Breaking the Tension!™ Episode 12: Blue Imugi

Talkative, this Imugi was. Now that Patty’s keen reporting instincts were kicking in full swing, she surmised more to it than just being bright girl - no doubt she’d picked up quite a bit of experience from her time as an
idol. The whole idol phenomena wasn’t something she’d really keyed into since coming over to Japan, but as near as she could tell, it was their equivalent to pop star. Lots of interviews, lots of dancing, lots of pictures, lots of screaming.

She nodded along as Imugi spoke, understanding well enough where she was coming from.  There was a reason that Friction had such a higher rate of recruits over Tension, and it wasn’t just because girl-on-girl was more popular than guy-on-girl. That was part of it, but not the only reason. Guys like Killer King and Kent Quick had made the place rather toxic to newcomers, and even with them gone, the stink was still lingering.

So Imugi was taking a risk. Going out on a limb. As a fellow fighter, Patty could greatly respect that.

But as a reporter, she had to keep pressing. Harder and harder still.

”I can certainly agree with you there - Tension should revolve around hard work. It was that same line of thought that brought me into reporting, and into Tension from there. Not wanting to take the easy road, working where other reporters didn’t dare tread.”

Patty tapped her pen on the table, thinking for a moment - she didn’t want to go down this road so fast, but that segue was too good to ignore.

”Funny you should mention virgins, though.” She leaned forward, going into Whispering-But-Not-Whispering mode. ”Your first match isn’t a hentai, but that might be something you’ll encounter down the road, sooner or later. Are you open to that sort of thing? Any techniques in mind?”

Despite appearances, Imugi really did find all of this interview stuff tiring.

Her tendency to give simple, two-word answers only led to bad experiences with angry hosts and dissatisfied fans. Not that it bothered her. The lead vocalist usually handled that stuff, anyway. Dal-Dal and her stupid tiger ears. Hated her, but it kept people out of Imugi’s hair. It was only when they threatened to fire her that she reluctantly agreed to camera work. She honestly didn’t know how someone could do this for a living. It was relentless. One hard question after another.

Speaking of which, she was thrown another fastball.

Imugi was no stranger to the bedroom, but she could hardly be considered a veteran. She was adept but wasn’t on par with some of the sexual monsters that AFW somehow found an endless supply of. The idea was appealing, but it could get a bit too samey for her liking. Really exhausting, too. Lots of sweat. Lots of showers. No thanks.

“Hentai? Oh, right. Sex. Heard that was a staple around here.” She leaned back and scratched the back of her head a bit, letting her gaze drift to the side for a second. “Ehhh...not really. If it’s a really hot guy, hey, things happen. But it’s just not what I’m here for. Though, I’m sure some of you Spiceheads out there wouldn’t mind.” She said that last bit with a wag of her finger. “But I know. Say I had no choice. Hm...then I woulllddd…”

She honestly hadn’t given this any thought. Well, she hadn’t given any of this interview any thought, but there wasn’t really a canned answer for this one.

“Let’s just say they call me ‘fast fingers’ back home.”

Ah damn it, she felt a yawn coming on.

Patty listened as Blue Imugi responded, though there wasn’t a whole lot to listen to - the former idol didn’t have much on the subject, wasn’t nearly as juicy as she would’ve liked. Shame, too. As much as she hated to admit, there was no denying that she tended to get more views when her interviews dipped into XXX territory. Sex sold and business was booming in the AFW.

So there wasn’t much from that well to tap. Fine. Moving on.

”Let’s bring this to a close with your debut, talk about that for a moment before I let you go.” She pointed her finger to a screen behind the desk and a picture came up, showing Blue Imugi’s first opponent in Tension - a semi-popular wrestler, one of the mainstays in Tension throughout recent years.

”You’ll be up against Armando Rodriguez - one of the older active wrestlers in Tension today. Not the most successful wrestler, but no slouch either, with one of the best punches in the league and over a hundred pounds on you.” The screen switched to a clip showing Army working out, battering a heavy bag this way and that way with powerful blows. Army didn’t have the best record in Tension, but whatever the reason for that, it wasn’t because he lacked physical prowess.

”I know  you’ve faced similar in the pit before, but this is a new venue with new rules and new moves to take into account. What’re your thoughts, strategies, impressions going into your first match? I’m sure he’s watching right now - any message you’d like to send his way?”

