Chapter 46 (Daily)
"What are you doing here, Miyako?" Kaito asked.
"What? A girl can't catch up with her family from time to time?" Miyako asked.
"Since when do you care about family?" Kaito asked. "Mom and Dad haven't heard from you since you moved out."
"Hey. I stopped having faith in them for encouraging your fruitless efforts in being a real wrestler." Miyako said. "At least I care enough about how our family looks in the wrestling world."
"For your information, I happen to be improving. I won my first championship belt."
"Yeah, I saw you win a very easy belt to win. I also heard how you lost it in this very house to a girl in a lame gimmick. She pressed her ass on your face and you tapped out immediately."
Kaito was flustered. "Well… I'm sure you've heard of Olympia! Yeah. I picked up my first win there! And it was against the same girl I lost my belt to!"
"You mean that worthless display?" Miyako asked in a sneer. "Kaito, that doesn't count as a real win. Pins, submissions, or knockouts. Those are the real ways to win. Simply keeping one person out of the ring for ten seconds isn't that big of an accomplishment."
Kaito was speechless. He gritted his teeth and was about to shout, but he stopped when he saw the look in his big sister's eyes. He could see ferocity behind them petrifying him. He let go of his anger and took a deep breath.
"That's what I thought." Miyako continued. "Anywho, the reason I came over was because I wanted to tell you that I'm done playing a free agent. I'm ready to join an official league."
"You want me to get you into Xtrema?" Kaito asked.
Miyako laughed. "Please! As if I'd ever associate with a league so desperate, they'd hire circus clowns and losers. No. I'll be out there looking for something else, something that I know will put all the other leagues to shame. I don't know what it is yet, but I know I'll find it if I see it. Well, I'd better go." Without another word, Miyako got up and started to walk away.
"Hold on!" Kaito said staning in her way. "We're not done talking!"
"Well, I say we are." Miyako responded. She gripped the front of Kaito's shirt and lifted him off his feet with only one hand. He shuttered in fear and dangled his feet back and forth. "Come on, Kaito. You couldn't beat me on your best day. I've clearly got enough strength for the both of us. And that's why you'll always be Xtrema's biggest bitch."
She pushed Kaito back until he hit the wall. The impact was so strong, it actually left a dent on it. Kaito was left groaning as his sister exited the door.
As soon as Miyako was outside, she shrugged her shoulders and reached into her back pocket. She pulled out and looked at the gray tiger mask she got from her idol.
"Originally, I thought I'd show him this and rub it in his face," Miyako thought to herself, "But now, I'm thinking it'll be better if I saved it for another time."
"AAAAAAHHHH!" screamed Freya. She was caught tight in the tightest STF she has ever felt.
"Do you give up?" asked her opponent.
It was a very painful session, so Freya had no choice. She tapped her hand on the mat quickly and repeatedly. Her opponent let go before turning her on her back. She then leaned down to Freya's face… and pressed her lips against hers. After that moment, the two of them separated their lips and smiled at each other.
"I win again."
"You always win, Aurora." Freya chuckled. "If you're that good against me, you should dominate the ring."
"I know, sweetie, but you know how I am when it comes to large crowds." Aurora said.
She picked herself up and stood in the center of their home. Outside was a clear evening with ice and snow covering the entire landscape. Then again, that's how it usually is in a tundra. Outside of the house was a makeshift home that Freya and Aurora made for their pet polar bear, Yeti.
Freya was about to get up, but Aurora stopped her. She planted her bare foot on top of her wife's body, which only had navy blue bra and panties. Aurora stood proudly with her red hair swishing in the air and a yellow bikini. She kissed her biceps which was about a bit smaller than Freya's.
"Really?" Freya asked. "You're posing?"
"Well, I think it's what you deserve after losing to that hot redhead. Don't tell me you enjoyed that."
"You mean that Kurea girl. No. Of course not. You're the only girl for me."
Aurora grinned playfully. "All right. I believe you." She picked her wife up to her feet and kissed her again. Freya was half of a head taller than Aurora, so she had to stand on her toes. "You know, Yeti and I really miss you when you're gone."
