With Friends Like These...

[Parker]

Maddie Knox

The gym was one of the few places Maddie Knox didn’t cut corners… at least, not entirely. Her name and legacy had carried her through most of life’s obstacles, but even she knew her figure wasn’t going to maintain itself on reputation alone. Of course, “hard work” was a relative term. For Maddie, it meant taking the most curated route possible: high-end treadmills, sleek resistance machines, and whatever spa-like amenities the facility boasted. Barbells? Squat racks? Those were for the grinders and tryhards. She preferred the chrome-plated equipment that matched her manicure and gave the other onlookers ample angles to gawk.

Still, she looked the part. Striding through the gym in her form-fitting designer gear, which didn’t look any different than normal gym clothes, but they had cost more, so they were better by default, of course. She radiated that smug assurance that people noticed her, even when she wasn’t breaking a sweat. She hopped from machine to machine, more interested in sampling than sweating, testing the resistance here, adjusting a seat there, never staying long enough to get uncomfortable. Her reflection in the wall of mirrors drew more of her attention than the digital readouts on the equipment, and every so often, she’d smirk at her own profile like she was admiring a work of art.

Yet beneath the surface gloss, there was discipline hiding in her habits. Maddie knew her body was her currency in this business, and she couldn’t coast on family name alone if she wanted to keep being booked as “The Golden Girl.” So between the indulgence and self-promotion, she put in just enough genuine effort. Those were spent on high-intensity cardio bursts, long stretches to keep her ring-ready, and precision work on her core. She didn’t train to suffer; she trained to stay ahead. And as always, she made sure to look flawless while doing it.

With her earbuds in and a playlist blaring, Maddie leaned back into a leg press, shifting her weight to find the perfect position. After all the simple fuss, she kicked up her feet, planting her sneaker soles on the plates to start things off with an explosive push before settling into the solid repetition of taut steel wires and lifting plates clattering with each relax of her set.

[BlackAkuma]

…was that flippin’ Madison Knox?

Valerie had come to the LAW gym for her workout today, mostly on a whim, wanting to get ready for her big middleweight match coming up against Christina Perez - her second PPV match, and the first in her division. It was a lot of weight to put on her shoulders, coming off the heels of her heelish Iron Person match with Kyo. She was still feeling the effects of that bout, and a part of her wanted to take a break instead of jumping into another PPV right away…but another, more ambitious part of her didn’t want to lose that precious momentum.

It wasn’t hard to guess which part of her won out, and that was why she found herself here in the gym, finishing up her workout session with a light run on the treadmill. She was nearing the end of it, gently striding forward through her cool down, when she spied a new face coming through the gym door. A fellow blonde, not something she saw every day in Japan, so that drew her attention, but she wouldn’t have looked for too long if there hadn't been a familiar feel to her. That face, those eyes, that little swagger in her step…

Yup. Yeah, that was flippin’ Madison Knox.

A small smirk crossed Valerie’s lips before she quite knew what to make of things. Growing up mainly in Japan, she had precious few connections to California, where her mother had made her name with the Slamazons. Every once in a while, she would come along - reluctantly - with her mother, the former Valley Doll, and travel back to the States for reunion matches, and it was always an awkward time.

Despite having all the physical hallmarks of a typical American, she never felt like she fit in with the place, the style, the atmosphere. People were always surprised by her accent, and her English was not as good as theirs, since she had only spoken it with her family back home. She could feel alone in a room full of people.

Madison changed that. She met her backstage at a Slamazon anniversary show, and they hit it off well from there, with them both having tons in common. Both descended from wrestling royalty, both expected to carry out their family’s legacy, and both were waiting for the torch to be passed on. They were around the same age, had a lot of the same experiences, and they just sort of clicked. They only met a few times, once or twice a year, but she recalled those times with a warm heart.

Valerie had kept up with her career overseas, and she’d even considered taking a trip to the USA, just to check up on her and reconnect. And now, here she was, in the flesh. Joining LAW? Maybe. Only one way to find out.

She ended the walk early, hopped off the treadmill, dried her face and straightened out her

as she approached, coming over to Madison on the leg press. Her first instinct was to come over and say hello simply, but that felt a little underwhelming, so she opted for something more playful. She leaned over the chair, hovering just out of Madison's view, and waited for the woman to finish. Once the press came down a final time, she whistled to get her friend’s attention and smirked down at her.

”Hey.” She winked. “Feeling the burn?”

[Parker]

The leg press groaned as Maddie pushed through another rep, quads burning with that mix of pain and pride she secretly enjoyed when she gave it the time of day. Her music blaring, drowning the dull clatter of the gym with a pulsing rock anthem, bassline, each thrust of her legs. Maddie’s lips moved faintly with the lyrics, a soft murmur slipping out between breaths as if she was half-singing, half reminding herself to keep pace.

