Fox Hunting

[BlackAkuma]

Well, shit. This was officially out of control, wasn’t it?

Being honest, Keith wasn’t 100% sure what he expected to happen, here. He knew things were snowballing, and that was the sort of problem with a snowball rolling down the hill - yeah, you knew it was getting bigger and running out of control, but you had no way of knowing where it was going to land. He wasn’t the only one who saw it, too - already, some of his staff was edging towards the exits, bringing the most breakable objects they could find with them.

For his part, Keith kept his place, even as Tia stood up and moved directly over him, looming at his front and casting a long shadow. He had to admit, she had an aura about her - he knew, on some level, that he was taller and bigger than her, but none of that seemed to register when she was this close and staring at him with those unwavering eyes.

‘Unnerving’ would be an understatement, but Keith did his best to save face for the cameras, keeping a cool facade even if it was only skin deep. Even as Tia got her little taunts in and the stakes continued to raise. As she laughed, he tried to think of ways to spin this, an escape plan, but there wasn’t much he could think of that didn’t end up with him being on the receiving end of some unflattering memes.

Screw it.

Keith sighed - deep and long and haggard - and stood up after a moment. He took a moment to straighten himself up, then nodded towards the remaining cameraman, who looked like he was about to bolt at any given second.

The camera light went off. The last crewmember left. All alone. Just the three of them.

Keith leaned forward, face placid and serene, inches from her own.

”You. Got. What. You. Deserved.”

[Weonna]

Akane didn’t move.

Not when Keith stood.

Not when the red light on the camera went dark.

Not even when the last member of his crew hurried out of the room, leaving only the three of them behind.

But when Keith leaned within inches of her face...

“You. Got. What. You. Deserved.”

Something finally snapped.

Akane’s hand shot forward.

THUD!

Both palms slammed hard into Keith’s chest, violently shoving him backward. Whatever distance he’d closed disappeared in an instant as Akane sent him stumbling back toward the couch.

"ふざけるな！"
(Don’t fuck with me!)


All that cold restraint she’d maintained throughout the interview vanished. Her face burned with anger, red hair shifting around her shoulders as she immediately advanced after him.

“You know nothing!”

Her English was harsher now, her accent thicker as emotion started overriding her careful pronunciation.

“You sit here… ask question after question. My father. My sister. Kyoko…”

Her fists clenched.

“I tell you stop and you kept going...”


Akane pointed sharply toward the dead camera.

“Then camera goes off, and you still think you understand me?!”

Behind her, even Tia’s eyebrows had risen at the sudden shove.

But she didn’t intervene.

Not yet.

Akane closed the remaining distance, reaching down and grabbing a fistful of Keith’s shirt near the collar, hauling him partway toward her.

"お前に何が分かる！？"
(What the hell do you know?!)

Her glare burned into his.

“You want reaction?”

She gave his shirt another sharp tug.

“Here.”

Her voice dropped.

“You got one.”

Akane abruptly shoved Keith away from her again, releasing his shirt with enough force to send him back into the cushions.

She stood over him, breathing harder now.

"二度と…"
(Never again…)

Her fists tightened at her sides.

"私が当然だったなんて言うな。"
(…tell me I deserved it.)

[BlackAkuma]

Keith’s Dad was a smart man - or, well, Keith had thought he was when he was younger, anyway. He was a debater, good at talking, and had been a big player on the debate team at his high school. He was a good talker, and he was really damn good at using his skills to calm a situation down. He could walk into a tense situation and defuse it in a minute, probably less. It was like he knew the perfect combination of words.

On days like this, he wished the old man was around. Could use a couple of those pearls.

Keith was a good talker, too, but he’d never quite acquired that talent for de-escalation, especially when physical force was involved, which was exactly what this was coming to. Keith jumped as Akane sprang forward with a surprising amount of speed, got into his personal space, and shoved him hard, harder than he would’ve expected. It left him stunned, and by the time he’d regained enough sense to react, she was on him, grabbing his shirt and pulling him close.

Too close.

He was sent back again, rougher this time, and he wound up flopping onto his back on the couch as Akane said her final piece. For a long, awkward, tense moment, that was where he laid, looking up at her, confused, as if waiting for some unseen cue to sound.

He could’ve walked out. Could’ve called for security. Could’ve done a lot of things that wouldn’t have involved physical confrontation.

But those would be smart things to do, and he wasn’t feeling too smart at the moment.

Instead, he moved up, lashed out and gave her a hard shove in the shove, doing to her as she’d done to him. ”Or what” He leaned in. ”Cut the act, nobody’s impressed. You guys act like you’re the toughest bitches in town, but the minute you get some pushback, you get sore ‘cause your feelings get hurt?” He thrust a finger her way. ”Spare me. I’ll say what I want, when I want, in my own damn house.”

