That’s Mr. Steele To You! (for CaptainL and SimplyWoo)

[SimplyWoo]

Rylie listened to Sanae, Chelsea, and Yuki with interest and then she listened to Lyra and witnessed her showing off her fortune telling skills. When Lyra got to her, she extended her hand when Lyra reached out for it and listened to her. She blinked in surprise as she listened to her. "I actually didn't know what to make yet, but you know what banana bread sounds friggin awesome and hell yeah, the more friends, the merrier my dude!" she said enthusiastically although she did smirk a little. "Although, that invitation is no longer happening at the end of class since it's happening now, so got ya!" She teased as she then listened to Natalie's shoe being untied as she giggled a little. "Have no fear, your savior is here, you just keep balanced, I got your back." She mentioned as she knelt down to assist Natalie with tying her shoe.

She then heard Jonathan's next assignment and clearly looked uncomfortable, "Oh boy, smack talking. Not my strong suit." She whispered to herself as she rose up after finishing tying Natalie's shoes. She then motioned towards an area so the two of them could gain some distance from the others to be able to back and forth with less distractions. "Do you want to start it off?"

[CaptainL]

When Sanae heard Lyra's prediction, her jaw dropped in a gasp, and she pulled her a little closer, giving her hand a firmer squeeze. "Really!? Three? That's incredible!!" Her idol career was really just taking off, and even with her exploits in LAW getting the word out about her, she didn't think it had enough steam quite yet to consider she'd made her big break. But if she was booked for three shows? That meant she was really going places! As she settled back into line, she clasped her hands together with a big grin on her face, bouncing excitedly up and down - she simply couldn't find it in her to sit still. "Didja hear that? Three concerts!"

This, in turn, drew a roll of Chelsea's eyes. She crossed her arms, looking off with a groan; she didn't have time to entertain such nonsense! When Lyra came up to her, she was sure that what would follow could only be inane rubbish that no sane person would ever take seriously. However, she did take a pause when Lyra mentioned George breaking the sink. She wouldn't put it past him, but she certainly hoped it wasn't true. For one, she didn't want to come home to a flooded apartment, and beyond that, she didn't want to actually be putting any faith in these predictions!

Finally, when Yuki heard Lyra's predictions of good fortune in her future, she nodded her head, smiling just a little to the blonde. "Thank you," she said, softly but politely. She wasn't quite sure if Lyra's predictions would come true or not - but, deep down, she could at least hold onto the hope that they would, some time or another.

But there had been enough time for talk. Now, the first lesson on promos was underway, and the students broke off into pairs to address each other. Chelsea smirked a little to herself when she heard the prompt - her flippant disregard for foreign fans was, after all, something that she'd become infamous for all on her own. It didn't take much prompting for her to look back at Sanae with a glare, jabbing a finger toward her.

"Listun up, I dun giv a scewby-do about all this cutesy kawaii idol stuff o' yos, and I 'ate dat I evun 'ad ter say dat! If there's one thin' I dun understand about this country, it's 'ow all o' yous wankers go blewdy fookin' insane over de same by-the-numbers pop groups everyone wul forget about inna year! Wha', because you're all custy and pretty er worever, is dat all? Defo can't be de shite yous call music! I get e-blewdy-nuff o' dat sugary shit from me sister, and t's enuff ter make me wanna 'url, like! Everyone oo cheers ye is a moron, and from 'ow loud people get whenever ye and yer bristlers show up, I can only conclude dat Japan is chocker o' morons, like. Actually, dat explains a lot!"

Sanae narrowed her eyes in a glare, moving her arm over her chest instinctively, and her face grew red. But, as annoyed as she was, she had to remind herself they were only practicing here, and she couldn't let any of this get to her. Instead, she had to respond in kind. "You want to know the real reason I get the cheers I do? It's because of all the work I put in, both as a wrestler and an idol. With everything I do, I strive to make an impact and to be remembered. I want to give it my absolute best. You think your schedule on the road from arena to arena is tough - try adding a concert tour on top of that, and you'll see how much I have to take up on my shoulders. But I don't let it get to me. And even with all of that to contend with, I don't take the easy route on anything; I put my passion and my dedication into everything! You want to know why Japan lights up every time I take the stage? It's not because they're stupid. It's because we appreciate hard work and commitment. Throughout history, it's allowed us to excel in art, in engineering, and in business - we give 110% in everything we do. I'm no exception! If they would just cheer for any pretty face that comes their way, without anything to back it up...maybe you might get more cheers!"

