Clash In The Skybox (Emi and Army meet)

A man dressed in a smart black suit with white hair paced across the interior of the VIP Skybox, carrying a fragile looking cardboard box in his hands. "The dessert you requested, Ms. Emilia."

A girl was resting in the armchair, surveying the match down below the Skybox. Her face was slumped against her open palm, her legs draped in tight dark leggings and crossed over. She wore a pink sweater that exposed her shoulders and fell to her waist, finishing with a pair of silvery heels. She tilted her head up to the butler, her expression of muted interest. "Thank you, Henry." The girl said, not even blessing her servant with a smile as she took the box from his hands. Of course, he was used to her cold, indifferent nature. In fact, compared to her opponents, the butler felt rather lucky in treatment.

Except for the times that she decided to tease him for her own amusement...which was quite a bit. In that regard, he was relieved every time she scheduled a match. It gave her someone else to focus on, a new target she could subject to whatever humiliation she desired.

Emi opened the box and smiled, pulling out a delicate slice of strawberry cake and a small, but decorated metal fork. She picked the utensil up and cut into the smooth texture, taking a piece into her mouth as she watched the events in the ring unfold. The match was one on one, a female vs a male. A typical Tension League match. Recently, she had taken to watching the other competitors in her spare time to spot new opponents for herself.

Well, spare time wasn't quite the correct term, as this was all for the purpose of enhancing her career within the league...and the wrestling world itself. One had to know the style of their foe in the ring if they stood a chance of victory...not that Blaise and Ataru had been particularly difficult opponents. On the contrary, they were rather more like punching bags to the Silver Scorpion. This particular pair seemed more engaging, but there were one...actually, two details Emi was missing about them.

"Henry, what are their names?"

Her servant shifted awkwardly, a sign that she knew meant she wasn't going to be pleased with his answer. "Um...f-forgive me, milady. With the errands you've had me running recently, I didn't acquire a chance to find out the names of these individuals..."

She turned her head around with a silent, but fierce glare, one that actually made Henry turn pale. Her eyes flashed with displeasure and agitation. "Do you take pleasure in watching me stride into a match unprepared? The reason Ataru and Blaise crumbled before me is because they had no idea who they were up against. But unlike them, I'm not so naive to make such a foolish mistake. Or..." Her sharp fingernails dug into the plush material of her armchair. "maybe you believe otherwise?"

"O-Of course not, Ms. Emilia..." Henry stammered, recoiling away from his mistress even though she remained seated. He knew who held the authority...the power here. "I-I'll find out their names immediately, I swear it!" The Silver Scorpion gave an impatient huff, as Henry hastily made a beeline for the door.

Nearby, there was something you typically didn’t find on the streets of Japan making its way up the stairs - a large, muscular Hispanic man. Also, a tad grumpy.

Army wasn’t supposed to be at the Friction arena tonight. While he did usually catch episodes of Tension - ones that weren’t chock full of shitty hentai matches, anyway - he typically was at home for it. With a bowl of popcorn. Sodas. Maybe his girlfriend by his side, if she wasn’t busy. A bathroom nearby that he didn’t have to travel through throngs of people and wait in line to use and didn't reek of bodily fluids. The many joys of being at his own apartment.

Not the case tonight. Tonight, he was at the arena. All because of Felina and her match

”Felina, Felina, Felina.” He muttered under his breath as he moved to the side and let a couple of giggling girls pass by on their way down. Felina had beef with the Takeuchi siblings, he understood that. Carmen was coming down to her match to help out, when they inevitably tried to screw her over, he understood that.  What he didn’t quite understand was why Carmen felt the need to drag him off the couch for it. Moral support?

Family. He thought one of the nice things about coming out to Kyoto was getting some space from Puerto Rico, but parts of it were starting to find their way back to him.

He brushed it off with a sigh and made his way up the final stairwell to the Skybox. If he was going to be here and watch this, he’d get some real mileage out of the VIP pass.

He came into the Skybox as the match began to reach the minute mark, taking a look around. He didn’t exactly look like Skybox material - baggy jeans, black Timbaland boots, a Superman t-shirt, pretty much what he wore anywhere else. He wasn’t nearly as good a fit as the cute girl in an armchair nearby, talking with the guy he assumed was her butler.

