Trial by Fire: Hikari Nakano vs Sanae Saitou

[Bare]

Just like that it seemed Hikari had wrapped the match up in less than five minutes, just as she promised her mentor. Of course if she actually got the win from this it would come well short of the time limit required for apex qualifiers, not that it mattered much to Hikari given she was not taking part in Apex. But she would enjoy the ability to rob Sanae of such an important milestone and make her journey to the event, and Minami, all the harder.

So after a brutal knee shot to the face to knock Sanae to her back Hikari would pin her in the most disrespectful way possible, a single foot to the chest, to show that Hikari didn't view Sanae as important enough to go for a traditional pin. Of course Hikari knew that Sanae would have a much easier time getting out of a pin like this, not that it mattered much to Hikari. Should Sanae get free the match would continue and Hikari would have no problem laying further waste to Sanae's body, and if she didn't kick out, well Minami would just be proven right about the girl.

Making it up to the two count Hikari thought for a moment that her mentor would indeed be proven correct, but just before the three, Sanae would reach up and grab at Hikari's foot, lifting it off and freeing herself as a result. But Sanae wasn't satisfied with freeing herself since she also made sure to keep a grip of Hikari's ankle as well. "Tsk." Forced to hop on one foot as Sanae spun around to her feet Hikari was just about to jump up for a kick, but before she could Sanae took action, turning and spinning herself, pulling Hikari along for the ride as Hikari was taken down to the mat with a dragon screw! "Ngh!" She would hiss out after making impact with the mat below, pushing herself up and annoyed that Sanae got her first offense in just like that!

[CaptainL]

Sanae wasn't about to let this happen. Sure, Hikari had practically blinded her with her speed, and her strikes were more than a match for anything Sanae had thrown at her. She could barely keep up with her, and she was being blasted with offense left and right; the match had barely begun, and already she was getting winded. She felt ashamed that she was doing so poorly, but she knew at the same time that losing here and now would be worse. If she had made it this far - to put herself forward for Apex, to do so well in her previous qualifiers, to keep the dream of winning the Openweight Championship alive in her heart - to lose it now, this early into the match, and with Minami watching it all, would be a letdown she could never forgive herself for. She blushed at the thought that she was getting pinned for the two-count before she'd even landed a single blow against Hikari - but no matter how tired and how sore she was, what was stronger was her determination not to go back on her promises!

Clenching her teeth and steeling her will, Sanae reached up to grab Hikari by the leg - and rolled her weight over to the side, bringing her down! Seeing the aspiring idol finally finding it in her to fight back, the fans sent out a cheer, eager to see more! Sanae was sure that Hikari would be taken aback by such an unexpected comeback - and that gave her all the more time to set up her next move. It wasn't lost on Sanae that now that she had Hikari by the leg, she could keep the pressure on that limb. Her matches with Alizeh had taught her a thing about submissions. If she could weaken Hikari's legs, she could slow down her offense. More than that, though...considering who was watching her, Sanae was sure this would send a message.

Sanae pulled back on Hikari's leg, attempting to drag her off-balance in order to counteract her efforts to get up. If that worked, she would throw her legs around her opponent's, where she would arch her back to try and stretch her leg with a kneebar! At the same time, Sanae shot a glance back at the judges' table, where she locked eyes with Minami - intending to show the Venus of Submissions herself that she had grown in her technical aptitude!

[Bare]

To say that Hikari was uninterested in this match or her opponent would be an understatement. Many were involved in Apex or Apex Qualifiers to show their skill and display their tenacity and desires to rise up the ranks. Even those who weren't registered for Apex could participate in qualifier to show why they SHOULD be in Apex proper. Hikari however? She didn't want any of that. She knew how skilled she was, how dangerous she could be, and she was more than willing to display it whenever necessary. However what mattered to her more than anything was proving herself useful to the woman that had taken her under her wing, Toshimi Minami. It wasn't a reason anyone could say was especially noble or even fulfilling, but it was enough for Hikari. All she had to do tonight was beat down Sanae and prove her master right about the wanna be idol, which up until now had been child's play.

