Black Bone Tower Part 28

Previous: Black Bone Tower Part 27

''Chio's foot came straight at Marcus's fist, and the two collided in a destructive clash. The two of them moved twice, and then struck once again, one dodging the other and then one of them gained the upper hand. Chio's heel met with Marcus's right cheek and slammed his head into the ground so hard that he bounced up, and as he did, Chio kicked him into the ceiling, knocking him hard and then having him smash into the ground.''

''While this was happening, a mere five yards away, Jana moved her fingers across the horrible gash in Gonzo Lee's chest. His eyes remained half open, and he tried his best to regulate his breathing as she rubbed the skin adhesive across the wound, closing it as best it could.''

''Kimi stood with her axe, watching the battle between the two, and making sure they didn't get close. She looked back toward Jana to see she was cleaning the blood from his face and the top of his head as it stained his golden-blond hair.''

Jana: The wound in your shoulder is not as bad as I thought, thankfully it missed your artery and your collarbone, but I think you may have lost a little too much blood from this chest wound.

''He simply looked up at her, no expression on his face, just a blank stare. What he was seeing, she could not decipher, but she knew it was not her that he was watching. What he saw was a glowing at the end of a hallway.''

''The hallway was ever so long, but was walking down it anyway, as he saw the glowing had a pulse. The pulse was ever beating, and the hallway grew ever long. The wind blew at his back, but he never looked back, he simply kept walking and there were times when he felt he walked on nothing. The light he saw brought warmth to him where he froze, and showed him much that he was missing, but also made him blind to a great truth. The light came closer, or was it he who got closer to the light? Either way, it became so clear what it was, it was the final answer, that warm place in the center of the universe, the multiverse, it was his final time of re--''

SLAP!!!!!

There was a small explosion on his cheek as Jana's palm smacked against it.

Jana: WAKE UP, DAMNIT!

Lee: [Gasp!] GAH! What happened?!

Kimi: [Leaned in] Oi oi, Jana, that was a little harsh, don't you think?

Jana: [Ignored her] Welcome back, Lee! Thought I almost lost you there. Are you feeling alright?

''To add to his concussion, scar on his chest, and hole in his shoulder, he now had an ever growing lump on his cheek. He looked at her, honestly curious to see if she was serious. Then she put an X of bandaids where she slapped him and gave him a cute little smile. He rolled his eyes and then saw that Chio and Marcus were still locking horns in battle.''

Lee: What is he doing? [Tried to get up, only to be met with Jana's palm on his forehead.]

Jana: No, stay down, Lee. You are in no condition to battle. We need to get you out of here.

Lee: Are you serious? I finally got me some action, and now I'm ready for round two.

Jana: Out of the question. You've already lost too much blood, it's simple luck that you survived at all.

''Lee cursed silently and stayed back down. As he did, Chio and Marcus stood back in their fighting stances, staring each other down.''

Chio: [Panting and sweating quite visibly.] He is good, I don't know what it is, but his entire body seem to be made of metal, my kicks seem to be doing nothing but stunning him, even my Ran Kyaku only seemed to cut him a little bit. I may need to dig deeper if I'm going to bring him down.

Marcus: [Grinned, as if he could read every one of Chio's thoughts.] Very good, Chio. You've turned out to be much better than I ever imagined. However...

Chio locked up immediately, knowing that pattern of talking, he was sure that his next assault would start right then, especially since Marcus's grin widened across his face.

Marcus: Seeya! [Turned on his heel and started walking away.]

Chio: Eh? [Eyes widened and his eyebrow went up.] Hey! What are you doing?! You think you can just walk away in the middle of a fight?

Marcus: Why not? It's not going anywhere anyway, and you've got a crewmate down. You should really get him to your doctor.

Chio: Hold it! [Started running toward him.]

''That was when Marcus stepped to the side of his path and then jumped straight forward in an instant. As he did a wall of fire came up from some holes that uncovered on the ground and blaired from butane fumes. Chio stopped in his tracks and covered his face as he backed up from them. As they extinguished, he saw that Marcus was gone.''

Chio: ...Damn!

