"So when does the match start?" asked Miss Planner, taking a long drag from her cigarette. It had been a long day and fatigue was starting to creep into her voice, but she was determined to enjoy her night out regardless.

"About ten minutes, I think," replied the Knife Maniac, taking a big bite out of her hot dog and chewing thoughtfully. The tall, silver-haired woman in a leather jacket looked around, squinting into the darkness. "Doesn't look like a great turnout tonight. We should be able to get seats wherever we want, if we hurry."

"Oh, come on. Do we really need to go straight in?" protested Miss Planner. Her cigarette bounced around in her mouth with every word, scattering ash onto the pavement. "We had a long day. Why don't we just take it easy for a change?"

"The fights end pretty fast sometimes. I'm kind of hoping we can catch a good one tonight."

The Knife Maniac turned away with a sigh, shaking her arms and rolling her neck, stretching and relaxing her muscles. The combat knife strapped to her thigh made a faint noise as she moved, drawing Miss Planner's eye downward to its gleaming length as it swung back and forth in its holster.

"What type of fight is it going to be tonight?" inquired Miss Planner, shamelessly lighting another smoke.

"This is the weekly show," said the Knife Maniac casually, finishing off her food. "So, it's going to be ten bouts. All with a different set of rules."

"Really? Ten in one night?" wondered Miss Planner aloud. "Hmm. That seems a little... excessive, somehow."

"Don't worry. They go fast. And we don't have to stay for the whole thing, if you don't want to. But the later rounds are worth sticking around for," said the Knife Maniac, nodding to herself. "We don't allow weapons until the very end, generally. The fighters tend to lose their nerve when they see blood on the mat. But, yeah. Ten in one night. It's the way we've always done it."

"Sounds interesting, I suppose," said Miss Planner, not sounding entirely convinced. She shook her head and exhaled a big cloud of smoke out into the chilly evening air, her eyes closed in thought.

"What are you're smoking? It smells kind of good..." asked the Knife Maniac, glancing over her shoulder to the glowing orange tip of Miss Planner's black cigarette.

"Oh, this? It's Nuke Black! We haven't released it for general retail distribution yet. It's super-premium Nuke. The same as Rampage, more or less. Except it tastes good now. Do you want to try it?"

The Knife Maniac laughed and wordlessly took the lit cigarette from her little friend's delicate fingers, sniffing it cautiously. It had quite the enticing smell. She took a few short puffs before allowing herself a longer, deeper draw.

"Hmmm, this isn't so bad. It's like a menthol blend, huh? It's a little minty," murmured the Knife Maniac, her voice a bit huskier than before. "Never thought Nuke could taste like this. I like it."

Miss Planner grinned in agreement. Nuke Black wasn't an especially imaginative product, but from the perspective of a daily smoker and saleswoman, she was quite sure that it was an objectively excellent cigarette. And the fact that she was getting it for free somehow made it taste even better.

The two women sat smoking in the darkness of night for several moments, listening to the sound of each other's breathing. The click and hiss of the lighter, the quiet sizzling of the flame, a soft, pleasurable sigh from Miss Planner... distant shouting from the building behind them. They'd missed the beginning of the show by the sound of things. A little annoyed, the Knife Maniac pushed herself to her feet.

"Hey, we should probably get going," remarked the Knife Maniac, adjusting her jacket and briefly flashing her teeth. "We came all this way, right?"

"Oh! Yes, yes, definitely. Let's go."

Miss Planner extinguished her cigarette in the dirt of the road. A light, refreshing feeling of freedom rushed through her limbs as she let out a little groan and got to her feet in a hurry. The Knife Maniac couldn't help but smile to herself as she watched the little manager bounce on the balls of her heels with eager, energetic steps.

"We can skip the line. I've got an ID card for the back door," said the Knife Maniac, gesturing for Miss Planner to take her hand. She led her along with a firm, steady grip, not wanting to let go for anything.

Judging by how Miss Planner always looked away whenever things got interesting on the Razor's Edge, the Knife Maniac was certain the little blonde lady wouldn't like what they were about to see. But that was perfectly fine with her. Actually, she hoped the fighting would get really violent and nasty. The way little Miss Planner acted while they were watching the Pit Razors’ show, hiding her face in the pillows, clinging to the Knife Maniac in the throes of terror, trembling against her chest and moaning pitifully... it was all rather... oh... cute. It was going to be a real pleasure watching her squirm.