Card from the diary. - ToS

03.06.20 Osaka, Japan

*Recent results were not very satisfying not only for Hana herself, but also for Arata, who because of his own problems, was quite nervous. After another defeat on DOMINION, the young Japanese woman was sure, that alongside with her arrival to Osaka, she would receive a lecture from her trainer. Although she understood his behavior, as he wanted to help her,  his good advice was not always something that she could do. The girl's personality was what very often limited her, especially when excessive violence was in the game. Hana always felt bad about having to hurt someone, so she often hoped that her clashes would take place under neutral rules. However, as it soon turned out, it was only a childish stupidity of the girl. With each subsequent week, she was put in an increasingly difficult situation and even if for many it was nothing serious, she had big problems finding herself in a completely unfamiliar environment for her. Looking at what was going on, Hana still had the impression that it was miracle, that she managed to beat Claudia Michaels in the Outlaw Rules Match, especially since her subsequent attempts to deal with hardcore stuff were rather miserable. This made her feel pretty bad, because she was afraid that she would disappoint her team during Trial of Seven. After all, looking at her experience and approach, she was the weakest link. Many even claimed that she is more of the mascot for The World's Finest than their real competitor. She was aware of it and the only thing she wanted so bad, was proving to to them that it was nonsense.  However, in the same time she was scared, that the words of these people could be confirmed if she makes any mistake. Hana had a hope that maybe Arata's influence would help her deal with this stress and lack of confidence. But to her surprise, in the training room there was not even a trace of her trainer. However, the person that she saw, was also familiar. At first, there was total silence in the room, as Hana was quite confused, but when she was close enough to the young Spaniard, she finally could not stand it and had to say something.*

“Where's Arata-San? Besides, what are you doing here, Angelo?”

*Hana spoke quite uncertainty, while the Spaniard only smiled sarcastically. Angelo looked at her for a while, but her reaction made him feel clearly disappointed. At first, he wanted to ignore her questions, but the young man decided that it would be better to clarify a few things.*

“Actually, I should have expected, that you will not happy about seeing me. However, I did not think that what I would see myself, would look so pathetic. Kid, you look like you're about to cry and I'm here to help you. Since the sight of an ally scares you so much, I don't even want to think about how you are going to survive in this cage. I wonder, however, where does this fear in your eyes come from...is it the result of the fact, that you saw me strangle someone with a dog collar, or maybe that I don't give a shit about throwing someone into the glass? It doesn't really matter, Hana, people in the wrestling industry are different and you won't always meet those, who are all about being cute and nice. Sometimes you will have to face what is scary to you...sometimes you will have to do things, that you would not normally do. Isn't it like that when it comes to Trail of Seven? Well, I believe, you are not stupid enough to think, that these Underworld people will not use the environment as much as they can. The only solution is to do the same, but the problem is that you can't. That's why I'm here, instead of Arata. He's too nice to let you know, that there is nothing wrong with a little bit of brutality, Hana. All he has ever done was asking you to think out of the box during such matches. You know well, that I don't have in a habit to be so polite. I'm going to help you realize, that you have no choice but to adapt, even if I have to hit you in this stupid head for yours, to make you understand. Maybe it seems like a nightmare, honey, but in this cage you will face a few people worse than me.”

*Holding his hands in the pockets of his pants, Angelo stared at the still scared girl. At first, Hana combed her hair nervously with her fingers until she finally had to response. The fact was, that she not only did not understand the Spaniard's approach, but also she couldn't speak with him.*

“It's so easy for you, because you don't care what these people feel. Sometimes I have the impression, that you have no heart.”

