Dead Ringer for Love

[skip-stop]

"Oh, really?"Astrid asked a rhetorical question with genuine enthusiasm.

She would never have thought that Belinda was a Swedish name. Although, of course, this blonde had obvious features of someone who could be called a Northerner. Funny, considering her last name. Belinda did not go into details, without telling why her parents were Swedish, but at the same time moved to the United States of America. However, they can return to this issue a little later. In addition, the other blonde was also interested in Astrid's origin. And her assumption amused the long-haired woman very much.

"Huh, good guess," she chuckled, "I've read her stories, but unfortunately, you missed a bit."

It was really a bit funny. Despite the fact that Belinda grew up in California, she was Swedish by blood. Could it be just a coincidence that Astrid met her today and not someone else? She didn't believe in such coincidences. Not wanting to create a dramatic pause, Astrid answered her new acquaintance's question.

"My ancestry goes back to the distant past," she said, "and among my great Viking ancestors was a warrior named Astrid, my parents named me after her, I am proud of it and even more proud that I was born in great Norway."

Suddenly Astrid's phone started vibrating. The blonde looked at the screen and for a moment her face paled. She had completely forgotten about one important thing. Although there was nothing to blame her for. Belinda overshadowed Astrid's mind, making her forget about why she came to the LAW building. She took a deep breath and picked up the phone.

"Hello?" she answered in the calmest possible voice, in response, Victoria's rather loud and dissatisfied voice rang out from the speaker. "No, I haven't forgotten. I arrived at the parking lot, but... Victoria... Victoria... I'm not... Victoria... give me a break... we'll discuss the plans tomorrow, I have a date! Bye!"

It was only after Astrid mentioned the word date that Victoria's voice trailed off. This gave the Norwegian woman the opportunity to quickly end the conversation. It was only after that that she realized what she had just said. And at that moment she wanted to slap herself in the face. But she restrained herself. The only question was how Belinda would react.

[Devastated]

Belinda figured she had hit it right on the mark but hearing what Astrid had to say in return she couldn't help but let out a light. " Oh..." She felt a bit embarrassed now, presuming that she had figured out where Astrid's namesake came from. As Astrid continued to explain, Belinda would nod her head a as she took in the information that Astrid was throwing her way. She wondered if Cecilia would get along with Astrid, her older sister had always had a fascination of Vikings and Norse myth. Though thinking of Cecilia, there were few people which she actually got along with, chances are that these two meeting could either be a meeting of best of friends or worst of enemies.

The Californian would shake her head a bit and then refocus to keeping her eyes on the rode. It wouldn't do her any good driving as recklessly as her companion for the evening. " That's pretty cool. Though I can see now, you fit the image of a Norwegian, at least those I've met." Belinda let out, slightly teasing and mostly in a joking manner.

The phone of Astrid's soon began to ring, and Belinda would remain calm and try her best to not listen into the conversation. Though it was rather difficult as the voice on the other end of the line was very loud. She tried to ignore it, it wasn't nice to eavesdrop after all. Though as Astrid began to talk back to her, and then ending it off with that phrase...Belinda would raise an eyebrow and glace towards Astrid.

"So we have a date huh? ~" Belinda let out in a drawn out and somewhat of a teasing manner, wanting to see how Astrid would react to the question and see if she should keep toying with the woman, and making her blush or if she should just accept it for what it was. Perhaps it was actually a date? It wasn't far off from one, and it wasn't like Belinda would say no to one.

[skip-stop]

It was really embarrassing. Especially for the Norwegian woman. She herself didn't fully understand why she said that. Perhaps somewhere on a subconscious level, she really believed that everything that was happening was a date. But on the other hand, she knew that only such a statement would silence her manager. Why was it embarrassing? Because in fact, the long-haired blonde has not had a date for a very long time.

And Belinda did not ignore Astrid's words. The woman clearly heard that there was a slight mockery in her new acquaintance's question. And it really made Astrid's cheeks turn slightly red. She was really bad at dating. She was honest with herself and therefore Astrid knew that she was far from the most romantic person. She was passionate, she was hot, but when it comes to romance... it changes everything.

"It was my manager, Victoria," she said, deliberately turning away so that Belinda would not look at her red face, "we agreed to discuss my future matches and such, as you might have guessed, I forgot to warn her that plans have changed."

Only now did the long-haired blonde realize that all this most likely sounds like a stream of excuses. She wanted to slap herself again. The topic of dating was really quite sensitive for her. She is a warrior, her job is to fight in the ring. And at such moments she really got lost. However... she took a breath and turned back to Belinda.

"Do you want it to be a date?" she asked.

[Devastated]

Belinda didn't know what sort of result her teasing would get and it seemed to be a rather good one. Catching a glance of Astrid's blushing face in the Rear view mirror as she would then turn her eyes back onto the road. She would listen to the fellow blonde's explanation. She felt pretty bad now though, as it seemed as if she may have caused a bit of trouble by almost stealing Astrid away now. She let out a light sigh at the thought, she would probably have to help and try and smooth things over with Astrid's manager later.

