A New Overlord
Welcome to the sixth chapter of my Disgaea fan fiction. Things are really starting to pick up and I'm really glad to see that there are people who enjoy my work. It's the type of thing that makes me enjoy writing fan fiction. So of course, a big thanks goes to my readers without whom, I'd be nothing. Now then, please enjoy the sixth installment of Disgaea: A New Overlord.
Chapter 6: Gate Crasher
Miroku looked at Chiaki and Mimiru who hung helplessly from their restraints. He then turned his gaze back on Laharl and waited for a response from the seemingly pompous overlord.
"I thought maybe this match could use a little eye candy. Most of my subjects seem to agree. Just listen to them." Laharl spread his arms to indicate both stands besides him.
The male demons continued with their lewd comments and cheers and whistles. Miroku was sickened by the display. Although he could admit to the fact that even he enjoys a good piece of eye candy now and then, it disgusted him when women were treated as pieces of meat before a bunch of disrespectful, inconsiderate people, or demons in his current case.
"I don't mind having to fight, but this is just disgusting. You're sick. You've taken their freedom and now you want to take their dignity?" Miroku fired back.
"Knock off the false hero talk. You should know your place. This is my realm now. I say what's right and what isn't." Laharl answered coldly.
Miroku clenched his fist and took and step forward with vicious intent. Two demons which were positioned on each side of Miroku grabbed him and restrained him. He struggled for a few minutes before calming down.
"You're anxious to fight? Well, I'm way out of your league. You'd be lucky to handle Dratti but you could never take me. But, if you're so hungry for blood, then let's get this fight on with already. I have better things I could be doing." Laharl had indeed grown into a typical overlord. But with it, he brought his own sort of style to it. His childish ways and attitudes made him different from overlords of the past.
Laharl gestured to the demons restraining Miroku and they released him and headed for the doors. They exited and shut the doors tightly behind them. Leaving was no longer an option for Miroku, even though it hadn't been from the start. A couple of prinnies came out, carrying a table and set it down in front of Etna, who was standing to the side of Laharl. She took a seat and donned a headset that was taken from the communications room. The Dark Assembly hall had been adapted to an arena, speakers and all.
"Now then, are you ready?" Etna asked with the vigor of a sportscaster. Miroku slapped his hand to his forehead and shook his head in humiliation. He realized this had become an actual sporting event, complete with announcer.
Demons shouted in positive response. They cheered and applauded loudly at the announcement of the fight. The crowd was getting worked up for a good fight.
"We have a hot crowd tonight! Now then, to my right, hailing directly from the Overlord's Castle, everyone's resident favorite and one of Lord Laharl's strongest vassals, Dratti!" Etna shouted, pumping a fist in excitement.
The might Fafnir walked to the center of the floor, receiving a powerful uproar of applause and cheers. Demons gave Dratti a standing ovation and excited whistles and positive comments.
"And on my left, hailing from the human world….some random human guy." Etna delivered the line deadpan and took a sip of something in a mug on her desk.
Demons heckled Miroku and booed. Shouts of disapproval came from the crowd as Miroku stepped to the center of the room as well so that he was only a few feet away from his powerful opponent.
"Don't you hate the away games, Kid? The crowd's always against you." Dratti joked.
Miroku locked gazes with Dratti, stopping the mighty beast's laughter. Dratti viewed Miroku and saw the determination in his eyes. He sized him up in silence before Miroku broke the silence in response.
"Tell me about. But at least I won't go hungry in the ring." Miroku responded with a laugh as he caught a piece of food that was thrown in the ring, directed at him from the stands.
Dratti laughed in good nature, signaling his approval of Miroku. His laughter slowly died down as he eyed Miroku again.
"But seriously, Kid, you look like a strong competitor. I can see it in you. I hope you don't disappoint me." Dratti said as he clicked his claws against each other.
"Haven't had any complaints so far." Miroku replied with confidence. He couldn't help but feel kind of headstrong, having been "accepted" by such a powerful demon.
"We wanna see some bloodshed! Enough talking and start the fight!"
The shout came from a Rune Knight in the left hand side of the stands. Miroku and Dratti both turned in the direction of the call. Dratti smiled and Miroku shrugged his shoulders in indifference.
"The fans are getting restless as our two competitors' size each other up. Let's get to the action!" Etna threw in her trademark sarcasm on top of her assumed sportscaster identity.
Dratti turned his head back to Miroku and walked close. He extended a claw to Miroku as a sign of good sportsmanship, which was surprising to see in the netherworld. Too bad for Miroku that it was so short lived.
"Don't disappoint me. I'm expecting a good fight." Dratti said as he extended his claw for a handshake.
Miroku reached for his opponent's claw. Dratti snapped his tail against the floor and knocked Miroku clear off his feet before he could complete his handshake. He raised his tail high and prepared to swing it down forcefully, crushing Miroku upon contact.
