Kieda Uzai vs. Kozue Kaburagi - Ninjas Do It Stealthily

Kozue was in a bad spot, but she’d been in worse. In fact, her entire career could be summed up as being in multiple bad spots. That shit that went down with Black Dragon, her bout with the Tension World Champion, that crazy match with Mariko Ishii, getting dunked on by Benikage...big girl challenges, all of them. She didn’t always come out on top, but she found ways to give as good as she got and did her best.

And that was before. She was better know. Smarter. Stronger. This was the perfect chance to show how much.

As she laid on the outside of the ring, she could hear the crowd start to grow louder, the telltale sound of them expecting something major about to happen. Sure enough, she heard the pitter patter of rushing feet from the ring above, and looked up in time to see her foe taking flight, coming down on her with knees ready.

Nice try. Wasn’t happening.

Kozue rolled to the side at the last second, giving Kieda’s double knees nothing to drive into, narrowly avoiding the crash. That wouldn’t have been enough to really hurt her foe all that much, though, so she tacked on a parting gift - she rolled back around, swung her leg about in a wide arc, and kicked Kieda in the back of her skull.

*Concentrating every ounce of her acrobatic ability on punishing her adversary for having the nerve to challenge her, once Kieda's boots untouched the ring she felt as if time itself no longer applied to her- The Cerulean Shadow became weightless, floating through the skies towards an unknown outcome that awaited her. Moments before impact, her haughty countenance transformed into one of unadulterated horror as Kozue had narrowly eluded her aerial assault!*

"Ggggrrrh!" *The blunt impact was enough to temporarily cripple the aerodynamic Assassin, rendering her unable to regain her footing as she remained immobile. To her dismay, Kozue wasn't convinced, and cracked the backside of her cranium with a vicious punt!*

"Mmmhhh!" *The impromptu soccer kick sent the svelte model tumbling forward, her mind drowning in a typhoon of incoherent thoughts and uncertainty as the pendulum began swinging in the opposite direction once again!*

After Kozue landed the kick, she fell back and flopped to the side, breathing heavy and trying to catch her breath. The constant back and forth with this match was taking a real toll on both of them - she couldn’t remember the last time she’d taken on someone with the kind of skill that matched her own, another ninjathat could keep up with her on this level. A rare find, no doubt.

She just needed a few seconds to catch her breath, and then she could-

”1…!”

Oh, right, that. Count-out. Almost forgot. Shit.

”Okay.” She grunted and sat up, hissing along the way at her own migraine. God, she’d need an aspirin after this. ”Let’s get you up, puff-pants.”

Kozue pushed to her feet, stumbling a little along the way, then she reached over and grabbed two handfuls of blue hair to make Kieda stand up as well. As soon as they were both upright, she whipped around and hurled her opponent hard into the barricade, back-first, looking to add on a little damage before they came back into the ring.

”2…!”

*Extending her forearms out to prevent herself from receiving a free facial, Kieda anticipated the harsh impact to rattle her statuesque figure, and sure enough, it sent a tremor across every inch of her alabaster frame.* "Nnggh..shit..." *She sputtered out through clinched teeth, hearing a faint echo in the background that reminded her that she was, in fact, involved in a match.*

*Before she could recuperate however, Kozue imposed her aggressive will upon her in the form of a throw, her unprotected spine smashing into the reinforced steel with a blood curdling* "GGGAAAHH!" *That caused the audience to recoil in horror from what they witnessed!*

*Reduced to a crumpled heap against the outside of the arena, Kieda was suffering from a combination of a mangled back and a crushed hubris. Stifling a tentative Yelp under her breath, she clutched what little consciousness she had and tried to will herself back onto her unsteady, overpriced boots!*

Kieda was tough, Kozue had to give her that much. After taking a crash like that, a lot of wrestlers wouldn’t have too much fight left in them, and she included herself in that number - she’d wiped out after a missed move more times than she cared to count. Puffpants wasn’t about to do backflips any time soon, but she still had a little fight left in her. Enough that Kozue was wary of counterattack, even as she slammed the woman against the barricades.

”3!”

She grunted at the count, then went on to ignore it. Yeah, she could get back into the ring, but there was still so much fun to be had out here. No big deal, she just had to be smart about things.

