Dodgeball Session from the Underworld! A Strength Which Surpasses Bloodshed!?
Beep!
"Hrrm…"
Beep!
"Hrrrrrm…"
Beep!
Beep!
BEEP!
"PISS OFF!"
Dina's hand aggressively slammed upon the frustratingly-durable alarm clock, followed by a weary and dragged out sigh muffled by a pillow.
Said muffled sigh gradually became muffled groaning.
Said muffled groaning became muffled screaming.
After far too many seconds of screeching, Dina got off her ass and into the process of starting the day. Brushing teeth, washing face, and grooming hair were scratched off her list first. She took a quick whiff of herself and briefly passed away, coming to in a fit of coughs and gags.
"Smell like a wet dog's corpse…"
Naturally, the shower was next. Dina tossed her t-shirt ("Cool" was sprawled over it, Peak of Fashion right there) from across the room, missed entirely, and kicked the floor in a huff, getting a certain shirt on her foot. Reaching to throw that, too, she suddenly paused upon getting a hold of it. Her annoyed expression began to melt away.
This was the YPD uniform. The hole on its side hadn't gone anywhere, either.
Memories began to race forward; her world, her friends, her father, what her best friend had done, and, with her still there and on the loose, how they were probably all-
"No. None of that, Dina."
She took a shaky breath and shook her head, pushing the thoughts further back. Picking up a lined polo with "Capsule Corp." printed on every side of it (gosh, wonder who made this?) undergarments, and some generic sweat pants, she headed to the bathroom.
…
"And of course, it's like a damned rubix cube… naturally, everything's a puzzle in this over-complex hellscape…."
"Maybe this one…"
"…"
"…"
"…AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-"
Dina was a brighter shade of red than usual. Her seething rage didn't help. Nor did the fact that her planned head-start was now null and void due to shower complications. Now she was in a bit of a hurry.
Some pathetic-looking numbskull taking their sweet-time took a bit too long to get moving, and as such, they were hit by an oncoming Dina.
"WATCH IT, YOU SODDING CLUTZ!" she snarled as she damn-near ripped the door off its hinges and stormed inside.
"Still practically deserted, eh?" Dina noted to herself. "Guess that means this school doesn't persecute their students for rising with the sun… nice."
She reached the classroom, opened the door and almost ran back out.
Kora sat comfortably, several tall books by her side and reading some comic about some fat blue cat in a gi or something. The sudden drawn-out silence caught her attention.
"… You're late," she mocked, faint sign of a smug smile creeping above her comic.
"Not a race, you dork," Dina hissed. "Besides, there were complications."
Kora looked Dina up and down.
"Is that what you call being violently blasted with 500 degrees of water because you're a moron?"
"Oh, bravo, you little detective, you."
"I mean, I can't imagine how you'd expect to ever so-much-as lay a finger on me if you can't beat a shower…
MUCH LESS MAKE ME 'RUE THE DAY.'"
Dina began shaking. She was already intimidated by Kora, no matter how much she tried to play it off with banter. Worst, she was trying to hold down the irresistible urge to throw a punch at her; not even particularly because she wanted that stupid smile to disappear.
"Just piss off, alright?" she muttered.
"That's right. Know your place."
Kora muttered.
Just loud enough for Dina to make out.
"MAKE THOSE HALF-ASSED INSULTS WHILE YOU CAN, YOU PEDANTIC, JUNGLE-HEADED TWIT!" she snarled, now suddenly atop the row above Kora and inches from her face. "EVERY MINUTE YOU'RE NOT ON A TREADMILL, EVERY SECOND YOU'RE NOT HAMMERING DOWN ON A SANDBAG, EVERY MOMENT YOU'RE NOT BREAKING A SWEAT, I'M ONLY GETTING STRONGER. AND WHEN I'M STRONG ENOUGH, FIRST ON MY TO-DO LIST IS OH-SO VIGOROUSLY WIPING THAT GOD FORSAKEN SMILE OFF YOUR STUPID FACE, YOU EXTRATERRESTRIAL SUPERSLAG!"