"Ooh, that had to hurt! Should've known better than to trust a demon to believe in sportsmanship." Etna called as Miroku hit the floor. The crowd went wild with the sneak attack launched by the mighty dragon.
Dratti swung his tail down with break-neck velocity, expecting a clear shot at Miroku. Miroku, however, acted quickly enough to dodge the powerful blow with a rolling dodge to the right and climbed back to his feet. He drew his fists close to his face in a boxing stance and eyed Dratti cautiously.
"Not bad, Kid. Not bad at all. Most people wouldn't be able to get up fast enough. But you should've just stayed down." The Fafnir said with disrespect.
"Funny. I was going to say the exact same thing to you." Miroku shot forward and lunged upward, catching his opponent off guard and landed a powerful uppercut.
Dratti staggered for a minute before regaining balance. He spit out a small amount of blood and looked back at Miroku.
"Figures. You're not as tough as you seem." Miroku's tone denoted defiance and triumph.
"You punk! You made me bite my tongue!" Dratti roared.
Miroku was caught off guard by Dratti's below. He looked at him in amazement. He put everything he could into that uppercut and all he succeeded in doing was making him bite his own tongue. Miroku knew now that his regular strength wouldn't help him here. He would have to call on his mana power to see him through. He clenched his fists tightly and focused his energy on them. In a matter of seconds, his hands were surrounded with the glowing, Amethyst colored flames.
"Nice pyrotechnics. I haven't seen a human with your amount of mana. My tongue still hurts and that pissed me off but, congrats to you anyway. Now stand still while I burn you to a pile of ash!" Dratti launched a powerful Fire Breath attack at Miroku.
Miroku, who was not expecting the powerful assault, only shielded himself with his arms because he did not react in time to escape the blast. The demons shouted in approval. Adrenaline surged throughout the room.
"Burn! Dratti's Fire Breath attack can reduce buildings to nothing at full power. Imagine what it would do to this guy! Seems like this match is already over!" Etna swung her hands in excitement to get the crowd pumped, which was no hard task in their current state.
Dratti continued to pour on the heat, making sure that there would be nothing left of Miroku once he lowered the flame to nothing more than small embers. What he saw on the other end shocked and mortified him. The crowd was stunned as well. Silence fell over the once deafening assembly hall turned arena. Miroku appeared from behind the blaze, standing tall, his arms still crossed over his chest.
"What the hell? You're supposed to be dead!" Dratti screamed in desperation. He had never met anyone, other than Laharl and Krichevskoy, who could stand up to his powerful blast.
"You're not so tough. I said that before, didn't I?" Miroku's speech was pained. Although he was still standing, no doubt the attack took its toll on him. His mana flame protected him to a certain extent but since he wasn't very skilled at using it yet, he couldn't provide enough energy for a total cancel of Dratti's Fire Breath attack.
In a rather unexpected twist, Miroku received cheers for his forceful stand. He held his ground and earned the affections of some of the female demons lining the room as well as the respect of a faction of the males.
"This isn't any regular human that the powerful and charismatic Dratti is dealing with! He stood tall through the entire blast. Whoever this guy is, there's gotta be something special about him!" Etna was shocked but fulfilled her duties as an announcer to the event.
"OH MAN! DOOD!" The shout came from a large cluster of prinnies in the stands.
Miroku smiled in revelry of his applause and his own bravado. He didn't show it but he was in excruciating pain. He could just barely stand, let alone continue the fight. It would take a miracle to get him through the end of this match, let alone have a snowball's chance in hell at winning this fight. Chiaki, who had just come to moments before, had witnessed the display and was completely in awe as to how Miroku could live through a shot like that. But, she also knew that his mana count was that of an overlords' so it wasn't such a huge surprise when you thought about it in that context.
"Die, die, die! You worthless little creep! Burn in hell!" Dratti shouted in anxiety and desperation. He fired off another Fire Breath attack but this one was less focused and weaker than the first, probably due to his reaction to the event.
Miroku rolled to the side, grating his teeth in extreme pain, his burns coming in contact with the floor and the clothes on his back as he moved out of the way of the inferno. He tried to stand up, but to no avail. His legs had given out on him at the moment and he was helpless if Dratti figured out that Miroku was at such and extreme disadvantage.
"This is all too unreal. This can't be happening. Miroku is down there fighting…for me. Oh, and for her, too." Chiaki remembered that Mimiru was hanging there with her. A soft breeze came by as the hot air the filled the arena dispersed, fluttering Chiaki's garments and giving her a slight chill.
The wind is what triggered Chiaki's memory about the events just before. Her and Mimiru were forced to change into the skimpy outfits and were led to a dark room. The room was completely drenched in darkness, not even enough light to see Mimiru who was standing no more than a few inches away from her. She remembered the air smelling strange and then woke up here. She looked down and realized the situation she was in and tried in futility to cover her semi-exposed body.
