June 15, 2011
3:30 pm
Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
It begins in a verdant back yard like many others all across the Pacific Northwest of North America. A small rectangle of green grass lined with a collection of shrubbery, itself within a ring of amateurishly stained wooden fencing provides an insular world for a pair of young children. The sounds of daily life are all that pierce the otherwise idyllic bubble they play in. A few cars here and there pass by on the nearby streets. Sounds of childish laughter float in on a light breeze, adding to the light mood of the afternoon. It’s a cool, slightly cloudy day - a window for the pair to embark upon a grand adventure.
One of them lives here - her father owns the modest, slightly outdated and in need of repair house. Her name is Maiko. The other is a neighbor whom she has befriended in school, Emily. Each of them have bonded over a shared love of fantastical stories, and today they’re acting out one of their own. A pair of bold princesses who are in hot pursuit of an ancient enchanted ring. It’s been taken by a horrible goblin who knows not of its awesome power, or what his evil overlord Mitch intends to do with it. Mitch also, totally coincidentally, being the name of one of the most aggravating boys at their school. Already the princesses have used magic to cross a raging river, ridden unicorns to escape over mountains from demons and stopped at a fancy castle for tea. Now they can see their goal before them - the Shade Tower, home of the evil Mitch. That goblin draws close to the tower’s lone entrance - they must act, and act now! Even while wearing fancy dresses - one pink, the other green - the princesses must act!
Emily: “Stop right there! We can’t let you take that ring to Mitch!”
Maiko thrusts her arm out at the goblin, index finger jabbing right toward his eyes.
Maiko: “Ahahahahaha! You won’t win, you monster! I’ll kick the stuffing out of you!”
She looks like she’ll totally do it too. While Maiko absolutely loves frilly, soft girly things she also isn’t afraid to wreck a monster’s whole existence when the time comes for that. Her confidence radiates outward as she takes a step toward the goblin, whom she now envisions cowering in fear of her sparkly power. A couple of things prevent her from putting an end to the wicked creature though. Firstly, Emily steps up behind her and pokes her firmly in the arm - not enough to hurt, but it gets Maiko’s attention. Maiko turns around and looks for all the world as if she doesn’t understand what the problem is.
Emily “Your laugh sounded evil. We’re supposed to be the heroines!”
Maiko chuckles and gives a curtsy as she apologizes.
Maiko: “Oh, sorry. Let me try again! Ha ha! We have you, monster! Give us the ring or-”
This is where the other thing occurs which prevents Maiko from entering battle with the goblin. A sudden sound attracts her attention, smooth but threatening all the same. Glass sliding open, heavy foot falls as a new individual enters their climactic scene. Maiko and Emily cast their gazes upwards and see a most unwelcome sight - an adult! He stares down at the two children, looking at their fabulously adorable dresses. Suddenly his brow furrows and his voice booms out like thunder directly overhead.
Maiko’s Father: “What the hell is this?!”
Maiko looks down at her dress, which he’s pointing at. She doesn’t see anything wrong with it, Emily certainly thinks it looks good on her. But her father isn’t pleased.
Maiko: “We’re playing princess!”
Maiko’s Father grabs the sleeve of her dress angrily.
Maiko's Father: “You are not wearing this! I didn’t raise you to be like that. You take that off right now, and tell your friend to go home. Now.”
The volume and tenor of his voice give Maiko little choice but to comply with the horrible demands. She’s just 10, and he’s her dad. Maiko looks over to Emily apologetically, then unzips the dress in a hurry. Dad will be angrier if she takes too long. It feels awful to step out of it, leaving her in a boring t-shirt with an orca on it and rough nasty blue jeans. All the magic is gone from what has been a fun day until now. That goblin they were chasing turns back into a stuffed alligator with a cheeky grin. Mitch’s evil tower returns to its real life form as a small maple tree near the eastern fence. With sadness and fear building to a crescendo, Maiko hands the green dress back to Emily and walks to the fence gate with her.
Maiko: “I’m sorry.. I-I’ll see you later.”
Emily: “Yeah.. see you later.”
Once Emily slips through the gate, Maiko’s heart sinks. She’s alone again with her dad, who seems to at least be placated for now. His anger diminishes and with a huff he turns around and heads inside. Maiko latches the gate, goes up to the house and sinks to her knees.
