Yukino Fuyumi vs Gabriel Vinlee - (Apex Qualifier Match)

[CaptainL]

Yukino was now holding onto the Ice Splitter with all the tenacity of a castaway clutching to the edge of a board, just to stay afloat. Her face was red, and her skin was traced with sweat; the veins bulged in her neck and forehead under the sheer pressure she was under, and her teeth gnashed like a wild beast's. She couldn't stop now. She couldn't let Gabriel get away from this - if she did, it would be a stain on her career, her accomplishments, and everything she had set out to achieve through qualifying for Apex. The Ice Splitter was her trademark finishing move. If she was going to prove she could be a capable wrestler, she wanted to prove the Ice Splitter was a worthy finisher, too. And if she failed to keep her opponent under enough strain to end the match...what chances did she have? What future could she possibly have to look forward to, knowing her best efforts weren't enough?

All those thoughts were running through Yukino's mind, making her heart pound and her breaths quicken. She could feel the joints in her fingers stretched to their breaking point, her knuckles blanching against the force. The more she had forced herself to hold the position despite Gabriel's resistance, the more strain she had put on her own body. Now, her limbs were wavering, and her tendons began to grow slack. She was flexible, but Gabriel was just too stubborn to keep down. And now, her flexibility was reaching its limits.

At last, Yukino could hold on no longer. Her grip released, all her muscles going slack at once, as she let go of Gabriel's arms. As her mouth fell open in a gasp of shock, her balance gave out, and she flopped onto her back, her limbs splayed around her. All she could do was pant for breath as she stared up at the lights. She couldn't find the strength she needed to get back up; she'd spent all of that. And now that she had managed to power through her finisher...Gabriel had never seemed so tough.

[Hagen-Autem]

Gabriel had injected so much of herself into every tiny fiber of her being to tackle this hold that she made the submission made by an idol look competent. The blonde's face was flushed bright red as she gave it her all, degree by degree her limbs returned contradicting the other woman and her efforts, her skin glistened with sweat but she could do it - her back straightened more and more on the verge of bursting the Ice Splitter in a concerted effort to free herself from the straps that were Yukino's arms. You could almost hear the idol's fingers give way before the strength of that indomitable beast.

It might be the first time the Ice Splitter was in a real predicament and it looked like it was not going to be able to handle the Herculean task. The Royal Viper was a monster in disguise and perhaps Yukino didn't know it until now. Could almost hear the winter idol's fingers grind. And when her presses finally burst and Gabriel was thrown to the canvas free at last, it all seemed to be over for the winter idol.

Although Gabriel was no better, the pain in her hip and shoulder had her almost kissing the canvas, just short of going out broken. But it was nothing she couldn't handle so she could sit on the canvas and regain some of her dignity. And Yukino looked no better- slumped on the canvas, face up, and perhaps breathing too deeply after trying and failing, already awaiting its ending to retire and take a well-deserved rest maybe. But that Idol had no idea how things were going to proceed from here when The Queen rose to her feet, bristling the audience with her uncompromising gesture before overshadowing the girl's beautiful view of the roof lights with her frightening shadow. This was far from over.

"What do you think you're doing?" She scolded scathingly before her knee rose to meet her own chest height in a perfect flex and pointing her sole like a loaded crossbow. She's not going to accept letting her go so easily after she gave her so much, since she sent her boot towards the little ice princess's vulnerable abdomen for a heavy stomp and motivate her to move from there to give her something more than hers submission. "We're not finished yet, daaarling."

That was unacceptable to her, she's just going to start working on it again, she's not going to take it that easy.

[CaptainL]

This seemed unthinkable. Yukino was still starting out in the world of wrestling, yes, and she had yet to build up all the experience that some of her coworkers could boast of. But she at least had confidence in the Ice Splitter. She had a respectable grip on the momentum leading into this moment, and she was sure that by this point, she had come too far to fail. No one had managed to break the Ice Splitter before - it seemed like a sure-fire success! But there was a first time for everything - and it seemed that Gabriel would be the first to escape Yukino's finisher.

Her endurance had to have been incredible for her to last it out so long, but no matter how much pressure Yukino put on her foe, Gabriel still wouldn't stop - she was still fighting back! Little by little, Yukino's grasp began to slip and grow slack, until finally she had no choice but to let go. She flopped back onto the mat - and when she looked back up, her eyes were wide in shock. The color drained away from her face, and a cold, clammy sensation washed over her. For the first time since her match with Kira, Yukino was terrified. It didn't matter that Gabriel had fallen flat on her face herself. The fact that she had been able to withstand the Ice Splitter meant she was a terrifying force indeed - and now, as she rose to her full height and lifted her knee in the air, every muscle in Yukino's body went tense. She knew what was coming, but she didn't know if she would be ready. She wanted to shudder - she wanted to scream. But she couldn't. She knew the world was watching her, and counting on her. She needed to prove she was better than that, and that she wouldn't let herself be intimidated. But right now, when she needed the most to be strong...she couldn't do it.