*Hana wasn't able to add anything more, as Angelo started to laugh out loud. The young woman was only looking at him questioningly until he explained his reaction.*

“It was cute and exactly that approach is what you should avoid. Hana, stop with this stupidity, because it takes away from a chance to see the real world. You are blinded by your own vision." He just shook his head before continuing "You said, I don't have a heart, do you? The heart is just an organ, honey. Your stupidity comes from somewhere else, but that's not the point. What you should understand is that, the longer you worry about what someone else feels, the more you forget about yourself. People are selfish beings, kid, that's how this world works. Either you take care of yourself or nobody will help you, and even if you don't see it, that's reality. Do you think that any of your teammates care about something else than their own egos? They can say what they want, but I'm more than sure, that none of them thinks about the common good of company, but about themselves only. Each of them wants revenge on The Underworld, because at some point they began to be pain in the ass for them. When I say everyone, I mean everyone, Hana. Even your tag partner is not different in this case.”

“April is not li...”

*The girl wanted to defend her friend, but Angelo barked at her before she could do it. The man doesn't like, when someone interrupts him.”

“Shut up! First of all, if you don't notice, I'm still saying something. Secondly, you really don't need to justify April, because what I said is a truth. If you were not so delighted with the fact, that she cares for you so much, you would notice that she is more interested in putting her hands on this fool. Who even calls himself Pizza Boy? However, this is not the point. I heard that he wrestles under a different name right now, huh? Whatever. What i am trying to show you, is that everyone has their reasons to be in this match...everyone has their specific goal during the Trail of Seven, but none is even close to what is in your head. Although, you know what? Do you really care about the good of the company? Because I believe that there is a more selfish reason? Let's think for a moment...Do you remember how Maverick attacked after King of the World and paid a lot of attention to you for a long time? Maybe you want to repay him for all this suffering? Wait, I have something better. Or is Claudia Michaels your target? After all, you don't want to tell me, that you don't care about the American Dream Championship? Whether it's one of these two or something else, only one thing matters. You have to take this seriously and leave this cute attitude behind you for at least one night. If you don't do it, you lost already, understand? I know, I'm not someone you could trust, but believe me, if you want to survive in this cage, then you need to wake up the internal monster for a moment.”

*The Japanese woman was overwhelmed by his words to such an extent, that she did not know what to say. It seemed that the conversation ended and eventually the training began, but Angelo added a few more words in spanish.*

“You are the hunter or the prey. The choice is yours, kid.“

10.06.20 Tokyo, Japan

*Training with one of her former allies was not the most pleasant thing, that ever happened to her. Although it has been a week, Hana still felt the results of preparations under Angelo's wing. Did she regret it? No, somehow she finally felt a little more confident, even though she was still worried. However, the Japanese woman did not hide, that she was happy, that she could finally spend some time at home and rest before her journey to Russia. It wasn't easy to relax, as newer thoughts or scenarios of what would happen at Kingdom Come, appeared in her head. For the last two days, she just walked around the house aimlessly, unable to find herself something to do. However, the match itself wasn't her only problem. She thought about Angelo's words all the time. Did she have other purpose than just making Wrestleworld more peaceful place? Perhaps the young Spaniard was right, that there was always something more? Hana sometimes felt, that there was some truth in it, even if she wasn't sure if it was a case of revenge or chasing one of the championships. But was that important now? In the end, what mattered, was that everyone would stand against The Underworld, regardless of their motives. Although, this whole cooperation doesn't look as good as they show it on the screen. Some relationships among The World's Finest seemed to be more like first step to fail than to overcome this terror of Claudia Michaels. However, something was telling Hana, that despite the fact, that the opposition seems to be more united, there are even more problems on their side. This could be deduced not only by their actions, but also by the way in which they talk about each other. Hana listened very carefully to all these statements, looking for answers to her nagging questions. However, instead of explanation, she felt that she knew even less than before. The young woman couldn't sort out her thoughts until she finally noticed something, that might have been the solution to her problem. On the bookcase laid an old diary, of which many pages were still empty. Hana took the object with her and, sitting on the bed, began to write.*

