Climbing the Mountain

Eka was still playing with her hair a little bit as Harumi went into her cadence. The Georgian girl was downright flabbergasted. The way Harumi said it made it seem like she was rattling off a slide of a PowerPoint presentation, not necessarily just two friends talking at the dinner table. And before that, she tilted her head a little bit, and made a rather curious face. Like it was downright strange that Eka was not a model. The Georgian girl couldn't eat for a second, still reeling from what she was hearing. The word overqualified weighed on her heavily. Not only did she have the right looks to be a model, it seemed downright obvious that she would be the best. The beehive that was Eka's brain ceased all functioning, and Eka's eyes went wide.

She blinked once. Twice. Silence hung over them for a beat or two. Eka could not let that linger. "I, um, well, if you put it that way..." Eka chuckled a bit, hoping that would dispel some of her nervous energy. It didn't. She gulped, "But um, no, no one has approached me, yes? And I thank you for the many kind words. I really try hard, and it is nice to see that appreciated, yes?" Eka smiled softly. A month or two ago, she was wallowing in her own self-pity, not really sure where she was going or what she was doing. And now everything was going well for her, sitting in Harumi's lovely apartment, eating good food and sharing a moment.

"But that is not for me, yes? Usually when I am not studying, I am practicing to become a better wrestler. I do not want to photoshoots and hobknob with creeps and that sort of thing, yes?" Eka waved her hand, dismissing a lifestyle which she had only a rough idea of. "I did not come here to have pictures taken of me. Or at least, not while I was wearing some sundress or something, yes? I would very much like to do my academic work and wrestle. And maybe make some friends." Eka finished off with a smile.

"Is that how your manager came to manage you? You are quite pretty yourself. Your whole look," Eka gestured to her face while failing to make a stern look, "is not like many other women I have ever seen. Not just in AFW or Japan, but in all of the world, yes?" Eka stretched her arms wide, showing Harumi how big the world was. "Being a model, I mean. Is it very difficult?"

The Georgian girl finally felt confident enough to reach for her tea and take a sip of it. "After all, green eyed girls are hard to come by, yes?" It was a little bit less hot now, but still just as tasty. "And you are in many ways, more, uh, gifted than many women here," Eka looked into the tea to make sure that she was not looking at Harumi's chest, though she badly wanted to.

For a while, Harumi wondered if she said something wrong. Eka had been fidgeting around for a while, and hadn’t said anything as she ate. Once Harumi began to explain why she thought Eka was perfect for being a model, the Georgian went so far as to stop eating entirely. Considering how happy she was eating the food previously, and how hungry the woman appeared to be, it made Harumi worry she had possibly stepped on a nerve that was well hidden in the Georgian’s perfectly subtle features.

But, as Harumi’s words died down, Eka’s began. It took a moment of silence, but soon Eka was assuring Harumi that she had no interest in the modeling business, but thanked her for her observations regardless. The normally stoic woman simply smiled warmly as she ate a small portion of her salad.

“That’s a shame. I’m sure the modeling business is missing out. But I am happy you are following what you truly hold dear. Not everyone is brave enough to do something like that in their own home, much less in a brand-new land. I know I already said so, but if you ever find yourself in need, please don’t hesitate to drop in and give me a visit~” Harumi said with a tone that was almost motherly in nature, “It can be a bit lonely, so I don’t mind the company.”

Eka would ask about Harumi’s manager, wondering if she was picked up by them because of her own unique looks. Honestly, Harumi had only spoken to her manager here or there in the few months they had been working together. It seemed she was usually rather busy, and had a habit of running around the AFW building when on the job.

“Oh, I’m not a model either. I have been told I’m not very photogenic.”

Memories of photographers begging Harumi to keep her eyes open so that they could take a picture of her flashed through her mind. Countless photos of Harumi with her eyes closed, or squinted so she looked like she was glaring at the camera. Even her smile tended to morph into something that looked like a grimace whenever a camera was pointed at her. The only good photos of her was when she was captured completely unaware.

“No, I meant my wrestling manager, Ms. Kazahana. We really don’t speak too often, maybe once every two weeks or so. She is usually pretty busy, but she seems nice for the most part. I’m sure if I asked her to poke around, she could find someone to get you started on modeling if you ever change your mind. She seems capable enough.”

When Eka mentioned that Harumi seemed to be gifted, the Judoka stared quizzically and the Georgian. Whatever did she man by such a statement. Was she referring to Harumi’s eyes? Her muscle tone? Or…

Harumi shooed that thought away before it had any chance of appearing on her face. Eka certainly wasn’t thinking of something like that! Harumi was not in the ring with Mistress Paige! Such lewd thoughts were not common place, and to think that Eka would think of something like that was pure fantasy.

