Richard Blonoff
Make America Rassle Again
Deadline is Tuesday, September 11th, 11:59 PM EST
Extensions available upon request
Extensions available upon request
Meltdown 154: Kagura vs. Harald Var Kirgare
- Thread starter Richard Blonoff
- Start date
- Status
Dan Severn's Moustache
Patent Pending
[AUTHOR NOTE]: This RP is unfortunately unfinished due to IRL circumstances. Only the dialogue has been complete, which means heads or tails may be hard to distinguish. The basic premise is that Harald goes to a henchman school.
A red Toyota pulled up to a curb next to a derelict, weary building. In the driver’s seat, Imogen Marceau sat, her newest client Harald Var Krigare next to her, having to hunch to avoid butting his head against the roof of the car.
Harald: I appreciate the gesture, but do I really need to go back to school? Why is there even a henchman school anyway?
Imogen: Some rich goon with esoteric tastes is the reason why there’s a henchman school.
Harald: You’re a fine one to judge, Miss “I deliberately make a cringe-inducing Tampon commercial to make a statement.”
Imogen: If you were my henchman, you’d have become shark food by now for insubordination.
Harald: It’s a good thing I’m not then, because that shark would have a kraken to face.
Imogen: You do realise water significantly lessens the force of your kick’s impact, right?
Harald: Who said I was talking about a kick?
Imogen: Anyhow, this is where I drop you off. I’ll catch you a little later on.
Harald: Seriously though, why do I need to go to this school?
Imogen: Because that’s what the producers want.
Harald: Great movie.
Imogen: Yeah, it is…look, that’s not the point, Harald. The producers want you to go to this school, so you don’t end up like the henchman from Quantum of Solace.
Harald: There was a henchman in Quantum of Solace?
Imogen: Exactly.
Harald: But it’s strange. Why are you suddenly so keen to play by the rules set out by the producers? You don’t seem to be very accepting of authority.
Imogen: Haha…I’m not?
Harald: Seems like you’re doing exactly what they’re telling you in enlisting me here.
Imogen: Yes, because it’s convenient. Just because I can do what I want doesn’t mean I have to. I’m not one of those cringe-inducing anarchists who never got over their oppressive upbringing.
Harald: But why specifically the producers?
Imogen: Can we talk about this later? Just give this school a chance, and I’ll explain why afterwards.
Harald: Alright, Imogen. Thanks for the lift.
Imogen: Thank you for letting me put a leash on you.
Harald: …What?
Imogen: I’m speaking metaphorically.
Harald: I hope so.
*
Harald: Oh my god…it’s you.
Destroyer: I like hurting people…
Harald: Cool, so you’re a method actor then?
Destroyer: I will end your career…
Harald: No offence, but I don’t think anyone can rival the social shaming from Twitter drama in the career destroying department.
Destroyer: I AM THE DESTROYER!
???: That’s enough, Bruce!
Destroyer: Bruce? There is no Bruce. Only…THE DESTROYER.
???: Thank god whoever worked with that bastard last put an off-switch on him.
Harald: Make that the two of us.
???: You’re Harald, right? WZCW wrestler, native Swede? There are scarier nationalities, I must admit.
Harald: And who are you?
???: I’m Anderson Slade, ex US army lieutenant and operator of the henchman school. And that’s The Destroyer, former WZCW talent. He’ll be your co-starring henchman in the movie you’re gonna be shooting soon.
Harald: Interesting casting choice.
Anderson: Anyhow…
Harald: What the…?
Anderson: Subdue me!
Anderson: Not bad. For an infant with arthritis.
Harald: I can tell we’re going to get on swimmingly.
*
Harald: Alright, the training montage is complete! I’m ready.
Anderson: This is just the first session.
Harald: You’re kidding me, right?
Anderson: The only thing that’s kidding you is the movies you watch.
Harald: But I’m starring in a damn movie!
Anderson: Don’t bother with that kind of logic here. This is the real world, with real people and real dilemmas. This James Bond stuff is make-believe escapism.
