Royal Decree

Another match down. Good.

Valley often liked to unwind after a match, deconstruct backstage, go over her moves, just think about what had just happened. This time was no exception. She found herself a nice comfy couch backstage, got a towel to dry herself and a glass of ice water, and sat down to cool off and get her temperature down.

Only she wasn’t cool. Not quite.

She wanted her head to be in the game for Kaylee, but the more she thought about her time with Charlie, the more that match - what should’ve been a fun little excursion - was weighing on her. Yes, that match was easy, but she figured she’d just caught the man at a bad day, took him by surprise. Something about that hamdog look he had on was more than a little troubling…

Alaina. She would find Alaina in a day or so, give her a call, see how she could straighten things out. She’d seen enough of Charlie to know he wasn’t a bad wrestler, that there was still plenty of potential with him. The last thing she wanted to do was have a serious negative effect on someone career.

But that was a thought for another time. For now, she just wanted to lay back, relax, and enjoy the rest of Tension on the big screen hanging from the ceiling.

The wrestling prince, Daisuke Takeuchi, heard that a very special Friction wrestler was going to be present on the Tension brand for a one on one match-up with Charlie Haines. That special wrestler was none other than Friction's Entropy Champion, Valley Doll. Daisuke had taken a keen interest in the career of the veteran pro wrestler, her Iron Man match against Natasha Han was one of the most toughest and most talked about wrestling matches in the AFW locker room and even the prince was in awe of it. However, the amazing accomplishments of others made him quite annoyed as he wanted the spotlight to be on him but as Valley was on Friction, he decided against approaching....until today, when she decided to step into his territory.

Daisuke had wrestled earlier in today's Tension show, Valley's match came a couple of matches after his which again infuriated him to be put before her. He was still in his wrestling gear, a pair of grey briefs with black boots, with a towel hanging over his shoulder as he watched the whole of her match against Charlie. Daisuke was of the view that she picked Charlie as her Tension opponent just to pick up an easy pin for her resume and the wrestling prince would not stand for this.

Daisuke would storm off to find Valley backstage and after asking around, he finally was pointed to her direction by some staff members. He noticed she was sitting on the couch, relaxing and unwinding after the match but she seemed deep in thought. Daisuke would approach her and when he came close enough he started to slow-clap for her. "Well, well, well....Valley Doll herself, the iron woman, the champ....here in Tension." he would say with a smirk as he stopped, standing in front of her.

"You think you're tough, do you? Getting in the ring against a wrestler who had one foot out of the door and all you had to do was push him out?" he would say before having a more serious look on him.

Valley was just sitting there. Chilling out. Minding her own business. Thinking about nothing important going on, except perhaps her impending match against Kaylee. For all she knew, that was her sole concern in life, and she was happy enough with that. Wrestling was often a bit too complicated. It was nice to have everything laid out before her.

Then came along Daisuke, and that all changed on a dime.

When he came over and started to speak, she turned her head to look up at him, blankly. There wasn’t the least bit of surprise on her face because, well, she wasn’t surprised. She knew who this was. Anybody who watched Tension with any real regularity knew who this was. There were precious few men or women in the league who’d had more matches than Daisuke. He’d even taken on some Friction women who never otherwise did mixed matches.

She knew her appearance here might start a stir in the Tension lockerroom, and she knew Daisuke had a way of starting things. So this outcome was expected. She was a little surprised it happened so soon, but she was ready.

Valley turned back, closed her eyes, and sighed. ”When do you want to have a match, Daisuke?”

As Daisuke approached the superstar from Friction and broke into a mini-rant, her reaction to the rant was a little surprising to him. He stood in front of her, glaring at her as he spoke his mind about why he thought she was here. She would simply turn her head to face him with a blank expression, she didn't feel surprised, angry, shocked or anything. This only infuriated the prince who clenched his teeth and fists.

She would turn her head back and closed her eyes with a sigh, speaking his mind on when he would want to have a match with her. "Tsk....you...." he hissed as he took a deep breath to calm himself. "Listen, I respect you as a wrestler. The Iron man match you had, that was one of the most toughest matches I have ever seen here but...what I don't respect is YOU coming to Tension to pick up an easy win. HEY! look at me when I am talking to you, get up and face me, face to face like a real woman" he said.

Daisuke was not going let Valley get the better of him or Tension, whatever her true intentions were to come over here, the wrestling prince had his own interpretation of it. He did noticed she was deep in thought, thinking hard about something but the prince would not be denied of his presence, especially against someone he had kept close tabs on as a potential opponent he wanted to face, to be crowned the BEST in AFW.

Despite Daisuke’s protests, Valley did not get up, did not move from her spot, did not move to directly confront him ‘like a woman’, whatever that was supposed to mean.She did deign to open her eyes and stare back up at him, but that was about it. Her face was a bit more curious this time, and she gave him a long look over, pondering for a moment, thinking before she spoke again.

”I’m not going to get up, Daisuke. I’m a little tired, and I don’t much feel like it right now.” She shrugged. It was tempting to take the bait and lay into him, as she was sure many women and some men had done to him before, but…

”Look...” She took a quick sip and chugged it fast, getting her throat wet before she went on. ”I didn’t come to Tension for an easy win, I came here to have fun. I’m going through a weird time in my life right now, and all I wanted was a quick, no-strings-attached sort of match, you know? You’re mad about that, fine. I don’t really care to change your mind.” She shook her head, remembering the multiple times she’d been in similar situations. Dozens. Maybe hundreds.

