A Misunderstanding? Or Just Itching for a Fight!

There were just some problems that could only be solved with a stiff drink.

That thought had been going through Rhein Kazahana’s head ever since she stepped into her office early in the morning. The Jade attired manager was already an overworked workaholic that had hardly gotten more than four hours of sleep for the past few days thanks to her mountainous workload and constant reports she had to send off to her superiors. If it wasn’t a form requesting to initiate a match, it was a status update on her client’s progress. Rhein’s superiors were an insistent bunch, always wanting an update on who was doing what, when, and where. It was getting to the point that any normal person would have either quit or had a breakdown by now! Rhein was already managing an obscene amount of clients, something around eight fighters, and now she had to deal with the folder on her desk saying that she was going to have to deal with another one!

Kaiser Fond...no previous mental record, which is already a major improvement.

Reading through the uncomfortably light folder in her hands, Rhein could pretty much figure out what was happening. Kaiser had the same last name as another client of Rhein’s, Drake Fond. The man was a cheat, lying, backstabbing snake that had more connections than he knew what to do with. From what the manager understood, Drake had an odd obsession with being in charge, and if she had to guess this newest client of Rhein's was only here because of the one-eyed man’s meddling. Of course, after looking at the list of nut jobs she was being paid to handle, Drake probably didn’t have to work all that hard to get Kaiser through the door. AFW’s hiring policy had always needed some serious work, with Rhein’s opinion being that the hiring manager was far too open for any candidate with a fighting background or a dangerous mental disorder.

At the very least, there were no immediate psychological red flags in her profile, despite the big fat criminal record. It annoyed Rhein that such an obvious thing actually made her sigh in relief, but at this point she would be happy to take even the littlest of victories. She was going to have to meet with the woman anyways to discuss exactly how this AFW place works, what place was where, and anything important detailing rules of conduct.

You’d think this would be the interviewer's job rather than the managers who they just stick on like a used piece of tape. If I ever get a chance to talk to whoever runs this place I might just strangle them right then and there instead.

That irritated thought didn’t get too much attention as the door to her office rang out with a loud, obnoxious knocking. Rhein Kazahana pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose as she looked over at the clock, surprised it was already so late into the day. Judging by the time, the person at the door was her newest client that was pushed under her watch. Though, Rhein didn’t have to speculate long, since the door swung open before the Jade suited woman even had time to invite them in.

The woman that stepped into her office was a rather interesting sight. Rhein had expected someone related to Drake Fond to look a little more...outlandish, perhaps. Instead, she found a relatively normal-ish looking woman with a heavy winter coat, sweater, skirt, and leggings on. The choice of attire was strange, as the winter weather had already begun to pass, and the days were growing warmer as a result. If Kaiser’s clothing choice was the strangest thing about her, then that would be just fine by Rhein. At least she didn’t show up in one of those weird wrestling outfits…

“Oh, Ms.Fond! It’s nice to meet you. My name is Rhein Kazahana, and I was just looking over the folder the hiring manager had sent me containing your background check and small interview notes. It seems you’ve come highly recommended by the hiring manager. What did you do to get them so excited anyways?”

Rhein paused for a moment, trying to get a dialogue going with her new client as she politely smiled through the various documents on the woman in front of her. Conversation might help her understand Kaiser better, help Rhein figure out how this woman thought or what she was thinking. Of course, that required Kaiser Fond to actually respond to her new Manager. Which she did not.

“Excuse me, perhaps I wasn’t speaking clearly. About the hiring manager-”

“Do I have to sign anything, or is this just a meet and greet?”

Rhein found herself having to bite her tongue. She had only just met this woman, and already she was grinding on Rhein’s nerves! As if answering her question wasn’t bad enough, she interrupted with a rude question of her own! It was a good thing Rhein’s poker face was near unbreakable, because she utterly despised it when people did away with common courtesy like Kaiser seemed to. Still, Rhein was the manager. It was her responsibility to maintain her composure.

