Chapter Text
The room was a mess. Trash was littered everywhere. But it didn’t bother its lone occupant. Corey Albert sat on his couch, alone in his apartment, and was watching a pro-wrestling match on TV. He was a bit overweight, had messy, short brown hair, and green eyes. He wore his usual blue hoodie and jeans. With a slight grin, he turned up the volume as the commentators went wild.
“The champion is trapped in the blink of an eye! There it is! The Michinoku Driver! She’s down for the count! One! Two! Three! Sakura Blossom is the new champion!”
The woman on the screen, Sakura Blossom, wore a frilly pink unitard and matching eye mask, her black hair tied back in a ponytail. She was the same woman who Corey had posters of all over his apartment walls. One could call him a fan. His smile turned into a frown as he got up to hit eject on the DVD player.
“Why did you have to retire?” He asked, though there was no one there to answer him. His thoughts were interrupted when there was a knock on his front door. He wearily went over to the door and opened it, with his hand reaching upward under his shirt to scratch an itch. “Who could be knocking on my door?”
Before him stood an Asian woman in a white blouse and black pants with matching shoes. Corey recognized her, of course. She was his landlord, Rumi Takahashi. She smiled brightly as her brown eyes sparkled.
“Hello,” she said, handing him a package. “This mistakenly came in my mail. It’s addressed to you.”
Corey realized what the package was immediately. His new Sakura Blossom poster. He cringed at the thought that a beautiful woman like her might have seen it.
“Would you like some fresh veggies? Are you eating well?”
“Well, I, uh…” Corey nervously laughed, thinking back on his most recent meal, Chinese takeout, the empty containers still on his table, in clear view of his landlord.
“That’s not good.” Rumi sighed, noticing the remainder of his shame. “You should be eating better.”
'She’s so nice', Corey thought to himself. 'Plus she has a great figure to boot and those boobs. They’re huge. I wish I could snuggle them. It’s a shame that she’s married.'
“What’s that smell?” Rumi asked as she held her nose closed. “Your apartment smells dreadful. Do you ever clean it?”
“Oh, ah, yeah, sorry about that. I was meaning to but never got around to it.”
“You’ll never get a girlfriend with a place like this.” She sighed. “Since I’m here anyway, I might as well help you clean.”
“Ah, oh, um… thanks.”
“No problem,” Rumi said as she walked into his apartment. The first thing she noticed were the posters. “Sakura Blossom, huh? Are you a fan of hers?” She winked at him.
“Y-Yeah, y-you could say that.” Corey cringed internally at the mere thought a woman was seeing his lair of depravity.
“So, you really like this wrestling girl?”
“O-Of course. Years ago, the world of women’s wrestling was a ruthless war of total elimination. It was in this dark time that Sakura Blossom was the ace of the Black Cats, alongside Tigress and Rosa May. It wasn’t just that she was a fierce wrestler but outside of that, she was a total hottie as well. Together, they forged a new era. They were my heroes when I was younger.”
Rumi's smile grew ever wider as she listened and she giggled a little when he finished.
“But then the Tampa Bay Betrayal happened and she retired. Not that I can blame her.” He sighed. “And now the Black Cats are no more.”
“You don’t say.”
Corey looked at the poster and then at Rumi and thought they looked similar but disregarded it as he was tired. He rubbed his eyes, trying to shake off the drowsiness.
“You had that long shift yesterday, didn’t you? I saw you coming back at almost midnight.”
“Y-Yeah, that’s right.”
“Anyway, let’s get started,” Rumi said as she grabbed an empty trash bag from the kitchen counter.
***
It took most of the day, but they made progress. Most of the apartment was now livable, anyway. Rumi looked over at his bookshelf full of DVDs.
“You have quite the collection here. I didn’t think anyone collected these anymore.”
“Y-Yeah, I guess…” Corey trailed off and his face turned to shock as he realized what DVD was the most visible. Wrestling Bunnies On The Beach. His heart nearly stopped. He rushed over and pulled a standard wrestling DVD to show her, hoping he had stopped her from noticing. “I really like this one! It has a really great match!”
“O-Okay.”
***
“Wow, she really is strong,” Rumi said as the match continued. “What was her name again?”
“Sakura Blossom,” Corey answered with an ear to ear grin. “Her appeal isn’t only her strength.”
“She must be your type of girl, huh?” Rumi asked with a wink.
“No, it’s not that. Jeez…” Corey rubbed the back of his head. “I just like her, that’s all.”
“Oh, she won.”
'Can’t believe I’m watching wrestling with a girl', Corey thought as he glanced over at Rumi, his eyes going right to her chest.
