No Rest For The Wicked (Supremacy RP #2)
Jan 19, 2019 2:36:05 GMT -5
Mongo the Destroyer and Bobby Barratt like this
Post by Raiden Ishimori on Jan 19, 2019 2:36:05 GMT -5
Date: January 17, 2019
Location: Dotonbori, Osaka, Japan
{The humidity in the city still continued to linger very heavily, even making the appropriately dressed feel sluggish in their movement as the clothes on their back began to stick to them like glue thanks to the sweat that perspired from them. It was an uncomfortable circumstance to deal with but such is the way the world functions in today’s day and age. The streets were crowded as per usual with folks trying to get from Point A to Point B with time to spare but of course, the usual traffic jams prevented such efforts from being accomplished with relative ease. However, knowing the backroads definitely proved a help as with the case of Raiden and Takuma, the managing to weasel their way into the entertainment city of Dotonbori as a means of relaxation and decompression after being couped up in Osaka for so long following the Akagawa Incidents. The popular destination for nightlife entertainment lived up to its reputation as the nighttime atmosphere was filled with the flashing billboards in an assortment of colors, the camera catching the signature Glico Man poster, the Kani Doraku Crab wiggling around above the Kani Doraku crab restaurant, and various other colorful restaurants lighting up the streets with a variety of people traveling up and down the streets as cars drive past in low hums, with taxi drivers occasionally shouting out their windows looking to see if anyone needs a ride.}
{After gathering enough footage for the viewers at home, the camera cuts over to Raiden and Takuma, the former dressed in a white short sleeve dress shirt with off white pants and the latter dressed in a black short sleeve shirt with matching pants, leaning against one of the railings lining the Dotonbori Bridge: Raiden with his arms folded over the top of the railing with a cigarette in his mouth while Takuma has his back up against it with a tray of takoyaki in hand as he played about with the remaining three pieces in a lazy manner. He almost looks sick to even be staring at the remaining food left on the tray as he rolls the takoyaki around with the sauce-stained chopsticks in hand.}
Takuma (groaning): “Ordering that sixteen piece was a mistake…”
Raiden (billowing smoke): “Your fault on that one and now you’re down some yen.”
Takuma: “Hey, I was hungry after the drive here. It’s the sauce that got drizzled on this stuff that got me all full from eating it.”
Raiden (sarcastically): “Uh-huh, I believe you.”
Takuma (shaking his head): “Wise-ass.”
{In an act of defiance, Takuma grabs one of the remaining takoyaki pieces in the tray, popping it into his mouth with a steady chew. He glares at Raiden as he continues chewing but Bone Cold only shakes his head at the display with a chuckle.}
Raiden: “I don’t know if I should be calling you Big Hungry Tiger or Baka Big Tiger.”
Takuma: “The former, preferably.”
Raiden (taking a puff): “I’ll keep that in mind.”
{He pulls the cigarette away from his lips, letting out another steady stream of smoke as he taps some of the ashes off the cigarette before dropping it onto the ground and snuffing it out. Glancing over, he catches Takuma in his boredom, picking at the takoyaki before deftly reaching a hand in and swiping one out of the tray, much to the shock of Big Tiger.}
Takuma: “Bro, I was gonna eat that one next!”
Raiden (shrugging): “Figure I just help you in finishing the food off.”
Takuma (sighing): “Maaaaannn…”
{Takuma tilts his head back, eyes closed as he exhales another sigh of disappointment over one of his takoyaki pieces being taken from him before he goes back to rolling the last one around in the tray.}
Takuma: “You’re paying the next time I order takoyaki.”
Raiden (puzzled): “And why should I?”
Takuma (shrugging): “Cause why not?”
{The two exchange a glance before Raiden goes back to staring out across the canal, shrugging his shoulders.}
Raiden: “Fair enough.”
{Takuma lets out a single laugh of victory, proudly eating the last takoyaki piece, placing the chopsticks in the tray with a content sigh.}
Takuma (groggy): “Alright, now I’m definitely full after eating that last one.”
