MD 137 - Vee A.D.Z versus Kagura Joheki

[Dave]

RP deadline is Monday the 20th of February at 23:59 EST.

 

[Prince Vee]

A man wearing a black coloured trench coat was seen walking down a deserted park. Bushes and weeds had grown abundantly aside the path he walks. The sky was grey and was drizzling slightly. He walked on the muddy pathway to find himself standing in front of a wooden cabin, which was abandoned just as the park. He grabbed the door knob and pushed the door but the lock was jammed. He tried to turn the knob, a couple of times, before ramming his shoulder against the door, to no avail. Before any further thoughts, he kicked the door knob hard; the mud on his shoes splattered across the door; the lock shattered open. He pushed the door slowly and walked inside.

The inside of the cabin was quite contrast to its outer looks. There was a huge aluminium door inside that wooden cabin. He grabbed the huge latch and unlocked the metal door. He stepped inside and locked the door behind him. It was pitch black. He searched in the coat pocket and pulled out a lighter. He lit the lighter and the flame illuminates his face in that absolute dark room. It was Vlad, his perpetual grin had adorned his face.

He walked to one corner of the room and lit up a candle. He placed that candle in front of a mirror and the reflection of the small candle flame brightened the entire room. On the other corner of the room, there was a man, tied in a wooden armchair. His arms and legs were fastened firmly with a thick rope to the chair. Vlad slowly walked towards him. Each of his steps echoed across that almost empty room.

“Why don’t I see any disappointment in your eyes?”, the man asked without even raising his head. There was no haste in the way he spoke.

Vlad stood right before him; raised the weak head of the poor man by his chin and made him look right into his eyes.

“Dare to ask the same question to my face again?”, he drilled a hole through the man with his sharp glare.

“Why don’t I see any disappointment in your eyes?”, the man repeated.

The old man was helpless with his hands and legs tied; nonetheless, he said it without chewing his words. He glared back in the eyes of the sadistic human, that is Vlad.

“I don’t like you asking that question again. Yet I’m obliged to answer you, father”,

The man, apparently, Vlad’s father blinked his eyes. Vlad lurched forward, resting his hands over the tied up hands of his father.

[COLOR=”DarkGreen"]“I’m not disappointed because I see that anger in his eyes[/COLOR]", a cheapish smile formed across his sadistic lips.

“Your plans won’t work. You can’t defy the laws of nature, son”, a disgust formed across the face of his father when he uttered the word ‘son’ at him, nevertheless he couldn’t help it.

“Don’t talk like those mediocre minded scientists or should I say theorists. You’re not one of them”.

“Yes, I’ve ended up getting tied in an abandoned room by my own son”.

Vlad raised up from his position and let out a maniac laugh that echoed the room. But without saying anymore words, he walked towards the candle and blew it off. He opened the huge metal door and stepped outside. Before closing the door, he turned his head back to give one last look at his helpless father.

“It’ll be all over soon. You commenced this chaos and so far I have written the pages in quite a poetic way. The end will be dramatic. It’ll be merry for me”.

**********​

The suitcase was already filled up with huge piles of clothes. It was very unorganized and apparently seemed like it was all packed up in a hurry. Vee put two more big towels over the already staked up suitcase and tries to lock it.

Sara: You don’t need to do this. I can take care of my own.

Vee pushed his forearm against the huge pile of clothes, stock them up inside and manages to close the suitcase. He checked its lock and turned towards Sara with a smile.

Vee: I don’t want you to get late for your flight. I’ve called a taxi and it’ll be here anytime now. You better check if there’s anything you’ve missed.

Sara folded her arms against her chest, frowned her eye brows and gave Vee a look of displeasure.

Sara: Can’t you even drop me at the Airport? What’s wrong with you?

Vee: Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Her lower lip was pouting out, making her face look absolutely sympathetic.

Sara: Now it feels like I almost forced my way to be at the front row for last week’s Kingdom Come. You didn’t want me here, did you?

The smile, small yet elegant that had adorned the face of Vee so far, had started to disappear slowly now.

Vee: Why do you want to stay?

Sara: Why do you want me to leave?

Vee: You know why.

