Saved by the bell
Jan 20, 2016 0:55:27 GMT -5
Post by Fujiko Mine on Jan 20, 2016 0:55:27 GMT -5
Fujiko pushed the front door to her home shut. She raised her iPhone to her face and pressed at it with her thumb, until a soft ‘beep’ rang out of the panel to the left of the door. With an exhale, she shrugged the gym bag off of her shoulder and let it hit the floor. In most instances, she’d take care to not let it damage the floor. Tonight, however, she couldn’t draw up the energy to care.
The clock on the wall read 11:15pm, almost a full twenty hours since she’d last been home. She was used to being away for long periods of time, but for some reason, that knowledge hit her harder than normal. She groaned and took two steps before bending at the waist and resting her head on the back end of her couch.
"You knew it would be like this. This is what you wanted." She extended her legs in an alternating pattern, stretching them out while she rested her head and arms on the couch. It was the closest thing she’d gotten to rest in quite a while. She was resilient, but not superhuman. The match against Johnny Cannon had taken a lot out of her, and following that up with media appearances to promote FGA’s return to the Great White North had been even more taxing. Despite that, being out amongst the fans provided Fujiko with a lot more rewarding feelings than the match against Cannon could have.
The support was growing. The contingent of fans that offered congratulations on her previous match, or told her that she was robbed were many and close together. She signed autographs until her hands cramped. She posed for pictures until security turned fans away. She’d even allowed a few more to pose with her outside of the event.
It did plenty to wash the bitter taste of a time limit draw out of her mouth. But like unripe fruit, it wasn’t enough. Her desire to further herself waged war with her desire for rest, leaving Fujiko in an awkward position. She imagined sleep would win the battle soon, but it was still in the air.
"Welcome home." A spike of panic tore through Fujiko like lightning in a pitch black sky; aftershocks of adrenaline startling her systems awake. She reacted by standing upright quickly, her reflexes ignoring the familiar inflection and tone in the voice she’d heard. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw the owner of the voice, and her brain began to take back control.
Hiro Nagashima sat calmly in an arm chair stationed in the corner of the room, clad in his usual navy blue suit. Relaxed back into the seat, he gently patted at the head of Fujiko’s french bulldog, Henry, who lay snoozing on his lap. The sight of her favorite animal and father figure coaxed a smile out of her, even as the adrenaline spike tensed her muscles.
"Gosh, Otōusan! You almost killed me!" The smile on Fujiko’s face betrayed her words, which in turn caused a small smile to split Hiro’s usual stone face. It wasn’t often that Fujiko called him that. Last he recalled, Fujiko hadn’t called him that since she before she could drive. Nowadays, she usually chose to refer to him by his given name; perhaps recent events spurred her to make a change. Hiro reasoned that perhaps Marcia’s insistent attempts to get Fujiko to quit her profession pushed her closer to him than it did her mother. He would not complain.
"It is good to see you too, little bird." Fujiko blushed a little. She hadn’t been referred to as that since she was about fourteen or fifteen. She used to pretend she hated it, but inside she knew that Hiro knew better. "You have been busy, I see."
Fujiko nodded, and after bringing herself to her full height; she brought herself closer to the seat that Hiro occupied. Hiro adjusted the angle of his head to compensate.
"Tell me, how do you feel about what you have experienced? I feel I am familiar with the details of your…’adventures’ thus far, but I have been unable to take your opinion on them."
Fujiko had all the prompt she required. She rolled her eyes, bending at the waist and sitting down on the arm of the couch, facing her father figure.
"Honestly, I’m pretty frustrated. I’m being taken more seriously, which is definitely what I wanted...but that only goes so far. Go-eun walked away from my first match, and while I don’t have any ill will towards her, between that...and last week…" Fujiko trailed off, her severe annoyance shining through her porcelain visage.
"You mean, with the Johnny Cannon?" Fujiko sneered at the mention of her most recent opponents’ name, telling Hiro everything he needed to know in terms of an answer. A calm smile precluded his response. "Little bird, you must understand that just because this one man spoke words, that does not mean necessarily that he is to be believed?" Hiro punctuated this with a slight raise of the eyebrows, which gave Fujiko pause. "Certainly, one who wished for the truth could easily look back at the footage and compare it to his comments, and draw their own conclusions as to the truth of the matter?"
