Chance Encounter

[Kaji Fireson]

April 8th, 2011
Manhattan, New York

The scene opens on Isamu and David, once again sitting across from each other at a small table at the same 24-hour cafe they visited last month. Their plates, which once held a salad, a club sandwich, and a bowl with soup, are now clear, the soup bowl bone dry. David takes a big sip of his soda, but Isamu is looking down into his coffee cup, contemplative and sorrowful.

You okay, kid?

Isamu nods a bit.

I need to be strong. I can't be scared of a place just because of an unfortunate coincidence.

Good mindset to be in.

David nods a bit, picking up his glass to take another gulp, but he stops when Isamu speaks again.

Will it ever end?

David raises an eyebrow. He shakes his head a bit, putting the cup down on the table and leaning back in the chair.

I know we didn't talk much about multi-person matches, but you were one of the final four wrestlers in a battle royal with twenty people, and you eliminated two wrestlers, one that had eliminated two wrestlers in a row right before you got to her. You tied for third out of twenty people, kid, that's pretty damn good for your second match out.

Isamu nods a bit, acknowledging what his mentor said, but not truly hearing it. David sees it and leans forward.

Hey.

Isamu looks up at him.

You're a rookie, fresh out of school. There's no shame in losing matches. All the training I could give you can't give you experience.

So it will end? Eventually?

Let me put it to you this way. Did you watch Overdrive?

Isamu shakes his head.

Well one of the guys that won a match was Jacob Whitehead. You ever heard of him?

No...

That's because when he started wrestling five years ago, he couldn't fight his way out of a paper bag, despite being ten feet tall and almost a thousand pounds. But that's not the Jacob Whitehead that showed up last night.

So what happened?

He's always been as mean and nasty as he was last night. The thing that changed was experience. You think Lester and Sally waltzed out of training and immediately won the APW Undisputed Championship?

Well, I never thought about it that way...

I could tell. That's why I'm the teacher.

David grins, hoping it'll lift Isamu's mood. It doesn't work quite as much as he'd like, but it helps a little, which is better than it could have been. He nods a bit, throwing back more Dr. Pepper while Isamu sips his coffee.

So talk to us about your match this week. You've got a pretty good opportunity to establish yourself as a threat. A six-man elimination tag team match means you could be the only surviving member of your team.

Perhaps, but our competition will be stiff, facing three of the four men that represented Asylum at Rasslemania and lead us to victory.

Between you and me, I'd really only be worried if Jimmy were one of 'em. You can handle these guys.

That may be so, but I have another question. When did I ever say that I wanted to wrestle Branden Harvey?

I dunno kid. Why, are you scared of him?

Isamu shakes his head.

I have no reason to be scared of anyone in APW, I just want to be portrayed accurately. I wouldn't mind wrestling Branden Harvey if the time came, but I'd rather wrestle Madok Mortalis. I need to know which of us is the better man, and Khaos didn't allow that at Rasslemania.

David chuckles.

I wouldn't worry too much about Khaos. He's going to get his this week on Overdrive. Just focus on Jason Kash, Nate Bishop, and JD Pierce. They are your opponents, and the ones you've got through before Reginald will give you a shot at Madok.

Personally, I'd rather get another shot at Chris Cyrus. I still haven't forgiven him.

I know, but listen. While Asylum was anything goes, he was obsessed with wrestling clean, which means the title he would have taken to was the Tap Out Title, currently held by Madok. Outlast him in this six-man tag, and you're presenting Reginald with a pretty damn good argument as to why you deserve a shot at his title, one that Cyrus wasn't able to win.

So, if I were to do that, and then win the Tap Out Title, I would demonstrate that I'm the better wrestler than Madok AND spite Cyrus at the same time?

Now you're catching on!

David grins, slapping Isamu lightly on the shoulder, but Isamu still looks confused.

Americans sure are vengeful.

David chuckles, leaning back in his seat.

You've got no idea. Now I need a refill.

David gets up and takes his glass off-screen, presumably to fill it up at a fountain machine, but we can't tell for sure where he went. All we know for sure is that Isamu is sitting at the table, twiddling with his coffee. As he sits there, three big, burly men walk up, sneering at him. Isamu looks up at them, already wary of them, but trying to be polite.

