Paying Homage (Open)

Standing in the ring was none other than the high flying cowgirl Julia Rogers, along with Sonic Boom teammate and Entropy Champion, Alaina Sanders. But neither were out here for a match, a fact made obvious by the fact that they weren’t in their ring gear, but were wearing much more formal attire. For Julia that came in the form of a red dress that came roughly halfway down her thighs, and a pair of heels. Her mask, of course, was the only part of her typical ring attire she currently had on.

Each had a microphone in hand, and Julia was the first to speak into hers.

“Thank y’all for comin’ to the show tonight. Now we know ‘yer lookin’ forward to seein’ lots of good matches. But tonight, there’s somethin’ important to us we’d like to talk about for a moment. As many of ya by now likely know, the Higurashi Dojo has closed down. And, as of now, most of the people affiliated with the dojo ain’t around anymore... We ain’t gonna let that get us down, and we’re gonna keep on movin’ forward. But, we’re never gonna forget the ones who paved the way for us, and who helped us grow into what we are today!”

Julia directed a hand in the direction of the titantron, where a graphic displaying all the retired Higurashi Dojo alumni were displayed, with Taylor, Akashi and Junko right in the center.

“I could spend all night ramblin’ about all the things I learned training with my amazing mentors and sisters, and I could write a book of all the ways the league has been impacted by them. But that’s just it. Their influence goes well beyond just Alaina and I. So that’s why, in this time we’ve set aside, we’d like to invite some wrestlers to c’mon out and share a few words in honor of the Higurashi Dojo. Ain’t that right, Alaina?” she said, turning it over to the Amazon.

Alaina nodded along with Julia, dressed in a silver dress that flowed down to her ankles, but one side had a long slit that went far up her leg, revealing plenty of her strong thigh. Alaina couldn't agree with Julia more. She owed a ton to the Higurashi Dojo. And not just inside the ring either.

"You are dead on Julia. Neither us would have achieved what we have inside the ring without their tutelage. However, more importantly I learned a lot about life from Junko, Taylor, Akashi, Nik, and everyone else. They took me in like family when they didn't have to. That is what I will remember most about everyone." Alaina said, lowering her mic and looking to the top of the ramp. "If anyone else wants to come out and share some memories, please come on down! All are welcome!"

Blossom Fields - amatuer wrestler turned pro, trainer, perpetually returning star - waited in the back and watched the proceedings on a screen above her, while she nervously gnawed a fingernail. It seemed like a solemn occasion, and she didn’t want to just barge in. It wasn’t like she knew Taylor on the same level as Julia and Alaina. She’d only spoken with Taylor once, but it had been a profound, if brief conversation. She knew there was a lot of controversy surrounding the former champion, but she seemed like a good person.

”Dang it.” She let out a long sigh. ”Okay, screw it.”

A moment later, Blossom emerged from the back, dressed in the most formal attire she had - a long, green flower skirt and a white Honey Nut Cheerios t-shirt, along with matching sandals. Casual stuff, but she didn’t have the time to change.

”Um, hi.” She gave Julia and Alaina a sheepish wave. ”Hey, guys. Big fans!” Blossom gave them a fast thumbs up, then took a step back and cleared her throat. Mini-speech time.

”Okay, I’m super nervous, so sorry if I ramble. But. I just wanted to, I guess, thank Taylor for being...Taylor. We only had the one talk, really, and I won’t get into the specifics. But she helped me realize a few things in my life and about who I am. She was really honest - like, really honest. I’m not perfect, and I still have a long ways to go, but she pushed me along more than she might’ve realized back then. So, yeah…”

Blossom had a deep sigh and shook her head, clearing out her mind a bit before it got too clouded. ”See? I rambled. Sorry about that. But yeah - Taylor, you were cool, and I hope you come back some day, and if you don’t, I hope you’re happy doing whatever it is you’re doing. Probably involves hitting people. You were good at that.”

Blossom turned to the camera and flashed it with a peace sign and a smile. ’Take care.”

