Blinded by The "Light" Pt.2

[Nick Watson]

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On the First Day of Training...My Sensei Gave to Me...
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*4 Weeks and 6 Days ago, Shun Academy, Japan*

I yelled in pain as the kendo stick hit me square accross the jaw and sent me tumbling back on to the cold, grassy floor of the training field. I didn't get up for about a minute as I rubbed my jaw to see if it had been dislocated by the vicous swing from my sparing partner. I got up slowly while looking at my hand that was dyed crimson by my blood which was coming out a gash from where the kendo stick had hit me square across the jaw. I whiped the blood off on the sleeve of my training gi and then spat out a little blood as I got back into fighting stance without Master Shun having to command me to. Kenta, my sparring partner and room mate, stood before me with his kendo stick at the ready, waiting for the command from Master Shun to continue or for him to give constructive criticism to either of us on how we were fighting so far. Neither of us moved until Master Shun spoke the magic word.

"Continue!"

And we did as commanded, rushing at each other, with Kenta swinging his kendo stick for the fences, and me rolling underneath the swing, looking for a chance to gain an uppercut on my foe. Kenta was smarter than that though as he leaned back a bit just as the uppercut was coming, dodging the move, and forcing me into an awkward position, a position Kenta could easily exploit. Kenta brought his knee to my gut, which knocked the air out of me, and then quickly spun around and hit me with a back hand square across the already sore jaw line. I stumbled on to my back, legs bent in an awkward position that made me look like human oragami, and as Kenta realized this he went for the finish. He jumped up in the air, clearly getting about four feet up which was impressive for a six foot' three fighter, and then he began to come down with his kendo stick, in an attack that surely would hit its' mark.

"Enough!"

Kenta stopped an inch away from my chest with the kendo stick, I let out a sigh of relief as Kenta pulled the kendo stick back, and put its' tip on the floor, leaning on it like a cane. I got up to my feet by myself and without assistance, whiping the dirt off my back, and checking my jaw again for blood. I turned to look at where Master Shun had been watching us and saw that he was now standing and walking over to us, he was doing so wobbily, but it was good to see him moving about.

"You are moving too predictably, Pence. And Kenta your swings are too unfocused and what did I tell you about the downward slice?"

"That the downard slice is a move that I should avoid performing unless if I am sure it will hit because it leaves me wide open for several different types of attacks, Master."

Kenta bowed a bit and I did so too, merely doing it for the sake of being safe, after all I didn't want to dishonor Master Shun. Shun looked at me and then began to speak to me directly.

"This is not a street fight, Pence. Quick rolls and uppercuts are not going to give you a clear cut advantage against fighters who are intelligent or fast. You rely way too much on the punch and not enough on the deflection of the blow or the kick. As a fighter every facette of your body must be used used: legs, arms, head, chest, knee, elbow, and most of all your mind. Keep your wits about you and utilize all your weapons and you will win every fight regardless of your foes strength."

"Yes, Master. I will remember this for now on."

Master Shun bowed to both of us and went back over to his seat at his slow wobbily pace and as he did that me and Kento turned back to each other and bowed in respect before getting back in our stances. Once Master Shun had sat back down in his chair we waited on the command to continue the fight, he took his time saying anything, and the wind howled on the sparring field swaying the grass about on the field.

"Begin!"

We rushed at each other again, this time I kept my eyes on the movements of Kenta who swung at me with all of his force, and in response I jumped back. He came at me again with another heavy slashing motion this one was a downward slice, I side stepped the attack, but did nothing to get on the offense, instead I continued to dodge. He came at me with another slash, I dodged, and then another, I dodged that one too. I watched his movements and analyzed them, making sure I understood how he played his offense before making my own offensive moves. So when he came at me with a violent swing that would have snapped me in two, I dodged, and came at him with a right fist, but it was all a ploy to make him defend with his other hand. He did do as planned, bringing up his right hand, the one not on the kendo stick to block the attack, and that was when I brought my knee into his gut, and as he doubled over my left elbow to the back of his kneck. I knocked him to his knees and hands with the combination and took a step back, a smile crossing my face as I realized that Master Shun's training was paying off within the first week of training.

I heard light applause as I turned to look at Master Shun, who was clearly impressed, but the clapping was coming from Sasaori who had arrived with lunch from the main hall, and to say the least I was starved. I heard my stomach growl as I smelled the rice and pork from all the way from where I was standing, but before I did anything I helped Kenta to his feet.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, you just caught me by surprise that is all."

"Do you think it is alright that they eat, grand father?"

I heard Sasaori say to Master Shun who chuckled and replied.

"They are making some decent process so I do not see why not. They do still have a long way to go if they want to graduate though."

"Did you hear that you two? Come eat and then continue your training."

I nodded my head and walked over to Sasaori and held out my hands for a bowl of freshly cooked rice and a side of pork. She obliged me and once I had poured a little soy sauce on top of the rice, I found a spot for myself, and began to eat hungrily. The food was delicous, then again I had always been a fan of Asian food, and the sights around me weren't half bad either. Mt. Fuji was not far off in the distance and I could see it from where I sat, looking at its' natural beauty while enjoying my steaming pile of rice and fried pork. Sasaori sat right down next to me and looked at the mountain with me and for a few moments we said nothing, we were both taking in the sights so neither of us minded the silence.

