A Rusty Blade (for Killcarrion)

Well, Risako thought to herself as she guided Uehara back to her sick bed, this brought back memories. More than once, she had had to be the voice of reason and comfort to the more reckless of the Wrestle Angels-- Chigusa Yuuki, Megumi Mutoh, and Shinobu Echigo, to name a few. Even the endless font of positivity that was Mighty Yukiko had confided in her at one point. But Uehara...Uehara had only ever seen Risako as an equal, and a problematic one at that. It felt oddly gratifying to now see her old partner listen to reason.

Helping Uehara settle back into the sick bed, Risako smiled back at her.  "I wouldn't be here if you hadn't pulled me out of the gutter when I needed it the most." She frowned a little. "But...do you really mean it? Do you want for the two of us to be...well, you know...a tag team again?"

Blade couldn't help but roll her eyes from Risako's sheepish confirmation of what Blade was getting at. She was hoping not to make a big deal out of it since all of this mooshy stuff wasn't really her thing, but she guessed it couldn't be helped this one time. "No, I want you to help me move a couch into my apartment...OF COURSE I want us to team up again." Blade sarcastically quipped before getting to the heart of the matter, though with her gaze averted to the side and away from Risako.

"Look...you didn't break up the team last time. You had trouble getting over the whole Dragon Fujiko thing...and nothing I said or did worked...and I was so wrapped up in not falling behind the others with my win record...and I was the one who left you hanging." Blade gave a dejected sigh and turned back towards Risako.

"I let down one of the few people in the world I knew always had my back...and Imma have to live with that. Hell, I should be the one asking if you'll have me back...*sigh*...I'm just...I'm just trying to make up for past mistakes here, ya know? Sides, it seems like we function way better when we have each-other's shoulders to lean on when we need it. Sooooo...whaddya say?" Blade raised up her clenched hand to offer Risako a fist bump with a slight smirk on her face and a softer tone of voice.

"You got my back...and I got yours again?"

For a moment, Risako was speechless. She had been grateful that, these past few weeks, she had been able to patch things up with Uehara as much as she had. It had been one of her life's great regrets that her partnership-- no, her friendship-- with Uehara had been sundered the way it had, and she always felt guilty about that. But here and now, Uehara was not only asking for forgiveness for letting Risako down-- something that particularly surprised Risako, since she had always blamed hersef-- but was now proposing that they become partners again!

After waiting a few seconds to make sure that she had heard everything right, and that this wasn't some fever dream, she smiled, and gave Uehara a fist bump.

"Always," she replied warmly. "From this point on, no matter what we face...we face it together."

Leaning back, she stretched her arms behind her back theatrically. "Mhmm...except for moving a couch into your apartment. You're on your own with that."