Post by kjcasey42 on Dec 5, 2018 3:15:26 GMT
YOONA PARK:
CAMILLE COSWORTH:
Yoona Park grabs the door handle as the door to the building buzzes, signalling that she and her companion, Camille Cosworth, may enter. Yoona holds the door open for her girlfriend as the two of them head over to the elevators to take them up to the penthouse, where their friend, Kanako Akiyama, is waiting for them.
“It’s been awhile since we’ve seen her.” Cam notes to break the silence of the elevator ride. “I hope she’s okay.” Indeed, similar to what she had done after her foray into the penthouse, Kanako all but disappeared after her horrifyingly violent match at FAWNMania to convalesce.
“I’m sure she is, babe.” Yoona tries to reassure her girlfriend before adding, “Hey, at least she answers her texts now.” Cam nods in assent with a small smile as the elevator chimes and the doors open to a short hallway leading to Kanako’s penthouse condo. As they step out of the elevator, they can hear the familiar wail of a guitar. “Sounds like she’s noodling on her guitar again.” the Korean beauty notes as they make their way to the door. Indeed that’s the case, as they find Kanako playing her hot pink Gibson Explorer guitar, playing along to Eric Johnson’s seminal classic “Cliffs of Dover”.
CLIFFS OF DOVER: www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiRn3Zlw3Rw
KANAKO AKIYAMA:
Cam and Yoona hang back as they appreciatively watch their friend play. The unique tone of her guitar, combined with her emotional style of playing adds a bit of a sad undertone to the instrumental classic. As the song ends the lovers give their pal a standing ovation, including a two-fingered whistle from Cam. Kanako, turns around to face them, smiling.
“Hey, guys!” she chirps cheerfully as she unplugs the guitar and turns the amplifier off. “Hope you weren’t standing there for long.”
“Not at all!” The Girl of Tomorrow answers with equal cheerfulness, “We love listening to you play!”
“Shit, as good as you are, why aren’t you in a band or something?” Yoona adds.
“Thanks, guys,” she smiles shyly as she unslings her axe and sets it on the stand next to the amp, “I’ve actually thought about it. I figure it’s always something I can pursue if and when things quiet down. Maybe if wrestling doesn’t work out after all.” She perks up again, chasing the thoughts from her mind, “Anyway, come! Sit! Let me get you some snacks and drinks! What would you girls like?”
“Cheetos.” Yoona answers flatly for both of them as she plops down on the couch, drawing a sour look from Cam, “And beer. Doesn’t matter what brand, right, babe?”
“No...I guess not…” Cam answers as she likewise plops into the nearby beanbag chair, the irritation not quite hidden in her voice. Before long, Kanako emerges from the kitchen with two bowls of Cheetos, and a six-pack of Guinness.
“Hey, how come you guys always come here to hang out?” Kanako asks as she handed out the snacks. “Why don’t you ever invite me to your place?”
“Uhm, well…” Cam chuckles nervously as she cracks open a can of Guinness, “I mean, our place is nice, but this? Your place is on another level! I guess this is what being a rich movie star gets you, huh?” She grins, nodding sillily, prompting Yoona to roll her eyes.
“Don’t listen to her, Kanako,” Yoona finally says, “she’s just embarrassed of the - “
“YOONA!!” Cam is quick to cut her off. For her part, Kanako is always amused by the back-and-forth of the couple, and she watches them, going from one to another like a tennis match.
“What? Are you telling me you’re not?”
“Well...no...but...Kanako doesn’t need to know that!”
“God, Cam, you’re so hung up on appearance! Kanako’s been around us, she knows what freaks we are. She hasn’t run screaming for the hills yet, finding out about the stripper pole ain’t gonna do it!”
“GOD, YOONA!! REALLY?! You’re gonna just blurt out that we have a stripper pole?! Why not the sex swing, too??”
“Well, one, I think you just did it for me.” Yoona points out, prompting an “Eep!” from Cam and a giggle from Kanako. “Two, that’s the one you have issue with? The fucking stripper pole? Babe, that’s the most tame thing we’ve got lying around!” Another giggle from Kanako, and Cam has been reduced to red-faced embarrassed silence. Yoona then lays back and cracks open her own can of Guinness, a triumphant grin on her face. “So, yeah, Kanako. She’s embarrassed by all the sex stuff we have lying around the place.”
