Post by zombie on Dec 1, 2016 1:32:58 GMT -5
We go to shot of a man's broad back. His tattoo of Guan Yu expands and contracts as the giant of a man slowly whispers for air. Then the body sways and falls back to reveal someone in front of him with his his red hand stretched out. The thud echos in the room and the sound of a young woman yelling incoherently in Japanese in the distance gets louder. Aokighara Zombie slowly lifts his head up to see through his ragged curtain of hair. His face is splattered in blood and plaster. Lines of red come out of his nose and the corner of his left ear onto his neck. He stares at the red fingers with intense confusion on his face and then a placid coolness. We zoom out a bit more and he shifts his weight on the edge of an overturned table and rests his arm on his knee. A few framed pictures of Chinese movie stars barely hang on the wall behind him at odd angles. He looks around in front of him and grins with red teeth.
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Kimitsu and Aokigahara enjoy a meal in a Chinatown restaurant. The place is buzzing with activity as waiters dart around the tables fulfilling orders and the late night crowd rushes to get their seats. The Zombies are in a round corner booth sitting next to each other. Kimitsu has a few empty bowls and bottles piled up in front of her and she hastily works on gutting two more, her chopsticks moving in a flash. Aokigahara eats a piece of meat slowly while in awe.
"Hey, are you even getting a chance to taste it?"
She looks at him with puffy cheeks then chews quickly and gulps the food down. "What?"
"Well, you're eating so fast that I was just wondering if you are even getting any flavor. Do you even know what you got?"
"Of course I do. I ordered it, didn't I? I'm just hungry, Uncle. I trained hard today and I'm gonna train even harder tomorrow. The tournament is a few days away. I need all the fuel I can get. Hey... you eating that?"
She reaches over to his side of the table and he blocks her chopsticks with his. "Of course I am and I'll even enjoy it too. You young people are always rushing. You act like you don't have the time to experience anything."
"By rushing we can experience more." She smirks.
"Yeah, smartass, but are you really going through it? I'm eating these duck tongues and I'm savoring the whole process. I can taste everything from the last speck of spice to the butcher's first cut. It is just like fighting."
"Don't get all philosophical on me, Uncle Aoki. This is food and that is wrestling."
"It's one and the same. You are just like my opponent in the Alpha Cup Tournament. Owen Salvo is only looking at the bigger picture. He sees me as his first big opponent and he knows that I am a challenge. That is good, but then he just thinks about beating me and moving on to the next one. He is only looking at the beginning." Aokigahara taps one of his full plates. "Also at the end." He points at one of Kimitsu's empty stack of bowls. "Never at the match itself." He takes a dumpling from his side of the table and eats it like it was the tastiest morsel of food in the world. "Mmmmm."
Kimitsu laughs and almost chokes.
"That guy's alright. It's always nice to break in the new ones. I can see how far he is in his training. Know whether he's taking it seriously or just wasting my time. If AWE wants me to become the gatekeeper then so be it. Only the worthy can move on in."
Kimitsu regains her composure. "He don't know what he's getting into."
"That's good. It's part of the experience. I'll be the mentor he wishes he had and put him through the whole process of fighting. I'll take this responsibility seriously. I'm going to make him forget all about the ending of the match and focus on the moment."
"How?"
"Blinding pain of course! I'm the greatest chef in the world when it comes to that stuff, as you know. It'll be special too. Salvo will want to see what it means to face a man who's been around the ring a few times and I'll indulge him. Every match I have I infect something of myself in the mind of my opponent. With every ache, bruise and scar I sign my autograph into legend. I remind them what it means to be a fighter and sacrifice yourself for something great even when I lose. I'm like a barbed stinger in the meat of your arm only digging deeper every time you try to take me out."
"Owen thinks you're a fucking pushover, though."
"Good. The surprise on his face will be enjoyable. They are always simple pleasures when I test him and see what he is made of. I'll let him get his licks in so I can know what these new wrestlers are made of in America. Ultimately I have to shut him down. It is too important that he not win this match."
"Why?"
"It is all about that friend of his, Ken. From what I saw he is just a grimy, slimy, sluggish, thuggish, mad, bad guy. He's one of those veterans that acts like he's helping you out but he's only bleeding your fame dry and taking all the money too. I want people like Owen to live with no regrets. So I have to make sure he loses this match. I know I shouldn't care if I lose because the mission is the battle itself but this time if I beat Salvo badly enough then maybe this Ken will leave him be. That is very important for me. I can give this guy his career."
