Amy Poford vs. Makoto Takeda - 24/7 at the 7-Eleven

It had been a relatively quiet day at the 7/11 nestled on the outskirts of Kyoto, mostly due to the fact that there was no Tension show today. Business always picked up on a day when the show was on, especially lately. The arena was just down the street, and people would stop by to buy food before they went, not wanting to get gyped on the stadium prices. They'd fill up on gas on their way out, too, and they'd burn through gasoline three times faster than usual. A very lucrative day.

But this day wasn't like those days. It was peaceful. Until the Valkyries showed up.

A dozen motorcycles rolled in and took up all the open stations, claiming the 7/11 as their own for the time being. A few cars passed by, giving the gang annoyed looks as they moved on to find another station, but none of them bothered to do anyting about it. The twelve Valkyries took their time, filling up their tanks, talking and chatting, all dressed in their leather suits. Young, all of them, none a day over thirty years old. Some were bigger, some were taller, all looked tough and wild and ready to start shit with anyone who got in their way. And, at the head of them alL was Makoto Takeda. Their leader.

She rolled up in front of the gas station with Stone and Divine trailing behind her,  and she popped open the visor on her helmet as she passed her fellow Valkyries. "All right, bitches!" She called out, her voice carrying out to all of them as her bike rolled along. "Ten minutes to gas up, then we're moving.out. Hurry it up!"

This was one of the rare days where Makoto actually had something non-wrestling related to do - a bike rally in uptown Kyoto. Nothing big, but a couple of the other gangs would be there, and Mako needed to get in some face time. Remind people that just because she was on TV now didn't mean that the Valkyries weren't a threat on the street. They were still out. They were still riding. Kyoto was still theirs.

She pulled over to the front of the store and hit the kickstand on her bike, as Stone and Divine came up alongside her. Today, they were dressed to match, decked out in matching leather jackets with a lightning-styled V on the back. Showing teamwork, comraderie, all that bullshit Stone was constantly going on about. You'd think she'd be happy that Mako made the gang get all coordinated and uniform. But nope. Still sour.

Mako pulled the key out of the ignition and sat back on her bike, gazing Stone's way with a flat stare as she did. The former army girl had said, maybe, three whole sentences to Mako since her match with Blaise, and the rest of her communication had been entirely through grunts and hardened stares. At first, it was cute. But now, a few days later, the gimmick was officially wearing thin.

"Going inside for a drink." Mako hopped off the bike and looked up at Stone. "You want anything?"

Again, no response from Stone. She didn't even open the visor on her helmet to look at Mako properly.

"Of course you don't." Mako rolled her eyes, sighed, and nodded Divine's way as she headed inside the store, motioning to be followed in by the only one of her two lieutenants who wasn't acting like a complete bitch. "Have fun sulking. Let us know when you're ready to grow the fuck up."

The two of them exchanged glares for a moment before Mako threw her hands up and shuffled off towards the store's entrance, with Divine following close behind.

If you're a tourist, a fun, cheap way to see the city you're visiting is to get yourself lost, then try and find your way back to your hotel or hostel. The game begins when you jump onto a public transit line of your choice- subway, bus, whatever- and get off at a random stop a fair distance from your own. Of course, you'd need comfortable shoes, sturdy legs, and probably a whole day to kill. It’s also best if the country you’re in isn’t too dangerous; Japan is pretty safe, for instance. And you'd have to find urban exploration fun.

Alright, so it's not for everyone. But it was Amy’s favorite way to sightsee.

Of course, getting around would have been much easier if she’d buckled down and forced herself to learn the language, but it wasn’t impossible. All she had to do was find a subway station, for example, and it was game over; she won. And, if it ever got too late, well she had her address written down in a card in her wallet, and flagging down a taxi was as easy for her here as it was anywhere. She hadn’t ever had to resort to that yet, though.

She had hopped on the first subway in the station that morning, made two transfers, then rode for 10 stops on the first bus she saw, leaving her good and lost. Her trek took her through a business district first. The buildings here were tall, but they were guarded by surly-looking security personnel at the ground level. If she had looked and sounded more like your average Japanese woman, she might have been able to finagle her way past the security desks and onto the roofs. But she didn’t, so she couldn’t. After eating a tasty tempura lunch combo in a mall food court, she explored her way into a residential neighborhood. She walked through a shopping district, and friendly store owners smiled and yelled “Hello!” in English as she passed. She walked by a middle school and watched kids in PE clothing run around a baseball field. She climbed a jungle gym in an empty playground. She made friends with no fewer than three local dogs. She visited a small shrine. She touched a cat.

A pretty good adventure, as far as adventures went.

But by early afternoon, she had yet to see any familiar landmarks- no subway stations, no familiar bus numbers, nothing. It was still too early to be worried, but she did want to get back before dinner, and, in her experience, taxis didn’t frequent the more residential neighborhoods. She’d have to find her way back to the busier parts of town. When Amy turned the next corner, something familiar finally caught her eye: a 7-Eleven. Huh. Amy liked seeing American shops in Japan, and liked comparing how they were similar and how they were different. The burgers at Japanese McDonald’s, for example, seemed to have a lot more mayonnaise than the ones back home. Amy found herself wondering if they had Slurpee machines in Japan.  

