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Getting to Know... Akira Kimura; [Showdown 67 - Nightmare RP]
Topic Started: Jan 14 2011, 02:33 PM (70 Views)
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"Wednesday, January 13th, 2010 - 10:24am - sVo Studios, Goodfellas Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada"

"And, we're rolling..."

Snapping to life with the cue of the director, Tamara Boyd flashed her broad smile towards the camera. Beside her, the smiling but now weary looking Akira Kimura - former mentor of Night and Nightmare and currently the unwilling manager for the latter - Tamara could not help but feel that his forced servitude was the cause of his current tired and aged appearance. Although an elderly man, he had always appeared spritely and youthful. Once a man whose broad smile was infectious, his smile now seemed to mask a deep misery.

"Welcome viewers to a new segment we're trialling called 'Getting to Know...'. Tonight's guest is a legendary former champion, veteran trainer, mentor and in recent years manager. He is an icon of Japanese professional wrestling and now through the achievements of Night, his most well known student in the United States, his reputation is now international," she gestured with her hand towards her blushing guest.

"Thank you, Miss Boyd, I am honored to be here," he responded modestly, clearly embarrassed by Tamara's glowing introduction.

"Now, Master Kimura, it's only in recent years that you've become known to American viewers - your career spans many decades in Japan - would you care to explain briefly your history in professional wrestling?" Tamara asked in her most professional journalistic tone.

For a second, the old man's smile was released of all burden.

"It's a very long story, Tamara - but I will try my best to keep it brief or we will be here for a very long time," he said with a wry grin, "I was born in 1942 in Osaka... three years before the end of the second World War - as such the first three years of my life were spent in conflict, but I was very young and that was a long time ago. My parents were both engineers and after the war I had somewhat of a normal childhood. I was quite... energetic... as a child and as an outlet for that energy my parents encouraged me to train in martial arts from a young age. I started Judo at the age of five and Shito-Ryu Karate at the age of seven. I achieved black belts in each by the time I was ten and continued to love and excel at the martial arts while I was quite average in school. I'm sorry, is this too much detail?"

Master Kimura hesitated, waiting for a response. He had always been an enthusiastic individual and often found himself getting carried away in conversation.

Tamara simply smiled at him before replying, "That's fine, this segment is meant to give our viewers a true insight into the history and motivations of sVo's personalities."

He nodded, continuing, "After I graduated from school I had very few academic options but martial arts were going well so I began teaching Judo at the dojo I had been studying at. In 1963 at the age of twenty-one I went with a group of my dojo brothers to watch Rikidōzan face Killer Kowalski. We were all inspired by what we saw that night and the next day we began mimicking the moves we had seen. Not long after we began organizing shows around Osaka and Kyoto."

Smiling with pride, the old man was already looking more youthful recalling his early days in the business.

"It was a simpler time," he continued, "Professional wrestling was still newly introduced in Japan and we were simply learning through imitation of the more experienced locals as well as the international wrestlers who were brought over for tours... many by Rikidōzan. Our background in Judo and other martial arts certainly helped us grasp the concepts but it was certainly a work in progress for us for years. I was very fortunate and after a few years working on our shows we were invited to start doing joint tours and shows with several of the larger emerging federations. The rest, as they say, is history."

Kimura nodded succinctly - both he and Tamara knew that a man with as long and storied a past as he could sit and reminisce for hours on end.

"Twenty years later in 1983 you opened your own professional wrestling school, The KIMURA Dojo in Kyoto Japan retiring from the ring two years later. What inspired you to make the switch from active competition to training future generations of wrestlers? How did you take it?" Tamara asked.

"Ahh - that can probably be traced to my background teaching Judo. After so long in professional wrestling it seemed like a natural progression," he explained matter-of-factly, "I actually retired to be able to devote more time and attention to my students. At first it was a bit of a shock to the system to be out of the ring competitively, but over the years I have been blessed with some great talent."

"The list is exceptional, would you care to talk about some of your more prized students?" Tamara pressed on drawing a chuckle from the old man.

"It is hard to say and always dangerous to talk about 'favorites' - but there have been some clear standouts. sVo fans might be used to Mitsuhiro Tomishiba - I brought him to the sVo as a bit of muscle to combat The Company when Night was chasing the World Title. In the mid-80s he was quite the star on the Japanese indy circuit - one of my first champions and a multiple-time heavyweight champion at that. He retired in '94 and I recruited him as an 'enforcer' of sorts for the Dojo," Kimura said, only pausing as Tamara raised a querying eyebrow.

