Post by Shelly Diamond on Jun 30, 2016 20:21:10 GMT
Laura Howlett stood alone before the IWF banner, she wore a coy but confident smile though there was a certain level of sadness in her deep blue eyes. Her arms were crossed over her black dress coat, her bright blond fell over her shoulders, she’d look like an angel if you didn’t know how devilish she was.
”Johnny Gillmen, you must be the most delusional man in all of professional wrestling.”
She speaks with an arrogant confidence, like Gillmen is completely beneath her.
”The fact that you actually think you can beat my client is absolutely and completely absurd. My client is worlds beyond you, a two time champion already in his first six months in Imperial Wrestling, meanwhile you’ve been floundering around in the opening match picking fights with nobodies and nothings and bragging about the victories like they mean something!”
“You beat Brock!?”
“My client has beaten Warren Kane and Jayson Matthews each and every single time he has entered the ring with them. Men who have faced Roberto Verona for the Imperial Championship, men who have main evented pay per view events, men who the idiotic smark fans in the crowd orgasm over because they’re the underdogs.”
“My client defeated them with ease.”
“So tell me who the hell are you and why should we care about you?”
“Jack Gaither’s legacy!?”
“Johnny, being trained by Jack Gaither means even less than beating simpletons like Brock. Jack Gaither is, was and will always be a loud mouthed braggart who nobody in this business likes or respects. Jack Gaither is a man who accomplished nothing in Imperial Wrestling, lost to men my client embarrassed inside of that ring and retired long after he wore out his welcome.”
Larua laughs under her breath.
”And that’s the legacy you’re growing out of?”
She looks around completely dumbfounded.
”Why don’t you do yourself a favor and just bash your head against a brick wall until you’re so concussed you can barely stand because that’s how your career is going to end.”
“With no accomplishments.”
“No accolades.”
“No IWF Championships.”
“My client is the future of this industry.”
“You’re just future endeavored.”
“And one way or another you’ll be sharing bowls of jello with your dear old mentor as you both reminisce about that one time where you almost mattered in the greatest wrestling promotion in the world. Of course early on set dementia will probably make the past a whole hell of a lot brighter than it actually was because I can promise you Johnny, my client is going to completely destroy you one piece at a time this Sunday.”
The venom and hatred drips off her tongue.
”You’ve been in this business three times as long as my client, you’ve traveled to all the same places he has, probably fought some of the same people. I’d be impressed if it weren’t for the fact Imperial Wrestling sought my client out for his talent and reputation only two years into his career and Jack Gaither had to buy your way in with his “name recognition”. Three times as long Johnny and you haven’t even achieved half as much as my client in an Imperial Wrestling ring.”
“How does it feel to already be a failure?”
“How does it feel knowing my client, a “green horn” in your “veteran” eyes I’m sure, is already the most feared man in Imperial Wrestling? The newly crowned Man of Steel Champion can’t keep my client’s name out of his mouth for more than a week, fearing the day my client comes back for his championship. Meanwhile the men and women in the back can’t even so much as say “Gillmen” without breaking into hysterics.”
She clicks her tongue with a sarcastic smirk.
”Sunday you’re going to witness first hand the greatness of my client, the sheer brutality he is capable of, the raw skill he possesses. Sunday you’re going to learn some humility as my client kicks your head clean off your shoulders. Sunday you will see the future as he passes you by and leaves you cowering in fear.”
He stood silent and alone on the darkened streets of old London, only a few street lights illuminating the scene. There was a quiet rage about his demeanor as he slowly breathed in and out, his chest rising up and down.
”You think I do not know defeat?”
His words came slowly with a measured anger to them.
”You think I do not know humility?”
His eyes engaged you with a fiery passion.
”What do you actually know about the man beneath this mask?”
He was angrier now than perhaps he had ever been in his whole life.
”I knew defeat when gang bangers gunned down the woman I loved in a ware house in Mexico City like a DOG! I learned humility when they let me live so that I could watch her die in my arms! I have known loss! Fear! Humiliation! And most of all I have known defeat! And I promised myself on that day as Alejandra died in my arms that I would never be at another man’s mercy.”
“They would be at mine.”
“So make your generalized claims and accusations, put on the false bravado for the fans at home but the truth of the matter is you know absolutely nothing about me. You have not lived my life nor walked in my shows so DO NOT make assumptions about what I have experienced in my time on this Earth. You are not qualified to judge my actions or how I live. You are no God, nor a higher power, you are but a simple man with a misguided sense of self!”
