Post by 高村謙信 on Mar 1, 2014 9:45:53 GMT -5
Rev·e·la·tion (noun) - a surprising and previously unknown fact, especially one that is made known in a dramatic way.
SCENE 1
A lone figure sat curled up in the corner as the sob of a woman echoed through the hallway from the master bedroom and into the dark room that the lonely figure brooded in. Sobbing and more sobbing. He only wished there was something he could do. Down the hallway, a man was shouting in his native language, Japanese. Anger flared in his voice as a slap cracked like a whip across the woman's face. She was hysterically crying now. There had been threats to her son, but she wouldn't allow such a thing to happen. This had become commonplace over the past few years. Each time a young Kenshin Takamura found himself trying to gain enough courage to confront the man who believed he had the right to knock around his mother. Alas, he failed her over and over and over again. This failure only wounded him more.
Innocence drifted away with his tears down his smooth, youthful cheeks as his body lurched, trying to hold back the impending bawling that threatened to overtake him. He sniffed, trying to get angry, but felt only sorrow... for himself. Kenshin hated himself for such selfishness. One day, one day, he vowed to himself, one day he would be able to take on his step-father. What would it take though? Suddenly he felt the wall shake behind him and the groan of his mother as she was lying against the wall. His eyes widened with shock and terror as tears streamed down his cheeks. He whispered to himself in his native language.
Kenshin Takamura: "Be a man. Do as father would do."
His body began to shake as he could hear his step-father spewing untruths about his mother, calling her all sorts of unbecoming nouns. The lack of honor of that man was despicable, unspeakable, and it required punishment. It required that punishment now.
"K-kenshin, get-t up, n-now."
At that moment, young Kenshin's legs just wouldn't move, but why? His mother was in danger and here he was sitting around feeling sorry for himself. Anger toward himself had risen. Once again, his body began to shake, but this time for a different reason: hate. Pure hatred. Not only for the man beating his mother, but himself for sitting by idly.
Meanwhile, in the master bedroom, Kenshin's step-father, Shinji, gripped his mother's bruised arm roughly, tearing a fearful scream from her lips, as he ripped her to a vertical base. She hunched over, feeling the pain that had spread over her whole body from his relentless beating. Her eyes didn't dare meet his wild, drunken gaze as an angry sneer regarded her. He questioned her as he yanked her over to him, moving his free hand to clutch her throat, pressing harshly upon the sides of her neck as he did. She gagged a bit as he began his inquisition.
Shinji: "Why don't you meet my eyes? Look at me!"
She still didn't dare to look at him as she kept her eyes low, but his thumb and index finger forced her chin up with a simple press of the pressure points beneath her jawline.
"Answer me, bitch!"
Kenshin's mother, Keiko, fought off the sob attack that threatened her. She bit her lip, fighting it, not wanting to worry her son in the other room. He wasn't in the other room anymore though.
"Look at me when I'm talk-!"
A loud, painful sounding ping sent Shinji sprawling to the bed. His hands released Kenshin's mother causing her to collapse to her knees, shaking and sobbing. Those motherly eyes glanced around frantically only to see what she feared. Her young son, Kenshin, with an aluminum baseball bat in his hands. Kenshin's hands were shook like an unstoppable earthquake; he couldn't control it. His widened, fearful eyes were focused directly on her.
Kenshin Takamura: "M-mother..."
That was all he could say before he dropped the bat and broke into a fit of crying. The sobs just came as he lurched into a hunched position. This time he wasn't even fighting the tears. He couldn't. His mother was there though despite her injuries with her arms encasing him like armor from the outside world. She kissed him compassionately. Her baby boy. Kenshin knew this wasn't over. He knew he was doomed, but, for once, he didn't care what would happen to him.
