Ghost of Angels Past

Though Kishima was perfectly willing to help out if she could, inwardly she had expected that Chris would probably decline her offer. And she respected that Chris wanted to deal with the problem herself. But the part about Hibiki Izayoi came as more of a surprise.

“Hibiki? I think I remember her...” Kishima tapped her chin and looked up toward the ceiling for a moment. A vague image of a scantily clad, purple haired woman with a tattoo of a dragon on her leg came to mind. She’d never competed against the woman, nor had they ever spoken as far as Kishima remembered. All she could recall was that unclear image, and a flash moment or two from matches she’d seen.

“Can’t say I ever knew much about her really. But if she’s got a bone to pick with former Angels, I’ll definitely keep my eyes out. Thanks for the heads up,” she replied.

Chris took another drink as she listened to Bomber Kishima talk.

"Anytime." the American replied to her thanks. "To be honest, it would be good to have an extra set of eyes keeping a lookout. Hibiki always seems to strike when people are at their weakest, generally after hard fought matches."

She studied her drink for a moment before adding "What a bitch..." softly. The outburst of vulgarity from the usually calm and well spoken blonde gave a hint to the undercurrent of anger she felt towards Hibiki Izayoi.

Kishima may not have really known Chris all that well as a person, but even she picked up on the unusual curse that left the blonde’s lips. Even during their intense match for the championship when plenty of heat-of-the-moment banter had been exchanged, Chris’ words had always been clean as a whistle.

“How much do you know about Hibiki?” she asked. “I mean, just about everyone from those days has axes to grind, but against the whole roster? That seems pretty extreme. Any idea what might’ve set her on that warpath?”

Chris pondered the question, and not for the first time. She had often wondered what could fill Hibiki with such hate. It couldn't have been the collapse, for if memory served, Hibiki had left the company before then.

"I...don't know. Not for sure." Chris confessed. "She left before the Wrestle Angels closed it's doors. She was one of many talented women, that much I remember. During my title reign, when the President was doing most of the booking personally for championship matches, I made a list of people I thought would be great contenders. People that I felt had an equal or better chance of beating me. Your name was on it. So was Hibiki's, Minami Yoshimi, many others. It was...a long list."

She gave a wan smile at the memory.

"But, none of those names were used. Or at least never given a fair shot." Chris concluded sadly. "Hibiki never really got a fair shot at anything really. Part of it might have been the fact she was so intimidating. Her size combined with a mean streak in the ring scared some of the girls. But if that's the reason, her grudge should be with the President....or me, his 'pet'."

She said the word pet with distaste before taking another drink then saying' "But to hate a whole league of wrestlers? That's just insanity...."

“Hmm...” Kishima tapped a finger against the table while she digested everything Chris said. Yes, lots of women had gripes against other Angels alumni or the company itself once it had closed down. But for Hibiki to have abandoned ship even before that, and still have such a grudge, something must’ve happened.

Chris’ theory seemed more than plausible. Kishima had been more than a little frustrated when the company had suddenly started putting up obstacle after obstacle to keep her from getting back to the top of the proverbial mountain. But how much worse would she have felt if she’d never been given an opportunity to start climbing in the first place? She could only imagine how infuriating that must’ve been, but again, Chris was right. The roster had had next to no say in what management did. Kishima could attest to that herself, as could many others.

“Yeah... Then again, jealousy can be a powerful thing.” Assuming jealousy was Hibiki’s true motivation, at least, which didn’t seem unlikely. “And coupled with insanity, that’s a hell of a combination.”

Part of Kishima’s mind told her now might not be the best time to dwell on such troubling thoughts. So she smiled, and tried to lighten the mood back up a bit. “I’ll keep a look out, as should you. But I’m sure a couple of tough gals like us won’t have any problem taking care of ourselves,” she said with a friendly wink.

It was right about then that Kishima glanced up at the clock and noticed it was getting close to one o’clock already. She blinked in surprise, then pulled her jacket sleeve up to check the watch on her wrist to make sure she’d read the clock right. She had.

“Oh wow, time really flies by, huh? I should probably be getting back home soon,” Kishima said with a small laugh, before extending a hand across the table to offer a handshake. “Oi, it really was good to see you, Chris. I’m glad we had a chance to talk. Just sorry we didn’t do it sooner. But lets do it again sometime. Hell, maybe you can come with me to a Giants game.” And now her mind was back to square one again, finding it incredible that she was here, with Chris Morgan in a casual setting, just drinking and chatting like they were long lost friends catching up. If you went a week back in time and told any former Angel or Wrestle Angels fan this would be happening, they’d either laugh or think hell had frozen over. Yet here they were.

After that she’d pick herself up from her seat and smile while sending a friendly wave the tall blonde’s way. “See you around!” she said, before turning and taking her leave from the bar so she could get back home. Today had been...well, one of the more interesting days of her career since joining the AFW. Old bridges had been mended, and it seemed she might’ve made the must unlikely of friends. Quite a bit she could feel good about when she laid her head down to go to sleep tonight.

With a smile, Chris nodded at Kishima at her

"Well, we're certainly bigger and tougher than most other girls." the American replied.

When the other woman commented about the hour, Chris's eyes widened. She had totally lost track of time during her talk with the Bomber! Granted, it just meant she would be getting back home a little late, but still, this had been a pleasant diversion.

"It was good. I'm glad we had a chance to talk, really glad." Chris replied, raising a hand in farewell. "And if we do catch a baseball game, the first beer is on me...."

Finishing her drink, Chris had to admit, if someone had told her at the start of the day that she would meet with, and then have a friendly conversation with Bomber Kishima, she would have laughed in that person's face. But, here she was.

Standing up, she paid the tab, a smile on her face the whole time.....