“No...No, this is simply an introduction to your new job as a fighter here in the AFW. A few rules to go over and maybe introduce you to the facilities and possible partners this place can-”

Kaiser was already waving Rhein off, heading for the door.

“That’s alright. The guy before explained the rules to me when they signed me up. I’m really just here to take a look around at the place, so if that's all you’ve got.”

And just like that, as suddenly as she appeared, Kaiser was gone! The door slammed shut, making the small pieces of paper flutter in the breeze as Rhein stared at the empty space Kaiser was just in. Her jaw was clenched tight as her forced smile began to waver and fall apart! Revealing the annoyed, overworked manager who was getting fed up with the people she was forced to manage!

“Nice to meet you, I hope we have a pleasant time working with each other, thanks for all you do~ Is it so hard to say something like that, or is this place just twisted like that?!? I’ve met gangsters with more respect!”

--

Kaiser Fond didn’t feel the slightest bit of guilt for how she had treated her manager as she walked down the hallways observing each room inside with a small glance. Rhein was just a formality this place was putting her through. Whatever she could tell her, Kaiser could figure out by herself. She wasn’t interested in the politics of this place. Not yet anyways. Right now she was looking for possible competition, something or someone that might actually jeopardize any ideas she had already cooked up for this place. She’d been placed in the Tension bracket of the roster, which meant that there were both girls and guys! That made things a bit more interesting~

It only took Kaiser around ten minutes or so to find the backstage area behind the arena. A place like this was where everybody, from the top brass to the newest recruit passed by for one circumstance or another. If she hung around back here, it wouldn’t be too hard to gather an understanding of what sorts of people this place hired for staff and fighters. Information gathering was something the Fond family excelled in, with the understanding that knowing something others didn’t could be the lynchpin to sealing an important business deal!

Or in this case, winning a fight.

"Milkshake, milkshake, sweet yummy milkshake, how I love thee so!"

Such was the song sung in the head of one Gallium Heart, as she happily walked through the halls of Tokyo's hallowed Friction Arena, her bare feet slapping against the floor as she walked, sipping on a nice, delicious, cold Vanilla milkshake that she had gotten from the commissary.

Not only barefoot, Galliums slender legs, slim body, and very cute butt was on display, as she wore nothing but the very tight white singlet that made up her ring gear. True, there were no matches tonight, but rather, it was Promo Day at Friction, a special day once every couple of weeks where AFW gathered wrestlers together and had them cut special promos to advertise live events, promotional events, merchandise sales, and various other promotional work required from a bustling multi-media wrestling company, and such promos required the wrestlers in ring gear.

Having finished her task for the day, Gallium was on her way back to the dressing room to get her regular clothes on, having stopped for a milkshake first with whipped cream and sprinkles, because she might as well treat herself, especially with racking up yet another loss in the ring lately, her 8th straight since joining AFW.

Now lost in thoughts regarding her less than stellar wrestling record, Gallium stopped paying attention to her surroundings...leading to an "EEP!" of panic as she bumped into someone...and sent her milkshake flying out of her hands, whipped cream, sprinkles, and a nearly full vanilla shake sent splattering onto the person in front of her!

"OH! Oh my god! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean it, I just wasn't paying attention, let me help you clean that!"

Gallium said in a panic, immediately looking around for a rag or paper towels or something to clean up the mess with!

It wasn’t all that surprising that this high traffic area was rather crowded in its limited space. As expected, staff members, managers, and personal assistants were moving about like so many ants on a hill it was almost entertaining to watch. So many people were rushing with something, pushing something, carrying something, talking to someone. To make the place even more popular, there was a food table in the dead center of the hall. Small sandwiches, chip bags, and drinks were all over the long table free for the hard working masses to pick up and go. It was all interesting to think about how easy this packed hall could turn into an even worse cluster fuck with just the flick of a light switch or a simple prank to trip up one of these poor souls. But such petty thoughts just meant that there weren’t any competitors that stood out or were anything worth commenting on.

