That Old Familiar Place...

Mamouru didn't know why he still came here. He was practically a regular to the small cafe near the monstrous Friction complex. It had been the site of a fair amount of the most disastrous moments in his life. However, he still felt the need to come back. Maybe he was a glutton for punishment? Maybe the tea was just superb? Maybe he thought if he kept going long enough some good fortune might come from being here.

Either way, he sipped on his tea and sighed softly as he looked through the paper. He would be quite busy soon and his world might completely shatter. However, he still wanted a moment of respite and decided that he still needed to plan for the future. Even with things as they were, he was still a wrestler and still in the wrestling business.

The tag situation seemed all but lost. Hentai also seemed like an impossibility. Even singles wrestling started to lack the charm it once held if he were to merely wrestle clean. He hadn't come to the league for that. He and Johnny had originally come looking for girls. In their own ways, they had exceeded their expectations. However, now things were bad. He had tried to shape up. Cassie had made him a better person. When that fell apart, he slipped but he had tried again with Alaina. He had tried his hardest to love the girl for real and maybe because he did, he felt like he had to lie to her.

Things were a lot simpler before.

Mamouru sighed and took another sip from his tea. He jostled the paper he had but barely looked at it. He never felt like going hime and he was going home to someone he actually did care for. He just wished he didn't have to keep so many secrets...

Spoiler:

"A cup of tea and a slice of vanilla strawberry cake please" Ami, the supermodel, Takeuchi smiled at the counter while giving her tea time order. The attendant at the counter was already blushing as he happily took the order and did his best to quickly fill her order. "Thhaaankkk you- you're the best" Ami winked and smiled at him, making him fall head over heels for her.

Taking her cup of tea and the slice of cake in a china plate she began to turn around to see alot of empty seats in the cafe. The supermodel pouted a bit, hating to have her evening tea time alone...until she saw someone sitting alone in one of the tables, admittedly lost in thought, drinking his tea. "Oh wait- I know him" she pondered as she began to walk towards him.

She placed her cup and plate on the table, "Mind if I sit here?"she smiled and took a seat opposite to his. "Hey, there! Mamouru right? hmhmhmh how come you're alone here? Alaina and you taking a day off from training or....well, whatever is it that you do?"she grinned as she took a sip from her tea. She used a fork to cut the slice of cake into a small bite and then ate it, her eyes widened as she let out a girly squeal "Yummmmm! SooOoooOooo good! wanna try some?" she smiled, offering him a bite to eat. The supermodel was always looking for company, good or bad!.

Mamouru was startled by the plate being set down but he looked up to see Ami Takeuchi in all her beauty smiling brightly in front of him. When she wasn't in the ring and when she had a smile on her face, she looked like a much different person. He kinew better though. She was a lot like him in a way, he thought.

"Takeuchi-san, please have a seat." He said, smiling genuinely. "Ahh... I just like to come here I suppose..." He began when she started talking to him about Alaina only to cut off her own words with a bit of cake.

He blushed slightly but took a bite of the cake. It was delicious. Mamouru nodded. "It is good, Takeuchi-san." He said smiling. "And, ah, uh...Alaina-chan and I are... no longer together. Professionally or personally." He paused but then looked up, trying not to damper things. "What brings you here all by yourself, Takeuchi-san?"

Ami kept smiling during their conversation as she kept fidgeting with her fingers and playing around with her food while listening to what Mamouru had to say. She noticed Mamouru looking a bit depressed and that he was lost in thought. True enough, Ami was a heel wrestler in the ring and that reflected her arrogant nature outside the ring- but it was only to the extent of other wrestlers and those who competed with her in the ring and in the business. However, she wasnt a bad person to EVERYONE that came in her life and she didnt feel like she wanted to make enemies with the guy infront of her, he seemed to have enough problems already.

"Hehe isn't it?" she smiled and giggled when Mamouru concurred with her, about the cake being delicious. She then put her index finger on her chin and thought about something when Mamouru mentioned his break up- professionally and personally with Alaina. "Oh, I see. Well, dont feel too down Mamou. I mean, if it didnt go through then perhaps it never meant to happen? Stop living in the past! the cake is delicious now, it wont be forever! So eat it up and move on" she smiled, using the fork to break another piece of cake and eating it herself before trying to spoon feed him .

"What brings me here? Hmm well I guess you could say....I just like to come here"she winked at him, leaning over to give him a gentle tap on the shoulder.

