12.8748km [Ft. Arkia Fisk-Jones]
Feb 3, 2016 0:11:45 GMT -5
Post by Fujiko Mine on Feb 3, 2016 0:11:45 GMT -5
Perspective.
Perspective is a funny thing. Perspective is the pivot point of everything we do here in life. Where one sees a hero, another may see a villain. Where one sees a leader, another may see a follower. Where one may see success, another may see failure.
Why do I bring this up? It’s the perfect crux of an argument regarding my next opponent, the reigning Pride champion, ‘Sunshine Scandalous’ Anthony Carmine.
You see, where everyone gripped firmly in reality sees success for other wrestlers in FGA, Tony Carmine can only see failure. In Tony Carmine’s champagne colored sunglasses; only he is allowed be be called ‘good’. Only Tony Carmine has done anything worthwhile in their careers. Only Tony Carmine is allowed to have praise. You don’t believe me? Literally watch the tape on anyone Tony has faced, minus maybe Cindy Parker. Johnny Cannon? He sucks. He’s always sucked, and once Tony steps into the ring with him, he’ll prove that Cannon was never any good at this ‘wrestling’ thing. Riley Owens? He’s always sucked, and he’s no longer relevant because of the ‘Scandalous One’.
Even me.
Tony Carmine could not wait to step out of his way to comment about how I was the only one in the Frontier Lions Cup that didn’t provide a challenge to him. I believe his words were something like “Fujiko still sucks”. He’ll tell you, I’m 'crying' about being relevant (his 2nd favorite word) and that my remedy should be to ‘win a match’. I mean, I feel like reality speaks for itself here, Tony. I know you think ‘rules don’t apply to you’, but the fact is that you can’t be bothered to pay attention to even get your bland insults correct. Why would I bother to take anything you say to heart, when you can barely be bothered to fact-check them? You’re quick on the draw to spit a catch-phrase: “facts only”, but they’re really just opinions that are relevant to you, and you alone.
So you’re right, Tony. "I suck." Even though I managed to force Johnny Cannon to back down. Even though it’s pretty clear that I’m actually a great wrestler...and even though I beat the woman you hand-picked to be your next challenger...I suck. I’ll save you the trouble of repeating it fourteen times in six not-so-cleverly disguised ways in your future promos against me.
But if I suck that badly, what will have to come out of your mouth if you lose? Actually, let’s get back to that. Let me get to something that’s been bothering me ever since I saw you verbally run down Evangelista a few months back.
If everyone you face here in FGA sucks compared to you, and aren’t relevant (or soon to be irrelevant)...if everyone you face is essentially a ‘easy night’ for you or whatever....
...then why are you here?
Why is Tony Carmine in a place full of people he deems unworthy to face him? Darn near EVERYONE you face gets the same, tired treatment: You’re nothing compared to the Scandalous One, the Scandalous One is the best thing here, rinse, repeat the same dirty rag until you’re blue in the face. But if the Scandalous One is so good...why is he underachieving by staying in FGA? Shouldn’t he be elsewhere, somewhere he deems ‘worthy’?
Don’t get me wrong, I think FGA is the pinnacle. There is no where I’d rather be than here. I left behind a world championship in a women's only company to be exclusive to here. I’m here because I believe this place has the best talent, bar none, and I want to compete against the best. But it’s clear that Tony is so incredibly insecure that he just has to downplay everyone around him, minus Cindy Parker, in order to nurse his ego.
And following your train of logic, Tony...are you really that good? You’ve spent the last few months beating people you claimed were never any good in the first place. Is that really what you want to project as your ‘legacy?’ I mean, you spent our last outing running down Riley Owens & Tj Jones; two people who I’d never even name-dropped. You claimed I was using Tj’s name to hype myself, when he wasn’t even mentioned by me. Is it because you’re jealous? Is it because you feel like you can’t compare to him, so you have to do to him what you do you Riley & everyone else?
