Hello everyone! First of all, I want to apologize for this unexpected hiatus, even longer than I imagined, due to personal reasons. Now that I'm back, I'm going to bring this story to the finish line. 1 or max 2 more chapters and we're done.
I hope I could pull out a nice work with this chapter. And last but not least, I want to thank every reader, reviewer, and those guys who favorited this story. It means a lot to me.
Well, this said, have a nice reading of this chapter 26. We're resuming from Riho telling Kenny something interesting...
"I was afraid that, if I had told you, you would have tried to stop me and asked me to stay. And maybe… I would."
- It doesn't sound so strange, does it? –
Cody thought he had all figured out. Riho's words were more than just a tirade against Kenny. In his mind, that proved one final time the theory he'd been trying to bring to Kenny's attention for so long.
Those were pretty strong words. Riho wouldn't have said them for nothing.
Kenny was distractedly scowling at the wall, his arms crossed to his chest. Pacing the floor back and forth. He went to talk to Cody, after his… confrontation – could he call it so? – with Riho. That was so not what he expected.
Matt Jackson was there as well. Kenny finally told him everything too. Everything that happened between Kenny and Riho in the past few months, that remained pretty much behind the curtains of the Elite. The good and the bad, the proudness and the faults.
Matt was frowning at Cody. – What are you talking about? If it's not strange… it's crazy! –
Cody shrugged at him. – Not really. –
- Oh, yes it is, sir. – Matt bent his lips halfway a smile and a smirk. – It's so crazy that… that… -
Kenny glanced at him with an eyebrow all risen up. Cody did more: - You can't pull anything out? –
- No! It's like ten thousand times crazier than anything that's crazy! – Matt exclaimed.
- I think I've been saying this for a very long time. – Cody murmured.
- And I think you've been too much a host on questionable tv shows. – Matt went on. - It's not like we're talking about you and Brandi, or me and Dana. –
- And yet it makes sense. – Cody nodded as he began to explain.– Riho's been looking up to Kenny since, like, forever. It's possible that over the years, she's developed some other feelings for Ken, beyond friendship. –
- Well, ok, fine, I'll give you that. Kenny's not that bad after all. –
- Thanks man. Too sweet. – Kenny bitterly thumbed up at his friend.
- But so what? – Matt resumed. – It's Kenny and Riho, for God's sake. It's not like anything has to happen! –
- Why not? – Cody asked. – Besides, she doesn't even have a boyfriend, right? And joking or not, a lot of people notice how close these two are. Let his decide. –
Kenny was staring in silence, not even sure of what he had to say or think. He had now two pair of eyes locked on him, as Matt was gazing at him too. His breath turned into a grumble. At a certain point, he would've turned around and screamed that he had no hell of idea.
- Ken, have you ever talked about this with her? – Cody asked.
Eventually, Kenny put some words out of his mouth. – Talked? No, not really. We never had to. We're friends. Sometimes we joked about what people may say, but that's it. It meant nothing. – he hinted a brief laugh. – Fans write a lot of fan fictions, you know? They come to think that even you and I are a couple, or that the Bucks are lovers. –
That made all burst out laughing. After a little while, Cody was the first to get serious. – The question is: would you want it to happen someday? –
Kenny hissed what sounded like a sigh. – I mean, it's us. We've been friends for, like, forever. I watched her growing up. It's like a sister to me. I think I've never thought about her the way you're saying. It should've been the same for her. –
- Except that you're no longer brother and sister. What happened that day, with her at the gym, tells quite a lot. –
Kenny lowered his gaze to the ground and his forehead furrowed a little. It took too long for his to share that story with his best friends. In the end, he gave up and told both Cody and Matt about that moment with Riho. On some level, he was kind of curious to hear what they thought about it. Whether he would like the answer or not.
- You didn't wanna talk about this, I get it. But this changes some plans. – Cody commented.
- How? – Matt chimed in. – Come on, let's keep our heads in the game. -
- Yes, let's. I've been thinking about this, and I know I'm not the only one. If there's chance, if they can have something, be something together, why shouldn't he just give it a try? –
Matt shook his head and pointed at Kenny. He was definitely not in the same team of Cody. – Stop trying to talk him so much into something so dangerous! –
- Dangerous for who? Why not? – Cody asked loudly.
