Unfinished Business (for Dragonofdarkness)

[CaptainL]

Continued from here

It was the second time in less than a year that Yuki Kazikura had found herself in the hospital - first she'd been forced to take time off to heal the damage she'd sustained in a brutal barbed wire match against Amano Jaku, but now she was in even rougher shape after an even more harrowing beatdown from Skylar Jones had left her with a broken leg, a concussion, and several stitches in her forehead. It had been a while before Yuki was allowed to walk again, but all the time she was bedridden, she had plenty of opportunity to get lost in her own thoughts. She had made up her mind that she wouldn't let this be the end - she blamed herself for ending up her, and she was determined to come back from it stronger than ever, to not let it keep her down. She didn't want to be vulnerable like this again. As soon as she got out of the hospital, she would strive to ensure she'd never go back.

But there was one other thing Yuki realized. She'd been in this hospital before. It became all too clear to her that she was in the same hospital as another lightweight who had suffered a broken leg - Aoi Fukiwara, the former Lightweight Champion. Yuki had stopped to visit her immediately following the now-infamous moment where her leg was broken by Rose Gold on the same night she took her title. Now, Yuki realized, she was in the same boat she was in.

Yuki had made up her mind. As soon as she could walk again, she was going to return to Aoi's room. It had been too long since she had seen her, and they had a lot to catch up with. But if Aoi had been a champion, and if she had beaten Yuki before, then she might just be the kind of person the Dynamite Schoolgirl needed to guide her on her path forward. If anyone could help her get stronger, it was Aoi.

Creeping through the halls, Yuki stopped to glance back and forth, making sure the coast was clear. She didn't want anyone to have any questions for why she was breaking into another room, but this was too important to let go. She wracked her brain, trying to remember what the number of the room was as she walked past several doors - 201, 202, 203; it could be any of them, she thought to herself. Then she stopped, staring at the door in front of her. Yes, that was it - there was no doubt about it. Yuki stood straighter, sucking in a breath as she stepped forward to push the door open. It was about time she and Aoi saw each other again.

But when Yuki saw what was on the other side, her eyes went wide in shock.

The room was empty.

[Dragonofdarkness]

Its been a few months since Aoi was allowed to leave the hospital and return home but she had to go through physical therapy to fully recover at the same hospital going though the halls on crutches aoi saw someone standing in a room she stayed in befor her discharge. "hey there?" she said " if your a fan thank you but i thought i tweeted i was discharge months ago and in pyshical therapy now. also how did you figure out my old room number?" Aoi said untill she realized it was yuki " wait a sec is that you yuki?" Aoi asked getting closer. "oh sorry about that haha" Aoi laughed abit at her her own mistake.

she looked at the girl she once fought against and drove her to nice heights durning her riegn as lightweight champion. if it was her choice she would have lost to yuki for lightweight champion then rose gold but sadly it was her choice that she lost to rose or end up with injury. shaking her head of any dark thoughts she smiled at Yuki "what brings you here yuki?" she asked.

[CaptainL]

Yuki's mind was awash with thoughts, seeing what she saw. Aoi was out of the hospital...which meant that she was recovering. She had only been here to catch up with an old friend, and maybe to seek her advice as to what to do next when she was struggling with questions about what the next steps were for her in her career, now that she had noticed a pattern of her trying again and again to push through adversity and ending off worse for it each time. But if Aoi was doing better? Then, hopefully, she would be on her feet before she knew it. It was encouraging to think that the former champion wouldn't let her injury keep her out of the action for long, especially when it seemed as though she was coming around quicker than anticipated. But it went deeper than that. Although Aoi could have been anywhere, and Yuki had no idea how to track her down, if she could do that...she could only imagine the possibilities...

Yuki had gotten lost in her own head - so much so that she had forgotten about the world around her, or how odd she must have looked standing motionless in the doorway and staring into a random hotel room. She wouldn't be reminded of where she was until moments later, when she heard a voice at her side. "Huh..?" Yuki turned slowly to the sound, an eyebrow raised in confusion. But when she saw who it was...her eyes went wide with a gasp.

Aoi and Yuki recognized each other at the same moment. A grin broke across Yuki's face. "AOI! Aoi-san!!" With more energy than she was used to, the dark-haired girl ran in closer, throwing her arms tightly around Aoi to pull her into a hug - at least, until she put too much pressure on her bad leg, causing her to wince as she shrunk back. "Ow...er, sorry. But...I'm so happy to see you...I was worried, you know-!" Hearing Aoi laugh only made Yuki breathe easier. Not only was Aoi walking, she could still keep a smile on her face, and she was still happy to see Yuki. She had been worried, as of their last meeting, that the Blue Warrior's injuries would have taken a toll on her spirit. But now, Aoi seemed ready to face whatever challenges stood in her way!

