Winners and Losers

Chizuru forgot how lively backstage could be after a match. Stage crews, tech teams, journalists. The inner workings of the arena could be like a little ecosystem of higher and lower keeping the machine going. The rumbling of equipment being hauled around vibrated against her feet. The nonstop chatter of passing producers, medics, VIPs, and other wrestlers drifted by her ears as they came and went. The hidden world of pro wrestling away behind all the lights and passion.

Not that she could see any of it. Chizuru was off to the side of all the hustle and bustle, sitting alone at the edge of a bench with her back slumped against the wall. She let her head hang back as she faced the ceiling, but thanks to the suspiciously large plastic bag of ice obscuring her vision, she could only imagine the plaster and ceramic that would have occupied her mind for the next few minutes. Not much, but it would have been something. Anything to take her mind off the match.

She wasn’t mad or upset. She didn’t pout or mope. For the first time in a long while, Chizuru just sat down and tried not to care about anything for the time being. What else was there to do? She lost. Maybe in not as decisive a manner as everyone was expecting, but she still lost. She wasn’t the better Wrestle Angel today. She wasn’t a winner. What say did she have? The only thing she could think to do was wait. Wait and see when management decided to let her back into the ring, however far off that could be. Maybe they wouldn’t even do that. Maybe they’d just feed her a few shadow matches to keep her occupied while technically fulfilling her contract. She heard they did that with Beauty, right? Some baseline appreciation for past glories come and gone.

...she was really bad at not caring, in hindsight.

The powerful wrestler sighed wistfully and pressed her lips together, letting her hands touch between her thighs as she slumped down an inch further. The distant rumbling of two pairs of wheels neared and past, the catering crew on their way to refill the green room while the next contestants made their way out. Chizuru could hear a container a fall to the ground and tap her on the foot as the table passed. The workers were too rushed to notice and sped straight off around the corner without so much a glance her way.

That made her sad for some reason.

"...SUP SMALL-FRY!!! I see you're here back in catering like I predicted...*snarky smile*..."


"...Nono, that's kinda dickish..."


"...YO, did you see how far you suplexed me into the crowd...Geez Louise~..."


"...Nonono...Don't wanna shower her with compliments and inflate her ego. And who the hell says Geez Louise anymore? What am I, a sitcom Dad from the fifties?"

One effortless sidestep after another kept the stewing Aerial Artist from being bumped into by overworked backstage employees or having her toes run over by frantically operated equipment boxes propped up on dollies. This was not so impressive a feat until one notices that she was performing all of this whilst having her eyes locked onto the floor below. Blade pondering listlessly and at times loudly reciting several concocted conversation starters before promptly dismissing them thanks to her own meticulous scrutiny. So accustomed was she to the hustle and bustle of the backstage setting of an actively running wrestling show that Blade could tip-toe through all of the hectic madness in her sleep. Which she actually did once after falling asleep in the locker-room back in W.A. but that's a story for another time...

Blade didn't understand why she was having such a difficult thinking of something to say already. She'd been mulling this over ever since being told by the infirmary that Chizuru had been released already and was perfectly capable of making her way back home...although Blade never much trusted the quacks here in AFW. Rumors of sexual deviants dressed in sexy nurses outfits was one of the first things colleagues had told her about this place. Plus the nurses once kept Blade over night when Beauty powerbombed her into an unconscious, drooling stupor. Blade was perfectly capable of challenging the blonde-haired pansy for a match that same night if those nurses didn't start flinging out words like "concussion" and "incapable of standing straight."...Blade's mind tends to wander when her temper gets agitated. All she knew for sure was that she really wanted to catch Chizuru before she-

*...Oh, bingo. There she is...*

Blade balked when coming across the Suplexing Savante looking...about as miserable as one could look after suffering a particularly devastating defeat. She mouthed yeesh from not only noticing the humongous ice pack engulfing Chizuru's face, but just how thoroughly Chizuru had dedicated herself to stewing about in her own private pity party and having all of that peppy chipperness just drained out of her. It was like having a kid see the mall Santa Claus slog to the backroom to take off his beard and remove the pillow from underneath his jacket...disheartening and a teeny bit soul crushing. Well...Blade didn't come all this way for nothing. So with a throaty clearing of her vocal chords, a popping of the collar on her post-match track-suit, and a renewed sense of purpose...Blade approached this situation with about as much tact and grace as was befitting her~...by slumping in the seat right next to Chizu and promptly putting her in a chummy side-headlock like they were two frat-boys chatting it up in bro-speak.

