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Episode 22: "A Flash of Blue"
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Tull island.
Jason sat on his tombstone, looking at his sword. It was STILL shattered. Over 2 years since he had 'fought' Zeke. "Man, never gonna be the same is it. Oh well, guess that's what I should expect from THAT form of Haki. It doesn't nullify Devil Fruit powers completely, but instead embodies the person who's activating it. Fist time I ever heard of it was when Zoro-sama told me about his fight at Ennis Lobby... And of course, he kid's got it too. Good thing I tapped into it when I did... .I mean... Considering what's happening.. .RIGHT NOW." He looked out to interestingly enough, the direction in which Zeke was.....
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The blue aura continued to swirl around Zeke and blow harsh gales of forceful wind. It took Bach a moment to get use to the bright aura and the winds kick up dirt in his face. "So.... you've been holding back boy!?.... WHAT!?"
Zeke looked at his body, his wounds and scrapes were healing, but the regeneration looked fast and spastic, like it didn't know what it was really healing. Zeke took a deep breath and closed his eyes, and began to somewhat meditate.
The aura 'calmed down' and the wind went back to blowing normally. The aura settled to a thin line around him and his wounds looked like normal already healed scars.
Zeke opened his eyes back open and looked confident and seriously at Bach, "Alright... let's go again."
Bach was still a little surprised, he had never heard of HAKI healing. But then again, he had heard of methods and special training people had done and then use Haki to amplify those techniques to heal their bodies during and after battles. Zeke must have done such training once...
But he quickly dismissed reasons why as they really didn't matter, the he smiled, "AGAIN you say?.... Hehehehe... fine, Jr."
Zeke gritted his teeth. Then almost vanished.
Bach flinched, ("What the hell?")
He had not disappeared, but was now MUCH faster than before.
Zeke dashed for his swords, GinKiba and Makezuotorazu and ran for Bach. Again he slammed both swords for Bach's side.
Once again though, Bach brought Apolyon to block but this time....
*CHINK!!*
Bach was actually knocked back this time, only a few inches but Zeke had finally phased him. Zeke smiled at the struggle between swords actually looked EVEN this time. Bach gritted his teeth, "Not bad..."
"Again!" Zeke dashed back and bolted to the other side and swung hard again.
*BANG!*
Another block, but Zeke was getting to him, Bach started to smile as well, "Oh, so you're going to be a nuisance now eh? ALRIGHT!" He broke of the connection. He intensified his face and his sword started to glow dark read as black swirls appeared on it. "You wanna play!?! Then let's PLAY!!"
He jerked back his sword and swung as hard as he could.
*BBBBBOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!!!!!!*
Zeke jumped up as Bach's sword struck, and once again he cut a piece of the Red Line off, their battle platform just became smaller. Zeke, in mid-air, somehow dashed downward and with all his force on top of Bach.
*BBBBOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!!*
Bach jumped back as fast as he could, his right forearm got nicked just a little bit and a small drop of blood fell from the minor wound.
"That's all it did? Not good enough." Zeke ran again, jerking to the left and swinging as hard as he could.
*CHING!!*
Again and again, back and forth, switching from right to left, left to right, Zeke kept Bach backing up as all the Yonkou could do was defined.
"BULLHORNS!!!!" Zeke stopped mid-way in his constant left right attacks and went to stab Bach directly in the middle, in his abdomen; hopping he had caught the man off guard enough.... he was close.
Bach managed to catch him in time before Zeke plunged his swords deep into his stomach. Bach put Apolyon in between the two approaching swords and twisted his sword around, spinning his opponents swords out of their trajectory and they flung out of Zeke's hands. Bach then pressed Apolyon to Zeke's chest and used it like a bat and hit Zeke into the air, also leaving a slightly deep and clean cut on Zeke's chest.
Zeke landed on the ground, but not for long, "Can't just let you sit there and have a chance to come back now can I kid!?!?!" Bach had already appeared above him and he spun around rapidly around ,creating a vortex like appearance. He hit Zeke with it and the young boy went flying again, with cut of all degrees of depth all over his body.
Zeke landed again, his blue aura gone as well.
Bach believed it to be over, he sheathed his sword on his back. "Nice try kid, you kept in there for a while."
Zeke stood up, Bach had not noticed yet.
"Guess I can't call you "Jr." anymore..."
"You never could."
