Post by 高村謙信 on Mar 17, 2014 21:00:21 GMT -5
PROLOGUE
“Kenshin, watashi no musuko wa, watashi wa chōdo watashi wa anata o hokori koto o, watashi wa anata o aishite iru koto o shitte hoshī.”
“Kenshin, my son, I just want you to know that I am proud of you and that I love you.”
If Kenshin Takamura meditated on the one thing he missed most in his life, it would be the very man that spoke those words to him: his father. The man had been a legendary martial artist and professional wrestler in his own right. Kenshin had actually learned much of what he now knew from the man. Despite his sometimes cold and stern nature, Kenshin always knew that his father loved him and supported him in his endeavors. Not once did he ever doubt that. Though there were times when Kenshin believed his father to be a cruel man… but he would later discover that he had his reasons.
Even before Kenshin’s step-father, Shinji, pushed him to his eventual breaking point, Kenshin had learned some basic defense techniques from his father to ensure that his son might be able to fend off the common bully, but once Shinji came around, Kaito knew his son would need him to one day teach him to be a true warrior of the code of honor to defeat the evil that Kaito had seen Shinji bring into Kenshin’s life. It truly angered Kaito, but Kenshin needed to learn for himself. Keiko, Kenshin’s mother, needed to make the decision for herself.
Kenshin, after a long time of allowing his mother to put up with Shinji’s treacherous ways, finally took a stand. That was when Kaito knew his son was ready to learn to really be a man. He would teach him, but there was a catch...
SCENE 1
“Wrong!”
Crack! The sound rang out followed up by a shriek of pure agony.
“Stand! NOW!”
The voice which commanded seemed to have no pity for whomever it was directing its command towards. The voice was from Kaito Takamura, the father of Kenshin Takamura, and, sure enough, attempting to push himself to his feet was a young Kenshin. His father stood over him with long, sword-like bamboo stick in his hand; commonly referred to as a kendo stick. With a simple look upon his downed son, a cluster of red welts littered the young Takamura’s dorsal side. Tears had welled up in his eyes as he looked up at his father for some sign of sympathy. He would get none.
Kaito Takamura: “Get on your feet, Kenshin.”
The command came in a cold, dark, threatening tone as a fearful Kenshin, desperate now, shoved himself up almost as if he was attempting a push-up. A bead of sweat fell from his brow, splashing down upon the dojo floor beneath him, sending even smaller beads to splash out around the original bead. As Kaito moved to strike his student’s back once more, he found that it would not be necessary since Kenshin had finally returned to his standing base.
“Hm.”
That was all Kaito said; no more, no less. His cold, dark eyes examined his student as he moved into a horse stance. The kendo stick found itself stowed in Kaito’s sash at his side as he watched Kenshin’s every movement. He could see the fear in Kenshin’s eyes. He would be rid of that soon enough.
“You must not fear the pain, Kenshin, or you will flinch. If you flinch, you will fail.”
As Kaito watched, Kenshin widened his horse stance, dropping down low. He ignored the tears that had streamed down his cheeks and focused as his hands balled gently yet strongly into fists then dropped palm up at his sides. It almost seemed as if he was resting his hands upon his thighs, but he wasn’t.
Next thing Kenshin knew, Kaito’s kendo stick was swinging at him. He had to hold his ground. “Don’t flinch, Kenshin,” he told himself in his head, but it was no use. As he had told himself that, he dropped back out of his stance and nearly fell after losing his balance. Kaito had already noticed the mistake because before Kenshin could recover and get back into his stance, he felt it.
CRACK!
The young Takamura dropped to the ground once more, crying out in pain as he did. Tears blurred his vision once more as he tried to push himself to his feet. Meanwhile, Kaito remained calm and just watch his student on the ground.
“Failure is unacceptable. How can you protect your mother if you cannot protect yourself, idiot?”
Some would say this was abusive, but this is what Kaito had to do to harden his son to be a warrior of honor. He had to break him of habits that only serve to hinder his progress. Habits such as flinching in the face of danger.
