Chapter 44 (Daily)
Sayuri Rogue stretched her sore arms before getting to work in her office. She then looked over a stack of papers with different women's photos on them. After a few minutes, Ryuji knocked and entered.
"Ah, Ryuji. How were the staff interviews?"
"Great, actually. We've got doctors, coaches, even a new backstage interviewer. Although, I must ask, why didn't you interview those people yourself? You interview wrestlers all the time."
"That's different." Sayuri explained. "I have a good sense of a wrestler's passion by talking to them before I send them to the Initiation Den. I hired you partly because you're a good judge of character for behind-the-scenes staff."
"I suppose that makes sense." Ryuji said. "Speaking of which, we've got more wrestlers here for interviews."
"Excellent! Send them in."
Ryuji nodded and opened the door for the first two women. They both had long, black hair and wore space-themed T-shirts. One girl had a clean face and the other had freckles.
"I take it the two of you are for our tag team division?" Sayuri asked.
"That's right." The freckled one said. "I'm Carina."
"And I'm Luna." Said the other one.
"Together," Carina said, "We are the Galaxy Twins."
"Twins, huh?" Sayuri asked.
"Well, technically, no." Carina said. "Luna's younger than me by two years. We have the same height, weight, body type…"
"Even cup sizes." Luna said winking at Sayuri.
"Luna, don't blow this for us, please." Carina said. "Sorry about that, Ms. Rogue."
"It's fine." Sayuri said brushing off the pass. "Back to the twin thing."
"Well, back at our circus, me and my sis were trapeze artists." Luna said. "We wore identical costumes with masks that covered our faces, so the world easily mistook us for twin sisters."
"You're from a circus?" Sayuri asked.
"Oh, yeah." Carina said. "Me and my sis loved the rush we'd get from soaring through the air."
"Yeah, it was quite a thrill." Luna agreed. "Though, sadly, it was shut down. So we're looking for a new form of entertainment where we can use our acrobatics. That's where professional wrestling comes in."
"I see." Sayuri said. "Well, the two of you seem to be athletically qualified for this job. And if you're brave enough to be thrown into the air at fifty feet, then you certainly have the nerve to handle the in-ring dangers."
"Does that mean we're in?" Luna asked excitedly.
"No. It means you've passed the interview. You've still got a more practical examination to do before I make my final decision." Sayuri gave the two of them an address and time before sending them out.
The next woman to walk in was a blonde woman in a blue jacket, white shirt, and blue miniskirt. The miniskirt did her favors by showing off her legs, which even Sayuri could tell were majestic, thick, and perfect.
"Hey there, Ms. Rogue." The woman said. "I'm Jun Juli."
"Right. Thank you." Sayuri said. "So let's start with some basic questions, Ms. Juli. Why do you wish to join Xtrema?"
"Well, honestly, it's for the money." Jun said. "My dad and his friend opened up a restaurant called Matsuda and Juli's, which incidentally is a popular hot spot for wrestlers. After my dad… passed away, the restaurant started to go broke. Then, I happen to serve two new wrestlers calling themselves Candy Pair."
"Ah, Milk and Mint." Sayuri said. "Yeah, I saw their confrontation with Queen Payne earlier this morning. Those two are basically biting at big fish."
"Well, after telling me how excited they were, I figured I could join in too." Jun continued. "That way, I can use my skills to earn money to save my dad and friend's restaurant."
"And what skills are those?" Sayuri asked.
"Well, basically… my legs." Jun replied. "People often commented how perfect my legs are. I admit, they are pretty strong. I asked around, and people said my legs could make any wrestler tap out."
"Is that a fact?" Sayuri asked. "Well, we'll have to see for ourselves then." She gave Jun her own card and sent her on her way.
The next person to walk in was a woman with long, shiny, blonde hair and blue eyes. She also had on bright-red lipstick. Her body figure was one that any man and some women would certainly fall for. She partially opened her button shirt to show off the top of her cleavage. She had on a fabulous line of clothes along with a pink boa around her neck.
"You must be Catrina Horace, right?" Sayuri asked.
