Restraints.
Sept 29, 2016 16:59:24 GMT -5
Post by Fujiko Mine on Sept 29, 2016 16:59:24 GMT -5
"What happens when a Goddess is hunted?"
The words form across the screen, as if typed in the moment alongside the audio companion of Fujiko’s voice before disappearing. The feed then fills in with Fujiko Mine sitting on an old wooden chair in a seemingly empty room. She sports a black oversized hoodie with her initials over her heart. She has the sleeves pushed up to her elbows, and the hoodie is up, so that only her mouth and her nose are visible. She keeps her elbows at her sides as she speaks. Her hair is down, and frames her face from either side.
"I suppose the world is going to find out soon. Molly Reid has finally gotten her chance. After stepping up and demanding that she deserved this championship opportunity, she backed it up. She stood up to Mark Storm, Noelle Smith, Evan Envi, and Savannah Taylor and told them 'NO. ME FIRST.'"
A satisfied smile crosses her face.
"Not only did she tell them that, but she was the one who emerged with the number one contendership at the end of the night. She didn’t have anyone holding her back. The chains were off, and Molly Reid got to show the world why she has more singles wins than anyone in FGA right now, myself included. She is the real deal, and I am looking forward to this match like you wouldn’t believe.
You see, regardless of if one is in the title picture or not, their crosshairs are aimed on me. I’m mentioned whenever someone wants to tear down one of my friends, as if I had anything to do with the match itself. I’m mentioned whenever someone wants to try and make themselves look better. Heck, people even aim their crosshairs at me when they’re bored in public and want to boost their own self-esteem. Or, in a logical twist, I’m mentioned when someone wants a chance at being the Pride champion.
And so appears Molly Reid. It’s clear that she wants this chance to try and back up everything she’s said about herself thus far. She feels like she deserves to be a champion. She feels like she can be the shot-caller of the Pride division. But as I am sure Molly knows, it’s one thing to climb up to the top, but another entirely to stand alone at the top of it.
This isn’t me trying to talk down to you, Molly. I know you get it. You’ve been a champion before, over in Insurgency. A former Rising Phoenix, High Impact, and IWF champion... and you want to have something to hold up when people try and take you down here. You’re worthy and deserving, and an amazing talent in the ring.
But I am at the top of this mountain. I am the one you need to dethrone, and while you know what it takes to dethrone a champion, you can’t dethrone THIS champion.
You’ve come up against the woman who will not stop until she gets what she wants.
You’ve come up against a woman who, no matter what the obstacle; will leave Vertigo STILL your Pride champion. You can bring your absolute best, Molly. Evan Envi can come down to the ring, and try and distract us. The Royal court or whomever can come down, and Rother can do the freaking Macarena on the apron for all I care. Nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing is going to stop me from beating you.
Why? Simple:
FGA is counting on me. How dare I say that, right? Why would FGA be counting on me, of all people?
Because I’m one of the only ones still fighting for it. You see, I used to roll my eyes every time Johnny Karma would call FGA Frontier WRESTLING Arts, rather than by its true name. But I think I see where he’s going with that now.
FGA isn’t so much about wrestling anymore, it’s become about power plays, and egos. Can’t get what you want anymore? Stockpile a group of people just like you who can’t get things done on their own. FGA has become something like high school with its cliques...and it’s become more about who you know rather than what you can do. Feeling unappreciated? Then just turn on people who trusted you, or the fans who come to see you every FGA event. What do they matter right? "
She hangs her head down.
"They are only the reason that you get paid what you do, after all. But screw them, and just focus on yourself. Let others corrupt you, even though you were one of the most promising people in the company. Now Molly, I know that you’ve avoided that. You’ve just stuck to the wrestling. You haven’t worried too much about what’s going on around you. I commend you for that, really. I remember being there. But something’s changed, and you acknowledged it before Vertigo. You said you’ve never really stepped forward to assert yourself, but now you have. And now you’ve seen where that can get you."
