Seven Days for Evil's Sake

Mamouru watched as Taylor continued to lecture him. His eyes narrowed at her.Once again she spouted off about something she knew nothing about. Then she sped off as quickly as she came, uninterested in listening to anything he had to say. She was just interested in yelling at him and running off. Typical.

He let out a sigh between his smiling face and then slid back into his home. Chances were if he was pissing Taylor off then he was probably doing something right. She was wrong about what he wanted with Cassie though. There was a good chance that if he was just looking to get with Cassie he might have been able to do it already. Everything she said was going to happen already would have by now. He'd have dumped her and been on his way without a second thought.

Mamouru didn't have time to try and convince someone like Taylor who would never like him and never trust him. He had to focus on making Cassie the best wrestler she could be and fill n the gaps in her skill set wherever possible.

He took another drink and gulped it down. He then stayed up most of the night scribbling on a pad of paper until he passed out on the couch.

He woke up in a daze around eleven and after a quick shower he rushed back to the AFW facility to meet back up with Cassie for day five.

Cassie wasn't late getting to the gym on Friday. She got up a little later than she usually did, but much earlier than she'd been so far this week. She didn't bother with the makeup like she had the day before, though the black hair remained. She was dressed and ready in a pair of gym shorts and a pink short sleeved rash-guard, with her black suit underneath, in plenty of time to make the jog to the gym.

She'd spent hours the night before on the phone with her parent's and her middle brother, mostly talking to her mom about everything that had been going on. Talking about boys and pro wrestling was her area of expertise, and eventually she succeeded in calming Cassie down and straightening her out on the whole thing.

"He really doesn't sound like boyfriend materiel, Cassie, but he sounds like he could use a friend." Her mom had told her. "As long as your careful." Was her warning that she repeated over and over. Mamouru had good qualities, Cassie was always so good at spotting them in people even if they were overshadowed by all their other qualities, but she realized that in order to become involved with someone they needed to be more than okay. No man can serve two masters, and a house divided cannot stand and all that, if Mamouru's heart was with anyone else, it wasn't with Cassie.

She hadn't really had the time to sort out how she felt about it all, but she knew that as usual her parents were right. Really, what Cassie wanted was to someday have a relationship like her parents', and Mamouru was nothing like her dad. But then, she often thought she was more like her dad than her mom, or at least she liked to think that while the truth was of course somewhere in between... Was Mamouru more like her mom?

It didn't matter. She had to focus on training. She arrived at the gym before Mamouru and began to warm up and stretch, and when he arrived she greeted him with little more than a warm, sheepish, apologetic smile. They went through the rigors of the day's training, the concepts were starting to stick with her but it would take some time for them to become second nature, and eventually it was time for a break.

"Okay, time for a break." Cassie panted, glazed with sweat. She'd opted to leave her shorts and shirt on this time for training. She stepped through the ropes and hopped off the ring apron and went off to get an apple and a bottle of water out of her backup gym bag. She sat down to eat the apple, and noticed a tiny web in the indentation on top where the stem attached, with a tiny spider crushed inside. Probably they rinsed the apples with pressurized water or something and squished him like that.

"Aww." She said, and began trying to gently pull the web and spider loose and blew on it to dislodge it. Poor spider.

Mamouru got in a little late and a little shaggy. He wasn't hungover or anything but once again he hadn't slept very well and it was beginning to show on his features. He had set down his bag and Cassie's bag, coming in when Cassie was off. When she caught him a few minutes later, he wanted to speak to her but her smile melted him and focused him on the task at hand.

They practiced as well as they could and it seemed like everything was going very well. Cassie was beginning to learn and the irritation and tiredness he had felt recently began to melt away. They barely exchanged words until Cassie decided to take a break. He was eager to sit down with her and watched her pick at the apple she pulled out of her bag.

He let out a sigh and looked her over. "I have your bag, Cassie-san." He said first. "It's with my things. Don't worry, I didn't look, I just brought it home and brought it back. I would have called you but you left your phone with it..."

Mamouru closed his eyes and rand his hands through his sweaty hair. "Did you and Taylor-san get into a fight while I was in Kyoto?" He asked bluntly. It was the best way with Cassie.

Cassie bit into her apple and nodded to Mamouru. Her chewing slowed somewhat when he asked his question, but she didn't try to respond right away. She drew a deep breath and swallowed, and then looked him in the eye.

"Yeah, we did, but it's okay. I'll talk to her later today and straighten everything out. I think it was just... a big misunderstanding. Everything's okay now." She smiled sweetly and went back to her apple, brushing her hair behind her ear with her free hand. She was glad it wasn't awkward. Well, it was a little awkward, but now that she knew what she wanted everything would be okay.

