Post by zombie on Nov 28, 2016 0:15:14 GMT -5
The cool autumn wind bites into her skin as she sits on the fire escape of her Bronx apartment. It's not quite time for a coat yet but the time for cutoffs is over. She looks over the city and then unlocks her phone to read about the results of the Resilience Battle Royal. Almost every news article, editorial, or fan tweet about her uses the words 'promising,' 'improved,'disappointed,' and keeps mentioning 'next time.' There is something about being second best all the time that brings out the condescension in people. She looks at the horizon and goes through her phone again. She picks out an old video file and plays it.
Tokyo Zombie stared past a younger Kimitsu at the entrance of the dojo with no expression on his tattooed face. She rubbed on the edges of a fresh black eye and adjusted her gi. She shook her head and rushed forward. She tried to hit him with a thrusting kick but his eyes focused in a flash and he moved away. She used the momentum to spin on her heel and tried to hit him with a back spinning elbow but he ducked and when he came back up he was right in her face. She was startled and staggered back before falling. She slammed her fist on the mat. Someone laughed behind the camera.
"There. Now tell me how you got the black eye?" Tokyo finally looked at her and sat down in front of her.
She leaned up and sighed. "I caught my boyfriend with another girl. I broke a bottle over his head and her friends tried to jump me."
"How did you get out of that?"
"I threw some drinks at them then took out my lighter."
"Would you not have burned yourself as well?"
Kimitsu stayed silent for a moment then looked away. His disappointment was almost palpable. "I didn't think about it at the time. I was just angry. I didn't care."
"Such is the way with blind rage."
"Aw, nothing else happened. That associate of yours there got one of his old cop friends to make sure no one pressed any charges. Not that any in that crowd would."
"They would be the type to want revenge, correct?"
"Yeah which is why I am here. Let's go again."
He got up but put out a hand to stop her before she advanced. "Before you attack try to let go of this anger inside you. It starts a cycle of regret. It makes you sloppy. It makes you vulnerable. It makes you weak."
"Totally." She bowed slightly and exhaled slowly when she came up. She rushed at him and went for a headscissors takedown but he cartwheeled out of it. She flew at him for a punch but he simply placed a foot on her waist to keep her back. Then he hit her hard with a lariat and turned his back at her. She let out a hurt groan that turned into a growl. She ran up to him and tried to grab him from behind but he powered out of the hold and twirled around to cross her arms in front of her. He nudged her back with a light headbutt then pulled at her arms and dropped her with another lariat.
"That should be enough for now. You are not focused."
She struggled to get up and roared. "No!"
Tokyo shook his head then sat on her back to pin her down. He pulled her head up and applied a choke hold. He rolled onto his back to get his weight off of her but still kept the hold locked on. She kicked and tried to pry his arm off. "Give up. This is training."
She didn't pay attention and got some room to angle her head down and bite into his forearm. He lifted the arm she bit into to get some room and switched his grip to continue the choke with his other arm. He choked her until she passed out and let his arm go. The camera was set on the ground as he put her on her side and waited for her to come to.
A familiar man stepped into frame and howled. "She's a wild one. How did you find her?"
"We crossed paths and I recognized where she was headed. She still has much to learn."
Kimitsu pauses the video as she hears someone coming up the fire escape steps.
"What are you doing, Uncle Aoki?"
Aokigahara Zombie walks up and pats her on the head then sits on the window sill next to her. He proceeds to roll a cigarette. "I saw you from the other end of the alley and decided this way was faster than going in the building. I always take shortcuts. Deserted side streets and alleys can be fun. The seedier the better. Anyway, I came by to see if you're ready for the trip upstate."
"Yeah I got everything I need."
"And are you ready for the destination? It's the Alpha Cup Tournament!"
"Seems like a nice distraction for the missing title belt."
"Ah, it's just us starting out with a bang and get the company some attention. We've attracted some big names 'cause of this. Some smaller ones too but the more the merrier."
She watched him finish up the cigarette with his rough fingers working delicately and lit it for him when he was finished. "I talked to Tokyo-sensei. He is good. The earthquake didn't affect him much. Talked with my parents too. Tokyo's gonna swing around to check on them."
