Graduation Day

[CaptainL]

A whole year had passed. And Yuki Kazikura had a lot to look back on.

A year ago, she was still finishing her last year of high school, at the same time she had just been signed for the first time onto a major professional wrestling promotion. While she was nervous, knowing she had two major turning points in her life approaching fast on the horizon, she was excited at the same time. She knew that what she did in the coming days would have a profound influence on her future. But she felt ready to make those steps.

Now, Yuki stood on the stage in her school's gymnasium, amongst her graduating class. As her name was called to step forward and receive her diploma, the whole room erupted in cheers. She chuckled a little to herself, her face going red and a smirk coming to her lips. It was no secret by now that Yuki, the small unassuming girl in class 3-B, was the same girl who had competed for the LAW Lightweight Championship, and who had made her PPV debut just months ago. Her circle of friends at the school knew she had been wrestling since her freshman year, but back then, it was only on the smaller leagues; only those who knew her or who were deeply into wrestling would know of her true life.

But now, things were different. Now, she was a star. There was no one in her school who didn't know who Yuki Kazikura, the Dynamite Schoolgirl, was.

She beamed a proud smile out at the stands, as she listened to the applause as she accepted her diploma with a humble bow, one that stood in sharp contrast to the hero's welcome she was being given. Her blush would only grow deeper and hotter as she looked back at the stands, and she issued another bow, not only thanking the school for her diploma, but for all her fans for sticking with her this far.

As she thought back on the last few matches she had, though, Yuki frowned, averting her gaze. Knowing she had this many eyes on her, this many adoring fans, she wished she could have given them something to feel good about.

But it wasn’t to be. She hadn’t managed to take home the championship. And her PPV match, while a bigger crowd than she had ever competed in front of, ended with an even more denigrating and dishonorable defeat. Just the thought of it was enough to make Yuki’s legs cross, both against the phantom pains of her legs being wrenched apart returning to her and thinking about how a large portion of the graduating body now had a keen knowledge of the anatomy of her nether regions.

She had been bested, physically, emotionally, and psychologically. She had gone into that match proud and confident and ready to give it her all, and left sobbing, humiliated, and barely able to walk. Yuki had never fully recovered from that loss. She knew it should’ve been her crowning glory. But instead, she had let everyone who had been counting on her down.

In her mind’s eye, she could still see her face clearly. Rose Gold. That same woman who Yuki thought was a friend and an admirer, who had urged her to strive for such greatness in the first place when their paths first crossed, had stabbed her in the back, and used her surprise against her as she put her in her place, not letting up until Yuki had surrendered all claims to be worthy of the title of #1 contender to the LAW Lightweight Championship. Her fist balled and her teeth clenched. Yuki wanted to hate her.

But...she couldn’t bring herself to. She knew that Rose Gold, the girl who had beaten her, and Kelsea Rose, the girl who had been her muse and her biggest fan, weren’t entirely one and the same. Something in the way Rose had talked told her that. Kelsea was genuine. Kelsea cared. She knew that. It couldn’t all have been a lie. She knew Kelsea well enough to say that with confidence. Maybe, she thought, there was still some Kelsea in Rose. The heel would never admit it, but Yuki could tell that that was exactly what she was afraid of. That there really was some good in her, and it just needed some work to bring out.

Yuki looked back up. Even as she had stepped off the stage, and the rest of the students were accepting their diplomas, she didn’t pay much heed. She clapped just to be polite, but her mind was on something far higher and greater than the names of her classmates.

She thought of Aoi Fukiwara, the reigning Lightweight Champion. She was one of the most daunting opponents Yuki had ever faced, but one who she had risen to the challenge against nonetheless. It didn’t matter that Yuki had lost against her; she had gone the distance against the champ, and that had proven that she was worthy of the main event scene. Even Aoi herself thought that. It was that confidence and encouragement that drove her to apply for We Are LAW in the first place, after all.

She thought of Elena Salcido, her friend and rival. They may have come from very different walks of life, and they may not have shared much in common between Elena’s fiery flamboyance and Yuki’s soft-spoken and focused poise. Yet, she could see a kindred spirit in her dedication and talent, and she knew she saw as much of herself in Yuki as vice versa. The match they had shared wouldn’t be their last, she already knew that.

She thought of Mayori, the timid Hachijo girl she had befriended even if the two could barely understand a word between them. She admitted there was much about Mayori she still didn’t know; that she could only begin to guess at. Yet the bond between them proved to be stronger than the language barrier. She knew Mayori was looking up to her, and that she had wanted to stand in her corner some day. If she could be that inspiration, she would happily shoulder that burden.

She thought of Haleigh Hisashi. The one who had started it all. When Yuki had been asked to main event an all-lightweight show, it came as somewhat of a surprise to her. She was used to being on top of the indies, but she would have figured she’d be up against tougher competition here, and the few lower card matches she had up to that point weren't anything to right home about. Haleigh hadn’t been in many matches either. But Haleigh had connections, being the sister of the popular Asuka Hisashi, and Yuki supposed that had been enough to get her to the top of the card. When Yuki managed to pin her, that proved something. Not only that Yuki was capable of being in the main event picture, but winning it too. Haleigh herself had believed she could go far. And her ascent since that night had stood in testimony to that.

Thinking back on it all made Yuki’s smile grow a little wider. If all those people believed in her, in addition to all the people who cheered her on, in the arena and in her own school...she knew she couldn’t let Rose’s words keep her down.

Yuki didn’t know what she would do after she graduated in terms of education. She didn’t know what college she’d apply to or what she’d major in. But she did know what she’d need to do now. The only thing she felt herself called to.

She was going to return to the ring. She might have faced some adversity. But she’d been knocked down many times before and always managed to get up. She’d only take this as a reason to get stronger. Perhaps less naive, perhaps less blindly trusting. But as alert, as keen, and as hard-hitting as ever.

She might need a new nickname, too, now that she wasn’t in school any more. But that would come in time.

It hadn’t been the end of everything for her. Only the first step in an even brighter future.