Yuki Kazikura vs. Angelina Tarrant

[CaptainL]

Yuki needed to get up. She knew that. Everyone knew that. Angelina was out for her blood, and to be laid on her back like this when her opponent was this maniacal and this hell-bent on her annihilation was suicide. She wasn't even caring about winning any more - she was convinced her very survival depended on her ability to find her footing here and now; every fiber of her body was screaming at her to find her feet. Yet, as much as Yuki wanted it, as much as she stretched and strained and clenched her teeth when every movement she made to lift her limbs made her feel like an icy pain was surging through her body, she couldn't find the strength she needed. Every time she made a little progress, even to get up by just a few inches, she sank back down wheezing and gasping a moment later. But it was after one such attempt that Yuki would lift her head - and when she did, she would be greeted by a sight that made her blood run cold. Even through all the punishment her body had endured, more than anyone should have been able to take...Angelina was getting back up!

The joshi wrestler let out a gasp, the color swiftly draining away from her face. She watched every step Angelina took to close in on her, each one bringing her one step closer to her doom. The closer Angelina got, the more Yuki desperately tried to get up, her ragged breaths quickening to the pants of panic, but nothing worked - and before she knew it, Angelina had come to the steps, planting her foot down firmly against her gut.

Yuki let out a wheeze as she sank down over the steps; all the air in her lungs had been forced out beneath Angelina's weight. She moaned in pain, but her throat was so ragged and breathless that she didn't even have it in her to scream. She could only look up at the redhead's face leering down at her from above, contorting into one parting taunt as she readied herself to execute her next move.

Yuki's features twisted in pain as Angelina yanked upward on her hair; it felt like every strand was a needle dug into her scalp. She was forced to her feet, wobbling uneasily back and forth, and panting haggard gasps. In her dazed state, everything around her felt like it was spinning, moving in and out of focus. But what came next would be even worse. Angelina draped her limbs over her body, getting a good grip on her, and hoisted her off her feet! Moments later, Yuki was turned around, her hair dangling over her nearly lifeless face and her skirt hanging upside down over her midsection. Her legs were folded over Angelina's shoulders, and her head was held between her thighs. When the fans saw what was happening, a chorus of gasps and screams took hold over the stands. Now it was clear what Angelina was doing. She was setting up a tombstone piledriver - directly onto the steel steps!

If this move landed, Yuki had no hope of finishing this match. She might even get another concussion for her troubles - and when she'd already gotten one from Skylar Jones, she was growing concerned about how much more she could take! The whole arena knew that, and many had to avert their eyes for what seemed to be a disaster in the making. Yuki knew that, too - if Angelina had her way, then her comeback was over before it had begun.

But it was just then, Yuki realized, that if she had any chance of saving herself, of turning this all around...that chance was now! She couldn't waste a single second! The piledriver hadn't hit yet, and she had a precious few seconds to make a difference! It was a herculean effort for her to even move her legs at this point, with each twitch of her muscles making her wince - but these were the situations that bred desperation. And sometimes, desperation was all it took. The alternative was unthinkable.

Just as Angelina was about to jump off the steps, right when Yuki felt her weight shift, she would kick her legs outward, attempting to snare the top rope just behind her! If she could get her legs around the rope, she would roll forward to do a front-flip back into the ring, leaving her opponent to crash down against the steps in the process!

[Monsy]

Time to, as they say, cut the shit.
Things were all too fun, messing around, surviving and continuing out of spite. That sentiment started to shed its skin, and as Angelina held them upside down, ready to, no, intending to cause harm not on regular metric. Trauma etched in scars, or something poetic like that. Not that she thought about it. She was locked inside her head and fleeting conscious, half-aware and half self-nauseated once she crashed to ringside, spanking the ground on her knees then chest. “GH.” Her cheek slapped it, but her hands and legs did well to absorb the brunt that she was just left reminded of her own limits. The scalding strain inside her arms as she pushed to all fours, looking down at her splayed out hands that moved around. “Stop. Wobbling!” She smacked her own cheek, moved forward one pace and did it again, snarling, squeezing her eyes shut then opening them. All limbs locked, and she puffed, shooting sweat off her face until she saw clear. Then, her gaze snapped forward and she saw salvation.