I don’t know, and I really don’t care. Your broken record response...really isn’t all that interesting to me. I know what it’s going to be.
Excuses Only.
You see Tony, I learned a long time ago not to care what people like you think. I learned that you just live to make everyone as miserable as you are inside. Sure, you’re the Pride champ, but you’ve got no one to share it with...except maybe Fran, but I don’t even know how much of her attention you get, since she’s so busy over in HKW. You can claim you don’t need anyone else, but your ridiculous need to cut everyone else off at the knees says otherwise. Sure, you’ve got an impressive track record, but what is that record without respect? I certainly have no respect for you. You have no respect for me, so none is shared.
So let’s go back a little, Tony. What happens if I do beat you? Will you be a man and admit it? No. Let’s not beat around the bush. “The Scandalous One decided this insert-lame-insult-here wasn’t worth his time”, or something to that effect. My impending victory will have been reduced to a fluke.
But there’s that pesky perspective coming back around again. You see Tony, I know that I still have a long way to go to get to where I want to be. There’s no delusions there. But the fans know, and I know, that I’m far far better than you could ever be willing to give me credit for. I proved it when I made Go-eun back down on December twenty-eighth. I proved that further when I took Johnny Cannon to the limit, refused to quit, and then made him realize that if he’d granted me that extra five minutes? He would have likely lost to the woman he called ‘a cheap imitation’.
I continued to prove how good I am when I put Noelle Smith down, clean, in the ring. Even after she’d continued to try and say the same stuff you’re oh-so-well known for. Like it or not, Tony? I’m relevant, and your ‘facts’ don’t change that at all. Like it or not, I’m good at this ‘wrestling’ thing. Like it or not, Tony...I’m doing everything in my power to send you into Canadian Stampede with a loss that you’ll try to explain away. But I know internally...it’ll eat away at you just like losing to Chandler did. You’ll probably march out to our match on February 6th, telling me that I’m not on your level, not even close. Unfortunately for you? I went out and brought a ladder with me.
But hey, I could be wrong. I could still lose to you on the last Vertigo before Canadian Stampede. You could actually get temporarily body-snatched and show me a modicum of respect. It’d be a refreshing change of pace for “The Scandalous One”.
I could be completely wrong about you and your approach to this match...
...But I doubt it.
I don’t need to try and discredit what you’ve done, Tony. I don’t need to throw around the world ‘relevant’ every fortnight as a buzzword. I don’t need to drop names of people who have nothing to do with this match; people who won’t be there on February sixth when the bell rings and you’re standing across the ring from me for the second time. I don’t need to dwell on what happened the last time we faced, because that was then...and I’ve changed quite a bit since then. I don’t need to spend hours pontificating on how great I am, or how I’m going to win.
I just need to do what I’ve been doing.
I just need to prove it, in that ring; against you.
How’s that for facts only?
The sound of heavy iron thudding against a padded floor rung through Fujiko’s ears as she dropped them. Sweat dripped profusely from her forehead, and she used equally sweaty arm to try and wipe it away. Her chest rose and fell deeply as she took in air. She felt the lactic acid eating away, but she tried to push the feeling out of her mind. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could, but for now she was going to do her best to work through it.
Fujiko blinked, and then took a look at the barbell in front of her. She put her hands on her hips and took a short walk in a circle. It was a short reprieve to prepare herself to lift it again. Fujiko crouched down; The muscle memory took over as she gripped the bar, planted her feet, and put her energy into keeping her back neutral.
Once it was lifted, she kept her back strong, and counted to five in her head. She then lowered it, and let out an exhale. Fujiko figured that if she was going to face off against “Sunshine Scandalous”, she was going to have to up her game. It was the perfect opportunity to gain quadruple on her return. She could further prove how serious she was to the FGA fans with a victory over the Pride champion, she could force Jimmy Page’s hand to give her the match she wanted at Canadian Stampede, she could once again stand alone at the top of the FGA rankings, and she could humble the aforementioned Pride champion; one who was incredibly vocal about his perception of Fujiko’s ability. Even after her match against Noelle, he took time out to call her a ‘floozy’.