Huh. An actual butler. Army had never seen a live one before.

"I-I'll find out their names immediately, I swear it!" The butler whimpered, like his boss would lop off her head if she didn't get some satisfaction. Poor guy. Army could help.

”Daisuke’s the guy. Takeuchi.” Army spoke as he passed them by and grabbed a plate, starting to fill up at the salad bar. ”Felina Rodriguez is the girl. And my cousin.”

Henry nearly hurtled full on into the Hispanic man entering the Skybox. Not that there would have been much of a collision - one could tell even with his baggy clothing that he was very muscular, and therefore Henry's more petite frame would have likely just bounced off him and sending the butler tumbling to the ground. He only just managed to skid to a halt, taking deep breaths of relief as the man moved around him.

Emilia tore her eyes away from the match to lay them upon the newcomer. The girl's visions wept over him, taking in every detail...what little there was. His clothing didn't speak much for him, but as Henry had nearly discovered, he seemed to be much more robust under the pieces he wore.

"Daisuke Takeuchi..." She murmured thoughtfully. "That name rings a faint bell. Henry?"

Her servant had finally managed to regain his composure, drawing himself up to his full height. "Ah, I believe they call him the Wrestling Prince, Ms. Emilia. His family has quite the legacy of pro wrestling throughout their history...in the blood as it were. He's quite a prominent figure here in Tension."

Well, at least he had managed to redeem himself. Emilia gave a look of contempt down at the man standing in the ring, who carried himself with a clear haughty posture. "Hmph. He must be quite bold to declare himself a prince of this sport..." She leaned forward, intrigued by the man and keen to see his skill on full display.

But Henry has his attention upon another individual. Specifically, the Hispanic man currently indulging in an assortment of greens at the bar. "Um...pardon me, sir, but you said the female competitor...Ms. Felina Rodriguez, was your cousin...?"

"Henry." The butler flinched, feeling the harsh glare of his mistress sear into his back, as if her very eyes had burned his body. "No matter how important you feel your duties, know that I would never approve of you placing your manners to the side."

He gave a gulp. "O-Of course, Ms. Emilia...I forgot myself. I beg your forgiveness." Henry bowed curtly in front of the other man. "And yours too, sir. My name is Henry, a servant to the young mistress seated here before you."

"I am Emilia Hawthorne, the Silver Scorpion and recent arrival to the Tension League." She drew her eyes away from the match to gaze at the other man. "It's a pleasure to meet you...Mr...?"

As Emi and Henry spoke, Army began to feel a great swell of pity for the poor butler. Sure, he was being paid, but this wasn’t a Bruce Wayne/Alfred sort of set up. It seemed like his master - or mistress or employer or  whatever the official term was - had him by the balls. Just to look at her, she didn’t seem all that bad, since no one looked all that threatening in a pink sweater and high heels. But the words that came out of her mouth and the way Henry seemed to tiptoe around every word.

Army brushed it off as he load up at the salad bar, slathering some ranch dressing over his whole selection. He could see Emi checking him out from the corner of his eye, and at first he took it as a good thing. After all, even if he wasn’t on the market anymore, he still appreciated the attention. But, on second glance, it wasn’t attraction he saw in her eyes. She gave him the same look you’d give to an ant you just noticed on the floor, as if he was a minor pest she briefly considered squashing.

”Yeah…” He shrugged it off and moved away from the bar to the fridge, stepping around the needlessly fancy chairs on the way. ”’Bold’ and ‘prominent’ aren’t the words I’d use for them, but yeah, they get into a lot of things around here. And Friction, too, so they’re equal opportunity jackasses.”

He plucked out a cold Coke and made his way back. ”You’re all right, dude.” Army waved Henry off and took a seat next to Emi. There wasn’t anyone else around, he might as well. Besides, she had a cool nickname, she had to be at least a little interesting.

”Armando Rodriguez, chica.” He held out his hand for a shake. ”Welcome to the madhouse.”

“So this Daisuke isn't the only member of his family in this federation, then?” Emi inquired. If he was that active, surely it was only a matter of time before she himself clashed with him. The mere thought of toppling such a 'prince' made the Scorpion giddy at the mere thought. For now though, she stowed her excitement away as the man settled into a chair beside her, introducing himself to her. For a moment, Emilia stared at his hand as if unsure what to do with it. She hadn't intended to be disturbed this way...but then, the VIP Skybox was open to anyone considered a VIP.

