Arriving for an Excursion

[CaptainL]

Shelley Maslow vs. Kayla Grant

When Kayla could feel her legs being twisted around behind her and hooked together, her eyes squeezed shut even before Shelley began to haul backward to compress her spine. When that happened, it was like a piercing pain shot right through her system, and she could hardly hold back the urge to cry out! But Kayla wasn't about to give in - not now. She still had to prove herself, and she still had to fight it - she had promised she would stand up to Shelley, and she intended to make good on that promise! Gritting her teeth to quell the pain, she rocked her body back and forth, trying to build up enough momentum to disrupt her opponent's balance. And finally, she was able to force her to let go!

Sinking back against the mat, Kayla drew in a few haggard breaths now that the pressure was off of her. But any satisfaction she would feel was doomed to be short-lived. Shelley wasn't done with her, and while Kayla was still reeling from the pain, she was only going to try and exert control! When Kayla felt Shelley spread her legs apart, she wasn't sure what she was doing at first. But when she ducked down lower, and went to secure her limbs to haul her to her feet, it became all too clear that Shelley wouldn't let her off easy. Kayla wasn't about to let this happen. She had fought hard to get herself out of Shelley's hands - she wasn't going to let her take control again so easily!

Shelley shoved Kayla back, forcing some distance between the two of them for just long enough for her to swing her knee up toward the brunette. But Kayla saw that knee flash through the air - and in that instant, her defiance and her will to fight back flared. Whatever she did, she couldn't let that hit! Suddenly leaning in closer to close the distance again, Kayla would try to throw her arm around Shelley's leg in order to secure it and stop the arc with which she threw the blow. Then, she would throw herself forward, trying to push off her feet with enough force to drag Shelley down under her, with her leg still in her grip, as she tried to go for a pin!

Daniel Starr and John Smith vs. Sheila Chihara and Meiyun Lai

Sheila and Meiyun barely had any time to put their heads together and come up with a plan. But then, they didn't need to! The two Young Lionesses' hearts both beat with a burning passion and a determination to triumph, and they were already on the same wavelength - they both knew exactly what to do, and they were ready to do it! With a motion as perfect as any choreographed team move could have been, they shot themselves off the ropes at the same time, both landing a hard-hitting clothesline on their opponents that sent them toppling to the mat!

"Yes!!" The girls shared a cheer, slapping a quick high-five in celebration. But this wasn't over, of course - they had just won the lead; now they had to fight to keep it. "Alright!! John's the bigger target, so we need to focus our efforts at softening him up," Meiyun announced. "I'm going to keep Daniel under control!"

"Got it!" Sheila met that news with a nod of her head. She ran toward the ropes again, drawing on their momentum as she bounced herself back toward where John had fallen. When she closed in on him, she would hop up from the ground to try and connect a double-footed stomp to his chest!

Meanwhile, Meiyun would grab for Daniel's leg, yanking back at his ankle to put him in an ankle lock!

Impromptu Brawl

Kirie couldn't stand this. Emily, it seemed, had completely given up on her, brushing her off as not even being worth her time and going to another ring. When she watched her retreat, her body went stiff, and she trembled with rage. Emily was proving an irksome foe to be sure, but what frustrated Kirie even more than her inability to keep her down was the thought that Emily had this little respect for her. This was supposed to be her chance to prove herself on a new stage and to a new audience, expanding her reach even further - and yet, Emily wouldn't even let her get through a single spar! Well, if that was how she wanted to do things...Kirie would put all that anger to good use. She shoved herself back up to her feet, but her eyes remained locked on target the whole time. And then, she hurled herself over the ropes and into the next ring over, grabbing for Emily's head to take her down!

The moment Emily went down beneath her, Kirie balled a fist, prepared to clamor on top of her and take a mounted position. She was so focused on making Emily suffer for daring to mock her that she didn't even realize that Cinderella was coming closer, up until she found herself cut off from her target! Hissing with fury, Kirie pounded the canvas with her fists in frustration. "Get outta my way!! I'm not done with her!" she shouted. She tried to reach past Cinderella to grab Emily...only for Emily to knock the Englishwoman back into her! The two of them fell into a heap, causing Kirie to sputter and gasp in rage. "I SAID, GET OFF!" she wailed, throwing punch after punch at Cinderella's side! Right now, it didn't matter that Cinderella wasn't who Kirie was after. If she was getting in her way, she had to go down, too!

