~With Anthony~

It was NXT Stand And Deliver and although I didn't have a match tonight, I asked Shawn if it was alright for me to surprise Eimi, since it's been almost two years since we've seen each other.

After I talked to him about our history, he allowed me to see her again and surprise her however I wanted.

I was excused to find the girls, SLK (Starlight Kid), Natsumi, Yurai (Tam Nakano), Momo, Utami, Azumi, and Rina, who had no idea that I was here.

I found them and it looked like they were having a fun time so far and I'm really happy that they are.

I was gonna surprise them, but Yurai already noticed.

Yurai: トニー？！ (Tony?!)

Me: 皆さん、今のところ楽しい時間を過ごしていますか？ (You guys having a great time so far?)

They all got me in a group hug as it almost looked like they wanted to start crying from how long it's been, but I don't blame them. I missed them too.

They were the best of friends I've ever had and when I told them about my dad dying from Covid, they immediately sent out their condolences and love for how much he meant to me.

The same can go for SLK, who has her eating mask on.

I never bothered to ask for her real name and for her to take off the mask, out of respect for the rules of Lucha Libre and not trying to push it any further. So I started calling the girl Kid as the shortened version of her ring name because I wanted to show that I can be respectful to every person in any country I travel to.

Natsumi: あなたはここにいないだろうと思っていました。 (We thought you wouldn't be here.)

Me: やあ、えーっと、エイミを驚かせるために来たんだよ。 (Hey, well, I'm here to surprise Eimi.)

Yurai: まあ、本当に？ (Oh, really?)

Me: うん。それ以外に、フィラデルフィアはどうですか？ (Yeah. Besides that, how's Philly for ya?)

Kid: とても楽しいです。ちなみに、私たちは初めてチーズステーキを食べました！ (It's very fun. We ate our first cheesesteaks, by the way!)

Me: そうなんですか！どこで買ったんですか？ (Oh really! Where'd you go for them?)

Rina: エイミが、トニー・ルーク・ジュニアと友達がいると教えてくれたので、私たちはそこへ行きました。彼は私たちを見ると、私たちだと気づいて、できるだけコミュニケーションを取ろうとしてくれました。 (Eimi told us you had a friend with Tony Luke Jr, so we went there. When he saw us, he recognized us and tried to communicate the best he could.)

Me: 彼は君たちが英語を全く話せないことで怒ったの？ (Did he get mad at you guys for not being able to speak English at all?)

Rina: 彼はそうしなかったが、Google 翻訳のおかげで私たちが何を望んでいるのか理解してくれた。 (He didn't, but he understood what we wanted thanks to Google Translate.)

Me: その点では私は彼を少しは評価できる。彼は適応する方法を知っている。 (That I can give him a bit of credit. He knows how to adapt.)

Natsumi: 本当にそうなんです。 (He really does.)

Me: 私の知る限り、あなたたちはもうチーズステーキ初心者ではないわよ！ (From what I know, you girls aren't Cheesesteak virgins anymore!)

They all laughed as I hugged them while laughing myself. These girls know about the jokes I pull every now and then, so for them to not take it seriously was a blessing.

Me: そうだ、エイミを驚かせなきゃ。君たちはそこにいて、それが起こるのを見届けたいかい？ (Well, I gotta surprise Eimi. You guys wanna stick around and see it happen?)

Yurai: いずれにせよ、私たちはその番組を見ることになっていますが、そうですね。 (We are to watch the show anyway, but yeah.)

Natsumi: あなた達二人が会うのは1年ぶりですね？ (It's been a year since you two have seen each other, right?)

Me: そうだよ。彼女がとても恋しかったんだよ。 (It has. I missed her so much, you know?)

Momo: そして、エイミもあなたがいなくて寂しいと言っていました。 (And Eimi has expressed how she misses you too.)

Me: ああ、彼女は持っているの？ (Oh, she has?)

Utami: 彼女はあなたが新日本プロレスで活動していた時にあなたのそばにいるのが大好きで、あなたがWWEに行くために去った時には実際に泣いていました。 (She loved being around you when you were working for New Japan and actually cried when you left to go to WWE.)

Me: ああ。私は彼女の心を傷つけてしまったのね？ (Oh. I broke her heart, didn't I?)

