The Premier!

"Soooo..." Akashi said as she rolled on the ball of her heels. She had heard that Cassie was going out to somewhere quite fancy with Johnny's studly boyfriend and the thought made her giddy. Well, not of the hunk but of the idea of Cassie being whisked away for a magical night! She felt like she was back in high school again!

"HOW fancy was it again?" Akashi said. There was talks of limousines coming! Akashi had an AFW limo on standby because of her status as as a former champion but this was different! This was coming for CASSIE! And there was a GUY inside!

"Is it fancy? I have a kimono that will fit you! I have kimonos for you, Cassie-san!" Akashi said as she shook Cassie. "He told you to dress fancy, right!? Do you have earrings?! A necklace!? Brush your teeth again and... I'll get some mints!" Akashi fretted as she stomped away. Her heart was racing and she wasn't even GOING! Maybe she SHOULD go!? She could probably get in if she wanted to! but no! It was Cassie's night!

"Eeeeep!" Akashi yelped when she heard the doorbell. She trudged to the door, shaking the house as she ran and flung it open.

***

Shinobu looked around as the city passed by. He was comfortable inside his limousine and made sure that no hair was out of place as he took one last look at himself. "Ahh, maybe I should have asked her to come to coffee or something." He said aloud. "All this is a bit too much isn't it?" He looked down at his tuxedo. He had a purple cummerbund and a purple bow tie with black slacks and a black suit coat. It was nothing he wasn't used to but perhaps Cassie would be overhwlemed.

"It's too much." He said."But, I think she'll have fun." He debated as he looked at his phone. He was a little early as he pulled into Akashi's driveway. He stepped out of the limousine and looked it over. It seemed a little austere for one of the AFW's highest paid wrestlers. That did fit though and he smiled as he stepped to the door and rang the bell only to be greeted with a 'whooosh' as it flung open and he was face to face with a large, slightly out of breath sumo.

"Tanikaze-san." Shinobu said with a polite bow. "I hope I didn't come too early. Fashionably late doesn't work so well for these sorts of parties." He said with a polite chuckle.

"Heee!" Akashi's green eyes sparkled and she wasted no time with a bow of her own. She grabbed Shinobu's hand and yanked him into the foyer. "No, no!" She said and waved off his words. "She'll be right down!" Akashi then inhaled deeply, audibly and belted out Cassie's name.

"CASSSIIIIIEEE-CHAAAAN! HE'S HEEEEEERE!"

Cassie stared into the terrifying abyss of her closet with two goals in mind. One, she needed clothes that wouldn't humiliate her in front of all the fancy famous people. Two, she needed to avoid sweating like a hog. She was failing miserably at the first, and the jury was still out on the second one.

"I dunno, Akashi, I've really never been fancy," she lamented. "I spent half my life in a gi. I like t-shirts with cute animals and flowers and things. I don't know how to do all the extra makeup like Taylor does. Um... I feel so unprepared."

One by one, she eliminated each potential outfit she had laid out. Too casual, too cute, too frumpy, too sporty, too plain, too bland, too kiddie, too plain. Did she own anything that didn't make her look like her mom had just let her dress herself for the first time?

"Earrings?" She echoed. She had those. Not many, but nice ones. Nice enough. She hoped. They were from her mom, and if Shinobu should be taking any Elliot to the premier of his new movie, it should be her. Cassie had grown up under the very long shadow cast by her mother's ridiculous elegance. Even middle aged, she was stupidly gorgeous. She was like a Grace Kelly or Audry Hepburn or something, the really beautiful, charming movie stars, and that's who Shinobu should've asked.

Of course, her mom was married. To her dad. And neither of them had ever met or heard of Shinobu, so maybe he'd have to settle for plain ol' Cass.

From somewhere on her bed, her phone chimed. She dug through piles of clothes to find it. Taylor had replied to her earlier text message with a simple message of her own.

Fuck that. Just go looking like you. Shit, they should all be so lucky.

Cassie smiled at her phone, and then looked up. Finally, she saw the light at the end of her closet.


"Coming!" She called from somewhere else. She came clunking down the stairs, and first her cowboy boots came into view, and then her creamy-white sundress, with lace and floral embroidery around the hem and a silk scarf tied around her waist. She wore gold earrings, a gold necklace, and a matching bracelet, and her short, orange hair was clipped back on one side with a pretty barrette. Around celebrities, she was so understated that she could well have been called under-dressed, but she looked completely, irrevocably herself.

