Chapter 67 (Wrestle Mishmash)

*Spring Tiger and Viper Takagi vs Candy Pair*

The night of the matches had come. From a special, exclusive seat above the bleachers, Sayuri Rogue sat in a throne-like chair and watched from above. She did enjoy the matches, but she was most looking forward to see the women.

After a couple of opening matches, Spring Tiger and Viper Takagi made their entrance first. They secured their outfits and made their way to the stage. Spring Tiger was still nervous since this was her second match, but Viper was a professional, so she handled the crowd with pride. After that, their opponents made their entrance. Milk and Mint waved to the whole crowd before they sprinted into the ring. Candy Pair waved once last bit at the crowd before heading to their corner.

"This next match has a lot of promise. Viper Takagi, the Japanese Amazon, is partnered with the young and talented Spring Tiger. Their opponents consist of Milk, who has returned to the ring for the first time since her recovery, and Mint, who Spring Tiger once partnered with. Let's get this match started."

A staff worker at ringside sounded the gong. BOOM!

Viper Takagi stood in the ring while Spring Tiger stood at the apron. Candy Pair started off with Milk who was eager to get back into the action. The two of them met up in the middle of the ring.

Viper attempted to grab ahold of Milk, but she ducked down and went to tackle her legs. Viper, however, didn't trip. Instead, she grabbed Milk's waist, picked her up, and slammed her down with authority. She then went for an early pin.

1…

Milk kicked out pretty early. Viper picked her back up and tossed her to a neutral corner. After Milk's back made impact, Viper ran to ram her back into her. Unfortunately, Milk dodged out of the way letting Viper crash into the turnbuckle. She staggered forward, which gave Milk the chance she needed to climb up the top turnbuckle. When Viper turned around, Milk jumped off and landed on top of her with a crossbody pin.

1…

Viper kicked out of that easily as well. Milk ran to her corner and tagged in Mint, who climbed up the top rope. She and Milk grabbed each other's hands and the latter threw her over sending her crashing on top of Viper. Milk went into the apron while Mint hooked the leg.

1… 2…

Viper thrusted her shoulder up. Mint rolled Viper on her stomach and locked in a headlock keeping her down. She tightened the hold making Viper grit her teeth. Viper impatiently waved her hand from Spring Tiger over to her and the masked rookie knew what it meant. She ran through the ropes and pushed Mint off. The referee made Spring Tiger return to the corner while Viper recovered. She grabbed Mint and lifted her up by her throat before tossing her down in a chokeslam. She then returned to the corner where Spring Tiger was.

"You okay, Viper?" Spring Tiger asked.

"Don't just wait, rookie." Viper said. "The next time I'm in a bind, it's your responsibility as my partner to get me out of it. Now, you want in?"

"Let me." Spring Tiger answered. She and Viper clapped hands and Spring Tiger ran in.

With Mint still down, Spring Tiger used the same tactic as she did against Miss X in her first match. She wrapped her legs in an Indian deathlock and fell backward a few times to strain them. She then capitalized by bending backward and grabbing Mint's head with a muta lock. She pulled making Mint struggle to breathe.

"Sorry to do this Mint, but I'd like that MVP prize." Spring Tiger whispered.

"No… hard… feelings." Mint expressed as she began crawling to the ropes. Once she placed her hand on it, Spring Tiger was forced to let go.

Once they were both up, Mint quickly took the lead by grabbing Spring Tiger in a headlock. She pushed her down to they were both lying on the mat, but Mint still had the headlock on tight. Spring Tiger got free by throwing her legs around Mint's head and locking her with a headscissors. While she was down, Spring Tiger grabbed ahold of Mint's legs and pulled them back for the pin.

1… 2…

Mint broke out, slipped out of the scissor hold, and returned to her headlock on Spring Tiger. Spring Tiger tried to throw Mint off with her legs again, but this time, Mint was careful to dodge them. The two of them struggled for control until they pushed themselves up on their feet. That was when Spring Tiger pushed Mint off of her and to the ropes. Spring Tiger ran to the opposite end of the ring and returned to the rebounding Mint with a sharp dropkick. Mint landed near her corner where Milk was and tagged her in.

Milk went into the ring and ran up to Spring Tiger in the center of the ring. They locked hands and took each other in a test of strength. They were equal until Mint took Spring Tiger's head and threw her back with a suplex. Mint climbed up the top rope and landed with a hard splash across Spring Tiger's body. Once she got off, Spring Tiger rolled to her corner and tagged Viper Takagi in.

Candy Pair wasn't done yet with their double-teaming. Once Viper got into the ring, they both landed a dropkick on her at the same time. She staggered back and the two went behind her. They wrapped both their arms around her and tossed her back with a double German suplex. The legal one, Milk, covered Viper for the pin. Spring Tiger tried to save her partner, but Mint elbowed her away.

