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

There was a fan heckling Valley nearby, some annoying little twerp in glasses with a voice that was way too high-pitched for his size. While her Japanese was good enough for the average conversation, she was having trouble making out what he was saying through his accent and the fact that she was kind of royally pissed off at the moment. Something about her being old and washed up and her days being numbered and she was pretty sure he called her breasts fake, which was silly for several reasons.

Needless to say, but none of that improved her mood.

She channeled that rage, used it to give Manami’s journey to the steel steps some added oomph, and the results were more than satisfactory. She hit them like a wrecking ball, knocking them over and leaving her a mess in their wreckage. Aching, hurting, struggling to stand up.

She started to make her way over, intent on dealing out some more punishment, when she heard the referee’s call from nearby. Ushering her back into the ring, trying to keep this inside - in theory, that was all she could really do while they were both outside of the ring, since she couldn’t count them both out. Valley started to comply, though, hoping up onto the apron and grabbing the middle rope, ready to slip back inside and wait for Manami to join her.

But that was around the time she got a better.idea. A much better one. She took a couple of steps back on the apron and took a second to gauge the distance, run the math, figure it all out…

And then she ran.

She dashed across the length of the apron and leaped off at just the right moment, hurling herself towards Manami. She tucked her legs in and shot them out, attempting to hit Manami with a dropkick as she tried to rise - one that would hammer her into the steel steps.

Yes, the landing would suck for Valley. But it would suck so much more for Manami if it landed.

There weren’t many things that Manami cared to learn about this industry she’d decided to so boldly lay her claim towards. Wrestling seemed in an inane spectacle, almost comical in the It reminded her of clowns slapping each other at the circus. Even if AFW was an exception to the established rule, she found little reason to respect it all the same. It was another disgusting medium for entertainment, one that celebrated cheap titillation over its namesake.

But if there was any single thing that Manami could say she’d adapted from wrestling, it would be the delicate art of “faking”. The theatrics of the wrestling ring were irrevocably tied to the the amount of violence taking place within it. In her brief time here, she’d uncovered plenty of clever ways to manipulate that kind of showmanship. To turn it on its head. To create an opening she wouldn't have otherwise.

The Wolf Girl groaned and ached, moving sluggishly and shaking a head empty of awareness as she rose. The pain was real, of that she could assure everyone. But pain could be ignored, it could be drowned out, it could be a guise. She didn't need every sense. Not feeling, tasting, smelling...just hearing. The rouse from the surrounding audience was all she needed. Footsteps were approaching behind her. What could she do?

A cruel smile worked its way onto her face.

At the last moment, her mind came up with something she was sure that Valley of all people would appreciate. From her hunched over posture, with her hands already on either side of the steel steps, Manami would grip the upper layer on both ends. Tensing her thighs, building up the energy in her core to the protest of her aching muscles, Manami would bridge and arch her back, bucking her hips and shouting to the sky as she lifted the stairs’ top half up and over with a release German suplex, aiming to bring the layer of steel down on Valley mid-flight. If the steel hit Valley while it was still in Wolf’s hands, that would be grand. If it hit her in its flight, that would suffice as well. If her timing was off and it missed entirely...well, she wouldn’t entertain that notion.

A few thoughts passed through Valley’s head as she flew through the air, in the precious moments after her feet left the apron and she entrusted her body to gravity’s whims.

The first came right around the time that she processed what was about to happen to her, as she saw those steel stairs flying towards her on a clear collision path. Her mind tried to scan the environment, looking for anyway she could change her flight path. Grab the ropes and pull away? No, they were too far. Couldn’t hope to tuck and roll, either. It was going to hit.

The second was on the legality. The steel steps were a grayer area of the constant gray area that was wrestling rules, but using it like a bludgeon was typically - not always - frowned on, while throwing someone into it was okay. Throwing the steel steps themselves...she wasn’t sure. Never seen it before. Probably wouldn’t get Manami more than a warning.

The final thought was to wonder how much this would all suck, and she didn’t have to wait long for that answer.

The good thing was that Valley’s legs had already been shooting out, so she just wound up kicking the steel steps in mid-flight, instead of taking a head on hit. The bad news was that this changed her trajectory in the worst way. She’d been planning to come down on her back. Unpleasant, but not as bad as coming down on her shoulders and neck, which was actually happened. Right on the floor.

Valley cried out, a shrill shriek of pain after the impact, and rolled about on the floor as she furiously rubbed her aching bones. It didn’t feel like anything was broken, but it was a searing pain. One that would certainly be bugging her long after this match was through, even if Manami didn't exacerbate it...which she certainly would.

Sometimes, fighting simply came down to a case of blind luck.

Manami had accepted that aspect of her profession for quite a long time, as much as she’d come to hate the reality of the sentiment. Instincts were everything, but they could only take one so far. The human mind was far from a perfect apparatus. There were variables that needed to be taken into account, constants that went unnoticed. Falling in sync with the enemy could be such a rare feat.

