Enemies and partners.- D&J Games

18.11.19 Osaka, Japan

*After a busy weekend, Arata finally found a moment to return to his hometown. However, he didn't spend much time at home because of increasing tension between him and his brother, which was caused by differences of opinion on various things connected with Arata's career. They have been arguing quite often lately, and Arata has had enough of his own problems, so to avoid more stress, he just chose to spend most his time in the old gym, which he has been using for years as a training place. Anyway, staying here will definitely not hurt him, especially since now he must put a lot of effort into his career. Ahead of him an important match at COMBAT V, the upcoming Shogun Championship defense at Violent Ends, taking care of the whole ALPHA Tag division alongside his tag partner, and also recently signed a contract with OWA. The man may seem to have quite a lot on his mind, but he always liked to be in such situations. It always gave him extra energy and motivation to prove to himself that no circumstances could break him.

However, after a whole day of exercising and thinking about what the next step should be, Arata decided that he should probably explain a few things that have recently taken place. This whole mess with Jacob Senn left many questions and uncomfortable comments, and their match as a team doesn't seem to be something that could be treated as an attempt to establish a situation. Therefore, Asakura doesn't want to wait with what he has to say in relation to the Chapter 5 and sits down on a steel chair, in the middle of the room, a few centimeters from the ring, placing the camera in front of him.*

*The camera catches a man with blond hair and a beard, dressed in a dark gray T-shirt, black shorts and sports shoes of the same color. Arata has his hands in a crossed arms position and a grimace of irritation is visible on his face. Sweat-wet strands of hair fall on his forehead, that’s why before he starts talking, he brushes his hair back with one of his hands and then arranges his hands as before. The first thing that comes out of his mouth is a loud sigh.*

Are you kidding me?

*The man shakes his head.*

Are you fucking kidding me?

I knew Drake and Jones were bloody assholes but this time they crossed the line. It amuses you, isn't it? Okay, you know what all this shit looks like with me and Senn, because it's partly your fault, and you are still putting me in a situation where I have to get the remnants of faith out of myself and trust him that he won't put the knife in my back at the first opportunity. You know that this guy has problems with anger. First what happened at Violent Delights to Chad, then the attempted murder of Chole Leuthard during Chapter 4. Did I really offend you so much by rejecting your offer when you came for Brian? Or maybe you can't forgive me, because for most of this damn Unsanctioned match I kicked your asses? But you know very well that I had no other choice. Was I supposed left Brain at the mercy of the two of you? We all know how 'fair' you two are, so if I wasn't there it could end up worse than just visit in a hospital.

Let it be clear...I am sorry that it ended in this way. I really wanted to help him and I hope he will be okay, but I'm not going to blame myself for what happened. Contrary to the opinions of others, I know that I could do nothing more, in the end I was pinned to a fucking rope, and even then I tried to level the field. Therefore, answering all the questions how I feel with what I led to and blah, blah, blah...I can confidently say that I sleep peacefully at night. Brian is a big boy and he knew the consequences of his choice. After all, he has known Drake and Tiberius for a very long time and knows that they are unpredictable, but he still made this decision, and not another. I am not going to take the flogging for something that I had no influence on.

*Arata changes his position, placing his forearms on his knees and slouching slightly.*

Despite the fact that I know myself how it was, I am happy that there are people who think like me, but there are also people who are not able to accept it. And of course I mean my future tag team partner. Jacob...What the hell is your problem? From the very beginning you go sulky and nothing more. I understand that you belong to a group of living wrestling legends and I respect that, but remember who you are pointing your attacks of aggression to. I know you are a multiple times champion. I know you are the Hall of Famer. But it doesn't matter, because I'm the champion here and you could show me a little respect. At least, for protecting your friend's ass when you were hiding in the shadows.

I guess you haven't been in a good mood lately. I have heard that the end of October and the beginning of November are not a pleasant time for you and I am very sorry, but, all in all, you should work a bit on controlling emotions. And you'd better do it quickly because I'm not going to worry all evening that you will leave me in the ring because of a whim. That's it, your constant crying about the fact that you should be the Shogun Champ, and I took it from you is a whim. Please, grow up. I know we didn't start well and we won't be friends, but it doesn't matter. I just want to know if I can rely on you during this tag team match. Especially since now we share the same goal, whether we want it or not.

