Yuki Kazikura vs. Rose Gold II - Unsanctioned Match

[CaptainL]

Everything hurt. Bent into a painful arc, with her spinal cord compressed against Rose's knees and against the sharp angle of her own vertebrae, Yuki's body felt like it was on fire. Her face had gone red, and her eyes welled up with tears of pain. She whined with every inch she struggled back and forth; it only served to put even more tension on her back when she was being held so tightly she couldn't bring herself to budge. Only a second later, she sank a little lower in Rose's grip, and that shift in position was all she needed to set off an explosion of pain through her lower body, throwing back her head as she bellowed in agony. She didn't know how much more of this she could take. For a brief moment, Yuki glanced over at her hand. Even if her arms were being twisted into a knot in Rose's grip, she could still move her wrist. She could still tap out. If she tapped out now, she thought, it could all be over. Yuki didn't want to give in like this...but when her body was threatening to break down on her, she didn't know how much more she could take.

That was, until she heard Rose's voice call out to her. At that, Yuki stopped. Even if her back felt like it was about to snap, and even if her body felt like it would tear apart under its own weight, suddenly her mind was filled by a sense of calm, cool tranquility. The pain and pressure she was under suddenly didn't matter. Ironically enough, when Rose taunted her - that very moment that she wanted to break Yuki down, and force her to crumble under the weight of her own fear - it had the exact opposite effect! Rose's words filled Yuki with just one emotion - a single-minded determination to prove her wrong. She was done running away. She was done being afraid. She had to show Rose - and the whole world - how much stronger she had grown. Even if her back felt like it was about to break, and even if her crumpled, half-naked form was being displayed to the cameras front and center, if Yuki gave up now, that would mean she had given her greatest rival exactly what she wanted. Whether she won or lost, whether she bent or broke, right now, that didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was that she stayed defiant to the end!

She didn't say a word. She bit at her tongue, grunting and hissing under her breath, but she began to rock her body back and forth. Just a little at a time, building up her momentum. As she leaned forward and back, and as she stretched her spine further, Yuki shuddered, and her breasts jiggled up and down, which should well have embarrassed her - but it didn't. It couldn't! She was taking steps toward the moment that would prove Rose wrong!

Seated atop her perch, Rose was growing increasingly impatient. She knew what happened with the Thorn Lock. Once someone was in this hold, they broke. Yuki Kazikura, a frail girl who couldn't withstand the pressure of a submission, should've broken even faster - especially with the damage her back had already endured! Why, then, was it taking her so long? First her teeth clenched in a grimace, then her brow furrowed in frustration. There was no way, surely, that Yuki was actually going to escape this!

Now the joshi wrestler's movements had grown faster and harder - she was pushing herself up further onto her knees, holding herself higher off the ground. Rose, at last, spat in Yuki's direction in sheer disdain, as she looked down at her through a wince. "Yuki, what are you doing!?" she spat. "You can't seriously believe you have a ch-"

But that was the moment of truth. Yuki had managed to roll herself forward enough to get her feet against the ground. And with the soles of her boots pressed into the canvas, she shoved all her weight forward - throwing Rose over her back as she hurled herself onto her face! Rose was swung downward with the momentum like the fall of a hammer, crying out in shock - just moments before she was slammed down onto her head, causing her body to go numb as she stiffly toppled over to the side! It was right at that moment that the crowd - many of whom were booing Rose for her cruelty a moment before - suddenly burst into cheers! Yuki had broken the Thorn Lock! She was far from unscathed - even after it had happened, she lay there on her face, wheezing and groaning as she rubbed at her sore back. But she still looked out at the crowd with a smile as they cheered her on. And, slowly but surely, she found the strenght left inside of her to prop her elbow against the mat, then to push herself off the ground. She was still in this!

[CaptainL]

At last, the frantic back-and-forth action of this match had hit a lull. For the first time in some time, both women were at a stalemate - and on even footing. Yet, they never broke a focused, icy gaze on one another. Yuki rolled up onto her hands and knees, still gasping and groaning. Her body glistened with sweat underneath the lights, and her shoulders rose and fell with every labored breath she took.