"An influence of The Company's?" she asked, relentless.

The old man hesitated, the smile fading from his face only to be replaced by the grey expression once more.

"Yes," he said meekly.

"How long were you affiliated with The Company, Master Kimura?" she asked, leaning forward anxiously in her chair, her journalistic instincts forcing out any remnants of empathy.

"I..." he stumbled, "I don't feel comfortable with this line of questioning, Ms. Boyd. I would prefer to continue with our previous topic if it is of no inconvenience."

Disappointment clear on her face, she shook her head, the pained expression on the face of the suddenly very fragile looking veteran broke the instinct.

"Let's just say I was approached and accepted my role with them upon my retirement in 1985," he offered reluctantly.

"Thanks Master Kimura," Tamara smiled, attempting to hide her reluctance to change the topic back, "You've spoken about Tomishiba - how about some of your more recent students."

Kimura nodded his appreciation for the reprieve before continuing, "Half the roster of Kyoto Puroresu Maximum - K-Pro MAX for short. The other half are mainly trained by the Kotas, headed by another of my Judo-turned-wrestling brothers, Takeshi Kota. K-Pro MAX itself is run by Ryoshi Mashida - another of our brothers - it's basically the continuation of the federation built from the shows we ran back in the '60s. Of course, the Miyamoto brothers are two of the most notable I have ever trained."

Seeing her opening, Tamara jumped right in.

"Tell me about Nightmare - Ryuu Miyamoto as you know him. Since his arrival in the sVo he has been a thorn in the side of his brother, Night, even taking him out of action indefinitely. He has ended the careers of Alex Brooks, El Locon and has proven to be a dominant and uncontrollable force unfortunately on the side of The Company," she said, getting quite carried away with her introduction of the elder Miyamoto brother and drawing another despondent look from the old man.

"Ryuu's transition breaks my heart," he explained after a deep sigh of regret, "He was not always like this. He was an outstanding student and a natural leader. All the other students at the dojo looked up to him. He was in the advanced class and was a junior instructor himself. He was the youngest K-Pro MAX Heavyweight Champion ever..."

"... so what happened?" Tamara couldn't help but ask drawing another pained sigh from Akira.

"He grew accustomed to being worshipped. He was a big fish in a small pond. Suddenly his 'goofy little brother' - as he saw Akumu - became a big fish in a big pond," he explained, "Exactly what Nightmare has explained... he became jealous and petty and his desire to be the 'greatest wrestler in Kyoto' is what drives him to do the things he does."

"Where does it stop?" Tamara asked.

"When he feels he once again outshines Night," replied Kimura grimly, "I imagine after he has captured the sVo World Championship he will once again claim superiority and hopefully he should settle a bit. It's hard to say though, I didn't even know this side of him existed."

"Speaking of Night, have you had a chance to speak with him? How is he doing? I'm sure the sVo universe is dying to hear about his return plans, if any," Tamara asked with a smile - she had always gotten along well with the enigmatic former champion and honestly missed his quirky presence.

Kimura smiled knowingly, "Night is well. My current situation has left it very hard for me to be in contact with him which is difficult for me - I've made it no secret that Akumu is like a son to me. I was able to talk to him briefly at the sVo awards. Once he was named Wrestler of the Year and was inducted into the Hall of Fame Nightmare stormed off in a huff and forgot about me so I was free to go and congratulate Night. It was a very proud moment for him, he was speechless. Watching the two of them heading to the ring together was interesting. When it was announced that they had won Match of the Year they were mortified to have to accept the award together - it was funny... in a tragic kid of way."

"And plans for his return? Where has he been?" Tamara pressed eagerly.

"He has been back in Kyoto resting and recovering," Kimura explained calmly, "Last year was exhausting for Akumu, emotionally and physically. He spoke of obsessing over the sVo World Championship while the federation lay dormant - if anything, that was an understatement. We were honestly quite worried about him. When sVo re-opened and he was signed it was a joy to bring him the news. Watching him win the title was incredible. That in itself was quite a journey for Akumu, but add on to that his brother's betrayal, the tolls of being a defending champion, eventually losing the title and then finally that insane match he and Ryuu worked at Roll the Dice... he needed a bit of time off."

