Post by Yujiro Fujiwara on Nov 14, 2016 19:28:52 GMT -5
“Hey,” Cammy Fujiwara said to her husband.
Yujiro didn’t answer. He wasn’t trying to ignore her, not intentionally anyway. However, it was abundantly clear that his mind wasn’t there. Earlier in the flight, he had closed his eyes and tried to find sleep, but it eluded him.
“Hey, Yujiro,” she said once more. Her husband didn’t even look her way. His eyes were pointed towards the plane’s ceiling, as they had been most of the flight. He wasn’t even looking at anything in particular, just staring. “Yujiro,” Cammy said a bit louder, followed by a stiff jab to his arm. The blow to the arm finally woke Yujio of his trance. He shook his head lightly as he looked over at his wife.
“Oh, sorry about that.” He ran his hand through his hair. “My apologies, I drifted away again.”
“I’m aware,” she said with a small laugh. “You know, you’ve been doing that quite a lot lately.” To be more specific, he’d been drifting away a lot more since the conclusion of the last Glory. In truth, it had only been a few days. However, it had been weighing on his mind. Cammy knew what the issue was; she also knew that he needed to move past it. However, she didn’t want to force him, nor did she need to. She knew her husband better than anyone—if you invited him to express himself, he often had no issue doing so.
“Hey, you want to talk about it?” They were on their way to Japan. “We’ve got nothing but time,” she said with a small smile. Yujiro tried to return the smile, even if it was extremely forced. He then leaned back in his chair just a bit and let out a sigh.
“I suppose you can say that I’m a bit frustrated, love.” He paused for a second or two, wanting to choose his words carefully. “You’ve been with me every step of the way, dear. You know this decision to step back into the world of wrestling has not been easy. However, it was indeed the decision I made. And therefore, I adequately prepared myself.
“I do not care what anyone on the Redemption roster states or claims—I work harder than them. They are not awake early in the morning doing squats, lunges, and push-ups. They are not training in the ring for four to five hours a day and then returning again at night. They are not putting their hearts and souls into this sports—no, they merely take up space, they merely exist.” He could feel himself getting worked up. He leaned back just a little bit more and took in a breath. “Do I respect some of them? Of course I do. However, are they better than me? Should I play second fiddle to them? No—I should not.”
Cammy wanted to interject, but she chose not to. She thought it best that he get everything out. Healing does require a purging, after all.
“What good is all my hard work if I can’t make any headway in the promotion? What good is all my work if I can fight with all my might, and not be appreciated? What good is all my hard work if people can just shit upon my name?” Yujiro paused for a second. “Sometimes, sometimes I feel as if Redemption might have been a mistake.”
“Hmm, are you finished?” Cammy’s tone was a bit cold, albeit unintentionally. Yujiro picked up on it. Instead of responding verbally, he simply nodded his head. “What I’m about to say may come off as harsh. But, I know you’ll thank me later…
“You need to quit bitching, Yujiro.” Cammy paused for a second as she looked at him. “You know it better than I do, professional wrestling isn’t for the faint of heart—it’s not for the weak. The reason why you were so great all those years back, the reason why you became a two-time world champion, it’s because you are strong. And, I don’t mean that you can lifting a ton of weights.
“Being a wrestler requires a great deal of mental strength; that is something you’ve always excelled in. Fuck what everyone else says, fuck what everyone else thinks—YOU have to know and understand your own talent, skill, and worth.”
Once again, she paused. “Yujiro, I know that you are frustrated about losing that title match. You worked your ass off to prepare for it. You won’t to hear or accept the fact that you fought valiantly and still didn’t walk away the victory. However that’s what happened, you lost. In professional wrestling, in sports in general, sometimes the person takes an L. I know it’s not fair, nor it is right. But that’s part of being an athlete.”
She slide her hand on top of Yujiro’s. “You took a loss; it’s natural for you to be upset...for a moment. However, you need to knuckle up and get things back in order. Take these couple of matches in Japan to do so. And when you return for the next Glory, be ready to prove a point.” Cammy leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. “And of course, I love you...no matter what. Please remember that.”