Raiden (rolling his eyes): “I almost have no doubt you’ll be hungry again though before we even leave Dotonbori for the evening. Knowing you, I can expect that appetite to come back within the next hour.”
Takuma: “I doubt it this time. The mixture of sauce and batter they used for these ones was real, real heavy so rather than be starving, probably gonna be trying my best to keep it all in and hope it doesn’t rise back up.”
Raiden: “Don’t even give me that mental image.”
Takuma: “A bit late for that, don’t you think?”
Raiden (nonchalant): “Whatever.”
{Takuma lets out another chuckle at his friend’s reaction, placing the empty tray down by his feet. Reaching into his breast pocket, he produces a lighter while pulling out a cigarette of his own, sparking the object in hand as he inhales the first bit of smoke before putting the lighter and pack of cigs away. Turning around, he rests his free hand on the railing while the other handles the cigarette, drawing it away from his lips, billowing it out into the air above the two.}
Raiden: “Hey, can I ask you something? Like, a serious question?”
Takuma: “You make it sound like I’m not used to be asked such questions.”
Raiden: “Whatever.”
Takuma: “Anyway, shoot.”
Raiden (struggling): “You think...do you think...that there will be a possible way out of all this?”
Takuma (confused): “Out of what?”
Raiden: “Dealing with all this Yakuza nonsense.”
{Takuma blankly stares at the Lone Wolf, pulling the cigarette back into his lips as he thinks the question over. After about thirty seconds pass along with a few more puffs, Takuma lets out a long sigh.}
Takuma: “I honestly wish I could give you the answer you desire but the problem is that once you’re associated with the Yakuza world in any way my friend, the stain is forever left on your soul. Once you step into those shadows, they follow you wherever you go. No escape I’m afraid.”
Raiden (muttering): “I figured as much...”
Takuma: “Once you become part of the world that is Yakuza, you can’t leave because people know about you and they keep very close eyes on what you’re doing, even if you’ve been expelled from the family, there will always be eyes watching you no matter where you go.”
Raiden: “Even here?”
Takuma (nodding): “Unfortunate as it is, that’s just the way of life that we have to put up with.”
{He takes another puff from his cigarette while Raiden pushes himself back a bit to where his arms are on extended, palms on the railing as he looks down into the canal below them.}
Takuma: “Ain’t no rest for the wicked, Raiden.”
Raiden: “...And I doubt Satoshi is really sleeping on us.”
Takuma: “True. That kid’s a lot sharper than what most take him for. Those who do know about him, know that he possesses a mind that his old man wishes he had when he was still around before kicking the bucket two years back. Hell, Jin and I only made it to where we were in the hierarchy because the two thought so alike. Almost seeing eye to eye on everything, differences aside of course. It was almost frightening but now with that crafty fox out of commission, for the time being, the kid’s down a power player that he could rely on. So if I’m being honest, we’re probably in a state of relative peace as of late.”
Raiden: “I hope you’re right in this case.”
Takuma: “Can only hope I am too.”
{Takuma takes one last puff of the cigarette before tossing it onto the ground and snuffing it out with his heel, looking out across the canal filled with the reflections of the luminous billboards on the sides of the buildings lining the water.}
Takuma (nonchalant): “Bastards are probably hiding out here somewhere.”
Raiden: “You say that so nonchalantly after the fact.”
Takuma: “Cause I’m used to being spied on. There’s more than likely at least one guy posted up on the walkways over here for all we know. However, it’s only to watch us in order to ensure we aren’t plotting anything against the head of the Akagawa Family. The moment they suspect something like that, they’ll phone the information in and before you know it we’ll be having to high tail it out of here.”
Raiden (sighing): “I’m tired of running though...tired of running from all the crap gets thrown at us.”
Takuma: “I’m sure everyone in this mess is. You guys have been through enough hell but they won’t stop until Satoshi puts out an order to stop them. Until then, we’re labeled wanted men in this part of the country.”
