Giving Blood (Raiden RP #1)
Jan 20, 2023 2:10:08 GMT -5
Mongo the Destroyer, Dave D-Flipz, and 2 more like this
Post by Raiden Ishimori on Jan 20, 2023 2:10:08 GMT -5
“...was…..hard knock…”
Raiden: “.....”
“....breathing….to the head…”
“Raiden….Raiden!”
The voice jolted Raiden to a seated position but he was quickly grabbed albeit in a casual manner by Hunter Storms who more so seemed to do it as a precaution as the Harbinger of Pain scanned his surroundings. Based on the smell and what was making up the room from the various medical instruments and cabinets that he assumed had wrappings or painkillers, it was easy to tell he was in the on-site doctor’s office. A quiet groan escapes him as the recollection of the previous events earlier in the night soon catch up to him: the absolute thrashing suffered at the hands of Richard Energy. Part of him wanted to blame his misfortune on the injuries sustained at Battle for Hegemony on Sunday but that would only work if he was still a rookie, and he wasn’t anymore. One hand reached up to his face, fingers feeling the gauze that had been wrapped around his head as a precautionary measure to staunch the bleeding. His head still throbbed a bit but that was mostly in part to him sitting up so suddenly.
Daigo casually wandered his way into Bone Cold’s view, waving a hand in his face to test if his partner was concussed but Raiden quickly swatted it away with a grunt.
Daigo: “Yep, he’s fine.”
Storms: “I wouldn’t exactly call his current state fine, Daigo.”
Storms removed his arms from Raiden to give him back his personal space, hands moving to his hips as he looked over at Daigo who simply shrugged at him in response. The door to the office opened up, revealing Kingsley as he walked in dressed in suspenders and hair a bit of a mess compared to its usual upkept status. Seemed the night had been rather busy in the end outside of Bone Cold’s unfortunate circumstances.
Kingsley: “Ah, Raiden, you’re awake. Seems I came back at a good time in that case.”
Raiden: “The hell has happened?”
Kingsley: “Eh…do you remember what happened from your match?”
Raiden: “Blood. Brainbuster, slam, brainbuster-”
Kingsley: “Okay so you’re not concussed.”
Daigo: “That’s what I’m saying!”
Daigo shoots Storms a sly smirk, emphasizing that his own little diagnosis proved to be just as effective but Cut-Throat is evidently unamused by the matter. Kingsley approaches Bone Cold’s current resting position, hand running through his hair as a means to try and get his hair back to its usual appearance but evidently fails as the co-owner lets out a sigh.
Kingsley: “Presently though, how are you feeling? Any nausea or anything? Excessive bleeding even?”
Raiden: “No…nothing like that. At least….not presently feeling anything like those mentioned. Just hurts a bit.”
Kingsley: “Okay good. Good. If you weren’t up to par then I really would’ve had to pull some strings regarding things as they presently stand for the future of us all. Wouldn’t exactly like having to call something in early, but reality is often a very unpredictable and cruel mistress so-”
Raiden: “Hang on, back up on that point.”
Kingsley tilts his head at his fellow Harbinger.
Raiden: “What plans are you even on about?”
Kingsley: “Oh, right. You were conked out for a bit on morphine so allow me to elaborate: Plans in this case being the X*Crown match obviously and having to pull you from that if you were injured would obviously be a disappointing move, though I do wonder if Mongo would be opposed to replacements if that happened….Anyway! Other plan is that our challenge for Supremacy got accepted so you’ll be wrestling twice that night. Don’t fret though. Our match is somewhat early enough on the card and knowing how buck wild the Network can get during Global events, you should have a decent amount of time in between to regain some energy before closing the show out.”
Raiden: “....”
Daigo: “Okay, he might be concussed.”
Storms goes to swat at the back of Daigo’s head but Chaos Tiger swiftly ducks under the attempt and instead sticks his tongue out at The Harbinger of Destruction, garnering an eye roll from the tallest member of the quartet.
Kingsley: “Was…everything able to be understood?”
Raiden: “...Yeah. Just…who the hell are we even facing?”
