Just a little Pickup (For Cirno)

After coming off quite the loss to her friend Cecilia Northman, Heather found herself knocked two spots down on the rankings list, not quite the impression she was pushing for to make towards the champion Sarah Gatt before their scheduled match. Cecilia's words and actions after the match had calmed her down a bit, but it seemed that regardless of that, Heather was still quite down from the situation. She thought to herself that she had quite the hill to climb up now that she had been knocked off it.

"Haagh....What the hell.." Heather would say to herself, slouched against her locker in the locker room, an area that was just a location that the two had fought in during their match. Now though, she was fishing through her stuff, pulling out her black loose dress pants, slipping them over her lacy panties that she had ended up in during the match. She would clench her fists before slamming her right into the locker, a similar scene to how she was when she lost her match before this one.

"Whatever.." She would let out when she thought of it, shaking her head as she would fall back into the bench behind her, sitting down and shaking her head.

Karina had watched the match from afar and had noticed from Heather's expression after the match that the girl might need someone to rant or talk to. She had a hunch what Heather was feeling, a feeling that Karina herself had felt many times in the past and it had ruined her to the point where she became a violent rocket for a few years. She decided to approach Heather, whom had retreated after the match and knew where she would be, entering the locker room and immidiately hearing the slam against one of the lockers. She walked towards the source of it, coming to a stop at the row of lockers where she noticed Heather seated upon the bench, walking up towards her while she made her presence known. " Sucks, doesn't it? "

Not looking for a immediate response or any whatsoever, she would continue. " Feeling like shit after doing your best in a match... May I? " She would ask, pointed at the spot besides Heather so she could take a seat besides her to talk to her.

As Heather continued to just sulk away, she had no idea that there was someone that had entered the locker room while she was venting. She would just sit there on the bench, gritting her teeth and clenching her fists. "Damnit!...If I wasn't so close to..but hell...I should be happy...Kh we put on a great match but still!!" She would let out, stomping her foot on the floor before she would hear a voice, looking up and noticing that Karina was standing next to her.

"Hah?? Karina?" Heather would let out before she would ask to sit beside her. Heather would click her tongue, thinking that seeing this person was the last thing she needed. "Whatever..So what, are you here to boast or something? Say you knew it was going to happen after you beat me so damn easily in our match? Go ahead! Get it over with."

Karina took a seat and listened to Heather's rant, like she expetd Karina to just come and insult her, sure that was something she used to do, but it was different this time, she actually wanted to help Heather. " Nah, you were great out there. " She would rest back against the bench, looking at the lockers infront of her. " It's not uncommon to still feel like you do and believe me, I would have loved to bring you down, if I was still, y'know.. A heel. " She actually admitted that she no longer was much of a heel she used to be, sure she still looked rather intimidated in her outfit and her attacks.

" But I'm here to try and cheer you up before our next match, I don't want to fight a weakling, especially when that person isn't a weakling at all. " She gripped her hands against the back of the couch and leant back further. " So, you're going to tell me how much you suck and think you will never be able to win anymore? That this would be the end or something? If you're going to tell me that then I will punch you right now. " Her head turned to face Heather, showing a menacing, serious glare. Karina did hate weaklings and she was sure that Heather was nowhere near that, she needed confidence, Karina would be the one that actually try to give her that.

"..What?" Heather would let out as Karina would compliment her. She would raise her head and look over to her, curling her brow a bit. The girl actually giving her a compliment was the last thing that she expected, and as she went on, Heather would shake her head. With what the girl was saying, it seemed that what Heather expected her to do was nearly the opposite of what Karina was planning. Heather didn't really think anything this girl said could lift the fact of her loss, but she listened anyway.

"Cheer me up??" Heather would let out, still confused before she would hear Karina continue. She would grit her teeth a little, shaking her head. "N..no I wasn't going to say that! I-I just...when it mattered most I went out there and couldn't get the job done. If Gatt looked down on me before, what the hell is she going to think now? It's like, I went out there and proved what she was saying by getting knocked down two ranks!" Heather would let out, shaking her head as she said what she did.

