"WRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!" Dio screeched, he was happy that he finally had an epithet.
The majority of the crowd booed at him, their respect for him plummeted. Some still rooted for the underdog.
He bravely walked towards Kars and Tonpetty, despite the negative reactions.
...
.
"HOW DID IT GET LEAKED?" Jonathan screamed before apologizing for raising his voice. "I don't know! They just... It was suddenly everywhere!" Mista replied in panic. "My goodness..!" Jonathan facepalmed before sighing on the phone.
"How's Giorno?" He asked.
Mista glanced at the boy. "He is fine. Bruises are starting to fade, dunno about the cheek though, it's still patched up."
Jolyne entered the room along with Jotaro and Josuke.
"HOLY SHIT! WHAT DID THEY DO TO HIM?!" Josuke ran towards the unconcious blond. "He saved me. From Anasui. Happy now?" Jolyne glanced at her father angrily. "You have poor taste in men." Jotaro said.
"So this is my fault again?!" Jolyne raised her voice. "You can't pin this on me this time. Monika, your mother, is a good person. My taste in women is godly." Jotaro boasted.
"Guys, keep it down, you might wake Gio up." Josuke said. "Waking him up is the priority since he is in a fucking coma, gruncle!" Jolyne snarled.
"OH REALLY?! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Josuke screamed with glee.
"YAKAMASHI! YOU'RE BOTH LOUD AS HELL, BE QUIET!"
Mista snuck out of the room.
...
.
"THE LION FITS ME DON'T YOU THINK?! I AM THE KING!" Dio boasted as Tonpetty just stared at him solemnly.
"Fool. What is a king to me? I am the GOD OF FITNESS." Kars retorted as his eyes widened. But Dio wasn't intimidated. "A God, are you? Lord, you're in the wrong place today."
"AND NOW, THE TWO MEN STARED EACHOTHER DOWN WITH INTENSITY! WILL THEY GAIN EACHOTHER'S RESPECT BY THE END OF THIS OR WILL THEY REMAIN BITTER RIVALS?!"
The black screen remained dark as the next match was pending.
Kars and Dio's eyes never left the screen as the crowd remained silent.
...
.
"Giorno... He was there to protect you when I wasn't." Jotaro monologued as he walked closer to the boy. "Damn, what a hero. So great..!" Josuke smiled warmly at the sight of the blond peacefully sleeping. "I know. He's... He is something else." Jolyne sulked as she sat down.
"Why didn't you choose him? Rather than that degenerate dumbfuck, he seems decent." Jotaro turned to ask him. "I know... I... It's just..." his daughter drifted off.
"Man, if this guy just swings my way, I would have snatched him from you." Josuke nudged his grandniece. "I just don't want our friendship to change. What if he doesn't like me? I've known him since forever and- and... Telling him might change that." She replied.
"For better or for worse. Life is about taking risks, kid. You won't accomplish anything if you're too afraid to even try." The marine biologist adviced. "I still hate you." Jolyne muttered.
"Love you too."
Josuke glanced at the TV. "Well lets go watch it from here!"
...
.
Kars Rafiki Shazir
He is the savior of bodybuilding.
As a young child, he was always praised for his looks. So much, that he volunteered to be used as a lure for the police to catch pedophiles.
He always admired how strong the lawmen are. He considered them as heroes. He studied self defense just to be like them. His parents never wanted him to be a cop however.
But its for the best, he thought.
The controversial 1992 riots caused by police brutality against Rodney King has changed his view towards the world as he knew it.
And he applaud himself for it. Slowly but surely, it went out of hand.
He always held himself as someone who always has the moral high ground. And it turned him in to a narcissist.
He worked out, and sculpted himself to have a body close to perfection. His physique supplemented by his fight training.
Allowing him to be lean enough to beat Jonathan and Dio during a competition.
"WHAT THE FUCK?!" -Dio Brando, 2001.
It stems a heated rivalry against the two as Dio aimed to beat him in a competition.
But their rematch never came as he went under the bodybuilding circuit radar.
Multiple companies has signed Kars to appear to magazine covers, to be an underwear model, a fitness guru, everything.
But Kars... Never wanted his name to be known to the public.
Its not for privacy, fuck no, he is a narcissist for fuck sake. It was for his desire, for his face to be the most famous one in history.
