Haves and Have Nots

"Do you... still live with them?"

Gabbie was pretty young herself, and she loved her mother and father with all of her heart, but she had been champing at the bit to strike out on her own since she was old enough to drive. She craved the freedom she had and wouldn't trade it for anything. Akiha still seemed to have a very childish personality even if she sounded mature. Gabbie turned and looked at the prattling maids and then back at Akiha.

"Ok." She added. She wasn't sure why she needed to say that maids were family. It's not like Gabbie thought they weren't people or something.

Gabbie then looked at the hairpin and then the dress and then at Akiha. She was at least glad for the advice, but she didn't really understand what Akiha was trying to say. "It's just a Christmas party..." Gabbie said. "I'm not wearing a reindeer hairpin..." She said, blushing a bit at the thought. She didn't even think that those EXISTED, though she did have some barrettes with moose on them. She didn't think those were the same though.

"Do you go to a lot of parties?"

Akiha took a moment to think about Gabbie question.  It was a bit of an interesting question.  “Well technically yes but in reality not really.  They spend most of their time overseas and working, thus I rarely see them, which is a good thing as they are always second guessing me and trying to control every aspect of my life.” stated Akiha as she not only answered Gabbie question but also accidentally gave a bit more information then she intended to.

Gabbie then began to explain it was a Christmas party and that she wasn't going to wear any kind of reindeer hairpin.  Akiha would then picture Gabbie wearing such a thing, causing her to smile a little.  “I see, well when in doubt assume that the party is formal.  In which case I think your dress will be fine for the occasion.” said Akiha, giving her input on the manner.

The Canadian girl then ask if Akiha went to many parties.  “Well, I guess I do.  Anytime there is a holiday or some kind of family reunion, my family holds a party.  What about yourself?” ask the raven hair girl as Kohaku and Hisui were now getting the store owner to gather all sorts of clothes for them.

"You're an adult." Gabbie said, furrowing her brow. "Parents shouldn't keep their kids on a leash." She didn't know why she felt that way, but she had said it. "And they should support their kids no matter what." She added with some conviction.

Gabbie checked over her attire once more and was pretty satisfied with everything. She looked over and saw the maids still piling clothes and talking to the owner and furrowed her brow. She was ready to go but...

"No. I don't. I mean... there's parties, sure, but only during the holidays and maybe a barbecue during the summer. We'd have sleepovers but that was when we were little and those weren't really parties..." Gabbie looked over Akiha. "You make it sound like you just have parties to have them. That's a bit ostentatious."

It seemed the Canadian wrestler was taking this conversation pretty seriously.  Akiha was not sure how to respond at this.  Part of her wanted to side with Gabbie while another part of Akiha wanted to defend her parents.  Yet if she defended her parents that would show she was back peddling, which she couldn't do.  “Just because they should, does not mean they will.  I do agree with you, but they can be very stubborn.” stated Akiha in a slightly frustrated tone as she thought about her parents.

Gabbie then began to talk about parties and she was right again.  “Indeed, having parties is more of a tradition instead of a celebration for my family, something which I despise.” stated Akiha as she once again force to agree with her former opponent.  “That being said, I don't think you came here to listen to my life.” stated Akiha as she then saw the maids had gotten a large amount of clothing and were now paying for everything.  It seemed Akiha business here was almost over.

"Despise?"

Gabbie didn't understand but Akiha's words caused her to pause. She blushed as she realized she was having an actual conversation with someone she really didn't like very much and immediately turned to the shopkeeper and the maids.

Gabbie looked at the pile and then looked back at Akiha. "That's all for one party?" She asked. "I just want the one outfit..." She said, looking at what she had in her hand. She was also pretty sure she'd be wearing it as much as she could. She was spending a lot on the outfit, she was getting her mileage out of it.

It seemed Akiha little comment had taken Gabbie off by surprise, but she decided not to comment on it as felt this wasn't the time or place to talk about her family issues.  With that Gabbie would now make a comment about all the clothes that Kohaku and Hisui were buying.  “Well the maids do need to wear a different set of clothing during each event of the party.  It's kind of silly if you ask me.  Also, not all of them are going to be used for the party, I am sure they have a few items of their own that they want to buy.” stated Akiha as she then gave a friendly smile to her maids.  “If you will excuse me, I need to now purchase my items.  It was nice to chat with you like this.” stated Akiha as she now would motion to her maids and the store owner before making her way to the cash register.

