Grace, Sorority, Economy

Right about the time Cassie made her way over to the locker room, the doors to the gym opened, and in walked Mariko Ishii. She’d come to the gym fairly regularly since arriving in the AFW, but still had yet to have quite as an enjoyable experience here than she had in her first visit. That day she’d ended up having quite a bit of fun toying around with Daisuke Takeuchi in a rather impromptu spar. Teasing that man had been so enjoyable, it was just unfortunate every visit to the gym couldn’t be like that.

Oh well. Nothing she could do about that. There was still a ring to train in and weights to lift and...a handsome young man over on the mats. “Well well, maybe today will be more fun than I thought...” Mariko said to herself, lips curling into a sly smirk. She couldn’t know how he’d react to some teasing, but that was half the fun of finding out. And so, she crossed her arms under her chest and began to walk toward the male, making sure to give her hips just the right amount of shake as she walked in case he looked her way.

“Hey there, cutie. Doing some training?” she asked, stopping in her tracks once she was  by the mats. “Mind if I join you for a bit?” she continued, giving a playful wink to the man before waiting for his answer.

Shinobu watched Cassie leave and smiled. Though, it would be weird to see her in a King shirt. He figured it was a pretty good way to avoid looking at her rather ample chest, if anything. While she was gone, he tried to contemplate what she was talking about. It wasn't rocket science, but it took some thought to picture in his head and probably a lot of training to put into practice.

However, as he was lost in his thoughts, Mariko's shadow appeared and he looked up to see another stunning woman staring down at him. He smiled at her, his instincts kicking in and he stood up and bowed.

"Hello." he said and gave her a nod. "I was just thinking a bit while I was waiting for my..." He paused. Should he just say Cassie was his girlfriend? Was there a reason not to? He should be forthright about it. "Thank you, but no. My girlfriend and I were already discussing some tactics. I was just waiting for her to get back."

There was no need to be dismissive about Mariko though. "It's good to meet you though. I am Fujiwara Shinobu. My first match didn't go so well, so I'm afraid I do need serious practice for my next match. If I have one..." She said sheepishly.

So he’s the bowing type. Interesting... Mariko thought to herself, before nodding her head in a just barely polite enough return of Shinobu’s bow. She then briefly raised an eyebrow at his hesitation, only to smile again once he mentioned his girlfriend...and the fact that she wasn’t there at the moment.

“I see. Ishii Mariko. Nice to meet you too, handsome.” she said, taking a moment to look him over. Sure enough, just as cute up close. Mariko then listened as he spoke again, before putting on a fake pout. “Aww, I’m sorry to hear that. If it makes you feel any better, I lost my first match too.”

Already standing pretty close to the male, Mariko then stepped onto the mats and moved to stand roughly an inch away from him. And out of nowhere, she would then shoot an arm out to wrap around Shinobu’s head to pull him into a headlock, pressing his cheek right up against her breast. “Don’t let it bother you. If something doesn't go well...”

Abruptly, Mariko would then grab a hold of one of Shinobu’s arms and spin behind him, twisting the arm with a simple hammerlock. “...then just switch things up and give it another shot.” she’d say, practically whispering the words with her breath brushing right against the back of his neck. But she remembered the man’s words about his girlfriend possibly returning soon. And as much fun as it was to tease men like him, she hadn’t come here to start a fight, so she’d immediately then let go of his arm and step back again.

“If you’re looking for your next opponent, I’d be glad to take that spot.” she offered, that seductive smirk of hers never once leaving her expression since they’d begun speaking.

Shinobu nodded along with Mariko. He was surprised that she had indeed lost her first match. She did seem good but he was glad he wasn't the only one and she seemed friendly enough... though Shinobu was beginning not to trust that, the way he didn't in his other profession. However, Mariko was quick to eliminate the already small distance between the two.

The actor was suddenly very close to Mariko and blushed a bit. She certainly was a beauty but she seemed friendly enough. However, before he could even blink, he was hunched over with his face right against Mariko's sizable chest. He blinked and couldn't even open his mouth to protest.

