Black Bone Tower Part 13

Previous: Black Bone Tower Part 12

''Jiro pushed his sunglasses up on his face, and got up onto the arena. The crowds were going crazy, they were well rested now, and they were starting out with a Captain fight. Then there came Ronald Dipps, that smug bastard that waved to all of his adoring fans. As he approached the arena, he blew kisses and smiled to all of those girls that were screaming over him. Him being such a pretty boy, and a waste of clean air, as far as Jiro was concerned. Ronald jumped up onto the arena floor, and tipped his hat to Jiro, surprisingly, he said nothing. That was fine as far as Jiro was concerned.''

Jiro: I know what you said in the bar was meant all in good fun. I know you don't care that we're a different race of people. I know you don't even really care about your own race either. The way you talk about killing people, and I know you mean it.

Ronald: Yeah? What's it to you?

Jiro: I'm going to make you care, right here, right now. [Popping both of his knuckles.]

Ronald: Oh, I'm ready Mr. Litterbox.

''Then there came a very grim, horrid grin across Jiro's face that could so clearly be seen through his green sunglasses. This made Ronald slightly uneasy.''

St. Owen: Fighters at the ready! [Raised his hand.]

That's when Jiro seemed to move with traces of himself following his every movement as he got into a fighting pose that resembled a vast amount of experience in the art of nekogenpo.

St. Owen: [Chopped.] Fight!

Ronald: HAAA!!! [Jumped straight for Jiro with a punch that had a serious amount of force behind it.]

To his great surprise, Jiro simply held out his hand.

Jiro: Nekogenpo: [Caught the punch without flinching an inch.] Tetsu-tsume...

Ronald: GAAAHH!! [Held his pounding, red fist.] You little bastard...

Jiro: [Took in a great deal of breath, and then sliced across Ronald's chest as a large set of claw marks appeared on his chest.] Hitsume!!!

Ronald: AH! [Held onto his wound as it burned.] Errrrr!! [Then the wound caught fire.] GAAAHH!

''Then, to his surprise, Ronald turned around with a smile, while he was still on fire. Jiro pushed his sunglasses up and looked very closely at his opponent as the fire spread. Then it seemed as if Ronald could control the fire, as all of it collected onto his hand.''

Ronald: Ooohhh, such a bad kitty cat. It's time to sic the dog on you...

''Ronald's entire body began to flare a red color, his eyes became yellow, and his head sprouted ears. As his skin turned red, there came random tears that sprouted flames throughout all of them. Then his mouth became a muzzle. His head turned into that of a canine.''

Ronald: Inu Inu no Mi, Model: Hellhound, I suppose I forgot to mention this, but I don't care! Black Fire Inferno!

''Ronald thrust his hand forward and summoned up a huge amount of fire to burst forward from just one point, that blew Jiro backward as he half-way jumped, but his face and front were both singed and his left hand was burned something fierce as black fire spread through out the arena. He landed some ways away from the flames and shook his hand, rubbing it to make sure the skin wasn't too badly burned. It was only a first degree burn, and nothing to be alarmed about, but those flames were something serious to behold.''

Ronald: Arrrooooo!! Hahahahaha! What's the matter kitty cat? Run out of quips? Am I going to take you seriously now? Huh?!

Jiro: Nekogenpo! Myaku! [Used one hand to blair energy straight and cut through the fire, Ronald was hit by this, but his broad new physique seemed to make him rather impervious to such attacks.]

Ronald: How cute. Hellfire River! HA! [Caused a huge rolling of flames to travel across the ground toward Jiro.]

''It was getting very hot on that stage, indeed. So much that Jiro was forced to open his mouth and breathe through it, as he had no sweat glands. He had to jump above the flames and roll out of their way. His fur was now blackened, little bits of each hair were flaking off in little black crumbs of hair as they were seared off.''

Rinji: Jiro! Shit! Where did that bastard get that kind of power? What kind of Devil Fruit is that?

Chio: That's definitely no power I've ever seen before. I've never heard of such a thing before, even with the Cheshire Fruit, I think you'd have a hell of a time taking on this guy, pun intended.

Kimi: Dear Lord, if Jiro doesn't think of something fast, he's going to get cooked!

Usagi: Come on Jiro! Take that son of a bitch down! Come on!

Dala's hands were over her mouth, just looking at such a horrific form Ronald Dipps had taken was enough to give her nightmares for the next couple of weeks.

''Jiro was suddenly hit by Ronald's fist straight into his chest, as he was off balance from dodging another river of flames. He was taken aback, ashes that were once his suit scattered everywhere. As he landed, he started to pat down his chest to put the flame out.''