This gave Fujiko more reason to pause. Something in the back of her mind registered her losing her grip on the annoyance and anger she felt misting her emotions.
"Yeah, I guess I suppose that may be so…" She stopped when she felt a hand on her thigh. She blinked, then traced her line of sight over to Hiro. His face held a tinge of sadness, like someone who was taken aback by someone’s self-loathing. She studied his face, trying to think of something that she could say. Maybe she could change the subject, but--
"You must not let them defeat you before the battle has begun." Fujiko gave him a pensive look as he spoke. "If I call correctly-"
"Recall, Dad." Fujiko corrected. "Ah. Sodesuka. Recall, as you say...this Noelle began this issue for you."
Fujiko stopped in her tracks cold. She took her eyes off of Hiro and focused on the wall. She needed a solid color to focus on. She could practically see the words on the wall in front of her.
Fujiko, you’re really not very good.
Words from the supposedly sweet Noelle Smith. From a woman who was supposed to be one of the nicest around.
From a woman whom Fujiko exposed.
"I told everyone how she was, before everything came out. She has no excuse….she has no excuse!" Fujiko found rage as a comfort as she thought about everything she’d said about Noelle...and then had to watch her climb a ladder and take away her championship. The first singles gold she’d ever held...she involuntarily clenched her fists as she envisioned the smug look on Noelle’s face.
She wanted to break it. She wanted to break her whole face.
"Fujiko…" He tapped his two fingers on her thigh, trying to get her attention. Fujiko, meanwhile, was figuratively seeing red. She pictured Noelle holding that Mid-Atlantic Legacy championship high, while Fujiko just had to watch.
"Fujiko...look at me." Fujiko turned her face in his direction, but her eyes were empty. They didn’t see him. They saw...Noelle’s back. They saw Noelle furiously tapping the mat, while she was trapped in the submission hold called Ecstasy. An odd smile crept up Fujiko’s face, as she realized she could make that a reality. To feel Noelle go limp, and still not let go. It would be so easy…
...Hiro shook her forcefully. She felt her balance become compromised, and then the adrenaline kicked in again. Maybe he was trying to kill her, a small part of her brain joked. Her breath caught in her throat, and she sputtered out loud.
"Are you listening?"
Fujiko put her hand to her chest, and did her best to recover. She noted that Henry was no longer in Hiro’s lap. He’d retreated elsewhere. Once she was able to regain her bearings, she spoke up.
"Honestly...I went somewhere else for a little bit. I’m sorry." Hiro shook his head, as if he was unsurprised by her response. "I am at least pleased that you used truth. Now, you must not let your disdain for Noelle Smith cloud your judgement. She may have wronged you, but to wrong her in return makes you like the one you hate so much. That insipid girl who relies upon your name as if it is a trophy for her to carry about."
Revulsion quickly replaced the rage and anger she felt. She physically heaved at the allusion to her. And so, the realization dawned on her. The ideas that formed in her head? What she wanted to do? They all sounded suspiciously like what that girl would say or do.
"Oh god, you’re right. I’d rather die than be like that. Freaking eww." A sly smile curled the corners of Hiro’s mouth. "I knew if I appealed to both your sense of justice and your supreme disdain for that thing, I would get through to you." Fujiko couldn’t help but laugh a little in surprise at that.
"I suppose. But it still have Noelle Smith to ‘thank’ for all of this." Air quotes danced around the word thank, and she slapped her hands down into her lap afterwards. Hiro sat in silence for a few moments, awaiting Fujiko to come to some sort of suitable conclusion. With a little trepidation peppering her actions, she leaned forward.
"I have to think about this rationally. I mean, there’s never been a pinfall victory between the two of us. I beat her in the battle royal when the referee didn’t see me get eliminated. She beat me by climbing a ladder I was trapped in. So I guess this is my chance to correct that in my favor."
Fujiko’s eyes moved around the room, planning out her next thought.
"Likely she’s going to talk about me cheating or something. I mean, she brought it up when I had my last title shot. It is what it is, though. She can think what she likes, I guess."
