Spar among fresh blood (for Sonsaku Hakufu)

Akiha was now in the ring as she watch her two maids, Kohaku and Hisui.  The two were still getting all their paper work done to be wrestlers but currently they were allowed to use the gym.  Akiha had even already provided them with their uniforms, which were leotards similar to her own, but where black with a white outline.  As the two wrestlers performed moves on another, Akiha would continue to give them pointers.  The two seemed to have the basics down and when it came to being a tag team they could do some very effective moves.  Yet Akiha felt something was missing, when they were fighting one on one, they didn't seem to be as good.  Thus she was training them to be better wrestlers.

They continued for a few more rounds, performing slams, submission holds on each other while Akiha continued to give out pointers.  Still the two fighting styles were similar and they had fought Akiha a number of times already.  It seemed the rate that they were improving as tag-team was great but as individuals wrestlers their skills seemed lacking and not improving fast enough.  Thus the raven hair wrestler concluded that fighting another wrestler would be the best way for them to improve there skills.  Thus as the two fought, she looked around, seeing if there was anyone who looked around their skill level.  Surely that would be the best way to improve their individual skills, by throwing the unexpected at them.

Karen Kashima strolled contently into the AFW gym, looking forward to a day of exercises. Her fledgling career had taken a very good turn ever since she'd met and befriended Vivienne Bennett. The spar they engaged in when they first met had led Vivienne to see a particular potential in the young Japanese-Canadian wrestler, and it ended with them agreeing to become a tag team. She had taken Karen under her wing and begun giving her particular pointers in training, with the long-term goal of moulding her into a talented wrestler who would complement her style, making the two a super effective team.

Having taken a moment to change into a simple training outfit of T-shirt and shorts, she was walking towards a different part of the building when she overheard in passing what sounded like fighting noises from the ring. Curious, she changed route and approached the ring, where she saw two women with colour-coordinated uniforms fighting. There wasn't a crowd, so this clearly wasn't an official match. Mentally rejoicing in her astute powers of observation, Karen chose to discreetly approach the ring, to try and get a better view of what was happening. As she got closer, she noticed a young woman with long black hair, wearing a white shirt with a black bow, and a long black skirt. Smiling, Karen approached her confidently, doing her best to not disturb the women in the ring.

As she got closer, Karen waved to draw her attention, and then shook her hand on approaching. "Hello, my name's Karen Kashima.", she said. "It's nice to meet you."

Akiha continued to watch as her two maids went at it.  Now with Kohaku placing Hisui in a Camel Clutch.  Akiha would give some advice to the two of them before noticing a girl wave to her.  She was wearing a simple t-shirt and shorts, it was perfect for training.  Thus Akiha assumed she was either a trainer or a wrestler, probably the latter judging by her age and appearance.  The girl would then introduce herself in a polite manner.  It seemed that she was well manner, thus she decided to respond back.  “Thank you, I am Akiha Kosha, it is a pleasure to meet you.” she stated before hearing Hisui call for a rope break and thus telling Kohaku to break the hold.

Once Kohaku broke the hold Akiha would once again give her attention back to the young lady.  “Sorry for the interruption there, I am training these two to become wrestlers.  They are still getting all there paper work done but soon they will be entering the ring but they are lacking a bit of experience.  I assume your a wrestler as well?” stated Akiha as she scanned Karen before telling both Kohaku and Hisui to take a quick break.  Perhaps this person could fight her red hair maids.  She could probably teach them a few things.

Karen nodded. "It is a pleasure to meet you as well. How would you like me to address you?", she asked. She could sense, from Akiha's clothing, her tone of voice, and the way she carried herself, that it would be wiser to not try to be as informal from the start as she could be with Vivienne. Akiha's personality was obviously different, and she felt that right now, her safest bet would be to crank up the diplomacy and tact.

Ah, so that's a training spar!, she thought, on seeing the women in the ring and hearing Akiha's explanation. Then again, I guess there's not a whole lot of other options for ring events with no audience. Performance art maybe?... Letting her thoughts wander idly, she looked at the maids for a moment, to get a better impression of them, before turning back to Akiha. She waved one of her hands aimlessly, saying, "It's no worries, if anything, I thought I was the one who had to apologise for the interruption." She chuckled, and continued, "Sounds exciting, and I know what you mean... that paperwork can be quite a hassle. We've all been there, haha! I wish you all three the best of luck with your training and your careers." She smiled with an open mouth and gave a thumbs up gesture.

"Yeah, I'm a wrestler too.", Karen said, pointing towards herself. "Though I don't know if I can call myself that officially, since I'm still in training myself. I haven't had a match yet, though I did have a spar before. It ended with me making a best friend and us becoming a tag team!" She laughed at the end of the sentence, affectionately amused at how unusual their meeting story likely seemed, especially for non-wrestlers.