"I know. But Xtrema's only shown in Japan and they don't really allow polar bears as house pets. I'm just lucky Ms. Rogue gives me paid tickets when I decide to come home."
"Man. That woman is loaded." Aurora said. "Well, what do you say we kick off this night with… a different kind of wrestling?" She pointed her thumb at their bed.
Freya chuckled. "Oh, come on. You always win at that too."
"And you love it."
"…Okay. Yeah, I do."
The next day, after opening up the Xtrema gym, Sayuri turned back to her car to enter it. But then, Jasper ran up behind her.
"Wait! Ms. Rogue!" Sayuri stopped and turned to the 'reincarnated warrior woman'.
"Oh. Ms. Jones. I've been meaning to talk to you."
"Yeah. I was told to come to you at my earliest convenience. And this is that convenience."
Sayuri pondered. "Well, I do have an important errand to run… But all right. We'll talk on the way. Get in."
"Great." Jasper said as she entered the car. Sayuri entered next and told the driver to get going. "So what would you like to talk to me about?"
"Straight to the point." Sayuri said. "I have a job for you. You've done such an amazing job discovering Aoife Leavy, that I may have use for your investigative abilities once more."
"For what?" Jasper asked.
Sayuri pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to her employee. "This is a list of free agent wrestlers who I can't seem to contact. Some of them are too hard to reach, even with my influence. Some of them are just missing. I want you to find them and send me their contact information."
"That sounds creepy, even for me." Jasper said. "What's in it for me in return?"
"What? You want another raise?" Sayuri asked.
"No. Not this time." Jasper said. Then, an idea popped in her head. She gently tapped her own breast area which Sayuri noticed matched the position of her breast pocket.
Sayuri chuckled for a bit before reaching into her pocket and pulled out a square object. It was a golden, plastic card: the Gold Card. She handed it to Jasper. "Well played."
"Thank you." Jasper said accepting it. "So what do you need these women for anyway? More potential opponents for visitor matches?"
"Something like that." Sayuri said. "Let's just say I have this project that entitles me to reach out to any wrestler I can find."
"Sounds mysterious." Jasper said with an admiring smile.
"We're here!" the driver declared. Jasper looked out the window and gazed at where they stopped.
"Miyabi? We stopped at the Miyabi gym? Why?"
"I have an appointment with the owner." Sayuri said. "You're welcome to join in if you want… as long as you don't listen in."
"All right." Jasper said. "You're the boss."
Sayuri and Jasper exited the car and walked through the front doors of Miyabi, where they were greeted by a woman with black hair and dark-red eyes.
"Ms. Rogue. It's nice to meet you."
"Juri Sanada." Sayuri greeted back with a handshake. "Gym owner and top wrestler. You've really made a name for yourself. Anywhere we can talk?"
"Sure." Juri said. "Follow me to my office."
"Right. Stay here, Jasper." Sayuri said.
The two of them left and Jasper was alone looking around the area. She saw equipment similar to what they had at Xtrema and Berserk. There were even a fair amount of wrestlers there. But then, a glimpse of orange caught Jasper's eye.
Jasper looked and saw a woman with orange hair exit out the far door with a gym bag. Jasper squinted to get a good look at the woman who just left. She was then displaying a confused expression.
"Was that… Elena Miyazawa?"
Inside the office, Juri had set down the manilla folder she had just read before raising her head toward Sayuri.
"So what do you think?" the Xtrema CEO asked.
"Did you make this same offer to Berserk?" Juri asked. "What did they say?"
"I did, and Mr. Inoba said he'll lend his support for it. I was hoping you would too."
Juri sat back in her couch and pondered. "Well, some part of me is telling me to turn this down. This whole thing seems so complicated, that one little miscalculation could turn it into a disaster. But if it does work, this can be historical."
"That's the aim." Sayuri said. "And I'm quite prepared for the risk. What about you?"
Juri thought for a moment before smiling. "All right. Miyabi's in. But on one condition… I would like to be in the visitor's match on your next show."
"You and me?" Sayuri asked.
"No, not us." Juri answered. "I saw your match against Misaki. I don't care how unfazed you seem, there's no way you can walk out of that unscathed. I prefer to face you when you're at full strength."