“What is it?” She asked with a glance that told him she knew exactly where he was looking.
“O-Oh, it’s nothing.” Corey sheepishly looked at the ground.
“Say, can I ask you something?”
“Sure, go ahead,” Corey said as he opened a can of soda and started to drink it.
“Do you think of her when you jerk off?”
Corey immediately spit out his drink.
“Bullseye, huh?” She laughed.
“I don’t think of her that way at all. She was my hero. Why would I do that?”
“Oh really?” She leaned in.
Before they could go any further, there was a knock at the door. But before they could answer, the door swung open and in walked a woman with golden blonde hair tied back and pale blue eyes. She wore a low-cut top, blue jeans, brown boots, and a wide brimmed tan hat.
“I’ve been looking all over for you.” She pointed directly at Rumi.
Corey couldn’t believe his eyes. Though he had mistaken Rumi for Sakura before, in front of him stood Rosa May, another former member of the Black Cats. He was absolutely certain it was the Southern Rose herself.
“Alexia?” Rumi sighed. “I told you no.”
“Oh, just come on. All I’m asking for is a moment of your time. You can bring your boy toy, too.”
***
The café was a small place, barely any customers. A perfect fit for a meeting between a famous duo. But Corey felt so nervous, sitting across from two of his childhood heroes, Rosa May and Sakura Blossom, who apparently, was his landlord for the last three years.
“Please, Rumi, I’m begging you,” Alexia looked a bit sad as she pleaded. “We need you. We can reform the Black Cats again. I’ve already got two promising rookies. We just need an ace. We need you.”
Rumi looked incredibly annoyed, she sat with one leg over the other, impatiently tapping her foot.
“I already said no. I left that life behind me.”
Corey didn’t hear what she was saying. Inside, his excitement was overflowing.
'Yes yes yes yes yes! My favorite wrestlers are coming back! Ahhhhhh!'
“I told you, there no way I-”
“Please do it!” Corey stood up and slammed his hands on the table, spilling his drink. “Women's wrestling has become stagnant. We, no, the world of wrestling needs you.”
“My, aren’t you excited?” Alexia smirked.
“Alright, I’ll do it.” Rumi sighed.
“For real?” Corey asked.
“For real. When I saw your apartment, I realized how much I still meant to people.” She gave him a wistful grin.
“Then why did you say no?” Alexia asked.
“I was afraid.” She shyly tapped her index fingers together. “After all these years, I haven’t really been keeping in shape. I was afraid that the fans would reject me.”
“Never. No real fan of Sak-”
Rumi placed a finger over his mouth.
“Thank you, Corey, for always keeping me in your heart.” She grabbed him in a fierce hug.
“I-I have a request.”
“Oh, are you horny now?” Alexia teased him.
“N-No, it’s not that.” He nervously rubbed the back of his head before returning to her with an intense gaze. “Please. Let me help out with the Black Cats. I’ll do anything you want.”
“Oh? Anything you say?” Rumi giggled.
“Corey, right?” Alexia asked and he nodded. “You seem like the delicate type. Listen here, we don’t let anyone in who can’t keep up.”
“Don’t be so rude, Alexia. I know he doesn’t seem like it but he is reliable. He always goes into work when he gets called in, no questions asked.”
“Well, he does look like he has stamina, if you know what I mean.”
“I don’t have the slightest clue as to what you’re talking about.”
“Well, whatever. We could use a manager at the very least. But if he does, he will be working his ass off.” She looked directly at Corey. “And one more thing. This will be a professional workplace. Keep it in your pants.”
Damn, Rosa May is even fiercer outside of the ring. To think that I’ve gotten to know Sakura Blossom and Rosa May. My life is complete, Corey thought to himself.
“Is Alexia here?” someone asked. A man in a business suit walked towards them. He was cleanly shaved and he had dark hair with specks of gray. “There you are. I’m so glad you’re safe.” He grabbed her in a fierce hug. “I was worried when I heard you were getting back into wrestling.”
“Don’t be stupid. We haven’t even started yet.”
“That’s good. I can convince you to quit. If you got injured, what would I do?”
“Will you knock it off.” She shoved the man off her.
“Who is that?” Corey asked aloud.
“Oh, that’s Alexia’s husband. He’s not that bad, usually. But he’s a big worrywart. After the Black Cats split up, we both got married.”
'That’s right, she’s married. What am I thinking? There’s no way she’d be making any moves on me. It’s just my overactive imagination.'
