Post by zombie on Oct 27, 2019 9:29:08 GMT -5
“You beat the flesh and you gain a friend for life, Mayfield. I truly believe that. There’s not a lot of people that follow this particular way of thinking, but they’re not as forward-thinking as I am. Hold it up!”
Aokigahara Zombie speeds through traffic with Smokey Mayfield at his side. Smokey struggles to keep the camera on Aokigahara as he moves around in the passenger seat since the car lacks any seatbelts. Aokigahara looks over at Smokey’s expression.
“Oh, you think... No, you’re already my friend, right? We don’t need to do that kind of bonding. Besides, you’re not on my side of the zoo, if you know what I mean?”
Aokigahara gives Smokey a grin that makes Smokey turn away.
“Anyway, I think I have a solution to the little problem you have with the family. See since you were introduced to those people by us we are sort of responsible for that little debt you have. I don’t know what Siberia did to get you to come to us, but here we are. So let’s help each other out. You need me to get you out from under those people, and I need you to help me show someone what friendship among fighters means. Sound good?”
Smokey frowns and nods trying to keep steady. They go straight and fast down a street and then stop. Smokey has to put a hand on the dashboard to stop himself from being ejected out of the windshield. Aokigahara walks up to a large traditional-style restaurant waving his arm at the large sign over the door hoping Smokey would recognize it, but he doesn’t.
Aokigahara beckons Smokey inside and they go to a private dining room in the back of the restaurant. Two men, in a yellow and a blue Hawaiian shirt, await them inside. Their faces are blurred for privacy reasons. Aokigahara ignores the food on the table, and picking up a bottle of sake, he sits down on the cushion facing the men. Smokey follows him with the phone in his jacket pocket recording discreetly. The men look at Smokey and Aokigahara and exchange some whispers until Aokigahara loudly clears his throat. The one with the yellow shirt points at Smokey, speaking in English for his benefit.
“Why he so dusty?”
“He got lost on the way to the morgue. Oh, the gaijin needs a fork and knife.”
Seemingly used to Aokigahara’s eccentricities they ignore the comment about the morgue. The yellow guy gets up to get a waiter to bring them the utensils. The blue guy stares silently at them, almost looming over Smokey, hoping to intimidate. Aokigahara drinks from the bottle before getting Smokey’s attention away from the man in front of him by filling up his cup. The yellow guy comes back and puts the utensils in front of Smokey. The blue man waves his hand.
“So does he have the money?”
Aokigahara takes out an envelope from his back pocket and places it on the table.
“Yeah, we brought some of it.”
The yellow guy picks the envelope up and counts it. He whispers something again to the blue guy. He takes the envelope and throws it at Smokey.
“This is not enough. You owe us more in interest.”
Aokigahara yawns stretching out his arms before Smokey can speak.
“Yeah, Mayfield and I don’t really feel that the number you gave me is exactly fair. It’s really jacked up. We think that this amount is better and it should give you guys proper satisfaction that you made a profit here. It’s a win, win.”
He nods and starts moving dishes around the table passing out the food when the blue guy slams his fist down before Aokigahara can get to the steak.
“This is not acceptable. We came here to do business! You give us the full amount owed or else.”
They start to get up to possibly start a furious beating, but Aokigahara surprisingly stops them. He puts his hands out in front of them in submission, then gets on his knees to bow solemnly. Smokey jerks to attention, and does the same. Aokigahara reaches over and makes him bow lower. He is almost in tears when he rises to speak.
“We apologize, gentlemen. We just do not have the means to pay how much you want. Do not worry I take full responsibility for this. Allow me to make amends.”
He slowly picks up the knife that the staff provided for Smokey and takes raises the sleeves of his sweater. He looks to Smokey and nods.
“You are such a good friend, Mayfield. Allow me.”
Aokigahara promptly cuts below his hands with the knife in a perpendicular motion to his arm. The others have little time to react. Not that the two festively shirted men do much to prevent it, but Smokey is beside himself not knowing whether to get away or intervene. He chooses flight and crawls backward until he is against the wall. Aokigahara raises his arms. Blood seeps out from his new wounds, but otherwise, he behaves like nothing is happening. The two men in front of him freeze in place until he leans in and waves them forward.
“By the way,” He looks at Smokey, “did you guys know that predatory lending is a crime?”
