Demands To Be Met (X*Crown RP #4 for NoC)
Jul 16, 2018 18:23:34 GMT -5
Mongo the Destroyer and Nausicaä Suzuki like this
Post by Raiden Ishimori on Jul 16, 2018 18:23:34 GMT -5
{Another day of the week meant another day of training and preparation for Raiden as Night of Champions drew closer and closer. The heat still hadn’t given up from days earlier as it continued to slow roast Osaka and the bustling noise of the city combined with the lingering humidity only added to everyone’s torture...at least for the average citizen that is. Raiden, on the other hand, had holed himself up at the M-FACTORY Kickboxing Gym, a place he had started going to regularly over the course of the past five years as a means of originally to keep himself fit, which later transitioned into a means of having some knowledge of self-defense and retaliation techniques to now being part of his regular training regime.}
{He wasn’t the only one there of course as a few others were scattered about across the gym, sweating profusely from not only their workouts but from the outside heat that traveled its way into the building, only adding to the pain that everyone was facing today. Up against the left-hand wall, Raiden was working on his strikes against one of the many punching bags that were strewn across the floor. His choice of attire was something no one was really complaining about as he only had his training gloves, shin pads, and a simple pair of black shorts as a means of trying to keep cool. Some of the others were looking over out of slight jealousy as his torso was decently toned. Despite the onlookers, Raiden’s strikes continued to rain against the bag with a grunt being elicited with each hit.}
{The pace was rather steady as he was only throwing a strike every second or so in order to ensure that he didn’t tire himself out quicker than he intended. The striking pattern was all the same though. Right jab, left shin kick, left jab, right shin kick, repeat again and again. Despite the repetition, there was an expression on his face that spoke volumes of what was going through his mind. The history of his group, what led to their deaths, what Jotaro thought of him, the X*Crown match...he had the pure look that practically screamed “Bone Cold” as the power of his strikes started to pick up with the grunts becoming more and more infuriated to the point that one of the trainers soon walked over to check on him.}
Trainer: “Raiden, you--”
Raiden (frustrated): “I’m fine, Saburo.”
{Another solid cross slammed off the punching bag, wildly rocking it as it swung back towards Raiden but the man responded with a stiff elbow before settling back into his usual pattern.}
Saburo: “Your voice says otherwise.”
Raiden: “It’s the heat…”
Saburo: “I get that, but you sound more pissed than what you normally are.”
{The impact of the words looked as if they pulled the pin on a grenade within Raiden as a middle roundhouse kick from Bone Cold nearly sent the bag flying off its chain, forcing Saburo to catch in order to avoid being smacked down to the floor by it.}
Saburo (taken aback): “Dude…”
{Raiden only glared at him in response as he clenched his fists by his sides, somewhat startling Saburo while he put the bag back in place. Once it was still again, Raiden continued his striking, now mixing it up a bit more with different variations of kicks and also adding in elbows along with the punches.}
Saburo: “You want to talk about it?”
Raiden: “What is there to talk about?”
Saburo: “I don’t know...whatever’s bugging you I guess would be a good place to start.”
Raiden (contemplating): “What’s bugging me…”
{There was a moment of awkward silence as Raiden caught hold of the bag, bringing it back to its center point while he thought things over in his head.}
Raiden: “A lot of shit...and it’s the stuff you don’t need to concern yourself with. Trust me, you’re better off not knowing, Saburo.”
Saburo: “Hmm…”
{The sound of a door creaking open caught Saburo’s attention, with a man who appeared to be in his late forties stepping out from the room he was just in, decked in a simple white tank top along with matching shorts and shoes. His entire torso was well toned with just about every part popping out to the naked eye. Abs, pectorals, you name it.}
Saburo: “Master Ebisawa!”
Ebisawa: “Saburo. How’s Raiden doing?”
Saburo: “Oh, uh...good as always. He’s mainly been working on his striking today from what I’ve been observing.”
Ebisawa: “Well given his occupation these days, it’s no surprise how much time he’s dedicating to improve it.”
Saburo (confused): “What?”
{A soft laugh emanates from Ebisawa as he stands beside Saburo, observing Raiden alongside him.}
Ebisawa: “You never heard? He’s in the big leagues now with him traveling out to Yokohama every other week.”
Raiden (surprised): “You...know about that, Ebisawa?”
Ebisawa (shrugging): “How haven’t I? It’s really one of the only promotions in the country worth checking out these days. Have to say I’m impressed with the work you’re putting in there. Can only expect things to get better for you with each passing day. You’re gonna do great things there, Raiden.”
