Post by bigfan on Feb 5, 2018 21:16:48 GMT
A buzz of anticipation lilted over the FAWN Arena, as fans continued to find their way to their seats. Last month’s Seasons Beatings pay per view provided triumph and excitement, but also heartbreak and tragedy, outrage and an ominous message for those still around after the show went off the air. What would their favorite (and hated) superstars do to top last month’s effort?
Right on cue, an electric scream rolled out into the FAWN arena, descending into a mess of itchy electric guitars and flashing white and purple lights. As the music steadied the lights settled onto a curvy female silhouette at the top of the stage, giving a few quick hops to shake out her limbs, and then turning so her back was to the ring.
OVER AND OVER
youtu.be/FzobxYbKhyE
“Introducing first, from Hackney, England...She stands five foot seven inches tall, and weighs in tonight at one hundred thirty-seven pounds...She is the Unstoppable Girl, and the Irresistible Force...This is...VALERIA GEORGE!”
As the guitars roared back in, the figure spun on her heel and shot out onto the stage like a bullet. Fans had a split second to catch a glimpse of chocolate skin and a black afro and then she was amongst them, throwing herself over the barriers and into the crowd with an enthusiasm which was almost enough to have a few fans draw away from her. Valeria George slapped every single outstretched hand she could find before letting security help her back over the guardrail and to the ringside area.
Ria wears a denim jacket to the ring, with the word “UNSTOPPABLE” emblazoned across the back in large white letters with black and gold trim. Underneath, she wore a dusky purple tankini with two thick diagonal straps connecting the top to her bottoms that very effectively showed off her curvy figure, washboard abs and toned legs. Her hair was in a wide afro, with simple black pads and boots completing her ring gear.
VALERIA GEORGE:
The Unstoppable Girl slapped as many hands as she could around ringside, before sliding into the ring, underneath the bottom rope and popping to her feet in one smooth motion. As her music reached a crescendo she scrambled to the second turnbuckle of the nearest corner and raised her hands, first flashing three fingers and then looping both hands together to form the infinity sigil that she has used to represent her hometown, in London’s E8 area. Bouncing with energy, she settles back into the corner and lifts on foot off the mat, patiently waiting for Merle to come check her gear. When he doesn’t, she calls to him, “Hey, Merle! Are you gonna check me or what?”
Merle looks at the exotic beauty curiously and blinks, “I...I understood that!” he stammers, astonishment in his voice, “I understood every word of that!”
“Congratulations,” Ria smirks as Merle approaches, “you understand the Queen’s english. I thought you Yanks spoke english, too.”
Merle shakes his head as he begins inspecting Ria’s gear, “Well, yeah, but...the way you used to talk before...that’s not english. I’m not sure they were even words!”
Another smirk from the Irresistible Force, “Oh! You mean…Stay cotch, fam! I’m gonna be beastin’ dis ting!...that sort of thing?”
Another blinking gaze from Merle, clearly trying to wrap his head around this. “Well...yeah.”
“Well,” Ria explains with a smile, “I talk that way to represent and give a shout out to where I’m from, y’dig?” Merle nods slowly, the complete lack of comprehension on his face contradicting the gesture. “Well, I’ve been thinking about it, particularly how you and Camille Cosworth were reacting to me in my last match, and it’s like...What good is it to “rep my fam” if nobody understands a bloody word I say?”
Merle looks at her, rubbing the back of his neck, “I...guess that makes sense.”
Valeria nods and looks to the stage, “Hey, Merle...you don’t happen to know who I’m up against tonight, do you? Brass never told me.”
Merle shakes his head, “Nope, sorry.”
Then, as if the boys in the production truck had been listening in to their conversation, the lights in FAWN Arena went out. The crowd began to buzz, waiting for Valeria’s unknown opponent to reveal herself. Indeed, in the promotional material for Thrills, Chills, and Spills, all that was said was “Valeria George in action!” Logically, the FAWN community reasoned, the only reason to keep her opponent a secret would be either a returning superstar or a debuting ingenue that is being sprung onto the crowd to make an impact. After a VERY pregnant pause, an air raid siren blares throughout the arena as a pair of red searchlights scan the arena. On the FAWN-tron, the Japanese kanji “秋山加奈子”appears against a black screen, appearing as though they had been painted there in blood. As the characters morph into the words “KANAKO AKIYAMA”, the searchlights fix at the top of the stage, where a petite figure is pulling fingerless gloves on. The words “IS HERE” fade in on the screen, drawing an explosion of applause from the crowd as the lights slowly come up and Manowar’s “Warriors of the World” begins, prompting the woman to begin her march to the ring, smiling and waving to the audience.
WARRIORS OF THE WORLD: www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaXzcTrY0Vg
“And her opponent...From Los Angeles, California...She stands five feet two inches tall, and weighs in at one hundred ten pounds...she is the Modern Day Ronin...making her FAWN debut, please welcome KANAKO AKIYAMA!!”
KANAKO AKIYAMA:
For her FAWN debut, Kanako is wearing a black leather jacket over a red and white striped midriff-baring halter top that showed off a six-pack of abs that rivaled her opponent’s, and black mesh leggings, with red low-top wrestling shoes to complete the outfit. The Japanese fighter slapped hands with the fans at ringside before rolling into the ring under the bottom rope. She climbed up onto the top rope, standing perched like a bird, before raising a fist and giving a a warcry-like shout. She then backflipped off the top rope, landing perfectly on her feet in the center of the ring, drawing a gasp of awe from the FAWN faithful. Kanako then bowed to both the audience and Valeria, as Merle approached to check her ring gear.
“Whoa!” Valeria called out as she approached Kanako, hand outstretched, “You sure do know how to make an entrance, fam!”
Kanako bowed her head to her, and took off her jacket, tossing it outside the ring, before taking Ria’s hand and giving it a strong shake. “Thanks,” she said with a smile, “I make a pretty good exit, too. Hope you don’t take it personally. I really enjoyed your match with Camille Cosworth.”
Valeria smirks, “Well, thanks, and don’t get ahead of yourself there, newbie. I don’t plan on losing!” Kanako and Valeria exchange smiles once more before backing up to neutral corners to await the opening bell.