However, as Yuki broke away from Aoi, she grew grave. Once again, the thoughts returned to her - why she had come here, and what she hoped to get out of this. When she saw that Aoi was out of her bed, she had already been forming ideas. Now, though...she knew it was her chance.

Yuki stepped back from Aoi, her posture stiff and formal, and the smile dropping from her face. She bent her head low in a bow of deference. Now, she knew, her path to the future lay with the girl right in front of her.

"Aoi...I wanted to ask you. When we're both out of here...will you train me?"

[Dragonofdarkness]

hey hey watch it..." Aoi said softly as yuki went in for a hug and nearly made her put weight on both there bad legs. "oh you got injured to?" aoi asked befor nodded "its fine its fine. i like i said i thought i twetted i was discharaged and in physical therapy now" Aoi said as she was using crutches and had a knee brace on her knee that was injurd she would look at yuki and hear her plead she went wide eye at that suggestion her train yuki who was already so good at wrestling something must be eating at the girl as aoi sighed. "um... lets go to a vending machine and take a seat i think we both need a drink or something. "aoi said

she would use her crutches to head to a vending machine area looking back at yuki and motion to follow. once there she got some warm tea for both of them and hand yuki a bottle. she would sit on a bench and sigh trying the walk her aoi was thinking on what to say as she took a sip of her tea. "first off why do you want someone like me to train you?" Aoi asked. "when we fought you were so good and you drove me to push my self to be better. i don't see how i could train you to be better when... i failed to avenge my best friend or worse yet let my anger drive me to fight rose and end up injury due ot my angry and ego..." aoi said as she took look at her tea. "im not good enough to train people ... " aoi stated as the dark thought that beeh haunting her for months are coming back thought of how she wasnt good enough to have a friend like rebecca she wasn strong enough to protect her rose should have ended her career. she shook her head and took in som breaths as she look back at yuki. "i apperciate you thinking highly of me but i dont know if im right ot train someone as bright as you." aoi admit

[CaptainL]

Almost as soon as Aoi brought up Yuki's injuries, the dark-haired girl grit her teeth, and a shudder ran through her whole body. She really didn't like admitting that she'd come up short in her matches, no matter how much she tried to push her limits in taking on new challenges and going outside of her comfort zone. Even admitting that she had been injured was a confession that she hadn't been enough - and when her defeat had been as horrific as it was, just thinking about the circumstances of her injury at all made her shudder. "I don't...want to talk about it."

But it seemed Aoi could tell that there was something very wrong with Yuki - and, even if they had once been opponents, and even if they had once been champion and challenger, she wanted to help. A second after Yuki heard that, she looked up with a pause, her eyes wide. "You'd...do that?" To even extend such an offer to someone who had been after her belt seemed almost unthinkable. With Aoi having been off nursing her injury for so long, and Rose Gold becoming more and more notorious over the course of her title reign, one could be forgiven for forgetting about Aoi's own run with the belt. One could be forgiven for thinking that Rose had defined what it meant to be a champion. Rose would never show such concern and care toward someone who had once challenged her. But Aoi was different - and Aoi was still living by what a champion should have been, Yuki realized. It made Yuki smile to think that she still had someone she could count on - but just a moment later, she could feel her stomach tighten at the reminder of how Rose had carried the fame and status that came with the title. It was just another reminder of how despicable she really was.

Either way, Yuki limped her way along to the vending machine, occasionally leaning on either Aoi or the wall for support when her bad leg tensed up again. She made it to the bench, taking a long sip of the tea Aoi offered her. At first, she let out a sigh, letting the drink refresh her and feeling its warmth through her aching body. For those few seconds, all was calm. But when she heard what Aoi had to say...it made Yuki jump up with a gasp.

"Huh-!?" Here was Aoi - someone who had actually been a champion; who had realized the hopes and dreams that Yuki had been working toward for years now - saying that she wasn't good enough, and that she wasn't cut out to train anyone. Yuki could hardly believe what she was hearing. In her mind, Aoi seemed the picture of perfection; she was someone she'd never quite been able to measure up to, who she was determined to prove herself to, and who only had been cut low thanks to Rose's underhanded tactics. And yet, here it seemed she was struggling with those same fears and doubts that had long plagued Yuki herself, the same fears and doubts that Yuki thought she would be so far above. And she was saying it was Yuki who inspired her to be better.

