Simmering to a Cool

[Dubski]

(Continued from here)

HEAT Mihoko had eventually made her way out of the ring after her match. She was choked out with a lip lock added for extra embarrassment, and... surprising she didn't seem fired up after she lost. Instead, she seemed rather calm about it. Sad, certainly, and morose, but without the explosiveness she had before. Walking backstage with her head down, she went towards the locker room. On the way, a wrestler almost walked into her and she practically leaped over to the opposite side of the hall and muttered, "Sorry..."

She seemed far more bashful. In fact, anyone who knew Mihoko would have seen that stark difference from the girl in the ring and the girl backstage--that is, if they noticed her. Normally very quiet and reserved, HEAT had preferred to simply stay in the background, keeping to herself. She was exceedingly shy, to the level that if she wasn't in her gear, they may have assumed she wasn't a wrestler in the first place.

But today she was exhausted, tired, and sad that she had lost again. And now the Hot-Blooded Fighter was just a sweaty and bummed out one, and she had gotten ready to take a shower after her match. Mihoko purposefully waited until the shower was lighter, and there was a spot away from most people before darting in and taking a quick shower to clean up before returning back to her locker and dressing. After doing so, she packed her things and then was about to leave... but she was feeling particularly down. This loss had hit her hard, and it replayed in her mind. She felt so stupid. Nothing was working out.

And she was trying to get the funk out of her mind as she pulled up the hood of her red hoodie and sat on the bench, pulling her legs up and resting her feet on the bench as well, quietly thinking to herself. It wasn't a good day for Mihoko, and she was just looking to see if she could figure out a way into the league with success.

Spoiler

[BlackAkuma]

It was a good day for Freezer Katakura. A great day, maybe.

She stepped out of the locker room showers with a slim, knowing smile, taking in the fresh air as it blasted her wet skin. Even now, she was still tingling from the match she’d just had - the best bout she’d enjoyed in her short tenure with LAW, and she would have to go far beyond that to find any competition. It hadn't been that long, but it was so intense, with her opponent bringing so much fire into the fight, all that energy…

Her opponent. Hm.

HEAT Mihoko was still on Freezer’s mind as she slipped into her regular clothes. On paper, she had approached the match like any other one - lots of throws, holds, interspersed with kissing, winning the battle on the physical and mental fronts. She often got a reaction from that, sometimes positive and sometimes negative, but she couldn't remember anyone reacting so viscerally, having such wild aggression about it. Now that the adrenaline wasn’t flowing and the audience wasn’t there to egg them along, she did find herself wondering if, perhaps, she should’ve eased on things. She could tell that winning the match was an essential thing to HEAT, more so than with most - did her affections rub salt on the wound?

It was a lingering worry that stayed with Freezer, occupying her thoughts as she made her way out of the locker room. She was on the verge of stepping out when something caught her eye - a woman on the far side of the room, away from the main area of the locker room. She hadn't given her much thought before, but now she couldn't help notice that there was something familiar about her. It was hard to tell with the hood, but…

Ah. It was HEAT.

The woman didn’t look all that different in her casual wear, but Freezer was so accustomed to seeing her raging and running that this sight must not have registered with her. But it was her, she was sure of it, sitting there all alone. Freezer fidgeted with her purse for all of two seconds before she made her decision on what to do next.

She stepped over, boots clicking on the tiled floor as she approached, and waited until she was close to speak and draw HEAT’S attention. ”Mihoko-san.” She leaned forward for a deep bow, then gestured to the spot on the bench besides her. ”Is this seat taken?”

Casual Attire

[Dubski]

Mihoko was lost in a haze, mulling over everything that went wrong in her night. Curled up on the bench, she didn't even pay attention to the women coming and going, and none of them seemed to pay her any attention either. She preferred it that way. And it would have happened that way, except someone had actually approached her--a rarity backstage. She heard her name being said and then looked back at none other than Freezer Katakura, her opponent tonight, and her eyes went wide.

