Post by 高村謙信 on Apr 5, 2014 8:41:28 GMT -5
PROLOGUE
It was a feeling everyone felt at some point in their life. At least the under-dogs. Nice guys finish last. Especially when it came to girls. They always said they wanted a good guy. They did. It was true, but not when he was standing right in front of them… or standing up for them. Kenshin Takamura had experienced the epitome of “nice guys finished last” when he tried to be the hero, but only received a painful reality check.
That reality check had left him with a broken nose and a swollen lip, but it was halted before he became much worse by a guy that Kenshin wasn’t so sure he wanted to be around. Well, now things were starting seem very gray. Very gray. Takamura was starting to think that maybe joining the Yakuza wasn’t such a bad idea after all…
SCENE 1
There was suddenly so much for Kenshin to think about because ultimately his decision whether or not to join the Yakuza would either make or break the next few years of his life. Up until now, he had been living that familiar saying. He had been a victim to finishing last because of constantly trying to be the… nice guy. Well, maybe Kenshin shouldn’t be the nice guy.
“Well, Takamura…?”
Kenshin had gone into a bit of a daze causing him to forget what he was doing due to being deep in thought. His eyes focused on Sho Urigame’s sharp facial features. His confident smirk regarded Takamura as if he was amused with what he was about to have him do.
Sho Urigame: “Here’s your chance, brother, to take the revenge that is rightfully yours.”
Sho’s arm stretched out, palm up, fingers stretched out gracefully presenting the scene ahead of Kenshin forcing a gasp from his diaphragm. It was the very female that had double-crossed him. Her clothes were completely torn up, displaying most of her nude body. She was very panicked much like she had been before she turned on him. Her eyeliner was smeared down her face due to the wet tears that constantly assaulted her cheeks. Her attempts to move were futile because she was hog-tied and gagged with a rope. Beside her were her two friends, who were out cold… or possibly dead. Kenshin couldn’t quite tell, but he didn’t like what he was seeing. He couldn’t help but feel that she was kind of getting what she deserved though.
“Come on, Takamura. She would have let you die. You realize that, right?”
That’s when Kenshin noticed the ornate-feeling hilt in his hand. The girl squirmed while in a panic causing her relatively full breasts to jiggle just a bit, something that Kenshin hardly noticed, but Sho and his two henchmen took pleasure in as they gathered around her and taunted the female.
Takamura’s eyes lowered to the weapon in his hand; a seppuku dagger. Memories began flooding in along with the emotions that accompanied said memories. Shinji. Anger. Mother. Regret. Father. Pride. The seppuku dagger. Relief. Did her treatment of him really warrant him killing her? Part of him wanted vengeance, but the other part felt pity for her as he watched Sho and other two treat her as they did: kicking at her, rubbing her face, and pawing at her bare breasts.
The three backed away as they watched Kenshin approaching the girl. He was trying to find the killer in him. He had to remain cold. She deserved this. She deserved this! His eyes glared into hers as he pressed the edge of the cold, sharp steel to her throat. The girl’s eyes pleaded with him as she tried to fight back her tears only to start sobbing. The dagger left a small cut on her neck as a result. Takamura caught sight of the small amount of blood. His dark eyes glared into her pitiful, big, pleading eyes.
Kenshin Takamura: “You deserve this.”
He said this aloud to her, making her believe she was breathing her last breath. A large, mischievous smile formed across the features of Sho’s face as he stood behind him.
Sho Urigame: “Do it, Takamura. Make that whore pay, brother!”
With a quickness, Kenshin sliced her bounds, freeing her. That smile on Sho’s face dissolved swiftly, giving way to anger, but as he tried to get to Kenshin and the girl, Takamura removed her gag and pulled her to her feet and shoved her in the direction to her freedom.
Kenshin Takamura: “RUN! Get out of here!”
Fear caused her to freeze in place for a moment until Kenshin shoved her again then turned to take on Sho and his two bodyguards. He refused to use the seppuku dagger and opted to toss it away down the dark alley they were in. He turned to the three of them and dropped into a stance, waiting for the impending ass-kicking he would undoubtedly receive.
Sho’s buddies started toward Kenshin only to be cut off by their leader raising his hand, signaling for them to halt. They didn’t dare cross him as they listened instantly to the silent command. Sho’s eyes regarded Kenshin, the cornered dog. A smile crossed his face which confused Takamura, but he kept a poker face keeping himself prepared by not displaying said confusion.
Sho Urigame: “Takamura, my friend, you constantly try my patience with this futile resistance of yours. It is as if you don’t realize that you are bound to be the muscle and brains by my side. You have so much talent. Why squander such skill and intelligence? Come to my side and make some money. Look, I’ll tell you what… I shall give you more time, but just like everything else, there is a catch. There is always a catch, isn’t there, Takamura?”
