Time for a comeback!

[RedShinigami]

Karl Schneider, the down on his luck Ex-Wrestler turned reporter splashed his face with water, grabbed a towel and rubbed the last shaven beard stubbles away from his now clean shaven face.
He looked in the mirror and suddenly he saw the man again, that he once was.

Spoiler

The reason for this sudden change of lifestyle was a fateful meetup between a Wolf and a Bunny in...."The Wolf and the Bunny", believe it or not.
viewtopic.php?f=27&t=9892
The Austrian straightened his tie and tried to remember when had wore a tie the last time, or an ironed shirt..
He put on some aftershave and looked at himself.
"Looking good Grim Reaper...almost back at your form again...", he said and looked at his leg before sighing.
"Almost..."
He went outside while walking by his roommates of the Austrian Eagle Roster who gave him curious looks.
"Who...who is this and what did he do with Karli...", Finella said and looked over the couch.
"Finella you are staring...", Harmonia said without looking up from her tablet.
The Hellraiser blushed and looked at her sister.
"I am not! This is still Karli our good old Loser...", she said and still she looked back at him...
He really changed since the Pub..for the better it seemed.

Karl stepped into his trusted VW Beetle and drove of, right to LAW Magazine where Eiji Matsumoto himself had invited him.
FInally, he thought, he was back on track. Being a correspondent for a magazine was one thing, but working directly for a gigantic
company like LAW was a whole other beast!
The building appeared before Karl as his trusty Beetle drove on.
A few weeks ago he had driven a certain newcomer home to LAW HQ only for his car to break down, making them walk the last mile to the train station.
viewtopic.php?f=27&t=9734

Now "Schurli" as he called his car, was ready for action again, hopefully, for another 30 years.
Karl drove onto the parkinglot and stepped out of the car, taking with him a box with all kinds of stuff for his office.
He took the heavy box in one hand, while the other one grabbed for his cane, with the skull on top of it, ironically his gimmick the "Grim Reaper" had a prop like this and now Karl needed it for real medical purposes.
His knee hurt like hell as snow had started to fall again, the way from his parking space to the entrance hall seemed endless and he had to stop more then he wanted, clenching his teeth and steadying his breath before he went on through the thin snowcoat that was on the ground...

[FreestylePoet]

"Nya! Takeda, go clean up the office!" Shiori Takeda was currently scampering around the LAW Magazine office, tidying up the place while mocking the higher-up who'd ordered her onto her most recent task. "Ugh, who does he think I am? Of course I'm gonna obsessively pore over every dang inch of this place!" Look, she wasn't mad because he'd been rude to her just because she was an intern. She wasn't even mad because of how long it had taken her to do all of it. She was mad because of how annoyingly obvious it was that she'd have done it anyway!

After all, they had a special guest today, one that Shiori was bouncing off the dang walls over. A recent signee to the Magazine staff, yes, but also a famed former wrestler. None other than the Sensenmann of Austria himself, the Grim Reaper, Karl Schneider!

Technically, their paths could have crossed way earlier -- even Shiori's teammate/client Louise had met the man -- but it had been unlikely until now. While both Karl and Shiori technically had cubicles in the LAW Magazine Office, neither used them very often. After all, Shiori was only a part-time magazine writer, and Karl's space was only offered as a courtesy for a visiting writer. He probably had his own setup back wherever he was staying. Now, though, he had been officially poached by LAW, plucked from his previous writing gig and plopped right here in LAW's central office!

Or, at least, he was about to be. Shiori peered out her window into the parking lot a few stories below. A beat-up vehicle sputtered its way into a spot, surprisingly not sounding anything like what Louise had told her to expect, but looking the part nonetheless. Soon enough, a tall-looking man hobbled out of the vehicle with a crate filled with... well, she couldn't tell what, but she knew it was heavy, based on how the guy was hobbling about! Former wrestler or not, he looked like a guy who needed help -- especially given his cane!

Shiori scurried to the ground floor and all but hopped out of the front door. She had to hold back a squeal at who she saw! A clean-shaven, simply- but well-dressed man with combed hair and glasses. Recognizable, if a few years older. This was certainly Karl Schneider, alright! Shiori jogged over to Karl, eager to introduce herself. "Hihihi, it's so nice to meet you!" Her words flew out at a mile a minute as she speedwalked across the parking lot. "Oh, I can help you with that if you want. I'm Shiori, and I'm a writer here too, so I guess we're coworkers, Mister..."

