Sub Zero Odds
Mar 30, 2016 22:45:09 GMT -5
Post by Fujiko Mine on Mar 30, 2016 22:45:09 GMT -5
Zero.
That’s not just the name of my opponent, but it’s also my supposed chances of winning. For the uninformed, Zero McHannon has come in and had one of the greatest runs towards the FGA championship that anyone could hope to have. He came in, and literally a few months later he managed to do what seemingly no one else could: take away the FGA World championship from Chandler Scott. He won awards for his performance, and rightfully so. The Former Exodus Pro World champion came in here, and despite the odds; despite the fact that no one had faith in him but himself; despite the fact that he was waging a completely different war on a different shore: He was able to overcome.
He was able to block out the distractions from everywhere, he was able to deny his detractors the satisfaction of watching him fail. He was able to focus in on the end game, and lift the FGA championship high.
Now, I don’t care about his spat with the woman who beat him to become the FGA champion, Cindy Parker. Whether or not he let her win doesn’t concern me. He can make his case about it if he likes, but I’m not interested in that.
What I am interested in: Is that I’m in a similar position as you, Zero. I’ve proven that I can hang with the top of the barrel in FGA, but both fans and fellow wrestlers alike only believe I can hang. They don’t believe that I can win. They believe that I’ll put up a fight, but in the end I will fail to beat you, like so many before me, and surely many to come after.
But that’s okay.
Really, it is not a worry. I know that there will be no pity from you, Zero...and I expect none. Just know that at the end of the night at Vertigo, your march towards Cindy Parker and your rematch for the FGA World championship will be stalled.
There’s no disrespect intended, as I’m sure you’ll know. You can disrespect me if you’d like to, but the one thing you won’t do? You won’t take it easy on me. You won’t have any explanation for your loss other than “She was the better wrestler that night.”
And that, Zero? Will be your gift to me.
You are going to be the one who helps silence my critics. This match is going to be the one that people point to and say “Fujiko really has a shot at making it to the top.” Me beating you is going to help people understand that I’m not a flash in the pan, here and then gone phenomenon. I’m not some asteroid that is going to burn up on entry into nothingness. I am a solid commodity in FGA, and beating you goes miles towards proving that my words aren’t just baseless nonsense, they’re the truth. There aren’t going to be any more patronizing moments; no more pats on the head and a ‘you tried’. There will just be awe as my words become truth, laid out in front of everyone boldly.
Long story short? This match against you is one of three defining steps I will take here in Frontier Grappling Arts.
First, I am going to have an amazing match with you and win. This one speaks for itself. You have cemented quite a nice spot for yourself in FGA’s history books. Just like beating Jimmy Page, this is my opportunity to do the same for myself. Sure, no one believes in me now, but with that win, the tide is going to start turning for me.
Number two? I win the Gold Rush Rumble. If people thought my chances against you were close to nothing, that’s nothing compared to people weighing my odds in this match. No one. Literally no one but myself thinks I am going to leave the Giant Center in Hershey with the victory that guarantees me a World Title shot. But I can do it, and I will do it. I’m going to put one foot in front of the other, and one-by-one I’m going to unearth my victory from the doubt and uncertainty it’s been buried in. People will begin to believe me after that, but the detractors will still be the majority. That, of course, leads to…
...number three. Victory at All-Star Showdown and the FGA World championship. The woman whose FGA career was in ruins just a year ago will have turned that all around, directly into the FGA title. That’s when my critics will finally learn that I’m the real deal. Not some woman who got a ‘lucky’ victory over Jimmy Page. Not some girl who didn’t stand a chance against Former FGA champion Zero McHannon, and not some girl who has no business thinking she can win any match she’s put into.
I know you want to win too, Zero. I know how good you are, and I know that this match will be incredibly difficult. But if you think that for one second I’m not going to do everything in my power to beat you? You’re dead wrong.
When it comes down to everything, you’re just an opponent. Strip away the legacy you’ve built through Exodus Pro, Platinum Dynasty Wrestling, Hard Knox Wrestling, and here in FGA. Strip away the mystery of mystique of where you went, and where you want to go next. Strip away the so called controversy between you and Cindy and the FGA title.
