The Fall of a Giant!
"This just five minutes in to the fight and we already have a clear winner!" shouted the Longarm. "Mashiba is just devastating Hiro-Shu. The fight is far from close, but it looks like Hiro-Shu refuses to rest. Mashiba's strength is just pushing him back and making sure he can't possibly turn this fight back. The only question is will we see a chance comeback."
The crew was all aghast in the fight. Hiro-Shu was one of the fighters they had never had to worry about losing, but from the looks of it Hiro-Shu was almost definitely going to lose. They still had their fingers crossed as they watched the fight, but it was starting to become obvious even to them who would win. Mashiba was just a monster.
Mashiba's strength was unreal. He was definitely Karasu's protege. He was an expert killer and it showed in his approach. In terms of power and abilities they were probably equal, but Mashiba's weapon and tactics made it a bad matter of compatibility for Hiro-Shu. A spear isn't an extremely common weapon. Its main and only use is a thrust. A sword gives someone swings and a thrust and an ax gives someone an insane amount of power. The thrust of the spear has two other benefits.
One is the obvious reach distance. A spear can reach a longer distance and keep its opponent's at bay, which was more then effective against a close-ranged fighter like Hiro-Shu. Hiro-Shu could only really deliver strong blows at close-range with punches, but a spear made sure Hiro-Shu was stuck outside of his punching range. To make the reach difference even more important was the difference in the fighter's speed. Mashiba was also faster then Hiro-Shu. Hiro-Shu was a pretty slow fighter due to the excess weight. If Hiro-Shu couldn't run fast there was no way he close the distance between him and Mashiba.
The second huge benefit to a spear, especially a modified one like Mashiba's was the piercing power it possessed. Since the spear could only be used a thrusting weapon the tip of the spear was unbelievably pointed and precise giving it amazing piercing capabilities. Mashiba's strength only amplified that. However, that was with a standard spear. Mashiba's spear was slightly different. Beneath the tip of his spear was a large golden ball. The golden ball weighted the spear down and only provided more power when he performed a thrust. This provided Mashiba's weapon with enough force to pierce even Hiro-Shu's iron shell.
In other words these advantages made him Hiro-Shu's worst enemy. Once suppressed with Mashiba's speed and the spear's reach, Mashiba could use the spear's piercing power to turn it into a win. Hiro-Shu's biggest advantage was his armor, he didn't have many other methods to win especially due to the annoying reach of his spear.
Hiro-Shu leaned back. He already took several scratches from Mashiba's random thrust, however, he was hoping to hold back a little bit while longer. "Forger's Fire! Iguko's Flame!" Hiro-Shu spewed fire forward at Mashiba. The flames jetted out of his mouth and started to spin around and burn into Mashiba. Hiro-Shu wasn't too horrible fond of this attack. It lacked power and force, but it was the only attack he had that had a chance of knocking out Mashiba.
Mashiba backed up and took his distance. He began to spin his long spear around on his side. The spinning of the spear created a nice vortex of air that sucked the fires up and around the spear, redirecting it away from Mashiba. The flames were skating around past Mashiba, not even making the attack noteworthy. Mashiba charged forward and launched a thrust. Hiro-Shu dodged backwards in an attempt to lessen the blow. Mashiba's spear moved forward at extreme speed. It hit Hiro-Shu's armor and slid in as if it was butter. The heat from Hiro-Shu's flames only managed to help him pierce the armor.
Hiro-Shu reached forward and grabbed a hold of Mashiba's spear and tried to drag Mashiba forward and closer to him. Mashiba's let one of his hands go free from the his spear and reached down to his waist. He pulled free a small and knife and dove forward aiming for the weak spot in Hiro-Shu's armor where Mashiba had just pierced with his spear. Hiro-Shu backed up and tried to avoid Mashiba's strike, but in doing so had to lose his grip on the spear. Mashiba smiled as he returned his knife to his waist and prepared for another strike with his spear.
