Post by Alex Kiseragi on Sept 25, 2009 18:16:13 GMT -5
The Kiseragi household is pretty much as you’d expect. Not that all but abandoned apartment out near the coast, but the modest suburban house that Yasutoki and Sakura call home. The influences upon it’s décor are clear, half a lifetime living as American citizens blended with the desire to never forget their roots. In the sitting room a lavish widescreen television sits below a traditional Japanese tapestry. In the hallway a sole ceremonial blade balances on the wall opposite a framed image of their Son taken from his first GIW trading card. Even the kitchen shows the divide. Fresh cling film wrapped bundles of Sushi sit beside a pack of thick and undoubtedly greasy hamburgers.
It’s the kitchen the couple find themselves in now. It’s barely turned eight am on a disappointingly dull day. Yasutoki is dressed and has been for some time. He sits with a Mickey Mouse mug, a relic of a long passed trip to Disney World, filled with green tea and a copy of the local newspaper, rested against the round wooden table, spread wide and obscuring both his view of the outside world and it’s view of him.
Over at the counter his wife puts the finishing touches on two slices of now toast, now masterfully coated in homemade strawberry jam, Yasutoki’s favourite. With an unnoticed and unacknowledged smile she places them by his hand, his awareness only made clear by his reaching for one and taking a large hungry bite.
She sat down a little way around from him, crossing her legs, her elegant purple silk bath robe sliding ever so slightly up them, extenuating the figure of a woman who had aged much more gracefully then her partner.
“I was thinking.” she probes, checking to see if the man across from her was in any kind of decent mood.
His eyes flick up from the paper and a low hum of acknowledgment escapes his still closed lips. Apparently he was.
“When was the last time you saw Alex?”
If he was considering his answer it wasn’t obvious. He took another sip of tea and a bite of toast and once he’d finished his article, responded. “A while ago. I don’t know.” he replies with the faintest shrug of the shoulders.
“He never seems to come around here anymore. He calls from time to time but it’s not the same is it. I‘m starting to worry about him”
“He’s a busy kid and he’s capable of looking after himself. He doesn’t need you fussing over him.”
“I know, I know. He’s not a child anymore. I just wonder what changed.”
Silence fell over the room aside from occasional rustle of turning paper pages and the crunch of heated bread under the pressure of closing jaws. The sudden tension was almost palpable and Sakura knew when something was being kept from her. With a deep breath she steeled herself and spoke once again. “You know something don’t you.” she said, a statement rather than a question. More silence and a loud slurp of tea, finishing what was left in the bottom of the novelty mug, but no reply. “I know you do, please don’t keep me in the dark.” she added.
“It doesn’t involve you.” Yasutoki finally replied, not looking up and forcing the last of the first slice into his mouth.
“If it involves you and it involves my Son then it involves me.” she said, raising her voice more then she could remember doing in years.
His fist slammed onto the table making the assorted crockery jump and drop back down with numerous clatters. The paper lowered and he fixed her with that iron gaze she knew meant one thing, she wasn’t getting her way.
“I said no.” was all he added, before snatching the last of his breakfast and making for the door, once again leaving Sakura alone.
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It’s been more than well documented, the atmosphere of the GIW Arena mid-week, away from all the hustle and bustle of a Sunday night show. A skeletal crew carry out routine maintenance on equipment. Numerous secretaries and agents taking the time to catch up on piles of monotonous paperwork, closed away in their offices. Lawyers scurry around trying to appease everyone threatening legal action after the latest Sentinel and once again Alex Kiseragi is wandering about the near desolate hallways. In his right hand is a clear case holding an unmarked DVD which the Dragon twiddles between his fingers idly as he walks. It doesn’t take long for him to reach his apparent destination, one of the many communal locker rooms that those less privileged then the likes of Travis Roberts often inhabit. He opened the door and came to an abrupt halt.
Stood stone still, startled like a deer in headlights was Katie Piper. She was clad in only a large white San Francisco 49ers Jersey that hung off her frame loosely and covered her down to the middle of her thighs. Her heart leapt into her mouth as she had passed across the floor and the door unexpectedly crept open, just as she was at her most vulnerable then felt like it had stopped as Alex revealed himself as the one on the other side.