Raiden (in a low voice): “What a time to be alive…”
Takuma: “Tell me about it.”
{Raiden shakes his head at the thought, pushing away from the railing, slipping his hands into his pockets as he looks up at the higher stories along the buildings, his eyes following the trail of windows before he hits the end of the farthest building, letting out a discontented sigh.}
Raiden (turning): “Let’s go. We got people waiting for us back home.”
Takuma: “We getting more takoyaki before we leave?”
Raiden (faintly chuckling): “Yeah...I’m buying.”
{The two move away from the railing and start walking off: Raiden with his hands in his pockets and Takuma with his hands locked behind his head. The camera slowly zooms out up until the point the back of someone’s head is shown with scruffy hair and visible stitches near the base of their skull. A maniacal laugh is heard before the figure walks out of the shot as well, the camera returning its focus on the two men who look more focused on trying to reach the takoyaki stand than noticing their surroundings.}
{Cut to Raiden overlooking the memorial for Jotaro, Yoshihide, and Meiji in Osaka Castle Park where surprisingly, the bouquet had left months earlier in front of Jotaro’s plaque remains where it was thrown albeit with wilted petals and rotting stems, however, the ring he had embedded within the flowers also remains. Stepping forward, he kneels down before the wilted flowers and removes the silver ring from the bouquet, slipping it into his breast pocket as he stands back up and backs away to where he’s able to see all three plaques before him.}
Raiden: “Recently, I’ve been finding myself wondering why the world we live in is a hell hole filled with wicked people but then I thought, ‘Maybe it’s just the world I see myself living in as being a representation of hell on earth’ but I don’t think I’ll ever find an answer. Just like I how I’ll never find the answer as to why I have to keep dealing with loose screws in these ridiculous X*Crown matches for whatever reason. I get it though. They’re top guys in their respective promotions...but they couldn’t have picked anyone else better from their rosters? Not only am I having to deal with three complete nobodies in the network but I’m having to deal with the likes of that chef who thinks he can bring the heat into the ring just by serving someone a hot soup and then there’s that whackjob of a president who was once an X*Crown champion himself and now they got him trying to vie for it again.”
{He disappointingly shakes his head, scuffing his foot against the brick path.}
Raiden: “I’ve had to face some top quality names in the last two X*Crown matches I was part of. I had to take on the likes of Jack Diamond and Jackson Steele...TWICE mind you. The Anomoly, Hardcore Harry, although he was more of a Hard Flop Harry, Steve Awesome, Price, Akeed whose last name I will not try to pronounce, and someone else but I don’t care at this point in time because that kind of talent is apparently meaningless in this Blind Man’s Bluff match. Literally, the idea of ‘top-notch’ got thrown out the window for this one and now we got this random bunch who don’t mean a dime to me. Kikue, Big Drag, Chris Parsons...it’s like your companies just gave up and said, ‘Screw it, you’ll do for this occasion.’ Come on man…”
{He pinches the bridge of his nose, sighing in frustration.}
Raiden: “I don’t know if it’s worth wasting my breath on the time I have lined up for today, especially in front of my friends here but screw it, I got a job to do aside from just clawing at people’s throats and opening up countless cans of whoop ass in these matches.”
{Raiden pulls out his phone from his pants pocket, unlocking the screen and quickly scrolling up on what sits on the screen.}
Raiden: “Allow me to start all you viewers off with the bland appetizer that is Anthony Craig. Some guy going on forty who claims to have worked with THE Gordon Ramsay and been trained with him over in Hong Kong while having studied martial arts and sumo wrestling with these people named Keiji Mutoh and Kaz Hayashi at the Nippon Sports Science University. Now apparently he’s become a wrestler because it’s been a dream of his.”
