AS 94 SuperShow: Team Russia vs. Eve Taylor & Kagura Ohzora

[Richard Blonoff]

Victor Makarov & Oleg Rasputin have been seething since the main event of Ascension in their hometown of Moscow after winning a Tag Team title match against Cerberus but not being crowned the new champions due to a disqualification. They look to take out their anger on the only two female competitors in this company in tag team action, a pairing made very interesting when Meltdown GM announced that Kagura Ohzora & Eve Taylor would face each other at Unscripted where the winner will receive a championship opportunity they've been yearning since they lost their own titles. Makarov has history with Ohzora as she was the one to dethrone him as Elite X champion and with Eve Taylor being aligned with the Tag champs, one must assume the Russian brutes will be looking to target Taylor in an attempt to lure out/play mind games with Cerberus.

Deadline is Thursday, June 4th, at 11:59PM CST. Extensions available upon request.​

 

[Richard Blonoff]

It had been a few days since Victor and Oleg had been conned out of the Tag Team Championships at Ascension and neither man was really in the mood to talk about it. Victor had already tasted the sweet taste of being a WZCW Champion but it was a completely new thing for Oleg, and something that he wanted more than anything. Returning to Russia had always been a tricky subject for both men but the silver lining of the trip was seeing how the Russian people reacted tot hem. The victory over Cerberus was supposed to be a symbol for the Russian people; something for them to aspire to. But Cerberus had taken the cowardly way out and, more than anything, had robbed everyone, Team Russia included, of their greatest moment.

Oleg and Victor knew how close they had come. More than anything else, anger and bitter disappointment clouded the judgement of the Russian warriors. I remember the look in both of their eyes as they left the arena in Moscow. Sure, they had beaten the spit of both of their competitors at Ascension. No one will ever really forget the last shot of Ascension; me holding their hands high into the air as the Tag Team Champions lay motionless in the ring...

But it was all show and I knew it.

The smug smiles of both men were nothing more than a mask. A mask of their true feelings and the bitter disappointment that they ultimately felt. And as they left the arena, of course they signed autographs and met the people that they felt they had disappointed; something remarkable on it's own. But they were quiet. Of course, Victor was always quiet but Oleg, the despair in Oleg's face was a shock to me at least.

“When we have another opportunity, we will crush everyone who stands in our way; the same way as we crushed Everest and Cerberus in recent weeks.” Oleg finally broke his imposed silence two days later. We were on the way to India this time when I had finally gotten something out of him. “We will not wait for the opportunity to come to us, we will take it from Cerberus; the same way they took the opportunity from us at Ascension.”

Victor, on the other hand, wasn't in any mood to share; even if he could. His silence was more than not being able to speak, it was a deep hurting and longing for revenge. He kept himself to himself on the plane from Moscow. I had tried, often., to speak to him but he always walked away from the confrontation. And trust me, on a long flight like we were on, silence was not an ideal sentiment.

I remember when the news of who Victor and Oleg were facing at the Supershow came through. Kagura Ozhora and Eve Taylor were the unlucky two. Upon spilling this news to Victor, I felt as though I could see a smile on his face for the first time in a few weeks actually. The chance to face Eve Taylor was exciting but the chance to right the wrong of Kagura taking the Elite X Championship from Victor was an even bigger incentive for him to get himself into the correct mindset. Truth be told, Victor had not been given the opportunity to right the wrong of losing the Championship and no, probably, never would be. Kagura had gone onto lose the Elite X Championship before too long and Victor and Oleg had found themselves embroiled in new affairs. But as I walked up the aisle to the seat in which Victor had isolated him to on the plane, I knew he would be pleased.

As I relayed to him, Oleg stood behind me and translated. As I read out the names to the Mauler of Moscow, a sudden and guttural laugh sounded through the plane; rising and rising all the time until it was all that could be heard, even above the roar of the engines.

“He is pleased”, said Oleg. “Eve Taylor and Kagura Ozhora will pay for the mistakes of Cerberus, there can be no doubt. We must redeem ourselves for the benefit of the Russian people; the same people who we disappointed.”

