Souko Kawamoto vs. La Mariposa: Under the Lights

It was freeing to know that she could perform for these people without worry and without restraint. No scrutinizing eyes, no moral or ethical decisions to weigh. She need not look over her shoulder or wonder what would come of her next step. Lisa need only concern herself with herself, her opponent, and the joy of entertainment. It was high time that the scientist Lisa Hamilton took a seat, and La Mariposa stepped into the limelight. As she brought her mask to her face and secured it in place, she could not have felt a greater sense of relief where many women would have deal with their nerves. Her chance to return to the ring could not come sooner.

Lisa, wasting no time, hopped up to the darkened stage and turned her back to the crowd, posing with a hand raised to the ceiling and a hand on her hip. Her heart went aflutter in anticipation, and La Mariposa licked her lips lightly, tiding herself over until the stage erupted in pyrotechnics around her. The arena's lights shifted to illuminate the ebony-skinned luchadora, decked out in red ring attire. She took in a quick moment to suck in a breath and squeeze her eyes shut, reveling in the crowd's reaction, before she brought the other hand down to her hips. The way she suggestively swung those hips in response to her peppy theme, as she whirled around to face the crowd, would have made any salsa dancer proud.

After taking the time to wink and pose for the crowd, drawing her hands from her hips, up her body, and to the back of her head, she reveled in the response only a moment before she took off in a run towards the stage. One momentary twinge of nerves hit her as she prepped for the front handspring that she had always performed as a part of her entrance, but without hesitation, she propelled herself forward, landing neatly on her hands and pushing off to flip over and land on her feet again, right in front of the ring. She let loose a happy breath, already feeling as if she was completely within her essence again. She was the stunning and electrifying La Mariposa, once again. Any less would not do, especially considering how AFW had been so kind as to give the luchadora a stage reminiscent of the old arenas of the Dead or Alive tournament and a welcome back that she wasn't sure she was deserving of, which had been hyped for weeks now. It seemed she was remembered for her exploits of the years before, for better or worse. As long as the people continued to adore La Mariposa and knew nothing of her alter ego, all would be fine.

As she hopped up onto the ring and stepped through the ropes, her mind was clear and without distraction. Fully in tune with the crowd, she jogged over to the turnbuckle and hopped up onto the second rope, spreading her arms wide in a faint representation of her Spanish-laden namesake, the butterfly. A chant of her name rang out in a nearby block of seats as she posed for them, and La Mariposa, all smiles, gestured to them in appreciation, as the lights and her music lingered several seconds long in AFW's attempt to welcome their elsewhere established newcomer.

For Souko it alway seemed as if the difficulty switch was being ramped up to 11. With the exception of that Goth girl Gwen, nearly every other fight she had been in was against a really good professional wrestler. It seemed tonight was no different. She hadn't been told who she was facing until just now. So her nerves hadn't exactly set in. But maybe that was a good thing. Her information on the Luchadora was limited, except that she had popped up almost everywhere and had a stellar record. Backstage, Souko took a deep breath, watching the female enter the arena. There was so much confidence in the way she walked. She had no fears at all.

So why should Souko? With that, she ran up to her starting place and waited for the signal. After a minute of reveling in the music it would cut out abruptly and Souko's own, guitar riff music would start. The Pyro stuff was a little less flashy than what the Lucha had picked, but Souko enjoyed it, walking down the ramp like a predator stalking its prey. Every metre or so two new columns of pyros would fire off down the ramp, following her. Approaching the ring, Souko jumped in, holding onto the top rope to vault rather impressively over the top as a crowd pleaser. She would try and ignore the sudden rush of blood to the head. Landing in the ring, the ref came over and handed Souko a mic, just like she ordered her too.

"Look, I don't know who you are exactly. But do you really think that mask protects you? That it gives you strength and power? Freedom? Meh. Who knows. But I now one thing tonight. I will know the answer, simply because by the end of this match I am going to be wearing that mask. I don't care how much more experience you got, or how many other places you fought. I am going to make sure you get a welcome here that you will never forget!" Souko would then had the mic back over to the ref before taking a second to make sure her attire was tight enough and not going to come loose.

Souko:

As the pageantry died down, La Mariposa descended from the turnbuckle, but she remained in motion. She stretched her legs and bounced to keep her muscles warm as her opponent began her descent into the ring, and the luchadora, always one to appreciate showmanship, watched the woman's fire hazard of an entrance with an unreadable smile beneath her mask. La Mariposa had gathered what information she could about this "Souko" from recordings of AFW matches and felt thoroughly prepared for the woman; she was, in person however, quite a more striking figure than a simple video could capture. The film revealed that she looked to be an exciting opponent in the ring. La Mariposa was counting on it. As Souko drew nearer, La Mariposa turned to the ropes to continue her stretching.

When Souko's music died down, however, and the crowd quieted, the luchadora paused and whirled to see her opponent with a mic. Oh, she was a talkative one, was she? La Mariposa continued bouncing, but listened intently, her eyes filled with curiosity.

It was not in her nature for La Mariposa to expect people to recognize her, but hearing Souko admit that she did not know who the luchadora was did come as a surprise. La Mariposa made little more than spot appearances from place to place - such as the DOA Tournament - but those were usually enough for a fan of wrestling to catch on to her identity if they spotted her in the mask. The rest was, well- La Mariposa was hesitant to call it fluff, because she admired her opponent's spirit and fearlessness. Nonetheless, it was the kind of hot air that blew from the lips of those who needed to convince themselves that they were up to the task, rather than proving such a thing in the ring. The luchadora rested her hands on her hips.

La Mariposa was not one to wield the mic in the ring, but Souko was making bold claims. Planning to steal a luchadora's mask? As soon as the mic passed hands from Souko to the ref, La Mariposa gestured for it and was heeded. The crowd erupted into a cheer as she wrapped her hand around it and brought it to her lips, which curved into a roguish smile. "You want to strip a luchadora of her mask? By the way you speak of such a feat so casually, I doubt you know the gravity of your boast. You had best prove up to the task or risk disappointing us all." As the crowd erupted into another cheer, the luchadora returned the mic to the ref and resumed her bouncing.

She would prove her points.

There was one thing that Souko had discovered almost right away when she entered the ring and spoke. La Mariposa doesn't stop moving at all. She was always bouncing around like a ball of energy and that was the first point of Soukos concerns in this match. This woman was aggressive and fast. Two very dangerous things on their own, but when combined, were lethal. The second was the crowd. It was clear after Soukos words that they were clearly on the luchdora's side. Which for her caused issues. She knew first hand what it was like to get support from the crowd. If the crowd was behind you, anything was possible.If they were against you; it didn't matter how many power moves you landed, no one was going to be there on your team.

Listening to the Luchas words, Souko tensed her body. She was expecting her to dash at her, break into a run or do something along those lines. But thankfully nothing came. Not yet at least. After the ref had taken the mic away from them both she signalled for the match to begin in earnest. The bell ringing just to confirm that the fight was now well and truly on. Souko was usually aggressive at the start, she always believed that getting the first hit went a long way in defeating an opponent, but in this case, against Mariposa, she was hesitant. So instead, she took a cautious step forward, raising her arms to see if the Lucha would engage her in a test of strength. It was a bold move, but she was quietly confident that she must have the strength advantage. She was trying not to think about the consequences of not being the stronger fighter, or that the Lucha might just charge at her instead of locking up.