“You’re gonna do great things...you’re gonna do great things...you’re...gonna...do...great...things…”
Raiden (inwardly): “...Jotaro…”
{Without warning, Raiden swiftly launched a straight right that not only made contact with the bag, but his fist actually buried its way into the bag with a resounding pop noise that shocked most of the people who were observing him. His eyes appeared as if they were going to pop out at any given moment while his breathing quickly became heavy. Suddenly, his knees gave way as he collapsed to the ground in a heap, startling the people around as some started immediately shouting for help as others began to check on him.}
{Thoughts in his head swam about as Raiden started to feel himself come to, with him moving his head side to side as a means to try and accelerate his awakening, but found it to be a rather in vain attempt. From where he was laying though, he could hear some chatter but it sounded rather muffled as he was still trying to regain his bearings.}
Ebisawa: “Saburo, relax. I can handle this.”
{Ebisawa tried to wave off the young trainer as he held a few papers in his hand at his desk. He kept scanning his desk, looking for something else but Saburo kept persisting, placing his hands on the desk.}
Saburo (worried): “How can you be so calm about this? The man could’ve died not too long ago and we’re lucky he just fainted from this godforsaken heatwave.”
{Ebisawa holds up the papers he has in his hand.}
Ebisawa: “It’s because of what’s written in this. Whoever gave this to him, I can relate to what he must be going through right now.”
Saburo (cocking a brow): “And that is?”
Ebisawa: “Something you really shouldn’t be concerning yourself with. Now get, Saburo. Once Raiden’s fully awake, I got some things to discuss with him.
Saburo (sighing): “...Yes, sir.”
{Sabura gives Ebisawa one final bow before leaving the office with Ebisawa shaking his head amidst a mixture of laughter as he leafs through the papers in his hand. Eventually, Raiden comes to as he sits up, a hand pressed against his head.}
Raiden (tiredly): “The hell happened…”
Ebisawa: “Hey, you’re awake finally.”
Raiden: “Where am I?”
Ebisawa: “My office. You passed out on the floor after punching the bag pretty damn hard, but it was more the heat that downed ya. Even left a hole in it which took a lot of us by surprise.”
Raiden: “Passed...out?”
Ebisawa: “Fainted’s probably the better term but we had a medic come in and hook ya up with some IV bags in case it might’ve also been dehydration.”
{Raiden’s eyes glanced at his arms and sure enough, there was a needle of sorts inserted in his left forearm that led up to the IV. A groan escaped his lips as he rested his head back down on the futon.}
Ebisawa: “So, I see you’ve found some rather interesting stuff in recent days.”
Raiden (confused): “What?”
Ebisawa: “This letter here…”
{Silence quickly filled the room as Raiden felt his stomach drop him at the mention of it. Sitting himself up, he stared daggers at Ebisawa from across the room, the corners of his mouth twitching as the two stared each other down.}
Raiden (baffled, yet angry): “Why...why do you have that in your hand?”
Ebisawa: “Relax Raiden. This fell out of your bag when Saburo was moving your stuff into here and I just happened to swipe it before he did. Believe me, you’d be more pissed if he had it in his hands rather than mine.”
Raiden: “And just what the hell do you know about what’s written on that paper?”
Ebisawa: “...I used to be one myself.”
Raiden (greatly confused): “W-wha...huh?”
{Ebisawa points to his right eye, in which the entirety of it appears to be filled with blood, covering the iris.}
Raiden: “The hell is that?”
Ebisawa: “Eight-ball fracture. Suffered it during a job I was running when I was with the Yakuza. Funny enough, it was with the same family that Jotaro was part of.”
Raiden: “You...know...about him?”
Ebisawa: “He and the others were below me in terms of rank but we treated each other with the same amount of respect only for your sake. At least, when I was still in the Yakuza, but I managed to buy my way out about a year after you had moved into Osaka.”
Raiden: “So...does that mean you also know what happened to Jotaro and the others?”
Ebisawa: “To a degree. From what my contacts told me, it was just a violent fight turned into a murder fest that, as you know, unfortunately, saw Jo, Yoshi, and Meiji killed in the ensuing fight. The family wanted the mess to be cleaned up quickly so they basically cremated the bodies and sent their ashes to their respective relatives. Nothing more, nothing less.”
Raiden: “But why keep all this information hidden?”
Ebisawa: “Two obvious reasons, Raiden.”
{Ebisawa shoots two fingers up on his free hand.}
Ebisawa: “One, I’m publicly known businessman here running this gym so any mention of me being a former Yakuza would cause the media to have a field and screw me over greatly. I still got inside contact with Yakuza, but it’s become rare these days for them to call in favors so thankfully my history has been pretty well hidden. Two, Jotaro had me promise the same thing him and the others did and that was to not mention anything to you at all. As long as I kept my mouth shut and ran this place without any issue, then I wouldn’t have the head honcho trying to bite at me. Yet, with this letter now in your possession, I see no reason to hide my side of the story any longer.”
