Post by Oni Kymiku on May 16, 2015 22:03:12 GMT -5
With Validation just around the corner, I find myself facing my biggest challenge to date in one Fujiko Mine…also known as ‘Lady Luck’ or ‘The Boob Goddess.’ Since her arrival in LAW she has made it clear that she is here for one reason only…to prove that she is the best in this business. She may have stumbled once against my sister, but like all true fighters, she learned from that misstep and she came back stronger. She didn’t let anyone or anything stand in her way. She stood up to the Pink Ladies on her own and she backed them down…when she got a chance to face one of LAW’s most popular women for a chance at the LAW Title, she accepted the challenge and she faced down Gabby Camacho. In LAW, with the exception of my sister, there is no one that I respect more than Gabby. She was my first opponent in LAW and she fought me with heart and determination without equal. I know that she did the same with Mine, and at the end of the day, Mine got her title opportunity in spite of that.
I have all the reason in the world to respect Mine…but to tell you the truth…she’ll have to earn it against me inside the ring, because I have no intention of just giving it to her! Mine is good…she’s damn good, but there is a thin line between being good and being an arrogant bitch about it. As much as I have enjoyed watching her matches and seeing her do what she does best…I can’t get the words she first spoke when she arrived out of my head…
She knows she can beat me…
She’s the MVP of LAW…
Beating me would complete the set…
I know that I shouldn’t be sensitive about what she said, none of it was really that bad. It’s the same stuff that everyone spews when they come to a new place and they are looking to move up the ladder of success…but in the end, maybe that is what’s pissing me off!
Mine showed up here and she has backed up her desire to get to the top with actions. Why did she need to rattle off the same lame ass trash talk that every other rookie who stepped foot in LAW have to say? She’s a great performer…she is an amazing competitor…but she is as stupid as the day is long if she thinks for one moment that she can waltz in here and KNOW that she can beat me! First things first…while I have never lost to anyone in a singles match…while I have yet to be pinned or submitted inside the ring…I never KNOW that I am going to beat my opponent! I face off against the best that LAW has to offer, and every new challenge is any unknown that I do my best to overcome. I know that each match could be the one that sees me defeated…so I fight as hard as I can to make sure that it’s not. Confidence is a great ally…but over confidence…outright stupid arrogance? If I ever needed any incentive to dislike someone, that was enough.
Mine made a point of proclaiming herself the MVP of LAW. I don’t know a lot about a great many things…but I know that there are women that have been in this company a lot longer than Ms. Mine who have more than earned the right to argue that they are the MVP around here. My own sister has faced down the competition and earned the right to call herself the greatest champion in LAW history. She has sold out arenas and put more asses in seats than an usher at Madison Square Gardens! The last time I checked, my sister was the one that put the first black mark on her record! Maybe I would respect her more if she called herself the SMVP of LAW…the Second Most Valuable Player…but that would also be debatable. Mine has been in LAW just long enough for the fans to start holding up signs for her…but she hasn’t been here long enough for anyone watching to remember what those signs say! If she wants to call herself the MVP…I suggest that she stops trying to convince us with her mouth and sticks to doing it in the ring, one match at a damn time!
She equates beating me and my sisters as ‘completing the set?’ What set are we in? I mean…are we her peers or are we just a silly little collective that is here to lay down when we see her coming for us? I’ve got news for Ms. Mine…I’m a goddamn person…not a fucking Pokemon! I can appreciate the fact that she earned her chance against me…for that, I give her all the credit in the world. She has made her way up the ladder and now the top prize in LAW is just one match away. This is what we all strive for…to face the champion and earn what they have. Maybe Mine didn’t say I wasn’t a person or that I wasn’t a challenge…but that is what I heard come out of her mouth when she dared to equate me and my sisters to notches in her fucking belt! Alex Yin is my friend and she is one of the toughest women in this company…she is a hell of a lot more than some nameless, faceless collectable! Nyako is my sister…she is the LAW Marquee Champion…she is the benchmark for what it means to be a top dog in LAW…she’s not a babble to sit on a mantle! If she thinks for one moment that I am going to allow her to belittle me and my sisters and not take offense, she is sadly mistaken. The only thing collectable about me is The LAW Championship…but if you want to collect it…you are going to have to have to be ready to walk through Hell to get it!
Don’t get me wrong…I didn’t think for one moment that Mine was a bad person…but I knew for a fact that she had ZERO respect for me or my position in this company when she said those things. Fast forward to earlier this week when Mine had the chance to sit down with my most favorite person in all the world…Trisha VanReardon. To be honest, I had no desire to watch the show, VanReardon makes my fucking skin crawl. I figured that Mine would go there and spew the same garbage about me that she had been before…
She knows she can beat me…
She’s the MVP of LAW…
Beating me would complete the set…
In this…I was apparently completely wrong. It wasn’t that her confidence was diminished or that she was somehow shaken…but she was at peace with where she was and what she had to accomplish. Instead of looking outside herself…she looked within. Sure…it was about silencing the doubters…but it was bigger than that, it was about facing me at my best and achieving what she had set out to do. That I could understand…that I could certainly relate to. Since my arrival in LAW I have battled many opponents inside the ring and each and every one of them presented a new and varied challenge, but no matter who it was…I was always battling myself as well. Striving to do better…fighting to be better. In the end, when my hand was raised as the victor, it was only a single step in a very long walk. Perhaps it is here where Mine and I are very similar. Winning the LAW Title is her ultimate goal…then defending it against all comers. Knock her from her perch…if you can. For me, the goal is always just beyond my reach and that is what fuels me…that is what keeps me going…keeps me moving forward.
