"..? +"
Joka held a blank expression, his deadly fingers about to pierce the granny's throat.
"Huff.. Huff.." Sagasu Kuso gritted his teeth and breathed heavily, pointing at Joka with a shaking finger.
The pressure of being this close to Joka's killer presence made his body feel heavy.
"Kuku.. Kukuku… Kukukukuku!" Joka put a hand over his face to hide the sadistic smile, "All that following and planning, just for you boys to throw it away for the insignificant life of a senile woman. ~"
Silverbang Axel flinched in response. 'He knew we were there the entire time? Then he must have known we were waiting for the moment he struck. No… That's impossible. No one has that kind of intuition!'.
(What was the first stage of grief again?)
He crept around Joka. The two boys had him surrounded. Joka did not even care to acknowledge Axel's presence.
"Ohhhh! That look! Mmm, yes. I love that look. 3"
Joka felt his knees buckle at Sagasu Kuso's firm and determined gaze. The boy's eyes shook with determination.
'Shit! This is bad!' Silverbang Axel felt utterly flabbergast. Suddenly, the boys' fun and happy-go-lucky spirit was out the window.
All because of one wrench in their plans? An assassin prodigy should be more adaptable!
Silverbang Axel relapsed back into his first reaction when he saw Joka. Fear gripped his chest.
"You knew we were following you?" Sagasu Kuso innocently asked.
'Good question,' thought Silverbang Axel. He had come to appreciate how Kuso's simplistic nature led him to ask the questions we all want to know but are too embarrassed to say.
"I felt it from the day we arrived in Baigon. At first, I thought you might have been secret admirers or the children of those I have defeated. How I love to crush the spirits of those that seek revenge. ~"
"Wrong! That's not why!" Sagasu Kuso stuck out his tongue.
Silverbang Axel swallowed his fear and joined in. He couldn't allow himself to show how scared he was when his friend was being so brave. "Baaaaaaaka! Not as smart as you think you are!"
"Hmmm. 3" Joka had amusement in his voice.
Joka then gave the granny a glance, giving her and her grandson permission to leave, "So, boys. *"
The boys tensed, getting themselves into a battle stance.
"What now? ~"
At those words, Joka flickered in a speed blitz, appearing before Sagasu Kuso instantly.
"!" Sagasu Kuso reacted, holding up his arms in a cross guard and taking the strong hit of Joka's punch.
"Kuso!" Silverbang Axel cried as he saw Kuso go crashing through the walls of a building.
Silverbang Axel unreeled one of his Yoyo's.
Joka seemed to find this funny, 'A toy? 3' he thought as he prepared to block.
But what he received was the brutal force of a 50kg flying metal object jabbing into his forearm.
"! +" Joka felt the bones of his left arm shatter as he got sent skidding along the pavement, creating smoke clouds by his feet. However, it would take more than that to get him off balance.
He didn't have time to relax.
Two Yoyo's were slinging at him relentlessly. It was like a twister of Yoyo's, an unrelenting barrage.
["Yo Yo Gatling!"]
They were going so fast that they were a blur. So many angles, so many different looks… Yet, even so, Joka had that same calm smile as he dodged.
Then a dust cloud went soaring into the sky.
"Up here!"
"..? *"
Joka glanced up to see Sagasu Kuso comet down with a grand piano in his arms.
*C MAJOR!* *A MAJOR!* *D MINOR!* *E MAJOR!*
A blob of musical sounds rang as the piano smashed into the spot Joka once was.
"Eh? Where'd he go?" The boys looked around.
"Kukukuku… Marvelous. Truly marvelous. *"
When the boys looked up, they saw Joka somehow standing on the wall of a building.
"He can walk on walls?!" Sagasu Kuso said.
"Impossible," Silverbang Axel pondered, "It has to be some kind of technology on his shoes. Or maybe a devil fruit?"
["Bungee Walk! +"]
Joka started sprinting along the walls so fast that it seemed like a coin at the last stages of a spiral wishing well. (If you know, you know.)
The boys' eyes circled round and round to the point they almost got dizzy.
Then a chunk of wall cracked as Joka propelled himself down to the boys.
"Dodge!" Silverbang Axel cried as the two boys managed to jump out of the way.
*BOOF!*
The quaking force of Joka's impact sent vibrations through the ground.
When the dust settled, Joka's silhouette opened into a clear picture of his sassy figure- one hand on his hip.
"I have a talent for reading people." Kimagure Joka began, "Just one look can tell me what kind of person you are. Even more so if we are in a fight. ~"
He pointed at Silverbang Axel, "Resentful deceit. *"
Then at Sagasu Kuso, "Determined purity. *"
"But you're not the only one who has a Yoyo. ~"
Joka put his hands to his waist, shaping them like finger pistols.
A cowboy drawing his weapons.
["Bungee Bullet! 3"]
*PEW!* *PEW!*
Before the boys could react, a thick pink ball flew at their heads.