"I beg yer pardon, WHAT!?" Chelsea roared. Seeing this from over her shoulder, Yuki watched a moment longer before letting out a sigh and turning back to face Lyra. "...Let's...not go that route, shall we?" She cleared her throat. "Look, Lyra. I can appreciate all the dedication you've put in. It's clearly taken you far. It's no secret that you're a relatively new addition to the LAW roster, and yet you've already made a strong showing in your Apex qualifiers, putting yourself out there among the best of the best." She hoped that alluding to some of Lyra's prior accomplishments would help make her points convincing. "It's clear that Jonathan sees a lot in you, and I can't say I'm blaming him. His training has clearly worked. However...I'm dedicated, too. No matter how I feel about my opponents, whether I love them or I hate them, I'm never going to go easy on anyone, and I'm not giving anyone preferential treatment. I need to win this match. I know I've fallen on hard times lately, but I'm not going to sit around crying about it. I've trained, and I've focused my attentions on getting better and stronger and being able to take down anyone I need to. It's because of that dedication that I have faith in my abilities, and faith that I can take you down. I know you're good - but I'm ready for that."

[Pegasus]

Natalie would skate over to the side with Rylie already liking the raccoon gal and could see her being best friends with her for the long haul. She helped tie Natalie’s skate back together and they seemed similar enough in liking to take things to the extreme levels. Now, they were paired together for a promo battle, but Rylie mentioned that it isn’t her strong suit and offered Natalie to speak first. Natalie could at least give bullet details for Rylie to bounce off of. She thought back to the prompt being about a championship they both wanted to win so she went with the LAWLess Championship.

“So, your raccoon butt wants that LAWLess Title? Then go find a replica championship through the dumpsters you love so much! I came here for one reason and one reason only. I came to live it up in the ring and show Japan why I’m a pro skater and pro wrestler! Extreme circumstances is where I thrive the best and that title is basically calling my name! If I have to get through you to get to it, I’ll do just that! Just don’t expect mercy when I smash you into smithereens!” Natalie exclaimed as she puffed out her chest for emphasis on her strong words.

As for Lyra, Yuki began their promo battle talking about how Yuki wants to beat her in their “match” and the fortune teller perked up when Yuki mentioned Apex. Yuki handed the floor to her as Lyra cleared her throat and shot a determined glare at Yuki.

“I know you are a formidable opponent, Yuki. I’ve seen your matches and while you may come up short, you proved that the ring is your domain. I’m not as experienced. You started when you were just 16 and had to balance school and work life to make it as a joshi wrestler. I’m older than you, but you have claim to call yourself a veteran of wrestling even if you are three or four years into your career. You have also made it to Apex and are deserving of consideration to become Openweight Champion. However, the universe told me the gates of Apex would open for me so I wouldn’t let them down. I battle a former Wrestle Angels wrestler to get there, I battled with an injured ankle to secure my spot, and I have proved myself as a rising star in LAW. I’m even in the running to potentially carry the Middleweight Championship. If I can win that belt, it further cements my accomplishments so far. The universe knows glory is ahead of me no matter what. I see it in you, too. The drive to win that Lightweight Championship and avenge your mentor for what Rose Gold caused. This match….puts two ambitious goals against each other and I will prove my spirit can eclipse yours. We may fight to the last move, but our souls will be put to the test as well,” Lyra explained.

[SimplyWoo]

She could overhear Chelsea and Scooby-Doo comment got Rylie to legit laugh out loud as she walked away with Natalie to go somewhere less noisy. She then crossed her arms under her breasts as she stared at Natalie listening to her promo. Her tail drooped a little at the mentioning of loving dumpsters as that hurt a little. When Natalie was done and puffed out her chest Rylie nodded her head. "Ok, yeah that was pretty good. Is it my turn already? Shit..." She said as she took a deep breath. "One sec, I need to calm my nerves down." She mentioned as she pulled out a pack of cigarettes from her cleavage and opened up the box, pulling out a black cigarette and a lighter from within as she brought the cigarette to her lips and flicked the lighter to light the cig. She then pulled the cigarette from her lips and exhaling the smoke in the air, not caring about the smoking policy if there was one during training or if this was a non-smoking facility.