As Blossom finished, the lights flickered a bit, but only going out completely for a few quick moments. But as they returned a new figure stood in the ring. While wearing a menacing outfit from head to toe, audience could be heard whispering as to why this demonic person was at this event.

“Hey now I know what your thinking… who the hell am I? Why why am I here? Why am I in a costume? And am I here to attack someone?” he said in a metallic tone. “Well I’m called The Black Racer, I am here to…well… speak, I’m not telling you why I am in costume, just that I like it, and no ones getting attacked by me....unless someone starts something....maybe I don't know...” He explained poorly, and making little sense. “I just want to say that while I am the last person who should speak, due to insanity, mood swings, complete lack of focus, menacing appearance, and the fact that I don’t have anything to do with this…..” he rambled until suddenly pausing. He had forgotten the reason he was here in the first place. “Wait um....I was.....what was I….Oh right, Taylor!” He exclaimed remembering his reason for being here.

“I'm here to speak on Taylor's behalf! Now I know Taylor’s last moments may have seemed flat out crazy and overboard, but that doesn’t matter Damn it! Shit happens, and people have bad days! So she did a few acts of violence / major arson. I’ve been doing those types of things every other Wednesday for a year!.....” Taking a pause to think about what he just said, he looked at the closest camera. “Or maybe I didn’t…cops can’t prove it hashtag ‘Innocent till guilty’….. but my point is!” he said after loosing his focus and spewing nonsense. “Taylor is a great person and I will let NO ONE SAY OTHERWISE! Got that ONE NO!….cause if some punk thinks he or she can talk badly about her IN ANY WAY I SWEAR I"LL..." forcing himself to stop talking, he tries to recollect himself. "Simply put, Taylor is great, she'll always be great...and I hope not only she is happy, but I hope everyone who belonged to this Dojo is doing good, well, and great overall!" he says as he starts to get emotional. "They are a family, and nothing is as important as that! Not Money, Fame, Championships, or anything else! They mean so much to each other and compared to them I'm...I'm...I..." he stops again, this time more sadden than the others.

Clearly shaken, maybe even teary eyed behind his mask, the racer tries to collect himself. Many in the audience wondering why he was about to compare himself to them. And if the man has more to say about his own family. "I just wonder if I had gotten here earlier, if I could have helped her...maybe even got to know them then maybe...." he stops, obviously getting depressed as he talks about what could have been, slumping his head down onto the ropes. Still lying his head on the ropes, the racer manages to clear his throat and says weakly "...wherever they are…whoever is with them, I just hope they're happy...that's all I want for those people....” The Black Racer looks up as he finishes his speech. Turning towards the others in the ring, he chuckles saying sadly, "Sorry, this was supposed to be a bit happier..."

The lights go out once again with the words, "So long Higurashi Dojo..." heard in the dark. But as the lights started coming back on, The Black Racer was already gone....

Backstage, Haley had watched things on a monitor, curious as to what Julia and Alaina were doing. Once it was revealed they were doing a tribute to the Dojo, and Taylor and Akashi in particular, Haley had been about to turn the monitor off, and walk away...but she watched, a feeling of guilt building up in her gut, compelling her to stay as Julia, Alaina, and Blossom all said nice things relating to their personal experiences with Taylor and Akashi...and then some weirdo new guy showed up and said a lot of stuff about stuff he didn't understand.

Speaking honestly, Haley was far from the best person to say anything about Taylor or Akashi, and she knew it. The sumo and her had never once been on good terms, but Taylor and her had been friends at one point, even if their friendship had been fraught with issues between the two. Still...it hadn't been all bad.

Haley had been as shocked as anyone to discover her former friend was the one responsible for burning the AFW ring down, and trying to ruin the livelihood's and careers of everyone in AFW, over her own grudges and issues. Somehow, she had avoided being targeted...that, or the woman had fled/been forced out of the country before she could add her to the hit list, which just added even more questions, as far as their relationship was concerned.