I remember turning back towards Victor; whose laughter had now settled. “Crush!”. Victor genuinely smiled at me for the first time since I had inherited him, balled up his fist and crushed his fingers together; laughing and smiling psychotically.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

Once we returned to the hotel room that night in Moscow, I was livid. The tag team titles had been ours, only to be taken from us at the last minute.

"проклинать их!"
(Curse them!)

I flipped a table.
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻

"эти грязные собаки!"
(Those filthy dogs)!

I threw a lamp against the wall.

"Мы уничтожим их!"
(We will destroy them!)

My rage was only subsided when Freddie and Victor came into the room.

"Calm down Oleg, you have to focus on your next match. You can't let your anger overcome you. You are better than this, you are better than Cerberus, and this week you will get your revenge in the form of taking out Cerberus' wretched bitch Eve Taylor."

The thought of taking out Eve calmed me down. It was Kagura that was a wild card. She was a complete unknown. She had shown recently that she had no allegiance to Eve. In fact, she had shown an uncharacteristic hatred toward Eve in recent weeks.

Victor made a motion to head to the hotel bar to calm us down, so Freddie and I followed.

***​

It was rare that I got drunk, but the next thing I remember was waking up in the hotel in New Delhi. I did my best to recall the dream I had as I awaited Freddie and Victor to come to my room to head to the gym. It was difficult to recall with a hangover. I walked to the window and peaked through the blinds.

"Проклятие солнце."
(Curse the sun.)

I went to the kitchen area of my room and put on a pot of coffee as I awaited Victor and Freddie. I was uneasy about fighting women, even if it meant potentially getting a leg up on Cerberus.

In Russia, women were not often put into positions to fight, though they were still revered as fighters. In cold nights they would give birth, just like that of my own mother. In those same cold nights, they would cook hearty meals, like my own mother. While the men were away, the women would tend to the family, like my own mother.

Then a knock at the door.

"Oleg, its Freddie and Victor, are you awake?"

I dressed quickly and went to the door to let them in.

"Da. I am enjoying my coffee before the start of the day."

Victor went inside and took a cup from my kitchen and poured himself a cup. I offered to Freddie, but he had an energy drink. In truth, it was probably best that Mr. Fortune lay off anything with caffeine, as he was already pretty high strung, but my focus was elsewhere. I had two bitches who needed to be put in their place.

"в восхождении , Cerberus будет знать полную силу матушки-России . грязные собаки будут положил раз и навсегда."
(At Ascension, Cerberus will know the full power of Mother Russia. The filthy dogs will be put down once and for all.)

 

[Viola Moonlight]

Ozhora looks to setup for her Amaterasu Omikami but Eve blind tags herself in! After a bit of arguing Kagura drops exits the ring and Eve turns around right into a Coconut Strike!

Eve Taylor rubbed her sore head, unable to shake the events that happened from Meltdown in Moscow. It kept repeating in her mind like a looping sequence, again and again. Every time it played over, she can feel a pulsating pain in her head, throbbing with every replay. She couldn't believe Kagura Ohzora's actions, completely ignoring everything she said to her.

"I went out of my way to penetrate the language barrier and she still defies me?" She says to herself.

Eve quickly checked her surroundings, noticing everyone on-board the flight from Moscow to India had fallen asleep. Nobody was awake, no-one hearing her comments. She wanted to make sure nobody looked at her like she was going insane, a look she had been receiving from more and more people everyday. People thought she was becoming too obsessed with her Eurasian championship.

"How can I be obsessed with my Eurasian title? Someone stole it from me and yelling thief at the man who did so makes me the crazy one?"

She shook her head with a condescending smile, answering her own question. Eve wasn't crazy at all! Eve never had any intentions of bringing children into this world as it would ruin her excellent model looks but she had motherly instincts when it came to her Eurasian title. It was her baby and someone taking it away from her would be the same as someone taking away a child from its mother. She had to do whatever it took to get back her child despite everyone pointing fingers and looking at Eve with disgust. At Meltdown in Moscow, that's exactly what Eve attempted to do. She looked to show everyone why she still was champion and to take down Theron Daggershield...

"... but she did Kagura do, she took matters into her own hands! She took the spotlight away from me and used our tag team match to make herself look like the true champion."

