Haruka Date vs. Valley Doll - Back in the Saddle

This was, at her count, the third straight time she'd used this move in a match. Granted, the first two times happened with her opponent on the ground, but that was a niggling detail. The crowd cheered, recognizing it, which was enough to cement it as a signature, as far as she was concerned. She'd have to give it an official name, maybe ask Haley for some advice. A little showmanship wouldn't hurt.

She flexed her quads, bore down even harder, and pulled the back of Haruka's neck deeper and deeper into the vise, exerting more pressure by the second. The stretch muffler hurt, but her legs were getting their wind back, and they were more than ready for a little revenge.

So it was a shame when Haruka had to go and ruin it all by being a good wrestler. She fell to the ground and immediately let go of the hold on pure reflex, giving Haruka a crucial second to escape. With the hold lost, Valley rolled to the side and tried to get back up as fast as she could, widening the gap between them and giving her some room to play with.

Haruka grunted as Valley got off her back, literally. That was the closest she got to showing emotion in the ring. She turned around to find that Valley had scrambled away and almost let out a contented sigh. Sweat was becoming to coat her body and the fatigue was beginning to set in. She had given Valley her all for as long as she could yet she was ready to go quite the distance more.

She got in her stance as the crowd noise had died down. She wasn't entirely sure what they were cheering for but it didn't really matter. The only thing that mattered was giving Valley her all. Not for her anymore. This was for herself. No one would recognize it from the look on her stoic demeanor.

It felt like high noon with the lights beaming down and only murmurs from the crowd. And Haruka was ready to go off like John Wayne with a six shooter. She hopped forward and shot out a heel aimed at Valley's gut, daring Valley to catch a bullet.

Valley almost jumped at the noise that came from Haruka's lips. It wasn't much, but it was the loudest she'd been all night if you didn't count her time under the microphone. It was good to know there was some life in that quiet, sullen shell of hers. It just needed to be coaxed out properly, that was all. Fortunately, Valley had the patience.

Wrestling matches weren't divided the same way as boxing, but all the same, Valley felt like they were moving on to a new round. There were both sweating, starting to feel the fatigue, but they seemed to be on more even ground, ready to keep pushing past the halfway mark. It was still anyone's match.

Haruka must have felt the same way, because she was eager to get the ball rolling. She moved in quick, firing off an exacting kick towards Valley's stomach, a blow she almost didn't have enough time to block. She got her arms up in a cross-arm block and absorb the impact, powerful enough to knock her back three steps...but she was still on her feet. She was still fighting.

Getting into a kicking war with Haruka was just not going to work, that first few minute proved that. But Valley had plenty of other tools at her disposal, and she planned on making the most out of them. As soon as she recovered her footing, she surged forward at full speed and tried to run Haruka over with a classic clothesline.

Haruka hadn't expected to land as awkwardly as she did and wobbled as her feet hit the ground. Valley got her block in which surprised Haruka more than it should have. She had gotten her leg down around Haruka's neck before she could hit the Iconoclasm and she showed a solid amount of spryness while she was up. And Haruka got exhibit A with a block.

Haruka had just gotten her balance when she turned to see Valley charging at her. She was off balance and in no position to block and was sent down to the mat. Haruka fell down and went spread eagle for a second. Pain shot through her back as her limbs shot away from her body.

The clothesline connected, Haruka went down, the crowd cheered. Wrestling. Pure wrestling. Between this and her match with Haley, Valley was starting to feel five years younger. Which meant it was time to get a little crazy.

Valley didn't stop moving after she hit the clothesline. Instead, she kept on dashing and ran to the ropes, trying to regain the momentum she'd lost on the hit. She jumped up right before she bounced, did a springboard off the top rope, and flew towards Haruka's prone body with a moonsault, making the arena light up with camera flashes and roar with cheers as she flew. She only hoped her body was still there when she landed, or else...yes, that would suck. Impact in 3, 2...

