Old Friends Make Great Fights

"Oh, there's lots of pressure." Cassie said, and giggled with a bright smile. She took another sip of her sour orange fizzy drink and shuddered.

"Awesome! Thank you so much. Um..." Cassie hesitated, looking like she was deep in thought for a moment. "So, I've been thinking about wrestling a lot. I watch it all the time and I'm training really hard now. I've got some really good training partners! They really help me push myself..." She said.

Her body had changed since she'd intensified her training. She felt stronger, harder, springier. She'd always been athletic, but now she felt more like an athlete and less like teenaged girl. It was the start of a long road, though. She was only discovering what her body could do, and despite her confidence in her abilities, she knew she had a lot to learn.

So much had changed since she'd last seen Tomomi. She felt like Tomomi was different, too. She hadn't been around as much lately, probably due to Chigusa and Megumi hogging the AFW spotlight.

"Hey, do you know Taylor? Taylor Parker? Like, personally, I mean. I think you'd really like her. Um... how have you been? What have you been up to?" She asked, picking up her feet and tucking them up onto the couch so she could turn to the side and face Tomomi.

Tomomi noticed that Cassie's body seemed different from before as well. She looked more grown up, her awkward teenager build starting to get more filled out. It was probably from her training. Even if Cassie lost more than she won, Tomomi could tell this was a girl about to reach her prime. Maybe this match was going to give Cassie that push she needed to become the great fighter she deserved to be. That was an even better reason to fight Cassie, Tomomi thought.

"Taylor? Not really," Tomomi said, "I hear my sempais talking about her a lot, but I haven't met her personally. She's really strong though. Chigusa-sempai said Taylor's probably the only person who could outspeed her." Tomomi looked over at Cassie, knowing that the two of them had been roommates and friends for a long time. She wondered how Cassie felt about Taylor suddenly leaving like this. Chigusa-sempai certainly wasn't pleased that Taylor didn't even invite her to her wedding.

"I've actually been pretty busy," Tomomi said, "Mostly with non-AFW related stuff. Lots of promotions and events and performances. It's all preparation for something big that's gonna happen soon. I can't say what, but it'll be a surprise for sure!" Tomomi smiled, even though keeping this secret was killing her.

Cassie giggled at the mention of Chigusa's compliment. She felt so much pride it was like Chigusa was talking about her, and not Taylor.

"She scares me!" She said with a laugh. "She... doesn't talk about Chigusa. And she really hates Megumi, but I'm not really sure why because they've never even met. I'm not sure if she knows who you are..." She stared at Tomomi in thought for a moment. "No, she has to, you were in Avalanche last year. Taylor pretty much knows of everybody in Friction."

Tomomi's next bit piqued Cassie'd interest. She raised her eyebrows and tilted her head, pushing her hair back behind her ears with her fingers on one side. "Really?" She said, and then looked down while she thought about it for a moment. Tomomi had never been the wrestler of their group. Cassie always thought that wrestling was just a way for her to promote her other things, like her music. With Tomomi being gone lately and Chigusa and Megumi getting so much attention in AFW, she wondered if maybe...

She looked up at Tomomi. "Are you quitting?" She asked directly.

Tomomi did a double take when Cassie asked her question. "Quitting? No no!" Tomomi said, shaking her head, "No, I like wrestling too much for that!" She smiled widely to try and defuse that misgivings Cassie had. "No, it's something else. It's a good thing! I want it to be a surprise."

She turned back to Cassie. "So no more questions Cassie-chan! I want to build up the suspense!" And she wasn't quite sure she was allowed to talk about it yet. Not everything had been finished. But it was coming up, and Tomomi couldn't help but feel excited.

"You know, I'm really glad you came," Tomomi said, "I mean, after you left you started avoiding us. I guess that's to be expected, considering what Megumi did. But if we can clear the air and go into this match as friends then everything is better. I hope... well... I hope you don't blame us for anything."

"I wasn't avoiding you!" Cassie said defensively. She had been avoiding them, though, and she couldn't help but blush a little.

"Well..." She said, still looking down. She thought for a moment. "It isn't like you guys were looking for me... But I'm glad too. It's no fun to fight people you don't like. But... sometimes you have to. Sometimes they need it, and you have to give it to them. The girl with the mask... she needs it." Cassie said, staring off into space somewhere of on the floor. She nodded absently.

