First Impressions

”Go ninja go ninja, go, go ninja go ninja…”

As Kozue sat in the office of Maximillian Kingsley, sitting back in his waiting room while she waited for him to see her, with nothing but the clickity-clacking of his secretary on the keyboard and a poor rendition of “The Girl From Ipanema’ playing above her head…

...she couldn’t help but think how much she missed Kyoto.

At first, she’d thought it was such a big change from Jersey, like she was stepping into a whole new world, but now that she had hindsight on her side, she could see there were a ton more similarities than differences. Kyoto was a tourist attraction, yeah, but it was scenic, had a lot of forests and trees and gardens. Nice, fairly quiet place. Everyone kind of knew everyone else. Small town feel in a big city. The people spoke another language, had their own set of special customs, but when she broke it all down, it was about as similar to Hoboken as she could expect a city on the other side of the world to be. It went a long way to explaining how easily she’d fit in there.

Tokyo, on the other hand, was Japan’s New York City. Cramped. Busy. Loud. Bustling. It smelled a fuckload better and had way less rats, but aside from that? Not too far off. It was a city that never slept, even when it could’ve used the rest, and Kozue wasn’t sure she’d get used to it.

But she’d have to try, right? This was where she was, now.

Moving to Friction wasn’t something she thought up at the last minute - it had been rolling around her head since she’d left for training. She was looking to make big changes, so she wanted to change up the landscape when she got back, and that meant expanding her horizons a little bit, taking on some new opponents. Tension was fun, and there were a few outstanding debts she had to settle back there, but she was all about turning Friction into her stomping ground.

There was some paperwork to go with that, though, and she had to do some rounds, which meant meeting with the new head honcho. Already, she wasn’t sure what to be thinking about the guy - with a name like Maximillian Kingsley, what were you supposed to expect? It sounded like something out of a comic book, and not a good one. But she was trying to keep an open mind, hoping he wasn’t as bad as all the horror stories she’d heard about Lucretia.

She’d find out soon, she supposed. Or hoped. She’d been waiting for a good while now, and she was starting to get a little board with trying to outdo her top Pac Man high score on the phone. Kozue had made a play at being professional for this, wearing a sleek business suit she’d borrowed from Benikage. Black, pinstripes, high heels, a skirt that stopped just short of the ankles, that sort of thing. It was the first time she’d dressed up for anything since...fuck, maybe a funeral. Couldn’t really remember off the top of her head. She didn’t like the thought of it going to waste, though.

After finding herself cornered and taken out by a red ghost she could’ve sworn came out of nowhere, she tossed her phone, leaned back, and kicked her feet up on the table, figuring she might as well get comfortable. She glanced over to the only other person in the room, the cute little blonde secretary, who’d been dutifully working away since she’d come in. Didn’t have much to say, but then, Kozue hadn't tried to strike up a conversation with her.

Just needed a topic. Hm.

”Soooooooo…” Kozue rested on hand behind her neck and used the other to point to the spot above her head. ”What’s up with your To-Go box hat? Like, what do they call that?”

Whomever the previous administration had helming the day-to-day operations of such a multifaceted organization like AFW, Angelica would unapologetically grade them with a crimson red "D-" given how slipshod their scheduling software was. Outdated. Archaic. Harkening almost back to 2010. And for some inexplicable reason jam-packed with scheduled S&M sessions, sex dungeon cleanings, and an uncomfortable obsession with someone named Taylor Parker. It boggled her analytical mind as to how this federation remained solvent all of this time with funds allocated where they were all of this time. Her previous wrestling federation was an underground fighting league wrought with chaos, carnage, and carnal crassness...and yet that seemed somehow more organized that what she had to work with right now. Still...Angelica took it as a personal challenge. One that she practically relishes in tackling. One where she intends to steady this wayward ship and reroute it to be back on a steady course for all of Mr. Kingsley's future endeavors...

