A Fire Rises

It was still early in the evening. The first match had been and gone, whetting the audience’s hunger for what was to come. And there was plenty more to come, the card stacked with – in fairness – the usual array of standard bouts, a tag match and so on but the recent shakeups ensured that no fan wanted to miss anything. There was a wary curiosity in the air, suspicion and eagerness warring in equal measure as both those in attendance and at home waited to see what the future would bring.

Which was when the theme music hit. Skillet’s Rise blared out of the speakers, filling the arena as people looked to the entrance with a mix of confusion and interest. The video that went with the music didn’t tell much, at least not until the song hit ‘here comes the countdown’ and part of the crowd – ever willing to play along – chanted along with the ‘3, 2, 1’ that flashed up on the titantron.

The young woman who emerged in the aftermath, stepping onto the stage and pausing there for a moment to scan the audience, wasn’t a familiar one to the crowd. She definitely wasn’t the tallest, but under the black skirt suit she wore she had a stocky, solid look to her. And the purple dyed hair, that was pretty distinctive. No, the experts quickly decided, this was someone new. A wrestler?

They guessed they’d just have to see. The reaction was muted, therefore, although the newbie earnt herself a few points as she strode down to the ring by slapping a couple of hands as she went. Expression unreadable, she made her way up the steps, slipped between the ropes and went straight to the centre of the ring, her arms rising in invitation. She turned so the gesture encompassed the whole of the audience before moving to the ropes as her music died and beckoning for a mic.

The audience quieted too, curious enough for the moment to give the newcomer space to talk or just enough rope to hang herself.

”Ladies and gentlemen,” she began, her Japanese flawless if flavoured with an odd and exotic accent, ”My name is Samiya Kusanagi. And I am here to prove something to you.”

Samiya paused, lowered the mic, glanced around confidently before resuming.

”Not about me, but about the others who wrestle for this company. Valley Doll,” She indicated a sign with a nod of her head, a cheer following as she moved on to another.

”Silver Ace.” Another sign, another cheer.

”Alaina Sanders,” The woman AFW would soon know as the Schoolgirl Assassin allowed herself a wintry smirk, ”Angel. Your heroes. Your warriors. Your stars. The reason you come here tonight and a week from now and a week from then and again and again.”

She turned to face the entrance, her words clearly meant for the locker room as much as for the crowd.

”I’m here to prove to you that they are not your heroes,” Samiya’s voice rose harshly, ”That there is no such thing as a hero, not here – not anywhere. I’m going to prove to you that every warrior breaks. That every angel falls. And that not even the stars are safe in AFW’s sky!” Her voice hit a shrieking peak, her free arm flung wide as she screamed out her words.

Her lips curled back into a wicked grin.

”Ladies and gentlemen. I’ve taken enough of your time. Enjoy your evening and I’ll see you all later. Just remember…” She raised a hand.

”The candle that burns the brightest, burns the fastest. And, sooner or later, the fire comes for us all.” Her fingers snapped. The lights went out. And when they came back on, Samiya Kusanagi was quite naturally nowhere to be seen.