Meet and Greet

[SuckerPunch]

Fight the LAW was perhaps the largest Pay Per View the company had ever done. An international show that took their business international for the first time! LAW had brought over most of its stars, though only a comparative handful of them were competing in the beachfront card. For the rest, there was LAW Fanfest!

Spoiler

A weekend-long convention in the Los Angeles Convention Center that served as a celebration of all things LAW! Not only was it an opportunity to get Merchandise free of import costs, but it was also an opportunity for the American fans to meet their favorite Joshi Pros!

This is where our story begins.
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The expo hall was bustling. LAW's convention was an undeniable hit. And the meet and greet tables were the main appeals of the show. From the moment the floor opened to the moment the show closed, it had been packed! Various wrestlers were scheduled to sit in and sign autographs and greet their fans.

The scheduled wrestler would find herself at a clothed table with purchasable stills from matches and their merch hanging behind them. A banner overhead proclaimed their name done up in the style of their entrance video or theme.

Courage Takemi

Courage Takemi sat beneath her banner. One that advertised both her pedigree as a second-generation Pro Wrestler and as an idol. Rising Star they called her. The busty and bright-eyed megane-idol worked diligently shaking hands, signing pictures, and taking payments! She had struggled in the ring, but this sort of thing was elementary for the long-time celebrity. All while her theme music played on loop, the only song she'd gotten to be the frontwoman for while with Courage Generation.

The line for her autograph was nearly out the door! Dwarfing some of the other tables in the same room. And far exceeding what was appropriate for her level of success. She'd yet to win a bout...

[Taskmaster12]

Having participated in her first PPV and one that had pushed on LAW’s expansion into America Ayame had caught many eyes at the beach and now at the expo. When she arrived she was completely overwhelmed by the sheer number of people here. She heard California had one of the larger populations in the US but it looked like almost every fan who was at Fight the LAW was here and brought a plus 1 with them. What amazed her was the number of fans in front of her when she sat down the line went so far back she couldn’t even see it end it just went into the crowd outside the door but she knew it was hers given the banner that was behind her seat which she knew could be no one else.

Ayame Akan banner

Ayame didn’t wear her usual stuff for her match which took place on the beach paired against the physically imposing even for her Diana but people seemed to know who that look belongs to given that some had pictures of it pressed to their chests for her to sign or say hello. Ayame greeted all of them as best she could, overwhelmed by the praise and questions alike. Some asking how it was to be undefeated and if she would go after the heavyweight championship. All questions she answered positively and appreciating each response and concern about her time in LAW. But some questions were ones she was less enthusiastic about such as asking about her family. She was sure some didn’t mean any harm by it but she didn’t like feeling like she was just a go between for fans of other matters. Thankfully those were not together frequent but it still didn’t sit right with her. After a few hours she got a break in the action and sat down drinking water and looking next to her to see the fellow wrestler at her side. She was surprised that she didn’t recognize them but given the fan attractions they were bringing in they had to be important. She looked up at her banner and saw her name, Courage Takemi in big letters along with a cute look and decided to speak up while they had time. “Wow who would have guessed California had so many wrestling fans? It’s a sea of people am I right?”

[SuckerPunch]

Courage couldn't help but take interest in the woman beside her. She was strikingly beautiful. Vibrant and without the frills and flowery attire that idols like her had to wear. Her hair was a brilliant, striking violet. Her figure was powerful and intimidating without losing its feminine appeal. She couldn't help but feel as though she looked soft by comparison. Doughy.

Despite her attention swaying, Courage was an immaculate professional. Hardworking and high energy, she greeted every fan with enthusiastic engagement! She had personal discussions about their clothes, interests, and fandom! She took on fan questions, regardless of their content, with aplomb. Referrals to her... Unfortunate record or humiliating losses bounced off of her like water off a duck's back! She was a beacon of encouraging cheer all the way until the end of her shift!

At which point she collapsed backwards in an exhausted heap against the cold, uncomfortable metal of the chairs the convention center had provided. She was panting and had a slight sheen of sweat that made her already soft features glow, cherub-like. Despite her exhaustion, she was smiling brightly.

"Oh gosh! I'm so worn out!" She said aloud to no one. She drew in a deep breath that caused her generous bust to rise high and then fall suddenly as she expelled the air with a relieved sigh.

"Ara! Hello!" Courage's attention swayed immediately to the woman beside her as she was spoken to. She greeted her with the same bright, welcoming smile that she had granted to every single fan who'd come her way. "So many people!" She giggled.

"But it was good to meet them all! After-all, we're nothing without our fans, right? I'm Takemi Yumi!" She pushed to her feet as if she'd never been worn out at all! She did a twirl, coming full circle before suddenly stopping and throwing a fist in the air, freezing in a dramatic pose! "But most people know me as Courage Takemi!" Her other hand snaked out for a hand shake while the rest of her body stayed rigid in its stance. Statuesque.

