Post by 高村謙信 on Apr 12, 2014 15:43:00 GMT -5
(OOC: I wasn't sure if some of you might be interested in how the rewriting of the Revelations RP turned out so here it is. Needless to say, the promo at the end doesn't pertain to OCW as Kenshin is competing in a tournament in another organization. Tell me what you think. Did you like the original better or is this one better? How was the promo at the end? I personally was pretty satisfied with the promo myself as it came together nicely. Anyway, above all, I hope you guys enjoy it. I enjoy rewriting it.)
In the darkness, young Kenshin felt so lonely, so helpless. There he sat in a fetal position in the corner of the dark room. His arched back lurched as he sobbed along with the sobs that echoed throughout the hallway which were accompanied by periods of shouting. The other sobs belonged to a woman, not just any woman though, Kenshin’s mother, Keiko, and the shouting was coming from his step-father, Shinji. Over the years, Kenshin had come to hate the man, but didn’t know what he could do about it. Constantly, his mother made excuses for the way the man acted.
Anger flared in Shinji’s voice as he shouted in Kenshin’s native language, Japanese. A loud slap cracked and escaped the master bedroom to echo into Kenshin’s unwilling ears. He didn’t want to hear it needless to say, but he wanted to do something. He needed to do something. Unfortunately, every time he came close to finding the courage he needed to confront the man that was slapping around his mother, he couldn’t get himself to move toward the door. Kenshin was frozen like a statue hunched in the corner with tears forming in his eyes. His failure to rescue his mother only served to wound his heart more.
As the tears flowed away from him, so did his innocence as his youthful body lurched with the pain in his heart while he tried to confine the impending bawling fit that threatened to overtake him at any moment. His body quaked terribly as he attempted to control himself unsuccessfully. Hyperventilation. He huffed and puffed to keep himself as under control as possible. It was no easy task, but as he tried to get himself to become angry, he could only feel sorrow for himself. Kenshin scolded himself with an inner-hatred for himself thanks to his selfish thoughts. Silently, he vowed to himself that one day he would rid his mother of the terrible, tyrannical burden that was his step-father. What would it take though? Abruptly, Kenshin was torn from his thoughts as the wall shook violently at his back. He struggled to maintain control of his emotions as he heard the groan of his mother as she was leaning against the wall. His lips shook as his eyes widened with shock and terror while tears streamed down his cheeks. Finally, he was able to form a whisper in his native language.
Kenshin Takamura: “Be a man. Do as father would do.”
The shaking of Kenshin’s body started to become more violent as he listened to Shinji, his step-father, shouting lies about her. He called her so many unbecoming names. It was obvious that Shinji lacked honor and required punishment. He required punishment immediately, but…
“K-kenshin, get-t up, n-now.”
And he would have, but there was a problem. He was frozen, but why? Kenshin’s mother was in danger at the hands of that… that… that monster, and he was just sitting around feeling sorry for himself. A feeling of anger formed in the pit of his stomach. His body’s shaking only became even more violent than ever, but for a separate reason: hatred. Pure hatred that wasn’t only directed at man beating his mother, but hatred for himself for sitting idly as his mother was in peril.
As Kenshin scolded himself for standing by as his mother suffered, Shinji clutched Keiko by her injured arm roughly, ripping a fearful scream from her lips as he yanked her to her feet. Unbeknownst to them, the shriek pierced Kenshin’s ears in the other room. Keiko was hunched over, but tried to stood up fully to no avail as she suffered from the pain which had spread over her whole body like a plague. Even as she stood there on her weak vertical base, stumbling every now and then, she didn’t dare raise her eyes to meet his riled up, drunken gaze. An angry sneer was plastered across his visage as he regarded her with what seemed to be hatred. With a sick pull, he reeled her into him against her will. Her hands pressed against his broad chest, trying to put a little space between them as his hand clutched her slender throat. His strong fingers pressed harshly upon the sides of her neck causing her to gag as he began what seemed like The Inquisition.
Shinji: “Why don’t you meet my eyes? Look at me!”
Even as he shook her violently while gripping her neck, she still didn’t dare meet his eyes with her own. Her own eyes stayed low, watching the floor as it rocked below her like the deck of a ship at sea, rocking and rolling to the swells of the water. Not accepting her looking away from his eyes, Shinji forced her chin up with his thumb and index finger by pushing in on certain pressure points beneath her jawline.
