Kita-Ku, Saturday, 7pm

Ro had, for once in her life, managed fairly…nice…ish clothes. It was nicer than jeans and a tee-shirt, anyway. It was still a sleeveless shirt that didnâ€t really do much to hide how busty she was, but at least her cleavage was totally covered for once. She was still wearing trousers, because fuck skirts, but they were pretty nice and went well with her outfit. NORMALLY, Ro wore much more casual and, especially, revealing things...for some reason, she decided against it. Maybe she wanted to be a little less showy with Johnny around...

Ro had just finished making the trip to Hamburger Hill, as hse refused to pronounce it by itâ€s proper name, and was generally enjoying Cassieâ€s welcome home party. She didnâ€t know Cassie to well, but she had met her through the not-present John Mitchell. She did know Johnny Higgs (a nickname she was planning to use latter) pretty well, though, so it was only natural that he invited her.

“Gimme one of those,” Right now, she was listening to Johnnyâ€s friend talk and talk about various girls. Frankly, he seamed rather boisterous, which was why she had interrupted him to demand a beer. Beeeer, gooood. Beeeer, yuuuuum.

As he continued to speak, though, his story got a little silly. Ro laughed anyway, because the idea of some crazy Japanese chick holding a Godizzla-esque (she imagined) puppet hostage was hilarious. She didnâ€t believe a word of the story, though.

“Your fucking crazy, dating her…” Ro said, then thought about the idea that maybe it was Johnny who was crazy that Shinobu put forth. “Yeah, but, Johnyâ€s like…Johnny. He can take all the steel sandwiches.” She said, laughing and taking a swig of beer.

She then blished a little when Johnny looked at her, but she quickly controlled that reaction. “Johnny can have friends that are girls…he just canâ€t fuck ‘em.” She laughed, using a joke to cover up that tension. She REALLY had to do something about this crush…….

Meanwhile, Shinobu brought up the possibility of a fight. “Ooooooo, Mister, my fâ€ing catch phrase is ‘I-break-a-you-face.” She said with a teasing tone, “Straight John, do I not do my best to follow it?.....oh, by the way. Youâ€re Straight John. The other John is Gay John. It just makes it easier to tell you two apart.”

"His name isn't John, it's Junichi," Cassie said, seemingly appearing out of nowhere to stand next to Ro with a cup in her hand. She wore a pretty white sundress with pink tights, a gold-buttoned navy jacket and a gold locket. Her brown boots were left by the door, and her feet were clad in cozy white socks. She looked like a shrimp compared to the other three. They all towered around half a foot over her. "Hi, Johnny."

She had had a crush of her own on the silver-haired Higurashi, but she dealt with it in time. His marriage to her best friend helped to stay her passions. Her crush on the taller, seemingly-gentlemanly Higurashi had also run its course, but that was because he was an ass.

"Hi, Ro, it's good to see you again. You look nice!" She said, and managed a side hug with the tall, busty girl.

"She looks weird! What, are you applying for a loan?" Taylor shouted from across the room while she fiddled with the theater stuff and Akashi supervised. She laughed loudly.

"And... hi. I'm Cassie." She stuck out her hand to Shinobu, and found her cheeks warming once she got a look at him. He was tall and blonde and... really handsome. He must've been a friend of Johnny's.

"Yeah, man!" Johnny said as Cassie came over. He smiled at her and ruffled her hair. "Yo, squirt." He then turned his attention back to Ro. "You can't give a nick name off a nickname, dude."He said. Did Ro even KNOW his real name WASN'T Johnny? Probably not. John was a dumb name anyway. Johnny was a cool name. "Yeah, man!" Johnny called out to Taylor. "She's applying at the Bank of Johnny for one ass kickin!" He said and laughed. "Gotta get that shit in writing and junk!"

"Come ooooon, Taylor-chaaaan!" Akashi whined while she set things up. "The sake isn't going to drink itself! Hurry up and finish setting up!"

Shinobu smiled at Cassie as she offered a hand. He was thankful she came over with the way Ro was talking. He wanted a good tussle and she wanted something more than that, clearly. She was also misinterpreting his words and his story didn't seem to amuse her much. Maybe he'd try again later.

