Hitomi and Karisma- Reunited

Hitomi held the gauze pad tightly to her forehead as she made her way backstage, brushing people aside all along the way. She was ok, she didn't need medical help, but still her head hurt. Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to get that nasty wound checked up on. She was only going so quickly because Karisma needed to talk with her about something. They could talk perfectly fine in the medical wards.

Hitomi turned around to look at Karisma, who was following behind. "Hey, I think I'll head to the medical ward," Hitomi said softly, "My head kinda hurts..." Her eyes rolled to the back of her head as she collapsed backwards into Karisma's arms.

Karisma smiled and nodded. Even though she was tough, in this kind of sport it was better to be safe. An injury that seemed like nothing could always turn into something serious later. Her eyes widened when she collapsed and she caught her.

She sighed and carried Hitomi to the medical ward. She had the nurse there take a look at her and waitied until she was finally awake again.

It didn't take long for Hitomi to wake back up. Her eyes fluttered open, quickly observing her surroundings. She was in the medical ward it seemed. The place was nearly deserted, only Karisma Zahin was in the room with her. Hitomi tried to sit up, but a wave of pain from her forehead made her stop trying to move. So she lay there on the bed.

"What a small world this is," Hitomi mused, "For us to meet again here Karisma."

"The web of fate is beautiful when you can look at it instead of trying to break free from it." She said as she smiled. "I am glad to see you." She was sincere. Even if she hadn't known Hitomi personally the fact that they met meant that she had escaped that horrible dungeon of rotting life in the underground scene.

"I know you answered my question before, but in the heat of battle, it's hard not to be amboiguous. Why did you end up leaving those places? Those dark ugly realms where people can only despair?" She decided to to get right to the point.

Hitomi smiled dreamily. She turned her head, a painful task, to look at Karisma. "It's because my mother died," Hitomi said, "I know I shouldn't say this, but in the end, I was happy that she was dead." She sighed, took a deep breath, and began to relate her dark tale.

"You know that my father was the head executive of a big financial company," Hitomi said, "This all began when he lost a gamble. His company tanked. My family, once the richest in Japan, suddenly sank to abject poverty." She took another shuddering breath, holding back tears. "And then he died. My father committed suicide because he didn't have the strength to hold the family together during hard times. He left me and my mother alone to struggle in the world, burdened with all his debts. I hate him for it."

She paused a moment to let it all sink in, and to organize her mind to tell the next part of her story. "Not long afterward, my mother fell sick. She wasn't suited for that kind of hard life, since she was the privileged daughter of Japan's upper class. I didn't want her to die then," Hitomi paused again. "Then my mother sold me to pay her debts." Tears rolled out of her eyes. "I was young then, still innocent. She thought they would use me as a prostitute. But no, they didn't." Hitomi looked up bitterly, "They made me fight in those horrible underground rings, getting beaten up for others entertainment, getting stripped naked and humiliated for the sport of the same rich men my father once was. Oh how I hated them! You know how it was, we once fought in those horrible rings, you won if I remember right... People paid to see me get beaten up. They thought it was funny, how the daughter of the powerful Shiraishi family could be forced to scream and beg for mercy..." Bitter tears welled up out of her eyes as she choked up in sobs. But she wasn't going to stop.

"The terms of my contract said that it would last until my mother dies," Hitomi said, "And so she did, only two months ago. I left there as soon as I could, but where could I go? I've fought for too long, it's all I know now. And so, I came here..."

Karisma listened carefully as Hitomi recounted her tale. She could hold no sympathy for something like this even though most would consider it heart wrenching. Karisma's own story was similar and she wanted no such sympathy. Karisma was silent for a moment after Hitomi finished but spoke.

"You could have taken the most ugly path. The one your father did. You could have continued to live like a beast with a hunger for the bitter taste of vengeance. Roaming that ugly world and fighting just tbe the nastiest fiend in a world of ugly demons. I'm glad you chose a beautiful path." She added. "I know that we only shared a single moment in that treacherous realm but I feel we are connected in some more significant way. If not, then why would you leave that place and come here not only that but to have your first match against me? It cannot be ignored."

Karisma gave a small smile but then her face turned hard. "Iwas not forced into that ugly world like you were but I was driven there." She began to recount her own story. "I never knew my parents. As far as I can recollect my life was on the streets as and orphan. Life was hard and each day was a fight to survive but I lived with other children who had suffored a similar fate. We made the most of our situation and even managed some semblence of happiness.

One day our gang was approached by a strange man. He hid his face but gave us an ultimatum. Those of use who wanted to live a better life could fight one another and the one left standing would be allowed to live with him. As children we would take any thing to get out of such a desperate life. Some declined but most of us went. We were tough but none of us knew how to fight properly. Childish brawls and the toughness of the life were what we knew. I was the winner, though maybe it could have been anyone who won thinking back. The man kept his word and I was taken to live in the lap of luxury.