Kingsley: “Natural Selection. MCCW alumni excluding Randy Angel who’s more so a bad influence on the likes of Ronnie considering he’s gotten him drunk on almost every occasion. I’d fire the kid like Aleister has thought about doing several times but then we would need a new red-headed stepchild to scapegoat.”
Raiden: “That doesn’t sound targeted at all…”
Bone Cold shakes his head, shifting his position on the furniture and bringing his legs to hang off of the edge, facing Kingsley.
Raiden: “Jests aside and back to the main point in hand, I feel alright enough to keep competing.”
Kingsley: “You sure? Not going to force you to take time off though I would personally recommend-”
Raiden: “No. Not taking the recommendation of resting up for this upcoming week. If we want to ensure that SCCW can become the very best at Supremacy and really start off the year with a fucking bang, then I’m going to keep wrestling. I don’t care who you give me on Wednesday or Thursday, just give me someone to twist around like a pretzel for the night. Focus has to be sharp, and my claws sharper.”
Kingsley: “Fair enough. I’ll get to looking through who’d be a worthwhile challenge for next week in that case once tomorrow’s show wraps up. Get you a response by the end of the weekend at the latest. In the meantime, I have a few phone calls to make before closing down for the night. I’d advise as boss to employee: at least take the time to rest up tomorrow and Friday. Conserve a bit of strength and energy and then get back into the grind. Start back up on Sunday or Monday if you want but at least rest for a couple days.”
Raiden: “Alright, alright.”
Raiden huffs out a groan at the persistence, earning a nod from Kingsley as he takes his leave from the room. Some few cheers can faintly be heard in the background before the door closes, leaving the remaining three to themselves, Raiden taking the time to slide off the furniture and steady himself on his feet. Lightheadedness was gone thankfully, and he could at least look around without much hassle. He silently thanked whoever for making him lucky on not taking anything much more debilitating than the whooping he had received.
Daigo: “I won’t lie Raiden, I haven’t seen a thrashing that bad since when I first debuted as Fenrir last year and dropped Moon Song flat on her face. I still chuckle at that memory.”
Raiden: “Please do not compare that instance against a curtain jerker to whatever this was.”
Storms: “To give credit where it is due at least, despite what looked like overkill, it was a good showing of tenacity from you in terms of endurance. Counted you being dropped on your head at least four times yet you didn’t stay down completely for the longest time. Good to see that trait never left you in between unmasked ventures.”
Cut-Throat lets out a short but faint laugh, earning a shrug from Raiden.
Raiden: “Have the X*Crown spree to thank for that, truth be told. Having intense results like that can…do a lot…to anyone involved. Why else do you think I managed to walk out as Prestige Champion a few years back?”
Storms: “Heh, fair enough. Not counting you out, but just making an observation of an ally.”
Raiden: “I understand.”
He massages his head for a moment, trying to grant some form of temporary relief. Daigo starts making his way to the door, letting out a dramatic sigh.
Daigo: “I’m gonna go see if Orion is willing to part with a bottle or two for the night. Home could use a small restock of liquors after the holidays.”
Raiden: “Daigo, you legit put down three on your own. Why in the hell would you need more?”
Daigo: “Don’t worry about it!”
Chaos Tiger opens up the door and skips off on his leave, leaving Cut-Throat and Bone Cold to themselves. Storms shakes his head as begins to take his leave, open the door back up but only partially with one foot out the entryway.
Storms: “I’m going to make sure he doesn’t bother the old man too much. You gonna be alright in the meantime?”
Raiden: “Yeah…I’ll be fine. Reina’s probably gonna keep my ass in bed for the next couple days anyway so no worry on the front of me spilling too much blood.”
Storms (chuckling): “Fair enough. See ya next week, man.”
The Harbinger of Destruction pushes the door more open, audibly shouting after Daigo down the hall and breaking out into a small jog to pursue him. A heavy sigh escapes Raiden as he begins pacing around the room albeit slowly to ensure his balance is still holding relatively well. He pauses in his tracks, hands gingerly placing themselves on a nearby counter to double check himself before continuing on in a gradual circle around the room.
