To doubt a star

Ever since he had a small conversation with the famous idol Sakura Hagiwara backstage, Daisuke couldn't really stop thinking about it. Hagiwara, a former pop idol who only took up wrestling as part of a one and done thing was now a full time wrestler. Not only proving herself at Berserk but now transgressing to a much more higher ranking wrestling promotion such as AFW. The conversation he had was brief, interrupted by none other than the Misaki Toyoda. The wrestling prince had questioned Hagiwara's ability and desire to become the best wrestler but it seemed as if Hagiwara was sticking by it. That should have been impressive to hear but Daisuke was appalled by it, how dare a former pop idol and a rookie wrestler such as herself have such high belief and self-confidence.

Ever since then, he wanted to speak to Sakura about something. It was clear that if she wanted to become the best, the two of them would collide because Daisuke wanted the same and due to that very reason the prince had a very specific challenge for Sakura in order to test whether Sakura was really a future star or just another ordinary female wrestler with high dreams. He got tipped Hagiwara was going to be present in the gym today and he had made his necessary preparations. After taking a shower in his private locker, Daisuke would change into his usual wrestling gear clad with wrestling boots but no elbow or knee pads.

Daisuke:

He made his way out to the gym and lo and behold, it didn't take long for Daisuke to spot her. Adjusting his briefs and having all the confidence in the world, Daisuke would approach Hagiwara not really caring if she was busy working out or not. "Hagiwara-chan! last time we got interrupted but not today. There is something that I wanted to discuss with you" he said crossing his arms under his chest with a serious look on his face.

Sakura Hagiwara was an easy girl to find, especially on days like today. Her scheduled gym time was far from secret, all one needed to do was to show up to whichever AFW gym had the scores of paparazzi and hordes of fans waiting outside the doors for a chance to snap a juicy picture of get an autograph. She had made it a happen of turning her training sessions into meet and greets once she finished, much to the chagrin of Misaki who was always trying to make sure she stayed on task. It was rough pulling double duty as an idol and a wrestler, but she made a promise to support the members of Sweet Diva as well as pursue her dream of becoming one of the best in the professional wrestling world.


Today was strength training. She lay on a long bench beneath an assisted bench press machine. A thin film of chalk on her palms as she took controlled breathes with each set of reps. She was actually managing an impressive amount of weight at the moment, a fact that surprised others in the gym to see such a petite young girl able to bench so much. She seemed intensely focused with a glow about her with the faint speckling of sweat on her brow. When she heard her name, she blinked, craning her head to look towards where it came from. She got an unfortunate view of Daisuke's crotch upside down, furrowing her brow until her eyes followed it all the way up to his face.


"Oh *huff* It's you again. Daisuke Takeuchi, right? Sure! *huff* But only if you spot me." Sakura panted softly, straining with each rise and fall of the weighted bar. She seemed as lighthearted and chipper as usual, willing to humor whatever the self entitled wrestling prince seemingly wanted to talk about with a smile and a wink. "What's on your mind Takeuchi-San? You sound like *huff* a man on a mission."

When he first approach her, the wrestling prince wasn't quite paying attention on just how focused Hagiwara was in her training. When he did speak to her, he took a few moments to just examine what she was upto. The girl was doing some impressive reps on the bench press machine with some weights which he would have questioned her to lift. However, she was doing her work-out with considerable focus and it seemed today was focusing on her core strength.

He was happy that she remembered him but he wasn't here for idle chit chat, he wanted to get straight down to business but Hagiwara wouldn't let him off that easily. With her eyes going up from his crotch to his eyes, Daisuke raised his eyebrow and sighed but agreed to her request. "Oh, very well then" he said, moving in position to her front before bringing his hands down to grab the rod and help her with her bench presses.

"You seem to be working up quite a sweat, working hard for a special match?" he asked while continuing to help her with her sets. "I am a man on a mission, you are right about that. Your desire to become the best pro wrestler actually caught my interest because you see, I wish to become the same." he explained.

Daisuke looked down on her, glaring into her eyes and not trying not to stare at her chest. "So I'm here to challenge you to a wrestling match series. I can't have you make stake to the claim and in order to get you out of the picture of being the best, what better way to have a three match series?" he suggested.

Sakura blew out a light exhale through pursed lips, giving Daisuke a small respectful nod. Her eyes went back to the back as she adjusted her finger placement, resuming her reps as the two of them spoke. She was handling the weight quite well all on her own, just making sure she had someone on hand to catch it should her grip fail It let her go a bit harder with a safety net in place, not having to worry about overworking herself quite as much.

“Thanks. Haha, yeah. It wouldn’t be a good workout if I didn't work up a sweat, right? I have to *huff* push myself if I’m going to *huff* get better.” The idol had a good laugh about his question, giving her head a small shake. A few strands of her hair drifting over her face, making her wiggle her nose as they tickled it. She gave a harder huff to blow them away. “Just my normal training.”

