Post by Ishikawa Rini on Mar 23, 2024 5:31:47 GMT
Rini idly thumbed through her contacts in LINE. It was full of people she hadn’t spoken to in years. It hurt to see those names, but she couldn’t bring herself to delete them… She also couldn’t bring herself to actually hit the call button.
All the words flung back and forth in anger haunted her memory, and she tried to ignore them, presenting her usual happy face to the world and the only person who had understood her.
It had almost been funny that almost the moment she was released from the confines of the Japanese school system, she had found Charlotte, her Maasu. She had already spent a couple months at Hachimangū Dojo before the American-born woman had wandered onto the temple grounds. When Charlotte had joined the Dojo officially, Rini had been ecstatic. There weren’t many girls in the class, and those few that were there were more interested in stardom than actual wrestling. They’d given her all end of grief over how she was obviously favored by Hitasho-sensei, but was it really her fault if she was the one actually putting in the work needed to be a good wrestler?
And that inevitably brought her to the worst years of her relatively short life… She’d been so thrilled when the Neo-Honshu recruiter had pulled her aside and made her the offer of a lifetime. That joy had turned quickly to ash when she’d found out that they weren’t planning on offering Charlotte a job too. If only Rini had known then what would happen when she’d insisted they hire Charlotte too…
They’d hired Charlotte, but then they’d made her into a joke… And they’d held Rini back, pressuring her to give up her friendship and tag team with Charlotte. After six years, as if to put an absolute end to any aspirations the pair of them had, they’d slated Rini’s breakout match with Charlotte as her opponent. It wasn’t out of the ordinary for an up-and-comer to have Charlotte as their opponent, but Charlotte hadn’t been the only option.
It had been all she could do to keep Charlotte from guessing that it was a sign from the management that their tag-team dreams were gone; to not tell Charlotte why she was Rini’s opponent… That they’d never get the chance to reverse their initial storyline of Charlotte saving Rini from a corrupting influence and have Rini save Charlotte so they could be a team again.
It had been a relief akin to painful ecstasy when Charlotte hadn’t appeared for the match. Sure, Nat Walker had beaten the crap out of her, but at least it hadn’t been Charlotte. After that, when the managers had informed Rini that Charlotte was no longer with the promotion and they had a new contract for her to sign, Rini had taken an almost vengeful pleasure in tossing the papers back in their faces. She had only continued with Neo-Honshu out of loyalty to Charlotte; she had gotten Charlotte into the mess and there was no way she’d leave Charlotte alone to deal with it.
It had destroyed so much in her life. Her parents had guessed quickly enough that it was her friendship with Charlotte that was keeping her career from really getting anywhere. They’d never really liked Charlotte because of her mixed heritage and darker skin, and then to have that friendship stalling Rini’s ability to perform in her chosen area (nevermind their ideas about that)? All of it had boiled over long before Charlie finally walked.
She knew that her parents wanted the best for her, even if they couldn’t understand her choice of career. She knew she should have just agreed and maintained the friendship in secret. It was what all her cousins and aunts and uncles had told her, and it wasn’t as though Charlotte wouldn’t have understood…
Rini quickly wiped at her eyes, banishing the burning sensation for a little while longer. She needed to let them know… And this time, her career was thanks to the same haafu they all seemed to hate for no other reason than she was haafu. They couldn’t understand why Rini’d sacrifice so much for a friend. Yet, after all she’d put Charlotte through, how could she not? And now, with all Charlotte was doing for her, Rini could never tell her.
She scrolled back through her contacts, finding the numbers for her mother’s family and skimming to the top of them. Akira…
Her cousin had been the one who stuck by her the longest, even though he’d fallen into the family line after the final argument and subsequent estrangement. Akira had seen how much happier she’d been in the ring, and then with Charlotte as her tag partner and had made it to each of their shows, even if he had little interest in the sport itself.
Rini hit the call button before she could talk herself out of it. It rang once…
Twice…
Three times…
Four times…
Rini started to sweat, her hand clenching her phone as it rang a fifth time and then cut off. She almost sobbed, thinking it was going to voicemail until-
“Rini? Is that you?”
Her laugh must’ve sounded hysterical because it was that or start crying. “Yes. It’s me, Akira.”
“Rini, what’s wrong?!” Akira demanded.