{He falls silent as he blankly stares at Craig’s info page on the LA:U website.}
Raiden (shaking his head): “So you mean to tell me that this lanky cook wanted to become a wrestler all because he perfected his craft in the culinary world and then just said ‘Hey, I’m a wrestler now! Grrrr!’ What an insult to the world of wrestling and culinary. Some guy who may as well be the flabby, human version of the Pillsbury Dough Boy thinks he has A CHANCE at the hell he’s gonna be put in at Supremacy has been sniffing one too many spices from his cabinet because you are definitely high, Anthony. You think Hell’s Kitchen is brutal over in New York, then you have no idea what it’s like to be with actual wrestlers who know how to endure this kind of stuff. While you sit there at your wine tasting, critiquing how sour the grapes are, we’re out here making paycheck after paycheck because at least we’re able to put on a good showing and NOT burn away the opportunities given to us.”
{He angrily turns and spits into the grass.}
Raiden: “I get you’re a master class chef, Anthony, but let me give you a quick cooking lesson when it comes to wrestling. Take some training, wrestle more than one or two matches, then slowly make your way up and earn respect rather than demand it just because you’re some stuck up line cook who’s wrestling at the old age of forty in an organization that he has no place in other than being Goldbear II’s gourmet chef so the guy can actually have decent meals for once. You’re trying to bring a small pan fire into the hellfire that is the Blind Man’s Bluff and here’s a newsflash for you: You can bullshit your cooking but you can’t bullshit your wrestling skill. You’re gonna witness that firsthand when I tear into your throat and leave you a bloody mess on the canvas so I can show the world that an ego-inflated chef has no business in this industry. I'll make sure you're first to taste my Blood Souffle.”
{Raiden taps the screen a few times, seemingly changing tabs and this time brings up Kanyon’s info page.}
Raiden: “‘Make America BANG! Again,’ The hell kind of special nutcase is this guy? They’re telling me that this sociopath was an X*CROWN CHAMPION at some point in his career? Holy crap were the standards low back then compared to now...Sweet Jesus. What even has this guy done in recent times since he lost that Undisputed Title he was once proudly marching around with? Little to nothing in this business. Maybe he’s actually doing the right thing and actually trying to make America functional again but that’s a long shot with this guy sitting at the helm. I can already just by looking at him that he almost doesn’t have a clue as to what he’s doing most of the time and just leaves it to chance. Guess that luck’s starting to fade though. Sure, he has a win as of late in what was a mediocre fatal 4-way against some rather average talents. Yet he wound up as the pick for AXW to enter the Blind Man’s Bluff. Tch, such a waste of a choice.”
{He powers the screen off, raising a hand to his face before slowly dragging it down the lower half of it, stroking his chin in the process.}
Raiden: “Trying to think, how do you try to get stuff through someone’s skull with the mental capability of a potato yet possesses the strength of a bear...Oh, I have the answer: Beat it into him. Make him submit. Break an arm or two if need be...just for good measure of course.”
{A smirk pops up on Raiden’s face.}
Raiden: “Curtis, I know how much fun you have when you’re the one beating your opponent’s into bloody pulps. Look at the bout with Price: You were practically a kid waking up on Christmas morning tearing into their big present. However, something tells me you don’t exactly understand what could possibly happen if it were the other way around. Imagine if you were the one getting the pulp beat out of them, the man left as a crumpled mess in the ring for the ring crew to clean up after it’s all said and done. Now imagine that Blind Man’s Bluff match and having to go up against me. If you were paying attention instead of playing with your action figures in the Oval Office, you’d know just how lethal I am even though I hardly have a year’s experience of wrestling under my belt. I’ve thrown people off cages, risked my body more times in the matches I’ve taken part in compared to the last few months of you just sitting your fat, lazy ass doing nothing as the President. Think it’s about time you got hit with that impeachment my friend and I’ll be serving as the executioner for that sentence to be carried out. Maybe then the world will make sense to you and then you’ll actually have the smarts to stop screwing around in places you have no meaningful business in.”
{He lets out a winded sigh, taking a moment to compose himself.}
Raiden: “Guess there really is no rest for the wicked...whether it’s in or out of work. What can you do though? Beat everything into the ground just like those poor fools.”
