Backstage scene

Previously on AFW Avalanche:[url=http://afwrpg.informe.com/forum/avalanche-f85/schoolgirl-pin-match-t5340.html:3vfrezky]Schoolgirl Pin match[/url:3vfrezky]
Next on AFW Avalanche: [url=http://afwrpg.informe.com/forum/avalanche-f85/despite-all-my-rage-match-t5342.html:3vfrezky]Despite All My Rage (cage) match[/url:3vfrezky]

Akashi Tanikaze
[url=http://afwrpg.informe.com/forum/friction-roster-f10/akashi-tanikaze-t956.html:3vfrezky][/url:3vfrezky]

and

Taylor Parker
[url=http://afwrpg.informe.com/forum/friction-roster-f10/taylor-parker-t3480.html:3vfrezky][/url:3vfrezky]

Taylor wasn't fighting until late in the card, so she had a lot of time to kill. She followed the usual progression: first she got nervous and began sweating and shaking and wondering why in the world she didn't keep her waitress job back in NY. Then she did some deep breathing, reminded herself what she was doing in Japan, started to calm down, and continued to calm herself until she was sound asleep on a couch in a green room backstage.

She slept straight through Adrian's match, which was a very good thing. She didn't need the extra emotional hassle of having to watch Adrian be crazy. She was awakened by a Friction production assistant.

"Miss Parker, you're up after- Miss Parker?" The assistant stepped inside the room, seeing Taylor sprawled face down on the couch with the hood of her sweatshirt pulled over her head. She began to stir. "You're up after the next match, rise and shine."

"'Kay, thanks." Taylor slurred. She rolled over onto her back and fell off the couch. "Ow..."

Taylor was a heavy sleeper and didn't wake up well. She always needed a few minutes to shake off the sleepies. Following an epic yawn, she got to her feet and started stretching out her body. She was wearing her ring gear, white and blue kickpads and sneakers with a pleated miniskirt and transparent fishnets, with a black Rancid t-shirt over it and a heather gray zippered hoodie that had a sinister looking, fanged, grinning smiley face with pigtails off-center on her chest. She pulled the hood down, and under it her hair was back to her trademark bright blue in pigtails.

She pulled earphones out of her pocket and fitted them in her ears, and [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRthtyjbvsk:2zspy306]pushed play on her mp3 player[/url:2zspy306]. She closed her eyes and let the music do it's thing while she slowly began shadowboxing, throwing a couple punches and moving, throwing a few punches and a swinging a big kick around. She felt good. She was waking up well. Sleeping was one way she controlled her nerves before a fight and preserved her energy. As hyped up as she got before a fight, she could easily wear herself out before it started.

A lot was on the line tonight. The match was a big deal. She was fighting Natalia, to whom she eternally felt like she had something to prove, and she wouldn't be able to bear the shame of losing to her. Also, it was her first PPV appearance, and most recently it was a shot at the new Entropy belt. It felt surreal. She didn't think the reality of it would really set in until she put her hands on Natalia in the ring. But it wasn't just a big night for Taylor, it was a big one for her best friend.

Akashi's match was against Sarah Gatt. Taylor hated her to death, but Akashi didn't, and Taylor loved Akashi. It was complicated, but out of respect to Akashi she couldn't allow herself to get out of control with Sarah. Still, the two already had two brutal matches under their belt, and the third carried the most weight. She was sure it was going to go long, and she wasn't totally confident that Akashi would take the win. She was afraid that Akashi would end up getting really hurt.

She stopped shadowboxing. That was no way to think. Of course Akashi would be okay. She was a fighter if she'd ever seen one. Sarah was just a punk who... no, that wasn't right either. Sarah was probably the most dangerous opponent for Akashi. It would be a hard match, and thinking about it turned her stomach. She felt her face flush and her hands start to quiver. She needed to see Akashi. She needed to talk to her and convince herself that everything was going to be okay. She caught herself starting to flip out again and took a deep breath, turned up the music, and took off down the hall to find Akashi.

She burst through the door to Akashi's dressing room without knocking, which might not have been the best start. "KASHI!" She screamed, her energy beginning to bubble out of her as her sleepiness wore off. She bounced from foot to foot and grinned brightly at her friend. "How'sitgoingareyouready?" She blurted. "It's a big night, isn't it? ISN'T IT? Feelin' good?"

Akashi, too, was in a state, similar to Taylor had been. She was in her dressing room but the lights were down low, barely on, creating a soothing atmosphere. There were incense sticks lit, giving the room a smoky, sweet smelling aroma. There was also an audio system set up to play different kinds of music. The audio sounds of nature, as well as a gentle, twanging Shamisen. In the middle of the room, Akashi sat upon a bed of pillows.