He took Cassie's hand, sliding his own hand delicately against Cassie's and giving it a gentle shake while he bowed his head. "It's nice to meet you, Cassie-san. I'm Fujiwaru Shinobu." He smiled a bit wider. A name that he was hoping she recognized. "Your name is Cassie?" He said, repeating her greeting. "And here I thought it was Squirt. I don't think Johnny-kun's ever actually said your name before." Shinobu chuckled.

"So, Johnny said you were back from Canada? We have a studio in Vancouver where we do some filming. I've been there a few times. It's beautiful country."

"Yeah, Shorty, Shonobu's like totally a famous movie star and junk. But he's cool enough to come hang out with a bunch of sweaty wrestlers." Johnny grinned as he teased his friend.

Shinobu pushed a lock of blonde hair from his face and blushed. "Most of my fans are tweenagers, Johnny-kun." He said and looked at Cassie. "That's what they're calling them now for some silly reason." Shinobu shook his head. "And, I'm basically typecast. It's no big deal really." Shinobu blushed a bit more. "But, Johnny-kun showed me the ropes and he's made me appreciate the sport of wrestling. He's a good guy." Shinobu nodded sincerely at Johnny and looked back to Cassie. "So I pencil him in from time to time." He teased.

Ro had been in a little bit of a distracted fog, so it wasnâ€t that unreasonable that she had gotten the story wrong. When Cassie came over, Ro sorta snapped out of it and realized she had been pretty distant in the conversation. Sheâ€d better get a grip right now.

Not only that, but Ro only realized just now how much she had overcompensated for Johnnyâ€s presence with her clothes. That was ANOTHER mistake…thatâ€s two sorta social errors in a row. Ro really needed to get her act together…more beer was the obvious answer. Ro took another big swig, nearly finishing the can.

“Heya Cassie! Love the tights! And boots!” Ro said, her voice getting back to its normally chearfull and care-free tone. She grinned and eagerly hugged Cassie back, somewhat thankfull that the hug snapped her out of her fog.

“Yeah, yeah, a lone…..hahahaha…” Ro laughed at Taylor and Johnnyâ€s little back and forth…but then…

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whao…your name isnâ€t Johnny? YOUR not Johnny Higgs? What the fuck, how many names do you fucking have?” Despite cursing, something Ro ALWAYS did, she sounded about ten times friendlier than she did ten minutes ago.

Ro then turned to Shonobu, and waited for him to finish talking before she spoke to him. “You know I was just teasing about breaking your face, right? I mean, I will if we get into a rough fight, but we could have a good spar or something if ya want.” Hopefully, Ro could just right off her earlier, distracting behavior as her quirkiness and

Taylor waved her hands in the air. "Don't... don't fuckin' rush me, man, like, I'm a... I'm like a...thing. I'm gonna start seeing red in a second if you don't back off and let me work my magic. I'm so good at this stuff." No, she wasn't.

"Thanks!" Cassie said to Ro.

Then Shinobu had her hand, and... She managed to blush and laugh nervously without making herself sound like a complete idiot. She smiled brightly at the blonde-haired actor until he finished speaking. There was a slight pause. Cassie should say something.

"You're in movies?" Her eyes wandered for a moment while she tried to figure out if she was just really slow, but she decided it was probably fine. "Um... Neat! I'm in wrestling. Er, wrestling matches. I'm into wrestling. Well, I'm in a place where you wrestle. Where everyone does, like... It's what you do when you're in the... like it's my job. I wrestle for my job." That's enough, Cassie. She closed her eyes and mentally swatted her forehead, and then tried again. "I'm a pro wrestler, like Ro. And Johnny, and, well, everyone else here. You've probably never heard of me. I just got back from Canada and beat a girl I've never heard of, then her friend tried to beat up Taylor and I had to tackle her. Taylor, that is, not the friend, though I could've done that too, but she was laying down at the time, sooo..."

New topic, new topic, new topic...

"Oh! Have you ever been to Canada? It's really beautiful. Sometimes."

"No, dude. It's Junichi." He said.

"It means chaste! Fufufufu Oh, the delicious irony!" Junko called out as she supervised the supervisor. "Let me get in there, Taylor-chan. Or, I can get Morrigan to help. You should be off ditching the party with Junichi-kun, fufu."

