Yuki Kazikura vs. Satsuki Hayano - POW Match

[winner3]

POW Match: Victory to be awarded via pinfall, submission, knockout, count out, or disqualification. The winner will claim the loser as their prisoner for a predetermined amount of time after the match. All standard pro wrestling rules apply.

[CaptainL]

Yuki Kazikura had been through a lot. No one could deny that. Through her tumultuous career, she had constantly sought to prove that she was every bit as capable of claiming the success she enjoyed on the independent circuit now that she was in the big leagues, and though she had cemented herself as a mainstay of LAW's main event scene, she struggled to get much further than that. After a failed bid for the Lightweight Championship, Yuki had thrown herself into her training, looking to surpass her glass ceiling, yet she always seemed to come up short - after a surprise elimination in the first round of the Lightweight Classic, she had attempted to expand her skillset by putting herself into matches outside her comfort zone, culminating in a brutal no-DQ match against Skylar Jones that left her with a concussion, a broken leg, and a bruised pride.

That had been enough to put her out of action for a while - the second time in her LAW career, as a matter of fact. Barely an hour after the match, whispers were going through the wrestling community about the girl's propensity for injuries, and if she would only prove to be a liability in LAW.

Tonight, though, Yuki was determined to prove them wrong.

After taking time off to recover, and then to train, Yuki was returning to the ring for the first time in months. Once again, she would be facing a high-stakes match, putting her own freedom and well-being on the line. But Yuki had loftier goals than just claiming her opponent prisoner. She wanted to prove to the world that she could thrive even when facing a greater threat than she ever had before. And this time, she was confident that she could do it. After two years, she was ready to return to We Are LAW, and she was going to make it a return worth taking pride in.

"Coming first to the ring, from Yokohama, Japan! At 5'4 and 118 pounds, making her return to LAW...the Dynamite Schoolgirl, YUKIIII KAZIKURAAAA!!"

Spoiler

The moment Yuki appeared on the top of the entrance ramp, beneath a bright spotlight, the audience burst into cheers and applause, with more than a few chants of "WELCOME BACK! WELCOME BACK!" It made the smile grow across Yuki's face as she thought on how her fans were always willing to stand by her, and in how eager they were to see her return to the ring. But she knew the greatest challenge was ahead of her, and that she would need to be ready. She pumped her fist in the air to draw on their support, but she made her way down to the ring with a focused stride. When she got there, she climbed up to the top rope, raising her arms at her sides to draw another burst of cheers from the crowd, before she swept the track jacket off her shoulders and let it fall to the ground. Then, she vaulted off the rope, doing a backflip in the air before touching down in the ring. With all said and done, Yuki cracked her knuckles and backed into her corner, awaiting the arrival of her opponent.

Spoiler

[FreestylePoet]

Satsuki Hayano was never one to stay in one place. Her entire life had been based on climbing whatever ladder was in front of her. Taking on new challenges. Raising the stakes.

And nowhere were the stakes higher than in an event like this. LAW's PPVs were a place for the women in its ranks to show exactly what they were made of. To declare their intentions to the world and make them a reality. No less than a wrestler's pride and glory were at stake tonight, and the margins upon which those were won and lost would be broadcast for all the world to see.

To make matters even more exciting, Satsuki would be wrestling in a Prisoner of War match tonight. Short of severe bodily harm, a match where the winner earned literal ownership of the loser was as risky a match stipulation as it got. But the real cherry on top for Satsuki – beyond the event, beyond the rules, beyond even her own leap into the fray – was her opponent for the night.

Yuki Kazikura.

A wrestling prodigy who'd been in the game since before Satsuki went legit as a gambler. A former #1 contender for the Lightweight Championship. A pillar of their division that was so strong that LAW management had seen fit to give her a second shot at the title through the Lightweight Classic. A name that, despite Satsuki's desire to keep potential opponents a surprise, she couldn't help but hear in awed whispers backstage. Evidently, she'd been through a rough patch recently, but those details didn't matter to Satsuki. All she needed to know was that Kazikura was as talented as they came here in LAW.

