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

[Null Spell]

Such a satisfying sound. The dull crack of his knee pads against her brow. Even better, the fervor of the audience from the sudden strike that left Blair teetering. Elation? Concern? A mixed amount of both from what little his distracted mind picked up on. After the impact, they sounded as absorbed as he was with whether or not it'd be enough to make her topple.

No way. Anyone who could make his ribs feel like they'd been bashed into a fine powder was too strong to go down from that. Must've been real intimidated by that chokehold though to pummel him like that! The tingling numbness of his side was worse than the pain she'd inflicted on his arms. He'd leave it to his future self to regret not letting go sooner.

Mikazuki was too eager to inflict far worse on her. He'd already measured his reach before the match started. While she was wide open, he'd nail her again. On the chin. It was easy to envision, yet it'd be more difficult to pull off. He knew as such the moment his feet touched the mat again. Turning his body to the side to set up for the kick, as minor a movement as it was, brought a new wave of pain that radiated along his side. That alone made him less confident in attempting to extend his leg fully to land another hit. It'd need to be perfectly precise. Mikazuki wasn't confident a few stray body shots would do the trick either. He'd try something else to catch her off guard…

Running to the closest ropes he slipped between them to stand on the ring apron and gather himself. Mikazuki held onto the top rope then jumped up atop it, using it to propel his leap at Blair while she was recovering.

With any luck, he'd stunned her enough to go for a diving DDT from her side. He didn't trust himself to have the weight to bring her head crashing down into the mat, fully relying on taking advantage of her being unsteady to land the move. And for her reacting too slowly to move out of the way. Both were potential issues he only thought about while already midair.

[BlackAkuma]

Grimacing, Blair’s hand wandered over her forehead, rubbing the tender area where Mikuzaki’s knee has struck. A solid, stinging hit, and she could already feel that the flesh was warped. A bump was going to form there, in sort order. Lovely.

One more thing that Mikuzaki was going to answer for, had she her way. The list was growing. ”Boy,” She huffed. ”You are becoming a nuisance.”

Her words were heated, but wasted, knowing that he would do little to heed them at this point, when things were going so well for him. More to the point, however, where did he go? In her stupor, she’d lost track of him, never a good thing when dealing with these evasive types. He was almost assuredly getting ready for something, but she needed to figure out the direction before-

”Ah.”

Blair spied him a moment too late, as he came soaring through the air and hurtled towards her. Her arms raised to catch him, but he was too quick on the draw, grabbing her head as he descended. While they might have had a huge gap in terms of weight, gravity served as an excellent and equalizer, and there was no fighting his added momentum.

Down Blair went, spiked clean on her head. The move sent her flipping over, flopping flat on her back, her blinking eyes affixed to the ceiling lights as the crowd cheered.

[Null Spell]

Like jumping towards the awaiting claws of a bear. Potentially the first, and likely only major mistake he'd make that match were Blair quicker to snatch him from the air. Mikazuki's arm found its way locked around her head again, momentarily so he could swing backward and drag her down with him. Hitting the mat might've jostled his sore body a bit, but he was sure from the sound that his foe had a much rougher landing.

It was the first time he'd done it to someone so tall. Fun! The little bit of extra airtime before he slammed their skull into the mat really heightened the satisfaction. Mikazuki shot up to a sitting position from where he lay. A quick glance behind him at his downed opponent had him grinning again.

Crawling up, his pale hair framed his face as he looked down at her face. She was blinking as if she was out of it. Or was it surprise from ending up on her back? Neither mattered as long as she was aware enough for what he planned next. Clutching his side, he moved his hand along with the other to cup Blair's face. “Watch this, watch this!”

Mikazuki pushed himself to his feet. He'd give her a close look at how much of a nuisance he could be. After a step back he jumped forward, pulling his knees inward to complete the rotation of the front flip. Blair's stomach provided a sturdy landing spot to stomp his boots. A good place for a little posing for the audience too.

He ended his showboating earlier than he'd like, stepping off of her before the ref took it as a pin attempt. Potentially knocking the air out of her a little wouldn't be enough to go for that. There was something he wanted to do first. Another challenge between them that only he’d be aware of.

Blair could've easily left him out cold with her knee strike earlier had he reacted a moment slower. How could she handle it, the same move used against her? It'd serve her right for trying to end things so early!

Mikazuki, determined to show her how it should be done, headed to the ropes opposite of her. Resting against them, he'd go for the running knee until got up and regained her bearings. He couldn't prove his dominance if she was completely pointless after all. Mikazuki needed her to take him head-on.

[BlackAkuma]

Okay. Blair was willing to concede that, perhaps, she was going about this the wrong way.

