Until It Sleeps...

[HiroShinMozas]

It was a quiet room, a bit secluded from the rest of the fourth floor of St. Petersburg General Hospital -- Hiro hadn't asked for it, but it was the one he was given. Hiro Shin-Mozas had been stuck up in a hospital room for five days following his defeat at the Royal Rumble. There was multiple surgeries to remove thumbtacks that became so jammed into his body there was no simple way of pulling them out -- he suffered a concussion that needed round the clock attention for the first few days, and his arm was opperated on once again, as he needed to close his wound that had ripped open again during the match. It was made clear to Hiro, and to the medical staff at WWF:G, that he was not premitted in the ring for the forseeable future, and his stay in the hospital would be anything but brief. The Ethnic Enigma hurt, his whole body felt like a festering wound that was infected with failure and shame. He looked down at his arm to view the IV that was hooked right up to a major vain, and running through his mind was a never-ending thought of ripping it away and leaving on his own. She wouldn't like that, though, Hiro thought. He leaned back in his bed and looked out the window, a beautiful view with a straight shot to Tropicana Field, where the Royal Rumble was held and where Cartwright put an end to their story on his terms.

Hiro looked across the room, and saw a set of flowers -- he had no idea who they came from, as he knew full well at this point he had no friends left in the locker room at WWF:G. It was a different world in that company now, and with the past almost entirely put to bed, the connection he had to it was now through history. A large group of contemporaries and peers, and nothing inbetween. The thought lingered, but would dissipate quickly as there was a knock at the door. A nurse came in and let Hiro know he had a visitor -- to which the Ethnic Enigma perked up a little over. Who could be coming to see him? It was surely a surprise, though in the back of his head, he remained a little uneasy. It could be anyone, it could be Cartwright coming to serve him his papers -- or maybe the now heel Nuke Fusion coming to get some more heat. It could be the devil himself come to reap with his stolen blade.  

[WhosBadNowBoys1]

The door opened slightly, and the few seconds felt like ages before a figure finally stepped in, opening the door fully revealing a man dressed in caiques, a light coat with light blue sleeves and black torso on it, and black CP3 11 shoes. Bad Boy slowly walked at the foot of the bed, taking a look at the mess of a human being that was laying on the bed.

Thanking the nurse for showing him to the room after she was done looking through and adding whatever was needed at the time, and she took her leave from the room.

A long minute passed by as both men stared at each other. Bad Boy observing the damage. He had watched back the match the day after the Rumble to see if the beating was as bad as everyone was making it out to be, and they were more than correct.

Granted at the same time, the mixed feelings were there because there had been a bit of enjoyment coming from the beat down seeing what happened the last time these two were in the ring, included two other men that scammed him beyond belief and lead to yet another Wrestlemania Main Event loss.

The rush of emotions went through Brad's head, but finally he settled down and realized why he was here.

"Do you even remember what happened?"

 

[HiroShinMozas]

Hiro had been prepared for the worst as the door creeked back open, but was stunned to silence as Bad Boy entered the room. There was a laundry list of options, and he wasn't one of them -- not in Hiro's mind. Bad Boy looked over the breathing corpse before him and seemed to have a tinge of mixed emotion swirling about within. The Ethnic Enigma had defeated him at Wrestlemania eight years ago in that infamous triple threat that was truly the beginning of the end for Hiro, and for many left Bad Boy as the after-thought. Hiro pushed up his aching body with a creek of the bed and sat up straight, adjusting it to keep him that way. It was true that Hiro had heard Bad Boy was back, but he hadn't had the opportunity to digest that knowledge the way things had been going. It was almost fitting, though. He had confronted everything from that ill-fated 2016 feud, except the man before him. The last piece of the puzzle. The real reason that Fiscal Responsibility was able to get by and take the world championship from him.

"You're going to have to be a bit more specific, Bad Boy. I remember a lot of stuff, but there's a few things I'm fuzzy on. So, be more specific for me."

 

[WhosBadNowBoys1]

"You know what I mean..."

Bad Boy would step back and turned, his eyes looking across the x-rays of Hiro's mangled body.

"Years ago I made a deal...an agreement with a man and his personal lacky. It was a way for me to finally get what I wanted. Get what I deserved. I was the best in this business and yet...it slipped away. Slipped away because the man that I made that deal with ripped his end of the deal off, and tried to scam me out of everything."

Bad Boy would reach and grab a random tool on the counter, looking at it as he's continuing on...

