Sanji slammed his foot onto a rider's nose with a satisfying crunch before whamming his heel excessively onto his skull. He tossed his head back before turning to the other riders.
"Anymore?"
Sanji asked with a grin. The motorcyclers stared at the pile of their companions on the floor unconcious, sharing uneasy and horrified looks. Sanji glanced back to check on Nami, and she was still lying there, his jacket snugly tucked around her shoulders as she rested against the wall. He smiled before turning his eyes back to the enemy - when he heard a loud rip somewhere behind the riders.
Light poured into the back-area, the curtains hanging torn and open as heavy footfalls sounded.
The riders turned, looking equally as surprised as Sanji did, when they all let out simultaneous gasps, many of them cringing. A tall man stepped out from behind the crowd, two others standing behind him, and Sanji could immediately tell he was the ring-leader.
"What the @#$% is going on?!"
The tall man demanded, his eyes sweeping across his fallen gang before settling on the only blonde standing. The eyes narrowed.
"H-he's a monster, Cap'n!!"
Gasped a rider,
"He beat them up with only kicking!!"
The ringleader did not look amused, and the others began chiming in.
"Look, Don Krieg! He kicked down Stitches!!"
"He broke Captain Buggy's jaw!!"
"Buggy's unconcious now!!"
"Everyone's unconcious now!!"
Then a simulaneous cry of,
"He's impossible to defeat!!"
"SILENCE!!!"
Everyone immediately shut up. Sanji blinked. Rage seemed to flare within the ringleader, Don Krieg, his eyes now fixated at Sanji.
"You obviously didn't know what you were going to face at the end,"
He hissed, and Sanji shrugged nonchalantly. However, he had a smug smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. Krieg didn't miss it, and stepped forward, the tension mounting, his eyes blazing in ferocity when it sounded.
A piercing wail of sirens.
"Shit!!"
"Krieg,"
A man with glasses whom Sanji thought looked quite familiar nudged Krieg's elbow.
"It's the police!!"
Krieg bit his lip before glaring at Sanji.
"We'll be seeing each other again soon,"
He said angrily before looking at his gang.
"HEAD OUT!!"
He yelled,
"GRAB A FALLEN COMRADE AND HEAD THE HELL OUT!!!"
His voice was so loud the whole auditorium heard him.
They didn't need telling twice. Grabbing a person or two, the riders dumped them over their motorcycles before mounting themselves. Sanji moved forward to stop them, when he realised Nami might get trampled in the process of panic-stricken riders rushing to their bikes. Sanji ran towards her, and managed to scoop her into his arms before a motorcycle ripped past them, narrowly saving Nami's legs from being run over. He held her as carefully as he could, stepping out of the mainstream of roaring motorcycles.
Within minutes the whole place was completely devoid of gangsters or crazy motorcyclists. Students and teachers were confused and standing all over the place, unsure of what to do, but a blue-haired girl ran out, her blue hair streaming behind her as her eyes widened, beelining right towards a certain young model stumbling out from beyond the thick red curtains, very carefully and gently cradling her friend.
"That was some crazy dinner dance."
Zoro commented as he walked alongside Tashigi.
"That was surely one of the most weirdest nights I've ever experienced."
Tashigi agreed, then stopped at a door. Zoro followed suit, his eyes looking at the acryllic numbers 207 hanging on the door with interest.
"See you."
Zoro said, starting to walk on, when he felt a sharp tug at the neck. He let out a strangled sort of yelp before being pulled down so his collar was at Tashigi's eye level.
"That's a weird knot,"
She said curiously as she stared at his tie. Zoro looked away, feeling a little heat at his ears.
"I don't know how to tie a tie."
He said quickly, tugging back at it. Tashigi shook her head, tugging it towards her.
"I'll tie it for you,"
She said, engaging in a mini tug-of-war with Zoro and his tie. Zoro tried to think of a good reason, but ended up sighing in defeat when Tashigi pried the knot loose. She started to loop the tie properly. Zoro saw how concentrated she looked while fumbling with his tie, and felt his face grow a little warmer for, seemingly, no apparent reason.
"I still can't believe you."
She said after a moment.
"You pull off some stunning moves that most likely exceed most of the most experienced people attending my dojo and you tell me you've never done kendo or any kind of offensive or defensive art before."
"I really have never,"
He said helplessly,
"I just... well, just suddenly knew how to..."
He found he couldn't describe it in words, and saw the disbelief etched on her face with a sweatdrop.
"Yeah, sure. I'm fine if you don't want to tell me the truth. But it doesn't impress me."