When Astrid turned back to her, Belinda would glance at Astrid through the corner of her eye. Hearing her ask that question caused a slight blush to appear on Belinda's skin...though it faded rather quickly. " Ah?..." She cleared her throat and then smiled a bit. " Why not?" Belinda said as she shrugged her shoulders a bit.

"It's not like I would say no to a date with a beautiful woman." Belinda spoke as she would then take the next turn. " It's a date then?" Belinda would ask as she flashed a little grin, looking over at Astrid for a moment before turning her gaze back to the road.

[skip-stop]

What was happening was not something trivial to the Norwegian woman. Despite the fact that she was not a closed person, it was difficult for her to trust anyone. Because of this, her social circle was very limited. In the ring, she was an unstoppable machine that sought to sweep away any obstacle in the way. Passion was a part of her life. But she rarely let anyone get close enough.

So now she just couldn't believe what was happening to her. Apart from Charlotte, she literally had no one to talk to about something. Now, next to Belinda, she felt... good. They had known each other for no more than twenty minutes, but for the first time in a long time, Astrid was ready to believe that she had found someone she could trust.

She barely restrained herself from exhaling with relief after Belinda's words. She couldn't know for sure what exactly her new acquaintance would answer. But when she saw the blush on the Swedish-American woman's cheeks for a moment, and then heard that the other blonde didn't mind at all that it would be a date... Astrid smiled sheepishly.

"Let's try," she said.

She was pleased that her new acquaintance considered her a beautiful woman. Astrid rarely worried about her appearance because of her lifestyle. But if a woman says that she doesn't like compliments in her direction, then this woman is a liar. There was a slight smile on the blonde's face. Finally, this awkward moment was over. On the one hand, it has become more exciting. But on the other hand, now they knew for sure that it would be a date.

"Tell me, how did you end up in Japan?" Astrid asked, wanting to get to know Belinda better. "What prompted you to join LAW?"

[Devastated]

Belinda was rather happy to clear something like that up, she hadn't been on a date for a long time actually. Last time had probably been two or maybe even three years ago? Her life was fairly busy after all, with LAW and training and trying to have any sort of hobbies other than her job. It didn't really leave much time to do things like go on dates. Before LAW though things had also been rather hectic.

As Astrid asked her how she ended up in Japan, Belinda would think about it for a moment or two. " Well...I came her to wrestle. I got a work visa to come wrestle in a league here for a month or two. Circumstances changed as I was tricked into joining another league than I was first meant to guest at.... haha." Belinda joked as she turned in towards a different street. " I ended up in quite an intense rivalry with another girl...and after a while I decided to join LAW." Belinda finished off her abridged story of how she got here.

"How about you Astrid? What brought you to Japan and what got you joining LAW?"

[skip-stop]

"Huh," Astrid chuckled slightly after hearing Belinda's story, "sometimes life brings surprises, doesn't it? Especially at high speed."

It may not have been the best joke in the world, but still, there really could be some parallel between these situations. Belinda did not expect that she would have to join another federation. And neither of them expected that their acquaintance would begin with Astrid almost bumping into another blonde.

"But in any case it sounds exciting," the Norwegian woman nodded several times, "getting experience before joining a league like LAW is really good."

She chuckled again when she heard the same question from Belinda. Astrid turned her head to the side and thought for a moment. She did not hide why she came here, several times she had to openly talk about it in the ring. However, it's one thing when you speak in front of the fans or the opponent's face. And it's a completely different thing when you need to talk about something like this in a personal conversation.

"Well, I think it's not hard to guess that I came to Japan for LAW," Astrid began, "although the path and reasons that brought me here are not so simple. My father was a multiple boxing champion. I've always felt that the ring is my calling. But he refused to train me, believing that this was a purely men's business. He always said he wanted a son he could train. My last name is his biggest joke in my life, huh."

Astrid paused a little, remembering those distant times when she tried to prove to her father that she was worthy of carrying with her the traditions and heritage of their great ancestors.

"At first I started training on my own, over time I made him see who I really was, my stubbornness was a good argument, huh," Astrid smiled, "so... first boxing, then MMA. For many years of work and as a result I became the European MMA champion."

She paused again, because she was getting to the most important part of the story.

"At that moment I had a choice, to sign a contract with the largest MMA promotion or to sign a contract with LAW," Astrid's look involuntarily became more serious, "MMA would bring me a mountain of money, but it would not allow me to achieve my goals. The best fighters of this planet fight in LAW. I am Astrid Arvidsson, I am a descendant of the great Vikings. And my goal is to write my name in history. I want when I find myself at the same table with my great ancestors, they enjoy listening to my stories about the fights I went through. The best women fight in LAW. And I intend to fight each of them because a real warrior is looking for glory, not money. A real warrior is looking for a decent fight with a strong opponent. I am a real warrior and I want my great ancestors to be proud of me."