When you step into the ropes with me on Saturday, none of those things will be there to aid you in beating me. You’re going to have to rely on your ability. Don’t get me wrong, you’re definitely talented and capable. You have to be, or you wouldn’t have earned the place you’re currently occupying. You’ve earned the respect and all. But my talent? My drive?
My Determination? I’m more than willing to test it against yours, and confident that it will be superior at Vertigo.
I’m not your tune-up match en route to your rematch for the gold, Zero. On the contrary, I’m your roadblock. I stand in your way, and I won’t let you toss me aside. I’m going to stall your engines, frustrate you, and have you searching for a new game plan in minutes.
No one has been looking forward to this opportunity more than me. No one is going to take advantage of it quite like me, either.
And the number of people I will let stand in my way? That’s easy. You should see it coming.
Zero.
With a low, guttural groan, Fujiko stretched out as far as she could on her bed. She was only a few days removed from her charity gauntlet that she participated in, and her body felt like it was going to lead a revolt against her. She’d done all she could to prepare for it, but practice and execution were two completely different things. Not to mention she suffered from three devastating powerbombs that nearly gave her a concussion. She was lucky to escape without any serious damage. She considered the event a success, and had no regrets about completing the eight match gauntlet for the benefit of Leanne Mirasol, also known as Evangelista. To make her feel even better about it, shortly after the match completed; it was announced that Evangelista would be making her return to FGA at the Gold Rush Rumble.
No matter how good doing it made her feel emotionally, she was suffering the physical effects of her choice with only a few days to go before her high profile contest versus the former FGA champion.
Right now, she needed to get herself out of bed and get breakfast. She carefully tested out the soreness in her arms, and decided it wasn’t more than what she could tolerate. She reached back, and tossed the covers off her herself and tried to pull herself out of the bed.
Her lower back, however; had other plans. The pained muscles revolted in an instant, causing her to cry out in pain and squeeze her eyes shut.
"AH OW OW OW stop please ugh…" She groaned to no one in particular, a tear or two making their way past her tightly closed lids and she gripped the covers to try and assuage her pain. The pain dulled, but the soreness remained as a warning not to try that again. A few seconds later, a light knock at her door distracts her from her predicament. She cranes her neck as best as she can, to find that Jasmine poked her head past the threshold with a concerned look on her face.
"You okay, Fuji-mania?" Jasmine asked, stepping forward a little bit. To the public, she was Velma Ovation, the colorful personality that handled public relations for Renati Brand Apparel. Right now, however, she was just Jasmine Salimes, a close friend with Fujiko’s best interests at heart.
"Oh yup, I’m great.I feel like I can conquer the world right about now." She said, trying to balance out her sarcasm so that Jasmine knew that it wasn’t meant to be rude. Jasmine smirked, coming around to the side of the bed that Fujiko’s head was closest to, and knelt down. She saw the tear rolling down Fujiko’s cheek, and her face screwed up further.
"Fuji-pie, you’re worrying me, hon. Talk to me."
Fujiko thought about everything that was on her mind at present...and waged it against what she was willing to dump on Jasmine. She thought back to the last conversation she had with Kayden, and winced. It made her skittish about sharing her feelings, as she still hadn’t talked with Kayden about what happened the last time the two of them shared a room. Her apprehension seemed to read out on her face like a dramatic novel, as after a few moments of silence, Jas spoke up.
"Still haven’t talked to Kayden, huh?" Fujiko responded with a slight chewing of her lip and aversion to Jasmine’s eye contact. Jasmine didn’t offer any criticisms, she merely reached down and squeezed Fujiko’s hand. She smiled, but still did not look Jasmine in the eye. Jas sighed, but let the two of them sit alone in silence for a little bit. She moved her hand off of Fujiko’s, and caressed her back gently.
