Kyoko Akan vs. Masuyo Ai - Iron Sharpens Iron

That got her some space, at least. Masuyo would be lying to herself if she’d said it didn’t hurt to pull that off. Kyoko shot through her core like fist-sized bullets, feeling her stomach give against the pressure and her abs sting her with pain with each breath she took. If she took on any more punishment, she may have been in danger of getting a cramp. Then this match may have been over before she even realized it.

But she managed it. The Belly Queen was on her back, but she doubted it would stay like that for long. Her opponent tonight was a bit more versatile than most. She had to get the momentum back before she found a way to turn it back on her.

Masuyo lunged forward out of the corner as Kyoko went to stand back up. Dropping low with her legs spread wide, she went to dive down and straddle her opponent's waist. If she managed that, the Demon would throw a right hook into Kyoko’s face. Then a left hook. Then another right. Then left. Right. Left. Right. Unleashing a relentless assault on the woman’s face with enough ferocity to knock her out cold in no time.

Masuyo clicked her tongue after the first punch connected and saw Kyoko immediately bring her guard up. She was hoping to get a couple more strikes in, but she should have expected her opponent to be quick on the uptake. She suspected that the Belly Queen must have had some experience brawling in the past, and this only further proved that theory. Her guard was quick to come up, but didn’t have the fault in strength like it was rudimentary. She knew what was coming and didn’t want any more of it. Too bad for her, the Demon had plenty more where that came from.

That was, until she felt Kyoko shifting her weight, trying to get Masuyo down by throwing her off to the side. Not a bad idea, if she were faster and not already under assault, it may have worked. But Masuyo had seen it done before, most recently in Tension against a certain would-be prince, and she’d deal with it in the same way.

As Kyoko went to push her over, Masuyo’s legs would sneak around her waist, attempting to establish a figure-four hold around her opponent as she was brought on top. From her position below, the MMA maven would keep hammering the Queen with fists while she kept her nice and close.

Bet she wasn’t expecting that. Masuyo did her best to tighten to the figure four as she constricted Kyoko from the waist up. If there was one thing she was picking up from this fight about her opponent, it was that she could adapt. One bad situation wasn’t enough to out do her. Even if the triangle hold had scored Masuyo a couple more shots to the face, the Queen was still ready with another guard of her own and fell into the position soon enough. If she was going to tie this match up, she’d have to up the pressure. How to do that, though?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a shot to the gut, some spittle spewing out from her mouth as her head jerked forward. When it did, there was only Kyoko’s fist to meet her, knocking her across the jaw and sending her right back to the floor with a thump. The Demon blinked back at her foe and went to trade blows, the two wailing on each other in a flurry fists. Some of the more bloodthirst patrons cheered them on, others occasionally wincing from the force of it all. Masuyo wanted to keep going forever. She could have. The ground was her territory, and she had Kyoko in her grasp.

But the Belly Queen’s assault was too viscous. Her fists were trained and she was no stranger to the mats. If Masuyo were to score a knockout form this scuffle, it wouldn’t be without plenty of attrition. She had to be smart. Thus, the MMA maven unlocked her legs, bringing them back and attempting to kick Kyoko away from her with both feet pressing into her gut.

At least she finally made herself some breathing room. Despite the offensive she was keeping up, her stomach was still feeling the abuse from earlier. Her body was aching all over, and the scuffle she’d just broken out of definitely wasn’t helping. When Masuyo finally went to stand up, the pain came washing back over her all over again. She let out a bit of a cough, trying to adjust her breathing a bit. It felt like her gut had been pounded in, and her abs stung her like a row of knives every time they tensed. Kyoko certainly earned her title of Belly Queen.

“Everyone needs a breather now and then.” She said with a grin, bringing herself up to one knee. “Come on already. You were just starting to get me excited.”

Masuyo brought herself back up to two feet and widened her stance. She kept her arms low as she watched Kyoko, watching to see what the woman would do. Playing offense wasn’t the smartest thing for the MMA maven to do. Not with her core giving her this much grief. Play it smart. Make Kyoko work for it, and then she’d just manage to turn this around.

Yeah. She definitely was going to be feeling all of this in the morning.

Not being able to breathe as well as she should have was already a big enough drawback to deal with this early on. The pincer-like sensation that rippled across her stomach each time she breathed was something she could have done without. Like all things, though, she'd just have to bear with it. Kyoko had created a weakness to prey upon. If Masuyo let her, that second fall wasn't going to come to her any time soon.

She spat to the side and raised her arms as Kyoko met her with a lock up. She pushed back against the woman as best as she was able, but soon enough her true intentions became clear as she snapped away and spun behind the Demon. Before Masuyo could turn to meet her, the Belly Queen had caught her around the waist. The MMA maven spread her feet wide, attempting to keep herself grounded and fussed with the lock on her midsection, twisting left and right in an attempt to break free. It was a solid grip, to be sure, but she could wear it down in time.