...and hopefully curtail his misbehaving rambunctiousness this time around so they aren't chased out of town by irate stockholders brandishing pitchforks and torches. All of that wanton spending towards his never-ending campaign to break into the Hollywood scene never leads to anything else. It was always such an embarrassment having to placate people he loaned money from and think up excuses on the fly as he packs their bags for the next flight out of there. It was nothing short of a miracle that he managed to snag this final golden opportunity. By his own admission, this was to be their last attempt at garnering enough capital to fund his dream before he finally hangs it up for good...which made Angelica that much more determined to see him succeed this time around. She owed him...well, everything. And being there to see his dream fulfilled was her primary goal in life. But it was all one step at a time. For now she needed to put people in charge of upgrading all of the computer software in the building...Call Dr. Veronica Heartland to inform her that she had been chosen for the job...Get in touch with Tension offices to ensure that their satisfied with exchange of talent acquisitions and-

”What’s up with your To-Go box hat? Like, what do they call that?”

Angelica ceased the clickety-clack of her keyboard and glanced over towards the slackened young woman putting her feet up on their rather expensive office table remarking about her eye-catching headware. Angie had almost forgotten Kozue was there given how swept up in her own secretarial world she was, a part of her almost wished that had continued to be true. "...it's not actually a hat. I'm actually a synthetic cyborg, and this is a titanium plated head cylinder that houses my internal database." Angelica drolly stated with sincere seriousness and scarcely a blink to her half-lidded, yet still piercing eyes. Several seconds of uncomfortable silence passing aside from a bubble bobbing up within the nearby water cooler.

"...that was a joke."

As if on cue, the double doors of Maximillian's office would be swung open with booming strength by a pair of mover's each holding one side of Lukretia's old table and gingerly carrying it towards the elevator down the hallway. Heaving it away with some strained effort past the ice-cold secretary still not emoting once despite the thunderous noise and the muscled movers marching onward. "...Mr. Kingsley will see you now, Ms. Kaburagi." Angelica turned her attention back towards the computer monitor, grasping the mouse and continuing her work where she left off. Once Kozue enters, she'll witness the man himself. Back turned to her and arms folded with the white suited GM looking upon the view from behind his windowed wall at an emptied AFW arena...

Not the answer Kozue was expecting. Then again, she wasn’t really sure what sort of answer she was expecting in the first place, so it sort of all worked out.

She sat, unmoving except for the raise of her eyebrow, as Angelica gave her flat answer, letting the long silence linger between them until she bothered to confirm something that didn’t really need confirming. Somewhere, off in the distance, Kozue swore she could hear a mouse squeak...and then she let it all go with a snicker and a chuckle, giving Angelica a thumbs up. ”For real? Not half bad. The timing was a little off, but as snarky smartass replies go, it’s up there. Give you a seven…” She paused and wagged a finger. ”No, eight. Eight out of ten. ‘Cause I like you.”

The serious, uptight chicks were always fun to play with, and Kozue could’ve just had oodles with this one, she could tell. Sad to say, though, their time was limited, as the doors to Max’s office flung open. Moving day was still going on, it seemed, with two roughnecks carrying out Lukretia’s gaudy desk, really getting some use out of those back muscles

Hands in her pockets, Kozue popped up to her feet and made her way over, giving Angelica’s desk a couple of knocks on the top as she passed. With a cocky strut in her step, she made her way inside the office, giving it a lookover before she centered on the man himself.

”Making yourself at home, sweet.” She skipped over to the side to try and see what he was looking at through the window, and saw...not much at all. Just the empty arena. ”Hope I’m not cutting in on your daydreaming time. Let me know.”