— ― ―
AUDIO LOG
AUDIO LOG
Good evening Redemption faithful. I’m quite aware that you all have probably grown accustomed to seeing my handsome mug on screen. And to be quite honest, I’ve grown accustomed to speaking with you directly. However, neither of us have the luxury of that this week. Therefore, this simple audio log will have to be suffice.
The reason being, I’m not at home at the moment. Many of you don’t know that I work for another promotion called DIVINE Pro. DIVINE is incorporated and produces its product in Japan; that is where I am currently. In fact, just a few days ago, I had the honor and privilege of wrestling and competition in the historic Korakuen Hall.
...Now, I realize that may tickle the fancy of a few die-hard fans. However, the majority of you all don’t care about DIVINE or my Japanese adventures. You’ve clicked on this audio log to hear my thoughts on the this upcoming Glory, yes?
Well, let’s jump right in.
However—to understand where we are going, we must first understand where we came from. Therefore, let me begin by address the events of the last show.
On the last edition of Glory, I challenged Anton Chase for the Genesis Championship. And while I fought with honor, my efforts were unsuccessful—period. No, I‘m not going to sit here and give you some sort of contrived, bullshit excuse. I’m not going to sit here and say that Anton got lucky, or that I was this close to winning the belt.
I promised that I would act and behave as a man of my talent and stature should; and, I will not make myself out to be a liar. Therefore, Anton Chase—congratulations.
Moving on, on this upcoming edition of Glory, I’ve been placed in a four-way match up against Kodo Dragon, Red Dragon, and Fiona Marie Larson.
Hmm…
Now, many people in my position would be a bit flustered. You see, it is truly humbling to be competing for a title in the semi-main event of one event, only to be dropped to the opening match of the very next one.
Should I view that decision as a knock against me? Should I view that decision a sign of blatant disrespect?
No, no I should not.
I made a conscious decision to sign to Redemption, knowing that the path to glory would be taxing and strenuous. I made conscious decision to sign to Redemption, knowing that I’d have to fight harder than anyone else on the roster…
Therefore, I will not view this match-up as a slight. Instead, I’ll use this match as another point of proof as to why I was hired in the first place.
We’ve come to the portion where a person would normally take a bunch of veiled shots at his or her opponent. However, because I’ll be facing three people, well, I’ve elected to truncate this section. It would take far too long to accurately give you the rundown on all three.
Therefore, if you would, allow me to speak from the heart for just a moment. Then, I’ll wrap up, and we can go about resuming our daily tasks.
Sound good?
Professional wrestling is in my blood. My grandfather was a wrestler. My father was a wrestler. This means I was destined to be one as well. And, for a long time, I wrestled on their behalf.
I wanted to see my grandfather smile…
I wanted my mother to joyous…
I wanted father to say, “that’s my boy.”
However, those are justifications and reasons of a loon. Furthermore, those are perilous justifications and reasons.
I love my family dearly; I love them with all of my heart. However, the cold and hard truth is, they aren’t me. They weren’t out there with me, risking life and limb. And even though father and grandfather were wrestlers, their experiences were totally different from mine.
Later in life I realized that I can’t wrestle for my family…
I realized that you have to wrestle because you enjoy doing. I realized that you have to wrestle because it brings you great pleasure. I realized that you have to wrestle because you love it.
I love professional wrestling—and that’s why I’m here in Redemption. That’s why I’m going to give it my all in this four-way match up.
Kodo Dragon tried to make this match about nationalism. Red Dragon and Ms. Larson hasn’t spoken yet; maybe they shall talk about their own agendas. Regardless, I’m not here for any of that…
I am here to work. And, I am here to wrestle—it’s as simple as that.
In conclusion, I’d like to wish my opponents luck. Train well and rest well. However please know that on November Twenty, you will not be facing some scrub. No no, you’ll be facing a man who is determined on leaving his mark on this company—and he is more than willing to chop you down to do so.
Nevertheless, that very man will still conduct himself as a gentleman. Although he is a savage warrior, he is still an man of valor...in victory or defeat.
Fin
