Hail To The Victors (For Maxy)

Makie's head lowered as Dai asked her about the dark periods in her own life, and how she had gotten past them. Truth to be told, she didn't want to remember those days-- of when she was just starting in the league, and seemingly facing loss after loss, and learning the hard way just how brutal and cruel a place the ring could be.

What had gotten her through all of that had been the people near her. It had been her one-time opponent, Midori Himeno, taking the time to train her and help her get better, and more importantly, to learn the ins and outs of the culture of AFW. It had been her brothers-- Kyo, for helping to train her further and even forming a tag team with her, and Toshio, who had flown all the way from the US to watch her matches and had cheered her on through thick and thin, even when she lost. All of those things had given her the heart to continue, knowing that even if she lost, she was letting no one down, because people believed in her even when she didn't succeed.

And so she relayed these thoughts out loud to Daisuke. Kyo merely stood by silently, but Makie could see by the faint twitch in his eye that he was touched, almost to the point of tears, that he had had such a positive impact on his little sister's life.

As Daisuke processed what Makie said, Lina felt the need to say something, but wasn't sure how to word it and have it negate what Makie just revealed. Sion though, as important as Makie's words were, there was one detail he felt there was one thing missing from Makie's responce. Maybe she didn't feelt the need to mention it, or perhaps there never was a situation like that, but Sion knew it was something that had to be addressed if Daisuke was to get over how she felt and not have it be a repeat issue.

Before Daisuke could respond, Sion spoke up. "But were there times where even in victory you didn't feel like a winner, and if so how did you handle it?" Lina looked at Sion after he finished saying what he did. "Well that was bluntly put." Sion didn't try to hide it. "I know, but I think that's a thought that still remains. I mean I've had those moments, you know what I'm talking about Lina." There was a match Sion was in during a rough losing streak for him, and even though he won and his opponent made things very awkward for him, he still felt like a loser, as did Lina on that particular day.

"What about you Kyo? Anything you'd like to share, be it in or out of the ring?" Sion wondering if like Makie, if Kyo had any personal experiences that could help here. As soon as he finished his question, he noticed Kyo was feeling some emotion. "Uh, you alright?" Before Daisuke could split out a responce to what Makie said, she heard Sion asking if Kyo was alright, and looked up at him.

Kyo nearly started at being asked directly. "M-me?" he said, surprised at being put on the spot like this. The question was, admittedly, a good one. And, as he thought back to some of the matches in his repertoire, he realized he knew exactly what Sion was talking about-- the sort of match that left a bitter, unsatisfied taste in your mouth. The victory that didn't feel like a victory at all, and that if you could go back and win it in a much more decisive way, you would.

"I mean, yeah." he said, "i've had wins that have felt hollow. Made me feel like a fraud even. There was one match a while back for instance, against a girl named Giulia la Rocca. It was a tough match, and she was dominating me for most of it-- that was, until I won with a quick rollup pin. Even then, that didn't feel like a victory-- it just felt like I had gotten lucky." He rubbed the back of his head. "We had a rematch later on, where the reverse happened-- where I was dominating the match until she managed a lucky counter and won."

He sighed. "I know that sometimes there will be matches where you don't feel like you've earned a victory. But remember that a victory is still a victory, and even if you didn't win it convincingly, the fact is that you stuck around in the ring long enough to make that happen. Sometimes its not skill or even being able to dominate the action that makes a wrestler great-- sometimes it's just their ability to endure to the bitter end."

In her position, Lina understood the back end of what Kyo mentioned is something she does believe in, but at the same time if something didn't look good then be sure to address it later, though a wrestler's and manager's perspective are different. Sion understood what was said, and it seemed pretty straight forward, though he wondered if Daisuke would feel the same way.

The silence that filled the roomed felt awkward the longer Daisuke took to think about what was said, however it was easy to notice that what Kyo just mentioned got her thinking about things. Still, Sion and Lina looked at each other and then Kyo and Maki, hoping one of the them would say something, anything. Before either of them could say a word, Daisuke stood up and walked towards Kyo. She looked at him for a few seconds before hugging him. With what Kyo shared made her feel like she can get through the rest of today and tomorrow. Even if the specifics of what she and him have been through on their own, there did appear to be similarities, and it no longer felt that she was the only one who felt like that as often as she did, and she was able to make sense of that. She didn't feel like that problem has disappeared, but with what everyone around her has said, she feels like she can better handle herself.

"Thank you" she tells him softly.

"Ahem...Forgetting something?" Lina calls out to Daisuke as she pulls back." Daisuke turns around and sees Lina holding the towel that she had on a moment ago."

She gasps in shock, realizing she pressed her nakedness against Kyo, but then turns to him and looks at him with a smirk. "Like what you see?"

Saying nothing, Sion tilts his head to get a different view of her butt and nods in approval, even though the question was directed at Kyo.

This had been the first time in his career that Kyo had had to help out a fellow wrestler like this. He was anything but an expert on things like this-- on reassuring someone of their self worth, of reaffirming that a few losses did not make for a bad wrestling career, and that winning wasn't anything. Given that he had lost more than he had won, the last part felt especially true for him. He was lucky that Makie was there to help him out: between the two of them, they seemed to manage to cheer Daisuke up and reassure her that she was in fact a much better wrestler than she gave herself credit for.

It was only then, though, as Daisuke turned to face him, that he remembered one crucial detail: she was naked right now.

"AHGHAGHH--" Kyo stammered, trying to hide his eyes behind his arm as Daisuke proudly flaunted herself. This was just unfair! She was a married woman! What was worse, was Sion seemed to be ENCOURAGING her! "I...er...no...I mean, yes, I mean...you are a very attractive woman..." he stammered, his face turning a bright red from embarassment.

"ANYWAY I'M GLAD YOU'RE FEELING BETTER AND HOPE WE CAN ALL CONTINUE TO BE FRIENDS AND OPPONENTS IN FUTURE OKAY BYE" he blurted out, before racing out of the locker room. Behind him, Makie was left doubled over in laughter at her brother's embarassment.

"See ya." Daisuke said cheerfully as Kyo bolted out the door. Just to be a smartass, when Makie managed to regain herself from the moment, Daisuke asked her the same question that caused Kyo humorous panic.

Regardless of how Makie would answer, Lina informs them both that "She has to put a shirt on eventually."

"Awww, do I have to?" Daisuke asks with a tease.

"Yes." Lina tells her before tossing a towel her way.