~Crème De La Crème~ Feat. Masuyo Ai and Valley Doll

Oh, was that squid? They had squid.

Masuyo was busy eagerly plucking from the generous spread presented before her with a pair of chopsticks. It was doing a great job at making her forget the pain from the fall a minute ago, both physically and mentally. Everything smelled great, looked great, tasted great. Heck, she was finding it hard to pay attention to the conversation brewing as she slurped down this and that from every dish on her side of the table. The catering bill must have been a nightmare.

Still, she couldn’t help but feel the tension in the air as the two went back and forth. She caught a few tidbits going back and forth: Valley’s full name, Gwen being a cheater, some obvious bad blood over the belt. Hm, she’d like to deflate the situation somehow, but at the same time, she thought better on speaking about something she had no knowledge of. All she could do was wait for an opening to interject.

It was a bit of a relief, then, that Ahika refocused the conversation back to the matter at hand.

“Right. You wanted us to take those off your hands.” She wiped the leftovers away from her lips with the back of her hand. A cheery grin adorned her face. “I’m glad. Sour as your reputation may be, it’s good to see you’re using your freedom to make actual challenges for yourself.”

There was plenty of sincerity in that comment. They’d been given permission to mix and match whatever opponents they wanted. They’d officially beaten every tag team to come their way already. Why not choose easier opponents? It’d be easier to keep the title that way, wouldn’t it?

Gwendolyn's flawless aptitude when it came to diverting any topic of conversation towards her most beloved of subjects, herself~..., was regrettably hijacked before her vainglorious boasting could go any further. Both by her fellow noblewoman's attempt to steer the wayward ship that was this promo back on course...and by the rapacious appetite of of Valley's Japanese counterpart who was making short work of the hors d'oeuvre's in record time, and was moving on to the Risotto stuffed squid with predatorial eyes. It was really quite the odd spectacle...

"Yes, well...while that's not quite the narrative we are intending to portray at our momentous bout at Avalanche..." Gwen would impart while gently shoving the plate of Yakitori grilled chicken in Masuyo's direction with her index finger. The heiress noticing her eyeing it from across the table for the last few minutes. "...you are most certainly invited to try your utmost in relinquishing these belts from us...not that the end result will change in the slightest." Gwen smirked while flicking one of her golden drills off of her shoulder before moving on to embolden Akiha's point.

"Hmph...I hope you are aware that my raven-haired associate does indeed speak a verifiable truth. How quickly do we all fail to recall the ignominious depths in which the Tag Title scene wallowed in before WE, in our supreme benevolence, saw fit to resurrect what had once been a cherished trophy within this league. Why, before Madam Kosha and I elevated the title back to the prestige it now blossoms in...these belts were practically non-existent and were held and vied for by..." Gwendolyn twirled her wrist and briefly looked away while she searched for the right words."...vapid, air-headed, scantily-clad bunny girls and women ludicrously dressed in thongs who honestly believed themselves to be Egyptian goddesses. And I whole-heartedly believe that no one wishes to turn back the clock and go back to the days of stark-naked woman gallivanting about when in contention for these title belts~..." Gwen boasted with supreme confidence...

"Yes!!Yes!!Yes!!Yes!!Yes!!"

...at least before a stirring round of chants from the boorish audience proved Gwen wrong while showcasing their immense approval for the heiress' idea. The microphone in her hand dangling loosely as she scanned the audience with snooty disgust on her prudish face until these uncouth philistines got it out of their system.

As the women around her spoke, Valley couldn’t help but feel a little out of place, and it wasn’t just because she couldn’t scrounge up a kimono for this little face-off. Even during her early days, she’d never been that comfortable with this sort of thing, never much caring for the meetup and the questions and the niceties. There would always be an indy wrestler in her heart, and there it was so simple: you show up, you wrestle, you go home.

But, okay. She was in the game. Might as well play along.

Also, wow, Masuyo was putting that food away. The woman was ravenous.