She said. A nerve twitched on his temple.
"I'm telling you the truth! I really don't know how I did all that!!"
He snapped. An identical nerve popped at her temple.
"Oh, and I suddenly know how to fly!"
She retorted.
"Are you calling me a liar?!"
He demanded.
"Do you seriously expect me to believe that you just oh-so-suddenly got granted swordskill?!"
"Fine, don't believe me if you don't want to."
"Great, I don't believe you."
"Yeah, well, fine with me."
"You were really cool."
"Yeah, well, I was just thinking-- what?"
Zoro blinked, glancing down at the girl. She had a small blush dusting her cheek as she continued,
"I'd never seen skill like that before. You-- you were amazing."
Zoro stared. Were his ears warming even further? She stepped back, tapping the tie with a finger before turning to her room. She unlocked and opened the door, entering before she turned to face him with a smile.
"Thanks for walking me here."
"It was sort of involuntary."
He said, and she laughed a little.
"True. Thanks anyways. Good night."
"'Night."
He caught her shy sort of smile before the door shut with a click, leaving Zoro in a deserted corridor. It was deserted because the rest were being questioned - he and her had sort of managed to escape the police through the back entrance.
His thoughts tracked back to when he had held those metal pipes. Two words kept repeating in his head... 'Hawk Wave'. Somehow, he knew it was the title of the stunt he had performed. He didn't know how he knew it - all he could think of was that he had learnt everything a very long time ago, though he had no idea when.
He felt elated and happy at the moment - he had been deliriously so while slashing away at the bozos. He was finding it difficult to pin his feelings on just words, but perhaps the best word he could think of was... fulfilled. That was it; he felt complete. He felt no more defencelessness. He found he could grin with pure confidence. He felt great. And he felt very, very tired.
Realising he was still standing, he shook his head to rid of his train of thought, and slowly dragged himself across the floor to reach the stairs. On the way, his fingers wandered up his tie and touched the knot. He blinked in surprise upon contact, and glanced down. He smiled and a small laugh escaped his lips before he started the weary climb up the stairs.
The knot was no better than before.
Sanji had a lot of thoughts running through his head now.
He was somewhat glad he had managed to slip out while everyone was being questioned.
He was also extremely worried at the same time about Nami's condition. She had seemed peaceful when he had passed her to Vivi to take care of, but he was still concerned.
He was surprised and quite confused about his skill in kicking. He found, as he fought, that he had no idea on how to punch much, but knew perfectly well how to kick. He was-- experienced in kicking. He had never really kicked anyone in his life, though, so he wasn't too sure about his skills.
The words Krieg had left him with was rotating in his head annoyingly.
*** We'll be seeing each other again soon. ***
He wasn't sure he wanted to, but at the same time wanted to kick the guy's ass. Because there was something about him - the dude next to him too, in particular, sporting the same white and blue striped head-band - they both looked disturbingly familiar. But he didn't remember when he had ever seen anyone remotely like them before...
Groaning, Sanji realised he was getting a headache from all the kicking and the thinking. Concerned though he was about Nami, he felt like dropping dead - he was that tired. He had never been this tired before.
They walked from opposite ends of the floor before meeting just before the door to their dorm. The green-head and the blonde exchanged looks of slight surprise before they both looked down towards their pockets.
Zoro pulled out the key first, stuck it in then pushed the door open.
They had a lot to talk about - how the dinner-dance went, what happened when the motorcyclers burst in, about Sanji's out-burst of kicks, when the police had come in, the damage left behind in the auditorium...
Yet, somehow, for the first time since they had met each other the two agreed whole-heartedly on one thing: they desperately needed some sleep. They walked into the dark room, shut the door, then collapsed into their respective beds fully-clothed.
Talk could come later.
A/N: This is soooooooo long. O.o;; Sorry... I didn't realise it'd take this long... lol. XD Anyways, this FINALLY concludes the dinner-dance. Yayyy. ^^;;; Thanks soooo much for bearing with me for this long! ^_^*
Note about Zoro's move: I took the title 'Hawk Wave' from this page: http://members.rogers.com/donvo/ Thanks! ^^* It's a move Zoro pulled off in volume 12 while defeating a 100 Baroque Workers in Whiskey Peak. It's cool, but I incorporated a lot of unexplained detail (hehe, I took a bit of the description off the page) and basically invented a lot of what happened in that single cut in which the 'Hawk Wave' is performed. Oh, a note - Zoro did NOT perform the move properly in the previous chapter. This is due to many reasons - the most important being that he wasn't using swords. This is why the end of the move was wonky. Okay, I better shut up before I give too much away... ~_^;;
"Anymore?"
