Mikazuki Hayase vs Blair Dame - Run, Rabbit, Run!

[Null Spell]

Match Type: Standard
Victory Conditions: Victory by pinfall, submission, or knockout.

Mikazuki couldn't stay still. Well, he never could. He couldn't stop shaking. That was more accurate. It wasn't debut anxiety from the crowd waiting for him, no doubt the largest he’d performed for yet. Or anything related to his responsible sleep schedule and getting only three hours of shut-eye (Maybe that factored in a little.) No, he was jittery because of his opponent.

Clair something… Blair? One of the two. Real giant of a woman, bigger than every opponent he'd faced in Yokohama. Bet she was tougher too. Being in LAW, he figured she had to be. She might not keel over the moment he spiked his heel into that big cute head of hers. The prospect of that brought a dumb grin to his face. Mikazuki bit down on his thumb to hide it. The stagehands in the back were already looking at him funny for pacing around so much…

He was torn from his thoughts by a cue to get ready. Mikazuki slapped the sides of his face to focus up while the opening riffs of his theme echoed through the arena, heading out when it began to play in full.

Spoiler

Spoiler

It might've been because he was a pretty new face, but the audience wasn't as muted as he imagined they’d be. Especially after he did a few backflips down the ramp to show off his agility. The bunny ears of his jacket's hood bounced as he ran up to the ring and pulled back on the top rope to propel himself over. He posed in the center, holding up a peace sign to his eye.

Mikazuki wouldn't waste too much energy playing into the crowd. Any amount of cheers he earned couldn't make his heart pump faster than the anticipation of his opponent's arrival. Sitting on one of the top turnbuckles, he shook the middle rope with his boot, giddy for her to show her face.

[BlackAkuma]

Mikazuki wouldn’t have to wait long.

The crowd grew quiet as the lights dropped and the opening tones to Blair Dame’s

played, filling the arena with haunting tones. Though her time in LAW had been brief thus far, the woman carried with her unmistakable pedigree, and her first victory had shown that she was still a dominant force to be feared. She garnered a fair following in such a short amount of time, young men eager to see the White Widow back in action. Today, they would be satisfied.

“We can fight our desires…
But when we start making fires…
We get ever so hot…
Whether we like it or not...”

The

slipped through the curtain a moment later, to a healthy smattering of applause. She looked out among the crowd with the slightest of smirks and folded arms as the spotlight lit her up, scanning the waiting cheering crowd. Though she kept her demeanor cool and collected, she would be lying if she said that a chill wasn’t working its way up her spine - she had missed Japan in the past month or so since her last match. Though her time in the country had been brief, the place was already warming to her heart. The fans, the passion, the energy were unlike anything she had seen from a wrestling crowd in a good, long while. As well-traveled as she was, this was no mistake.

She breathed deep and nodded her approval. Yes, spending her last years as a wrestler in LAW was the correct decision. She was sure of it.

One hand found its way to her hip and the other lazily swung about as she made her way down the ramp, moving with imperious strides of a runway model. She made her way up the steps, took her time slipping through the ropes to give the crowd a show, entered the ring with a skip, and only then did she look at her opponent for the evening.

”Ah.”

Blair canted her head to the side and rubbed her chin as she looked him over, making no effort to hide her assessing eyes - she was evaluating and she wished him to know as much. Japanese. On the younger side, possibly in his teens. Shorter than her, though that said little, most men were. He looked fit, though it was hard to be sure with the baggy clothing he wore. Bunny-themed clothing, it seemed. Interesting motif, she hadn't seen that before.

Not an unhandsome man, either. A shame this wasn’t a more intimate sort of match, she’d found herself craving some company, as of late.

Blair licked her lips and walked towards him, keen to introduce herself. The referee seemed nervous, but there was no need to worry. She had no interest in starting things without provocation. ”Bonjour, monsieur.” She extended her hand with her palm facing down, offering it to be kissed. ”It’s a pleasure to meet and be met. May I trust that you’ll provide me an ample challenge this evening?”

[Null Spell]

Come on, come on… Mikazuki hopped down from where he sat. If she moved any slower he'd contemplated going back down and shoving her towards the ring himself. Assuming he could move her at all. It dawned on him how truly large their size difference was. And it wasn't ‘cause he was short or anything! Her frame fit her advanced height, to say the least.

