Chapter 40 (Daily)
"I can barely believe it." Kanae said as she and Natsuki made their way to the front of the crowd. They were right beside other reporters covering this clash that was unraveling. "Xtrema and Berserk!"
"I know. I'm excited too." Natsuki said.
They were all gathered outside of the Berserk gym where Sayuri Rogue and Seiichi Inoba stood. Each of them had their respective wrestlers behind them.
"Thank you all for coming." Sayuri said. "As I'm sure most of you are aware, things between Xtrema and Berserk are shaky. We have come together to mend our relationship."
"As such," Inoba said, "We have decided to fix things between us with a joint event. Xtrema vs Berserk." The crowd went wild at the announcement.
"There will be a total of nine matches." Sayuri said. "My wrestlers against Berserk's. And to make it more interesting, whoever wins the most matches gets 60% of the show's earnings."
"Hopefully, under these conditions, things will turn out better between our two organizations." Inoba said. "For our opening match, representing Berserk will be our big bruiser, Chocho!"
One of the Berserk wrestlers stood from the crowd. She was a big, well-muscled woman wearing a black two-piece. She had black hair and wore a red bandana around her forehead.
Sayuri continued. "And facing her and representing Xtrema will be… Scarlette!"
The red costumed wrestler left the Xtrema crowd and stood next to Chocho. The two of them shook hands.
"No hard feelings after I kick your ass?" Chocho asked.
"Making a lot of assumptions." Scarlette confidently. "Believe me, I've defeated bigger."
They exchanged smiles and turned to their assigned spots. Inoba spoke again.
"For our next match, representing Berserk, we will have Chinatsu Suzumoto."
The young Berserk wrestler in the black-and-orange two-piece stood from her fellow wrestlers and planted herself at the same place Chocho stood before.
"And representing Xtrema will be our Pharaoh of Submissions, Cleopatra."
The Egyptian Xtrema wrester stood where Scarlette was earlier and shook Chinatsu's hand.
"Thanks for agreeing to this match, kid." Cleopatra said. "I don't get a lot of matches these days."
"No problem." Chinatsu said. "Don't expect me to go easy on you though."
"I'd be disappointed if you did."
The two wrestlers separated and stood next to their respective fellow wrestlers, Chocho and Scarlette.
"All right, everyone." Inoba said. "This next match is between two no-nonsense wrestlers. Representing Berserk will be Rio Kazama." The Berserk wrestler in short, white hair stood out in her purple two-piece wrestling outfit.
"And representing Berserk," Sayuri continued, "She's most known for hating gimmicks and anyone who doesn't take wrestling seriously, it's Zelda Logan."
Zelda stood next to Rio, but the two didn't bother shaking hands.
"So you hate people who don't take pro wrestling seriously, huh?" Rio asked. "Guess that's one thing we have in common."
"Of course." Zelda agreed. "But rest assured, I'm not looking to lose my first singles match."
"If you say so." Rio said before turning to join Chocho and Chinatsu while Zelda joined Scarlette and Cleopatra.
"For our fourth match, representing Berserk shall be our Sweet Diva idol, Sakura Hagiwara."
The pop idol stood out in her white-and-red one-piece. She got a mix of cheers and murmers. Although she stopped submitting to the Boston crab, she was still on her losing streak, but she was gaining her fans back slowly. She was proud of that.
"And representing Xtrema will be our Stylish Tiger, Carly X."
Carly emerged from the Xtrema wrestlers and confronted Sakura. The idol offered a handshake.
"Let's have a good match." Sakura said.
Carly didn't shake it. She simply rolled her eyes. "Whatever."
The two returned to their teams. While Sakura stood next to her friend, Chinatsu, Carly stood next to Scarlette, who gave her a suspicious glare she wasn't aware of.
"As for our next match," Inoba said, "We will have a tag match. Representing Berserk will be our newest duo of sisters, Maya and Selena Hirano."