"It is good that you came."

"I think so too. It has been quite a while since I have seen anything so majestic...I barely have time to stop and see the sights where I am at because of my schedule."

"It must be rough, traveling all around the world, and fighting for multiple promotions."

"It is no walk in the park, I will tell you that much. But it is all worth while because of the smiles that I bring to the fans."

"Do you think you will be able to bring smiles to the fans at Rasslemania?"

I looked over at Sasaori and gave her a light smile before turning back to the mountain and putting another piece of pork in my mouth. After chewing it thoroughly and swallowing it, I replied to her question in a soft voice.

"I hope so, because if I lose I fear the fans will lose interest in the company, and stop coming. And when they stop coming, then I stop feeling the need to be in the APW."

"Then lets hope that you beat Level One."

I nodded my head in agreement and stood up off the grass, stretching a bit, knowing that it would not be too much longer before it was back to training. Sasaori stood up to and put her hand on my shoulder.

"Please complete your training for everyone's sake. I know you can win if you complete it, so don't let us down."

I grabbed hold of her hand and kissed it with a quaint bow, she went rose red from what I could see, and as she did I spoke silently to her.

"Don't worry, Sasaori. I am dedicated to beating Level One and completing this training and I swear to you I will try my best."

"That is all that can be asked of you, Pence. Just do your best."

I nodded my head and let go of her hand, standing up straight and turning to look at Master Shun who was staring at me from far away. I walked away from Sasaori without looking back and I made myself a solemn vow as I did so, I made a vow to myself to win this match, and make a big difference in APW. I intended to keep this vow, regardless of the outcome of the following weeks of training. Shortly after I had arrived at the spot where I had stood only about twenty mintues ago, Kenta had finished eating, and had joined me. Both of us faced the west the direction of Master Shun and Sasaori who looked at us with a great deal of pride. We bowed to them and then turned to each other and bowed. After the formalities were done we each took ten paces back and then turned to look at each other from a distance, I noticed that Kenta was not going to be using his kendo stick this time, since he had not picked it up off the floor from earlier, and as we waited to hear the words to begin we both sized each other up.

In truth I had never fought Kenta without his kendo stick and had no idea what kind of capabilities he had while in an unarmed state. I took my stance, putting my fists up in a boxer type fashion and keeping my eyes on my opponent. As for Kenta his stance was simply to stand still, he didn't do anything special, and for a second I thought that Kenta had no clear hand to hand combat understanding. That was until we started.

"Begin!"

I came at him with everything I had and all he did was block my attacks and deflect them. Every punch I swung, he blocked, every kick I used, he deflected with his own legs, and soon enough I began to began to wear down. He was agile and his style relied solely on a high defense, but as soon as I began to tire, which didn't take too long after about one minute of nothing, but blocking and parrying, he began to go on the offense. His blows weren't powerful, but they did sting, and since he was so fast, his offense was hard to keep up with. I was barely able to keep up and as such he easily overpowered me with rights and lefts with a few kicks thrown in for good measure. I staggered back a bit after taking quite the initial beating from Kenta and then found to my surprise that Kenta was now spinning for a round house kick, I had only one option, and that was to duck. The kick went over my head, but Kenta recovered quickly, and went back on the offense so fast that it was as if he had not made an error at all.

I was practically his punching bag for the next five minutes as he layed into me with all he had and all I could do was watch him do it. I had no chance of leveling the playing fields with all of these hits knocking me around and after another two minutes breezed by, Master Shun quickly put the battle to an end.

"That is enough!"

Kenta and I turned to look at Master Shun who looked at me in dissapointment and then walked over to us both. He didn't say anything for a moment as he looked at my body which was now covered in red marks that would most likely soon be bruises.

"Kenta, you may go to your room, and rest."

Kenta looked at me and the master for a second before speaking in outrage.

"Master Shun, I think I should stay here and continue my training for the day...."

"Leave now, your day of training is over. I will not be needing your help for the rest of the day, but if you so seek to train some more...talk to Sasaori, I am sure that she will be your sparring partner."

Kenta looked at me and then at the master and let out a sigh before speaking up in acceptance.

"Yes, Master Shun."

Kenta bowed to Master Shun and then turned around, marching off clearly upset at being brushed off by the master, but I was not concerned about that. Right now I was more concerned about why he had not sent me to my room, what could Master Shun possibly have in store for me that did not require the use of a sparring partner.

"Sit."

He commanded and I nodded my head, not wanting to anger the master, I sat down quickly. He did so as well, folding his legs up like an Indian, and looking at me directly. We didn't speak for a couple of seconds, but finally the master, clearly upset with me but not showing it, broke the ice.

" Kenta is a strong fighter when it comes to unarmed combat and that is why I had him use the kendo stick...I did not want to overwhelm you in the first week of your training. It seems as though that was not the right course of action. One learns from overcoming great obstacles and it was wrong of me to go easy on you like that and then throw a road block in your path. I apologize to you, Pence."

"There is no need to aplogize, master. You were only doing what you believed to be the right course of action, but may I ask...why are we now alone out here on the training field?"

"Because you need one on one guidance, Pence. I can not train you as well when I must help Kenta with his form and help you with yours, but when it is you by yourself...I can make improvements to your style that will ultimately make you a better fighter."

