Kingfall
May 26, 2016 1:00:34 GMT -5
Post by Fujiko Mine on May 26, 2016 1:00:34 GMT -5
"Here we go again," Fujiko sighed as she leaned back in a wooden white adirondack chair, a well manicured flooring of kentucky bluegrass surrounding her.
"Am I to be discouraged? Should I be in the mindset that I should just give up? Am I just to believe everything that is said about me?No. No. Not even for a second." She paused for a moment, scanning the sky above her from behind a pair of coral blue sunglasses. She absentmindedly tugged at her white Ryan LeCavalier t-shirt, keeping it from showing off her tummy.
"You see, I let Johnny Cannon say everything he had to in rebuttal to my words last week. And quite honestly, I couldn’t let this week go by with a simple audio log. I wanted to give you more than just my words in a vacuum. I wanted you to see my face as the truth spills from my lips like nectar from a beehive. When I say you, I mean everyone. My friends, my fans, and especially the New Kings."
Fujiko brought her gaze back towards the camera for a second, her eyes barely visible from behind the tinted lenses. She played with a smile for a second before letting her expression go flat again.
"You see, I listen. I hear you. When you cheer me, I hear you. When you sigh in frustration and disappointment, I’m right there. And when you scrape together a BS monologue about respecting me, I craft a response." Fujiko’s eyes seemed to gaze back into the clouds again. She watched them for a swift moment, letting silence play for just a moment before breaking it.
"You see, when I let my comments about Johnny Cannon before the last Vertigo, I made a bit of a mistake. I meant every word of it, don’t you believe anyone that tells you otherwise. But I gave him enough time to make a crude version of my t-shirt, wear it on camera, and say the exact opposite of what everyone expected. Well, to an extent." Fujiko reached up and drew down her sunglasses enough to let the viewer watch her roll her eyes with exaggeration before she pushed them back up to their previous position.
"You see, Johnny repeated the same nonsense that Zero McHannon, Tony Carmine, and even my foe-turned-ally Johnny Karma once said about me. Stuff like they hoped I’d prove that I’m more than my hashtag." She mocked the statement with air quotes and silly hand motions surrounding it. "Stuff about me lacking a killer instinct...or “pedigree” as Cannon put it. Well, Johnny…."
Fujiko took off her sunglasses and casually set them on the arm of the chair. Fire flared in her eyes for a moment, but then she moved her eyes off the camera and closed them.
"How about when I made you look like a foolish goon in front of everyone after you said the nonsense you said?" She asked, not at all waiting for a response. "You can point to the winner of the match all you want, but the fact remains that I heard you scream for HELP while you were locked in Ecstasy. I heard you plead with Quinn Goodrich to do something... anything to get you out of it. You needed him, because it dawned on you that you can’t beat me alone. You and Tony can call that excuses if you want to, but anyone with eyes and not a cloud to delude them saw what happened. The “great” Johnny Cannon almost got beat by the woman he spent so much time dismissing."
Fujiko opened her eyes, and the right corner of her mouth drew up slightly.
"Tony can do the same thing, point to the ‘scoreboard’ as he wishes, but he needed everything he had to beat me. Go back and look at his face after I kicked out of his Shining Wizard. Matter of fact, do the same thing when Zero hit me with Zero Tolerance...and it wasn’t enough. The look of utter helplessness that they had on their faces. The bulging eyes laden with disbelief that drowned out the smug confidence that once lived there. Sweat pouring down their faces, and their thin little lips screwed up in confusion." The right corner of her mouth drew up a little bit more.
"The looks they all shared, coupled with Johnny’s absolute fear of losing told me two things. One, that all three of them vastly underestimated me. Heck, I bet all three of them still do. That’s fine, it used to bother me...but, I learned that what they think literally doesn’t matter. The fans still come out in droves to see me, and they know that any match I’m in will steal the show…period." She shrugged, as if her words were as elementary as the need to draw in breath. "The other thing that those looks of dejection and confusion, and those comments about me tell me? That the New Kings...have hit their ceiling."
Fujiko raised her eyebrows, and coupled it with a tilt of her head. She let her words sit for a moment, and then chuckled to herself.