"Were you still pissed off when you did? He called me up too. He asked me what I was doing to you. Seems to think I'm not a good influence. I wonder why." He laughed up a cloud of smoke.
She looked away at his wink. "It was after exchanging words with that American Tommy. It stayed with me for a while. It is the one time his shit got to me. I usually let it slide and ignore it because it doesn't matter but sometimes it does."
"Everything matters. Might not be so serious. Maybe he has Asperger's or something and doesn't know what he's doing. Just an obsessed kid."
"Maybe he knows exactly what he's doing. Maybe the guy is just doing it to mess with me. As part of his master's plan to-"
"Now you're thinking like his student. Everything is deflection with him. He breezes through life like he's a leaf on the water not letting anything affect him. He's always striving for inner peace as he glides on by. He doesn't live, he just coasts high above us. Judging us all. This guy you're facing, Sinister Minister? He's one of Tokyo's boogeymen, right?"
"Yeah he's on of the Dark Ones."
"Yeah, who isn't? You know he just rides on this image. He's just like a mediocre rapper with a good hype up man. Most of them are."
"I know but he unleashes this guy on me and..."
"Go ahead. Get angry! You will feel better for it. We ain't made for this peace and understanding stuff. We're creatures of conflict. It's how we improve ourselves."
She looks wide-eyed at Aoki and then at the paused video of her passed out on the floor with Tokyo standing over her. She looks from one to the other a few times until she finally shuts the phone's screen off. "And I'm getting so damn sick of it. I don't care if I'll be facing Sinister Minister and only have American Tommy on my mind. It'll just fuel me to keep hurting the Minister until Tommy shuts up. I do want him to know that Tommy affects me and not in a good way. He went too far when doing his tired act after the earthquake and I'm going to put every annoying comment into my punches, every unwanted advance into my kicks, and every public embarrassment into his pain. If it is his plan to get me off my game in some sort of game with Tokyo or just for fun then I'll make it backfire on him."
"What if this isn't one big conspiracy?"
"Then I'll take Tommy's livelihood from him for fun. Sinister Minister only keeps him around so people would think he has a personality. With him he's just a silent creep with an obnoxious mouthpiece for a pet. The dog needs to learn some new tricks. If it keeps going on with the same act then it'll be time to take Old Yeller out back. Pissing me off is the worst thing you can do. He just has to ask most everyone else in the company.
"Because Without the guy he's just another veteran trying to relive his glory days. It's like so many others in AWE. They see someone new like me with some talent and they think they can walk on in with their bigger contracts and get a few more wins to keep the career alive. Well I'm the fantasy killer. I'll eat these aging dreams and use the bodies to climb up to where I deserve to be. I deserve this Resilience Championship. Why do you think it's been 'lost?' They're just waiting to give it to someone worthy. I also deserve this Alpha Cup. It doesn't matter if my opponent is a desecrated priest with a pervert ward or the king of wrestling himself."
"I'm in this thing too, right?"
"Yeah? Well I'll drop you too Oji-san." She elbows him aside and he just laughs. "This is how this Minister and Tommy thing has gotten me. I can go in with a clear mind or spitting lightning, but I'm going to hurt them. This all makes me think about something Master Black Fuji told me before he accepted me into the clan: 'This sport was one of the few ways a woman can earn a living while being an object and proving her worth at the same time.' That is one twisted old man but I understand what he means. Now I bet the Minister and Tommy only see me as something small. To them I'm just a silly student of an idealistic mentor and a body to ogle over and use. Now that I've improved I can show them my potential to be something greater and dangerous. I'm a wrestler and I will keep my standing in this company despite their thoughts and whatever anyone else thinks.
"So if Tommy is just a little bit real, and I don't really believe it, I hope he stays away from the ring before he gets his heart ripped to shreds and devoured. I'm taking your advice, Uncle. I realize that I'm not a leaf going with the flow of the water. I'm the boulder standing strong against the current. I'll let this rage keep me up. The Minister and Tommy just made their beds by fueling it for so long and signing up here. I'm going to burn the heretical guardian at the stake and punish him for even thinking he can succeed in my ring. This fun little whimsical piece of booking is going to backfire on the AWE as I'm not going to be looking to just advance. For all their harassment throughout the year, I'm going to take my pound of flesh!"
