Spy Games

Mamouru thought that Hitomi was patronizing him for a moment until she grabbed his hand and squeezed it. Her gentle touch and soft smile, melted away his defensive demeanor and caused him to relax and let out a pleasant sigh. Hitomi was certainly something else, he had to admit. It was going to feel good if he could manage to catch a woman like her.

He nodded at Hitomi and looked at he before letting out a small laugh. "Honestly, most people do not know what to do with Cassie-san. I wouldn't fault Drake-san for that." Mamouru then finished off his first glass of sake and called for the waiter to order another round for the two of them.

"Yeah, she's a unique one," Hitomi replied, nodding her head. The waiter soon came again, but surprisingly Hitomi waved him away, telling him to bring the bill. "Hey, lets go to my place now," she said, "I still haven't shown you what I do yet." She smiled, pulling out a wallet and putting her share of the bill on the table.

Once they both paid, Hitomi led Mamoru to her place, which was pretty far from the center of town. It was a small apartment complex, nothing too fancy but pretty nice all the same. Hitomi took Mamoru up to her flat, opening the door and leading him inside. Her place was extremely well-kept, despite the large amount of stuff she had, and the decor harkened back to the 1800s. Hitomi kicked off her shoes and stepped inside, leading Mamoru to a small room in the back.

"Here's where I practice," Hitomi said. The room was much more empty than the outside. A polished shamisen sat on a chair in the corner, a covered piano stood against the wall, and in the center of the room was something covered by a long piece of cloth, held up by a wooden stand. Hitomi walked over to that, gently pulling the cloth off to reveal a well-aged but beautiful Koto. She ran her fingers across the delicate strings, lost in reminscince for a bit, before looking up at Mamoru.

"This was a gift from a long time ago," she said, "Would you like to hear how it sounds?"

Mamouru walked with Hitomi back to her place after they paid. He enjpyed walking with her. She was an enchanting woman and had a grace and style that few in their business possessed. She was classy indeed and Mamouru was trying to treat her that way. He hadn't at first, but now he was trying.

When they got back to her place, and after he took off his shoes, Mamouru marveled at her place. It was very Meiji and it was as classy as she. He looked around and smiled at how she managed to even be graceful with her clutter. He followed her into the room where she practiced and lowered his head in awe.

"I would be honored, Hitomi-san." He said in a low tone.

Hitomi smiled and knelt down behind the instrument. She gently raised her hands up, her fingers delicately resting on the strings. She ran them down the length of the strings once, as if testing to see how strong they were. "How about I start with an old folk song?" Hitomi asked, "It's something we both will know. You can judge me on how well I play it."

With that, Hitomi began playing the slow [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AK51LblcEOw:ws84slib]tune[/url:ws84slib]. It was practically effortless to her, since it was among the first songs she ever learned on the koto, and she knew it like her own name. That being said, she kept her eyes on the instrument, making sure she got every note right. There were no frets or markings on the koto to tell her where her hands were, it was all based on intuition and practice.

After she was finished, Hitomi looked up, resting her hands on her lap, before giving a quiet bow to Mamoru, her audience for the night.

Mamouru sat in the traditional Japanese style as Hitomi came up to her Koto. He looked it over and his eyes traveled up the instrument and further up Hitomi's body as he braced for the song.

He knew it well. Mamouru wasn't big into music but he knew enough. Even if he hadn't, it was wonderful to let the room fill with the sound. Hitomi was beautiful and enticing as she played with grace. His gaze shifted from her hands to her eyes as he listened quietly. When she was finished, he stood up and bowed deeply. "Amazing!" He said with a smile on his face. "You're wonderful, Hitomi-san!" He said.

He looked around. "And you play all these instruments AND dance?" He asked. He shook his head. "I.. still don't understand why you're in the wrestling business. it seems like such a shame.."

