Down Time

Taylor bristled. She took a deep breath to keep from doing something horrible.

Akashi was glad to see her general bend but don't break cheer had worked once more. She didn't like open brawling but had to defend herself and her good name. It was the Japanese thing to do. But Akashi was a bit taken aback by Taylor's words. She had to correct her. "I.. I am friends with Sarah-san...' She said almost mumbling the words. "But I'm not stupid. I know how she is. Hell.. She kicked my ass the first time we fought. She hit me with a lead pipe before a tournament once... BELIEVE ME... I know how much of a bitch she is. The road to friendship was a long and difficult one but I can be pretty stubborn sometimes and I was determined to make it happen one way or another...." She then rubbed the back of her head. "Not... sure why though but... ah.. well... " She then perked up. "Enough about that, right!" She said beaming as she saw Taylor smile.

"Please, forgive me." Akashi said half jokingly as she took Taylor's hand and squeezed it firmly, her grip normally strong. She bowed her head as well, as was her own custom but stopped when she heard Taylor said she was going to beat her up. She then grinned and gripped Taylor's hand even harder to give her a show of strength. 'I'm always up for the challenge!" She declared. "I won't back down for anyone but I don't hold back either, so just make sure you bring everything you have, ok?" She would then release Taylor's hand, hoping to have got her point across.

She only spared a glance to the singularly occupied booth as she raised her glass. "Yosh! I've been wanting to drink this sake since I got here, I'd be happy to finally get to enjoy it." Akashi then blushed as she slid into the booth. Her occupied hand partially covered her boobs. "I... I fit into a booth!" She stammered for a moment. "Ah well... yeah..." She said. "It's not like I'm on like that ALL the time." She seemed like she was telling herself that more than Taylor. 'But... I can't promise anything once I get some alcohol in me. I'll do my best though."

Akashi then looked over at Lia as Taylor pointed her out. She looked the girl over, having been distracted by Taylor's boisterousness. "Pleased to meet you!" She said nodding her head in a polite bow. "I am Tanikaze Akashi." She glanced at Taylor as well, so that they could both acknowledge her introduction. "But you can just call me Akashi... I think that would be alright." She said cheerfully.

Catching Lia oggling her, Akashi grinned. "Of course their real! I've only been wrestling a short time but I've been doing Sumo my whole life so these are for more than just window dressing!" She grinned proudly as she lifted up her bottle. "I proppse a toast." She declared. "To completely fucking up trying to not run into people we work with!"

Taylor looked around. She'd left her drinks at the other booth. In enemy territory. She snatched the bottle out of Lia's hand as she raised it.

"Cheers! Although I didn't know either of you before, like from AFW. The people are... they're pretty weird there. YOU'RE pretty weird." She jabbed Lia with her elbow to make some more room and to get her to stop staring at Akashi's cleavage.

It became evident that there was something on Taylor's mind... she opened and closed her mouth several times before speaking. "Hey, um... This might be, and like I've been in my share of scraps, you know, like not in a ring, but like... AFW... it seems like it's a little... dangerous. Like it doesn't seem to be run by people who don't want you to die. I expected like a lot more rules and ref's keeping people in line and all that, but... not so far. I don't want to sound like a total waste, but what do you guys do about people who... cheat. Do you just cheat back?"

She looked from Akashi back to Lia. She felt really dumb. Her face flushed slightly. She really hated feeling dumb, but she hated being dumb and asking was the only way to know these things. They seemed nice enough, anyway. For now at least. She wasn't sure about... well either of them, but Akashi couldn't possibly be what she seemed. Everyone was a faker, and the more cheery and polite someone acted, the bigger the faker they were.

"Not that I'm worried or anything..."

Akashi smiled at Taylor's words. It was nice to see someone who was nearly as cheerful as she was but then she saw the look of concern on her face and tilted her head curiously after downing about half of her sake. "Yeah... It's true that most of the people running the show probably think it would be better if you were carried out by a stretcher. All the matches I've been in, I am surprised I'm still in working condition." She chuckled a bit and took another swig of her sake. "It's hard... In my first fight here I went up against Sarah-san. I did things... I wasn't proud of. I sank to her level and lost the match anyway. It was a real eye-opener honestly. From that day forward I tried to maintain a certain level of honor and respect for myself and try my hardest not to sink to anyone's dirty level. It's tough though.." She ran her hands through her hair. "It's ... really tough... after a match... sometimes it feels like my pussy is jammed up in my stomach with how often it gets punched or kicked."

She reached up and put a hand on Taylor's shoulder. "Listen. If you can get the hell beat out of you by Sarah Gatt and live to tell the tale, you'll do just fine in this league. Don't worry about what other girls may or may not do. Just stick to your guns and do what you think you should." She said hoping her nuggets of wisdom worked the trick.

