Now The Real Race Begins
Mikoto took off running, his body was basically accelerating past the point a normal human or for that matter a normal coyote was capable he had surpassed both of his halves to form a new superior whole. He was really pouring it on. He had the next two fights off, so he would consider himself rather lucky in the end. Mikoto's small engine was kicking it up into another notch, moving from first gear to second and then moving even higher and up to third. He was blasting past Rosa and Lily's small ship and was soon on his way to catch up to Zesiro and Shane's ship, but it would still be awhile.
"Try all you want, but you can't take away my captain's spirit!" shouted Ridley as he basically fell back, "you can say that he's too far behind all you like, but he's conquered bigger obstacles before so you better just shove off!" Kraven's crew looked ticked and all of them surged for Ridley, who had basically just shown off his own complete and total lack of decency towards his own and current crew. However, Kraven's own nonchalance to Ridley's attitude forced everybody to silence themselves. The entire crew seemed to calm down and move down and leave the captain and his new 'friend' alone. They backed off and immediately began to disperse back into the crowd.
"Don't forget, boy," boomed Kraven as he stood up and waved his hand through the air, "men! This is a Davy Back Fight, remember? What do you say we show our guests what real hospitality is like during these games, eh?" Kraven waved his hand forward, "remember as long as we don't step foot in the water and cause excessive damage to the ships, the rules state we can do whatever we have to in order to deter the opponent! In other words! Go out there and stop that coyote!" The rest of his men nodded and quickly rushed out in order to quickly stop Mikoto, cutting through the island in order to get ahead of him. Kraven sat down and looked over at Ridley with a smug smile on his face. Ridley frowned for a second, Mikoto couldn't quite stop them as he was…he needed every second he could get in order to make up for that lead. He looked over and saw that the only remaining options of who were left were Maria, who was damaged, Aaron, who Ridley was still trying to make his mind up about, Hiro-Shu, who couldn't catch up to them even if he tried, and Enma who was busily trying to further heal everybody's wounds…besides even if he could figure out which one would be best for handling this job…he couldn't tell them. The rules of the Davy Back Fight were absolute.
Kraven smiled, eyeing his latest recruit. He wanted to make sure Mikoto paid the ultimate price, that little monster was certainly going to regret ever being born once Kraven was done with him. Kraven turned around and looked over at his crewmate, a Longarm named Morko, as he came over and closer to the captain. Kraven waved Ridley away. Ridley muttered something beneath his breath, badly badmouthing his captain, but he left anyways. "How much longer until Azu is fully healed?" Kraven looked behind him and at his crewmate; he paused for a second as he looked back at Azu and the people taking care of him.
"We'll probably be ready to launch the emergency counter measures before nightfall." Kraven paused for a second before slowly nodding in agreement, apparently he didn't seem too confident in that news, but he accepted it. Victory amongst all else, such rules were the basic amongst all pirates even those who used the Davy Back Fight. "I hope they don't feel too angry at us, after all, such accidents always happen where pirates are involved." He smacked his hands against each other and moved forward, pretending to yawn and hopefully take some of the attention off of them. It didn't really matter almost everybody's eyes were either on the race or on Kraven's people who marching off to stop Mikoto, nobody really cared about the two older men sitting around and chatting in the first place. Oh, well, Morko chuckled at the silly thought. It would be their loss. The entire crew would lose in the end everybody would fail in the end, they all bit the bullet, took the bait, and walked right into their trap. He hoped they would be blind all the way up to the end. A good look at the captain could basically guarantee that it would happen like that. He smiled and disappeared into the background to place the finishing touches on things.
Kraven grunted. In all honesty he would've preferred a straight fight, head-to-head with Mikoto, but he knew he couldn't do that. In an actual fight they were about even, no, Kraven had the advantage…even if it was only a slight one, but he had longer reach, more power, and more stamina than his opponent, but still…he didn't want to push his chances. He wanted Mikoto to feel the same pain and punishment he had been dealt all those years ago. He said he wanted to be King of the Pirates…Kraven wanted to show him just how futile his hopes were.
On the other side of the island Mikoto was working overtime to prove just how wrong Kraven was. A loss here would mean he would be incapable of returning his crew members back to him and he couldn't deal with that. He just had to work harder and run faster! He doubled down, pushing all of his strength out of his body as he rushed forward like a madman. The opposing ship still wasn't in sight, but Mikoto knew they couldn't be beating him by too much just yet. There was no way they would be trying as hard as he was now. He was putting all of his energy into his one last rush for a victory.