A little thing of eight maple plywood sheets, polyurethane wheels and aluminum-steel trucks, perfect for whacking a skull. She crawled over, slamming palms and knees to race, pick it up by its tail and lift it. The fans saw, that look in her eyes, the wicked smile. Only she was to wield a weapon now. Angelina looked at it like a treasure, perhaps the most valuable thing she brought to the ring. It was part of her identity they came to know, and now, turned to a weapon to finish Yuki Kazikura. She used the apron to pull herself up, spying Kazikura with feverish eyes, a tongue swaying from one corner to the other with an open-mouth grin. Though her pipped step was reduced to flopping on the apron, then rolling underneath, grabbing the middle rope to do an assisted kip-up. She held the board with two hands, about the middle to give the leading truck a hammer-like swing.

Whether standing like a hero, kneeling like a beggar, or on the ground dying like a dog, Angelina bolted, the skateboard held to one shoulder like a mighty axe. “SWEET HOLY DREAMS!” Then cleaved, leaning forward and swung the skateboard truck to their skull!

[CaptainL]

Yuki had only escaped from the tombstone by virtue of adrenaline, survival instinct, and a whole lot of luck. She had to act with timing that was precise to the split-second, and when her body was as stiff, sluggish, and fatigued as it was, it was a gamble if she even had that in her. But when the alternative seemed like a threat to her entire career - no, her entire life - Yuki knew there was no other option. She kicked out her legs in a scramble for something to grab onto, finding more strength in her to move than she thought she had. And miraculously, not only had she caught the ropes, she had managed to pull herself along in the process! With a flourish of grace that should have been impossible when her body was as ravaged as it was, she flipped out of Angelina's clutches and onto the ropes, leaving the redhead to crash into the steps below!

Some of the fans cheered at the girl's daring escape, while others groaned, only able to imagine how much pain Angelina had to be in as she slumped to the floor below. Now, Yuki was left sitting on top of the ropes, clutching at the cable to either side of her just to stay on. The rope sagged underneath her weight, and her head hung low from all of the exhaustion she carried on her shoulders. She panted and gasped for breath, her face red and slick with sweat. At any moment, it felt like she could fall on her face. Yuki knew there wasn't much longer she could keep going before her body would break down on her. She needed to end this match quickly. But even now, as she pushed herself off the ropes to get to a wavering stance, swaying back and forth with every step she took, she was wondering how easy that would be when her opponent seemed to be more like an indestructible demon than any human she knew!

And sure enough, it was then that Yuki would hear the fans shouting to her to turn around. She froze, her eyes going wide in shock as the hairs stood up on the back of her neck. When she turned, it seemed as though she was watching a scene from her wildest nightmares play out in front of her. Even after all she'd taken, all the punishment she'd been through...Angelina was getting back up! Yuki watched with a mouth open wide in shock as the redhead swung herself into the ring, moving with a speed that should have been impossible even as sloppy and staggering as it was. And when she did, it was with the skateboard in her hands, poised to strike!

Yuki looked up at the board descending toward her head, like the blade of an executioner's axe. Everything seemed to fly by in slow motion, the seconds ticking toward the end. For the slightest few seconds, she froze. But then, she shook that fear, that hesitation, out of her head. The realization hit her - Yuki had already overcome the odds when she escaped from the piledriver. She didn't have to let this hit her! And now, it was her turn to move!

Suddenly, she sprung into action. Her hands shot up, going to grab at Angelina's wrist right as she was about to bring the skateboard down on her head. Finding purchase of her arm, Yuki would throw her weight backward, attempting to pull her down with an arm drag, and hopefully deflect the blow of the skateboard in the process!