Harald: Tell that to the Swedish Democrats.
Anderson: Yes, well at any rate, your punk ass is staying with me and The Destroyer for a long time. You’ve got quite some time to go before you can surpass my star pupil.
Harald: Your star pupil probably can’t even dress himself.
Anderson: Pure stereotypical nonsense. Hey, Destroyer! Get over here!
Destroyer: I arrive through lighting bolt.
Anderson: Let Mister Krigare know your hobbies.
Destroyer: I like hurting people.
Anderson: What else?
Destroyer: I like ending careers.
Anderson: No, no, what you told me in confidence.
Destroyer: …
Harald: You’re sure good at proving a stereotype.
Destroyer: I’LL HAVE YOU KNOW THAT I’M A PROFOUND CONNOISSEUR OF THE WORKS OF ENLIGHTENMENT ERA PHILOSOPHERS! ADAM SMITH, MONTESQUIEU, VOLTAIRE ARE CHANNELED IN MY DESTRUCTION OF CAREERS, AND I SHALL END YOURS WITH ZERO REMORSE OR PAUSE SHOULD YOU PERSIST IN UNDERMINING MY INTELLECTUAL CAPABILITIES! AND I DO DRESS MYSELF!
Anderson: What did I say?
Harald: Point taken.
Anderson: It better be. The rumours are starting to hit the press about your involvement in Bond 25, and that means keeping a good profile up in WZCW over the coming months you come to study here. That means holding onto that Mayhem championship, and winning matches. I heard you were up against that Kagura woman, who was only recently World Champion.
Harald: I’ve heard what she’s done to other ocean dwelling molluscs. Or at least, what the rest of Japan has done. It’s horrible.
Anderson: I didn’t know you were a vegetarian.
Harald: It’s a joke, Slade.
Anderson: Like your chances against her if you don’t shape up.
Harald: I’m not daft. I know she’s to be taken seriously. Like myself, she’s a person of piety and faith, respectful of her own culture whilst willing to embrace others, but also not a complete stick in the mud, with intellect to boot. Her finishing moves are a mouthful though, it’s not a Tit Drop, or a Kraken, it’s “Numbered dance sequence…something something SNK fighting game related.”
Anderson: How is critiquing the name of her finishing moves a strategy?
Harald: I dunno, seems that criticising people well enough makes me win the matches.
Anderson: As if there’s some divine entity judging you based on your ability to pontificate?
Harald: Let’s not get into tinfoil hat conspiracy territory, Slade.
A red Toyota pulled up to a curb next to a derelict, weary building. In the driver’s seat, Imogen Marceau sat, her newest client Harald Var Krigare next to her, having to hunch to avoid butting his head against the roof of the car.
Harald: I appreciate the gesture, but do I really need to go back to school? Why is there even a henchman school anyway?
Imogen: Some rich goon with esoteric tastes is the reason why there’s a henchman school.
Harald: You’re a fine one to judge, Miss “I deliberately make a cringe-inducing Tampon commercial to make a statement.”
Imogen: If you were my henchman, you’d have become shark food by now for insubordination.
Harald: It’s a good thing I’m not then, because that shark would have a kraken to face.
Imogen: You do realise water significantly lessens the force of your kick’s impact, right?
Harald: Who said I was talking about a kick?
Imogen: Anyhow, this is where I drop you off. I’ll catch you a little later on.
Harald: Seriously though, why do I need to go to this school?
Imogen: Because that’s what the producers want.
Harald: Great movie.
Imogen: Yeah, it is…look, that’s not the point, Harald. The producers want you to go to this school, so you don’t end up like the henchman from Quantum of Solace.
Harald: There was a henchman in Quantum of Solace?
Imogen: Exactly.
Harald: But it’s strange. Why are you suddenly so keen to play by the rules set out by the producers? You don’t seem to be very accepting of authority.
Imogen: Haha…I’m not?