Tamara smiled but could not hide the disappointment in not getting a straight answer on the return date of the sVo Hall-of-Famer.

"I hope he does return though to teach his brat of an older brother some manners and respect..." Kimura muttered loudly, only to be interrupted.

"To teach his what some what?"

The old man and Tamara froze as the speaker of the voice stepped softly into the room. One of the discussion topics - Ryuu Miyamoto - Nightmare. Moving beside his former mentor/current manager he placed a firm hand on the old man's shoulder, blocking him from standing and forcing him back into his chair.

"What was that you were saying, 'Master'?" he spat with a sarcastic smile.

"This is a closed set!" Tamara offered desperately in protest, frantically gesturing to some crew members.

Nightmare cackled at Tamara's statement, "That's a good one. But I have business to discuss with my manager - he's been bad... not fulfilling his duties."

He bent forward, coming face to face with his former trainer.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing you worthless fossil?" he growled, continuing without allowing any response from the old man, "Like it or not you are my manager. You don't like it? Blame your beloved Night. In the meantime, manage me. Finally The Company have rewarded my efforts with the sVo TapOut Title..."

"... a shot at the title..." Kimura shot back defiantly.

"A match where anything goes and the only way to win is via submission?" Nightmare smirked, "It's right up my alley, this one is in the bag!"

"Cody Williams is an sVo veteran and a former International Champion!" Kimura protested, leading his former student to scoff in response.

"So he's a serious threat, right?" Nightmare mocked, "According to you a coma patient would be a serious threat if I was booked against one."

"For you? Of course!" laughed Kimura in reply, drawing a stifled laugh from Tamara and a menacing scowl from the masked man.

"The truth is that the 'rules' of the match compliments my strengths far more than Williams," Nightmare bragged, "Add on to that the fact that I am destined for far greater things. I will be the sVo World Champion... I will hold it for longer than Night and I will once again be recognized as the superior brother."

Kimura looked unimpressed. Staring at Nightmare with disdain he seemed to be mulling something over in his head - finally he spoke, defiance obviously winning out over thoughts of survival.

"No matter what you do, Ryuu, you will never again be recognized as the superior brother because, quite simply, you are not," offered Kimura in rebuttal, Nightmare's nostrils flaring visibly from under his mask.

Finally having heard enough, Nightmare shoved Kimura hard in the chest, knocking him and the armchair he sat in backwards and leaving the veteran wrestler and trainer sprawled on his back. Quick as lightning, Nightmare shot towards him, pinning the old man's shoulders to the ground and balling his hands into fists. For his part, Kimura visibly expressed no fear, unlike Tamara who looked quite concerned at the unfolding situation.

"I will show you, like I will show the rest of the 'sVo universe'. I will defeat Cody Williams to become the sVo TapOut Champion. I will defeat all-comers to hold on to that title until The Company come to their senses and realize that I am their only chance at capturing the sVo World Title," Nightmare ranted.

"I'm sure your Company 'pals' would be thrilled to hear you say that," said Kimura, amazing Tamara with his calm and composed tone.

Nightmare simply shrugged, adding, "The truth can be hard to swallow, but that doesn't make it any less true..."

"... just like you can't accept that you will never be as great as Akumu as you lack his heart, talent and instincts - it doesn't make it any less tr..." he was cut off as Nightmare wrapped his hand tightly around the throat of the old man.

"Enough of that bullshit!" he growled, increasing in volume and intensity, "I took Night out of the picture - his career is over. The sooner you accept that he's not coming back the better. I'll prove it to you."

He smiled as he raised a balled up fist high above his head, preparing to strike. Tamara panicked in the background, calling desperately for help as Kimura braced for impact, his face stoic.

Nightmare swung his arm to strike but was sent sprawling as once again a hooded figure charged into view, sending him sprawling before opening the door and taking off down the hallway, Nightmare immediately standing and giving chase.

"Uh, this was 'Getting to Know... Akira Kimura - that's all the time we have... can we get some security and medical personnel in here as soon as possible please?" she asked, her thoughts far from her journalistic instincts and her concerns on the well-being of the plucky old man clutching his throat on the ground.
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