A Decent Proposal

Yoyogi Park was one of the best parks in all of Tokyo. Bright, sunny place, where people from all over the world came together and had a good time. Nice, long stretches of grass. Tall trees, good shade. Never got too cold, but never got too hot, either, and when the cherry blossoms bloomed, it became the sort of place that painters dreamed of.

It was a place for children, skipping around and singing. It was a place for walking dogs and neglecting to pick up their leavings. It was a place for frisbees, jump ropes, and skipping stones across the pond.

It was not a place for a six foot tall, leather-clad ex-soldier biker chick from Salt Lake City. And yet here Stone was.

To be more specific, she was leaning against a wall, in a tunnel along the jogging path. Her motorcycle was nearby, leaning up against the wall, as she fiddled with her phone and leaned next to it.

Every once in a while, someone would come by and give her the look. That look. The ‘why is this big, funky, dangerous-looking gaijin hanging around our pretty park’ look. She’d gotten similar looks as this throughout her time in Japan, and she was used to. A quick glare their way, and the onlookers went about their way.

Stone wasn’t here for them. She was waiting for one person. One man.

Makio Harada outside of the ring was as much as a boy scout as one could be... Outside of being a literal member of the boy scouts. He frequented small local groceries for his food to lend support even if it cost him a bit more. He volenteered a few times a month with various children charity groups around the city. He was the type of guy who would help an old lady cross the street or carry someone's bags for the. Despite the fact it was looked at questionably in Japan, his time abroad had him often times holding doors open for people.

He was the kind of guy that fell into the too good to be true, people like this don't exist in the real world. But he did. He devoted most of his time to the community around him, to his training, and to his career. He was a driven individual who, any fan of Blue Thunder Mask would know, didn't back down.

Most people didn't know he was a professional wrestler. He didn't really broadcast it when he wasn't working. He was just Makio. People knew him, would meet his smile and throw a wave to him. He had a routine so found himself often times bumping into the same people weekly. It was good to be back in Japan finally and he was making the most of it.

Yoyogi Park had become his designated jogging spot, mostly for how long and level the pathways were. They provided him with a solid flat space to work his cardio without having to be confined to a gym. Whenever possible he would substitute the real world for a mechanical counterpart, preferring the humbling experience of nature over the boxed in modernization of man.

Rounding the corner path he came up on a familiar spot. A small tunnel that allowed the parks normal path to remain separate from the running and biking ones. He used it as his lap marker for his workout normally. Today it carried with it something else. He couldn't make Stone out right away, past someone large leaning against the wall from a distance but as he moved inside he slowed to a crawl.

His eyes adjusted to the unmistakable sight of Stone. It had been awhile, but she wasn't the type of woman you forgot. He stood near the tunnel entry, glancing over his shoulder. If this was an ambush, the tunnel was a pretty good place to do it. Would they be so bold as to attack him at a public park though?

Probably... but he didn't think that was what this was. Still, he approached Stone cautiously, mindful to keep a healthy distance between the two of them. He gave her a small respectful nod as he checked his heart rate from his wrist and neck. The cool down lap would have to wait.

"Afternoon. You're looking... Vaguely threatening today." He leaned slightly to the side, checking the far end of the tunnel. Still nobody in sight. "Did Makoto send you to remind me you ladies are still kicking?" He winced at the unintentional remember last he saw Stone she was kicking the crap out of him.

God, this man was predictable. Stone had spent a day trailing him, figuring out his patterns, learning where he would and wouldn’t so she’d have the right time to approach him without drawing too much attention. Normally, that wouldn’t be too feasible, since wrestlers tended to have dynamic schedules, based off their matches for the week. Not him, though - Makio was predictable. Achingly predictable.

Punctual, polite, focused. He reminded Stone of her father, or, at least, the man he pretended to be. That was not a thought that would put her in a good mood for this, though, so she discarded it for the time being.

As Makio came around and stopped to look at her, Stone didn’t make any sudden moves. Didn’t make any moves at all, except to stop and look his way. He seemed skittish, rightly suspecting an ambush, but that didn’t stop him from being polite.

”If Makoto sent me to attack you, I’d be attacking you.”

A little too edgy, Stone. Dial it back.

She shrugged and pushed off the wall, while she held out her hands for a moment to put his mind at ease. No weapons. ”I wanted to apologize, for that. And to talk. If you have a minute?” She kept her voice calm, but didn’t hold back her heavy tones.

Makio didn't know much about Stone, save for a rough estimation of her boot size the obvious fact he was a large woman. She normally was quiet, speaking more with her demeanor than her words. This entire meeting struck him as an oddity out the gate. If she wasn't here to try and grind him into the dirt, why was she here? It couldn't be on Makoto's behalf, could it? Stone didn't deny that outright, only said she wasn't here on orders from her to beat him up. Comforting.