Harald: Seems like you’re doing exactly what they’re telling you in enlisting me here.
Imogen: Yes, because it’s convenient. Just because I can do what I want doesn’t mean I have to. I’m not one of those cringe-inducing anarchists who never got over their oppressive upbringing.
Harald: But why specifically the producers?
Imogen: Can we talk about this later? Just give this school a chance, and I’ll explain why afterwards.
Harald: Alright, Imogen. Thanks for the lift.
Imogen: Thank you for letting me put a leash on you.
Harald: …What?
Imogen: I’m speaking metaphorically.
Harald: I hope so.
*
Harald: Oh my god…it’s you.
Destroyer: I like hurting people…
Harald: Cool, so you’re a method actor then?
Destroyer: I will end your career…
Harald: No offence, but I don’t think anyone can rival the social shaming from Twitter drama in the career destroying department.
Destroyer: I AM THE DESTROYER!
???: That’s enough, Bruce!
Destroyer: Bruce? There is no Bruce. Only…THE DESTROYER.
???: Thank god whoever worked with that bastard last put an off-switch on him.
Harald: Make that the two of us.
???: You’re Harald, right? WZCW wrestler, native Swede? There are scarier nationalities, I must admit.
Harald: And who are you?
???: I’m Anderson Slade, ex US army lieutenant and operator of the henchman school. And that’s The Destroyer, former WZCW talent. He’ll be your co-starring henchman in the movie you’re gonna be shooting soon.
Harald: Interesting casting choice.
Anderson: Anyhow…
Harald: What the…?
Anderson: Subdue me!
Anderson: Not bad. For an infant with arthritis.
Harald: I can tell we’re going to get on swimmingly.
*
Harald: Alright, the training montage is complete! I’m ready.
Anderson: This is just the first session.
Harald: You’re kidding me, right?
Anderson: The only thing that’s kidding you is the movies you watch.
Harald: But I’m starring in a damn movie!
Anderson: Don’t bother with that kind of logic here. This is the real world, with real people and real dilemmas. This James Bond stuff is make-believe escapism.
Harald: Tell that to the Swedish Democrats.
Anderson: Yes, well at any rate, your punk ass is staying with me and The Destroyer for a long time. You’ve got quite some time to go before you can surpass my star pupil.
Harald: Your star pupil probably can’t even dress himself.
Anderson: Pure stereotypical nonsense. Hey, Destroyer! Get over here!
Destroyer: I arrive through lighting bolt.
Anderson: Let Mister Krigare know your hobbies.
Destroyer: I like hurting people.
Anderson: What else?
Destroyer: I like ending careers.
Anderson: No, no, what you told me in confidence.
Destroyer: …
Harald: You’re sure good at proving a stereotype.
Destroyer: I’LL HAVE YOU KNOW THAT I’M A PROFOUND CONNOISSEUR OF THE WORKS OF ENLIGHTENMENT ERA PHILOSOPHERS! ADAM SMITH, MONTESQUIEU, VOLTAIRE ARE CHANNELED IN MY DESTRUCTION OF CAREERS, AND I SHALL END YOURS WITH ZERO REMORSE OR PAUSE SHOULD YOU PERSIST IN UNDERMINING MY INTELLECTUAL CAPABILITIES! AND I DO DRESS MYSELF!
Anderson: What did I say?
Harald: Point taken.
Anderson: It better be. The rumours are starting to hit the press about your involvement in Bond 25, and that means keeping a good profile up in WZCW over the coming months you come to study here. That means holding onto that Mayhem championship, and winning matches. I heard you were up against that Kagura woman, who was only recently World Champion.
Harald: I’ve heard what she’s done to other ocean dwelling molluscs. Or at least, what the rest of Japan has done. It’s horrible.
Anderson: I didn’t know you were a vegetarian.
Harald: It’s a joke, Slade.
Anderson: Like your chances against her if you don’t shape up.