She looks like she wants to move, but something restrains her. Her body language seems to tense up for a moment, and then she relaxes again.
"It, combined with your ability; has gotten you a shot at taking what I’ve held so dear. And now that you’re so close, you may feel like you need to do whatever it takes to get the title. That just might include doing something you wouldn’t normally do. Accepting help you wouldn’t normally accept. Thinking thoughts you wouldn’t normally think."
She pauses, and the chair creaks. It’s clear she’s tried to move again, but failed.
"That’s poisonous, Molly. Believe it or not, it’s restrictive."
A light above Fujiko brightens, and we can now see thick black straps that stand out against the upper arms of the Pride champion. Matching straps are around her ankles, keeping her fastened to the chair. She dips her head down, and then jerks it back violently. The hood of her hoodie falls back, revealing her face. Black mascara bleeds out underneath white cloth that is wrapped over her eyes, blindfolding her.
"It can blind you."
She inhales slowly, and then exhales. She repeats the deep breathing a few times before leaning forward in the chair. The straps on her arms loosen, and once her arms are free, she reaches up and tears the blindfold away.
"So many fall into that trap, and they want to blame caring about the fans. They want to blame other people. They want to blame everyone but the one actually responsible. Themselves. They can’t handle it, so they claim that they see the light. But really, they’ve put the blindfold on themselves. And I’m fighting against that. I’m keeping the light on in FGA. And even if I am literally the only one left doing so, I will not back down.
So that means that I can’t let anyone stop me, neutral or otherwise. I have to keep this title, to give them something to see as a symbol of hope. I have to keep pushing forward, even when everyone else wants to give up. I have to beat anyone who wants to come for my championship, to show them that all is not lost."
She reaches up with her left hand, and wipes away the trails of mascara that adorned her cheeks.
"And all isn’t lost, Molly. You’ll look into a camera and tell everyone that you need to beat me, just like you told everyone you needed to beat the other four that were gunning for me. But you don’t. You’ll tell everyone you need to be champion. But you don’t. You don’t need it like I need it. You don’t crave this like I do. You can pound your head against the walls and scream until you’re blue in the face about how Molly Reid needs to silence the critics and beat Fujiko in a few short days, but you aren’t even close to the level of possession, the level of drive I have to hold this title and continue my mission. You’ll tell everyone that you have what it takes to be champion. And you do. But even so, you won’t be able to make that a reality against me."
She reaches down, and casually removes the straps around her ankles. She then crosses her legs at the ankles and leans back into the chair.
"Look into my eyes, Molly. You know that even though the dumb jokes about my ability and my worth in FGA fly almost on the daily, that I am one of the best here. You know that even though people use me to try and make themselves look better, like I am an easy target...I am not. You watch everyone try and put shackles on me, but you know what happens when they try to keep me from something. You know that you are in the fight of your life come Vertigo, when you have to figure out how you’re gonna be able to take two out of three falls from me." Her face stayed stoic. "Because beyond everything, Molly...that’s the rub of the matter. We can argue back and forth about who wants it more, or who deserves this more...but you’re going to have to push beyond your limits to try and take hold of my championship."
She rocks forward, and then stands up to her full height, leaving the chair behind. She takes a step or two towards the camera, then stops.
"You’ve had the luxury of sitting on the sidelines while Tony and Cannon have warred with Zero over control of FGA’s top title. You’ve watched from afar as they did their best to make FGA all about them. You and so many others have done the same...and now you want to step forward? Molly; I just can’t let you do that. I can’t let you be rewarded for just hanging out on the fringes until you find a good time to strike. I want to see you succeed, I really do. But not against me, and not here."
She shakes her head shortly.
"I know that come Vertigo, you are going to show a fire and intensity that no one has seen from you since your days in IWF, vying for championships and making a name for yourself. We’re going to see Molly Reid scratch and claw her way towards the Pride championship. We might even see Molly do some things that go against her natural grain to try and take her first drink from the golden fountain here in Frontier Grappling Arts. But you know what else you’re going to see?