"But I had everything under control, I won the Royal Rumble from number 1 and had Wrestlemania and the main event locked. My second time. I was going to put away that son of a b***h and get my championship back. Get the ending I wanted."

Brad tossed the tool back on the counter and turned slowly towards Hiro.

"Yet...something...got in the way.

I know that you had history with the man...but that is a night that I cannot let go..."

 

[HiroShinMozas]

Hiro would gulp as Bad Boy began to go over the events of eight years ago, recounting how he had alligned himself with Freakshow to form Fiscal Responsibility -- and how that it was really all about the great power for the shah, in the end. As Bad Boy picked up the tool, Hiro would cringe slightly, his hand moving under the blanket towards the call button. If the man before him were as he once was, Hiro would need the help. However, Bad Boy put it down, and Hiro's guard dissipated as he realized this was not a hit...it was a burial. He pushed himself up further in the bed, his body creeking as he did so and his blood pressure shooting up a bit as seen on the monitor beside the bed. The Ethnic Enigma couldn't look his Wrestlemania opponent in the eye as he finished what he had to say.

"I...I guess I can't blame you there, huh? You know, Brad, that night was huge for me. I got to go out there, prove myself one final time...make up for the screw up I'd been for years, and for the way Freak treated me along the way. I guess, you really ended up being an unfair bit of colateral even if you and Question ended up being a big part of what took that title from me in the first place. I get why you'd still hold something against me for that, for coming in and taking your moment from you, and when I saw just how clear it was that you were being used by Russo and Freak...I felt bad. By the time Wrestlemania came around, when I'd really embraced the fact that people sometimes do the wrong thing but aren't really bad people for it...it was a bit too late for me to maybe do the right thing by you. The fact is, your fate that night was sealed because of the company you chose to keep. We both were too late to changing that future. Now look where we are -- I'm a few more hits away from dying, and you're back in the saddle again chasing that moment that so many have taken from you. I tell you what...I'd maybe rather be you right now."

Hiro painstakingly reached down to the IV and adjusted it's strength, allowing more medicine to enter him as he could feel his abdomen being crushed by the attempts to sit up straight and be as man-to-man as possible with Bad Boy as he could be. He tried not to show too much weakness in this moment, but there was just so little he could do to avoid it.

"Since I came back to the business, I've been on a crusade to confront all those who did wrong by me, and even some who I've done wrong by...and come to a mutual understanding. Whether that meant we buried the hatchet with a handshake or with some wicked heavy blows...I've cleared my list up...except for you. The Marauders, Nuke, Cartwright, they all played a part in taking that championship from me that fateful January night...and so did you. All of them, I've gotten the chance to either fight, or speak my piece to...and right now, I'm gonna offer you my hand and say I forgive you for what happened, and I'm sorry for not letting you have your moment."

Sheepishly, Hiro's shaking hand would reach from the bed and extend out towards Bad Boy, offering him a moment of peace for both men that had been left out to dry since the Summer of 2016. It was still covered in blood, bruised, and perhaps a bit crusty -- but it was peaceful all the same.  

[WhosBadNowBoys1]

Bad Boy kept the stare at Hiro, listening in on what he was saying. He had come into the room as calmly as possible, trying to avoid working himself up.
Instead he began thinking about that night and that entire year and ended up with his blood boiling. People could sense his anger and his face slightly turning red.

Hearing Hiro's side, he turned around again, his back to Hiro, his hands on the counter looking down. Something about what was said in that was off...
Hearing his real name being spoken hit him differently. What Hiro said hit him hard. A few moments passed before Brad spoke again.

"That wasn't the only thing that happened that year. I ended up on the worst end of another dispute and lost the championship again. Then I ended up back at Mania...and lost everything.

I did work for other places, but they're not here. They're not what I grew up dreaming of being.

It took me years to come back to be accepted again, I didn't believe when I heard the crowd upon my return. I feared it would've been worse than before."

Brad took one deep breath, seemingly the millions and millions of things that were passing through his head were starting to disappear, his face turning back to a normal color.

"But I thought about it all again. In reality none of that was your fault. In reality I was to one that messed that all up. I was the one who decided to make a deal with that devil.
You were someone that also was looking to get back at the same individual as I was. I was too blind by my greed and anger to see it. "

Brad turned back around and slowly stepped forward to Hiro.

"I've watched the past few months, and thought through everything. I say the same thing to you as you did me, you are a good man. You are the type of person this world needs. You fell victim to my greed alongside what that madman was doing to the both of us.

