Blame It On The Rain (For Acuya)

The sound of feet pounding against pavement heralded Chris Morgan as she jogged along. Running in a park in Tokyo late at night was generally how the Californian ended one of her training days. Unlike most people who ran though, Chris didn't run with headphones on. Instead, she used the opportunity to let her mind cycle through things while her body worked. For now, the mind seemed to insist on dwelling on the past, reliving her days in the Wrestle Angels. Images rushed by as she ran. Throwing a clothesline at Bomber Kishima. Chokeslamming Mighty Yukiko. The disdainful look on Panther Risako's face as she delivered a knockout kick. The excruciating pain of being trapped in an STF by Toshimi Minami.

A pair of lithe arms wrapped around her as she woke up one morning, warm breath gusting into her neck where she was still sleeping.
Mentally, Chris stopped her mind from going down that road, although not soon enough for her to not feel a slight pang of pain.
*That's done. She's gone, and she hates me. That's one memory that needs to sleep.*  

A creature of habit, Chris was usually at this very park, at this very time every week day. However, storm clouds had gathered, and the rumble of thunder shook the American out of her reverie.
Stopping for a moment, the blonde rested her hands on her hips and looked up at the sky. Clad in a black pair of spandex running shorts and matching sports bra, Chris contemplated between trying to finish the jog or head home early.....

Even before Valley seriously considered becoming a wrestler, even before she thought about grabbing pom-poms and doing flips in front of a high school audience, she was always athletic. Specifically, she liked to run.

Her legs were strong, and running made them better. She was always the fastest in class, taking quick, powerful strides around the school track, finishing around the top in every PE class. Genetics? Probably had something to do with it. Wrestling didn't run in the family farther than a generation, but most of the people on her mother's side were in good shape, involved in certain sports, working with their bodies.

But Valley liked to think it was more than that. To her, running wasn't just about getting her body right, but putting her mind in a stable position. While she hit her stride, she could get locked in the rhythm of her steps and just tune the rest of the world out with the steady beat. It helped make sense of her life when things got chaotic. Go to the track, get out in nature, run around until your feet get numb or you figure out the problems. Whichever came first.

As Valley ran through the park on this darkening day,  dressed up in her pink training bra and her matching shorts, her hair tied up in a flopping ponytail behind her, she tried to recapture some of that old magic. It wasn't working.

No matter how much she ran, she couldn't get Haley out of her head. She had won. She was the new Entropy Champion, after an incredible match. Months and months of progress, and she'd finally reached her dreams. She deserved it. She'd earned all the accolades.

So why couldn't Valley just be happy for her and leave it at that? It wasn't jealousy, she didn't want the Entropy Title. Not that they would let her even get near it with the losing streak she was on. Anger? At what? She couldn't come up with a single answer that didn't just lead to more questions. Ace being Entropy Champion bothered her. And, what was more, it bothered her that it bothered her. She knew shouldn't care, she didn't want to, but damn it, she did.

Valley had been so wrapped up in thought that she hadn't been paying much attention to the path, but that changed when she turned a corner and saw a familiar form in front of her - she'd recognize that long, blonde hair and those broad shoulders anywhere. Stroke of luck, just the person she needed right now.

"Hey, Chris!" She made her way over to the statuesque blonde and kept jogging in place, maintaining her heart rate.

Chris was so deep in thought, she didn't notice Valley until the woman called out to her.
"Val!" she exclaimed, a little relieved to be distracted from the ghosts of the past.

It looked like her fellow Californian was out doing the same thing she was, judging by the way she was dressed. The former cheerleader could make a burlap sack look good, much less spandex and shorts. Not to mention Val could probably outrun her easily.

"Hey, if you're out for a run, wanna jog together? Just don't try and sprint. You'll leave me in the dust." she said with a wry grin.

She looked up at the sky again as she resumed jogging, keeping a steady pace.
"Looks like it might rain though..." she told Valley.

Valley had made enemies since she came to the AFW - more than she ever could have cared for - but she'd made friends, too. She was proud to call Chris Morgan one of them. She wasn't sure how Chris felt about spiritual things, but she took it as a little sign. Just what she needed, right when she needed it.

"I won't go too fast, don't worry." She kept up a steady pace and stayed alongside Chris, taking care not to lose her. It wasn't that hard, really, especially since one of them was taking far longer strides than the other. She was willing to bet the gentle giantess could cover distance pretty quickly if she needed to, and she hadn't seemed all that slow in the ring, either.