But across the ring from her, Rose also had been thrown flat on her face, and the impact had left her head spinning. Slowly, though, she also planted her hands against the mat, slowly lifting herself up from the canvas. She kept her body low to the ground, parallel to the mat, but as she looked up at Yuki she tossed back her head to brush the hair out of her eyes. There, her eyes met the Japanese girl's with a piercing glare. Her brow furrowed and her teeth clenched into a snarl; one of her hands balled into a fist and slammed against the mat. No. Impossible! There was no way Yuki could have broken the Thorn Lock like that - especially not after the Queenmaker! She wasn't that strong, or that tough. She was just...a scared little schoolgirl in over her head, who didn't know what she was doing! The cockiness Rose had shown just a moment ago was gone, now - she spat at Yuki with sheer, indignant rage! "Rrgh...you-!!"

"What's there to ask, Rose?" Yuki shot back. Slowly, as the aches in her body died down, she rose back to her feet. For a moment, she brought her arm up to cover her breasts, but a second later, she stopped and let it fall. No - as embarrassing as it was, she couldn't let that stop her. That was admitting Rose was getting in her head - it was taking a step back in their mental duel; it was holding back. To hold back would be to let Rose win. Yuki wasn't afraid of her - she had to prove that! "I escaped. Fair and square. That's more than you could ever say, isn't it?"

Rose had begun to get up, too, now on one knee. But when she heard that, her eyes went wide, and she let out a stifled gasp. The whole arena let out an "Ooooh." Yes - Yuki had really went there. For all she had been backed into a corner, for all she had shied away from the threat that was Rose Gold - now, she was finally finding it in her to stand in defiance! "All those wins you boast of? That you're so proud of? You won them all by cheating your way to victory, and using every dirty trick you could! You have talent! I know it! I've seen it! But you don't think that'll be enough! You're the one who's afraid!"

To Rose, every word out of Yuki's mouth felt like nails on a chalkboard! She roared in pain, grabbing at her own hair and yanking it between her knuckles, just to distract herself with the pain. She couldn't stand to be lectured from Yuki Kazikura, of all people! But what made it sting the worst...was how it was true. Yuki was digging into her insecurities, and laying her vulnerabilities bare before the world. Now, the tables had turned!

"THAT ISN'T TRUE!!" Rose spat back. Her makeup was running down her face in black trails thanks to the sweat pouring from her brow...or was it tears? No, it was definitely sweat, she knew that - everyone knew that she didn't cry!! Her eyelid twitched, and her amber eyes pierced straight through Yuki as her teeth ground together in a frightful grimace. She was skilled on her own merits! She could win! And she would show that to Yuki right now...as she came charging straight toward her rival, reaching out to grab her!

But that was exactly what Yuki wanted! She had goaded Rose into coming into range - and now, she was ready for her. She kept a cool head, not afraid even as the Sinister Siren was bearing her down - because she had a trick up her sleeve! Right as Rose came close, Yuki grabbed for her shoulders - pushing them down just enough to make her double over, before she rammed her knee straight up into the blonde's gut!

With the sound of a smack, Rose was thrown backward, sputtering and gasping from the impact. And Yuki wasn't done - just a moment later, she kicked her knee back up again, even higher, to slam it against the underside of Rose's jaw, causing her head to snap back with a crack as a trail of spittle was whipped from her mouth!

[CaptainL]

Yuki was done with being pushed around. She wouldn't take it from Rose any more. Not in this match - and not ever! She had been beaten, bruised, stretched, and shamed; crushed beneath the Sinister Siren's heel. But through it all, there was one thing that Yuki held in her heart. Under any circumstances, she was not to surrender to Rose Gold. She knew that was exactly what her rival wanted out of her. And no matter how much it hurt...she wasn't going to give her that satisfaction!