Looks like she managed to avoid that topic for the most part. Good thing, too. Didn’t want the loyal fans back home thinking ill of her. At least they were almost done, and no doubt Patty was looking to the things with a-

Yawwwwnnnnnnn!

Oops. Thought she had that one snuffed. Came out a bit less subtle than she would have liked, too. Hopefully, someone catches that in post.

It’s not like Imugi could have done anything to prevent that one. Her fresh, hot, boiling 18-year old blood was hard to satiate at times and took a lot of devoted energy and hard concentration to keep in check. It was just one of those things that came bubbling out, y’know? For some reason, her muscles were starting to relax as things went on. Her posture was a tad slouched. It was the room. The air was getting so warm in here it was like blankets were covering every inch of you. Probably because of all that talk a second ago about hot guys.

And speaking of the devil...

So, the suits did keep her debut in mind. Glad to know they were at least thinking about her while this was all being put together. Rodriguez, huh? Well, Patty was pretty much on the money. Imugi had dealt with his type before. Big. Strong. Probably slow. Yeah, nothing too different so far. But as her host made a point of making clear, this was a different scene. He looked like a boxer. Smart. And more importantly, not dumb. Way different from the fodder in the pits. A sly, half grin graced the petite Korean’s lips. Things were finally getting interesting.

“Wooww. He’s big.” She said with a rub of her nose. “I’ll be honest, Pats. I didn’t think they’d set me up with someone so burly so soon. Guess this is what I signed on for.” She gave her glove a tentative bite on the thumb, tilting the mic for a second. “I think I’ll go with the usual. He’s strong, but the muscles a lot to carry. I’ll keep my distance and watch for an opening. And, like I said, every guy goes down the same. He’ll leave himself open eventually, and when he does, I’ll bring him down with one hit. Handsome will be on the floor before he even knows it. Trust me, I’ve done it before.”

The cameraman signaled to her. Imugi turned her body to face the adjacent camera.

“As for you, Mr. Rodriguez, I’d say prepare yourself, but I’m willing to bet you're used to losing to girls by now, aren’t ya?” She gave a slight chuckle before bringing the mic back to her lips. “Kidding, kidding. I’m very excited for our match. Let’s both bring our A-game and let’s both leave smiling afterward. It is my debut after all, so I want to have a lot of fun and make a big splash at Tension!”

Imgui gave a thumbs up and a wink, then looked back to the main camera. A wave came from behind the lens.

“You’ll be cheering me on, right Patty?”

A few days later, after this program had been chopped and edited and put into a more marketable product that made sure to give proper emphasis to Patty’s outfit for the evening, Army would see it as he was running on the treadmill, listening on his headphones during an early morning. He hadn’t thought much about the program before, never being a fan of interviews - whether it came to watching them or giving them.  But he’d heard that his next opponent would be this episode, so he decided to give her a look.

The result left him intrigued. A little.

‘Blue Imugi’. Weird name, but this was wrestling, he’d heard weirder. She seemed confident, and he couldn’t blame her - he didn’t have the best track record in Tension (better than most guys, hardly a big statement) and she seemed to fall into the usual ‘I’m fast, you’re too slow’ mindset. Annoying to deal with, but he could do it.

From the look of the comments below the video, everyone was expecting him to lose, even though they hadn’t seen a second of Imugi in action. Not a lot of respect for the veteran Tensioner, but that was fine. He liked the idea of proving them wrong, and Imugi seemed like the perfect chance to do it. ”’Used to losing to girls’, huh? Yeah, okay…” Five miles to go...

Back in the present, Patty nodded along with her guest, glad that she was getting all this spunk out on the camera. Whether that spunk would be enough to take down a guy who was nearly twice her size remained to be seen, but there was no harm in having the spirit for the fight.

”Small of stature, but not of heart.” Patty nodded and gave her the thumbs up. ”You’ve definitely got my support, and I’m sure the AFW Universe is on your side, too.” She turned to the camera and pointed its way, making sure to throw a good wave of energy towards her audience. ”The AFW has a new star, folks. How bright is she going to burn? How long?  No one can say. But what you can say is that, no matter what, Breaking the Tension will be there to get you the inside scoop! Peace. Out!”