"What are you? You can't be human. And you're certainly not like any demon I've seen." Dratti calmed himself down, seeing that his emotions were destroying his combat prowess.
"Who knows? I'm not even sure myself." Miroku said in parody and respect of a famous, gun wielding half demon.
Laharl, who had seen the display, broke out in a cold sweat, realizing that Miroku was one of only two other people who survived Dratti's inferno. Laharl refused to believe that Miroku could just as strong as, or stronger even, than the great overlord himself. He leaned forward, literally sitting on the edge of his seat, awaiting what would happen next.
"You know, you do a pretty good job of talking the talk kid. Let's see you walk the walk now." The demon spoke knowingly.
Miroku's eyes widened in fear. He knew that Dratti had realized that Miroku couldn't climb to his feet. But, if Miroku succeeded in getting up, it would catch his opponent off guard and give him the opening he needed to possibly end this match. Only two problems stood in his way. For one, even he didn't believe he could get up now. Also, if he did manage to find the strength to get up and continue fighting, how would he possibly win this match? As if the answer to his questions, Miroku had seen a vision of a warrior falling from the heavens to the earth ingrained in his mind. He stood up, completely throwing his opponent into a state of shock and took the opening to make his shot. Miroku ran forward and raised Dratti high into the sky with an uppercut, sending him and his opponent through the roof of the Overlord's Castle and into space. Once in the atmosphere, Miroku heightened his mana flame to immense proportions and punched Dratti with everything he had, sending the once formidable dragon spiraling helplessly towards the netherworld.
Dratti created a monstrous impact in the floor, creating a deep pit in the center of the assembly hall. Miroku then landed safely and silently on the edge of the pit.
"No….way. This isn't possible. The new guy just successfully pulled off a Rising Dragon technique. I think….I think this may very well be the end of this fight." Etna spoke silently and somewhat somberly into the headset she was wearing. The crowd was in silent amazement at the sheer destructive power of Miroku's attack. Laharl's jaw dropped and his "antennae" drooped by the sides of his head.
Miroku climbed into the pit, checking to see just how badly Dratti was harmed. He needed to know the range of his own strength. He needed to see if he did what he didn't believe he could do. He inched closer to the unconscious Dratti and observed him for a minute. Dratti twitched for a minute, giving Miroku a scare. He clamed himself as Dratti laid still. He walked right over to him. Dratti's eye quickly opened and then he slashed Miroku hard, tearing his coat to ribbons as well as shooting Miroku out of the pit.
"I don't lose! You can't hurt me! You're just a normal human kid! I refuse to lose to someone like you!" Dratti had lost his grasp on his clarity and his sanity.
Miroku flew high into the air and landed hard on the floor just outside the pit. Dratti clawed his way out of the pit and regained his footing. He roared loudly and shook the assembly hall rafters and the stands that the demons were situated. The covered their heads in fear and the shock elicited shouts and gasps from the bystanders. Mimiru was awakened from her semi-comatose state by the powerful force of Dratti's battle cry. She quickly assessed everything that was going on around her and then focused on the main thing. Miroku was down in the arena, and he was hurt badly. She turned to Chiaki, who gave her a reassuring look, believing that Miroku was going to pull through this.
"Son of a…." Miroku tried to lift himself from the floor but fell prey to the pain of his injuries and collapsed helplessly on the floor. He looked at Dratti through eyes which burned from the blood flowing freely from a cut on his forehead, obscuring his vision behind a scarlet veil.
The mighty dragon, albeit some rather serious injuries, remained strong and imposing. His demon side was truly present in the arena tonight. He snorted thick, black smoke from his nostrils as he breathed heavily.
"This isn't good. He doesn't look like he has much fight left in him. I don't think he'll make it out of this one. And that means, neither will we." Chiaki spoke under her breath to keep Mimiru from falling into a state of panic.
Mimiru had been recounting the moments that had past, coming to the same conclusion that Chiaki had earlier. She looked at Miroku, who was near finished, and longed to help him. She had wished there was something she could do. She felt it was what he deserved. Especially after fighting so hard for someone he had just met. She could understand why he would fight for Chiaki but she couldn't understand why Miroku would bother to fight for her as well. The whole situation left her despaired and confused.
"Only a miracle could get me out of this one. I can barely move and that beast is still at peak performance. I….need….a miracle." Miroku was slowly fading. He did what he could to hold onto his consciousness for as long as he could.
As if to answer his call for help, a loud shattering sound rang out from behind him, approximately near the doors of the assembly hall. The splints of wood flew about as the doors were practically obliterated by whatever was behind it. Could it be the help that Miroku was praying for? Or a demon much more fearsome than that of Dratti or worse? Much more terrifying was the real truth behind the door.
"Mr. Megami! Can you not do anything right? You've allowed Ms. Hyafumi to be captured and to allow yourself to fall victim to such a ruthless assault! Inconceivable!" The voice came in a powerful and yet horribly annoying familiarity to Miroku and Chiaki. Kaname Sadamoto, the follower of Chiaki and the destructive force of the High school she attended had become Miroku's, although gratefully welcomed, least favorable choice for a savior.
