Memory Lane

God. Fucking. Damn it.

He lost again. Pinned for a three count.

It took a while for MYOJIN to wake up after the Main Event of Chapter 18. He had gotten the wind knocked out of his lungs so badly it almost felt like his soul had left his body. He was used to the feeling of being knocked out, err- Well, waking up after being knocked out. The young MMA fighter-turned-professional wrestler had experienced the feeling multiple times throughout his life so far that it wasn’t anything new. Of course, it hurt and his body would be aching long afterward and his head would be spinning- Sometimes he’d even feel absolutely nauseous for days later. While the force of getting hit, or in his case, slammed into unconsciousness was technically not normal OR healthy for the human body to continuously experience, it was the norm for someone like him. Fighting was all about trial and error, no one won every single fight in their life- The key to success was usually learning how to minimize the chance of getting put to sleep to win. MYOJIN knew that. He had experienced the disappointment of losing many times in a, especially similar fashion as to Chapter 18 and always got back up, dusted himself off, and tried again. It sucked but it was never a really big deal…

So why did it feel so soul-crushing this time?

\Maybe it was because he hadn’t had his skull planted that hard in a while. Maybe because it was embarrassingly humbling to get put out like that after talking such shit to RZD. Maybe it was because he felt like he didn’t just let himself down- he let everyone down. Quinn, his family, his fans, anyone that was rooting for him.

Or maybe it was because he tried his absolute best this time, he felt so confident, so sure of his abilities along with his tag partner that he believed they could win… just to come up short. It reminded him in an uncomfortable way of how he’d always used to be compared to his siblings. That he was a prodigy like them, but as hard as he tried- As much as he fought… he was always in their shadow. MYOJIN thought in wrestling he could change that perception… but could he really? He didn’t want to admit it or even consider the possibility as painful dread weighed down in his chest, but maybe he’d just never be as good as he aspired to be.

He felt even more like an idiot as he walked backstage, holding the back of his head with a grimace. Desperately trying to keep the tears threatening to spill down his face from doing so. Fuck, did he hate to cry. He hated being emotionally vulnerable in general- and yet, he was always a bit of a ‘crybaby’ whenever something went wrong.

“MYOJIN? Hello!” Some interviewer’s voice called out behind him. He turned around, still holding the back of his head- An ice pack would be nice to have. He realized it was that Bobby Bishop guy and simply sighed. An interview was really something he wasn’t looking forward to as he quickly wiped at his own eyes once he saw a cameraman coming closer as well.

“First off, I just want to say I’m sorry about how tonight went for you and Nathan Quinn. You truly gave it your all and it was a great match! And you were on fire!” The man said. MYOJIN visibly cringed and briefly looked away. That didn’t make him feel much better.

“...Thanks.” He simply responded, wincing at how sore he felt.

“It’s been announced to you and your partner, or… former partner, Nathan Quinn will be joining the Dreamscape match!” Now that had caught his attention. MYOJIN simply raised his eyebrows, he guessed that was the end of their tag team run together- About three matches... He was growing to think of Nathan as a buddy too.

“So with that knowledge now given, how are you feeling at the moment and how do you plan to get prepared for Dreamworld?”

MYOJIN simply paused. What kind of question was that? How was he supposed to answer that? Say ‘I feel like a loser and probably gonna mope until then’? The blonde simply shook his head and began to walk away. “I don’t know.” He bluntly admitted as he left a perplexed Bishop.

Once he made back to his hotel room on the island, he still wasn’t exactly sure of how to feel. He should feel excited he was going to be on his first PPV ever, on a high profile match at that- But he still felt… empty. Unsatisfied. Upset. Wiping the makeup off of his face, he went from MYOJIN to Shouta Kuromiya once more- This time with a hurt on his face- one that showed a wounded pride. After he had gotten back and checked his phone, he knew he had a few voicemails. Ones that he was hesitant to listen to- because Shouta knew exactly what they were going to say. Especially after he had mouthed off excitedly to everyone he knew that he was going to be in the main event of a Wrestleworld chapter. No, they weren’t going to rub it in his face that he lost- He’d almost prefer that over what he knew what they were going to say as he tapped the first, earliest voicemail- from the sorta friend he made in Austin Rex.

“Hey, kid… I know you’re probably not in the mood to talk right now, but I’m sorry how that went down against Red Zone District. If it helps? You and Quinn put up an amazing fight, especially for only your third match in Wrestleworld. I know it hurts you didn’t win, but to be fair, those guys are the Campeonatos de Parejas for a reason. They’re a dominant tag team, and not everyone gets it on their first try-”

Shouta stopped the message before it could go any longer. Deleting it quickly. He went on the other. From his older sister, Akira.

