From the Shadows

Akane was standing in the middle of the ring alone. Why the hell was she standing in the ring alone?

She’d been a referee in the AFW for a few solid years now with little incidents to really throw her impression of the place. She knew the routine. She made her pre-fight checks of the ring, checked in with the backstage crew, the announcer’s table, ran through the rulebook one last time to make sure she didn’t flub anything once the action kicked off and it couldn’t be stopped. She was a veteran, all things considered. Above being surprised.

So...where was this newbie?

The striped-clad brunette tapped her foot a few more times before she gave her watch the twentieth glance she’d given it in the past two minutes. Her arms were folded and the impatience was palatable both on her face and the murmurs starting to work their way around the crowd. She lifted the notebook in her hand and gave it one last lookover.

Miranada Baker, that’s how the name went. American, Akane guessed. She was supposed to come out first in her big showing. This was a moment that no small number of professionals passed up. Regardless of what people thought, AFW wasn’t exactly a cakewalk to waltz into. Management was very selective about who they let it and allowed to make full use of their resources. A wrestler’s debut was a chance to show their worth and prove they were worth that investment. It was not an event to be missed. Defineitley not something you just walked away from.

But here they were. Sat staring at an empty ramp without so much as one strum of a guitar or idle beat to herald the fresh talent’s arrival. Only a couple minutes had passed in reality, a whole 120 seconds, but with a packed stadium only getting louder and a rig of stage lights only getting hotter with every second that ticked by, those measly seconds seemed to stretch on for hours, and then...

Someone booed. Cool. Akane sighed and reached out for a mic. Much as she hated to damper the mood, they had a schedule to keep. The brass would deal with their little truant. Right now, Akane just had to get someone down here and-


“Ya-ho.”

Gotta love the smell of booze:

Akane’s skeleton nearly jumped out of her skin before she turned around to meet a face smiling back at her through a parting cloud of smoke and mist. The purple, slightly frazzled hair was the first thing to catch her eye before the light caught reflected off the woman’s headband, blinding her temporarily with a quick flash that forced the referee to avert her gaze. In that brief second, Yae snatched the microphone away from her hand and stepped into the stagelight fresh in the center of the ring.

“Good evening, ladies and gents and sexually-frustrated young teens that got in past the age limit. Yeah. I see you, Hiro.” She winked at someone in the front row before she went on, one hand in the pocket of her trench coat as she took a casual gait around the ring. “Sorry-not-sorry to barge in, but I have to be the one to regretfully inform you that tonight’s match has been canceled.” Akane looked baffled as the crowd suddenly broke into a long stretch of boos. Yae didn’t look dissuaded though, only nodding along with a cheery smile and closed eyes, as if she’d been expecting this reaction from the word ‘go’. “Hey, hey now. Keep those zippers low for now. I get it. See, I’m an impatient woman, too. And when I get impatient, I get bored. When I get bored, I drink. When I drink, I get ideas. And when I get an idea?” Her lips grew into a nasty leer. “Miri can tell you, and whoever's stuck is in that pit with her.”

“Anyway, long story short, three Black Russians on the rocks says I’m gonna help you all out and make sure you get something worth admission. In return, you’re gonna write to management after tonight and tell them how much each and every one of you are frothing at the teeth to see more of me. Sound good?” Yae put a hand close to her ear and eventually got the cheers she was looking for.

“Of course, it does.” She nodded, fully content, then popped back upright and faced the ramp. “But takes two to tango. Someone walk their lazy ass out here and come play a little.” She wagged her finger. “And try not to be boring.”

Woodwinds.

She was answered by woodwinds and darkness, as the arena lights dropped away, save for a single spotlight to illuminate the ring. The crowd, who’d been getting hyped before by the kunoichi’s brash entrance, were getting even more hyped now, with all of them realizing what such a strange occurrence meant in wrestling tradition. Someone was coming. Someone big. And they wouldn’t have to wait long to figure out who it was.

”Not bad, new check. Make a first impression. I get it.” A voice came over the loudspeakers, booming across the arena as the woodwinds continued to clink, building up their rhythm with each passing moment. Female, one with a New Yorkish accent, Mid-Atlantic, the kind you’d only hear in the higher regions. While many of them wouldn’t know the dialect, the voice itself was familiar, and scattered cheers began to emerge as recognition set in.

”But I’ll give you a B for the effort. See, thing is? You want them to remember your name, you gotta tell them what it is. But don’t worry, I’ll do you a solid - after we’re done, everyone’ll look it up. They’ll all want to know: who was the first friction chick to get her ass stomped by Kozue Fucking Kaburagi?”

