Post by Kitsumi - RIP 2021 to 2023 on Jan 22, 2022 21:52:30 GMT -5
Roddy and Kitsumi are standing side-by-side, looking around at a taped off courtyard that, at one point, also was the location of Richard Nixon High School in Dallas, Texas.
Or was it Austin?
You’d be remiss if people get confused.
Time IS an illusion, you know?
Unknown knows what other strange fascinations might occur with time not being real and anything being able to happen if you fully comprehend the concept that time is nothing but a made-up idea.
Manipulation is easy when falsehoods are revealed.
But I’m just a narrator. Fuck do I know? And not a cool one that can interact with its characters. Hell, I didn’t even have sentience until just now.
Ain’t time wonderful?
“Why are we here again?”
“Because I wanted to talk to Kitsumi,” a woman’s voice says.
Kitsumi looks over at the blue-haired, suited woman.
“Hello Edelia.”
“Kitsumi, I wanted to talk to you about my counsel with the school out of commission.”
“Did my father not inform you…?”
Edelia narrows her eyes.
“Inform me of what…?”
“With the recent death of my mother, your services are being postponed. He wants to focus on our family’s grieving and have time to establish our financial situation before we continue your employ.”
Edelia glances over Kitsumi’s shoulders at Roddy, whose eyes remain on the school’s remains.
Her gaze returns to her pupil, whose smile is serene and ever present despite the subject matter.
“Is that so? And he decided not to tell me, because…?”
“Oh! He informed Miss Manako. I was under the impression she would relay that information to you. The two of them have been spending so much time together recently, I assumed that would be an important topic…?”
Edelia’s fist clenches for a few moments.
She closes her eyes and lets out an exhale.
When they reopen, a smile not dissimilar to Kitsumi’s graces her face.
“I will speak to your father and Miss Manako on this subject matter soon. Thank you for informing me.”
Edelia turns around, approaching a nearby car. She opens the door, revealing Mr. Koyama as its driver.
“Oh.”
She stops and looks over her shoulder.
“The Dean wanted to speak with you and your father at your earliest convenience. He wishes to discuss your future given the school’s and Hideyo’s unfortunate demise.”
Her smile widens just a touch before she enters the car. When the door closes and it drives off, Kitsumi continues staring at the spot she was in for a few more moments.
When her thoughts are done processing, she turns back towards the school.
Roddy’s eyes remain locked.
He stares into the fiery pit through the window.
His right eye twitches.
“Shall we discuss our match on CruiserClash?”
Roddy shakes his head and glances over at Kitsumi, who begins to smile at him.
He nods.
“We’re facing Void and Dark Kent. One of them has a Cruiserweight Title shot and the other is still trying to find their way.”
“We have experience with Void. You fell to him in the first round, but Joey Bunga recognized the level of talent he would be leaving off and opted to include you.”
“I know he came up with some other excuse for it, but that does seem to be the real reason. With the likes of Addy A, Void, and Teo Blaze in there, they needed new blood. Not old fuddies still trying to claim a spotlight they don’t even need anymore.”
“You would assume we’d have something in common with Void given he ALSO lost his title in a way that wasn’t what he intended. By pinfall because of course, he's not COMPLETELY like us, but it was against a Gent in Teo.”
“You would think that…”
“…but the difference is that someone like Void limits themselves. His intentions are currently single minded, with a fearful focus on winning this title back.”
“Admirable.”
“Unfortunate.”
“Too bad that focus will be his undoing. We’ve always been able to multitask and keep our focus on a bunch of things. We wanted that Cruiserweight Title while being tag champs, and even now, with our focus on the match at Revolution, we still want our tag titles back.”
“We are dominant enough to do so. Unlike Dark Kent, we’ve proven ourselves to be quite the successful pairing.”
“And this is the first time Void and Kent are teaming together. Void: an established name teaming with Kent: the rookie that is so very much in untested waters.”
“We beat Red, White, and Bruised and Two Gents in our first showings against both teams. The only reason we lost the tag titles was because of Torture. Something tells me that our dominance is just beginning.”
“We’re Rulers of Our Kind not because it’s catchy or because we’re arrogant—”
“—it is and we are—”
“—but because ‘our kind’ are filled with people like Void: moderately successful wrestlers who have to take advantage to succeed. Or people like Kent: unknowns who will do anything to get to the top.”
“Sounds familiar…”
“…and being the best at all of those things are what makes US The Rulers. We’re the smartest team, we’re the toughest team, we’re the strongest team…”
“A+B+C equals…?”
“…us being the BEST team. Bar none. End quote. Period.”
“Void and Dark Kent aren’t a team. They’re a combination picked from a hat by a man on drugs.”
“We’re the BEST team because we’re the most united one. There are no qualms. There are no differences. There are no arguments.”
“We’re going to win because nobody can beat us when we’re on the same page.”
“And right now? We’re the same damn book.”
“So while Void and yourself can say you lost to bunch of Omega wrestlers…?”
“…I’m the only one that can say I did anything about it. I smashed their champion with a chair and then did the same to the current Cruiserweight Champion. What can Void say he’s done about it? Focus on trying to eliminate Addy? An irrelevant party beyond being able to beat Jessie Lee?”
“Wait, who is Jessie Lee again?”
“Exactly.”
“Figures. The only women on this roster that mean anything and they let HER advance to her downfall…”
“Sounds like Void and Kent in this match. They’ll lose here, he’ll lost at Revolution.”
“Fitting.”
“Nah.”
The two look at each other for a few moments before pounding fists.
“Destiny.”
It is then that a car comes up behind them. The driver’s door opens and Noboru steps out.
“Yo,
Kitsum nods once before turning to Roddy. The two share a small smile before she opens the passenger’s door and enters.
Before the car leaves, her window rolls down.
Roddy looks at her as she speaks.
“Oh, and Rod?”
“Yeah Kit?”
“Remember you’re speaking to Minami. NOT Chinami.”
With that, the car drives off, leaving Roddy to grumble to himself.
He turns back towards the remains of the school.
The caution tape is ripped apart as he makes his way into the courtyard.
Eventually, he reaches a tree.
A single tree.
The tree is old, but it’s not burned. No, it somehow survived everything that occurred only thirty or so yards away.
Or maybe the tree is special?
Maybe the tree is like that newspaper? The one that said Austin and not Dallas? Affected by time being fake.
“You know…” the blonde schoolgirl says as she walks around the tree. “If you were a couple years younger, this could almost be a love confession.”
“There’s also the whole ‘the school was burned down thing’, but that doesn’t seem important to you.”
“Apologies for misleading you on my name.”
“Kit also told me you took after Hideyo in making sure she was ‘kept in line’.”
Roddy turns to Minami, focusing on the narrowed eyes and deep scowl that now crosses her face.
“You want to know how I got that newspaper right?”
“Among other things, yes, that is why I came here.”
“Good. Word of warning: our dimension isn’t like yours. Be wary of what business you get involved with.”
“I…”
All that remains is a room with clocks.
“…have an idea.”
“Oh Roddy…”
The smile on her face grows to one not dissimilar to Kitsumi’s smile.
“…you have no idea what she is truly capable of.”
