Post by 高村謙信 on Apr 15, 2014 22:02:50 GMT -5
(OOC: So this is the third RP in my quest to conquer the Steven W. Pagano Memorial Cup. Hope you guys enjoy it. If you have any feedback, feel free to shoot it at me. Once again, hope you enoy.)
PROLOGUE
Idaho State University
Pacotello, Idaho
Monday Night Massacre
April 14, 2014
After having fought in a warm-up match for the Steven W. Pagano Memorial Cup tournament on Monday Night Massacre, Kenshin Takamura was headed back to his locker room. The newly crowned number one contender to the OCW Southern Championship hadn’t even broken a sweat in the match that he hadn’t even been scheduled to compete in against James Carson and Trent Collins. The match had taken the popular OCW competitor a matter of a minute or so to finish off after it began. Unbeknownst to him though, his night was far from over.
As he walked down the corridors of the backstage area toward his locker room, he found himself walking toward MJ Bell. A small smile cross his handsome features as she approached him.
MJ Bell: “You did an awesome job out there. Did you even break a sweat?”
Kenshin came to a stop in front of her with that smirk ever-present. He glanced down at his biceps and ran a finger down it. His fingertip was dry. With a confident smile, he focused back on MJ who had been watching him.
Kenshin Takamura: “I would say, no.”
As he said that, he rubbed that same finger down her nose to show her that it was dry. MJ grabbed a hold of his hand and laughed as she swatted his hand away from her face.
MJ Bell: “Gross, Kenshi!”
The grin didn’t fade from her features as she referred to him by his nickname but she did release his hand before tucking both of her own into her pockets. She seemed a bit bashful as she spoke this time.
“Uh, so, I have to go meet up with the ‘team’ but do you wanna go out later tonight?”
Kenshin Takamura: “Sounds like a plan to me. We’ll figure out where after you win your match tonight unless you had an idea already?”
MJ Bell: “Uhh, we’ll figured that out later. Nothing is coming to mind at the moment.”
Kenshin Takamura: “All right. See you later.”
With that, Kenshin and MJ parted ways, leaving Kenshin to continue down the corridor. After a few moments, Takamura noticed that the lights were beginning to flicker. His dark eyes glanced around for a moment. Something was off, he could sense that much, but before he could take the time to thoroughly investigate his surroundings, the lights shut off completely. Immediately afterward, the painful song of a pipe impacting against a skull rang out followed by the thud of an unconscious body hitting the floor like a sack of potatoes…
SCENE 1
An unknown amount of time later…
All he could see was darkness. Darkness everywhere. He could hear though. Voices. One voice in particular had become very familiar to him especially going into OCW’s last Pay-Per-View, Black Out 2. Scott Syren was speaking with some others that Kenshin couldn’t quite put his finger on. Slowly his eyes opened. For a moment, he could only see a dim light through them due to his vision being so blurred.
Takamura’s eyes glanced around trying to take in his surroundings, but there was nothing but dim light around him. There was nothing to see. Nothing to see save for the hulking steroid-abusing man that was Scott Syren looming over him, but he didn’t notice that Kenshin had awakened. It wasn’t a permanent awakening though as his vision blurred once more then he faded back into unconsciousness.
Kenshin could feel something itchy on his lip and some sort of cloth around his eyes. He began to move his hands just a bit, but he could only move his fingers. It was then that he realized there were tightened zip-ties cutting into his wrists, restricting his movement. Before his eyes opened again, he could hear a voice yell out, but it wasn’t Scott Syren.
Voice: “There he is! The man who single-handedly fired our potential brother, Zeus… let’s get him!”
The words didn’t make any sense to Kenshin because he didn’t have the power to fire anyone. What was this person talking about? He struggled to open his eyes once again only to see two of Operation Zero’s new members, Kobra and PerZag. His eyes opened just in time to watch their hands begin swinging in on him. They punched him mercilessly in the face, but Takamura didn’t make a single noise. He gave them no reason to believe that he was conscious.
