[Two Out Of Three Falls Match] Margarita Jorgensen vs Serafina Kunisada (D) - The stars that shine brightly

Match type: two out of three falls
Victory conditions: to win, the wrestler must take two of three rounds by pinfall, submission, knockout, disqualification
Special conditions: standard rules are applied; the loser has to reward the winner to their liking

"No. You stay here!"
"But... A-are you sure, Sera? What if she's really really evil, and I could do something to help you?"
"No, Amelia. I'll be fine. Just watch the match through the screens, OK? I'll come back here straight away when it's done."
"Oh, OK, Sera. OK."

Serafina Kunisada and her sister Amelia were naturally close allies, even forming a tag team together. But tonight their tag team wasn't to make an appearance - instead the elder sister Serafina was having her first singles match in the Friction arena. And obviously, if Sera was having a singles match, she was determined to battle through it without any aid from her sister.

Another question though was why she wasn't keen on having her little sister accompanying her anyway, and for that she wasn't keen on telling the reason for to her little sister. During their short time in AFW so far, it had become very evident that the league was full of evil and vicious opponents, and above all, La Liana Azul always aimed to protect her little sister to the best of her capabilities. So did she want to take the risk of getting a terribly heelish opponent tonight, who could hurt Amelia in the process? Definitely not! That's why she wanted Amelia to remain backstage, even if she was keen to make up for her sister the loss La Liana Rosa had endured in the claws of Jinx.

Sera's gaze fixated on the screens as she watched her opponent, Margarita Jorgensen apparently, making her entrance. And what she saw actually surprised her - both positively and just a little disappointingly. The positive part was that what she was seeing was in stark contrast with the evil villains called P.D.S.M. who she had been facing together with Amelia in the tag team debut match. This girl was clearly much nicer and probably more friendly, and unlikely to be harmful at all - obviously apart from the fact that they were going to be wrestling each other. She also seemed to be a big crowd favorite and really eager to also engage with them, which probably made it harder for Sera to win over their hearts tonight... But the blue-clad fighter could not deny being just a bit disappointed as well that her opponent did not turn out to be an evil heel - she would have loved to get the opportunity to be the brave and magnificient ninja to take down a villain.

In any case, it was her own turn to enter now. Even though Sera was mildly irritated that she was officially still being labeled tonight as a debutant, having already completed a tag team and a Tension match, technically it was still correct regarding a singles match here in Friction, so the kunoichi knew that she couldn't really complain. In any case, she just had to battle three rounds to the best of her capabilities tonight, or hopefully even two would be enough, and come home victorious despite the popularity of her opponent.

Just as Sera began making her way towards the ramp though, she glanced over her shoulder and looked at Amelia. Realizing that Margarita was highly unlikely to harm her sister, Sera had concluded that she could delight her sister and give her a little leeway. "Alright, if you really want, you can come by the ringside to watch the match. But not immediately! Wait until the match has gotten started, OK? And don't interfere, under any circumstance, OK?"
"Oh, yesss!!! Thanks Sera, and no, no I won't, I promise!"
The delight in Amelia's voice was indeed very heart-warming, and Sera's own voice when she had been laying out her conditions had been stern and serious enough that the elder sister was confident that Amelia wouldn't disobey her instructions.

Serafina Kunisada - La Liana Azul:

Entrance Theme:

The mystical tunes of Sera's entrance theme accompanied the blue-clad ninja as she made her way down the ramp in a graceful and determined fashion, her eyes fixated on her opponent waiting for her in their corner. Not really engaging with the crowds at all before she had reached the ring apron, their reaction to Sera's entrance was definitely rather positive, but nothing compared to all the applause and love that her opponent had been getting. Not that Sera minded too much about that though, she preferred impressing the viewers once inside the ring, and the battle was on.

Still, Sera's entrance did include some theatrics. By the time she had reached the ring apron, she promptly climbed onto the closest turnbuckle. Then finally turning her sight towards the crowds' direction, she bowed in a typical Japanese manner to each side before jumping down into the ring in a Somersault and setting her sight to Margarita again. Settling right in the center of the ring, Serafina made her final bow towards her opponent. She then stayed there for just a moment to see if Margarita seemed keen to meet her there, but if the pinkette stayed in her own corner, Sera would just turn around and proceed to her own corner as well, getting ready for the match to begin.