The bell sounds and both women come out of their respective corners as though they were shot out of a cannon. They circle each other, Kanako’s hands raised in a martial arts-style stance, while Ria adopts more of a grappler’s stance. Valeria, reckless as always, charges in to secure a headlock. Unfortunately for her, Kanako reacts quickly, also lunging forward, but bending at the waist, bringing her right leg back and over, hitting Ria with the flat of her shoe with a scorpion kick. Not wanting to give her larger foe time to recover, she leaps at the staggered exotic beauty, striking out at her knees with a basement dropkick that drops her to one knee. She then quickly rolls backwards and again charges at her opponent, this time stepping up to Ria’s outstretched knee and delivering a devastating step-up axe kick, finally crumpling the Irresistible Force.
STEP-UP AXE KICK: www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTTR3h8oVgM
ONE
TW-NOO!!
Valeria pushes the diminutive Japanese fighter off her at one and a half and scrambles to the ropes. Kanako, for her part, calmly but quickly gets to her feet and patiently waits for Ria to join her. Ria flicks the corner of her mouth as she gets up, somewhat for effect, but also to make sure Kanako’s kicks didn’t split her lip. “Not bad, blood. Quick as a flash, and a hell of a bite to boot!” she says with a hint of a smirk.
“Glad you approve,” Kanako answers, her expression serious, “Ready to go again when you are.” she sticks her hand out again in a show of sportsmanship. Valeria licks her lips and slaps hands with Kanako and they begin to circle each other again.
This time it’s Kanako making the lunge, going for a collar-and-elbow tieup. Valeria quickly uses her size to turn the tieup into a side headlock. The Modern Day Ronin throws a few shots to Ria’s midsection to loosen her grip, but all it does is push them back into the ropes. That works for Kanako, too, as she manages to shoot her into the ropes. She drops down to the mat just in time for Ria to hop over her, then she scrambles to her feet and tries for a shoulderblock. Unfortunately for her, the twenty-seven pound disadvantage kicks in and Kanako quickly finds herself on her back. Valeria quickly scrambled to the Japanese fighter’s head and wrapped her toned legs around her neck and began to close the vise. Ignoring the sharp pain in her back from the fall, she quickly slipped out of the headscissors and slid up to apply one of her own to Ria, which she quickly throws off of her, and the two scramble to their feet and face off to a round of appreciative applause from the live crowd.
A grin spreading across her face, Valeria stood up to her full height, emphasizing the size difference between the two wrestlers, and glanced around at the cheering crowd. “Mandem give mad props,” she smiled, earning a slightly confused look from the Modern Day Ronin. “Gal’s got wings, but have you got the guns?”
Sweeping forward, she reached out to grab for the smaller woman and came up with nothing but air when the Californian swished past her. Ria spun around and almost turned straight into a lightning-fast Superkick, swaying away at the last possible instant before boot impacted on her face. This reflexive doge left her waaay off balance though, and Akiyama was quick to capitalise by firing out a second kick which ‘THUMPED’ into Valeria’s tummy and pushed the Unstoppable Girl on her butt!
Pleased to have cut the bigger girl down to size Kanako stepped up and launched yet another strike, this time a buzzsaw kick which slammed into the Londoner’s sternum. George dropped to her back with a groan and Akiyama looked to capitalise again, leaping off one foot and bringing up both knees to drop down onto the dusky brunette. But she failed to take into account Ria’s inability to stay still as she rolled away and left Kanako to a nasty knees-first impact with the canvas.
With the lightning-fast Ronin finally grounded, Valeria rolled back in and grabbed hold before she could go anywhere. Grip secured she hopped to haunches and dragged Akiyama up with her, ducking to lift into a fireman’s carry. Kanako was quick to realise that she was in trouble and quickly wriggling in an attempt to get free, but the Unstoppable Girl held firm and then began to spin…
Once, twice, three times…George’s feet danced in a circle, picking up pace and sending her struggling package around in a dizzying rotation. The angular momentum meant that Akiyama could do little but hang on tight and try to fight nausea, but it looked like Valeria was feeling the effects too, her steps becoming increasingly erratic as the pair wobbled uncontrollably around the ring! Everyone in the building could see that there was only one outcome, and this came to fruition when the smaller woman span off and landed with a ‘splat’ on her face, while George staggered off drunkenly into the ropes.
AIRPLANE SPIN www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qSTjcMt204
Despite her severely discombobulated state the Unstoppable Girl was still on her feet and seemed determined to climb the turnbuckles. She was distinctly wobbly as she scaled to the second buckle, holding tight to the rope with one hand until she regained her balance. As soon as this happened she threw herself backwards into the void, head flipping backwards and underneath and…
…crashing down on her legs and tummy. It seemed that two could play the avoidance game, Kanako slipping out from under the bigger woman’s moonsault attempt and popping to her feet. In fact she seemed determined to prove that she could do the flips better too, gliding up the turnbuckle with ease and balancing at the top as easily as if she was standing on flat ground.
Valeria had just about made it to her knees, holding her tummy with one hand and looking up just as the Modern Day Ronin reached the apex of her own gorgeous backflip. This time there was no avoidance, Kanako crashing down into the Brit’s torso and fattening her onto her back. Akiyama hooked a leg and bundled her even further backwards as the referee dropped to count…
Moonsault
ONE
TWO
THNoooo
Despite having had the wind well and truly knocked out of her it seemed that George wasn’t quite done, and she showed that by powering her legs out of the smaller woman’s pin attempt. The LA girl was pushed a few feet away, scrambling to all fours and up to vertical while her opponent took a rare pause to catch her breath. Perhaps sensing this, Kanako dived back over to her again, snatching a quick crucifix and stacking the surprised brunette up for another count of
ONE
TW….
Recovered, Valeria rolled backwards to break the count and pop out the other side of the crucifix. She went one step further by jamming both feet out, her boots clunking into Akiyama’s torso and sending the other brunette rolling away. Now separated by at least a yard of empty canvas, both women kipped back to their feet and set off headlong at each other, George performing a big leap while Kanako rolled smoothly beneath her.
Stopping on a dime, the Ronin spun around and lifted one foot, ready to deliver another superkick. Unfortunately for her the Unstoppable Girl had no plans of letting her hit it, leaping onto the second rope and then throwing herself backwards again. This time her high risk plans paid off, the Londoner hooking around Akiyama’s unsuspecting head and swinging around and down to drive her crown into the canvas.
NEXT LEVEL www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnDNfIqDZY0
With the new girl starfished onto the mat, Valeria scrambled around and hooked a leg, hauling up and spreading her weight over to keep Akiyama pinned to the mat while the ref counted…
ONE!
