Benikage vs. Kozue Kaburagi - Out of the Shadows

Okay, so the first punch didn’t connect. Kozue could deal with that.

And, yeah, neither did the second. That sucked, but not a big problem.

But the knee was where she’d pinned most of her dreams, was counting delivering the bulk of the real damage. So when the elder ninjette avoided that blow, well.

”Fuck!”

No, Kozue didn’t take it too well. She didn’t take what happened next too well, either.

Kozue had just started to reel back, hoping follow up with a quick jab, when Benikage caught her leg and pulled in her in close, far too close, and brought them eye-to-eye. Before the New Jersey could tell her counterpart exactly what she thought about that little critique, her head was shoved low and pulled under her arm, captured, and that was when the world turned upside down.

Kozue came down, hard, on her shoulders, which would’ve been bad enough. But the count meant that she couldn’t even take a second to recover. She needed to move.

”2…!”

Now.

So move she did, kicking out hard. But she didn’t stop there, either. When she broke out of the pin, she kept rolling and rolling, until she went under the bottom rope and went to her feet on the outside, knowing she needed a minute to catch her breath on the outside. Bad start, she could admit that, but it wasn’t anything she couldn’t recover from. She’d just walk it off, then get back into the game. Pause button.

Whilst in the middle of deflecting and parrying Kozue's flailing fist and knee strikes, Benikage pondered if she was ever this delusional, hot-headed, or arrogantly confident when in the prime of her youth. She always remembered herself as being a diligent and upstanding pupil towards her headmasters and combat trainers. But when she recently reminisced about her youthful days with one of her sempai's, she was shocked to learn of her own disobedient ways and the fact that she had numerous rough edges that needed to be ironed out. This led to her actually seeing a little bit of herself in Kozue between all the snarling vulgarity and wasted movements...

But the frustration from Kozue was palpable after feeling her broke the pin before shuffling off to ringside. Benikage swiftly shifted over and rose back up, but merely waltzed behind Kozue and followed her along. Clearly allowing her the space and time to breath before continuing her lecture for the day from inside the ring.

"A tactical retreat was the smartest move you've made all day...It seems I'm holding my own quite well for someone of my old age, wouldn't you agree?" Benikage sniped from above before grasping the top rope and vaulting over it to a completely silent landing behind Kozue. She reasserted her stalwart pose with her arms crossed in front of her chest with the same judgmental gaze. "Now, if you are finished throwing your childish temper tantrum, and will admit that you are hopelessly outmatched against me in a one-on-one kunoichi style duel...we can start this match over again, the right way." Benikage would lighten up and extend a hand of genuine mutual respect towards Kozue, along with the closest thing to a smile all day. "And we can start ironing out those rough edges of yours..."

”Bitch!”

Kozue spat out as she rolled around on the mat, making her way to the floor for a powder. She managed to land on her feet, but she couldn’t keep both of them down there for long enough, and she wound up stumbling away, nearly going all the way to the barricade. She managed to keep herself from going all the way, but the damage had already been done. Snickers were echoing around the room.

And then she had to put up with the lecture, as Benikage started on her against with the discipline and respect and the blah blah blah. She’d show her exactly what she thought about that, as soon as she got back into the-

”Gah!” Kozue jumped forward from sheer shock when she heard Benikage’s voice behind her, spinning around on a dime. When did she get there? Kozue hadn’t heard her move, hadn’t felt her land, hadn’t experienced any of the telltale signs that should’ve come with someone exiting the ring, but BAM, there she was. Just standing. Talking again, with that smug, condescending look again, and her hand extending for...a shake?

Kozue stared at that hand for a moment, as the crowd clapped around them, cheering the act of sportsmanship. Here was Benikage, the elder ninja, the prototype, the mold that Kozue and all other ninja-wrestlers were made from, extending her hand in an act of solidarity. Of trust. The offer of a lifetime.

