Breaking the Tension! Episode 6:The Ishii Siblings

Patty sat in the  middle of Ran's kitchen, on one side of the table. Ran sat on the other side. Between them, dozens of pictures of some of Tension's brightest and best and newest and craziest stars. They had two cups of coffee, a little more brewing next to the sink, and all night to make use of them. A gentle rain outside, tapping away on the window.

Perfect setting. "All right." Patty purred and took a quick sip from her mug. "Let's work some magic."

Patty didn't often come by to visit her intern's apartment - she was such a young thing, still fresh in the world, she needed space, and Patty didn't want to intrude on her hopping bachelorette pad. But this was a special occasion. After the success of the Battle Royale special episode, competition was starting to come out of the woodwork - Madison Heights. A Friction interviewer, clearly trying to cash in on the craze that Patty started. An upstart, and if they were competing on the same show, she wouldn't have even been worth consideration.

But she was on Friction, the more popular brand. That gave her instant visibility, whereas Patty had to fight tooth and nail to get her show recognized and earned every single hit and subscription to her channel. She was reasonably sure she could bridge the gap with superior talent, but all the same, she wanted to ensure her victory. This was warfare, so far as she was concerned. If Madison Heights wanted to step into Patty's territory, she'd have to pay the toll.

But that meant Patty would have to extend the season a little further than initially planned. She originally wanted to make the Pre-Royal interviews her finale, but with Madison in the picture, she couldn't risk a downswing in content - she would have to keep her subscribers entertained. Maybe some more behind-the-scenes content, maybe a few vlogs, and definitely a new interview. The only question was who'd be the next target?

That was what Patty came to Ran's apartment to answer, and that was why they had all the portraits strewn along the table. Potential candidates. Tension had a deep well of good wrestlers waiting for their time in the limelight, and all they had to do was do a little digging. A needle was somewhere in the haystack...

"What about King?" Ran held up a picture of the AFW's most hated heel, a shot of him body slamming some poor girl into the mat. "He's a pretty well-recognized face. Everyone knows him - doesn't like him, but knows him. He's big news after what happened at the royal"

Patty gulped and took a long sip from her mug, taking care not to spill any on her denim jacket or her blue jeans. Ran was just in her white pajamas, probably settling in for the night, but she planned on enjoying the town when they were done here.

"I'm not sure." She blanched at the sight, imagining what happened to the girl when King brought her all the way down to the mat. "I considered it, but he's a little, well..."

"Rapey?"

"...unbalanced." She sat the mug back down and folded her arms. "I'd like to keep our interviews PG, and he's just not a good fit at the moment. At least not until we get a bodyguard. Maybe for the real finale." She pushed away from the table and went for a refill. Damn fine coffee. "Who else? Give me someone new. Fresh faces, fresh faces."

"Welllllllll..." Ran reached forward and sifted through the pile, until she pulled out a potrait from about the middle. "How about her? Mariko Ishii."

Patty raised an eyebrow at that one - not a name she was familiar with, and she tried to keep abreast of incoming talent. She walked over to the table with a half-filled mug to get a better look at the picture. It showed Mariko in the middle of a match, and she looked good. Attractive woman, voluptuous body. Patty didn't care much for the purple hair, but apparently that sort of thing was popular in Japan, so she was learning to live with it.

Oh, and she seemed to be smothering some poor woman out with her crotch. "Hentai?"

Patty furrowed her brow and looked back at Mariko, wincing at the very word that came from her mouth. She knew the AFW had a more erotic element to it, but she'd tried to avoid that in her interviews so far, wanting to keep things cleaner. She had a sizeable American audience to think about, after all, and many of them weren't quite as accepting of that sort of thing. At least, not openly. She had demographics to think of. And besides, she knew less about erotic wrestling than normal wrestling.

"I know, I know." Ran held up her hands, sympathy filled in her eyes. "But this is something we're going to have to get behind eventually, especially now that we have competition. She's turned a few heads since she came here, so I think this'll be just the boost we need. People want to see more of her, and you can give that to them." She held up another picture, this one of a stout, cute looking young man, firm and fit. "Plus, she has a brother. We can appeal to both genders at once, and get a wider range of questions."

Ran was making sense, Patty had to admit it. She stroked her chin for a moment and pondered the possibilities. There was risk, yes...but that was what journalism was all about, in the end. Sometimes you had to step out of your comfort zone and get your hands a little dirty. She could always put up a warning before the video if things got a little too raunchy, and there was nothing Mariko could do or say that a smudge filter and a few bleeps wouldn't cover.

"All right. Let's set it up."

