SS 18 Entropy Title: Valley Doll (c) versus Manami Kuroda (Iron Man Match)

Valley’s steps were more deliberate now, more careful and measured as she and Manami circled each other and prepared for the next phase. She only broke away to spare a quick glance at the clock…


...and then they were right back where they belonged, watching her foe as she moved around. Prowled around. There was a stalking way to her movements, an animal’s gate. She didn’t strut like a person, but like a beast that was wearing a woman’s skin, some inhuman pretending to be human and not quite pulling it off.

Valley huffed and blew a few hairs out of her face, doing her best to not be fazed. That first minute and change had been hers, all hers, but one mistake and Manami closed the gap. She’d been too confident, though she could win through her sheer experience, and her opponent showed her up. The lesson? Mainstays weren’t the way to go with Manami. She’d have to be a little tricky.

When Manami ducked low, she did the same. When Manami came in for another test of strength, she did the same. This time, though, she had a trap of her own to spring, something that would make an opening if the timing was just right.

Her idea was a simple one, and it would’ve worked. The only problem was that Manami had the exact same thought, at the exact same time, in the exact same way.

In a move that could’ve only been more exact if they’d practiced, Valley pulled back and thrusted her leg out at almost the same time that Manami, taking a stiff hit in the gut as she delivered the same to Manami’s tightened abs. It was impossible to say whose kick did more damage - Manami was probably the stronger woman overall, but Valley had a slight height advantage and her leg strength ranked high. Whatever the case, it was a hard shot to take on the Slamazon’s end, making her stumble back a couple of winded steps.

Gritting her teeth, Valley slammed her foot down a moment later and threw herself back into it, determined to move in before Manami could enjoy the opening. She came at Manami with arms wide once more, looking like she was determined to get that test of strength, but this time she abandoned it at the last second - she threw her arms down and her entire upper body followed, with legs flying over in an arc, attempting to hit Manami in the head with a wild Rolling Koppu Kick.

There was a tinge of surprise that sparked in the back of Manami’s mind when she noticed the woman react. She hadn’t expected Valley to simply lay back against the ropes and attempt to withstand the offensive headed her way, but she hadn’t anticipated a full-forward approach either. A cartwheel to the side. A quick sidestep and counter-kick perhaps. She did seem to favor those agile legs of hers. Anything that didn’t involve directly submitting to the wolf’s superior power.

But Valley hadn’t simply reacted, she mirrored the wolf’s movements down to a tee. Forward posture, raised arms, spread legs. She was seriously anticipating another tie-up, as if the first demonstration hadn’t been a good enough lesson for her. This woman was truly dumber than she look-

“NGH!”

A swift strike to the gut dispelled the rest of Manami’s thoughts, leaving in their place an overwhelming sense of bewilderment. The mirror moment had stalled her brain, genuinely unsure of what happened for an instant in time, but only an instant. A snap kick, one that lived up to the champion’s name, sent her stumbling back a few paces back towards the center of the ring. She took solace in the realization that her target had at least found its mark, just as Valley’s had, feeling the impression fresh on her foot.

It was a small setback, then. A slight bump in the road. With a slight grunt of frustration, Manami still upright and raising her head to face her opponent.and lunge straight back at the Slamazon in retaliation, before the woman could take advantage of their little mishap.

At least, that was what would have happened. But Valley had the ropes. Instead, what Manami found waiting for her was a charging Slamazon, arms raised for yet another lock-up. Her eyes locked with the Californian’s clear blue pair, keeping them locked and going to lunge forward and snake around her arms behind the woman’s head again, eager to teach her the consequences of reckless haste with another codebreaker. But now it was the wolf’s turn to be fooled. Valley dove forward and Manami merely watched as she did so, wondering what purpose she was using those arms for now.

The answer came in a violent clap upside the Wolf Girl’s skull as the underside of Valley’s heel rattled her from top to bottom. Her head slumped rolled once then slumped forward, the rest of her body following before she caught herself on one knee. The pain overwhelming her mind was enough to stall her body for a spell, but was minor compared to the frustration Manami felt welling up inside. Such an obvious little trick. How did she not recognize it? With slightly blurred vision, she gritted her teeth in a fierce scowl and resolved to raise herself back up to two feet. Of course, she imagined Valley would have an objection to that.