"Oh, please," Kora growled, slightly closing the gap, "It'd take me a minute to do what'd take you all afternoon with everything you had! Don't get ahead of yourself, punk, you'll never surpass me without that shitty little crutch of yours!"
The two were using every ounce of willpower they had to keep themselves from clobbering one another.
"IS THAT A FACT?"
"As a matter of fact, it is!"
"CHEEKY BROAD, YOU'LL GET WHAT'S COMING TO YOU!"
"Why wait? Why not crush me right now? You know you want to!"
"YOU KNOW DAMN-WELL WHY! WHAT, ARE YOU SCARED OF DECKING ME RIGHT NOW BEFORE I HAVE THE CHANCE TO 'CRUSH' YOU, TEACHER'S PET!"
"Maybe I just like watching clowns dance for me, you pipsqueak!"
The two were butting heads at this point, both sporting crazed grins.
"YOU…!"
"You…!"
"Yo!"
"STAY OUT OF THIS!" they both yelled in unison before immediately dropping their respective tough-girl acts.
"Okay!"
"W-wait-I didn't mean to-"
"Hey, h-hold on I-"
Both sighed as the blonde boy continued his merry trip upward, unable to translate their awkward mumbles. Once the guilt and embarrassment settled, they each exchanged significantly-softer evil smirks.
"Take a long, hard look at my face from this angle," boldly declared Dina, rising to her feet above the desk row. "The next time we fight, I promise you'll be seeing dejá vu once I'm through with you."
"Good luck with that, small fry," Kora taunted, looking directly upward at Dina. "You can put yourself through Hell all you want, just know I've been there first. Do you have the resolve to take what I can, though?"
It was like staring down into an abyss.
Dina shivered, not hiding it in the slightest.
"Good Lord, you're terrifying…" she chuckled as she returned to the seat she'd chosen.
The thrill of a new rival – an insurmountable new foe changing one's perception of strength, a plucky challenger dedicating all their being to surpassing one – was revving the two up.
[BGM: J Dilla – Two Can Win (0:00 – 0:05)]
An hour had passed.
Between the psychotic lesson about a method basically amounting to "Let Me Impale You with a Thousand Needles, Trust Me It'll Feel Great" and the unending feeling of emptiness within himself, Neoru felt he'd've been better off still laying outside. Whatever hope he had of this place giving him something to take his mind off things was leaving fast. Worse, he couldn't stop thinking about what Kaset told him. What if he was lost?
Besides survival… why was he doing this? What else was there?
Stupid thoughts he didn't get were pissing him off beyond belief. Everyone else seemed to have a sort of drive, why didn't he?
"Neoru?"
His eyes jolted to the side of his seat.
"Never told you my-when did-"
"What's wrong?" Zinco asked curiously.
"… Nothing, fuck off."
"Neoru?"
"What?"
"What's wrong?"
"Ya stupid or deaf? I said nothing."
He turned again.
"Neoru?"
"SHITTY BRAT, I SAID-"
Zinco's eyes no longer had a curious, oblivious wonder.
They looked sorrowful, almost pitiful. That pissed him off even more.
"What's wrong?" he said once more, tone becoming softer.
"The hell's your problem? 'Cus I ain't your problem. I said 'nothing,' so beat it already, jeez."
Zinco kept staring a hole through him.
.
.
"Fuck! Fine, you win! If I tell you, will you leave me be, ya damn leech?"
Zinco gave a toothy grin.
"I… I… I don't know…"
"Huh?"
[BGM: Emancipator – With Rainy Eyes]
Neo's fists balled. It seemed like the class, the desks, the room itself seemed to just fade away, leaving only him.
He thought back. How radical this change was. He should be overjoyed; he was out of his hellish era, no more need to do awful things or help awful people in order to live another day.