"Look, I’m not going to tell you what to do, as I feel like your life is full of that right now. Trainers telling you how to get ready for your next match, people telling you when to appear, what to wear, and how to say your thoughts out loud. That’s great and all, but I don’t think you should let your thoughts, your feelings get buried under all of that. I wasn’t there when you and Kayden had that conversation, but I imagine you both said how you really felt, and that caused the issue."
Fujiko slowly turned onto her side, facing Jasmine completely. She winced a bit from the pain of manipulating her muscles, but endured it. Jas moved her hand away and pressed both palms into the semi-soft mattress, giving her support to get out of a squat and find purchase on the bed next to Fujiko.
"Either way, I have faith you two are going to work it out. You just need to talk to her and you two need to just hash things out, like adults." Fujiko slowly put her head down on her pillow for support.
"I know, and I get it...it’s just...unwanted pressure. I wouldn’t dare go and say that her life wasn’t ‘as hard’ as mine or anything like that. That wasn’t what it was like, Jas. I just...I was trying to get her to understand that my life has felt like an incomplete puzzle. Anytime I feel like I get to the point where I’m okay with it being incomplete, I stall out, or someone stops me. And I decided I’m...I’m just tired of feeling like my life was incomplete. I don’t have to settle for anything, and I am not going to anymore. I don’t have any guarantees, and so I want to take my shot while I still can. I didn’t mean to make Kayden feel like I didn’t appreciate her, I just want to know where I come from. Tj and Hiro-sensei helped me find my mother, but I still need to find my dad, then I can focus on-"
Jasmine waved her hand to stop Fujiko mid-thought. She didn’t do it to be mean, but it caused Fujiko to frown just the same. She was about to speak up, but Jasmine beat her to it.
"Hold on a second, this is about finding your dad?"
Realizing that she hadn’t made her discussion with Kayden clear, she nodded. Jasmine sighed heavily, and turned her gaze away from Fujiko.
"Fujiko...I um...I don’t really know how to say this…" Fujiko’s heart sunk as she anticipated what Jasmine was going to say. A dull sense of terror spiderwebbed through her as Jasmine turned to face her again.
"I know who your dad is." Eyes widened as Fujiko felt her breathing constrict and her heart quicken a little. Jas didn’t keep her in suspense long, shaking her head as if she was worried that the topic was going to come up. "I’m your father, sweetie." The look on her face was completely serious, but Fujiko scowled at her just the same. While it was, at one point, biologically possible, she knew that Jasmine was messing with her, and she didn’t appreciate it.
"Are you--" "Fujiko, I am joking. I’m not...but Hiro is. He’s always been. He taught you how to walk. He taught you how to talk. He tied your shoes when you couldn’t, put bandaids on your boo-boos, all that cliche shit. He protected you with his life, and when you wanted to go out on your own, he was the one who let you go. C’mon Fujiko, the man was even gonna walk you down the aisle when you decided you were gonna get engaged for fucking kicks, girl!" Fujiko winced as the mention of Savannah Rae Hawkins brought back painful memories. "He didn’t say anything about it, neither. If that’s not a dad, I don’t know what is. I know you wanna do the same thing to your mom that you did to your dad. You wanna ask him why. You wanna know why he left you, why he would throw you away. But if you ask me? None of that shit should matter to you. You won’t like the answer, I can guarantee you. There is nothing you will hear come out of that dudes’ mouth that will make you think and say “You know what? That’s a valid excuse. Thank you and have a good day.” So who cares?"
"You sound like Kayden.." Fujiko said, a bit of a miserable tone in her voice. "So I do? Huh. Maybe you should consider it, hun. You said you don’t know how long you have, so you wanna take your shot while you can? If you ask me, which you might not be-but I’ma tell you anyway, you’re throwing away your shot by worrying about that."
"I am not throwing away my shot." Fujiko stated plainly. Jasmine nodded. She pushed herself off the bed and stood up, her lilac colored hair swaying around her shoulders.
