Chapter 148 (Daily)

"A permanent partnership?" Miss X asked from the edge of her seat. "I don't understand."

"Well, your Girmov promotion has the potential to be a major step forward in the women's movement." Sayuri explained. "I mean, you somehow managed to get Mother Devil to appear on your show even before Xtrema decided to help. Do you know how many promoters have tried to get her before?"

Miss X relaxed a bit in her chair. "So why do I need a partnership? What makes you think I need help?"

"Well, for one thing, you did come to me to help you with your debut." Sayuri said. "Also, there are some kinks that need to be worked out."

"Like what?"

"Well, for one thing, the impulsiveness of your ace, Ms. Takaoka."

Miss X looked nervous. "Uh, Takaoka? Am I supposed to know…"

"X, I already know she's Springer." Sayuri said. "And I suspect you knew who she was too. That's why you put yourself in that tag team match against her. It's no secret you and she were at each other's throats before you decided to change."

Miss X wanted to make an excuse, but she knew there was no chance. She sighed before responding. "Okay. And yes, I suppose there are some levels that Haruna should've held back. Her whole 'betting my bum' outburst lost us a lot of wrestlers."

"And then, there's the whole thing where she nearly sang a song after her win against Mother Devil the other night." Sayuri continued. "I assume you put her up to that?"

"What's the problem?" Miss X asked. "I was just following my research on the 4 S."

Sayuri raised an eyebrow. "The 4 S?"

"Yes. Smile, shake hands, SNS, and song." Miss X counted. "I did the research and thought that all of that was needed to make Girmov a success."

Sayuri stared in disbelief. "Are you sure you were researching women's pro wrestling and not pop idols?"

"You know, Mint made a similar comment before." Miss X said. "I guess my research was off, huh?"

"A little bit, yeah." Sayuri replied.

Miss X sighed. "Okay. So maybe we do need a little help. Even with the proceeds we got from Dynamix, we're still in a bit of debt. But what about you? What do you get out of this partnership?"

Sayuri Rogue smiled as she opened up her laptop and turned it around for X to see it. "See for yourself."

X leaned herself forward from her chair and looked at a list of names. "Manta Rei? Vanessa Gold? Rayna Hazard? Syd Zeon? Roxie Berson? Who are these people?"

"This here is a handful of names belonging to women who wish to try out for Xtrema." Sayuri explained. "My inbox has been booming with applications ever since Xtrema Against the World and I've decided to interview them after the next show tomorrow night. The problem is, I've got over forty wrestlers all working for me and to even add more promising people would create some scheduling issues. Now, I could lay off some of them, but it would be unfair and controversial to release them simply to make room. So I'm deciding to expand Xtrema by splitting it into more than one brand. You know, like how WWE has brands like Raw, Smackdown, and NXT."

"I see." Miss X said. "So you want Girmov to be a subdivision of Xtrema."

"I wouldn't say subdivision, per se." Sayuri said. "But basically, yes. Girmov can be a part of Xtrema, and since you're the owner of the license, then you can be the general manager. Now, I've yet to come up with a second brand in Xtrema or select a general manager there, so until then, you and I can be partners, but I get 51%, which technically puts me in charge. But unless I directly intervene, you can have the final say in Girmov matters. So what do you say?"

Miss X sat in silence pondering on the decision she was given. "I admit, it's a pretty big opportunity. And it would be nice to work for a boss who was actually decent unlike Mr. X. Still, it's a big decision. Can you give me time to think it over?"

"Oh, of course. Take your time." Sayuri said. "But just to let you know, I'll probably expect your answer at least before the day after the next show. It'll be more convenient."

"I understand." Miss X said standing back up. "Thanks for inviting to see me."

"Thank you for coming, Miss X." Sayuri said.

"Sandra." Miss X said. "That's my legal name. Sandra."

"Okay. Thank you, Sandra." Sayuri said. She shook X's hand, and the latter left the office.

After leaving, Miss X headed to a car parked at the front and hopped into the driver's seat, which was right next to the seat that was filled by Miss X's personal assistant, Lady.

"Miss X, how did it go?"

"I'm not sure, Lady." Miss X said. "Ms. Rogue just gave the offer of a lifetime, and honestly, I'm a little unsure of what to do about it."

