Heroic New Year's Resolutions

"Well, I'll certainly be eagerly awaiting to witness your adventures within the realm of AFW, Princess Raine." Star commented to the aspiring heroine, glancing her once more from head to toes as if imagining how it would look like seeing her wrestle inside a ring, before turning his attention to Akane again. "Oh, you do?" he began in a surprised tone, immediately imagining how it would look like if the two girls tussled with each other. "That would also be fun to see... How do your spars usually go then, if I may ask? You keep any record?"

"Well, Shield Maiden isn't too bad of a name... But of course, I understand if you'd like to come up with something else. Something less of a protector, and more of a star of their own..." Star commented, accidentally making a connotation with his own hero name. "And oh, a mask! That's sometimes common, yes! I haven't used one though... What do you think, should I? How would I look in a mask?" he then started asking, actually getting genuinely interested over the question.

Then Raine decided to suggest having Akane and Starboy sparring right there and then. And while technically, it suited Star just fine... What made him again somewhat insecure and blushing was her suggestion of teaching them some of his techniques... Because honestly, he had no idea what he should have taught them. Luckily though his lamentations over suitable facilities seemed to gain traction, and provided him a convenient alleyway out of the situation, while still getting a chance to spar with Akane.

"Oh well, Princess Raine, I would love us to arrange something. In fact..." pondering a bit over his suggestion before deciding to actually voice it out. "What do you think... As we have discussed with Lady Saito, there is always an element of surprise in the battles of a hero. And... That of course applies to me as well. So maybe, if we could make the session most useful for the both of us... Maybe Princess Raine, you could arrange the spar for us? Decide the location, and the challenges that me and Lady Saito would compete in? Make it a surprise for both of us, so that we cannot prepare for what's ahead of us at all?" Starboy really hoped that Raine would accept his suggestion, as an opportunity for an adventurous spar like this rarely came by, and especially not if you were just on a training routine on your own.

“Soon enough, it will be so.” Raine nodded firmly, basing her words on nothing more than assumptions.

“Mhmm…” Akane acknowledged their spars without going into detail. When Starboy inquired further though she glanced to the side with a nervous chuckle and a blush. “She always wins.”

“Lady Saito allows me to be victorious, despite trying to hide it I can tell she often holds back when we face one another.” The self-titled princess responded bluntly, though there was a hint of a playful smirk on her face.

“I… well I’m supposed to be protecting you, not beating you up.” Akane huffed, crossing her arms and cutely puffing up her cheeks with indignation.

“We keep no records of our encounters save for my memories. and the occasional good-natured teasing”

“Well, a mask is a must for a secret identity. I’d need one of those, and a new hero name so people wouldn’t know it was me.” She was already ruminating on the idea, becoming more invested by the moment.

“I’m not certain a mask would suit you.”

“Hm… yeah, but it might be cute anyway. Just something to have for fun.”

Raine folded her arms beneath her breasts, listening as Starboy expressed his thoughts. Once he had finished, she looked deep in thought, stocking her chin lightly. After a moment, something came to her and her eyes lit up as she looked between the two. “I’ve something in mind. Well well Akane, you may have your rest for now… Tonight, however...” She looked to Starboy. “Return to the AFW facilities after tonight’s tapings when the crowds have vacated the building. I’ve something in mind to test both of your mettle. Come prepared for anything.”

“...For anything?”

“For anything.” Raine repeated with a firm nod. Without warning she promptly turned on her heel and started away, moving with her usual poise but some added speed. It left Akane awkwardly unsure of what she should be doing. Was her workout finished? Was she supposed to follow Raine?

“I… I’ll see you later tonight I guess?” She gave the superhero a small apologetic smile and a bow. If he had nothing more that needed her attention, she would hurry off after Princess Raine.

