(Author's Notice: Let's get it on! Time for some old-fashioned fighting fan-service! This chapter isn't to be taken over-ly serious like my other chapter, so for my readers that are really looking into the story, this long chapter is basically me taking a major breather before getting down to the main hardcore story plot. To be honest, I'm also having some major writers block, and this chapter is seriously helping me gather myself. So to you hardcore plot readers, be patient with me, I won't be disappointing you I promise, and for you fighting fans, this chapter is going to be a wet dream for you guys. These next series of chapters are going to be an epic tournament, pulling a filler like in anime I'm afraid T_T however, after this arc, the story will definitly get underway, and then I'll reward all of you that have been patient with me!)
(Disclaimer: I have no affiliations with Arc System Works)
Chapter 9: It All Went Down In Little Tokyo (Part 2) (AKA Let's break my writer's block =D)
"Listen, I was thinking about kicking you all out of her for disturbing my customers but instead, I want you to entertain them. These people haven't been happy for many days now and I feel it's my duty to brighten everyone's spirits got that?! So we are going to hold a tournament between the lot of you. The winner doesn't have to pay a penny for their meal ok!?" Jam commanded the group with the ferocity of a tiger pouncing and ripping apart its prey. Everyone looked at each other and shrugged with a "why the hell not?" attitude. She quickly ran inside then pulled out a white board, calling all of them over to her. All the customers began to talk amongst themselves happily and full of excitement, finally having an event that they could call a scream of Japanese culture.
"OK this is how it is going to work, each of you get two rounds against each opponent. The winner of each round will be determined by who ends up on their face first. Between each round, light wounds from the loser of the round will be tended to but don't be a baby and cry about it! Remember, make this look good! I won't have any half-assed looking fighters in my tournament!" Jam howled drawing up a tournament chart. She drew two brackets, the initial one on the left and then a small one the right. Everyone nodded, beginning to comprehend everything, while they studied the chart, Jam came out with six straws that she held in her hand. Everybody picked one, all each one of them having one of three colors at the bottom tip: Blue, Red, and Yellow. One by one, each of them wrote there name in the category that matched their color. After they wrote them all down, she quickly covered it, so that no one would know who they were up against. Finally, Jam posted it up on the front of the restaurant, displaying for all who wish to saw. She then stood among them and smiled holding out a piece of paper.
"Ahem! The first round of the tournament will be the pickers of YELLOW! Both YELLOW fighters come out here!" she called, her customers began to cheer and shout happily as the first two fighters came to the center. Chipp Zanuff stepped up and cracked his neck and hands, readying his blade that hung along his arm. He took a deep breath and jumped up and down a few times, readying himself. He watched as his opponent approached. A poof of leaves and dirt picked up in front of Chipp, who shrugged knowing who it was at an instant just from the technique. Bang crossed his arms like a bad ass as he looked across at Chipp, his fiery spirit of justice burning brightly within his eyes.
"It seems fate as brought we ninjas together, show me how great your technique is!" Bang shouted clapping his hands together before rearing back in a pose, his hand calling for Chipp to bring it on. Chipp shook his head and readied into his fighting stance, ready to wipe the floor with Bang. Jam ran in-between the two of them with a small gong.
"FIRST MATCH SET! BANG SHISHIGAMI VS CHIPP ZANUFF....BEGIN!" she shouted banging on the gong hard as she backed up quickly, leaving the fighting arena. Bang took a deep breath and readied himself.
"Alright ninja, prepare to feel the wrath of LOVE AND JUSTI...!" Bang called fourth only to have his opponent disappear before his eyes, he looked around frantically trying to find Chipp, before finding himself meeting the ground with his black.
"ALPHA BLADE!" Chipp shouted out, quickly flashing across the ground from one point to the other, his blade held out slashing into the back of Bang's calf. Bang fell onto his butt before getting back up, cracking his neck as he readied for the next blow.
"Alright! I'm ready to give you my a....!" Bang announced once again before looking above him, Chipp flipping himself backwards, planting a good strong kick to Bang's jaw, shutting him up. Bang stepped back and held his jaw as Chipp shook his head.