{Raiden gives the camera shrug, turning on his heels and walking out of the shot. The camera moves over to the plaques, capturing one last shot of them before it fades to black.}
Location: Dotonbori, Osaka, Japan
{The humidity in the city still continued to linger very heavily, even making the appropriately dressed feel sluggish in their movement as the clothes on their back began to stick to them like glue thanks to the sweat that perspired from them. It was an uncomfortable circumstance to deal with but such is the way the world functions in today’s day and age. The streets were crowded as per usual with folks trying to get from Point A to Point B with time to spare but of course, the usual traffic jams prevented such efforts from being accomplished with relative ease. However, knowing the backroads definitely proved a help as with the case of Raiden and Takuma, the managing to weasel their way into the entertainment city of Dotonbori as a means of relaxation and decompression after being couped up in Osaka for so long following the Akagawa Incidents. The popular destination for nightlife entertainment lived up to its reputation as the nighttime atmosphere was filled with the flashing billboards in an assortment of colors, the camera catching the signature Glico Man poster, the Kani Doraku Crab wiggling around above the Kani Doraku crab restaurant, and various other colorful restaurants lighting up the streets with a variety of people traveling up and down the streets as cars drive past in low hums, with taxi drivers occasionally shouting out their windows looking to see if anyone needs a ride.}
{After gathering enough footage for the viewers at home, the camera cuts over to Raiden and Takuma, the former dressed in a white short sleeve dress shirt with off white pants and the latter dressed in a black short sleeve shirt with matching pants, leaning against one of the railings lining the Dotonbori Bridge: Raiden with his arms folded over the top of the railing with a cigarette in his mouth while Takuma has his back up against it with a tray of takoyaki in hand as he played about with the remaining three pieces in a lazy manner. He almost looks sick to even be staring at the remaining food left on the tray as he rolls the takoyaki around with the sauce-stained chopsticks in hand.}
Takuma (groaning): “Ordering that sixteen piece was a mistake…”
Raiden (billowing smoke): “Your fault on that one and now you’re down some yen.”
Takuma: “Hey, I was hungry after the drive here. It’s the sauce that got drizzled on this stuff that got me all full from eating it.”
Raiden (sarcastically): “Uh-huh, I believe you.”
Takuma (shaking his head): “Wise-ass.”
{In an act of defiance, Takuma grabs one of the remaining takoyaki pieces in the tray, popping it into his mouth with a steady chew. He glares at Raiden as he continues chewing but Bone Cold only shakes his head at the display with a chuckle.}
Raiden: “I don’t know if I should be calling you Big Hungry Tiger or Baka Big Tiger.”
Takuma: “The former, preferably.”
Raiden (taking a puff): “I’ll keep that in mind.”
{He pulls the cigarette away from his lips, letting out another steady stream of smoke as he taps some of the ashes off the cigarette before dropping it onto the ground and snuffing it out. Glancing over, he catches Takuma in his boredom, picking at the takoyaki before deftly reaching a hand in and swiping one out of the tray, much to the shock of Big Tiger.}
Takuma: “Bro, I was gonna eat that one next!”
Raiden (shrugging): “Figure I just help you in finishing the food off.”
Takuma (sighing): “Maaaaannn…”
{Takuma tilts his head back, eyes closed as he exhales another sigh of disappointment over one of his takoyaki pieces being taken from him before he goes back to rolling the last one around in the tray.}
Takuma: “You’re paying the next time I order takoyaki.”
Raiden (puzzled): “And why should I?”
Takuma (shrugging): “Cause why not?”
{The two exchange a glance before Raiden goes back to staring out across the canal, shrugging his shoulders.}
Raiden: “Fair enough.”
{Takuma lets out a single laugh of victory, proudly eating the last takoyaki piece, placing the chopsticks in the tray with a content sigh.}
Takuma (groggy): “Alright, now I’m definitely full after eating that last one.”
Raiden (rolling his eyes): “I almost have no doubt you’ll be hungry again though before we even leave Dotonbori for the evening. Knowing you, I can expect that appetite to come back within the next hour.”
