Nathan Weed vs. Makoto Takeda - Schoolgirl Crush

Nathan Weed

-VS-

Makoto Takeda

Match Type: Standard
Victory Conditions: Pinfall, Submission, or KO




It had been a fairly standard evening at the Tension arena so far, with the crowd getting treated to the usual array of diverse and interesting matchups. A few fun moments, some laughs here and there, and the occasional steamy moment - all that fans had come to expect from the AFW's pedigree. It was a good show. An average show.

That changed, however, when the audience heard an unfamiliar theme blare out over the loudspeakers. Murmurs went through the crowd - newcomers were always welcome, but there was usually some sort of release before they came out, a little way to get the people hyped up enough to at least care about the premier. The AFW typically tried to promote their talent before the public could start consuming them.

Those murmurs turned into boos when a familiar face emerged from backstage, stepping through the curtain with a wide smile: Makoto Takeda, leader of the Valkyries.

For once, Mako was alone, walking down the ramp without Divine and Stone behind her. For once, Mako was walking down the ramp, instead of driving her bike down and blasting the audience with her fumes. For once, Mako was dressed like you'd expect a girl like her to actually dress, wearing a sailor fuku, white socks, and brown loafers. She looked like the typical Japanese schoolgirl, like she'd just walked out of school after a hard day in class, and the frilly, prissy smile on her face enforced the image. For once, she was the picture of innocence

It made Mako want to vomit, but it was all part of the deception. Divine had suggested using her natural cuteness to get an edge in their matches, and this was going to be the trial run for that. On the outside, she was all bubbly and shining, but that was going to change fast - whoever was about to walk into the ring, he had no idea the hell he was getting himself into.

Today, Mako wasn't out to win a match. She was out to prove a point and make examples. Tension needed to start taking the Valkyries seriously, and she was about to show them why.  She spared a quick glance into the audience, making sure Stone and Divine were in position, waiting in their seats for the signal. Stone was only three rows away to the left, wearing her hair down for once and donning a red tracksuit to go against her usual look, and Divine was on the right, wearing a black hoodie to cover her face and carrying her injured arm in a sling. They were weaker than usual with her still recovering, but that was the beauty of an ambush - if they played things right, Divine would only need one arm to be helpful, especially if that one arm held a taser.

Nathan was ready to punch a girl in the face.

At least, that was what he’d been telling himself all morning and afternoon. The truth was, though, he hadn’t actually hit any women before. Not outside of the spars that his new trainer, Carmen Rodriguez, had been putting him through, anyway. And, even then, until recently, he’d always needed some time before he could throw that first punch. He’d gotten better about it, but the fact remained that no one knew how he’d act against somebody who wasn’t a boxer, and therefore someone he knew was used to some rattled brains. This match was to be something of a field test, to see if he had it in him yet to punch a random, non-boxing woman. Bare-fisted.

God, what was he even thinking? This was not how his parents and grandparents had raised him.

But despite everything, here he was, dressed to fight- a tight, black, sleeveless half shirt clung to his pectorals like a wetsuit, and his black athletic shorts with white trim cut off right at the knee; both served to frame the casually sculpted abdominals at his middle. This wasn’t his first official fight, but it was his first match in the Arena, and his first with such a large audience. He had asked Amy not to wait with him backstage- he didn’t need the aggravation- but knew that she would be watching from the crowd.

Once his opponent had entered the ring and he was called to curtain, Nathan shook himself out. Nathan was ready to punch a girl in the face. And he was really starting to believe it. Nathan wasn’t nervous; he’d win or he’d lose, but if he managed to do either while fighting proper, then he’ll have accomplished his goals. He didn’t want to let Carmen down. He resolved to punch the shit out of whatever crazy amazon they roped into facing him.

When his music started to play, he made his way down the ring in a light, bouncy jog, eyes fixed to the ramp, throwing tight practice hooks along the way. It was mostly for show, making it clear to all the sort of training he represented. He caught some interest from the female members of the crowd, who were titillated by the fit, stern-faced newcomer, but he hardly noticed. He was focused. He was ready. He was going to punch a girl in the face. Once he got ringside, however, and he caught a glimpse of his opponent, he blanched.