"Mister..." Then her heart sank. You might not believe it, but Shiori was actually known for being rather perceptive, especially when it came to observing professional wrestlers. And, to her despair, the fangirl realized that she'd "observed" this face before -- a few weeks ago, in fact, at the Austrian Eagles' Christmas party! No, there was no mistaking it. There was a servant dressed in a holiday costume, who she'd rather disrespectfully flung an autographed t-shirt at... Only it wasn't a servant.

"U-Uh... Mister Claus?"

It was Karl Schneider.

[RedShinigami]

Karl groaned as he was about to take the last few meters to the building when the door opened and a worried but then again excited looking, making for an intresting mix of emotions on the cute girls face.
Karl knew her of course. Shiori Takeda.
The girl had talent. She wrote articles and even had her wrestling debut. Of course nothing to write home about but still strong enough to make an impression on Karl.

He gladly would have talked to her, but Harmonia had insisted that he wore that stupid Santa Outfit and when Finella called him "Butler", his whole reputation was down the drain anyway so he decided to stay anonymous and got drunk on the free booze Harmonias party offered.
The party itself had become a success after almost getting blown up by the egos of two proud women and a seemingly broken heart.
But things had cleared, thank heavens and the remaining hours of the festivities were truly something to be rememberd.

He especially loved the sight of Harmonia and Molly, both unseperable, talking to everyone.
They were a couple now and they made sure to behave like one.
Harmonia was the host and Molly was her determined girlfriend that helped her out were she could.
What a good soul Molly was. Always willing to help.
This was maybe a reason she fell in love with Harmonia anyway.
Harmonia was a lost soul, in desperate need for an anchor that Molly could provide.

Karl had seen Harmonia before she got together with Molly, had heard her cry in the night, often.
More then one time he stood before her room, wanting to knock and see if he could help her.
But he decided that he would be no help.
And all of a sudden two british Bunnies hoped in the way of the Eagles and made everything better...and worse...

Chelsea and Finella, the sisters of Harmonia and Molly hated each other. You could not describe it any other way except maybe with despise.
They would meet at the PPV and Karl had no illusions that it would get as brutal as it could be...
And still he was excited...well he was a wrestler, and big matches on the horizon always excited him.

Then Shiori spoke and he looked at her.
"...."
He stared down at the smaller girl as she mentioned the dreaded words "Mr. Claus".
He did'nt want to intimmidate her but he was sure his gaze, his height, built and his silence would do the trick.
But finally he gave in.
"Please..., Mr. Claus was my father, I am Santa.", he said and grinned akwardly.
"Uhm..ehem...sorry, thats my humor...I guess. It is very nice to meet you Takeda-san. I read your articles and saw your match. I must say
you are a little Karl Schneider yourself, talented in the ring and behind the desk.", he said and looked at his box.
"Oh, not to worry I can take it. But would you please open the doors for me, yes?", he asked.

[FreestylePoet]

"Y-Y-You watched my match...?" Her face went beet-red at the idea that The Grim Reaper had taken the time out of his day to check out her own amateurish attempt at wrestling. "And you like my writing...?" But it was Karl's praise of her LAW Magazine articles that truly struck a blow to her fangirlish heart. She felt herself swoon a bit, going light-headed before finally catching herself on her door. "I-I'm alright! Don't worry, hehe!" With that, she swung the door open, ushering him inside.

Still, she couldn't get over how she'd treated Karl back then... For someone as proud and storied as he was, being treated like a coatrack must have been utterly humiliating. And that's exactly what she did -- with an egg-stained and autographed piece of festive cosplay, no less!

"Aaah..." she groaned to herself, putting her face in her hands as she showed him the way to his new desk. "I'm really sorry about the Christmas party, Mr. Schneider. I know I shouldn't treat people like that, especially hired help, and especially if it's not actually hired help but a world-renowned wrestler..." Karl might have thought that Shiori would have left it at that. But then again, he didn't know Shiori.

"And, uh, I mean, you are really renowned, for your career, I mean. I know you haven't stepped into the ring in a while, but I think you're really talented. You've got soooo many cool matches! Like that one time when you wrestled General Winter -- gosh, I couldn't understand a word of what the broadcasters were saying, but you know what they say. Sports are a universal language! Haha! And..."

Yeah, she was rambling.

[RedShinigami]

Karl looked at her.
Could it be that she was...a fan?
Well it did happen occassionally that some people recognized him, but the state in which Karl left his body after his rehab was far from his peak, the long hairs and the grizzled beard did'nt help either.
Maybe he just don't wanted to be recognized anymore, something that slowly but surely had changed when Karl started to get more positive experiences since his stay with LAW.