"I understand, master."

"Good! Now let us start with meditation, it helps clear the mind, and will help you focus on the tasks that will be layed out in front of you soon enough."

I took a deep breath, as I had been taught to do by the master when it was time to meditate, and closed my eyes, focusing on nothing and allowing a calm to fall upon my turbulent mind. My breathing steadied and my mind became as calm as a lake and as clear as the morning sky. When I opened my eyes, my mind clear, and ready to begin my training a new, I looked at Master Shun. Master Shun was now standing above me looking down on me and with a nod of his head began to speak.

"After two weeks of this extreme training, you will fight Kenta again, and we will see just how much you have improved. Are you ready for the training?"

For a moment I hesitated, what if I wasn't ready for the training that Master Shun had in mind? What if none of this training helped me in the long run and I came up short at Rasslemania in about six weeks? No. I would not think about the negatives now, I could only think of getting better at this point. I must succeed for the opportunity to become the APW champion and I must not fail because so much is riding on my victory. So I spoke up, determined, and ready for whatever was coming my way.

"Yes, Master Shun. I am ready for the training."

A smile spread across his face as he replied with emotion.

"Good. Now follow me, we have a long walk ahead of us if we are going to reach the area that I have in mind for your training."

He walked away from me wobbily and I followed him, making sure to watch him just in case if he were to stumble, and fall. My mind was abuzz, just what kind of training lay in store for me, and what type of training would it be that would allow me to fight someone as good as Kenta within two weeks time. I had no idea, but there was one way that I could find out, and that was to find out first hand.

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Intense Training! I Will Not Give Up!
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*3 Weeks and 6 Days Ago, Hidden Cave, Japan*

It had been over a week since we had reached the cave that was hidden behind a waterfall, inside this cave I would receive my instruction from a Master Shun who seemed more healthier than he originally had appeared, and to say the least, the training was no easy thing to do. Nothing compared to the strenuous training I had undergone in the last week, pushups over a blazing fire, meditating under the waterfall to train endurance, and balancing on a small log in the middle of a lake were just to name a few things that Master Shun had thrown my way so far. And to make matters worse, I had to hunt and forage for myself, no cooked meals from the dojo, and no relaxing bed either. I had to sleep on a rock and even then I could only sleep for three hours at a time and nothing more. So as I woke up from my one of two three hour rests that I was allowed to take a day, I found Master Shun waiting for me outside the cave with a relatively large boulder with a rope tied around it. I shook my head, knowing exactly what Master Shun had in mind for me today.

The rope had been set up over the small cliff above the cave entrance as a makeshift pully system and as I took it all in Master Shun beagn to speak.

"Today we will be training your strength. I want fifty repititions of you pulling on this rope and picking up this boulder it will help you build arm strength and shoulder strength...it will help you with punching and lifting two things that as a wrestler you will need indefinitely."

I yawned and went over to the rope and tried a pull at it, only to find that I could barely lift the damn thing at all. I looked at the master and spoke up.

"Master, this seems impossible. Surely there is something easier that you can have me do today that can replace this excercise."

"Taking the easy path will give you worse results...no, you will do this test. Unless if you are ready to give up. Are you ready to give up, Pence?"

"A real warrior never gives up."

"That's the spirit. Now get to work so that we can finish your other excercises for the day."

I nodded my head as Master Shun walked away from me. I looked back at the boulder and pulley system and shook my head.

"At least I finished one...just fourty nine more to go."

I began to pull again while laughing a bit.

"My arms are going to look like licorish after I am done with this part of the training."

I jested as I grunted with effort getting the boulder up for the second time and then dropping it down hard. I looked at my arms and sighed, I thought I was stronger than this, but apparently this training had revealed that it was one thing to do it in a gym, but outside the gym it was completely different. For a second I thought about quitting, but once that second was up, I was pulling on the rope again, and grunting with effort once more I reached the number three on how many times I had lifted the damn boulder. For about three hours I stopped and tugged on the rope to get the numbers I needed to finish the labor and after reaching number fifty I collapsed to the ground, holding my arms in pain. They hurt really bad and the only thought I had right then was dipping them in some cold water to try and relieve some of that pain, but as I got up to go to the lake Master Shun appeared from inside the cave with a flint and tinder.

"I see you finished. Very good, now it is time for your push ups."

" Ye..yes, master."

I said out of breath as Master Shun lit the small amount of wood he had gathered for the day in front of me. I knelt down and got into push up position, already feeling a great deal of pain in my arms, I knew that if I got too close to the flames I would burn my chest, and that was something I did not want to do right now. Waiting for the command to begin with me hovering over the flames, I began to think of Level One. I had heard from Madok that Level One had hired a man to train him and I wondered if that man was training Level One in very much the same way that I was being trained. I doubted it, but it was all I needed to find a second wind.

"Begin, remember we need fifty push ups before we can go on the 4 mile hike."