You’re going to see Fujiko Mine get back up, time after time. You’re going to see Fujiko Mine counter, parry, and turn Molly into her own worst enemy. You’re going to see Fujiko frustrate Molly with her refusal to yield. You’re going to see that even against those who will stop at nothing to have a hand in crowning a new Pride Champion come Vertigo... Fujiko will persevere. So, what happens when a Goddess is hunted? She unleashes her full fury on the hunter. You’ll see exactly that at the end of the match; when you see Fujiko Mine holding up the light she calls the Pride championship, and Molly Reid is...left out in the darkness. Try your luck."
She finally gives up something of a smile, and then reaches into the front pocket of her hoodie. From it, she produces a flashlight. She clicks on the Flashlight, which shines just off camera (as to not to blind the viewer) and then walks off left. The FGA logo transitions in, and then there is darkness.
"Are you Fujiko Mine?" A deep voice filled her ears as she looked up from the seat she was in. A large black man stood in front of her, holding the hand of a child hiding behind his leg. She must have been about eight or nine years old. Fujiko twirled her lips into a smile on the spot. She knew what was coming.
"Yeah! Hello! Who are you?" She made a move to stand up, but thought better of it. She tilted her head back so that she could look at him right in the eye.
"Quinton Simmons, this here is my daughter Nyla." He gestured to the girl wrapped around his leg. She peeked out at Fujiko with wide eyes, something that warmed her heart. She’d seen that look before.
"Nice to meet you, sir. Hi Nyla! Nice to meet you!" She vacillated her attention between Nyla and her father.
"She’s a big fan. Thought she recognized you. Wanted to say hello." Fujiko smiled even wider as she leaned towards the young girl. "Hi!"Her reservations seemed to drop out of nowhere, as she moved around her father’s leg and launched herself at the Pride Champion. Fujiko caught her in the embrace, careful to not hold her too tightly. She was a stranger, after all. They held the hug for a few short seconds, and then Fujiko pulled away. Nyla didn’t seem to mind, instead content on throwing as many questions as she could think of her way.
"Do you have your belt with you? Are you gonna win this week? Can you teach me how to wrestle? Can I be like you when I grow up?" Fujiko let out a giggle as the young girl seemed to completely flip a switch.
"No, I left the title at home, hun. I find it’s not the best for me to take it when I am just out and about. Am I gonna win this week? Of course I am!"
"-You’re my favorite wrestler! I hope-" Quinton squatted down to his daughter’s height, trying to stop her from overwhelming her favorite wrestler. "Nyla, honey, shouldn’t we get a picture with miss Fujiko?"
That seemed to derail everything that Nyla had on her mind. "YEAH!" She shouted out, surprising both her father and Fujiko. Her dad, despite being surprised, quickly got out his phone and moved to take a picture. Nyla turned to face the camera and beamed. Fujiko hunched down near her and did the same. The small light on the camera flashed, and then her dad moved to put the camera away. Fujiko looked up at him and waved him in.
"No no, let’s get one with all of us!" Quinton looked a bit confused, and then smiled. "My wife might her a little upset, haha." Even so, he turned the camera towards himself, and then crouched down to Fujiko’s left. "Say cheese!"
All three of them said cheese, and Quinton stood back up. "I really appreciate it, Miss Mine. It really means a lot.
"Please, call me Fujiko. And I’m glad. Hope you have a great day!"
Nyla appeared unwilling to leave, but with a little coaxing from her dad, the two of them made their way out of the park. Fujiko watched and waved as Nyla kept her eyes focused on her until they were out of sight. Fujiko leaned back in her spot on the bench, realizing that she was now alone in the park. The clouds above her threatened rain. Fujiko rationalized that it probably was that that kept people away. Well, that, and the lack of pokestops in the area.