Finally, Haley sighed, and made her way out onto the ramp, as the long winded Black Rider left. Bringing a microphone out with her, she took a moment before speaking.

"...I know I'm not the best person to be speaking about either member of Kamikaze...so I'll be quick. Akashi built a legacy here, and will forever been known as one of the greatest and sexiest wrestlers in all of AFW history. I regret that I couldn't have gotten to know her better and actually establish a friendship with her.

As for Taylor Parker...the Taylor Parker I knew was a selfless and caring person, who was interested and invested in improving AFW and its wrestlers, and was proud of bringing up the best and brightest talent to carry the company forward in a way she could be proud of.

She was one of the most elite wrestlers in the company, was sexy in her own right, and gave me one of the absolute best matches of my career, and helped motivate me to carry on early in my career. She was my friend, and for that, I thank her, and I wish her the best."


With that, she placed the mic down for someone else to use, and left the ramp.

Speaking of people that wouldn't necessarily be the first person to come out celebrating two of the biggest (one literally) champions in AFW history, Adrian Kytes was next out to pick up the mic with an uncharacteristically nervous cough. It was all too tempting to just take the microphone and start running down the people who had influenced so many. Still, there was more to the Higurashi dojo who had left than just Kamikaze, and it was probably time for them to get their name said.

"Junko Higurashi..." Adrian began, not even bothering to introduce herself "Is someone who gave a lot of her life to pro wrestling, long before AFW was even a thing. The woman who lead the Ice Dragons to tag team glory despite the two of them wanting to strangle each other, took Taylor Parker all the way to the top, and who generally put up with more shit than most of us will ever have to deal with in our lives with the grace and patience of a saint."

"She might not be the first woman people think of when they think of the Higurashi dojo, but she more than anyone made it work. It was her dojo, and the fact its got two world champs, two entropy champs and will soon be able to add AFW tag team champions to that roster says something. If anyone deserves to enjoy retirement, it's her." Adrian sighed, knowing well enough that she was one of the people who had given Junko shit when she only gave kindness in return.

"I'd pour one out, but I'm holding a mic, she's not dead, and I didn't get a good enough burn to count as a mic drop so..." and with that the brunette gave a polite nod and headed back to the back, breathing a sigh of relief that came with doing something good that you really didn't want to do.

There had been plenty of people to speak and say their goodbyes to the retiring Higurashi Dojo members already. Some veterans and champions, some new people no one had ever heard of, all of them taking time out of their busy schedules to wish the departing AFW legends well. The next person to come to the ring was not at either end of the spectrum of AFW fame, and, since she didn't know any of the others who had come up to speak, she was a little bit nervous. In some way, she almost felt as if she were intruding on something special. But she had to thank her mentor for all that she had done.

Wearing a light blue summer yukata, tied together with a traditional sash, Takiyama Miyabi made her way down into the ring. Once she had her wooden sandals firmly placed on the canvas, she would reach for a microphone so that she could say her piece. "Tanikaze-sama taught me very much. She taught me not only about sumo, and not only about wrestling, but about life, also! If Tanikaze-sama was not so kind a person, I would not know about the honor a sumo...and I would not speak English!"

Miyabi would smile, and would then switch to Japanese—her own native language, and the native language of Akashi. <Obviously, I still have a lot to learn about English, but I didn't know a single word of it when I first came to AFW! Tanikaze-sama was the one who told me I had to learn it to survive here, and, thanks to the discipline she instilled in me, I did. I joined on the day I turned eighteen, and I had never actually wrestled—not once in my whole life! I was just a fan who had watched Akashi Tanikaze do many, many amazing things...and I wanted to be just like her. So I ran through the arena and the gyms and locker rooms until I found her, and I begged her to train me as a sumo so that I could be just like her!>

