Cooling Off (For Caduces)

[CaptainL]

Continued from HERE

It was over. The match had only came to its conclusion a few minutes ago, but right now, the action that had grasped the two rookies seemed miles away. Yuki's heart hadn't quite calmed down from the excitement, and her muscles still ached. Though she had lost, it had been a match to remember, and she couldn't call herself at all disappointed with the results - Mayori had fought hard for it, and she had seen her overcome the challenges that lay before her to prove herself worthy of her place in LAW. She might not have been sure about her at first, but Mayori had definitely shown her she was worthy of her respect.

Now, though, things were different, as Mayori had seemed to slip right back into her shy and timid demeanor as soon as she had left the ring; even going backstage seemed to be a terrifying task for her. Yuki, while not as new as Mayori was, still knew how it felt to be that scared - and she couldn't help but feel some sympathy for her. That had led her to taking her over to a lesser-used corner of the arena, where she sat down by the side of a door open to the night air, hoping to meet Mayori on even terms.

"It's okay, if you need to talk about anything. Do you need anything? I could go get you some water, if that would help."

Spoiler

[Caduces]

Mayori was becoming more at ease the longer Yuki stayed with her.

After the match, Mayori had every intention of losing herself in her music and drowning out the world around her with her earbuds in and a blanket over her head. The rush of the moment she took control of the match and the terrible low of seeing more capable girls surrounding her backstage was all too much to take in.

But Yuki seemed tremendously different outside of combat. She was warm and even caring towards the girl that pinned her. The same girl that was a trembling mess now.

Mayori nodded in response to the water and received it with gratefulness.

She sipped and breathed more evenly. After some more time had passed, she felt safe enough to tell Yuki about the episode she had passing through the curtain.

[CaptainL]

"Right. Okay," Yuki said, giving a gentle smile to Mayori in the hopes it'd take some of the edge off and help her feel more at ease with things. "Just wait here, okay?"

Yuki would get up from her seat, making her way back to the locker room, where she'd retrieve a bottle of water from her bag and bring it back over to Mayori, passing it to her. She could always get her own water later on; right now, she thought that her opponent would need it more than she did. After Mayori took the bottle, Yuki sat back down. She would patiently wait as Mayori came back to her senses, not about to push the subject before she was ready.

Eventually, though, Mayori recentered herself, and Yuki gave a short nod to her. "You really did do a great job out there," she said.

[Caduces]

Mayori’s dialect might be hard for Yuki to follow. She didn’t use the common language, but she spoke in what must have been the non-Tokyo variety in her prefecture - whichever one that was. It further illustrated to the girl in yellow that Mayori might be as isolated as she seemed when she first came down the ramp.

It was a blessing that she hadn’t been interviewed before her debut. Or maybe it was canceled because of her dialect. LAW was a common language television program and her vocabulary would have come across awkwardly. She might as well have been one of the Western-born girls.

“You see - - -many other girls—- before - - - could combat...” She was opening up, but what could she be saying? Maybe it was best to let her just speak? At least she could understand the word “water”.

[CaptainL]

Yuki paused for a moment, listening to Mayori speak. The stiltedness of what she spoke came as a surprise to her, and that was when Yuki realized that she hadn't gotten the chance to listen to her words much up until now; she'd only heard her voice in short bursts. Yuki had never been addressed in such a dialect before, and she had been expecting someone working in a profession like this to be more versed in standard Japanese. After all, she thought back to all the paperwork she had needed to fill out when applying to LAW. Thinking about how hard that must have been for someone not fluent in the dialect...it made Yuki cringe, feeling a deeper sense of sympathy for the girl.

Nevertheless, she did seem to have some trouble communicating, and Yuki was willing to wait it out. Rushing Mayori would just make the matter worse, and panic her further. Instead, she would wait and listen to see what she might feel comfortable sharing. She was patient.

[Caduces]

Yuki was being such a good listener.

Mayori let so much out and the more that she divulged, the less scrunching sounds came from the water bottle in her fingers. The level of the water decreased in the container proportionately with her anxiety. Yuki would see less neck muscle tensing and more of a softening of Mayori’s brow.