“Just one more,” she whispered to no one, straining against the resistance, feeling every inch of her legs light up as the weight crept down and then back up again. She let the sled drop back into place with a final clank, chest heaving, sweat dampening the edges of her golden hair where it brushed her temples. She leaned back into the seat, tugging the towel from around her shoulders to dab at her brow, savoring the post-set glow.

That’s when she heard it, a sharp whistle cutting through her music.

Her first instinct was pure annoyance, her eyes narrowing even before she pulled one bud loose. She was ready with a glare and a barbed retort for whichever idiot thought that was cute. But as she looked up, her expression faltered. A moment of recognition gave way to an uncharacteristic softness not many could claim to have ever seen from her.

“Val?” she breathed, almost disbelieving, before her face broke into a wide, radiant grin. The irritation was gone in an instant, replaced with a rush of girlish delight. Maddie let out a soft chortle, fanning herself comically with her hand as she batted her eyelashes up at her old friend. “If I wasn’t before, I certainly am now…”

The blonde bit her lip, tugging the gym towel down from around her neck to give it a brisk flick in Valerie’s direction. “You’ve got some nerve sneaking on me like some sort of ne'er-do-well. You’ll have to make it up to me~” What might have been considered playful banter and an empty request was immediately cashed out in the way of a hand reached up to the other woman, a wordless request to be helped up from her seat.

Maddie would be easy enough to assist. Rejuvenated from her brief workout, she practically sprang to her feet. All the polish, the posturing, the practiced smugness she usually carried around the gym was gone. Right now, she looked like a girl who had just gotten a puppy for Christmas in seeing someone she never thought she’d run into here.

“I can’t believe this!” Maddie laughed, brushing her damp hair back as she looked Valerie up and down like she was making sure she was real. “Please tell me you aren’t here just to see me.” A sly smirk and a cheeky wink. “Especially dressed like that. Girl, you are killing it.”

Without waiting for an answer, Maddie leaned in for a hug, giving her old friend a squeeze before pulling back to look her in the eye. “Wow… okay, I was in the worst mood five minutes ago, and now? Totally gone. You have no idea how good it is to see a familiar face here.”

[BlackAkuma]

Valerie hadn't simply waited out of politeness and the chance to get a cheap laugh out of Maddie - those reasons made up about 75% of her thinking. The other 25% was her wanting to see how she handled the machine, and the answer? Well. Quite well. She knew a pair of powerful legs when she saw them, and this set was strong, especially for her size. It wasn’t easy to gauge such things over YouTube videos, but now that Maddie was here in the flesh, she could gauge her better, seeing the definition in those thighs, the honed contours of her body.

Impressive stuff. Made Valerie wish she wasn’t already wiped, she would’ve loved doing a set.

Her smile widened to match Maddie’s, and she hopped back when the towel was flicked her way, acting like she’d been whipped. ”Hey, I don’t get the chance to sneak up on people that often, they can usually see me coming from miles away. Had to take the opportunity.”

She reached down, got a good grip on Maddie’s arm, and pulled her up to her feet in one go, standing her up and giving her a good look over as the woman did the same to her. Her smile got into dopey territory for a second at the compliment - she put next to no thought in her workout fashion, just getting the first thing she could find that fit, most of the time. Still, she appreciated the sentiment. Almost as much as she appreciated what came next.

”Ugh, sweaty hug, sweaty hug.” Not that Valerie minded it in the least. She happily moved in, wrapped her big arms around Madison, and gave her a good squeeze, resisting the urge to lift her up and spin her around a few times.

She frowned at the mention of a bad mood, but put a pin in that for the moment. Catching up was the priority. ”Welcome to my side of the pond. And no, I didn't break into a law gym just to sneak up on you. Dummy.” Valerie gave her a love tap on the shoulder, the sort of physical playfulness that didn’t work well in Japan, but she could get away with when she came stateside. ”I joined LAW a bit ago, made the jump. Kind of surprised to see you leaving the States, though; I thought the indie scene was solid there. What, you finally got tired of the processed stuff? Coming to a place with real food?”

That was one thing Valerie would never accept from her mother’s home country. Every time she went, she could barely stomach the food.

[Parker]

“Women don’t sweat, love, they glow.” Madison quipped in her best approximation of a posh British accent, flashing a mischievous grin while she wrapped Valerie up in an embrace. She held her a moment longer than expected, just enough to whisper tauntingly in her ear. “Take all my glow.” A tighter squeeze punctuated the tease before Maddie finally let go, snickering to herself as if she’d just pulled off a wondrous prank.