I was treated like a princess and came to believe that it was fate that led me there. That is when I first began to think of myself as a true jewel. I was beautiful and shown brightly. People desired me and I could have anything I wanted. I still never saw the benefactor but I didn't care. He had other plans though.

He had promised my best friend from my days as an orphan, I had beaten her to get my new life, that if she trained hard she could get another chance to face me and try and get what she perceived I took from her. He did not inform me of this bargain and when I turned 18 he sprung it on me. I had grown arrogant and thought that I could beat her but the fight could barely be called that. I was humiliated and forced to leave the palace I was living in, taking only what I could carry.

I was so ashamed that I could not even bare to stay in my beloved India. I came to Japan and found those underground fight rings. I knew if I wanted to settle things that I would have to become as tough as I was in the streets. After all I had been a cubic zirconium. A false jewel that shined but was not hard. I was hollow.

That place made me hard and I knew I had made the right decision. I had become a brutalo monster. A beast like all those there. I would have my revenge. I would kill that woman for stealing my life!" She pounded her fist into her hand and panted slightly at the fervor of it.

"But the more I fell into that world the more I saw how horrible it was. It turned women like us into beasts and those who watched were hideous and ugly. I began to wonder what price would come from my choice. I was hard but I no longer shined. If I went back and fought her would I only be replacing her? A beast replacing a beast? I wanted to be a jewel. Jewels are hard but they also shine beautifully. When light hits them they radiate and cast a better more beautiful light on those near them.

I had to come here. I refuse to go back there until I am confident I can beat her beautifully. I will win on my own terms, not on the terms of some ugly dog who only lives to survive. I will shine beautifully!" She stood up and grabbed Hitomi's hand. "And you will too." She smiled.

"And I will find out who that man is and why he has tormented me so." She inhaled deeply. "Now you know the two people in this world who I hate."

Hitomi nodded as Karisma's story ended. It was like hers in a sense, a story of loss and pain and hatred. They were both hardened beyond their years, these two fighters. They had both faced difficult pasts with little happiness and little brightness, and are both yearning for what they have lost. Hitomi knew in her heart that it wasn't revenge that drove her. Revenge was too weak, too transient. What drove Hitomi onwards was the fact that there were those who had what she once had. There were those who took away her happiness, her father's life, and her mother's humanity. She didn't want to defeat them, but to let them know that Hitomi Shiraishi would not let a cruel destiny destroy her happiness.

"It's a sad tale," Hitomi said, commenting on Karisma's story, "We've both been hurt too much by cruel circumstance. And yet you seek to shine, and better others with your radiance." She reached out a hand to touch Karisma's. "It's truly motivating. I almost feel petty now, thinking only of surviving and seeking happiness."

Karisma took Hitomi's hand and placed her other over it. "You are more than pretty, my dear Hitomi. Yo are beautiful. Our stories could only come to these beautiful conclusions. We were ugly lumps of coal but the pressure was so great that we became brilliant shining diamonds. A jewel that shines alone is a sight to behold but when adorned with others of its kind, the light is blinding, heavenly." She then tilted her head slightly. "I will find out who that man was and I shall beat that ugly beast that nips at my heels, then I shall take my place once more as the Jewel of India. But how will you shine Hitomi? Even though you are a jewel here, this place for you seems like a ring box waiting to be opened to find you inside and take you to where you can truly shine."

Hitomi pushed herself up a bit more, so she was almost sitting up, propped up by the pillows and cushions on her bed. Her head hurt, but she refused to let it bother her. She had faced worse before. "Aye, how will I shine?" Hitomi said, "I've only thought of surviving until now, so what will be my goal?" She raised her hands and rubbed her eyes. "I've always thought I had a destiny, I could even feel it, in here," she touched her chest, "Its pulsing, calling out to me. But I've never known what it was. In those underground rings, my destiny weakened and almost disappeared. But here, it pulses brighter than ever." She looked up. "I'm meant to seek greatness here Karisma, to fight and win. You're right, this place is a ring box. When I win, the box will open and I will shine." A smile played on her face. "I intend to aim for the top."

Karisma was glad to see such determination in Hitomi's words. "I'm sure you'll reach the top and cast a beautiful glow over the whole league." She hoped she could be here to see it. She had no interest in taking the title in AFW and knew she wouldn't be here forever. "Once I have dealt with my own problems I would like to start a similar league in India. But I will make it more than just a gathering place for those who seek to shine. I will have a place where those who were forced to lead ugly lives can be beautiful. A place for the children who began like me and where those who would be forced into those ugly pits you and I crawled out of. So that there is somewhere beautiful to turn to." She looked up at Hitomi curiously. "I hope I am here when you get to the top, but even if I'm not, I would like you to come to my league once you have reached the summit here. You can try and reach the top there too." She grinned. "But I'll be standing in your way there."