“Alex?” she squeaked.
“Katie?”
“Um…what’re, uh…” she shifted uneasily on her feet and clung to the bottom of the jersey, tugging it down and hunching her body in an attempt to retreat entirely into it’s material. “…I didn’t think you’d…” she looked back away from him and fiddled with her hair before turning back. “What…what’re you doing here?”
“I was about to ask you the same thing.” Alex asked, stepping fully into the room and gently kicking the door closed behind him.
“Well um…” she twirled her hair again and crossed her legs, trying to keep the jersey’s material held down between them as she pointed with her free hand to a pile of books sitting on a bench near by. “…I’ve had a pile of work from restarting collage and my house has been so noisy so I thought I could come here and um, get some peace.”
“Oooook.” Alex replied, gesturing to the unorthodox attire his part time valet was wearing and recognising without a shadow of a doubt that the jersey did in fact below to him.
“Oh, yes, well um…” Katie’s eyes darted about in search of inspiration. “…I had a sandwich and it kinda, pleugh.” she gestured some substance being spilt over her front. “So, I took it over to the laundry room and then I found this, I guess you must have accidentally left it here, right?”
“Right….” There was a long pause and an awkward tension hung in the hair. Alex looked around the room, from Katie to the books and any other possible forms of evidence that may collaborate the story he had just heard.
“Fair enough.” he settled on finally with a casual shrug and pulled up a folding chair from it’s place leant up against a stack of banged up lockers. Katie stood, still stunned in the middle of the room, seemingly more so at Alex’s unquestioning acceptance. He set up the chair and dragged over a small portable TV on a trolley from the corner of the room. He planted himself down and inserted the DVD he’d be carrying around for the last few minutes. Katie shifted her books to the far end of the bench and sat down so she could look over the Dragon’s shoulder, tucking her shoulders up close to her chest, hugging them in to her.
“So, um, why are you here?” she asked.
“I just came to get the DVD of last weeks show. I’ve got some video I wanted to re-watch.”
Katie leans in closer, almost resting her chin on his shoulder to get a better view of the screen as Alex skips through the opening contests. “Travis and Hastings?” she asks, referring to the recently announced match up for the following week.
Alex shakes his head. “Nah. If there’s anyone I don’t need to watch tape on it’s Travis. Well actually it’s probably BoolZ, but Travis is a close second and Hastings isn’t far behind.”
“Who then?”
The DVD skips forward another scene and lands on a still shot of the one man, conveniently answering Katie’s question though Alex gestures to him with the remote to emphasise the point.
“Jet Somers?”
“Look at this.” Alex hits play and the two of them watch intently at the intricate combination The Dragon and the Wild Card went through in the beginning of their last match up. As the pair part Alex pauses it again. “See that?” he points again with the remote. “No-one’s matched me like that before.”
“Seriously?” Katie asked.
“Seriously. People have matched me other ways, beat me even. But not like that. Let’s watch it again.” He starts skipping back until just after the entrances. “Ooops too far.” he says and is about to raise the remote when…
Hanson: That’s more wholesome behaviour in one ring than even the sweetest grandmother can handle, if you try and forget the unspeakable acts A-Kis gets up to with men in parks...
Vinegar: I’m pretty sure he could sue you for that comment, it’s pretty much libellous...
Hanson: Unless it’s true, we’ll just have to wait and see if I get a court order.
“Wait.” Alex pauses it again and turns his head back, jumping slightly to find Katie’s face much closer then he was expecting it to be. “Did he really say that?”
Katie sat right back and Alex turned in his seat to face her properly. “Yeah, seems so.” she said.
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.” she nodded.
“Huh…” Alex looked back at the screen, then back at Katie. “…interesting.”
“What is?”
“I’m getting an idea…I’ll tell you about it later.” he added as he got back to his feet and recovered the DVD.
“You leaving?” she asked.
“Yeah, I think I should watch this elsewhere. Leave you to your books.”
“Oh, ok.” she smiled, hiding her disappointment.
“See you later. Maybe you can get to the show this week. We could use the support.” he asked, hopefully.
“I’ll be there.” she added with a more genuine smile this time.