Raiden: “You know, this month itself marks four years since I last found myself competing at such a high level in terms of singles competition for anything remotely as luxurious as the likes of the X*Crown. Back then you had the likes of Jack Diamond running the camp, Jackson Steele nipping at his heels at every corner, and then of course there was myself as the forever dark horse in every encounter we had throughout that blood feud of ours. Each time…it was just never enough to really get the final say and the first time around, I didn’t feel sorrow or anger, but a sense of pride when I was just chucked into that Four Ring Circus Match back in 2018. No one knew anything about me other than being some talent from Suzuki Blitz Wrestling at the time, and at that point I had only wrestled two official matches in SBW that I won before making my presence known on the grand stage.”
He gives a small gesture with his arms, spreading them out to emphasize the occasion in question.
Raiden: “Though I didn’t win the title, I certainly won over a lot of hearts on that fateful night and after that event, people gradually came to know more about Bone Cold. Even when SBW was in purgatory, I still continued to rep that place with every fiber of my being, with all of my heart even when others told me to move on at that point. The roster had hope that I could do it, and that drove me to keep pushing for the sake of the entirety of SBW…but that dream was never realized in the end for the company and following End of Days of that year, the company was terminated and everyone released from their contracts.”
Another heavy sigh falls from his lips.
Raiden: “It was dismaying to be handed such a thing but alas, things in life don’t always go to plan.”
Raiden pauses in his steps, letting out a low growl for a moment.
Raiden: “All the times that I kept giving blood in an effort to make something for not just myself but for the group, the organization I was with, and it kept ending in failure. I won’t lie, I often wondered after the second attempt why I still continued to bleed for them and in the months after I signed elsewhere, I questioned why I bled for them after a time. Of course…a trip back home to Japan would change all of that after one very specific phone call from Kingsley. A call to become a Harbinger.”
A laugh escapes him though the noise it echoes is rather faint.
Raiden: “Fast forward through all the time in J-ROK and the experiences in SCCW and I’m now back to where I first started my origins as a member of the XHF. An X*Crown competitor. Still giving blood, still fighting with every fiber of his being to get some damn gold around his waist and now one of the best tag team wrestlers this Network has seen in the last five years. That is something that can not be taken away from my resume of accomplishments and never will be so long as I breathe.”
A deep inhale, followed by an exhale, hands planting themselves on the table he was perched on earlier.
Raiden: “And at this juncture I find myself surrounded by several familiar faces standing before me. Two of which I’ve known since my first X*Crown bout and the other two….well….let’s just say I look upon one more favorably than the other by miles. Speaking of that other person in question, I suppose I could address him first…if he’s even worth the time in all honesty. Just how fuck did you manage to avoid elimination in the first place, Copycat? Terry Bradshaw’s lapdog and instead I was the one who had to be the whipping boy in your shoes because like always, your cowardice won you over. So of course I had to be the one to suffer and limp away like a wounded animal. If it were any different, all of us would’ve forced you to take the loss instead of me, or anyone else on that makeshift team to get to where we are now in this situation. Only reason you’re even involved in this match from the get-go is because you piggyback off the success all of us carved for ourselves. Three X*Crown champions, one of the best Prestige Champions AWF ever had grace their ring…and then someone who got a lazy ride up to the top.”
Raiden groans at the thought of it, shaking his head slowly.
Raiden: “I probably should’ve figured that my past tenure in AWF would come to bite me in the ass at some point with how I decided to leave but Terry Bradshaw can still kiss my ass for all I care. He dragged me out of my initial hiding in Saitama all because he kept wanting to play dirty against Seth with whatever obsession he had. Guess what Copycat…that latent spite and hatred from the last few months I spent in Ohio now gets to be focused on you. Still nothing more than a whipping boy and I promise you…Terry won’t even find a use for you after I’m done breaking every single bone in that scrawny body of yours. The human body has plenty of them…and that Kitchen Kaos is going to afford us plenty of time, mainly for me so I can get acquainted with what angles I can surpass with those twigs you call arms. I can already hear the blood curdling chorus filling my ears.”
A small sinister chuckle leaves him.
