Wolf In Sheep's Clothing

Score.

Total. Complete. Score.

On the outside, Pray was keeping things cool and copacetic. He took the address with a smile and a wave, looking over the sheet of paper like she’d given him something valuable and rare. Which she had, in a way.

On the inside, he was doing back flips. This was so not the way he’d expected his day to go, but he wasn’t complaining in the least. Meet a cute girl, get invited back to cute girl’s apartment, then, well...Pray was hoping for more than tea. But he could play the longer game. If need be.

”I’m sure I’d find my way to you eventually.” He started to make his way out, giving her one, final look over as he passed. Couldn’t wait to see what she was hiding under all of that. If her body was as pleasing as her face and personality, it would be a treat. ”Catch you tonight, Rizu-chan.”

After dropping what he hoped was the proper honorific, Prayuth made his way out, turning it into a bit of a rush as soon as he was out of her eyesight. He wanted to get his day totally cleared before tonight, get any distractions out of the way, and that was what he went about. With a few calls to his agent, everything was squared away for the next twenty-four hours, nothing would require his attention.

So, when he turned up at Rizu’s doorstep later that night, he was a man with no time bogging him down. He stood there, wearing his jeans, black shirt, bomber jacket - casual, but not too casual. Wanted this to be personable, but still show that he had some class about it. Under his arm, he carried a box of chocolates he’d picked up on the way. Felt like he should get her a little something, but flowers were too on the nose. This was nice, but could be taken in different ways. Plus, if things went really well, they could enhance certain experiences.

After a quick check on his phone to make sure his hair was suitably coiffed, he gave her doorbell a ring and stepped back, waiting for Rizu to arrive.

As much as Rizu was looking forward to her night with one of Tension’s newest stars, it was still a while even after Pray left that she was able to go home and get everything prepared. Once it was finally time to clock out she’d left her white gown and hurried back, then immediately set about making sure everything was perfect.

First, the tea. It was what she’d invited him over for, after all. Whether there’d be anything beyond that remained to be determined, but there certainly wouldn’t be less. Then while that was getting ready the nurse cleaned and straightened up the rest of the rooms in her home. She hadn’t initially expected to have a visitor today, but fortunately Rizu was a woman who liked to keep her home clean anyway, so the process didn’t take long. Clean off the kitchen table, make the bed, and everything was good to go.

As if on cue, the doorbell then rang, and Rizu quickly shuffled along to the door and opened it. Sure enough, she found Pray on the other side.

“I’m so glad you could make it! Please, come in and make yourself at home,” she said with a friendly smile, stepping aside to let him in. It was a two-story home, with a spacious living room, beautiful kitchen, a dining room, and two bedrooms upstairs. Several landscape paintings decorated the walls, and in the living room there were two different shelves. One held a few dozen books while the other held a collection of DVDs. All in all it was a very nice house for someone of Rizu’s standing. It likely didn’t compare to what a movie star like Pray was used to, but that was fine.

“Did you have any trouble getting here?” she asked, briefly scanning over him with her eyes. He had changed clothes since their appointment earlier, while Rizu looked the same, except that now she wasn’t wearing her shoes or the white gown she’d had on before. The black kimono she wore wasn’t very revealing, but without that baggy gown it did show off her curves a bit better. She had a feeling Pray would appreciate that.

Pray wouldn’t go so far as to say he was disappointed that Rizu was still fairly covered up, but it was certainly less than what he’d hoped for. Frankly, he was hoping she’d wear just about anything except a kimono. The woman certainly did not like to show her skin, that much was clear, though he could at least make out that she did, in fact, have a fine figure underneath. In a way, that was better. It forced his mind to fill in the blanks.

”Some trouble, yeah, but it was nothing Google Maps couldn’t solve.” He made his way inside and closed the door behind him, taking a moment to sniff the air. The tea smelled good. Really, everything smelled good. ”Japan’s a lot more cramped than where I grew up. Confined, kind of. Feels like everything’s closed in on me.”

He started to walk in, but paused when he saw that she was going barefoot. Right. No shoes. That was a thing, here.