Because names can be reused, but faces can never be. According to him.
So he always went by his initials. K. R. S.
Kars Rafiki Shazir. The Pillar that holds aesthetic fitness.
...
.
ROUND 5: KING OF THE HILL ON THE HELL CLIMB PILLAR
"THIS FUCKING FITS ME, I AM THE KING! I WIN BY DEFAULT!" Dio boasted but Kars ignored him.
"THE RULES OF THE GAME IS SIMPLE." Speedwagon started as the floor of the arena suddenly opened. A 4 meter tall pillar with climbing holds emerged with deep sand around its edges.
"What the fuck is up with this giant rock dildo-" Dio mumbled.
"THE CONTESTANTS MUST SCALE THE HELL CLIMB PILLAR, AND THEY HAVE TO HOLD THEIR POSITION ABOVE THE PILLAR FOR 10 SECONDS! THE COUNTDOWN WILL ONLY START IF ONLY ONE REMAINS ON TOP! IT WILL RESET IF ANOTHER CONTESTANT STOPS THE COUNTDOWN."
"Rock climbing and maintaining the position? Sounds interesting." Kars smirked.
"OH, AND THE CONTENDERS CAN USE ANY MEANS NECCESSARY!"
"Are you ready?!" The referee asked.
"ALWAYS!"
"I am."
And with that Tonpetty gave them the signal.
Kars immediately kicked Dio in the dick before running towards the wall.
"AUGHF! FUUUUUuuuck!" Dio slumped to the ground in pain groaning.
The crowd laughed.
...
.
"Oh shit!" Josuke gasped.
"Should have seen that one coming." Jotaro muttered.
...
.
"OH DAMN! RIGHT IN THE BALLSACK! NIGGA JUMP! JUMP TO REVIVE YOUR TESTICLES, DOG!" Pucci screamed at the mic.
"That's painful." Johnny jeered. Mista simply cringed at the sight.
"Hey, aren't you worry about your fratello, stronzo?" William whispered to Pucci. "Nah man, I believe he alright, he ain't no lame ass mark. He good." Pucci replied.
Kars hastily lunged towards the climbing holds of the pillar as his skin tight dry fitted shirt outlined his muscular back.
"Damn... You..!" Dio grunted as he writhed to the ground.
"THAT'S JUST FOUL!" Jonathan screamed as he watched it from his home.
Dio slowly stood up ans gritted his teeth, his sights on Kars trying to scale the wall. "It's not over yet!" The blond screamed as he ran towards the obstacle and grasped the holds. He grunted as he tried to ascend it. Kars' foot is a head in front of him. He tried to yank it away.
. . .
"HOAGH?! HE IS TRYING TO PULL KARS DOWN!" Stroheim exclaimed but he turned around and saw that he was alone in the room.
"I AM ALONE NOW. TIME SURE FLIES!" He screamed to no one in particular.
. . .
"DIO IS TRYING TO PULL KARS DOWN WITH HIM JUST LIKE A CRAB! BUT IT IS NOT AGAINST THE RULES AS THERE ARE VIRTUALLY NONE!"
The crowd jeered as they really wanted Kars to win.
"GO DIE OF AIDS!"
"YOU SUCK!"
"WORTHLESS SHIT!"
"Violence isn't the answer, Brando!" Kars snarled as he tried to kick him off but his grip was firm.
"Violence isn't the answer, Kars." Dio grinned as he adjusted himself. Kars gritted his teeth as his fingers were slipping.
"It's a question." The blond continued as his bicep started to bulge.
"AND THE ANSWER IS YES!" Dio screamed as he pulled Kars off the wall.
"GIEEEEHHH!" The Hashira screamed as he fell to the sandy floor with a thud. "Also you kicked my balls first, you fuck!" Dio yelled as he climbed up to the top.
"BOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
"WE WANT KARS TO WIN!"
Dio grunted as he reached the top but to his surprise, Kars is also there.
"NANI?!"
Kars glared at him and folded his arms.
"DIO SEEMED TO UNDERESTIMATE THE FACT THAT KARS IS FRESH COMPARED TO HIM!" Speedwagon notes. "NIGGA, YOU CAN DO IT!" Pucci yelled.
'Fuck... I forgot about that.' Dio panted.