Now it was time for Yuki to come back swinging. And with every move she made in pursuit of a comeback, the fans would cheer louder and louder! Her knee kicked out, slamming into Rose's jaw and causing her head to go back with a crack. Even in the face of destruction, Yuki wasn't going to let herself be cowed. She was going to bounce back, burning brighter than ever! This wasn't the Yuki of their last match, who had let Rose get in her head and shrunk back from her in terror. No, this was a new, better, stronger Yuki Kazikura. And it was time for the world to see that!

As her leg came back down, Yuki fell into a stance, crouched low with her arms out at the sides. With Rose going staggering backward off the force of her strike, she saw her opening, and she was ready to seize on it. There was more where that had come from! Dashing forward, Yuki planted one foot on the ground in front of her; then, the other leg swung up in an arc - her boot pointed outward to aim a superkick straight into Rose's jaw!

Rose looked up just in time to see that foot streaking through the air toward her. Her teeth clenched in a grimace. Yuki had no right to be faring this well against her. But she wasn't about to let her get away with this insolence any longer! Her reflexes kicked in then and here - her arms shot up to grab the Japanese girl by the ankle, just moments before the foot attached to it came crashing into her jaw! And there, with a sharp jerk at Yuki's leg, Rose pulled her off her feet, sending her crashing down onto her back!

"Gaah-!!" Yuki landed with a thump against the ground, her foot still in Rose's grasp. A moment later, the blonde pushed forward on that joint with all her might, torquing at Yuki's ankle in a tight ankle lock! Feeling the pain shoot through her leg, Yuki screamed - her hips and back bucked up from the mat as her face contorted in a grimace. Hissing through clenched teeth to draw on as much force as possible, Rose twisted the joint even tighter, wrenching Yuki's ankle into an angle it was never meant to go! But Yuki wouldn't give in now - not here. Her fingers dug into the mat at her sides, trying to hold herself steady. Her teeth grit. No matter how much it hurt...Yuki couldn't give in.

Her other leg kicked up then - swinging her knee out at an angle to throw it around Rose's elbow. Then, holding on tight, Yuki grasped her foe's arm as hard as she could between her shin and thigh. She pushed off against the mat, trying to roll herself onto her side - and with it, the balance tipped, until Rose was dragged off her footing as well! She was thrown over to the side with a gasp, her legs kicking up in the air as she landed, while Yuki tumbled over a step further and came to a stop on her stomach. She winced from the pain in her legs still, but she planted her palms against the mat, starting to lift herself up.

"You see that, Rose?" she snapped. "You're good! You have talent! I believe you when I say you could've qualified for the Olympics! But you've squandered it all! You could've been a champion by your own merits! But instead...all you've done is cheat your way to victory. Breaking legs and hitting low blows. And I know it's all because you're too scared of failing to play by the rules! No matter how much you boast...I can see right through it!"

[CaptainL]

Every move that Yuki and Rose traded was in perfect harmony. The two lightweights were competing at the top of their game - at the top of their division - and both of them stood to lose everything if they fell flat here. With pinpoint timing, Rose had managed to grab Yuki by the ankle, taking advantage of the compromise in her balance to sweep her off her feet and drop her onto her back with a ankle lock. But just the same, Yuki had been able to secure her legs around Rose's arm - and with her grip in place, she threw the Sinister Siren over and to the side. The two of them tumbled across the mats, but when they stopped and began to rise, neither of them took their attention off one another - both locked eye to eye, never blinking, their teeth clenched and their bodies rigid.

Rose was the first to haul herself back to her feet - she wasn't going to let herself come in second to Yuki Kazikura! Especially not when the brat had the gall to lecture at her! "That's a lie, and you know it!" she roared, spitting at the ground. "No one would ever accept me! You wouldn't get it!" Yuki had risen to her feet as well, but Rose stormed over to her, grabbing her by the wrists with a tight grasp and shoving her forehead up against hers as they entered a test of strength. "You've always had everything handed to you! You're the perfect golden child! These idiots don't appreciate hard work, unless you force them to. That's how they all work! They just want to cheer for their poster girls, like you. You think it was your hard work that got you here, Yuki-chan? Was it? Or were you just a pretty face on the posters!?" She rammed her forehead harder against Yuki's, causing the dark-haired girl to hiss as she started to shrink back. But she couldn't let Rose stop her now. She dug her fingers deeper into her wrists, pushing her body back into hers with her shoulders, her chest, and her forehead. Practically every part of them was touching now - enough for them to feel the warmth of each others' bodies.

