The Luck Of The Irish?

It was a fairly quiet day at the coffee shop in the mall, with most of the patrons doing their usual thing. Well, except for a fairly loud young 19 year old in a back corner, well away from everyone else.

"Are ya fuckin' kididn' me!? Alaina had that little pirate girl under her heel the whole match and ya get up on that' apron like some bloody fool!?" Peggy shouted at her laptop as she chugged her hot coffee. Sure, she was an Irish lass who loved whiskey, but she rarely drank to excess. She was in Japan to train, wrestle and win! She couldn't afford to go out and place herself in a position where her training suffered. She followed in her aunt's footsteps, deciding that wrestling was for her. Because she watched mostly her aunt Velvet, she had a soft spot for the classic, old school wrestling style. She learned the technical aspects and trained on that. While she was very solid in terms of technique, she was average - at best - when it came to fitness. Her curvy body, 144 pounds on a 5'6'' frame, looked more like that of an 80's wrestler than a typical wrestler today. That never deterred Peggy, she felt like she could train, learn and hang with anyone. "For fucks sake ref..... how can ya miss that much cheating'!?" Peggy shouted, as Z.Z apparently took control via shady tactics. At least Peggy calmed down a slight bit when the match progressed with Alaina winning fairly convincingly. "'Atta girl! Way to show that little sneaky ass whats what inside those ropes!"

However, she had only been signed to Friction and in Japan for a couple weeks. Peggy hadn't had a match yet. She watched some women from Friction, and developed a love for anyone who seemed to be a throwback, or at least have roots in the classic wrestling style. A style Peggy was going to use inside those ropes. Valley Doll was a woman she liked watching, as was the woman whose SS '14 dark match she pirated: "Amazon" Alaina Sanders. Alaina's tag partner was a masked luchadora cowgirl whose flair was like something Peggy grew up watching.

More than anything, Peggy wanted to meet them, learn from them and of course beat them.

It had been a little while now since Julia Rogers had competed in a match. Or at least, it felt like it had been forever already since her match with Alaina, where she’d been handed her first defeat. But neither the loss nor the time off had bothered the cowgirl. She’d kept up with her training, which as of late had only been more intensive than ever thanks to Junko. So whenever the time came to step out in front of the crowd again, Julia felt confident she’d be more than ready.

But today wasn’t about any of that. Today was about using her free time to relax and enjoy herself. Hence why the blonde had ventured over to the mall, where she now stood in front of a window of a particular clothing store - or more specifically, a particular dress that had caught her eye. It was red and small, coming just about midway down the thigh. The design was clearly oriental, though Asian fashion was not something Julia had the first clue about. Yet at the same time, she was living in Japan and didn’t have any clothes from here. It’d be nice to have something like that, but...would she look good in it? Would Drake like it? “Hmm.....” Julia took about ten seconds to picture his reaction to seeing her in the dress, and not even a minute later she was at the cash register buying it with a bright smile on her pretty face.

That was one problem solved. But now, she could really use a cup of coffee. Fast forward a few minutes and Julia, with her new dress folded up in a bag in her hand, was now at the front of a very different line buying a cup of coffee, all while listening to the sound of some girl with a heavy Irish accent shouting about something way in the back of the room. Most of it she hadn’t heard clearly, and she didn’t want to pry, so she initially was just content to tune it out and mind her own business. It was only after she’d been given her cup of coffee and started walking off that Julia heard the shouting girl say something about “inside those ropes,” and she turned to glance in the direction of the voice. Was that girl watching wrestling matches? Perhaps she was mistaken, but the blonde was curious enough now to find out. So she walked over and smiled as she stood by the table the Irish girl was sitting at.

“Excuse me.” Julia said, trying to politely get her attention. “Sorry to bother ya, but I couldn’t help but overhear. Are you watchin’ wrestling matches over here?”

Peggy was so into the matches she was watching that she didn't immediately notice the blonde woman approaching.  "All right, 'atta girl Val!"  Peggy said to her laptop screen as Valley Doll was taking the fight to Natasha Han in their first matchup.  Boy she had a lot of catching up to do...