"If you want to affect people like that then why do you take so much punishment too? Why not just crush him from the start?"
"For the same reason we add the tien tsin peppers to our food and drink this snake wine. There is no point in eating without tasting the food, and good flavor with a kick to it makes you feel alive. There are no good things worth pursuing that don't give you at least a little discomfort. That's why I am so rough with my opponents. I prod them on to try and urge them past their point of mercy. I want to experience their violence and find out who they are on the inside. People reveal a lot about themselves when they stop caring if they hurt you. It's all part of the fun."
Kimitsu nods and sips from the wine then withdraws with a wince.
"Oh, by the way, it's also why I brought you here to this restaurant on this night."
"Huh?" She stops chewing and looks around. A wave of comprehension comes over her as she notices that most of the restauant patrons are young people with flashy clothes, spiky hair, and tattoos. One group seems to be throwing a lot of money around while entertaining some girls. She smiles and pushes aside her plate. "Just like when I was starting out, huh?"
"You do offer a nice distraction but this is a little different. Consider this training. Now throw one of your plates over your right shoulder."
Kimitsu tosses the plate and Aokigahara watches it land on the floor in front of the biggest Asian he's ever seen. He doesn't seem to want to hide his tattoos with his shirt buttoned only half way. He kicks the shards over and motions for his friends to advance. Kimitsu keeps her eyes forward. She squirms with anticipation as everyone freezes and four sets of stomping approaches them. When someone puts a hand on her shoulder Aokigahara flips the table over and Kimitsu jumps on her seat and kicks the man away. They run out from the booth with excited expressions like they just got past the turnstiles at Six Flags for Fright Fest.
-----------------------------
We continue to zoom out. Aokigahara lets out a low booming laugh. Bodies are laid out around the booth and there are broken plates, tables, and chairs littered among them. His laughter rises and the damage becomes worse as we keep panning out and little pools of blood can be seen. Waitresses try to hold up a man and escort him out. Round indents are imprinted on the walls. Kimitsu struts onto the frame as she dances on the bar top with a broken chair leg in one hand and a bottle of rum in the other. She is the one yelling threats out in her language as she saunters back and forth. She nudges a man off the bar with her foot and he falls to the floor. Aokigahara's laugh is now a shrill alarm over the stillness of the wartorn restaurant. He is bowling over with mirth and then we cut to a half second shot of him covered in blood in the dark with a stern grimace before ending completely.
-----------------------------
Kimitsu and Aokigahara enjoy a meal in a Chinatown restaurant. The place is buzzing with activity as waiters dart around the tables fulfilling orders and the late night crowd rushes to get their seats. The Zombies are in a round corner booth sitting next to each other. Kimitsu has a few empty bowls and bottles piled up in front of her and she hastily works on gutting two more, her chopsticks moving in a flash. Aokigahara eats a piece of meat slowly while in awe.
"Hey, are you even getting a chance to taste it?"
She looks at him with puffy cheeks then chews quickly and gulps the food down. "What?"
"Well, you're eating so fast that I was just wondering if you are even getting any flavor. Do you even know what you got?"
"Of course I do. I ordered it, didn't I? I'm just hungry, Uncle. I trained hard today and I'm gonna train even harder tomorrow. The tournament is a few days away. I need all the fuel I can get. Hey... you eating that?"
She reaches over to his side of the table and he blocks her chopsticks with his. "Of course I am and I'll even enjoy it too. You young people are always rushing. You act like you don't have the time to experience anything."
"By rushing we can experience more." She smirks.
"Yeah, smartass, but are you really going through it? I'm eating these duck tongues and I'm savoring the whole process. I can taste everything from the last speck of spice to the butcher's first cut. It is just like fighting."
"Don't get all philosophical on me, Uncle Aoki. This is food and that is wrestling."
"It's one and the same. You are just like my opponent in the Alpha Cup Tournament. Owen Salvo is only looking at the bigger picture. He sees me as his first big opponent and he knows that I am a challenge. That is good, but then he just thinks about beating me and moving on to the next one. He is only looking at the beginning." Aokigahara taps one of his full plates. "Also at the end." He points at one of Kimitsu's empty stack of bowls. "Never at the match itself." He takes a dumpling from his side of the table and eats it like it was the tastiest morsel of food in the world. "Mmmmm."