Mikazuki couldn't be blamed for looking her over, it was only fair since she was doing the same. He had no interest in the obvious spots, the ones he was sure the more shameless in the audience were ogling. There was clearly a lot of power in those legs and arms of hers. Even clearer was the danger he was in. Another smile pulled at the corners of his lips. Until she presented her hand.

It wasn't for a handshake with how it was positioned. He'd give her the benefit of the doubt and trust it wasn't anything insulting. Mikazuki clasped her hand between his and shook it with a vigor that contrasted her poise.

“Hayase Mikazuki, and what a pleasure it is. I mean, look at you! I was scared I'd get fodder for my first match here. As for a challenge…” Taking a step back, he held a finger up to the ref to not start the match yet. Mikazuki tapped the tip of his boot against the mat as he measured the space between them.

His right leg arced upwards towards his opponent's head, stopping just slightly before contact. The force moved the blue strands of her hair moving ever so slightly. Harmlessly (except to dignity, Mikazuki hoped), He let his leg fall slightly to rest the heel of his boot on her shoulder. Quite the stretch. He'd have to lift his foot well above his eye level if he were serious about hitting his target. Still, he had the reach to knock her down.

The ref's hand pulling on his shoulder coerced him to lower his leg and move back again. Mikazuki was too busy laughing to himself to process whatever warning was nervously being said to him. Raising his chin at the woman, he hid his smile with the back of his hand. “You better get back up when I knock you on your ass.”

Since he might as well have been fighting a tree, he'd need every advantage to knock her down. As composed as she carried herself, he was sure he could get under her skin, try to get her to do something sloppy. The tactic had come fairly easy to him in his short career.

“Shield your face. Don't wanna damage it.” He spoke the warning over his shoulder as he headed to his side of the ring. Mikazuki slumped slightly, getting in a stance to rush her down, planning on getting enough speed to slide between her legs instead of going for a kick like he telegraphed. Someone her size was surely slower than him. He'd mess around a bit, make her feel silly for strutting down the ramp so proudly.

[BlackAkuma]

Blair's head tilted to the side even further as things proceeded, somewhat taken aback by his…she supposed ‘enthusiasm’ was the best word for it. An admirable trait in moderation, but Mikazuki possessed it to a frankly grating degree. She could write off the denial of a hand-kiss as being merely uninformed, since so many young people were ignorant of proper gestures in the modern day, a true shame. But everything that came after, she was less apt to excuse. A man should know better.

Her eyebrow rose as he motioned for the referee to pause, but it all made sense in the next moment as his leg sliced through the air with stunning speed. Stoic as Blair was, there was no stopping the natural reaction - her head dipped to the side even further, attempting to dodge the incoming attack. An attempt that would have failed, in all likelihood, though she would never know for sure.

Though she kept her face placid, her smile dropped as she side-eyed the foot near her face. Bold, exceedingly bold, indeed. It wasn’t often that someone had the gall to try and intimidate her, especially when the size gap was so vast, but that was likely the point. Trying to rattle her, anger her, make her succumb to her emotions, and it came close to working. Instead, Blair marshaled herself and took note of the information she was given.

He was fast. Impressively so.

Experienced. Curiously so.

Confident. Dangerously so.

All important things to note for the match, and she kept them in mind as she stepped. Naturally, he still had a taunt to throw her way, but she waved it off with her hand and tightened her gloves, ensuring everything was secure. ”You,” She had a deep, rueful sigh. ”Are lacking in manners. Pas un problème - you’ll find me to be a more than adequate teacher, young man.” Up came her hands, her leg raised, and she slid into a traditional Muy Thai stance, bouncing on her heels, keeping loose. Eyes forward and focused, jaw set. She was ready. ”En garde.”

The bell rang and Mikazuki came in with a brazen, to the no surprise of precisely no one. Being able to predict something and being able to stop it were two different thing, and while Blair raised her leg to stop him with a kick, her movement was in vain. He was down sliding between her legs, and coming out behind him before she had the chance. Cheeky.

Undeterred, she turned about on her heel and moved after, hot on his heels. She took a quick step in, brought her leg out, and swung it hard towards his chest in a wide arc, attempting to nail him with a roundhouse kick to the chest.