In trying to take Emily down, Kirie had the side effect of forcing her to let go of Hana. The Korean girl lay there flat, her chest rising and falling as she gasped for air. Her head was still throbbing and the world was spinning; she rubbed at her temples to try and ease the pain. But before she could do that, Emily grabbed her and hurled her into the next ring over - where she came flying right at Sophia, right as she had intercepted Michiko's kick! When she heard Hana scream in shock as she flew through the air, Michiko looked out from around Sophia's side, just in time to see Hana hurtling toward her - and her own jaw dropped in a scream just as the three of them crashed into one another, knocking them all down in a heap! Now, all Michiko and Hana could do was flail, punch, and kick, trying to worm their way out from the tangle of limbs!

It was Hana, however, who would manage to pull out first. She managed to slip out between the other two women, rolling to her knees and shaking herself out - and when she looked back at them, she noticed that they were still trying to disentangle themselves from one another, apparently unaware that Hana had gotten herself free. A smirk came to her face - she knew just how to use that. Getting to her feet, Hana proceeded to plant her foot down against Sophia's back to pin her against Michiko, while she stood atop the whole pile with her hands on her hips and the grin of a job well done on her face. If things were getting this heated between the two of them, it could only benefit her; after all, if they took care of each other, that was two jobs Hana didn't have to do!

[Pegasus]

“Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Hold up! Hold up! Hold up!” Hank ordered as he waved his hands to stop the sparring. “This isn’t a taping! We don’t have to do this. This is just sparring. Alright, I can see some tensions need to die off…..so we’ll do this.”

Hank called over to some gym workers as he started speaking with them privately and they were sent off to find some items for the CEO. Hank put his hands behind his back before addressing everyone.

“I know the wrestling got cut short there, but there will be plenty of time for that and honestly, I’m impressed by what I’ve seen from all of you. But let’s decompress with maybe something a bit more limited. I sent some of the guys to go get boxing gloves, because it’s clear some people here want to let out some aggression. I think it’s perfectly healthy after some training. Alright, let’s see who I can pair up here to avoid unnecessary shoot fights,” Hank explained.

Hank paired up Kayla and Shelley to continue their spar, Meiyun with Sophia, Michiko with Cinderella, Hana against Emily, Kirie against a trainer named Luma, and he sent Ali to the locker room to get changed to fight Sheila. Ali was perturbed and shocked as she looked back at Hank.

“You’ve done kickboxing, right?” Hank asked Ali.

“Um….yes, but I’m the farthest thing from a premier athlete. I’ve never done boxing before,” Ali replied as she fiddled with her fingers.

“I don’t think Sheila will be too much for ya. Just go get changed and we can start once the guys get back,” Hank directed as Ali nodded reluctantly heading for the locker room.

[CaptainL]

Kayla, Meiyun, and Sheila, at least, were sticking to their own devices. Determined to prove they had what it took to become worthy competitors in WFPW, they had thrown themselves into their focus, devoting every bit of their energy toward success. Everything else seemed to fade into the background. But the rest of the excursionees had descended into complete chaos! The action couldn't be contained in a single ring any more, with Kirie going after Cinderella and Hana being hurled into Michiko and Sophia. Eventually, Hank had no choice but to step in - and as he called a time out, everyone fell silent, freezing exactly where they were as they turned to look back at him.

Kayla blinked a few times, looking over at the other rings, then back at Shelley. She let go of her opponent's leg and pushed herself back onto her side. "I'm...what did you guys even do?"

"Aww, man," Sheila pouted - something that Meiyun would quickly chime in in agreement on. "Yeah, and we were doing so well, too."

Kirie looked back at Hank with a glare, pounding a fist against the mat in frustration as she pushed herself out from under Cinderella. "What? Aww, come ON! I'm not even finished with her!" She shot a glare back at the blonde - who wasn't even the real target of her ire, but if she had been caught up in the crossfire, it didn't matter; Kirie still didn't leave unfinished business.

Hiro cleared his throat, stepping over to the ring. "He, uh, has a point, Kirie...things are getting out of hand. You guys are just supposed to be practicing."

"And getting to know each other, too," Michiko added. "This is the last time we need any hard feelings."

Soon enough, everyone picked themselves up and dusted themselves off, gathering around Hank as he explained their next plan. Kirie raised an eyebrow at the mention of boxing. "I don't really have any experience there...you better not be trying to set me up, got it?"

Meiyun, on the other hand, flashed a grin as she balled a fist and planted it against her palm. "Hey, I'm all for it! I've never boxed before, but I know how to punch things, so I'm game!"

Kayla shrugged her shoulders, cracking her knuckles as she looked back at Shelley. "My sister's a boxer, so I know a few things. Looks like you and I aren't done just yet..." She nodded her head. That was good, she thought to herself - she still had plenty she wanted to prove to Shelley, and she wasn't about to let anyone else get in the way of that.

And Hana only looked back at Emily with a smug look on her face. If she proved this irritable all the time...hoo boy, this was going to be fun.