Takuma: “I doubt it this time. The mixture of sauce and batter they used for these ones was real, real heavy so rather than be starving, probably gonna be trying my best to keep it all in and hope it doesn’t rise back up.”
Raiden: “Don’t even give me that mental image.”
Takuma: “A bit late for that, don’t you think?”
Raiden (nonchalant): “Whatever.”
{Takuma lets out another chuckle at his friend’s reaction, placing the empty tray down by his feet. Reaching into his breast pocket, he produces a lighter while pulling out a cigarette of his own, sparking the object in hand as he inhales the first bit of smoke before putting the lighter and pack of cigs away. Turning around, he rests his free hand on the railing while the other handles the cigarette, drawing it away from his lips, billowing it out into the air above the two.}
Raiden: “Hey, can I ask you something? Like, a serious question?”
Takuma: “You make it sound like I’m not used to be asked such questions.”
Raiden: “Whatever.”
Takuma: “Anyway, shoot.”
Raiden (struggling): “You think...do you think...that there will be a possible way out of all this?”
Takuma (confused): “Out of what?”
Raiden: “Dealing with all this Yakuza nonsense.”
{Takuma blankly stares at the Lone Wolf, pulling the cigarette back into his lips as he thinks the question over. After about thirty seconds pass along with a few more puffs, Takuma lets out a long sigh.}
Takuma: “I honestly wish I could give you the answer you desire but the problem is that once you’re associated with the Yakuza world in any way my friend, the stain is forever left on your soul. Once you step into those shadows, they follow you wherever you go. No escape I’m afraid.”
Raiden (muttering): “I figured as much...”
Takuma: “Once you become part of the world that is Yakuza, you can’t leave because people know about you and they keep very close eyes on what you’re doing, even if you’ve been expelled from the family, there will always be eyes watching you no matter where you go.”
Raiden: “Even here?”
Takuma (nodding): “Unfortunate as it is, that’s just the way of life that we have to put up with.”
{He takes another puff from his cigarette while Raiden pushes himself back a bit to where his arms are on extended, palms on the railing as he looks down into the canal below them.}
Takuma: “Ain’t no rest for the wicked, Raiden.”
Raiden: “...And I doubt Satoshi is really sleeping on us.”
Takuma: “True. That kid’s a lot sharper than what most take him for. Those who do know about him, know that he possesses a mind that his old man wishes he had when he was still around before kicking the bucket two years back. Hell, Jin and I only made it to where we were in the hierarchy because the two thought so alike. Almost seeing eye to eye on everything, differences aside of course. It was almost frightening but now with that crafty fox out of commission, for the time being, the kid’s down a power player that he could rely on. So if I’m being honest, we’re probably in a state of relative peace as of late.”
Raiden: “I hope you’re right in this case.”
Takuma: “Can only hope I am too.”
{Takuma takes one last puff of the cigarette before tossing it onto the ground and snuffing it out with his heel, looking out across the canal filled with the reflections of the luminous billboards on the sides of the buildings lining the water.}
Takuma (nonchalant): “Bastards are probably hiding out here somewhere.”
Raiden: “You say that so nonchalantly after the fact.”
Takuma: “Cause I’m used to being spied on. There’s more than likely at least one guy posted up on the walkways over here for all we know. However, it’s only to watch us in order to ensure we aren’t plotting anything against the head of the Akagawa Family. The moment they suspect something like that, they’ll phone the information in and before you know it we’ll be having to high tail it out of here.”
Raiden (sighing): “I’m tired of running though...tired of running from all the crap gets thrown at us.”
Takuma: “I’m sure everyone in this mess is. You guys have been through enough hell but they won’t stop until Satoshi puts out an order to stop them. Until then, we’re labeled wanted men in this part of the country.”
Raiden (in a low voice): “What a time to be alive…”
Takuma: “Tell me about it.”