As he laid on the ground working to push himself to his feet, Kenshin wanted to just break down and cry, but he couldn’t allow himself to show such weakness. He fought the urge to plead his father to have mercy upon him.
“Are you willing to live with the idea of that tyrant ruling over your mother for the rest of her days?”
Young Takamura looked up at his father and shook his head with confusion in his eyes as if he wondered why he would ask such a question. Kaito didn’t appreciate the simple head shake though, and he made that clear.
“Is that it?! Do you not have a voice?! I cannot hear your head shaking!”
Kenshin’s mouth gaped as he tried to form the words on his tongue while he stared, fearfully up at his father hoping not to get hit again.
“I see that fear in your eyes. Get rid of it! Now, I will ask again. Are you willing to live with the idea of that tyrant ruling your mother’s life?”
Kenshin’s jawline visibly tightened as he forced himself to his feet causing his muscles to strain under his weight after all of the training he had accomplished that day. He still felt like he was a failure to his father. Kenshin didn’t just stand there. Instead, he dropped back into his horse stance despite how drained his body was from prior strain and abuse. As he dropped lower than ever in his horse stance and prepared himself for the impending kendo strike that would come eventually, his focus tightened. Kaito could suddenly feel the focus, courage, and spirit emanating from his student’s body.
Kenshin Takamura: “No, Sensei.”
Kenshin finally stated with confidence, knowing only he could stop Shinji from harming his mother. He needed it. SHE needed it. She needed him, and he knew that. He couldn’t allow himself to lose sight of that again. This time, Kenshin could hear the whoosh of the kendo stick as the air moved quickly past it while it moved like lightning toward Kenshin’s face. His eyes remained focused on what was in front of him. “Kenshin, your mother needs you,” he told himself. He knew it was true, and he also knew his father wouldn’t strike him because his father loved him despite his cruel training.
The kendo stick was six inches away from his face as Kenshin watched it draw closer seemingly in slow motion or so he seemed to perceive it. That was just a trivial matter though. As the bamboo villain traveled on its course, the only thing Kenshin could hear was the loud beat of his heart thudding in his chest as it worked hard to pump blood from one chamber to the next then out into the rest of his body. Once the kendo stick was a mere couple inches from his face, he dropped down low in his horse stance. His muscles strained yet he felt comfortable in the position as he twisted his right hand swiftly into a strong punch directed at his father’s abdomen before Kaito could even react. There Kenshin stood as a statue, holding his agonizingly low stance while his sturdy knuckles pressed gently against his father’s muscular mid-section.
Meanwhile, Kaito forced himself to hide the shock and awe at his son’s sudden understanding of the very thing they had been working on for nearly a week now. At first, his attempts had been so pitiful, but as Kaito examined his son’s perfect form and his focused and fearless demeanor, he knew this was the Kenshin that he needed to teach his son to tap into on demand. This was the honorable warrior his son, Kenshin Takamura, was meant to be. At length, as Kenshin held his stance, displaying his rock-solid discipline, he finally spoke once more.
“I refuse to allow that tyrant to rule my mother’s life.”
Kaito could see the fire that burned Kenshin’s eyes as he said the words. A fire that could rescue Keiko from the downward spiral that her current husband presented to her life. A fire that could put a stop to Shinji’s tyrannical ways. A fire that WOULD put a stop to his tyrannical ways...
SCENE 2
“Life is full of many struggles. It is mixed with the glory of winning and the gloom of losing. The despair of the loss of a loved one and the joy of bringing a new baby into this world.”
The scene opened up to show Kenshin Takamura in a horse stance. His stance is about shoulder width apart with his fists clenched gently at his side. The top of his gi was left open, allowing us to see his muscular form underneath. His core muscles strained just a bit as he held the horse stance with ease. As the camera panned out just a bit more, we could see that Kenshin wore no shoes, but rather his feet were taped up around the ankle area and under the arch of his foot.
Kenshin Takamura: “I have experienced most of these things…”
Kenshin’s continued to not look toward the camera. His stare was a million miles away as far as the audience was concerned as he spoke.
“I have won championships.”
