For the Want of a Book...

"(Listen. I am not supposed to tell you this. But there was a woman. A blue haired woman named Natasha who donated quite a bit of money to the university, who expected quite a lot in return. She took a few books as she fancied them. She was not a student, no.)" Eka was pretty shocked at the news. What kind of awful library just gives away books? Eka folded her arms across her chest and shifted her weight. All the books in her backpack nearly toppled her over and she found her balance.

"(You wouldn't be able to give us any...information about this Natasha, would you?)" Eka felt a little bit dirty, wondering if she should show up at someone's house. But she wanted that book, dammit. And if she got to feel like a sleuth doing it, so be it.

The librarian looked left and right before quickly writing an address on a piece of paper. "(You did not get this from me. Please leave quickly.)" Eka walked a distance away before opening the paper and looking at it. The location wasn't that far from the library which was ideal. She looked at Irene. The Georgian girl was a bit taller and Eka probably weighed more too. But Irene looked like she had some fight in her. And maybe she was willing to go on an adventure.

"So just how willing are you to go get the book?" Eka asked with a smile. She offered the paper to Irene, letting her have a gander at it herself.

“Ah yes, that explains everything,” Irene said, nodding calmly to the librarian. Although she was still frustrated over the whole thing, the young scientist was a cynic who knew how the world worked. When people donated large amounts of money to organizations, they got to bend that organization's rules. Universities were always beholden to the private interests that funded them, and this one was no different. Frankly, Irene was happy that the donor in this case had “only” taken some books instead of using her clout to bend school policy, as political parties in the United States often did.

“(I appreciate the information. Don't worry, no one will learn that you gave this to us,)” Irene reassured the librarian, happy to have a lead on the book's location. She turned to Eka, who handed her the slip of paper with the address on it. The residence wasn't far from the school, and although Irene didn't look too intimidating, the girl was never more determined than when her education was on the line.

“Oh, I'll go meet this 'Natasha' with you, no doubt about that,” Irene said with a confident nod to the Georgian woman. “But wait...”

Irene had suddenly realized something: Natasha...she had heard that name before. She couldn't remember exactly where the name had cropped up, but she was pretty sure it somehow related to the AFW league she fought in to make extra money. Although the girl didn't keep up with events in the AFW other than her own matches, the names of high profile wrestlers tended to get around. She believed that this is where she had heard the name “Natasha” before, and she believed she knew the woman's last name as well. To find out if they were one and the same, Irene jogged back to the counter and confronted the librarian one more time.

“(Before I leave, tell me this: was the donor's last name 'Loclear'?)”

"(Yes, it is. Now please, I have work to do.)" The librarian began typing things on her keyboard like she was doing any actual work.

It was all coming together now. Natasha wasn't exactly a common name in this part of the world. And she had been watching a little bit too much AFW as she studied. The listening in proved to be useful. Natasha Loclear. She was an incredibly talented wrestler who had a penchant for doing matches Eka would not have taken. And she was not without her charms, as far as the matches that Eka watched...

It was nice to see that Irene wanted to go and find this book as well. But there was something holding Eka back. There was some trepidation about what would happen if they were to leave for Natasha's abode. She had been felt up and humiliated when she entered Lukretia's office. And another experience like that was undesirable to say the least. Eka didn't beckon Irene over and let her come back at her own pace.

Eka looked at the address again. It was in the nicest part of a very nice city. The ravenhaired girl wondered if there would be butlers and maids and all sorts of staff tending to Natasha's palatial dominion. And she wondered what would happen if they were to just stroll up, knock on the door and demand a book.

The Georgian shook her head to try and rid herself of those thoughts. "You are ready to go, yes?" Eka tried to cast all her doubts and worries away.

Unlike Eka, Irene didn't actually know anything about Natasha other than her status as a famous wrestler. To become a top contender, though, she had to be pretty skilled, and Irene found herself with concerns similar to Eka's, even though she had much less experience as a wrestler.