Margarita wasted no time with coming to meet Serafina in the middle of the ring. As soon as the blue-clad ninja had completed her final bow towards her opponent, she was already almost in front of her. And apparently proceeded to bow as well, which was a rather pleasant surprise for Sera, and one that she actually found herself appreciating a lot. Thus, Margarita just managed to make herself a living proof to La Liana Azul, that there were indeed some respectable fighters in AFW... Something that had been far from evident based on her previous encounters with arrogant, cocky guys and sadistic and bloodthirsty women.

The cute Dane then proceeded to introduce herself, and even flatter the brunette with some compliments. That itself was already enough to raise a hint of blush on Sera's face... Even after all these years, she still wasn't super-used to receiving compliments - especially not in the ring. But what really caused her to blush were Margo's subsequent words... "Hope we'll have a wonderful time after?" For a brief moment, Sera thought that she was referring to a POW stipulation...before remembering that in the match terms and conditions, there had indeed been a clause calling for the loser to reward the winner to their liking! At the time, Sera hadn't thought too much of it... It had sounded harmless enough, and the ninja had had much more pressing concerns over the potential nature of the match. But now that the moment had arrived... What was that actually going to mean? Luckily, Margarita seemed rather harmless in any case.

It took a moment for Sera to rush through her thoughts, before she realized that the pinkette was already offering her a handshake. Promptly taking up the offer as soon as she realized it, Sera also managed to get out of her thoughts enough to actually respond to her opponent. "Th-thank you! You-... You look very good yourself, too!" Slightly annoyed for her hesitating response, Sera tried to find some more confidence in her tone now. "And yes, let's give them a good one! And no hard feelings then...if you want your time after the match to be a pleasant one!"

Sera was happier with her newfound confidence now, but her opponent appeared to be at least equally as confident as well, taking up immediately her fighting stance. Sera was slower to adopt one, staying a bit more observant for now, but still signalled the referee her acceptance to get the match going as well. And so the bell rang!

To mimick her opponent's actions somewhat, Sera adopted a half-hearted fighting stance herself as well. But inside, she was intensely trying to decide, which one would be the best way to start the match. The ninja was contemplating between two main options. On the other hand, she was interested in a lock-up... A proper test of strength, to find out how strong exactly Margarita was. On the surface, she seemed to be of very similar build with Sera, which potentially indicated a rather similar levels of strength. But only potentially... And if Sera could be able to determine that she had the strength advantage here, that could provide much more possibilities in the match. But on the other hand, Margo's outfit did not reveal too much of her skin, and the parts that were visible did appear rather sporty and athletic...and Sera wasn't exactly a gym babe herself.

Margo seemed rather eager to engage in a proper fight right from the start though, and it could have been that an invitation to a lock-up would prove to backfire. So, Sera's other choice was trying to surprise the Dane with a quick Roundhouse kick to her belly, optimally straight from only the half-hearted fighting stance. But the pinkette did seem to be rather ready to defend herself from one... And Sera wasn't keen to engage in any kind of fist fight.

So, what to do? A compromise! Raising her hands up to an invitation to a lock-up, Sera wanted to check first if Margo had any intention to agree to one. "So, you want to begin tussling right away, or show me first what you got?" La Liana Azul lured the Sea Star on a challenging yet polite tone, hoping that she would take up her challenge. But if it appeared at all as if the Dane would be holding no interest towards one, Sera would try to surprise her with the Roundhouse Kick!

Serafina wanted to start off cautious here. Sure, Margarita did not appear like one to cheat, trick or pull out surprises, but she did not want to let herself get the match started on the wrong foot either. Letting the opponent get in some early advantage could cost dearly - Sera had enough experience to know that well enough. With that in mind, it was a pleasant surprise how eager Margo was to engage in the lock-up.

A little bit too eager in fact. Sera wasn't really sure how to interpret the Dane's response... Was she already just getting pumped enough by the battle to get some adrenaline in her veins? Or had she considered Sera's suggestion somehow condescending? And if so, did she have something to prove, or was she just annoyed at Sera doubting her strength?

Didn't matter really. There was only one way to find out.

Margarita raised her hands up and began approaching Sera promptly enough, and it was clear that the contest was on. Sera had to even hurry a bit to get herself prepared in time as well, wanting to also get to take a couple of steps forward to meet Margo in the middle. The kunoichi barely had time to reply a courteous "Let's see, Margarita!" before the duo's hands were already intertwining with each other, ready for the test of strength to begin.

