End Of An Era, And Beginning of The New

It had bene a crazy few months at the Higurashi Dojo. Junko held everyone together, coaching away faithfully even though her actual family had largely returned to the USA. Things had been going well for a while, but Alaina could see how something was amiss with Junko. It was a very mixed day when Junko delivered the news that the Higurashi Dojo was going to close. She had tears in her eyes, and was stuck between her love of wrestling and her love of family. Understandably, the love she felt for her family won out.

With the Dojo closing and being sold, that left Alaina and the others to find a place of their own. They all earned enough with their Friction contracts to live comfortably however they had been so used to living together that Julia had the brilliant idea of splitting the cost on a house outside the city. Along with the Rogers siblings, "Amazon" Alaina Sanders and Peggy McIntyre were moving out there as well. Alaina held very mixed feelings, knowing that she would miss Junko and company.

When she went out to get the mail, there was an envelope that would change all that. Mixed in with the last of their mail addressed to the Dojo was an envelope from Junko! "Guys, we got mail from Junko in the USA!" Alaina called out as she ran inside, dressed in a pair of jeans and an old Journey t-shirt.

"Mail from the boss ya say?" Peggy said as she approached, wearing her own faded jeans and a green long sleeve shirt. "I miss that damned task master ya know..."

Alaina waited for the rogers siblings to come into the kitchen before she opened up the mail. "What the heck did she send?" Alaina wondered out loud to everyone as she opened it up. A big smile spread across her face, and her eyes got a bit misty. It was Junko, Taylor, Johnny, Mamouru, and Aurora complete with babies. The whole family looked so genuinely happy together that any sorrow Alaina felt in her heart seeped away almost immediately. As much as her life was tied to wrestling, the smiling faces on the front were what meant more to Junko than anything. "They all look so great together ya know?"

To say things felt “odd” for Julia without the Higurashi Dojo was a massive understatement. The place had accepted her in just a couple weeks after her arrival in Japan, and had become her home ever since. It was more than just a place where she could better hone her skills as a wrestler, though she had done so rather well. The relationships forged in that span of time far transcended anything else she would ever win or accomplish here. And now it was gone. Julia couldn’t say she didn’t understand. But adjusting was not going to be easy. It was almost like she was starting all over again.

Fortunately, the cowgirl had much more help right off the bat this time around. Along her brother and sister, and of course Alaina and Peggy, the group soon found themselves a new home. Julia and Josh had been as optimistic as they could about it all, but Jesse was a little different. The eldest of the Rogers siblings had helped with the packing and unpacking, but had since spent a lot of her time alone in her room. Coming to Japan had already been enough of a gamble as it was, and now that gamble was feeling a lot more risky. Unsettlingly so. But Julia and Josh both felt certain she’d get over it and come around. So in the meantime, it was all positive vibes from them.

With a pair of jeans and a red tank top on, Julia quickly came into the room when she heard Alaina announce that they’d received mail from Junko. Josh followed seconds later, wearing jeans and white t-shirt that tightly hugged against his chiseled frame. The cowgirl moved to stand by Alaina, while Josh towered over the group and looked down over everyone else.

“Aww, ain’t those the cutest babies you’ve ever seen?” Julia said with a smile as she looked at the picture. “Yeah, glad to see they’re all happy,” Josh added. Even though he hadn’t had nearly as much time to get to know Junko and the others as Julia and Alaina had, he understood perfectly well the desire to keep a family happy. Looking at that picture, it was about as heart warming an image as anything he’d seen.

All the vehicles were loaded, and Alaina kept looking over the picture for a few more moments. "I am gonna miss it here, but I think our new place will be nice even if we don't have the ability to just train right where we live." Alaina said. At least she had all her stuff back and her room would feel more like her room than a dorm. It was a minor comfort given what they were leaving, but any sort of positive was something to cling to right now.

"I know this place is not right inside the city, n' I haven't seen it yet. Couldn't we just build a wrestling ring in the back yard under a big roof or somethin'? I bet this big oak tree of a man could put that up in no time!" Peggy said as she grinned as Josh. She went to the mailbox and opened it, looking in and seeing a couple letters. "Oh? Alaina, Julia! You two got some important lookin' stuff here. It has some official stamps and stuff on it and its from the USA?" She said scratching her head. She figured the best two wrestlers would get the most mail, but what she had just looked different. The Irish teen walked up and handed off the letters.

"Oh? Thanks Pegs." Alaina said as she saw her letter and immediately looked perplexed. "Uhh, its from Underarmor? Maybe they liked my work and sent me coupons so I can wear their swimsuits, briefs or sports bras to train in, even though I kinda already do." She said with a shrug, starting to open the letter but looking over at Julia. "What did you get?"

Josh returned Peggy’s grin and gave a light chuckle at her comment. “Damn right. But we’ll get that sorted out later,” he replied. Truth be told, he probably could’ve built something like that given the right tools and some time. But at the moment, that was low on the priority list, especially considering they still had the Friction gym to train in.

Could always be something fun to keep in mind for the future, though.

