10-21-2015, 02:52 PM
Spirited ovations gushed skyward from the impassioned audience as ripples of hysteria immersed the ancient colosseum beneath an intoxicating deluge of moxie. Howling cheers and barking jeers fanned the fervent flames within the scattered brawlers congesting the isolated combat zones. With billows and booms, clinks and clangs, a motley crew of diverse scrappers whom journeyed far and wide from distant realms clashed, pitting mettle against metal.
While the bulk of other skirmishes were nearing assured conclusion, Luffy and Alain stood with eyes trained and resolve untainted. Bruised, battered and bloodied, both contestants gingerly dug in and pushed forward, driven and full of spunk.
"You're as persistent as you are limber, gummy bunny" the knife-for-hire lauded scornfully as he playfully tossed the unadorned, arena-grade dagger from palm to palm. "I s'pose it's high time I lay you to rest, monkey boy," he presaged matter-of-factly.
Calmly expelling a breathe of reprieve to simmer down, the pirate extinguished his stewing temper. Approaching the nitty gritty and lacking in both stamina and hemoglobin alike, blind rage would pose more risk than benefit at this stage in the game.
Creeping into a guarded stance, Alain prepped for another attempt on his foe's life. "I do have one regret. I should have kept your beloved dirt-farmer headwear as a souvenir to remember you by; after I take your life."
Well, that certainly didn't last.
Twitch.
"GRK! . . . DAMN YOUUU!!" Mugiwara bawled, heaving a clamped fist forth with the force of cannon fire. Grinning triumphantly, the crimson-cloaked jerkoff pounced out of harms way, flourishing his corroded and battle-worn shiv. He'd likely need a tetanus shot just for wielding the thing after this match. All the same, he lurched behind the captain and swept clean through the air, though soon after he'd noticed his folly as he bisected nothing but air.
"Gomu Gomu no . . . " Alain overheard the all-to-familiar incantation, soliciting a panicked scan of the area. His hasty inquisition fell inadequate as a slinking assault from above seized his attention.
"AXE!" Straw Hat bellowed, chopping down with a protracted leg and nearly crushing his snarky assailant into a makeshift grave six feet under. Unfortunately, the merc's fleet of foot proved his savior once more as he narrowly avoided an impending doom.
In his place, Luffy had engraved a sizable crater in the sandy pit and kicking up a waft of dust. Utilizing the soot cloud as cover, Alain lunged forth and dug his knife into Mugiwara's exposed abdomen, followed in kind by a swift roundhouse and grounding the airborne combatant with a thud, sweeping aloft a billow of dirt himself.
Shanks, I . . . I dunno' how I can face you now. Your gift, it's . . . I'm sorry! Damn it! You inspired me, encouraged me. My Straw, no, YOUR Straw Hat. This guy, he . . . Ugh! No, not like this. I won't lose like this! I'll win and find a way to bring it back! I swear it! Keheh, heheheh . . I'm losing blood pretty fast here, gotta' end it quick or I'm out for the count. Alright, get it together. Let's do this! Yosh!
"Keh, simpleton. One more well placed attack to your vitals and victory is mine," The mercenary boasted, awaiting his adversary's emergence from the grainy plume. Just scarcely, he could make out the pirate's cherry cardigan within the smokescreen's loose cavities. Prepared to deliver a final blow and curling a confident smirk, Alain dashed in and thrusted the jagged blade.
Peculiarly, he felt almost zero resistance.
"Huh?!" He inquired as the smog settled, revealing little other than the captain's swaying shirt attached to a pike embedded into the scarred terrain. Where the hell was the limp, lifeless body?! Where was his glorious victory?! The bladeslinger could not accept such a foolish error. The merc's peepers broadened in horror before darting to his rear, a meager few milliseconds too late; yet just late enough.
A ticked off rubber man was already hot on his tail and hard on the offensive, wielding a pair of confiscated knuckle dusters over balled fists as he pitched an onslaught of infinitely indiscernible punches in a widely encompassing array which consumed half of the magical barrier in a conic formation, leaving nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. The rabble rouser's armor-plated paws sailed like a volley of peppering ballistics.