{Raiden shakes his head at the thought, pushing away from the railing, slipping his hands into his pockets as he looks up at the higher stories along the buildings, his eyes following the trail of windows before he hits the end of the farthest building, letting out a discontented sigh.}
Raiden (turning): “Let’s go. We got people waiting for us back home.”
Takuma: “We getting more takoyaki before we leave?”
Raiden (faintly chuckling): “Yeah...I’m buying.”
{The two move away from the railing and start walking off: Raiden with his hands in his pockets and Takuma with his hands locked behind his head. The camera slowly zooms out up until the point the back of someone’s head is shown with scruffy hair and visible stitches near the base of their skull. A maniacal laugh is heard before the figure walks out of the shot as well, the camera returning its focus on the two men who look more focused on trying to reach the takoyaki stand than noticing their surroundings.}
{Cut to Raiden overlooking the memorial for Jotaro, Yoshihide, and Meiji in Osaka Castle Park where surprisingly, the bouquet had left months earlier in front of Jotaro’s plaque remains where it was thrown albeit with wilted petals and rotting stems, however, the ring he had embedded within the flowers also remains. Stepping forward, he kneels down before the wilted flowers and removes the silver ring from the bouquet, slipping it into his breast pocket as he stands back up and backs away to where he’s able to see all three plaques before him.}
Raiden: “Recently, I’ve been finding myself wondering why the world we live in is a hell hole filled with wicked people but then I thought, ‘Maybe it’s just the world I see myself living in as being a representation of hell on earth’ but I don’t think I’ll ever find an answer. Just like I how I’ll never find the answer as to why I have to keep dealing with loose screws in these ridiculous X*Crown matches for whatever reason. I get it though. They’re top guys in their respective promotions...but they couldn’t have picked anyone else better from their rosters? Not only am I having to deal with three complete nobodies in the network but I’m having to deal with the likes of that chef who thinks he can bring the heat into the ring just by serving someone a hot soup and then there’s that whackjob of a president who was once an X*Crown champion himself and now they got him trying to vie for it again.”
{He disappointingly shakes his head, scuffing his foot against the brick path.}
Raiden: “I’ve had to face some top quality names in the last two X*Crown matches I was part of. I had to take on the likes of Jack Diamond and Jackson Steele...TWICE mind you. The Anomoly, Hardcore Harry, although he was more of a Hard Flop Harry, Steve Awesome, Price, Akeed whose last name I will not try to pronounce, and someone else but I don’t care at this point in time because that kind of talent is apparently meaningless in this Blind Man’s Bluff match. Literally, the idea of ‘top-notch’ got thrown out the window for this one and now we got this random bunch who don’t mean a dime to me. Kikue, Big Drag, Chris Parsons...it’s like your companies just gave up and said, ‘Screw it, you’ll do for this occasion.’ Come on man…”
{He pinches the bridge of his nose, sighing in frustration.}
Raiden: “I don’t know if it’s worth wasting my breath on the time I have lined up for today, especially in front of my friends here but screw it, I got a job to do aside from just clawing at people’s throats and opening up countless cans of whoop ass in these matches.”
{Raiden pulls out his phone from his pants pocket, unlocking the screen and quickly scrolling up on what sits on the screen.}
Raiden: “Allow me to start all you viewers off with the bland appetizer that is Anthony Craig. Some guy going on forty who claims to have worked with THE Gordon Ramsay and been trained with him over in Hong Kong while having studied martial arts and sumo wrestling with these people named Keiji Mutoh and Kaz Hayashi at the Nippon Sports Science University. Now apparently he’s become a wrestler because it’s been a dream of his.”