That was all without considering the idea of hurling roughly seventy pounds of steel over one’s head.

It was needless to say there was a fair bit of doubt in her attempt to clip Valley’s wings, and derived an endless amount of joy from hearing her squawk after finally hitting the ground. The Wolf Girl rolled once to the side after her blind toss, making sure to stay clear of the stairs after they’d landed. She stole a glance up at the Slamazon, letting out a ragged chuckle at the sight of her writhing on the ground. She couldn’t muster more than that, at the moment. She had a collision of her own but a moment ago that was still taking its toll. A bead of sweat rolled from her nose to the floor, fingers trembling against the sand.

Stop.

With a sharp breath, Manami willed herself to stand, pushing past the tension and aches in her body. She took slow, yet confident strides towards Valley, coming up to her side. “I’ll admit. I am somewhat impressed by your resolve.” She kicked the woman roughly in her side, attempting to force her onto her stomach before kneeling down. “But that’s about everything…” Catching Valley’s arm between her thighs, the wolf would suddenly lean forward and clasp her hands in front of her face before pulling back roughly, allowing her to suffer in a crippler crossface.

This was bad. Monumentally bad.

It took Valley a moment to really register why, what with her brain scrambled and her neck feeling like it wanted to detach from her body. The fall had left her with a wide variety of aches and pain, and she needed to sift through the fog of pain to make sense of her environment. When she finally did, she almost wished she hadn’t.

Manami was a predator, down to her core, and she took her time stalking her prey. Some small part of Valley hoped she was just lagging because of the pain she’d inflicted on her, but a larger part realized that it didn’t matter much, either way - the Wolf was about to sink her jaws in again.

Valley knew the predicament she was in, and she started to crawl towards the ring like an injured fan, reaching for the apron to pull her way back. It was a faint chance, she knew, but she had to at least try

In the end, it mattered for less than nothing. Manami descended, the hold was locked in, and the pain skyrocketed.

Valley let out a long howl as her neck was wrenched back at the worst possible angle, wrenched deep in the Crippler Crossface. Valley would give Manami credit for choosing a classic, and she was remembering quite well why that was the case - this move was a brutally simple one, hard to endure for long, harder to escape. Oh, and having it done on the floor brought with it a neat little set of problems.

For the moment, Valley fought like a fish on the hook, thrashing about for any relief she could find. Her freed came up, clawing at Manami’s locked fingers to pry them apart, but she would’ve had better luck trying to pry apart an actual wolf’s fangs.

Manami had to afford herself a delighted laugh to herself at the sight of Valley crawling away, like a sheep caught with a bloodied leg. The sight alone was one she was sure many of her loyalists were dreading in this very moment. That was partly why she saw fit to let it linger a little while, to let the whole world see what the word “champion” really meant. The other part, the most important part, was to drink in the despair in Valley’s movements. The desperation in her actions.

Oh, this was grand. Absolutely divine.

But she didn’t give her that illusion of hope for too long. She dove low and locked in the hold, one that she felt was the most ideal for their current position. It kept the veteran grounded, compliant, and, if the howl that broke free from her mouth and sent a shiver down Manami’s spine was any indication, most displeased.

She chuckled darkly at the veteran's attempt to break free, only wrenching the hold back further and numbing her resistance. The louder she screamed, the harder Manami pulled, attempting to extract every ounce and fiber of agony she could. This wasn’t so much an attempt at a submission anymore as it was savoring her meal. With no ropes to save Slamazon, this was over. That much was clear. The question was simply when she would break, and the Wolf Girl personally hoped the answer didn’t come too soon.

She leaned forward into the crossface, bringing her lips close to Valley’s ear. “Louder. Give me everything.” She flicked her tongue out, running it against the rim of her ear. “I want it all…”

Valley couldn’t submit outside of the ring. Or, rather, she could, but just like a pinfall, it had to happen between the ropes. While she couldn’t be counted out because of the Iron Man’s rules, that didn’t mean the other caveats didn’t apply.

That wasn’t necessarily a good thing, though. While it meant that Manami couldn’t get a point, she didn’t need to as long as she was up in the score. She knew about that, but she wasn’t sure her opponent did, or if the crazed woman even cared. With no ropes to reach, there was no way to get out of this hold, no real reliable escape, and in theory Manami could keep her locked in this hold for the rest of the match or until something broke. Hell, she’d probably enjoy that.

The pain was excruciating, like a fire burning in her burns, getting hotter as she cranked up the pressure. Valley could grit her teeth and bear that for the time being, suffer through it for the sake of the match.

Manami’s taunting was a different story. She could hear the pleasure in her voice, the sheer thrill she was getting out of this, and to make it all worse, she had to run her tongue along Valley’s ear. That brought another shiver from Valley’s body, and not for a reason she wanted to contemplate.

This had to end.