"I hope you don’t. But you gotta put your focus on what you want then. You think Zero went and got himself the FGA championship by splitting his focus when it counted? Or how about Tony? How did you think he was able to hold the Pride title as long as he did? Or how about Johnny Karma? Or even Chandler Scott?" Fujiko furrowed her brow in thought as Jasmine presented her list of names. "They all put their focus into this, and look where it got them. I’m not saying you gotta throw away your social life to get what you want, but you’re hurting yourself by worrying about everything else but getting this win over Zero. You know what’s at stake girl. I just hope that when the time comes...your shot lands where you want it to."
Jas patted Fujiko lightly on the head, and then turned to exit. She watched Fujiko as she left, who didn’t turn to watch her. It hurt her heart a little bit to see Fujiko in misery, but she’d accomplished what she wanted to do coming in. She passed the threshold once again, and went to settle herself in the living room while she waited for Fujiko to need something from her.
Fujiko, meanwhile, let another tear leak from her eye and onto her pillowcase. She thought about her victory over Jimmy Page, and how that was only the beginning of what she had planned. She thought about Johnny Karma, and his successful attempt to stop Tony Carmine’s reign of terror over the pride division. She thought about Chandler Scott, and how he managed to stand at the top of the FGA mountain for nearly a year. Finally, she thought about Cordelia Stevenson. The woman who emerged victorious the last time the Gold Rush Rumble was held. She remembered wanting to be where Cordy was. It reminded her of how people thought about the relationship between Cordy and the current FGA champion, Cindy “Cyncity” Parker. Fujiko dreamed about that day. But now those dreams were becoming closer to reality. She may have been the only one that thought so, but that didn’t matter.
Fujiko turned over, and her muscles protested. She ignored them. The pain and soreness was going to have to take a backseat in a few hours. She was going to get up, and start preparing for her match with Zero. It wasn’t going to be easy, but nothing from this moment forward was going to be so.
Was Jasmine right? Was Fujiko splitting her focus too much? Was that enough to stop her from behind able to focus enough to beat Zero?
Which was more important to her?
She took a few moments to think about it. Was looking for her father her priority? Or was making it to the top of FGA her focus?
She, with a fair amount of pain; sat up and focused. She took aim…
...and pulled the trigger. She only hoped her shot would land where it was meant to.
That’s not just the name of my opponent, but it’s also my supposed chances of winning. For the uninformed, Zero McHannon has come in and had one of the greatest runs towards the FGA championship that anyone could hope to have. He came in, and literally a few months later he managed to do what seemingly no one else could: take away the FGA World championship from Chandler Scott. He won awards for his performance, and rightfully so. The Former Exodus Pro World champion came in here, and despite the odds; despite the fact that no one had faith in him but himself; despite the fact that he was waging a completely different war on a different shore: He was able to overcome.
He was able to block out the distractions from everywhere, he was able to deny his detractors the satisfaction of watching him fail. He was able to focus in on the end game, and lift the FGA championship high.
Now, I don’t care about his spat with the woman who beat him to become the FGA champion, Cindy Parker. Whether or not he let her win doesn’t concern me. He can make his case about it if he likes, but I’m not interested in that.
What I am interested in: Is that I’m in a similar position as you, Zero. I’ve proven that I can hang with the top of the barrel in FGA, but both fans and fellow wrestlers alike only believe I can hang. They don’t believe that I can win. They believe that I’ll put up a fight, but in the end I will fail to beat you, like so many before me, and surely many to come after.
But that’s okay.
Really, it is not a worry. I know that there will be no pity from you, Zero...and I expect none. Just know that at the end of the night at Vertigo, your march towards Cindy Parker and your rematch for the FGA World championship will be stalled.
There’s no disrespect intended, as I’m sure you’ll know. You can disrespect me if you’d like to, but the one thing you won’t do? You won’t take it easy on me. You won’t have any explanation for your loss other than “She was the better wrestler that night.”
And that, Zero? Will be your gift to me.