Akiha realized she had forgotten to introduce herself due to Karen comment.  “My apologizes, you may simply call me Akiha.” she stated as she gave a small bow in a form of an apology.  She then listened to what Karen had to say.  It seemed she was also a wrestler and a rookie as well.  “I have already finish my own paper work and have already done about four matches.  I am helping those two with their own paper work.  Also there is no need to apologize.  This is gym is open to everyone who is a wrestler here.” stated Akiha as she then brush her own hair aside before taking a look back at Kohaku and Hisui.  The two were now simply drinking from there water bottle as they rested.

She then turned and face Karen again thinking if she should get her maids to challenge her but first she would need to introduce them.  “These two are Kohaku and Hisui, my maids and upcoming wrestling tag team.” she stated as both Kohaku and Hisui give a polite bow as there names were said.  The more that Akiha thought about getting them to spar with Karen, the more it seemed to make sense to her. “If you want, perhaps you could spare with these two, one at a time.  It would be a great way for all of you to gain some experience.  The two could really use it, as they are a bit more inexperience when it comes to indivual matches.” stated Akiha as the two maids now simply looked at Karen.

Karen gave a small bow in return to Akiha, thinking it was only the right thing to do. "Of course, Akiha.", she replied. "Four matches? Sounds quite good. How were the people you had the matches with, if you don't mind my curiosity?" She let her hands dangle off her body but joined them together in front of her legs. "Mm, indeed. That obviously means, we're all wrestlers here!" She laughed mildly, and hoped Akiha might also be amused by the obviousness of that statement. Improvising jokes on the spot wasn't her forte, to put it mildly.

Karen looked at Kohaku and Hisui with a happy, eyes-closed facial expression, and waved to them as well. "Pleasure to meet you too, Kohaku and Hisui! I'm Karen!" Her eyes then widened as she properly processed what Akiha had said. "Whoaaa... maids? Hontō?", she said in surprise, slipping into her native Japanese for a second. Looking at Akiha with a curious tilt of the head, Karen asked rather hesitatingly, "Akiha... you have maids? You... you must have a pretty good family situation, I assume?" The only logical suggestion of the maids was that Akiha must be wealthy, but she didn't want to sound insulting or patronising.

She thought for a second on the suggestion, and then replied, "Mhm! I think that's actually a good idea, Akiha!" She began to climb into the ring herself, telling the maids, "Oh, I hope you don't mind if I also address you as Kohaku and Hisui, of course. If you have any other preferences, I'm happy to accommodate."

Akiha looked at the brown hair wrestler as she bowed in return.  The Japanese wrestler would then listen as Karen asked about how her opponents where in her first match.  Akiha took a moment to think about all her matches before finally giving a reply. "Well my first match I have to say was my best match.  That was the match where I meet my rival Belinda, even though I lost, I really enjoyed it and just looking at her makes me want to train more and get better.  I have a lot of respect for her.  My second match, I had an odd opponent, she actually kiss me and thus I destroyed her in a one sided match.  Didn't really get to know her well, since it was anything go match.  My third match I was up against a cocky blue hair girl who could take a beating but she was to distracted and over confident to fight back.  I felt if she lost her arrogance and focus on the fight, I could have actually enjoyed the match.  My last opponent put up a real good fight and I had a great time fighting here." stated the raven hair wrestler as she thought about her matches.  So far it seemed half her matches she fought people she like while the other half she fought people she disliked.  She then continued to to listen what the brown hair rookie had to say but didn't laugh as she simply nodded her head in agreement.

Kohaku and Hisui both smiled back at Karen, with Hisui giving a small wave, while Kohakua gave a massive wave back.  "Pleasure to make your acquaintance." stated Hisui in a polite tone.  "Please to meet you." stated Kohaku in a more energetic voice.  The three of them then watch as Karen got all shock from realizing that Kohaku and Hisui were Akiha maids.  "Yes, my family is in good standing.  That being said, in the wrestling ring, it doesn't matter if your rich or not, it comes down to skills, speed, strength and determination." stated Akiha in a professional tone as she remembered her last match, giving that same lesson to her opponent.

The three of them then waited for Karen response.  Akiha then nodded her head as she started to climb into the ring.  The two maids listen as she talk to them.  "That is fine." stated Hisui in a calm and polite tone.  "Alright, don't mind if I call you Karen, do you?" stated Kohaku in a more energetic voice.  "Before we begin, which one do you wish to fight first, after all you don't want to fight them both at the same time, even I get easily destroy by them when fighting both at the same time." stated Akiha as she never seemed to be able to defeat them or come close when they were a tag team.

Karen listened intently to Akiha's recounting of her previous wrestling experience. "Mhm, sounds like you've had some good experiences already! I'm jealous, haha!", she joked. "Sounds like you met a real good rival in Belinda... would you say she's one of those rivals, that, y'know, if it weren't for the fact that you had each other, you could be friends outside the ring?" Karen liked that kind of story and looked forward to seeing if it could happen with her as well; there was a distinct appeal to having a good competitor who pushed both of them to great heights of skill and entertainment. She nodded, and added, "And yeah, I know what you mean about the blue-haired girl... she sounds like she hasn't worked out how to be cocky in a likable way. That's quite a challenging thing to do. Most of the time I think you just get what you mentioned - arrogants who write checks their body can't cash."

