A Day at the Mall (for Lunchador)uzz

Like many of the buildings close to the AFW grounds, the local mall was nothing to sneeze at. While it wasn't exactly a sprawling excess of commercialism like Akhibara, it was still fairly substantial, and still jam packed with every conceivable store possible. This, Makie had discovered, made it an ideal hangout...especially since being a wrestler with a company like AFW meant that you had a fairly substantial paycheck.

"We should totally hit the electronic stores after this," she said to her two brothers as they headed down the escalator towards the food court. She was wearing a simple pair of blue jeans and a loose black and white striped shirt, and two bags of recently bought clothes hung from her shoulder. Thus far, no wrestling fans had stopped to pester them for autographs...and while Makie wouldn't have minded some attention from their fanbase, Kyo would no doubt have blushed and run from his many fangirls, while Toshio would have hogged the spotlight and tried to hit on as many female fans as possible. Sometimes, she mused, it was better to remain anonymous.

"How come?" Toshio asked. "We going to get a new HD plasma for the apartment?" He was wearing a red denim jacket and black jeans to accentuate his recently-dyed silver hair.

"What? No, our current TV is fine!" Makie scoffed. "We've been holding out on a new console for long enough. We need a PS4."

Kyo sighed and absent-mindedly stretched his fingers behind his head. He was dressed the most simply, wearing a stylized black t-shirt and jeans under a loose, partially-buttoned shirt. "We've been through this already. I thought we agreed on upgrading our gaming PC instead?"

"Yeah, but I don't want to have to wait my turn while you finish chapters of Fire Emblem!" Makie retorted. "Getting a console at least gives us some variety. Besides, I don't want to miss out on Persona 5."

"You know that game's been delayed again, right?" Toshio muttered as they stepped off of the escalator. Ahead of them, the wide, busy expanse of the foodcourt awaited, and he contentedly sniffed the air. "Let's wait until after lunch before we decide where we're going next, 'kay? I hear there's a really good Mexican place around here."

Makie glanced at her brother. "Didn't we already go to that one chili place for that one party two nights ago?" she countered. "Besides, I heard there's a great English-style restaurant around here!"

Toshio gave her a sour look. "English? As in...what, fish and chips?"

"Hey, don't knock British cuisine!" Makie protested. "It's...probably a lot more than just fish and chips!"

"Riiight," Toshio muttered. "And this has nothing to do with the fact that you binge-watched the last season of Sherlock last night, right?"

Kyo sighed to himself. As usual, whenever they went somewhere, Makie and Toshio wound up bickering, and as usual, he had to play peacemaker. Personally, he had been really looking forward to this one ramen place here in the mall, but it seemed like he'd have to make compromises with his siblings, as usual.

"Look, we don't have to all go to the same place," he pointed out, "and we don't have to decide on anything yet. Let's just wander the food court until we all find something we can agree on, okay?"

For a moment, both Makie and Toshio looked like they were going to argue...until, in unison, they both slumped their shoulders, sighed, and muttered "Fine."

"Good," Kyo said with a nod. "Now come on, let's go decide on something before one of us starves to death."

It was only about the fourth group of Japanese fangirls they'd paused for pictures with, before Holly Matheson lost her cool.  Frankly, she thought she was being rather generous, with that.

"Mister," she said, sternly, "none of this is food.  I was promised food, and thus far we've seen none.  This is an issue."

Gato Blanco, froze in place, still posed dramatically for the flashing camera phones.  He cut a striking figure in his red shirt, close-cut blue jeans and vintage leather jacket.  However, none of that drew nearly as much attention as his dramatic lucha mask.  Immediately recognizable, it stood as a reminder not just to his wrestling fans, but to the music afficianados that had seen him wear it in numerous punk videos, over the last few years.  The mask that was his calling card.  The mask that Holly had protested him wearing outside of their hotel room, that day.

"H-hey," he said, dropping the pose and grinning like an idiot, "I'm just helping get us acclimated.  New country, new fanbase.  Besides," he said, taking a wide step outside of the throng of overeager fans to sidle up to his girl once again, "it's not like I'm the only one getting noticed.  Masks are one thing, lady, but you're not exactly blending into the crowd yourself, here."

