Starstruck - Kanako Sawatari v. Shiori Takeda - POW Match

[FreestylePoet]

Prisoner of War Match
Victory by pinfall, submission, or count-out. Standard disqualification rules apply. The winner will take the loser as their Prisoner of War for the evening.

Shiori Takeda, the Fangirl

Dr. Christina Morgenstern, Manager of Team Stanza

"What do you mean, you're not gonna tell me who I'm up against tonight?"

"I mean exactly that."

Shiori Takeda was flabbergasted. Dr. Christina Morgenstern was a genius. Certifiably so, in fact. Based on her credentials, her psy... sai... cykometric testing, and Shiori's own personal experience. She was also her boss as a managerial intern, as well as her manager as a wrestler, and Dr. Morgenstern took both jobs seriously. Her unique spin on the management process took inspiration from other sports. This included rigorous scouting of opponents and, when a member of Team Stanza requested it, a full film session on their tendencies, strengths, and weaknesses.

But Shiori wasn't afforded that option, for some reason. She didn't question it -- Dr. Morgenstern had earned her trust. Now, right when she was about to step into the ring, though? To be told that her boss/manager/friend wasn't even gonna tell her who her opponent was?

It was confusing, to say the least.

"B-Bu-- I mean, isn't that... Why?"

"Because," the erstwhile psychologist said, "I believe it would be better if it were a surprise." Then came a... weird smile. "Just for tonight. Anyway, it seems they're ready for you." Dr. Morgenstern nodded towards the gorilla position. "You're up. Best of luck, Shiori."

Well, that wasn't cryptic at all. "A-Alright... I'll see you after the match?" At Shiori's question, Dr. Morgenstern merely hummed. In no time at all, she was whisked away to the gorilla position to begin her entrance.

---

"Tonight's next match is a Prisoner of War match -- scheduled for one fall!"

"WHAT?!" A Prisoner of War match? She could get taken prisoner by another wrestler? And- And- And honestly, she wasn't that good at wrestling yet! She probably would end up staying the night somewhere else! Away from her plushies! And her manga! And her mint condition Astrid Arvidsson First Edition LAW World Champion Figurine!

"Introducing first... A five-foot-two, one-hundred-and-nineteen pound wrestler fighting out of our backyard here in Tokyo Japan... Please welcome to the ring: Writer, manager, and..." The announcer gave a pause. "Fan...fiction writer extraordinaire! Representing Team Stanza, the Fangirl herself -- SHIORI... TA! KE! DAAAAA!

Out came the opening notes of her favorite J-Pop song, and Shiori scampered onto the entrance ramp. She took a moment to look around at the crowd -- and to let her first bit of info on tonight's match really sink in. It took stagehands shouting at her to urge her on. "Oop!" she gasped. "S-Sorry!" Eventually, she made it into the ring.

All that was left to do was wait for her opponent. But... who could it be? Dr. Morgenstern wouldn't book her with someone who'd hurt her, right? Now that it came up, though, it would be cool to see what Rose Gold's penthouse suite looked like from the inside. Ooh, ooh, or what if it was someone Dr. Morgenstern thought she maybe had a chance against, and the POW stakes were just to motivate her? Maybe Grace Moore or a rematch against someone she'd faced before. Or what if--

[pikazard]

Kanako Sawatari was being booked tonight for a match she surprisingly had never been made to do before, a Prisoner Of War match! While the match was going on it was just like any old standard match, but if Kanako were to lose this match then the victor would take her prisoner and be able to take her home and do WHATEVER they wanted to her! And the worst part was that Kanako had no idea who her opponent was! Kanako was confident in her abilities and all, but if the bookers were sadistic enough to put her against a main eventer or a massive gigantess then she was doomed! The brunette was anxious for sure, but she knew she couldn't let a chance to prove herself pass her by, so she would put her chin up and start making her way out of the gorilla position.