Sera's strategy was to begin at medium pressure at first to try and get a good measure of Margarita, but that decision soon turned out to backfire on her. Margo was already putting quite some pressure, and at first Serafina actually had to take a couple of steps backwards, before managing to regain solid footing and exert some considerable pressure of her own! It became soon obvious for La Liana Azul that she really needed to exert all of her strength for the battling duo to stay put... But Margo had started out very strong, so hopefully her strength would soon start fading away.

But it didn't. Serafina really tried hard, really did her best, really tried to prove that she was stronger than her opponent. But she wasn't. Eventually, Sera had to take a step back, then another... And soon it became clear to the blue-clad kunoichi that she was losing the contest, having to let Margo push her body all the way to the ropes. Trying to hide her subtle gulps, and reddened face...

"Damn... She IS strong...!"

Serafina had surely made the correct assessment that on the surface, she and Margarita were of rather similar size and build. But what she had failed to foresee was that the spunky Dane seemed to be no push-off, and certainly possessed the strength to prove that her place was indeed in a wrestling ring. Her consolation though was that she could congratulate her decision to challenge Margo to a lock-up - having had the question and suspicion over the actual strength of her opponent, it was always better to find out about its real level sooner rather than later. Getting pushed back to the ropes was certainly, while evidently still getting visibly defeated in a strength contest, also much less harmful than for example getting suddenly picked up and thrown around.

Besides, Margarita still was no giant. Even if she was stronger than Sera, the ninja still surely held a variety of options she could use to her advantage.

Serafina panted heavily as she felt her back finally hitting the ropes, ceasing the need to try and exert as much pressure as she could against Margarita's. Fine, she had lost the first "round", but she just had to come up with a plan for the second one. Once she could get the Dane further away from her and a chance to regain some of her strength, she would be in much better position to strike again.

As Margo released her palms from Sera's, the ninja was expecting the pinkette to retreat a bit further away. Especially as she couldn't keep her pinned against the ropes forever... Deciding to commend Margo for her achievement, the blue-clad ninja began with the words "Well, you-...", but was interrupted as Margo suddenly began wrapping her arms around Sera's body! La Liana Azul was only just trying to determine what she was doing, when she could feel her body getting lifted up and slammed back down with the surprise belly-to-belly suplex!

Sure, maybe Sera should have been more prepared. But she wasn't, and the end result was her test-of-strength exhausted body lying spreadeagle on the mat, the ninja cursing herself that she did get indeed picked up and thrown around after all...

The match hadn't started off well for Serafina, with the Latin ninja already having lost a test of strength, and gotten suplexed to the mat! And the match was still young... On the other hand, it was a curse. But on the other, Sera could have considered it to have been a blessing as well. Obviously for one, she still had lots of time to turn things around... And for two, finding out about Margarita's real strength at an early stage was certainly beneficial, and advised Sera that trying to overpower the Dane wasn't going to be a winning strategy in the long run despite their relatively similar builds.

But one thing was for sure, Sera did need to start turning the tide of this match, and fast. How could she do that then? If strength wasn't on her side, maybe her flexibility and athleticism could be. So, when it came to strategy, Sera was actively trying to form one, even if it appeared that she was just reeling on the mat from the Suplex. First, she should probably try to weaken Margo with some fast kicks and chops... Before trying to really finish her off with a series of submissions? Sounded like a plan to Sera.

As the ninja opened her eyes once again, she was keen to get her pink-haired opponent once again to her sights, before getting back up once again. And she did find Margo soon enough indeed - but for the wrong reasons! The Dane was already grabbing hold of Sera's right ankle, and before the rookie ninja had time to defend herself, the Sea Star was already reshaping Sera's legs into the figure-four leglock!

The pressure was soon on, and Sera had to let out frustrated sighs and pained moans as her legs were captured and strained. This was seriously bad news for the Mexican-Japanese girl... She was really going to need her legs in this match! She had to get out of this hold and fast, but she just couldn't submit so early on in this match either!

Trying to twist and squirm her body in hopes of alleviating the pressure, Sera could see that the ropes were still just a suplex-throw away. So if she could just get them closer to her reach, maybe those could be her salvation! Thus, Sera began a vicious struggle in the figure-four leglock hold, trying to both lessen the pressure that Margo was able to put on the hold, and get the bottom rope just within her palm's reach.