"Ma, gross!" Johnny barked. "You haven't even had anything to drink yet!" Johnny turned back to Ro. "Yeah, man. Just call me Johnny, dude. John's a weird name."

Shinobu turned and looked at Ro and blushed a bit. Surrounded by so many beautiful ladies! Johnny kept better company than he did and he hung out with starlets! "I think a spar would be better..." He said, scratching the back of his head nervously. "I'm still new to wrestling." Shinobu said turning back to Cassie and smiling.

"I am. I'm the lead in the Phantom Detective series. It's big with teens but any age would enjoy them, I think. It's not the hugest franchise around, but in Japan, it's a big deal!"

Shinobu nodded. "And, I'm in Tension too, so, we're sort of like co-workers. I haven't had any matches, but I still plan on it. Do you do Tension matches? I'm sure you could teach me a thing or two!" Shinobu said. Wouldn't THAT be something!?

"And, I HAVE been to Canada." Shinobu said, politely repeating himself. This girl was excitable like one of his fans. It was best not to point out their errors and just go with the flow. "Vancouver. it's beautiful country. Whereabouts in Canada are you from... Cassie-san, was it?"

"Sure!" Cassie nodded eagerly. Not that she did Tension matches. But the other thing.

"Oh, I'm from Vancouver too! Wait, no. Er... I mean..." This time Cassie's actual physical hand smacked against her actual physical forehead. She couldn't have turned any redder without a blood transfusion. She was not from Vancouver. She took a breath, and then looked up again with a smile. "Would you excuse me?"

She tried not to walk away too quickly, but she met Taylor's gaze on her way to the stairs. Taylor pantomimed a deep breath, and grinned devilishly at her, laughter percolating out of her no matter how hard she tried to keep it in. Cassie was too embarrassed to smile, but she walked directly over to where Taylor had been grappling with the electronics, hit two buttons, and the movie began playing on the massive screen. She walked directly to the stairs while Taylor only watched.

"Oh, whatever." Taylor took a drink and pulled Akashi down into the seat next to her.

(100,000 pardons, please. Thank you for not getting angry with me for my absence and for being invisible a lot these past few weeks)

“A spar sounds awesome! We can practice a bit.” She said with a smile, clearly back into the swing of things and reverting to the friendlier (though aggressive) girl Johnny had known.

Ro suppressed a chuckle as Cassie flailed about all over herself. She looked on with sympathy, though still covered her mouth, as Cassie walked off. “Aww, sheâ€s nervous.” Ro said quietly to Cassie.

Ro had been so out of it that she hadnâ€t noticed that Taylor had been having problems with the electronics, but soon Cassie had them sorted out. “Oh! Itâ€s starting!” Ro reached out and, without thinking, grabbed Johnny and yanked him towards the seats where the film was playing.

Nikolette was surprised when she received an invitation from Taylor to come to a party in Hamamatsu. The Hamamatsu part wasn't surprising, it was the invite. She certainly was no enemy of the spunky blonde, but she really didn't think they were all that friendly either. Just simple coworkers who happened to both have a distaste for watching others get unduly beaten. Not only that but it was also a welcome home party for Taylor's friend Cassie Elliot. Nikolette had handled the spunky red head early in their careers. Nikolette had enjoyed the match and thought Cassie was a tough fighter. The mechanic even helped Cassie out when she was in a bind during the dark angel fiasco. There was no animosity between them but that didn't mean she knew exactly where she stood with Cassie. Really, the mechanic had no clue whatsoever. She just assumed that Cassie was a nice girl outside of the ring. That was all she could hope for. The underlying unknown of this visit was actually quite thrilling!

Either way, here she was at the house. She'd take a cab and had a small package under her arm. She had no clue what to get, so she just got something she figured everyone could use. She tugged on her shirt. Nikolette didn't usually dress very fancy. She wanted to be presentable for the party though. She decided to go shopping for the occasion and was wearing a tight fitting t-shirt that showed off more of her bust. Usually she hated that, but there was no cleavage involved, so she felt like she would be alright. It was a black T-shirt with some white Kanji splashed along her right side. It was nice without being formal and it didn't have some silly chibi thing on it. She also wore a pair of khaki pants that weren't baggy and some shoes she could slip off easily. With one last glance, she put on her best smile and knocked on the door.