"Just shut up already and fight!" Chipp shouted angrily, charging at him with incredible speed. Bang's expression turned from cocky, to...a least a little more serious as he watched Chipp carefully. Chipp then quickly charged in with a lightning fast kick, surrounded in chi energy. Bang quickly threw out his forearms in defense, glowing with a hint of fire as the blocked the kick. Quickly Bang punch upward, causing Chipp's leg to catch a painful blow from his flaming fist. A seal appeared in front of Bang and slowly faded as he clapped his hands together again, holding out his hand for Chipp to bring it again. Chipp growled and charged in again. Bang crouched, holding up his forearm for defense once more.
"ALPHA BLADE!" Chipp shouted flying forward along the ground, but being stopped by Bang's forearm. Bang let out a forceful yell as his elbow quickly smashed into Chipp's jaw, knocking him back. Chipp smirked and rubbed his jaw. The crowd began to rawer loudly, already beginning to enjoy the entertainment.
"It seems you aren't entirely a joke," Chipp said with a smirk cracking his neck. Bang smiled wide, readying himself once again. This time Bang decided to take the offensive. He jumped up into the air and quickly threw down three nails. Chipp flipped back easily avoiding them, the nails began to fall up but a sharp chop of Bang's fist. Chipp blocked it carefully with his arm as they begun a hand to hand assault. Bang quickly made a strong punch forward, to which quickly pushed aside. Chipp swung his arm out in a slash only to have it dodged Bang's crouching, a chop from Bang's guarded arm to smack into Chipp's ankle. Chipp growled in pain as Bang then swept as he continued to be crouched, quickly knocking Chipp's feet from beneath him. Chipp fell back with the sound of grinding sand. Before he was able to get up Bang was already on top of him. Bang quickly reared back his foot, and charged it with energy as he planted his kick firmly into Chipp's stomach, popping him up.
"POLVERIZING FISTS!" Bang shouted, a short burst of extreme energy blasting Chipp back into the crowd, crashing through a table. Bang help up his hands and the crowd cheered. Several of the customers around Chipp helped him to his feet and dusted him off, pushing him back into the fight. Chipp smirked he quickly teleported. Bang growled and looked around frantically once more.
"Fight me like a man you cow....!" he shouted before Chipp appeared beneath him with a smirk. Bang looked down only to find Chipp raising his elbow up this time, his blade scraping against Bang's manly chest, leaving a cut in it as Bang was knocked off his feet. Chipp charged his chi into his feet as he quickly rose up smacking Bang with the back of his hand, starting to make Bang spin. As they rose up, Chipp smacked him a few more times before quickly kicking him, over and over again in his chest. Bang shouted out in pain as he felt himself being projected up in the air again, his body being slashed and kicked all over once more from Chipp's wicked attack speed. Everyone's eyes raised up into the sky as the ass whooping continued. With every blow from Chipp, Bang let out a grieving yell that stung the air. Finally Chipp spun around with a wicked cut, slashing into Bang's chest before raising his blade in a final upward strike.
"BETA BLADE!" he shouted, a vicious cut ripping into Bang's chest, causing drawing blood and forcing him to cough some out. However, Bang tensed his body the best he could and grabbed a hold of Chipp, causing Chipp's eyes to widen as Bang smashed his knee into Chipp's stomach.
"VOID TEMPEST!" Bang shouted. After the knee to Chipp gut, Bang teleported above him with a wicked kick to his head, causing his body to fly down back to earth. Chipp yelled in pain, trying to recover as he plummeted. As Chipp was about to hit the ground, Bang quickly appeared beneath him, with his fist held high. Chipp coughed out with a loud gasp of air and blood as his stomach landed on Bang's fist causing his body to fly off to the side. Bang then quickly reached behind him and pulled out an umbrella.
"THERE'S NO WHERE TO RUN!" he shouted as he tossed the umbrella over Chipp. Chipp stood up in pain as he was then greeted by a raining of nails from the umbrella above him. They all dug into him until he was face down on the ground, covering his head and yelling out in pain as the needles poured into his back. After the umbrella vanished Jam ran out with her gong and hit it, several of her other chefs coming out with medical supplies to patch Chipp up. Bang breathed heavily as he stood up victorious, having won the first round.
