[ Retconed ]

[dlamp]

Following This...

Himeko had been in jail before. The most notable moment being after a pretty violent drunken brawl on her 20th birthday when she cracked a woman's skull open with a bottle and was dragged off before she could do more harm. It was only for an evening to sleep off the booze until the family lawyer got her out. Being in handcuffs wasn't a new experience either, nor was being handcuffed to a chair or street pole by some do-gooder cop not on the Taishuya payroll until Nanase smoothed out the situation. Needless to say, Himeko was use to being harassed, annoyed, and roughed up by security and police alike.

But being cuffed right next to the person she was already set to rip into? That pure humiliation.

It would almost be funny if the result wasn't so damn aggravating. Himeko had successfully freed herself from the guards by striking at the liver of one of them and throwing the other, ready to charge straight for Hikari and finish what she started... only to be piled on by four more guards and dragged off the security along with her previous opponent in cuffs, forced to sit right across from each other on a table, her wrist cuffed to a nearby pole and forced to cool off and 'make up' within view of the security team like they were damn preschool brats. Not even out of her battle kimono yet and she was forced in a small office space with the Scion, staring vacantly at the screen above showing a match right after their own. "Tch," She didn't bother hiding her annoyance, glaring daggers at Hikari.

"You wanna' tell me why we couldn't just have our punch-out in the ring, Nakano?" She spat out, her eyes narrowing. "Or you did you just wanna' ram me into the crowd for shits and giggles instead of trying actual fight me?"

[Bare]

17 and zero. After defesting Satomi in her debut that is what her overall wrestling record had shot too. She had never. Repeat never lost before tonight, and she still hadn’t technically speaking. But she didn’t win either. The first blemish of any kind to her record and it was partially because of the girl before her who she was being forced to ‘make up’ with.

How humiliating.

Looking up as tbe previously silent girl finally spoke Hikari narrowed her eyes at the girl before tsking in annoyance. ”You say that as if you’re innocent in all this.” Hikari pointed out with annoyance in her tone. Her face and ribs still throbbed with pain from the blows dhe suffered earlier in the match but she’d be damned if she showed weakness before Himeko.

Rolling her eyes again she puffed out some air before flashing a deadpan look at Himeko. ”However you must not be very knowledgeable of pro wrestling’s rules. If we fought as we did inside the ring the ref still would have called the match as a double dq. Overaggressive brawling always leads to that.” She pointed out to the girl a bit coldly, with just a hint of condescendense in her tone as she leaned back against the wall.

Shifting her hips slightly she lifted her legs up and rested them across the bench. “A mote apt question would be why you came to the ring acting as if I kicked you’re cat or something.” Hikari pointing out remembering how the brunette had come into the ring and right into her face, as if the two already had a grudge between them before they even met.

[dlamp]

"Tch," Well the Scion had her there. Himeko honestly only took a passing glance at the rulebook and figured the rest was a matter of throwing, pinning, or getting a submission. It seemed about as straightforward as an typical MMA match save for a few victory conditions and special match types. But no, apparently you couldn't just duke it out with an opponent that clearly had no fucking issue with doing just that. And out of all the things she had seen this promotion let others do in the ring who knew this would be the first ref to actually do their job.

But Hikari's pointed words did little to cool the Steel Princess's temper, her questions even more so.

"First off, leave my Pop-chan out of this." She huffed, narrowing her eyes. "And why do you care? Pretty sure you had no problem trying to cave my ribs in five minutes ago like an angry drunkard in a bar." She paused, contemplating the question in earnest. Her remark aside, she was curious about this girl. There were still a few unanswered questions she had after all her research on this girl, and the fight itself. Plus... the two were stuck with each other for a while, so best to get her questions answered now.

"Fine, whatever." She sat up straighter, smoothing out her hair. "I don't get you. And when I don't get something I either study until I do, or find a way to get rid of it."

[Bare]

Hikari narrowed her eyes a bit at the dismissive response from the girl. Of course she’d be like this, after all the girl was nothing but hostile to her since before their match began, so naturally it wouldn’t get better just because the fight was over. Only now Hikari was legitimately pissed, before she was just mildly annoyed and confused by her actions. But now that they had a moment of peace she wanted answers.

Raising a eyebrow at the responses though the dark haired girl took a moment to take them in before responding rather quickly. ”Seems rather narrowminded to me.” She replied bluntly to the girl while sitting back against the wall and bringing her legs around, crossing them in a swift, smooth, and elegant motion.

“First off.” She said moving her bangs out of her face. “Iwouldn’t peg you as a cat person. Secondly I return the attitude and respect I receive from others so if you didn’t like what you saw out there take a look at the mirror.” She shot back before taking a breath and continuing once more.

“Lastly… exactly what about me interests you? If that was you’re idea of flirting than it needs work, and if so NOT interested.” Hikari said with a cold look on her face. She honestly doubted Himeko had any romantic intentions, but in this place you never know and it was best to just shut this type of thing down right off the bat.

[dlamp]

Himeko nearly doubled over from that last point, shooting Hikari an almost incredulous look. "Okay, I know a lot of people here confuse chokeholds and beatings with foreplay, but no." She shot back, eyes narrowed. That... probably wasn't the right reaction, but just the idea for trying to flirt and court this chick sent a chill down her spine. She had her wild one night stands before, but... no. Not even as a joke, not even if someone paid her. "Jeez..." She ran a hand through her hair, letting out another huff.

