A/N: Been a while eh? School's been starting and stuff, gets tougher to write. But I'll keep updating. I even got a new Adventures in Art School in the works. Also learning japanese. Learned Hiragana in a week. Totally unrelated, but my goodness it's difficult.Chapter 1: Matsui's End
6 months later
"Another beef bowl Mako!" Nana slammed her empty bowl against the table, another ounce of force would've shattered the ceramic.
"Another helping for the wrestler! Got it!" Kojima Mako, the owner of the restaurant turned on her heels and disappeared into the kitchen.
"Huh? I thought you said you were full two beef bowls ago." Yuiri stared into her own bowl, only halfway finished with her first (and probably only) helping.
"I am full, but food is power Yuuchan. I gotta absorb as much as possible. Besides, if I can't handle beef bowls how can I expect to handle 40 minutes in the ring?"
"I don't see how the amount of beef bowls you can eat will apply to wrestling."
"I'm teaching myself how to fight through the pain! Always push your limits even when you're facing beef bowls!"
Yuiri was starting to get tired of hearing about beef bowls, but she'd be lying to herself if she said she wasn't impressed with the amount of food Nana could stuff inside herself. Nana was a machine.
"Another beef bowl for the wrestler!" Mako came out from nowhere with a steaming bowl of meat and rice cooked to perfection. She gently set the food down treating her cooking with the equivalent respect as the customers.
"Yuuchan! Mako! Time me! Let's see how fast I can destroy this bowl!" They hadn't even pulled their phones out before Nana began ravenously devouring the meal like a lion that hadn't eaten in days.
The two girls watching were impressed, but also thoroughly disgusted.
In record time Nana slammed the empty bowl down triumphantly. Her victory was short lived however, as her face turned pale in silence. She looked like she just found out she was adopted.
"Naachan, are you okay?"
"Bathroom. Where? Now." Nana squeezed Mako's hand desperately.
"You can use the employee restroom, past the kitchen to the right–"
Nana immediately made a beeline to the porcelain throne, almost throwing Mako off balance as she shoved her aside and darted past waitresses and tables.
One beef bowl was just a little too much for Yuiri to handle. Probably gonna ask for a to-go box.
"So you two actually decided to become wrestlers?" Mako sat in the seat formerly occupied by Nana with a big toothy smile spread on her face.
"You aren't mad? You always wanted us to work in your restaurant though."
"Me? Mad? No! Imagine this…" The restaurant owner lowered her voice for emphasis, "Kamisori Grill, the number one restaurant for the WIP tag champions! Imagine that branding! I'm already budgeting my first million!"
"Uh huh… can I get a box for my leftovers?"
"Sure thing Ms. Wrestler!"
"Please don't get used to calling me that."
As Mako disappeared into the back, Yuiri's attention was brought to the TV playing in the back corner of the restaurant. Since Mako was anticipating marketing to wrestling fans, old tapes of wrestling matches were being played on the screens.
The match on display featured one of Yuiri's favourites, Emerald (Kodama) Haruka. Her razor sharp technical abilities were always a treat to watch. Maybe it was because she always seemed in control of the match, or maybe it was because the style favoured precision over strength. Regardless, Yuiri would be mesmerized by her unparalleled submission game. The way her body would wrap around limbs like a snake around its prey.
The match finished with Haruka transitioning her opponent into her signature maneuver, The Emerald Lock. The girl struggled in the hold briefly before tapping out in defeat. Yuiri chuckled to herself, remembering the times she busted that move out on Nana when they wrestled.
"Hey Yuuchan."
Yuiri turned her attention to Nana who had just returned from her emergency.
"Double Matsui lost the titles."
Yuiri was in disbelief, reaching for her phone to fact check Nana, "What? How? To who?"
"No clue, I got the video loaded up though. Let's see what happened."
---
Double Matsui have proven their worth as fighting champions for the last few months. Any contender that stepped up to the plate ultimately couldn't best the combination of Jurina's incredible fighting spirit along with Rena's inveterate wisdom.
Rena knew she was closing in on her last run in wrestling. Years of being slammed onto the mat, the stiff strikes, and the many injuries she endured were gonna take its toll on her body. If she could elevate the career of a promising talent like Jurina on her way out, then Rena's job as an in-ring veteran was complete.
Double Matsui were in the main event with Angel Mukaichi and a mystery partner of her choice. The crowd was curious to see who Mukaichi's partner was. She had been a singles competitor for her whole career. Never had she ever expressed interest entering the tag team division.
"Has anyone seen Jurina?" Rena asked several backstage staff members of her partner's whereabouts without any helpful responses in return.