Winning the LAW Title was a feather in my cap…my very first Western championship. Not many people in the world can say that they have worn this. Not many people in the world will ever wear it…but those who come to claim it will be the best in the business. Fighting the best is what brings out the best inside you. The road I took to win this belt was one that was lined with the best that LAW had to offer…and in overcoming them…I overcame that thing inside me that threatened to hold me back. I became better with each match…with each varied opponent…with each victory…and with each looming defeat.
For me, Ms. Mine is that next looming defeat that I must find a way to overcome, and in so doing defeat that thing inside me that tells me to stop…tells me that I cannot win. Does Mine have the same struggle? I cannot say for certain…but what I can say is that I look forward to facing her more than I have looked forward to facing anyone else since my arrival. With very few exceptions, Camacho and Yin most notably, has anyone given me an ounce of respect. She may or may not respect me…but at least she respects what I have achieved.
Maybe I need to make her respect me as a person or maybe I never will. No matter what happens in our match, I am content with the fact that this is just another step for me…another challenge that I must overcome. Holding on to this title means that the competition never declines and that I must always find a way to prove myself again.
Validation is the perfect name for this PPV, because this is where one of us validates their right to call themselves the LAW Champion! This is where Mine gets her chance to be all that she can be and make her dreams reality. All she as to do is put me down…all she has to do is accomplish that one thing that date no one has managed to do…put out the fire that fuels me! It will be an honor to face her in the ring at Validation, but there will be an even bigger honor in the offering.
This is where I show the world, and especially myself, why I am LAW Champion…and why no one is ready to be where I’m at!
Oni Kymiku’s Apartment
Soho, New York
16 May 14, 2015
This was shaping up as the worst couple of weeks of my entire life. Here I was on the verge of my very first title defense…finally with a chance to prove to everyone in LAW that I deserved to be the champion…prove that I wasn’t the latest in a line of do-nothing champions, but my attention was divided. If you would have asked me a few weeks ago what would be the biggest distraction I faced, I would have to say that it was the Pink Ladies, but that wasn’t it at all…it was something worse…it was the ghost of my twin brother…only he was alive and well and that knowledge was tearing what was left of my family apart.
I listened to the phone ring and ring, but my sister never answered it. I figured that she wouldn’t, especially after finding out that I had been lying to her for years about our brother. I had told her that Senji had died in Japan…to me that seemed to be the better course of action. Nyako didn’t know Senji the way that I knew him…he wasn’t the same weak and innocent little boy that our father had dragged to Okinawa, kicking and screaming. What I had done, I had done to protect her…not to hurt her.
I looked over as I felt a hand on my arm. SoLo gave me a questioning look. “So? She’s still not answering?”
I shook my head, as I hung up the phone. “She’s still upset with me, and to be honest, I don’t blame her. She has no idea why I did it…all she knows is that she can’t trust anything that I say.”
“Maybe you should sit her down and explain everything…make her understand what you are trying to tell her” SoLo said with great earnest.
I sighed as I looked at her, doing my best to convey what I had to say, without coming out and just saying it. “Song…I have told Ny everything that she needs to know. Yeah…I lied about our brother being dead, but I did it for a very good reason. She doesn’t know what our brother has become…she doesn’t know what he is capable of…” I paused as the memories of the last time I saw my brother washed over me. I shivered and shook my head again, looking at SoLo. “…she doesn’t know what he’s done…she can never know.” [/font]
SoLo stiffened, “You’re going to have to tell her if you expect her to be on board with this! I mean…you are talking about her brother!”
“A brother she hasn’t seen since he was a little boy” I countered.
“Exactly! Her last memories of him were of him as a child…but you are telling her now that he’s some kind of monster.” SoLo stared right into me as her words made perfect sense. “Senji might be a monster to you…but it will take more than words for her to realize that what you are telling her is true. All she knows is that you lied to her…all that she knows is that it is all you have ever done.”
Her words hit me as hard as a slap to the face. She was right…Ny didn’t know Senji as anything other than a young crying boy. When our father had taken us away, she knew that he was weak and she asked me to take care of him…she knew he could not take care of himself. Now, thanks to that bitch Trisha VanReardon, my lies had been brought to light and Ny no longer knew what to believe.
I took in a deep breath as I got up and paced around the apartment, running my fingers through my hair in exasperation. “I need to prove it to her…I need to show her the truth so she understands.”
SoLo stared at me, as she asked the million dollar question; “How?”
