Av'12 Bamboo Forest, "I quit" match

Akashi furrowed her brow at Taylor's words. Still... Akashi had said the words. But Taylor's bitter stubbornness was also a lot to take in. "Taylor..." She said seriously. "I said ... a lot of thins that I wish I could take back." She smiled. "You're an.. amazing wrestler." She nodded. "You'll definitely be the champ one day, I know it." Akashi stepped forward and lifted her leg up off the ground a little ways. Her body ached, but she was suddenly feeling a surge of adrenaline pumping through her body. She stamped her foot against the ground and pushed her fist forward, facing perpendicular to Taylor's body as she bent her knees a little.

"I'm just... Not ready to give up my dreams yet either!" She said with a grin. Akashi adjusted herself so she was facing Taylor again, Holding her hands up above her. "Another reason why I can't say those words!" She added, puffing out her chest proudly. Akashi dashed at Taylor looking to grab her in an elbow-collar tie up.

"You're a part of them too!"

Akashi's praise made Taylor hold her breath. She turned away and was blinking away tears again when she heard Akashi's stomp, which triggered a Pavlovian response in her. Immediately she was at attention, with her right foot back bouncing on the balls of her feet, ready to move.

She waited for Akashi's charge, noted the position of her arms and took a couple running steps of her own. She dove just to Akashi's left, landed in a neat roll, and came up mostly behind her. She retaliated with a fast right roundhouse kick, aimed up at Akashi's face.

Akashi hadn't created much momentum when Taylor came at her. She had really been looking to do some grappling. But Taylor zoomed past her and rolled. Akashi turned around to see a foot flying at her. She threw up her hands to block the kick and stumbled backwards. Even at this stage in the fight, Taylor's kicks had power behind it. But Akashi started to wonder where all this was going. She was resolved not to say the words. Taylor had inflicted so much damage on her that pain hardly seemed to matter. She was sore EVERYWHERE. Akashi was certain that the only way someone could win was to break the other girl's spirit. Another impossible task. But Akashi had an idea.

She threw her arms out and looked Taylor in eyes. Her face softened and she smiled. "I love you, Imouto-chan." She said in a sweet tone that held all sincerity. Her posture looked like she was waiting for a hug from the blue haired girl.

Taylor's foot landed back on the mat and she immediately skipped to the side. She didn't want to stand directly in front of Akashi, so that the sumo wouldn't be able to bring her full, horrifying strength to bear on the smaller, speedy punk. She hesitated as Akashi backed off a little, not wanting to get caught by anything tricky.

She was about to charge in again when the sumo spread out her arms for a hug. Taylor stopped dead. She gave her a look of anger and complete confusion. A hug from Akashi on a good day was paralyzing. But... this was still a fight. She was just trying to trick her. She would do anything to win, she repeated over and over in her head.

She would do anything to win.

Taylor let out a raspy, aggravated shout that grew to a roar, and flung herself at Akashi. She jumped up high, her right hand cocked. She landed on Akashi with her legs on either side of her body, squeezing her in between her knees like she was riding a horse, and threw her fist down at her battered face.

"SHUT UP!" She shrieked.

Akashi didn't flinch and she didn't take her eyes off of Taylor as the girl charged. Her arms didn't move a muscle until Taylor landed on her. Then, even as the fist crashed into her face, punishing her and making her stumble back, did Akashi's arms wrap around Taylor, holding her tightly. Embracing her, not crushing her as Taylor's fist pounded into Akashi's face, rupturing her nose so that blood began to drip from it. Her legs felt shaky as she held onto Taylor but continued to look up at Taylor through the wave of fists. She tried her best to smile through the unflinching rage, even as her body seized her face into a grimace of pain.

"I... ugh! Love you... guuuh! .. Imou-Guh!... to-chNghh! chan."

Akashi's legs wobbled and she finally sank to her knees, flopping forward with Taylor in her arms as her battered face pushed into Taylor's chest. All she could do was pant haggardly as she felt her face throb and trickle out various fluids. Spit, blood, tears. She never felt so sore in her life. Taking a large amount of fists to the face from anyone was hard to bear even for the tough sumo.

Over and over Taylor pounded her right hand into Akashi's face. Each one fell like she was trying to punch a hole through her head, and when her black, open finger-gloved hand began to come back with blood on it she only threw harder. With all the adrenaline, she barely noticed when she broke her hand on Akashi's head. She just wanted her to shut up, or something. She wanted it to end.

