As Hikaru made her way to the ring, so did the referee, who was a stout middle-aged Crab who might have seen some wrestling days in his prime at some point before retiring to this position. He circled around the ring to ensure both wrestlers put the unneeded parts of their costumes on the side of the ring and were ready. Weapons and foreign object were often not allowed in matches. Hikaru climbed into the ring through the ropes and presented her belt to the referee. The referee lifted the polished metal belt up to see to show what was on the line, Hida Hikaru’s name was visible on the side plates.

The Menace merely gave a glance to the side and immediately changed for Hikaru to tackle her with her shoulder just as the bell had barely finished ringing to announce the start of the match. Hikaru fell to the floor in her corner with a rumble that seemed to project from the ring itself, her head barely missing the padded buckle of the ring and she raised her arms defensively to block. The Menace looked furious in her attack as she gave her a quick combination of fists and elbow strikes against her defences. This easily caused some of the audience to erupt in a wave of boos.

"Wait, what? Looks like the Menace is getting an early offensive on Hida-senshu. Was that even legal? Either way, Hida-senshu doesn’t seem not ready for the ferocity of the Menace!"

"Anything goes once the bell has hung and the Menace is all about taking the advantage."

The Menace would continue her assault with a few more strikes before she rose from the competitor with a dismissive laugh and turned her attention to the audience at large. Those sitting close could see her mock Hikaru with 'what a joke!' and 'so weak!' to earn further disapproval from the crowd.

"The Menace celebrating early it seems, especially getting the first strike in. It might be too early to know if it’s a clear advantage. At the moment, it looks bad for Hida-senshu."

"And these two competitors couldn't be any more different in many ways. Hida Hikaru-sama comes from a long line of Clan magistrates in Rokugan, training in hand-to-hand techniques as part of their duty to maintain the peace. Menace-senshu, a newcomer by comparison with only two years of experience but highly accomplished and very talented. It's perhaps that merciless nature about her that's behind her success! She may not be Champion but that doesn’t mean she should be underestimated by our current Vermillion Bird Champion."

[The Wrestletron Recap thread link]

“Huh. I’m having a hard time placing which Clan he’s from.” Not that Hide was ever looking really at him.

Michiya had been in the audience, looking forward to seeing the Hiruma that he had met a few days earlier. He was cheering a bit more than his family would have considered appropriate, but he did enjoy a good wrestling match. He wasn't one of the die hard fans that went to live matches regularly, and this was the first live match he had ever attended, but he did like watching from home.

Izumi was a chorus of BOOS as the Menace started well.

"She has to defend her title and she is really strong!" She looked at the Kuni surprised. "Eh? A bet... Well I don't know about that Kuni san." She smiled. "What are you thinking?"

"I was talking about Yul, not the...

You know what? Nevermind. Let's focus on the match."

Well, Akemi will focus on the match at least.

"Come on! Get up Hikaru-sama! You're the Champ!" Mal-Chin finds himself joining the crowds yells.

"Whoever's wrestler loses buys the other dinner later this week?" He raises an eyebrow.

"You are on..." The Moshi chuckled. "It seems that Hida san has started her attack..."

As the match began Satoru sat down next to Daidoji Shizuku but did not want to disturb her conversation or viewing experience. He merely nodded to her and the lion next to her as he sat. 

The display was rather exciting, the Warden seemed to not be ready for a frontal assault which seemed odd given her opponent was obviously ready to go. Not sure why the crowd disapproved of the tactic unless they were booing the Warden's poor preparedness which he fully understood. 

However what points this Menace had gained by her proactive approach were quickly lost as she took time to show boat rather than finish her opponent.

"Oh...well it is not the sort of social event I expected." Blue eyes shift to the Tsuruchi, "Ah...my apologies Tsuruchi-san, I should have sought you out sooneh given ouh clan's alliance." She dips her head in a muted bow, the best that can be managed in this crowd.

"Daidoji Ishiyo, Nikutai of the Crane Fleet Ai-eh Arm, 312th Naval Fighteh Squadron, last attached to The Golden Heron's Ai-eh Wing. A pleasure to meet you."

"I've actually never seen one before. This is exciting," she replied with a grin. "I do wish I knew more of the background, but you gotta jump in somewhere."

She winced in sympathy at the first hit. "Dang. Rooting for either of them? I mean, I can tell who the implicit protagonist is supposed to be, but I kinda like the Menace's moxie, too."

She nodded to their new companion. "Oh, good evening, Kuchiki-san."

As the Menace continued to gloat, Hikaru stood to her feet after the referee and looked more annoyed than hurt at what transpired. Hikaru grabbed her opponent and spun her around to face her, much to the shock of the Hiruma. She placed an arm around her neck and drove her head toward the mat of the ring with a resounding impact echoing the stadium.