"Close. You see, I am the hottest woman in the world. So I would prefer if you called me by my preferred name: Hotrina."
"Seriously?" Sayuri asked.
"Don't mock me." Hotrina said. "I'll have you know that I come from a very rich and influential family."
"What does any of that have to do with this business?" Sayuri asked.
"It means I can do anything I want." Hotrina said. "From magazine covers to marathon running. I've faced it all. And since pro wrestling has been trending lately, I'll be stepping in and become the very face of it."
"And you're sure you're skilled enough to handle it?" Sayuri asked.
"Bitch, please. I'm going to leave all those other wanna be's in the dust."
While Sayuri didn't appreciate her attitude, she decided to let it slide and give her latest client a shot. She gave her the card and sent her on her way.
The next woman was a lean, fit girl with tan skin and short, brown ponytail hair. She had on a set of black and red workout clothes.
"I'll be damned." Sayuri said looking through the new woman's profile. "Artemis Creed, the undefeated boxer of Puerto Rico, here in Japan joining a wrestling league. You've got quite a reputation."
"I know." Artemis said. "For five years, I've fought in boxing matches, and they always end in my victory, TKO before the end of the third round."
"If you're so successful in boxing, then why are you here in wrestling?" Sayuri asked.
"Truthfully, it was because of an old rival of yours, Jackal Tojo." Sayuri's interest os piqued. "My agent had me fight in a charity event between a boxer—me—and a wrestler—Jackal Tojo. Unfortunately, Jackal gave me my first loss. I should have felt defeated, but for some reason, I felt compelled. From that day on, I decided to enter the world of wrestling to see things from Jackal Tojo's point of view. Maybe then, I'll defeat her in a rematch."
"That's quite a story you got on you." Sayuri said. She then gave Artemis her card and sent her away.
The next woman to enter was a woman in a very gothic attire with a black stripe across her eyes.
"Ms. Rogue." She greeted coldly.
"Vanessa Slayer." Sayuri said. "Nice to meet you. So you wish to join Xtrema. Why?"
"Truthfully… for revenge."
"I beg your pardon?"
"One of your wrestlers, Midnight, stole my husband from me. She beat me up and made him sign the divorce papers." Vanessa growled gripping both of her hands together. "I've trained myself to deal with her and everyone else like her?"
"And by 'like her', you mean…"
"Monsters. Midnight. Bloodstone. That werewolf girl in GWM. Even that Bliss girl who's taken up the Fiend persona! It's my duty to take care of them all!"
Sayuri was skeptical and put her opinion of her on standby. The sent her on her way and waited for the next one.
This pale woman had long, black hair with a red streak. She had on a black tanktop with a picture of a burning fist on it, black tights with red fire wrapped around its legs, black gloves, and a black leather jacket with fire design.
"Welcome to Xtrema, Electra Sinders. My scout tells me you can definitely kick butt."
"You know it." Electra said. "Aside from being a kick-ass rock-and-roller, I'm a rock-and-rolling kick-ass!"
"So you think you can handle being a wrestler and a band leader at once? I've heard it can be troublesome."
"HA! Me and the rest of my Hellfire Fist band can handle anything! A simple schedule should be a piece of cake for us. And if anyone says that being part of a band while being a wrestler is impossible, I'll smash my electric guitar over their heads and make them sing gospel!"
After that colorful imagery, Sayuri gave Electra her card and sent her away. She waited for the next one. It was a raven-haired beauty with dark lipstick and dark-blue clothes on.
"Welcome. You must be… Maria Crawford."
"That's me."
Sayuri looked through the file she had on the woman she was facing. "Hmm. It says here that you've done a lot of independent wrestling back in America… after you gave up being a reporter."
"Some reporter I was." Maria said. "My boss only had me do fluff pieces. Hardly worth the time of somebody as wonderful as me. But after I dominated a weak girl and made her my bitch, I found that the world of wrestling was where I belonged, where I can be beautiful and dominant at the same time."
"I see." Sayuri said. She gave Maria her card before sending her off.
The last girl came in. She seemed younger than the others, almost as young as Carly X. She had a black shirt with pink linings and a Bret Hart symbol on it. She also had on a pair of blue jeans and black shoes with pink laces and linings.