The redhead in her hoodie and jeans looked up from her laptop at the woman.  "Good afternoon!  I know its probably not the most lady-like thing to watch but I do love my wrestling.  My aunt was a wrestler years ago!  Watching her matches and listening to her stories growing up really got me into it too!  Ma and dad aren't the happiest about it, but aunt Velvet was happy as can be when she found out I was comin' over here to give it a try myself."  Peggy explained with a big smile on her face.  She stood up and extended her hand towards the woman.  "The names Peggy McIntyre, while I may not look like a lot of the women who step inside the ring these days, I sure as shit am a wrestler over on that AFW Friction show."  Peggy added, her chest swelling with pride.  Sure, the 19 year old had yet to wrestle a match in Japan but hell how many 19 year olds could say they signed a professional sports contract?

Julia was a bit surprised by how open this complete stranger was. She’d just asked about what the girl was watching, and now she felt like she knew all about her already! Not that Julia minded, of course. The story was one she could relate to, at least in some regards.

“I kinda know how ya feel. I grew up with it too.” she said, and listened on as Peggy talked about going into wrestling despite her parents’ disapproval. That part was a complete opposite of Julia’s experiences. Her parents had been the ones to introduce her to it when she was just a kid, and encouraged her to pursue it for herself. Doing so thus far had proven to be the best decision of her life, and she couldn’t imagine how things would’ve played out without that factor. Something about that thought just made her respect Peggy’s decision to wrestle even more, and hearing that she’d joined Friction made Julia’s smile spread even bigger.

“You’re with Friction? That’s awesome!” Julia replied with a bright smile as she reached her hand out to shake Peggy’s. “I wrestle over there too, so I guess that means we’ll be seein’ each other pretty often then. I’m Julia Rogers, by the way. Nice to meet ya, Peggy.”

Peggy tilted her head curiously as Julia mentioned that "she grew up with it too."  As Peggy looked her over, she was tall and did look like she had the build a few wrestlers these days had.  When Julia said her name Peggy's jaw dropped as she literally jumped up into the air!  "Holy shit YOU are THE Julia Rogers?!  I never saw ya without yer mask!"  Peggy beamed as she grinned ear to ear.  "Do you really know how awesome you are?  You are one of my three favorite Friction women to watch over here!  Your style is a bt different than mine, but I'll tell ya what I may be a bit curvy or full bodied compared to these skinny-mini women that step into the ring but I can fly pretty damn well myself!  I can use some power too, and if its suplexes you are looking for I'm your lady!"

Peggy didn't realize just how quickly she was talking, she only knew that she was super excited to meet Julia!  She was one of the two high flyers Peggy liked, the other being Valley Doll.  "That partner of yours ya fought at Avalanche has a classic feel to her that I really like.  What's the amazon really like?"  Peggy gushed a bit before taking a breath.  She talked more in the last 30 seconds than she usually did by a longshot.  

"Ya know, I'm sorry 'fer rambling' on like I just did.  Its just that aside from my aunt you are one of my favorite wrestlers!  I mean, you and Alaina are two women I've liked watching for a while.  Of course, meeting you is nice but beating you would be even better.  Call me crazy, but in this business looking up to someone as good as you two are and then being able to beat ya would just be the craziest rush!" Poor Peggy found herself gushing again without realizing it. Oh how a shot of whiskey would help calm her down.... or get her riled up, one or the other.

With Peggy being an obvious wrestling enthusiast on top of being one of AFW’s newest recruits, Julia wasn’t surprised by the fact that the Irish girl knew her. But what did surprise the cowgirl was Peggy’s reaction to learning her identity. Her eyes widened a bit when she saw the girl practically jump right out of her skin, and the words that started flying out of Peggy’s mouth over the next few seconds were some of the most flattering words Julia had heard since coming to Japan.

“Oh wow, uh... Thanks! I really appreciate that. Always nice to meet a fan.” Julia replied with a semi-awkward chuckle, reacting as composed as possible after being caught off guard like that. Though hearing her talk about her style helped bring the comfort back into the conversation. “Yeah? Well, sounds like you’ve got some nice tools there. Hope I get to see ‘em in action sometime soon.”

Then the topic switched to Alaina, and Julia waited for the excited girl to pause before answering the question. “Alaina? Hardest workin’ girl I ever met, and the best friend a gal can ask for. Long as ya stay on her good side, anyway.” Julia said with a wink.

The comment about Peggy wanting to beat Julia drew another chuckle from the cowgirl. Though she wasn’t laughing at the Irishwoman, necessarily. “Oh yeah? Well, I’d love to see ya give it a shot sometime. Could be a lot of fun. Just don’t think I’ll go easy on ya just ‘cause you’re a fan, alright?” She gave Peggy a playful nudge in the arm with her fist.