I didn’t have to think particularly long or hard about the answer. It had been thrown in my face only hours before I faced Mackenzie Roberts at the very last PPV. The proof I needed to show to my sister would come from a source that she couldn’t say I manufactured or manipulated in any way. I turned to SoLo with a dire look on my face. “Where I have to go…you aren’t going to want to follow.”
She gave me a cautious look as she turned her head slightly to the side. “Where are we going?”
A Few Hours Later
Upstate New York
As soon as we pulled up to the police station, I could see that SoLo was visibly shaken. The last time she was here, she was led in wearing handcuffs as the prime suspect in a case involving assault resulting in serious bodily injury to my ex…whatever he was. SoLo was as guilty as the day was long, but we had rallied around her and in the end, someone else had taken the fall; Uzai, my longtime associate, who had dedicated himself to serving me. I hadn’t asked him to do it…and frankly he had every reason in the world to sit back and watch SoLo be prosecuted…but in the end, he had assumed the blame. For this, I was grateful to him…but we knew that like all things done in the dark, they eventually came to light. With Uzai’s recent escape…things were in a state of extreme flux and nerves were on edge.
SoLo put her hand on my arm. As she spoke, her voice was small and barely audible. “Do we have to see him? Detective Dillion?”
I nodded as I patted her hand, then brought it up to my lips and kissed it. “I’m sorry Song…I have to see him. When they brought me here, he had my file…” I paused as I thought back to the moment he had dropped it in front of me. “…it was highly detailed. If he had that, he certainly has access to the file on my brother.”
She stared at me, her eyes large, brown, and glassy. “Why would he give it to you? It’s a police record.”
I sighed, “He won’t give it to me…but if he thinks I am going to give him something…he might be inclined to do me a favor.”
She looked confused. “Sex?! Are you talking about sex Oni?!!”
I nearly laughed out loud at the accusation. “No Song! I am not talking about giving the Detective sex…” I paused as I considered it, “…but…he is cute, maybe I could…”
“ONI!” SoLo yelled.
I burst into a fit of laughter, leaning in and pulling her to me. “I’m sorry for teasing you!” I kissed her on her head, to show how sorry I was, but in truth…I would absolutely sleep with Detective Dillion. He was a handsome man…certainly not brutish like Kreese had been, but I could tell that he was firm…and I liked a firm man…in more ways than one.
I pulled back from her, mussing her hair. “Stay here…I’ll go in and talk to him. He is going to want information from me about Uzai…and I’ll tell him that I am willing to offer it…if he is willing to do something for me.”
“Show Ny the file on your brother…” SoLo answered absently. “Wow! That is actually pretty freaking smart Oni!” She paused as a bit of worry touched her features, “But what are you going to offer to tell him? You don’t know anything about Uzai’s escape…do you?”
As I watched her, I could tell that she was frightened about more than what she said. A part of her wondered if Uzai would tell the police about her true role in hurting Kreese if he was ever recaptured. Admittedly, I had to wonder the same thing, but that was a bridge I would cross once we got to it. “No…I don’t know anything about his escape. At least nothing other than what I suspect they already know…his sister helped him.”
“Your Therapist? Meiko?” SoLo confirmed aloud.
I nodded, still upset with the woman for spilling what she had learned in our private sessions to Trisha VanReardon. I could have sued her and got her license to practice taken away…but in the end, maybe I should have been thanking her. While I had no desire to tell my sister the truth about our brother, it was like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. That being said, if I ever saw her again…I would beat her to death with my bare hands.
I turned my attention back to the matter at hand as I sighed and sat back in my seat. “The police will be interested in any information I can give them on Uzai…but Dillion will be interested in every word that I say. Maybe he is bucking for a promotion or trying out for the Feds for all I know, but this is the thing…he’s a local cop with his hands on an international file, so there is obviously something of interest to him involving my ties to the Yakuza. I can promise you that the clan has tentacles here…and he is probably itching to try to cut one of them off.”
SoLo frowned, “How can you be so sure about the Yakuza being here?”
I looked at her evenly, “Because my brother sent me here…”
I stepped out of the car before SoLo could pressure me on what I had just told her. The look of shock on her face was apparent. She hopped out of the car and ran alongside me, her mouth moving at a hundred miles per hour. “Wha…what do you mean? He sent you? Senji sent you to America…why?! What’s going on Oni?!!”
I stopped, turning to her as I leaned down and went nose to nose with her. “Song…don’t ask questions that you can’t handle the answers to! Some things are secret for a reason.”
She narrowed her eyes as she planted her hands on her narrow hips. “Secrets are what landed us here in the first place! Need I remind you of that? Besides, I thought Ms. Grey was the one that found you and brought you here to get Ny off her back?”
‘FUCK!’ I thought to myself. She had me on that. My lies had put me in the dog house with my sister, the person I was trying to protect. Had I learned nothing from my failure with her? I straightened, not wanting to say another word, but I realized that SoLo was right. I needed to come clean.
An exasperated sigh escaped me, but I pressed on despite my reluctance. “Okay! Look…Sidney Grey was the one who tracked me down and alerted me to Ny’s whereabouts…but my brother was the one that blessed my departure from the clan. He sent me here to…” I paused, swallowing as I remembered it, “…he sent me here to bring our sister into the clan…bring her back with me to Japan…by whatever method I deemed appropriate”
SoLo stared at me, her big eyes blinking. “Ny? Join the Yakuza?”