“So, got some bad news,” Irene stated plainly when she walked back over to Eka. She was unaware that the Georgian woman had already figured out most of what she was about to say. “It turns out that the woman we need to get the book from is a championship competitor from a pretty rough wrestling circuit. That means she isn't just powerful in the monetary sense, she also has the strength to personally rip our faces off if we get on her bad side. I'm still ready to go if you are, but we should probably work out a strategy of some kind on our way.”

Even though Eka was a pretty imposing woman, Irene still hadn't worked out that she was, in fact, another competitor in the AFW, just like her and Natasha.

Eka smiled. This girl didn't look like a wrestler. She almost certainly had some wiry strength to her. And maybe she knew a few things about fighting. But there was no way she could fight. Eka started off out of the library and made sure Irene was in tow. "Ah. I am a wrestler in this league myself. And I am...not so bad at it." She had won her last match, true, but her head rang for three days after she got hit with brass knuckles. That made focusing incredibly difficult. "But yes. Maybe she will not bash our heads immediately. And there are two of us. And hopefully only one of her..." Eka's voice trailed off. She doubted that Natasha would be by herself. But the Georgian girl wanted her comrade to feel a bit better.

Eka's pace was quick and her long strides made it difficult for people to walk alongside her. "But I can tell you are a long way from home. Where are you from?" Eka wanted to get her mind off of whatever would happen inside Natasha's house. The Georgian girl would have been satisfied to have the book and keep all her clothes on. She shivered as she tried to push those thoughts away and find the address that she was given.

“You are?” Irene asked, surprised to have found another AFW competitor attending the same school as her. “I compete in the AFW too, although I only started out a couple of weeks ago. If we both survive our encounter with Natasha, maybe we can practice together.”

To keep her ally from growing too nervous about their prospects, Irene decided not to point out that her first (and so far, only) fight had ended in a pretty sound defeat for her. Her stomach still had stretch marks from the hellish submission finisher that had cost her the match.

“Don't get worried too early about what will happen with Natasha. The girl might be a wrestler, but we're not in the ring right now. Unless we were gonna do something risky, like try to steal the book, I don't think there will be much chance of her trying to brutalize us...I hope.”

As the two women stepped out into the streets of Tokyo and started the trek to Natasha's abode, Irene indulged Eka's small talk. “I'm from the United States. I grew up on the East Coast, but moved her to finish my education. What's your story?”

"Ah, that would be great! I need to practice more. Maybe I would have won more than twice if I had." Eka gave a friendly shrug. They were coming up on it fairly quickly. Eka kept an eye out for mansions and gardens and all sorts of things. "But I am improving very quickly. And making great strides." Eka loved talking wrestling. And this girl was giving her a very good opportunity to do so.

"And I am not overly concerned. You must be quite the fighter." Eka was curious as to what Irene could do in the ring. She would definitely look up her matches when she got home.

The wind and the cold tested Eka's sweater and the bleary sun shone down on her. She looked over at the hustle and bustle of the city. Eka was constantly impressed and amazed at how the city flowed and hummed along. It was far from her home.

"I was born in the country of Georgia. But I moved to Alabama when I was very young. Can't you tell by my Southern drawl?" Eka exaggerated a Southern accent and looked to see if Irene would laugh. "I wrestled a bit and the scouts noticed and brought me over here. I am trying to get an education. That is very important, yes?"

It was nice to hear that Eka had a couple of wins under her belt. The woman was worldly and outgoing, and seemed pretty confident in herself. She was nice too, the kind of person Irene could look up to. The girl shivered as the two of them entered a more prestigious part of town, where the houses were large, particularly by Japanese standards. The evening was fast approaching, and a cool breeze was blowing, but Irene wasn't too sensitive to the cold. Her trembling had more to do with anticipation.

Irene found it calming to listen to Eka's story as the two of them got closer to their destination. Georgia and Alabama – the latte-sipping city girl couldn't imagine growing up in either place. It sounded like Eka had lived a harsh life, but the science girl might just be guilty of stereotyping. She really didn't know anything about what Eka's life had been like, so she didn't make any baseless assertions as her friend spoke. She liked listening more than interjecting anyway.

