Old School Blues

Akashi stepped through the doors of the musty old bar that seemed so out of place in the hyper-neon city of Tokyo. McNally's always had a flair for the old school and Akashi always liked the place. Outside there were bikes and that also seemed to belong in a different country and a different time. It was a watering hole for gaijin, lost in Japan and their divining rods always led them to the slightly watered down draft that the anachronistic pub served.

Akashi had stopped going a long time ago. She used to come her with her long time friend and rival Sarah Gatt and the two would tie one on after a long, hard fought battle. Either between themselves or other ruffians in other clubs. Akashi laughed. She was a different woman then. She felt so old. She felt out of place here though she sometimes felt out of place in Japan as well. Maybe not Japan, but the times. She was still dressed in a long, billowing kimono, ornately embroidered with a large sash tied round her waist and the clacking of her wooden geta sandals.

When Sarah rode off into the sunset, Akashi had less of a reason to come here. Aside from that, when she started gaining notoriety, fans would figure out her schedule and while it may have brought some kind of additional business, she really didn't want that kind of attention. People that probably didn't belong, doing things they probably shouldn't be doing.

Akashi merely left it by the wayside and got lost in her new life as champion, as sister, as ... she wore a lot of hats now. Nostalgia, however, was a powerful thing and every once in a while, she would think about stopping by to see how things were going. She nevr did until now. She had rare free day where she was not busy and everyone else was. Instead of lounging at home, she decided that she might just go have a few drinks and just find some peace at a place she used to (kind of) call home.

The deafening reverberations from the customized engine of a well polished, slick black Harley Davidson echoed throughout adjoining alleyways. Window panes shaking slightly as it's trench-coated rider weaved through the seedy streets peppered with degenerate gamblers, thugs and random layabouts. D.B.'s floppy bunny ears wafted in the breeze afforded by her excessive flaunting of the speed limits, carelessly bobbing in between cars and through yellowish lights...

Driving with impunity like this always cleared her mind of what was troubling her, in this case a general malaise and lack of focus over where to take her career in AFW, and the direction of her life in general. There was air in the pipes in regards to any matches being offered, perhaps a by product of upper management being unaware of how to book a hardcore bunny biker who refused to play into the bunny girl stereotype and wear....that, outfit....like the tag team champions....

Bunny bristled at the thought, finally pulling into a quaint dive she felt she could hang her wide brim hat for the night...

...McNally's...

Scouting talent at her usual underground wrestling dive was an utter waste of time this cool Spring night, not one poor soul worth a second glance. The dismal talent nearly made her nod off in her chair. So rather then be bored to death by the fresh shed of red being painted against the concrete floors, she opted to wile her time away in a dive that had accrued a certain stigma for vicious brawls. Maybe she could attain some peace of mind with a frothy pint...or a soothing serving of sake...or by cracking someone over the head with a bar stool...or darts...

D.B. stomped through the doors of the bustling tavern with her head tucked low and her bunny ears well concealed underneath, intending to not be recognized until she could scope out the pub. Her clomping boots regrettably made her presence more noticeable, D.B. peering around her surroundings with her tattered trenchcoat billowing behind her lightly...

"Geh?"

Akashi had barely stepped through the door when her ear twitched at the sound of an obnoxious motorcycle pulling into the club. She wasn't really a fan of them, truth be told, but especially ones that just seemed to be loud for the sake of being loud. it certainly reminded her of something...

She shrugged it off, though, as she looked around for a place to sit. The crowd was giving her stares. At least, some of them. unfamiliar faces who didn't know her and wondered why someone dressed like her would even dare to come in. Akashi smirked. a good bar brawl might be just what the doctor ordered? There were some more familiar face who averted her gaze, or, at least gave her a modicum of respect when their eyes met and Akashi slowly began to move towards the bar when someone brusquely brushed past her, nearly shoving her out of the way.

Her fists tightened but she hadn't even drunk yet. She didn't want to fight before she even warmed a seat. She turned and looked at the passing patron and her brow furrowed. Something in the way the woman carried herself. Her eyes scrutinized, but before she could even collect more data, her hand was reaching out to pull at the girl's shoulder.

"If you're going to disguise yourself, you should do a better job, Sarah-sa..."

Akashi stopped as she caught the face of the new arrival. How embarrassing! She had mistaken this woman for someone else entirely. Her body language shrunk instantly and her head dipped into a bow.

"Gomen. Gomen nasai."

The distinctly quaint tavern wasn't exactly the hotbed of depraved reprobates she had anticipated. The line up of choppers parked outside had given her false hope that this expedition would at least result in some knocking of heads with a thirst quenching brew afterwards to wash the blood out of her mouth. The type of destructive showing of pure brutality and the post throw down cool off to breath the fire out of her chest....

....was something she may have to look elsewhere for. McNally's antiquated atmosphere and...touristy patrons not exactly giving D.B. high hopes for any thing more than a watered down cocktail. She huffed in disappointment from what were evidently just trumped up rumors she bought hook, line and seeker. Her fervent scouting drew her attention to every corner of the old-timey pub, a part of her already eyeing the exit as she strolled towards the-

"Hey!!"