Fujiko had his floozy. She had it in the form of a flash kick to his chin that would hopefully put him out. The thought of having her arm raised while Tony scowled back at her…
...was a blissful thought that did its best to seduce her.
"Girl where you at? That didn't hurt...focus!" Arkia Fisk-Jones yells out to snap her attention. Fujiko snapped out of her reverie and focused her attention back on Arkia Fisk-Jones, the woman who had her lifting these weights. The surroundings of one of her True Business gyms made for the perfect pre match training before she faced off against the nigh unbeatable Tony Carmine.
"Honestly? Just thinking about Tony doing his best Johnny Cannon impersonation and spouting excuses after he loses for the first time in forever on Saturday. Made me forget all about how much this is going to hurt later." She placed a smirk on her face, which may have been a mistake. She lost it quickly, as not to antagonize her temporary trainer.
"Sorry, Arkia." She apologized half to her, and half to herself for losing focus.
"I swear to all you are too damn nice. It works for you but hell where’s your game face? Tony might be a prick but he's a prick with skill. Nigga I said go to work!"
Fujiko blinked, a bit bewildered. "Did you just...nevermind…" Fujiko muttered under her breath. She’d heard Arkia use that word before...but never to refer to her personally. She catalogued her disdain for it in the back of her mind. For now, she’d just chalk it up to Arkia letting it fly and she made her move to deadlift the barbell again. She squatted carefully, then wrapped her hands around the bar; one at a time. She took in a few short breaths, checked the position of her feet, then hips, and then back...and then she lifted. She felt the resistance hard, but kept her back straight and held on. Her mental count hit five, and she lowered the bar, and then let it bounce on the padded mat.
"Another?" She asked, turning her attention to Arkia. She was already preparing to lift it again, but asked anyways.
Fujiko remembered first entering the True Business Gym a few months ago, deciding that among her improvements, an increase in strength was in her best interests. She was diversifying her moveset and her style, but it would be no good if she didn’t have a substantial punch behind those new moves...and it certainly wouldn’t help if she kept the same pitiful cardio level she was at before. She needed to improve at a far more rapid pace than her opponents if she hoped to keep her rise up the FGA rankings. So she’d taken to training her body in the house that Arkia built, for all intents and purposes. Sparring and training with Ryan LeCavalier, Nina Stokes and Riley Owens was helpful, no doubt...but she needed to make sure that if she was able to hit the Lucky Shot, it would gain her a victory. She needed to make sure that if her opponents would try and tire her out, that it wouldn’t be as easy as they’d hoped. And she needed to make sure she had enough strength to make her Ecstasy submission hold effective.
"If I ain't told you to stop that means keep going. Let's go Fuji!" Arkia claps her hand loudly twice to emphasize the ‘right now’ aspect.
She nodded, repeating the setup motion again. Fujiko took in a breath and lifted it again. She counted to five, and then lowered it. As Arkia said, she gave herself a second to prepare, and then repeated it. She did it five more times before shaking her head. Her muscles complained too much for her to resist. She shot Arkia a look that said as much, and shook out her hands.
"I think I’m ready to move on to something else, Arkia. Maybe leg press? I’m looking forward to putting a little extra power into my kicks."
"No doubt. Whatever you feel will help you. I'm here, but whatever it is? I'm not going to make it easy on you. You gotta move past your comfort zone Fuji. Not sayin you coastin but we all fall into that shit in our careers. Stay hungry and lets go."
Fujiko moved over to the leg press, and peered at it for a few seconds. Taking what Arkia said to heart, she removed the pin from the two hundred lb slot, and lowered it. Past three hundred, which she could do easily. Past four hundred, which was where she began to have trouble. She slid the pin into the five hundred pound slot, and then peered back at Arkia. She’d never attempted five hundred before. There was a substantial part of her that believed she was reaching over her ability. But then she realized something.