"THE WINNER OF ROUND 1 IS BANG SHISHIGAMI!" Jam screamed out, her voice reaching to everyone, causing them to cheer from the outstanding display of fighting. Chipp yelped out in pain as one needle after another was pulled out of him, all of them feeling like weak bee stings.
"Ah damn it! That hurts! Ah!" he shouted out as the last one was pulled out. The "medical staff" raised up the back of his shirt and bandaged it all up, giving Jam the ok for the next round. Chipp stood up and growled in pain, knowing that he had underestimated Bang. Chipp cracked his neck, ready to make this next match a wicked short one. Everyone knew that when Chipp got pissed, it was time for a really bad ass beating. Jam quickly ran out between them, looking them both over before raising up her hand.
"HEAVEN OR HELL! DUEL 2! LET'S ROCK!" Jam shouted out throwing her hand down and jumping out of the way. The crowd cheered as the two stared each other down. Chipp grinned as he vanished. Bang blinked for a moment before realizing that Chipp was already in his face. A small energy ball smacked into Bang's chest, immediately followed up by a trip. Bang tried to regather his footing, but instead met with Chipp's foot to his face.
Bang grunted as his body met with the ground hastily, Chipp on the assault. Before Bang could even rise back to his feet, Chipp swung his foot along the ground again, popping Bang into the air unexpectedly. Bang gathered himself in the air, holding up his forearm in defense. However, it was only in vain as Chipp swiftly moved past, beginning to combo him up into the air. Chipp began kicking Bang furiously, again, again, and again with his voice whipping out foreign sounds as each hit rumbled into Bang. Before Bang was able to recover he found himself being slashed into in a flurry of slashes from Chipp, who was spinning around like a tornado. Finally Chipp landed one more fierce kick on top of Bang's head sending him back down to Earth. Bang caught his footing on the ground but looked around once more to find that Chipp had vanished again.
"COME ON YOU COWARD! FIGHT LIKE A MAN!!" Bang roared out furiously, moving around looking for Chipp like a wild dog, trying to find its meal. Suddenly though, a voice rang loudly from behind Bang. Chipp charged up his chi, ready to explode in a flurry of attacks.
"BANKI MESSAI!" Chipp yelled as he quickly dashed forward, delivering a flurry of blows, strikes and cuts, ripping Bang up. Bang felt paralyzed as he took blow after pain driving blow of slashes punches and kicks before finally taking to swift jump cuts to the chest, causing him to land to the ground in a bit of a bloody mess. Chipp smirked and walked off, but was stopped by a growling voice.
"Stop...there! It's...not over yet!" Bang stood up, breathing heavily with a painful smirk. Chipp shut his eyes and shook his head.
"You should seriously stop dude...I don't want to kill you," Chipp said walking forward carelessly. Bang crouched on one knee painfully, watching as Chipp moved forward. The crowd cheered on loudly as Bang arose, Litchi and Taokaka watching from the side line.
"BANG! HANG IN THERE!" Litchi called out. As the words reached Bang's ears, he felt himself in whole new spirits. He smirked and wiped the blood off of his mouth, waiting for the right time to strike. Chipp then rushed forward, ready to end it. Bang then quickly jumped up over Chipp's head, catching Chipp's face with a delayed kick. Chipp felt his footing give as Bang landed behind him, ready to go at it. He gave a firm punch to Chipp's stomach then his knee cap, crouching down before sweeping Chipp's legs from beneath him. Chipp growled as he landed on his back, trying to quickly pick himself up. Before he was able to he met with a flaming kick to the face. Chipp growled in pain as he popped up in front of Bang, a manly smile on his face.
"POLVERIZING FIST!" he shouted as he unleashed a vicious burst of fire energy, causing Chipp to fly back into a table, bouncing off of it. Chipp's eyes grew angry as his face lifted up, only to see Bang now charging at him shoulder first.
"SHISHIGAMI NINJA HIDDEN ART: FATAL ERUPTION!" he shouted vigorously as his should connected with Chipp. He then landed one good strong attack after another, causing Chipp to cry out in pain. Bang then grabbed Chipp and ran as fast as he could into the closest wall, in which he slammed Chipp into it fiercely, almost making a hole in it. Bang then jumped back and continued to breath heavily. He slowly limped back to the main area, unaware of what was to come. Chipp growled to himself as he got off the ground and spit out blood, incredibly pissed off. He then quickly charged towards Bang, ready to finish this. Taokaka noticed Chipp running behind him and tried to warn him.
