Smiling Faces Sometimes

Kozue had been a wee bit worried after the Reira mention and what Melissa had said about 'rewards', but her trepidation vanished the moment it became clear what she was getting at. A real, straight up title shot.

["Yes. I am so down for that." She couldn't resist a little fist pump. This was it. This was the chance to show all the people who gave her shit how wrong they'd been. Her father, Taylor, King, all the little jackasses through her life that thumbed their noses her way. Fuck them, she was getting her shot.

She couldn't rush, though, shouldn't let her excitement dominate things. She'd need to ramp up her training for the lead up, watch some of Reira and John's old matches to get a feel for their style. She'd have one shot at this, had to make it count. She let out a long, relieved sigh and looked back at Melissa, perky as ever. "How long do I got?"

"There isn't that much time I'm afraid... But as I said, this is a gauge of how you might be able to perform in competition for a title belt." Melissa stopped walking all of a sudden... Their little walk had led them from the from the indoor setting where Melissa's office which she would never be seen at lay. Into a large open room which held the fountain that Kozue had passed her finger against. Ms. Seller's turned to her left and approached the set of tall domed windows framed with polished mahogany. The light from outside glowed a bright orange around her body as she stood with her back to the Ninja for a moment or two before looking over her shoulder...

They had started off their journey alone and although there had been a couple of people roaming the complex earlier, they were now once again alone

"Now then... I don't believe the Hentai belt suits you Ms. Kaburagi and I would rather gauge your solo ability rather than team ability which a tag belt challenge would have helped with. I'm sure hardcore matches would be right up your street but I do not wish to pit you against the Brat Pack at this time. Thus it seems that your test will be on the grandest stage of them all, in a Tension world championship title match."

That was about what Kozue figured would be the case. She wasn't even sure if she and Johnny counted as an official tag team - he still had his brother, though that seemed a little iffy these days. And even though she didn't need anyone's permission to hunt down the 24/7 belt, she didn't have any intention of beating up a couple of little girls to get it. She'd thought about challenging King for it, but he'd already lost it by the time she'd worked up the nerve to try. And the hentai belt? No. Just...no.

So that only left world title, and anything else wouldn't do. But she wasn't about to tell that to the attractive, rich and powerful blond in the silky black dress.

"Don't think I'm sexy enough for the hentai?" She gave Melissa a quick wink. Maybe humor wasn't the best option, but fuck it, she was in a good mood. She walked over beside Melissa and stood in front of the window, trying to mimic her posture without being too blatant about it. A part of her felt like she was sucking up a bit, but damn, the woman was handing her a golden opportunity on a silver platter. Why go for attitude over gratitude?

"I'm sold. Just give me a date and I'm there, promise."

"hmm... I'd say more that I believe it not to be your fortay deary... But if you wished a hentai title match..." Melissa said, of course she was fairly certain that the Ninja would not be so inclined and so it was an empty offer... She made it a point of knowing some details about the wrestlers on the Tension roster, particularly those she would be taking an interest in and speaking with personally. It helped her to understand how to ease conversational pathways down a route that she found preferable.

"I'm pleased to hear that you are so keen and will take the promise to heart. I already have the perfect stage in mind at the upcoming Tension pay per view."

Kozue was about as white as white got, so she didn't have much color in her face to begin with, but if there had been, Melissa's atom bomb of an announcement would have drained it all out. Seriously, her luck could not be this bad. It was like she was receiving bad karma for something and it just now got around to taking effect. Just when they were close to putting the kibosh on KIng, this happened.

"Yeah..." She scratched the back of her head and winced as a police siren wailed off in the distance, echoing through the city below. "See, I've already got a showdown at...Showdown. Me and Johnny and Clyde are taking King's guys, trying to keep them from running wild. So, maybe, say we push the title match back a week or something? Little delay, not asking for anything big."

"Oh.." Melissa said as if the match against King had been a second thought that had barely entered her mind.

