Second Chances (for RadiantKarna)

If Risako was honest with herself, she still didn't feel ready for this.

It had been far, far too long since her ring loss to Suzumi, and he grand defeat to Chris. Weeks since she had just...well, lost it. She'd been utterly convinced at that point that whatever had made her special, whatever had made her a one-time Wrestle Angels champion, was gone. A simple losing streak like that, compounded by the feeling that she had failed to avenge her fellow Angels, had spiralled into a long tailspin that she simply couldn't pull herself up from.

In the end, it had been a talk with her old teammate that had set her straight. Now, even after everything, Uehara still believed in her. That had to count for something. If nothing else, Uehara was there to tell her that she still believed in her, and that despite this losing streak, Panther Risako was still the Queen of Queens, dammit, and had an obligation to be better than this.

She took a deep breath. She still had a lot of apologies to make, and she still had to muster the courage at some point to approach Chris. One step at a time, she knew, as she slid on her ring gear.



Striding headlong into the ring, Risako was met by a wave of cheers...and a chorus of boos as well. The fans weren't going to forget the way she had blindsided Suzumi like that. That was to be expected. She ignored them as best she could, striding down the ramp before sliding into the ring and hopping back to her feet. In some ways, she felt like a rookie all over again. There was still a little tremor of anxiety in her that was convinced that she was going to lose again, that her legacy was over, that she didn't belong in the ring, that she should just shut up and retire already, that she--

She clenched a fist. Uehara might be watching, dammit, and so might Kishima. And so might Suzumi. And so might Chris. She couldn't afford to let her doubts get thte better of her now. It had been a big enough step for her to get back into the ring in the first place.

Taking a deep breath, and trying her best not to let her unease or doubt show, Risako waited to see who she was being pitted against.

For tonight's match, Priscilla would be facing someone with high caliber, the one from Wrestle Angels, Panther Risako. But, from what she had heard, the former Angel had been in quite a slump and had undergone a losing streak. While she'd rather face someone in their full strength, the prospect of defeating a one-time champion of Wrestle Angels was quite enticing, and she would be a fool to refuse such a match up. A win against such a high-profiled individual, no matter how far she had fallen due to her losing streak, would certainly bring her name up the cards, which was something that Priscilla needed in this federation.

Slipping herself into her wrestling attire, Priscilla took one last look on herself. Perfect. She was to display herself in front of the crowd, after all. So, she needed to be presentable while she brought down a legendary name in the ring. Soon, she waited at the Gorilla position, waiting for her turn to show up before she finally got the cue.

Priscilla Haynes:

When her music, Rage Awakened, was played, Priscilla would make her appearance, and she was greeted by the cheers from a sizable group of fans. Wearing her cloak over her wrestling attire, she walked down the ramp, letting herself be showered in the cheers and adoration of the crowd. Still, she noted that there was a sizable group of crowd booing her, which was natural, considering that she was facing a big name herself, Panther Risako. Ignoring them, Priscilla continued walking down the ramp, heading over to the ring.

Once she reached the ring, she would climbed up the steel steps before slipping into the ring. She would take a look at Risako and flashed her a confident smile, with a dash of arrogance in it. She noted that Panther Risako was a beautiful woman. This was her first time facing the former Angel, and she would make sure to savor this moment. "Greetings..." she said. "My name is Priscilla Haynes, and I am honored to face you in this ring tonight, Panther Risako..." Well, just because she was about to face someone didn't mean she had to be disrespectful about it, though the proud look on her face didn't go away.

Risako watched as the newcomer entered the ring. She was fairly tall, narrowly edging Risako out in height and weight, and carried herself with the confidence of a pro with many successes under her belt. No, confidence was the wrong word: arrogance was what Risako was seeing. The new girl's expression, despite her politeness, was cold and dismissive, and she could almost feel the contempt radiating from her soon to be opponent. She almost reminded Risako of Freia...except Freia had always been open and cocky in her arrogance, Priscilla was hiding it behind a veneer of civility.

Maybe she was deserving of contempt, the thought came wriggling into Risako's mind. She tried to shut it out as best she could. Here in the ring, self-doubt was the last thing she needed.

"I'm glad you've heard of me," Risako replied with a polite, but no less icy, nod of her own as she locked eyes with Priscilla. "The honour is all mine, Miss Haynes. I trust you will give me a worthy challenge."

Priscilla was glad that she was met with an icy response from Risako. She actually quite respected the former Wrestle Angel, but in this match, Priscilla was planning to defeat Risako and propel her name up to a new height. "Indeed. Let us have a match worthy of remembrance, Miss Risako," she said in a rather dramatic manner. She removed her cloak, revealing her one-piece wrestling attire before handing the cloak to the ringside crew.