That was the part of her that rationalized with her detractors. People who thought she was overreaching in her past few matches. Even more thought she was overreaching thinking that she could beat Tony.
As she reasoned with herself, she moved into position on the leg press, and planted her feet properly. With another look towards Arkia, she focused on the large metal plate, and pushed. She felt the resistance and groaned, but kept it together. It wasn’t as bad as she thought it was going to be. It was still rough, but she knew the rewards that would come with it later.
She didn’t even give Arkia the chance to yell at her. She did one rep, and immediately went into putting her effort into another.
"That's what I'm saying. Use that auto mindset. Get it Fuji. Push yourself."
That automatic mindset. Where you don’t need to think about it; your moves are just second nature. Fujiko pushed out another rep, noting that the acid burning in her legs was beginning to become too hard to ignore. She managed to get in one more, before she brought the plate back to the resting position and turned her legs to the side. Before Arkia could say a word, Fujiko nodded.
"...that last one didn’t feel right. Might be cramping." She got off the machine and walked around for a second, shaking out her legs. She was quite fine with Arkia pushing her, but she wasn’t about to hurt herself with days to go before her big match.
"Talk to me, Arkia. What am I missing here? Am I doing this right? I mean, I feel like I’m back where I was this time last year, before everything began to fall apart. Am I just going to end up repeating the same pattern as last year? A short rise to prominence, followed by a tailspin?"
She sighed as she approached the machine again. She checked in with herself, making sure that she was okay with getting back in the seat.
"I just can’t help but wonder…"
Arkia shrugs, her demeanor completely nonchalant. Fujiko knew she could afford to be nonchalant. In terms of respect in the business, she was light years ahead. She was at a point where Fujiko assumed she could never have another match and be content with how her career panned out. Fujiko wasn’t close to that point. Not by a long shot.
"Shit, you might. People don't learn from the previous are doomed to repeat it. You ain't asking the right questions. Do you remember what you felt last year compared to this one? Have you changed your shit compared from last year to this one? You thinking ‘bout repeating; Then you gonna. How bout you keep on shaking the foundation and see what it get you. You can start by stop thinking so much and start doing...you know? Rise or fall can't say you ain't change it up. Ain't try somethin."
As she spoke, Fujiko compartmentalized what she said and got back to attempting reps on the leg press. She took them more cautiously this time, making sure to do them right, rather than worrying about fitting a bunch of them in. She did two at a methodical pace, then paused to chat at Arkia.
"Yeah, I mean...I have been changing up things. It was so...bizarre wrestling Noelle last Vertigo, because we spent a solid month just warring at each other, and when it was over...I ended up going into that tailspin, while she made it to the finals of the Frontier Lions Cup. And the both of us are different people from either of those times. I imagine Tony thinks he’s going to get the same matchup he did at the start of that very night, but he’s not going to."
She pressed her energy back into another rep, let it rest, and then finished her thought.
"I mean, I figure Tony loves to put on this act of not caring about anyone else, but if he truly didn’t care like he says he does, he wouldn’t bother sniping away at people on social media. He also wouldn’t have the impressive record that he does. He studies tape, he reads his opponents, and he tries to get under their skin before they even get into the ring with them. But I’m not going to be like that. I’m not going to let Tony bother me. I’ll be happy to call him out on his crap, but I’m not bothered by his demeaning comments. I’m motivated by them. If he’s going to beat me, he is going to have to reach deeper than he’s ever had to reach before, because I’m just not going to give up and be the ‘easy night off’ he thinks he has coming. That’s what I’m changing around here."
Fujiko did one more rep, and then let the plate slide back into its resting position. With another look at Arkia, she smiled.
"It’s going to be fun raining on his parade on Saturday, that’s for sure."
"I don't believe it till I see more reps. You aint working till you can't make full sentences, that's that real discomfort. Aight?"