Such an occasion demanded more than what had become regular for her. No normal entrance. No normal attire. No normal Satsuki.

And that is exactly what she hoped to deliver. Mere seconds after the Dynamite Schoolgirl settled into her corner, the lights and Titantron cut out. A beat of silence, then an echoey synthetic horn as the instrumental to Satsuki's PPV entrance theme kicked in.

"If you step into this ring with me, I'm not letting you out until I take everything from you." Floodlights flashed along the entrance ramp, creating an altar of light in the dark as the first words that Satsuki ever spoke in a LAW ring echoed throughout the arena.

"Well, guess what? I want you too. Every last goddamn piece of you!" A fitting threat to reference before a POW match, but one that was lost on much of the audience. Whispers started to undercut the bass-boosted audio, filling both upper and lower bowl alike with confusion. But that was fine. Where Yuki basked in the crowd's welcomes, Satsuki reveled in anonymity. Where Yuki grew empowered by their cheers, Satsuki drew a giddy sort of strength from their fear of the unknown. Their uneasy murmurs cemented her status as the wild card. The underdog. Just how she liked it.

"To those I've fought. To those I have yet to fight. To those whose eyes are locked on wins and belts alike, with hardly a glance my way. To those who rightfully don't know my name..." The music cut to draw viewers' ears to the end of her pre-PPV promo. "You will."

And crescendoed once more, now with lyrics, as the stadium's lights came back to life. "And her opponent, standing at 5'4 and 120 lbs, fighting out of Macau, China by way of Osaka, Japan. The Queen of Clubs. The Goddess Daikokunyo. Making her Pay-Per-View debut, SATSUKIII HAYANOOOO!

Satsuki Hayano

As promised, she stepped onto the stage. There must have been some in the audience who knew of her, and for them, this was a new ensemble. Gone was the perceptive but aloof Queen of Clubs, who fought with a loose, smug expression as she waited for worthy opponents to find her. Here instead was a Satsuki with an infinitely more steely gaze, clad in leather as black as night. Daikokunyo. Goddess of luck, hoarder of treasures, and, in some mythologies, an unboundable, destructive void.

She moved down the entrance ramp with a purpose, her breaths growing deeper and brow furrowing more prominently with every step. Her eyes never left the so-called Dynamite Schoolgirl. A clear visage of obsession, half-contradicted and half-framed by the way her lips twitched and curled into an enthralled smile. Her jacket was shrugged off her shoulders and onto the ramp, immediately forgotten in favor of the prize just in front of her. As she slipped into the ring and cracked her neck, that grin never left her face.

"Yuki Kazikura." She growled manically, as if high on the very atmosphere itself. "I've been waiting for this."

[CaptainL]

Yuki took her place in her corner, clenching her fists and straightening her back as she lifted her head to face whatever challenge awaited her. But then...the arena went black. As the lights were snuffed out, and the music began to play, building to a series of quotes that all touched on the same theme - that the opponent Yuki was up against wouldn't hold back; that she was willing to risk everything when the ultimate wager was on the line - one thing was for sure. Satsuki meant business. She was unfettered and unafraid, even - no, especially - when the stakes were high.

Standing in the shadows, for the briefest moment, Yuki took in a gulp. It was only now, with the ring in darkness, that she knew she could get away with it. She was out to make this match a glorious return for her, one that would show that not even her past injuries, or the brutal torments she had been forced to endure against Skylar Jones, would hold her back from her passion and her dedication for wrestling, and her commitment to always be the best she could be.

But now...she wasn't so sure about that. The smile on her face wavered, and she shuffled her feet in anxious anticipation of what was to come. Yuki wanted to believe she was as confident as her opponent was - but she wasn't. She couldn't be; not after she had faced a string of losses, despite every effort she put into her matches, that left her questioning what it was she was doing wrong. And yet, here her opponent was, putting her very freedom on the line without even flinching.