Hiro kept silent. Fujiko didn’t mind; her train of thought was still rolling. "I mean, if I can take Johnny Cannon’s assault, and then deliver a major beating to him like I did and he can try and play damage control...who knows what Noelle is going to say when she loses." A slight pause. "Because she’s going to lose. There is no way I’m going to deal with another one of these silly outcomes for my matches. I won’t let her walk away, and I won’t let her drag this match out to a time limit draw. She is getting beaten, and then I’m not going to have to endure the crap anymore…"
Hiro finally chose to speak up. He leaned forward in the seat again, and gave Fujiko that same sad look from earlier. It hurt Fujiko’s heart to see it, and she wished he would stop giving it to her. She squirmed uncomfortably, as if someone she didn’t like grabbed at her shoulders and massaged them. Her look of sadness began to mimic his own.
"Unfortunately, little bird...that is an unattainable wish. There will always be...as Jones-san calls them, “haters”." Fujiko stifled a bit of laugh. Watching her dad attempt to use slang broke the serious tension. It was too funny not to acknowledge. Nevertheless, he continued on. "People will always do their best to drag you down. You should know better than anyone of this. The Renati incident, Noelle Smith, Tony Carmine, Johnny Cannon, et al. They are just a few in the army of those who would wish to see you fail. It matters not who you are. You must make peace with yourself, and your mission. After that, it matters not what they do. You do not plan on allowing them to drag down your quality of life, do you?"
Fujiko wasted no time shaking her head no.
"Then it matters not. You know you have worked hard. You know that if not for a mere second, you would own a victory over Johnny Cannon. You know that anything you set your mind to, you can do in Frontier Grappling Arts. Noelle Smith, Johnny Cannon, and Jimmy Page cannot stop you. Neither can another who wishes to try."
Hiro leaned forward more, scooping his hand under hers and squeezing it tightly.
"And you know that I support you in everything you try to do. I have believed in you since day one, and I will not stop. Jones-san feels the same." Fujiko felt her eyes water slightly as she processed his words. It felt...so good to hear that. Better than imagining herself strangling Noelle, or kicking that girl in the face until she blacked out. It just felt...so good to be supported.
"T-thank you, Dad." He nodded politely, giving her that same affirmative gesture that she grew up with, that same gesture she grew to understand was his way of saying ‘you’re welcome.’
They sat in silence for a few moments, his hand hugged hers lightly. "Do not worry about your mother. She fears losing you." Fujiko made a move to protest, but Hiro waved a hand to dismiss it. "She will come around, little bird. Until she does, do not fret. Just focus on the goals at hand. Noelle Smith falls at your feet. Soon after, so will Page-san."
Fujiko thought for a second. She knew she could beat Jimmy. But did Hiro believe it, or was he simply just behind her, apathetic? She doubted it, but she had to be sure.
"You really think I can beat him?" Hiro barely hesitated. "I know you believe you can, and thus I believe you can as well."
A determined smirk crossed her lips. She didn’t mean to ask it as a test, but if it was...he ‘passed’ it as he should.
Fujiko kept that smirk on her face. If she wasn’t confident before, she sure was now.
Johnny Cannon was literally saved by the bell.
It felt good to keep my promise of catching him on the chin with the Lucky Shot. He was the first competitor to feel it. He can tell you it tickled like a puppy’s playful gnawing or whatever damage control he needs to run to mask the fact that I took his best shots, and did not give up. What matters is that everyone saw Johnny topple like a wheelbarrow full of misogynistic bricks when he got hit by it, and if there was just one more second on the clock, he wouldn’t be rolling his eyes at a time limit draw, he’d be saddled with a big fat L, courtesy of Lady Luck.
Speaking of ‘L’s, my next opponent is my lovely rival, Noelle Smith. I think it’s pretty safe to wager that Noelle and I are pretty different people than the ones we were when we left Glory Road back in May of 2015.
Or maybe Noelle thinks she’s the only one who changed. I don’t know. Maybe she thinks that I’m going to bend the rules, because that’s ‘all I do’ or whatever. She can undermine me, if that helps give her confidence. She can tell everyone that I’m still ‘not any good’, if that helps her think that she’s got the mental edge with that phrase. But whether she cares to acknowledge it or not, the fact is the Fujiko Mine that she fought at Glory Road, and this one? They’re not the same. Heck, I don’t even use some of those same moves anymore.
You started this whole trend of people thinking that I have no business between the ropes of a wrestling ring, Noelle. Deny it, embrace it, that’s fine. Either way, it isn’t going to change the fact that if you go into this thinking things are going to be the same, you’ll be the one reeling on the mat, wondering what happened.