Kanako laughs lightly and nods, “Yeah, I got that.”
“See, Cam?” Yoona points her thumb at the Japanese fighter, “Didn’t even blink. Hell, I bet she would even get a kick out of some of the stuff!”
This brought a blush to Kanako’s cheeks now, too. “I told you before, Yoona, no three-ways!” Cam blurted out.
“Oh, come on...You can’t tell me you haven’t thought about it. I mean, look at her! You know I love you, babe, but Kanako’s hot as hell!”
“H-hey!” Kanako could feel her face flush, “How about we move on to something else, huh?” she pleaded.
“Oh, right!” Cam chimes in, “I’ve got something in mind!” Yoona commences to munching on Cheetos absently, while Kanako looks at Cam expectantly. “Let’s play a couple rounds of FMK!” she says with a grin, while Yoona rolls her eyes. Kanako shrugs and grunts an assent before going over to grab her guitar and settle into the recliner next to the couch.”So, for this first round, I was thinking we’d do something different. Yoona, you go first, and pick from any of the FAWN referees!”
Yoona munches thoughtfully on her bowl of Cheetos under the expectant gazes of Camille and Kanako. She furrows her brow and strokes her chin, smearing orange cheese dust all over her face. Finally, after a long period of deliberation, she has an answer.
“I think I’d just kill myself,” Park flatly states as she gives a small, affirmative nod.
“Oh, c’mon!” Cosworth protests, throwing up her arms in exasperation. “You KNOW that’s not how the game is played!”
“Gotta choose who to fuck, marry, and kill from the roster of FAWN referees,” Akiyama sagely adds before she returns her attention to the guitar she’s tuning. “Didn’t think you’d be such a prude, Yoona. I thought you wanted a man-slut for –”
“Actually, the correct term is fuck-boy,” Park corrects. “It’s almost 2019, no one slut-shames anymore! Get your shit together, Akiyama!”
Kanako softly scoffs, “—Okay, fine… I thought you wanted a fuck boy for Christmas. It’s all you’ve been talking about for the last two weeks.”
“You’re getting a sweater and you’re gonna like it,” Cosworth pointedly insists, lest her nymphomaniac girlfriend think otherwise.
Yoona raises a middle finger at her paramour, then she indignantly huffs, “I might be thirsty as fuck for man-flesh, but I still have standards, Kanako.”
Akiyama just rolls her eyes as she gives her guitar a few strums, then she asks, “Alright, whatever. What about you, Cam?”
“Okay, so obviously I’d kill Craig Long –”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa… what the fuck, babe?!” Park interrupts. “You were WAY too ready with that!”
“Yeah, that was NOT a spur of the moment answer. You’ve put some real thought into this already,” Kanako says before setting her instrument aside and whispering to Yoona, “This is a warning sign. It’s always the good ones who snap…”
“Oh my God, you guys are such jerks,” Camille pouts. “If YOU read Craig’s Transformers / My Little Pony fan-fic, you’d want to kill him too. I mean, okay, fine, the first thirty-seven chapters were good, perhaps even great, and the love scenes are hot as heck, but things have really gone off the rails since he started pandering to the nutjob Applejack-Starscream shippers. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, knows that the one true pairing is Starscream and –"
“Cam, babe, have I told you that you’re a huge fucking doofus lately? 'Cause you’re a huge fucking doofus,” Park groans while Akiyama half-heartedly agrees with a shrug of her shoulders
“You’re getting an ugly sweater,” Cosworth threatens, her eyes narrowing. “Anyway, I’d kill Craig, and I’d marry… hmm… Al, I guess? I mean, JJ and Jules nearly murdered each other fighting over the guy, so he’s gotta have something going for him, right? Like… he… uhh… he probably doesn’t have chlamydia, so umm... that’s something I suppose. Not that we’d… well, you know… very often, but every once in a while, it might be nice to…”
Camille trails off as her lips turn downwards into a frown, and after a beat, she continues, “…on second thought, I guess it’d be a… uhh… a platonic marriage. People do that, right? Sure, there wouldn’t be that bodice-ripping passion and raw animal attraction, but companionship is important too, is it not? Y’know, I bet Al’s a great conversationalist who could satisfy me in other… other ways… and…”
Cosworth trails off again with a blank look in her eyes, imagining herself as the future Mrs. Algernon Carpenter. Upon further consideration, she seems to have second thoughts.