Holly huffed, wrapping her arms around her chest.  Clad in a tightly-fitted white turtleneck with black tights, the Brit had noticed some eyes on her.  The couple were new faces in town, and it was fairly obvious where they could be seen, from the looks of them.  A curvy British woman and an athlete in a mask were pretty easily marked as being AFW-bound, even if they hadn't had a debut match, yet.  Still, she dug her metaphorical heels in, as her jaw slacked in faux-outrage.  "You're a swine, mister!"

"You wound me," Gato said, crossing his hands over his chest and leaning backwards in faux-injury.  "Deeply.  So deeply.  I think you actually hit that guy behind me, you cut so deep.  Besides, it's a good thing, right?"

"How do you figure?" she asked, glancing from side to side as she measured up the various eateries surrounding them.

"Publicity, lady," he replied, "that's what we need, isn't it?  If our matches are going to raise money, they need to raise interest first.  Nobody's going to be interested in donating cash to a charity match for El Generic Guy and his partner, Holly Homebody.  We need to establish a presence, right?"

"That's a decent point," Holly said, stopping her walk in the center of the food court.  "But we're in a food court, mister.  How much attention are we going to raise in a food court?"

"You'd be shocked, missus," Gato said, poking her nose teasingly with his finger as he glanced over his shoulder.  Around them, a lingering crowd was gathering, trying to get a glimpse of the Brit and the masked man.  "Now, you tell me what you want for noms.  If you can find me a decent churro in this place, I will owe you forever."

"You already owe me forever," she smirked, glancing around the length of the food court.  "Let's just hope there's something good here, you know how I get when I'm starved ..."

As the siblings headed off into the food court, three things immediately stood out. The first was that, contrary to what Kyo had first heard, there wasn't, in fact, a Korean BBQ place here. The second was that in its place, there was some strange coffee shop called "Tim Hortons," which Makie suspected of being some bizarre Canadian import. And the third was that there was a crowd forming near the middle of the court-- a large, ecstatically-shrieking crowd of teenage Japanese girls.

"...the hell?" was Makie's initial reaction.

Toshio stared curiously at the crowd. "Huh. Must be an idol group on tour," he said.

Frowning, Kyo straightened up so that he could see past all of the bobbing fangirl heads. "I don't know about that," he said. "Last time I checked, most Idol singers didn't wear luchador masks."

Makie turned in surprise to her brother. "Eh? Luchador masks? So that means they're AFW wrestlers!" She turned and stared back at the crowd a little more warily. "Huh. It's strange that we haven't been mobbed like that yet."

"That's a good thing, Makie, remember?" Kyo retorted. "I just want a quiet evening for the three of us, without having to worry about being swarmed by fans." He put his arms behind his siblings' backs to steer them. "Now come on, hopefully they haven't noticed--"

"Hey, aren't those the Akamatsu siblings?"

And then, in the blink of an eye, the mob was surrounding them. The three of them jumped simultaneously as they were swarmed by laughing, shrieking, and pleading fans.

"Makie, is it true you're going to be on the cover of--"

"That last match of yours was amazing! You're my favourite!"

"Kyoooo, can we have our picture taken with you, pretty please?"

"Can I have an autograph for me and my five friends? EEEEEE--"

"Makie, I just want to say, you're the cutest girl in Tension!"

Makie froze in place as she tried to take in the number of people around them. Normally, she was used to dealing with fans at lineups before and after matches, or on the sidelines in the actual arena itself. Being mobbed like this was a new experience for her, and...well, she'd be lying if she said a part of her didn't like it, but at the same time, it was also inconvenient as hell.

"H-hey, we're just here to get a bite to eat, you guys!" Makie protested with a smile as she raised her hands. "We'll have time to take pictures and sign photos later on at the next big match, right Kyo?"

Kyo didn't respond-- Makie saw that her overly-modest brother had turned red in embarassment after a fan had asked him which other AFW fighters he would like to date. "Eh...well that's...I mean," he stumbled as he tried to put a sentence together. Makie, of course, could only facepalm in exasperation.

In an instant, Toshio pushed his brother aside. "What I'm sure my brother meant to say," he said with a beaming smile that seemed focus in particular at the female fans, "is that we'll be all to happy to have our pictures taken, and sign anything you want...wherever you want!"

In an instant, the crowd went silent. Makie could have sworn she'd heard a cricket chirping in the background. "Who are you again?" a voice in the crowd asked.