"Really? Really?" Yuki cut back, incredulous. "You don't understand me, Rose. You don't know what I've been through. Did you think I just stepped out onto the indie scene, like this, and they just took me? No one in school ever wanted to talk to me. They'd call me quiet, and flat, and a freak. They'd corner me in the hallway and flip my skirt in front of everyone just to watch me cry, Rose. You're not the underdog you think you are! You're just one of them. You never knew what it meant to be appreciated by your own merits, so all you're doing is striking out!"

"Shut up! SHUT UP-!!" Her teeth gnashing and her eyebrow twitching, Rose hurled her head against Yuki's now. A loud crack echoed as their skulls slammed into one another, and Yuki's was thrown backward - but still, the dark-haired girl remained standing, digging her heels in the mat. Her balance had been shaken, but she would still stay firm. "You never knew what it was like to be chosen for your country's national team, just to be called too foreign to get in!"

"Maybe not," Yuki said, "But I had to prove I deserved a place here! That I wasn't just some shy, quiet girl who was going to back down and cry! I didn't get noticed by the wrestling world without showing I was capable of going toe to toe with the best of them. With champions, Rose! Better champions than you'll ever be! I'm here because I was outcompeting everyone's expectations!"

At that, the veins in Rose's temples throbbed. Her breaths quickened into manic pants as a fire flashed in her eyes. No, no, no. She couldn't be hearing this any more. This couldn't stand! Deep down, Rose knew that whatever it was Yuki was saying...she couldn't deny it. Every excuse fell flat. She couldn't even spare the time to stand and argue any more - she just needed Yuki silenced! "SHUT! UP!!"

"Rose - Kelsey! I'm just telling you, you don't have to think this way-!"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT-!!!" Rose had had enough. One of her hands left Yuki's wrist to instead grab at the back of her hair, yanking down on it to pull her head skyward, while her other hand pulled forward on her wrist to drag her closer. There, she bit down on Yuki's forehead as hard as she could! The joshi wrestler let out a wail as a trickle of blood ran down her face. Pain seared through her whole body. She brought her hands up to Rose's shoulders, trying to shove her away, as she threw a few knees up at the blonde's ribs. It was a struggle for survival now - Yuki just had to get away!

[CaptainL]

With Rose's teeth sinking deep into her scalp, a pained roar was ripped from the depths of Yuki's lungs. She could feel the warmth of blood - her own blood - rushing down her face. If it had ever been in doubt, it was clear to her now - she wasn't going to reason with Rose. Rose didn't want to be convinced. She didn't even want to approach this as a fair competition. She just wanted to hurt Yuki. Yuki wasn't even trying to counter her moves with her own any more, or stay ahead of the game. Now, she was only fighting for survival!

Frantic, she threw punches and kicks against Rose's ribs and her sides, trying to get her off of her - anything to get her off of her! The blonde was latched onto her by her teeth, and they were digging in right where the scar had been left on her forehead from the blade of Skylar Jones's knife, awakening all the cold, stinging pain she had felt on that night. In fact, Rose wasn't letting go - she was clinging to Yuki's forehead like she was a dying animal, using all she could to root herself in place! She couldn't let herself stray far from Yuki - and if she could cause the girl pain in the process, that was so much more the better!

Yuki wouldn't let anything like that slow her down, though - she kept pounding away at Rose's ribs, leaving dark splotches across her skin. Eventually, the Sinister Siren began to drift backward - but she still wouldn't let Yuki out of her clutches. As she backed away, her hands shot up for Yuki's hair, wrapping her fingers deeply around the roots and yanking her head over to the side!

As she went whipped over, Yuki let out a wail of pain. But it just made Rose slather with rage. That sleek, silky, raven-black hair of hers; the portrait of traditional Japanese beauty. She hated it. It was exactly what she didn't have, and exactly why she couldn't be the beloved icon Yuki was. Just feeling it between her fingers made her want to rip it out by the roots and ruin her. How much would the crowd like her, she thought, when she was bruised, swollen, crying at her feet?