A minute later, she found out that they did. Not only that, they had wild and interesting flavors, just as she had come to expect from Japan.

So that’s where she was when a cacophony of motorcycle engines roared into the attached filling station. Amy watched the black-clad bikers pull in as she stood contentedly in line, sneaking sips from her melon-and-Mountain Dew Slurpee, not for a moment considering the possibility that the gang outside was, in fact, the one motorcycle gang that she happened to be acquainted with. Then, when two of the new arrivals entered the store, she caught a glimpse of the face on the shorter one, and Amy froze. Damnit. And the day had been going so well, too.

Unlike the women outside, Amy didn’t have a helmet and visor to hide behind. Quite the opposite- she was wearing a pair of jeans, a slim-fitting polo shirt with a thick white and navy nautical stripe, and a sky-blue track jacket that she had tied around her waist, so there really was no mistaking her for anyone else. Her hair was even tied up in her trademark ponytail. Amy and Mako had crossed paths exactly one time before, and Amy probably didn't look too different from that first meeting.

It was too late to avoid the encounter, but maybe their little conflict could be kept to the arena. Amy didn’t think it likely, but a girl could hope. Ugh. Amy removed the straw from her mouth. “Oh. Hey.”

Fuck, Mako wanted a Slurpee. Times like this were enough to make her almost wish she had a car.

She and Divine made their way inside the store, with her partner splitting off towards the bathroom for a quick washup. Wanting to look pretty, probably trying to take a girl home with them from the rally. Normally the sort of thing that Mako would've given her all kinds of shit about, but that was before Divine started tearing it up in the ring and earning  some leeway. She was getting a better feel for the fight, developing more of a taste than even Stone. Weird how things turned out.

She started to make her way over to the freezer, ignoring the cautious glances from the cashier as she glanced over the brands.Looking to get a few bottles for the road, hoping achohol would make Stone chill the fuck down, when she heard a voice. That voice.

English, for one thing, a language she didn't hear all that much on the streets and when she wasn't handling her gang's business. A little squeaky, not much bass. Mako recognized it well enough that, by the time she turned around to see who it was, she was already smiling.

Amy Poford. Very weird how things turned out.

"Hey, blondie" Mako canted her head and started to walk Amy's way, casually strutting along. Hands at her side, nothing agressive, nice and easy. "Funny seeing you here. Out and about today?"

Amy felt an unexpected pang of sympathy for Nathan. Mako could look remarkably harmless when she wanted to. Even in her biker gear, clearly selected for its intimidation factor, Mako looked on the surface about as threatening as a girl scout. A student of deception herself, Amy found herself impressed with Mako’s talent.

But Amy tensed up all the same. She knew only all too well the cruelty Mako was capable of. The sadism Mako displayed when they were last in the ring together was impossible to forget. She was brutal against Blaise, and both she and her sidekick were brutal against that one chick in that one... butt... match... thing. If Mako was bothering to pretend to be chummy now, Amy could count on some sort of collision before their interaction was through.

“Yup, you know, day off, doing a little sightseeing. You? Out on a drive with the family?” Amy gestured with her drink out toward the rowdy women outside. The tiny elderly woman in front of Amy in line, utterly unimpressed with everything that was going on around her, finished her purchase and left the store, leaving Amy (and the increasingly agitated cashier) alone with the bike gang. Amy stepped backwards and put her drink on the counter for checkout, not taking her eyes off of Mako for an instant.

Mako looked over her shoulder as a couple of her girls filtered into the store, chatting about this and that and that and this. One of them saw her and Amy talking and shot a cautious glance their way, but she kept her at bay with a wave of the hand. Mako could have brought all the girls in with only a few yells and wrecked the whole place, fucked Amy all the way up and anyone who was stupid enough to help her...but that wouldn't get any progress, now would it? Wouldn't prove anything. No, no, Mako had this one all by herself.

"Something like that." She ripped one of the beers out of the pack and opened it up while she waited for her turn in line, earning a quick glare from the cashier. Then he decided it was in his best interest to not make eye contact and just gave Amy a sympathetic shrug. "Just rolling around, got a little rally to get to, nothing big. You should come with, ride bitch on my bike. Be a lot of fun."

She sipped away on the beer and sauntered behind Amy to stand in line behind her, trying to see if she'd turn all the way around to keep her in view. "Know you've had some man trouble, lately. Might meet a guy there who's not a total bitch. Change of pace for you." She gave Amy a little kick on the back of her heel. "Or girl. If you're into that."

Amy had to admit: she wanted to go. Amy had no idea what happened at a motorcycle rally, and she’d certainly never been to one before, or really had the chance to talk to the kind of people that attended that sort of thing. It was a rare opportunity. Had Mako been less of an enemy- heck, had she been a friendly total stranger- Amy would have happily accepted. But as things stood, getting on the back of Mako’s bike sounded like a good way to get beat up by twelve angry women then left for dead in a ditch somewhere. Still, Amy thought wistfully. Tempting.