“Shouta, are you alright? Please call me when you get this, I hope you didn’t get hurt really bad… I know it sucks to lose, but keep your head up, alright? You stole the entire show, sure it didn’t go the way you wanted but-”

Stopped. Deleted. Onto the next. From his older brother, Satoshi.

“Yo, man- I’m gonna go ahead and guess you’re prolly not gonna answer my calls because you’re in a bad mood. But you did really good, you have potential and the management at Wrestleworld definitely see tha-”

Shouta let out an enraged scream, violently tossing his phone across the room with a distinct thud as he smacked his lamp over as well. He sat down on his bed and placed his head in his hands. God, he fucking hated that bullshit. That sugarcoating. That ‘oh but you did so good’! He wasn’t a damn kid, that didn’t cheer him up- It pissed him off. It was like rubbing it in his face how close they were winning. How close he was to winning and making a bigger name for itself. It was annoying, so, so, so, SO annoying. Everyone had been saying the same thing to him all night and all it did was make him feel worse and worse.

Shouta just wanted to go to bed. Then back to San Diego- and stay in his apartment to avoid friends and family at all costs.

---

La Jolla Cove.

This little, lovely beach area with pure white sand, palm trees, and beautiful sights located in San Diego was a place of childhood for MYOJIN. Well, that was a bit of an understatement, it meant a lot more to him than just that- specifically the memories that accompanied the place. (Plus it was known as the 6th best beach in the United States).

The sun was lowering, the bright blue sky now falling into shades of almost pastel-like oranges, purples, and hot pinks as the day came ever closer to ending- giving the beach a soft, calm hue. The clouds above had an almost magical, golden aura to them as the sun barely dangled over the horizon’s line of sight. The sea calmly pulsing in waves in an almost predictable pattern, with the soothing sound of its waves crashing into the water.

It was pure nostalgia for MYOJIN. As he walked close near the shoreline. Wearing a simple white V-neck tee that was a bit baggy on his body- accompanied by some ripped acid-washed jeans and white hi-top sneakers, of course, accompanied by his dark-lensed sunglasses. His golden tufts of hair gently blew in the wind as his hands were in his pockets. Eventually, he stopped in his tracks, taking a soft breath as he took in the fresh air. No one else was around.

MYOJIN took his shades off and raised his arms, gesturing all around himself. “This place, right here? This place meant and still means a lot to me. It's a…”

He took a shaky breath, clearing his throat as his voice cracked. Thinking of good times as a little kid always made him want to start bawling- but he refused to let himself break down on camera. “...Ahem. Sorry, just needed a second, haha- It's a place that reminds me of so much when I was younger. Now, thinking about it, it's been a loooooong while since I've been here.”

The Japanese Aristocrat lightly laughed in thought, “My parents, when my siblings and I were just kids, would take us to this beach around this time every Summer after we'd go on a vacation and come back to San Diego. It was like their way of giving us like one more fun time before school would be coming back soon enough. We'd spend so much of the day here, doing all the typical kinda shit you'd expect kids at the beach would do, you know? Volleyball, playing in the water, burying each other in the sand- But… as expected, the family of yours truly isn't exactly normal. Satoshi, Akira, and I loved to freakin' roughhouse here.”

MYOJIN grinned, lightly brushing a lock of his dyed blonde hair out of his face. “As kids that absolutely loved stuff like wrestling and MMA, we'd be copying all the moves we'd see on TV. Like piledrivers, DDTs, powerbombs, we'd even try hurricanranas… Albeit they rarely worked.”

He giggled softly.

“Our mom would always scold us for being super reckless while our dad would act like a 'commentator', she'd get mad at him too- but we never really listened. Plus the sand felt cushiony enough so we never really hurt each other.”

The Shining Star turned to see the sunset, watching another star make way for the earth's moon soon enough. “Now, I already know people are going to be asking; ‘What the fuck does any of this have to do with the Dreamscape match, MYOJIN? Why should we care about this sentimental crap?”

The warm, charismatic smile on his face began to fade as he began to wear a more serious expression. “This was where mh want to become a professional wrestler really started, I think. Where my dream began.”

“Sure, I became an MMA fighter first- and I know many are probably tired of me mentioning that- but that was mostly because it was a family thing. I enjoyed fighting in the octagon, but it didn't quite… scratch that I had ever since I was a little baby Shining Star. It didn't satisfy me and eventually when I started to ask myself why… It was because I was missing the fun I felt when play-wrestling at this beach. MMA was too strict for me, had too many rules and regulations- it turned my love for fighting into a chore… whereas wrestling always had this appeal of chaos, unpredictability, it felt like where I belonged… It gives me the same feeling of excitement as I used to feel here.”

“La Jolla Cove was pretty much my origin story in a way. It led me to be here.”