“That girl, Takamura, if you chose to forgive her, that’s your issue, but Fuji and Sarugaki here will teach her a lesson for the insolence she displayed to you. The Yakuza, after all, cannot allow someone to cross them without consequence. It would set a terrible precedent. Do you not agree?”
Sho paused just for a moment as if he was actually expecting an answer from Takamura, but, in all honesty, he didn’t. He knew Kenshin hated his guts, but he also knew the value of having the man at his side. He would definitely be a valuable asset… especially if he was given the right motivation.
“Now, if you'll excuse me. We have a bit of skirt-chasing to do. Come on, guys.”
A chuckle escaped Sho as he found amusement in his own pun and turned away from Kenshin to walk off in the other direction. Kenshin wasn’t quite as amused as Urigame or his henchmen, but he couldn’t let them hunt that girl.
Kenshin Takamura: “Sho.”
Sho Urigame stopped, but didn’t turn toward Takamura, knowing that he wouldn’t attack him from behind. Kenshin had too much honor for that. His two bodyguards stumbled a step or two further than their leader before coming to a stop and turning toward Kenshin.
“Leave her alone or I will have to take matters into my own hands.”
Kenshin couldn’t see it, but a devious smirk cracked across Sho’s features as he stood there. His head bowed just slightly downward as he snickered to himself then spoke once more.
Sho Urigame: “You are such the knight in shining armor; a commendable trait. It’s almost sickening how predictable you are. Especially how protective you are getting over a girl who didn’t give a damn about what happened to you, just so long as you had the correct amount of cash in your pocket. Later days, Takamura.”
Sho raised his hand and signaled to his bodyguards to follow him before stuffing both of his hands into his pocket and walking away, leaving Kenshin standing against the wall by himself...
SCENE 2
The scene opened up to a little league baseball field. At the pitcher’s mound, Kenshin Takamura was bent forward with his baseball mitt in front of him. His other hand was settled in the mitt with his fingers forming around the baseball that was inevitably inside the mitt. His dark eyes watched his catcher, whomever it was, we couldn’t tell due to their catcher’s mask, but it didn’t really matter. The catcher signaled to Kenshin which drew a nod from him before he wound up with his leg rising high before he lunged forward the sent the ball darting toward home plate with magnificent speed. It almost seemed as though Takamura could have been a professional baseball pitcher. As he stood up completely, his catcher threw the ball back to him and we could see that he was wearing a red Atlanta Braves jersey, number ten to be exact, it read C. Jones across the back.
The camera shot panned around him so we could see him. Without looking at the camera, he began to speak.
Kenshin Takamura: “My opponent this week assisted in funding OCW, she has her own private jet, and could probably afford her own island. Money does not buy everything, I’m afraid. I have no doubt that a veteran like Carey is not so naive as to have that misconception. This is not a comic book. Your special gadgets are not going to gain you the win. Go ahead, watch film. Study my fighting style. One thing I can definitely promise you is that you are only seeing one dimension of my arsenal in any match you watch in OCW.”
Kenshin paused for a moment to wind up then pitch the ball again before standing to his full height once more after the lunge and throw. His eyes connected with the camera for just a split second before turning back to his catcher and catching the ball that was thrown to him.
“Miss Carey, in Japan, there is a legendary, some would say mythological, baseball pitch. It is known as the gyroball. It is very aptly named for its ability to have so much movement that it actually curves in a circular pattern thus it being named the gyroball. Why should you bother caring about some pitch in baseball that more than likely fictional? I know you are asking that very question as I speak because I know I would be asking that question. Let me put this in layman's terms. Let’s say for a second the gyroball is the real deal. Maybe it is, maybe it is not, but just pretend. You could study the tapes of the gyroball all week long or year long however long you want, but the moment I change one minor detail of the pitch, it will throw your whole game off. So do not trust everything my prior matches tell you, Miss Carey, for such confidence in your gadgets and intelligence could be a flaw on your part.”
“Once you memorize my fastball, my change-up, or my curveball, Miss Carey, only then will I prove that the gyroball is anything but a myth, and that’s when your game plan fails. What will you do then? I have respect for what you have done for OCW and your abilities, but when we are face-to-face and our match begins, we will fight until a winner prevails.”
Takamura wound up once more. He really took his time this time with the wind-up. His arms reached back behind his head as he leg stretched up and across his waist then he lunged forward and released the ball. It took an odd curve, rotating in a circular fashion then sinking down at a high rate of speed. The catcher’s mitt popped from the sheer speed of the pitch as Kenshin remained in his lunged position. His eyes remained on the catcher for a moment until the camera panned around to meet him. His eyes shifted to the camera.
“I will prevail, Miss Carey.”
With that, the scene faded to black only to display that all-to-familiar hashtag to us, #TsunamiWarning, before the scene faded completely to black...