Shower Thoughts
Jul 7, 2016 19:01:35 GMT -5
Post by Fujiko Mine on Jul 7, 2016 19:01:35 GMT -5
It feels so good to keep a promise.
It feels even better to be your new FGA Pride champion. But as much as I’m excited about this, and trust me I’m full of ideas on how to make this the must see championship in FGA...I have to put all that on the back burner.
This week I team up with Mark Storm to take on the duo of Salem Cartier and Molly Reid.
This is, by my recollection, the first time I’ve been in the ring with any of these three, outside of the Gold Rush Rumble. Trust me when I say that no one is looking forward to this match more than me.
Mark Storm may think that he’s looking forward to this match as a chance to build on his momentum from All Star Showdown. He scored himself a pretty big win over Savannah Taylor, who is herself quite a formidable opponent. He’s right. This is an amazing chance to try and build up on that. He has the chance to show the FGA fans exactly what he is capable of, and that is amazing things. I look forward to what he brings to the table, and if he can go in the ring just like he did against Savannah, then I place my trust in him. He and I will be quite the interesting team, but we’re working towards the common goal of leaving our first Vertigo on the other side of All Star Showdown a winner. From what I can tell from Storm, he is hungry. He wants to prove that he is not yet finished. In fact, he’s trying to prove that this is the beginning rather than the end. He’s world traveled, and this isn’t the only place he’s taken up to try and prove that he can a force inside the ring.
Molly Reid might think she’s looking forward to this match. She may see this as her chance to bounce back and prove that she deserves to be the conversation once again for the Mid-Atlantic championship...or even the Pride championship. Molly believes that she belongs here in FGA, and after that performance against Annie Dupree? I don’t doubt her. She belongs here. She can be something here. I know she’s likely frustrated about losing a few weeks ago, but she can rebound from this. I doubt that Molly has seen her last championship match, against Annie...or really anyone here.She’ll be sharing the ring with Mark Storm for at least the fourth time. And just like the previous encounters, she looks to try and come out on top again.
Salem might see this as her chance to step back up and be the person people saw when she faced off against, and beat Jimmy Page after a trio of matches with him. The person who, by all rights, should have beaten Izzy Anders for the Mid-Atlantic Legacy championship at Canadian Stampede. The person who I admire most in this match. She could see this as her opportunity to prove that she deserves to be rewarded for all that hard work and dedication she’s put forth for FGA.
It’s fitting that both her and Molly are placed side by side in this tag team contest, because they’re both very similar. Both of them have been putting their talent on display lately. They’ve both been tearing down barriers, and both are in the conversation of impact players when you look down the field of FGA wrestlers.
BUT.
No one is more excited about this, than me. Because I can see three potential opponents to defend against close up. I can see my chance to cement the legacy I’ve built up, make it a permanent thing. Because that’s my next step.
It’s grand being here, being at the top of this mountain...but I want to show that this win wasn’t just some fluke. That I wasn’t just lucky in beating Karma twice in one night. I want to show that I am a force that should not be reckoned with here in FGA. And so I am going to team up with Mark Storm, and we are going to take on both Molly and Salem. But Salem and Molly are going to leave sorely disappointed.
Because I am starting this reign off right.
It won’t be easy, that’s for sure.
But I’m not taking the easy road. I’m not about that. I am about getting my hands dirty, getting the thick of the fight, and coming out on the other side, standing tall. I have all the respect in the world for Molly and Salem; I’m friends with Salem and think she’s amazing. However, when the bell rings and it’s the two of them standing on the other side of the ring from me, I’m aiming for that Lucky shot and the victory.
The victory is the end game. They know that as well as I do, so they don’t even need to say anything. We all know.
So if Salem and Molly think they’re going to jump back in and take me off my game now? They do have another thing coming.
I have worked far too hard, and pushed myself too far to get to this point and stumble now. They have indeed done everything I’ve said. They’ve been quality stars in FGA, but they haven’t quite found themselves yet.
I don’t plan on letting them do that at my expense. Molly and Salem should know my story, as narcissistic as that sounds. They should have seen what I’ve been through, because it still provides me motivation. It drives me to never have to be that low again. It drives me to beat them, and everyone else that is put in front of me. It drives me to become a better version of myself every single day. It drives me to be better than my previous match. This is more than just a match for me.
This is another step in my evolution. This is another step towards my goal. This is another step towards becoming who I am truly meant to be. And both Molly Reid and Salem Cartier are going to learn one indisputable fact.