That got the crowd started going wild at that name, confirming what they’d all been suspecting. It had been months, nearly a year, since the New Jersey Ninja had popped up in any ring, and there were rumors that she had quit the sport, but now those rumors were getting swept aside as reality came storming in. The woodwinds sped up reaching a fever pitch with their intensity, as an electric guitar riff began to tear its way into the mix, blending into a theme that the SNK faithful would love to hear.

Soy Sauce for Kozue:

Akane’s poor skeleton was nearly forced out of its skin once more as another poof of smoke erupted to her other side. This time, the clouds parted to reveal a figure dressed in an ornate dark blue kimono, one with the image of a raging dragon twisting its way about the clothe. Her face was obscured by a gleaming noh mask, but as she hunched over and reached to pull it off, her smirking face came into view.

The music picked up in full as she reached down and threw the kimono on in one fell swoop, tossing it clear out of the ring, revealing herself - the new her - to the entire world.


Kozue spread her arms wide, closed her eyes and leaned back as she drank in the applause, loving the love she was getting from the fans. She’d always had a good fanbase, and absence always made the hearts grow fonder. After being going so long, she’d worried that, maybe, they’d grow a little sour on her, think she abandoned the ring, and it was good to know all those fears had been bullshit.

”Man, it’s good to be back!” With her new theme fading, Kozue reached behind her back and whipped out a microphone of her own as she paced about the ring, not paying full attention to the other ninja just yet. ”That’s right, that’s right! Ninjette’s back and she’s Friction and she’s putting the whole locker room on notice, starting now. New me, new league, new look…” She gave her boots a tap on the canvas and bounced from heel to heel. ”...new moves. And yeah, lucky y’all, you’re about to see a few. So just sit back, relax, and let me show…”

Kozue’s little spiel ground to a halt, as it occurred to her she was kind of forgetting one, crucial element in all of this. She spun about on her heels, hair whipping about she faced her opponent and leaned forward, her eyes narrowing. ”Heeeeeeeey, new chick. Maybe I missed it, but, like...what was your name? Did you say it? I don’t think you said it.”

What was Yae expecting? Couldn’t quite tell you, to be honest. If she got lucky, maybe one of those hentai girls. Sex wasn’t quite what she came for, but one or two tales about Friction’s carefully-selected roster had made her curious enough to enjoy a good offer that came strutting by. One day or the other.

What she expected for now was a match. A struggle. A test.

She did not expect Kozue Fucking Kaburagi.

It almost took Yae a couple moments longer than needed to put the pieces together, but there they were. Kozue lifted the veil and the woman’s return was met with a voracious level of applause, and Yae couldn't say she didn’t know why.

She’d dug up what she could about the more potentially interesting clinetile the federation kept, and Kozue’s name inevitably was kept under a footnote with the handful of other kindred spirts, but she was easily at the top of that pile. Couldn’t say she expected much of a challenge, but the Jersey gal seemed like a good time no matter the weather. She planned on finding out for herself eventually. But definitely not this soon.

The newcomer kept to her space and watched the pomp and ceremony from the best seat in the house. First impressions weren't bad. Her timing with the smoke bomb was spot-on. Good transition. Nice color. And she couldn't hate the outfit either. Honestly might have been something she might have gone with herself if she were more into this whole wrestling vibe. The promises, though? Those they would have to wait and see about.

“Folks call me Yae. And I’m only telling you because SNK is deeply underappreciated in my part of the world.” Her hand pointed a finger gun her way, poking the returning veteran on her shoulder. “Your not-boring ass has itself a match.”

The kunoichi tucked her hand into her coat pocket, taking a casual gait round Kozue as she spoke into the mic. “But before we get rolling, Ko-Ko, color me curious. I’m sure everyone wants to know. A Tension star is probably the last person that should have found herself way out here. Not an everyday thing, far as I know. Why the change? Looking to pin a few kawaiis and patch up that ace record you’ve got going? They are a bit more your size.”

”Yae. Yae.”

Kozue repeated the name to make sure she got the pronunciation right - she’d been called ‘Kazoo Kaburgy’ enough times in her life to want to get that sort of thing straight when it came to other people. As she rolled the word around her tongue, she found herself looking over this woman, trying to get a read on who she was and what was her deal - something she hadn’t had much chance to do before.

