Hamada and Akino eventually won the Twin Star of Arsion Championship, which set the stage for possibly both women's biggest match in 1999.

Wrestling as "HamaKINO", the two champions entered a storyline with popular tag team "LCO" (Las Cachorrus Orientales), made up of Mima Shimoda and Estuko Mita.

While she never won the Queen of Arsion Championship, she was involved in several spotlight storylines and matches, including tagging with Asuka and competing against Michiko Ohmukai.

Her longtime friend Mariko Yoshida and fellow Arison wrestler Michiko Ohmukai joined her, and rising star Momoe Nakanishi also jumped on board.

Running a show once a month, AKINO and Ohmukai still remain, with Yoshida occasionally wrestling, though she left to open Ibuki to train up the next generation of joshi wrestlers.

After the final show, Akino announced she would be taking some time off from wrestling to let a lingering neck injury heal up.

Akino returned in mid-2007, working primarily with Oz Academy while freelancing with Pro Wrestling WAVE and performing in special shows held by Fuka.

On April 24, 2013, Akino defeated Chikayo Nagashima to win the Oz Academy Openweight Championship for the first time.

On December 11, 2016, following Dynamite Kansai's retirement, Akino officially signed with Oz Academy, ending her days as a freelancer.