Pray bent down and started to unlace them, as he took a few quick looks around. It wasn’t a large place, nothing like his own home, but Rizu made the best out of what space she had. Everything was in its place, nothing seemed off. He’d been in hotel rooms that weren’t so properly prepared.

”Love your house, by the way. Nice and shiny, nice and clean.” He raised an eyebrow and smirked her way. ”You didn’t clean up for me, did you? Because I’m used to places a lot messier.”

“Ah, well I’m very glad it all worked out,” Rizu replied sweetly after Pray mentioned having a bit of difficulty finding the place. Nothing she could hold against him. He was new around here, after all. No doubt it would take some time for him to get used to where everything was here in Kyoto, least of all one person’s specific address.

When Pray observed how clean everything was, Rizu couldn’t help but blush and giggle ever so slightly. “I might have, just a little. It’s not every day a famous movie star comes to visit me~”

Rizu forgotten something very important, but it was right about then that a loud whistling noise in the kitchen reminded her. “I think the tea’s ready. Please make yourself at home, and I’ll be right back in just a moment," she said before shuffling off to the kitchen.

Pray watched Rizu shuffle off, and he hadn't appreciated her noticeably more form fitting attire before, her certainly did now. He tried to keep his downward gaze from being too obvious, though, staring without appearing like he was staring. An ancient art he’d mastered as a teenager.

”I'm not going anywhere.” Rizu said to make himself at home and took those words to heart, casually walking about the room and taking in the little details. In particular, he found his way to the DVDs and gave them a quick look over. You could tell a lot about a woman from the movies she watched, in his experience.

”So,” He glanced over his shoulder, quick, then went back to perusing. ”What do you do for fun when you’re not busy being Japan’s cutest nurse?”

Rizu’s collection of DVDs was interesting, to say the least. It included timeless classics like Citizen Kane, The Godfather and Pulp Fiction, as well as much...lower quality films like The Happening, Superman IV, and Jack and Jill. If one looked solely at quality when looking at her collection, it would seem entirely random. Yet, everything was organized in perfect alphabetical order. If Pray scrolled down enough, he’d even find a copy of his own Red Castle. What that said about her would be up for him to decide, or at least guess.

When she heard his question, she blushed and covered her mouth while letting out another giggle, even though he wasn’t in the room to see it. “Oh stop it!” she said, though the jovial tone of her voice made it clear just how flattered she was by the compliment. She then set two small cups out and poured some tea into them, then returned into the living room.

“I’m afraid my hobbies aren’t too exciting. I like to read, work out, watch movies, simple things like that,” Rizu said, answering his question while handing him his cup, before taking a small sip from her own. “And what do you like to do when you’re not working on movies, Pray-san?” she asked, smiling sweetly at him while waiting for his answer.

Prayuth had to admit, this DVD collection was a puzzle. She had some classics, sure, but the low-brow stuff was a disappointment. It could’ve just been a case of getting a gift she didn’t want and keeping it, or using it for riffing purposes. That was popular, these days.

And he didn’t miss Red Castle, either. Maybe a case of her buying it to dig up on him? He liked to think so.

”Wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t true.” He winked back her way as Rizu came with the tea. He took the cup of tea and gave it a quick sip, then a longer one when his tongue approved.

”Me, though? I’m about the same, I guess. Especially with the working out. We should go together, sometime.” A bit stronger than he liked there, but the opportunity was too good. ”I really like fine-tuning my style, though. Sparring, training hard, stuff like that. That’s part of what I’m looking forward to with the AFW. Working out the kinks.”

He almost laughed out loud on that last bit. Almost.

Rizu was eager to find out how Pray liked the tea she’d made. He took a small sip, then another drink. That was likely an indication that he did like it. But he didn’t say a word about it. No comment on the taste, or even a thank you for the trouble of making it. But Rizu put the thought aside. It was just tea. And he’d had a long couple of days. Something as little as this was easily forgivable.

