The Calm after the Storm

Angel quickly leaned back when Chigusa reacted in surprise. She had expected the girl to take a swing at her after realizing she was the one that pretty much gave her a concussion. The reflex turned out to make it worse for her, though. Her abdomen cramped up in pain and she groaned and bent over in the chair. It was all for nothing too, as Chigusa was more surprised than anything else. She honestly couldn't believe that the girl wasn't actually mad at her.

"I won you the match, didn't I?" she tried to add playfully but her voice was a little strained. Even though she was just trying to be friendly, after all she had been through it was difficult even to hold something casual as a friendly conversation. But as mad as she was at so many people, she didn't want to hold it. "And...umm..." she trailed off and looked away. "Please don't...yell my name like that..." She really didn't want any random passer-bys to know her secret. All of her plans would be ruined by that. "Do you need any help getting home?" she suddenly asked, as if somehow trying to make up everything she did to Chigusa.

Chigusa laughed when Angel made her little joke. "Haha! Yeah, I guess you did," Chigusa said, "Not that I needed your help. Taylor was pretty much done for by then." She wondered what Taylor was up to. They weren't really friends, though Chigusa tried. Now Taylor was gone. Chigusa wondered if she should go visit, but felt that it was really quite awkward.

She shook her head. "Megumi's coming soon to pick me up," Chigusa said. She paused for a moment, looking at Talia. "You know, you should come with us!" Chigusa said, "It'll be fun! Take your mind off everything, make recovery seem less scary... Let's go?"

Talia had her own brainstorm about Taylor after she was brought up. She really did want to know what the girl was up to and how it related to her. Her ultimate goal had to be changed because of Taylor's sudden retirement and it kinda left her in limbo as she struggled to think of a new goal. "Megumi?" she asked curiously. Though Talia had never met her, she had seen plenty of the girl's matches. One of those included the girl's quick victory over Cassie Elliot. And that made Talia smile just thinking about it.

But still she seemed hesitant. "I...umm...maybe I shouldn't...I mean...I'm really not in any condition to do anything but go home..." she muttered, returning to her old ways of timidity. It was as if that moment she had completely forgotten everything she had been the last few weeks. "Besides...I mean...I don't want anyone seeing me..."

"Don't worry about that!" Chigusa said, "You're being released from the hospital. Live a little Talia-chan! And I'm sure Megumi would love to meet you. We don't let things that happen inside the ring carry outside, so it's not like she's gonna try to get revenge for me or anything." Seeing Talia timid and uncomfortable surprised Chigusa, who had thought she made some progress coming out of her shell after becoming Dark Angel. But the old Talia was still inside. That was a good thing; it meant that despite the rough exterior Talia was still the good person Chigusa knew she was.

"You shouldn't be afraid of who you are Talia-chan, Dark Angel-san," Chigusa said, "I like both parts of you." She gave Talia a wide and bright smile, one that she knew would cheer the girl up simply from the infectious nature of good feelings.

In that moment, Megumi came in. She wore sunglasses, a red jacket, and long black tights underneath a jeans skirt. Her heels made a small clicking sound as she walked through the waiting room, looking for Chigusa. Chigusa found her first, waving at her to come over. Chigusa turned back to Talia for some final encouragement.

"Come on! It'll be fun," she said.

Talia actually hadn't thought about the fact that Megumi could have taken it personally that she beat up her close friend. Even Chigusa reassurance that the girl wouldn't want revenge didn't make Talia any better off. She sort of leaned back into the chair and crossed her arms as if shielding herself back up. But the idol didn't seem discouraged at all by this. She smiled and said something that sounded so corny and childish about being oneself. But it was her simple statement that she liked both parts of her that made Talia blush. She looked up at Chigusa and smiled a little bit.

"I...I guess..." she muttered in response. "I...I guess I do need to unwind a bit..." she finally yielded though she was still a little hesitant. After all, she didn't really know what Chigusa had planned and also didn't know the two girls that well either.

"Hehe, that's more like it!" Chigusa said cheerily. If Talia was going to be mopey then Chigusa would have to be happy for both of them, to drag her out of whatever funk she was in. Megumi soon came over and took off her sunglasses, quickly swooping over Chigusa and giving her friend a big hug.

"Ahh Chi-chan!" Megumi said, "I was so worried! Everything is ok right?" She hugged Chigusa tightly, so much so that her partner had to tap a little on Megumi's shoulder to make her let go.

"M-megumi!" Chigusa gasped. Megumi released her and stepped back, blushing slightly. Everyone in the room was looking. "Mou... Anyways, this is Talia-chan!" Chigusa quickly turned and presented Talia to Megumi, throwing out her hands like she was showing off some kind of prize. Megumi turned and smiled, extending her hand.

