MD 138 - Kagura Joheki versus Wren
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Bernkastel
Reaper of Miracles
Kagura tried to open her mouth to speak for what felt like the umpteenth time. She tried to form the words as her face contorted, but the sounds of silence still filled the room. Her vocal chords vibrated and sometimes would emit a small gurgling sound, but nothing coherent enough to be considered actual speech. In frustration, she slammed her hand on the table.
No need to get so upset Kagura.
She turned to the voice beside her. It was Derrick. She shook her head and shot him a forlorn look while her eyes seemed to beg him for mercy.
It had been two weeks since Kaguras strange encounter with the onryo that inhabited the book. A vengeance demon that lingered in the natural world as a ghost. They were often associated with violent and tragic pasts. Kagura had purified a few of them in the past, but this one was far too powerful for her to have handled on her own. The ghastly encounter left her voiceless; the previous ritual that she had performed on Ramparte had now been rendered void.
The only question she had was the why, and of course there were many possible answers. The one that she had come to accept was that she had simply denounced the power of the book and thats why the ghost appeared, as a punishment. Derrick disagreed. He had not seen the ghost directly, but watching the aftereffects had been traumatizing enough. Kagura had been in so much pain, he listened to her literally tear her vocal chords apart. If it wasnt a supernatural encounter, then he had no idea how to explain it otherwise.
Kagura narrowed her eyes at him. She was seated across the table with her phone in her hand.
Thats easy for you to say, she thought.
I think its because you changed objectives. When you performed the ritual it as to obtain something, a voice, made to better yourself. You could become a champion. You dont need a voice for that. All you need is a strong will. You can express your feelings and desires without voicing them you know?
The only practical form of communication between them now was text messaging. Kagura thumbs jabbed at her keyboard as she tried to hammer out a swift response.
Derrick silently read the text, then shook his head.
You still dont remember, do you? About what really happened.
His question was confusing, of course she remembered. Ryuumi attacked her, and she defended herself. The book chose her as its new master.
I dont know about any of that, but the truth is Ryuumi performed the ritual on you first. According to your grandfather, she was successful.
Kagura shook her head. She furiously began typing out a reply when he held out his hand and stopped her.
Your grandfather reversed the effects of the ritual before they could bind. I dont know how he did it, but hes the one you should be thanking.
Kaguras mouth dropped open in shook. For one long moment that seemed like an eternity she sat still, trying to process this information.
What is he saying? That makes no sense. Even if that were true, I could hear Ryuumis voice echoing in my head all these months. Her desires soon became mine. As did her thoughts. And her voice
Her thoughts trailed off. Was it possible that her voice this entire time had not even been hers to begin with? Kagura had spoken not a single word of coherent English since leaving Japan. And whatever had transpired between her and that woman had ultimately produced an unbalanced union. Ryuumi could speak English. Well, from what she had heard. It was possible that the voice she had been using, the one she had lost all those months ago, had been Ryuumis from the start. Speaking through Kagura as a vessel would have meant that Kagura had never performed the ritual on Ryuumi at all.
Kagura set the phone down. That was quite the revelation. This close supernatural encounter had been just as revealing as it had been confusing. She began rubbing her head. It was beginning to hurt again. Not like it had been before, with the splitting migraines that she had been getting; no, this was more like a my-brain-cant-process-this-shit-right-now headache. Derricks voice broke the silence.
Seems to me that Ryuumis voice became your own. Not that you stole it. Its more as if you inherited it. I think. Some of her old desires must have lingered long enough to have influenced your psyche. Long enough to try and get you to perform the ritual once more to obtain a new one.
Kagura began texting on the phone.
No, you arent. Can I ask you something, what do you want now, more than anything?
Kagura gripped the phone and typed.
It was true. And when asked in a recent interview why she had narrowed her sights onto Titus, who for months had looked unstoppable plowing through each opponent, she simply scribbled on a piece of paper do I need a reason?
The fans had taken her comment and ran with it. In response to the #NotMyChampion movement, the tweets #KaguraNeedsNoReason along with signs that read Make Kagura Great Again began popping up around arenas.
And since Kingdom Come, Kagura had been on a hot streak, beating Vee A.D.Z on the last show, she now set her sights on toppling the challenge of Wren. If her thoughts werent so jumbled maybe she could say that she knew the girl. They hadnt met, but her reputation preceded itself. Wren was a first-class wrestler. Reported to be anyways, and was as tough as nails. She knew what JSS in Japan had been, at least in passing. Kagura had never gotten to work for them. They were a larger promotion if she remembered. Surely, with Wren being their ace, she would have recognized her. Or had seen her face. Two problems though; Wren kept her face hidden and it was very possible that Wren had not been her name in JSS. It wasnt familiar to Kagura. That woman was a mystery.