***
Unlike Corey, Alexia lived in a nice house in the suburbs. In the garage of this very house, was a makeshift gym. This was the new home base of the Black Cats. All four of the women who trained here wore the same training outfits, white sleeveless shirts, black bike shorts, and black training shoes. Though they called him a manager, Corey mostly served as an errand boy on his days off from his retail job. Aside from Rumi and Alexia, there were the two rookies. One had her crimson red hair tied in pigtails and had fierce red eyes to match. Her name was Cassandra Tilly. The other one was a bit shorter, had blue eyes, and had short, black hair. Her name was Triana Trask. The four were working out when Corey entered the garage, his arms full of grocery bags. Rumi, in particular, was putting everything she had into training, going hard on the training dummy. He put the grocery bags on the counter, grabbed a towel out of a nearby basket, and walked over to Rumi.
“Great job, Rumi. Here’s your towel.”
“Thanks,” she said as she grabbed the towel from him. “Sorry to drag you into this.”
“That’s no problem. I can’t really do much but I’ll still do what I can.”
“Yeah, let’s just keep doing our best.” She gave him a thumbs up.
“Hold it.” Cassandra walked over to them. “Don’t get too familiar with her like that. Sakura Blossom has been my idol since I could crawl. She inspired me to become a wrestler. You’re just a fanboy so don't go getting any funny ideas.”
“Come on, now. Can’t we just get along?” Rumi asked.
“No way. He’s a pig."
Will she ever let me fit in? Corey sighed.
“Uh, guys…” Triana said as she struggled with a box of training equipment. “Help me out here?”
Corey rushed over but he was too late. Both Triana and the box of training equipment fell on top of him.
“Are you okay?” Rumi asked.
“That was stupid of you,” Cassandra said.
Corey reached up, to try to grab something so he could lift himself up. What he grabbed was Triana’s breasts.
'That’s soft', were his last thoughts before she slapped him. She immediately ran to Cassandra.
“Are you okay? He’s such a pervert.”
“Th-That was the first time a guy ever…”
“What? Speak up.”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Maybe I’ll let him feel it directly next time.”
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Cassandra shoved the girl off her.
***
At the end of the day, Corey was helping them clean when something crossed his mind.
“Wait a minute, where’s Tigress? I haven’t seen her yet.”
“Be quiet. Don’t say that name,” Cassandra tried to warn him.
“What name? Tigress?”
“Did you mention Tigress just now, Corey?” Rumi asked, a fierce expression on her face.
“Well, it’s just that-” Before he could finish, Cassandra covered his mouth with her hand.
“He didn’t say anything, no one who values living would actually say that name. Isn’t that right, Corey? You like being alive, don’t you?” Cassandra asked through gritted teeth.
All Corey could do was nod.
“Well, alright then.” Rumi’s expression brightened. “I’m heading home. Don’t forget to lock up when you’re done.”
Once she was gone, Cassandra let Corey go.
“You and your big mouth!” She smacked him on the back of the head.
“What? What did I do?”
“What’s going on here?” Alexia asked, entering the garage. “You’re all being really noisy.”
“This moron just had to ask about you know who.”
“Oh? Did he? I suppose he wouldn’t know about that.”
“Whatever I’m going home.” Cassandra sighed before she left, Triana tagging along behind her.
“About what? All I want to know is why Tigress isn’t here. Shouldn’t she be here, supporting the rest of you? You were teammates, after all.”
“Do you remember the Tampa Bay Betrayal?”
“Of course, I was there in the audience. The night Sakura Blossom lost to Dark Queen. The whole thing was rigged from the beginning.”
“What else do you remember about it?”
“There was a severe lack of teamwork, especially between Sakura and Tigress. So, wait, does that mean there was something else going on?”
“Yes, but that bad blood lingered between them for at least half a year prior. You see, Corey, they both fell in love with the same man. He was the representative of one of the KWF’s sponsors. Those two knew nothing about the real world and lost their heads.”
I wonder if that would be Rumi’s husband.
“Is it bothering you, Corey?” she asked as she placed her arm over his shoulders. “Hearing about how some other man swooped your idol off her feet?”
“O-Of course not.” Corey moved away from her grasp. “I-It’s got nothing to do with me,” Corey stared at her with confidence, though he knew he was lying to himself at least.
“As I no doubt you suspected, yes, that sponsor rep is the man that Rumi is married to. But after that event, Rumi and Trish, who you would know better as Tigress, never talked again. And that was the end of the Black Cats. Though from what I hear, she likes to go jogging at a local park.”
“Oh really?”
“What are you thinking?” Alexia looked like she knew exactly what he was thinking. “I won’t stop you but your encounter may not come out as peacefully as you would hope.”
“Well, either way, I’m heading home for the night. See you around,” Corey said as he left, a smirk on his face as the wheels in his head started to turn.