Angelica was enamored with Tokyo. It was hardly her first time in the city formerly known as Edo, let alone the Land of the Rising Sun, but Angelica had appreciated the capital of Japan more and more every time she set foot in it. It was a lot busier than Vancouver, or Lacklanland, let alone her ranch when it had been sitting on the outskirts of San Antonio. But yet it never felt constrained or clogged, because everyone was moving with purpose.

And so was Angelica. She had a rendez-vous with someone she hadn’t seen in a while, but who was in a unique position to offer some valuable insight on Angelica’s upcoming match.

Of course, the match wasn’t just Angelica’s, but she *was* the Captain of her team. Just like her sister was the Captain of hers. And while she had faced Sarah many times before, this had a different vibe to it. It was the first time that they faced each other when they had taken people under their wing and had them be part of the equation.

Sarah was used to it, of course. Heck, Angelica had been taken under Sarah’s wing as well back when the #CoolKids had first been formed. But that had been over five years ago, and they had gone from mentor-protégé, to besties, to literal sisters, to taggie team champs. Sarah had always been one to take people under her wing, and as much as she blamed Kenzi for having a tendency to ‘bring in strays’ who offered little to no value, not all of Sarah’s projects had worked out either.

And then, in a genius move, Angelica had taken Sarah’s biggest and brightest project right from under her nose.

Of course, simply calling Vita one of Sarah’s ‘projects’ was utterly disrespectful, just like it was disrespectful to call Angelica ‘one of Lacklan’s girls’, or claiming she was ‘riding Sarah’s coat tails’. Those were arguments so easily negated and debunked that it was barely worth the effort to do so. But the fact remained that drafting Vita had been a major coup, and that was *before* Angelica had lucked into getting the Universal Champion.

Angelica had heard the chatter. Plenty of folks were making fun of Raion Kido for falling to the second round whilst being the Uni Champ, not realizing that all of those talking heads should be mocking the captains who had passed on him (once, or even twice!) for trying to be the smartest person with a draft board in hand and failing to recognize talent that was staring them right in the face. Of course, that was all standard, boring fare from lazy mouths that were lying on their backs, snapping their jaws at the lowest hanging fruit on the tree, dangling from the longest, most worn branches. But all they got for their troubles was a rotten, dried-up, fly-infested old plum, because their arguments carried no weight, and held no water, and they made you want to go to the toilet real bad.

But Angelica thought that the pick that had gotten the most amount of unwarranted scrutiny had been Mr. Oz. It was kind of silly how many people automatically called him ‘the afterthought’ when he was on the forefront of so many people’s minds. A man with a following like that, and who could consider stars like Thunder Knuckles and Bobby Bourbon good friends, was hardly someone who could be considered ‘filler’. But of course, with draft position came automatic scrutiny. In the end, it didn’t matter where you got drafted. All that mattered was whether you could contribute and be a valuable asset and good team mate. And even if Mr. Oz wasn’t the greatest team player, Angelica believed in Adam Smith’s Invisible Hand theory, where “society’s best interest is achieved through self-interest”.


N-E-Ways, Angelica had brushed off all of those criticisms of herself, her drafting strategy, and her team mates. Now, she was looking for the one person she wished to hear from. And yet, she instinctively kept looking over her shoulder. It was as if someone was constantly watching her, and it wasn’t an XWF video drone. But she chalked it up to her imagination.

When she arrived at the address she’d been given, she assumed it were just temporary quarters. This had not been the place she had last seen him, and places like these were very hard to come by, especially in the inner city of Tokyo. It was a big house, in a classical style, and there was no mention of *him* anywhere on the outside. Still, the numbers checked out. Angelica enthusiastically knocked on the door, as she didn’t see a doorbell anywhere.

”Yoo hoo! Guess who!?"

The door slid open, and Angelica saw… nobody… until she looked down. She had expected to see *him*, which is why she’d been looking up. But over a head below her, was a small, old servant woman dressed in a traditional kimono. Angelica bowed to her, and spoke to her in English, assuming she would understand her at least a little bit. Typical American arrogance, perhaps, but she could always switch to the few mouthfuls of Japanese she had picked up over the years if need be.

”A very fine evening to you, madam. My name is Angelica Vaughn, I’m here to-"

“Come!”

The woman said only one word, and waved her inside. Obviously she had been expecting her. Again, not that unusual. Naturally, Angelica followed her inside, and then through the twists and turns of the house.

”Okies! I have to say, this is a very nice place. Ooh, look at that vase!"

“NO TOUCH!”

”I… wasn’t going to!"

Angelica put her hand back in her pocket as she followed the woman until they arrived at the main room. In the center sat a large man on his knees at a table. You could tell he was massive even in his current position, and as he saw Angelica, the slightest of grins curved the edge of his mouth. It was barely noticeable to the untrained eye, but Angelica knew how to pick up on it.