She appeared to be a little more relaxed and extended her hand to Natalie to offer her the cig since to Rylie, Natalie looked like one of those women that would most likely have snuck off to the girl's bathroom in school to have one, even if it wasn't a habit. She then smirked at Natalie. "Dude, you think you are bringing about something unique with being a skating wrestler, but all your proving is that you can't wrestle unless you give others a handicap. It's not much of a handicap though, you can add a little more speed, but what if someone catches you? What if they rip off your skates or slams you hard enough to pop off a wheel or two? I fear you will be reduced to nothing more than a jobber my friend. You say the title is calling your name, but you didn't catch under it's breath it said. "Oh no, keep this bitch away from me." She muttered quietly with a different voice to insinuate that the belt was speaking. It was at this point where would either take the cig back from Natalie or if she refused, take another drag as she pulled it from her lips and exhaled the smoke again. "You mention my love of dumpsters, sometimes it was my shelter away from all the bad shit. You mention you thrive in extreme circumstances, I was born in it. I wasn't the only homeless person homey, my entire life after being a runaway was about survival. I had to fight for what scraps of food I could find. I had to protect myself from the addicts, the loners, the abusers. The majority of my life has been nothing but a fight, to escape from drug fueled parents to finding shelter in a rough ass environment. So, while I didn't find a replica in the dumpster, I found where the real belt is, and just like how I've spent most of my life. I'm going to fight to make sure that title goes around my waist." She then took another drag from her cigarette, pulling it from her lips before shrugging and giving a smirk to Natalie as she giggled slightly, snapping out of her focus to being her friendly self. "Ugh, I don't like promos dude. Hahahaaaa! That's about all I can think of, how was that?"

[Pegasus]

Natalie relented on her chest puffing as Rylie took out a cigarette to smoke on as she was pretty nervous. Natalie could kinda relate to it dating back to the beginning of her wrestling career where her promos were utter garbage compared to what decent words she could spit nowadays. Natalie accepted Rylie’s cig inhaling some nicotine and spitting out smoke coughing twice. She listened to Rylie’s promo and had to laugh at Rylie’s voice for the title and handed back to cigarette to her new bestie. Natalie would listen to the rest of it and they would share a laugh at her promo and the skater had to be honest with her.

“To me, you did pretty well. It’s your own style and you’re all about the wrestling more than talking which I can respect. Thanks for the smoke stick, too! I sure like a natural cig once in awhile, but weed is more my speed. This one time, I got so high that I started seeing colors that weren’t suppose to be colors,” Natalie explained to Rylie.

Jonathan stepped forward and clapped his hands at what he heard seeing that the girls were passionate about wrestling and giving their best effort in their promos. His favorite had to be the banter between Sanae hyping Japan up while Chelsea went on her natural lectures about disliking everything her sister liked. Lyra had to blush and smile at Sanae displaying her passion for her idol career and giggled at her passing comment towards Chelsea. Jonathan then stroked his chin smirking as the best part came along.

“Not bad on the promos, girls. You all will get to being comfortable using your words as well as your moves in the future. However, let’s see how you all are with your moves. It’s sparring time! Here’s how it’s going to work. First, Chelsea, Rylie, and Natalie will fight in a Triple Threat Match. Yes, that means no rules, but don’t kill each other! I love hardcore wrestling myself, but not being liable for multiple medical bills. That’s for my family only. The rest of you will spar with Brianna and I’ll check over occasionally to see how you all progress,” Jonathan explained.

“Oh boy, I get the pirate and my new best friend. Hey Rylie, if I beat you, you’re buying liquor for your party later. I’m inviting myself, by the way. We just became best friends so it seemed natural to me,” Natalie stated as she skated off to the practice ring, but not before stealing Chelsea’s black bunny headband off her blonde head to antagonize her. “Oops, did I do that?” Natalie asked in her best Steve Urkel impression dangling the headband in front of Chelsea.

