Showdown VI - Dire Pack vs. Valkyries: Faction Warfare - Opening

Tension Heights.

Located on a more remote side of Kyoto, the building had sat more or less abandoned for the past few years, a mere husk of what it had once been. Back when the bricks were first laid down, the idea had been ambitious enough - a sort of wrestling reality show, a building meant to house the varied Tension wrestlers, providing them ample space to meet and mingle and wrestle and fuck at their leisure. A novel idea, something never before seen in wrestling and never seen again - with good reason. As with many ambitious ideas in wrestling, it had some success at first, until the novelty began to wear off and people grew bored with it. The ratings dropped, funding dried up, and it all folded into the standard Tension brand.

Since then, it had seen some bursts of life, even as AFW management tried to sell the property. It played host to the occasional match, was rented out to interested parties looking to mimic the wrestling experience for a few nights, made a halfway decent tourist attraction. It was enough reason to keep the upkeep going, though the building’s age was starting to show, all the same. Cracks in the foundation, peeling wood on the rails, dust gathering and caking up in all the ignored places.

It was a quiet place, on its way to becoming a relic. That all changed today, when the sound of roaring engines came over the horizon.

The Valkyrie’s came down the street as the sun began to set, melting on the horizon as a full moon peeked through the red clouds. Mako turned into the parking lot first with Divine and Stone driving side by side behind her, moving in formation. Behind them, a dozen and half choppers tailed, women driving motorcycles of all kinds of brands and styles, staying tight and close. The Valkyries were riding out in full force today. The core three usually did all the wrestling stuff by themselves, but the gang as a whole wanted to show up for this one, bringing some support. Nice touch. Mako wasn’t for the mushy stuff most of the time, but she got it.

She came to a stop by the entrance and hit the kickstand on her bike, letting it rest under the awning for a few moments before she slid the keys out. With it secure, she hopped off, dropped her helmet on the seat, and fished around in her jacket pockets until she brought out a fold piece of paper - the instructions for the match.

”Looks like we’re early.” Stone came walking over with her hands in her pockets, throwing back her long, white mane as she moved. Divine pulled in alongside them as the other Valkyries made a ring around the parking lot, taking up their own spots and easing in. They’d be here for a while. ”Don’t see the Dire Pack around.”

Mako nodded and scanned the area herself, gazing about the parking lot. Looked empty - the only car she saw was a van for the AFW’s camera crew, probably making sure everything was working right before the fights started. ”Yeah, doesn’t look like it. Keep your eyes open, though, don’t know what kind of sneaky shit Manami’ll try for.”

”The girls’ll keep their eyes on stuff. No worries, there.” Divine rolled her shoulder, still getting nice and limber. She was trying her best to hide it, keep that whole cool, sensual demeanor, but she’d been hyped about this match for days, and Mako could hear the undercurrent of energy in her voice. ”We’re not waiting for Makio and ReiRei?”

”’ReiRei’?”

”Reiko.”

Mako’s only response to that was a look that fell somewhere between extreme irritation and total disgust - scrunched face, flared nostrils, clenched teeth. She tucked the paper back into her jacket and stepped out from the shadows of the awning. ”Fucking come on.”

With her helmet tucked under her arm, Mako made her way out with Divine and Stone flanking her. She raised her fist high in the air to get her gangs attention, then waited for the last motor to die down before she spoke. ”All right, bitches.” She held her helmet out and smack the side with her palm, getting a nice, dull thwack. ”We’re going in. When the Dire Pack show up, don’t fuck with them. Their ours, got it?”

All she got back were mutters, grumbles, and halfhearted thumbs up in response, but she knew the message took. Whatever the state of the leadership in the Valkyries right now, the other Valkyries still deferred to her when Makio wasn’t around. They knew where things stood.

With a final nod, she spun about on her heel and made her way inside, with Stone and Divine following close behind.

“Kaede’s talking shit on Twitter.”

It sounded even stupider when Yuki said it out loud. Her forehead started to crease as she looked at the screen. The Sharpened Claw turned her head and looked at her blue-eyed partner humming a cheery tune to herself. “Why in the fuck would you give Kaede Komatsuzaki a Twitter account?”

Fumika looked over her shoulder back at her compatriot, meeting that unmistakable glare with a simple innocent smile. She took a hand out from her jean pocket and shrugged. “It’s hard to say no when they’re so passionate about it. Our little cub is getting stronger every day. And bolder. Perhaps she’s taking after her mentor.”

She winked at the blonde. Yuki huffed and turned her attention back to her phone. She tapped her finger impatiently on the driver’s wheel. The insinuation was enough to make her stomach turn, but personally, Yuki was just eager to get this shit over with. The sky had suddenly turned gray and she wasn’t looking to get caught in the rain before a fight. And now her "responsibility" was kicking up shitstorms in the ether and sending them their way. This is what she needed today, for sure. They were gonna have words later. “I don’t care about Kaede. I care about our pack. Shit's tense right now. The last thing we need right now is to look like a bunch of idiots.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” Their leader finally spoke for what had to be the first time in hours. It even surprised Yuki a little as they both turned their attention her way, watching her look out the open window of their hoodless vehicle. She couldn’t recall the last time she’d seen Manami this distant and distracted. The activity scrambling inside of her brain resembled something only partly human. It was the mind of a predator with its senses disconnected from the world around it, focused only on the kill. “Take us up there.”

Yuki tossed the phone back to its owner in the passenger seat who swiped it out of the air in a blink. With a twist of the key, she started the engine up again. “You think the midget is just gonna let us mosey our way in?"

“Makoto wouldn’t dare. Her tiny ego aside, there's too much that depends on tonight for us and them. She understands better than anyone that this has to be clean.” Manami crossed her arms and kicked her feet up onto the console, nearly kicking Yuki’s hand as she switched into drive. “Only one walks away from this.”

Minutes later, the bikers turned their attention down the road towards a pitch-black convertible coming into view. As it passed through the gateway and into the parking lot, it became instantly clear who exactly was approaching the venue fashionably late. The vehicle stopped some distance from the front entrance smack in the middle of the entire space, encircled on every side by lawless roughriders. Manami hopped over the car window and planted her feet strongly against the pavement and rounded to the front of the car. Her eyes scanned the lot and took in every potential enemy that stood between them and the Valkyries. Yuki stepped out after her and leaned with a hand on her door. If she was hiding even an ounce of nerve, it didn’t show. She was prepared to take on each one if it meant getting to Stone and the Wolf Mother agreed for her quarry. Fumika was just as eager. She just did a better job at hiding behind the sleek stride of her legs as she stepped out of the car and took her place beside her equals.

Beneath a steel sky, the pack of wolves departed and made their way to the front door. Two bikers stood waiting for them at either side of the entrance, cool and collected as they leaned against the wall with shit-eating sneers and a playful middle finger from one of them. Classy. Manami regarded her with a lingering glance over her jacket collar with Fumika smiling in toe, thinking of her beloved already waiting for her. After the two of them entered, Yuki was the only one that lingered behind, locking eyes with the girl at her left. She had some shitty pink bangs and a stink eye that really should be looking somewhere else.

Yuki glared and feigned a punch that got her to flinch. Pussy. She kept her fist an inch from the bitch’s and pointed a finger. “If I see a single dent on that car: you’re fucking next.”

She thumped the biker on the shoulder and entered the building. The woman in leather scoffed quietly as she pushed away from the wall. Standing in front of the door, she gripped both of the handles and slowly shut the heavy steel doors with a final iron clasp sealing the six away.