Post by 高村謙信 on Feb 26, 2014 21:51:12 GMT -5
SCENE 1
Slowly "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey died down over the PA system. Kenshin Takamura had actually gotten a surprisingly big ovation for his performance. No, it wasn't perfect, but it was pretty good, but just like his energy during a wrestling match, he showed so much spirit that people in the bar couldn't help but cheer him on during the time he was singing karaoke. With a big grin on his face, he stepped down off the stage. Random people, males and females, gave him high-fives as he walked back over to join MJ and Finn Bell. MJ lifted her hand up to give Kenshin a high-five, a large smirk on her features.
Kenshin Takamura: "I'm no Steve Perry, but it looks like the crowd doesn't mind."
MJ Bell: "That was awesome. You should give up wrestling and join a band."
MJ's tone dripped with sarcasm.
Finn Bell: "If I were you I'd keep my day job, Kenshin."
MJ shook her empty glass, lifted up two fingers, in the direction of the bartender to signal they needed more drinks. When she looked back, she gave Kenshin a wink. Who was about to speak until MJ cut him off, she already seemed a bit tipsy to him anyway. Kenshin was working on his buzz, but wasn't quite there yet.
MJ Bell: "Don't listen to him. I think you did a great job."
Kenshin let out a loud laugh because he definitely agreed with Finn on this because he had a day job that he rather enjoyed. MJ's eyes were drawn to the bartender as he arrived with two more drinks, but as she was sliding Kenshin's drink over to him, her brother stole her own, leaving her without a drink. Since she was listening to Kenshin, she hadn't yet noticed that her drink had been commandeered.
Kenshin Takamura: "I think I'll go with Finn on this one, MJ. Not sure I could be the front man of a band. Plus, my day job, or should I say professional wrestling, is what I'm good at. I think I'll stick with that for a while if it's all the same to you."
Finn Bell: "I'll drink to that."
MJ turned toward Finn to notice that he had her drink right as the two men clanked their glasses together.
MJ Bell: "Hey, that's my-"
Right in front of her, they both downed their respective drinks as if they were drinking water while parched out in a desert. Upon finishing the glasses, both of them slammed their glasses down on the bar almost in unison.
Finn Bell: "Thanks, sis."
MJ Bell: "You two suck."
MJ propped her chin against the palm of her hand, but she had very little reason to pout because she heard a drink clank down onto the bar near her elbow. She looked down at the drink then back to see a man. He had a charming smirk but his intentions were clear. She lifted her chin from her palm with a half smile. As Kenshin and Finn took the guy in, they noticed he was dressed like a stereotypical 'bro.'
"Uh, thanks."
Kenshin stayed out of it as did Finn for now because MJ could handle herself. As they turned away from the specific situation having to do with MJ, they ordered more drinks from the bartender as he passed. Meanwhile, the 'broski' took a seat beside MJ, resting his arms across the bar so that one arm was resting on a drink for himself that he brought over that happened to be near MJ's drink.
Broski: "Hey, the name's Ryan. What's yours, beautiful?"
From what Kenshin could hear of the conversation, it was actually pretty pathetic how thick this guy was laying it on. He minded his own business for now though. When Ryan called MJ beautiful, she chuckled which, in turn, caused Ryan to give her a sly grin.
MJ Bell: "My name is Madeline but please call me MJ."
After MJ answered she looked away from him as her hand rubbed the back of her neck before her hand grasped the drink Ryan had set down for her. She ran her finger along the rim of the glass as she waited for Ryan to speak again. In the mean time, Kenshin was able to keep track of MJ's body language out of the corner of his eye. She seemed a little tense, but he wouldn't step in for now. He went to return his attention to Finn, who he didn't notice was actually staring at him. The Japanese wrestler's was distracted before he could fully turn to Finn though as Ryan spoke once more.
Ryan: "Nice to meet you, MJ. That was pretty cool what your boyfriend did earlier. He sang Journey pretty well."