To Smokey, the grin that grows on Aokigahara’s face slithers up to his eyes in slow motion. Aokigahara punches both of the men in their necks then dives over the low table onto them to stick his fingers in their mouths to apply double Itai Claws. The men choke from the strike as Aokigahara applies the nerve hold as hard as he is able to. The blood pouring into their mouths from Aokigahara’s wounds doesn’t help either.
After a few painful moments, Aokigahara lets them loose. They try to scream, but only manage to spit and cough in agony and disgust. Aokigahara laughs as he collapses back onto his cushion. The men haphazardly get up and leave the private room. Aokigahara points to the money. Smokey snaps out of his trance and takes the envelope to throw it after the fleeing bloodstained lenders. He comes back in and shuts the door so as not to let anyone get a glimpse of the mess inside.
When he turns he finds Kowloon Zombie kneeling in front of Aokigahara ripping the fabric off the tablecloth to wrap around his already clotting cuts. Aokigahara is calm and doesn’t move a lot.
“Those idiots don’t know the first thing about this stuff. If I wanted to really do it I wouldn’t do it this way. The arteries in the arm are too deep to get a nice precise cut so quickly.” He looks down at his arms and tilts his head to the side. “I think. It’s stopping anyway.”
Kowloon wraps more fabric around Aokigahara’s wrists very tightly then quietly leaves the room. Aokigahara sits up and takes a breather. He looks up at Smokey’s dumbfounded face.
“Don’t worry, Mayfield. They won’t come back at you, again. And as for me? This was kind of a selfish thing to do, I know. But I also want to send a message to someone else. Frame me.”
He lifts his arm and sloppily points at the phone in Smokey’s pocket. Smokey takes it out and points it at Aokigahara properly with shaking hands so he would stop pointing.
“Oi, Crimson. I hope you paid close attention to me. I know you want to offend me, and that you want to get into my headspace and cause me to freak out with your noose. You do not know enough about my life to do this. Getting in here, in my head would give people like you PTSD instead. I was not only a failed drunkard policeman, but I was also a failed drunkard soldier, a failed drunkard father, and a failed drunkard wrestler. Throughout my life, I was able to come back and fix two of those things. Now I am an alright drunkard father, and a successful drunkard fighter. Do you know why I chose wrestling as the profession I would salvage?”
Smokey zooms in on him as if he is some sort of production professional.
“It’s because of what I saw when I put my head through that noose and hung to my death. I don’t know if it was one of those out of body experiences, or a view into the tunnel of light. I won’t call it an epiphany, but I will say that it changed me. When Tokyo cut me down he helped me process what it was but the damage, as he calls it, was done. I want to see this vision again, but every time I get close, it gets farther away from me. This is what makes me a nightmare for people like you.”
Aokigahara pauses to frown at the camera then looks away with a smirk.
“Ah, I really don’t like getting angry, but there is something about you that I just can’t brush off like I usually do. You are just so smug in your attempts to get under my skin. I’ll just let you in because I want to see just how full of yourself you are. Get right into my pores and infect my blood. I do not fear death. I welcome it like a life long friend. See the reason I fight is because this is the most intimate way to get me to close to my goal. I yearn to meet the person across the ring from me that will take me there. That is the reason why I push people to their limits, to greatness. I want them to see it too.
People like you, however, do not want to experience it. You are too superficial. You would only want to photograph it or record it in some way, secondhand, so you could own it and commoditize it. You just want to suck away at the spirit of the thing until you can claim that you have done so. My goal in this match is to make you come around to my side. I will treat you like my very special student, and push your face right up to the window of my psyche like you think you are now, and I will push your face through the glass so you can see what it is to really be Aokigahara Zombie.”
He relaxes and starts to regain some of his laid back demeanor, but not because of the bloodloss.
“I treasure the Unleashed Title for that reason. I bring it with me all over the world and when I appear somewhere else, I fight with Valor on my back. Don’t give me that nonsense about being a fighting champion. People like you are the reason they make participation trophies for. Cry me a river and drown in it. I’ll hop in and save you with my fingers down your gullet. I’ll make you throw up all that crap you have stored inside you and see what’s left.
So bring the noose, and I’ll bring my Unleashed Championship. I defended it against its creator and against my own kin. The only way to take it from me is to wrap me up with those barbed wire ropes and bury me six feet under. Still, you better make it tight because if I am able to climb up out of that grave your heart is forfeit. Show me what you are really made of, Crimson. Don’t give me a shill or a product. I will live and die for this sport, and I will decide if you are true. If you make it or if you give me what I want then I’ll be your friend. That comes with all the bells and whistles so show me a good time.”
Aokigahara chuckles, and bows his head. Then he pops up with a start.