“And Hida-senshu planting Menace-senshu face-first into the ground as payback!”

The Menace did indeed clutch her head after the slam, her ashen hair curls were indeed a mess after being tussled. She kicked her feet on the floor in an exaggerated show of pain and frustration, growling as she did so. Hikaru moved over to her to pick her back up and her opponent immediately went on the defensive as they found themselves in a grappling struggle as their arms locked around each other’s shoulders. It almost looked like Hikaru manage to get enough strength to lift the Menace easily until she gave a few kicks in the air and found herself back on the ground. Then, it almost seemed like The Menace was going to do the same for her opponent as a counter but struggled to fully lift her as Hikaru was steadfast to keep her stance firm with her foot wrapped around the other's ankle for leverage. After a brief tug of war, Hikaru lifted her effortlessly and slammed her on her back with an echoing impact.

"A great suplex from the champion! Hida-senshu displaying her strength advantage as well as her experience!"

The move sparked great cheer from the audience as the Menace writhed in pain on the ground. Hikaru quickly moved to pin her opponent by scooping her legs and angled her into the floor. This prompted the referee to run over, kneeling to get a better vantage to see if both shoulders were on the ground.

"We could see a quick finish here tonight!"

"One! Two!" The referee would call out with a quick slap on the ground on each count. Before a three could be called, the Menace kicked her feet up in the air and wiggled out of Hikaru's pin with her hand in the air. The referee shook his head as he stood back to his feet, holding two fingers up to show the official count was only two.

"But only a near fall! There is still much fire in Menace-senshu!"

Hikaru picked up her opponent as she got to her feet and held the Menace by her wrist. Winding back her free hand back first, the Hida lands a sharp strike with her backhand on the other Crab right below her collar. The slap was quick audible and sounded almost as intense as a whip. This had the Menace reeling in pain but Hikaru kept her standing with her grasp. The Hida wound back once more and landing another strike on her opponent that was no less intense than the first. Regardless of who people were cheering or booing, that prompted some of the crowd to flinch in pain and made it rather audible at how that must have felt with a "oooouuu".

"Powerful chops from Hida-senshu! I'm surprised her opponent was still standing after the first. She would have been smarter to fall and break away."

With her opponent still in her grasp, Hikaru yanked her toward the ropes on the other side of the ring. The Menace was sent running and bounces off the ropes to meet Hikaru, who hooked her into a grapple into her arms and used that momentum to flip her in the air to send her crashing on her back with a judo-style hip toss. Anyone sitting close could hear the impact in the ring and structure giving a small creak. The Menace emoted her surprise as she placed her hand on her back and was slightly hunched over from the damage that was done to her.

"A spectacular hip toss from Hida-senshu and the Menace did not like that one bit, clearly!"

[The Wrestletron Recap thread link]

Sitting down in the row in front of Ryo, Ichika settled in for the show right before everything started. Not wanting to interrupt or miss much so she, for the moment, just settled into her seat and watched with wide eye amusement.

Satoru inclined his head once more to the Daidoji "Evening Daidoji-san, This is quite the interesting display no?" he said cooly as he jotted a few more notes on his densai and shook his head "Why the Menace decided to taunt the crowd rather than capitalizing on her upper hand eludes me. She certainly deserves every bit of punishment coming her way now."

He returned the bow, an easy smile making its way onto his lips. "I could say the same, Daidoji-sama so there is no need to apologize. Plus I imagine you've been quite busy and understandably so."

"Still its a pleasure, to make your acquaintance as well. "I'm Tsuruchi Hayato, of the forty first Ranger Battalion, most recently stationed on The Lode." The name of the small planet in Osano-wo's reach likely meant little to most though.

"Perhaps we should find some seats though? If you don't mind my company for this match."

"What do you think?" An oddly dressed girl said as she slipped in next to Michiya, peering at the fighting then back at the Seppun with a bow.

"Well... from what I'm seeing... I think it's because it feels more like a play than anything, you know? The presentation seems to be guiding how we're supposed to feel about each one. Hida-senshu is the stalwart and upright defender and Menace-senshu, well... it's right there in the name," she replied with a smile.

Satoru frowned a little but nodded and jotted a couple notes in his densai "I suppose, it just seems so inefficient to perform poorly for the sake of the audience but maybe if I try and look at it as you say, as a play, rather than an athletic competition that'll help my mindset."

Ishiyo stepped back, "Of course, do you have a seating preference?"

She looks back toward the roaring crowd. "I think it is going to be loud where eveh we sit."