Haruka Date vs. Julia Rogers

Standard Match: Win via pinfall, submission or disqualification

Haruka checked herself. She still bore some bruises from her last match. They were to be ignored. Her body ached for combat, for the thrill of wrestling. The Silent Phoenix sent a few kicks slicing through the air. She would have to be on her guard to beat her opponent. Julia Rogers was fast, deadly fast, and a high flyer as well. Haruka had scoured the internet for her matches and only found one. It was a win, which was a good sign. She loved testing herself, throwing herself against the stiffest competition. Only diamonds can cut diamonds.

But there was something deep inside Haruka that made her listless. Not fear, not recklessness. Just a desire to win. The kicks gave way to punches, one-two, and then Haruka bounced. She was all stretched out and her limbs were loose. Haruka was ready to go- her heart burned to get out into the ring and show everyone in the world what she was capable of.

Haruka's intro music kicked in and the crowd lit up. They were excited to see Haruka. Haruka wasn't that excited to see them but she waved and almost smiled. The Silent Phoenix jumped into the ring and looked up the entrance ramp. Come on out, Julia.

Julia bounced on the balls of her feet in the backstage area of the arena, taking some deep breaths to deal with the prematch butterflies in her stomach. She’d had a successful debut in the AFW not long ago, although the match wasn’t even in Friction. Julia had had to take the train to Kyoto and wrestle someone from Tension in order to have her debut when she wanted it. But it all worked out, and sparks had flown between her and her opponent that night.

Tonight there would be plenty of sparks too, albeit a very different kind from her first match. Julia’s opponent tonight: the Silent Phoenix herself, Haruka Date. Like Julia this woman was lightning quick, but that wasn’t where the similarities between them ended. Although she’d only had a single match in AFW, Julia had also competed several years in the United States and Mexico, and she knew all about Haruka’s career with Wrestle Angles. These were two competitors who, despite not having an extensive AFW resume, knew exactly what they were doing when they stepped into the ring. This was bound to be an exciting match, and Julia could hardly wait to get out there.

Luckily, she wouldn’t have to wait long, as Haruka’s music died down and was soon replaced with Julia's entrance music. “Alright. Here we go!” she said to herself, smiling brightly as she burst through the curtain and onto the stage. As expected, a moderate reaction was given to the relatively unknown blonde. But that did nothing to discourage Julia as she high-fived fans along the sides of the ramp and waved to the crowd. Hopping up onto the ring apron, Julia then ascended the nearest corner before cupping her hands over her mouth. “Lets make some noise, Tokyo! Woo!” she shouted out enthusiastically, getting the crowd to cheer a little louder as she hopped down onto the mat, immediately walking out to the center of the ring before offering a hand for a handshake. “Hey there, partner! The name’s Julia. Lets give these people a great match!”

Haruka accepted the handshake and gave a bow. Her opponent was good hearted and respectful and Haruka was grateful for that. Julia was far more impressive in the flesh. Haruka felt a little bit small next to her. She felt like they were an incredibly interesting pair in the ring, standing face to face as they were. Haruka's usual wrestling attire glimmered in the lights of the arena. It was a holdover from her Wrestle Angels days. She loved how the loose cloth flowed and moved on her body.

But her clothing was not her concern at the moment. After the show of sportsmanship Haruka took a few steps back. The bell ringing was imminent. She could feel it in her bones. She gave a curt nod to the ref girl to let her know that Haruka was ready for action. Her fighting stance came to her easily, like it always did.

Muscles tensed and eyes narrowed. Haruka was ready to spring into action. The Silent Phoenix would be ready to take off like a rocket the second the bell rang.

The crowd gave a small round of applause for the display of respect and sportsmanship as both women shook hands. Although Julia did take note of the fact that Haruka had elected not to speak. Guess that’s why they call her the Silent Phoenix. she thought to herself before pushing the thought aside as she moved back to her corner, also nodding to the referee to indicate she was good to go.

As she crouched down a bit, the masked woman’s eyes focused on the woman standing across the ring from her, as if trying to analyze her and guess what she would do. It was tough to tell. Seemingly nothing about her stance explicitly gave away her intent. So, Julia decided she’d take a gamble by attempting to take the fight to Haruka.

Unaware that Haruka was planning to do the same, the exact moment the bell rang, Julia launched herself in a dead sprint toward her foe. And after the distance was closed, the masked blonde would then drop down and attempt to send the soles of both her boots at Haruka’s left knee with a sliding dropkick. Inflicting damage to Haruka’s lethal legs early could be a great potential start in taking away those lethal kicks of hers. But even if she missed, she’d at least have the opportunity to test the woman’s reflexes.

The Silent Phoenix appreciated Julia's mask. It made her seem so inscrutable, so mysterious. Perhaps it was for that reason that Haruka did not guess that Julia would also launch at Haruka the way Haruka launched towards Julia. They were on each other in a flash. While Julia elected to try and swing in a low kick that would sweep Haruka off her feet Haruka bounded into the air.

