Post by toukaze on Oct 28, 2024 1:02:58 GMT
Hachimangū Dojo - Sapporo Hachimangū
Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
Saturday, 13 August, 2016
Benkei Hitasho looked on from the sidelines as his students performed for the locals with a soft smile. His school was small, and the monthly show was all that could be managed with such a number, but it was all that he and Keiko could manage between the two of them.
Something about the girl in the train station had called to him, and as a man of instinct, he had brought her back to the temple. He hoped that, maybe, this foreigner was someone for him to train up to take his place in the shrine…
While he’d been partially wrong in that respect, he was pleased with the result.
“It could make a woman jealous the way you watch her…”
The woman who spoke stood beside him, her eyes watching as the two girls put on their match. It was a classic story about good and evil… And Ishikawa, for all her sugary brightness, had found a way to become a villain, if only temporarily.
“You know very well why I watch Shimizu, Kai,” Benkei replied finally. “It is the same reason Keiko watches Ishikawa.”
Kai Minamoto snorted and leaned closer to him. Benkei firmly suppressed the desire to hold her as she murmured near his ear, “That is why I am jealous. You and Keiko have your successors… Even Old Iron Pants thinks he has his now. Where is my student?”
Benkei chuckled a little at Kai’s petulant complaint, but he knew it went deeper than simply a student of puroresu. “Is the wind tiring of chasing the moon?” he asked, intentionally vague for the ears near them. He knew she had responsibilities that carried her away from him, just as he had a responsibility to Sapporo Hachimangū that would keep him here for the rest of his earthly existence. That their divine callings forced them apart was painful, but he could not imagine another way.
Kai huffed irritably, but said nothing, yet telling Benkei all he needed to know. Shimizu flung a talisman at Ishikawa then, making the smaller girl shriek and writhe on the mat in feigned agony. The distraction allowed Shimizu time to slingshot over the top rope and drop on Ishikawa for the three-count. Benkei, turning to Kai, saw the look of intense concentration on her face and reached out to lightly touch her arm.
At the contact, Kai turned to him. “Watch them carefully, Ben-kun.”
Benkei knew the tone that colored Kai’s voice, so he merely nodded.
“Of course, dear one.”
Bubblegum Crash Gym
Osaka, Kansai, Japan
Friday, 26 October, 2024
Kai Minamoto frowned pensively at the fortune slip in her hands. It had been years since her life had truly been her own. Now that the end of her service seemed to be approaching, she was uncertain how to feel about it. She turned to her computer, paused on the playback of the latest Imperial Special, the girls in the ring all familiar to her now.
Kai knew her mistress had a sense of humor, so it was probably the girl’s embodiment of a silly manga character that had drawn Kaguya to her. Idly she wondered if the girl knew how much would be asked of her, how much she would need to sacrifice.
Kai shook her head. It might be different for young Ishikawa, given how much she tied her little circle together. Her personality had a gravity far stronger than Earth’s, and it was unlikely that one of the group would be called upon for another duty that would pull them apart.
Only one question remained then. Kai pulled up the picture her student had sent of all of them after the Rising Suns special. Her first guess was wrong, so who would be her aide? A mountain? Or a spider?
The feed starts with Charlotte bounding into frame, her face taking up almost all of it with a broad grin. “Wassup, boys and girls? Miss us?”
She steps back to reveal that: one, she’s wearing a costume of black and red armor from a popular anime about an MMORPG, her hair in thick braids and seemingly wired up in a tentacle-like arrangement; and two, that Rini is with her, dressed in a frilly, bright yellow dress with a golden crescent moon on her forehead and black cat ears poking up from her hair. Charlotte takes Rini’s left hand and raises it up. “Ya girls are back for another clinic on how to be an awesome tag team.”
“The East Wind blows again, bringing the storm to Coliseum!” Rini declares excitedly, striking her own pose, with her right hand making a sideways V by her right eye.
“And we got company,” Charlotte adds, crossing her arms over her chest. “We ain’t strangers to addin’ new folk to our dynamic so you best believe that we ain’t gonna ignore the fact that we got the Inaugural Gladiatrix Champion in our corner. Rosa De Luca’s got the dance down pat, so you bet we gonna make the Main Event of Coliseum somethin’ to see.”
“Kai and Yusumi are a good team, but there is a reason they have not advanced outside the Training Center. Only they can know what that reason is, for it is not my place to pass judgment upon them. Even with the addition of Nancy, a truly experienced wrestler, they will fall to the howling winds and raging seas.”
“No mistake, girls, we ain’t underestimating any y’all. Nancy Pailson-Carlson is a legend on her own and God help the person she kicks because they gonna get punted into next week.”
“Yusumi… You are Chibi-Moon. I see so much of myself in you. Not just how you present yourself, but also how you fight.”
“And Kai… girlie… I seen the way you move. All that power and ya got a fire under your ass… but ya know that ain’t enough - not with what ya got comin’ at’cha.”
“None yet have stopped the East Wind, with all its fury –”
“– And De Luca’s shown she got just as many thorns as pretty flowers to her.”
Rini and Charlotte share a brief look and matching grins before Rini turns back to the camera.
“Nancy, Yusumi, Kai; fight with all your hearts! You may never know when your next opportunity will come!”
“Don’t think for one moment we just shittin’ ya either. Bring your best, ‘cause if ya don’t, it ain’t good for anyone. So let’s give ‘em a good show, and you three give us a good fight, yah?”
“Zettai!” Rini answers with her fist punching the air, eyes sparkling brightly.
“In the Name of Mars –”
“– And in the Name of the Moon –”
“Happy Halloween!”