Sara: I want to hear from you.

Vee: You know this argument will never end if it keeps going like this.

Sara: I’m not arguing. I demand answers for my questions.

Vee dropped the suitcase with an absolute disgust. He walked across the room, to and fro, quite hastily, for a couple of time. Sara was rather standing there patiently with her arms clutched so close to her chest.

Vee: When was the last time you visited me here in the United States? Did I take you to a beautiful restaurant for a grand dinner then? I reckon not. We stayed in a same cheap hotel room like this and looked at each other sympathetically and spent the whole night consoling each other with warm and sweet words. Guess what? Nothing has changed. Not even a bit.

Her lips were trembling; when it comes to anger, they both were the same, she wanted to spew out her words right back at him. But she took a moment to recollect all her thoughts. She comprehended the situation better than her significant other. She understood it was the rage of loss that catalysed the venom in his words.

Sara: You presumed that you are back to square one, did you not? I beg to differ.

Vee: What else supposedly I should reckon?

Sara: Every time, you find a different way to mourn about your loss. Honestly, do you even see anything other than those losses?

Vee: How could I see anything when the defeats cloud me around? I can’t see anything else. Every time I look in the mirror, I see the shame on my face.

Sara: You want to know what I see every time when I look into your face? Courage.

Vee chuckled in her direction, without raising his head up. He wasn’t even looking at her direction. He just gusts out his breath and gave her a glance from the corner of his eyes. His lips mumbles something almost inaudible.

Vee: Courage… How so?

He almost spilled those words out with a laugh but the circumstances were not to laugh, even in a sarcastic way.

Sara: You’ve the courage take the losses over your shoulders and walk around without even arching down. Your legs are too strong to give out. Your heart is too strong to quit. Your shoulder might be heavy, inspite of that, you never took a step backward. You have the courage as no one I’ve ever seen, let alone in WZCW.

Vee: Half of what you said, I concur. One thing I know about me very clearly is, I don’t quit. It is despicable if I quit after these many defeats. It’s worse than walking with the shame of losses.

Sara: But you see, some people can’t bear the burden of loss. Just take a look at WZCW, Casanova disappeared after he lost to you. Veejay disappeared once he lost alongside you. Luke Manson? Gone! But you’re still here. Despite the defeats, wounds, pains and scars, you’re still here.

Vee: I am here for what? To keep eating the dust? I just have lost the plot completely.

Sara moved from her position, finally, and walked close to him. She cupped his cheek in her palms and looked deep in his eyes.

Sara: I like to think, you’re here to stay. Biding your time to stay here forever. Maybe these scars are not what defines you. You maybe be having some severe deficiencies. But these wounds and scars and these heavy defeats are the one which is going to perfect you; going to harness you into something strong. I like to think…

Bling – Bling​

She was interrupted by a phone call. They both were standing there close, looking deep in each other’s eyes. Either of them wanted to move. But the phone was ringing, rather persistently. Vee moved away from her embrace and picked up the phone. He muttered something inaudible through the phone. Then he turned back at her, regretfully.

Vee: Your taxi has arrived…

Emotions were swirling around his head, taking his thoughts far away from what he’s seeing but his lips said those words. He was stubborn, that’s for sure and his girlfriend always had known that. She was stubborn too, but in her own way.

Sara: Alright. You still want me to leave, don’t you?

He wanted to say he doesn’t but those words had clogged down in his throat only to respond to her with a silence.

Sara: I won’t leave here on your terms but on mine. I’ll go to Atlanta to stay with Ida. I’ll give you another month to decide whether I should stay in the United States or leave. Either way, I’ll be just waiting for you with hope. Hope which you should have a lot now.

She clutched her handbag from the table and walked out of that room. He followed her carrying her big suitcase. A long silence followed from the time they walked out of the room, down the elevator, into the taxi and half way through to the Airport.

Her love for him was too much to even let that silence to separate them for the moment. She broke the silence whilst looking at her phone.

Sara: Your next match is with Kagura Daikonron,

Vee: Joheki… it’s Kagura Joheki.

Sara: Right.