[Monsy]

Pain while moving can be dealt with. Slowing down, that was the real serrated knife. It's the crashing on your back or stomach that was the real test. Everything holds you down, bitterly reminded of your limits. How close they are. Then insulted by the mentality of just laying down, resting as comfort would have it. There was no shame in giving up one day when there was three-hundred and sixty-four more. But not here. No. Every day given up was a humiliation. One can't afford it, and she longed to push forward, just as Yuki had done. Just as this woman edged her to the limit. Now was the true test. And so she ripped her knees to move like being solidified by sludge, and her bones wedged as knife-edges grinding with exposed nerve endings, burning and tensing - forced to mould with her movements as she commands - a captain with a clear death wish.

She gave her skateboard swing all she had in that, her arms wobbled and hands tensed until she felt a spasm, swung and fired broadside. One hand came free, “Keh??!” Yuki had struck from death to grab her in a way that she never saw coming. It was something possessed. Her arm was but a slave, and soon, her body followed suit as Yuki pulled, fell back and Angelina crashed over and tumbled, rolling onto her back, with her hips slapping the canvas and the skateboard smacking the ground, flipping and landing on its wheels as it slipped out of her grip and cruised across the canvas. Angelina had sprawled, with her legs slightly parted, her skirt and cropped shirt now glued to her small frame. She looked up, dazed and surprised, blinking and sucking in breath like a scrooge that wanted everything to herself. Her chest rose and fell quickly with these patterns, as did her stomach, and her feet started to kick, along with her hands that shifted across the mat, looking for something or someone to grab.

[CaptainL]

When Angelina was pulled off her feet, Yuki nearly followed suit. Sore and stiff from fatigue, with her steps wavering, the Japanese girl's balance was a tenuous one, and with the momentum of her opponent coming crashing down, she had to stop herself seconds away from falling over in the process. She bent at the knees, holding onto them for support as her chest lurched every time she gasped for breath. Yuki's heart was pounding. When everything ached, she knew she would need to end this match soon, before she simply couldn't keep up with the demands of her own body. But now that Angelina was down...she might just have a chance.

Slowly, Yuki pushed herself back to her full height. She groaned as her leg nearly gave out when the put her weight on it, but she was able to catch that just in time. Now she looked out to see Angelina splayed out across the canvas, her hair laying in swirls around her head. She was practically motionless, save for the rise and fall of her chest. Just with one simple counter, Yuki had brought her foe to the ground, and now, she was in prime territory for her to follow up. She knew she couldn't falter now. Not when failure to do so could mean defeat! She grit her teeth, looking back up - no matter how painful it was, she needed to seize on this opportunity while she could!

When Yuki caught sight of the skateboard lying on the mat, she got another idea. This normally wasn't something she would do; she felt dirty even considering stooping to the same tactics Angelina had just attempted to use on her. But it seemed as if nothing could put the tenacious redhead down, and she had to do something. The referee was just beginning to come to her senses, so Yuki knew it was now or never. If she was going to make her move, she needed to strike before it was too late; there might not be another chance!

Stepping around so that she was standing over Angelina, with one foot planted against the canvas on either side of her, Yuki leaned forward, grabbing for the girl's legs. She went to hoist her up, groaning and hissing against the load she put on her back in the process. Every inch she moved caused her spine to crack. But if she could make it work, Yuki would lift Angelina upside down, grasping her head between her thighs in order to hold it in place for extra support. Then, she took a few teetering steps closer to the skateboard. If everything worked, Yuki would then jump into the air, attempting to slam Angelina's skull down on top of her own board with a piledriver!

[Monsy]

Had her skin sowed to the canvas? All these pulls and pries, rolls of dice as she commanded a shoulder to pop, only for a decrepit touch, something like slime, pulling her back down, flatter than before. Perhaps it was the sweat, her shirt was a sponge after all. She almost had a glimmer, if someone wanted to call her a fairy, they could certainly catch the sparkle. The light blush from how overheated she felt, the slow droplets off her forehead and desire to kick off her remaining boot. It served nothing but to make her uncomfortable.