“Actually, never mind, I think I’d also like to kill myself,” she mutters to laughter from the other two women.
“What about you, Akiyama?” Yoona snorts. “Want in on our suicide pact?”
“No way, Yoona!” Camille answers in lieu of their friend. “Kanako’s got her eye on a certain special someone…”
Kanako grunts in wordless, noncommittal fashion, feeling her ears growing hot.
“Wait, don’t tell me you’re actually into Merle?!” Yoona shouts as she springs to her feet, spilling her Cheetos all over the couch. “What the fuckity-fuck-fuck, dude?! I thought you were just brain damaged when you said he was cute!”
“Don’t listen to her, Kanako! No matter what, Yoona and I love you, and we want you to know it’s perfectly normal and acceptable to –”
“HEY GUYS, WANNA HEAR ME PLAY WONDERWALL?” Akiyama suddenly blurts out as she picks up her guitar in an attempt to change the topic of conversation.
“Oh God, no…” Camille gasps. “Yoona… we’re leaving.”
“What? Why? I love this song, and I love when amateurs sing the lyrics!”
“’CAUSE AFTER AAALLLLL…” Akiyama warbles to Cosworth’s terror while strumming along, “…YOU’RE MY WONDEEERRRR—”
Having already heard enough, Camille grabs Yoona in her arms and dashes out of Kanako’s penthouse condo with such speed that she knocks the front door off its hinges on the way out.
“What?” Kanako gasps as Camille storms out with Yoona in tow, a look of horror on her face as she drops the guitar and throws her hands up. “Wait! No! I didn’t…” her voice weakens as she hides her face in her hands. “I didn’t mean...come back…” she sobs.
“Owwww!! Okay, okay!!” Camille’s voice can be heard from the hallway. Kanako looks up and quickly wipes her eyes as The Girl of Tomorrow is shoved back into the condo by Yoona. “This is domestic abuse, you know!” Camille then turns back to look at Kanako, “Sorry, Kanako. Yoona thinks I might’ve overreacted. If you...hold on...Kanako, were you crying?”
Kanako sighs and sniffles and looks away. “M-maybe...I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to chase you off...I just…”
“See what you did?” Yoona barks at her girlfriend, smacking Camille on the back of her head. “Now, finish apologizing for hurting her feelings!”
“Owww!” Cam rubbed the back of her head, but she looked at Kanako apologetically. “I’m really sorry, Kanako. I didn’t know you would react like that. Please forgive me.”
“There’s nothing to forgive, Camille.” Kanako answers, a small smile growing as she talks, “It’s just...I look forward to spending time with you guys - away from the ring and everything - so much. I guess I never really realized just how lonely I was until I had real friends again.”
“How about a compromise, Akiyama?” Yoona interjects, “Let’s go grab something to eat, and go club hopping, yeah?”
“IF!” Cam is quick to jump in, holding up her index finger, “You promise to never play “Wonderwall” again!”
“Sure!” Kanako brightens up, “That sounds great!” She then holds out her pinky to Cam, “No “Wonderwall”...pinky swear.” Cam smiles and hooks her pinky to Kanako’s. “Let me just get dolled up a bit. If we’re going club hopping, I ain’t wearing a t-shirt and jeans.”
“To be fair,” Yoona muses, “Those jeans do show off your ass quite nicely.” Kanako laughs and rolls her eyes as she excuses herself to get changed. She quickly changes out of her casual wear, and checks through her closet. She decided that she was in a mood to turn some heads, even if she wasn’t exactly looking to get laid, so she needed something special.
“Ah!” she grins, “Here we are!” She takes the dress off its hanger and quickly slips it on. She then steps back into the living room to show it off for her friends. “Well? What do you think?” Judging by their reaction to her outfit, a deep red crushed velvet mini dress, with a plunging neckline and a crisscross pattern across her decolletage, they thought it was quite nice indeed. Both women’s jaws hang open as the stunning Japanese beauty twirls in place for them.