There was so much information passing through Mayori’s lips. But, hardly any of the non-standard Japanese dialect could be deciphered. It helped that no one came within 30 feet of their corner of the backstage area.

Mayori let her hair down after a while, letting it spill over both of her shoulders. She had goosebumps along her arms and thighs, which was not a surprise since she was still in her two piece and sitting on a colder surface and not engaged in combat. Mayori wasn’t showing that she was bothered by the temperature. She didn’t want to be alone or risk losing the wonderful feeling of having a friendly ear in Yuki.

Mayori took it for granted that her former opponent could even understand everything she was saying. A small smile of relief flashed from her face and Yuki could see how grateful those glassy periwinkle eyes were.

[CaptainL]

It would take some time for Mayori to calm herself down, but Yuki was willing to wait. She didn't have anywhere to go now that her match was over. She would lean in closer to relax her posture, resting her elbows on her knees as she watched Mayori. As she could see the signs of tension slowly relaxing and releasing from the girl, she started to smile, pleased by the knowledge that she was feeling better. Yuki still didn't understand much of what she was saying, but she didn't need to. Her body language told her enough.

When it seemed like a break in her stream of consciousness had been reached, Yuki was willing to continue again, her voice soft and carefully spoken. She wasn't sure how much Mayori would understand, but she also didn't want to intimidate her or seem like she was raising her voice. "I know you're feeling nervous," she said, "and that's okay. I know that, no matter how much I dreamed of being a wrestler, or trained for it...that first match is always a big moment, and you're not sure how you're going to do, or what they'll think of you. Especially in front of this many people, it's hard." She would pause for a moment, seeing if Mayori was following her okay, before she would continue.

[Caduces]

By the expression on Mayori’s face and those searching eyes, it was clear that she didn’t get all of that. She didn’t break eye contact and her mind didn’t wander. But her comprehension of common language-Japanese was not on par with Yuki’s.

But Mayori was responding favorably to Yuki's tone. She didn’t seem like she lecturing, but empathizing definitely. Whatever latent nerves Mayori had were now gone.

“...it’s hard.” She knew the root word of the phrase in her dialect. Yuki’s pause in speech let her catch it. This was not a critique, it was someone in the business of professional wrestling finally being warm towards her. She was the roster, but that experience was not welcoming. This change made her light up just a little bit with a smile that Yuki could see.

Mayori expected the life of a LAW wrestler to be difficult, but here was someone that felt how hard it was, also. And Yuki’s sense of it was still fresh. Mayori ran her fingers through her own hair and pushed it back off of her shoulders. Her brighter eyes kept on Yuki as she broke the pause.

[CaptainL]

"Yeah, I know," Yuki said. "Trust me, I know." She was aware that Mayori might not have fully understood everything she was saying, but she figured that enough of it was understandable in her tone, if not necessarily her words. Certainly the relaxed look that crossed Mayori's face was evidence to that, and Yuki let out a calm breath as she started to settle against her seat as well. Whatever else might be going on in Mayori's mind, at the very least, contact had been made, and Yuki had established herself to not be a threat. That meant enough.

Once again trying to go as slowly and calmly as she could so that Mayori would catch as much as possible, Yuki continued. "But...you did a good job out there. I didn't think you could at first. I didn't know if you'd be ready...but you showed me the potential you have. You just have to keep that up, and I think you'll go far. The crowds were cheering for you, you know." She smiled to her. "I think that's a good enough sign you're doing something right."

[Caduces]

That smile from Yuki was communication enough.

She had said so much that was being lost, but the warmth from her former opponent had Mayori thinking that she should seize on this opportunity for companionship. Any feelings of desperation were not to be felt just in the ring - but in trying to keep in Yuki's good graces.

So lonely.

Mayori returned the smile and slowly stood up. She motioned for Yuki to follow her back to the locker room that she had left her stuff in. Mayori didn't have a way to properly ask Yuki if she wanted to set a time for a friendly Ramen date, but she had some visual aids on her smartphone that could bridge the gap. Sharing a dish of flavorful noodles would go a long way in helping make a friend. Mayori didn't have much of a stipend to work with, but it was going to go to a good cause.