She began to type on her phone once more.
Derrick nodded. Perhaps a little too earnestly for Kaguras taste.
A pause
If Derrick had been drinking, he might have spit up all over himself.
Where did that come from all of the sudden? I mean, yeah, sure. She has a great body, but I cant see her face underneath that mask that she wears.
Kagura pouted. And responded with a lightning fast text.
Derrick blushed red and shook his head. He chuckled. She was flustered. Kagura was cute when she was jealous. She tried to push his buttons. He enjoyed these little games of hers.
Wrens an attractive girl, but she doesnt hold a candle to your beauty. Not that I can tell, with that mask that she wears. Besides, youre cute when you are flustered.
It was Kaguras turn to blush as her thumbs punched the keys.
Unlike most, Wren understood Kagura. There was no culture shock. There was no language barrier. There wasnt even a gender barrier. In truth, Kagura was a little bit jealous of Wren, but at the same she knew she had a trump card. And that was experience. WZCW wasnt like any wrestling company found in Japan. There was no dojo. Alliances were short lived. To survive you had to act like a predator. And Kagura smelled blood. It drove her. Made her stronger. And she would stop at nothing until she achieved her goals.
I have to watch the title match between Titus and Logan carefully tonight, she thought to herself.
McAllister could pull the upset of the century at Meltdown, which was being held in Boston, the mans home town. If he did then it would totally change her match at Apocalypse.
Once read, Derrick raised an eyebrow.
So to win a championship, you have to be charming?
Kagura nodded. Derrick reached behind his neck and undid his necklace. It was an omamori good luck charm. He slipped it around her neck.
Here, consider yourself charmed.
His actions were met with raucous laughter. Kagura looked at the charm, and then into Derricks eyes. They were the same color of deep onyx. It felt weird. Normally she was the one that bestowed blessings onto others. It was nice to know that someone did care about her that much.
And it wasnt just him, the fans were warming up to her too. Many no longer saw her as a rampaging monster. Perhaps she signified change that wouldnt bring disaster and chaos. There wasnt any reason to keep associating herself with the name Joheki. Her last name wasnt important. People only needed one name to remember her by, and that was Kagura. Her thumbs typed one more message.
No need to get so upset Kagura.
She turned to the voice beside her. It was Derrick. She shook her head and shot him a forlorn look while her eyes seemed to beg him for mercy.
It had been two weeks since Kaguras strange encounter with the onryo that inhabited the book. A vengeance demon that lingered in the natural world as a ghost. They were often associated with violent and tragic pasts. Kagura had purified a few of them in the past, but this one was far too powerful for her to have handled on her own. The ghastly encounter left her voiceless; the previous ritual that she had performed on Ramparte had now been rendered void.
The only question she had was the why, and of course there were many possible answers. The one that she had come to accept was that she had simply denounced the power of the book and thats why the ghost appeared, as a punishment. Derrick disagreed. He had not seen the ghost directly, but watching the aftereffects had been traumatizing enough. Kagura had been in so much pain, he listened to her literally tear her vocal chords apart. If it wasnt a supernatural encounter, then he had no idea how to explain it otherwise.
Kagura narrowed her eyes at him. She was seated across the table with her phone in her hand.
Thats easy for you to say, she thought.
I think its because you changed objectives. When you performed the ritual it as to obtain something, a voice, made to better yourself. You could become a champion. You dont need a voice for that. All you need is a strong will. You can express your feelings and desires without voicing them you know?
The only practical form of communication between them now was text messaging. Kagura thumbs jabbed at her keyboard as she tried to hammer out a swift response.
Derrick silently read the text, then shook his head.
You still dont remember, do you? About what really happened.
His question was confusing, of course she remembered. Ryuumi attacked her, and she defended herself. The book chose her as its new master.
I dont know about any of that, but the truth is Ryuumi performed the ritual on you first. According to your grandfather, she was successful.
Kagura shook her head. She furiously began typing out a reply when he held out his hand and stopped her.
Your grandfather reversed the effects of the ritual before they could bind. I dont know how he did it, but hes the one you should be thanking.
Kaguras mouth dropped open in shook. For one long moment that seemed like an eternity she sat still, trying to process this information.
What is he saying? That makes no sense. Even if that were true, I could hear Ryuumis voice echoing in my head all these months. Her desires soon became mine. As did her thoughts. And her voice
Her thoughts trailed off. Was it possible that her voice this entire time had not even been hers to begin with? Kagura had spoken not a single word of coherent English since leaving Japan. And whatever had transpired between her and that woman had ultimately produced an unbalanced union. Ryuumi could speak English. Well, from what she had heard. It was possible that the voice she had been using, the one she had lost all those months ago, had been Ryuumis from the start. Speaking through Kagura as a vessel would have meant that Kagura had never performed the ritual on Ryuumi at all.
