Small World After All

Rei blinked as she watched Taylor pull out her phone and actually begin to dial Johnny up. The girl still didn't quite understand why she found that comment so startling, Rei thought that was a compliment. I mean Asian Pop stars were often perceived as talented, charming and dashing. Yet, the girl detected a negative connotation with that title.

"Uhhh... yeah it's Rei Tomizawa!" Rei said with a smile but, gave a confuzed and even bewildered statement when she saw Johnny was good in the... sack?

The girl's face froze trying to process this information. Although Rei did an amazing job of learning English and masking her accent, she had great difficulty when it came to certain terms. She hadn't heard this one before. She had heard Americans had a tradition of emptying a sack of potatoes and having races by hopping up and down in the sack. Rei began to sweat a little spacing out as she tried to puzzle it all out. She pictured Johnny shirtless with his silver hair jumping up and down across a grassy field. Yet, Taylor finding this skill to be more attractive in males than singing and dancing was all the more perplexing.

"Ahh...hehehe that's certainly...a vital skill of being manly!" Rei said as she gave up trying to understand Taylor's expression and silently concluded that Americans were weird...

"Bleh!" Rei responded sticking out her tongue at Clyde at his offer. "Hmmm... I want a giant stuffed bear... and he has to be awesome... the biggest one in the entire mall! Oh... that's right!"

Rei dug into her back pocket and dug out an envelope with a cheque in it. "I haven't paid you for this month's services."

Taylor raised an eyebrow at Rei. What a weird little weirdo.

"Dude." Taylor said and jabbed Clyde with a finger. "Find a super nice iPod, like, second hand or something. Really cheap. Or at least tell her you got it for cheap. She'll love it, but getting it cheap might tickle her more than spending a ton of money on her." She advised. "But... maybe not." She added with a lopsided grin.

She was surprised somewhat by Clyde's question, though. She honestly hadn't thought about it. "Oh, um..." She scratched the back of her neck and looked away at the floor while she thought. She shrugged. "Nothing, man, I'm good. I don't need anything."

She drew a breath to add something, and then just closed her mouth tightly. What she really wanted was for everything with Akashi, all the hate and the trash talk and the need to kick her ass, to just go away. Even if her and Akashi just didn't speak anymore, it would be better than butting heads the way they'd been. She couldn't stand it. It kept her up at night, with her stomach in knots. Enough time had passed so that she no longer was racked with guilt over thoughts of it all being her fault, but she had never felt so upset.

She forced a laugh. "I'd kinda like to beat the shit out of Brittany. Fuck, man, she cheap shots me and pulls a taser. Who does that? Fucking pussy's too scared to fight for real, man."

She furrowed her brow at the envelope that Rei handed to Clyde. She looked back and forth between the two. What exactly was going on with them?

"What, uh... what services are we talking about, exactly?" She asked. Her eyes drifted back to Rei, and she couldn't hold it in anymore. "Why the hell are you wearing knee pads in a mall? Ring gear? Really?" She blurted. Honestly, what kind of attention whore was this chick?

"She'll love it?" Clyde's eyes lit up following Taylor's advising words to him but that would fade down when Taylor said that telling her he got something cheap may not tickle her fancy, giving him that lopsided grin that made Clyde furrow his brow. He wanted to buy something for Mercy that was nice but felt a cheap iPod would just further encourage that he was poor or that he wouldn't bother shooting any higher for her. Maybe.

Clyde laughed though when Rei voiced her displeasure with eggnog and declared she wanted a giant stuffed bear. Very cute of her. Very. He admired that innocent adolescent mind, granted, he knew she was no saint either. He shrugged though when Taylor said she didn't want anything for Christmas. He was just curious after all. But when Taylor suddenly laughed and declared that she wanted to beat up Brittany out of nowhere, Clyde raised an eyebrow in confusion. Random Statement. But he had to agree with what Taylor said. He hated Brittany too. He wondered if perhaps Rei would ever have to deal with her as well one day.

"Yeah. You alright by the way? I saw how you and Tanikaze got jumped and shit." Clyde obviously that was once her friend and that recently the two were at odds. He'd ask nothing more.

Clyde would have asked more about that before Rei declared she owed him for this month's services, Clyde narrowed his eyes a bit at Rei for her choice of words, but when he saw the look on Taylor's face. Clyde began to grin. He couldn't resist.

"Weeellllll I don't mean to brag Ms. Parker but this Cowboy is in High Demand to share his skills 'mongst ladies like Rei, here." Clyde said as he put an arm around her shoulder and tugged her close. He stretched the truth greatly on Rei being the only one to ask for lessons on.... Punching.

