Unfamiliar Territory [Izzy/Fujiko]
Aug 26, 2018 10:01:22 GMT -5
Post by Izzy Anders on Aug 26, 2018 10:01:22 GMT -5
Isabella Frieda Anders only remembers coming to the Renati Dojo once. It was an offer by Velma back when she was first getting signed to the brand. Take some time out of her schedule to watch some of the best that she had gathered hone their craft. When she arrived, she was met with some of the elite. She didn’t say much, knowing that she was there to watch, rather than be sociable. A few people came out of their way to introduce themselves, but it was largely a time to be a sponge. Izzy didn’t know how much of it went towards making her the wrestler that she was today. Coming back to the Milwaukee based training ground became paramount in Izzy’s head. It took her calling Velma, making awkward conversation and getting an approval (a begrudging one, Izzy thought) to be able to make the trip.
I think I’m going to regret this.
The prevailing thought in the storm that was Izzy’s mind made sense when she walked into the dojo. All the noise slowly came to a halt, leaving only the swing of a sandbag that slowly pittered out. Attention drew towards the arrival of the former FGA World Champion and former Renati signee. Izzy kept the awkward feeling internalized, making sure not to break for a moment. She kept her eyes forward, partly narrowed for the sake of a serious tone. Yet, she could feel the piercing side eye glares of the people in the dojo. Velma must have informed someone high up and word began to spread. At some point, Izzy would arrive, and she’s only welcome here because of Dynamic Duos.
If anyone were listening closely, they would have been able to hear the aggressive sounds of Freddie Gibbs’ “Set Set” as it seeped out from Misha LeCavalier’s headphones. The song had become a crucial part of her warm-up routine. She didn’t frequent the Renati Dojo very often. This occlusion? She’d been personally invited. It wasn’t something that she could turn down even if she wanted to. Plus, it would give her a chance to prepare for her upcoming SVW and Evo events.
Nearby, Cassius Reed and Daph the Destroyer stop what they’re doing to notice the outsider. Cassius’ punches slow to a halt as he looks over. Daphne’s stoic look turns to a frown. A snicker came from SHIDO, one of the few World Champions in the room. Izzy shot him a look that she could get away with.
We’re family, dipshit.
SHIDO smirked wryly, a counter to even Izzy’s daunting grin.
I know, “outsider.”
He stepped behind Xena. Xena raised an eyebrow, placing her hands on her hips and smirking. She too was told to leave Izzy alone, but Xena tended to “forget” certain orders she didn’t agree with.
A few feet away, a door to the right opens, and a blur of pale pink sticks out. The head of Velma Ovation scans the gym floor, and when she sees the former FGA Undisputed champion, her eyes narrow. She points out to Izzy, then to the spot in front of the door.
Izzy kept stoic, not allowing the obvious glare disturb any more than it does internally. She gave Velma a respectful nod and made her way around the ring. Intrigued and repulsed glares meet her every step, yet Izzy took it in stride.
It’s not the first time a crowd hated her.
This time she couldn’t throw up a middle finger.
Inside Velma’s office sat the Renati Talent recruiter, leaned up against the lip of her massive oak desk. Her arms crossed over her chest, ruffling up her pantsuit a bit. And to her right, the GZWA Queen of Queens and FGA Pride champion lounged in a plush chair that was pressed up against the wall. Her titles flanked her on the arms of the chair, and she looked up from her idle munching of a peanut butter cookie when her partner entered the room. Fujiko’s eyes moved from Izzy, over to Velma, and back at Izzy again. She then continued to munch on her cookie.
*VO: As you can imagine, I’m not the biggest fan of you being here, but I’ve got express orders from Mr. Jones to grant you temporary access to the facility. He was, however, somewhat vague in timelines, so that’s something I am going to take the liberty to define.
