The Deep Breath

Akashi Tanikaze had received three phone calls from Taylor Parker already today, and it wasn't even lunch time.

The first, Taylor calmly chatted her up, and didn't make an effort to bring up the elephant in the room. The second, Taylor was panicked, and sobbing her eyes out while Akashi tried her best to calm her down. The third, Taylor was a mile-a-minute chatterbox, bouncing off the walls while she told Akashi all about how she was going to put on a show and kick Angel's ass.

For the title.

Every time Taylor thought about it, she froze, just for a second. For years, she had stubbornly worked her way up the ranks, through setbacks and injuries and personal disaster. She had kept her head down and done the work, gutting out wins and persevering through tough losses. Somewhere along the line, the idea of achieving her goal became less real to her, and more an ideal, her motivation. Now, she had a shot. A real one.

Her match against Angel was everything she had wanted for her career. It was daunting and exciting and terrifying and she was going to go in there and put on a show people would talk about for years, and walk away with the belt. Complicating matters, as the internet was quick to point out, was that Angel had technically beaten Taylor before in a tag match, with rookie tag partners. Taylor had not taken the match very seriously, but there was no convincing anyone else of that, and it was enough to plant a doubt in her mind.

Luckily, Taylor had a secret weapon when it came to self-doubt.

"Mom?" She said from her place spreadeagled on the living room floor. She listened to the way her voice reverberated in the small room, bouncing around the ceiling and eventually finding it's way to her mother-in-law's ears. "Tell me what you would tell Angel if you were managing her. What does she have to do to win? How would it happen? What am I missing? Is this for real? Am I for real? Am I as good as I think? Is she as good as she thinks? What happens if I lose? What happens if I win?"

She unleashed the entire barrage of questions before finally taking a pause. "Um, could you get me a glass of water?"

Junko had been humming away in the kitchen, dutifully preparing a lunch for herself and Taylor when Taylor arrived. The older woman could hardly sleep when she found out the news. She'd been a ball of nerves but unlike Taylor, it was impossible to tell. She was acting no different than she was any other day.

Finally, Taylor's boundless energy seemed to implode on itself and she was laying int he front room. When she asked her question, there was silence.

After a few moments, Junko walked in with a big glass of water and a small dish. She looked down at Taylor and tilted her head. "Are you sure, Taylor-chan? I don't know if you can handle it, fufufu." Junko smiled and then leaned down. She handed Taylor the water and set the dish with orange slices on Taylor's stomach. "Those are ofr after I'm finished."

Junko then straightened up. She put on a serious face and adjusted her glasses. "Angel-san. Go after her head. Not her skull, her head. No matter what she does to your body, keep trying to get in her head. The tougher she acts, the harder you go at her. Eventually she'll make a mistake and then you capitalize and tear it open like a scab. It probably doesn't even matter HOW you do it. Just do it."

Junko then smiled. "It's too bad for her that she doesn't have me. And you do. I certainly don't think it's an Achilles heel, but if she gets you to think about something, then you're fighting in her match. As long as you're fighting in your match, you're unbeatable." Junko nodded sincerely to her daughter-in-law.

"Now eat your oranges. Lunch will be ready soon."

Taylor remained painted on the floor while Junko stacked fruit on her stomach, and then she was quiet while her eyes thoughtfully hovered over Junko's stately figure. She wrinkled her brow, and finally, after a silence, she spoke.

"I get it," she said. "That's actually really good. Like, that's brilliant. But you're only saying that because you know me so well. She doesn't know shit about me. Talking trash is one thing, but... I get what you're saying. So you mean that like, I have to make sure I stay relaxed and fight the way I do best, no matter what shit she tries. I don't like her, man, I don't think she's like... she's not what-you-see-is-what-you-get. I think she's kind of a schemer, but I dunno."

She lifted the water cup, but found it impossible to drink while wet-noodling on the tatatmi. She propped up on one elbow and took a long drink, followed by an orange slice. "That's really interesting. I wouldn't have even thought about it like that." She paused to swallow the orange. "So, what would you tell me?"

Junko pursed her lips and thought about it. She hadn't studied Angel's matches as much as she probably SHOULD have, but she wasn't lacking in knowledge of the champion.

"I think.... That physically speaking, you should try and avoid her legs, but that's pretty obvious. Wear her body down, hit her in the head but don't get into a ground match with her unless you have a clear shot at a cross face or some kind f upper body submission."

Junko paused to group her thoughts again so she could finish her analysis.

"However, what I think you CAN do is use HER cockiness against her as well. I can't say whether she's a nice girl or not, but she certainly is pleased with her abilities. She's confident like you, but also cocky. More than even YOU are, if that's possible, fufu." Junko flashed Taylor a teasing grin. "If you play the wounded sparrow, then I think you can get her to chase you into a nasty trap or two. Force her to attack you the way YOU want her to attack you and not the way SHE wants to attack you."

Taylor nodded slowly while she absently chowed down several more orange slices. Lunch seemed to come later and later in the day, despite being at the same time. Her stomach rumbled greedily.