She hesitated for a moment, then reached out and took Benikage’s hand, shaking it. Accepting it. Smiling.

Right before she jerked forward, pull them together, and rammed her elbow into her ‘mentor’s’ face.

Benikage had no intention of startling Kozue with her soundless exiting from the ring, and she would normally apologize for startling people like that. Some parts of her ninja training simply being ingrained into her reflexive muscle movements at this point, and a simple stealth drop was actually quite rudimentary from so small a distance to the floor. And learning how to perform it would only be the most basic of stepping stones towards helping Kozue be a more effective kunoichi, should the foulmouthed genin respectfully accept her congenial handshake and the tutelage Benikage was offering.

It was an offer Benikage did not make lightly, or frequently. Considering that the bloody shadow herself had set the benchmark for all other kunoichis to aspire to, any women who practiced in the ninja arts, be they wrestler or not, would have done most anything to be in Kozue's shoes right at this moment. The opportunity being akin to having been accepted into only the most elite and prestigious of academies. To which Kozue evidently happily accepted, eagerly shaking back and earning the New Jersey native massive respect in the audience's eyes. Benikage brightened up as well, and was thankful to see that she had gotten through to-

*Crack*

A flash of white blurred out Beni's vision after she was yanked headfirst into being clocked right in the nose by the underhanded blow, her head whipping to the side with the rest of her body following along. The nearby ring apron stopped her fall as Benikage had a hand covering her cringing face, now heavily slumped against it with her slackened legs crossing over one another. Vehement and vitriolic boos reigning down from a fanbase that Kozue may have permanently just lost after seeing her in a new...more unscrupulous light.

Kozue didn’t imagine the crowd would be all too thrilled about her unique interpretation of traditional sportsmanship, but honestly? She kind of didn’t care. It wasn't even like she’d never done this sort of thing before. It was just different now, because she was doing it to a wrestler they liked, and not some dumbass guy she was getting the jump on. Hypocritical of them, if she was being 100%.a

Benikage gave her an opening. She took the opening. So what? There was no shame in Kozue’s game, and the results spoke for themselves. For all her posturing, all her skill, all her high talk, all it took was surprise strike and she was left flat footed, taken off her guard. Some ninja.

”A true ninja does not lower her guard…” Kozue intoned in the best Benikage impression she could muster, which wasn’t all that good, if she were honest. Couldn’t quite match the deep base in the woman’s voice, couldn’t get that edge to work.

With Benikage staggered, Kozue moved in, looking to take her down before she could get her sense back. She leaned up, planted one foot on the apron beside the elder ninja, then swung her leg around, attempting to crack her in the side of her head with a swift enziguiri.

Sentimentality and sympathy were always the two definitive aspects of anyone's personalty that led to showing mercy on an opponent. Which was precisely why expunging both of these emotions was an integral aspect of Benikage's training, which they stressed was the only she could learn to be an effective, and long-living, kunoichi. Beni's stilted and practically emotionless guise demonstrated that she had by now seemingly learned that lesson...but she had, in effect, merely buried it deep down within the depths of her persona under lock and key, and supposedly under her full control.

Showing sympathy to a grateful opponent had actually ended up saving her life on multiple occasions, and witnessing Kozue's teeming frustration and overtly swollen pride become popped like an over-inflated balloon did invoke those same slivers of sympathy. Benikage did see the potential towards being an exceptional kunoichi within Kozue should her dull blade be sharpened, but no sooner was Beni feeling prideful exuberance from the handshake than Beni learned the hard way why her instructors so fervently taught her to abandon any notions of mercy.

The underhanded elbow strike knocking her for a loop with the sturdy aid of the nearby ring apron keeping her upright. But whatever progress she made towards regaining her composure was soundly undone with the blind-siding enzuigiri and the chilling echo from the impact. Whatever stability Beni had in her posture immediately slackened as she remained propped up against the apron for only an extra second before lethargically sagging down to her knees and slumping to her back at Kozue's feet in a grimacing daze. The nearby booing from the audience not dying down the more Koz pressed her ill-gotten advantage...

