GW: Rising Above
"Okay, seriously. Where are we going? Our flight leaves in a few hours."
Yoshiko reached for the plain white blindfold tied over her eyes, but Rokku took one hand off the wheel, catching her before her fingers could brush against the cloth.
"Hey," said Rokku, squeezing her hand lightly, "I seem to recall that the last time you wanted to surprise me, I went along with it."
"The last time I surprised you," said Yoshiko, "we were attacked by an army of ninja and Genbu's deranged son."
"Well, yeah," said Rokku, "I'm keeping an eye out for that. Can't be better than 50/50 odds."
For a moment, silence reigned.
Then it was dethroned by a whimper from the GW Champion.
"Don't even joke about that," said Yoshiko, her nails digging into Rokku's hand, "with all the trouble we have already, the last thing we need is another army of ninja."
"Okayokayokay," yelped Rokku, "I'm sorry!"
"You'd better be."
"I am! Now, honey, I'm going to need that hand later."
"Oh," said Yoshiko, releasing her grip, "sorry. I'm just on edge. Even with the precautions we take, it still feels like we're walking through a minefield now. One misstep, and everything explodes."
Rokku sighed, and guided the Hummer onto an off-ramp.
"I know things are tense, 'shiko. And they're probably going to get worse before they get better. If you want out of this whole mess... just say the word. I'll understand."
Yoshiko turned to Rokku, as if to say something -- then slumped against her seat, pouting. For the next several minutes, the couple traveled in silence.
"I don't," Yoshiko finally said, "I don't want to leave. I don't! But can't you just smell the storm on the horizon? Doesn't it bother you too?"
"Of course it does," replied Rokku, "But I know we're doing something that has to be done, and we're not going in blind. We've got plans, resources, allies..."
"And forgive me for playing devil's advocate," said Yoshiko with a sigh, "but what if none of that works?"
Rokku shrugged.
"This war was coming no matter what we did, love. I just decided we should launch the first salvo."
"You're..." Yoshiko stopped, and ran her hands over her face, through her hair.
"What you're saying makes sense," she said, "rationally. But I can't shake this feeling something's really wrong."
"You're stressing out," said Rokku, "that's perfectly understandable. You've been doing a lot of work to get the Legion actually into a defensible position. All the logistical and tactical information you've been poring over has to be just sloshing around in your head, and the numbers are feeding your natural doubts. It's okay, honey. Honestly, the facts and numbers don't look very good. But you have to remember that facts aren't everything, and numbers don't decide your destiny. There's other, bigger, greater things that come into play."
"Please," sighed Yoshiko, "please, please remind me."
"There's the cause. They're just fighting for themselves. We're fighting for justice. We're fighting for peace. We're fighting for every kid who dreams of coming into this business and pouring their heart and soul into it day after day after day. With people like the Echelon and the Elite running the show, kids like that won't ever have a chance. We have to give them one. But there's something even more important than all of that at stake here."
Yoshiko smiled half-heartedly.
"I know exactly what you're going to say."
Rokku grinned.
"Of course you do. Honor. Honor is always what it comes down to with us, isn't it? The honor of this company, the honor of this industry, the honor of ourselves. We can't let them spit on honor any more. It's high time for a stand. So here we are."
"Yeah," Yoshiko said, her smile brightening a bit, "here we are."
"No, really," said Rokku, bringing the truck to a rolling stop, "here we are."
Hesitantly, Yoshiko reached up and pulled off the blindfold. And she could scarcely believe what she saw.
"Rokku," she asked calmly, "where are we?"
"A small, relatively private airstrip about an hour's drive outside Dallas," he responded.
"Okay," she said, "and what's that?"
"That?" Rokku asked. "That's ours."
In instants, Yoshiko's smile turned bright as day. It was truly a thing of beauty that lay behind her, white with a gray underbelly, and glistening in the sun...
"That's a Bombardier Challenger 604, Rokku," said Yoshiko, excitement creeping into her voice.