But both his and Julia’s attention then shifted when Peggy mentioned what else was in the mail. When she heard who Alaina’s letter was from, the blonde could pretty quickly guess what it likely was. And when Julia looked at her own letter, she was only further convinced.

“It’s from Gatorade. I know lots of athletes have sponsors ‘n stuff, but if that’s what this is about they sure picked a hell of a time for it, didn’t they?” she said as she opened the envelope. A part of her figured sponsoring a pair of rising stars from the Higurashi Dojo would’ve been more appropriate before the dojo had closed down. Well, not like she’d complain. The extra cash would be pretty helpful, especially for Josh and Jesse.

Alaina chuckled as she read her letter. Heard dropped when she read that it was in faction endorsement, as well as the amount. "Uhhh Julia.....they are offering me a really nice chunk of change. Like, how can I turn this down?" Alaina said as she showed Julia the offer of $100,000 per year as long as they were under contract, to be paid quarterly.

Alaina let out a squeal and jumped up and down in disbelief!

Peggy shook her head and couldn't help but think that Alaina looked like a small child on Christmas morning...

“Who said anything ‘bout turnin’ it.... whoa.....” Julia said, eyes suddenly widening in surprise when she saw the amount listed in Alaina’s letter. Immediately curious as to what her own “early Christmas gift” would look like.

She reached it into the envelope, pulled out the letter and skimmed through it. Bla bla bla commercials, yada yada yada advertisements.... And then she found it near the bottom of the page. Not quite on par with what Alaina was going to be getting, which made sense. Alaina was the Entropy Champion, after all. but a handsome sum nonetheless. Though, Julia wasn’t even going to be keeping much of it for herself. As if he was reading her mind, Josh crossed his arms and shook his head.

“Nope. Don’t even think ‘bout it, sis,” he said, though Julia just smiled sweetly and innocently to him, pushing the letter back in the envelope and tucking it into the back of her jeans.

“What? Ain’t got a clue what ‘yer talkin’ about~” she said whimsically, practically singing the obvious lie. Josh thought about pressing the issue, but just sighed and let it go. Once Julia made up her mind, there was no stopping her. Yeah, she knew how Josh and Jesse both felt about her giving away her money to the family promotion back home like it was a charity case. But taking care of family had to take precedence over pride.

Alaina was already thinking of what she could do to her house with this, and a few charities that would enjoy a nice little donation from her and everyone at their new place.

"Things are looking up aren't they?" Alaina said with a smile. "I think that's the last of everything heading over to the new place, so who is gonna ride up with who?" Alaina said with a grin, dangling her car keys in mid-air. She was grinning because for whatever reason people hated it when she drove. Contrary to what one would think, the amazon was a very aggressive driver. Alaina had a tendency to drive very fast....

"So... do anyone's plans involve buyin' me a car?" Peggy asked with a shrug. "I mean it won't be long before I do pick up that little thing I had my eye on but, ya know, just in case ya didn't know what to do with your newfound cash its an idea." Peggy said as she hugged the both of them. Upon mention of car rides Peggy glanced up at Josh. "Oh... I dunno, Josh where are ya ridin'? She asked, going to go in whatever car he did.

Julia couldn’t help but shudder a bit when Alaina brought up the driving arrangements. She loved Alaina to death, but she also wanted to get to the new place, you know...alive, and preferably uninjured.

Fortunately, some quick thinking produced an idea...

“How ‘bout I drive your car, and you can DJ. Then Josh can take everyone else in his truck. How’s that sound?” she suggested to Alaina, who was much better at picking out the songs they could jam to than navigating the roads. And that way, Jesse wouldn’t have to be stuck with the outgoing Sonic Boom duo and drain the life out of them with her grumpiness. She was in much better hands with Josh and Peggy.

“Sounds good to me,” Josh affirmed with a nod. “That cool with you two?” he asked Peggy and Alaina, wanting to make sure everyone was on the same page here.

Alaina looked confused for a second. "W-whats wrong with my driving?" Alaina asked with a shrug. "I mean, we can do that if you want." She said as she reluctantly handed her keys to Julia.

Peggy however was much happier and fluttered her eyes a bit as she approached Josh. "I think its a perfect arrangement! Jesse what kinda music do ya want me to put on that radio in there while we drive on down to the new place?" Peggy asked Jesse, not taking her eyes of Josh, smiling the entire time.

This did not escape Alaina. "Someone is happy about this set up." She said to Julia while motioning by tilting her head towards Peggy, chuckling a bit but not too much.... she still did lose control of her car after all.

“I don’t think she can hear ya, Peggy. She’s still in her room. I’d recommend some classic rock though,” Julia replied when the Irish lass tried to ask about what music she liked. Though she also couldn’t help but smile as she noticed Peggy and Josh smiling at each other. They were just too adorable together, and she failed to stifle a little giggle at Alaina’s comment.

“Hey Josh, mind gettin’ Jess? I think we’re good to go, so we’ll just go on ahead and meet y’all over there,” she said, and Josh managed to take his eyes off of Peggy long enough to answer. “Yeah, sure thing. We’ll see ya there.”