Pride and Cowardice

The glow of the enormous screen on the wall cast shadows that stretched across the room and disappeared into the black. The front row of seats was lit up by the wrestling match paused in front, and beneath it Taylor lay stretched out on the floor in a pair of boxers and a tank top. She had stayed up too late. Morning training was fast approaching, and yet she remained sleepless and alert. She stared at the ceiling and counted the seconds as they ticked away on the clock at the top of the stairs.

She had seen Akashi's match against Rebecca. She'd seen all of it. Everything Rebecca had done before, all the brutality and humiliation Akashi had suffered at her hands, first hand as well as through her family. Taylor felt powerless. She felt worthless. She despaired. She could do nothing to help. If she were to attack Rebecca, she could only imagine her fate would be worst than Akashi's, who was manhandled by the amazon, and who was twice Taylor's size. Her sister was fighting a losing battle, and Taylor was no help.

Even worse, she was scared. Not just for Akashi, but...

She had to talk to someone. She knew exactly who.

"Hey, Adrian," she said softly when the girl answered.

The darkness of Adrian's bedroom was unbroken, the woman herself coiled tightly in her own sheets as she slept the night away. It wasn't particularly late at night, there were still matches going on at the arena, but ever since the former cosplayer had returned to Japan after staying stateside a lot longer than most of the roster, she'd made an effort to get her sleep schedule under control among other things. Early Nights and Early Starts, no going out late for drinks, she wasn't going to be training with a hangover for at least a year, no midnight gaming sessions either. She was on a tear of good behaviour and now was getting some well deserved rest after a day of training. If only her phone wasn't buzzing on the table next to her.

Still half-asleep, she pulled the phone to her ear, not bothering to check who it was. Didn't Rebecca have a match tonight? Maybe it was her or something. "Hello?" the brunette answered. "Taylor..? It's nice to hear from you and all but I'm kinda trying to get some sleep so can you... call me in the morning or something, you know, when I have energy?"

Adrian pulled herself halfway out of the covers, moving the pillows so she was sitting upright in bed. "What's going on?" She asked, did something bad happen or something? She hadn't talked Taylor since the match, so it must have been something important. The two didn't really interact much unless it was something important. Or Adrian wanted something.

Adrian's brow furrowed, was this all she was being called for? Well... maybe a quick chat wouldn't hurt too much. "I'm fine, visa's done, got my motorcycle license, got my scooter, got back and there's nothing really more to it other than trying to find a good spot to do a comeback tour maybe I guess. How's... things?"

"Cool. Things are kind of great, really. Things really started to click for me a while ago, and now I'm like, focused and feeling good and stuff. Did you see me the other night? When I won two matches in a row? That was like, the best day ever, but..."

She paused, and drew a breath. She'd have to get to the point before Adrian fell asleep or hung up on her, so she went for it.

"Adrian, I don't know what to do about Rebecca."

"Hey I won two matches in one night in a row too that one time," Adrian retorted, smiling slightly as she reminisced, before Taylor's next words wiped it straight off. "What do you mean? Has... what's going on?"

Adrian groaned. "No I haven't. I mean we talk a little and I've got Friction DVR'd but... nothing specific. She told me things were going well and that she was really starting to make a go on her own. I mean we're together together, but personal and professional links aren't exactly the same. Even though we work at the same place. I mean I've only been to the arena part of the arena one- never mind, what's wrong?"