A/N: This is the area where I reply to reviews!
kilnorc: Good to know! And thanks, I pride myself on technique creation!
Giant-flying-radish-of-doom: I usually get criticised for making the fic's format like the show.
deathshark: Desi's fight… Right… You'll see
Luda59: *SPOILER ALERT* It WAS soru… That'll be brought up more in the next story arc!
Malchior the Draco: It's ON!
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Previously…
The two fighters stood in the tense, silent street. The only sound coming from anything was the whistling of the breeze.
Lydia stood, looking at the smaller man, knife in hand and eyes locked on him.
Batsue looked at her as well, with his sadistic grin still painted on his mousey face.
"Well?" Lydia started. "You gonna go, or should I?"
Batsue snickered and shrugged. "I don't see why I have to get this going… I mean, YOU are the one who wants to fight so badly…" He grinned wickedly. "I'm just one of many punching bags to you, right?"
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Lydia stood where she was, trying to pull her knife from Batsue. However, it would not become free, and Lydia just stood there, dumbfounded as to the reason why she couldn't get her weapon back.
"What's the matter? Stuck?" Batsue asked with a evil snicker.
"What's going on?" Lydia also asked, sounding a little annoyed.
Batsue struck his palm into Lydia's stomach, causing her to fly back a little, landing on her back.
"You stabbed into my jacket, which is ten pounds of elephant hide leather." Batsue explained. "You never actually hit me, my coat is just that thick and heavy!"
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Eventually, he asked. "Do you really think that they can save you?" He did not expect her to answer, for she had not said anything the whole time this had been going on. "Whatever, they are not going to succeed. They don't even know who you are, or what your name is…" He thought for a second. "Well… Neither do I, but still, I'm not someone who is trying to save you… The point is, never believe anything anyone says, understand?" He said, a tone of seriousness in his voice.
Unbeknownst to him, however, Roger managed to catch the brunt of what he had told her, as max does talk fairly loud. He specifically paid attention to that last statement. "I understand…" he whispered to himself. "I understand that the faster we get her away from you, the better!"
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Lydia picked her knife back up and chomped down on her cigarette. "You and your little coat don't scare me… You'll be way to slow to even hit me!"
"Then why don't you come after me again?" He asked, trying to egg her on.
She chuckled, "Fine." She ran at him rather quickly.
However, the second she got close enough to him, he smirked and grabbed an edge of his coat. "Hidden Art Combat: Heavy Fist!"
He opened his coat and a spring loaded boxing glove popped out extremely fast and hit Lydia square in the jaw, sending her flying once again.
"Lydia!" Desi gasped.
Batsue ran after her and as she landed, he jumped on top of her, locking her down onto the ground. With his sick smile still on his face, he started to punch Lydia repeatedly and brutally.
"The whole idea of brutality is to needlessly destroy everything about your opponent, and if you have to fight a little dirty, then so be it!"
Desi growled. "That's a horrible fighting mentality!"
"Maybe…" Ippon replied. "But, if you think about it, isn't that the basis of any fighting strategy? To win? In a fight between pirates, the ends justifies the means. I mean, we aren't saints here. However, I don't exactly agree with what my friend, Batsue, says, yet I can understand his reasons for saying it. Hopefully now, you can too, right?"
Desi blinked at the other first mate, not exactly sure if he was listening to that whole speech he had just made. Yet he felt he could understand the gist of what he was explaining. "If that's the case, then Lydia's gonna have to step up her game…"
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Lydia rubbed her head where she had been hit. He's… He's right… She thought. I don't even have the skill to move around heavy rocks… She eyed her opponent carefully. I haven't got one hit in this whole fight. I can't count on a close quarter frontal assault, not with that coat of his… All I have to rely on is my speed, and even that's not getting me anywhere… So…
Lydia rubbed the back of her neck and sheathed her knife. "I guess I'll have to go even faster…"
"This again…" Batsue shrugged. "I almost feel sorry for you… But…" He grabbed the edges of his coat. "Finishing Move…"
I have to get faster… Lydia thought. I need to surpass myself!
"Hidden Art Combat:…"
This is it… All or nothing…
Batsue opened his coat to reveal two cannons, one attached to each of his hips. "Heavy Ca-"
But before he could finish his attack, Lydia had disappeared.
Everyone blinked and looked around. "How… How did she do that?" Batsue contemplated. "People just don't disappear!"
Suddenly, someone tapped on his shoulder. "Huh?" He turned his head over his shoulder, but no one was there. The only thing that was there was the remnants of cigarette smoke.
"Finishing Move! Whispering Rose Thorn!"
Before Batsue could turn his head back, Lydia stood in front of him again and shoved her knife straight into the man's stomach.
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Desi ran up to her. "Are you okay?"