TWO!
THR-noooo!
Kanako jerks her shoulder free at two and a half, prompting Valeria to hold up three fingers, looking to Merle, who shakes his head and holds up two fingers in reply. In the interim, Kanako has rolled over onto her stomach, which gives Valeria an idea. She leaps to her feet and dashes into the ropes and dives at her opponent, squashing the Tokyo Tiger back to back in a crushing senton splash. She then scoots up to the moaning girl’s head, wrapping her head and neck up in a tangle of arms and legs with her take on the Koji Clutch that she calls the Force Choke.
FORCE CHOKE: www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGXOxCCig8I
Kanako screams and cries out in agony as Valeria wrenches back on her head and neck. When Merle asks if she submits, all she can do is wag her finger to indicate that she does not. “Sorry, rookie!” Valeria calls out to her as she begins to thrash and flail in desperation, trying to reach the ropes to force a break. “I don’t wanna hurt you, fam, but I’m here to win! Just tap!”
Luckily for Kanako, The Irresistible Force didn’t pay attention to how close they were to the ropes. With one final roar of determination, the Modern Day Ronin stretches her arm out and juuuuuust gets her index and middle fingers on the bottom rope. A single tap on the shoulder by Merle is all Valeria needs for her to release her opponent.
Valeria chuckles to herself as she gets to her feet. “Double tough, girl, I’ll give you that.” she shows the smaller girl respect as she pulls herself up to her feet by the ropes. “But you look like you’re merked to me.”
Kanako scowls at her opponent, sucking in deep breaths, trying to draw upon her well of reserve energy. “I’m...not sure...what you just said there...But if...you think...I’m done...then why don’t you come and finish me?” she growls.
Valeria grins wide at Kanako’s defiance, “Love it! To the bitter end, yeah? Die on your feet like a warrior, I love it! Let’s finish it, then!” Kanako, feeling like she’s being mocked, growls again as she pushes off of the ropes and strides up to the Unstoppable Girl, chesting up to her despite their size difference.
“Don’t you DARE laugh at me!” the Japanese fighter yells at her foe, giving her a rough shove that earns her a look of shock from Valeria.
“Easy, fam, easy! I was giving you respect, yeah?” Valeria begs off, putting her hands up. “No need to get hot. Let’s go, yeah?”
Kanako looks at her, taking another deep breath before nodding and putting her own hands up. They circle each other again, until they lock up in a collar-elbow tieup. Although Kanako proves to be strong for her size and fights against it with all she’s got, Valeria’s size advantage once again lets her bull the Japanese girl into a corner. She then throws a series of forearms at Kanako’s chest, then irish whips her into the opposite corner with such speed and force that she hits the turnbuckle chest-first and falls on her back. As she struggles to get on her knees, Ria sees her chance, dashing against the ropes, she jumps straight up and plants her foot on the back of Kanako’s head, looking to bring it crashing down on her skull.
MERKY: www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXe8RJVT1Uo
However, the Unstoppable Girl comes up short, as Kanako slips away from her, going behind Ria and locking in a rear waistlock. As soon as Valeria’s feet hit the mat, Kanako pops her hips and throws her up and over in a German Suplex. Maintaining hold of her opponent, she then rolls through it and powers the larger girl up for a second German Suplex. Unfortunately for the fans, Kanako simply doesn’t have the gas to complete the trifecta, and simply releases Valeria upon impact. As the Irresistible Force writhes on the mat, Kanako clambers to her feet and points to the turnbuckle. She climbs to the top as the FAWNatics rise to their feet. Her back to her target, Kanako leaps into a backflip.
Whether she was going for her Run Her Through finisher or a normal moonsault, we’ll never know. Kanako’s fatigue caused her to climb to the top slow enough for Valeria to regain her senses and shoot her out of the sky with an earth-rattling midair spear!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACtUA9Yrfyk
Kanako splatters to the mat, as Valeria rolls out of the way and onto her back. Seeing no movement from either woman, Merle begins a ten count.
ONE!
TWO!
THREE!
FOUR!
FIVE!
SIX!
SEV-
A friend in need’s a friend indeed
A friend with weed is better
“Goddamnit, not again!” Merle groans as he facepalms.
The fans had also quickly learned what this particular theme heralded. Their reaction was mainly groaning at what appeared to be yet another interruption from one of the ‘fed’s newest and most unruly factions. But there was at least some undercurrent of interest. Regardless of what you thought about FlC’s actions their presence usually meant something exciting was about to happen.
All eyes in the ring and most in the audience were trained on the entranceway. George even came over to the nearest ropes, muttering incomprehensibly under her breath and marshalling the last of her strength for what might be coming. Unfortunately this meant that she was unprepared when a pale, auburn-haired woman slipped out from under the ring just below her, casually reached up and yanked both her feet out from under her.
HARRIET LARKIN
Clambering up onto the apron, Larkin threaded those long legs through the ropes and zeroed in on the tired-looking Brit. She dashed forwards and raised one leg, her boot at perfect height to decapitate the brunette if George hadn’t lived up to her ‘unstoppable’ moniker by rolling underneath at the last second. In fact she did even better, coming out on her feet and dashing to the ropes, returning at intercept trajectory.
Harriet turned to see the dusky-skinned exocet bearing down on her and took the only evasive action she could, swaying hurriedly away and allowing George to go right past her, But even this wasn’t enough, the Londoner coming off another set of ropes and…
“Look out!”
Merles warning died on his lips when a dark-haired blur shot around the ring and speared up between the ropes. Taken completely unawares Ria’s body was flung forwards by the impact and she was driven face-first towards the matt. Behind her the other half of FlC landed neatly on her feet and let out a giggle which was completely drowned by the crowd’s pop at seeing such a hellacious slingshot spear.
ARROW OF TIME youtu.be/lhSX8bNbYGE
LYRA FAULK
Up in the ring Larkin dusted herself off for a second and then went to work capitalising on her partner’s timely intervention. The Londoner was still busy writhing on the matt and clutching her spine, but she let out a yowl when Harriet’s boot crashed down into the small of her back. A couple more boots followed before Merle bustled over and tried to shove between the two women.
“Get the hell out of here Larkin, or management are going to fine the hell out HEY!” The Hollow Girl’s sneered, reached one hand up into the referee’s face and shoved him. Merle stumbled backwards over George’s body and fell to his ass, earning another giggle from the shorter member of FlC who had climbed up into the ring. Larkin glanced over at her. “You wanna talk to this one, Ly? Or can we just see if she’s hollow?”
