Celebrating good fortune

Lukretia seemed geniuinely excited at Chigusa's response. Her eyes lit up and she ordered two beers for herself and chigusa and a wine for Megumi. As they ate the main course was served. There were some lovely roast pheasants and sauseges of all varieties as well as plenty of meats cheeses vegetables and dishes that seemed like it would be far more than three people could eat if they spent all night trying. The maids and butlers served only small portions, knowing that it would be better if they ate small bits of emany of the food instead of gorging. Lukretia was certainly not trying to gorge the girls or herself.

She enjoyed the food well and seemed pleased by the response the two girls had. "Have you girls toured outside of Japan." She said. "I think zat I vould love to have you come to deutchland for a show. It vould certainly be a mutually beneficial show for ze two of us. Oh!" She gasped. "I think it vould be great to get some acts from Japan und some acts from Deutchland und have a festival. One in each country. She reaised her hand. 'A taste of two cultures!' She said seriously considering the idea. "If you are interested I can have meine assistant get in touch vith your manager. I could set it up pretty easily. All you ladies vould have to do is show up und do your best."

Lukretia seemed very lighthearted and far friendlier than she had ever been. In better spirits than probably anyone had seen her but rarely did anyone in AFW get to see her when she was being a professional. Whining and dining and deal making was somethign she had perfected.

After she settled down she then grinned at the two of them. "Und ze titles?" She questioned. "You know." She said. "I actually do not have much interest in vinnign a title. Do you think zis is strange?" She questioned, not particularly caring if they answered or not. "I only came here because AFW seemed like a good place to meet ze needs of a business woman like myself. All ze talent. Meeting such strong people liek yourselves. A mere bonus. Added onto vat I already vanted."

Chigusa eagerly took a sip of the genuine German Lager when she received it, holding it in her mouth for a moment to get the full taste. It was a heady brew, she could taste that much, and the rich smell and flavor signifying it as a very expensive drink. She enjoyed that sip very much, but knew that she couldn't have too much or else she could get very tipsy and embarrass herself in front of her gracious hostess.

Megumi meanwhile sipped at her wine as she slowly began to dig in to the meal. It wasn't quite like anything the Japanese girls were used to; the food was heavier than what they normally ate. They both ate slowly, trying to not get full too quickly.

"Performances outside Japan?" Chigusa responded to Lukretia's question," We've had a couple of shows in America, since the company we work for is based there. We haven't been to Europe though..."

"It wouldn't be a bad idea to try," Megumi said, "Although neither of us know any German. Drake might agree, but who knows what that guy thinks." She was referring to Thomas Drake, the tycoon that owned their company and was their personal manager.

Neither of them was very surprised when Lukretia spoke about not wanting a title. They both realized how little meaning it had to someone like Lukretia, who was more a capitalist than an entertainer. To them it was a bigger deal, but that was because it helped with their reputations and their fame.

"It's not so strange," Chigusa said, "You've got a different goal after all."

Megumi wondered at how Chigusa seemed to know Lukretia's goals so familiarly. Perhaps more had gone on between them than she thought.

Lukretia sipped her beer carefully, enjoying her favorite brand. She ate carefully as well and listened to the conversation. "It is not necessary to speak German to come to deutchland!" She said as though something silly was said. "Music is something zat crosses language barriers. A good performance vill be appreciated regardless of language or nationality." She said. "Und I am sure ze German bands vould not speak much Jpanese if zey vere to come here. Regardless I vill get ahold of your manager und hashit out vith him." She smiled and sipped her Beer some more. Once dinner was finished, a serving of fine german chocolate cake was served. The cake was rich but it only had a thin slice. Enough to tease the senses without being to cuimbersome to eat. A fluffy mousse was served with it to round out the dessert. Coffee was also served along side of the final course of the meal.

Lukretia smiled coyly as Chigusa spoke. "I suppose zis is true." She grinned. "But you have taught me much, Ms. yuuki. Perhaps zey are not so dissimilar anymore?" She quickly sipped some coffee as though doing so would prevent a reaction from the two. "Tell me." She continued. "How long have ze two of you been together?" She gave Megumi a curious eye. She then shifted her gaze slyly to Chigusa. The question seemed innocent enough. The two of them had been a tag team for quite some time. But Lukretia was careful enough to word it in a way that could be interpreted as either a team or as lovers. Curious was she to know the depths of the idol's relationship.

Chigusa laughed slightly when she though of the prospect of Germans trying to speak Japanese. If Lukretia was any indication, they would have absolutely awful accents. But then, her German would probably be worse. "Mmhmm, Drake's the one you'll need to talk to," Chigusa said, "I'd really like to visit Germany and Europe myself, even if there's no performance, I'd still like to go."

The light cake and mousse that rouded out the dessert was some of the best food the Japanese girls had ever tasted. It didn't take long for them to finish that. After dabbing her napkin on her lips to wipe off the last traces of the mousse, Chigusa responded to Lukretia's question.

"Titles are important to us," she said, "It gets our names out, so it helps with fame and our reputations and stuff. And besides, winning a title is a sense of accomplishment. The belt itself isn't much, but it's the feeling of being at the top, beating everybody else, that's really nice." She didn't expect any real response from Lukretia, though she expected Lukretia to understand that feeling.

Megumi spoke up when Lukretia asked how long had they been together. "Ever since we started wrestling, we've been together as a team," she said, "It's been... four years? Somewhere close to that."

"We've been friends for longer than that though," Chigusa said, "I mean, the first job we did together was on that TV show, right? That must have been at least seven years ago..."