Fujiko leaned back on the wooden bench, looking up into the sky. She expected a few rain drops to smack her in the face, but none came. She sighed into the wind, and then turned her eyes on the empty park. It only took a few moments for her mind to wander.
She saw herself sliding back into the ring over a year ago, tossing out Noelle Smith and winning her first singles championship. That moment was a temporary island of bliss in a sea of regret. If she could have gone back and changed it, she would have in an instant. She didn’t know who else would be able to say that. It was a stolen moment, and she paid for it. She saw that as the beginning of the end of her first chapter. The end, of course, being Noelle taking it away from her only a few months later. No defense, no illustrious title reign to her credit.
That vision of her faded in black and white, stained with regret.
She moved forward, with the moment she won the LAW championship. She saw it, and a smile rose up onto her face. She thought back to the moment where she bested the unstoppable Oni with a second Lucky Shot. She just remembered the feeling of Oni Kymiku’s chin crumpling on impact and falling on top of her.
What seemed like an eternity later, she was sat up and handed the LAW World championship. She was the best. The top wrestler. A world champion.
But she had to make a choice.
As great as LAW was, it was women only. And that meant that there would always be doubts. Doubts on whether she could compete like Cindy Parker, Cordelia Stevenson, and Arkia Fisk did. They competed against the best, and two of those three could call themselves a world champion in places where both men and women competed together.
So again, no defense, and no illustrious moment.
"I could change that now, though…" She said to no one in particular. She saw herself spinning through the air, an odd out-of-body experience. Of course, she’d watched the footage obsessively in the weeks following the match. Including her LAW title win, beating Johnny Karma for the FGA Pride Championship was her biggest win to date. She couldn’t think of a greater moment in her career to date; yet she was sure that even greater ones were yet to come.
"I can start that against Molly…" She trailed off, as she thought about another moment.
In front of her, she had her hand raised as Elizabeth Lannister rolled from the ring. Her first defense. She’d bested the hopeful from SSWA a few months back, and it was a victory that her detractors set out to taint from day one. She sighed as she remembered it.
An island of bliss in a sea of poison.
She was told ‘how to be a fighting champion’ by people who couldn’t be bothered to step up. She was taunted by people who wouldn’t step into the ring with her. But now, she got her chance. By all accounts, her first defense.
Her first illustrious moment.
Fujiko was snapped out of her daydreams by a single, fat droplet of rain landing square on her forehead. It shocked her, pins of adrenaline washing through her. A few more drops landed on her, forcing her to sit up and vacate her dreaming spot. She stood up, stretching her arms out, as if getting out of bed, and stood on her tiptoes for a second. The rain began to come down a bit harder around her, and she took the opportunity to begin to head back to the hotel. She had a few media interviews to handle, and then some last minute preparation before Molly Reid waited.
"Don’t kid yourself, Fujiko. It’s more than just Molly that wants to see you lose."
She chided herself. She knew that Evan Envi, Anthony Rother, and others were chomping at the bit to rip her to shreds over a potential title loss. They would line up at the ready. It made Fujiko even more determined to put them down. She knew about how Noelle Smith was promising to win the title, so she could face off against others. It made Fujiko want to deny her next. It all made Fujiko want to erase that sea of regret, that sea of poison that surrounded everything before. The only thing that could hold her back was herself, and she was done with that. If the Royal Court or whatever disliked her before, if she was Evan Envi’s “Least Favorite” before, then she couldn’t wait for them to start complaining after she left Michigan STILL the FGA Pride Champion. They weren’t about to get their wish.
"Even with all of that. I vow to make it past Molly Reid. I will beat her, and anyone else in my way. I have to make that saying come true."
Fujiko rose her head just in time for a peal of lighting to streak across the sky in the distance.
It brought a smile to her face. Nothing could stop a force of nature. So she would be like it come Vertigo. A force of nature.
"They can’t stop Fujiko."
She continued the walk to her car. The rain was in full effect by the time she took her eyes off the spot where the bolt struck in the sky. She jammed her hands into her pockets, and trekked forward; Unfazed by the rain and the oncoming storm.
