I only own the OC used in this story.

A few years ago, I made a fanfic called "Ascent of the Hawk". And though I'm proud of it, and plan to keep it up, I wanna try my hand at another attempt.

It was a calm Friday morning as everyone went about their lives. But in the park, sitting up in a tree, was a young man. He had tanned skin, brown shoulder-length hair and brown eyes, a slim, but toned body, and he had a small scar on the left side of his jaw, and three on his right forearm. He wore a red jacket over a black shirt, a brown leather belt, blue boot-cut jeans, and brown cowboy boots. And at the base of the tree was a red bag containing training clothes.

This was Yoshi Hirano, and he was the son of Koji Hirano and Maria Gonzales, two famous wrestlers. He had hoped to live up to their legacy and become a wrestler himself. But being a jobber in Mexico seriously affected him, filling him with anxiety and self-doubt about his prowess. True, he was more skilled than most of his age, but everyone else was better than he was. And since he moved to Japan two years ago, he has tried several times to get into wrestling. But before any match, he would always back out at the last minute, creating some kind of excuse to avoid wrestling. He felt he would never overcome his anxiety any time soon, if ever. Still, he keeps his bag handy in case he ever does truly conquer his fears. Hopefully, after today, that goal may finally be achieved.

Yoshi soon jumped down from the tree and picked up his bag, resting the strap on his shoulder as he resumed his walk through the park. As he walked, he overheard some of the people within the park talking about Berserk, a wrestling group. He had heard of them once before a few months ago. It was when his TV got stuck on a wrestling network. On it, he saw a young woman with fair skin, golden-brown eyes, and long black hair and wearing a white and red leotard with matching arm sleeves and boots going up against a girl with lightly-tanned skin, brown eyes, snow-white hair, and she wore a purple sports bra and matching briefs, along with purple boots and black knee pads and gloves. As he watched, he learned their names were Sakura Hagiwara and Rio Kazama, and both were members of Berserk. Shortly after their match, Yoshi got busy researching Sakura, having formed a crush of sorts on her already. He was surprised to learn that she was also a pop idol for Sweet Diva, and had to overcome a 65-match losing streak. Further into his research, he learned that there was one move Sakura always tapped out to – the Boston Crab, which accounted for 50 of her loses. It got so bad that she nearly quit wrestling altogether. And she likely would have had Misaki Toyoda, the ace of Berserk, not stopped her. But she helped Sakura to realize that, if she was to make it in wrestling, she would have to toughen up. And since that day, she had shown drastic improvements in her skill and resolve.

His goal was to see if Berserk could help him with his problem. Yoshi figured if Sakura could do it, then so could he. So, with his bag in hand, he set out to find the gym. Taking out a piece of paper with the instructions written down, he began his trek. Luckily for him, it was not that hard to find, and he was soon there in no time. Yoshi stood before the gym, his gut doing flip-flops. He gulped before taking a deep breath and going inside.

The gym was quite wide, with several exercise equipment set up around the place. And in the center of the room was a wrestling ring. He set his bag around and looked around, taking in the sights. Some of the equipment looked like it was brand new, making him wonder if it was, or if it was just that well-maintained. He put that question aside and jumped into the ring before going to a turnbuckle and jumping up onto it. He stood up and looked down as memories flooded his head. "Man… I almost forgot what's it like being up here… I've missed this feeling."

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

Yoshi cried out in surprise and lost his balance. He managed to turn himself around before he collapsed onto the mat, hurting his back. "ACK! GEEZ!" he cried out. The pain left him unable to get up. But suddenly, he was yanked up by his jacket and came face-to-face with none other than Rio Kazama herself. And given her tone of voice and facial expression, she was NOT happy.

"How many times am I gonna have to get fools like you off the equipment?!" she yelled. Yoshi gulped nervously.
"L-L-Lo siento, señorita..." he said. "I didn't mean to offend..."
"For your sake, I better not see you doing that again." Rio said. "This isn't a playground, you hear me? ESPECIALLY for a guy like you."
"Geez! Calm down, woman!" Yoshi yelled. "All I did was climb the turnbuckle! You're over here acting like I sprayed graffiti on the ring."
"You're a little low on the food chain to be mouthing off, boy!" Rio snapped. "I've broken fools like you like twigs. You'll be no different." she added. Yoshi was scared witless. He had not even been in the gym five minutes, and already, one of the wrestlers was ready to break him in half.

"Rio, enough!" yelled a female voice. Both turn to see a young woman in a white and red tracksuit. She had short brown hair, hazel eyes, and soft pink lips. "Can you ever go without threatening newcomers for ONCE?"
"Misaki… he was-"
"Rio..." Misaki warned. Rio snarled and let him go, pushing him away before getting out of the ring. Misaki watched her walk by before turning to Yoshi.
"I'm sorry ma'am… I'll be going now." Yoshi said.
"No, you're ok." Misaki assured him. "Pay no mind to Rio. She's like that to everyone. She'll warm up to you in time… hopefully."
"I doubt that…" Yoshi said. "Still, would Berserk even have me? I mean… it's just for females, right?"
"Well, TECHNICALLY it is. However, I didn't see anything that said males COULDN'T join. You can still be a part of the TEAM, but not the LEAGUE. Though I could be wrong on that."
"Well, I'm not asking to join… But I could use some help. See, I was once a wrestler in Mexico… but I wasn't very good at it. I was hoping you could help me overcome some anxiety… Please?"

Misaki crossed her arms and thought it over. This would not be the first time she has helped a jobber improve. However, unlike Sakura, he had prior experience in the ring. It seemed all Misaki had to do was brush him up and loosen him up. Misaki smiled and entered the ring before extending a hand. "I don't see why not." she said. Yoshi smiled and shook her hand before bowing.
"Thank you ma'am. I'm Yoshi, by the way. Yoshi Hirano." he greeted.
"Hirano… I feel like I've heard that name before..."
"Could it be that you've heard of my dad, Koji Hirano? Or could it be that you've heard of how big of a coward I am, always bailing out of a match at the last minute?"
"Koji's your dad?" Misaki asked, earning a nod from Yoshi. "I figured… you certainly resemble him. And hearing you were a wrestler does make sense."
"Yeah… but I ain't good at it like he is." Yoshi admits.
"I can definitely help with that." Misaki replied. "I'm Misaki Toyoda, by the way, and I'm Berserk's ace."
"Nice to meet you, Misaki." Yoshi said.

Once done, Yoshi jumped out of the ring and picked up his bag before heading to the locker room to get changed. Today was the day, he could feel it. He was finally going to overcome his fears and become a wrestler like his parents before him. But would he succeed? Only time would tell.

To Be Continued…

*So… how was it? I hope I did fairly well. I really need to get back into the swing of writing again. Hopefully, I won't take so dang long between chapters this time.

Also, I never actually named Yoshi's parents. But I believe one writer, Awesome ax10, gave them the names Koji and Maria.

Anyhow, God bless, and take care.