I don't know what about you, but I'm not a person who wastes my chances, even if circumstances don't suit me, that's why I hope that you can control yourself and do what is right. You may not like me, but you won't tell me that you are not interested in adding one of this tag team belts to your achievements list. So let's start again, Senn. I will forget that you acted like a moron, you will forget that Daniels almost died and we will just focus on what we should. You can consider me an enemy for several reasons, but the truth is that I can be your companion on the path to those who are really guilty of what happened to your friend. Sounds like sweet revenge, right? That's why think about it. I realize that the situation will be different at Violent Ends, because I have no doubt that you will try to take away what is mine and I will not blame you for it, but for now let's live in peace, because it will be better for me and for you as well. If I were you, I would appreciate that I am still nice after all the insults and accusations you made in my direction, because I have to tell you that if someone has bad blood with me, sooner or later, regret it. I may not look like such a person, but when I want it, I have no limits, so if you decide to stand against me during all this tag team game, I promise you that I will smash the chair on this stupid face of yours, with the smile on mine. Got it? The choice is yours and you better choose wisely. The last person who decided to go to a bigger war with me finally understood that it was better to be on my side than against me.

*Arata picks up a bottle of water from the floor and then gently swings it back and forth. The man looks at the moving water and continues his speech.*

However, suppose that me and Senn come to an agreement, but what then? Although in my humble opinion we would be a pretty strong team, there are still three other that can cause us trouble...well actually two. I don't think anyone believes that this team of a joke has any chance. Jimmy Johnson and Barney are simply an example of the generosity of the management. That's how it is, through such small things Wrestleworld shows that this is a company for everyone and all competitors will get their chance even if they are a fucking clowns. Honestly? It's beautiful, because it's worth motivating people in this way, but at the same time it's a little sad that you fool them. In this way, they are given the hope that they are good enough that someone has put them in this place and not other. And maybe I'll turn out to be asshole now, but let's be honest, Jimmy, Barney, I can't believe you can survive even the first match. You should be glad that you got such a chance, because you have the opportunity to show yourself against the  people, who are simply better than you, and in the same way gain the respect of them and the public, but at this point your role will end.

I am never too confident, there are always some doubts in the back of my head. But this time I don't even feel interest in you, and that speaks for itself. Why? Because no one of you two is championship material and in the same way, I don’t feel like you could be a challenge for me. And..emmm..This is not only about skills. Apart from this case, the title picture is just not a place for jesters, and that's who you are.

*The man directs his gaze back to the camera.*

It seems to me that to take the next step forward I have to go back a little bit. Nobi...we will be sharing the ring again in few days. And you know what? I am glad that you are motivated and so on, but it will end just like the last time and you should start getting used to this thought. I understand that Reno gives you some sense of safety and extra confidence, but look in the mirror and tell me if the person you see is someone who can become a champion here? Someone who lost absolutely every match he had in Wrestleworld? But don't worry, I'm not going to bury you under the ground because of it, as I think Tiberius and Jones were rude enough. I'm sorry they treated you like that because despite your naivety you are quite a nice guy, but well...life is brutal. I have no influence on what people do.

Maybe Reno seems to be your perfect partner, after all, the guy has been in this business for years, which makes him have a lot of experience, but, personally  I am not sure if this whole thing with Claudia, doesn't overwhelm him. Actually, I even dare say that because of her, he decided to work with you, Nobi. You will probably ask what I mean. Let me explain to you. As we all know Claudia is not an easy person to do business with, it actually isn't easy to even stay in one room for more than five minutes with her, but you know what I mean. What I want to say by that is that we all saw what happened during Chapter 4 just before Dumont offered you his help. HBG humiliated him in front of all these people by diminishing his achievements and calling him no one important, and then just turned off the camera. Hell, it have to be awful experience. But you know what I think about this whole situation? He doesn't care about helping you, he doesn't care either about the tag titles, he just wants to prove her that he is not a "little guy" just like she called him. He wants it so desperately that this desire blinds him and I know what I am saying, because I know this feeling. As you know, people prefer to talk about successes, but it's important to remember about failures too. Despite the fact that I have quite a lot of the first ones, no one is unbeatable. That's why, as I said...I understand how you feel, Reno. I understand why you want it so bad. I understand, because now you are looking at the guy who lost every world title match he had, but it taught me one thing. Finally, I realized that when you are led by desperation, it's all sooner or later, will fuck up. You have to approach such things with a free minds, because otherwise you hurt yourself. To be honest, If I hadn't come to this conclusion, I would probably not be a Shogun Champion today. Don't get it wrong, I'm not going to discourage you from participating in this tag team thing, because I'm here to have a good fight, but think about whether you do it for yourself or to prove something to Claudia, because if you do it for others it doesn't make sense. At least to me.