They stared eachother down as Dio postured himself up. Kars, being a bit taller than Dio stood straight.
"So are we gonna push eachother off now?" The Lion grinned. Kars said nothing and raised his arms with his hands opened, his right closer to his body, his left extended forward.
"What the fuck are you, Ip Man?" Dio asked as he raised an eyebrow.
Kars motioned him to come at him.
"AND ITS GOING TO BE ANOTHER FIGHT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" Speedwagon screamed as the crowd cheered. 70% of them wanting Dio to get his ass kicked for being arrogant to continue despite being ill.
"Oh shit." Johnny muttered. Gappy sat next to him. "Where you been?" He asked his brother in law. "Just checked on Giorno, he already have visitors so I left." Gappy shrugged before having his eyes widened at Kars' stance.
"Dio is in trouble."
Dio tried to punch Kars but he simply parried his punch to return with his own simultaneously. "Agh. Fuck." Dio muttered as he adjusted his jaw. Kars said nothing and continued his stance.
"HE IS SO DREAMY!"
"SUCH ELEGANCE!"
Dio hurled a low kick towards his thigh but Kars invertedly raised his foot to parry the kick and deliver another straight punch to Dio's nose, making him bleed. "Gah, fuck!"
"Dio is at a disadvantage here. He can't use his booth boxing footwork due to limited space, and karate strikes are too predictable against... Wing Chun." Johnny mentioned.
Dio kept attacking and attacking but Kars coolly but surely deflecting them and striking him clean.
"GODDAMN, THIS LOC BE DOING KUNG FU SHIT!" Pucci exclaimed.
Jonathan felt uneasy watching it from home "Dio..."
Giorno saw a figure in the dark void he was in. It looks... Like him, just a little more muscular. But he had his back turned against the blond and he was wearing some sort of headwear.
'Where is this place..? Where am I?' He thought to himself. He approached the figure with caution.
"Hello... Can you please help me leave?" He asked as he placed a hand on his shoulder.
The creature turned to him.
A cap that says DIO, a face that was the splitting image of his father, but what made him stand out is the gigantic slit in his mouth and... Sharp teeth.
. . .
Giorno jolted awake, startling the three JoJos.
"Giorno!" Josuke called cheerily. Jolyne suddenly cried as Jotaro smiled at him warmly.
. . .
"HE'S CUT!" Gappy exclaimed. Dio jist tried to clinch with Kars but the man's elbows inflicted multiple abrasions to the blond's face. Johnny hissed "He is not gonna bleed out from that, but it's painful."
'It's so hot! It fucking stings!' Dio reeled back in pain as he was almost at the edge.
"DIO IS ON THE ROPES AS KARS REMAINED COMPOSED AS EVER! WILL HE LOSE ANOTHER LIFE?!"
Dio's face was bloody, a cut above his eye and on his cheeks and temple.
"This is my secret. The training for this art allowed my body to be at it's absolute leanest. Making my arms and legs proportionate. Allowing me to beat you and your brother. Allowing me to be the Ultimate Buff Form." Kars said as he inched forward with his guard up, preparing to take the offensive.
"But I created something of my own..." the taller man smirked as Dio gasped.
"Light Mode: BRILLIANT BONE BLADE!"
"AAAAOOOGHHH! DIO GRITTED HIS TEETH AS KARS UNLEASHED AN ONSLAUGHT OF ELBOWS! AND BEING THE LANKIER ONE, HIS JOINTS ARE SHARP AKIN TO THAT OF A BLADE!" Speedwagon screamed.
. . .
Stroheim's mecha corset zoomed in to the TV "HIS ELBOWS. IT'S A BIT JAGGED LIKE A SAW!" he looked at his own and compared it to Kars'.
'Barring the mods I have, my elbows are normal... Kars must have done something to arrange the shape of his bones or he is just born like that!' Even Stroheim's inner thoughts are supposed to be loud.
. . .
'FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! I AM GOING TO LOSE AT THIS RATE!' Dio thought as he endured a barrage of elbows.
"ENDURE, YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Ghiaccio screamed from the crowd.
"YOU CAN DO IT, COME ON! YOU HAVEN'T COME THIS FAR TO LOSE NOW!" Formaggio screamed.
