Rika is the eldest of the Noyamano sisters, acting as a typical older sister who takes care of her family. To support her siblings and Ikki, she works as Destler Bartlett, a professional female wrestler. While Ikki discovers Air Treks (AT), Rika is on a national tour with her wrestling promotion. Initially unknown to Ikki, she was the former Thorn Queen of the original Sleeping Forest, utilizing her hip joints for her moves. Her Sonia Road technique took a significant toll on her body, making her tire easily. She is one of two members not born as Gravity Children, the other being Ine. Throughout her time in Sleeping Forest, she remained unaware of the Sky Regalia's significance and Sora's true intentions. She was once Sora's girlfriend, but they parted ways after Kilik's betrayal. Although she initially feared that Ikki would suffer the same fate as Sora, she eventually recognized his talent after an unusual battle with him and a team consisting of Sora and his dogs. They reconnect later, often talking.
In her youth, Rika was a lone ranger who earned the right to use the Thorn Regalia in her early teens, despite not being a Gravity Child. She fought off enemies aiming for her title and aimed to defeat all local teams alone. Additionally, she found ways to support her large family, which was near poverty. During one of her fights, she met Sora, whom she nicknamed '120 Yen' for the iced coffee he bought her. He appeared as a fan, then became her companion and friend. On one occasion, she revealed to Sora her intention to take down a reputedly strong group, only to find out it was Sora's Sleeping Forest, with him as the leader. Sora invited her to join, and she agreed to stay by his side.
After joining, Rika had a romantic relationship with Sora, causing jealousy in Kilik. When Kilik betrayed Sora, Rika was absent from the battle, presumably uninformed by either party. She arrived too late to see Sora defeated and robbed of his Regalia. Sora, injured and disheartened, broke up with Rika, leaving her the Sleeping Forest emblem, which she later passed to her sister Ringo.
Fearing a repeat of Sora's fate, present-day Rika tried to stop Ikki from following the same path, recognizing similarities between him and Sora. This concern was heightened by Ikki's childhood climb of Tokyo Tower, resulting in him falling and being carried away by an eight-winged crow. Rika approached Sora to discuss Ikki, but after challenging Ikki to a match and losing, she acknowledged his strength and supported his goals, though she still limited his training with heavy weights.
Rika has sworn off ATs but retains her skills from her prime. Though she does not actively participate in current AT world power struggles, she remains aware of them. For instance, she guessed Kanon's motives in provoking Ringo and Ikki into a fight and advised Ringo to decide her stance on Ikki, who would likely become an enemy to Sleeping Forest. Before the battle against Genesis, Sora reveals a captive Rika, trying to force the current Sleeping Forest to give up their advantage. Mikan chooses to save Rika, revealing that she is pregnant, adding urgency to her rescue.