Raiden: “But why? I just want to know why Jotaro got himself involved in that affair that got him killed. I know why he joined the Yakuza but what got him killed?”
Ebisawa: “That information is beyond my knowledge. The only people who most likely know that information are the head of the family we were part of and his associates. Other than that, no one else in the family would really know.”
{Unsatisfied, Raiden forces himself up onto his feet, nearly stumbling to the ground in the process but he catches himself as he holds himself up against the wall.}
Ebisawa: “I don’t think it’s wise to be standing up given your current condition.”
Raiden: “...Take me to see who the head honcho is.”
Ebisawa (confused): “I beg your pardon?”
Raiden (serious): “I said take me to meet the guy who’s overlooking the family.”
Ebisawa: “Are you fucking nuts? Raiden, Jotaro said not to get vengeance on his murderers, let alone get involved with Yakuza shit. You’d basically be putting yourself in an absolute danger here whilst fucking over your wrestling career!”
Raiden (shifting his stance): “That’s not what I plan, Ebisawa. I want the hard truth straight from the horse’s mouth.”
Ebisawa: “The answer’s still no.”
{Raiden stumbles forward to the desk, the IV needle being jerked out of his arm leaving it to bleed as he rests himself against Ebisawa’s desk.}
Raiden: “I’m not begging, I’m demanding.”
Ebisawa (surprised): “Do you even realize who you’re saying this too?”
Raiden: “Just do me this damn favor, Ebisawa. Do it not only for me but for Reina and Gempachi-san. They deserve to know more as well. So please, just let me get the story from whoever it is that’s running the family.
{Ebisawa sighs at the request as he puts the letter down on his desk, shaking his head.}
Ebisawa: “You certainly have grown to become rather stubborn over the years...alright, fine. I’ll do this favor for you. If it means helping cross that line to be free from the past, then so be it. Just don’t expect anything other big favors in the near future. What you’re doing now is asking a lot as is. Now get back to resting. You’re gonna need it if you want to be talking to the big man and also if you want to be ready for that match of yours in a few weeks time.”
{Raiden forces a weak smile with a nod of his head as he limps back over to the futon with Ebisawa following in order to help to patch up the wound on his arm before re-applying the IV and heading back to his desk. It was another small moment of relief as Raiden was drawing closer to what he had been searching for in recent times. Maybe once all of this was said and done, his mind could truly be at ease in time for the X*Crown match, but until then, he had to mentally prepare himself for the last roadblock that lay before him.}
{He wasn’t the only one there of course as a few others were scattered about across the gym, sweating profusely from not only their workouts but from the outside heat that traveled its way into the building, only adding to the pain that everyone was facing today. Up against the left-hand wall, Raiden was working on his strikes against one of the many punching bags that were strewn across the floor. His choice of attire was something no one was really complaining about as he only had his training gloves, shin pads, and a simple pair of black shorts as a means of trying to keep cool. Some of the others were looking over out of slight jealousy as his torso was decently toned. Despite the onlookers, Raiden’s strikes continued to rain against the bag with a grunt being elicited with each hit.}
{The pace was rather steady as he was only throwing a strike every second or so in order to ensure that he didn’t tire himself out quicker than he intended. The striking pattern was all the same though. Right jab, left shin kick, left jab, right shin kick, repeat again and again. Despite the repetition, there was an expression on his face that spoke volumes of what was going through his mind. The history of his group, what led to their deaths, what Jotaro thought of him, the X*Crown match...he had the pure look that practically screamed “Bone Cold” as the power of his strikes started to pick up with the grunts becoming more and more infuriated to the point that one of the trainers soon walked over to check on him.}
Trainer: “Raiden, you--”
Raiden (frustrated): “I’m fine, Saburo.”
{Another solid cross slammed off the punching bag, wildly rocking it as it swung back towards Raiden but the man responded with a stiff elbow before settling back into his usual pattern.}
Saburo: “Your voice says otherwise.”
Raiden: “It’s the heat…”
Saburo: “I get that, but you sound more pissed than what you normally are.”
{The impact of the words looked as if they pulled the pin on a grenade within Raiden as a middle roundhouse kick from Bone Cold nearly sent the bag flying off its chain, forcing Saburo to catch in order to avoid being smacked down to the floor by it.}
Saburo (taken aback): “Dude…”
{Raiden only glared at him in response as he clenched his fists by his sides, somewhat startling Saburo while he put the bag back in place. Once it was still again, Raiden continued his striking, now mixing it up a bit more with different variations of kicks and also adding in elbows along with the punches.}
Saburo: “You want to talk about it?”