But that was all he knew. And now, his entire point of being was suddenly called into question. Not to mention how futile it all seemed now; he wouldn't be here if it wasn't.
His voice suddenly got caught in the back of his throat.
"Outta nowhere, I just… feel like something's missing. And I can't find it."
Silence.
"Did you look for it?"
"Sure."
"Really, really hard?"
"Don't think I can look any harder. Barely know what it is, as-is."
"Then… maybe you don't really need it?"
Neoru paused.
"Huh?"
"Y'know!" Zinco continued. "Sometimes, if you look really hard for something, and you can't find it no matter how much you try to find it, then it just means you didn't need it as much as you thought you did. And sometimes, you can just find something better to replace it with!"
After a few seconds of blinking…
"You… you don't even know what I'm talking about, damn it."
Zinco slumped a bit. "S-sorry, I'm trying really hard. I'm still not that smart…"
"The hell am I doing rattlin' off my problems to a kid anyway…" Neo mumbled as he turned. "What's wrong with me today…"
"-cludes the history lesson for today!" Stroga announced as he finished. "With that, it's time for Physical Education!"
A myriad of sighs filled the room, mostly coming from the saiyans.
"Now I'd like to ask that you all…"
The rumbling made him take a moment to reevaluate his phrasing.
"No, all of you should come down and leave in a neat and orderly fashio-I DEMAND THAT YOU ALL-"
His words fell on deaf ears as most of the class stampeded over the poor teacher.
Yes, the sighs earlier were those of relief! This period was many a rookie's favorite, the one where they could finally move and, more importantly, grow even stronger: P.E.
"This is what you were talking about, wasn't it, Ms. Ayeva?" Dina thought to herself, bounding out of her seat as a smirk grew.
"Therefore… I'd better get to it!"
Neoru got out of his seat.
"Sitting down, thinking those dumbass thoughts won't get anything done."
He slowly made his way down the stairs.
"Hell, anything's better than that!"
His pace quickened; he began running down in a controlled fall. Upon the last dozen steps, he made a jump.
[BGM: Dragon Ball Z – Track M1525]
Neoru almost fell flat on his behind.
"WHAT THE FUCK DID I GET MYSELF INTO?" he internally screamed as balls whizzed past him at mach speeds.
"There are 3 rules to this exercise!"
Neoru bobbed and weaved at inhuman angles, his honed instincts and agility operating as his single saving grace. Any of those balls could end up knocking off something important.
"FOCUS, YOU DUMBASS! FOCUS OR YOU'RE GONNA BE PAINTIN' THIS HELLHOLE!"
"1. No man left behind! You'd have to be one spineless piece of shit to leave your comrade on the battlefield!"
"IWANNAGOHOMEIWANNAGOHOMEIWANNAGOHOMEIWANNAGOHOME!" Dina screeched to herself as she scurried across the arena, the floors littered with broken bodies, dodgeballs, and miscellaneous fluids.
"2. You keep fighting, you keep walking, you keep throwing until you drop to the floor in a puddle of your own putrid filth!"
Dina's arm was suddenly struck by a ball, knocking her off her feet.
"You…!" she growled as she picked herself back up. All she could see in that moment was Kora's stupid smug face.
"GO TO HELL, AND TAKE YA SHITE BALL WITH YOU, TWATHOLE!" she roared as she chucked the ball harder than she should've been capable of at the innocent Musai who just wanted to have fun, chipping his carapace considerably.
"3? You helpless suck-ups need me to explain every detail? ALL OUT, FULL POWER, FROM THE MOMENT THE BLAREHORN SOUNDS OFF!"
She cringed hard once she calmed down. "HOLY HELL-You can walk that off, right?" Dina nervously asked before 3 of his angry teammates popped up around her.