Hitomi looked around the room as well, resting on her each of her instruments in turn. "Yes... it seems strange that I would be in the wrestling business, doesn't it?" Hitomi said, half to Mamoru and half to herself, "Perhaps if I hadn't felt the need to do something different, something that I didn't know I would be doing from when I was very young..." She shook her head a little, then turned to Mamoru.

"Do you do wrestle because you want to? Or because it's all you know?" Hitomi asked Mamoru, "That's the difference, isn't it? It's the reason I left this business. I wanted something different, and Drake gave me that choice."

Mamouru smiled and stepped closer to Hitomi as she asked her question. it was a good question indeed. "Well..." He began. "I do enjoy wrestling, that is for sure." He discreetly avoided adding that he loved to wrestle and dominate girls. Hitomi didn't need to know that and she was probably perceptive enough to realize it to some degree. "I have been involved in it most of my life though. However, with female wrestling... I have no roots in male wrestling, you see..." He wasn't sure what difference it made, but it probably did. "And my mother was a manager, not a wrestler. I am not sure which I am better at yet but I do enjoy them both. and there isn't any pressure on me either. No families to try and break through and stuff like that..."

Mamouru then flashed a smile at Hitomi. "Drake provides you with that opportunity, you say?" He raised an eyebrow at her. "Where are you looking to end up in the wrestling business? Merely existing as a wrestler or are you aiming for the top like your other stablemates?" Mamouru shifted his head a bit to consider Hitomi from a different angle. "Don't worry. I'm not interested in your contract, though... it would be a wonderful thing to manage you..." He paused. "I was just curious about how you felt. How well has your knowledge translated into in ring success?" He was subtly trying to instigate Hitomi. Saying he didn't believe she had enough skill without actually saying it. It wasn't that he even believed that, he was sure she could hold her own, but he needed to get her off her game. She was tricky and playing it smooth all evening. There had to be a crack in this graceful woman's porcelain figure somewhere.

Hitomi nodded as Mamoru spoke, understanding that he had experience wrestling his entire life, though it was different from Hitomi's experience. He wasn't forced to practice since birth, rather he just picked it up along the way. It was no wonder then that he couldn't quite understand what kind of an opportunity Drake was providing to her, and how important it was. He seemed to want to know though, which made it a bit easier to talk to him.

"Just being a wrestler is fine right now," Hitomi replied, "It's hard to ask for more when my skills just simply aren't there yet. Don't misunderstand me Higurashi-san, I know exactly how strong I am."

She got up from behind the Koto, walking over to Mamoru and sitting down next to him, almost so close that they were touching. "I know I made the right choices. If I hadn't gone into wrestling, I never would've met all these people. They're so different from the people I'm used to seeing, you know? Life is so much more interesting out here."

Mamouru watched as Hitomi sat up and walked over to him. He smiled as she sat close and he looked her over. "I see." He began. "The world of wrestling is certainly filled with colorful characters." He began. "I guess that's why I stayed drawn to it. And there was no pressure. My mother... would never pressure me into anything." He added and shook his head. His mother was pretty much crazy as far as he was concerned but she always wanted the best for her sons.

Mamouru then leaned forward and pressed a hand against Hitomi's thigh, wondering if she'd back away as he smiled at her. "Just where are yous kills at, Hitomi-chan?" He asked and looked at her curiously. "Would you be able to beat me?" He questioned. 'I lack experience, but I have quite a bit of skill."

"It's good that you have your own reasons," Hitomi said. She made no moves to push him away, but didn't encourage him either. She looked down at his hand for a moment before looking back up at Mamoru. "Wrestling fascinates me too, considering how AFW managed to pull all these different kinds of people together under one banner, and how there's so many people here... It's really a lot of fun!"

"As for my skills..." Hitomi trailed off. She leaned in a little bit as well, towards Mamoru. Suddenly her hand shot up, going behind Mamoru's head, while her other hand grabbed the wrist that was on her leg. She pulled him down and pushed his arm up to put him in a hammerlock, pushing him against the tatami-covered ground. "What do you think Higurashi-san?"