Faulk stepped over and glanced down at the hurting Brit, nudging her onto her back with the toe of one boot. She crouched down to get her face close to Ria’s pained grimace. “Silly girl. There’s no such thing as unstoppable. And that’s the way your world ends, silly girl. Not with a bang…”
Valeria didn’t’ have much choice about standing up, Larkin just reaching down and hauling her up by the hair. She didn’t stay upright for long either and the towering redhead hooked her arms and lifted up further into a Gory Special position. Lyra wasn’t looking at this though, instead the Chaos Emerald slipped out to the apron and grabbed the top rope with both hands. She seemed to be readying a leap paused briefly when Merle again staggered into the way.
“Last warning, Faulk. Get the hell out of heWHOAH!” The Aussie gave him a cheeky wink and hopped up to the top rope as if she was as light as a feather. What happened next was even more impressive though, a gorgeous spring-assisted leap OVER the stunned referee and into an arcing somersault. At the apex she hooked around Valeria’s strung-up head and yanked it down to the matt with an absolutely hellacious impact!
WHIMPER youtu.be/88QxPmnOc_k (@0.41)
No matter how much energy she might have, being driven into the canvas covered plywood face-first was enough to dim George’s lights on a very prolonged basis. She sprawled out bonelessly on her front as Faulk cambered to her feet and went over to her partner. The crowd were still mainly doing a ‘ho-lee shyt’ pop anyway, but they went even louder when Larkin planted her mouth on her shorter partner’s lips which lingered considerably longer than a peck.
They had just broken off when the audience noise changed again, this time with a more hopeful sort of excitement due to the ball of Californian fury approaching from behind. Ignored behind the pair, Kanako had crawled over to her jacket and withdrawn an object from a pocket in the lining. A flick of her wrist extended the object, revealing it to be a collapsible baton. The first either FIC member knew of this was when the vengeful Ronin buried her hardwear into the back of Larkin’s head with a sickening thump!
“HARRY!!” Lyra yells as Larkin dropped like a ton of bricks. She turned to face their aggressor, her usual flighty disposition replaced by anger and indignation at having her fun spoiled. “She’s going to be really grumpy now! We weren’t going to hurt you even a little bit. New fish like you are meant to lie down and gulp air, so get to it...”
The Modern Day Ronin cocked her head quizzically. “Oh yeah? You’re saying you want some of what your girlfriend got?” She holds the baton in front of her threateningly, keeping Faulk at bay. “We could do that...or...you could gather her up and clear out of here before you both have to be carried out of here.” Akiyama’s tone of voice was low and deadly serious.
Lyra growled wordlessly, frustrated at being stymied, “Little fish with big talk because she’s got one little tooth.” she sneered at the nightstick. “You act the good girl but carry a big stick?”
“And you and Larkin were ganging up on a defenseless woman, two-on-one.” Kanako answered plainly, scowling, “So don’t talk to me about unfair. Now are you gonna jump, or are you gonna be smart and get the hell out of here and see to your girl? Better choose quick, before I choose for you.”
Faulk snarled at the Japanese fighter, who returned the snarl and even took a step closer. Lyra Faulk has a deserved reputation for being a little eccentric, to be generous, but she’s not stupid. As the two women engaged in an intense staredown, she weighed her options. Harriet was out like a light, even more so than George, so she was going to get no help from her. Speaking of Valeria, Faulk noticed that the Unstoppable Girl was beginning to stir. She then realized that the two-on-one advantage that she and Harriet had just enjoyed in beating up Valeria would very shortly be turned on her. Moreover, this new girl was armed, and unlike Camille Cosworth, it was pretty clear that the Japanese girl was very willing to use her weapon. After a twenty second staredown that must have seemed like well over a minute to the live audience, Faulk stepped back and slid under the bottom rope, pulling her lover/partner out with her. “You want to make yourself interesting? Little fish? Then maybe next time we’ll come to play with you...”she threatened as she put her arm around Larkin and helped her make their way to the back to lick their wounded pride and actual wounds, in Harriet’s case.
Upon their departure, Kanako, along with many in attendance, exhaled, breathing a sigh of relief. Hearing Valeria groaning as she rolled over onto her knees, the Modern Day Ronin scrambled to her side, kneeling down to her. “Hey,” she said to her, putting a hand on her back, “you gonna be okay?”
Valeria groaned again as she sat back on her haunches. “Nnngh! Y-yeah, I think so, fam. Damn, girl...did you run those two off?” Kanako nodded solemnly, “Wow...I mean...I appreciate it, no doubt, but...why? Most in your position would’ve hightailed it out of here, and been glad it wasn’t them they was merkin’!”
“Well, I’m not most people.” Kanako answered, with a hint of a smile. “In the first place, I was pissed that they ruined our match, just as it was getting good.” this earned a chuckle from Valeria. “Secondly, my bushido demands that I aid those who being taken advantage of.” Valeria smiles and was about to voice her thanks when the bell sounded.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” the ring announcer bellows, “the referee has ruled that, due to outside interference, this match is a no contest.” A mild rain of boos comes from the audience at the unsatisfying decision as Kanako helps the Irresistible Force to her feet.
“Sorry, ladies,” Merle calls to them from across the ring, “they left me no choice.”
Both women looked at each other, then nodded to the zebra. “It’s okay, boss man, we get it.” Valeria spoke for both of them before turning to Kanako and offering her hand, “Thanks for the match, Kanako...and for saving my ass from getting beat any worse.”
Kanako smiles and takes George’s hand, shaking it and pulling her in for a hug to a round of applause. “It was my pleasure, Valeria,” she answers, leaning into her ear to make sure she’s heard over the crowd, “and...sorry for getting hot with you back there for a bit.” she adds sheepishly, earning a shake of the exotic beauty’s head, wordlessly telling her that all is forgiven. “If they ever give you any more trouble, let me know, and you and me will take care of ‘em.”
Valeria smiles and nods. “You bet!” she answers as she lifts Kanako’s arm, pointing to her in a token of respect to another roar of approval from the crowd. Kanako smiles and returns the gesture, but holds onto Valeria’s hand, pulling her in once more.
“You know…” she begins, “someday down the road, you and me are gonna have to finish this.”