She seemed to not only think it was of little consequence, but also seemed to actually be casually speaking to him while he shuddered against the soft flesh. She finally forced words out of him when she switched to a hammerlock and Shinobu was on his tip toes, wincing and crying out in pain.

As she released, he pulled his arm inward and rubbed it. He turned and looked at Mariko, with a blush still deep on his face. "I... Ishii-san..." He muttered.

"it seems... you might be a bit above my skill level..." He breathed, trying to stand upright and catch his breath and cool off his cheeks. She had made it very difficult to avoid looking where his face had just been a moment ago, even with the stinging in his arm he was rubbing.

Cassie skipped gleefully back into the gym, happy to at last be in gym clothes, such that they were. The little white tag on the back of her t-shirt stuck up, and the design on the front was still faintly visible, but with it turned inside out at least she wouldn't be a walking Killer King billboard.

"Okay, Shinobu! Ready to-" She stopped short when she spotted Mariko. Her posture shyly tightened up, feet together, fists together at her chest. "Oh. Hi, I'm Cassie," she said, with an adorably awkward wave at Mariko. She gave Shinobu a questioning smile, as she couldn't help but pick up on some kind of a vibe.

Shinobu wasn't sure if he should be scared or relieved when Cassie showed up. Especially with the coy look she gave him. He was a little bit of both but stepped forward. "Cassie-chan, this is Ishii Mariko. She's part of Tension, naturally. Ishii-san was saying she would be willing to match against me, though... I wonder..." He paused and straightened up.

"Ishii-san, this is Elliot Cassie, my girlfriend. She's in Friction."

As Cassie entered and made her presence known, Mariko turned to face the woman with the same smirk she’d been wearing during her “chat” with Shinobu. She could tell right away this was most likely the girlfriend he’d referred to, but still acted friendly and relatively surprised when he introduced her.

“Ah, so this is the one you were talking about, huh? Pleasure to meet you.” Mariko said, nodding her head to Cassie. “Shinobu-kun tells me he’d like to have a match sometime soon, but doesn’t have an opponent yet. So I decided I’d help him out a bit with that. If he accepts, of course.” she said while turning to give Shinobu a playful wink.

"He did?" Cassie looked at Shinobu again, this time in surprise. She was happy that he wanted to try again, though she wasn't totally convinced it was a good idea... Especially not right away.

"Well... I don't think Shinobu wants to be thrown in there against just anybody. And maybe after some time to train... What's your name? You're in Tension?" Cassie tried to be discreet when she looked Mariko up and down to size her up. It was hard to tell much about her... But Cassie's first impression wasn't all that impressed.

Mariko wasn’t a mind reader, but she could probably guess Cassie’s initial thoughts as she was looked over. Not that she could blame Cassie, though. Despite having a handful of matches under her belt now, she was still relatively new, and didn’t have a look that screamed “pro wrestler.” The idea that she was just another scantily clad slut on the roster who couldn’t wrestle was a misconception, but it was one that didn’t bother her too much.

“Mariko Ishii. And yes, I’m in Tension.” she answered. “I’m sure he would like to train. But he’s also a big boy who can make his own decisions. Isn’t that right, Shinobu-kun?” Mariko said, turning back to the male again to flash him a little grin.

Shinobue bit his lip as Cassie gave him a look and then Mariko chimed in, interjecting herself into their relationship a bit. While he had become flummoxed over trying to figure out how to handle things, he knew he couldn't just stand there with mouth agape while both girls questioned him in their own way.

"Ahh... Ishii-san is right, I DID say I would like another match." He told Cassie. He meant it too. He felt a strong desire to prove himself.

"But Casse-chan is right as well." He turned back to Mariko. "I  DO also need some more training. I would not like a repeat of my debut match and I wonder if you may not be a [i]tougher[/i[ opponent than Takeuchi-san." Shinobu frowned. He was in a bit of a predicament.