"What are you doing back here!?" asked Reymundo as he watched the only competitors on his crew pull their ship onto the land and basically give up. "The race isn't over yet!" He shouted, but he knew all too well that while it may not be over…it may as well be. Their main competitors were more than halfway to the finish line and them? They barely it past a quarter before deciding to give up. Were they quitters? Probably. Were they stupid people who didn't know when to give in? No. They had lost and that was that. Besides its not like they were a part of this stupid feud the two opposing teams had going. As long as they kept their heads low and out of the way, they'd probably get off completely unscarred.
"Anyways…" muttered Suzanne under her breath not real too thrilled about being called a quitter, but even if she did she had more important matters to attend to. "Oh, Shane!" she yelled loudly looking around for a brief second before eventually coming to the realization that Shane was missing. "Where did my Shane go?" The rest of the crew basically ignored her, including her incredibly irrational decision that Shane was hers…something even their captain would've disagreed with and they decided to just keep walking and join the crowd. They had lost another event…but at least the food here looked good. They quickly lost themselves in the revelry of the crowd, even their missing captain didn't matter to them. He was more than capable of handling himself against anyone who was stupid enough to pick a fight with him.
(-With Shane-)
Shane sighed deeply, letting out a small breath as he looked at the destruction around him. Kraven's crew…they were all a bunch of lightweights. He stepped over several of the unconscious bodies of Kraven's crew as he moved deeper through the forest. They thought they were smart sending people around to hopefully make Mikoto stumble on his way, well…Shane wasn't a big fan of stuff like that. The 'Do Anything To Win' mentality most pirates had nowadays were plain boring. It was like this Davy Back Fight in Shane's honest opinion…he preferred one-on-one fights were no dirty tricks. The thought that people had soiled such an honest occupation with so many tricks actually made his skin crawl. However, following that same creed he had to step back now…he may have been able to interfere and stop the opposing interference, but he had to keep his nose out of the actual competition. He was about to turn around, but to his surprise he found himself fixating himself once more on the seashore. He was more than halfway around the course…he had to estimate himself at probably three quarters around the island. He supposed it was rather impressive to see the first ship, the Sea Charger, pass by. Shane frowned, but he supposed it wasn't anything too surprising the ship was going by fast…winning would be impossible for the Infinity Pirates. He frowned and turned around, heading back to the camp. He would've liked to have fought with Mikoto and his crew while they were at full capacity…but some things just weren't meant to be.
Then again it was possible that this was the end of the line for the Infinity Pirates. This wasn't an ordinary stumbling block…this was a wall called a 'Shichibukai'. If you couldn't surpass them than you may as well hang up your hat. It was a painful thought, but it was the truth. The road to Pirate King could only be accomplished if you have surpassed all other pirates in the world. And talking about opponents Kraven was a special one. He was far different than all other opponents in the world. His experience in the world along with his somehow personal vendetta against Mikoto probably couldn't be topped. An opponent with a strong will for victory and the knowledge to pull it off…Shane highly doubted there was an opponent who was more dangerous.
He was about a few steps into the darkened forest when he heard the heavy pitter-patter of feet, basically pounding against the ground. Each step seemed to bring on a new heavy wheeze that made Shane think of a man who was on the verge of dying. It made him twist his head to the side to examine what was making such a desperate sound. To his surprise he had, but only a second to see his target, perhaps he had turned around to late or perhaps he was too fast for even Shane to accurately track…but it was Mikoto. The little 'Kid Coyote' was rushing across the landscape at an impressive pace. Shane smiled. Perhaps he had sold the guy too short…in terms of spirit and willpower…maybe Mikoto surpassed even Kraven. It would definitely prove to be a good fight. Shane smirked to himself and turned around, eager to leave this makeshift graveyard and return to the finish line to see who wins.
Shane was surprised to see his own boat had pulled itself ashore…he supposed there was no helping it though. They were losing, perhaps if there was a way to at least get in third he would tell them to get back in there and try harder, but it looked like the first four spots were occupied by Kraven's three ships and Mikoto's…plank. Shane sighed and immediately sat back down in his own chair. "Where did you run off to?" asked a girl's voice, Shane was about to moan he really wasn't in the mood to put up with Suzanne burrowing into his recent actions, he turned around about to tell her to buzz off, but to his surprise it wasn't Suzanne. It was Sage…he murmured something beneath his breath and shook his head clear.
