Note: It's assumed the characters are speaking Japanese to one another.
Enjoy!
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Kick, punch, punch, kick, kick, kick. Lately, "training" is all Damage CTRL has been doing, at least in Kairi Sane's eyes. At one point, they were the most-dominant faction in WWE, a moment in time she jumped right into when The Genius of the Sky was the WWE Women's Champion, and The Kabuki Warriors were Tag Team Champions. On top of the world, and growing in numbers under Iyo's wrestling genius and Bayley's veteran mentorship.
But that was then, before Bayley went "soft", and they decided to oust The Role Model from the group SHE created, a mistake they'd live to regret obviously, when she beat The Queen of Queen's clean as a whistle at WrestleMania 40. And since then, it's been all downhill for Damage CTRL. Loss after loss, notably Iyo failing to become Queen of the Ring and then back-to-back Miss Money in the Bank. A move to Raw and untimely injuries to boot, and things haven't been the same for the predominantly Joshi supergroup. Which, in Kairi's opinion, was because the only non-Japanese wrestler in their group was the one calling the shots.
Because of Dakota, Damage CTRL's direction seemed misguided, to say the least. Because of Dakota, all they ever seemed to do was train, something she ordered them to do yet again following their loss in the triple threat tag title match on Raw, despite the fact that Iyo and Kairi hadn't actually been beaten in the result. Train, train, train. Kick, punch, punch, kick, kick, kick the heavy bag. That's all Kairi and Iyo had done since their loss last night. Train in the gym. And the worst part was, Iyo was the only one that ever got any training done. The Queen of Queen's needs SOMEONE to hold the bag and spot the weights for her, after all.
"How long are we going to keep this up, Iyo?" Kairi asked, almost in pristine condition compared to her Sky Pirates comrade, who's entire body was soaked in sweat, drenching her tiny, tight-fitting work-out gear in the salty substance.
"As long as we have to. I'm sick of losing!" Sky assured, delivering what would surely be a brutal high kick that rocked the bag, and would've knocked little Kairi off of feet if she hadn't been expecting it.
Kairi rolled her eyes. "C'mon, you can't be serious, Iyo! We're already the best wrestlers in the world! Hitting the bag and lifting weights isn't going to change THAT much." Iyo grunted in response, and delivered a fierce three-piece combo to the bag, two jabs and a kick. "Listen, I think what Damage CTRL needs is a plan. Something to really turn the division upside down! A new-"
"Dakota is handling it," Iyo gruffly assured, cutting off her tag team partner and long-time friend.
"Is she?" Kairi sassily asked. "I can't tell! Don't get me wrong...I love Dakota...but things have really dropped off here since we kicked out Bay-"
"Don't say her name!" Iyo snapped, shooting an icy glare The Pirate Princess's way the second Bayley, the woman who took her world championship, was mentioned. Changing the subject, she reiterated, "Dakota...is...handling it. Like I said. She's done a great job. Damage CTRL has been given opportunities, Kairi. WE haven't sealed the deal. That's not her fault. It's our fault. That's why we're training. I may be the best wrestler in the world, but just simply being the best doesn't guarantee success here in WWE like it did in Japan. You've noticed, haven't you? There's a level of cunning...an edge...that you need. I had it, and that's why I made it to the top. But I lost it..."
Kairi shook her head in disagreement as Iyo continued punishing the heavy bag. "Okay...I see what you're saying, but there has to be something better. You said it yourself just then...we've been given opportunities? What happened to taking opportunities?! Nobody in WWE is on our level! Why are we sitting around waiting?" Kairi preached, and immediately, Iyo couldn't help but grin, something she often did when Kairi got off on these little tangents. She couldn't offer any kind of respectful reaction; not to someone who'd done nothing in WWE to deserve respect.
Kairi talked a big game, as she often did...but what gave her the right? A question Iyo had found herself asking quite often recently, especially as Kairi's rants about "what was best for Damage CTRL" seemed to come after every Raw recently, and last until the next one. Who'd she ever beat? Plenty of great wrestlers...in STARDOM. But Kairi's career had never seemed to hit the same heights in WWE. Some reasonable tag team success as a member of The Kabuki Warriors, but individual success? Practically nothing, especially if you're only counting WWE's main roster. Such an undeserved reaction. If anybody deserved to feel the way Kairi did, it was Iyo, someone who had been at the mountain top, had not only carried WWE's greatest prize, but main-evented the biggest show in history with it, as well.
Precisely why, when Kairi let go of the bag and, perhaps even only jokingly suggested, "At this point, I should just be the leader of Damage CTRL", Iyo Sky couldn't help but burst out into laughter. Such a ridiculous statement deserved a ridiculous reaction, right? Well...Kairi certainly didn't seem to think so.
"What? WHAT?! Why is that so funny?" Kairi angrily asked as Iyo cracked up.
"That..." Iyo barely squeaked out, doubling over with laughter. And, as she continued to try and fail to explain herself, Kairi crossed her arms, not finding it one bit amusing; Kairi herself meant the little quip as a joke and nothing more, but Iyo's reaction was just downright insulting. Eventually though, The Genius of the Sky managed to get her wits about her and, naturally, became capable of explaining herself. "That's just ridiculous, Kairi. Why would you be the leader?"
"What? I..." Kairi stuttered, struggling to decide whether she should actually say what was on the tip of her tongue before coming out with it. "I could be the leader of Damage CTRL."
Iyo burst out laughing again, this time even harder than before, Kairi's more serious, meaningful tone making the "joke" a thousand times more comical. Only, it was only a joke to the red-faced, sweaty Queen of Queens. Kairi was taking all of this surprisingly seriously.
Iyo eventually recovered again and added, "Ahhh...c'mon, Kairi...you can't be serious, right? No, really...you? The leader? That's...surely you see how funny that is, right?"
"Nope, sorry," Sane sternly assured. "I'm well-credentialed and we're going nowhere. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't have a chance to be the leader for once. I bet I'd take us to new heights."
"I like your confidence...perfect for our little lackey," Iyo quipped and, officially, Kairi looked offended. Nevertheless, Iyo continued. "But not the leader. Seriously, Kairi, no offense but...you're not that woman. You're just...you're not gonna make me say it, are you?"