Bed Wrestling Revenge! (Akiko vs. Claire)

Claire was out for the better part of a minute before, very slowly, she began to regain consciousness. At first, it was only as a misty, dreamlike state. She sighed softly as she was laid down in her bed and swaddled in blankets. As Akiko walked over to the camera to take the picture, Claireâ€s thoughts began to coalesce, but she was not able to open her eyes, and she was still a little bit out of it. “A-ah…” she moaned, trying to form something cohesive, but failing miserably.

She was not able to say anything until she felt Akikoâ€s lips pressed against her own. Her eyes shot open, and she moaned happily into the kiss, her mouth falling open as her rival drew her lips away. She looked up delightedly at Akiko, not even caring that she lost. “A-Aki…” she whispered. “Th-th-thank you…”

“Y-yes!” Claire exclaimed, pounding her little fist weakly against the mattress. She was going to fight Akiko again. After losing to the girl twice—once in their official match, and once right here in her own bed—she was not going to lose. No matter how tough an opponent the ninja girl was, Claire was going to become stronger, and she was going to take Akiko down.

Despite her determination to best the girl, however, Claire realized that she bore her no ill will. They were rivals, but they werenâ€t enemies. Claire was very confused about how deep her feelings for Akiko ran—the girl had insisted that it was lust, and not love, but Claire had found that one could never be too sure—and she was hoping that maybe they could at least become friends.

“Letâ€s fight again soon,” she said, punctuating it with a loud yawn. “Iâ€d like to hang out sometime without fighting each other, too…”

Claireâ€s face brightened as Akiko worked her way under the covers and laid down beside her, asking if she could stay for a while. The schoolgirl had been hoping for her rival to stay a little longer, but had worried that she would have to try to coerce her, or beg her. This was a pleasant surprise. “I donâ€t mind at all!” Claire said. “In fact, you should stay here for the night. I insist. Itâ€s late, and you donâ€t want to have to try to find your way home this late at night…”

She sighed and snuggled closer to Akiko, touching her forehead to the ninja girlâ€s ear. “You want to just talk for a while? We should get to know each other better, Aki,” she suggested. “Iâ€d ask you if you wanted to cuddle, too, but I figured youâ€d probably not want to…”

“Yeah, I figured that would be a longshot,” Claire responded with a heavy sigh, when Akiko said that she would rather not cuddle. It was certainly the reply that the schoolgirl had expected, but it still disappointed her a little bit to hear it out loud. Maybe, after a while, the ninja girl would warm up to the idea. Until then, Claire would respect her limits. She recognized the nervous reaction Akiko had had when she had touched her forehead to the girlâ€s ear, and had seen her inch away.

When Akiko asked what Claire wanted to know, the schoolgirl blushed and scratched at her head. “Umm, well, anything and everything,” she replied. “You are my rival, after all, and you know what they always say: Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer. And youâ€re both, so I should keep you closer still.” She paused, trying to think of a specific question to ask. “I guess we could just start out with where you were born, and what you were like as a kid, and stuff like that.”

Claire listened intently to Akikoâ€s life story. She was a bit surprised when the girl explained that she had actually lived in the United States for much of her early life, but, come to think of it, she did speak English rather well. It was something that Claire hadnâ€t really thought about much, as most of her opponents, even the Japanese ones, had managed to speak some English. But it made a lot of sense, and it was very interesting to know about the ninja girl.

When she got to the part about her fighting style, Claire made sure to pay special attention. She had fought the girl twice, now, but she wanted to know what she had up her sleeve. She was sure, of course, that Akiko wasnâ€t going to tell her everything—if they were going to be rivals, they were both probably going to withhold some things about themselves. But that didnâ€t mean they couldnâ€t get to know each other as friends.

When it was her turn, Claire took a deep breath, then began: “Well, I lived my whole life in the United States. I was born in Massachusetts, but lived in Providence, Rhode Island for most of my childhood. My parents were pretty distant, and I was never very outgoing, so I got lonely sometimes. I would just read, and use my computer, and try to keep to myself. Eventually, my parents sent me to a boarding school in Vermont, and that was where I sort of got into fighting. I mean…it had always been something that interested me—something I fantasized about—but I had never actually planned to do anything about it. But then, well, this one girl at the school really didnâ€t like me, and she tried to pick a fight with me in the bathroom, and, after a while, I managed to beat her. I mean, I was pretty brutalized myself, and she wasnâ€t exactly the strongest, but just the fact that I won was good for my self-esteem, I guess.”

“So then, after that, I got into a couple more little fights at the school, before I eventually graduated and got my own place. I had a couple of girlfriends who I would wrestle with, just for fun, although sometimes the fights could get pretty wild…but, until I got here, I was still pretty inexperienced.” She paused, letting her brain catch up with her mouth so she could properly finish the story. “I decided to join AFW because I wanted to do something a little daring before I go to college. I mean, I was getting tired of life back home, and this seemed like a great opportunity. Iâ€ll probably stay here for a couple of years before heading back to the United States for school.”