Velma turned away from Izzy, picking up a manilla packet up off a spot on the desk behind her and held it out towards Izzy. With a nervous energy tucked there, Izzy waited to hear out her words, instead of taking the folder right there. She noted Velma’s grip on it. Lackadaisical enough for Izzy to take, but firm enough for Velma to be able to pull it back in an instant.
*VO: You’re welcome here, and to our satellite facilities until you and Fujiko lose. If you win the tournament, and you win the titles, your access will be extended until you lose them and your rematch. If no rematch is granted within 30 days, then access is revoked. And obviously, if you get bounced from the tournament, access is revoked.
Fujiko’s ears perked when Velma mentioned “Mr. Jones”. She knew that he wasn’t addressed that way unless serious business was involved. Fujiko deduced that there must have been an argument about it. She merely turned to look over at her nemesis-turned-partner and raised an eyebrow.
Fujiko still didn’t quite know what she was doing agreeing to this partnership. Izzy seems to have had it in her head to mend the bridge between the two, but Fujiko wasn’t quite sure she was ready to fully trust her. So naturally, she thrust herself in an environment in which she had to trust her.
Because that was a surefire way to hear “I told you so” from the likes of Xena and Velma.
Nevertheless, it was Fujiko that went and broke the news to Tj, Kayden, and Velma. It was her that requested this ‘deal’. Kayden and Velma were quick to remind her of last time.
Tj merely nodded his head, said “ok”, and was done with it. He enjoyed playing the unflappable mystery. But deep down, maybe he saw something they hadn’t.
That intrigued her more than it probably should have.
Izzy prodded the inside of her cheek with her tongue, understanding the harshness of Velma’s proposal. A sassy answer to it would be to ask “why?”, but it was a moot point here. She was the boss lady and she only accepted so much of this nonsense because of Tj Jones and, well, the “Golden Child.”
She fondly remembered calling her that. Originally an insult, everyone in the gym should come to understand it as the truth. She had competition for the spot now, but she still held the right. Izzy took a glance at the gold laid out across her chair before drifting momentarily up to Fujiko’s eyes facing forward.
“That’s fair enough,” she admitted, shrugging her shoulders.
Resist the urge, Izzy.
“We have the BAETeam this round. I’d love nothing more than to go ahead and get started. Dani doesn’t play games. Redfield, maybe a little, but he won’t let us just walk all over him.”
Velma nodded, tossing the manilla envelope in Izzy’s direction. She caught it, only a moment before it hit her face. It wasn’t intentional.
“Your pass is in there, as well as some intel on both Dani and Redfield. We’ve been keeping an eye on Dani for a while, so you might find more info on her in there.”
She paused for a moment, sighing.
“But don’t use it if you don’t feel like you need it. It’s your operation at this point-” she pointed the comment at Fujiko, then returned her gaze to Izzy. “-Navigate this tournament how you wish.”
“Okay, that’s the plan to begin with. All due respect.”
The former FGA Undisputed Champion took a moment to collect herself before speaking again. Velma placed her palms on the desk behind her.
“I need to bite this one in the ass right now.”
Izzy looked back towards the door, knowing what looks awaited her out there. “Ms. Velma, if you’d please get them to calm down,” she began, “I didn’t exactly find it inviting to step into her and get a response like that.”
“The reason why I sent out the request to team with Fujiko is based upon a simple matter,” Izzy pointed to Fujiko and to herself in a sequence, “we’re two of the best that FGA has. You saw the reaction that everyone had when we were announced as the last team. There was a digital gulp.”
Izzy felt some passion rising in her throat. “They know we’re a threat. The biggest threat. That’s why I’m out here right now, to make sure that Fujiko and I are a cohesive unit. She must understand that to some degree,” she made sure not to look in Fujiko’s direction. She had to feign full confidence in her partner’s expectations. “Now, I’m not asking Renati to welcome me back or to like me. That’s asking too much.”
“But when I’m here to try to bring some success for myself and for--” she took a pause, choosing her next words wisely, “--for the best Pride Champion in FGA history. Those glares and snickers aren’t going to make me feel motivated to keep helping to make your brand look better.”
