Tia Harris and AKANE vs. Keith Fox and Andy Wolf - O Brother, Where Art Thou?

[BlackAkuma]

Match Type: Tag
Victory Conditions: Pinfall, submission, or KO

***

It was all going to be so cool. Keith was going to come out to the match alone, walk down to the ring, take his place. Tia and AKANE would come out, make their way down, and they’d probably give him shit for taking them on alone and making this match happen. Then he would smile, look towards the entrance, and music that no one had heard in the arena would play. Surprise! His brother had joined LAW and was going to be his tag partner!

Classic stuff. But it was the day of the match, and there was one, tiny problem. A fly in the ointment. A glitch in the system.

“Dude, where the fuck are you?”

Keith’s brother wasn’t exactly known for being Mr. Punctuality, it was true, but he’d actually planned around that when he asked Andy to do this. Keith had told him that the match would be an hour earlier than it really would, which was a time-tested way to make the man show up on time - movies, hockey games, weddings, you name it. Keith and all of Andy’s friends, the few he had, knew the strategy.

But it hadn't worked today, not when Keith needed him here for this match, and when he gave his brother a call, he found out why.

“Dude, hey.” It was hard to tell on FaceTime with the poor lighting, but Andy seemed to be in bed. Not his bed, either. Keith stood in the gorilla position, decked out in his

“What’s up?”

Keith blinked a couple of times, aghast, before he found the words. “What’s up? I’m about to do a tag match without a tag partner, that’s what’s up.” He squinted, trying to get a good look at where Andy was on the screen. “Where the hell are you?”

It took a moment for Andy to speak again, and when he did, it was quiet, hushed, and a little slurred. He was drunk. Or high. Or some combination of both. Keith swore he could smell it through the phone. “Bro, I met this fine-as-fuck Asian chick at the sushi bar, man. We got to talking, exchanged some details, she invited me over, and-”

“Dude. Dude.” Keith cut that off quick, knowing Andy would go into details if you let him. “The match. We have a match, why the fuck were you even at-”

“Mr. Fox?”

Keith spun about, wild-eyed, and found himself staring at one of the stagehands, who was thumbing towards the entranceway. “Your music is playing, your match is up.” She looked about for a moment, confused. “Isn’t this supposed to be a tag match, where is your-”

Keith ended the call, pressing the red button harder than his thumb had pressed anything in his entire life. “No, screw it.” He huffed and stormed towards the curtain. “It’s just me.”

A moment later, he stomped down the ramp, making up for lost time as his

played around him. He promptly slid under the bottom rope and made his way to his corner, not bothering with any theatrics or showboating. He was going to need every bit of energy he could spare today.

[Weonna]

Backstage, two very different attitudes were on display.

Tia Harris was practically bouncing with excitement, rolling her shoulders and adjusting her black leather jacket as she waited for their cue. Her long silver hair flowed freely down her back, while a confident grin stretched across her face.

Tia

Beside her stood Akane, already dressed in her signature red-and-white wrestling attire. The redhead had her arms folded beneath her chest, her expression as cold and serious as ever.

Akane

Unlike her Australian companion, Akane wasn't particularly interested in making a spectacle of their entrance. She had come here for one reason: to fight.

And considering what had happened during their previous encounter with Keith Fox, she had plenty of motivation.

“Oi, Akane! Ready to give our favourite podcast host another nightmare?”

“…Hmph.”

Tia chuckled.

“Yeah, figured you'd say that.”

Then, their cue arrived.

BOOOOOOM!

The arena lights dimmed as the opening of Tia Harris's entrance theme blasted through the speakers!

Spoiler

Rather than using separate entrances, the two women had decided to make their appearance together, with Tia's theme accompanying them both.

And naturally, Tia was the first to emerge.

The silver-haired powerhouse stepped through the curtain with her arms spread wide, flashing a cocky grin toward the audience. She strutted onto the stage, soaking up the attention before running a hand through her shimmering silver locks.

Akane emerged moments later, walking alongside her partner with considerably less enthusiasm. Her green eyes remained fixed on the ring, her expression completely devoid of amusement.

Tia, meanwhile, was having the time of her life.

“WOOOO! LAW! YOUR FAVOURITE AUSSIE'S HERE!”

She threw both arms into the air before turning toward Akane.

“C'mon, love! Give 'em a smile!”

“…No.”

“Aw, you're no fun!”

Laughing, Tia started down the ramp, Akane keeping pace beside her.

It wasn't long before Tia spotted Keith standing alone in his corner.

Her grin widened.

“Oi! OI! AKANE!”

She pointed toward the ring.