Morrigan yawned as she sat int he living room. The lights were on, which made the atmosphere for the movie she was watching less than optimal. While she heard explosions and witty banter percolating from the basement, she was watching artsy horror flick called Susperia. She'd brought it with her, knowing this might happen. If anyone came up, they'd either not understand it or find it too gruesome to join her. Plus, it might be a way to scare away a guest or two. Really, she was mostly waiting for Brittany to show up. She'd seen this movie a thousand times.

When the knock came, Morrigan paused the movie and hopped off her seat. it could be one of many people who had yet to arrive. When she DID open it, her normally dull face fell to full irritation as she looked at the cheerful Nikolette, whose face also dropped as the two locked eyes.

Unlike Morrigan, Nikolette had no clue that Morrigan would be around. "What the heck're YOU doin here!?"

"I have more right to be here than you do." Morrigan said, turning her head away from Nikolette.

The Mechanic was puzzled. She wasn't going to get jumped and she could already here the sounds of good cheer. She'd seen her around Taylor more often lately but she really couldn't believe that Morrigan was actually a guest...

"Y'all gonna taze me when I try and step in?"

Morrigan smirked. "Heh. Guess you'll have to take that chance."

Nikolette frowned and stepped inside, kicking off her shoes. She gave Morrigan a look and then stepped past the red head cautiously. As her back was turned to Morrigan, she felt a hand grab her shoulder. Nikolette's eyes widened and she was about to swing her gift at Morrigan, her side almost flinching inward instinctively as she ssumed she was about to get tased.

But as Morrigan came into view, she had a mischievous smile. 'Want something to drink?"

Nikolette stared in disbelief at Morrigan and sighed. "Uh... I'll have a beer, I guess. Anything, really."

"Sure, I'll bring it right down."

"Uh, thanks..." Nikolette made her way to the basement where Morrigan directed her and trotted down the steps with gift in tow. She saw the scene in front of her and smiled.

"Hello, everyone!" She said, following her eyes to Taylor. "Thank ya for invitin me!" She said, holding the gift up that was under one arm. "Hope y'all don't mind!"

Taylor leaned over to Akashi. "I gotta refill my water before I turn into a raisin."

She grabbed her big, glass water bottle and stood up to see Nikolette coming down the stairs. Her face instantly lit up, and she hurdled a row of seats to on her way over to the new arrival.

"Nik, hey!" She gave her a bro-like pat on the shoulder. "You came, man, that's awesome! What's this?" She cocked her head curiously, and took the big, unexpectedly heavy box. She retreated to the other side of the room so that she wouldn't be talking over any Damon Wayans witticisms.

She set the box on the floor and sat down in front of it with her legs splayed out flat on either side while she pulled off the wrapping paper. It took her a moment before she finally began to realize what it was.

"Oh!" She said. "Tools and stuff? Man, we don't even have, like, a screwdriver. Eventually we're gonna need to change a lightbulb or something, and we woulda been fucked. Thanks, man!"

Any apprehension Taylor felt about Nikolette being first greeted by Morrigan was eased by the simple face that Nikolette seemed no worse for the wear. She was upright and smiling without any blood or signs of struggle. That was good enough for her.

"So what's up? Have any trouble finding the place or anything?"

While Taylor couldn't have been more excited about Nikolette's arrival, Cassie's enthusiasm was more subdued. It wasn't that she didn't like the Croatian, not at all. She seemed... nice. But she'd handed her what was to Cassie a humiliating defeat, and later Nikolette had saved her from Dark Angel when the masked girl tried to break Cassie's arm after the bell. To her, Nikolette Tesla was a name synonymous with humiliation.

She rejoined the party downstairs once she had shaken off the shame from her verbal failures, and found Taylor and Nikolette off to the side. On her way over to them, she caught sight of Mamouru, off in another corner lurking in a doorway. She didn't make eye contact or acknowledge him, only stared through him for a split second like he was invisible, and approached the mechanic.

"Hi, Nikolette. How are you?"