Chapter 13: Sensation! Riruka, the Dollhouse Fullbringer!
"What's wrong?" Zoro questioned Tsukishima, who's standing several feet away from the pirate hunter. "From this distance, you won't be able to cut me."
"The fact that you're waiting from where you are means that you understand coming near me will put you well within my range." Tsukishima said. "I must formulate another plan." A leaf was blown by the wind and heading towards the fullbringer, only to be cut by his sword. "Doesn't that move seem meaningful to you?" Then he dragged his sword across the ground. "How about this?"
"I don't believe I should view either of them as meaningless acts while in this situation?" Zoro questioned. Tsukishima smirked as he took a step forward towards the swordsman. Zoro drew his swords as the duel was about to begin.
As Franky was walking away from his fight victorious, he felt something grabbing his leg. He looked and saw Shishigawara grabbing to keep him leaving. Franky kicked the fullbringer's hand off and said, "You don't have brains but you sure got a lot of guts." Before Franky could take another step, Shishigawara grabbed his leg again.
"Wait…we're not done." The fullbringer said weakly. "I haven't lost this battle yet." Franky shook Shishigawara off of him again.
"Don't be stupid. Isn't it pointless for you to die fighting like this?"
"But it's not pointless." Shishigawara said, slowly getting back to his feet. "Right here, right now, I'm ready to sacrifice my life for Mr. Tsukishima."
Franky turned towards the fullbringer and said, "Are you serious? You really think that this Tsukishima guy is really worth risking your life for?"
"What?! Of course! Tsukishima is super strong and smart! I would gladly die for him!"
"That's not what I meant? I want to know if you really think that Tsukishima would give up his life for yours."
"Why the hell would someone like you care what I think?! Maybe he wouldn't die for me but I'll die for him at any time!"
"You damn idiot! If you're risking it all, then he should do the same. Boss, comrade, subordinate, it doesn't matter! You should only for someone who would the same for you! Throwing your life away without is only something that a kid would do! I'll ask you again. If you were to die here and now, do you honestly believe that your boss, Mr. Tsukishima, would risk his life to avenge you?"
(Flashback)
Ginjo smirked seeing that the transfer of powers was successful. "Aren't you going to share this with Shishigawara?" Tsukishima asked Ginjo. "It's not nice of you to leave him out."
"The truth is I thought it would be risky to increase his powers." Ginjo said. "When this fight is finally over, I want you to kill him."
Tsukishima looked Ginjo for a while and a smirk came to his face. "That's too bad. I thought he had an interesting ability."
(End of Flashback)
"If you're still willing to die for him, then attack me." Franky said. "I'll make it quick and painless. That way, you won't have the time for any regrets."
Tsukishima was down on one knee after multiple adepts to cut Zoro with his fullbringer. Every time he tried, Zoro always stops and overpowers him.
"You do understand, don't you?" Zoro asked, slowly walking towards Tsukishima. "I'm not going to let cut me like you did with the others or even get close to him."
A smirk appeared on Tsukishima's face. "You're wrong." He said. "As you'll see…" Zoro stepped on a part of the floor and lowered as soon as his feet touched. Zoro widen his good eye as pillar risen up from under his feet. Zoro jumped off as the pillar crumbled to pieces.
"What the hell was that?!" Zoro exclaimed.
"It was just a trap I set." Tsukishima replied.
"When did you set it?"
"A long time ago."
"I take it that means you've visited this dimension before."
"I know that you're aware of the powers I have but allow me to explain. My fullbring, Book of the End, inserts my existence into my target's past. When I cut the ground earlier, it allowed make it look like I've been before."
"So this ability of yours works on people as well as inanimate objects."
"Perhaps a first-hand demonstration will be you understand."
Zoro narrowed his eye as his one of his swords over his shoulder. "Single Sword Style: 360 Caliber Phoenix!" Zoro fired a large air blade from his sword at the fullbringer. Tsukishima smirked as he slashed a part of the air blade and disappeared. Zoro looked behind his shoulder and saw Tsukishima appear behind him. Zoro tried to attack but Tsukishima grabbed his arm.
"I've inserted myself into your swords' past." Tsukishima said. "As a result, your attacks will never hit again. By doing that, I've seen those techniques so many times that I'm bored by them." Zoro widen his eye as Tsukishima appeared in front of him and slashed him in the chest with his sword. Zoro tried to counter but Tsukishima jumped back from the swordsman. "That moment of hesitation sealed your fate. I say that your future is looking rather bleak, Zoro. After all, none of the defensive or attack techniques that you'd developed won't work on me. Because as things now exist, I was the one who actually helped you develop those techniques."