Fujiko nodded. She knew that Arkia was right. If it meant that she was going to have to crawl home tonight from working so hard, she was going to get a victory over the overconfident Pride champion.
Perspective is a funny thing. Perspective is the pivot point of everything we do here in life. Where one sees a hero, another may see a villain. Where one sees a leader, another may see a follower. Where one may see success, another may see failure.
Why do I bring this up? It’s the perfect crux of an argument regarding my next opponent, the reigning Pride champion, ‘Sunshine Scandalous’ Anthony Carmine.
You see, where everyone gripped firmly in reality sees success for other wrestlers in FGA, Tony Carmine can only see failure. In Tony Carmine’s champagne colored sunglasses; only he is allowed be be called ‘good’. Only Tony Carmine has done anything worthwhile in their careers. Only Tony Carmine is allowed to have praise. You don’t believe me? Literally watch the tape on anyone Tony has faced, minus maybe Cindy Parker. Johnny Cannon? He sucks. He’s always sucked, and once Tony steps into the ring with him, he’ll prove that Cannon was never any good at this ‘wrestling’ thing. Riley Owens? He’s always sucked, and he’s no longer relevant because of the ‘Scandalous One’.
Even me.
Tony Carmine could not wait to step out of his way to comment about how I was the only one in the Frontier Lions Cup that didn’t provide a challenge to him. I believe his words were something like “Fujiko still sucks”. He’ll tell you, I’m 'crying' about being relevant (his 2nd favorite word) and that my remedy should be to ‘win a match’. I mean, I feel like reality speaks for itself here, Tony. I know you think ‘rules don’t apply to you’, but the fact is that you can’t be bothered to pay attention to even get your bland insults correct. Why would I bother to take anything you say to heart, when you can barely be bothered to fact-check them? You’re quick on the draw to spit a catch-phrase: “facts only”, but they’re really just opinions that are relevant to you, and you alone.
So you’re right, Tony. "I suck." Even though I managed to force Johnny Cannon to back down. Even though it’s pretty clear that I’m actually a great wrestler...and even though I beat the woman you hand-picked to be your next challenger...I suck. I’ll save you the trouble of repeating it fourteen times in six not-so-cleverly disguised ways in your future promos against me.
But if I suck that badly, what will have to come out of your mouth if you lose? Actually, let’s get back to that. Let me get to something that’s been bothering me ever since I saw you verbally run down Evangelista a few months back.
If everyone you face here in FGA sucks compared to you, and aren’t relevant (or soon to be irrelevant)...if everyone you face is essentially a ‘easy night’ for you or whatever....
...then why are you here?
Why is Tony Carmine in a place full of people he deems unworthy to face him? Darn near EVERYONE you face gets the same, tired treatment: You’re nothing compared to the Scandalous One, the Scandalous One is the best thing here, rinse, repeat the same dirty rag until you’re blue in the face. But if the Scandalous One is so good...why is he underachieving by staying in FGA? Shouldn’t he be elsewhere, somewhere he deems ‘worthy’?
Don’t get me wrong, I think FGA is the pinnacle. There is no where I’d rather be than here. I left behind a world championship in a women's only company to be exclusive to here. I’m here because I believe this place has the best talent, bar none, and I want to compete against the best. But it’s clear that Tony is so incredibly insecure that he just has to downplay everyone around him, minus Cindy Parker, in order to nurse his ego.
And following your train of logic, Tony...are you really that good? You’ve spent the last few months beating people you claimed were never any good in the first place. Is that really what you want to project as your ‘legacy?’ I mean, you spent our last outing running down Riley Owens & Tj Jones; two people who I’d never even name-dropped. You claimed I was using Tj’s name to hype myself, when he wasn’t even mentioned by me. Is it because you’re jealous? Is it because you feel like you can’t compare to him, so you have to do to him what you do you Riley & everyone else?
I don’t know, and I really don’t care. Your broken record response...really isn’t all that interesting to me. I know what it’s going to be.
Excuses Only.
