Lacey Whitman [D] vs. Reiko Masuda

[CaptainL]

Lacey's counter had worked out perfectly. She had taken Reiko down, and she had done so with a dramatic flourish, twirling the Young Lioness in a circle and reversing her already daring move! As the two girls hit the mat with a thump, Lacey was quick to roll aside, picking herself back up on her hands and knees before shaking the cobwebs out of her head. But when she looked up, the fans had broken out in cheers, and the smile grew even wider across her face. She wasn't just taking charge, she was giving everyone who came out to see her a good show in the process, and that was what she was all about!

She did, however, look back at Reiko, seeing her writhing helplessly on the ground. She winced and bit her lip - she had to imagine that such a landing must have hurt. Still, she wouldn't let it hold her back from doing what she needed to do. Now Reiko was prone and vulnerable - and Lacey had the opportunity to move in to claim that advantage. She wouldn't falter now!

Pushing herself back up to her feet, the green-haired girl flipped her hair back and shot a grin to the crowd before she ran toward the ropes, hopping over Reiko in the process just for good measure. When she came to the ropes, she would jump up onto the bottom one before kicking off of it, sending herself sailing through the air - where she'd attempt to come down with a leg drop onto her foe!

[Kookio]

While she laid there prone, the entire world around her became fuzzy, her eyes half open in a deep daze. She could see that her opponent was doing something, but at the time, she didn’t know what she was doing. Was she… Running away? Why would she run away..? Reiko was starting to feel some strength come back to her. She just needed a little bit longer and she could-

Her eyes widened in realization when Lacey’s course of actions all clicked in her mind, and panic started to drive Reiko’s desperate attempt to move her still hurt body out of the way. Looking up, she could see the spotlights of the Arena be blocked out by Lacey’s figure flying above her. She wasn’t fast enough… Lacey crashed down on Reiko with yet another loud “SLAM”

”GAHHH!!”

This time, she had recovered enough to make the cry of pain of being jumped on, her legs shooting into the air for a brief moment before collapsing to the ground like a sack of potatoes. Reiko’s body would go limp for a brief moment as she laid underneath the girl’s


“Nnnguh..”

She groaned in pain still which was the biggest sign that she was still conscious at the moment. She began to her own doubts about if she could win this match or not. Her opponent was clearly much more experienced than her and basically knew mostly everything about her fighting style and more that even the Flexible Flier didn’t think of doing. This was awesome… But at the same time, extremely painful.

[CaptainL]

Sure enough, Lacey wasn't running away. She might have taken Reiko down, but she wasn't going to leave it at that. While Reiko was still in training with LAW, she wasn't about to underestimate her - when she had just come off the indies to her first match in LAW, Lacey felt she could treat herself and Reiko as equals when it came to skill level. And, while she had gotten a good impression from Reiko from the start - with her cheerful attitude and good sportsmanship and their shared expertise in acrobatics, it seemed like the two could become fast friends, not that Lacey wasn't quick to try and befriend everyone new she met anyway - there was no telling what she could do when so much was yet unproven. If she was going to hit her, she'd need to hit her hard to make sure she stayed down.

More than that, though, Lacey was a natural showman. She knew that even if she was new around here, it was important to set a good first impression, and she wanted to show what she was all about for her first match. She wanted to make sure it was as thrilling and entertaining as she hoped to be every time she stepped into the ring. If these people had come to see a show, she was going to give them one - so if she was going to bring Reiko down, she was going to do it in style!

As the green-haired girl slammed into her opponent, a thump went out across the ring. A burst of cheers came up from the fans at the sight of Lacey's skills and the dominance she was securing over her opponent - and she was quick to look up and greet them with a smile, waving her hand out into the stands! But she quickly turned her attention back to Reiko, and she rolled into place, grabbing for her leg to hoist it up into the air for a pin!

"ONE!"

"Let's see what you're made of..." Lacey knew she'd just hit Reiko hard, and she was going to take this opportunity! At the same time, the match was still young, and she was sure she hadn't seen the full breadth of the Young Lioness's potential. She would be ready for anything!

[Kookio]

Reiko felt the woman grab onto her leg and attempt to go for the pin. A pin this early? No way. She wouldn't want an awesome match like this to end so early would she? She barely got to see much of what Lacey could do and much less got to show what she could do herself. Her body would start to make signals that she still had fight in her as her leg that was not being held in the air began to stomp the ground a few times.

TWO!!!