"So that means either my Two Swords Style or Three Swords Style won't work on you then."
"Not even your Nine Swords Asura will work." Zoro narrowed his eye as they slowly stepped towards each other and continued their battle.
Nami jumped out of the way as a giant stuffed animal tried to squash her. 'How long is she going to keep with these toys?' She thought. Riruka appeared behind Nami and fired an small cloud from her gun. That cloud changed into an armoire.
"Thunder Tempo!" Nami shouted, firing a lightning bolt from her clima-tact and destroying the armoire.
"That's odd." Riruka said. "I thought someone like you wouldn't destroy cute things."
"Since when are big pink armoires considered cute?"
"I guess that we have different ideas on what is cute." Riruka said, turning her head from the navigator.
"So I see that you've finally came out of hiding, huh?" Nami said, readying her clima-tact.
"Are you excited that you're finally getting a chance to kill me?"
"Listen, I don't intend to kill you."
"Ha, that's not even what I meant!" Riruka shouted, pointing her gun at Nami again. "You don't know how read between the lines or get what I'm saying, do you? I think you're so full of yourself!" Riruka pulled the trigger fired a giant shark-like stuff animal at Nami. Nami calmly side-stepped the toy as it soared past her. "Oh sure, dodge it like it's noting you cocky bitch." Riruka turned the veil at the end of her gun and a green liquid at Nami.
"Gust Sword!" Nami released a huge amount of pressurized air at the liquid, causing it to disperse around her. "It doesn't matter how much you increase your weapon's power, try as you will but you can't win here. Just give up. Let's end this. You can think what you want me but I'm telling you that I have no intention of killing you."
"Addiction Shot!" Riruka shouted as she fired a small heart from her gauntlet and it landed on Nami's arm.
"What is this thing?" Nami asked confused, looking at the heart on her arm.
"Nami, I hereby permit you!" Riruka shouted, taking out an orange small toy kitten. A pink aura surrounds as her body disappeared and the aura appeared around the stuffed kitten. The stuffed toy's arrow-like tail twitched as Nami's soul is now inside of it. Nami looked at her clima-tact with the stuff toy's body, realizing what just happened to her.
'What?!' Nami thought. 'How did I become this stuff animal?!' Then she looked up at Riruka, who to Nami now is the size of a giant.
"Oh look, how cute?" Riruka said. "You can't your weapon looking like that, can you Pirate?" Riruka reached out of grab Nami but the navigator moved out of the way. Knowing she can't fight back while trapped in the stuffed animal, Nami started to run. "Hey come back here, Tiny Devil!"
"Who are you calling 'Tiny Devil'?" Nami exclaimed. "This stuffed animal is a cat! At least call me 'Tiny Kitty' instead!"
"The stuffed animal you're stuck in isn't a cat, stupid! Look at the tail! It's an orange devil!"
"Do you find it pathetic that you can't chase a stuffed animal?! I mean really!" Riruka narrowed at Nami's comment as she appeared in front of the navigator. Nami looked up in fear as the fullbringer lowered her foot towards her. Nami jumped away from Riruka's foot and skidded several feet on the floor.
'Damn it!' Nami thought. 'This isn't good! How am I supposed to fight back while I'm trapped in this stuffed plushy?!' As Nami was about to get up to her feet, Riruka kneeled down and put her gun at the plush's neck.
"You don't mind if we finish this, do you?" Riruka asked. "I guess that you understand that fullbringers like me aren't anything like ordinary humans, right?"
"Well, I have noticed that you're really desperate to prove to everyone that you're different from ordinary humans." Nami said, looking at Riruka. "Tell me this; is not being normal really that important to you?"
"Of course, it is. We were able to meet Tsukishima because we weren't normal. Ginjo saved us because we weren't normal. When most people were asked what role that animals and humans must follow to keep living, I bet they would say that it survival of the fittest. It's everyone for themselves. Even in nature, there's a clear difference between the strong and the weak. But it's not as simple as kill or be killed. I think you know what true survival of the fittest is, don't you? It's not always that clear. My story might the way you think at things. Our story as fullbringers shows how survival of the fittest works in the real world."
To be continued…
Next Chapter: Showing Off His Techniques! Zoro's Formidable One-Sword Style!