Between Matches at the tournament

Watching anxiously backstage, Kirin seethed as she watched the monitor, letting out a few curses for the first time in what felt like years at Sarah through the screen. She stood up, ready to step in where security failed when Sarah finally left and Masane was escorted from the ring. Kirin rushed to her, maternal instincts flaring up as she fussed and fretted over the martial artist. "Oh no, oh no, poor thing. Sweetie, you'll be alright," she insisted hurriedly. She had her own match to think about but was too caught up to stop her concern.
"Ma'am, please. We can help her," one of the medical staff assured her, but Kirin physically lifted her up by the shoulders. The nurse squeaked in surprise as Kirin set her down gently to one side, rushing up and holding Masane's hands together in between hers.

A flash of anger went through her but revenge and the like were quickly dismissed for compassion. "You did it, sweetheart," she said firmly, hints of tears showing up in her eyes. "You won it all. You didn't let me down. Not one bit. You stood up to that cheating... 'girl' and you did it." A pair of attendants tried to pull her back, but she kept pace with her by sheer weight and force. She gently kissed Masane on the forehead and smiled as she wiped away a few tears. "Sleep tight, my little champion," she said softly to her before relenting her hold on her hands slowly and letting the med staff handle her for now.


It was a short while later of waiting before the staff let her know she could see her, telling her it was nothing too serious but they had to make sure. Kirin thanked them and hurried herself into the medical room, too concerned to be worried about her slightly sweaty tank top and sweatpants she was wearing between her matches. Hel had given her some trouble but had come down, and she had Akashi coming in a little while.

She saw Masane unconscious on the bed, Kirin sighed in relief to see her out on a bed rather than in the ring or a stretcher. She helped herself to a chair on one side of the room, pulling it near her former foe and sitting down, rubbing her hand gently and waiting for her. She couldn't imagine leaving the young fighter by herself after a questionable win like that. She had experienced the occasional DQ match, and they never sat right with her afterwords either... She had nowhere to be between bouts as it was, so she waited patiently for the martial artist to wake up.

Masane groaned softly, laying in tight black gym shorts and matching sports bra. She started to stir slowly, and opened her eyes up. "Ugghh.. wh.. what happened?" She asked to no one, not even aware someone was in the room.

"You won, Masane-chan," Kirin said softly, smiling at the sight of the girl coming to. She took her hand and gave it an assuring squeeze. "Believe me or don't, but you won. You're the champion, just like you promised me." Her smile faltered a bit in her eyes for a moment. "Remember?" she added hopefully.

"Ugh... I.. I won? But... I remember... blacking out... how did I-" She gasped suddenly when she realized she was only in her shorts and bra. Where was her uniform?! She looked around, not seeing it anywhere. "Wh.. where is it?! Where is it??!!" She exclaimed, trying to climb out of bed so she could look for it.

Kirin stepped up to stop Masane from getting up, taking her with a gentle firmness by the shoulders and pressing her back towards the bed. "Your opponent was disqualified. When you went under, she kept trying to attack you, and pulled a weapon when the refs tried to stop her." Kirin held back from spitting at the thought of her underhanded opponent. "Banning her would be too good for her," she thought before returning to calming Masane again in her best soothing voice.
"The nurses have your gi, sweety. Relax. I asked and they said they'll be presenting you with the championship belt later on. Don't worry..."

"Not that! I don't care about the gi, where's the sash that secured the gi to my person??" She said, struggling against Kirin, but was easily no match for her strength right now.

Kirin's face distorted with thought for a moment as she kept Masane back, then her eyes widened as she remembered briefly seeing it on screen.

"Oh my..." she said, eyes dodging Masane's for a moment. "She took it. I've heard that she likes to take things like that. Trophies." She scowled for a moment, but forced her warm expression back into place. "But you didn't let her get the important belt," she added, a bit hopeful that it would deter from the loss. The way Masane was reacting, she hoped it wasn't a sentimental item.

Masane glared up at Kirin, not taking into account she wouldn't know. "That sash is more important to me than some stupid title!" She then calmed down a little bit, looking down towards the ground. "Yatori... The sash is Yatori's. She wanted me to trade my obi for her sash. I agreed and kept it pristine.. I.. I was even tied up by it at one point, but I didn't cut it. I have to get it back!"

Kirin was surprised at her sentimentality for the band. She understood, to an extent, but it was still surprising just how much she cared for it.

"It's okay, deary," she assured, holding Masane in a soft hug. "We can get it back." The fact that she ignored the title made her skip mentioning that such shots to get THAT belt were far more rare. She also let the "we" hang in the air a bit, as some thoughts went through her head.

Her match with Akashi was coming up. But Sarah couldn't have been in good shape, no matter what end of the match she was on. If she went after her now... but Masane's pride might not allow it anyway.

Masane grunted as she was hugged softly. "Mm.. thanks for the offer, but you have a match soon, don't you? You also don't like rough matches. I couldn't ask you to fight for me like that. I know I can beat her now, I just need to be careful and don't let myself get caught by her..."