Jiro: Damnit! [Looked to see his fur was singed there too. Then he looked up to see that he wasn't there, but his whiskers, which were also slightly burned, sensed he was directly behind him.]

Ronald: Hell Sword Slice!!! [Slashed downward at the catman, cutting into his back with a blade made completely of flames. It would have drawn blood, had the flames not cauterized the wound instantly.]

Jiro: Errrrrr!!! [Cringed at the horrible pain of the slice and lurched forward, getting on all fours and panting for breath. It was so hot in there, every breath was like breathing in a hot piece of coal.]

Ronald: You're tough, kitten, but you're no man!

Jiro: Nekogenpo! Ni Subeta! [Spun around, two blade made of energy on his hands and cutting Ronald in the gut and the chest with both of them.]

Ronald: AGH!!! [Lost his Hellsword and put his hands on his torso as they began to bleed something that resembled lava.] Oooohh very good, let's see how you taste when you're well done! [Swung his hand around with a fireball attached to his fist.] Hell Strike!

''Jiro flipped backward, and the back of his heels touched the fire behind him, causing him to flinch and stumble forward, where Ronald's foot was waiting. He punted Jiro across the ring, making him crash, a smoking cat whose fur was almost not looking very good at all. It was once blond, and now it wasn't any real color. ''

Ronald: I suppose this is the end, friend. You were right, you know. [Making another Hellsword in his hand.] You did give me a new respect for your kind. Err...

''Jiro looked up at him with a very serious look on his face. Ronald began to stammer backward as he started to feel somewhat hazy. ''

Ronald: Agh.... what... what are you doing?!

Jiro: That's not the kind of serious I meant. [His look intensified, and Ronald's eyes began to go haywire.]

Ronald: Stop it! Stop it now! [Grabbed his head and started to shout in pain as he felt it would explode!]

Jiro: There is no stopping me, only you can stop, stop right now and I'll end this once and for all. [Stood as Ronald bent forward, and grabbed his head.]

Ronald: AAAHHH!! NO! NO MORE! NO MORE!!!! [Waved his hand in the air hard.]

Announcer: That's it folks! Captain Ronald Dipps as thrown in the towel! The winner is Jiro!

Rinji: ...wait... What just happened?

Kimi: What was he doing? It looked like Ronald was going to suffer a stroke!

Jana: I have seen such a technique before.

Kimi: Wha?!

Jana: Yes, [Drawing all of their attention.] It is known as the King's Disposition, a form of Haki that works on the consciousness of the target. However, I have never seen it used in such a fashion as to actually fill someone's consciousness with pain.

Rinji: Jiro! I'm coming, brother!

As the stagehands came to the arena with buckets of water to put out the flames, Rinji vaporized himself and floated down to the arena to where Jiro was very slowly walking toward the stairs that led to the balcony.

Rinji: [Materialized beside him.] Jiro!

Jiro: Oh, hello Rinji. [Smiled at him, very faintly, as it was clear he was in immense pain.]

Rinji: Stop walking, I'll get you to Ell- Oh, here she comes!

Ellis: Don't touch him! His skin needs to remain in tact, and don't take off his clothes, I need to see what kind of burns he has! [Running down the stairs with her doctor's kit.] Come on, Jiro put your arm around my shoulders.

''As Ellis helped Jiro to the balcony for medical attention, the crowd was going absolutely bugshit! What an amazing spectacle! They were chanting Jiro's name, thrusting their fists into the air and cheering on the blond-haired Nekojin!''

Announcer: Alright! Good job, Jiro! We wish you a speedy recovery!

Rinji: Go fuck yourself! [Flipping off the Announcer.]

Announcer: Alright, St. Owen has pulled the rope and we're about to see who's next in the bouts! And it's... Whoa!!

''The crowd let out a newly energized fit! Everyone started to shout and stumble over each other with excitement. Rinji looked over his shoulder to see that Thomas Drake was fighting someone named Brandish.''

Rinji: Oh, well, it'll be nice to see what he can do.

''They helped Jiro onto a cott that they found in the closet, apparently a lot of people get injured in these games. Ellis bandaged him where it was really serious, and patched him back up, giving him water and sprinkling some on his wounds, as well as some alcohol to clean them up, much to his dismay. She got him rehydrated, which was a good step, but now came the long road to recovery. ''

Out at the arena, though, there came a roar from the crowd once again as Captain Thomas Drake stepped out onto the arena. He was huge, borderline that of a giant. His muscles were God-like, and his toga left little to the imagination in his torso. His figure was as legendary as his name, and he held up his hand and waved to the people, causing another roar of cheers from them. That was, however, when he set eyes on his opponent, and he smiled.

Black Bone Tower Part 14