"SCRUFFY GUY! ANGRY GUY IS BEHIND YOU 3!" Tao called out playfully. Bang blinked and slowly turned around to see Chipp's angry red eyes staring him down, the intent of evil dwelling in them.
"GAMA BLADE!" he growled out, a quick flash oh himself appeared then disappeared, a mass of chi smacking into Bang. Bang found himself frozen in place by an odd ninja seal, one in which he had never seen before. Chipp then when into a low stance, ready to go.
"BEAT IT!!" he shouted before leaping forward, chi surrounding his blade. He quickly slashed into Bang causing his body to move into the air with a quick, furious wind pushing him. Bang grunted as he watched helplessly as another slash skimmed his skin, opening up another wound. Chipp then quickly dashed off of the closest tree and aimed himself upward again, making another vicious cut into Bang with a wicked fast leap. Bang shouted out again as a thin stream of blood followed the blade. Finally Chipp appeared overhead charging up the chi on his blade. He glared down at Bang with a twisted smile as he made a wicked dash downward, giving a vicious downward slash over his manly chest, instantaneously landing on his feet. He then turned his face up as Bang hit the ground with a rough crash, causing him to kick up a clustering mess of dust. Chipp then brushed his hands together and walked to the circle, this time he was down for the count. Bang growled as the medics came over and helped him up.
"THE WINNER OF THE SECOND ROUND IS CHIPP ZANUFF!" Jam yelled out, getting the crowd pumped. Bang wiped the blood from his brow and mouth, spitting out some blood. While the medics helped patch him up, he just sighed and smiled.
"You are indeed a worthy adversary ninja, truly a master in the art. However, for the sake of Miss Litchi I must not lose this battle at any cost!" Bang shouted, jumping back to his feet. Jam blinked as Bang breathed heavily, moving back into the ring. He charged up his energy and stomped the ground, a soft fluff of wind flying around him. Chipp smirked and quickly did a few back flips to get himself ready to fly.
"Miss Kuradoberi, may I do the honors?" Litchi asked Jam permission. Jam nodded and handed off the job to Litchi, allowing her to have the honors for the final round.
"THE WHEELS OF FATE ARE TURNING.....REBEL 3.....ACTION!!!" she shouted out, getting the crowd pumped as she threw her hand down, backing up of the way. Immediately both ninja charged each other with lightning fast speed, making a strong clash with blade and guard. Quickly, disappeared and reappeared behind Chipp, landing a nasty fiery elbow to Chipp's face. Chipp immediately turned and make a quick kick to Bang's stomach before following it up.
"BETA BLADE!" he shouted as he slashed up into Bang's chest, causing Bang to grunt. Bang then recovered and quickly grabbed a hold of Chipp's arm, kneeing him in the gut.
"VOID TEMPEST!" Bang growled out, appearing over top of Chipp, smashing him downward. Immediately, Bang appeared beneath him, delivering a devastating punch into Chipp's back, causing Chipp to cough a little blood. Chipp then quickly recovered and spun around, catching himself onto the ground. Without a moment delay, Chipp was back on the attack.
"ALPHA BLADE!" Chipp shouted flashing along the ground, aiming for Bang's legs. Bang then crouched down, a seal appearing over his forearm, blocking the attack then instantly smashing his elbow into Chipp's chin. Immediately after, Chipp jumped up and activated another seal drive attack, smashing into the top of Chipp's head, knocking him back down. Chipp hit the ground with a vicious thud. Chipp growled and instantly charged his chi to turn invisible.
"FIND ME PUNK!" Chipp said out angrily. As Bang landed, he got a swift slash to his stomach and chest, not knowing where they came from. Chipp smirked and quickly jumped up on top of Bang, slashing his blade along Bang's collar bone, trying not to kill him. Bang grunted and shook him off, coughing up a little blood. Chipp then quickly dashed forward, plumetting three punches and a slash into him. With the final hit, Chipp pushed him back and charged his chi, a red aura oozing off of him. Bang shook his head and charged forward. Chipp attempted to slash at Bang, but Bang activated another seal, countering and hitting Chipp one last time. Chipp growled angrily as he caught Bang in a sweep.