The feed cuts as Charlotte's hand covers the lens. The promo is later released in Japanese.
Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
Saturday, 13 August, 2016
Benkei Hitasho looked on from the sidelines as his students performed for the locals with a soft smile. His school was small, and the monthly show was all that could be managed with such a number, but it was all that he and Keiko could manage between the two of them.
Something about the girl in the train station had called to him, and as a man of instinct, he had brought her back to the temple. He hoped that, maybe, this foreigner was someone for him to train up to take his place in the shrine…
While he’d been partially wrong in that respect, he was pleased with the result.
“It could make a woman jealous the way you watch her…”
The woman who spoke stood beside him, her eyes watching as the two girls put on their match. It was a classic story about good and evil… And Ishikawa, for all her sugary brightness, had found a way to become a villain, if only temporarily.
“You know very well why I watch Shimizu, Kai,” Benkei replied finally. “It is the same reason Keiko watches Ishikawa.”
Kai Minamoto snorted and leaned closer to him. Benkei firmly suppressed the desire to hold her as she murmured near his ear, “That is why I am jealous. You and Keiko have your successors… Even Old Iron Pants thinks he has his now. Where is my student?”
Benkei chuckled a little at Kai’s petulant complaint, but he knew it went deeper than simply a student of puroresu. “Is the wind tiring of chasing the moon?” he asked, intentionally vague for the ears near them. He knew she had responsibilities that carried her away from him, just as he had a responsibility to Sapporo Hachimangū that would keep him here for the rest of his earthly existence. That their divine callings forced them apart was painful, but he could not imagine another way.
Kai huffed irritably, but said nothing, yet telling Benkei all he needed to know. Shimizu flung a talisman at Ishikawa then, making the smaller girl shriek and writhe on the mat in feigned agony. The distraction allowed Shimizu time to slingshot over the top rope and drop on Ishikawa for the three-count. Benkei, turning to Kai, saw the look of intense concentration on her face and reached out to lightly touch her arm.
At the contact, Kai turned to him. “Watch them carefully, Ben-kun.”
Benkei knew the tone that colored Kai’s voice, so he merely nodded.
“Of course, dear one.”
Bubblegum Crash Gym
Osaka, Kansai, Japan
Friday, 26 October, 2024
Kai Minamoto frowned pensively at the fortune slip in her hands. It had been years since her life had truly been her own. Now that the end of her service seemed to be approaching, she was uncertain how to feel about it. She turned to her computer, paused on the playback of the latest Imperial Special, the girls in the ring all familiar to her now.
Kai knew her mistress had a sense of humor, so it was probably the girl’s embodiment of a silly manga character that had drawn Kaguya to her. Idly she wondered if the girl knew how much would be asked of her, how much she would need to sacrifice.
Kai shook her head. It might be different for young Ishikawa, given how much she tied her little circle together. Her personality had a gravity far stronger than Earth’s, and it was unlikely that one of the group would be called upon for another duty that would pull them apart.
Only one question remained then. Kai pulled up the picture her student had sent of all of them after the Rising Suns special. Her first guess was wrong, so who would be her aide? A mountain? Or a spider?
The feed starts with Charlotte bounding into frame, her face taking up almost all of it with a broad grin. “Wassup, boys and girls? Miss us?”
She steps back to reveal that: one, she’s wearing a costume of black and red armor from a popular anime about an MMORPG, her hair in thick braids and seemingly wired up in a tentacle-like arrangement; and two, that Rini is with her, dressed in a frilly, bright yellow dress with a golden crescent moon on her forehead and black cat ears poking up from her hair. Charlotte takes Rini’s left hand and raises it up. “Ya girls are back for another clinic on how to be an awesome tag team.”
“The East Wind blows again, bringing the storm to Coliseum!” Rini declares excitedly, striking her own pose, with her right hand making a sideways V by her right eye.
“And we got company,” Charlotte adds, crossing her arms over her chest. “We ain’t strangers to addin’ new folk to our dynamic so you best believe that we ain’t gonna ignore the fact that we got the Inaugural Gladiatrix Champion in our corner. Rosa De Luca’s got the dance down pat, so you bet we gonna make the Main Event of Coliseum somethin’ to see.”
“Kai and Yusumi are a good team, but there is a reason they have not advanced outside the Training Center. Only they can know what that reason is, for it is not my place to pass judgment upon them. Even with the addition of Nancy, a truly experienced wrestler, they will fall to the howling winds and raging seas.”
“No mistake, girls, we ain’t underestimating any y’all. Nancy Pailson-Carlson is a legend on her own and God help the person she kicks because they gonna get punted into next week.”
“Yusumi… You are Chibi-Moon. I see so much of myself in you. Not just how you present yourself, but also how you fight.”
“And Kai… girlie… I seen the way you move. All that power and ya got a fire under your ass… but ya know that ain’t enough - not with what ya got comin’ at’cha.”
“None yet have stopped the East Wind, with all its fury –”
“– And De Luca’s shown she got just as many thorns as pretty flowers to her.”
Rini and Charlotte share a brief look and matching grins before Rini turns back to the camera.
“Nancy, Yusumi, Kai; fight with all your hearts! You may never know when your next opportunity will come!”
“Don’t think for one moment we just shittin’ ya either. Bring your best, ‘cause if ya don’t, it ain’t good for anyone. So let’s give ‘em a good show, and you three give us a good fight, yah?”
“Zettai!” Rini answers with her fist punching the air, eyes sparkling brightly.
“In the Name of Mars –”
“– And in the Name of the Moon –”
“Happy Halloween!”
The feed cuts as Charlotte's hand covers the lens. The promo is later released in Japanese.
Well howdy there pardner.