And that was exactly the problem. Despite the hustle and foot traffic of this place, hardly anyone that passed by even could be perceived as a fighter. And the ones that barely managed to do that were far below expectation. Perhaps Kai had wandered in on a bad day, something slow with hardly any events pulling in any big names. It was difficult to tell, being brand new to this place. Perhaps she should have stuck with the manager after all, but one thing that was being made clear was that she wouldn’t be learning much from this experience after all.

It was disappointing, but any more time here would only yield the same lack of results. It shouldn’t have been hard to leave, but the constant sea of people crossing her path left and right made it a rather bothersome task. By the time there was a suitable opening, Kaiser had found herself to be rather frustrated by the entire experience. Stuffing her fists in her jacket pockets, Kai began to take her leave. She took two steps and…

THUMP, SPLAT!!!

Someone had run into her. While the impact barely even nudged Kai herself, the audible clatter of the now empty drink cup hitting the floor gave the silver haired woman something else to think about. Feeling a cool chill run up her arm and side, Kai checked her jacket sleeve, finding a thick, creamy white substance rolling down the heavy material and dripping down to the floor on her shoes. Peeking down, she’d find that this white substance was indeed splattered against her side as well, causing the fur at the bottom of her jacket to grow sticky thanks to the sugary contents of the drink. There were even still a few bits of cream and sprinkles stuck in what was probably once a milkshake that were now visible on Kai’s rather expensive jacket.

And with all that mess came the drinks original owner. A small thing with hair so bright pink it was almost an eyesore to look at. It almost managed to distract Kai from noticing the stranger’s attire. The girl wore a white singlet outfit that was plenty revealing and literally nothing else. No shoes, no pants, probably not even any underwear. Whatever it was the girl was saying fell on deaf ears as Kai flicked a small batch of cream off her sleeve, those red eyes of hers peering down at the girl with an emotionless gaze.

The girl tried to move, maybe looking for a towel or something to clean up the mess she made. She only managed to just barely turn away by the time Kai’s hand snatched up her collar and pulled the short girl closer. She made sure that this girl looked into her eyes so she could see the irritation that was burning beneath those ruby red pupils. That way, she would understand what would come next, and her inability to stop it.

Spoiler:

With a simple tug, Kai began pulling the young girl along rather forcefully. The strange sight of Kai dragging a thrashing girl along by her collar was enough to create a path in the sea of people that led directly to the silver haired woman’s intended destination. Within a minute, Kai would suddenly stop in her tracks and pull the girl close. The poor thing didn’t even get a chance to regain her footing before the taller woman with the milkshaked jacket threw her into the snack table with quite frankly an overabundant amount of force! Sandwiches, cups full of water and juice, snacks and sweets were all there on the table, ready to stain and ruin the young girl's white outfit.

But that was just the beginning...Kai’s jacket cost much more than this little wrestler’s singlet. Compensation had to be paid, with interest.

For a moment, as Gallium went to grab a towel or something absorbent to soak up the milkshake she had spilled on the much bigger womans jacket, she had a brief feeling in the core of her being, a brief "fight or flight" response that she hadn't been expecting, almost as if she was in some kind of danger of so-"ACK!"

Ah, there it was. The tall silver haired woman had turned and grabbed little Gallium by around her neck, causing her to gasp and gag, bare feet smacking against the concrete floor as she grabbed at the strangers large hand, unable to pry so much as a finger off of her throat!

Her desperate and futile attempts to pry the hand off her throat in vain, Gallium was half dragged towards a nearby snack table, the pinkette letting out a desperate "no, wait!" before she was thrown with great force, smashing into the table and rolling over the top of it, crashing through the abundance of drinks and snacks on the cafeteria table, her extra weight causing the table to flip onto its side, leaving her on one side of the table, her tight white singlet absolutely drenched in water, juice, soda, and various finger snacks, the girl whimpering loudly from the painful impact!