"GAMA BLADE!" Chipp shouted, catching Bang, the energy holding in place. Immediately, Chipp began rise into the air and began chanting. Bang struggled viciously to get away, right before he was able to escape, the last seal appeared and caught Bang right in the star. Chipp landed and a vicious star of chi bound Bang in a star before ruthlessly exploding. Bang found himself being hurled into the air, crashing through two tables and eventually hitting the back wall. Chipp took a heavy breath and stood up, watching Bang. There was no way in hell he was going to survive his strongest ability. However...Bang began to twitch. Chipp's eyes widened as Bang slowly rose, his body trembling heavily. He couldn't see straight until he finally used every inch of energy he had left in his body. He glared down Chipp with the intent of vanquishing evil in his, eyes. He mad a quick hand-seal with his hands. Bang began to cough up blood with every word he was trying to say.
"Shi....shi....gami....hidden art....FU-RIN-KA-ZAN!!!!!" He roared out. The everyone watched in amazement as he slowly began to float in the air, his body and hair began to glow gold. Chipp's jaw dropped as he readied himself, seeing that this Bang was a very tough guy to stomp. Jam smiled sheepishly as she cranked some music over the intercom, a cheesy and dramatic super hero song began blaring over the intercom. Bang's eyes filled with the fiery passion of love and justice, his body ready to make his charge. Chipp made a soft gulp as Bang began flying through the air in spurts towards him, Chipp's senses going off the charts. Bang then quickly stood, glaring Chipp down.
"I am the Vigilante of LOVE AND JUSTICE! I AM THE STRENGTH OF THE PEOPLE OF IKARUGA! I AM BANG SHISHIGAMI, AND I'M HERE TO VANQUISH EVIL!!!" he roared out dramatically as he began his assault. Chipp made a quick jumping kick at Bang only to catch the air. Bang appeared behind him and quickly made a strong punch to Chipp's back. Chipp turned around to swing a slash at Bang, catching air again. Chipp growled as he quickly turned to guard, but was caught by a stern kick to his shins. Chipp felt himself meet with the ground as Bang made a harsh sweep to Chipp's feet, causing him to fall back. Bang quickly dashed up and threw a nail into Chipp, which turned into several spider webs to hold him in place. Bang breathed and growled loudly, the blood from his wounds covering the ground. Bang then several strong punches into Chipp, before summoning a strong burst of energy.
"POLVERIZING FIST!" Bang coughed up as Chipp flew from the blast, hitting the same nearby wall that Bang had been blasted into. Bang quickly charged before Chipp was able to hit the ground, pulling off the huge nail from his back. He slammed it next to Chipp, causing Chipp to be held next to the wall with its chi. Bang then jumped back and charged fourth with the rest of his strength. His eyes were burning full of fire as was his body, surrounded in vicious and bright fiery energy.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!" he roared out, holding out his fist. Chipp clenched up his whole body as tight as he could, bracing for impact. Bang finally arrived at Chipp and planted beside, avoiding the hit. Chipp blinked and looked over at Bang, who was breathing heavily, a stream of blood from his lips, which were curled in a weird smile. Bang turned to him and took a large breath.
"We're done here, agreed? I don't want to unleash my hell upon you, because you are not the symbol of evil. We ninja must stick together in these harsh times, so...let's call it quits for you," Bang said compassionately, the crowd in absolute silence. Chipp smirked and nodded, admitting defeat.
"You are an incredibly weird guy you know that?" Chipp smirked as Bang let him down. Chipp and Bang dragged themselves back to the ring. Everyone watched in awe as Bang let down his energy, nearly collapsing. Chipp walked over to Jam and smirked.
"He beat me Jammy, the win goes to the wierdo..." Chipp with a smirk, his words not wanting to be said. Jam nodded and charged out onto the field. Chipp smashed the boom box that music playing out of and sighed heavily as he leaned against the bench. Anji put his hand on Chipp's shoulder and nodded, handing him a cup of tea. Chipp rolled his eyes and began drinking it.
