Lost and Found

Rika didn't reccover as fast as Akashi had, still holding her stmoach to ease the pain, leaving her completely open to the shoulder strike. She cried out, and would have fallen to the mat if Akashi didn't suddenly grab her and start to crush her in the bearhug. "AHHHH!!!" Rika gasped in pain, and started kicking her legs wildly. "No! Let me go!"

Akashi smiled at the words, but knew she couldn't just hold Rika in a bear hug forever. "Probably not a good thing to say." She whispered and then jumped forward, so that Rika would land on her back and Akashi would land on top of her.

Rika should have chose her words better, because she screamed when Akashi fell forwards, and then her scream was quickly silenced. All of Rika's air was driven out of her again as Akashi's full body weight flattened her against the mat. She went limp after that, breathing weakly with no fight left in her. She just lay there, groaning in pain.

Akashi hooked up her leg and tapped the ground gently to signify a count. Saying the words in the normal manner "1... 2... 3..." She sighed deeply when she got to three and rolled off of Rika. She looked over at Rika as she sat up. "You ok?" She asked sincerely. Akashi had gone a little bit rougher than she would have liked, but it had only been inresponse to Rika's hard hitting. The girl would definitely be a fierce competitor here in the league. Akashi knew that.

She was sore and panting just from a little work out. If she hadn't ended it then she might have even gotten injured. "You're pretty damn tough." She added, hoping to encourage Rika despite the loss.

Rika shut her eyes in frustration once the three count ended. She had only arrived a few hours ago, and she already lost a fight in the AFW. Is this how it was gonna be from now on.

She allowed Akashi to help her up, not meeting her in the eyes. Despite the sumo's kind words Rika didn't feel any better. "I can't believe how weak I've gotten," she whispered dejectedly. She didn't bother making an excuse or anything of the like, she had lost because she wasn't strong enough. "I'm useless without her...."

Akashi looked at Rika as she seemed to spiral into despair from the loss. Akashi barely noticed that she mentioned a person again. She felt angry for some reason. "Snap out of it!" She said harshly and brought her hand up to slap Rika. It was not a hard slap. "You lost." She said. "And you think it's because you weren't with this person?"

She pointed to herself. Rika saying that the losss was disappointing was rather insulting to Akashi. "I'm going to be the champ here and so loosing to me is not something to be ashamed of! Besides, you were really tough. I wasn't expecting to end up sore after just a practice." She paused and smiled. "It was just a practice match... For experience they are the best but you shouldn't allow them to wreck your pride. Just think of how you can approach the next match with what you know now. Don't you think it would be better to loose this match and learn from it than to loose a real match? I don't think you will loose that one from what I have seen since I'm one of the toughest girls around and you worked me over pretty good."

She then looked at Rika curiously. "Who is this girl anyway?"

Rika's head was snapped to the side after the slap. Her hand tenderly touched where Akashi's hand had struck, and winced as Akashi scolded her. "I know you're right, Akashi," she sighed. "But that doesn't make losing any easier."

When Akashi mentioned she was one of the strongest girls here, it caused Rika to giggle a little. "No offence, you really are strong, but I don't think you're as tough as my friend. I don't think anyone is as tough as her. I think you'd really like her."

When asked about her, Rika perked up immediately. "Oh, she's the greatest! She's the one who trained me to fight better! I used to think I was the toughest fighter around, until I fought her. I've never seen anyone who could fight like her!" She blushed slightly at her next set of words. "She's my best friend. And...I really like her. That's why I'm here. To find her again. I heard she was here! Akashi, do you know her?" She looked up and the sumo, her eyes positively beaming and hopeful.

Akashi paused and smiled. She was grateful that Rika understood how things were and knew Akashi was only trying to help. "Of course no one likes loosing." She said. "But it can be good for us too It keeps are heads from getting too egotistical and shows us where are weak points are. No matter how strong someone is, there is always someone stronger and strength can't be maintained indefinitely." She sighed slightly not really waning to lecture Rika so she let it go.

She smiled as she spoke of her friend. "Well if she's that tough then I definitely have to beat her sometime!" She said clenching her fists. "I know a lot of the girls around here and I try and keep my eye out for the tough ones. What's her name?" She asked hoping she could help.

"Her name's-" Rika would have answered Akashi excitedly, hoping that she knew who she was looking for, but it turned out she didn't have to. Because that person happened to enter the gym at that moment.

"SARAH!"

Sarah Gatt had intended to cut through the gym to get to another part of the AFW, wearing her regular wrestling outfit, when she was suddenly called out. She turned to the ring, where she immediately spotted Akashi, and someone else that made her eyes widened.

"Rika?" she asked.

Rika bounced gleefully in the ring. "That's her! That's my friend! Sarah Gatt! I found her! Come on, Akashi, come and meet her!" She would grab Akashi's arm, dragging her with her out of the ring to go meet the Queen of Brawl.

Akashi had her ears perked up as she waited for the name. Her eyes widened when it was screamed so loudly and she took a step back. She was about to speak when she felt herself being tugged. She knew Sarah quite well as it was and did her best to quietly allow herself to be pulled to her. She eyed her up carefully and smiled.

When they got to Sarah she lowered her head. "Rika I know her already." She said quietly in an even tone. "She was my first opponent and she won." She smiled. "Hello Sarah-san." She said looking up. "It's been a while since we met though I can say I am pleased to meet you again."