Good Fortune

Taylor tried to conceal her surprise at the mention of a match with Akashi. Aurelia had said it so casually, so matter of fact, as if everyone already knew that was in the works. Sure Taylor and Akashi had their run ins, and they'd certainly antagonized the living shit out of each other, but neither of them had actually done anything about getting an official match. Had they? Had Akashi?

Thinking about it, Taylor wasn't even sure if she wanted to fight Akashi. She was her sister, her onee-chan, or at least she had been until recently. Sometimes Taylor didn't have the energy to hold whatever grudge she had against Akashi. It was just one night, one little fight, and was that really enough of a reason to throw everything away? Sometimes she just wanted to go apologize and bury her face in Akashi's shoulder until everything was alright again.

But no, that wasn't possible. It wasn't just one fight. That was just when Taylor found out how Akashi really felt, how she'd always felt. She was a liar, and she'd led Taylor to believe that she was someone she wasn't. She betrayed her. Taylor couldn't just go back to her without giving up every ounce of self respect she had.

Her hardened face softened a bit when she realized Angel's name had been mentioned. She nodded. "Yeah, definitely, Angel's alright. I want another shot at her, since... I didn't really put everything into that last one. I feel stupid about it. I didn't expect to... whatever. Put me in there with her and watch what happens. I'll make you wonder why Angel's the number two girl. Is she still number two? Whatever. I'll kick her ass and send her packing all the way to Tension."

Other ideas? "Um... I don't know, not in particular. I'll fight anyone. I mean, I want another shot at Gatt. She beat me when I was brand new and stupid, and I'm a totally different fighter now, ya know, and I don't think she's any better. I've thought about Megumi, but I dunno, I think I'd just fuckin' roll through her. But... I guess I thought that about Chigusa too." She blushed and looked away.

Aurelia was studying every inch of the American's face when she spoke so even behind her attempted mask she could read Taylor's shock. And her bemusement and internal conflict concerning her 'sister'. "I'm setting it up for Avalanche. You need to fight Akashi for the same reason you needed to fight Natalia. Not because you dislike her, but because she's a good wrestler and fighting her will make you stronger. It's unfortunate you two are at loggerheads right not but you couldn't very well fight her while you were tag team partners with her."

She nodded along with Taylor's other words before pointing something out. "As for Eclipse, I think you'll find that being a 'skank' or whatever they call it here in Japan does not directly correlate to being a terrible wrestler. You must have been misled by watching too much American pro-wrestling."

She smirked, "That's why we're here and not there, isn't it? Because women are allowed to actually wrestle here." Aurelia began to trail off, "I suppose I could have gone to Canada, but I hate the cold."

From the mention of Eclipse until Aurelia finished talking, Taylor was shaking her head. "No, you don't get it." She muttered, and folded her arms over her chest.

"No, dude, it's not about her being a fuckin' skank. She can have nasty gay sex in front of millions of people five days a week for all I care. It's that she's a pop singer. Get it? A pop singer. Like, her job is to go around and be little miss j-pop, and when she's in Tokyo, maybe she'll do some wrestling. She's a mother fucking part timer."

Taylor took a breath and clenched her fists with a scowl. She started again more slowly, her voice low. "You don't know how much I gave up to do what I do, man. I put my whole goddamn life into this. I'm not a pop singer. I don't go to the clubs. I don't drink. I went vegan last year, and not because I wanted to, but because it makes my body feel better. My whole life is just training, watching matches, eating whatever will make me better in the ring. I don't stay up late anymore, and I love staying up late. I don't go to clubs or shows, and I get up early and I hate it. But I do it because I want to be the best I possibly can be."

She sighed, and her eyes wandered over to the other side of the room. "So, maybe you can get why it might take the heart right out of me when some part timer comes in and beats my ass." She said, with an air of finality in her voice. She backtracked. "I didn't pick Chigusa because I thought I could beat her, I wasn't thinking about that when I was up there with Lukretia. I picked her because she's got heart and I thought we could have a great match. I don't know if it was, though, and it got ruined anyway, so... Whatever. Look, I don't have to feel good about it to do it. Nothing's going to stop me from... performing. And stuff."