“Erm…so…You seem to have been with the AFW for a few years. May I ask you how you think I am doing so far? I know I am still plenty new, but I would love to hear your thoughts…as well as a few stories, if you have the time.”

Eka was eating with gusto now, her stomach punishing her for taking a break. Her eyes were cast downwards at her food, but her ears were perked up. It was good that Harumi offered her a chance to drop by any time she liked, because she could definitely see herself swinging by when she wanted a study break. The tone of it was what got her, though. Ever since she had been in Japan, she felt like she had been all alone without anyone really looking out for her. And it seemed like Harumi was responding a little bit to Eka's loneliness. She paused for a second and looked at Harumi with a quiet, wistful look. Eka did not mind company either. In fact, she needed it pretty desperately. Which is why a small smile spread across her face before she turned back to the task at hand, namely consuming everything that she could get her hands on.

"I do not believe that, yes? The photogenetic, uh, ness. The photogeneticness." Eka hoped that if she continued quickly that perhaps Harumi would not notice Eka just making up a word. "As far as I understand it, there are many models who are very pretty, but moreso unique. In appearance, yes, but also in how they act. And you are very unique, yes? But I have been very camera shy in the past. So I understand it, yes?" Eka finished up her little spiel confidently, remembering how she was shaking like a leaf on a tree during her first photo shoot for AFW.

"My manager is about the same. I am always pestering her for more matches, yes? But she said that there is not much interest in me. I have wrestled with many women who are bigger than me and it has not been so good, yes? But I appreciate it." All of the chicken salad on her plate was now finished, and the rice's days were numbered now. She grabbed the bowl and held it in her lap.

"Well, things are still very early on, yes? It is hard to say. I watched your match with Mistress Paige, and uh," Eka paused for a second, knowing there was a lot that could be said about that match but only a small portion that should be, "I saw a lot of myself in you, to be honest. I think you wanted to believe that she was a good person until the bitter end, and that is commendable, yes? You won that match." The Georgian girl thought that bringing up exactly how she won would not be fruitful. "But Mistress Paige is not so big, yes? And you will go against someone who is much bigger than you, and stronger than you, and meaner than you. And your good heart will be a disadvantage." Eka swallowed some rice before she continued.

"And I think you know that. Or you learned that. In not a very helpful way, yes? I cannot tell you that you should never be this person. And I cannot tell you that you must be this person. This person who sees good in people, and looks for bright spots when it seems that it is out of reach. But what I can tell you is that I have done some things while wrestling that I regret. And not done some things that I regret too." Eka sat back in her chair a little bit.

"When I wrestled with Syd, I lost my top. I was fair and I was righteous and I won, and for my trouble I was embarrassed in front of thousands upon thousands of people." Eka looked glum for a second. "And I do not want that to happen to you, yes?"

Harumi acknowledged Eka’s ideas of how models are chosen not only due to how photogenic they were but also due to a certain uniqueness about them. Harumi didn’t really have too much to add, as she already admitted to not knowing much about the industry, and she the topic seemed to run its course. Pushing any further and it could become dull or even argumentative. Instead, the Judoka finished off her small portion of rice and began to pick through her salad. Eka seemed happy to munch on whatever was on her plate. Harumi was silently thankful that Eka was not holding back her abietite, as the host of the evening had gotten so excited that she made quite a bit of food for dinner. So much so she was not sure if she could fit it all the leftovers in her small refrigerator. At the rate they were going, left overs was far from an issue.

“I am sure she is a lovely lady. I hope she works hard to get you what she can. I understand it can be rather difficult managing a wrestler, and I won’t pretend to know the hardships in doing so. There is probably a lot of paperwork and communication that goes on in that job, and I appreciate Ms. Kazahana for helping me despite her long list of clients…” Harumi finally finished her food, standing up to collect any unused plates and taking them to the sink, “As for the larger opponents, I recall having to deal with some of those back when I did tournaments…it an be a bit difficult, especially if they are well trained. I often found that if you used their weight against them and their limbs for leverage, you tend to have an easier time of things, but I don’t suppose it is ever easy.”

Harumi spoke of taking opponents down as if it were mowing the lawn or dealing with weeds. She was not a violent person by nature, and only seemed to mean it as a way to help Eka if she finds herself in that situation again. Harumi was busy cleaning her dishes’ somewhat absentmindedly, her train of thought a mixture of judo matches of old against larger opponents and getting a small stain off of the plate she was scrubbing.