But if this guy qualified as such, she wondered exactly where the line was drawn.

Despite that thought, she took hold of his hand and shook it graciously. “Hm. A madhouse, you say?” The girl let out a coquettish giggle. “Well, in that case I'll be right at home here. My home country's federations are...so very boring. But Tension has been quite invigorating to partake in so far.” She broke her hand away from him, as a sheepish Henry stood at her side. Armando's actually decent treatment of him was the first he had experienced in a long while, and as such, he wasn't quite sure how to respond. But Emilia paid no attention to her servant, only focusing her attention on the man in the chair next to her.

“So, Mr. Rodriguez...” She leaned across the arm of her chair, a finger to her chin. Her tone held a superior air to it, that suggested he was lucky she even deemed him remotely remarkable enough to engage in conversation. Luckily (Or perhaps, unluckily) for him, Emi tolerated any individual who could offer her information. “You seem rather knowledgable concerning this federation. Tell me, how long have you been a part of AFW?”

There it was. The room fell silent. You could feel the chill in the air. A shiver ran up Army’s spine, as his hand hung in the air with nothing to show for it.

A lonely handshake. Was there anything sadder?

Emi did, after the most awkward moments in recorded history, finally shake Army’s hand, and he couldn't help but note how deft a touch it was. Soft, supple, silky skin, the kind that probably hasn't been truly dirty more than a couple of times, if that much. It certainly fit the profile he was rapidly starting to draft of the Escorpion de Plata. There was a weird aura about her, a way she spoke, like she owned everything in the room, including you - you just didn't know it yet.

In fact, she was oddly familiar…

He shrugged it off as she asked him a question, snapping his attention away from the match. He didn’t need to focus too much on it, fully expecting Felina to knock Daisuke senseless. ”Yeah, I was a bit of a fan before I came here, about a year ago. Kept up with it a lot, still try to.” He fumbled around with the seat for a moment, before he figured out how to make it recline and bring the foot rests out. ”Oh, that’s nice, there we go.”

Army enjoyed a nice, long fresh breath as he turned to Emi one more time, and it was then that the familiarity finally sank in. ”Hey, I remember you, now. I think I saw a little of your match....” He poked his fork into the bowl and started to nibble on a tomato slice. ”Well, a little. Saw you sitting on some dude’s face, changed the channel. No offense, not my bag.”

Hm, so he wasn't a newcomer like the Scorpion herself, but he wasn't quite as rooted in the federation as some of the other wrestlers hanging around. Hadn't Ataru apparently been around for quite some time, her second opponent? Normally, she'd take it as a great compliment to have a match against such a veteran...but Ataru had the fighting prowess of a sloth. In contrast, Army was newer but Emi was starting to get a sense that he was more than just muscles with a brain. Still, his dress sense was rather apathetic, but then a lot of men were like that.

"Personally, I find it critical to know the current activities in a league. Henry here is like a fountain of knowledge who I trust to deliver what information I need to prepare for a match..." She turned her head over her shoulder, cursing him with a look of disdain that caused him to gulp loudly. "But on this rare occasion, he has failed me. Well, he is only a man, of course. Perhaps I should expect a misstep here and there."

Emilia listened to Army make comments about her most recent match, the one in which she had broken Ataru like a toy she had played much too rough with. Her dessert in one hand and fork in another, she began to slice through the creamy texture with the side of her utensil gently...and then harshly when Army finished his sentence. "Oh, none taken. I'm sure you would have appreciated it far more had you been in the audience...or perhaps in that 'some dude's place'." And with that, she locked her eyes onto his own, hers glazed with malice and a subtle hint of insanity.

Her fork stabbing down into the slice of cake, Emi lifted it to her soft lips and consumed it. She chewed lightly, delicately, and then swallowed. Her lips curled into an angelic smirk, but the way she did it was slow and purposeful. And she gave a cruel-sounding giggle that would make the hairs on the back of anyone's neck stand up. "Well, I can assure you that even if you didn't finish watching the match, my opponent certainly learned the foolishness of facing a Scorpion in battle. Like the prey believing it can outmatch the predator. Silly, don't you think?"