[Pegasus]

Hank felt bad about having to cut the wrestling momentum short, but anything to keep peace before this excursion went down like a burning bridge. He knew tempers would flare, but hopefully, these girls could keep it in base for the actual shows and perfect their acting skills for the ratings. That’s what really mattered and he quickly chose boxing as their next activity to hopefully let these competitors get some aggression out in shoot fight sparring. The gym workers started filing in with practice boxing gloves for everyone. They passed out black to Kayla, red for Shelley, yellow for Meiyun, purple for Sophia, white for Michiko, light blue for Cinderella, green for Hana, and navy blue for Emily. Sheila would get grey boxing gloves and hot pink would go to Kirie.

Ali soon returned from changing blushing as she only was wearing a one-piece black swimsuit and grey sneakers. The only attire she had on her that could borderline count towards athletic wear. She would be given another pair of black gloves to match as she started putting them on. Shelley rolled her neck as she strapped her own gloves on ready to go deeper into her expertise. She has practiced boxing a lot, but never decided to go pro with it, but still, her striking is just as good as her submissions. Shelley nodded her head to what Kayla said and held out a glove to thump with Kayla’s.

“Maybe some of that Strong Style can help here as well. Just don’t get knocked out too quick, sheila,” Shelley stated, using the Australian term for “woman” in her country instead of actually calling Kayla by a different name.

“Fucking people getting in the way. Whatever, I’ll handle the pipsqueak,” Sophia grumbled leaving the current ring to fetch her gloves.

“Fisticuffs, eh? Well, I can’t say this wasn’t going to be expected some point,” Cinderella stated as she strapped on her gloves with Romero bringing her a steel chair to rest in her corner.

Emily just snatched her gloves and glared down Hana, the target of her ire, and she was going to enjoy wiping the shit-eating grin off her smug little mug. Though, a deep thought resonated within her mind. If this chick wasted time trolling others in wrestling, what did she have in her arsenal for boxing?

An African-American woman with an Afro wearing a beige muscle shirt, black shorts, and white sneakers donning red gloves came in. Hank patted Luma on the back and Luma gave Kirie a friendly bow and smile.

“I know you ain’t got experience in boxing so that’s why you’re going against Luma. She’s trained in multiple forms of combat sports so you’ll gain knowledge sparring with her,” Hank explained to the yandere.

“I guess it’s you and me. Don’t expect too much. I’m not much of a fighter,” Ali stated over to Sheila as she blushed madly.

The workers also had some maintenance men bring in some plexiglass walls that couldn’t be broken easily. Hank was going to make sure these fighters stayed in their own lane as he began using one of the monitors to set up a time of 2 minutes.

“We’ll do 3 rounds of sparring, but these matches will be subjected to knockout and total knockout rules. A 10 count for a knockout and a total of three knockdowns for a TKO. Call me over when you need a count. Let’s get it on!” Hank explained as everyone got steel chairs for their corners and waited on Hank’s signal to start the bouts.

[CaptainL]

With the gloves being passed out, the girls quickly set to work tying them on. As she secured her gloves, Meiyun balled a fist, a confident grin crossing her face - she might not have known much about boxing, but she knew she had the fighting spirit and the raw willpower to succeed at whatever she put her mind to, and just having the gloves on her hands made her feel like she had it in her to prove herself! Getting caught up in her enthusiasm, she threw a few punches in the air - one of which went a little bit long and nearly clipped Sheila in the side of the head, causing her to duck to the side and grab her temples. "Ow! Hey, watch it!"

"Whoops-! Sorry..." Meiyun replied.

When Ali walked back into the room, all eyes turned to her - and Hana, picking up on the trainer's embarrassment at having to do this in a swimsuit, winked and blew a wolf-whistle in her direction just to see her reaction. Kayla rolled her eyes with a deep sigh, shaking he head as she stepped over to Shelley. "I swear, I don't know her," she explained.

However, Hana knew that her real target here was Emily. The blue-haired girl had a short temper, and it was practically begging for Hana to test its limits. She grinned a smug grin as she leaned in closer to her sparring partner. The angry look on her face didn't deter her one bit. Hana wasn't worried about getting hurt - all she cared about was how entertaining this would be. And Emily was certainly proving to be a worthwhile target.

Michiko turned to Cinderella with a shrug of her shoulders. "Look at it this way," she explained, "it's never a bad thing to cross-train in multiple different styles. Helps you expand, and pick up on some things you might not have otherwise."

At Hank's explanation, Kirie nodded her head before stepping into the ring with Luma. "Oh, I'm not worried! As long as my wonderful darling boyfriend is watching me, I have all the motivation I need," she said, turning to Hiro with a wink.

Sheila didn't think twice about Ali's lack of experience. She just waved to her with a welcoming smile on her face. "Whatever happens, I'm still gonna do my best!"

