Why Hello Neighbor - Katsumi and Asuka Wakahisa

[CyanDimitrik]

What a difference.

LAW management covered the cost of a broken contract, had their new talent immediately sign their contract, and then added a stipend to move her closer to the arena. Much, much closer. Living costs were taken care of for the first couple weeks, they'd even put in a good word for her at an apartment complex. Despite being one of the lead acts, Katsumi's previous federation, they were never so loose with their pay. A part of her knows they're trying to ensure their new employee remains sufficiently wooed, but it's a Hell of a wooing they're doing.

What a change of pace!

Day one, she's approached by a talent scout representing LAW after a show. Day two, she signs with them. Day three, she's given her stipend and supplies, and told she wrestles in three days. That doesn't exactly give her much time to scout the competition! Or move! Or get settled in! Is it always this hectic? Fortunately, Katsumi was still living in her apartment near where she attended college, and didn't really accumulate much in the way of personal affects. She loaded up the car and sped off to the apartment she was informed would be expecting her - the one they reserved for her.

The pristine, midnight blue 2013 Nissan Skyline pulled into the parking lot, and the engine continued to run.

Image

Katsumi checked her GPS. It was the right place. She leaned forward and craned her neck to look up at the building in question.

What a dump.

Despite her concerns of whether or not her car would even be safe there, Katsumi steeled her nerves, swallowed her pride, and stopped the engine. How bad could it be?

The building has seen its years of tenants, and not ones that have treated it particularly well. Modest is perhaps the nicest thing anyone could say about it. The apartment in question is tiny - criminally tiny, she'd think to herself, consisting of two rooms and a bathroom. There's a chance she missed something, though. And naturally, she's stuck on the second floor. There's an elevator, but she was told by the manager that it's out of order. With a smile, he added that it should be working in a couple days! Perfect.

At last, this brings us to the present, where we find an overburdened Katsumi attempting to lessen the number of trips to and from her car by carrying way too many items. Duffelbags, plastic bags, clothing bags - it's all bundled in her arms and piled to a point where the girl can barely peek over them. She's currently dressed in a pink hoodie embossed with a smiling Pop-Tart-bodied nyancat on the chest, a black short skirt, and white sneakers, with a pair of gold-rimmed aviator shades perched atop her head.

She's making quite the spectacle of herself, wobbling and staggering her way up the steps.

[Lark]

Asuka head bobbed to a mixed playlist of 80s foriegn beats. There was something about the heavy bass and synth sounds that got her blood pumping. Which was good, it had been a bit nippy these last few days. She was wearing a pretty subdued outfit as opposed to her gym gear, only because she didn't have anything tailor made for the cold.

Her normal white sneakers, worn but we'll kept. Tight black jogging pants two things white lines running down along the sides, well insulated despite how thin they may have appeared. Her iPod clipped along the top lip of the waist band, ear bud wire snaking up along her body all the way to her head. She wore a loose gold T-shirt with her signature star on the chest as a double layer of black outlines. The shoulders are sleeves were bordered in black as well.

All of this was covered by a stark white hoodie zippered all the way down in the front that looked like it had seen a fair share of use. Not originally made for her, she practically swam in the hand me down item. On the back was a newer crisper change made to the garment, a big gold star seen into the fabric. The sleeves so long they came well past her hands.

Hood drawn back, she instead opened to make use of fuzzy pink 180 style ear muffs she received as a gift last year, finally having a good use for them. On her hands were a pair of fingerless gloves with pull over mitten covers. The secured back mitten covers were made to look like cartoon kitten faces.

As she Rounded into the parking lot of her apartment complex she blinked curiously at something out of place. A car. There wasn't many actual vehicles in the small parking lot at any given time. Aside from the landlord and a few other tenants it was normally a barren. So much so some of the locate kids used it to play in often. Asuka didn't know cars, at all really, but she could tell this one looked expensive. She had slowly made her way around it before she stuck in one place still jogging in place.