Harumi was busy recalling a quick take down she did to one of her fathers’ students a year her senior back when she was a child when the name Mistress Paige came up. Instantly, Harumi seemed to grow tense, her back towards her guest helping her hide away her face which had turned the brightest shade of pink. Her expression, usually so calm and warm, turned awkward and nervous. Memories of that match flooded into her mind, and the judoka set the dish she was cleaning in the sink so she could cool her warm cheeks with her wet hands. She tried to repress those thought of that match, yet it seemed every so often they surfaced out of the blue, and she always wanted to kick herself or scream due to what happened.

She had to have been the corniest person to ever enter that ring that day. All of the stuff she spouted to Paige as if the match were life and death? Every night those deeply dramatic words haunted her dreams and made her feel like a fool! Some people who had seen the match had taken to calling her “Ranger Teal”, apparently in reference to the show Mistress Paige originated from, where that sort of dialogue was normal. Those dark memories and silly speeches overtook anything that Paige did that night. Truth be told, Harumi still considered the villain something close to a friend, at the moment.

“Erm…uh…let’s not talk too much about that match.” Harumi seemed a bit uncomfortable, but forced a smile on her face anyways. She was a host, entertaining her guest. “I like to believe everyone has a some good in them, that people are capable of compassion. There are all sorts of people I have met since leaving home, some kind, others…a bit further from that description.”

The judoka finally calmed down enough to turn around, pushing the memories of her dramatic dialogue to the back of her mind. Her face still a bit red, but manageable for the moment.

“You happen to be one of the former. I appreciate your concern, and I’m flattered you would worry about me as you have. Few would share such a personal story like that…I promise to be careful, both in combat and in whom I speak to. I have heard some of the horror stories that plague the AFW, and though I may have come close to becoming one when I battled Mistress Paige, I do not intend to ever get into such a position again.”

With such a dark subject looming overhead, Harumi thought it best to change course in the conversation. Eka seemed to have a healthy appetite…perhaps it was time for the finale~

“Are you ready for dessert?”

Harumi moved towards her refrigerator, opening it up and digging around for a moment before finally emerging with a pair of custard pudding cups. The Georgian was still in the middle of her rice, but Harumi figured it was alright to spoil her. She handed her guest both cups, letting her have both or just one, if that was what she wanted. A spoon lay waiting next to one of the cups packaging as Harumi sat back down, scratching the side of her cheek a bit nervously.

Eka looked at Harumi as she took the used dishes away. There was only a little bit of rice left in her bowl, and Eka was determined to finish it. She was still unwieldy with chopsticks, but she tried to use them anyways. The darkhaired girl felt like she was honoring her guest in a way. It felt a little bit silly, to be sure, but Eka was not about to stop now. Her blue eyes traced Harumi's back as she walked over to the sink. The Judoka knew how to use limbs as leverage and counterbalance a hundred times better than Eka likely did. One of the few facets of wrestling that Eka was good at was the takedown, vicious and quick as it was. But there was a sort of elegance to throws. She could not scry what brilliant throws Harumi was cooking up in her head as she started doing the dishes.

And then it happened. Eka had to go and mention Mistress Paige. Though she could not see the look on Harumi's face, she could sense a certain tension when Eka threw that name out there. Her own  glumness was set aside when she realized what a faux pas she had just made and Eka made an awkward noise halfway between a yelp of pain and a sigh of embarrassment. If Harumi had brought up a bad loss that Eka had borne, the Georgian girl would have been absolutely mortified. This was clearly not the time or the place to broach such a subject, especially because they were having such a lovely time. Or at least Eka was. After such an idiotic statement, she had to follow it up with something. And now she was struggling to think of what.

"I am quite sorry, and I did not mean to bring it up, yes?" Eka's words were rapid fire. "And I am sure that you will never be in another position like that ever again." Eka shook her head, her dark hair falling on either side as she spoke. "And dessert sounds wonderful, yes?" Eka set her empty rice bowl down and accepting both cups. She looked at both for a second, and really thought about it. She then reached across and placed one in front of Harumi's place. "It is much more enjoyable to eat dessert with someone else. Even if it means that you get half as much, yes?" Eka smiled, and hoped that Harumi scratching her cheek was not a sign of nervousness.

Eka brushed some of the hair from her face, and tried to slow her thoughts down a little bit. She remembered back in the ring, when she had put her hand on Harumi's chest, it felt like Harumi's heart was going to burst from her ribcage due to its speed and furor. It was kind of amusing looking back at it now, but this was not them in a ring. This was just two friends chatting over a shared meal. And it was a good time for Eka to get to know Harumi a little bit better.