“Answer me, bitch!”
Keiko’s forced herself to control her breathing so she wouldn’t go into a complete sobbing fit. She didn’t want to worry her son in the next room over, but, what she didn’t know, he wasn’t in the other room any longer…
“Look at me when I am ta-!”
Before Shinji could finish his angry demand, a loud ping sent Shinji sprawling toward the bed, where he bounced off and dropped to the floor, releasing Kenshin’s mother as he did. She collapsed to her knees as she tried to settle herself down. Her motherly eyes looked up frantically only to see what she feared. There stood young Kenshin with an aluminum baseball bat clutched loosely in his right hand. His hands were shaking like an earthquake causing the bat to drop from his grip to the floor. As her eyes moved up to his face, she saw fear in his wide, wild eyes which were focused solely upon her.
Kenshin Takamura: “M-mother…”
That was the only word he could speak before breaking into a fit of tears. His body lurched forward into a hunched position, he couldn’t fight the tears any longer. He just couldn’t, but his mother wouldn’t allow him to go through that alone despite her injuries. Her slender arms encased him like armor, forsaking the world beyond. A compassionate kiss was planted by her lips on his forehead. He was her baby boy after all. Kenshin’s eyes opened after a few moments as he glanced warily over at Shinji’s unconscious body. He knew this wasn’t over. Young Takamura knew that Shinji would want revenge on him, but, for once, Kenshin didn’t care what would happen to him. He was just happy that his mother was safe for now.
The good feeling didn’t last too long because, of course, Shinji did get back at him. The tyrant would not be denied his revenge. Even so, even after the beating Shinji gave him, it had all been worth it. Nothing Shinji could do would take away Kenshin’s pride now. At his step-father’s hands, Kenshin sustained many bruises, two black eyes, and a broken nose, but in taking the beating, he had shielded his mother from the attack so he had accomplished the important task to him. No longer would Kenshin Takamura allow the threat of pain or the ominous presence of fear to cause him to sway from his honor. Silently, he vowed to himself that he would always take the most honorable route no matter what the reason or the situation. He didn’t decide this because someone told him to, but rather because it was the right thing to do. Kenshin knew most people would never understand such an ideal, but he understood and that’s what really mattered in the end. He would be able to look himself in the mirror before going to bed each night. His father understood such a thing too.
Upon seeing Kenshin’s injuries, Kenshin’s father, Kaito, was enraged, but the reaction on his face would never give an idea away that he felt that way. That was the kind of man Kaito Takamura was: calm, collected, and silent. Kaito’s ageless eyes regarded his son until finally his obvious question broke the silence.
Kaito Takamura: “How did this happen, Kenshin?”
A sense of fear coursed through Kenshin as he opened his mouth to explain what happened, but he knew it would be dishonorable to not tell his father what he wanted to know. Tears welled up in the young teenager’s eyes attempting to choke him up, but he fought the urge to cry. Meanwhile, his father watched in silence. What was he thinking? Kenshin had no way of knowing, but he knew the old man loved him. He had just always been distant. That was his way.
Kenshin Takamura: “Step-father. Step-father did this to me, father. I was trying to defend Mother…”
His words trailed off. It was as if he had said too much as his father remained silent for what seemed like forever. Kenshin didn’t dare lift his eyes to meet his father’s intense gaze. He couldn’t bare it. The fear was churning within him as his brushed his sleeve across his own cheek, feeling the burn of his bruises biting back at him as he did. He couldn’t help but wonder what his father was thinking. Until, finally…
Kaito Takamura: “You did well to stand up to him, Kenshin.”
Kenshin’s eyes widened with surprise as he began holding his breath, not sure of what to say. His father then added.
“I am very proud of you.”
A gasp emptied Kenshin’s lungs. For a moment, he was breathless because his father didn’t say such things very often, but he wasn’t finished speaking.
“This honorable act tells me that you are finally ready to train alongside me. I require something in return though, Kenshin…”
Excitement roused Kenshin’s inner-spirit thanks to this news, but he was suddenly curious as to what his father required from him. The inquisitive look on his face made that quite clear.
