Please, Teacher

Akashi was sitting in a bar, which was not unusual for her to do. She liked to come to them and hang out and drink. She liked to come to them to fight. She liked to come to them for many reasons but rarely did she come alone. That was the unusual part. She had been at the bar for a good half an hour and was already on her third or fourth shot of sake and her second beer. She wasn't keeping track. Her cheeks were rosy red and she had a bright grin on her face.

But she had come here knowing she wouldn't be alone forever. She sent word for her new tag team partner to join up with her. At first she just avoided the woman. She even avoided scheduling the match. But then, when things happened, she knew she couldn't avoid it forever. But that didn't mean she had to be sober when they had their talk. She knew what she was going to say to the woman. The woman who was the worst thorn in her side. Who was now her tag team partner, even though her REAL one was back.

She had even tried to get Taylor switched in but Lukretia was having none of it. Lukretia had been almost as much a thorn in her side lately as Miss Spencer. She wondered why but she didn't care. She was just soured over everything that happened recently in general. And she didn't like that maybe it was raining on Taylor's return a little bit. So she swallowed the bullet and decided to just push forward as best as she could. On as many of HER terms as possible. Now, she just hoped Spencer-sensei showed.

Akashi tugged on her kimono. She was in a navy blue one with tomoe embroidered on it. Black hakama pants and clacking geta sandals. Her chest was bountifully exposed as it usually was in this attire, and she had caught the ogles of a few of the other patrons. The establishment was nice though. She didn't go to a dive bar like she might have with other company. This time it was actually a little high class place. The seats were comfortable and the atmosphere was nice. But that didn't mean there still weren't perverts around.

Miss Spencer stepped into the bar, looking around the place, just a bit disdainfully. The teacher didn't usually like to come to bars. They weren't really her scene, so to speak, and she didn't drink too often, especially around others. The only reason she was here was to speak with her new tag team partner. Truth be told, she had been putting it off as well. She couldn't believe the mess she had managed to get herself into, and had done everything she could to avoid running into Akashi backstage since their last encounter. But, she was determined to make the best of a messy situation, no matter what it took for her to do.

She glanced around the bar, looking for Akashi, scanning the establishment as she searched for the sumo. It did look like a nice place, she had to admit. She was dressed fairly appropriately for the location, her upper body covered in a simple white blouse, and her legs were clad in a pair of black dress pants. The top two buttons of her blouse were tastefully undone, leaving just a hint of her cleavage on display for the denizens of the bar, several of them turning their attention from Akashi to her, ogling the newcomer instead.

Miss Spencer cleared her throat, ignoring their stares as she finally found Akashi. She headed towards the sumo and took a seat next to her at the bar, offering her new partner a slight nod as a greeting.

"Miss Tanikaze..."

"Sensei..." Akashi said, not turning to look at Miss Spencer as she slipped into the comfy, high backed stool next to her. Akashi lifted her head and raised a finger. She looked at the bartender and then with a gesture pointed at Miss Spencer. The bartender nodded and started pulling out a glass.

"I don't really want to talk to you. I don't really LIKE you." She said. "And I hate even more the fact that I have to team up with you." She continued to stare at the bar until she took a big drink of her beer and finished it off. She flashed the bartender another gesture and turned her head to look at Miss Spencer. Her cheeks were clearly rosy red.

"But... I hate losing even more. Especially tot hose bunnies who don't even deserve their belts. That's the ONLY reason I asked you here. And... There are going to be some ground rules before we even set foot in the ring together."

Miss Spencer settled into the stool, leaning against it's backing as she turned to look at Akashi. She let the sumo speak her words, then let out a deep sigh, shaking her head from one side to the other. She had hoped that she and Akashi would be able to set their differences aside, but it seemed like they were already getting off on an awkward footing.

She didn't like to drink much, especially not in public, but damn if she wasn't already feeling like she needed it.

She glanced at Akashi again and gave her another brief nod. "Alright then, Miss Tanikaze. Let's hear these rules. Whenever you're done, however, I have a few things of my own that I would like to say, alright?"

Akashi held out her open palm before she spoke so Miss Spencer could clearly see. "One." She said and folded her thumb inward. "You and I? We are NOT Kamikaze. Kamikaze is Taylor-san and I, ONLY. So if you think for a second that you are her replacement, you are sorely mistaken. She is my tag team partner now and forever. She's my best friend and sister. And that means different entrance music and a different everything."

