Just a moment ago, the New York penthouse of Cynara Morgan and Danny Easton had been transformed into a battleground between two fighters Cynara had hand-picked with an eye to advancing her legacy. One of them was her daughter Mina, who had proven to be a prodigy in the field of apartment wrestling, setting a standard that well lived up to what her mother had been in her prime and earning the same AHW United States Championship that Cynara had boasted in her heyday. The other was Clara - a girl who had quite literally been picked off the street, with no experience to her name. But Cynara saw potential in her. She might have had nothing - but if she could take her under her wing, she just might be able to make something out of her that was worth her while. First, though, she had to see if Clara would be worth her time. To that end, she had put her up for a match against Mina to see how well she could handle the second-generation champion's ferocity - and, to everyone's surprise, Clara had managed not only to stand up to Mina's aggression, but to counteract it with her own, and even bring her opponent down. When Cynara saw what she was capable of, she was convinced then and there that she was sitting on something wonderful.
But for as much as Clara had going for her, she wasn't perfect. As new she was to physical activity in general, let alone the demanding rigors of full-contact combat sports, she burned through all her energy in one short burst, and she passed out, ending the match just as quickly as it had started. Mina, once again, was victorious. But Clara had still fought back. When she had gone out, it wasn't crying and begging for mercy, as many of even Mina's toughest opponents had, but while she was riding the wave of her momentum. Cynara wasn't the least bit disappointed.
In the living room, the guests were still whispering amongst themselves about what they had seen, and what was in store next. The action might have come to a stop, but the tension still hung heavy in the room. But all was quiet the next room over, where Cynara had led Mina aside to talk things through.
"...Mmf," Mina grumbled under her breath, reaching up to rub the soreness out of her breasts. Bare and dangling loose thanks to Clara removing her bra early on in the match, the red trails of her foe's nails stood out from her pale skin - and now that the adrenaline rush of the match had died down, the pain had caught up to Mina. She grit her teeth, but looked up at her mother nonetheless. "What was that for, Mom? You've never stopped me so quickly. Felt like we were just getting started..."
Cynara shook her head, leaning down to set a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Tsk...Mina, Mina, Mina. We've been over this before, haven't we? I wanted to pit her against you to see if she could handle you. The fact that she's lasted this long tells me she's worth the effort. She just might be the next big thing, if we can train her right. It'd be such a shame if she got hurt, and her career was over before it really had the chance to get started, wouldn't it?"
Mina sighed, crossing her arms and looking off. "So what? Am I being replaced?"
"No, no. Of course not." The former champion shook her head, giving Mina a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "But we just might have a secret weapon, if we can make the most of her. We've seen the potential in her. All she needs is a little more training and conditioning to stay at your level. And in order to make sure that happens, we'll need her loyalty. Luckily, I shouldn't have a problem on that end."
"...Hmph."
"Why don't you head back to your room and get dressed, Mina? I'll handle our friend here."
As Mina turned toward her room, Cynara returned to the living room, where Danny, her husband, was sitting on the couch with Clara, now dressed and catching her breath. By this point, most of the guests had gone home, but that didn't matter to Clara. The match itself wasn't the real reason she'd arranged this event, though it certainly didn't hurt. Now that she and Clara were alone, she could get to the core of the matter.
Smiling, she clapped her hands together and bend down to face the white-haired girl, as Danny moved aside on the couch to give her space. "Clara, dear. How are you doing? Feeling any better?"
Cynara Morgan
