Hi-gu Do-jo!

As Alaina was walked to the gym by Junko, she knew there was a giant pink elephant in the room. She figured it was best to address it now. Hoever, Alaina wanted to make sure she was very careful with her words.

"Sensei, I know what happened between Mamouru and I was...." Alaina had to resist the urge to speak her mind, calling Mamouru a back stabbing, womanizing pile of shit. "..unfortunate. I just want you to know that I still want to be here, and that nothing changed between us. I will make you guys proud." Alaina put on as big a smile as she could as they entered the gym, where the training would begin.

Junko stopped and clutched Alaina's shoulders to make her stop as well. She lowered her gaze. "Alaina-chan." Junko said softly. "I know that my son can't appreciate the love of a good woman. If you want to speak about it, you can speak plainly. I don't like the lifestyle he's chosen either and I apologize as a mother. I always feel as though I could do more."

Junko sighed. "Don't hold it in though, Alaina-chan." She spoke. "And.. don't let his actions make you think that you aren't a good woman. You'll do me proud, I'm sure. If things become strange though, I won't blame you for any choice."

Junko then grinned. She pulled one hand back and gave Alaina a hard slap on her firm tush. "Now get int he gym! Taylor's eager to rip one of you newbies to shreds and you get to be the first victim, fufu!"

Alaina quickly turned to give Junko a quick hug after receiving a pat on her backside. "Thanks, it feels great to hear that." She said candidly before running into the gym at full speed, mentally preparing herself for whatever lie in store.

Hell, she half expected Taylor to try tomroundhouse kick her as soon as she saw her to teach her to expect anything...

Taylor's eyes were closed as she bounced and flitted about the ring in long, easy steps. She didn't need her eyes; she had the whole ring in her head. She drew long, controlled breaths and floated over the canvas, letting her feet work as she moved around imaginary opponents.

She she heard Alaina come in, she opened her eyes and planted her hands on her hips. "Hey," she grinned down at the recruit. She beckoned for her to join her in the ring. "C'mon."

Alaina climbed into the ring and approached Taylor with a smile on her face. "All right whats on tap for today?" Alaina cheerfully asked, eager to be able to focus on something career oriented once more. She was amazed at Taylor running arpund the way she did with her eyes closed. But not overly surprised.

Sure she would probably drop dead from exhaustion or get thrown around or put in every hold in the book but that was fine. She knew she had a lot to learn....

Taylor strode up to Alaina and stood immediately in front of her, hands on her hips and shoulders back. She wasn't much shorter, but she was built much differently, and was significantly smaller than The Amazon, something that almost boosted her own confidence. For the brash, plucky punk, standing there tall and proud in front of Alaina... seemed almost like a dare. She wore a great big grin while she stared up at her.

"Sorry about Mamouru," she said, still not quite standing still even when squaring off with Alaina. She wasn't going to say I told you so, but she so did. "Training is gonna help you deal with all that, but there's something way worse we have to talk about. Way worse." She took a tiny step closer and lowered her voice. "Do you know what it is?"

Alaina found Taylors presence to be oddly comforting, for whatever reason. Familiarity maybe? Intensity? Most people were intimidated by that sort of thing but Alaina embraced it. She didn't want to be better.... she needed to be better.

Alaina took a minute to think before responding to Taylor. Her mind raced but her gut is what pointed her to what she believed to be the most likely answer.... "Me choking away matches I should have won."

Taylor nodded slowly, her deep blue eyes unflinchingly locked on Alaina.

"They're starting to add up, aren't they? Here's the problem... You're fighting like you're hot shit, and you're not paying attention. If there's anyone here that isn't hot right now, it's you.

"So you're here because you wanna win. If you want to stay here, you're gonna cut the shit, and pay the fuck attention," she reached up and whapped Alaina on the forehead with her finger. "We're going to get you a rematch with Silver Ace, and you're going to win it. You're not gonna act like some dumb ass model. You're gonna stay focused and handle your business like a professional. In the meantime, we're going to push you in the gym until you could beat her in your sleep."

She paused, and bounced some more on the balls of her feet. "And if you ever lose another match, ever, by trying to show off for the crowd, I'll kill you. I don't care if it's fifty years from now, I'll beat you to death with my walker."

The words Taylor spoke were like daggers piercing her heart but Alaina knew that everything Taylor said was true. She kept her mouth shut, maintained eye contact and nodded as Taylor finished what she had to say.

"All right, lets get to it then." Alaina said as she curiously wondered about what exactly she was going to do.... she also noticed Avery's absence. She may have already gotten a pep-talk about her big match, or this part of training may be something extra Alaina had to do while Avery was exempt. As much as she wanted to ask, she felt it better to stay quiet.

This was now all business all the time. She hadn't really earned the right to talk just yet.

"That's the spirit."

Taylor took a step back and checked Alaina out. She really did have an outstanding body... Voluptuous and bikini-worthy, but still thick and strong, with enough body fat to smooth over the hard edges but not enough to look sloppy. She would do well in some kind of AFW beach calendar.

Taylor's own body was slender and rock-solid. She would be at her most attractive if she were to put on five pounds or so, just to smooth out the curves a little. She was perfectly comfortable with her body, though, even standing in front of someone like Alaina, with her incomparable bust... Taylor couldn't help but wonder what it was like to carry those around.

"Okay, I'm gonna go talk to Junko real quick. You start running ropes and getting warmed up. One thing I can guarantee is that we're going to fuck you up with cardio. Big girls like you will slow down, and girls like me just love it when that happens. I'm gonna prepare you to deal with people like me."

Taylor slipped away and left Alaina all by herself in the garage gym.