L.A.W. - League of Anime Wrestling

Now that she had gone out of the ring, Kyoko was left on her back, and now, she was vulnerable. She coughed and groaned as she came to rest on the floor, but then, she looked up to see the face of the Anomaly looming just overhead. And at the first sight of it, her eyes went wide, and her face went a stark white as a gasp died in her throat. Her eyelid twitched incessantly as she could do nothing but watch his hand come down closer to her face, slowly but surely. Even if it seemed like it was moving little more than an inch at a time, every moment that passed made her heart beat faster in her chest, as though she was staring down the barrel of a gun, waiting for her own demise. Paralyzed with fear, she couldn't even bring herself to move a muscle, or even to raise a fist in her defense.

Kyoko was a wrestler, and a brawler at heart. Not only was she a member of one of LAW's premier factions, and one that she felt was doing a great job for itself already, she had been getting into fights long before she and Misako ever chose to go "legit" (as much as such a thing could be said about them, anyway) and she thought she knew how to take down any foe. They'd had run-ins with rival gangs, the law, even larger criminal enterprises than theirs, and still managed to come out on top. But none of that mattered now. Kyoko knew that whoever, or whatever she was up against now...this thing wasn't a wrestler. This wasn't an opponent...this was a demon, a monster, a force of pure and unfathomable evil. And faced with such a threat, Kyoko was at a loss for what she could do about it!

With Sachiko out of action, and Kyoko locked down, it was up to Misako to save the day. But knowing that it was all on her shoulders didn't make anything easier. The dark-haired girl squeezed her hands tight to try and keep her body from shaking as she took off running for the chair, her heart racing and her teeth clenched into a grimace. She never expected to be this scared of anything - but she knew her back was up against a wall, and she knew all too well that if she couldn't save Kyoko...well, she didn't even want to think about that. She had begun to run on her own two feet, without holding onto the rail now, and she shuddered and winced with every time she set her sore foot against the ground, but it didn't matter any more. If there was any hope of the Heartbreakers winning this match, it was all up to Misako.

At last, reaching the chair, she grabbed it and lifted it off the ground - only to turn around and see Lyra closing in on her, in hot pursuit! Misako's eyes narrowed into a glare of anger and frustration as her body went tense, and her fingers wrapped tighter around the chair. "Goddammit...not now!" she growled to herself. She thought she was about to turn things around, but Lyra was still going to find a way to stand in her path!

Misako could take no more - and at that point, all the pent-up tension in her body was going to go explosively outward. "Dammit...FUCK OFF! I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR YOUR BULLSHIT!" she screamed, swinging up one leg to kick Lyra in the face as she came closer. If that worked, she would use the motion of bringing her leg down to swing herself forward into a stride, closer to where she had left her teammate with the Anomaly - and as she did, she would fling the chair straight at the latter!

It almost seemed way too easy. Even by themselves as normal wrestlers, Jonathan and Ryan could’ve squashed the Heartbreakers like bugs. Maybe even do a comedy match to pump the fans up even more and hand an embarrassing first loss to the trio making them look like jokes. However, too many sins to count between these three girls and they took on both sides of conflict—law enforcement and criminal gangs. How they survived the streets bewildered Jonathan as he researched police records on them in preparation for this match. They were definitely formidable foes….for mere wrestlers who they could easily topple perhaps.

Not against a being like the Anomaly. This monster doesn’t strive for greatness or glory….just influence and power. He managed to take out the leader and when one domino goes down, the rest follow like good minions. He took out the top layer of their building and now, he was about to take out another layer. However, as much as Lyra tried stopping Misako, the punk girl unleashed a rage kick sending the cloaked wrestler into the guardrail almost launching her into the crowd! The fans were stunned as Misako ran for the Anomaly next and then they thought she was really crazy!

Misako waved the chair up and bashed it on the back of the demon. The Anomaly roared as he didn’t feel the pain too much, but Misako did pull his attention away from Kyoko as the monster growled lowly at the chair wielding maniac. A low demonic laugh escaped the clutches of The Anomaly’s mouth as he grabbed the chair from Misako. However, this distraction did provide Kyoko with a little open window to strike. One could even say she could go low with her attack.