"I...I did..?" At first, the raven-haired girl wasn't sure what to think about everything. She stared off into space for a moment longer, her jaw hanging open in a gasp. A part of her wanted to feel flattered that someone who had been as much of an inspiration as Aoi was crediting her as an inspiration; another part of her felt the sting of disappointment at the thought that she'd let down Aoi too when she had lost. But either way, she cleared her throat and clenched her teeth, sitting a little straighter. She might have come to Aoi for advice and encouragement, but maybe she'd need to return the favor.

"Don't...don't say that-!" Yuki blurted out. She set down her drink and placed her hand on Aoi's thigh, looking over to lock eyes on her. "Aoi-san, you were a champion! You were the best there was in the lightweight division...if you weren't injured, you would still be! Don't you hear what you're saying?! Rose..." She shivered and gulped as she thought back to that fateful match, but she sat up straighter regardless. "Rose knew she couldn't beat you-! She had to target your friends, to make you angry; she had to break your leg just to get you out of action. Don't you know what that says? She couldn't beat you in a straight fight, so she needed to do all those things to even stand a chance! You're amazing, Aoi-san! I just...I...I wish I could be more like you-!"

Yuki sighed, looking back down at the floor. Now, as she reflected on all her failures, all her crushing defeats, all her regrets and sorrows and all the times she'd blamed herself began to bubble back to the surface. She knew she had to get them off her chest, but the words burned her throat on the way up, leaving her shuddering as she spoke. "...And I just...I haven't been good any more, Aoi." She let out a long sigh, enough to make her shoulders slump as her body deflated. "Whatever led me to keep up with you, I don't even know if I have it in me any more. After I lost to Rose...I don't know what it is, but I try and I try and I'm never enough. I don't know what it is, but...I've lost my touch. And I need it back."

She sucked in a breath and held it there in her lungs. Then, sitting back up straighter, Yuki paused for a time, her hands resting on her knees, before she worked up the will to say what was on her mind.

"...Aoi...I want to beat Rose Gold. I want to make everything right. But she's the champion. And in order to beat a champion...I need to go to a champion. I need you."

[Dragonofdarkness]

Aoi would hear yukis word telling her words of encouragement. she knew that she knew how rose couldn't beat her with honor and fairness she needed to cheat she knew that aoi probably would never even allow rose a chance but at the same time aoi couldn't accept it she couldn't accept that she was beaten by underhanded tactics she was angry with her self that she had doubts she would ever be back to one hundred percent. looking at Yuki she sighed she saw that fire in yukis eyes the same fire she had when she asked for training and the same her friend Rebecca had everytime she begged to be trained and she denied her.

"...no matter what i say there are people who admire you and see you as the light you are....fucking shadow and your wise words..." Aoi said more to her self. "fine fine I'll train you.... but we will be using my friends shadow's personal gym at the back of his bar. i don't want people to disturb us. " Aoi said. "plus shadow will let use eat um how old are you by the way?" Aoi asked knowing shadow wouldn't let them drink anything but milk water and juice if they were under age for drinking. she hated that responsible side of him.

"any ways heres the address to his bar i will still have physical therapy for a while but i can guide you. and will do my best to help you improve." aoi said smiling a little but was worried that she was going to train yuki never teaching before. she hoped she can help Yuki get better. she look at the girl smiling pushing away any bad thought as best she can. "oh thing about shadow you gotta listen he has a really quiet voice " Aoi said as she drank her tea to settle her nerves abit about training someone.

[CaptainL]

Even after the words had left her mouth, Yuki grit her teeth anxiously, and she clenched a fist tightly at her side to try and channel her nerves. In all honesty, she wasn't sure if this was going to work. She had seen how much her defeat at Rose's hands had hurt Aoi; when she had visited her in the hospital the dejection and despair she'd seen from the former champion was enough to bring her to tears. She didn't know if she was ready to see that from her again - and she couldn't help but fear that bringing up that very same defeat could only stir up unhappy memories for Aoi. If she turned down her offer, she didn't know what she'd do. Not only would it be a sign that Aoi Fukiwara, the woman Yuki looked up to and who she wanted so badly to prove herself just as capable as, had truly given up, it would also mean that Yuki had nowhere else to turn to - and she knew, if the injuries she'd just incurred were any indication, that she wouldn't stand a chance if she tried to take Rose on again alone. She didn't feel ready to even entertain the thought of a title match. Aoi was the one person Yuki could think of who might be able to help her stand a chance. She'd become a close friend, after all, and if she had been a champion by her own merits she would certainly be able to give Yuki some pointers to stand against a champion who had achieved her spot by cheating. She could only hope Aoi would say yes...