It was very interesting for Star to follow the exchange triggered by his question over how the spars between the two ladies went. At first, he felt a bit bad over having caused Akane having to admit that she always lost... But soon finding the matter more intriguing, as it turned out that the balance between them might have not been that straightforward after all. And sure, what they explained about their dynamic made sense, but the hero was still sensing that the truth was somewhere in between. Yes, Akane probably had no reason to go full out on trying to beat Raine... But the princess was still holding a marked size advantage over her pink-haired protector, and truthfully, the matches that Starboy had seen Akane battling in usually hadn't exactly gone very well for her.

Inevitably, Starboy's imagination couldn't help picturing images of the two ladies tussling together. And he also couldn't help assessing their bodies and physique from head to toes again... Also from the standpoint of what kind of opponents they would be for himself. Raine did look rather fit, but not overly muscular or particularly strong by any means... And of quite similar size to himself as well. On paper, they should have probably been pretty even opponents in a battle... Although Star also had to admit that all the girls he had already lost to in AFW had also appeared pretty even opponents for him on paper. Akane on the other hand... Yes, she looked very cute and pretty fit as well, but her small size surely must have been a huge obstacle for her in the ring. And to be fair, Star was secretly quite eager to have a spar with her, as he was keen to find out whether he could actually control an opponent of her size, despite his own lack of size and muscles as well.

It was also interesting to hear the answers to his little question about the mask. The princess seemed to be on the same level with how he had been usually feeling about it as well... As a hero, he shouldn't have had anything to hide, and masks had always appeared to Starboy a bit more villain-esque. But then again, Akane's logic of hiding her identity also made perfect sense, and actually made the hero consider the possibility a bit stronger as well... Although he wasn't sure if looking cute was what he would have been aiming for with that. Did he want to be considered as the "Cute little superhero"? To Star, that kind of label sounded like really, really jobber-esque. But, of course, he couldn't know how Akane was really seeing him in the first place...

Star wasn't sure at all how the princess would react to his suggestion over setting up a more realistic spar for Akane and himself, but she definitely seemed to immediately be intrigued by the idea... And the Lonely Superhero was more than happy when she got fully onboard with the idea. And it was obvious, that she also already had an idea of her own! No further questions, no need for elaboration... Instead, issuance of clear instructions over what to do, how to prepare, and a quick exit to set up whatever idea she was going to be working on.

But the best part? "For anything." Exactly how the life of a hero should have been like. Star was already liking this.

Having simply nodded to Raine in acknowledgement, Star could then see the confusion on Akane's face... Before realizing that he was now alone with her. In one way, Star was eager to learn a bit more about her... But in another, he was also intrigued by the idea of meeting her more properly only in this mysterious surprise spar that Raine was setting up. Conflicted, at first he simply stated... "Yes, see you tonight..." to her farewell, before the pinkette turned around to rush after Raine... Which Star then immediately realized was going to be a bad idea, if he wanted the spar to remain a mystery to Akane as well.

"Wait!" the hero quickly shouted after her, hoping to engage her in some conversation still to make sure she'd get separated from the princess. "What... What do you think she's planning for? You should know her better than me..." he queried, genuinely curious to hear Akane's thoughts. And he also realized that letting them simply leave like this carried the risk of it being tricky to get in contact with them later again... "AFW facilities" was a rather broad term, and he probably wanted to be able to coordinate their location with Akane, or Raine, if need be. "And how... How can I get in touch with you later? If we can't find each other, or something, you know..." he asked the pinkette, explaining his request with reasoning... Although he surely didn't mind getting the girl's contact info for any other purposes as well.

“Hm?” Akane paused mid-stride, peering back over her shoulder to Starboy. Her eyes flicked between Raine heading off and the hero but she ultimately walked backward until she was by him, finally turning on her heel to face him. She gave a soft apologetic smile at the question.

“I’m not sure. Lady Raine can be… very eccentric though.” She bit her lower lip, looking a bit concerned. She wasn’t sure what her friend had in mind but knew enough about her to know two things. It would likely be overly dramatic and whatever it was was going to likely be way overboard. It felt a bit odd to see her so excited for whatever was to come but know it was at her and Starboy’s ex pense so she couldn't help but worry.