The Georgian girl adjusted herself so she was sitting a bit more square, and dipped her spoon into the pudding cup and took a big bite. It was sweet. "Something that has struck me about you, is that you always speak quite highly of judo, yes? And to be honest, I do not know very much about the gentle way, but I have come to respect it much because of how much you appreciate it. And I would like to hear your story. How did you come to it?" Eka took another bite of custard, this one smaller than the first. Not because she didn't like the custard, but rather she wanted it to last that little bit longer.

Harumi didn’t react much towards the dessert Eka kindly passed back to her. Truth be told, Harumi didn’t care for the flavor. It came in a four pack that was on sale at the local market, and Harumi had tried the first one the same day she purchased it. The pudding was a bit too…sticky? Harumi could never eat the whole thing in one sitting, and after two spoons of the stuff it started making her throat feel as though it was filled with mucus. Still, she accepted the pudding, and secretly planned on taking two bites before saying she was full and offering it back to the Georgian. Thankfully, she seemed to enjoy it. Perhaps she could send her home with the last cup.

Harumi took a bite of the pudding, but quickly swallowed the contents without tasting it and then set her spoon down. Yep, it was still as sticky as ever. Harumi was quick to drink some tea to get the sticky feeling out of her throat. She hid her disgust well enough with a simply cough, and waited for the perfect opportunity to give her dessert back to her guest.

Eka then mentioned her interest in Judo. Though Harumi had a hard time understanding if she was interested in Judo itself, or Judo and how it affected Harumi. Judging by the follow-up questions, she decided on the latter.

“Come to it? Well, um…I would say I was born into it, really. My Fathers name is Rokoto Hazama. I don’t know if you would know him, but he was a very skilled fighter before I was born…He still is. He was revered by many for his skill, and placed the highest Japanese judo in three national tournaments. Of course, being born under him…all of my brothers and sisters were expected to take after his legacy.”

Harumi reached over towards a nearby drawer, quickly shuffling around until she found a small album. The first page showed a proud and strong looking man, doubtlessly Harumi’s father.

“He went on to open up a school to train others…I was one of his students after getting into middle school, and I have been doing it ever since. It turns out I was pretty good at it…I’m one of the youngest women to ever win an amateur tournament three times consecutively, and the only one to win three of them consecutively.” Harumi smiled proudly, deciding that bragging to her new friend was alright. Few had ever approached her about the Judo subject, and despite usually appearing proud and stoic, the Judoka seemed to genuinely light up when speaking about her family heritage.

Eka was quietly watching as Harumi ate the pudding. She must have wanted to savor it like Eka was doing, which is why she took a small bite. The Georgian girl gladly gulped another spoonful down, letting the pudding stick in the back of her throat. She did not know what the sensation was, but she quite liked it. It was like a milkshake she had when she was younger that got stuck in the back of her throat. She got to enjoy it again, to taste a little of it and feel the texture slither down her throat. Eka perked up a little bit when her new friend reached for the cupboard, and a picture book emerged. Eka scooted across the table to see the photos a little better.

The first page featured a strong man, a man who very closely resembled Harumi both in terms of looks and temperment. There was a certain sternness to him, Eka felt, that was obviously handed down to the daughter. She looked up at Harumi as the Judoka spoke, spoon still in her mouth. Eka removed it before she began talking. "That is very impressive, yes?" She looked at the man again. Japan was mad for judo, and he had won three tournaments. Then he went on to teach. Eka's eyes got a bit bigger, as if she were looking at some holy relic of the wrestling world.

"And it is even more impressive that you won. As the youngest ever? That is amazing." Eka turned her blue eyes towards Harumi, marveling at the woman and her accomplishments. The Georgian girl barely understood the rules of the sport let alone the techniques, but she knew enough to know that both father and daughter were fierce in their own rights. Eka looked back at the photo.

"You must be very proud of him. But he must be even more proud of you, yes? You won three tournaments, and now you are wrestling in the biggest wrestling federation on the face of the earth. I am sure that he has your picture on the door of the academy, yes?" Eka got herself another dollop of pudding. "Do you talk to him often, so that he can show you all of the cool moves?" She asked.