As annoying some of his roommates could be, he really grown to like each and every one of them, even some of the more unaproachable characters like Veronika Noir and Silvia Steiner.
The best relationship he definetly shared with the Edelstein Twins, drinking tea with Harmonia in the wintergarden and later jugging some beers with Finella in the big living room.

Karls life had become better.
And so he decided to become better himself again.
"You know Shiori-san, when a man has hit rock bottom he starts to look like he feels and that definetly went for me. Believe me, you would'nt have recognized me even if had'nt wore a costume.", he said.
"And after Eiji-san gave me the chance to prove myself here, I am eager to meet everyones expectations. Especially mine.", he said while following her into the building.

"Of course, a LAW Magazine Intern that wrestles? That is something I don't want miss. Even in my active wrestling days I always tried to watch the matches that interested me.
I am addicted to the Sport it seems. Even if I wanted to have nothing to do with it after my...accident."

"General Winter, Michael, yeah. Nice guy, has a carwash in Minnesotta, last thing I remember...one of the more nicer guys. Be glad you never met the likes of Hardcore Stan...", he said and shuddered.
"That truly was something of an asshole. Reminds me of this Skylar Jones...hopefully she does'nt end with a bullethole in her head in a sleazy motel.", he said and shook his head.

Hearing her praise he sighed again, deep and audible this time, being rememberd of the more golden days when everything seemed to work his way.
He remained silent for half a minute and was shook back in reality again by Shiori.
"What? Ah yes! I for myself thinkt hat wrestling speaks for itself, no words needed, don't you think? And also thanks Shiori-san your words, you are too kind. So, they left you here to greet me, huh? You rather would be somewhere else I can imagine.", he said while he followed her.

[FreestylePoet]

"Oh, no, believe me, it's a big honor, Mr. Schneider! I mean, you've got all this experience and talent in the business. I already kinda waxed poetic about everything you've done," she chuckled sheepishly, "buuuut I'm still super happy to get to meet you."

"...Plus, I'm the only one free right now. All the others are either in a meeting or out doing some investigative work. Apparently, the crew got wind of some big news that's gonna be announced in a few weeks." She pressed her lips together and grumbled off to the side annoyedly. "Not that they ever tell me about anything around here..."

Shiori sighed. "Anyway, I'm sure Eiji... Matsumoto-san," she corrected herself. "Will be able to give you the quick notes when he's finished." The intern continued to lead Karl around the halls of the LAW Magazine office. Technically speaking, she didn't actually work there, but she'd spent enough time there to at least have a desk.

...One that Shiori consciously tried to avoid bringing into Karl's line of sight. After all, the Grim Frickin' Reaper didn't need to see how messy her desk was... Or that said mess was caused by a pile of manga books, hasty doodles, and wrestling magazines. So Shiori was purposely a little circuitous in her navigation of the office, though she disguised it by giving Karl a bit of a tour, pointing out various rooms and other parts of the area. Most of it was her talking -- as was normal for many of her conversations -- but she was happy to answer any of the Austrian's questions.

As a result, it took them a bit longer than expected to arrive at Karl's desk. "Anyway, here's your spot!" When they did, Shiori lingered outside of it for a while before turning to Karl. "Sorry if I seem nervous." She started rocking back and forth on her heels. "I really should be used to it by now, but I don't think I'll ever stop getting excited around wrestling big-shots like yourself. Plus, Louise and Dr. Morgenstern said you were super nice!"

[RedShinigami]

Karl was flattered.
Of course some fans had recognized him and wanted an autograph but he still had'nt reached the heights of popularity that made him a wrestling superstar.
And after his accident he slowly but surely went into obscurity which suited and hurt him at the same time.

Getting the job with Wrestling Impact Magazine and sent as correspondent to LAW as he was the only one speaking japanese did'nt really helped to lift his spirits as he felt that he just "Was the only guy who knew Japan" and so he was sent.
At Wrestling Impact he was treated like everyone else, even worse as some of the other writers saw him as competition and tried to put stones in his way whereever the could.

It did'nt help Karls situation with the knee and the drugs and he just knew that he had to something before his life got destroyed...
"You are too kind Shiori san. Tell you what.", he said and walked over to her, raised his smartphone and out an arm around the smaller girl.

"Smile!", he grinned and took a selfie of them both.
"If you like to tell me your mail adress I will send this "memorabilia" to you.", he said and put his stuff on the table.
"Gott sei Daunk...endlich a Tisch wo beide öbogn draufpassen und net nur ana...", he joked in his austro-german and when he saw Shirois confused face he shook his head.
"Ah, it's an austrian thing, don't think about it.", he said and waved his hand.