“Aaaaggghh…” Groaned Angelina, stirring as Yuki gripped her legs that slumped like potato sacks in their grip. They didn’t fight, no, but raw dead-weight. However little, things had their way of seeming heavier when you’re tired. She was certain something was about to drop on her chest, stomach or face, so looked away, squeezing her eyelids shut. If she couldn’t see it, then it wasn’t a problem. No dread. But she was found with all the blood rushing to her head, ears clasped by Yuki’s legs. She pushed on Yuki’s hips, with palms pressed and her jutted elbows biting itself with small, insignificant pushes. Most energy went to propping up those arms and her falling skirt. Bad day to wear red underwear. Neither did she see much, it was a vague slate of white, the sparkles of phone cameras and the blackness of the arena expanse. That same darkness then wept.

The skateboard split down the middle. Her skull was the jackhammer. A horn snapped and her head turned in, forced by all the weight spiking through her neck, compressing against the muscle and the discs clapping together, and her skull hitting the canvas in earnest like a hammer on nail. A thunderclap to drown the crowd. And her brain. Her arms slipped to the side, fell half-open, her gaze looked weary and confused, staring to the back of her own head with an open-mouthed gasp, drooling, her legs having lulled and splayed out in finality to the piledriver’s wicked bite.

[CaptainL]

By all means, Yuki shouldn't have been able to have pulled off the piledriver she'd just performed. Her body was too weary, her energy spent. Every move she made should have been stiff and staggered as her muscles broke down on her, and her head should have been swimming in a sea of pain and fatigue, too much for her to focus. But adrenaline had a way of making ordinary people do extraordinary things. And when Yuki saw that she had her opponent in her clutches, her same opponent who had caused her so much grief over this match, who seemed impossible to put down, lined up perfectly for her to land what was sure to be a devastating piledriver, she knew there was no use in arguing it. She had what seemed to be a foolproof ticket to victory right in front of her, and after how much this match had worn down on her, she was willing to take whatever means she had to bring it to a close!

She positioned the redhead upside down, her shoulders shuddering against the load she was bearing, her footing threatening to be pulled down along with Angelina by the weight of her body, but she held her there nonetheless - she had to, or else she might have let a long-awaited and long-deserved win, in the face of some of the greatest adversity she'd ever had to overcome, slip her by! Then, her feet gave way, and she dropped to her knees. She let gravity do the rest of the work in driving Angelina down straight into her skateboard, square in the middle, causing it to snap in half under the force of the landing. The mat rumbled underneath her, threatening to send her toppling to the side, but still she held firm. When the dust cleared, Yuki was on her knees, heaving for breath and seeing the world through loose strands of hair plastered to her brow with sweat. But Angelina was below her, motionless. And the crowd was going wild with cheers, seeing the Dynamite Schoolgirl rise above the challenge!

Yuki looked back up toward those cheers with a smile, shaking some hair out of her face. But she couldn't take her sights off Angelina for long - she knew what needed to be done! A piledriver could end a match, and when it had been right on top of a hard surface, that was even worse. All Yuki needed to do now was to go for the pin. A serious look crossed her face as she grabbed onto Angelina's leg, pulling it back over her body, and scrambled over her chest to weigh her shoulders against the mat - while the referee moved in to count the pin!

"ONE!!"

Spoiler

[Monsy]

This ballad of sarcasm, spite and running — tearing obstacles, iron barricades, jumping kicks and snaking laces. When push came to shove, getting dunked on your head was humbling, huh? Every time, a wall, out of nowhere slams against your fortitude. That damn nagging bitch named Limitation. It was like the world knew it couldn’t take her if it knew she was prepared. This was different. No — Everything was in her hands - to make might, right, and take what you want. Perhaps this spike was evident that her opponent had that same bite. They must have that same itch to push. She accepted no lesser thought. And although she lay sprawled, sinking into the mat like a dead fish in sand, she felt driven - inspired by Yuki.

“ggmmf…-” The air was juiced from her lungs when Yuki weighed on her chest. Talk about mediaeval. She had hardly any self-control to keep her image inside that pool of blood-red hair, drooling on herself, rife with tears on the corners and the parched groans and moans of a woman who looked undead. Her leg had taken to the sky, sharp-angled that the toes tipped back at her, and her other limb sprawled with rolled-up hips, skirt flipped with sweaty fishnets shining underneath overhead lights as crowd and commentary chimed and put their finger on the pulse, joining the count.