Izzy ended her speech with a sigh. “I can make the same speech to them if I need to.”
Fujiko raised her eyebrow at the praise directed at her.
She’s so full of it.
She tried not to let her disbelief show on her face. She did her best Tj Jones impression, staying stoic and still as they went back and forth.
“No need,” Velma began, shifting her weight slightly. She moved her left hand, revealing a large red button that sprung back into place on its console as she moved her hand away. “They heard it all.”
There was something of a smile on Velma’s face as she nodded towards the door. Izzy stood up, almost proudly, and made her way to the door. She took hold of the knob and pulled it open without a word. From there, it was only a matter of strolling out to a new brand of silence. Her eyes shot from left to right until she landed on SHIDO, who had his mouth covered with his hand. Yet, his eyes met Izzy’s stoic glare, finally letting some of the belligerence out that she had towards anyone who gave her disrespect today.
“Good,” she said, loud enough for the gym to hear her, but directed in Velma’s direction, “I’m glad that I don’t need to repeat myself.”
She took another step forward, nary a thought of backing to anyone and everyone in the gym.
“Since you all did hear me, I request that everyone here do their part in helping Fujiko and I win out this tournament. There are too many disrespectful pricks trying to get in our way and I’m not standing for it.”
Fujiko, having moved from her position in the chair to the door frame, thereby making herself a buffer between Velma and Izzy, just placed her hand on her forehead.
“You both can stop now. She’s let you in, you’re here; let’s just get to work.”
She shot a glance back at Velma, who did not move. She then moved her gaze to Izzy.
“She’s not going to be a problem. And I assume you didn’t come here to win the award for ‘most disliked’, right?” She asks Izzy, toying with a smile on her lips as she does so.
Izzy wanted to ignore it, but she had to give an answer.
“If I come home with the trophy, it doesn’t matter what else comes with it.”
Izzy met SHIDO again, who peered from around Xena. He rose his hand up where he wrote in crude black ink a very simple phrase. In Korean, it was easy enough to know.
You’re so dead.
The Mindkiller pursed her lips and didn’t give him any indication of her noticing the barb. She knew deep down that it would drive him crazy. Turning to Fujiko, she nodded. “Yeah, let’s get to work. Lead the way.”
Judging from Fujiko’s expression, Izzy knew they agreed on one thing.
This is going to be a long few weeks.
I think I’m going to regret this.
The prevailing thought in the storm that was Izzy’s mind made sense when she walked into the dojo. All the noise slowly came to a halt, leaving only the swing of a sandbag that slowly pittered out. Attention drew towards the arrival of the former FGA World Champion and former Renati signee. Izzy kept the awkward feeling internalized, making sure not to break for a moment. She kept her eyes forward, partly narrowed for the sake of a serious tone. Yet, she could feel the piercing side eye glares of the people in the dojo. Velma must have informed someone high up and word began to spread. At some point, Izzy would arrive, and she’s only welcome here because of Dynamic Duos.
If anyone were listening closely, they would have been able to hear the aggressive sounds of Freddie Gibbs’ “Set Set” as it seeped out from Misha LeCavalier’s headphones. The song had become a crucial part of her warm-up routine. She didn’t frequent the Renati Dojo very often. This occlusion? She’d been personally invited. It wasn’t something that she could turn down even if she wanted to. Plus, it would give her a chance to prepare for her upcoming SVW and Evo events.
Nearby, Cassius Reed and Daph the Destroyer stop what they’re doing to notice the outsider. Cassius’ punches slow to a halt as he looks over. Daphne’s stoic look turns to a frown. A snicker came from SHIDO, one of the few World Champions in the room. Izzy shot him a look that she could get away with.
We’re family, dipshit.
SHIDO smirked wryly, a counter to even Izzy’s daunting grin.
I know, “outsider.”