“If I teach you… you must continue to honor your mother by protecting her. I will not fight this battle for you. One day, she will understand that she must leave him, but she must make that decision on her own. You, Kenshin, must accept the burden of being her bodyguard until such a time. I also expect that you hold your sense of honor above all else no matter what happens to you. Some might try to convince you that honor and chivalry are passe and dead, but you will not listen to them. Do not ever let anything or anyone compromise your sense of honor because once you do, it is lost and is quite difficult to recover.”
As he listened to his father speak, his tense body language seemed to ease with each word that his father spoke. Something about his father’s words just took so much weight off his shoulders despite him having to agree to be his mother’s bodyguard. It was a burden he welcomed much like the bruises and black eyes he sustained at the hands of his step-father from then on. He used each injury he received from Shinji as motivation as he trained for hours on end with his father. Yes, Shinji could still over-power Kenshin, but that era was quickly coming to a close.
Kenshin’s mother, Keiko, would eventually go on to divorce Shinji after a long drawn out preceding, but Kaito would never actually witness that day because cancer would end his life. Even though his father was gone from the material world, he knew his ancestral spirit smiled upon him from the afterlife along with the rest of his ancestors. His objectives had been finally accomplished, but without his father, there was a bit of a void, but he would never forget the man’s words or the vow that he had made to himself and his father. Kenshin’s sense of honor had become far too important to him to jeopardize by anything. Even when he became a professional wrestler, Kenshin Takamura held his sense of honor above all whether or not his opponents believed it was all a gimmick. Needless to say, it was quite the contrary, Kenshin’s sense of honor had been woven into the very moral fibers of his being. Unfortunately, there were many that didn’t quite understand such ideals.
The scene faded in from a black screen to show a room that was decorated only with framed pictures of people lined up along the walls. Each picture had a name underneath it. The camera slowly panned across the wall, taking a moment’s look at each picture.
Underneath the first picture, the name says “Kaito Takamura.” He was Kenshin Takamura’s father. In the picture, the serious man was clad in a karate uniform. It was obvious that, just like his son, he was in great shape. The man had his long hair pulled back into a ponytail with a well-kept mustache and goatee covering a part of his facial features. The camera moved along to show the next picture which was that of a rather lovely yet older female.
The label on this next picture was “Keiko Takamura,” Kenshin Takamura’s mother. She was a very beautiful woman despite her age. It almost seemed as if she was the same age as Kenshin himself. Such an ageless beauty with long, flowing locks of black tresses. Slowly, the camera departed from that picture and displayed the last picture which was a very familiar face to the OCW fans and talent.
The nameplate at the bottom of this picture read “MJ Bell.” As Kenshin’s partner in crime, MJ and Kenshin had quickly become close friends to the point that they confide in one another. Despite only knowing one another for only a few short months, it is safe to say that MJ is quite possibly Kenshin’s very best friend. The female displayed in the picture was a fair-skinned female with a very unconventional beauty; a very modern type of hotness. Her hair was colored as if it were a sunset or a sunrise, going from shades of yellow to shades of orange. The camera began to pan away once more, showing that there were no more pictures to display so the camera moves back the other way toward the pictures we had just seen only to show that Kenshin Takamura was now standing in front of the three pictures. His dark eyes are focused on the camera lens. He doesn’t have an intense look, but rather a relaxed and calm demeanor.
Kenshin Takamura: “Steven Pagano.”
Takamura paused for a moment to allow the name to sink in. It was an odd thing to start off with, indeed, since he had just had the camera display his mother, father, and his best friend.
“He is, after all, the man this tournament is being held in honor of, but he isn’t the only one in our hearts as we compete in his competition. This tournament means something to all of us whether we realize it or not. I have no doubt that each wrestler in this tournament is moved by this tournament being held in Steven Pagano’s name as I have learned that he loved this sport just as much as any of us. However, we all have our Steven Paganos; our fallen comrades or the loved ones that we fight for. Those are the people that we treasure and honor the most.”
A silence came over Kenshin before he continued once more.
“There is no doubt in my mind and soul that Steven Pagano touched many souls, but we didn’t all know him as well as some. There are more than likely a few in this tournament that could explain to us exactly what Pagano was like. They could tell us who his favorite wrestler was as a child or what his favorite match was of all time. We all know our own favorites, don’t we? We know the favorites of the people we cherish most, do we not?”