Harald: I’m not daft. I know she’s to be taken seriously. Like myself, she’s a person of piety and faith, respectful of her own culture whilst willing to embrace others, but also not a complete stick in the mud, with intellect to boot. Her finishing moves are a mouthful though, it’s not a Tit Drop, or a Kraken, it’s “Numbered dance sequence…something something SNK fighting game related.”
Anderson: How is critiquing the name of her finishing moves a strategy?
Harald: I dunno, seems that criticising people well enough makes me win the matches.
Anderson: As if there’s some divine entity judging you based on your ability to pontificate?
Harald: Let’s not get into tinfoil hat conspiracy territory, Slade.
Bernkastel
Reaper of Miracles
She felt herself running. Climbing. Struggling against the cliff of a vast mountain that lay in front of her. She could feel her lungs burning as she clawed forward. Her muscles ached. Her body pleading with her to stop and take a break. But she couldn’t. If she did stop, then she’d fall all the way to bottom. Looking down, that was quite a drop. The climb hadn’t been an easy one either. She had vowed to make it back to the top somehow. But the higher she went, the thinner the air became, and the harder it was to breathe. The temperature on the mountain was surprising hot, like a volcano. Smoke billowed out of the center and began to choke her as she made her way to the top. It was smothering her like a pillow. The heat was oppressive, and every breath she took became more and more raspy. Like a conveyor belt the rock face underneath her because to move downwards, threatening to throw her off as she climbed faster and faster to keep up. She looked up the sky as thunderclouds began to form above her. The temperature dropped, causing her to shiver. The winds began to blow, kicking up dust and debris in her face. She shielded herself the best she could and struggled on. The climb to the top wasn’t an easy one to make, and she wasn’t the only one struggling. She couldn’t see them, but there were others on this mountain. Fighting to get to the top. Every once in a while, she could hear them screaming, as one would lose their grip and fall back down to the bottom. Out of sight, and out of mind. At the top lay the prize they all sought. Success. It was a prize that took many forms, but for her that success was simple: Regain the world title. Others wanted that prize as well, but none of them held her resolve, or drive, or her will to win. Unlike them, she had gotten a taste of what it was like to sit at the top. And she wanted more. She wanted to drink from that cup until there was nothing left. And then, she’d raise the platform even higher. Erect a new benchmark for someone else to reach. Her name would reach the heavens. Her epitaph would be stamped in gold, preserved in time for all to see. Her name immortalized in the halls of prominence forever. That is what she wanted. But for now, she was stuck on this accursed path. Weathering the storms, and enduring the heat, scaling the rocks, and steeling herself for the fight once the end was in sight.
However, Kagura would find herself facing an unexpected obstacle. Looking over, she could see the silhouette of a figure climbing next to her on the mountain. Suddenly, a shadow crossed directly in front of her and tried to push her down. She fell, but kept her footing by digging her hands into the jagged face of the cliff. She looked up, seeing nothing but the vertical sky above her, as the rain poured down, slowly eroding her handholds. The shadow appeared behind her in a flash, and grabbed her ankle trying to yank her off the side! She tried to kick the figure off, but her efforts were in vain, as she suddenly lost her footing. She found herself falling. Kagura was falling! She glanced up to the shadow now continuing up the mountain on her path, as she looked down to see the ground quickly rushing up to meet her.
And then blackness…
A pair of obsidian colored eyes flashed, as Kagura’s body remained suspended in time; frozen as the mountain began to blur. It was a vision. The entire image dissolved into a pit of fire. Kagura glanced up, as the sound of a door being opened behind her caught her attention. She turned to see Sasuke heading towards her with a plate of food. He looked mildly bemused.
“Don’t tell me you used the BBQ pit to do your incantations. You’re going to burn the whole house down! We’re renting this place, remember that.”
He stepped forward and set the plate down. Kagura eyed it, seeing meat that didn’t look familiar.
“What is that?” she asked in her native tongue.
He raised an eyebrow, “It’s venison. Don’t tell me you’ve never had deer meat before? We’re in Kentucky. You gotta live a little bit. Besides, it’s a delicacy here. And it’s cheap.”