The trunk was open. She glanced inside briefly head tilted curiously. It sure had a lot of things inside. One or two of them looked like instruments to. Interesting! Glancing around, she didn't see anyone appointment right away. Thinking she was doing the owner a favor, she reached up to close the trunk, perhaps a little to hard. "Don't want anyone walking off with your stuff car person. All in a day's work." She beamed proudly of her off duty heroism before making her way towards the outer stairs.

[CyanDimitrik]

"Gh..!"

Katsumi wobbles on the landing of the steps, one foot lofted in a moment of precarious uncertainty before setting down. And at that instant, she hears the *ker-chunk* of a vehicle trunk closing. She freezes.

Not many cars in the parking lot.

She left her trunk open.

All her things.

'Oh no...!'

The girl pivots and tromps back down the stairs. Each footfall is heavy and at a weird, lumbering gait due to having to juggle the weight in her arms side to side. But once she gets to the center mark, where the stairwell reverses direction, she believes she's found the culprit. It's a matter of deduction; this girl is the only person she's spotted out here.

"HEY!," she balks. A pair of angry eyes peer over the pile of belongings as best they can, but all she can really spot is the top of a head. A second later, and Katsumi's face appears at the side of her carried burdened, perhaps more comically than she'd intended. The accusing look certainly wouldn't lend itself to comedy. "Did you freakin' touch my car!?"

[Lark]

Asuka had been making her ascent up the stairs when an awkward bulk blocked her way at the first small landing. Hands folded behind the back of her head she worked to take controlled breathes, shifting from one side to the other. She leaned slightly to one side, there was a person behind all those things. "Oh, sorry!" She called far louder than she had intended, the music blaring in her ears seemingly preventing her from making out the intricacies of what it was Katsumi was actually saying past the fact she was talking at her.

"I'll get out of your way!" She took a small step backwards down the stairs before retreating to the bottom, stepping aside to let the other girl pass. She had just assumed the woman was on the way down, fairly reasonable. She was all smiles, head slightly bobbing with her music. She even gave Katsumi a big wave and a thumbs up while down below. "All clear!"

[CyanDimitrik]

Katsumi hated being ignored, and that's what appeared to be happening now. Her glare intensifies! Was this chick for real!?

"HEY! I'm talking to you, numbnuts!"

Anatomical accuracy doesn't matter so much when angry.

The interloper does, however, descend the stairwell. Katsumi pursues, expecting to use the area more for a confrontation than to simply continue on her way. And on the way down, she catches that smile and thumbs-up. She puts her grubby paws on her cherry ride and then tells her it's, "all clear?" What's this girl's deal?!

Once she hits the ground floor, she leans over to set down her oversized load with a huff of effort, as careful as her waning patience allows. Then she turns on the balls of her feet to face Asuka, immediately set in confrontational charge. "Are you stupid or something!?," she demands. Her left hand reaches for the collar of her hoodie, the right already drawing back.

The left hand may or may not grip onto Asuka, but the right hand certainly never comes into play. It took longer than she'd be proud to admit, but the circumstances have finally registered. The alleged car-touching culprit hasn't said anything related to what Katsumi's yelled at her; the volume in her voice; the smile on her face; the way her head is bobbing...

Katsumi will have come to an abrupt halt from what was clearly aggressive movement, now with widened eyes. And if Asuka hasn't done anything by now, said formerly aggressive girl will reach forward to nimbly, but swiftly, attempt to nudge an earmuff back.

[Lark]

Tilts her head slightly as Katsumi sets down her load and starts moving towards her. "Did you need any help with tha-oookay hi hello!" She instinctively puts her hands up in a universal sign of surrender as Katsumi grabs a handful of her hoodie, flinching at the raised fist. How that she could get a good look at her, the other woman didn't look very happy. In fact she looked pretty upset. "Sorry I can't...!" She moved her hands slowly, as if to show Katsumi her intentions weren't hostile in nature as she moved to reach under her 180 ear muffs and pluck out her ear bud to let them dangle from her collar.