"THE WINNER OF THE FIRST MATCH IS BANG SHISHIGAMI!!!" she shrieked out, holding Bang's arm up. Bang tried to cheer but ended up falling flat on his face, a smile upon his face.
"I'm glad I could show Miss Litchi my fiery passion for her and justice...." he said to himself as passed out. Litchi immediately rushed out onto the field, and with the help of the medics, dragged him off to the side to patch up his tremendous wounds. The crowd roared in an excited cheer, everyone so incredibly pumped. Jam walked up to Chipp and Bang excited as can be.
"GREAT JOB GUYS!!, that was so amazing, you aren't holding back! That's what I'm talking about. She watched as all the patrons clapped and began walking up to her stand, ready to order more food. People began to flood in from the entrance, seeing what the hell was going on. Jam smiled excitedly, ready for some amazing business. Bang finally came too with a relaxing sigh. He looked up to see Litchi over him, watching as he got patched up. Bang gave her a wink, unable to speak from pain. Litchi smiled down at him kindly before standing back up walking back over to Taokaka and the rest of them. Taokaka was already on her back asleep, she really was amazing when it came to sleeping. Jam called for a brief intermission so she could serve up some food. Litchi rushed up to the stand quickly, ready to offer up some help.
"Miss Kuradoberi, I'm an excellent meat bun cook, let me help you out," she said with a smile. Jam turned back and gave a nod with a big ol' grin on her happy Chinese face, so happy for the business. As more people poured in, a few more familiar faces could be found wandering in. One certain Sol Badguy slowly trounced his way in, finding a somewhat familiar place. He noticed Jam's stand and cocked an eyebrow, slowly walking over to see what the hell was going on (and to grab some food, he is frigging starving after fighting a big ass gear). Behind him, in the back of the crowd, Johnny and all of the May ship crew could be seen wandering in, slipping in with the crowd. Jam noticed all the familiar faces and smiled, glad to see that a lot of them were alright. Since the combining of the two worlds, not a whole lot of the people are aware of what to do, so they are doing what is natural: Eat and try to enjoy themselves. The line to get food had grown gargantuan, obviously there was something going on. Sol looked around and noticed several of Japanese Reservation residents that he recognized. He noticed Baiken, Anji, and Chipp all against the side wall of the restaurant, talking about something. Sol shrugged and slowly began walking over to them, going to figure out what the hell is going on. As he approached, Baiken noticed and raised up a sake cup of signification. Sol smirked and walked over, catching the attention of both Anji and Chipp. Sol slowly sat next to Baiken, receiving a sake cup from her as a gesture of welcome.
"It's been awhile Baiken..." he said. Baiken smirked and took a nod, knocking back some sake. As she laid her cup back down, she slowly removed her opium pipe.
"About 1 year I believe...since we last shared a drink..." she smirked pouring herself and Sol another cup. Anji noticed the two of them talking and peered over.
"Hey Sol, how's it going?" Anji asked. Sol looked over for a moment, then returned to his sake, not having any sake since he first arrived. Baiken smirked to herself, liking how Sol was just like her when it came down to it. They each took another cup full down as Anji's words fell flat, causing him to shrug.
"Same as always I suppose," he said. Sol slowly peered over at Baiken, who looked just like she always had, except now with a slight sense of relief. It seems that he wasn't the only one taking a break from finding That Man. She noticed his glace and turned back to her sake, her face growing a little red.
"We're having a fighting tournament for the crowd, because these new people came in and started making fools of themselves...pretty fun actually," Chipp threw is words in, his cocky style voice gracing Sol's ears. It had been awhile since had a fight that he took it easy in. That's when his curiosity caused him to speak up, a very rare event.
"I think I'll join in..." he shrugged. Baiken, Anji, and Chipp all blunk at once, scared for their lives. Regardless, Anji felt it was his duty to speak up.
"You;ll have to talk to Jam about it, we have to make sure her stand can take it, although...she's probably already taken in enough money to rebuild," he said with a subtle laugh. Sol leaned over to Baiken asked her to pour him one more cup. She blushed softly and poured it, it seems the booze were messing with her senses, but who knows...he nodded with a thank you as he downed it, slowly standing up. Sol wandered his way up the fron of the stand, catching Jam's eye. Jam blinked in great surprise. Sol planted Fireseal into the ground before walking close enough to speak.