Raiden: “Hey Steve…you remember me from all those years ago? Probably not considering I did fade away from the limelight for a time. We at least saw one another in that Four Ring Circus bullshit and I’ll never forget you being the third one to go out of that mess. The legend then…outlasted by a simple rookie that no one had any knowledge of or any dirt for that matter. I was just The Lone Wolf of Osaka at that point in time but I made myself a household name overnight with that performance and I kept improving from thereon. Top performer everywhere I went, even ending Chris Card’s reign as Prestige Champion to really cement just how much of a prospect I still was even when not performing on the big stage like everyone else.”
Bone Cold offers a small shrug at the thought of it.
Raiden: “People can call it cowardice that I didn’t want to keep going but at that point in time, I was having to defend that Prestige Title while everyone else was still marching around to stake claims for the X*Crown while I held the fort down, giving my blood to AWF and bleeding over that title. I kept myself a success story while others had to keep splashing in failure. That entire time…where the fuck were you at? Your name barely came into existence again in my eyes up until REIGN swaggered in and then you became known once more and won the X*Crown again to boot before you lost it to Zoran. I’m surprised you’re still willing to keep trudging, but then again, people are surprised that I’m still willing to bleed for another shot at the top prize here.”
He shakes his head.
Raiden: “Well this blood isn’t for naught. When it comes to blood, there are two people in this endeavor who know exactly what it’s like: Dylan Black, and Zoran Sainovic. One man beat my Harbinger kin, and the other I had a draw with for the same exact belt we’re all scrambling for once again as part of Mongo’s fetish for chaotic messes.”
Raiden rolls his eyes at the thought.
Raiden: “Dylan…truly…why do you still fight? What more do you have to even gain from fighting for something like this? Is it because you envy the success that Zoran has had? A three time winner where you’ve only won it twice? One of those was in The Rumble no less yet it seems that wasn’t even enough to sate your hunger you pig. Greed and gluttony can drive people to do many things: violence, mischief, hell even near murder like what you did to Daisuke that one time. Much as that was something…can’t exactly let that deed go unpunished even if it is a few years old by this point. That man was and still is part of the reason why I found the spark to keep my passion going for this industry, even with a different path, a different outlook. Those differences…are also what have led me back to the X*Crown. Forget honor, forget the code I’m supposed to follow, forget the damn guidelines people try to give me to achieve success. I did away with all that flowery crap three years ago when I emerged in J-ROK with The Harbingers and we didn’t give a damn what we did so long as it meant sitting at the top. We weren't champions at any point, but we were feared. That’s what kept our success going was that people knew how dangerous we were then, and how dangerous we still are now.”
His expression goes slack, anger etching itself on his brow.
Raiden: “Even Zoran knows the pain and struggle of fighting The Harbinger of Pain. Only proof you need is that time limit draw we had in GUNS to truly understand that I have not lost any touch whatsoever in high stakes environments and that was against a man with an injured arm who brought just as much to bear in that as I did, but….let’s cut the bullshit pleasantries and actually get right into the whole debacle as a whole. That match should’ve been mine if that old bastard wasn’t as sturdy as he is. More stalwart than Magnus’ control over GUNS in the first place with Zoran running all over the place and now I can understand the man’s hatred for him. It should’ve been mine, I should’ve been champion then but now I have the chance to amend that error. This…is the ultimate ending for turning all the wrongs into rights for a change. The times I spilled blood, having my blood spilled, my back compacted, arms and hands twisted out of position, and so much goddamn more I had to endure to finally get one prize that has forever eluded me and I’ll be damned if it slips through a fifth time in my entire career here with the Network.”
Nails dig into the top of the table, growling to himself.
Raiden: “I can not keep standing for this nor will I let it stand any longer. If anyone is deserving of that title by the end of the night it is going to be me, and me alone. Not for just The Harbingers, or the past of Suzuki Blitz, but for my goddamn self. Something I constantly strove for, something I wanted to prove that I am the very best when competing with the best, and still…STILL…that dream never came to fruition. That. Will. Change.”