Kagura frowned. Deer meat? Yeah, she was going to have to pass on that one. Derrick tried to get her to eat game meat once before, and she wasn’t having it.
“I’m not cooking anything else. It’s deer or nothing.”
She sighed in defeat. It was nice to see that her old mentor hadn’t changed much. He drank, smoked, stayed out all night playing cards, or going to bars. She had tried to tell him to think about his health, but Sasuke didn’t care. Apparently spending a year and some change in a coma hadn’t really changed his outlook on life. If anything, it had made it worse. For her, she had changed. She had never noticed how much Derrick had kept her in check until after he left. Moody, temperamental, and capricious. Those were her default traits. If she wasn’t training nonstop, then she spent most of her time brooding and shunning all human interaction. Maybe spending some more time around the old man wouldn’t hurt her after all.
A bit later, he presented her the nights meal. One of his old buddies from “back in the day” had a house in west Kentucky that they were renting for the evening. It was cheaper than a hotel. And nicer too. And it had a home gym and a pool. She had been impressed. It helped to have friends. Made her think briefly of all the allies that she had made over the years…except that no names came to mind. She lifted the deer meat to her mouth and took a bite. It wasn’t bad. Kind of tasted like chicken.
Her mind flashed back to the vision she had before dinner. Of Triple X. Or just Xander, as he liked to be called. Usually her visions were warnings. Premonitions. She could get so wrapped up in her long-term goals that occasionally she didn’t notice the dangers before they happened. Before Lethal Lottery, a vision had shown her becoming the monster that Eve Taylor eventually became. She had then decided to accept her match and eventual defeat with grace. Another had shown her losing overwhelmingly to Garth Black right before Kingdom Come. While that one had come a little too late, she went down fighting and decided afterwards to pick herself back up. The vision had shown her something that she had not expected. Even though she wasn't "Queen of the Mountain" at the moment, she was a major player in the company. She had most people’s respect already. That wasn’t something she was used to. She was used to being the underdog. The unknown. The enigma. But not this time. At R-Awakening, she would be the one going into the match as the establish veteran. The big name so to speak. And her opponent would be the one looking to topple her.
It was sort of amusing to her to think about it, but shouldn’t the roles be reversed? Xander, who hated the fans and was bitter having to endure failure after failure, having to fight someone like her who had tasted success, and was loved by the fans. What sense did it make for the underdog to ostracize himself from their support? Especially one that had little to brag about. Xander had no reason to be confident. Even she could admit that. She tried to be humble, but he was so see-through, it was difficult not to laugh at him. What was he really compared to her? The woman that won the world title, wasn’t even pinned when she lost it at Lethal Lottery, had main-evented show after show over the last few months, and was the favorite to win the fatal four-way match a few weeks ago? The answer was nothing. Even Xander would have admitted that much. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gone as far as he had. Changing his image. Changing his wrestling style. All in an attempt to reinvent himself. She had to give him some credit for trying, but he had no self-respect. He was like a drunk trying to play darts attempting to hit the target just to get something to stick. He was simply posturing for the sake of trying to puff out his chest and make himself look big. In all honestly, she hated people like that. There was no honor in fighting someone like Xander.
Kagura and Sasuke walked backstage of the KFC Yum! Center. It was minutes before her match against the current Mayhem champion Harald von Krigare. A tough opponent in any capacity, Harald was the newest person to take up the mantle and carry a belt that few seemed to care about. They were approached by WZCW reporter and analyst Leon Kensworth for a quick pre-match interview.
Kagura eyed him as he shoved a microphone into her face, “Ladies and gentlemen, I’m here with WZCW veteran Kagura Ohzora. What do you have to have to say about your opponent here tonight and your road to R-Awakening?”
Sasuke reached over and grabbed the microphone, before turning it towards himself.
