Can I Come Over?

Taylor gawked like a closed-mouth tourist while they passed under the gigantic torii, and at the trees while they made their way to the shrine. It occurred to her that she'd spent a lot of time in parks and things, within city limits, but she had never really been around nature. The thought of it, the mystery of all the things out there that she didn't know anything about, was scary. There could only be one way that would go, if she were to go camping or something, and that would be with everyone else laughing at the bad ass pro fighter shrieking and losing her mind over some bug, or... an armadillo or something.

"Do they bite?"

She was glad for the pavement beneath her feet.

She watched Akashi and tried to copy her while she washed her hands, and then followed her into the temple. Of course she wouldn't tell Akashi that it all seemed pretty weird and probably bogus. But then, she didn't know anything about the things she could see and touch and hold in her hands, let alone the things she couldn't. Who was she to tell someone else what was what when she didn't know any better than they did?

She took the little wooden ema and pen and stared blankly at it. A wish? Something to not worry about? Something to let go of?

Where to start?

She looked around at everyone else and the many little wooden planks hanging in the temple, and blushed. She lowered her eyes and tried to be discreet in getting Akashi's attention.

"Um..." She said. "I'm not real good at writing Japanese."

Did the kami or whatever accept English wishes? She'd have to find out.

She closed her eyes while she thought about it. What could she wish for? Winning? Health? Sex? Protection for the people she cared about? For the problem with the youth foundation? For Morrigan? What was most important to her?

She thought about it, and then opened her eyes and wrote, in English, while covering it with her other hand from any prying eyes. She went by herself, and hung it on the wall, and then walked back to Akashi.

Akashi smiled at Taylor as she spoke. Taylor would figure it out. She had written her wish quickly and put it on the wall. She took a moment to pray and then caught up with Taylor. She knew better than to look at Taylor's wish but it made her feel good that she even did it at all.

She put her hand on Taylor's back and gave it a small pat. "Big or small, if you believe your wish, it will find its way tot he kami." She said. "Arigatou, Taylor-chan. Domo, arigatou." She added and then continued to walk. "Once we pass the torii, all things will be left inside the shrine. Then... we can focus on shopping!" Akashi pumped her fist and her eyes lit up.

Once they were out of the shrine, it was a short walk to harajuku! The place was bustling and all the glamourous were on display. Even to a native Japanese, it may have looked like an alien world. Akashi had been here many, many times though, the faces were familiar enough. She turned to Taylor. "So, what first!? Clothes, trinkets? Games!? Clothes!" Akashi was excited. She was eager to get her shop on!"

Taylor was quiet while she and Akashi walked out the way they had come. She looked at the trees, and had an almost overwhelming desire to climb one. She had never climbed a tree before. It seemed weird that she hadn't, but she wanted to just grab on and feel the coarse bark against her fingers. She wanted to climb higher, to feel each limb sag slightly under her weight, moreso the farther from the trunk she went, until the world below was obscured by leaves and she had a clearer view of the sky than the sidewalks and crowds.

She wore a content smile all the way to Harajuku, before she was engulfed by the crazy energy of the place. "Clothes!" She grinned. She was so tired of wearing her own clothes, and having to look at the shirts she had designed and think "that's not that great". Something new, something fresh and flashy and punk, something to make her feel more like herself.

She followed Akashi until a rack of subculture-y, handmade skirts. She picked up one, a mostly black miniskirt, puffy, so that it stood out from the body, with black around the waste and black lace at the hem, a tight black and white checker pattern with black chiffon over it. It would look pretty awesome with tall boots, especially the black, knee-high, lace-up boots she had at home.

"Ooh," she marveled. She had simple, and specific tastes.

Akashi casually walked along the markets while Taylor buzzed over to a rack. She smiled as she pulled up the skirt. "Great!" She said. "Oh, Taylor-chan." She said in flighty voice. "You're so lucky. I love the way I dress but even if I didn't, the only place I could shop if the fat girl's store. I couldn't just grab a skirt off the rack and be set. Plus, I could never wear something that short!" She said, despite wrestling in what was essentially large underwear and often times nothing else.

Akashi tugging on her kimono, catching a few stares at her ample chest. "Hey, Taylor-chan." She said. "I know it probably doesn't happen now that you live in Hamamatsu but do you ever get stopped in Tokyo? You know? We're celebrities, after all. Don't you ever get stopped? You're really easy to pick out too, since you're a gaijin and all." She teased. "Well, unless you just look like all of the gaijin! Isn't that what they say about us? I don't think we all look the same." She said, tapping her finger against her lips.

"Ok, Taylor-chan." She said, moving along. "I'm giving you free reign over my body." She grinned widely and her green eyes sparkled. "You get to dress me up however you want. How could you like your nee-chan to look?" She said, stifling a laugh.

"Fat bitchessssss..." Taylor idly danced in place, bobbing to a rhythm in her head while she flipped through hangers. "Oh, you couldn't wear something this short because it wouldn't cover the first half of your ass."

