Description: Heihachi's rounds of anti-Ken Masters interviews unsurprisingly leads to her being met by Bethany. Within which he reveals the foundation for his competition... the KUMA LEAGUE.
Bored.
Bored bored bored.
Bored bored bored bored bored bored bored.
There is only so long a girl can sit around at home waiting for something interesting to happen. Bethany hates these times between projects, when pieces are lining up and things falling into place. They bore her senseless. So, she had decided to seek her own entertainment. Who gives a damn that some waste of space little city somewhere is being made to explode? It isn't exciting. It is dull.
When she had heard that Ken Masters had been mauled by a lunatic with a bear, though, that, had justified some investigation. Cue Bethany spending three hours on Wikipedia reading up on Heihachi, the Mishima Zaibatsu, and the world of japanese corporate politics in general. She has never laughed so much.
One quick private jet ride and a phonecall later, Bethany Cale has secured an interview at a private room of the Southtown Hilton. Her camera crew look nervous - there is probably a bear coming after all.
She herself looks as stunning as ever, in a tight black business pantsuit, and she waits, patiently, for the man himself to arrive. Heihachi Mishima.
Her new hero.
Heihachi, still riding on a wave of interviews regarding his incident with Ken Masters, was only more then happy to accept yet another curious individual's request to meet him. Although apparently it is never quite safe to deal with Heihachi, for many reasons. He is a man who is generally accepted to be 'above the rules', due to a combination of his CEO position, endless wealth, and ability to beat up an entire city's police forces if angered. Still, he's not particularly late to the arranged meeting. A few shouts outside the door from others in Bethany's crew heralds his arrival, the door slamming inwards. The doorknob goes bouncing away, as he strides within while adjusting his tie. He's wearing a form-fitting black suit, which appears to aggravate him. "M,Mr. Mishima!! Your micro-YAAH!" The hapless producer is forced to flee from Kuma, who squeezes in afterwards. "GET AWAY FROM ME!! LIKE I'LL LET A PEON CLIP SOMETHING TO MY PERFECT FORM!!" A set is taken heavily opposite Bethany, massive arms crossing before his chest. Kuma attempts to sit in another chair, which slowly begins to creak before flattening under nearly half a ton of muscle. "KITTEN." he shouts out. Lee quickly stiff-walks in, carrying a satin pillow housing the most adorable kitten that 2 billion in genetic research could make. Placing it on Kuma's lap, a thumb's up is offered before he quickly flees. Kuma begins rolling around and playing with the kitten in a sickeningly cute fashion.
Bethany herself... well, she's not really known for taking anything seriously if she can avoid it. Not because she's particularly powerful socially, not because she's a fighter, but because she comes from a wealthy family and enjoys all the benefits that wealth can buy her. She's not entirely sure she buys Heihachi's 'perfect form' nonsense, but...
She smiles easily, a practiced grin as she turns her gaze on Kuma. That is a sickeningly cute kitten. Naturally, the secretary is beneath her notice. Never flatter the help.
"Mr. Mishima." Bethany says, standing up so she can bow. She's told that is what you are meant to do in Japan. "My name is Bethany Cale. May I just say what an honor it is to meet you here in beautiful Southtown. I'm sure I speak for most of my audience when I say I was outraged by the mistreatment the despicable Masters Corporation has performed against you and Kuma."
Although Heihachi simply remains in his chair with arms crossed, Kuma pauses in his kitten playing to stand up and give a rather proper one back, given his massive physique. It shows more etiquette then the Zaibatsu head has ever bothered with. "Beautiful? This city stinks. ...But yes!" A large fist impacts whatever is near. If it's not a desk, then hopefully Kuma and the kitten aren't within arm's reach. "He profits off the back of countless fighters, and then refuses the PR opportunity of my lovable Kuma?!" He points over to where the grizzly is lickgrooming the mewling feline. "I approached him as a fellow businessman, only for him to spit in our faces. Some people might lack the ability to fight back against his selfish, tyrannical rule over the Leagues, but I DO."
Bethany nods her head, her face becoming a mask of studied concern and empathy. Internally, she's pretty sure this guy is a total fruitcake, but, externally, it is as though Heihachi is talking to someone who really /gets/ it. And she's quick to follow up.
"Well. I'm not much of a fighter myself. A little judo in my teens but, I never had the knack." She flashes an apologetic smile. If Heihachi had actually bothered to read up on her, he'll know that is an understatement; she became America's judo champion at age eighteen, and then abruptly decided she was bored of it. But, that seems unlikely.
"But I'm going to help you in another way. This is just one example of how Ken Master's monopoly on the fighting circuit has run rampant. Over eighty per cent of all fighting footage worldwide funnels money to Ken somehow!" This is a spurious statistic and a total fabrication.
"He sets the rules, he decides what is fine and what isn't. Saturday Night Fight, Neo League AND Neo Development Project are all huge institutions, and where is the up and coming ursine fighter to go to achieve that kind of recognition? We need the government to take a long, hard look at the Master's Corporation and just how much of our fighting media it controls."
