Streets of Fury

Jack liked the Tension crowd right away, more than even the crowds at Royale back home. In his father’s company, the audience had a tendency to get a little too into themselves. They liked to come up with these oddly elaborate chants, liked to dance and mug for the cameras, seemed bent on making themselves a part of the show. It always irritated him, made him feel like they were trying to weasel their way into the spotlight that should’ve been shining on him.

But this Japanese crowd had the right energy and mindset. At this very moment, they were solely focused on reacting to him, and that reaction was energetic, overwhelming, and unquestionably negative, which was just the reaction he was going for.

They’d started booing the moment he came down the ramp, only a couple of minutes ago, and that response had only grown more vociferous with each passing moment. He liked to think it was because a good portion of them knew who he was already, from all the waves he’d made in the UK with his power struggle, there. Royale had a decent Japanese following, even though they didn’t appeal to the coveted hentai market. Wrestling fans tended to keep track of these things, and they would know what his presence here could mean for the future.

Or it could’ve just been the way he came out. He wore his wrestling attire, if you could call it that - the slacks, the vest, the tie, functional but certainly not the usual garb of grappler. With his hair slicked back, he looked like he was ready for the boardroom, not the squared circle, and that kind of disrespect might have been hard for a more traditional Japanese crowd to swallow.

Or maybe, just maybe, it could’ve been because Lock and Key, his compatriots, were dragging a screaming, squealing referee behind him by the arms, clearly forcing her to come to the ring against her own will.

So many reasons. Jack could never be sure.

He stood in the middle of the ring, microphone in hand, waiting for the crowd to get quiet enough for him to speak. Looking over to the side, he could see Key keeping the referee in a tight full nelson, jerking her about hard every time she put up a little resistence. ”You might as well calm down.” Lock spoke as she stood in front of the capture woman, reaching up to caress her chin with a single finger. ”You’re not going anywhere for awhile.”

Jack nodded their way, then straightened up and cleared his throat before he graced the Tension audience with his dulcet voice. ”Greetings, salutations, konichiwa. Judging by this warm Kyoto reaction, I’m sure at least some of you pay attention to things that happen outside of this little island, and you know who I am. For those who don’t, I’ll give you all the cliff notes version.” He stuffed a hand in his pocket and began to pace about the ring. ”My name is Jack Riley. My father ran a little operation in the UK, Royale, might’ve heard of it. We had a bit of a falling out, one thing led to another, and, well...here I am. For the foreseeable future, Tension is where I hang my hat.”

He turned to the referee and waved a finger her way, just as she was starting to put up another round of futile resistance, showing some gumption. Key rewarded that by jerked back and shooting her knee into the woman’s backside while she bore down on the hold, taking the fight out of her for the moment. Lock simply sighed and shrugged at the display. ”Warned you.”

”Right, so,” He thumbed back their way. ”I just wanted to get a lay of the land, meet some new people, and I’d heard some rumors about a certain referee that might be inclined to help me with some of my future endeavors. When I asked this one about it, she was, let’s say, less than welcoming, and we had a little argument. One that my colleagues, Lock and Key, are helping me resolve. As you can see.”

He stood at the center of the ring now and bounced on his heels for a moment, before looking towards the ramp. ”So. Clearly, there are a few here who aren’t taking us seriously right out of the gate. That’s fine, it just means that examples need to be made, and I’m a fan of the classics. I’m sure there’s some enterprising would-be hero in the back, just waiting to come out here and take us on and make a name for herself...or himself, I’m not picky. Either way, come on down to the ring, and we can have ourselves a good match. Oh, and as added incentive, my colleagues are going to beat up this poor woman until you do. Just to put a timer on things. Ladies?”

Lock nodded Jack’s way for final confirmation, then went to work. She took a step away from the captive referee, then moved in with a wide swing of her leg, giving her a stiff kick in the midsection to knock all the wind out of her. As she retched and gasped, Key threw her down and gave her a quick stomp to her back, hammering her into the canvas.

Jack simply found a corner to lean on and watched it all happen, wondering how long it would take someone to intervene. One minute? Two? He was thinking two.

The trip had been on a whim. She had already  explained that to death between matches as her phone had been vibrating non stop ever since her hand mate Rocky had noted she had been left behind. It wasn't the fault of her friend, it was just that her VIP treatment of getting free seats at AFW events didn't extend to friends and family when they were last minute. It hadn't seemed right to drag the girl around to to have her stuck outside for two or three hours. So she took off, as she was prone to do, and caught a rant from Rocky about being left out. The other girl would get over it. She was likely just as bored as Nadine had been and wanted something, anything, to pop off.