"Pfft! Can you believe this?" the Skunk asked looking at her phone. "People are congratulating Queen Bee on another successful title defense! Big deal! So she kept her title! That's going to get real old soon! And on top of that, they're loving how she defeated Eris! Have they forgotten that I defeated Eris first? I literally broke her winning streak! Everybody saw it! If anything, I deserve that World Championship more than she does! What do you think, Mantis? …Mantis?"

The Skunk looked up from her phone and stared at her ally, who was still lying on her hospital bed with her head turned away from her. Mantis kept her eyes fixed to the window where she could see the cloudy sky.

"Um, Earth to Mantis!" the Skunk cried out. "Come on. I didn't drive all the way to the hospital just for you to ignore me."

"Sorry, Amy. I'm just not in the mood to rant." Mantis said.

The Skunk groaned. "Are you still on about your loss at Xtrema Against the World?"

"You didn't face her, that martial artist from Hardkor." Mantis said. "Nothing I did had any effect. She was faster, stronger, more ferocious. All in all, she was better than me in every way. And then, there was that thing that happened with her foot."

"Rrrright, the foot with the black glow." the Skunk said sounding a little bit in disbelief.

"I know how it sounds, but it's true." Mantis said. "Whatever she did to her body, it made her attacks stronger than anything I've ever felt. And I need to know how it works."

"What do you mean?" the Skunk asked. "Like, you want that Yuri girl to teach you that method? You want training from someone in Hardkor?"

"Why not? It's not like it's against the rules." Mantis said.

The Skunk sighed. "Well, how are you even going to reach her anyway? She doesn't work out at the Hardkor center. She doesn't even live here in town. Word is, she lives in this mountain range a hundred miles from here, like some kind of weird hermit."

"I see." Mantis said pondering her next move. "In that case, I suppose I should ask Ms. Rogue for a temporary leave from Xtrema."

"Wait, what?" the Skunk asked in surprise. "You're actually going to leave?"

"Not forever. It's not like I'm resigning." Mantis said. "I just need some time off so I can learn that glow trick."

"The one that probably won't even work."

"It WILL work. I know it. And when I get back, I'll use this new power to make everyone on the roster fear me."

The Skunk wanted to argue more, but she groaned in defeat. "Well, I guess I can't stop you. Though, don't be surprised when you return and I'll have taken the World Championship from Queen Bee after smothering her under my rump."

Willow Powell took a long sip of her martini drink as she lounged by the rooftop pool of a five-star hotel. She had nothing on but a pair of sunglasses, a hot pink bikini, and the 24/7 championship belt wrapped around her waist.

"Mmm. My first championship belt. Premier parmi tant d'autres." Willow said just as her butler walked up to her.

"Madame Powell, Miss Rogue just called. She wants to know when she'll expect to see you at Xtrema."

"Back zere? Where I'm liable to be ambushed and sneaked out of my title?" she scoffed before thinking. "Well, I suppose I could make an appearance there without giving my location. Like maybe a televised segment from somewhere in ze arena where I can show off my win over zat cow, Clementine. Oui, that does sound good. Fine, call Rogue back and tell her she'll be seeing me soon enough."

"Okay. Thanks for letting me know." Sayuri said before hanging up on Willow's butler. "That woman. Just because she won a belt, she thinks she's the center of the universe. Then again, she's had that attitude long before she became 24/7 Champion."

A knock was heard at her office door. She called them in, and Jasper Jones walked in.

"You wanted to see me?" Jasper asked.

"Yes, Ms. Jones. I have another job for you. An investigation that has me worried." Sayuri replied. "Have you heard that Willow Powell recently won the 24/7 Championship?"

"How could I not?" Jasper asked. "That French hog won't stop bragging about it on social media."

"Well, you probably don't know this, but the circumstances to Willow's championship win are strange." Sayuri said. "Apparently, a stranger attacked Clementine and left her unconscious for Willow Powell to find and take the opportunity as well as the title."

"Really?" Jasper asked. "And you're sure it's not Powell?"

"I'm sure. Whoever attacked Ms. Cirrus rode on a motorcycle, and all my employees who own a motorcycle have an alibi." Sayuri said. "Whoever did this is not in my employ, and not knowing who it is leaves us vulnerable. I need you to find out who it is and to tell me. What do you say?"

Jasper thought about it before giving an answer. "Okay. But I expect a bonus in my pay after this."

"Of course." Sayuri said. "You've been a big help."