"How dare I, right? How dare I say that the two men that are going to All Star Showdown five to compete for the biggest prize in our industry have plateau’d? Easy. Listen to what they have to say about me. I know it’s hard to go back and rewatch, since they say basically the same thing every time about me, and really anyone that they face, but humor lil old me. Both in the past, and in the present. It’s all been the same. Comments on what they think my orientation is, as if that has anything to do with my ability in the ring. Comments on how “plastic” I supposedly am. Again, nothing to do with my ability. Comments on how I never win...despite how wildly inaccurate that is, we’re finally onto my ability."
Again, she rolled her eyes.
"Cannon and Tony break their backs trying to bury my ability, and more importantly...my progress under six feet of lies and distractions. They need to do whatever they can to try and get me to give up. You don’t believe me?" Fujiko clicked her tongue. "Why is it that, despite not following me, Tony can’t help but comment on my tweets? If I was really as unimportant as he claims I am, as ‘irrelevant’ as he pretends I am...he can’t stop talking to and about me. I get it, myself. I’ve come to the understanding that Tony and Cannon talk so much about me because they realized something ahead of everyone else."
Fujiko brought herself to a seated position, and then put her sandaled feet into the lush green grass below her.
"While they stay the same, I continue to improve. I’ll keep improving until I’ve surpassed them, and that fact is killing them like flames kill curious moths." Fujiko engaged her muscles, moving forward out of the chair until she stood at her full height.
"Let them tell you otherwise. I welcome it. But they know it’s true. The fans who have stood by my side know it to be true...and soon the entire world will know it’s true. Tony and Cannon have hit their ceiling. They know that stagnation is a career killer; but they don’t know that they’re at stage 2 of it. Together they might…might be able to capture the FGA championship. Tony’s already proved that he can get close, but that’s it. Cannon’s shining at Tony’s expense. Meanwhile, nothing about me has been stagnant...ever. I’ve continued to evolve, while they just pray that no one notices they’ve stayed the same for far too long. They’ll want to say the same about me, but my words will prove how much different I am from them."
Fujiko turned profile towards the camera. Her hands drifted to her hips, and she rested them on the shapely perches as she continued.
"I’m a great wrestler, no matter what they have to say. I’m relevant, far more than Tony is himself. And I’m only getting better. That’s what sets me apart from them. They are a matter of IF. I am a matter of when. But what’s that, Fujiko? More relevant than Tony? Sure. Let me explain. Tony has done any and everything he could possibly do to be number one in Frontier Grappling Arts. He’s held the Pride title with an iron grip. He’s won the Frontier Lions’ Cup, and co-won the Gold Rush Rumble. He’s come within a hair of the FGA World championship...and still…" Fujiko’s smarmy grin could be seen from orbit. "He’s still not as influential as me. He doesn’t invoke the sheer passion in the fans that I do. That isn’t some lame cover up, that’s bonafide passion."
Fujiko took her hands off her hips and let them lay at her side. She tilted her head back slightly, giving her a sense of pride.
"They throw streamers during my entrance. They come out to see me and tell me how I inspire them. They wear shirts with my face on them in droves. Sure, people want to see him lose, but not as much as they want to see me win. Listen to the chants throughout the Gold Rush Rumble. Listen to the chants during my match with Tony, or Zero, or even Cannon. I am the one they’re coming for, not either of you."
Fujiko’s smile was almost predatory as she turned back to face the camera.
"You can have your hate, Tony. Let it fuel you. It will never be as strong as what I’ve got, plain and simple. You can place denials if you want. Again, you can bring up Kayden Jones, or Tj, or Renati, or whatever you hope will distract from the truth.
You can’t stop Fujiko.
Try as you might, gentlemen; I’m going to debunk your projected comments about me being the weak link on my team. Johnny Karma and Fujiko Mine are going to put the New Kings down, and we’re going to look amazing doing it. Karma has already proven he can beat the both of you, and now it’s my turn to join the club. The Iron Goddess and the Karmic Lion are going to Narnia to wreck your junk, and bring your false kingdom to ruins around you."
Fujiko approached the camera again, and this time got close enough to fill the view.
"Tell the world over and over that I’m not worth your time. Tell them how I am useless, and nothing. Give up everything you can to try and make me invisible. I am going to prove you wrong every single time."
Fujiko dropped her smile, giving the camera no emotion before it faded out.
"...Until you can no longer deny you’ve always been wrong about me."