The entrance and music and smoke wasn’t really meant for Yae - truth told, Kozue had been planning to make a redebut tonight, anyway, and when another ninja beat her to the punch, she just decided to roll with the punch. But was Yae the real deal? She’d only learned the basics of the Japanese clans while she was training with Benikage, but she’d picked up enough to know that they weren’t big on public appearances. Or wrestling federations. Or just about everything Yae seemed to have going on at the moment. So which hole did she crawl out of?

Questions, questions, questions. Later. Would make for fun mid-match conversation.

For now she stayed quiet and let Yae have her turn, rolling her neck around to keep an eye on the woman as she walked around her. This was the sort of thing that Kozue’s ninja training didn’t prep her for - no, high school got her ready for stuff like this. Circling, talking a little smack, then getting your hands dirty.

”Pfft, you kidding?” She waved off the little kawaii comment and shrugged, even as Yae managed to get a few laughs from the crowd. ”If I want easy wins, I’d stay in Tension. Half the guys there go in shock if you blow a kiss their way. Sexy wink, a kick or two, a facesit, done.” Kozue clapped her hands three times for an imaginary pinfall and shook her head. She’d avoided the easier fights in Tension on purpose - yeah, it hadn’t done wonders for her record, but nobody could say she took easy wins.

”Like I said, you got a fresh new Kozue.” Kozue. gave her top a stretch and let it fall back. ”Upped my training, leveled up, 110%. So I figured, why not go all the way, right? Make a mark over here, make some new friends, new enemies, take on the top of the top, the best of the best.”

Kozue leaned in and gave Yae a poke on the shoulder, a perfect mirror of the one she’d dolled out a few moments ago. ”You, though? You’ll do for now. It’ll be fun, like fighting this slightly taller Brand-X version of me.”

Kozue was cute.

Physically, not the best descriptor. Now that she actually took a moment to look at her without all the showboating and flashy lights, there was a body worth some admiration on full display. A functional, slim build nicely rounded with refined muscle, showing off the burden of some hard training that was impossible to deny. No, ‘cute’ wouldn’t exactly be how she’d put all of that.

The attitude she was giving on the other hand...

There was just something weirdly nostalgic about this moment. Here she was thinking Tokyo would be a good way to get away from her old, mundane life. Friction’s wide variety of powder kegs, happy to converge under one roof, didn’t sound like a bad place to start. The world’s best funhouse and they didn’t even charge her admission. Kozue was one of the attractions on that list and she had no problem getting to it sooner rather than later.

But as she listened more and more to the challenge, the bravado, the words, it was all starting to feel a little familiar. She remembered hearing that same tone early in the morning at the proving grounds, watching her little trainees with big mouths and bigger promises get smacked into the dirt again and again, watching them bleed and cry and sweat over a nice cold beer in the boiling heat. Good memories. Not ones she expected to find out here, but they were more than welcome. It reminded her of something she never thought she’d have the chance to do again.

Crush rookies.

The smile stretching at one corner of her mouth seemed to go against the fresh round of cheers rallying behind the returning Jersey gal. She couldn’t deny that feeling of fate’s hand slipping its mangly fingers in here. That she’d find herself in the same ring with likely the only other ninja for miles, on tonight of all nights, felt beyond coincidence. Were she of a mind to investigate later, she might have found an exception or two under her space in the booking office.

But that was later. This was now. And even through her mounting excitement, Yae was starting to get a glimpse of the shadow over casting her. Kozue was a name. A name she could make plenty of use of tonight.

“Fun for me, maybe. One-hundred and ten times zero is still zero.” She leaned a couple inches forward, just enough to bring the two of them eye to eye. Headband to headband. "Maybe I'll finally-"

“Hey can we, like, start?”

Yae’s head whipped to the side, her mind already dulling the memory of the third person that was sharing the ring with them. “We’re kind of running late as it is.” The kunoichi opened her mouth as if to say something, but just pouted her lips, reaching into her pocket as she nodded a silent concession Akane’s way.

Her hand slipped inside of her coat and popped out a trusty flask from its pocket, cocking her head back with a nice swig. She shivered as her lips curled up, loving the sting on her throat. When her eyes opened again, they seemed to flash in the limelight. Her tongue flashed across her lips with a serpentine flicker, giving away the slight intensity gracing her ebony orbs and the fangs of her stretched smile. She jingled the flask Ninjette's way, offering a little pep-up from her personal collection. “Thrill me. I’m dying to see what color a Kaburagi bleeds."