“HAHAHA! Look at this bloody drongo!”

Akane glanced toward Keith, then briefly surveyed the rest of the ring.

No partner.

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

“…Where is other one?”

“THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYIN'!”

Tia burst into another fit of laughter, cupping her hands around her mouth as she shouted toward Keith.

“OI, FOXY! WHERE'S YA MATE?!”

She made a show of looking around the arena, even turning around to inspect the entrance behind them.

“WHAT HAPPENED, MATE?! DID YA PARTNER SEE WHO HE WAS FIGHTIN' AND DECIDE TO CHUCK A SICKIE?!”

Tia slapped her thigh, thoroughly amused by her own joke.

“HAHAHA! Bloody hell! First ya lose your podcast, now ya lose your tag partner! Not havin' a good run, are ya, Foxy?!”

Akane, however, wasn't laughing.

She continued down the ramp, her gaze never leaving Keith.

“…Does not matter.”

Tia glanced over.

“Eh?”

“One. Two. Same result.”

The redhead cracked her knuckles.

“…We win.”

“OHHH! Listen to her!”

Tia threw an arm around Akane's shoulders, grinning proudly.

“That's my girl!”

“…Get off.”

“Love ya too!”

Upon reaching ringside, Tia hopped onto the apron and stepped through the ropes, immediately throwing her arms outward to show off her impressive physique. She gave her silver hair another dramatic flick before flexing her arms for the crowd.

Akane entered shortly afterward, slipping between the ropes and heading straight toward their corner without any unnecessary theatrics.

Tia eventually joined her, removing her leather jacket and handing it off at ringside.

But before settling into their corner, she turned toward Keith one last time.

“Y'know, Foxy, gotta give ya credit!”

She rested her arms across the top rope, smirking.

“After what happened at your little Fox Den, I figured you'd have enough brains to stay the hell away from us!”

Tia tilted her head, looking around the empty space beside him.

“But nah! Here ya are, all by your lonesome!”

She gave him an exaggerated sympathetic pout.

“Awww. Want me to give ya a cuddle before we kick your arse?”

Akane stepped up beside her, staring directly at Keith.

“…Enough talking, Tia.”

The Australian glanced at her partner, then back toward Keith.

“Righto, righto!”

She cracked her neck and rolled her shoulders, her grin returning.

“Let's give Foxy another episode he'll never forget!”

Akane remained silent, her fists clenched at her sides.

Unlike Tia, she wasn't here to entertain the crowd.

She was here to finish what they'd started.

[BlackAkuma]

…fuck, they actually had a good entrance. Now he really was feeling naked down here.

Keith looked on as Tia and AKANE made their entrance, coming out to explosions and screeching guitars. As much as he hated to admit it - really fucking hated it, with burning passion - there was no denying that the two women cut an impressive figure, and it was easy to see right away why they’d ruled the roost in LAW for so long. The imposing, dominating Aussie and the lethal, precise Japanese woman, a one-two punch of a duo who could run just about anyone over.

And his dumbass had stood in their way.

Keith rubbed his stomach, which was still a touch sore from the calamitous level of abuse he’d suffered at their hands. It was almost a blessing that he actually didn’t remember too much of it - according to the doctor, AKANE’s kick had created some short-term amnesia. She’d literally kicked the memories out of his head.

No sane man would face them alone, which didn’t say anything good for his state of mind. Then again, fighting them alone hadn't been the plan, now had it?

“Goddamn it, Andy.”

He could hear Tia giving him no end of shit all the way up the ramp, which was impressive considering how loud the music was. He rolled his eyes, kept his cool as best he could, but yeah, there was just no avoiding the elephant in this room: He was pretty well fucked, here.

Tia’s trashtalk wasn’t what worried him, though. No, his eyes locked with AKANE, who did the same back. While he had no idea what she’d done with her time in the days since they last saw each other, he was fairly sure that it hadn't been meditation, reflection, or calming techniques. Somehow, she seemed even more simmering mad than she’d been the last time, as if she’d found a new level of rage. There was murder in those eyes.

He only glanced Tia’s way when she entered the ring, finally too close and loud to ignore. He pinched his nose, shook his head, and turned her way with a groan. “Hey. Tia. If you can’t say something smart, don’t say anything at all. Parents ever teach you that?”

He stepped out of the corner, stretching out his tricep as he went, and kept dead-on with AKANE as he approached. “Don’t got a partner, don’t need a partner.” He pointed between the two of them. “Hey, Red. You want to start this, try me one on one for a little while? Or do you want your girlfriend to do the hard work again?”

