"Waiter! Wager for Two!", Mai Shinoda vs June Canon

[Galactic Thing]

Walls woosh by, paintings and pictures on the sides coming and going, everything beginning to blur. June's boots slam against the tile floor as she maintains her speed, dashing down the hallway as fast as possible. Trying not to think to much, she focuses on her form. Her stride, the way her arms move in coordination with her body, and the pattern of her breathing to maintain energy. Everything was calculated, something June hated doing, but it was worth it.

In that moment, there was no wrestling, no memory of her debut. Just the speed of her full sprint, the air rushing across her body, and the goal in sight. Skidding to a stop just before her body slams into a bookcase at the end of the hall, a hand shoots into her booty jean shorts' pocket. Fishing out her phone, she scrambles for a moment, stopping the timer at 7.261 seconds. The sight makes her groan loudly, hands almost smacking her face from how fast she put it in them.

"Seriously!?" she complained audibly of her own performance. Just 2 tries earlier, she managed to crack under 7, but couldn't seem to break it again and prove it wasn't a fluke. In a crude way, every failure just upped the challenge for her, the racing of her heart like a beating engine to fuel her desire to meet the mark once more. "Alright," June whispered, hyping herself up a bit, "Shit's easy, just...be fast. That's all."

Shaking her head at the rather lackluster pep talk to herself, she assumed her position. With one hand starting the timer, she took off! Barreling down the hall once again, the sights and details around her muddying a bit again...she didn't notice what, or rather who stood in her way...

WHAM!!! June collided chest first into the unknown woman, and landed hard onto her butt in a light daze.

[CaptainL]

This was an exciting night for Mai Shinoda. After a successful career as the captain of her high school keijo team, she had just been accepted to LAW, with her teammates at her side - and now, she was ready to bring that same level of competition to the big leagues! Her heart was pounding with excitement as she strolled through the halls of the LAW office, a spring in her step. Most things got her excited, of course, but this was a step beyond - this was a sign that she was coming closer to realizing her destiny!

Mai didn't have to be at the office this early, of course. She didn't have a match scheduled just yet. But she wanted to start her career off on the right foot, and she was eager to see the building up close. She, along with her teammates Saya and Naomi, had been here on a guided tour, but Mai, eager to get a closer look, had managed to slip away from the group when their guide wasn't looking to check things out for herself.

Spoiler

"Ooh, look, look!" Mai said, coming up to a glass case where some photos were hung up. "These are from the very first LAW event! I saw this on TV!"

"Whoah...you think my mom's in any of these?" Saya added, taking a step closer.

"I mean, I don't think she joined LAW until a couple years in," Mai pointed out to her best friend, the newly-second-generation LAW wrestler Saya Matou.

"Aww, lame..."

Less amused was Naomi Nakatani, the third member of their team, and the brains of the operation - not that that was a hard thing to be, with these two. Standing back with a disinterested huff, she crossed her arms. Her attention wasn't focused on the sights so much as it was on the antics of her partners. "I really hope you have a good excuse planned for the security guards."

"I'll just say we work here!" Mai pointed out. "It's not a lie! It's fine!"

Turning the corner, Mai prepared to continue her journey deeper into the depths of the LAW office...right when an unfamiliar woman took off down the hallway and plowed into her at full speed, knocking them both back onto the floor before either of them knew what hit them! Mai landed with a yelp, stopping to rub her head, while Saya ran to her side. "MAI!! Are you okay!? And, uh..." She looked up at the newcomer. "Are you okay?"

"HEY!! Watch where you're going!" Mai snapped back at the blonde across from her - a statement that caused Naomi to roll her eyes, considering she was one to talk. Still, Mai wasn't deterred. "What was that about?"