“I'm glad you're getting an education,” Irene offered a compliment with a calm smile. The smile soon faded, however, as her nervous mind pulled her back to the blue-haired girl they would soon be confronting. What approach should she take to convincing Natasha to part with such a rare book. Could anything be said to make her give it up? Perhaps Irene could appeal to her better nature, and simply ask nicely for the book, as the two of them genuinely needed it more than some rich wrestler/philanthropist. Of course, that approach assumed that Natasha had a better nature – a risky assumption to make, particularly for a championship contender in the emotionally charged sport of wrestling. Maybe she (or Eka) could challenge Natasha to a spar for the book? Natasha would most likely shred the inexperienced girl if that happened. Irene briefly considered just swallowing her pride and kissing Natasha's ass to get her to bequeath the book to them. There was no way Eka would go for that, though, and why would she? Irene may be a pragmatist, but she really, really didn't want her first interaction with a championship contender in the league to be “grovelling”. Maybe Eka had some ideas.

“Thanks for sharing your story with me, I'd love to learn more about you some time,” Irene offered, and although what she said was genuine, the fact that she didn't laugh at Eka's jokey southern accent would indicate how preoccupied she really was at the moment. “However, I think we need to talk about the task at hand. You've been wrestling longer than me; do you happen to know anything specific about this 'Natasha' girl?”

"I know of her. I do not know her. I know that she can make girls submit. And I think she was at Avalanche as well." Well that was true. She had made a girl cum, twice, in a pool full of chocolate. And had won fairly convincingly. "You know in the league there is a hentai title?" Eka looked over to see if Irene recognized it. She felt a bit awkward talking about it. "She has it. So yes. She is a very good...wrestler. She has a few submissions that are beyond excruciating and a kick that is unstoppable." And that wasn't even getting into any of the hentai finishers.

Eka was a little bit disappointed that her new companion didn't like her joke. But she was more worried at what was going to occur. She didn't want to have to fuck Natasha. Even if she was quite attractive. Eka had never been in a hentai match before. Hell, she was a virgin. And she certainly didn't want to lose her v-card trying to get some book. Maybe she could grapple with her to try and get the book out of her. Eka wasn't going to steal it. The Georgian wasn't going to sink to those lows either.

"And I know one more thing about her. We are here." The ravenhaired girl looked at the address and back at her paper. Perfect match. Great. "So I do not know how we are going to get it out of her. I do not know what you have to offer because I don't have much. I do not know what we are going to do. Other than just ask."

She walked up to the door. The look on her face was pained and awkward. "Do you wish to knock. Or shall I?" Her stomach sank. There was nothing to indicate what would happen. And there was less to indicate that it would be good.

“A hentai wrestler, you say?” Irene did a verbal double-take of what Eka had told her. The mention of hentai wrestling brought on memories of her debut match in the Tension league. The brawl had allowed, but not required, the use of hentai tactics to secure the win against your opponent. Both contestants in that fight had incorporated some sensual teasing into their repertoire, but the light amount of arousal she had experienced in the past had nothing on a dedicated hentai match. If Natasha was that division's champion, Irene had a feeling that the concept of getting screwed over might take on a more literal meaning tonight.

Still, if Irene had one advantage over Eka, if you could call it an advantage, it was the fact that Irene had no qualms about using hentai tactics, or having them used against her. In a spar without hentai, Irene had no doubt that Eka would have superior skills to her, but in a fight involving hentai, Irene would probably be the best choice to take that bullet.

Irene was ripped away from her thoughts as Eka came to a halt in front of one of the prestigious houses in this secluded community. Taking a deep breath, she walked with Eka toward the manor's imposing doorway.

“I'm not sure how to approach this, either,” Irene confided, “so we'll have to play this by ear. I'll do the talking first and explain our situation, unless you want to address her instead. Once Natasha replies, we'll go from there. Good luck.”

The girl rang the house's doorbell, and with her breath catching in her throat, she waited for Natasha, or someone else who lived here, to answer. This was going to get interesting...