You are going to be the one who helps silence my critics. This match is going to be the one that people point to and say “Fujiko really has a shot at making it to the top.” Me beating you is going to help people understand that I’m not a flash in the pan, here and then gone phenomenon. I’m not some asteroid that is going to burn up on entry into nothingness. I am a solid commodity in FGA, and beating you goes miles towards proving that my words aren’t just baseless nonsense, they’re the truth. There aren’t going to be any more patronizing moments; no more pats on the head and a ‘you tried’. There will just be awe as my words become truth, laid out in front of everyone boldly.
Long story short? This match against you is one of three defining steps I will take here in Frontier Grappling Arts.
First, I am going to have an amazing match with you and win. This one speaks for itself. You have cemented quite a nice spot for yourself in FGA’s history books. Just like beating Jimmy Page, this is my opportunity to do the same for myself. Sure, no one believes in me now, but with that win, the tide is going to start turning for me.
Number two? I win the Gold Rush Rumble. If people thought my chances against you were close to nothing, that’s nothing compared to people weighing my odds in this match. No one. Literally no one but myself thinks I am going to leave the Giant Center in Hershey with the victory that guarantees me a World Title shot. But I can do it, and I will do it. I’m going to put one foot in front of the other, and one-by-one I’m going to unearth my victory from the doubt and uncertainty it’s been buried in. People will begin to believe me after that, but the detractors will still be the majority. That, of course, leads to…
...number three. Victory at All-Star Showdown and the FGA World championship. The woman whose FGA career was in ruins just a year ago will have turned that all around, directly into the FGA title. That’s when my critics will finally learn that I’m the real deal. Not some woman who got a ‘lucky’ victory over Jimmy Page. Not some girl who didn’t stand a chance against Former FGA champion Zero McHannon, and not some girl who has no business thinking she can win any match she’s put into.
I know you want to win too, Zero. I know how good you are, and I know that this match will be incredibly difficult. But if you think that for one second I’m not going to do everything in my power to beat you? You’re dead wrong.
When it comes down to everything, you’re just an opponent. Strip away the legacy you’ve built through Exodus Pro, Platinum Dynasty Wrestling, Hard Knox Wrestling, and here in FGA. Strip away the mystery of mystique of where you went, and where you want to go next. Strip away the so called controversy between you and Cindy and the FGA title.
When you step into the ropes with me on Saturday, none of those things will be there to aid you in beating me. You’re going to have to rely on your ability. Don’t get me wrong, you’re definitely talented and capable. You have to be, or you wouldn’t have earned the place you’re currently occupying. You’ve earned the respect and all. But my talent? My drive?
My Determination? I’m more than willing to test it against yours, and confident that it will be superior at Vertigo.
I’m not your tune-up match en route to your rematch for the gold, Zero. On the contrary, I’m your roadblock. I stand in your way, and I won’t let you toss me aside. I’m going to stall your engines, frustrate you, and have you searching for a new game plan in minutes.
No one has been looking forward to this opportunity more than me. No one is going to take advantage of it quite like me, either.
And the number of people I will let stand in my way? That’s easy. You should see it coming.
Zero.
With a low, guttural groan, Fujiko stretched out as far as she could on her bed. She was only a few days removed from her charity gauntlet that she participated in, and her body felt like it was going to lead a revolt against her. She’d done all she could to prepare for it, but practice and execution were two completely different things. Not to mention she suffered from three devastating powerbombs that nearly gave her a concussion. She was lucky to escape without any serious damage. She considered the event a success, and had no regrets about completing the eight match gauntlet for the benefit of Leanne Mirasol, also known as Evangelista. To make her feel even better about it, shortly after the match completed; it was announced that Evangelista would be making her return to FGA at the Gold Rush Rumble.
No matter how good doing it made her feel emotionally, she was suffering the physical effects of her choice with only a few days to go before her high profile contest versus the former FGA champion.
Right now, she needed to get herself out of bed and get breakfast. She carefully tested out the soreness in her arms, and decided it wasn’t more than what she could tolerate. She reached back, and tossed the covers off her herself and tried to pull herself out of the bed.
Her lower back, however; had other plans. The pained muscles revolted in an instant, causing her to cry out in pain and squeeze her eyes shut.