*Hmm...Perhaps my delivery was off...Material performed well though...* Despite the rave reviews from Kozue, Angelica went about internally critiquing  her comedy stylings with a furrowed brow as she navigated throughout her computer. Retorting with dry humor was one way to further conversations and open oneself to others...or at least that's was what written in the book Maximilian had gotten the secretary for her birthday, titled "Open Doors Through Brick Walls : How To Lower One's Defenses And Become The Life Of The Party." A thoughtful gesture he figured she could make use of when noticing the vacuous emptiness of the contact list of her phone and how she seemed to be the perpetual wallflower at any swarthy gatherings and hobnobbing with the rich and famous. This was her first attempt at making use of her nightly readings, but assuredly not to be her last. Angelica taking a napkin and wiping away the smudges on her desk from where Kozue knocked as she made her way inside to the closing of the double doors behind her.

Several seconds passing inside before the Main Man broke the uneasy silence. "...Never one to varnish your opinion are you, Ms. Kaburagi? UNFETTERED HONESTY...now that's a trait that those in positions of leadership would love to see in all of their employees. So I'd say we're already off to a crackerjack start, eh?" Max swiveled in place to coincide with his dramatic opening statement, hands in his pants pockets to a sparkly twinkle from his in-door shades and toothy-smile as he strolled up to his freshly polished and recently delivered mahogany wooden table. Seemingly living up to his larger then life reputation, a man of mystery through and through. "There's no shame in daydreaming though. I reckon everyone who steps into that ring down there does so with nothing but dreams and ambition being their primary motivations. That does...actually bring me to my first question for you...Whaddya think of this table? I think it really ties the room together, don't you? I've ALWAYS dreamed of having an office this big and a desk this fancy!!!" Max flatly dropping his stoic persona and tone of voice for one more like a chattering goof as he studied the corners of his desk, admiring the polished finish with a corny smile.

Kozue liked this dude immediately.

She’d never met either of the previous GMs, but from what she’d seen on TV and heard around the place, they were a couple of bitches. She moonlighted as a bitch herself, so she could kind of respect that, but the impression she got was that they both took it overboard. Snooty. Uptight. Too good for the little guys. Worst of all? Boring. The Cruella Deville act was played out in the 90s. New millenium, new decade, no time for it.

But Max? Max seemed different, and not just because he had a Y-Chromosome.

”Yeah, I kind of just free flow with my mouth. Blessing, curse. And congrats on being the first guy I’ve ever met to use ‘crackerjack’ in a sentence and not mean the snack.” Not content to sit just yet, she made her way over to a chair and leaned over it, kicking one of her legs up behind her as she spoke. Max had this boisterous way of speaking - maybe a little over-the-top, but that came with the territory. He was doing a good job of stringing her along, at least...and then it kind of fell apart.

”Uuuuuuh yeah. It’s a nice table. As tables go. I don’t really do the feng shui thing.” She gave him a shrug and reached down to give the table a good feel, sliding her fingers over the surface. ”Plus, I prefer my tables a little more breakable. For work purposes.”

Maximilian continued tarnishing whatever sense of intimidation his aura had by cuddling up against his masterfully crafted office desk, perking back up to stand beside that desk after hearing Kozue's ringing endorsement. "Ha, I knew you'd like it. Angelica has been trying to help curtail my flagrant spending habits, but even she was in agreement on this particular purchase after reading up on all the salacious stories that supposedly took place within this office, formerly occupied by a Ms. Lukretia Von Creutz-something or other. Whew, I thought I was into some kinky stuff, but that lady...when we first stepped inside this place, Angie ran a blacklight over this room and the whole place lit up like Christma-"

*BZZZZT*

"Sir, you're rambling again..." Angelica's composed voice would chime in with an electric beep from the intercom on Max's desk, interrupting his story and having him scurry back behind his new desk to press down on the intercom's button so he can converse back. "Whoops, thanks Angie. But I think I can handle it from here. But let me know when Toshimi Minami wants to stop by and sign her contract. A sign-up like her deserves to have the red carpet rolled out." Angie voiced a calm agreement as Max released his hold on the intercom and turned his grinning attention back to Kozue.