As the lights rose, and Satsuki descended from the ramp, Yuki's posture only stiffened. Compared to Yuki's down-to-earth, no-frills entrance, one that called to her image as the champion of the people - the girl who could be anyone's sister, daughter, classmate, or friend - her opponent stood in stark contrast. With such command over the lights, with an arresting presence that far outstripped her stature, Satsuki was larger than life, every part like the vengeful goddess she painted herself as. Yuki's eyes grew a little wider, twitching as the inevitable comparisons set in. That haughtiness, that self-assured look...it all reminded her of Rose. And if she couldn't beat Rose...how could she beat her?

Squeezing her eyes shut and looking down, Yuki muttered a few words under her breath. "Think, Yuki, think...you can't let this get to you. You have to do your best...even if nothing else, if you do your best..."

Taking in a deep breath, Yuki straightened herself, taking a step closer to close in on Satsuki. Their eyes locked; Yuki didn't want to waver, or show any hesitation, even for a minute. Even if, in the back of her mind, her better instincts were screaming at her to.

"I've...waited for this, too," Yuki replied. It wasn't entirely true, of course. She hadn't been announced as Satsuki's opponent until recently, and the Queen of Clubs surely had her eyes set on her long before Yuki knew of her challenge. But Yuki spoke to something greater. She wasn't waiting to face Satsuki - she was waiting to prove to the world she belonged where she was on the card. And tonight, she would prove it. Her eyes narrowed, and her fist squeezed tighter. "I'm ready for you-!"

[FreestylePoet]

There was a time and place for pageantry. It had a way of penning legends into existence. The masses were its parchment, and trademark flourishes were its inkwell. But Satsuki didn't care for popular renown. Baying, debauched fans were useful creatures indeed -- just ask Vanessa Vixen -- but theirs were not the eyes that mattered. They could all think her a clown, so long as Yuki Kazikura thought her a colossus. In this way, Satsuki used popular renown for war more than art. It was not a pen but an arrow, meant to be nocked, aimed, and fired directly at her opponent's beating heart, long before Satsuki arrived to meet them.

And Kazikura's face was that of a woman well and truly struck.

In the slowly-undimming lights, she could see it. Satsuki's opening salvo, it seemed, had found purchase somewhere in her opponent's state of mind. Still, the wound was hidden. Patched by a bandage of willpower. It was hastily wrapped, but the act of dressing itself told Satsuki all she needed to know. Yuki had gotten the message. Though there was no cage around them, they were trapped with one another in this cruel arena. The only way out for Yuki was forward. She would need to trample Satsuki underfoot to get there. And, with a grit of her teeth and fist alike, Yuki showed that she was willing to carve that path with her own two hands.

In a word, her opponent had shown her their resolve.

"DING DING DING!"

All that was left was for Satsuki to steal it away.

At last, her grin fell. It settled instead into a satisfied curl at the corners of her mouth. She shuffled back one step, then two as she positioned herself perpendicular to Yuki's stance. When the bell rang, she started to circle Yuki, ready to strike at a moment's notice like a trained mixed martial artist. Just seconds later, she changed direction, moving clockwise then counter-clockwise about Yuki. It wasn't exactly the rhythmic ginga of capoeira, but the concept was similar. She switched back and forth every so often, hoping to keep Yuki on her toes. And of course, she stood tall and unblinking, the back-alley street dog in her refusing to give an inch, even in her stance.

Each of the three inspirations for her fighting style combined into one consistently inconsistent wildcard. An opening gambit that would test Yuki's reaction to the unknown. Satsuki watched her foe unwaveringly, looking for any shift in her eyes or stance that might give her the reads she was hunting for.

Then, she struck! Her right leg flashed out to lead the charge, swinging wide for a roundhouse to Yuki's core! But just as it was about to land, it planted itself firmly on the canvas instead. She shifted not only from one leg to the other but also moved her target from low to high! Now Satsuki's left leg traced a wide circle as she spun for a reverse roundhouse kick, with her heel aimed right for Yuki's head!