Can I help you?

The three men fail to respond, just chuckling as they look down at Isamu.

Well, for starters, you can go back to where you came from!

Isamu tenses up as the others start ganging up on him as well.

If he can even get there. It's probably gone now.

God is punishing your people! Go back to Japan so you don't bring His judgment down upon us!

Isamu's face has gone from wary and confused to just before abject terror, but before he can get mugged by these fanatics, David comes back in the scene, holding his drink and furrowing his brow at the three.

Can I help you three?

Being of decidedly Caucasian decent, he deters the three thugs easily.

We were just chatting with the kid is all.

I'm sure. You can stop lying now, since I heard you all the way from the fucking bathroom. Now beat it.

Confronted head-on, the religious thugs bail, leaving David alone with his charge, who is staring down into his empty coffee cup, trying to maintain his composure. David slides a chair over so he can sit right next to him and reassure him.

Don't let those guys get to you. Guys like them are the most vocal, but they're the minority. The rest of us don't believe something ridiculous like that.

Isamu nods, not reassured in the least.

What did we do that was so bad that people could believe that?

What do you mean?

Those guys said Japan was being punished for our crimes. What crimes?

Eh...

David is hesitant to answer this question for more than one reason, not the least of which being that if he says what he's thinking, he's basically calling his student an uneducated twat, which is definitely not going to help him at the moment. Isamu looks up, torn up by what he's just endured, so David tries to be as diplomatic as he can about things.

I'm really not the right person to ask that. I spent a lot of time in Japan, so I understand some of the subtleties of your culture, but I'm about as ignorant about Japanese history as you are about American history. All I can tell you is that all cultures have their skeletons.

I see...

The look in Isamu's eyes tells the whole story; he really, really doesn't see.

Look, don't worry about that right now. We can worry about your history after you get through this elimination tag match.

Okay. Any pointers?

Well, while this is technically a tag team match, it's elimination. So try and keep the numbers on your team high if you can, but don't be surprised if your teammates don't return the favor.

So this match is going to be about endurance.

Indeed. This is going to be less about beating your opponents and more about keeping up with your teammates. Between you and me, I don't think you're going to have much trouble with Branden. Like I said earlier, it's Madok you need to keep your eyes on.

Isamu nods, starting to perk up a little more as he can focus on work, and not the idiot Americans.

I could say a lot about Kash, Pierce, Bishop, and Harvey, but truly, my focus is on Madok Mortalis. Unlike Nate Bishop, he possesses an actual championship, and he is seen as a legitimate threat; if not, he would not be Tap Out Champion. He is also the man that was eliminated at the same time as me in the APW/IWC Battle Royal at Rasslemania. If Khaos hadn't taken advantage of our precarious position, one of us might have gone on to win, but it wasn't meant to be. This week, we get an opportunity to prove our merit against the men that helped bring IWC to victory in the War Games match. If we win, we prove our worth.

More important than that, however, is that I am looking to stand toe-to-toe with you, Madok. Where you go, I will go. Where you fight, I will fight. I will match you blow for blow to prove that I am equal to you, and if you should fall, I will continue to fight to bring victory to our team. This match might just be another match for you or for Branden, but for me, this is where I have to prove that I can hang with the rest of the Asylum Megastars. I look forward to eventually facing you, Madok, so if you watch my back, I will watch yours. The same goes for Branden. My goal is victory for our team first and myself second, and I will wrestle to the best of my ability to bring victory to us.

Isamu pauses, and David seems a bit indifferent.

I was too respectful again, wasn't I?

Well, yeah...but you didn't really have any time to address your opponents directly. Being respectful to your teammates, if you have them, is fine, but you have to remember to look out for yourself on Sunday, okay?

Isamu nods enough that it's actually a partial bow. David chuckles, then signals for Isamu to get up.

It's time to get back to the hotel, kid. Gotta' make sure you're well rested for your breakout match, right?

Right.

The two of them head up to the counter to pay, the scene fading to black as David drops a tip on the table.