Nightmares in the Making - Lovers Inose & Halloween Sonohara vs Mirika Hanatsuru & Yakura Shiranagi

[RingRose]

Mirika barely had time to steady herself before Halloween was on her again. The sudden fistfuls of hair earned a sharp yelp from the idol as she was dragged upright, her smaller frame forced up onto unsteady legs while the crowd roared around them. For a split second she tried to pry at Halloween’s wrists, pink eyes narrowed with irritation, but the little nightmare moved fast.

“W-Wait!”

Halloween dipped low and hooked her cleanly, and suddenly Mirika’s feet left the mat entirely.

Mirika folded overhead as Halloween bridged through the Northern Lights Suplex, the back of the idol’s shoulders and upper spine smacking hard against the canvas before her legs kicked upward from the momentum. The ring shook beneath them as the crowd popped loudly for the clean throw, the referee immediately sliding into position beside them.

ONE-!

Mirika jerked violently at the count of one, twisting a shoulder free before snapping her legs downward to break the bridge. The kickout came fast, but the annoyance on her face afterward was impossible to miss. She rolled onto her back clutching briefly at the back of her neck, breathing harder now as strands of silver hair spilled messily across her face “Ehehe…Rude!” she half giggled half muttered, as she pushed herself onto one knee, eyes carefully studying her opponent as she braced herself for a possible follow up attack.

[BlackAkuma]

Ha! Halloween was glad to know that her Northern Lights was still top-notch. It was a move she used often in training, but hadn't had the opportunity to bust out in a long time, but she still had the right body to make it hurt when her opponent was small enough. Good bridged, standing up on the toes, perfect arch of the back, nothing wrong.

Of course, perfect technique didn’t mean the move would put Mirika down, nor did Halloween want it to. She would’ve been severely disappointed if that ended things - it would mean ENCORE was all garnish, no meat, and beating someone like that wouldn’t do much for their stock. Sure enough, Mirika kicked out the pin, and emphatically at that.

Good. Great. Halloween sat up after, and her wicked smile grew an inch longer when she heard Mirika’s mutterings. That meant the message was heard, loud and clear: I can put you down, chica. Anytime I want.

The first message of so many that Halloween planned on sending.

Halloween needed to keep this train moving. Wasting little time, she reached over, grabbed a couple of handfuls of the woman’s shimmering hair, and pulled her up, forcing her to stand. As soon as she was up, Halloween jerked to the side, pulled her through, and tried to send her off running to the nearest neutral corner with an Irish Whip, throwing herself forward to get the most out of it.

As soon as Mirika went off, Halloween ran after her, only a couple of steps behind. The moment she turned and hit the pads, she’d leap up, swing out, and try to ram her elbow into her opponent’s face at full speed.

[RingRose]

The scary girl was having far too much fun at Mirika’s expense. Unfortunately, she wasn’t in much position to argue as Halloween’s fingers buried into her hair and sent her racing toward the corner with a hard Irish whip. Mirika stumbled into a full sprint, boots pounding rapidly against the canvas before her back slammed into the turnbuckles.

“Ah-!”

The impact jolted through her spine, but Halloween was already charging in behind her at full speed. Mirika sucked in a quick breath, amber eyes widening just slightly before narrowing again with sudden realization. Just as Halloween leapt in with the elbow aimed for her face, Mirika threw herself backward against the turnbuckles at the last possible second. Her hands caught the top ropes for balance as both legs snapped upward, compact body folding sharply before she thrust both feet straight into Halloween’s face with a sudden corner dropkick!

“Too slooow~!”

If the counter connected, the impact would send Halloween crashing back to the mat while Mirika rolled smoothly back onto her feet. The idol wasted no time after that. She bounced onto the bottom rope, sprang to the middle, and climbed to the top turnbuckle in one fluid burst of motion, balancing effortlessly above the ring while the rest of ENCORE watched from the apron with approving eyes.

“Smile for the cameras, scary girl!”

Mirika paused just long enough to flash a sugary smile toward the crowd, her thumb and forefinger forming a tiny heart that lit up on the arena screen above her. Then she launched herself from the top rope, driving down with a diving elbow aimed straight for Halloween’s chest, before immediately mounting her downed opponent and hooking the leg for a pin!

[/spoiler]

[BlackAkuma]

Lovers knew she could be a little…well, she didn’t like the word ‘slow’, since she was pretty fast with stuff when she had to be. But she didn’t always process the world as well as everyone else did, she knew that. Sometimes stuff flew over her head. That was why it was good to have Halloween around, since she was so good at catching stuff when that happened.

But if there was one thing Lovers knew, it was wrestling. She had a good sense for people in the ring, the way they moved, body language. ‘Spatial intelligence’, her mother had called it. It helped her put together stuff easy when she was a kid, and it helped her read people in the ring.

And right now? All that intelligence was sending a bright red flag to her, as Halloween rushed down on her. ”Inez, watch out for-”

It was too late. Halloween wound up eating a faceful of foot, knocking her to the ground and leaving her loopy. She was still out of it as Mirika scaled the ropes and went airborne, coming down on her with a halo drop of an elbow, right to the chest.

