Le Songe d'une nuit d'été

[NeoBiishikiGun]

It’s a rare sight in Paris as heavy snow is falling down from above. It is a very December sight indeed as the first month of winter is fulfilling its natural duty to re-introduce the season of cold and white to people. But within the NEO Biishiki-Gun estate, neither cold nor snow is a concern to those who dedicate themselves to Sakisama, as her esteemed palace is all warm and cozy.

Speaking of our Mademoiselle, it is, of course, her who greets us by her fireplace. On her, is probably the most gorgeous and best-fitting Christmas sweater someone has ever worn.

Sakisama: “In this time of the year where we celebrate a jolly old man in his unfashionable red outfit that judges children as naughty or nice, I feel extra confident in being judgemental myself. Afterall, if a fat old man is celebrated for his judgement, why wouldn’t the most beautiful woman in the face of this planet shouldn’t be revered and worshipped for hers. Maybe instead of kicking the ugliness in its rearing head, I should put coals in its socks and call it a day, maybe then will I be exalted like I deserve to be instead of having my judgement of this ugly world be cruelly vilified.”

Despite what she’s saying, she’s making sure that she’s not coming off as very bitter or very serious about that.

Sakisama: “Well yes, my dearest children of EBWF, your Lady is feeling extra festive these days because as we approach the holiday season, we will not only be celebrating the fat old man or the Christian prophet, but we will also be celebrating the expansion of NEO Biishiki-gun’s beauty with a new face and a new trinket decorating my jolly old mansion in jolly old Paris.”

She takes a sip from her hot chocolate and gives the camera a deep but oddly innocent smirk.

Sakisama: “Do not accuse me of not being as excited as the other guy for Christmas, I truly am! In fact, unlike what my dearest Arisa claims, this is going to be my best Christmas in a while as I will treat myself to new special friends and new special jewelry that Arisa was kind enough to go out of her way to offer her Lady.”

Sakisama spreading the holiday cheer is probably not what you expected her to do but our Lady is full of surprises, isn’t she?

Sakisama: “It’s the season of cheer, season of joy, season of gratitude! Since some people are too interested in delving into my past, then lef me remind you of the fact that during the dark years of the Revolution, celebrating Christmas was outright banned by those so called cults of reason and the heroes of the Revolution who stormed the Bastille and tried to do away with their petrified hearts in favor of their smooth brains. Experiencing times like that makes me feel oddly grateful for what I can have now … and I’m going to make sure my lovely Arisa feels all that cheer, joy and gratitude in Brooklyn when I put ‘Destruction’ in the ‘Christmas Eve of Destruction’.”

Does her past with banned Christmases explain this cheer? Maybe, maybe not. Either way, her smile fades along with her cheery tone, as it seems like Sakisama is finally about to address what’s ahead.

Sakisama: “I am very aware of the worth of this encounter, I know what’s at stake in the end of this wondrous sleigh ride and I very well know this has come too far between me and my dear Arisa to not put a definitive end to this unfortunate state of affairs between two people who can only benefit from helping each other rather than opposing each other.”

She truly sounds like she doesn’t take the same sadistic pleasure in this compared to her past bouts with other EBWF wrestlers.

Sakisama: “But every now and then, it can be my duty as a generous goddess to indulge in the wishes of my most beautiful children. Arisa wanted this fight because despite enduring every bit of mental and physical punishments she’d gone through, despite winning all the things she did here in EBWF … she thinks she has something to prove and she owes it to herself to go ahead and prove that. They are the wishes of a woman who has surpassed her limits and experiencing a peak that nobody like her may even dream about. For all intents and purposes, Arisa Hoshiki is a success story through and through.”

For sure, she has never actually said this many nice things about someone.

Sakisama: “For all intents and purposes, Arisa Hoshiki is beautiful. But in her beautiful soul, she still looks for that self-actualization and the catharsis that she should’ve experienced after she won her world championship. My dear Shining Star, you still haven’t come to the realization that being beautiful is not about trying to step in the heads of your fellow beautiful people to prove why you are more beautiful than them. Being beautiful is about celebrating beauty in everything and everyone as much as it is about exterminating the ugly.”

She gently opens one hand and slightly leans it forward, as if she’s offering it on the direction of the camera.

Sakisama: “Those punishments that you soooo love to talk about, those punishments that made you stronger and a survivor … let me break it to you, Arisa. You haven’t healed from those wounds correctly. Your concussions and your broken bones healed enough to give you this second lease at having a wrestling career, but girl, please take my advice and realize that your mental punishments have scarred you deeper than you thought. You need to look up to the sky and realize that the sky is full of Shining Stars where beauty stands with beauty.”

She turns her beautiful face towards the window and the camera confirms that there is indeed many stars in the sky tonight.