"I'm 'interested' in you the same way an egghead is interested in studying monkeys." She undid her kimono top, revealing a tight short-sleeved, black crop top underneath that just barely hid the tattoos on her back. She needed the weight off now that. "Basically, you're a weirdo and I'm wondering how some rich chick got so into wrestling. There's people going to gyms and dojo to relieve stress and learn some takedowns, and then there's this." She rose her handcuffed hand as a gesture.

[Bare]

Watching Himeko’s shocked and dismayed reaction to that last bit of Hikari’s words the dark haired girl admittedly couldn’t help the shit eating smirk now present on her face. It wasn’t often that Hikari tried to irrritate or mess with someone but in this case she felt Himeko deserved it. As she spoke though, Hikari found herself frowning. Partially from the less than tactful examples the girl chose, but also from genuine confusion at what the girls problem was with her, which to Hikari didn’t sound like any problem at all.

However the last part of Himeko’s triade made Hikari outright glare at the way the girl… stereotyped her as just some rich girl. ”Well I’m not a monkey so you could have just found and talked to me before or after the match.” Hikari shot back pointedly, having a hard time keeping the annoyance out of her tone. “I also do not appreciate being called a weirdo and my family’s status shouldn’t matter. My reasons for this our my own.” She said through ground teeth, fist clenched in indignant anger.

[dlamp]

"We're talking now aren't we?" Himeko shot back, rolling her eyes. Not that chatting it up with someone she was punching out minutes ago was new, but... this sure as hell wasn't following some spar at the gym, and the cuff weren't exactly helping with the mood. And with Hikari trying to take the high ground in their little verbal spar left Himeko with little to pounce on. Well, unless she felt like being completely vindictive, which was slowly giving way.

"Alright Nakano, what are your reasons." She turned Hikari's way, sitting in a more relaxed position. "Enlighten me,"

[Bare]

Hikari’s eye started to twitch in annoyance with the girl across from her and her snarky response towards her. ”What a joy that is.” The scion said with irritation barely contained in her voice as she gripped the bench whule staring down the girl across from her with contempt. As she asked her next question however, Hikari’s gaze softened slightly as she looked down.

For a moment she was silent as she debated whether or not to answer, if Himeko even DESERVED a answer. But after a minute she looked back up with a forlorn look. ”I’m doing this because… My uncle is my hero. He gave me a light and freedom no one else did growing up. I want to honor his legacy for that. Show the world what his niece can do...” She said while staring at Himeko with steadily increasing steely eyes.

“My parents… weren’t thriller with my that… even if they begrudgingly gave me permission to pursue this sport they aren’t convinced I’ll live up to my potential doing this… So I want to show them as well that they were right to out their faith in me… I need to honor them, my whole family every time I’m in the ring.” She said with fire now burning in her eyes as she locked gazes with Himeko with unflinching intensity. “It’s my duty and honor to do so.” She stated with pure pride in her voice as she finished.

[dlamp]

Himeko was silent, taking in the information, processing it. The story lined up with her information on this girl, and gave her a bit more context now to why she was doing all this in the first. Not the first time she'd heard of someone wanting to follow in a relative's footsteps, it was the main reason Himeko worked with her father so fervently before taking a break to see what LAW was about. Still... something didn't really add up with that story, not by Himeko's standards.

"Alright," She said, meeting Hikari's gaze. "You said all that, and it sounds real pretty and noble, but we're still stuck in the security room cuffed to the seats because of our little punch-out." She brought up her cuffed hand for emphasis, gesturing to her bruised face. "But whatever, if I had 50 yen every time someone talked big about honor and shit before sucker punching me I'd be able to buy a new shinai by now." She leaned back, pulling a small pin out from her hair.

"You do know this league ain't really a place for honor and duty and shit, right?"

[Bare]

Hikari continued to stare down Himeko after giving her best summation of her reasoning for being in LAW. This wasn't exactly something the young dark haired girl was used to doing, nor did she particularly enjoy spewing her soul. In fact the only reason she even did so to the girl across from her was because she felt the need and desire to show up the brunette, throw in her face everything she thought wrong about Hikari.

However it seemed her attempt had left the girl unsatisfied and if anything more snarky than before, not that Hikari had thought that possible. Bristling in the face of the girl's cutting response. Tightening her fists she had to suppress her urge to lunge forward and resume her assault on the fellow lightweight with renewed fury. Instead however she closed her eyes and took a deep breath before locking eyes with the girl across from her, the previous flare of anger tempered into an intense steely gaze.

"This place has a championship that lauds the most brazen of porn stars." She stated bluntly with an almost deadpan expression. "Obviously it's not a place for honor." She said with complete understanding of what this company was about. "But it's also the precipice of the wrestling world. So long as I fight on MY terms, I'll show everyone what a real wrestler is and honor my family in the process on the biggest stage there is. She said with a cold and serious tone to her voice.

"As for why we're here. I never sucker punched you. You're the one that acted toxic due to a prejudgment of me for no reason. Speaks much more of you than anything else." She shot back towards the girl with unmatched intensity and a ever increasing scowl directed at Himeko. As if she was trying to burn a hole through the girl with her glare alone.