The Rolling Koppu Kick was probably not the best idea of a move on paper. Oh, it would hurt like blazes if it connected - if. If she shifted it or Manami saw it coming or she just didn’t hurt her as much as she hopped, it would leave her on the floor and open with an opponent who took glee in breaking bones.

But that didn’t happen. The goddess of wrestling smiled on Valley again, and she landed the kick straight on, flush on the top of Manami’s head. The only drawback was that she couldn’t see the look on her opponent’s face when it connected - it was definitely not the sort of strike someone like her would be familiar with, even if she was more versed in wrestling technique than Valley had anticipated.

Maybe there was some merit to that. Relying on her more fringe skills to take Manami off guard. Something to ponder.

Her more immediate concern was taking advantage of the golden window she’d just opened, the one that she had every intention of capitalizing on.

She rolled off her shoulder and popped to her feet a couple of yards away from Manami, giving her some ample space to work with. The  moment she made it up to two feet, Valley charged forward, ducked down, and for a second looked she might just tackle her opponent. Instead, she went to the old-school well and leaped at Manami’s side, throwing herself into a roll as she passed and reaching through her foe’s legs from behind as she tumbled, seizing her leg.. Valley came down on her back, pulled Manami over to her back, and stacked her for a quick schoolboy pin. Wrestling boilerplate, really.

The referee went in for the count, but it was perfunctory as far as Valley was concerned.

”1…!”

She’d take a pin here, sure, but it was likely that Manami would kick out. When she did, Valley had a surprise waiting for her.

Kick. Kick. And another kick.

Manami was beginning to detect a pattern in this exchange. Not one that was unexpected, mind, but annoying to deal with nonetheless. For all her berating, she had to admire the power and swiftness the champion was capable of administering with those shapely extremities. It was one thing viewing such technique from the stands, but another entirely to be on the receiving end of it.

The wolf didn’t fret, however. She knew many things about Valley, more than she’d likely knew herself. Chief among them, however, was her love for the sport. Their otherwise pleasant conversation at Yoyogi had only served to cement those impressions. She lived the environment, breathed it, accepted it as part of her being. Manami understood the role it played in this woman’s life and how that weight would guide her this very evening.

Valley was an entertainer at heart. Manami’s intention was to use all of that against her, that idiotic, romanticized view of combat only permitted to survive in the confined corners of the squared circle. That overblown, silly flying and prancing around the canvas that could be ended with one swift blow to the kneecap if one were of such baseless morals. She only had to get close, to narrow the distance between them and snuff that flame out in fell swoop.

It worked, in theory. In practice, not quite as much success.

Professional wrestling, as Manami’s aching head and hazy vision allowed her to quickly discover, had its own tricks to pull. It was hard enough to keep her down, hardly the first time she’d been met with a hammer to her skull, but Valley was quick to pick up on that. In an instant, the wolf was bull-rushed by the Slamazon, feeling her right leg slipped out from under her as the woman’s rolling momentum hit her dead on. Forced onto her back, Manami found herself staring up at the stage lights in an instant before Valley’s head quickly slipped in from the bottom frame. Her eyes narrowed and, between the Koppu Kick and the back of head banging against the floor, she was still making sense of the quick motion-

ONE!

-before the official’s voice roused her back to life. With a surge of energy from her core, Manami bucked forward, attempting to break her leg free and raise her shoulder’s from the mat to stop the count. It wasn’t her best effort, truth be told, but it would manage to halt the count just short of the second call. Manami would also attempt to turn onto her side in the effort, both to make a wedge for her to attempt to crawl out of and to spare herself the sight of Valley’s unpalatable countenance.