The Tokyo Tiger paused once more as if he was waiting for his audience to make up their mind and give him an answer.
“So let’s face the reality of this whole tournament. The real facts. We might be honoring Steven Pagano’s memory and his legacy in the Steven Pagano Memorial Cup, but he isn’t who we are all fighting for. Who are you really going into battle for?”
The camera panned back just a bit to show Kenshin’s complete physique which is clad simply in a black shirt with the OCW logo across it and a pair of black gym shorts.
“Your family?”
Kenshin Takamura used his right arm to motion to the pictures of his mother and his father.
“Your friends?”
This time Kenshin’s left arm lifted to present the picture of MJ Bell.
“Or do you fight for yourself?”
He patted his own chest, motioning to himself, as if adding the question mark to the end of his inquiry.
“Why do I care? Simple: I care because I entered the Steven Pagano Memorial Cup to compete. I have no problem admitting that I seek glory. That is what this tournament is ultimately about, right? Do you really think Steven Pagano wants to see everyone mourning him again or do you think he would rather look upon us as some of the top wrestling stars from around the world gather to compete against one another in his name in a tournament that he would have more than likely booked as one of WCCW’s events?”
Another strategic pause so Kenshin’s audience can make up their own minds.
“I, for one, plan to put everything I have AND more into winning the Steven Pagano Memorial Cup, and returning to OCW as the tournament champion. Three matches stand in my way. A total of four people will end up having to face off against me provided I claw my way to the Finals. The first man is Jonathan Talon, who I evidently cannot overlook. He is a champion, and as I understand, quite the in-ring competitor. He, however, questions my presence here. Sure, he gives me credit for my abilities in the ring, but what he really questions is my motivation. Why is Kenshin Takamura competing? What makes him tick? Do you really want to understand my motivation rather than jumping ahead and making assumptions? These are my motivations. My family. My friends…”
Kenshin, once again, motioned to the pictures behind him without even looking back.
“And myself. I know what you’re thinking. How selfish. You could view it that way. That’s fine, but it’s actually anything but selfish because if I do not honor myself… I cannot honor anyone else around me. My sense of honor is what has created what I am today, Talon, and whether or not you choose to accept that I am as honorable as I say I am, that makes no difference to me because you will see it when we face off in the ring, but you will also see the abilities that have carried me through each match. The abilities that have caused my foes so much trouble and anguish. Most importantly, Talon, you will witness the abilities that will send you back the beginning. That will have you questioning the legitimacy of your title reign just as I will each and every competitor in the Pagano Cup.”
Kenshin paused again as he switched to the next subject.
“That’s not to say that there couldn’t be a competitor in the Pagano Cup that could prove me wrong and that I just wasn’t meant to be the one to go all the way. I am a realistic man. I want all of you to understand that. I do know and believe that there are those that are better than me out there, but that is not what I am focused on. That age-old adage: confidence is key. So much truth in three words, and there isn’t a shortage of confidence in the tournament. What with the two-time winner of the Pagano Cup, Justin Dawes; one half of the SCW Tag Team Champions, Lucian Frost; a multiple time former World Heavyweight Champion in Dan Benson; and the man that I am honestly most interesting in squaring off against, the 4CW South West Champion, Jason Cashe. There is no reason to be a shortage of confidence. Each man in this tournament has his claim to fame and his reason to be competing in such a world-renowned tournament which just makes me seek glory in the tournament that much more, but it doesn’t end there…”
The Tokyo Tiger’s eyes narrowed a bit, displaying an intensity in them that resembled that of the animal he was nicknamed after.
“When I finally get past the Finals all in one night, I will move on to face WWA’s World Heavyweight Champion, Sean Jackson. A champion who stands behind the words of a woman. There isn’t anything wrong with that until she makes the mistake of referring to one of his former opponents. Make no mistakes, Jackson, I do not claim to be a demon. I am a man. A man that has come for glory. A man with the spirit and intensity of a tiger. You and Miss Vanessa can feel comfortable for now, but once I scratch, claw, and crawl my way through the Pagano Cup, I will be coming for you. I do not seek the prestigious prize around your waist, but I do seek the ability to say that I have defeated you, and when I return to OCW afterward, you won’t be able to clear your mind of the fact that your title reign as the WWA World Heavyweight Championship is plagued with an asterisk. Consider this your warning.”