And soon, the action was ready to begin!

*DING DING DING*

Kayla Grant vs. Shelley Maslow

Sucking in a deep breath, Kayla raised her hands to get into a stance as she closed in on Shelley. "I have no intention of disappointing," she said. She was, after all, here to prove she had what it took to be a star in WFPW, and if her opportunity had been cut short before, she would just make up for it now. Keeping up her guard, she began to strafe back and forth around Shelley, occasionally throwing a couple of punches her way to test her defenses. If she let her guard down, though, she'd go in for an uppercut!

Sophia Cross vs. Meiyun Lai

In typical Meiyun fashion, the Young Lioness wasn't afraid of anything - not even if she was going into something she had little experience with, or knowledge of. Her fighting spirit was all she needed! The moment the bell rang, she came charging closer, belting out a battle cry as she pulled back a fist and went to hurl it straight for Sophia's face with a quick jab!

Michiko Shimizu vs. Princess Cinderella Coppertorn

With a smile on her face, Michiko beckoned to Cinderella, eager to see what the princess might have in store. "All right, then...let's see what you're made of!" she cheered, inviting her sparring partner to take her on. If Cinderella did come close, though, Michiko would attempt to lunge forward to hit her with a cross to the jaw, hoping to open things off strong.

Hana Choi vs. Emily Workman

It would come as no surprise to anyone, but Hana wouldn't engage Emily directly. She knew that Emily was a raging bull just waiting to charge, and that made her the perfect target for Matador Style. Leaning back against the ropes, the Korean woman took a moment to stretch, then draped her arms over the top rope like she was casually biding her time, not even bothering to come closer. Even if the match had begun, she was in no hurry.

Kirie Tsukada vs. Luma

Even if Kirie had just made a case for herself thanks to Hiro's support, it still wouldn't change the fact that she was going into something very new for her, and that was bound to be unpredictable. Still, she had to be ready for anything. Taking a deep breath, she stood a little straighter and kept her eyes locked on Luma, keeping her distance for now and darting back and forth to try and keep her guessing. She could use her smaller and more nimble frame to her advantage here, she figured. She just had to see if she could evade Luma's punches and wait for an opening.

Ali Zornes-Enzebagu vs. Sheila Chihara

"Arright!! Let's have a good match!" Sheila cheered, clapping her fists together. It was what she'd seen boxers do on TV, so it only seemed reasonable. Hopping back and forth a couple of times to shake herself out, she came closing in on Ali, throwing punches left and right and from all directions. There wasn't much form to them - it was clear that she wasn't that experienced when it came to boxing. But what she lacked in experience, she would make up for in enthusiasm, and she was going to put her whole heart into this - whether Ali was ready or not!

[Pegasus]

Kayla Grant vs. Shelley Maslow

The bell rang for each first round in the matches as the timer started counting down the numbers. Shelley was still up against Kayla and the matchup was still swimming around in her territory. Shelley didn’t go pro with boxing, but she has months of practice and sparring isn’t any different than throwing strikes in an octagon. Sure, her footwork is more important than throwing kicks or grappling to take down her opponents, but Shelley still has striking more on her side than Kayla would. Kayla came in shifting her feet as Shelley looked down keeping an eye on the precision and blocked Kayla’s fast jabs and even lifted her left arm to block Kayla’s uppercut.

Kayla was once again trying to go too hard at the beginning like in their wrestling spar. Shelley had to make her see that again. Shelley tried moving forward to get Kayla to back it up and threw three fast jabs at the stomach. If those connected or at least some, Shelley would try to secure a hard right hook on the jaw!

Sophia Cross vs. Meiyun Lai

Sophia was still perturbed and angry that her match against Michiko got cut short, because Emily had a little temper tantrum at another match she had no business being in. She hated Hana’s stupid stalling tactics as well, but she was focused on Michiko. Focus on your opponents and don’t worry about who else is around you other than the referee. Now, she’s pretty much babysitting a little firecracker and Meiyun simply ran in without much care of a strategy. Sophia raised an eyebrow not even taking the caution to even guard her face as Meiyun’s punch went solid to her nose.

The stinging made Sophia instantly close her eyes as she let out a hard grunt. She used her left arm to cover her face as she skipped left to keep Meiyun off her. Rookie fucking mistake. Nobody better give her crap about it and she can just chalk it up to being stupid ironic timing.

Princess Cinderella Coppertorn vs. Michiko Shimizu

Cinderella at least had a better opponent that would actually take this seriously. Hana was funny and witty with her Matador Style, but Cindy wanted to truly test these excursioners if they were coming over from Japan. She isn’t the best with boxing or striking for the matter, but Michiko assured her maybe this could unlock some new skills for her. They circled for a full few seconds before Michiko tested the waters with a cross as Cindy backed it up knowing her evasion and defense were going to be her strong suit here. She just circled Michiko trying to goad her into making a mistake.