Azumi: そうだったね、でも今日は最高の再会になるだろうってことは分かってるよ。 (You did, but we know that today's gonna be one heck of a reunion.)

Natsumi: それと、あなたは私たちのうちの1人に恋をしていたんですよね？ (Also, you were in love with one of us, is that right?)

Me: そうですね、でも私は以前から日本の礼儀作法や文化をとても尊敬しているので、どちらがそうだったかは分かりません。 (Yeah, but for some time, I've had a lot more respect for the etiquette and the culture of Japan, so I can't really say which one of you it was.)

Yurai: 分かりました。では、エイミを驚かせてください。私たちはモニターで見ています。 (Understandable. Well, you go surprise Eimi. We'll be watching from the monitor.)

Me: わかった。じゃあまた後で会おうね？ (Alright then. I'll see you girls later, okay?)

All: さようなら、アンソニー！ (Bye, Anthony!)

I hugged all of them, SLK included, with a subtle wink, and walked down the stairs, where Eimi was.

Regal told me that it was near the front row of where the ground floor was. Not ringside, just a floor above the ground level, and luckily, on the side so I could get much easier access to sit next to her to watch the rest of the show with Eimi, because I know that she would want me to watch the rest of it with her when I surprise her.

After a while, it showed Eimi, Regal, and Mr. Ogawa sitting down and when the camera was directly on Eimi, she was confused until the fans popped for her as she stood up, almost taken aback by how the crowd responded, almost tearing up.

I find it very heartwarming because it seemed like she didn't know how well known she was to the fans, but little does she know, I'm gonna surprise her tonight.

And the funny thing is, although I didn't have a match, I lied to her, which I hate doing, by saying that I wasn't going to be at the show, but joke's on her, I'm here.

While the camera was still on her, I started walking down the steps, shushing the crowd and telling them to be quiet as I kept walking down.

Luckily, Eimi didn't notice me, but as she was about to sit back down to enjoy the rest of the show, I patted her shoulder while saying...

Me: 調子はどう？美しい君！ (How you doin', gorgeous!)

When Eimi turned her head towards me, she gasped, quickly turning her head back around, covering her face with her hands, and started crying as I wrapped my arms around her.

But after that, Eimi turned around and hugged me back as I kept it tight while the fans around us started to applaud and cheer as this reunion was taking place in front of them.

I missed her so much and I wished many times that I could go back to Japan and hang out with her with the girls, but this happened to work out in our favors since she now signed a contract with WWE, and we get to hang out once again.

Eimi kept crying into my shoulder as I was crying myself, but with a smile and tears were slowly coming down my face as well. Like I said, I missed her, and I wanted to be around her again, and now I am.

Mr. Ogawa was tearing up at the sight of Eimi and I reuniting after a very long year. I mean, I think many of the Stardom members were tearing up when it showed us on the titantron, overwhelmed with emotion.

When I released Eimi, her eyes were RED from all the crying and her makeup started washing away.

I then pulled out a napkin and wiped it off so she could stay so happy that I'm here with her again, but underneath the messy makeup, she still looked gorgeous.

Rossy: アンソニー！元気ですか？ (Anthony! How are you?)

Me: 元気ですよ、小川さん、お元気ですか？ (I'm doing great, Mr. Ogawa, how are you?)

Rossy: 再会に涙。 (Tearing up at this reunion.)

Me: まあ、もう1年経ったんだから、いいんじゃない？ (Hey, well, it's been a year, so why not?)

Rossy: 同感です。いいですか、この再会がとても感動的だったので、二人で近況を話させてあげましょう。 (I agree. Listen, I'm gonna let you two catch up, just because of how emotional this reunion has become.)

Me: 本当にありがとうございます、小川さん。 (I appreciate it so much, Mr. Ogawa.)

Rossy: お願いします。私たちは何年も知り合いです。私をロッシーと呼んでください。 (Please. We've know each other for years. You can call me Rossy.)

Me: そうします。ありがとう。 (And I will. Thank you.)

I shook his hand as he and Regal walked out of their seats and I managed to sit next to Eimi, who was still emotional about me being in her presence again.

To change languages, we spoke Italian, just because it's much easier for Eimi, especially when she's half-Italian and half-Japanese.

