Breaking the Tension! Episode 6:The Ishii Siblings

Not bad. Not bad at all.

Patty was expecting one of them to throw out a shout out and give her some fodder to latch on to - maybe some history from the place they hailed from, a little tidbit to ask about the region. They gave her enough to satisfy the audience, but not enough to dig deeper. Smart move.

But Yamato was clearly the weak link between the two of them. When the time came to really start pouring on the pressure, she knew exactly who to direct it towards.

"A love for wrestling..." Patty enjoyed a nostaglic sigh. "I'm sure that's something our viewers can relate to. But why here? What drew you to the AFW, and the Tension brand in particular? Many wrestlers shy away from mixed matches, after all."

Though the question was for both Ishii siblings, Mariko felt it may have been more directed at her, so she took the initiative this time.

"There are lots of good promotions to wrestle in around the world. But I believe the AFW has the best amount of variety. Two main brands which are noticeably different in multiple aspects, each with a roster filled with talented competitors of virtually every known style, not to mention a vast assortment of match types the AFW has which allows quite a diverse range of experiences. Not all places have that, or at least not to the extent the AFW does." she replied, before moving on to part two of the question.

"As for why I chose Tension, as I said, our hometown isn't exactly crawling with wrestling enthusiasts. Through a large portion of my training, Yamato-kun here was my sparring partner, so most of my experience before coming here was against a man. I guess that's a big part of why mixed matches don't exactly bother me."

Mariko's response brought some fun memories back to Yamato, causing him to chuckle a bit. "Yeah, and even when I wasn't training with her, Mariko's opponents were usually other guys around our age. Most of the girls were too scared to take her on, but there were some guys now and then dumb enough to try." he said, still laughing a bit as he spoke. Mariko showed clear amusement in her expression, but gave only a slight giggle.

"But once Mariko signed with Tension, I knew I wanted to come too. Obviously Tension's the only route for guys here, but even if I could've chosen I would've come here. Family's gotta stick together, you know?"

Ran zoomed in on the siblings as Mariko started to speaking, clearly sensing a heartfelt moment in the works. It was good for them to get a shot of the fledgling wrestlers like this - in their element, speaking from their long history. Most of Patty's interviewees had less to say, keeping it to just a few words, but these two tended to go at length.

That was a good thing. A very good thing. Longer videos tended to get more views, since her audience wanted something with a little meat on the bone. More views equaled more ad revenue, and that was before she even got into the sizeable sum from her Patreon account...

She managed to get the dollar signs out of her eyes long enough to register the next few things that came out of Yamato's mouth - family sticking together. Right. Trite, but it did bring up some interesting questions, though.

"True words, Yamato. True words." She cast a quick eye between them. "However, wrestling can be harsh business, and while you're both siblings, you're also in competition against one another, and there might come a time when you battle for more than just bragging rights. Are you ready for that? The AFW has a way of turning even the closest allies into the fiercest rivals."

"Pfft!" Yamato immediately replied, waving his hands dismissively. "Of course we're ready! We've been in this together since day one, and we'll stick together to the end no matter what happens."

Sentimental and admirable as his loyalty was, the answer certainly wasn't the most concrete, and Patty did have a very good point. Mariko quickly jumped in, knowing the reporter could quickly punch Yamato's comments full of holes with questions he likely wouldn't be ready to answer.

"Should something like that happen, and Yamato and I find ourselves facing each other from opposite sides of the ring, we will be prepared. I'll give him hell, and he'll give it right back. And regardless of who gets their hand raised at the end, there won't be hard feelings on either side. And that's only if such an event ever even takes place." she added.

Patty wagged a finger Mariko's way. "Maybe, maybe not. Forewarned is prepared, after all."

"Forearmed." Ran quickly corrected her. "Forewarned is forearmed."

Bah, simple mistake, and one they could easily fix in post...except for the fact that this was a livestream. Crap.

"Moving on!" Patty chirped and sat back up straight, focusing in on the duo. "Let's talk about your wrestling styles. Give us some detail - you're both in a match against a tough opponent. Big, strong, relentless. What's going through your heads? What are you looking out for? What moves do you favor?"

"Hmm, well, Mariko will be the first to tell you I'm stubborn as a mule." Yamato replied with a small laugh. "So I'd probably keep trying to find ways to overpower them. I'm still developing my move set, I guess, and haven't really established any signature or finishing moves yet. But I'd say basic, but powerful slams and high impact strikes are generally my kind of thing."

He'd been a tad worried about the question because his move set was so underdeveloped, and he'd had to pretty much improvise in all of his matches so far. But considering that, Yamato felt pretty good about his answer.

