Sunshine!

Taylor had spent the six days following her match against Satomi resting, letting her body heal up and enjoying the warm and fuzzy euphoria that came from earning the win. She had a few wins on her record now, but this one was by far the biggest. It was a long, hard fought match, both girls took a beating and Taylor came out on top. There weren't words to describe what it meant to her... especially given that she had been doubting her decision to come to Japan in the first place.

As she strolled down the city sidewalk, she couldn't help but nod her head just a little bit to the music in her earphones. The song was [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4X3hDrlc5I4:22ojd9ev]Moving To New York, by The Wombats[/url:22ojd9ev]. She'd been listening to it when she got to thinking about moving back to New York, when she despaired about her prospects in Japan. She'd been thinking that maybe her old life was a better fit. She couldn't bear the thought of losing her way to the bottom of the pile in Friction and being eventually being cut. It made her sick. This time, though, listening to the song, she was sort of mentally saying goodbye to the idea. She was here to stay.

Mirroring her mood was the clear blue sky and sunshine. It was a perfect day, a little hot and just a slight breeze, and Taylor decided there was no better time to take Satomi up on her offer to drop by her bar. She got the feeling that she had a bit of a bone to pick with her, but she wasn't worried. Nothing could bring her down today.

She'd started by putting her bright blond hair up in pigtails and leaving her long bangs loose, brushed to one side, so that they always nearly covered her right eye. She put on bright blue eyeshadow for fun, and put in her small, gold eyebrow ring. She wore a tight black tank top she got at a Rise Against concert over a similar white tank top that peeked out around the edges, and below that she wore a little pair of blue gym-style shorts, v-notched on the each leg with white stripes up the sides. Her heavily worn blue Converse hi-tops were laced about halfway, and her knee-high white tube socks with bright blue stripes matched her shorts. A random assortment of brightly colored bracelets hung about her wrists.

She wasn't entirely sure where this place was. She'd looked it up online, but was only half paying attention. If was by the AFW building, that was good enough for her. Once she got closer to the beach it was easy to find. Turns out there was only one bar between the beach and the AFW complex. She kept her eyes open for Satomi as she approached, but didn't see her. Maybe it was still early, who knows, it was only about 4:30 in the afternoon. Or maybe she was laid up somewhere or in a wheelchair, but Taylor didn't want to think about that. She took a seat at the bar and leaned back against it while she surveyed the area, took in the sunshine, and checked out the other patrons.

Satomi's "Beachhouse" was never a particularly busy place. It was owned partially by AFW, and owned partially by Satomi. It was an odd arrangement; Satomi was willing to do quite a lot to keep this place, so the GM offered her a choice: become a wrestler in the AFW, or lose her bar. Because of her desperation, she had to join up. Luckily for her, she wasn't given much of an obligation to wrestle, though she had to do this even if she didn't want to.

And that last match really took a lot out of her. She had never fought so hard against anybody, giving it her all to the point that Satomi didn't even know she had that much in her. The result was that Satomi was more beaten up than she had ever been. She couldn't take care of her shop for days, spending much of that time in the hospital. She had only just been released, returning to her usual job as the bartender and proprietor of the Beachhouse.

It was a small but clean establishment, a small cottage-like place right on the edge of the beaches. Satomi hobbled into her shop, a single crutch holding herself up. The other two girls had been keeping the place running well, Satomi saw. It was still early, so there weren't many people here yet. After all, who would be drinking in the afternoon? And it wasn't like it was beach season quite yet. Though the weather was nice and the air was warm, the water was still a bit too cold. So the bar was nearly empty for most of the day, excepting the few people who dropped in to see how Satomi was doing. Which was nice, since Satomi was in no shape to be up and running about waitressing. Her knee was bandaged up still, and she spent much of the day sitting around, keeping up with accounts and the like.

Satomi was in the back when Taylor came in. She was busy bring out a few more bottles of alcohol, since it was getting late and people were going to be coming in soon. When Satomi hobbled out, a small bottle of rum in her hands, she found Taylor sitting by the bar.

"Ara? Isn't that Taylor?" she said, in surprise. She put the bottle on the shelves behind her, hobbling over to Taylor. "You look well," she said, "Can I get you anything? First rounds free for winners!"

Taylor looked over her shoulder to see Satomi hobbling around on a crutch. She winced, but gave her a very slightly apologetic smile. "Hey."

"So this is your place, huh? Like, yours yours? What are you, like, fifteen? Is it even legal for you to run a place like this? It's... nice, though. Killer beach. Lotta Friction girls, right?" She said, secretly hoping to be able to meet people that had nothing to do with the AFW sometime. Friction girls were all way competitive, and a little crazy, and that included Taylor.

She stood up and faced Satomi. "Oh, uh... how's the, uh... how's the knee? You look... good, though. Like, if you don't look at your gimpy leg," Taylor said, closing one eye and holding up one thumb to cover Satomi's bandaged leg. "You'd never even know you just got a serious ass-kicking. I'm good to go, more or less. I heal fast and stuff. Back at it in the gym and everything. But, uh... what's up?"

Satomi bustled behind the bar, mixing up a drink for Taylor, even though the girl didn't ask for any. "Yep, this place is mine," she said, "Or at least it should be. My aunt left me this place after she passed away, and I've been trying to keep it running." She looked up at Taylor, puffing up her cheeks in cute anger when the girl suggested she looked too young. "I'm 19, you know!" Satomi said, "Of course this is all legal!"

She nodded when Taylor asked about the Friction girls. "Yep, they usually stop by a bit later though, when the matches begin," she said, "That's when this place gets real busy. You're a bit early." She shrugged, filling up a shaker with various alcohols and mixing them together. "Though most of the people that come by are fans," she said, "And when beach season really gets started, tons of people stop by from the beaches."

