Sahana narrowed her eyes at the tickets in Toyomi’s hands, one eyebrow up. ‘Wrestling?’ She lifted her head, her eyes wide with apology. ‘You did mention liking that sort of thing. What date is it on?’
Toyomi gave her the date and time. ‘Would you like to come with me? I promise it’ll be fun.’ Sahana answered with an excited hug and the invisible trumpets surrounding Toyomi played a victorious tune.
‘You’re going to have to teach me everything about wrestling, starting with why you like it.’
Toyomi scratched his chin. ‘I think it’s because it’s a lot like theatre. A lot goes into making a wrestling show. You’re basically staging a bunch of action scenes except they’re live rather than in a movie, so you have to find ways to make it look and sound like a character hurt another without actually hurting them. It’s really clever what they do and the wrestlers are usually a lot of fun.’
‘Well, I guess I have something to look forward to, then.’ Sahana spotted Masami and Kunie walking to the Home Ec room and ran towards them. ‘Hey, guys!’
Kunie responded, ‘Oh, I was going to see a play this Saturday and was wondering if-’
‘I’m sorry, I can’t. Toyomi’s taking me out to wrestling. It should be fun watching a bunch of sweaty men pin each other down.’ When Kunie laughed, Sahana put on a shocked face. ‘What’s so funny?’
Toyomi finally caught up to Sahana. Between pants, he said. ‘You… don’t… need… to run… everywhere…’
Sahana bowed her apology but smirked. ‘Maybe you should get better at running.’
Kunie’s jaw dropped. An insult? Who was the Sahana that stood before her?
Sahana realised her error and chuckled awkwardly. She grabbed Toyomi by the arm and whisked him somewhere, anywhere, else.
Masami and Kunie turned to each other. ‘Mind if I go to the play with you?’ Masami asked. ‘What play is it?’
‘Well, it’s a Takarazuka musical. So yeah, it might be more suited to you than Sahana. I just haven’t hung out with her in a while so I thought it might… I’d be glad to go with you.’
Saturday night lifted its curtains and soon The two pairs were at their respective events. Let us begin with Sahana and Toyomi.
The term ‘verbal assault’ took on new meaning as Sahana stepped into the sizeable room with her hand in Toyomi’s. Her ears were hit by cheers and heckles from wrestling fans. The hype pulsed throughout her body.
She copied Toyomi’s chants and clapped along with the crowd. The first match was between Benny Beta, an American man, and Kouki Boushi, a Japanese man.
Toyomi clutched at his chest and looked like he was about to cry. Sahana put her hand on his shoulder and he smiled. He leaned in and whispered in her ear, inadvertently tickling it.
‘These two used to be a tag team but became enemies when one of them joined an evil gang. They spent so many games getting closer and closer only for that one event to shatter everything. It’s such a shame. Hopefully after this game they can go back to being friends or lovers or whatever they are.’ He turned his head until it was facing the ring. ‘Ooh, it’s starting!’
The first thing that stood out to Sahana was the booming of the wooden floor as the wrestlers fell onto it following a hit. It resounded through her core and made each attack from the wrestlers feel impactful. She could barely hear the dialogue above the crowd, but the wrestler’s moves seemed to tell a story all on their own. She remembered what Toyomi said about the wrestlers potentially being lovers and noticed a degree of sexual tension between them. She knew next to nothing about these two characters and yet all she wanted was for them to get along again.
As if the gods granted her wish, the two ended the match with a big hug, with the heel returning to the side of the face. Toyomi cheered them on.
They had to wait a while for the next match and the cheering gradually died down, giving Sahana and Toyomi an opportunity to talk.
‘So, what did you think of your first match?’ Toyomi asked.
‘That was so cool! I didn’t realise how complex the storylines were, plus the acrobatics were really impressive.’
‘Yeah, Kouki Boushi’s pretty light on his feet.’
After all the matches ended, the couple went to a nearby restaurant. They talked about wrestling while waiting for their orders but once they got their food Toyomi steered the conversation in a different direction.