Once Kanako showed her face to the LAW fans she would be showered in cheers, instantly bombarded with noise! It seemed that her last match against Chiaki had made for a good first impression for the new her and she seemingly was getting just as much cheers as she had when she was still active as an idol, only this time her admirers were all wrestling fans and not just idol fans that had followed her to LAW. Hearing those cheers gave Kanako a boost of energy, so after her usual waving and posing she would run down the ramp and slide into the ring through the bottom rope, earning another pop from the crowd purely for how energetic she was.

Now that she was finally in the ring Kanako would realise that she'd been so focused on her entrance that she had neglected to see who her opponent was, so as she straightened up she would quickly neaten her skirt before looking up at her opponent for the first time with a dazzling smile.

Spoiler

[FreestylePoet]

For once, Shiori was stumped. The only thing she was better at than Anime Music Quiz was Wrestler Music Quiz. But she couldn't quite place this one. It didn't help that she currently had her back to the entrance ramp, on account of needing to streeeetch properly for this match. So, uh, she couldn't actually see her opponent. Guess she should fix that.

Okay. So Shiori turned around, and-- oh, great, the girl was turned around, too. Having a good time with the fans, of course. Well, at least she wasn't a total meanie -- that would make this match go a lot easier, even if she lost. Still, those purple and lavender swishes did ring a bell somewhere, in the recesses of her trivia-filled mind. Now that she thought about it, so did the happy, poppish tunes of that entrance song...

The dancing skirt quickly turned into a blur, confident as it streaked across the last half of the ramp. Shiori thought she'd caught a glimpse. A long swish of loose brown hair, a set of stars, maybe? No, because that would mean-

"Ohmygosh."

Shiori's opponent slid beneath the bottom rope of the ring and popped to her feat with a smile. A dazzling, beaming smile that Shiori had seen many times before! Somehow, even brighter now than it had been in the past. But there was no mistaking it. Shiori Takeda's opponent for tonight was...

"You!" Shiori pointed a shaky finger at the resurgent idol-turned-wrestler. "Y-You're...!" She stammered out, taking a step forward in disbelief. "R-Ri... Rise-- I mean... Um, Kana... Kanako S-Sawatari, right?" The Fangirl shook her head. "N-No way, because, that would mean that I'm wrestling..."

[pikazard]

The first thing Kanako noticed about her opponent for the night was that her concerns about being faced against a giantess were unfounded, the woman she was facing was a cute-looking girl around Kanako's size, who for some reason was wearing a school uniform for her wrestling attire. The second thing she noticed was that the girl was completely shell shocked at the sight of Kanako, the kind of look she was used to seeing when a superfan saw her in public. If Kanako was being honest she never thought she'd encounter a Risette fan in a LAW match; perhaps it was a generalisation but she'd always felt that wrestlers were the type to listen to rock or metal over idol music "Yup, I'm Kanako! Though I'm guessing you know me as Risette"

Since her first match back was against someone she'd already met this was the first time she was introducing herself to an opponent as Kanako, and if she was to be honest it was a fantastic feeling. Though Kanako was also wondering if her opponent being a Risette fan was something that could give her an edge during the match. Regardless Kanako would start walking towards Shiori, holding out her hand for a shake "What's your name? Always nice to meet a fan, even if it could be under better circumstances"

[FreestylePoet]

It was true. It was real. Risette -- no, Shiori reminded herself, Kanako Sawatari. The former idol, a continual existence on Shiori's playlists, and fan-favorite wrestler from LAW to the indies. She was here, and more than that? Shiori was about to wrestle her in the famed LAW ring! It was almost too good to be true. Shiori pinched herself.

Then she stared. First, off into empty space, wondering how her life led her to this point. Then into those star-speckled eyes. To the ring, to the crowd, to the cameras and floor. Back to Kanako, and finally, back to the middle of nowhere. At first, it must've looked like she was spacing out, until--

"Are you kidding me?!?" Shiori all but shrieked at her -- and she still couldn't believe she was saying this -- opponent-to-be. "This is, like, the BEST circumstances ever!"

