Break on Through

Gabbie stepped up to the large, yet fairly nondescript Tokyo two-level. Slung around her shoulder was a large duffle bag that had almost all of her worldly possessions in it. She had always been a fairly austere girl, but ever since leaving Canada, she had learned how to pack light and was never very good at planting roots for various reasons. She'd only been in Yokohama for a few months and already she was leaving it behind or, so she hoped.

The last time she saw Taylor was at Cassie's going away party. The time before that they argued about Cassie. She had been the focal point in a large part of Gabbie's life and the blonde resented the fact that Taylor had been rather selfish about the topic. Of course, she understood the feelings. The two were close and Taylor felt that Gabbie was out of line when it came to Cassie, and maybe she was, but Taylor had not considered Gabbie's feelings one bit and that had made her particularly mad.

Gabbie hadn't been out to hurt Taylor, though, and she really hadn't wanted to be consumed by the red head. She'd left to go to Thailand in part to get away from all of that and she ended up getting sucked back in  only to have it torn away from her with no resolution. In the end, she felt a little empty but it also helped focus her, not that she needed it. At first, she had refused to end up like Cassie, with a broken spirit and no passion left to fight. She still planned on surpassing Cassie's career, but the motives were different. After a pretty hard loss in her last match, she'd become much more reflective and she understood the path she needed to walk much more clearly. She just hoped that she could make everyone else understand without too much of a hassle.

Gabbie lifted her finger and pushed the button to the doorbell of the Higurashi Dojo. She had been before. In fact, she had been sought out by them but now she knew things were different. She was determined to make things work out.

Taylor had conflicting feelings on what it meant to be home.

Having just spent two of the best weeks of her life back "home", in New York City, with all of her favorite people in the world (including Cassie), she couldn't say that she was thrilled to be back "home", in Japan. She had the familiar walls of her house in Hamamatsu, and Junko's house, home of the Higurashi Dojo, and all the sights of the two cities which no matter how well-traveled they were for her, would always be foreign.

She had gleefully dragged her best friends and her husband through the city. She had nestled into New York and wrapped it around herself like a blanket. It felt like for the first time in her life, she had a home. Growing up, New York accepted her, but didn't love her. Japan loved her, but would never truly accept her. Now, being back in Manhattan, every stranger she passed on the street seemed like family. She had never been so happy.

Now she sat on the couch, a baggy black sweatshirt over her red sports bra and yoga pants and a big, fuzzy blanket wrapped around her, with a bowl of popcorn in front of her and mindless nothing on TV. She had been dragging her feet through every workout since returning to Japan, and all she wanted was to be left alone, and while she couldn't play hooky at home in Hamamatsu, she could still burrow into Junko's couch.

At the sound of the doorbell, she automatically called out "Mom?" But she wasn't home. "Alaina-Julia?" She said, as if they were a singular entity. She reminded herself that Julia and Alaina were out, and Junko was out dealing with Haruna, or something. She had the house to herself, but unfortunately, that meant...

Getting off the couch.

"Uuuuuugggggghhhhh..." She put the bowl of popcorn aside and rolled forward onto the floor with a thud. She shoved the blanket aside and stepped out of it's tangle, and shuffled off to answer the door. Maybe it wasn't becoming of the newly re-crowned champion of Friction to be seen in this state, but fuck it. She was the champ, she could do what she wanted.

She pulled open the door and instantly wished she hadn't. Or at least, she wished she had taken a shower.

"H-hey... Gabbie." She looked around to see if anyone was with her, and then looked down at the duffel bag. "Oh. Ummm... What's up?"

"Hi, Taylor." Gabbie said tersely, her cheeks flushing a bit. She took a deep breath through her nose as she looked over the champ. It almost looked like Taylor had just woken up but it was definitely the afternoon. Maybe it was a bad time? Even if it was, Gabbie couldn't leave.

She rolled her shoulders back and looked at the blonde. "I'm here to join. I need to join the dojo." She said bluntly. Gabbie never was one for beating around the bush.

"Oh, uh..." Taylor lifted one hand and gestured at nothing. "I mean... like... fuckin'..."

Finally, she shook her head and stepped aside. "Well, come in, 'n junk."

She paced back to the kitchen with her arms folded and then leaned against the counter. "Mom's not here," she said bluntly. "She's the one you gotta talk to. It's not up to me. And... Maybe that's a good thing, for you..."

She studied Gabby, the little Canadian kickboxer. She had to admit that it was nothing but her own personal feelings that made her want to keep the girl out of the Dojo. She knew that Gabbie had a champion's heart, even if maybe her body wasn't up to the task. Someone like Gabby needed weight classes. Of course, Taylor herself had always suffered from being undersized as a wrestler, but she was still way bigger then Gabbie.

Gabbie stepped inside but stopped when she was in and the door was closed.

"No, it's you." She said. "We both know that Junko will let me in. If I was good enough to teach, I am good enough to learn. I'm not joining until you personally accept me here." She said seriously. "And that means we need to talk. About Elliot."

Gabbie's heart immediately began to race and she tensed up like she might need to defend herself. She looked Taylor in the eye and took in a breath before she started. "I was wrong to say the things I did about her, and, honestly, I didn't even really mean them. I know that she's not a coward, but you did not take my feelings into account one bit either."

Gabbie paused for a moment. "I've known Cassie Elliot my entire life. I've know her longer than I've been alive, really. Elliots and Desjardins rivalry is famous in our circles." She remained calm as she explained, knowing she was treading dangerous territory. "It infuriates me that you think you're the only one who can stake some kind of claim to her, that you think that she is yours and yours alone and that no one else can have feelings about her whatsoever. That you're the only one who can protect her."