‘Hey, uh, I’ve noticed something about the way you speak to your friends. You make a dirty joke and then act like you don’t know what you said. Is that an in-joke between you three?’
Sahana’s shoulder’s rose. She stood still for a moment before scratching her cheek and looking away.
‘You caught me.’ She brought her shoulders down even lower than they were before. ‘I don’t know. I guess I’m playing a game to see how long it takes them to realise I’m not the pure innocent maiden they think I am. It’s weird, I know.’ She slurped some noodles before twirling her chopsticks around the bowl without picking anything up. ‘I kind of want them to figure it out, but at the same time I kind of… don’t? What if I go too far and they think I’m some sort of pervy weirdo? But I still do it, trying to be as subtle as I can. At least if they don’t know they can just think I’m unintentionally funny.’
‘Do you think your friends are the type to judge you for something like that?’
Sahana stopped moving her chopsticks. ‘Probably not.’
‘I wouldn’t worry too much about what people think about you. I mean, it seems like half the school thinks I’m gay for some reason.’
‘Well, you were on the verge of tears over the reunion of two male wrestlers who may or may not be lovers.’
‘Fair point.’
Sahana leaned forward, her eyes half-closed. ‘You don’t need to prove anything to anyone, but if you, for whatever reason, want to prove your interest in me, my lips are here.’
‘Is this the real you? I like it.’
Toyomi’s lips were soft enough to tickle Sahana’s. She giggled at the sensation and took in the smell of ramen from his hot breath. Her heart alternated between shocks of joy and warm contentment. She felt as if she had moved into a new house and immediately settled into it. Toyomi’s gentle touch was now her home.
Now, how were Masami and Kunie doing? Before the show started, they chatted about theatre and, for the first few minutes of the musical, struggled to keep quiet. The glares from the people sitting around them eventually sewed their mouths shut.
Plus, they had pretty and talented women to watch. The grand movements and powerful voices of the performers captured Masami and Kunie’s very souls. At one point, Masami turned to Kunie and could vaguely see a blush on her cheeks whenever the stage lights got brighter.
She followed Kunie’s eye line and saw that she was staring not at the woman wearing a suit and singing in a deep voice but at the soft-faced woman in a dress. The feminine woman wasn’t singing at the time.
Something bugged Masami about that woman. It wasn’t like she had any reason to. Her singing was fine and she played the role well. What was it about her that ever so slightly heated up the blood in her veins?
Masami’s blood cooled down when intermission began and Kunie rapidly fired off all the reasons she was enjoying the performance.
‘And the costumes are gorgeous too! I think you’d look good in the outfit Mieko Chage wore in the last scene.’
Masami’s cheeks matched Kunie’s from earlier. ‘Wasn’t that a wedding dress?’ At this point, I had my red string in my hands. However, her thoughts went elsewhere. In her mind, she explained away her blush as the result of the embarrassment she would naturally feel from someone making such a suggestion.
‘I’d hope you’d look good in a wedding dress. You will invite me to your future wedding, right? I’d hate for my friend to look bad on her special day.’
‘Who on earth would I marry?’
Kunie shrugged her shoulders. ‘Maybe no one. Or maybe I was right about us being late bloomers. You could find someone. Just make sure he treats you right, okay? And for the love of all that is good, please don’t use tongue when the groom is told to kiss you.’
Another guffaw from Masami. As the two laughed, they got closer and closer until Masami’s head rested underneath Kunie’s chin. While calming her own laughter, she could hear Kunie’s heartbeat and felt like she was in front of the fireplace on a cold winter’s day.
After a few moments of them slowing their breaths, Masami removed her head from Kunie’s chest and stood up, holding out her hand.
‘Want to get some ice cream or a drink before intermission ends?’
Kunie grabbed her hand and let her pull her up. ‘Think we can get to the front of the line before then?’
Masami shrugged, giggling and taking her to the candy bar’s long line. Only then did she realise she was still holding Kunie’s hand and let go. Her hand felt colder by itself. Only a bit, though.
ns 15.158.61.54da2
