Sans Soleil

[NeoBiishikiGun]

It’s raining outside. The glasses of one of Sakisama’s many rooms in her grandiloquent palace don’t look that pristine anymore. The sun shines on no part of the NEO Biishiki-Gun estate. The view from the window is humid, bleak, dare I say … ugly. If the Lady of this whole family had been perfect herself lately, maybe she would possess the right to reject the unsightly view in front of her. But for now, she has to sit and she has to watch as her house remains under siege by the nasty drops of rain.

“You once told me about your Mediterranean trips during your apprenticeship, Sensei?” questions the aforementioned Lady.

The illumination in the room is also far from perfect given the state of the sky. Still, it’s possible to see Sakisama sitting on an antique chair and sipping on her tea. Her posture, despite everything, seems very orderly and very in fashion. Despite her failures, she does make an attempt to hold herself to the highest standard.

As she should.

“It was, once, the center of the world, connecting every major power of the world through teh route of the sea.” replies the Sensei in question. The man is not a stranger to those who watched EBWF weeklies a few weeks before as Sakisama’s personal doctor, mentor and occasional butler Yukio Saint-Laurent is the one standing behind her chair, watching the same bleak sky that his Lady does. “Many important voyages went through one corner of this sea to the other. To attack, to trade, to plunder. Nowadays, we have a bigger, grander world out there, don’t we?”

“Look at me, Sensei, I’d been talking about bringing the winds of change to EBWF from day one and now that the same winds have turned into a storm before changing direction and hitting my tight ship straight in the deck … I start complaining like an old lady.”

There is a not-so-sweet and not-so-happy tone to her lady-like chuckles now.

“How unsightly of me.” is her conclusion.

“Another thing about the Mediterranean region is, my Lady, that I got to see and appreciate the history behind those ancient regions, far before yours and even my time.” Yukio continues. “I saw the ancient temples in former Greek and Roman territories. Powerful and graceful deities, all enshrined with many buildings and even more legends.”

“I’d been there myself.” Sakisama adds. “Though like you, it was way after those legends stopped to be believed and remained nothing but myth. Gods and goddesses who were once all-powerful and worshipped by many lost their influence to the cruel sands of time.”

“Is this what’s happening to me, Sensei?” Sakisama questions. “Am I simply being defeated by time?”

“You are as beautiful and as graceful as the day that I found you, my Lady.” is the immediate answer.

“So … how can any schmuck using their dreams as fuel get one over me nowadays?” the grip on her teacup is strengthened.

“I thought you would have the answer yourself, my Lady.” Once again, Dr. Yukio is quick to answer back. “To you, this EBWF expedition is just another footnote of your life, you have conquered masses too many times in the past that you are practically running on autopilot.”

“But those regular peasant folk … this is the peak of their life. To Miss Hoshiki, there is no difference between not being able to wrestle and not being able to breathe. So, she fought for her life. Same with Miss Bliss, she had been broken too many times in the past and had to put the pieces back together that many times … that being broken for you is equal to death for her.”

Sakisama just takes a sip of her tea to this interpretation by Dr. Yukio.

“You are in no danger or risk of being ruined, destroyed and annihilated by them. The one, only and single option they can ever hope to have is to beat you in the ring.” he further elaborates. “Think of the myths, my Lady. Many gods and goddesses have their plans foiled by regular mortal heroes. But in the end, those heroes passed away and the divine remained simply that, divine.”

“And now, it is simply up to you to decide that if you’re willing to continue like this, be the Goddess that remains divine but have your plots ruined occasionally by heroes strong enough ... ” The good doctor grabs the empty teacup from Sakisama’s plate.

“ ... or … if you’re going to make this crusade the most important thing going in your life … and show the heroes exactly why you are the Goddess and they are the mortals.”

With that, Dr. Yukio Saint Laurent heads for the door. Just before he can exit the room, a call from Sakisama stops him.

“Doctor, on your way, please tell Utami to come and see me.” She requests. “I think it’s time we start unleashing her crimson wrath on those she has burned before.”

Yukio takes this request with a nod and is out of the door soon after, leaving Sakisama alone with her thoughts.

Rain is a force of nature. Once upon a time, it was not understood by the collective human consciousness. Some would argue that humans have made gods sad and the raindrops were their divine tears. With time, science advanced and the understanding behind the phenomenon of rain got stronger and stronger. Nowadays, we know what exactly rain is and why it happens and how it happens and what happens because of it.

However, we have no ability to cause the rain to appear or to stop. Rain is a force of nature. Not man, not machine. Like winds, like waves, like storms, like the sun and like the very time itself. We can’t change their essence on our own but we can adjust to them.

Rain is unsightly, it ruins the scenery especially during Sakisama’s delicious morning tea.

Yet, Sakisama knows that without the water from the rain, without the rays of the sun and without the time to grow … the herbs to make the tea would simply not grow. The plants would stagnate, there would be no worth in planting them. The art of gardening or even the simple essence of agriculture would cease to exist.