The light patter of rain filled her ears as she continued her trek home. The storm emerged with little warning, as when she began her walk there were only a few drops falling out of the sky. She unwrapped her blue and white Milwaukee Brewers umbrella, and extended it fully, for use to shield her from the rain. The patter sound turned dull as fat, cold drops of rain bounced and collided with the umbrella.
The rain began to fall at a slight angle toward her, the pick up of win altering the course of the precipitation as she walked. Fujiko was now glad she’d chosen to switch to a more casual attire before leaving the theater.
She’d gone to take in the Gilbert & Sullivan musical, The Pirates of Penzance at a local theater. She’d rather enjoyed herself, and it was only a damper on her mood when it ended, and she found herself having to walk home alone.
The rain, despite the low temperature, gave her a bit of comfort. It allowed her a sort of privacy that she wouldn’t have been afforded should it have been a clear, quiet night in Milwaukee. Here, she could be left alone to her thoughts. No one to look at her, as they were busy heading to their own destination or, at the very least running to escape the rain themselves.
"Wish I’d brought my jacket…" She lamented as she stopped at a stoplight. Keeping an eye on the passing cars, she made sure to step back so that she wouldn’t get splashed by anything in a hurry. While she did enjoy the rain and the sense of calm it gifted her, she wasn’t so keen on catching some sort of cold before her match.
"Heh, this should be interesting…" Fujiko said to herself, knowing that the steady hiss of the rain masked her from looking like a crazy person. Her mind shifted gears, drawing her to the thoughts of her main event tag team match against the New Kings. It was the first time in quite a while that she’d been involved in a tag team match. The last one she could remember was back when she’d held the Mid-Atlantic Legacy championship. She might have missed one, but it was the first one that came to mind.
An old part of her brain sparked to life. The part that was ripe with her tag team expertise, gone long unused in favor of her career as a singles’ wrestler. She wasn’t new to being half of a team, quite the contrary. She’d seen tag team success elsewhere, with her former best friend Stacia Chamera. She reasoned that with a little bit of planning, she and Johnny could make quite the formidable team.
"We’re going to kick their butts," Fujiko told herself as she shook off a chill. The walk signal turned in her favor, and she began to move forward to her car. A small part of her wondered why she was allowed to walk alone this late at night, but she packaged that thought away. Chances were that she wasn’t alone. She glanced down a side street, studying it.
"I bet Kosuke-san is lurking nearby. It’s Wednesday night, so it’s probably his shift." Fujiko smiled as she thought of clumsy Kosuke doing his best to hide away where Fujiko couldn’t see him. But she knew their tricks. She had to, to know how to help them help her.
"Focus, Fujiko. Focus." She chided herself, walking with a bit of a quicker pace. She gripped the umbrella tighter, fighting against the increased wind force. Her thoughts went back to her match. She was sure that Johnny Cannon and Tony Carmine were going to target her as the ‘weak link’ in the team, and she couldn’t wait to prove to them how wrong they were. She couldn’t wait for them to fall into her web, like two horseflies buzzing loudly until she silenced them.
Fujiko raised her head slightly, looking out past the brim of her parasol. She noticed that the spaces between the raindrops grew slightly. The rain was letting up. She took inventory of how much the rain had dampened her clothing. The back of her calves were soaked, and she clicked her tongue in disappointment. She was about to look more into what else had gotten wet before a pair of short screams startled her. She froze in place, shock sticking to her and forcing her to crouch down a bit. She immediately looked for the source of the scream, survival instincts overriding every other thought.
"DAD! C’mon!!!!"
"Yeah dad, catch us!"
Fujiko looked behind her and to her left to see what she could only assume were a pair of kids. They ran through the rain quickly, being chased after a larger person. She assumed that this was ‘dad’.
"Girls, wait up! It’s too dark out!" Fujiko took in those words and they struck her harder than she anticipated. She stood back up, but the words echoed in her mind. She turned and watched as the girls rounded the corner, laughing and giggling as their father yelled after them. Her heart dropped in her chest a bit as she stood and let the words continue to haunt her.
"...Great." She drew her right hand up to her temple and massaged it gently. More fuel for dissenting thoughts. She thought she’d quieted those thoughts after her chat with Kayden, but she was wrong.
She drew in a deep breath, and exhaled through her mouth for a few seconds to try and calm herself. She’d gone through a small gamut of emotions in the span of what felt like forever, but in all likelihood was only a few seconds.