[CaptainL]

Yuki knew exactly what her opponent was doing. The match had yet to begin, but the first shots of the battle had already been fired. Satsuki wasn't simply looking to make this a big event. She wanted to get into Yuki's head, to make her feel all the more small and weak and defenseless compared to her, the picture of confidence. And in that respect, it was working perfectly. Yuki felt a shudder go down her neck at the thought of facing an opponent like Satsuki, an opponent who was already convinced she had won before the bell even rang. Would she be able to keep up?

Next to Satsuki, Yuki was left questioning herself; asking herself if she was really capable of meeting the Queen of Clubs on her level. She didn't want to admit that through her pose and posture; she still held her back straight and looked her opponent in the eye. She still wanted everyone to believe in her; to know that she could rise to the challenge. But, as she bit her lip and swallowed a gulp, she was all too keenly aware that the look on her face would give it all away. And what chilled her spine most of all was the thought that Satsuki had seen everything. As the bell rang, and the smirk fell from Satsuki's face...Yuki was sure she had.

For the briefest of moments, a shudder went through her body. Her eyes narrowed and her brow furrowed. But still, she took a step forward and raised her fists. No matter what, she had to be ready. She had to study her opponent's movements closer, watching for how she would move and where she would strike. As long as she did that, Yuki told herself, she could survive.

But the moment the match began, Satsuki called that into question. Suddenly she began circling back and forth, switching directions but never taking her eyes off her opponent. Raising her fists higher and bending at the knees, Yuki tried to follow Satsuki's motions. Every once in a while she spun back around to face her, but by then Satsuki had already swerved away again. Her movements were erratic and unpredictable, yet every one of them was made with the fluidity and grace of a dance. She made this look effortless! Yuki leaned in a little more, her teeth clenched. The sweat beaded on her brow in thought. Every time Satsuki seemed within her grasp, she slipped just out of her reach! Not even a single blow had been thrown, and Yuki was questioning how she could hope to catch up to her opponent!

At last, Satsuki came closer. As her leg kicked out, Yuki gasped, straightening herself to her full height as her eyes went wide. She brought her arms up to protect her chest from the blow...but just as she did, Satsuki came to a stop, just before she swung up with another kick, aimed higher - toward Yuki's head!

The raven-haired girl let out a yelp now - a sign of her true feelings. Not only had Satsuki caught her off guard by switching up her stance, she was also targeting a part of the body Yuki knew was vulnerable. After coming back from a concussion, she knew she had to stay on her guard to avoid injuring herself again. Bringing her arms up, she tried to protect her head. But by then, it was too late. Satsuki's kick had bypassed her reach, and her heel clocked her in the side of the head with a thud! Wincing from the pain, Yuki fell over on her side. She propped herself up on her elbow to keep herself from falling, but with her other hand she clutched at her head to nurse the blow, and she look up at Satsuki with a wince.

[FreestylePoet]

In truth, Satsuki was not at all confident that she would emerge victorious this night. This was not out of self-deprecation; for 24 years, her skills had hardly ever failed to measure up. So while she was green as could be in the world of professional wrestling, there was no reason to doubt her own capacity to fight. Still, this newness was, in a way, the source of her uncertainty. If a neophyte like her had heard of Yuki Kazikura, even as passingly as she had, then clearly this woman before her had earned some sort of reputation.

Against such a foe, there was no way she could be certain of her victory. But that was exactly what enthralled her so: The opportunity to test and be tested by someone of a far higher caliber than herself. That was why, in these opening moments, she sought to control the tone and tempo of their battle. Other, lesser opponents would have afforded Satsuki more risk; while she always played to win, tempting danger was half the fun. But Yuki was the risk in and of herself. She was the danger.

And, God willing, she was the fun.

So when her heel cracked across Yuki's face, the Dynamite Schoolgirl's pain yielded an equal and opposite reaction of glee in Satsuki. The accompanying yelp was strange -- out of place, she thought, in an arena such as this -- but it was quickly drowned out by the audience, who groaned in what Satsuki assumed was a degenerate mixture of sympathy and awe. This was even more strange. Hers was the first strike of the evening, and a rather routine one at that. Why, then, was there such an audible cry of concern?