"… Now, I know this looks rather suspect, but funny story, wouldn't you know…"
At the mention of their friend's predicament being a "funny story," both the saiyan and the namekian grew even larger scowls.
"… I found him like this."
Dina got bonked.
"Aw, man, I'm on a role!" A human said to himself in excitement before a ball hit the back of his head, bouncing off harmlessly.
He turned to see Neoru, his hand still outstretched in a finished throwing motion.
"Fffffffffuck."
"Hey, you shouldn't say things like that!"
"I doubt anyone gives a shit but you, pal."
"I'M WARNING YOU! QUIT BEING SO PROFANE! RIGHT NOW!"
The two squared off for an annoyingly long period.
"…!"
.
.
"… can you, like, fuck off or somethi-"
Neoru got bonked.
While our familiars were getting their asses handed to them, two others began to draw eyes.
[BGM: Hunter X Hunter – Test Your Luck]
"I can… barely keep pace…" a red shirt puffed. A ball in the distance came closer and closer.
"So this is it… dang it, I had so much I wanted done… who'll water my plants now?"
"Oh yeah… I forgot to water my plants today…"
"ETERNAL DRAGON SAVE ME PLEASE-"
Before the ball could make contact, it suddenly snagged upward before returning to sender's deltoid, sending said sender into a screeching mess. The red shirt's saver elegantly landed before his eyes.
"You need focus," current Red MVP, Shào Mei, coldly stated.
"S-SO COOL! PLANTKIND THANKS YOU!" Red shouted in glee before racing out the door, garnering a small smile from Mei.
"Can't you have my back?" a saiyan on her team jokingly asked from the back. "Sherru's a keeper for sure, don't get me wrong, but…"
"IF YOU WANT DEATH, HOU GUI DOG, KEEP DUMB MOUTH OPEN!"
"… Name's Kobu, but… point taken…"
Kaza shook as a multitude of opposing players set their sights on her; a decent Majin was invaluable in a game like this, after all. Barely able to move herself out of sheer terror, she braced as the balls took flight.
And went spiraling off-course due to a single ball's well-thrown interference.
"Oh! Nice to meet you again, Kaza!" said the culprit behind the stupendous anti-air toss. Kaza's face lit up.
"ZINCO!" she suddenly bursted out of her terrified trance, tackle-hugging Zinco and knocking him to the floor.
"Tha…thank you, but I still need to focus on something right now!" Zinco wheezed out from constricted lungs.
Kaza zipped off, allowing Zinco to sit up in a coughing fit.
"Sorry! Is there anything I can do to help you!?" she stammered out, surprising herself with the sudden proposal.
"No thank you! I wanna do this alone!"
"But I can help!"
"I know, but-"
"I CAN! WATCH!" she said desperately as she threw up her hands and strained herself, slowing more mid-air dodgeballs to a crawl and shocking Zinco.
"Awesome…" he muttered before erupting in giddy laughter.
"You… think it's awesome?" Kaza exclaimed, getting a response consisting of frantic nodding.
"Mmh-hm! Mmh-hm! How long can you do that?"
"I'm not sure, but I…" Kaza paused, wanting to avoid any implication that she could be an annoyance in any way.
"I-AS LONG AS I NEED TO!"
"Really! Great!"
"But… what are you going to do?"
The blonde's expression ever-so slightly hardened.
"Games stop being fun when people get hurt. So I made a different game!" said Zinco before dashing off, snagging two spheres in each hand and one with his tail.
"When I knock a ball down, pull it into the air! Please!"
"Got it!"
Mei continued to incapacitate most combatants (especially tailed combatants) like a one-woman army, allowing her team to take pot-shots from the back while Blue Team's throws failed to so much as graze her. Suppressing fire seemed to begin dropping off ever so slowly, much to her indifference; it was when fire on both ends began to stop altogether that she started asking questions.
"Huh?"
"What the…?"
"Where'd my balls go?"
"HHHHHHHHH-"
"Oh my- get fucked!"