A tug at her shoulder instinctively brought her into a combative mindset, riling her up something fierce as she pivoted in place with her clenched fist cocked back towards the poor soul...who was already apologizing profusely, bent low with no intention of doing anything other than retreating into humble concession.

After looking around to make sure this wasn't a precursor to an ambush from behind, she sighed and lowered her arm. D.B. couldn't get a look at her face but noticed the flowing kimono, not expecting someone dressed like a house mother would be willing to start a bar fight. She scoffed and took her top hat off to finally unveil her concealed bunny ears. As they bounced back up cutely, two blunt and nagging questions persisted in her head before she wanted to say anything else in her gruff tone of voice...

"Who the fuck are you...and who's Sarah!?"

'Who am I?

That wasn't a question Akashi heard very often. It was nearly bewildering as she brought her body up from its repentant bow. She looked over the girl, who looked tough as nails... or would have if not for the sproingy bunny ears that adorned her head. She looked up at them, her mouth opened but not giving the answers that the woman demanded.

"Usagi..." She breathed and then let her eyes fall. She smiled brightly, as if in recognition but gave no other indication. "That is a serious cosplay!" She chirped suddenly. She'd never seen such a unique combination of grim and adorable in her life.

"Aren't you a little ways from Harajuku though, Usagi-san?" She said, smiling brightly. "Unless... is there something I am missing out on? This place isn't usually one for ... Nihonga tradition..."

D.B. maintained her most convincing veneer of civility while the rotund and distinctly Japanese woman seemed particularly hypnotized by her floppy bunny ears, her patience for the wide eyed gawking stemming from the humble apologies she was previously showering her with. Now that she was standing tall though D.B. felt she had to rethink her earlier assumption that this chick was some demure housewife, her own quick scan and trained eye for talent immediately noticing the muscled build hidden beneath the loosely hanging kimono and layers of...well, pudge.

Though her patience stretched dangerously thin when the sumo lady kept jabbing at her as being some type of wayward cosplay enthusiast, sucking her teeth as she placed her hat back on her head only now with the bunny ears jutting out through the two gaps cut specifically for them. Bunny folded her arms and shot Akashi a piercing glare with as somber an expression anyone could muster with fluffy, elongated bunny ears sticking out of their head.

"...*sigh*...You've no idea how much it pleases me to see you get such a kick out this, but unless you-...wait..." D.B. caught herself  mid-threat, leaning intently forward with squinty eyes as if she were staring into the as sun the cogs finished turning and she put a name to the face. "...you're Akashi....Akashi Tanikaze, aren't you? Sumo Supreme and Devourer Of Worlds. Hmm...you're bigger on...scratch that, you're just as big in real life than on T.V." D.B. snidely quipped while looking down and poking at Akashi's prodigious gut with her index finger.

Akashi was glad to finally be recognized but frowned when the girl started in with fat jokes. She blew it off and even smiled. "Hai, I am Tanikaze Akashi. I'm very fat. It's nice of you to notice." She said, dismissively as she brushed aside Death Bunny's hand and decided to stroll towards the bar.

"And who are you, Usagi-san? Properly, I mean? Unless you don't actually mind the name?" She smiled. "I don't recall seeing you around and you're dressed peculiarly enough for me to have noticed."

D.B. sighed heavily when Akashi inquired as to who she was, her anonymity a curse she was still unable to shake since joining the league. There was a certain slump to her shoulders at having still not worked her way out of the mid card..

"Ya know, at this point, I've given up trying to stop people from giving me quirky nicknames. If Usagi whatever was your first guess, then by all means...besides..." D.B. would stroll up beside Akashi and seat herself on one of the wooden stools. "...the new gals have to earn the right to be known by people like you, right?" She would raise her hand to signal the bartender to come over. D.B. raised her arms to stretch her stiff spine, her bunny ears stiffly extending upwards as well before she settled back down.

"It's not much of a surprise you don't know me though. I'm not in some training dojo with your "imouto"...or insulting Great Japan's honor by...hey..." Bunny would turn to face the sumo with a stone cold glare. "...what's weird about how I dress?"

"Oh! You're in the AFW!?" Akashi perked up suddenly as DB round aboutly said insinuated that she was a wrestler. Akashi could only assume the AFW. "Ok, rookie, I'll buy you a drink, she said as she called out the bartender to bring them shots of sake.

"Weird?" She cocked an eyebrow at DB. "It sorta sticks out. And this is Japan! We're the home of cosplay!"

"ROOKIE?!" D.B. pounded her fist against the wooden bar with enough rage-fueled force to draw the attention of everyone within earshot, including the startled bartender. The livid bunny girl stood up and turned to face the jovial sumo, nearly tipping over her bar stool in the process.

"DON'T GET THE WRONG IDEA, TANIKAZE!!! JUST CAUSE YOU HAVEN'T HEARD OF ME DON'T THINK I'M SOME SNOT NOSED SCRUB OR SOMETHING!!! I'VE SPILLED ENOUGH BLOOD NOT TO HAVTA TAKE THAT KINDA SHIT FROM ANYONE!!" D.B. gnashed her teeth in her "spirited" rebuttal to Akashi's chummy offer, the sumo inadvertently touching on a particularly raw subject for the biker bunny girl...