She nodded along as her partner spoke, then waited for Gwen to speak her peace. The heiress certainly had a point with much of what she said, no getting around that, but…

”Okay, let me just get a few quick words in.” She rolled her wrist about. ”I’m sorry, just bear with me. The older I get, the less patience I have for this sort of thing. So. You two.” Valley pointed at the both of them.

”I get the impression there’s something you want me say or admit, so I’ll say what I think you want me to say: you’re both good. Really good. The best tag team champs in Friction, ever? Yeah. Not like there’s much competition there, but yeah. You’re two of the most talented, most skilled, most athletic women in this league. Also, Gwen, I like your hair.” Valley ran her finger around some imaginary curls. She’d always wanted them back when she had long hair, but could never make the look work.

The audience broke into mutters, not seeing where this was going, but they wouldn’t have to wait long. ”So, those are compliments. But.” She held her hand up, trying not to be interrupted. ”You’re arrogant. Too confident. The problem with you two is that you don’t think you can lose, that there’s no chance we can take the titles from you. That’s a dangerous mindset for champs to have, ladies.”

It seemed that Akiha had managed to bring the conversation back to the tag team title belt, the main point of this whole promo. The Crimson hair wrestler would listen to what everyone had to say while observing them as well. Masuyo seemed busy eating a good amount of food, better for her to eat the food then have them thrown at Gwendolyn's face. Masuyo also made her point quick and to the point, this was expected from a fellow Japanese wrestler.

Gwendolyn on the other hand, made a bunch of comments, the first of which was talking about how they would successfully defend their belt. Then she began to talk about the state of the tag team title belts before Imperial Order won them. It was true before Gwendolyn and Akiha won the tag team title belt, not much had been going on with them, they were rarely defended and fought for. The two members of Imperial Order had put much effort into putting prestige back into the tag team title belts, they had even main evented a PPV. Akiha was about to nod her head in agreement with Gwendolyn but before she could so, the crowd would start to yell yes over and over again about how they wanted to see the old tag teams.

Valley would then take the spotlight, talking about how good Imperial Order is and a bit to Akiha surprise even throwing a compliment to Gwendolyn. Though the compliments would soon be ended as then started to throw complaints instead, talking about how being overconfident was dangerous.

“We are always looking for challenges, hence why we have arranged this. Unlike other previous tag team champions, we are constantly defending our belts and proving our worth instead of just sitting on them. This is why we can afford to be confident, after all, what kind of champion lacks confidence? That being said, if you are feeling scared, feel free to decline our challenge, we will not think less of you because of it.” stated Akiha in a confident tone as she then gave a prideful smile.

Not sure what it was, but Masuyo was getting the distinct feeling she wasn’t being taken seriously.

It’s not like either of their hosts had outright said it, but there was certainly an implication being made. She was never very good with these more formal invitations. She was a diner girl. Lots of regulars, lots of casual conversation. Things, unfortunately, weren’t quite as straightforward here. If there were any harsh implications being made, they were wrapped in layers of wit and ear-grating smugness. If Valley’s comments were anything to go by, that had to more or less be the case.

Not that she was with everything that was being said. Gwen invited her to try? Oh, she’d do more than try. She’d take that belt of theirs, grab it by the straps and-

Oh, my God, they had Satsuma chicken too. Dibs.

Masuyo tore a good chuck out of the wing, savoring the perfect texture and letting her mind drift for a moment until Akhia made her voice known. Between the two, the crimson-haired champion seemed to be the most straightforward. A behavior her tag partner could perhaps try to emulate. Just a bit. A smidgen.

Suppose this was where the decision had to be made. The threat tasted as sweet on her lips as the chinsuko she’d just used to whet her palette. If they wanted a challenge, they asked for the right person.