The words form across the screen, as if typed in the moment alongside the audio companion of Fujiko’s voice before disappearing. The feed then fills in with Fujiko Mine sitting on an old wooden chair in a seemingly empty room. She sports a black oversized hoodie with her initials over her heart. She has the sleeves pushed up to her elbows, and the hoodie is up, so that only her mouth and her nose are visible. She keeps her elbows at her sides as she speaks. Her hair is down, and frames her face from either side.
"I suppose the world is going to find out soon. Molly Reid has finally gotten her chance. After stepping up and demanding that she deserved this championship opportunity, she backed it up. She stood up to Mark Storm, Noelle Smith, Evan Envi, and Savannah Taylor and told them 'NO. ME FIRST.'"
A satisfied smile crosses her face.
"Not only did she tell them that, but she was the one who emerged with the number one contendership at the end of the night. She didn’t have anyone holding her back. The chains were off, and Molly Reid got to show the world why she has more singles wins than anyone in FGA right now, myself included. She is the real deal, and I am looking forward to this match like you wouldn’t believe.
You see, regardless of if one is in the title picture or not, their crosshairs are aimed on me. I’m mentioned whenever someone wants to tear down one of my friends, as if I had anything to do with the match itself. I’m mentioned whenever someone wants to try and make themselves look better. Heck, people even aim their crosshairs at me when they’re bored in public and want to boost their own self-esteem. Or, in a logical twist, I’m mentioned when someone wants a chance at being the Pride champion.
And so appears Molly Reid. It’s clear that she wants this chance to try and back up everything she’s said about herself thus far. She feels like she deserves to be a champion. She feels like she can be the shot-caller of the Pride division. But as I am sure Molly knows, it’s one thing to climb up to the top, but another entirely to stand alone at the top of it.
This isn’t me trying to talk down to you, Molly. I know you get it. You’ve been a champion before, over in Insurgency. A former Rising Phoenix, High Impact, and IWF champion... and you want to have something to hold up when people try and take you down here. You’re worthy and deserving, and an amazing talent in the ring.
But I am at the top of this mountain. I am the one you need to dethrone, and while you know what it takes to dethrone a champion, you can’t dethrone THIS champion.
You’ve come up against the woman who will not stop until she gets what she wants.
You’ve come up against a woman who, no matter what the obstacle; will leave Vertigo STILL your Pride champion. You can bring your absolute best, Molly. Evan Envi can come down to the ring, and try and distract us. The Royal court or whomever can come down, and Rother can do the freaking Macarena on the apron for all I care. Nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing is going to stop me from beating you.
Why? Simple:
FGA is counting on me. How dare I say that, right? Why would FGA be counting on me, of all people?
Because I’m one of the only ones still fighting for it. You see, I used to roll my eyes every time Johnny Karma would call FGA Frontier WRESTLING Arts, rather than by its true name. But I think I see where he’s going with that now.
FGA isn’t so much about wrestling anymore, it’s become about power plays, and egos. Can’t get what you want anymore? Stockpile a group of people just like you who can’t get things done on their own. FGA has become something like high school with its cliques...and it’s become more about who you know rather than what you can do. Feeling unappreciated? Then just turn on people who trusted you, or the fans who come to see you every FGA event. What do they matter right? "
She hangs her head down.
"They are only the reason that you get paid what you do, after all. But screw them, and just focus on yourself. Let others corrupt you, even though you were one of the most promising people in the company. Now Molly, I know that you’ve avoided that. You’ve just stuck to the wrestling. You haven’t worried too much about what’s going on around you. I commend you for that, really. I remember being there. But something’s changed, and you acknowledged it before Vertigo. You said you’ve never really stepped forward to assert yourself, but now you have. And now you’ve seen where that can get you."
She looks like she wants to move, but something restrains her. Her body language seems to tense up for a moment, and then she relaxes again.