But in that moment, driven by rage and the blind drive of survival, Yuki too reached out and gripped Rose by the hair just as hard! It didn't matter that she was sinking to the same tactics now - she couldn't let Rose outdo her. She couldn't concede to her! Letting out a roar of rage, Yuki pulled back harder on Rose's hair - their bodies pressed together, forehead against forehead, twisting their bodies from one side to another until they were bent over at the waist, one way and then the other. If any of them stopped now, it would be a concession of defeat. No matter how much their scalps burned, or how raw their throats grew as they screamed in pain, they couldn't even blink if it meant breaking their focus!

At last, though, Yuki broke their mutual deadlock. She swung a knee upward into Rose's gut, causing the blonde to gasp and sputter as she doubled over forward. From there, Yuki was able to step in front of her, squeezing her head in between her thighs. She bent over lower, reaching for her legs and flipping Rose up onto her shoulders. She teetered and her back bent against the weight - but then, he hurled herself straight downward to nail Rose into the mat with a powerbomb!

[CaptainL]

Even when this match had grown more desperate, with both rivals fighting tooth and nail to try and keep each other down, Yuki hadn't forgotten her true talent as a wrestler. Even with all the aches and pains she felt through her body, her head throbbing and her scalp burning from where Rose had tugged at her hair, her body marked with scratches and scrapes and bruises...she couldn't lose sight of what really mattered. She had come this far, and put herself through so much, all for one goal - to prove once and for all to Rose Gold that she was a wrestler just as skilled and accomplished as she was, and just as deserving of being in the main event scene. And in one fell swoop, Yuki had proved that, when she scooped Rose up onto her shoulders and slammed her hard into the canvas!

Rose came down flat on her back - the impact drove the air out of her lungs, causing her arms and legs to kick up into the air from the aftershocks. She cried out in pain before her voice was drowned out by breathless groans and gurgles. As the slack set into her limbs, she collapsed against the mat in a heap - her head turned slightly to the side as her glazed-over eyes stared into the distance; her legs just slightly splayed apart. Yuki stood over her; against the weight of her own body she had hunched over into a three-point stance, her back bent in an arc as she propped one hand against the mat to steady herself. Her shoulders went up and down and her ribs rose and fell as she drew slow, heavy breaths to try and get the air back into her lungs. She winced as she worked her weary muscles - but, she reminded herself, she couldn't hold back now. She had brought Rose down. That had been a solid blow against her greatest rival - she needed to keep up that momentum!

Shoving herself back up to her feet, Yuki powered through the aches and pains. She shook a few strands of hair out of her face and looked back up at the cheering crowd, where a determined look crossed her face. Cheers were coming down from the stands as the whole arena applauded her, and she balled her fist as the adrenaline surged through her veins. When she looked over at Rose, laying splayed out and motionless on the canvas, she took a brief pause. It almost felt surreal. Was this the same woman who had ruled her every thought for years? Who had made her doubt herself, and fear the looming threat of irrelevance? Was beating her really so simple all this time? Or...had Yuki broken through the despair, and used it to push herself forward, onward and upward, to new heights?

Whatever it was, she wasn't going to waste any time stopping and thinking about it. She had to strike while the iron was hot! She took off in a dash, throwing herself against the ropes across from her - and bouncing back off their momentum like a slingshot, coming crashing down on top of Rose with her elbow pointed to stab into her belly! Rose's head jerked up off the mat as she gasped and wheezed against the pain, only to fall back down a moment later. And by then, Yuki was still on the move. Emboldened by her comeback, she rolled forward and sprung to her feet - then jumped forward, onto the middle rope, and sprung back to land another elbow drop on the Sinister Siren, this one from on high! There was no conscious thought any more. She was running on pure instinct. But every move came to her so freely and so naturally, she didn't question a thing. She knew exactly what she needed to do - she needed to bring the fight right to Rose!