She just couldn't believe her remarkable luck. After returning to her singles winning streak against Tegan Starr last Friday night, Mari Saito was now headed to her homeland to participate in one of the biggest matches of her career. Civil War would be broadcasting live from Tokyo, Japan, and while the card was full of blockbuster matches, the one that had everyone talking was the intergender Hell in a Cell match, proposed by Phoenix Winterborn and accepted by Deacon Havok. Each man would team with his significant other (Mari with Phoenix, and Trish Stratus-Copes with Deacon) and the four would clash inside the demonic steel structure.

That was the only issue marring her otherwise cheery demeanour.

She had seen enough cage matches to know that they weren't exactly the kind of matches she was used to fighting. In the cage, it was anything goes. And while she was fairly sure that there was no reason that Trish and Deacon would be out for blood, she was still nervous about going into the match. Phoenix had been reassuring her from the start, and she tried her best to put on a brave face, but inside her stomach was doing backflips.

She sat in the hotel room, staring out the window at the city lights of the Shinjuku area of Tokyo. It was 9:30 p.m., and while she knew she should be sleeping after their brutally long flight, she was far too excited to be in her home country to even consider sleeping. Phoenix had gone out some time ago to pick up some things, leaving Mari alone to sleep - at least, that's what he thought she was doing. But instead, she was curled up on the couch next to the floor-to-ceiling window, her head resting on her arms draped over the back of the couch, watching the lively city pass by. It was a Friday night, so the youth of the city were getting ready to hit the hippest clubs and trendiest bars, dressed as only the Japanese kids could dress. Some of them, she noticed, had a similar style to her own - a sort of "urban hip-hop meets couture fashion". She grinned as she spotted someone wearing a verison of a fedora hat that she had, and another wearing a replica tank top that was tucked away in her suitcase. Others were dressed in the ever-popular "Visual Kei" style, modeled after J-Rock bands like Malice Mizer and Dir en grey. No two people were dressed the same, which was what made people-watching so fun for Mari in Japan. She was a fashion fanatic, and was always looking out for new inspirations.

She was having so much fun thinking up new outfits to try on that she didn't hear Phoenix come into the hotel room. He snuck up behind her and put his cold hands on her bare shoulders that weren't covered by the spaghetti-strap tank top she wore with her black silk pyjama pants. She squealed in surprise and spun around quickly, almost throwing herself off the couch. Luckily, Phoenix grabbed her just in time, and set her back down on the cushion while he laughed. Mari narrowed her dark brown eyes at him and stuck out her tongue childishly.

"Sorry, couldn't resist," he said, slipping off his hoodie and taking the seat behind Mari. She leaned back into his chest as he wrapped his now-warm arms around her.

"You looked pretty deep in thought, kiddo. What's on your mind?" he asked, toying with a lock of her long chocolate-brown hair.

"Nothing in particular," she replied, her gaze straying back to the window. "Just how happy I am to be back home, with you." She turned her head to smile up at him, and he smiled back before planting a kiss on her forehead.

"I thought you'd be asleep by now," he said. "That flight was killer!"

She giggled. "Well, yeah...but I'm in my home country again! I just get too excited any time I get a chance to come home, even if it's only for a little while."

Phoenix smiled. "Well, what do you want to do, then? I can't imagine you want to hang around the room when you're all excited like this."

She scrunched up her nose as she thought. "Well, I wouldn't mind getting out, even just for a little while. There are some new places I'd love to check out."

"Well, then get yourself all fancied up," he said, kissing her forehead again before standing her up and lightly pushing her towards the bedroom. She smiled back at him before rushing into the room and closing the door behind her.

Only ten minutes later, she emerged fully dressed. She was wearing a pair of snug-fitting dark jeans with patches and designs stitched all over them, a bright red tank top with a white and red hoodie overtop and her white and red K-Swiss sneakers. She kept her jewelry to a minimum, choosing only a few layered silver neclaces. Her makeup was simple, yet enhanced her exotic looks and she left her hair down. Phoenix nodded approvingly, a smile breaking out over his face.

"Very nice," he said, and she blushed slightly. It was just something she threw together, but he had always told her that no matter how she dressed, he still thought she was beautiful.

But she felt that something was still missing from the outfit. After glancing around the room, she spotted it lying on top of her jacket. She grabbed the finishing touch - a graffiti-printed red and white baseball hat - and fitted it on her head, tilting it slightly to the right.

"There, now it's perfect," she declared, checking her reflection in the mirror.

Phoenix laughed. "Alright, then. Shall we?" He held out his arm in a gentlemanly way, and she laughed as she took it. They headed out the door and towards the elevator, ready to enjoy their night out.

-----

Approximately an hour later, they were situated inside of one of the hot new clubs in the area. The music was a mix of Western artists like Britney, Beyonce, Christina and the like, as well as the newest J-Pop and J-Hip Hop tracks from Japan's hottest artists. When Mari and Phoenix had arrived, the owner recognized them immediately and had ushered them up to the VIP section of the club, where a large group of celebrities was already partying. Most were Japanese, but there were a few American and European stars mingling as well. Some of them greeted Mari warmly, and when she introduced Phoenix to them, they welcomed him as well. Seeing as Mari was a popular star in Japan, Phoenix was enjoying a new level of celebrity in the country just by being with her. Not that it mattered to either one of them, though. They were truly in love, and nothing was going to change that.

Mari was seated with a group of girls she had known from her modeling days, giggling and chatting away while sipping on drinks, while Phoenix had managed to get involved in a conversation with a Japanese male hip-hop group, looking to practice their English. He was patient with them, but every now and again he would sneak glances at Mari and cross his eyes, making her giggle slightly. She was trying to teach him some Japanese, and while he was quick to pick up on it, he still had a ways to go.

Eventually, the girls turned the conversation to Mari's wrestling career. "I still can't believe you're a wrestler now!" one girl, Junko, said incredulously. "It looks like it's so hard!"

Mari took a sip of her drink. "Well, it can be at times. But the feeling I get when I go out in front of the crowd, the adrenaline rush when I walk down the ramp into the ring...it's worth every second."

"Well, you're a lot tougher than me, that's for sure!" another girl named Satsu laughed, and the group all joined in.

"It's not really a matter of being tough," Mari said thoughtfully. "It's more about being smart. Anticipating your opponent's moves is a big part of it."

"I bet it's all different in a cage match, isn't it?" Ayako commented.

Mari turned her gaze towards the floor. "Well, yeah. It's a lot different. There's no rules in a cage. You do what you have to do to survive. And that's the part I'm worried about."

The three girls traded glances for a moment. "Mari Saito, worried?" Junko said, raising one eyebrow in a look of surprise.

"There has never been a time when you've been worried about anything!" Ayako chimed in. "When we were just kids, starting out in modeling, you were always the upbeat one. You had enough confidence for the four of us!"

"And then some!" Satsu laughed. "How is this different? We've seen what you can do in the ring, and how well you've become over the last year you've been in wrestling. You have a real talent for this stuff, and it shows."

"And with your man Phoenix backing you up, there's no way you two are going to lose on Sunday!" Ayako said. "The two of you have absolutely nothing to be worried about, trust us."

Mari looked around at each girl's face with a sense of pride. The modeling business was notoriously catty, but Mari was grateful to have such amazing friends. She smiled at them all. "Arigato gozaimasu." Lifting her drink in the air, she yelled out, "To Sunday night!"

The girls all clinked glasses and laughed as the scene faded out.