It was pretty obvious that this guy was feeling out MJ. He knew Kenshin wasn't her boyfriend, he was just figuring out what he was to her. She gave him a grin but her eyes scanned the guy's face only to spy that over-confident smirk plastered upon his face. She noticed that he had a perfectly trimmed soul patch right under his lip and two perfectly groomed sideburns. It was almost disgusting how much attention this guy paid to his own image.
MJ Bell: "Mhm, he did a good job. Did you hear me sing?"
After she had finished speaking she finally took a drink from the glass Ryan had given her. It appeared that this had happened to her before; most likely the same situation, but with her brother Finn. She couldn't be held responsible for what they might assume about their relationship. MJ avoided giving the guy any indications of the relationship between Kenshin and herself. Ryan kept that douche bag smirk on his face. As Finn glanced over at him, he couldn't help but think about how much he wanted to knock it right off his face and make him look like Picasso, but he controlled himself.
Ryan: "Yeah, if you don't already have a band, you really should start thinking about it. Anyway, what do you say we go have some drinks together just you and me?"
Kenshin couldn't resist the urge to turn just enough that he could see Ryan out of the corner of his eye, waiting for MJ's answer. Oddly, he felt a bit of a protective urge running up through his form, but fought the urge to get in they guy's face. Patience, Kenshin, patience. MJ was a big girl after all. If she wanted to go hang out with this guy, that was her business. The Japanese wrestler's jawline visibly tightened, but other than that, he made no movement. The bartender returned with Finn's and Kenshin's drinks right on time, giving Kenshin a bit of a distraction as he took a sip from his drink, keeping his ears peeled for MJ's response.
MJ Bell: "Nah'. I'm in love with my current job."
Without a missing beat, MJ pointed in Kenshin and Finn's direction.
"Yeah, no thanks. I-"
Ryan: "C'mon, babe. You won't be disappointed."
Ryan grabbed a hold of MJ's hand rather roughly and jerked it towards him. She was nearly fell from her chair and shot Ryan a glare as she tugged her hand away from him.
MJ Bell: "Do not call me 'babe.'"
Ryan: "A'ight, beautiful. Come on, it'll be fun."
MJ Bell: "I said no."
Ryan moved in close to MJ which caused her to stand up from her chair. At this point, Kenshin and Finn had noticed the situation that was going down and had already decided to act. As Ryan went to grab at MJ again, Kenshin firmly gripped MJ's wrist and pulled her back behind him where Finn stepped in front of her. Meanwhile, Kenshin fluidly moved in to trap Ryan's arm in a Mach armlock technique. At this point, Ryan was in shock, and pain, but the Japanese wrestler's mouth was dangerously close to the man's ear.
Kenshin Takamura: "Listen closely, Ryan, MJ gave you a simple answer. She is not interested so I recommend that you return to where ever you came from and leave her alone for the rest of the night."
It didn't matter what he did for the rest of the night because the bouncers had taken exception to what had just happened and they were already rushing toward the tussle. Kenshin had already said his piece though so he released Ryan while shooting him a stare filled with a controlled anger as if daring him to try another thing. Kenshin lifted his hands up, showing the bouncers that he was leaving without any trouble. The trio paid their tab then walked out of the bar as Ryan was just spewing obscenities after Kenshin, who didn't care what he said by continuing to walk away. The Japanese wrestler had no intention of causing trouble, but rather preventing the trouble for his friend, MJ. For that, it seemed, Finn and MJ were grateful...
SCENE 2
After having arrived in Texas, Kenshin Takamura had stopped by the gymnasium of the junior college that he would be facing Noah Mackenzie for the OCW Internet Championship. The gym was completely empty save for the Japanese wrestler. His eyes were checking out his surroundings.
Kenshin Takamura: "Soon this gymnasium will be filled with many, many roaring fans of OCW. It's only a few days away and Noah Mackenzie couldn't be more prepared or even more confident for that matter."
Takamura was turning away from the camera until he referred to Noah's confidence at which point he turned back toward the camera on his heels.