"Yep," said the Lion, his grin only widening, "I chartered it for us 'til Monday."
Witch a sound that could only be described as a squeal of glee, Yoshiko threw her arms around Rokku's neck and kissed him hard on the lips.
"So," Rokku said when she finally pulled away, "you like it?"
"Like it?" said Yoshiko, her eyes twinkling, "Rokku, it's a private jet. I adore it!"
"Well," said Rokku, "that's good. Because we leave in about twenty minutes."
"That's, well, wow, that's just... wow," sputtered the Silken Crane.
"I can't believe it," said Rokku, smirking, "the legendary Silken Crane, at a loss for words."
"It doesn't happen often," said Yoshiko with a chuckle, "so appreciate it now, while you can."
"Oh don't worry," said Rokku, "I really really do. So, princess, are you ready to go?"
"I really, really am," said Yoshiko, "but I keep feeling like we're forgetting... bags! What about our bags?"
"That's another thing," Rokku said, "I've seen how stressed you've been lately... and it's really been too long since we just did something together, no Legion, no Global Wrestling, just us... so I thought maybe, we have about... thirty-two hours until High Octane. Chicago's not far from Detroit, by jet. Maybe we could take in the town together, see the sights, and best of all: go on a little shopping spree?"
Yoshiko's smile had almost become manic at this point, her eyes sparkling with the lights of a thousand stars.
"I think," she replied, "that you had better get your sweet, fabulous, adorable, cute little ass inside that jet right now, or we may never successfully get out of this Hummer."
"As you wish, princess," said Rokku, opening the door and stepping down to the ground. Quickly, he circled around to the passenger side, opening Yoshiko's door for her and offering his hand.
"Would the lady like some assistance?"
"She would," said Yoshiko, placing her hand in Rokku's and letting him guide her to the ground.
"And you always seem to know just when to give it."
Rokku's only response was a knowing smile. Then, he put his arm around her shoulders, and together they approached their ride to the heavens.
Yoshiko reached for the plain white blindfold tied over her eyes, but Rokku took one hand off the wheel, catching her before her fingers could brush against the cloth.
"Hey," said Rokku, squeezing her hand lightly, "I seem to recall that the last time you wanted to surprise me, I went along with it."
"The last time I surprised you," said Yoshiko, "we were attacked by an army of ninja and Genbu's deranged son."
"Well, yeah," said Rokku, "I'm keeping an eye out for that. Can't be better than 50/50 odds."
For a moment, silence reigned.
Then it was dethroned by a whimper from the GW Champion.
"Don't even joke about that," said Yoshiko, her nails digging into Rokku's hand, "with all the trouble we have already, the last thing we need is another army of ninja."
"Okayokayokay," yelped Rokku, "I'm sorry!"
"You'd better be."
"I am! Now, honey, I'm going to need that hand later."
"Oh," said Yoshiko, releasing her grip, "sorry. I'm just on edge. Even with the precautions we take, it still feels like we're walking through a minefield now. One misstep, and everything explodes."
Rokku sighed, and guided the Hummer onto an off-ramp.
"I know things are tense, 'shiko. And they're probably going to get worse before they get better. If you want out of this whole mess... just say the word. I'll understand."
Yoshiko turned to Rokku, as if to say something -- then slumped against her seat, pouting. For the next several minutes, the couple traveled in silence.
"I don't," Yoshiko finally said, "I don't want to leave. I don't! But can't you just smell the storm on the horizon? Doesn't it bother you too?"
"Of course it does," replied Rokku, "But I know we're doing something that has to be done, and we're not going in blind. We've got plans, resources, allies..."
"And forgive me for playing devil's advocate," said Yoshiko with a sigh, "but what if none of that works?"
Rokku shrugged.
"This war was coming no matter what we did, love. I just decided we should launch the first salvo."
"You're..." Yoshiko stopped, and ran her hands over her face, through her hair.