Harumi’s heart swelled with pride as Eka showered praise upon her and her family’s accomplishments. She was well aware how uncouth and vain she was being, all but bragging to Eka how skilled her linage was, the dedication her father exuded to perfect his craft was something even his daughter was proud of…

But when the Georgian brought up her father’s pride, the smiling face dampened a bit. While there was nothing on Harumi’s face to imply negative feelings, her body language shifted slightly. Her once proud and stoic body language sulked, like a flower deprived from the light of the sun. Harumi loved her family, as did they her, but like all families, there was some sore subjects that caused tempers and pride to soar.

“Yes. Well, he really wasn’t too happy when I left Judo for wrestling. He doesn’t consider wrestling real competition, and thinks I’m wasting my time and talent.” Harumi nervously brushed away a stray bang from her eyes, forcing a smile on her face, “I love my father…but he can be as stubborn in life as he is with training.”

Harumi flipped the page, revealing a rather gentle looking woman, her long black hair tied into a tight bun as a warm, loving smile seemed to light up the photo. The woman’s face was one of pale beauty, and her eyes shined like the rarest jewel’s mankind could find. She looked rather fragile, like a piece of art that may break if one handled her too roughly, though it was clear she was extremely kind.

“This is my mother, Hana Hazama. She met my father before he entered the first tournament. They both met years ago, back before my father won any tournaments.” Harumi blushed as she seemed to delve into her memories, “My mother said that my father was so nervous, he was scared to even ask her out. He asked if she would go out with him if he was able to win in the Judo tournament. And you know what she said?”

“If you win, lose, or quit altogether…I would be happy to go out with you~”

Eka faded a bit as she watched Harumi wilt at her question about the Judoka's father. Before, her new friend was talking with so much gusto about her family that she thought it would be an okay question to ask. She knew that some people had iffy histories with the family, but that is not what she was sensing here. But her intuition guided her incorrectly. Eka frowned a bit, feeling like she had put a bit of a damper on the evening just by bringing that up. She could not find the words to console Harumi, if she needed consolation at all, before a new photo absorbed the entiery of her attention.

This time, it was her mom. The Georgian girl was all too happy to look at this woman instead of dealing with emotional baggage. There was clearly some resemblance between mother and daughter but it was more in figure than it was in form. Eka peered into the photo with her blue eyes, trying to figure out how a woman who looked so brittle could produce a child who seemed hewn from a mountainside. Harumi had her mother's beauty, for sure, but there was an element of the Judoka that seemed much more...Eka didn't know what to think. Whole? Earthy? Solid? All of them applied, but none of them entire encapsulated what she thought of the Judoka.

She looked up at Harumi's face as she told the story of how her mother and father met. Harumi was blushing as she spoke, which Eka found to be quite cute. The Georgian girl smiled widely as Harumi reached the climax of the story, made even better by the fact that it had a happily ever after.

"That is amazing!" Eka threw her hands up, quietly praising the goddess of love with open palms. "It is adorable that she had such a response, yes?" Eka looked at the photo once more. In some undetectable way, the woman had come to life a little bit more. She was not the Elgin marbles, prone to the elements. Hana was young and sprightly and full of life.

Eka turned to Harumi. "My parents are both from Georgia, yes? Like the country," she clarified, "and they were both training to be doctors. This was when the Soviet Union was still in power, and they both wanted to go to America. So they were in a study group together. And my dad tells me that he kept coming so that he could keep seeing my mother, and so he could learn more ways to express that she was the prettiest woman in the whole world." Eka could not help but grin widely as she recounted how her parents met each other. It was pretty charming, she had to admit.

She reached for her phone. "I can show you pictures of them and us all together if you would like, yes?"

Eka may as well have told Harumi the magic words. Truth was, the judoka was hopelessly in love with the idea of romance! Ever since she was a young girl, Harumi had been reading romance novels and comics, and she had become swept up in the idea of the love of her life dropping into her world and stealing her heart. The strange, yet divine way her parents had met simply fueled that dream for Harumi, making her desire for such an enrapturing romance all the more desirable. To hear how Eka’s parents met in a similar romantic fashion made Harumi get a bit excited for the subject at hand.

“You have pictures with you? Yes!, I would love to see them!”

Family pictures were quite personal. A sort of window as to what the person was like, and they helped gage how much a person has changed from what they once were. Harumi had purposefully placed her own pictures near the back of the album to keep anyone from accidentally happening upon them. Truth was, she found them a bit embarrassing, but she was excited to see what type of pictures Eka’s had residing in her phone. Did she have siblings as Harumi did? Or was she an only child? Were they recent photos? Or older?

It may have been a bit immature, but Harumi acted excited to see them, crawling on all fours so she could settle up next to Eka and peer at the screen on the phone, curious as to that Eka would reveal through her photos.