The tension was thickening the air. Everyone except their boss was on edge. Mariya's and Yulia's stern faces focus on the man in front of them. Koaru Hanayama sets the bottle of vodka down, and he pours himself a glass of bourbon, "Knowing Yujiro Hanma, he will definitely be at the tournament. Especially, if he caught wind of your existence, which is most likely, considering you are the top MMA fighters...and using his family name to be associated with.". He sets down the bottle of 'Wild Turkey', with a hard thud. Yulia's fist tightens, "Hanma IS our family name, why would we not use it?", the muscles in her arm tensing up. Kaoru crooked his head, "A family name is a man's pride. Along with his own strength, the name he carries makes him who he is. Touch a man's pride and he will fight you for it. And i am certain, without solid proof, Yujiro will kill both of you." .
The tension grew tighter. Questioning themselves was one thing, being questioned by a complete stranger was another. The string of uncertainty is being plucked and pulled to an extent that it hurts. The vibrations of power in the air are almost to the touch. Kaoru felt an excitement washing over him as he heard his people shuffle uncomfortable in their booths. They felt it too, and even if it was weaker than most fighters he encountered, he knew it was just a touch of what they possessed. Mariya narrowed her eyes, "Who needs proof when blood recognizes blood? The sensations we felt when we saw him on TV that day were like no other. It felt like we were watching ourselves in that battle.", Yulia's mouth twisted into a grimace. "A man like him certainly recognizes his own kin.".
Kaoru's deep voice resonated in the silence of the tension, "For most, blood is a bond in physical form, emotional connection is what they seek most. Brotherhood can be created, by finding like minded people. But, to Yuijro Hanma, the bond in blood is stronger than any emotion a human possessed. If you do not share his blood, you are no one to him. You will be nothing but fools, slandering his family name.". Yulia and Mariya grit their teeth at his remark, "So, you are saying that if we do not have any physical evidence ... Yujiro will never recognise us?...". Kaoru nods, "It's like I said, not only will he not recognise you, he will make sure you seize to exist."
Everyone fell silent the tension lingering in the air but cut by the words of Kaoru. He taps his cigarette in the tray and drags on it again, he signs put the smoke and closes his eyes, "The tournament starts in 7 days, for the time being, you can stay at my residence. I have enough space to accommodate you and your sister.". Mariya's eyes were still narrowed but Kaoru could see something mellowing out in her posture. She drags on her cigarette, who was almost burned out, "What's the catch?", she says puffs out the smoke and dipping the cigarette butt in the tray.
Kaoru smirks again, "There is no catch, this is merely my repayment of you catching that thief.", he dips his own cigarette in the ashtray between them. "It is interesting though, your claim...of being a Hanma. I wonder what Baki will think of this...", He casually dropped the name, but he wanted to see what their reaction is to it. Yulia huffed as she grabbed her glass and dragged it to her, "Baki Hanma, his son.", the tension starting to melt as the subject changes. She continued, "the fight between him and our father was all over the news. Mother was overjoyed when she saw it. She enjoyed it immensely. He's strong, a worthy opponent for Yujiro...that's what she said.". Kaoru listened to her, as he drank, his body shifted away from them as his relaxed pose indicated for the men to stand down. Mariya casts her eyes up on her drink as she grabbed her glass, "That was the night she decided to tell us who our father is. We never knew up until that point.". Her shoulders slumped a little, Koaru kept watching in his peripheral vision. "Although we knew we where different from all the others in town, hell, the whole fucking country, we always thought it was our own strength.". Kaoru was born with the strength he had, he could relate to those thoughts. "But when she told us the truth, or what we believe is the truth, and we saw the absolute power that the Hanma's possesses...we felt like everything was a lie. Our own strength, our own will power, our existence in this world.". Yulia stayed quiet, confirming her sister's words.
Even Kizaki fell silent, the heavy words of the women leaving a strain on his heart. His boss was a good man, with a pure conscious. He could not imagine if Kaoru had to go through any of those uncertainties. Kaoru downed his glass and so did the woman. "May I?", Mariya pointed at the cigarettes and Koaru shoved the package in her direction. She lit another one and leaned her head in her hand. Yulia laid a hand on her sister's arm as she spoke, "All we want, is to meet Yujiro Hanma, see for ourselves who he is, and if mother was telling the truth...so we can lay her to rest in our minds, knowing she wanted us to not be alone.". Kaoru understood her words, his deep voice softer than before, "How did she pass?".
