Kanon Fujiwara [D] vs. Shimmerlace Snuggleblossom

[CaptainL]

Match Type: Standard Match
Rules: Victory by pinfall, submission, or knockout

----

One week ago, Kanon Fujiwara had announced her presence to LAW with a promo announcing her intentions - and her alliegances. Two weeks ago, the Anomaly - a being she addressed as her "father" - had made his own first appearance in a match that seemed to be like any other, up until he made his entrance - and everything proceeded to go to hell, quite possibly literally. There was something going on in LAW, something that few could explain or make sense of. It seemed as though something supernatural was at work behind the scenes, be it the work of demons, ghosts, or dark magic. There were many in the stands who would have scoffed at the idea of any of those things being real just weeks ago...but when they'd seen the sorts of things they'd witnessed in the ring, no one could be quite sure. Everyone had been waiting with rapt anticipation for when the next phase of this strange new faction's plan would be revealed - perhaps it might give them some answers. And tonight, that was what was going to happen.

"The following contest is scheduled for one fall! Coming first to the ring, making her debut in the LAW ring! From Kyoto, Japan, at 5'8 and 140 pounds, KANOOOON FUJIWA-"

LAW's long-suffering ring announcer, Misa Otomura, was all geared up to announce Kanon's entrance to the ring...but she would never get a chance to finish. Partway through her call of the newcomer's name, the microphone was overtaken by the screech of static, causing a fair few fans to drop and cover their ears. Just then, the lights went out, plunging the arena into blackness. For a while, everyone watched in silence. But the next sound would be that of the pounding beats behind the opening of the new arrival's theme music.

VNV Nation - Further

As the music built to a crescendo, the image of a spinning pentagram appeared on the big screen. A dim purple light began to rise, lighting up the floor low to the ground. It was through this light that the fans could see fog pour out from beneath the curtains. And when that fog cleared, someone was standing at the top of the ramp - a pallid, red-eyed woman in an elaborate black and white dress; the same woman who had appeared on the screen when she delivered her promo a week ago.

Spoiler

Kanon stood amidst the rising fog, her head rolled back over her shoulders and her arms held out at her sides. For a moment, she lingered there, basking in the lights. But then, she stood straight and lowered her head to face the crowd as a red spotlight fell on her, bathing her in its glow. She reached behind her, and suddenly, in her hand she clutched a scythe, as though she had pulled it from thin air - a feat that caused a few fans to gasp. But she nevertheless slung it over her shoulder, proceeding down toward the ring at a slow and careful pace. As she passed the fans at ringside, a few leaned over to get a closer look at the newcomer, while others shied away from her in fear. But through the whole process, she kept a stoic expression on her face, up until she came to the ring apron, where she climbed up onto it. Hoisting her scythe in two hands, Kanon held it high above her head and threw her head back once again, muttering a chant in a barely audible whisper.

"Fiat voluntas eius..."

And with that, the lights dropped once again, and once again, the arena went pitch black.

[Pegasus]

The fans were gasping and a few girls were screaming being genuinely frightened by Kanon’s supernatural antics. However, four big words would be planted on the titantron in blood red lettering.

I. ALWAYS. COME. BACK.

The next thing people knew is that they heard snippets of Kanon’s laughing over the PA system as well as a final laugh sounding more it came from an evil witch rather than a weird albino woman about to make her wrestling debut in LAW. Then came Jonathan’s human laughs and then The Anomaly’s demonic laughs before the lights returned to their bright setting as Jonathan stood in the middle of the ring with his eyes closed.

He wore the clothes he wore from the promo he did a week ago where he extended a hand to LAW wrestlers in need of the Anomaly’s help. Jonathan opened his eyes and looked over to Kanon as he beckoned her in the ring. Not speaking a single word.

[CaptainL]

Throughout this whole entrance, Kanon's face hadn't changed. She'd kept the same flat, placid expression from the moment she first appeared atop the entrance ramp - the same expression she had worn through the promo she had made announcing herself to the world, for that matter. But when Jonathan turned to her and held out his hand, those who were watching the footage closely could swear that something did change. It was subtle, but for a fraction of a second, the corners of Kanon's lips turned upward into a smile as soon as her eyes met his.