But underestimating her opponent had bitten Hikari hard when Sanae grabbed hold of her foot and twisted it as she got up, taking Hikari off her feet in the process with a make shift dragon screw, bringing Hikari down to the mat hard! "Ngh!" She groaned out in pain after bouncing off the mat with a groan of pain from the impact. 'Damn brat.' Hikari thought to herself, about to pull herself away to get some distance, only to realize her leg was being held onto by Sanae! 'Damn it!' Hikari thought to herself before Sanae suddenly brought her legs up around Hikari's own and twisting for a painful as hell leg bar!

"Gahhh!" Hikari would yell out in pain, throwing her head back before gritting her teeth, already furious at herself for giving Sanae the satisfaction of a sound of pain. Steeling her nerves Hikari would start to try and drag herself towards the ropes, kicking out with her free leg in the process, trying to either get to the ropes for a rope break, or force Sanae to let go in the process. Whichever she could get first. Meanwhile from ringside Minami would start to glare at the not so subtle message being sent by Sanae with the use of the submission move on her protege.

[CaptainL]

Now that Sanae had gotten Hikari off of her, she had a chance to breathe, drawing some air back into her lungs so that she had enough oxygen to fuel her path forward. But that wasn't enough for Sanae - not by a long shot. She knew she was in this match to prove herself as a capable contender, especially with the pressure that could only come from having Toshimi Minami herself as a judge. And when her opponent had displayed such a strong start, practically blinding her with her speed, Sanae was determined just to survive! As long as she had Hikari down, she would have a chance to strike. With how quick this girl was, she might not even get another one!

As soon as she could find it in her to move without growing too sore, Sanae twisted Hikari's leg into a kneebar, cranking down the pressure as hard as she could! She grit her teeth, her knuckles growing white as she held as hard as she could to her ankle. She could feel her opponent twisting back and forth, desperate to shake her off, but Sanae wasn't willing to let go! She only wrapped her thighs tigher around Hikari's own to anchor herself in place, even as she crawled her way back toward the ropes. This early into the match, it seemed unlikely that Hikari was going to tap to this; someone Minami had trained had to be stronger than that. But Sanae wanted to deal some damage - she knew that Hikari wouldn't be as quick or mobile if she incurred too much damage to her legs. And she wanted Minami to be the one seeing her doing the deed!

Eventually, Hikari reached the ropes, and she kicked out with her leg, hooking on. The ref called for a rope break - and Sanae obediently broke the hold, rolling away. Once she got enough distance between herself and Hikari to feel safe in her next move, Sanae rolled back up to her knees. She panted and groaned, still trying to collect herself, but when she locked her eyes onto Hikari, they narrowed in a glare. She wasn't quite ready to make her comeback yet, but she would hopefully see if her plan of hampering her opponent's footing would work once Hikari got back up. And while she was here, she figured she could try and gain a psychological edge - disrupting Hikari's confidence, while at the same time telling anyone watching that she wasn't finished!

"Is that the best you can do? Running away?" Sanae called out. "With the Venus of Submissions watching you? And you couldn't even counter?!" Sanae was sure that taunting Hikari to do better was risky - but when the fans saw she was willing to take those risks, it would stand as proof to anyone that she belonged in Apex!

[Bare]

Hikari had started the match off as dominantly and as controlling as she knew she could. It was hard for her not too, at least in her mind that is. After all she was smarter, faster, and stronger than Sanae, she knew she was, that's why she was the Venus of Submissions apprentice. However in spite of that Hikari hadn't been able to score the pinfall she was sure would be easy in this scenario. Worse yet Sanae had not only kicked out, but used it as a means of fighting back, taking Hikari's leg out from under and forcing the girl down to the mat in a painful way!

That would be mortifying enough if that was it. However Sanae had more in mind. As if taking a page out of Minami's book the green haired girl sough to wrap her legs around Hikari's for a painful leg back that sent jolt after jolt of pain through Hikari's system! "Ngh... gah! Ngh!" She hissed to herself in pain as she dragged herself along the mat, sending occasional kicks to Sanae in the process as she desperately fought for the ropes, knowing at this point it was her best bet. Thankfully with one final push she made it, forcing Sanae to release her hold and back off from the martial artist, allowing Hikari a chance to get up, but only with the aid of the ropes given the pangs of pain surging through her leg as she put pressure on it.