Zasshu struggles to remain calm as he speaks.
”What I do, how I do it are not matters you should concern yourself with, Mr. Gillmen. My reasons are my own, my actions are my own and if I am to pay for the way I live my life that is for another to decide. All you can do is attempt to ram your moral code down my throat and all I can do is attack you with the same cold hearted viciousness I have approached all of my other opponents with.”
“I do not care about your past.”
“Where you have been.”
“Or what you have done.”
“I care about the present, the future, I care about what happens while we are inside of that ring together. I chose to let Ms. Howlett speak for me simply because my actions speak louder than my words ever could. There is no reason for me to drone on and on about my beliefs, my skills or my abilities when nothing will resonant louder or longer than me leaving you in a pool of your own blood Sunday Night.”
“I am not afraid of you.”
“I fear no man, living or dead.”
“And come Sunday Night you will learn the power of action. There is nothing I want that I have not taken, no one I have pursued that I have not beaten, you see me as some sort of lap dog to Mr. Verona and I see me adapting to survive in the climate men such as yourself have cultivated. You wish for the world to be handed to you, gift wrapped on a silver platter sitting beneath your pathetic Christmas tree of fair play and equal rights but that is not how the world works.”
“The world is cold.”
“Hungry.”
“Without remorse.”
“And so am I.”
“I will not regret the things I have to do to defeat you, I will not flinch in the face of your resolve, I will not stop coming until you lay beneath my boot heels begging for my mercy.”
His final words come coldly…
”I am the future… You will fear me.”
”Johnny Gillmen, you must be the most delusional man in all of professional wrestling.”
She speaks with an arrogant confidence, like Gillmen is completely beneath her.
”The fact that you actually think you can beat my client is absolutely and completely absurd. My client is worlds beyond you, a two time champion already in his first six months in Imperial Wrestling, meanwhile you’ve been floundering around in the opening match picking fights with nobodies and nothings and bragging about the victories like they mean something!”
“You beat Brock!?”
“My client has beaten Warren Kane and Jayson Matthews each and every single time he has entered the ring with them. Men who have faced Roberto Verona for the Imperial Championship, men who have main evented pay per view events, men who the idiotic smark fans in the crowd orgasm over because they’re the underdogs.”
“My client defeated them with ease.”
“So tell me who the hell are you and why should we care about you?”
“Jack Gaither’s legacy!?”
“Johnny, being trained by Jack Gaither means even less than beating simpletons like Brock. Jack Gaither is, was and will always be a loud mouthed braggart who nobody in this business likes or respects. Jack Gaither is a man who accomplished nothing in Imperial Wrestling, lost to men my client embarrassed inside of that ring and retired long after he wore out his welcome.”
Larua laughs under her breath.
”And that’s the legacy you’re growing out of?”
She looks around completely dumbfounded.
”Why don’t you do yourself a favor and just bash your head against a brick wall until you’re so concussed you can barely stand because that’s how your career is going to end.”
“With no accomplishments.”
“No accolades.”
“No IWF Championships.”
“My client is the future of this industry.”
“You’re just future endeavored.”
“And one way or another you’ll be sharing bowls of jello with your dear old mentor as you both reminisce about that one time where you almost mattered in the greatest wrestling promotion in the world. Of course early on set dementia will probably make the past a whole hell of a lot brighter than it actually was because I can promise you Johnny, my client is going to completely destroy you one piece at a time this Sunday.”
The venom and hatred drips off her tongue.
”You’ve been in this business three times as long as my client, you’ve traveled to all the same places he has, probably fought some of the same people. I’d be impressed if it weren’t for the fact Imperial Wrestling sought my client out for his talent and reputation only two years into his career and Jack Gaither had to buy your way in with his “name recognition”. Three times as long Johnny and you haven’t even achieved half as much as my client in an Imperial Wrestling ring.”
“How does it feel to already be a failure?”
“How does it feel knowing my client, a “green horn” in your “veteran” eyes I’m sure, is already the most feared man in Imperial Wrestling? The newly crowned Man of Steel Champion can’t keep my client’s name out of his mouth for more than a week, fearing the day my client comes back for his championship. Meanwhile the men and women in the back can’t even so much as say “Gillmen” without breaking into hysterics.”
She clicks her tongue with a sarcastic smirk.