Yukino could feel Gabriel's imperious gaze falling on her from above. She clenched her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to turn aside so as not to face her fate head-on. But nothing could prepare her for what was in store. Gabriel's foot swung down, pounding Yukino right in the stomach! At once, a shockwave shot through the white-haired girl. Her hips bucked and her body spasmed, and she sputtered and groaned as the air was knocked out of her lungs. When she slowly turned to look back up at her foe, a chill ran down her spine the moment she locked eyes with Gabriel. A moment ago, Yukino felt like she was making progress. Now...she wasn't so sure.

What she did know was that she couldn't stop now. Everyone was watching her - Gabriel included - and she couldn't let any of them down! Gritting her teeth and shaking her head, Yukino reached out behind her to try and grab for the mat to pull herself backward. Just moving hurt - it sent the rippling ache up from her stomach and out through the rest of the body, causing her to grit her teeth and whine under her breath. But she couldn't stop now. That would mean letting down everything she believed in. Yukino wasn't sure how she would win, at this point. Or even if she could. But she at least had to try.

[Hagen-Autem]

Gabriel had suffered a roller coaster of impressions here, more bad than good, but, watching Yukino jerk spasmodically from that stomp was a delight. Her face went from disgust to courtly pleasure in a moment with a devilish grin - with that the idol made up for all the disappointments she gave the queen.


Gabriel would take Yukino's legs and put them on either side of her chest, buckling them tightly with her arms. Her right shoulder still ached, but that was but a minor discomfort, she knows she can give more, much more, as she always does when she is at her best.

The public may hate her or love her for this, but she only cares about how her rival's face would transform next:

"That attitude suits you much better, huh... Don't go losing it again..." She would tell her with total condescension while would back away to the center of the ring dragging the body of idol there to after arching back and starting to give herself swing in big circles to unleash a classic: the Giant Swing! "You're going to want to keep it until the end!"

Spoiler

The queen knew that sooner or later someone like that girl was going to give in and surrender because she already got what she wanted- to show off to the public; so she would have to go torment her more and in such a way that giving a submission would not be possible for her atrophied body.

[CaptainL]

Yukino had fallen paralyzed in the middle of the ring. The physical strain she had endured was only part of it - she'd taken a beating through the course of this match, and the aches and pains were definitely catching up to her. But even that could hardly compare to the shock she'd faced at seeing her opponent break out of the Ice Splitter. Yukino had put everything she could into that hold, desperate to end the match with it - and yet, Gabriel had still managed to shrug it off! Now, Yukino had no idea what else she had at her disposal that could possibly work. Her options seemed exhausted, and she was at a loss for what to do next. She could barely even think straight when she was still adjusting to the reality that her trademark finisher hadn't been enough. As fear and panic set in, she began to pant in terror, staring back at her foe with a wide-eyed glassy stare. All of this meant she was open - and Gabriel wouldn't waste a moment in seizing on those few seconds of vulnerability.

"N-No-!!" Yukino let out a gasp as she felt herself being hauled across the mat, dragging her closer to the center of the ring. She clenched her teeth, writhing back and forth to try and shake off Gabriel's grip on her, or to power out of the hold, but it was no use. Her movements were too labored and sluggish from her dwindling stamina. And soon, Yukino's protests would be drowned out by a shrill scream - as Gabriel whipped her around and around in a fearsome Giant Swing, whirling her like a tornado!

Everything around Yukino was speeding by a mile a minute, and she couldn't focus on any one point in front of her. The world had fallen into a blur, and she could barely tell which way was up. She was starting to feel her stomach turn from the nonstop motion - but worst of all, Gabriel showed no signs of stopping! Yukino sucked in a breath and bit her lip, her body going tense as she fought to hold herself firm. Whatever temptation existed for her to submit now, she couldn't give in. Gabriel would surely be getting just as dizzy from this as she was; if she could hold out long enough, then she too could fall into a daze. Yukino could only hope she'd make it that far...

[Hagen-Autem]

With every turn Gabriel's head felt more disoriented - she was already on lap 10 - Mochi was staggering, her head felt heavy and her eyes were spinning asynchronously from the rest of her body, but the brake was nowhere to be found! It still wasn't enough for her.

