Rose and Thorn vs. Yuto - Lemons Into Lemonade

Match Type: Handicap
Victory Conditions: Pinfall, Submission, or Knockout

***

Rose did not like this situation. Not at all.

It wasn’t that she had some moral qualms with teaming up against a single opponent. They were a tag team, they were dominatrices, it was almost a given that, at some point, they would be asked to do a two-on-one match against one of Tension’s less impressive male specimens. Those could be fun, at times, and it wasn’t something she was wholly against.

But something about this just felt unsporting. Unfair. It had stuck in Rose’s craw since she was sent an email about the match, had been bugging her all day, and now, as she made her way down to the ring with Thorn beside her for their match, it wasn’t getting any better. Their opponent, Yuto, was a man that she’d been aware of for sometime, sporting a frankly abysmal record in Tension. He was another in the long line of men who’d marked themselves as easy prey for Tension women, the kind that rarely had a match or provided much in the way of challenge. They would win, there was no question about that, but would it get them anywhere as a team?

The audience was into it, cheering them on like they were conquering heroes before they had even thrown a punch. Thorn moved with the same casual gait as always, strong and confident with every step, full pride in her stride. Rose, on the other hand, wasn’t hiding her irritation. She let it hang on her sleeve, walking with folded arms and a prominent pout.

”So,” Thorn finally spoke up, right as they were reaching the bottom of the ramp. ”You want first crack at him, or you letting me lead?”

Rose shrugged, a lazy raising of her shoulders. ”You can go first, I suppose. It hardly matters, does it?”

Thorn hopped up on the apron with an exasperated groan, as Rose took dainty steps up the metal stairs, both of them entering the ring in their own ways. Her partner had been in this rut of a mood all day, a stark contrast from suave, smoothtalker she was 99% of the time, and while she understood where it was coming from, that didn’t keep it from grating. ”Being a real downer right now, love. It’s a handicap match, not the end of the world. Free win.”

”Easy win.” She waved it off as she made her way to their corner, foregoing the usual fanfare. ”You can take it all, use him for a punching bag. I’m just not invested.”

Another handicap match. Yikes. Someone in the higher ups probably liked what they saw the last time he was in this situation, or so Yuto thought. Not that he could do anything about it. His career had been made up of losing to women, and it didn't look like it's going to change anytime soon. At least the pay was decent enough.

After his theme began to play, the boy entered the arena with a deadpan look on his face. There were a few cheers for him, but it's mostly mocking words and whistles from the audience. All part of the package. Yuto gave the crowds a casual hand wave, smiling dryly before he slipped himself under the ropes and got up to his feet. His opponents were already there, and...

Yikes. That was the first thought that came to his mind. There's just something about these women that made him feel uneasy right from the start.

And here came Yuto.

Rose had seen him on the screen a few times, but this was the first time she’d seen the man in person, and she had to say, he wasn’t any more impressive in real life. Short, not even five and a half, and she would’ve been surprised if the man weighed a single pound over 150. He was in decent shape, she would give him that, but as wrestlers went, he didn’t stand out. Not in her eyes.

But she could’ve forgiven that, all that, if the man came into the ring with some confidence. Instead, he looked uncomfortable, uneasy, unsure, a man on his way to the gallows. He couldn’t win, and he knew it, defeating himself before they even touched him.

Thorn was smiling, looking at Yuto like a fresh meal begging to be devoured, a shark before feeding time. Rose just sighed, and was about to step through the ropes and let her have it. A night off wouldn’t kill her.

However, that was when an idea struck her like lightning, and a sudden smile came over her face.

Tapping her chin, Rose stepped forward and made her way in front of a bewildered Thorn, approaching Yuto and the referee. She nodded his way, drew his attention, then spoke. ”Ishigami Yuto.” She let her eyes roam up and down his body, taking careful note of every visible inch. ”I’m Rose, my partner is Thorn. A pleasure to meet you. We’ll start in a moment, but before we do, I was hoping to spice things up a little and add a caveat to our match. Not an official stipulation, mind you, but a way to make this more enjoyable for all parties. Interested?”

Yuto was observing Thorn for a bit as it seemed that he'd take on the brawny woman first. However, her partner then stepped into the ring for a greeting. Maybe these menacing looking ladies were nicer than their appearance, or at least one of them was. Never hurt to have a little hope.

"Howdy," the boy gave a casual hand wave.

He gave Rose's words a little thought. Perhaps these two expected that they'd have an easy win or something and looking to entertain themselves more. Well, he could play along. Something told him that disagreeing with them wasn't the best idea.