He stepped behind Xena. Xena raised an eyebrow, placing her hands on her hips and smirking. She too was told to leave Izzy alone, but Xena tended to “forget” certain orders she didn’t agree with.
A few feet away, a door to the right opens, and a blur of pale pink sticks out. The head of Velma Ovation scans the gym floor, and when she sees the former FGA Undisputed champion, her eyes narrow. She points out to Izzy, then to the spot in front of the door.
Izzy kept stoic, not allowing the obvious glare disturb any more than it does internally. She gave Velma a respectful nod and made her way around the ring. Intrigued and repulsed glares meet her every step, yet Izzy took it in stride.
It’s not the first time a crowd hated her.
This time she couldn’t throw up a middle finger.
Inside Velma’s office sat the Renati Talent recruiter, leaned up against the lip of her massive oak desk. Her arms crossed over her chest, ruffling up her pantsuit a bit. And to her right, the GZWA Queen of Queens and FGA Pride champion lounged in a plush chair that was pressed up against the wall. Her titles flanked her on the arms of the chair, and she looked up from her idle munching of a peanut butter cookie when her partner entered the room. Fujiko’s eyes moved from Izzy, over to Velma, and back at Izzy again. She then continued to munch on her cookie.
*VO: As you can imagine, I’m not the biggest fan of you being here, but I’ve got express orders from Mr. Jones to grant you temporary access to the facility. He was, however, somewhat vague in timelines, so that’s something I am going to take the liberty to define.
Velma turned away from Izzy, picking up a manilla packet up off a spot on the desk behind her and held it out towards Izzy. With a nervous energy tucked there, Izzy waited to hear out her words, instead of taking the folder right there. She noted Velma’s grip on it. Lackadaisical enough for Izzy to take, but firm enough for Velma to be able to pull it back in an instant.
*VO: You’re welcome here, and to our satellite facilities until you and Fujiko lose. If you win the tournament, and you win the titles, your access will be extended until you lose them and your rematch. If no rematch is granted within 30 days, then access is revoked. And obviously, if you get bounced from the tournament, access is revoked.
Fujiko’s ears perked when Velma mentioned “Mr. Jones”. She knew that he wasn’t addressed that way unless serious business was involved. Fujiko deduced that there must have been an argument about it. She merely turned to look over at her nemesis-turned-partner and raised an eyebrow.
Fujiko still didn’t quite know what she was doing agreeing to this partnership. Izzy seems to have had it in her head to mend the bridge between the two, but Fujiko wasn’t quite sure she was ready to fully trust her. So naturally, she thrust herself in an environment in which she had to trust her.
Because that was a surefire way to hear “I told you so” from the likes of Xena and Velma.
Nevertheless, it was Fujiko that went and broke the news to Tj, Kayden, and Velma. It was her that requested this ‘deal’. Kayden and Velma were quick to remind her of last time.
Tj merely nodded his head, said “ok”, and was done with it. He enjoyed playing the unflappable mystery. But deep down, maybe he saw something they hadn’t.
That intrigued her more than it probably should have.
Izzy prodded the inside of her cheek with her tongue, understanding the harshness of Velma’s proposal. A sassy answer to it would be to ask “why?”, but it was a moot point here. She was the boss lady and she only accepted so much of this nonsense because of Tj Jones and, well, the “Golden Child.”
She fondly remembered calling her that. Originally an insult, everyone in the gym should come to understand it as the truth. She had competition for the spot now, but she still held the right. Izzy took a glance at the gold laid out across her chair before drifting momentarily up to Fujiko’s eyes facing forward.
“That’s fair enough,” she admitted, shrugging her shoulders.
Resist the urge, Izzy.
“We have the BAETeam this round. I’d love nothing more than to go ahead and get started. Dani doesn’t play games. Redfield, maybe a little, but he won’t let us just walk all over him.”
Velma nodded, tossing the manilla envelope in Izzy’s direction. She caught it, only a moment before it hit her face. It wasn’t intentional.