“Oh really? Well that’s great!” Sakura broke her gaze from the bar to look towards Daisuke upside down, finding him glaring at her. Her brow furrowed slightly at his expression, trying to get a good read if it was determination in his eyes or something more. She could respect his desire to be better, after all, that was what she was always pushing towards every day she hit the ring. Who knows, maybe she had helped to inspire him? She didn’t want to presume though.

“A match series?” She repeated, not quite sure what he meant. “Like… a bunch of matches?” As he went on, her reps on the weights started to slow, until finally, with a straight push, she lifted the bar high enough to secure it onto the waiting hooks. With a soft groan she sat herself up and dusted some of the chalk from her hands on a towel sitting at the base of the bench. She slipped her hand underneath the fabric, bringing it up to drape across the back of her neck.

“You sound like a friend of mine.” Sakura remarked somewhat wistfully. It wasn’t the first time her goals had been tested directly, nor would it be the last. Kicking a leg up and over the bench, she spun herself around to sit straddling the bench. Facing Daisuke, she reached up to rest her arms in an elevated position against the bar between them, letting herself cool down from the workout as they spoke.

“"Get me out of the way"? Takeuchi-San, we can both strive to be the best, its not about knocking people down. It’s about improving ourselves.” She gave him a sweet smile, dabbing sweat from her face with one end of the towel. It was easy to see why she was so well loved. Cheery, idealistic, the sort that chose to see the good in everyone.  “Three whole matches though. That’s a lot of wrestling… but Toyoda-Senpai said I should stay on my toes... so it wouldn’t hurt. Alright. I’ll accept your challenge.”

It was easy to see why she was so likable. Despite being such a famous personality, there wasn't a hint of arrogance in her. She was very approachable, friendly and sweet but Daisuke would even consider her borderline naive too. He listened to what she had to say with intent, nodding at her first response. "Well, I suppose that is true" he concurred.

Her response to his challenge was....a bit simple. She didn't treat it as a threat to her claim to becoming the best wrestler, at first being confused at what he meant by a series of matches and asked whether he meant a bunch of matches to which he again nodded. "I do? Huh, well that's certainly interesting" he said helping her settle the bar on the hook before taking a step back. Daisuke allowed Hagiwara to sit up and cool down, using the towel to wipe the sweat off her face and neck.

"Hmph, that's what you think Hagiwara-chan. I think of this differently. There can only be one wrestler who can make the claim of being the best and that will be me." he proudly said. "I do believe a simple one and done match shouldn't be enough to see who goes on to becoming the best. I want to see just how good you are that you say you want to one day be the best" he said, looking into her eyes with his determined gaze. He would smirk when she accepted his challenge before taking a step towards her and offering her his hand to help her up on her feet and to seal the deal.

"Hagiwara-chan! I will beat you and go on to become the best wrestler" he proclaimed.

Sakura gave a small nod in agreement as Daisuke started to speak, quietly listening to the rest of what he had to say as she rubbed down her neck and shoulders with her towel. Her head tilted ever so slightly at his explanation, seeing his logic but not fully agreeing with his initial assessment. While it was true there could only really be one person at the top of the mountain, getting knocked down didn't mean you couldn't still climb. She could understand where he was coming from with wanting to use a victory over her as a launching point, but in the grand scheme of things, any hard won victory on the road to their ultimate goal would be a worthy one. If it gave him peace of mind, she wasn't going to try and poke holes in his opinion.

When he stepped up to her and offered a hand, she eyed it for a brief moment before bringing one of her legs over the side of the bench to sit facing him. Clasping his forearm, she took the offer to side, standing nearly body to body with Daisuke. The two weren't terribly far off from one another in size... this would be a good opportunity for her to really test the waters with inter gender wrestling. It had been a big reason for the move to AFW after all, seeking out new experiences in the ring. She reached up, taking each end of her towel in hand as she pulled it taut against the back of her neck. She admired his gusto.

"I guess we'll see about that Takeuchi-San, I don't intend to lose to you if I can help it. Not even once" She flashed him a beaming smile, giving him a wink. With a small giggle, she turned to head off back towards the locker room with spring in her step. She always found it easier to prepare for a match when she knew who she was up against, it gave her some time to mentally repair and possibly review some footage. She was sure Misaki would have something to say as well since she seemed to have known who Daisuke was in their brief meeting in the halls the other day. Shooting a look back over her shoulder, she gave the wrestling prince one last wave, calling out from the archway leading to the lady's locker room. "I'll see you in the ring. You'd better bring the best you've got!" With that she slipped from view to go get cleaned up.