Haruka Date vs. Valley Doll - Back in the Saddle

She did it. Valley Doll won.

It had been so long since she'd won a match. Months. It felt like years. All the humiliation, all the mud she'd been pulled through, every little indignity and embarrassment she'd waded through...all of the sudden, the mess was fading away. Like she was walking through a fresh spring and all the grime had washed off. She felt good. No, scratch that, she felt great. No, scratch that, she felt amazing.

"Yes!" She hopped up off Haruka's chest and raised both of her fists to the audience, getting back a wave of appreciation and applause in response. Cameras flashed all around them and lit up the ring, the fans clapped and smiled her way. People were actually happy to see her again. She'd almost forgotten what that was like, but it was so good to be reminded.

But it wasn't just her, was it? You needed two people for a match, and in order to win, someone had to lose. Haruka had given her a crazy fight, one of the hardest of her career. A missed shot here, and extra hit there, and the match could have easily gone the other way. She wouldn't forget that, and she would make sure on else did, either.

"Hey," Valley walked over and extended her hand to the fallen angel. "Come on, take my hand. Let's get you back up."

Haruka looked up at Valley and shot her a curious look. From what she had seen around AFW she half expected Valley to try to strip her clothes off or rape her or something. But instead she was being...nice? Haruka took the hand extended down to her and was gladly pulled up. She still wobbled, but found her legs after a bit. It wasn't imperative that Haruka stabilize as quickly as she could. The fight was over and she was the loser.

"You fought well." The stoic look had faded to be replaced by a sad, fatigued sort of look. She meant it, too. Haruka admired the woman standing across from her. She might not have won a lot recently but she fought like she could. And Haruka respected that.

But Haruka could not help feeling bad. Her shoulders were slumped and her eyes were downcast. She turned to look up at Valley. "You are okay?" The cheering had quieted down. She sized Valley up and down one more time. There was a quiet strength to her, a flexibility in body and spirit that Haruka knew would take her far. Even if she had traveled a long road already.

Someone from the stage crew tossed Valley a couple of towels, and she quickly snatched them out of the air while she helped Haruka get back to her feet. She would be walking funny for a few days - and so would she, really - but the ravages of the match would heal quickly enough. When they did, Valley felt a great swell of pity for the next person Haruka took on, because she could  only imagine this loss would make her fight that much harder to win the next one.

"And you fought like a comanche." No, that wouldn't translate too well overseas, would it? "It's an old Indian tribe. Yeah. You fought hard, is what I'm saying. Crazy hard."

She ran the towel over her face and took a moment to really think about what Haruka asked, giving it way more thought than you would typically put it such an innocuous question. "Yeah." She finally said, with a little smile and a nod. I am. For the first time in a while...I am. Thank you."

She started to make her way out of the ring as the crew began to come down and clean up for the next match, giving one last look Haruka's way as she slipped through the ropes. "If you're ever in the mood, you and me should hang out, sometime. Maybe train. Think that would be a lot of fun. Painful, but fun."

Haruka was beginning to stand straight again. Or as straight as she could under the circumstances. Haruka nodded her head at the compliment. She was appreciative of the small clarification as she had no idea who these Comanche were. And she had fought well, all things considered and just came up short. Not too far short but not to close either.

Haruka watched the woman wipe herself off and turn to leave. The offer to 'hang out' was pretty appealing. The woman would make her better by the simple fact that Valley was a good fighter. And the hottest fires make the sharpest steel. Maybe Haruka could get her number from somewhere. She was encouraged by the fact that Valley was ok. Haruka wasn't doing ok but she knew these wounds just take some time.

She watched Valley go and contemplated what went wrong. Well, everything. She had let her get a few blows in a row in a few times and that proved to be a critical failure. Haruka had endured quite a bit at Wrestle Angels but this was something new, something bigger. And Haruka would have to hone herself to be able to power through the pain and win.

With a sigh she made her own way out of the ring. The ramp was long and a few people cheered her on. Not nearly enough to lift her spirits much but it was nice to have a few fans.