You Can’t Stop Fujiko.
The gentle pattering of cold water on stone tile filled Fujiko’s ears. It did its part to help drown out the whirlwind events that surrounded her life over the past few weeks.
It was funny to her how dramatically things changed over the span of a three count.
She’d begun the match the underdog. She begun the match thinking that she was in for the fight of her career. She was absolutely right.
She ended the match thanking her lucky stars that she made it out a winner. She’d ended the match hoping that it wasn’t a dream.
She’d ended the night having her hopes realized. The FGA Pride championship was firmly in her grasp. She’d earned it, landing on top of Karma with the Endless Fantasy and winning the final fall.
As she sat there, water weighing down her long brunette tresses and pouring all over her body, she thought about history. She thought about everyone who’d held the championship before her. She thought about the lineage that she was now a part of. She was the end point of all those champions now. She was in exclusive company.
Instead of a tiredness from the match, and stress from all the events she’d attended since All Star Showdown...she felt a brand new determination. She’d pictured that list of names in her mind. Riley Owens, Tony Carmine, Chandler Scott, Mia Scott, Johnny Karma, and Chris Bond. She went over each name in her mind, thinking of their individual accomplishments. She thought about how Mia Scott was the first woman to hold that title. She recalled how Chandler Scott’s reign would lead to his eventual dominance atop FGA, and how holding the Pride championship was a precursor to that. The story was the same for Chris Bond. She thought about how Riley Owens set the standard for what a Pride champion should be with his number of defenses, and how Tony Carmine raised that bar on his second round as champion...until he was stopped by the man that she herself would usurp...Johnny Karma.
She wanted her name above them all. She wanted to beat them all. Now that her name was on the list, now it needed to be on the top of that list.
Fujiko let the soap and water combination roll off her body and into the drain below her feet, taking with it her worries and feelings of inadequacy. She felt wholly and truly special. Perhaps people would grow weary of her exuberance, but she couldn’t help it.
She’d done something that they couldn’t take away from her. When they talked about her now, they’d have to call her champion. Above and beyond all of that, she’d proven herself right against her mother.
Fujiko wondered what her mother would have to say to her now, after she managed to keep her promise of victory. Perhaps it was a little petty to want to rub it in her mother’s face, but she still wanted to do it all the same. Even though her mother had come around, she knew that she was just one failure away from her reverting and trying to assert her will. That was one thing about Marcia that Fujiko picked up on quickly. She had less worries about that now.
Fujiko turned off the water, allowing silence to begin it’s take over for the first time in a while. Only the irregular dripping of water from the shower head, and from her own body.
She made dainty steps out of the shower and onto the plush bath mat. Fujiko pulled a towel off the nearby rack and wrapped it around herself. A shiver circled her torso as the warmth of the towel clashed with her now chilled skin. Goosebumps rushed over her exposed arms and legs momentarily. She dried herself off and tucked an end of the towel into itself to keep it wrapped around her. She stretched out her arms to draw another towel off the rack, and that one was expertly wrapped around the wet mass of her hair and piled on top of her head. She pulled open the bathroom door, and was immediately bombarded by Henry.
"Gah, Henners! Stop!" She giggled as Henry immediately began to lick at her feet. She moved around him and jogged to the couch, with Henry in tow. The adorable french bulldog chased her around the couch, grunting and barking at her the whole way. Fujiko moved onto the couch, with Henry making an attempt to jump up alongside her. He was successful on the second attempt, and licked at Fujiko’s shoulder and arm.
"Henry, I’m gonna have to take another shower at this rate!" He ignored her, placing wet doggy kisses on her. She gave in, scratching the pup behind his ears and on the back of his head. The show of affection seemed to calm him down a bit, but he piped back up when Fujiko got off the couch and headed to her room. She emerged a few moments later in a pair of basketball shorts and an oversized Milwaukee Brewers shirt. She moved around the couch to continue giving Henry attention, but she got distracted by the sound of her phone ringing. The sharp, slow sounds of “Sakura” rang through the room, it being a reminder of the song Fujiko played to start her entrance. She stood up, ignoring Henry as he huffed at her, and followed the music to her phone. Picking it up with her free hand, she slid her finger along the green ‘accept’ button and pressed the phone to her ear.
"Otousan!" She smiled just getting to be on the phone with the man she considered to be her father. Hiro Nagashima greeted her. "Fujiko, I am pleased you could answer." "Of course I would! I’m glad to hear from you."