"Nice to meet you!"

[Taskmaster12]

With the break in action Courage and Ayame had enough downtime to actually talk. “Trust me I’m overwhelmed by the amount of fans because it’s so breathtaking to know so many people are invested in what we do even if we work a bit beyond the pond so to speak. It really makes me excited to keep working on this level. I’m sure you feel the same” Ayame took the hand Yumi gave her. “Ayame Akan. But you could guess that from the poster. Nice to properly meet you. I’ve heard so much.” With a wink Ayame ended the handshake and would lean back in her chair and looking over to see if anyone else was coming fans were still around but none were approaching them yet. “Do anything while you were here? I heard the cities here have loads of stuff to see and do and since I plan to sight see a bit now that my matches here are done I would love any recommendations.” She wasn’t sure how much Takemi would want to talk but since she seemed to like it so far Ayame was willing to keep pushing despite part of her saying not to bother the girl. She was always looking to make friends and some people just seemed so naturally friendly Ayame had to at least talk to them.

[SuckerPunch]

Courage took Ayame's hand and gave it a gentle, lady-like shake. She didn't have the hands you might expect for a professional combat athlete. Soft, warm, and smooth. They were hands that seemed untouched by labor or hardship. No callouses from lifting weights. Not scarring from punching. They were precious and delicate. And telling.

"I do!" She agreed with Ayame's assertion with a giggle. The hand that was in Ayame's now returned as she clapped once for enthusiasm.

The woman introduced herself then. She was right, Courage had seen the poster and internalized who she was. But there was an intimate comfort that came in the form of being given someone's name. "It's nice to meet you Ayame-chan! Are you related to the other Akan's?" And in this instance, it filled her heart with warmth. What Ayame said next, however, made her heart skip a beat.

"O-oh?" She stammered a bit. The first unpracticed crack in her high energy visage. She'd heard about her? Was it her work with Courage Generation? Or... And she paled at the thought... Her rather embarrassing matches. "W-what have you heard?" Her smile cracked slightly. A momentary lapse before it was restored.

"I haven't had a chance to do much, unfortunately. I did have performance, but not a match. My idol duties keep me pretty busy! I hope that your bout went well! You look strong! I'm sure you came out on top!" She flexed an arm and grasped her bicep. Courage did -not- look strong. But she was cute as a button with a body worth drowning in!

[Taskmaster12]

The soft hands were surprising from a wrestler. While it wasn’t unheard of even the average one tended to have developed a callous or two working in the gym, shaking anyone else’s hand and it would have gone unnoticed but a fellow wrestlers and it peaked Ayame’s interest. But she didn’t speak up on it. She made a note of it for later and kept the conversation going with Takemi. The subject of her name was a common one and she could recite her response like she was reading it off a paper. “Yep! Lots of my relatives got hired here around the same time. LAW really loves bringing in families.” Ayame made a note not to mention any specific Akan’s. No offense to her family but enough questions from fans had been brought up about them and she didn’t want to spend more time talking about what Mimi was like, how long had her mother been wrestling, or anything about Kyoko. She didn’t mind being related to them and was happy for any success they found, but she was her own person and she had her own goals so when she was alone she wanted to focus on that and really wanted to make sure Takemi didn’t ask too much about them either. She was so focused on her thoughts that she failed to notice the way Courage bristled when asking about her. Her stammering and change in smile should have been dead giveaways that this was a subject that was rather sensitive to the cute idol but Ayame was only half paying attention. “Oh that your cute as a button; which from this distance I concur. How people really like that you’re in wrestling and seem to take it seriously even if you have troubles.” Nothing she said was horrible but Ayame only realized after that last sentence that she might have brought up a bad subject. Her eyes showed her brief panic before looking at Takemi to see if that bothered her and she quickly began to notice the slight change in how she looked. Feeling bad Ayame tried to turn things around. “Most say your a complete sweetheart who made seeing them worth it. Sounds like you’ve worked up a fanbase. But my match was tough. Didn’t think wrestling around a beach would be different but between the sun, sand, and breeze it was something else. Gave me a nice view of my opponent. Think she’s the first girl I couldn’t just run over since I came here.”

[SuckerPunch]

Ayame's hesitance was easy to read. Her lineage had helped her get in the door, but it also weighed heavily on her. Her family name brought with it expectations... Courage could relate.

"Yeah... They do. I don't think they would have signed me if not for my Mama." She admitted with a brief falter in her smile. It isn't that she didn't like her mom. In fact... They had a fantastic relationship. Her dad hadn't ever been around, so it had always been the two of them. And her mom had loved her enough to give up her career to raise her. But she had also made it clear that she didn't want her entering the world of wrestling. And yet... She chuckled absent-mindedly at the thought.

