Post by Solomon Graham on Jun 29, 2021 20:21:52 GMT -5
We open on the side of a mountain. The mountain is red with dirt and gravel and the sky behind it is grey. Slowly, but surely, we hear the sounds of a man grunting and dirt being dug into fade into focus… and eventually, we see a hand in the bottom left corner… and then the right arm of this man, and then the body… and it’s revealed to be “The Merciless Mercenary” Top Gun Tsunami climbing the mountain. Though, he looks much younger here. Approximately nine years younger. He stops in the middle of the shot.
Pant… pant… pant… pause… and then, in his native tongue.
“(How…… much… longer…?)”
And then… another voice.
“(Only a little bit! You are doing very well.)”
Then… Tsunami pushes forward, continuing up this mountain, this time the camera comes with him. The camera goes above, following the young Tsunami’s climb. Bit by bit, little by little, cut by cut until finally, he reaches the peak… and finds himself at the feet of his father, Japanese wrestling icon, Hank Yoshimoru. He takes a bit of a breather, before eventually rolling himself up onto the mountaintop. He’s left an absolute mess, laying there on the ground. Hank reaches down and offers him a hand.
“(Come. Up on your feet, son!)”
“(no… I need… I need water…)”
“(Stand and show me you will live to fight another day, and you will get your water.)”
Tsunami sighs… before...
“(Okay…)”
He reaches up and takes his father’s hand, allowing him to pull him to his feet. Tsunami then stumbles around a bit, a little bit exhausted. Hank grabs a bottle of water and throws it to his son… and his son barely catches it, moving fast to get the lid off the bottle, nearly pulling the muscles in his arm as a result. He then swigs down the bottle without stopping to breathe, before sitting down on a rock bench. His father takes a seat next to him.
“(You’re doing really well, son. I’m proud of you!)”
“(Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t beat the living hell out of you for subjecting me to this torture…)”
Hank shoots a look in the direction of his son. An irritated look...
(You need to toughen up! You want to follow in my footsteps, right? Carry on the legacy? Well, this is the way to do it.)”
“(Forgive me for not understanding what making me climb a 50 foot tall mountain has to do with being tough.)”
“(You need a strong will and sharp eyes to pull it off. You have the sharp eyes and the strong will... but they are both untrained! Train them up and you will not falter in the world of Professional Wrestling! On top of all that… beating me up wouldn’t be wise. I know everything you know… but you don’t know everything I know)”
“(“Know everything I know”, I know, we’ve had this conversation a million different times by now! Your infinite knowledge impresses me sooooo much.)”
“(Go ahead, sass me, you rogue… but just remember who between the two of us has the knowledge, and who between the two of us is but the learner.)”
“("But the learner"… bullshit.)”
“(Oh, son of mine, you’ve much to learn indeed! I’ve no doubt you can do it, though. You have the heart and the drive, no doubt you inherited it from me.)”
“(No. I got that from Mom. That much I know for sure.)”
The look on Hank’s face sours at the mention of his ex-wife, Tsunami’s mother. But he merely tries to laugh it off.
“PFFF! (No way! You inherited your sharp eyes from your mother, but you got your will from me.)”
“(No, I got my will from Mom. She’s the only one strong enough at heart to put up with your bullshit!)”
Hank gets an angered look on his face, seemingly feeling disrespected by his son's words.
“(Maybe so… but nevermind that now!)”
He gets a sly smirk on his face as he says this.
“(It’s time to test just how strong your will is…)”
“(Ohhhkay...)”
At that point, Hank stands up and cracks his knuckles. The young Tsunami looks nervous.
“(Can I get my water first?)”
“(NO!!!)”
He then turns so that he is in front of Tsunami, grabs him by the collar, slaps him in the face a few times and drags him towards the cliff.
“(What the hell do you think you’re doing?!?!)”
“(Testing your will! You say it’s as strong as your mother’s, the only way to know for sure is to---)”
He then throws him off the edge of the cliff, and Tsunami rolls and bumps down the cliff, yelling and screaming as the rocks slice parts of his torso open and the dirt gets into his bloodstream. Hank stands atop the cliff, hands on his hips, sickening grin on his face as his son goes tumbling down to the foot of the mountain, and will be forced to climb it again, this time with much more injuries.
“Hehehehehe… (Let’s see your Mother’s strong will shine through, then…)”
And from there… we fade out.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Then… we cut to a promo studio, present day, with Top Gun Tsunami.
“Just for the record… These days, I can scale that mountain in mere SECONDS! What you’ve just seen is me, in my early twenties, learning under my father to toughen up and become a professional wrestler. Those days were so important in my development, not just as a wrestler, but as a person.