Mamouru let out a soft chuckle at Cassie's words. "Heh, well she drove all the way to my house just to tell me so I figured I would ask about it." He said and stood up and stretched a bit.

"We should probably have a talk at some point, I guess." He said and slid back into the ring and stretched a bit while Cassie ate her apple. "Do you think everything's going well? Is the training helping? Are you excited for your first match?" All the questions were pretty relevant and it was a good idea to gauge her mental state since he had little to worry about physically.

Cassie grinned and nodded. "I'm so excited! I can't wait to try things out, but... I'm pretty nervous, too. I've been doing the things I do for my whole life... Adding new things as I go, but still doing them the same way. This is different, and I don't know what'll happen... But I'm excited to find out! I think we doing a good job preparing, but I don't know what people do to train to change their minds in the ring." She forced a nervous smile that was genuine all the same.

She sighed. People were so complicated when they didn't get along. The biggest problem they all had was that Taylor and Mamouru didn't get along. Maybe she would try to fix that at some point. Couldn't hurt, if she was gentle about it.

"That's not surprising. About Taylor. I guess... we're not as close as... I always wanted us to be, but I know her better than anyone here. I lived with her for a while in New York. She..." She trailed off and stared up at the ceiling in thought.

"Well, here's the thing about Taylor. In our wrestling school, people always were really mean to her, because she was a girl and everything. They told her things like 'oh, you'll never make it' or 'shouldn't you be in the kitchen' and tried to make her feel bad, but she just worked harder to make sure that none of them were ever right about her. She is the most stubborn person I've ever met, and... that's probably why she's still here.

"All the guys at the gym kind of looked after me. Like a little sister, and... it was really great. They were really nice, mostly, but once in a while, someone would say mean things to me, like they did with Taylor, and Taylor would just be there." She said with a snap of her fingers. "She was nineteen, and she'd be right up in a big huge muscle-y guy's face like she was going to beat him up if he didn't take back what he said." Smiling, Cassie craned her neck up to mimic what Taylor would've looked like looking up at a giant male wrestler. "She didn't care how much bigger or stronger or better the guy was. She wasn't going to be pushed around, and she stood her ground for me. We weren't even very good friends then." She shrugged.

"So yeah, once I figured that out, I knew that I... wanted to be... I knew that Taylor was someone worth having as a friend, and that she deserved a friend who cared about her, and would take care of her like she refused to. I don't think that really happened, but... All you guys don't see Taylor when you look at her. You don't. You just see the threat of Taylor, because she's always up in everyone's face, defending something from everything else. That's just what's inside her.

"I yelled at her on Wednesday... but she was looking out for me the way she always has, and... I love that she would do that for me even though she knew that it would mean getting into a fight with me." She cocked her head to the side. "Does that make sense?"

Cassie stopped talking. She realized how long she'd gone on talking about Taylor, and Mamouru probably wasn't interested in any of it but it was good for him to hear. To Cassie, that was the mission now. She had no feelings for him anymore, just like that, so now she'd just look out for him.

She smiled suddenly, a big, warm, lovely smile that somehow bypassed all of her insecurity and disregarded all of Mamouru's reservation. Everything was going to be alright.

Mamouru smiled at Cassie's words. She was slowly returning to the Cassie he recognized. It felt good. It was infectious he felt a little vibrant suddenly. His eyebrows widened and he looked her over. "Excellent, Cassie-san!" He said. "I can't say the road will be easy but I'll be by your side the whole way!" He then let out a sigh as he listened to her speak about Taylor.

He paid attention to what Cassie said about Taylor even if he didn't listen keenly. Taylor's qualities were admirable though he wasn't exactly surprised. Saying Taylor was stubborn was like saying the sky was blue. Everyone who met her knew that. She made a point to make sure everyone knew. He could certainly see Taylor in a different light after Cassie was finished but Cassie seemed to misunderstand the problem between Taylor and himself.

"I understand, Cassie-san." Mamouru said. "I never thought that Taylor-san was a bad person or lacking in quality. In fact it may be the opposite. I'm afraid unlike you, she cannot fathom me with any such quality. She believes that my only interest is trying to sleep with you." Mamouru sighed. "She will never see me as anything but a predator, especially with you. I'm not upset at her for thinking this way and I don't blame her for her actions. I just don't think she understands what is going on is all." Mamouru looked up and smiled at Cassie. "I'm sure she'll get over it. If she has to throw a punch or two, then that will just be added to the cost of victory. I'm certain that you could compete on her level with enough experience."

