Proving points

Adrian was left speechless by what she saw: did Megumi, Chigusa and Tomomi have to go through this sort of thing nearly everyday? She could barely keep track of who was going where and in a few minutes it had all quieted back down again. Looking over to the purple haired idol she started to feel so... inferior. Chigusa was doing two of the hardest jobs in the world and she did it with a smile on her face whereas Adrian was nearly constantly cracking apart at the seams. "Do you... ever... you know..." Adrian tried to say as her confidence and eager attitude fled her "Felt like...you know what: forget I said anything."

Chigusa knew what Adrian meant, and also why she hesitated like that. "Have I ever felt overwhelmed by all this?" Chigusa said, "Like there's no way I'm good enough? Of course I have Adrian, that's just life." She got up and held out her hand to help Adrian get to her feet as well, pushing the crutches underneath her arms to hold her up as they moved on.

"But I know I'm on the right path, so there's nothing to worry about," Chigusa continued, "I'm not the best wrestler, and I'm not the best idol. But that's not going to stop me from doing the things I love."

"That's not what I meant..." Adrian said solemnly as Chigusa picked her up from her seat. "I mean that... have you ever felt like you don't love it anymore? Like enough is enough and maybe it's just time to leave before things get worse. It's great that you can handle the pressure an' all but, what do you do when you just want to give up and go home?" She asked. "I know it's kinda like what you said, about feeling overwhelmed. But I don't, I know what's going on for me right now. And it sucks, there's no way around it. There's no reason for me to not be kicked out the door as soon as my knee heals up, and I don't really like being a wrestler in Japan. I thought respect and honor were excuses used by assholes to be assholes back in the States but here it's even worse. The good girls think I'm worthless because I cheat my way to victory and probably couldn't fight fair if my life depended on it... can't really fight dirty for that matter... and the bad girls just think I'm a target to beat up and rape."

"I'm sick of it, I'm sick of having to live off my friends constantly without doing a thing to help them back, I'm sick of constantly getting hurt then told that I'll learn from it, I'm sick of being lectured about how much better things would be if I actually started fighting fair! What difference does it make that I cheat anyway? I'm not hurting anyone after matches, humiliating people or ruining their careers so when the hell did I become exhibit A for everything that's wrong with this industry when some people get to abuse whoever they feel like and get lauded for it! Who wouldn't be sick of that shit!" She continued to rant, her voice getting progressivley louder before it developed into a full blown yell, the cosplayer letting an avalanche of frustration loose.

Chigusa silently listened to Adrian rant. She knew that the cosplayer was letting a lot of frustration out. She was in a rut, and she was frustrated, and now that she lost a few matches and got beaten up she was having lots of doubts. The idol went through the same thing not very long before, when everything seemed hopeless and she felt like just a target. But the idol toughed through that with the help of lots of good friends. She decided to be the friend Adrian needed in these tough times.

She took Adrian out from the backstage as the cosplayer got louder, leading her to one of the many sitting rooms in the hallways. She sat Adrian down and went to get the cosplayer a glass of water. She would be thirsty after that. "Here," Chigusa said, handing the glass to Adrian before sitting down herself, right next to her. She reached out and grabbed Adrian's hand, holding it in her own tightly to signal she was there.

"Do you remember the match we had a long time ago?" Chigusa asked, "I was going through pretty much the same thing back then. I lost a whole string of matches before that, and it was my big chance to break into the rankings and break that losing streak. But you won, and I wound up in Lukretia's clutches." She smiled faintly. "I know how you feel because I felt the same thing back then. Why should I be a wrestler when it was obvious there was a whole bunch of people much better than me, who could easily defeat me? Everyone looked down on me too you know, because they didn't think I was a serious wrestler. Hell, a whole bunch of them still don't. Heather for one."

She paused, shaking her head. "But that's not the point. The point is how you deal with it. You might look and feel pathetic now, but do you want to be stuck this way? Because if you give up and leave, that's all you will be. Don't worry about them kicking you out, you're still a ranked wrestler! The only thing that can beat you right now is yourself."

Adrian blushed once her rant was finished. How stupid was she being? Having an outburst in a place like this, her shouting could have screwed so many things up for anyone filming. "...Sorry Chigusa..." she said as she tried her best to curl into a ball in her seat. Mentally kicking herself for being so stupid before the Idol took her hand. This time what she said hit closer to home, "Do you... think I can make a comeback? Once my knee heals I mean." She asked, "I don't know how it's gonna feel though even if it does get back to ring-shape is it just gonna take one whack and I'm curled up crying again or what? But... I'm gonna at least try. If it does cause me to retire way before I planned, I wanna go out on a high note like I crippled myself to win, not just to avoid tapping out because people feel like it's the ultimate form of pussying out."

Chigusa nodded as Adrian spoke. "That's the spirit! Only don't be so morbid. Sure, you got hurt, but you'll recover! And I'm sure you'll be even stronger!" She patted Adrian's knee, her good knee, and smiled. "Besides, now that you've been hurt like this, nothing's gonna hurt as bad. Don't worry about that kind of stuff, it's depressing."

She stood up and grabbed Adrian's arm to help her up again. "That's most of the studio, do you have anywhere you need to be?" She asked, "I'll take you there. Don't worry, I'll drive a lot slower than before."

"I-I'll try not to think about it too hard." Adrian said, nodding with Chigusa as she was pulled back up. "Yeah, it's pretty cool, although I should probably head back to the arena: the nurses there are probably pissed I'm late for my physical therapy session." The cosplayer admitted, she hadn't intended to be driven all the way out here on a whim, especially not by someone who's driving was... uh oh. "N-n-no-no! I'm good! You work here and all I could probably get a taxi or something!" She pleaded, even Chigusa's promises of a smoother ride were not enough to disaude her fears that she was at serious risk of a car crash for the third time in Japan. First with Bonnie Gastin now twice with Chigusa. At least Bonnie had the excuse of being depressed and drunk for scaring her. Still as the idol had her by the arm there wasn't a lot she could do about it.

"Aww, you really are scared!" Chigusa said cheerfully, "Alright fine, but don't think I drive like that all the time!" She took Adrian down the halls towards the elevator again, this time heading down instead of up. "You've probably missed the entire physical therapy session," Chigusa said, looking at her watch, "Unless they decided to wait for you. That would be nice of them." They stopped in the lobby this time, not going directly to the underground garage. Chigusa walked Adrian to the front door.

"There's no need to call a taxi, I'll get a company driver to take you," Chigusa said, waving over a man dressed in a suit, "Here, take her wherever she wants to go." The man bowed to Chigusa and went to pull over a shiny black sedan. "Be safe Adrian," Chigusa said, "Don't give up!" She helped her friend into the car and shut the door, waving as they drove away with a wide smile on her face.

"Don't sound so happy that you can scare the pants off me!" Adrian whined as Chigusa teased her about her reluctance to get in the car with her again, "And... thanks for a lot today." She said more seriously as she was led around, before sliding into the car. "AFW complex, entrance closest to the med bay, ignore that it's for ambulances only." She instructed the driver in her best attempt at Japanese she could muster, which was actually: not that bad. "Bye!" She yelled back "See you around! Hey! If I get better can we team up for once? Just a thought!"