He rose to his feet, casting a huge shadow across the room. His nickname was ‘The Mountain’, and it was appropriate.

"Tall Sister."

Angelica dropped any semblance of decorum after hearing those words and sprinted to the center of the room, flying around her brother’s neck.

”Shin-Chan! I have missed you so!"

Shinjiro Nakama knew by now that his tallest and youngest sister was an enthusiastic greeter, and that there was little use in trying to temper her. However, when she kept on clinging to his back with her arms wrapped around his neck and shoulders, he raised an eyebrow.

"Do you wish to come down at all, so we can speak face to face?"

”NOOOOPE! You have many years of piggyback rides to make up for, big brother. It’s one of the few things every little sister is entitled to. Consider this the first of many."

Shinji sighed as he blew a blonde lock of Lacklan hair out of his eyes. He wasn’t sure if it was his or his sister’s.

"Very well. Let us drink some jasmine tea in the courtyard and catch up."

With Angelica stuck on his back like a koala, Shinjiro made his way further back and down into an open courtyard with a small koi pond and a hot spring that may or may not have been artificial. The abundance of plants made it a very relaxing place, and it was strange to find this oasis of peace in the inner workings of the oh so busy Tokyo Metropolis.

”What a nice place!"

"One of many."

He said it almost dismissively, as if it was nothing special. They came to a small table, and as Shinji kneeled down in front of it, Angelica finally let go and assumed an identical position at the other side of the table. The servant woman from earlier was quick to bring a pot of aromatic jasmine tea, which she poured so precisely that Angelica was nearly certain she was adhering to some sort of tea ceremony or ritual. Angelica was too intimidated by the proceeding to speak, a rare thing for her, let alone ask for some sweetener. She was afraid the old woman might literally stab her.

It wasn’t until Shinjiro nodded that Angelica dared to reach for her cup and have a sip. It was fragrant, but also quite bitter. Though not in an unpleasant way.

”So, Shinny… How’ve you been? I feel like it’s been ages. I’m glad I made some time to come see you. My team and I have been touring a bit and taking in some sights. I’ve been to the Sunshine City Pokémon Center, have you ever been?"

"I think you know the answer to that."

”Umm, is the answer “obvs because it is the coolio-est place in the whole wide world?”"

"My answer is the opposite."

”Pfft, well, you’re missing out, then! I should take you some time."

"I doubt I would find much joy in it. This pocket monster hype was never my thing."

”Hype? Umm, try ‘cultural phenomenon’, bro…"

Shinjiro seemed unimpressed, but Angelica sighed, as she stirred the tea in her cup and looked at her reflection in it.

”You’ll… think this silly, probs. But growing up, Pokémon actually helped me through some hard times. I wasn’t allowed to go out much, if at all. I was allowed to play soccer twice a week, and go to church on Sundays. That was about it. They kept me far away from anything that had to do with wrestling, obvs, scared of what it would unlock inside of me. Other than that, I had to stay in my room, and I didn’t have a lot of interest in studying. Boring, am I right? But one day at school, I got hold of a Nintendo 3DS gaming console and some Pokémon games. Some girl sold hers to me if I did her homework for the rest of the year. I kept it hidden all that time, but I can’t begin to count the hours I spent hidden under my blankets, being transported to these worlds of wonder, making tons of friends along the way, and finally feeling… free… for the first time in my life, really. It made me wonder about what’s out there in the real world. Eventually, that curiosity got the better of me, and I started to sneak out at night, exploring the city in ways I never had before. It was during one of those nights I bumped into my first wrestling show, and well… The rest is history. Because I finally knew what I wanted to do with my life. Without those Pokémon games triggering that sense of wonder, and that desire to wander… I don’t know if I’d be sitting here tonight. We might have never even met."

Shinjiro drank his tea without his eyes ever wandering from his siter’s expression. He calmly put his cup down.

"You are right. That is very silly."

”HEY!"

"Silly is who you are, Tall Sister. It is *what* you are. There is nothing wrong with it. If it has such meaning to you, then nobody can tell you how you should feel about it… although you are a 24 year old woman now, not a fifteen year old child."

”Ugh, you make me sound so old."

"It is only going to get worse from here."

”Sheesh, Shin! All of that after I’m opening up to you? Are you trying to make me feel bad, or something?"

"I am not. I simply would never lie to you. Better to face a hard reality, than live inside a comfortable dreamworld."

”Easier said than done."

"Switching from tea to sake might help."

”Now you’re speaking my language."

A few flasks later, the atmosphere had become significantly less formal. Angelica had moved to the same side of the table as Shinji, and was leaning in to him a bit more. She knew she was testing his boundaries, but that was fine… She still didn’t know him as well as she would like. Shinji retained much of his usual stoic demeanor, however. He had a hard shell.