Emily Workman vs. Hana Choi

As expected, Hana rather waste time than actually fight, but Emily did something probably no one expected and just stood in the corner. Her gloves curled around the top rope and her glare never left Hana, but she stayed put. It was like a rabid Rottweiler standing at the edge of their chain just growling at a stranger trying to come in their yard. If Hana made a misstep, it was lights out for her noggin and Emily wanted nothing more than to show her up. However, she knew better than to play Hana’s game. She would wait all night if she had to, but she wanted to mean business at the same time so she stood her ground not uttering a sound or moving an inch.

Kirie Tuskada vs. Luma

Luma heard the bell rang and got into her default stance circling along with Kirie. She was only here to do her job and spar with Kirie so she didn’t have any beef to settle with the yandere. Kirie didn’t have Emily or Cindy in here with her so Luma could only hope Kirie wouldn’t try to clobber her too harshly. Luma threw out long jabs at Kirie’s face to test the guard.

Ali Zornes-Enzebagu vs. Sheila Chihara

Ali sighed getting her guard up as Sheila just threw out random punches as she did her best to duck or weave or simply guard with her gloves. Ali isn’t totally defenseless. She took kickboxing and has self-defense skills on her side. Ali is just more business rather than competition, but she won’t let herself be a damsel to save and frolick with. Ali has had to put people on their butts with fists before, but her professional image wouldn’t allow her to admit that and she wasn’t intending on going hard against Sheila. However, Sheila just going ham on her from the beginning wasn’t what she was expecting from the energetic Australian and she even saw Sheila wrestle! Ali had to scoop Sheila up in a clinch as she whispered in her ear.

“Hold it! Hold it! Hold it! You can seriously hurt me without thinking this out first, kid. Try and put some thought into your punches,” Ali scolded before backing off to get her guard up getting more serious.

[CaptainL]

Kayla Grant vs. Shelley Maslow

Kayla huffed under her breath as she let herself slip into a boxing stance, keeping her fists in front of her as she shuffled her feet back and forth. This was definitely going to be a bit of an adjustment to make, but she reminded herself that boxing experience ran in her family, and she'd picked up a few lessons about hitting hard along the way, particularly when it came to the training she'd undergone to stay competitive in Japan. Above all, though, she wasn't about to look second-rate if she had been handed the opportunity to prove herself to a new audience - and that was what was going through her head now, as she stepped closer to throw an uppercut toward Shelley's jaw!

However, even if Kayla had come out swinging, a strong offense wouldn't be able to save her against an opponent who was prepared for it. Shelley managed to block every shot she threw at her - and Kayla's teeth could only clench in frustration at seeing her efforts foiled. But she would need to think quickly if she wanted to stay ahead. When Shelley shoved her backward, Kayla knew that was a warning side for what was to come - and she had to be ready for it!

She quickly brought her guard down to defend her midsection, looking to block Shelley's punches. However, while her block absorbed much of the impact, she still couldn't adjust in time when Shelley proceeded to throw a hook right to her head - by the time she had begun to raise her fists, the blow had already connected, causing her to swerve to the side sputtering and gasping. Kayla was forced to take a few steps away from Shelley, but as she came to a stop, she just shook herself out, locking a glare on her foe. It seemed like playing more defensively was working for Shelley, so perhaps she would need to take a page out of the same book. For now, she hung back and took a deep breath. There she would watch her opponent closely, preparing herself for any sudden moves.

Sophia Cross vs. Meiyun Lai

For Sophia, taking a cheap shot from Meiyun might have been an embarrassing blunder. But for Meiyun, it may as well have been one of the proudest achievements of her life. A big grin broke across her face as her fist tightened with exhilaration. The fact that Sophia had other things on her mind certainly didn't cross her thoughts, and it wouldn't temper the excitement of what seemed like a triumph against all odds. If she had managed to score a good hit on Sophia like this, surely that was proof enough that she was adapting to boxing like a natural - and she was ready to follow on that.

Only emboldened by her success, Meiyun was whipped into a frenzy, firing off jabs and punches from all angles, as fast as she could throw them! If she struck quickly enough, she thought, then her opponent wouldn't even have a chance to get anything in edgewise. Of course, she'd also put her own spin on it - hyped up in the heat of battle, she called out "ATATATATATATATATATATA!!" with every strike!