Akashi then folded in her index finger. "Two. when we win, You're off the team. You go find someone else and Taylor-san and I will kick your asses ourselves. Then, you hand over your title. If you think this is just an easy way for you to score a cheap title shot that you don't deserve, forget about it."

Akashi then folded in her middle finger. "Three. Once this is over, I never want to see you again. Stay the fuck out of my life. And be grateful I don't decide to just kick your ass. I already did that ... twice." She said with distaste in her mouth as another beer was set down in front of her and a shot of sake in front of Miss Spencer. "Got that?" She said, turning and eying Miss Spencer.

The more Akashi talked, the more of her rules she explained, the more Miss Spencer's brow furrowed in confusion and annoyance. It was like Akashi was purposely trying to upset her with her insane terms for the match! It was taking everything the teacher had to keep from blowing up on her again, from telling her off right then and there. This was not what she had been expecting from this little meeting between them, not at all.

Her hand flew out as the bartender dropped the sake in front of her, quickly lifting it to her mouth and downing the entire shot. She took a deep breath, waiting for Akashi to end her little tirade, before responding in kind to her.

"Alright, Miss Tanikaze. Let's handle this one rule at a time." She raised her own hand up in front of her, lifting her pointer finger straight up into the air. "Number one. I know we're not Kamikaze. I don't want to be Kamikaze. You don't have to tell me that I'm not a replacement for Miss Parker. I would never dream of trying to take her place. But, since it seems to me that she's more concerned with her solo career at the moment, I believe that brings us to your second rule."

Muriel's middle finger slid up into the air beside her pointing, forming a V between herself and Akashi. "Number two. When we win..." The teacher took care to put a noticeable emphasis on the word we, to try and drive her point home to Akashi. "After we defeat the Love Bunnies, I do not plan on going anywhere. If someone manages to defeat us, later on down the road, and take our titles, then I'll gladly walk away. Until that happens, however, I'm not going anywhere. I refuse to simply hand over a title I've earned to anyone, plain and simple. Besides, I doubt that Miss Parker would be satisfied with having a belt just handed to her anyway."

Up came the blonde's ring finger after that, joining the first two in a perfect W shape. "And finally, number three. This I'll agree with. If by some freak chance we lose to the Bunnies, or in the future when we lose the titles, then I'll walk away. I think it's obvious there's no love between us, and the sooner the two of us are apart, the better off we'll both be." She paused for a moment, thinking to herself. She really wanted to press Akashi about how she most certainly did not kick her ass twice, but she decided it would be wiser to drop it for now. "Until that day comes," she instead continued, "I think it would be best to put aside our differences. We have a job to do, and there's no way we'll be able to focus on it if the two of us are bickering over it like a pair of petulant schoolgirls. Alright?"

Akashi inhaled sharply at Miss Spencer's words. Each time she spoke, she intentionally drew a sharp breath to loudly display her disapproval. By the time Miss Spencer was finished, Akashi roughly grabbed the beer and took a heavy drink. "no, I said... That you could find someone else. Taylor-san and I will have a match. Then you'll be beaten. Then Kamikaze can be the champions." Akashi huffed.

Akashi turned in her stool and stared at Miss Spencer. "If you agree to the third point then why/" Akashi clenched her fist. "Thenwhy... do you keep butting into my life!?" Akashi brushed the bangs out of her face and pushed her finger into Miss Spencer's plump breast. "You have had plenty of opportunities to stay away from me. And you don't ever take them! Why... why do you insist onf following me around like one of your damn students!?"

Akashi slurred a little bit but her tone went from angry to complete confusion by the end, as her finger dipped and bent, still pushing into Miss Spencer's chest.

Miss Spencer slammed her sake glass onto the counter, gesturing at the bartender to come and refill it. Then she raised her hands into the air, giving Akashi a slight shrug. "My apologies then. I misunderstood you. My mistake. I'm a bit out of things, what with everything that's been happening lately, and I simply misheard you."