She giggled at the sight of Kohaku's enthusiastic wave. Gee, I wonder what theme they're going for their tag team for..., she thought jokingly. Turning to Akiha, she said, "I agree, Akiha, that doesn't matter. Hope you don't mind my surprise, it's just that I haven't met anyone wealthy like that before, either here or back in Canada. Though I suppose getting out even more would've helped." Part of Karen's upbringing and her own beliefs had given her a reflexive slight suspicion towards the wealthy and privileged, so she was secretly happy that so far Akiha was turning out to be a nice person and not like the worst she'd expected.

In the ring, Karen still found herself entertained by Kohaku and Hisui's genki girl-yamato nadeshiko act. She was thinking of making a silly quip about suggesting they could combine wrestling with manzai, but she couldn't think of anything clever or funny enough at the moment. "No, of course not! I mean, it is my name and everything!", she joked in response to Hisui's request.

She spent a moment looking at Kohaku and Hisui, pondering her answer. She then pointed to Hisui and said, "I'd like to have a round with Hisui first." Kohaku seemed more fun, so she thought that if she went with Kohaku first, having a second round with Hisui would feel like a chore.

Once Akiha had finish telling her story, it seemed that her guest had some questions and comments.  “Well to answer your first question, I think me and Belinda can be friends outside the ring and given enough time we probably will.  Just because we beat each other in the ring, doesn't mean we can't be friends.  If your looking for a good face to fight I would recommend her, though be warned she is tough.” stated Akiha as she was now looking forward to her rematch with Belinda.  She had already learned so much and improved herself, even coming up with two new finishers.  After hearing what the brown hair wrestler had to say about her other opponents, Akiha couldn't help but to agree.  “It's just a shame, she could be a really good wrestler.  I just hope she gets her attitude improved, then we could probably have a really close and great match, maybe even become friends but right now I don't think that is possible.” stated the Japanese wrestler in a slightly disappointed voice.  Yet she quickly push these thoughts aside and focus on Karen, her guest.

The rookie brown hair wrestler then made some remarks how she had never met anyone rich before.  Akiha had met a large amount of rich people before but not any wrestlers but she had seen them in the ring and a few backstage as well though never directly interacted with them.  “Well here you will be meeting many rich wrestlers.  They will attempt to convince everyone they are superior to you because they have more money or some other excuse.  Yet don't let that get to you, just kick their ass and show them what it really means to be a wrestler.  Also be prepared for them to make up some lame excuse and cheat as well but just try to overcome it all, the crowd will love you for it.” stated Akiha as she tried to encourage her fellow wrestler.

The raven hair wrestler then nodded her head as Karen pointed at Hisui.  “Hisui is a face, meaning she will fight honorable.  Kohaku on the other hand is a heel.” stated Akiha before pondering for a second.  “I guess I would technically be a heel though no where near as bad as Kohaku.  So knowing that, are you still fine with fighting Hisui first?” ask Akiha as Kohaku got out of the ring while Hisui gave a bow before entering a fighting stance.

"Ooh, sounds good!", Karen replied enthusiastically. Being told that it was possible to have a good challenger who it was possible to be friends with, was reassuring and quite exciting. Now she could only look forward to seeing whether she could find one... or two, ideally, since she'd already teamed up with Vivienne. "Thank you for the recommendation - I think I might try once I've built up some skill level first." She restricted herself to non-verbally signalling her agreement with Akiha's disappointment over her arrogant challenger, having nothing else to add that she hadn't mattered.

Karen slightly waved her pointed finger, recognising the sense Akiha made. "Mhm, you do have a good point there Akiha. I shouldn't be surprised, since wrestling is not exactly your usual 9-to-5.", she mentioned. Hearing Akiha's words of encouragement, she grinned and pumped her fists cheerfully. "Yeah! I will!", she said. "They gotta learn sometime that money isn't the answer to everything in life, so I'll make sure I help deliver that message loud and clear!" She punctuated the last two words with playful fist jabs in the air, accidentally miming a boxing match instead of a wrestling match. In her defense, however, wrestling moves looked substantially more comedic if mimed by oneself. Hmm... I wonder if I should say I could wear an orange outfit for that?, she thought. Naaah. Akiha wouldn't get it, and even if she did, she'd just cringe. Still, overcoming it all, and being loved by the crowd... Karen spaced out for a second, feeling good about that mental image, staring with a subtle and endearing smile at nothing in particular.

Karen scratched the back of her hair, looking downwards for a second. "Er... hmm. I realise now I probably should've asked about that earlier.", she said. So... the face who looks like their lip got stuck in 'stiff upper' mode, or the happy heel. I guess that's happens when I rush into things. Eventually, she looked at Akiha and said, "Knowing that, I think it's better if I fight Kohaku first." She looked at Kohaku as well. "I'm a face, and my tag team friend is a face too. It makes more sense to get my first experience with a heel out of the way, so I can have an idea of what I'll be dealing with."