The question landed flying in the air for a few heavy seconds. Cody was looking at Kenny, soon Matt ended up doing the same. When Kenny decided what to say, he turned around.
- Because Matt's got a point. All right, maybe I and her have a great bond, special, some would say. And I do care a lot about her. But nothing could ever happen between us. –
- What would be holding you back? – Cody softly questioned.
Again. – Ok, you don't wanna count at least that, counting ages, I could almost be her father? Fine. It's that… it would just feel wrong. It would be like breaking the rules. –
Matt's expression contracted for a moment, as if he was chasing something in his mind. Then he found it.
- But you thought about it happening, at a certain point. – he gazed right into Kenny's eyes. – Don't you? Or else you wouldn't have asked to Nick all those things about picturing you with a wrestling girl, or being away from each other… -
Kenny held the stare only up to a short while. – Ok, I did, all right? I happened to ask myself some questions. But then I felt like there wouldn't be a second shot, if something goes wrong. Or worse, that it wouldn't end well either ways. It would be like putting everything on the line, at risk, over some "it may be", "can be" or "can have", "seems like"… if things go wrong, where would we go? Who would be watching over her? I don't want to put in jeopardy such a real and important friendship. –
Cody nodded. – Look, I understand. The last thing we all want to do is ruin a friendship. But you're talking like you're sure things will go wrong. Look me in the eyes, Ken, and tell me: what you felt when you were with Riho in that ring… how many other times did something like that happened to you recently? – he glanced quickly at Matt for a silent confirmation. – I bet the last was Shida. –
Kenny's barely concealed look kind of certified that Cody wasn't far from the truth.
- Honestly, if there's one thing I can't understand about you, is this… principles of life, this vow or whatever you wanna call it, to not focus on anything that's not wrestling. Then what about your personal life? You know, the life that's outside of these walls or any arena. How long has it been since your last girlfriend? Do you even remember how to do it? You've always put career over women. You consider a relationship as a distraction, something unnecessary. Well, let me tell you, brother, it's not. Having someone by your side… it fills your life, it completes it. So why don't you let yourself go for once? You're not too far from the 40, you have done it all, you have accomplished everything. You're already at your best, or right past behind it. Get it out of your system, think outside the box. –
- Fine speech. All great, all beautiful. – Matt said. – But I still don't agree with you. It looks to me like it's coming out of a fantasy romance. –
Kenny observed his two best friends arguing over him and about him. It was somehow ironic. They were on so different sides that they didn't help him at all.
As tones began to get louder, he spoke up. – Guys, guys! Can it be my turn to speak now? –
They stopped and turned to him. – Sure. – Matt replied.
Kenny put on some sort of a smile. – Thanks to both of you, now I know what I gotta do. –
- What? – Matt asked.
- I think I'm gonna take off, and go out for a walk. -
###
Words were ringing in his ears. And they weren't sounding all new to him.
Cody and Matt clearly played on different teams. Cody's been always trying to convince him that something could come up with Riho. Eventually, even to step up for her. He thought that it would be good for them. On the other end, Matt seemed firmly against it. He wouldn't believe that there could be anything more for them, among friendship. And yet, he did recognize their bond.
But so, was it so obvious? Did everyone think the same, including Riho?
Things were no longer the same, that was clear. Years ago, she wouldn't have kept secrets from him. And he wouldn't have lied to her. Like they did.
And then, that day at the gym. That damn day at the gym. The day that they avoided to talk about since the first moment. They never mentioned it, never had the chance to clear anything. If there was something to clear.
Right now, he realized that he thought about that moment more than he knew, after all. And given things, he wondered if it was the same for her.
That was probably where everything changed for good.
"Why don't you let yourself go for once?" was Cody's question.
After all this time, it sounded quite fair. If he really had let himself go, when he was in the ring with her, when she was in his arms… the truth was that, in that moment, they both wanted it.
So what did he have to do now? And what did he have to do with her?
Kenny sighed. Maybe it was time to talk with her, and find out how things were, out in the open.
###
Flashback – Tokyo, 3 weeks ago
She had never been at the Stardom head quarters before. From the outside, it appeared as an architectural piece of modern art, standing in the ward of Koto.