This puzzle would not occupy Satsuki's mind for long. Letting her momentum carry her forward, she stepped over her fallen foe, sparing her a quick smirk as she passed. Yuki would be given Satsuki's back. A dangerous position, she knew, for any fighter to be in. But she wouldn't stay in it for long, setting off towards the ropes with pace! The bottom rope would be her stepstool as she launched back towards Yuki, flipping onto her palms before bouncing off! Her knees swung through the air, aimed right at her laying opponent's side.

And if all of these landed, the product: A springboard handspring kneedrop!

[CaptainL]

In the grand scheme of things, Yuki was part of LAW's old guard. She'd been in the company for what was closing in on two years now, and already she'd had a number of high-profile matches to her name. She'd competed for titles before, and this wasn't her first time appearing on the company's flagship supercard - and that wasn't even taking into account her successful career on the independent circuit leading up to that point. But she was still used to thinking of herself as an up-and-coming rookie. Thanks to what all could only explain as a streak of natural talent, Yuki had sped through her training and already achieved high accolates at the age of 16. By the time she was in LAW, she was already an accomplished wrestler. But she was also just barely out of high school, setting off on her own for the first time. She had her doubts and her hesitations, spurred on by a streak of ill fate - and when she looked at Satsuki, she would never guess that she was the one who had the more experience between the two of them.

Not that it mattered now, because the hesitation was doing Yuki no favors. She was still on her side, rubbing at her temple to dull the pain from where Satsuki's foot had clubbed her upside the head, and wincing against the sensation. Ordinarily, this wouldn't keep her down for that long. The match was still young, and she still had plenty of chances to take the lead. And yet, any blow she took to the head brought her thoughts back to taking a burning hammer onto a steel chair, and with those memories came a wince and a pained shudder. Yuki couldn't let something like that happen to her again. She couldn't afford to be taken out of the action again - to lose her chance to prove herself as capable as she knew she could be.

Yet, it was that same desperation that caused her to hesitate. It was holding her back from getting out of the way, and it left her second-guessing herself - if she'd taken any serious damage, and if she'd need to watch herself going forward. Yuki rolled over onto her stomach, starting to crawl away toward the ropes. But by then, it was too late - Satsuki had already thrown herself off the ropes.

The gambler's display of acrobatic skill caused a few cheers from the crowd as she bounced off the ropes with her hands. But she would soon go flipping through the air, bringing her knees down against her foe - and, as the two collided, the force of the impact knocked Yuki face-first into the mat! Her body dropped to the mat with a thud, her arms and legs falling heavy against the canvas, and she let out a cry that was soon muffled by the surface on which she lay, pinned down under Satsuki.

[FreestylePoet]

If the crowd applauded Satsuki, she didn't hear it. The legions of LAW's faithful had outlived their usefulness. The cell door had slammed shut in her mind's eye, leaving her locked in with Yuki Kazikura until one could earn their escape from the other. Her opponent, she thought, must have been the same way; after all, anything else would lead to her swift downfall. Popular appeals were not a weapon that could be used in such a state of tunnel vision. All that was left was to strike and strike again until one fell.

And though she both struck and fell -- literally -- Satsuki's blow did not impact the way she wanted it to. Yuki had the wherewithal to roll herself over and crawl away, which left only her more-sturdy back for the knee drop to smash against. Still, she managed to put her opponent onto the canvas once more, and immediately, her mind ran through a host of follow-ups: Flip and cover Yuki up for a pin. Clamber atop her for a rear naked choke. Slide in for some crab or cloverleaf. All safe, tactical options. But in the best case, Yuki would simply escape, and they'd both be right back where they started. In the worst case, though, the move would work, and Satsuki would be left incredibly unsatisfied.

If this was going to be the knock-down, drag-out fight that she anticipated, Satsuki would need to learn some more about her foe. Which meant it was time to roll with the punches.