For that, I apologize for what I've done."

Brad extended his hand, grasping the hand of Hiro, the final sign of peace between the two was made.

 

[HiroShinMozas]

Hiro gripped Brad's hand as tightly as he could, which wasn't much, as the two shared a moment of healing that was long overdue. The Ethnic Enigma could feel what were weights that had been crushing his heart for a long, long time finally give way. This closure was all he really needed to move past what had been plaguing him since his retirement. As he had waged war against Brantley Summers, Nuke Fusion, and Cartwright -- he too had battled former best friends in Jamie Bader and Rex Kobra, while attempting to earn forgiveness from Salem Croft. He confronted the fact that he'd never lost the WWF:G World Championship in his battle with Drako Damone, and was at the mercy of the future of the business against Avari Fusion. Since he had returned, he had yet to win a match -- but it seemed as though, right here and now, he could finally find peace within his heart to retire once more. His body had been begging for it...and his mind struggled to slow down long enough to really apply logic to the horrific situation he found himself in. As he and Brad broke their handshake, it was once again a war of brain vs brawn.

"You know, Brad...I do owe you one for all of this. I was actually pretty upset that I had to retire when I did in 2016, and even now, it feels like I screwed you out of a rightful one on one match we should have had. I'll be honest, I'm a bit beat up right now, and I could never take you on at 100%...but, St. Valentine's Day Massacre is a week away. I know I won't be ready to go for it, but at No Way Out...well, I'll definitely be out of this bed by then, healed up enough to get by. How about it? I'll give you the match I owe you. No better way to write the next chapter than with a fight, right?"

 

[WhosBadNowBoys1]

Brad took a few steps back from Hiro after he finished, his eyes a little wide, his hands tensing up. Hearing the full challenge...normally he would let someone be a man of their word and accept the challenge...but this was a case where things became harder for him.

Brad's hand wiped across his mouth as he turned away and moved a few steps, looked around for the white board seeing if the nurses were updating the date for Hiro...turned out the white board didn't even have the date up and Bad Boy shook his head before turning back around to Hiro.

"That's the issue...St.Valentine's Day Massacre alright happened...Hiro...it was just yesterday"

Bad Boy again wiped his hand across his chin, looking up to try to think of how to break things to him. Maybe break the easier news to him...

"I was suspended by Cartwright. After what I did to Russo at the Royal Rumble the a*****e decided to ban me from the show.

But he also...told me something else that I thought the word would've been told to you..."

Brad once again turned around, taking a few steps wondering how he'd break the news to the man. Something that is tough to give to anyone at all. However he didn't want to keep the man waiting, so he finally just said the news.

"Listen Hiro...Cartwright told me that...

If you don't win a match by Wrestlemania...he is terminating your contract with the WWF."

 

[HiroShinMozas]

WHAT?! Hiro's mind began to spin as he had been alerted to the fact that not only was he completely wrong about the date -- meaning he'd probably been in and out of sedation for longer than he'd thought -- but his future had been decided for him already. That English Rat, the boss, he and Russo had most certainly cooked up that decision. Hiro went red in the face as his blood pressure pumped up higher and higher, causing an alarm to sound from the speakers on his bed. Hiro would push himself up fully and over the side of his bed, his feed landing on the floor. He stood up quickly and would instantly fall back on to his bed, his head too bogged down by morphine to offer him the gift of balance. He couldn't believe what he'd heard as nurses came into his room in a frenzy, trying to force him back into the bed and to calm him down, a security guard and doctor entering as well. The guard would confront Bad Boy, trying to let him know that visiting hours have come to an abrupt end today and he had to go. Hiro would not allow them to escort him away without a message, however.

"BRAD...BRAD! You tell him, you tell Cartwright, he isn't getting what he wants! You tell him to book it, you tell him Brad -- you and me at No Way Out, and if he wont book it, then he wont have a show! Bad Boy vs Hiro, don't let him get away with it Brad! Don't let another b*****d get in our away!"

Finally, the nurses were able to subdue Hiro long enough to inject something into his IV that started to calm him down, ending his passionate rant. He would fall back into a laying position in the bed, and the intense moment would pass for now -- but would surely give way to many more on the road to Wrestlemania.  

[WhosBadNowBoys1]

Brad still couldn't believe what he was hearing...despite being told his career was basically on the line...one of his chances he was just accepting a match with him?

After a bit of confusion, Bad Boy's demeanor changes.

