In the gym's ring, Queen Bee managed to get Sakura in a sharpshooter. After about five minutes of hard stretching, the result was still the same. Sakura never gave up. Eventually, Queen Bee sighed and released the hold. She leaned in the corner while Sakura stood back up.

"Wow. You know, I could've broken your legs there. And yet, you didn't tap out."

Sakura took a deep breath before replying. "I've spent the first few months of my wrestling life giving up. I almost did it again against Jackal in my first match against her. There's no way that I'm giving up again."

"Even if it means broken bones?"

"Afraid so."

"Ms. Sawyer. A word." Called a voice from outside the ring. Mr. Inoba stood outside alongside Misaki and Ryu.

Dawn climbed out of the ring and approached the three. "What's up?"

"Listen." Inoba said. "I've spoken to Hornet over at the League of Evil's hangout. I asked her for a match between you and her."

"And?" Dawn asked.

"Well… she said no." Inoba replied. "She said she's not going to just listen to the demands of someone who only had one lucky win. Her words, not mine."

"Oh, BS!" Dawn protested. "She's just avoiding me!"

"That doesn't make it any less true." Misaki said. "One win doesn't mean you can get whatever match you want."

"Which is why we're going to give you some more experience by competing in a few more matches." Inoba said. "Then, Hornet won't dismiss you that easily."

Dawn sighed. "All right. Who am I facing next?"

"We're still working on that." Inoba said. "Don't worry. We'll have your answer by tomorrow."

"In other news, a reporter friend of mine, Kanae Fujushita, will be here tomorrow for a one-on-one interview with you." Misaki said. "Just wanted to let you know."

Dawn shrugged her shoulders. "Fine by me."

Speaking of Kanae, the reporter herself was sitting at an outside diner with a cup of coffee in front of her. In one hand, she had her phone which displayed the newest Berserk member. In another was a pen which she held above a notepad.

A man with black hair and a brown coat approached Kanae with a smile on his face. "Hey. You must be Kanae. I'm Natsuki. I'm your new partner."

"Oh, right. Natsuki Okumura." Kanae said as she put down her phone and pen before shaking his hand. "I admit, when the chief editor told me I was getting a partner, I was a bit nervous. I never actually journaled with anyone before."

"Neither have I." Natsuki replied. "I read some of your work, and I must say, you're not like I thought you'd be."

"How did you think I would be?"

"Like one of those stuck-up jerks who lie and besmirch someone's good name to make themselves famous. But you, you're definitely not like that."

"Thanks. Do you have any experience in journalism?"

"Well, I worked with a smaller company before coming here, but got let go due to budget. Thankfully, your company had a job opening, so I took it."

"Good to know." Kanae held up her phone to show Queen Bee's picture. "Just so you know, tomorrow, we'll be meeting her."

"Queen Bee?" Natsuki asked. "I've heard of her."

"Well, we'll be doing an interview with her before her next match. I'll be asking and you'll be taking notes. Sound good?"

"Fine by me." Natsuki answered.

"Great." Kanae said. "This looks like the start of a wonderful partnership."

After the gym had closed, Dawn had decided to head on home. It began to go dark and she stopped to gaze up at the clear night sky. Her eyes were fixed at the stars above.

"Peaceful night." She thought. "Maybe I should take the scenic route."

She did so and took the path that cut straight through the park. She wasn't even worried about any prowlers in the dark; both because she didn't care about any danger and she knew she could take them. Still, Dawn continued down until she saw a certain someone in the path.

"Misaki?" Dawn asked getting the Berserk ace's attention.

"Oh. Hello, Dawn. You wanted a walk in the park too?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, my home's on the way." Dawn answered.

"All right. I'll go with you. I'm in the mood for conversation anyway."

"Sounds good." Dawn continued walking with Misaki next to her. "So what would you like to talk about?"

"I just want to know how you're enjoying Berserk so far." Misaki said.

"Oh. Well, I'm very much enjoying it." Dawn answered. "I can definitely see my future here."

"That's good to hear." Misaki said. "I wasn't so sure about it when I started."

"Oh, yeah. You did say you lost matches a lot."

"Not as many as yours, but it was still pretty devastating. I was just about ready to quit and go back to my idol days."

"Hold up! You were an idol? Guess you and Sakura are more alike than I thought."

Misaki chuckled. "I guess. Though, I took a break from it wanting to try something new. Pro wrestling was trending, so I thought I'd try out. Of course, after that, it was one loss after another, and always to the figure-four leglock. Then, Jackal gave me a very strict training session that I used similarly to Sakura when she threatened to quit. After that, I began to win my matches and eventually became champion and ace."

"That's cool. So you never went back to your idol life?"

"Not really. Unlike Sakura, I didn't have an idol partner who tried to put me out of wrestling to get me back. I wasn't given a choice. I just stayed as a wrestler and rarely looked back."

"Wow. And your group?"