***

Two days later, and all the necessary arrangements had been made. Patty would have preferred to go with her usual style of ambush journalism and take the Ishiis by surprised, but after the debacle with Jackie St. Michael, it became apparent that popping out of nowhere and surprising wrestlers with questions might not have been the best method of going about things, especially with wrestlers she barely knew.

No, for this, things were going to be a little more formal. Patty invited the Ishiis to a backroom in Tension that she'd set up just for the interview. A nice, comfy couch for them to sit on, and a reclining chair for her, a small coffee table  in the middle with a few water bottles. Ran was off in the corner, setting up a tripod to get the best angle on the whole scene. Patty sat in the chair with her trademark blue and white striped outfit, with her skirt drapped just over her knees, while she gave her notes a few last minute checks. It was a relaxed, calm set up. All she needed was Mariko and Yamato, and it would be complete.

Yamato Ishii looked like a kid on Christmas, beaming with excitement as he walked through the in the backstage area of the Tension arena, and a faint smile graced his sister Mariko's lips as she walked alongside him. The two rookie siblings had received invitations to participate in an interview, which they guessed was to help make themselves become more known to the fans.

Yamato was dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, while Mariko had opted to to wear her usual gold top and shorts, pink stockings and white boots. "Isn't this awesome, Mariko?!" Yamato said. "Our first interview in Tension! What kind of stuff do you think they'll ask us?"

"Who knows?" Mariko replied with a shrug. "I've heard this woman has a reputation for ambushing people with her interviews. She's probably a quick, on-the-spot thinker, so she could ask about virtually anything. Just try to keep your composure in there. This is a chance for us to make a good first impression for a lot of people."

Her brother nodded, and the two kept walking until the room that had been specified to them came into view. "Looks like we're here!" Yamato said with a bright smile before opening the doors and walking in, with Mariko following right behind. "Whoa, looks great in here!" he said.

The siblings then saw Patty in the chair, and both smiled as they made their way over to her. "Hey there! You must be the one we're here to talk to, right?" Yamato asked as he offered a hand for a friendly handshake. "I'm Yamato Ishii. It's nice to meet you! And this is my sister, Mariko." "It's a pleasure to meet you." Mariko said, also holding a hand out for a handshake."

Patty wasn't exactly sure what she was expecting from the Ishiis. Yamato seemed normal enough from the extended Googling session she'd done to familiarize herself with him, but Mariko was a different story. To put it bluntly, the girl was freaky, like you read about, and while Patty didn't have much personal experience with hentai wrestlers - nor did she want any - she'd seen more than enough hentai matches to get a feel for what the sort of people who did them were usually like. She only watched them for purely educational purposes, of course, but even that was enough to get the gist.

So she was a little surprised when the duo came in and introduced themselves like normal, every day people. Mariko's outfit was a little bit much, but Patty supposed that was to be expected - she had a personae to sustain, after all.

"Oh, hi!" She stood up with her best smile and shook both their hands. "A pleasure, a pleasure - as I'm sure you're well aware, I'm Patty O' Malley, and this," She held out her hand and waved it about is. "Is Breaking the Tension. Welcome to where the magic happens." She threw a quick wink their way. Just a little something to get them in the right mood.

"I'm Ran. Hi." Ran gave a quick wave from behind her camera as she finished up the final settings on the livestream. Broadcasting to the world at the speed of light. Suck it, Madison Heights.

Both siblings respectfully bowed their head to Patty as they shook her hand. And when they heard Ran introduce himself, Mariko smiled as she turned and bowed politely to him too, before nudging Yamato with her elbow. "Yamato. Manners."

"Oh, right! Sorry!" he said, quickly giving the cameraman a courtesy bow as well. With the formalities out of the way, the brother and sister stepped over to the couch and sat down. As they did, Mariko's eyes scanned over the reporter. She could tell from the moment they walked in Patty was trying to get some kind of read on them, and Mariko was doing the exact same to her. Yamato seemed to be the only one oblivious. His simple mind was obviously more focused on the excitement around his first interview in Tension.

"Woo! Man, it feels awesome to be here! Thanks for having us!" Yamato said, prompting a chuckle from Mariko. "Yes, we certainly appreciate it." she added, crossing one leg over the other.

As Patty scanned Mariko, she noticed that she, too, was being scanned at the same time. Something about Mariko's eyes. Dangerous. Mysterious. Deadly. This was a woman who didn't want to be caught off guard, a woman who expected to remain in control of the situation. In a ring, she might have had her way...but this was Patty's domain. She would have her way.