Surely if the gang leader had send someone to be a mouth piece for her it would have been Devine. She had struck him more as the diplomatic talker between the trio... Well unless she was worried about her being too much of a mouth piece. He shuddered briefly before making the slow advance into the tunnel, walking close enough to Stone that they weren't have to shout to each other. This was just your ordinary shady business deal in a darkened tunnel. What could possibly go wrong?

He found it difficult to offer forgiveness, as thankful he was for the apology. She had been following orders, so he could understand to a degree. That still didn't mean he could overlook who she was taking orders from. At some point you'd have to stand up for your morals over duty to someone as wicked as Makoto proved to be that day. He instead offered a noncommittal nod. For all he knew saying sorry was just a way to butter him up so he wouldn't walk away outright... Granted, he would have heard her out either way. For now he set his bias att the door, stowed his attitude in the overhead compartment, and settled into this strange world where the he had casual conversations in semi-secret with bikers.

"I'll make the time." He left his hands at his side, thumbs hooked into the bottoms of his track pants pockets. He was hesitant to slip them inside, just in case things went sound. Mitigating risks, even in polite company. Despite how skeptical he was being, on the exterior he seemed pretty open to the whole encounter. He wanted to poke and prod, ask her questions, but knew if he was patient most of them would answer themselves naturally as he gave Stone the floor to speak.

Thirty seconds into this conversation, and Makio was clearly not that comfortable being around Stone. She noted that he didn’t give her apology any real response, and couldn’t blame him or take it personally. The last time she’d seen this many, he was under her boot heel in front of about 10,000 of his countrymen. That was the sort of thing that could sour a potential relationship, in her experience.

But he wasn’t walking off. He hadn’t attacked her. Already, this was going better than she’d feared at the worst. She could build on that.

She kept her face true to her nickname as they walked, shoving her hands in her jacket pocket as they walked, doing her best to keep him at ease, or at least make it clear that she wasn’t about to attack him only fifteen feet away from some schoolgirls in the middle of a hopscotch tournament.

[color:e5a6=0000ff]”Thank you.” She gave him a slight nod as they went, glad for the time. She gave her motorcycle one last look as they moved, then carried on.

After a few steps and some time to gather her thoughts, she turned his way and started up. ”So. The last time I saw you, Makoto was giving you a pretty clear ultimatum. She wants you out of the AFW. Now.” Stone ran a hand over her jaw. ”I don’t think I’ve seen you in a match since then, but all the same, I assume you’re ignoring that? Still in Tension?”

She felt she knew the answer already. No harm in making sure, though.

Makoto had been a pretty obvious read for the gang. She was overtly threatening, loud, crass, violent. Really just a paint by numbers sort of girl that had her filling in her role as the Valkyries leader, a bit too perfectly. It was hard to tell if there was anything else too her beyond the hard exterior, but that never stopped him from going to to think about her now and then to wonder. Stone on the other hand, was not at all what he had expected. Had he closed her eyes and not seen her, he'd have never knew she was part of the gang. As they quietly walked together he found himself glancing sidelong over at her every so often, still taking in the oddity that was the real Stone who was shattering his preconceived notions of her.

"It was out of my hands. You three did a number on me." While it was true he had to take a bit of time to recover, the bigger concern was with the Valkyries themselves. Management apparently worried they would show up again if he was booked. They hadn't seemed to be taking any steps to ensure that wouldn't happen, so he wasn't sure what the real agenda was here. Perhaps they didn't much care with the revenue his merchandise was making even after only one match officially with the company. It was a brand that sells, it came with the mask.

"I don't intend to go anywhere." Makio smiled faintly, fanned out his fingers as he gesturing around them. "Still have to much to do out here, especially with Tension." He kept his eyes on her as he answered, this being the last real test he was putting forth. He was fairly certain if she didn't slug him after this, the meeting was on the up and up. Everything was already pointing to that direction, but it never hurt to be prepared.

Stone pretty much knew what the answer to her question would be before Makio said a single word. If there was one thing that he and Makoto had in common, one thing they unquestionably shared, it was their unrelenting stubbornness. Once they made their minds up about something, there was no dissuading them, which made the situation all the trickier. It was the unstoppable force against the immovable object. Something had to give.

She sighed, disappointed all the same, but nodded with his words. ”I figured as much.” Stone looked about as he gestured, then back to him. He seemed a bit silly, happy-go-lucky, but she could tell he was serious under that shining exterior. The man had skill, there was no getting around that. She’d seen it, firsthand.

As they walked on, she came over to a tree and leaned against it, enjoy the shade and moving out of the way of a power-walking couple. ”You say you have goals. What goals? And why Tension?” She canted her head to the side, as if looking at him from a different angle might help. ”Makoto wasn’t wrong. There are plenty of other places that would take you, you have to know that. Why here?”