But if I give advice here, I think it would be good to thank Nobi for his 'golden' advice, wouldn't it? (Arata sighs heavily) Really, Nobi? Do you think I would give up this opportunity just because I don't have a good relationship with someone? I understand that people think that tag team partners should be like best friends, but it's one big bullshit. I know from my own autopsy that you don't have to like someone to succeed at his or her side. As you probably know, I am one half of the tag team champions in ALPHA with someone that most people hate and they have good reason to do it. However, being tag team is not about friendship, but knowing if you can rely on this person in the ring. That's why I don't care if I like him or not, I learned to tolerate him and this is enough to be at the same side. The same goes for Jacob Senn. If he decides to work with me, it's great, but if not, he can just fuck off.

*Arata leans his back again on the back of the steel chair.*

I left the team that intrigues me the most at the end. The truth is, I think Stephanie Matsuda and Crazy Violet will be the biggest threat, despite the fact that they have their problems. But anyway, The Iconic War Queen and a very impressive rookie at the same side..it can be considered to be a kind of dream team. I have to admit that I am even a little jealous, Violet, because I would rather be in your place. It can be said that Stephanie and I have similar priorities when it comes to our career, in short, we can’t sit in one place, which is why we at least wouldn't try to kill each other. But to be honest, I have no reason to complain about my partner when it comes to skills, because, well...when he doesn't open his mouth, he's wonderful. It's worse when he starts talking, but it's probably no secret.

However, coming back to what is important, it seems to me that you two are very strong, if not the strongest combination among these teams, so it would be a shame to waste such an opportunity by arguing, right? Should I care if you come to an agreement? No, you are the competition after all, but as I said to Reno, I want new challenges and that is why I would rather think of you as a team hard to beat, and not just stand and wait to see  you two  tearing each other apart. Maybe it's a bit selfish, but it's worth doing it for self-development.

*He smiles slightly.*

When I think about all this now, the choice of these teams wasn't accidental, although many people think so. What's the truth? Drake and Jones just don't take it seriously and the same if it comes to the role of Architects. Just take a closer look and see who they chose. Two no names, two teams of members who are in conflict with each other and they were even ready to force Nobi to take part in this match alone if he would not find a partner.

Do you understand why it is called 'Drake & Jones Games'? They just toy with us, try to check how much time it takes for us to kill each other, which will make it easier for them to defend these titles, no matter who will win. It was clear that  they would be up to something instead of doing their job properly. So should I be surprised? Hell no!  What can I expect from such damn manipulators?  What can I expect from someone who is irresponsible...from someone who doesn't give a fuck that could end someone's career and  still making fun of it. However, this ignorance will be tolerated to some point. And you know what?  Even if I wasn't guilty for what happened to Daniels, I feel like I owe something to him. So if I couldn't help him then, I partly intend to win this tournament and take the belts away from Drake and Jones, for him. Because this two idiots should get lessons of respect. And if victory is the only way to it, it could be alongside the guy who treated me like trash. We can say that probably this two are the reason why it is worth to unite at least for a while, right Senn?

*The blond interrupts his speech and bites his lip.*

I have no idea what the hell to expect during Chapter 5. Let everyone do what they want, and what the consequences will be is another matter. As for me, what I can promise you is that no one has to worry about my involvement. It doesn't matter with who and against whom I will fight because I always do what I need to do, regardless of situation. And yes… if Jacob decides to betray me, I won't be surprised at all, but if it is to improve his ego's condition, let him do this. Does that make sense? In my opinion no. Well, it will not change what happened to Brian, it will not change the fact that I am a fucking champion, not him. And what's more, it will not change the fact that I am the brightest star here. So you better deal with it, Jacob, because if you try something, I'll drag you down with me straight to the hell.