"Well... sure, yeah. I guess." She said hesitantly. "I mean, I hear she's got thunder thighs and all that, I get that. But like, fuck her, I've got legs too. She's not bigger than me. She looks like a pinup girl, and I'm fucking shredded. Maybe I'll leave the single-leg crab out of this one, but if I really get a shot with it I'm still taking it. I'll probably be a little more hit-and-run with her than I was with Adrian... Angel seems like she'd be harder to bully. But I'm not scared of any part of her body."

She sat up, drank the rest of the water, and finished her orange. "She's definitely cocky, though. You think I could play possum with her? If I need to? I guess that's something to think about. But I'm really more concerned with just going in there and fucking trashing her, man. Maybe she can deal with just speed, but I don't see her being able to handle the kind of power I put behind it. My intensity, ya know? I think she's gonna start to fold up pretty quick, and I'll knock her the fuck out. Won't even have to pin her. That's how I see it going."

She stood up and trotted into the kitchen. She could hardly stand still. She'd been bouncing around the house for days, and while she watched Junko handle lunch she sprung up and down on the balls of her feet.

Junko sat on the couch when Taylor stood up. She looked at the carpet as Taylor spoke and then tilted her head in thought. "There's a difference between being scared and being cautious. You don't have to be afraid of a bear to understand that it's still a bear. That's all I'm saying, Taylor-chan. I also think that if you think you can end the match quickly, you may be setting yourself up. The last thing you want to do is to get in your OWN head. If there's one thing that Angel is, it's durable. She's lasted against some of the toughest competitors."

Junko paused for a brief moment. She loved Taylor's intensity and it was obvious she could go the distance after watching the Adrian match. However, she had some concerns as a purely objective analyzer of talent.

"I know you'll win, Taylor-chan, but I think she'll be able to hang with you. One barrage isn't going to be enough. Two may not be. Don't [i]ever[/] stop but don't assume that she'll be staying down either. Until you hear that three count, always expect her to keep getting back up. I think that's the most important thing I can tell you. She IS the champ for a reason, after all."

Taylor put her hands on her hips and scowled. She jittered restlessly up and down on her heels with the balls of her feet remaining on the floor.

"Well..." She didn't like it. Not one bit. "I can end the fight quickly. Like, I'm going in ready to go all night, but I'm definitely gonna try to knock her the fuck out." She tilted her head to the side, and couldn't help but let a little bit of attitude escape her. "And yeah, she's champ for a reason. Because Gatt skipped town. I mean, damn, if Angel went back to Mexico and I beat Tai Kamiya's little sister and they gave me the belt, I wouldn't even claim to be champ. What the fuck does that belt even mean on her?"

She wagged her finger. "I think you're giving her too much respect. I'm not gonna treat her like a champion. I'm gonna treat her like a bitch, and beat her ass. If she's tough, great, then I'll get to put on more of a show before she stays down. Like, I'm ready to take some shots, too. You know I'm durable. I'm not going in there to quit when it gets rough." She shook her head and scowled off into space for a moment. "I dunno, man, I'll be honest. I hate that Angel lost to everybody and got the title for it. I hate it."

Junko sat and listened. She listened to Taylor but ignored the sass. After Taylor was finished, She looked up at her daughter-in-law. "She might just be the reason that Adrian-chan fought so hard against you." Junko said. "The history between you and Adrian-chan notwithstanding but she had a taste of what it was like to almost be a champion. I'm sure it was a factor in improving and legitimizing herself."

Junko waved her hand. "Anyway, if you're upset about it, don't tell me, tell her." She smiled at Taylor. "I'm a firm believer that a canny wrestler can win a lot of matches with their head."

Junko then stood up and walked over to Taylor. She grabbed her shoulders and firmly held her in place. Then the older woman looked deeply into Taylor's eyes, searching them with her own reddish-brown orbs.

"Are you in the best place you can be, Taylor-chan?" She asked without blinking. Is your head where it needs to be to win? Say the first thing that comes to your mind."

Taylor met Junko's gaze with an intensity she had been bottling up for Angel, and she didn't flinch until she had to answer.

"Yeah! Well, I... she..." She spluttered after the certainty in her initial response gave way. She closed her eyes and and drew a breath, and then gestured to Junko with her fingers. "I'm better than her. I know I am. Where I am right now is in better-than-Angel-land. Yeah, I'm fucking pissed off that she's got a title she does deserve, and I want it, like, really bad. But I'm gonna win, then it'll be mine, and I'll have nothing to be pissed off about."

She waved her hands up, expecting Junko to have something to say about how she was wrong or whatever. "And what's wrong with that? I wanna fuckin' fight, man! I'm ready!"

Junko closed her eyes and turned once Taylor threw up her hands. "I'm not the one wrestling, Taylor-chan. As long as you believe it, then you'll beat her no problem. I just wanted to make sure that you could tell it to someone else. Anyone can say it to themselves."

Junko walked away from Taylor and pushed her finger against her glasses to slide them back up her nose. "Come on now, it's time for lunch. You're still a growing girl, after all, fufu~"