" STOP THINKING ABOUT SARAH GATT! " She would suddenly yell out with a commanding tone of voice, her eyes portaying pure violence for the moments she had spoken like that, her hand coming up to Heather's chin to take a firm hold of it and make her glare at her. " Now you listen to me. If you are fighting just to get some looks from a crazy bitch like that then leave NOW. You SHOUDN'T fight just to let someone notice you, you fight because you want to win! What the hell is going through that little head of yours!? " Karina had lost her composure just listening to what hEather wanted from every fight and how she was feeling about the lost ranks.

Finally, Karina regained herself and backed away, sighed in frustration. " Sorry.. What you are doing right now, is reminding me of my old self.. It's not going to end well, Heather. "

"Ah??" Heather would let out in surprise as Karina suddenly yelled out at her. She would jump slightly at the sudden burst, seeing the look in her eyes before Karina would take up her chin. Heather would blink a couple times, listening to the words that Karina was saying as they rang through her head. What she was saying made sense, and Heather couldn't argue with it. She would stare at her before she would let go of her chin, backing away. Heather would look down a bit, trying to think of how to respond to Karina's words as she seemed to relate what she was doing to her old self.

"But..Karina.." Heather would let out, shuffling around a bit as she bit her lip. "I-I get what you're saying..and I mean..Ive...never thought that way before, never cared whatever someone else thought..but damnit...It feels like shit to be looked at like a nobody. After everything I've tried to do since I got here, for the champion to say that to me..You have to understand.."

Karina closed her eyes, she tried to find the right words to talk to Heather, she just couldn't seem to find them, so she tried to relate with Heather in her past experiences. " Everything is infinite, you can never have done everything, there's always something new you don't know about.. Sarah Gatt is a nobody who drives on the violence of her fellow monkeys, you're different from that Heather, you should not be thinking what she'd say or do to you, think only of yourself, and of your friends. " She had an old vendetta with Sarah once when she decided to steal her treasured guitar and all hell broke loose, Sarah Gatt would probably think twice now to actually go against Karina.

She would bring one hand up to rub the side of her head. " That's what my first friend in this place told me, before I hit her in the head with a guitar.. " She glared up infront of her, still having trouble finding the right words. " The more you think about your enemies, the more you alienate yourself. " She was one to talk about that.. She had done that same thing just to get vengeance on someone, now she was just lurking the AFW, avoiding her old friends, even the ones she had grown a crush on. " You're not facing her alone Heather.. But if you keep thinking that you are... Then soon enough that's exactly what will happen, and you won't win. " She brought both arms down, spreading her legs some so she could rest her arms across her them, looking down at the ground. " I could tell you stories about what would happen.. You won't like experiencing it. "

As Karina continued on about the differences between her and Gatt, reassuring her as much as she could, Heather would keep her head down, taking it all in. She was sucking it all up, basking in what Karina was saying. She wanted the girl's words to cheer her up, wanting herself to get out of this little rut that she was suddenly in, and it seemed to be working just a little. "I know..." Heather would let out, nodding her head.

As Karina continued on Heather would slowly look up at her as she talked about friends and enemies. "Karina..." She would let out, taking it all in still as she listened intently. The girl was one hundred percent right, there was not a thing in her arguement that she could argue with as she would let out a long sigh. "My friends..." She would let out, thinking there were only a few that she could even think about, but she held them close. "Yeah you know..I..I really do appreciate what my friends have been doing.." Heather would let out "I've....been trying my best Karina..A-and I WILL keep trying..but what...I need to get my spot back..for me at least...I NEED to be champion..IT's why I came to Japan..th..these four years that I've..I mean..."

" Keep that in mind. " She would say when Heather was done talking, looking back up at the lockers again. She didn't know what Heather meant when she spoke about why she came here, she wasn't going to press the matter either. " No one becomes champion in one day, strength isn't built in one day either. You need to be strong with both your body, and your mind. " She sat back up straight and tilted her head up to glare at the ceiling instead, not being one to linger at one spot for long. " That spot isn't going away and it will be yours again, keep thinking that and you will be alright. "

She thought about why she herself came to this place. Making her narrow her eyes as she stared up at the lights, not directly since she didn't want to damage her eyes. Her reason was pretty... Horrible.. But she was still here, even though she had lost her own reason. " Don't want to sound corny, but it takes friends to go that extra mile, but YOU still have to do the walking, they won't give up if you don't. "