Sayuri smiled as she read the young girl's profile. "So it appears that there's a Hart under my roof. Bret Hart's granddaughter, if I'm not mistaken, right?"
"Yes, ma'am. Charlie 'the Hitgirl' Hart ready to rumble."
"All the way from Calgary to Rusuo City. You've got quite the determination to come all the way here."
"I'm quite determined. I'm the latest generation of the Hart family. I want to prove myself. So what do you think?"
"Well, if it was anyone else, you'd be guaranteed a spot on the roster," Sayuri said, "But I must be fair. You still have to go do the practical test too. I'm that kind of CEO."
"I'm fine with that." Charlie said. "At least you're not Vince McMahon."
The two shared a laugh before the boss gave the new girl her card.
Just outside of the Xtrema building, Clementine was just about to enter the gym to train. Before she could, the doors opened up and the girls walked out after their interviews. Clementine looked at them, then widened her eyes toward one of them.
"Oh, boy!" she gasped. She quickly pulled out her phone and began texting like crazy.
"YAH!" Kaito shouted. He spun himself and hit Dawn Sawyer in the face with his elbow. She still stood standing. "How was that?"
Dawn thought for a moment before answering. "Not enough, honey."
"Damn it!" Kaito shouted. "We've gone through 25 of these moves, and we're still no closer to my special one."
"Normally, a finishing move depends entirely on your biggest strength." Dawn said. "For example, the Undertaker's incredible size makes his tombstone piledriver Earth-shattering."
"But I've been thrown around most of my wrestling career." Kaito said. "How am I supposed to find my biggest strength?"
"It's there somewhere. You just have to find it." Dawn said. Suddenly, she heard a Western ding coming from her phone. "Oh, sounds like Clem sent me a text."
"I've been meaning to ask about something." Kaito said. "She seemed pretty aware about how our relationship actually is."
"Oh, Clem and I are old friends, even back in America."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Clementine's been going around the country for a wrestling league. It was only a matter of time for her to attempt to join Queen Bee Wrestling."
"She was a member?"
"Not exactly. She and I had a tryout match against each other. Obviously, I lost, but she seemed thrilled enough to stick around for a few weeks. Unfortunately, it all ended when budget cuts meant there was no room for her. About a couple of years later, the two of us had our debut match against each other. I won, and we've been good friends and friendly rivals since."
"That sounds cool." Kaito said. "What'd she send anyway?"
Queen Bee picked up her phone and checked the message. That's when her eyes widened and her jaw dropped as if she had seen a ghost.
"What?" Kaito asked. "What does it say?"
"Crawford. Maria Crawford's here! THAT BITCH! That's what Beatrice meant! Lancaster must have called her to join Xtrema! When I get my hands on her…"
"Whoa, honey, take it easy." Kaito said. "Who's Maria Crawford?"
Queen Bee took a deep breath before turning to her boyfriend. "You remember when I told you that a reporter made me tap out in less than ten seconds?"
"Yeah? Why? What does that have to do with…" He widened his eyes looking at the phone. "Her?"
"Yeah. After she beat me, she got so excited about it, she quit being a reporter and became a wrestler with a kinky dominatrix gimmick. She's one of my biggest enemies, and Lancaster convinced her to join Xtrema!"
"Wow." Kaito said. "Anything I can do?"
"Yeah. Be careful." Dawn advised. "She may have been an amateur when we fought, but the more she wrestled, the more dominating she got. I'd hate it if anything happened to you."
Kaito nodded taking the advice to heart.
"That was quite a spread, Ryuji." Sayuri said. "So what's next?"
"Well, we've got to talk about finding more wrestlers for the Pandora Project." Ryuji answered before looking at his clipboard. "The next on the list is… Miyabi."
"Juri Sanada's gym. How ironic it is that after our event with Berserk, we go and talk to Misaki Toyoda's biggest rival." Sayuri chuckled. "Well, set up a meeting between us. Oh, and while you're at it, inform Ms. Jones that I'd like to see her at her earliest convenience."
"What? Why?" Ryuji asked.