She ducked in underneath the top rope, proceeding to the ring. With slow, measured steps, she approached the man she had called "Father" - and when she reached him, she passed him the scythe before doing a polite curtsey and taking his hand to lift herself back to her feet. There, she nodded her head to him, whispering a few words too soft to make out before she moved to her corner.

She turned back around to face the entrance. And it was there that a burst of black smoke shot up from the mat, enveloping Kanon in its wisps. When it cleared, the white-haired woman was suddenly changed into her wrestling attire, foregoing her headband and dress for a black sports bra and a short white skirt over smoky leggings. There, she stood straight and still, crossing her arms and tapping her fingers against her elbow as she watched the entrance for when her opponent would arrive.

Spoiler

[Pegasus]

Jonathan would take the scythe and nod to his disciple before heading outside the ring in order to stand by her side in her first match. He looked towards the entrance waiting patiently for Kanon’s debut opponent as he wanted to see this rookie in action for himself and see how she handled herself against an oncoming supernatural attack.

[Malkavia]

Members of the Tea Set Coterie, few in number but strong in presence, sprouted among the audience. Normally their bunny ears, their pink outfits, their fairy wings...they would have warmed Shimmerlace’s heart. In spite of her career’s slide-whistle start—here they were. Cheering her on, as butterflies blossomed from backstage and rosy light burst around the feychild. Her entrance struck a chord unexpectedly relevant:

”When the Truth is found...To be lies! And all the joy...within you dies! Don’t you want somebody to love?”

The Seelie Scion herself

But then her retainers saw their Matron’s face. They watched her trudge where before she skipped. The iridescent wonders of the Hedge fluttered in her backwind, but the Pixie had eyes only for the Witch. Music faded; a hush swallowed the ring. The Seelie Scout slipped into her corner, where she cut straight to the black lump on her mind:

“Know this, witch: many may doubt you yet. But these eyes?” She thrust a finger at her own left eye, then lowered the hand to point at Kanon. “They. See. True.”

Shimmerlace leaned against the ropes, wearing an expression new to the Coterie: A sneer. “Aye. Mine eyes spy corruption. My snout scents decay. Black magic comes to LAW with its will to taint—and you. Sweet wain. Mean to make of me your first blood sacrifice.”

Her jaw clenched. For a beat, silence overhung the two wrestlers. Then Shimmerlace extended her hand, a puff of pink smoke slipped from her sleeve, and a dildo-tipped staff materialized in her hand.

“But. I shall—the...fuck?” Shimmerlace’s eyes darted from Kanon to the wobbling male member at the end of her wand. “Shite—”

She struck the ground with the base of the staff. Another pop, more smoke, and the dildawand was replaced by a different staff, this one topped by a golden heart bedecked by a pair of angelic wings. Shimmer thrust it at Kanon. “—I shall, by my power, exorcise thee of this filth!”

[CaptainL]

Stepping forward from Jonathan, Kanon took her position toward the center of the ring, her eyes locked on her opponent. Her stance was a looser, relaxed one; her feet were spread apart, and her arms hung at her sides. But under no circumstances could Kanon's casual posture be mistaken for disinterest, or that she wasn't ready. As a matter of fact, when she looked at Shimmerlace, she regarded her with the utmost respect for her power. Kanon saw that - despite the pastel colors and sparkles of her attire standing in stark contrast to her darker and more menacing entrance - she wasn't much different herself. She too was learned in the mystic arts; when she began speaking of the aura of black magic reigning here, Kanon didn't cast any doubts on it at all. In fact, she'd figured Kanon's plan out already, before a single word had been spoken, and that left Kanon wondering if she'd seen into the future. The albino could only hope that Shimmerlace was capable of being as worthy an opponent in the ring, but for now, her interest was piqued. She studied her would-be foe with a keen eye, looking her up and down, and a smile began to spread across her face. Whether she won or lost, this would be a match to remember.