One of the punches or the combination of all of them had broken Kenshin’s recently healed nose. He could feel his hot, life fluid pouring from his nostrils down his mouth and dripping from his chin. Kenshin’s head fell forward as he went limp once more, losing himself to unconsciousness again.
As the darkness surrounded him, he could hear Kobra and PerZag’s voices.
Kobra: “Oh, so what is this, Not President Dean? You think you’re too good to stand up and face us man-to-man?”
That explained that mask that he felt on his face and what had apparently been a fake mustache on his lip. They were pretending he was President Dean’s terribly hidden secret identity, Not President Dean.
PerZag: “I think that’s exactly what it is. He has us on his Not Worthy List.”
Kobra: “Cocky motherfucker. Stand up! Stand up and fight!”
Suddenly, Kenshin could feel his wrists break free. Someone had cut his binds. Unfortunately, he couldn’t move his body. He had been beaten so badly that movement was impossible. He wouldn’t have to be able to stand up himself though. As he came back into consciousness for another moment, he felt a rope tugging up from underneath his armpits, forcing him to stand to his feet. His legs felt so weak though so he relied on whomever was holding him up.
“Oh, I see. It’s a masked thing. Pryde, he’s all yours.”
Slowly, Kenshin Takamura’s eyelids parted just a bit. After the blurriness vanished, Kenshin could see not only PerZag and Kobra standing before him, but the man he was challenging for the OCW Southern Championship at Total Demolition, Pryde. Takamura just wanted to kick the man in the face, but he couldn’t move a muscle. He was Operation Zero’s personal puppet unfortunately, and he would have to deal with that. Ironically, Kenshin ended up being the one getting kicked in the face by Pryde. The blow rocked him so hard that he would have fallen down to the ground had it not been for whomever was holding him up via the rope tied around his upper-body. Meanwhile, Takamura could feel the darkness reaching out for him once more, but he fought the urge to fall into it.
Kenshin’s eyes tried to focus on Pryde’s masked face as he clutched his still healing arm and pulled the Japanese wrestler downward causing him to fall toward the concrete floor. His face met the cold, concrete with a sickening slap. All Kenshin could see now was the blood that was pooling up around his face. Small bubbles from his exhales through his nostrils formed in the sanguine pool that formed a moat around his aching cranium. Everything seemed silent to him for what seemed like forever until he felt his arm move in the wrong direction then the familiar feeling of his shoulder dislocating. The disgusting pop rang out as Kenshin began lose the fight of keeping himself awake.
His arm was then released. It dropped like a dead fish beside him, splashing a bit of his own blood up into his near eye. Kobra and PerZag put in their two cents as if they hadn’t done enough.
“That’s what you get, Not President Dean.”
PerZag: “Who’s Not Worthy now?”
Last thing Kenshin saw before losing the battle to unconsciousness was Pryde turning his back and walking off to disappear into the darkness with PerZag and Kobra in tow…
SCENE 2
Sometime after the end of Monday Night Massacre…
After Massacre came to a close, MJ Bell was parting ways with Mia Stone in the hall, the two tossed jokes back and forth before she pulled out her phone. Her brows furrowed in confusion before she spotted a backstage worker, who she stopped to question.
MJ Bell: “Have you seen Kenshin?”
The backstage worker was no help in her search but he informed her that he witnessed two men drag Kenshin into a specific room. MJ doesn’t respond to him but instead she ran down the hallway towards the particular room. She opened the door and to her horror she found Kenshin lying face first in a pool of his own blood with a shoulder that had begun to bruise up. By the looks of his arm, it was dislocated again. The third time in the matter of a month.
“Kenshin!”
She glanced over her shoulder, wondering if she should go get some help first but instead, MJ ran to his side. The beat of her heart increased because of the sudden fear. As careful as she could, the sunset haired female lifted his head up.
“Please be alive. Please be alive. Kenshin?”
MJ swallowed a lump in her throat while she slowly flipped him over. Kenshin was heavier than she thought he was but once she had him over she took noticed to how eerily bent his nose was once again.
“Hey, dummy, it’s time to wake up… C’mon, Kenshin… Please wake up.”