“Didn’t you not get the memo, Leon? I’m Kagura’s official mouthpiece now. Think of me as an extension of her own body. You ask what she thinks of the current Mayhem champion Harald von Krigare? The answer is, not much. You see, Harald is a smart guy. But he has little pride, or respect in his accomplishments. What has he done for the Mayhem title, Leon? Not once has he come out and declared that it’s the most important championship in the company. Never has he challenged any of the main-eventers to a fight. This is a routine match for Kagura. But if the title were on the line, you could be damn sure that she’d be doing her best to make people care about watching her win. And doubly damn sure that they cared about it after she won.”
Kagura put a hand on his shoulder and spoke a few words in Japanese that Leon didn’t quite catch. Sasuke laughed.
“To Harald, the Mayhem title is nothing but a limiter. Think of him as a racecar with lots of horsepower. What good is his big fancy engine if he’s stuck on a little stretch of road where he can't go fast? No one wants to be a Ferrari stuck doing high way speed. You’d want to be on a racetrack pushing yourself to speeds beyond human comprehension. That’s where Harald is right now. He’d rather be challenging for the Eurasian or World titles than be defending the title no one cares about.”
Leon lifted the microphone to mouth to say something, but Sasuke cut him off, “And before you say what I known you’re going to say, Leon, Kagura’s not Mayhem champion. And this match is non-title. So why should be concerned with what he does, or doesn’t do, as title holder? But was I wrong to suggest that Harald doesn’t give a damn about the division he’s in?”
Leon begrudgingly shook his head, “No.”
The older man smirked, “Kagura on the other hand cares about her division. There’s two paths that she sees in front of her right now. The first would be winning Gold Rush and earning another chance to become World champion. Which will, in all likelihood, still be Tyrone Blades. King Mussel is too worried about ridding the world of minorities to care about winning the world title, and Eve is more mentally unstable than a fat chick on Weight Watchers visiting an all-you-can-eat buffet. Kagura is mentally driven, and physically capable. She’s not the dark horse to win that tournament. She’s the favorite. In the instance that she doesn’t find herself entered into the Gold Rush tournament, and instead finds herself competing for the Eurasian title instead, you can bet your bottom dollar, Leon. Bet your house, your car, the lives of your children; anything you want, that she’s going to be the one performer giving that match her all. Because being Eurasian champion or World champion both matter to her. She’s not going to be a paper champion, or some champion of convenience like Harald. She takes her opportunities very seriously. And Harald, you know he’s going to try and spin this like he’s the conquering hero bringing prestige back to the lowest division in WZCW. But it’s a lie. He wouldn’t be spewing all that bravado if he were facing Keith Kole this week. He probably wouldn't even bother showing up to a match like that sober. But with Kagura, he has to watch his words and actions because he knows she’s on a level of competition above him. And tonight she’ll prove it. And Harald, let’s see how he handles defeat. He’s not ready for the “big time.” Not yet. He’s a big fish in his division, but Kagura is a shark used to fighting other predators in the depth of the ocean. And unfortunately, she doesn’t feel like playing with her food tonight.”
Once finished, Sasuke turned to follow Kagura towards the ring. She’s already left the interview; her mind wandering back to a challenger even bigger than Harald.
‘What do you have in store for me tonight, Xander?’ she thought.
‘You’ve yet to reveal your true colors.’
However, Kagura would find herself facing an unexpected obstacle. Looking over, she could see the silhouette of a figure climbing next to her on the mountain. Suddenly, a shadow crossed directly in front of her and tried to push her down. She fell, but kept her footing by digging her hands into the jagged face of the cliff. She looked up, seeing nothing but the vertical sky above her, as the rain poured down, slowly eroding her handholds. The shadow appeared behind her in a flash, and grabbed her ankle trying to yank her off the side! She tried to kick the figure off, but her efforts were in vain, as she suddenly lost her footing. She found herself falling. Kagura was falling! She glanced up to the shadow now continuing up the mountain on her path, as she looked down to see the ground quickly rushing up to meet her.