She came to that conclusion as she laid on the ground, staring up at the lights with a mounting headache. The headache itself was nothing new, she got those more and more often with age, but it was rare for her to get such things from being struck. Most of her opponents were too wary to get close enough to even hit her there, and the few that were so brave tended not to last long.

Mikazuki was proving to be a more cunning creature than most. It was becoming abundantly clear that his choice of attire, while a tad silly, was not all inappropriate. Lapin. The little rabbit, scurrying away the moment the hounds came close, always one step ahead.

A shame for him, then, that Blair Dame came from a line of hunters. Tonight, she would dine on rabbit stew.

The first step on that road was standing up and gathering her bearings, which she tried to do in short order. Naturally, Mikazuki wasn’t about to let her do that unmolested, and as she rose up to one knee, she could see him rushing towards her at full speed. Dodging whatever he was planning wasn’t an option, and she didn't’ fancy blocking, either - no, she had something more direct in mind.

Instead of moving away from the incoming strike, Blair jutted forward, moving into its path, but putting her skull in a place where it would still take the hit, but with reduced force, suffering an incomplete attack. Not pleasant, she still the shot clean on her forehead…but she was close, now. More importantly, her arms were free. Free to move. Free to wrap around his leg before he could pull it away. Free to pull him over her shoulder as she stood up, trapping him with a fireman’s carry.

Blair Dame stood up, but didn’t remain on her feet for long - as soon as she was straight, she cried out, fell back, and attempted to hammer him into the canvas with a Samoan Drop.

[Null Spell]

It wouldn't take long to receive his cue to go on the offense again. The moment she rose to a knee he was moving. His eyes remained focused on his target. Right on the bridge of her nose, that's where he'd launch his knee and knock her out. Only, he didn't plan on his target leaning into the attack.

Blocking an attack with your head was… interesting. Respectably bold even. Yet, unusually reckless for someone like her it felt. Mikazuki couldn't grasp the reason for the move until the dull impact of his knee failed to have the desired oomph. He'd readied the strike, but her closing the distance unexpectedly, threw him off. Suddenly, he lacked the space to put more power behind it.

Mikazuki held onto her to keep from losing balance due to his stopped momentum. Unwittingly setting himself up for whatever punishment she had in store.

If struggling in her hold would've mattered there was nowhere near enough time to do so. The ensuing drop crushed him between her weight and the mat, forcing a mortifying squeak from his lip as the air in his lungs was violently squeezed out. Mikazuki lifted his hips off the canvas, an involuntary reaction from dealing with the dull ache along his back.

If she still had that in her… Blair's prowess was something to be enthused about. But better appreciated when he wasn't writhing about and nervous about being manhandled again. He had to focus more on getting to his feet so he could keep going at it with her. If only he was in a state to do so. The initial shock of pain was dulling, but his body still wasn't going to let him stand. Not on his own. Mika attempted to drag himself towards the turnbuckles. Far, far, slower than he knew he needed to if he wanted to distance himself from his giant foe.

[BlackAkuma]

Blair Dame was a woman who loved her simple pleasures, and that? That was immensely satisfying.

Mikuzaki was fleet of foot, amazingly agile, but all that speed came at a hefty price - as she suspected, he sacrificed durability in the trade. While the Samoan Drop was an effective attack, it was by no means a crippling move, especially when it was taken so early in a bout. One wouldn’t know that to look at him now, however, as he was hammered into the canvas and forced to crawl away, clearly hurting, his thoughts aflutter.

Of course, Blair had taken no small amount of damage herself and she was slow rising - after all, she’d just been kneed in the face, and even though she’d smothered the blow, it had still taken a toll. She rolled forward and pushed her way up, shaking her head as she rose.

The look of him crawling away put a smile on her face, even through the pain. As pressing as the situation was, certain things needed to be savored.

It seemed as if he was trying to create distance between them, a wise move, and she would give him what he wanted - for a moment. Instead of moving straight in, Blair dashed away from Mikazuki, bolting towards the opposite corner. She spun about, hit the pads with her back and shook the ring, then came dashing hard back towards at full speed as he was starting to rise in the corner. She waited until she was close enough, then leaped up, tucked her legs in, and attempted to ram both of her knees into his upper body, looking to hammer him against the turnbuckle with a Meteora.

[Null Spell]

There may have been the chance that he, maybe, possibly was a tad ambitious trying to take her out with her own move. Still, he wouldn't change a thing given the chance. It wasn't common that his instincts (which he'd ignore) told him to be wary. He didn't have much experience at all against someone who could probably ragdoll him. The increased risks that came with that had his heart racing.