There was a slight pause, one that caught Fujiko off guard. In that pause she heard a slow, ragged breath that was very much unlike the stoic, professional demeanor that he normally displayed. Without seeing his face, she was immediately concerned.
"Is...is everything okay?" She did not receive an immediate response, to which her heart sank. She drew in a breath to ask again, but was cut off. "I am...well, Fujiko. Better than well. I called to congratulate my daughter." Fujiko tilted her head, letting his words find purchase on her brain before a smile that she could not control crept across her lips. Her mind pieced together what happened. She’d witnessed a rare instance of Hiro’s emotions. It tugged at her heartstrings knowing that she basically heard him trying not to cry.
"I am so proud of you, beyond measure. For setting your ego aside to forgive your mother." Fujiko cringed a little. "Well, I was kind of standoffish about that…" Hiro seemed to pay her no mind. "Fujiko, she and I have had countless discussions in which she was...as they say: Hell bent? On seeing you removed from competition. Knowing this, and knowing how you responded...I do not see my statement to be incorrect."
Fujiko shut her mouth, conceding to his point. "You have shown true maturity and grace, even in defeat. You have been gracious in victory. And you have been an exemplary human being. To know that I can say these things of you? Makes me proud to be able to call you daughter."
He spoke in a calculated manner, suggesting to Fujiko he was doing his best to keep it together. Fujiko had no such luck, tears pushing past the barrier of her eyelids. She sniffled loudly, trying to keep everything in check. "Do not cry, Fujiko. You have nothing to cry over." Fujiko ignored Henry’s whining, instead wiping her forearm along her face to try and dry it.
"I’m just...wow. I feel like I’ve been crying a lot lately." Hiro said nothing, making Fujiko feel as if she needed to elaborate. "I mean, I’ve just, kind of been on a roller coaster of emotions. But I think I’m finally finding my center. My stability. And now that I’m here…" Fujiko sighed. She didn’t want to sound ungrateful of where she was. Even so…
"I just want to keep making you proud." Fujiko drew on her strength and calmed down. She took in a breath, and then set the phone down on a nearby table. The screen lit up, and she hit the ‘speakerphone’ button. "Am I interrupting anything, Fujiko?" Fujiko winced. She was setting the phone down to try and feed Henry, who continued to huff at her. "No no. I was just dealing with Henry. He’s cranky right now."
"Ah. Well, you should be considerate of him. It has been some time since he last saw you."
Fujiko drew her eyes up to the ceiling. Prior to All Star Showdown, she hadn’t spent a lot of time at home either. Her world had become an amalgamation of training, watching video, eating, sleeping, and promotional work. There wasn’t much time for her to have sit downs with her pup, or hang out with her friends or anything like that.
"Yeah. Maybe I do need to calm down a little." Fujiko looked down at Henry, who licked his chops and sat down. Fujiko smiled at him, and crouched down. She gave him another pat on the head, and then glanced across the room. On a table near her front door sat the FGA Pride Championship.
She thought about her upcoming match again. She thought about the two sides of the coin. On one hand, this match was naught more than a showcase. The title wasn’t on the line, and it wasn’t the Frontier Lion’s cup. She could take it easy, and save her energy for that, or for her first title defense.
On the other hand: Why should she change now? She’d always given one hundred and ten percent of herself, regardless of what the match meant. She was not in this for herself, she was in it for the fans. She owed them everything. They were the reason that the beautiful championship she’d won was now in her possession. She couldn’t let them down by ‘taking a break’.
Molly and Salem weren’t going to. Mark wasn’t going to. Neither should she. Besides, she knew better than anyone the power of momentum.
"My little bird, we all have faith in you. We know this is not the end, but rather; the end of the prologue. You now have a chance to build upon this. That said...do not fall into the trap so many before you have. Stay true to yourself. Change for nobody but yourself. And do not think you are in this alone. You have always had us at your side, and you always will."
Fujiko held back tears again as Hiro finished talking. She was much more successful this time, moving closer to the phone and leaning against the table. "Otousan, thank you. I owe this all to you. You rescued me. I wouldn’t be here without you, and I’m forever grateful." Dream-like thoughts of her childhood played at the back of her mind.
Hiro was at the center of it all. He taught her how to read and write. She taught her right from wrong. He taught her how to tie her shoes, how to ride a bike, and even how to cook. But there was a very important lesson he’d taught her that came into play now.