"Ah, my apologies. As you can see we're all getting used to the new digs and this place is an absolute madhouse, and I reckon it's going to stay like this until all we're finally settled and all the latest and greatest acquisitions have all their meetings with me, yourself included. Excuse me while I pull up your file...in the meantime you're free to help yourself to the mini-bar. And by all means, ask any questions you yourself may have..." Max waved a hand over towards a side-table on the other side of the room that had all manners of wine, soda, vodka, beer, ginger ale, or just fresh water, the GM fluttering through some files in his new desk with a chipper whistle while looking up Kozue's wrestling rap sheet.

”Yeeeeeeeeah.”  Kozue’s gaze shifted around the room when he brought up all the crazy things Lucretia had been getting up to in this office. She’d never met the woman herself, but all the stories she’d heard told her that was definitely a good thing - from the sound of it, she’d basically been using the talent to get out her kinks on a daily basis. ”Guess that’s one advantage to putting a guy in charge of a league that’s, like, 90% lesbians. Cutting down on the extracurriculars.”

Said the woman who’d had a sexual relationship with the AFW approved psychiatrist.

The name Toshimi Minami raised an eyebrow - while Kozue wasn’t the biggest Wrestle Angel fan in general, she’d had to study their ninja, RIKKA, as part of her training with Benikage, and come across some of Toshimi’s matches in the process. Having her on the roster was an interesting little addition, someone more technical than most, and since Kozue was a new signee, too…

It was just a little thought, one that was quickly drowned out when the mention of free booze was brought up. While she was trying to be more moderate about that sort of thing, with her teacher wanting to instill some discipline in her way, there wasn’t any harm in a little backsliding, right? She wasn’t about to get piss drunk in this guy’s office. ”Oh, I’ll help the fuck out of myself, thanks.”

She made her way over to the bar and went to work right away - it was tempting to just for something straight, but since he had a nice selection going on, she decided to mix things up. Mr. Jack Daniels, meet Captain Morgan and his friend, Dr. Pepper.

”So, questions.” Kozue went about mixing as she spoke, her hands going about their business with practiced ease. ”I guess the big one is what everyone is asking - like, what’s your deal? Where’d you come from? I hear lots of rumors, but you know, I like it straight from the source. How’d you wind up in the big chair?”

"...*whistle*...Kaminashi...Kuroda...whoops, went too far.."

Maxie merrily went about his own business, fluttering through some files as he allowed his latest talent acquisition free reign over the freshly stacked mini-bar he himself had not even had a crack at yet. Mr. Kingsley garnering a reputation of being the "cool" boss because of offers such as these to his employees, although it was but a mere microcosm of his inhibition towards self-control and preferring the hard rocking, jet-flying, limousine riding lifestyle. BUT...he is now a changed man, or at least he professes himself to be. As to whether he can curtail some of these habits is something that no one without a crystal ball can say, but he would rather look towards the future rather than be bogged down in past. As he will emphasis when responding to Kozue. "Pfft...origin stories are so passé nowadays, wouldn't you say? You have to admit that whatever the exact details of my background and upbringing are, they'll pale in comparison to what your own imagination can noodle up. And I'd much rather keep it that way. As for the how...well..."

"...there's not that many people crazy enough to attempt leading an entire wrestling federation stacked full of characters this...colorful. And I've not only done it before, but garnered great success at it. Still, you'd be surprised how many people were threatening to outright walk at the mere notion of a male GM, like I was going to turn this place into my own personal brothel or something. But what they don't know is that I'm a business man first...and a ladies' man second~..." Max than shot Kozue a dorky wink and smiling thumbs up to emphasize his point, hardly the swarthy lothario he imagined himself as before than yanking out Kozue's file folder. "Ooookay, let's see what we have here. Kozue Kaburagi...Street Fighter IV Undefeated Champion of Lucy's Pizza in Hoboken...impressive...Former protege of a one Taylor Parker...You've tussled with the likes of Bryan Daniels, Johnny Higurashi, Clyde Gastin, and Killer King to name a few notables...Although, you're own past appears to have several "redacted" sections, in particular the identities of your family in New Jersey..." Max leaned back heavily in his master chair, curiously tapping his finger upon his bottom lip before looking back up at the N.J. ninja with a knowing smirk. "It looks like you and I both prefer to keep our past a secret, eh?"

