Purity Lost

Darkness. Izumi Sato's head was awash with it. She had been so broken down over the past few months, between the beatdowns, the assault on her parents, the psychological warfare, it broke her down; wore her out. She could feel the whisper of something vile, wicked at the back of her mind now. For the first time in her life, her mind was all black. There was no happiness, no warmth in her heart. All she knew was the cold darkness.

Yet deep down, buried away, a small part of her didn't like what she had been turned into. A part of her fought with all its might to repel the vile invader. And up until Guerilla Warfare, that small part had failed. The darkness was just too strong. It overwhelmed Izumi's consciousness, blocking out that spot in the back of her mind that held on for dear life. Then, it got the chance to push back when it saw what the darkness was doing. When Izumi tried to rip Kira Izumi's face off along with his mask, that small part became emboldened. It pushed back harder and harder, until it forced Izumi to relinquish the hold and step away.

The darkness within her was blindsided, unprepared for an attack of this magnitude. Then her heart started to beat again, and the warmth slowly returned to her body. The darkness had nowhere to go but to be destroyed. It scratched and clawed deep into her consciousness, desperate to hang on, to maintain the grip it had gained on her thanks to Kira Izumi's endless attacks physically, emotionally, and psychologically. But it was no use.

Izumi had lost the match with Kira at Guerilla Warfare, but she had won the war for her soul. Still, the scars left behind by the darkness were deep. Worse yet, Izumi wasn't out of the fire yet. Izumi diden't quite understand what had happened when the lights went out after the match, and she was wisked away from the ring. When she awoke, Kira was nowhere to be seen. Izumi knew she only had a small window to get away from him. She was sore all over, and still bleeding from innumerable wounds. Her flesh felt like it was on fire from the explosions she'd been put through. But she had to escape. She strained against the pain, almost crying out several times but doing her best to keep quiet so as not to attract Kira again.

The next time she awoke was in a hospital bed. A few days later, she was discharged, and returned to her hotel. Fortunately, Union Battleground had kept up the payments to ensure she had a place to come back to. Izumi stared at herself in the bathroom mirror; and couldn't believe the person she saw in the reflection. Who was this woman? She looked at her hands, and even though cleaned by the hospital staff, Izumi could see blood on them in her mind's eye. As Kira's blood. As hard as she tried, she couldn't wash the blood from them. She spent half an hour in the bathroom trying to scrub the imagined blood from her hands, becoming more frantic with each attempt; but it was no use. Finally realizing that it was just in her head, Izumi also realized that she was going to have to live with what she'd done now. It mortified her, and she vomited - sick with disgust. How could she ever come to grips with her actions?



[We fade in to a Union Battleground backdrop, to find Izumi Sato standing before it, arms folded across her chest. She's clad in a black tanktop and denim shorts, a pair of white Reeboks on her feet. Her hair is disheveled, a number of bandages still crisscrossing her skin.]

Izumi: I'll admit, Kira, you played this all very smart. You had me beaten, body, mind, and spirit. My kokoro was torn down at your alter of evil. You had won.

[She nods her head once, solemnly.]

Izumi: I was yours to do with as you saw fit. My defenses were down, my will shattered. At long last, I embraced your darkness, as you have wanted all this time. You got your way. But there was one problem. In my darkest moment, as I tried to rip your mask and your face clean off...

[She looks away, her eyes welling up with tears. Izumi wipes at them briskly, determined to press on.]

Izumi: Something within me, buried deep down... a wellspring of love that I didn't know I had... it pushed back. Even if my mind, body, and spirit were torn down, reduced to a husk of its former self, my soul would not die. Trie as you did, and you gave it everything you had, my soul fought back.

[Izumi's tone darkens a bit.]

Izumi: So now you've shown me a deep rooted part of me that I didn't know existed. But you've forced your darkness, your evil on me. So now get ready, Kira. Get ready, because I will not retreat in tears anymore. You can beat me down, you can tear my flesh, but my resolve is stronger than ever. You may knock me down, but your days of tormenting and dominating me are over!

[Izumi nods again.]

Izumi: My parents have finally been cleared to return to Japan, so you can't hurt them anymore. And it doesn't matter how many losses I suffer in the ring. It doesn't matter how many times you try to get into my head, because it's over! You've lost!

[Izumi lets her arms drop to her sides, hands clenching into tight fists.]

Izumi: And soon, Kira, the time will come when you must face the music. The time will come when you must feel the consequences of your actions! Trust, me, it's not going to be pleasant for you!

[She shakes her head, long disheveled black hair waving back and forth.]

Izumi: Now I've got a match coming up against Becky Balfour. And for the first time in a long time, I'm not worried. Win or lose, it doesn't matter. But make no mistake, I'm not going into this just for fun. I'm not going into this to play nice. Take a good look at where that's gotten me over the past few months. No, I'm done playing games, Becky. And unfortunately, you're caught in the crossfire. Take note, Kira, because this match will be my message to you.

[She takes several steps closer to the camera.]

Izumi: I have defeated your darkness at its deepest level. And soon, I'll be coming for you. Not just for what you've done to me these last few months, no...

[Izumi's eyes narrow.]

Izumi: You assaulted my parents. You put them in the hospital. You caused my otherwise healthy father to have a stroke, and broke my mother's arm, hip, and knee. By rights, I should've pressed charges on you for that, but no...

[Her voice darkens another octave as she shakes her head.]

Izumi: I won't let the police deal with you after all you've done, Kira. No, this is between you and me. And you [points to the lens] mark my words, sooner or later I'm going to finish this!

[She pauses for a beat, composing herself.]

Izumi: Congratulations, Kira; because you've put yourself at the very top of my stink list. You've done everything in your power to warp my mind, to shater my spirit, to ruin my family. And now...

[She flashes a very dark smile. An unnerving smile, coming from her.]

Izumi: I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that you never forget the mistake you made in crossing me. I'm going to do everything in my power to ensure that you regret crossing me, and think twice about doing the same to another innocent soul.

[With that, Izumi steps away as we fade out.]