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| - “You know, they could at least give us a light,” Stormy observed as she and Mercuia stood calmly in the center of a completely dark room. “Is it odd that I’ve actually been in a room this dark before?” Mercuia asked, looking around with a remarkable lack of interest. “Depends, I guess,” Stormy answered, “how did you get in the room in the first place?” “Was exploring our family’s house one day,” Mercuia said simply, unwilling to talk too much about that painful time, “still not sure what was entirely in it, except for my Devil Fruit.” Before Stormy could respond, all the lights in the room flashed on! The two girls stood on a large platform, overlooking what appeared to be a magnificent stretch of grassy turf. Both ends of the room were covered in medium-sized small doorways, waiting for things to enter and pass through them. At the very other end of the room was a platform identical to theirs, and as the lights around it finally activated they saw Lambia. “Alright!” the lamb girl said, clapping her hands together happily, “let’s get started then! I’m the only member of our team who doesn’t use an existing casino challenge for my game, so you’re lucky! I think... it’s still pretty hard... Hmm...” She massaged her chin with her black-wool covered hand, thinking it over. An awkward pause filled the room as the bounty hunter continued to think about it for several minutes. “Well...” Stormy finally broke in, “can you at least explain the game and it’s rules?” Lambia stood up straight once more, brightening. “Of course!” she pressed a small button located on the side the platform’s railing, and a small buzzing sound was heard. Almost immediately after dozens, if not hundreds, of sheep and lambs began running across the space, from one doorway to the other! Closer inspection revealed that they had a variety of symbols painted on their wool, though they were hard to make out from this far away. “I LOVE lambs!” Lambia cried happily, her hands pressed together and put up against her chin as she gazed down at the rushing creatures, “so all you need to do to win is to find the one with the heart painted on it first! I’ll be going after it too, of course, and I’ll be doing my BEST to stop you from finding it while looking for it myself!” “Do we... have to go down there?” Stormy asked, sweatdropping as she pondered the amount of dirt, grime, and loose wool that would get all over them as a result of the game. That sheep girl probably doesn’t need to worry about it anyways, she thought to herself, she’s covered in the damn stuff already! “Welllll~” Lambia drawled, “you don’t have to, but if you don’t then you probably won’t be able to see the heart symbol, after all....” “Hmm...” Stormy pondered, thinking it over as well. After a few moments of careful planning, she looked at her team member. “Mercuia, you mind going down there and finding it, while I actually do the spotting?” “NOT AT ALL!” Mercuia said, her eyes lighting up sharply! “I HAVEN’T JUMPED INSIDE A TIDE OF SHEEP AND HUNTED DOWN A SPECIFIC ONE WHILE FIGHTING SOMEONE BEFORE!” “M-most people haven’t,” Stormy remarked, before quickly getting her head back in the game, “sorry, sorry. So you’re okay with fighting her?” “YEP!” The crew’s doctor smirked, then look across towards Lambia. “Alright then,” she said confidently, “let’s begin!” As she did so, she lifted up her hand and called upon her Chemical Juggling abilities, summoning up a small orb. “GAO’N GAO!” “TSUME!” “BEAR PUNCH!” The three combatant’s attacks collided, causing a massive shockwave to roll through the area around them! Kagome let out a small shriek and pulled her hood down as the wind buffeted her. “KAGOME!” Pura cried as she used Yamiryuu to deflect several of the attacking bounty hunter’s punches, “stop worrying about us already! It’s time to bet, right?” “U-um,” Kagome stuttered, looking over into the square on the wall, and indeed spotting a large, red-and-white colored dice there, “y-yes! Sorry about that!” “Then start playing!” Pura called, before appearing behind Pinkuma as a slash struck his side, “Shitamuki no Kiba!” She grimaced, as the slash vanished with barely an effect on the massive bear machine! He’s tough! she mentally observed. “I’m