Drifting to Tokyo

Talia spun around once more. "You should introduce me to your brother sometime." Johnny still hadn't told her much about his brother, just that he would never want her to wrestle him. If he spent just as much time clothes shopping as her, how bad could he be? She stuck out her leg, the skirt really did stretch pretty far down. "Hmm..." she muttered. Johnny then handed to her an outfit. "What's this?" she asked him. Well of course they were clothes, but Talia was surprised that he had picked something out for her. "Alright," she did appreciate the colors. "Let me put this one on, one minute!" She scurried back to the dressing room.

Talia changed into the outfit Johnny had given her, murmuring happily while doing so. As she put on the skirt though, the girl hesitated. It wasn't tight at all, but it was a little short. She put on the halter top and walked out of the dressing room. The pink-once more girl looked into the mirror. She pulled up on the bottom of the skirt a little, just to gauge how high it would flap normally. "Hmm..." she muttered to herself. It did look good from the front. When she did her customary spin, though, it look so much better. The skirt lifted up just barely, not enough to be a risk. More importantly, though it showed a lot more of her upper back and neck. As much as she didn't want to be vain, Talia couldn't help but smile at herself.

"Wow, I think this look great!" she said cheerfully. "What do you think?" she asked Johnny. After a few seconds of silence, though, she looked away from the mirror. "Johnny? Johnny?" the girl asked out loud, looking around and raising her voice the second time. "Where...where did he go?" she whispered to herself. She looked back at the mirror. He must have just left to get more clothes for me. Staring back at the mirror and the image of herself, Talia didn't smile even though she did think she looked good. It seemed shallow to be doing this by herself.

Johnny had snuck off while Talia changed and found what he thought would be perfect for a finishing touch. When he saw, from a distance, that she was done changing, he grinned. She looked great! The dress was definitely perfect!. Johnny blushed as he gazed at her form.

He tried to wait until he could sneak up on her and when he thought he was in the right position, he pulled his arms around her and slipped a ribbon that had a pewter disc with a cat's paw on it. He hoped the necklace would finish off the ensemble.

"I... Dunno... If you're like, a cat and juunk but, it still seemed pretty cute... I thougt... You look gret, Talia-chan. Like... Hot and shit." Johnny said, turning his head and blushing a bit.

Talia was looking in the mirror when saw Johnny sneaking up on her. Playfully, she pretended not to see him. He slipped a necklace around her, and she smiled. "I think it looks great," she said when Johnny said he hoped she liked it. She never thought of herself as cat-like but it wasn't exactly something she thought about every day of the week. "Thank you," she whispered to him. "This outfit looks great." Talia leaned up to kiss Johnny on the cheek. "And it is all I need right now." Talia waltzed back to the dressing room to get her clothes. As she packed them up, she couldn't help but feel flattered by what Johnny said about her. Of course, she never imagined being called "Hot and shit" would make her blush like this.

When she came out of the dressing room, she still had the outfit on, tags and all. "I think I'll wear this out of the store..." she said as she put her own clothes into her bag. She grabbed onto Johnny's hand and pulled him to the counter with her. Talia made sure to get her purse out to pay before Johnny would have a chance as the cashier scanned the items on her. "Thank you for picking this out for me, it looks great!"

After another couple hours sight-seeing and shopping around, the two made their way to a less busy part of town to get an early dinner, with the intention to head to Friction early to walk around backstage and get good seats. "How about this place?" Talia asked pointing to a sushi bar. She was having trouble picking a place to eat. She had been starving for an hour now but just couldn't commit to a restaurant. Then she saw a nice cafe style restaurant with outdoor seats that reminded her of home. "Ohhh let's eat here!" she tugged at Johnny. "My favorite place back in California was like this. Different food I'm sure but it's nostalgic nonetheless." The girl would sit down before Johnny even spoke. "Whew...I am exhausted."

((posted from mah phone, forgive the mistakes!))