“Holy shit…” Yoona blinks as she looks Kanako over. “Somebody’s on the prowl tonight! Hey, babe?” she turns her head, just enough to look at Cam, but also keeping Kanako in her peripheral vision. “You sure you still wanna veto that three way?”
Cam does a fairly good job (she thinks) of keeping a poker face, subtly (again, she thinks) sweeping a thumb along the corner of her mouth to check for drool whilst making it look like she’s rubbing her chin thoughtfully. “Uhhm, well...I mean...Never say never, right?” she gives a nervous laugh and blushes a little. Yoona lets out a little laugh and rolls her eyes while Kanako giggles.
“Well!” she says cheerfully, “I’d say that’s a pretty solid vote of confidence! Let me just put my makeup on, and we can be off!” She skips off to the bathroom, leaving the two lovers to exchange a knowing glance, both women having very similar thoughts.
Kanako was finishing putting on her mascara, and was reaching for a tube of red-violet lipstick. As she lifted it to her lips, a voice calls to her:
”You think that just because you dealt with Lethbridge that means it’s over?”
She could feel herself turning, looking for someone who wasn't there, clutching the plastic tube in her hands as if it were a knife.
“You don’t think there’s at least a dozen others who’d do, or have done, exactly what she did, if not WORSE?”
The world began to spin, a cold pit of rage opening at the bottom of her heart.
"You're nobody’s chump!"
Hatred, born of humiliation. Out of control.
“YOU'RE NOBODY’S VICTIM!”
A terrible, righteous indignation, lashing out for something, anything to hold onto.
"Show them what it MEANS!"
The problem wasn't Lethbridge...Lethbridge was just a product of a system that would tolerate such dishonor.
"Show them where this ENDS!"
Was that really what they wanted? Shame and dishonor? Good fighters dragged through the mud and blood for the sake of some cunt's pride?
"MAKE! THEM! PAY!"
Kanako's head jerks up from where it had been hanging over the bathroom sink, throbbing with her racing pulse. Shaking her head to clear it, she tried to relax her grip on the lipstick tube, picking up where she left off. That wasn't going to happen though. Kanako stared blankly at the ruined mass of makeup, the vibrant pigment smashed and smeared. Looking to the mirror, she saw why: in her fugue, she had lashed out at the glass, carving a colorful, ragged path across it's gleaming surface before dragging down across the sink and counter-top.
She'd drawn her mask...the one she'd worn for Lydia, glowering back at her as it floated over her reflection.
"...what the fuck..." Kanako breathes. Her heart still racing she reaches for a towel to start cleaning up her mess. They're going to think I've fucking lost it…
As she dragged the cloth across the image, she couldn't help asking herself the inevitable. Have I? She blinks as she stares at the mirror, wondering just what the hell is going on when her thoughts are interrupted by a knock on the door, followed by Cam sticking her head in.
“Hey, Kanako, you almost done?” she asks, “Yoona’s getting antsy.”
“Don’t put this on me! You’re the impatient one!” Yoona shouts in retort.
Kanako lets out a heaving breath and quickly puts her lipstick on, “Coming!” she calls out in a sing-songy voice. “All set!” she announces as she bounces back into the living room.
“Goddamn, Kanako!” Yoona lets out a low whistle, “You’re sure going all out! You teased me about wanting a fuck boy for Christmas, but you sure look like you’re ready to go on the hunt for some man meat yourself!”
“Well,” she says with a grin and a blush, “I don’t know about that. I’m just out to turn some heads. It’s been awhile since I’ve really felt good about how I look.”
“Well, trust me,” Cam nods, “Every eye in whatever club we go to is gonna be fixed on us, for sure! Now, what do you say we go get something to eat first?”
“Absolutely!” Kanako nods, smiling, “Ladies,” she says with a lilt to her voice as she gestures to the now busted front door, “and don’t worry about the door. I’ll have it fixed in the morning.”
“Yeah, sorry about that…” Cam says sheepishly as she follows Yoona out.
“No worries, Camille.” Kanako smiles as she flips the light switch off, looking back into the condo, her gaze lingering on the door to the bathroom. She would finish cleaning that mirror tomorrow. But, for now, she was gonna have a good time, and maybe even more than a good time before the night was over. She smiled to herself as she walked out, following after Camille and Yoona.