While she was airborne she was forced to hit a moving target. The ideal was to get her knee right in the middle of her forehead and make the first blow really count. As Julia slid in her reflexes snapped into gear. Instead of a knee she swung her leg down to try and make it and impromptu, yet weak, kick. It was awkward and forced yet it still came and Haruka prayed it would find Julia's flesh.

Haruka looked at the expanse of canvas before her as she was midair. Hopefully the kick would connect and she could try and land properly. If not, well, then Haruka was going to take quite a tumble.

Not even a full second after the bell had rung, it seemed the two combatants were headed for a high speed collision right in the middle of the ring! And just as Julia slid down to send her dropkick forward, her foe soared gracefully through the air to avoid it.

It all happened in the blink of an eye, yet for Julia the whole thing almost felt like it was in slow motion. Right as she saw Haruka take to the air, the masked woman had instinctively lifted an arm over her head. It couldn't have been more well-placed, as Haruka's foot then extended and struck her leather wristguard. If the kick had more power behind it, that might've caused some serious pain to her arm. But fortunately, it was weak enough that Julia's wrist was able to deflect the limb to keep it form inflicting any noticeable harm.

As the two women flew by each other, one through the air and the other sliding over the mat, the crowd certainly perked up at the early high-speed display. Julia quickly slid to a stop before bounding up to her feet and turning to face Haruka again, curious to see what she'd try next.

The kick connected with something and the pang shooting through her shinbone suggested that she should be a little more careful with kick placement next time. Haruka made a crash landing and rolled once before skidding to a halt near the ropes. One hand on the red covering was enough to haul her up and Haruka glanced across the ring at Julia.

She wasn't coming. Good. Julia didn't look any worse for the wear from their little exchange though. And even if the landing had been a little awkward Haruka wasn't seriously injured. The Silent Phoenix stood in her horse stance. It was a power stance and Haruka guessed that Julia would think that Haruka was unafraid to continue going forward, to continue throwing herself into the maelstrom.

The footfalls came quickly and Haruka was on the move again. The Silent Phoenix surged forward and launched into the air again- this time it was with a spin and some flourish, as Haruka was able to spin her body all the way around to try and swing a powerful kick into Julia's side. The move was fast as lightning and the crowd didn't know what was going to happen until Haruka had turned most of the way around in midair.

Jullia bounded up to her feet just in time to see Haruka pull herself up as well. The woman had crashed onto the mat, but it didn't seem she was suffering much from her fall. And while she could've tried to take the offensive again, the blonde instead opted to be patient and wait for an opening.

The masked woman was fully on guard as Haruka took off directly toward her, once again leaping into the air. Her flawless spin was a brief but dazzling spectacle for the audience, but Julia held her ground and focused on finding out what would be coming at her.

Once the leg extended, Julia immediately widened her stance and raised her left arm, then gasped out in pain as she allowed the strong kick to slam right against her rigs. "Agh!" But right as it made contact, she then clamped her arm down around her foe's shin to try to trap the leg in place. Gritting her teeth in her effort to block out the pain in her ribs, Julia would then drop down and try to painfully twist Haruka's limb with a dragon screw!

Give a little, take a little. The crunching kick slammed into Julia side which surprised Haruka a little bit. The woman with the mask had her guard up and the Silent Phoenix was sure that Julia would block it or something. Instead the kick came slamming home, but it wasn't all good news; Julia had grabbed her leg and spun her into a painful dragon screw.

Haruka was strobic once again, this time not of her own accord. The Silent Phoenix hit the mat with a grunt and did a few rolls to make sure she was out of harm's way. She got up, a little more slowly because of the pain, and brought her hands to bear out in front of her. The last two exchanges sent her heart pumping and her chest was slowly rising and falling.

She clenched her fists and widened her legs. That was enough offense for now. Time to see if she could get Julia to come to her, to try and hit her with a counter or something.

Julia's dragon screw managed to painfully twist the leg of her foe and bring her down to the mat. The blond then winced in pain as she pulled herself back up to a knee, placing a hand over her aching ribs. She knew Haruka's strikes were her greatest asset, but she'd underestimated just how much power the woman could put behind them.

"Heh. Maybe taking that shot wasn't my best idea…" she muttered to herself as Haruka rolled away. Now both women were up, both fully aware of the other. And it seemed the Phoenix wasn't going to be so quick on the assault this time. Either she was weary of the possibility of Julia countering again, or she was simply waiting for the masked woman to come walking into a trap.

Either way, doing nothing didn't seem like a great option. Going on such a quick offensive surge right out of the gate had started to wind Haruka, and Julia needed to at least try to take advantage while she could. So she sprung forward, seemingly heading for Haruka. But abruptly, she would then shift her course to the side and leap forward and land feet first on the middle rope. Hoping to catch her by surprise, she'd then spring off the rope and twist in the air, attempting to swing her right leg toward Haruka's head.