"Nah, you should get her a bear too. I think it's a really sweet gift don't you Clyde?" Rei said with a smile. "I mean you never know it may unleash her Tsundere side... ergh... her sweet side. After all women are girls at heart just like all men are boys. Or, you could just buy her a Louis Vuiton handbag, or jewlery but, I think the bear says so much more you know?"

Rei turned a slight shade of red when Clyde pulled her under his arm bringing them close make her laugh nervously. She had to admit her words hadn't come out the way she originally wanted. Although she liked the warmth of Clyde around her, she found herself a little flustered by Clyde's actions. Although some would call her experienced when it came to other women, she was rather shy and naive when it came to guys. She felt more comfortable being with women because she was one. However, the male species was somewhat alien to her.

"I-it's not what you think..." Rei said her voice quivering from her slight embarrassment. She didn't dislike Clyde putting his arm around her like that but, in public it seemed different. There was also something symbolic about having another guy put their arm around her that made her feel like a guy was protecting her. She found that embarrassing as if it spoke something about her inability to be independent. It was all silly but, Rei truly felt this way.

The Cosplay fighter blinked a few times before grabbing Clyde's wrist with a grin. She'd try to back off of Clyde and lift Clyde's arm and bring it down into an arm wrench before trying to maneuver behind him and leap on his back. Wrapping her legs around his back and wrapping his arm around his neck she grinned.

"You! Sir are now going to be my noble Texan steed throughout this shopping adventure!" Rei said in the most masculine voice she could muster. "Now onward!"

Rei pointed forward trying to get Clyde to go in that direction if Clyde didn't do what she asked or questioned her she'd slap the side of her heels against his sides as if she was sputting a horse.

"I'm fine." Taylor said to Clyde with a tight, irritated smile. Of course she was okay. Someone like Brittany wasn't going to break her. She already had her out of commission for months, and she survived the dark places that injury plunged her into . She couldn't be stopped by someone like that.

She was just a little irritated that Rei didn't seem to hear her. Not that it was important, but this chick was just in her own world. "Yeah, the bear says 'I like little girls'." Taylor said dryly.

She rolled her eyes at Clyde. She put a hand on her hip and her weight on one foot, turned the other foot to the side with the knee bent and cocked her hips to the side. Then she watched impassively as Rei got weird and jumped on Clyde. What a awkward little nut job.

"Okay, sooo..." She said. She went to put her hands in her pockets but then remembered that she was only wearing gym shorts. She sort of wanted to go change, but she was just going to see Johnny, and wearing her little shorts and tight tank top and knee socks would work out just fine for what they'd inevitably end up doing. She smiled to herself just thinking about it.

"So I'm gonna take off. I'll leave you to... whatever it is that you do. Go like, find giant bears and pay each other for sex and stuff."

"...Sun...Dairy...? Whut?" Clyde muttered in confusion as to what Rei referred to Mercy as.

Clyde was torn now by the whole "Stuffed Bear" dilemma. He thought it was kind of 'cute' but at the same time he was unsure if Mercy would like it and with Taylor's statement he was more unsure than ever. The Ipod so far was a safe bet. He'd have to look though gift ideas carefully.

Still, Clyde didn't really notice or really pay attention to how flustered Rei was, he didn't think anything of it and was only trying to make a bad joke. Eventually though Rei got loose, put Clyde into an unexpected arm-wrench that made his eyes widen as his face cringed up from the feeling just before Rei leaped onto his back, making Clyde stagger, his face turning red from the downright insane thing Rei did in the store, while obviously feeling a bit 'weird' when she got her legs and arms around him. The sales lady could only look on in confusion and just... more confusion...

"Rei! Thehellyoudoin,man!? DON'TMESSUPTHESUIT!!" Clyde blurted out quickly while Rei rode him, his words turning to horror when he realized what she was doing, slapping the sides of her heels together to make him go forward. More of an awkward stagger though.

And as Taylor announced she had to go while taking about the 'joke' that had became a misunderstand, Clyde forced himself to stop to try and say his last few words to Taylor.

"A-Ah! Hey I was jokin' about that... I'm teachin' her how ta' fight with her hands and stuff. You know! Punchin'! She ain't payin' me for anythin' else. Honest!" Clyde tried to explain, the joke was done and he didn't want any misunderstandings. Still he was dissapointed in the jokes results. He got more of a reaction out of Rei! Oh well.