"Hi, Shinobu," she said, tucking her chin down shyly and holding a small purse in both hands in front of her. "You look nice. Do I look... o-okay?"

"Uh huh. Uh huh." Akashi said in approval as Cassie came down the stairs. She had her arms folded under her chest and nodded with a grin at the red head.

Shinobu smiled genuinely as Cassie came down the stairs. When their eyes briefly met, he bowed to her and nodded. "Cassie-san, hello! You look great. It's perfect. And thank you." He looked past Cassie and blushed himself. He'd have to reassure her that everything would be ok. She definitely looked good.

"You'll have her home by eleven, right?" Akashi said. "And no funny business either or I'll kick your butt! I don't care how famous you are, we can trade groupies or checkbooks all day long, Cassie-san isn't interested in your slick moves!" Akashi chastised Shinobu.

Shinobu turned his head away from Akashi. It was actually pretty amusing but he understood that the sumo cared deeply for Cassie. "Well, these parties go late, I'm sure we'll be out well past eleven, but I just want to have a good time. I want the same for Cassie. That's the only reason I invited her. She'll make it a lot more tolerable, I'm sure of it." He said.

He then looked at Cassie and smiled. "We can take a small tour of the city before we arrive. How much have you seen since you've moved?" He asked as he escorted her out of the house with Akashi looking on.

Shinobu turned his head. "She's certainly protective. I hope that this isn't too much. Really, I just want to enjoy one of these parties for once." He said, feeling the need to explain himself to Cassie once more as he held open the door for her to slip into the Limousine.

That's... the only reason he invited her?

Don't get ahead of yourself, Cassie. Slow and steady.

"Sure!" She said eagerly on her way out the door. "Bye, Akashi! I've seen... I dunno. I've seen some of it. I'm sure there are things you could show me that I haven't seen." She giggled nervously and played with the skirt of her dress.

"Yeah," she nodded about Akashi. "My other friend is really protective too... Actually, most of the people I know are. I dunno why." She smoothed the back of her dress and slid into the limousine, marveling at the luxury and all the room and stuff. "I'll do my best to be fun! There are probably a lot of people who are a lot more fun than me, though, but I'll do what I can! I can put people in submission holds if they look at you funny." Another nervous laugh.

Shinobu chuckled at Cassie as she slid into the limo. He followed, scooching next to Cassie and instructing the driver to head out. As they zoomed off intot he city, Shinobu grabbed some chilled champagne and poured them each a glass, handing it to Cassie before he looked at her.

"Cassie-san." He said smiling. "I don't want you to have any expectations for the evening." He said. "There may be a lot of people who may make you feel like you're out of place. I'm sure you might think that you're underdressed, perhaps, especially when compared to how I look. You're not. I just want you to be yourself and have a good time. So, let's toast to a wonderful evening!" He said and raised his glass before taking a sip.

The champagne bubbled down his throat and cooled his belly. He wasn't really a drinker in the sense that he liked to get drunk but one of the things he liked, and might miss if he stopped acting and gathering int he social circles he did, would be the champagne.

"You're a very good wrestler, Cassie-san." Shinobu said after he finished his sip. "I've gotten a chance to watch some of your matches and I must say, you're good." Shinobu laughed. "I really have no clue what you're doing but it sure looks fierce." He was basically clueless when it came to wrestling despite being in Tension himself though he'd worked with a personal trainer as well as sparred with Johnny a bit.

"Oh, yeah. Of course." Cassie nodded. She felt reassured, but she had only been worried about Shinobu would think. Now that he mentioned it, what if the other people there were jerks? What if they could just look at her and see her for the low class tomboy that she was, and then she'd be an embarrassment to Shinobu, and then he wouldn't be able to enjoy the party which was the whole point!

She snapped out of it when Shinobu raised his glass, and Cassie did the same with a smile. She timidly sipped at the champagne. It was dry, and... tickly.

"Oh, thanks!" She tried to laugh off the compliment. "I don't know if I'm really a good pro wrestler, but I've been in submission grappling competition since before I could cross the street by myself. It's... had it's ups and downs, but I really love competing." She really wished she could talk about her career without having to deal with all the baggage that had come with it. Maybe someday.

"So do you have plans for your first match? Have you been training?"