Eimi: Pensavo che non saresti stato qui. (I thought you wouldn't be here.)

Me: Scusa, ho mentito. Volevo scioccarti. (Sorry, I lied. I wanted to shock you.)

Eimi: Beh, sicuramente lo hai fatto. Non posso credere che tu non sia sulla carta. (Well, you definitely have. I can't believe you're not on the card.)

Me: Beh, quando ho sentito da Suzu che avresti firmato con NXT qualche settimana fa, ho dovuto chiederti se potevo togliere lo show. La direzione ha concordato ed eccoci qui. (Well, when I heard from Suzu that you were signing with NXT a few weeks back, I had to ask about taking the show off. Management agreed and here we are.)

When I said that, she started to get emotional again and I'm pretty sure that Natsumi and the others were tearing up about our reunion tonight.

Eimi: Ti sei preso una pausa solo per uscire con me? (You took time off, just to hang out with me?)

Me: Mi sei mancato, Eimi. L'ho fatto davvero. Volevo vederti non appena ho saputo della tua firma. (I missed you, Eimi. I really did. I wanted to see you as soon as I heard about your signing.)

Eimi: Oh, Antonio. Sei così dolce. (Oh, Anthony. You're so sweet.)

She then laid her head on me and purred like a cat, just because of how happy she was as we watched the rest of the show.

I wouldn't be surprised if a couple of fans started taking pictures of us, guessing that we're dating and whatnot, but we aren't. Plus, Eimi clearly stated before that she prefers men in their forties who wear glasses, so there's no point in me trying to ask her out.

~After The Show~

When the show was over, Eimi was allowed to be let go because of how much of a reunion for the both of us was.

As we talked, I drove her to Tony Luke's, where I bet he knows about the Stardom girls going there for the cheesesteaks.

And speaking of which, Eimi said this to me,

Eimi: In realtà non ho mai provato una cheesesteak. (I actually never got to try a cheesesteak.)

Me: Veramente? (Really?)

Eimi: Sì. È la mia prima volta. (Yeah. It's my first time.)

Me: Se vuoi, posso registrarti mentre mangi il tuo primo morso. (If you want, I can record you taking your first bite.)

Eimi: No. Antonio! Sarà imbarazzante! (No. Anthony! It'll be embarrassing!)

She laughed as I patted her shoulder and she playfully shoved it away, getting me to laugh.

When we arrived, I got out first, went around, and opened the door for her.

Eimi: Che gentiluomo! Grazie! (What a gentleman! Thank you!)

Me: Prego. (You're welcome.)

When she got out, Eimi was enamored by how the restaurant looked and there was a lot of people here. From the look of things, it was going to be impossible to get two cheesesteaks for Eimi and I, but since my family and I have friends with Tony Jr for a long time, I'm pretty sure he'll tend to us first.

Sure enough, he saw us.

Tony Jr: Anthony!

Me: What's up, guy?

Tony Jr: You guys come up, let me take your orders.

I looked at Eimi who was really wanting to try one, she nodded, and we walked up to the counter.

Tony Jr: Who's this girl?

Me: Tony, this is one of my longtime friends, Eimi Matsudo, better known as Giulia in wrestling.

Tony Jr: Oh wow! Piacere di conoscerti, tesoro. (Nice to meet you, sweetie.)

Eimi: Piacere di conoscervi. (Nice to meet you too.)

Me: She said it's nice to meet you too.

Tony Jr: She can't speak English?

Me: She was born in London but moved to Tokyo when she was one years old, so no. She doesn't understand and can't speak it. Half-Italian and half-Japanese, but no. She can't speak it, only I can translate for her.

Tony Jr: I can forgive that because I can tell that she's genuine. Anyway, what do you guys want to eat?

Me: Eimi?

Eimi: Cheeseteak.

Tony Jr: Alright. It comes with cheese, steak, and onions, is that gonna be a problem for her?

I then translated for her and she shook her head.

Me: It won't be. She wants to try the real thing anyway.

Tony Jr: Okay. Same for you, right Anthony?

Me: Yes please.

I then took out my wallet, looking to pay, but Eimi stopped me.

Eimi: Anthony, non devi pagare. (Anthony, you don't have to pay.)