Heihachi narrows his eyes for a moment when Bethany claims to have only dabbled in fighting, but makes no further mention of it. To him, it is impossible to disguise one's capabilities. It permutes everyday life, how one moves, how one smiles, how one breathes. It cannot be one hundred percent forgotten! "Ha! It is true. I heard he only acquired Saturday Night Fight through illegal channels perpetuated against Geese Howard. And his brazen overpaying of new fighters in his NDP is outrageous. How can you spur people to advance themselves if they need only win a few times before retiring for life?!" He spits heavily to the side, right on the carpet. "I am going to start my OWN league, however. It is the KUMA LEAGUE. Bears are MANDATORY. All fighters are supplied one. In there, Kuma can finally flourish with his peers, and it will prove to Ken Masters his racist bias is unfounded in the real world!!"
Okay, time to get off the topic of bears, maybe.
"I'm sure the Kuma League will be a great success." Bethany says as diplomatically as she can. Straightening in her chair, she clasps her hands together on her lap.
"Now, for our viewers at home, I don't think many people will have heard of the Mishima Zaibatsu before now, unless they work in the defense industry. Would you care to tell us a little bit about the company?"
It is her experience that powerful men rarely dislike the chance to brag excessively about their work. She's pretty sure this should be a topic which provokes a long response... give her time to figure out where to steer him next, and a nice array of soundbites for editing later.
A hand scratches on Heihachi's chin, as Kuma continues to play with the kitten. Certainly perfect footage of how harmless your average bear is. Of course, your average bear isn't super-intelligent, but that's another matter entirely. He then goes on an eleven minute tirade about Mishima Zaibatsu, why it is the best, why Kazuya ran it into the ground, and how they have shifted from technology to destroy civilians into technology to protect civilians. Somehow he doesn't appear to need a single breath in the entirety, finally accepting a bottle of water to guzzle in the aftermath. "Mishima Zaibatsu's #1 priority now is brand recognition and regional expansion. The world will know us soon!!"
Bethany listens to the tirade. It is a testament to how much she hates Ken Masters that she does it all with only the slightest glassiest look in her eye by the end. When the rant is finally over, she nods her head seriously.
"I've always thought it was important that we work towards defense." She says, "Now, rumors abound that you're quite bored these days." She gestures wildly for some coffee, to wake herself up, off camera. Dear god that had been horrible. "Lots of executives take up sports like golf. Your fighting record speaks for itself, but have you considered conquering the other sports of the world?"
Heihachi doesn't notice any hidden aggravation towards him. That is pretty much how all professional reporters act in his presence. He is not an easy person to deal with, and purposefully makes no attempt to be liked. Such matters are beyond him. "Bored?" Heihachi sounds aghast at the very notion. Although there's few other reasonable excuses for his personal vendetta. "Pfft! There is no point in engaging in other sports. I am already at a Master level in all of them. I suppose I am dabbling in fighting again... but the Mishima Zaibatsu remains my #1 concern..." He could not look more bored and listless while saying this if he tried.
Bethany pauses for a moment after the response. There's all sorts of ways she could take it now. What is painfully obvious is that Heihachi IS bored, but then, he's obviously a fighter playing at being an executive. She's sympathetic to the plight. Boredom is the worst state that can be inflicted on the human mind. And worse, when you've got all the power and money in the world, curing it can become next to impossible.
"So long as you don't decide to take over the world." Bethany laughs, calling back to the earlier comment, "I'm sure we'll all be very happy, and you'll find all the challenge you could ever need in bringing protection to the masses."
Standing up, she offers Heihachi her hand - she'd greeted him in the eastern way, now he can say goodbye in the western way. "Mr. Mishima, it has been a pleasure. If there's nothing else you'd like to say to the world?"
"I promise nothing." Heihachi states matter of factly, sounding less joking then one might hope. His grin is certainly of someone who knows no limits in terms of aspirations. Pushing to his feet, he takes Bethany's hand. And squeezes; if she were anywhere near mundane, she'd have many broken fingers. A simple enough test... for a fighter of her level, it would be simple to endure it. "You are an interesting lady...!!" Letting go, Kuma then moves to offer a handshake next, massive hairy paw waggling invitingly. Heihachi plucks the kitten off Kuma by the scruff, dangling it between two fingers. "Keep the kitten." It's tossed on Bethany's desk with a distressed meow, before he smacks Kuma and heads towards the exit. "COME. WE HAVE PREPARATIONS TO MAKE... FOR THE KUMA LEAGUE!!"
Bethany smiles thinly as Heihachi squeezes her hand, and she squeezes back. When it is broken, she's perhaps a little bruised, but hardly much the worse for wear. The bear is also given a hearty handshake, and she even favors Kuma with a kiss on the side of the muzzle - as she is certain that the bear is very much not going to rip her face off. "Good bye both of you, its been a delight, and I look forward to watching your careers with interest."
The kitten bounces, and she moves to pluck it up as Heihachi leaves. It isn't until the boss is well and truly out of her way that she tuts. "Cameras off." She mutters. "I'm really more of a dog person. Here Elvis!"
From the next room over, the lustrious creature she had rescued from the casino comes padding out, and she smiles genuinely for the first time. She'd been bored, but now she has a priceless genetically modified kitten dangling from her fingertips.
"Good boy Elvis. Dinner time!~"
Log created on 19:28:16 07/07/2012 by Heihachi, and last modified on 20:54:21 07/07/2012.