A very brief silence followed that. It was Vee who broke the silence this time. Despite how much he concealed his feelings in a bubble, his love for her is more than she can imagine.

Vee: I’ve never faced her one on one, but she had eliminated me a couple of times halting my momentum. Once at Kingdom Come last year and Once at Apocalypse.

Momentarily, the rage had taken over his thoughts, again. The defeats, even the memory of it haunted him.

Vee: I don’t want to avenge her.

His words were far too distinct from his thoughts. He definitely wanted to avenge his defeat on her. He wanted to make her gravitate before him. But he decided not to say it. He felt a strange chuckle inside that car. It wasn’t of Sara’s. It was a familiar sound though. Whatever it was, it certainly curtailed his anger that had covered his thoughts.

Vee: I’m sorry for being a knob head. I really am baffled right now. That’s why I wanted you to go. I want to stay isolated, at least for a while till I sort out what’s going on with me. Till then, I’m going to give my best. No matter how many matches I win or I lose, I’ll just be giving my best.

He turned his face around to see her but before that, she quickly scooted closer to him to give a kiss on his forehead.

Sara: I know you will. You’re the only one I trust in.

Vee: But honestly, I want to humiliate Kagura for she had defeated me before. It’s really uncharacteristic of me! I wish to think at least you understand that I’m not being me lately.

Sara: I believe in who you are. It must be the stress that had taken you over. Just relax. I love you for who you are and always will.

A half-hearted smile formed across his lips. He rested his back gently on the car seat and closed his eyes to relax. But he had a strange feeling of being stalked. He felt like a prey. He wandered his eyes around to finally see the rear view mirror. The driver had been starring at him through the mirror.

Those eyes were familiar. When he made a contact with it, it smiled at him or rather grinned at him. It didn’t look anywhere else, not even the road for a long while. He felt Sara’s head on his shoulder that made him turn his glance down at her. Finally, they arrived at the airport. Sara grabbed her suitcase and got off the car.

Vee followed her out and took out his wallet to tip the taxi driver. He walked to the front to see Vlad sitting on the driver seat with his hands clutched to the steering wheel. He gave his perpetual grin at Vee on the sight. He just made his dramatic appearance and drove off Vee’s sight, even without getting his taxi fare. Perplexed, Vee walked behind Sara into the airport.

**********​

Vlad drove the car off the airport, he drove a little further into the freeway. He took a turn into the city. His hands were on the steering but his thoughts were on Vee. He smiled to himself.

“I still see that anger in his eyes. The anger that had consumed me and turned me into the monster I am! The monster I love to be. But I see a big hurdle”, he paused his thoughts to steer the wheel to the left.

“Sara… She is the hurdle. The roadblock in that anger to consume him completely”, he thought.

“She is his greatest asset. With her around, I can never change him in the way I wanted. Ah it is challenging. I love challenges. Or should I not gamble with her presence? It’s time to decide…”

“Tick-Tock”

“Tick-Tock”

“TICK-TOCK”

**********​

​

 

[Bernkastel]

A title shot, that was unexpected. Kagura had gone into Kingdom Come not expecting to accomplish much, and not for a lack of trying. Ever sense her concussion at the hands of Andrew Adonis she hadn’t felt the same. The injury had awoken something deep within her psyche. She had night terrors that would cause her to wake in a cold sweat. Her screams bothered the other tenants. Twice she had received complaints at the hotels she stayed at. Meditation did not help. And yet here she was, trying as hard as she could to clear her mind. She should have been happy. This was a time for jubilation.

‘Oh spirits of the kami that dwell here, hear me. Let me be the vessel. Bestow upon me the power to feel the natural energy and become one with it. Now more than ever I need clarity.’

After purifying herself, she sat in silence, waiting. In her mind she mused…

‘What path should I take? Do I challenge Xander Lebell as the new Elite Openweight champion, or should I challenge Titus and try to dethrone him for the Eurasian championship? I am confused. For once in a very long time I find myself unamused by the emotional drivel that has sustained me in recent months.’

Her eyes flashed open dangerously, breaking her concentration. Her glare slowly lowers to the book lain out in front of her. She stared at it coldly.