I had nearly forgotten about the four mile hike as I began to do the pushups over the burning fire. Every two days I was supposed to go on a 4 mile hike, it was more like a two mile hike, but it was two miles back so it equaled out to four. And of course the hike wasn't over the easiest terrain in Japan, oh no, it was over rock faces, and sheer cliffs, caution was very important. The push ups, in my oppinion, were probably the easiest of all of the excercises that Master Shun had given me, but at the same time they were the second most deadly, the only thing that surpassed it was the hike because of the cliffs and rock faces that I would have to climb to finish the hike. I got to close to the flame and winced in pain as the fire licked greedily at the flesh on my bare chest, I pulled up quickly, and went back down again, not stopping to give myself time to think about the burn that would develop most likely from the fire.

I finished my push ups quickly and got to my feet, feeling my chest as I did so, and wincing as my fingers went over the place where I had been burned. I was not really concerned with that, the real thing I was worried about was the hike at that moment. I didn't understand how any of this was going to make me a better fighter, some of it made sense...the hike built up leg muscles and trained endurance, the push ups built up arm strength, the balancing on a log helped teach me how to keep my balance, and the waterfall helped me increase my thresh hold for pain through enduring the constant beating of the water falling on me hard. But, it really didn't help me improve much else, but a few things.

"Master, may I ask you something?"

Master Shun turned to look at me from where he was standing at from the mouth of the cave.

"What is it, Pence?"

"I just have to ask, what is this all going to do for my fighting? I mean yes it is increasing what I consider to be my normal level of talent, but beyond that it is not doing much more. I guess what I am trying to say master is...when will I actually learn about fighting?"

He didn't say anything for a while, but looked at me, and nodded his head. He then replied slowly and with little to no emotion.

"Fighting starts with the body, Pence. I am training your body so that you may fight on caliber with fighters such as Level One. This training will make you his equal in ever right, Pence. But you must trust me in the way that I am teaching you. Otherwise, no progress will be made. You already have the intelligence to fight on par with Level One, but because of your body you have been unable to match his level of talent. What I am doing is increasing your bodies' natural talent so that you may fight one on one with Level One."

I understood now, not only had Master Shun been watching me on Overdrive, but he had also been evaluating me for a long time. The training regime that he had built that I was doing now, was tooled to be perfect for my body type, and had also been tooled to give me equal footing with Level One. I smiled a bit thinking about how much Master Shun could do by just watching tapes.

"Alright, master. I will follow your training regime because I have faith that your methods will bare great fruit. Now if you don't mind. I have a hike to go on."

I gave him a smile as I jogged passed him and out into the mid-day sunlight. I knew I didn't have much time left and the hike would at least take me an hour and a half, but I felt great knowing why I was doing this now instead of being in the dark on the matter. Once I got passed the line of sight of the cave I picked up my walking stick and began to make my way up the path that had been cut for hiking recently by what Master Shun had told me. I walked up the path with a skip in my step, thinking of what the end result of this training would be for me, and thinking to myself that Level One was in for one hell of a surprise once my training was complete.

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Kenta vs. Pence Weatherlight
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*2 Weeks and 6 Days Ago, Shun Academy, Japan.*

It was time for the fight and I had never felt more physically prepared for a fight in my life, as I walked out on to the training field that belonged to the Shun Academy. I stretched a bit to ensure that nothing would cramp up in the middle fo the rematch that was about to take place between me and Kenta. Kenta had not arrived on the field yet, but I knew that any second now Kenta would appear over the hill that obstructed the view of the academy from the field. Sure enough, Kenta appeared on top of the hill dressed in his normal training clothes with Sasaori in tow. I looked behind me at Master Shun who grinned at me widely, knowing that the intense training had done me a lot of good, and that I had improved all my general abilities considerably in a span of two weeks. As Kenta and Sasaori reached our location I found that Kenta was brimminf with confidence.

"I hope the training has done you a great deal of good, because there is no way in hell you are going to win this fight if it hasn't."

"I wouldn't be worried about my training. I would be more concerned with the fight that is about to begin."

We both bowed to each other in respect, but I could sense that Kenta really didn't respect me, which kind of made me mad, but I calmed my emotions and sharpened my wit. I would need my emotion and wit to beat Kenta in a battle that was for sure. We took our ten paces and then turned to look at each other, our eyes met for a second, mine were calm like the sea after a storm, and his eyes were blazing like a fire that had just been lit. Master Shun didn't waste any time at all as he spoke up.

"Begin."

With that, the wait began. From my first battle with Kenta I remembered that Kenta had used a style totally bent on defense and trying to wear down the opponent so that afterwards he could get in hits without worry. Last time I had ran in blind, but this time, I was not going to run in, and make a fool of myself. Neither of us moved, instead we waited on each other, waited for the first move to be made, and after a while Kenta was forced to make a move first. Kenta rushed at me with a lot of speed and came at me with a flurry of punches, the majority of them hit their mark, but what was once a stinging sensation had been dulled down a lot thanks to the waterfall training Master Shun had put me through. As Kenta attacked me with all he had, I remembered what Master Shun had told me on the first day of my intense training with him.

"Remember Pence, every fighter has his own style of fighting. Kenta's style is based on speed and defense, forcing him to make the first move takes away one aspect of his style, and the second can be countered by rock hard defense. Your defense is not perfect so Kenta's speed will be a problem, but if we can dull the pain from his hits then..."

"Then you should be able to win!"