She blinked, and found that the rain was beginning to pick up again. A rumble just overhead hastened her thought process, and she made haste to get off the streets. Her car was only a few blocks away.
"Might as well run." She reasoned, pulling the umbrella closed and breaking into a jog. She made it a few steps before pulling her purse close to her chest, muting the small quake of movement that was happening in front of her. She thanked her foresight in wearing some stylish flats instead of the heels she intended to wear initially. As her long legs propelled her forward, and the water thumped her on the top of her head, she wondered to herself…
...did she really need him?
She wasn’t doubting Kayden, that wasn’t it. But the wonder still remained. She thought about everything she went through last year with finding her mother. Not just the actual act of going to India, searching her out, and then escaping back to America with her...but the mental anguish of the months prior in which she had to go back and forth over the anguish that came with it.
"Do I really want to go through all of that again?"
If she was being honest…
"No."
On some level, she had a love for her birth mother. She wasn’t yet sure if it was the unconditional love a daughter has for her mother, but she certainly cared for her deeply. Yet the near death experience, the stress, the mental anguish...all for a woman who went to great lengths to stop Fujiko from engaging in her lifelong passion? No, not again. And heaven forbid, if the man were still alive, that he share a similar opinion as her mother did? No. She didn’t want that. She didn’t need that. She had a family who cared about her deeply, and that was better than anything that could have been waiting for her in a hypothetical. He could be an abusive jerk who wished for control over her. He could be just some random sperm donor that wanted nothing to do with her. He could very well be dead, providing her with absolutely nothing for her worries.
"Almost there…" Fujiko turned around a corner and saw the black Tesla she was using for travel. She smiled lightly. The car was a reminder of the love her family had for her. The car itself was a present from Tj and Hiro. She picked up her strides, covering the distance between herself and the car in a matter of moments.
"Finally. I’m soaked!" She unzipped her purse and tapped the start button on her key fob. The lights on the car flashed, and the engine revved up. She moved around to the driver’s side and entered it, reminding herself to worry about the state of her seat later. As soon as she closed the door, her phone’s bluetooth linked to the car, and it began to ring. Fujiko’s brow furrowed, until she saw the name pop up on the dashboard.
Nagashima, Hiro
She smiled and pressed the ‘call’ button, and after a brief moment, she heard the stoic voice of Hiro over the car’s speakers.
"I trust that you have reached your vehicle safely?"
Fujiko rolled her eyes, knowing that Hiro couldn’t see.
"You know I did. Was it Kosuke’s turn to watch me?" There was a slight pause on the other line. Fujiko assumed that she was correct.
"Actually, I was tonight. I allowed him to take the night off." Fujiko couldn’t quiet her surprise.
"Oh, really? Why is that?"
"He simply requested a reprieve. One I was all too happy to give. Did you enjoy the show?"
"Oh, I see. Well, yeah. I did. I got caught in the rain...but you knew that."
Hiro seemed to give something of a chuckle, which brought a smile to Fujiko’s face. She enjoyed his happiness.
"I am just glad to know that you are safe. That was my concern."
Fujiko gave some thought to lecturing him on how well she could take care of herself. It wasn’t as if she was some defenseless little girl. They’d been back and forth on the issue dozens of times...but this time she decided to not push it. This time, she was going to let him have it.
"Thanks, Otousan. I’m glad you were on watch duty tonight."
"I did not perceive any threats to you, my little bird. All the same, it was my pleasure."
Fujiko paused a second, giving thoughts to his words. She coupled them with her previous mental discussion. It occurred to her that she was better off than most in the world, and that who she had surrounding her was more than enough.
"Otousan?"
"Yes, little Fujiko?"
"I love you." She blinked back a tear that tried to surprise her. It dawned on her that it was not a phrase that she used with him often. She felt it was more than appropriate. She shifted the car into drive, and began to move it out of its spot and direct it home. She didn’t expect him to say anything back, so the pause that came after did not worry her.
"I love you too, my daughter."
She couldn’t suppress tears this time. She tried not to let him hear her, but something told her that she knew. Those six words sealed it for her.
She didn’t need to find her father. She didn’t need to spend months sleuthing out his identity. She didn’t need to spend countless hours trying to find out where he was, and if he was even still alive. She didn’t need to risk her life to try and locate him.