Satomi hobbled over to the shelves, picking up a bottle of yellow syrup. "I'm fine," she said, "Or at least, I'll be fine." Her knee was bandaged up with a bunch of white gauze. The bruises on the rest of her body were covered up with the waitress uniform she wore. Normally she worked in a bikini, especially with beach season so close, but not today. "I still feel like you kicked my ass though." Satomi sighed. "It'll probably be a while before I can return to the ring."

"Yeah." Taylor said. She had intended on showing up early to miss the evening crowd. There was only so much socializing with the competition she could stomach.

"Oh, cool. When does, uh, beach season start around here? Gotta be getting close, yeah?" Taylor didn't have much experience with the ocean. It was always fairly close by in New York, but she rarely bothered with it. She didn't know why, since she was enjoying the air and the sun so far here.

"Oh, yeah, sorry if, like, I don't know if that was too much. I sorta... ya know, spaced out or whatever towards the end. I kinda get wound up, and... well, you know. You'll be back at 'em in no time. You're tough as hell. You sure don't look it though... had me fooled. So, the knee's gonna be okay then? Nothing serious?" She kept asking about it. She couldn't help it.

"Do you have any regulars or whatever? Like that I'd know, or... that I should know? I don't get out that much these days... pretty much just to the gym. It's sad. I used to have such a social life."

"Hmm, beach season should've already started, it's just that the weather's been pretty bad this year," Satomi said, "So the water still hasn't warmed up properly yet. If every day is as nice as today though, in about a week this entire beach is gonna be full of people."

She finally finished the drink, setting it in a cocktail glass in front of Taylor. "Here you go, enjoy!" she said. She wondered if Taylor liked pina coladas, but then reminded herself that there was no way she couldn't. Everybody likes pina coladas!

"It's fine, I've been hit harder," Satomi said, waving Taylor's apologiy aside, "I'll be fine! Really! You didn't do any permanent damage."

Satomi reached underneath the bar and pulled out a tall glass, then grabbed a beer spout and filled it up to the brim with an amber lager. "Cheers," she said, clinking glasses with Taylor. She took a big gulp, then set the pint down. "Hmm, regulars? Do you mean wrestler girls or other people?" she asked, "There's quite a lot in one group, and not as much in the other..."

Taylor picked up the glass and sniffed it, then snorted at Satomi's remark about having been hit harder. "Hah. No you haven't." She said, slipping Satomi a sly look before sipping cautiously at her drink.

"Wow. This is... why do people bother with beer?" She said, taking a bigger sip. "I guess I mean wrestlers. I don't really know anyone else, and I know, like everyone on the roster. Not... personally, ya know, but I watch the matches. I'd never seen you before, though, have you had many matches? I think I've had six now... they haven't all gone as well as I thought they would..." She glanced around and leaned in to whisper to Satomi. "Hey, is it just me, or does the complete lack of boys around drive you freaking out of your mind? I guess maybe other people just go places other than home and the gym, but... not me. Heh."

"Beer's nice too, you know!" Satomi said, taking another big gulp, "It's the drink that brings people together!"

"Hmm, well a lot of wrestlers visit," she said, "Especially during beach season. All those girls walking around wearing barely anything... I've actually had to hire a couple of guards before just so they wouldn't break in!" She laughed a little. "Not that these girls need protecting, I just didn't want them to destroy my shop." Satomi sighed. "I've actually had to ban Sarah Gatt. Every time she comes here she picks fights and ruins this place. I can barely keep this place running, nevermind the costs of fixing up after fights!"

She leaned in as Taylor whispered in her ear. Satomi couldn't help but giggle. "Ahh, so that's what it's about, huh?" she said, "Well, if you want to meet guys, they'll be in soon enough. I'll point out a few of the nice ones. Or do you want the suckers who'll buy you drinks instead?"

Taylor grimaced at the mention of Sarah. Her free hand tightened into a fist. But then she forgot all about her hatred of Sarah and laughed with Satomi.

"Well... no. I came to check up on you. But... I mean I'm not much of a drinker, but a nice sucker would be..." Her smile faded as her thoughts drifted back to Sarah. "If you ever need some extra security for special occasions, feel free to give me a call... I promised I wouldn't start anything with Sarah, but if she started something and I happened to be, ya know, required to break it up... nothing would make me happier than beating down that psychopath until she cries like a three-year-old." She looked back up at Satomi, still scowling. "We have... history. Sort of."

Speaking of which... "Hey, by the way... I hope you don't take the things I say or do too seriously, like, in the match. It's not totally for show, but... it's kinda all for show, know what I mean? Like, I don't know what I said, but I remember you being... upset, I guess, and like I hope that you don't... okay. You know what I'm saying, right?"

Satomi could tell Taylor had some unpleasant things going on with Sarah. "Don't worry, she won'd be showing up here," she said, "And I've got plenty of security. You won't have to fight anyone here, I'll make sure of that!"

She leaned in and lowered her voice a little. "Though if you do want to get back at Sarah, I suggest you get a bunch of people first," she said, "Sarah Gatt has a nasty gang with her, and if you can't find anyone to help you, you're just gonna get beat up. And she's not the easiest person to fight against either. That girl has a mean streak a mile wide, and her favorite thing to do is ram it into people's faces." Satomi shook her head, "It's best not to confront her."

Satomi stood back up, and drank a little more beer. "Well, I can't say I wasn't offended," Satomi said, "Like, some of the things you said were just mean. I mean, do I really look that much like a kid?" She looked at Taylor with mock seriousness. "I know it's for a good show, but there's nothing wrong with toning things down a bit. I'm sure in America things are different, but the Japanese like their honor, and insulting that is a one way ticket to pain."