When Valerie mentioned Japan being her home turf, Madison’s lips rounded into a near-perfect “o” in surprise. She knew, of course, that Valerie was Japanese by birthplace if nothing else, but hearing it laid out so plainly made it all click in a way she hadn’t let herself consider before. Never one to be bested, Maddie covered with a confident roll of her shoulders and a sly shrug, playing it off as though she were just pretending to have been caught off guard.

Madison slipped her earbuds free, killing her playlist, and tucked them into her bag. Her eyes stayed fixed on Valerie as she nodded along, giving every impression of casual half-attention while quietly soaking in every word. If Valerie had picked up on Madison’s struggles back in the States, she gave no sign of it and Maddie certainly wasn’t going to volunteer the truth. Not yet. Especially without the right spin.

“Work, work, work… Valerie, just relax for a moment, will you?" Madison sang under her breath, swinging her towel behind her neck like a scarf. “Are you projecting right now? Honestly, you sound like you’re projecting. I can get sushi everywhere back home. But here?” She spread her hands in mock horror. “They put mayonnaise and corn on pizza. Mmm! So good!" She punctuated her mock cutesy tone with the wrinkle of her nose and a gagging sound. "If I were you, darling, I’d keep my fights to the ring. Debate was never your strong suit.” Her smirk widened, the teasing softened by the playful glint in her eyes.

She tipped her head to one side, motioning toward a quieter corner of the gym. “Come on. Let’s walk.” Guiding them away from the crowded exercise equipment and towards the relative privacy near a heavy bag tucked away in the corner, Maddie let her gaze sweep the scenery, still buzzing from the surprise of seeing her old friend here. She shot Valerie a sidelong glance, a little grin tugging her lips.

“So tell me…” Maddie tilted her head, voice dropping to a conspiratorial murmur. “Are you seeing anyone yet?”

[BlackAkuma]

Valerie snickered as they held each other, a real, genuine, 100% struggle. She didn’t get to do that often enough. That was another good thing about having Maddie around. The woman was silly, but not in an annoying way; she never reached the point of annoyance. She’d always had a low threshold for that sort of stuff, so it was refreshing to hang around with someone who didn’t cross it.

As good as it was to see her, though, Valerie was really curious about what brought her over, especially when she’d just started her career in the States. There was a lot of history behind that name back there, a lot of goodwill left behind. The Valley Doll legacy was a similar situation, but her mother had only gotten locked into Japan after finding a partner in the country and settling down. She didn’t care much wrestling gossip, she’d always been taught to avoid the so-called ‘dirt sheets’ like the plague, but she was curious…

No. No, no snooping. It was probably nothing serious, and even if it was, she’d get it straight from the source, when and if Maddie felt like talking about it.

”I don’t do that ‘relaxation’ thing too well. I have a…’grindset’? I think that’s the right word for it.” She shook her head and shrugged. Never had the best mind for slang, not in Japanese and far less so in English. ”And I am not projecting, thank you very much. You haven’t had real sushi, trust me. I will fix this.”

Valerie’s mind was already running wild with the possibilities - she’d take Maddie to one of the best sushi chains, show her how to get around, show her all the ins and outs and get her properly acclimated. It’d be nice to have a good reason to come out of her stuffy apartment and actually go places and do things.

She eagerly followed in Madison’s shadow, making her way to a more private corner so they wouldn’t get in everyone’s way. She threw out a couple of idle punches at the heavy bag, making it sway as they spoke. She took a quick pause when her friend immediately went to the topic of relationships, though - not too surprising, though. She’d never been the type to ease into a juicy topic.

”Oh. Of course. I see lots of people. My parents, my brother. I’m seeing you, right now.” Just a little avoidance. There was a real answer to that question, but she wanted to make Madison work for it.

[Parker]

Going to hell and back, decrying SoCal sushi was one thing, but Valerie hadn’t raised so much as a finger to defend Japanese pizza. Telling. Very telling. Maddie’s eyes rolled so hard her whole head went with it, finishing in a pointed glance at her friend with an amused smirk tugging at her lips. Fine. If Val wanted to skirt around the subject, she’d let her... for now. But one day, she’d drag her to a pizzeria and make her eat an entire mayo and corn monstrosity with whatever disgusting fixings she could shovel onto it, right in front of her. Picking the right battleground was half the victory.

“I’ll look forward to you treating me then. Hospitality’s very big over here, yes? Show don't tell, love.” Maddie teased, fingertips brushing across the smooth leather of the heavy bag as she circled behind it. With a delicate toss, she sent her gym bag sliding against the wall, then leaned her weight into the far side of the bag, bracing it in case Valerie wanted to let loose a few strikes. Her head peeked around, blonde hair spilling to one side as her grin widened.