Like a living bowling ball, the young girl in white seemed to knock every drink cup, every food container, and every paper plate and utensil off the table as she was violently thrown against it. The thin plastic remained sturdy with the impact, but the thin aluminum legs couldn’t say the same. They cracked and collapsed with the poor girl, tilting along with her as her momentum carried both her and the table over to a calamitous crash to the floor! What food and drink wasn’t on Gallium was rolling across the floor, a huge puddle and mess of drinks and ruined food surrounding the smaller wrestler like the cruelest of blankets. The entire action happened so quickly, everyone nearby seemed stunned. Everyone except for the one who initiated the conflict, who’s cold gaze clashed with the fiery red of her eyes.

Kaiser walked back over towards the mess she made of Gallium. Nobody moved to stop her as she grabbed the overturned table and tossed it aside as though it weighed nothing. The plastic furniture crashed to the hard floor, causing a few of the staff to retreat in order to avoid being hit by it. All the while, Kai would use her boot to push Gallium onto her back. The pink haired girl was whimpering in pain, almost shaking from the sudden attack and the cold liquids that now stained her body. It was hard to believe this was the same carefree girl enjoying a shake just a few minutes prior, but Kai wasn’t thinking about any of that. Instead, the taller woman knelt down, looking into Gallium’s pained eyes as the girl continued to whimper like a pup. Kai would only break eye contact to reach for one of the few surviving soda cans, cracking it open and slowly pouring its contents along Gallium’s hair, face, and chest. The fizzy, sticky liquid would hiss as it splatter across Gallium, the carbonation doing little to help the poor pink haired girl’s already ruined outfit. When the very last drop of the can was gone, Kai would set it by Gallium’s head. Those red eyes bearing down on her.

“Now...I’ll take your apology.”

She was being genuine...perhaps that was the only thing that was more surprising then what had just transpired. After Kai had choked Gallium, humiliated her, and stained her favorite outfit because of a simple bump on the shoulder, the silver haired woman was now waiting for an apology from the whimpering girl. It was horrible, beyond villainous, and borderline cruel!

But what was Gallium to do? Anything less than begging for forgiveness could result in more of what she had just endured! None of the staff were stepping in to help her, and Kai wasn’t going away. Those red eyes were waiting, the woman’s face like a hard mask showing no sympathy for what Gallium had gone through. If anything, Kai seemed to be losing her patience as Gallium lay drenched on the floor.

Gallium was...out of order, so to speak.

Her eyes might as well have been proper anime swirls for all they focused on Kai looming over her, pouring soda on her, her outfit completely ruined, torn in places, and practically see through with how soaked it was. Everyone watching was silent, too afraid to interfere, and wondering if Gallium would apologize.

"M...ilk-shake, milkshake...how I love you so..."

Clearly, Gallium was in no mental condition to realize exactly what was going on anymore.

But luckily for Kai...there was another.

In another part of the cafeteria, having finished her own promos for the day, Silver Ace had been enjoying a small meal, before planning to spend the rest of the day hanging out with Gallium and Valley Doll...when the commotion Kai was causing caught her eye, and she groaned internally, already guaranteeing she knew who was at the center of this storm.

Yep. Gallium.

At this point, Ace couldn't even be mad. So many jerks in AFW had taken Gallium as their victim of choice, that at this point, the silver haired woman couldn't even be mad about it anymore.

But that didn't mean she could do nothing, either.

With a resigned sigh, she got up, and grabbed the metal folding chair she had been sitting on. No cushion, perfect.

Grabbing the chair, she folded it and moved through the cafeteria, eventually standing behind Kai as she poured soda onto Gallium, not realizing who was behind her.

Without so much as a yell, Ace swung the chair as hard as she could, aiming to smack the chair against the back of Kai's head, and if that didn't fell the woman, Ace would wait for her to turn around and throw the chair right into Kai's face!