As Kieda tried to stand up, Kozue came in and ‘helped’ her along, grabbing her by the collars of her jacket and lifting her up. She moved in and pressed her thigh between her fellow ninja’s legs, leaning in to get nice and close for a moment. Chest to chest. Eye to eye. Forehead to forehead.

A quick tease, a small one, before she moved away and lashed out, slashing her foe across the chest with a lightning fast knife-edge chop.

*She was groggy, her vision was slowly beginning to return to some semblance of a focused, concise vision but this barely fazed the intrepid kunoichi- This match, that had initially started as nothing more than an exhibition for the delight of the audience had now escalated into a vendetta that Kieda intended to see through to the bitter end. This, however, would entail something she wasn't fully prepared for- A bit of pseudo-intimacy with her foe.*

"I...uuuhh..." *As she was forced onto her feet, Kieda tightened her fists and steadied herself for whatever was going to transpire next, unable to successfully rebuff the crimson blush reaching across the length of her cheeks. Unbeknownst to Kozue however, she was regaining a strong hold upon her previously diminishing senses, spotting a slight but visible amount of torque from her adversary's shoulder.*

"No." *The suddenly apathetic assassin muttered, just loud enough for her competition to hear before rolling her arm sideways, interrupting the incoming slap with a jutting elbow smash across the bridge of her nose! The pandemonium erupting on the outside of the arena was wasting precious time, and before they knew it, the moderator called out* "5!" *As the two continued to battle for dominance!*

Spoiler:

Yeah, it wouldn’t be the AFW without at least a little bit of flirting, would it?

Kozue was mostly just trying to mess with Kieda’s head, but she’d be lying if she said it was all a grift. Kieda was hot, even if she did dress like she’d lost a fight with a thrift store, and wrestling was always a good excuse to get close up and comfy. Plus, it messed with Kieda’s head a little. Or seemed to, anyway. The flushing cheeks were a good indication.

She’d figured this was as good an opening as any, and moved in for a solid chop - only to be interrupted by an elbow to the face, clocking her clean on the jaw. The blow filled her vision with stars, made all the worse thanks to the momentum from her own attack, and she was sent staggering back. If not for the ring itself, she would’ve fallen flat on her ass, but she wounded backing into it and leaning against the apron for support, shaking her head as she tried to clear her vision. ”Fucking...lucky shot…”

*She couldn't determine whether or not if it was due to her extreme fatigue or potentially a bit of genuine intrigue, but Kieda's initial response once Kozue approached her conveyed a little more than just ire and vitriol- Both women were glistening from the trails of perspiration left as their beads of sweat splashed against the outside mats, hearing the referee shout* "Seven!" *Once her elbow connected!*

"Hmhm..s..sure it was~" *The Mauve Acrobat retorted with a cheeky smirk, barely capable of forming her expression due to the extreme degree of exhaust she was contending with. However, the distance she created allowed for a quick re-entry into the arena, effectively breaking the count out in the process. Clutching her fists to resist the temptation of sailing through the skies once again, Kieda flipped her hair sideways to try and shake off the lingering lethargy.*

Kozue ran her tongue along her teeth, doing a quick tooth check after taking the blow. Nasty shot, good and stiff, which was kind of surprising. At first glance, she’d figured the woman to be all garnish and no meat, but there was a real stiff wrestler underneath all that fluff.

Kozue was more than a little out of it, would’ve been wide open to a follow up, but this was one of the rare times where the referee’s count worked to her favor, forcing Kieda to break the count and giving her some space.

It gave her the chance to gather her breath, shake things off, and roll back into the ring, re-entering almost as haggard as she was when she left. Fun little detour.

”Okay, Kieda-chan.” Kozue huffed and pushed against her knee to rise up and face her foe again. ”Looks like we’re getting close to the climax. Ready to lose?”

*Regardless of the length of her respite, The Mauve Marauder found it almost impossible to fully regain her expended vigor- She had crossed the threshold of no return, a specific point in almost any extended skirmish that was considered the make or break point. Once Kozue reentered, snarky quip heralding her arrival, Kieda turned her attention towards her with a flip of her glistening ponytail.*

"Hmph~" *She began, sashaying towards the downed kunoich with a persistent scowl.* "You've managed to exceed my lofty expectations of you, so kudos~" *Extending her hand forward, Kieda attempted to offer a sincere means of sportswomanship as a refreshing change of pace.* "But I intend to leave my mark on this company, and history isn't so kind towards the defeated~"