“How can you be so clever and dumb at the same time?” she huffed, cocking her head in mock exasperation. “While you’ll never do better than me, I’m still curious who gets the silver medal.” Her brows wiggled as she puckered her lips in an exaggerated air-kiss. “So tell me, who else knows about your little grindset, hmmmmmmm~?”

[BlackAkuma]

”Oh, I will.” Valerie chewed her lip at the thought of showing Maddie around. ”I’ve already got a whole Tokyo tour planned out in my head that I’m going to drag you along on.”

She wasn’t kidding, either. Take her to Nakamise-dori, shop around the temple, go by the Skytree for a few photo ops, check out Ueno Park, the scramble crossing in Shibuya, then enjoy the nightlife in Kabukichō and splurge on some real food.

She tapped the bag a few more times, then stepped back as Maddie braced it. While she was wore out, she had enough energy to throw a few good punches, and her strikes did some work. Might as well make the best of the opportunity.

”Geez, I forgot how stubborn you are.” Valerie stepped back, planted her feet, then unloaded with a solid straight down the middle, hammering the center mass of the bag. ”There might be a guy. Kyo Akamatsu. We wrestled a couple of times. I won first, but he got me the second time, Iron Person Match. Really beat each other to hell and back, and then…”

Valerie paused and chewed her lip, not sure how much further she should go. It was a complicated topic, but it wasn’t like she had people lining up to talk about such things with. For the moment, she was content to just reel back and let fly with another straight, this one with more of her raw power behind it.

[Parker]

“Tch. You love it.” Maddie’s voice was all sly amusement, her smirk curling as the bag jolted under Valerie’s first few light taps. Then came a sharper strike, one with real weight behind it, and the shock traveled straight through the leather into her arms. Maddie’s brows lifted ever so slightly—oh. That wasn’t the swing of some snot-nosed teen anymore. That was a grown woman, and a dangerous one at that.

She shifted her stance, planting her palms more firmly against the bag and holding it slightly away from her body, bracing for the next shots. This time she caught them without issue, adjusting her footing like it was second nature.

“Might be?” Maddie echoed with a soft chortle, rolling the words on her tongue as if she were tasting them. “Kyo Akamatsu, hmm?” The name meant nothing to her, not yet anyway. She wasn’t familiar with many other wrestlers outside her direct circle, so someone local with LAW was far beyond her purview. She’d have to find the time to look him up, if nothing other than to gauge his worthiness when set before Valerie. Still, there was something in Valerie’s tone that Maddie file it away for later. She’d look him up. Not out of curiosity, of course, but to measure whether he was remotely worthy of standing beside her old friend.

“Just like mother dearest?” she teased, voice carrying a sharper edge, though her grin never wavered.

A heavy thud rocked the bag again, hard enough that Maddie’s sneakers squealed on the polished wood, leaving a faint mark behind. She gave a breathy chuckle, leaning out from behind the bag to peer at Valerie, her blonde hair spilling forward over one shoulder.

“And then… dot, dot, dot…” she sing-songed with mock drama, eyes glittering with amusement. “And then what, Val? Don't you dare string me along this story just to leave me hanging out to dry. Tsk.”

She wagged her finger playfully before patting the bag with her palm, bracing again. “You had better hit me with the ending or else I’ll assume it’s something scandalous and fill in the details myself.”

[BlackAkuma]

Valerie might’ve been showing off here—just a little.

Okay, a lot. While she’d never been a small woman by any means and had been in great shape for years, she’d bulked up since they last met, especially now that she had access to excellent equipment daily. Valerie was looking good, too, and she wagered they were both in the middleweight class, but Valerie was a few sandwiches away from being a heavyweight.

Of course, size and power weren’t everything, and she was curious to see how well Maddie handled herself in a LAW ring. Maybe even see it firsthand? There was a fun thought. She put a pin in that, too.

Valerie tipped her head around the bag, just so Maddie could see her eyes rolling, then went back into her stance. ”So nosy.” A one-two combo, jab and straight, driven hard down the center line, just like Tomas had shown her. ”We had a moment. That’s all I’ll say sober.” She drove a hard right hook into the bag, a little off target, could be better. ”He’s a sweet guy, though. Kind of shy. Cute, in great shape. And he comes from wrestling royalty, too, so we’ve got that connection, which is neat.” She took a step back, gave Maddie a chance to hunker down, then launched herself forward with a powerful knee, driving deep into the sand and making the chains rattle. ”It’s not serious, not yet, but, you know…could be. I’d like that. I think he’d like that.”

Valerie rolled her shoulders, then stepped forward, grabbed the bag, pulled it her way, and nodded for Maddie to switch. ”Your turn.” She widened her stance. ”Anybody waiting back home, huh? Who’d I beat for the gold medal?”