[CaptainL]

When Yuki heard Lyra's reply to her promo, she smiled a little wider. Even if they were just practicing, she couldn't deny that her words touched something in her. She had seen all of Yuki's hardships, and all the hard work she had pushed herself through in the pursuit of proving herself. To know that she was being recognized and understood gave her a sense of relief, knowing that she was doing everything for a reason - and if people could see that, she was doing something right. However, when Lyra saw the opportunity to bring up Apex, Yuki's eyelid twitched as she grew just a little bit tenser. When Lyra listed all of her own accomplishments, and how her own spirit fueled her, she bit at her lip. It was only a promo, she reminded herself; they weren't even facing each other in a real match. And yet, the mere thought that she wouldn't be able to measure up still stirred something in her.

At any rate, it was soon time to move on. The girls turned away from their partners, facing Jonathan as he introduced their next task. When Chelsea heard that she would get to face off against Rylie and Natalie in a triple threat, she chuckled, cracking her knuckles with a grin on her face. Spar or no spar, she was always one to take to causing chaos, and it seemed as though her partners could agree on that. This, she knew, was going to be fun.

"Eheheh...oo's ready ter get their sorry arses 'anded ter dem?~" she teased, looking to Natalie and Rylie at either side of her. But just then, she felt Natalie snatch her headband off her head - and just as soon as that happened, she spun back around to face the skater, her face contorted in a scowl of rage. "HEY!!" she roared, shaking her fist in the air as she took off after Natalie. "Ye give dat back, ye 'ear?! Er you're dead askin' fe a bruise, like!"

Yuki sighed, glancing away from her classmates' antics. But her attention would soon be diverted as Brianna called out to them, waving the others over to her side of the room. "Alright, over here!" she said. A grin came to her face, and she stood at attention, her feet apart and her hands on her hips as she looked over each of the contenders. "So, who's going to be first? Ooooor...do you want to try your hand at ganging up on me? Don't worry, I'm a champion, I can take it!" She flashed a grin, settling into the confidence and bravado of the Black Tornado.

[SimplyWoo]

Rylie giggled at Natalie's high comment. "I feel ya, sometimes I vape that stuff or will take an edible at night for better sleep." She mentioned as she then heard Jonathan's next training session, having a triangle match. She took one last drag from her cigarette and put it out on the ground."Sorry, I'll clean that up later." She stated and then heard Natalie's winning condition and smiled at being called her bestie. "And if I beat you, you're buying me some skates dude!" She called out and then cackled as she watched Natalie snatch Chelsea's headband and watched as Chelsea began to chase after her. In response, she rushed in the opposite direction towards the ring as she rolled into it before rising up and walking towards the closest turnbuckle to fold her arms on the top turnbuckle as she her racoon tail wagged as she smirked and looked at the coach's direction. "Hey Coach, do you want to start counting them out?" She teased as she turned her attention back to Natalie and Chelsea.

[Pegasus]

Natalie skated around and swerved out of Chelsea’s reach before heading for the ring as she built up speed jumping to get on the apron. The apron barely had room to stand so Natalie held onto the top rope to gather her balance and she head inside waving the headband out at Chelsea. She then turned around and heard Rylie’s comment as she snickered herself placing her hands on her hips.

“I think you’re getting your rules mixed up, Rylie. But I think since we both made a wager, Ms. Blonde Bunny Ears out there needs to contribute. If you win this match, you can have these ears back,” Natalie stated.

Natalie skated over to Jonathan depositing the ears off to him as a bargaining chip to have Chelsea compete. The coach sighed as this was pretty much the equivalent of a babysitting gig with Natalie and Chelsea being sibling rivals while Rylie is the patient child. In any case, he held the ropes open for Chelsea to get in and saw the hateful glare directed at Natalie, who skated to a corner chilling out and yawning out of boredom. Jonathan kept the blonde bunny brawler in one corner and confided a whisper to her.