'Your time will come sooner than expected at this rate. I hope you can make it.' Ciocolatta solemnly thought as Polpo, Diavolo and Doppio screamed.
"I AM BETTING ON YOU, DIO BRANDO! MAKE ME PROUD!" The don screamed.
Trish and Donatella are in their room, praying hard for Dio's victory. Trish filled her mother in about Dio. And the woman knew, that is a good man right there.
'It would be fucking pathetic if Giorno wakes up and he sees me taking a fucking L!' He started to advance forward.
"DIO IS NOT BACKING DOWN! HE SHOVED KARS BACKWARDS CAUSING THE TALLER MAN TO ALMOST FALL OFF!"
"MUDA!" Dio threw a straight right punch but Kars deflected it with his forearm. Kars folded his arm that he used and delivered a downward elbow that cut a large gash on Dio's forehead vertically.
"A CLEAN HIT!" Speedwagon screamed.
But as Dio stumbled back, he grabbed Kars' hand and threw him over his shoulder, making Gappy smile.
"That's it! Use your lower center of gravity!" The ex navy screamed.
"GIIIEEAAHHH!" Kars screeched as he fell off once more.
Thud.
Dio panted heavily, he knew Kars ain't out just like that. And worse, he knew he probably doesn't have enough strength to climb back up if he fell, seeing as he did not sleep the night before.
"1!"
"GET UP, KARS!"
"DON'T LET HIM BEAT YOU!"
"2!"
Kars started to climb up, even more pissed than before.
"3!"
'I didn't saw that one coming. I'm going to be even more careful.' He thought bitterly as he got closer to the top.
"This is bad. It's the second time Kars fell." ACDC muttered. "I am not worried one bit." Wamuu muttered. "And why?" The older man asked. "Simply because, Kars-sama is... Magnificent." Wamuu said.
. . .
After getting filled in about everything, Giorno tried to get up but winced as his body isn't totally healed. "Stay." Jotaro told him, to which he immediately obeyed.
"Your pops is holding out, Gio." Josuke said warmly as he observed the television.
. . .
Kars reached the top and stood elegantly. "I can do this all day." Dio panted.
"Lies." Kars calmly said as he went to his stance.
'I'll just rush him, he can't deflect them all. And I will shove him the moment he thought he has an opening.' Dio thought as he put his dukes up.
"GIVE HIM THEM HANDS, DIO!" Pucci said.
Dio did not need to be told twice, he advanced towards Kars and punched his guard.
"MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDA!"
"Light Mode: Reflection!" Kars had an annoyed expression as he parried them effortlessly, but they were too fast for him to land a counterattack.
'NOW!' Dio cocked his palm back and striked him. But Kars sidestepped in time with a shit eating grin.
"Light Mode... SHINING SABRES!"
Dio fell right in to it, chops, punches, elbows, forearm and palm strikes... Every surface of Kars' hands and arm striked his torso.
Dio felt his world shake. Kars' palm striked his chest, sending him stumbling back.
. . .
"PADRE!" Giorno yelled out in concern, he had seen enough. He has to go there. Jotaro glared at him.
"No! I can't stay here and watch him get beaten! I have to let him know I am alright!" Giorno protested. "Bro, chill! He wants to win whether you are asleep or awake. You have to trust him." Josuke stared at him dead in the eye.
"Trust him, Giorno." Jolyne softly mumbled.
. . .
"Hmmm, be silent everyone." Ciocolatta grinned as the three mafiosos turned to him.
"What you're about to see next, is going to be amazing."
. . .
'It's happening again... Just like in Round 2 where I fought Ghiaccio...' Dio thought as he was a bit out of it.
Tachypsychia, or an altered perception of time, allowing them to see everything around them in slow motion. While this does not increase the speed of the user's physical actions, it allows them to identify and react more effectively. His brain entered this state because he was so close to dying once more.
Dio was an opportunist, he is always up for taking advantage over everything. Be it the Joestar fortune, Jonathan's kindness, or more. He will always seize the moment.
And this one is no different.
"TIME COMES TO A HALT!" Dio screamed as he regained his footing.
Everything around him is in slow motion, even him. So what he said was a lie. But it might as well feel like time is paused.
His eyes full of fire. The Lion glared at his opponent as he roared...
"THE WORLD!"