"HEY, there she is!!!Lil Miss Suplexin Machine~...Whatcha doin hidin that mug under all that ice for anyway? I didn't hit ya that hard, did I?!?!"

Chizuru didn’t flinch when Blade popped up beside her and give her a good old ring around the neck. She didn’t do much of anything really, just letting herself be rocked from side to side by the boisterous tomboy as she continued to sit with her head tilted back and thinly-laced lips. She could feel the woman wasn’t in her ring gear, unlike her. She hadn’t had the time or strength to make it to the locker room. She felt sweaty. Gross.

Blade didn’t smell bad, though. Strong, yet refreshing. Like burnt oak.

She wasn’t not surprised that the older wrestler came to see her, but she just kinda had a feeling for this kind of stuff. For good people. She’d left the ring on the back of a stretcher and while they hadn’t spoken much back in the W.A., Chizuru had heard that Blade was far from an unkind soul. She was only made all the more sure of that in the almost sisterly embrace she was pulled into. Despite the way the question was worded, it was weirdly rejuvenating on her aching muscles. Part of the German Suplex Girl was really happy to see her, but unfortunately, that wasn’t the part that wanted to make itself known.

Strangely enough, there weren’t any words waiting for Blade after she asked her question. Silence and an empty stare at the ceiling behind hidden eyes. The Okinawan could be forgiven for thinking that the Suplexin Machine was straight out ignoring her for some petty reason. But then, her hand slowly made its way from her lap up to the bag. She grabbed the knot and slowly peeled the ice from her face, revealing a sidelong glance Blade’s way. One eye was as blue and pure as the day she was born...the other could barely be seen beneath all the black and purple bruising, its size reduced to a thin narrow slit between two puffy ridges.

She didn’t put the bag back on, though. Her eyes kept looking at Blade in an unspoken answer to her inquiry. It was weird because there didn’t seem to be any hate or annoyance lingering behind them, nor any jovial energy or signs of relief. Just a look. A look that gave Blade the best view she could. She didn’t feel like hiding anything anymore.

"HACHI MACHI LOOK AT THAT SHINNER!!!!-dyuh I mean dyuh..." Blade's first reaction of recoiling in abject horror with a few scoots back across the bench probably not being the most alleviating reaction to Chizuru's self-confidence right about now. Despite being comforted hundreds of times by her old tag-team partner Risako after Blade picked a fight she knew she couldn't win and was proven right...her bedside manner never having improved even a little. She just never expected her secret finisher to leave that much of a...well, imprint. Blade's definitely going to have to workshop it some more so she doesn't end up getting dental bills in the mail from her opponents. But for now, she had to try and make peace right here and now...albeit with stuttering and blathering words while feverishly rubbing the back of her head and diverting her gaze to the ceiling or the lovely tile work on the floor instead of the fallen angel's swollen face.

"Hoofahdyuh...ssss'not that bad. You can hardly...notice...iiiiitokay maybe you should just keep that ice pack on it." Blade eventually just gave up and tenderly pressed down on Chizu's hand holding the ice-pack so it once again covered her shame, although she covered the black-eye with a white towel she had on hand first. She stood back up in front of Chizuru while doing so, wincing herself as if she were the one in pain. "Shouldn't let the ice touch your face without a towel between them, or else you get frostbite, ya dummy...*sigh*...I shoulda figured you were nursing something pretty bad if you're still in your wrestling skivvies without even hitting the showers. I guess I've got more to apologize for than I thought." Blade concernedly imparted with a bit of a saddened inflection, feeling more awful and at fault than when she got here...but at least she was apparently getting better at this whole bedside manner thing.

Chizuru wished she could just tear off this sour mood like a band-aid. Lift the weight off of her as easy as the pack of ice suspended an inch above her face. It wasn’t like she hadn’t been defeated before. Defeated in ways a million times more decisive, more humiliating, and more lasting than the head-to-head clash she’d nearly prevailed over. At the end of the day, wrestling was still fun. It’s what she was. That would have been enough.

But this wasn’t one of those times. This was her return and the expectations she’d set for herself were slowly but surely dragging her back into that uncomfortable pit of silent reflection. That would have been fine...if Blade wasn’t sitting right next to her. Down the bag came and the relieving cold along with it on her right eye. The soothing sensation that washed over her inflamed eyelid was offset a bit more by the Okinawan’s presence. She couldn’t just sit here and feel sorry for herself until Blade wandered off. She didn’t deserve that. Nobody did.

Especially not after what she just said to her.