Kozue finished up at the mini-bar, putting her amatuer drink mixing skills to good use in record time. She filled one glass up, then another right after it, figuring Maximillian might like a swig himself. Even if he didn’t want it, she’d get down on it herself soon enough.

”Hey, you’ll get no complaints from me. Doing just fine on the sex front, give less than two shits what’s between your legs.” She made her way back to his desk with drinks in hand, set one on her side and another for him.

She crossed her legs and settled in as Maximillian continued to flex his information-gathering muscles, going on a list of her ‘accolades’. She had a little chuckle at the Street Fighter IV mention - she still had that trophy buried somewhere, didn’t she? That little trip down memory lane was interrupted when he brought up Taylor, souring her for a moment, but she managed to brush it off fast enough. No use picking at old wounds.

Bryan Daniels? ”Nice dude.”

Johnny Higurashi? ”...nice dude.”

Clyde Gastin? ”Nice dude.”

Killer King? ”Asshole.”

At the mention of redacted, though, she canted her head to the side, giving him a curious look. She wouldn’t say she had stuff to hide, she’d told people about her past before...but there were certain things she didn’t want spreading out to the internet. ”Keeping things close to the chest, nothing wrong with that.” She tipped her glass his way, and went on to finish it halfway before she straightened up again. ”So, I’m guessing you’re not just looking to change the scenery around here. Got anything else big coming down the pike?”

Maximillian decided not to probe Kozue any further in regards to all the black lines omitting the ninja girl's family history. Mainly because he felt there was already an unsaid acknowledgment that he knew about her mafioso background without needing any further confirmation. As to how he knew, well let's just say he has his connections into the underworld and leave it at that. No need for them to discuss it any further so long as they were in silent agreement...also because he didn't want to end up getting "whacked." He's seen enough gangster movies to know you never get involved with the New Jersey crime families unless you absolutely have to, lest you wind up sleeping with the fishes...hmm, maybe he should have one of the maintenance workers turn his car on for him later today.

"Heh...Big, huh? Appropriate choice of words considering the ink has just dried with me signing Bashira Matsumoto, a close to 300 pound bruiser. A lady of the faith, Sister Lucia is one of the newest prospects as well...Bullet Club, Mika Kaminashi, a returning Julia Rogers. You've seen my plans unfolding around you, yah just haven't realized it...and that's only the beginning. But you know, we've only got so many roster slots available. And your name was among a long list of Tension girls wanting to make Friction their new home. And I gotta say, the determining factor was this specific recommendation letter written to me from a Ms...Benikage." Maximillian nonchalantly plucking out a ninja scroll from the cabinet, unfurling it to reveal Japanese caricature's in Beni's handwriting."I'll just read the last part for yah...*ahem*...

"In summation, Kozue has impressed me on more than one occasion with her natural gift for the ninja arts and undying spirit when it comes to improving herself, standing up to those of malicious temperament, and fighting for what she believes in. You could not ask for a greater asset to your roster. She is a learned, capable pupil who has a wild spirit, but tends to use that lackadaisical aloofness to hide her kind heart. A student whom I've become quite fond of, and only wish to see her succeed in finding the answers she strives for...although, do make sure to reprimand her if need be, and curtail her bad habits. In fact, if I know her right, she'll probably end up slouching in her chair with an alcoholic beverage consisting of Jack Daniels, Captain Morgan and Dr. Pepper during your interview. If this is true, tell her she owes me ten minutes of pole balancing on one foot for drinking on the job...and that I wish her all the best."

...wow, now THAT...is what I call a ringing endorsement...especially when it's coming from from THE Benikage." Max uttered while turning to face Kozue, taking the drink she poured him and sipping it. Punished for it or not, this is a damn good drink.