Temptation & Respect

[#Justice]

| LOCATION: THE FELONY NIGHTCLUB | DATE: MAY 10th, 2016 |

I sat on a high up stool in my friend Felicity Banks' Felony Night Club in Queens, New York clasping my hands together. This hadn't been my usual setting these days. But it was my place of choice to contemplate my upcoming tag team showdown against FGA's World Tag Team Champions: Luke Jackson and my old boytoy friend Ricky Valero. But I found myself unable to contact my adored partner Mr. Rottentreats to devise a proper strategy to avenge our loss in those Tag Team Tournament finals months ago. I found myself unable to clear my head because I was TEMPTED.

Temptation was a common word to any professional wrestler...One they knew all too well....

Demons and wrestlers went hand in hand. It had been that way ever since the sport became a sport. Individuals fell victim to temptation in this at times dreadful business. There were times these individuals fell victim to their demons because they couldn't handle the fame that often came with being in such an esteemed position. Being on television. Being a star.

Other people were sucked into the dangerous, and often career threatening world of partying due to problems they have at home. People who turned to the plant or turned to the bottle or even turned to the pill in order to have that moment. That solitary moment when it feels as if all of the problems you have to deal with in your personal life are no longer there. Swept under the rug....Until you wake up the next day with a throbbing headache. Or worse....Realizing that chugging that bottle down didn't change a thing in your life. This is where I come in on the spectrum of things.

Little ole Ai....

Everybody knew me as the fun loving woman who wouldn't hesitate to make another person's day a bit better. But I wasn't always that way. I wouldn't necessarily say I was a BAD person. But I wasn't this beacon of light to the people back in the day.

There was a time where I was all about me. My life. Anything that directly benefitted me. The only things I had been concerned with was my career and the next fancy jacket I'd be able to buy after hustling any mark of a promoter I could get my slimy hands on while I worked the Japanese Puroresu circuit. If you think I'm lying go on the Internet! Type up: Daughter of HAN charges 10,000 US dollars. No not Yen. Ten thousand US DOLLARS just to make an autograph signing appearance. The sucker even paid it!

That's not even the worst of it. My opponent Ricky? Rickleson? Take a win over Ricky Valero's head? I wanted to take his girlfriend's spot by force and intimidation back then! It had gotten so bad at the time people hated to mention my name in most Japanese cities. Almost as much as they did after the Kyoto Tragedy. In which a fire was started unbeknownst to everyone who had been scheduled to compete on that show.

So what could've possibly changed my mindset about things? Keep up! The tragedy in Kyoto. After that fire, which I would've probably died in had it not been for Felicity, I continuously felt a crushing about of guilt for the lives of six people being lost. Even though my Father was convicted those people would have STILL been alive today if I didn't want to host a private show on my property. Those six lives weighed on everything I did everyday, simply because I survived. I felt as if I was living a life that eighteen year old boy could be living right now. I never even issued any apology about the entire ordeal because I was so ashamed. And I'm aware that didn't do my image any favors considering Shane Atwater and Felicity paid for multiple funerals while I cowered in Laurel Anne Hardy's arms. Everyday I lived I felt as if I didn't deserve it.

When my sister Ayumi lived she had been heavy into anti-depressants and alcohol. She loved the party life. So for the first time in MY life I decided I agreed with her. As foolish as it sounded. I needed something. Anything to make that worthless shameful feeling go away.

Let me take you back to the high stool. I found myself stumbling out of my chair, headed towards the bathroom. Once I kicked the door open I essentially crash landed over the sink. Holding onto it as if it were my child. "BLURRRRRAH!" I let out loudly (and a bit obnoxiously) as the alcohol attempted to work its way back out of my system; in a manner that every blackout drunk person knows. That should've been my lesson. But a wrestler does anything to get rid of the emotional pain...

I reached inside of my leather handbag. Pulling out a orangeish battle of anti-depressants perscribed to a friend of mine. As well as painkillers perscribed to Leanne Evangelista. I knew Laurel likely would've been extremely frustrated about it. I knew that Hard Knox Wrestling could possibly get rid of me. Frontier Grappling Arts would possibly pull any potential bookings off the table. I knew I could lose everything....but the potential outlet outweighed the risk of losing treasured friends at that particular time. I emptied half of the painkillers and half of the anti-depressants into my palm before completely indulging myself. As I gulped them down I felt at peace with myself.