Raiden: “What is there to talk about?”
Saburo: “I don’t know...whatever’s bugging you I guess would be a good place to start.”
Raiden (contemplating): “What’s bugging me…”
{There was a moment of awkward silence as Raiden caught hold of the bag, bringing it back to its center point while he thought things over in his head.}
Raiden: “A lot of shit...and it’s the stuff you don’t need to concern yourself with. Trust me, you’re better off not knowing, Saburo.”
Saburo: “Hmm…”
{The sound of a door creaking open caught Saburo’s attention, with a man who appeared to be in his late forties stepping out from the room he was just in, decked in a simple white tank top along with matching shorts and shoes. His entire torso was well toned with just about every part popping out to the naked eye. Abs, pectorals, you name it.}
Saburo: “Master Ebisawa!”
Ebisawa: “Saburo. How’s Raiden doing?”
Saburo: “Oh, uh...good as always. He’s mainly been working on his striking today from what I’ve been observing.”
Ebisawa: “Well given his occupation these days, it’s no surprise how much time he’s dedicating to improve it.”
Saburo (confused): “What?”
{A soft laugh emanates from Ebisawa as he stands beside Saburo, observing Raiden alongside him.}
Ebisawa: “You never heard? He’s in the big leagues now with him traveling out to Yokohama every other week.”
Raiden (surprised): “You...know about that, Ebisawa?”
Ebisawa (shrugging): “How haven’t I? It’s really one of the only promotions in the country worth checking out these days. Have to say I’m impressed with the work you’re putting in there. Can only expect things to get better for you with each passing day. You’re gonna do great things there, Raiden.”
“You’re gonna do great things...you’re gonna do great things...you’re...gonna...do...great...things…”
Raiden (inwardly): “...Jotaro…”
{Without warning, Raiden swiftly launched a straight right that not only made contact with the bag, but his fist actually buried its way into the bag with a resounding pop noise that shocked most of the people who were observing him. His eyes appeared as if they were going to pop out at any given moment while his breathing quickly became heavy. Suddenly, his knees gave way as he collapsed to the ground in a heap, startling the people around as some started immediately shouting for help as others began to check on him.}
{Thoughts in his head swam about as Raiden started to feel himself come to, with him moving his head side to side as a means to try and accelerate his awakening, but found it to be a rather in vain attempt. From where he was laying though, he could hear some chatter but it sounded rather muffled as he was still trying to regain his bearings.}
Ebisawa: “Saburo, relax. I can handle this.”
{Ebisawa tried to wave off the young trainer as he held a few papers in his hand at his desk. He kept scanning his desk, looking for something else but Saburo kept persisting, placing his hands on the desk.}
Saburo (worried): “How can you be so calm about this? The man could’ve died not too long ago and we’re lucky he just fainted from this godforsaken heatwave.”
{Ebisawa holds up the papers he has in his hand.}
Ebisawa: “It’s because of what’s written in this. Whoever gave this to him, I can relate to what he must be going through right now.”
Saburo (cocking a brow): “And that is?”
Ebisawa: “Something you really shouldn’t be concerning yourself with. Now get, Saburo. Once Raiden’s fully awake, I got some things to discuss with him.
Saburo (sighing): “...Yes, sir.”
{Sabura gives Ebisawa one final bow before leaving the office with Ebisawa shaking his head amidst a mixture of laughter as he leafs through the papers in his hand. Eventually, Raiden comes to as he sits up, a hand pressed against his head.}
Raiden (tiredly): “The hell happened…”
Ebisawa: “Hey, you’re awake finally.”
Raiden: “Where am I?”
Ebisawa: “My office. You passed out on the floor after punching the bag pretty damn hard, but it was more the heat that downed ya. Even left a hole in it which took a lot of us by surprise.”
Raiden: “Passed...out?”
Ebisawa: “Fainted’s probably the better term but we had a medic come in and hook ya up with some IV bags in case it might’ve also been dehydration.”
{Raiden’s eyes glanced at his arms and sure enough, there was a needle of sorts inserted in his left forearm that led up to the IV. A groan escaped his lips as he rested his head back down on the futon.}
Ebisawa: “So, I see you’ve found some rather interesting stuff in recent days.”
Raiden (confused): “What?”
Ebisawa: “This letter here…”
{Silence quickly filled the room as Raiden felt his stomach drop him at the mention of it. Sitting himself up, he stared daggers at Ebisawa from across the room, the corners of his mouth twitching as the two stared each other down.}
Raiden (baffled, yet angry): “Why...why do you have that in your hand?”