"SHUT UP!" She screamed again, her voice breaking, and then Akashi fell, pinning her underneath her bulk. Taylor continued to slap the heels of her hands against the sides of Akashi's head until tears streamed down her face. She couldn't help it anymore.

"Fuuuck!" She wailed, as she began to sob. "Why? Why would you do this to me?" She seized Akashi's hair with both hands and wrenched it back to force her to look her in the eye. She closed her mouth at the sight of her battered face.

Akashi groaned weakly in Taylor's chest. She barely even moved as Taylor slapped her head. She wasn't unconscious but she was barely not. As Taylor yanked her head, Akashi only whimpered. She was a mess and she looked at Taylor through one unclosed eye. The other one was starting to swell like she had been in a ten round heavyweight fight.

She opened her mouth and looked at Taylor. She definitely wasn't trying to avoid eye contact. Her mouth opened. "No one... will ever accuse Tanikaze Akashi of betraying the people she cares for... not even they themselves." Her voice was weak, barely more than a mumble as she looked at Taylor. "Whatever it takes. If you want to beat me within an inch of my life. Fine. If you want me to say you're a better wrestler than me. That you're tougher than me. Fine. I'll say it. I'll apologize a million times. I'm sorry. I was horrible to you. What do I have to do to prove myself to you? I'll cut my belly open if you want me to. I'm not afraid of that. But... I won't say those words because... that would be a worse betrayal than anything else I have ever done."

Taylor's hands relaxed, but still held Akashi's hair. Their conversation was quiet enough that the microphones didn't adequately pick it up, and the crowd was silent.

"I don't want any of that." She said unsteadily. "I just... I want you to... I don't want you to lie to me, but I want you to believe that I'm... I'm..." What was it? She was going to say "that I'm a good fighter", but that didn't seem to be it. She tried to think about it, though her head was swimming from the abuse she'd taken and the adrenaline and the stress of the night. What did she want, really?

Her voice was barely above a whisper, and she hardly got the line out before her quiet sobs choked her. "I just wanted you to believe in me."

Akashi listened to Taylor's words. Her sore mouth hung open and she took breaths in quick, rapid succession, holding her chest, almost holding her breath, as she listened to what Taylor said. When Taylor began to sob, Akashi sobbed too. Tears streamed down the sides of her face and dripped onto Taylor's chest. Still, a smile began to slowly creep onto her face.

T-Taylor-chan." She said as she pushed a shaky hand up and cupped Taylor's cheek. it felt so good to press her hand lovingly against Taylor. It was like being blinded and finally seeing again.

Akashi grunted and pushed herself upward so that she was up against Taylor's body a bit more evenly. She let her head rest on Taylor's forehead and looked into her eyes, her long black hair almost like a curtain over them. "Imouto-chan." She whispered. "Taylor." She said again, just saying her name plainly.

Akashi's hand went up Taylor's head and tugged at the tie that held one pig tail in and eased it off so that part of her hair flopped free. Akashi's fingers then snaked through the messy, sweat soaked blue hair and she left it there.

"I've always believed in you. I said... terrible.. terrible things that I didn't mean. That I wish I could take back. In the heat of anger I lashed out and was cruel. I regret everything about that. Those aren't my true feelings though. Akashi's other free hand slipped between the two if their bodies and pressed between Taylor's chest, pressing up where her heart was. "I know you know it here." She said pressing her fingers against Taylor. "I could never be this close with someone who I had no faith in. Our hearts MUST be connected for us to be able to shed such tears, to spill such blood. I know you feel the same way."

Akashi leaned her face in and pressed her lips against Taylor's cheek, kissing it tenderly.

Taylor couldn't speak. She could hardly breathe. She stared wide eyed up at Akashi. Her impulse to bat away every word she said was gone, pinned under Akashi just like Taylor was pinned under her body. Tears silently rolled down her cheeks, but she was done sobbing.

"Kashi... I know." She croaked. "I know." She wriggled one leg free and stretched down to reach one of the buckles on her long black boots. She fiddled with it until it came loose, and from inside the fold that opened she took a silver bracelet with a pendant that read "KAZE", written in Japanese. "Or... I was hoping."

"Kashi, I'm so, so sorry." She said, and the tears came back again. "I'm so sorry. Please..." She squeezed her eyes shut. "Forgive me?" She said in the tiniest voice.