Sanae wasn't keen on letting Hikari forget the position she had been in moments ago however. Looking up at the wanna be idol with a furious glare on her face Hikari would take several quick breaths to calm herself, but it was almost in vain with how intensely her blood was boiling at the taunt from Sanae. "Shut your damn mouth you bimbo!" Hikari hissed out in anger as she pushed off the ropes, wincing in pain from putting pressure on her leg again, but the anger she was feeling at Sanae's words was at least acting as a dulling effect. Approaching Sanae with a definite slower speed than before Hikari's wrath would cause her to briefly forget herself and the predicament she was in as she instinctively swung her leg up, attempting to hit Sanae with a running knee to the chest!

[CaptainL]

As she rolled aside, putting some more distance between herself and Hikari, Sanae rose to her knees, shaking herself out. She was definitely off to a rough start, no one could deny that. Even as quick and agile as she could be, Hikari had all but completely eclipsed what she was capable of, blinding her with her speed and keeping her locked down with her relentless offense. For a moment, it seemed as though Sanae was doomed to be taken out in the first few minutes of the match - a match that was set to be an Apex qualifier, Sanae's chance to show off her absolute best, at that. If the green-haired girl knew one thing, it was that under no circumstances could she allow such a thing to happen. She needed to be stronger than this; her teeth clenched as she thought about it. But that desire not to be proven wrong in her efforts to establish herself as a capable wrestler, with Minami herself watching every move, had lit a fire under Sanae, and inspired her to fight back. Now, it had allowed her to get out from underneath her opponent, and to buy herself some time. Perhaps that would be all she needed!

As she brushed some hair out of her eyes, Sanae sat up a little straighter, looking Hikari down as she advanced. This time, her eyes narrowed in a defiant glare. She had already seen she could surpass her opponent before, and that proved that she had it in her to do it again. Even better, Hikari was coming off from their previous clash slower than before; her greatest asset was failing her now! If she had a chance, it would be now!

Sanae knew she wouldn't have time to get up, even with Hikari slowed as she was. But she wouldn't need to. She had the time to plot her next move, and it would be one with which she could weaponize Hikari's momentum against her! As Hikari came close, just as she swung her foot up from the ground, the aspiring idol would roll forward, ducking under her knee strike and going in between her legs. If that worked, she would hop to her feet, hoping to grab Hikari by the waist from behind - where she would roll backward to throw her opponent shoulders-first to the mat, trying to pin her with an O'Connor Roll!

Spoiler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgq9E_XZP9I

[Bare]

Hikari was angry. Very angry right now. Sanae getting such an offensive against her had been nearly a forgotten about possibility for her. After all she was a prodigy, undefeated, the student of one of the best female wrestlers to walk through LAW. Yet here she was desperately relying on a rope break to force a break from the submission Sanae had her in. It was so damn humiliating. So much so that she was even forgetting herself a bit and some of the training that had been drilled into her. So she charged towards Sanae, entirely focused on smashing her foot into the bitches face and sending her sprawling to swing this match back in her favor. But unfortunately Hikari's leg wasn't in the best condition to get going on such an immediate and explosive offense, Sanae's submission had seen to that and made it hard for Hikari to move as fast as she normally could. A fact that Sanae was quick to exploit to her benefit, something that not even Minami watching ring side could complain about much.

Just as her leg hit the apex of its height Hikari realized her mistake in underestimating Sanae's own speed, at least, now that her own had been chopped down a bit in the process. But it left Hikari totally vulnerable as she felt a pair of arms loop around her waist before being pulled backwards and rolled up by the green haired girl! 'Shit!' Hikari thought to herself, knowing how bad this position was out of the gate, but soon getting a very sore reminder about it.

"ONE!"

'No way am I allowing this bitch to get a fast one over me!' Hikari thought to herself as she turned her shoulders and pushed up with everything she had to kick out of the pinfall attempt and get free of the girl on top of her in one motion! Meanwhile from the judges table Minami's smirk had well since faded and she now was looking on with a deep frown. Not at all liking her student having such trouble against Hikari. Not when the veteran had trained Hikari to be better than that. In fact... as the pin attempt happened Minami found her hands clenching tighter and tighter into balls of white hot anger.