I stumbled away from the sink. Working my way into the main area of the Felony Night Club. Everything started to become a bit blurry. Moments later everything went black....

| LOCATION: JERSEY CITY | DATE: MAY 11th, 2016 |

.....I woke up in a room. Laying on a silky blue bed. Quite unfamiliar to me. After coping with the fact that it felt as if the Dinosaur Extinction took place inside of my head, I tried to make sense of my surroundings. "HELLO?" I yelled out towards the open door. "YOODLE DOODLE DOO! Who took me here? Don't you all realize I have to get ready to face the FGA World Tag Team Championziz?! I appreciate the free roof over my head but I have commitments to keep up with here! Treatsickles is waiting for me!" I uttered out one more time using the last of the strength I had. Almost oblivious to the fact that I almost overdosed.

It took me quite a while to realize that I was alone in the house...

Part of me wanted to fight my way up but it wasn't working out quite how I envisioned in my head. My second instinct was to look under my pillows. And around the sheets. Under them. There I found a letter. Of course my first instinct was to give it a read. I slowly opened it to see a multitude of words written in script.

I won't tell anyone about what happened this time. But you should know that I'm very disappointed in you. I never pulled any punches with you, Ai. You're a real mess. It's sad to see this too because I used to respect you. But I can't respect this. You might not be fit to manage something as serious as HKW operations let alone compete on a live TV show against FGA Champs in your state. So if you keep going down this road I don't know. I'll have to tell someone. GO get yourself some help before it's too late.

- Fel

It dawned on me that I had been rescued by The Supreme herself! Of course. She was one of the few that could get something done without making a big scene. Part of me knew Felicity only said the things she said because we considered each other friends. I was the person who always tried to accommodate her in Japan. Make sure she had the best translator. The little things. Now I found myself in a position where a friend of mine knew I was in dire straits.

"What if Treats finds out?..." Is all I could wonder. Rottentreats had grown to become somewhat of a brother to me that I never had. We battled through a tournament in HKW together and even made it to the finals. Now we had to face Ricky Valero and Luke Jackson. Make no mistake about it they had their issues but they were still two competitors who were at the tippy top of their game both physically and mentally.

Treats ignited a fire in me because I had been sure I was done with wrestling altogether aside from the occasional CCP booking, which was winding down in itself. And then Treatso found his way into my life. That pushed me to peruse matches against the best GRAPPLERS the business has to offer: which was in none other than FGA. I owed a lot to Treats. And I already felt a bit a disappointment for not pushing myself hard enough to make sure we got the win when we REALLY needed it.

Yes. As I've stated.... Ricky and Jackson were at the top of their game mentally. And work rate wise. At least that's how I saw it since I rarely dared to delve into asking them about their personal lives these days. Especially Ricky....

That Ricky Valero....

"Ughhhh." I sighed at the thought of the highly revered Ricky Valero. When Ricky came back to Japan to compete for my family's now defunct Glory For Puroresu I knew I had to be in his life one way or another. He stood head and shoulders above most of the other guys I knew. Add on to the fact that I swung the female way the majority of my sex life he was truly that one in one million.

Every time I found myself around Ricky I was given extra motivation to impress him. Or an internal drive to want to care for him. Key in him having the second biggest contract in GFP history and you'd see that I did my job as the provider the right way!

Even if Valero was in a ironclad relationship with another woman I tried my best to seem like a Goddess around him. I had a history of it and no matter how discreet I tried to be about it it seemed as if people were well aware. During the finals of that Tag Team Tournament I tried to give everything I had because I thought if I could beat him there I'd gain both a World Tag Team Championship match AND his admiration in one night. Weird goal right? But it was my motivation then.

Ricky Valero and Mr. Rottentreats are two people I cared deeply about in one way or another. And losing their respect the way I lost Felicity's would be a tragedy in itself. No matter what type of problems I faced on my own time I had to make sure the two people who's respect I held dear to my heart didn't slip away from me. Felicity saying that she didn't respect me anymore made me realize that respect of my peers was one of the few things I had left to keep pushing through my day. Respect was the one thing I LIVED for.

I had to make sure neither of them knew of my personal demons....

To do that? To keep everything hidden under the rug...Rising Circus had to prove that we were one of the best teams going in the industry. We had to prove that we made it to the finals of that tournament for a reason. I had to walk out there and nail either Luke Jackson or my luscious Rick with The Joshiplex and beat them on one of the biggest platforms for tag team wrestling in the entire wrestling business today.

Rising Circus had to impress....

Rising Circus had to win...

OOC; 2K. Abruptly had to shift to a separate RP so this isn't my best. Hope it's an interesting read anyway!