She didn’t need to do anything but continue talking.
Because she'd found him, where he had always been. Hiding in plain sight.
He was there, on the phone, with her.
"Am I to be discouraged? Should I be in the mindset that I should just give up? Am I just to believe everything that is said about me?No. No. Not even for a second." She paused for a moment, scanning the sky above her from behind a pair of coral blue sunglasses. She absentmindedly tugged at her white Ryan LeCavalier t-shirt, keeping it from showing off her tummy.
"You see, I let Johnny Cannon say everything he had to in rebuttal to my words last week. And quite honestly, I couldn’t let this week go by with a simple audio log. I wanted to give you more than just my words in a vacuum. I wanted you to see my face as the truth spills from my lips like nectar from a beehive. When I say you, I mean everyone. My friends, my fans, and especially the New Kings."
Fujiko brought her gaze back towards the camera for a second, her eyes barely visible from behind the tinted lenses. She played with a smile for a second before letting her expression go flat again.
"You see, I listen. I hear you. When you cheer me, I hear you. When you sigh in frustration and disappointment, I’m right there. And when you scrape together a BS monologue about respecting me, I craft a response." Fujiko’s eyes seemed to gaze back into the clouds again. She watched them for a swift moment, letting silence play for just a moment before breaking it.
"You see, when I let my comments about Johnny Cannon before the last Vertigo, I made a bit of a mistake. I meant every word of it, don’t you believe anyone that tells you otherwise. But I gave him enough time to make a crude version of my t-shirt, wear it on camera, and say the exact opposite of what everyone expected. Well, to an extent." Fujiko reached up and drew down her sunglasses enough to let the viewer watch her roll her eyes with exaggeration before she pushed them back up to their previous position.
"You see, Johnny repeated the same nonsense that Zero McHannon, Tony Carmine, and even my foe-turned-ally Johnny Karma once said about me. Stuff like they hoped I’d prove that I’m more than my hashtag." She mocked the statement with air quotes and silly hand motions surrounding it. "Stuff about me lacking a killer instinct...or “pedigree” as Cannon put it. Well, Johnny…."
Fujiko took off her sunglasses and casually set them on the arm of the chair. Fire flared in her eyes for a moment, but then she moved her eyes off the camera and closed them.
"How about when I made you look like a foolish goon in front of everyone after you said the nonsense you said?" She asked, not at all waiting for a response. "You can point to the winner of the match all you want, but the fact remains that I heard you scream for HELP while you were locked in Ecstasy. I heard you plead with Quinn Goodrich to do something... anything to get you out of it. You needed him, because it dawned on you that you can’t beat me alone. You and Tony can call that excuses if you want to, but anyone with eyes and not a cloud to delude them saw what happened. The “great” Johnny Cannon almost got beat by the woman he spent so much time dismissing."
Fujiko opened her eyes, and the right corner of her mouth drew up slightly.
"Tony can do the same thing, point to the ‘scoreboard’ as he wishes, but he needed everything he had to beat me. Go back and look at his face after I kicked out of his Shining Wizard. Matter of fact, do the same thing when Zero hit me with Zero Tolerance...and it wasn’t enough. The look of utter helplessness that they had on their faces. The bulging eyes laden with disbelief that drowned out the smug confidence that once lived there. Sweat pouring down their faces, and their thin little lips screwed up in confusion." The right corner of her mouth drew up a little bit more.
"The looks they all shared, coupled with Johnny’s absolute fear of losing told me two things. One, that all three of them vastly underestimated me. Heck, I bet all three of them still do. That’s fine, it used to bother me...but, I learned that what they think literally doesn’t matter. The fans still come out in droves to see me, and they know that any match I’m in will steal the show…period." She shrugged, as if her words were as elementary as the need to draw in breath. "The other thing that those looks of dejection and confusion, and those comments about me tell me? That the New Kings...have hit their ceiling."
Fujiko raised her eyebrows, and coupled it with a tilt of her head. She let her words sit for a moment, and then chuckled to herself.
"How dare I, right? How dare I say that the two men that are going to All Star Showdown five to compete for the biggest prize in our industry have plateau’d? Easy. Listen to what they have to say about me. I know it’s hard to go back and rewatch, since they say basically the same thing every time about me, and really anyone that they face, but humor lil old me. Both in the past, and in the present. It’s all been the same. Comments on what they think my orientation is, as if that has anything to do with my ability in the ring. Comments on how “plastic” I supposedly am. Again, nothing to do with my ability. Comments on how I never win...despite how wildly inaccurate that is, we’re finally onto my ability."