"AH OW OW OW stop please ugh…" She groaned to no one in particular, a tear or two making their way past her tightly closed lids and she gripped the covers to try and assuage her pain. The pain dulled, but the soreness remained as a warning not to try that again. A few seconds later, a light knock at her door distracts her from her predicament. She cranes her neck as best as she can, to find that Jasmine poked her head past the threshold with a concerned look on her face.
"You okay, Fuji-mania?" Jasmine asked, stepping forward a little bit. To the public, she was Velma Ovation, the colorful personality that handled public relations for Renati Brand Apparel. Right now, however, she was just Jasmine Salimes, a close friend with Fujiko’s best interests at heart.
"Oh yup, I’m great.I feel like I can conquer the world right about now." She said, trying to balance out her sarcasm so that Jasmine knew that it wasn’t meant to be rude. Jasmine smirked, coming around to the side of the bed that Fujiko’s head was closest to, and knelt down. She saw the tear rolling down Fujiko’s cheek, and her face screwed up further.
"Fuji-pie, you’re worrying me, hon. Talk to me."
Fujiko thought about everything that was on her mind at present...and waged it against what she was willing to dump on Jasmine. She thought back to the last conversation she had with Kayden, and winced. It made her skittish about sharing her feelings, as she still hadn’t talked with Kayden about what happened the last time the two of them shared a room. Her apprehension seemed to read out on her face like a dramatic novel, as after a few moments of silence, Jas spoke up.
"Still haven’t talked to Kayden, huh?" Fujiko responded with a slight chewing of her lip and aversion to Jasmine’s eye contact. Jasmine didn’t offer any criticisms, she merely reached down and squeezed Fujiko’s hand. She smiled, but still did not look Jasmine in the eye. Jas sighed, but let the two of them sit alone in silence for a little bit. She moved her hand off of Fujiko’s, and caressed her back gently.
"Look, I’m not going to tell you what to do, as I feel like your life is full of that right now. Trainers telling you how to get ready for your next match, people telling you when to appear, what to wear, and how to say your thoughts out loud. That’s great and all, but I don’t think you should let your thoughts, your feelings get buried under all of that. I wasn’t there when you and Kayden had that conversation, but I imagine you both said how you really felt, and that caused the issue."
Fujiko slowly turned onto her side, facing Jasmine completely. She winced a bit from the pain of manipulating her muscles, but endured it. Jas moved her hand away and pressed both palms into the semi-soft mattress, giving her support to get out of a squat and find purchase on the bed next to Fujiko.
"Either way, I have faith you two are going to work it out. You just need to talk to her and you two need to just hash things out, like adults." Fujiko slowly put her head down on her pillow for support.
"I know, and I get it...it’s just...unwanted pressure. I wouldn’t dare go and say that her life wasn’t ‘as hard’ as mine or anything like that. That wasn’t what it was like, Jas. I just...I was trying to get her to understand that my life has felt like an incomplete puzzle. Anytime I feel like I get to the point where I’m okay with it being incomplete, I stall out, or someone stops me. And I decided I’m...I’m just tired of feeling like my life was incomplete. I don’t have to settle for anything, and I am not going to anymore. I don’t have any guarantees, and so I want to take my shot while I still can. I didn’t mean to make Kayden feel like I didn’t appreciate her, I just want to know where I come from. Tj and Hiro-sensei helped me find my mother, but I still need to find my dad, then I can focus on-"
Jasmine waved her hand to stop Fujiko mid-thought. She didn’t do it to be mean, but it caused Fujiko to frown just the same. She was about to speak up, but Jasmine beat her to it.
"Hold on a second, this is about finding your dad?"
Realizing that she hadn’t made her discussion with Kayden clear, she nodded. Jasmine sighed heavily, and turned her gaze away from Fujiko.
"Fujiko...I um...I don’t really know how to say this…" Fujiko’s heart sunk as she anticipated what Jasmine was going to say. A dull sense of terror spiderwebbed through her as Jasmine turned to face her again.