You see Tony, I learned a long time ago not to care what people like you think. I learned that you just live to make everyone as miserable as you are inside. Sure, you’re the Pride champ, but you’ve got no one to share it with...except maybe Fran, but I don’t even know how much of her attention you get, since she’s so busy over in HKW. You can claim you don’t need anyone else, but your ridiculous need to cut everyone else off at the knees says otherwise. Sure, you’ve got an impressive track record, but what is that record without respect? I certainly have no respect for you. You have no respect for me, so none is shared.
So let’s go back a little, Tony. What happens if I do beat you? Will you be a man and admit it? No. Let’s not beat around the bush. “The Scandalous One decided this insert-lame-insult-here wasn’t worth his time”, or something to that effect. My impending victory will have been reduced to a fluke.
But there’s that pesky perspective coming back around again. You see Tony, I know that I still have a long way to go to get to where I want to be. There’s no delusions there. But the fans know, and I know, that I’m far far better than you could ever be willing to give me credit for. I proved it when I made Go-eun back down on December twenty-eighth. I proved that further when I took Johnny Cannon to the limit, refused to quit, and then made him realize that if he’d granted me that extra five minutes? He would have likely lost to the woman he called ‘a cheap imitation’.
I continued to prove how good I am when I put Noelle Smith down, clean, in the ring. Even after she’d continued to try and say the same stuff you’re oh-so-well known for. Like it or not, Tony? I’m relevant, and your ‘facts’ don’t change that at all. Like it or not, I’m good at this ‘wrestling’ thing. Like it or not, Tony...I’m doing everything in my power to send you into Canadian Stampede with a loss that you’ll try to explain away. But I know internally...it’ll eat away at you just like losing to Chandler did. You’ll probably march out to our match on February 6th, telling me that I’m not on your level, not even close. Unfortunately for you? I went out and brought a ladder with me.
But hey, I could be wrong. I could still lose to you on the last Vertigo before Canadian Stampede. You could actually get temporarily body-snatched and show me a modicum of respect. It’d be a refreshing change of pace for “The Scandalous One”.
I could be completely wrong about you and your approach to this match...
...But I doubt it.
I don’t need to try and discredit what you’ve done, Tony. I don’t need to throw around the world ‘relevant’ every fortnight as a buzzword. I don’t need to drop names of people who have nothing to do with this match; people who won’t be there on February sixth when the bell rings and you’re standing across the ring from me for the second time. I don’t need to dwell on what happened the last time we faced, because that was then...and I’ve changed quite a bit since then. I don’t need to spend hours pontificating on how great I am, or how I’m going to win.
I just need to do what I’ve been doing.
I just need to prove it, in that ring; against you.
How’s that for facts only?
The sound of heavy iron thudding against a padded floor rung through Fujiko’s ears as she dropped them. Sweat dripped profusely from her forehead, and she used equally sweaty arm to try and wipe it away. Her chest rose and fell deeply as she took in air. She felt the lactic acid eating away, but she tried to push the feeling out of her mind. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could, but for now she was going to do her best to work through it.
Fujiko blinked, and then took a look at the barbell in front of her. She put her hands on her hips and took a short walk in a circle. It was a short reprieve to prepare herself to lift it again. Fujiko crouched down; The muscle memory took over as she gripped the bar, planted her feet, and put her energy into keeping her back neutral.
Once it was lifted, she kept her back strong, and counted to five in her head. She then lowered it, and let out an exhale. Fujiko figured that if she was going to face off against “Sunshine Scandalous”, she was going to have to up her game. It was the perfect opportunity to gain quadruple on her return. She could further prove how serious she was to the FGA fans with a victory over the Pride champion, she could force Jimmy Page’s hand to give her the match she wanted at Canadian Stampede, she could once again stand alone at the top of the FGA rankings, and she could humble the aforementioned Pride champion; one who was incredibly vocal about his perception of Fujiko’s ability. Even after her match against Noelle, he took time out to call her a ‘floozy’.