Army had to admit, when Emi gave her the look - that heart-crushing, hellish, ‘I will devour your soul with a silver spoon’ look - and accompanied with her possession giggle, he got a bit wigged out. Tried not to show it, really tried, but he did flinch. Just a little. And this woman had Henry’s balls 24/7? Damn. Rough.

He got it back together soon enough and regained some composure, straightening up his posture as he slurped down another tomato. ”Pretty sure I'd never be in that position, babe. Cute thought, though.”

Okay, that wasn’t true, he had been in that position before. But it was complicated, it had been a while, and he wasn’t giving Emi the satisfaction of knowing it. He just had to hope she didn’t go looking through his past matches at some point and see a rather unflattering one he had with a certain redhead named Ro.

”Anyway, I guess I get the whole scorpion/insect/prey metaphor you’re going for, but I think a lot of that comes from the guys you’ve been fighting. See, there’s two sorts of guys in Tension.” He pointed the fork her way with a little smirk. ”You’ve got the weak string beans who just come around because they get a kick out of women beating them up, and then you’ve got the guys like me. Guys who can, you know…” Army threw a quick jab at Henry, just tapping him in the side. Nothing too hard. ”...actually fight and win matches." He shrugged and punctuated his statement with a bite of lettuce. Hated to down his own gender like that, but it was the fact of things.

"If you want to really start moving up around here, you need to take on the latter." Army slightly shook his, the barest hint of disapproval. "Sounds to me like you've been going up against more of the former."

Emilia was used to picking up the more subtle details in a person's body language than the average person. She had a natural talent for reading people, and so Army's flinch did not go unnoticed by her. The Silver Scorpion made him nervous...as he should be, being in her mere presence. Of course, she had to give him credit for bouncing back and retorting. Mind you, Blaise had been full of that, but the end result was the same; Emi victorious and her foe lying down battered and crushed.

She listened to his little monologue with a neutral expression. She did not smile, look angry or even a bit disheartened by what the male was saying. Henry on the other hand couldn't help but jolt when Army struck him on the side. Sure, it wasn't a direct strike with barely any force behind it...but the butler had endured enough physical trauma from his mistress that any kind of contact with a fist...or heel, made him nearly leap out of his skin.

"Well, I have to disagree with you there, Mr Rodriguez." She said dismissively, waving his opinion away as if it was nothing more than hot air. "I don't know if you saw the latest 'Breaking The Tension!' episode starring yours truly, but I personally believe all men are the same internally...no matter the shape of their exterior." She cast her gaze over his body with an almost hungry expression. "I've trampled upon countless men heavy in muscle and bravado, and they were clearly enjoying themselves by the end of it." Or at least, that was how she interpreted their miserable squeals. Much like pigs wallowing in filth.

"I have a way of exposing such men. And that makes me relish going up against them in the ring." Her eyes lingered upon Army with that same predatory look. "From my own experience, I find those types of males tend to have more to...shatter~" Another icy giggle. "In both body and spirit."

In the back of Army's head, far behind all the stuff about Amy and movies and comics and video games, there was a small voice warning him about the path he was clearly going with Emi. He'd been down this road before, and it always led to a dead end that saw him biting off more than he was willing to chew. On one hand, it wasn’t the best idea. Certainly not the smartest.

On the other hand, though, it did seem like it would be fun, and the idea of taking the wind out of Emi’s sails greatly appealed.

”Don’t call me ‘Mr. Rodriguez, it’s...weird.” Especially since he was so used to hearing people call his Dad that at the gym. Army’s father was the last person he wanted to think of at the moment. ”And I don’t watch much reality TV. Not much TV at all, really. Training takes it up.” Army gave his arm a good slap, emphasizing the biceps.

”Look, not calling you a liar or anything, but I know the whole bag of tricks. There are some tough girls in Friction, but you…” His eyes locked onto hers for a moment, not sure what to make of the borderline-evil look she had. ”Okay, case in point.” He smirked and leaned forward, getting a little wild glint in his own eye. ”Say we have a match, and I catch you in a bearhug from behind. Capture your arms with it, squeeze you tight, trying to make you tap or nap. How do you get out? Can you?”