The crowd cheered in belief that Lacey was about to win with a near flawless victory. But they had underestimated the Young Lioness as she bucked her hips into the air to forcefully break the pin right before the Referee's hand would hit the floor for the third count. The crowd roared in cheer at the fact that Reiko still had the strength to keep going.

But just because she broke the pin, didn't mean Reiko was entirely out of the woods just yet. Her body was still injured from the two hard blows she had received earlier so. She rolled to the side, pushing herself up a bit slower than she would have liked. But to her, she was shocked she could push herself up at all.

"I'm. Not done yet!"

She announced while getting up.

[CaptainL]

Just as the referee's hand was about to come down one more time...Reiko's leg kicked up from the ground. Lacey was thrown off balance from the shift in her opponent's position, and she went tumbling off, falling to the mat and going rolling aside. Some of the fans had cheered when they saw the newcomer about to secure the win so early into the action. But the cheers grew even louder at the sight of Reiko kicking out! She might have been a rookie, and she might have been going up against a theoretically more experienced foe, but she still had the determination she needed to strive for success, and the strength in her to pull out the victory when all else seemed lost! And when the two girls had already brought their fast-paced intense style to a thrilling back-and-forth bout, it was clear that things could only ramp up from here!

Lacey rolled over onto her hands and knees, propping herself up from the mat. She sucked in a breath, shaking herself out as she tried to clear the cobwebs from her head - but when she looked back toward Reiko, she flashed her a grin and a thumbs-up. "Just so you know..." she explained, "I was hoping you'd do that!" Even if Reiko had just denied Lacey a victory, she held no scorn or ill will toward the Young Lioness. She had put her to the test, to see how quickly she could react and how well she could pull off an escape. So far, she wasn't disappointed with what she saw! And when she thought about how exciting the rest of the match would be with both competitors putting forth their best efforts, she was all the more looking forward to what was to come!

In a flash, she hopped back up to her feet, rolling her neck and shoulders to work the kinks out of her muscles before she balled a fist and planted it against her palm, cracking her knuckles. She still had plenty of energy left in her, and she wanted to make sure Reiko knew it! Then, she took off in a charge back toward the blonde, lowering her shoulder. If she came close enough, she'd hurl herself forward to tackle her with a spear! Reiko would need to think on her feet, and Lacey wasn't giving her much time to recover!

[Kookio]

Reiko panted heavily after managing to break the pin. She heard the crowd go wild in reaction to her breaking the pin which gave her the strength to push herself back up faster than she would have otherwise. But this girl was wild. Until this point, no opponent had nearly ended the match on her that fast before. Her hands were shaking with excitement from how fun her opponent was. “You too..!” She replied a little breathlessly.

By the time it took Reiko to to come to a standing position, the somewhat more experienced wrestling her was already charging at her! Reiko’s eyes widened. She needed to act fast or she will find herself flat on the mat again! Shaking her head quickly to push the dizziness for only a mere moment. But it was just enough time for her to purposefully fall to the side and attempt to trip her opponent to use Lacey’s own speed against her and make her fall flat on her face on the mat below.

By this point, Lacey had inspired Reiko to attempt to push through her limits to make this one of her best fights ever. If she was successful with the tripping of her opponent, the Flexbile flier would kip back up to her feet to break off in a full sprint towards the ropes and bouncing off of it and come back to where Lacey would be laying to leap up and try to land on the girl with her elbow!

[CaptainL]

In trying to snatch Reiko's leg up for a quick pin, Lacey was testing her opponent's endurance and wits, checking to see if she could think fast enough to get out of a near-fall even after the whirlwind of intensity the match had been up to this point. And sure enough, Reiko didn't disappoint! She was able to buck Lacey off of her - a sign that the green-haired girl looked on at with an approving nod. This meant that Reiko was learning well. She had what it took to turn things around when the pressure was on her. She was giving Lacey a run for her money, and creating even more excitement for the fans - which was a win-win, as far as Lacey was concerned! But now, she was out to put her through another trial - she wanted to see how quickly Reiko could be ready to defend herself. She wouldn't even give her more than a moment to prepare before she hopped right back up on her feet, lunging toward the Young Lioness at top speeds!

Reiko no doubt wouldn't have had time to recover enough to launch a counter-attack. But then, she didn't need to in order to get out of a situation like this! All she needed was to take advantage of her opponent's momentum, and lure her into a trap! Just as Lacey came closer, Reiko ducked down and stuck out her foot to trip her up - and the enthusiastic grin on the newcomer's face soon turned to a wide-eyed gasp, as she went toppling over forward to land on her face!