It was either that, or Mariko thought she was hot. Patty did trend well among the female crowd, and she'd been working out a little lately to improve her already-formidable figure, so that was a strong possibility,

"And I appreciate you being here. Breaking the Tension! specializes in bringing bright, new talent to the forefront, and I've heard some exciting things about both of you." She took her seat and nestled into it, getting comfy. "I won't take up too much of your time, here - we'll keep it relatively simple. Just a few questions, and you'll be on your way." She nodded towards both of them. "Do you have any questions before we begin? Concerns?"

Mariko and Patty each seemed to have a mind that wanted to push for domination in some way or another. But this certainly was no wrestling match. It was more like some kind of mental game of chess. And it was going to be interesting to see how this would develop over the course of the interview. Although, her good looks hadn't gone unnoticed to either of the Ishii siblings.

Patty's compliment brought a big smile to Yamato's lips. He might not've exactly been on a massive winning streak, but he felt he was making progress, and was relieved to hear that anyone might've been saying "exciting" things about him. Mariko, on the other hand, was more curious as to what specifically Patty had heard. But she didn't push the issue, and simply smiled as she replied, "That's kind of you to say, thank you."

Hearing her question, Yamato thought for a moment. "Hmmm… Nope. Nothing I can think of, anyway. What about you, Mariko?" he asked, glancing at his sister. "No concerns on my end either." she replied.

Good, good. Patty was doing a good job properly seasoning the siblings with praises, applying the right about of spice, making sure they were marinated. The oven was set. The timer was ready. It was time to cook and enjoy the feast.

"Then let's begin." Patty motioned to Ran, who gave her the nod and held up her fingers for the countdown. Showtime in three, two, one...

Patty's smile gleamed wide and bright, showing off about a thousand dollars in dental work as she turned toward the camera. "Greetings ladies and gentleman. I know, I know, some of you might have thought Breaking the Tension! was done for the year. I heard the complaints. I read your pleas. This show is all about the fans, giving them what they want, whenever they wanted,  however they want, so I had no choice - you want more? You've got more!"

She turned to the siblings and the camera followed, panning back to get a wider shot. "Tension is known for many things, but one of the most striking differences between it and Friction are the numerous family teams. The Akamatsus, the Takeuchis, the Higurashis, the Gastin's before their split. In the wake of the controversial Tension Battle Royale...of which you can see exclusive interviews by clicking on the description box..." She pointed down, making sure her subscribers didn't miss any content. "...a new family is joining in the illustrious tradition: the Ishiis. And they might be the most interesting yet. Mariko, Yamato, welcome to the AFW...and welcome to Breaking the Tension!"

As the show was about to start, Yamato was so jittery Mariko had to nudge him with an elbow to remind him to calm down a bit. Fortunately, he seemed to find his composure by the time Patty's opening message to the viewers.

The reporter then spoke about Tension and its many family teams. As she ran through the list, Mariko made a mental note of them, some sounding familiar while others she had yet to learn about. It certainly seemed like a rather interesting group for her and her brother to be part of. Although as Patty said, it was one of the things that set Tension apart, and the fact that the Ishiis were contributing to that almost felt like an honor to both of them.

"Thanks, Patty! It's great to be here! How's it going, everybody?!" Yamato said with a cheerful smile, before waving to the camera. Mariko chuckled and smiled, though hers was not nearly as bright and enthusiastic as her brothers, and gave a polite nod in agreement with him. "We appreciate you having us on the show." she said.

Patty smiled politely and returned their kindness - on the outside. On the inside, she had them wrapped in her web and was already starting to spin them about, trapping them and sealing her precious meals. She was patient. She wouldn't dig in just yet. Keep it cordial with the flies. But when the time was right...

"The pleasure is all ours." She shifted in the seat and let her pigtails bounce around a bit, before tugging her cap down to make them behave.

"You two have come into Tension from seemingly nowhere and turned quite a few heads. Though there's a lot of interest, we still know little about you two. Before we begin in earnest, let's answers the basic question: who are Mariko and Yamato Ishii?"

As soon as the question was asked, Yamato was the first to jump right on it. "Well, Mariko and I are from a pretty small town where wrestling really isn't all that big. But we've both always loved it. So I guess to put it simply, we're two people who've taken our first step on the road to becoming the best wrestlers we can be!" he said.

Mariko nodded before following up. "It's true. I'm fairly certain there's never even been a wrestler from our town before, at least certainly not at the professional level." she said, her lips then curling into a slight grin.

"Of course we're new, and we want to climb our way to the top here. But most importantly, we're two people who share a passion for wrestling, and want to enjoy making use of that passion as much as we possibly can."

It was a fairly standard, basic answer from Yamato and Mariko to an equally basic question. But to a broad extent, it did generally summarize who these two were and why they were here.