“TWO!!”

Dream-land already sunk half its teeth in her.
Not even god could see the colours in her empty white eyes, the pupils had burrowed deep. The referee’s hand reached apex once again, marking the curtain call. But as it threw down to hammer this match’s final nail, the official collapsed to one shoulder as Angelina exploded with far-gone will, her leg thrusting, a buck of the hips and the twist of her shoulder blades, her hand spewing up and clawing at the air, turning to one side. She was a heap, limbs clambered together, breathing, just breathing, as her whirlwind-world tried to tie itself back to the match.

Everyone would have to settle for a middle and index as they raised their hand. “TWO.”

[CaptainL]

This had been a long and grueling match, and it was one that put Yuki through the wringer. She'd been hit on the head, she'd been strangled, she'd had her hair pulled and she'd been thrown into the steel steps. It was a small miracle that she was still holding on at all - but even when her body was stiff and sore, when her head was throbbing and her vision blurred, Yuki's body was running on pure adrenaline. She had to finish this match. Everything she knew was counting on it. This was her chance to prove that she really did belong in the ring, and all the hard work she had put into her training was going to take her somewhere - that she wasn't just wasting her time! If she could come out on top, she would have cemented her position in LAW! That raw determination was pushing her onward even in the face of incredible adversity, and it was pushing her to win!

At last, though, Yuki thought she had done it. She thought that with the Tombstone Piledriver, she'd finally brought Angelina down for the count. She hooked the redhead's leg and pulled it back as she settled against her chest, and when she did, she let out a long sigh, her body slumping against her own weight. At last, she could breathe easily, and she took in a few slow, deep breaths. At long last, the match was coming to a close...

Or so she thought.

Just when Yuki thought she had truly found the limit of Angelina's tenacity, she threw herself back in an arc, kicking her leg free! Yuki went tumbling back from her, rolling head over heels before she fell against the canvas. As she picked herself up to her hands and knees, all she could do was look back at Angelina, mouth agape. She couldn't believe it. After how far she had come...would she have to push herself even further still to keep her foe down? Did she even have it in her to do so? For now, she was frozen in place, paralyzed by her own shock and awe. She wasn't prepared for this outcome, and now, how could she move forward? How could she respond when Angelina was surely already on the move?

[Monsy]

Can’t keep a good bitch down. Or, something like that.
Her neck felt like it absorbed a blunt guillotine. Throbbing everywhere, and had a way of compressing her throat to keep her draws slow and aching. Cough medicine. That’s what it was itching like. Fuckin’ Buckleys. “Guhhhhhh… Maaaaaaaaan.” Angelina groaned, turning onto her stomach pushing up with her elbows and looking over to Yuki. “What’s… that look fo?” Her voice was sluggish and slurring, almost groggy, like if you shook a drunkard around ten times and blunted them with a haymaker, then asked them to recite the ABC’s. “Ya… look like ya seen a ghost.” But it still felt easier to deal with all the aches, bruising and pinching by talking. Her face already ate a hammering, not like you can do one worse.

There wasn’t anywhere to go but up. Her hands pressed down, knees up, a foot put down as she tugged the metaphysical strings on her shoulders to lean upright. The crowd began to rouse. Something undead about these two, plucked chords, limits touched, destroyed and now they sit in the afterlife. A segment of a match that shouldn’t exist.

‘This is awesome!’ Clap-clap-clapclapclap!
‘This is awesome!’ Clap-clap-clapclapclap!
‘This is awesome!’ Clap-clap-clapclapclap!


Angelina smiled, licking her upper-lip. She tasted just as much of her own sweat as she did blood. It was a hell of a lipstick.

“Aight… Yuki-toots,” she started, breathy, “Lets have one last fuckin’ go.” Both hands piled on her knee and she pushed, groaning and trembling head-to-toe, her face scrunched into knots as she slowly powered to her feet. She stumbled the first steps, but found stability. In times like these, she did all she could think of - and raise her fists, bladed stance, stick her tongue out and beckon them with a hand.

“Have at thee, dorkstick!”