Roommates' Reunion

[CaptainL]

Continued from here

Things had not been going so well for Meiyun Lai.

No one expected her to last for more than a few minutes, if that, against Rose Gold. After all, she was the Lightweight Champion, and Meiyun was only a Young Lioness, throwing herself into her training in the name of restoring the reputation of her family name. But Meiyun had shown them all! Not only had she stood up to Rose, she had gotten in a few lucky strikes that left her opponent on the ropes. For a few seconds, many a fan was wondering if, just maybe, Meiyun might be able to keep the dream alive, and win the championship back from the very woman who underestimated her and mocked her and her classmates. It was a long shot, but it was a Cinderella story that many wanted to believe in.

But it was just that. A dream. As soon as Meiyun ran out of steam, she was left open and vulnerable for Rose to land the killing blow. Reality came crashing down before she knew it, and in a flash, she'd been knocked dazed, stripped naked, and paraded around like a helpless trophy in front of everyone. The arrival of Astrid Ostberg on the scene had been enough to put a stop to Rose's festivities, but for Meiyun, the damage had already been done.

When she woke up in the locker rooms, curled up in Astrid's robe to shield some of her modesty, all Meiyun could think back on was the disastrous events of her match - the same match that should have been her moment of glory. Astrid had attempted to make things up to her, offering to take her out to get ice cream, or to let her hold the belt. But that wouldn't be enough for Meiyun. As far as she knew, the image of her writhing naked body, displayed for the cameras to see up close, was on everyone's mind. If she showed her face in public, all she could think of was the lewd thoughts that might be brewing in anyone who recognized her. It all brought a tear to her eye. That match was supposed to be the dawning of her glory, but all it brought her was overwhelming shame.

Right now, the only place Meiyun felt like she could go without anyone mocking her were the LAW dorms. And, in particular, the company of her roommate, Courage Takemi. She was thankful that, this late and still in the middle of an ongoing show, there weren't that many people out in the halls of the dorms who could recognize her - and she was especially thankful her roommate wasn't busy tonight. What she needed was someone she could trust.

"YUMI-!" Meiyun knocked on the door to their room, sniffling a little to herself now. Even when she'd had a chance to dress herself in the locker rooms, she still couldn't help but pull her shirt a little closer to herself, lest she feel too exposed.

Spoiler

[SuckerPunch]

The LAW dorms had been something of a safe haven for the idol-turned-pro wrestler. They were quiet and isolated from the distractions of her everyday world. Obligations that were different from the average girl her age. Screaming fans. Demanding producers. Catty group mates. Here, she had surrounded herself with nothing other than wrestling.

When she wasn't training, she was studying. And when she wasn't studying, she was wrestling. And on the off occasion where she had free time, the Princess of Hard Work spent it with her roommate, Meiyun. Another member of the Young Lioness program, she was much her opposite. Talented and confident in her skills, Courage looked up to her. Which... Is why she had eagerly watched her bout for the Lightweight Belt. Her sugar-coated perception had dreamed of a world where the rookie was crowned Queen... But something very different had happened tonight...

She heard the call of her name before she heard the knock. There weren't many people who called her Yumi. Her mother, Meiyun, and a few other close friends. The voice gave away which of the three this was, and the sniffle made her certain.

Courage didn't call back. Instead, she laid her table down and rose from her bed. She moved to the door with haste and quickly pulled it open.

Spoiler

She was dressed down for the night. A black t-shirt and tiny shorts. Comfort wear.

And she immediately opened her arms and pulled Meiyun into the room with a hug. "Meiyun!" She said her name as an affirmation and hugged her tight. She didn't say anything else. Content to just hold her for the moment. To give warmth and comfort to the girl who had been through so, so much.

[CaptainL]

As soon as Meiyun's eyes locked on her roommate, they filled up with tears. She looked away with a sniffle, afraid to even look Courage in the eye. She had sought comfort at her side, but as soon as she set eyes on the girl, the anxieties and second thoughts set in. She knew she couldn't do it. After all, she'd let her down.

Meiyun knew how much Courage would be watching her every step of the way when she challenged Rose for her title. She knew she would be rooting for her, and praying for her success. After all, she had always cheered Meiyun on before, even when her obsession with being the best led her to make some missteps with her training. But it would have been Courage who had seen her fall from grace up close, and no doubt it would be even more painful to see her roommate and friend be the one so abused and degraded. She wished she hadn't had to go through that.

More than that, though, Meiyun had done what she did for the sake of all Young Lionesses, and she was hoping she could come home at the end with something to prove for her efforts - to show the world that she had come to the Program's aid when she had been needed most, and silenced the cries of those who would disparage it. She wanted to be the hero, and she'd failed. What hurt even more was knowing how close she had come. Meiyun was almost there. If she'd been just a little luckier, she could have beaten Rose - even won the championship. But in the end, it had all come crashing down, thanks to one misstep - and now, she had nothing, not even her dignity.