Kimitsu stops for a moment and realizes that she is now standing at the edge of the fire escape, gripping at the iron railing, and yelling out into the night. She looks back at Aokigahara and his wide devil's grin with the cold is cutting into her now. She scurries back into her apartment before she gasps leaving Aokigahara chuckling to himself outside.
Tokyo Zombie stared past a younger Kimitsu at the entrance of the dojo with no expression on his tattooed face. She rubbed on the edges of a fresh black eye and adjusted her gi. She shook her head and rushed forward. She tried to hit him with a thrusting kick but his eyes focused in a flash and he moved away. She used the momentum to spin on her heel and tried to hit him with a back spinning elbow but he ducked and when he came back up he was right in her face. She was startled and staggered back before falling. She slammed her fist on the mat. Someone laughed behind the camera.
"There. Now tell me how you got the black eye?" Tokyo finally looked at her and sat down in front of her.
She leaned up and sighed. "I caught my boyfriend with another girl. I broke a bottle over his head and her friends tried to jump me."
"How did you get out of that?"
"I threw some drinks at them then took out my lighter."
"Would you not have burned yourself as well?"
Kimitsu stayed silent for a moment then looked away. His disappointment was almost palpable. "I didn't think about it at the time. I was just angry. I didn't care."
"Such is the way with blind rage."
"Aw, nothing else happened. That associate of yours there got one of his old cop friends to make sure no one pressed any charges. Not that any in that crowd would."
"They would be the type to want revenge, correct?"
"Yeah which is why I am here. Let's go again."
He got up but put out a hand to stop her before she advanced. "Before you attack try to let go of this anger inside you. It starts a cycle of regret. It makes you sloppy. It makes you vulnerable. It makes you weak."
"Totally." She bowed slightly and exhaled slowly when she came up. She rushed at him and went for a headscissors takedown but he cartwheeled out of it. She flew at him for a punch but he simply placed a foot on her waist to keep her back. Then he hit her hard with a lariat and turned his back at her. She let out a hurt groan that turned into a growl. She ran up to him and tried to grab him from behind but he powered out of the hold and twirled around to cross her arms in front of her. He nudged her back with a light headbutt then pulled at her arms and dropped her with another lariat.
"That should be enough for now. You are not focused."
She struggled to get up and roared. "No!"
Tokyo shook his head then sat on her back to pin her down. He pulled her head up and applied a choke hold. He rolled onto his back to get his weight off of her but still kept the hold locked on. She kicked and tried to pry his arm off. "Give up. This is training."
She didn't pay attention and got some room to angle her head down and bite into his forearm. He lifted the arm she bit into to get some room and switched his grip to continue the choke with his other arm. He choked her until she passed out and let his arm go. The camera was set on the ground as he put her on her side and waited for her to come to.
A familiar man stepped into frame and howled. "She's a wild one. How did you find her?"
"We crossed paths and I recognized where she was headed. She still has much to learn."
Kimitsu pauses the video as she hears someone coming up the fire escape steps.
"What are you doing, Uncle Aoki?"
Aokigahara Zombie walks up and pats her on the head then sits on the window sill next to her. He proceeds to roll a cigarette. "I saw you from the other end of the alley and decided this way was faster than going in the building. I always take shortcuts. Deserted side streets and alleys can be fun. The seedier the better. Anyway, I came by to see if you're ready for the trip upstate."
"Yeah I got everything I need."
"And are you ready for the destination? It's the Alpha Cup Tournament!"
"Seems like a nice distraction for the missing title belt."
"Ah, it's just us starting out with a bang and get the company some attention. We've attracted some big names 'cause of this. Some smaller ones too but the more the merrier."
She watched him finish up the cigarette with his rough fingers working delicately and lit it for him when he was finished. "I talked to Tokyo-sensei. He is good. The earthquake didn't affect him much. Talked with my parents too. Tokyo's gonna swing around to check on them."
"Were you still pissed off when you did? He called me up too. He asked me what I was doing to you. Seems to think I'm not a good influence. I wonder why." He laughed up a cloud of smoke.
She looked away at his wink. "It was after exchanging words with that American Tommy. It stayed with me for a while. It is the one time his shit got to me. I usually let it slide and ignore it because it doesn't matter but sometimes it does."