Again, she rolled her eyes.
"Cannon and Tony break their backs trying to bury my ability, and more importantly...my progress under six feet of lies and distractions. They need to do whatever they can to try and get me to give up. You don’t believe me?" Fujiko clicked her tongue. "Why is it that, despite not following me, Tony can’t help but comment on my tweets? If I was really as unimportant as he claims I am, as ‘irrelevant’ as he pretends I am...he can’t stop talking to and about me. I get it, myself. I’ve come to the understanding that Tony and Cannon talk so much about me because they realized something ahead of everyone else."
Fujiko brought herself to a seated position, and then put her sandaled feet into the lush green grass below her.
"While they stay the same, I continue to improve. I’ll keep improving until I’ve surpassed them, and that fact is killing them like flames kill curious moths." Fujiko engaged her muscles, moving forward out of the chair until she stood at her full height.
"Let them tell you otherwise. I welcome it. But they know it’s true. The fans who have stood by my side know it to be true...and soon the entire world will know it’s true. Tony and Cannon have hit their ceiling. They know that stagnation is a career killer; but they don’t know that they’re at stage 2 of it. Together they might…might be able to capture the FGA championship. Tony’s already proved that he can get close, but that’s it. Cannon’s shining at Tony’s expense. Meanwhile, nothing about me has been stagnant...ever. I’ve continued to evolve, while they just pray that no one notices they’ve stayed the same for far too long. They’ll want to say the same about me, but my words will prove how much different I am from them."
Fujiko turned profile towards the camera. Her hands drifted to her hips, and she rested them on the shapely perches as she continued.
"I’m a great wrestler, no matter what they have to say. I’m relevant, far more than Tony is himself. And I’m only getting better. That’s what sets me apart from them. They are a matter of IF. I am a matter of when. But what’s that, Fujiko? More relevant than Tony? Sure. Let me explain. Tony has done any and everything he could possibly do to be number one in Frontier Grappling Arts. He’s held the Pride title with an iron grip. He’s won the Frontier Lions’ Cup, and co-won the Gold Rush Rumble. He’s come within a hair of the FGA World championship...and still…" Fujiko’s smarmy grin could be seen from orbit. "He’s still not as influential as me. He doesn’t invoke the sheer passion in the fans that I do. That isn’t some lame cover up, that’s bonafide passion."
Fujiko took her hands off her hips and let them lay at her side. She tilted her head back slightly, giving her a sense of pride.
"They throw streamers during my entrance. They come out to see me and tell me how I inspire them. They wear shirts with my face on them in droves. Sure, people want to see him lose, but not as much as they want to see me win. Listen to the chants throughout the Gold Rush Rumble. Listen to the chants during my match with Tony, or Zero, or even Cannon. I am the one they’re coming for, not either of you."
Fujiko’s smile was almost predatory as she turned back to face the camera.
"You can have your hate, Tony. Let it fuel you. It will never be as strong as what I’ve got, plain and simple. You can place denials if you want. Again, you can bring up Kayden Jones, or Tj, or Renati, or whatever you hope will distract from the truth.
You can’t stop Fujiko.
Try as you might, gentlemen; I’m going to debunk your projected comments about me being the weak link on my team. Johnny Karma and Fujiko Mine are going to put the New Kings down, and we’re going to look amazing doing it. Karma has already proven he can beat the both of you, and now it’s my turn to join the club. The Iron Goddess and the Karmic Lion are going to Narnia to wreck your junk, and bring your false kingdom to ruins around you."
Fujiko approached the camera again, and this time got close enough to fill the view.
"Tell the world over and over that I’m not worth your time. Tell them how I am useless, and nothing. Give up everything you can to try and make me invisible. I am going to prove you wrong every single time."
Fujiko dropped her smile, giving the camera no emotion before it faded out.
"...Until you can no longer deny you’ve always been wrong about me."
The light patter of rain filled her ears as she continued her trek home. The storm emerged with little warning, as when she began her walk there were only a few drops falling out of the sky. She unwrapped her blue and white Milwaukee Brewers umbrella, and extended it fully, for use to shield her from the rain. The patter sound turned dull as fat, cold drops of rain bounced and collided with the umbrella.
