Sunny Days

Lunch was a fun affair. Lots of laughter and smiles that could light up a room. It was exactly what Okada needed. Both to assure him his friend was doing fine here in Florida and to keep his thoughts off how attractive Muara was. Though the latter didn`t work out so well. The more time he spent with her, the more he liked her. She was surprisingly funny and had a similar sense of humor as Shinsuke, though he was more out there and silly than she was. But his friend assured him that after she`d had plenty to drink she became rather bubbly. And she could apparently hold her alcohol well, having drank Kota under the table during his visit.

Okada also learned that eggs were the only thing Muara could make without burning it, she couldn`t drive well, and she had dyslexia. The last one he experienced first hand during lunch when she was trying to read something on the menu and ended up having to ask Shinsuke for help. Which wasn`t exactly an uncommon occurrence either, his friend had quickly explained. And because of it she had the hardest time reading anything in Japanese. While she was fluent in speaking it, she couldn`t read it and it frustrated her to no end.

Eventually they got onto the subject of Muara`s wrestling career. And Okada found himself listening intently while she explained her ten year career before finally coming to the WWE. She`d debuted two months before Shinsuke. There was even talk of her battling Asuka for the women`s NXT title.

Throughout the conversation, Shinsuke kept an eye on Okada. He understood the look his friend was giving Muara rather well. He`d seen it plenty of times with other people. That look of curiosity and wanting. He wasn`t sure if either of his friends knew it yet, but they were both starting to give each other the same look.

If it were anyone else, Shinsuke supposed, he would be panicking. Muara was his new friend and he was not going to lose her. No way, no how. She was one of those few people in his life that he considered precious and worth protecting. No matter how glaringly obvious it was that she could easily protect herself. But Okada was another one of those precious people. And he was yet another one of those people that, despite being obviously capable of taking care of themselves, Shinsuke considered worth protecting. And would no matter what.

So, the idea of two people that he cared about getting together didn`t bother him much. Plus Shinsuke knew they would take care of each other. No matter how short or long their relationship would be. If it even lead to that. He`d seen enough of Okada`s past relationships to know he treated women well and normally had great respect for them. And no matter how much he tried to deny it, he was a good guy. He had a charity, for crying out loud!

Even though he`d never seen Muara in a relationship yet, he knew what she was like with other people and how greatly she cared. Shinsuke had seen and experienced it enough to know how big her heart was. She was one of the first people to offer help with his English, she gathered toys here and there to give to the other wrestler`s kids when they came to visit and always kept a list of the kids likes and dislikes with her at all times, helped others train whenever she could, and whenever she found a bug in her apartment, she`d somehow get them in a jar and release them outside instead of killing them. Though he never did understand that last one. Then again, she`d never tried to explain her reasons behind it either.

Of course there was some doubt lingering in his mind. All the what ifs racing through his mind if whatever happened between his two friends ended badly. But he tried desperately to ignore those thoughts. For all he knew, nothing would even come of the looks they were giving each other. They were adults anyway, right? They could take care of themselves. No matter how much Shinsuke liked to protect them.

The three spent a good portion of their day together until Muara had to get ready for her match later that night. And no matter how much Okada would of denied it if confronted, he was excited to see her in action. It`s one thing to listen to someone talk about their career and a whole other to actually see them wrestle. He silently hoped she was as good as she sounded, but he also knew Shinsuke wouldn`t praise just anyone. They normally had to be pretty damn good for that.

And once again, Okada was pleasantly surprised with Muara. While she did lose her match, she was still rather impressive. And flexible. God, was she flexible. The thought of just how much her body could possibly bend made Okada`s mouth dry. There were area`s of improvement that he noticed, but really, they could all use some improvement sometimes. But never the less, he was still impressed. There were a few times he caught himself asking Shinsuke if he had been helping her train. Some of her movements were just a little too fluid not be from him. Of course his friend denied it with a horribly fake innocent expression plastered on his face.

After the show, the three went to dinner at one of Muara`s favorite restaurants and then the boys escorted her home. Turns out she only lived a block away from Shinsuke. And she was room mates with Asuka of all people. That was definitely another surprise there. Or at least for Okada it was. Apparently the two became friends fairly quickly and Muara was helping her learn English.