Sakisama: “And trust me, my darling, the stars used to be much, much clearer than they are now. It’s not possible to see that many stars shine nowadays because the skies are covered with a smog-y net of ugliness. See, Arisa, ugliness should be your enemy as much as it is mine.”

And an expression of disgust emphasises her point.

Sakisama: “I can freely say, with my womanly honor, that they took your beauty for granted, Arisa. I can go further and say that even my beautiful Utami has also used you and treated you not befitting of a lady. What she did to you was not excusable, no, let’s use a more proper term, what Utami did to you was downright ugly. That’s why I had to step in and extinguish the ugliness within her. That’s why I had to tear down the wretched institution of Queen’s Court, surely you can understand as one of their many victims.”

The rare statements continue to come from Sakisama as she directly addresses the sins of her own maid towards her opponent.

Sakisama: “You have been wronged so badly by those you trusted before. That’s why you can’t see that I have nothing but the purest intentions for you in mind. That’s why you can’t trust me like how I want you to trust me. I can understand that much … but instead of respecting me enough to communicate your pesky insecurities clearly … you choose to hide behind a false bravado and a mouth that spews far too ugliness for someone of your radiance. That … I don’t understand. That … I can’t tolerate. As we continued to talk about each other week in and week out, my dearest Shining Star, you clearly told me that you are far too wounded to do the right thing for yourself. The choice needed to be taken out of your hands and put into someone who would actually refine that raw beauty of yours into something truly exceptional.”

A very wide, cheshire cat-like smirk now appears on her face.

Sakisama: “And you accepted without a second thought.”

That smirk, that glimpses in her eyes, they imply so many things now.

Sakisama: “Maybe even your tired eyes saw the glimpse of salvation I was offering you. Maybe your cold, hurt body finally sensed my sense of warmth. Maybe you are lying to yourself about this less and less now. Maybe you can finally make yourself believe that the light is really at the end of the tunnel. But dealing with ‘maybe’s can be really sloppy, so I will make sure that you can’t run away from your destiny anymore. I want you where you belong, by my side, your star shining both bright and for long. But your path to coming where we are right now, Arisa, you have built it with your own bones and blood and memories. So … I suppose it is the least I can do to respect that one wish of yours and give you an opportunity to take me down once more.”

She lets out a sigh before her eyes glimmer once again with a renewed resolve.

Sakisama: “Believe it or not. Despite everything, I remain firm in my stance that beauty doesn’t need to fight beauty. But I will never be as cruel to deny you of your self-actualization. I will never deny you the moment where you realize the true beauty within you. I will never deny you the journey you feel like you need to complete.”

She stares, as focused as we had seen her, into the camera, directly addressing her opponent, her beloved Arisa.

Sakisama: “Thus, my darling, we will have to come to blows once more. I’m not happy about it but I’m not sad either. I know what needs to be done and what needs to happen when we reserve the entire ring for our lovely little valse. I know that you will have to tap into that miracle you pulled in Total Supremacy once more to even stand a chance of beating me once again but I also know that the moment you stand in the ring and look deeply within for the inner strength that you used to put me down for three seconds before … you will realize that you can’t channel that brilliance anymore because you already left it all on me to win that crown we both have a lack of fondness for. That’s when it will become clear that I have already seen the best you can do when you’re on your own.”

It’s almost like she’s giving a prophecy about what will go down in Brooklyn between the two.

Sakisama: “And after I watch you drink that glass of ice water that’s going to shake that confident facade of yours to its pitifully shallow core, I will proceed to help you see that I’ve also learned my lesson from before. I will show you that I will go at you with every bit of beauty and strength I have within me and this time … for the first time … I’m going to prove something too. I’m going to prove that beyond my lexicon stands a woman who is going to hold back nothing to win. I’m going to prove that behind my sense of fashion stands a woman who is going to put Arisa Hoshiki through a very painful time. I’m going to prove that behind my mansion and my doctor and my maids is a woman who will win the EBWF Women’s Championship.”

The title, the girl, the family … Sakisama wants it all. But you already knew that from the very beginning.

Sakisama: “This is the biggest it’s going to get between you and me, Arisa. We’re not going to be doing something like this again. Ah, fair child, the summer night has passed. To finally reach our palace where everything is warm and comfortable and happy, you’re going to have to walk on these cold winter nights, re-experiencing every single wound that was left on you, re-experiencing every hurt, every pain and every agony at my hands. It’s not going to be pleasant but please know darling that I am only doing this for you and you alone.”

Leaning back into her chair, Sakisama takes her hot chocolate once again and chuckles, giving us her parting words before going back to enjoying this winter night.

Sakisama: “You better watch out. You better not cry, better not pout. I’m going to tell you why, my dear Shining Star: Sakisama is coming to town.”