Raiden’s hands relax on the table, bringing himself to a full stand with an exhalation of breath. He holds his head for a moment, letting himself steady on the floor before pacing around to take his leave for the time being. Evident sounds of Storms still chasing Daigo are heard in inaudible conversations as the camera fades out.
Raiden: “.....”
“....breathing….to the head…”
“Raiden….Raiden!”
The voice jolted Raiden to a seated position but he was quickly grabbed albeit in a casual manner by Hunter Storms who more so seemed to do it as a precaution as the Harbinger of Pain scanned his surroundings. Based on the smell and what was making up the room from the various medical instruments and cabinets that he assumed had wrappings or painkillers, it was easy to tell he was in the on-site doctor’s office. A quiet groan escapes him as the recollection of the previous events earlier in the night soon catch up to him: the absolute thrashing suffered at the hands of Richard Energy. Part of him wanted to blame his misfortune on the injuries sustained at Battle for Hegemony on Sunday but that would only work if he was still a rookie, and he wasn’t anymore. One hand reached up to his face, fingers feeling the gauze that had been wrapped around his head as a precautionary measure to staunch the bleeding. His head still throbbed a bit but that was mostly in part to him sitting up so suddenly.
Daigo casually wandered his way into Bone Cold’s view, waving a hand in his face to test if his partner was concussed but Raiden quickly swatted it away with a grunt.
Daigo: “Yep, he’s fine.”
Storms: “I wouldn’t exactly call his current state fine, Daigo.”
Storms removed his arms from Raiden to give him back his personal space, hands moving to his hips as he looked over at Daigo who simply shrugged at him in response. The door to the office opened up, revealing Kingsley as he walked in dressed in suspenders and hair a bit of a mess compared to its usual upkept status. Seemed the night had been rather busy in the end outside of Bone Cold’s unfortunate circumstances.
Kingsley: “Ah, Raiden, you’re awake. Seems I came back at a good time in that case.”
Raiden: “The hell has happened?”
Kingsley: “Eh…do you remember what happened from your match?”
Raiden: “Blood. Brainbuster, slam, brainbuster-”
Kingsley: “Okay so you’re not concussed.”
Daigo: “That’s what I’m saying!”
Daigo shoots Storms a sly smirk, emphasizing that his own little diagnosis proved to be just as effective but Cut-Throat is evidently unamused by the matter. Kingsley approaches Bone Cold’s current resting position, hand running through his hair as a means to try and get his hair back to its usual appearance but evidently fails as the co-owner lets out a sigh.
Kingsley: “Presently though, how are you feeling? Any nausea or anything? Excessive bleeding even?”
Raiden: “No…nothing like that. At least….not presently feeling anything like those mentioned. Just hurts a bit.”
Kingsley: “Okay good. Good. If you weren’t up to par then I really would’ve had to pull some strings regarding things as they presently stand for the future of us all. Wouldn’t exactly like having to call something in early, but reality is often a very unpredictable and cruel mistress so-”
Raiden: “Hang on, back up on that point.”
Kingsley tilts his head at his fellow Harbinger.
Raiden: “What plans are you even on about?”
Kingsley: “Oh, right. You were conked out for a bit on morphine so allow me to elaborate: Plans in this case being the X*Crown match obviously and having to pull you from that if you were injured would obviously be a disappointing move, though I do wonder if Mongo would be opposed to replacements if that happened….Anyway! Other plan is that our challenge for Supremacy got accepted so you’ll be wrestling twice that night. Don’t fret though. Our match is somewhat early enough on the card and knowing how buck wild the Network can get during Global events, you should have a decent amount of time in between to regain some energy before closing the show out.”
Raiden: “....”
Daigo: “Okay, he might be concussed.”
Storms goes to swat at the back of Daigo’s head but Chaos Tiger swiftly ducks under the attempt and instead sticks his tongue out at The Harbinger of Destruction, garnering an eye roll from the tallest member of the quartet.
Kingsley: “Was…everything able to be understood?”
Raiden: “...Yeah. Just…who the hell are we even facing?”
Kingsley: “Natural Selection. MCCW alumni excluding Randy Angel who’s more so a bad influence on the likes of Ronnie considering he’s gotten him drunk on almost every occasion. I’d fire the kid like Aleister has thought about doing several times but then we would need a new red-headed stepchild to scapegoat.”