Would Valley have been disappointed if this actually worked on Manami, if she’d managed to score a pin so easy and so early? Maybe. She wanted to win this and do it in a decisive fashion, but at the same time, she needed to come out of this looking good. She had plans. Goals. Wanted to establish her place in Friction’s hierarchy once again. As much as she hated to admit it, Manami was presenting her with a chance to rejuvenate her career.

More immediately, though, she had plans for this moment and this move. Plans that Manami was working into, whether she realized them or not. There was a strategic element, here.

She sold the moment, leaning hard into Manami, as if she really wanted to score a pinfall, here. The referee dropped down for the count, started on it, the audience either cheered or booed depending on their favored side…

...and a kick out. Decent one, enough to put her on her side and break the count. Valley appreciated that, too. She didn’t even resist her, because it made it that much easier to keep her rolling and flip her onto her chest. ”Thanks!”

From there, it all happened in one seamless motion. She kept her hold around Manami’s knee, and brought her own leg up to trap her ankle between her thighs, holding it in place between them, then bringing it down with her as she dropped to lay down on her opponent’s back, forcing the leg to bend at a bad angle . From there, she simply reached out, wrapped her good arm around the She-Wolf’s throat, pulled back hard and squeezed away.

It wasn’t the STF, but it’s rarer variation, the STS - Stepover Toehold Sleeper. One of her mother’s favorites. All the pain of the regular STF, without the benefit  of air. She wouldn’t be able to lock it 100% with her other arm still aching from Manami’s torture, but in the end, you didn’t need to apply all that much pressure to the throat to get acceptable results. More importantly, the only way out of this snare was to crawl for the ropes, and she knew from experience how hard that could be over even a short distance with a regular STF locked on, much less one that was choking the life out of you.

Hauling yourself to the ropes while your body was folded in half. Not an easy thing, but Manami was a determined sort of woman. She could make it.

Fair enough. Manami wasn’t too proud of a competitor to admit when she’d been duped. It was actually somewhat impressive, all things considered.

She wasn’t intimately familiar with being the one on the ground, in her defense. Quick and seamless submissions were her forte, her element. It was how she liked to toy with her prey and lure them into a false sense of security before she made them sing. It was a fairly interesting if unpleasant reversal of those roles happening now.

When she kicked free of Valley’s pin, Manami hadn’t at all expected the woman to back down or concede her advantage. To let the wolf rise to her feet and let them properly reset as if nothing had happened. By the same token, she hadn’t expected the champion to simply keep on her offensive.

In truth, she wasn’t exactly sure what Valley had caught her in. It seemed to be some off mix of a chokehold and an elevated leg lock, all done from behind. The only thing she knew for sure was that it was expectations, and far from conventional. This was as interesting as it was effective, much as she despised being the one in it. The hold was bad in itself, but nowhere quite as excruciating as the ease and temperament with which Valley managed to secure it.

‘Thanks’. Snarky piece of- “Rrrggghh!”

Little time to ruminate, unfortunately. Her leg was burning in agony, the muscles in her quads stretching to their limits. Every breath she attempted to take only served to bring Valley’s arm closer and closer against her windpipe, constricting the airflow in the most painful way possible. Her spine ached and cracked, keeping her struggles to a minimum. Much as she hated to admit it, Valley had caught her cold. Fighting was pointless.

Her only option was escape. Slamming her free left foot against the canvas and bringing one hand away from the arm constricting her, Manami would attempt to crawl her way towards the bottom rope, dragging her and Valley’s combined weight the whole way. She moved with one determined effort after another, moving in bursts of energy towards the ropes. It would be a long and tireless journey, but one she would finish one way or another.

Locking down the legs, working away on the back, cranking the neck and depriving your opponent of air, all while leaving her free to use three of her limbs, just not in any way that could harm you. It was easy for Valley to see how her mother had gotten so many submissions out of this, and she had many not-so-fond memories of getting trapped in it herself when they were sparring.

Of course, Manami was made of stronger stuff than she had been back then, tougher than all but the strongest Slamazons had to offer. She wouldn’t be giving up to this, especially not so early in the match. She was going to fight. She was going to endure.