After sipping her own tea, she set her cup down, then tilted her head a tad while listening to Pray’s words. Nothing he said was all too surprising. At least, on the surface. But his invitation to a workout session didn’t seem empty at all. And then there was the emphasis on sparring and training, and something about that last part…

It took her all of about three seconds to put the pieces together in her head. She’d long since figured out what Pray’s general goal for tonight was. Now she had a much more specific idea of what he wanted. Some very fun thoughts began to swim through the depths of her mind, but she simply giggled that sweet giggle of hers again.

“Oh my, you’d like me to train with you? That would be amazing! Though I’m not sure I would be much of a partner compared to some of the wrestlers we have,” she commented, before sipping her tea once again. Then another probing question came into her mind, one she felt she could guess the answer to but wanted to ask about anyway.

“Speaking of them, what do you think about the idea of fighting the women in Tension? Many of them are more than just pretty faces, you know.”

...crap, he should’ve told her he liked the tea. Stupid, stupid, stupid. This was a dating basic: when a woman makes something for you, you always tell her how good you think it is. Pray could’ve kicked himself missing the opportunity to score brownie points. Still, the night was young, and he was sure he’d get the second chance. He’d ask for a second glass after this one, tell her how great he thought it was - and it wouldn’t be a lie, it was really good - and from there, he’d…

Ah, she was giggling again. He was still in prime territory.

He started to take another sip, then turned it into more of that when she asked him a rather deep question, taking the added time to think. Rizu’s question required some nuance. He could tell her how confident he was, play up his own talents to impress her. At the same time, he didn’t want to seem like he was discounting the fighting prowess of Tension women, many of whom were likely Rizu’s friends. There was a fine line to walk, but he’d traveled over more narrow paths. He had this.

”I don’t doubt that.” Though he’d been up a creek if Rizu asked for his opinion on any specific wrestlers. ”You’ve got a lot of strong wrestlers, here, male and female. The women win a lot more than the guys, I know that much.” He felt like he knew why, too, and it wasn’t just that the women were better fighters. He wasn’t about to say that out loud, though.

”That being said, I’m confident in what I can do. Gotta trust yourself or no one else will, right?” Pray gave her a solemn nod. ”I say I’m the best. Male or female.”

Ah, almost forgot. Prayuth finished off his glass with a satisfied sigh, and smiled her way. ”Wow, this is great stuff, really great stuff.” He held the glass out. ”Another, please?”

Nice save.

Even Rizu would have to admit that Pray’s answer was an impressive one. And not just because he surprisingly gave the women of the Tension roster a considerable amount of credit, though that did certainly help. He was right to suspect she was friendly with many of them. In fact, there were few who didn’t fall into that category.

No, what impressed her was the fact that he’d given it such careful thought. He told her how highly he thought of himself, while simultaneously managing to avoid being even remotely condescending to his new female colleagues. Rizu had a suspicion there was more to his true thoughts than he’d let on, but that would’ve easily been missed by most. If nothing else, Pray was definitely proving his skill as an actor.

And he remembered to compliment her on the tea she’d made this time.

“Oh, why of course! I’m so glad you like it!” she replied joyfully when Pray asked for more. A moment ago he’d been sitting on “strike 1,” so to speak, but that call had now been reversed. Rizu took his cup and refilled it, then handed back to him. Then Rizu decided to try to advance things one small but significant step further.

“Pray-san, you mentioned you liked sparring a moment ago. I’m just curious. Have you ever...you know, spared with...a woman before?” the nurse asked sheepishly, with a light pink hue forming on her cheeks as she spoke. Her hands fidgeted restlessly in her lap. The words alone might have come across as a simple question. But the added body language hinted that there was a hidden meaning behind the question. After all, why would she really care if he’d spared with women before when he’d soon be fighting them at full strength and intensity in the ring?

But the sweet nurse was very curious to see what Pray was like as a fighter. And without being too forward about it, she wanted to know if he’d be interested in allowing her to be his “sparring partner.” He’d very loosely and vaguely suggested something to the effect earlier. Now he had a chance to put his money where his mouth was.