"Mackenzie claims he's going to do so many things when Massacre rolls around, but ultimately all he has really done is move his mouth and flaunt his girlfriend. What was her name? See how important that was, Mackenzie? Come Monday, what difference does she make to whether or not you walk out of this gymnasium with the Internet Championship? I will tell you one thing, she sure knows how to utter a catchphrase another thing you wouldn't ever win without. You're on a roll now, Mackenzie. Rolling like a boulder down the mountain. What happens when you hit a fissure, Mackenzie? Do I even need to point out the answer to you, Mackenzie? Maybe I do since your actions display just how dense you are mentally. Here you are rolling downhill, not a problem in the world and everything is going according to plan. EVERYTHING is going according to plan! Up until the point where you hit that fissure, Mackenzie, which sends your foolish ass off course. At Massacre, I am that fissure! Forget Brianna Casablancas. I need you to remember a few things though. I want you to remember a few things that you said... Are you listening closely, Noah Mackenzie?"
The camera panned into Kenshin Takamura's face, who was looking directly into the lens, pausing for a moment for Noah to pay close attention and forget his girlfriend for a moment.
"You told me, you told the rest of OCW that you wanted catchphrases put aside. I can do that for you, but why can't you? What did you end your long, tedious trash-talk with? A catchphrase. You know what though, Noah, I'm okay with this because it's just a small example of the hypocracy you live. I preach honor in professional wrestling because that is a way of life for me. It always has been. You believe you're one of a kind, Mackenzie, but history repeats itself. You call yourself a God, Noah, but you're nothing but a common tyrant. Through out history, tyrants have been quite common, but they all hold one thing in common. Do you know what that one thing is, Noah?"
Kenshin's hands moved across his chest as he took on an aggressive posture. His legs were shoulder-width apart, his disposition: confident.
"They all fell because of a mistake. You, the tyrant, will fall just as your forefathers who came before you. History repeats itself, Mackenzie. It is a simple fact of life. While we're talking about life lessons, I do not think you understand the word 'honor.' Do everyone a favor, do not speak of things you do not know. You tend to sound like an imbecile and you didn't disappoint on that aspect. You believe wrestling is about one thing: a resume. If that is really what you believe then you need to take a nice, long step back from what you are doing, Mackenzie. Take a moment to breathe in the air around you and think about everything you said in your last promo. You went from saying you aren't in this business for this, but you are in it for that exact same thing. Saying something in different terms doesn't make it a different thing. Remember that. You have kept count of how many times you won this title one this many continents, in however many countries, and your name is in so many Hall of Fames so what are you still trying to prove? Why are acting so dishonorably? That screams out that you want attention to me. You seek acceptance from everyone, Mackenzie, that is why you seek the attention of those around you. That is why you feared being a cliff note in this company. I can tell you with confidence that I, Kenshin Takamura, am no cliff note nor do I fear that anyone believes that I might be. I, honestly, do not care what you take me for, that's the difference between us, Noah Mackenzie."
A devious smirk appeared on Kenshin's face as the camera panned up a bit closer to him.
"That isn't to say we have nothing in common, Mackenzie. We have a very big thing in common. This business. We share the common goal to succeed in this business, and before you go on another tirade about how successful you have been in professional wrestling, think about why you are still competing. Why do you continue to put your body through it if you have held so many titles, been in so many Hall of Fames, and had so many honors with your name on it? Because you seek glory that is why you accepted that opportunity that Gavin Reed made available for you. I, too, seek the honor of glory and being the Internet Champion, but it is you, Mackenzie who will be left wanting and seeking glory in vain at Massacre because, Noah Mackenzie... I am that fissure."
Immediately after that last line, Kenshin Takamura turned on his feet and walked off toward the exit to the gym. He pushed open the door and walked out, leaving the door to slam shut behind him as the scene faded to black. For a moment, #TsunamiWarning displayed on the screen before finally fading to black for good...