I am much tougher today than I ever would’ve been without those days… not to mention, the various opportunities that I have because of them. Opportunities like the one I have coming at the final AWF wrestling event, Clash Of The Icons!
My opponent is none other than Hayden Callahan. I hand picked him myself… because I knew that if he and I ever got into the ring together, we could not only make serious magic, but that I’d have something to gain from facing him.
You see… this tour I’m on, within the XHF… it hasn’t quite gone according to plan. My first outing, I lost to Leon Chant in NLW. Then, I was set to have a match in Destiny which never came to fruition because I was never available.
All I can say in this regard is that Hayden, if I lose to you, all I will have to say… is thank you.
Thank you for giving me one last good fight, and thank you for giving the AWF fans one more excellent contest to enjoy on the final night of the AWF’s existence.
And lastly… a special thank you to the fans of AWF, as well as to management. For allowing me the chance to be a part of the final show AWF will put on.”
He then bows in traditional Japanese fashion.
“Now… Hayden, allow me to address you properly. Hayden, I am well researched on you and your history. You have the tools necessary… but don't seem to know how to apply them. You couldn’t quite do it in SWAT, you were about to do it in FIRESIDE before you got cut and now, you will be unable to do it in AWF.
Your career so far has seen you being unable to achieve. I’m not much different, to be perfectly honest with you. My career up to this point has been a sore disappointment. No championships to speak of, most of my time has seen me getting defeated by superior talents. My only hope is that I can turn it around by defeating you. I just need to find my Killer Instinct again.
The Killer Instinct that took me up that mountain, the Killer Instinct that when my father threw me off the very same mountain and I got sliced, cut-up and bruised as I was tumbling down the face of it… helped me get up, scale that mountain again, and beat the living HELL out of my father when I got back to the top!!!”
He closes his eyes, stops for a moment… and breathes, as a single tear rolls down his cheek. It seems that that mountain does indeed hold a place in Tsunami’s heart… but not in a way that we initially thought. He wipes the tear from his eye with his finger and opens his eyes once again, seemingly snapping back into the toughness he spoke of earlier.
“...Yes, that very Killer Instinct. I lost it, thanks to those over in 5BW who didn’t believe in me… as a result, I started to doubt myself and… I lost it. The only way I can find it now is by stepping into that ring with you, Hayden.
When I find it… the rest is sure to follow. All I can say for certain now, is this…”
He then leans into the camera
“This is Only The Beginning.”
Pant… pant… pant… pause… and then, in his native tongue.
“(How…… much… longer…?)”
And then… another voice.
“(Only a little bit! You are doing very well.)”
Then… Tsunami pushes forward, continuing up this mountain, this time the camera comes with him. The camera goes above, following the young Tsunami’s climb. Bit by bit, little by little, cut by cut until finally, he reaches the peak… and finds himself at the feet of his father, Japanese wrestling icon, Hank Yoshimoru. He takes a bit of a breather, before eventually rolling himself up onto the mountaintop. He’s left an absolute mess, laying there on the ground. Hank reaches down and offers him a hand.
“(Come. Up on your feet, son!)”
“(no… I need… I need water…)”
“(Stand and show me you will live to fight another day, and you will get your water.)”
Tsunami sighs… before...
“(Okay…)”
He reaches up and takes his father’s hand, allowing him to pull him to his feet. Tsunami then stumbles around a bit, a little bit exhausted. Hank grabs a bottle of water and throws it to his son… and his son barely catches it, moving fast to get the lid off the bottle, nearly pulling the muscles in his arm as a result. He then swigs down the bottle without stopping to breathe, before sitting down on a rock bench. His father takes a seat next to him.
“(You’re doing really well, son. I’m proud of you!)”
“(Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t beat the living hell out of you for subjecting me to this torture…)”
Hank shoots a look in the direction of his son. An irritated look...
(You need to toughen up! You want to follow in my footsteps, right? Carry on the legacy? Well, this is the way to do it.)”
“(Forgive me for not understanding what making me climb a 50 foot tall mountain has to do with being tough.)”
“(You need a strong will and sharp eyes to pull it off. You have the sharp eyes and the strong will... but they are both untrained! Train them up and you will not falter in the world of Professional Wrestling! On top of all that… beating me up wouldn’t be wise. I know everything you know… but you don’t know everything I know)”
“(“Know everything I know”, I know, we’ve had this conversation a million different times by now! Your infinite knowledge impresses me sooooo much.)”
