Shoot for the Moon (for Kaz)

Sora had never been good at waiting for meetings. It was only made worse for the fact that her phone was on low battery, and she had brought nothing else to do. As if they canâ€t even have any magazines around here to read... she wondered as she sat around, tapping her feet on the ground impatiently in the reception area. The place itself was fairly barren bar a number of chairs and a large reception desk that sat empty currently. The girl there had disappeared when Sora arrived, and 20 minutes later, she still hadnâ€t returned yet.

Sat outside one of the multiple office areas for event organisers and match managers in the sprawling AFW complex, Sora was waiting for a meeting she had organised to discuss organising a headlining match for her. Up until this point, Sora had mostly just accepted matches that had been organised for her, taking opponents as they came. Now, she felt like it was time for her to make the next step. She wanted something big, some large billed match to announce her as a real contender around AFW, a hot shot who had really arrived and made a presence.

It wasnâ€t her idea originally. She had been Skyping with her brother a few nights earlier who had encouraged her to go for it after seeing a few of her matches on television. She had become the pride of her family, finally making it into AFW after so many years of training and hard work. It seemed like the promise she showed so much of as a youngster was finally coming to fruition, at least in her familyâ€s eyes. “Just ask them for something sis! You wonâ€t get anywhere with those kinds of people if youâ€re not assertive enough. Just go in, kick the door open, and demand a title shot!”

Sora hadnâ€t come to do that exactly, but the main message of what he was saying was right at least. If she wanted to get anywhere, she needed to at least make herself known around the place. Finally, a middle aged woman with glasses would appear from the hallway. “Ms. Mizumi? Someone will see you now.”

“Ahh, thank you” Sora responded as she stood up out of her chair. About time... she thought to herself, as she followed the receptionist down the hall.

“Just down there, third on your right” the receptionist instructed, and left as Sora thanked her one last time. Walking down the hall, seeing the door open, Sora would knock three times before popping her head in through the doorway. “Uhh...hello?”

"Please come in," said the voice inside the room as Sora popped out her head from the door. "Have a seat," she added plainly.

It was a rather unusual day for Kiriko to be assigned to a meeting with a wrestler like this. Her job mostly consisted of scouting talents for the AFW, something she's doing while acting as a manager of an underground fight club. She was told to fill in for today as the staffs were busy arranging for an upcoming event. Summer was approaching after all. When Sora came in, she would find a girl with purple long hair, braided at her left, sitting on top of the table. She wore a long sleeved shirt under her dark colored vest, a matching tie, a dark skirt, along with a pair of dark gloves, stockings and shoes. She would get off from the table before going around to position herself behind it. There's a bottle of water and a couple of empty glasses on the table, along with some documents.

"Mizumi-san, I presume?" she would ask without expression while offering her hand. "My name is Kiriko. Pleased to meet you."

Kiriko would sit on the chair after the handshake and poured the water into the glasses. She pushed them towards the center of the table so that Sora could take one of it if she wanted. Without changing her expression she would look at the short haired girl for a bit.

"How I can help you?" she would ask politely afterwards.

“Ahh, thank you” Sora would say as she entered the room. Seeing how the other girl was dressed made Sora a bit self-conscious. She had come straight from training, dressed in a dark tracksuit jacket, partially zipped up with a white shirt underneath, with matching black tracksuit pants and white sneakers. I knew I should have gotten a bit more dressed up for this...

“Yes, correct, itâ€s a pleasure to meet you too Kiriko-san” Sora would reply as she took Kirikoâ€s hand lightly in a handshake, before taking a seat in front of Kirikoâ€s desk. “Ahh, thank you” sheâ€d let out as Kiriko offered the water, taking the cup in her hand and taking a sip.

“Um, well, I wanted to talk to you about organising a match...something big. I feel like Iâ€m ready to be a part of something special here at AFW, and I just need a chance to....show that Iâ€m here. I was thinking if I could get put into a main event match against someone people know already I can show myself off as a great competitor. I know I can do it, I just need the chance...” Sora would say, pleading her case to Kiriko with a mixed look of nervousness and determination on her face.

“So, I guess I just wanted to see if anything like that would be possible for any shows coming up...”

Kiriko listened to what Sora said attentively, though she didn't show any sign of enthusiasm whatsoever. She took one of the maps on the table and began to look flip the pages inside, looking for Sora's records. For someone who claimed that she's ready for something special, the girl surely didn't have an impressive number. She closed the map and put it aside before looking at Sora again.

"Something big...?" she asked her. "It might be possible, depending on what sort of match you propose..."

Even if she's curious to hearing what Sora had in mind, it wasn't shown in Kiriko's face. The girl seemed to be determined about making a name for herself, which is pretty normal. Her job today was to listen to what the girl said and pass it up to the higher ups who'd make the decision. Considering that Sora didn't have an impressive records, though, Kiriko felt that the girl's chances were quite slim. She wondered if the wrestler was self aware about it herself.

The look on Kirikoâ€s face wasnâ€t too encouraging as the girl opened up a large, impressive looking file and flicked open to one that Sora couldnâ€t make out across the table. Kiriko looked up at her with a very bland look on her face, making Sora wonder if she was even listening properly or if she felt like Sora was just wasting her time.