A sheer intensity in Kenshin’s eyes put off an aura of confidence and spirit from the professional wrestler as the scene slowly faded to a screen that displayed #TsunamiWarning across it then faded to black...
SCENE 1
In the darkness, young Kenshin felt so lonely, so helpless. There he sat in a fetal position in the corner of the dark room. His arched back lurched as he sobbed along with the sobs that echoed throughout the hallway which were accompanied by periods of shouting. The other sobs belonged to a woman, not just any woman though, Kenshin’s mother, Keiko, and the shouting was coming from his step-father, Shinji. Over the years, Kenshin had come to hate the man, but didn’t know what he could do about it. Constantly, his mother made excuses for the way the man acted.
Anger flared in Shinji’s voice as he shouted in Kenshin’s native language, Japanese. A loud slap cracked and escaped the master bedroom to echo into Kenshin’s unwilling ears. He didn’t want to hear it needless to say, but he wanted to do something. He needed to do something. Unfortunately, every time he came close to finding the courage he needed to confront the man that was slapping around his mother, he couldn’t get himself to move toward the door. Kenshin was frozen like a statue hunched in the corner with tears forming in his eyes. His failure to rescue his mother only served to wound his heart more.
As the tears flowed away from him, so did his innocence as his youthful body lurched with the pain in his heart while he tried to confine the impending bawling fit that threatened to overtake him at any moment. His body quaked terribly as he attempted to control himself unsuccessfully. Hyperventilation. He huffed and puffed to keep himself as under control as possible. It was no easy task, but as he tried to get himself to become angry, he could only feel sorrow for himself. Kenshin scolded himself with an inner-hatred for himself thanks to his selfish thoughts. Silently, he vowed to himself that one day he would rid his mother of the terrible, tyrannical burden that was his step-father. What would it take though? Abruptly, Kenshin was torn from his thoughts as the wall shook violently at his back. He struggled to maintain control of his emotions as he heard the groan of his mother as she was leaning against the wall. His lips shook as his eyes widened with shock and terror while tears streamed down his cheeks. Finally, he was able to form a whisper in his native language.
Kenshin Takamura: “Be a man. Do as father would do.”
The shaking of Kenshin’s body started to become more violent as he listened to Shinji, his step-father, shouting lies about her. He called her so many unbecoming names. It was obvious that Shinji lacked honor and required punishment. He required punishment immediately, but…
“K-kenshin, get-t up, n-now.”
And he would have, but there was a problem. He was frozen, but why? Kenshin’s mother was in danger at the hands of that… that… that monster, and he was just sitting around feeling sorry for himself. A feeling of anger formed in the pit of his stomach. His body’s shaking only became even more violent than ever, but for a separate reason: hatred. Pure hatred that wasn’t only directed at man beating his mother, but hatred for himself for sitting idly as his mother was in peril.
As Kenshin scolded himself for standing by as his mother suffered, Shinji clutched Keiko by her injured arm roughly, ripping a fearful scream from her lips as he yanked her to her feet. Unbeknownst to them, the shriek pierced Kenshin’s ears in the other room. Keiko was hunched over, but tried to stood up fully to no avail as she suffered from the pain which had spread over her whole body like a plague. Even as she stood there on her weak vertical base, stumbling every now and then, she didn’t dare raise her eyes to meet his riled up, drunken gaze. An angry sneer was plastered across his visage as he regarded her with what seemed to be hatred. With a sick pull, he reeled her into him against her will. Her hands pressed against his broad chest, trying to put a little space between them as his hand clutched her slender throat. His strong fingers pressed harshly upon the sides of her neck causing her to gag as he began what seemed like The Inquisition.
Shinji: “Why don’t you meet my eyes? Look at me!”
Even as he shook her violently while gripping her neck, she still didn’t dare meet his eyes with her own. Her own eyes stayed low, watching the floor as it rocked below her like the deck of a ship at sea, rocking and rolling to the swells of the water. Not accepting her looking away from his eyes, Shinji forced her chin up with his thumb and index finger by pushing in on certain pressure points beneath her jawline.
“Answer me, bitch!”
Keiko’s forced herself to control her breathing so she wouldn’t go into a complete sobbing fit. She didn’t want to worry her son in the next room over, but, what she didn’t know, he wasn’t in the other room any longer…
“Look at me when I am ta-!”