She hoisted Yuki up by the rear neckline of her leotard, urging her to rise upon her no-doubt shaky legs. "Up," she commanded. If she didn't want the athletic attire to tear, she would have to follow, leaving Satsuki to carry her foe like a piece of luggage. Her grip was strict and demanding, and with it in place, she moved behind her foe. A sleek leg rose, and the sole of Satsuki's sneaker planted itself on Yuki's rear end. She kicked out and let go, roughly shoving Yuki forward!

Then Satsuki stepped back, rolling her neck with a deep breath. Her stance was rebuilt from scratch, only this time, she stood still. A pair of pink eyes appraised Yuki's every move, from how she got up to how she faced Satsuki once more. When her opponent had fully risen, Satsuki would beckon her forth with two curling fingers.

"Your move, Yuki."

The message was a double-edged blade. Her sharply focused eyes warned Yuki that depending on what she did, perhaps some counter or dodge would be in the cards. But even if Satsuki couldn't escape Yuki's next move, the daring smile on her face told a different story altogether: Whatever the Dynamite Schoolgirl had in mind for her, no matter which of her well-practiced moves she would pull out, Satsuki was sure she could survive it.

[CaptainL]

In rolling over in an attempt to crawl away, posing herself such that Satsuki would land on her back instead of her side and protecting her organs from the brunt of the blow in the process, Yuki had softened the incoming attack. And yet, that didn't do much to reassure her. As she saw it, it might as well have landed at full force. Her body shook with the aftershocks of the blow, and as she let out a scream and fell forward onto her face, her whole body was left tingling. Her ribs moved in and out with haggard breaths as she tried to draw the air back in her lungs; a few strands of hair fell haphazardly along her sweaty brow. Every time Yuki tried to move, her back throbbed with a reminder of the pain she had incurred, causing her to let out a hiss as she sunk back down. And worst of all...Satsuki was on her back. She now had free reign to do whatever she wanted to do to Yuki, and with the raven-haired girl still stunned from the blow, there was nothing she had in her to fight back with.

Feeling the tug on her neck from where Satsuki tugged on her neckline, Yuki let out a cough, but she was forced up to her feet nonetheless, getting one foot beneath her and then the other. She was still wavering unsteadily, but even with one eye clamped tightly shut and her teeth clenched in a wince, Yuki still managed to glare behind her in Satsuki's direction. They were well into this match, and already Yuki had barely done anything to her foe. It was her chance to prove to the world she was still capable, and she wasn't even reaching out to take it. She bit at her lip, steeling her nerves - she couldn't let this opportunity be wasted.

She reached behind her, attempting to grab for Satsuki's arm to pry herself free - but by then, it was too late. Satsuki planted her foot against her rear, and with a shove, Yuki was sent stumbling forward, taking a few clumsy steps before she fell unceremoniously onto all fours. A blush crossed her face, as much from the knowledge she had landed less than gracefully as it was from the compromising position she was in, doubled over on her knees with her forehead touching the mat and her behind raised to the crowd. But she wouldn't let that stop her soon. There was still time in this match, Yuki told herself; time she could still use to claw her way up.

Shoving herself back up, Yuki got her feet on the ground. She shook out her arms to work the aches out of her joints, and as she caught her breath, she turned around to face Satsuki, her fists clenched and her eyes narrowed as she raised her head to her. Yuki bit at the corner of her lip as the tension in her body grew, watching Satsuki beckon her forward. She was testing her, she thought. She wanted to see what Yuki could be capable of. And what was all too irksome to Yuki was the nagging thought that whatever she did wouldn't live up to the hype.

But she nodded her head to Satsuki's offer. She needed to give it her best, to prove herself not just to Satsuki, but to all those watching her as well! She took a few steps back toward the ropes, where she pressed her back up against them to draw on the momentum. Then, she let out a battle cry, taking off toward Satsuki as fast as she could before she raised an arm to ram into her with a clothesline!