She seemed to fall into a fit of desperation as she tried, in a futile attempt, to awaken her fallen friend. After he failed attempt to awaken him, she frantically dialed three numbers into her cell phone…
SCENE 3
Slowly Kenshin Takamura’s eyes opened up. The bright light wounded his vision as he tried, in vain, to see something clearly. It took a few seconds before he could make out MJ sitting beside him. His dark eyes scanned the room, seeing a drip set up beside his apparent bed. His eyes trailed the tube connected to the drip to find that an IV was in his arm. His other arm was in a splint which cradled it. He moved it just slightly. It hurt, but he could manage the pain. Kenshin’s vision turned back to MJ who was clearly concerned. She reached over to rest her hand gently over his. As Kenshin examined her face, he could see that her eyes were damp from tears, but she was doing her best to hide the fact that she had been crying. The shaky sound to her voice, though, betrayed her.
MJ Bell: “Good morning, sleepy head… How do you feel?”
Kenshin Takamura: “Like a million dollars. How did I get here?”
Kenshin was still having an issue trying to open his eyes completely due to the brightness of the hospital room. It didn’t help that the whole room was white either, it just kind of reflected into his eyes. MJ’s thumb compassionately rubbed against his knuckles .
MJ Bell: “I found you then I called 911 when you wouldn’t get up. I’m sorry I didn’t get there sooner… I just… I was caught up with The Family drama.”
Kenshin narrowed his eyes in confusion then felt he needed to cut the tension with a bit of a joke.
Kenshin Takamura: “It’s fine. As you can tell, I won the fight.”
An amused grin broke across his face, but it seemed as though MJ didn’t find it as humorous as he apparently did. Her eyebrows scrunched together in displeasure. Her lips part as if to scold him but instead her head shook.
MJ Bell: “Har-har. You are so funny. At least they didn’t break your keen sense of humor…”
Kenshin Takamura: “Or my competitive spirit. When are they discharging me from here? I have a tournament that I need to train for.”
MJ Bell: “Are you insane?! You can’t compete in that tournament right now. Kenshin, it’s been weeks since your shoulder has been hundred percent... No. No. You can’t push yourself to be in this tournament. “
MJ attempted to keep her voice level as quiet as possible, but even as she objected to his comments, he insisted.
Kenshin Takamura: “MJ, I appreciate your concern and being there for me, but I am a grown man. Yes, I was attacked unexpectedly. Yes, I was injured at the hands of Operation Zero. Yes, I am lying here in a hospital bed, but…”
He paused for a moment seeing the pain in MJ’s eyes as he spoke. He felt bad to cause her grief, but he wasn’t going to back out of this tournament now.
“I will finish what I started, and sooner or later, I will get Pryde back for this. He isn’t my concern now though because I have to get myself mentally and physically prepared to go to war with not only competitors from WWA, but from 4CW, SCW, and a handful of other promotions. The Pagano Cup is my opportunity to give back to a business that I love so much and try to help out OCW in the process.”
Determination burned in Kenshin’s eyes much like the determination one would see in a tiger’s eyes as he prepared to pounce on his prey. MJ shut her eyes for a moment then pressed her forehead down against the side of the bed.
MJ Bell: “There is nothing I can say that will change your mind, is there? Why are you so stubborn?”
She picked her head let a loud sigh escape her lips as Kenshin wrapped his hand around hers as if to reassure her.
Kenshin Takamura: “How else would I be able to worry you? Come on, MJ!”
Takamura reached up with his arm, releasing her hand, and lightly popped her in the shoulder playfully, smiling at her as he did.
MJ Bell: “You are going to be the death of me.”
SCENE 4
The scene opened up to a press conference, where a bunch of reporters all around the wrestling world have gathered to get some words from Kenshin Takamura about various topics. There is an older gentleman of Asian descent standing at the podium. As he began to speak, it was obvious that he had been either born in the United States or had been there for quite some time because he had no accent. This was Kenshin Takamura’s agent, Mister Hiro Tanabashi.