(( This is what happens when I play a card early and often and then a REALLY good opportunity comes up to play it and now I'll be overdoing it. OH WELL SO WHAT " title="Wink" /> You'll see what I mean when we get there. ALSO I TOTALLY KNOW A LOT ABOUT BEING IN A REAL FIGHT SO YOU CAN SEE ALL THAT EXPERIENCE ON DISPLAY HERE ITS REAL REAL USEFUL TACTICAL INFO AND NOT AT ALL STUPID BULLSHIT " title="Wink" /> ))

Lia continued to study Akashi carefully as she spoke, not even giving Taylor's theft a second thought. Lia's usually cheerful expression was replaced with one of polite curiosity. "Akashi it is," Lia replied, still a bit lost in thought to make much useful small talk. Akashi was the champion; as such, she had the biggest target on her back. Lia was more interested in her connection to Sarah Gatt... not that Lia ever hoped to run into Sarah, but that sort of trouble did not have a habit of keeping to itself. Standard operating procedures, find the biggest fish, the biggest troublemakers, see what sort of ties they have woven, identify the weak links, get an in, turn and burn... of course, the last couple of steps were not necessary here; Lia left that job behind... but it was still a useful skill set and still governed Lia's thinking.

She had not intended to be doing anything so social or useful this evening, and would have been content to keep bugging Taylor until they fought, made out, or called a cab home, or even kept to herself, really. But, too late now, the big fish was here.

Awesome rack on her, too. "Impressive." As Akashi called for a toast, Lia looked for her bottle, finally facing Taylor with a scowl. With a soft growl, Lia would lean in and grab Taylor, planting a kiss right on her lips. "Ha! Took my booze, I have to get it back somehow!" Leaning back, Lia would purse her lips, "Hey, you don't TASTE like blueberries!" For her freshness, she expected a slap or a sucker punch from Taylor, and did not do anything to resist such an assault. She deserved it, and she kinda liked Taylor... Not in THAT way... The alcohol was making her flighty. At least, that was the reason Lia would stick by.

Taylor continued to prove useful, doing all the work of mining Akashi for information, allowing Lia to stay in the background, mulling over Akashi's story. It struck a chord with Lia, "She's right. Dirty fighting back doesn't do anything for you when you're up against a cheat. The people who do that do it because that's all they know. They don't have respect for the sport, their opponents, or themselves." Lia brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, "Fight like a real woman and you'll have more friends than those assholes will ever have. When your friends outnumber theirs, that will stop people from pulling that sort of horseshit." She smiled at Taylor, "Well, maybe not Muffin Top here. She'll just keep threatening to beat up all her friends and definitely keep her numbers down." She softly slugged Taylor in the arm, a friendly tap. "Besides, crotch kicking is girls' self defense bullshit. Pain, temporary immobilization, but congratulations, you've just pissed off your foe and, apart from a slight swagger, they have not had any real reduction in combat effectiveness." Lia shrugged, "Of course, guys pay big to see the cunt punts, so what can you do? Just keep an eye out for that sadistic tell and hit them back twice as hard where it counts... It'd be nice if that always worked, but some people just won't learn." Lia trailed off, her voice managing to hide just a hint of bitterness.

Lia took a second to catch up with her thoughts; she had said all of that without really thinking. Maybe it was the booze, the boobs, or maybe she just felt strongly about what Akashi said, but it really got her going a lot more than she had hoped. Lia still did not really trust Akashi, anyone who could be THAT friendly with a thug like Sarah Gatt had to have a screw loose... but Lia could not see it. She could not figure out Akashi... but if what she saw was all there was to see... well, she and Akashi might just get along yet...

Taylor wore a look of horror as Akashi described the post-match condition of her lady-parts, but then was smiling by the time she finished imparting her wisdom. "Th-thanks." She said and went to take a drink but Lia's kiss made it in first. She spluttered and shook her head and shoved Lia so hard she fell out of the booth.

As Lia replaced herself in the booth and started talking, Taylor watched her cautiously, almost forgetting that Akashi was there. The way Lia talked was... different. There was apparently more to her than she had yet seen, and she wasn't sure but she didn't think that she liked it. Of course, she'd mentioned her old job and all that vagueness, and really it didn't matter to Taylor in the slightest what she used to do. She just needed to make sure that whatever Lia was into it wouldn't eventually involve her getting jumped and beaten down in the parking lot. That was usually the situation that she spent her life working to prevent. It took a lot of energy.

When Lia finished, Taylor started nodding, thinking over what she said. "Wow..." She looked from the table to Akashi and back to Lia. "It sounds like you know... absolutely freaking NOTHING about fighting." She paused to take a drink. "I guess that's why despite being here longer than me, you're 0-1 with all of 20 seconds in the ring. I guess you miscalculated your opponent's 'combat effectiveness'. Hah."