"Unlike my brother, I specialize more in the area of submissions." she said. "Generally, I like to trap my foes in several different kinds of holds and gradually break down their resistance. Although, I've also found using certain other 'assets' to smother opponents is also good way to wear them down." she continued with a chuckle. "It's kind of like taming a wild animal. Once you break their rebellious spirit, they eventually submit themselves to you~"

Ah, there it was. It was time they addressed the elephant in the room. This was her first time interviewing a wrestler who leaned on the hentai style, and while she normally wouldn't have touched the issue with a ten-foot sterilized pole, if she was going to tackle it, she was going to tackle it properly. While wearing protection, of course.

"Your 'assets'?" Concern came over her face as she tapped  her chin, taking a moment to think. Or give the impression that she was thinking. Interviews were almost like miniature storiesin themselves, and just like any good story, pacing was key. You had to know when to stretch the moment. Build suspense.

"There are those - not in present company, of course - who feel that Tension should be the purer of the two shows, that it should shy away from more 'erotic combat' and focus on solid, straight wrestling. There are also those who say that Tension and Friction should stay separate, that Tension females shouldn't moonlight in Friction, or vice versa. Despite being here such a short time, you've already had a crossover match, something that small few will likely frown on." She leaned forward with an expectant eye. "Here's your chance - what would you say to those few detractors?"

Mariko couldn't help but feel a slight sense of amusement at seeing the concern in Patty's expression. She didn't know much about the reporter, but it seemed she wasn't exactly comfortable with this sort of topic, though it was understandable considering her position.

"I'm sure there are plenty of 'detractors,' as you call them. But, they are allowed to hold those opinions, and I have no issue with that. As I said, the unique variety in the AFW allows a place for the erotic competitors just as much as the pure technical wrestlers. I like to think I strike a good balance between the two. As far as Tension being the more 'pure' of the brands, I can't exactly say I agree." she said. "When grown, mature men and women get in the ring and start grappling around, it can be incredibly easy for things to get erotic, even unintentionally at times. Not to say the same doesn't happen when women compete against each other, but it seems foolish to me to expect a man and woman to wrestle a full match without even one remotely sexual or erotic aspect or thought to ever emerge from it. That's just nature."

She then thought for a second about the issue of crossover matches. "I also understand why some people aren't a fan of matches between wrestlers of different brands. Why join one if you're just going to compete in the other, right? But, I think the AFW has an excellent system that already deals with that. Those who don't wish to compete against members of different brands don't have to, and those who are open to it may do so if they wish."

She gave a brief chuckle at the thought of people who might not have liked her making an appearance in a Friction match, especially the way she had. "People may think what they want about me. I don't particularly care what their thoughts on that match are. But if people are going to base their opinion of me on that alone, I hope they at least take into account the fact that Friction hosted that Humiliation match and requested a volunteer from Tension. I merely saw a chance to try something new for me here and took it. And, I had quite a bit of fun in the process~"

Crap. That was actually a pretty good answer.

This was why Patty preferred to get her interviews off the cuff, catch her subjects raw. Mariko clearly had time to prepare and give her viewers more cogent answers, and while there was nothing inherently wrong with that, it meant that getting the juicier details out of her would be hard. This woman was unflappable and Patty needed her to flap. Flapping sold well, after all.

"What about long term plans?" Patty crossed her legs and pressed her skirt down, making sure she stayed modest. "After the recent battle royale and the crowning of a new #1 contender, there has been some talk about drawing heat towards the other tension titles, as well. The tag titles have been vacant for a while, and the other two - hentai and 24/7 - have been relatively stagnant in comparison to their Friction counterparts. Do you have any aspirations towards any titles? If so, which might you go for, and why?"

Mariko opened her mouth to answer, but wasn't quick enough, as Yamato immediately blurted out, "Oh, you can bet we'll both be going after some gold! The Ishiis are definitely gonna be tag champs someday, you can count on that!" he said. So much for humility.

It took all of his sister's willpower not to smack him upside the head, or even show any genuine reaction. She had to keep her composure and do a bit of mild damage control. After all, it's not like they were just there to try to win as many titles as possible.

She let out a bit of an awkward laugh before adding, "My brother can be a bit over-enthusiastic sometimes. Certainly we would both like the opportunity at some point to try to become champions, and we've noticed those situations you just pointed out. But we understand how things work. Opportunities have to be earned here, and so for now we'll simply focusing on starting that path. Hopefully that will lead to many wonderful matches against talented competitors on our road to…well, wherever our careers end up taking us."