On the inside, it seemed endless. Way bigger than Ice Ribbon or Gatoh, it looked bigger than AEW's too. It was a maze of hallways and stairs, leading to the different offices. Riho was timidly giggling, when she arrived at the building. She asked to the receptionist for information about where she had to go. The kind lady behind the counter said that the managers were waiting for her on the last floor.
As she reached the room indicated, in curiosity she had the chance to take a look around. On many of the walls, there were a lot of photos, banners and posters of Stardom shows and Japanese joshi wrestling. Riho grimaced, as she noticed the "legends" section, a series of pictures hung on the wall one next to the other. One of them depicted a younger Emi with three other girls posing in a ring at the end of a match.
The whole building felt like a giant hug.
She spent the next two hours in a meeting with the managers of Stardom. Even that delegate who called her in the first place weeks ago was there. They finally explained the details of the offer and the contract.
- This will be the paycheck? – she exclaimed, in front of the entire board, when she was shown how much the monthly wage would be. It should have been the same of AEW. Actually, on the paper there was written a 15% more.
When Riho finished with shaking hands and walked out of the office, she was more nervous than when she arrived.
They asked her to respond to their offer at her earliest convenience, but still as soon as possible. Not it all looked real.
There wasn't much left to think about. She'd done enough thinking already.
Signing with Stardom would represent a big step forward for her career. The money, her country, the family, the friends. It looked like everything was there. It just wasn't as easy as it might look.
Despite of Tony's green light, would she seem somehow ungrateful to AEW, the company who invested in her and gave her the first opportunity outside of Japan? Well, her recent booking didn't exactly go in that direction. It reflected the fact that she wasn't and may never be the top player of AEW. The opposite of what Stardom just promised her.
An important slot in their roster, the chance to work with the major Joshi legends, and championships. Starting from the High Speed, that she'd already won in the past, to step then to the Wonder and, who knows, one day, the World of Stardom.
Undeniably, it sounded more exciting than starring on a Youtube show.
AEW… and especially one person, who still had no clue about what was going on… the very person who gave an opportunity outside of Japan.
Now she really had to decide what to do.
###
Tuesday - 8 days to Winter is Coming
It was better to have this conversation now. Before his title match against Moxley, which was supposed to drain all his attention, and before her whole "Stardom" thing moved forward and became unmanageable.
He had a shot that Tuesday, at the Daily's, between the pre-Dynamite meeting and the beginning of the tapings of the newest Dark Elevation. Riho succeeded in being a part of it, and was scheduled for a 1 on 1 against Maki Itoh. Likely the only schedule she'd have for the week.
When Kenny met her, she was still in t-shirt and jeans and still to prepare. They said hi to each other, but a haze of awkwardness was clearly surrounding them. She happened to glance at him only once in a while. Maybe regretting the things she said to him last week. He kept staring at her, trying to figure out how to act and what to say. He wasn't sure how to handle this.
All of that was uncomfortable. It wasn't supposed to happen, that two best friends couldn't talk to each other.
All right, let's get something out of the mouth. – So… what's going on? -
She turned around and insecurely gazed at him. Then again, she drove her look away.
But before their most difficult talk could even begin, before Riho could say anything, Kenny's phone rang.
He seriously considered about ignoring it. For him, everybody could wait right now. This was more important. Only until he looked at the screen and realized who was calling him.
- Sorry, I have to answer… - he hissed.
Damn it. You don't hang up on the boss. - Tony, hi. -
- Hey, Kenny. Couldn't be there today, is everything all right? –
Kenny bit his lip. – Yeah. – Not really.
- Look, we just got an email. Following their meeting with Riho at their HQ, Stardom's board has just confirmed and officialized their offer. They enclosed also the draft of the contract. – Tony paused. – I figured you'd want to know. -
Kenny took a heavy breath. It was crazily ironic how that call came exactly while he was talking to her. In the meantime, she had started pulling out her attire stuff from the bag. She kept avoiding his gaze. He couldn't take his eyes off.
- Hello? You still there? – Tony asked from the other side of the phone.
Kenny took a few steps back, still staring at Riho. From afar, with glassy eyes now.
He murmured, so that she couldn't hear him. – She's accepting, isn't she? -