Fujiko had his floozy. She had it in the form of a flash kick to his chin that would hopefully put him out. The thought of having her arm raised while Tony scowled back at her…
...was a blissful thought that did its best to seduce her.
"Girl where you at? That didn't hurt...focus!" Arkia Fisk-Jones yells out to snap her attention. Fujiko snapped out of her reverie and focused her attention back on Arkia Fisk-Jones, the woman who had her lifting these weights. The surroundings of one of her True Business gyms made for the perfect pre match training before she faced off against the nigh unbeatable Tony Carmine.
"Honestly? Just thinking about Tony doing his best Johnny Cannon impersonation and spouting excuses after he loses for the first time in forever on Saturday. Made me forget all about how much this is going to hurt later." She placed a smirk on her face, which may have been a mistake. She lost it quickly, as not to antagonize her temporary trainer.
"Sorry, Arkia." She apologized half to her, and half to herself for losing focus.
"I swear to all you are too damn nice. It works for you but hell where’s your game face? Tony might be a prick but he's a prick with skill. Nigga I said go to work!"
Fujiko blinked, a bit bewildered. "Did you just...nevermind…" Fujiko muttered under her breath. She’d heard Arkia use that word before...but never to refer to her personally. She catalogued her disdain for it in the back of her mind. For now, she’d just chalk it up to Arkia letting it fly and she made her move to deadlift the barbell again. She squatted carefully, then wrapped her hands around the bar; one at a time. She took in a few short breaths, checked the position of her feet, then hips, and then back...and then she lifted. She felt the resistance hard, but kept her back straight and held on. Her mental count hit five, and she lowered the bar, and then let it bounce on the padded mat.
"Another?" She asked, turning her attention to Arkia. She was already preparing to lift it again, but asked anyways.
Fujiko remembered first entering the True Business Gym a few months ago, deciding that among her improvements, an increase in strength was in her best interests. She was diversifying her moveset and her style, but it would be no good if she didn’t have a substantial punch behind those new moves...and it certainly wouldn’t help if she kept the same pitiful cardio level she was at before. She needed to improve at a far more rapid pace than her opponents if she hoped to keep her rise up the FGA rankings. So she’d taken to training her body in the house that Arkia built, for all intents and purposes. Sparring and training with Ryan LeCavalier, Nina Stokes and Riley Owens was helpful, no doubt...but she needed to make sure that if she was able to hit the Lucky Shot, it would gain her a victory. She needed to make sure that if her opponents would try and tire her out, that it wouldn’t be as easy as they’d hoped. And she needed to make sure she had enough strength to make her Ecstasy submission hold effective.
"If I ain't told you to stop that means keep going. Let's go Fuji!" Arkia claps her hand loudly twice to emphasize the ‘right now’ aspect.
She nodded, repeating the setup motion again. Fujiko took in a breath and lifted it again. She counted to five, and then lowered it. As Arkia said, she gave herself a second to prepare, and then repeated it. She did it five more times before shaking her head. Her muscles complained too much for her to resist. She shot Arkia a look that said as much, and shook out her hands.
"I think I’m ready to move on to something else, Arkia. Maybe leg press? I’m looking forward to putting a little extra power into my kicks."
"No doubt. Whatever you feel will help you. I'm here, but whatever it is? I'm not going to make it easy on you. You gotta move past your comfort zone Fuji. Not sayin you coastin but we all fall into that shit in our careers. Stay hungry and lets go."
Fujiko moved over to the leg press, and peered at it for a few seconds. Taking what Arkia said to heart, she removed the pin from the two hundred lb slot, and lowered it. Past three hundred, which she could do easily. Past four hundred, which was where she began to have trouble. She slid the pin into the five hundred pound slot, and then peered back at Arkia. She’d never attempted five hundred before. There was a substantial part of her that believed she was reaching over her ability. But then she realized something.