CAMILLE COSWORTH:
Yoona Park grabs the door handle as the door to the building buzzes, signalling that she and her companion, Camille Cosworth, may enter. Yoona holds the door open for her girlfriend as the two of them head over to the elevators to take them up to the penthouse, where their friend, Kanako Akiyama, is waiting for them.
“It’s been awhile since we’ve seen her.” Cam notes to break the silence of the elevator ride. “I hope she’s okay.” Indeed, similar to what she had done after her foray into the penthouse, Kanako all but disappeared after her horrifyingly violent match at FAWNMania to convalesce.
“I’m sure she is, babe.” Yoona tries to reassure her girlfriend before adding, “Hey, at least she answers her texts now.” Cam nods in assent with a small smile as the elevator chimes and the doors open to a short hallway leading to Kanako’s penthouse condo. As they step out of the elevator, they can hear the familiar wail of a guitar. “Sounds like she’s noodling on her guitar again.” the Korean beauty notes as they make their way to the door. Indeed that’s the case, as they find Kanako playing her hot pink Gibson Explorer guitar, playing along to Eric Johnson’s seminal classic “Cliffs of Dover”.
CLIFFS OF DOVER: www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiRn3Zlw3Rw
KANAKO AKIYAMA:
Cam and Yoona hang back as they appreciatively watch their friend play. The unique tone of her guitar, combined with her emotional style of playing adds a bit of a sad undertone to the instrumental classic. As the song ends the lovers give their pal a standing ovation, including a two-fingered whistle from Cam. Kanako, turns around to face them, smiling.
“Hey, guys!” she chirps cheerfully as she unplugs the guitar and turns the amplifier off. “Hope you weren’t standing there for long.”
“Not at all!” The Girl of Tomorrow answers with equal cheerfulness, “We love listening to you play!”
“Shit, as good as you are, why aren’t you in a band or something?” Yoona adds.
“Thanks, guys,” she smiles shyly as she unslings her axe and sets it on the stand next to the amp, “I’ve actually thought about it. I figure it’s always something I can pursue if and when things quiet down. Maybe if wrestling doesn’t work out after all.” She perks up again, chasing the thoughts from her mind, “Anyway, come! Sit! Let me get you some snacks and drinks! What would you girls like?”
“Cheetos.” Yoona answers flatly for both of them as she plops down on the couch, drawing a sour look from Cam, “And beer. Doesn’t matter what brand, right, babe?”
“No...I guess not…” Cam answers as she likewise plops into the nearby beanbag chair, the irritation not quite hidden in her voice. Before long, Kanako emerges from the kitchen with two bowls of Cheetos, and a six-pack of Guinness.
“Hey, how come you guys always come here to hang out?” Kanako asks as she handed out the snacks. “Why don’t you ever invite me to your place?”
“Uhm, well…” Cam chuckles nervously as she cracks open a can of Guinness, “I mean, our place is nice, but this? Your place is on another level! I guess this is what being a rich movie star gets you, huh?” She grins, nodding sillily, prompting Yoona to roll her eyes.
“Don’t listen to her, Kanako,” Yoona finally says, “she’s just embarrassed of the - “
“YOONA!!” Cam is quick to cut her off. For her part, Kanako is always amused by the back-and-forth of the couple, and she watches them, going from one to another like a tennis match.
“What? Are you telling me you’re not?”
“Well...no...but...Kanako doesn’t need to know that!”
“God, Cam, you’re so hung up on appearance! Kanako’s been around us, she knows what freaks we are. She hasn’t run screaming for the hills yet, finding out about the stripper pole ain’t gonna do it!”
“GOD, YOONA!! REALLY?! You’re gonna just blurt out that we have a stripper pole?! Why not the sex swing, too??”
“Well, one, I think you just did it for me.” Yoona points out, prompting an “Eep!” from Cam and a giggle from Kanako. “Two, that’s the one you have issue with? The fucking stripper pole? Babe, that’s the most tame thing we’ve got lying around!” Another giggle from Kanako, and Cam has been reduced to red-faced embarrassed silence. Yoona then lays back and cracks open her own can of Guinness, a triumphant grin on her face. “So, yeah, Kanako. She’s embarrassed by all the sex stuff we have lying around the place.”