Kagura set the phone down. That was quite the revelation. This close supernatural encounter had been just as revealing as it had been confusing. She began rubbing her head. It was beginning to hurt again. Not like it had been before, with the splitting migraines that she had been getting; no, this was more like a my-brain-cant-process-this-shit-right-now headache. Derricks voice broke the silence.
Seems to me that Ryuumis voice became your own. Not that you stole it. Its more as if you inherited it. I think. Some of her old desires must have lingered long enough to have influenced your psyche. Long enough to try and get you to perform the ritual once more to obtain a new one.
Kagura began texting on the phone.
No, you arent. Can I ask you something, what do you want now, more than anything?
Kagura gripped the phone and typed.
It was true. And when asked in a recent interview why she had narrowed her sights onto Titus, who for months had looked unstoppable plowing through each opponent, she simply scribbled on a piece of paper do I need a reason?
The fans had taken her comment and ran with it. In response to the #NotMyChampion movement, the tweets #KaguraNeedsNoReason along with signs that read Make Kagura Great Again began popping up around arenas.
And since Kingdom Come, Kagura had been on a hot streak, beating Vee A.D.Z on the last show, she now set her sights on toppling the challenge of Wren. If her thoughts werent so jumbled maybe she could say that she knew the girl. They hadnt met, but her reputation preceded itself. Wren was a first-class wrestler. Reported to be anyways, and was as tough as nails. She knew what JSS in Japan had been, at least in passing. Kagura had never gotten to work for them. They were a larger promotion if she remembered. Surely, with Wren being their ace, she would have recognized her. Or had seen her face. Two problems though; Wren kept her face hidden and it was very possible that Wren had not been her name in JSS. It wasnt familiar to Kagura. That woman was a mystery.
She began to type on her phone once more.
Derrick nodded. Perhaps a little too earnestly for Kaguras taste.
A pause
If Derrick had been drinking, he might have spit up all over himself.
Where did that come from all of the sudden? I mean, yeah, sure. She has a great body, but I cant see her face underneath that mask that she wears.
Kagura pouted. And responded with a lightning fast text.
Derrick blushed red and shook his head. He chuckled. She was flustered. Kagura was cute when she was jealous. She tried to push his buttons. He enjoyed these little games of hers.
Wrens an attractive girl, but she doesnt hold a candle to your beauty. Not that I can tell, with that mask that she wears. Besides, youre cute when you are flustered.
It was Kaguras turn to blush as her thumbs punched the keys.
Unlike most, Wren understood Kagura. There was no culture shock. There was no language barrier. There wasnt even a gender barrier. In truth, Kagura was a little bit jealous of Wren, but at the same she knew she had a trump card. And that was experience. WZCW wasnt like any wrestling company found in Japan. There was no dojo. Alliances were short lived. To survive you had to act like a predator. And Kagura smelled blood. It drove her. Made her stronger. And she would stop at nothing until she achieved her goals.
I have to watch the title match between Titus and Logan carefully tonight, she thought to herself.
McAllister could pull the upset of the century at Meltdown, which was being held in Boston, the mans home town. If he did then it would totally change her match at Apocalypse.
Once read, Derrick raised an eyebrow.
So to win a championship, you have to be charming?
Kagura nodded. Derrick reached behind his neck and undid his necklace. It was an omamori good luck charm. He slipped it around her neck.
Here, consider yourself charmed.
His actions were met with raucous laughter. Kagura looked at the charm, and then into Derricks eyes. They were the same color of deep onyx. It felt weird. Normally she was the one that bestowed blessings onto others. It was nice to know that someone did care about her that much.
And it wasnt just him, the fans were warming up to her too. Many no longer saw her as a rampaging monster. Perhaps she signified change that wouldnt bring disaster and chaos. There wasnt any reason to keep associating herself with the name Joheki. Her last name wasnt important. People only needed one name to remember her by, and that was Kagura. Her thumbs typed one more message.
CyberPunk
The Show himself
FATHER!
There was no one listening. Just a dark empty void engulfed her. The little girl was freaking out.
MOTHER!
The girl kept walking through the dark, empty void. Her shriek was met with deafening silence. Her body wanted to go on, her mind, however, was close to giving up. At a distance, she noticed two human like figures. As she tried to figure them out, a faint sound of sobbing echoed behind her. She tried listening in.
Mother? There was no answer. The sobbing continued. She started walking towards the sound. The nearer she went, the farther it sounded. As she moved further, she could hear more sobbing around her. A faint voice spoke to her.
Why didnt you save us?
No! No!
