Post by Isamu Suzuki on Sept 16, 2011 23:25:45 GMT -5
August 29th, 2011
Utashinai, Hokkaido, Japan
Suzuki Residence
Front Steps
Utashinai, Hokkaido, Japan
Suzuki Residence
Front Steps
Well that went better than I expected.
Isamu raises an eyebrow as he looks up at his mentor.
About 30 Minutes Previous
Suzuki Residence
Sitting Room
Suzuki Residence
Sitting Room
Two men, one older and one younger, walk inside a somewhat run down living room sporting all the typical tenements of an old-fashioned Japanese household. The fact that they are looking around and seeing fraying tatami mats, dull flowers in a cracked vase, and a threadbare kotatsu with stains punctuating the room's general feel of age and deterioration.
This atmosphere seems even stranger when you look out the window and see what appears to be an immaculate Swiss chalet town, as we can see a large, bright wooden house with large overhanging eaves and a slowly sloping roof. You can also see a little bit of the awning overhanging the window through which the pale imitation of a Chalet house, indicating that the Suzuki home is the same way, at least on the outside.
Mother, it's finally time.
Inside, the home is full of tension.
You've finally decided to desert me, too?
Isamu is rooted to the floor of his ancestral living room as his mother chides him without even leaving seiza, a cup of tea still steaming on the table in front of her. It's amazing how a mother can exert such power over a son from such a vulnerable position, but if she couldn't, she wouldn't be a mother. She reaches out with an arm wrapped in an elegant, if clearly worn kimono sleeve to take the steaming cup and raise it to her lips, sipping the tea before continuing with her assault.
I thought you were going to be better than your siblings, but you're running away, too. Running away to play at your little pro wrestling fantasies, far away from your mother.
Now I think that's a little unfair.
You clearly don't know what you're talking about, David-kun.
David raises an eyebrow as Isamu's mother turns her attention away from the gaijin and back to her son.
You are no better than your brothers or your sister. You say you're leaving to find fortune and fame, or to bring honor to your name, but you are the fourth child to say that, and if you ever return, you will be the first.
Just because his siblings suck doesn't mean he's going to.
I will not ask you again--
You aren't going to ask me anything, Noriko. You're going to sit there and listen.
Isamu's mother, revealed to have a name, glares up at the intruder into her home, nostrils flaring, but she remains seated at the kotatsu as David steps forward, bowing up as he comes to the defense of his student.
Do you know how many times he's come in and talked about you? How much he loves you, or how he feels sorry for you concerning his siblings, or sorry for his siblings for not caring as much as he does, or how he's going to be the best in the world to bring honor to your name? That's the kid that's deserting you?
There is an awkward, oppressive silence in the room as Isamu glances back and forth from trainer to mother as they stare each other down. After a few moments, Noriko chuckles derisively, remaining in her seated position.
Alright, well then I'll say this.
Noriko turns to Isamu, an intense gaze turned to her third son.
If you are really in this for the honor of our family name, then you are not to return to this house until you have attained the honor you're supposedly pursuing.
Present
Suzuki Residence
Front Steps
Suzuki Residence
Front Steps
That was better than you expected?
David nods while slipping back into his sneakers.
All we got was the speech about how you're running away. Most mother's go on and on about how the business is going to shorten your life and cause you permanent damage and all that, and those are the ones that don't bitch about how tough the wrestling life is on you, traveling wise. You made out like a bandit, kid.
Isamu turns his gaze to the ground, sighing.
Well it sure doesn't feel that way.
David, having gotten his shoes on finally, nods a bit and slaps Isamu lightly on the shoulders as they start the walk down the sidewalk and out to the side of the road, revealing that yes, the Suzuki residence is a similarly artificial Shalet as the houses around them.
Well it might not feel that way right now, but after you've found success in your chosen trade, you'll feel a little better about things. So let's head back and get training; the launching pad I've chosen for your career is home to fierce competition. You'll need to be ready.
Isamu nods a bit, though he still seems a bit discouraged. Either way, he follows David away from his ancestral home and off into the distance.