Valeria grins wide and nods, “As if you needed to say it, fam. Hit me up anytime you’re ready.” Kanako nods and then the two of them leave the ring separately, each doing a victory lap of ringside high-fives in spite of the disappointing finish.
Right on cue, an electric scream rolled out into the FAWN arena, descending into a mess of itchy electric guitars and flashing white and purple lights. As the music steadied the lights settled onto a curvy female silhouette at the top of the stage, giving a few quick hops to shake out her limbs, and then turning so her back was to the ring.
OVER AND OVER
youtu.be/FzobxYbKhyE
“Introducing first, from Hackney, England...She stands five foot seven inches tall, and weighs in tonight at one hundred thirty-seven pounds...She is the Unstoppable Girl, and the Irresistible Force...This is...VALERIA GEORGE!”
As the guitars roared back in, the figure spun on her heel and shot out onto the stage like a bullet. Fans had a split second to catch a glimpse of chocolate skin and a black afro and then she was amongst them, throwing herself over the barriers and into the crowd with an enthusiasm which was almost enough to have a few fans draw away from her. Valeria George slapped every single outstretched hand she could find before letting security help her back over the guardrail and to the ringside area.
Ria wears a denim jacket to the ring, with the word “UNSTOPPABLE” emblazoned across the back in large white letters with black and gold trim. Underneath, she wore a dusky purple tankini with two thick diagonal straps connecting the top to her bottoms that very effectively showed off her curvy figure, washboard abs and toned legs. Her hair was in a wide afro, with simple black pads and boots completing her ring gear.
VALERIA GEORGE:
The Unstoppable Girl slapped as many hands as she could around ringside, before sliding into the ring, underneath the bottom rope and popping to her feet in one smooth motion. As her music reached a crescendo she scrambled to the second turnbuckle of the nearest corner and raised her hands, first flashing three fingers and then looping both hands together to form the infinity sigil that she has used to represent her hometown, in London’s E8 area. Bouncing with energy, she settles back into the corner and lifts on foot off the mat, patiently waiting for Merle to come check her gear. When he doesn’t, she calls to him, “Hey, Merle! Are you gonna check me or what?”
Merle looks at the exotic beauty curiously and blinks, “I...I understood that!” he stammers, astonishment in his voice, “I understood every word of that!”
“Congratulations,” Ria smirks as Merle approaches, “you understand the Queen’s english. I thought you Yanks spoke english, too.”
Merle shakes his head as he begins inspecting Ria’s gear, “Well, yeah, but...the way you used to talk before...that’s not english. I’m not sure they were even words!”
Another smirk from the Irresistible Force, “Oh! You mean…Stay cotch, fam! I’m gonna be beastin’ dis ting!...that sort of thing?”
Another blinking gaze from Merle, clearly trying to wrap his head around this. “Well...yeah.”
“Well,” Ria explains with a smile, “I talk that way to represent and give a shout out to where I’m from, y’dig?” Merle nods slowly, the complete lack of comprehension on his face contradicting the gesture. “Well, I’ve been thinking about it, particularly how you and Camille Cosworth were reacting to me in my last match, and it’s like...What good is it to “rep my fam” if nobody understands a bloody word I say?”
Merle looks at her, rubbing the back of his neck, “I...guess that makes sense.”
Valeria nods and looks to the stage, “Hey, Merle...you don’t happen to know who I’m up against tonight, do you? Brass never told me.”
Merle shakes his head, “Nope, sorry.”
Then, as if the boys in the production truck had been listening in to their conversation, the lights in FAWN Arena went out. The crowd began to buzz, waiting for Valeria’s unknown opponent to reveal herself. Indeed, in the promotional material for Thrills, Chills, and Spills, all that was said was “Valeria George in action!” Logically, the FAWN community reasoned, the only reason to keep her opponent a secret would be either a returning superstar or a debuting ingenue that is being sprung onto the crowd to make an impact. After a VERY pregnant pause, an air raid siren blares throughout the arena as a pair of red searchlights scan the arena. On the FAWN-tron, the Japanese kanji “秋山加奈子”appears against a black screen, appearing as though they had been painted there in blood. As the characters morph into the words “KANAKO AKIYAMA”, the searchlights fix at the top of the stage, where a petite figure is pulling fingerless gloves on. The words “IS HERE” fade in on the screen, drawing an explosion of applause from the crowd as the lights slowly come up and Manowar’s “Warriors of the World” begins, prompting the woman to begin her march to the ring, smiling and waving to the audience.
WARRIORS OF THE WORLD: www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaXzcTrY0Vg
“And her opponent...From Los Angeles, California...She stands five feet two inches tall, and weighs in at one hundred ten pounds...she is the Modern Day Ronin...making her FAWN debut, please welcome KANAKO AKIYAMA!!”
KANAKO AKIYAMA:
For her FAWN debut, Kanako is wearing a black leather jacket over a red and white striped midriff-baring halter top that showed off a six-pack of abs that rivaled her opponent’s, and black mesh leggings, with red low-top wrestling shoes to complete the outfit. The Japanese fighter slapped hands with the fans at ringside before rolling into the ring under the bottom rope. She climbed up onto the top rope, standing perched like a bird, before raising a fist and giving a a warcry-like shout. She then backflipped off the top rope, landing perfectly on her feet in the center of the ring, drawing a gasp of awe from the FAWN faithful. Kanako then bowed to both the audience and Valeria, as Merle approached to check her ring gear.
“Whoa!” Valeria called out as she approached Kanako, hand outstretched, “You sure do know how to make an entrance, fam!”
Kanako bowed her head to her, and took off her jacket, tossing it outside the ring, before taking Ria’s hand and giving it a strong shake. “Thanks,” she said with a smile, “I make a pretty good exit, too. Hope you don’t take it personally. I really enjoyed your match with Camille Cosworth.”
Valeria smirks, “Well, thanks, and don’t get ahead of yourself there, newbie. I don’t plan on losing!” Kanako and Valeria exchange smiles once more before backing up to neutral corners to await the opening bell.
The bell sounds and both women come out of their respective corners as though they were shot out of a cannon. They circle each other, Kanako’s hands raised in a martial arts-style stance, while Ria adopts more of a grappler’s stance. Valeria, reckless as always, charges in to secure a headlock. Unfortunately for her, Kanako reacts quickly, also lunging forward, but bending at the waist, bringing her right leg back and over, hitting Ria with the flat of her shoe with a scorpion kick. Not wanting to give her larger foe time to recover, she leaps at the staggered exotic beauty, striking out at her knees with a basement dropkick that drops her to one knee. She then quickly rolls backwards and again charges at her opponent, this time stepping up to Ria’s outstretched knee and delivering a devastating step-up axe kick, finally crumpling the Irresistible Force.