"No doubt your masters have informed you of my coming," she began, "but you speak the truth. The reckoning is at hand, child. And I am its instrument. Tonight, the threads of fate shall fall where they may. But our power shall rise," she added with a glance back at Jonathan. "And our power is unstoppable."

As a puff of smoke shot from Shimmerlace's sleeve, Kanon's eyebrow rose, and she leaned in with a curious eye to see what powers she would unveil. When she saw the staff manifest before her, she was impressed...that was, until she saw the dildo at the end of it. Kanon blinked a few times in disbelief. The cold look on her face was broken for just a moment as her opponent struggled with her staff. She seemed just as baffled as Kanon was - and that made the white-haired girl, for a fleeting moment, completely unsure of what she was getting into.

But soon, Shimmerlace conjured a new staff. Clearing her throat, Kanon was quick to change the subject. "Ahem. I'm...going to pretend I didn't see that," she muttered. As though nothing had ever happened, the two of them were suddenly facing each other once again with the same icy seriousness that had characterized their initial interaction. Kanon took a step forward, closing in on her foe, as her red eyes shot upward to stare a piercing glare into her own.

"You are quick to speak about filth," she said. "Only a fool denies they have not such darkness in their heart. Only a fool seeks to repress it, in the name of some petty, ill-defined sense of justice. It is the strong who embrace that darkness, who come to rule it. And it is for the sake of us all that I accept my Father's power. All will be understood in time, child. But tonight, you shall learn what power we wield."

[Malkavia]

The words themselves had bite—invocations of.. what, exactly? A Father Umbral, some black force that conjured the sounds of the deep woods? It was hard, and unpleasant, to fathom. But what spooked the hairs along Shimmer’s arms and made her palms cold with sweat was the speaker. Here was hair like moon-silk and skin white enough to hitch your breath. Here was a woman noble with the solemn, pale conviction of the dead—resurrected for doomsday.

“A...ill-defined sense of justice, is it now?” Shrugging off a chill, Shimmerlace flipped her staff over her shoulders, letting it hang beneath both arms. “Seems like I got the drop on ya. ‘I know exactly what sorta taint I face, but you. You sound...” Curling her brow, Shimmer rolled words around her mind. “...A wee. Bit. Lost. As to the powers I serve.”

Such made a perverse sense: No power warned Shimmerlace of so much as a chill breeze, unless you considered Kanon's eldritch promo and a bit of guesswork a warning. Nay, the Hedge left its scion...little. Certainly no blood-thinning scythe-bearer.

“I salute justice like a honeybee curtsies to grizzly arse. No, what I stand for...” The Pixie tossed and caught her staff. Then she flicked her wrist and conjured—an apple. “Is sweet, wild apples.” She tossed the fruit to the audience, a fresh red-delicious sign of hope before the darkness. Then she rolled her hand behind her back and found an orange. “A touch of summer citrus...” Shimmer held the rind against her lips, breathing its fragrance. “...And a wee bit of color.” On the word color, Shimmer squeezed the orange, peeled back, and pitched.

It smacked the referee on the snout. plop! T he woman barked, then covered her face.

“Ach...Christ on a stick, I’m sorry!”

The moment the fruit left her hand, a grin cracked the feychild's face. Her hips bent, her shoulders twisted, she spun. The staff arced a circle then descended towards Kanon—a strike too short for the distance. But then the heart atop spun on a hinge, opening the staff's insides and spewing liquid gobs of something wet and something pink. If it got in Kanon's eyes, she'd need more than the aid of a Dark Lord.

[CaptainL]

When Shimmerlace mentioned serving a higher power, Kanon raised an eyebrow curiously, leaning a little closer to her opponent. She crossed her arms, but she still listened with a cautious sense of anticipation. For all her posturing and all the silly little tangents she went on, Shimmerlace spoke of her presence here having some meaning, some significance, a sense that Kanon couldn't even comprehend. And when Kanon was fascinated by the occult, and when she was desperate to learn all of its secrets...that was a thought that intrigued her. She wanted to learn of this master her opponent served - if such power could be known, if she could perhaps contact such a being herself. This wasn't a mere hanging thread, but an opportunity!