Astrid turned her head to Belinda and looked into her eyes, then smiled gently.

[Devastated]

Having turned into the main bulk of the city now all that mattered was finding a place to park. Which could be a nightmare in Tokyo. She knew of a few places that usually had space but that meant a bit of a walk, though she didn't think Astrid would mind. Or at least she hoped that she wouldn't. She had told her story to her date though perhaps not in the greatest amount of detail. She didn't really feel like divulging most of her life to someone she had just met. " Hah, I guess yeah. I was a bit to trusting back then and got roped into quite a conflict with another woman. Though all that is mostly resolved now." Belinda joked.

As Astrid began to tell her tale though, Belinda felt like perhaps she hadn't really divulged enough. She felt kind off bad for keeping her story somewhat vague and not talking about her aunt, or sister or anything of that sort. She let out a soft sigh as she listened on Astrid's tale. She did have a deep found hatred for people who thought that combat sports were only meant for men. Well...hatred is a strong word...maybe disdain....or rather dislike. She disagreed with them on such a level that she would have a hard time keeping her composure when talking to them. So perhaps there shouldn't be any family dinners in their future.

Belinda continued to listen as she drove into a parking spot and then turned off the car. Turning her gaze towards Astrid as she finished off her story. " That is an admirable goal. Though I think if you can get to the top of LAW then you can make a lot of money too. Haha..." Belinda let out, as she would start to get out of the car. Leaning over the roof after closing the door to look at Astrid. " I hope you get a chance to fight as many tough fighters you can." Belinda said with a wink of her eye, clicking the electronic lock on her car keys after Astrid closed the door, Belinda would begin to lead Astrid towards where the restaurant was.

[skip-stop]

Astrid was not an idiot, she noticed that Belinda told everything quite briefly, without any details. However, it was her right. Maybe she had something to hide. Maybe she didn't want to remember that period of time. Or, more likely, she just didn't trust the Norwegian woman enough. Well, Astrid was able to understand her, because she, too, was not the kind of person who would lay out everything that was on her soul to the first person she met.

It might have seemed that Astrid, unlike Belinda, told everything without hiding anything. However, this was also not the case. In fact, she also did not tell about many things. Yes, she spoke about her motives much more openly, but, nevertheless, it was not a secret because she had already done it in the ring. The details of her life remained outside of this story and let it be so for now.

"What doesn't kill us..." joked Astrid to the words that another blonde was involved in a conflict.

Belinda stopped the car. After a quick look around, Astrid made the assumption that they would have to take a little walk. This was not surprising, given that it was difficult to find a parking space in Tokyo. For the Norwegian woman, this was another point in the piggy bank of the advantages of her motorcycle. However, she had nothing against going for a walk with Belinda. They got out of the car and the moment they closed the doors, Belinda winked at her. Astrid grinned.

"Well," she said, starting to walk next to Belinda, "I've already met some, although most of all I remember Alison Seong and Karen Starring, huh, the same stubborn and proud bitches as me, although in terms of narcissism I can never compare with them."

Astrid laughed a little, indulging in memories of these matches. Alison became her first opponent in the LAW ring, at that time she can be said to have kicked the door and entered the ring to Alison instead of someone else. Someone else... stop. Astrid slightly raised her head and her left eyebrow raised, something began to stir in her memory. Name. What was the name that Alison said that time? Damn, it can't be. She finally remembered. The Norwegian woman did not believe in coincidences. But now it seemed to her something amazing.

"Listen..." Astrid turned her head to the side and looked at Belinda, "you have a sister, right? Cecilia?"

[Devastated]

Belinda and Astrid began their little walk to get to their dinner location. It would take about 10 minutes or so, maybe a bit longer if they kept a slower pace which for the moment Belinda was keeping. She wanted to talk with Astrid a bit more, unhindered by food. She also sort of just enjoyed walking together with someone and talking to them, it was a hell of a lot easier to do than to talk while driving...that was for sure.

The short haired blonde listened onto the people Astrid mentioned. She knew well enough who both of them were, they had clashed more than a few times with her older sister. To the point where she was more than familiar enough when it came to how skilled those two were. Belinda would probably have watched their matches even if Cecilia hadn't been involved with them. After all, Belinda was a bit of a wrestling maniac, she loved watching matches of great wrestlers going at it.

She let out a light chuckle at Astrid's words about them being narcissists and thought about her sister. She'd certainly fit into that category. Though everyone usually had some traits of it. Cecilia and most of her rivals certainly embodied more than a few traits.

Astrid's question though didn't exactly surprise Belinda. She was used to people recognizing her because of her sister's name." Cecilia? Yeah. She's my older sister. Pretty famous ain't she? Haha!" Belinda let out a laugh as she looked at Astrid. " She used to stomp around in America for a long while, but moved to Japan and joined LAW soon after I did." Belinda explained to the Golden Dragon.