STEP-UP AXE KICK: www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTTR3h8oVgM
ONE
TW-NOO!!
Valeria pushes the diminutive Japanese fighter off her at one and a half and scrambles to the ropes. Kanako, for her part, calmly but quickly gets to her feet and patiently waits for Ria to join her. Ria flicks the corner of her mouth as she gets up, somewhat for effect, but also to make sure Kanako’s kicks didn’t split her lip. “Not bad, blood. Quick as a flash, and a hell of a bite to boot!” she says with a hint of a smirk.
“Glad you approve,” Kanako answers, her expression serious, “Ready to go again when you are.” she sticks her hand out again in a show of sportsmanship. Valeria licks her lips and slaps hands with Kanako and they begin to circle each other again.
This time it’s Kanako making the lunge, going for a collar-and-elbow tieup. Valeria quickly uses her size to turn the tieup into a side headlock. The Modern Day Ronin throws a few shots to Ria’s midsection to loosen her grip, but all it does is push them back into the ropes. That works for Kanako, too, as she manages to shoot her into the ropes. She drops down to the mat just in time for Ria to hop over her, then she scrambles to her feet and tries for a shoulderblock. Unfortunately for her, the twenty-seven pound disadvantage kicks in and Kanako quickly finds herself on her back. Valeria quickly scrambled to the Japanese fighter’s head and wrapped her toned legs around her neck and began to close the vise. Ignoring the sharp pain in her back from the fall, she quickly slipped out of the headscissors and slid up to apply one of her own to Ria, which she quickly throws off of her, and the two scramble to their feet and face off to a round of appreciative applause from the live crowd.
A grin spreading across her face, Valeria stood up to her full height, emphasizing the size difference between the two wrestlers, and glanced around at the cheering crowd. “Mandem give mad props,” she smiled, earning a slightly confused look from the Modern Day Ronin. “Gal’s got wings, but have you got the guns?”
Sweeping forward, she reached out to grab for the smaller woman and came up with nothing but air when the Californian swished past her. Ria spun around and almost turned straight into a lightning-fast Superkick, swaying away at the last possible instant before boot impacted on her face. This reflexive doge left her waaay off balance though, and Akiyama was quick to capitalise by firing out a second kick which ‘THUMPED’ into Valeria’s tummy and pushed the Unstoppable Girl on her butt!
Pleased to have cut the bigger girl down to size Kanako stepped up and launched yet another strike, this time a buzzsaw kick which slammed into the Londoner’s sternum. George dropped to her back with a groan and Akiyama looked to capitalise again, leaping off one foot and bringing up both knees to drop down onto the dusky brunette. But she failed to take into account Ria’s inability to stay still as she rolled away and left Kanako to a nasty knees-first impact with the canvas.
With the lightning-fast Ronin finally grounded, Valeria rolled back in and grabbed hold before she could go anywhere. Grip secured she hopped to haunches and dragged Akiyama up with her, ducking to lift into a fireman’s carry. Kanako was quick to realise that she was in trouble and quickly wriggling in an attempt to get free, but the Unstoppable Girl held firm and then began to spin…
Once, twice, three times…George’s feet danced in a circle, picking up pace and sending her struggling package around in a dizzying rotation. The angular momentum meant that Akiyama could do little but hang on tight and try to fight nausea, but it looked like Valeria was feeling the effects too, her steps becoming increasingly erratic as the pair wobbled uncontrollably around the ring! Everyone in the building could see that there was only one outcome, and this came to fruition when the smaller woman span off and landed with a ‘splat’ on her face, while George staggered off drunkenly into the ropes.
AIRPLANE SPIN www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qSTjcMt204
Despite her severely discombobulated state the Unstoppable Girl was still on her feet and seemed determined to climb the turnbuckles. She was distinctly wobbly as she scaled to the second buckle, holding tight to the rope with one hand until she regained her balance. As soon as this happened she threw herself backwards into the void, head flipping backwards and underneath and…
…crashing down on her legs and tummy. It seemed that two could play the avoidance game, Kanako slipping out from under the bigger woman’s moonsault attempt and popping to her feet. In fact she seemed determined to prove that she could do the flips better too, gliding up the turnbuckle with ease and balancing at the top as easily as if she was standing on flat ground.
Valeria had just about made it to her knees, holding her tummy with one hand and looking up just as the Modern Day Ronin reached the apex of her own gorgeous backflip. This time there was no avoidance, Kanako crashing down into the Brit’s torso and fattening her onto her back. Akiyama hooked a leg and bundled her even further backwards as the referee dropped to count…
Moonsault
ONE
TWO
THNoooo
Despite having had the wind well and truly knocked out of her it seemed that George wasn’t quite done, and she showed that by powering her legs out of the smaller woman’s pin attempt. The LA girl was pushed a few feet away, scrambling to all fours and up to vertical while her opponent took a rare pause to catch her breath. Perhaps sensing this, Kanako dived back over to her again, snatching a quick crucifix and stacking the surprised brunette up for another count of
ONE
TW….
Recovered, Valeria rolled backwards to break the count and pop out the other side of the crucifix. She went one step further by jamming both feet out, her boots clunking into Akiyama’s torso and sending the other brunette rolling away. Now separated by at least a yard of empty canvas, both women kipped back to their feet and set off headlong at each other, George performing a big leap while Kanako rolled smoothly beneath her.
Stopping on a dime, the Ronin spun around and lifted one foot, ready to deliver another superkick. Unfortunately for her the Unstoppable Girl had no plans of letting her hit it, leaping onto the second rope and then throwing herself backwards again. This time her high risk plans paid off, the Londoner hooking around Akiyama’s unsuspecting head and swinging around and down to drive her crown into the canvas.
NEXT LEVEL www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnDNfIqDZY0
With the new girl starfished onto the mat, Valeria scrambled around and hooked a leg, hauling up and spreading her weight over to keep Akiyama pinned to the mat while the ref counted…
ONE!
TWO!
THR-noooo!
