Mistaken Concern.

[Gjenrei]

A still pond sees everything, and reflects more.. [/i]

I still can't believe you're just going to let him do this to you.

A calm heart is the path to serenity.. [/i]

I mean, he was right there.. if this whole honor thing meant so much, you should have just beaten the **** out of him.

Serenity, leads to strength.. [/i]

But nooo.. you just played the good guy and went out there to wrestle your stupid match.

Strength, leads to power... [/i]

I've never been so embarassed by you.. what happened to the angry badass who didn't let people step on him?

Power, leads to peace.. [/i]

Are you even listening to me? Or are you just sitting there ignoring me again.. under this so called meditation crap..?

Peace, leads to solitude.. [/i]

Why haven't I quit yet? Man, it's so depressing hanging around you.. we don't do any jobs anymore.. we just.. sit here..

Solitude, leads to death.. [/i]

I should go back to school.. try to get like.. a career that keeps me away from lame dudes like you..

The cycle is eternal. [/i]

So, you're just going to sit there and not talk huh.. what the hell do I have to do.. get naked?

One ripple in the pond, and the cycle is broken.. [/i]

Look.. my boobs are out.. Look!

Until it is restored.. [/i]

Oh gawd... fine.. sit there...

There can be no rest. [/i]

---

The assumption that this matters, does not bother me. The assumption that I am concerned with these men and their dreams of glory and pride, does not bother me.

The assumption that I am the least bit intimidated..

That is what bothers me.

I expect a certain amount of arrogance and bravado from the bigger men. A certain amount of innane babbling swagger about fear and intimidation. From a certain person who claims to be this world class five star athlete, I expect more. I expect better..

All I got from you, Zane..

Was the same nonsensical babble I hear from everyone else.

I am always "familiar" to someone. Somebody always thinks they know me from somewhere else. There is always something in the way I wrestle, the way I move inside the ring that someone else knows. Well, this is not exactly a breaking news story, but there are many men who wrestle I do. You, are in fact, one of them.

So if I am "familiar" to you, it is because you spend so much time looking into the mirror that all you see in another man is just a reflection of yourself. A sad, and ultimately pathetic display of arrogance rivaled only by your own shameless self promotion. And that, is even overshadowed by your own naive sense of purpose.

Ponder this, Zane, what happens next month, when you and Sense find yourself standing in the ring together, against a foe that may easily be as formiddable as the two of you? Do you team up to defeat it.. and even then.. when only one of you can win.. what happens?

I do not want to hear any excuses or reasons about honor and pride, your mouth has already proven that you possess neither.

It is clear to anyone with a mind that you and Sense formed a partnership out of mutual gain, the very same thing you have accused my partner of doing.

You are a pathetic hypocrit, and what you think or want, matters little to me.

I should give you the same treatment I gave Seth Evans, and take your dreams from your grasp. However, I have more pressing concerns.

So forgive me.

Your entire life is simply..

Beneath me. No matter how many catchphrases you can spew.

---

Put those away, Deanna.

Oh, so you are listening...

Not speaking is not the same as not listening.

I do not need more of your stupid chinese babble..

I am Japanese.

Whatever...

I am not in the mood for your sass tonight.

...Excuse me?

I believe you heard me.

Oh, I heard you.. I know just you didn't say that **** to me.

And you are going to do what about it? Throw a temper tantrum?

.....**** you..

Right now?

You know what I meant.

So I assume. If you are unhappy Deanna, I would show you the door. I warned you that this would not be a pleasure cruise. Perhaps it was you who was not listening.

Oh, I heard you.. I just didn't expect you being a bitch. He was out there.. you should have killed him.

A man.. any man.. will not accept defeat when he is charging blindly.. You must wait for him, to believe he has won.

---

There has been an argument for the ages. Power versus speed. Strength versus precision. A man like me gets told he will not make it in a business where there are strong men, men who can cause great harm if they catch me.

Catching me, however, is an entirely different matter.

I always find myself determined to test my skills against those men. I have been called foolish, reckless, or even suicidal. But in the end, I remain.. and whether they fall or not, for all of their big words they have had very little success in "ending me" as many have claimed they can and will.

Simply more excuses.. more blown smoke.

I wonder, if you are one of those men, Lex. A man who always promises to hurt.. maim or kill another man, and then never comes through. I wonder if such words will be aimed at me, for no more reason than the fact someone in a suit decided that I should be involved in all this world title nonsense. I have no need for such things, I could easily walk away from this whole scenario without so much as a look back, or a regret.

Because I am above all of this demeaning nonsense.

What is a man without a championship? The same as a man with one, only unburdened by the weight. For when a man allows the burden of others expectations to weigh him down, then he has cast aside his happiness for the sake of someone else's ideals.

Care not about gold.. because it cannot stay.

I fight, for it is what I was meant to do.

I care not for Zane's advice or threats.

I care not for Lex's dreams or hopes.

I care not for Verona's goals or concerns.

And if you fight back for all the wrong reasons..

Neither will you.