Chiaki's eyes widened in complete and utter despair. The one person she spent most of her spare time avoiding had followed her, albeit inexplicably, to another world.
"Why couldn't I have just been killed by demons? Or sacrificed to some god? Why must I constantly be punished everyday of my life?" Chiaki whined as tears streamed down her face in sheer disappointment.
"What the hell? Who the heck are you? And how did you get here anyway?" Laharl demanded. He could understand the other three because they followed the scout through the portal but how Kaname managed to get through was beyond his comprehension.
"The name is Kaname Sadamoto, guardian angel of the lovely Ms. Hyafumi. Now I demand that you release Ms. Hyafumi at once. Where is she?" Kaname scoped out the arena that was eye-level and below.
"Well, first of all, if you're talking about one of the girls, they're over there. And second…." Laharl got cut off by Kaname who had turned to face the direction that Laharl previously indicated.
"So she's over…." Kaname froze in place. Her eyes caught glimpse of Chiaki, whose skin was revealed more so to Kaname then ever. She blushed furiously and couldn't remove her eyes from Chiaki's body.
Chiaki noticed and writhed uncomfortably under Kaname's gaze. It was bad enough that she was being eyed up by most of the demons but she didn't need the extra attention from the one person that she was always trying to avoid. She felt like a piece of meat being held in front of a pack of wild dogs. She looked to Mimiru helplessly. Mimiru could do nothing but comfort her with and understanding and reassuring look.
"Hey! Hello! Over here!" Laharl felt ignored and shouted in a commanding voice. He managed to wrench Kaname's eyes off of Chiaki and back to meet his gaze.
"What is it now?" Kaname snapped with displeasure.
"You haven't even told me how you got here and where you get off just making demands like that! You shouldn't even be here, much less be trying to give me orders!" Laharl's antennae stood at attention as he commanded Kaname's respect and attention.
"Well, I guess I should explain how I arrived here before I reclaim Ms. Hyafumi from you."
"That'd be nice." Etna said with mock sincerity.
Kaname shot her a disapproving glance before continuing on with her explanation.
"I was on my usual security trip to ensure that Ms. Hyafumi arrived safely to her destination and back home, I briefly lost sight of her when she entered the shop of the young women beside her. Soon after, I noticed that they had left the store in pursuit of a thief that had stolen something which belonged to Ms. Hyafumi. I followed quickly and quietly behind them so as not to arouse suspicion. They chased the suspect into and enclosed alleyway and then disappeared behind what appeared to be some kind of vortex or something to that effect. I tried to catch them as they went through but it snapped shut just as I had arrived at the end of the long alleyway. Despaired but not dispirited, I continued to investigate the area until I could find some way to access the vortex into which they had just disappeared. I realized that it had left behind a sort of warped area on the floor so I investigated it and found that I could reopen the portal for a short moment just by "lifting" the warped section of the ground. It took me a while to do so as the ground was slowly returning to normal, making my job much harder. I managed to open a smaller version of the vortex and hurried through and now I stand here before you all." Kaname placed her hands on her hips and had an intelligent smile on her face.
The other demons had been so bored by her long and out winded story that they began to just ignore her completely. Some had been listening to music, while others read books or drew pictures on their programs. Kaname looked around and huffed angrily, crossing her arms over her chest.
"So you mean that you've been stalking me every single day?" Chiaki called out to Kaname.
"Not stalking, safeguarding." Kaname called back as she whirled around to face Chiaki again.
"Is there much difference?" Laharl said flatly under his breath.
Miroku, who had been lying on the floor, had slowly begun to get his second wind and managed to climb to his feet. He was extremely unsteady and looked like he was about to collapse at any second, but he managed to stand firm.
"Hey, you're back up. You're tougher to kill than I expected, Kid. I haven't had a fight like this for a long time. I'm still gonna kill you though." Dratti remarked as he spotted the tottering Miroku.
Kaname turned her head to the side to look at Miroku out of the corner of her eye. She was surprised to see that he had managed to stand up without assistance. She couldn't help but admire his spirit and determination.
"I still have a match to fight….I can't afford to lose this one." Miroku was pained in every breath and could barely get his sentence out.
"You're kidding, right? You can't be serious." Kaname turned around fully, feeling genuine concern for Miroku.
"I am. I picked up something at the shop that can do just the trick. The shopkeeper filled me in on the physics of this place." Miroku pulled a Chocolate bar out of his pocket with the Rosenqueen logo emblazoned on it. He unwrapped it hastily and wolfed it down. In a matter of seconds, he was back to peak status.
"Sonofa….I forgot to stock up on items!" Dratti shouted in despair.