"It, combined with your ability; has gotten you a shot at taking what I’ve held so dear. And now that you’re so close, you may feel like you need to do whatever it takes to get the title. That just might include doing something you wouldn’t normally do. Accepting help you wouldn’t normally accept. Thinking thoughts you wouldn’t normally think."
She pauses, and the chair creaks. It’s clear she’s tried to move again, but failed.
"That’s poisonous, Molly. Believe it or not, it’s restrictive."
A light above Fujiko brightens, and we can now see thick black straps that stand out against the upper arms of the Pride champion. Matching straps are around her ankles, keeping her fastened to the chair. She dips her head down, and then jerks it back violently. The hood of her hoodie falls back, revealing her face. Black mascara bleeds out underneath white cloth that is wrapped over her eyes, blindfolding her.
"It can blind you."
She inhales slowly, and then exhales. She repeats the deep breathing a few times before leaning forward in the chair. The straps on her arms loosen, and once her arms are free, she reaches up and tears the blindfold away.
"So many fall into that trap, and they want to blame caring about the fans. They want to blame other people. They want to blame everyone but the one actually responsible. Themselves. They can’t handle it, so they claim that they see the light. But really, they’ve put the blindfold on themselves. And I’m fighting against that. I’m keeping the light on in FGA. And even if I am literally the only one left doing so, I will not back down.
So that means that I can’t let anyone stop me, neutral or otherwise. I have to keep this title, to give them something to see as a symbol of hope. I have to keep pushing forward, even when everyone else wants to give up. I have to beat anyone who wants to come for my championship, to show them that all is not lost."
She reaches up with her left hand, and wipes away the trails of mascara that adorned her cheeks.
"And all isn’t lost, Molly. You’ll look into a camera and tell everyone that you need to beat me, just like you told everyone you needed to beat the other four that were gunning for me. But you don’t. You’ll tell everyone you need to be champion. But you don’t. You don’t need it like I need it. You don’t crave this like I do. You can pound your head against the walls and scream until you’re blue in the face about how Molly Reid needs to silence the critics and beat Fujiko in a few short days, but you aren’t even close to the level of possession, the level of drive I have to hold this title and continue my mission. You’ll tell everyone that you have what it takes to be champion. And you do. But even so, you won’t be able to make that a reality against me."
She reaches down, and casually removes the straps around her ankles. She then crosses her legs at the ankles and leans back into the chair.
"Look into my eyes, Molly. You know that even though the dumb jokes about my ability and my worth in FGA fly almost on the daily, that I am one of the best here. You know that even though people use me to try and make themselves look better, like I am an easy target...I am not. You watch everyone try and put shackles on me, but you know what happens when they try to keep me from something. You know that you are in the fight of your life come Vertigo, when you have to figure out how you’re gonna be able to take two out of three falls from me." Her face stayed stoic. "Because beyond everything, Molly...that’s the rub of the matter. We can argue back and forth about who wants it more, or who deserves this more...but you’re going to have to push beyond your limits to try and take hold of my championship."
She rocks forward, and then stands up to her full height, leaving the chair behind. She takes a step or two towards the camera, then stops.
"You’ve had the luxury of sitting on the sidelines while Tony and Cannon have warred with Zero over control of FGA’s top title. You’ve watched from afar as they did their best to make FGA all about them. You and so many others have done the same...and now you want to step forward? Molly; I just can’t let you do that. I can’t let you be rewarded for just hanging out on the fringes until you find a good time to strike. I want to see you succeed, I really do. But not against me, and not here."
She shakes her head shortly.
"I know that come Vertigo, you are going to show a fire and intensity that no one has seen from you since your days in IWF, vying for championships and making a name for yourself. We’re going to see Molly Reid scratch and claw her way towards the Pride championship. We might even see Molly do some things that go against her natural grain to try and take her first drink from the golden fountain here in Frontier Grappling Arts. But you know what else you’re going to see?