SCENE 2
No, Kenshin didn't get away with his actions that night because Shinji would not be denied his payback, but it had been worth it to young Takamura. Kenshin had sustained many bruises, two black eyes, and a broken nose at the hands of Shinji, but it had stopped the tyrant from hurting his mother. That had been the only important part to Kenshin. No longer would Kenshin Takamura allow pain or fear to cause him to sway from his honor. He vowed to himself then and there that he would always do the honorable thing in any situation. Not because someone told him to, but because it was the right thing. He knew people wouldn't understand, but he understood. His father understood too. Upon seeing the injuries Kenshin had recieved at Shinji's hands, Kenshin's father, Kaito, was infuriated, but his face would never give that away. That's the kind of man he was: calm, collected, and silent. Those seemingly ageless eyes of his father's regarded him until the impending question arrived.
Kaito Takamura: "How did this happen, Kenshin?"
Kenshin feared what his father would think when he told him, but he had to honor his father by telling him what he wanted to know. He did not want to be disowned by his father though as he was afraid he would be disappointed in him. Tears welled up in the young teenager's eyes as he fought the urge to cry. His father simply watched him in silence. That was his way. Kenshin knew his father loved him. He had just always been kind of distant.
Kenshin Takamura: "Step-father. Step-father did this to me, father. I was trying to defend mother..."
Kenshin's words trailed off at the end as he felt as though he had said too much, but his father remained silent for what seemed like a century. Kaito's son feared his reaction as he brushed his sleeve across his brusied facial features, feeling the burn of his bruises biting back at him as he did. What was his father thinking?
Kaito Takamura: "You did well to stand up to him, Kenshin. I am very proud of you."
A gasp escaped Kenshin's body, forcing the air from his lungs. His dad had never said such a thing to him. Kaito wasn't finished speaking though.
"This honorable act tells me that you are finally ready to train alongside me. I require something in return though, Kenshin..."
Kenshin didn't even have to speak to ask the obvious question. His brows turned outward, displaying clearly his inquisitive thoughts.
"If I teach you, you must continue to honor your mother by protecting her because I will not fight this battle for you. One day, she will understand that she must leave him, but she must make that decision herself. You, Kenshin, must accept the burden of being her bodyguard until such a time. You must also always hold your sense of honor in high regard no matter what happens to you. Some might try to convince you that honor is out of date or chivalry is dead, but, son, do not listen to them. Do not ever let anything compromise your honor because once you do, it is lost and quite hard to recover."
Something about hearing his father say that eased his mind because suddenly that path was quite clear to him. He accepted it willingly, but didn't fear his step-father or disapproval from his father. For the next few months, Kenshin would train with his father despite the bruises and black eyes he would recieve compliments of his step-father. It didn't hurt anymore. In fact, at times, he welcomed the pain. Yes, his step-father could still over-power him, but the time was soon coming that he wouldn't be able to anymore.
Eventually, his mother did divorce Shinji, but Kenshin's father would never see that day as he passed away from cancer. Kenshin could feel the spirits of his ancestors smiling upon him, with his father leading the pack. He had accomplished what he had hoped he had the strength to do for so long. Kenshin wouldn't ever betray the vow that he made that night. Ever. Even when he broke into professional wrestling, he remained true to himself and his vow, keeping honor above all.
This honor was something Kenshin's opponents always looked down upon. They always claimed he was just pandering to the fans, but, in truth, Kenshin Takamura's honor had been woven into the very moral fibers of his being. Unfortunately, most did not understand that because it wasn't Kenshin's place to tell his sob stories. That would be dishonorable to his mother and father.
SCENE 3
The scene opened up into a dark room. This room was nearly pitch black. A dark silhouette stood defiant in the darkness as if daring for the demons of his life and others to strike him down. The lights slowly came on around Kenshin Takamura, who was standing calmly in the center of a simple conference room no doubt at whatever hotel Takamura had been staying at in Lubbock, Texas. His eyes burned the lens with the intensity that resonated from his body through his disposition.