“Scared?” She gave a chuckle, setting the bone down and wiping her fingers clean. “Let’s be real now, Akiha-san. You may know all there is to know about Madam Wells, but you don’t know a thing about me. Clearly, you understand that I’m anything but a pushover if you're letting a rookie compete with people of your caliber. I would never run away. I feel honored. In fact, I’m downright giddy about all of this.” She leaned forward and poured herself a cup of green tea, bringing it close to her lips. “Because far as I’m concerned…”

Gulp. Gulp. Ah. “...I could take you both.”

A bright grin made its way onto her face. That’s some good tea.

While not quite offering the most scintillating of repartee for this increasingly contentious promo segment...who was Gwendolyn to interrupt Valley when half of what these lowbrow philistines were yammering on about seemed to involve nothing but the most lavish of praise for all of their accomplishments in the tag-team division~...

...though Gwendolyn opted to cherry pick what she felt was important from Valley's response, and ignore the rest. Some such nonsense about arrogance and dangerous mindsets, or whatever she was blathering on about. One inherent trait between both Masuyo and Valley did come to the forefront however, and that was their utter incapability to engage in small talk or idle chit-chat.

"Hmm, a pity. It appears neither of you appreciate the sublime artistry that goes into a well-worded and loquacious parley. You say very little and when you do speak it's straight and to the point...and I can respect that." Gwen offered with a soothing sip of her green tea before diverting her gaze to the brazen newcomer who had eaten over half the food on the table.

"Well...I can do the same when called upon. Whatsay you put whatever paltry money you have where that endless void you call a mouth is, and we spice things up a scosche while also giving you ladies more of a fighting chance? Care to agree to Tag Elimination rules, than? Should your...*giggle*..."senior", partner here be pinned or submitted, you'll have your golden opportunity to best us both at the same time and shine on the most illustrious stage of all~...or you'll simply fizzle out into obscurity alongside the countless other rookies realizing their dreams of championship gold are just that...a dream. I think it's fair to surmise which outcome I foresee happening..." Gwen closed her eyes and sipped once more from her cup, a deep breath helping the tea to give her a more relaxed and zen-like state of mind.

So much for the olive branch, then.  Valley had meant what she said when she complimented the two, acknowledging the reasons they’d been so successful in their tag team, wanting to give them their due - if for no other reason that it would make her and Masuyo look good when they the two to their limit. And she had no doubts that they could do that, too.

Valley continued to sip her tea and try out what she assumed was a biscuit as Masuyo got into it with Gwen and Akiha, clearly not giving her the full consideration she deserved. A mistake Valley had almost made herself during their first match, and a mistake that had nearly gotten her teeth kneed in, as she recalled. Just because she was fresh didn’t mean she was  a weakling, and she was overjoyed to know that Gwen and Akiha would be learning that lesson the hard way.

What she wasn’t overjoyed with was the little add-on that Gwen threw into the match. Valley shot the heiress a harsh glance from across the table, seeing quite clearly that her offer wasn’t really an offer - it was a direct challenge, and one that they couldn’t ignore. Wrestling rules.

She managed to keep her composure, not letting her moment of panic get to her, as she finished off her cup. ”I won’t speak for Masuyo, but I’m willing to go along with that, sure. Though you two might want to consider what happens if one of you get stranded in that ring.” She shrugged. ”Anything’s possible.”

Akiha would wait to see how everyone reacted. Masuyo was confident, in fact, the only thing that seemed to match her confidence was her appetite as she just kept eating and eating. Going so far as saying she could beat both of them while eating the combined amount of two people. Akiha would give a smirk at the bravado coming out of her fellow Japanese wrestler.

Gwendolyn, on the other hand, would put Masuyo theory to the test, by making an interesting proposal, a tag elimination match. It was true, if Imperial Order managed to eliminate Valley Doll first, Masuyo would then find herself facing both members of the current tag team champions. Akiha would then look at Valley, who appeared to not like the idea but agreed to it regardless.

“A tag elimination match sounds great. Also, what makes everyone here so confident that their will even be a two on one situation? For all you know, we just might be doing a double elimination on the two of you!” stated Akiha in a confident tone towards Valley Doll before then focusing her attention on Masuyo.