"Uh, sure. Shoot away," he told Rose.

Rose had every intention of going on whether or not he agreed to hear her out or not, but she waited for his approval before speaking. He’d be ceding a good deal of control tonight, one way or another. Might as well give him some small measure of autonomy. No harm in that.

”You are going to lose, Yuto.” She stated the fact as if it was an indisputable fact, as if she were saying the sky was blue. ”You can’t beat either of us individually, and as a team your chances are nonexistent. So I say we have a little fun with this situation.”

She stepped to the side and nodded towards Thorn. ”We’ll have a little contest. Thorn and I will take turns beating you, five minutes each. After three rounds of that, I want you to tell us who you prefer. You decide the winner.”

Thorn rubbed her chin, mulling it over for a moment, before she shrugged and threw her hands up. ”Kinda weird, but fuck it, I’m game.” She snapped her finger his way and place a hand on her hip. ”What say you, little man? In or out?”

Now that sounded familiar. Unusual, but Yuto had been in a similar situation before. The two of them wanted to have a little contest between themselves? Fine by him. Maybe this so called match could actually become more interesting for all that way. He couldn't help but to twitch a little hearing Thorn calling him little man, though, even if it's a fact that he's shorter than the two of them.

"Sounds good," said Yuto. "No hard feelings whoever I pick, yes...?" he gave them a sheepish smile.

Yuto’s twitch didn't go unnoticed by Thorn, and it brought a little smile to her lips. Did he have a height complex going on? God, she hoped so. Men who were bothered by her size? She loved them. Always fun to fuck with, figuratively and sometimes literally.

She ran a tongue over her lips as Rose clapped her hands, sealing the deal. ”All agreed, then. Perfect.” She brought her gaze to the referee, who’d kept silent as this was all going, waiting for the negotiation to end so the real match could begin. Whatever side deals they were making, she cared little so long as it didn’t measure up to cheating. ”Dear, would you mind giving us a coin toss?”

”Oh, uh, sure.” Not exactly in her official referee capacity, but a simple enough request. She brought out a small coin, a yen, and flipped it in the air. ”Call it.”

”Heads.”

”Heads - goddamn it, tails!”

The referee caught it, flipped it over, and showed it both to them - Thorn was the lucky winner.

”Fucking A, starting out!” She swung her arms around, stretching out as Rose stepped back and retreated to their corner, sliding through the ropes. Thorn moved forward and dipped down, bring her arms out in a classic grappling stance. ”Five minutes, you and me. Try not to break before Rose gets hers tits all over you, ‘kay?”

"Uh-uh, I'll try not to," Yuto said rather sarcastically.

Thorn was the more intimidating one compared to her partner, but he doubted that Rose would be weaker than the brawny woman he's facing. Teams were usually comprised of people who balanced each other after all.

It mattered little who's he's starting out with, and he'd prove it as soon as the bell rang. Yuto went for a dash towards his opponent, as if he's going to ram himself against the bigger figure. Of course, he's not that stupid. He'd lower himself and grab one of Thorn's legs, before slipping a leg of his own behind the woman's other one and hooked it. With Yuto also pushing Thorn, the tall woman would crash onto her back. At least that's how he imagined it'd be.

Okay, this was easy, couldn’t be simpler. Thorn would just move in, overpower Yuto, and then…

...fall flat on her ass. Huh.

It took her by surprise, and Rose wound up quirking her eyebrow, too, looking on as the young man score the first down of the match and brought her partner to the mat. It wasn’t the most impressive move or anything, not a work of technical skill, but she had to concede that it was tactful than she would’ve given credit to before. Apparently Yuto did have some talent as a wrestler, even though you’d never know it to look at his record.

Thorn, for her part, was a little less amused. After all that buildup, she wasn’t about to be outfoxed by a man, of all things. ”Not happening.”

Wanting to keep him close, she reached up the moment they went down and went for his head, looking to catch him a headlock. It wasn’t much, but it would be a good way to get a hold of him before he could press the slight advantage.

That opening exchange probably surprised many, with Yuto managed to take his bigger opponent down to the mats. Unfortunately, whatever satisfaction the boy had was short lived. Thorn reacted quicker than he expected, and he ended up being caught in a headlock.

"Gah...!" the boy gasp in surprise and began to squirm right away, using his hands to pry away the arm of his opponent. Tch, I guess it's expected that someone as big as her wouldn't be affected too much by that fall... he thought.

Yuto would try to loosen the lock so that he could slip away from it and back away, but that scenario was only possible if Thorn didn't put a lot of force behind her hold, given their physical difference.