Still, she felt Courage throw her arms around her shoulders, and a moment later she buried her face into her shoulder, clinging tightly to her with her own arms slung around her back. She sniffled, dampening her roommate's shirt with her tears. "I'm...I'm so sorry, Yumi...I let you down...I let you all down..."

[SuckerPunch]

Courage closed her eyes, offering her friend her shoulder in momentary silence. Rather than speak, she gently grasped Meiyun's back, her fingers softly rubbing at the sore muscles present there. She nuzzled against Meiyun's head, offering her a soothing place of comfort and human contact.

She wanted to allow her to express her sorrows freely. To get her disappointment out. Meiyun was a prodigy amongst the Young Lioness locker room... Destined for big things. Courage, by comparison, was little more than a hopeful. Courage had fallen before... But she hadn't been far from the ground in the first place, not when it came to wrestling.

"You were great Mei Mei... You did great!" One of her hands transitioned to run through her hair. Stroking her hair as she attempted to assuage her friend's sadness. "You were amazing! You almost had her too!"

She pulled back and took Meiyun by both her shoulders so that she could look her right in the eyes. She channeled every bit of love in her heart and offered it to her through her bright green eyes. "You should be proud of yourself and everything you achieved tonight!" She gave her a gentle squeeze. "You might not have won the match... But you won the hearts of the whole world tonight!"

[CaptainL]

"M-Mm..." Even as she nestled up against her roommate's side, settling into her embrace, Meiyun sighed, sniffling a little to herself. She was grateful that, at least, Courage wasn't going to think of her any differently. She was her roommate; she always understood, and she believed in her. But whatever comfort Meiyun got from that was dwarfed by the realization that Courage was only one person. She couldn't tell if anyone else would be so merciful - the rest of her teammates, her trainers, her fellow wrestlers, and the world. All of them had seen her catastrophic fall, and she didn't know if she could ever take back her respect in their eyes.

Meiyun looked back up at Courage as she stroked at her hair, and as she looked up to face her with teary eyes, she cracked just a little bit of a smile. But the last few words out of Courage's mouth brought her right back down. She let out a sigh and turned her head aside, staring off into the distance. "That's...that's the problem," she said with a sniffle. "I almost had her. But I didn't. I was so close, but...I'm not enough. Think about it, Yumi, are they going to remember that I came so close to winning the belt...or that I lost? All I wanted was to give my family something they could be proud of, but now...no one will forget this. And you, you've already got your real outfit, and it looks so great on you...you're probably so close to graduating, and I feel like I'm just going to hold you back..."

But Meiyun was broken out of her inner thoughts as Courage pulled back, taking hold of her shoulders. At first, the brunette was confused by the gesture; she blinked a few times, clearing the tears from her eyes, before they wandered back up to meet Courage's own. "H-Huh..?"

She listened closely to what her roommate had to say. Meiyun wanted to be sad. She wanted to convince herself she was hopeless; that she had lost her big chance, and that she'd never be able to come so close to glory again if she had such a stain on her record. But in Courage's eyes, she didn't see that. She saw someone who truly believed in her, from the bottom of her heart. And when she saw the sparkle in her eyes and the smile on her face, Meiyun couldn't help but feel like maybe she wasn't alone. Courage was too sincere, too open in her heart, to say anything now that she didn't know to be true. Meiyun could tell that.

"You really...think so?" Meiyun sniffled again, but this time, a smile began to creep across her face, little by little. "You think people...like me?"

[SuckerPunch]

"Of course they like you!" She gave Meiyun's shoulders another soft squeeze. "You went out there! And you fought like a warrior! You battled to the bitter end! And that's what the people paid to see! A contest of hearts and wills! And no one can deny that tonight, your heart was way bigger than that bullies! Everyone is proud of you!" She pulled Meiyun in then and gave her a big hug. Her arms encircled her in a way that made her feel safe and warm and loved. Because she was. Yumi felt all of those things about her.

She nuzzled sweetly against her friend before letting her go and stepping back to face her with a smile. She wasn't holding her shoulders any longer. She wasn't protecting her from her emotions. Now, she faced her like a woman.

"Don't you ever worry about holding anyone back! We're all responsible for telling our own stories, and I would never want to write you out of mine. I've never had a sister before. You're the closest I've got." She closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath. When they opened back up, they were brilliant and shimmering. Seas of emerald that Meiyun could get lost in.

"So who cares if I graduate before you. There's no point in being there without you! So, if I do, I'll be there waiting for you. And I hope you'll promise me the same!" She put her fist out to her, a declaration of sisterhood and a seal for her promise.