Kanako jerks her shoulder free at two and a half, prompting Valeria to hold up three fingers, looking to Merle, who shakes his head and holds up two fingers in reply. In the interim, Kanako has rolled over onto her stomach, which gives Valeria an idea. She leaps to her feet and dashes into the ropes and dives at her opponent, squashing the Tokyo Tiger back to back in a crushing senton splash. She then scoots up to the moaning girl’s head, wrapping her head and neck up in a tangle of arms and legs with her take on the Koji Clutch that she calls the Force Choke.
FORCE CHOKE: www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGXOxCCig8I
Kanako screams and cries out in agony as Valeria wrenches back on her head and neck. When Merle asks if she submits, all she can do is wag her finger to indicate that she does not. “Sorry, rookie!” Valeria calls out to her as she begins to thrash and flail in desperation, trying to reach the ropes to force a break. “I don’t wanna hurt you, fam, but I’m here to win! Just tap!”
Luckily for Kanako, The Irresistible Force didn’t pay attention to how close they were to the ropes. With one final roar of determination, the Modern Day Ronin stretches her arm out and juuuuuust gets her index and middle fingers on the bottom rope. A single tap on the shoulder by Merle is all Valeria needs for her to release her opponent.
Valeria chuckles to herself as she gets to her feet. “Double tough, girl, I’ll give you that.” she shows the smaller girl respect as she pulls herself up to her feet by the ropes. “But you look like you’re merked to me.”
Kanako scowls at her opponent, sucking in deep breaths, trying to draw upon her well of reserve energy. “I’m...not sure...what you just said there...But if...you think...I’m done...then why don’t you come and finish me?” she growls.
Valeria grins wide at Kanako’s defiance, “Love it! To the bitter end, yeah? Die on your feet like a warrior, I love it! Let’s finish it, then!” Kanako, feeling like she’s being mocked, growls again as she pushes off of the ropes and strides up to the Unstoppable Girl, chesting up to her despite their size difference.
“Don’t you DARE laugh at me!” the Japanese fighter yells at her foe, giving her a rough shove that earns her a look of shock from Valeria.
“Easy, fam, easy! I was giving you respect, yeah?” Valeria begs off, putting her hands up. “No need to get hot. Let’s go, yeah?”
Kanako looks at her, taking another deep breath before nodding and putting her own hands up. They circle each other again, until they lock up in a collar-elbow tieup. Although Kanako proves to be strong for her size and fights against it with all she’s got, Valeria’s size advantage once again lets her bull the Japanese girl into a corner. She then throws a series of forearms at Kanako’s chest, then irish whips her into the opposite corner with such speed and force that she hits the turnbuckle chest-first and falls on her back. As she struggles to get on her knees, Ria sees her chance, dashing against the ropes, she jumps straight up and plants her foot on the back of Kanako’s head, looking to bring it crashing down on her skull.
MERKY: www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXe8RJVT1Uo
However, the Unstoppable Girl comes up short, as Kanako slips away from her, going behind Ria and locking in a rear waistlock. As soon as Valeria’s feet hit the mat, Kanako pops her hips and throws her up and over in a German Suplex. Maintaining hold of her opponent, she then rolls through it and powers the larger girl up for a second German Suplex. Unfortunately for the fans, Kanako simply doesn’t have the gas to complete the trifecta, and simply releases Valeria upon impact. As the Irresistible Force writhes on the mat, Kanako clambers to her feet and points to the turnbuckle. She climbs to the top as the FAWNatics rise to their feet. Her back to her target, Kanako leaps into a backflip.
Whether she was going for her Run Her Through finisher or a normal moonsault, we’ll never know. Kanako’s fatigue caused her to climb to the top slow enough for Valeria to regain her senses and shoot her out of the sky with an earth-rattling midair spear!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACtUA9Yrfyk
Kanako splatters to the mat, as Valeria rolls out of the way and onto her back. Seeing no movement from either woman, Merle begins a ten count.
ONE!
TWO!
THREE!
FOUR!
FIVE!
SIX!
SEV-
A friend in need’s a friend indeed
A friend with weed is better
“Goddamnit, not again!” Merle groans as he facepalms.
The fans had also quickly learned what this particular theme heralded. Their reaction was mainly groaning at what appeared to be yet another interruption from one of the ‘fed’s newest and most unruly factions. But there was at least some undercurrent of interest. Regardless of what you thought about FlC’s actions their presence usually meant something exciting was about to happen.
All eyes in the ring and most in the audience were trained on the entranceway. George even came over to the nearest ropes, muttering incomprehensibly under her breath and marshalling the last of her strength for what might be coming. Unfortunately this meant that she was unprepared when a pale, auburn-haired woman slipped out from under the ring just below her, casually reached up and yanked both her feet out from under her.
HARRIET LARKIN
Clambering up onto the apron, Larkin threaded those long legs through the ropes and zeroed in on the tired-looking Brit. She dashed forwards and raised one leg, her boot at perfect height to decapitate the brunette if George hadn’t lived up to her ‘unstoppable’ moniker by rolling underneath at the last second. In fact she did even better, coming out on her feet and dashing to the ropes, returning at intercept trajectory.
Harriet turned to see the dusky-skinned exocet bearing down on her and took the only evasive action she could, swaying hurriedly away and allowing George to go right past her, But even this wasn’t enough, the Londoner coming off another set of ropes and…
“Look out!”
Merles warning died on his lips when a dark-haired blur shot around the ring and speared up between the ropes. Taken completely unawares Ria’s body was flung forwards by the impact and she was driven face-first towards the matt. Behind her the other half of FlC landed neatly on her feet and let out a giggle which was completely drowned by the crowd’s pop at seeing such a hellacious slingshot spear.
ARROW OF TIME youtu.be/lhSX8bNbYGE
LYRA FAULK
Up in the ring Larkin dusted herself off for a second and then went to work capitalising on her partner’s timely intervention. The Londoner was still busy writhing on the matt and clutching her spine, but she let out a yowl when Harriet’s boot crashed down into the small of her back. A couple more boots followed before Merle bustled over and tried to shove between the two women.
“Get the hell out of here Larkin, or management are going to fine the hell out HEY!” The Hollow Girl’s sneered, reached one hand up into the referee’s face and shoved him. Merle stumbled backwards over George’s body and fell to his ass, earning another giggle from the shorter member of FlC who had climbed up into the ring. Larkin glanced over at her. “You wanna talk to this one, Ly? Or can we just see if she’s hollow?”