"If the Pandora Project is to be successful, then I must offer it to as many wrestlers as I can." Sayuri said. "Unfortunately, some of the wreslters I have in mind are out of contact. I'm going to need Jasper's investigative abilities to find them."
After a long session of training with no success on improving, Kaito Marx decided to call it a day. He got into his car and drove all the way home. But when he arrived, he noticed something strange: the door was open.
He was worried for a second. Was there an intruder? Was he robbed? He moved the welcome mat and discovered the key he hid was missing. He gulped and slowly crept into the house. He raised his arms ready to use his wrestling skills to good use. He didn't want another incident like he had with the Skunk.
He had just entered his bedroom when he found his intruder. It wasn't a burglar, though. It was someone way worse. The intruder grinned at him as she spoke.
"Don't try fighting, Kaito. We both know you couldn't pin a nail to the wall."
"Miyako?" Kaito asked in surprise.
"It's good to see you, little brother." Miyako grinned.
*Xtrema Shorts*
A Chibi woman with long, white hair and a purple blazer sat on a table across from a Chibi version of Calypso.
"Hi there, everyone. My name is Monica Everly, and I'm the new interviewer recently hired by Xtrema. And here is my first guest, the Island Dancer, Calypso!"
"Thank you for having me as your first guest, Ms. Everly." Chibi Calypso said.
"Please, honey, call me Monica. Now, I'll be asking you some basic questions about yourself and your views on Xtrema. There will be some standard questions first followed by a few personal questions meant for you. Are you ready to tell us who you are?"
"Fire away, Monica."
"Great. Now, first… How long have you been wrestling?"
"About a couple of years, give or take. I've had to do some training to mix my dancing with professional wrestling skills, but I managed."
"Do you have any dream opponents?"
"Well, I love to face Kyoko Natsumi. We're both terrific performers, even outside of the ring. We'd wow the fans silent."
"How do you feel about your fans?"
"Oh, they're wonderful. I dance for them as well as myself. If only my fans back at Brazil had faith in me like before."
"Which is the toughest match you've had so far?"
"Diana Diaz, easily. That newcomer plowed through me like a steamroller."
"What do you do for fun?"
"Dancing, obviously. Every time I hear a beat, I can't help but move with the groove."
"What do you think makes a great wrestler?"
"Anyone who can perform for the fans in more ways than one is good enough for me."
"Do you have any other interests?"
"Well, other than dancing, I like to garden and listen to music. Sometimes, I go to clubs just so I can dance all night long."
"Right. Now, onto the personal questions. These were asked by Awesome ax10. Your fighting style. Where and who taught you capoeira?"
"Funny thing is, I taught it to myself. Back in Rio, I've always experimented on new dance routines to use for Carnival. A gangster approached me while I was distracted with my rehearsal. Then, much to my surprise, I beat that guy by accident. Another guy watched what happened and said that I had just done capoeira. It was an accident, but he said I had a talent for it. I've been researching the art myself and figured it would be a good way to defend myself since I seem to already be a natural at it."
"What do you think about wrestling titles for dancing fighters and users of New World fighting styles?"
"Honestly, I don't mind. Any reward for dancing is like a calling card to me. I know some people say it shouldn't count as a wrestling title, but I'm not one of them. I support the idea."
"Last question. How did you and Amazon Aqua become roommates and tag team partners?"
"Well, when I moved to Japan, I accepted a roommate flyer I found in the paper and agreed to split the rent with my new roommate, who turned out to be Aqua. An even bigger coincidence is that we also both signed up for Xtrema. We were even each other's debut opponents. Of course, Aqua beat me, but we became best friends after that and decided to join forces. And that's how Atlantis Force was born."
"Well, thanks for enlightening us, Calypso. Turns out your moves aren't the only things that are sweet.
"Before we sign off, I am obligated to tell you something. In the interview scene, other than the OCs, there are two characters that don't belong to Epiclot214. Maria Crawford, for example. She's a character from Wrestle Angels. Also, Charlie Hart is an OC that rightfully belongs to her creator, Awesome ax10. Hope we did her right. Thank you for reading, and remember, any and all comments are welcome."