"That asshole did a real number on me… Just let me lie down for a while."
"How did you do that?" Desi asked loudly.
"I… I don't know…" Lydia admitted. "I needed to go faster, I knew that… And the whole disappearing act happened when I got up to ten steps in the blink of an eye…"
"You counted?" Desi exclaimed.
"I needed as many I could get…" She smiled. "Make sure that girl gets to a safe place, alright?"
Then she closed her eyes, and blacked out.
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Doodle Arc Chapter 8: First Mates Clash! Long Speech, Short Temper!
Desi picked up Lydia in his arms and walked back. He stopped at where he watched the previous fight from. He bent down and laid her on the ground, limbs out, letting her breathe as she laid.
"There…" he said calmly. "You should be safe from here."
"Feh, fighting is always horrible, no matter who you fight for, or where you fight, or what you fight for." Came a familiar voice from the other side of the street.. "Really, all your left with is a hurt body and hurt feelings. Whether you fight with fists or swords or guns or whatever, I like to think that fighting never really solves anything, let alone just regular everyday disputes. It's a surprise that the world is in the state it's in. Of course, I'm speaking sarcastically, because-"
"Oi, Ippon…" yelled Max, from the rooftop. "How about you shut up!"
Desi looked between the two. "Such disrespect, how can HE be the captain?"
"Hey! I resent that!" shouted an angry Max. "I'm an excellent captain! I have a fifteen million beri bounty on my head, you know!"
"Yeah, I know." Desi replied. "I saw the poster. But that was after you tricked us into thinking you were a nice guy."
Ippon nodded. "That's just the Captain's way. He likes to go into a town alone and trick pirates into trusting him, eventually taking whatever they have and running out."
Desi looked at Ippon with a raised eyebrow, to which Ippon just replied with "What?"
"That was surprisingly concise…" Desi said confusedly.
All Ippon could do was shrug, as he himself had no idea why that speech was so short.
"Well…" Desi slowly took a fighting stance. "Let's see what you got, you long-faced, long talker!"
Ippon smirked and slowly approached Desi, just at walking speed. "Gentle Breeze of a Summer's Day When a Young Man has his Heart Broken by the Girl he Once Loved Underneath a Wilting Cherry Blossom Tree!"
Desi blinked, letting his guard down. "Wait… What?"
Suddenly, Ippon struck Desi, just a regular punch with his right hand, square in the jaw and the disco master fell to the ground.
"What the hell was that?" Desi asked loudly, wiping his jaw. "All you did was punch me!"
"So?" Ippon asked, shrugging.
"Well, if all you're going to do is punch me, then why…" Desi got up quickly and threw a high kick, aiming for Ippon's head. "…would you give it such an epic name?"
Ippon moved with the kick, flipping backwards and avoiding it. "That half-assed attack will get you no where. Just a simple kick? That's pathetic!"
"You're the one who threw just a punch!" Desi's temper started to flare. "I'll kick your ass you dumb, piece of…"
"You talk too much." Ippon said simply.
"I talk to much?" Desi gritted his teeth.
Ippon smirked and started to approach Desi again. "Gentle Iron Fist of the Feudal Lord who Reigns over a County During a Civil War Between Another County, Whose Lord Happens to be His Identical Twin Brother!"
Ippon then punched Desi again and he fell to the ground once again.
"Ah! I can't believe I fell for that… Again!" Desi yelled, cursing himself. "That was the exact same attack!"
"Pah! You wish!" the other man scoffed. "My first attack was a swift blow to your jaw with my right hand, correct?" He raised his right hand for emphasis. "Well, my last attack was a swift blow to your jaw with my left hand!"
Desi got up quickly. "Oh, I see." Desi then bowed. "Sorry for the misunderstanding."
A quiet breeze then blew by, adding to the eerie silence between the two fighters.
"Yeah right! Like I would apologize for that!" Desi started running at Ippon and jumped, trying to kick him in the chest.
Ippon, however, ducked the attack. "Rising Populous of a Country Where a New Proclamation has Been Released, Making it Illegal to Eat Sunny-Side Up Eggs in any of the Summer Months!"
Desi blinked, confusedly. "What?"
Then, with a fierce, aerial uppercut, Ippon managed to get in a punch right under Desi's chin.
Roger winced. "Oh geez… He already took to shots to the jaw…" Roger stood up. "That third one couldn't have been any fun…" He bit his bottom lip. I want to get in there and help him out… Desi, just land a hit, you can turn the tide!
Desi remained airborne for a while, but managed to land on his feet as he touched down to the ground. "At this rate, you're going to reduce my jaw to dust."
Ippon smirked. "Then, it's best that you stop using it to talk and let your fists speak for you!"