Kozue leaped up, got her feet on just the right place, swung her legs around, and…

SMACK!

Bullseye. 3 points.

It was always fun to see a move she’d practiced work so well in the ring - or outside of it, in this case. She was always more of an ‘in the moment’ sort of girl, just doing whatever came to her mind, but after getting stomped by the pirate bitch, she was making an effort to put a bit more form into her moveset, and this was the payoff. Benikage, down on her back, aching, while Kozue-

”4!”

Kozue had just landed from the kick when she looked up and realized the referee was counting away. They weren’t in too big a danger of losing the match that way, but all the same, she wasn’t about to risk it. She wanted this woman’s shoulders on the mat, that sweet pinfall, or an awesome tapout. Nothing else would do.

So.

”All right, old-timer.” Kozue reached down and grabbed Benikage’s hair with one hand and her bottoms with the other, tugging on her mesh bodysuit...thing to give her a wedgie. ”Back in, let’s go!” With the strongest heave she could muster, she attempted to roll Benikage back into the ring, and hopped up on the apron as soon as she was clear.

By now, Benikage knew better to expect any type of leniency from the foul-mouthed genin looming behind her. Or any semblance of honor now that Kozue had showed her true, deceitful colors via the pointy end of her elbow. Her intentions were to simply attain a victory by any means necessary and feed her short-sighted ego. The bloody shadow just wished she had come to this realization before having her bell rung in the blind-siding enzuigiri that had her crumbling to her back in head swirling misery. At the very least she no longer needed to speculate just how powerful Kozue's earlier roundhouse kick was...

Benikage unwillingly obeyed the yanking strain on her hair with some meandering grasps of Kozue's arm, still in a concussive daze that warbled her senses and impeded her movements. The kunoichi could still ascertain that she was being guided back into the ring to avoid a dual count-out, but the already demeaning situation became even moreso from having her mesh ninja garb be wedged up her smooth rump. An indignant yelp being uttered before she would go tumbling back into the ring to end up laying face down on the canvas, hiding her blushing cheeks as she fought to prop herself up on her hands and knees.

”Booooooooooooo!”

Yep, the audience was none too pleased by Kozue’s actions, but she was fairly satisfied herself. Why shouldn’t she be? It was all working out well enough, after all. Benikage was on her knees, hurting, dazed in the ring, and...hm. That gave Kozue an idea, actually.

She was standing out on the apron, giving the crowd a quick thumbs up, when Benikage’s position stuck out to her. She was at just the right distance for a move that Kozue had envisioned a few times, but never had the opportunity to try. As good a time as any to experiment.

With a tight grip on the rope, Kozue leaned back, then yanked hard, slingshotting over the ropes. She fell towards Benikage and attempted to grab her head with a front facelock as she came down, looking to plant her skull into the mat with a Slingshot DDT.

Regrettably, this would not be Benikage's first time having herself be duped by those more cunning and deceitful in their tactics. She recalled a time back when she was in a hardcore pay-per-view match in her previous federation with Candy Cane. The punk school-girl proved her acting chops that night and very convincingly sold a sprained ankle. Which was of course all a rouse before waylaying the concerned kunoichi with the nearby ring bell...leading to an upset win several head shots and two high school driver finishers later.

It was a toss-up as between that debacle and this match as to which was the more humiliating experience losing to a younger, brattish foe. But this match was definitely beginning to edge out the other as Benikage started to sluggishly maneuver back to a hunched over standing position, all before a locked in facelock preceded the canvas instantly slamming into her head. A jolting shiver tensed up her curvy frame before she whiplashed off and stared blankly at the ceiling before slumping over to her back. A slight jiggle to her boobs after resigning herself to laying splayed out on the canvas, her eyes shut and in a bewildered daze with ninja stars dancing around her head.