“Dear diary,

We haven't seen each other for a long time. I hope you're not mad at me, but I thought I was too old to keep using you. It turns out, that I was wrong. Maybe I need you more than I could have expected. Either way, it's good to talk to you, my old friend. I have many things to tell you, even if you don't answer me anyway. All in all it would be nice if we could have a real dialogue, but real life is not a Disney fairy tale. However, the lack of speaking diaries is not the only reason why one can say, that life has nothing to do with a fairy tale. Maybe my current situation looks a bit like this, when it comes to Trial of Seven. If this were the story in the children's book, it would be the final battle between good and bad side. You know, the princess & the princes against the army of villains. Oh, that sounds ridiculous, but who cares. There are probably more important issues to discuss than what it could be if magic existed.” Hana hit her forehead with an open hand, being mad at herself, that she was distracted too much “It seems like I can't get rid off my bad habits, but let me, finally, tell you a few things. So on Sunday there will be a pretty big match called Trial of Seven. The rules are a bit complicated, so it probably doesn't make sense to explain it to you, but what is important, is that it can change a lot. That's why I feel a little stressed, that I can let my team down. I know that this match is mainly based on cooperation, so no one will blame me, but losing any of us will be painful for the rest, who stay in this cage. We can't afford it, not only because we have to protect Cloud at all costs - don't tell her, I didn't call her Stephanie-San, but also because maybe this is the last opportunity to stop The Underworld. In short, I can't fail. However, my lack of confidence is not the only thing, that can destroy our chance for victory. I don't want to be rude, but Cloud and April are looking at each other with hatred in their eyes. Even if I know they are both professionals, one wrong move can still make them stand against each other. In this case, I'm more worried about April. Cloud seems to care about our team a lot. She even had the courage to get involved in the OWA Goddesses Championship Match to save Alyssa from a serious injury. At the same time, however, it costed April the title. You should know that she can't forgive so easily. As I managed to notice, she is a good and loving woman, but when someone gets under her skin, she can be ruthless.

However, our problems do not end there. Well, people say I'm naive, but Nobi is probably even more so. I am not sure, what I can not understand more...that he just reconciled with the loss of his friend...or that he does not see how bad a person is Ms. Claudia? Don't get me wrong, because I love Nobi. This is one of the nicest people, I've ever seen, but sometimes he lacks common sense. It's funny, that I'm the one who is saying that. I believe that many people would think the same about me. However, despite my charming nature, I am smarter than they think. Although, maybe it's not so bad, that they underestimate me? It is true, that it hurts. In the end, they don't treat me as a threat, but on the other hand, they make a huge mistake by being led by ignorance.”

*The girl stopped writing for a moment to take a sip of tea. After a while, she took the pen again.*

“I think that I was a little rude. However, I don't want you to misunderstand me, diary. I believe in our team, after all, there are many talented and experienced people on our side. But I believe even more, that Trial of Seven can be the beginning of a new order, or at least I hope so. However, since I have already told you a bit about my partners, you should probably also hear few words about those on the opposite side. I think it's best to start with the person, who created all this chaos. Ms. Claudia doesn't seem like a bad person, but the closer you know her, the more you understand how wrong you were. In fact, it is someone, who not only is selfish and doesn't see her own flaws, but she also uses people. Actually, The Underworld was created so that she could do it, but the members of this faction are not the only people, who she tried to manipulate. At one point, when we had one free spot, Ms. Claudia decided to bribe the rest of the roster so that they would not help us. Fortunately, Ares appeared, but that's not why I'm talking about it. I'm just trying to let you know what a coward Claudia Michaels is. Looking at her reputation, I always thought she was a strong woman, which is why I was even more surprised, that she wants to win at all cost. Ambitions are good, but this was never the case. Ms. Claudia just wants to be sure, that everyone will be intimidated to such an extent, that they won't even think about getting closer to the American Dream Championship. Is this okay? NO! I understand her role as an Architect and that she wants to find the best possible first champion, but looking at her behavior, it is far from that. She doesn't want to crown anyone. What's more, I get the impression, that she thinks nobody else deserves to hold this belt. Well, many have tried, but they failed...although we have to remember about the various scams of Ms. Claudia, so that she could keep the title. Anyway, officially the American Dream Championship belongs to her. Although, even if I would love to, I can't forget about all these cheap shots...for example the one, when during the Elimination Chamber Match, Andrew let himself be eliminated to help her. It was not only humiliating for all participants, but also for the title, which is supposedly so important to her. At first, I wondered why she was acting like this and the answer is simple. No matter what she says about herself, she knows she is not untouchable. Actually, me and Nobi have proved it in front of thousands of viewers. Well, we can say that Ms. Claudia was lucky, that her only defeats in Wrestleworld weren't title matches.