Lovers winced as Halloween let out a weak, raspy cry at the impact and tried to roll away, only for Mirika to catch her with the quick pin. She started to step through the ropes, ready to break the pinfall with a lunging leap, but that turned out not to be necessary - Halloween kicked out just after the first count.

She was still hurting, but she managed to shoot a harsh look Lovers’ way as she laid on her back. ”That name, Hanako. Not that name.”

…right, Halloween didn’t like to be called by her American name, except for private, personal moments, which they hadn't had in a while. Lovers had always liked that name, though, and she sometimes slipped in the heat of the moment. ”My bad!”

[RingRose]

Yakura watched the exchange from the apron with the same cool detachment she’d worn since the match began. One arm rested lazily across the top rope while her violet eyes tracked every movement inside the ring, unimpressed by the crowd noise and entirely unmoved by Lovers’ panic at ringside. Even now, with Mirika finally beginning to take control, the Lily Idol looked almost bored by the whole affair.

Which was the complete opposite reaction of her partner. Back in the ring, Mirika’s bright smile widened instantly.

"Ehhh~? Ineeez?” she chimed sweetly, practically glowing with delight as she remained draped over Halloween after the kickout. "That’s sooo much cuter than Halloween"

The idol giggled softly before grabbing a fistful of her opponent’s hair again, dragging her upright while continuing to hum to herself.

"Maybe I’ll call you that too~"

Mirika didn’t give her much time to recover. Keeping hold of the wrist, she sharply yanked Halloween toward the ENCORE corner before driving a quick knee into her stomach to fold her over slightly. From there, the Cherry Blossom Idol spun behind her and hooked both arms tightly from the back, trapping them neatly at the elbows.

"Yaku-chan, I got a present for yooou!" she sang over her shoulder, wanting to cheer her gloomy partner up.

"Yay me..." Yakura sighed audibly before finally stepping through the ropes just enough to lean inward from the apron. The moment Mirika pulled Halloween backward, Yakura snapped a stiff kick straight into the smaller wrestler’s belly from the apron side before slipping back out again just before the referee could fully intervene.

Mirika laughed brightly at the foul move, still holding Halloween restrained for a second longer before suddenly arching backward herself, attempting to sling the smaller wrestler overhead with a fast dragon suplex while keeping the arms trapped for another pin attempt!

"Nighty niiight, Inez-chan~!"

[BlackAkuma]

Halloween knew three languages - Spanish, English, and Japanese. She spoke the first two fluently, and despite only being a relatively recent resident of Japan, she was catching up well enough with the third that she could handle herself in all but the most complicated of conversations. She could call herself a polyglot, sure.

And yet, despite knowing all those languages and having so many words of disposal, she could not think of a single one that adequately described how much she utterly loathed hearing that name come out of Mirika’s stupid mouth.

Out of these four, she had decided that she hated Mirika the most. Granted, she had only just met all of them, but she really couldn't see any of the others coming close. That saccharine sweet voice was like nails on a chalkboard as the woman yanked her up by the hair, making Halloween growled under her breath. ”Maybe I’ll bust that nose of yours, perra de-”

Halloween had a bunch of lovely curse words she would’ve loved to describe Mirika with, but as it turned out, her ability to take in full breaths was about to be suspended. She found herself trapped, her arms secured from behind, as Mirika brought her to the corner, where the surly Yakura was waiting. She gritted her teeth, tried to prepare for what she knew was coming, but there was only so much one could do to make oneself ready for a kick to the gut.

The blow sunk deep, knocked the wind out of her, and she was sent crashing down a moment later when Mirika hit her with the dragon suplex, one with another pin attached. This time Halloween kicked out just after the referee hit the mat for two. Not a good sign. She needed a break.

After she kicked out from pin, Halloween rolled to her chest and tried to push her way up, hoping she could hobble her way to Lovers, who was waiting with outstretched arms. She doubts Mirika would let her, but that wasn’t going to stop her from making the attempt. Every inch helped.

[RingRose]

“Cheer up, Yaku-chan, my dear! Your turn’s coming soon enough” Kiyora called from ringside, her dark eyes glinting with approval as ENCORE’s cheeky double assault unfolded in the corner.

Back in the ring, Mirika’s bright smile faltered for the briefest moment, it seemed like playtime was almost up. But the sparkle returned instantly as she spotted Halloween’s frantic scramble. The smaller woman clawed toward her corner, desperate for Lovers’ rescue. But Mirika’s sing-song voice cut through the arena noise as she descended upon her downed opponent.

“Aw~ running already, Ineeez-chan? You can’t leave me yet!” she cooed, twirling on one heel like a ballerina before snapping her other leg upward into a sharp, snapping axe kick that struck the small of Halloween’s back. The impact reverberated through her opponent’s frame, halting her advance. Mirika seized the moment keeping her foot on her Halloween's tailbone back and cupping her chin with her hands as she fluttered her eyes for the camera.