Hiro Tanabashi: “My agent, Kenshin Takamura, was asked to speak about the recent actions against him by Operation Zero, but it is actually his intention to address the Steven W. Pagano Memorial Cup. Mister Takamura will not be taking any questions, but intends to try to cover as much as he can.”
With that, Mister Tanabashi backed away from the podium as Kenshin Takamura walked out from a doorway on the side of the stage. Immediately, reporters attempt to ask questions, but they are ignored much to their dismay. Takamura is clad in a black t-shirt and a pair of training pants. His taped up shoulder is obvious by the tape that peeked out from under the sleeve of his t-shirt.
Kenshin Takamura: “First, I would like to start off by saying, what Pryde and Operation Zero did this past Monday night to me was a cowardly act that will be dealt with in due time. Yes, they took me out and injured my shoulder again, but I have no intention of dwelling on that during this press conference as he and I will go head-to-head at OCW’s upcoming Pay-Per-View, Total Demolition for the OCW Southern Championship.”
In the camera’s view, we can see a bunch of reporters throw their hands into the air only to be ignored by Kenshin as he continued talking as if they didn’t even exist.
“What I want to talk about is the Pagano Cup. I have said many times that the Pagano Memorial Cup is held for a great reason. It not only represents the man that the tournament is named after, but also, all those that we, as professional wrestlers, fight for and in the honor of including ourselves. Now, there are those out there that have the misconception that due to my calm nature I cannot bring a fight to them. I won’t try to sway this specific individual’s beliefs either way… Well, that is until he has to face me in the ring because he will witness first hand my rage for competition. I am willing to go out on a limb and say that Jason Cashe has never come face-to-face with a tiger. That’s probably a safe assumption, but what he doesn’t understand about me is I don’t have to practice my microphone skills, make people believe that I have charisma, or put people to sleep with my long drawn out speeches about how great I am…”
For once, all the reporters drop their hands waiting for Kenshin’s next words.
“I show them how great I am. Let me back up though, I can’t talk about Jason Cashe without talking about the man I have to beat in order to have the opportunity to get in the ring with Cashe, Jonathan Talon. What is there to say? He’s a champion. That always means something… in theory. I wouldn’t doubt he has some in-ring skills, but, for the most part, from what I have witnessed the man is just a walking catchphrase. I think Talon has the idea that he is the only man to threaten to have no remorse on me. Well, I have some news for him, his catchy threat is just another one in an ocean full of them. As far as I can tell, he is nothing but a mackerel in a school of lackluster competitors. So, Jonathan Talon…”
Kenshin Takamura’s eyes focused directly on the camera.
“I am going to rid the Pagano Cup of you and I will even give you a hint as to how I plan to do that. When you step into the ring with me, you better be ready to endure pain because I am going to make you tap out. Can I be anymore black and white with that? Unfortunately, for you, Talon, you are the next person that gets to meet me in the ring after what Pryde and Operation Zero did to me, and I have some frustrations to take out.”
Takamura finished up with Talon and took a look down at his notes that were sitting on the flat surface of the podium.
“There are many competitors in this tournament so I am not going to go on to mention every last one of them. Jason Cashe loves to make sure everyone gets an honorable mention at least, but I am going to leave that to him. My main focus at this point is to get through the tournament unscathed despite my injury. WWA has a champion who needs a good, swift kick to the side of the head. Once again, I take nothing away from the man’s ability, but his mouth is going to get him in trouble because at this point he has more men than he can even count targeting him in the tournament. You could say he will have the advantage at the end of the night, but that is exactly why I have been putting emphasis on endurance training vice trying to up my strength. Longevity is going to win this tournament. Longevity is going to bring me to face Sean Jackson so I can knock him out and make a joke out of his title reign. I didn’t enter this tournament to become WWA’s Champion. I entered it to honor a man, Steven Pagano, and show OCW’s superiority. That’s all I have for you.”
Immediately, Kenshin Takamura walked away from the podium with his agent in tow, leaving the reporters almost rioting as they tried to get his attention to ask questions. The scene faded to show #TsunamiWarning before fading to black...