Her legs were crossed and her eyes were closed and she sat perfectly still, breathing softly. She had spent the last few days, intensely training her body to the point of near exhaustion. Now, she had taken today to sharpen her mind while relaxing her body as it got ready for the biggest match of her life. After some rigorous mental training and watching some film, Akashi was calming her mind with some meditation. She had been at since she came back from her grand announcement earlier and had been completely uninterrupted since.

She might have been as nervous as Taylor, but she'd never show it. Honestly, she was always nervous in all of he matches and this one was no exception.

When Taylor suddenly burst through the door and spoke so rapidly, Akashi exhaled through her nostrils and smiled. She opened one eye and looked over her excited friend.

"Taylor-chan."

Akashi spoke in a gentle tone as she looked at Taylor.

"You look like you're ready. Come here and sit down next to me." She offered, not moving anything other than her mouth and opening her eyes.

"Wow." Taylor blinked while her eyes adjusted to the dimmer light. She didn't say anything about Akashi's method of preparation. She knew that's how Akashi got ready for matches, and she couldn't argue with the results.

She bounded over to Akashi and cozied up next to her on the pillows. "This is comfy." She remarked. "Like sleepy samurai." She wriggled in next to Akashi and folded her legs, placed her hands on her knees and tried taking a few deep breaths that still ended up being faster than her normal breathing. She couldn't slow her body down enough.

"Kashi, I don't want to spoil your vibe or anything, but I just, uh... had to see you before we go out there. Tonight's like a big deal for both of us... I know I'm ready, but anything can happen, you know. I know you'll get it done. You always do. Beat Sarah's ass for me, ya know, while you're honorably competing with her and stuff."

She took a deep breath and let it out in a huff. "KashiIneedyouto- whew. Akashi, I need you to tell me that I can do this." She said, more quietly, and leaned her head against Akashi's shoulder.

As Taylor sat down and scooted up to her, Akashi put her hands on Taylor's shoulders and began to rub them. Taylor was always full of energy but it felt like she couldn't even keep up with her own body right now. She pressed hard against Taylor's shoulders to try and cut through the tension.

She smiled as she looked over her friend and partner. "It is. This is probably the biggest matches of both our lives, Taylor-chan." Akashi remained calm and quiet as she spoke, inhaling deeply.

When Taylor leaned back, Akashi smiled down at her. "Taylor-chan, I know you'll do you're best and make yourself proud." She said. Akashi turned her head a bit. "You've already made me very proud." She added softly.

A grin suddenly crept over her face and she pushed her body forward and slid her hands down and around Taylor's chest to hug the girl tightly, squeezing as hard as she could as she pushed off her feet to tackle Taylor between the floor and her big body.

"Taylor-chan! You're going to kick that naughty girl's butt all over that arena, I just know it!"

Taylor swallowed hard when Akashi reaffirmed that this was the most important night of their lives. "I-I'll do my best, yeah, for sure..."

With Akashi's praise, she began to blush and lower her eyes but was cut short when Akashi wrapped her up in a bearhug and began crushing her half to death. "Gah! Agh... Kash... [size=85:10tynv5j]Ka... [size=50:10tynv5j]ack..." She spluttered, straining to keep Akashi from collapsing her rib cage, and it only got worse when Akashi tipped her over.

This was it. She was going to die. She'd lived a full life, though only 21 years long and she hadn't accomplished anything yet. At least she'd die doing what she loved: being squished by giant lesbian sumos.

But then pillows shifted in a way that created some space under her and let her escape out from under Akashi with the aid of a well placed shove to Akashi's face. Once free she gasped dramatically, spasmed, fell over on her back, rolled away, and got to her hands and knees where she panted for air. She looked up at Akashi with gleaming blue eyes and grinned.

"You... thought... you though you had me, didn't you. Tryin' to kill me and stuff. But I'm wise to you and your secret allegi...allegiances and stuff. You've been working for Gatt all along! This match is a ruse, and the people should be told by someone who is me, and you're not going to step me!" With that dramatic declaration she leapt up high at Akashi, turning to cannonball into her in what would've been an elbow drop if she'd actually used the point of her elbow.

She giggled maniacally and gave Akashi's hair a tug before suddenly blurting "Akashi, I'm scared." Realizing what she'd said only after the fact, she quickly sobered up and stopped laughing. She looked Akashi in the eye with a worried look in her dark blue eyes.

Akashi grinned as she hugged Taylor tightly, not knowing or caring that she was bringing the punky girl onto the brink of death. When Taylor wriggled away, Akashi grinned as she coughed and sputtered as she adjusted herself onto her knees.

She listened to the words Taylor spoke and gasped. She pushed her hand into her chest and her mouth widened as though she had just been accused of heresy. She tried to hold in her laugh though, even as Taylor shot forward and ran into her. She fell backwards and laughed as Taylor was on top of her now.