Johnny blushed when she kissed him on the cheek again She was pretty affectionate but in a different way from Taylor. Taylor was aggressively so. She always had practically one hand down his pants. She was such a sexual animal. Talia was sweet, cute. It was just enough. He touched his cheek as she scampered of and soon enough they were back on the streets.

The time flew by. So much that they barely even realized they were hungry until unsolicited stomach growls demanded to be heard. Talia picked a cool looking outdoor cafe near the Friction Stadium. Johnny nodded and when Talia sat down, Johnny went inside and made an order. He brought out drinks and sat down at a table so the two of them could people watch.

Johnny sat back down. "I hear Sushi's pretty popular in the states, man. Maybe not? Got a little bit a everything, hope that's ok." Johnny smiled at Talia. "Well, this place is pretty close to the stadium, if we're lucky then maybe we'll see some of the wrestlers. A few of them like to put on street clothes and sneak some food. Some even like to walk around in their ring clothes and make a big production of it. I guess they want to be seen as much as people wanna see em."

Talia nodded, "Yea, its pretty popular back home. It's pretty much the only popular Japanese food that I can name." The girl leaned back in her chair and started to watch people as they walked by. "Sometimes it is nice to just sit around and watch the world as it passes you," she stated poetically as she stared off at a group of passersby. Her stare drifted right back to Johnny. She was a little sore as a result of the long day of walking around combined with the beating she took from the very man across her. Yet she felt so happy, so full of life.

"Do you eat sushi often? Based on the distribution of sushi restaurants to other Japanese places in California...you'd think three out of every four places here would serve sushi." Though Talia wouldn't complain. She didn't care for sushi that much. But she wouldn't mind eating it if it meant she would spend time with a few friends. Though one such as Johnny would certainly work just as well. The girl turned her head to look at more people as they passed by. One particular couple caught Talia's eye. Two young people holding hands as they walked by the cafe immediately reminded her of a couple people she knew. She reached over and gently held Johnny's hand. Looking up to give him a warm smile, she then looked back at the crowds passing by.

"So...see anyone you know?" she asked, hoping perhaps some AFW stars would walk by them. She knew the big names and what they looked like. But she wasn't positive about the not-so big names in Friction. Equivalents of herself were not as well known by any means. Fortunately, it did have a perk. No one distracted Talia and Johnny on their day on the town together.

Taylor realized on her way to lunch that she no longer ate at any of the places that she frequented earlier in her stay in Japan. At first, after arriving, she sought out familiar food, and was generally terrified of the local cuisine. Since she couldn't cook she got food from the small handful of nearby American-friendly restaurants all the time.

Not so much anymore. She was learning how to cook, just a little, and she'd streamlined her diet so that everything she ate benefited her body and her ability to perform. Which meant, among other things, no more hamburgers, and she sighed as she passed by the old American-themed restaurant where she'd stumbled into an impromptu birthday party the year before. She looked in through the windows and thought about how much she missed... something. It wasn't even the food. Was she homesick? She would never have thought that she'd miss that place...

She kept walking, crossed a side street, and strolled over to an outdoor cafe that she liked. Even when she took her time there was still a kinetic bounce in her step, and she kept a pace that was significantly quicker than a normal person's leisurely stroll. It felt slow to her. The sun was out, and the July heat was too much to allow her to hid under her usual hoodie. As much as she liked keeping a low profile when she was out in public by herself, there was no use in trying to hide today.

Her hair, now jet-black, hung loosely around her shoulders with her long bangs swept to the side. Her black tank top, the one with two skulls on the upper corner, each with a pink ribbon in their "hair", fit snugly and left an inch of her flat stomach exposed before her little cutoff denim shorts. Her muscular thighs were entirely bare until her black knee-high boots took over. She wore a black necklace, a wide leather bracelet, and a random assortment of brightly colored plastic bracelets on the other wrist. She felt alright, good enough to not mind being seen, but not so good that she wouldn't like the attention. She felt okay, and that was progress.