The Spanish-Japanese girls emerged from the Berserk team. One girl (Selena) had long, dark-brown hair, an orange leotard matching a jaguar. The other (Maya) had black hair, sharp canine teeth, and a two-piece outfit resembling that of a bat.
"And representing Xtrema," Sayuri said, "We will be unleashing Midnight and Azraella Bloodstone, the Daughters of Darkness."
The vampire and the masked demon girl went to their respective spots and confronted the Hirano girls.
"I'm surprised you two requested this match." Midnight said. "You'd think it'd be easier if you challenged Team Spirit."
"We talked about it," Maya said.
"Then, we decided that we can make a bigger impact by beating the two of you." Selena said.
"I see." Azraella said. "So instead of facing two of your peers, you want to prove yourselves by defeating two hellish adults. How gutless."
"What?" Maya asked. "How is that gutless?"
Azraella smiled. "Because suicide is the coward's way out."
The Hirano's didn't flinch at that comment. Instead, they went to join their already-announced team while the Daughters of Darkness did the same.
"That looks like it'll be quite a challenge." Inoba commented. "Anyway, onto our next match. Representing Berserk as well as her team, the League of Evil, we will have Digger Yamamoto!"
The obese heel pushed the other Berserk wrestlers out of the way and made herself known to everyone. Most of the crowd booed, but she didn't care.
"And representing Xtrema," Sayuri said, "It's our western wrestling star, Clementine Cirrus."
The cowgirl emerged from the other Xtrema wrestlers and posed for the cheering crowd. She turned to the League of Evil heavyweight who gave her a menacing snarl.
"You shouldn't have interfered in our business, Bessie. Now, I'm gonna leave you broken in the dust."
"Aw. Is the human wrecking ball upset because I threw her out of the ring? Don't worry, sugar. I'll make sure you stay in the ring when I beat ya."
Digger huffed as she entered the other Berserk wrestlers. Clementine did the same with Xtrema.
"Now that that's settled," Inoba said, "We'll announce the next match. First up, representing Berserk, be on the lookout for Kurea Komiyama!" Out of the Berserk group, a woman walked out in a red two-piece. She had long, red hair with a yellow streak that covered part of her face.
"And representing Xtrema," Sayuri said, "All the way from her home in an Arctic village, it's Freya!" The tall wrestler with white hair, blue lips, blue eyeliner, and a white sleeveless one-piece walked up to Kurea and shook her hand.
"Ready to throw down?" Kurea asked.
"Easy there. I already have a wife." Freya replied.
The two of them went to their respective groups while Inoba continued. "Now, this match features the two who started this feud. Representing Berserk as well as her team, the League of Evil, it's Digger Yamamoto's tag team co-champion, Hornet!"
The black-masked wrestler with yellow outlines walked out. She eyed the woman who she already knew was going to be her opponent.
"And representing Xtrema, we will be unleashing our ace and Xtrema World champion, Queen Bee!"
Queen Bee walked up to her rival and gave her a very bitter sneer which Hornet smirks at in response.
The masked wrestler leaned into Queen Bee's ear and whispered, "I'm going to finish what Liz started. Doesn't that sound fun, Dull 'N Broken?"
Nothing would give Queen Bee more pleasure than to pick Hornet up and slam her down onto the ground. But she knew that if she did, it would make her league look bad. So she took it and returned to her group while Hornet did the same.
"And lastly, for our main event," Inoba said, "Berserk will feature our ace and champion, Misaki Toyoda." The champ walked out in her purple one-piece waving to the crowd.
"Since we're already using our own ace for another match, she will have another opponent." Sayuri said. "And that will be… me!" The crowd cheered and gasped at once while the Xtrema CEO walked up to Misaki and shook her hand. "I will see you in the ring."
"Looking forward to it." Misaki replied before joining the rest of her fellow wrestlers.
Sayuri returned to her pedestal beside Inoba. "Let me make this clear. I have no grudge against Inoba nor Berserk. I'm not looking to settle a score. I respect them too much for that. This contest is merely to mend the bridge between us. And since these will strictly be exhibition matches, there will be no championships on the line. Whoever wins or loses, let's just have a great night. I will see you all next weekend."