"Anything for a good mystery. Whether it's a dark secret or a mighty foe, Barbaria conquers all!" Jasper turned and left the office.

"If you say so." Sayuri said even though no one was there. She then looked down at her laptop to review the matches that were all set up the next night.

Clementine Cirrus vs Liza Surkova

Cleopatra vs La Calavera

Viper Takagi vs Mercy

Platinum Mask vs Eris

Queen Bee open challenge (for the Xtrema World Championship)

Scarlette and Clover vs the Daughters of Darkness (for the Xtrema Tag Team Championship)

*Xtrema Shorts*

Chibi Monica Everly graced the stage and returned the waves to her adoring public who cheered for her. When she got to the stage, she sat in her chair and gave her special guest, Chibi Jasper Jones, a chance to wave to the crowd and even flex her warrior queen-like arms for them.

"Welcome back to Xtrema Shorts! I'm your host, Monica Everly, and I'm here to interview our latest guest, the conspiracy theorist with the strength of a warrior queen, Jasper Jones! Thanks for coming, Ms. Jones."

"It's no issue." Chibi Jasper said. "Actually, I'm glad to have my voice heard again."

"Great. Now, let's go over the rules." Chibi Monica said. "Now, this will be a simple Q&A. First, I will ask standard questions asked to everyone else, and once they're answered, I can ask you the personal questions asked by our readers. Are you ready, Ms. Jones?"

"Ask, and I shall answer."

"Okay then. First question… Who was your debut opponent?"

"Well, if you remember, back at Chapter 16, I was put in a battle royal match against all the others women who were new to Xtrema at the time; Zelda Logan, Platinum Mask, Poison, Clover, and Sam Hamilton who was dressed like Moana. It was touch and go for a while. I even led Platinum Mask and Sam Hamilton into triple-teaming Clover. I didn't last though. Just as we got her out of the ring, she made sure I went out with her. Still, it shows that I didn't fall out first."

"What's it like facing Kaito?"

"Hmm… I suppose it's like seeing a brave squire rising above the ranks and entering the rank of knighthood. And I suppose that metaphor works to well, with him serving a queen and all."

"What do you think of Sayuri Rogue?"

"Oh, she's great. It's nice of her to consider me whenever she has a mystery that needs solving. And for that, she pays well with her bonuses."

"Who's the easiest opponent you've faced other than Kaito?"

"Huh. You know, come to think of it, I haven't really had a lot of matches. At least, not a lot that weren't in the holiday specials. So I think I'll go with the only canon match that I did win, my falls count anywhere match against Gurl at Xtrema Against the World. It definitely wasn't easy, but it's still the only canon match I won."

"Great. Now, onto the personal questions, all asked by Awesome ax10. First question they asked is, what favor will you call from Rio Kazama after the Blue Panther incident?"

"You know, that's a good question. Now, ordinarily, I'd call in a favor for help in an investigation, but I'm not sure if Kazama would be much help. Don't tell her I said this, but she's not exactly smart. So by process of elimination, I think my best bet for a favor would be for her to join the Xtrema roster. I mean, she'll still train at the Berserk gym, but she'd be an official Xtrema wrestler. Wouldn't that be fun?"

"How far did you come in your Hardkor research?"

"Not a lot. I knew that the only way I could learn anything is by learning more about their leader, Yami. But that bitch is too scary to even get near. All I do know is that she actually IS the granddaughter of the original Yami. Other than that, nothing."

"Aside from Street Fighter tournaments, GWM, and Rumble Roses, what other combat-related things do you research?"

"Well, there is the Dead or Alive tournaments. Their management has been pretty shadowy until that Helena woman took over the executive committee. And I feel like it's some kind of magnet for ninjas. Then, there's the World Martial Arts tournaments. It's not so much the tournaments I'm looking into, it's the winners. There have been a number of strange winners with unknown backstories such as Jackie Chun, Tien Shinhan, and Son Goku. But the most peculiar winner of all has to be Hercule Satan. Now, I don't doubt that he's plenty strong, but I don't know. Something about him seems off to me. Plus, as you've seen earlier, Ms. Rogue has hired me to look into who attacked Clementine Cirrus. So there's that."

"Thank you, Ms. Jones. And thank you, everyone, for your support. If anyone has any questions to ask our characters, feel free to ask. Until then, enjoy. Any and all comments are welcome."