BACKSTAGE — CAMERA ON
The camera opens on Stacy Clark standing in a backstage interview area. The distant roar of the arena can be heard through the walls.
Stacy Clark:
“Ladies and gentlemen, joining me now is a man who has certainly made his presence known over the past year. He's collected some impressive victories, made his fair share of enemies, and has become one of the more unpredictable competitors in this company.”
Stacy glances toward the entrance to the backstage area.
Stacy:
“Satoru Sakamoto—”
Suddenly, the lights overhead flicker then a thin layer of white mist begins creeping across the floor from the hallway behind Stacy. Stacy turns, visibly caught off guard.
Stacy:
“Uh...”
The mist rapidly thickens, spreading throughout the interview area. The camera struggles to see through it. A slow, deliberate set of footsteps echoes from within the fog.
Satoru Sakamoto:
“Did you truly expect me to simply walk in?”
The silhouette of Satoru appears through the mist as he steps forward, his Samurai-inspired attire barely visible through the haze. He stops several feet from Stacy and calmly looks toward the camera. The mist continues swirling around his feet.
Satoru:
“A Samurai does not announce his arrival.”
He takes another step forward.
Satoru:
“His presence is felt.”
The mist slowly begins to dissipate, revealing Satoru standing beside Stacy.
Stacy:
“You certainly know how to make an entrance.”
Satoru:
“I don't make entrances, Stacy.”
He looks directly into the camera.
Satoru:
“I make impressions.”
The crowd can be heard reacting from the arena.
Stacy:
“Well, you've certainly made one.”
She turns toward him.
Stacy:
“Satoru, you've been here for nearly a year now. You've had victories, setbacks, and more than a few confrontations. Looking back at everything you've accomplished... Are you satisfied with where you are?”
Satoru gives a faint smile.
Satoru:
“Satisfied?”
He pauses.
Satoru:
“A Samurai does not become satisfied simply because he has won a few battles.”
The mist has mostly dissipated, though a thin haze still hangs around Satoru's boots. He keeps his eyes fixed on Stacy.
Satoru:
“A Samurai does not become satisfied simply because he has won a few battles.”
He slowly turns toward Stacy.
Satoru:
“Victory is temporary. One battle ends, another begins. You defeat one opponent, and another eventually takes their place.”
He pauses, glancing toward the camera.
Satoru:
“I am not here simply to collect victories. I am here to leave something behind.”
Stacy:
“An impact?”
Satoru:
“Exactly.”
He gives a faint smile.
Satoru:
“I want my name to mean something. I want people to hear Satoru Sakamoto and understand exactly what that means.”
He takes a step closer.
Satoru:
“Respect is important. But respect earned through fear... that lasts much longer.”
Stacy watches him carefully.
Satoru:
“I will not be satisfied until I have what I ultimately came here for. I want to stand at the top of this mountain.”
He gestures upward.
Satoru:
“But you don't topple a mountain by attacking the peak.”
He looks down at the floor.
Satoru:
“You start with the smaller bricks. You knock them loose one by one. Then the structure begins to weaken. The smaller pillars begin to fall.”
His expression becomes more serious.
Satoru:
“And eventually, the massive pillars holding the entire thing together begin to crack.”
He looks directly into the camera.
Satoru:
“Then the landscape changes.”
There is a brief silence.
Stacy:
“That's an interesting choice of words.”
Satoru:
“Is it?”
Stacy:
“You've been away for quite some time, Satoru. And then, within the last few weeks, you've suddenly returned and competed in several matches.”
She studies him.
Stacy:
“Where have you been all this time?”
Satoru's expression changes slightly. His confident smile fades.
Satoru:
“Where have I been?”
He looks down for a moment.
Satoru:
“Communing.”
Stacy:
“With who?”
Satoru slowly looks back at her.
Satoru:
“Myself.”
He pauses.
Satoru:
“Or perhaps... the parts of myself most people would prefer remained silent.”
Stacy's expression becomes more cautious.
Satoru:
“I have spent a great deal of time confronting my inner demons. Learning them. Understanding them. Keeping them under control.”
He slowly clenches his hand.
Satoru:
“But demons have a habit of finding cracks.”
Stacy:
“Cracks?”
Satoru:
“Setbacks create them.”
He looks toward the camera.
Satoru:
“And I've had a few setbacks.”
He gives a faint, unsettling smile.
Satoru:
“Some of those demons have started slipping through.”
Stacy pauses before asking her next question.
Stacy:
“And what happens when you stop being able to control them?”
Satoru looks directly at her.
Satoru:
“Perhaps that is what everyone should be afraid to find out.”
Stacy's expression tightens as Satoru mentions Mo Jae. She lets the silence linger for a moment.
Stacy:
“The last time you let those demons loose... that was against Mo Jae, wasn't it?”
Satoru:
“Yes.”
He looks away for a moment, almost as if remembering the match.
Satoru:
“And no... the defeat wasn't a setback. Not really.”
He looks back toward Stacy.
Satoru:
“It was a lesson.”
Stacy:
“A lesson?”
Satoru:
“A lesson that what I want may be considerably more difficult than it first appeared.”
He slowly begins walking through the backstage area as Stacy follows beside him.
Satoru:
“I thought I understood the mountain when I first arrived. I thought I understood what it would take to reach the top.”
He shakes his head.
Satoru:
“I was wrong.”