Cassie's smile faded. He didn't get it.

"Mamouru..." She chided softly. "You don't understand, the thing with her isn't about you. If you just look at what she does to you, then you'll always just be mad and eventually you and Taylor will kill each other. It doesn't matter how you feel about it, you've got to think about the other person first and how they feel. I know she's not perfect, but she was sticking up for me, and I'm sure somewhere inside what she did you could find something you'd have to admit was good." She felt like she wasn't making any sense. She stopped and took a breath, and then tried again.

"I mean... what am I trying to say? Well, you can't expect her to understand what's going on unless you tell her. With what she knows about what was going on, she did her best, I know she did. That's all you can really ask from someone, right? Sorry if I'm not making any sense, I'm not sure... I just want you guys to understand each other. I think you'd both like each other if you just knew each other better." She looked him straight in the eye and said firmly "I can't have my manager and my friend hating each other. And you don't get to say 'well SHE doesn't' blah blah blah. It's your job to listen to her and to talk to her, not complain about what she's doing wrong. Okay?"

The words came easily to her, because they belonged to her parents. It was a lesson that they had drilled into her early on, and she always thought it was something that shaped who she was today. Caring for people was more than just caring about them, you had to know how to do it.

"If you can give me homework and stuff, then I'm going to give you homework. You can teach me how to be a bad girl and I'll teach you to be a good guy!" She grinned, and poked Mamouru in the belly half a thousand times with her index fingers before standing up.

She was glad to hear that he wasn't just trying to sleep with her, even though that much was obvious from the start. She knew he liked her. She wasn't so squirmy as to miss that. Maybe they'd become good friends as time went on.

"Oh, and I know I can compete with Taylor, but on a mat. NOT in a ring. Come on, she'd kill me."

Mamouru shook his head as Cassie continued to try and explain. He understood it just fine. Cassie just didn't think so. "I do not have,nor have I ever had an issue with Taylor-san. As long as I have known her I've been nothing but cordial with her." He lifted up is hands to surrender to Cassie there was no way he could explain himself in a way that would be satisfactory with her.

"I'll do what I have to do to make things right, Cassie-san. Don't worry." He said and smiled hopefully at her. It was important as a manager for his client to be in the best state of mind as she could be and if it meant making peace with Taylor than he would.

"In fact, I'll do it tomorrow. What I am going to do for you, Cassie-san, on your last day before your match, is to get you tickets and travel accommodations to an onsen in Hokkaido. I want you to go there by yourself and I want you to relax and think of nothing but the beauty that surrounds you and the steam and water that graces you. You need a day where none of this touches you so you can be in perfect condition for your match. I'll make sure everything's right while you're gone and that way you can rest up and be focused for your match."

Mamouru smiled and clapped his hands together. "So that means we work today until there isn't an ounce of energy left in our bodies!" Mamouru then shook his head at Cassie. "You sell yourself short. What does she have that you do not? Killer instinct and experience. We're working on the former and the later will come in time. She uses speed and quick strikes but you're faster and lighter so you take away her main advantage. She can't grapple with you because that's your specialty. She'd be forced to brawl with you to beat you and even if she would do that, it takes her out of her game."

Cassie squinted suspiciously at Mamouru. She couldn't imagine Mamouru was actually blameless in his dealings with Taylor, though Taylor did probably initiate the unpleasantness. She was very proactive that way.

"Onsen?" She asked. She wasn't sure, but she was pretty sure that was like a hot spring sort of thing, or a bath house or something. She didn't think he'd just send her to a bath house, though. That was exciting! "Wow, I'm not sure I know what that is but it sounds awesome! Um... Thanks for doing that. I'm sure it'll be awesome, and I'll get so rested and focused and stuff... Yeah. Thanks."

Cassie laughed "Yay work!" But then Mamouru kept going and she clammed up. She did not sell herself short, at least she didn't think so. Listening to Mamouru talk, she didn't think he really had any idea what he was talking about with the differences between her and Taylor, though it was still sweet that he'd say those things. She didn't know what else to do, so she laughed.

"Okay, if Taylor and I started here..." She stepped in and clinched with Mamouru. "I would win. If we started back here..." She backed up several steps and tried to bounce and skip around the way Taylor did, though not very convincingly. "I'd be dead. It's the way it has always worked, and she's got a ton better and I... haven't." She looked down at the floor and frowned while she considered if what she said was really true. It sure seemed to be.

"But that's why we're doing this! So we can trick me into getting better." She felt awkward. She was making everything awkward. She tried to make up for it was a big grin and she skipped off into the gym floor.

"What's next?"