Kagura Ohzora: the shrine maiden who inserted herself into Eve's terrible predicament. All Eve wanted to do was prove she is still the worthy champion but Kagura came into her life and took everything from her. Kagura and that idiotic manager of hers, Gozaburo... the one who convinced Eve to give Kagura a fair chance. Maybe Kagura is the innocent one in all of this? Gozaburo is the mastermind behind the fighter?

"No, don't be ridiculous Eve. Kagura lost her Elite X title just like Theron stole your Eurasian title from you. She is only here for herself; everybody is! You can't trust someone who is looking to climb the same ladder as yourself."

Eve was right. Kagura was too focused on her own problems and saw Eve as a threat. That's why Kagura tagged herself into the match and showcased her skill, not allowing Eve to get back into the match... and when she did, Eve walked right into the Coconut strike!

"Ohi!" Eve rubbed her head, feeling the pain seer through her mind.

She looked around again, trying to find the flight attendants for some pain killers. They were talking quietly in their section, having some fun whilst the passengers on the plane remained in their slumber. Eve scowled, not wanting to deal with any more incompetent people. She drank some of her bottled water, trying to relieve the pain and rummaged through her bag to find her phone. She saw that she had several missed calls and texts from Flex.

"Sorry Flex, I've got more important things to worry about than us."

She scrolled down the texts, looking until she found the link sent by management to her personal schedule. Eve received one a couple of hours ago but was not in the mood to check. The growing pain in her head and the repeating ending of her match from Moscow forced her hand, looking to distract herself... however, the pain grew bigger when she saw the match.

Team Russia vs. Eve Taylor & KAGURA OHZORA​

Despite the apparent inability to work with each other, Eve was forced to team alongside Kagura once more. Eve's blood began to the boil as her eyes almost bulged out of her sockets. She was furious and all she wanted to do was scream... but she was trapped on a plane with almost nowhere to go. Eve unbuckled her seatbelt despite instructions saying otherwise, making a b-line for the lavatory. One of the attendants got up.

"Excuse me, Miss. Please go back to your seat."

Eve burned a hole right through the attendant with her eyes, barging past her with her own shoulder as she went inside the lavatory, looking the door. She stood still, tensing her arms towards the floor and closed her eyes, opening her mouth as she was about to scream. Eve did everything but the actual scream, trying to let out her anger in any way possible. Eve leaned over the basin, breathing heavily as she look directly into the mirror. She splashed some water on her face, looking to calm herself down.

"Pull yourself together, Eve!"

Eve fixed up her facial features quickly before she heard some knocking on the door.

"Excuse me, Miss. We need you to please return to your seat!"

Eve opened the door with a smile, doing exactly the attendant had asked to do. The attendant looked confused at the change in demeanour but shrugged it off as Eve returned to her seat. Eve fastened up and showed the attendant with a big smile on her face. Satisfied, the attendant turned back to her original spot and Eve's smile dissipated very quickly into a look of hatred. Not only did Eve had to worry about Team Russia - the problems of her stablemates Flex & Ramparte - but also Kagura Ohzora once again inserting herself into Eve's life. She was seething on the inside but she knew she had to maintain her pretty face.

"My match against Kagura Ohzora for my Eurasian title shot has already been set for Unscripted. There is nothing I can do to convince management. Oleg & Victor will surely be looking to take their anger out on me because they look to capture the tag team titles from Cerberus. Ohzora will want to put me in harms way to soften me up for our match..."

It seems Eve had no friends in this match.

"... but I will not let this happen! I'm the world's greatest supermodel, dammit! I will not be treated this way! Whatever happens in India, I'm going to walk away standing tall and Kagura Ohzora will not."

Eve smirks to herself, continuing to re-iterate to herself the last line over and over. The pain in her head begins slowly going away as she repeats herself, allowing Eve to slowly but surely be able to let her head back and fall asleep, like everyone else on the plane.

 

[Bernkastel]

Kagura Ohzora’s weeklong visit to Russia ended on a high note. She was finally going to meet the man that she had glimpsed in the airport almost a month ago. The one that dropped the book that current rested in her lap. She was on the plane headed for India. The next stop on the Unscripted tour. As the plane soured into the air she looked down at ground beneath her. Kagura felt it strange that a year ago she had never been on a plane before, now she had traveled more times than she could count. Having gotten to see the world like she had wanted, she and Sasuke went sightseeing. Secretly he felt that getting back into the business really rejuvenated his life as well. Gave him a reason to stay in top shape and keep up with the industry and look up old friends.