Amy turned away from Mako to the cashier to pay for her drink. “Damn. I’m not gonna lie, Mako, that does sound like fun. But I’m gonna pass. I’m sure you understand when I say that I don’t really trust you. But thanks for the invite. Maybe next time.”

Amy stiffened when Mako nudged her in the back of the foot. She was wondering when Nathan would come up. “Actually, I’ve done some pruning recently, so the bitch levels in my life are back down to where I want them to be. Well,” Amy turned back around to look Mako in the eye. “Almost.” Amy took a step away from the counter so that Mako could pay for her beer, which, really, didn’t seem that great a choice for somebody who was about to be zooming around in a spherical cage. That was a motorcycle rally thing, right? “And thanks for your concern, but I’m all good on the dude front. No need to worry about me there.”

Damn, Amy was making Mako work for this. She'd have to stop figuratively poking her and start physically doing it, in a minute.

Mako slammed a few yen on the counter - probably not enough to pay for the beer, but then, she doubted the cashier would raise much of a fuss if she were a little bit off. Or a lot. Or if she didn't pay at all, really. Fuck it, she took the money back and snagged the case, turning back to Amy with her million-dollar-smile.

"Don't trust me?" Mako pouted, looking every bit like that was some saddening revelation. "God, you really are sore about what happened with Nathan, aren't you? That was business, babe. You don't have to take it so personally - we were doing a thing, and you got in the way of that thing. Simple."

She tapped the bottle against her chin, thinking, then pointed it at Amy. "Like, case in point, you saw what happened to your little white knight, right? Blaine...Blake? What was his name, again?"

Amy gave a sympathetic frown to the cashier, who clearly just wanted to go home. Then she turned to Mako and shrugged. "It doesn't have to be personal for you to have done me wrong. You attacked a friend of mine, obviously I'm gonna get pissed off. Would you trust the guy that tried to steal your motorcycle? Simple." Amy took a pull from her drink. She couldn't leave until Mako had left, and Mako didn't seem to be in any hurry. Sigh.

Then the conversation shifted. "Blaise." Bullshit that she didn't remember his name. His name was awesome. And she had seen that match, and she'd even met up with Blaise after; the fight had really done a number on Blaise's spirit. Amy's ire started to build. "Yeah, I saw. You guys just couldn't give him a fair fight, huh?"

Divine came out of the bathroom with a disgusted look on her face, just as some more of the girls made their way inside and began to form a perimeter around Mako and Amy. She looked confused for a moment, then she spotted who her boss was talking to and put everything together. And she smiled. Like a Cheshire Cat.

"Everything okay?" She came up behind Mako and wiggled her fingers at Amy, before moving over to join the circle.

Mako nodded, never taking her eyes off Amy, looking straight on. "Everything's cool." She sat the bottle on the nearest counter and folded her arms, looking Amy over from head to toe.Taller than her. Just barely, but taller. "No such thing as a fair fight, little girl. There's the fights you lose and the fights you win. That's it." She had a little chuckle and took a step Amy's way.

"But if you need a little further demonstration on that, me and Blaise can show you again. And again. And again..."

The clerk disappeared into a back room. Smart man. A little cowardly, maybe, to leave the little blonde girl alone with the clearly belligerent bike gang, but smart.

Amy’s eyes didn’t break away from Mako’s, but she didn’t need to look around to feel the energy crackling in the room, the open hostility emanating from the circle of women that had gradually formed around them. Valkyries occupied every part of Amy’s vision, both in front and on her periphery; tough women, each of whom seemed like they could hold their own in a one-on-one fight. Not that that mattered; Mako had straight up come out and said that there was no such thing as a fair fight with the Valkyries. Amy could rush Mako, and five fists would fly out in retaliation before Mako even had to lift a finger. Amy was in a bad spot. There was a smart move, here; the smart move would have been to back down, avert her gaze, be their little doormat today, and fight back tomorrow.

But that would be playing right into Mako’s hands. Mako wanted her unequivocal submission, to drain the fight from her, and, if she could get that by intimidation, then Mako won. Mako would hold this moment over Amy from here to the end of time, the moment in which Mako had openly threatened her friend, and Amy sat on her hands and said nothing. The thought of the unbridled pleasure that that would give Mako made Amy queasy.

Of course, Mako clearly wanted to goad Amy into a fight, too. Amy was fucked coming and going; if Mako was going to get what she wanted either way, then Amy was going choose the option that gave Mako the least satisfaction. And the one where Amy could punch her straight in the mouth. Yes, that was good. If Mako wanted control, she'd have to wrest it finger by finger, inch by bloody inch from Amy's stubborn grasp.

There was a smart move. Then there was the move that Amy made.

Amy closed the rest of the distance between her and Mako with a fearless step forward. Amy stared unblinkingly down into Mako’s eyes, her bright red and green Slurpee cup (Amy now wished that she had bought something a little less childish) down at her side. "Hey, you know, I've got a body. I feel pain. Why bring Blaise into all of this? Maybe I'll learn my lesson quicker if we cut out the middleman."