~With Kai~

As we ate dinner tonight, I came up with an idea: writing a book on my entire career from my childhood to now.

I thought it wasn't a bad idea, you know?

Me: やあみんな。 (Hey guys.)

Masami: うん？ (Yeah?)

Kaori: うん？ (Yeah?)

Me: 私が自分自身についての本を書いたら、皆さんはどう思いますか? (How would you guys feel if I wrote a book about myself?)

Masami: 本当に？ (Really?)

Kaori: わお。 (Wow.)

Me: 戦争ゲーム以来、このことについてしばらく考えていたので、興味があるかどうか知りたいと思っていました。 (I've been thinking about this for some time since WarGames and I wanted to know if you would be interested.)

Masami: 私は。 いい考えだ、カイ。 (I am. It's a good idea, Kai.)

Kaori: 私はアイデアが好きです。 どこから始めるべきですか？ (I like the idea. Where should you start?)

Me: おそらく私の子供時代と、どのようにしてレスリングに恋をしたか. それは、良いものに入る前に私が始めたいことです. (Probably my childhood and how I fell in love with wrestling. That's something I want to start with before getting into the good stuff.)

Masami: 助けが必要ですか？ (You need help with it?)

Me: ありがたいです。 (I'd appreciate that.)

(A/N: I recommend you play this song now because it's gonna get a bit emotional.)

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

After eating our dinner, we started coming up with ideas on how to name the book. I then got the title: "Broken Winged Angel".

"Broken Winged Angel" or "Tsubasa No Oreta Angel" is a song written by Miss Ayumi Nakumura and I used that in the beginning of my career, and using the title as my nickname before I went by "The Prodigy" in NXT.

I thought using the translated words of the song title will work really well, considering that I'm autistic and people, notably the entire roster World Wonder Ring of Stardom, had called me an angel and very sweet to everyone while the autism spectrum is symbolizing the first part of the nickname.

I thought that title would really work, so I asked Ayumi if I can use that to be the song title for the book I'm writing, and sure enough, she gave me permission to use it, but in return, she writes in a piece of how she met me and how it impacted her, not just her career, but her life as well.

I accepted and she got to work on her introduction and I even asked Minoru how he would feel about me writing a book about myself and how far I came in my career, he was all for it! He got started working on an introduction on me as I waited for them.

The first thing I started was my introduction to the story, and I started with,

"'Life sucks and then you die', that quote is made famous by Vince McMahon of WWE and I didn't know what he meant by it at the time, but over the course of my life, I got what he was talking about. Life isn't easy and we have to make the most of it, whether it's a writer, a singer, or a hall of famer, whether we have a disability or not we have a shot to make something of ourselves.

I always felt like I didn't need to be something because I already was something: a role model for kids who have the same disability that I have: autism.

You see, Autism is not something that you get from like a needle or a disease, you're born with it: it's been inside you since the day you were born. I was born with it, but it made me define my pro wrestling career.

My name is Kai Hosako, and I'm a wrestler for NXT under the ring name, 'Ren Hosako' as my nickname, is The Prodigy. People called me a Prodigy because of who I am as a person and a wrestler, but here's the difference between Ren Hosako and Kai Hosako: I'm more uplifting and in high spirits about anything, sweet and kind, whereas Ren, he's ruthless, takes after his mentor Minoru Suzuki, and he's proving to fans all over the world that he's here to stay in this industry because he's different, one of a kind, and unique than most wrestlers people have ever watched.

If you think I'm tooting my own horn, you're out of your fucking mind.

My journey to the big leagues didn't just come out of nowhere, I had to earn my opportunities, I had to pay my dues, I had to do whatever I can to show that I have the dedication to this great sport. There were times that I slept in a car and I had to eat my dinner inside it. There are no pictures for proof of those times, but I have the experience and the lessons I learned from the veterans throughout my 12 years in this industry.

The veterans I watched weren't just Japanese, they were English, French, Spanish, every race you can think of and the vegetation in their ears have shown that they have the knowledge and the experience to share to the young guys.

I'm serious when I say this, I always thought that the veterans from the industry have the juice. I always respected the veterans because they have more knowledge and wisdom in their pinky finger than some of the wrestlers who think they know the industry better than anyone.

I always learned from them and I pick their brain with my ears open and my mouth shut.

Before I can go on about my career, I want to start at the very beginning, way before I took of the name Ren Hosako and the nicknames of 'The Prodigy', and 'Broken Winged Angel'.

Let's get started..."

When I showed Masami and Kaori this, they thought it was perfect, like, this was the best introduction.

Kaori: それは素晴らしいね！ (That sounds fantastic!)

Me: あなたはそう思う？ (You think so?)

Masami: 私たちはそう知っています！ これはおそらく、私が今まで読んだ本の中で最高の紹介の 1 つです。 障害のあるカイがこんな本を書けるなら、みんな読みたくなるはず！ (We know so! This is probably one of the best introductions to a book I've ever read! If you can write a book like this with your disability, Kai, everyone would want to read it!)