"Wait… the ceiling…!"
Ceiling wasn't a word she was familiar with, but the sudden skyward heads spurred a reaction. She looked up to find a sea of silvery-red spheres.
"It was that stupid kid!"
"D'ya even know what side yer on, doofus!?"
"What a nuisance! And the day was all but won!"
Zinco somewhat anxiously waved at the glaring eyes nestled upon him, too far to notice Kaza's wincing.
"Y-yo…"
Mei stood in confusion. When she saw Zinco's twitching tail, however, a sadistic smirk grew on her face.
"You. Boy."
"Mmh-Hmm! How'd you tell?"
"Huh?"
"Huh?"
Zinco's expression changed upon seeing who'd rightfully accused him of being a boy.
"Oh. You're the one from yesterday." He tensed. Her knowledge of pressure points – the hundreds which lay dormant within anything holding ki – was unreal.
Mei nodded. She pointed to the ball in her hand.
"The last ball. You need it, no?"
"Mh. Please drop it."
"Take it. You are 'Saiyan,' no? Your people can take well. So take."
"I don't like taking things. I'd like if you could drop it. Please."
She grinned.
"Catch." The ball shot towards Zinco, who promptly took aim. He leapt into the air and knocked it away with his own ball.
It fell to the ground and, as balls bound to gravity tend to do, returned to Mei's open palm.
"…!"
[BGM: Baki 2018 OST – Osu, Karate Way!]
Zinco gasped, frantically flipping to his side and narrowly avoiding Mei's unnatural, borderline-haunted ball as it circled the room. Mei flicked her forearm, twitching her middle and index fingers as the ball continued to hunt Zinco. Instead of running, however, Zinco positioned himself in a small circle of motion. Every dodge was not a moment too soon; pushing himself to move as absurdly fast as possible only when the ball was but a hair away from contact. All the while, Kaza's twitching grew into gritting. Her concentration was waning due to an array of factors, one of which, intense worry. As Zinco kept pushing himself, however, she kept pushing herself.
"I wouldn't wanna let go of a ball like this, either! But I promise I'll give it back once the game ends, I promise!"
"Shut up and stay still!"
"I am still!"
"Shut up!"
The ball flew behind the gi'd Golden Boy, who evaded it limbo-style in the nick of time. THIS time, as it zipped past, he noticed that the ball was darker than last time. No… it looked like every other ball now, meaning it was only brighter every other time for some-
And the ball suddenly glinted, brightening once more and violently pulling toward his face. His train of thought cut like a thread, Zinco raised his own clutched ball, using it batter the other away. He checked it, only to find wire-like cuts all over the used side.
Thread…
He began to put things together. The way Mei erratically moved her hands and arm, and the way the ball obeyed… it was almost like a Yo-Yo. And the way the ball glinted, like it was covered in translucent gold strands…
The ball came around again. Zinco mustered what little brainpower he had within him for his next high-IQ maneuver; he took a deep breath and ran full-speed toward the ball, screaming all the way.
"…eh?"
Milliseconds before the ball made contact, he sidestepped it, raised his forearm like an axe, and brought his hand down upon the space behind it. The imprint of a slender line slowly burned into his hand's side, setting his nerves ablaze. Still, Zinco maintained his attack, fighting through the pain.
"I'LL DEFINITELY… END THIS…"
He let out one last resounding roar –
"OOOOOOOOSU!"
– and cut through the thread of energy with his own applied ki.
Mei stood in absolute disbelief. Kaza nearly dropped the ball(s) in excitement. The untethered dodgeball harmlessly bounced along the floor, stopped by a Martial Artist-Issue boot.
"Okaaay," Zinco stated to himself before kicking up and waving the ball in triumph. To his surprise, a few patrollers gave him applause.
"I don't… This hasn't happened before, but… shit, kid, I don't know what else to call this but victory," the instructor sighed. "Team Puss-Peace, Team Peace takes this one home, I guess."