I shrugged, “It’s kinda like the family business.”
SoLo’s mouth hung open as she processed it. “So…did she say no?”
I took a deep breath. “I never asked her…I’d never ask her! Ny needs to stay away from the clan…and especially away from our brother!”
SoLo asked. “Oni…what did he do? I mean…he’s Ny’s brother…he can’t be that bad…not to his own family.”
“Bad?” I arched my brow, then leaned in close to her. “He’s not bad…I was bad…he’s fucking evil!” With that, I turned and headed towards the station, ignoring the bevy of questions that she kept throwing my way. I raised my hand as I kept walking, “Later Song! I need to focus right now…when I talk to Dillion, I need to have my mind clear.” I waived my hand dismissively, “Go wait in the car…I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
I heard her foot falls stop as she had no desire to revisit the place where she nearly lost her freedom. I couldn’t blame her in that…I didn’t want to come back either. Police and Police Stations didn’t scare me…I had been in more than my fair share back in Japan, but my connection to the clan was always more than enough to secure my freedom. No…this place brought back memories of Kreese and the fact that one day he was going to wake up…and when he did, Uzai’s lie would be undone and SoLo would again be implicated and placed behind bars. It was going to happen…sooner or later he would wake from his coma and Detective Dillion was banking on that.
Uzai’s escape had brought some more time on that front and as long as he remained at large, it was really for the best. If and when they caught him…he might start talking to save his own skin. At least, that was the conventional wisdom. For Uzai, I was his ‘Mistress’ and he would never do anything to displease me. He had taken the fall for SoLo because he saw that I didn’t want her to go to jail. I wasn’t proud about allowing him to do that…but I only had so much pride to go around these days.
As soon as I walked into the station I felt like all eyes were on me. I knew that it wasn’t the case…but I was on coming on stage for my very first performance and if I didn’t absolutely nail it, there would be no encores or curtain calls. As soon as I told the Desk Sergeant who I was and I why I was there, I was breezed right through what I deemed was the usual crowd of junkies, crooks, and prostitutes to my own private holding room. It didn’t take long for my reunion to begin with the man who wanted to put me and SoLo behind bars.
Detective Dillion walked in, dressed impeccably in his suit and tie, all while sporting a questioning but somewhat amused look on his face. “Wow! I can’t believe my luck! The lying piece of shit that kept you on the streets is out running loose…and you just stroll through the front door like you own the fucking place! Who would have thought?” He closed the door behind him and stood there, folding his arms across his chest. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your presence here Ms. Shinsuzuki?”
His sarcastic tone irritated me, but I didn’t allow it to show on my face. “I’m pretty sure they told you why I was here. I wanted to give you information on…”
He waived me off before I could finish. “Stop…please! My bullshit quota with you was reached during your last visit. If you are here for something in particular…I prefer that you cut right to the chase. You see…I have a stack of cases on my desk that damn near reach the ceiling…so time isn’t something I can afford to waste.” He walked over and sat right on the corner of the table, watching me. “If you wouldn’t mind getting to the point of this…I’d really appreciate it.”
I wrung my hands nervously, unsure of how to start. The abruptness of his greeting had thrown me off and now I was at a loss. As he looked down at me, I could tell that he was well aware of that particular fact. “Detective…I…”
He rolled his eyes as he got up and walked back to the door, opened it, and stepped outside. He was not gone for longer than a few moments when he stepped back in with a file in his hand that he tossed down in front of me. “Maybe you are here about this?”
I stared at the folder, then back up at him. He gestured for me to open it, and as soon as I did my mouth went dry and my stomach clenched. I jerked my head back up as I looked at Detective Dillion. “Is this…where…I…?” I shook my head as I tried to clear my thoughts. I looked back down at the file and flipped through the photographs of my brother in an airport, then leaving. The final picture solidified the fact that they were taken at JFK International Airport in New York. I sat back in my chair and stared at him, my eyes wide and glassy. “When were these taken…?”
Detective Dillion gave me an incredulous look. “Are you REALLY going to sit there and pretend that you didn’t know…”
“WHEN WERE THEY FUCKING TAKEN?!!” I screamed, as I shook uncontrollably.
The Detective seemed taken aback by my visceral response, answering my question…likely in spite of himself. “They were taken yesterday by surveillance cameras in JFK. They tried to deny him entry…but…”
“They have nothing on him…they never have anything on him…” I answered absently in a low and foreboding voice. I stood up and nearly fell over. The Detective grabbed and steadied me, but I flinched away without even thinking. He stood back, holding up his hands apologetically, but I apologized instead. “I’m sorry…but I have to go…I have to…”
“Ms. Shinsuzuki? Kymiku!!” He called to me as I hurried out, but I didn’t stop.
I was out of the building like a shot and running for the car. I jumped inside and fumbled for the keys as SoLo stared at me through wide, startled eyes. Before she could question me, I jammed my keys into the ignition, started the car, and peeled out of the parking lot at break-neck speed.