"I think you should move out of the way for a few minutes Kaname. I have a match to finish up." Miroku was filled with confidence, even though his jacket was in tatters and most of his armor was either entirely incinerated or in really bad condition. He was essentially dressed in the clothes he came in with and his weapon. He pulled out a black and gold headband from his pant pocket and tied it around his head.
Kaname smiled and heeded Miroku's advice and walked over to Etna's table and leaned against it. Etna looked clearly annoyed but shrugged it off and attended to her duties.
"Looks like this match isn't over people! Our competitor is back at his prime and he looks pretty serious about fighting." Etna was again filled with the same excitement that she had when she first began broadcasting the event.
"Now then, bring it on!" Miroku shouted in vigor as he ran towards Dratti at full clip.
His hands and feet were moving at unbelievable speeds, pummeling Dratti with punishing punches and kicks. The mighty dragon groaned in agony with each shot that was landed. Miroku had a smile plastered on his face that hadn't come off since his onslaught began. Dratti had developed cuts all over his face and was even missing a few teeth. Kaname couldn't help but wonder why Miroku hadn't used the item earlier.
"Holy-Dratti is completely helpless against the vigorous blows connecting with him, this match could be over!" Etna was really pumped. For once, she found herself rooting for someone other than another vassal of Laharl.
"The physics of this world are horrible! He ate a chocolate bar and now he's wasting my strongest vassal? This can't be happening! After this is all over, I'm petitioning the Dark Assembly for more realistic physics on our items! NOW! Waste the human! All standby demons, ATTACK!" Laharl shouted furiously as floods of demons came and surrounded Miroku and the now unconscious Fafnir.
"HEY! That's not fair!" Kaname shouted as she withdrew her kendo stick and jumped into the arena. She couldn't stand to see injustice done, no matter where and to whom.
Etna snagged her by the leg, forcing Kaname to drop onto the table with a powerful impact.
"We're demons! We don't play fair!" Etna spun quickly and released Kaname into the sky, following closely after with her spear out in front of her.
Miroku took notice and acted quickly, launching a demon into Etna with a powerful kick, causing Etna to miss her mark. The once structured battle had now become a wild free-for-all. Even Laharl saw it fit to join in on the melee. He jumped into the center of the action, wielding his weapon, Bahamut's Fang. He cut through a couple of demons who had lost their heads and began attacking blindly, slowly making his way to Miroku. Kaname landed down on the floor and struck out at Etna, knocking her onto her back. Miroku realized that things were going much too fast for just him and Kaname to handle. He jumped high into the air, utilizing the power of the "legendary" cross-trainers that he picked up in the shops and landed on the platforms holding Mimiru and Kaname.
"You didn't think I was going to just leave you here, did you?" Miroku said with a snicker as he snapped both of their chains using his Hyper Knuckles.
"Took you long enough, though." Chiaki remarked, giving Miroku a heartfelt hug as a show of thanks.
Mimiru turned to the battlefield and looked down in amazement.
"You think we should be getting down there?" She asked cautiously.
"Dressed the way we are? We need some clothes first. We'd sooner get raped than have a chance at fighting those demons. Miroku, do you think you could hold your own for just a few minutes? I know where our stuff is, I just need the time to go and get it." Chiaki asked earnestly.
"Go on, get outta here. Me and Kaname can hold the field for a while. Just be ready to fight when you get back." Miroku said as he waved them off and then jumped once more into the fray.
Miroku landed dead center of the action. He scattered a few demons with a rotating roundhouse and regained his balance in time to see Kaname send some lesser demons reeling with a couple of expertly placed shots. Miroku turned his back, confident that Kaname could handle herself and locked glances with Laharl. The mood between them was a cold, serious energy. The two stared each other down before Laharl took the first move. He cut through a couple of demons who had gotten out of hand in the riot and made his way to Miroku. Miroku, fearing for the safety of Kaname, made his way through some of the demons that were blocking his way and moved towards the rear of the arena. Meanwhile, Chiaki and Mimiru charged through the small hallway, knocking some demons out of their way in the process of heading to the room where their belongings were being held. What they weren't expecting was to be blocked by a blonde and a robot, both looking as if they were ready to defend the hall.
"You shouldn't be out here. You're supposed to be captives of Harlie. You'd best go back or I have to force you to go back. Sorry." Jennifer apologized sincerely as she waited for their reaction.
"I need to get my stuff back. My friend is in trouble and I'm not going to let you stop me. So if you really don't want to fight me, then move." Chiaki prayed that her bluff wouldn't be called. She didn't know what Jennifer and Thursday were capable of. She hadn't learned how to channel her mana like Miroku had.
"It's extremely illogical to try and force your way through an enemy checkpoint. Offer no resistance and we will be lenient." Thursday said in his cold, monotonous voice.
Chiaki swallowed hard. Thursday made a good point that Chiaki couldn't refute. Then, out of response to fear, Chiaki was soon engulfed in a huge amethyst colored pillar of flame. Mimiru and Jennifer shielded their eyes form the flames bright rays.