“(Go ahead, sass me, you rogue… but just remember who between the two of us has the knowledge, and who between the two of us is but the learner.)”
“("But the learner"… bullshit.)”
“(Oh, son of mine, you’ve much to learn indeed! I’ve no doubt you can do it, though. You have the heart and the drive, no doubt you inherited it from me.)”
“(No. I got that from Mom. That much I know for sure.)”
The look on Hank’s face sours at the mention of his ex-wife, Tsunami’s mother. But he merely tries to laugh it off.
“PFFF! (No way! You inherited your sharp eyes from your mother, but you got your will from me.)”
“(No, I got my will from Mom. She’s the only one strong enough at heart to put up with your bullshit!)”
Hank gets an angered look on his face, seemingly feeling disrespected by his son's words.
“(Maybe so… but nevermind that now!)”
He gets a sly smirk on his face as he says this.
“(It’s time to test just how strong your will is…)”
“(Ohhhkay...)”
At that point, Hank stands up and cracks his knuckles. The young Tsunami looks nervous.
“(Can I get my water first?)”
“(NO!!!)”
He then turns so that he is in front of Tsunami, grabs him by the collar, slaps him in the face a few times and drags him towards the cliff.
“(What the hell do you think you’re doing?!?!)”
“(Testing your will! You say it’s as strong as your mother’s, the only way to know for sure is to---)”
He then throws him off the edge of the cliff, and Tsunami rolls and bumps down the cliff, yelling and screaming as the rocks slice parts of his torso open and the dirt gets into his bloodstream. Hank stands atop the cliff, hands on his hips, sickening grin on his face as his son goes tumbling down to the foot of the mountain, and will be forced to climb it again, this time with much more injuries.
“Hehehehehe… (Let’s see your Mother’s strong will shine through, then…)”
And from there… we fade out.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Then… we cut to a promo studio, present day, with Top Gun Tsunami.
“Just for the record… These days, I can scale that mountain in mere SECONDS! What you’ve just seen is me, in my early twenties, learning under my father to toughen up and become a professional wrestler. Those days were so important in my development, not just as a wrestler, but as a person.
I am much tougher today than I ever would’ve been without those days… not to mention, the various opportunities that I have because of them. Opportunities like the one I have coming at the final AWF wrestling event, Clash Of The Icons!
My opponent is none other than Hayden Callahan. I hand picked him myself… because I knew that if he and I ever got into the ring together, we could not only make serious magic, but that I’d have something to gain from facing him.
You see… this tour I’m on, within the XHF… it hasn’t quite gone according to plan. My first outing, I lost to Leon Chant in NLW. Then, I was set to have a match in Destiny which never came to fruition because I was never available.
All I can say in this regard is that Hayden, if I lose to you, all I will have to say… is thank you.
Thank you for giving me one last good fight, and thank you for giving the AWF fans one more excellent contest to enjoy on the final night of the AWF’s existence.
And lastly… a special thank you to the fans of AWF, as well as to management. For allowing me the chance to be a part of the final show AWF will put on.”
He then bows in traditional Japanese fashion.
“Now… Hayden, allow me to address you properly. Hayden, I am well researched on you and your history. You have the tools necessary… but don't seem to know how to apply them. You couldn’t quite do it in SWAT, you were about to do it in FIRESIDE before you got cut and now, you will be unable to do it in AWF.
Your career so far has seen you being unable to achieve. I’m not much different, to be perfectly honest with you. My career up to this point has been a sore disappointment. No championships to speak of, most of my time has seen me getting defeated by superior talents. My only hope is that I can turn it around by defeating you. I just need to find my Killer Instinct again.
The Killer Instinct that took me up that mountain, the Killer Instinct that when my father threw me off the very same mountain and I got sliced, cut-up and bruised as I was tumbling down the face of it… helped me get up, scale that mountain again, and beat the living HELL out of my father when I got back to the top!!!”
He closes his eyes, stops for a moment… and breathes, as a single tear rolls down his cheek. It seems that that mountain does indeed hold a place in Tsunami’s heart… but not in a way that we initially thought. He wipes the tear from his eye with his finger and opens his eyes once again, seemingly snapping back into the toughness he spoke of earlier.
“...Yes, that very Killer Instinct. I lost it, thanks to those over in 5BW who didn’t believe in me… as a result, I started to doubt myself and… I lost it. The only way I can find it now is by stepping into that ring with you, Hayden.
When I find it… the rest is sure to follow. All I can say for certain now, is this…”
He then leans into the camera
“This is Only The Beginning.”
CUT