She seemed timid, and her eyes had fear in them even as her opponent was respectfully bowing to her. She sucked in a breath of air sharply and shook her head, almost in a panic. Freezer surely wouldn't have anything nice to say to her. Who would? Mihoko was more than aware of her attitude in the ring and how much more incendiary it was. She swallowed hard and then grabbed her bag, hand trembling as she did so.

"Sorry... Sorry... I can go..." she said, bowing her head to hide her face as she pulled her bag up. It was the easiest way to avoid what she was certain would be a negative interaction with her former opponent. Mihoko would then stand and try to move past Katakura, looking to make a quick exit if she could. Her night had already been bad enough without having to risk being berated by Freezer now.

[BlackAkuma]

…this was HEAT Mihoko, right?

It seemed like a strange question for Freezer to be asking herself, considering this was the woman she had been wrestling with and squeezing and even kissing not too long ago, but when she looked up at her with those timid, frightened eye, she almost didn’t recognize her. She even considered that HEAT might have a shyer twin for a second, but that notion was dispelled when she spoke up - no question, that was her. Quieter, yes, but her.

She stepped back as HEAT stood up and started to leave, almost taken aback by the notion that the same raging, wild woman she’d faced in the ring would bow out so easily. She was able to capture her composure in short order, however, and stepped around to cut HEAT off before she could make it to the door.

”No, no, you don’t have to go, Mihoko-san.” She kept her voice cool and her face soft, even more so than usual. ”It’s all right, really. I’d like to speak with you for a while, actually, if you’re willing.” Freezer dipped her head, just enough to find HEAT’s eyes under the hood. ”Please?”

[Dubski]

Mihoko was ready to book it out of there right now. She didn't need to spend any amount of time around the girl she had been so mean to and had already been teased and taunted by. But when she went to leave, Freezer was stepping in her way already. Mihoko quickly averted her gaze from her opponent and then gave a stiff nod when she requested to stop. Rubbing her arm with her free hand, the black-haired girl glanced from side to side before speaking in a small voice. "Okay..."

Timidly, she made her way back to the bench she was just on, keeping her head bowed as she was fidgeting with her hands, taking a deep breath. "...What... what do you want?" asked Mihoko tentatively, not sure what her former opponent had to say to her at this point. She just hoped this conversation would go by quickly now.

[BlackAkuma]

For a moment, Freezer was worried that she pushed too hard and scared HEAT off even more. It wouldn’t be the first time such a thing happened - one of the consequences of being so upfront and unapologetic with who she was. Sometimes people reacted well to it, other times, they ran for the hills. She had never let it deter her and refused to let such things dictate how she approached life, but she sincerely hoped it wouldn’t be a problem today. Not right now.

Thankfully, HEAT toughed it out and stayed.

The room was quiet now, with most of the crew out for the day and many of the wrestlers on the way back home, braving traffic or taking the trains. Freezer had the luxury of living nearby, so she wasn’t in a rush. She sat on the bench near the edge to give HEAT plenty of room if she decided to join her.

”A few things. To make sure you were okay, for one thing - I know that getting knocked out like that is far from a pleasant experience.” She crossed her legs and looked up. ”But I also wanted to talk about our moments in the ring. I know things got a little…” She rolled her hands around as she fished for a better word than the one that came to mind, but she gave up after a moment and just went with it. ”...heated in there, and I apologize. The way I wrestle can have that effect on people.”

[Dubski]

Mihoko kept her head down while Freezer spoke, continuing to play with her hands as she listened to the girl. She didn't dare look up as her former opponent was speaking. She just kept staring at the ground, finding a little spot to take all of her focus. She did understand that Freezer was trying to apologize though. Mihoko still felt very uncomfortable with it all though. Having to go through that match, have this woman embarrass her and beat her in the ring was awful, and she would have just preferred to get her ass kicked than to have suffered through all of the flirting and sexual maneuvers.