"Seriously man... Thanks for your help and stuff. I don't really know the first thing 'bout fancy dress and I prolly woulda-... Well thanks for your help. Glad we could... Get along." He would admit uneasily. Could he apologize to her being an ass while drunk? Yes. But it wasn't best to bring it up, she'd probably do that herself in the next few seconds. Clyde wasn't sure if he really wanted to be friends with Taylor. She was cool in many ways and in other ways she got his temper flaring so high the only logical thing was to start fight.

He made peace with her strictly for Mercy. But he knew when he Taylor didn't have to help him but she did anyway. He'd remember that. Not a total bitch, but not totally your friend either. Especially when constantly bringing up 'He who will get his ass kicked one of these days. She was an odd one.

Still, Clyde wasn't really sure on what to say to this Acquaintance of his. "...Good luck at, Avalanche." He then held out his hand (With Rei still on him most likely) to Taylor. It was all he knew he could give her right now. He was sure they would meet again after all since they bumped into eachother so often. "...See you after Christmas I guess" He wasn't sure.

She frowned a little at Taylor tilting her head, she seemed like a sullen woman. Although Rei didn't hate her, she couldn't help but, feel a little depressed by her attitude towards well everything. She disliked Clyde, teddy bears, korean pop stars, her outfit and a little rough housing. Yet the only thing she seemed to enjoy was her boyfriend which made her feel a little uneasy. it was one thing to boast about someone in a relationship but, just the manner in which she did it was just petty and even exaggerated as if she tried to invoke some form of jealousy. Still, Rei kept quiet she had a feeling Taylor may have been insecure about herself or something of that nature in which she failed to pin point exactly. She thought that perhaps her chipper and energetic nature may have annoyed her but, even so it didn't justify her attitude. The Cosplay Fighter wasn't as bothered by this for several factors:

1) She's going Christmas shopping!
2) She was gonna get a giant teddy bear
3) Taylor was going to leave anyway.

She saw no sense in trying to confront her and besides she was Clyde's friend. She had tried to befriend but, every comment and even her own outfit became a point in some argument. Rei just had to accept that they were polar opposites to each other and move on. She didn't think Taylor was a bad person either, it just seemed like they could never truly be friends.

"Oh... I see. I'm fighting at Avalanche as well..." Rei replied in a slightly more withdrawn tone, she spoke slower with a more formal tone but there was almost a coldness to it. "I hope you and Johnny have a good time on your 'date'! Well, goodbye."

Taylor held up her hands in a boxing guard and stuck out a few robotic lefts and rights. "I'll bet, Mr Ladykiller." Taylor said with a sly look and a glance up a Rei. She was just putting him on, but a part of her wondered if maybe Clyde was making the rounds as part of the process of getting over his old old lady.

She shrugged. "No problem. Thanks for... ya know, letting me do something nice. Or something. It's a good birthday present."

She got a far away look in her eye at the mention of Avalanche, and for a moment she looked noticeably saddened by the thought. "Don't need it, man. Easy money." She said. The impending fight with Akashi was going to be brutal in every possible sense of the term. She wanted it, more than anything, but she wasn't looking forward to it in the least and she didn't expect to feel good about it afterward. "And who knows, at this rate I wouldn't be surprised if I bumped into you again tomorrow. You're like a... what's that expression... not a bad apple... whatever. Yeah, I'll see you around, or whatever."

Taylor looked back up at Rei, perched up on Clyde's back, when she spoke, and raised an eyebrow at the sudden change in her mood. She looked pretty ridiculous, pouting during a piggy back ride. "Oh." She said. "Well, good luck, then. Go get 'em..." She said warily, as if she expected Rei to get pissed off or something. She couldn't help but grin at her next comment, though. She gave Rei a wink and beamed. "I don't think we really date anymore, but yeah, I'll have fun."

Visiting Johnny was always awesome. It didn't matter if she went a month or a week or a day without seeing him, every time one of them made the trip between Kyoto and Tokyo, it was awesome. She was amazed that they'd managed to go over a year like that, without one moving toward the other, but they both had their careers and she would never ask Johnny to move away from his. She wasn't finished with her own, either.

She took out her phone and checked Johnny's reply to her text and giggled, and then looked up at Clyde and Rei and waved. Her face had softened considerably even as she pressed Johnny's speed dial button.

"Don't screw with this dude, a'right?" She said to Rei. "He's very delicate, and chicks with purple hair are yesterday's news. Pink is the new purple. Wait, do you know anyone with normal colored hair?" She shook her head and turned to leave. She put the phone up to her ear. "Heeeey Tiiiiger." She said coyly as Johnny picked up, and then she was out the door.