Post by SHOZO on Jan 4, 2015 18:35:46 GMT -6
December 31st, 2014
The show was over, and the show itself had gone just as he had hoped. A man who so exemplified all the problems with the 'old guard' of professional wrestling had been destroyed, crushed by the REVOLUTION, as it debuted on a worldwide stage, and debuted it's newest member.
The rest was not so much a success. GRENDEL had immediately headed for his hotel room to sleep, having opted for the earliest flight he could get to get the hell out of the country, off to some gym in Texas to train with Justin Brooks. It was understandable. After tonight, he had plenty of aggression to work off.
Shozo stood against the back wall of the hotel he had spent the last day or two in, when not bussing up to Hiroshima to receive GRENDEL. He sighed to himself. He had planned on showing the giant something important, something that would connect them, but because of an alarm clock that decided to not work, that chance had faded, and it was unlikely to come again. It had taken much out of Shozo to get himself to a state where he felt able to tell the words to someone, and that energy wouldn't come back quickly. If only he hadn't spent so long keeping them locked inside of him.
Then again if that was different, so would everything else. And then who knows where he'd be. Maybe he'd be happy.
But right now he felt happy. He looked up at the night sky with a smile on his face.
Shozo Arino: What a success tonight was!
He stopped to let out a cough, a hand coming to rub his throat, where the barest hint of a handprint could still be made out. The person beside him hardly reacted, eyes only sliding over slightly to look at him. Kiriko Miura, the newest member of the REVOLUTION, had a blank look on her face as he coughed again. Though that was normal, a look of indifference was the most she seemed capable of mustering these days. Hell, Shozo had been impressed when she put on a face of impatience while he and GRENDEL had worked over Tamura.
Kiriko Miura: Was it?
Shozo Arino: Of course! Our REVOLUTION has gone worldwide, we curbstomped someone incredibly problematic, and we showed your membership off to the world!
Kiriko Miura: The big man didn't agree.
Shozo Arino: Ah....well, he's a very angry man anyway. It's nothing to be particularly worried about. It boils over sometimes. It happens.
Kiriko Miura: Most people get angry when their “friend” jerks them around.
Shozo Arino: I couldn't risk anyone on an opposing side finding out what we planned, could I?
Kiriko Miura: “We”?
This time she does turn to face him, staring him in the eyes, unblinking. He falters under the emotionless woman's gaze.
Kiriko Miura: I had no part in the creation of this scheme either, Shozo. You called me two days before you showed up on that video screen, and told me to get Tamura to pick me and you'd “handle the rest.”
Shozo Arino: Well...it worked, didn't it?
Kiriko Miura: I didn't have to do any work. He picked me himself.
Shozo Arino: How fortunate then!
Kiriko Miura: ….
Shozo Arino: ….right. So, maybe I should have explained things better.
Kiriko Miura: Or said hello before you said anything else.
Shozo Arino: I....I didn't know what else to say.
Kiriko Miura: I figured that out. We hadn't spoken in so long...the last time we spoke I was able to smile.
Shozo Arino: That's not entirely true.
Her mouth contorted to the barest hint of a frown.
Kiriko Miura: Shouts in between sobbing doesn't count.
Shozo winced and looked away.
Shozo Arino: A...fair point.
He sighed and looked her in the eyes again.
Shozo Arino: I'm sorry. But, I just...it's so hard to get what's inside of me out. All my life I've had to keep everything that's ME locked up, to fit an ideal. You know that. And I know that it's wrong, and I know that it's not what I should do, but it's so hard...I'm not yet evolved enough to get beyond that limitation. And I'm sorry.
If his apology affected her in any way, Kiriko's blank expression doesn't show it.
Kiriko Miura: I don't care either way, and you know that. If you wanted to say an apology that mattered, you'd say it to your “friends.”
Shozo Arino: I....
He looks down at the ground, suddenly far more interested in counting grass.
Shozo Arino: You're right...
Kiriko Miura: I'm aware. Well, you have your chance to do so, the big man's ultimatum was quite clear.
Shozo Arino: It was. And that's fine. I'll tell them what I'm able to.
Kiriko Miura: Backpedaling.
Shozo Arino: Damn it I can't just force all of that out at once! I'm not capable of it!
Kiriko rolled her eyes, shook her head, and turned on her heel to make for her own hotel room, having gotten tired of the conversation. Shozo watched her go, his face suddenly taking on a different, sadder look.
Shozo Arino: Kiriko.
She paused, turning to look back at him.
Shozo Arino: You can tell me, though. You knew him better than anyone else. Even with these...these flaws I still have in my leadership....look at everything I've accomplished, everything I WILL accomplish...he'd be proud of me, wouldn't he?
The emotionless woman stared at him blankly, before her head tilted slightly.
Kiriko Miura: Would he?
Shozo's eyes widened in shock, as she continued to stare at him blankly a moment before turning on her heel. She took one step away, and stopped. Without looking back, she spoke one last time.
Kiriko Miura: He never kept secrets, no matter how much they hurt him.
And she walked away, leaving Shozo by himself. He continued to look wide-eyed at the disappearing figure of the blank woman, before shifting it down to the ground. His back pressed against the wall, and he slid down it to a sitting position. He stared forward at nothing, his mind trying desperately to get itself wrapped around the very idea of what she'd implied.
And so as the clock struck 12, and the new year began, Shozo Arino sat on the cold ground, staring at nothing, his mind twisting around itself in confusion. And he did it all alone.