"Sign me up..." he demanded vaguely. Grabbing Fireseal and returning to Baiken's spot, wanting more sake. His system now craved it do to separation from it for so long. Jam's eyes widened and filled with the sweet sound of cash as she hastily added him to the roster. Meanwhile, the Jellyfish pirates were making themselves at home, it had been some time since they had last arrived here. Johnny was ready to charm Jam into some cheap food for him and his crew, his charisma was extremely essential to his pirating. Behind Johnny was Bridget, May, Carl, July Augus, and Dizzy. The rest of the crew was sleeping from a hard days and nights work, working day and night to finish up repairs on the May Ship. Johnny led them all up towards the stand, a specific somebody catching his eye. He saw the face of Sol Badguy, a very rare occasion that he had only had the pleasure of once before, when they were talking about Dizzy's safety.
"Everyone but Dizzy stay here, me and her have an old friend to say hello to," Johnny ordered. Dizzy blinked a few times in confusion while Johnny took her hand, slowly leading her over to the side. Meanwhile the rest of them were calling a stretch and a peek around. Bridge looked around and immediately noticed Jam working hard. As she pumped out plate after plate of food, Bridget decided to make himself very apparent to Jam. Jam looked over and gave a big smile and a wave to her little pal Bridget, to whom she found incredibly adorable.
"Hi Bridgey! I'm real busy so I'll have to talk to you in a minute!" she shouted out waving. Bridget nodded and grinned walking back to July, Augus, and Carl. Carl began looking around, checking for Ragna the Bloodedge. Nirvana stuck close to him as always, also keeping sight. As he looked around, he caught sight of the cat that overpowered him last time they fought. He decided to steer clear as to not cause a commotion. Instead, he decided to ask around about what the commotion was.
"Excuse me, mister," Carl beckoned to one of the residence who was dressed much like a samurai. He raised his eyes to meet Carl's as he slurped up some yakisoba.
"Why are there so many people here?" he asked kindly, a gentle smile on his face. The man cocked an eyebrow as he looked over the little fellow, realizing he looked like a weird magician. The man shrugged at the appearance.
"Jam is running a fighting tournament for the customers to enjoy, everyone is seriously packing in, it's insane..." he said, gazing off at the line before returning to his noddles. Carl bow'd with a thank you and walked back to Augus, July, and Bridget.
"Hey guys, it seems there is a fighting tournament going on, that's what there are so many people," he stated kindly. Augus and July looked at each other and gave a big smirk, then proceeded to give Carl a hug. Carl blushed and blinked, looking at Nirvana with a puzzled expression on his face. They let go and smirked at each other.
"Heh! We should ask Captain Johnny if we can enter!" July spoke energetically, her fighting spirit coming up. Augus smirked and gave a nod as they both rushed over to Johnny and Dizzy, leaving Carl and Bridget behind. Carl sat down with Nirvana, watching Bridget fool around with his yo-yos. He let out a small sigh.
"Sis...do you think these people will really lead us to Ragna the Bloodedge?" Carl asked Nirvana. As usual, Nirvana didn't make a sound. Carl nodded and smiled.
"Yeah, they are very kind to us, we will have to repay them when we find Ragna the Bloodedge," he said in response. Bridget began to gather a small crowd as danced around with yo-yos, making it look like art as he performed. Carl watched with a cocked eyebrow, not ever really seeing someone so happy before. It really confused him, the concept of being carefree, but none the less, it was fairly entertaining to watch. During all the, May scowled watching every disperse. She grunted and plopped next to Carl, in which she immediately turned to.
"God! It's not fair that everyone gets to hang off my Johnny but me. Don't you think that's unfair Carl? I mean, you know what it's like with sister and all I'm sure!" she asked, hesitating on the word "sister". Carl thought about it and drew a blank. He looked over at her and tried to reason a little bit.
"Um...can you put it into perspective? I'm a little confused on what you are talking about..." Carl asked in return. May blinked and tilted her head down, thinking hard, it didn't take long before she could piece it together.