"You taught me to never give in, and always do my best. With all of you, I’m going to make this the start of things. I’ll keep making you proud, Dad...no matter what."
It feels even better to be your new FGA Pride champion. But as much as I’m excited about this, and trust me I’m full of ideas on how to make this the must see championship in FGA...I have to put all that on the back burner.
This week I team up with Mark Storm to take on the duo of Salem Cartier and Molly Reid.
This is, by my recollection, the first time I’ve been in the ring with any of these three, outside of the Gold Rush Rumble. Trust me when I say that no one is looking forward to this match more than me.
Mark Storm may think that he’s looking forward to this match as a chance to build on his momentum from All Star Showdown. He scored himself a pretty big win over Savannah Taylor, who is herself quite a formidable opponent. He’s right. This is an amazing chance to try and build up on that. He has the chance to show the FGA fans exactly what he is capable of, and that is amazing things. I look forward to what he brings to the table, and if he can go in the ring just like he did against Savannah, then I place my trust in him. He and I will be quite the interesting team, but we’re working towards the common goal of leaving our first Vertigo on the other side of All Star Showdown a winner. From what I can tell from Storm, he is hungry. He wants to prove that he is not yet finished. In fact, he’s trying to prove that this is the beginning rather than the end. He’s world traveled, and this isn’t the only place he’s taken up to try and prove that he can a force inside the ring.
Molly Reid might think she’s looking forward to this match. She may see this as her chance to bounce back and prove that she deserves to be the conversation once again for the Mid-Atlantic championship...or even the Pride championship. Molly believes that she belongs here in FGA, and after that performance against Annie Dupree? I don’t doubt her. She belongs here. She can be something here. I know she’s likely frustrated about losing a few weeks ago, but she can rebound from this. I doubt that Molly has seen her last championship match, against Annie...or really anyone here.She’ll be sharing the ring with Mark Storm for at least the fourth time. And just like the previous encounters, she looks to try and come out on top again.
Salem might see this as her chance to step back up and be the person people saw when she faced off against, and beat Jimmy Page after a trio of matches with him. The person who, by all rights, should have beaten Izzy Anders for the Mid-Atlantic Legacy championship at Canadian Stampede. The person who I admire most in this match. She could see this as her opportunity to prove that she deserves to be rewarded for all that hard work and dedication she’s put forth for FGA.
It’s fitting that both her and Molly are placed side by side in this tag team contest, because they’re both very similar. Both of them have been putting their talent on display lately. They’ve both been tearing down barriers, and both are in the conversation of impact players when you look down the field of FGA wrestlers.
BUT.
No one is more excited about this, than me. Because I can see three potential opponents to defend against close up. I can see my chance to cement the legacy I’ve built up, make it a permanent thing. Because that’s my next step.
It’s grand being here, being at the top of this mountain...but I want to show that this win wasn’t just some fluke. That I wasn’t just lucky in beating Karma twice in one night. I want to show that I am a force that should not be reckoned with here in FGA. And so I am going to team up with Mark Storm, and we are going to take on both Molly and Salem. But Salem and Molly are going to leave sorely disappointed.
Because I am starting this reign off right.
It won’t be easy, that’s for sure.
But I’m not taking the easy road. I’m not about that. I am about getting my hands dirty, getting the thick of the fight, and coming out on the other side, standing tall. I have all the respect in the world for Molly and Salem; I’m friends with Salem and think she’s amazing. However, when the bell rings and it’s the two of them standing on the other side of the ring from me, I’m aiming for that Lucky shot and the victory.
The victory is the end game. They know that as well as I do, so they don’t even need to say anything. We all know.
So if Salem and Molly think they’re going to jump back in and take me off my game now? They do have another thing coming.
I have worked far too hard, and pushed myself too far to get to this point and stumble now. They have indeed done everything I’ve said. They’ve been quality stars in FGA, but they haven’t quite found themselves yet.
I don’t plan on letting them do that at my expense. Molly and Salem should know my story, as narcissistic as that sounds. They should have seen what I’ve been through, because it still provides me motivation. It drives me to never have to be that low again. It drives me to beat them, and everyone else that is put in front of me. It drives me to become a better version of myself every single day. It drives me to be better than my previous match. This is more than just a match for me.
This is another step in my evolution. This is another step towards my goal. This is another step towards becoming who I am truly meant to be. And both Molly Reid and Salem Cartier are going to learn one indisputable fact.
You Can’t Stop Fujiko.
