Post by HIJOU on Oct 29, 2023 20:30:17 GMT
31st October, 2022 - Back Home.
Fujita had never really been one for small talk. The old veteran had a direct way of speaking, one that offered little time for the trivialities of life, and if the topic of conversation strayed too far from the subject of training he’d lose interest entirely. Hijou wasn’t complaining, of course: she had little interest in swapping life stories with her mentor.
‘Thanks.’ She responded, tearing away the black performance tape wrapped around her fists. Today had been an especially grueling session in the dojo; her muscles ached, her bones burned, and she was soaked to the marrow with sweat. She’d had a fucking awesome performance in training today, but by now she knew better than to expect superlatives from Fujita.
‘Well, see you tomorrow.’ Having finished up with her cool-down routine, she climbed to her feet, slinging a battered old gym bag over her shoulder and starting for the door.
‘Just a moment.’
Here we go…
Hijou resisted the urge to roll her eyes, turning back to her mentor with a furrowed brow. ‘Yes?’
‘I know you may have plans for the evening, Kanna, but might I remind you that you have a match tomorrow.’ It wasn’t a simple affair either; Hijou would be contending with the top student of a fellow dojo, so it was a challenge to be respected for sure. ‘You will be representing not just myself, but all of your colleagues here. You must be in top shape.’
‘You just said you were pleased with me.’ Hijou retorted, skirting around the issue.
‘Yes, because you were sober.’ Unfortunately, Fujia was more than happy to cut straight to the point. ‘I know that people your age enjoy this holiday, but do not allow it to ruin everything you have worked toward.’
Hijou groaned, growing irritated by the conversation. ‘It’s just Halloween! I’m not gonna go out getting arrested, or something, I’m not stupid.’ Fujita had many annoying habits, but this was by far the aspect of his character Hijou detested the most. She was 21 years old, yet he still saw her as nothing more than an immature child. ‘I’m going to wear a costume, have a few drinks, then go home. That’s all.’
Fujita studied her for a moment; the old bastard had an incredible ability to detect bullshit, which was probably the second thing Hijou hated the most about him. Fortunately, it seemed her poker face had worked: ‘Okay. Have a good night, Kanna.’
He had turned away from her without further probing, a turn of events that left Hijou bordering on baffled. He’d seriously bought that?
*****
It was funny how much of a difference this particular date made to Japanese society. The idea of loudly cheering on a train was (rightfully) an alien concept every other day of the year, but as Hijou found herself on the way to Shibuya City, the Yamanote Line itself had become a raucous party. Obviously, this wasn't a coincidence; she and plenty of other party-goers had had to evade authorities on the way into Shinjuku Station, but packed into the safe haven of the train itself?
That’s when things became fun.
Noise washed over the interior as gaijins and locals alike cheered and chatted, though only when their lips were free from the embrace of alcohol. Music blared loud, though even if Hijou tried to focus in on the lyrics, it was difficult to hear anything over the sounds of her compatriots.
The train finally screeched to a halt, though a few stops short of its ultimate destination. An unimpressed constable took a single look at the mess of drunken fun: ‘Everybody off.’
*****
Liquid courage flowed freely in the streets, as a mass of costumed humanity celebrated a holiday fast becoming a national obsession. Hijou found herself stumbling from crowd to crowd, her witch cape flapping in the wind, and her broomstick haphazardly slamming into people every now and again. Fortunately, everyone seemed too inebriated to take too much notice; they’d see a new bruise in the morning, yet have no Earthly idea where it came from.
The hours ticked by, and Hijou’s opportunity of not being a liar earlier in the evening faded. She’d do just fine; it was okay, Fujita would never know. She could make her own decisions, and the temptation of another beer certainly beat out the offer of an early night. Midnight came and went, with the party striding on, undeterred and uncaring for the threat of fatigue.
Hijou could scarcely remember much of the night herself, though she recalled the final moments fairly well. Some poor sap had tried to drive through a street under lockdown by an endless catalogue of ghouls and monsters, and as should have perhaps been expected, his truck had been too delicious a target to ignore.
In Hijou’s defence, she hadn’t been the one to start any of it, but upon seeing four like-minded lads beginning to tip the thing over, nothing could have stopped her from joining in.
The police were upon her within moments.
30th October, 2023 - Hijou’s Hotel Room.
God, that evening had been such a disaster. She could still recall even now the tragic comedy that had been her phone call to Fujita, deep into the unholy hours of the night. She had honestly expected him to just leave her in Shibuya jail, but he was the only real option she had at the time. Fortunately, he had taken mercy on her, and by the next morning she was back in the Tokyo dojo.