Hiro-Shu shuddered as the spear came flying at him. He swatted it aside with his arm to avoid the blow. Mashiba screamed an pure primal,animal-like yell as he brought the spear around with swing. He brought the spear around and into Hiro-Shu. The large golden ball at the end of the spear slammed into Hiro-Shu knocking him off balance for a brief moment.
Mashiba was an excellent fighter and he was waiting for that brief moment. He lashed out sending the spear spinning forward. The corkscrew that was added to the blow only made the thrust even more powerful. Hiro-Shu couldn't bring his arms up to guard fast enough. The spear spun into Hiro-Shu's chest and broke the through the iron armor. Hiro-Shu was pushed even further back from the force. Mashiba stepped back and looked over his shoulder to Karasu.
Karasu chuckled. He lifted his arm up and gave Mashiba a thumbs-down. Trevor looked over at the action and smiled as Mashiba moved in for the kill. Mashiba wasn't just a killing machine and an excellent fighter, he was well-trained to boot. These three elements made Trevor's mouth drool. His blood was already boiling with anticipation after watching these past two days of battle. His hunger was all worked-up. It was incredibly possible that Mashiba's death may be even tastier then Mikoto's. He was probably just as good of a challenge and he probably wouldn't smile at his death.
Karasu grunted as if sensing Trevor's thoughts. Trevor sighed and relaxed. He was planning on his next target being a member of the Infinity Pirates. It annoyed him that Karasu would dangle such a target in front of him and not let him kill it? He hated the idea, but had to accept it. His target had to just be the Infinity Pirates for now.
His attention returned to the fight. Mashiba was moving in for the kill. His cool personality had disappeared and he was now moving with a new viciousness. He was swinging his spear around wildly, building up speed and power. He was prepping for a finishing blow that could pierce Hiro-Shu's armor and heart in one blow.
Hiro-Shu remained distanced from Mashiba, watching his random swings and weighing his options. Mashiba has already proven that he had enough strength to pierce even his thick armor. Charging in would just be haphazard at this point, but he wasn't fast enough to get away. Hiro-Shu looked over at Mashiba who was moving in. Hiro-Shu had to give Mashiba credit. He had seen several fights and even more fighters. Most of them were like wild animals, predator-like and feral. They moved in and delivered the finishing the blow whenever possible, eager to rip their opponent's to shred whether it was in the name of justice or violence that was their goal. Mashiba still hadn't reverted to pure animal behavior, rather then act like a predator, he remained a human, a hunter carefully approaching his prey.
Hiro-Shu took a deep breath and prepared for his last chance. Ordinarily Mashiba stayed out of his reach, however, if he wanted to kill him Mashiba would have to step in closer in order to guarantee enough weight on his body as well as to make sure his spear would pierce deep enough. That was his chance as well. Mashiba would move into his range. "Forger's Fire! Shiba's Knuckle!" Hiro-Shu let loose his breath onto his right fist, turning the iron into a bright red. Hiro-Shu moved forward.
Mashiba chuckled at his final attempt, but kept it quiet. Apparently it wasn't befitting of a high-class fighter and assassin to chuckle in the middle of a fight. He took another step forward and Hiro-Shu mimicked it. The two of them began to slowly edge in. Mashiba was starting to freeze up as he watched Hiro-Shu move forward. After watching Mashiba's step-in, he must've remembered the distance. A full step-in from Mashiba would put Mashiba close enough for Hiro-Shu to punch, but anything shorter then that and the amount of power behind his spear probably wouldn't be enough to penetrate Hiro-Shu's armor.
The crowd was starting to get anxious. They began shouting and cursing loudly watching the fight. Of course, they would. They were expecting one tremendous blow after another, but so far this fight had been pretty one-sided. However, despite it being one-sided the fight continued without a single drop of blood being spilled. And now the two combatants were standing still and having a staring contest...they had every right to be upset. Mashiba moved, just a twitch, but Hiro-Shu immediately understood what it meant. He prepared for the counter attack. Two seconds. That's how long the rest of the fight would last.