She paused, chuckling softly before she continued. <I know I'm still not known for being mature, but for those of you who didn't know me back then, I was a wild, silly girl who had never been highly ranked as a student and who had never even been able to get a job. Tanikaze-sama taught me sumo techniques, but, more than that, she taught me discipline, and taught me how to conduct myself in the ring with honor, according to the traditions of our sport! I could never possibly repay Tanikaze-sama—Akashi—for all of the kindness she showed me...a little kid who wanted to walk in the footsteps of a beautiful, strong, amazing legend. My only regret is that I never had a chance to wrestle with her in the ring before she left—to show her that her efforts to train me were all worth it, and that I took every word she ever spoke to me to heart!>

Miyabi would carefully undo the sash on her yukata to show the mawashi that she wore underneath it—the traditional attire of a sumo wrestler. "Tanikaze-sama! Miyabi is only a sumo today because of your help! I will miss you very, very, very much! Thank you! Go seikō o inori masu!" The young girl would look up at the titantron, her eyes finding Akashi's eyes in her picture on the screen. Miyabi would bow respectfully to the image of her sensei, glad that she had nothing more to say so that the sadness which was welling up inside of her and causing tears to form in her eyes would not cause her voice to quaver. Then, after bowing, she would stand up tall again and make her way out of the ring.

Admittedly, Julia had no idea what sort of response there would be to all of this. There was no way of telling what to expect. But soon, one by one, people came out and spoke, several of whom Julia had never had the chance to even meet before.

Blossom was the first of the unfamiliar faces. But though Julia didn’t know her, she understood just what she meant, and appreciated the sheepish woman’s supportive words.

The blonde was.....bewildered, to say the absolute least, when the lights went out and came back on to reveal Black Racer in the ring. Fortunately he wasn’t nearly as menacing as he looked, though his speech was every bit as bizarre as he appeared to be. But, like Blossom, he was supportive of Taylor. Then in a flash, he was gone again.

A bit of normality was restored as Haley made her way out next, and voiced her respect for Taylor. Julia had heard her speak highly the match she and Taylor had had before, and it was clear by her words tonight just how much that had meant to her.

Adrian Kytes was next to arrive on the scene, and talked about the many things Junko did not just for the Higurashi Dojo, but for wrestling as a whole. Her speech sparked a thunderous round of applause from the crowd, and a brief but loud chant of, “JUN-KO! JUN-KO! JUN-KO!,” which Julia happily smiled and clapped right along with. All past grudges aside, Adrian had been exactly right. For all the amazing things she’d done, Junko Higurashi truly did deserve the best that life had to offer.

Miyabi was another face unfamiliar to Julia, but a smile graced the cowgirl’s face the moment the Japanese woman began to speak about Akashi. Over the last several months before her retirement, Akashi had been teaching Julia Japanese in the dojo. The blonde American was still far from fluent, but she understood enough of Miyabi’s words to generally get what she was saying. And she knew that if Akashi was watching, she’d no doubt appreciate the kind words being spoken of her.

By the time Miyabi had left, Julia was starting to feel her eyes tear up a bit. Though she knew those of the dojo family no longer here were enjoying a happy retirement, she couldn’t help but miss them more and more with each word said of them. But the blonde wiped a hand over her eyes, then smiled as she held up her mic and spoke again.

“Thank you all so much for your time and your kind words! I know if the rest of the dojo could be here now, they’d appreciate it as much as we do. I think we’ve taken just about enough time here. Alaina, anything ya wanna say real quick before we go?”

To say Julia was baffled as a marching band suddenly took the stage playing a very recognizable and outright disrespectful song was an understatement. She was just about to ask what the hell was going on, but stopped when the answer became painfully clear.

Kelly....

Julia’s grip on the microphone tightened, and it took all her willpower not to sprint to Kelly and beat the living shit out of her right then and there! The crowd was equally displeased with the display, making it known by showering the obnoxious woman with boos and jeers, among other things. But while Julia certainly appreciated it, it wasn’t stopping anyone.

“Kelly, I’m sure ‘yer lovin’ every bit of this. But this ain’t the time or place for your bullshit! Now ya got 10 seconds to get yourself and that band the hell outta here, or I’m gonna come right down there and kick ‘yer ass all over the arena!”