[CaptainL]

It wasn't just about pinning Hikari. Sanae knew that this early in the match, with such a simple reversal, and with her opponent showing the sort of mind-blowing speed and endurance she was, it was unlikely this would be enough to actually earn her victory. If Hikari didn't get up, she would be surprised. No, this was about sending a message. In taking Hikari down, Sanae wanted to show it was possible. That even when she was outmatched, even when she was being judged by a woman who had set this up entirely so that she wouldn't stand a chance, she was no passive bystander here to get beaten up and pushed around. She wanted to show she had a chance, and she wanted both Hikari and Minami to see that!

It wasn't long before Hikari kicked out of the pin - but even then, as Sanae sat back up on the mat, she looked out with a smirk on her face. If she had gotten Hikari down for one count, then maybe, next time, she could keep her down for the other two - and if she could do that to Hikari, perhaps she could do it to Minami, too! Now, when Sanae sprung back to her feet, it was no longer with a blank, pallid stare of shock and awe on her face. It was the confident grin of a woman who knew she had this in her!

"All right!!" Sanae thrust a fist in the air in celebration of her success, causing a few fans to cheer at the sight. But she wasn't about to stop and celebrate when there was work to be done. Hikari was fast, so Sanae needed to stay on her toes - and, hopefully, she could match her with her own agility! She would wait until Hikari was about to rise; then, she would duck down and charge for her, prepared to ram into her with a shoulder charge!

[Bare]

Hikari gasped and groaned softly in pain as she slowly but surely pushed herself up, wincing in pain from the damage to her leg, not to mention the blow to her pride at being pinned in such a way by a woman like Sanae. Already she knew that Minami would be putting Hikari through some hellish training for being pinned, let alone taking such damage from a submission hold by Sanae.

Honestly the more Hikari thought about it the more she realized she needed to take things up a notch. The whole reason Sanae had gotten the advantage she had up until now was due to the fact that Hikari was, unfortunately, taken off guard by the girl and that had allowed her the chance to set the pace of the bout in a way that left the striker at a massive disadvantage. One that Hikari would be sure to damn change as soon as she had the chance.

That chance wouldn't be coming soon though. Unfortunately for the prodigy she had gotten inside her own head thanks to Sanae's pin and overanalyzed things, losing focus of the opponent in front of her in the process. As a result by the time Hikari was up and looking forward for Sanae once more, it was with just barely enough time for Hikari to get tackled into by the girl and taken clear off her feet! "AGH!" Hikari yelled out, blown off her feet by the surprising amount of power behind Sanae's charge and landed back and shoulders first on the mat, nearly rolling over herself and left clutching her chest with a wince.

[CaptainL]

At the start of this match, Sanae had found herself blindsided by Hikari's speed, something that only set her up to absorb more damage than she was willing to take. She'd learned the hard way that she couldn't take her eyes off her foe, lest she leave herself open. But now that she'd turned the tables and claimed an advantage for herself, Sanae would do everything she could think of to hold onto it! If Hikari came back to her at her full speed, Sanae wasn't sure if she could keep pace with her. She had to deny her the chances - instead, she rammed into her with a charge of her own - a charge that sent Hikari toppling off her feet, wiping out onto the canvas!

At the sight of the aspiring idol taking control back from her foe, the crowd began to cheer - to a lot of Sanae's fans, this was the comeback they'd been holding out hope for! As she skidded to a stop, Sanae turned to look out toward the stands, winking to the fans with a smile. But she knew she couldn't take too much time to celebrate when Hikari would surely be ready to come back at her at any minute! She had to push the advantage she had - and she needed to punish her opponent while she was down!

Spinning back around to face Hikari, Sanae's face grew stern and serious. So far, she'd had success using Hikari's own tactics against her, throwing a rapid volley of attacks her way to keep her locked down. It was working well enough so far, and she had to reason to stop! Using the momentum to her advantage, Sanae would run into the ropes, stretching them against her weight to bounce herself back at the fallen Hikari, where she would move to dive down on top of her, arm raised with an elbow drop to slam into her chest!