[Galactic Thing]

June rubbed her head, seeing not three but six girls in her blurred and dizzied vision. "Too...fast...woah..." she mumbled, practically having a trio of yellow birdies circling above her head. Only then did she seem to catch the question from one of them, or rather two of them given her current condition. Focusing to eliminate the illusory duplicates, June nodded once, "Yeah I'm ok, I jus-"

She was cut off by Mai's angered shout, piercing the air and quickly changing the adrenaline junkies expression. June was going to be cordial and apologize, as Saya was much of the same. But after that? Oh it was on.

"I was trying to get some speed training in! And you're one to talk! Why did you just stand there when you heard someone bounding through the halls!?" The atrocious point she was trying to make wasn't lost to her. Nobody should have to expect someone going as fast as June was, but it wasn't about if she was right, which she definitely wasn't. It was about principle, and kissing the butt of someone looking for an argument.

Standing slowly, June stared daggers at Mai. The timer on her phone continued to tick, and she momentarily broke eye contact to check it. "AND you made me lose track of my time. That could've been my PB!"

[CaptainL]

It had been an honest mistake, really. Neither Mai nor June had any way of knowing that they were around the corner from one another. But Mai wasn't going to take this lying down. It seemed that fate had led her to her first challenger - and she was going to rise to meet her, no questions asked! If anything, this would only work out better for her in the long run. Now Mai had found the perfect opportunity to prove to the world what she was all about, and defeating June would be her first step on her way to greatness!

As soon as the brunette had jumped back to her feet, something dropped in the pit of Saya's stomach. She knew this stroke of fate had gotten Mai going. Hoping she could reel her back in before things got too out of hand, she started to reach out toward Mai, only for Naomi to hold her own hand up to stop hers.

"...We're not going to stop her, are we?" Saya muttered, looking back at her teammate. And, with a sigh, Naomi shook her head. "Just...just let her have this."

Naomi already knew that with these two it was hopeless. In fact, it seemed as though Mai and June were cut from the same cloth. Both of them were just as stubborn and just as heated - and when they were put into the same situation, they could only escalate things even further. When Mai heard June's response, she just narrowed her eyes on her with a glare as she leaned in closer. In answering her, June had just entered the battlefield, and Mai wasn't going to concede any ground! "What?! You were going that fast and you thought I had time to get out of the way? Are you saying I wasn't paying attention!? Are you calling me STUPID!?"

Naomi bit her lip at that, very tempted to say something but knowing better. Nevertheless, Mai crossed her arms with a huff. "Uh, why would you need to go that fast just to get peanut butter anyway, weirdo? Look...I have a wager for you! If you want to talk speed training, I'll race ya right now! You'll see you can't beat me!" She jabbed a finger toward June, issuing a challenge of her own!

[Galactic Thing]

"And what if I am!? Only stupid people would just stand in the middle of the hallway when they hear someone coming!" she reiterated her own flawed point again, perhaps a bit low on material. Fortunately, Mai was quick to grant her some more ammunition unintentionally, "Peanut butter!?" June exclaimed, her tone almost punching the other woman. "It's actually 'personal best'! Have you ever even hit the gym or are you here out of luck?" She was really getting into it now, trying to verbally combo Mai with a massive grin on her face.

Hearing what came out of her mouth next, she blocked out the other two from all of her senses. June was laser focused on the woman that had risen to argue with her. In that moment, all she wanted to be was the victor in this scuffle of words, and even more if it had changed dramatically to something else. Actually, she hoped for something like that, but Mai beat her to the punch with her own challenge!

Taking a swift step forward, June smiled wide and pointed down the hall, "Girl, I'll beat you so badly I'll be able to send your friend a text by the time you catch up to me at the end of the hall." Was it cocky? Absolutely. But was June more confident in her speed than anything else in her entire being? Also yes. Mai was the one who threw down the gauntlet, and the American was more than willing to make things more and more interesting. "Do you want to put a forfeit on that wager? Or are you too scared~?"

[CaptainL]

Mai wasn't exactly doing her intelligence any favors with her comments - if anything, she was just backing up June's points even further. Hearing it all, by this point Naomi wanted nothing more than to bury her face in her hands and sink into the background; if anyone asked, she wasn't involved with this. But Mai had gotten started, and now, nothing was going to slow her down. For better or worse.