Me: ええと、みのるさんとあゆみさんが私と初めて出会った方法と、それが彼らの人生にどのような影響を与えたかについてのエントリを待つ必要があります. (Wow, well, we'll have to wait for Minoru and Ayumi's entry on how they first met me and how it really impacted their lives.)

Kaori: それは理にかなっている！ (It makes sense!)

Masami: 本当にそうです。 つまり、これを日本語だけでなく、世界中のすべての人に翻訳してもらう必要があります。 (It really does. Thing is, we gotta get this translated for everyone around the world, not just Japanese.)

Me: ええ、あなたは正しいです。 私たちは英語の翻訳を下ろさなければなりません、さもないとうまくいきません。 (Yeah, you're right. We have to got to get the English translation down or it's not gonna be good.)

After some time finding an interpreter to translate my book and get the word out that I'm writing the book with some help, we managed to get it all done, including the acknowledgements.

Thing is, I had to get permission, so here's what I did: I asked Hunter if I can write a book about my career and how autism impacted me, he told me to go for it. He supported the idea.

Another day or another two days go by, and what do you know? Ayumi and Minoru sent their introductions to me, and I'm about to translate what they said in their introductions and how it was written.

Here's Ayumi's introduction:

"When I first met Kai, I thought he was just as cute as a button! I really loved him from the start, especially when his career was beginning to take off and he wanted to use my single for his entrance music after he explained his whole ordeal with Autism and how it made him the person he is today.

I told him that he didn't need to worry about the copyrights because I paid for them myself and I vouched for him to Warner Music Japan, where my music videos would often be seen. I even said if he wanted me to perform his music for a very special match or a Championship match, no matter how hectic the schedule or the circumstances are, I was going to do it because he's a special young man.

Over the years, whenever I was asked about the song and I was sure about giving Kai my blessing to us it, I would say, 'He's a special case, and he deserves every bit of it'. I mean what I said because when he won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship for the first time, I cried. He's earned every bit of love and respect from not just me, but everyone, including Minoru, who experienced Kai's true self, never said one bad thing about Kai. Whatever he was told to do, from what I was told, he would do it with a smile on his face.

Kai is just a sweetheart and he absolutely deserves to be called the "Broken Winged Angel". I love this boy and I can't express how much of an honor it is to be in this book as an introduction and be one of the many people in his life who he calls family. For those who read this book, please consider reading it because he's a special case, and Minoru would kill you if you didn't."

The last part made me laugh so hard because it's true! If anyone didn't read my book, Minoru would straight up murder them!

And speaking of Minoru, I had to read his introduction to the story, and my gods, did he deliver!

"Kai is just one of those people that wants to be the best person he can be. When I first met him, he was just a Young Lion in the dojo, but after we faced off in a sparring session, where I ultimately won by TKO, Kai gave me one hell of a fight before passing out to the Fujiwara Armbar that I put on him.

I was shocked when he passed out instead of tapping. I thought he would tap, but Kai didn't. He didn't submit, but when he came to, I had to ask him if he was alright. He said yes and I gave him a handshake, letting him know that he earned my respect because I thought he was a copycat, but he fought back in that session, which lead to me offering to train him when I learned he had a disability in the form of autism.

At first, I didn't know what autism was, nor did I know what it meant, but I do know that throughout my 50 plus years on this planet, Kai is one of the most inspirational people I've ever met and he proved it by working hard and doing what he can to prove that it wasn't about the background, it was about how hard you work to make it in any career, not just professional wrestling, but in life as well.

I can't even tell you how proud I am to be his mentor and support him in any way I can because Kai signed with NXT to be near his sister and his now girlfriend, I was against it at first, but I soon changed my mind and respected his decision since family mattered to him the most. I hated seeing him leave New Japan for NXT because of his sister, but I know that Kai's gonna be doing great things in WWE.

Besides all of that, I hope everyone who reads his book get a very clear understanding of what Autism is because I don't have a clue on how it works, but just know that Kai is the main reason why I'm still in this sport. He's that special. He's a Broken Winged Angel."

When I read all of this, I'm man enough to admit it, I cried.

The reason I cried because of how much love and support Minoru had put into this introduction. As I showed Kaori and Masami, they both teared up and we all hugged each other for what seemed like an eternity, but it was a good eternity. I was just so emotional about what Minoru had written about me.

I love that old man like a father and I couldn't be more happier about what I just read.

Soon after writing my story, I got it published and, before I knew it, it was the New York Time's No. 1 best seller! I even heard so many reviews from many other wrestlers including the man who revolutionized wrestling and founded the company that I made my mark in, Antonio Inoki.

He said, "This book is the most inspirational and emotionally powerful I've ever read. I'd read it again and never feel tired of it because it's that good."

PWI said that it was so inspiring that it claimed that I broke the barrier on what wrestling can be like for someone like myself, earning a 4.5 suplexes out of 5.

Gabriel Iglesias, a giant (pun intended) wrestling fan and famous comedian, gave me praise and said, "Exceptionally good and it had its own unique humor. I would definitely read it again and highly recommend it to anyone who didn't like pro wrestling nor not know what the Autism Spectrum is."

All of the praise I was getting made me feel happy about the fact that autism and wrestling mix very well and hearing that everyone wanted read it now is a also a very beautiful thing.