Requiem for the Wrestling Few

By Son Rhandi

Chapter 06: 'Tanzanian Power Lust'

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He didn't imagine Heaven as having a stucco ceiling, nor fluorescent lighting. There wasn't supposed to be any pain, either. He felt like shit... It was only when a woman clad in white came in the room did he realize he was in a hospital. Terry shifted to sit up, but fell back to the bed, clutching his right shoulder and crying out in pain. The medics came through and did their thing, various checks and whatnot, and called the Earth Team back for visiting.

Seiuchin and Mantaro entered, pulling up chairs to his bed side. "Hey fellas," the Texan greeted them warmly.

"Terry, glad to see you awake." The walrus cracked a smile. "How're you feeling?"

"Like I been under a mile-long stampede...twice. But anyway, how'd the match go? Did I win?"

The pig and pinniped exchanged glances. "Uh... Kid... You've been unconscious for three days."

A look of total shock washed over the Kid's face. "Three days..?!" He shot up again, and again the pain in his right sent him back. "Careful, Terry! Your collarbone's fractured! Can't you feel it, your right arm in a sling?"

Another surprise? Terry turned towards the offending side, noticing a blue band running to a limb nestled in a sling of same color. "Fellas..." The Texan looked at them in earnest. "What the hell happened to me?"

Seiuchin sighed, leaving his chair and taking a seat at the foot of Terry's bed. "After that Animus guy transformed or whatever, you lost. Badly. Harabote had to stop the match..."

"We thought for sure you were dead," Mantaro muttered, tugging at his glove. "The doctors were rushing in and out of here for the first few hours. They said you lost a lot of blood. Your legs were in pretty bad shape, too. Totally shattered..."

Terry blinked. He tossed his blanket from his legs, finding them bound in fresh casts. "Well, ain't that a kick in the head... I don't suppose Bully and his friends have gone home..?"

"Actually, since the match, there's been a lot of excitement about Animus all over the place. They're sticking around to sell merchandise..." Seiuchin briefed him, shooting a quick glare the Kinnikuman's way.

"H-Hey! Don't look at me like that!"

"Why not? You bought an action figure..."

"You what?!" Terry shot up again, and, well, you know...

"Well, how could I resist?!" Mantaro retorted, pulling out a Minotoro toy from his back pocket. "Look! It's got 25 points of articulation! Even the fingers move! Plus, it's got an interchangeable mode. See? He goes from manbull to pure bull in seconds!"

"'Pure bull' is right..." The Texan heaved a heavy sigh. "And speaking of things with horns, where's Gaz?"

"We don't know..." Seiuchin's brow furrowed. "We haven't seen him since we got back the night of the match. Harabote's going mad over it... I just... don't know why he would take off like that. There's no reason to it......"

"I hope he's not in trouble or anything..." The whiny voice of Mantaro made itself present.

"I wouldn't worry. Gazelle's a big boy an' he can take care o' himself. When he gets ready to come back, he will, kinda like an outdoor cat comin' home fer dinner Let's just hope our kitty didn't get run over," The wild westerner laughed, but only gained the melancholy looks of his teammates. Looking into their eyes, it finally became clear to him just how much stress had mounted in the Muscle League over the span of six days. Between Animus' arrival, his hospitalization and Gazelle man's disappearance, the Earth forces were getting slammed with bad luck every which way. Whether things became better or worse for the Earth Team depended on whether they could locate Gazelle Man, and even then if they found him alive or otherwise...

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He liked the trinket they gave him. Wasn't much for jewelry, but he liked turtles and it matched his outfit. It was bluster by the mountain where their Gamera was stationed, and out of respect of his fellow grazers, choice a faux leather overcoat and a hat to match--black like his eyes--to keep his heat. The shuttle got to Fuji fairly quickly, about an hour's trip from the downtown area. The grassy knoll brought back memories of his home in the Serengeti, a little greener here, but just as beautiful. He missed running in the African heat, spooking up zebras and watching elephant herds at the waterhole, thinking well on his friends in Arusha......

Gazelle Man shook his head, ridding himself of notions of Africa for the moment and focused on what he would do once he arrived. He didn't know what it was that carried him to those people. Perhaps his curiosities needed to be satisfied--He never did get any answers from them--or maybe he wanted payback for Terry. There was so much blood...... Even still, the rush he felt when Minotoro transformed, when he reverted to his ancestor, the muscular Taurus... If he learned how, could he become even more beautiful as the graceful Gazelle?

As he traversed the hill and came on the horizon, he spotted some lines of people already before him at the ship and what appeared to be a row of tables. As he came closer, he found those three Animus kids playing shop, selling merchandise to humans willing to buy. "That'll be ¥ 5000. Thanks! Have a nice day! Ooh, the Animus School golf shirt? Fine choice... ¥ 3000, please. Thank you! What's that, little fella? You'd like a Minotoro figure? For you, ¥ 4500. Have fun, kid!"

Tamerlion was turning out sales left and right, riding on the good fortune that Minotoro's impromptu match brought. Publicity for the school and cash? Lucky day! Now, if he could only get Seiuchin and Gazelle Man in his leagues...

"Hey, are you going to release plushies of this little guy? He's soooo cute!" A nameless female customer inquired, petting Huskitooth, who chuckled politely, not liking the attention very much. Minotoro, meanwhile, was signing autographs. His handwriting wasn't very good, but when it came to autographs, it really didn't matter as long as it was legible.

"Hey!!"

"No cuts, buddy!"

"Excuse me!!"

"Wait your turn!"

The disgruntled sounds of line goers roused the manbull's ears. A man clad in black coat and matching hat presented himself in front of the signing table. "Hey, buddy," began the bull. "You gotta get to the back o' the line. Be a good fella and wait your turn."

The man pulled up the brim of his hat. "Oh... Mister Gazelle Man......"

"I want to learn the talents of Animus."