The camera panned out just a bit more as Takamura dropped his horse stance just a bit, widening his stance to shoulder width and a half. After panning out, the camera now revealed the OCW Internet Championship neatly displayed in front of Kenshin as he held his stance like a statue, with the discipline of a tiger on the prowl.
“What many do not understand is that winning a championship is the easy part with all due respect to Noah Mackenzie. He was a formidable opponent, but, at that point, a standard was set. A bar of expectation was created if you will. It is not enough to just stand around with a championship around your waist or over your shoulder. At some point, you have to do the hardest task after attaining a title. You must maintain that title.”
As the Internet Champion’s eyes continue to stare off in the distance, we can see the steady rise and fall of his chest as he controlled his breathing.
“At Monday Night Massacre two weeks ago, I took on Noah Mackenzie in a match that will no doubt be spoken of for ages to come. Move after move, we attempted to hit one another so hard with whatever we could to become the first Internet Champion since OCW made its return to the professional wrestling world. The battle was a long, grueling one as many battles are, but, when the smoke cleared, there was no doubt who the victor had been. In the end, it was me, Kenshin Takamura, who was holding the Internet Championship high above my head proudly. It isn’t enough to just be proud of my title for one glorious moment just to lose it again the next...”
Kenshin Takamura inhaled through his nose causing his chest to rise as his diaphragm filled with air. As his chest lowered, his diaphragm collapsed, releasing the bad air from his body as he moved down into a lower horse stance. At this point, his flexibility and strength seemed almost inhuman as he was nearly in a split yet showed no signs of pain or struggling.
“This weekend that tyrannical next moment looms over me like a hateful demon. In that next moment, I will face off against Scott Syren with MY Internet Championship on the line. Now, there is no doubt in my mind that Syren is meant to be the man opposite of me at Black Out because he became number one contender very much in the same fashion as myself, but, Syren, that is where the similarities between us end. It is clear to you, me, and everyone that you and I are polar opposites in how we carry ourselves inside and outside of the wrestling ring…”
After he said this, Kenshin allowed himself to slide completely down into a split now, showing his spectacular flexibility. His fists remained tucked by his sides as his stare remained distant.
“Syren, you are out-spoken and love to tell everyone that you are the best. You cannot get enough of yourself or the World Championship that you went for a swim to retrieve. That is no way to win a title, my friend. Do everyone a favor, throw it back, and try to win a title that isn’t completely forgotten about. I say try because, Syren, I do not tell everyone I am the best. No, I let everyone tell everyone else I am the best by proving it every single night win I defeat foe after foe.”
Another gradual inhale then a slow exhale before he moved his hands down and pressed them to the floor. His muscles in his arms strained as he hoisted the rest of his body into the air. His legs dipped down just a bit before he straightened them back into a split above his torso. His toned legs then straightened up above his head so that his body was straight up and down. Smoothly, he began to allow his body to drop down chest first keeping control of the speed of his body with his impressive arm-strength. Muscles Kenshin didn’t even know he had strained, giving him a very ripped look as he lowered himself into a push-up position. He then rolled to the side on his back then kipped up in front of the camera in a great display of agility. His eyes were now completely focused on the camera.
“Scott Syren, you are not just a number. I know that. You are a force to be reckoned with. A man who poses a very real threat to my reign as the OCW Internet Championship…”
As Kenshin said this, he knelt down behind his title and picked it up with one hand off the dojo floor.
“We are both men who have missions set out in front of us. Syren, you look to make the Internet title nothing but a distant memory by merging it with your River Rock Championship, but I cannot allow that to happen.”
Takamura turned his gaze to the Internet Championship in his hand.
“This title was so tough to attain, but it only promises to be harder to keep it. And, on Sunday...”
Kenshin’s hardened gaze returned to staring straight into the camera lens.
“Syren, you want to challenge me to rip this championship from my hands? Well, challenge accepted. Prepare for yourself for war because this is not going to be a walk in the park.”
With that, Kenshin Takamura stood up from his kneeling position and walked away, leaving the camera all alone in the dojo as the scene cut to show #TsunamiWarning before fading to black...