"Holy-" Mimiru stopped as the flames died down and gave way to an even more extraordinary turn of events.
Chiaki had emerged from the flames, looking like a true demoness. She looked more fierce and combat ready than before. Her body came to that of a near-perfect hourglass figure and her chest had, although inexplicably, noticeably grown. She smiled malevolently as she eyed Jennifer and Thursday.
"Oh my." Jennifer said quietly.
"Subject has experienced severe changes in mana level, confidence, and body proportions. Current proportions are…" Thursday didn't receive the chance to finish as Chiaki sent a bolt of mana into the calculating robot. He lurched violently and fell back for a moment before regaining balance and rolled back to his place beside Jennifer.
"Chiaki? What's going on?" Mimiru questioned with concern.
"To tell you the truth, I'm not really sure myself. But I guess I can't complain. I mean, just look at me! I'm hot! And my voice is….sexy!" Chiaki's voice had indeed taken on a sultry quality.
"That's not what I meant! I meant, how did you feel? What just happened?" Mimiru said, laughing at Chiaki's previous remarks. Chiaki had managed to lighten Mimiru's mood by exclaiming how she had changed.
"Again, I'm not sure. I mean, one minute I was scared and now I feel really confident. And I feel pretty strong. I guess this is the way that I harness my mana. I wonder if Miroku can do it too." Chiaki explained.
Jennifer had taken on a scowl and was considerably ticked off.
"You could have hurt Thursday! I just finished fixing him!" Jennifer shouted, which was incredibly rare for her since she almost never got mad. But, apparently, Thursday must have meant a lot to her, being that she first created him when she was younger.
Chiaki shrugged her shoulders in indifference, further angering Jennifer to the point of actually resulting to physical violence. She took a few steps forward; fists clenched tightly and hit Chiaki with a hard left hook. Chiaki stumbled backwards but remained standing. Taking Jennifer's actions as a sign of combat, didn't take long to counter with a well placed shot of her own. She lifted her right leg high and then pulled it down quickly, hooking the back of Jennifer's neck with the arch of her foot. Jennifer fell to the ground hard and took a few seconds before climbing back to her feet. Mimiru, having no way to defend herself as of now, stepped to the side to allow Chiaki and Jennifer to continue their battle unhindered. Meanwhile, Miroku had his hands full with Laharl, who had managed to catch up with him after Miroku's game of keep-away.
"Will you stand still!" Laharl shouted as he took a few empty horizontal slashes at Miroku.
"Alright, have it your way." Miroku planted his feet firmly on the ground, not out of choice but the fact that his back was literally against the wall.
Laharl smiled impatiently as he came down with a vertical slash from Bahamut's Fang.
"Strike stopper 13!" Miroku shouted as he clamped his hands on the sides of Laharl's blade. He turned his arms to the side and wrenched the sword from Laharl's hands and tossed it into the chaos in the center of the arena.
"Like I need a sword to handle you!" Laharl shouted as he threw a powerful straight punch.
Miroku reacted in time to just barely dodge the shot. Seeing a clear cut opening, he countered with a strong uppercut. Laharl's head snapped backwards from the force of the shot. He stumbled across the floor and managed to regain his balance. He steadied himself and clenched his teeth in fury as he ran at Miroku, throwing lighting fast shots. Soon, the fight turned into a high-speed game of Bloody Knuckles. Miroku matched Laharl's punches, blow for blow, the sound of their bones crashing into each other being loud enough to be audible to regular hearing. Miroku pulled back, his knuckles dripping with blood. Laharl took a quick breather, his knuckles bleeding as well. To Kaname's error, she turned her head to Miroku, leaving her open to a back attack from Etna, sending her flailing across the room. Kaname landed against a nearby wall and Etna wasn't far behind. She jumped twice in place, and out of seemingly nowhere, millions of Prinnies came falling from the skies, exploding upon impact with Kaname. After the dust settled, Kaname's body lay battered but still living.
"Damn it! That Prinny Raid was a direct hit and you're still alive? I'll do it myself!" Etna shouted.
She took to the sky and began to spin in midair, gaining velocity with each full rotation. She crashed down, raising chunks of ground and leaving behind an earth shattering crash. She could swear she nailed Kaname down this time. What Etna saw next infuriated her to such a high degree. Miroku was standing there, holding Kaname in one arm and blocking Laharl's enraged shots with the other. Miroku shattered Laharl's onslaught by filling his body with mana, causing him to combust for a few seconds, surprising Laharl and Etna alike. He then jumped up to a high seat in the assembly room and placed Kaname down gently. He then stood straight and motioned a "come at me" signal to Laharl with his hands. Laharl, never being one to turn down a challenge followed him up. He landed dead on target, crashing down on Miroku with his boots. Miroku gasped for air as Laharl placed on boot on Miroku's throat. He smiled triumphantly at the sound of Miroku's hoarse gasps. That was until Miroku grabbed Laharl's boot and twisted, sending Laharl into an uncontrolled aerial spiral. Taking a quick and deep breath, Miroku followed him into the air, landing powerful punches and kicks as they made their descent to the floor.