“It’s useless! The championship belts aren’t something that I can just take, I have to earn them!”

She shouted at the darkness. She’s hit a wall of frustration. Normally she could either make idle threats or even act to get her way, like she did against Ramparte, but a ritual would be useless here. She couldn’t will a title around her waist, and she knew it. She had to step up to the plate and take them by force. The book was a tool; it wasn’t designed to supplement her own skill.

She gritted her teeth and tried to meditate once again. Fatigue from a lack of sleep and what could really be defined as a rush of anxiety from a very unclear future was clouding her mind. It weighed heavily on her to the point where she was starting to become unglued. For so long she had been used to a particular comfort that having the book had brought her, and now suddenly she couldn’t use it. That was a scary thought.

She hadn’t really been conscious of it at first, but the longer the book had been in her possession, the more she had been consumed by it. It gave her power, confidence, and knowledge. They shared a symbiotic relationship. And while she had been grateful for being able to come as far as she had, she now realized that the power of the book couldn’t take her any further.

‘I-I thought I had infinite power. I really did. But this is too much for me to handle. I’d have to trick either Titus or Xander into giving up the belts under their own free will. But how would I do that? Steal their free will? No! I have my own. That wouldn’t make sense. And even if I could I’d have to force Banks to recognize me as champ. I couldn’t manipulate that many people at once.’

Kagura felt her rage and frustration beginning to boil. She reached out and grabbed the book and held it front of her. She began to pant; her breaths were ragged.

“Why are you so weak!”

With a thousand emotions running through her head, what else as there to say? For so long she had relied on this thing and now that she couldn’t it was worth throwing away, right?

Right?...

Suddenly a pain ripped through her skull causing her to drop it. Without her realizing it the book had opened, revealing the page that was created after she had used the ritual to steal Ramparte’s voice. Stolen out of necessity, she had chosen Ramparte for his articulation. Combined with her intelligence she had tapped into not only his speech, but with it his expertise and knowledge of Western and world culture. She, an ignorant shrine girl from a rural town in Japan, had never even left her front door before becoming a wrestler, and Ramparte’s wealth of knowledge was a treasure to her. It was all that she had desired, at the time. And she was able to take the physicality of that voice and make it hers, because it was a necessity that she lacked. The title belts were trophies; she’d be able to function regardless if one was around her waist or not. She had worn one in WZCW once before, and she had loved that experience. And she’d love the chance to do it again. Kagura grimaced and clenched her fists.

“This book isn’t weak; I’m weak!”

Another obstacle stood in her way this week. A former opponent Vee A.D.Z.

‘Vee,’ she spat.

‘He has nothing that I could want. What is his that could be mine to steal? He’s just as skilled as I am and he’s not nearly as smart. Or cunning. Like me he’s struggling to find his footing in this madhouse of a company. But it looks like I may have found mine first.’

She grinned. Slowly she began to laugh, and soon the sound of deranged laughter filled the room.

“I’m weak?! Hardly; I’ve accomplished everything that I have set out to do and there’s nothing stopping me from becoming champion again. Even without the book; I’m perfect just the way I am. I don’t need it!”

She took a long breath and exhaled slowly, she glanced down when something strange caught her gaze. The book as glowing. Or rather the page where she had performed the ritual was glowing. Red. In the center the black dot that represented the contract that she had entered into once fulfilled had jumped to life. The circle was spinning backwards.

“I-don’t… This is impossible!”

She screamed. Derrick had warned her about the curse, and what he had found out about the history of the book via telephone a day earlier. She had brushed it off, but she hadn’t dismissed the story. The Japanese were a very superstitious people, and she being a shrine maiden took this seriously.

She just didn’t think…

This was a situation that defied logic! Even to someone that was regularly possessed by spirts. She didn’t even have to be meditating to feel the evil here. It was so potent that it had to have chased everything away. The natural energy of the world seemed to dissipate around her. This was madness.

Suddenly the shadows in the room began to grow. The darkness enveloping everything. Drops of what appeared to be black blood appeared on the walls and dripped from the ceiling. She watched as the circle of the page of the book continued to spin. It spun faster and faster until it became a swirling black mass. She shadows and dripping blood began to seep back into the book itself, and that’s when she heard the screams.

