Bannockburn

Odessa finally had a free night alone to relax and catch her breath. AFW management had been keen on her lately, it seemed, scheduling matches for her against the Hardcore champion Liberty and against the sexy, dangerous Karina. Those matches—among others—had required Odessa to maintain a rigorous training schedule in order to properly prepare, and each seemed to follow soon enough after the last that breaks in that training schedule were few and far between. The thrilling little trysts which Odessa engaged in with friends and lovers during those intermissions in her training schedule were breathtaking, but they left Odessa even more drained than her training did.

As much as the ebony beauty hated to admit it to herself, she needed a night off, a quiet night alone to recharge her mind, body, and spirit. She would take the whole day off—soak in the bathtub in the morning, lay around half-dressed watching television during the day, and then, at night, she would take this opportunity to get to know Tokyo a little better.

The restaurant she ended up at for dinner that night, however, would hardly help her to get to know Tokyo better at all, save for perhaps allowing her some insight into their perception of her original homeland. She had known that the Japanese had something of a fascination with theme restaurants, and, lo and behold, she had found a British-themed restaurant only a mile or two away from the AFW campus.

The decorations were about what she might have expected. Bags of tea were piled high on burnished oak shelves along the walls. Where there werenâ€t shelves, there were pictures and paintings—Big Ben, the London Eye, the White Cliffs of Dover. The entire restaurant was warmly lit, paneled with wood. There was only one dining room, which was long and narrow, lending an intimate, hole-in-the-wall feeling to the whole affair. At the head of the room was a somewhat inaccurate portrait of the Queen done by a local Japanese artist. On one side of her portrait was the Union Jack, and on the other side was St. Georgeâ€s Cross—the flag of England.

The menus were printed in both Japanese and rudimentary English, and offered stereotypically British fare such as fish and chips and shepherdâ€s pie. The whole setup was more amusing than anything to Odessa—it was the sort of establishment that she had found once or twice during her several years spent in the United States, where she found it was incredibly difficult to shake the stereotypes the world ascribed to British people.

This place did have one thing on those American restaurants—the wait staff, all female, were dressed in imitations of the uniforms of the Queenâ€s Guard, with furry black hats and tight red uniforms of a very flattering cut. Odessa spent plenty of time watching them go about their business as she waited for her order to arrive.

Although Odessa didn't know it, she wasn't the only wrestler taking the day off. Outside, a pair of tall ladies, seemingly indistinguishable from the rest of the crowd, came to a stop in front of the pub.

"Ah, there it is!" Risako exclaimed as she pointed to the distant Britanna Pub. "Right where I said it would be!"

Emily frowned at her friend. "After ye got us lost in Akhibara and had to ask for directions, you mean," she grumbled.

Risako turned and pouted at her. "Well, it's not like you have a wonderful sense of direction either, Emily-san," she said. She gestured to the shopping bag at her shoulder. "Besides, it wasn't a total loss. I got that blouse, and you got that new tank top."

Emily had to concede, it had been a nice tank top. "Right, well, ye're still buying," the Scotswoman said. "You're supposed to be my guide in this city, remember?"

"Oh, details," Risako huffed. "If we were in Scotland, you'd probably get us just as lost."

Emily didn't bother arguing the point as the two women headed towards the pub. It had, admittedly, been an interesting week so far, one that had begun when Emily had bumped into another former Wrestle Angel, Panther Risako. Admittedly, Emily had never known the "Queen of Queens" back in the old league except by reputation, and had only ever had one match against her (which she had lost horribly). But Risako had been happy to run into another former Angel, and the two had hit it off after discussing old friends and rivals. Eventually, after much prodding on Risako's part, Emily had agreed to go out for a girl's night on the town with her. A girl's night on the town which was, apparently, ending at a British-theme pub.