1… 2… 3!

BOOM!

"And there you have it! Candy Pair wins! Milk must feel great winning after her miraculous recovery!"

Spring Tiger lowered her head and sighed woefully. "There goes my 10 million yen."

In her locker room, Queen Bee chuckled watching the result of the tag match. "Well, I certainly enjoyed that."

"Yeah." Kaito agreed. "It is nice to see Candy Pair win. Most of the fans were pretty devastated when they lost their debut match like they did."

"Not just that." Queen Bee said. "It was pretty refreshing to see that masked kid lose. I only wish she was the one who was pinned."

"What's your problem with Spring Tiger anyway?" Kaito asked. "You've been on her case since this morning."

"You want to know why?" Queen Bee asked. "Well, I don't like how she's treated."

"What do you mean?"

"Besides this, she's only ever had one match. She's had no training that we know of, no one knows who she is, and she came out of nowhere. And suddenly, she squares off against not only Liz, who I was trying to get a match at for years, and Miss X, the boss of GWM who's never wrestled a day in her life. It just bothers me how much of an opportunity the little upstart got."

"Wow. I didn't think about that." Kaito said.

Queen Bee sighed. "It's all right. Right now, I just need to focus on my match soon."

*Queen Bee vs Lyra Booker*

Queen Bee made her entrance first with Kaito following her. She had on her Queen Bee jacket and marched into the ring. Once she was in, she tossed her jacket to Kaito who stood at ringside ready to cheer his girlfriend on. After that, Lyra Booker made her entrance. She came down the stage with her black leotard on. Her leotard had two strands of red on her shoulder and chest area with the words "Raven Time" on her ships. She also had a white scorpion drawing on her boots. She had on a white face paint with black highlights that matched the leather trenchcoat she wore. Upon entering the ring, she removed her jacket and threw it outside.

"That's some design." Kaito commented.

"Yeah. Lyra's a fan of Sting." Queen Bee said. "Not the Queen's Sting, of course. I meant, Sting the wrestler."

"And now, we're onto our women's singles match! In one corner, we have the Black Scorpion, Lyra Booker! And in the other corner is Lyra's old pupil and World Champion of Xtrema, Queen Bee! This teacher versus student match is going to be a blowout!"

BOOM!

Lyra and Bee met at the center of the ring and locked in a collar-and-elbow tie-up. Both struggled for control until Bee pushed Lyra to the corner and the referee forced them to break up. Once they did, Lyra wasted no time kicking Bee in the stomach and slamming her head to the middle turnbuckle. Queen Bee fell into a seated position a little disoriented and Lyra went to the far corner of the ring. She grinned before she ran to the corner, jumped, and hit Queen Bee with a double kneestrike. She pulled her away from the corner and hooked her leg for the pin.

1…

Queen Bee kicked out. She tried to roll away, but Lyra grabbed her from behind with a headlock. Queen Bee tried to pry her arm off, but Lyra grabbed her hand, pulled it back, and planted her leg in front of it so Bee couldn't free herself.

"Come on, Dawn! You can do better than that!" Lyra taunted. "I thought you were supposed to be a world champ!"

Queen Bee growled. She shifted her head around until the headlock came loose. She slipped out of the hold and used her trapped arm to flip Lyra over her head landing on her face. She then crawled on top of Lyra and applied a crossface chickenwing. She arched her old teacher's head hard.

"Give up?" the referee asked.

"No!" Lyra responded. She shifted her body forward until she managed to reach the rope calling for a rope break.

Queen Bee waited for Lyra to get back up. Once she did, Bee ran to her for a spear. However, Lyra dodged it and countered by grabbing her in an abdominal stretch. She made sure to keep Queen Bee away from the ropes so she wouldn't go for a break. She also made the stretch hurt more by grabbing Queen Bee's backmost leg and pulling it backward. Queen Bee yelled as she was being stretched hard. Lyra grinned sadistically as she pulled.

"Come on, my queen!" Kaito cheered.

Queen Bee heard her boyfriend's words and continued to resist. Lyra tried to keep her student trapped, but eventually, Queen Bee broke out and tossed Lyra down to the middle rope. She rested there until Queen Bee struck her back with her knee. Lyra dropped down onto the mat and Queen Bee went for the pin.

1… 2…

Lyra managed to kick out. Queen Bee pulled her old mentor up and struck her chest with three chops. She then grabbed Lyra's arm and attempted to throw her in an Irish whip. However, Lyra reversed the throw and threw Queen Bee instead. Thankfully, Queen Bee was prepared and ducked down to slide out of the ring.