10:00 pm
Since her friend was sent home suddenly, it’s been a very unpleasant day for Maiko. Despite it being pleasant outside, she’s spent it all in her bedroom. A place that should be a safe haven despite her father’s presence in the house. Today especially it feels far more like a prison. There are a few model airplanes suspended from the ceiling by fishing wire as if in mid flight. A dresser full of the same boring, itchy and rough clothes she’s increasingly grown to loathe. Books on subjects her father thinks she enjoys, but in reality she just pays lip service to. All of it a shrine to what he wants her to be, not who she really is. It would be dreadful if she didn’t have the older computer he’d given her after upgrading his own.
With nothing else she feels like doing, she spends the day online. Surfing various videos, exploring her budding interest in women’s wrestling and falling down that rabbit hole. There’s more to it than merely pure escapism. From what she’s been told by her father, her mother is a professional wrestler. A woman whose work takes her to a lot of different places and demands that she give that her priority even over a family. Maiko knows that she’s from Japan and works there, but didn’t know her name until today. After digging through hours of video on YouTube, she thinks she’s found her. A short, stout and muscular woman who commands the ring when she sets foot in it. Someone who crushes opponents with her superior fighting skill and ridiculous strength. Most importantly, the pictures Maiko has found of her show a face that shares several features with her own. In her heart Maiko knows that Haurka Iida is her mother.
Now Maiko has even managed to track down her social media account, a rather simple one on Twitter. Having grown up being taught both Japanese and English, Maiko’s able to compose a passable message. One that she hopes will open the admittedly scary looking woman’s heart and prove Maiko's suspicions right. It feels crazy to have set up a Twitter account and uploaded a picture of herself just to message a Japanese wrestler who might be her mom. But after today, Maiko really feels a strong desperation to find somewhere else to be, someone else to be. Just after she hits send, she hears footsteps in the hallway. Heavy, angry footsteps. Maiko knows who this is, and it terrifies her. Suddenly there’s an aggressive pounding on the bedroom door.
Maiko’s Father: “What the hell are you doing up this late?”
Maiko whimpers.
Maiko: “I’m sorry, I didn’t know it was-”
He doesn’t seem to hear her, or doesn’t care if he does.
Maiko’s Father: “Go. To. Bed.”
Maiko turns the monitor off so its glow doesn’t illuminate the room and pour out under her door to the hallway. She hurriedly rushes over to her bed so that he can hear her complying to his demand. It seems to satisfy him a bit, and his heavy footsteps start to recede down the hall. For a moment she thinks she’s safe but then she hears an impactful thud and the shattering of glass. He must be drinking again, she realizes. Her father always does this when there’s a Canucks game on, and tonight it sounds like they lost. It’s what she hears next that chills her. He speaks in a cold, angry tone that feels more filled with malice than she’s accustomed to.
Maiko’s Father: “.. piece of shit.”
By the tone she’s sure he’s directing it at her. Her eyes go wide and she pulls her legs up to her chest so that she can be small. Small and unnoticeable. Maiko buries her face in her knees and tears begin pouring down her cheeks. She does her best to keep it quiet though, lest she attract more of his drunken ire. Why does it have to be like this? What did she do? Somewhere in her fear riddled mind, though, there’s a voice speaking to her. It tells her something she knows in her heart but has never given voice to. She never wants to be this afraid again.
March 16, 2022
6:00 PM
Glasgow, Scotland
Within the aged stone walls on a street corner structure exists a quaint, cozy pub. This place has been repurposed often in its time, and the signs are everywhere. From the old fortress like wall facing the street to the chandelier from its time as a club for well to dos and the names of long passed customers carved into the roof support beam, the place is crammed full of history. It's a pretty typical evening here too, full but not packed like sardines. Every table, booth and stool in the place has someone seated on it. The din of dozens of conversations, from local gossip to gripes about the local football club, is like an electric hum filling the air.
Warm light emitted from an eclectic range of wall and ceiling fixtures fills the common room. All in all, between that and the local crowd the atmosphere is warm and welcoming. The scent of alcohol is the one thing about this place that's off putting for MAIKO. These days she can tolerate it enough to meet someone in a place like this, but such was not always the case. For years her experiences at home had rendered her fearful at the faintest hint of fermented beverages. It's only thanks to her time in Japan that she's able to withstand it now.