“Nothing!” she protested quickly, too quickly. “I’m just… I’m so glad to hear your voice.”
His answering chuckle was dry. “You could’ve heard it sooner, baka. You’re lucky though. I just left your parents’ place. Chichi wanted a family meal with them.”
The mention of her parents and family meals made her heart ache. “Listen… Akira… I know it’s been years… but… Could you let them know I’m okay? I’ve got a real career going in the States now. And… I mean… if they still care -”
“Of course they care, Rini!” Akira protested. “They may not understand, but they care.”
“I know… But the point is… Una and I have our tag team going again, and I have a real match coming up. It’ll be aired here Tuesday night, so it’ll be Wednesday morning for you. Could you let them know?”
“Of course, Rini. I’ll make sure to record it. What promotion are you with now?”
Rini allowed herself a weak laugh. “Imperial Wrestling Federation.” She knew Akira wouldn’t understand the significance until he looked it up. “I’ll tell you all about what’s happened later, but I gotta go. I’ve been running interference to keep Una from killing Tsuki.”
“You’ll call me Saturday morning and make sure you don’t leave anything out. We’ve all been worried since we heard the report of you leaving Neo-Honshu.”
“HANNAH, I SWEAR BY ALL THE KAMI AND UNELANUHI IF YOU DON’T BACK THE FUCK OFF RIGHT NOW-”
“Shit… I gotta go, Akira. I promise I’ll call you then.” Rini disconnected the call, barely hearing his parting words before her thumb swiped the call away.
Rini bursts into the frame in a flurry of stars, hearts, crescent moons and pink bows. “Ohayō gozaimasu! Watashi wa Mahō-hime, Ishikawa Rini desu. Hajimemashite!” Rini chatters brightly, ending with a short bow from her waist.
Hannah staggers in, breathless from chasing the Japanese girl. “Rini! I know you’re excited for your upcoming match but you gotta wait for me! Your English isn’t that good yet!”
“Oh Tsuki-chan! My English fine. Maasu and I promo perfect do!” Rini protests.
Hannah lets out a sigh of long suffering, having finally caught her breath. “We agreed that you would have me translate for your promos. The only reason you do the English promos for East Wind is because you have time to practice the lines.”
Rini almost pouts, but resigns herself to the need.
“Now… I heard you introduce yourself, so we’ll skip to the fun bits. Your first solo match since joining IWF is against Amber Vogel, a young woman who’s been trained by some of IWF’s finest; what do you have to say about it?”
As Rini speaks in rapid Japanese, Hannah translates in the pauses.
“Amber Vogel has been trained by some of the finest wrestlers in the world, and if there is one thing that my career in Japan, such as it was, taught me, it is that you cannot take such connections for granted. But Amber has not put those connections or training to good use as yet. She did not win her match against Dixie Wrecks, and she was the first eliminated in the Battle Royale last week. Perhaps this has shown her what she needs to work on to face someone in a real ring, not in the training circle.
“Amber Vogel, I honor your training, and I welcome the challenge you present to me.”
Rini stops speaking long enough to offer the camera a respectful bow from her waist.
“However, I was trained at Hachimangū Dojo, as Charlotte Shimizu was. Of those that were there, only five were offered a chance to advance beyond the private school and town festival shows into the professional world. Of those five, there were only two women… If you cannot guess, those two were Charlotte and I. I may not have had a world-renowned trainer or three, but Master Hitasho was the best in all Hokkaido. He taught us to fight with our hearts and our heads working as one, to match our desires with our abilities.”
Hannah hesitates before continuing her translation, looking at Rini with skepticism for a long moment before rolling her eyes with a small shrug and launching into it again.
“But I also discovered a secret power. It gave me strength to defeat all who challenged me inside the ring. I have spent all my time since then learning to control this skill. There was a time I could not, but I was saved and allowed to repent. Lady Kaguya has cleansed my spirit and given me purpose; to shine the purifying light of justice in the world of professional wrestling.”
Hannah looks distinctly uncomfortable as Rini goes through the dramatic arm movements and poses and is barely keeping a straight face the entire time.
“Amber Vogel, I am the Magic Princess, Rini Ishikawa. In the name of the Moon, I'll defeat you!”
Hannah looks like she desperately wants to leave as the view is swarmed by gold and pink lights, and then cuts.
Well howdy there pardner.