Toshio's beaming smile instantly deflated. In mute embarrassment, the least famous of the Akamatsu siblings slunk to the back of the trio. Once again, it looked like it was up to Makie to face the crowd.

With an exasperated sigh, she pulled out her pen. "Okay, a few signiatures and a few photos, but then we're going to go have our lunch, okay you guys?" she said. The fans seemed to respond positively for this, and soon a lineup began to form. Jeez, I wonder how many of the other wrestlers have to put up with this crap? she thought to herself.

"It's the hair, isn't it?" Toshio mumbled at the back. "They just don't recognize me because I dyed my hair, right?"

With the gawkers taking a comfortable distance, Holly and Blanco were able to start making their way down the food court. While their body language seemed incredibly natural, walking side-by-side, they were still a visual oddity: the prim, proper, carefully composed young lady with her masked, red-and-leather-clad fellow. She looked like a fish out of water, trying to make her way through the crowds, and through the brightly-colored plaza of the food court. Blanco, meanwhile, was looking from side to side, soaking it all in without seeming to focus on any particular thing, besides Holly.

"It's so ... bright, isn't it?" Holly asked, looking from one bright mall sign to the next. "So much going on! I can't believe all the things, they have here!"

"This is true," Blanco replied, "kind of a lot going on. Fun fact: these exact food court signs are actually responsible for ninety percent of the world's neon gas consumption. If not for the fact that neon gas is actually a byproduct of giggling schoolgirls, the G8 would have had a summit, by now."

"You ridiculous little man," Holly laughed. Blanco had a response to that, but the mass giggling of a throng of young women completely drowned it out. The couple had been making their way toward the center of the food court, and were slowly stumbling into a growing crowd.

"What's this, now?" Holly asked, stopping in her tracks. Around them, camera phones were clicking and whirring away. They could hear loud cheers, squealing fangirls and overly-enthusiastic questions rising above the throng of heads around them.

Blanco opened his mouth to answer, but then fell silent. Instead, he listened. He could hear the questions being asked, just barely. The laughs, the awkward exchanges. He tried to edge closer, slinking past a few of the fans in the back, just in time to hear the crowd go dead silent at a horribly failed joke. He gave an exaggerated, sympathetic grimace.

"Mister!" Holly hissed, seeing Blanco making his way toward the fuss, "Mister, what are you doing?"

Gato Blanco just gave her a nod and wink, from behind his mask. He reached out his hand, offering an open grip to Holly. She took it without thinking, and he pulled her along as he pushed his way past the crowd.

"Sorry, pardon me, so sorry, thanks, nice shirt I like that, excuse me," he said with a grin, bouncing past every fan he came across until he was standing front row center, before the stars of the show. He gave a wide grin, from beneath his mask. He looked at the trio with recognition, seemingly quite pleased with who was standing before him.

Holly, meanwhile, had little clue what was going on. She looked over Blanco's shoulder, eyebrow raised in curiosity. Clearly, these people were assembled to see these three, but who were they? What was their deal? And most importantly, why were she and Blanco heading up to them now, instead of getting Holly some food?

"Hey!" Blanco called out, a broad grin on his face, "one more question, if you don't mind: do you have any plans for your next match?" Holly froze. What the hell was he doing? With wide eyes and a trembling smile, she waved. "H-hullo," she said.

"Because if you're up for it," Blanco said, "we might have one hell of an offer for you, that's going to make you and these fans rather happy! Not to mention help out a lot of people, if we play our cards right!" Blanco stood there, relaxed, casual as could be. He was clearly enjoying himself, his manner friendly, his smile genuine. Unfortunately, Holly couldn't help but stand frozen, stock-still. She clung to his arm for dear life, pressing her body flush against his shoulder. They were really doing this, she realized. They'd found some AFW wrestlers, and now they might actually be trying to make a match happen ...

At that moment, the trio had been busy posing for a photo with one cluster of young fans, smiling widely and making V-signs as the camera phones flashed. It was at this moment, though, that another voice spoke out from the crowd. "Hey! One more question, if you don't mind: do you have any plans for your next match?"

Kyo was the first to turn in the direction of the voice, and he almost jumped when he saw who it was. The man in the luchador mask he had seen earlier was in the crowd now, a wide smile visible underneath his bright mask. Next to him, clinging to the luchador's arm as though for dear life, was a more petite black haired girl, who seemed somewhat mortified to be here. Given how noisome the crowd was, Kyo really couldn't blame her.