Kanako laughs lightly and nods, “Yeah, I got that.”
“See, Cam?” Yoona points her thumb at the Japanese fighter, “Didn’t even blink. Hell, I bet she would even get a kick out of some of the stuff!”
This brought a blush to Kanako’s cheeks now, too. “I told you before, Yoona, no three-ways!” Cam blurted out.
“Oh, come on...You can’t tell me you haven’t thought about it. I mean, look at her! You know I love you, babe, but Kanako’s hot as hell!”
“H-hey!” Kanako could feel her face flush, “How about we move on to something else, huh?” she pleaded.
“Oh, right!” Cam chimes in, “I’ve got something in mind!” Yoona commences to munching on Cheetos absently, while Kanako looks at Cam expectantly. “Let’s play a couple rounds of FMK!” she says with a grin, while Yoona rolls her eyes. Kanako shrugs and grunts an assent before going over to grab her guitar and settle into the recliner next to the couch.”So, for this first round, I was thinking we’d do something different. Yoona, you go first, and pick from any of the FAWN referees!”
Yoona munches thoughtfully on her bowl of Cheetos under the expectant gazes of Camille and Kanako. She furrows her brow and strokes her chin, smearing orange cheese dust all over her face. Finally, after a long period of deliberation, she has an answer.
“I think I’d just kill myself,” Park flatly states as she gives a small, affirmative nod.
“Oh, c’mon!” Cosworth protests, throwing up her arms in exasperation. “You KNOW that’s not how the game is played!”
“Gotta choose who to fuck, marry, and kill from the roster of FAWN referees,” Akiyama sagely adds before she returns her attention to the guitar she’s tuning. “Didn’t think you’d be such a prude, Yoona. I thought you wanted a man-slut for –”
“Actually, the correct term is fuck-boy,” Park corrects. “It’s almost 2019, no one slut-shames anymore! Get your shit together, Akiyama!”
Kanako softly scoffs, “—Okay, fine… I thought you wanted a fuck boy for Christmas. It’s all you’ve been talking about for the last two weeks.”
“You’re getting a sweater and you’re gonna like it,” Cosworth pointedly insists, lest her nymphomaniac girlfriend think otherwise.
Yoona raises a middle finger at her paramour, then she indignantly huffs, “I might be thirsty as fuck for man-flesh, but I still have standards, Kanako.”
Akiyama just rolls her eyes as she gives her guitar a few strums, then she asks, “Alright, whatever. What about you, Cam?”
“Okay, so obviously I’d kill Craig Long –”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa… what the fuck, babe?!” Park interrupts. “You were WAY too ready with that!”
“Yeah, that was NOT a spur of the moment answer. You’ve put some real thought into this already,” Kanako says before setting her instrument aside and whispering to Yoona, “This is a warning sign. It’s always the good ones who snap…”
“Oh my God, you guys are such jerks,” Camille pouts. “If YOU read Craig’s Transformers / My Little Pony fan-fic, you’d want to kill him too. I mean, okay, fine, the first thirty-seven chapters were good, perhaps even great, and the love scenes are hot as heck, but things have really gone off the rails since he started pandering to the nutjob Applejack-Starscream shippers. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, knows that the one true pairing is Starscream and –"
“Cam, babe, have I told you that you’re a huge fucking doofus lately? 'Cause you’re a huge fucking doofus,” Park groans while Akiyama half-heartedly agrees with a shrug of her shoulders
“You’re getting an ugly sweater,” Cosworth threatens, her eyes narrowing. “Anyway, I’d kill Craig, and I’d marry… hmm… Al, I guess? I mean, JJ and Jules nearly murdered each other fighting over the guy, so he’s gotta have something going for him, right? Like… he… uhh… he probably doesn’t have chlamydia, so umm... that’s something I suppose. Not that we’d… well, you know… very often, but every once in a while, it might be nice to…”
Camille trails off as her lips turn downwards into a frown, and after a beat, she continues, “…on second thought, I guess it’d be a… uhh… a platonic marriage. People do that, right? Sure, there wouldn’t be that bodice-ripping passion and raw animal attraction, but companionship is important too, is it not? Y’know, I bet Al’s a great conversationalist who could satisfy me in other… other ways… and…”
Cosworth trails off again with a blank look in her eyes, imagining herself as the future Mrs. Algernon Carpenter. Upon further consideration, she seems to have second thoughts.