Before Shinji could finish his angry demand, a loud ping sent Shinji sprawling toward the bed, where he bounced off and dropped to the floor, releasing Kenshin’s mother as he did. She collapsed to her knees as she tried to settle herself down. Her motherly eyes looked up frantically only to see what she feared. There stood young Kenshin with an aluminum baseball bat clutched loosely in his right hand. His hands were shaking like an earthquake causing the bat to drop from his grip to the floor. As her eyes moved up to his face, she saw fear in his wide, wild eyes which were focused solely upon her.
Kenshin Takamura: “M-mother…”
That was the only word he could speak before breaking into a fit of tears. His body lurched forward into a hunched position, he couldn’t fight the tears any longer. He just couldn’t, but his mother wouldn’t allow him to go through that alone despite her injuries. Her slender arms encased him like armor, forsaking the world beyond. A compassionate kiss was planted by her lips on his forehead. He was her baby boy after all. Kenshin’s eyes opened after a few moments as he glanced warily over at Shinji’s unconscious body. He knew this wasn’t over. Young Takamura knew that Shinji would want revenge on him, but, for once, Kenshin didn’t care what would happen to him. He was just happy that his mother was safe for now.
SCENE 2
The good feeling didn’t last too long because, of course, Shinji did get back at him. The tyrant would not be denied his revenge. Even so, even after the beating Shinji gave him, it had all been worth it. Nothing Shinji could do would take away Kenshin’s pride now. At his step-father’s hands, Kenshin sustained many bruises, two black eyes, and a broken nose, but in taking the beating, he had shielded his mother from the attack so he had accomplished the important task to him. No longer would Kenshin Takamura allow the threat of pain or the ominous presence of fear to cause him to sway from his honor. Silently, he vowed to himself that he would always take the most honorable route no matter what the reason or the situation. He didn’t decide this because someone told him to, but rather because it was the right thing to do. Kenshin knew most people would never understand such an ideal, but he understood and that’s what really mattered in the end. He would be able to look himself in the mirror before going to bed each night. His father understood such a thing too.
Upon seeing Kenshin’s injuries, Kenshin’s father, Kaito, was enraged, but the reaction on his face would never give an idea away that he felt that way. That was the kind of man Kaito Takamura was: calm, collected, and silent. Kaito’s ageless eyes regarded his son until finally his obvious question broke the silence.
Kaito Takamura: “How did this happen, Kenshin?”
A sense of fear coursed through Kenshin as he opened his mouth to explain what happened, but he knew it would be dishonorable to not tell his father what he wanted to know. Tears welled up in the young teenager’s eyes attempting to choke him up, but he fought the urge to cry. Meanwhile, his father watched in silence. What was he thinking? Kenshin had no way of knowing, but he knew the old man loved him. He had just always been distant. That was his way.
Kenshin Takamura: “Step-father. Step-father did this to me, father. I was trying to defend Mother…”
His words trailed off. It was as if he had said too much as his father remained silent for what seemed like forever. Kenshin didn’t dare lift his eyes to meet his father’s intense gaze. He couldn’t bare it. The fear was churning within him as his brushed his sleeve across his own cheek, feeling the burn of his bruises biting back at him as he did. He couldn’t help but wonder what his father was thinking. Until, finally…
Kaito Takamura: “You did well to stand up to him, Kenshin.”
Kenshin’s eyes widened with surprise as he began holding his breath, not sure of what to say. His father then added.
“I am very proud of you.”
A gasp emptied Kenshin’s lungs. For a moment, he was breathless because his father didn’t say such things very often, but he wasn’t finished speaking.
“This honorable act tells me that you are finally ready to train alongside me. I require something in return though, Kenshin…”
Excitement roused Kenshin’s inner-spirit thanks to this news, but he was suddenly curious as to what his father required from him. The inquisitive look on his face made that quite clear.
“If I teach you… you must continue to honor your mother by protecting her. I will not fight this battle for you. One day, she will understand that she must leave him, but she must make that decision on her own. You, Kenshin, must accept the burden of being her bodyguard until such a time. I also expect that you hold your sense of honor above all else no matter what happens to you. Some might try to convince you that honor and chivalry are passe and dead, but you will not listen to them. Do not ever let anything or anyone compromise your sense of honor because once you do, it is lost and is quite difficult to recover.”