Me: EHI. Sono stato io a offrirmi di portarti con te. (Hey. I'm the one who offered to take you.)

I then paid for our cheesesteaks and just like that we were sitting down outside, waiting.

Eimi: Apprezzo che tu mi abbia portato, Anthony. Davvero. (I appreciate you taking me, Anthony. I really do.)

Me: Sei il mio migliore amico, Eimi. Voglio trattarti mentre sono a Philadelphia, quindi questo è il mio modo di chiederti scusa per averti lasciato per NXT. (You're my best friend, Eimi. I wanna treat you while in Philly, so, this is my way of saying sorry for leaving you for NXT.)

Eimi: Non devi scusarti. Capisco che volevi un cambiamento nella tua carriera. (You don't have to apologize. I understand you wanted a change in your career.)

Me: Il motivo per cui mi scuso è che stavo parlando con alcune ragazze e Utami mi ha detto che ti ho spezzato il cuore quando me ne sono andato. Quindi, pensa a questo come a compensare il tempo perduto che non abbiamo potuto spendere. (Reason I apologize is that I was talking with some of the girls, and Utami told me I broke your heart when I left. So, think of this as to make up for the lost time we didn't get to spend.)

Eimi: Anthony, sei così dolce. Non so come spiegarlo. (Anthony, you're so sweet. I don't know how to explain it.)

Me: Non devi, l'importante è che siamo di nuovo insieme. (You don't have to, all that matters is that we're back together.)

Eimi: È vero. (That's true.)

I then felt a buzzing on my phone and I saw that Natsumi texted me. I had to open it up and I saw that it was her and Yurai's reaction to Eimi and I reuniting after a year.

Natsumi: あなたたちは一緒にいると本当にかわいいですね。なんて素敵な再会でしょう！ 💗💕💓 (You guys are so cute together. What a beautiful reunion! 💗💕💓)

Me: Eimi, dovrai vederlo. Viene da Natsumi. (Eimi, you're gonna have to see this. It's from Natsumi.)

I showed her the message and she choked up from seeing Natsumi and Yurai so emotional about us being back together again after a year.

Eimi: Awww, così dolce! (Awww, so sweet!)

I saw that Tony Jr was bringing us our food now and I was really looking forward to having a cheesesteak with Eimi, considering that it was going to be her first.

Tony Jr: Here you are guys! Two Philly Cheesesteaks!

Me: Thanks so much, Tony.

Tony Jr: No problem. Enjoy your meal!

Eimi: Grazie! (Thank you!)

Tony Jr: Prego. (You're welcome.)

He went back to work and just as Eimi was about to take a bite, I immediately took up my phone and started recording her. When she knew what I was doing, she felt embarrassed.

I knew I had her.

Eimi: Anthony, è necessario? (Anthony, is this necessary?)

Me: È la tua prima cheesesteak. Voglio renderlo memorabile per te. (It's your first cheesesteak. Wanna make it memorable for you.)

Eimi: Va bene. Puoi continuare a registrare. (Okay. You can keep recording.)

She then grabbed a handful of the sandwich and just as the juice from the steak fell out of the sandwich and started to run down her hands, Eimi panicked a bit, but she took a bite, and her eyes widened and then closed while she moaned with delight from the flavor.

Eimi: ああ、なんてことだ。これは私が今まで食べた中で最高のサンドイッチだ。 (Oh my God. This is the best sandwich I've her had.)

Me: 本当に？ (Really?)

Eimi: そうです。これで、私の栄養士は私が今食べているものに満足しないだろうけど、私のお腹は満足するだろうということが分かります。 (Yeah. With this, I just know that my dietician will not be happy with what I am eating right now, but my belly will.)

I laughed before saying...

Me: 私たちの栄養士は誰も、今私たちが食べているものに満足していません。 (None of our dieticians are happy with what we're eating right now!)

We both laughed as I then took a bite of my own, and memories came flooding back to me. I really missed this and to know how much of an awesome sandwich this was, it couldn't get any better.

Eimi and I kept talking, including about her goals in WWE and how she wants to rise to the top, even though she wants to work with Ogawa on his new promotion at the moment, and I'm all for it.

Other than that, it was great to catch up with Eimi, and it was the best being around her after a year, and the good times that were to follow.