“Oni!!? What’s going on?” SoLo asked, with a terrified look on her face.
“We have to get to Ny before he does!!” I answered curtly.
SoLo looked around nervously, latching her seat belt as she did. “Who’s coming?!!”
I gripped the steering wheel in my hands so tightly that I thought it was snap. “My brother…he’s coming for her…he’s coming here for both of us!”
I have all the reason in the world to respect Mine…but to tell you the truth…she’ll have to earn it against me inside the ring, because I have no intention of just giving it to her! Mine is good…she’s damn good, but there is a thin line between being good and being an arrogant bitch about it. As much as I have enjoyed watching her matches and seeing her do what she does best…I can’t get the words she first spoke when she arrived out of my head…
She knows she can beat me…
She’s the MVP of LAW…
Beating me would complete the set…
I know that I shouldn’t be sensitive about what she said, none of it was really that bad. It’s the same stuff that everyone spews when they come to a new place and they are looking to move up the ladder of success…but in the end, maybe that is what’s pissing me off!
Mine showed up here and she has backed up her desire to get to the top with actions. Why did she need to rattle off the same lame ass trash talk that every other rookie who stepped foot in LAW have to say? She’s a great performer…she is an amazing competitor…but she is as stupid as the day is long if she thinks for one moment that she can waltz in here and KNOW that she can beat me! First things first…while I have never lost to anyone in a singles match…while I have yet to be pinned or submitted inside the ring…I never KNOW that I am going to beat my opponent! I face off against the best that LAW has to offer, and every new challenge is any unknown that I do my best to overcome. I know that each match could be the one that sees me defeated…so I fight as hard as I can to make sure that it’s not. Confidence is a great ally…but over confidence…outright stupid arrogance? If I ever needed any incentive to dislike someone, that was enough.
Mine made a point of proclaiming herself the MVP of LAW. I don’t know a lot about a great many things…but I know that there are women that have been in this company a lot longer than Ms. Mine who have more than earned the right to argue that they are the MVP around here. My own sister has faced down the competition and earned the right to call herself the greatest champion in LAW history. She has sold out arenas and put more asses in seats than an usher at Madison Square Gardens! The last time I checked, my sister was the one that put the first black mark on her record! Maybe I would respect her more if she called herself the SMVP of LAW…the Second Most Valuable Player…but that would also be debatable. Mine has been in LAW just long enough for the fans to start holding up signs for her…but she hasn’t been here long enough for anyone watching to remember what those signs say! If she wants to call herself the MVP…I suggest that she stops trying to convince us with her mouth and sticks to doing it in the ring, one match at a damn time!
She equates beating me and my sisters as ‘completing the set?’ What set are we in? I mean…are we her peers or are we just a silly little collective that is here to lay down when we see her coming for us? I’ve got news for Ms. Mine…I’m a goddamn person…not a fucking Pokemon! I can appreciate the fact that she earned her chance against me…for that, I give her all the credit in the world. She has made her way up the ladder and now the top prize in LAW is just one match away. This is what we all strive for…to face the champion and earn what they have. Maybe Mine didn’t say I wasn’t a person or that I wasn’t a challenge…but that is what I heard come out of her mouth when she dared to equate me and my sisters to notches in her fucking belt! Alex Yin is my friend and she is one of the toughest women in this company…she is a hell of a lot more than some nameless, faceless collectable! Nyako is my sister…she is the LAW Marquee Champion…she is the benchmark for what it means to be a top dog in LAW…she’s not a babble to sit on a mantle! If she thinks for one moment that I am going to allow her to belittle me and my sisters and not take offense, she is sadly mistaken. The only thing collectable about me is The LAW Championship…but if you want to collect it…you are going to have to have to be ready to walk through Hell to get it!
Don’t get me wrong…I didn’t think for one moment that Mine was a bad person…but I knew for a fact that she had ZERO respect for me or my position in this company when she said those things. Fast forward to earlier this week when Mine had the chance to sit down with my most favorite person in all the world…Trisha VanReardon. To be honest, I had no desire to watch the show, VanReardon makes my fucking skin crawl. I figured that Mine would go there and spew the same garbage about me that she had been before…
She knows she can beat me…
She’s the MVP of LAW…
Beating me would complete the set…
In this…I was apparently completely wrong. It wasn’t that her confidence was diminished or that she was somehow shaken…but she was at peace with where she was and what she had to accomplish. Instead of looking outside herself…she looked within. Sure…it was about silencing the doubters…but it was bigger than that, it was about facing me at my best and achieving what she had set out to do. That I could understand…that I could certainly relate to. Since my arrival in LAW I have battled many opponents inside the ring and each and every one of them presented a new and varied challenge, but no matter who it was…I was always battling myself as well. Striving to do better…fighting to be better. In the end, when my hand was raised as the victor, it was only a single step in a very long walk. Perhaps it is here where Mine and I are very similar. Winning the LAW Title is her ultimate goal…then defending it against all comers. Knock her from her perch…if you can. For me, the goal is always just beyond my reach and that is what fuels me…that is what keeps me going…keeps me moving forward.