Raiden: “That doesn’t sound targeted at all…”
Bone Cold shakes his head, shifting his position on the furniture and bringing his legs to hang off of the edge, facing Kingsley.
Raiden: “Jests aside and back to the main point in hand, I feel alright enough to keep competing.”
Kingsley: “You sure? Not going to force you to take time off though I would personally recommend-”
Raiden: “No. Not taking the recommendation of resting up for this upcoming week. If we want to ensure that SCCW can become the very best at Supremacy and really start off the year with a fucking bang, then I’m going to keep wrestling. I don’t care who you give me on Wednesday or Thursday, just give me someone to twist around like a pretzel for the night. Focus has to be sharp, and my claws sharper.”
Kingsley: “Fair enough. I’ll get to looking through who’d be a worthwhile challenge for next week in that case once tomorrow’s show wraps up. Get you a response by the end of the weekend at the latest. In the meantime, I have a few phone calls to make before closing down for the night. I’d advise as boss to employee: at least take the time to rest up tomorrow and Friday. Conserve a bit of strength and energy and then get back into the grind. Start back up on Sunday or Monday if you want but at least rest for a couple days.”
Raiden: “Alright, alright.”
Raiden huffs out a groan at the persistence, earning a nod from Kingsley as he takes his leave from the room. Some few cheers can faintly be heard in the background before the door closes, leaving the remaining three to themselves, Raiden taking the time to slide off the furniture and steady himself on his feet. Lightheadedness was gone thankfully, and he could at least look around without much hassle. He silently thanked whoever for making him lucky on not taking anything much more debilitating than the whooping he had received.
Daigo: “I won’t lie Raiden, I haven’t seen a thrashing that bad since when I first debuted as Fenrir last year and dropped Moon Song flat on her face. I still chuckle at that memory.”
Raiden: “Please do not compare that instance against a curtain jerker to whatever this was.”
Storms: “To give credit where it is due at least, despite what looked like overkill, it was a good showing of tenacity from you in terms of endurance. Counted you being dropped on your head at least four times yet you didn’t stay down completely for the longest time. Good to see that trait never left you in between unmasked ventures.”
Cut-Throat lets out a short but faint laugh, earning a shrug from Raiden.
Raiden: “Have the X*Crown spree to thank for that, truth be told. Having intense results like that can…do a lot…to anyone involved. Why else do you think I managed to walk out as Prestige Champion a few years back?”
Storms: “Heh, fair enough. Not counting you out, but just making an observation of an ally.”
Raiden: “I understand.”
He massages his head for a moment, trying to grant some form of temporary relief. Daigo starts making his way to the door, letting out a dramatic sigh.
Daigo: “I’m gonna go see if Orion is willing to part with a bottle or two for the night. Home could use a small restock of liquors after the holidays.”
Raiden: “Daigo, you legit put down three on your own. Why in the hell would you need more?”
Daigo: “Don’t worry about it!”
Chaos Tiger opens up the door and skips off on his leave, leaving Cut-Throat and Bone Cold to themselves. Storms shakes his head as begins to take his leave, open the door back up but only partially with one foot out the entryway.
Storms: “I’m going to make sure he doesn’t bother the old man too much. You gonna be alright in the meantime?”
Raiden: “Yeah…I’ll be fine. Reina’s probably gonna keep my ass in bed for the next couple days anyway so no worry on the front of me spilling too much blood.”
Storms (chuckling): “Fair enough. See ya next week, man.”
The Harbinger of Destruction pushes the door more open, audibly shouting after Daigo down the hall and breaking out into a small jog to pursue him. A heavy sigh escapes Raiden as he begins pacing around the room albeit slowly to ensure his balance is still holding relatively well. He pauses in his tracks, hands gingerly placing themselves on a nearby counter to double check himself before continuing on in a gradual circle around the room.
