Wyvern finally slackens her grip, releasing the handshake if Kyoko does so as well. For the first time, she breaks eye contact, closing her eyes and blowing air out of her nose in a gesture of performative amusement.

"Now that I've had a chance to see you up close...I'm looking forward to this. You live up to your reputation. Well, with one exception..."

Her eyes flash open again, and a wide, taunting grin splits her face in half.

"...You're smarter than I heard. Listing off all those other ways to try to win...you must have recognized right away that you don't have what it takes to pin me. Maybe you really are the perfect wrestler. Or at least, as perfect as you can get. Like you said, no shame in losing to someone who's just better than you."

[Fairy Dragon]

Her hand was taken and soon she felt the challengers strength with Wyvern going for an aggressive one. Kyoko had at least expected as much to match it and avoid her hand being crushed in the introduction. Wyvern wanted to make an impression on the Belly Queen with a show of power, despite being right in front of her she still remained confident she would emerge victorious. She supposed that she did seek out someone she assumed would have that naive confidence since they had only watched her from afar and people always wanted to believe they could do it. She was sure Wyvern had a game plan somewhere, she would just find that the saying about everyone having a plan until they got punched in the face was true. Wyvern had plenty to tell her knowing that she had a chance to brag about herself and her accomplishments and that Kyoko clearly planned to work around those if she hoped to win with a grin on her face that showed how she dared to believe she knew she was better. It kept everyone watching, giving Wyvern time to show that any concerns about her being an unworthy opponent were not true.

"It's fine, there was nothing to clear up. The reason being that it really doesn't matter how long you've gone unpinned, as you say I already listed other ways I can beat you and more importantly everyone already knows you can lose. Even if this was a pins only match or something of that kind it wouldn't face me since however good all those people may have been, they're not me. Do you know how many undefeated streaks and records I've broken since I've been wrestling? Do you know how many hot shots come here because the indies taught them that they were the best in the small ponds, the unlimited number of prodigies and future stars that come here and soon fizzle out?" Kyoko asked. Her grin grew bigger as she stayed on the question to let her think about it."I ask this because truthfully I've lost count. So if you end up being another name on that statistic I might forget about you...And that's something no wrestler wants." Kyoko said, giving her more to think about. She felt that it wasn't anything that would shake Wyvern, it was her own warning to her that many promising names and faces had already come before and that was already destroyed. Wyvern wasn't just fighting to beat her, she was fighting to not be lumped in with them.

[Hills]

Cockiness and confidence were two sides of the same coin. The only difference is whether one can back up their words or not. While opinions varied on the double-belted Middleweight Champion, it would be difficult for any to view her challenger's claims as anything other than cocky. Wyvern was hardly undefeated, and often struggled the most against experienced, well-rounded opponents. Kyoko Akan, a veteran in every area of wrestling, should be a nightmare opponent for her. The Irishwoman never seems to consider any of this during her back-and-forth with the Belly Queen, however. Win or lose, cocky or confident, right or wrong. Here and now, none of this seems to matter to her. Indeed, while the audience is completely oblivious, the champion can no doubt recognize the truth: for Wyvern, the match has already started. Taunting and boasting are the opening strikes, testing her defenses for vulnerabilities. Kyoko's final accusation, asking Wyvern what separates her from any other rising star, seems to strike a nerve, however. Her expression barely changes, a small knitting of the eyebrows, but the air around her seems to freeze. She steps back, resuming her pacing, energized by the fury lurking, barely concealed, behind her calm face.

"I'm not some starry-eyed dreamer. I didn't come here for a cinderella story. I don't care if the world knows my name. A prodigy? I don't recall ever calling myself that. I learned slow. What I accomplished early, I did through strength, not skill, and that won't carry anyone here. I know that better than anyone. A star? I've never been able to connect with a crowd. No one has ever looked at me and thought I could be the face of the industry. And they're right. I'm not on the roster for my personality. I'm not out for fame, or recognition, or glory. I never have been. Back in Ireland, I wasn't some jumped-up would-be queen crowing my superiority."

She grits her teeth.

"I was in Hell."

She stops walking, standing a few feet away from Kyoko. As she continues, the calm facade disintegrates more and more, her voice rising with her rage.

"Trapped in a cage. Starving. I live for the fight, and nobody could match me. Every match was unsatisfying, every opponent insufficient. No matter how many wins I got, no matter how much blood I shed or spilled, none of it could fill the void in me. The need. I was withering away into nothing. That's why I had to come here. What I wanted, what I thought I deserved...none of that factored in. I came to LAW because I had to. Because this is the only place in the world where I don't feel like I'm suffocating! So don't tell me what I want or don't want. I'm not here for your approval, Akan. I don't care if you forget me, as long as I get what I need. But don't think it's going to be that easy. I'm not some new wrestler who needs to be put in her place. I'm a starving beast, and you're in my sights! If you take me lightly, I will break you! Even if you win, I will carve my existence into your soul! You think you'll be able to forget me? Go ahead and try!"