She motioned over for several shocked looking AFW staff to grab Gallium, planning to take her to the medics room, when she grabbed one of them, an AFW match booker for their TV shows, then looked back and pointed at Kai while speaking with him.

"I dunno what kind of dumb bitch this is or what kind of fight she's looking for, but if she wants to be a complete cunt towards a smaller wrestler, book her in a match against me for the next Friction show, got it?"

With that, if Kai wouldn't assault her, she'd turn on her heels and head out, intending to get Gallium checked out before anything else.
With a nod from him, Ace just nodded in Kai's direction and turned to leave.

The mad mutterings of the small pinkett meant so very little to Kaiser Fond, as she stared at those foggy eyes that seemed lost in the pleasures of the past. The rambling girl now stained with food and drink would be forgotten soon enough as Kai went about her day, but in the moment she found herself only able to stare at this strangely cheerful creature. So small, yet so very happy even in discombobulation. While Kai didn’t put much thought into it, she couldn't immediately think of anybody she had met that acted as carefree as this girl.

Still, the shock she had endured probably was what prevented her from uttering the desired apology. Kaiser would only wait an additional minute or so before her impatience with the entire situation got the better of her. The silver haired brute was moving to stand, though the action might have been perceived as hostile as one of her hands reached for the floor, it instead looked to the audience like Kai was reaching for the beaten girl. And in that moment, a hard steel folding chair would ring off the back of Kaiser’s cranium, jolting her head forward as a sharp and dizzying blow suddenly erupted from the back of her head!

Kai fell forward from her midway attempt to stand up, her hand slamming the ground next to Gallium as her red eyes struggled to maintain focus from the surprise shot! Few people could take a surprise shot to the back of the head well, much less with a folding chair. Kai wasn’t even sure what had hit her, only that something just did. Those fuzzy, belligerent crimson eyes would flick over her shoulder, spying something that looked to be the color blue before solid grey took up her vision as the weapon in question was thrown at her face!

PANG!!!

Suddenly Kai’s face hurt just as bad as the back, and she didn’t even register herself falling into the nearby puddle and pile of food and drink she had created with Gallium’s help until the impact of the floor shocked her body! The feeling was like an on switch, as Kai would sit right back up faster then she had fallen down. Suddenly there was a flurry of motion as the once captive audience was suddenly interested in helping the poor beaten girl on the floor. And standing between them and Kai was a new woman...the owner of the blue Kai could just barely make out, and was now glaring at her with an almost annoyed resignation about her.

Kaiser didn’t have a clue why. Didn’t really care either.

She was already getting back to her feet. Kai had to go slow to make sure her sense of balance wasn’t off. It was tough at first, but she eventually made it. Her vision was getting clearer by the minute, and what was once pain turned into a need to get even. But unlike the various raging bulls that undoubtedly plagued this place, Kai would simply lay her eyes on her attacker. A sturdy looking woman. Toned, capable, smart too judging by her targets. Had she pushed the fight, Kai would have been at a massive disadvantage. Maybe even lost. She didn’t miss that they shared the same colored hair.

It was almost funny

Kai’s attacker would give her a nod before turning away and marching after the now rescued girl as the grunt she was talking to reluctantly approached Kai, never once looking her in the eyes.

“So...looks like you just got a fight with Silver Ace. C-congrats, I guess.”

The look Kai gave the grunt might have been a bit too...real. They quickly retreated away as Kaiser’s Fond’s face returned to the apathetic mask she tried to wear. The easy and fulfilling thing to do would be to chase after this Silver Ace and fight her here and now. But that wasn’t how Fond’s do business. They study, they wait, and they plan. That was how they got the biggest payouts…

Whoever this Silver Ace was, she’d soon learn to regret the mercy she had shown Kaiser today. Hope her little friend was worth it, because gallium just picked up the check her friend had yet to pay off in full!