"Something big huh? And they leave out two big talents like ourselves, it is really a shame.", he smiled. If Karl was good in something then it was to lift up the spirits in the room and cheer people up, something he always could.
"Don't be dissapointed Shiori-san, even a Eiji Matsumoto started with bringing coffee...speaking of..." He looked at her and scratched the back of his head.
"Would you be so kind? It's four o clock and I usually take my coffee now.", he said.

But what Shiori said about Louise and Christina made Karl blush.
"What, I...uhm...well Louise is a good girl and I really like her, we are in contact, which I am very glad and Christina...ah Dr. Morgenstern...."
He looked around.
"What...what did she say about me?", the Ex-Wrestler asked a little shy.

[FreestylePoet]

"Oh, of course! I'm still not the best at working the office's new coffee machine -- as you can tell, I've got more than enough energy without it -- but why don't I bring you to the break room so you can check it out? I'll make you a coffee too, but I'm not always around. Might as well get the lay of the land, right?"

With that, Shiori set off with Karl in tow. The reporter asked her something about her teammate and boss, causing her to hum for a moment in thought. "Wellll... Louise said that you're really nice, and that you treated her to a bowl of noodles. Oh, and that you're old." She ticked off the statements on her fingers. "But you asked about Dr. Morgenstern, right?" Shiori scratched her chin for a bit. "Let's see... Well, she said that you're a very kind person, and that she thinks you could be a good influence on Louise, and that maybe both she and I can learn something about this business from you, and..."

Then she stopped in her tracks, right there in the middle of the hallway. Karl didn't just ask what Dr. Morgenstern said about him, did he? No, he stammered it. And he used her first name. Before correcting himself. The fangirl didn't get a great look at the Grim Reaper's face, but surely he must have been blushing too.

For a brief moment, a smug grin rose to Shiori's lips as her heart started to flutter and her mind started to race. She shook both away, before turning to Karl and fixing the most innocent look possible onto her face.

"Mr. Schneider?" she asked, putting her hands behind her back in an attempt to look as cutely innocent as possible. Quite unlike the little gremlin she was actually being. "Do you... have a crush on Dr. Morgenstern?"

[RedShinigami]

Karl followed his colleague while looking around the offices.
"Phew, that has some more class then our moldy, old offices in London...", he said and was impressed how modern the offices at LAW were.
He followed Shiori and was already thinking of the hot coffee that he would drink as Shiori said something.

He answered...
It left his mouth like the most natural thing in the world, he just wanted to know what Christina had said...nothing more.

He liked the manager of Team Stanza, she was fellow european, more, a fellow germanspeaking person of his cultural circle so they could talk to each other in german, shared the same customes and mannerisms and that all were things that made people sympathetic to each other...and that Dr. Morgenstern was beautiful helped a litle bit too.
"Whaaat?!", he asked, knowing that Shiori was on to him and looked to the side.

"Uh-Uhm what are you talking about Shiori-san, she is much too young for me and I mean, look at me, I am not the best catch either, just, just forget that I asked!"
He stumbled his way through an explanation and saw Shioris big grin that only widened with every word he said.
"Don't...you...tell...anyone...", he said, his head now read as a ripe cherry

[FreestylePoet]

Every word coming out of Karl's mouth was another nail in his proverbial coffin. Not that Shiori minded the reporter having a little crush on her boss. In fact, that little tidbit was exactly what fueled the ever-expanding shit-eating grin currently unfurling across Shiori's face. After all, this was a woman who was known far and wide across the younger cohort of the wrestling community for one thing above all else: Shipping.

Truth be told, she stayed away from doing that kind of thing with people she knew. Even for her, it was kinda weird. But the more Karl talked, the more Shiori realized that this wasn't fiction. No, it was a chance to play matchmaker! Or, more realistically, to just keep a fun little secret in the back of her mind to tease Karl over. After all, the guy had so much seniority over her that she'd obviously need some lighthearted blackmail to even the odds.

"Oh, don't you worry, Karl." Her voice was even more cloyingly sweet than before, even more mockingly innocent. "I won't tell anyone." Then, she pointed to Karl. "You will! When you're good and ready, of course. Can't promise that Dr. Morgenstern will feel the same way..." She put a finger to her chin. "Or even that she's into guys. But, like, she's suuuuper cute, and really nice, and smarter than anyone I know!"

Then she shrugged a little bit. It was time to really sell what she was saying. Time to add this sweet little trump card to her deck. "Huh. On second thought, maybe I will tell her. Take a little chance to play matchmaker for the two of you. Or maybe I'll ask around for some advice..." She eyed Karl deviously. "Unless you can make it worth my while to keep this tiny little secret?"