She sat back in the booth, one hand holding Lia's bottle and the other resting on the table, and studied Akashi. An inscrutable little smile curled her lips. "A-kashi. Here's a question... so, let's say that we fought. Aside from having like 50 pounds on me... why do you think you would win?"

She preemptively gave Lia another shove.

((It would take a damn sight less energy with an attitude adjustment. " title="Very Happy" /> )) Lia merely chuckled as she slid back into her seat after the shove. "Touchyyy," she muttered before continuing.

Lia turned to face Taylor with a smile, back to her saccharine self already Taylor's barb did not deter her in the slightest. She merely nodded in mock thought, "Actually, you are quite ast-- asu-- astute! That's it!" Lia grinned at her ability to recall that word, "Very astute. I am actually absolute GARBAGE in a fight. I know jack shit about it, really." She scratched behind her rabbit ears sheepishly, offering no hint of sarcasm.

The second shove caught Lia off guard, but she hooked her hand on the edge of the table in time. "HEY!" she shouted, "I didn't do anything!" Glowering at Taylor, Lia soon noticed the beer bottle again and dove for it, snatching it from Taylor. "Aha!" Lia called out. Quickly, Lia would lick around the edge of the bottle's lip. "Mine! I need it too. Gotta be good and drunk to sit next to Ol Top Head here!" Lia stuck her tongue out at Taylor. "Nyah!"

"Old what head? What the hell is wrong with you?" Taylor didn't mind at all about losing the bottle back to Lia. She wasn't much of a drinker anyway.

Taylor looked expectantly to Akashi, but turned back to Lia. "And would you shut up, the champ is here. The CHAMP, is HERE. Okay? So shut up or I will shut you up. I believe I already mentioned strangling you with your stupid dollar store bunny ears. Go sell chocolate, or...be a hooker. Or something."

Taylor shook her head, irritated, but when she looked back to Akashi she was immediately all smiles.

Akashi chuckled at the two girls they seemed to be the right mix of friendly and antagonistic with each other. It made her smile to see that kind of friendship even if the two themselves might not call it that yet. But before she could answer, Ttaylor called her the champ and Akashi blushed. SHe took a deep swig ffrom her bottle, finishing it up. As she motioned for the waitress to bring three more rounds, Akashi looked at them. "P-please!" She said. "I might be the champ... but I'm no one special... Don't act any differently because of the title. I.. I wouldn't like that. I'm really enjoying myself and I'd hate to see the atmosphere ruined by something like formalities. Besides... We all supposed to be pretending we're no where near work, right?"

With that out of the way, Akashi began to answer the other questions poised to her. Well... for one... I'd never assume that I was unbeatable. Even if I was stronger than you in every category, which I'm not, anything can happen in the ring. But I have confidence in myself. I believe that when I'm at my best that I can beat anyone, no matter how tough they are. And I leave everything I have in the ring. I won't quite until I am physically incapable of fighting. You're faster than me I'm sure. That gives you a good advantage but I think if I got a few shots in, you'd be feeling it. If anything I could wear you out and win an endurance fight if I had to. I'd hope it wouldn't come to that. I'd hope I could get you to make a mistake and put you down early..." She then grinned and lifted her arm up as if she was divulging a secret to only Taylor. "But secretly I'd hope that you would test me as much as you could. The worst thing would be an easy victory. I'd rather loose and give it my all then face an opponent who does not even challenge me." She said with a nod of finality to her words.

The waitress showed up with three new bottles and Akashi quickly snatched hers up and took a long sip of it. "There! Now you two don't have to try and share." She said giving them a wink. Akashi then looked at Lia looking over the girl's body that was covered with clothes. As much as she could tell. She narrowed her eyes in scrutiny. "Lia-San." She said curiously. "Why are you so modest? From what I see, you have plenty to brag about. You seem quite fit and knowledgeable. I'm not sure if you possess the dedication hat Taylor-San does... but from what I see you have more experience..."

By the time Akashi finished, Taylor's grin was as big as it could get. She couldn't help it. Honestly she was fighting the urge to be so friendly... she didn't like the feeling. It made her feel... small. Or something. Still, what could she do? Her bravado had been effectively diffused by Akashi's patience and modesty, and it was difficult for her now to even think of a way to rile her up.

"We...are going to fight. And I'm going to win. And it's going to be AWESOME. In the ring, in front of everyone." She said, almost like she was daydreaming. She shot a glance at Lia. "WE might still step outside, and it won't BE a fight."

She frowned for just a few seconds, but her frown inevitably was over powered by her grin. She had all but forgotten about the bottle in front of her, she was too excited. Compulsively she tried to stand up, but was thwarted by the booth. She was totally oblivious to Lia's line of conversation and talked right over her. "Do you want to fight NOW? Or tomorrow? Tomorrow? Dude. I will fight you BOTH at ONCE." She laughed and took a drink. "Yeah."