The swirling that the blonde's head was doing was nothing compared to the big orbits that Yukino's arms and head were tracing in each spin, both were going to come out badly from this experiment, but that repercussion is acceptable to the queen if she can rolled those pretty-eyes back in return.

If Gabriel's senses were getting misaligned to the point of making her bite her lips and close her eyes to hold on until she felt sadisfected, then the blood in Yukino's whole body must be pooling in her head like a water balloon. Who knows which of the two will give in first. Whether Royal Viber's constitution or Winter Idol's?

[CaptainL]

Around and around, Yukino felt herself being whipped in a circle. By now, the world around her had long since melded together into an indistinct blur; when she was in constant motion she couldn't pick out any finer details. Her eyes had rolled back in her head, and her jaw fell slack as her body tumbled along, dangling from Gabriel's clutches. She had felt sick, she had felt sore from the weight settling into her tired muscles, but those feelings had long since passed her by. She couldn't even think straight enough any more to think of how she would get out of this situation - groggy and dazed, all she could do was wait to see where she'd end up once the blonde was through with her.

Yukino began to dangle lower, her body rolling across the ring, hopping and jostling wherever it met a bump. Her chest rose and fell with haggard pants. At this point, she wasn't lucid enough to even entertain the thought of giving up. But even if she could, she wouldn't - the thought of bringing herself to submit to a move like this, one that wasn't even a hold, was beneath her. She knew she was better than that! But if that was the case...what was stopping her from breaking free? Deep down, Yukino still wanted to win. But could she?

[Hagen-Autem]

Everyone wanted to win...

Her eyes were closed and tight, her hair was a wake fluttering in the air at every turn while everything inside her wanted to come out through her throat to regulate the pressure, but no; she was going to hold on, she bit her lips fiercely to block closing the doors to what comes after a dizzy spell. She truth had tremendous mental fortitude to endure so many turns without giving in to the bewilderment of her senses. And it was already too much, but not enough; her prey could be left even more fragile.

The little ice princess must have had the landscape melted into a blur and without substance while she stained like a pendulum, Gabriel would have given anything to witness how her eyes began to turn inside her head, but sacrifices must be made to obtain the most exquisite. And what Gabriel wanted was very conventional.

So, when Yukino's legs began to stretch flaccidly under hers grip, the queen finally had enough. She let go and sent her flying to wherever she arrive!

But she herself would be no better off, the blonde would be thrown off in the opposite direction, her vision focused on nothing but the blur that the world became for her as well, and had it not been for her arm meeting one of the ropes, she would have fallen flat on her face. And that evoked in that her whole body collapsed against them, sagging as all their weight pulls her down, but holding there, with a hand in her mouth, disgusted, and very tousled and disheveled.

"Guogh... guoogh... BuUgh-guurrrp!" But thankfully his stomach was empty, with nothing more to offer than a few burps and retches. "*Swallows saliva and the sour taste of the bile.*"

[CaptainL]

Yukino's strength was fading fast - not just from how dizzied she was becoming from being spun around and around with no signs of stopping, but the fatigue of the match she had just put herself through was starting to sink into her bones, and her body grew heavy as she sank lower against the mat. Or at least she would, if Gabriel had given her a moment to slow down - but even that would be denied. She was staying in constant motion, and she barely had the chance to focus on what was happening to her. Little by little, her muscles began to grow slack in Gabriel's grasp. Gabriel knew she couldn't keep the giant swing going forever - she'd need to let go sooner or later. Now, she decided, would be the time - as she released Yukino's legs, flinging the white-haired girl straight across the ring!

Yukino went soaring through the air, catapulted even harder by the momentum of Gabriel's spin. She would have screamed from how quickly and violently she was moving, but she had been left so dizzied she couldn't even think straight enough to do that! Moments later, Yukino's back struck the ropes, over in her team's corner. She recoiled against the landing, stretching the ropes behind her, before she was dumped unceremoniously onto her face, laying in a heap with her knees folded beneath her and her hips in the air. All she could do was groan under her breath, her shoulders rising and falling as she gasped for air. Gabriel had fared little better, being thrown back in the other direction - but Yukino's world was still spinning, and she was left dazed and breathless. She was in no position to take advantage of such an opportunity.

[SRG]

Nashi was watching it all go down. She cheered and feared for her partner throughout the match. Nashi was on the edge of her seat when Yukino had Gabriel in the ice splitter, she thought this was the end…. But Gabriel managed to break out…. Then everything changed as Yukino was getting beaten down and was on her last legs”don’t give up Yukino! You had on the ropes now finish her!” Nashi yelled to her partner wanting to cheer her on!