She grins sheepishly at the awkward situation, completely oblivious to what she could have done to upset the girl. Had she asked for help getting her things down the stairs? Was she mistaking her for someone else? It was a mystery. With a soft nervous chuckle she spoke up. "Hey... I'm Asuka... Nice to meet you."

[CyanDimitrik]

The hands up, submissive gesture was one Katsumi was used to from people. She's a bombastic, even hotheaded girl when crossed, and messing with her ride definitely counts as crossing. But she needs not nudge any earmuffs back, as the girl seems to realize what's happened here. It was as Katsumi had started to realize.

"Ahahah~," says the aggressor breathlessly. The grip on her collar has relaxed, and the right hand moves forward; but not to strike her. Rather, her intention is to gingerly smooth over Asuka's attire. Katsumi seems to have no issues with personal space and strangers. It might have something to do with her profession. "Asuka, Asuka, yeah, hey.." She's all sweet smiles now. But there's something behind it - something subtle. "I'm Katsuuumi, I'm new to the aaarea," she drawls in a friendly, saccharine way.

And seamlessly, it all changes. Any hands that successfully remained on Asuka's personage lightly grip at the cloth, and her voice and expression lose all sweetness.

"Now did you touch my car?"

[Lark]

The soft sound of her music was audible from the earbuds as they dangled from the neck of her hoodie. Her nervous laugh continued when the other girl seemed to find this terrible misunderstanding humorous too. Whew. She let out a soft sigh of relief with this crisis averted. If she had any real protests on the encroachment of her personal bubble, she didn't voice them.

"Yup. That's me." She returned a smile to match Katsumi's. Aside from the personality whiplash, she didn't seem capable of picking up any undertones found in her voices or mannerisms. "Welcome to the neighborhood Katsumi." She seemed rather cheerful now, smiling wide and easily. The fact there was no apology for the mistreatment didn't really cross her mind.

She blinks in mild confusion as Dr. Kat and Mr Sumi switches places yet again. Though not outwardly threatened, she can feel the tension, especially with the fingers at her hoodie still. "The fancy blue one?" She inquired curiously. "The trunk was open, so I closed it. You had a whole lot of stuff in there, didn't want one of the local buys trying to take something."

[CyanDimitrik]

Those expressive, all-too-often mischievous green eyes narrow little by little as Katsumi assesses Asuka's capacity to lie and/or fit any of her belongings on her person. And in the end, her grip loosens and the intensity ebbs.

"Really?," she asks, the softening even reaching her voice. Her tone is guarded and defensive, but there's an opening - an invitation to a lighter side. "Didn't swipe anything, did'ja? 'Cuz I'll beat wholesale ass over that."

Despite her questioning, the look on Katsumi's face might suggest she already believes her. Asuka comes across as too polite to steal. She isn't convinced that she's genuine, but telling the truth in this instance is something she could swallow. She doesn't know her well enough to go beyond that yet.

[Lark]

Regardless of look or tone, her brow knits slightly, lips tightening as she looked pretty offended at the thought. "I didn't take anything... We have a few boys that like to swipe things people leave out. They even took a a potted plant Ms. Ito left out a few weeks ago..." The reality behind the potential threat issued straight to her face dawned on her, tempering her frustration quite a bit in the face of a potential fight. She hadn't even understood the violent nod at first just because of how it had been phrased.

"I didn't take anything, I promise." She reiterated for posterity's sake. Slipping her arms up between them, she gently pushing her arms out to either side to try and brush Katsumi's grasp off of her. More of a gentle coaxing than an actual force. She really didn't want to set this woman off again.

"I think we got off on the wrong foot... can we try again? HI! I'm Asuka. I live here... I couldn't help but notice you may also live here, energetic stranger. You also have a very pretty car, which I have in no way taken something from. Perchance you and I can exchange pleasantries not not randomly fist fight outside my home. I would very much like that, in fact, I think that would make my day." Asuka tapped in a bit to her wrestling alter ego, ans the usual tone she would use. It left her with a bit dumb grin on her face, trying really hard to come across as likable.