Nightshift Nurse

"...and remember, it takes more than just some pint-sized Mad Max reject to take down the...B...R...Y...guy."

Bryan added a flirtatious wink and exhausted smile to his parting words as he wrapped up his post-match interview with the press core backstage, an expansive banner behind him and covering the entire wall with the "Tension" logo dotted all around it. After remembering to shoehorn in his incredibly marketable and easy to chant catchphrase, Bryan turned in place to depart towards the nearby hallway amidst the flashing cameras sounding off behind him. The adrenaline still pumping in his veins was still keeping him fired up well after the match was over, to the point where he was feeling bold enough to sound off on his gang leader opponent who has been known to not take losses lying down. He might end up regretting saying all of that the next morning...

Once out of sight of the media though, Bryan could let down that veil of invincibility and let out a wincing, mumbling groan as he tried to rotate his right shoulder. The discomfort in his arm was something he first noticed after taken the suicide spear from that demonic gremlin. Nothing as serious as a dislocation, but that, along with various aches and pains from withstanding Mako's assault, meant that checking out the AFW medical offices would take immediate priority after hitting the showers.

*knock*knock*

Dressed in his trademark khaki pants with light blue dress shirt and short jacket, Bryan waited a few seconds outside the doctor's office. Curiously twisting the doorknob showed that it was indeed unlocked, and he peeked his head inside to see the pristine waiting room as empty as he might've expected. His match was the last one on the card, which meant he would be the last patient to be seen for his routine post match checkup. He also may have kinda sorta taken longer in the shower than he originally planned. But he'll be goddamned if it didn't feel good.

Bryan waltzed into the carpeted and largely deserted waiting room until he got to the receptionists desk...which was also curiously vacant. Tapping his fingers on the broad wooden panel while leaning over the desk to look left and right down the adjoining hallways, Bryan only just then noticed the bell by his elbow. After bopping it twice to have it jingle loudly, he scanned the office and noticed a stack of magazines on the coffee table in the center of the room.

"Hey...look at that~..." Bryan eyes widened when he spied the latest issue of Men's Fitness magazine...and one he just so happen to be gracing the cover of. Standing tall, shirtless, and showing off his washboard abs. Bryan couldn't help but pick it up and admire himself for a bit while he waited...

Most people who watch episodes of Tension do so from their own home. Rizu Umeda was part of a very small minority that did so in her office, because that was part of her job. Being a nurse for the Tension brand meant she had to keep track of the matches. That way she had a better chance of seeing what may have caused certain injuries, or clue her in as to what sort of injury a wrestler was suffering from if it wasn’t immediately obvious.

Tonight was just another night at the office for her. Another episode of Tension had just wrapped up, and just about everyone with bumps and bruises that needed checking out had been through the infirmary, many having been tended to by Rizu herself. Now that it seemed their jobs for the night were over, the other nurses had all gone home. Rizu was just there to finish up some paperwork she hadn’t had time to get to earlier...and to watch a replay of the main event. She very much disliked the Valkyries. They were rude, vulgar and unnecessarily violent people. So seeing fortune take a swing out of their favor was always enjoyable for her, as was watching the devilishly handsome Bryan Daniels in action.

That being the case, one would expect she was watching this match again to enjoy seeing one of Tension’s most attractive stars send Mako into a temper tantrum. Initially, that had been the case. But the more she watched, the more things took an unusual turn. Mako had Bryan in a sleeper hold, and Rizu found herself enthralled with the sight of him struggling in her clutches. It had been a while since the nurse’s last “session” with Pray, but she found herself imagining being in Mako’s place….

A sudden ringing of the bell in the waiting room startled Rizu and snapped her back into reality. Quickly turning off the TV, she stood and straightened her dark kimono before shuffling out of her office. When she did, she couldn’t have been more surprised at who she found in the waiting room.

“Oh, Bryan-san! I thought you had already gone home. But I’m glad you came by. Congratulations on your victory tonight,” she said, her smile friendly and warm as ever. Nothing in her tone or expression even remotely hinted toward the thoughts that had been roaming in her head only moments ago. “I take it there’s something you would like me to look at, yes?”

*Dangit...I told them to ease up on the airbrushing...* Bryan thought to himself while centering his attention on the magazine in his hands, bearing his flawless physique on the cover alongside various claims of knowing the "Secrets to getting fit by Summer" and "How to lose your gut." To the untrained eye it was a perfectly decent portrait of himself, but Bryan's couldn't help but be miffed with how much the editor's polished up his skin and added a shine to his smiling face that made him look more like a Pixar character. When your profession revolved around being as devilishly handsome as humanly possible, developing a discerning eye for these type of minute differences was inevitable.

In fact, he was so engrossed with the article, he scarcely noticed the sound of shuffling feet behind him before a voice as pleasantly gentle as he'd ever heard alerted him to the smiling doctor behind him.