Misako had been holding back long enough. She was trying to protect her wounded leg, and she was trying even more desperately to convince herself that this madness wasn't beyond her capabilities; that she and Kyoko were going to take care of it the same way they would any other match. But when the match went on, and nothing seemed to work, she was growing more and more desperate. At last, something in her snapped. She wasn't going to let Lyra hold her back any more - the cloaked woman wasn't even in this match; it was time for her to stop messing with her! With a well-placed kick, she shoved her foot into the seer's face, knocking her back into the barricades!

When she saw how far Lyra had been thrown, Misako thought to herself that maybe she was even stronger than she thought. But she didn't have long to stand there pondering such things - she was already on the move, throwing herself closer to the Anomaly and getting into range, enough to slam the steel chair down into his back!

It landed with a clang that filled the arena. She could feel his back buckling inward against the blow. Misako drew back, still holding onto the chair, as she looked back at her handiwork...and saw nothing. Her eyes grew wide in shock, and the blood drained away from her face. The chair had been her last-ditch effort. She had depended on it to turn the tide in her favor; it seemed like the only thing that could slow down the implacable monster her opponent was. And yet...it didn't even work. He stood back up, laughing, and snatched the chair out of her hands as she looked on through glassy and unblinking eyes, paralyzed with shock! Misako's heart was pounding a mile a minute, but her brain was at a loss for what to do next. If the chair couldn't even stop him, what could?

But if nothing else, Kyoko was still there. Misako had succeeded in drawing the Anomaly's attention. While he wrestled the chair from Misako's grip, Kyoko hopped to her feet behind him, seeing the perfect chance to strike! With the enthusiasm that only someone as reckless as Kyoko Kobashi could muster, the red-haired girl grabbed for his shoulders from behind to steady herself before she swung her knee straight up between his legs to go for a low blow!

Such tomfoolery is very amusing to this demon. Nothing could hurt him. Strikes, weapons, even a bulldozer wouldn’t have been useful. These girls were better off becoming his disciples and doing his bidding, but the distraction at least worked and Kyoko swung the knee up for a low blow. The Anomaly roared as the demon leaned against the apron as Ryan grabbed Kyoko and started whipping her into the guardrail back first. The shaman advanced on the redhead if she weren’t ready for a counter. Ryan would try for three quick knee strikes to her gut.

Meanwhile, the demon didn’t hurt too much, but it was clear the Heartbreakers managed to get a foothold against this monster. Misako was now up against the Anomaly and this would be a tough challenge to overcome. She hadn’t had any luck, but now was her chance to try and turn things around for her team!

With Misako all but paralyzed in fear, it was all up to Kyoko to turn things around in the Heartbreakers' favor. And in some ways, Kyoko was the perfect person to implement such a plan. No one else would have been so carefree or so foolhardy to try and take on the Anomaly with a move that put them up close and personal; after he had shrugged off a chair shot, too, no one else would have even expected it to work. But as far as Kyoko saw it, the Anomaly was nothing more than some dude in a mask trying to be spooky, and he would thus have the same weaknesses as anyone. That was what led her to ram her knee straight up in between his legs - and to the surprise of everyone, it actually seemed to work, as the creature doubled over forward from the force of the blow!

Kyoko smiled even wider when she saw her efforts had actually borne fruit! She clapped her hands together with glee, jumping up with her fists pumping in the air. "YES! Oh yeah!! I did it!" she cheered. But in all her enthusiasm, Kyoko was caught up in her celebrations, and she wasn't focused on what was coming up behind her...

"KYOKO!!" Misako called out then, biting anxiously at her lip as she saw what was sneaking up on her partner from behind. "Behind you!!"

"Huh?" Kyoko looked back over her shoulder - just in time for Ryan to grab her, whipping her clean across the floor! She let out a scream as she went careening into the barricades, landing against them with the sound of a clang that caused everyone to wince. With her knees going weak and her footing limp beneath her, Kyoko began to sink down the barricade, letting out a pained groan - and leaving her wide open for Ryan to start smashing his knee into her gut, each time causing her to gasp and groan from the blow as her hips bucked and her body shook!

"Nngh...Dammit, Kyoko..!" Misako's teeth clenched as she looked on at the scene. Kyoko actually had something good going for her for a moment there, but it seemed like she was willing to let it slip through her fingers just afterward. Of course, she soon reminded herself, her frustrations couldn't lead her astray. In a match like this, the slightest mistake could mean disaster - and that could mean the sort of fate she didn't even want to consider.