God. Are you serious? He’d been prepared for the possibility that he’d be facing somebody smaller than him, of course, but he wasn’t prepared to pummel someone who by all appearances seemed like a high school girl, and a small one at that- young, slim, smiling innocently like he’d just asked her out to an amusement park for her first date. She was wearing penny-loafers for chrissake.

He climbed reluctantly into the ring. “Hey.” The energy that he had built up as he made his way through the curtains and down the ramp had suddenly fallen cold.

This, of course, did not escape Amy’s notice. She was in the crowd, nominally to support Nathan, but really she was here to see the fruits of Carmen's labor, and to see Nathan fight at his best. The booing that greeted Nathan's opponent had concerned her, but, when she saw his enthusiasm evaporate, she knew that he was thinking about abandoning boxing again, and nothing else mattered. She fumed. Fucking… Amy stood up. “Ayyy guuuurl! Kick his ass!”

Mako was finding it exceedingly difficult not to burst out laughing. She typically didn't have this problem. She'd done the 'innocent schoolgirl' routine a hundred and one times, and she always managed to get the jump on people with it. But this guy, Nathan? She could just see the wind going out of his sails the moment he realized who he was up against. No vigor, no energy, no drive to beat her. He had all the makings of a perfect mark, and she just had to milk him dry.

"Hey, Mister!" She shuffled to the side on her heels as he came into the ring. "Are you-"

She was cut off by a loud - loud as fuck - scream from the audience, standing out from the noise. Mako glanced out from the corner of her eye and saw the little blonde girl it came from. Tourist, probably.

"You're my opponent, right?" She held out her hnad for a ginger handshake "Makoto Takeda, but my friends call me Mako." She poked his nice, firm chest. :"So you can call me Mako."

She ended it with a little blush and a shy giggle. Perfect.

Nathan winced as Amy’s voice carried out over the ring. She was here to watch him fight and not necessarily to win, so it was clear why she had yelled. He knew that her shout was a criticism, her own twisted way of showing support, even if it sounded like she’d jumped ship to side with his opponent. Even knowing that, it didn’t feel great having his one friend in the crowd shout for his ass to get beat.

Worse still was how innocent his opponent was. It wasn’t enough that she looked about as threatening as a pile of snow-white feathers; her giggling and naivete made him question whether or not she knew that they were here to fight. Inwardly, he cursed the promoters; they were clearly hoping to set this Mako girl up for a squash and to simultaneously paint Nathan as a big bad. While Nathan knew where Amy was coming from, she wasn’t the one in the ring with the tiny blushing schoolgirl who had already decided that they were friends. Mentally, he apologized to Carmen. I can’t bring myself to hit this girl. But I’ll use strikes in my next match, I promise.

Nathan took her hand and gave it a brisk pump. Her hand was rougher than he'd expected... but her grip was dainty, and his hand completely enveloped hers. Christ. “Pleased to meet you, Mako. I’m Nathan.”

God damn, it was taking some serious effort not to just kick Nathan in the balls and start bashing his face in. Partly because she simply wanted to do it, and partly because she couldn't wait to see the look on his face when he realized how far up shit creek without a paddle he really was. She only wished Stone or Divine were taking pictures to commemorate the moment.

She couldn't hide a little grimace at the audience's booing, though - even if Nathan didn't know who she really was, they sure as hell did, and there wasn't any way to get them to go along with it. Even the referee was giving them a cautious look, like she was on the verge of ruining the whole thing with a few choice words. Best not to stretch this out for too much longer.

"Hajimemashite, Nathan-chan!" She finished the handshake and stepped back as the bell rang, anxiously bouncing on her heels as she took on poor fighting stance. Chest far too open, legs far too wide, like a karate student on her first day. "They...don't like me too much." Mako sighed and glanced at the crowd, letting a small pout form across her lips. "I didn't do so well in my first few matches, so I'm super-unpopular. Go easy on me, okay?"

She moved towards him with her hands up, motioning for him to start off with a test of strength. Which he'd obviously win if he were serious, but with the way things were playing so far, she was curious how he'd react. A quick, fun laugh before she lowered the boom on him.

Amy by now had figured out that there was more to this Makoto chick than met the eye. Her fighting stance was abysmal, but it wasn’t like she was about to be pushed over- her balance was a little too solid for that. And, for a greenhorn, Mako certainly had experienced eyes... and were those battle scars on her arms and legs? Besides, even if Amy didn’t notice all of these minute details, it was easy to let the crowd’s unending displeasure make her judgment for her.