Winning the LAW Title was a feather in my cap…my very first Western championship. Not many people in the world can say that they have worn this. Not many people in the world will ever wear it…but those who come to claim it will be the best in the business. Fighting the best is what brings out the best inside you. The road I took to win this belt was one that was lined with the best that LAW had to offer…and in overcoming them…I overcame that thing inside me that threatened to hold me back. I became better with each match…with each varied opponent…with each victory…and with each looming defeat.
For me, Ms. Mine is that next looming defeat that I must find a way to overcome, and in so doing defeat that thing inside me that tells me to stop…tells me that I cannot win. Does Mine have the same struggle? I cannot say for certain…but what I can say is that I look forward to facing her more than I have looked forward to facing anyone else since my arrival. With very few exceptions, Camacho and Yin most notably, has anyone given me an ounce of respect. She may or may not respect me…but at least she respects what I have achieved.
Maybe I need to make her respect me as a person or maybe I never will. No matter what happens in our match, I am content with the fact that this is just another step for me…another challenge that I must overcome. Holding on to this title means that the competition never declines and that I must always find a way to prove myself again.
Validation is the perfect name for this PPV, because this is where one of us validates their right to call themselves the LAW Champion! This is where Mine gets her chance to be all that she can be and make her dreams reality. All she as to do is put me down…all she has to do is accomplish that one thing that date no one has managed to do…put out the fire that fuels me! It will be an honor to face her in the ring at Validation, but there will be an even bigger honor in the offering.
This is where I show the world, and especially myself, why I am LAW Champion…and why no one is ready to be where I’m at!
Oni Kymiku’s Apartment
Soho, New York
16 May 14, 2015
This was shaping up as the worst couple of weeks of my entire life. Here I was on the verge of my very first title defense…finally with a chance to prove to everyone in LAW that I deserved to be the champion…prove that I wasn’t the latest in a line of do-nothing champions, but my attention was divided. If you would have asked me a few weeks ago what would be the biggest distraction I faced, I would have to say that it was the Pink Ladies, but that wasn’t it at all…it was something worse…it was the ghost of my twin brother…only he was alive and well and that knowledge was tearing what was left of my family apart.
I listened to the phone ring and ring, but my sister never answered it. I figured that she wouldn’t, especially after finding out that I had been lying to her for years about our brother. I had told her that Senji had died in Japan…to me that seemed to be the better course of action. Nyako didn’t know Senji the way that I knew him…he wasn’t the same weak and innocent little boy that our father had dragged to Okinawa, kicking and screaming. What I had done, I had done to protect her…not to hurt her.
I looked over as I felt a hand on my arm. SoLo gave me a questioning look. “So? She’s still not answering?”
I shook my head, as I hung up the phone. “She’s still upset with me, and to be honest, I don’t blame her. She has no idea why I did it…all she knows is that she can’t trust anything that I say.”
“Maybe you should sit her down and explain everything…make her understand what you are trying to tell her” SoLo said with great earnest.
I sighed as I looked at her, doing my best to convey what I had to say, without coming out and just saying it. “Song…I have told Ny everything that she needs to know. Yeah…I lied about our brother being dead, but I did it for a very good reason. She doesn’t know what our brother has become…she doesn’t know what he is capable of…” I paused as the memories of the last time I saw my brother washed over me. I shivered and shook my head again, looking at SoLo. “…she doesn’t know what he’s done…she can never know.” [/font]
SoLo stiffened, “You’re going to have to tell her if you expect her to be on board with this! I mean…you are talking about her brother!”
“A brother she hasn’t seen since he was a little boy” I countered.
“Exactly! Her last memories of him were of him as a child…but you are telling her now that he’s some kind of monster.” SoLo stared right into me as her words made perfect sense. “Senji might be a monster to you…but it will take more than words for her to realize that what you are telling her is true. All she knows is that you lied to her…all that she knows is that it is all you have ever done.”
Her words hit me as hard as a slap to the face. She was right…Ny didn’t know Senji as anything other than a young crying boy. When our father had taken us away, she knew that he was weak and she asked me to take care of him…she knew he could not take care of himself. Now, thanks to that bitch Trisha VanReardon, my lies had been brought to light and Ny no longer knew what to believe.
I took in a deep breath as I got up and paced around the apartment, running my fingers through my hair in exasperation. “I need to prove it to her…I need to show her the truth so she understands.”
SoLo stared at me, as she asked the million dollar question; “How?”
I didn’t have to think particularly long or hard about the answer. It had been thrown in my face only hours before I faced Mackenzie Roberts at the very last PPV. The proof I needed to show to my sister would come from a source that she couldn’t say I manufactured or manipulated in any way. I turned to SoLo with a dire look on my face. “Where I have to go…you aren’t going to want to follow.”
She gave me a cautious look as she turned her head slightly to the side. “Where are we going?”