The voice kept getting louder.
WHY DIDNT YOU SAVE US!
***
I couldnt sleep anymore. I drank water to try calm myself down. I looked out the window. It was dawn already. I changed into my tracksuit and decided to go on a jog, clear my mind.
This nightmare had been haunting me for 20 years. 20 long years. Where I went, it followed me. The more I tried to forget, the more I remembered.
I kept thinking about it all while jogging. I decided to take a break and sat on one of the benches in the park. I was still settling in here in the US. It felt a bit weird hearing English when I had become so accustomed to Japanese. I even learned quite a bit of Japanese in my time there. I could hear people talking about shopping, Lakers, Obama, Trump, all sort of stuff. As I caught my breath I could hear two men talking behind me.
Did you see last nights Meltdown?
Yeah! It was fantastic man!
Im telling you, Kagura is going to win the Elite Openweight title from Xander. Shes a woman on mission.
Yeah, the way she decimated Vee That was scary.
I pity her next opponent, whats her name, Wren?
I think shes good. Ive seen some of her matches from Japan and man shes awesome!
That doesnt count. This is not Japan, this is America. And as a former Elite X champion, Kagura has way more experience here than Wren.
That was the Kagura Ohzora, this is Kagura Joheki, the evil one. Remember how she took away Rampartes voice? Evil never wins. See, I know Wren is new here and probably would take some time before she settles down, but I still think she can take on Kagura and probably win.
Shes gonna be eaten alive by Kagura. Mark my words, Kagura beats Wren hands down.
No Wren beats Kagura.
You wanna bet?
Youre on! $10 on Wren.
$20 on Kagura.
Wait what?
I had put another $10 in on Wren. They looked at me puzzled. I simply walked away.
Who was she?
A Wren fan apparently.
They kept arguing, but I had no doubts in my mind. I couldnt afford any.
***
I returned to my apartment. I had one hell of match to prepare for, and I wanted no distractions. I picked up my gym bag and locked my room behind. As I came down to go towards the gym, someone tapped me on the shoulder. I looked behind and was taken aback.
Surprise!
There was no one listening. Just a dark empty void engulfed her. The little girl was freaking out.
MOTHER!
The girl kept walking through the dark, empty void. Her shriek was met with deafening silence. Her body wanted to go on, her mind, however, was close to giving up. At a distance, she noticed two human like figures. As she tried to figure them out, a faint sound of sobbing echoed behind her. She tried listening in.
Mother? There was no answer. The sobbing continued. She started walking towards the sound. The nearer she went, the farther it sounded. As she moved further, she could hear more sobbing around her. A faint voice spoke to her.
Why didnt you save us?
No! No!
The voice kept getting louder.
WHY DIDNT YOU SAVE US!
***
I couldnt sleep anymore. I drank water to try calm myself down. I looked out the window. It was dawn already. I changed into my tracksuit and decided to go on a jog, clear my mind.
This nightmare had been haunting me for 20 years. 20 long years. Where I went, it followed me. The more I tried to forget, the more I remembered.
I kept thinking about it all while jogging. I decided to take a break and sat on one of the benches in the park. I was still settling in here in the US. It felt a bit weird hearing English when I had become so accustomed to Japanese. I even learned quite a bit of Japanese in my time there. I could hear people talking about shopping, Lakers, Obama, Trump, all sort of stuff. As I caught my breath I could hear two men talking behind me.
Did you see last nights Meltdown?
Yeah! It was fantastic man!
Im telling you, Kagura is going to win the Elite Openweight title from Xander. Shes a woman on mission.
Yeah, the way she decimated Vee That was scary.
I pity her next opponent, whats her name, Wren?
I think shes good. Ive seen some of her matches from Japan and man shes awesome!
That doesnt count. This is not Japan, this is America. And as a former Elite X champion, Kagura has way more experience here than Wren.
That was the Kagura Ohzora, this is Kagura Joheki, the evil one. Remember how she took away Rampartes voice? Evil never wins. See, I know Wren is new here and probably would take some time before she settles down, but I still think she can take on Kagura and probably win.
Shes gonna be eaten alive by Kagura. Mark my words, Kagura beats Wren hands down.
No Wren beats Kagura.
You wanna bet?
Youre on! $10 on Wren.
$20 on Kagura.
Wait what?
I had put another $10 in on Wren. They looked at me puzzled. I simply walked away.
Who was she?
A Wren fan apparently.
They kept arguing, but I had no doubts in my mind. I couldnt afford any.
***
I returned to my apartment. I had one hell of match to prepare for, and I wanted no distractions. I picked up my gym bag and locked my room behind. As I came down to go towards the gym, someone tapped me on the shoulder. I looked behind and was taken aback.
Surprise!
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