Valley cast a weary eye up to the sky as the clouds started to roll in, but didn't pay them too much mind. A little drizzle might be feel good. "Afraid of getting that hair wet?" She gave Chris a soft kick in the shin, teasing her a bit as she took a few steps ahead.

Chris cast a look over in Val's direction as they jogged along. She had watched Silver Ace's match against Lady Lakota, which had ended in the Canadian's favor, and with the Entropy title going around her waist.

And Valley had been ringside for the whole thing. Worse even was the way the new champion had held up the title and had given Val that smug grin. She wanted to ask how her friend was holding up, but Valley seemed to be in a good mood, and Chris didn't want to spoil it. *Perhaps she also needs a distraction from what's in her head* the taller woman reasoned.

"Hey, you're the one with the pretty princess hair issues!" Chris exclaimed at the blonde's comment. Then she let out a surprisingly girlish shout at Val's teasing kick.
"Oh you're gonna get it now!" She growled playfully before chasing off after the tanned Californian.

'Pretty princess hair issues'? She did give her hair quite a bit of attention. Most people thought she dyed it, but it was really natural. She keep it clean and pristine, made sure it stayed loose, put some actually care and effort into maintaining the look. Which probably was a big part of the reason she got yanked around by it so much, but that was the price to be paid.

Valley sped up and kept a few steps ahead of Chris waving behind as she went, never going too far. Yes, it was silly. Schmultzy. Saccharine. But this was the sort of distraction she needed. A little fun.

And then it started raining.

"Oh, that's great." She came to a slow stop as the drops pelted against against her face.

In hot pursuit of Valley, Chris grinned as she gave chase. She was usually so grim, so serious. Life demanded it, both as an accountant and as a wrestler. But it felt good to simply have fun, to let things get a little silly.

However, when the rain began to come down, it cut short their chase. Chris came to a stop at Valley's side. Although the rain was a light shower, the wind was picking up speed, and the next time she heard thunder, it was a lot louder than the low rumble she had heard earlier.
"It's going to storm soon." she said to her fellow Californian. "We need to find cover before we get really drenched!"

Looking about, Chris began to look for a place to take shelter from the rain. Her eyes settled on a small building, an event center of some kind. It would probably be locked, but she figured they could find shelter in the covered walkway leading up to the building's door.
"There!" she pointed it out. "I think we can find some cover in the walkway of that building!"

Growing up in California, close to the coast, Valley was no stranger to a little rain and Chris was probably the same. She'd even enjoy a little jog during a drizzle, a refreshing way to get some exercise. But this was a little much. The storm seemed to roll up out of nowhere, drawing up fast from the horizon. 

Valley did a mad dash for the walkway and leaned against the locked door, taking a moment to gather her breath. She let it go in short breathes, easing down to normal. "Sorry to drag you into that." She shook her head and knocked a few droplets out of it. "That was fun, though. Good to see your business smarts never took away from your sense of humor."

She stood up straight and pulled a few hairs from her head, looking Chris' way. "We've got a little time, though. How are you doing?"

Life growing up on the coast came with its run ins with sudden squalls and storms. Since coming to Japan though, Chris had gotten used to the almost schedule-like way the weather seemed to run.

A few steps behind Valley, Chris made it under cover just as the sky seemed to open up and start pouring rain. Giving a toss of her wet hair to get it out of her face, she gave a laugh.
"Don't worry about it." She said with a wave of her hand at Valley's apology. "Every once in awhile it's good to chase smaller people around the park in the rain like a crazy person."

She grinned as she teased her fellow blonde.
"I've been good. Really though my life has been nonstop training, sparring and workouts." Chris replied. "So very tiring. But good!"
Absently, she pulled on the door of the building. To her surprise, the door swung open. She looked over at Valley, her eyes wide in surprise.

Valley patted her pockets to make sure her keys hadn't fallen out as Chris joined her, the two of them keeping dry while the rain started to come down even hard. The smell of water mixing with the oil in the street filled the air, and a crisp breeze swept by. Everything had an unmistakable stillness to it, save for the sound of the rain crashing through the trees around them and a few horns honking in the distance. That's why she liked this park in particular. So removed from the rest of Japan. Her on little slice of serenity.

She let herself get caught up in the moment, so much so that she didn't notice the opened door until she felt the rush of air blast her side. Valley looked over with a smaller version of the look on Chris' face - what was this place, exactly? She hadn't been paying much attention when they came over, but it couldn't have been too important of a place if they just left it unlocked and unattended like this. Whoever 'they' was.

She looked between Chris and the door a couple of times, before shrugging off the worries. "Want to go in?" Valley canted her head to the side as the hint of a smirk formed. "You look like you want to go in."