I’m saying this because I want you to know, Noelle... Aside from the aforementioned? I’m leaving the past...there. I am not going to get into a tussle with you over the Mid-Atlantic championship, because neither of us have it anymore...and if I can be honest? I think we’re both beyond it. I’m rising back up the ranks again, and Tony hand-picked you to be the next contender for the Pride championship. Rest assured, if you go on and become the one to beat him for it, I will be seeing you sooner rather than later.
I don’t know how you felt when you found out that this match was booked, Noelle. Maybe you were annoyed that you were going to have to face off against me again. Maybe you were excited. You wanna know how I felt when I saw that this match against you was booked?
Hungry. Determined and hungry. I know what you’ve been up to, Noelle...and it doesn’t matter to me if it was you, or Ruby, or one of your other sisters. What matters to me is that those accomplishments? They’re listed under YOUR name, and that means that I get one step closer to where I want to be by beating YOU.
I’ve sat by and watched people tell me that I am nuts for challenging Jimmy Page. I’ve heard people tell me that I don’t stand a chance against you. “No-L’ ain’t getting an L this week bruh!” and all that. It’s not a crazy amount of people, but it’s enough to get my attention. Those statements, and what they mean? I understand people think you might have this in the bag...but they’re absolutely wrong.
I’ve gotten a taste of what it feels like to KO someone with the Lucky Shot...courtesy of the only real coward in FGA aka Johnny Cannon. So now I feel like doing the exact same thing to you. Or heck, maybe I’ll debut the submission hold I’ve been working hard on. What do you think, Noelle? Would you like a little Ecstasy to put you out in our match? I’m more than willing to give it to you en route to proving my detractors wrong.
The best part about doing that, Noelle? Is that doing so is its own reward. Knowing that I followed my heart, did what I thought was right, and got my hand raised at the end of the night is just so...alluring I can’t stand it. The fans want it, and so do I.
So I hate to be the one to do it to you, Noelle. I know you want all the momentum you can muster going into your first ever Pride championship match. But you are my example to those who think I don’t belong. You’re my example to those who believe that I’m “not very good.” This match against you is going to be one I point to as a major positive turning point in my career. But if there is one thing you are going to learn about Lady Luck this Saturday night at Vertigo?
She never backs down. Try your luck.
The clock on the wall read 11:15pm, almost a full twenty hours since she’d last been home. She was used to being away for long periods of time, but for some reason, that knowledge hit her harder than normal. She groaned and took two steps before bending at the waist and resting her head on the back end of her couch.
"You knew it would be like this. This is what you wanted." She extended her legs in an alternating pattern, stretching them out while she rested her head and arms on the couch. It was the closest thing she’d gotten to rest in quite a while. She was resilient, but not superhuman. The match against Johnny Cannon had taken a lot out of her, and following that up with media appearances to promote FGA’s return to the Great White North had been even more taxing. Despite that, being out amongst the fans provided Fujiko with a lot more rewarding feelings than the match against Cannon could have.
The support was growing. The contingent of fans that offered congratulations on her previous match, or told her that she was robbed were many and close together. She signed autographs until her hands cramped. She posed for pictures until security turned fans away. She’d even allowed a few more to pose with her outside of the event.
It did plenty to wash the bitter taste of a time limit draw out of her mouth. But like unripe fruit, it wasn’t enough. Her desire to further herself waged war with her desire for rest, leaving Fujiko in an awkward position. She imagined sleep would win the battle soon, but it was still in the air.
"Welcome home." A spike of panic tore through Fujiko like lightning in a pitch black sky; aftershocks of adrenaline startling her systems awake. She reacted by standing upright quickly, her reflexes ignoring the familiar inflection and tone in the voice she’d heard. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw the owner of the voice, and her brain began to take back control.
Hiro Nagashima sat calmly in an arm chair stationed in the corner of the room, clad in his usual navy blue suit. Relaxed back into the seat, he gently patted at the head of Fujiko’s french bulldog, Henry, who lay snoozing on his lap. The sight of her favorite animal and father figure coaxed a smile out of her, even as the adrenaline spike tensed her muscles.