"I was off kicking some weaklings' asses," he responded, totally bereft of any and all courtesy. He was the captain so such actions were to be expected. He was in charge, but still Sage felt a little insulted and she turned her head away and began moping. Shane groaned…Suzanne would probably have just picked herself right back up and responded with some snazzy comeback…and he could've dealt with that. Ignoring him and acting like she was in a funk…he didn't like that. He hoped Mikoto would win just so he would take her off of his hands. "I was just evening the playing field," he muttered, "this Davy Back Fight is boring enough without some weak ass team cheating to make sure they win." Kraven's ears seemed to perk up, hinting that he overheard Shane's insults, but he seemed fine with ignoring it. "No such thing as pirate spirit, anymore," finished Shane with a deep throated mutter.
Sage smiled, she supposed Shane was alright in the end. In terms of crews to get 'betted' off to the Dark Knight Pirates seemed like an…okay bunch. She could've gotten turned over to Trevor's crew…or Oz's…or Renvont's…or any of the other ten or so pirate crews they have battled. It was a shame that the first actually halfway decent pirate they met had to be interested in beating the crap out of them…then again it seemed like such a goal was becoming more and more common. "HEY!" shouted the announcer as he lifted his butt off of his seat and into the air, cutting through Sage's little worries.
"I see the first ship!" he shouted, the rest of the crowd turned to look down the path, squinting their eyes and focusing on the blurry horizon. Sure enough you could see it. Two ships chugging along the way, the Sea Charger and the combined ships, both of which were Kraven's. You could hear a collective sigh travel throughout the crowd, nobody liked it when somebody had no chance of losing won. There was no excitement, no flare. It was boring in the end. The rest of the crowd moped and began to turn away. Even Kraven seemed sure of their victory, because unbeknownst to him their attack plan had failed because of Shane. In other words, he had no idea that along the coastline the little Kid Coyote had already had the little ships in his sight. And more important than them…the finish line!
Mikoto's ambition had been verified, he could win this thing! He just needed to try a little harder! Pour the gas on at a little bit more! He couldn't hold back any more. It was all or nothing now! Another quick pump of his feet seemed to bring him a little bit closer and then another one. "Rapid Fire X 2!" shouted Mikoto pumping his leg forward, slamming a quick succession of two kicks with his left leg into the ground to propel him forward again. "And again!" Mikoto quickly fired another two kicks with his right leg, pushing himself further forward. He kept alternating the kicks to further push himself forward with each strike. He applied the force again and again, moving forward faster each time. He would cross that finish line first!
"Eh, wha-wha-what i-i-is this?" shouted the announcer as he found himself incapable of forming coherent words. "It can't be! It appears the Kid Coyote's stupidity has paid off! He is rounding the corner right behind the two ships! And even worse, it seems he is going faster! It looks like we may just have a come from behind victory in this race after all…but HOW? How I ask you! How is this possible!?"
"Don't underestimate my captain," said Ridley as he leaned back, "he'll get me and Sage back, just you wait and see." Kraven smiled…this wouldn't be any fun anyways if there wasn't a chance of the kid winning anyways. This just made it seem so much closer and would make the pain even worse. Ridley was still smiling, gleefully. He knew his captain could win, not only was he was faster than the ships, but he was also smarter. He was sticking to the inside track. The inside track had smaller turns and as a result cut down on the total distance all the way around. In other words, Mikoto was covering a lesser distance faster…he may have been off to a late start, but anyone could tell you that he would win. Ridley kicked back with a smile on his face.
"The two combatants are neck and neck! Neither side giving in to the opposing one! Neither side seems to be on the verge of losing! The Sea Charger tries to go a little faster, the eight arm engine is really pouring it on, but the 'It's Just a Plank' is working hard on overcoming it!" Mikoto kept rushing forward, his legs eventually pushing him forward, superior speed was what mattered in the end. And that was exactly what Mikoto possessed. Speed that not even ships could beat! And the willpower to keep it up all the way around the island! Mikoto passed the ships by and kept going, crossing the finished lines with seconds to spare! The Infinity Pirates finally won one. The scores were now tied. The Infinity Pirates: 1, the Ghost hook Pirates: 1, and the Dark Knight Pirates: 1. With only two events left.
No Rest for the Weary
Okay, ordinarily I would say something like good news, bad news...yeah, no good news...(sorry to be a negative Nelly around Christmas), but I lost my power due to an ice storm. Thick ice, no power, no telephone (the power company says no power till Saturday, yeah...). Anyways, camping out at a hotel wasn't going to upload a new chapter due to the suckage around here, but decided...what the hell. May not post for the rest of the week though.