[Weonna]

Akane staggered backward from the shove, boots scraping against the floor as she caught herself. Her eyes widened—not necessarily from the force, but from the fact that Keith had actually put his hands on her.

Then came the finger in her face.

Or what?

Akane's jaw clenched.

But before she could answer, an arm suddenly slipped between them.

“Oi! Oi, that's enough!”

Tia.

The Aussie finally stepped in, quickly moving herself between the two before Akane could retaliate. One hand pressed against Akane's shoulder while the other motioned Keith backward.

“Both of ya, knock it off! Bloody hell!”

Akane looked almost offended.

“Tia—”

“Nah.”

Tia glanced back at her.

“You've made your point, love.”

“…Do not call me—”

“Yeah, yeah. Later.”

Tia turned toward Keith, putting both hands up as though she were finally attempting to restore some sanity to what had become an absolute disaster of an interview.

“Mate, you've got every right to be pissed. It's your house. She put hands on ya first.”

She nodded toward Akane.

“So how 'bout we all stop bein' bloody idiots before somebody puts a hole through your expensive furniture, yeah?”

For the first time in several minutes, it actually sounded like someone was trying to de-escalate things.

Tia stepped closer to Keith.

“C'mon. We're done.”

She reached toward him—

Then grinned.

“...Nah.”

Tia suddenly shot around him.

Before Keith could properly turn, her arms hooked underneath his from behind and snapped upward, hands locking behind his head.

FULL NELSON!

“GOTCHA!”

Tia planted her feet and hauled Keith backward against her, wrenching his arms upward and spreading them apart. Whatever attempt he'd make to square himself toward Akane was immediately ruined as the muscular Aussie secured herself behind him.

A delighted laugh escaped her.

“HAHA! Ohhh, mate, ya should've seen your bloody face!”

“Tia…?”

Akane's expression shifted.

The fury remained, but now there was surprise mixed in.

Tia tightened the hold and gave Keith a rough shake.

“What? Ya seriously thought I was gonna play peacemaker after ya shoved my girl?”

Akane's eye twitched.

“…I am not your girl.”

“Not the time, love!”

“Stop calling me that!”

“Akane!”

Tia jerked her chin toward the restrained Keith.

“Focus!”

Akane stared.

First at Tia, then at Keith...

Slowly, the realization registered.

Tia had him.

His arms were trapped. His chest was exposed. And the woman he'd spent the better part of the interview deliberately provoking was standing directly in front of him.

Akane's expression went frighteningly blank.

Tia saw it and immediately started laughing again.

“Ohoho, there she is.”

Tia adjusted her footing, keeping the full nelson locked tight as she presented Keith toward her partner.

“Remember what ya wanted, Foxy?”

Tia teased near his ear.

“A reaction?”

Akane stopped directly in front of him...Her right hand curled into a fist.

“…You got one.”

She drew it back...then her fist rocketed forward toward Keith's stomach!

[BlackAkuma]

So, what were all the mistakes that Keith made today? As Tia collected his arms and restrained him with a Full Nelson, he couldn't help but reflect.

For starters, he should’ve vetted these two out a little better. Maybe sent them a list of questions beforehand, so there would be no surprises, and they would all know where this was going. He'd have to prioritize avoiding miscommunication in the future, along with his own anger management.

Speaking of which, he was going to have to work on that. After his thing with Tris, you’d have thought he would be able to handle high stress situations a little better, and that he would know when to pull back and and when to hit the gas. Apparently, he knew neither.

Also, if he was ever going to have another interview with wrestlers - especially ones with a history of beatdowns - maybe he should do stuff like this in public. Or at least high a bodyguard or two.

Oh, and he shouldn’t put his hands on the wrestlers and not expect a fight of some kind. That was a big fuckup on his part.

Oh, well. Hindsight was 20/20 and all.

All of this started the moment Tia came around him from behind and got him in a Full Nelson. It wasn’t the first time he’d been in this hold, of course, with his trainer applying it from time to time. Tia’s wasn’t quite as effective as his, but that was only because his trainer was a seven-foot-tall former Russian pro wrestling champ. For her size, the one she applied to him was damned impressive, showing a degree of strength that marked her as a force in the heavyweight class. He twisted, he bucked, he kicked, but he wasn’t going anywhere.

”Gah, fucking bitch!” He grunted through her gritted teeth. ”Get the hell off, get the hell-”

Akane’s fist put an end to his protest, as it sank deep, right in the solar plexus. His legs turned to jelly for a moment, making him sag in Tia’s grasp, before he found some reserves and his legs solidified. Akane struck like lightning, swift, powerful, destructive. The last thing he should do is provoke her further.

He did it anyway. Might as well keep up the trend. ”That…that all you got?”