"Because if you're up for it," the luchador continued, "we might have one hell of an offer for you, that's going to make you and these fans rather happy! Not to mention help out a lot of people, if we play our cards right!"

In that moment, Kyo's unease at dealing with crowds was forgotten. Was this luchador issuing them all a challenge, here in this food court? In that moment, the trained warrior inside of him took over, and he stepped forward, gently pushing a small cluster of stunned fans aside as he locked eyes with the luchador. "And who are you," he asked, "to make this offer?

A hushed silence fell over the food court as Makie and Toshio stepped to either side of Kyo, staring warily at the newcomers. The assembled fans were too awed to speak: here, right in front them, a challenge was being issued! They were witnessing what might be the beginnings of a tag match...possibly even the beginnings of a feud! The excitement watching with silent giddiness.

For a moment, Gato Blanco was reveling in the loose revelry of the fandom. Back in Mexico, it was common to get right in with the throngs of fans, let them embrace you or beat on you as they saw fit. It was like no other wrestling fandom in the world. And, as he was learning right here, in this food court, it was certainly not how things were done here, in Japan.

"Darling," Gato said, muttering to the girl clinging to his arm, "I do believe I may have fucked up."

"Wait, now," Holly said, her voice tightening as she tried to shoulder between Kyo and her man. "N-no, no offense intended, now ..."

"That's right," Gato said, leaning over Holly's shoulder. "No offense intended at all! You're the Akamatsu family! Dignified fighters, all of you! Even the fellow with the dye-job, there!"

"See," Holly interrupted, still trying to get acclimated, "we are trying to fight for the sake of charity, here. And we're looking for opponents that are willing to do the same. Especially ones the fans like, who can put on a good match."

"And we just thought you lot might be," Blanco said, shrugging over Holly's shoulder, "since you lot seem to be a decent sort." Holly looked back at him, mouthing the word 'we?' "I'm sorry if I got too excited when I saw you," Blanco said, "but I thought we could do some good work, together."

Kyo blinked in surprise at the sudden change in behaviour from the two Westerners. One moment, the luchador was boldly confronting Kyo and his siblings, and the next, he and his...girlfriend? Tag partner? Possibly both...were suddenly backtracking, apologizing profusely and practically speaking over one another. Wait, what just happened?


As the luchador babbled out an explanation, the three siblings stared in surprise and growing discomfort as the situation became more and more awkward. "Whoa, whoa whoa, slow down there," Makie finally interrupted, frantically her arms. "I...think we all got off on the wrong track here. None of us actually took any offence!"

"Yeah!" Toshio piped up. "I mean, Kyo may have been a little...um...intense in the way he responded to you, but he's just naturally like that!"

"Yes, I--" The eldest Akamatsu stopped in mid-sentence. "Wait, what?"

"And as for what you're offering," Makie continued, ignoring her brother's reaction, "well first off, you know who we are. So why don't you tell us about yourselves first?" The audience reacted just as she had hoped they would: their attention slowly drifted to the luchador and his lady friend, giving them a platform to make themselves known and explain their proposal without defensive stammering.

Gato and Holly looked back from one another to their prospective foes repeatedly, as they listened to the Akamatsu's explanation. The pair seemed to relax, as the Akamatsus gave them a quick run-down to settle Kyo's tense response to their challenge.

"Fair enough," Gato Blanco said, with a grin and a nod. He gave a theatrical shrug, to the amusement of the assembled fans. Holly, meanwhile, looked Makie up and down, visibly self-conscious as she sized up the younger, more slender wrestler. She crept out from behind Gato's shoulder, but still looked more than a slight bit uneasy.

"Well," Gato said, standing up to his full height, offering a warm smile and an outstretched hand to the Akamatsu clan, "my name is Gato Blanco. I've wrestled in Mexico, and then went around the world, did some stuff ..."

Holly perked up, at her man's modesty. "Stop that mister," she muttered, before continuing. "This is Gato Blanco. He's from a legendary wrestling background. The son of Blanco Tigre, Jr., the grandson of Blanco Tigre. He's held the Mexican Cruiserweight Championship, the Welterweight Championship ... He's unmasked El Jefe Grande and Diva de los Muertos, and now he wants to work his magic here in Japan! He's talented, athletic, unpredictable ... I promise, he's like nothing you've ever faced in the ring, before!"