“Hey, Mayfield, you know the best way to kill yourself is-”
Smokey immediately shuts the feed off.
Aokigahara Zombie speeds through traffic with Smokey Mayfield at his side. Smokey struggles to keep the camera on Aokigahara as he moves around in the passenger seat since the car lacks any seatbelts. Aokigahara looks over at Smokey’s expression.
“Oh, you think... No, you’re already my friend, right? We don’t need to do that kind of bonding. Besides, you’re not on my side of the zoo, if you know what I mean?”
Aokigahara gives Smokey a grin that makes Smokey turn away.
“Anyway, I think I have a solution to the little problem you have with the family. See since you were introduced to those people by us we are sort of responsible for that little debt you have. I don’t know what Siberia did to get you to come to us, but here we are. So let’s help each other out. You need me to get you out from under those people, and I need you to help me show someone what friendship among fighters means. Sound good?”
Smokey frowns and nods trying to keep steady. They go straight and fast down a street and then stop. Smokey has to put a hand on the dashboard to stop himself from being ejected out of the windshield. Aokigahara walks up to a large traditional-style restaurant waving his arm at the large sign over the door hoping Smokey would recognize it, but he doesn’t.
Aokigahara beckons Smokey inside and they go to a private dining room in the back of the restaurant. Two men, in a yellow and a blue Hawaiian shirt, await them inside. Their faces are blurred for privacy reasons. Aokigahara ignores the food on the table, and picking up a bottle of sake, he sits down on the cushion facing the men. Smokey follows him with the phone in his jacket pocket recording discreetly. The men look at Smokey and Aokigahara and exchange some whispers until Aokigahara loudly clears his throat. The one with the yellow shirt points at Smokey, speaking in English for his benefit.
“Why he so dusty?”
“He got lost on the way to the morgue. Oh, the gaijin needs a fork and knife.”
Seemingly used to Aokigahara’s eccentricities they ignore the comment about the morgue. The yellow guy gets up to get a waiter to bring them the utensils. The blue guy stares silently at them, almost looming over Smokey, hoping to intimidate. Aokigahara drinks from the bottle before getting Smokey’s attention away from the man in front of him by filling up his cup. The yellow guy comes back and puts the utensils in front of Smokey. The blue man waves his hand.
“So does he have the money?”
Aokigahara takes out an envelope from his back pocket and places it on the table.
“Yeah, we brought some of it.”
The yellow guy picks the envelope up and counts it. He whispers something again to the blue guy. He takes the envelope and throws it at Smokey.
“This is not enough. You owe us more in interest.”
Aokigahara yawns stretching out his arms before Smokey can speak.
“Yeah, Mayfield and I don’t really feel that the number you gave me is exactly fair. It’s really jacked up. We think that this amount is better and it should give you guys proper satisfaction that you made a profit here. It’s a win, win.”
He nods and starts moving dishes around the table passing out the food when the blue guy slams his fist down before Aokigahara can get to the steak.
“This is not acceptable. We came here to do business! You give us the full amount owed or else.”
They start to get up to possibly start a furious beating, but Aokigahara surprisingly stops them. He puts his hands out in front of them in submission, then gets on his knees to bow solemnly. Smokey jerks to attention, and does the same. Aokigahara reaches over and makes him bow lower. He is almost in tears when he rises to speak.
“We apologize, gentlemen. We just do not have the means to pay how much you want. Do not worry I take full responsibility for this. Allow me to make amends.”
He slowly picks up the knife that the staff provided for Smokey and takes raises the sleeves of his sweater. He looks to Smokey and nods.
“You are such a good friend, Mayfield. Allow me.”
Aokigahara promptly cuts below his hands with the knife in a perpendicular motion to his arm. The others have little time to react. Not that the two festively shirted men do much to prevent it, but Smokey is beside himself not knowing whether to get away or intervene. He chooses flight and crawls backward until he is against the wall. Aokigahara raises his arms. Blood seeps out from his new wounds, but otherwise, he behaves like nothing is happening. The two men in front of him freeze in place until he leans in and waves them forward.
“By the way,” He looks at Smokey, “did you guys know that predatory lending is a crime?”
To Smokey, the grin that grows on Aokigahara’s face slithers up to his eyes in slow motion. Aokigahara punches both of the men in their necks then dives over the low table onto them to stick his fingers in their mouths to apply double Itai Claws. The men choke from the strike as Aokigahara applies the nerve hold as hard as he is able to. The blood pouring into their mouths from Aokigahara’s wounds doesn’t help either.