”So then SMALL… I mean, SAR, said that I can’t even use my Ew! because it’s illegal here in Japan, apps! What a bummer! So nobvs I won’t use it! I canNOT believe that Sissy would think that I would EVER cheat, Shinji."

"I do not know if Small Sister is lying to you or not in regards to the use of that move in this particular match, so it’s not my place to comment. However, we both know she tends to make her own truths in which case… Can you call it lying?"

”Ummmmm… No? Don’t go getting all philosophical on me now, Shin. You’re ‘The Mountain!’"

"He who climbs upon the highest mountains laughs at all tragedies, real or imaginary."

Angelica giggled and slapped him on the arm.

”Hee hee, now you’re just messing with me!"

"Correct. That was a quote by Friedrich Nietzsche."

Angelica scooted around Shinji, until she pressed her back against his.

"…what are you doing?"

”Something that Sar-sar and I do sometimes. It’s a sibling thing. You are my sibling too. I wish we could be here with the three of us right now. Unfortunately, she ditched me earlier this week. But maybe it’s for the better, considering…"

"…considering there is a fair chance you two will lock horns in the middle of the ring this upcoming weekend, and there can be no place for sentimentality?"

”Yeah, there’s that. And the fact that, let’s face it, if Sar was here, neither of us would’ve been able to get a word in edgewise. She’ll probs be talking about how totes inappropes it is that her draft pick Lexi was replaced with a guy who names himself Big D. I mean, probs not his real name, but, like, EW, much? The same guy, if memory serves, who once drafted Sarah into his own War Games team alongside Rain and Peter G. Talk about a horrible experience, am I right? That’s like some unholy amalgam of all that is wrong with people in this world. Her team this time should be a lot better, with Bourbon and his Bomb, and Noah Jackson and his C-words. Noah was surprisingly nice to me, axly. Well, in his own manner. Bourbon, predictably, called me a dollar store version of Sarah."

"Then he is a fool."

”YUUUUP. But a dangerous one, recycled insults or not. I was honestly disappointed. I thought he was good enough to come up with something original."

"You are hard to insult. That is a strength. People grasp at straws because they don’t perceive any real flaws."

”From philosophy to poetry. Which poet wrote that?"

"None. The rhyme was accidental. People can’t insult you because it would make them look bad instead. How can they pile on someone for being kind? How can they trash someone who does so much for her community, for animals, for those lesser off? They call you a lesser version of Sarah because they think you are a better person. They drag you down to her level because that’s the only level where they can reach you without feeling like scum."

”Oof. I am glad Sar isn’t here to hear *that*!"

"I’m not sure even Small Sister would disagree. … is it really true you airlifted your entire ranch to Lacklanland?"

”Yup! Man, Bordy was sooooo mad at me! Well, she still is, I bet. Which reminds me! Why do you never come and visit? You have to! My maternal grandparents are staying over at my ranch for the foreseeable future as well. I’d love for you to meet them!"

"They are? Tall Sister, pardon my intrusion, but that seems like a powder keg waiting to explode."

”Oh come on, not you too!"

"I told you, I would never lie to you. Now, shall we have dinner?"

”Yes, let’s have some noodles together. And then I have to run, I am meeting my teamies later on."

---

---

Angelica had some time to kill before meeting up with Vita, Raion and Mr. Oz. She had bumped into a bar in a Daikanyama side street, called The Bumblebee. It led to a basement via a nondescript concrete staircase. Half expecting some shady old waterhole, she was surprised to step into what looked like a particularly highbrow establishment.

”Yay! Jackpot!"

Angelica sat herself at the open bar, and was so engrossed in the list of cocktails that she barely noticed the three men sneaking up on her. It wasn’t until they were within arm’s reach of her that she did.

”Ummm, can I help you gents? Sorry, my Japanese is a bit rusty."

They looked menacing and intimidating. Angelica wasn’t exactly scared because she knew she could hard her own, in case they had bad intentions. That, and the whole place was suddenly empty.

”Hey now, what’s all this? This is so totes not appropes, tee bee aitch. And by the dubs, you guys are being, pardon my French, très méchant!"

The trio circled around Angelica, paying her words no heed. There was, of course, a chance they did not understand her to begin with, even if they understood basic English.

”Okay, okay, let’s de-escalate! Clearly you guys want something, so let’s talk it out. I know! We’ll have a drink, eh? Let’s do shots!"

The guy in front of Angelica suddenly pulled out a gun, aiming the barrel at her forehead.

”EEP! Not *THOSE* kinds of shots!"

It was the last thing Angelica remembered before she felt a bag being pulled over her head, and the sting of a syringe in her neck that sent her off to dreamland.