Princess Cinderella Coppertorn vs. Michiko Shimizu

Now, Cinderella would have the opportunity to test her skills against someone who was actually interested in the competition, not someone who just wanted to mess around. And the first few seconds of their spar would certainly set the tone for that, as Michiko locked onto the princess with a steady, focused gaze, making it clear she was going to give this her full focus. She wouldn't even blink as she strafed around her foe; she wasn't about to take her attention off of her for even a second. And it seemed like Cinderella had the same idea, because when Michiko threw a fist at her, Cinderella was already geared up to dodge!

Michiko grumbled to herself at that. All the same, she wasn't going to let it slow her down for long. She moved in closer to throw a couple of feints in Cinderella's direction, hoping she could get her to break her guard. But it wasn't lost on her that Cinderella was counting on her ability to play keep-away, and Michiko was going to have to get more bold about her approach. Still, she was ready for that - if she could get a clear shot at Cinderella, she would come charging closer to her, throwing a hard punch square at her nose with the momentum of her strides! Hopefully, it would be strong enough to make an impact on Cinderella even if she blocked it!

Emily Workman vs. Hana Choi

Now, this was getting interesting. Hana had, predictably, decided to stall for time and draw Emily closer; she'd seen enough in the previous round to know how short her temper was, and already her mind was overflowing with ideas about how she could make that all blow up in her face. But Emily wouldn't give into her temper - instead, she was going to play the same game Hana herself was, hanging back and staring her down. Hana raised an eyebrow at her curiously. This was definitely unexpected...but Hana knew better than anyone that these were tactics just as much as anything else in the ring. And she could adapt to them, as only she could.

Hana leaned a little closer - putting her hands on her knees and bending forward, but never leaving her spot. "Ooh, is this a staring contest?" she teased. "Joke's on you! I'm good at these!" As she was about to prove, she didn't need to get into range to be an annoyance.

Kirie Tsukada vs. Luma

Right from the get-go, Luma was proving that she would pose a threat - she threw a hard punch in Kirie's direction, one that could easily have taken the lightweight down. Kirie didn't need to let it hit her to know that it would've hurt. But then, she wasn't going to let it hit her in the first place! She was already committed to using her smaller frame and mobility to dodge anything Luma would throw her way, and as she swerved out of the way, the sight of Luma's fist passing overhead only served to convince her she was making the right choice.

If there was a silver lining, though, it was that in throwing the punch, Luma had left her torso unguarded - and Kirie was looking to exploit that! She ducked under Luma's arm, running closer to narrow the gap between the two and throw a punch at her trainer's gut.

Ali Zornes-Enzebagu vs. Sheila Chihara

As soon as Sheila saw an opening, she was going to take it. Throwing caution to the wind, she barreled in toward Ali guns blazing, throwing a volley of punches in her directions! It was, perhaps, painfully obvious that Sheila didn't have any prior boxing experience; even in wrestling, she was still in training. But it was just punching people, right? How hard could that really be?

Ali might not have been a full-time fighter herself, but she did have more experience than Sheila - enough to realize that she was making a mistake. For all the enthusiasm she had thrown them with, none of Sheila's punches would actually end up hitting their target when she struck so haphazardly. Instead, Ali would grab her and pull her into a clinch then and there, before the Australian could really embarrass herself. As her momentum ground to a halt, Sheila blinked a few times, unsure of what had just happened. "Wait...you can grab onto people in this?"

Still, Sheila wasn't going to let that stop her. Taking heed of Ali's advice, she nodded her head and took a step back. "Okay, okay, so...uh...how about this?" She said that...and then she lingered on the thought. The truth was, Sheila wasn't much of a strategist. She wasn't one to think through her moves and line up her shots when the simple approach seemed to work just fine for her, and adjusting to something more methodical took a moment for her to wrap her head around it all. She tilted her head to the side, examining Ali from another angle. But once she thought she had picked a good enough spot, she would go and thrust a jab toward her trainer's midsection, trying to drive the air out of her lungs. She just hoped she hadn't wasted too much time thinking it over.

[Pegasus]

Shelley Maslow vs. Kayla Grant

Kayla took the jaw punch like a champ as she was once again humbled for going in too hard too much. Shelley was trying to teach her to try and slow her movements playing on logic rather than instinct to set the field for herself. Kayla decided to go on the defensive keeping away as Shelley circled her. Shelley advanced a little and couldn’t quite get a good spot where she could potentially corner Kayla. Shelley just grunted and advanced throwing out fast left jabs to try and stumble Kayla!

Sophia Cross vs. Meiyun Lai

Sophia wasn’t ready for Meiyun’s first punch and that was on her for distracting herself with other stuff that didn’t matter. Meiyun was her opponent, not anyone else at the moment. Meiyun went on the offense again throwing up multiple jabs and channeling her inner Kenshiro to mentally power them up. Sophia’s gut started getting pummeled as Sophia puffed her cheeks, but she soon blocked some of them and reached out for a clinch. She grappled Meiyun back to the middle and and sent a hard gut punch to the little warrior! She would back off regardless if the hit was successful.