[Fairy Dragon]

Wyvern had plenty to say, refusing to be outdone by the confident Queen who currently had everything she ever wanted. By contrast she was someone who was still looking for what could satisfy her and was willing to take the title off Kyoko's waist if it meant she found it. Through her words, her passion for this fight was clear but Kyoko could only get stuck on a few select words of her speech that she was bothered by. "My superiority is as clear as day, it was so clear this belt was awarded to me. When you strip away names and titles and look at who we really are, I'm still a queen and above everyone here." Kyoko boasted to more boos, which she brushed off.

"That's what being a star is about, not connecting with anyone, because as you can see these people don't feel very connected to me. But you are in luck, this time I'm the only one at risk of being unsatisfied because if I give you this chance based on what I've seen and it turns out that I've misjudged your skills, I'll mangle you in that ring. You'll have just escaped one hell and been brought to another, one where you feel empty into one where you'll be dominated and taught what it means to be at the mercy of another woman. Unless you're into that you better come at me like the beast you claim you are." Kyoko said before she walked past Wyvern and would start to make her exit. "I won't try to forget you, this isn't a test of my abilities. I've already passed all those, and reached the mountain top. This is about you Wyvern, what you can do and how you can leave an impression. I'll pass no matter what, but one thing you need to understand is that at We Are LAW we'll be fighting at a level you're not used to, and people will wonder if this is the beginning of something great for you or if this is the last real highlight of your life. You may not understand how important that is now so let me leave you with this, If you want to feel satisfied and avoid that emptiness that has suffocated you for so long, you need to leave the prey behind and hunt the predators, before they eat you and leave the bones in the middle of the forest where no one sees or cares about them." Kyoko said, and with that she would start to leave, walking slow in case she needed to hear more from her opponent but it was clear she didn't think she needed to say anything else.

[Hills]

The crowd edges forward in their seats as the champion speaks, eager to see the next few seconds. The rare display of emotion from Wyvern followed by Kyoko's complete dismissal of her as a threat seemed to predict an early preview of the violence to come, but even after the Belly Queen finishes and begins to walk off, Wyvern makes no move to engage. During the dressing-down, the Irishwoman releases some of the tension built in her body, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes to regain control of herself. The back-and-forth had gotten under her skin, but even at her angriest, she wasn't the type to launch an attack outside of an official match, at least not out of emotion. She would have her chance to release soon enough. As Kyoko begins heading up the ramp, Wyvern retreats further into the ring, making her way to one corner where she takes a seat on the lowest turnbuckle. Raising the microphone, she considers for a few moments before speaking.

"Cut the shite, Akan."

Her voice is quiet, now. Dead of emotion.

"Don't talk to me about escaping hell. My path started in the depths, and boredom was only the latest and lightest layer to spit me back out when it couldn't hold me in. You can't hurt me badly enough to be the next. And you don't need to worry about being unsatisfied. Even if I was into that, some of us have enough substance that we don't need to use weird fetishes to replace having a personality. But. I'm getting off topic. Which is this:"

Wyvern rolls her neck, releasing a satisfying series of cracks that are unfortunately not picked up by the mic.

"End of the day, you haven't proved a damn thing. Every previous wearer of that belt had to put someone down to hold it. Armstrong had to go through a whole tournament. Who'd you beat? DeFranco's ego? Isn't the first time it had to wear a gimp suit and it won't be the last. No. Say what you want, all eyes are on you. I'm not invincible, but I've shown what I do to anyone who can't or won't rise to the occasion. You come in here, you talk a big game, but this is your test, not mine. I've barely been here for a little over 14 months. Just having a shot at the title is already a nice mark for my resume. But you...you've been here for years. Have you ever even challenged for a belt? A real one, I mean."

She holds up a hand.

"And before you start whining about how insulting your cute little security blankie is low-effort or tired or you don't care, that's beside the point. It's irrelevant to what I'm saying. That title..."

She points at the shoulder currently hefting the LAW Middleweight belt.

"...means something different. It means every eye is on you. The Middleweight Division can't always match the spectacle and raw power of the heavyweights, but we represent everything that wrestling can be, and we hold every style imaginable, from raw power to pure agility to unmatched all-rounders. This division is limitless. To stand at the top of it is to stand at the top of all professional wrestling. A pinnacle that, like it or not, you're only cresting now for the first time. For the first time, you really are just as important as you say. But that has consequences. Are you ready for them? Because the only person right now who has no doubts at all about that...is you."

"You can't brush off losses anymore. Nobody gives a shite how bad of a limp you give your opponent if they walk out with that on their waist. You can't complain about the system being against you. Nobody cares about how badly you say management has oppressed you when you have their hand-me-downs draped over your shoulder. No more 'ifs,' no more 'buts,' no more "might-as-wells." How long can you last, Akan? You've shown you can distinguish yourself from the pack. Can you do the same among the champions? Or are you just one more on the list?"

Standing up, Wyvern paces back out into the middle of the ring.

"I've got my theories. I'm looking forward to finding out the reality."

Holding her arm out, she releases her grip on the mic, allowing it to clatter unceremoniously to the ground.