intro.MP4

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[Normally, I would just be the disembodied voice that gives you details on the setting, the emotional aspects of an individual, and other incidentals. Unfortunately, here, I’m only a voice that lives in the head of one, very unwell person. I tried to be her good conscience, but she didn’t want that. Nor did she particularly listen to me. Instead, I had to become a voice that plays out the world she has manufactured. Hello, I’m the Narrator, or Nareta, in her native tongue. Anything in these brackets are me talking to the general universe. More precisely, I’m the manifestation of Hashimoto Risa’s damaged mind. We’ll get familiar with one another over the course of time.]

[Good luck, by the way. She’s a lot.]

“Why can’t it ever be simple? I always have to clean up other people’s messes!”

[The disdain in Risa's voice sliced through the audio feed like a knife. This is how she normally is. Don’t believe any lies that she tries to show you. The screen remains blackened out while you can hear the sound of someone shuffling around. As the sound intensifies, it’s evident that someone’s going to take off the lens cap.]

“What are you doing?”

[They’re trying to do their job, Risa.]

“No, it’s not ready yet. These people can be patient and listen to my adorable voice. It’s a blessing and an honor after all.”

[Okay, she has elected to ignore me.]

“Hey, Sumi."

[Thanks to the lens cap, it’s impossible for the viewers to see what’s going on. Therefore, it’s my job as the narrator to try to illustrate the sight beyond the darkness. Bear with me. I have to delicately navigate the volatile situation before me. The young woman doing her best to obey Hashimoto Risa’s–I mean, ULTRA Kyoto’s–demands is her personal assistant, Kageyama Natsumi. This poor girl has been on hard times, due to their shared promotion, Pro Wrestling YUGEN, going on indefinite hiatus. Natsumi decided to take on the job as a failsafe for her new lack of income. She was never going back to her anchor job. Never.]

“Sumiiiii.”

[Sumi was a nickname for close friends. I wouldn’t consider Natsumi and ULTRA close. Sadly, trying to tell ULTRA not to do anything she wants to…is a recipe for disaster.]

“Yes, Platin—Kyoto?” Sumi managed to catch herself before slipping out.

[ULTRA approached Natsumi, her shoes making noise off the marble floor.]

“These people need to get the message. If you—no, if we mess up, then they’ll fixate on that. Just wait for my signal, and we’ll be right as rain. This has to be perfect. Do you understand me?”

[Natsumi didn’t reply with words. She only nodded.]

“Perfect.”

[ULTRA beamed at Natsumi, which I find to be more unsettling than anything else. There was more shuffling, papers being moved, tape being applied. Once the sounds stopped, ULTRA let out a soft laugh.]

“Sumi, you may remove the lens cap.”

[Natsumi followed orders. As she did, the camera was flooded with an intense array of images. All across the wall was a mural of ULTRA Kyoto’s career thus far. Most of which consisted of her victories, highlights, and her sole championship victory. ULTRA herself sat in the center of the collage on a stool. Her arms were outstretched, presenting her career with a boastful grin.]

“APEX Wrestling, you are witnessing the birth of your newest, most exciting prospect. I am ULTRA! I am undefeated, and I am your next Next Level Champion!”

[That’s not entirely true. It’s a statement drenched in possibility.]

“And you want to know why I can say that?” ULTRA’s grin faltered a little. “Because I’ve already won my first match! How lucky was I that the upper brass decided to give me such a beautiful opportunity! I walked into the contendership match and I eliminated every single person by myself. I didn't even need any help. No one in the match ran interference. I didn’t even have to sneak out any eliminations. I just did it! I WON!”

[That’s a bold-faced lie.]

“BECAUSE I AM ABSOLUTE!”

[Natsumi stumbled back at the outburst.]

“So, Judith, my sweet, murderous champion, I need you to listen closely to me. I need you to rewatch the tape on repeat. Because you’re being challenged by someone brand new. You have faced the same sort of people your whole entire career.. It’s why I couldn’t let someone like Bea Havertz come after you again. She thought to herself that she was beyond effort. In response, I thought to myself that I had to eliminate her first. She was crafty, I’m sure. She’s athletic—most people are in this sport, it’s not special. She had an inflated ego. But I came to an easy conclusion about her when I decided to eliminate her first.”

“She had already tried and failed against you? So why does Matt Miles keep trying to push her down our throats?” the tiny woman shrugged off the notion and gave an easy answer. “I think he just doesn’t want to deal with the headache anymore.”

“Regardless, when the bell rang, I dragged her out of the ring and I demonstrated to you that we’re like-minded,” ULTRA said, relieving the ‘memory’ for a moment. “We both have a predilection for ultraviolence. Though, we come from entirely different cultures. Think of it as a calling card. I wanted you to see what I can do when I have someone’s life in my hands.”

Getting up, she approached the camera. She leaned down to it, as if she was whispering a secret. “You said it best. All of my opponents bore you to death,” she paused. “Don’t worry, they bored me too.”

She began to saunter back, her back towards the camera. “It’s remarkable to think that my first bout of competition came with charity cases. I’m not some broken pieces of muscle and ego tied together with string. I’m not some criminal, masquerading as a changed man. I’m not some broken toy, thinking that I’m anything beyond my failures. As I said, I AM ULTRA!”

“Those people, those things, they weren’t ready for me. No matter what they brought to the table, their accolades, their experience, their talents, was enough. The remaining three people all look at me with such contempt because they couldn’t quantify what I was. I broke a Samoan’s head open with my own. Top Tier couldn’t stand against the God Tier that I am. The Eye of the Storm got annihilated by a Category Five Hurricane. The audience went dead silent, witnessing what I did.”

ULTRA stretched her arms out. “And like this, I stood in front of my new audience, and I forced them to understand what was coming for…you, Judith.”

“Did you hear me dedicate that carnage to you?” her words came out in a sensual tone. “Are you ready to meet me as much as I am to meet you?”

She leaned over and winked at the camera. “See you soon.”

[While she spoke, ULTRA scanned each photograph plastered on the wall. Of course, she didn’t do it herself. She had money. Why would she ever do anything herself?]

ULTRA raised a finger.

[She wants me to shut up.]

“Sumi, come here,” she commanded, the enthusiasm in her voice trickling out like sand. Sumi obliged, though she recognized the dead tone well. It meant something had gone awry. Sometimes, it was as simple as her food not being warm enough. Rarely, ULTRA faced something astronomical that upset her balance.

[This was one of those times.]

“Do you see this?” ULTRA murmured, prodding a picture. Amidst the collage of success, there was a picture of her being defeated. It was when she lost to Nao Saesuga for the Pro Wrestling Yugen Eunoia Championship. Sumi watched as one of the corners of ULTRA’s mouth tugged. Her frown began to transfigure into a snarl.

“I’m sorry,” Natsumi tried.

“Just get rid of it,” ULTRA turned from the wall, storming off without another glance. Natsumi took the picture down and chased after her boss. As she kept pace, the camera picked up ULTRA mumbling.

“How dare they? How did they put heinous propaganda like that in my video?” she growled. “Lies and deceit, I swear.”

“Risa, it was probably an honest mistake.”

ULTRA twisted on her heel, glaring down at her employee. “Don’t you ever call me that! That’s not my name anymore, do you understand me? That weak, little brat doesn’t live here anymore! She’s not the one fighting here! It’s me!”

“I’m so sorry! I didn't mean to--"

“Just…just get me my ticket and hotel set up,” ULTRA stopped to gaze around the locale. She nodded and turned to leave again.

“Anything else?” Natsumi asked, keeping a small distance between her and ULTRA.

“Yeah,” she said, “tell them to burn this whole place down.”