"Oh? C-cute?" She giggled and covered her mouth. Her pale cheeks lit up in a charming blush as she looked away. "Stop! You're embarrassing me!" There was a theatricalness to the way she responded. Like Kyoko's on-paper response regarding her family, Courage had been trained to react to being called cute. This was her profession after all. Being an idol. Being sought after. Earning money by looking marketable. She hadn't meant to be disingenuous. It was a reflex. And one that had earned her a great deal of success.

"That's really kind of you to say. I'm thankful for every fan I get!" She gave Ayame a thumbs up. That was true. Even the fans who had grown to love watching her suffer...

"I didn't get to watch it I'm afraid." Her smile grew apologetic now. It was amazing how many emotions an idol could convey with slight changes in their smile. Nobody liked a frowning idol. "I had a performance during the event. All the way in San Diego. But I can't wait to watch the whole event!" She added in consolation. But afterwards, she paused to consider Ayame's last sentence.

"Gosh... You really are strong, huh? I um... haven't had much luck in the ring myself. Judging by my record, getting run over is about all I do. You haven't... Umm... Seen any of my matches... have you?" She asked hesitantly. Her eyes slid away from Ayame to find something else to focus on. She couldn't bear the thought of her potential new friend having seen her in such... shameful positions. She had yet to have a loss that wasn't somehow pornographic...

[Taskmaster12]

Unlike last time Ayame did take note of how Courage was acting. The change in her genuine happiness when it faltered at certain points, and how her response about being cute seemed more robotic compared to tue conversation they were having before she mentioned it. Things picked up again and had Ayame of been paying attention she could have easily missed it once more but now that she had noticed she was even more attentive of everything Courage was doing. It was clear on one end she was slightly bothered about how her career was tied to her mothers body of work which to Ayame meant that she clearly thought her own work was insufficient of a wrestler. “Well I’m sure you had plenty of things to do besides watch some girl you’ve never met before wrestle. World doesn’t revolve around me.” She laughed and stayed cheery hoping it could stop whatever she was feeling. It didn’t work. Talking about her match made Courage somehow feel worse, with her words confirming what Ayame had already guessed along with Courage no longer looking in her direction. Ayame had not seen any of her matches before, only aware that she had lost some recent ones but losing doesn’t make one bad. From the sound of it however, Courage did a bit more then just lose matches. “Never got the chance. Sorry. But I’m sure you’re being too hard on yourself. I know you probably think you have big shoes to fill but take it from me, whatever reason you got the job you can’t let stay the reason. Maybe we can look over some matches of yours together and help you work on improving. I know a thing or two about trying to get out from under someone’s shadow.” Ayame’s tone made it clear that it was an equally sore subject for her. Not something she liked to share but maybe she would be a bit more open to someone going through the same thing.

[SuckerPunch]

Ayame had a disarming kindness to her. A genuineness that was somewhat unexpected to her in the carnival barker industry of pro wrestling. All of Courage's interactions thus far had been, if not unpleasant, somewhat farcical. She was a second-generation star, that was true, however, she had been steered clear of the industry. Her experience was minimal and her preconceived notions were... Not generous. Acknowledging this made her feel a bit silly. And the warmth of Ayame's persona began to break through her frigid theatrical defenses.

"I... I think maybe that would be nice." She conceded. Defeated by Ayame's cheery laugh and unjudging demeanor. She never wanted to see those matches again. But... She also never wanted to be in those -positions- again. And perhaps, if she let someone in, they could help her. "I could probably use the help, if it um... Isn't too much trouble." She finished accepting the offer.

"Thank you for being so kind!" She added. "And I'd like to watch some of your matches as well! It would be helpful to see the art performed properly!" She threw a pair of jabs in front of her with a smirk. She could throw a punch. Her form was good. Though there didn't appear to be much strength behind it. Her technique clearly came from Boxerobics classes.

"Say. The expo hall is going to be closing here pretty soon. Did you um... Have plans after?"

[Taskmaster12]

It was clear both of them had things they wanted to work on and confidence was one of them. While Ayame seemed to have a bit more than Courage neither was feeling all that important and more like a last name attached to someone else’s brighter stars. But one thing Ayame learned was to not let that kind of thing bring her down and seeing someone else sinking in the same quicksand felt it was only right to offer a helping hand. Having a friend can go a long way. “That’s great! I’d be honored to help you, I’m not the most elite person myself but I’ve been around this business long enough to get an idea. Your matches or mine should help us get started. Though I’m not sure how much art you’ll see in mine, I do a few moves right but mostly I throw my weight into things and pray for the best.” The joke was followed by a small laugh but a beaming smile stayed on her face just because Courage said yes and looked a lot happier with her playful boxing jabs that Ayame watched. She was really looking forward to seeing if she could help her here and maybe help herself. “Oh yeah it is.” Ayame remembered seeing how late it was getting. Normally she’d bug one of her family members after a match but the only one in the entire country was her older sister who was probably sleeping off the day post PPV. Not the best company to bug and with nothing else in mind Ayame knew she was free. “Thinking on it, my schedule is all clear after this. Wanna do something?”