She kept her head down while she found a table on the farthest corner of the lot, as far away from other people as she could get.

A waiter brought out the food Johnny had ordered to their table. A variety of sushi now lay before Talia, over half of which she couldn't even name. She picked up one piece that had a piece of fish that was white in color, it looked partially cooked even though Talia knew for sure that it wasn't. She took a bite and swallowed it, then placed the half eaten piece back on her plate. "It's very fresh," she said to Johnny. It was the best compliment she could muster, she would never complain about something someone else paid for. She reached for another piece and picked it up. Instead of eating it this time, she offered it directly to Johnny from her chopsticks. "Open up!"

After Johnny had eaten the piece of sushi, Talia leaned back in her seat, continuing to watch the people as they pass by. Someone stood out from the out crowd. Another American girl, one about her age too, had walked across the street and was sitting down at another table decently far from Johnny and herself. Talia recognized the girl immediately, but she couldn't recall who it was exactly. She found herself staring, then it hit her. Friction top ten, former entropy champion Taylor Parker! Talia pointed the girl out to Johnny. "Hey...that's Taylor Parker! Do you know her?" Without even waiting for a response, Talia got to her feet and skipped to Taylor's table.

"Excuse me, you're Taylor Parker right?" she asked as she walked to other side of Taylor's table so they could face each other without Taylor having to move. "I'm a big fan." Realizing how irritated Taylor could be with a random fan walking up to her, Talia tried to even out the balance by introducing herself as well. "I'm Talia Wilson, I wrestle with AFW as well." The girl held out her hand hoping to shake Taylor's. "...with Tension instead, but still AFW." Still trying to hopefully ease up the tension, Talia continued. "I'm from San Diego."

Taylor already knew what she was ordering without having to look at a menu. She slouched down in her chair and fiddled with her bracelets while she stared off into space. She did that a lot these days. There was a lot to think about.

Her rumination was cut short, and not by the waiter. She jumped, and looked up at the sweet looking white girl at her table. She shook her head and immediately tried to brighten up a little for her fan.

"Hey." She said, and let the girl go on. She gave her hand a firm shake, along with a laid back version of the killer smile that had got her face stuck into magazines and... the internet, and stuff. "That's cool. I'm from New York. Are you... sorry, I don't keep up with Tension as much, are you new here?"

Taylor immediately noted how small the girl was. Taylor was on the lighter end of a competitive build, and she made this girl look small. She was gracious enough not to say anything about it, though. She could also tell this girl was brand new, or at least she seemed like it. She was too excitable to be experienced.

"Do you want to sit down or something, man?" Taylor asked. Even if Talia was with AFW, she wasn't competition. Even if she was Friction, Taylor would certainly not worry about her. It was nice, being able to meet another wrestler, or at least a wrestler hopeful, without having to be all on guard and everything. She had intended to eat alone, but honestly she could use the company.

Talia was glad that Taylor responded kindly to her. She probably ran her mouth in the ring more than any other wrestler. She had hoped it wasn't the case out of the ring, but she always feared it in the back of her head. "Yes, I've only been with Tension a few months." A very rough few months. But she doubted Taylor cared to listen to her problems. She was happy to sit down when offered by Taylor. "Though some friends have been wanting me to join Friction instead. Some of the guys in Tension can be very brutal." 'Most' was probably a more appropriate word instead of 'Some' but it wasn't important.

"Are you going to be competing tonight?" Talia accidentally asked immediately after. She looked forward to seeing some of the American girls competing in the ring live. It was inappropriate, though, as Talia had watched Taylor attempt to defend her title and lose awhile back. It wasn't exactly a clean fight, and she didn't leave the ring under her own strength. "I mean..." Talia mumbled and trailed off. "Are you getting better?" she asked with a curious look. "I know I'm not alone in saying we want to see you back in the ring soon...but only if you think you're ready." Talia has used the word 'we' as if she was speaking for the rest of the AFW. It was a crude generalization, but she believed for the most part that it was true.