Kenta's eyes went wide as I grabbed hold of one of his hands and then the other. He tried to kick my legs out from under me, but found it extremely hard to do so, another thing that had been worked on was balance, and leg strength. Clearly the training was paying off. I pushed Kenta back with all of my might and watched as he tumbled back a good few feet, he was extremely light, which was what made him so fast, but when it came to fighting a power fighting style...he was easibly moveable. I rushed at him time and went to hit him, he blocked several hits, but clearly he was visibly shaken from the push as a few hits hit their mark and caused him to clutch at the spot of the hit. Soon even blocking the hits began to hurt because of how much force I had began to put into each punch, he tried to escape me, but every time he tried I would land a strong kick into him which would cause him to rethink escaping. Finally aftert Kenta could take no more, he faultered, and I grabbed hold of him, clutching his neck, and then lifting him up with one arm, and slamming him into the ground with a vicous choke slam. Kenta coughed and then groaned two words before blacking out.

"I yeild."

I smiled as he said those words. I released my grasp on his throat and looked over hearing a round of applause from Sasaori and Master Shun. I took a sort of bow and went over to Master Shun, who seemed extremely happy that the training had payed off.

"Simply incredible. I didn't know grand father could get so much done in so little time."

"It was not all my doing...Pence is the one who trained as hard as he did and never once did he faulter or give in to weariness...Pence is a true warrior and is a prime example of what every fighter should try to live up to. Pence, we have two weeks left together, lets finish your training so that you may wear the medallion I gave you with pride."

"Yes, master. I will finish my training and live up to the image you have cast me up to be. That I promise you."

"Are we going to do anything with Kenta, grand father?"

Master Shun looked over at the fallen warrior and let out a sigh.

"I will go to the medical ward and get some help, you two youngsters take the day off. This old man will take care of Kenta."

Master Shun began to walk away leaving me and Sasaori alone on the training field.

"I think you have really made him happy, Pence."

I looked to her with a smile and replied.

"You really think so?"

That is when she leaned in and kissed me on the cheek, I hugged her tight, and then she whispered into my ear as we prepared to embrace in a blissful kiss.

"I know so..."

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Death In The House of Shun
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*1 Week and 6 Days ago, Shun Academy, Japan.*

"There is nothing we can do...his condition is continuing to deteriate."

"Gra...grand father..."

"Don't cry my dear...we both knew I wouldn't live forever the day we found out I was ill. Death is a part of life that we all must face at one point or another, and I am more than ready to face death."

"Don't say that..."

Silence filled my ears as I looked at the old man laying in the bed before me. Yun Shun, head of the Shun Academy was dieing. His condition had grown worse over the past few days and now the doctor had made it official...Shun had little time to live. I reached out for his hand and took it, he turned away from Sasaori and looked at me with his wise eyes.

"I have a favor to ask of you Weatherlight..."

He looked over at Sasaori and she nodded her head, knowing all too well what her grand father wanted, and within about ten seconds she had cleared the room of all the doctors and students who had come to see Yun. I shook my head and looked back to the old man who was once again looking at me.

"I have a favor to ask of you..."

"Yes, master?"

"Watch over Sasaori...she is always getting into trouble and I don't want anything bad to happen to her, Pence. That is the only thing I fear."

"Consider it done, master."

"Do you have the medallion I sent with Sasaori?"

I nodded my head lightly as I noticed I was on the verge of tears at this point. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the medallion to show to Master Shun. He looked at it with pride and then took it from my hand.

"Finally I will do what I should have done many years ago...kneel please."

I obeyed without a single word needing to be said and got down on to one knee. Before I knew it he had put the medallion around my neck and with a smile on his face he began to speak again.

"I was blessed, Pence. I did a lot of rights and a lot of wrongs, but know this...I was blessed. I had a good family, good students, and...I got to meet you."

I put my head on the blankets on his bed and began to cry, he put his hand on my head, and continued.

"I have one more thing to ask of you, do you mind?"

I lifted my head a bit, my eyes wet with tears, and my face contorted into a grimace.

"What is it, master?"

"Never quit, Pence...remember that a warrior never quits...."

The room went silent around me as Yun's eyes gave me a blank expression and from that I knew he was gone. I knew that a great man had died and it pained me that he had, I didn't want to leave even as the doctors rushed in, and tried to save his life. They tried to pull me away from him, but they couldn't budge me as I sat there staring at the face of a once great warrior who had never quit anything a day of his life and that would be remembered for many years to come. Finally the doctors just gave up and as the heart meter flatlined one more time they switched it off and regestered a time of death. With that, I stood up, and walked passed the doctors who had tried to remove me from the way. I made my way down the hall only to be stopped by Sasaori who knew by the look on my face that her grandfather had passed away.

She fell to her knees and cried harder than I thought she could and I fell to my knees to comfort her. To try and do my best to help her overcome the ordeal. We sat their embraced in a hug, a hug that I never wanted to release, I felt horrible, and I felt even worse that nothing I would say would help her feel better. I rubbed her back and picked her up off the floor and let her lean against me as I walked her out of the dorms and outside to the courtyard. I sat her down on one of the benches and sat down next to her. I tried to think of something to say, but the words escaped me.

"It is unfair...why do people have to die!?"

I turned to look at her and let out a sigh of depression before replying.

"Death is a part of life...it is inevitable that we have to one day get buried six feet underground to become one with the planet. I wish it weren't so, I wish that life could exist forever, but it can not."