“Oh no! Where are you going without me?” she sang as Halloween squirmed underfoot. Mirika yanked at Halloween’s pigtails, hauling her upright before tossing her toward the ENCORE corner with a snapmare.

“Yaku-chan~ your turn!” Mirika chirped, skipping to her corner with unnerving cheer, making sure to trample and dig the heel of her boot deep into her opponent’s back as she passed. She slapped Yakura’s hand with a high-five for the tag, dipping between the ropes and letting her partner slide into the ring.

The arena descended into a frenzy as the Lily Idol made her debut in the ring, but Yakura would hardly make a show out of it. Instead, she skipped straight to the chase, grabbing Halloween by the ankle and pulled her back to the center of the ring, before smashing down with an elbow drop right onto the same vulnerable spot on her back Mirika had abused seconds ago.

[BlackAkuma]

Halloween always thought it was kind of funny how 99% of tag matches went about the same way, since the creation of the concept. The two teams go at it for a bit, then one of the team members finds themselves in trouble, then they get beat on a little bit, then they make the tag and their partner comes in crazy, and you maybe go back and forth with that until someone wins. It was oddly predictable.

Typically, she was the on the outside and Lovers was the one struggling for the ropes, and typically that happened later on in the match. That she was getting dangerously close to that point already was not a good sign - ENCORE was starting to find their momentum. Credit where it was due, they were an annoying bunch and looking at their colors made her eyes hurt, but they were efficient.

She had been on her way to the corner when Mirika came in - once more polluting her real name with that sickeningly sweet tone of hers - before she brought her foot down her back with a stiff, slicing kick, one that sent pain up and down her spine.

Focus through it, that was the trick. Aside from speed, that was Halloween’s best asset - keeping a clear mind, knowing when to pick her spot, when the right moment came. It wasn’t when Mirika snapmared her over to the corner by her pigtails. It wasn’t when she tagged Yakura and stomped on her back in the process. It wasn’t even when Yakura dragged her all the way back to the center of the ring, with all the care and attention you’d expect from someone pulling an overstuffed bag of trash.

But when she looked over her shoulder and saw Yakura descending with that elbow? There. That was her chance.

Halloween rolled, hard and fast, flipping over to her back and giving her opponent nothing but canvas to crash into. The moment she was down and in range, she swung leg around wide, trying to kick her foe clean in the face, with more than a little extra venom added in - retaliation for that boot to the gut from earlier.

[RingRose]

“Finally…” Yakura muttered under her breath, a shadow of a smile curling her lips as her eyes narrowed. She dropped low, elbow aimed like a blade, poised to pierce her opponent.

But Halloween was quicker than she expected. Just as Yakura descended, the Scary Girl twisted beneath her strike, leaving nothing but canvas for Yakura to crash into. The impact rattled her chest, and before she could gather herself, a boot slammed into her face, snapping her head back.

“Ehh… brat!” Yakura hissed, teeth gritted against the sharp sting across her nose. Her vision blurred for a moment, but she forced herself upright. Staggering back to her corner, she braced against the ropes, one hand pressed to her aching face, eyes flicking toward Mirika behind her on the apron.

Mirika’s wide, teasing grin only grew, the glittering shine in her eyes betraying her excitement. She leaned forward slightly to tease her tag partner.

“Oooh, careful now, Yaku-chan… looks like someone’s a little slow today~” she cooed, tapping the ropes playfully, her boots dancing lightly on the apron as she watched her partner wobble.

[BlackAkuma]

Lovers had begun to step in when Halloween got pinned a moment ago, ready to come rushing across the ring and break the count if need be. Thankfully, it needn’t be - her partner had managed to get out at a two-count. Even so, that wasn’t a good sign so early on, showing that Halloween was getting more rattled than she should be at this time of the match. That this had a slight chance of ending before she could even get that Mirika that she wanted..

But Lovers wasn’t too worried, knowing that this sort of thing was Halloween’s specialty. She did that thing that her favorite horror villains always did, where you thought you had them beat, and you took a second to relax, but then…

”Ha! Gotcha, bitch!”

Halloween’s cackle filled the ring after she clocked Yakura in the face with her heel, sending the violent violet staggering all the way to the corner. It was exactly the opening that they’d been hoping for, and she didn’t waste it - as soon as her opponent went staggering away, she was already rolling off her chest, pushing to her feet, and scurrying towards Lovers’ outstretched hand, wincing at the pain in her back all the way.

Tag. She was in. ”Go for it, Lovers’!”

Lovers’ didn’t need to be told, not really, always being an ‘all gas, no brakes’ sort of person. The second after htheir hands met, she grabbed the ropes, vaulted her way into the ring, and hit the ground running at a full sprint, making a beeline straight towards Yakura, announcing herself along the way. ”HiI’mLoversnicetomeetyaIlikeyourhair!”

She waited until she was close, the leap towards her opponent and shot her leg straight up, trying to hit with a snap kick to the face.