“Um… private messages are fine on Twitter but…” Akane reached down, grasping for Starboy’s hand. If he left her to take it, she would turn around and lead him through the gym. It wasn’t a far walk to her gym bag where she would release him. The young girl would dig through her bag, eventually finding her phone in one of the side pockets.  Tapping the screen and navigating to her settings, she pulled up her phone's information page where her number was displayed. She held it up for Starboy, allowing him to take note of it, mentally or otherwise.

“I normally have it on the buzz setting, so if you call I might not get it. You can text me though and I can send any details back about whatever this is all going to be.” once he had copied it down somehow or made it known he had committed it to memory she would tuck the device away and heft her bag up.

“I’ll see you tonight for whatever all this is. Hopefully, it won’t be too crazy.” Akane gave a nervous little laugh. She would stand by, a bit awkwardly for a few seconds before remembering she was supposed to be leaving and quietly excusing herself. If there were no more questions she scurried off after her tag partner who had all but vanished from the gym.

It was obvious for Starboy that Akane wanted to rush after Raine, so he was content with the fact that despite the seemingly difficult choice, she decided to stay with him for the moment. But what was even more interesting was the fact that she didn't really give any meaningful response to his question... Only saying that Raine could sometimes get very eccentric. Either she was too embarrassed to tell what her guesses were, or then she genuinely had no idea... "Well, that sounds interesting, actually. The life and battles of a superhero can indeed get rather eccentric..." Star comforted the pinkette, while actually being truthful at the same time. In fact, it was only making him waiting more eagerly of tonight...

The mentioning of private messages on Twitter got Starboy blushing at first, as he had completely forgotten about the whole possibility. He got rewarded for his silly question rather lavishly though, as Akane suddenly grabbed his hand, with the cute girl proceeding to lead him through the rather full gym... Only to get her phone out and give him her number.

It certainly was a good look for him. Hopefully some other ladies of AFW also took note.

What Starboy had to take note of was her number. Unfortunately he wasn't really carrying any equipment with him... And his hero attire did not feature pockets. Sure, the idea of calling to his own phone did occur to him... But his shyness was once again raising its head, with the hero deciding to try memorizing the number instead. It didn't appear like an impossible task... Just a few memory rules he had to stick in his head, and he couldn't forget it.

"Oh, no, don't worry about me calling... I'm definitely more of a text person..." the Lonely Superhero abruptly replied to Akane's concern, being a bit more truthful than he may had liked. But her following words got him a bit concerned again of his own... "And yes, I will surely text you. But... But... Remember, you shouldn't be asking Princess Raine for too many details, right? The whole point is to make this a surprise for us... So can I trust you with that, Lady Saito?" he pleaded, trying to prevent a situation where the whole thing would get spoilt for them, or Akane would be getting some kind of unfair advantage over him. Sure, it was going to be just a spar... But he didn't want to risk giving a hapless first impression of himself in front of Raine and Akane, as they still seemed to have faith in him as a real superhero.

Then it was time for the awkward goodbyes though. Both of them were clearly a bit nervous about the situation. "Oh, I'm sure it will be fun..." the hero replied with a nervous little chuckle of his own. "See you tonight!" he added, before seeing Akane off.

Then, Star still decided to add one thing to the departing girl. "By the way, I can't wait to see you in your battle gear in real life, it looks very sleek!" he added, despite his slight blushing and shyness... And despite the fact that he probably had to already say it a little bit too loud in the hallway to make sure that Akane was hearing him.

Once he saw her vanishing into the distance though, Starboy had to be quite satisfied with his training session. For anything but his training, of course... That had been pretty useless, but at least he had met a couple of heroic ladies, secured an exciting sparring session, and scored the phone number of a cute girl.

Not a bad start to a new year.