Watching the men and women of Tension beat the tar out of each other proved to be a fun enough distraction if so nothing else, or it was until the greasy blond going made his entrance. Peering side to side, the general reaction to him was poor. Hissing and boos, some folks even yelling out threats. She didn't know who this guy even was, but was so amused by the gate that she found herself jumping on the hate train to scream her own jeers his way. They guy looked like some yuppy prick that had found their way into a steroids closet and what was the deal with the chicks in suits?

She hadn't paid the referee too much mind until they caught a knee for their struggles, killing much of Nadine's lighthearted fun at dissing this dick to having some actual concern over the smaller weaker woman being manhandled in front of the crowd. It was pretty clear now that she was paying attention that this referee hadn't wanted to be here. They practically had kidnapped her and were beating her up… something that Jack himself confirmed. Not cool.

She looked to the entrance ramp, waiting for someone's music to hit and interrupt this guy's grandstanding, but nothing happened. The ramp remained dimly lit and empty as he prattle on and on. Things finally bubbled over when he sucked his two secretaries on the referee fully and the two ladies started literally beating her in the ring. Growling, Nadine shouldered her way past fellow members of the audience in protest, making her way to the barrier that decided the fans from the members of Tension roster. She gave her half finished bag of popcorn a small toss to an unsuspecting crowd member before faulting the divider, glaring up at the scene from ringside.

"Hey, asshole! I'm right here, lay off the chick!" She had no mic, no badge, no real acclaim to speak of here. The distant onlookers didn't even know she was speaking to them. Those nearby however seemed behind her, thrilled that someone from the stands would be the one to accept Jack's challenge. Like sheep others joined into the cheers over murmured of confusions. People were quick to turn on him and his goon squad after what he said and did.

Nadine moved to the apron, hopping up onto the edge before rolling herself into the ring. She was weary of getting too close to the trio, aware they could defend on her like vultures if they were quick. She didn't give them the chance, popping to her feet to stare them down from her end of the ring. "You want a match? Fine, let's go, idiot." Nadine dragged her zipper down the front of her leather jacket, throwing it open as she let her body breath. Fists balled and ready to throwdown. Rocky was going to give her an earful about this later for sure, making most of her patchwork excuses over text irrelevant. Hopefully smashing this smug douche's head in would make up for that though.

Less than one minute. Not bad, not bad, though Jack wasn’t sure he should really count it. He’d been expecting someone to come down the ramp, but what they got instead was a visitor from the crowd.

The brunette’s sudden entrance into the ring was enough to catch all three of the Bluebloods off guard, even stopping Key when her foot was in mid-stomp, hovering just over the referee’s head. The first inkling Jack had was that this was a fan who’d decided to play hero, something he had mixed feelings about. He was hoping to make a statement here, and while he could probably get away with wrecking some stupid audience member, it wouldn’t give quite the impression that taking on a real wrestler would.

That thought changed, however, when he got a better look at this intruder, seeing her unzip. If she was a part of the crowd, she must’ve had plans to party afterwards, because she was certainly dressed for it. The jacket, the boots, the flaming leather, this undeniable 80s kitsch vibe that was so popular these days. Retro. But she was built, too. Solid arms, legs that looked strong enough to crush watermelons, abs that could even rival Key’s six pack. This was the body of a fighter, and the stance she took on only solidified that notion.

His compatriots moved away from the referee to flank Jack as he stepped forward, with Key closing in particularly fast, looking she was ready to strike before the festivities could get going in earnest. ”Stupid bitch walked into the wrong decade.”

She cracked her knuckles, a fiery glare in her eye and a smirk on her face, but Jack cut her off with a raised arm before she could close in. ”Easy. Easy.” She sneered his way, her face contorted from the frown and the furrowed brows, but she held back all the same. ”Let’s at least get acquainted first, learn her name before we kick this off.”

He turned back to the newcomer and tossed her the microphone, lobbing it over underhand from a few feet away. ”Well? Take a moment to introduce yourself. No rush.”

She had been in enough big brawls to know the secret for taking on more opponent's was blitzing them and doing as much damage as fast as possible. Arms raised, head lowered, she was ready to barrel into all three of them as they came but her attention had been turned to Key. The woman was eager to step up and get clapped, so she would oblige with the biggest haymaker this audience had seen tonight and take her head off. " 'Bout to knock you out of this one, try me."

Gentleman Jack over here had other things in mind, pulling the leash of his attack dogs to hold them at bay. She stayed on high alert until things ground down to a habit, only the. Letting her arms drop as she straightened up. Nadine blew Key a small kiss while she was held at bay, stoking that obvious fire of anger that was smoldering. When the mic was tossed her way, she swiped it from the air with a practiced ease, twirling it between her fingers before bringing it to her lips.