"Who are you, anyway?" She asked rhetorically. "You've barely even known her that long in comparison to me and my family. I have a special bond with her that you couldn't possibly know or understand!" Gabbie stopped and lowered her head. "But..." She paused, growing a bit more quiet after raising her voice. "You must have felt the same way about me. Who does this little girl think she is? Coming into my home, just to snipe at someone I care for. Well, if the situations were reversed, then I'd act the same."

Gabbie let her duffel bag drop to the ground as her arms went limp at her sides. "Well, I said those things I said because I was angry that she had left me so quickly after coming back into my life. I barely even got to say hello to her and she's gone again..." Gabbie sniffled loudly but when he looked up at Taylor, her eyes were dry.

"She's my rival, yes, but as a fighter, you should understand what that means. That's why I apologized to you at the party..." Gabbie turned her head. "And, that's why I'm here to join now... Because of her."

Taylor was at a complete loss. Her instincts were naturally inclined toward starting a shouting match, but what was the point? She stared at the mixed up little blonde and patiently let her finish, though she never seemed to say what she wanted to.

Taylor sighed heavily. She rubbed her eye with her fingers and gathered her hair behind her head. "Gabbie..." She said while she searched for a place to start. "You can say whatever you want about whoever you want. You can do what you want. That's fair game, just like it's fair game for me to beat the fucking shit out of you for it."

She was suddenly very thirsty, and she glanced toward the fridge, but her feet remained rooted in place.

"As far as I can tell, you're in love with Bear and you show it by... talking shit and acting crazy." She shrugged. "Like... I get it and everything, but... Cassie was never my rival. She's way more to me than that. I just spend like two weeks with her in New York, and..."

She stopped herself, for fear of getting emotional. "Why don't you just say exactly what you mean, okay? I'm not smart, I don't do guessing games."

Gabbie shook her head. "No, that's not it at all." She said, frustrated that Taylor wasn't understanding. "I'm not in love with her, that's gross." Gabbie said, shaking her head. "And I'm not crazy either!"

She paused. "I told you. She left right when she came back into my life. It's pretty simple." She tried her best. "But, ok, I'll try again. I'm a kickboxer and I'm good at it. I might be the best in my weight class, just like Cassie is at Jiu Jitsu. I was at thinking that when Cassie left here, it was because she couldn't make it. So, maybe I was wrong to think that, I don't know but it doesn't matter. I know she won a competition already after being home for just a little bit. I know that's where she belongs but that isn't what I am saying."

Gabbie shifted on her feet, feeling uncomfortable. "I'm wrestling because I want to prove that I'm not going to be driven out of this league! I'm going to get further than Elliot and do better than her and show her..." Gabbie paused. "Well, that's not it either..." She said, stopping.

Gabbie then furrowed her brow and stared at Taylor. "Why can't you just understand!? I'm not good at explaining myself!" She gave an exasperated sigh, throwing her hands up. "I came here to be the best! Maybe I won't be as good as you, but I'm not going to let anyone ever stop me! I'm going to do it for myself and I'm going to do it to make Cassie Elliot proud and that's just the way it is, ok!?"

Gabbie crossed her arms. "So, say I'm crazy or whatever. I don't care. I'm going to represent Canada, myself, the Desjardins and the Elliots. I'll shoulder the burden that was left behind so you can either help me with that or I'll find another way."

"Huh."

Taylor stood still for a long time, even after Gabbie finished. She stared down at the kitchen floor while she mulled it all over...

Gabbie's sister Nicole definitely seemed to want Cassie's approval, or at least she used to. She seemed to have given up since then, though Taylor was sure that the girl had Cassie's approval, along with the rest of the Elliot clan.

For Gabbie to say that she wanted Cassie's approval wasn't totally shocking... but hearing her say it was. Gabbie was a funny little monkey.

Taylor herself knew that she had always craved Cassie's approval, more as a person than as a wrestler. She couldn't put it into words, but she knew exactly what it was about the little redheaded angel that made people desire her respect.

Maybe Gabbie was actually the perfect chick for the job.

"Awww, Gabbers..." Taylor said cutely, with a hint of a smile. The look only lasted a moment.

"Are you willing to do... whatever it takes?"

Gabbie blushed and furrowed her brow at Taylor's response. It felt patronizing, but she pushed that aside. She knew it wasn't. She just kept her head down like a child waiting to hear from their parent on a serious matter. She had made a mistake, and now she needed to know whether or not she was going to get sent to time out or hugged. At least, that's how she felt.

But Taylor's words made Gabbie lift up her head. She had a serious look ant nodded. "Naturally." She said with determination in her eyes. "I'm no slouch, but I think you know that already. I'm not afraid to start at the bottom and work my way to the top, either. I've had to do that four times already, though I didn't make it very far in Jiu Jitsu. I just need to to improve my wrestling ability, no matter what!"

Gabbie looked at Taylor and nodded. "I know this will be the best place to help with that. I won't complain no matter how hard you push me. I promise. It's what I want and you know I can do it. I'll make this dojo proud and I won't ever back down no matter how tough, big or dirty my opponent is, ok? That's how a Desjardin is."

Gabbie then held out her hand to Taylor, giving her a firm, but earnest look.

"Okay."

Taylor nodded. That was all she really needed to hear. "There's gonna be a lot of work, and a lot of it won't even be physical. I know you're able to pick up new stuff, but when you're here you check your ego at the door. Got it, kohai?"

She grasped Gabbie's hand and gave it a shake, but didn't let go. She pulled Gabbie in close and lowered her voice. "And there's one other rule... Do you know what that is?"