[CaptainL]

"I...I guess you're right, huh?"

Meiyun sniffled, and she blinked tears out of her eyes. Rose's words had buried themselves in her mind - that she was hopeless, that her attempts to take back her good name were hopelessly sullied by her ignoble defeat. That she would only be remembered as another obstacle in Rose Gold's path of cementing herself as the greatest lightweight in LAW, and for how she'd been humiliated and shamed for her efforts. But...Courage was living proof that there was at least one person out there who believed in her, who could see her for her burning spirit and her passionate heart. And when she heard such words from her roommate, she couldn't deny the conviction in her voice, even if she wanted to. Courage was right, there was no doubt about it. That assurance was the only thing she needed!

As she felt the girl's arms wrap around her body, Meiyun met her with a tight embrace of her own, nuzzling against her shoulder. It only seemed right. A bright smile broke across her face, and when she took a step back from Courage, she straightened her back with pride. A blush came to her cheeks when she heard Courage describe her as a sister, and she whispered a hushed "Do...do you really mean that..?" But Meiyun already knew the answer was an enthusiastic yes. She could trust Courage for the world.

Nodding her head, Meiyun's grin grew even wider with each of her roommate's words as she let the last tear fall from her face. When she spoke up again, the cheer and confidence was back in her voice, and she stuck out her own fist to hit Courage's, albeit a bit rashly; it would come off as more like a punch than a fistbump. Still, she meant everything she said. "Of course I will! No matter what it takes, we're both going to change the world of wrestling - and I can't wait to see you on the flip side!"

[SuckerPunch]

"Of course I mean it silly!" She gave Meiyun a stern look.

Courage understood how Meiyun felt despite her stoic demeanor. She'd been to the pits of despair. She'd been humiliated. For a moment, she became lost in recollection...

She'd joined the main roster before becoming a Young Lioness. She'd been battered, out classed, and humiliated from the start. And maybe that's how she knew exactly what to say.

"Itai!! [Ouch!!]" The sudden strike woke her suddenly! She'd left her fist hanging in the air. And Meiyun had accepted the symbol of kinship with gusto.

Smirking, she waved her reddened hand back and forth in the air. Even in friendship she was strong! In truth, if the business were a true meritocracy, Meiyun would be miles closer to graduating. She was tough and skilled and driven. But Courage's look and background had a bit more appeal. She'd been accelerated by her experience as an entertainer. For better or worse. Meiyun was her much more talented little sister.

Courage used her other hand to give Meiyun a playful tap on the chin. A gentle push with a closed fist. "It's good to see you smile again! Your spirit always brightens my day, so don't let anyone take it from you again! Okay?!"

[CaptainL]

"Oh-! Sorry!" As soon as Meiyun saw how her roommate had reacted to the fistbump, she let out a short yelp; it was hardly the first time her enthusiasm had gotten the better of her and led to her meeting things with more force than she had anticipated. But she just as quickly laughed it off. If she knew anything about Courage, it was that she couldn't get mad at anyone - let alone her roommate! Before long they were goofing around like usual, as though nothing had happened. As though Meiyun hadn't suffered the greatest defeat of her career just over an hour ago. If there was one thing about Meiyun Lai, it was that she wouldn't let anything keep her down. Not even this. The heroes of the shows she devoured so readily would never let a defeat like this keep them from bouncing back stronger than ever, so why should she?

With a bright smile, Meiyun nodded to Courage, then stuck her hand up with a raised thumb to show her approval. "Of course I won't! The next time I get in the ring, I know that you're out there among those people I'm fighting for. I can't forget that!" It might have been a cheesy anime hero speech. But Meiyun meant all of it, from the bottom of her heart.

[FreestylePoet]

Corrine walked down the hall of the dorms with a pensive frown on her face. The match was an unmitigated disaster. There was no getting around that. It had been a minor miracle that Ostberg-sensei showed up when she did; otherwise, poor Mei-senpai would have likely had far worse done to her than stripping and shaming. As the Young Lionesses were quickly ushered home, the lack of one of their number was deafening. Even when they returned, it was well evident that Meiyun Lai was beyond aghast at the night's events.

Still... if there was any positive in all this, it was surely Mei-senpai's spirit. She'd stood up for the Young Lionesses -- friends and classmates all -- when the rest of them had been too cowed to step up. Corrine's frown deepened. Mei-senpai had bravely taken the brunt of the Sword of Damocles that Rose had hung over them all -- she didn't deserve to wallow in any shame. Perhaps the counsel of Yumi-senpai had been good for the smaller girl, but... Corrine's morals urged her to make an attempt herself.

"Hello?" she asked politely, rapping thrice on her senpais' door. "Mei-senpai? Is now a good time to talk?"