"Gosh, Otōusan! You almost killed me!" The smile on Fujiko’s face betrayed her words, which in turn caused a small smile to split Hiro’s usual stone face. It wasn’t often that Fujiko called him that. Last he recalled, Fujiko hadn’t called him that since she before she could drive. Nowadays, she usually chose to refer to him by his given name; perhaps recent events spurred her to make a change. Hiro reasoned that perhaps Marcia’s insistent attempts to get Fujiko to quit her profession pushed her closer to him than it did her mother. He would not complain.
"It is good to see you too, little bird." Fujiko blushed a little. She hadn’t been referred to as that since she was about fourteen or fifteen. She used to pretend she hated it, but inside she knew that Hiro knew better. "You have been busy, I see."
Fujiko nodded, and after bringing herself to her full height; she brought herself closer to the seat that Hiro occupied. Hiro adjusted the angle of his head to compensate.
"Tell me, how do you feel about what you have experienced? I feel I am familiar with the details of your…’adventures’ thus far, but I have been unable to take your opinion on them."
Fujiko had all the prompt she required. She rolled her eyes, bending at the waist and sitting down on the arm of the couch, facing her father figure.
"Honestly, I’m pretty frustrated. I’m being taken more seriously, which is definitely what I wanted...but that only goes so far. Go-eun walked away from my first match, and while I don’t have any ill will towards her, between that...and last week…" Fujiko trailed off, her severe annoyance shining through her porcelain visage.
"You mean, with the Johnny Cannon?" Fujiko sneered at the mention of her most recent opponents’ name, telling Hiro everything he needed to know in terms of an answer. A calm smile precluded his response. "Little bird, you must understand that just because this one man spoke words, that does not mean necessarily that he is to be believed?" Hiro punctuated this with a slight raise of the eyebrows, which gave Fujiko pause. "Certainly, one who wished for the truth could easily look back at the footage and compare it to his comments, and draw their own conclusions as to the truth of the matter?"
This gave Fujiko more reason to pause. Something in the back of her mind registered her losing her grip on the annoyance and anger she felt misting her emotions.
"Yeah, I guess I suppose that may be so…" She stopped when she felt a hand on her thigh. She blinked, then traced her line of sight over to Hiro. His face held a tinge of sadness, like someone who was taken aback by someone’s self-loathing. She studied his face, trying to think of something that she could say. Maybe she could change the subject, but--
"You must not let them defeat you before the battle has begun." Fujiko gave him a pensive look as he spoke. "If I call correctly-"
"Recall, Dad." Fujiko corrected. "Ah. Sodesuka. Recall, as you say...this Noelle began this issue for you."
Fujiko stopped in her tracks cold. She took her eyes off of Hiro and focused on the wall. She needed a solid color to focus on. She could practically see the words on the wall in front of her.
Fujiko, you’re really not very good.
Words from the supposedly sweet Noelle Smith. From a woman who was supposed to be one of the nicest around.
From a woman whom Fujiko exposed.
"I told everyone how she was, before everything came out. She has no excuse….she has no excuse!" Fujiko found rage as a comfort as she thought about everything she’d said about Noelle...and then had to watch her climb a ladder and take away her championship. The first singles gold she’d ever held...she involuntarily clenched her fists as she envisioned the smug look on Noelle’s face.
She wanted to break it. She wanted to break her whole face.
"Fujiko…" He tapped his two fingers on her thigh, trying to get her attention. Fujiko, meanwhile, was figuratively seeing red. She pictured Noelle holding that Mid-Atlantic Legacy championship high, while Fujiko just had to watch.
"Fujiko...look at me." Fujiko turned her face in his direction, but her eyes were empty. They didn’t see him. They saw...Noelle’s back. They saw Noelle furiously tapping the mat, while she was trapped in the submission hold called Ecstasy. An odd smile crept up Fujiko’s face, as she realized she could make that a reality. To feel Noelle go limp, and still not let go. It would be so easy…
...Hiro shook her forcefully. She felt her balance become compromised, and then the adrenaline kicked in again. Maybe he was trying to kill her, a small part of her brain joked. Her breath caught in her throat, and she sputtered out loud.
"Are you listening?"
Fujiko put her hand to her chest, and did her best to recover. She noted that Henry was no longer in Hiro’s lap. He’d retreated elsewhere. Once she was able to regain her bearings, she spoke up.