"What you're saying makes sense," she said, "rationally. But I can't shake this feeling something's really wrong."
"You're stressing out," said Rokku, "that's perfectly understandable. You've been doing a lot of work to get the Legion actually into a defensible position. All the logistical and tactical information you've been poring over has to be just sloshing around in your head, and the numbers are feeding your natural doubts. It's okay, honey. Honestly, the facts and numbers don't look very good. But you have to remember that facts aren't everything, and numbers don't decide your destiny. There's other, bigger, greater things that come into play."
"Please," sighed Yoshiko, "please, please remind me."
"There's the cause. They're just fighting for themselves. We're fighting for justice. We're fighting for peace. We're fighting for every kid who dreams of coming into this business and pouring their heart and soul into it day after day after day. With people like the Echelon and the Elite running the show, kids like that won't ever have a chance. We have to give them one. But there's something even more important than all of that at stake here."
Yoshiko smiled half-heartedly.
"I know exactly what you're going to say."
Rokku grinned.
"Of course you do. Honor. Honor is always what it comes down to with us, isn't it? The honor of this company, the honor of this industry, the honor of ourselves. We can't let them spit on honor any more. It's high time for a stand. So here we are."
"Yeah," Yoshiko said, her smile brightening a bit, "here we are."
"No, really," said Rokku, bringing the truck to a rolling stop, "here we are."
Hesitantly, Yoshiko reached up and pulled off the blindfold. And she could scarcely believe what she saw.
"Rokku," she asked calmly, "where are we?"
"A small, relatively private airstrip about an hour's drive outside Dallas," he responded.
"Okay," she said, "and what's that?"
"That?" Rokku asked. "That's ours."
In instants, Yoshiko's smile turned bright as day. It was truly a thing of beauty that lay behind her, white with a gray underbelly, and glistening in the sun...
"That's a Bombardier Challenger 604, Rokku," said Yoshiko, excitement creeping into her voice.
"Yep," said the Lion, his grin only widening, "I chartered it for us 'til Monday."
Witch a sound that could only be described as a squeal of glee, Yoshiko threw her arms around Rokku's neck and kissed him hard on the lips.
"So," Rokku said when she finally pulled away, "you like it?"
"Like it?" said Yoshiko, her eyes twinkling, "Rokku, it's a private jet. I adore it!"
"Well," said Rokku, "that's good. Because we leave in about twenty minutes."
"That's, well, wow, that's just... wow," sputtered the Silken Crane.
"I can't believe it," said Rokku, smirking, "the legendary Silken Crane, at a loss for words."
"It doesn't happen often," said Yoshiko with a chuckle, "so appreciate it now, while you can."
"Oh don't worry," said Rokku, "I really really do. So, princess, are you ready to go?"
"I really, really am," said Yoshiko, "but I keep feeling like we're forgetting... bags! What about our bags?"
"That's another thing," Rokku said, "I've seen how stressed you've been lately... and it's really been too long since we just did something together, no Legion, no Global Wrestling, just us... so I thought maybe, we have about... thirty-two hours until High Octane. Chicago's not far from Detroit, by jet. Maybe we could take in the town together, see the sights, and best of all: go on a little shopping spree?"
Yoshiko's smile had almost become manic at this point, her eyes sparkling with the lights of a thousand stars.
"I think," she replied, "that you had better get your sweet, fabulous, adorable, cute little ass inside that jet right now, or we may never successfully get out of this Hummer."
"As you wish, princess," said Rokku, opening the door and stepping down to the ground. Quickly, he circled around to the passenger side, opening Yoshiko's door for her and offering his hand.
"Would the lady like some assistance?"
"She would," said Yoshiko, placing her hand in Rokku's and letting him guide her to the ground.
"And you always seem to know just when to give it."
Rokku's only response was a knowing smile. Then, he put his arm around her shoulders, and together they approached their ride to the heavens.