Good Day In Hell

Nate Colton sat on the sofa and stared through the glass doors. On the other side, bright green foliage waved in the wind, and the colors of the morning sky danced above the deep blue Pacific Ocean.

A cup of espresso warmed his hands; he raised it to his mouth and took a quiet sip. A sleeve of his chunky brown sweater rolled up on its own, flopping back into place when he lowered his arms. He scarcely noticed; Nate was far too intent on appreciating the stillness of the moment. Just a man, alone with his thoughts.

Just a singular thought, really. Repeating itself in his head, over and over again.

This should have worked.

It was the final morning of an all-too-brief vacation; three days in a private villa at the Halekulani Hotel on Okinawa. A needed respite from the constant pressures of PRIME, as well as a pre-anniversary present to Kohime Mori. Probably his most expensive purchase since breaking into the highest echelon of his profession, and worth every penny.

The days were spent enjoying the island’s amenities–shopping, beaches, tourist attractions. The nights were spent enjoying the villa’s comforts–gorgeous views, a heated pool, a natural hot spring bath…and privacy.

It was wonderful. Heaven on earth, both the locale and the person he shared it with. The perfect salve for a wounded spirit.

And yet…

This should have worked.

They still had a few hours before checkout, but each passing second brought a reminder of the world that waited for him outside the confines of the Halekulani.

His sister, deciding on a whim to abandon everything back home in favor of the other side of the world.

His youngest brother, attempting to follow in their footsteps with no idea how far behind he was.

His other brother, who…

Actually, Benny was probably fine.

His personal life was a mess…but that wasn’t half as bad as his professional one.

The changing of the calendar had not meant any turning of the corner for the New Diamond. Sure, he beat Fred Dick…but proved himself a liar about not wanting revenge. Sure, he gave a pep talk to Jonathan-Christopher Hall…but lied through his teeth for it.

Even when he tried to build things up, he only let everyone down.

This. Should. Have. Worked.

In all honesty, he shouldn’t have been surprised. Nothing else had worked either.

His outing in Australia with the two young hopefuls fixed his mood…for a week.

His match in Melbourne with an ancient veteran grappler helped…for a few days.

Five minutes of watching Simon Tillier’s boy band impression lifted his spirits…for five minutes.

Now his vacation was almost over, and his good feelings didn’t even last until the end.

Nate picked up his phone in hopes of escaping his funk. Unfortunately, the first thing he saw was his text conversation with his sister. A seemingly endless string of ignored texts.

No sense in calling, then. Complete waste of time.

But, he had to try.

Nate followed Jennifer's Bang! excursion closely, and knew how much she was struggling. The first tour lasted two weeks, and she'd already suffered more losses than in her two years in Missouri Valley. The video stream showed a woman who suddenly found herself in above her head–constantly outclassed, outmatched, outnumbered.

I can’t help if you don’t let me, Jen

He pressed the green icon, and waited for disappointment. He didn’t wait long; two rings did the job.

“The mailbox is full and cannot accept any new messages. Goodbye.”

“Fuck.”

Nate was about to send a follow-up text into the void when he heard the soft creak of a door and the padding of bare feet. He turned to see Kohime, awakened from her slumber and stepping into the main part of the villa. She sported her sleepwear–black leggings and a pink sweater–and a truly remarkable case of bedhead.

Nate chuckled at Kohime as she shuffled toward him, “Nice hair, honey.”

She glared at him as best she could through her bleary eyes. “No sassy. Too early for sassy.”

“It makes you look fierce. Like a wild animal.”

“Grr,” she growled, A silly grin spread over her face, drawing giggles from both of them. Nate’s bad mood seemed to follow him everywhere, except when Kohime was present.

“You need me to make you some tea?” he asked.

She shook her head, before throwing herself on the couch next to him and trying to burrow her way into his torso.

“You’re warm,” she said, her words muffled as her face pressed into the heavy wool pullover. He felt her arm snake between his back and the cushion. Nate set his phone down and returned the favor, pulling her closer.

“Shame about the weather,” he said. “We’ll have to come back in the summer if we do this again.”

“S’okay. If it was warmer, we wouldn’t have got these cute sweaters!”

A smirk formed on his lips. “You’re cuter than any sweater. Here, I’ll prove it,” he said, and made to grab the bottom hem of her garment.

“Stoooooop!” she protested, pushing his hand away as her face turned a few shades more red than the sweater. Kohime covered up with her sleeves, but Nate definitely heard a small giggle.

The flirtation diverted, Nate smiled as he settled in. Kohime had clearly decided how they’d spend their last morning in the villa, and he could find no fault with her plan.

His phone lit up momentarily, signifying a notification of some kind. He reached for it out of instinct, but his sleepy girlfriend was somehow too fast for him and snatched it up first.

“Nope!” she said, tossing it aside without even looking. The device bounced off the seat of a nearby chair, ricocheted off the backrest, and clattered to the floor.