And sure enough...she did.

"Really-!?" Yuki let out a gasp; her eyes went wide, and one could practically see the sparkles in them. There was a part of her that couldn't even believe this had worked - but there was no doubt it was very real. Aoi was willing to train her. That meant Yuki would finally get the training she needed to take on Rose Gold, and maybe even stand a chance. But it also meant something else - it meant that Aoi was ready now to recognize the skill and the strength she had in her, and not write herself off as a failure. The old Aoi was back. And it was that, perhaps, that made Yuki the happiest of all.

Bowing her head low, Yuki felt tears of joy well up at the corners of her eyes. She wouldn't even care about hiding them, now - this meant too much to her. "Thank you, Aoi. Thank you, so much...I can't begin to tell you how much this means." Even when she took in a deep breath and stood back up, there was still a smile on her face, and she still needed to wipe a tear from her eye as she turned to face Aoi. She nodded her head as she described the terms and what she'd do - and her heart was pounding with excitement just thinking about how she'd get to train with a bona fide champion; she could hardly keep herself still when her feet wanted to fidget back and forth. This was actually happening. And, granted, with her being as domestic and introverted as she was, there was also a part of Yuki that had some apprehensions about going to a bar - but if what Aoi said was to be believed, it didn't sound like she had anything to worry about.

"Er..." she began, "I'm 19, if it matters." Saying that she took a pause - she'd started when she was freshly 18; had everything she'd been through, all the ups and downs of her LAW career, really happened in just one year? Still, she cleared her throat. "Don't worry about pushing yourself too hard, Aoi. Not if you're going to hurt yourself...just having guidance from someone like you is more than enough. I'd be happy to meet your friend, too..." She flashed Aoi a smile. Even if she was thrilled to be learning under such an accomplished name as Aoi Fukiwara, Yuki's friendship with her went beyond the ring - and she was looking forward to getting a taste of her personal life, too.

[Dragonofdarkness]

Aois eyes went abit wide as Yuki cried tears that were of joy she rubbed the back of her head and gave a small smile. " I hope i can meet your expectations." Aoi admit as she looked at Yuki and nodded to her. "okay he'll make sure you're safe there and hell know to give you juice or water" Aoi smile. "Shadow is my mentor and he has a gym in the back of her bar that he lets me use its a good second place to train for me when i want to be alone. " aoi said smiling at yuki.

"heres the address when you're fighting fit text me at this number so we can meet up" Aoi said and patted yukis shoulders. " I don't know what i can teach you tho yuki you already got great skill.... but ill do my best for you." Aoi admit and promised yuki as she grabbed her crutch and would use it for better support then her one leg.

[CaptainL]

Yuki wasn't usually someone who betrayed a lot of strong emotions. She kept to herself for the most part, preferring to focus on her own goals, and the pursuit of self-improvement. And when the world around her was moving as quickly as it was, she didn't often find the time to slow down and connect with people on such a personal level. But there were still some things strong enough to move even her - and this was one of them. Aoi Fukiwara, the first Lightweight Champion, the woman that Yuki had looked up to all this time, believed in her. And she wanted to see her reach her full potential. Now, when Yuki thought about the future, it didn't seem so scary or so hopeless. She had support. And she had friends in some high places who wouldn't let her fall!

As she met Aoi's gaze, Yuki's face lit up with a smile of her own, and she nodded her head confidently. "If you're willing to let me use your private gym...that means a lot," she said. "I'd be happy to get to know you more, too. Believe me...the fact that you're willing to do this already means you've met my expectations." She stopped for a moment to think about what Aoi had said about her mentor. Aoi was already a stronger and more capable person than just about anyone Yuki could imagine. If she had learned from someone before her, she could only imagine how good Shadow had to be.

"I'll do it," she said, with another nod to Aoi. And, when Aoi brought up that she was already skilled, that made Yuki's face go a vivid red as she glanced aside, as though afraid to make eye contact. "O-Oh, you don't need to flatter me..!" But she cleared her throat and stood a little straighter.

"But...thanks, Aoi. Thanks again, for all of this. And...get well soon. Because you owe me a rematch some day!" Yuki chuckled a little to herself as she and Aoi went their separate ways. But she did have to admit one thing to herself, as she watched after Aoi as she hobbled down the hall - a rematch did sound exciting...

Continued here