Damn, he's got a point… Desi thought. If I could get over the fact that his attacks have freakishly… They have… They…
"They have incredibly long names…" Desi said, realizing something important.
Max and Roger did a face fault in unison. "You just noticed that!" they said together.
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The girl watched the fight from above. With every blow that Desi had taken, she winced and squirmed, being the only movements she could actually use in the state she was in.
The girl started to breathe deeper and deeper. Max noticed this naturally and tightened his grip on her. "Relax girl, Ippon is an excellent fighter, trained in the desert by monks, vowed to an oath of silence… If you can believe that." He chuckled. "After he's done with that disco guy, he'll kill that captain and then we'll be on our way… And I will be free to use you however I want!"
The barrier around Max suddenly dropped and the girl bit right into Max's arm.
Max let her go, clutching to his arm, yelling profanities.
The girl ran to the edge of the rooftop, able to move now that the barrier was done.
"Hey! Pirates!" she yelled. Everyone looked up to the roof, as this was the first time any of them had heard her speak. Her voice sounded that of a young woman, however, it belonged to the girl, truly a beautiful voice. "You guys are the only ones who can help me!" Her eyes started to overflow with tears. "Please…" she started in a much more quiet tone. "I trust you…"
"You little brat…" Max grabbed his pistol and aimed it for her head. "I'll show you, you little bitch!"
"Henka Henka no Massive Right!"
Just then, the whole building shook and Max dropped his pistol off the side of the building.
"Just wait your turn, Maxxy." Roger said with a smile. His arm was naturally twice as large as normal and it had slammed into the side of the building, causing it to shake. "Now that she's said those three magic words, I don't have to hold back anymore…"
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"I'm getting fed up with this fight…" Ippon reacted immediately to the faltering of his captain. He started to run towards Desi. "Incredible Force of-"
"Disuko Kenpou Danger!" Desi launched himself at Ippon, kicking him square in the chest.
He took the hit hard and fell to the ground, but he quickly recovered. "Rrr… Incredible Force of-"
"Disuko Kenpou Ring My Bell!" Desi rushed at Ippon and punched past his head. He brought his elbow back quickly and crashed hard into the back of his head.
Ippon went down again, but forwards this time. It took longer for him to get up, but he still managed to do it. "What the hell…" He took in a deep breath and turned towards Desi. "Incredible Force of-"
"Disuko Kenpou Knock on Wood!" Desi started to punch at Ippon, his fist flying rapidly. His punches connected with him at all points of his body. With one final, strong blow, Ippon was sent flying backwards, coming down to the ground.
"You'd best be careful when naming your attacks, baby!" Desi said in a mocked southern accent. "It wouldn't be fair if someone attacked while you shouted out your attack's name."
Ippon got up slowly. "You bastard… It's is incredibly selfish to just take a stranglehold on someone's weakness like that. Even though I was trained while under an oath of silence, I couldn't let my talkative nature just stay within me, so I let it out at every instant I could. Every time I talk, I just can't stop myself! Nobody can stop me. Now I know I shouldn't be talking about not taking control of the situation like that, seeing as my captain seems to be quite fond of that, and myself, I have confused you with long names, but my speech still stands. You, first mate of this crew, you will not-"
"Your boss is right, you need to shut up!"
Desi started to move quickly from side to side. "Finishing Move! Disuko Kenpou…" He started to hop back and forth, and jumped right at Ippon, throwing well timed kicks and punches, uppercuts, hooks, high kicks, low kicks, each hit precise. "Last Dance!"
The flurry of attacks continued and eventually, when they died down, Desi and Ippon were both still standing.
Desi just looked into Ippon's eyes and smiled. "They call it 'Last Dance' for a reason…" With that, Desi took a quick breath and blew Ippon over, causing him to crash to the ground loudly.
Desi chuckled to himself, stuck his hands in his pockets and walked over to Roger.
Roger had his hand in the air and Desi raised his hand as well. He slapped Roger's hand loudly, in a high five type motion. "Tag out. You're in, captain."
Roger brought his arm down as if he was flexing and put his other hand on top of his bicep. "Glad to hear it…" He smiled widely.
"This is going to feel good!"
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To Be Continued.
Roger: You'll pay for what you did! I am very mad at your cowardly actions.
Max: Gah! Then why are you smiling?
Roger: I always smile!
Max: Fool… HE always used to smile as well… Back when I treasured his friendship…
Roger: "He"? Who's "he"?
Next Time on One Piece Chronicles: Max's True Colors. Remember a Friend's Betrayal
Roger: I'm going to be the Pirate King!
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A/N: If you review now, you get a free toaster-slash-motorcycle! REVIEW NOW!
I would have had this up earlier today, but I was distracted by the manga Bowling King.
Check it out, but not before reviewing.