Ballad of a Brawler

"Oh," Rika said nodding upon learning who this Mina Oats was. She didn't know much about the AFW roster, not taking enough time to learn about anyone else other than the power players, which until recently included Sarah. SHe had never heard of Mina, so she must not be that tough.

At Akashi's outburst Rika actually jumped in surprise, and many people on the street stopped to stare at the duo. "G-Girlfriend?!" Rika stammered in surprise. It hadn't even crossed her mind that Akashi swung that way, but then again most of the girls in the league were like that. "W-Wow! Congradulations!" Rika managed to get out, trying not to sound nervous. "She must be a nice person."

This time Akashi couldn't help but turn her head when Rika blurted out the word. "H-Hai." She said quietly. She then grinned, fighting back her butterflies. "Thank you!" She said. "She's nice and really tough. Almost as tough as I am." She grinned. Mina was not nearly as brutishly strong as Akashi but was certainly m ore agile and fought with just as much passion, if not more sometimes. "You should have a match with her some time. I'm sure you would find her to be more than a worthy opponent."

Rika's listened intently to Akashi's words about Mina, her eyes widening when she said she might be even tougher than Akashi. In her mind Akashi was plenty strong, especially after beating Sarah. "Heh," Rika chuckled. "Not many people could be called a worthy opponant to me. I wouldn't mind taking her on. Buuuuut, if she's your girlfriend, I guess I'll go easy on her." The two were now entering the more rural part of town, the kind of place where gangs congregated. Already several groups of young boys were giving them looks. Several of them were even snickering at Akashi's choice in clothing.

Akashi's brow furrowed at Rika's words. She then grinned. "If you go easy on her, you'll loose for sure." She said. It was the truth. In their first 'match' Akashi had technically lost to Mina because she had held back a little. Akashi looked around at their surroundings. "Huh..." She said. "Seems pretty rough." She commented. "I hope none of them are stupid enough to try and act as tough as they look." She grinned, not wavering at the site of the young punks.

Rika raised an eyebrow at Akashi. She never really noticed the state of this neighbourhood, despite the fact it differed quite a bit from where they had met about half-an-hour ago. Maybe she just got used to such things. "Oh, don't worry about them," Rika said offhandedly. She turned her head slightly to wave at some of the guys. Some of them even waved back. It seems at the sight of Rika any thought of trying something was cast aside. It was either through assosiation, or fear of who she lived with. "Shouldn't be much further. Except....Tyler's probably not at home at this time. He's probably working."

Akashi's look became crestfallen when she heard Tyler wouldn't be there. "Well that's no good." She said wrinkling her nose. "What do we do to pass the time then? I mean... it could be hours before he gets back right?"

Rika couldn't help but giggle. If Akashi knew Tyler she would know just how funny that question was. "Oh, I wouldn't worry about that," she informed. "Tyler will be around here somewhere. This is usually where he does his 'work'" She air qouted the word and shook her head amusingly.

"So how come you joined the AFW, Akashi?" Rika asked curiously as they continued to walk down the street. "I mean, you're a sumo wrestler, right? Shouldn't you be fighting in some kind of sumo league?"

Akashi was slightly puzzled by Rika's words. She wondered if Tyler was a pusher and hoped it wasn't the case. Her eyes widened at Rika's question. "Oh, yes. I was in a female Sumo league before I joined AFW." She said proudly. "But unlike male Sumo the female version isn't quite the same. There is alot more erotic contact involved. It isn't quite the same as traditional Sumo. It was fun and still very competitive but my goal was to join the actual Sumo association. I wanted my name listed on the Banzuke." She said in a longing tone but then sighed. "But because of my gender it will never happen. So I decided to join AFW. I figure it's the closest thing to being in the Sumo association. I'm going to win the title and make my family proud. I... want to be a great warrior like my namesake!" She said with determination."

She looked at Rika. "That's why I face the strongest. It's more than just winning the title. To be the best you have to beat the best. That's why I was so eager to face Sarah in the ring even with everything that had been done. To beat her in a fair competition meant I was one step closer to being worthy enough to comete for the title." She inhaled. "That's why I couldn't fight her mad. It's why I couldn't let the match be about revenge. It would have tainted my victory." She said as she lowered her head.

Rika didn't know what a Banzuke was or even what Akashi's name meant, but she was following the story so far. She had actually never heard of any female sumo competitions, but then again she never really looked. She couldn't imagine it would be very popular other than its sexual aspects. It was really a shame for Akashi not being able to reach her dream just because of her gender.

"Sarah is the strongest," she agreed with a small smile. "And at one point she almost was the champion. If you beat her I'm sure you could become the champ some day." She smiled brightly at Akashi, truely meaning her words. "But why sumo? It seems pretty important to you."

Akashi knew that Rika wouldn't understand why she chose sumo but a question like that seemed pretty absurd to Akashi. To her, there was no other choice. She didn't look shocked though and answered with a cheerful smile. "Our family has a long tradition of Sumo. All four of my brothers are Sumo wrestlers and my father was even a Yokozuna. The highest rank in Sumo." She said with a proud grin. It's been in my familie's blood for many generations. heck, I was even born in the Sumo arena!" She said cheerfully.

"I kept up with her matches." She said nodding. I will definitely be the champion, even though there are still some strong people Ineed to beat to really be the champ." She then paused. "But... why is Rika-chan, Rika-chan?" She asked knowing it could be a rather serious question. Usually ending up in a gang meant being in a broken home. Akashi was interested but she didn't want to pry too much.