That was the part of her that rationalized with her detractors. People who thought she was overreaching in her past few matches. Even more thought she was overreaching thinking that she could beat Tony.
As she reasoned with herself, she moved into position on the leg press, and planted her feet properly. With another look towards Arkia, she focused on the large metal plate, and pushed. She felt the resistance and groaned, but kept it together. It wasn’t as bad as she thought it was going to be. It was still rough, but she knew the rewards that would come with it later.
She didn’t even give Arkia the chance to yell at her. She did one rep, and immediately went into putting her effort into another.
"That's what I'm saying. Use that auto mindset. Get it Fuji. Push yourself."
That automatic mindset. Where you don’t need to think about it; your moves are just second nature. Fujiko pushed out another rep, noting that the acid burning in her legs was beginning to become too hard to ignore. She managed to get in one more, before she brought the plate back to the resting position and turned her legs to the side. Before Arkia could say a word, Fujiko nodded.
"...that last one didn’t feel right. Might be cramping." She got off the machine and walked around for a second, shaking out her legs. She was quite fine with Arkia pushing her, but she wasn’t about to hurt herself with days to go before her big match.
"Talk to me, Arkia. What am I missing here? Am I doing this right? I mean, I feel like I’m back where I was this time last year, before everything began to fall apart. Am I just going to end up repeating the same pattern as last year? A short rise to prominence, followed by a tailspin?"
She sighed as she approached the machine again. She checked in with herself, making sure that she was okay with getting back in the seat.
"I just can’t help but wonder…"
Arkia shrugs, her demeanor completely nonchalant. Fujiko knew she could afford to be nonchalant. In terms of respect in the business, she was light years ahead. She was at a point where Fujiko assumed she could never have another match and be content with how her career panned out. Fujiko wasn’t close to that point. Not by a long shot.
"Shit, you might. People don't learn from the previous are doomed to repeat it. You ain't asking the right questions. Do you remember what you felt last year compared to this one? Have you changed your shit compared from last year to this one? You thinking ‘bout repeating; Then you gonna. How bout you keep on shaking the foundation and see what it get you. You can start by stop thinking so much and start doing...you know? Rise or fall can't say you ain't change it up. Ain't try somethin."
As she spoke, Fujiko compartmentalized what she said and got back to attempting reps on the leg press. She took them more cautiously this time, making sure to do them right, rather than worrying about fitting a bunch of them in. She did two at a methodical pace, then paused to chat at Arkia.
"Yeah, I mean...I have been changing up things. It was so...bizarre wrestling Noelle last Vertigo, because we spent a solid month just warring at each other, and when it was over...I ended up going into that tailspin, while she made it to the finals of the Frontier Lions Cup. And the both of us are different people from either of those times. I imagine Tony thinks he’s going to get the same matchup he did at the start of that very night, but he’s not going to."
She pressed her energy back into another rep, let it rest, and then finished her thought.
"I mean, I figure Tony loves to put on this act of not caring about anyone else, but if he truly didn’t care like he says he does, he wouldn’t bother sniping away at people on social media. He also wouldn’t have the impressive record that he does. He studies tape, he reads his opponents, and he tries to get under their skin before they even get into the ring with them. But I’m not going to be like that. I’m not going to let Tony bother me. I’ll be happy to call him out on his crap, but I’m not bothered by his demeaning comments. I’m motivated by them. If he’s going to beat me, he is going to have to reach deeper than he’s ever had to reach before, because I’m just not going to give up and be the ‘easy night off’ he thinks he has coming. That’s what I’m changing around here."
Fujiko did one more rep, and then let the plate slide back into its resting position. With another look at Arkia, she smiled.
"It’s going to be fun raining on his parade on Saturday, that’s for sure."
"I don't believe it till I see more reps. You aint working till you can't make full sentences, that's that real discomfort. Aight?"
Fujiko nodded. She knew that Arkia was right. If it meant that she was going to have to crawl home tonight from working so hard, she was going to get a victory over the overconfident Pride champion.