”Sunday you’re going to witness first hand the greatness of my client, the sheer brutality he is capable of, the raw skill he possesses. Sunday you’re going to learn some humility as my client kicks your head clean off your shoulders. Sunday you will see the future as he passes you by and leaves you cowering in fear.”
Ever since they left America for the UK tour things have been tense, stressful, she could feel Akihiro yearning for the truth but she wasn’t ready to give it to him. Even now they sat in silence in their tiny British rental car, not even the radio was on as they sped down the road.
She wanted to push him away, she succeeded, Akihiro barely spoke to her now unless he absolutely had to. She felt terrible about how she was treating him, he didn’t deserve it, he deserved to know the truth about their shared past, their shared acquaintance but she was terrified by how he may react.
What if he left her?
She allowed their business relationship to become something more than that, though she did her best to hide her true feelings, she knew he could see it in her eyes, how much she truly cared for him…
But he was getting fed up, she knows this man named “Jimmy”, they have a past together, he followed them all the way to England to remind her of it. He wasn’t sure how but he was going to find out what it was she was hiding from him and why she was so afraid to tell him.
At the moment though he couldn’t stand the sight of her, the sound of her, he wanted nothing more than to be left alone with his thoughts but they have a business arrangement. She’s his manager, his voice when needed, she represents him outside of the ring so he couldn’t be without her right now.
He turned slowly toward her, taking in a deep breath as he did, she could sense his eyes, her grip tightened on the steering wheel.
”Who is he?”
This is it, this is the moment she’d been avoiding for weeks now but it wasn’t the right time. She’s not ready to tell him, not with a championship title defense coming up in only a few short days. He doesn’t need the distraction; he doesn’t need the knowledge or the weight of the guilt she knows he’d put on himself. She needed to protect him from the truth for just a little while longer.
”Now isn’t the time.”
”When is the time Laura? How long will you lie to me?”
”I’m not lying to you-“
”Call it what you will it does not change the fact you are hiding things from me.”
You’re right, I am she thinks to herself but she didn’t see any other way.
”Akihiro, you’ve got to trust me.”
”Trust you? It is hard to trust someone who is being admittedly dishonest with you.”
”I know… And I promise I’ll explain when the time is right…”
She’d kept the signing of Cable Arcane a secret from him right up until he arrived at the arena, she was keeping Jimmy a secret from him now, she was keeping the truth about Alejandra a secret and she could feel her world slowly crumbling.
”Perhaps we made a mistake…”
”What?”
”This partnership, perhaps it was a mistake, something that should never have been.”
”Akihiro-“
Her normally rock solid exterior was cracking, she was losing him. She pulled over to the side of the road, shutting the engine down and turning to face “her client.”
”Jimmy Snart is my adoptive father…”
He had no words for the moment though the questions inside his mind were mounting. She never spoke of her personal life but this man being her father doesn’t seem to him to be such a huge revelation.
”Is that it?”
”No… There’s more… A lot more…”
She wanted to push him away, she succeeded, Akihiro barely spoke to her now unless he absolutely had to. She felt terrible about how she was treating him, he didn’t deserve it, he deserved to know the truth about their shared past, their shared acquaintance but she was terrified by how he may react.
What if he left her?
She allowed their business relationship to become something more than that, though she did her best to hide her true feelings, she knew he could see it in her eyes, how much she truly cared for him…
But he was getting fed up, she knows this man named “Jimmy”, they have a past together, he followed them all the way to England to remind her of it. He wasn’t sure how but he was going to find out what it was she was hiding from him and why she was so afraid to tell him.
At the moment though he couldn’t stand the sight of her, the sound of her, he wanted nothing more than to be left alone with his thoughts but they have a business arrangement. She’s his manager, his voice when needed, she represents him outside of the ring so he couldn’t be without her right now.
He turned slowly toward her, taking in a deep breath as he did, she could sense his eyes, her grip tightened on the steering wheel.
”Who is he?”
This is it, this is the moment she’d been avoiding for weeks now but it wasn’t the right time. She’s not ready to tell him, not with a championship title defense coming up in only a few short days. He doesn’t need the distraction; he doesn’t need the knowledge or the weight of the guilt she knows he’d put on himself. She needed to protect him from the truth for just a little while longer.
”Now isn’t the time.”
”When is the time Laura? How long will you lie to me?”
”I’m not lying to you-“
”Call it what you will it does not change the fact you are hiding things from me.”