"No way! This can't go on! I have to get rid of all this unnecessary confusion!" Etna shouted. She then leapt into the air once again, this time making way more complete rotations that when she was aimed at Kaname. She crashed into the ground a second time but to monstrous effect. All the demons that had been brawling before had dropped down, dead. The power of Etna's Comet Strike was enough to waste the large group of demons.
"Oh my friggin' god!" Miroku shouted, realizing that Etna killed all those demons on her own.
Etna now decided to take the role of a real vassal, and rushed to her overlord's aid. She began swing her spear in close, well-timed shots, leaving Miroku in a defensive state. He could do naught but jump back, trying to keep his vow of not hitting a female. He then decided to go for a huge gamble on luck. He decided to try a move he had only successfully done once.
"Strike stopper 26!" Miroku shouted, putting his hands perpendicular to the spear. He grabbed the pole arm end of it and turned his arms in a semicircle. He cut himself slightly on his hands and his waist as he pulled the spear from Etna and snapped it in one move. Now he made her a little less dangerous. He cursed his luck and why Chiaki was not there to back him up yet. He knew he couldn't hit a female, but Chiaki sure could.
Chiaki of course, had problems of her own right now. Jennifer was no slouch on the battlefield so things weren't as easy as Chiaki expected, even with her new transformation, which she had just recently dubbed "Lovely Drive." Mimiru wasn't in favor of the name as it sounded like something out of a cheesy anime but decided not to say anything.
"Excuse me, but I feel that my intervention would somehow help this situation" Thursday said as he stopped Jennifer and Chiaki from continuing their fight.
"What is it now, Thursday? I'm pretty busy as you can see." Jennifer said, keeping her ever-present sweet tone of voice.
"Well, it has been said that music is the universal language and can soothe the savage beast, so I have a proposal to make." Thursday droned on.
"Do tell, sounds interesting anyway." Chiaki said as she lifted her eyebrow in interest.
"I propose a dance-off showdown. It could solve things without violence." Thursday explained.
"You can be serious about that, right?" Mimiru said with a nervous laugh.
"Would you like me to list the 28 clear reasons why my proposal would be deemed logical?" Thursday questioned.
"No, that's quite alright." Mimiru said, withdrawing her argument. She didn't feel there was time for a dance-off, much less a lecture from a robot.
"Well, I'll do it if she will." Chiaki said, indicating Jennifer with her eyes.
"I don't see a problem with your proposal, Thursday. And out of respect for….this young lady, I'll let her choose the song." Jennifer said, somewhat cattily but suppressed enough so that it wasn't noticeable.
"My name is, Chiaki. And I have just the thing, but it's in my bag. Which is what I was trying to get in the first place before you stopped me." Chiaki replied.
"Oh, you mean this?" Jennifer asked as she pulled Chiaki's bag out of Thursday's storage compartment.
"Yes, that's it. But if you would just give me my bag now, we could just bypass all of this." Chiaki said, becoming a little annoyed.
"You are prisoners of Lord Harlie. I cannot allow you to just leave unless I am defeated. And besides, what are you afraid of? You don't have any rhythm?" Jennifer said, trying to get under Chiaki's skin. It obviously worked.
"I have rhythm enough to help whatever sorry moves you have! Left pocket, third zipper. My CD player is in there. Take the CD out of it and set it to track 4." Chiaki said, angry and confident mixing to create and odd aura of confidence around her.
Jennifer smiled, knowing that her ploy had worked. She opened the left pocket and undid the third zipper just as Chiaki had instructed. Sure enough, Chiaki's CD player was in there and there was a CD in it but it was unlabeled since it was a burned CD. Jennifer shrugged it off and placed the CD inside Thursday's newly added media drive. After loading for a few seconds, "Don't Start Now" by BoA had begun to play.
"You have to be joking…." Mimiru said as she buried her face in her hands in embarrassment.
Jennifer let the song run for a few seconds, allowing her to get a feel for the music. She stopped the song and turned to face Chiaki. She smiled confidently, fully displaying her pearly whites before she spoke.
"I think I have a feel for the music. We can begin anytime you're ready. And I have to say, you don't have too bad a taste in music." Jennifer remarked, hiding the fact that she really liked the song.
"Thanks for the compliment, I guess. You're pretty good spirited for someone who's about to fall prey to my choreographically charged skills." Chiaki said, placing her hands on her hips.
"Right. I'll be sure to keep that in mind when I'm declared the winner."
