It was night, yet there was no darkness.

The lights off the buildings shone so brightly, that anyone who might just be awakening from their sleep would find it hard to distinguish whether it were night as it was, or if it was day.

Many people busily walked alongside streets, still up and about even in the late hours of the night-- the lights helping them move as they were throughout the city without any dangers. It was an amazing sight to behold from ground-level, something that a person foreign to the country of Japan would be awestricken by.

Dominic Pericolo was indeed awestricken by the sights he was beholding. These were the things one could not perceive out the window of one's hotel room, for when you look from those heights you don't get to experience the true wonders of feeling so small in a world so much larger then you are.

Despite his name and reputation, and despite the gold he'd often carry around his waist, Dominic knew that he was just another person in the world carrying out his life. Here in Japan, where wrestlers were treated with such respect and honor... he almost felt as though he'd shamed himself by hiding away the past two Avulsions.

He hated betraying the fans-- he'd hated it ever since the end of the HWF, when he finally let his anger consume him.

Never again... he'd been helped with that now.

Dominic looked about the city around him, a smile forming on his features as he now realized that the match he mistakingly called his personal hell may actually be his saving grace.

He'd disgraced himself by hiding away.

He'd redeem himself by showing the fans his strengthening of heart.

"Shane Perry can claim he deserves this more then anyone... Bucky Skyler can claim that no man has worked harder then himself to earn this shot... but none in the NLCW can claim that they have as much love for this business as I."

Dominic ran his hand through his hair, speaking those words out loud as though to reassure himself of something he already knew. He almost felt cocky for saying it, but he couldn't help but believe it was true. All his life, he'd prepared for these moments... and he'd made them his everything. Aside from his religion, friends, family, and especially Suki Minamoto, nothing was more important.

And only two of them held the power to actually destroy his career.

If he lost a friend, he'd fight on in their memory.

If he lost his parents, he'd do his best to do them proud.

But if he lost sight of God... he knew he'd fall apart.

And if he lost Suki Minamoto, there wouldn't be a recovery.

There are two types of pain in this world Dominic knows he cannot handle... the pain of being utterly alone in life, and the pain of losing the love of his life for a second time.

He was really taking a risk that night he proposed to Suki... because his inner fears were telling him that everything just seemed to similar to the events that transpired with Crystal back during his late teen years.

He proposed to Crystal, they were completely in love... and then only weeks later, she died.

He's proposed to Suki, they're completely in love-- moreso then Dominic had ever felt before... and he truly was afraid of losing her.

Yet this time, he was also afraid of losing himself-- something that he didn't have to deal with back before he lost Crystal.

The day before had helped so much in curing the things wrong with him in his life however, all the harships he'd been putting himself through were finally done and over with as he allowed himself to live without fear once again. Yet there was still the thought; "What if?"

Dominic hated the phrase "What if?"... it always made him cringe when he heard it.

What if he failed in his dream?

What if the Final Solution match was his last one?

What if he didn't walk out still the NLCW World Heavyweight Champion?

What if there weren't any what if's?

Dominic shook his head, letting a sigh escape his lips as he placed his hands into his jacket pocket, the cold night air causing his breath to fog. He looked about and wondered, 'When will I ever learn to stop questioning myself?'

And what if he does? What then?

You see, while others in this business try their hardest to elevate themselves into some sort of God-like deity, Dominic simply remains himself even as the highest of champions. Even when he's the shining figurehead of the company, Dominic maintains composure and does his all not to change himself because of it.

Yet, recently, he let fear override that resolve.

Thankfully, the resolve was back.

Making his way over to a bus-stop, sitting down upon the bench as he simply watched the people go by, all living their everyda-- well, everynight lives, for lack of a better term.

Wrestling was Dominic's life in general. It was his breakfast, lunch and dinner... on his mind with Suki when he woke up and on his mind with Suki when he went to sleep. His thoughts always intermingled, battling for importance over the other.

Though in his heart Suki would always stay above wrestling, in his mind she fought for dominance with it.

He couldn't stop thinking about either-- the daily events that he went through for the NLCW and all the things he does with her each day. The travels together, the sights seen together...

Sometime during the tour of Asia, Dominic wanted to take Suki to an open meadow, with bonsai trees gently blowing in the breeze and nothing but cool air and clear skies above. It would be the perfect place to spend time together... to relax, and to let rest all the struggles he was fighting against.

It'd also be a nice place to rest his wounds after he won at Rising Sun.

Dominic smiled to himself, closing his eyes.

Somewhere deep inside, he knew he'd walk out of that match with his career... and his title, both safe within his grasp.