She looked at me, her eyes filled with tears, and her eye liner running. She put her head against my shoulder and I put my hand on her head.

"The best thing to do now is remember your grandfather.... not as the sick old man that you saw laying in that bed, but the man who was full of life and so willing to teach others about how to fight. Remember that and you will have done your grandfather a great justice!"

"You really think so?"

I could see her looking at my face again and I brushed her black hair out of her eyes and whispered to her kindly.

"I know so..."

She put her hand on my face and got up from the bench and began to walk off, leaving me alone to myself.

"Where are you going?"

"I need to get out of here...it is too depressing here."

That is when I had an idea, I quickly got up, and jogged over to her and spoke to her in an excited tone.

"What if you come back to the states with me!?"

For a second she said nothing, clearly she was thinking it over, and I didn't know if she would come with me or not.

"Listen, I am not going to leave you alone. Not at a time like this. You grand father told me to protect you and that is what I intend to do, but the only way I can do that is if you indulge me now."

"I don't know, Pence. I don't think leaving the country is the right thing to do right now, especially with the academy the way it is now without grand father."

"You could put Kenta in charge until you return. He is skilled enough to do what is right for the students and the academy at least until your return. Come on Sasaori...come with me."

Once again she thought about it as she looked at the night sky and then looked back down to the tile floor of the courtyard. After doing this she looked at me and nodded her head.

"Alright, I will come with you, but you must promise me something."

I had already made a bunch of promises to Master Shun, so I shrugged my shoulders and replied.

"Alright, shoot?"

"That you will never leave me."

"Don't you worry about that...I am never going to leave you."

She smiled weakly and gave me a hug which I returned back. We hugged for a few seconds before both of us broke each others embrace and went seperate ways. I knew she needed some alone time and I did too. I looked back at her one more time before she dissapeared into the darkness and I sighed to myself as I too disssapeared into the dark night.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coming to America
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Six Days Ago, Houston, Texas*

It was in the middle of the afternoon when me and Sasaori landed in a local airport in downtown Houston, Texas. I had called ahead to Madok to tell him to come pick us up at the airport at around 4:27 P.M. and as I looked at my wrist watch the clock showed 4:30, knowing that Madok had to be somewhere around the airport me and Sasaori began to go look for him, hoping to find him somewhere so that we could get out of here, and to the hotel that he had apparently booked. When we found Madok he was talking to a rather attractive looking stewardess who was busy trying to go to lunch. She was trying her best to reject him, but Madok would not take no for an answer, and continued to pester her.

"Come on, doll. I won't bite, you know you want to go to lunch with me, don't deny it. I saw you looking at me while I was waiting on my two friends to arrive."

"As if....you are not my type."

"Why do you got be so cold? We could make a sweet couple you and I, don't deny that! Come on babe, just one bite to eat...what is it going to hurt?"

"My pride as a woman."

She walked by Madok who sighed and threw his hands up in a comical manner only to turn around and see me and Sasaori laughing at him.

"How long were you two standing there?"

"Long enough to see you get shot down by that pretty stewardess."

"Is he always like this?"

I nodded my head and that got a growling noise to come out of Madok's voice who began to walk away.

"You guys suck. I come all the way away from my fancy hotel suite and I have to deal with you two wise asses. I should have stayed there...make you fuckers walk."

"Hey, come on...we are only kidding."

"Yeah, we don't mean anything that we are saying."

Madok was clearly not paying attention to us as he went down the escalator to the bottom floor of the airport and made his way outside. Me and Sasaori shrugged and quickly caught up with him by jogging. Outside we were greeted by the all too familiar sight of the Madok's personal limo and Benny, who was leaning against the car with a wide grin on his face.

"How was the trip, Pence?"

He said to me as I walked over to the car door to open it for Sasaori. My reply came out as an exhausted sigh.

"Adventful...how have things been progressing over here?"

"Good, everything is set for your big title match against Level One, we have sent out the tickets to the under priviledged families, and have donated the money that you had wanted donated to a local hospital."

"Not bad. Good job you two."

I ushered Sasaori into the car and allowed Benny to get inside before I did and then lastly I got inside. Madok was already in the limo, pouring himself a glass of bourbon, and then drinking it all down in one gulp and pouring himself another glass full. As the car drove off, my thoughts went back to what Master Shun had told me before he died...to never give up because that is what a warrior did. I intended to do exactly that, I would never give up...not until I had got everything I wanted, and what I wanted the most was the APW Championship, so until the day I had that belt back in my hands...I would never give up to the likes of Level One or any other vile villain out there in the world.

"Just wait a little longer fans...your savior is coming."

*Scene Fades to Black*

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One More for The Road!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Present Day, Houston, Texas. Reliant Stadium*

The fans have been gathered two days before Rasslemania at the request of Pence Weatherlight and yet no one has a gripe. Not one fan in the audience is upset about the current predicament, in fact most of the fans are excited to finally be able to see Pence live. After all it isn't every day that you get the chance to meet an international icon like Pence Weatherlight in your back yard. The entire arena goes silent as they look at the cards they had all been handed, the date, and time of day the show would start printed on them. As the clock strikes midnight all the lights in the arena go out and Pence's new intro song lights up over the PA system to the sound of deafening cheers.