A Few Hours Later
Upstate New York
As soon as we pulled up to the police station, I could see that SoLo was visibly shaken. The last time she was here, she was led in wearing handcuffs as the prime suspect in a case involving assault resulting in serious bodily injury to my ex…whatever he was. SoLo was as guilty as the day was long, but we had rallied around her and in the end, someone else had taken the fall; Uzai, my longtime associate, who had dedicated himself to serving me. I hadn’t asked him to do it…and frankly he had every reason in the world to sit back and watch SoLo be prosecuted…but in the end, he had assumed the blame. For this, I was grateful to him…but we knew that like all things done in the dark, they eventually came to light. With Uzai’s recent escape…things were in a state of extreme flux and nerves were on edge.
SoLo put her hand on my arm. As she spoke, her voice was small and barely audible. “Do we have to see him? Detective Dillion?”
I nodded as I patted her hand, then brought it up to my lips and kissed it. “I’m sorry Song…I have to see him. When they brought me here, he had my file…” I paused as I thought back to the moment he had dropped it in front of me. “…it was highly detailed. If he had that, he certainly has access to the file on my brother.”
She stared at me, her eyes large, brown, and glassy. “Why would he give it to you? It’s a police record.”
I sighed, “He won’t give it to me…but if he thinks I am going to give him something…he might be inclined to do me a favor.”
She looked confused. “Sex?! Are you talking about sex Oni?!!”
I nearly laughed out loud at the accusation. “No Song! I am not talking about giving the Detective sex…” I paused as I considered it, “…but…he is cute, maybe I could…”
“ONI!” SoLo yelled.
I burst into a fit of laughter, leaning in and pulling her to me. “I’m sorry for teasing you!” I kissed her on her head, to show how sorry I was, but in truth…I would absolutely sleep with Detective Dillion. He was a handsome man…certainly not brutish like Kreese had been, but I could tell that he was firm…and I liked a firm man…in more ways than one.
I pulled back from her, mussing her hair. “Stay here…I’ll go in and talk to him. He is going to want information from me about Uzai…and I’ll tell him that I am willing to offer it…if he is willing to do something for me.”
“Show Ny the file on your brother…” SoLo answered absently. “Wow! That is actually pretty freaking smart Oni!” She paused as a bit of worry touched her features, “But what are you going to offer to tell him? You don’t know anything about Uzai’s escape…do you?”
As I watched her, I could tell that she was frightened about more than what she said. A part of her wondered if Uzai would tell the police about her true role in hurting Kreese if he was ever recaptured. Admittedly, I had to wonder the same thing, but that was a bridge I would cross once we got to it. “No…I don’t know anything about his escape. At least nothing other than what I suspect they already know…his sister helped him.”
“Your Therapist? Meiko?” SoLo confirmed aloud.
I nodded, still upset with the woman for spilling what she had learned in our private sessions to Trisha VanReardon. I could have sued her and got her license to practice taken away…but in the end, maybe I should have been thanking her. While I had no desire to tell my sister the truth about our brother, it was like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. That being said, if I ever saw her again…I would beat her to death with my bare hands.
I turned my attention back to the matter at hand as I sighed and sat back in my seat. “The police will be interested in any information I can give them on Uzai…but Dillion will be interested in every word that I say. Maybe he is bucking for a promotion or trying out for the Feds for all I know, but this is the thing…he’s a local cop with his hands on an international file, so there is obviously something of interest to him involving my ties to the Yakuza. I can promise you that the clan has tentacles here…and he is probably itching to try to cut one of them off.”
SoLo frowned, “How can you be so sure about the Yakuza being here?”
I looked at her evenly, “Because my brother sent me here…”
I stepped out of the car before SoLo could pressure me on what I had just told her. The look of shock on her face was apparent. She hopped out of the car and ran alongside me, her mouth moving at a hundred miles per hour. “Wha…what do you mean? He sent you? Senji sent you to America…why?! What’s going on Oni?!!”
I stopped, turning to her as I leaned down and went nose to nose with her. “Song…don’t ask questions that you can’t handle the answers to! Some things are secret for a reason.”
She narrowed her eyes as she planted her hands on her narrow hips. “Secrets are what landed us here in the first place! Need I remind you of that? Besides, I thought Ms. Grey was the one that found you and brought you here to get Ny off her back?”
‘FUCK!’ I thought to myself. She had me on that. My lies had put me in the dog house with my sister, the person I was trying to protect. Had I learned nothing from my failure with her? I straightened, not wanting to say another word, but I realized that SoLo was right. I needed to come clean.
An exasperated sigh escaped me, but I pressed on despite my reluctance. “Okay! Look…Sidney Grey was the one who tracked me down and alerted me to Ny’s whereabouts…but my brother was the one that blessed my departure from the clan. He sent me here to…” I paused, swallowing as I remembered it, “…he sent me here to bring our sister into the clan…bring her back with me to Japan…by whatever method I deemed appropriate”
SoLo stared at me, her big eyes blinking. “Ny? Join the Yakuza?”
I shrugged, “It’s kinda like the family business.”
SoLo’s mouth hung open as she processed it. “So…did she say no?”
I took a deep breath. “I never asked her…I’d never ask her! Ny needs to stay away from the clan…and especially away from our brother!”