Since I mentioned Andrew...This is not his official name, but my friend likes to call him like that. In fact, most of them refer to him as "The Professional". All in all, it's quite funny, because he is far from being professional and it concerns many different things. He is definitely impressive in the ring, but when it comes to moral aspects...Just see how he treats his former friend. I told you about Nobi, right? Literally Andrew put a knife in his back and he still has the audacity to say it's his fault. It's really sad, when I have to see him playing with the feelings of poor Nobi. However,  he isn't the only victim of such tricks. For some reason Andrew has a habit of provoking April. I don't know, maybe he is slightly obsessed with her? Certainly not as much as Wraith with Alyssa, but it's still not a normal relationship. Returning to what I started, for some time I believed that maybe Andrew still has a chance to change is approach, but after he and his stablemates hurt April...after I lost to Maverick because of him...I just lost my faith in him. I was always thinking, that Andrew was still alive inside of The Professional, but it seems like Andrew Sanders is dead. Will he regret it? Perhaps when he looks in the mirror after some time and sees something he hates, he will understand his mistake, but then it may be too late. It's quite interesting, that people who don't see the problem in themselves are the first one to point out mistakes of others. To be honest, I was quite surprised when he said all these things about April. I had the impression, that he couldn't believe that you could be nice and succeed at the same time. Who knows why he behaves like this, maybe some incident in the past has hurt him so much.

It may be interesting, but I decided to stay away from Andrew as much as possible, because it's April's target. You know, I'm not going to interfere in her business. That's what friends do, right? Besides, there is someone more troublesome to me than The Professional. The person I'm talking about is Maverick or Jason...at least I think his real name is Jason. Well, he wasn't gentleman enough to introduce himself. Actually, this term is not something, I could use to describe him. Mav is quite mean, like bad boy from fanfiction. It sounds stupid, but it's true. Anyway, despite the fact that he is malicious, I have the impression that he likes me a little, or at least others say so. Well, he offered me his help several times. Of course, I rejected it, because all his words were nonsense. How could I leave April for someone so unreliable? However, it seems to me that he had a slightly different purpose. I'm not sure what it is, but Twitter says that he is flirting with me. He seems to dream of "Hot Asian Wife". Okay, diary, it was a stupid joke...at least I hope I can treat it as a joke. He is a pretty boy, but he has a nasty personality. Besides, our history is quite miserable. It may be wrong that I have a grudge, but this guy attacked me only because Sweet Melody beat their team...although, it was even more than once. Whatever. For some reason, Maverick believes this is a good path, because he can't realize that he is a brainless puppet. This is not just my opinion, but the fact. He would be definitely better if he dealt with his own business. From time to time, I get a look at OWA and before he joined forces with Havoc, I must admit that he was doing very well as a singles competitor. He even had a pretty good match with Arata-San. However, it seems that Maverick needs to be constantly babysitted to have a false sense of security. And they say, that I'm the kid here, huh? Conti..."

*Hana interrupted her note, when she hears her mother's voice. The woman told her daughter, that she had a guest. That's why Hana left her diary on the bed and went to see who visited her.*

10.06.20 Tokyo, Japan - Later that day.

*As it turned out, it was one of Hana's friends, with whom the girl spent the rest of the day. However, when she returned to her room at evening, she reminded herself about the diary, which was still lying on the bed. Without hesitation, she returned to her previous place and continued what she began.*