Sanji asked with a grin. The motorcyclers stared at the pile of their companions on the floor unconcious, sharing uneasy and horrified looks. Sanji glanced back to check on Nami, and she was still lying there, his jacket snugly tucked around her shoulders as she rested against the wall. He smiled before turning his eyes back to the enemy - when he heard a loud rip somewhere behind the riders.
Light poured into the back-area, the curtains hanging torn and open as heavy footfalls sounded.
The riders turned, looking equally as surprised as Sanji did, when they all let out simultaneous gasps, many of them cringing. A tall man stepped out from behind the crowd, two others standing behind him, and Sanji could immediately tell he was the ring-leader.
"What the @#$% is going on?!"
The tall man demanded, his eyes sweeping across his fallen gang before settling on the only blonde standing. The eyes narrowed.
"H-he's a monster, Cap'n!!"
Gasped a rider,
"He beat them up with only kicking!!"
The ringleader did not look amused, and the others began chiming in.
"Look, Don Krieg! He kicked down Stitches!!"
"He broke Captain Buggy's jaw!!"
"Buggy's unconcious now!!"
"Everyone's unconcious now!!"
Then a simulaneous cry of,
"He's impossible to defeat!!"
"SILENCE!!!"
Everyone immediately shut up. Sanji blinked. Rage seemed to flare within the ringleader, Don Krieg, his eyes now fixated at Sanji.
"You obviously didn't know what you were going to face at the end,"
He hissed, and Sanji shrugged nonchalantly. However, he had a smug smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. Krieg didn't miss it, and stepped forward, the tension mounting, his eyes blazing in ferocity when it sounded.
A piercing wail of sirens.
"Shit!!"
"Krieg,"
A man with glasses whom Sanji thought looked quite familiar nudged Krieg's elbow.
"It's the police!!"
Krieg bit his lip before glaring at Sanji.
"We'll be seeing each other again soon,"
He said angrily before looking at his gang.
"HEAD OUT!!"
He yelled,
"GRAB A FALLEN COMRADE AND HEAD THE HELL OUT!!!"
His voice was so loud the whole auditorium heard him.
They didn't need telling twice. Grabbing a person or two, the riders dumped them over their motorcycles before mounting themselves. Sanji moved forward to stop them, when he realised Nami might get trampled in the process of panic-stricken riders rushing to their bikes. Sanji ran towards her, and managed to scoop her into his arms before a motorcycle ripped past them, narrowly saving Nami's legs from being run over. He held her as carefully as he could, stepping out of the mainstream of roaring motorcycles.
Within minutes the whole place was completely devoid of gangsters or crazy motorcyclists. Students and teachers were confused and standing all over the place, unsure of what to do, but a blue-haired girl ran out, her blue hair streaming behind her as her eyes widened, beelining right towards a certain young model stumbling out from beyond the thick red curtains, very carefully and gently cradling her friend.
"That was some crazy dinner dance."
Zoro commented as he walked alongside Tashigi.
"That was surely one of the most weirdest nights I've ever experienced."
Tashigi agreed, then stopped at a door. Zoro followed suit, his eyes looking at the acryllic numbers 207 hanging on the door with interest.
"See you."
Zoro said, starting to walk on, when he felt a sharp tug at the neck. He let out a strangled sort of yelp before being pulled down so his collar was at Tashigi's eye level.
"That's a weird knot,"
She said curiously as she stared at his tie. Zoro looked away, feeling a little heat at his ears.
"I don't know how to tie a tie."
He said quickly, tugging back at it. Tashigi shook her head, tugging it towards her.
"I'll tie it for you,"
She said, engaging in a mini tug-of-war with Zoro and his tie. Zoro tried to think of a good reason, but ended up sighing in defeat when Tashigi pried the knot loose. She started to loop the tie properly. Zoro saw how concentrated she looked while fumbling with his tie, and felt his face grow a little warmer for, seemingly, no apparent reason.
"I still can't believe you."
She said after a moment.
"You pull off some stunning moves that most likely exceed most of the most experienced people attending my dojo and you tell me you've never done kendo or any kind of offensive or defensive art before."
"I really have never,"
He said helplessly,
"I just... well, just suddenly knew how to..."
He found he couldn't describe it in words, and saw the disbelief etched on her face with a sweatdrop.
"Yeah, sure. I'm fine if you don't want to tell me the truth. But it doesn't impress me."
She said. A nerve twitched on his temple.