Like the rest of the patrons she's dressed casually. An oversized red t-shirt with her name spelled out in white katana, a denim skirt with tall brown boots and a soft, warm pink jacket. She has a pint of beer before her, but she hasn’t taken a single sip yet. MAIKO has been here long enough to people-watch and size up where she's at in this new place.
One thing stands out to her that's pretty fascinating. At home in Japan, her height and build make her dramatically stand out. It's why she still has a larger than life aura there. Most of her opponents there were at least several inches shorter than her. Some were a good foot shorter! Through ItohPro she's managed to transform public perception of her from an unstoppable monster to a beloved strongwoman with a penchant for karaoke and facial expressions. Still, everyday life is harder in Japan when you're as tall as she is. Some doorways are too short so she has to duck under them or hit her head painfully on the frame. Clothes can be really hard to find which are both suitable for her height and build and which are acceptably girly for her tastes. Over here, things are easier in a number of ways.
Doors and clothes are the right size. People don't stare at her on the train because she towers over the other women. While the UK still takes a lot of adjustment from her, there are things which make it a bit easier. Somewhere near the bar a guy lets loose a boisterous exclamation and slams his pint glass down. MAIKO flinches just a bit at this as it conjures unpleasant childhood memories. She closes her eyes, folds her hands on the table and speaks softly in Japanese.
MAIKO: <I'm not going to be that afraid again. I am the Sparkly Striker. I am a princess. I am brave, strong and unafraid.>
It's something of a mantra she repeats to herself when things remind her of the unpleasant times of the past. As she's grown from girl to woman, she's needed it increasingly less. Every now and then she needs to pull it out again. This time it once again calms her nerves. She can feel her body relax, the tension melting away. Once she’s grounded enough she swipes open her phone to look at the information she’s gathered about her first opponent outside of Japan. Sonya Benson. Everything MAIKO reads and watches about Sonya makes her dislike the woman even more. There’s a lot to unpack, and MAIKO’s been doing it for days and days in succession by now. Forced into wrestling, dislikes it, cheats to get the wins an unpleasant father forces her to seek. That whole debacle in the Project: Honor battle royal is burned into MAIKO’s memory after watching it just once. Staring at a picture of her now incenses the Rose Princess even more; she’s so upset that she stands up and starts putting voice to her thoughts.
MAIKO: “Sonya, I don’t even know where to start. No matter what reason you have for hating it, there are people in this world who love professional wrestling. Dads can really suck, I agree with you about that. But your attitude toward wrestling makes this match personal! You probably hate the idea of someone calling you a wrestler, don’t you? Heck, I hate calling you one. But guess what? I’m going to do that - you are a wrestler now, and I’m going to show you what a real wrestler can do to you!”
There’s passion and a slight Canadian accent in her voice as she begins her speech. MAIKO is totally oblivious of the scene she’s causing, though. A few sets of eyes are on her out of mild curiosity. Impassioned by her opening words, MAIKO continues unabated. She puts one foot up on her chair and continues to speak dramatically.
MAIKO: “So you hate wrestling and you’ll do whatever you can to disgrace it? Being in the ring with you is an insult to me, because wrestling is my life. It’s my passion. Wrestling has made me who I am and helped me become my own woman! I haven’t spent every waking moment of the list six years sweating, bleeding and working my butt off to let someone like you beat me! My passion for this sport burns deep and bright, and just your face makes that fire burn with a rage you can’t possibly prepare for. I’m going to burn you up.”
She smiles confidently and flexes one arm as roughly half the pub is now watching her cut an impromptu promo. Still unaware of her audience she continues.
MAIKO: “None of your tricks can overwhelm a woman who was freed by wrestling. I am the strongest woman in Japan, and in a few days that strength is all being put to use to rip you apart. Maybe planting you into the mat with a Moe-Moe-Kyun full of all the passion in my heart will get through to you and change your mind. If it doesn’t, that’s too bad. But in the end the result is the same - MAIKO advances and you’re still looking for an elusive win! The Rose Princess will reign supreme and inspire all the other budding flowers to bloom beautifully!”
MAIKO points at a poster of some Scottish footballer as if it were a camera and winks. Some of the pub’s patrons cheer, others applaud politely and MAIKO suddenly remembers where she is. Her smile now bashful, she sits down and sighs contentedly. Just a few more days and she will get to hurl Sonya around the ring. Good times, indeed.