Ebisawa: “Relax Raiden. This fell out of your bag when Saburo was moving your stuff into here and I just happened to swipe it before he did. Believe me, you’d be more pissed if he had it in his hands rather than mine.”
Raiden: “And just what the hell do you know about what’s written on that paper?”
Ebisawa: “...I used to be one myself.”
Raiden (greatly confused): “W-wha...huh?”
{Ebisawa points to his right eye, in which the entirety of it appears to be filled with blood, covering the iris.}
Raiden: “The hell is that?”
Ebisawa: “Eight-ball fracture. Suffered it during a job I was running when I was with the Yakuza. Funny enough, it was with the same family that Jotaro was part of.”
Raiden: “You...know...about him?”
Ebisawa: “He and the others were below me in terms of rank but we treated each other with the same amount of respect only for your sake. At least, when I was still in the Yakuza, but I managed to buy my way out about a year after you had moved into Osaka.”
Raiden: “So...does that mean you also know what happened to Jotaro and the others?”
Ebisawa: “To a degree. From what my contacts told me, it was just a violent fight turned into a murder fest that, as you know, unfortunately, saw Jo, Yoshi, and Meiji killed in the ensuing fight. The family wanted the mess to be cleaned up quickly so they basically cremated the bodies and sent their ashes to their respective relatives. Nothing more, nothing less.”
Raiden: “But why keep all this information hidden?”
Ebisawa: “Two obvious reasons, Raiden.”
{Ebisawa shoots two fingers up on his free hand.}
Ebisawa: “One, I’m publicly known businessman here running this gym so any mention of me being a former Yakuza would cause the media to have a field and screw me over greatly. I still got inside contact with Yakuza, but it’s become rare these days for them to call in favors so thankfully my history has been pretty well hidden. Two, Jotaro had me promise the same thing him and the others did and that was to not mention anything to you at all. As long as I kept my mouth shut and ran this place without any issue, then I wouldn’t have the head honcho trying to bite at me. Yet, with this letter now in your possession, I see no reason to hide my side of the story any longer.”
Raiden: “But why? I just want to know why Jotaro got himself involved in that affair that got him killed. I know why he joined the Yakuza but what got him killed?”
Ebisawa: “That information is beyond my knowledge. The only people who most likely know that information are the head of the family we were part of and his associates. Other than that, no one else in the family would really know.”
{Unsatisfied, Raiden forces himself up onto his feet, nearly stumbling to the ground in the process but he catches himself as he holds himself up against the wall.}
Ebisawa: “I don’t think it’s wise to be standing up given your current condition.”
Raiden: “...Take me to see who the head honcho is.”
Ebisawa (confused): “I beg your pardon?”
Raiden (serious): “I said take me to meet the guy who’s overlooking the family.”
Ebisawa: “Are you fucking nuts? Raiden, Jotaro said not to get vengeance on his murderers, let alone get involved with Yakuza shit. You’d basically be putting yourself in an absolute danger here whilst fucking over your wrestling career!”
Raiden (shifting his stance): “That’s not what I plan, Ebisawa. I want the hard truth straight from the horse’s mouth.”
Ebisawa: “The answer’s still no.”
{Raiden stumbles forward to the desk, the IV needle being jerked out of his arm leaving it to bleed as he rests himself against Ebisawa’s desk.}
Raiden: “I’m not begging, I’m demanding.”
Ebisawa (surprised): “Do you even realize who you’re saying this too?”
Raiden: “Just do me this damn favor, Ebisawa. Do it not only for me but for Reina and Gempachi-san. They deserve to know more as well. So please, just let me get the story from whoever it is that’s running the family.
{Ebisawa sighs at the request as he puts the letter down on his desk, shaking his head.}
Ebisawa: “You certainly have grown to become rather stubborn over the years...alright, fine. I’ll do this favor for you. If it means helping cross that line to be free from the past, then so be it. Just don’t expect anything other big favors in the near future. What you’re doing now is asking a lot as is. Now get back to resting. You’re gonna need it if you want to be talking to the big man and also if you want to be ready for that match of yours in a few weeks time.”
{Raiden forces a weak smile with a nod of his head as he limps back over to the futon with Ebisawa following in order to help to patch up the wound on his arm before re-applying the IV and heading back to his desk. It was another small moment of relief as Raiden was drawing closer to what he had been searching for in recent times. Maybe once all of this was said and done, his mind could truly be at ease in time for the X*Crown match, but until then, he had to mentally prepare himself for the last roadblock that lay before him.}