"Huh?" Bach looked behind him, his face was solemn, "Don't know when to give up do we?"
Zeke huffed hard as blood dripped all over his body, his eyes looked very lazy. Then he noticed at his feet, his two other swords, Faasuto and Rasuto. He bent down and picked them up, "Heh... I gotta bad feeling about this, sorry Bonez, but I don't think your swords are making it past this point."
Bach looked at him curiously, "Don't insist upon a death wish kid."
Zeke stuck his hands out in front of him, tilting Faasuto up and to the right, and Rasuto down to the left. "..... Again.... *pant*..."
Bach shocked his head with a small smile, "Fine, but don't complain when you're dead... brat."
He pulled out Apolyon and it began glowing red again. He ran at Zeke, the claymore out in front of him like a spear.
Zeke began to spin his swords in opposite rotations.
Bach chuckled, "Three Thousand Worlds? I thought you WERN'T going to copy daddy!"
Zeke closed his eyes.
Bach got closer, and closer, and closer.
"DEVIL'S SPEAR!!!" He went to impale Zeke directly in the gut.
Zeke opened his eyes and the wind began changing again, "I'm NOT copying him."
The aura returned, but this time, Zeke managed to channel it... to his swords.
They began to emit an electric like energy that looked like they were possessed by lighting. Zeke spun out of Bach's sword's pin point, and slashed up and downward with each sword.
("Huh.... he tricked me....")
*WOO* *WOO* *SHING!* *SLASH!* *KU!* *VOOM* *KKSSHIIIKK!*
Bach screeched to a halt. And behind him, blood gushed out of Zeke's side, a big chunk gone where his ribs USE to be. He fell to his knees and his sword blades crumbled. Then he fell completely to the ground.
Bach sighed, he knew it was over now.
*CUT!*
The white haired swordsman's eyes widened, he didn't even feel the connation of his skin to steel..... But there it was.... a giant gapping cut across his chest. He looked at the blood pour out of his torso... "No.... fucking.... way...."
He was dumb struck beyond belief..................... then he became angry,
The pure rage, he went over to Zeke who was still lying face down, no signs of getting back up. He kicked them over, and he stood angrily over him, their eyes connecting.
Zeke didn't even look like he was conscious even though his moving eyes and extreme breathing showed he was.
Bach gripped his sword tighter and tighter and tighter......... then smiled..... and laughed.
"AHAHAHAAHAHAHAHA!!! HHAHAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! HAAAAAHHHA-AHA-HHAAHA!!!!!! Are you kidding me!?!?" He seemed to have lost it. "DAMN BOY! AHAHAHAHAHA!!!" He put Apolyon on his back and grinned wide, something Luffy was famous for, "You're fun kid, that's all I can say.... Fight me any day." With that, he started walking away. He whistle really loud, as if calling for something.
Suddenly, a man appeared from a giant black hole that came out of nowhere. "Sir!"
"There you are Grim, let's go back to the ship, I'm done for the day. I sure wish I could see Wolfgang's and Chopin's faces when he gets here though. If he's not hear already. See ya later kid! He'll come get you eventually. Don't worry." Then Bach and the man called Grim walked through the black hole and disappeared.
"........What........... the........... fuck!?" Zeke laid there. No way in hell he was getting up, even if he COULD. "Too... much... pain..." He just laid there, the blood would stop leaving his body at some point. His breath would return to normal in a moment. Just lay there and think about what the hell just happened and maybe... sleep for a while....
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"...... uh.... uhn..... ugh... What... what happened???" Zeke finally woke up, and was in a bed in a small gray room.
"Ah, you're awake...." The man leaning in the chair in front of his bed with his feet prompt up on the table lit a cigarette with a small lighter. His long grayish-blue hair swaying lightly as he tilted back his head some as he took a puff. He was so different from his younger days. A few miscellaneous tattoos on his arms but didn't cover his arms entirely. He also had cross bones tattooed on his face, but the biggest difference, was his 'nose' was no longer there. He had taken it off long ago.
"Who are you." Zeke didn't recognize him at all.
The old man chuckled, "I am Yonkou Beethoven, but you can call me what your dad called me.... Call me BUGGY."
To Be Continued...
A/N:I'm gonna start posting this story more at night (in my time zone) because that seems to be where my largest reader demographic is. And it only took me 26 chapters to figure that out. So the time you see this right now is going to be the average time I update it from now on. Thank you.