But that was fine. So this Makoto character was probably hiding something. Maybe she fought a little dirty, whatever. As long as what she had got Nathan to fight for real, she was totally on board.

Nathan, on the other hand, was falling for the ruse hook, line, and sinker. He accepted Mako’s explanation of the crowd without a second thought. He motioned out toward the crowd. “With a little practice, I’m sure you’ll start winning matches, and they’ll start coming around. But, no, I won’t be holding back, so get ready.” Pure lies; he was going to treat her very lightly. He only said what he said because he doubted that Mako actually wanted him to go easy on her. No one in this crazy league ever wanted to be shown restraint.

Nathan accepted the lockup without hesitation and started to push- not with all his strength, but enough to drive her back, and enough to lend credibility to his lie.

For all the posturing, Mako could tell this wasn't a weakling she was up against. Nathan wasn't built like the strawmen guys who used to plague Tension in the Sex Wars days - no, he was strong. Good muscle. Good tone. And when they locked up and he started to push her back, she could tell he had a lot more power he could have poured into the hold. If he wanted, Nathan could have pushed her all the way to the corner and kept her there for as long as he liked.

It wouldn't matter. She'd handled bigger. And by the time 'Nathan-chan' realized the reality of the situation, it would be way too late for him to bring that power out. He'd already lost, his body just didn't know it yet.

Speaking of which, it was about time she dropped the hammer. Any more of this crap and she'd straight up burst out laughing. "I think I'll start winning matches, too." She got pushed back a couple of steps, getting closer to the turnbuckle, before she put her feet down and stopped the advance cold. "Like this one!"

Mako gripped Nathan's hands tight, digging her nails deep into the flesh, and pulled back to get him a little closer to her level. As soon as he was drawn, she jumped up, jerked forward, and swung her forehead towards his nose, coming at him with a vicious headbutt.

Nathan suddenly found his advance halted. Sure, he hadn’t been pushing with his full strength, but he hadn’t expected to be stopped so abruptly against a girl her size. Before he could respond to Mako’s suddenly confident attitude, he felt nails hook painfully into his hands and wrists, making him yelp. In the next moment, he was yanked downward by a strength he still couldn’t place, and Mako’s head crashed solidly into his nose before his brain had even figured out what was going on.

Nathan reeled backwards, his head flying back in a perfect arc, and tears forming at the corners of his eyes. His hands yanked out of Mako’s grip, leaving long, angry looking scratch marks across both hands, and they flew automatically to his aching nose- no blood, but lots and lots of pain and confusion. What just happened?

“Yeah! Fuck him up!” Whatever it was, apparently Amy approved.

Oh, yeah, there it was. That look. That 'what the fuck just happened?' look. Mako lived and died to put that look on asshole's faces, and Nathan wore it better than anyone she'd ever seen. But, despite the agreesion, it still looked like he was properly analyzing the situation, which meant more free hits for her.

Oh, and were those tears? Priceless. She wanted to lick them off his goddamn face.

Mako rushed in, keeping the pressure on him, full stop. While he was nursing his nose, his stomach was wide open, and that was what she went for - she leaped towards him and got as much momentum as she could muster into a running knee lift, trying to sink it right into the solar plexus.

Stone sat back in her chair as she sat with the rest of the audience, watching the fight and trying to enjoy it until the time came for her to step. 'Trying' was the operate word, there - the girl screaming beside her was making it a little difficult. "Enjoying the match, huh?" She looked over at the pretty little blonde girl with a bemused glance.

“Yeah!” Amy turned and took an moment to read her neighbor’s expression. “Oops. Sorry.” Amy sat back down. “Dude in there is a friend of mine, and he’s holding back because the girl’s so small, so I’m liking the way she’s taking him apart. Maybe it’ll get him to wake up a bit.”

Amy watched as Makoto’s knee knocked him back another few steps, then down to a knee as he suddenly found himself unable to breathe. “She’s good. She totally took him in.”

Yes, she had. But he was starting to put together the pieces now. Even while he was noisily trying to recover his breath, one hand at his midsection, he was forcing his eyes open to warily keep track of his opponent’s movements.