"Honestly...I went somewhere else for a little bit. I’m sorry." Hiro shook his head, as if he was unsurprised by her response. "I am at least pleased that you used truth. Now, you must not let your disdain for Noelle Smith cloud your judgement. She may have wronged you, but to wrong her in return makes you like the one you hate so much. That insipid girl who relies upon your name as if it is a trophy for her to carry about."
Revulsion quickly replaced the rage and anger she felt. She physically heaved at the allusion to her. And so, the realization dawned on her. The ideas that formed in her head? What she wanted to do? They all sounded suspiciously like what that girl would say or do.
"Oh god, you’re right. I’d rather die than be like that. Freaking eww." A sly smile curled the corners of Hiro’s mouth. "I knew if I appealed to both your sense of justice and your supreme disdain for that thing, I would get through to you." Fujiko couldn’t help but laugh a little in surprise at that.
"I suppose. But it still have Noelle Smith to ‘thank’ for all of this." Air quotes danced around the word thank, and she slapped her hands down into her lap afterwards. Hiro sat in silence for a few moments, awaiting Fujiko to come to some sort of suitable conclusion. With a little trepidation peppering her actions, she leaned forward.
"I have to think about this rationally. I mean, there’s never been a pinfall victory between the two of us. I beat her in the battle royal when the referee didn’t see me get eliminated. She beat me by climbing a ladder I was trapped in. So I guess this is my chance to correct that in my favor."
Fujiko’s eyes moved around the room, planning out her next thought.
"Likely she’s going to talk about me cheating or something. I mean, she brought it up when I had my last title shot. It is what it is, though. She can think what she likes, I guess."
Hiro kept silent. Fujiko didn’t mind; her train of thought was still rolling. "I mean, if I can take Johnny Cannon’s assault, and then deliver a major beating to him like I did and he can try and play damage control...who knows what Noelle is going to say when she loses." A slight pause. "Because she’s going to lose. There is no way I’m going to deal with another one of these silly outcomes for my matches. I won’t let her walk away, and I won’t let her drag this match out to a time limit draw. She is getting beaten, and then I’m not going to have to endure the crap anymore…"
Hiro finally chose to speak up. He leaned forward in the seat again, and gave Fujiko that same sad look from earlier. It hurt Fujiko’s heart to see it, and she wished he would stop giving it to her. She squirmed uncomfortably, as if someone she didn’t like grabbed at her shoulders and massaged them. Her look of sadness began to mimic his own.
"Unfortunately, little bird...that is an unattainable wish. There will always be...as Jones-san calls them, “haters”." Fujiko stifled a bit of laugh. Watching her dad attempt to use slang broke the serious tension. It was too funny not to acknowledge. Nevertheless, he continued on. "People will always do their best to drag you down. You should know better than anyone of this. The Renati incident, Noelle Smith, Tony Carmine, Johnny Cannon, et al. They are just a few in the army of those who would wish to see you fail. It matters not who you are. You must make peace with yourself, and your mission. After that, it matters not what they do. You do not plan on allowing them to drag down your quality of life, do you?"
Fujiko wasted no time shaking her head no.
"Then it matters not. You know you have worked hard. You know that if not for a mere second, you would own a victory over Johnny Cannon. You know that anything you set your mind to, you can do in Frontier Grappling Arts. Noelle Smith, Johnny Cannon, and Jimmy Page cannot stop you. Neither can another who wishes to try."
Hiro leaned forward more, scooping his hand under hers and squeezing it tightly.
"And you know that I support you in everything you try to do. I have believed in you since day one, and I will not stop. Jones-san feels the same." Fujiko felt her eyes water slightly as she processed his words. It felt...so good to hear that. Better than imagining herself strangling Noelle, or kicking that girl in the face until she blacked out. It just felt...so good to be supported.
"T-thank you, Dad." He nodded politely, giving her that same affirmative gesture that she grew up with, that same gesture she grew to understand was his way of saying ‘you’re welcome.’
They sat in silence for a few moments, his hand hugged hers lightly. "Do not worry about your mother. She fears losing you." Fujiko made a move to protest, but Hiro waved a hand to dismiss it. "She will come around, little bird. Until she does, do not fret. Just focus on the goals at hand. Noelle Smith falls at your feet. Soon after, so will Page-san."