Shinobu smiled as Cassie spoke. He'd watched her matches and from being Johnny's friend, he also knew about the drama. It would probably make a good movie though. He wondered if Cassie might like to be in films and the thought made him have to stifle a chuckle at the thought. How ruse it would be to laugh while Cassie was talking!

"Your record is good, Cassie-san!" He said. "You must have high standards because I can only measure you as successful from what I've seen."

"Ahhh... I had come to Tension as part of a movie. The deal fell through, unfortunately, but I still thought I might want to give it a try. Johnny-kun seems to like it very much. I had a personal trainer when I was getting ready for the movie part. I don't have a wrestling specific one now but I still work out with Johnny when I'm in town."

Shinobu then turned his head. "Well, if the girls are half as good as you are in the ring, I'm afraid I won't stand much of a chance. To me, I think it might even be a little awkward. I'm not really even sure what to do, to be honest. Perhaps that's why I've delayed taking a match. I mean, I have a built in excuse." He said with a soft chuckle. "But, I've stayed in fighting shape! The Phantom Detective movies keep me sure of that."

Shinobu then pointed past Cassie as they approached an old building that looked out of place in the very modern Tokyo. "There's the Kabuki-za." He said. "Have you seen a kabuki play? Even if you don't understand it, it may be one of the most visually stunning things you could witness. A very Japanese tradition." He said, bowing his head a bit. "I think they are more serious actors than I am!" Shinobu added with a laugh.

Cassie's record was pretty good. She had to remind herself of that. After the success she had in submission grappling competition, she just wasn't used to seeing numbers like that in the loss column.

"You don't have a wrestling trainer?" Cassie nearly gasped, and caught herself. "I bet I would beat you! How can..." She tried her best to let it drop.

She turned her attention instead to the view out the window, leaning over Shinobu to get a look at the big, old building. "Ohh... No I haven't. I know of kabuki. It's classical Japanese stage drama and dance, with the makeup and stage things. Um... I'd like to see one sometime, though!"

She watched the building as it passed, and then realized that she had been leaning on one hand on Shinobu's knee. She sheepishly pulled her hand away and folded them in her lap. Her eyes wandered around the inside of the limo for a moment, and she took another small sip of champagne to fill the silence.

"So you really haven't trained for it? And you're really going to do it?" She asked in a hushed voice. "That could be really dangerous!"

"Well, uh... not a full time one.." Shinobu stuttered a bit, surprised by Cassie's statement and the one that followed. "I'm certain you have had more challenging spars." He said lowering his head a bit dejectedly. He knew he was a neophyte but he still hated the thought of being so easily handled. He was glad the subject was changed.

"Oh!" Shinobu exclaimed at Cassie's words."That's correct! Very good, Cassie-san." Despite his words, his tone was genuine and not patronizing all. He was just glad Cassie knew of Japanese traditions. "Well, I'd love to take you some time. It's been ages since I've been as well." Shinobu chuckled. "If you can still stand my company after the party, that is.

He hadn't noticed the contact until Cassie pulled away. He caught her faint scent as she pulled away. Their eyes met briefly and even as Shinobu's cheeks flushed, he smiled.

"I've trained a little bit." He admitted sheepishly. "Certainty not as much as you but I'm in good shape!" Shinobu turned his head. "I'm sure they wouldn't out me in with someone as skilled as you at first, right?" He asked and then quickly changed the subject.

" H-have you been to a premiere before?" A foolish question but it was the first thing that came out of his mouth. "You'll be one of the first to see Phantom Detective and the Case of the Golden Bell!" Shinobu swept his hand forward. "I'm excited! I think it's the best movie in the series to date! Um..." Shinobu found himself staring happily into Cassie's green eyes and his head suddenly bowed.

"Shimata. How rude to be so boastful." He apologized.

"No, I haven't," Cassie said. "Of course not! I've never met a movie star before. The most famous people I've ever known are my two best friends, and they're just wrestlers. Wrestlers don't get to do very much fun stuff..."

She smiled sympathetically and put a hand on Shinobu's. "It's not rude at all. I think you should be proud of what you do, especially if you're good at it. And you're good." Looking. "And talented. I can't wait to see it, really!"

She paused. She couldn't just let the thing about Shinobu's criminal lack of training go. She felt bad.

"Sorry." Soh-ree. "I don't want to make you feel bad or anything, about training, I mean. But it's not fun and games in there. People really get hurt. I could... Maybe I could help you, if you want. I really only do one thing well, but I have some experience. I really wouldn't want you to get hurt."