"Kyoto… sup." That fallout seemed to be more than enough to rally the crowd behind her after the display of violence towards the referee. Her eyes drifted over the audience around them before settling back on the trio. "Don't negotiate with kidnappers, let her go and we can get down to business." Nadine dropped her arms, letting the microphone dangle. She didn't seem inclined to play nice with Jack until her terms were met.

The referee looked up, squinting like a wounded animal, looking to the backs of the people who had dragged her out to the ring. They didn't seem to be paying her any attention. Slowly she pushed herself up to her hands and feet, looking back between the ringside area and Nadine on the other end of the bodies that walked her in. Rolling out of the ring might work, but if any of them chased they would catch her in an instant. She risked trying to move past Lock, freezing when the blond caught her frightened gaze. They stared at one another for an uncomfortable moment before the holiday if cracked a small smirk and looked forward to ignore them after further. That was enough to send the striped shirt girl scrambling to Nadine's side.

The brunette held a hand out to the official, grasping on tightly when the referee took the offer. With a firm tug she brought the slender woman to her feet, leaning in close to exchange whispered words to her while holding the mic away.

"You okay hun?"

"Y-yes, thank you, so much." The referee seemed on the verge of tears.

Nadine gave a small nod, lightly giving the woman a pat on the arm, nodding her head to the ramp to send her on her way. The official returned the nod and quickly made her way out of the ring leaving the brunette in the ring with the other three. Taking a deep breath, the rocker brought the mic back to her lips. "Blaze."

"So, Jack, let me review the synopsis here. Daddy kicks you to the curb, you get some business cards for a couple of sadist secretaries, and get turned down by a ref so you decide it's a good idea to have a public beating. Am I following so far? For wanting to make a splash in this big old pond, you took the limpest dick route possible." She wagged a finger at the crotch of his slacks, folding her arms as she leaned. "Congrats. You got everyone's attention, including mine. So let's see how you fair against someone who can fight back, tough guy."

Jack had a little chuckle at the mic catch, noting how natural it looked. He didn’t know if this one was new to the ring or not, but he was willing to bet she was no stranger to the spotlight, seeming at home and comfortable with all the eyeballs centered her way. That and the getup just screamed ‘performer’, and made him even more curious where she’d come from. Questions for another time, though.

Lock, on the other hand, had found something else to garner her attention - the disobedient referee trying to slink away. It was tempting to have another go at her, she fought the urge and let her go with a pleasing smirk. She was just the bait, after all. Now that the fish was on the hook, her role was over.

Though she was lucky Lock had seen her and not Key. Very lucky.

Lock dropped out of the ring, going to get an extra microphone while their volunteer and Jack squared off. He stood there, silent, hands in his pockets as she ran him down, still - save for the moment where she pouted at his crotch and he followed the finger down. That got a little laugh out of him. American humor always went below the belt, sooner or later.

He spoke up as soon as Lock returned with the microphone and he cleared his throat to enunciate, wanting to make sure his accent didn’t get in the way of being understood. ”Blaze. I like that. And yeah, that’s close to it. They’re not secretaries, though. “

Lock had a soft chuckle at that, as she brushed a few hairs away from her face. ”Not officially.”

”Bodyguards. So I’ll be happy to show you just how well I can handle myself, after I let them do their jobs a little. Can we get a referee, please? A fresh one?” He snapped his fingers and motioned towards the back, looking towards the curtain for a few seconds before he turned back Blaze’s way.

”Oh, did I mention this is going to be a handicap match?” He slapped his forehead, then held his hand out. ”My bad, fault’s on me. Is that a problem for you?”

Blaze had eased the mic away from her lips, casually tapping the AFW logo plate against her shoulder as she watched the trio, very much uninterested in what they had to say. While no saint herself, they had already documented themselves as bottom feeders to her if they were going around beating up on the female staff. Jack, the ringleader of this little circus had her ire especially. She wasn't sure exactly how threatened she really needed to be if it took this many of them to make a point. Compensating much? With a small smirk she tilted the back towards her mouth, slipping in her own commentary over Jack's explanation.

"So you're their pimp then. Makes sense." She canted her head slightly at his clarification. "Right, "bodyguards"." Though it didn't seem like she took his claims seriously, her gaze did drift between the two women, a bit more weary of them. Jack didn't strike her as the type to show weakness, especially in front of a crowd. So if these gals were his protection, they must be at least half decent at what they did. Still, it was hard to take them seriously. Who fight dressed like that? She let out a hard snort, scoffing at Jack.

"You came out here to start a fight and you aren't even going to do it yourself, huh?" She gave a disappointed shake of her head. Brazenly she stepped forward, strutting across the ring right up to all three of them to get up close to Jack, intending to show him what it looked like to actually have ball… figuratively. "The only problem I have is I need to kick the ever loving crap out of these two bitches before I can throttle you. Don't have any other cronies slinking around I need to bust up first, do you? Seems like a lot of work just to knock your head off."