The first rule of fight club

[yourotherleft]

Who: Zoro yourotherleft & OPEN!
When: IC 5/4-5/5
Where: various places in the Pleasure District
What: In the process of becoming a bounty hunter, Zoro is about to stumble on something even more curious in the "underground" where criminals in the colony play.
Rating/Warning: none but lmk if that changes

[One doesn't have to hang around in the alley outside Novus/Replea to hear about the criminal underground of the Cerealia colony, but it helps. A chance encounter elsewhere has already turned Zoro on to the existence of alien criminal factions and their need to put prices on the heads of their rivals, but this is his first night actively haunting the dark side looking for someone to nab. His luck is unusually good tonight, he's already spotted someone whose photo he scored from a rough customer inside the club, now to trail him and see where he goes just in case he leads the hunter to even more high-priced bounties.

He has no idea where he is at any given time anyway, so tracking his quarry all the way from the entertainment district to the pleasure district doesn't faze him, it only results in a change of scenery. But the deeper he goes, stealthily following his bounty, the more Zoro uncovers.]

Scene I. Pleasure district, bars

[He's not at all interested in company, clothed or unclothed, living or robot, but the sake is pretty damn good down here. The alien with reward money on his head apparently likes the host clubs, though, so Zoro can be found parked on a bar stool in one, waving off the hosts and hostesses while running up a hell of a tab. The more he drinks, the more personable he is if anyone wants to strike up a conversation.

What they don't know is, he has no intention of paying that tab. But can he get out without causing a riot and tipping off his target? You, hey, you there - come here, let him talk to you so he can watch the bounty over your shoulder.[]

Do you work here? Hang on, that's not what I meant! I just wanna know where the back door is.

[what do you mean that is the worst question you can ask in a place like this?!]

Scene II. Pleasure district, brothel

[Well, shit, his target went upstairs, so how is a bounty hunter supposed to pass the time when he himself is entirely uninterested in what this place has to offer? But wait, there's a hell of a lot of noise coming from the next level down...

There isn't a stairwell leading down inside the building, but around back, there's definitely a side door and a set of steps, with two rather hulking thugs standing guard on either side of the door. Zoro isn't at all put off by their presence, but walking straight up to them doesn't seem to make them move to let him through. He can hear what plainly sounds like fighting and cheering, and can sense a lot of strong people down there. But he'll need a hand to get down there to see it for himself. What do you think, can you A, talk their way in, or is it better to B, fight your way in?

Spoilers, there's a fight club downstairs, and if you can get in, you might find yourself joining that club. Zoro's joining it, no matter what.]

Scene III. Pleasure district, spa

[The bounty money is good and all, and most of it is going to go toward food and booze, but as long as he's in the area, Zoro is up for checking out the bathhouse in the spa. Not for shenanigans, for a bath! It's a good place to meet people, they say, so who knows? Maybe he'll make a new friend, or find a potential sparring partner. Or, on the other hand, he might come to realize why bathing with others is not as much fun as it sounds on paper.]

Comments

[yourotherleft]

Dangerous isn't always bad. Police and military need it every bit as much as pirates and rogues. I don't begrudge 'em that, it's what they do. And he was good to you, right? Nothing wrong with that.

[elbows over to nudge Kashuu] I'm just giving you a hard time. Don't sweat it, Kashuu.

[sayonaradumbass]

Dunno how acquainted I wanna get. [a. they might not be dead b. he doesn't wanna get into anyone's drama unless he can laugh

Kaneda whistles low] Huh. Not enough speed for me, though. If this was a fight on bikes now that would be cool.

[yourotherleft]

[glances back at him instead of watching the fight.] Eh? Bicycles or motorbikes?

[because they do have those where he comes from! Sort of. But he can't imagine guys on bicycles waving clubs at each other as being...fun.]

[sayonaradumbass]

[a loud and rather rude scoff]

Motorbikes, of course. I'm not some loser.

[yourotherleft]

[nods, making his 'not too shabby' face. He can picture it.]

Is that how your gang does things? Heh, what, do you joust on bikes?

[sayonaradumbass]

Jou-joust? Joust? The hell--

[he's nearly sputtering here]

No! No self respecting gang would joust! This ain't a back in the day.

[yourotherleft]

[tips his head back and laughs! You have been trolled, Kaneda]

That'd be something to see, wouldn't it? At least you could say you had the most interesting gang around.

Or the weirdest. [innocent sip of his beer]

[sayonaradumbass]

It'd be shit! It'd be stupid. We're cool, we ain't lame like that.

[about to waste this beer on wasting Zoro..]

[adornmental]

[That gets a laugh out of him.]

It's fine, it's fine. That stuff happened a long time ago anyway, y'know? But I didn't really have another master until Haruji picked me up, so I guess that's why it still stuck.

[yourotherleft]

[yeah, still laughing over here. He'll be chuckling over his own joke for a while, don't mind him. The fights are a good spectacle, so don't mind if he concentrates on watching them instead of chatting. He's made some quick money and met a fun guy, it's a good night all around.]

[yourotherleft]

Makes sense. I mean... [he looks over to where his swords are leaning against the wall. Yeah, he didn't let anybody put them anywhere secure, they don't leave his sight. Even in the public bath] ...when I won Shuusui, its former master's body had been turned into a zombie. It was stolen out of the grave with him. So the first time I used it, it was temperamental - I had to bend it to my will.

Haru's such a gentle guy, I wouldn't be surprised at all if he's had an influence on you guys.

[adornmental]

[Considering Kashuu's is literally right at the edge of the tub, he's sure not gonna judge.