“Hey!”

“No screens. Only cuddles.” To emphasize her ruling, Kohime wrapped her arms tighter around Nate's midsection.

“Ugh, you’re so mean,” he said, pulling her in close to give away the lie. He ran his free hand through her hair, smoothing down the unruly strands and making them a little less wild.

The last vestiges of his early morning stress drained out of him. Their closeness, physically and emotionally, was enough to keep Nate’s troubles at bay.

They spent their last few hours in paradise that way. Watching the wind tease the greenery outside the villa, humming songs without tunes, taking pleasure in each other’s presence.

His phone was out of reach–and out of mind. Whatever messages came in would just have to wait.

# # #

“I’ve got a new reason to hate you, Kenny.”

“I didn’t need one; it oughtta be enough that you willingly associate with Stanislav.”

“But I’ll be damned if you didn’t give me one anyway.”

“See, I was watching film yesterday. Going through your old matches in PRIME, seeing how you’ve evolved over the years.”

“It turns out…you really haven’t.”

“Your matches are still full of stupid stunts, showing everyone what a silly little guy you are. Then you pull some bullshit, or someone does it on your behalf–first your tag partner, now your Red Army pals. It’s like watching old cartoons; the same plot, the same jokes. Great fun when you’re six years old; a little hard to watch now.”

“Then I got to Revival 31.”

“Remember that one, Kenny? Who you fought? How you got the win?”

“I’ll give you a second to look it up.”

…

“Yeah.”

”I didn’t know her yet, back then. We’d maybe said five words to each other backstage…and I was going through some shit at the time. That’s why I didn’t stomp your ass flat for it back then. Hell, I probably didn’t even know about it.”

“I know now.”

“It might as well have happened yesterday, for how mad I got. I mean, my blood boiled. I’m surprised I got out of the room without smashing the monitors.”

“I started putting that to good use. Made a plan of everything I’m gonna do when I get my hands on you, Kenny.”

“Figure I’ll start by slapping every last ounce of dumbfuck off your face. That should take care of the first five minutes. Then I’ll drop your head…and I’ll keep doing it, until you gain some sense…or lose all of it. I ain’t picky.”

“Then, I’ll finish off by giving you all the hell I was saving for your boss, only he passed out before I got the chance.”

“No more than you deserve.”

“And no less.”

# # #

The day after they left Okinawa, it was already a distant memory.

Back to work.

“Work” in this sense meant training sessions at the Bushido Thunder Dojo. Normally, Colton would have insisted on training at Bang! at Your Dojo, but after inquiring through back channels, Nate learned his presence would cause some unwelcome tension.

Bushido Thunder proved to be an excellent alternative; the harsh methods used by the trainers were the polar opposite of what he grew up with…but right now, it suited him perfectly.

The morning session left him covered with sweat and a few welts, but now it had given way to a well-earned rest period. He’d hoped to spend it with Kohime; unfortunately, she was still in the middle of a circuit on the exercise machines.

Nate went for his phone, as he did in such times. He checked his messages; another round of texts to his sister had gone unanswered. He thought about calling again, but wasn’t sure if he wanted another dose of the cold shoulder.

Instead, he reached out to the other problem child in his family.

No, not Benny. This time.

Nate, like most of the others, had tried to push Blake into changing his mind about college. But the kid dug his heels in…and when he got like that, no force on earth would shift him.

Maybe he’ll listen to reason now that Dad’s going full speed on him

Nate started a video call, and his face lit up when he saw his youngest brother on the screen. “Little bro! What’s up?”

“Hey, Nate. No, I’m not going to change my mind and go back to school.”

“I–c’mon, kid. Don’t be like that,” Nate replied, as if he hadn’t been about to ask that very thing.

“Sorry. Just getting a little tired of repeating myself, y’know? It’s good to see you.” Blake’s voice was a little slow. Probably had something to do with the exhaustion on his face.

“Looks like Dad’s been putting you through the paces.”

“Yeah, it’s been…pretty intense.”

“No doubt. We all went through the same thing, when we made the commitment. How are you holding up?”

“Pretty good. Tired though.”

“You look it. Just gotta keep pushing; you’ll break through before you know it.”

“Who are you talking to?” asked the voice from over Nate’s shoulder. That voice, as well as the face that soon popped in front of the screen, belonged to Kohime Mori. “Oh! Hi, Blake!”

“Hi, Kohime!” Blake said, adding a wave. “Are you at the Bang! dojo?”

“Er…no,” Nate answered. “We’re at Bushido Thunder Dojo. Kohime trained here.”

“It’s why I’m so tough!” she added, flexing a bicep for the camera.

OK, OK…keep those eyes in their sockets, kid

“Hopefully she can teach me something before my next big match. Kenny Freeman won’t know what hit him.”

Blake’s face turned sour. “Make sure he knows, then.”