“Apologize?” Chizuru craned her head slightly to her side, acknowledging Blade without actually seeing her. “You don’t have to apologize for anything, Uehara-san. You did great. You just...punch really hard.”

There was a bit of an adolescent whine in those last few words, as if simply remembering that awesome finisher brought some of the pain back. She definitely couldn’t deny that. It was really awesome. Chizuru let out a sigh, softer this time. Less resigned, like a small weight had been taken off her chest.

“The nachos might have been a little much, though.” A slight giggle worked its way out from the bottom of her throat. Progress.

Ah HA~...Blade was better at this bed-side manner thing than she thought...already earning herself a fatigued half-smile from her patient. The Okinawan feeling relieved to at least having raised Chizuru's spirits even somewhat after having been the one to pound them into the ground in the first place via an aerial clobber that ended the match. "Yeah well...I suppose the nacho pie-face might have been a teeny bit much...but I tend to lose my cool when people start tossing me into an audience of perverted fanboys with nothing to break my fall but a concrete floor and propped up steel chairs~..." Blade's sarcastic rebuttal being accompanied with a bitter smile and twitch to her eye as she flicked Chizuru's forehead, making it well known that Blade wasn't the only one who might have let their adrenaline get the better of them.

Blade than took seat a besides Chizu because the raucous passerby's were beginning to be an issue...and the aching soreness of the match made sitting down too tempting to pass up. "But nah...I've got plenty to apologize for. Not just cause of what I did, but what I said. Ya know...about calling you a kid who belongs in catering with the rest of the undercard. I...think I might gone too far in a few places there." Blade scratched the back of her head with a forlorn expression like a kid who was embarrassed in confessing to knocking over a pile of shattered glass that once was a vase. "But I gotta say...you've really proved me wrong back there. OH, and it's not just me who thinks so...check it." Blade took her smartphone out of her pocket and after a few swipes, was cozzied up next to Chizu and showing the suplex savant the review for their match from the acclaimed online wrestling journalist, THE Danise Seltzer. Brimming with positive compliments and lauding Blade and Chizuru for their exemplary match with a conclusion that read thusly.

"...and although there was some measure of eager anticipation towards seeing these seasoned Wrestle Angel veterans become rejoined in the ring, they by and large exceeded all expectations with a stellar match that grabbed your attention and never let go until both competitors had nothing else to give. A wonderful match that abounds with energy, excitement and nachos, there are few better examples of a phenomenal clash of styles than what they put on for us tonight. Here's hoping we get to see them in the ring once again, and at a more deserving venue than a run of the mill TV taping. 3/4. "  

Dang it, Chizuru. Why do you choose now of all times to be such a poopy head?

Normally such a bright and energetic sight to see backstage, even the German Suplex Girl found part of her seemingly pointless self-loathing pretty pathetic. It wasn't like she'd never lost a match before in her life. Heck, this was far from the worst defeat she'd taken between the ropes. It wasn’t the result she was expecting for her return, but it could have been a lot worse.

But no. She was in a bad mood and now she was looking to spread it around. She should be way more thankful for Blade than she was right now. She was rowdy, but more caring and gentle than she let on. More caring than she was right now. It was a nice break from her momentary isolation. Just those few words felt good on her heart, though she knew they wouldn’t change anything. Words were words.

Maybe that’s why Blade wanted to show her something? Well, okay.

She held the ice pack with one hand and turned it sideways to peek one eye free. The light felt good on her face and it took a second for her vision to adjust before she could see the screen. She blinked once, then twice, slowly peering forward. The Suplex Girl didn’t keep her hopes up, however. Her career in Wrestle Angels was a long one, filled with ups and downs, highs and lows. She’d taken all sorts of falls and tasted the highest throes of victory. She couldn’t even remember how many matches she’d been fought through and sweat her life away. People enjoyed them, sure, but through all of those, she’d never ever managed to see anything higher than-

“FOUR STARS?!” Chizuru snatched the phone from Blade’s hand, looking straight on with wide eyes at the screen in front of her. “It's almost five! Yukiko barley gets three stars from this person! Look at all the comments!”

The tone in her voice was noticeably lighter, closer to her old self. The German girl’s thumb moved without the rest of her, her eyes glued to the virtual appraisal as it passed through her vision at a breakneck pace like a child staring into a river, lost in their reflection against the mesmerizing flow of the waves.