Faulk stepped over and glanced down at the hurting Brit, nudging her onto her back with the toe of one boot. She crouched down to get her face close to Ria’s pained grimace. “Silly girl. There’s no such thing as unstoppable. And that’s the way your world ends, silly girl. Not with a bang…”
Valeria didn’t’ have much choice about standing up, Larkin just reaching down and hauling her up by the hair. She didn’t stay upright for long either and the towering redhead hooked her arms and lifted up further into a Gory Special position. Lyra wasn’t looking at this though, instead the Chaos Emerald slipped out to the apron and grabbed the top rope with both hands. She seemed to be readying a leap paused briefly when Merle again staggered into the way.
“Last warning, Faulk. Get the hell out of heWHOAH!” The Aussie gave him a cheeky wink and hopped up to the top rope as if she was as light as a feather. What happened next was even more impressive though, a gorgeous spring-assisted leap OVER the stunned referee and into an arcing somersault. At the apex she hooked around Valeria’s strung-up head and yanked it down to the matt with an absolutely hellacious impact!
WHIMPER youtu.be/88QxPmnOc_k (@0.41)
No matter how much energy she might have, being driven into the canvas covered plywood face-first was enough to dim George’s lights on a very prolonged basis. She sprawled out bonelessly on her front as Faulk cambered to her feet and went over to her partner. The crowd were still mainly doing a ‘ho-lee shyt’ pop anyway, but they went even louder when Larkin planted her mouth on her shorter partner’s lips which lingered considerably longer than a peck.
They had just broken off when the audience noise changed again, this time with a more hopeful sort of excitement due to the ball of Californian fury approaching from behind. Ignored behind the pair, Kanako had crawled over to her jacket and withdrawn an object from a pocket in the lining. A flick of her wrist extended the object, revealing it to be a collapsible baton. The first either FIC member knew of this was when the vengeful Ronin buried her hardwear into the back of Larkin’s head with a sickening thump!
“HARRY!!” Lyra yells as Larkin dropped like a ton of bricks. She turned to face their aggressor, her usual flighty disposition replaced by anger and indignation at having her fun spoiled. “She’s going to be really grumpy now! We weren’t going to hurt you even a little bit. New fish like you are meant to lie down and gulp air, so get to it...”
The Modern Day Ronin cocked her head quizzically. “Oh yeah? You’re saying you want some of what your girlfriend got?” She holds the baton in front of her threateningly, keeping Faulk at bay. “We could do that...or...you could gather her up and clear out of here before you both have to be carried out of here.” Akiyama’s tone of voice was low and deadly serious.
Lyra growled wordlessly, frustrated at being stymied, “Little fish with big talk because she’s got one little tooth.” she sneered at the nightstick. “You act the good girl but carry a big stick?”
“And you and Larkin were ganging up on a defenseless woman, two-on-one.” Kanako answered plainly, scowling, “So don’t talk to me about unfair. Now are you gonna jump, or are you gonna be smart and get the hell out of here and see to your girl? Better choose quick, before I choose for you.”
Faulk snarled at the Japanese fighter, who returned the snarl and even took a step closer. Lyra Faulk has a deserved reputation for being a little eccentric, to be generous, but she’s not stupid. As the two women engaged in an intense staredown, she weighed her options. Harriet was out like a light, even more so than George, so she was going to get no help from her. Speaking of Valeria, Faulk noticed that the Unstoppable Girl was beginning to stir. She then realized that the two-on-one advantage that she and Harriet had just enjoyed in beating up Valeria would very shortly be turned on her. Moreover, this new girl was armed, and unlike Camille Cosworth, it was pretty clear that the Japanese girl was very willing to use her weapon. After a twenty second staredown that must have seemed like well over a minute to the live audience, Faulk stepped back and slid under the bottom rope, pulling her lover/partner out with her. “You want to make yourself interesting? Little fish? Then maybe next time we’ll come to play with you...”she threatened as she put her arm around Larkin and helped her make their way to the back to lick their wounded pride and actual wounds, in Harriet’s case.
Upon their departure, Kanako, along with many in attendance, exhaled, breathing a sigh of relief. Hearing Valeria groaning as she rolled over onto her knees, the Modern Day Ronin scrambled to her side, kneeling down to her. “Hey,” she said to her, putting a hand on her back, “you gonna be okay?”
Valeria groaned again as she sat back on her haunches. “Nnngh! Y-yeah, I think so, fam. Damn, girl...did you run those two off?” Kanako nodded solemnly, “Wow...I mean...I appreciate it, no doubt, but...why? Most in your position would’ve hightailed it out of here, and been glad it wasn’t them they was merkin’!”
“Well, I’m not most people.” Kanako answered, with a hint of a smile. “In the first place, I was pissed that they ruined our match, just as it was getting good.” this earned a chuckle from Valeria. “Secondly, my bushido demands that I aid those who being taken advantage of.” Valeria smiles and was about to voice her thanks when the bell sounded.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” the ring announcer bellows, “the referee has ruled that, due to outside interference, this match is a no contest.” A mild rain of boos comes from the audience at the unsatisfying decision as Kanako helps the Irresistible Force to her feet.
“Sorry, ladies,” Merle calls to them from across the ring, “they left me no choice.”
Both women looked at each other, then nodded to the zebra. “It’s okay, boss man, we get it.” Valeria spoke for both of them before turning to Kanako and offering her hand, “Thanks for the match, Kanako...and for saving my ass from getting beat any worse.”
Kanako smiles and takes George’s hand, shaking it and pulling her in for a hug to a round of applause. “It was my pleasure, Valeria,” she answers, leaning into her ear to make sure she’s heard over the crowd, “and...sorry for getting hot with you back there for a bit.” she adds sheepishly, earning a shake of the exotic beauty’s head, wordlessly telling her that all is forgiven. “If they ever give you any more trouble, let me know, and you and me will take care of ‘em.”
Valeria smiles and nods. “You bet!” she answers as she lifts Kanako’s arm, pointing to her in a token of respect to another roar of approval from the crowd. Kanako smiles and returns the gesture, but holds onto Valeria’s hand, pulling her in once more.
“You know…” she begins, “someday down the road, you and me are gonna have to finish this.”
Valeria grins wide and nods, “As if you needed to say it, fam. Hit me up anytime you’re ready.” Kanako nods and then the two of them leave the ring separately, each doing a victory lap of ringside high-fives in spite of the disappointing finish.