Jennifer and Chiaki stared each other down, looking intense but still maintaining an air of elegance. What they had not realized was that a prinny had been watching the whole thing unfold and ran to report it to Laharl and Etna. The prinny ran down the hall and opened the door to the arena. A quick gust of air, tainted with the smell of blood, hit him, causing him to lose balance for a minute. He shook it off and continued into the tense room, where Miroku, Laharl and Etna stood, all deadlocked.
"Lord Laharl! Dood! Big news!" The prinny sputtered.
Laharl cocked his head to the side and looked at the prinny, still incredibly tense from the postponed battle.
"I hope you realize this isn't the time for that. Besides, what could be so important that you have to come and tell me right now?" Laharl said in an aggravated tone.
"Dood, the girl that you took prisoner is about to go into a showdown with Jennifer!" The prinny shouted frantically.
"And why would that be important if you can see if we're in a similar situation ourselves?" Etna asked sarcastically.
"It's not just any regular showdown, dood! It's a dance-off showdown!" The prinny shouted with a smirk on his face.
"You can't actually be serious about that? I'm here getting my ass handed to me and Chiaki is off shaking hers?" Although Miroku had been Chiaki's friend for a long time, he would be lying if he said the prospect of his statement didn't interest him. Especially since he had no idea about Chiaki's surprising change.
"Prince, don't you think we could just take a quick break to go and see that? Overlord knows that it's been a while since we've had any real entertainment." Etna asked pleadingly.
"No way! We're in the middle of a fight! How can you just expect to up and leave? Besides, we have to take care of this guy!" Laharl shouted in disbelief, not being able to fathom the audacity of Etna's proposal.
"I'm sure he'd be willing to stick around for a few minutes to see the show." Etna replied.
"A few minutes are all you have, dood! They're about to start any second now!" The prinny said, waving his feathery arms urgently.
Laharl gritted his teeth in chagrin but conceded to Etna's prodding and the prinny's urgent delivery of the message.
"I can't believe that I'm going to say this…..we'll take a break until the showdown is over. Now let's hurry this up." Laharl said impatiently, dusting himself off.
"That's the spirit, Prince! There's always time for a little leisure every now and again!" Etna shouted happily. She seemed almost giddy as she followed the prinny out of the room and down the hall.
"I cannot believe this is how they run a kingdom around here." Miroku said as he put his hand to his forehead.
Laharl walked out of the room and shortly after, Miroku followed suit. He spotted Mimiru at the far end of the hall and walked up next to her. He looked around to find Chiaki, not knowing about her transformation, not being able to find her. He nudged Mimiru gently.
"What is it?" Mimiru said, replying to Miroku's nudge.
"Where's Chiaki? I heard she was supposed to be here." Miroku questioned, scratching the back of his head.
"She's right there." Mimiru replied, indicating Chiaki with her index finger.
Miroku traced a line from Mimiru's index finger to Chiaki with his eyes. He donned a confused look and turned back to Mimiru. He opened his mouth to speak to Mimiru when it finally hit him.
"You mean the hottie is Chiaki?" Miroku inquired incredulously. He knew that Chiaki could be pretty attractive when she was all dressed up but to him, this transformation was unprecedented.
"She's not that attractive…" Mimiru replied, a hint of jealousy showing through in her voice.
"What happened to her? She looks….different." Miroku said. He hesitated in his words because the first word that came to his mind was "sexy" but he thought it better to not make the transformation seem like that big a deal when Mimiru was around. He had already sensed the jealousy in her tone.
"She's in her…." Mimiru sighed in dislike before finishing her statement.
"She's in her "Lovely Drive" mana transformation." Mimiru explained, finishing her statement.
"Her Lovely what?" Miroku said, partially echoing Mimiru's previous words.
"Her "Lovely Drive" transformation. She manipulated her mana in a way similar to how you did, except instead of channeling it, she used it to transform." Mimiru explained.
"Damn, if she can pull of something like this, it's no wonder that her mana count came out higher than mine did. I wonder if I can do anything like that." Miroku said. He looked at Chiaki and then at Jennifer.
The two continued to stare each other down until Thursday intervened and broke the tense silence.
"Are you two ladies ready to begin?" Thursday asked flatly.
"Start the music, Thursday." Jennifer said, not removing her gaze from Chiaki.
"You wanna start or should I?" Chiaki asked out of courtesy.
"You take lead. I want to see just how well you do first." Jennifer replied.
Thursday pressed a button on his media drive and then set the CD to track 4. After a short loading time, "Don't Start Now" by BoA began to play again. It seemed like this little showdown was about to begin. And the turnout was anything but small. Soon, the hall was filled with demons that had heard the news and came to see the showdown. In no time at all, this dance-off was about to take off.
And that brings us to the conclusion of my sixth chapter of my Disgaea fan fiction. I must extended gratitude to all of you who read and review this story. The feedback really helps me get pumped for the next chapter. My battle scenes still need a little work but bear with me as I am hoping it will get better. So, the same as always, any questions or comments, leave in a review. You all know the rest.