{He falls silent as he blankly stares at Craig’s info page on the LA:U website.}
Raiden (shaking his head): “So you mean to tell me that this lanky cook wanted to become a wrestler all because he perfected his craft in the culinary world and then just said ‘Hey, I’m a wrestler now! Grrrr!’ What an insult to the world of wrestling and culinary. Some guy who may as well be the flabby, human version of the Pillsbury Dough Boy thinks he has A CHANCE at the hell he’s gonna be put in at Supremacy has been sniffing one too many spices from his cabinet because you are definitely high, Anthony. You think Hell’s Kitchen is brutal over in New York, then you have no idea what it’s like to be with actual wrestlers who know how to endure this kind of stuff. While you sit there at your wine tasting, critiquing how sour the grapes are, we’re out here making paycheck after paycheck because at least we’re able to put on a good showing and NOT burn away the opportunities given to us.”
{He angrily turns and spits into the grass.}
Raiden: “I get you’re a master class chef, Anthony, but let me give you a quick cooking lesson when it comes to wrestling. Take some training, wrestle more than one or two matches, then slowly make your way up and earn respect rather than demand it just because you’re some stuck up line cook who’s wrestling at the old age of forty in an organization that he has no place in other than being Goldbear II’s gourmet chef so the guy can actually have decent meals for once. You’re trying to bring a small pan fire into the hellfire that is the Blind Man’s Bluff and here’s a newsflash for you: You can bullshit your cooking but you can’t bullshit your wrestling skill. You’re gonna witness that firsthand when I tear into your throat and leave you a bloody mess on the canvas so I can show the world that an ego-inflated chef has no business in this industry. I'll make sure you're first to taste my Blood Souffle.”
{Raiden taps the screen a few times, seemingly changing tabs and this time brings up Kanyon’s info page.}
Raiden: “‘Make America BANG! Again,’ The hell kind of special nutcase is this guy? They’re telling me that this sociopath was an X*CROWN CHAMPION at some point in his career? Holy crap were the standards low back then compared to now...Sweet Jesus. What even has this guy done in recent times since he lost that Undisputed Title he was once proudly marching around with? Little to nothing in this business. Maybe he’s actually doing the right thing and actually trying to make America functional again but that’s a long shot with this guy sitting at the helm. I can already just by looking at him that he almost doesn’t have a clue as to what he’s doing most of the time and just leaves it to chance. Guess that luck’s starting to fade though. Sure, he has a win as of late in what was a mediocre fatal 4-way against some rather average talents. Yet he wound up as the pick for AXW to enter the Blind Man’s Bluff. Tch, such a waste of a choice.”
{He powers the screen off, raising a hand to his face before slowly dragging it down the lower half of it, stroking his chin in the process.}
Raiden: “Trying to think, how do you try to get stuff through someone’s skull with the mental capability of a potato yet possesses the strength of a bear...Oh, I have the answer: Beat it into him. Make him submit. Break an arm or two if need be...just for good measure of course.”
{A smirk pops up on Raiden’s face.}
Raiden: “Curtis, I know how much fun you have when you’re the one beating your opponent’s into bloody pulps. Look at the bout with Price: You were practically a kid waking up on Christmas morning tearing into their big present. However, something tells me you don’t exactly understand what could possibly happen if it were the other way around. Imagine if you were the one getting the pulp beat out of them, the man left as a crumpled mess in the ring for the ring crew to clean up after it’s all said and done. Now imagine that Blind Man’s Bluff match and having to go up against me. If you were paying attention instead of playing with your action figures in the Oval Office, you’d know just how lethal I am even though I hardly have a year’s experience of wrestling under my belt. I’ve thrown people off cages, risked my body more times in the matches I’ve taken part in compared to the last few months of you just sitting your fat, lazy ass doing nothing as the President. Think it’s about time you got hit with that impeachment my friend and I’ll be serving as the executioner for that sentence to be carried out. Maybe then the world will make sense to you and then you’ll actually have the smarts to stop screwing around in places you have no meaningful business in.”
{He lets out a winded sigh, taking a moment to compose himself.}
Raiden: “Guess there really is no rest for the wicked...whether it’s in or out of work. What can you do though? Beat everything into the ground just like those poor fools.”
{Raiden gives the camera shrug, turning on his heels and walking out of the shot. The camera moves over to the plaques, capturing one last shot of them before it fades to black.}