“Conti…

Actually, I don't think I have anything more to add about Maverick. I'm afraid that if I do it, it won't be nice. But should I worry about being nice to these people? After all, they do what they want, without even thinking for a moment whether they will hurt someone or not. Did The Professional even wonder if Nobi would be suffering? No! Did Ms. Claudia think for a second about all those people, who she had deprived of the chance to win the American Dream Championship? Definitely not. Did Maggall feel guilty about throwing me into the steel steps or the table? Well, the worst thing about all this, is probably that he did it just because his ego was hurt. Maybe that's why Mr. Jaywalker rejected him, after all, it is not easy to control someone who is so moody. It's hard to call Maggall in a different way, seeing the reason for his behavior towards me. Honestly, it's hard for me to believe, that it was Ms. Claudia's idea. From the beginning, Maggall seems to only care about his own business, so I doubt that he would just fulfill her orders like a good boy. I just think, that he was salty that three little girls managed to eliminate him. When I think about it right now, it's a little pathetic to react to failure in such a way, but as you know, men have quite a delicate ego.

Since I have already mentioned the topic of ego, some are so absorbed by their alleged perfection, that they do not even accept that someone may think differently. Perhaps this is the reason why Wraith was stalking Alyssa, even though she was clearly not interested. It is hard for me to say whether he really is in love with her, or maybe he is simply led by the hunter's instincts, because she rejected him. Men are sometimes silly. It seems to me that it can be a thing, especially, looking at what he did to her just a few days ago during Chapter 15. Well, I can say, that I often don't understand his behavior. What else? I never had too much to do with him...maybe it is better. The last time we saw each other during Divide & Conquer Match, during which he disqualified himself like a complete idiot by hitting me with a chair. Yeah, I haven't forgotten about it..It was soooooo rude. But then our paths diverged. I started working with April, while he was given a valuable item, namely a briefcase with a contract. The briefcase, which is a kind of a golden ticket, but because of being its owner, he lost a lot as well - the trust of his boss. Why? Wraith still doesn't want to admit what contract is in his possession, so Ms. Claudia prefers to keep a distance, just in case he would betray her. Sometimes I have the impression, that she is just waiting for a good moment to get rid of him. Can I blame her? No, nobody wants to have a rat in their ranks, especially since Wraith is not trustworthy even without a briefcase. The fact is, he only thinks about himself, which quite conflicts with Ms. Claudia's expectations. It can be said, that two narcissi in one team is way too much.

Cash and Lannister are the last on the long list of The Underworld members. I'm not even sure what to say about them, dear diary, because I don't know them very well. I heard many things, but it's not the same as seeing it with my own eyes. However, I have no choice, but to believe that it is all true. So, first I looked at Cash and I think he is the least bad person in this faction. It is true, that there are a few things that damage his reputation...There has to be a reason why people say, that he sometimes behaves like a psychopath, huh? However, I must admit that I admire how much love he gives to Sakura. I wish someone would ever be so crazy out of love for me. Talking about madness. It's unbelievable how much chaos accompanies this match. Not so long ago, I thought that in this cage, I would have to face this huge man called The Burned Man, but it turned out that it would be Lannister instead. I have heard this name before, apparently it is one of those people, who is considered as a legend. Looking at his achievements, it's hard to deny it, but over time everything changes and maybe it's not the same Lannister, that created its own empire ages ago. I am not sure if it is truth or not, because I have never met this man face to face, but there seems to be a lot of bad blood between him and Ares. That's why, as in case of April and Andrew, I'm not going to interrupt until I'm needed.

This how looks the whole situation, when it comes to Trial of Seven. I'm still not sure what to think about it, but I guess I must finally start to be more confident if I don't want to be a burden to The World's Finest. After all, I'm not the same Hana, that I was a few months ago. During this time, I have grown up a bit, at least I think so. However, even if in recent months I had the opportunity to face various challenges, Trial of Seven is something that I have never experienced before. Perhaps that is why it is so scary and exciting at the same time. However, despite all these feelings, I know what my role is. I must be a good warrior and defend our Queen.”

*After finishing the last sentence, Hana closed her diary and put it on the floor next to the bed. She was quite happy, that she found it, because it helped her sort out her thoughts a lot. The young Japanese woman felt, that her mind was much more clear than a few days ago, and yet that was what she needed, before she will enter cage at Kingdom Come.*