The camera fades in to Hideo Shimada sitting on a balcony, looking up towards the stars. His attention is distant — at least that's how it at first seems until he begins speaking.
When I was a young boy, I remember how my mother and father would take my sister and I out every New Year to a local restaurant where we would all eat madai. We would do this every year until one day I had been out playing with my friends and one of the kids from school tried to start a fight with us. Even now I can still feel the huge cut I got on my knee when one of them pushed me to the concrete and my skin got caught on the gravel. That day… I did not want to go. I was feeling down and sorry for myself and I didn’t feel like I could bring myself to go out that evening. Even at nine, maybe ten years old, I had this feeling of self-doubt. It feels silly now but, nevertheless, I asked my parents if they could bring some madai back home for me to eat in my room. And do you know what my father did? He crouched down, put his hand on my knee, and he looked me in the eye and said “Hideo, even a sea bream loses its flavour when eaten alone”. He insisted I go. Even though I wanted to just tell him “No” and throw myself under the blankets and continue to feel sorry for myself, my respect for my father’s wishes was paramount. So I did what any good son would do and, reluctantly, we all went to the same restaurant we had gone to every year and ate madai. And you know what? I couldn’t have been happier that I went. We had so much fun. It’s still one of my favourite days out I ever had with my sister and my parents to this day. Now every time I have the opportunity to be with friends or my family I think about that saying. You can find joy alone but nothing compares to being able to share it with those you care about. That is why I take it with great honour that my first ever main event match here in APEX is alongside two women I can call my friends.
Shimada's attention finally turns away from the star-studded sky and he looks directly into the camera.
When I first began my training, Alyssa was the first person who I ever felt a connection with. She was the only one I knew could relate to my struggles and to my desire to preserve through them all. She had all my heart for this business and more. While I do not have the same years of history with Liz Karlson, any friend — let alone tag team partner — of Alyssa’s is a friend of mine. That is what will be invigorating me on Sunday. Not just the joy of standing alongside friends but knowing that they’ll be counting on me and I on them. We’ll have each other’s backs and whatever sacrifices will need to be made to ensure victory will be ones that we all have our say in. There will be no favouritism, no short straw, no recklessly taking what we want in a desperate plea for a taste at glory. That is where our strength lies when the three of us stand across the ring from this new alliance dubbed as The Order.
Such an ill-fitting name. The Order. All I see when I look at them are bringers of chaos. They even have a mascot named such, after all. There is no order in what I have seen from Havoc. Everywhere he goes he causes destruction and unspeakable violence… in the name of what? For his own pleasure? For championship greed? Perhaps it is foolish of me to expect such clear motivations from a being like him but I cannot wrap my head around why he does the things that he does. Havoc may think himself an unstoppable force, something that can only be temporarily subdued, but I have seen before that his strength is limited by his vessel and Christopher Sabertooth is only a man, flesh and blood just as I am. He is not the only one who has been capable of holding Havoc’s soul but I’ve seen for myself following Alyssa’s journey through OWA that he has had… mixed results.
JUDITH, however… She has proven to be a powerful competitor. A woman standing at over six feet tall, capable of choking the life out of her competition, willing to win through any means necessary. Even Liz, the first ever APEX World Champion, struggled to bring her down for good. Even then, who knows how things could have gone if not for the interference of ULTRA Kyoto or Liz’s awareness of the official’s ten count. The Butcher, The Boogeyman… Many names have been bestowed upon her but she has yet to be known as unbeatable. She has proven she is not unbreakable. That means that there is still hope of defeating her, even if she is the biggest, the strongest, and perhaps even the fastest of us all because with every action comes an equal and opposite reaction… and with every strength comes an equal and opposite weakness. JUDITH is large and she’s imposing but I believe the saying “the bigger they are, the harder they fall” has no borders and it exists for a reason. And does it matter how fast you are if you find yourself running into a brick wall? All it decides is how long you’ll be knocked down.
Then there is CHAOS.
Hideo smiles and shakes his head... then once again turns serious.
I may not know what The Order itself intends but this isn’t the first time I’ve seen a violent, hellbent faction enter through the doors of a promotion where I’ve tried to be a part of its lifeblood. What I see in them I see in The Order. I see those who want nothing more than to take and take and take. With Havoc at the forefront? With JUDITH and Diantha Rosso and CHAOS flanking him? I have no reason to suspect otherwise. But success should be earned, not taken. That alone would be enough to stand up and fight but this is more personal than even seeing history repeat itself. So, with all of that in mind, maybe I should be but… I am not scared of you. Havoc, JUDITH, CHAOS? You’ve hurt my friends and you will pay dearly for that. The same thing I promised C, I promise to my friends on Sunday: I. Will. Not. Fail.
And after we win we shall all feast on sea bream. And when we do? We'll eat it the way it should be.
by MinaAizawa Thu Oct 13, 2022 3:46 am
Subject: 鯛も一人はうまからず 