"Everything matters. Might not be so serious. Maybe he has Asperger's or something and doesn't know what he's doing. Just an obsessed kid."
"Maybe he knows exactly what he's doing. Maybe the guy is just doing it to mess with me. As part of his master's plan to-"
"Now you're thinking like his student. Everything is deflection with him. He breezes through life like he's a leaf on the water not letting anything affect him. He's always striving for inner peace as he glides on by. He doesn't live, he just coasts high above us. Judging us all. This guy you're facing, Sinister Minister? He's one of Tokyo's boogeymen, right?"
"Yeah he's on of the Dark Ones."
"Yeah, who isn't? You know he just rides on this image. He's just like a mediocre rapper with a good hype up man. Most of them are."
"I know but he unleashes this guy on me and..."
"Go ahead. Get angry! You will feel better for it. We ain't made for this peace and understanding stuff. We're creatures of conflict. It's how we improve ourselves."
She looks wide-eyed at Aoki and then at the paused video of her passed out on the floor with Tokyo standing over her. She looks from one to the other a few times until she finally shuts the phone's screen off. "And I'm getting so damn sick of it. I don't care if I'll be facing Sinister Minister and only have American Tommy on my mind. It'll just fuel me to keep hurting the Minister until Tommy shuts up. I do want him to know that Tommy affects me and not in a good way. He went too far when doing his tired act after the earthquake and I'm going to put every annoying comment into my punches, every unwanted advance into my kicks, and every public embarrassment into his pain. If it is his plan to get me off my game in some sort of game with Tokyo or just for fun then I'll make it backfire on him."
"What if this isn't one big conspiracy?"
"Then I'll take Tommy's livelihood from him for fun. Sinister Minister only keeps him around so people would think he has a personality. With him he's just a silent creep with an obnoxious mouthpiece for a pet. The dog needs to learn some new tricks. If it keeps going on with the same act then it'll be time to take Old Yeller out back. Pissing me off is the worst thing you can do. He just has to ask most everyone else in the company.
"Because Without the guy he's just another veteran trying to relive his glory days. It's like so many others in AWE. They see someone new like me with some talent and they think they can walk on in with their bigger contracts and get a few more wins to keep the career alive. Well I'm the fantasy killer. I'll eat these aging dreams and use the bodies to climb up to where I deserve to be. I deserve this Resilience Championship. Why do you think it's been 'lost?' They're just waiting to give it to someone worthy. I also deserve this Alpha Cup. It doesn't matter if my opponent is a desecrated priest with a pervert ward or the king of wrestling himself."
"I'm in this thing too, right?"
"Yeah? Well I'll drop you too Oji-san." She elbows him aside and he just laughs. "This is how this Minister and Tommy thing has gotten me. I can go in with a clear mind or spitting lightning, but I'm going to hurt them. This all makes me think about something Master Black Fuji told me before he accepted me into the clan: 'This sport was one of the few ways a woman can earn a living while being an object and proving her worth at the same time.' That is one twisted old man but I understand what he means. Now I bet the Minister and Tommy only see me as something small. To them I'm just a silly student of an idealistic mentor and a body to ogle over and use. Now that I've improved I can show them my potential to be something greater and dangerous. I'm a wrestler and I will keep my standing in this company despite their thoughts and whatever anyone else thinks.
"So if Tommy is just a little bit real, and I don't really believe it, I hope he stays away from the ring before he gets his heart ripped to shreds and devoured. I'm taking your advice, Uncle. I realize that I'm not a leaf going with the flow of the water. I'm the boulder standing strong against the current. I'll let this rage keep me up. The Minister and Tommy just made their beds by fueling it for so long and signing up here. I'm going to burn the heretical guardian at the stake and punish him for even thinking he can succeed in my ring. This fun little whimsical piece of booking is going to backfire on the AWE as I'm not going to be looking to just advance. For all their harassment throughout the year, I'm going to take my pound of flesh!"
Kimitsu stops for a moment and realizes that she is now standing at the edge of the fire escape, gripping at the iron railing, and yelling out into the night. She looks back at Aokigahara and his wide devil's grin with the cold is cutting into her now. She scurries back into her apartment before she gasps leaving Aokigahara chuckling to himself outside.