Pence emerges on the entrance ramp dressed in his ring attire and smiling quite broadly, he points at the ring, and then at himself as pyro errupts from the sides of the entrance ramp. He then begins to walk down at a deliberately slow pace, slapping hands with fans, and posing to take pictures with fans. As he gets to the ring he rolls under neath the bottom rope and then jumps up to a vertical basis, he looks around the arena again as he gets on top of one of the turn buckles and flexes for the fans. He repeats this process on the opposite side of the ring and then jumps down, walking to the center of the ring, and waiting for his music to die down. When it does Benny appears at ring side holding a microphone, Pence takes the microphone, and thanks Benny as he begins to pace around the ring looking at all of the fans in the arena and at the mat. He brings the microphone to his mouth and then begins to speak.

" First things first before we kick off tonight's fun and festivities I would like to thank each and every single one of you for coming out here on such short notice. You guys are great, I don't know how anyone can hate you guys."

The fans give Pence a large pop as he snickers a bit to himself and goes to one of the corners of the ring where he takes a seat on the top turn buckle.

" Now that we have that out of the way it is time to get down to brass tax...it is time to talk about Rasslemania!"

Another pop out of the fans and Pence nods his head, pleased with the acceptance of the PPV event around these parts.

"Rasslemania is going to be big, hell it is destined to go down in history as probably the biggest Rasslemania in the history of APW, and from what I hear...Rasslemania had been sold out for about three weeks before anything was finalized and that ladies and gentlemen is saying something. I know you are as anxious as I am for Sunday to arrive, but everything comes in due time...after all patience is a virtue and as such patience is what we should practice...but who gives a fuck about patience right? I've never been one for patience after all this is the guy who on his first showing accepted an open challenge from the ever lame Level One and nearly won the match. So as you can tell...I'm not too big on patience. But at the same time I am not just saying this because I am impatient for the show to arrive...no, no, no...I am also impatient because I want to kick Level One's fucking ass! And I know you all want a piece of that mother fucker too, but wait in line...I called first.

I mean in all honesty, this is the guy who came out, and litterally spit in your faces, the man who has consistently in every one of his promotions found away to come off as an egotistical, dick sucking fairy boy, and this is also the man who has ran this company into the ground like a God damn post sign. Built this company up my ass! This guy has only brought shame and humiliation upon this company by defacing the man who started this all and then spitting on every intelligent move at producing a great main event that Jeff has ever did. You would think Level One would be smart, I mean I would think he is only a hair away from getting his ass kicked out of the APW for bad mouthing Jeff...it is called insubordination and it is a very common thing to see people be fired for bad talking their boss. But Level One is stupid, he doesn't care about job security, he thinks that he is the greatest wrestler of all time, and that other promotions are going to want him once he is labeled as being insubordinate. It is called a "red flag" Level One, anyone with a pocket book and a wrestling organization is going to avoid you like a mother fucking plague.

But you got to be a wise ass, because if you aren't, then their would only be 12,999,999,999 people in the world who can be wise asses, and that just won't do will it? Personally I could care less about you, hell your wise ass remarks are nothing, but a self-defense mechanism that clicks on when ever you know your ass is grass. And hey would you look at that, your ass is about to be grass...right here...in Houston Texas...inside the Reliant Stadium!"

The fans let out a roar of approval as Pence continues.

"Might want to click on that defense mechanism if you haven't already because this time the only thing that is going to save your ass this time from an ass kicking is the second coming of Christ. So you better start praying and making promises because I am pretty sure Christ is definitely not going to be doing a little faggot like yourself any fucking favors that's for sure. "

Pence pauses as he jumps off the top turnbuckle and begins to walk around the ring.

"I guess that was a little over the top, but then again I am just pissed about being compared to a little roach of human being that is known as Jason Royce. We will miss you Jason...our jokes will be sorely lacking without you. But then again, being compared to Jason Royce is better than being the beast who wants to bite off my fucking hand."

Pence pauses and looks at his hands, making sure they are both there, and puts a look of pure horror on his face as he does so that gets a few laughs from the fans. Pence stops looking at his hands and continues speaking with a grin on his face.

" But what would I know, after all I'm not as pro as Level One...I mean he is the only guy who can be hypocritical and fucking getting away with it. "I'm Level One and I can do sneak attacks, but if Pence does them I bring the morale quandry up of a good guy doing those attacks, and then I call him a coward!" It makes me fucking laugh. This guys did the same exact fucking thing to me over a half a year ago by faking an injury and then attacking me out in the parking lot, but fuck if he remembers that. Selective memory is a bitch sometimes. I mean look at how it made him forget that I have already pinned him for the three count once before, which proves almost half of his arguements wrong. And it also makes him forget that to get respect he actually has to treat others with respect! Man, selective memory hits the best of us hard, but in this case it hits the worst of us. And to add on to all of this selective memory bullshit, he forgets that he himself demanded that this be an Iron Man match, here I will fucking quote him for you all...one second."

Pence reaches into the pockets of his shorts and pulls out a piece of paper with writing on it, he looks over it for a second, and then begins to speak in a very loud and obnoxious voice which just happens to be his impersonation of Level One.