A banshee’s wail’s; the sound was so great that it forced her to the floor. She covered her ears. She watched in disbelief as the shadows took the shape of a young woman with a grim figure. She wore a white oriental dress that was covered in blood. Her long black hair was disheveled and unkempt. She lifted her head and Kagura saw the menacing red orbs that stared directly into her soul.

She seethed in rage and stood, shouting at the figure while pointing at the book.

“You onryo spirit! So is this your true from, huh?”

She smiled, reveling in her own madness.

“I’ve prepared for this moment. Just in case you ever showed yourself to me. I didn’t think all I would have to do is denounce the book. That’s right, I don’t need it anymore. I’ve got everything that I could want and now I’m ready to move forward…”

She took out an ofuda talisman, brandishing it at the malicious spirit.

“…Without you. Do your worst.”

The ghost opened her mouth and screamed. The noise was so strong that it dropped Kagura to her knees again. But she shook her head free of the jarring soundwaves and stood. She rushed the ghost looking to banish it into the next world, but the woman disappeared into the shadows.

“Enough with the games, they won’t work on me. You aren’t the first onryo spirit that I have encountered. Vengeful you might be, but so am I! Come, let’s see if your desire exceeds mine.”

The ghost suddenly appeared in front of her and reached for her with a pale ghoulish looking arm, but Kagura stood resolute. In one swift moment she slapped the spirit with the ofuda, right on top of her head.

“Evil spirit be gone!”

The woman staggered back in pain. She screamed and writhed around in agony as Kagura’s demented laughter filled the room, smothering the screams. And then suddenly the spirit went quiet. She stood back up and to Kagura’s horror she ripped the talisman from her face.

“But, how?”

Kagura was bewildered. Suddenly a cacophony of voices echoed into her skull.

“That won’t work!”

“Did you forget; you are no longer a maiden of the light!”

“You used this book and forsook yourself.”

“Your soul is mine!”

Kagura screamed and grabbed her head as the evil spirit began to envelop her. She watched in horror as the woman grabbed ahold of her. Her face was rotten. She could see the dead flesh crawling. The stench was awful. In desperation she lashed out, trying to keep the spirit at arm’s length, but to no avail.

“Become one with me, Ka-gu-ra!”

The singsong way the voice called her name sent chills down her spine and turned her blood to ice. She was terrified.

‘She’s assimilating me, what can I do? I can’t banish her! She’s too powerful. Someone help me! Anyone!’

Kagura screamed in agony. Her cries filled the room and echoed off the walls. She fell to the floor clutching her head as the spirit grabbed her head. Her nails dug into her skull, piercing her flesh. Kagura’s blood began to drip onto the floor. The ghost opened her mouth, revealing rows of rotted and decayed teeth. Slowly she began to lick the blood with her tongue, mixing Kagura’s essence with hers. Kagura’s decent to insanity was beginning. She felt like a beast. All sense of rationality was leaving her. Her screams became primal, as her feral rage drilled through the wallpaper and penetrated all the other rooms on the hall.

The sound of banging came from the front door. It was locked. Dead bolted shut. Several seconds passed. It felt like an eternity. Kagura fell to the floor. The ghost was hollowing her out; becoming one with her. This was the punishment for those that discarded the book like trash and broke the bond. Or rather, it was the punishment for those that the vengeance spirit felt were no longer worthy of wielding the book.

The banging turned into slamming. Whomever was on the other side was trying to force themselves into the room. Kagura’s eyes glazed over as she felt herself losing consciousness… or rather, the spirit gaining control.

“Kagura!”

A voice shouted as a figure forced himself into the room. He began shouting at several figures behind him as they disappeared, presumably to get medical supplies. Kagura was bleeding from the head. She looked like she had fallen and hit her head on the edge of a table.

Derrick had barely made it time. The hotel staff had heard screaming coming from Kagura’s room, and after trying to force the door open using a battering ram once they found that they could open the door with a master key, he had finally managed to help them get to her.

