...Little Turtle in a Big Pond?...

[Misfit_Alien]

Akari could be reserved when she needed to be. She wasn't always blasting on all cylinders 24/7 but she WAS constantly motivated and determined. Most of her fire was shown off in the RING, where actions speak far louder than words...so to have her years of dedication and hard work questioned by Sheena's sibling? Well, it struck a nerve, to say the least. A deep one at that...

Kyoko's words cut through like a razor-sharp blade. Did she think her to be some fragile wrestler? One not equipped with enough heart and grit to chase after the very peaks of this industry? A sort of switch flipped on in Akari's mind, one telling her to not take such a comment in stride. Not one to back down after such an open provocation, Akari spoke up for herself, not out of malice but out of necessity. She couldn't just let anyone walk over her and diminish her integrity and heart. She CLAWED her way to this point thus far. To be demeaned publicly like this in front of her own partner...and by her cousin no less...was NOT something that she could allow. While it warmed her heart that Sheena stood up for her, Akari thought it pertinent for Kyoko to hear a proper response that would showcase some of that 'fire' she perceived Akari to be lacking.

"I can assure you, Kyoko-...there's no lack of fire in my eyes. They may be a soft blue but they burn red hot once that bell rings." She said at first. "If you wanna see for yourself, by all means, I'd LOVE to have a spar with you. I was looking for someone to warm up with anyway and this will be a good moment for both you and me. Consider it a sort of test to see what kind of wrestler I am and what kind of partner I'll be for Wisteria." She said, openly offering a chance for a sparring match between the Belly Queen and Middleweight Champion of LAW. Rather brazen, but Akari firmly believed it was a necessary move.

[Fairy Dragon]

Kyoko wasn't one to normally judge a book by it's cover, but she couldn't see anything that didn't look...soft on her cousins partner. She had a rather gentle look to her the one that seemed to want to be friendly to everyone and showed none of the competitive fire that Kyoko saw in most others. She noticed it more simply because she was associated with Sheena and Kyoko naturally felt compelled to make sure that if Sheena did have a wrestling partner it was someone who was going to be determined to push her the way she got pushed like Fallon. Of course part of her preferred she didn't date other wrestlers at all, but she knew she couldn't say that since by now Kyoko didn't practice that and couldn't preach it. Being called out seemed to bring a little bit of fire out of the DJ who started to tell Kyoko just how serious she was and offered to spar with her to prove it. The Champ was inclined to refuse simply because Sheena was with her and they had to finish training, but the way Sheena was looking at her now made it clear she was fine waiting and wanted to see this.

"That so? Wisteria, get your phone out and put down...5..no wait, 7 minutes...I'll give Akari that much and we'll see how much she's got.If I don't see this fiery passion in 3 minutes I may have to force it out." Kyoko said taking a few steps towards the ring before she turned back to Sheena. "Don't worry, when I saw spar I mean it, this won't get too violent, unless she escalates it." Kyoko said before looking at Akari. "I better see something from you if you actually expect to be a champ sometime this decade." Kyoko finished, going into the ring and preparing to start a small spar with her cousins girlfriend with the chance to humiliate her.

[Bare]

Oh... oh this wasn't good Sheena thought to herself as she noticed the tensions quickly begin to rise between her girlfriend and cousin. Of course Akari picked up on the condescension in Kyoko's words and while she had hoped that maybe Akari would let it pass there was no such luck and she was challenging Kyoko to a spar and naturally, Kyoko being Kyoko was more than willing to oblige. Looking between the two almost helplessly as now Kyoko was involving her Sheena thought for a second about trying to stop this but she knew how stubborn and competitive both women were and quickly realized she had no chance of stopping this now.

So instead Sheena would nod as she took her phone out and set the timer for seven minutes before looking up with a steely expression leveled at both women. "Fine. I know neither of you will back down but I'll be playing referee just to make sure things don't get out of hand." She said looking more at Kyoko there despite her assurance since she knew how the older woman could get before turning to the ring and approaching it. "Lets get this done." She said over her shoulder as she entered the ring, really hoping that this spar would be enough for them to establish some form of respect for eachother.. or rather respect for Akari from Kyoko. But only time would tell.

[Misfit_Alien]

"That's fine with me, love-..." Akari said, cupping Sheena's cheek in her palm, giving her a look of understanding and a bit of an apology for acting like this. But Akari had done this dance several times before with several different people. If she didn't stand up for herself now, she'd be walked over and treated like a lesser wrestler by Kyoko and anyone who rubbed shoulders with the Belly Queen. She wouldn't stand for it. She went off to quickly change into her practice gear, a sleek leotard with boots and wristbands, not as special as her official gear but it did look damn good on her. "Seven minutes is more than enough for me to show you the kind of wrestler I am." She said, stretching and getting ready for what could be seven minutes of absolute hell.

Spoiler