"Fair enough." Sayuri said. "So who would you like to face?"
"Hard to say." Juri said. "My first thought would be your ace, Queen Bee. Then again, maybe…"
The two of them stopped when they heard a shouting. They rushed over to the gym area, and right in their ring, they saw something they didn't expect. Jasper Jones stood in the middle of the ring holding a woman up. This woman had a red two-piece and long, blonde hair tied in a ponytail.
"Jasper, what's going on?" Sayuri asked.
"She started it!" Jasper said gesturing her head at the woman she held up.
"Just put her down now!" Sayuri commanded.
Jasper complied with a deep breath setting the woman back on her feet. She grunted and turned her back.
"What happened, Jasper?" Sayuri asked.
"Well, I could have sworn I say Elena Miyazawa, the pop idol, leave the gym." Jasper asked. "I asked this girl if it was Elena, but she just became rude to me."
"Yoko, is that true?" Juri asked to the wrestler that was just spared.
Yoko got nervous. "Well… It wasn't her business anyway. She's the one who got in a fuss."
"You flipped me off!" Jasper shouted. "As the reincarnation of the noble Barbaria the Savage Queen, I refuse to be insulted in such a manner!"
"Am I supposed to take that seriously?" Yoko asked.
"All right! Enough!" Sayuri shouted. "Jasper, I don't care if you saw a pop idol here or even the Prime Minister. You can't just…"
"Hold on." Juri said with a thought crossing her head. "I think I've got an idea. Jasper, since you assaulted one of my girls, it's my duty as owner of Miyabi to defend them."
"You mean…" Sayuri asked.
"That's right." Juri said with a smile. "I challenge Jasper Jones at the next show!"
"Fine by me." Jasper accepted. "But if I win, you gotta tell me what Elena's doing here."
Juri nodded with a smile.
"Well, this should be interesting." Sayuri said.
At the same time, Sam Hamilton entered a large building in a small business area. She entered through and spoke to the man at the front desk.
"Hey, Claude." She greeted her tailor.
"Sam!" he greeted back. "Welcome back! You're just in time!"
Claude Vitaly brought Sam to the back room, where he had a private office with a clothes hanger on the wall. He pulled out a costume and passed it to Sam. This costume came with a long, black wig and a white singlet one-piece with red outlines.
"Perfect!" Sam cheered. "This costume will make me look just like Sakura Hagiwara!"
"Why'd you order that again?" Claude asked.
Sam answered, "Well, our next show will be on the same night as the pop idol herself takes on Rio in their rematch, and they say that this match will be very much even. I've always been a fan of hers, so personally, I'm rooting for her to win. So on that same night, I'll be wearing this to show my support."
"You mean Ms. Rogue's giving you your first singles match?" Claude asked with a smile. "That's great!"
"Yeah. Been a long time coming too." Sam said.
"But how can you win if Sakura doesn't have a defining move yet?"
"I don't really care. Whether I win or lose, at least my support will be known."
Claude laughed. "You're a strange person, Sam. That's why I admire you."
"Thanks, Claude. I think you're a cool cat too. Glad we're friends."
Sam turned around, took her costume, and exited the room leaving Claude to chuckle silently with a frown. "Yeah. Friends."
Later that day, Sayuri Rogue had started her practical exams for the newcomers. She met them all at the Initiation Den and tested their offensive and defensive skills. One by one at different times of the day, she tested them and graded them to see if they're qualified to join the Xtrema roster. In the end, everyone passed… except for…
"WHAT?" screamed Vanessa Slayer. She yelled at Sayuri Rogue just at ringside in the Den. "What do you mean I'm not in?"
"Exactly as it sounds. You're not in." Sayuri said. "I'm sorry, but you're too unstable for this company."
"I'm unstable?" Vanessa asked. "You freakin' let in Diana Diaz!"
"Well, Diaz knows when to fall in line." Sayuri said. "I have a feeling if I let you in, you'll waste no time in hurting Midnight… or worse."
"Are you kidding me? You're defending her? She's a homewrecking, disrespecting whore! An actual monster!"