“Old and frail… didn't feel it!” Blair hadn't immediately laid into him when he was down. He had kneed her in the face twice. Hence his confidence in muttering the snide comment while he pulled himself up on his knees using the bottom rope. Blair wasn't as slow to recover as he thought, something he heard before he saw.

There wasn't a worse place he could think of being than against the turnbuckles with her barreling towards him. Was she trying to grab him again? Or… Last time he was on the back foot, she didn't hesitate trying to smash his face with her knee. Another attempt? Mikazuki settled on it not mattering. He needed to get out of her way and fast.

Latching onto the ropes to his sides, he pushed down on them as he hopped to lift himself out of her path and onto the top turnbuckle. Eyes wide, he watched her slide into the spot he'd just been. Mikazuki wasn't a big fan of her trying to squish him against stuff. He jumped down behind her, wobbled from the landing, then pulled his leg up to try for a mule kick to her back. Punishment for her attempt.

[BlackAkuma]

‘Old and frail’.

Blair would admit that Mikazuki was half-right. She was certainly getting up there in age, a far cry from her younger days. The boy was young enough to be her son - maybe even her grandson, even she’d had a particularly promiscuous daughter. It was a silly taunt to throw at anyone, as Mikazuki would be lucky to reach her age one day, as well, but she didn’t begrudge him trying it. It might have worked on someone more thin-skinned.

But frail? Never that. She could take her fair share of punishment, and she would far wager she could take a great deal more than he could - a hypothesis she was more than willing to test rigorously.

If her Meteora had connected, she was fairly certain that the evidence would be conclusive - alas, it wasn’t meant to be. Before she had the chance to land the move, Mkazuki once again showed his nimbleness, pulling himself up on the turnbuckle as she came crashing into the pads below. That alone didn’t hurt all that much, not much of a problem. But what came next certainly was.

A pair of feet slammed into her back and sent her rushing forward into the corner, ramming her face against the pads at maximum velocity. With her skull still rattled from the last hit, that was one hit too many, and she was left stunned, forced to sit with her back against the turnbuckle while she recovered.

[Null Spell]

It felt like another trap. He'd thrown the kick out haphazardly, a precaution in case she made a recovery she hadn't, and chased after him. Mikazuki hadn't struck her with any force that'd incapacitated her. Either the shots to the head had taken more out of her than he thought, or the turnbuckles made up for the damage he failed to dish out.

An easily correctable error. Arm around his midsection, he shuffled a few steps towards the center of the ring. The distance was good enough for the run-up of his next attack. Mikazuki turned to his side right before contact to ram his hip into Blair's head.

Normally, he'd stay in place to give his foe a closer look at the prop tail on his trunks for added morale damage, but he'd spare her the degradation. It was better saved for an opponent that hadn't managed to catch him by surprise a few times. It was already difficult enough being annoying with his juvenile remarks.

“Like I said. But you’ll get up though, right?” Mikazuki tested the waters, raising his boot to her neck and applying pressure. Not enough to properly choke her, but to gauge her awareness. “Let's keep knocking each other around!”

Raising his boot from her throat before the ref counted him out, he lifted it high above near his head. It was the windup for Hare-Trigger Kick, his go-to finisher if he wanted to keep someone down. Pretty hard to walk off a heel to the skull. That wasn't what he wanted, however, and her head wasn't where he planned the axe kick to fall. Mikazuki already knew how he wanted the match to end when saw her. A victory wouldn't be satisfying unless he kicked her while she was standing!

He eyed her shoulder as his target instead, swinging his heel down after a second's delay to soak in the audience's anticipation.

[BlackAkuma]

This was not a good position, and even through her haze, Blair recognized the danger. Vulnerable cornered, pinned against the turnbuckle, she found herself in the same situation that she had tried to catch Mikazuki a moment ago, and she half-expected him to come in hot, just as she’d done a moment ago. It was the sensible thing to do with a vulnerable foe.

Mikazuki, as it turned out, didn’t share that sentiment. Instead, he took the opportunity to talk and taunt, coming over with his usual silly remarks. That would’ve grating enough, in and of itself, but then he had to go and take it a step beyond. Unwise.

Blair had been a touch groggy, but having his boot against her throat was enough to rouse her back in shorter, and she glared up at the man, her eyes not lacking in malice. The position didn’t last, as the referee quickly pulled them apart, but Blair’s ire had already been significantly aroused. There was no turning back, now.

His leg went up high and came down, and as before, there was nothing Blair could do but take it, so take it she did - the blow caught her clean on the shoulder, numbing it on impact. Instead of that, however, Blair kept rising, and wrapped her arm around the leg, keeping her foe close as she ascended, forcing him to hobble on one foot.

As soon as she was up, she struck out - nothing fancy, nothing elegant, just a simple punch to his face, looking to waylay him with a solid blow.