He stops.
Satoru:
“So I've watched every person who stands in my way. I've studied their matches. Their habits. Their weaknesses. The moments when their confidence becomes arrogance. The moments when fear creeps into their eyes.”
He gives a faint smile.
Satoru:
“Everyone has a flaw.”
Stacy:
“And you've been studying everyone here looking for those flaws?”
Satoru:
“Of course.”
He turns toward her.
Satoru:
“Why would I challenge someone before I understand how to defeat them?”
Stacy:
“Then who, in your eyes, has earned your respect?”
Satoru doesn't hesitate.
Satoru:
“Mo Jae.”
The answer seems to catch Stacy off guard.
Satoru:
“He is the only one.”
He pauses.
Satoru:
“Because Mo Jae showed me something.”
Stacy:
“What?”
Satoru:
“That holding back is not enough.”
His expression darkens.
Satoru:
“I gave him everything I thought I could give him... and it still wasn't enough.”
He slowly looks down at his hand.
Satoru:
“So I had a choice.”
He paused and then sighed
Satoru:
“Accept that I had reached my limit...”
He raises his eyes.
Satoru:
“...or destroy the limit.”
Stacy watches him carefully.
Satoru:
“That was the lesson.”
Stacy:
“And destroying that limit means letting your demons take control?”
Satoru smiles.
Satoru:
“Not just letting them out.”
Long pause.
Satoru:
“Letting them take the wheel.”
The camera slowly pushes in.
Satoru:
“That's what I haven't done yet.”
Stacy:
“Then what happens when you do?”
Satoru looks directly into the camera.
Satoru:
“Then I stop fighting like a man who wants to climb the mountain...”
He takes a step toward the camera.
Satoru:
“...and start fighting like something that intends to tear the mountain down.”
Silence.
Stacy:
“And everyone standing on that mountain becomes a target?”
Satoru:
“Everyone.”
He turns back toward Stacy.
Satoru:
“Because I told you already, Stacy.”
The faintest smile returns.
Satoru:
“I don't want to simply reach the top.”
Satoru:
“I want to reshape the landscape.”
Stacy's expression remains cautious. Satoru stands silently for a moment, the faint haze still lingering around him.
Stacy:
“So where does that leave you now, Satoru?”
Satoru looks toward the camera.
Satoru:
“Where it leaves anyone who has finally realized they have been playing by rules that were never meant for them.”
He slowly looks around the backstage area.
Satoru:
“But perhaps this isn't only about me.”
He turns toward the camera.
Satoru:
“For too long, there have been people here who have been overlooked. The underappreciated. The forgotten. The ones who were pushed aside while someone else was handed the opportunities they deserved.”
He pauses.
Satoru:
“And then there are those who have been wronged.”
His expression becomes more serious.
Satoru:
“People who've found themselves in unfortunate situations. People who've been betrayed. Humiliated. Used. People who've had something taken from them by someone who thought they could get away with it.”
He takes a slow step forward.
Satoru:
“I know what it's like to have something taken from you.”
Beat.
Satoru:
“And I know what it feels like to be told to simply accept it.”
He shakes his head.
Satoru:
“I refuse to accept it.”
The mist begins creeping across the floor again.
Satoru:
“So perhaps my purpose isn't simply to climb this mountain.”
He looks directly into the camera.
Satoru:
“Perhaps I'm here to lead a revolution.”
The crowd can be heard reacting faintly from the arena.
Satoru:
“A revolution of the underappreciated. The overlooked. The wronged.”
He pauses.
Satoru:
“And you know what's interesting, Stacy?”
Stacy:
“What?”
Satoru's expression shifts into a faint smile.
Satoru:
“I've already started.”
Stacy looks confused.
Stacy:
“Started what?”
Satoru:
“Helping someone.”
Stacy's eyes narrow.
Stacy:
“Someone here?”
Satoru doesn't answer immediately.
Satoru:
“Someone who needed that push. Someone who had been wronged and didn't know how to take their power back.”
The mist begins gathering more heavily around him.
Satoru:
“They don't have to stand alone anymore.”
Stacy takes a step toward him.
Stacy:
“Who are you talking about?”
Satoru simply smiles.
Satoru:
“You'll find out.”
Behind Stacy, a television monitor displaying the show's logo suddenly glitches. The screen flickers between static and the show's name before abruptly changing to display: “NOBODY'S SAFE” Stacy turns toward the monitor.
Stacy:
“What the hell—?”
She turns back toward Satoru.
Stacy:
“Is that the person you've been helping? Who is—”
The mist suddenly surges upward, completely engulfing Satoru. Stacy stands frozen as the fog slowly dissipates, only to reveal that Satoru is gone. The camera shifts toward the television behind her, where the screen displays: “NOBODY'S SAFE.” Stacy turns toward the camera, visibly unsettled.
Stacy:
“Ladies and gentlemen... I'm not entirely sure what we just witnessed.”
She glances back toward the empty hallway.
Stacy:
“But apparently, Satoru Sakamoto's plans are much bigger than any of us realized.”
The camera begins pulling away and for a brief moment, a white-hooded figure can be seen standing deep in the background, completely motionless. Stacy doesn't notice, but the figure slowly turns its head toward the camera.
The screen cuts to black. The broadcast immediately returns to the arena for the next match.
By
Satoru Sakamoto ·