''Rinji kept walking down the gigantic hallway they came to, not knowing at all where they were headed, and honestly didn't care at this point. They were quick to decipher any traps, as they were not all that hard to spot. Over time they started to wonder how anyone could ever survive in a place like this, and even if they did find the so-called "treasure" how in the hell were they going to get out of there? It all seemed so cryptic, and they were starting to kick themselves for falling for such an obvious trap to begin with.''

Dala: Kimi was sooooo determined to become a known pirate of the sea, and all of her life wanted to make her dad proud in any way she could. I wasn't getting anywhere on that stupid island we were on, so it seemed like a good chance to get out of there and see what I could find for myself. Now we're stuck in this stupid tower, and sooner or later we're going to either starve to death or get crushed by some gigantic masher or even blended to death in some spinning blades!

Rinji: Mewhahahahahahaa! Well, I mean, you've seen some good stuff in your time haven't you?

Dala: Well [Looked at him and blushed a little.] Maybe. I mean, so far we've been to an island of cannibals and this island, one with a killer tower. I suppose you would be considered one of the good parts.

Rinji: Maybe [The grin left his face as he turned his eyes toward her.]

''As she looked at him, he grinned once again, his fangs ever present. She gave a shy little smile, but then it faded away as she looked off to the other side. He gave a similar sad expression.''

''That's when both of their ears perked up a bit, and they looked around a bit. They heard very hard breathing somewhere, as if someone were in distress. They looked at a connecting hallway to their left, and ran toward it, Rinji warning her by pointing at a trap panel that they both avoided. They looked in to see a very large man, his muscles huge, and pulsing as he struggled to hold up an oncoming wall from above. He held it as hard as he could, sweat beading down his face and his eyes wide open. He panted, and finally made his move as he slid his hands off of it and rolled forward to allow the wall to come down. He stayed in a kneeling position to catch his breath. Then he looked over to see that his spear was caught beneath the wall and broken.''

Bruto: Awww, damn. That does not bode well.

Then his eyes widened as he looked down the hall to see the two Nekojin looking back at him.

Bruto: Hmmmmm? Oh, you! Catman Rinji and his little Catgirl! You are our opponents, and we are here to keep you from winning!

Rinji: [Nodded.] We are.

Dala: You agreed with him so readily [She looked somewhat surprised at Rinji.]

Rinji: Well, why not? He's right.

Bruto: As a member of the Bulldog pirates, I am obligated to fight you, and crush you between my muscles! [Got up and towered over both of them in his stature which was a little over seven feet.]

Rinji: Mewhahahaha! You can try, if you wish.

Dala: Eh?! [Her mouth opened wide at Rinji's courage.] You really are crazy!

Bruto: But... I should really be finding my crew. They could be dead for all I know.

Rinji: Well, yeah, I suppose you're right. I should be doing the same. One of my crew is seriously injured and I should make sure he's okay.

Bruto: How awful! Does he need bandages? I have an assortment of first aid supplies for sale, and half off of baseball caps.

''There was a long pause as Bruto showed Rinji that he did indeed have a great amount of merchandise in his backpack. Dala looked at it, and then Bruto, and then back to Rinji, who was digging into his pockets.''

Dala: Whaaaaaaat the hell are you doing?!

Rinji: You kidding? I'm not passing up a deal on baseball caps! I want that orange one, the one with the "R".

Dala's face went to rubber and hung down low in all the weirdness that was going on.

Rinji: Oh, and I guess I'll take the big first aid kit, it could come in handy.

Bruto: That's a wise purchase.

Rinji took out nine hundred belli from his pocket and bought the cap, which he put on his head, and then the first aid kit.

Rinji: [Looked back at Dala, who was still frozen in shock.] You want anything?

Dala shook her head, but didn't move one inch any other way.

Rinji: That should be all. Thanks a bunch, this hat doesn't really go with my suit, but we're coming out with Tiger-Stripe jerseys as soon as Usagi sews them up.

Bruto: Jerseys, you say? Hmmmm... sounds lucrative. Well, I must be going. Have a good day, and good luck.

Rinji: Likewise. [Waved at him as he walked into the gigantic hallway that they came in from.]

Bruto: Excuse me, ma'am. [Walked beside her and she still did not move at all.]

Rinji: Right, well, lets keep moving. Rinji Utsu! [Painted his fist in haki and smashed it straight through the stone wall that blocked their path.]

Dala: Right... [Cautiously walked behind him.]

Black Bone Tower Part 29