She stepped into the pub first, wearing a simple red blouse and black jeans, while Risako wore a frilly white summer dress that contrasted her purple-black hair. Stepping into the pub, Emily raised a critical eyebrow. As far as pubs went, the atmosphere wasn't bad, and the layout was similar to a lot of the pubs she'd gone to back in Edinburgh and London. Some of the supposedly British things in the pup, though, were so stereotypical and cheesy that they made her just want to laugh.

"This is...interesting..." Emily mused as one of the waitresses led them to a table.

"I know, great isn't it?" Risako chimed as she sat down opposite Emily. "It's all so homey, and down to earth, and...British!"

Emily frowned at Risako. "I hope we didn't just come here because of my noticeable, and very sophisticated, accent," she said with a sarcastic grin. "We could have just gone to a sake joint instead, ye know."

Risako gave her a dismissive wave. "Why go to a sake joint when you can go somewhere a lot more interesting?" She leaned back in her seat and gave Emily an evil grin. "Besides, I bet you're awful at karaoke."

The comment made Emily's cheeks redden. "I am NOT!" she huffed. "I'll have ye know, I have the vocal chords of an angel."

Risako giggled. "Oh, Ichigaya-san made the same boast when we went out," she said. "Her drunken yodelling is the most hilarious thing I have ever heard. And don't even get me started on little Yukiko-san. She and Kishima tend to get all stuttery at karaoke..."

Although Emily had barely known Mighty Yukiko and Bomber Kishima, the mental image of them at karaoke made her chuckle. Not for the first time that day, she felt nostalgic. AFW had been good for her, and had given her a lot of worthwhile matches...but it was nothing like the old league...

Odessa ordered the fish and chips—while in the United States, she had developed a habit of ordering the most stereotypically British dish of all in order to judge just how knowledgeable the American chefs were about the food from her homeland, and, now that she had the opportunity to test these Tokyo chefs in the same way, she seized the chance. While the restaurant was not quite half full, Odessa got the impression that it was a small operation, and figured that it would be a while before her food was ready. She didnâ€t mind. She flirted with the waitresses and sipped at a cup of ice cold water as she waited, relaxing.

It would be difficult not to notice the two tall, attractive women who walked into the restaurant a few minutes after that. Odessa had spared a glance for every other patron in the pub, but these two were different, in that Odessa was fairly certain she recognized them as fellow wrestlers. She didnâ€t know their names, but their faces certainly looked familiar.

The one had an absolutely charming Scottish accent, too, one which made Odessa smile involuntarily. She tilted her head casually in the other direction, content to listen to the two wrestlers for a while to alleviate the fledgling feelings of boredom she was beginning to feel. She took another sip of her water.

"...and then the next I know, Uehara-chan came charging from behind her like this," Risako said, raising her hands in a slanting motion, "and caught Dedarne in the back of the head with a mean spinning kick. While I moved to keep Suzumi busy, Uehara rolled that big Canuck up for the three count!" She slapped the table. "The crowd went wild, and the best part was the look on Remy's face when she realized that her shorts had split!"

Emily burst into stifled laughter, and took another sip of her ale. "Bloody wonderful," she said. "Almost as good as my match wi' Sophia Richards. Oh, she put up a good match, to be sure, an' she behaved like a proper lady in the ring, but once that big bow of hers came loose from her hair, she went into an absolute panic!" Emily put her hands to her cheeks and altered her voice in mockery. "My hair! Oh, this won't do! For God's sake, Nelson, help me tie this back up!"

The two women exploded into laughter, causing a small scene as they remembered some of their better matches. After a few seconds, Emily regained her composure and wiped her eyes. "Those were the days, weren't they, Risako?"

Risako gave a derisive snort. "Like you'd know," she said, gulping some of her own ale. "I'm the real veteran, remember? I was the Queen of Queens when you first came into the league, still a nervous little aristocrat girl wearing that old conservative tights and elbow-length gloves outfit of yours."

Emily frowned. "I liked that outfit," she protested.

"Eh, your current outfit is a lot better anyway," Risako replied. "It takes confidence to wear a V-cut like that and turn heads wherever you go. Though I admit it was never my style."