"Thank you, Sayuri Rogue." Inoba said. "Same to you."
The press began to ask their questions, but Natsuki and Kanae conversed on their own.
"This is going to be good." Kanae said.
"No kidding." Natsuki said. "This kind of excitement makes me wish I was a wrestler."
"Trust me, it's not as fun as they make it look." Kanae said. "People tend to get hurt." She frowned as she remembered a simpler time in the past…
1… 2… 3!
DING-DING!
Kanae got off of her much bigger opponent. She was very exhausted and sore in just about every part of her body, even her white two-piece with blue outlines, but she was proud that she was able to overcome the odds in this match.
"It's over, folks!" the announced declared. "It's been quite a brutal match, but Kanae Fujishita of Berserk came out on top above Miyabi's powerhouse, Kassidy Klaws! With this win, Kanae must be feeling extra confident in challenging Misaki Toyoda for her title!"
Kanae turned her head to see her rival, Misaki Toyoda. They exchanged smiles looking forward to their match. Unfortunately, it was not to be.
Suddenly, Kanae felt an excruciating pain on her back. Her opponent she just defeated charged at her and rammed her elbow into her back. Kassidy Klaws stood tall with her blonde, spiky hair, her black leotard with red claw marks on the front over a red orb, and the word "Klaws" on the back written in claw marks.
"HEY! What are you doing?" Misaki asked as she went to get in the ring.
"BUZZ OFF!" Kassidy shouted. She quickly kicked Misaki out of the ring before she could finish getting in. "This is between me and the bitch!"
Kassidy continuously stomped on Kanae's back making her scream louder with each stomp. Eventually, Kassidy had enough. She grabbed her prone body and climbed up the corner. She raised her up for the whole crowd to see and fear.
"You mess with Kassidy, you get the Klaws!" she shouted right when she slammed Kanae down. Her back landed right on top of the metal post of the corner. As soon as Kanae heard the sound of bones cracking, she screamed so loudly, it rattled the entire stage while she fell at ringside. The other Berserk wrestlers went to check on her. Kassidy, on the other hand, roared proudly doing a double-bicep pose on top of the corner turnbuckles.
Kassidy was excited until she felt arms grabbing her from behind. At least three people grabbed her and threw her backward landing her in a suplex right in the middle of the ring. Kassidy looked up and saw her senior, Juri Sanada, and other Miyabi wrestlers, looking down at her in disgust and anger.
"What was that for?" Kassidy asked loudly.
"What was THAT for?" Juri asked as she pointed outside where Kanae was being looked at. "You've overstepped your bounds!"
"You're showing sympathy for her?" Kassidy asked standing back up. "She's the enemy!"
"Just because we're from different gyms, it doesn't mean we're enemies!" Juri argued. "Kanae is a friend of mine, and you may have just critically injured her!"
"Sanada, she made a fool of me!" Kassidy shouted. "I merely did that to show everyone not to mess with me! Anyone else would have done the same!"
"Not in Miyabi, they would!" Juri said. "I'm sorry, Klaws, but you leave me no choice. I've given you more chances than you deserve, but you just crossed the line! As of right now, you are no longer a member of Miyabi!"
At first, Kassidy widened her eyes in shock. Then, she changed it to anger. "You can't do that!"
"I'm afraid we can." Juri said. "Now, get out of here before I'll have you escorted by security!"
Kassidy growled. Her vision changed to red. She furiously exited the ring. Before she exited the ramp, she turned around giving one final statement.
"You haven't seen the last of me! I'll be back, and I'll make every last one of you sorry you upset me!"
Kassidy left the arena leaving the Miyabi girls to help Berserk escort Kanae to the medics.
"Just stay calm." Misaki said to her hurt friend. "Everything's going to be all right, Kanae. Kanae…"
"Kanae!"
The reporter snapped back into the present suddenly somewhat confused for a second. She realized she was woken up by her partner.
"Hmm! What?"
"I just asked you who you think is going to win the most matches." Natsuki said. "Are you all right?"