"Uhh, yeah..."

Gabbie blinked as Akiha turned and went to her maids. Now she had to wait for all those clothes to be rung out. The blonde blushed a bit as she looked over Akiha and thought about what she said. That it was nice to chat like this. What did that mean? Gabbie didn't know if she should ask the girl if they wanted to talk for real sometime or if she was just being a bitch.

It appeared that Akiha had shared some fairly private information, but still... Maybe Akiha was trying to butter Gabbie up to avoid a rematch? Maybe she was trying to get in her head so she could affect her DURING a rematch. Gabbie didn't know but she remained silent, watching outfit after outfit get rung up while she held onto her one set of clothes. She was sure that she wouldn't make enough fighting at AFW in the year to be able to afford all of those clothes. Clothes that weren't even precious to them and just existed for the same of some ostentatious party that the three of them didn't even like or want to attend in the first place.

Gabbie found her teeth grinding while she stared and then when she realized it, blushed furiously and stepped away. She was not the type of person who got jealous over the station of other people. She had a good life and a good family and she enjoyed what she did and was the best at it. Akiha seemed to be miserable but that ate at Gabbie a bit. She turned and looked at the door, considering leaving just to avoid having to watch but then, she took a breath and stepped back to Akiha and firmly grabbed her by the shoulder and turned the Japanese girl to face Gabbie.

"So, why do you cheat in your matches?!" She said suddenly, almost blurting it out loudly. She couldn't help herself.

Akiha was about to make her purchase before feeling her shoulder being grabbed and asked why she cheated.  The raven hair wrestler would sigh as she exhaled.  “Your sister asked me the same question, but I shall answer you.  Tell me, if I had won fair and square and we had a rematch do you think the ratings of that match would be higher or lower than if we were to have a rematch in our current situation?  I'm not cheating to be a bitch, I am cheating in a way the company promotes in order to boost my own career as well as those who fight me.” stated Akiha as she then gave Kohaku her credit card and allowed the maid to make the purchase.  If Gabbie was anything like her sister she would probably start to protest and try to argue, at least that is what Akiha thought.

"My sister!?"

Gabbie balked at Akiha's words. When did Nikki talk to Akiha? She paused and almost couldn't even listen to the rest of Akiha's explanation but the girl was rather verbose with her explanation and that was curious enough. Once again, Gabbie couldn't process what Akiha was saying.

"What the hell?" Gabbie stared blankly at Akiha. "It's a sport. It's a competition." Gabbie said. "We're paid athletes. We're professional athletes not... actors." Gabbie furrowed her brow deeply. "My career is boosted by winning." She stated plainly. "It sounds like you've fooled yourself into believing there's a reason for you to cheat to win but... I can't tell. All I know is that cheaters are cheaters. It's as simple as that. They don't deserve to be in our sport no matter how they justify it." Gabbie said and looked sternly at Akiha.

Just as predicted, Gabbie was now acting just like her sister and now trying to debate the point.  Akiha could respect her point of view, it was admirably but in the end flawed.  “Is that what you think?  Then why do they allow us to cheat and even encourage it?  Oh sure the referee doesn't see it but everyone else did and they have instant replays.  We may be athletes, but we are entertainers first, why else are we allowed to trash talk to so much and attack each other backstage?  Why are weapons so easy to get a hold of?  Why have known cheaters won and held belts?  Why is it when a person who is holding a title belt cheats and gets disqualified, she still doesn't lose the belt?  How come I can suddenly show up half way through a match and distract a wrestler without being thrown out?” stated Akiha in a serious tone.  

“To me this is a business, a career.  I am a performer and this story needs a villain, a role which I am willing to play.” stated Akiha as Kohaku and Hisui were now almost done paying for all the clothing.  The store owner was pretending to be busy, not wanting to get involve in the conversation.