But when Shimmer produced an apple seemingly from thin air...Kanon couldn't help but be disappointed. Her sleight of hand was masterful, but this was far from the awe-inspiring presence the occultist had envisioned. When she pulled an orange from behind her back, she let out a groan - and she less than gracefully threw it into the referee's face, her shoulders began to slump. This was going nowhere. This was just wasting her time, and making a mockery of the arcane wisdom she knew!

"Is this all you mean to show me!? Simple magic tricks? Surely I would expect better from such a-" But Kanon's words weren't holding Shimmer back, and she had already kicked into motion. In fact, she was already reeling back to release her next trick - firing off a burst of pink liquid aimed right at Kanon's face! When she was already lost in her speech, Kanon had no way of preparing for it, or readying a counter. She let out a gasp, trying to raise her hands to shield herself, but it was already too late - it was in her eyes! Kanon hissed in frustration, stumbling back from Shimmerlace and rubbing at her eyes to try and clear it away. The referee, meanwhile, saw this as a cue to start the match - and the bell rang!

*DING DING DING*

Kanon was still trying to rub the gunk out of her eyes. That meant Shimmerlace had this moment to strike! It seemed as though she was heading into an uphill battle, but she had evened the score, starting her foe off on the wrong foot!

[Malkavia]

“Simple? Well, apologies. First time invoking 'tween the ropes!”

Not that it's helped you any, reeling there under the stick of Gloaming Sap. The feychild tossed the spent staff over the ropes and burst across the stage like the first gust of a storm.

“What can I say? You're an inspiration. Just saw your wee gloomy cloud, and...”

As she slid into her opponent, Shimmerlace tried to catch Kanon’s elbows—a grip that, if she caught, would curl her brow. A question. The back of the Pixie's mind had expected cold, flesh as inhuman and marble as the sun-swallowing void this dark prophet preached. But even warm, even splattered with pink, something about this girl shone through. Conviction? Smoky wisps of power felt more than seen?

—What did it matter? The goal was exorcism. To overgrow black and fear under roseate vine. The goal was to fall backwards, pull the witch’s face into her knees, and have the whole seelie-witchy pile snap when Shimmer’s back hit the mat.

“...figured you could use the facelift!”

[CaptainL]

Kanon had immediately begun to regret underestimating her opponent. Shimmerlace was certainly...eccentric. She wasn't the most intimidating, and her magic seemed more the domain of parlor tricks. But she had still caught Kanon completely off guard - and now, she was spending the valuable first few seconds of the match dazed and blinded, struggling to try and get herself back in the game. The albino rubbed at her eyes in a desperate attempt to clear her field of vision. She hoped that whatever this pink goo was, it wouldn't leave any stains on her outfit, because that would definitely kill the look she was going for.

But when could finally see clearly enough, and when she looked back up, she saw that Shimmer had closed the distance, grabbing Kanon by the arms and locking a gaze on her dead in the eyes - and she remembered what she'd heard from her opponent a moment before. Did Shimmerlace call her an inspiration? That made her raise an eyebrow, curious. It seemed as though they had little in common, either in their attitudes or their aesthetics...but the pink-haired girl felt as though she could learn from her. Perhaps there was hope for this one after all. Perhaps she would make a worthy student - Kanon began to smile, thinking over the possibilities that could be opened for her if she could shape Shimmerlace's future.

But that also meant she left her guard down - and once again, Shimmer would deal her a rude awakening, as she dragged forward on the witch's arms to swing her face straight into her raised knees! Kanon let out a scream in shock as she fell forward, only to land with a loud thud as her head was thrown back against the force of the impact. She rolled over onto her back, clutching and rubbing at her face to try and nurse the pain at the same time she tried to get as far away from her foe as she could.