The Matsuis were defending their titles and their match was starting in 10 minutes. Jurina chose one hell of a time to go missing. Rena frantically navigated the backstage area looking for her. She headed down the corridor leading to the locker room and noticed equipment strewn about the floor tangled cables, and three paychecks worth of property damage. As Rena walked through the corridor to investigate, she heard the faint sound of groaning getting increasingly louder as she traversed through damaged cameras and mic stands. Nothing would be able to prepare Rena for the garish sight waiting around the corner for her.
"Oh my God."
One half of Double Matsui, the talented and charismatic Hollywood Jurina, beaten and bloodied in the center of the locker room. Her ring gear was torn while clutching her tag team belt closely to her chest. The young girl slowly raised her head to face Rena and tears immediately began to stream down her face.
"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry." Jurina repeated with staggered breaths.
Rena rushed to her side, "There's nothing to be sorry for. I'm gonna go get a medic... I'm also gonna find out who did this to you."
"I-I already called for help. They're on their way." A voice came from behind.
Rena turned around to see one of the opponents that was meant to challenge Double Matsui for the title. It was Mukaichi Mion, better known by her ring name Angel Mukaichi.
"Did you see who did this to Jurina?"
"I asked security if they had footage, but they said there's no cameras in the locker room." Suddenly, music filled the arena outside as the crowd began to chant Mion's name, "Crap, I gotta catch up with my partner and get out there. I hope they have someone to fill in for Jurina." Mion hesitantly made her way to the arena while constantly glancing over her shoulder.
"I screwed up Rena… There's no way we're not forfeiting the titles tonight. This is all my fault."
"The titles don't matter right now, we just need to get you help."
The WIP CEO Miyawaki Sakura and her assistant Kodama Haruka made their way into the locker room followed by a team of medical personnel that rushed to Jurina's aid.
"Miyawaki! Kodama! What are we gonna do about the main event? Jurina is in no condition to compete."
"Unfortunately if her injuries are serious, we have to strip the titles off of you two tonight." Kodama responded coldly.
"Forget the titles! What about the match? I can't leave Jurina by herself!"
"I've changed the match to singles competition. A simple one on one between you and Mukaichi." The CEO calmly retorted. "We can't cancel the main event."
"You can't be serious—" The crowd outside erupted when the Double Matsui theme song suddenly filled the arena.
"That's your cue Matsui, get out there! We'll take care of your partner." Miyawaki pointed towards the entrance of the arena signaling the ring veteran to leave.
"Dammit!" Rena was left with no choice but to obey.
Rena wasn't ready to step in the ring knowing her partner's condition. She stormed out of the locker room and began heading towards the entrance ramp. But not before taking a microphone with her.
---
Once Rena walked through the curtains, the audience went absolutely wild. The crowd sang along to the Double Matsui theme music. But of course they quickly noticed Hollywood Jurina was missing. The chanting and singing were replaced with confused murmuring throughout the arena.
"Birdie!" Rena called to the referee, "grab Mion a mic. I wanna have a chat with her." Referee Takayanagi slipped out of the ring and handed Angel Mukaichi a microphone.
The crowd silenced themselves as Rena raised the microphone to her lips again, "My partner Hollywood Jurina was ambushed before our match could start. Mion, are you sure you don't know who did it?"
"What?! Are you saying I could take on your partner alone without a scratch on me?" Mion sounded offended at the implications.
Rena shook her head "Don't think you can fool me Angel. I've been in this business for way longer than you." Rena entered the ring and stared the other girl down, "I'm a five time WIP champion you know."
"Yeah? So what?"
"I won that belt three times before you had your first kiss... I've seen more backstage attacks than I could count and I know whoever that mystery partner was supposed to be is gonna lay me out like she did to Jurina. Mark my words, once I get my hands on you and that partner of yours I'm gonna—"
Just as she predicted, Rena felt the heel of a boot impact the back of her head. The Nagoya Dragon instantly dropped completely out cold. A girl with golden hair stood over Rena's unconscious body, staring at her with an empty expression before making her way over to Mion's side. The golden haired girl absolutely towered over the Angel.
The crowd showered the arena in a chorus of boos. Mion closed her eyes and basked in the moment. "If you were awake right now, I'd ask you to say hi to my partner…" The boos crescendoed in volume as the audience began to toss garbage into the ring. Mion's partner swatted trash out of the sky before any of them could reach their target.
Angel Mukaichi stared down the barrel of the camera, "This revolution is televised…" Mion's monstrous partner grabbed the referee and effortlessly tossed her over the top rope when she attempted to check on Rena. "Bow to the beast. Meet WIP's apex predator, Shinobu Mogi."
Angel Mukaichi kneeled down to loot the tag title off of Rena's carcass and triumphantly raised it high. With a title above her head, and a juggernaut at her side, a menacing shadow loomed over WIP.
Topic: Queens of the Ring (YuuNa,MogiOn,SakuRuppi,WMatsui+) Ch1 Matsui's End (Read 10315 times)