Lacey went skidding a few feet from where she'd landed, groaning under her breath as she finally came to a halt. And that had only been the start to Reiko's comeback! She quickly bounced off the ropes, hurling herself back at her foe, where her elbow came down across her back with a crack! Lacey threw her head back with a pained cry, her arms and legs kicking up into the air. Her head was still spinning as she sank back down onto her face...but so far, she was impressed with what Reiko could do! She just hoped she'd be able to keep up...

[Kookio]

Watching the girl crash into the ground like a car having lost control made Reiko a bit happy that her move had worked. Her smile grew as confidence that this next attack would land grew within her. And it did! As the girl was laying their in her daze, Reiko wouldn't spare a single moment before continuing to run and bounce herself off of the ropes back towards her her opponent, attempting to get as much speed as the Flexible flier could. "YAHHHH!" she yelled out in a way to show how much power she was putting into this upcoming hit. When she made it back in range, she leaped into the air as high as she could and landed back down elbow first onto the back of her opponent's spine with the thunderous crack! The mat had shook just the smallest amount from the force that Reiko's fury came down upon her opponent.

Panting a little, she looked at her dazed opponent who seemed to be helplessly dazed from her comeback. Don't freeze this time. Attack! She thought to her self. With that thought in mind, she would lay perpendicular. Normally this would be the perfect position to use her humiliation finisher. But she would feel bad for using that. So she opted to just go with using one of her side specialties... Submission holds! Attempting to grab a hold of one of Lacey's legs and pull it back and putting it between her own, she would basically attempt to lay on top of Lacey to hook her arm around the girl's chin to pull the girl's head and leg closer together in a stepover toehold facelock! While not her finisher, she had hoped this would do a good job at somewhat weakening her opponent so that she could keep the advantage in the future!

Spoiler

[CaptainL]

Lacey's fighting style typically saw her staying in motion, bouncing from one move to the next with little time in between to give her opponents the chance to catch their breath. Often times, that was enough to keep them on their toes - and it also made for a dynamic, fast-paced style that never failed to keep her fans entertained. But the drawback to that was that if her opponents could react, and she missed her mark, it would be all the more punishing for her. Now, she was finding that out first-hand. Lacey had come charging toward Reiko at full speed - but when the blonde managed to trip her, all that momentum would throw her flat onto her face, as she struck the canvas with a thump!

Dizzied from the fall, the world around her was spinning, and all she could do was groan under her breath. She needed time for everything to straighten out before she was ready to get back up. And that was time Reiko wasn't going to give her! The Young Lioness's high-flying exploits had been a star of the show so far, but now things had slowed down enough that she could utilize her grappling skills as well. And she was going to put those to good ue now that Lacey was down, as she secured her leg before grabbing her by the head to pull her into an STF!

Finding herself yanked up from the ground, Lacey's face contorted in pain as an ache ran down her spine. At first, she was taken aback - but soon enough, the look of awe on her face was cut off by a scream. She wasn't exactly expecting this sort of offense from an opponent who, up to this point, had seemed like a fellow high-flying striker, but she now saw she would need to adapt! She tried to twist her hips from side to side in an attempt to loosen Reiko's grasp, while one of her hands shot up to grab for the arm holding her chin to try and pry it off. Her other hand, meanwhile, would reach out and grab for the canvas in front of her to try and pull herself toward the ropes. She was definitely under a lot of pressure right now, but she couldn't give up!

[Kookio]

Despite being a high flier, Reiko had a pretty good grasp on how to do submission holds because her brothers would perform this move on her all the time while they wrestled together before Reiko joined LAW. Albeit ones like these in particular she wasn't amazing at because it was more grounded than she was used to. This allowed the girl to slightly loosen the grip on Reiko's hold mainly because Reiko did not have a perfect grasp on the girl's chin. Seeing that she was slowly losing her hold, she was forced to focus mostly on keeping the submission hold as best she could, not notice that they were ever slowly moving towards the ropes.

"C-come ooon!" Reiko yelled in anticipation for the tap out, hoping that this move would be the move to get her opponent to submit. Her hands pulled on her chin as best as she could do while also having to focus on keeping them from being torn apart due to Lacey's efforts which unfortunately would be the main contributor as to why this submission hold did not finish the job.