Beauty can’t take shape instantaneously. Like her gardens, her very own pride and joy, it also takes time and the right approach to grow.

Sometimes, it’s not the worst thing in the world to let nature humble you and show you that you aren’t exactly making the right approach. Be it the nature of the skies or the soil or the very same nature that allows people to exist and thrive and be ruined.

The same nature that allows wounded, out-of-their-depth animals to fight for their lives when they are cornered and have nowhere else to go.

How unsightly. How tedious.

-------------------------------------------------

The antique chair is now directed to you as you’re required to watch and listen to your Goddess. Her address is once again shown live on titantron as it’s clear that this is a direct address to EBWF.

Sakisama: “Vindication is an ugly feeling so I simply do not feel any vindication from what happened. Little Miss Bliss has followed the wrong lead, put everything she possessed against me and whatever she had left helped her survive me in the ring.”

She is mockingly extending her hands and clapping.

Sakisama: “For that, a little ‘congratulations’ is in order for the sewer troll that put me down for three seconds. This shall be the greatest glory you will ever have in your miserable life, Lexi, or whatever life you had left. For you see, EBWF, putting everything you have against me leaves you with one very obvious weakness. Right after your moment of ‘victory’, you are left absolutely vulnerable. Why? Because I have taken every single drop of Lexi’s energy and fight before the referee could finally raise her hand, she was completely defenseless when the real culprits of her ‘career ending metal trey attack’ showed up and put her down for good. So, no, this is no vindication. This is simply … pleasure. Purified from the ugly sides of vindication. Whilst losing a wrestling match gives me no pleasure on its own … I am simply glad that Alexa Bliss has paid a price for being dumb enough to go after me and putting all of her energy in beating me.”

These negative comments, of course, are greeted with boo-ing from the crowd. Sakisama, reacting to them, simply puts a single finger over her lips.

Sakisama: “Shush, all of you! You are equally to blame for this disaster as Miss Bliss are. You fueled her fragile delusions. You did not try to make her see sense and make her realize that I was obviously not the one to attack her backstage. You have no right to boo me.”

When you tell a crowd to not boo you, of course, their reaction is going to be boo-ing you even harder.

Sakisama: “I was right about her. She is no fit for the war. She can win the battles but a general is worthless if they are assassinated right after winning the battle. Alexa shall see no war for she is too weak for it. As for me, I could have prevented this war had this distracting affair not happened. So, she and by proxy, all of you is also responsible for the unsightly horde of Oedo Tai rising to prominence to the top of this temporary food chain. We could have cut the head of the snake while it was still young … but now, we are to deal with a Hydra. I am not pleased but I will deal with this problem myself regardless.”

The prospect of the Goddess dealing with Oedo Tai herself personally does get a few cheers but it’s nothing to write home about.

Sakisama: “I feel like I should make this a bit more clearer than it should be to common sense because I am still distracted by the absolute nobodies that the company insists on throwing at me.”

A sigh escapes her lips.

Sakisama: “At least it’s not Becky for the hundredth time.”

She puts a dramatic hand on her forehead, indicating her tiredness with The Lass Kicker.

Sakisama: “Personally, I should disclose that I have my own doctor that takes good care of me. I am, quite frankly, disturbed by the implication that a teeth doctor is going to be wrestling with me. As the goddess that I am, all parts of me are perfect, including my dental health. It is not really hard to see that Miss Baker will not keep her disgusting hands to herself. It really will be an uncomfortable experience for both of us.”

A really animated display of disgust follows.

Sakisama: “Because Britt, for every time your hands will be in my mouth … I will make sure to knock down one tooth of yours down your throat. You will watch your hands or I will make sure that no one goes to a toothless dentist anymore.”

A toothy grin from Mademoiselle to show that her teeth are indeed, in very pristine condition.

Sakisama: “The so-called authorities think that this is the match that I have to make a statement on. Every breath of mine, every step I take are a statement of perfection on its own. Maybe my recent … losses … has made you believe that I need to see a doctor because yes, I do understand that those are losses that I would not normally take and it might give the impression that something is wrong with me.”

She takes a deep breath after that.

Sakisama: “Do not fret. Nothing is wrong with me. Utami has been mentioning a lot of modern lingo lately so maybe her crude words will describe this unsightly dentist better than my eloquent ones can … “

She does seem a bit uncomfortable with the next part.

Sakisama: “Dr. Britt Baker M.I.D will fall by my hands. And when she does, you’ll see just how healthy I am. And after that, I will be able to assess the war at hand. The more you try to distract me, the more you will be allowing Oedo Tai to be the dominant force in EBWF.”

She flips her hair and gives the camera one last dramatic look before closing with her parting words.

Sakisama: “So, EBWF, I advise you to make your choice very, very wisely.”