An Ant, A Leopard and a Demon

Hilde listened to Adrian's words when she started speaking. She began to laugh suddenly even though her face looked like she was nearly in tears. "Oh... Oh Adrian..." She tried to recover and pressed her palm against her head. "Then.. Then you'd be Lukretia..." She said in a somber tone. "I... know it's hard to believe... but... That's the kind of woman she is. Or... maybe I'm delusional. Ahhh..." Hilde shook her head. "As her big sister, it's my duty to protect her and..." Hilde it her lip. 'I'm sorry." She said suddenly and bowed her head deeply. "Well.. I didn't mean to say you had no friends..." She began nervous at first. "But... a relationship requires that we both give and take from one another. What do you give to those you care about? And what do you take from them? Are you giving as much as you're taking?"

"Eep!" Hilde screamed at the knocking. She looked around Nervously for the mask and when she couldn't find it quick enough she pushed Adrian's face into the pillow and held it down.

Akashi forced the door open, a few nurses clinging to her. She had steely eyes and Hilde gasped. "M-Ms. Tanikaze, her dignity!" She said. "P-Please respect the mask!'

Akashi's eyes widened. "Shit!" She said and turned her head. "I won't take long." She said and was now facing with her back to the door. "Look." She said. "You're a rookie but you don't fight like one. I don't know what sort fo idea you got in your head but you don't need to use those dirty tricks to win. You almost had me a few times without them. That's really impressive." She said. "When I first started.. my first match was against Sarah Gatt. I almost stooped to her level. I'm glad I didn't It was a rough road but now I have pride and honor and respect. I'd hate for a rookie with your kind of talent to make that kind of mistake and end up wasting her talent..."

Adrian didn't really reply to Hilde, just started thinking. Just what was she giving back to those who helped her out, a bit of company? a lot of worry? What? Was she really like Lukretia, was the GM even trying to do anything to save anyone? It was a lot to take in... and being shoved face down wasn't helping her train of thought.

"MMMMPHHH!" The cosplayer's screams were muffled as Hilde pushed her face down into the pillow to protect her identity. Legs weakly flailing in a desperate bid to get air as Akashi barged in.

"T-thanks Akashi-san." She said, trying to slightly shift her voice so the sumo knew she was talking with Bullet Ant, and no-one else, "Sorry for raking the eyes... and messing up your nose... and whatever else I did..." the de-masked wrestler apologized, "You really think I have talent?" She asked, angling for another compliment to try and make her feel better. "Maybe we could try again, no tables next time."

Hilde let go of Adrian's head once Akashi had turned her back. She patted Adrian's head and leaned in to whisper a soft apology before she listened to Akashi's words and smiled.

Akashi smiled at the girls as Adrian spoke. "I don't care about the nose." She said. "You aimed for a spot and worked it over. That's a good strategy. I try and do that a lot. Heck, I think I might have cracked or broke one of Sarah's ribs our last match. And the ear boxing... and eye gouging well, whatever. It's against the rules but I've fought dirtier people and against worse odds than a poke to the eyes. I'd just think that you wouldn't need to do any of that stuff to win. Yosh!" She said suddenly. "I'll be sure to keep an eye on you."

Akasi then turned to leave when she stopped. "Von Creuzfeldt-san. I've been considering going after the Hentai Belt. I will definitely be the first AFW Triple Crown winner so please keep that in mind when scheduling my matches."

Hilde nodded. "Ah... you can call me Hilde..." She laughed nervously. "I worked so hard for that last name... and then I don't even want people to call me by it..." She let out a soft sigh. "I think there's a tournament coming up. I'll be sure to include you."

"Domo!" Akashi bowed to Hilde and then looked at Adrian. "That would be fun, Ari-chan! Ja ne!" Akashi waved as she turned to walk out of the room. "Fine, fine! I guess we can go get an X-Ray. I'm fine though!" She said, squabbling with the nurses as she shut the door behind her.

Hilde let out a deep sigh and pressed her head against Adrian's back gently as she closed her eyes and let her thoughts drift.

Adrian kept her face strategically buried in the pillow, hoping that the lack of a cosplay outfit and a half covered face would do for now, but couldn't help but smile "Thanks Akashi-san." She said, "that kinda means a lot to me..." the cosplayer said nervously. Picking up her head and ducking back down as Akashi stopped herself from leaving.

"Great! I'll guess I'll see you in the ring sometime then!" she said in a happy tone, breathing a sigh of relief as she left. "Heh... that could've gone a lot worse huh?"