“Actually, never mind, I think I’d also like to kill myself,” she mutters to laughter from the other two women.
“What about you, Akiyama?” Yoona snorts. “Want in on our suicide pact?”
“No way, Yoona!” Camille answers in lieu of their friend. “Kanako’s got her eye on a certain special someone…”
Kanako grunts in wordless, noncommittal fashion, feeling her ears growing hot.
“Wait, don’t tell me you’re actually into Merle?!” Yoona shouts as she springs to her feet, spilling her Cheetos all over the couch. “What the fuckity-fuck-fuck, dude?! I thought you were just brain damaged when you said he was cute!”
“Don’t listen to her, Kanako! No matter what, Yoona and I love you, and we want you to know it’s perfectly normal and acceptable to –”
“HEY GUYS, WANNA HEAR ME PLAY WONDERWALL?” Akiyama suddenly blurts out as she picks up her guitar in an attempt to change the topic of conversation.
“Oh God, no…” Camille gasps. “Yoona… we’re leaving.”
“What? Why? I love this song, and I love when amateurs sing the lyrics!”
“’CAUSE AFTER AAALLLLL…” Akiyama warbles to Cosworth’s terror while strumming along, “…YOU’RE MY WONDEEERRRR—”
Having already heard enough, Camille grabs Yoona in her arms and dashes out of Kanako’s penthouse condo with such speed that she knocks the front door off its hinges on the way out.
“What?” Kanako gasps as Camille storms out with Yoona in tow, a look of horror on her face as she drops the guitar and throws her hands up. “Wait! No! I didn’t…” her voice weakens as she hides her face in her hands. “I didn’t mean...come back…” she sobs.
“Owwww!! Okay, okay!!” Camille’s voice can be heard from the hallway. Kanako looks up and quickly wipes her eyes as The Girl of Tomorrow is shoved back into the condo by Yoona. “This is domestic abuse, you know!” Camille then turns back to look at Kanako, “Sorry, Kanako. Yoona thinks I might’ve overreacted. If you...hold on...Kanako, were you crying?”
Kanako sighs and sniffles and looks away. “M-maybe...I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to chase you off...I just…”
“See what you did?” Yoona barks at her girlfriend, smacking Camille on the back of her head. “Now, finish apologizing for hurting her feelings!”
“Owww!” Cam rubbed the back of her head, but she looked at Kanako apologetically. “I’m really sorry, Kanako. I didn’t know you would react like that. Please forgive me.”
“There’s nothing to forgive, Camille.” Kanako answers, a small smile growing as she talks, “It’s just...I look forward to spending time with you guys - away from the ring and everything - so much. I guess I never really realized just how lonely I was until I had real friends again.”
“How about a compromise, Akiyama?” Yoona interjects, “Let’s go grab something to eat, and go club hopping, yeah?”
“IF!” Cam is quick to jump in, holding up her index finger, “You promise to never play “Wonderwall” again!”
“Sure!” Kanako brightens up, “That sounds great!” She then holds out her pinky to Cam, “No “Wonderwall”...pinky swear.” Cam smiles and hooks her pinky to Kanako’s. “Let me just get dolled up a bit. If we’re going club hopping, I ain’t wearing a t-shirt and jeans.”
“To be fair,” Yoona muses, “Those jeans do show off your ass quite nicely.” Kanako laughs and rolls her eyes as she excuses herself to get changed. She quickly changes out of her casual wear, and checks through her closet. She decided that she was in a mood to turn some heads, even if she wasn’t exactly looking to get laid, so she needed something special.
“Ah!” she grins, “Here we are!” She takes the dress off its hanger and quickly slips it on. She then steps back into the living room to show it off for her friends. “Well? What do you think?” Judging by their reaction to her outfit, a deep red crushed velvet mini dress, with a plunging neckline and a crisscross pattern across her decolletage, they thought it was quite nice indeed. Both women’s jaws hang open as the stunning Japanese beauty twirls in place for them.