Mashiba charged forward taking one massive step and covering the distance in an instant, he brought his spear forward with the same amount of force and speed. Hiro-Shu's fist moved forward as well. He prepped himself and prepared his single fist. The timing for this punch had to be perfect too fast and his punch would just stall out in the air without hitting Mashiba, too slow and Mashiba will hit first.
Hiro-Shu leaned forward and fired his punch. The timing was perfect Hiro-Shu's punch came soaring through and landed cleanly on Mashiba's face. Hiro-Shu allowed himself a brief smile as he felt his fist dig into it. Hiro-Shu's eyes went wide as he continued to watch Mashiba move in, the punch hardly fazed him. He was already finishing his thrust. The thrust came flying in and hit Hiro-Shu's chest.
Hiro-Shu's body shuddered backwards as he felt the spear pierce through his armor as well as his skin. He gritted his teeth and tried to hold on, but the previous damage along with this strike made it almost impossible. Hiro-Shu's world went a brilliant bright white.
Mashiba took a step forward and hovered over Hiro-Shu. He was impressed as well as pleased. Hiro-Shu's punch was more then enough to kill a normal man, however Mashiba wasn't a normal man. But even if you ignored the fact that punch wasn't enough to kill him, it pushed him to the side. Mashiba's expert aim should've guaranteed a hit right through his heart, but Hiro-Shu's punch pushed him and screwed-up his aim. Hiro-Shu should've died from that blow, but he didn't.
Mashiba's hand went to his face he confirmed it. Hiro-Shu had left Mashiba with a permanent present. The charred black mark of his fist on his face. It stung like hell and Mashiba knew for a fact that it wouldn't heal, he would always be left with this reminder of the brave warrior. He twisted his spear around and prepared for a downwards thrust. This would finish it!
"STOP!" shouted Trevor as he strode forward. The entire arena stopped their wild hooting and cheering and turned their heads to Trevor. Trevor smirked as he walked forward and directed Mashiba out. The crowd all held their breaths, expecting to see Trevor murder Hiro-Shu himself. Trevor waved some paramedics in and directed them to carry Hiro-Shu out. The crowd gasped and began to roar again demanding blood. Trevor turned his head towards the crowd and smiled. "You want to see blood?" Trevor asked with a tone of mocking care. The crowd roared 'yes'. "THEN YOU COME IN AND STAND IN THIS RING!" Trevor roared back, "I'LL BE HAPPY TO KILL ANY ONE OF YOU!"
The crowd quieted down. They were all frequent URA goers, they had seen Trevor's power first hand and none of them wanted to be on the receiving end of it. Despite a couple of murmurs that Trevor pretended he didn't hear, they accepted his choice and waited for the next fight.
Trevor turned his attention across the URA and at Maria. He lifted his chin and smiled at her as if he just did her a favor and expected a thank-you. The deal was, of course, Maria's loyalty for the rest of her crew's life. He couldn't let Hiro-Shu die just yet or else he wouldn't be holding up his end of the deal, though, he wouldn't be doing it again. That wasn't the only reason, however, the Infinity Pirates were quite a big draw they crowd was loving their antics, it was possible that if they started a riot some of the crowd may join up with them. Not to mention for every person in the crowd who liked the URA there was probably another person who hated Trevor. A riot was just not profitable.
A Grim Premonition...
You didn't really expect that everyone would get out of here unharmed, did you? This is a place where deaths are like bees, they are everywhere! Let me guess what you readers are thinking. Mikoto's been kidnapped, Karasu (the one man who beat all of the Infinity Pirates) is back, Maria's been offered a way to save the crew from the devil, and now Hiro-shu has been beaten! What could I possibly do now to make this story more exciting and more suspenseful? Well...wait for the next few chapters!
Many of you are also wondering about the status of Saga...well, the hunt for a new host site hasn't been very fruitful, sadly, BUT according to two different people that if I move the OC submission sheet to my profile and people just PM me their OCs it can't be reported. I don't know why or if it works, but, hey, I'll try it!