The brunette settled a glare on June; her fists balled at her sides, she marched a step closer to get into the American's face. She really didn't think she knew anything about the gym? Then she clearly didn't realize she was talking to a star athlete! Leaning in close enough for their foreheads to practically be touching, Mai jabbed her finger toward June's chest. "Listen here! I volunteered for LAW to make a point! And that point is, I can beat anyone at any contest, any time!" In fact, Mai was intent to make good on that promise, when she issued a challenge to June then and there - a challenge that June could only agree to. The tension between the two girls had only escalated, and neither of them were in any mood to back down!

"Scared, schmared...the girls can back me up when I say I'm not scared of anything! Right, girls?" Mai looked back at her teammates.

"...I mean, you did scream pretty loudly when we watched that scary movie-" Saya cut in - but Mai cut her off.

"That doesn't matter! The fact is..." She stood before June with her hands on her hips and a grin on her face. "I'll show you how fast I can run!" Without skipping a beat, Mai turned to the hallway and ducked down into a three-point stance, bending over and placing her hand on the floor in front of her, apparently not even concerned about the fact she was wearing a skirt.

"Uh, Mai, your-" Naomi tried to bring the elephant in the room to Mai's attention, but she was too caught up in her battle of wits to give it any heed. "On three, okay? One...two..!"

[Galactic Thing]

No matter how angry or annoyed or generally reactive Mai got with the cyan haired foreigner, there was hardly any reaction back other than more smug looks. Unlike June's own journey here, which was rather lucky considering the other talent she already knew had been accrued, Mai specifically stated she volunteered which made her pause for a moment. Was that even a thing you could do? And even if you could...why would you wrestle and not get paid? In June's mind, such a selfless thing as to wrestle for free for an organization was beyond just that: treading into the realm of idiocy.

But, there was no time to worry about Mai's decision making skills, for they had to settle one of those results now! A race was exactly the type of contest that the courier was more than willing to take on, especially being so warmed up like she was after chasing that personal best. The lack of faith from Mai's friends regarding her fearless only boosted the morale that was already sky-high.

"Alright, but don't you be crying when I embarrass you in front of your friends!" June shot back verbally, taking a much more relaxed stance beside her racing opponent. She also didn't realize Mai's possible wardrobe issues, focusing on winning this little wager and earning that rush of sweet, sweet triumph after.

A quick nod and the count was off, one that June herself cut in to finish, "THREE~!" and she took off down the hallway!

[CaptainL]

"...She doesn't realize, does she?" Saya whispered to Naomi. Standing directly behind Mai, with her rear pointed directly at them, there was little left to their imaginations.
r
"Does she ever?"

"...they are a cute pattern, though. I'll have to ask her where she shops."

But Mai wasn't the least bit embarrassed by the situation, nor was she going to hesitate even for a minute at the thought of taking June on! A confident grin broke across her face; even as June taunted her, it did little to break her enthusiasm. "Pssht, dream on!" she said. "It looks like the universe just handed me the perfect opportunity to show LAW what I'm all about! And I'm gonna take it!" No matter how quick June thought she was, Mai had taken track before, and she was pretty good at it, too! As long as she put her burning spirit to it, there wasn't a chance that she could lose! She was going to set the record straight on why people needed to keep an eye on her, even before she'd had a single match to her name!

But right as Mai was about to take off, June chimed in with the three - and started down the hallway with a head start! Mai looked up at her with a glare, her mood going sour in an instant. "HEY!!" she shouted. "I WASN'T READY TO SAY THREE YET!!" Granted, she was only about a half-second away from saying three, but if June was going to intercept her like that, she was clearly cheating! That half-second could change everything! Well, so be it. Whether or not June wanted to play by the rules, Mai wouldn't let that stop her. She'd beat her at her own game, showing her that even with a handicap she'd win any time! Driven by that determination, she took off after June, her legs pumping at the air as fast as they could to trail after her opponent!