Wedgie Island. Prologue: Dropping suspicion

'Chanko paradise? This place actually exists? And it has customers?! I didn't see that coming.' These were Hwoarang's thought on seeing the infamous restaurant as he arrived in Hawaii. He knew Ganryu had a business, but judging from the large queue piling into the place, it must have some profit. Still musing over the thought, he pushed his way through the crowd until a waiter stopped him.
'I'm looking for the boss.'
'Sir, I'm afraid you're going to have to wait,' said the waiter in a bored monotone I-need-money voice, 'Please move to the end of the queue.'
'His name is Ganryu. Tell him Blood Talon's here.'
The waiter sighed, and called over another waiter and passed on the message. Hwoarang smiled and stood back. He got a good look at the inside. It had the classic wooden seats, overhanging wildlife, prawn based food and deeply tanned customers that can always be seen in a Hawaiian restaurant. His ogling of a bikini-daisy duke clad girl at a nearby table was interrupted by the waiter.
'Sir? Ganryu will see you now.' He cleared a path for the Korean who walked through the steadily increasing crowd. They went through to the kitchens and beyond them, to a small office at the end of a hallway. 'Go ahead,' said the waiter, before turning back towards the rest of the restaurant. Hwoarang smiled, and turned the knob to the doorway.
In the office, Ganryu sat, almost as wide as the desk he sat at. There were several file cabinets in the corner, and a couple of seats next to the doorway, but that was it. 'Probably needs the space for his fat ass,' was Hwoarang's thought. He grabbed a seat and pulled it up to the desk, sitting down in it and waiting for Ganryu's order of business. It didn't happen for a couple of minutes.
'So… first things first,' said Ganryu uninterestedly, and he fumbled in a drawer of his desk. A very large bundle of notes emerged and were swiftly placed from Ganryu to Hwoarang to the latter's pocket. 'Now then.' He looked up, and seemed business-like and much more enthusiastic. 'My next plan for humiliation-'
'Tell me who, when and where,' said Hwoarang boredly, 'I've got other places to be.'
'This is different so listen. It's a bit complicated but I think you can manage it. With my online business, I have been attracting a lot of attention. In particular there are sev-'
'Get to the point.'
'Fine. I have funds to set up a tournament. I have a location, I have a schedule, I have transport and I have a certain amount of time. The only things I don't have are contestants. And that is where you come in.'
'Hold on,' said Hwoarang irritably, 'what does this have to do with our business… ventures?' He couldn't believe how ridiculous he sounded.
Ganryu chuckled to himself: his body wobbled disturbingly. When he'd finished, he uttered two words: 'Female only.'
There was a pause, then Hwoarang slowly smiled, and his eyes gleamed as the penny metaphorically dropped. 'A front.' he said quietly and with moderate intensity, 'Now that's very interesting.'
'Isn't it just?' said the sumo, leaning forward (this was accompanied by a series of groans from the wooden desk) 'Now then, what I require from you is some contestants. You've got two weeks: take your time, send out the details and go to more than two areas. If you check the money I gave you, it's a lot higher than usual.'
Hwoarang started, and fumbled in the pocket of his jeans, drawing out the folded paper. He flicked through it with silent awe. 'Jesus… where did you get all this?'
'Like I said, outside funding,' was the casual reply, 'Now listen, as this is very important and will be very difficult.' He waited for Hwoarang's full attention. 'This hobby of yours… you're going to have to keep it to yourself for the time you're finding... applicants.' Hwoarang opened his mouth to speak, but Ganryu held up a large hand. 'Stay dormant for a while, control yourself and keep out of suspicion. This project must be kept under tight wraps, and no sudden increases in attention will help. So remain inconspicuous. Clear?'
There was a few moments pause as Hwoarang contemplated the offered task. He finally relented and muttered 'Yeah.'
'Then it is settled,' said Ganryu, and he took out a file from another drawer, 'Now I have some arrangements to make, and so do you. Go ahead, get going.'
Hwoarang uttered something to himself in Korean, before getting up and swiftly leaving the office.
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TWO WEEKS LATER
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It was evening time, and Chanko Paradise was closing for the day. Ganryu was standing on the beach that stood stretched out before his business. It had been another excellent day for customers, and the reputation of his restaurant was soaring. As the sun began to cast long shadows over the fine ground, the sumo heard footsteps behind him. He turned to face Hwoarang, who had serious jet lag at this point in time.
'So! Had a good trip?'
'Fuck off fat-ass, and look at these names.'
'In my office,' he replied shortly, and the two of them walked wordlessly to Chanko Paradise.
Hwoarang closed the door of the office, locking it, and sat down at the desk. He took out a piece of paper from his tight pocket, unfolded it and handed it over to Ganryu. There was a few moments pause, before: 'What the hell is-? I can't read this shit.'
Hwoarang sighed, and walked around the desk. 'Fine, I'll do it in capitals,' he said curtly. He took a sheet and pen from the desk and wrote. After several names, Ganryu muttered 'Okay, those are recognisable.'
LING XIAOYU
                                      ASUKA KAZAMA
                                      CHRISTIE MONTEIRO
                                      EMILIE ROCHEFORT
'You have branched out haven't you? How many have you got?'
'Sixteen. Shut up and wait.' He wrote down a couple more. Ganryu smiled – because he didn't know them.
MAI SHIRANUI
(BLUE) MARY RYAN
He continued to smile as the list lengthened, as none of the remaining names had been seen by him.
PYRRHA
NATSU
SARAH BRYANT
REIKO HINOMOTO
SAKURA KUSAGANO
These were the next several. To finish off Hwoarang wrote down another five.
SONYA BLADE
KIRA
KASUMI
HITOMI
AYANE
'That's who signed up for it. It's set to begin on the first of March, right?'  asked Hwoarang when he replaced the pen and paper.
'Yes,' Ganryu replied, scanning the sheet again. He was smiling creepily to himself. 'Yes, the first. Now, I will be in disguise while on the island. I suggest,' he looked at Hwoarang, 'that you remain hidden when not picking someone off. Stay out of sight and cover your face with something. Make sure, if you do get seen, that no-one recognises you.'
'Fair enough. What about security? What are your plans for that?'
'I've had people hired. And don't worry: they enjoy this past-time as much as we do. Okay?'
'Okay.'
'Alright then. Let me tell you the plans of action when on the island…'
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MARCH THE 1ST. 15:03
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Ganryu looked out to the horizon. Wearing a suit minus the jacket, and a couple of buttons undone on his shirt (the rest were bulging), he was fairly unrecognisable. A large pair of shades was cast across his face, and his hair was done back in a male ponytail. There were three men standing behind him, wearing similar guises. Behind them, the vast island stood tall, with cliff faces all along every other side. The four men stood along the only dock on the island, and it wasn't very big itself: just enough for the boat that was to be docked there soon. And speak of the non-living devil; the moderate mass appeared on the horizon and moved with speed towards the island. The four 'producers' stood watching.
Up on the cliff face directly east of the dock, Hwoarang looked at the oncoming vessel, his face masked and his body in a lightly armoured jumpsuit. He smiled to himself: all those plane journeys were worth it. 'Let the games begin,' he thought, and smiled to himself.