Summary
As the eldest of the Noyamano sisters, Rika embodies the role of a dutiful older sibling, dedicating herself to caring for her family. To provide for her sisters and Ikki, she works under the ring name Destler Bartlett as a professional female wrestler. While Ikki discovers AT, she is away on a national tour with her promotion. Secretly, she was the former Thorn Queen of the original Sleeping Forest, a title that required her to use her hip joints as the foundation for her moves. Her Sonia Road took a heavy toll on her body, causing her to tire easily. She was one of only two members of the original Sleeping Forest who were not a Gravity Child, the other being Ine. During her time in the Forest and afterward, she remained unaware of the significance of the Sky Regalia and Sora’s true intentions. In her youth, Rika was a lone ranger who earned the right to wield the Thorn Regalia in her early teens despite not being a Gravity Child. She fought opponents targeting her title as Thorn Queen and sought to defeat all teams in the area alone. She also found ways to support her large, nearly impoverished family by herself. During a fight, she met Sora, whom she nicknamed the '120 Yen' after he bought her an iced coffee. He initially appeared as a fan but became her companion and friend. She once revealed to Sora her desire to defeat a group reputedly composed of the strongest Kings of the era. However, upon arriving at the battlefield, she discovered the team was Sora’s Sleeping Forest, with him as the leader and the man closest to becoming Sky King. Sora invited her to join, and because she wished to stay by his side, she accepted. After joining, Rika entered a romantic relationship with Sora, which fueled Kilik’s jealousy. When Kilik betrayed Sora, Rika was absent from the battle, likely unaware of the conflict as Kilik had only confessed to her the previous night. She arrived too late, finding Kilik victorious, Sora defeated and stripped of his Regalia, and his supporters beaten. Sora, grievously injured in both legs, lost hope and broke up with Rika, leaving her the Sleeping Forest emblem, which she later passed down to her sister Ringo. Fearing history would repeat itself, present-day Rika tried to stop Ikki from following Sora’s path, recognizing many similar traits in him from a young age. This concern was heightened when Ikki fell from Tokyo Tower as a child and was carried away by the eight-winged crow. She often approached Sora to discuss Ikki, a habit Sora noted had persisted since their parting. Rika attempted to prevent Ikki from using AT by challenging him to a match but was defeated when he exceeded her expectations. She then recognized his strength and supported his goals, though she continued to limit him by locking his body in heavy weights, which Ikki quickly grew accustomed to. Although Rika has sworn off ATs, she retains her prime skills. She does not actively participate in the current AT power struggle but is aware of it. She guessed Kanon’s motives in provoking a fight between Ringo and Ikki and advised Ringo to decide her feelings for Ikki, who would likely become an enemy to Sleeping Forest in the future. It is unknown whether she is unaware or simply avoids discussing Sora’s return as Wind King and his use of Ikki. Just before the battle against Genesis, Sora revealed a captive Rika, attempting to force the current Sleeping Forest to surrender their advantage in the forest. Mikan was the only one to choose to save her, revealing that their sister was pregnant, providing further motivation for the rescue.