"I don't agree with her methods," Sayuri said, "But as long as she doesn't cross the line, it's not my business. You, however, are only interested in revenge. And that's something I will not allow. You had your chance, Ms. Slayer, and you failed. Now, leave before I have you thrown out."
Vanessa heaved and growled as she turned around exiting out the front door. Sayuri sighed before continuing on. With the exception of Vanessa Slayer, everyone passed and Sayuri left them off with one saying…
"Welcome to Xtrema!"
*Xtrema Shorts*
Chibi Monica Everly sat in a loveseat across from the one that was sat on by a Chibi version of Sam Hamilton.
"Hi there, everyone! I'm Monica Everly, and today, I'll be doing an interview with Xtrema's resident cosplayer, Sam Hamilton! Thanks for being here, Sam."
"Great to be here, Monica." Chibi Sam said. "I admit, I didn't think I've be interviewed this soon."
"Well, you're a popular character and the readers would love to know more about you." Chibi Monica said. "I'm going to ask you some standard questions followed by some personal ones. Is that all right with you?"
"Sure. Fire away."
"Great. First, how long have you been wrestling?"
"Well, I've only had one match, and it was at a battle royal, so not very long. But everyone says that I show great promise."
"Do you have any dream opponents?"
"Oh, do I ever. I've got several ideas for people I'd like to wrestle, but if I have to choose just one, I think I'd like to face off against Alex Duncan. I've read her stories, and I'd love to roleplay in them. But here at Xtrema, I think I'd go with Jasper Jones. I bet she has plenty of stories we can base our matches on, what with her Barbaria story, anyhow."
"How do you feel about your fans?"
"Oh, man! I love them! Being a geek has gotten cool recently, so it's nice to see so many people embrace the fandoms we admire so much."
"Which is the toughest match you've had so far?"
"Well, again, I've only fought in a battle royal. Unless you mean the holiday specials, then in which case, I'd go with the match against Bunny Bomber in the Summer Special. Her smother really knocked me out."
"What do you do for fun?"
"Well, obviously, I like hanging out with my friend and tailor, Claude Vitaly. Not only is he a cool guy, but he's also a great costume designer. I also like to roleplay in my costumes whenever the need arises. That's why I keep at least one costume at hand."
"What do you think makes a great wrestler?"
"Well, I believe in giving the people what they want. And based on my personal interactions with the fans, they love seeing their fandoms coming to life. If anyone can make the fans happy, that's the best kind of wrestler."
"Do you have any other interests besides wrestling and cosplay?"
"Well, I do a lot of fanfiction. There's nothing like writing your own story. It's like creating your own world and running it."
"Now for some questions from our audience. These three questions come from Awesome ax10. First, what's your favorite fandom?"
"You're asking me that? That's like asking me which star I like best. There's just too many to choose from. I have an unbelievably large assortment of fandoms that I love and they keep making more every day. So I can't list them all, so I can't pick a favorite. Sorry."
"Which wrestler do you like cosplaying in mirror matches?"
"Well, I'd love to be in a mirror match against the likes of… Trish Stratus. And also Jackal Tojo. Basically, the best female wrestlers in the world. If I'm ever in an intergender match, I'd love to cosplay as a genderbent version of them. I have an idea for a mirror match if I ever get set up against Midnight, and I think it'll be funny."
"Last question. How did you manage to learn and adapt different skills? Did you learn them at the same time or separate time periods? Which style are you most proficient in?
"I see what you're asking. Well, that's difficult to explain. You see, there's this villain in the Marvel universe called Taskmaster. He has the ability to completely copy the fighting styles of most people. It's kinda that way with me. I study the fights of whoever I'm cosplaying as or predict how they'd fight, and I can basically do that to. As for the when I learn, I take my time and study their fighting styles before I go out and fight dressed as them. Lastly, as for which style I'm best at, it is outrageously difficult to replicate the strength of powerful wrestlers like Chyna or Nia Jax or Thunder Mana. I think out of all the styles, I'm best at striking."
"Well, that's all the questions we have for now." Chibi Monica said. "Remember, if anyone has any questions they'd like to ask our wrestlers, feel free to ask and we'll credit you for your questions. Matches are decided next chapter. Any and all comments are welcome!"