"I'm telling you the truth! I really don't know how I did all that!!"
He snapped. An identical nerve popped at her temple.
"Oh, and I suddenly know how to fly!"
She retorted.
"Are you calling me a liar?!"
He demanded.
"Do you seriously expect me to believe that you just oh-so-suddenly got granted swordskill?!"
"Fine, don't believe me if you don't want to."
"Great, I don't believe you."
"Yeah, well, fine with me."
"You were really cool."
"Yeah, well, I was just thinking-- what?"
Zoro blinked, glancing down at the girl. She had a small blush dusting her cheek as she continued,
"I'd never seen skill like that before. You-- you were amazing."
Zoro stared. Were his ears warming even further? She stepped back, tapping the tie with a finger before turning to her room. She unlocked and opened the door, entering before she turned to face him with a smile.
"Thanks for walking me here."
"It was sort of involuntary."
He said, and she laughed a little.
"True. Thanks anyways. Good night."
"'Night."
He caught her shy sort of smile before the door shut with a click, leaving Zoro in a deserted corridor. It was deserted because the rest were being questioned - he and her had sort of managed to escape the police through the back entrance.
His thoughts tracked back to when he had held those metal pipes. Two words kept repeating in his head... 'Hawk Wave'. Somehow, he knew it was the title of the stunt he had performed. He didn't know how he knew it - all he could think of was that he had learnt everything a very long time ago, though he had no idea when.
He felt elated and happy at the moment - he had been deliriously so while slashing away at the bozos. He was finding it difficult to pin his feelings on just words, but perhaps the best word he could think of was... fulfilled. That was it; he felt complete. He felt no more defencelessness. He found he could grin with pure confidence. He felt great. And he felt very, very tired.
Realising he was still standing, he shook his head to rid of his train of thought, and slowly dragged himself across the floor to reach the stairs. On the way, his fingers wandered up his tie and touched the knot. He blinked in surprise upon contact, and glanced down. He smiled and a small laugh escaped his lips before he started the weary climb up the stairs.
The knot was no better than before.
Sanji had a lot of thoughts running through his head now.
He was somewhat glad he had managed to slip out while everyone was being questioned.
He was also extremely worried at the same time about Nami's condition. She had seemed peaceful when he had passed her to Vivi to take care of, but he was still concerned.
He was surprised and quite confused about his skill in kicking. He found, as he fought, that he had no idea on how to punch much, but knew perfectly well how to kick. He was-- experienced in kicking. He had never really kicked anyone in his life, though, so he wasn't too sure about his skills.
The words Krieg had left him with was rotating in his head annoyingly.
*** We'll be seeing each other again soon. ***
He wasn't sure he wanted to, but at the same time wanted to kick the guy's ass. Because there was something about him - the dude next to him too, in particular, sporting the same white and blue striped head-band - they both looked disturbingly familiar. But he didn't remember when he had ever seen anyone remotely like them before...
Groaning, Sanji realised he was getting a headache from all the kicking and the thinking. Concerned though he was about Nami, he felt like dropping dead - he was that tired. He had never been this tired before.
They walked from opposite ends of the floor before meeting just before the door to their dorm. The green-head and the blonde exchanged looks of slight surprise before they both looked down towards their pockets.
Zoro pulled out the key first, stuck it in then pushed the door open.
They had a lot to talk about - how the dinner-dance went, what happened when the motorcyclers burst in, about Sanji's out-burst of kicks, when the police had come in, the damage left behind in the auditorium...
Yet, somehow, for the first time since they had met each other the two agreed whole-heartedly on one thing: they desperately needed some sleep. They walked into the dark room, shut the door, then collapsed into their respective beds fully-clothed.
Talk could come later.
A/N: This is soooooooo long. O.o;; Sorry... I didn't realise it'd take this long... lol. XD Anyways, this FINALLY concludes the dinner-dance. Yayyy. ^^;;; Thanks soooo much for bearing with me for this long! ^_^*
Note about Zoro's move: I took the title 'Hawk Wave' from this page: http://members.rogers.com/donvo/ Thanks! ^^* It's a move Zoro pulled off in volume 12 while defeating a 100 Baroque Workers in Whiskey Peak. It's cool, but I incorporated a lot of unexplained detail (hehe, I took a bit of the description off the page) and basically invented a lot of what happened in that single cut in which the 'Hawk Wave' is performed. Oh, a note - Zoro did NOT perform the move properly in the previous chapter. This is due to many reasons - the most important being that he wasn't using swords. This is why the end of the move was wonky. Okay, I better shut up before I give too much away... ~_^;;