"Pleased to meet you Talia-chan! I'm Megumi... wait a minute..." Megumi's eyes narrowed as she looked at Talia closely. The girl seemed familiar. "Ah! You're the one that chaired Chigusa!" she suddenly declared as she realized where she had seen her before. "Wow... how did you two meet here? Did you have a match or something? You look pretty beat up."

Chigusa smiled sheepishly. "Ahh, well thing is Megumi..." Chigusa said, "This is actually Dark Angel-san. We beat each other up."

Megumi looked at the two of them, first at Chigusa, then at Talia. "Wait... so she put you in crutches..." she said, pointing to Chigusa, "And you beat her up..." she pointed at Talia, "And now... what's all this?"

"I invited her over!" Chigusa said brightly. Megumi nodded, seemingly assenting, before she processed what Chigusa just said and did a double take.

"What?!"

Talia almost felt jealous by how friendly the two girls were to each other. She knew they had been friends for quite some time now from all the television she had watched prior to joining the AFW. And they were champions as well! There was really no one in Talia's life that she could compare to Megumi. She reached out and shook the girl's hand with a forced smile. It didn't take long at all for Megumi to recognize her and she was right in getting that handshake in before. And when Chigusa suddenly introduced her as Dark Angel, Talia suddenly blushed and looked straight at the ground.

Megumi's reluctance made her feel even uncomfortable. It should've been predictable. I mean, the two had beaten each other up and somehow because of Chigusa's good nature they were now here. And being unwelcome made Talia want to run. "M-maybe...maybe I'll just leave..." she stuttered before turning to walk away suppressing a groan of pain.

Seeing Talia suddenly try to leave, Megumir realized she probably came off a little hostile. She didn't want to seem that way in front of Chigusa's new friend, even though she found it hard to like Talia given her history. But if Chigusa was willing to forgive then Megumi couldn't say anything. It was Chigusa who had been on the beaten end after all. She quickly reached over and grabbed Talia's hand.

"Wait!" Megumi said, tugging gently on Talia. "We probably got off on the wrong foot. Don't worry, I'm not mad at you or anything. Things that happen in the ring don't matter in real life." She gave Talia a wide smile, gently pulling her back to her seat. Chigusa, who was still sitting, nodded happily. Megumi was willing to just let things slide, which was good. Chigusa wanted to befriend this girl, not make her a new enemy.

"Megumi-chan, lets go?" Chigusa asked. Megumi nodded, reaching down and grabbing Chigusa's arms, pulling her up and standing her on crutches. Megumi couldn't help but wonder how Chigusa could be friendly considering what Talia did to her legs. Megumi saw that entire match and it made her extremely uncomfortable just to see that. To forgive after that meant Chigusa would forgive everything.

Megumi led Chigusa out to the front of the infirmary, where a black sedan waited. A driver dressed in a black suit waited for them. He came over and stored Chigusa's crutches in the trunk, while Megumi helped Chigusa ease into the backseat of the car.

Talia tugged her arm away from Megumi when she first grabbed hold of her. This was crazy. After all that had happened, she never imagined Chigusa would be here inviting her out. She had planned for a lot of things, but this was not one of them. Talia just wanted to run away from it all...even knowing that it would hurt to do so. But as Megumi offered reassuring words it made the girl stop and turn around with an unsure face. It was nice that the two were legitimately trying, but she really couldn't disagree more with her statement. If everything that happened in the ring didn't matter in real life, she wouldn't be on a vendetta to destroy some others at the moment.

But that wasn't Chigusa or Megumi's fault. Not at all. They had been through a lot more than her and still they seemed to have high spirits and trust in others. They seemed to have each other's support though...and maybe that had made all the difference. Talia followed the two outside of the hospital and watched as the two got ready to leave. They had their own driver...a nice car...Talia couldn't help but feel immensely jealous. She awkwardly stood on the sidewalk beside them just watching. Even after all their nudging and reassuring, she still wasn't sure what to do. So she just stood there as if expecting them to either invite her again or say goodbye.

Seeing Talia stand awkwardly outside the car, Megumi went over and pushed her in. "Hai~ Backseat," she said, "I'll take shotgun." Chigusa slid over a little with some difficulty as to give some room for Talia. The idols understood that Talia was nervous; she had just beaten one of the two idols up. Megumi was holding back sharp words. She wanted to give Talia a piece of her mind, but she knew Chigusa wouldn't like that. Chigusa wanted Talia to be their friend, not another enemy, and if Megumi spoke they would probably fight. After Talia got in Chigusa gave her a little pat on the shoulder and a reassuring smile to dissuade her fears.

"It's alright, we won't eat you," Chigusa said, "Lets go back to my place and get some drinks. I want to forget I'm in pain!" She laughed a little as the door closed behind Talia and the car began speeding towards the idol's apartment.