"No, you're never happy unless several furry animals died to make your outfit," Emily quipped back.

Risako didn't take the bait. Instead, she gave a wistful sigh as she leaned against the table. "I do miss the old league, though, Emily-san," she said. "The arena, the crowds, and all the old faces. Yukiko, Minami, Ryuko, Kishima...even Ichigaya and Kagami, if that can be believed." She shook her head. "AFW can come and go, but nothing will replace what we used to have."

Emily smiled at Risako. Without a further word, she grabbed the pitcher and refilled both of their glasses, before raising her own up in a toast. "In that case...to Wrestle Angels," she said. "Gone, but never forgotten."

Risako smiled back, and mirrored the toast. "To Wrestle Angels."

And with that, the two women gulped down the contents of their glasses. Leaning back in her seat, Emily inspected the now-empty pitcher, now beginning to feel a little tipsy. "Do yer dinger, what did ye order, Risako, a Samuel Smiths?" She took up the menu. "Enough o' that English horse's piss, lets see if they 'ave a proper Scottish brand, like Innis and Gunn or Black Douglas."

Odessa eavesdropped on the other two wrestlers†conversation with a funny sort of interest. They werenâ€t really talking about anything that was of import to the ebony beauty, but she couldnâ€t help but listen in. They were sitting at the table right next to her own, after all, and were the only ones other than herself speaking in her native English, despite the setting of the pub.

As she understood it, the both of them had been members of some other wrestling league which had gone under, and had migrated to AFW to continue plying their trade. It reminded Odessa of the years she spent wrestling in lesser-known leagues in the United Kingdom and the United States. This Wrestle Angels that the women were speaking of reminded her very much of those federations.

A toast between the two women followed. Odessa was going to stop listening, but she couldnâ€t help but hear what the Scottish woman had to say about Samuel Smithâ€s, an English beer. That stirred something inside Odessa—she had never been particularly fond of that Yorkshire brand, but she was amused by the suggestion that Scottish beers were superior to their English counterparts. Of course the woman would think that, but that didnâ€t make it true.

Odessa had been thinking of ordering a beer, and now, the conversation she had been eavesdropping on had given her a little push in that direction. She called one of the waitresses back over to her table and pointed at the bilingual beer menu. “Could you bring me a pint of the Samuel Smithâ€s, please? That would be lovely,” she said decisively, flashing a smile at the cute waitress as the women made her way back into the kitchen to get Odessaâ€s beer.

Even as Emily pored over the menu, she heard someone speaking in...English?...not far from her. She perked up. It wasn't the mangled, imperfect English sometimes practiced by her Japanese hosts, and it wasn't the flat, generic English she'd heard used by most Americans and Europeans. It was English English, from West End London, an accent she had gotten all too used to from her time living in that city.

Emily turned in her seat in the direction of the voice. Across the aisle from her sat a tall, dark-skinned woman, with hair the colour of white fleece. A cursory glance gave off the impression of a fellow athlete, as the woman had size to match her height, and a slender yet powerful build. If the Londoner was aware that Emily was looking at her, though, then she didn't show it as she waited patiently for her drink to arrive.

Emily was contemplating whether or not to say hello when Risako did it for her, leaning over in her seat towards the Londoner. "Do try the fish and chips, dear," she said with a smile, "I've had it, and the fish is grilled to perfection."

Emily stared in shock at her Japanese friend. "Risako!"

"What?" Risako gave a surprised shrug. "I've been here before, Emily. Just giving out some helpful advice, thats all."

Sighing inwardly at Risako's sudden breach of manners, Emily shook her head and turned back to the Londoner. "I see I'm not the only one here who's far from home," she said, hoping to break the ice in a less intrusive way.

Evidently, her beer order had caught the attention of the two wrestlers sitting at the table next to hers. She had been expecting the Scottish woman to be the one to take an interest in her, but the voice she heard was that of the Scotâ€s companion, a slightly shorter but still very impressive Japanese woman who advised her to try the fish and chips.