She shot forward, taking Kanako's hands into both her own and accepting the handshake in the loudest possible way! Then that motor mouth of hers opened right up. "Oh my gosh, I'm Shiori Takeda and I've been your biggest fan since forever and ever and your albums are so great and EEEEK that performance you did in Yokohama was so awesome, I was in the nosebleeds but I still remember the show so well and when you signed with LAW I never thought we'd actually meet and now you're here and I'm here and we're gonna wrestle and it's gonna be awesome and--"

[pikazard]

For a second it seemed like little miss fangirl hadn't heard Kanako, instead she was preoccupied with pinching herself and staring off in random directions, but just before Kanako was about to ask her if she was okay the girl would suddenly respond with a yell so loud that it almost made Kanako jump "Eep!" Kanako yelped, though she would regain her composure in time for Shiori to finally accept her handshake. And boy did Shiori have a vigorous hand shake.

Shiori quickly switched gears from stunned silence to non-stop talking as she bombarded the superstar with an endless stream of chatter, chatter that Kanako sadly was not taking in at all "Wow, she's like, really cute" Kanako said internally "Her hands are so small... and so smooth... shoot, I'm not paying attention at all" and by the time she started paying attention to Shiori again she had no idea what the fangirl was saying "H-hey, Earth to Shiori-chan! I'm sure you're excited but save some breath for the match, alright?" she would say, though the slight giggle to her voice would indicate that she wasn't actually all that bothered.

With it now being made crystal clear that Shiori was in fact a fan, and quite a big one at that, perhaps charming her would be a good way to throw her off of her game and give Kanako an advantage. When the two of them broke off their handshake Kanako would seek to test this theory by meeting Shiori in the eyes and winking as she spoke, though she did this for less pragmatic reasons also "I know we're about to wrestle and all, but let's try and have a good time!"

[FreestylePoet]

Shiori would have kept on going -- everyone in the stadium probably knew that -- "O-Oh! You're right!" Shiori nodded furiously. If she was gonna make the most of this match, she needed to save some energy! Wrestling was tough work, after all, and wrestling against Kanako Sawatari would be no easy feat. She broke off the handshake and started to loosen up her body. Hopping, stretching, and all the rest.

Finally, Shiori was ready. She turned around to face Kanako -- only to be met by that million-watt smile and wink. In that instant she came to understand the power of an idol; for a woman who won over thousands of hearts every night, how hard could it be to entrance one idol-obsessed schoolgirl? Little pricks of heat rose from Shiori's neck to her cheeks.

She had to push through her nerves somehow! "Don't you worry, Kanako, I-It's gonna be a great time!" she said. What was it that Dr. Morgenstern had said about the starting moments of a match? Right! Even friendly trash talk could get everyone in the mood. "And it's gonna be even better when I pin you for three, take you home as a POW, and-- and...!" More heat fell on her face as a million possible outcomes for the night ran through Shiori's head. Kanako's cute wink didn't help bring her mind out of the gutter.

"Oh, screw it. Yaaaaah!" She ran forward from her spot as the bell rang! Leonie had shown Shiori some American football clips before; this resembled a highlight from that more than a wrestling move. Shiori reached out and lunged, hoping to drag Kanako to the mat with a basic tackle around the hips!

[pikazard]

Kanako's little experiment would quickly bear fruit as her classic smile and wink combo made Shiori stutter and blush like the schoolgirl she was dressed as, and her attempt at trash talk only made the Superstar giggle "No, go on, what are you gonna do to me?" As Kanako teased Shiori she would cover her mouth with one of her hands, meaning that once the bell rang she wasn't in an actual combat stance, not that she thought it mattered since playing with this adorable girl felt more fun than focusing on the match.

Kanako would suffer for this hubris however, as despite being thrown off by her comments Shiori was ready and raring to go and would run at Kanako faster than the former idol would be expecting "Woah!" With no resistance being given from the off-guard Superstar Shiori would succeed in bringing Kanako down with her tackle, leaving her laying on the mat with Shiori above her. Kanako wasn't just taking this lying down though, and would attempt to snake her legs around Shiori's waist and lock them around her to apply some pressure on her body and to prevent her from mounting her "Well, Shiori-chan? What are you gonna do from here?"