"Come on, Lyra! You can do better than that!" Queen Bee taunted similarly to how Lyra did to her earlier.

Lyra ran out to follow Queen Bee, but her student slipped back into the ring before she could. She kept up her momentum and jumped through the ropes landing right on top of Lyra in a splash. Queen Bee picked Lyra up and tossed her back into the ring. She followed and pinned her again.

1… 2…

Lyra kicked out again. Deciding to finish it, Queen Bee stood up and dared Lyra to get back up. The Black Scorpion slowly picked herself up and stood in front of Queen Bee, who then raised her leg to deliver her signature move, the Queen's Sting.

However, much to Bee's surprise, Lyra blocked the kick with her forearm. She then spun Queen Bee around and caught her by surprise with her finishing move, the scorpion death drop. She rolled Queen Bee up for the pin.

1… 2… 3!

BOOM!

"OH! What a match! Both women gave it their hardest, but in the end, the teacher still triumphed."

Queen Bee breathed heavily, but smiled when Lyra held out her hand. Queen Bee happily accepted it and stood up with her. They both posed for the crowd, especially Queen Bee who posed for Kaito.

"Better luck next time." Lyra said.

"I'll be waiting." Queen Bee said.

A few matches later, the wrestling part was over and everyone casted their votes for the MVP… or so it seemed.

In the hot springs they were promised, Haruna Takaoka (who was Spring Tiger without her mask on) was fuming. Milk and Mint sat in the spring with her not really bothered by the fact that Fukuwara Mask became the MVP.

"That can't be right! Not at all!"

"Calm down." Milk said. "It's clear that Fukuwara worked the hardest."

"But the ballots are so suspicious." Haruna complained. "Most were by the same hand. I'm certain it was Fukuwara's doing. Besides, part of our pay is in form of his merchandise. He totally played us! I can't stand this!" She held up a towel with the man's name on it.

"But the audience loved it." Milk reminded. "Many people came to down just as Fukuwara planned."

"It was a total success." Mint added. "Hats off to Fukuwara. That aside, Haruna, you sure have a good figure. You should become a wrestler."

Haruna sighed before sinking a little lower down the spring she was in. Just then, the door opened. Haruna panicked before turning completely around so that her face couldn't be seen. Milk and Mint turned and saw Sayuri Rogue who had on a full-body towel on her.

"Hello, girls." She said. "I gotta say, this night was more enjoyable than I thought it'd be."

"Nice to meet you, Ms. Rogue." Milk said as the Xtrema CEO dipped herself in. "So where's Queen Bee?"

"Queen Bee had to send off Lyra. She's leaving early to make it to an event early a few towns over."

"As long as your ace doesn't see me here, I am good." Haruna pouted.

"Oh. I didn't see you there Spring Tiger," Sayuri Rogue said, "Or should I say… Haruna Takaoka?"

Haruna gasped nearly falling into the spring bath. She turned around revealing her nervous face. "You knew?"

"Kid, you've got the same gimmick as the wrestler you manage, you're a teenager, and you've got a bit of a rivalry with Miss X which explains why she faced you in the ring." Sayuri said. "It doesn't take Sherlock Holmes to figure it out. I'm surprised Tiger Mask didn't call you out."

Haruna sighed. "Well, does Bee know?"

"Nah. Figured that if this ever turned into an actual rivalry, your anonymity would spice it up. You know, there's always a place for you in Xtrema."

Haruna's eyes lit up. "Really? But I lost?"

"So what?" Sayuri asked with a shrug. "I don't judge people by their recent losses. I just made the same offer to Viper Takagi before I got here, and she said after her match at my upcoming big event, she'd be happy to sign up. You, Haruna, are clearly a talented prodigy. You'd be championship material in no time."

Haruna frowned. "That does sound good… but I'm not sure if I can. Sure, I dreamed of being a wrestler and worked out a lot, but things are… complicated."

"Her family doesn't know she's Spring Tiger." Mint said. "Apparently, they wouldn't approve of her competing in the ring."

"That's unfortunate." Sayuri said. "Well, Ms. Takaoka, if you ever change your mind, there's a way to apply on the Xtrema website. In fact, I put it next to the application to compete in Xtrema Against the World if you'd like to compete."

"Really?" Milk asked. "We were wondering how to sign up."

"Oh, sure." Sayuri said. "You can sign up for tag team matches for the both of you, and if you wish, you can also sign up for singles matches."

"So we can compete twice?" Mint asked.

"Sure." Sayuri said.

Milk and Mint smiled and clapped hands with each other. Haruna, on the other hand, continued to frown hating that she has to hide her passion.

"So you're off?" Dawn asked with Kaito next to her.