"Yes!" Zinco turned to congratulate his single comrade. "Thank yo-"
Kaza proceeded to unleash a hailstorm comprised of very hard dodgeballs falling from a very tall height, before falling to the floor and clutching her head. Amongst the imminent panic, Zinco rushed to her stead.
"What's wrong?"
"Forgive me…" she muttered, tears coming down her face. "I tried my best, but… I've never held something that heavy… I'm sorry, I really am…"
"Why? You did great!"
"I did?"
"Ah-huh!" he nodded amongst the screaming.
Kaza smiled a bit.
"Then I'm not useless?"
"No Way! I couldn't've done this as good as I did without you! Now no one can get hurt!"
"OH GODS, HE ISN'T WAKING UP!"
"IS ANYONE A DOCTOR? PLEASE, I NEED A DOCTOR!"
"I JUST WANTED TO DODGE SOME BALLS AND GO HOME!"
"I feel perfectly fine, what's got all of you in a huff?"
"OH FUCK, WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR HEAD?"
"What are you talking about? Never seen a bowl cut before or what-have-you?"
"Oh, that's what the dent on your head's about. Sorry for the misunderstanding, I'm gonna keep running now."
"… Oh, right. The ball hit me. Oooooow-"
[BGM: J Dilla – Thought U Wuz Nice]
"… but I think we can both get better…" Zinco sadly whispered.
"i'm a monster…"
To call Conton's Medical Team top-notch would be a severe understatement.
In any case, once more due to their diligent efforts (There have been much more violent Conton Dodgeball sessions in the past) no one died. Kaza and Zinco pitched in as well, with Kaza learning more about what exactly she was capable of.
"I don't know how that happened, I just wanted her to start feeling better!"
"SO COOL!"
"In any case, that means this is officially your job as of now. Have fun cleaning this up, champ, I'm hitting the PQs."
"You step one foot out of this gym, Chio, I'm adding a casualty."
"YOU NEVER LET ME DO ANYTHING!"
Kaza also found a new job.
In any case, two of the few who the balls spared in the prior bouncy apocalypse weren't exactly in the best of spirits.
"Hey, yellow squirrel-lookin' motherfucker."
Zinco kept attempting to tie his belt.
"(Okay, I'll give you that.) HEY, uh… Ringo?"
Zinco almost had it that time, but the belt slipped after a few seconds.
"No no no, I've got it this time, uh… Ziiiiinnn…co?"
Zinco finally fixed his belt in a tight loop.
"Yo!"
"(Seriously, that was it? Hey, whatever, I still got it.) What was that redirection crap you were doin' during that fiasco back there?"
Before Zinco could ask what Neoru meant…
"You definitely could've knocked that red-hair chick clean out, left herself wide open and everything. You just went and made shit harder for yourself, what gives?"
"I didn't want to. There was a way to make sure no one got hurt, so I took it!"
"Aw yeah, that worked out great."
Zinco let out a nervous chuckle, sarcasm lost on him. "Not really. That didn't go how I wanted." He took a deep breath. "I'll just have to get stronger!"
Neo cocked his head. "Huh?"
"Mmh-Hmm! I'm gonna get so stronger that I can't hurt anyone!"
"Yeah, that's nice." Seemed like everyone had that goal in mind: getting stronger. He'd tried that, and he still failed to obtain enough to make a…
.
.
"What?"
"I wanna be so strong-"
"Uh-huh, uh-huh-"
"-That I can't hurt anyone!"
"So you know how that sounds, you KNOW how that sounds," Neoru stressed. "You know what that means, right? 'Getting stronger?' "
Zinco nodded. "It's pushing past yourself to get somewhere higher!"
Neoru was prepared to callously retort. Instead, he started paying attention.
"And that's what I wanna do. I wanna push past violence!"
"…And you think that's possible?"