Valley dug in deep as Manami made her bid for the ropes, hissing with every tug, making no part of her body touched the floor. While Valley was about as light as a female wrestler could get without dipping into the kawaii division, her 135 pounds had to feel like a ton when you only had one leg and two arms to drag it along the floor.

To Manami’s eternal credit, she worked for every inch. She scrapped, she clawed, and earned her release, with more than a few of the crowd members cheering her, some of whom might’ve been Valley’s own contingent. It was a harrowing display of guts and stamina.

Too bad Valley had every intention of ruining.

She waited until the penultimate moment, right when one more thrust would’ve gotten Manami to the ropes, and abruptly dropped the hold altogether, freeing her neck and leg and letting her flop down to refill her lung. Satying low, Valley planted her feet on both sides of Manami’s waist, then wrapped her arms around her opponent’s stomach, lifting her up between her legs.

Valley took a single second to breathe deep and summon all the strength her body had to offer, and then she went into action. With a warrior’s battle scream, she lifted Manami off the floor, jerked away and arched her back to slam the She-Wolf on her head and shoulders with authority, sending her crashing down with a deadlift German Suplex.

She didn’t hold for the pin after, both because she had one more move to finish with and because she just didn’t have the energy for a bridge. Not right after that.

A little closer...a little closer...a little closer…

Manami was never prescribed herself much of a fan of the ropes. It came across as an awfully haphazard method of escaping certain death, a way of prematurely ending the fun for people specifically like her. She’d never been one to use them herself, preferring to worm her way to freedom or simply reverse her position altogether. The latter typically made for an enlightening lesson on her would-be aggressor.

The shoe was on the other foot now, as it were.

Valley was perhaps the first woman in a long while to push her to such an extent. Her technique was rather immaculate, its execution more so. The pain coursing through her body would have been more than the typical newcomer would be able to handle. A submission may have seemed inevitable from the frothing scowl etched upon the Wolf Girl’s face.

But Manami was far from finished. She crawled and scratched against the ground, dragging the both her and the oversized vermin on her back the whole way. She reached out once she was close enough, eyes burning red and her fingertips a mere inch from the elastic fabric...when she suddenly came free. Her head smacked against the canvas with her leg following a second afterward, not even giving a thought to bracing herself before Valley’s vice-like grip abruptly ceased. Manami lifted her head up off the canvas in slight confusion. Mercy? An odd luxury for Valley to suddenly bestow, but one Manami would be sure to make her regret.

Of course, she should have known this woman better by now. She was an endless avenue of tricks and turns, and this decision was no different. As Manami went to push herself up, she suddenly found a pair of hands wrapped around her waist assisting her. In a snap movement, one that saw the wolf’s eyes grow to the size of the moon, the Slamazon lifted her up and over with a powerful German suplex worthy of her namesake.

Manami croaked. A failed attempt at a curse that died in her throat. Her body went into a temporary shutdown, still feel the aftereffects of the stranglehold gripping her vitals. It was difficult to move, difficult to breathe. Her head thumped maddeningly and her back flared with searing pain. She was left with her hands over her head, staring up at the stage lights in slight disbelief. This was certainly a move she hadn’t expected from the aerialist’s slimmer build. Appearances weren’t everything, it seemed.

A lesson she hoped to return in kind.

There was really no overselling just how much that move had taken out of Valley. While her mother had been a prime power wrestler in her day, Valley Doll Jr. hadn’t inherited her stocky, bodybuilder frame. Lifting people up and slamming them was something she could do, but never would’ve attempted in most cases. She wouldn't have even attempted it on someone Alaina’s size, and even with Manami it was setting her back on fire as she laid there, basking in the glow of the moment.

The crowd was going wild for it, cheering the effort, loving the rare display, surprised that she even pulled it off. Judging from the way Manami crumbled and the funny sounds she made, it had quite the effect on her foe, and she’d be lying if she said it wasn’t infinitely satisfying to drive her into the canvas.

Good work. Now she had to do something with it.

Valley lifted her legs upwards, kicked them out, and rose to her feet with a swift kip up, tapping into some adrenaline as the moment moved away with her. With a cry to the sky, she moved over to the ropes, grabbed the middle one and crouched with her eyes locked on Manami, at her side. Waiting. Charging up.