"GOMU GOMU NO . . . IRON GATLING!!!"
Baboombaboombaboom!!
While the bulk of other skirmishes were nearing assured conclusion, Luffy and Alain stood with eyes trained and resolve untainted. Bruised, battered and bloodied, both contestants gingerly dug in and pushed forward, driven and full of spunk.
"You're as persistent as you are limber, gummy bunny" the knife-for-hire lauded scornfully as he playfully tossed the unadorned, arena-grade dagger from palm to palm. "I s'pose it's high time I lay you to rest, monkey boy," he presaged matter-of-factly.
Calmly expelling a breathe of reprieve to simmer down, the pirate extinguished his stewing temper. Approaching the nitty gritty and lacking in both stamina and hemoglobin alike, blind rage would pose more risk than benefit at this stage in the game.
Creeping into a guarded stance, Alain prepped for another attempt on his foe's life. "I do have one regret. I should have kept your beloved dirt-farmer headwear as a souvenir to remember you by; after I take your life."
Well, that certainly didn't last.
Twitch.
"GRK! . . . DAMN YOUUU!!" Mugiwara bawled, heaving a clamped fist forth with the force of cannon fire. Grinning triumphantly, the crimson-cloaked jerkoff pounced out of harms way, flourishing his corroded and battle-worn shiv. He'd likely need a tetanus shot just for wielding the thing after this match. All the same, he lurched behind the captain and swept clean through the air, though soon after he'd noticed his folly as he bisected nothing but air.
"Gomu Gomu no . . . " Alain overheard the all-to-familiar incantation, soliciting a panicked scan of the area. His hasty inquisition fell inadequate as a slinking assault from above seized his attention.
"AXE!" Straw Hat bellowed, chopping down with a protracted leg and nearly crushing his snarky assailant into a makeshift grave six feet under. Unfortunately, the merc's fleet of foot proved his savior once more as he narrowly avoided an impending doom.
In his place, Luffy had engraved a sizable crater in the sandy pit and kicking up a waft of dust. Utilizing the soot cloud as cover, Alain lunged forth and dug his knife into Mugiwara's exposed abdomen, followed in kind by a swift roundhouse and grounding the airborne combatant with a thud, sweeping aloft a billow of dirt himself.
Shanks, I . . . I dunno' how I can face you now. Your gift, it's . . . I'm sorry! Damn it! You inspired me, encouraged me. My Straw, no, YOUR Straw Hat. This guy, he . . . Ugh! No, not like this. I won't lose like this! I'll win and find a way to bring it back! I swear it! Keheh, heheheh . . I'm losing blood pretty fast here, gotta' end it quick or I'm out for the count. Alright, get it together. Let's do this! Yosh!
"Keh, simpleton. One more well placed attack to your vitals and victory is mine," The mercenary boasted, awaiting his adversary's emergence from the grainy plume. Just scarcely, he could make out the pirate's cherry cardigan within the smokescreen's loose cavities. Prepared to deliver a final blow and curling a confident smirk, Alain dashed in and thrusted the jagged blade.
Peculiarly, he felt almost zero resistance.
"Huh?!" He inquired as the smog settled, revealing little other than the captain's swaying shirt attached to a pike embedded into the scarred terrain. Where the hell was the limp, lifeless body?! Where was his glorious victory?! The bladeslinger could not accept such a foolish error. The merc's peepers broadened in horror before darting to his rear, a meager few milliseconds too late; yet just late enough.
A ticked off rubber man was already hot on his tail and hard on the offensive, wielding a pair of confiscated knuckle dusters over balled fists as he pitched an onslaught of infinitely indiscernible punches in a widely encompassing array which consumed half of the magical barrier in a conic formation, leaving nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. The rabble rouser's armor-plated paws sailed like a volley of peppering ballistics.
"GOMU GOMU NO . . . IRON GATLING!!!"
Baboombaboombaboom!!
![[Image: giphy.gif]](http://media3.giphy.com/media/Rx8H5yTo36LLy/giphy.gif)