As he listened to his father speak, his tense body language seemed to ease with each word that his father spoke. Something about his father’s words just took so much weight off his shoulders despite him having to agree to be his mother’s bodyguard. It was a burden he welcomed much like the bruises and black eyes he sustained at the hands of his step-father from then on. He used each injury he received from Shinji as motivation as he trained for hours on end with his father. Yes, Shinji could still over-power Kenshin, but that era was quickly coming to a close.
Kenshin’s mother, Keiko, would eventually go on to divorce Shinji after a long drawn out preceding, but Kaito would never actually witness that day because cancer would end his life. Even though his father was gone from the material world, he knew his ancestral spirit smiled upon him from the afterlife along with the rest of his ancestors. His objectives had been finally accomplished, but without his father, there was a bit of a void, but he would never forget the man’s words or the vow that he had made to himself and his father. Kenshin’s sense of honor had become far too important to him to jeopardize by anything. Even when he became a professional wrestler, Kenshin Takamura held his sense of honor above all whether or not his opponents believed it was all a gimmick. Needless to say, it was quite the contrary, Kenshin’s sense of honor had been woven into the very moral fibers of his being. Unfortunately, there were many that didn’t quite understand such ideals.
SCENE 3
The scene faded in from a black screen to show a room that was decorated only with framed pictures of people lined up along the walls. Each picture had a name underneath it. The camera slowly panned across the wall, taking a moment’s look at each picture.
Underneath the first picture, the name says “Kaito Takamura.” He was Kenshin Takamura’s father. In the picture, the serious man was clad in a karate uniform. It was obvious that, just like his son, he was in great shape. The man had his long hair pulled back into a ponytail with a well-kept mustache and goatee covering a part of his facial features. The camera moved along to show the next picture which was that of a rather lovely yet older female.
The label on this next picture was “Keiko Takamura,” Kenshin Takamura’s mother. She was a very beautiful woman despite her age. It almost seemed as if she was the same age as Kenshin himself. Such an ageless beauty with long, flowing locks of black tresses. Slowly, the camera departed from that picture and displayed the last picture which was a very familiar face to the OCW fans and talent.
The nameplate at the bottom of this picture read “MJ Bell.” As Kenshin’s partner in crime, MJ and Kenshin had quickly become close friends to the point that they confide in one another. Despite only knowing one another for only a few short months, it is safe to say that MJ is quite possibly Kenshin’s very best friend. The female displayed in the picture was a fair-skinned female with a very unconventional beauty; a very modern type of hotness. Her hair was colored as if it were a sunset or a sunrise, going from shades of yellow to shades of orange. The camera began to pan away once more, showing that there were no more pictures to display so the camera moves back the other way toward the pictures we had just seen only to show that Kenshin Takamura was now standing in front of the three pictures. His dark eyes are focused on the camera lens. He doesn’t have an intense look, but rather a relaxed and calm demeanor.
Kenshin Takamura: “Steven Pagano.”
Takamura paused for a moment to allow the name to sink in. It was an odd thing to start off with, indeed, since he had just had the camera display his mother, father, and his best friend.
“He is, after all, the man this tournament is being held in honor of, but he isn’t the only one in our hearts as we compete in his competition. This tournament means something to all of us whether we realize it or not. I have no doubt that each wrestler in this tournament is moved by this tournament being held in Steven Pagano’s name as I have learned that he loved this sport just as much as any of us. However, we all have our Steven Paganos; our fallen comrades or the loved ones that we fight for. Those are the people that we treasure and honor the most.”
A silence came over Kenshin before he continued once more.
“There is no doubt in my mind and soul that Steven Pagano touched many souls, but we didn’t all know him as well as some. There are more than likely a few in this tournament that could explain to us exactly what Pagano was like. They could tell us who his favorite wrestler was as a child or what his favorite match was of all time. We all know our own favorites, don’t we? We know the favorites of the people we cherish most, do we not?”
The Tokyo Tiger paused once more as if he was waiting for his audience to make up their mind and give him an answer.
“So let’s face the reality of this whole tournament. The real facts. We might be honoring Steven Pagano’s memory and his legacy in the Steven Pagano Memorial Cup, but he isn’t who we are all fighting for. Who are you really going into battle for?”