After a few painful moments, Aokigahara lets them loose. They try to scream, but only manage to spit and cough in agony and disgust. Aokigahara laughs as he collapses back onto his cushion. The men haphazardly get up and leave the private room. Aokigahara points to the money. Smokey snaps out of his trance and takes the envelope to throw it after the fleeing bloodstained lenders. He comes back in and shuts the door so as not to let anyone get a glimpse of the mess inside.
When he turns he finds Kowloon Zombie kneeling in front of Aokigahara ripping the fabric off the tablecloth to wrap around his already clotting cuts. Aokigahara is calm and doesn’t move a lot.
“Those idiots don’t know the first thing about this stuff. If I wanted to really do it I wouldn’t do it this way. The arteries in the arm are too deep to get a nice precise cut so quickly.” He looks down at his arms and tilts his head to the side. “I think. It’s stopping anyway.”
Kowloon wraps more fabric around Aokigahara’s wrists very tightly then quietly leaves the room. Aokigahara sits up and takes a breather. He looks up at Smokey’s dumbfounded face.
“Don’t worry, Mayfield. They won’t come back at you, again. And as for me? This was kind of a selfish thing to do, I know. But I also want to send a message to someone else. Frame me.”
He lifts his arm and sloppily points at the phone in Smokey’s pocket. Smokey takes it out and points it at Aokigahara properly with shaking hands so he would stop pointing.
“Oi, Crimson. I hope you paid close attention to me. I know you want to offend me, and that you want to get into my headspace and cause me to freak out with your noose. You do not know enough about my life to do this. Getting in here, in my head would give people like you PTSD instead. I was not only a failed drunkard policeman, but I was also a failed drunkard soldier, a failed drunkard father, and a failed drunkard wrestler. Throughout my life, I was able to come back and fix two of those things. Now I am an alright drunkard father, and a successful drunkard fighter. Do you know why I chose wrestling as the profession I would salvage?”
Smokey zooms in on him as if he is some sort of production professional.
“It’s because of what I saw when I put my head through that noose and hung to my death. I don’t know if it was one of those out of body experiences, or a view into the tunnel of light. I won’t call it an epiphany, but I will say that it changed me. When Tokyo cut me down he helped me process what it was but the damage, as he calls it, was done. I want to see this vision again, but every time I get close, it gets farther away from me. This is what makes me a nightmare for people like you.”
Aokigahara pauses to frown at the camera then looks away with a smirk.
“Ah, I really don’t like getting angry, but there is something about you that I just can’t brush off like I usually do. You are just so smug in your attempts to get under my skin. I’ll just let you in because I want to see just how full of yourself you are. Get right into my pores and infect my blood. I do not fear death. I welcome it like a life long friend. See the reason I fight is because this is the most intimate way to get me to close to my goal. I yearn to meet the person across the ring from me that will take me there. That is the reason why I push people to their limits, to greatness. I want them to see it too.
People like you, however, do not want to experience it. You are too superficial. You would only want to photograph it or record it in some way, secondhand, so you could own it and commoditize it. You just want to suck away at the spirit of the thing until you can claim that you have done so. My goal in this match is to make you come around to my side. I will treat you like my very special student, and push your face right up to the window of my psyche like you think you are now, and I will push your face through the glass so you can see what it is to really be Aokigahara Zombie.”
He relaxes and starts to regain some of his laid back demeanor, but not because of the bloodloss.
“I treasure the Unleashed Title for that reason. I bring it with me all over the world and when I appear somewhere else, I fight with Valor on my back. Don’t give me that nonsense about being a fighting champion. People like you are the reason they make participation trophies for. Cry me a river and drown in it. I’ll hop in and save you with my fingers down your gullet. I’ll make you throw up all that crap you have stored inside you and see what’s left.
So bring the noose, and I’ll bring my Unleashed Championship. I defended it against its creator and against my own kin. The only way to take it from me is to wrap me up with those barbed wire ropes and bury me six feet under. Still, you better make it tight because if I am able to climb up out of that grave your heart is forfeit. Show me what you are really made of, Crimson. Don’t give me a shill or a product. I will live and die for this sport, and I will decide if you are true. If you make it or if you give me what I want then I’ll be your friend. That comes with all the bells and whistles so show me a good time.”
Aokigahara chuckles, and bows his head. Then he pops up with a start.
“Hey, Mayfield, you know the best way to kill yourself is-”
Smokey immediately shuts the feed off.