“Kick her ass if you gotta. Just don’t place any responsibility on me if you both get carried out on stretchers after this,” Jonathan pleaded.

With all three competitors separated, Jonathan just clapped his hands to use as a makeshift ring bell indicating his students to begin sparring.

—————————————————————————————————————

Lyra stepped forward since she knew Brianna more and offered herself as a demonstration opponent for Yuki and Sanae to follow up on when it was their turn. Lyra placed her blonde hair into a ponytail so she could focus better and put her fists up beckoning for Brianna to start them off.

“It’s been awhile since our last encounter, Bri. When I made you tap out twice,” Lyra remarked with a little challenging smirk forming on her lips.

[CaptainL]

Even before the sparring session had officially begun, Chelsea had taken off in a wild chase around the room, tailing after Natalie as she spat every curse and insult she could possibly think of, many of which made no sense to anyone outside of the north of England. When the skater started weaving and swerving around, switching up her directions and keeping Chelsea guessing at every turn which way she'd go next, it only stoked the Englishwoman's fury more and more. She almost forgot she was supposed to be sparring - she didn't need any further encouragement, when all she could think of was how determined she was to catch up to Natalie and pound her head in!

When Natalie came to the ring, Chelsea skidded to a stop on the floor below, crossing her arms and pouting. When she heard the wager she challenged her to, her eyes narrowed as she hissed under her breath, bristling with the desire to put her foe in her place. It was like she didn't even consider her worth taking seriously if she would do something so childish - and for Chelsea, that crossed a line! "Oh, fe de love o'..." she began, but she realized that complaining was going to get her nowhere. Stepping up to the ring apron, she leaned over the ropes, pointing a finger toward Natalie. "Or'rite, fine, I'll play by yer silly game. But fair is fair, and if we do dat, like, I'm gon'ter 'uv ter put forth me own wager! If I beat ye...yer 'uv ter gizza doz scewts o' yos!" She pointed to Natalie's skates. "Maybe dun, you'll actually stay still long e-blewdy-nuff ter get anythin' done!"

With that, Chelsea stepped over the ropes, cracking her knuckles with a stern glare on her face as she settled into a stance. She nodded to Jonathan's warnings, but it wouldn't slow her down one bit. As soon as the trainer clapped his hands, Chelsea took off, running toward Natalie in a sprint and drawing back her fist to throw it across her jaw!

---

Meanwhile, Yuki and Sanae sat down on the mats, seeing that Lyra stepped up to meet Brianna's challenge first. The brunette looked her up and down, taking a stance with her hands on her hips and nodding her head in approval. When she brought up their last meeting, Brianna blushed a little, but glanced aside. "Awww, c'mon...that time I was going easy on you!"

Nevertheless, she rolled out her shoulders, settling into a stance. "Okay! Let's go!" Much as her husband had done, she clapped her hands to signal the start of the match. Then she came closing in on Lyra, her hands outstretched to offer a lockup. Of course, if the fortune teller took it, Brianna would be quick to seize the advantage by kicking up her leg to throw a few kicks against her side!

[Pegasus]

Natalie held onto the ropes as sparring started and Chelsea came straight at her so the skater decided to meet the Englishwoman halfway. As Chelsea prepared her punch, Natalie ducked under it and skated under Chelsea’s legs before popping back up behind her. Natalie braked her skates and jumped up hitting a Dropkick to the back of her aggressor hoping it launched Chelsea straight into the corner. Natalie would then turn to Rylie as she had to remember she had two opponents in this match.

“Come on, Rylie! Let’s see how extreme you can get!” Natalie beckoned as she cracked her knuckles.

———

Lyra went for the lockup clasping hands with Brianna and tried pushing down on her, but Brianna sent a few kicks to her gut and sides as Lyra had to back up coughing. Brianna definitely gotten a lot better since they had their last encounter. Even though Brianna was a champion, she underestimated herself against Lyra and paid the price by getting trapped in the Orion Lock before succumbing to the pain in her legs. It seems this fated encounter might be harder and Lyra was ready for it. Lyra recovered and regrouped closing her eyes asking the universe for a vision. She saw Brianna trying for a Superkick next so she would wait on the champion to make her move before countering it.