“Ah, not….bad. I could’ve expected worse had I not just given you the opening punch,” Sophia stated to her opponent.

Michiko Shimizu vs. Princess Cinderella Coppertorn

Cinderella ducked all around playing defense for as long as she could. Michiko was proving to be faster and faster and she picked up on Cinderella’s main strategy. Lots of feints hadn’t touched her and Michiko had wounded up with a near successful plan at keeping the princess guessing. Cinderella would not see the nose punch coming up until it was merely a photo flash away. Cindy ducked back in an arch barely avoiding the shot, but her balance made her stumble. Cinderella hung onto the second rope to prevent herself from falling as she hoisted herself back up to get her guard up.

“Excuse my near trip to the canvas, dear. That was a good try,” Cinderella praised her sparring partner.

Emily Workman vs. Hana Choi

Emily just continued her death glare at Hana not moving an inch. One could say Medusa had stared her down and Emily had turned to stone, but Emily’s gaze would falter slightly with a mere blink. That was all in the plan, though. Hana wanted a staring contest and she claimed to be good at them so a little win outta get her cocky. Maybe even try to ramp up the trolling. Emily would wait until Hana paraded around the ring like an idiot before sneaking up on her to turn her around into a strong right hook to the jaw!

Kirie Tuskada vs. Luma

Luma gasped as she felt the air coming in and puffed her cheeks backing up as Kirie landed the first punch of their spar. Luma closed one eye just watching Kirie with a determined look. Luma nodded her praise and got her guard up against the yandere mentally beckoning for her to continue her movements. This was testing Kirie rather than an actual fight, but Luma would remain defiant in not going easy on Kirie.

Ali Zornes-Enzebagu vs. Sheila Chihara

Sheila might not have been a boxing expert, but she could’ve paid attention to a fight or two on television. She’s a wrestler so no expectation of paying attention to anything else so Ali couldn’t falter Sheila. Although, Sheila had been forced to open with a more rational direction and it would cost her as Ali skipped to the side and winded up a two punch combo straight for Sheila’s face! She would try for an uppercut hoping this just ended things quickly for this spar!

[CaptainL]

Kayla Grant vs. Shelley Maslow

Shelley could hit hard - no one was going to deny that. Kayla had seen plenty of evidence of that in their wrestling bout, let alone when they'd taken up boxing. But Kayla was starting to adapt. Her jaw was still aching from where Shelley had struck, but she had to ignore that. She couldn't lose sight of the fact that she was getting used to the situation, and starting to think like a boxer. She just needed to stay out of the path of Shelley's fists. As long as she could do that, she wouldn't need to worry about being taken down before she could claim the advantage!

Shelley came back toward her, fists flying. Kayla tried her best to adapt, bringing her fists up to try and prepare her guard, but Shelley still moved fast for a woman of her size. The Californian went swerving back and forth and from side to side, narrowly slipping around the path of her jabs, and bringing her forearms up to deflect others. She had to think fast - if she was a second off, she'd surely take the brunt of the blow. In fact, she grit her teeth in frustration - she didn't know how long she could keep up with this. Even when she did block a blow, the momentum still threatened to tip her backward. But at the same time, when Shelley was laying on the offense, it made her vulnerable. Kayla needed an opening, and she was going to have to take what she could get!

Hoping she would have enough time to make her move, she would duck downward to try and close the distance as Shelley was winding up for another punch. Then, she'd throw a jab of her own at the heavyweight's midsection, hoping to interrupt her flow!

Sophia Cross vs. Meiyun Lai

With every punch Meiyun threw, the grin on her face spread wider and wider. Her "strategy" of trying to blindside her opponents with a relentless barrage of attacks wasn't the most clever or innovative, but now, it seemed, it was working - and when it was working, Meiyun didn't give any thought to any holes in her plan! This was proof that she was a natural, and that her burning passion for everything she threw herself into was enough to carry her through to victory! It only emboldened her more and more to press her luck, and she roared louder as she whipped her arms into the fray as fast and as hard as she could work them!

However, Sophia still managed to grab hold of Mei's shoulders, starting to push her back. What truly broke her concentration came later, when she rammed her fist right into the girl's gut! That was enough to drive the air out of her lungs. Letting out a cough, Meiyun doubled over forward, drawing her arms closer to clutch her sore stomach. As soon as the adrenaline died down, Meiyun could feel the aches in her arms from how hard she'd worked her muscles, causing her to bite at her lip. She needed a moment to catch her breath...but when she heard Sophia's praise, she looked up with a grin, nonetheless. If she had earned her trainer's respect, then Meiyun had to be doing something right! Of course, she couldn't overlook the fact that Sophia seemed to attribute it to Meiyun having a free hit - that was a thought that made the smile fall from her face a moment later. She clearly still had work to do to prove herself.