She definitely didn't mishear though, as Akashi jabbed her finger into her chest. She took a sharp breath inward, and gently reached up, pushing Akashi's hand away from her breast. "I've asked myself that quite often as of late. It's a good question. A lot of it is just mere coincidence. We keep running into each other at awkward times, and I seem to like interfering with things. It's just my nature. I'm not about to stand around and watch someone bullying someone smaller and weaker than they are, as you seemed to be doing to Miss Eliot. Nor will I stand around as you force yourself onto an innocent woman as you did in the shower that day. Blame it on the fates for constantly throwing us together like that, I suppose."

She hesitated again after that, turning away from Akashi to face the bar again, as the bartender quickly refilled her glass. She leaned forward, resting her elbow against the bar and her chin in her palm, as her other hand lifted up the glass. Her gaze was drawn to it, staring into the liquid within as she let out another more audible sigh. "Then again, I suppose there's more to it than that. I doubt either of us would care to admit it, but I feel that you and I are more alike than either of us would ever admit..."

Akashi swiveled back when Miss Spencer pushed her finger away. She crossed her arms and frowned. "no." She said. "We're all adults. Those things you said, I didn't do them. And if I did? Well, those other girls know what this place is like. And if they don't? There are much worse people they COULD be learning about it from. That's no excuse to butt into someone's life. That makes YOU no worse than what you THINK I am."

Akashi took another swig from her beer. Smaller, this time. "Yeah, I would never admit that. We are absolutely nothing alike. For one, you're a stuck up prude. How could I be like that? I have friends. I get laid. What do you get? Into other people's business, that's what. Maybe you should go to a love motel sometime." Despite how harsh the words seemed to be, Akashi's tone was much less harsher than it was initially. It was like she was just saying the words as truths, rather than accusations.

Another sigh passed through the lips of the teacher, as she raised her glass, slowly downing it again. She set the empty glass on the counter and leaned back in her chair, lifting her gaze upwards, towards the ceiling. staring off into space for a moment as she considered her next words. She needed to tread carefully, knowing how bad Akashi's temper could be.

"Maybe I do interfere a bit much," she began. "But I can't help it. It's my nature. I can't just stand around while I feel an injustice is going on around me. Those other girls? They may know what this place is like, but that doesn't make it right, and I'm tired of standing around and seeing things like that happen backstage. In the ring? Where it belongs? Sure. I'll let it pass. But not backstage. Not if I can help it."

"And you're wrong about one thing," she continued, her voice sounding softer but still with it's usual stern edge. "We're more alike than you may think. Look at me. Back in the day, when my old federation was still around, I was a top star in the company. Now? Everyone says I'm washed up. They tell me I'm an old lady...hmph. I'm only thirty and they tell me I'm old! I can barely get any damn matches in this company, and most of them are just gimmicky things, like our match at Summer Splash, or the match I had against Miss Yuuki some time ago. I'm struggling to hang on and make the best of a bad situation. It's all I can do."

Muriel turned her head slowly towards Akashi, staring gently towards the sumo. She figured now was as good a time as any to get things out. "Now look at yourself. How many times did you beg for Miss Parker to come back? How many times did you try to get into Summer Splash and end up failing to do so, only to end up in a gimmick match against me of all people, one that wasn't even part of the actual show! Then you went out alone to cash in that contract, knowing that you would end up outmatched, in a fight you would probably lose?" She shook her head, and despite herself couldn't help but gesture for the bartender to give her another refill. "There's plenty of people backstage that say you're already washed up and past your prime, too. I've heard it backstage, and I know you've heard the rumblings as well. That is how we're alike, Miss Tanikaze. Both of us seem to be stuck in an awful place, don't we? I look at you, and I see a champion who's fallen from the height of her career, and can't seem to climb her way back up. I look at you, and see a terrible, terrible mirror of myself."

She turned to face Akashi again, fully swiveling her stool to face her head-on, face-to-face. "I guarantee, no one is expecting us to win against the Love Bunnies. They're expecting us to go out there and lose, to bicker and to fight with each other and let those two hooligans run all over us. I assure you though, that's not going to happen. You and I are going to go out there, and prove we both still have an important place in this company. We're going to put aside our differences, and kick some damn Bunny ass, alright? From tonight until at least the night of that match, I want you and I to put away any issues with have with each other. Can we do that much, at least?"