""Still, you have to LOVE the idea that President Jeff has sanctioned this Iron Man stipulation further catering to demands as Pence Weatherlight continues to hi-jack the main-event scene." Now I may be reading this wrong, but...doesn't it sound to you like he is upset that the match is going to be an Iron Match or that he is upset Jeff ok'd the match for him. It almost sounds like he wants to back out of this match...I don't blame him. After all I am one scary ass dude when I want to be. And then he starts rambling on and on about his suppiriority and how I do not respect him, blah, blah, blah...does this guy ever learn that I just don't give a shit what he thinks? And he calls me a parrot, he is the one who in every one of his promotions calls himself the best in the world when clearly he is not.

Once again, Level One proves to be the pro at getting away with hypocritical bullshit, and to think...he says all this shit in his first promotion..."

Pence throws the paper with all the notes on the first promotion to the floor and pulls out another sheet of paper with writing on it. He opens it up and reveals it to the fans.

"These are the notes on Level One's second promotion...and let me say...it is not much better than the first. It is the same bullshit different tone as you fans will soon find out. It starts off with a nice little remission about Jeff being on the record."

Pence twirls his fingers around a bit and mouths the words "Whoopty fucking doo!".

" Basically, his whole second promotion is a yawn fest of facts that make him out to be better than everyone else, and at the same time try to steal credit from everybody else and put it on his shoulders. So you think you solved the problem, you think by coming here, and placing yourself on the APW show that you instantly gave this show a little bit more credibility? You think that it was you and you alone that started this whole "APW in the Experts" bull shit, please don't flatter yourself Level One with false hoods because nobody is buying the stinky shit you are selling. The only reason that APW is where it is at now is because of a business transaction there was no "Oh look the True Expert champ is there. That means that it has to be a good place!", I personally don't see how you coming here has effected anything, but you know what...you go ahead and stroke your ego and make yourself to be the bad ass mother fucker because you coming out here and lashing out at me says I struck a nerve. Oh by the way, did you get your excuse straightened out for this time when I crush you? Just making sure that your Experts excuse that you used last time is retooled for this match. Make sure it at least seems original unlike this "Everyone owes me" bullshit that you seem to have locked up for rainy days that I have seen more times than I can count on both my hands.

For everything else there is master card, oh sorry I was just commenting on your priceless at the end of your long "I made you Pence" type of speech...I mean did anything you hash together actually have any originiality to it or is it all just the same bull shit..."

The fans all shout out "different tone." And Pence nods his head.

"Thanks, anyways, sure I came on board to beat you, but at the time I didn't even know about the Experts let alone care about a flimsy elitist title like "The True Expert" title. I came here to beat you because I wanted to beat you? Is it so hard to believe I had a vendetta against you and it had nothing to do with this self imposed fame that you keep talking about? Ah, fuck it, who gives a flying shit anyway. I mean nothing you have said is new, it is all been said before, and it is all proven false. Nobody buys your shit! GET IT....THROUGH...YOUR...FUCKING...SKULL! I mean if you are dumb enough to believe, slapping your name on an event is drawing a crowd then you are fucking retarded because no one is paying to see you! DO YOU GET IT! You are the villain stick with being the fucking villain, nobody cares if you are even in the business, the only thing they care about is seeing me crush the mother fucking villain, and you know what I am going to do just that."

Pence stops for a second and then continues.

"I'm running out of time folks, you can thank late entry by Level One for that, but let me go ahead and tell you what I think of his promotion. Because after a bit it seems nothing more than incoherent self-promoting dribble...and I would rather not bore you with the details of this thing, but if I had more time then fuck yeah I would be all over this like a fat kid on a cup cake. So here is what I think."

Pence pulls a lighter out and the fans begin to cheer wildly as Pence lights the whole paper on fire and then watches it turn to ash.

Pence: It is nothing to me...if this is what Level One is pushing...a self-promoting, reaking, piece of horse shit, then I am just not going to finish. Hell I think the one moment I was taken back was when I realized he didn't understand my parents were dead. Thanks for bringing that up, real glad we had time to talk, dick. I mean, it is one thing to mock the living...but the dead? Shit man, you're one cold mother fucker, but I guess that is why we are always going to but heads, right? I am the hero, empathatic and kind, and you are the cold, emotionally removed villain. We are perfect foils you and I and even after this match closes up, we are still going to be watching each other, and waiting for the chance to beat each other up.

Regardless of whoever wins this company will change directions, but I promise you nothing is going to go the way you think. I am not going to allow you to walk out with that championship, you can call me names, you can say I know nothing, and you can trash my reputation, but I swear to God in heaven....I am not fucking letting you walk out of Rasslemania Six with the championship and I don't care if I have to take your Canadian Ass down to hell with me, because if it means that you are not the champion any longer then the sacrafice would have been worth it. I am prepared Level, I have trained for one and a half months for the opportunity to crush you...I'm a lean...mean...championship taking machine right now and you have fucked around and pissed that machine off. So get ready Level.

Because this is a story of hope, destiny, and valor...

This is the story of MY life and we all know how it truly ends....

With you in a mother fucking casket and me as the APW Champion!

So good night dark prince, get your sleep because you are going to need your rest. After all sixty minutes is an awful long time to wrestle. Good night ladies and gentlemen see you at Rasslemania!

*Scene Bursts to Static*