Blanco's shoulders shifted, under the weight of the praise. "And this," he said, waving his hand toward Holly, "is Holly Matheson. Super popular face on the U.K. Indy wrestling scene, as well as the YouTubes and the Twitch, she's ready to make her in-ring debut! She's well-trained, talented, gorgeous, and she wants to test herself against nothing less than the best talent AFW has to offer! Which is what makes us so happy to have run into you!"

"If you lot are willing," Holly said, leaning out from behind Blanco, "we'd like to get our first AFW match as a charity event. That way, we'll not just be using our good names to fill seats, but to get the fans to invest a little in a worthy cause!"

"You folks seem like a good sort," Blanco continued, "so how does that sound? We make a match, us against two of you, set the stakes to benefit a good cause, maybe get some fans- like these good folks, surrounding us all anticipatory- to put something in on it. Seems like everyone wins, to me. What do you say?"

After that quick explanation, the tension subsided. Kyo visibly relaxed, and Makie breathed a sigh of relief as a potentially awkward, or even hostile, situation was averted (although she found it a little odd the way the British girl was looking her over anxiously. She didn't know what the girl had to be anxious about-- if she was comparing the two of them, then Makie felt practically flat-chested compared to her).

Then, from out of nowhere, the two newcomers exploded into motion and fanfare. The three Akamatsus watched in collective disbelief, confusion, and impressed silence as the two newcomers announced their names, declared their feats, and told them of their grand proposal. As they spoke, the crowd grew tighter and larger, and the fans began to murmur excitedly among themselves.

"Huh," Makie said, half to herself. "So, wait, you're on Twitch? You aren't that girl who did that awkward livestream of MGS5, are you?"

"Kinda off topic, sis," Toshio whispered to her.

For a moment, Kyo was quiet as he thoughtfully rubbed his chin, continuing to look down at Gato's outstretched hand. "I don't doubt that you and your tag partner are the tough fighters that you say you are, Gato Blanco," he said, loudly enough so that the crowd could hear as well. "And I don't doubt that you're sincere about wanting to fight for a worthy cause. But what I want to know is...which charity? There are hundreds of worthy causes to fight for, so which one?"

The couple felt the tension lifting in waves, as the Akamatsus relaxed.  Things had been tense for a moment, but now this was clearly the lucky encounter that Blanco had hoped it would be.  Solid workers, and the sort that could draw a crowd.  It wasn't exactly bright arena lights, but having an audience for an impromptu food court promo was hardly something to sneeze at.

"I am," Holly said, face reddening a bit at Makie's comment, "and my livestreams aren't awkward.  I was both nuclear and wild, I'll have you know."  The Brit bit her lip, slightly, her self-consciousness heightening, a bit.

Blanco opted to try redirecting, as his hand hung in the air between the lot of them. "Good question," he said, in response to Kyo.  "And I'm glad that it sounds like you're on board!  Holly and I have a number of charities we've supported, over the last year or so.  Amnesty International, Doctors Without Borders, Sister Feliciana's Home for Wayward Children, Red Nose Day ... Let me tell you, guys, keeping a big red clown nose on through a ladder match is tough work!"

"We can give the proceeds to whatever cause you feel is right," Holly interrupted, trying to shake the doubts out of her head.  "Any of the ones Gato listed are good, or anything that might be close to you all.  Out of consideration for our being welcomed to Japan, maybe we could do something to benefit Japan?"

"There you go, missus," Blanco said, nodding.  "Perhaps the relief effort for the recent Japanese earthquakes?  Maybe Doctors Without Borders?  Then, we could get some much needed funding to the rescue personnel who are still trying to help the poor people affected by that crisis?"

Holly nodded, looking a bit more bold.  "This country has already been so kind to us," she said, looking out to the assembled crowd, "and we'd love to give something back!  We could wager a certain amount to the charity for the match, the losers even giving up their whole checks, for charity.  And if you're willing, we could let the fans in on it, too.  Open up wagers, for what they'd like to see us try to pull off in the match.  Pledging a certain amount, to see specific feats in the ring!"

"Sounds good to me!" Gato said, grinning.  "So, what do you say?  And, more importantly, which of you three would we be facing, for a match like that?" Blanco said, his hand still stretched out to the Akamatsus.  Holly nodded, reaching out from around Blanco's side to offer her own hand, to their potential opponents.