It splattered over their eyes. It was like they blew their bubble gum too much, and it popped over their faces.
It was a sticky substance that stung their eyes if they opened them.
Then they felt a tug.
With the boys connected to him via the strings of his bungee gum, Joka began to fling them around in the same manner as Silverbang Axel.
["Yo Yo Bungee Gatling! 3"]
All Silverbang Axel could see was a veil of pink. All he could feel was his body violently hurled around. There was no semblance of up or down. Everything went haywire.
But when he heard Joka mockingly declare the name of his attack, he was able to understand.
'This bastard copied my technique just from one look?!'
Then Joka shot them forward. They flew down the street, stretching Joka's bungee gum to its limit.
And like a Yoyo, they came back to their owner…
Joka pulled back, his strength combined with the elasticity.
The boys came hurling at him so fast that they felt the g-force butterflies in their stomachs.
There was nothing they could do. Their skulls had a one-way ticket toward Joka's elbows.
Joka japed his elbows out like they were the wings of death, close lining the boys simultaneously.
If only Swiss were here. He would have said Joka was doing the chicken dance.
*CRACK!*
*BOOF!*
Their bodies rag dolled dreadfully. It was like they were stones skimmed along the sea of concrete.
Until finally, they stopped.
Their bodies were bruised and beaten.
Eyes still recovering from the dizziness.
Cuts all over, with bits of ash-felt clinging to their open wounds.
*Step.* *Step*
The way Joka's walked had an air of dignity, like he was balancing plates on his head.
"Sigh… I got too excited and ended it too quickly. *"
Joka's voice was low and solemn as he walked between the gap between the boys' lifeless bodies and made his way up the street.
"They went and got my hopes up too. Maybe I should have walked into one of their traps? ~"
Silverbang Axel was still conscious, 'Good, he doesn't want to kill us. All we have to do is play dead and wait for him to leave.'
"… Wait." A pained voice called.
Sagasu Kuso willed his way to his feet.
'You idiot!' Silverbang Axel wanted to facepalm. 'What are you doing?!'
"Ohh?" Joka got excited, "You can still stand? *"
'Damn it!' Silverbang Axel cursed. There was no way he would allow Kuso to go at this alone.
Joka was less surprised that Axel managed to stand.
"Impressive! I lost myself and tried to kill you both. Now I know that killing you would be a waste. I'll be going now. I only 'wait' for the strong. Stop me if you can. ~"
"What is your name?!" Sagasu Kuso wouldn't let Joka leave.
"Hooo. Unfair. You have to answer one of my questions before I answer one of yours. +"
"Huh?" Sagasu Kuso tilted his head, confused.
Thankfully, Silverbang Axel remembered the context, "Captain Swiss told us that if we landed a punch on your face, we could join a certain voyage."
"My face? *"
"That's right!" Sagasu Kuso ached his way toward Joka. Each step sent pain through him. "Captain Swiss said we had to prove ourselves!"
'Kukuku, how amusing, Swiss-san.'
"In that case, here. 3"
Joka leaned down, exposing his cheek, "I don't mind you two joining us. Go ahead."
"Eh?!" Silverbang Axel was shocked, "You're *part* of the captain's crew?!"
Axel could feel the 'NOPE!' erupt from his instincts.
"Kuso. Forget it. This crew is full of weirdos. Let's make our own way to the Grand Line."
"No!"
Sagasu Kuso stood defiant, "This is the only way. I know it is!"
He then glared at Joka.
'OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! 3' Joka felt something bust in his pants.
"And we're not accepting your offer! We will punch you fair and square!"
This time, Silverbang Axel actually face palmed, "Ugh! Baaaaaka! How do you suppose we will do that?"
Sagasu Kuso did not bother to answer. Instead, he took a wobbly fighting stance.
"Damn it.." Silverbang Axel succumbed to the circumstances. He prepared to help his friend as best he could.
"Very well! Come at me! +"
"HAAAAAAAAAH!" The boys shouted their battle cry, charging at Joka.
Boom, pow, followed by a vow.
"An A for effort." The praise in Joka's voice was faint but genuine. "Maybe you boys will have a chance in twenty years or so. Kukuku. 3"
Tears streamed down the face of hopeless Sagasu Kuso. His body had not the strength to move. All he could do was open his eyes and witness the Joka towering over him.
"However long it takes, I shall happily await you. 3"
Joka then took out his pack of playing cards and drew two cards.
*Lick!* *Stamp!* x2
He then seductively licked the playing cards and stuck them to their foreheads.
"Give these back to me once you can punch me in the face. ~"
Those were the last words he said before he walked away.
Axel had nothing more to give. He watched Joka leave through clouded eyes.
The black joker adorning his crown.
Kuso's tears ran dry. A new goal excited his core.
The red joker adorning his crown.
Will they rise or will they cow
Questioning their Baigon vow?
[ssyffix: yo!]
[ssyffix: we move.]
[ssyffix: thx 4 REDing]