“Thank you, darling,” Odessa would say sweetly in reply, turning to her right to look directly at the two wrestlers for the first time. “Youâ€ve read my mind, actually—thatâ€s exactly what I ordered. Iâ€m glad to hear that Iâ€ve made the right decision.”

Odessa chuckled as she saw the Scottish woman berating her friend for being so forward. The ebony beauty didnâ€t see any problem with what the Japanese woman had done, although, granted, Odessa was quite the social animal herself. She had made quite a few friends since arriving in Japan, some in the ring, but a healthy majority of them outside of it, either at the gym or at a bar, in situations much like this. Still, she could understand how some women might not be so inclined.

The Scottish woman didnâ€t seem to be afraid to talk to Odessa herself, however. Odessa smiled at her fellow Britâ€s small talk. “Thatâ€s right. To be honest, I havenâ€t lived in the U.K. for quite a while—I spent a few years in the States before coming to Tokyo. Wrestling, of course.” Her beer would arrive then, and Odessa would thank the waitress before picking up the pint and taking a healthy swig of it, sighing contentedly as she set it back down and looked back to the other two wrestlers.

Emily smiled at the ebony beauty. "Ah. I had figured you for a wrestler," she said. "I'm surprised we 'aven't run into each other before. Would I be right in assuming you're with the AFW as well?"

She paused, briefly, to place an order to one of the waitresses, before continuing. "As for me, I 'aven't been back to Edinburgh in years, either. Most of my time has been spent abroad, first in London, and then I spent the spent the last five years or so here in Japan. Tokyo's practically become a second home for me now."

Across from her, Risako gave a good-natured laugh. "And yet your Japanese is still awful, Emily-san."

Glaring, Emily whirled on Risako and said something in angry Japanese. Risako listened, then frowned, then frowned further.

"Why would I want to throw boiled cabbage at a horse?" she asked.

Emily's face reddened when she realized just how bad her Japanese was, and she shrunk back into her seat, mildly embarrassed. "T-that...what I meant to say was..." She regained her composure and straightened up. "Ach, never mind. There are some things a that shouldn't be said in polite company, in any language."

Laughing again, Risako turned back to Odessa and extended her hand. "I'm Sakuma Risako," she said, "though you may have heard of me by my ring name, Panther Risako. And this lovely bogtrotter next to me is Emily Nelson."

“I am with AFW, yes,” Odessa confirmed, nodding to her Scottish colleague. She took another sip of the Yorkshire-produced Samuel Smithâ€s, nodding with satisfaction as the warm alcohol spilled down her throat. “And it is surprising that we havenâ€t run into each other. As a matter of fact, we would have been wrestling in London around the same time, as well. Are you quite sure we never ran into each other back then, eh?”

She turned her eyes to Sakuma Risako—or, as she said she was known in the ring, Panther Risako. “I think I have heard your name, yes. Itâ€s nice to meet you, dear. My name is Odessa Brock.” She reached out a hand and grasped Risakoâ€s hand, shaking it firmly. She turned her gaze to the Scottish woman now. “And itâ€s nice to meet you too, Emily Nelson. Always wonderful to meet someone else from so close to home.” She reached her hand out to Emily next, smiling at the Scot.

Emily raised an eyebrow at the comment, even as she shook Odessa's hand. "The pleasure's all mine, luv," she said with a smile, "though I can't say I've ever run into you before. I think I remember someone like you at this one club I was in...big girl, dark skin, real terror on the mats...but that would only be if your hair wasn't always so white."

She paused as the waitress arrived back with her and Risako's order, and took a quick gulp of her Innis and Gunn. "Ahh, that's the stuff," she breathed, before turning back to Odessa. "So, how long 'ave you been with AFW, if I might ask? We may not have run into each other yet, but I'm thinking there's a good chance we've met and fought the same people. Though even with all the different nationalities floating around the stable, you're still the first person I've met in ages who's a proper Briton."