“You got it, little bro,” Nate replied. He tried to not to show it, but he spotted the shift in Blake’s demeanor…and he knew why. His own temperament darkened  to match his brother’s. “He’s gonna get what’s coming to him.”

“Cool. I gotta go. I’m really tired, and we’re getting an early start tomorrow.”

“All right. Good talking with you, bud.”

“Bye, Blake!” Kohime added with another wave.

“Night, big bro. Night, Kohime.” The call came to an abrupt end, causing Kohime to look at Nate with concern while he put his phone away.

“Is he all right?”

“Damned if I know,” Nate answered. “I think he’s still pretty messed up from what the Red Army did to him."

Kohime fell silent; that had been a hard time for everyone associated with the Colton family. Nate took that as a cue to continue with his next thought.

“All the more reason to put Freeman out of his misery.”

“Nathan!” she cried, shocked at his vitriol.

“I mean it. Useless goddamn jackal.” The words came out as almost a hiss, a whisper that drew unwanted attention. A few of the trainees who stood on the outer edges turned to face the angry gaijin…and least, until their own masters demanded their attention again.

Kohime had no answer, except to let the shock on her face slowly develop into worry.

“Only bright side is that bastard Scatino disappearing. God, I wish I’d gotten my hands on that motherfucker.”

“I’m glad you didn’t.” Her words came out as a whisper, as if she didn’t even want to say it.

“Just once, I wanted to run into him backstage.”

“I asked you to stay away from him,” she said, a little louder. Was he even listening?

“That French prick never would have had the chance to turn him into glue.”

“Nate.” The worried look on her face started turning into something else.

Something like fear.

“Beat his ass so bad he’d have to wear the mask again so he wouldn’t scare children.”

But Kohime Mori was done being afraid.

“Stop.”

“Make a yard sale out of his teeth, and he could–”

The momentum of his tirade died out as he fully registered what Kohime said. Nate turned to face her, and the full force of what happened hit him like a train.

“Oh, shit. I’m sorry…”

The apology died on his lips. The set of her jaw and the steely look in her eyes told him that she was having none of it.

Kohime rarely got upset. Part of that was her general disposition, but it also stemmed from her shyness and eagerness to please. In the time they’d been together, he’d rarely seen her upset with anyone, and never at him.

It was enough to turn his stomach.

“You’re being a really big jerk right now. I know that Kenny’s a jerk too and so was Morty but that doesn’t mean you get to be a jerk back at them and…and I don’t like it.”

For a man who took insults almost as often as he took a punch, it shouldn’t have hurt that much. But no insult, trash talk, or derisive nickname could have prepared him for being called a really big jerk by the sweetest woman in the world.

“Now I’m going to leave. I’ll talk with you tomorrow.”

She stormed off, leaving the New Diamond alone to think about what he’d done.

Well…”alone” was a bit strong. There was a whole dojo of witnesses.

He didn’t get long to wallow in misery, though. One of the trainers approached, growling three words in English.

“Rest period over.”

She turned to the others, teacher and student alike, all of whom were staring at Colton. She asked a question in Japanese, and a sea of hands shot up.

Nate didn’t understand a word, but he was pretty sure it translated into something like “Who wants to kick this man’s ass?”

He couldn’t blame them. He wanted to raise his hand too.

Nate turned his phone off before facing the school. He'd be out of contact for a while.

# # #

“Thing is…as great as all that sounds…I’m not going to do that.”

“‘There’s someone special who doesn’t want me to…and as much as I hate you, I love her more. So I’m gonna try, Kenny. Gonna try real hard to be the man she thinks I am…’cause breaking your neck ain’t worth breaking her heart.”

“Instead, I’m giving you a chance…and a choice.”

“When you and I meet in that ring, you could fall back on your old methods. The cheap shots, the distractions, the interference.”

“Or…you can face me like you’ve got an actual spine. Maybe even a little bit of self-respect. Tell the Red Army you don’t need them for this fight. Hell, you could really turn heads and tell them you don’t need them at all. Give me the one thing I want in PRIME and hardly ever seem to get–a tough, but fair fight.”

“Who knows? You might surprise yourself.”

“I learned something important a few months ago. The guy who taught it to me…I never thought much of him, but he proved to be a whole lot better than I ever gave him credit for.”

“He showed me that a man can redeem himself, if he wants it bad enough. He doesn’t have to keep making the same mistakes…and no matter how far he’s walked down the road to hell, there’s still time to turn around.”

“I lost sight of that. Been trying to find it again, but it’s harder than I expected. Might be easier if PRIME wasn’t such a dickhead circus.”

“That’s why I’m taking out one of the clowns. How that happens is up to you.”

“Try to keep that in mind, Kenny. I know it’s a tougher call than I make it sound, and there’s gonna be some harsh consequences either way. Just remember that no matter what you’ve done, how you’ve acted up to this point…you can always make another choice.”

“Oh, and Kenny?”

“So can I.”

# # #

He’s calling again.

He wants answers. He deserves answers.

But I’m just not ready yet.