The New Guy meets SEME!

Shido had exchanged numbers with Hikaru after waking up, following the ending of their previous match. He had forgotten that he worked out before their match had took place and that he was extremely fatigued during and after their match.

Shido had entered the gym and began to warm up. After getting limber and stretching, he pulled out his phone and read over the text he had sent Hikaru the night following their spar

"Yo! Hikaru, our match was awesome! Thanks for taking the time to spar with me! I'll be in the gym the same day next week. If it's cool with you, do you wanna come by and maybe have some of the other members of SEME tag along? I think it would be awesome and the practice would benefit everyone. Hope to see you in a week! "

None of them had shown up yet, but that was undrstandable. Shido had always tried to go to the gym on the relatively unpopular days, so as to avoid the crowds. He'd pass the time doing light workouts, hoping to encounter Hikaru and his team.

Shido didn't have to wait much longer to see if his invitation was accepted or not. A few moments later, the three members of SEME strolled through the door. Up in front, Mitsuru slid her sunglasses up to her head as she looked around the gym for this much-anticipated Shido she'd gotten an earful about. Anyone who could get the better of Hikaru was someone she'd like to meet, so when Hikaru told his teammates about the text, she'd insisted they show up. When she spotted Shido, she smiled and waved and lead the three of them together over to greet him.

"You must be the Shido I've heard so much about, I'm Mitsuru and this is Ryuu" she smiled sweetly, extending her hand for a brief shake. Hikaru waved and offered a short "Yo!" whereas the giant Ryuu, arms folded over his chest. simply nodded in acknowledgement.

"You really did a number on Hikaru's knee, he just wouldn't shut up about how he should have waited just a bit longer. Tell me, did you really pass out on him while you had him in the muta lock?" she asked with interest.

Shido gave Mitsuru an enthused, yet shy handshake. And gave a slight wave to Hikaru and Ryuu to acknowledge them.

"Hey, it's very nice to meet you! Shido answered.

"I did pass out on him." Earlier in the match, he got me on a pretty wicked sleeper hold. I passed out with my hand on the bottom rope, but neither of us knew if I made it there before I became unconscious, so we just kept going from there....for all we knew, I may have actually lost. Either way, being put to sleep and forcing myself back into the match took it's toll on me. But in still down to spar, today! Hikaru, is your knee all better, yet?"

"Fascinating" Mitsuru replied with glee, taking the sunglasses from her forehead and tucking them away into her gym bag. "I wanted to thank you for inviting the rest of us out to meet you as well. We'd be happy to spar with you today"

"Tch, of course it is. Gonna have to do better than that if you want to really hurt me" Hikaru laughed, swiping his thumb across his nose and a grin on his face. He'd only tapped out because he knew his own limits, knew that letting Shido continue to torture that knee was going to give him real problems later on. In truth it was still a bit sore but only acted up if he really pushed it. "Well, this is the lot of us. Pick your poison, rookie"

"I'm really glad to hear you're ok!" Shido answered.

He pointed at himself somewhat nervously. "Y-you're letting me choose? haha" he composed himself and tried to think of what he should go with.


"Well if it's ok with you guys. I already got to go up against Hikaru, and that was tough. May I spar with Mitsuru and Ryuu? We can do a handicap match."

Shido offered this knowing that the odds were stacked against him, but the challenge seemed to spark a fire in him as he smiled confidently at the thought of his idea.

"That's fine by me. What sort of handicap would you like? We could do tag or gauntlet style as well." Mitsuru asked, setting her gym bag down and stripping off her jacket. She rotated her shoulders around and did a few arm stretches while they claimed one of the open rings for their practice.

"I'll ref then" Hikaru announces, and he heads off towards the back of the gym so he can grab one of the spare folding chairs to set up ringside.

"Sounds good, Hikaru!" he said as he exited momentarily.

Shido returned his attention to Mitsuru "I thinking tag, if that's alright with you. And let's throw in a stipulation that your team must win via submission, whereas I can win in any standard fashion....I only have one concern beyond that, though....Why hasn't Ryuu said anything, yet?"

"You got a problem with that?" Ryuu chuckled as he placed his hands on his hips. Ryuu was a literal giant when standing next to the already short Shido, so he was curious what kind of strategy he was going to use. Ryuu had fought someone of his tiny stature before, and while his guts had been impressive, it hadn't been enough to combat a juggernaut like him. "I dont say much unless it's something worth saying."

Mitsuru smiled as she looked from Ryuu to Shido. "Alright, that works for us. Don't tap out too soon, alright?" she teased as she dipped under the ropes and stepped into the ring. She reached up and tied her hair back and then did a few stretches while waiting for Shido to ready himself.

"Haha, you guys are some interesting people! Let's have an awesome match! Maybe we can take a group photo, after" Shido joked. He was very happy to be making new friends.

He climbed onto the ring apron and launched himself over the top rope and into the ring! He went on to take his place in his corner and wait. "I guess now, we just wait for Hikaru to come back with the referee shirt. I'm already all warmed up, so please take all the time you need to get ready, as well." Shido remained genuinely friendly, though he was curious about who SEME would choose to start off the match first against him.

"Alright alright you crazy kids, I want a tough, clean fight" Hikaru called out in his best imitation of an old man's voice. He set up his fold-out chair and plopped down for the show.

"Great, let's begin" Mitsuru said after a few more quick stretches and squats to warm up her muscles. They'd treat this like any other match SEME was in, Mitsuru was the brains and Ryuu the brawn. She'd face Shido first to watch him carefully, playing it safe in order to figure out his style and movements, and then tag Ryuu in for some big damage.

"Ding ding ding" Hikaru shouted to mimic the bell.