SoLo asked. “Oni…what did he do? I mean…he’s Ny’s brother…he can’t be that bad…not to his own family.”
“Bad?” I arched my brow, then leaned in close to her. “He’s not bad…I was bad…he’s fucking evil!” With that, I turned and headed towards the station, ignoring the bevy of questions that she kept throwing my way. I raised my hand as I kept walking, “Later Song! I need to focus right now…when I talk to Dillion, I need to have my mind clear.” I waived my hand dismissively, “Go wait in the car…I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
I heard her foot falls stop as she had no desire to revisit the place where she nearly lost her freedom. I couldn’t blame her in that…I didn’t want to come back either. Police and Police Stations didn’t scare me…I had been in more than my fair share back in Japan, but my connection to the clan was always more than enough to secure my freedom. No…this place brought back memories of Kreese and the fact that one day he was going to wake up…and when he did, Uzai’s lie would be undone and SoLo would again be implicated and placed behind bars. It was going to happen…sooner or later he would wake from his coma and Detective Dillion was banking on that.
Uzai’s escape had brought some more time on that front and as long as he remained at large, it was really for the best. If and when they caught him…he might start talking to save his own skin. At least, that was the conventional wisdom. For Uzai, I was his ‘Mistress’ and he would never do anything to displease me. He had taken the fall for SoLo because he saw that I didn’t want her to go to jail. I wasn’t proud about allowing him to do that…but I only had so much pride to go around these days.
As soon as I walked into the station I felt like all eyes were on me. I knew that it wasn’t the case…but I was on coming on stage for my very first performance and if I didn’t absolutely nail it, there would be no encores or curtain calls. As soon as I told the Desk Sergeant who I was and I why I was there, I was breezed right through what I deemed was the usual crowd of junkies, crooks, and prostitutes to my own private holding room. It didn’t take long for my reunion to begin with the man who wanted to put me and SoLo behind bars.
Detective Dillion walked in, dressed impeccably in his suit and tie, all while sporting a questioning but somewhat amused look on his face. “Wow! I can’t believe my luck! The lying piece of shit that kept you on the streets is out running loose…and you just stroll through the front door like you own the fucking place! Who would have thought?” He closed the door behind him and stood there, folding his arms across his chest. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your presence here Ms. Shinsuzuki?”
His sarcastic tone irritated me, but I didn’t allow it to show on my face. “I’m pretty sure they told you why I was here. I wanted to give you information on…”
He waived me off before I could finish. “Stop…please! My bullshit quota with you was reached during your last visit. If you are here for something in particular…I prefer that you cut right to the chase. You see…I have a stack of cases on my desk that damn near reach the ceiling…so time isn’t something I can afford to waste.” He walked over and sat right on the corner of the table, watching me. “If you wouldn’t mind getting to the point of this…I’d really appreciate it.”
I wrung my hands nervously, unsure of how to start. The abruptness of his greeting had thrown me off and now I was at a loss. As he looked down at me, I could tell that he was well aware of that particular fact. “Detective…I…”
He rolled his eyes as he got up and walked back to the door, opened it, and stepped outside. He was not gone for longer than a few moments when he stepped back in with a file in his hand that he tossed down in front of me. “Maybe you are here about this?”
I stared at the folder, then back up at him. He gestured for me to open it, and as soon as I did my mouth went dry and my stomach clenched. I jerked my head back up as I looked at Detective Dillion. “Is this…where…I…?” I shook my head as I tried to clear my thoughts. I looked back down at the file and flipped through the photographs of my brother in an airport, then leaving. The final picture solidified the fact that they were taken at JFK International Airport in New York. I sat back in my chair and stared at him, my eyes wide and glassy. “When were these taken…?”
Detective Dillion gave me an incredulous look. “Are you REALLY going to sit there and pretend that you didn’t know…”
“WHEN WERE THEY FUCKING TAKEN?!!” I screamed, as I shook uncontrollably.
The Detective seemed taken aback by my visceral response, answering my question…likely in spite of himself. “They were taken yesterday by surveillance cameras in JFK. They tried to deny him entry…but…”
“They have nothing on him…they never have anything on him…” I answered absently in a low and foreboding voice. I stood up and nearly fell over. The Detective grabbed and steadied me, but I flinched away without even thinking. He stood back, holding up his hands apologetically, but I apologized instead. “I’m sorry…but I have to go…I have to…”
“Ms. Shinsuzuki? Kymiku!!” He called to me as I hurried out, but I didn’t stop.
I was out of the building like a shot and running for the car. I jumped inside and fumbled for the keys as SoLo stared at me through wide, startled eyes. Before she could question me, I jammed my keys into the ignition, started the car, and peeled out of the parking lot at break-neck speed.
“Oni!!? What’s going on?” SoLo asked, with a terrified look on her face.
“We have to get to Ny before he does!!” I answered curtly.
SoLo looked around nervously, latching her seat belt as she did. “Who’s coming?!!”
I gripped the steering wheel in my hands so tightly that I thought it was snap. “My brother…he’s coming for her…he’s coming here for both of us!”