Peggy smiled as Julia complimented her. "Thanks! I know I don't really look like much, but I can catch ya off guard..." Peggy said with a wink. She nodded as Julia spoke of Alaina and took in everything that the cowgirl said.

Then, Peggy heard something of an invitation that made her smile even bigger somehow. A match with Julia!? As an actual possibility too?! It was almost too much for the young woman to handle. "I wouldn't want anything less than yer best against me, and just because I really like your work doesn't mean I will go easy on you either. If ya underestimate me like a few have done, you'll be out on your ass with me sitting' atop ya with your leg hooked in no time!"

A match with Julia made Peggy both excited and nervous. She always wanted to face her favorite wrestlers because she thought they were some of the best wrestlers. However, Peggy knew full well that as much as she knew for a 19 year old she still had a lot to learn. She would walk away from the match as a better wrestler regardless of the outcome, if it ever happened. Still..... little questions began to creep into her head. Could she hang at all with the high flying cowgirl? Would she just be overwhelmed by speed and humiliated? There were crazy women in wrestling.... how did she know that while her favorites all seemed sane that it wasn't some act?

Peggy shook her head and looked Julia in the eye. She couldn't let stupid doubt get in her way. She wouldn't let that happen. "If we ever do have a match and I win, ya owe me a pair of autographed cowgirl boots signed by you and your amazonian tag partner!" Peggy said as she grinned, extending her hand as if to make the deal official. However, she also had a feeling that if Julia won there was going to be some other aspect to the bet where Peggy owed her something.

Peggy’s initial response about a potential match between them made Julia think back to her first match against Gwen, particularly when the heiress had sat high up on Julia’s chest for an easy pin right after making the cowgirl eat quite possibly the most devastating super kick of her career. She briefly imagined Peggy as the one perched on top of her instead of Gwen. And even minus the super kick, that was a pin Julia knew she’d have a hard time escaping. This girl had some good sized hips, which could be a very nice tool for grounding speedy high flyers like Julia. She made a mental note to try to avoid such a scenario if they did happen to meet in the ring.

"Heh. I like that confidence. It'd be fun seein' if you can back it up." she replied

But when Peggy introduced some stakes to the hypothetical match, Julia laughed a bit. “Alright, Peggy. Ya got yourself a deal.” she replied, then started to reach her hand out to shake Peggy’s, only to pull it back at the last moment as something occurred to her. “Actually, hold on a sec. This bet’s soundin’ a little one-sided, don’t ya think?” Hmm...” She crossed her arms and tapped the toe of her boot against the ground while thinking to herself for a moment, before an idea finally came.

“I know! If I win, ya gotta treat me and Alaina to a round of drinks. Now how’s that sound?” Julia said, then extended her hand again, this time waiting to see if Peggy would accept the offer. It felt a tad silly to make such a wager when they didn’t even know if they’d ever have the chance to go at it in the ring. But Julia had a gut feeling that wasn’t really something they’d need to worry about.

Peggy jumped up and down in place, shaking Julia's hand. "Lass, ya got yerself a deal!" Peggy couldn't have been happier. She didn't know that Julia didn't simply make her own matches. It didn't matter. Peggy got the time of day, and a gambling wager from one of her wrestling heroines!

Peggy slyly grinned at Julia. "Ya don't know what ya are gettin' yerself into do ya girl? I will try not to disappoint....well, disappoint yer fans save for me, when I squeak out a win over the mighty, amazing, high flying cowgirl Julia Rogers!" Peggy said with a playful elbow to the arm. "Just kiddin' lass, I know you to be one of the best there is, I would just be in there doing my best."

Peggy’s beaming energy and happiness was contagious, and practically had Julia hopping in place right there with her. The cowgirl managed to refrain from going that far, though a friendly little laugh found its way out. “Alright! I’m sure Alaina’s gonna be excited once I tell her we’re gettin’ free drinks.”

Of course, Julia was being just as playful as Peggy. Although, the Irish girl’s last comment didn’t seem to carry that confidence Julia had seen and loved in her just a moment ago. “Hey now, don’t ever go givin’ up on yourself. No matter who ya ever get in the ring with, the most important key to winnin’ the match is believin’ ya can. Goin’ into any match without that, chances are you will have already lost before the bell even rings.” That was something her parents had told her many times growing up, and instilling that confidence in Julia had been a big key to her success, both before and after coming to Japan.

“By the way, have ya had a chance to check out the arena and everything yet? If not, I’d be happy to take ya over there and show ya around.”