Kagura’s match for Unscripted was already set. She would be taking on Eve Taylor in their much anticipated rematch. Normally she would be more preoccupied [or in this case anxious] considering what was on the line if she won, but right now all that she could think about was the book in her lap. It had consumed her for the past month. Eve Taylor was a formidable opponent and she knew that she could win if she trained hard enough. And training was something she still did diligently.

As Sasuke slept next to her she began to delve deeper into the book. Many of the notes Dr. Housman had done indicated that the rituals were designated for the chief gods and goddess of Shinto. She had seen references to Amaterasu – the sun Goddess, Tsukuyomi – the moon God, and Susanoo – the storm God. As a shrine maiden she had performed rituals to all of these kami in the past. Ise Jingu was famed for housing the spirit of Amaterasu and she felt close to the patron Goddess at all times.

The flight took about six hours. When the plane landed Kagura was suddenly feeling the effects of jet lag.

“Do you care if we go to the hotel, Gozaburo-san?” she asked Sasuke.

“I’m exhausted. Can we go sightseeing tomorrow?”

“Not until after your training,” he replied gruffly.

She pouted, but remembered that she still had to meet with Dr. Housman. Ayamo Miyamoto-san had told her about his profession, their business relationship, and that he’d be waiting in New Delhi for her. The airport was huge. And there were so many people. It reminded her of the Tokyo airport. The WZCW roster was so big that the company had to book three flights to accommodate everyone comfortably. There even a few stars that had their own private jets. She walked aimlessly around the terminal until Sasuke called her over.

“We need to find the baggage claim.”

All she had with her was her travel bag. She nodded and followed after him. They caught up with a few of the other stars who were present in the airport. Kagura was always interested in how her co-workers acted around fans. Some of them enjoyed the extra attention and went out of their way to give free autographs and pictures, while others shunned the fans and kept to themselves. Despite being a former Elite X champion, Kagura did not consider herself to be a main event player. She still got some looks though, but hardly anyone ever approached her due to the language barrier, made worse by all of these newer countries that she had never seen before.
Most of the time a fan would have to communicate through Sasuke and he being as old school as he was still believed that the fans should keep to themselves. He’d scare them off with an intimidating look or politely ask them to leave. People that weren’t fans of wrestling would have assumed that the two of them were a couple traveling together. She didn’t like to think about that. Sasuke was like a father figure to her, so anyone assuming that they were romantically involved made her skin crawl.

After several minutes the pair made their way to the baggage claim. It usually took about twenty minutes for the airline to sort out the luggage. To her right she spotted a familiar face, waiting for the conveyor to spit out her luggage.

She walked right up to her with a smile on her face.

“Hello,” she replied in English.

The woman took one look at her and rolled her eyes.

“So we took the same flight? How aggravating…”

She rubbed her temples with her thumb and index fingers. Clearly her tag team “partner” was not in a happy mood. Eve Taylor had spent the entire flight obsessing over the loss she had suffered at the last show. Eve had seen the loss as a blatant betrayal of her good will, while Kagura saw the loss as miscommunication. She really didn’t have anything against Eve Taylor-san; when she tagged herself in at the end of the match she had merely told her to be careful. It’s not like she had willed the woman to get bashed in the head with a flying knee. She had done that on her own. They had spent the entire match simply trying to outdo each other. Kagura saw the match as an opportunity to show how much initiative she had, while Eve simply wanted to dominate for her own interests.

“Why are you smiling?” Eve suddenly shot pointing her finger at Kagura accusingly.

“Why are you always smiling? You think it’s funny? I tried to be nice. I tried to win the match. You did nothing but get in my way the whole time, and to top it off you left me to get my ass kicked. What kind of partner are you?”

Kagura, of course, did not respond to the tirade because she understood none of what she had said which only enraged the blond further. When it looked as though the blond could have reached out and strangled the black hair woman right there in front of the baggage claim, Sasuke intervened.

Eve stepped back, “I have nothing to say to you.”