The lights of the arena were merciless. Haruka wasn't quite seeing stars, or not yet at any rate, and her back and chest were still in pain from the clothesline. A hand rested on Haruka's chest trying to stay the pain going through it. It occurred to Haruka that she should be mindful of what her opponent was doing and with that notion firmly in her head she began to look around.

Haruka had her answer fairly quickly in the form of a moonsaulting Valley splashing into her body. It felt way more painful that a regular moonsault- the blonde had to have come from the heavens to cause that much pain.

She groaned again. It was involuntary- the pain was just too much. She had rolled over so she was on her front and looked down at the white mat. It was pure white. Still no stars. With that almost encouraging fact, Haruka dug deep and did here best to try and pull herself up and back into the swing of things.

"Air raid!

Valley sailed through the air and came down with a mighty crash, rocking the ring on impact. Wasn't the most pleasant landing - Haruka's body wasn't exactly plush - but it was a lot better than crashing onto a pair of hard knees or an unforgiving canvas. And the effects? Made everything worthwhile.

Valley rolled to her feet as Haruka rolled to her stomach, vainly trying to push her way up. Part of her wanted to wait and set up for something wild again, but she crushed the idea before it could grow too much - best not too push her luck. Besides, she had a better idea. One that got some payback for the Stretch Muffler.

Valley moved over to Haruka and sat down on her back, stopping her efforts to raise up cold. She reached forward, grabbed her around the chin with both hands, and pulled back with arms and her own weight behind it, going for a harsh camel clutch. Maybe this would get more noise out of her...

While Valley was not a heavy girl, Haruka found the weight on her back rather burdensome. It prevented her from getting up at any rate. Furthermore it provided a fulcrum by which the blonde wrestler could pivot Haruka into a brutal Camel Clutch. Haruka clutched at Valley's hands, spluttering a bit as she did so.

Valley's painful hold displayed Haruka face and front for the camera. This was one of her most hated holds to be in. She wasn't in a completely helpless position but it certainly felt that way- the weight of a woman holding her down while bending her back was almost too much to bear. The purple haired woman was desperate to get out of the clutch and get out of it fast.

A strained "Aaaah...." was all she could produce for the time being. She tried to twist her body to send a few elbows towards Valley but her mobility was limited. And the pain in her neck wasn't making things particularly easy.

Haruka was a true fighter, Valley had to give her that much. Most wrestlers put up a struggle in the camel clutch, but few were this resilient and this cantankerous about it. Her elbows to the side didn't hurt all that much, but after a few moments it was more of a hassle than Valley wanted to deal with. Haruka's back was a good target to focus on, and there were other ways to damage it.

She let go of the hold and stood up, letting Haruka flop down as she wiped off the thin sheen of sweat that was quickly growing over her face. Reaching down, she grabbed her by arm and roughly hauled her up - usually, she would have been a little more gentle, but this match was pushing her to the edge. She was running out of softness.

"Almost there." She grunted and twisted around as soon as Haruka made it up, sending her off towards the nearest corner with an Irish Whip and putting as much of power into the move as she could.

Haruka accepted the Irish Whip. Well, as much as she could accept it. Before she was sent to the ropes she turned around so as to go into it back first. That may have been a mistake, admittedly- Haruka's back was already in pain and that added more fuel to the fire.

She slumped against the turnbuckle for a second, grateful for the support. Valley had pushed her into giving 100% and Haruka could tell that the woman was giving her 100% as well. It would have been so simple to just lean against the ropes, to just lay back and let the pain and pin take her away from this match. But no. She couldn't do that, wouldn't allow herself to do that. Haruka raised her fists defiantly. The purple haired woman was sweating and aching and digging deep, trying to find a way back into this match.

She had been smacked around a lot for sure. But she wasn't out of it, not yet. Haruka's grim appearance almost dared Valley to come at her. There she was, back against the wall but still fighting, still ready.