Fujiko thought for a second. She knew she could beat Jimmy. But did Hiro believe it, or was he simply just behind her, apathetic? She doubted it, but she had to be sure.
"You really think I can beat him?" Hiro barely hesitated. "I know you believe you can, and thus I believe you can as well."
A determined smirk crossed her lips. She didn’t mean to ask it as a test, but if it was...he ‘passed’ it as he should.
Fujiko kept that smirk on her face. If she wasn’t confident before, she sure was now.
Johnny Cannon was literally saved by the bell.
It felt good to keep my promise of catching him on the chin with the Lucky Shot. He was the first competitor to feel it. He can tell you it tickled like a puppy’s playful gnawing or whatever damage control he needs to run to mask the fact that I took his best shots, and did not give up. What matters is that everyone saw Johnny topple like a wheelbarrow full of misogynistic bricks when he got hit by it, and if there was just one more second on the clock, he wouldn’t be rolling his eyes at a time limit draw, he’d be saddled with a big fat L, courtesy of Lady Luck.
Speaking of ‘L’s, my next opponent is my lovely rival, Noelle Smith. I think it’s pretty safe to wager that Noelle and I are pretty different people than the ones we were when we left Glory Road back in May of 2015.
Or maybe Noelle thinks she’s the only one who changed. I don’t know. Maybe she thinks that I’m going to bend the rules, because that’s ‘all I do’ or whatever. She can undermine me, if that helps give her confidence. She can tell everyone that I’m still ‘not any good’, if that helps her think that she’s got the mental edge with that phrase. But whether she cares to acknowledge it or not, the fact is the Fujiko Mine that she fought at Glory Road, and this one? They’re not the same. Heck, I don’t even use some of those same moves anymore.
You started this whole trend of people thinking that I have no business between the ropes of a wrestling ring, Noelle. Deny it, embrace it, that’s fine. Either way, it isn’t going to change the fact that if you go into this thinking things are going to be the same, you’ll be the one reeling on the mat, wondering what happened.
I’m saying this because I want you to know, Noelle... Aside from the aforementioned? I’m leaving the past...there. I am not going to get into a tussle with you over the Mid-Atlantic championship, because neither of us have it anymore...and if I can be honest? I think we’re both beyond it. I’m rising back up the ranks again, and Tony hand-picked you to be the next contender for the Pride championship. Rest assured, if you go on and become the one to beat him for it, I will be seeing you sooner rather than later.
I don’t know how you felt when you found out that this match was booked, Noelle. Maybe you were annoyed that you were going to have to face off against me again. Maybe you were excited. You wanna know how I felt when I saw that this match against you was booked?
Hungry. Determined and hungry. I know what you’ve been up to, Noelle...and it doesn’t matter to me if it was you, or Ruby, or one of your other sisters. What matters to me is that those accomplishments? They’re listed under YOUR name, and that means that I get one step closer to where I want to be by beating YOU.
I’ve sat by and watched people tell me that I am nuts for challenging Jimmy Page. I’ve heard people tell me that I don’t stand a chance against you. “No-L’ ain’t getting an L this week bruh!” and all that. It’s not a crazy amount of people, but it’s enough to get my attention. Those statements, and what they mean? I understand people think you might have this in the bag...but they’re absolutely wrong.
I’ve gotten a taste of what it feels like to KO someone with the Lucky Shot...courtesy of the only real coward in FGA aka Johnny Cannon. So now I feel like doing the exact same thing to you. Or heck, maybe I’ll debut the submission hold I’ve been working hard on. What do you think, Noelle? Would you like a little Ecstasy to put you out in our match? I’m more than willing to give it to you en route to proving my detractors wrong.
The best part about doing that, Noelle? Is that doing so is its own reward. Knowing that I followed my heart, did what I thought was right, and got my hand raised at the end of the night is just so...alluring I can’t stand it. The fans want it, and so do I.
So I hate to be the one to do it to you, Noelle. I know you want all the momentum you can muster going into your first ever Pride championship match. But you are my example to those who think I don’t belong. You’re my example to those who believe that I’m “not very good.” This match against you is going to be one I point to as a major positive turning point in my career. But if there is one thing you are going to learn about Lady Luck this Saturday night at Vertigo?
She never backs down. Try your luck.