"Ah... yes." Mamouru said, looking Ami over. "I think I DO agree with you there." Ami's assertion was right, but the reasoning behind it was probably way different in the supermodel's head. While he was contemplating it, another spoonful of cake came to him and he took a careful bite, blushing a bit and smiling at Ami.

"Yes, me too. This place has been a source of trouble for me in the past but, I still keep coming back. Maybe I just like to see if it will always be that way. Surely it can't be cursed, right?" He said and chuckled.

"But, ah, isn't your schedule pretty busy? With balancing two careers, how do you have the time, Takeuchi-san?" He asked.

"You do huh? well...that's good" she smiled while feeding him another spoonful of cake. She wasnt trying to trick him, or get something out of him but she genuinely wanted to cheer him up, the dude really looked down and needed someone! Ami didnt truly understand what kind of hot water he was in, but she tried her best to ease his mind.

She grinned a bit a she tried to mess with him, trying to lighten up the mood "Oh, perhaps you like trouble? Neehh?" she winked at him before he asked her a couple of questions.

"Ah well, you know...It is busy at times but when I'm not on photo-shoots and when I dont have any active matches, there isnt much to do. Plus, I'm trying to take time off from modelling anyways...it sometimes becomes too much, you know?"she said, trying to have a genuine and serious conversation with him.

Mamouru didn't mind the spoon feeding. He was quite used to being pampered from all his girlfriends who vied for his affection before he tried to change his ways.  He took the bite and smiled at Ami as she spoke and nodded along, blushing a bit at her suggestion.

"Ahh, nmaybe you're right a bit, Takeuchi-san. I've never let fear of consequences stop me from doing something I want to." He said plainly.

Mamouru then looked over Ami and smiled. "Taking a break so others have a chance?" He teased. "I'm sure if you're ion the runway, the others can only hope to be the second best looking woman in the group."

"What about your wrestling career?" He asked. "I'm sorry you had to wrestle my brother. That is an... unfortunate draw for anyoine. However you seemed to handle Fujiwara -san quite well. Honestly... there was a part of me that was happy to see him defeated in such a manner." He added, almost as an afterthought.

"Oh really? well.....perhaps you should fear the consequences? maybe that'll cause you not to rush things " she winked at him as the two finished eating the cake, turn by turn.

Ami drank another sip from her cup of tea before letting out a light giggle and blushing a bit, her hand cupped around her mouth. "Weeell.....I guess you could say that! Haha!" she teased along with him, not boasting herself about it too much though.

""Ahhh yeah, well....I was actually happy to given a chance to wrestle against him, even though the result was not...ah nvm. " she shrugged off before smiling at the next question "Oh? you were? how so...." she said, placing her elbows on the table and her knuckles pressed against her chin.

By this point the two of them were practically hip to hip. Mamouru had inadvertently scooched closer to Ami so they looked much more like a young couple in love than coworkers having a chat. Mamouru didn't mind. He didn't have anything to worry about from Ami in this setting and outside of the ring, she seemed friendly enough. If it was an act, it wasn't really going to get her anywhere. Mamouru knew exactly how she was as a professional and thought that their paths wouldn't cross. If they somehow did, then hopefully Ami wasn't foolish enough to think her charms would work on him in the ring.

"Happy?" He asked curiously as he took a sip from his tea. That was an odd response. He'd seen the match. Skill wise, it was like Johnny had been wrestling a child. All Ami really had was her other charms and when they didn't work on his twin, the silver haired Higurashi easily dismantled her.

"And... He's dating someone I'm familiar with. I used to manage her and..." Mamouru turned his head. "Maybe I'm a petty person but any chance to see him humiliated in front of her brings me pleasure." He said. "So... Thank you, Takeuchi-san. Even though I'm sure you didn't have me in mind when you were wrestling him." He said with a smile.

Ami blushed a bit as Mamouru decided to close the gap between them. She giggled as he scooted next to her, although she didnt mind him being this close. After all, it was all just for fun and they were having a friendly conversation.

"Well yeah...happy because...well...atleast I got a match with someone who is well known in the AFW and not just wrestle with newcomers" She was finding it hard to get her point across so she just decided to dodge that bullet.

"Ahhh well....we all have our imperfections, no?" she smiled as she tapped his shoulders. "Haha no I didnt, but if I get in a match with him another time- I'll throw in a few extra moves just for you and geez Takeuchi-san? you make me sound like a married girl....call me Ami" she smiled.