"They moved on. We still call each other on occasion to check in on each other, but there wasn't any talk about getting me back. After that, we… Wait. What's that?"

Misaki pointed at a figure laying on a park bench underneath a dimly-lit lamp post. Curious, Dawn checked on the person on the bench and became confused when it was reveald to be a man in a gray tracksuit. On his head, he wore a blue mask with white outlines. The eyes, nose, and lower part of his face were shown.

"I think he's awake." Dawn said.

Suddenly, the man stirred causing Dawn and Misaki to step back. He sat up, yawned, and stretched his arms. He smacked his lips getting a good look around him, and that's when his blue eyes widened.

"Oh, boy! It's night already! How long did I sleep?"

"Excuse me." Dawn said getting the man's attention. "Are you okay?"

"What?" the man asked. "Oh, sorry. You must be uneasy because of my mask." He removed it revealing his brown hair and clean face. "Sorry to startle you. Name's Kaito. Kaito Marx."

"Nice to meet you." Misaki said. "I'm Misaki Toyoda. This is Dawn Sawyer."

"Wait." Kaito gasped. "As in Misaki Toyoda of Berserk?"

"You know us?" Dawn asked.

"Do I?" Kaito laughed once. "I'm a fan. I come from a wrestling family myself."

"Hold on a minute." Misaki said. "You said your last name is Marx. By any chance, are you related to Aiko and Hiroman Marx?"

"Yeah. Those are my parents."

"No kidding." Misaki smiled.

"Who are they?" Dawn asked.

"Aiko and Hiroman are the top-ranked mixed tag team wrestlers in Japan." Misaki said. "In and out if the ring, they have perfect chemistry and balance in teamwork."

"Wow." Dawn gave a smile. "So, Kaito, what were you doing on that bench in the first place?"

"Well, earlier this afternoon, I was doing my jogging exercise. I like to wear my mask to keep me in the mood. Suddenly, I became exhausted and rested up at this bench. I guess I must have dozed off."

"That's okay. Exercise can do that sometimes." Dawn said. "Still, I guess being the son of a great mixed tag team must make you a prodigy, huh?"

Kaito frowned as if he had been given five miserable news at once. "You'd think, but no. The truth is, I don't really have a good win record… or any win record at all."

Both Dawn and Misaki widened their eyes. "Sorry to hear that." Misaki said. "I just assumed…"

"Yeah, I get that a lot." Kaito said as he sat back down on the bench. "The fact that I am the son of Team Marx is how I got accepted into my first three gyms, but after many losing matches, I got kicked out really easily. I joined three more, but I didn't get the same warm welcome as the others since they heard about my record. Right now, I'm… in between gyms. I know it's smart to quit, but I don't want to. If I did, I'd be letting my family down."

Misaki placed her finger on her chin as if she was in deep thought. Then, an idea popped in her head. She pulled out a notepad, wrote something down, and gave the paper to Kaito.

"Here. Go to this address, ask for Satoru, and tell him Misaki sent you."

Kaito examined the numbers and words in his hand with a curious look. "What's this?"

"It's another gym." Misaki said. "And believe me, they should be a lot more accepting than you're used to."

"Is that so?" Kaito asked. "Well, thanks. I'll be sure to head there tomorrow. Thanks, Ms. Toyoda, and… Dawn, right?"

"Yeah. Although, in the ring, I go by Queen Bee."

Kaito's jaw dropped. "Wait. You're Queen Bee? From the other night? I actually watched that! I can't believe I didn't recognize you without your outfit. You did great work then."

Dawn blushed and smiled. "Well… Thank you. I… guess I'll see you later."

"I'll see you too." Kaito said before walking away.

As soon as she was alone with the ace of Berserk, Dawn turned to her. "You really think this gym can welcome him."

"I'm certain of it. Trust me. If the Animal Squadron won't help him, I don't know who can."

Author's Note: Another chapter done. I would've finished this sooner, but I just couldn't decide which girl would be Queen Bee's opponent next. I still can't decide. Which is why I'd like your opinion. Who would you like to see Queen Bee face off against? Awesome ax10 did suggest going against each member of the League of Evil, but after a lot of thinking, I figured it'd be too much trouble for Queen Bee to face each minor member every few chapters. I do plan to have her face against Digger Yamamoto before Hornet, but I figured that I'd wait two or three more matches for it. But for now, I need an opponent for the next match. Will it be a major character like Sakura or Rio, or maybe a secondary like Moe or Kurea, or perhaps one of the ones that were named here like Chocho or Tsukuyo? Or maybe someone who's not even a Berserk wrestler and represent another team. I'm open for suggestions.

Also, I finally introduced my OCs, Kaito Marx and Natsuki Okumura, here. If you want more information about them, read up Xtrema. And yes, I do plan to have Kaito join Animal Squadron.

I thank you all for your support. Any and all comments are welcome.