That’s not to say she went unpunished, of course; she was replaced for the match that day, obviously, and she spent at least two months on cleaning duty. She remembered how her fellow students had been quite pleased with that, so much in fact that they’d heralded her as a hero for fucking up so badly to ‘save’ them from the job.
Maybe it shouldn’t have been such a fond memory for Hijou, given how badly it had ended, but as she finished up the final details of this year’s costume, it was something she couldn’t help but feel weirdly nostalgic about.
She still intended on celebrating Halloween this year; she was at the epicentre of its creation, how could she not enjoy herself? That said, she’d certainly learned her lesson last year, and with a big match set for tomorrow, she was going to wait until after securing victory to really let off some steam.
Somewhere, that old idiot Fujita was proud of her. Not like she cared.
31st October, 2023 - Showtime.
Maria Iniesta shrieks, suddenly confronted by a cloaked figure with a striking mask-
Wait.
‘Hahahahaha!’ Hijou lifts her Ghostface mask, revealing that she is in fact not Billy Loomis. ‘Happy Halloween, Maria.’ She greets, flashing a ‘blood’-stained knife before playfully pointing it in Maria’s direction. ‘What’s your favourite scary movie?’ She laughs again.
With Maria’s fight-or-flight response just about dying down, the interviewer lets out a relieved sigh, though she remains a tad shaken even after confirming that she is not about to be stabbed to death. I mean, Hijou’s still here, so she can never really relax.
‘Happy Halloween, Hijou.’ She responds. ‘I see you’re enjoying the holiday.’
‘Duh! Halloween fucking rules!’ Hijou exclaims, nodding. ‘Best thing the western world came up with, easily.’
‘Well, it seems like the IWF would agree, because they’ve booked a stacked card tonight, including the massive six-pack challenge you’ll be taking part in tonight.’ Hijou nods, keenly aware of how important tonight could prove to be. Maria proceeds. ‘Do you have any thoughts ahead of the contest? Any words for your opponents?’
‘Jeez, there’s a lot of them, I don’t want to leave anyone out though so let me just prepare myself…’ She pretends to think for a second, tapping the tip of her prop-knife against her lip before flashing a smile. ‘Okay, let’s start with my favourite…’
‘Charlotte-chan! I hope you’re as excited as I am. Personally, the thought of getting to out-wrestle you again is the best thing this holiday could provide.’ She snickers. ‘Last week I exposed just how easy your ridiculous style is to counter, and this week I’ll take great pleasure in kicking your head in again.’
‘Speaking of people who’ve had their heads kicked in by me, you’ll be glad to know Char, you’re not alone! That weird bitch ITAMI’s right there alongside you in the club.’
‘Since the day I was compared to ITAMI I’ve made it my life’s mission to kick her shit in at every turn. A few weeks back I dumped her out of the ring like a bag of trash, and tonight I’ll pin her… like a bag of trash.’ Hijou shrugs. ‘Not a perfect metaphor, but a bag of trash would be easy to pin, so fuck you.’
‘Moving on, we’ve got that Dawn girl. Trust me, it’ll be a cold day in Hell before I get beat by some dweeby little nerd, and Dawn is the dweebiest of the littlest of nerds. Your life’s about to become a slasher film, loser, and in this one the virgin DIES.’ She chuckles, taking no notice of Maria’s disapproval.
‘Virginia, I’m genuinely really excited to get into the ring with you. It’s going to be exciting seeing someone incompetent enough to lose to Charlotte up close and in person, so thank you for begging your way into this match, or whatever you needed to do.’
Hijou glances toward Maria. ‘Who am I missing?’
‘Caroline Machado.’
Hijou snaps her fingers, nodding. ‘I knew there was a reason you were around.’ She teases, folding her arms. ‘Caroline, you’ve proven yourself good enough to challenge for the Women’s Championship, so I’m not going to talk down your ability. However, the key thing here is you’ve only proven yourself good enough to challenge. You’re not wearing a belt these days, which means you got your chance, and you blew it.’ She shrugs. ‘It’s not like it was ancient history either, what exactly could you have gotten better at in the few weeks since you got bitched out by Brooklyn?’
‘You winning right now would be pointless, so get to the back of the line, yeah?’
‘The fact is, looking at each and every one of my opponents, I’m better than all of them! It’s going to be me heading to Extinction, and my rise to the top of this division will continue!’
She pauses, before turning to Maria once more. ‘Maria, you never answered my question earlier.’
‘Huh…?’
‘What’s your favourite scary movie?’
A confused Miss Iniesta hesitates for a moment, before shaking her head. ‘I… don’t really have one. I’m not a massive fan of scary movies.’
Hijou chuckles. ‘You might want to avert your eyes for the match later tonight then.’ She stares down the camera once more, her lips twitching into a smile half-way between excited and demented. ‘It’s going to be a horror flick alright.’
Well howdy there pardner.