"It would be like, if everyone was around you sister but you, as if you were being pushed away," she said straight forward. As the words drifted into Carl's eyes, his body went pale. Never had ever thought of such a rediculous thing before. But he tried to put it in retrospect, but didn't like the outcome. Carl's eyes teared up, and he began to curl himself up into a ball, gripping his legs tightly. May gave off a surprised expression and looked around, putting her arm around Carl, trying to calm him down. He pushed her off and continued to sulk. May sighed and watched as Nirvana slowly lowered its arm around Carl, comforting him. May frowned, not wanting to hurt the poor boy, but at least he understood how she felt. After a little bit, Carl stopped.
"Thanks sis...I know you would never do that to me..." he said softly turning to May, his eyes red around the brim. May looked over at him apologetically, trying to do her best to make amends.
"I'm...I'm sorry Carl...I didn't mean to upset you like that, it's just, that's how I feel inside when I see it with my Johnny..." May sighed. Carl slowly pieced it together and nodded to himself, beginning to understand a little bit better. He then put his hand on her shoulder and smiled the best he could.
"Don't worry, you know deep down that he cares about you more than the others, I'm sure you already know that right?" Carl asked. May blinked and blushed, nodding softly with a gentle smile, finally someone understood. Bridget then slowly made his way over and plopped on the other side of Carl.
"Hey are you guys alright?" Bridget asked cheerfully, noticing that they were both a little down. They both nodded and noticed July and Augus run by over to the stand, talking with the weird haired lady cooking the food. July and Augus then ran over and sat over beside May, ready to share the amazing news.
"Hey guys! Captain Johnny we can all enter the tournament! Isn't that fun?" July announced happily, almost giddy in a sense of the word. The three of them blunk to themselves and put a hand to their forehead, again they'd find themselves in a pointless battle. Meanwhile Johnny and Dizzy were having their talk with the special someone.
"Looks like your well Dizzy...good..." Sol said drowsy, much like he always did. Dizzy knew he meant well though, after all, he's had to save her on various accounts. She smiled and nodded happily. Johnny smirked over at Baiken, ready to lay down the charm, but before he could say a word, Anji was already there.
"Ah Johnny, it seems you are going to have to fight us in the tournament, this will be fun! I'm actually getting a kick out of the whole thing," he said with a smirk. Johnny smiled and let out a sigh, nodding and giving a gaze at Sol, who caught it. Johnny slowly turned with Dizzy, in which Dizzy waved. Much to Johnny's surprise though, Sol spoke up.
"Hey Johnny....don't lose til you get to me..." Sol said with a smirk, calling Johnny out. Johnny let loose a big toothy grin and turned his head over his shoulder.
"You can bet your ass on that," he smirked moving himself and Dizzy back to the rest of his crew. He pulled out a communicator and slowly spoke into it, signaling his crew.
"Calling Sephy, this is Captain Johnny. Bring the crew out, it's safe enough here!" he ordered. Sephy gave an aye aye on the communicator and Johnny stored it away. He smirked at his dear friends and family.
"Show them what it is to be a Jellyfish Pirate," he said in his deep, cool voice, making them all give a big smile and an aye aye, except for Carl, he gave a subtle nod. Johnny decided not to hassle Carl and instead walked over to Jam's stand. Jam handed him cards, each with a number on them. He handed one to each of them, ready to start a war here on the fun battlefield. All of them knew not to kill anyone or maim them for that matter. Sol held up his card and slowly moved it back down, Baiken handing him the bottle of sake with a smile.
"Good luck Sol...I'll make sure not to disappoint," she said with a smirk. Sol smirked back and nodded, downing the rest of the sake before standing. He cracked his neck and knuckles before picking up Fireseal. Jam redirected Litchi to handle the customers for awhile while she ran out, ready to give the excellent news to the tenants.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMAN! IT APPEARS THERE WILL BE A CHANGE IN THE LINE UP!" She shrieked out, allowing the crowd to give her a loud cheer. All the new comers in were getting pumped ready to do what they all did best, give a show and a good fight. Jam continued on with the exciting news.
"WE NOW HAVE 7 NEW CONTENDERS! WHICH MEANS THE TOURNAMENT WILL NOW BE EVEN BIGGER AND MORE AMAZING THAN EVER!" Jam called out to the crowd, getting their attention and causing a gigantic uproar. It seems Jam was ready for some business, and business is good.
To Be Continued...