"Whoa hey, hiya!! Sorry about that, guess you caught me checking myself out." Bryan said with a startled tone after turning in place, than raising the magazine cover up to demonstrate what he meant before placing it on the receptionists table. "But hey, thanks for the kudos, really means a lot to me. Between you and me, I think I might've gotten away with highway robbery back there, but you're not gonna catch me saying that to the press anytime soon, you know?" Bryan said that last part under his breath to emphasize that it was something of hush-hush secret between them, the model athlete grinning mischievously at the cordial nurse before him with the noticeably soothing voice.

"Unfortunately, I didn't walk away from the battle without some scars. I've got this...crick in my shoulder from when that little she-demon speared me off the apron." Bryan winced while attempting to rotate his arm to demonstrate that he wasn't fibbing about the pain there. He was also generally hurting all over with light bruising here and there as well. "So I thought I'd just come in for normal check-up before I head home...that is if it's not too late. Looks like you were about ready to head for the old homestead from the look of things around here."

Rizu hadn’t intended to startle Bryan, but she had to giggle in amusement at his immediate reaction to her voice. Well, his reaction, and the notion that she’d caught the handsome wrestler checking out his picture on a magazine cover. It was cute, really.

Another soft giggle escaped her lips when Bryan talked about the match, though she elected not to divulge her own thoughts on it. Not that she took any issue with the model emerging victorious over a vile thing like Mako, whether through luck or otherwise. But she enjoyed his sense of humor, and often liked listening to wrestlers tell her their thoughts about their matches. That had introduced her to plenty of interesting perspectives, some of which had helped shape her very views and opinions on the sport as a whole in ways that may otherwise not have been. Though in this particular case, it was little more than a fun bit of smalltalk.

“Your secret’s safe with me~” she said, then drew her fingers over her lips as if sealing a zipper. Fun aside, she wasn’t terribly surprised when Bryan mentioned there being something he’d like her to take a look at. Given how physical the match had been, she was surprised he hadn’t made his way here sooner. “Hmmm…” she mused, stepping closer to take a look at the shoulder while tapping her chin, before glancing back toward her office. As Bryan had guessed, she had just been preparing to head home for the night. And people didn’t like the nurses sticking around for after-hours patients. With no one (aside from a few security cameras) there, possibilities for unethical, and possibly even illegal behavior could be dangerously tempting to the wrong people. But if there was something wrong with Bryan’s shoulder, she didn’t want to send him away without doing everything she could for it. That’s when a lightbulb went off in her head, and the most wonderful idea came into her mind.

“I can see what you mean… I’m not really supposed to treat patients here this late, but I would hate to send you away without checking on your shoulder first. If you give me just a second to grab a few things out of my office, I’ll walk you down to the gym and we can get you taken care of there. Would that be alright with you?”

Bryan couldn't help but be taken aback by the cordial nurse behind him now giving his stinging shoulder a once over. Not just by the stealthy and downright ninja-esque manner in which Rizu approached him from his blind-side, but by the genuinely good-natured and hospitable manner in which she conducted herself. He sensed that welcoming warmth and motherly aura around her that immediately puts people at ease and practically made this the perfect profession for her. Luckily he was able to use that goofy and amiable charm of his to recover after being caught indulging in a little bit of narcissism by scoping himself out on that magazine, and he earned extra points for getting a few chuckles out of Rizu in the process.

"Hmm? Oh uhhh, yeah yeah sure, thanks. I'll just wait outside for ya." Bryan responded curiously with a warm smile while allowing Rizu to collect whatever she needed from her office, the model athlete than proceeding to stride out of the waiting room to wait in the hallway for her. It was only there that he started to kinda ponder as to why they needed to schlep all the way to the gymnasium for a brief examination. He thought he'd just be given some muscle relaxing cream and some pain relievers and be sent on his way, but than he figured that Rizu might just have a more thorough examination in mind along with some physical therapy treatment. Bryan not having too much time to think on it before Rizu would join him out in the emptied hallway before they began the prolonged waltz to the equally vacant training room.

"Hey, uh, I just gotta say thanks again for seeing me, ya know? I haven't been on the active roster for too long, but I've heard tell of some pretty unsavory people lurking around here this time of night. Like, nasty predator types who are always on the lookout for easy prey they can sink their claws into, and make'em do like, the kinkiest and craziest stuff..." Bryan cautiously advise while striding beside Rizu, before he suddenly jerked his head up with widened eyes and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"OH, my bad, I didn't mean to scare you or anything!! I'm sure their just stories meant to frighten the newbies. You don't gotta worry, though, you got your main man B-RY here to fight off any of those muscle-bound goons. Ya got nothing to worry about so long as yours truly has your back~..." Bryan confidently boasted with a reassuring smile while pointing his thumb back towards his puffed out pecs.