Kyoko had at least slowed the Anomaly down. That meant Misako had the chance to hit him while he was stunned. She didn't know how well it would work after he'd shrugged it off last time, but - as painful as it was for Misako to admit it - she didn't have a lot of other options. It was better to press on ahead with the hope something just might work than to leave onesself open, frozen in fear. Sucking a breath in through her clenched teeth, she swung the chair once again, aimed at the demon's head; if that worked, she would swing back in the other direction, and then again and again, attempting to buffet his skull with a barrage of strikes!

The Anomaly growled and howled as Misako’s repeated chair shots rained down on his head. While he couldn’t really feel them, the force from each blow pushed him back as he rested on the barricade growling in a low demonic tone. He then thought of another psychological mind trick he could try and put things back in his favor. Huddling down like a wounded animal, The Anomaly turned his head away from Misako and fiddled with something out of view. Unbeknownst to anyone in the crowd or their opponents, Jonathan hid a voice modulator under his mask and fitted it with samples of various wrestlers and staff around LAW. The creature then looked back up and stared deathly at Misako before opening his mouth.

“Why did you hit me, Misako? I’m your damn leader, dumbass!” Sachiko’s voice erupted from the Anomaly in a mimic tone.

These two loved relying on their leader for their battles. Let’s see what happened when she’s out against them. The aim here was to dig at Misako’s friendship with Sachiko and make the chair wielding girl think she was really speaking with her best friend/tag team partner.

Misako was desperate. She never wanted to end up in any situation where her back was up against the wall, but some times, it was unavoidable - and the best she could do, for those situations, was to be ready to carve a path out with her fists. Or in this case, with the cold steel of a folding chair! Clenching her teeth to try and steady herself, she hammered down at the Anomaly's head again and again. The metallic clang of the chair rang out through the arena each time. Misako kept up her frantic assault, never letting it up for a moment. Even as her arms grew tired from lifting it up and down so many times, she couldn't afford to slow down. She had no idea what the Anomaly was capable of, how much it would take to keep him down, if he was even human at all - but each possibility that ran through her head left her shuddering, and she knew it was better to be safe than sorry.

Misako had struck out at the Anomaly more times than she could count, and a sizable dent had formed in the chair's surface. After a while, she staggered back, gasping and groaning; she doubled over at the waist as she panted for breath. She knew the Anomaly was tough, but it was taking far more to slow him down than it had taken for anyone she'd faced before, and now she was running out of ideas. Wincing, she glared back up at him, biting her lip to try and keep herself from shuddering - she knew that against an opponent like this, to show any fear would be suicide. "W-Why...won't you just stay down..!?" she muttered, more to herself than to her opponent.

But then, the Anomaly spoke again. Or rather, Sachiko spoke again. At the very sound of it, Misako stood up straight, her eyes going wide and the color draining away from her face. She glanced back and forth just to be sure that she wasn't hearing things, looking around the ring to confirm there was no sign of Sachiko anywhere. But she knew she had heard that. It had to be a trick, she thought; there was no way this could really happen. After all, Sachiko was right there. And yet, as much as she wanted to convince herself of that, she couldn't. She knew she was dealing with something very powerful, and something very wrong, something she couldn't even comprehend. And if she couldn't understand it...she couldn't beat it.

"...S-Sachi-?!" she gasped in a hushed tone. "But you're...no, that's impossible-!" She shot a glare back up at the Anomaly. "You-!! W-What did you DO!?"

The anxiety was rising in Misako's voice, and her breaths began to quicken into rapid gasps. She might have vowed she couldn't show any fear a moment ago...but now, when it seemed as though the Anomaly could do anything, she couldn't help herself. She was paralyzed, too stricken with panic to even move a muscle!

Despite multiple chair shots, The Anomaly showed no pain and could only be held back for so long. Even then, he had plenty of tricks up his sleeves and the power of psychology at his disposal. What he lacked in, he made up for in other ways. The Anomaly knows how to get under his victim’s skin and willing to exploit any opening to poison their mind with doubts about their insecurities. Seeing as he spoke with Koizumi’s voice, it put Mistako on ice in a figurative manner. She didn’t seem to be falling for the trick, but it did put her mind on a blank roulette trying to make heads or tails of the things going on.