Valley crawled, but not towards the ring. She moved to the side, pushing them towards the barricade, sliding along the mats like a pig in the mud. Every inch was agony, every foot was sheer torture, but she kept on and on, as if there were some imaginary ropes for her to grab. What to seem like a futile effort, something with no point to it, Valley just spinning her wheels in a ditch.

That was, until Valley planted her foot, pushed up and twisted to the side, attempting to lift Manami up off the floor and slam the back of her head into the barrier. The sort of thing that wouldn’t work in the ring, but on the outside? The best chance she could think of.

Oh? Was that a shiver she felt?

As much she would have loved to give Valley the benefit of the doubt and peg it all on her imagination, Manami had grown all too...intimate with a body in peril. The involuntary convulsions, the rejection, and agony aching in each muscle. Oh, if only she could get a glimpse into that dumb little head of hers.

She allowed herself a dark, amused little chuckle as she kept close to the woman’s ear, biting down on the rim. It was far from gentle, of course. She exerted an ever-increasing amount of pressure between her canines with each passing second, attempting to break through the cartilage, taste the marrow beneath. Her breathing quickened, her eyes grew to the size of the moon, like jaws stuck in a fawn’s neck. The official would surely voice her complaints, but she was far removed from the wolf's mind. This was her prey, and she wasn’t letting go.

Valley protested.

In her moment of indulgence, she failed to realize just how close she’d been brought to the barricade. It was hardly something to take into account after all. With her arms busied, what could strength could the champion really muster? More than expected.

In a burst of power, the back of Manami’s head suddenly collided with the wall. A static shock traveled down her body, loosening the hold on Valley’s arm and forcing Manami to relent on her chin. She slumped to Valley’s side, gritting her teeth in frustration. The crossface was gone, but she at least had a parting gift for Valley before she backed away. She sat up, cocked her fist back, and shot a hook to the back of her head.

Valley wasn’t sure what it said about her, but through all the indignities she’d been put through, all the pain she’d endured at Manami’s orders and from the woman herself, and all the little insults she’d taken in this growing war between them - all of that, and a little flick on the ear could still freak her out. Not the least of which was because she happened to have something on an ear fetish, and the thought of Manami nailing it right on the head was...disturbing. Yes, ‘disturbing’ was the word to go for.

So it was relief - as much of a relief as it could be - when her little trick did its job and got the monkey off her back. She flopped to the floor the second she let go, hissing and shaking, reaching up behind to caress her aching bones. She would need to see a chiropractor after this, no question.

For now, at least she would have a moment to recoup, deal with all this pain, and-

And then Manami punched her in the back of the head. Bitch.

Valley grunted at the cheap shot, landing right on the back of her skull. It probably didn’t even really do that much, truth told. She doubted Manami could make her neck any worse without a weapon. But the insult of it, that pithy add-on, just reinforced how little she was being taken seriously by this woman. That needed to change. Valley needed to even this out. Whatever it took.

Whatever happened next, Valley need to be on her feet for it. Thankfully, the steel barricade nearby was a good crutch, and she promptly crawled over to it and used it to help get back to her feet. The ball was still in Manami’s court, but now that she was getting vertical, she’d be in a better position to handle it.

Federico loved the AFW.

He'd been one of the earliest members to their subscription service. He was starting his own merchandise wall with shelves he made himself in his room. Half his attire was a jumbled mishmash of Cecilia Northman jackets, Death Bunny headwear, Ryo Kamiya bikini briefs, and Blue Thunder Mask sweatbands. He was even impartial to their Heels, enjoying their domineering attitudes and brutal moves as much as he did the Faces. It was his dream to see a show live one day.

So when word came that Summer Splash was being hosted right here in his own country, he had his front row tickets on reserve in a heartbeat. He arrived at the venue early, taking in the arena, hardly blinking at all as he watched, not wanting to miss a single thing, the happiest man on Earth.

He’d have no recollection of that day.

He cheered alongside the radical half of the crowd as Valley took a blow to the head, absorbed in the action. “Whoa, yeah!” The wolf stood up in front of him on the other side of the barricade. He reached out and gave Manami a single pat on the back of her shoulder, half falling in love with the feel of her soft skin. “Show her who's boss Kuroda-sa-!”

Manami turned on the spot and grabbed Federico by the hair, slamming him face first into the barricade and letting him fall limply to the floor. As a few frightened onlookers went to fetch medical, Manami turned her attention back to her opponent...if she could be called as such.

Manami crossed her arms, looking up at the referee as she watched from the ring. “I’m sorry. I am fighting a champion tonight, correct?” The official let her eyes meekly drift off to the side towards Valley, wisely avoiding the question. Manami raised a resigned hand, growing a cheeky smile as she watched Valley attempt to rise to two feet. She wondered if she was regretting making those promises now.

“No. Don't you even try to offend me by standing back up.” She scoffed, unfolding her arms and taking sure strides towards the recovering veteran. “Get the fuck out of my face.” She then quickly stopped and pivoted to the side, drawing her leg back and snapping it forward to superkick Valley over the barricade.