"You know what? Let's ******** do it. No Way Out it's me and you..."

Looking at his body for a second before looking back into his eyes.

"Just prepare yourself...I'll see you then."

Bad Boy nods before turning around and walking through the door. He accomplished what he wanted...and got way more than he thought he'd get.

 

[HiroShinMozas]

It was hours later that Hiro would come to, his eyes sunken in from the amount of sleep he'd just gotten. It was the middle of the night now, and Bad Boy was long gone -- and so was the numbing that the medicines he'd been injected with had been providing. His body ached, but at this point he wasn't going back to sleep. The Ethnic Enigma leaned up a bit and looked around, noticing his phone had several dozen missed calls and texts as he peaked over at the table across the room. Figuring it might be important, he planned to get up and check it...but the darkness of the room was a bit much. Hiro reached over to the remote at the foot of his bed and turned on the television, some much needed light illuminating his path. As he sluggishly brought his legs over the side of the bed, the commercials on the screen gave way to a breaking news signal. The slug at the bottom of the broadcast: continuing coverage of escaped convict explosion. Hiro, however, didn't pay any attention in the moment -- he just needed the light. As he arrived at his phone, he unlocked it and realized that nearly all of the missed calls were from his lawyers. Hiro looked up at the television out of instinct, remembering the last time he had been bombarded by his legal council...and as he did, he dropped his phone with a thud to the ground.

Hiro's eyes widened and once again his heart-rate would pick up rapidly, as if water nearing a boil. Pictures and Footage, a name splattered across the screen -- Blackjack had escaped from prison once again. He had just been approved to choose his own means of death by way of the highest court in the country...and yet, here he was, running from the fate that even he seemed to desire. The night shift nurse came into the room in a panic, but was releaved to find Hiro standing in place seemingly in shock but not suffering from a medical episode. She walked to the Ethinic Enigma, speaking softly to him. "Mr. Hiro, we're going to need you to lay back down, alright? I need to administer some medicine to help calm your heart down. If you need something, I can get it for you, but please, you need to lay down." Hiro's body would tremble as the fear crawled across the floor and latched on to his feet, moving slowly up his legs as it settled in the pit of his stomach. There was something soothing in the words of the nurse who came to his rescue, and he listened to her, moving slowly as he shivered away at a now ever-growing sickness.

The nurse would ease him in under the covers, and check his IV. "Oh no...you've begun to bleed, I'll need to flush it." Hiro's pupil dilated as he leaned back in the bed, a thousand fears a minute and several hundred more intrusive thoughts raving about his hippocampus as if Spring Break came early this year. The nurse would take care of his IV, and the now catatonic Hiro lay entirely still in his bed, unable to process what was playing out any further. He just...ran out of RAM. The nurse would make sure he was at least marginally comfortable and would adjust his table next to him, placing his phone there within reach and deciding to put the flowers there as well as a way of giving him something nice within eyeshot. She looked up at the television, and decided it would be best to turn off such scary, upsetting news. She would remind Hiro to press his button if he needed anything more and exited the room, leaving the Ethnic Enigma in the darkness.

This darkness, however, was not normal -- as his eyes peered across the room, in corners he would see a figure. The red light of the television from being off reminded him of a lit cigarette. The vase of flowers next to him...it looked like a hat. While the medicine was beginning to kick in, stopping his heart rate from raging too far out of the normal lines, a feeling of fight-or-flight still entered Hiro's head and he shoved out against the vase, knocking it to the ground and shattering it. The pieces flew about the room, but to the surprise of Hiro, nobody came into the room to investigate what the sound was. Perhaps the nurses were no longer in his immediate area? Hiro would look over to the side, immediately regretting his decision as now someone would have to walk on shards of vase later -- and as he turned his phone's light on to view the damage, he noticed something horrifying: a blade amongst the wreckage. Hiro would again turn his body to hang his legs over the bed and step onto the ground, doing his best to watch his step. He leaned down and picked up the blade, the first he'd seen in quite some time, and took a few steps backward to sit down on the bed again. He studied it, and then opened it up, knowing now who these flowers had come from. He was stunned however, as etched into the blade...was the name "Bad Boy". Hiro threw the knife down to the ground and started to scream, pressing the button for the nurse over and over again and slamming the device against the side of his bed for good measure. It was within moments not that the nurse would show up, but Hiro would slump over and pass out from the shock of the situation. There was evil in the air, a harbinger of death was that blade and Blackjack would soon arrive to finish what was perhaps his longest hunt.