Aika Sakata watched backstage with an overly worried look on her face that only grew increasingly concerned as Kyoko Akan spoke. She knew she was in for something intense now, but she was quickly realize just how serious her opponent was and how she would surely be out of her depth.
"Oh wow, she seems legit," said Capri Clarke behind her, making Aika nearly jump in surprise as she was so fixated on Kyoko's speech.
"...Y-yeah. She kind of is..." said Sakata, glancing behind her before focusing on Akan again.
"I mean, not that anyone we haven't faced haven't been legit, but I mean, she's super legit. She's a champion and everything. And I don't know anything about this still, but I know if you're a champion, it's probably because you're pretty good at this thing," said Capri, casually scrolling through her phone.
Aika's mouth creased, nodding.
"...Mmhmm."
There was a brief silence before Capri spoke up again.
"But I mean, if you beat her then it's probably a huge deal."
"...Yeah," said Aika, smiling a little hopefully behind her dread.
"If I beat her, maybe it will help us."
"But she's probably going to destroy you," stated Clarke before taking a selfie of herself.
Any optimism was dashed there as Sakata let out a deep sigh and hung her head.
"...Probably. Thanks..." said Aika, heading to the stage entrance.
"No problem!" shouted Capri Clarke, taking another selfie as her partner went on to make her entrance.
Knock Me Out by Street Drum Corps started to play in the arena as Aika Sakata shyly walked out into the ring in her small black top and orange shorts with her black thong sticking out. Her outfit screamed confidence as it showed off her muscles and her chiseled abs, but her demeanor was giving off the opposite. She shielded her eyes briefly as the lights flashed all around her before slowly walking down to the ring, waving at the crowd. Everyone was watching her and she was not handling it well. With a squeak of fear, she would make her way down the ramp. She was ready for her next match, and she didn't feel much more prepared for it than before.
Before she went up the steps, she looked down at them and gulped before walking up to the apron. Sakata went to go under the ropes, but she felt it was too uncomfortable, and then tried to step over the top ropes, letting out a soft, frustrated groan. Once more under the bottom... but that still didn't feel right. She was too tall. So finally, she pushed down on the top rope and the stepped one foot over it, then the other. She would then stumble as she tried to clear it with the second foot, staggering forward before balancing herself.
The Japanese girl would then look around at the crowd again, waving bashfully once more and trying to get herself together for the upcoming match up. She did whatever she could to not even look at Kyoko Akan, who had already intimidated her with pure presence alone. She figured she could try not to show it by not looking at her, but it was surely showing the complete opposite. Aika Sakata didn't want to say she thought she was defeated already before the bell even started, and she wanted to try to be optimistic, but the idea of facing the new Middleweight Champion now? Well, that was difficult for someone of her skill level. She went to her corner first before going to the center of the ring, looking down as she waited for this match to start.