The rain began to fall at a slight angle toward her, the pick up of win altering the course of the precipitation as she walked. Fujiko was now glad she’d chosen to switch to a more casual attire before leaving the theater.
She’d gone to take in the Gilbert & Sullivan musical, The Pirates of Penzance at a local theater. She’d rather enjoyed herself, and it was only a damper on her mood when it ended, and she found herself having to walk home alone.
The rain, despite the low temperature, gave her a bit of comfort. It allowed her a sort of privacy that she wouldn’t have been afforded should it have been a clear, quiet night in Milwaukee. Here, she could be left alone to her thoughts. No one to look at her, as they were busy heading to their own destination or, at the very least running to escape the rain themselves.
"Wish I’d brought my jacket…" She lamented as she stopped at a stoplight. Keeping an eye on the passing cars, she made sure to step back so that she wouldn’t get splashed by anything in a hurry. While she did enjoy the rain and the sense of calm it gifted her, she wasn’t so keen on catching some sort of cold before her match.
"Heh, this should be interesting…" Fujiko said to herself, knowing that the steady hiss of the rain masked her from looking like a crazy person. Her mind shifted gears, drawing her to the thoughts of her main event tag team match against the New Kings. It was the first time in quite a while that she’d been involved in a tag team match. The last one she could remember was back when she’d held the Mid-Atlantic Legacy championship. She might have missed one, but it was the first one that came to mind.
An old part of her brain sparked to life. The part that was ripe with her tag team expertise, gone long unused in favor of her career as a singles’ wrestler. She wasn’t new to being half of a team, quite the contrary. She’d seen tag team success elsewhere, with her former best friend Stacia Chamera. She reasoned that with a little bit of planning, she and Johnny could make quite the formidable team.
"We’re going to kick their butts," Fujiko told herself as she shook off a chill. The walk signal turned in her favor, and she began to move forward to her car. A small part of her wondered why she was allowed to walk alone this late at night, but she packaged that thought away. Chances were that she wasn’t alone. She glanced down a side street, studying it.
"I bet Kosuke-san is lurking nearby. It’s Wednesday night, so it’s probably his shift." Fujiko smiled as she thought of clumsy Kosuke doing his best to hide away where Fujiko couldn’t see him. But she knew their tricks. She had to, to know how to help them help her.
"Focus, Fujiko. Focus." She chided herself, walking with a bit of a quicker pace. She gripped the umbrella tighter, fighting against the increased wind force. Her thoughts went back to her match. She was sure that Johnny Cannon and Tony Carmine were going to target her as the ‘weak link’ in the team, and she couldn’t wait to prove to them how wrong they were. She couldn’t wait for them to fall into her web, like two horseflies buzzing loudly until she silenced them.
Fujiko raised her head slightly, looking out past the brim of her parasol. She noticed that the spaces between the raindrops grew slightly. The rain was letting up. She took inventory of how much the rain had dampened her clothing. The back of her calves were soaked, and she clicked her tongue in disappointment. She was about to look more into what else had gotten wet before a pair of short screams startled her. She froze in place, shock sticking to her and forcing her to crouch down a bit. She immediately looked for the source of the scream, survival instincts overriding every other thought.
"DAD! C’mon!!!!"
"Yeah dad, catch us!"
Fujiko looked behind her and to her left to see what she could only assume were a pair of kids. They ran through the rain quickly, being chased after a larger person. She assumed that this was ‘dad’.
"Girls, wait up! It’s too dark out!" Fujiko took in those words and they struck her harder than she anticipated. She stood back up, but the words echoed in her mind. She turned and watched as the girls rounded the corner, laughing and giggling as their father yelled after them. Her heart dropped in her chest a bit as she stood and let the words continue to haunt her.
"...Great." She drew her right hand up to her temple and massaged it gently. More fuel for dissenting thoughts. She thought she’d quieted those thoughts after her chat with Kayden, but she was wrong.
She drew in a deep breath, and exhaled through her mouth for a few seconds to try and calm herself. She’d gone through a small gamut of emotions in the span of what felt like forever, but in all likelihood was only a few seconds.
She blinked, and found that the rain was beginning to pick up again. A rumble just overhead hastened her thought process, and she made haste to get off the streets. Her car was only a few blocks away.