But then Suddenly Taylor spoke and Akashi's face became a little more serious, still holding a soft smile.

"Taylor-chan." She said as she lifted her hand up and ran her fingers through Taylor's blue hair. "I am too." Even though she said it, she didn't look it at all. "There's a good chance I might end up in the hospital after this match, there's a ood chance I might not have a career after this match and not even because of Sarah-san, just because of my own stupid stubbornness.

But Akashi then grinned. "But don't worry about that, you have something much more terrifying facing you if you lose." She leaned in so her lips were by Taylor's ear and whispered in a sultry voice. "If you lose, I'll find you and I'll wreck that cute little body of yours worse than Natalia-chan could ever hope of doing. And I don't mean with my fists, either."

Akashi then pulled back and laughed as she pulled back and looked Taylor in the eyes. "And Johnny-kun won't be able to do a damn thing about it!" Akashi's eyes widened. "Oh! Speaking of, I'm sure he's here, why don't you see him before your match. I'm sure that will be good for both of you."

Johnny was around. He had been wandering the halls for a half hour now looking for Taylor. He didn't want to interrupt Taylor but he also needed to see her before the match. He knew the AFW facilities pretty well, but wit all the moving and shaking of the PPV, getting stopped by people he knew, wriggling away from his Mother and dodging his brother, he had a tough go of it. Wen he finally thought he had found Taylor wen one of the PA's had told her she ran off.

Another ten minutes and he was at Akashi's dressing and pushed the door open. He wrinkled his brow as he looked in and saw the lights turned low, the smoky atmosphere and the ambient music. It seemed weird.

"Y-yo... anyone here?" He asked as he stepped in as he saw Taylor sitting on Akashi's lap, awfully close to one another. "Eh?" He then grinned. "Oh..."

Taylor cracked an ironic smile, but Akashi's admissions about her match made her feel sick. She looked over at the floor and started to mull it over, but Akashi's next talking point made her blush brightly.

"Kashiiii!" She protested. "That's your answer for everything. Way ta support me and stuff." She said sarcastically. "But... dude, for real, I'm not scared about ME. Well, maybe I am a little, but I'm afraid that you're going to get really freaking hurt tonight, and I... ya know, I don't, uh... I-I just don't want to see you get hurt. What would I do? Without you I'm just some lost little freak nobody cares about, and Akashi, I just can't stand the thought of something bad happening to you and not being able to help." She looked her in the eye. "I totally would, though, I would beat The Gatt's Ass in a second, all 4 or 5 of 'em, if you asked, but... I know, like.. your honor and stuff. I know you wouldn't want any interference in the match." She said the last part as if she were reciting it from memory but didn't really mean it.

Taylor felt the inevitable tears coming. There was no use fighting it. She wasn't going to freak out or anything, but she couldn't pretend to not cry in front of Akashi. She felt the sting and closed her eyes as a tear rolled down her cheeks. "I... just want to protect you Akashi, that's all."

She looked up at the doorway and there was Johnny. He was at once the first and last person she wanted to see. She didn't want him to see her like this, all confused and weepy and crazy, but without even thinking about it she was on her feet. A couple running steps later she crashed into Johnny and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his chest.

"Johnny." She said. It felt good just to say his name. "Hi. Tell me everything's gonna be okay, quick. And... meet Akashi." She gestured back towards her sumo tag partner. "[size=85:97ayskir]Akashi meet Johnny." Her voice grew quieter as she got choked up.

Akashi listened to Taylor's words. She had a range of emotions coming over her face, but she couldn't express them with anything but her eyes and eyebrows. She was grinning like a fool as her teasing of Taylor worked. Even though she would certainly try and threaten Taylor with it if she lost. But Taylor quickly sobered up and began speaking. Life without her? Akashi couldn't even fathom her life without Taylor at this point. It upset her to hear Taylor call her a nobody. Akashi intended to prove Taylor wrong on that account but before she could say anything else, Taylor continued.

"I...ah..."

Akashi was speechless, her eyes wide with sorrow and confusion. She felt like she was hurting Taylor with the words she said and yet, her heart thumped in her chest. That Taylor felt so strongly about Akashi, made the sumo's eyes well up before Taylor ever became teary eyed.

"P-protect... me?" Tears fell down Akashi's cheeks as she said the words and she hugged Taylor tightly. Akashi was a proud woman and never thought anyone needed to protect her. She was the one that protected others. It didn't make sense and she truly didn't know what to do.


"T-Taylor-chan... Arigatou... thank you..." She said in a meek tone.

