The Deep Breath

As Taylor washed and dried her plate and listened to Junko talk, it occurred to her how rarely she took the time to ask her how she was, and she felt terribly self-centered. She thought of Junko so much as a parent and authority figure, that she almost never stopped to think of her as a normal person, just like herself, only older.

She put her plate down and then walked to Junko and wrapped her arms around her. She held her tightly while the last trickle of water drained out of the sink, and then stepped back. This time she was the one holding Junko by the shoulders.

"I have an idea," she grinned.

She skipped off to the living room and shucked off her sweatshirt, leaving her in just a tight, stretchy tank top and bright red running shorts. And began to jump in place and get her body warm for afternoon training, and talked while she did.

"Lots of people want me to train them. Like... probably seven people so far. The last one was Ninjette, and I said I would, but I just... haven't got around to telling Morg to go ahead and schedule her. But like... You know what I want to do. Like a youth athletics foundation or something, like what I've seen back in the states. That'll probably be when I'm way older, but for now maybe we can get some more people in here. You can mentor all the young, up-and-coming talent and I can help with training and stuff. Like Ace, and Nik, and... Cassie, I mean we've got some space, we could even have them stay here. Bunk beds and stuff. We could add on another room..." For a moment, she lost herself in the fantasy, but then refocused on Junko.

"Whatya think?"

Junko squeezed Taylor back when she was hugged. She always loved hugging her children and showing them physical affection and Taylor was no different. However, when Taylor put her at arm's length, the older woman raised a curious eyebrow.

Junko listened to Taylor and her mouth dropped a little as she spoke. Junko was a good trainer and a good manager, and probably one of the most knowledgeable around when it came to wrestling, even if she'd never actually spent much time INSIDE the ropes. Wrestling was in her blood and there was a time when a lot of people would have killed to be under her tutelage.

Junko wiped away a forming tear and covered her face with her sleeve. "Oh, Taylor-chan, I think it's a wonderful idea. And here I was just going to invite my niece to stay with me." She said, chuckling as she thought about it. "This house was always built to be like a barracks for training wrestlers. Like a dojo! It really has been my dream for something like that." She said. "Even if the girls don't want to stay, I would love to have anyone come and train and learn the art of wrestling."

Taylor's grin grew and grew until she was practically lighting the room all by herself. "A dojo!" She didn't know what a barracks was, but she knew the word dojo.

"Ohmigod, dude, like, we'd have to pick instructors, or like, senior... people. Officers! Like a club! We'll need to build a fort! Possibly a treehouse. With no boys allowed! Except Johnny can still come to the special boy section, aka the bedroom." Taylor was mostly joking. "But we can have Cassie make up info sheets on the roster and the incoming people that look promising and stuff, and we can help people prepare for matches. We'd have me and Bear and Kashi, of course, and I'd really want to spend time with Nikolette, because I think she's really got potential and right now she's not using any of it."

She stopped, and for a moment she just stood and glowed at Junko.

"I'm really excited," she said, and then took off for the gym.

Taylor's smile was quite infectious as Taylor got super excited for quite an impromptu little project. It warmed Junko's heart just thinking about having all the people coming and going. It also seemed to completely get Taylor's mind off the match as well.

"I think it's absolutely wonderful, dear." Junko said genuinely. "Oh, the thought of it makes me feel thirty years younger already! When would you like to start it?" She asked. "Oh, I should clean the house! I could get new linens and oh, we could have a nice big dinner when we're ready to officially open it up!" Soon enough Junko was as giddy as Taylor and her shining face reflected it.

She followed Taylor to get a look at her gym. Since Taylor had gotten her place with Johnny, even she hadn't been by too often to train. She hoped it wasn't collecting dust!