The gentle pattering of cold water on stone tile filled Fujiko’s ears. It did its part to help drown out the whirlwind events that surrounded her life over the past few weeks.
It was funny to her how dramatically things changed over the span of a three count.
She’d begun the match the underdog. She begun the match thinking that she was in for the fight of her career. She was absolutely right.
She ended the match thanking her lucky stars that she made it out a winner. She’d ended the match hoping that it wasn’t a dream.
She’d ended the night having her hopes realized. The FGA Pride championship was firmly in her grasp. She’d earned it, landing on top of Karma with the Endless Fantasy and winning the final fall.
As she sat there, water weighing down her long brunette tresses and pouring all over her body, she thought about history. She thought about everyone who’d held the championship before her. She thought about the lineage that she was now a part of. She was the end point of all those champions now. She was in exclusive company.
Instead of a tiredness from the match, and stress from all the events she’d attended since All Star Showdown...she felt a brand new determination. She’d pictured that list of names in her mind. Riley Owens, Tony Carmine, Chandler Scott, Mia Scott, Johnny Karma, and Chris Bond. She went over each name in her mind, thinking of their individual accomplishments. She thought about how Mia Scott was the first woman to hold that title. She recalled how Chandler Scott’s reign would lead to his eventual dominance atop FGA, and how holding the Pride championship was a precursor to that. The story was the same for Chris Bond. She thought about how Riley Owens set the standard for what a Pride champion should be with his number of defenses, and how Tony Carmine raised that bar on his second round as champion...until he was stopped by the man that she herself would usurp...Johnny Karma.
She wanted her name above them all. She wanted to beat them all. Now that her name was on the list, now it needed to be on the top of that list.
Fujiko let the soap and water combination roll off her body and into the drain below her feet, taking with it her worries and feelings of inadequacy. She felt wholly and truly special. Perhaps people would grow weary of her exuberance, but she couldn’t help it.
She’d done something that they couldn’t take away from her. When they talked about her now, they’d have to call her champion. Above and beyond all of that, she’d proven herself right against her mother.
Fujiko wondered what her mother would have to say to her now, after she managed to keep her promise of victory. Perhaps it was a little petty to want to rub it in her mother’s face, but she still wanted to do it all the same. Even though her mother had come around, she knew that she was just one failure away from her reverting and trying to assert her will. That was one thing about Marcia that Fujiko picked up on quickly. She had less worries about that now.
Fujiko turned off the water, allowing silence to begin it’s take over for the first time in a while. Only the irregular dripping of water from the shower head, and from her own body.
She made dainty steps out of the shower and onto the plush bath mat. Fujiko pulled a towel off the nearby rack and wrapped it around herself. A shiver circled her torso as the warmth of the towel clashed with her now chilled skin. Goosebumps rushed over her exposed arms and legs momentarily. She dried herself off and tucked an end of the towel into itself to keep it wrapped around her. She stretched out her arms to draw another towel off the rack, and that one was expertly wrapped around the wet mass of her hair and piled on top of her head. She pulled open the bathroom door, and was immediately bombarded by Henry.
"Gah, Henners! Stop!" She giggled as Henry immediately began to lick at her feet. She moved around him and jogged to the couch, with Henry in tow. The adorable french bulldog chased her around the couch, grunting and barking at her the whole way. Fujiko moved onto the couch, with Henry making an attempt to jump up alongside her. He was successful on the second attempt, and licked at Fujiko’s shoulder and arm.
"Henry, I’m gonna have to take another shower at this rate!" He ignored her, placing wet doggy kisses on her. She gave in, scratching the pup behind his ears and on the back of his head. The show of affection seemed to calm him down a bit, but he piped back up when Fujiko got off the couch and headed to her room. She emerged a few moments later in a pair of basketball shorts and an oversized Milwaukee Brewers shirt. She moved around the couch to continue giving Henry attention, but she got distracted by the sound of her phone ringing. The sharp, slow sounds of “Sakura” rang through the room, it being a reminder of the song Fujiko played to start her entrance. She stood up, ignoring Henry as he huffed at her, and followed the music to her phone. Picking it up with her free hand, she slid her finger along the green ‘accept’ button and pressed the phone to her ear.
"Otousan!" She smiled just getting to be on the phone with the man she considered to be her father. Hiro Nagashima greeted her. "Fujiko, I am pleased you could answer." "Of course I would! I’m glad to hear from you."