Kenshin Takamura: "Noah Mackenzie, we find ourselves in an unending loop into oblivion. A stalemate if you will. You see, we can talk and try to analyze one another all we want, but there is only one simple answer to all our issues with each other. We don't know one another. I have tried to analyze what you're thinking, but quite clearly you do not see what I am saying about you. For all I know, I could be wrong, but when Massacre arrives, our pasts won't matter. Your unlimited championship collection won't have any bearing on the outcome of our match. The reason why I choose to act honorably no matter what won't affect who walks away with the OCW Internet Championship on Monday night. There are, however, a few important facts that WILL come into play..."
The Japanese wrestler paused momentarily to had a bit of suspense to what he had to say before continuing once more.
"Desire. I do not speak of the your desire for Miss Miranda each night. As one professional wrestler to another, I know I don't even need to explain what I'm talking about or even why I'm talking about desire. Each wrestler comes into this business to be a success whether it's to win championships, live a dream, or just to prove that they still have what it takes to beat the best like you, Mackenzie. That desire keeps us driven and ready to do what it takes to attain whatever it is that we seek in this business. I believe the cliché you used was 'dog eat dog.' Yes, you could say that, but that brings on the question. What else does it take to be a champion? Skill? Of course, but just raw skill doesn't help you reach the time because even the most skilled end up burning themselves out like a candle at the end of its wick. One must have drive and willpower to do what it takes to become a contender in this business. There are so many that actually succeed in this. Unfortunately, for many, many more though, they fall short of the standard and are stuck roaming in mediocrity for eternity..."
A pause allowed Kenshin's audience to take in the meaning of his words before he once again continued.
"Neither one of us are in that group as we both are contenders. Over the past few days, you have mistaken my words for saying that you weren't a worthy contender. I do not believe you took the right path to get yourself in this match, but I do believe that you would have been in this match either way because you are the best contender... other than myself. On Monday night, we will find out which one of us belongs in the second tier group of contenders and which of us belongs in the small group of champions in this world, but, Mackenzie, you seem to keep telling yourself that your violence is going to make Monday night's main event a walk in the park. Shame on you for such arrogance. I cannot say I'm surprised though because those rows upon rows of championship belts tend to get in your head, but beware of complacency, Noah. Do not under-estimate me just because I don't feel I need to share my life story with you. I have reasons for everything I do just like you have your reasons for the way you live your life and fight your fights. You aren't the only one who has seen terrors and fought horrors. Get it through your head that those are trivial facts inside the ring because all that matters is who gets their hand raised in the end, not what title they won ten years ago or what formed the man that you are today. Those are pieces of data reserved for a Blu-Ray disc about your life."
"So, Mackenzie, leave the past in the past, embrace the future when it comes, but, for now, let's fight in the present. We are obviously the two athletes that belong in this match, but only one can walk away with that Internet Championship around their waist. You haven't seen even a tenth of what I'm capable of, Mackenzie, yet you still assume that my abilities are sorely limited. It's going to be such a shame, for you, when you're lying on the canvas mat looking up at me while I hoist the Internet Championship over my head in victory wondering what you could have done differently to change the outcome of our match. Since you like clichés so much, here's one for you, hind-sight's always twenty-twenty, but it's even worse when you know that there was one simple thing you could have changed that could have altered the outcome of the match. Noah Mackenzie, you will make a mistake, and I will capitalize on that mistake when you make it. Even after I beat you, I'll still let you walk around calling yourself the best in the world. You and I will both know the fine print though. The asterisk that will plague your accomplishments and your psyche. Your mind will tell you what you don't want to say aloud, you might be the best in the world, but, Noah Mackenzie..."
Once again, Kenshin stopped speaking as the camera panned in a bit closer to him. It almost seemed like everything stopped while the world waited for Kenshin to finish what he was saying. The earth seemed as though it stood still for that split second or two. Complete silence.
"Kenshin Takamura is the best in the universe."
Kenshin's gaze never lowered or moved for a moment until finally he walked past the camera, leaving the room empty. After a moment more, the lights shut off before the feed cut over to the #TsunamiWarning screen before cutting completely.