Kimitsu laughs and almost chokes.
"That guy's alright. It's always nice to break in the new ones. I can see how far he is in his training. Know whether he's taking it seriously or just wasting my time. If AWE wants me to become the gatekeeper then so be it. Only the worthy can move on in."
Kimitsu regains her composure. "He don't know what he's getting into."
"That's good. It's part of the experience. I'll be the mentor he wishes he had and put him through the whole process of fighting. I'll take this responsibility seriously. I'm going to make him forget all about the ending of the match and focus on the moment."
"How?"
"Blinding pain of course! I'm the greatest chef in the world when it comes to that stuff, as you know. It'll be special too. Salvo will want to see what it means to face a man who's been around the ring a few times and I'll indulge him. Every match I have I infect something of myself in the mind of my opponent. With every ache, bruise and scar I sign my autograph into legend. I remind them what it means to be a fighter and sacrifice yourself for something great even when I lose. I'm like a barbed stinger in the meat of your arm only digging deeper every time you try to take me out."
"Owen thinks you're a fucking pushover, though."
"Good. The surprise on his face will be enjoyable. They are always simple pleasures when I test him and see what he is made of. I'll let him get his licks in so I can know what these new wrestlers are made of in America. Ultimately I have to shut him down. It is too important that he not win this match."
"Why?"
"It is all about that friend of his, Ken. From what I saw he is just a grimy, slimy, sluggish, thuggish, mad, bad guy. He's one of those veterans that acts like he's helping you out but he's only bleeding your fame dry and taking all the money too. I want people like Owen to live with no regrets. So I have to make sure he loses this match. I know I shouldn't care if I lose because the mission is the battle itself but this time if I beat Salvo badly enough then maybe this Ken will leave him be. That is very important for me. I can give this guy his career."
"If you want to affect people like that then why do you take so much punishment too? Why not just crush him from the start?"
"For the same reason we add the tien tsin peppers to our food and drink this snake wine. There is no point in eating without tasting the food, and good flavor with a kick to it makes you feel alive. There are no good things worth pursuing that don't give you at least a little discomfort. That's why I am so rough with my opponents. I prod them on to try and urge them past their point of mercy. I want to experience their violence and find out who they are on the inside. People reveal a lot about themselves when they stop caring if they hurt you. It's all part of the fun."
Kimitsu nods and sips from the wine then withdraws with a wince.
"Oh, by the way, it's also why I brought you here to this restaurant on this night."
"Huh?" She stops chewing and looks around. A wave of comprehension comes over her as she notices that most of the restauant patrons are young people with flashy clothes, spiky hair, and tattoos. One group seems to be throwing a lot of money around while entertaining some girls. She smiles and pushes aside her plate. "Just like when I was starting out, huh?"
"You do offer a nice distraction but this is a little different. Consider this training. Now throw one of your plates over your right shoulder."
Kimitsu tosses the plate and Aokigahara watches it land on the floor in front of the biggest Asian he's ever seen. He doesn't seem to want to hide his tattoos with his shirt buttoned only half way. He kicks the shards over and motions for his friends to advance. Kimitsu keeps her eyes forward. She squirms with anticipation as everyone freezes and four sets of stomping approaches them. When someone puts a hand on her shoulder Aokigahara flips the table over and Kimitsu jumps on her seat and kicks the man away. They run out from the booth with excited expressions like they just got past the turnstiles at Six Flags for Fright Fest.
-----------------------------
We continue to zoom out. Aokigahara lets out a low booming laugh. Bodies are laid out around the booth and there are broken plates, tables, and chairs littered among them. His laughter rises and the damage becomes worse as we keep panning out and little pools of blood can be seen. Waitresses try to hold up a man and escort him out. Round indents are imprinted on the walls. Kimitsu struts onto the frame as she dances on the bar top with a broken chair leg in one hand and a bottle of rum in the other. She is the one yelling threats out in her language as she saunters back and forth. She nudges a man off the bar with her foot and he falls to the floor. Aokigahara's laugh is now a shrill alarm over the stillness of the wartorn restaurant. He is bowling over with mirth and then we cut to a half second shot of him covered in blood in the dark with a stern grimace before ending completely.