“Great. See you soon then.”
“Bye.” she waved as he walked away and disappeared out into the hallway and out of sight. Confident in the knowledge he wasn’t returning any moment soon Katie reached under the bench and pulled out a rucksack. She opened the zip and removed a black t-shirt. The one she had arrived in that day. She opened it up in front of her. Not a ketchup stain in sight.
It’s the kitchen the couple find themselves in now. It’s barely turned eight am on a disappointingly dull day. Yasutoki is dressed and has been for some time. He sits with a Mickey Mouse mug, a relic of a long passed trip to Disney World, filled with green tea and a copy of the local newspaper, rested against the round wooden table, spread wide and obscuring both his view of the outside world and it’s view of him.
Over at the counter his wife puts the finishing touches on two slices of now toast, now masterfully coated in homemade strawberry jam, Yasutoki’s favourite. With an unnoticed and unacknowledged smile she places them by his hand, his awareness only made clear by his reaching for one and taking a large hungry bite.
She sat down a little way around from him, crossing her legs, her elegant purple silk bath robe sliding ever so slightly up them, extenuating the figure of a woman who had aged much more gracefully then her partner.
“I was thinking.” she probes, checking to see if the man across from her was in any kind of decent mood.
His eyes flick up from the paper and a low hum of acknowledgment escapes his still closed lips. Apparently he was.
“When was the last time you saw Alex?”
If he was considering his answer it wasn’t obvious. He took another sip of tea and a bite of toast and once he’d finished his article, responded. “A while ago. I don’t know.” he replies with the faintest shrug of the shoulders.
“He never seems to come around here anymore. He calls from time to time but it’s not the same is it. I‘m starting to worry about him”
“He’s a busy kid and he’s capable of looking after himself. He doesn’t need you fussing over him.”
“I know, I know. He’s not a child anymore. I just wonder what changed.”
Silence fell over the room aside from occasional rustle of turning paper pages and the crunch of heated bread under the pressure of closing jaws. The sudden tension was almost palpable and Sakura knew when something was being kept from her. With a deep breath she steeled herself and spoke once again. “You know something don’t you.” she said, a statement rather than a question. More silence and a loud slurp of tea, finishing what was left in the bottom of the novelty mug, but no reply. “I know you do, please don’t keep me in the dark.” she added.
“It doesn’t involve you.” Yasutoki finally replied, not looking up and forcing the last of the first slice into his mouth.
“If it involves you and it involves my Son then it involves me.” she said, raising her voice more then she could remember doing in years.
His fist slammed onto the table making the assorted crockery jump and drop back down with numerous clatters. The paper lowered and he fixed her with that iron gaze she knew meant one thing, she wasn’t getting her way.
“I said no.” was all he added, before snatching the last of his breakfast and making for the door, once again leaving Sakura alone.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It’s been more than well documented, the atmosphere of the GIW Arena mid-week, away from all the hustle and bustle of a Sunday night show. A skeletal crew carry out routine maintenance on equipment. Numerous secretaries and agents taking the time to catch up on piles of monotonous paperwork, closed away in their offices. Lawyers scurry around trying to appease everyone threatening legal action after the latest Sentinel and once again Alex Kiseragi is wandering about the near desolate hallways. In his right hand is a clear case holding an unmarked DVD which the Dragon twiddles between his fingers idly as he walks. It doesn’t take long for him to reach his apparent destination, one of the many communal locker rooms that those less privileged then the likes of Travis Roberts often inhabit. He opened the door and came to an abrupt halt.
Stood stone still, startled like a deer in headlights was Katie Piper. She was clad in only a large white San Francisco 49ers Jersey that hung off her frame loosely and covered her down to the middle of her thighs. Her heart leapt into her mouth as she had passed across the floor and the door unexpectedly crept open, just as she was at her most vulnerable then felt like it had stopped as Alex revealed himself as the one on the other side.
“Alex?” she squeaked.
“Katie?”
“Um…what’re, uh…” she shifted uneasily on her feet and clung to the bottom of the jersey, tugging it down and hunching her body in an attempt to retreat entirely into it’s material. “…I didn’t think you’d…” she looked back away from him and fiddled with her hair before turning back. “What…what’re you doing here?”