Johnny didn't realize he had stumbled into something sentimental and was too busy preparing for Taylor's bull rush as she charged at him. He had a big grin on his face and he let out an 'oof' as she rammed into his chest. He guided the two of them backwards until he bumped into a wall and propped the both of them up, grinning and pushing Taylor's head into his chest,

"H-Hey, babe!" He said, a slight bit of nerves coming over him. "Y-You definitely seem ready for the match, I just wanted to wish you luck before you went on!" Hope that's cool, an junk."

When she spoke, his mouth fell for a moment before tightening back up into a goofy grin. 'Ah, Taylor..." He said and kissed the top of her head. "You're gonna rock and kick that chick's ass!"

Akashi wiped her tears quickly and pushed herself up, grunting as she did. She raised an eyebrow as she looked at Johnny and crept her way over to the couple.

"Oho, so THIS is Johnnny-kun, eeeeeh?" Akashi said and grinned. "Your little boy toy? He doesn't look so tough!" Akashi said and then laughed.

"Eh.. Akashi... err... T-Tanikaze-san..?" Johnny said flustered. "You're even bigger in person!"Johnny wasn't particularly tall or short though and certainly not as tall as his brother, he was used to being taller than most Japanese girls. Akashi had at least an inch on him so any way he sliced it, she was bigger, taller, wider than him, it was a little intimidating.

"Ohh, you can call me Akashi-chaaaan, Johnny-kun." Akashi said teasing. She was totally bad with dealing with dudes and trying to deal with Johnny and tease him and Taylor seemed awkward to her, though she pressed on. She grabbed one of Johnny's arms and gave it a squeeze.

"Oh, Taylor-chan! I didn't know you were into hunky, musclemen!" She leaned in. and wrapped her arms around the two of them, plopping her boobs on Taylor's head as she leaned in and inspected Johnny.

"Eheh..." Johnny said nervously.

Akashi then raised an eyebrow and grinned and planted her lips right on Johnny's. She then pulled away and began to spit and sputter.

"E-eww! Ewwww!" She proclaimed as she stuck out her tongue and made a dramatic show of it. Johnny's face was beet red and he tried to protest.

"S-She did it! I didn't do anything!" He exclaimed.

"Gross! Taylor-chan, boys are gross! How could you!? The gentle touch of a woman is much better!" She said and wrinkled her nose trying not to smile and winking at Johnny.

"I... I guess while we find you a nice girl to settle down with, Johnny-kun will do for now." She said and laughed as she flashed the two young lovers the V sign.

"Yeah I am." Taylor said. She was going to go out there and kick ass and put on the performance of her life. It was good to hear someone else say it though. "I'm glad you're here."

She kept her head stuck firmly against Johnny's chest and closed her eyes. "Tough isn't the first word I'd use..." Taylor grinned. There were several more fitting adjectives that suited Johnny first. "Not like you, Ms Warrior Queen, you- oh, shit! Watch out, Johnny, she's gonna lesbians you!"

Taylor went to straighten up, but the sudden weight of Akashi's giant breasts pushed her back down. She let out a slow hiss of a sigh, and resigned herself to shouldering Akashi's burden. Besieged as she was by 20 plus pounds of boob, her options were limited.

"Of COURSE I'm into hunky musclemen! Who isn't? Especially the ones name Jun-bug." Taylor laughed, her voice slightly muffled by Johnny's chest and the baffle of Akashi's junk. Then Akashi kissed him.

"What just happened? Wait, wait, what just happened?" Taylor shot upright and looked back and forth from Johnny to Akashi, she couldn't help but smile. "Oh. As long as she isn't a better kisser than me. Otherwise, I'd have to kick her ass, and then she'd be easy prey for Sarah." She threw a slow mock knee strike that barely boinked against Akashi's belly. "Oh, well, maybe Akashi can teach you about sexing girls. She's got wicked experience."

Taylor laughed. She took a step back and looked over the two people there with her. They were the two most important people in her life. She couldn't believe how fortunate she was to have them... She started talking trash to the champ randomly in a bar one night while trying to drink off her first Friction losses and she honestly had no idea how that led to the friendship they now shared. She ran into Johnny in the club, screamed at his twin brother, and then within a few hours they had hit it off. Neither of them had said it, but it felt a lot like love, though she was still cautious about getting ahead of herself. She didn't deserve either of them, but she was so grateful for them both.

"Kashi..." She began, her tone sober again. "You're my best friend, and my mentor. It's like you're my teacher, and tonight is the final exam. This is a big deal. I feel so different, and I feel so ready, and..." She had to stop. She'd drive herself crazy if she talked too long. She just had to let the moment be what it was. "I love you Akashi. See you on the other side."

She wrapped her arms around Akashi's big body and gave her the hardest squeeze she could manage. Then she pulled back and looked her in the eye, gave her a little smile, and turned to leave. "Johnny, can you come back to my room with me?" She asked.