Mariya grinned sadly, "She died fighting her own battle, she was a strong woman till the end. Even when the cancer ate away at her, she would still raise her fists to those who deserved it.", she poured the glasses full again, Hanayama doing the same with his. Mariya huffed a laugh, "She got robbed the day after Yujiro and Baki fought, she gave that shlyukha a beating like she was her mother. Unfortunately, the bitch carried a knife, and stabbed her.". The sad grin turned into a short laughter, "She said on her deathbed, that she took the bitch's tooth out even with her weak-ass hands. She was so proud, she was a good MMA fighter back in those days. After all...there must be a reason for Yujiro to spend at least one night with her, right?". Kaoru decided not to tell her what he knew about the man, and his 'taste' for women. Yulia relaxed her hand and leaned back, "Mom was a hell of a woman, she taught us her most deadly moves and we perfected them. I hope she smiles down on us when we go into that ring. She never made it out of Russia...but we did..."
Kaoru lifts his head and looks at the sealing, almost like he wanted to look into the sky, "We shall drink tonight, to those who fought their hardest battles, and to all the battles that are to come.". Mariya and Yulia could not agree more and raised their glasses just to tip them backwards and drink down the whole thing. They placed the glasses on the counter simultaneously with a bang and an exhalation. "Couldn't have said it any better.", Mariya smiled a toothy grin.
"How do you do that?", Kizaki asked suddenly. Mariya and Yulia asked him "Do what?". Kizaki laughed at them, "This, like you move and sound like one, it's almost like you are twins...", Mariya and Yulia looked at each other confused. "But we are...", they said at the same time. Kizaki laughs harder, "You hear that boss, can you believe it?". Kaoru looked at Kizaki unimpressed, "And you have just figured that out?". Kizaki felt a bit cornered, he laughed awkwardly, "But boss, they don't look like each other.". Yulia smirked, "We are two-egged twins. Hence, why we don't look like each other.". Mariya laughs, "But we share almost everything, appetite, mannerisms, humor, you name it.". Kizaki smirked, "Well, there must have been a hell of a lucky man if you share everything.", Koaru shifted his eyes over at them. Yulia and Mariya laughed at Kizaki's remark, "Well, everyone assumes that, but to be fair, training is time-consuming. We don't have time to date nor do 'other stuff' that is distracting. So that lucky man has to wait till we are sick of fighting...and I don't think that will ever happen.".
Kaoru didn't figure them to be so open about everything like that, their secretive behavior dropped the instant the most pressing matter was discussed. He bet the booze was doing its work too. He knew they had not eaten yet, as he had heard Mariya's stomach growl on the way over. He got what he wanted, but he was intrigued and wanted to know more. "You haven't eaten yet have you?", he stated to them. Mariya's and Yulia's noted their hunger again and smiled a bit ashamed. Yulia answered, "Yeah, the whole culture shock, finding out about our stay and that svoloch' stealing our bag, distracted us. We didn't have anything to eat yet.", she rubbed the back of her head smiling a toothy grin like her sister. Their cheeks started to redden. Kaoru leans back, "You need to eat to keep your strength. Lucky for you, they serve some fine food here. Bartender, please take these women's orders, everything is on me.". The sisters blink, "No, no, no! Here!", Yulia dug around the bag to get the wallet, "we will pay for our own meal. You are too kind mister Hanayama, but we can't just take everything you offer.", Mariya folds her arms and nods, "We don't want you to spend too much money on two complete strangers. You already offered your home to us. I know you might have a lot to spare, but please, let us have this one.". Kaoru's eyes were slightly widened. No woman had disregarded his offerings before. All jumped at the opportunity of being pampered and not having to spend a dime, but they outright refused. They sure are different. He smiled a small smile and accepted their decision, "Fine.".
The bartender brought them the dining card and the two of them ducked into the menu, to decide what to eat.