The camera panned back just a bit to show Kenshin’s complete physique which is clad simply in a black shirt with the OCW logo across it and a pair of black gym shorts.
“Your family?”
Kenshin Takamura used his right arm to motion to the pictures of his mother and his father.
“Your friends?”
This time Kenshin’s left arm lifted to present the picture of MJ Bell.
“Or do you fight for yourself?”
He patted his own chest, motioning to himself, as if adding the question mark to the end of his inquiry.
“Why do I care? Simple: I care because I entered the Steven Pagano Memorial Cup to compete. I have no problem admitting that I seek glory. That is what this tournament is ultimately about, right? Do you really think Steven Pagano wants to see everyone mourning him again or do you think he would rather look upon us as some of the top wrestling stars from around the world gather to compete against one another in his name in a tournament that he would have more than likely booked as one of WCCW’s events?”
Another strategic pause so Kenshin’s audience can make up their own minds.
“I, for one, plan to put everything I have AND more into winning the Steven Pagano Memorial Cup, and returning to OCW as the tournament champion. Three matches stand in my way. A total of four people will end up having to face off against me provided I claw my way to the Finals. The first man is Jonathan Talon, who I evidently cannot overlook. He is a champion, and as I understand, quite the in-ring competitor. He, however, questions my presence here. Sure, he gives me credit for my abilities in the ring, but what he really questions is my motivation. Why is Kenshin Takamura competing? What makes him tick? Do you really want to understand my motivation rather than jumping ahead and making assumptions? These are my motivations. My family. My friends…”
Kenshin, once again, motioned to the pictures behind him without even looking back.
“And myself. I know what you’re thinking. How selfish. You could view it that way. That’s fine, but it’s actually anything but selfish because if I do not honor myself… I cannot honor anyone else around me. My sense of honor is what has created what I am today, Talon, and whether or not you choose to accept that I am as honorable as I say I am, that makes no difference to me because you will see it when we face off in the ring, but you will also see the abilities that have carried me through each match. The abilities that have caused my foes so much trouble and anguish. Most importantly, Talon, you will witness the abilities that will send you back the beginning. That will have you questioning the legitimacy of your title reign just as I will each and every competitor in the Pagano Cup.”
Kenshin paused again as he switched to the next subject.
“That’s not to say that there couldn’t be a competitor in the Pagano Cup that could prove me wrong and that I just wasn’t meant to be the one to go all the way. I am a realistic man. I want all of you to understand that. I do know and believe that there are those that are better than me out there, but that is not what I am focused on. That age-old adage: confidence is key. So much truth in three words, and there isn’t a shortage of confidence in the tournament. What with the two-time winner of the Pagano Cup, Justin Dawes; one half of the SCW Tag Team Champions, Lucian Frost; a multiple time former World Heavyweight Champion in Dan Benson; and the man that I am honestly most interesting in squaring off against, the 4CW South West Champion, Jason Cashe. There is no reason to be a shortage of confidence. Each man in this tournament has his claim to fame and his reason to be competing in such a world-renowned tournament which just makes me seek glory in the tournament that much more, but it doesn’t end there…”
The Tokyo Tiger’s eyes narrowed a bit, displaying an intensity in them that resembled that of the animal he was nicknamed after.
“When I finally get past the Finals all in one night, I will move on to face WWA’s World Heavyweight Champion, Sean Jackson. A champion who stands behind the words of a woman. There isn’t anything wrong with that until she makes the mistake of referring to one of his former opponents. Make no mistakes, Jackson, I do not claim to be a demon. I am a man. A man that has come for glory. A man with the spirit and intensity of a tiger. You and Miss Vanessa can feel comfortable for now, but once I scratch, claw, and crawl my way through the Pagano Cup, I will be coming for you. I do not seek the prestigious prize around your waist, but I do seek the ability to say that I have defeated you, and when I return to OCW afterward, you won’t be able to clear your mind of the fact that your title reign as the WWA World Heavyweight Championship is plagued with an asterisk. Consider this your warning.”
A sheer intensity in Kenshin’s eyes put off an aura of confidence and spirit from the professional wrestler as the scene slowly faded to a screen that displayed #TsunamiWarning across it then faded to black...
