Mai Valentine Quotes

Joey collapses from exhaustion after conceding, and Mai tries to argue the result away by pointing to the attack she never made. The rules become a shelter from recognizing what she wanted the match to achieve. Her objection is moving because it is so late and so specific. She cannot undo the situation by discovering, at the last moment, that winning it is unbearable. At the same time, the protest is more convincing than an instant polished apology would be. It shows her reaching for any distinction that might keep Joey present. The scene makes remorse begin as resistance to a fact rather than as complete moral understanding. She has arrived at the consequence before she has found language capable of accepting her part in bringing it about.