Raiden: “You know, this month itself marks four years since I last found myself competing at such a high level in terms of singles competition for anything remotely as luxurious as the likes of the X*Crown. Back then you had the likes of Jack Diamond running the camp, Jackson Steele nipping at his heels at every corner, and then of course there was myself as the forever dark horse in every encounter we had throughout that blood feud of ours. Each time…it was just never enough to really get the final say and the first time around, I didn’t feel sorrow or anger, but a sense of pride when I was just chucked into that Four Ring Circus Match back in 2018. No one knew anything about me other than being some talent from Suzuki Blitz Wrestling at the time, and at that point I had only wrestled two official matches in SBW that I won before making my presence known on the grand stage.”
He gives a small gesture with his arms, spreading them out to emphasize the occasion in question.
Raiden: “Though I didn’t win the title, I certainly won over a lot of hearts on that fateful night and after that event, people gradually came to know more about Bone Cold. Even when SBW was in purgatory, I still continued to rep that place with every fiber of my being, with all of my heart even when others told me to move on at that point. The roster had hope that I could do it, and that drove me to keep pushing for the sake of the entirety of SBW…but that dream was never realized in the end for the company and following End of Days of that year, the company was terminated and everyone released from their contracts.”
Another heavy sigh falls from his lips.
Raiden: “It was dismaying to be handed such a thing but alas, things in life don’t always go to plan.”
Raiden pauses in his steps, letting out a low growl for a moment.
Raiden: “All the times that I kept giving blood in an effort to make something for not just myself but for the group, the organization I was with, and it kept ending in failure. I won’t lie, I often wondered after the second attempt why I still continued to bleed for them and in the months after I signed elsewhere, I questioned why I bled for them after a time. Of course…a trip back home to Japan would change all of that after one very specific phone call from Kingsley. A call to become a Harbinger.”
A laugh escapes him though the noise it echoes is rather faint.
Raiden: “Fast forward through all the time in J-ROK and the experiences in SCCW and I’m now back to where I first started my origins as a member of the XHF. An X*Crown competitor. Still giving blood, still fighting with every fiber of his being to get some damn gold around his waist and now one of the best tag team wrestlers this Network has seen in the last five years. That is something that can not be taken away from my resume of accomplishments and never will be so long as I breathe.”
A deep inhale, followed by an exhale, hands planting themselves on the table he was perched on earlier.
Raiden: “And at this juncture I find myself surrounded by several familiar faces standing before me. Two of which I’ve known since my first X*Crown bout and the other two….well….let’s just say I look upon one more favorably than the other by miles. Speaking of that other person in question, I suppose I could address him first…if he’s even worth the time in all honesty. Just how fuck did you manage to avoid elimination in the first place, Copycat? Terry Bradshaw’s lapdog and instead I was the one who had to be the whipping boy in your shoes because like always, your cowardice won you over. So of course I had to be the one to suffer and limp away like a wounded animal. If it were any different, all of us would’ve forced you to take the loss instead of me, or anyone else on that makeshift team to get to where we are now in this situation. Only reason you’re even involved in this match from the get-go is because you piggyback off the success all of us carved for ourselves. Three X*Crown champions, one of the best Prestige Champions AWF ever had grace their ring…and then someone who got a lazy ride up to the top.”
Raiden groans at the thought of it, shaking his head slowly.
Raiden: “I probably should’ve figured that my past tenure in AWF would come to bite me in the ass at some point with how I decided to leave but Terry Bradshaw can still kiss my ass for all I care. He dragged me out of my initial hiding in Saitama all because he kept wanting to play dirty against Seth with whatever obsession he had. Guess what Copycat…that latent spite and hatred from the last few months I spent in Ohio now gets to be focused on you. Still nothing more than a whipping boy and I promise you…Terry won’t even find a use for you after I’m done breaking every single bone in that scrawny body of yours. The human body has plenty of them…and that Kitchen Kaos is going to afford us plenty of time, mainly for me so I can get acquainted with what angles I can surpass with those twigs you call arms. I can already hear the blood curdling chorus filling my ears.”
A small sinister chuckle leaves him.