“Your pass is in there, as well as some intel on both Dani and Redfield. We’ve been keeping an eye on Dani for a while, so you might find more info on her in there.”
She paused for a moment, sighing.
“But don’t use it if you don’t feel like you need it. It’s your operation at this point-” she pointed the comment at Fujiko, then returned her gaze to Izzy. “-Navigate this tournament how you wish.”
“Okay, that’s the plan to begin with. All due respect.”
The former FGA Undisputed Champion took a moment to collect herself before speaking again. Velma placed her palms on the desk behind her.
“I need to bite this one in the ass right now.”
Izzy looked back towards the door, knowing what looks awaited her out there. “Ms. Velma, if you’d please get them to calm down,” she began, “I didn’t exactly find it inviting to step into her and get a response like that.”
“The reason why I sent out the request to team with Fujiko is based upon a simple matter,” Izzy pointed to Fujiko and to herself in a sequence, “we’re two of the best that FGA has. You saw the reaction that everyone had when we were announced as the last team. There was a digital gulp.”
Izzy felt some passion rising in her throat. “They know we’re a threat. The biggest threat. That’s why I’m out here right now, to make sure that Fujiko and I are a cohesive unit. She must understand that to some degree,” she made sure not to look in Fujiko’s direction. She had to feign full confidence in her partner’s expectations. “Now, I’m not asking Renati to welcome me back or to like me. That’s asking too much.”
“But when I’m here to try to bring some success for myself and for--” she took a pause, choosing her next words wisely, “--for the best Pride Champion in FGA history. Those glares and snickers aren’t going to make me feel motivated to keep helping to make your brand look better.”
Izzy ended her speech with a sigh. “I can make the same speech to them if I need to.”
Fujiko raised her eyebrow at the praise directed at her.
She’s so full of it.
She tried not to let her disbelief show on her face. She did her best Tj Jones impression, staying stoic and still as they went back and forth.
“No need,” Velma began, shifting her weight slightly. She moved her left hand, revealing a large red button that sprung back into place on its console as she moved her hand away. “They heard it all.”
There was something of a smile on Velma’s face as she nodded towards the door. Izzy stood up, almost proudly, and made her way to the door. She took hold of the knob and pulled it open without a word. From there, it was only a matter of strolling out to a new brand of silence. Her eyes shot from left to right until she landed on SHIDO, who had his mouth covered with his hand. Yet, his eyes met Izzy’s stoic glare, finally letting some of the belligerence out that she had towards anyone who gave her disrespect today.
“Good,” she said, loud enough for the gym to hear her, but directed in Velma’s direction, “I’m glad that I don’t need to repeat myself.”
She took another step forward, nary a thought of backing to anyone and everyone in the gym.
“Since you all did hear me, I request that everyone here do their part in helping Fujiko and I win out this tournament. There are too many disrespectful pricks trying to get in our way and I’m not standing for it.”
Fujiko, having moved from her position in the chair to the door frame, thereby making herself a buffer between Velma and Izzy, just placed her hand on her forehead.
“You both can stop now. She’s let you in, you’re here; let’s just get to work.”
She shot a glance back at Velma, who did not move. She then moved her gaze to Izzy.
“She’s not going to be a problem. And I assume you didn’t come here to win the award for ‘most disliked’, right?” She asks Izzy, toying with a smile on her lips as she does so.
Izzy wanted to ignore it, but she had to give an answer.
“If I come home with the trophy, it doesn’t matter what else comes with it.”
Izzy met SHIDO again, who peered from around Xena. He rose his hand up where he wrote in crude black ink a very simple phrase. In Korean, it was easy enough to know.
You’re so dead.
The Mindkiller pursed her lips and didn’t give him any indication of her noticing the barb. She knew deep down that it would drive him crazy. Turning to Fujiko, she nodded. “Yeah, let’s get to work. Lead the way.”
Judging from Fujiko’s expression, Izzy knew they agreed on one thing.
This is going to be a long few weeks.