"But there's really no one to blame for anything, right? I think Mamouru is better for the job, because I'm not a really big star or anything, so I feel like I'd just be wasting Drake's time. And Mamouru really wants me to do well... he spends a lot of time with me to help me prepare and make sure I'm okay going into a match. I can't wait to hear what he has to say about fighting you!" She laughed.

"I was afraid to go looking for you," Tomomi admitted, "If you weren't happy to see me, I would feel awful." She frowned a little bit. "Mask? You mean Dark Angel? She fought Chigusa-sempai you know! They beat each other up pretty badly."

"I guess you and Mamoru are trying to pull and underdog story huh?" Tomomi said, "The cute young Canadian fighting in Japan, supported by a newbie manager, taking on the establishment!" Tomomi grinned goofily. "It'll be an adventure Cassie-chan! Question is, are you really up for it?" Tomomi smile turned a little melancholy. "I tried to do the same thing when I just started out," she said, "I guess it panned out well, I mean look at me now!" Tomomi stood up and did a little spin around, holding her arms out to show the private dressing room around her. "But you know... part of me wonders if it was right to leave him."

"So Cassie-chan! Don't forget Mamoru-kun when you do succeed!" Tomomi said, pointing at Cassie, "He's a good guy, and he deserves your appreciation!"

Cassie scowled. The only word anyone ever came up with to describe her was "cute". She wasn't just cute. As a fighter, or at least as an aspiring fighter, "cute" wasn't the first thing you wanted after your name.

She remained sitting when Tomomi got up, but then she was confused. "Wait, if it was right to leave who?" She said. Drake?

Then her confusion turned to complete surprise. Tomomi was the only person she'd heard call Mamouru a good guy. The other idols were especially down on him, it seemed, at least Megumi was. But maybe Cassie wasn't the only one who thought well of him after all!

"I know! I won't forget about him. When I make it big, he'll be big too, so it'll still be a good fit." She said with a nod. "I didn't know you liked Mamouru. A lot of girls don't, and... I can't really blame them. I think out of my friends, the only one who really doesn't seem to mind him is Akashi, but she doesn't mind anybody. Do you know Akashi?" She asked, just to make conversation. It was good to talk to Tomomi again.

"I don't really know Mamoru," Tomomi admitted, "But he doesn't seem like a bad guy to me. You two go well together, so who am I to try and stop that?"

She sat back down next to Cassie. "Heh, who doesn't know Akashi?" Tomomi said, "Everyone in this league wants to beat her. She's like... AFW's final boss or something." Tomomi laughed a little at that thought. Maybe someone was making an AFW rpg somewhere. If it came out Tomomi would definitely want to play.

"I've never really talked to her in person though," Tomomi said, "It would be nice I think."

Cassie nodded in agreement. She worked well with Mamouru, she thought. He thought so too.

"Oh, she's great!" Cassie said with a grin. She loved Akashi to death. "But... I've got a bigger... final boss than her." She didn't say who. That was her secret.

Then she looked like she was deliberating over saying something that she might not want to say out loud. She shifted a little in her seat. "Um, honestly?" She said, leaning in toward Tomomi and automatically lowering her voice, as if someone might overhear. "I never really saw what the big deal was with Akashi. In the ring, I mean. She's really big and strong, but... that's it. She doesn't have any real skills. Really, I thought Sarah Gatt was a better fighter, but... I'd still rather have Akashi as champ over her.

"If we fought, she'd win ten times out of ten, but only because I'm small." She declared, and then looked up into space for a moment. Then she added. "Nine times out of ten."

Tomomi raised her eyebrow when Cassie said Akashi wasn't the final boss in her mind. There was just no way anyone else was more suitable. Sure, Akashi might not be the strongest (though she was pretty damn close), and she wasn't even champion now, but what Akashi symbolized was important. She was always trying to be just and good and everyone loved her. In the Temple Games Chigusa-sempai willingly deferred to Akashi despite they being close to equals in terms of prestige. Cassie didn't seem to think much of the big sumo. Tomomi frowned. Maybe it was because Cassie knew her better? Probably.

And then there was that weird girl Cassie kept mentioning. Tomomi didn't ask who that was. Cassie would tell her herself if it got down to it.

"Well, aren't you confident!" Tomomi said, "Heh, if you don't think very much of Akashi then I definitely don't want to know what you think of me!" She let out a small giggle, shaking her head. Cassie's confidence surprised her a lot. And it unsettled her. She wondered where Cassie got that confidence from.