A Clash of Legacies: Kyo Akamatsu vs Valley Doll III

[Underdoggo]

Kyo caught his breath as he managed to free himself from Valley's headlock, slipping behind her and countering with a classic hammerlock. The barely stifled yelp from.his opponent told Kyo his hold was working, as he winched the trapped arm, pouring pressure on Valley. Thus far, Valley had initiated this with some good old fashioned grappling, and Kyo had responded in kind, transitioning from one hold to another, curious to see what the blonde would do next.

The answer came as Valley leaned forward, pulling Kyo down with her. Kyo thankfully wasn't given much time to dwell on the way Valley's backside pressed up against him, as suddenly his head was.grabbed, and the next thing he knew he was flung head over heels onto his back, trapped in a perfectly executed grounded headlock.

Kyo let out a muffled breath as his face was winched tightly against Valley's firmly.muscled bicep (not to mention her generous cleavage). Red faced, Kyo nonetheless knew how to escape from this hold: reaching forward, he would try to cup one of his hands under Valley's chin and try to push her head backwards...just far enough for him to swivel his legs back and try to latch them around her head, hoping to pull her down to the mat in a head scissor!

[BlackAkuma]

Valerie strove not to be overconfident, not wanting to put too much stock into her small victories. It was a trait that she frankly saw too much in other wrestlers - too often, they would let some minor successes in a match go to their head, underestimate their opponent, and wind up paying for it. That wasn’t the wrestler she wanted to be, especially not with a canny opponent like Kyo.

But she couldn't keep from smiling, just a little, when she brought him down with the headlock takedown, keeping him pinned down and under control with some muscle. So far, things were off to a good start, and Kyo was the sort of opponent she loved to fight - serious, strong, skilled. This was what she needed to kick her career off right.

Plus, she didn’t hate the feel of their chests brushing together, if she were being honest. Kyo was a handsome man.

She was about to try and transition into something more substantial when her opponent sprung into action, beating her to the punch with his legs. They caught her around the head and pulled her to the mat, with her inwardly cursing all the way. Textbook counter, should’ve seen it coming. Sloppy, sloppy. She would do better.

The trick wasn’t to panic. Kyo had strong legs, and Valerie would be in trouble if she stayed in this too long, but there were ways out. She opted for the more straightforward, safer approach - she swung her legs around, planted her feet and palms on both sides of his legs, and proceeded to push up with everything she had, trying to pop her head free and rise at all once.

[Underdoggo]

It was a textbook counter to a grounded headlock, and Kyo, who was well versed in a lot of classic wrestling holds, pulled it off without any difficulty. He heard Valley's muffled curse as his legs compressed around her head, giving her a nice squeeze: she reacted more or less as he thought she would, swivelling her body around and pressing her booted feet against his shins, using both them and her hands to push against his legs. Smart, he noted; instead of just relying on her upper body strength, Valley was putting her entire body into escaping his hold.

Inevitably, Valley's head popped free. The moment it did so, Kyo rolled away: he could have pressed the attack and dove onto Valley while she was still grounded, maybe execute a headlock of his own or possibly go for a pin attempt. Caution stayed his hand, though: he suspected that tight-fitting singlet that Valley wore wasn't just for aesthetics. If she really did come from an amateur wrestling background, then trying to go for grounded wrestling against someone of her strength level would be dangerous indeed.

Instead, Kyo retreated, and rolled smoothly to his feet, waiting for Valley to do the same. "Care to try again?" he asked, a faint smile on his lips after that brief exchange.

[BlackAkuma]

Valerie popped her head free and rose with her arms up, knowing how vulnerable she would be in this instance. She planted her feet, threw her ponytail back, and looked up to face her opponent, ready for anything.

Which was all well and good, but in this case, it was unneeded. Kyo just got to his feet, smooth as could be, and squared off against her again. A soft reset. Back to square one, but with a far better understanding of each other than a minute ago.

Okay. She was starting to like this guy.

Valerie returned his slight smile with one of her own. She typically didn’t care much for this sort of back and forth once the bell rang and things were going, but she could indulge here. Just a little. ”I just might.”

After a quick nod and a rolling of her neck, Valerie leaned forward and moved in on him, eager to pick things up now that she’’d added some key details and understood what sort of man Kyo was. His style didn’t seem too far from her own. Grounded, pragmatic, thoughtful. Not the fastest or the flashiest, but effective, with strong technical expertise backing it up. She’d wager they could dance around for a while before someone found an edge. Could be him. Could be her. Fun, but maybe not the smartest way to use her energy.

Instead, she decided to bring in some of her skills beyond grappling. She moved in with her hands up, looking like she was ready to lock up again, only for her to abandon the tact and bring her leg up for a stiff kick to his midsection, trying to drive the point of her boot into his stomach. While striking wasn’t her strongest suit, she could do it well enough when the situation came, and she would say this one called for it.

[Underdoggo]

For the second time now, Kyo and Valerie were circling each other. This time, some of the tension between them had eased: Valley was seemingly in a much more lighthearted mood after that initial tussle, and Kyo was feeling the same way. They had both gotten the measure of each other, bothhad gained a sense of what each other could do, and both had at least a better sense of what the other person was like. Kyo still intended to defeat Valley, and no doubt she intended the same for him, but he also felt more secure knowing that Valley wouldn't go out of her way to make an enemy of him to do so.

For the second time Valerie motioned for a lockup, and Kyo reciprocated, tensing for another intense grapple between them. At least...what was what he thought would be happening...until Valley's leg shot out, one boot hammering hard into his midsection. "OOOF!" He doubled over, winded by the blow, surprised that he had been so easily faked out. It wasn't that he was mad that he had been caught flat footed, just faintly surprised that Valley was actually resorting to direct blows.