It was then that Talia realized she had been eating with Johnny when she just walked out on him. "Oh! I completely forgot." Talia got up out of the chair and nodded her head to Taylor. "I'm sorry, I was eating with a date of mine," Talia used the word date rather casually. "I don't want to keep him waiting...but if you don't mind, maybe you could eat and relax with us?" She took a few steps toward her table, gesturing for Taylor to follow. "He's also with Tension, we became close after we wrestled yesterday." Talia blushed a little telling the general background. It really had only been one day, but she felt like it had been so much longer. "Here, maybe you know him. I'm sure he knows you as well." Talia really had no idea just how well.

Taylor gave Talia a sympathetic smile. In her experience, Tension guys were worthless, but she knew perfectly well that Tension liked to put 100lb girls up against 250lb guys. It was total bullshit.

"Yeah, man, they need weight classes or something, I dunno. You're brand new and they probably just threw you to the wolves. Fuck that, just come to Friction. Are you..." She stopped herself before she could ask if she was going to join the Kawaii division. Of course she wasn't if she was coming from Tension. "Just... hang in there, a'right?"

She groaned when Talia brought up her fighting, and then her injury, and she closed her eyes for a moment. "I'm doin' a'right, ya know? I'm still not back at it or anything, but I'm up and around. Brittany fucked me up bad, man, she broke ribs and there was like, bleeding and stuff. On the inside, it was weird."

Taylor stopped when Talia remembered her date. "A date, huh?" She asked with a sly smile. When she said he was with Tension too, she stood up to go meet him, but then she caught sight of Johnny.

"Ohmigod, JOHNNY!" She pushed past Talia and vaulted cleanly over a table to get to him. "Johnny! Ohmigod, I-I... I..." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes to settle down and get a hold of herself. She started over, and spoke quickly enough to prevent anyone from getting a word in edgewise. She felt like if she stopped, she'd lose her nerve.

"Hi, Johnny." She said, with eyes that couldn't have been any more apologetic. She just wanted to throw herself at him, she just wanted him to hold her in his strong arms again. "I... I've been meaning to come talk to you, I... I've had a lot of stuff going on, a-and..." She put a hand on his shoulder and looked him straight in the eye. "Johnny, I am so. Sorry. I haven't been doing good, man, and like, Akashi... she's gone, she burned me, and like we were never really friends in the first place and if she could turn on me like that I was just so... I was afraid that..." She could feel tears starting to well up in her eyes as she started to get choked up.

She rolled up eyes up at the sky and forced a pretty smile. "I know that you would never do that. Like... I was a little jealous of you rolling around with mega-hot Tension girls and everything, but I was more worried that they would come on to you. I always knew that you wouldn't just trade me in for some other girl, and I'm so, so, so sorry that I treated you like that Johnny, you didn't deserve it and I'm just a mess and..."

She had been gushing a steady stream of frantic, uninterruptable speech, but she suddenly became acutely aware that they were in public, and she stopped. She always did that, acted first and thought later. Her cheeks quickly turned bright red and she peeked back at the rest of the restaurant, and at the stares of the other patrons. Then her eyes fell on Talia.

A look of confusion came over her and her mouth opened silently as she stared at Talia. She looked back at Johnny and suddenly she realized what was happening. She looked so shocked and confused and hurt that the sight of her drew sympathy from strangers at other tables, and they leaned in to whisper things to their friends.

She felt sick. She felt gutted. Her knees felt weak, and she just wanted to collapse right there under a table and die because it was all her fault. Everything was. She couldn't even get mad about it. She turned away to leave and hide her face from the people when she couldn't hold back the tears anymore, but she stopped short. She couldn't bring herself to just walk away. That was what got her into this mess in the first place.