invincible, eyup!” Pinkuma cried, as several slots opened on his arms, launching out a variety of rapidly-moving projectiles, “so I’m going to beat you even before the first gamble, eyup!” “Gao! Gao! Gao!” Gopher yelled, his ‘wings’ fluttering like mad as both of his arms inflated! He launched a flurry of punches, managing to knock the projectiles off course right before they reached the swordswoman! Taking advantage of Gopher’s deflection, Pura raced forward, bringing her sword down directly upon the opponent. “KIBA!” Her muscles tightened as she strained to push the sword further and actually manage to cut through the armor! “It’s useless, eyup!” Pinkuma laughed, aiming a punch directly at Pura’s face! Before he could, however, a voice rang out above them all. “FIRST ROUND, GAMBLING START!” In the two squares, both dice began spinning around madly. “Damn!” Pinkuma growled, “didn’t finish you in time! Ah well, I can still finish you off with plenty of time to spare! Okay! 12!” “7!” Kagome’s voice rang out as well! The two dice were launched into the domed-in space, clattering around noisily for several seconds before finally coming to a stop. The resulting number... ..Was seven! “KAGOME TEAM WINS FIRST ROUND!” the announcer spoke out, “FREE HIT GIVEN!” Almost immediately small sparks and bits of lightning flashed up Pinkuma, and the bear-suited bounty hunter was reduced to only shaking slightly, as he had been paralyzed. “D-dammit!” he cried. “NOW!” Kagome yelled at her two crewmates! “OOOHHH!!” Pura yelled as she raced up to her opponent, putting all the strength she could into her sword! “GAO!!!” Gopher added, one of his fists inflating even more as the other struck, muscles and veins now purely popping out! “TENGOKU NO TSUME!” Pura yelled, as her slash briefly became golden while she struck the bear robot across the chest! “GAO’N GAO GAO!” Gopher cried, his fist smashing into the cut area only a second after! “G-GAAAAHHH!!!” Pinkuma gasped as a small explosion occurred in that area, smoke billowing out of the impact point! The pink bear suit gasped as it stumbled back several steps, the paralysis being lifted. He dropped to one knee, pink paw reaching for and covering the area that had been damaged. He looked up slowly at his opponents... “Y-you bastards...” he growled, and then his voice suddenly changed into a roar, “YOU BASSTARRDDSS!!!” He paused, standing up again and regaining some composure. “I’ll... use... THAT then...” “Tekkai Ken: Tetsu no Meiro!!” Sid howled as he lunged through the air, both of his fists hardening to the strength of steel as they began lashing out with punch after punch. “Crow Everwing Fist!” Crowe snarled back, one of his ebony crow wings wrapping around his fist as it collided with the variety of punches Sid was releasing! Sid put an incredible amount of strength into the attack, but each blow was met and partially deflected by Crowe’s single fist, surrounded in a substance stronger than steel. Finally, the navigator appeared to give up, and his attack ceased. He dropped a bit lower, before landing once more on a pin. “Damn,” Sid gasped, moving his arms slightly to keep the blood flowing, “damn guy’s pretty damn tough. Damn damn damn....” “Are you mocking me, dammit..?” Crowe grumbled as he swooped down and landed on a pin just across from Sid’s, “because it’s not working, dammit...” “Heh,” Sid smirked, “so that stuff is pretty strong, huh?” “Pretty strong, dammit...” “Then...” Sid continued as he placed both fists together, “I’ll just have to keep hitting it until it actually breaks!” Rain had begun to fall outside, soaking the ground, the building, and even the Shooting Star itself. Small puddles had quickly formed, and the neon lights now seemed a bit dimer, though they oddly also gave off more radiance than before. A figure panted as it took a difficult step, its foot landing in one of the puddles and briefly drenching it in surprisingly cold water. Ignoring the freezing cold, outside of an extra large shiver, the figure continued to walk slowly towards the building, its every step seemingly an effort, it giving its all to work forward. Through all the rain, even his green hair was hard to make out... Previous Chapter | Next Chapter
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