Kanae cleared her throat before replying. "Yes. Sorry, I was just having a flashback… or a waking nightmare. Anyway, it's hard to say. I have a feeling that Berserk will win a fair amount of matches the same as Xtrema."
"Right." Natsuki said. "I thought so. Anyway, I think it'll be a good show."
"Glad you think so." Misaki said as she approached. "I just know it'll draw a crowd, which I suppose is Sayuri Rogue's intention for us."
"Good to see you, Misaki." Kanae greeted.
"You too, Kanae." Misaki replied. "So who's your friend?"
Natsuki cleared his throat before shaking the Berserk ace's hand. "Natsuki Okumura. I'm Kanae's partner."
"Really?" Misaki asked. "Well, Kanae must be pretty thankful."
"Yeah." Natsuki chuckled. "She is pretty… Thankful!" He started panicking. "She's pretty thankful, is what I mean… I mean, I'm assuming, 'cause…"
Kanae chuckled. "Don't worry, Natsuki. Why don't you go and get some quotes from the Xtrema wrestlers? I'll interview the Berserk girls."
"Right." Natsuki turned leaving Kanae with her old friend.
"So…" Misaki said, "Are you two a thing or something?"
"Well… Not really sure." Kanae admitted. "I mean, we had one date and it was pretty good as well as eventful. Don't get me wrong. Natsuki's a great guy. I just don't know where to go from here."
"If you ask him out again, maybe you'll find out." Misaki advised. "Come on. I'll get you your interviews."
The event was set. The wrestlers were chosen. The date was selected. And now, all the world had to do was wait.
*Xtrema Shorts*
A Chibi version of Kaito Marx stood in the middle of a cartoonish office.
"Hey, everyone!" he greeted. "Kaito Marx here giving you some words from out author, Epiclot214. First of all, he's glad he's able to get on with starting the Xtrema vs Berserk arc. He's had that idea in his head for months and he's thrilled to get to it.
"It's been a challenge trying to find the right wrestlers to face against the characters of Wanna Be the Strongest in the World, but thanks to the help of some of you readers (mostly Awesome ax10), we've come up with our wrestlers. We also thank Awesome for giving us the idea to use Chocho. For those of you who don't know who that is, that's the names he's given to one of the unnamed Berserk wrestlers. Since the anime didn't give them official names, this had to do. Thanks for the comment, but the way. If you need a description of her, check out the anime. In episode 2, she's the one who gave Sakura her 53rdslam during the 100 Throws scene.
"There's also the matter of the flashback scene featuring Kanae. It was established in the show that her back was injured during her time as a professional wrestler, but the details of that weren't revealed. So we created our own story behind what happened. If you're wondering who that wrestler was who injured her, Kassidy Klaws is an OC created by Epiclot214 who will, as you can guess, make an appearance later."
A giant whiteboard appeared behind Chibi Kaito with a list of matches. "This is the list of matches that are going to be featured in the Xtrema vs Berserk event, which will begin in the next chapter. Also, one last reminder about the timeline. This takes place after Sakura's match against Hornet but before her rematch against Rio Kazama. That should make the predictions easier for you."
1.) Scarlette vs Chocho
2.) Cleopatra vs Chinatsu Suzumoto
3.) Zelda Logan vs Rio Kazama
4.) Carly X vs Sakura Hagiwara
5.) The Daughters of Darkness (Midnight and Azraella Bloodstone) vs the Hirano Sisters (Maya and Selena)
6.) Clementine Cirrus vs Digger Yamamoto
7.) Freya vs Kurea Komiyama
8.) Queen Bee vs Hornet
9.) Sayuri Rogue vs Misaki Toyota
Chibi Kaito continued. "What do you all think? Who do you think is going to win these matches? Epiclot214 already has the winners thought up, but he would love to know your opinions and predictions, mostly in the comments.
"Well, that's all I have to give you. Now, I gotta go before some of the heels in Xtrema find me and try to beat me up. Any and all comments are welcome!"