"Hah! Yeah I remember," Megumi said, "You were just this itty-bitty little girl back then, following around your big sister Megumi."

"You aren't that much older than me," Chigusa said, a bit annoyed but still amused at Megumi's teasing.

Lukretia grinned. "Vell you are always velcome to have a vacation some time at meine estate in Germany." She said. "I miss meine home und so I vould return on a moment's notice if I had even a flimsy excuse." She smiled finishing her dessert quickly as well. The offer was sincere and even lukretia was a bit surprised at her generosity. She couldn't believe she had wanted to spend more time with Chigusa in a setting like that.

"Zis isvunderbar!" She exclaimed. "Ze two of you must be very close to have such a bond." She decided to bait things a little further, for her own amusement. "I can't imagine zat being in such a league zat ze two of you haven't even formed something a little more special zan merely ze bond of friendship?" She grinned slyly at the words and pulled up her coffee to sip it, cleverly hiding her face as she awaited a response. She did her best to see the reaction on each girl.

"I might just take you up on that," Chigusa said, "but perhaps a bit later, when all of us aren't so busy. After all, I don't think you want to go back before you finish your job here, now do you?" She gave Lukretia a knowing smile, then took a swig of the strong beer.

"What can she possibly be talking about?" Megumi thought, "And how can she know about Lukretia's plans?" It was all very confusing now, since Megumi had no idea what Lukretia wanted with the two of them. And she did not know how Chigusa could have any idea what Lukretia's plans were.

When Lukretia probed deeper about their relationship, Chigusa blushed and giggled. "Well," Chigusa began to say, "I guess you can say that there is something more..."

"Chigusa!" Megumi chided, trying to cut her off before she could say anything more.

"Oh quit being such a sop Megumi!" Chigusa said, wagging a finger up at her, "We're in private. I don't think our hostess here would go around spreading rumors." She turned back to Lukretia. "Yes, after being together for so long, we've certainly developed... deeper bonds." She paused. "I guess you can say we're lovers, but it's gone much deeper than that I think."

Lukretia accepted theoffer graciously. "Of course." She said. "There is still quite a bit of bbusiness to do here but I may be here for much longer zan I anticipated." She said with a hint of disappointment in her words.

Lukretia chuckled softly to herself at the girl's exchange. "Is love something zat should not be shouted from ze highest mountain tops?" She said lifting up her coffe cup in a mock toast. "It is good zat ze two of you could become so close. "Perhaps I am even a bit jealous?" She said smiling and letting her gaze drift to Chigusa. Meine lifestyle does not afford me much of an opportunity to forge such deep bonds."

"Love is something to be proud of," Megumi said, "But it's also a private affair-"

"Yep, we can't just go telling everybody," Chigusa said, cutting Megumi off, "After all, people still think lesbianism is horrible. If this got out... lets just say our careers might get ruined."

"Then why are you telling her all this?" Megumi thought, perplexed and enraged. The more Chigusa divulged, the more control Lukretia had on them. It was blackmail material Chigusa was providing to Lukretia. She did not trust Lukretia at all, especially since she was being so probing.

"It's not like you can't find love just because you're a noble," Chigusa said, "Open up a bit more and naturally you'll find somebody. Or maybe somebody will find you." She lowered her voice. "After all, these girls you have don't follow you because they work for you, do they?" she said with a knowing smile.

"I understand completely." She said. In her own circles, it wasn't as big a deal, but she did understand the importance of keeping such matters inside that said circle. Lukretia was known as a cruel eccentric and so most simply thought she kept women around because she liked to humiliate them. She kept guys around, in more proper roles and allowed makle suitors to come and go, even occasionally having a fling with them if she felt it would benefit her or if she had a sudden urge to lay with a man, which rarely came.

The thought of having something to hold over the two was quite delicious to Lukretia, but there was also a twisted sense of how things should be and an unrivaled ego. Forcing the two to do something because they had no choice was not Lukretia's style. If she was going to destroy them it would be by her own two hands. But at the moment they were merely in the way of a larger goal, or rather, useful pawns in achieving that goal. This was how she justified the poisoning in her own mind.

"Ja, you are correct." She said. "No one in zis mansion who is of ze female persuasion is forced to vork for me in any fashion. Nor do I require zem to follow me. Everything is a voluntary choice." She siad. "Despite ze fact zat I am harsh, ze girls know zat in ze end zey vill be better for it und many of zem secretly enjoy it I am sure." She said vith a grin. "Ahhhh but love und allegience are different matters." She said with a longing sigh, as though the latter was out of reach. "Ze other women of meine upbringing... I despise zem." she said truthfully. "Und yet all ze others I meet seem to be far too veak for my tastes. Maybe I am too picky but a voman like me must demand ze best!" She added with a determined tone.

"I hope you do," Megumi said, responding to Lukretia saying she understood, her voice pleasant but veiling a threat. She knew that Lukretia could use that information against them as a weapon, and that it would hurt them far too much. And there was nothing she could do about it but bluff and hope Lukretia wouldn't do it.

Chigusa meanwhile seemed completely cheerful and untroubled. But inside, she was a bit suspicious as well. It didn't seem right for Lukretia to want to build trust, as she fully admitted. So why was she being so open right now? Chigusa knew the way Lukretia thought, or so she thought. There was more to all this; Lukretia wanted something from them. But she wasn't revealing it.

"You say you hate the weak," Chigusa said, "But if you just crush everybody under your feet, you'll never find anyone strong enough for your liking."