Happy New Year.
The show was over, and the show itself had gone just as he had hoped. A man who so exemplified all the problems with the 'old guard' of professional wrestling had been destroyed, crushed by the REVOLUTION, as it debuted on a worldwide stage, and debuted it's newest member.
The rest was not so much a success. GRENDEL had immediately headed for his hotel room to sleep, having opted for the earliest flight he could get to get the hell out of the country, off to some gym in Texas to train with Justin Brooks. It was understandable. After tonight, he had plenty of aggression to work off.
Shozo stood against the back wall of the hotel he had spent the last day or two in, when not bussing up to Hiroshima to receive GRENDEL. He sighed to himself. He had planned on showing the giant something important, something that would connect them, but because of an alarm clock that decided to not work, that chance had faded, and it was unlikely to come again. It had taken much out of Shozo to get himself to a state where he felt able to tell the words to someone, and that energy wouldn't come back quickly. If only he hadn't spent so long keeping them locked inside of him.
Then again if that was different, so would everything else. And then who knows where he'd be. Maybe he'd be happy.
But right now he felt happy. He looked up at the night sky with a smile on his face.
Shozo Arino: What a success tonight was!
He stopped to let out a cough, a hand coming to rub his throat, where the barest hint of a handprint could still be made out. The person beside him hardly reacted, eyes only sliding over slightly to look at him. Kiriko Miura, the newest member of the REVOLUTION, had a blank look on her face as he coughed again. Though that was normal, a look of indifference was the most she seemed capable of mustering these days. Hell, Shozo had been impressed when she put on a face of impatience while he and GRENDEL had worked over Tamura.
Kiriko Miura: Was it?
Shozo Arino: Of course! Our REVOLUTION has gone worldwide, we curbstomped someone incredibly problematic, and we showed your membership off to the world!
Kiriko Miura: The big man didn't agree.
Shozo Arino: Ah....well, he's a very angry man anyway. It's nothing to be particularly worried about. It boils over sometimes. It happens.
Kiriko Miura: Most people get angry when their “friend” jerks them around.
Shozo Arino: I couldn't risk anyone on an opposing side finding out what we planned, could I?
Kiriko Miura: “We”?
This time she does turn to face him, staring him in the eyes, unblinking. He falters under the emotionless woman's gaze.
Kiriko Miura: I had no part in the creation of this scheme either, Shozo. You called me two days before you showed up on that video screen, and told me to get Tamura to pick me and you'd “handle the rest.”
Shozo Arino: Well...it worked, didn't it?
Kiriko Miura: I didn't have to do any work. He picked me himself.
Shozo Arino: How fortunate then!
Kiriko Miura: ….
Shozo Arino: ….right. So, maybe I should have explained things better.
Kiriko Miura: Or said hello before you said anything else.
Shozo Arino: I....I didn't know what else to say.
Kiriko Miura: I figured that out. We hadn't spoken in so long...the last time we spoke I was able to smile.
Shozo Arino: That's not entirely true.
Her mouth contorted to the barest hint of a frown.
Kiriko Miura: Shouts in between sobbing doesn't count.
Shozo winced and looked away.
Shozo Arino: A...fair point.
He sighed and looked her in the eyes again.
Shozo Arino: I'm sorry. But, I just...it's so hard to get what's inside of me out. All my life I've had to keep everything that's ME locked up, to fit an ideal. You know that. And I know that it's wrong, and I know that it's not what I should do, but it's so hard...I'm not yet evolved enough to get beyond that limitation. And I'm sorry.
If his apology affected her in any way, Kiriko's blank expression doesn't show it.
Kiriko Miura: I don't care either way, and you know that. If you wanted to say an apology that mattered, you'd say it to your “friends.”
Shozo Arino: I....
He looks down at the ground, suddenly far more interested in counting grass.
Shozo Arino: You're right...
Kiriko Miura: I'm aware. Well, you have your chance to do so, the big man's ultimatum was quite clear.
Shozo Arino: It was. And that's fine. I'll tell them what I'm able to.
Kiriko Miura: Backpedaling.
Shozo Arino: Damn it I can't just force all of that out at once! I'm not capable of it!
Kiriko rolled her eyes, shook her head, and turned on her heel to make for her own hotel room, having gotten tired of the conversation. Shozo watched her go, his face suddenly taking on a different, sadder look.
Shozo Arino: Kiriko.
She paused, turning to look back at him.
Shozo Arino: You can tell me, though. You knew him better than anyone else. Even with these...these flaws I still have in my leadership....look at everything I've accomplished, everything I WILL accomplish...he'd be proud of me, wouldn't he?
The emotionless woman stared at him blankly, before her head tilted slightly.
Kiriko Miura: Would he?
Shozo's eyes widened in shock, as she continued to stare at him blankly a moment before turning on her heel. She took one step away, and stopped. Without looking back, she spoke one last time.
Kiriko Miura: He never kept secrets, no matter how much they hurt him.
And she walked away, leaving Shozo by himself. He continued to look wide-eyed at the disappearing figure of the blank woman, before shifting it down to the ground. His back pressed against the wall, and he slid down it to a sitting position. He stared forward at nothing, his mind trying desperately to get itself wrapped around the very idea of what she'd implied.
And so as the clock struck 12, and the new year began, Shozo Arino sat on the cold ground, staring at nothing, his mind twisting around itself in confusion. And he did it all alone.
Happy New Year.