Soon after that, the referee, a cute girl with short bobbed hair, clad in striped bikini top and black shorts issued for most referees here in AFW, called for the bell, and the match was started.

For the start of the match, Priscilla decided to lock up with Risako first, offering to have a contest of strength as she held out her arms. All the while, still having a confident and proud look on her beautiful visage. One could tell that Priscilla was planning to win this match against the former Angel, and she would show it to everyone that she had what it took to bring the Angel down.

Risako watched impassively as Priscilla threw aside her cloak, revealing a slender yet fit form that was well suited for the ring. The two of them never once took their eyes off of one another as the ref girl signalled for the match to begin, nor as as the bell rang in earnest.

As Priscilla motioned for a lockup, Risako raised an eyebrow. Priscilla seemed earnest about wanting the lockup-- she reminded her a lot of Beauty Ichigaya, too proud and aloof to resort to dirty tricks. She smiled a little at the memory, before darting in to meet Priscilla's lockup. For a brief moment, the two beauties would push and twist against each other, each vying for supremacy as Risako tried to push Priscilla back and remind her exactly of who she was dealing with.

Locking up with Risako, Priscilla then understood how this woman managed to be a one-time champion of Wrestle Angels, but this was also a challenge that she wanted to overcome. Pushing and twisting as both of them grappled, Priscilla would try to shift the lock up by freeing one of her hands from Risako's before hooking it around her neck, hoping that it could grant her a new leverage to push Risako down.

Risako was strong, there was no denying it. But, Priscilla would defeat her all the same, she was so sure of it. So, attempting to push Risako down, Priscilla let out a growl, leaning against her opponent's body as she tried to push her back. In doing so, their bodies would be pressed together as both of them grappled. It would make quite an attractive sight for the audience to behold, with two beautiful women trying to overcome each other in a contest for supremacy.

Risako gritted her teeth, her eyes never once leaving Priscilla's as the two women pushed and twisted for control. The struggle at this point had them shoulder to shoulder, Risako's lean body curved forwards as she leaned into her foe. So far, her newcomer was pretty strong. Which was just as well, because she never relied on pure strength to win her matches.

A grim smile suddenly lit Risako's features, and she stopped struggling, instead falling back and twisting, aiming to judo toss Priscilla to the mat. She would be spinning quickly to her feet immediately afterwards, moving with a soft and elegant grace befitting of her regal title, knowing she could easily have followed up, but instead maintaining her distance. "Stumbling already? I had thought you would be a better dance partner than that, Miss Haynes."

God, it felt good to throw trash talk again.

As Priscilla tried to push forward, Risako suddenly stopped pushing. In her confusion, she suddenly felt weightless as the former Angel then judo tossed her into the mat. She was tossed over Risako's shoulder with the judo toss, and when she finally registered what was going on, Priscilla landed harshly on her back, causing her to gasp in pain upon impact. "Urgh!!"

Wincing, Priscilla would try to roll over to her side before trying to get up on her knees. Hearing Risako's taunt, she couldn't help but let out a grunt before she looked up at her. "Heh... big talk from a washed up has-been..." she taunted back. Of course, she didn't actually mean it, considering how much she respected Panther Risako, but if her opponent desired some trash-talking, then trash-talking would she get.

In her effort to avoid being overwhelmed by Risako, Priscilla would try to get back on her feet, but due to this, she was unable to mount any kind of offense at the very moment.

Risako tried not to let her reaction show as Priscilla taunted back. The words "washed up" and "has-been" stung more than Risako thought they would, though, and her aloof expression wavered a little from Priscilla's words. No, dammit Risako, don't let her get into your head so easily, she thought furiously to herself, maintaining her cool as best she could.

Even so, her smile turned into a glare as she strode towards Priscilla. "Let me help you with that," she said, grabbing Priscilla by the arm and pulling her to her feet...before whipping her across the ring, aiming to test Priscilla's reactions with a simple clothesline!

Priscilla was inevitably picked up by Risako as the former Angel pulled her up to her feet before she was whipped across the ring. Still reeling from Risako's attack, she had no choice but to go with the flow and run towards the ropes and rebound from them to return back to Risako. It seemed that Risako was trying to test her with a clothesline, from the look of it.

But, she wouldn't let herself be taken down by just a clothesline. So, when she returned back to Risako, she also extended her arm as  she would crash into Risako's, planning to bring the former champion of Wrestle Angels down with her with a clothesline of her own.