“Holy shit…” Yoona blinks as she looks Kanako over. “Somebody’s on the prowl tonight! Hey, babe?” she turns her head, just enough to look at Cam, but also keeping Kanako in her peripheral vision. “You sure you still wanna veto that three way?”
Cam does a fairly good job (she thinks) of keeping a poker face, subtly (again, she thinks) sweeping a thumb along the corner of her mouth to check for drool whilst making it look like she’s rubbing her chin thoughtfully. “Uhhm, well...I mean...Never say never, right?” she gives a nervous laugh and blushes a little. Yoona lets out a little laugh and rolls her eyes while Kanako giggles.
“Well!” she says cheerfully, “I’d say that’s a pretty solid vote of confidence! Let me just put my makeup on, and we can be off!” She skips off to the bathroom, leaving the two lovers to exchange a knowing glance, both women having very similar thoughts.
Kanako was finishing putting on her mascara, and was reaching for a tube of red-violet lipstick. As she lifted it to her lips, a voice calls to her:
”You think that just because you dealt with Lethbridge that means it’s over?”
She could feel herself turning, looking for someone who wasn't there, clutching the plastic tube in her hands as if it were a knife.
“You don’t think there’s at least a dozen others who’d do, or have done, exactly what she did, if not WORSE?”
The world began to spin, a cold pit of rage opening at the bottom of her heart.
"You're nobody’s chump!"
Hatred, born of humiliation. Out of control.
“YOU'RE NOBODY’S VICTIM!”
A terrible, righteous indignation, lashing out for something, anything to hold onto.
"Show them what it MEANS!"
The problem wasn't Lethbridge...Lethbridge was just a product of a system that would tolerate such dishonor.
"Show them where this ENDS!"
Was that really what they wanted? Shame and dishonor? Good fighters dragged through the mud and blood for the sake of some cunt's pride?
"MAKE! THEM! PAY!"
Kanako's head jerks up from where it had been hanging over the bathroom sink, throbbing with her racing pulse. Shaking her head to clear it, she tried to relax her grip on the lipstick tube, picking up where she left off. That wasn't going to happen though. Kanako stared blankly at the ruined mass of makeup, the vibrant pigment smashed and smeared. Looking to the mirror, she saw why: in her fugue, she had lashed out at the glass, carving a colorful, ragged path across it's gleaming surface before dragging down across the sink and counter-top.
She'd drawn her mask...the one she'd worn for Lydia, glowering back at her as it floated over her reflection.
"...what the fuck..." Kanako breathes. Her heart still racing she reaches for a towel to start cleaning up her mess. They're going to think I've fucking lost it…
As she dragged the cloth across the image, she couldn't help asking herself the inevitable. Have I? She blinks as she stares at the mirror, wondering just what the hell is going on when her thoughts are interrupted by a knock on the door, followed by Cam sticking her head in.
“Hey, Kanako, you almost done?” she asks, “Yoona’s getting antsy.”
“Don’t put this on me! You’re the impatient one!” Yoona shouts in retort.
Kanako lets out a heaving breath and quickly puts her lipstick on, “Coming!” she calls out in a sing-songy voice. “All set!” she announces as she bounces back into the living room.
“Goddamn, Kanako!” Yoona lets out a low whistle, “You’re sure going all out! You teased me about wanting a fuck boy for Christmas, but you sure look like you’re ready to go on the hunt for some man meat yourself!”
“Well,” she says with a grin and a blush, “I don’t know about that. I’m just out to turn some heads. It’s been awhile since I’ve really felt good about how I look.”
“Well, trust me,” Cam nods, “Every eye in whatever club we go to is gonna be fixed on us, for sure! Now, what do you say we go get something to eat first?”
“Absolutely!” Kanako nods, smiling, “Ladies,” she says with a lilt to her voice as she gestures to the now busted front door, “and don’t worry about the door. I’ll have it fixed in the morning.”
“Yeah, sorry about that…” Cam says sheepishly as she follows Yoona out.
“No worries, Camille.” Kanako smiles as she flips the light switch off, looking back into the condo, her gaze lingering on the door to the bathroom. She would finish cleaning that mirror tomorrow. But, for now, she was gonna have a good time, and maybe even more than a good time before the night was over. She smiled to herself as she walked out, following after Camille and Yoona.