But Katakura did seem to understand it upset her, which was nice of her to acknowledge and apologize for. When Freezer was done speaking, Mihoko gave a tiny little nod in acknowledgement and said, "It's okay..." A simple response, and a rather stilted one. She was afraid to say much of anything else honestly. She didn't want to upset Freezer now. Part of it was a legitimate acceptance of the apology, while the rest was mostly to try getting this conversation over with. That said, Mihoko didn't offer much more of a follow up aside from that, instead letting Freezer speak next.

[BlackAkuma]

Freezer tipped her head to the side, unsure what to make of this HEAT Mihoko, still trying to wrap her head around her. Her personality differed from the wild, untameable beauty she had faced in the ring, and she couldn't help but be thrown off by it. Had she affected the woman that much with her loss, or was she always like this?

”It’s not. Not really. Though I won’t lie and say it wasn’t enjoyable - I meant what I said about you near the end, there. Maybe I’m a slave to my desires.” She sighed as she leaned in just enough to get another look at that sweet, shy, beautiful face of Mihoko’s.

”I’m making you more uncomfortable, I see. Maybe we just have that effect on each other.” Freezer stood back up and stepped forward, reaching the edge of Mihoko’s personal space, but not crossing the line. ”At any rate, you were an amazing opponent, and I would love to face you again. Any place, any time, any match. I won’t force you to talk with me if you’d rather leave, but…”

She extended her hand, looking for a shake. A small bit of trust. ”I do hope we can leave on a good note. Shake?”

[Dubski]

Uncomfortably sitting there, Mihoko continued to listen to Freezer speak. Her hands picked at her jeans now, looking awkward as Katakura was apologizing to her. If anything, Mihoko felt she should be doing the apologizing as well, but she was a little too nervous to do so. There was fear behind it, worrying about whether or not her opponent would have taken more offense, but... Freezer was being so outwardly kind to her. She gulped, nodding a few times as she started to conclude.

And she would finally look up as Freezer offered to shake Mihoko's hand. Her eyes were wide, unsure of how to take it all now. She had said so many kind things that made Mihoko feel a lot better about it, but the Not-So-Hot Blooded Locker Room Inhabitant was still hesitant. She didn't feel like striking up a whirlwind of conversation, but she felt like she could, at the very least, accept this. "Y-yes... We can... shake. Thank you for the... for the nice words," said Mihoko, standing up. Her hand was practically trembling as she grabbed Katakura's hand, squeezing it tight for fear that it might just slip out of her hand as she shook it.

Then, abruptly, she pulled it back and looked at Freezer's face more closely before glancing away. "I'm sorry... What did you say? At the end? I don't really remember. It was all..." she trailed off, trying to think of the words. Swallowing hard, she glanced back briefly to correct herself. "It was quick. ...I'm sorry." She concluded, rubbing her arm with one hand a she shyly looked away.

[BlackAkuma]

No. No, this wouldn’t do.

Freezer refused to accept that this was the same woman who had nearly lit her on fire in the ring less than an hour ago. The fire, the intensity, the passion, it had to be somewhere in there, if only she could find some way to bring it out. To see this woman so cowed was heartbreaking, like watching a bird with a broken wing trying to take flight.

Freezer looked at her hand, the one that had been shaking with Mihoko, after she pulled it away, still feeling the way the smaller woman had trembled at the touch. ”Unconsciousness does that to short term memory, yes.” She flexed her fingers and brought her gaze back to the other woman, who had once again averted hers.

”I said that you were beautiful. And I meant it.” She took a small step to the side, just enough to make her way back into Mihoko’s field of view. ”Achingly, painfully, amazingly, sadly beautiful.”

Freezer brought a single finger to Mihoko’s chin and tilted her head up to bring their eyes together, if only for a moment. ”I’m not going to hurt you, Mihoko-san. You’ve nothing to be afraid of.”