“God, you are so dumb! Why did I think you could ever be a Heartbreaker? You always ruin the fun, you always try to correct me, and you try to boss me around. You’re nothing without me! Nothing!” “Sachiko” shouted at Misako and the more The Anomaly spoke with this voice, the more Misako would feel the coldness of doubt start to sprinkle in her.

Misako was an interesting opponent and very relentless when it came to opposition against her group. She would make a perfect disciple….but first, he had to get her to see things his way and so he switches the modulator off approaching Misako. The demon raised his right glove to hold up the younger girl’s chin as she stared deep in his eyes and The Anomaly used psychology yet again to bring his alluring touch to ease her mind.

Ryan would hold Kyoko by the shoulders bringing her over no matter how much she protested as The Anomaly looked her in the eyes. His growls ever so close as he looked over the spunky redhead and pressed a index finger against her forehead to get her calm. This match was over. The Anomaly didn’t even need a victory. It was time to get what he came for. Misako and Kyoko…to join his side and fight for conquering LAW.

It was down to this. Going after the Anomaly with a chair, trying to bludgeon him into a pulp, had been Misako's last-ditch attempt at turning the tides in a match where nothing else seemed like it could work. But she had been banking on him still having the sort of normal human endurance that she was used to - and now, she could see that even that had been too much to ask. Now the Anomaly got back up, shrugging it off like nothing had happened. The sight of him straightening back up to his full height, despite having been hammered multiple times in the head, was in itself enough to make a shiver go down Misako's spine...but what was even worse came next, as Sachiko's voice emerged from his throat, taunting her and belittling her.

"No, that...that isn't true...that's not really how she feels-!" Misako snapped back, desperate to try and reclaim some faith in herself - anything she could still feel secure in. But her voice was a far cry from the gruff, stern tones that usually characterized her speech. Now it was softer, hushed, wavering - not even Misako herself truly believed in what she was saying. She wanted to; she wanted to tell herself that it was impossible - Sachiko would never act like this, and it wasn't possible for the Anomaly to speak in her voice; it certainly wasn't her when she was already out of the ring. But this was no time for her to think rationally. Her opponent had proven that she couldn't have faith even in what she thought to be physically possible or not. Against the Anomaly, anything could happen...and she was caught in the crosshairs.

Misako's muscles went slack, her grip releasing on the chair. It dropped to the floor to land with a clatter, and she could only stare back at the Anomaly with glassy eyes and a pale face as he came closer and closer, her jaw hanging open in a gape. She showed no resistance as he grabbed her by the jaw and lifted her head, and when her eyes met his, she took in a gulp. Kyoko was soon to follow at her side - she twisted and turned in Ryan's arms, squeezing her eyes shut and trying to turn her head away from the Anomaly, but her opponent still held firm. There was no hope for them.

But just then...the curtains swung open. Sachiko, now woken up from her daze, burst through from backstage, coming charging toward the ring as fast as she could! She knew her teammates were in trouble, and she was willing to fight her way out of the hands of the paramedics trying to restrain her if it meant coming to their aid when they needed it most! "STOP RIGHT THERE!!" she shouted, with Kyoko and Misako looking back toward the sound of her voice, finally finding the strength to look away from the Anomaly's transfixing gaze.

The Anomaly unleashed a demonic laughter knowing this was the defining moment. The Heartbreakers were no more! Misako and Kyoko would be among the first disciples to join his league and worship him in their ravage through the land of LAW. The Anomaly growled nearing Misako first as he raised his glove high in order to come straight for the forehead, but the sudden appearance of an awoken Sachiko stopped his concentration and he looked up seeing the boss he put down stumble down the ramp. He quickly tried to corrupt Misako’s mind, but the rebel leader grabbed his arm preventing him from going further.

The Anomaly roared trying to get Sachiko off of him and yet, this would be the first time Sachiko hung on for dear life instead of being shifted to the side. Their leader, even on the verge of exhaustion and mind trauma, was still in the game. Even if to buy her friends a few minutes to think of an escape plan. The Anomaly was preoccupied with her and this gave Misako a second chance of hope. Maybe it was time The Heartbreakers started breaking skulls again…