Don't Look Down

Taylor's eyebrows knit up and she gave something of an apologetic smile when she saw the scar. It was sort of cool, though. Battle scars and shit.

"That's nothing!" She grinned, and pulled down her hood, revealing her multi-colored mess of a face. "I broke my nose again, and my eye socket. I'm ugly as shit."

She laughed, only a little, before her more sullen mood settled down again. She gave a moment's thought to Angel's question before responding.

"Shitty." She nodded. "I... Fuckin' Kelly, man."

She shook her head and gathered her hair back behind her head. "All the time, I tell myself and everyone else, my girls at the dojo, that there will be times when the only thing that makes any sense is to quit, and go find a safer place where you can be happy, and that when that happens you just need to remember telling yourself... keep going." She drew a breath, as if to say more, but then only nodded.

Angel remained quiet, listening to Taylor speak. She wasn't sure what to say, really, so she just let Taylor talk, the Latina taking in her words and letting her finish before she spoke up again.

"Fucking Kelly," she echoed, muttering the words under her breath. She had never actually met Kelly or came face-to-face with her before, but she had seen enough of her to know that she didn't like her or anything about her. She had been watching the night that Kelly had finally cashed in on Taylor, and she couldn't say that she was pleased with the way things had turned out at all.

She turned her head back towards Taylor again, and gave her a sad sort of smile. "You didn't deserve what happened, chica." It was all she could find to say, the only thing that came to mind. "No one deserves something like that, but..."

She went quiet again, and turned to fully face the blonde. "What are you going to do now? Are you going to keep going?"

Taylor breathed an ironic little laugh. Some would argue that she deserved every bit of what happened, since she was stupid enough to challenge two people two a match, knowing a third would jump on her if she was down. It was a nice thought, though.

She didn't answer right away. She gazed down at the floor, and wondered exactly how high up from the ground was Lukretia's office. She wondered if the ride up felt as long to Lukretia as it did to her.

Taylor's own elevator ride was the train from Tokyo to Hamamatsu. She'd taken it countless times since she and Johnny had bought their house in the quieter city. She had learned how to manage the hours of train travel through necessity, and no matter which way she was headed she only let herself think about the city ahead. If it was Tokyo for training or for a match, she filled her head with thoughts of what to do, the other dojo girls, her opponent... If it was Hamamatsu, it was business, Morrigan, house stuff, and Johnny. Always Johnny.

That was it for her. Never look back. She imagined that for Lukretia it was similar... And as she rode the elevator up toward the top floor, and second thoughts began to creep into the back of her head about what she had intended to do, she told herself... Don't look down.

"Yeah," she said at last. "Kelly's got my title."

"You're damn right she does," Angel answered back, letting a slightly teasing tone creep into her voice. "So you had better go kick her ass and take it back. Someone like her doesn't deserve to wear that gold."

She lifted her arms up, clasping her hands above her head, stretching her arms upwards, and put on a smirk, staring across the elevator towards Taylor, as she quickly added her next words. "Besides, when I come to take my title back, I'd rather fight someone worth fighting, you know? Not some chickenshit wannabe that can't take on a real champion by herself."

"Yeah!" Taylor laughed. Something approaching a giggle, and much more genuine than anything she had managed lately. "I will. I totally will."

She pushed off of the wall and took a meandering step toward the middle of the box. The elevator slowed to a stop, and after another cheerful bing the doors slid open, but Taylor didn't immediately move out.'

"Uh, sorry..." She said again. "Sorry that... I took your title and dropped it right to Kelly. I feel like... I feel like I let you down. But, for what it's worth, you made me better, just by... I dunno. Having some honor, ya know? So..."

That awkward moment before going in for a hug. She gave her a squeeze, and let herself sink into it for a moment, against the Latina's soft, but deceptively muscular body, before stepping back.

"I'm glad you're back. And don't worry, I'm gonna make you proud! Especially when I kick your ass for a third time!" She grinned, as she began to back out the elevator door.

Angel felt her cheeks turning a very faint hint of red, as Taylor slipped in and gave her the hug. She always felt awkward when it came to hugs, especially sudden ones like this.

She raised her arms and gave the blonde a tight squeeze back, then loosened her hold to let Taylor back off again.

"Don't be sorry, chica. We all mess up. Just don't let that bitch get to you like that again, alright?" She started to follow Taylor out of the elevator, and grinned back at her, but after a moment of thought her grin fell off of her face, replaced by a slight frown.

"Hey! You mean a second time, right? By my count you've only beaten me once!"

"That's not how I remember it!" Taylor shook her head, backing up before turning around to stride purposefully down the hall.

"And I didn't mess up!" She said back over her shoulder.

She walked, almost skipped, nearly ran the rest of the way to Lukretia's office, and then flung open the first door and stepped into the reception area with a flourish, as if she was expecting applause. Her eyes instantly locked on the tall, blue-eyed German behind the reception desk, with her long, braided pigtails.

"C'mere, you tall motherfucker!" Taylor slid on her butt over the corner of the desk and went in for a sudden hug. "Everyone gets a hug today! How've you been?"

Angel shook her head, as she watched Taylor take off down the hallway. She stepped out of the elevator and let it close behind her, listening to the soft ding as the doors slid shut.

That went better then she had thought. She had honestly thought the ride up to the top floor was going to go badly, but...things went well. It was kind of nice, really.

With the thoughts of the last several minutes rolling around her mind, she began to head down the hallway herself. Not nearly as quickly as Taylor, the Latina instead taking her time, contemplating a few things as she headed for Lukretia's office.

Hilde's door had been flung open so many times for so many different reasons that her natural response was no longer shock and surprise. Instead, it was a frenziedly, welcoming smile that hovered between sincere encouragement and apologetic understanding, as if she knew she less than a second to determine which one was required. In his case, her eyes lit up as Taylor cheerfully burst through the door.

"Ah, Hello, Taylor." Hilde said warmly as she was besieged. She leaned in and returned the embrace with as best of a one armed hug as she could. "It's good to see you again." She said and lifted up her head. "I'm glad to see your well!' She said genuinely.

She then turned her head. "Ms. Von Creuzfeldt wanted to make sure that you had some time to yourself, but... she's ready to see you now." Hilde said, buzzing into the intercom and rattling off a few words in German. "Just... don't tell her I told you." She said with a soft smile.

Taylor took a seat on the younger Von Creuzfeldt's lap and put an arm around her. "Hey, Hilde," she smiled. "Your secret's safe with me. How do I look?"

She hopped off and turned a quick pirouette, like a pretty little ballerina, with a pretty little smile. She landed with as much poise as her tomboy-ishly sexy body could manage, and then seized Hilde by the shoulders. "I'M SO GLAD TO SEE YOU, YOU BIG SONOFABITCH!" She shook her back and forth, and then was off skipping to Lukretia's door.

"I hope your sister's had her coffee!" She sang, and then stopped neatly at the other door before cordially opening it. She stood just inside with her feet together and took a small bow while the door closed behind her.

"Madam?" She said, and wiggled her butt.