"He's almost got it! Captain Saicin's almost got it! OH, BUT THERE'S ELEMENO! He's pushing over the ladder! Captain Saicin's going down! He's crashed on his own limo's sunroof! ELEMENO's going up, up, up! AND HE'S GOT IT! ELEMENO's the new champ!"
The announcer's screaming and an audience's uproar reverberate from the speakers of a cheap television, the audio quality grainy from the poor signal. The room the television is placed within is dark, the curtains drawn shut and only the glow from a pro wrestling show illuminating the interior. A coffee table with empty cans and bottles of alcohol piled on top of it, a stained carpet over a wooden floor, and a similarly soiled loveseat sofa with a woman lying on her side towards the television.
It's been... a bad day. Not one of those days that something happened to ruin it, but one where you wake up and just... can't do anything. It's just not there today. It's like your soul is gone and all that's left is an empty husk that can't even get angry it just lost 3000 yen on a bet because Captain Saicin is getting screwed over by management and is forced to put over an overpushed big man that's way too fresh to be on the major stage- I MEAN COME ON, LOOK AT HOW MUCH HE BOTCHED THE ENDING! HE DIDN'T EVEN USE HIS FINISHER BECAUSE THEY HAD TO IMPROVISE!
I'm calm.
And so is Akagi. Well, calm wouldn't be the right word. That implies peace of mind, and that's definitely not what's going on here. Her eyes are practically empty, not even having blinked in an undeterminable amount of time. One might think she were dead if it weren't for the empty beer can still in the hand dangling off the side of the couch. Well, I guess you could attribute that to rigor mortis, but that's not what we're trying to discuss right now. For the last several hours, Akagi has been mindlessly watching television in attempt to make the day go faster, but it's not been working. Something about today has just been eating at her, and she can't seem to pin down why.
The wrestling show ends and bad reality television replaces it. It's the kind she normally despises, but she doesn't change the channel or turn off the TV. She just lays there motionlessly. Like a rock building up moss, the longer the stays there, the more likely it is she'll keep staying there until something makes her move. She faces her greatest battle yet, and it's not looking good for our hero. What she really needs right now is something to break her out of this state. However, the usual people that would do just that are nowhere to be found. She's not scheduled to have a session with Ito today and Ryusei is busy with something she can't remember. It was important, but... the memory is too foggy to come up at the moment.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
Sharp knocking cuts through the stale air of Akagi's apartment. The loud sound makes her head ring and is accompanied by the feeling of a dagger being shoved into her brain from the dehydration she's currently going through. She clutches her head, placing her hands over her ears to try to block out any more sounds. Her balance shifts, and she falls onto the floor and knocks over several cans.
"Ah... biscuits..."
She groans, her face planted against the carpet that reeks of collected beer stains and cigarette smoke. She slowly curls up into the fetal position, desperate to end this torture. She wasn't expecting anybody to show up now. She doesn't have any packages pending, or anyone who would want to come over, so who could it be? For a few moments, she considers just lying there and doing nothing. It sounds like heaven in comparison to having to get up and move to the door. Maybe if she just stays quiet, they'll think she's gone and go away.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
Agony. Her teeth feel like they're about to crack with how hard she's clenching her jaw right now. Whoever's at the door, they've been at it forever. That settles it. The person at the door right now is a demon. That's the only explanation. Who else would be willing to put her through so much suffering? And for what? A laugh? A giggle? What is she, a clown!?
Oh, wait.
Well, even if she is a clown, that doesn't mean she's a clown that has to take this kind of treatment! As the representative for clowns everywhere, Akagi, no, Popsy has to strike down this demon where they stand! In God's name does she act! Ever so slowly, Popsy picks herself up into a crawling position. She tried standing, but the room started twisting in bad ways and that told her that would be a bad idea right now. She drags herself through the battlefield of beer cans, cigarette butts, and miscellaneous trash on her floor, getting out from behind her coffee table. Her target is the door only a few feet away, but she has to get through some serious opposition first: trash bags filled to the brim placed in front of her door. It was supposed to be a way for her to not forget to take out the trash when the leaves the house, but in the cases where she doesn't leave for days, it creates an insurmountable wall of plastic lumps.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
"...hold on..."
"...not be home..."
"...right address?"
She collapses, clutching her head again. She's even closer to the door now, and the knocking is driving her nuts. She can barely hear voices from outside the door. So it's not just one demon, it's a cluster of them. These spawns of Satan must pay for their sins and transgressions against this holy land. With a modicum of motivation running through her veins, Popsy is able to move her arms over and barely knock some of the trash bags out of the way. Their contents spill onto the floor, but the eventual cleaning she'll have to do is the last thing on her mind. She bravely crawls forward on her hands and knees to the door and reaches for the handle. She twists the lock clockwise and opens the portal to the hell dimension.
There was just one major problem. One thing Popsy had forgotten in her daze. Her door opens a smidgeon and a line of light shoots into the dark abyss, making her go into a cold sweat. The Devil itself was taunting her. His unholy light was threatening to burn her dehydrated retinas into ash in an instant. She gulps, and only just now notices the voices from outside have stopped. They're waiting for her. They know she's there. She can't turn back here. She only has one option left: she has to face this terror head on.
Popsy takes a deep breath and squints her eyes enough that only the tiniest bits of vision could be seen. She pulls on the door, letting the light fully into her apartment. Warmth hits her face and she can practically feel eyes on her. Bit by bit, she lets a tiniest sliver of light through her eyelids. Searing pain hits her, and her eyes start to water. Nature's way of fighting off the stinging, but it's making her unable to see clearly. She continues to open her eyes and is finally able to see just what is at her door. Unfortunately for her, it's even worse than she thought. The one thing scarier than any demon.
Teenagers.
"Ah... I'm- I'm shorry but I... I-I don't want any cookies right now."
Her words come out slightly slurred and mumbled, a mixture of the alcohol in her system and the poor physical state she's in making it hard to speak clearly. Still on her hands and knees, Akagi has to really crane her neck up to see the kids at her doorstep. She blinks a few times to clear up her vision of the bleariness. You know... for some reason, these kids look familiar...
"P... Popsy?"
She reaches up with one hand and rubs her eye, trying to get it to clear up. The last thing she wants to hear is that her vision is starting to go too. She'd look like such a dork in glasses, not to mention how expensive they'd be. It takes her a few moments to put the pieces in front of her together. That somehow someone who knows her hero name has shown up at her apartment.
"How did you... get this address?"
The teenagers don't say anything for a few moments. One of them looks at one of their friends, and another just looks flabbergasted.
"We're... here for the internship?"
Akagi's mind starts to swirl, memories flooding into her head at the mention of an internship. A tournament hosted by Shiketsu on television. Ryusei and Ito convincing her to try putting out invitations for students. Her getting a letter saying that more than one student was interested in interning under her. That's why Ryusei is busy; he's training his own batch of students. It all makes sense now, but...
So... that was all real? It wasn't just a dream she had? She really did have people who were going to try to learn from her of all people? She was going to be responsible for students with some of the highest potentials in all of Japan?
Oh...
Oh no.