[Weonna]

For a moment, Tia looked almost offended by Keith's little remark about her intelligence. Her hands settled on her hips, and she opened her mouth, ready to deliver a proper tongue-lashing.

But then Keith said something else.

Girlfriend.

Tia's entire expression changed.

Her green eyes widened before an absolutely delighted grin spread across her face.

“OOOOHHHH! DID YA HEAR THAT, AKANE?!”

The silver-haired powerhouse practically bounced on her heels, pointing excitedly toward Keith.

“HAHAHA! FOXy's FINALLY GOT SOMETHIN' RIGHT! HE CALLED ME YOUR GIRLFRIEND!”

Akane's head snapped toward her.

“…WHAT?!”

“Ya heard him, love! Girlfriend! Not tag partner, not ally, not temporary-whatever-the-bloody-hell ya keep callin' us!”

Tia clasped her hands together, looking positively lovestruck.

“Awww, Foxy! Didn't know ya were such a romantic bloke!”

Akane's cheeks immediately developed a faint reddish tint, although whether it was embarrassment or pure irritation was anyone's guess.

“違う！違うから！”

(Wrong! That is not true!)

She jabbed an accusing finger toward Tia.

“We are NOT girlfriends! We are allies! Only allies!”

“Three years of bein' allies, sweetheart!”

“SHUT UP!”

Tia burst into laughter, throwing her head back.

“HAHAHA! There she goes! My favourite little tsundere!”

“私はツンデレじゃない！”

(I am NOT a tsundere!)

Akane stomped forward, looking ready to strangle her own partner before remembering that they had an actual opponent standing across from them.

She took a sharp breath, forcing herself to regain her composure.

“…Enough.”

Her attention returned to Keith, the embarrassment rapidly disappearing behind her familiar icy glare.

“You want fight me?”

Akane stepped forward, rolling her shoulders and cracking her knuckles.

“…Fine. I start.”

Without another word, she moved toward her team's corner, preparing to begin the match as the legal competitor.

Tia, meanwhile, seemed absolutely thrilled with the arrangement.

“Righto, love! Go get 'im!”

She slipped between the ropes and settled onto the ring apron, gripping the top rope with both hands as she leaned forward enthusiastically.

“C'MON, AKANE! SHOW THE BLOKE WHY THEY CALL YA THE QUEEN OF STRONG STYLE!”

Akane shot her an irritated sideways glance.

“…Stop yelling.”

“CAN'T HEAR YA, SWEETHEART!”

“…Idiot.”

Tia merely blew her a playful kiss.

“LOVE YA TOO!”

Akane turned away with an exasperated sigh, shaking her head before lowering herself into a fighting stance. Her knees bent slightly, fists raised, and green eyes locked firmly onto Keith.

The playful embarrassment was gone.

Now, only the cold determination of a seasoned striker remained.

[BlackAkuma]

Keith was breathing heavy as he stood across from Tia and AKANE, two of the most dangerous women he’d come across. It would’ve been a hard fight if his brother hadn't been the world’s greatest flake, but the odds were cut in half, now, and they hadn't that great to start with.

But he was resigned to doing this. He was going to see this through. He inhaled, exhaled, and prepared for the fight.

And then came the most confusing minute of…well, LAW was a weird place, so there was heavy competition. It was at least the weirdest thing he’d seen all week, though.

His two opponents broke out in what his grandfather would’ve called a ‘lover’s spat’. Keith hadn't meant to insinuate anything, he figured the two of them were on the same page with their relationship. AKANE was about huggable as your average porcupine and somehow twice as irritable, but Tia seemed to like her enough. Honestly, they made a cute couple. It turned his stomach to admit that, but it was true.

AKANE seemed to have different ideas.

Keith stood back and exchanged a few awkward glances with the referee, who only had shrugs to respond with. Not knowing what to say or where to interject, he stood back as the lovebirds got it out of their system, and AKANE finally settled the debate - for the moment. She was going first. That figured, yeah.

Keith locked eyes with her, focused and fiery, as he tried to run a quick play through his head. If he were to have any chance here, he needed to keep Tia from getting involved. If he wanted to do that, he needed to make sure AKANE stayed determined on hurting him to the point where she didn’t want to share. That meant he needed to apply pressure. Keep her angry. Keep her locked.

In other words: This was going to hurt.

No slow start. The moment the bell rang, Keith rushed in, brought his hands up and tried to force AKANE into a collar and elbow, trying to muscle her towards a neutral corner. He knew her striking history well, he’d done his homework. He wasn’t a bad striker himself, but he would rather avoid exchanging blows with two of the most dangerous hands in LAW if he could help it.