[Null Spell]

A very apt observation on her part. No point in things like manners or respect until his opponent proved they'd be challenging to deal with. In Blair's case, no way to be sure yet. Mikazuki knew his maneuver would go unimpeded, seeing the muscles in the woman's toned leg tense. A misjudged, useless kick. Mikazuki held up the index finger and thumb of both hands as he rose from his dive, forming a box with them to frame the woman's figure.

The audience's cheers during her entrance were starting to make more sense to him! With how slow that kick was, they certainly weren't wowed by her spryness. Mikazuki took a half-step forward, planning a super kick for his… senior's jaw. Before she could turn around and—

Blair's leg tore through the air. Caught mid-step, he had to throw himself back and under the path of the attack to avoid it. Mostly. The kick grazed the top of his head, pulling his hood off from where it rested. Aimed any lower and Mikazuki was sure it had the force to have taken his head too. Back flat on the mat with his giant of an opponent towering over himself wasn't much preferable.

Pulling his leg back, he shot his boot out towards her shin with as much force as he could muster in the position. Attempting to kick out the leg Blair used to keep herself anchored for her attack. Even the slightest stumble would lessen his fear of being forced to regret inwardly mocking her. He'd take any opportunity to roll back and increase the distance between them.

Of course, he could definitely slug it out with her and come out the winner. Mikazuki had absolutely zero uncertainty about that. None whatsoever. None! But her reach made the idea of a kickboxing competition sound troublesome… and really painful. Eyeing the ropes, he knew he'd need to catch her by surprise again to even things.

[BlackAkuma]

Had the boy just been attempting to Super Kick her? That was bold, even more than she would’ve expected this early on in the match, especially from someone she had such a height advantage over. Points where they were due, however - he certainly didn’t lack for skill. Not everyone could’ve pulled off the slide through the legs; few would’ve had the guts to try and even fewer would’ve made it work. She was already painting a picture of what her opponent was like, what she would need to end this, formulating plans…

None of which were coming to fruition anytime soon, however. For now, she merely had to deal with things, as her leg sliced through the air and hit precisely nothing. She expected as much, not even she was confident enough to think she could end the match so early, but she was disappointed all the same. So close on that one.

Unfettered, she kept her leg out, raised it up, and prepared to drop the hammer right on his skull with axe kick…

…only for him to kick out her legs before she could even dream of connecting.

Typically unflappable, Blair was forced to croak and stumble forward at that, her balance temporarily ruined, her body forced to pivot. She brought her leg up just in time to keep from face-planting, and looked over to her side to see him - wisely - moving out of her range once more, rolling to safety, scurrying across the mat. Another time, another sort of opponent, and she would’ve made some glib joke about that, but she was already seeing the importance of not giving him such chances.

Instead, she went into hot pursuit, storming across the ring, trying to close the distance before he could fully rise, when he was most vulnerable. As soon as she was close enough, she launched herself forward, cycled through her legs and tried to connect with a bicycle knee to his face, a move that would surely put him down if it connected.

If.

[Null Spell]

Someone her size getting up so quickly, much less charging him at the speed was seriously impressive. It was more fitting of the younger talent he'd watch wrestle in LAW. Following his impulse to hit her while she was down would've left even less time to react to the knee launched at his face. No time to stand after rolling. Mikazuki raised his arms instead to shield his head.

He only had a split second to savor the anticipation before the collision. It'd rock him. Rattle his head a bit. But he could take it. Had to. It was a challenge issued without words. Blair was pressuring him, trying to shut him down before he could get started. He could survive it.

And survive he barely did. Mikazuki's arms took the initial brunt of the numbing damage, but that hardly mattered when the impact forced them into his face anyway. He was tumbling again from the momentum she carried into him.

An unsteady attempt to bring his legs up under him had him staggering back into the ring ropes. Mikazuki knew he should hold onto them and steady himself before he fell over. Why do that when he could match her aggression?

Mikazuki rebounded off the ropes and charged at her, his footing unstable from being lightheaded after the blow. And a little bit from his laughter. So strong, he needed to see what else she could pull out. Though, now that he was acquainted with the danger she posed, he was determined to make it as difficult as possible for her to try something like that again.

He'd make it difficult to predict him too. Mikazuki figured the last thing she'd expect was for him to willingly close the gap between them when he hadn't fully recovered.

