The next day, Misaki and Dawn had driven to Animal Squadron. Once they entered inside, the first thing they noticed was the sparring match held in the closest ring. In the most basic sense, Kaito Marx was being kicked around by Ichiro. Satoru watched from ringside, but stopped when he turned and smiled at Misaki.
"Misaki." He greeted.
"Hey, Satoru." Misaki greeted back. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek.
"I take it you two know each other?" Dawn asked.
"Satoru here's the ace of Animal Squadron, as well as my boyfriend." Misaki said.
"Two wrestling aces who are in a relationship?" Dawn asked. "That must be quite a power couple."
"We don't mind." Satoru said. "So what brings you here, Misaki?"
"Well, this is Queen Bee." Misaki introduced.
"I've heard of you." Satoru said. "You really made a statement declaring war on the League of Evil."
"To be fair, I only declared war on Beatrice." Dawn said. "All those other punks are just collateral damage."
"I like you." Ichiro said as he trapped Kaito in a guillotine hold.
"Anyway, Satoru," Misaki said, "Dawn just accepted Hornet's challenge to be an extreme lumberjill match."
"Why? Does she have a death wish?" Satoru asked. "Don't get me wrong. You're clearly tough. But one woman can't face six opponents at once."
"Well, that's why we're here." Dawn said. "Misaki said you might give me some input on the match. She told me you have experience with lumberjack matches."
"Yeah, just once." Satoru said. "It was against our giant, Oni. Long story short, it was a very rough match, but I prevailed."
"You got any tips then?" Dawn asked.
"Well, since Hornet's gonna be backed by her five allies, you may have five allies of your own. Maybe one more for extra measure."
"Well, she's got my support." Misaki said. "And Sakura's too. Chocho's most likely going to weigh in too. She's got no love for the League herself."
"Sakura's already looking for other allies." Dawn said. "Anything else?"
"Well, as long as the League is occupied, your best chance to avoid them is to stay away from the ringside. Also, since it's an extreme rules, then everyone is permitted to do things that are outside of the standard rules, including Hornet."
"I don't mind. I can do that too." Dawn said.
"Really?" Misaki asked.
"Yeah, back at America, I always saw myself as a tweener. Admitedly, I had a temper and would do some brutal tactics without thinking, but I always gave respect to opponents who deserve it and return love to the fans. So if this is an extreme match, I'm willing to take advantage of it."
"That's the spirit." Satoru said.
Dawn nodded before turning her attention back into the ring. Her smirk faded when she saw Kaito in a helpless situation. The new guy sent punches and kicks, but Ichiro dodged them all before countering with a backdrop suplex. Ichiro sighed before resting at the corner while Kaito returned to his feet.
"Is something up?" Dawn asked.
"It's nothing. It's just that this guy is a tough nut to crack." Ichiro said.
"I'm trying my best." Kaito said.
"Well, you clearly need to do better than your best." Ichiro said. "Your moves are sloppy, they don't make that big of an impact, and most of what you do are basically predictable."
"Sloppy, weak, and predictable?" Dawn asked silently. Her eyes then widened as her mind flashed back to a distant memory. She chuckled loud enough to get everyone's attention.
"Is something funny?" Kaito asked.
"No, no. I'm sorry, Kaito." Dawn said recovering from her chuckle. "It's just… I think I figured our your problem."
"What?" Kaito asked. "How do you know? You barely saw me fight."
"I'll show you." Dawn said removing her jacket. She just had on her black tanktop and yellow pants. "Hey, Ichiro was it, would you mind trading places with me?"
"Really?" Ichiro asked. "Fine. Go ahead."
Dawn entered the ring and stood across from Kaito while Ichiro left for ringside. He stood beside Misaki and Satoru. Kaito had an uneasy look in his eyes.
"Are you sure about this?" Kaito asked. "After all, you're a…"
"Hey, chivalry doesn't matter in the ring these days." Dawn said. "Besides, I'd be more worried about you. Just come at me."
Kaito took a breath before beginning. He charged forward with a tackle, but Dawn sidestepped and tripped him. Her mind flashed back once more for a second. Kaito got up and went for a dropkick, but Dawn blocked it with both her arms. Kaito then manage to land a kick at Dawn's stomach. He then wrapped his arm around her head and prepared for a DDT. But instead, Dawn surprised him by leaping up making look like a suplex. Kaito panicked and released his arm letting Dawn drop on her feet behind him.
"What happened?" Kaito asked.
"I was trying to give you a hand with that suplex." Dawn said. "Why didn't you take the opportunity?"
"Are you kidding me?" Kaito asked. "I'll be flattened!"
"And that's the problem." Dawn said. "You've only been doing basic moves."
"I beg your pardon?" Misaki asked.
"All Kaito's been doing is basic pro wrestling moves." Dawn explained. "Punches. Kicks. Headlocks. DDT. That's why his moves are predictable. He hasn't done any suplexes or aerial moves or anything advanced or at least intermediate."
Satoru widened his eyes as if he had just found Waldo. "Whoa. You're right. I'm surprised I hadn't noticed that before. Kaito, why haven't you done anything other than those?"
Kaito looked nervous. "Well… I guess I was worried about messing up. If I slipped, I'd be seriously hurt."
"Whatever pain you inflict on yourself is nothing compared to what your opponent will do to you." Dawn said. "Part of victory comes from surprise. If you want to get one over on your opponent, you'll need to have a bigger arsenal of moves than a small one."
Kaito took in those words. He chuckled before turning back to Dawn. "Thanks. I'll try to do better. I owe you one."
"No problem." Dawn said as she exited the ring. She met back up to Misaki and Satoru who looked impressed. "What?"
"Ms. Sawyer, you've only seen him spar for a few minutes." Satoru said. "I've been observing him for a week, I knew he was sloppy, but I never could figure out why. How did you figure it out before I did?"
Dawn smiled slightly looking nostalgic, as if she had a distant memory on her mind. "Well, the truth is… that used to be my big problem."
"Really?" Misaki asked.
"Yep. My old mentor, Lyra Booker, saw the same problems with me and gave me the exact same advice during a sparring session."
"That's pretty crazy." Misaki said.
"Well, one thing's for sure," Satoru said, "You may have just saved Kaito's career. Maybe. Time will tell."
And so, the night of the big match finally arrived. Both Queen Bee and Hornet were given instructions to enter the ring and their seconds would follow a few minutes later. Both of the bug-themed wrestlers changed alone while their teams had their own changing areas.
Along with Misaki on Queen Bee's team, there was also Sakura, Rio, Chocho, Moe, and Chinatsu. Misaki stood up and addressed her teammates.
"All right, everybody. This is Queen Bee's big night. I know she hasn't been in Berserk for long, but I am giving her my fullest support. I thank you all for doing the same. You ready?" Everyone nodded. "Great, then let's…" She stopped when she pushed the door open… or at least, tried to. The doors couldn't completely open even slightly. "What?"
"Misaki, what's going on?" Rio asked.
"I don't know." Misaki said trying to push the door open. She managed to look through the crack and saw the problem: a chain that was securely tightened around the door handles keeping it from opening. "We're locked in!"
"What?" Sakura gasped. "How…"
Chocho growled. "The League. They're keeping us in here!"
"If we're trapped here," Moe said, "Who's going to help Queen Bee against the entire League of Evil?"
Misaki gritted her teeth in anger unable to provide an answer.
Author's Note: Well, that's certainly not good. The next chapter is the big match between Queen Bee and Hornet, and something tells me the former will have a much tougher time than expected.
Any and all comments are welcome.