"Needless to say, the Tension world championship takes precedence over that little dispute.. But do not fret, I will simply reformat the scheduled match at Tension pay per view and ensure that you get your chance against King and his crew at a later date." It all sounded rather simple really, the tone of Melissa voice at least was soothing and intended to put Kozue's mind at ease as she had momentarily become tense. Also Melissa had said enough to suggest that perhaps she might make the match against King's crew a standard 2 v 2 or something without saying anything of the sort... Not to mention offering a future return back to the fight against King's crew another day

Kozue raised an eyebrow at Melissa's response, if you could even call it that. 'Oh'. Like it was just some minor thing that could be taken care of at any old date. Like taking out the morons who ruined the royale and were protecting the serial rapist was just a minor thing on her to-do list.

She folded her arms over her meager chest, but tried to keep her tone cordial and calm. Melissa was coming at her from a great angle, and she did appreciate the offer, but at the same time, Kozue wouldn't be Kozue if she didn't speak her mind.

"I guess I sort of get what you're saying, but all the same - this is sort of important, don't you think? King and his goons are actually seriously hurting your employees. I don't read the Journal, not big on business, but even I know that can't be good for your profit line. I saw a match with King just a few weeks ago, with this girl. It was over, King won, he stripped her naked, and..." Kozue shook her head and looked out the window. That sentence didn't need completing.

"And I know this shit-" She cut herself off and sighed. Old habits. "...this stuff's been going on for a while. So, I mean, I appreciate what you mean, but it's not just a 'little dispute', it's a big deal. King's got to be stoppped, and we're your white knights. The sooner you let us deal with this pest problem, the better off everyone will be."

"I would hardly dub Mr Gastin and Mr Higurashi as my 'white knights'." She laughed lightly, tilting her head back and letting her hand gently guide a few strands of her blonde hair out from her face

"Patients always trumps brashness.... When the time comes to deal with Mr. King, I shall deal with him appropriately. That, I'm sure, is something I can make you a part of if you so wished... Currently, he and his band are exactly where I want them to be at this present moment in time... Not a place further forwards or backwards... And although I am sure to you that might not seem the case, I would hope that you'd have enough faith in your GM to take heed her words Ms. Kaburagi?"

As much as Kozue liked Melissa for even thinking about giving her a shot at the title and a seat at the table, she had a bullshit detector, too, and it was starting to tick off. King had been a constant pain in the ass since she joined the AFW, and she was at the point where she just wanted it done with. Now. Fuck, yesterday.

"I don't really do 'faith', so much. No offense. And, not trying to tell you how to run things, but the 'time to deal with Mr. King' was the first time he stuck his John Thomas in a hole where it didn't belong. We're, like, years past the 'appropriate time'."

Kozue sighed and stepped back from the window and sighed, tossing her head back. She kept the heat in her voice at a low simmer. "Look. Again, you're awesome for giving me this, I mean it. Really. But if the choice comes down to the belt or dealing with King? I got to go with King. The bill's past due."

Melissa gave a slight sigh

"And what do you presume you can change in just a single match my dear?" Sellers turned away from the window, starting back towards the way they had come from without a glance over her shoulder

"I implore you to reconsider your strategy, particularly if you do not believe that a sustained effort will be required after the match you have with Mr. King's crew. If you choose to do things your way, the way you are describing... You risk not only your title opportunity but also the chance at that sustained effort against Mr. King's crew, at least with my support. The choice is yours but let me assure you that that choice is not 'belt or dealing with Mr. King'... It is 'belt and support dealing with Mr. King... Or neither'." This time the bullshit detect probably would not go off. As evident by the way Ms. Sellers walked away from Kozue, the GM was feeling a little less comradery towards the ninja.. If she stuck with the choice to abandon Ms. Sellers plans, the GM would not feel inclined to promote her in a title push or to help her against King's crew