"Might as well run." She reasoned, pulling the umbrella closed and breaking into a jog. She made it a few steps before pulling her purse close to her chest, muting the small quake of movement that was happening in front of her. She thanked her foresight in wearing some stylish flats instead of the heels she intended to wear initially. As her long legs propelled her forward, and the water thumped her on the top of her head, she wondered to herself…
...did she really need him?
She wasn’t doubting Kayden, that wasn’t it. But the wonder still remained. She thought about everything she went through last year with finding her mother. Not just the actual act of going to India, searching her out, and then escaping back to America with her...but the mental anguish of the months prior in which she had to go back and forth over the anguish that came with it.
"Do I really want to go through all of that again?"
If she was being honest…
"No."
On some level, she had a love for her birth mother. She wasn’t yet sure if it was the unconditional love a daughter has for her mother, but she certainly cared for her deeply. Yet the near death experience, the stress, the mental anguish...all for a woman who went to great lengths to stop Fujiko from engaging in her lifelong passion? No, not again. And heaven forbid, if the man were still alive, that he share a similar opinion as her mother did? No. She didn’t want that. She didn’t need that. She had a family who cared about her deeply, and that was better than anything that could have been waiting for her in a hypothetical. He could be an abusive jerk who wished for control over her. He could be just some random sperm donor that wanted nothing to do with her. He could very well be dead, providing her with absolutely nothing for her worries.
"Almost there…" Fujiko turned around a corner and saw the black Tesla she was using for travel. She smiled lightly. The car was a reminder of the love her family had for her. The car itself was a present from Tj and Hiro. She picked up her strides, covering the distance between herself and the car in a matter of moments.
"Finally. I’m soaked!" She unzipped her purse and tapped the start button on her key fob. The lights on the car flashed, and the engine revved up. She moved around to the driver’s side and entered it, reminding herself to worry about the state of her seat later. As soon as she closed the door, her phone’s bluetooth linked to the car, and it began to ring. Fujiko’s brow furrowed, until she saw the name pop up on the dashboard.
Nagashima, Hiro
She smiled and pressed the ‘call’ button, and after a brief moment, she heard the stoic voice of Hiro over the car’s speakers.
"I trust that you have reached your vehicle safely?"
Fujiko rolled her eyes, knowing that Hiro couldn’t see.
"You know I did. Was it Kosuke’s turn to watch me?" There was a slight pause on the other line. Fujiko assumed that she was correct.
"Actually, I was tonight. I allowed him to take the night off." Fujiko couldn’t quiet her surprise.
"Oh, really? Why is that?"
"He simply requested a reprieve. One I was all too happy to give. Did you enjoy the show?"
"Oh, I see. Well, yeah. I did. I got caught in the rain...but you knew that."
Hiro seemed to give something of a chuckle, which brought a smile to Fujiko’s face. She enjoyed his happiness.
"I am just glad to know that you are safe. That was my concern."
Fujiko gave some thought to lecturing him on how well she could take care of herself. It wasn’t as if she was some defenseless little girl. They’d been back and forth on the issue dozens of times...but this time she decided to not push it. This time, she was going to let him have it.
"Thanks, Otousan. I’m glad you were on watch duty tonight."
"I did not perceive any threats to you, my little bird. All the same, it was my pleasure."
Fujiko paused a second, giving thoughts to his words. She coupled them with her previous mental discussion. It occurred to her that she was better off than most in the world, and that who she had surrounding her was more than enough.
"Otousan?"
"Yes, little Fujiko?"
"I love you." She blinked back a tear that tried to surprise her. It dawned on her that it was not a phrase that she used with him often. She felt it was more than appropriate. She shifted the car into drive, and began to move it out of its spot and direct it home. She didn’t expect him to say anything back, so the pause that came after did not worry her.
"I love you too, my daughter."
She couldn’t suppress tears this time. She tried not to let him hear her, but something told her that she knew. Those six words sealed it for her.
She didn’t need to find her father. She didn’t need to spend months sleuthing out his identity. She didn’t need to spend countless hours trying to find out where he was, and if he was even still alive. She didn’t need to risk her life to try and locate him.
She didn’t need to do anything but continue talking.
Because she'd found him, where he had always been. Hiding in plain sight.
He was there, on the phone, with her.