Hey Blade was just as surprised as anybody that she and Chizuru ended up earning such high praise and accolades from one of the most scrutinizing, meticulous, journalistic stickler's in the online wrestling world. Some wrestler's going their entire grappling career's without ever escaping the humdrum mediocrity of two to three star matches...and here they were. Two random W.A. veterans tossed at eachother now lighting up the message boards with a nigh five star classic. If there was anything that could get Blade's point across about how Chizu deserves to be patted on the back for her efforts, it'd be this. Blade was just hoping to break the news to Chizuru herself before anyone else backstage spoiled the surprise with a congratulatory handshake or something.

"I know, right? I wonder how the hell she grades-*swipe*-ohokay..." Blade wiggled her fingers and stared at the palm of her hand where her phone used to be, happy to have it stolen and meticulously swiped about by the excitable chipmunk perusing the comments section. She actually never realized that this could be about the highest acclaim Chizuru may have ever gotten. Blade smiled warmly and let Chizuru bask in her well-earned acclaim, the Aerial Artist folding her arms and proudly sitting upright with her eyes closed. "YEPyepyepyep,heh...looks like you and me make quite the pairing, young padawan. Hell I'd say we even bring the best out of eachother. Of course, when you're already mixing it up with the best in the biz, some of that raw talent is bound to rub off on ya~..." Blade couldn't help but smugly toot her own horn at the end there.

Chizuru kept on gazing at the phone with almost childlike wonderment as Blade talked. She was listening, but it was hard for her to not at least be transfixed by the words on the screen as she registered what they truly meant inside her head and heart. All of the comments seemed to agree with the review with universal appeal. The weight of them was more than anyone, maybe even Blade, could understand right now. It showed she delivered a superb match, it showed those months of training were worth it, it meant her debut was a success and she was almost certain to have her name trending right now. And more importantly it…

Well, it…

The German girl sighed and let a dim smile grow on her lips and chuckled at her fellow wrestler’s words, half-believing them to be true. She leaned back against the wall and looked at the passing traffic through her good eye.

“Mm. That would make training a lot easier.” Her gaze seemed to ease the longer she stared at the phone. “I’m sorry for being all cold. I guess...I guess I needed a reminder that I’m actually cut out for all this. That I wasn’t just relying on Rei-chan or anyone else to get me through. I’m...on my own again and I guess that scared me a little. It felt like my first match - my first match - all over again. I thought everything hinged on me winning tonight and winning my way.” Chizuru craned her head to look at the woman at her side.

“But it didn’t. Turns out I had nothing to worry about at all.” She reached over to hand the high-flyer’s phone back to her. “Thanks so much for this, Uehara-san. You’re a good person.”

She leaned back and sat upright, a brighter smile adorning her face than the one before as she looked across to tonight's victor.

“And I didn’t know you played Patapon.”

Leave it to Blade to sully a moment of heartfelt acceptance on the downtrodden Chizuru's part by injecting in a little bit of her typical self-aggrandizement and showboating cockiness. Call it a little bit of insecurity on her part and a need to re-establish the pecking order between the vaunted high-flying veteran and her suplexing friend. Deep down she had already acknowledged and accepted that their roles could have very easily been reversed this night, with Chizu being the one cheering up a sullen Blade moping about in a hallway after being suplexed into a decisive loss. Anyone who knew Blade was aware that this was just her way of re-instilling confidence in her own self...but...it didn't quite hit home to Blade just how much this match meant to Chizuru until just now.

"..." Arms still folded but with all sense of cocky braggadocio having left her, Blade turned her head towards Chizu and absorbed everything she had to say, including the massive feelings of self-doubt, fear, and shouldered responsibility mounted upon herself. Blade could...kind of relate...to all of that. Her lips were parted as if she wanted to say something back to her, but Blade was just so taken aback from witnessing this introspective side of the normally free-spirited and carefree Chizu. Words were...kind of escaping her at the moment. At least until Chizu called her a "good person". A resounding thump being pounded deep within Blade's chest at that exact moment, the Aerial Artist looking at Chizuru's bright, smiling face and suddenly feeling inexplicably...warm. Her eyes going stark wide before Blade started going into a jabbering tizzy that promptly had her snatching up the phone from Chizuru's hand and swiping the browser closed about twenty times.

"DyahcomeonitwasnothinlookityagettinallmushyonmegeezwhatdidIknockafewscrewslooseorsumthinhahahaha..." Blade was blathering a mile a minute while nervously laughing at the end there before stuffing her phone into her jacket pocket and fake coughing into her balled up fist before continuing. "So, uh...whatya got planned now? Gonna head back to the ol' bachelorette homestead and unwind with a bit of ice cream and late night talk shows or sumthin?"