You’re right, I am she thinks to herself but she didn’t see any other way.
”Akihiro, you’ve got to trust me.”
”Trust you? It is hard to trust someone who is being admittedly dishonest with you.”
”I know… And I promise I’ll explain when the time is right…”
She’d kept the signing of Cable Arcane a secret from him right up until he arrived at the arena, she was keeping Jimmy a secret from him now, she was keeping the truth about Alejandra a secret and she could feel her world slowly crumbling.
”Perhaps we made a mistake…”
”What?”
”This partnership, perhaps it was a mistake, something that should never have been.”
”Akihiro-“
Her normally rock solid exterior was cracking, she was losing him. She pulled over to the side of the road, shutting the engine down and turning to face “her client.”
”Jimmy Snart is my adoptive father…”
He had no words for the moment though the questions inside his mind were mounting. She never spoke of her personal life but this man being her father doesn’t seem to him to be such a huge revelation.
”Is that it?”
”No… There’s more… A lot more…”
He stood silent and alone on the darkened streets of old London, only a few street lights illuminating the scene. There was a quiet rage about his demeanor as he slowly breathed in and out, his chest rising up and down.
”You think I do not know defeat?”
His words came slowly with a measured anger to them.
”You think I do not know humility?”
His eyes engaged you with a fiery passion.
”What do you actually know about the man beneath this mask?”
He was angrier now than perhaps he had ever been in his whole life.
”I knew defeat when gang bangers gunned down the woman I loved in a ware house in Mexico City like a DOG! I learned humility when they let me live so that I could watch her die in my arms! I have known loss! Fear! Humiliation! And most of all I have known defeat! And I promised myself on that day as Alejandra died in my arms that I would never be at another man’s mercy.”
“They would be at mine.”
“So make your generalized claims and accusations, put on the false bravado for the fans at home but the truth of the matter is you know absolutely nothing about me. You have not lived my life nor walked in my shows so DO NOT make assumptions about what I have experienced in my time on this Earth. You are not qualified to judge my actions or how I live. You are no God, nor a higher power, you are but a simple man with a misguided sense of self!”
Zasshu struggles to remain calm as he speaks.
”What I do, how I do it are not matters you should concern yourself with, Mr. Gillmen. My reasons are my own, my actions are my own and if I am to pay for the way I live my life that is for another to decide. All you can do is attempt to ram your moral code down my throat and all I can do is attack you with the same cold hearted viciousness I have approached all of my other opponents with.”
“I do not care about your past.”
“Where you have been.”
“Or what you have done.”
“I care about the present, the future, I care about what happens while we are inside of that ring together. I chose to let Ms. Howlett speak for me simply because my actions speak louder than my words ever could. There is no reason for me to drone on and on about my beliefs, my skills or my abilities when nothing will resonant louder or longer than me leaving you in a pool of your own blood Sunday Night.”
“I am not afraid of you.”
“I fear no man, living or dead.”
“And come Sunday Night you will learn the power of action. There is nothing I want that I have not taken, no one I have pursued that I have not beaten, you see me as some sort of lap dog to Mr. Verona and I see me adapting to survive in the climate men such as yourself have cultivated. You wish for the world to be handed to you, gift wrapped on a silver platter sitting beneath your pathetic Christmas tree of fair play and equal rights but that is not how the world works.”
“The world is cold.”
“Hungry.”
“Without remorse.”
“And so am I.”
“I will not regret the things I have to do to defeat you, I will not flinch in the face of your resolve, I will not stop coming until you lay beneath my boot heels begging for my mercy.”
His final words come coldly…
”I am the future… You will fear me.”
An eerie calm resonated off of him as he sat silently in the tiny rental car next to his manager, the lovely Laura Howlett. Laura waited impatiently for him to say something, anything. She had given him what he wanted, the truth and now she could see the walls coming down. Finally, he stirred, his hand reaching for the handle of the door…
”Akihiro, where are you going?”
His reply was quick, pointed, sharp.
”I am leaving.”
Before she could protest or even so much as blink he was out of the car and marching down the side of the road into darkness….
For the first time since they met they were separated, alone, in darkness.
”Akihiro, where are you going?”
His reply was quick, pointed, sharp.
”I am leaving.”
Before she could protest or even so much as blink he was out of the car and marching down the side of the road into darkness….
For the first time since they met they were separated, alone, in darkness.
Well howdy there pardner.