Hardcore Reunion

River Styx was bored. She hated being bored, but nonetheless, here she was, sitting on a stool in a cheap bar, hoping she might find a girl too take home for the night. So far, no luck.

She really shouldn't have been surprised. Luck hadn't exactly been on her side lately. Hadn't been with her when she lost to Angel, after beating the skinny little bitch all over that arena in Mexico. Hadn't been with her when she got in that match with Taylor and Julia, where she got pinned out of nowhere. Sure as fuck hadn't been with her when she had her #1 contender spot screwed over by Lukretia and Adrian.

Lady Luck was an extremely vindictive bitch. "Another."

The only real upside to her life at the moment was that money was good. Summer Splash - God, what a stupid name - had given her quite a lot of money to play around with, which was good since she needed a new place to stay after being kicked out of the arena. She was in a semi-decent apartment now, and she could afford it and still have a little money left over for casual inebriation, which she was currently partaking in.

The bartender filled up a glass with some Japanese beer that had a name Styx couldn't remember at the moment, then slid it down to her. She started on it right away, taking a few gulps as she scanned around the room. Not a lot of interest in the big, bald gaijin sitting by herself at the bar by herself. Just a bunch of fucks getting drunk in one of Tokyo's dingier bars, and some skinny bitch trying her hand at a lame pop song on the karoake. Failing miserably, too.

Another lonely night in the works. She was getting used to them.

Liberty felt energized. She'd won the first match after her six month hiatus in convincing fashion, and being back in Japan was starting to seem like it could be a fun fresh start rather than a backwards step. Reforging her place in this country would still take some hard work... but luckily she knew some shortcuts. Her old friend River had been sticking it out, and Liberty was dying for a catch-up. Slotting back into Styx's life would provide some much-needed familiarity for her, and of course, having a 220lb woman by your side could hardly hurt in a place like AFW.

Step one was finding her. That probably meant a dive bar. She caught a glimpse of that shaved head in the second one she checked.

Liberty smiled to herself. Predictability had its merits. The black-haired anarchist sidled into the dark drinking hole quietly, pleased that she hadn't been seen for now. She couldn't wait to see the look on Styx's face when she surprised her. Liberty eyed the karaoke machine and wondered if she should select something appropriate to the occasion... then immediately rejected the idea. Christ, Aisha must have rubbed off on her some, she sure as hell wasn't a performer. She'd stick to what she liked. Namely, violence.

She'd been carrying the glossy AFW magazine which had headlines from all the recent Summer Splash developments. She rolled it into a tight club and, approaching Styx from a shadowy blind spot, playfully bopped the taller woman on top of her bald head with the magazine.

"What the fuck's all this, then?" Liberty grinned, tossing the magazine onto the bar.

When Styx felt the light slap against the back of her head, she immediately stood up and knocked the barstool away. She didn’t ask questions. She wasn’t confused. She didn’t much care who was stupid enough to pick a fight with her during one of the rare times when she wasn’t openly antagonizing anyone and completely minding her own business. She’d been attacked, which meant she had an opportunity to make the night exponentially more interesting.

She spun around, got ready to fight, but immediately paused when she heard the familiar voice and found herself looking into the deep, grey eyes of Liberty Vella. Styx cocked her head to the side, blinked, and then she did something she almost never did: she smiled. A warm, genuine, happy smile.

Styx let out a loud, booming laugh and reached forward with open arms. ”Come here, you stupid bitch!” Styx reached out, wrapped her arm around Liberty’s neck, and pulled her in for a fierce, smoldering kiss, not caring if they got the attention of the entire bar. Which they were.

Liberty had been braced for a reaction, watching keenly for a swinging fist, vicious elbow, or any of the myriad ways Styx would likely respond to a sneak attack. She was ready for anything... except maybe the passionate hug and kiss that followed Styx's laugh of recognition.

Her tense body soon softened as the skinhead pressed against her. After a moment's hesitation, her lips pushed back eagerly, and her hands reached around Styx's broad shoulders for an affectionate hug.

This was nice. Styx was taking up most of her senses at present, but somewhere in the background, Liberty registered a faltering note from the karaoke.

Her hand snaked down and gave a playful squeeze of Styx's butt, before she pulled away.

"Wow." Liberty smiled affectionately. "Good to see you too!"

"Hey, that beer doesn't taste too bad, maybe I'll have a..." Liberty stared at the incomprehensible labels, as she tried and failed to decipher what it was . "Um, yeah, a beer..." she signaled to the barman.

Okay, so, maybe shoving your tongue down your friend's throat wasn't the normal way to react after seeing them again after such a long time, but Styx was by no definition a normal woman. All she knew was that she could count all the people in the world she would describe as a 'friend' on one hand, and she wouldn't even need all the fingers. Having one of those people back in her life was more than welcome.

After they reluctantly parted, Styx sat on the stool and waved at the bartender. <"Korofune Porter, bring two bottles and leave them."> She spoke in decent Japanese, then leaned back on the bar and looked over her returning friend. Liberty, as usual, looked like a tough, dirty, rough bitch that you didn't want to fuck with. Just the way River liked her.

"Now," She reeled back and gave the former champion a playful punch in the shoulder. 'Playful' for Styx was about as hard as most people's regular punches, though. "Where the fuck have you been hiding?" She held up the magazine with a cocked eyebrow. "And what about this? You got an opinion you'd like to share?"