Family Matters

With the blood pumping heavily in Rebecca's ears and her face and head burning from the thigh action she was getting it was titanic effort to get to her feet. She was showing off not only her strength, but also her fortitude being able to hold out and manage that feet. But Makie was no beginner and she did not panic (at least as far as Rebecca was concerned) she threw her weight quickly to one side throwing Rebecca off balance and her tumbling backwards. More on instinct than anything she tried to twist just enough so that way Makie would land underneath her and hopefully break the hold (she was almost out of air)

Makie's teeth were clenched as she wrenched at Rebecca's arm, even as the redhead slowly lifted her bodily off the mat. As impressive as Rebecca's strength was, however, Makie did not allow herself to be fazed, instead arching back, trying to flip Rebecca over her hard onto the mat, hoping to leave her opponent nice and stunned.

Unfortunately, this plan of hers didn't work: although Rebecca didn't lose her balance, she maintained her footing enough so that she toppled forwards, slamming Makie back-first against the mat all the same. Crying out from the impact, Makie released Rebecca's arm and rolled onto her side, clutching her hurting back as she tried to roll away from Rebecca.

After all of that Rebecca needed a moment. There was still a good chunk of the day left and so she considered calling a halt to this before either of them got seriously hurt. From the side Shad seemed to be thinking along similar lines, cause he got onto the apron of the ring and looked to Makoe while Rebecca rolled to her side, Nursing her arm and breathing she had just run a marathon. "I think that's enough you two. If you keep going there will be nothing left for the inevitable match I'm sure you rwo are already planning" he said in a very sarcastic tone. It was a delicate balance between gathering info on the champs and making sure they did not have too much on them. Shad felt he had enough to go off of...for now at least.

Rebecca stood to her feet, holding her arm at a tender angle while she waited to see what Makie's response would be.

Makie was breathing hard as she rolled away from Rebecca, having been slammed unceremoniously into the training mats. Gritting her teeth, she rolled up to her hands and knees, ready for whatever Rebecca was going to try next, seeing the other girl already up and nursing her arm...and at that point, the guy from the sidelines...Shad, she thought Rebecca had called him...making a snide remark as he urged them both to stop for now. Makie's face flushed red at the snide remark, but what really irritated her was that the guy was right: for a simple spar, this bout was really getting out of hand.

Trying to hide her irritation as best she could, Makie stood back up and turned to face Rebecca. "Sorry about that, I didn't hurt that arm too badly did I?" she asked, unsuccessfully trying to hide how sore her back was after getting slammed like that. "That was pretty intense. If this is how you spar, I'm curious to see what you're like in a serious match."

Despite the pain her arm was in, Rebecca really didn't think it was too serious. It would probably be gone by tommorrow at the latest. "Nah, just got a bit to into it is all. I've never been very good at holding back, so if I hurt you I do apologize." She smiled at thr other girl, seeing a bit of herself in this Makie girl. "If you're curious we could always have an actual match. I'm sure AFW admin never gets tired if showing off their best talent."

Makie was smiling in response to Rebecca's lighthearted response. Admittedly, for a simple spar, this bout between them had gotten a little out of hand, but at least it gave her a good idea of how tough Rebecca actually was in the ring. It was because of this that Rebecca's next question did not come as a surprise to her.

"I'm sure they would!" Makie laughed. "I'd be happy to accept, just...were you thinking of a one on one match or..." Her eyes strayed over to Shad. "...a tag bout? And if it's a tag bout...I mean, I think I gotta ask this, do you want to actually challenge my brother and I for the belt?"

Once upon a time, Makie wouldn't have had to over-complicate things with so many follow up questions. Some days, this stupid belt felt like it was a lot more trouble than it was worth.

The question caught Rebecca completely off her guard. She knew that Makie had said she was a champ, bit she had not actually held the notion that she might actually challenge for the belt. She just wanted to face foes that were increasingly stronger, that way she could prove herself the greatest warrior of her time, any title belt was merely a way to identify who was the best and of course get the best to challenge you.

"I'm not gonna lie, I would like to challenge for the belt. But Shad and I are still too new here. I don't think we are deserving of a shot yet. Mostly I just want to continue where we left off here...me kicking your ass" she laughed and moved over to give Makie a small hug. Meanwhile Shad had to hold his own hand to stop himself from face paling hard enough to dent his skull. The best oppurtunity they had yet found for gold and Rebecca was throwing it away. He lived her but darn it she was infuriating sometimes

Makie was simultaneously surprised and disappointed by Rebecca's reply. Surprised, because given how hard Rebecca had fought her just now, Makie had a feeling she would be a tough opponent and a great contender for the belt. Disappointed, because it felt like Rebecca was willingly selling herself short when it was abundantly clear she was good enough for a title shot. Then again, given that the French girl was still new here, it made sense that she wanted to get some experience under her belt before she made such a big move.

All the same, Makie was more than a little taken aback by Rebecca reaching out and hugging her. With a startled laugh, she hugged her back, and was about to tell her that she would be more than happy to take her on in the ring, when...

"Making new friends at the gym I see, Makie?" a voice asked.

Makie jumped, and spun around to see Kyo come walking into view. He was wearing a simple pair of gym shorts and a sweat-soaked t-shirt, so clearly, by happenstance, he had come here for a workout and walked in on them.

"Kyo--" the flustered Makie said, quickly backing out of the hug before regaining composure. She shot her brother an evil smile. "Yeah, but not the same way that you make friends at the gym."

Kyo's face reddened at what, to him, was a reference to his recent elopement with Shin Utaka. "Wh...what the hell do you mean by--" he sputtered, before quickly regaining his composure. "Ahem. I was just passing by, and heard there was a spar going on." He glanced at the mats that were in a state of disarray. "And it looks like it was a pretty intense spar, if I've not mistaken."

Sighing, Makie turned back to Rebecca and Shad. "Uhh...so this is Kyo. He's my brother and tag team partner...and normally he does not make an entrance every time I'm training with someone." If Kyo noticed the slight irritation in his sister's voice, then he did not show it.

Rebecca stepped out of the ring under Shad's watchful eye. The silver haired cheater had an idea what was about to happen and decided to keep a few escape routes open...just in case. He was still upset that Rebecca had turned this Makie girl down...title shots were few and far between and this one had literally been handed to her. But he reminded himself again thst this was her choice...not his.

Rebecca moved up to Kyo, a smile on her face and held out her hand. "A pleasure to meet you Kyo. I am Rebecca Owens, and that silver haired man is my husband. Both of us are still new(ish) to the league but your sister was nice enough to spar with me anyway. We even thought it would be fun to have a match sometime."

Kyo watched as the French redheaded woman made her way out of the ring and extended her hand to him. Smiling, he shook her hand firmly. He had heard the name 'Rebecca Owens' floating around in Friction for a bit, though if he was honest he hadn't paid enough attention to know who she had faced off against-- merely that she was getting plenty of fights in. And he could see why: by the look of her, she was a tough competitor.

He took a quick glance as well as Shad was mentioned. Shad also looked like a capable fighter, but he also had the sly look of a man with more then a few dirty tactics up his sleeve. He wasn't going to judge the man without having seen him in action, but his instincts were telling him to mistrust him.

He quickly turned back to Rebecca at her suggestion of a match. "That's an excellent idea!" he replied. "Either myself or Makie would love to take you or your husband...or maybe both...on in the ring! Who knows, maybe if the management likes the idea, they could let you challenge us for our belt!" He chuckled. "Although sadly, the management are very picky, they won't let just anyone challenge us..."