And then blackness…
A pair of obsidian colored eyes flashed, as Kagura’s body remained suspended in time; frozen as the mountain began to blur. It was a vision. The entire image dissolved into a pit of fire. Kagura glanced up, as the sound of a door being opened behind her caught her attention. She turned to see Sasuke heading towards her with a plate of food. He looked mildly bemused.
“Don’t tell me you used the BBQ pit to do your incantations. You’re going to burn the whole house down! We’re renting this place, remember that.”
He stepped forward and set the plate down. Kagura eyed it, seeing meat that didn’t look familiar.
“What is that?” she asked in her native tongue.
He raised an eyebrow, “It’s venison. Don’t tell me you’ve never had deer meat before? We’re in Kentucky. You gotta live a little bit. Besides, it’s a delicacy here. And it’s cheap.”
Kagura frowned. Deer meat? Yeah, she was going to have to pass on that one. Derrick tried to get her to eat game meat once before, and she wasn’t having it.
“I’m not cooking anything else. It’s deer or nothing.”
She sighed in defeat. It was nice to see that her old mentor hadn’t changed much. He drank, smoked, stayed out all night playing cards, or going to bars. She had tried to tell him to think about his health, but Sasuke didn’t care. Apparently spending a year and some change in a coma hadn’t really changed his outlook on life. If anything, it had made it worse. For her, she had changed. She had never noticed how much Derrick had kept her in check until after he left. Moody, temperamental, and capricious. Those were her default traits. If she wasn’t training nonstop, then she spent most of her time brooding and shunning all human interaction. Maybe spending some more time around the old man wouldn’t hurt her after all.
A bit later, he presented her the nights meal. One of his old buddies from “back in the day” had a house in west Kentucky that they were renting for the evening. It was cheaper than a hotel. And nicer too. And it had a home gym and a pool. She had been impressed. It helped to have friends. Made her think briefly of all the allies that she had made over the years…except that no names came to mind. She lifted the deer meat to her mouth and took a bite. It wasn’t bad. Kind of tasted like chicken.
Her mind flashed back to the vision she had before dinner. Of Triple X. Or just Xander, as he liked to be called. Usually her visions were warnings. Premonitions. She could get so wrapped up in her long-term goals that occasionally she didn’t notice the dangers before they happened. Before Lethal Lottery, a vision had shown her becoming the monster that Eve Taylor eventually became. She had then decided to accept her match and eventual defeat with grace. Another had shown her losing overwhelmingly to Garth Black right before Kingdom Come. While that one had come a little too late, she went down fighting and decided afterwards to pick herself back up. The vision had shown her something that she had not expected. Even though she wasn't "Queen of the Mountain" at the moment, she was a major player in the company. She had most people’s respect already. That wasn’t something she was used to. She was used to being the underdog. The unknown. The enigma. But not this time. At R-Awakening, she would be the one going into the match as the establish veteran. The big name so to speak. And her opponent would be the one looking to topple her.
It was sort of amusing to her to think about it, but shouldn’t the roles be reversed? Xander, who hated the fans and was bitter having to endure failure after failure, having to fight someone like her who had tasted success, and was loved by the fans. What sense did it make for the underdog to ostracize himself from their support? Especially one that had little to brag about. Xander had no reason to be confident. Even she could admit that. She tried to be humble, but he was so see-through, it was difficult not to laugh at him. What was he really compared to her? The woman that won the world title, wasn’t even pinned when she lost it at Lethal Lottery, had main-evented show after show over the last few months, and was the favorite to win the fatal four-way match a few weeks ago? The answer was nothing. Even Xander would have admitted that much. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gone as far as he had. Changing his image. Changing his wrestling style. All in an attempt to reinvent himself. She had to give him some credit for trying, but he had no self-respect. He was like a drunk trying to play darts attempting to hit the target just to get something to stick. He was simply posturing for the sake of trying to puff out his chest and make himself look big. In all honestly, she hated people like that. There was no honor in fighting someone like Xander.