"I know who your dad is." Eyes widened as Fujiko felt her breathing constrict and her heart quicken a little. Jas didn’t keep her in suspense long, shaking her head as if she was worried that the topic was going to come up. "I’m your father, sweetie." The look on her face was completely serious, but Fujiko scowled at her just the same. While it was, at one point, biologically possible, she knew that Jasmine was messing with her, and she didn’t appreciate it.
"Are you--" "Fujiko, I am joking. I’m not...but Hiro is. He’s always been. He taught you how to walk. He taught you how to talk. He tied your shoes when you couldn’t, put bandaids on your boo-boos, all that cliche shit. He protected you with his life, and when you wanted to go out on your own, he was the one who let you go. C’mon Fujiko, the man was even gonna walk you down the aisle when you decided you were gonna get engaged for fucking kicks, girl!" Fujiko winced as the mention of Savannah Rae Hawkins brought back painful memories. "He didn’t say anything about it, neither. If that’s not a dad, I don’t know what is. I know you wanna do the same thing to your mom that you did to your dad. You wanna ask him why. You wanna know why he left you, why he would throw you away. But if you ask me? None of that shit should matter to you. You won’t like the answer, I can guarantee you. There is nothing you will hear come out of that dudes’ mouth that will make you think and say “You know what? That’s a valid excuse. Thank you and have a good day.” So who cares?"
"You sound like Kayden.." Fujiko said, a bit of a miserable tone in her voice. "So I do? Huh. Maybe you should consider it, hun. You said you don’t know how long you have, so you wanna take your shot while you can? If you ask me, which you might not be-but I’ma tell you anyway, you’re throwing away your shot by worrying about that."
"I am not throwing away my shot." Fujiko stated plainly. Jasmine nodded. She pushed herself off the bed and stood up, her lilac colored hair swaying around her shoulders.
"I hope you don’t. But you gotta put your focus on what you want then. You think Zero went and got himself the FGA championship by splitting his focus when it counted? Or how about Tony? How did you think he was able to hold the Pride title as long as he did? Or how about Johnny Karma? Or even Chandler Scott?" Fujiko furrowed her brow in thought as Jasmine presented her list of names. "They all put their focus into this, and look where it got them. I’m not saying you gotta throw away your social life to get what you want, but you’re hurting yourself by worrying about everything else but getting this win over Zero. You know what’s at stake girl. I just hope that when the time comes...your shot lands where you want it to."
Jas patted Fujiko lightly on the head, and then turned to exit. She watched Fujiko as she left, who didn’t turn to watch her. It hurt her heart a little bit to see Fujiko in misery, but she’d accomplished what she wanted to do coming in. She passed the threshold once again, and went to settle herself in the living room while she waited for Fujiko to need something from her.
Fujiko, meanwhile, let another tear leak from her eye and onto her pillowcase. She thought about her victory over Jimmy Page, and how that was only the beginning of what she had planned. She thought about Johnny Karma, and his successful attempt to stop Tony Carmine’s reign of terror over the pride division. She thought about Chandler Scott, and how he managed to stand at the top of the FGA mountain for nearly a year. Finally, she thought about Cordelia Stevenson. The woman who emerged victorious the last time the Gold Rush Rumble was held. She remembered wanting to be where Cordy was. It reminded her of how people thought about the relationship between Cordy and the current FGA champion, Cindy “Cyncity” Parker. Fujiko dreamed about that day. But now those dreams were becoming closer to reality. She may have been the only one that thought so, but that didn’t matter.
Fujiko turned over, and her muscles protested. She ignored them. The pain and soreness was going to have to take a backseat in a few hours. She was going to get up, and start preparing for her match with Zero. It wasn’t going to be easy, but nothing from this moment forward was going to be so.
Was Jasmine right? Was Fujiko splitting her focus too much? Was that enough to stop her from behind able to focus enough to beat Zero?
Which was more important to her?
She took a few moments to think about it. Was looking for her father her priority? Or was making it to the top of FGA her focus?
She, with a fair amount of pain; sat up and focused. She took aim…
...and pulled the trigger. She only hoped her shot would land where it was meant to.