For two weeks the three, and the occasional joining of Asuka, worked out together and trained together. Okada attended every match and event he could. And when he couldn`t he hung out with a couple of the other wrestlers he knew. It was turning into the perfect vacation. And Okada knew he`d miss his friends as soon as he had to get back on a plane home. Especially Muara. She was becoming one of his favorite people. And the more he was around her, the more attractive she became. It wasn`t just about wanting to sleep with her either. Though that was still a rather pleasant thought. He was discovering that he just liked being around her. Being in her presence alone was enjoyable. There weren`t many people he could say he enjoyed a comfortable silence with but she was quickly added to the short list. She was just fun to be around and he liked that.

Currently Muara was getting ready for her match with Asuka. Shinsuke and Okada were waiting backstage to bid her good luck before heading out into the crowd to watch.

"You`ll need to prepare yourself for this one," Shinsuke advised suddenly.

Okada raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"They push each other further and harder than necessary," he answered.

"And we draw blood," Asuka interrupted while walking up to them. "And then push even harden as soon as we notice."

"Does it really get that bad?" Okada asked.

Shinsuke nodded. "Sometimes I think they are trying to kill each other."

"And we`ve both left a few scars on each other," Murara added, suddenly walking out of the locker room.

Asuka grinned at her and offered her hand. "Good luck."

Muara shook her hand and nodded in agreement. "Good luck."

"To pushing each other..."

"...past our limits."

Okada watched the two women in wonder. This was obviously some form of pre-match ritual between them and attested to their trust in one another. You`re friends were always your best opponent because it felt wrong not to push each other to the limits and to put on your best matches. To do anything other than your best together was just plain wrong. But these two were talking about pushing each other past their limits and that tended to be a tough thing to do to your friend. No matter how much you wanted to push them to do their best, it was still hard to not only watch them suffer but to be the one causing it. That`s something even he and Shinsuke had a hard time doing. But these two women were talking about it as if they were talking about the weather. It was a bit baffling to say the least. But also somewhat awe inspiring.

Much to Okada`s horror, Shinsuke downplayed the match. It was so much worse than he could of ever expected. The ropes were used to choke, ring posts were used to bend around to break backs and when that didn`t seem to work, chairs were dented across each other`s backs. And when they brought out kendo sticks, Okada was tempted to cover his eyes. If he were able to look away, that is. And much to his fear and horror, Asuka drew blood with the kendo stick. But Muara turned right around and did the exact same thing. She gave as good as she got, if not worse.

The match came to an end via a double count out. Much to Okada`s relief. While he was curious to see who would of actually won, he didn`t think he could watch anymore. The girls truly pushed each other past their limits and then some. When they made their way backstage, it didn`t surprise him to see Asuka and Muara trying to hold each other up and walk to the medics on stand by. In his opinion the medics should of been running to them. If it wasn`t for Shinsuke`s hand on his arm to hold him back, he would of scooped Muara up and carried her there himself.

"She`ll be fine," Shinsuke soothed. "This isn`t the worst they`ve done to each other."

Okada quickly shot him a look that clearly said he didn`t believe him, causing his friend to chuckle and pat his arm. After taking a few deep breathes to calm down he followed them to the trainers room with Shinsuke following close behind. He opened the doors to find Asuka and Muara both laying on exam tables while being checked over. It took everything in Okada to reign himself in and not rush over when he noticed the welts and streaks of blood on Muara`s back.

Once again Shinsuke tried to sooth his friend but to no avail. Every wince and whine from Muara only served to make Okada more tense and worried. It was becoming more and more obvious just how much he cared about her. And Shinsuke hoped she knew it, too.

After Asuka and Muara were cleared to go home, Okada finally let himself approach her.

"I want you to come home with us."

Muara blinked up at him, surprised by his sudden command. "What for?"

Okada frowned. Wasn`t it obvious? "So we can take care of you."

She smiled softly. "That`s very sweet of you but I can`t. Asuka and I take care of each other after our matches. It`s sort of become a ritual of ours."

He made a noise of protest but nodded to show he understood. While he wanted nothing more than to take care of her himself, he wasn`t go to interrupted something that was apparently essential to them. "Another night then?"

"Absolutely. How about tomorrow?"

"I think that should be fine."

Muara smiled up at him. "I`ll see you tomorrow then."

Okada couldn`t help but smile back. "Tomorrow."

She nodded and moved to leave but paused at the door to turn around and look at him. "And Okada? If you want a date, all you have to do is ask." She then left the room to go change and head home with Asuka, leaving a gaping Okada behind her.

"You have it bad," Shinsuke declared with a snicker. His friend not bothering to argue.