“I was about to ask you the same thing.” Alex asked, stepping fully into the room and gently kicking the door closed behind him.
“Well um…” she twirled her hair again and crossed her legs, trying to keep the jersey’s material held down between them as she pointed with her free hand to a pile of books sitting on a bench near by. “…I’ve had a pile of work from restarting collage and my house has been so noisy so I thought I could come here and um, get some peace.”
“Oooook.” Alex replied, gesturing to the unorthodox attire his part time valet was wearing and recognising without a shadow of a doubt that the jersey did in fact below to him.
“Oh, yes, well um…” Katie’s eyes darted about in search of inspiration. “…I had a sandwich and it kinda, pleugh.” she gestured some substance being spilt over her front. “So, I took it over to the laundry room and then I found this, I guess you must have accidentally left it here, right?”
“Right….” There was a long pause and an awkward tension hung in the hair. Alex looked around the room, from Katie to the books and any other possible forms of evidence that may collaborate the story he had just heard.
“Fair enough.” he settled on finally with a casual shrug and pulled up a folding chair from it’s place leant up against a stack of banged up lockers. Katie stood, still stunned in the middle of the room, seemingly more so at Alex’s unquestioning acceptance. He set up the chair and dragged over a small portable TV on a trolley from the corner of the room. He planted himself down and inserted the DVD he’d be carrying around for the last few minutes. Katie shifted her books to the far end of the bench and sat down so she could look over the Dragon’s shoulder, tucking her shoulders up close to her chest, hugging them in to her.
“So, um, why are you here?” she asked.
“I just came to get the DVD of last weeks show. I’ve got some video I wanted to re-watch.”
Katie leans in closer, almost resting her chin on his shoulder to get a better view of the screen as Alex skips through the opening contests. “Travis and Hastings?” she asks, referring to the recently announced match up for the following week.
Alex shakes his head. “Nah. If there’s anyone I don’t need to watch tape on it’s Travis. Well actually it’s probably BoolZ, but Travis is a close second and Hastings isn’t far behind.”
“Who then?”
The DVD skips forward another scene and lands on a still shot of the one man, conveniently answering Katie’s question though Alex gestures to him with the remote to emphasise the point.
“Jet Somers?”
“Look at this.” Alex hits play and the two of them watch intently at the intricate combination The Dragon and the Wild Card went through in the beginning of their last match up. As the pair part Alex pauses it again. “See that?” he points again with the remote. “No-one’s matched me like that before.”
“Seriously?” Katie asked.
“Seriously. People have matched me other ways, beat me even. But not like that. Let’s watch it again.” He starts skipping back until just after the entrances. “Ooops too far.” he says and is about to raise the remote when…
Hanson: That’s more wholesome behaviour in one ring than even the sweetest grandmother can handle, if you try and forget the unspeakable acts A-Kis gets up to with men in parks...
Vinegar: I’m pretty sure he could sue you for that comment, it’s pretty much libellous...
Hanson: Unless it’s true, we’ll just have to wait and see if I get a court order.
“Wait.” Alex pauses it again and turns his head back, jumping slightly to find Katie’s face much closer then he was expecting it to be. “Did he really say that?”
Katie sat right back and Alex turned in his seat to face her properly. “Yeah, seems so.” she said.
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.” she nodded.
“Huh…” Alex looked back at the screen, then back at Katie. “…interesting.”
“What is?”
“I’m getting an idea…I’ll tell you about it later.” he added as he got back to his feet and recovered the DVD.
“You leaving?” she asked.
“Yeah, I think I should watch this elsewhere. Leave you to your books.”
“Oh, ok.” she smiled, hiding her disappointment.
“See you later. Maybe you can get to the show this week. We could use the support.” he asked, hopefully.
“I’ll be there.” she added with a more genuine smile this time.
“Great. See you soon then.”
“Bye.” she waved as he walked away and disappeared out into the hallway and out of sight. Confident in the knowledge he wasn’t returning any moment soon Katie reached under the bench and pulled out a rucksack. She opened the zip and removed a black t-shirt. The one she had arrived in that day. She opened it up in front of her. Not a ketchup stain in sight.
x2