She held the hanger of the skirt she'd found in her teeth while she picked up another, equally short with a single pleat in the back and some flowery bits on the front. "Mm?" She glanced up at Akashi, and shrugged, and spat out the hanger. "Not really. Well... sometimes. I don't know how many people really recognize me out of my gear. They probably think I'm Taylor Swift or something. Sometimes I get some attention, but not as much as you might think with me being on TV and stuff so much. I think I got more attention when I was retired, but that's when I did the interviews and the magazine stuff... Why do you ask?"

She was up to two miniskirts when she found a shelf with weird printed tights and patterned fishnets. "Oooh..." She stretched out a pair of tights and felt the material, and then grinned at Akashi. "Man, if I can find anything big enough for your biblical ass, I'll make you look awesome! Hold my stuff." She shoved her few things into Akashi's hands and skipped off like a carefree schoolgirl to find Akashi some plus-sized punk rock regalia.

Aurora pushed the clothes and hangars to the end of the rack. None in her size. This just wasn't her day. She was still bitter about Talia and now she was somehow not enjoying shopping. She casually sipped her cup of starbucks as she browsed mindlessly through clothes. Nothing seemed particular cute or appropriate for her. That was when she heard that familiar voice. That piercing, annoying, familiar voice. She looked up across the room and saw the back of Taylor's head behind a clothesrack. At first she considered just ignoring the blonde. But part of her just couldn't.

She casually looped around to come up to Taylor from the side as she browsed through some predictably styled clothing. Well, except for the giant sizes. "I wasn't going to say anything but yea you do look like you've put on a few pounds."

Taylor looked up at the blonde with a broad grin. "I know, right?" She held up a potential Akashi skirt against her body, and it dwarfed her hips. "Can you believe I'm a size seventeen?" She stuck out her tongue and pulled up the hem of her black Johnny Higurashi tank top to show off her tight, defined abs.

She didn't think too hard about who this girl was. She assumed she was a fan, or a not-a-fan. It wasn't all that uncommon, but it was a little funny since she had just been talking about this sort of thing with Akashi.

"I actually have put on a few pounds in the last year or so, thanks to my boy-toy, but it's all right where it needs to be." She resisted the urge to flex. Her arms and shoulders had not just definition, but noticeable muscle that she thought was sexy as hell. Johnny tended to agree. "So what's up, man? You just hanging out? Shopping for some crazy shit?"

"Faaaat bitches!" Akash said back, raising her fist proudly in the air as Taylor skipped off. Would she look ok in what Taylor was wearing? She wouldn't be sure but she was eager to see what Taylor might have in mind for her.

Akashi moseyed through some of the racks and flipped through them looking at the clothes. They all looked neat but she doubted they really had the ... classical elegance of what she usually wore. As she started to make her way back to Taylor, she heard her talking to someone. She perked up with a smile until she saw who she was. The girl looked quite familiar and she felt likeshe should know her... for reasons that weren't the best.

"Oh!" She chirped. "Ohhhh...." She growled. She stepped forward and put her hand on Taylor's shoulders. "Aurora-san.' She said dryly. She didn't like the girl but she only knew the girl as someone who had disgraced and humiliated Cassie and helped to drive a wedge between her and Mamouru. She just tried to ignore her. "Oooh, what's that, Taylor-san!?' She said looking at the giant skirt.

Aurora bit her tongue. She couldn't tell if Taylor's ignorance was deliberate or not. Either way, it pissed her off. Although maybe most of the anger was due to the fact that she didn't rile Taylor first with her comment. Frankly, she thought it was a good insult. "Yea, just chilling." Aurora crossed her arms. "How's the training? Ready for Summer Splash?" she continued feigning interest. If she could make it go long enough, maybe Taylor would either realize who she was, or better yet get frustrated with the apparent mindgames.

Unfortunately for Aurora, she didn't truly know who she was messing with.

"It's great, man," Taylor said while looking through more clothes. "The hard work is already done, now I just need to get my head straight and worry more about putting everything together. You definitely shouldn't be killing yourself right before a match, over-training is as bad as..."

She stopped when Akashi's hands settled on her shoulders, and she held up the big, slightly goth skirt for the sumo to see. "It's in the maybe pile. Wait..." She shook her head. "What?"

She turned to look at Akashi, and then at the blonde next to her, and suddenly it all clicked. Aurora Wilson. Talia's sister. Mamouru brought her to Junko's house to train, but Taylor was there first, and they ended up working out and training together a little. Aurora fought Cassie, and only won thanks to Mamouru's uncanny ability to damage Cassie. Taylor had words with her briefly after that match, while she was on the hunt for Mamouru. And...

It was her at the obscacle course! She's the one who ruined everything for Taylor!

The shock of the realization rebooted her brain, and after a moment of befuddled head-shaking, she took a step back and turned her body to face Aurora. How did she not recognize her before? "You!" She exclaimed, and then calmed herself down. "I thought you were a fan, dude. Well, maybe you are, who knows. It's okay. All the cool kids are." She said casually, and tried to go back to browsing while keeping a sharp eye on the middle Wilson sibling.