I'm Not Who You Think

The day of Cassie's biggest match of her career, Akashi had fretted quite a bit. She nervously saw Cassie off when she left for the facility and then spent a good hour wondering if she should tag along and watch her there or if she should stay home... for some reason she couldn't think of. Cassie was having a hard time with the match all up until the day had arrived. Akashi had mostly kept her distance, that was the way Cassie had wanted it, even if Akashi didn't like that one bit.

Especially after their little incident with her trying to train the girl, Akashi kept her distance even more until the morning before the match. Akashi made her an appropriate breakfast and made sure everything was ok. Then, she left her alone until she was ready to leave, when she gave her a good luck hug for as long as she could keep Cassie in her grip.

Akashi had decided, finally, that it would be best if she stayed at home. That way, she wouldn't even have the temptation of running in if things got too bad for Cassie. Not that she expected it to, but the Sumo was a little worried that even a victory wouldn't keep Cassie completely safe from the masked maniac. She spent her time before the match preparing a few things and when the match came on, she was glued to the seat. She watched with heavy emotions as the match went on. She didn't like it, not one bit but eventually Cassie emerged victorious. It was a bittersweet victory, at least for Akashi but when it was over, she began to furiously cook a dinner. She wanted Cassie to come home to the most amazing meal. She knew the girl would be hungry and Akashi wanted nothing but the royal treatment for her lil' trooper when she finally got in.

Once the food was ready, Akashi kept it low to make sure it was warm and then went to the front room, waiting for Cassie to get home, eager to greet her and make her feel good after such a match.

Cassie only wanted to get through the door and up to her room without running into Akashi. She did not want to see her, but she couldn't resist thunderously slamming the door shut when she walked in.

Immediately, her plan went up in smoke. There was Akashi waiting for her. She scowled and made a low, irritated noise like a cat. She gave Akashi a cold look and stomped past her to the stairs. She changed her mind, she actually needed to make it to the bathroom first. She was still bloodied up from her match, she hadn't taken the time to shower very thoroughly afterward. She just wanted to get out of there as fast as possible after... what happened.

She began stomping up the stairs, and once had to pause when shooting pain in her midsection made the climb too hard.

Akashi's eyes brightened up when Cassie came through the door. She was glad to see the girl and wanted to congratulate her on the win. Akashi was already sucking in a breath when Cassie slammed the door. Immediately the Sumo frowned and she stood up.

"Cassie-san." She said in a soft, slightly worried tone as Cassie just stomped silently past her. She shook her head at the cold growl .

By the time Cassie was at the stairs, Akashi was on her feet with her hands pressed against her hips. "Cassie Elliot!" She said in a scolding tone. She could see that the girl was nearly doubled over and her heart broke inside. She rushed over to her. "You let me worry about you, dammit!" She growled as she hopped to Cassie's position and tried to steady her so she could help the girl up the stairs.

Cassie clenched her teeth and fitfully kicked and pawed at Akashi. "Get away!" She shouted. "Leave me alone!"

She shoved herself the rest of the way up the stairs and shut herself in the bathroom. She slammed that door too, and ran water in the sink. She waited for it to get warm enough, but not hot enough to scald her cuts and scrapes. She wanted to take a shower and a bath, but she wouldn't with Akashi there. She was likely to bust in on her, and she wasn't going to be naked if that happened.

Akashi didn't grip Cassie too tightly as the girl struggled. She wasn't going to inure her anymore but as Cassie ran up the stairs and slammed the bathroom door, Akashi chased and when she was at the door, she began to pound it hard. She WOULD break it down if it came to that.

"Your match is over! I've cooked you dinner! You need to eat after you clean up! You need to talk to SOMEONE about what happened, Cassie-san! I watched the match, I've BEEN in matches like that! You NEED to talk to someone! You need to eat!"

Akashi sighed and rested her head against the door. "You need to ..." What did Cassie need again?

Cassie checked herself over in the mirror again. She dabbed at the gash on her forehead with her fingers and winced. The traces of dried blood that remained on her forehead, her hair, her hands, forced the match to continue in her mind. When she looked in the mirror, she saw that horrible girl in that stupid mask gasping for breath because of her.

She cupped her hands and repeatedly splashed her face with warm water. She pushed back her hair and looked at herself again. It was only a little better. She scowled through the door at Akashi's tirade.

"I need space!" She yelled. "I need you to leave me alone! You've done too much already, and I don't need any more of your stupid ideas!"

She found a washcloth and began to gently dab at the cut on her forehead. Why did it have to hurt so much now? She felt bad for complaining about her little cut, though, since wherever Dark Angel- wherever Talia was, she was likely in worse shape. Much worse.

Cassie blinked away tears. She wasn't going to cry about it. She had to take care of herself. She had things to do and she couldn't just stop now, though she wasn't totally sure what those things were.

Akashi growled at the door when she heard Cassie's words. She lifted up her her hand and pounded her fist against the door again. "No, Cassie-san! I gave you all the space you needed BEFORE the match! How long are you going to be like this!?" Despite the tone of her voice, there was also worry in it.

Akashi sighed and leaned her head against the door. "How long are you going to need space? A week? A month? A year!? A match like that can change someone and... The best thing is to be with people who care about you, especially if they can understand what you're going through!"

"Yeah, that'd be really great, Akashi," Cassie retorted, and spiked the washcloth in the sink, splashing water everywhere. "If you actually knew who I was." Her head hurt so much. She just wanted to lie down.

She suddenly yanked the door open and looked up at Akashi with a dark-eyed glare. "Did you see what happened?" She asked.

Akashi gasped at Cassie's words, pulling away from the door enough to press her hand against her chest. How could Cassie say something like that! Akashi shook her head and when Cassie yanked open the door, she stared down at the girl's glare in disbelief,

"Y-Yes! I saw the whole match!" Akashi said and crossed her arms under her chest, looking sternly back at Cassie. "I've BEEN in those situations! Don't tell me I don't know what it's like when I've had my best friend in the world trying to break my face open because she HATES MY GUTS!" Akashi yelled the last bit back at Cassie.

"AFW is hard! It's hard, fucking shit! If you think you can just bottle it up, you're wrong! Don't say I don't know you! That HURTS!" Akashi pounded her fist against her chest. "That hurts for real, Cassie-san! But I know that the match took a toll, and that's exactly why I'm standing right here, right now!"

The mention of Akashi's match with Taylor made Cassie shut her mouth. She was right about that, the match was as hard for Cassie to watch as it was for Akashi to fight. Maybe.

But that wasn't what this was about! Not at all. Akashi was right about one thing, though.

"Yeah!" She shoved Akashi with both hands and only succeeded in knocking herself back. "And you're standing there because this is all your fault! You put me up to this! You and... and... a-and... him." She paused. "You tried to make me into something I'm not! And so did Dark.. so did SHE, and it WORKED!" She gestured emphatically in front with her hands and screamed in Akashi's face "LOOK AT WHAT I DID!"

She got quiet as her throat was choked off by impending tears and she took a step back. "And what do I do now?"