You’re going to see Fujiko Mine get back up, time after time. You’re going to see Fujiko Mine counter, parry, and turn Molly into her own worst enemy. You’re going to see Fujiko frustrate Molly with her refusal to yield. You’re going to see that even against those who will stop at nothing to have a hand in crowning a new Pride Champion come Vertigo... Fujiko will persevere. So, what happens when a Goddess is hunted? She unleashes her full fury on the hunter. You’ll see exactly that at the end of the match; when you see Fujiko Mine holding up the light she calls the Pride championship, and Molly Reid is...left out in the darkness. Try your luck."
She finally gives up something of a smile, and then reaches into the front pocket of her hoodie. From it, she produces a flashlight. She clicks on the Flashlight, which shines just off camera (as to not to blind the viewer) and then walks off left. The FGA logo transitions in, and then there is darkness.
"Are you Fujiko Mine?" A deep voice filled her ears as she looked up from the seat she was in. A large black man stood in front of her, holding the hand of a child hiding behind his leg. She must have been about eight or nine years old. Fujiko twirled her lips into a smile on the spot. She knew what was coming.
"Yeah! Hello! Who are you?" She made a move to stand up, but thought better of it. She tilted her head back so that she could look at him right in the eye.
"Quinton Simmons, this here is my daughter Nyla." He gestured to the girl wrapped around his leg. She peeked out at Fujiko with wide eyes, something that warmed her heart. She’d seen that look before.
"Nice to meet you, sir. Hi Nyla! Nice to meet you!" She vacillated her attention between Nyla and her father.
"She’s a big fan. Thought she recognized you. Wanted to say hello." Fujiko smiled even wider as she leaned towards the young girl. "Hi!"Her reservations seemed to drop out of nowhere, as she moved around her father’s leg and launched herself at the Pride Champion. Fujiko caught her in the embrace, careful to not hold her too tightly. She was a stranger, after all. They held the hug for a few short seconds, and then Fujiko pulled away. Nyla didn’t seem to mind, instead content on throwing as many questions as she could think of her way.
"Do you have your belt with you? Are you gonna win this week? Can you teach me how to wrestle? Can I be like you when I grow up?" Fujiko let out a giggle as the young girl seemed to completely flip a switch.
"No, I left the title at home, hun. I find it’s not the best for me to take it when I am just out and about. Am I gonna win this week? Of course I am!"
"-You’re my favorite wrestler! I hope-" Quinton squatted down to his daughter’s height, trying to stop her from overwhelming her favorite wrestler. "Nyla, honey, shouldn’t we get a picture with miss Fujiko?"
That seemed to derail everything that Nyla had on her mind. "YEAH!" She shouted out, surprising both her father and Fujiko. Her dad, despite being surprised, quickly got out his phone and moved to take a picture. Nyla turned to face the camera and beamed. Fujiko hunched down near her and did the same. The small light on the camera flashed, and then her dad moved to put the camera away. Fujiko looked up at him and waved him in.
"No no, let’s get one with all of us!" Quinton looked a bit confused, and then smiled. "My wife might her a little upset, haha." Even so, he turned the camera towards himself, and then crouched down to Fujiko’s left. "Say cheese!"
All three of them said cheese, and Quinton stood back up. "I really appreciate it, Miss Mine. It really means a lot.
"Please, call me Fujiko. And I’m glad. Hope you have a great day!"
Nyla appeared unwilling to leave, but with a little coaxing from her dad, the two of them made their way out of the park. Fujiko watched and waved as Nyla kept her eyes focused on her until they were out of sight. Fujiko leaned back in her spot on the bench, realizing that she was now alone in the park. The clouds above her threatened rain. Fujiko rationalized that it probably was that that kept people away. Well, that, and the lack of pokestops in the area.
Fujiko leaned back on the wooden bench, looking up into the sky. She expected a few rain drops to smack her in the face, but none came. She sighed into the wind, and then turned her eyes on the empty park. It only took a few moments for her mind to wander.