"Yes! And if not, I'm gonna make it possible. I've gotta make myself as strong and smart as I can if I want to, too!"
Holy shit. This kid was either brain dead or on to something. And from what he'd seen him do, maybe…
Still.
"Nice dream, but I doubt it's gonna go far, kid," said Zinco's senior by a whopping 2 years. "I'm pretty educated on how people work, myself. Some are just pieces of shit by default. Going about not killing anyone is one thing, but there's gonna be a fly sooner-or-later that's gotta get AT LEAST harmed. If not to save your own skin, then someone else's."
"I don't believe you. Everyone has a bit of good, no matter what they do! I just need to know how to bring it out!"
Neoru sighed. "I sure-as-hell haven't seen that yet. But maybe you're right. Maybe I was just too weak."
"Probably."
"What the fuck did you jus… ah, you're right. I'm never strong enough."
Zinco began to jet out the door. Before the door to the locker room closed...
"But we can both get stronger! I know it!"
That drive. That greater reason to go on.
Neo wanted some of that.
On the other side of town, Dina was throwing an inner hissyfit.
"stupidjerksganginguponaninnocentlittlegirllikethathopethelotgetwhat'scomingtothembunchofshitheadshowamisupposedtogetstrongerificanteventhrowtheblastedballwhatabsoluterubbish-"
"Mother of Kami, what's gotten into that guy?"
"That's easily above 500 tons, how's he…!"
"hey I've been waiting for my turn on that thing for like 2 hours and you've been here for 5 can you like fuck off or something"
A crowd was gathering around the training facility too self-important to just call itself a gym. Naturally, Dina wanted to know what the fuss was about.
Navigating the crowd, she managed to find the source of the commotion.
[BGM: 14? Ft. Substantial – When the Luster Fades Instrumental]
What looked like a saiyan was currently lifting a sizable barbell.
With his teeth.
"That kid's possessed!"
"He's hot, to boot!"
"look no one cares you're just slobbering over the shite weight just let me get my turn bastard"
His body was covered in blood and sweat as it shook violently in strain. He glared through vacant yellow sockets in a berserk-like trance, yet his tufted, beyond-scarred tail remained limp as if he'd glued it on.
Dina was flabbergasted to the point where she could only ask a single question.
"Who… is that?"
Du-Du-Du-Duuu~ Daaa-Daaa-Daaa~
Yo! OP here!
Demon Slayer's pretty great, but have you ever tried Trigun?
Yeah, that's a gem I concluded a good few weeks back. Vash is one of the GOATs of anime protagonists in my eyes. Y'know, the blonde, green-eyed tall man who's descended from a species separate from humans, who's also a goofy and lighthearted pacifist by nature and secretly radically strong and has a name starting with one of the 5 last letters of the alphabet followed by a vowel and I SWEAR I MADE ZINCO BEFORE I KNEW ABOUT VASH.
Seriously, while I'm serious about the Zinco thing, he's definitely helped with planning out his character; Zinc was gonna be a Gon parallel until Trigun convinced me to make him stand out a bit. "So strong that I can't hurt anyone" won it in my eyes.
Enough on that, let's talk about the reason I've been so slow on updating. School honestly isn't even that big a reason, all it's done is convince me to take notes on ideas before they can sputter away. No, the real reason is character moments and such. To make a long story short, I wanted to make sure they were something decent and fit to the characters, not being too jarring and what-not. Take a swig every time I say character. You'll die.
But, uh, yeah. I think that's all there is. Voshyo's chilling in the Shadow Realm for a minute until the tournament gets announced and both characters are stable in terms of motives and training, Kora was doing... things... during the dodgeball sesh, Mr. Longsword is holding his city down, and I am gonna go grab a Hershey bar. Next chapter will be the story of How Neoru Got his Groove Back, ft. Not Vash and Weezy F Ominous Ninja Anime Girl #744947393.
That's about it. See ya.