“Masuyo, you sure have been enjoying yourself. Though I am wondering, how do you plan on paying for all the food you have eaten? As a fellow Japanese, you must understand how expensive such high quality food is and you have practically eaten enough for two people, if not more.” said Akiha as she then raised an eyebrow. She had felt that Masuyo had gotten to confident, so this seemed the perfect way to knock her down a level or two.

Masuyo chugged down the rest of the miso soup as Gwendolyn finished with her little proposal. Needless to say, the MMA maven was all in. When she said she could take on both of them at once, she meant it. Throw Valley into the mix, not only did she have an amazing fight on her hands, but she’d have a shiny belt to go along with it. She was smiling so much, it almost hurt. Avalanche couldn’t come soon enough.

“Is that a challenge, my honorable host Ahkia-san?” She faced the crimson haired wrestler, slapping the bowl down on the table. “You’re on! I’d get ready if I were you two! I’m about to beat you both on the best stage possible!”

A wicked smirk adorned her face. There was a murmuring going on through the crowd. Then newcomer’s little prognostication may not have appeared genuine, but she couldn’t be more serious if she tried. Nothing could psyche her out..until Ahkia said something that made her blood run cold.

Paying...paying...paying...paying...

What was with the con game? They invited her! Some friendly luncheon. They were all friends here, right? Friends wouldn’t behave this way, right? Right? Then again, they’d probably find some way to turn that around on her, saying something like ‘friendships a two-way street’. Damn mobsters. How diabolical.

“O-of course! I’m the heiress to the family business after all! W-what’s the total?”

She leaned over, as if reaching for the bag, but her eyes were only fixed to the table. Her pupils scanned left and right, looking for anything, just one excuse to get out of it. But half the plates were empty! The only things in reach were the napkins, empty bowls and...squid. A greasy plate full of them, seeped in their smelly juices. Masuyo lunged forward, snagged the plate, and quickly reeled it back as she stood up.

“Friendship!” She yelled, throwing it right in Ahkia’s face.

In one quick motion, she rounded the chair and vaulted over the top rope. The adrenaline helped her get both feet over this time. Couldn’t help her with the landing, though. She landed hard on her side. With a shake of her head, she started to get up until she noticed security closing in on her. Ah, they were ready this time. Mobsters, the lot of them. Damn it, she wasn’t fast enough to get up the ramp. She tightened her fist, getting herself ready for action until she felt something warm and sticky in her palm. She looked down and saw...red beans? Oh. She forgot she grabbed one.

“Anpan sparking!” She yelled, throwing the bun right at the guard's face.

The guard reeled back and desperately scraped the pepper-coated sauce away from his eyes. That was all the time she needed to stand up and make a rush for the barricade, leaping over the barricade and disappearing into the crowds.

Masuyo was still confident after Akiha statement about how Imperial Order could perform a double pin elimination. “Oh yes it is indeed a challenge. Hence the whole point of this entire segment and inviting you down here.” stated Akiha in a confident tone as she responded to her future opponent before then flicking her hair with one hand.

Then all that confidence from Masuyo seemed to disappear as Akiha brought up the matter of the bill for all the food that she had eaten. A twisted smile could be seen on the crimson hair crusader as she was enjoying seeing her fellow Japanese wrestler panic. She watched with delight as Masuyo attempted to stay calm and pretend that she could afford to pay for all the food she had consumed.

Yet suddenly Masuyo would grab the plate of squids and yell friendship. Next thing Akiha knew there were squids all over her face and head. At the moment she was shocked not sure what to do for a second or two. were supposed of things were supposed to happen to Gwendolyn not her. After taking a second to think about everything that happened, Akiha would removed the squids from her face and head and throw them down on the ring before scanning for Masuyo. She managed to spot her but it was to late, she was already past the barricade. Akiha would make her way towards the ropes, looking furiously at her. Now she wanted Avalanche to show up, so that she could humiliate and get revenge on her opponent.