She turned to face him. She looked alien. He called her name again. No response. Without thinking he rushed her, but she kicked him hard in the side and knocked him down. He grabbed his side and cursed. Kagura grabbed her head in sudden pain as he stood. He rushed her again and this time managed to tackle her onto the bed, pinning her down with his weight.

She began to struggle against him trying to claw at his face. He grabbed her arms and pinned them to the sides of the bed.

“Get ahold of yourself, it’s Derrick!”

She couldn’t hear him, or rather, she chose not to. It was as if she had been possessed. He swore.

“Listen to me Kagura, whatever’s going on, you have to fight it! You denounced the book didn’t you! Or rather you recognized that the power of the book can’t take you any further than you’ve already come! You don’t need the book to be successful, and you never did.”

He looked over across the room. The book was still open. Even he could see that it was pulsating. The page with Kagura’s ritual that she had performed on Ramparte was glowing. He shook his head; perhaps he was losing his mind too.

Kagura was still fighting him. Under the façade; her face twisted in rage, she could still sense her fear. There was still a part of her left.

“The vengeful spirit must have appeared. Don’t let her drive you mad Kagura!”

He shut his eyes in frustration. This was apparently the fate of the first priestess that tried to use the power of the book to her advantage. She was eventually driven mad. Derrick couldn’t see the ghost, but he could certainly feel the evil in the room. There’s was something I guess he could call supernatural going on here. He couldn’t stand to see her like this. The woman that he loved in such agony. And there was nothing that he could do to help her.

Glancing to floor once more he saw the ofuda talisman.

‘So, she even used that. And it didn’t work?’

Kagura was an experienced priestess. She had helped her grandfather perform exorcisms and perform purifying rituals in the past. Perhaps she had expected this to happen. But why didn’t it work? He could feel Kagura writhing against his grasp trying in vain to free herself. With a scream he lowered his head and did the only thing that he could think of doing for her in that moment. He kissed her.

It was his way of showing his love for her. Words wouldn’t have reached her at this point. Kagura continued to struggle against his embrace when slowly her rage turned into throes of passion and desire. She returned the kiss. He let go and she flung her arms around him ready to receive his carnal love. Suddenly her body began to shake. She was having a seizure! He shouted her name and continued to restrain her. Suddenly she began screaming at the top of her lungs. The noise was so great that he had to cover his ears. She kicked him off the bed.

He slowly righted himself when the hotel staff appeared at the door. Panicked he rushed forward to send them away, wanting to retrieve any medical supplies that he might need. Kagura continued to scream at the top of her lungs despite the confusion. This continued for several minutes. The rest of the guests had complained to the point where the police had been called in for additional investigation. Kagura continued to wail. She did not move from her spot on the bed. Tears filled her eyes. There was little Derrick could do to comfort her. He turned and stared at the book. The center black dot was still rotating. Counterclockwise. He could see it beginning to disappear.

For over an hour Kagura continued to scream at the top of her lungs when her voice suddenly went silent. Derrick could see that she was bleeding slightly from the mouth. She must have ruptured her vocal chords. The blood on her face had dried. All at once he saw her collapse forward, unconscious. He rushed to grab her, but she wouldn’t respond. An ambulance was called. Kagura was placed on oxygen and rushed to the hospital. As the paramedics whisked her away, he grabbed the book. The ritual had been undone. He turned the page back to find another black dot.

Had Kagura not been aware this whole time? This had not been the only ritual she had performed. He gritted his teeth, and slammed the book shut.

It took three days for Kagura to recover. Miraculously she had suffered no lasting injuries and her migraines were gone. A doctor had granted her a full recovery after a CAT scan. She wouldn’t miss her match. There was just one problem…

... Her voice was gone. She had been rendered mute once again.

That was the price she had paid. This time. A small one for escaping the clutches of madness. It wasn’t over, and Derrick wondered what would happen next time. The book couldn’t help her right now, but yet it had brought her this far. Would she continue to use its power, knowing that it had nearly driven her insane?

He wondered if he could bring himself to tell her truth, and if she had the strength to remove herself from the books influence altogether once she realized what she had done to her manager Sasuke…

…and what Ryuumi, that cunning priestess, had done to her first.