There was a slight pause, one that caught Fujiko off guard. In that pause she heard a slow, ragged breath that was very much unlike the stoic, professional demeanor that he normally displayed. Without seeing his face, she was immediately concerned.
"Is...is everything okay?" She did not receive an immediate response, to which her heart sank. She drew in a breath to ask again, but was cut off. "I am...well, Fujiko. Better than well. I called to congratulate my daughter." Fujiko tilted her head, letting his words find purchase on her brain before a smile that she could not control crept across her lips. Her mind pieced together what happened. She’d witnessed a rare instance of Hiro’s emotions. It tugged at her heartstrings knowing that she basically heard him trying not to cry.
"I am so proud of you, beyond measure. For setting your ego aside to forgive your mother." Fujiko cringed a little. "Well, I was kind of standoffish about that…" Hiro seemed to pay her no mind. "Fujiko, she and I have had countless discussions in which she was...as they say: Hell bent? On seeing you removed from competition. Knowing this, and knowing how you responded...I do not see my statement to be incorrect."
Fujiko shut her mouth, conceding to his point. "You have shown true maturity and grace, even in defeat. You have been gracious in victory. And you have been an exemplary human being. To know that I can say these things of you? Makes me proud to be able to call you daughter."
He spoke in a calculated manner, suggesting to Fujiko he was doing his best to keep it together. Fujiko had no such luck, tears pushing past the barrier of her eyelids. She sniffled loudly, trying to keep everything in check. "Do not cry, Fujiko. You have nothing to cry over." Fujiko ignored Henry’s whining, instead wiping her forearm along her face to try and dry it.
"I’m just...wow. I feel like I’ve been crying a lot lately." Hiro said nothing, making Fujiko feel as if she needed to elaborate. "I mean, I’ve just, kind of been on a roller coaster of emotions. But I think I’m finally finding my center. My stability. And now that I’m here…" Fujiko sighed. She didn’t want to sound ungrateful of where she was. Even so…
"I just want to keep making you proud." Fujiko drew on her strength and calmed down. She took in a breath, and then set the phone down on a nearby table. The screen lit up, and she hit the ‘speakerphone’ button. "Am I interrupting anything, Fujiko?" Fujiko winced. She was setting the phone down to try and feed Henry, who continued to huff at her. "No no. I was just dealing with Henry. He’s cranky right now."
"Ah. Well, you should be considerate of him. It has been some time since he last saw you."
Fujiko drew her eyes up to the ceiling. Prior to All Star Showdown, she hadn’t spent a lot of time at home either. Her world had become an amalgamation of training, watching video, eating, sleeping, and promotional work. There wasn’t much time for her to have sit downs with her pup, or hang out with her friends or anything like that.
"Yeah. Maybe I do need to calm down a little." Fujiko looked down at Henry, who licked his chops and sat down. Fujiko smiled at him, and crouched down. She gave him another pat on the head, and then glanced across the room. On a table near her front door sat the FGA Pride Championship.
She thought about her upcoming match again. She thought about the two sides of the coin. On one hand, this match was naught more than a showcase. The title wasn’t on the line, and it wasn’t the Frontier Lion’s cup. She could take it easy, and save her energy for that, or for her first title defense.
On the other hand: Why should she change now? She’d always given one hundred and ten percent of herself, regardless of what the match meant. She was not in this for herself, she was in it for the fans. She owed them everything. They were the reason that the beautiful championship she’d won was now in her possession. She couldn’t let them down by ‘taking a break’.
Molly and Salem weren’t going to. Mark wasn’t going to. Neither should she. Besides, she knew better than anyone the power of momentum.
"My little bird, we all have faith in you. We know this is not the end, but rather; the end of the prologue. You now have a chance to build upon this. That said...do not fall into the trap so many before you have. Stay true to yourself. Change for nobody but yourself. And do not think you are in this alone. You have always had us at your side, and you always will."
Fujiko held back tears again as Hiro finished talking. She was much more successful this time, moving closer to the phone and leaning against the table. "Otousan, thank you. I owe this all to you. You rescued me. I wouldn’t be here without you, and I’m forever grateful." Dream-like thoughts of her childhood played at the back of her mind.
Hiro was at the center of it all. He taught her how to read and write. She taught her right from wrong. He taught her how to tie her shoes, how to ride a bike, and even how to cook. But there was a very important lesson he’d taught her that came into play now.
"You taught me to never give in, and always do my best. With all of you, I’m going to make this the start of things. I’ll keep making you proud, Dad...no matter what."