MYOJIN bit his lip, beginning to think with a conflicted look. “I've seen what everyone has been saying about Chapter 18, even people I know personally have been saying the same thing- That I looked really good in that match and shouldn't be ashamed that I had lost. I just can't let it go… A loss is a loss and I hate that people have been trying to protect my feelings, even my former partner has been doing that. I don't want pity. I don't want to be known as the kid who's always so close and has ‘potential’ but never realizes it and I have the chance to prove that I'm more than that at Dreamworld, specifically the Dreamscape match.”

MYOJIN placed his hands on his hips.

“Fourteen other competitors are going to be in that match. The reward for winning? A title shot at any of one's choosing. The opportunities, the dreams that can be realized with a chance like that are limitless. Anyone who wins that match instantly gets the opportunity to be at the top… and it's both exciting and nerve-wracking to think about. I want it bad, but I already know everyone else in that match wants that win just as much.”

“There are some good fighters in that match. Emmanuelle has been on fire recently, she's been kicking ass. I hope to fight her in a one on one sooner than later because she can absolutely bring it- But she doesn't really care that much about this as I do, after all.. she's made it very clear that she doesn't really like wrestling besides the fact that she's really good at it and it makes her money.”

MYOJIN crossed his arms. “Lillie Saint, she's no joke either. But in a sense, she's almost kind of too nice for this- Not that it's a bad thing, and she might even prove me wrong.”

“There's Ryan Young, who I admittedly don't know a lot about. He hasn't done much here, keyword: here. I know he's been in other promotions but none of that really means anything when you're in a different place, against different people.”

“Axel Topnotch is… an interesting guy. I remember hitting him with Falling From Heaven and pinning him for a three count. He's nothing very impressive, even if he and Emmanuelle have beaten me once- I'd go on to even say she sort of carried the team on her back.”

“Ran D. Savage, Hull Kogan, they seem like they're on near-fatal amounts of cocaine and steroids and so out of their minds I'm not sure if they'll even make it to the ring. T.J. Thompson, Tony Gun, Jimmy Johnson, all haven't really done much besides sit around and try to claim how badass they are or act like they're the most impressing signups.”

“Mark Frenzy?” MYOJIN placed a hand over his mouth, trying to stifle a bit of laughter.

“That guy is a clown. He's so delusional that he thinks his pufferfish face is handsome or that his dressing style is elegant. Honey, I can recognize thrift store suits when I see them. He's some bigoted douche who has delusions of grandeur about how he can change wrestling? He's mad that athleticism is a big thing in modern wrestling because he lacks the agility or talent to compete against it, let's also not mention how high-flyers existed in his precious vintage wrestling as ya know… luchadors? His mindset and ideals are so backward I wouldn't be surprised if he thinks women belong in the kitchen. Yeah, I hate that guy, I can't think of anyone who'd ever like a transphobic piece of shit like him- I know, I know, I'm getting sidetracked.”

"A guy who goes by Nas, apparently a big legend- Not very liked by Emmanuelle. To be honest, I have to agree with her. It seems like a legend, trying to steal a chance from a bunch of hungry rookies to the top of the ladder.”

“And last but not least, my former tag partner, Nathan Quinn- He acts like he knows everything I'm capable of as if I haven't been studying him as well. He's also been kind of condescending toward me... and I get it, it's nothing personal- he'd just trying to look tough and cool on camera. Unfortunately, he only comes off like the most… boring guy ever. How can a guy that is both a private investigator and wrestler come off as so… bland? With all his bland wannabe cool guy rants- I was honestly hoping I'd rub off on him a little...”

MYOJIN wore a bit of a grin, shrugging his shoulders- before turning a bit serious once more. “All jokes aside, I know it may not seem like I'm really taking in the gravity of the situation I'm in seriously- I know how big this win could be for me, I know it could mean so much for my career. It could help to prove that I was worth signing to Wrestleworld, to reach the potential everyone says I have.”

“I can't come up with some badass one-liner for while I'll win. I can't list some random accomplishments from other places that no one here cares about. I can't make up some pretentious reasons like ‘trying to make wrestling great again’. So I'll be honest: I'm going to give it all I have. I'm going to try as hard as I can. I will fight and crawl my way through hell in that Dreamscape if it finally gets me somewhere. I want this, I need this- because I want to make my dream come true and I don't really give a damn about how cheesy that sounds- I'll kick as many heads and break as many arms as I have to.”

MYOJIN placed his sunglasses back on, taking one more good look at the darkening sky.

“And my dream shines the brightest of them all.”

He started walking down the shoreline again as the moon began to show. Dreamscape was his chance to make it big, and MYOJIN was going to do everything in his power to take that chance.