Haruka Date vs. Valley Doll - Back in the Saddle

Valley and her mother didn't exactly see eye to eye in every little thing, but that didn't mean she could discount all her wisdom. Sure, she wasn't the person to come to for life lessons, not after she'd played a big part in the trouble with Haley...but she was a senior wrestler. A good one, with good advice, and one of the best things she'd ever taught Valley was the importance of keeping her eyes open. So, when Haruka came at her with what could best described as a handspring legdrop, she  saw it coming out of the corner of her eye, and knew just what to do.

Valley rolled away as soon as Haruka planted her hand and started the somersault, wanting to make sure she'd have nothing but a hard canvas to land on.

Haruka was used to doing everything in the ring at a machine gun pace. Her legs going from their apogee down to the earth felt like it was an eternity and a half. Upon hitting the mat and not her opponent, she discovered that she wasn't quite quick enough. The harsh landing sent a jolt of pain up Haruka's legs and she sat up for a second from the pain. She lay back down again and rested her hand on her head.

A push from her arms was enough to give her the boost to push herself up. That move had failed, sure, and pretty spectacularly but Haruka was far from out of it. She looked around, trying to find where her opponent escaped to, as she once again took up her wrestling stance.

Valley rolled away, but she didn't just roll away - after all, she didn't need to see Haruka crashed to the floor to know it was happening. The resounding crash behind her was more than enough confirmation.

She popped up to her feet and saw Haruka rising fast. Still disoriented, but getting her bearings back quick. She'd be more than ready to start through those lethal kicks again in a moment, which meant Valley had to have something special cooked up by then.

Easily done.

She rushed towards Haruka from behind and leaped up, trying to land on her shoulders like she expected a piggyback ride. From there, Valley crossed her legs, squeezed tight, and fell backwards into the reverse hurricanrana, sending her flying towards the center of the ring with a special variation on a classic.

Haruka had just gotten the inkling to look behind her when Valley gave her a reason to. Before she realized what was happening two legs circled around her head and sent her flying towards the middle of the ring. Haruka crashed down, painfully.

Her head was still spinning as she made another move to get up, and the motion was slower as Haruka had gone through quite a bit of pain. The reverse hurricanrana was painful to say the least and Haruka swore to herself that she wouldn't be hit with another one. She kept her head on a swivel this time, even if she was a bit groggy, and took up her stance.

The hurricanrana was picture perfect, landed without a hitch, and it just added to the hype Valley had been feeling all throughtout this match. Win or lose, she would really have to thank Haruka for this when they were through, assuming they were both conscious.. Not counting the match with Haley, she hadn't this much of her A-Game in months.

She tapped into some of that energy as Haruka started to rise up, and by the time she got into her fighting stance again, Valley was already up and on the move. The girl seemed groggy, shaken up by the whirl, which meant she had a golden opportunity to show what her own kicks would do without having to worry much about relation.

Getting a little bold,  Valley stepped in and pivoted on her heel, twirling about to come at Haruka with a spinning heel kick to the chest, putting the power her legs and the momentum of her swing fully into the blow.

Haruka saw Valley pivot and turn and try to launch a kick. She had just been rocked a few times and knew she had to try and get some more offense in if she wanted to have even the tiniest hope of winning this match. Her head was spinning and she would have to fight off the grogginess as well as her opponent.

As the kick came whirling in Haruka made an attempt to grab it. A subtle step to the side made it that much more feasible and her arms came as quick as a viper. She intended to make Valley pay for her boldness as much as she could by seizing Valley's leg and then tossing her by it should she get a hold. But the kick was coming in so fast and Haruka was feeling slower than usual...

Valley's body went into a spin, her golden hair twirled around, her leg moved through the air so fast she could have sworn she heard it whistling through the air. It was a good kick, swift and strong, and she knew the impact would be devastating. If it hit. There was the chance Haruka might get in a dodge, but she had confidence in her own recovery time.

And it did connect...sort of. Haruka had looked so groggy and weak that Valley felt the kick was a safe bet with little chance of having it countered, but somehow she managed to get enough wherewithall for the task. Not only did she managed to grab the kick and stop it from taking her feet off the ground, but she managed to turn Valley's momentum against her and sent her tumbling away, flopping about all the way to the ropes. Not her best look, not a position she wanted to be in.

Haruka felt the life return to her after successfully getting in a solid counter. It wasn't something one would see in the Kung Fu movies that Haruka treasured so much but it was effective enough to send Valley near the ropes. This was it; she was feeling her zone coming on. And the purple-haired woman was not about to let the moment pass her by.

The anlage of a brilliant idea began to foment in her mind and she seized on it. She sprinted towards the turnbuckle and leaped onto the the top one. It would become a false spring board that Haruka would use to launch a wicked backflip from bringing her legs down hopefully right on Valley. The Silent Phoenix was in flight and her legs were beginning to reach their terminal velocity on their descent.

The crowd held their collective breath, waiting to see if the spectacular move hit its mark. Haruka didn't blame them; she was holding her breath as well, desperate to see if the awesome aerial assault panned out like she wanted it to...

There it was. The pause. That weird little burst of silence in the middle of a match when you weren't being attacked...even though you know you should be. Valley generally took that as a bad sign, and a she rolled over and saw Haruka coming down in a deadly crescent, she knew she was right. Pain was inbound.

The drop hit her right on the stomach and her body jackknifed in pain as the impact swarmed throughout her veins. It forced the wind clear out of her and she went into spasms as she rolled away, groaning with every turn.

It ended with Valley on her stomach, pressing on the mat with one hand while she rubbed her sore abs with the other. She tried to push up, looked like she might make it...then fell back down.

Haruka flew through the air with an easy grace and the crash landing was somewhat less graceful. Haruka felt a spike of adrenaline as the looping strike came in. Her midair doubts were unfounded- Haruka swore to herself that she would be mindful of that moving forward. Haruka moved quickly on the downed Valley and kneeled besides her.

The crowd might have thought that Haruka was offering a prayer over her opponent given the solemnity of the purple haired girl's face. But the truth was slightly less pious- Haruka grabbed one of Valley's legs and draped it over her shoulders. She held the leg with one hand and with the other pressed against Valley's leg. Haruka sought to slow down the frequency of Valley's kicks and decrease their painfulness by stretching Valley into a Stretch Muffler.

She had always found that position to be fairly embarrassing yet Haruka did not intend to humiliate her opponent. All she wanted to do is make those lethal kicks slightly less lethal. And, as a hope beyond hope, get a tap...