“Well, I know I can do it...and I know you must get a lot of people through here saying that but...even if I have to prove myself, in any way. Any opponent, any match, I know Iâ€m good enough...” she said, pleading forward her case. “Iâ€ve been training all my life to be here, and now I want to go as far as I can...” she added before biting her lip. The authority the purple haired girl held was intimidating to Sora, and the look on her face made Sora feel even more nervous than when she first walked in.

“I just need a chance to impress. Let me have something, anything, and I wonâ€t let you down. Iâ€ve got the technique and ability, Iâ€m sure your....file thingy.....says something in there!” she said, gesturing with her hand at the big file on the table, hoping against hope that someone, somewhere had included something about her ability as a wrestler.

"Anything?" Kiriko asked without a change of expression. "I thought you already had an idea when you walked in and said you want to organize a match..." she sighed.

Something seemed to come back at her, though, and the purple haired girl would take another look on the files. There's something on Sora's entry that seemed to interest her, although she wouldn't let that show in her face. She looked at the wrestler again after closing the map again and raised herself from her chair.

"If you excuse me, I'll have to make a phone call," said Kiriko calmly. "I'll be right back."

Taking off the map with her, the staff girl would walk away from the table towards another door on the side of the room. Kiriko would spend several of minutes inside it before she came back to the room, still looking calm as ever as she returned to her chair.

"Well, Mizumi-san," she began to speak. "I have good news. The management agreed to grant you a match. It will be a Hell in a Cell match..." she paused for a bit. "As for your opponent... you'll find that out on the day of the match."

Hearing that Kiriko thought she was coming in to pitch a match would cause Soraâ€s eyes to widen. “Uh, um, no, I...I just came in to pitch myself...uh, there must have been some miscommunication...” she would say before the look dropped on her face. Seeing Kiriko looking completely unimpressed and hearing her sigh was crushing for Sora.

“Um, sure...” Sora would let out as Kiriko closed the large map and put it away. Iâ€ve blown it... she thought to herself, looking completely deflated as Kiriko left the room, kicking one of her sneaker shoes against the other in frustration as she gritted her teeth. “Tch, damn it...” she muttered under her breath to herself. This whole thing now felt like an awful idea.

After a few more minutes of anxious waiting, seeing Kiriko re-enter the room was at the same time a relief and a moment of dread. “Oh, oh, thatâ€s...thatâ€s excellent!” Sora would say, her face and tone rising dramatically at the news that she did have a match after all. Sora had never fought in any sort of cage match, but the prospect was exciting more than scary. “Oh, thank you, thank you so much!” she let out, until hearing about her opponent. “Um....oh....okay, sure....” she said, a bit more caught off guard. Seeing as a few moments ago she was worried she might not have had another match for a while, she knew she had to take any opportunity. It doesnâ€t even matter who Iâ€m facing....just as long as itâ€s someone she thought to herself.

“Thank you so much Kiriko-san, Iâ€m so grateful for this. Thank you, I wonâ€t let you down!”

Seeing the wrestler getting so excited made Kirko let out a sigh, feeling slightly amused. Sora might not be so eager if she knew the full details of the match, but that's not her problem. She already gave the girl the ball, from here it's all up to Sora herself. Her failure wouldn't be Kiriko's failure, as the higher ups only agreed to her request for their own amusement, at least the staff girl thought so.

"No problem, I'm just doing my job..." Kiriko said calmly. "Oh, and one more thing..." she said to her. "The match itself will be a no DQ match. The referee will only be there to hear submissions. I guess I can let you know that much."

She took a glass of water and drank a bit before she placed it back to the table. The staff girl would then look at Sora, wanting to know if the wrestler had any other inquiries.

"Anything else I can help you with?"

Hearing Kiriko sigh once more wasnâ€t enough to put Sora off her mood; now she had been given a chance, she couldnâ€t keep the smile from her face. Now she had actually been given a chance; a Hell in a Cell match even! It was as much as she could have hoped for. Sora would sit there listening intently as Kiriko told her the other stipulations.

“No DQ, submission only, got it. No problem” she responded with a little nod. Little details as far as Sora was confirmed. She was confident enough in her submission ability to make anyone tap on her day. “Um, no, thatâ€s just about all, thank you very much again, I really canâ€t...” Sora would say, getting ready to get out of her chair before she stopped herself.

“Um, well...I guess I do have one question actually. Um...with this match, did anyone say who they thought Iâ€d be up against? Or is that something that still has to be worked out?” she asked, assuming Kiriko couldnâ€t tell her who her opponent would be due to the higher ups not knowing who to put her up against just yet.

"Oh, everything is already settled," Kiriko replied "Rest assured, we won't pit you against a 6'1 amazon or the likes..." she paused, giving it a second thought before inching herself closer to Sora. "It won't be someone unfamiliar to you," she half whispered.

Kiriko felt like it should be safe to say that much. Sora had fought about four or five girls, so it shouldn't be too obvious who's her opponent going to be. It's not like there would be a lot of differences if Sora knew who it was. A little bit of extra motivation? Maybe, but as far as Kiriko concerned, it wouldn't really give anyone an advantage.

"Alright, then," the staff girl would raise herself from her chair to escort Sora to the door since she's done. "All I can say is, best of luck, Mizumi-san," she said plainly.