Sasuke smirked as Eve spotted her travel bags. “Just tell her not to get in my way this time, and at Unscripted I’ll beat her again. Just to prove that I am the most dominant woman in WZCW.”

And with that she grabbed her bags and stomped away, leaving a slightly bewildered Kagura and a dismissive Sasuke. He spotted her bags and grabbed them. His had yet to appear. He was starting to think the airport had lost them. Kagura excused herself to the lavatories while he waited. It had been a long flight.

When she returned she had found she had doubled back and was now at a different conveyor belt. There were other WZCW stars here from another flight picking up their luggage. She was about to phone Sasuke, a little embarrassed about getting lost when she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned, expecting Sasuke, only to find the face of a handsome man. He had dark hair, was athletically built, and to her guess was probably in his early thirties. He wore a button down shirt with black pants. She looked at him with an inquisitive eye.

“Kagura Ohzora-san?”

She nodded, and he bowed and introduced himself as Dr. Derrick Housman.

“I’ve been waiting for your flight,” he responded in Japanese.

“I wasn’t sure which one you were on, as your company is quite large.”

Kagura eye lit up as she fumbled with her bag before presenting the book to the man.

“Here, you must be looking for this.”

Dr. Housman looked around suspiciously.

“Do you have a second? Come with me.”

Kagura hesitated, but found herself being pulled away. Dr. Housman led her to a small café a little ways away so that they could have some privacy.

“I apologize for being abrupt, Ohzora-san. I do appreciate you contacting Miyamoto-san. The book is very important.”

“So I’ve heard. It belongs to the Tokyo museum.”

They took a seat inside the café, he orders a drink.

“Miyamoto-san explained that the book needs to return to the museum by the end of the month.”

“Correct. Which is why I’m trying to do all I can to study it. It’s an ancient artifact.”

“Your notes are quite detailed. I’ve read a little bit of the book. It details allot of important Shinto rituals.”

Dr. Housman cocked an eyebrow. “I’m impressed.”

Kagura blushed. “Well I’m only knowledgeable on the subject because I was trained as miko when I was younger. I’m still on my spiritual path as a priestess. Allot of the kanji is older and more traditional. So I’m more impressed that you can read and translate it.”

“You’re a Shinto Priestess?”

She nodded, “Yes. I’m from the Watarai clan.”

“Watarai clan, from Ise Jingu?”

“Yes. I grew up in the village outside the main shrine. My grandfather is one of the elders.”

Dr. Housman was silent for a second, as if pondering something. He took a sip of his coffee.

“Listen Kagura-san. There’s something important about the book that you must know. There is a certain group of men that are after this book. Normally the museum would never sell an artifact, but we weren’t given a choice here. We’ve been backed into a corner.”

Kagura’s eyes widened. “Really?”

He took the notes wedged inside the book, placed them into his pocket, and put the book back into her hands.

“I came here to take the book back to Tokyo, but I’ve changed my mind. I’m taking my notes with me. My research is not complete, but I have enough for my purposes. I want you to hold on to the book and keep it safe. As long as nobody knows that you have it, you should be alright.”

Kagura was flabbergasted.

“Wait. You want me to keep the book? But I’m on the road all the time. I won’t be able to get it back to Tokyo in time at the end of the month.”

“Exactly, it’ll be safe with you. Where are headed next?”

“Beijing, China.”

“I’ll give you my number if you need to reach me. But don’t worry. If something happens I can arrange to come get the book from you. Just keep it safe.”

Kagura nodded.

“Right. You can count on me, Dr. Housman.”

The two shook hands and departed. Dr. Housman paid for the drinks, then Kagura made her way back to Sasuke. It wasn’t until later that night when she finally confessed about meeting Dr. Housman. Sasuke was surprised that the man had shown up at all, even more when she told him that he had left the book with Kagura for “safekeeping.” Something about that didn’t sound right. Even more off was the story that she gave him about a group wanting the book, and was willing to intimidate the Tokyo museum in order to get it. He only knew one group in Japan with that kind of power. And Kagura wasn’t stupid. Dr. Housman didn’t flat out say what she had been thinking from the description of the group, but she and Sasuke had both came to the same conclusion…the Yakuza.