It wasn’t enough to just win this match and secure the victory. No, she wanted this first fall in particular. However, this match went down, she wanted Manami to know that, if she’d just gone for a regular match, Valley would’ve beaten her, and in good time, too. She could set the tone, right here and now.

”Get up.” Valley muttered to herself as she waited for the she-wolf to stand. ”Getupgetupgetup-”

The second that Manami was on two steady feet, Valley would dash towards her at full speed, then leaped behind her back with a somersault. In mid-flip, she’d grab her opponent’s waist, forcing her to flip over with her, a move that would end with the Slamazon on her knees and Manami crashing down on her back.

It was quick, it was flashy, it was surprisingly damaging, it was everything that embodied her as a wrestler: the Valley Bomb, her finishing move.

“...pinned, looking up at the sky, wondering what happened…”

Well. Two out of three wasn’t a particularly horrible guess, in retrospect.

Manami could do little but peer through tiny slits at the stage lights above her. Her body felt heavy, every muscle pushed to its extreme after the vigorous frenzy Valley had just put her through. She’d barely even registered the champion’s cry to the heavens until the sound had already fizzled into the air, leaving nothing but the sound of rushing feet in their wake.

Something was coming. Any fool with half a conscience could notice that, but Manami’s body was in little position to stop it, and her mind even less so. She breathed steadily, feeling some life return to her, but unable to fully appreciate it. Those words came back to her again and again in a seemingly petty attempt at comedy from the divine. Her teeth grit and her gut wrenched. She wanted to tear this woman apart. She’d break those extremities like a fawn’s, smash that smile in her face too much, then take that neck and…

Patience.

Think this through. In her current state, she wasn’t capable of matching Valley’s prowess, and simply enduring what the champion threw at her may as well be a fool’s errand. There was a window, but it would be slim. A single bet to turn this situation on its head, if afforded the chance. The Slamazon had the momentum, was on her feet, was quicker, stronger, already poised to strike. But what did Manami have? The floor.

The corner of the wolf’s lip curled into a grin. She rolled onto her chest and laid against the canvas a few moments longer than necessary, pressing her hands against the surface with her eyes closed. Many in the audience expected her to rise up to her feet, practically shaking with anticipation that, for the moment, escaped Manami’s notice. She wasn’t concerned with them. Wasn’t concerned with the crowd, the referees, the cameras, even the match. For this moment in time, her focus was on solely one thing: finding her mark.

Her head shifted slightly to the side, face turned away from Valley as she pressed her ear to the floor. She listened to the vibrations out of her left and ignored the ramble being fed into her right. A few murmurs made their way to her, a bit of confusion rising in the atmosphere. Why wasn’t she getting up? Was she even trying? Had she fallen asleep? What was-

Focus. The wolf abandoned those distractions and talked only to the canvas against her face. She tasted the anxiety in the air, felt the tension in the ropes, the creaks at the corners, the vibrations echoing beneath her prone body. Now, where was the source?

Close your eyes. Push the world away...and…

Ah. There you are.

Manami’s eyes shot open, narrowing to a razor-sharp glint, a slashing white sneer growing on her lips. With a slap to the canvas, a subtle nod to Valley for whatever she had planned, Manami shakily and slowly rose to her feet. Before her hands had even left the floor, she’d already felt the sensations trembling through them, as if a stamped were headed her way. From the corner of her eye, she saw the movement, a charging, pink and white haze meant to run her down. She watched, waited, studying the movement as best she was able. Manami dragged her right leg slightly forward as the champion charged, then kicked off her feet. In the same instant, Manami would spring forward, getting a clear distance away from Valley and rushing towards the ropes. In the event she managed to stay far from her grasp, she’d bounce back off of them and head straight back towards the champion in a break of speed before kicking off the ground, raising one leg high in a rare demonstration of her flexibility, before chopping it right back down to the back of Valley’s neck, aiming to render her still with a devastating axe kick.