Charity Fundraiser Match!

Breathing hard, hearing Makie shouting from his corner, and still alive all things considered, Kyo rolled up to his knees, gritting his teeth and forcing himself to get back into the fight. He could hear his fans chanting his name, and he felt some relief at that, even though his entry into the ring hadn't exactly been spectacular.

As he rolled to his knees, he felt a muscular pair of arms wrap around his head and pull him upright. Stumbling to his feet, he gasped loudly as a padded knee exploded into his midsection. "UUuuugh..." he gagged. Fighting off the pain as best he could, he tried to retaliate: grabbing at Blanco's wrist and twisting, aiming to unwrap the arm around his head and yank it to throw Blanco off balance. If he managed that, then he would try to leap up and snap a kick into Blanco's temple. If nothing else, this would hopefully tell Blanco that, even when hurting, Kyo Akamatsu wasn't one to be trifled with.

Blanco got Kyo up to his feet, fortunately, but it seemed the young Akamatsu was fighting back to life.  The luchador twisted with Kyo's grip and swing of the wrist lock, following through on the momentum of  Kyo's deft counter.  The luchador swung around, coming back to his center line just in time to see the flash of Kyo's boot hurtling at his face.

Throwing up both arms, Blanco blocked the kick.  Kyo's speedy recovery was impressive, showing off his fierce fighting spirit.  As the force of the impact put Blanco back against the ropes, he was intimidated by the Samurai of AFW's resiliency- he didn't want to stereotype, but it seemed the reputation Japanese wrestlers had for toughness was well-earned!

Still, Blanco knew he couldn't relent, couldn't hesitate.  Bouncing off the ropes, the luchador threw himself back into the fight.  With the momentum of the rebound, Blanco ran off the ropes forcefully, aiming an arm at Kyo's upper chest.  If he could make contact, the luchador would follow through by spinning around the young samurai, switching the grip of his arm as he did so, hoping to catch Kyo and drag him down to the mat hard with a sling blade lariat.

Kyo, truth to be told, hadn't completely recovered, and felt his abs stretch and cramp as he forced himself to move. He felt Blanco block the kick, and spun back fully to his feet, doubling over a little from the lingering ache. Pain is an illusion, he told himself. I won't let it slow me down.

Gato wasn't slowing down, at least. He was already bouncing off the ropes, running forward and raising his arm in what looked like a clothesline. Hurt as he was, Kyo was quite good on the defensive: he moved to spin to the side, aiming to catch Gato's outstretched arm. If he managed that, then he would drop low, aiming to use a judo move on Gato by sweeping his leg and using his momentum to flip him hard onto his back!

Gato flew past Kyo originally, hoping that his speed and momentum would carry him through for the lariat. Which didn't seem to be the case, as the young Japanese fighter had a quick grip on the luchador's arm, throwing off his aim and momentum. The sling blade lariat was an aerial maneuver, keeping his feet off of the mat as it was carried out, but the shift in motion seemed to be enough to upset Blanco's balance, throwing him off and allowing Kyo to slam him against the mat.

On his back, the luchador would be staring up at the arena lights, trying to catch his breath. His Japanese opponent was clearly quite good, and as Blanco tried to roll up to all fours, he could only hope to collect his bearings before Kyo's next assault.

Kyo watched as his Mexican opponent was flipped head over heels and sent slamming onto his back. He took a brief second to catch his breath and clutch ,his chest a little, feeling some of the lingering soreness from Holly's kick still bothering him, before he straightened up and returned to the task at hand. Below him, Gato was already rolling over, groaning as he tried to get back up.

Kyo wasn't giving him the chance. Breaking into a run towards the ropes, Kyo would come bouncing back, raising his leg as though launching himself for a kick to Gato's head. It was a feint, however: he was expecting that a wrestler as used to speed and aerial maneuvers like a luchadore would be prepared for such an attack, and it was for this reason that he would drop down at the last minute, aiming to axe-handle Gato hard in the back.

Still on the mat, Gato was trying to shake out the cobwebs. The reversal had caught him off guard, unable to register Kyo's feint before the double-axe handle came crashing down on his back. The luchador crashed into the mat with a loud grunt of pain, hand trying to nurse his aching spine.

With a loud thud, Kyo's knees slammed to the mat, his balled fist slamming at the same time against Gato's bare back. The luchador gasped before collapsing fully onto his front, clutching his hurting back. The blow had done its job and left Gato at Kyo's mercy...but thankfully for Gato, Kyo wasn't out to destroy his opponent or to win at all costs.

Instead, Kyo simply pushed Gato over onto his back, before hooking one of his legs for the pin. He held his breath as the ref girl started the countdown. "ONE..."

Blanco exhaled hard as Kyo rolled him over to his back, and went for the cover. Taking in a deep lungful of air hurt, right after taking the samurai's clubbing blow, but the luchador knew he'd need whatever he could muster as Kyo hooked his leg.

"Da-" Holly cried out, before catching herself. "Blanco!" She started again. Though carrying herself like someone still in complete agony, the young woman was still reaching out as if she wanted to tag back in and help.

Throwing up his arm and twisting his hips, Blanco threw everything he could into bucking off the young Akamatsu man after the one count. Continuing with his momentum, the luchador tried to roll away from his opponent, to gather his strength.

Kyo felt Blanco kick up before the three count could even be reached. Not that he was surprised: Blanco seemed like he would take a lot of effort to keep down, which simply meant that he and Makie would have to work him over further.

As Blanco rolled away, Kyo moved after him, already thinking several moves ahead. Standing up to give himself a burst of speed with which to intercept Gato, Kyo grabbed him by the arm, aiming to haul him to his feet. Keeping mindful of their positioning in the ring and where Makie was in his corner, Kyo whipped Gato across the ring, aiming to rebound and dodge his opponent to build up more momentum...

Slowly, conserving his energy, Gato Blanco rolled over to his knees. The crowd was hot for the kick-out, eager to see the match continue. With his back aching and his head still spinning a bit, however, Blanco was going to need a second. In that time, however, Kyo had the luchador's arm, and was flinging him against the ropes in a hard Irish whip.

Blanco went sprinting across the ring with Kyo's guidance, building speed as he bounced off the ropes and came springing back. Kyo's evasion of Blanco wasn't entirely unexpected, momentum building, coming up to a speed that suited the luchador.

As he came running back again, though, Kyo was still in control. Blanco could brace himself all he wanted, but it was still the samurai of AFW that was in control, whatever would come next.