Author's Notes: Translations
Chotto tetsudatte itadakemasenka? – Can you help me?
Damare konoyarou – Shut up you bastard
Watashinomono – Mine
Sō wa omowanai! – No, I don't think so!
Sugoi - Great or Amazing
Nani? – What?
(If any of these are wrong I greatly apologize and welcome any corrections!)
Upon returning to the back, she hastily pieced her noh mask back together and sealed it over her face so it could at least last until she left the arena. Only when she was alone would she let the cracks fissure until nothing of her façade remained.
The plan succeeded until it didn't.
"Asuka," called a deep, yet serene voice that could only belong to the one person she'd been able to avoid all night thus far.
She stopped mid-stride on her way to the rental car that she would drive to the hotel to sleep in her room, alone.
She didn't dare turn around to face him. Just remembering how he had seen her weakness at lunch caused the blood to rush into her cheeks all over again.
Almost soundless footsteps approached her from behind, calm and steady, a huge contrast to the frantic drumming of her heart. She felt his warmth at her left shoulder even from the respectable distance he from which he stood.
"Chotto tetsudatte itadakemasenka?" he said.
Momentarily forgetting her embarrassment, Asuka's brain nearly rejoiced at hearing her mother language after so many workdays often needing to wrack her mind looking for correct English before her mouth made a fool of her.
She finally regarded him, taking in his state of appearance. Shinsuke was in his street clothes just as she was, hair pulled back into a ponytail, and he was looking hopelessly between her and his phone.
"What do you need?" she said in Japanese.
Shinsuke chuckled sheepishly and put his phone away into the pocket of his jeans. He explained that his Candy Crush app had struck again, causing his booking app to go haywire. It wouldn't let him book a rental or a hotel for himself.
She crossed her arms, berating him in her thick Osakan accent, "And you've waited this long to do something about it?"
"I got a ride here with Sin Cara," he mumbled, and was that a pout on his face?
"So catch a ride with him."
He sighed dramatically then looked down and to the side, his pout grew more pronounced.
"I didn't want to trouble him twice so I told him to go on ahead."
A momentary hush fell over them then.
Asuka found herself torn between two wishes. Part of her really just wanted to be alone to stew in whatever it was that she was going through. It was how she always got by before, figuring out her own way back to happiness. And yet she had to admit silently to herself that quite a few variables were different this time. She just wasn't sure of the how's and the why's.
The other part of her wanted to carry on talking with Shinsuke like this even if their words were nothing but mere nonsense. At least they could understand each other mostly perfectly (even if on rare occasions her strong accent got in the way with him).
And still, his ability to seemingly read her so easily earlier that day unsettled her greatly.
She was both pulled in and repelled by his presence at the moment.
"I can drive," Shinsuke offered with a bright smile. It was the sort of smile he gave that reached his eyes and crinkled them so endearingly at the edges.
Asuka felt a blush creeping up over her face again, though not out of embarrassment. She wanted to bury her head in the sand so he couldn't see. Unfortunately for her, there was no sand around for at least a couple thousand miles. And it wouldn't be polite for her to turn her fellow countryman away.
Plus, how could one say no to such a face?
Conceding with a curt "Fine" that she hoped belied the affect Shinsuke's smile was having on her, Asuka handed him the keys.
They packed their belongings into the rear seat and trunk then secured themselves in their respective seats in a silence that was neither awkward nor completely comfortable (especially on her part).
Disregarding that they were from the same island country, they had only traveled together by car a handful of times. And all of those times had included a few other passengers. She and Shinsuke usually drove alone when most other wrestlers traveled in pairs or packs, and they roomed alone as well. Asuka did so in order to give herself a necessary break from all the English pounding her skull. As to why Shinsuke chose to do so, she didn't know.
His was a name she was so very familiar with when one brought up wrestling, and yet she still knew very little of the man behind the charisma.
Why was he suddenly seeking her out like this?
She was going to contemplate his motives further when she saw that they had passed the hotel.
"Hey!" She called, face close to the passenger side window as she watched the building zoom by. Outraged, she whipped around as to scold him. "What are you doing?"
"I'm soo hungry," he drawled without shifting his eyes off the road,"and I thought you might be too. I know a nice place."
"I am not hungr—" she started to argue, until her stomach decided to betray her outright with a loud gurgle. Shinsuke laughed at that, leaving her to be the one to pout blushingly.
Damare konoyarou, she silently willed her traitorous stomach.
Shut up, her stomach did not. It only got worse when they pulled up to a small Japanese restaurant called Futago.
"It's small, but the food is very good," Shinsuke reassured, "C'mon, my treat."
The moment they entered the establishment the fragrant smells of spices and cooking meats assaulted her nose in the best kind of way. Her hunger intensified tenfold, her earlier frustration turning to gratefulness to Shinsuke for making the pit stop.
Indeed, the place was small, but the owners and cooks were quaint and were easy to speak to. Then there was the added bonus that the menu contained a few of her favorite dishes.
She dined excitedly on squid and miso soup while Shinsuke ate udon noodles then grilled strips of Kobe beef on the yakiniku grill built into their table. He happily allowed her to steal a few slices from the grill, until it came down to the last succulent bite.
All bets were off then.
They stared each other down, a peculiar electricity arcing between them as one waited for the other to make their move, then in a flurry of limbs two pairs of chopsticks wrestled over the juicy strip of meat. It was a wonder that the poor Kobe didn't go flying.
Of course he was stronger and in spite of the struggle, had the beef nearly to his mouth.
"W-Watashinomono," he grunted from the effort.
"Sō wa omowanai!" she retorted.
Asuka wasn't above cheating at the moment.
All it took was a quick flick of her wrist, causing the slightest shift of the beef away from his lips, and she leaned precariously over the table – the heat of the grill between them a danger that she ignored in the favor of victory (hey, she was flexible!). Her face was scarcely an inch from his and gave her an excellent view of his mouth hanging open as his eyes widened in surprise at her bold action.
Was it her imagination or was there a tinge of pink darkening the tan complexion of his cheeks?
She pondered that all of two seconds then decided that winning the battle of the-last-bite was more important. Taking advantage of his distraction to her sudden proximity, she leaned in the last millimeter to pop the delicious morsel into her mouth.
That was the best bite of all. The look of astonishment on Shinsuke's face was also a nice spoil of war.
She sat back in her seat and cheerfully patted her sated stomach. "Sugoi~" she exclaimed softly.
When she glanced at him again, the look Shinsuke was giving her caused gave her pause. Once again he was studying her intently, but what he was thinking she could not fathom.
"Nani?" she said, sounding more flustered than she wanted.
Her travel partner shook his head slowly, catching the side of his lower lip with his teeth. "That was very unfair," he chastised, something in his tone telling her that he would pay her back for besting him.
Asuka was unsure she wanted to find out how he planned on doing that.
She raised her hand quickly to get the attention of their server.
"Check please!"