Clearly, Valley had learned something from her mother, Kyo thought, remember VD2's legendary kicks even as he sank down to one knee, breathing hard...

[BlackAkuma]

Valley Doll - the second one - was known as the ‘Chick of a Thousand Kicks’, and Valerie would confirm that she grew up painfully aware of that fact. Hardly a day went by when the house wasn’t filled with the sound of shins slamming against a heavy bag, and when she started training, her namesake had tried to get her in on it, hoping to pass on her extensive skills.

It didn’t take. Valerie was more the ‘Chick of Ten Kicks’, or would’ve been if anyone was daring enough to call her ‘chick’ when she was in earshot. She could execute those ten kicks reasonably well, though, and while she lacked her mother’s blazing speed, her thick legs weren’t for show. She had power to spare, and she was willing to bet Kyo would vouch for it.

If he wasn’t so busy gasping, anyway.

While they weren’t her go-to, they served as an excellent way to take her opponents off guard and break stalemates, and this was a great example. Kyo was left winded, giving her the perfect opening for something more substantial.

She reached down, grabbed him by the head with both hands, and pulled him back up, forcing him to stand whether he wanted to or not. As soon as he was high enough, she let go, dipped down, and rammed her shoulder into his stomach as she charged forward like a raging rhino, trying to drive him into the nearest turnbuckle with all the force she could muster and pin him up against it.

[Underdoggo]

Valley Doll didn't have quite the finesse to her strikes that her mom had had, Kyo thought to himself even as he sucked in air through clenched teeth. But what the blonde lacked in finesse she more than made up for in raw power: that kick had felt like it had been delivered by a jackhammer, and it had been enough to leave him gasping and winded. Vulnerable enough, he knew, for whatever else Valley had in store.

Valley seemed eager to show him as well: he felt his head being grabbed as he was dragged up to his feet...and then Valley simply lowered her body and speared her shoulder, hard, into his already hurting gut. "UAGH!" he gagged as he was briefly knocked off his feet...before being slammed right into the nearest turnbuckle, ever so briefly crushed between it and the hard shoulder of his opponent. He gasped and doubled over, leaning a little against Valley's back as he was, momentarily, pinned in the corner...

[BlackAkuma]

Got him.

Valerie was no football player, but you would be forgiven for thinking otherwise from seeing her drive Kyo into the corner, powering forward and hammering him against the pads. She drove her shoulder deep into his gullet, felt it sink in his tight abs, heard the wind rushing out from his lips. Good impact. Might as well keep at it, right?

Valerie grabbed the middle ropes, pulled back, and threw her body forward, shooting her shoulder into his gut with powerful thrusts. The referee admonished her, calling for her to get out of the corner and threatening to start up the count, but she needn’t have bothered. She didn’t have plans on staying here long.

After the second thrust, she reached around Kyo’s waist, pulled him against her shoulder, and lifted him up out of the corner, holding him aloft as she turned around. He’d only be able to enjoy the view for a few seconds, though, before she took a running start, threw herself forward, and attempted to drive his back into the center of the ring with a spinebuster, making sure to plant him with all the weight and force she could spare.

[Underdoggo]

Ouch

That was the one word that was coming to Kyo's mind as he stood propped up against the turnbuckle, mere seconds after having been crushed between it and Valley's shoulder. It had been a devastating tackle, one that had left him propped against the corner post and gasping like a fish after having Valley slam into him with almost freight train-level force.

And then she went and did it again.

"AUUGH!" Kyo doubled over from the blow this time, almost ending up leaning against Valley's back as she slammed her whole body against his pecs. Even as he felt numbness spreading in his midsection, Kyo felt the Californian powerhouse's arms wrap around his waist and hoist him up over her shoulder like a sack. He was still breathing hard as alarm bells rang in his head, knowing what was going to happen next.

Thinking quickly, he tried to slide an arm around Valley's head, clamping it against his abs in a side headlock, before shifting the weight of his lower body, trying to land feet-first on the mat as Valley dropped him. If he managed that, then he would try to kick out, hammering a boot into Valley's midsection in turn, before dropping back, hoping to drive Valley into the mat with a DDT.

Of course, if all of this failed, then he would simply end up getting planted hard on his back, gasping for air and staring up at the arena lights as Valley nailed him with a devastating spinebuster...

[BlackAkuma]

Valley’s plan here was simple: get on top of Kyo and crush him. She wasn’t much bigger than the man, but she was bigger, and she was confident in her mat wrestling skills. She would go for the pin after she landed the spinebuster, and while she wasn’t likely to get the win off just that, it would put her in a prime position to start working him over with a good submission move. Maybe a bow and arrow stretch, something to weaken his core, make it harder for him to compete in the strength department.

It was a solid idea, but she had to finish the first part. As she lifted Kyo and spun him about, she could sense that something was wrong - he was moving more than she had expected and had a little more life than she would’ve thought from a man she’d nearly sliced in half. She was just about to bring him down when his arm wrapped around her head, stopping her efforts cold and putting her in an awkward position.

Valerie started to push away, knowing she had precious moments to get her head free. Still, Kyo proved to be quicker on the draw this time - her head was slammed into the canvas with a shattering crash, an impact that sent her rolling forward, she came down on her back and sat up straight afterward, but didn’t get up any further than that - all she could do for now was sit there, rubbing her head, trying to shake it off and clear her vision before Kyo’s followup.

Low chance of that happening, but she was obliged to give it a shot.