"Heh...joke's on you, I'm only getting started!~" Just then, before Sophia had a chance to prepare herself, Meiyun would let out another battle cry and whip her fist upward for a powerful uppercut! She needed Sophia to know she wasn't done yet!

Princess Cinderella Coppertorn vs. Michiko Shimizu

Michiko had nearly managed to take Cinderella down. It seemed that the dash she had made to close the distance had caught the princess off guard, and she only had a fleeting few seconds to react. Still, she managed to duck, leaving Michiko's fist streaking by overhead and only hitting the air. It was a step forward, and one that Michiko could be proud of...but it wasn't enough. She could do better than this, she knew - and she was prepared to make good on that promise!

The action had ground to a halt, leaving the two women catching their breath. What Michiko couldn't overlook was that she had managed to break Cinderella's momentum, and when she had been relying on keeping away from Michiko, that was a strategic asset she couldn't ignore. Now, the ball was in her court to press things, before Cinderella could slip out of her clutches! Once Cinderella had righted herself, Michiko would come charging in with a couple of jabs to her sides, throwing one fist and then the other. Now she had Cinderella right where she wanted her, and she wouldn't let her get away so easily!

Emily Workman vs. Hana Choi

Hana didn't let it on, but behind her smug facade, her mind was whirring away like a supercomputer. She didn't get to where she was by being stupid. She had a knack for manipulating people, finding just the right ways to get under their skin, and - perhaps most importantly of all - to always remain unpredictable. When Emily had agreed to her staring contest, she figured the blue-haired girl had some trick up her sleeve. And, in a game of mental chess, Hana was trying to think ahead to guess whatever move Emily would make next, before she so much as moved a muscle.

She kept the same placid look on her face the whole while, her eye never so much as twitching. She had plenty of experience with staring contests, and she knew how to make herself almost as still as a statue if she wanted to. Sure enough, Emily would break first - and there, Hana let out a cheer, standing back up straight with her fist raised in the air. "HAH! I win! You blinked! You're out! See, I already beat ya!~" she taunted, sticking her tongue out at Emily for good measure. Still keeping her arm held high, Hana began to strut around the ring, parading herself to an invisible audience.

But she knew full well that she was leaving herself open. In fact, she was deliberately acting as obnoxious as possible to bait Emily into making a move - and when that was exactly what Emily did, Hana was prepared for it! When Emily turned her around, Hana looked at her as calm and collected as ever - and she would duck down under the path of her right hook, going to throw a fist at her stomach as she dodged!

Kirie Tsukada vs. Luma

Kirie could feel her fist plowing into Luma, and as her arms came back to ready her guard again, she giggled to herself with a satisfied grin. She had scored a solid hit, and Luma was feeling it, from how she stumbled away. Kirie might not have been much of a striker, but this seemed to be a sign that she was settling well into boxing - and if she could adapt this easily, that was something she was going to wear with pride! "Oooh, didja see that, Hiro-kun?~" she called out to her boyfriend. "I'm good at this!"

In fact, Kirie's success had only emboldened her, and she wanted to take this to the next level; to press her luck and see just how far she could go! Luma didn't even need to call to Kirie in order to draw her closer - the pink-haired girl skipped closer to her, throwing her fist forward to go for a jab to the face. If her last move had worked so well, surely this would too!

Ali Zornes-Enzebagu vs. Sheila Chihara

Sheila wasn't faring quite as well in the transition as others. Ali had managed to catch her off-guard - and in trying to get her bearings, the Australian's momentum had slowed down. But that would prove to be a fatal mistake, if she was lagging behind when Ali was still primed and ready. Ali knew Sheila's opponents wouldn't be forgiving of her if she left herself open, and she wasn't going to mince words about that. Sheila had tried to make up for it with a punch, but it was already too late - Ali swerved aside, leaving Sheila bent over forward, her fist hanging in midair. She let out a gasp as she found herself teetering off-balance - and just moments later, Ali struck two hard punches into her face!

"Gaah..!!" Each punch landed with a crack, causing the Young Lioness's head to snap backward. She veered back a bit, away from her center of balance - and when Ali landed that final uppercut, it sent Sheila reeling, throwing her off her feet as she came crashing down onto her back! She landed with enough force to knock the air out of her lungs, her legs kicking in the air as she sputtered and gasped, and the whole world around her was spinning.

After a moment, she began to roll over onto her side, where she rubbed at her head as she panted for breath. "Oww...can I, uh, have a do-over..?"