He squinted as they left the shaded tunnel and the light him him again, eyeing the ground until they adjusted again. He slipped his hands behind his back as they walked, surrendering his readiness now that he was almost certain the threat was one of his own mind. He didn't think Stone was going to pull anything now. It would have been far more convenient for her to have acted already if tat was her intention. Makio took a long animated step to the side, giving the power walkers a smile and a nod.

"Afternoon." He got back a few odd looks, likely because the young main in his track suit gear made an odd mix with the big biker woman. He had to keep himself from having a chuckle at that. They were an interesting duo, weren't they?

"I've traveled all over the world. You know one thing they all have to say? That AFW is the place to be. The pay may not be the best there is, but the competition is suppose to be among the best." He idly glanced around the part, choosing to stand nearby as Stone leaned back on the tree.

"Our little encounter, if anything made me sure that I chose the right place to settle into. A bit funny, considering the intention..." He turned to face Stone, eyeing her up. She certainly was prodding him with a bunch of questions. Why was she so interested in what his goals were anyhow? "Makoto says a whole lot of things, some of them are bound to be true, eventually."

"Here's one for you. Why me? Out of the countless people your crew could have targeted like this..." He motioned to himself, giving her an expectant look. "Random name out of a hat, or is it standard fair to try and shake down the new guy?" He had heard Makoto's rant about it in the ring, but in the heat of the moment, who knows how true that actually was. Stone seemed level headed and surprisingly candid, he wasn't about to pass that up.

There were picking up more than few looks now, getting more and more attention, and Stone was doing her best to not be too bothered by it. She’d grown used to being stared at - such was the fate of a six foot tall woman, for better or worse. Living in a country where she towered over both the average woman and man only exacerbated this problem.

She kept her head low, pushed the thoughts out of her mind. Her biggest worry was whether some intrepid AFW fan would happen by and realize who she was speaking to. It wasn’t like Makio’s disguise was foolproof, and the last thing she wanted was for Devine to stumble on a picture of them on Facebook.

She perked up as he directed a question his way, one she thought about for a few seconds, before shrugging. ”More of the latter than the former. Mako wanted to stake her claim in the AFW, and new people are the most vulnerable. No friends to call on, no one to come out and help them. She can beat you up night after night, and she doesn’t have to worry about anyone rushing down the ramp to help you out. Even security will take their sweet time - people watch Tension to see men get beat up, after all.” She tapped her chin, as an additional thought popped into her head. ”Fun fact: your beating was the most watched clip on the AFW’s Youtube channel that week. Just so you know.”

She knew this, because Makoto had watched the clip an obsessive number of times, and she kept finding it on their computer’s history. Best not to mention that part.

”Question for you, now - how do you see this going? Because Makoto isn’t going to stop coming after you. We’re not going to stop beating you up.” She made sure the ‘we’ part of that was clear. Just so their positions weren’t muddled. ”She’ll put you in the hospital, and there’ s only so many times you can be broken before you can’t be fixed again, and you don’t seem like the type to do that to Makoto before she does it to you. So. What’s your gameplan?”

When Makio looked back on his accomplishments in the business, having a most viewed clip floating around the internet of him being beaten to a pulp wouldn't be among the upper echelons. She chose to believe it was more for his spirited defiance in the moment and less for the fact he was being pummeled into the dirt. He had never really considered any of this until it was brought to his attention. he didn't really make use of his personal computer for anything past his email. He had better things to do with his time than watching videos online, even if it was for search purposes he preferred to have hard footage to digital streaming.

"Trying to." He corrected when she mentioned beating him up. Granted, as long as things remained three to one, there was precious little he could really do. It wasn't as if they were children, able to be batted away in droves. They were all capable, strong competitors. The fact they were women hardly played into any of it, for him anyway. He had given it a great deal of thought. Going after each member one by one in an effort to even the odds before an ultimate confrontation with Makoto on her own. He knew the smooth and simple execution that played out in his mind wouldn't be how things actually went. There was no real accounting for so many variables. Without offering much in the way of details, he boiled it down to its purest form.

"I was just going to take you all out." She glanced over at Stone, giving her a boyish grin. He couldn't ever imagine he'd be talking with a member of the gang about how he intended to dismantle them. This was definitely one of the stranger moments he could recall him having outside of a few odd happenings in the ring. The early days in some of the independent promotions tended to get a bit weird with some things they did to draw attention.

Makio held up a hand, putting any further questions on hold from Stone for a moment. "What exactly is this about? You seem to have a vested interest in the fact I'm not hiding under a rock... Considering we're suppose to be on opposite sides of the fence, what is it you're looking to gain from talking to me about this?" She could have just been trying to gather intel for Makoto, but that didn't really seem like the biker's modus operandi. So what was she playing at?