”But, from experience, I know this sort of thing typically ends in a match, one way or the other. So let’s save ourselves a little time, here - I have to handle something in Friction next week, but after that, my schedule is free. Just say when you want to meet, what the stipulations are, and I’ll be there. Deal? I know it sounds like I’m being dismissive, maybe I am, but I really want to just do us both a favor.” She snapped her finger with a smile. ”Oh, and I’m really glad you liked my match with Natasha. Good taste.”

Despite his attempts to goad her into doing something, Valley would remain seated on the couch. She just had a match and didn't seem all too focused on what was happening in Tension, she seemed lost in her own world. Daisuke was about to react but stopped when she opened her eyes and looked back at him, staying silent for a moment before breaking her silence as she spoke.

It seemed she spoke from the heart, which sort of calmed him down because he really felt she was telling the truth. He didn't know her too much but perhaps there was something really bothering her. However, her coming to Tension to have fun was something he didn't really liked to hear. However, she came right to the point and Daisuke's real point was to challenge the best of the best that AFW had to offer and she was offering him that, so perhaps it was best to leave it at that.

"This place isn't to have fun, Tension is a serious wrestling show. However, I can see something is troubling you for real and whatever it is, I hope you deal with it soon because the truth is, I came here to come challenge you to a match as I want to wrestle the best that AFW as to offer and you are one of them." he said before turning around, having his back turned towards her as he heard her snap her fingers and was pleased he enjoyed her match.

"Heh...yeah. Although I wonder, Valley, if you can ever do that again? This time, in an ultimate submissions match?" he would turn to face her again, with a smirk as he extended his hand for a handshake to seal the deal.

Valley couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for Daisuke. She’d heard a lot about him, not all of it flattering, but from the sound of it, he seemed like a serious, decent guy...if a wee bit stuck up and presumptuous. She could accept that, though, and she would gladly take it over the pushover males that Tension was allegedly filled with. She wouldn’t fault his enthusiasm. Still...

”Not the place to have fun?” Her eyebrow twerked upwards, and she couldn’t hold back a little chuckle at that notion. ”Daisuke, you guys have hentai matches here, just like Friction. Don’t get on a high horse.” She shook her head, smirking, but the next words out of his mouth replaced that smirk with a look of surprise.

She shook his hand. Of course she shook his hand. While she had current plans that took her focus, they weren’t so heavy that she couldn’t look forward to something a few weeks in the future. Daisuke would be a good opponent.

”I’m down for it, sure. Though I’m not sure what you mean by ‘Ultimate Submission’ match. Time limit, whoever gets the most submissions wins, something like that?”

Daisuke was not going to pull off a sneak attack, not on her. She was a respected wrestler, a veteran of the ring and Daisuke knew better than that. Even though he had the desire to wrestle and beat her, seeing her like this- deep in thought, made Daisuke realize that perhaps the woman was in enough trouble already. Still, he would not want to show her too much respect, being dismissive of her arrival here in Tension.

"That's right" he said with a shrug of his shoulders as she commented sarcastically at how Tension was not a place to have fun at. "Ugh yes well *those* type of matches....are beneath me" he would say proudly.

His proposal did pique her interest as she gladly took his arm and shook it. "Yes precisely. I'm giving you a chance of redemption at the Ironman match you lost, just a little variant of it with only submissions counted as valid victory points." he said with a grin as he gently released her hand.

"Valley...when we face each other in that ring, I am going to beat you." he said with a confident glare.

‘A chance at redemption at the Iron Man match you lost’.

When Valley heard that, it took a real effort not to laugh out loud, and even so, she wasn’t able to keep a snicker from getting out. Redemption? For what? Natasha beat her two, three years ago, clean as a sheet. It was a good match, they gave it their all, she had nothing to be ashamed of. It was an honor to take her on and lose to such a fine opponent. Certainly nothing she needed to be redeemed over.

It was hard to tell if his condescending tone was an act or if he was legitimately trying to get her goat, but either way, she decided not to let it happen.If she had any frustrations, she’d take it out with him in the ring.

”You do not lack for confidence, I’ll give you that much.” She nodded his way. ”We’ll see, Daisuke. Until then, stay in one piece. No excuses, okay?” She wagged a finger his way and winked.

Daisuke was now trying really hard to get a reaction from her, assuming things for her but it seemed Valley was not going to take the bait. She was experienced in this and knew better than to fall for his tricks, much to his frustration. She seemed like she was suppressing the urge to laugh which did not impress the prince at all.

"Hmph! I have good reasons to be confident." he would say as he decided not to prolong this conversation. He came to make his point and she came straight to it, accepting his challenge which is exactly what he wanted, in the end. "Oh there won't be any excuses, there can't be and I expect the same from you, Valley. Oh, and uh good luck on your match next week, don't get too beat up! I need you in perfect fitness condition for our big match" he said with a grin after she had winked at him.

The wrestling prince would roll his shoulders before turning his back to her, "Until then.....I'll see you later" he said as he started to walk away from her.