"Yeah." Lyra said as she finished packing. "I gotta say, I really enjoyed this night. You've definitely gotten stronger, Dawn."

"So have you." Dawn said.

"Hey, if I might offer some advice." Lyra said, "You basically tried to wind up your finishing kick just a few seconds after I got up. If you had done it right before I regained my balance, it'd connect. Don't just make it a show. Make certain you can connect."

Dawn sighed. "Still teaching me a lesson after all these years."

"It's what I do."

"Well, it's been fun." Kaito said holding out her hand. "Good to finally meet you, Ms. Booker. Thanks for helping Dawn through her troubling time."

"Thanks to you too, Kaito. You really sold the role of slave boy." Lyra grasped his hand before leaning her mouth close to his ear. "But just know this. If you do anything that harms Dawn in any way, I'll personally track you down and castrate you where you stand." Kaito was completely petrified by that.

"Lyra!" Dawn shouted keeping her old teacher away. "Look, just… Thanks overall. It'll come in handy for when I have to face Liz again and Maria Crawford."

Lyra frowned. "That's not all."

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"I thought you'd have known already." Lyra said. "I heard that… Fiona's in Japan right now." That bit of news made Dawn's eyes pop.

"What? Who's Fiona?" Kaito asked.

"Another old bully of mine back in my rookie days." Dawn growled while clenching her fist. "But she's the worst of them all."

"Really?" Kaito asked. "More than Liz, Beatrice, and Crawford?"

Dawn turned her head to Kaito. "Those three combined couldn't hold a candle to Fiona's cruelty. Compared to her, they're saints. And if Fiona Fangs is here in Japan, I guess I really will have to watch my back."

*Xtrema Shorts*

Monica Everly greeted the crowd in her Chibi form. She blew kisses as she sat down next to her guest, Freya. Even as a Chibi, Freya was pretty tall.

"Welcome back to another segment of Xtrema Shorts. Glad we finally made it to Fukuwara Mask's Mishmash event. We hope we did Awesome ax10's character, Lyra Booker, justice in this match. And now, here to give us her word, let's welcome Xtrema's frost giantess, Freya!"

"Thank you for having me, Monica." Chibi Freya said.

"Glad to have you here." Chibi Monica replied. "Now, you know the drill, but I'll repeat it as a formality. I'll be asking you a series of questions. One set will be standard questions asked to all wrestlers. But after that, we'll be asking you some personal questions given to us by the readers of Xtrema (mainly Awesome ax10). You understand, Freya?"

"Completely."

"Good. Now, for our first question. How long have you been wrestling?"

"About fifteen years."

"Do you have any dream opponents?"

"Well, I'd love to face my wife, Aurora, in the ring? She's so strong and she always beats me, so I'm eager to see what she's like. Too bad she gets stage fright. She always gets nervous about who sees and judges her."

"How do you feel about your fans?"

"I know I sometimes act cold around them, but the truth is, I really like them."

"What's the toughest match you've had so far?"

"That would be against N-Bomb. You ever try giving a Polar Bearhug to a woman her size? It's very hard."

"What do you do for fun?"

"Well, when I'm not wrestling at Xtrema, I spend time at home with my wife and we like to wrestle. Sure, she always wins, but I don't mind. We also watch old movies and sitcoms a lot as well as go ice-fishing."

"What do you think makes a great wrestler?

"Honing your strength and not giving a damn if anyone has anything to say."

"Do you have any interests besides wrestling?"

"I do a lot of ice fishing and playing with my wife and polar bear."

"Okay. Now for the personal questions. How did you get a polar bear?"

"I met Yeti when I was testing my endurance in the tundra. I accidently stumbled into his cave and we had ourselves a bit of a brawl. We wrestled for about an hour before we both got tired. The big guy's actually smarter than he looks. We then had enough respect for each other for me to take him to live with me and Aurora. We'd love for him to come with us so we can all live in Japan, but it's impossible to find somewhere to keep a polar bear."

"Why did you move to the Arctic?"

"Well, when I was nearly finished being a teenager, I decided to come out to my parents. They still loved me, but things got complicated after a while. I figured it was easier for my folks if I moved with my grandmother up in the Arctic village. After she died, I kinda took responsibility for her home. Of course, I did love how Aurora came with me."

"Did you ever show any interest in other women besides Aurora?"

"Are you kidding me? If I did, Aurora would kill me, and she could too. I've known her since we were middle school students. She's basically the only woman I've ever loved besides all the females of my family. So no, I haven't shown any interest because Aurora's the only one for me."

"Well, that's all we have for now." Chibi Monica said. "If anyone has any questions to ask our characters, don't hesitate to ask either in the comments or the PMs. Thank you for your support. Any and all comments are welcome."