Raiden: “Hey Steve…you remember me from all those years ago? Probably not considering I did fade away from the limelight for a time. We at least saw one another in that Four Ring Circus bullshit and I’ll never forget you being the third one to go out of that mess. The legend then…outlasted by a simple rookie that no one had any knowledge of or any dirt for that matter. I was just The Lone Wolf of Osaka at that point in time but I made myself a household name overnight with that performance and I kept improving from thereon. Top performer everywhere I went, even ending Chris Card’s reign as Prestige Champion to really cement just how much of a prospect I still was even when not performing on the big stage like everyone else.”
Bone Cold offers a small shrug at the thought of it.
Raiden: “People can call it cowardice that I didn’t want to keep going but at that point in time, I was having to defend that Prestige Title while everyone else was still marching around to stake claims for the X*Crown while I held the fort down, giving my blood to AWF and bleeding over that title. I kept myself a success story while others had to keep splashing in failure. That entire time…where the fuck were you at? Your name barely came into existence again in my eyes up until REIGN swaggered in and then you became known once more and won the X*Crown again to boot before you lost it to Zoran. I’m surprised you’re still willing to keep trudging, but then again, people are surprised that I’m still willing to bleed for another shot at the top prize here.”
He shakes his head.
Raiden: “Well this blood isn’t for naught. When it comes to blood, there are two people in this endeavor who know exactly what it’s like: Dylan Black, and Zoran Sainovic. One man beat my Harbinger kin, and the other I had a draw with for the same exact belt we’re all scrambling for once again as part of Mongo’s fetish for chaotic messes.”
Raiden rolls his eyes at the thought.
Raiden: “Dylan…truly…why do you still fight? What more do you have to even gain from fighting for something like this? Is it because you envy the success that Zoran has had? A three time winner where you’ve only won it twice? One of those was in The Rumble no less yet it seems that wasn’t even enough to sate your hunger you pig. Greed and gluttony can drive people to do many things: violence, mischief, hell even near murder like what you did to Daisuke that one time. Much as that was something…can’t exactly let that deed go unpunished even if it is a few years old by this point. That man was and still is part of the reason why I found the spark to keep my passion going for this industry, even with a different path, a different outlook. Those differences…are also what have led me back to the X*Crown. Forget honor, forget the code I’m supposed to follow, forget the damn guidelines people try to give me to achieve success. I did away with all that flowery crap three years ago when I emerged in J-ROK with The Harbingers and we didn’t give a damn what we did so long as it meant sitting at the top. We weren't champions at any point, but we were feared. That’s what kept our success going was that people knew how dangerous we were then, and how dangerous we still are now.”
His expression goes slack, anger etching itself on his brow.
Raiden: “Even Zoran knows the pain and struggle of fighting The Harbinger of Pain. Only proof you need is that time limit draw we had in GUNS to truly understand that I have not lost any touch whatsoever in high stakes environments and that was against a man with an injured arm who brought just as much to bear in that as I did, but….let’s cut the bullshit pleasantries and actually get right into the whole debacle as a whole. That match should’ve been mine if that old bastard wasn’t as sturdy as he is. More stalwart than Magnus’ control over GUNS in the first place with Zoran running all over the place and now I can understand the man’s hatred for him. It should’ve been mine, I should’ve been champion then but now I have the chance to amend that error. This…is the ultimate ending for turning all the wrongs into rights for a change. The times I spilled blood, having my blood spilled, my back compacted, arms and hands twisted out of position, and so much goddamn more I had to endure to finally get one prize that has forever eluded me and I’ll be damned if it slips through a fifth time in my entire career here with the Network.”
Nails dig into the top of the table, growling to himself.
Raiden: “I can not keep standing for this nor will I let it stand any longer. If anyone is deserving of that title by the end of the night it is going to be me, and me alone. Not for just The Harbingers, or the past of Suzuki Blitz, but for my goddamn self. Something I constantly strove for, something I wanted to prove that I am the very best when competing with the best, and still…STILL…that dream never came to fruition. That. Will. Change.”
Raiden’s hands relax on the table, bringing himself to a full stand with an exhalation of breath. He holds his head for a moment, letting himself steady on the floor before pacing around to take his leave for the time being. Evident sounds of Storms still chasing Daigo are heard in inaudible conversations as the camera fades out.