---
Kagura and Sasuke walked backstage of the KFC Yum! Center. It was minutes before her match against the current Mayhem champion Harald von Krigare. A tough opponent in any capacity, Harald was the newest person to take up the mantle and carry a belt that few seemed to care about. They were approached by WZCW reporter and analyst Leon Kensworth for a quick pre-match interview.
Kagura eyed him as he shoved a microphone into her face, “Ladies and gentlemen, I’m here with WZCW veteran Kagura Ohzora. What do you have to have to say about your opponent here tonight and your road to R-Awakening?”
Sasuke reached over and grabbed the microphone, before turning it towards himself.
“Didn’t you not get the memo, Leon? I’m Kagura’s official mouthpiece now. Think of me as an extension of her own body. You ask what she thinks of the current Mayhem champion Harald von Krigare? The answer is, not much. You see, Harald is a smart guy. But he has little pride, or respect in his accomplishments. What has he done for the Mayhem title, Leon? Not once has he come out and declared that it’s the most important championship in the company. Never has he challenged any of the main-eventers to a fight. This is a routine match for Kagura. But if the title were on the line, you could be damn sure that she’d be doing her best to make people care about watching her win. And doubly damn sure that they cared about it after she won.”
Kagura put a hand on his shoulder and spoke a few words in Japanese that Leon didn’t quite catch. Sasuke laughed.
“To Harald, the Mayhem title is nothing but a limiter. Think of him as a racecar with lots of horsepower. What good is his big fancy engine if he’s stuck on a little stretch of road where he can't go fast? No one wants to be a Ferrari stuck doing high way speed. You’d want to be on a racetrack pushing yourself to speeds beyond human comprehension. That’s where Harald is right now. He’d rather be challenging for the Eurasian or World titles than be defending the title no one cares about.”
Leon lifted the microphone to mouth to say something, but Sasuke cut him off, “And before you say what I known you’re going to say, Leon, Kagura’s not Mayhem champion. And this match is non-title. So why should be concerned with what he does, or doesn’t do, as title holder? But was I wrong to suggest that Harald doesn’t give a damn about the division he’s in?”
Leon begrudgingly shook his head, “No.”
The older man smirked, “Kagura on the other hand cares about her division. There’s two paths that she sees in front of her right now. The first would be winning Gold Rush and earning another chance to become World champion. Which will, in all likelihood, still be Tyrone Blades. King Mussel is too worried about ridding the world of minorities to care about winning the world title, and Eve is more mentally unstable than a fat chick on Weight Watchers visiting an all-you-can-eat buffet. Kagura is mentally driven, and physically capable. She’s not the dark horse to win that tournament. She’s the favorite. In the instance that she doesn’t find herself entered into the Gold Rush tournament, and instead finds herself competing for the Eurasian title instead, you can bet your bottom dollar, Leon. Bet your house, your car, the lives of your children; anything you want, that she’s going to be the one performer giving that match her all. Because being Eurasian champion or World champion both matter to her. She’s not going to be a paper champion, or some champion of convenience like Harald. She takes her opportunities very seriously. And Harald, you know he’s going to try and spin this like he’s the conquering hero bringing prestige back to the lowest division in WZCW. But it’s a lie. He wouldn’t be spewing all that bravado if he were facing Keith Kole this week. He probably wouldn't even bother showing up to a match like that sober. But with Kagura, he has to watch his words and actions because he knows she’s on a level of competition above him. And tonight she’ll prove it. And Harald, let’s see how he handles defeat. He’s not ready for the “big time.” Not yet. He’s a big fish in his division, but Kagura is a shark used to fighting other predators in the depth of the ocean. And unfortunately, she doesn’t feel like playing with her food tonight.”
Once finished, Sasuke turned to follow Kagura towards the ring. She’s already left the interview; her mind wandering back to a challenger even bigger than Harald.
‘What do you have in store for me tonight, Xander?’ she thought.
‘You’ve yet to reveal your true colors.’
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