Mikazuki targeted her legs again, making use of what weight he had and launching himself forward with his legs out to try and land a dropkick. If he could knock her down again, he'd make better use of the opportunity and go for a guillotine choke.

[BlackAkuma]

Putain, growing old was such a bother sometimes. While she was never what one would call ‘fleet of foot’, she had been quick enough in her younger days to dance with a lad like this and keep up the pace without gassing herself out. Her strikes had been swiffer, her movements were lighter, crisper. Time had taken its toll on her and she’d traded in speed for power out of necessity.

It seemed as if Mikazuki had found the speed she’d lost. Youth was wasted on the young, as always.

For a second, she thought her fortunes might have changed, as she felt her knee connect, but that elation fled the moment she realized what exactly she’d hit - a blocking arm. The blow sent him back, knocked him away, but it was a far cry from the damage she craved with such an attack. She wanted him flat.

Still, it was satisfying to see him on the backfoot, even if he was quick to correct. ”Having trouble?” She couldn't resist a taunt—just a quick one.

Seeing an opening as he recovered, Blair moved back in a reeled back with arm, prepared to level him with a simpler strike, a basic punch. Not a bad tactic, but her timing was poor, as he stayed downstairs instead of coming back up. Another kick struck her in the legs, and this time it was enough to bring her down to her knees, where he was waiting.

A guillotine choke. Blair gasped as he moved in and locked it in. He might not have been the strongest, but it didn’t take a great degree of power to deal damage with a move such as this. Gritting her teeth, Blair worked her way back up to her feet as he poured on the pressure and threw a couple of quick punches into his side, more out of spite than anything.

[Null Spell]

With the advantage of size came the disadvantage of guarding against low attacks. At least, they'd worked twice already on his opponent. Blair fell right into the snare of his awaiting arms. Mikazuki tightened the noose around her neck, scissoring her body with his legs to gain more leverage to lean back and strain her neck more.

He'd never been a brawny person by any means, especially when it came to his arms. The agonizing hold didn't completely rely on him having the power to keep his foes in place. Much to his relief. Failing to knock her down would've left him dangerously open. Any relief was fleeting when Blair began to stand. It was never going to keep her down for long, but Mikazuki didn't know how to feel about her carrying his weight so easily, as meager as it may have been. The display of strength was great though! What he preferred.

“Are you? I can hear your bones creaking, ya hag!” A wholly exaggerated taunt on both fronts, but he couldn't let her own linger undisputed. Not if he wanted to keep as much control in their bout as he could. He preferred something more threatening to dig into her with. Maybe something about leaving her out cold with the chokehold? No way she'd take it seriously when every punch she threw into his increasingly tender side made him pause mid-word to suck in a pained breath.

The cost of challenging at such a close range. That's where he needed to be, however. Right where her range advantage didn't factor in as much.

He broke the hold after becoming more concerned with nursing potential bruises in the morning than wearing Blair down. Releasing his legs from around her body, he latched onto a handful of her hair as he fell. An attempt to pull her head downward just enough for a swift follow-up. With a hop, Mikazuki spiked his knee upwards to try and nail Blair square in the forehead.

[BlackAkuma]

It was hard to be sure with his arm around her head, blocking her eardrums, but Blair could hear what Mikazuki was saying for the most part and, needless to say, she did not find it pleasant. He had already shown himself impertinent before when he denied her the proper courtesies, but she could have written that off as the natural bullishness of youth.

But then he had to go and speak again and insult her age along with it. It was hardly the first time someone had done so, but most had the good sense to do with the internet to protect them, not when they were in the ring and certainly not after the bell had rung. She knew it well, the sort of behavior that was all too common with modern men.

Blair Dame would have none of it.

Her punches came in sharper now, digging in deep, looking to deal out some punishment, as well as giving him good reasons to let her go. He didn’t seem to take the hint at first, but after a couple of solid shots, he finally disengaged, likely not wanting his ribs turned into kindling.

But he didn’t part ways without a parting gift - namely, a knee to the face. While he might not have been the strongest foe she’d ever faced, Blair was learning that Mikazuki had a penchant for hitting where it hurt the most. The White Widow was left reeling by the attack, staggering back and shaking her head, trying to regain her senses and making decent progress - but likely not fast enough.