She saw herself sliding back into the ring over a year ago, tossing out Noelle Smith and winning her first singles championship. That moment was a temporary island of bliss in a sea of regret. If she could have gone back and changed it, she would have in an instant. She didn’t know who else would be able to say that. It was a stolen moment, and she paid for it. She saw that as the beginning of the end of her first chapter. The end, of course, being Noelle taking it away from her only a few months later. No defense, no illustrious title reign to her credit.
That vision of her faded in black and white, stained with regret.
She moved forward, with the moment she won the LAW championship. She saw it, and a smile rose up onto her face. She thought back to the moment where she bested the unstoppable Oni with a second Lucky Shot. She just remembered the feeling of Oni Kymiku’s chin crumpling on impact and falling on top of her.
What seemed like an eternity later, she was sat up and handed the LAW World championship. She was the best. The top wrestler. A world champion.
But she had to make a choice.
As great as LAW was, it was women only. And that meant that there would always be doubts. Doubts on whether she could compete like Cindy Parker, Cordelia Stevenson, and Arkia Fisk did. They competed against the best, and two of those three could call themselves a world champion in places where both men and women competed together.
So again, no defense, and no illustrious moment.
"I could change that now, though…" She said to no one in particular. She saw herself spinning through the air, an odd out-of-body experience. Of course, she’d watched the footage obsessively in the weeks following the match. Including her LAW title win, beating Johnny Karma for the FGA Pride Championship was her biggest win to date. She couldn’t think of a greater moment in her career to date; yet she was sure that even greater ones were yet to come.
"I can start that against Molly…" She trailed off, as she thought about another moment.
In front of her, she had her hand raised as Elizabeth Lannister rolled from the ring. Her first defense. She’d bested the hopeful from SSWA a few months back, and it was a victory that her detractors set out to taint from day one. She sighed as she remembered it.
An island of bliss in a sea of poison.
She was told ‘how to be a fighting champion’ by people who couldn’t be bothered to step up. She was taunted by people who wouldn’t step into the ring with her. But now, she got her chance. By all accounts, her first defense.
Her first illustrious moment.
Fujiko was snapped out of her daydreams by a single, fat droplet of rain landing square on her forehead. It shocked her, pins of adrenaline washing through her. A few more drops landed on her, forcing her to sit up and vacate her dreaming spot. She stood up, stretching her arms out, as if getting out of bed, and stood on her tiptoes for a second. The rain began to come down a bit harder around her, and she took the opportunity to begin to head back to the hotel. She had a few media interviews to handle, and then some last minute preparation before Molly Reid waited.
"Don’t kid yourself, Fujiko. It’s more than just Molly that wants to see you lose."
She chided herself. She knew that Evan Envi, Anthony Rother, and others were chomping at the bit to rip her to shreds over a potential title loss. They would line up at the ready. It made Fujiko even more determined to put them down. She knew about how Noelle Smith was promising to win the title, so she could face off against others. It made Fujiko want to deny her next. It all made Fujiko want to erase that sea of regret, that sea of poison that surrounded everything before. The only thing that could hold her back was herself, and she was done with that. If the Royal Court or whatever disliked her before, if she was Evan Envi’s “Least Favorite” before, then she couldn’t wait for them to start complaining after she left Michigan STILL the FGA Pride Champion. They weren’t about to get their wish.
"Even with all of that. I vow to make it past Molly Reid. I will beat her, and anyone else in my way. I have to make that saying come true."
Fujiko rose her head just in time for a peal of lighting to streak across the sky in the distance.
It brought a smile to her face. Nothing could stop a force of nature. So she would be like it come Vertigo. A force of nature.
"They can’t stop Fujiko."
She continued the walk to her car. The rain was in full effect by the time she took her eyes off the spot where the bolt struck in the sky. She jammed her hands into her pockets, and trekked forward; Unfazed by the rain and the oncoming storm.