That said, his expression darkens a little in response to that. The zombie part is a bit over his head, but graverobbing and stealing swords is one thing he massively disapproves of, especially since he's seen the effect it can have on the sword in question.

(He has to wonder if Tsurumaru would approve of the fact that Zoro still has the sword, but that's neither here or there.)]

You take good care of your swords, so I'm sure he'd be glad to end up with you after all of that. [That's his opinion, anyway. And as for the remark about Haru, Kashuu's mouth twitches up briefly into a smile.] ...I think you're probably right about that.

[yourotherleft]

[smiles right back.] It...he settled down and worked with me, so maybe you're right. Maybe he never intended to become a pirate's sword, but he's helping me become the strongest in the world, so that can't be all bad.

[sayonaradumbass]

[seeing as he doesn't really want to fight Zoro, he'll spend the rest of his night huffing and drinking. And when nothing as exciting as that last fight happens, he'll leave with a middle finger salute of farewell.]

[adornmental]

If he didn't like serving you, you'd know it! [Said SO PLAINLY... Granted, it's not like tsukumogami without a physical body can do much even if they do disagree with their wielders, but it seems like Zoro's attuned enough to be able to pick up on any vague discomfort or disapproval that might have been happening anyway.]

...What's it like, anyway? [That's kind of out of nowhere, but he'll quickly add:] Being a pirate. The stories about you guys aren't real nice, but the stories about the Shinsengumi weren't nice either.

[yourotherleft]

Hm. Yeah I guess you're right. [he's always sort of treated them like they had souls, even Kitetsu when challenging its curse. Huh. Interesting.]

'Course the stories aren't nice, a lot of pirates aren't. I became a pirate because the alternative was getting executed for a trumped-up charge, and I've got shit to do with my life. It's a good time, we have a lot adventures and I get to fight a lot of powerful people. It's all about the freedom to go where we please and do what we want.

[adornmental]

[There's a little noise of surprise from him at that, since it isn't really an answer he'd expected. Well... It's not like the law is always good and just, in the end. He also knows that pretty well.]

Ooh... When you put it like that, it doesn't sound too bad at all, I guess. [...] That totally sounds like a you thing to do, though. Get an execution sentence and decide to really give 'em a reason to stick a bounty on your head. ...You've got one of those, right? I heard all pirates do.

[yourotherleft]

Oh yeah. [grinning even more widely] It's been stuck at a hundred and twenty million for a couple years, I'm hoping it goes up soon, though.

Not all pirates have a bounty, though. You really gotta do something to get on the Marines' radar for them to put a price on your head.

[om_nom_namur]

[Too much too fast. Zoro's not very good at stringing the crowd along, is he? At least the end of that turned into some kind of basic melee. Mr. Cleaner doesn't seem at all upset to be forced to use his gun as a staff, and it actually looks like he's done it before once or twice. So the question is- what's the guy got up his sleeve? Namur works his way toward the front, crowding a couple of humans out of the way, squinting to see. He can't smell shit through the barrier, and with Zoro already using Observation Haki, it's not like Namur really needs to. Not that it'd make a difference anyway. A split second isn't really enough time to translate an impression of movement and intent into words of warning.

Mr. Cleaner parries expertly, eventually reaching back to grab the titanium mop holstered on his back. Looks like he's going on the offensive. Was it mentioned that there were switchblades in the soles of his maidenly combat boots?]

[yourotherleft]

[Each swing of the swords rings off the titanium, it's clearly much tougher stuff and won't be easily cut like iron, and at a shower of sparks Zoro cuts back out of the way. He can't keep whaling on the mop handle like that, he could damage a blade. As he pulls back, Mr. Cleaner kicks out at him, and that's when he sees the blades.

Well it's a good thing there are no rules restrictions on weapons, huh?

Zoro's already had enough of playing around, so he takes a moment to pull Wadou Ichimonji and jam it in his teeth before settling into a new stance, ready to flip the momentum back around again. The crowd clearly thinks it's a hoot, watching this guy wield a sword in his mouth, and even his opponent laughs a bit, but Zoro wipes that grin off his masked face pretty quickly. He races for Mr. Cleaner and gets in close before striking again, faster, almost too fast to deflect. Almost. His opponent is startled, and then grows grim as he has to actually put effort into fending off those swords. He lashes out with another kick, and this time Zoro catches it with the sword in his teeth before it can connect.

That's right, fight-night crowd, he's holding off a kick with a sword in his mouth. Look on and wonder.]

[om_nom_namur]

[The crowd is appropriately impressed. They're all badasses and superheroes in their own worlds too though, so there may not be as much incredulous disbelief among the ranks as that move would normally garner, though there is a collective "ooooh" of appreciation. They can sense one of their own, after all.]

C'MON PLECOBAIT MOVE NOW! FINISH 'IM OFF FAST!!!

[Whether Namur's voice penetrates the ring or not is up for debate. He isn't exactly Willing it to get in there. But the key here is to move faster than the bookies can update the odds, thus lowering the payout.]

GOT 'IM OFF BALANCE, USE IT! GO GO GO!!!

[yourotherleft]

[The quickest flick of his good eye in Namur's direction is all the indication he gives that he's heard. He has no idea how the betting works or anything else, he simply knows when he's got the upper hand and when to end it. Mr. Cleaner has put up a rather brave front, but all those weapons are just compensation for what he doesn't have.

Zoro throws off the kick with a toss of his head and then rolls with the momentum into a full spin, twisting himself and curling his arms to bring the swords around across his chest. It's a full-on Rengoku Oni Giri, delivered point-blank to his opponent as Zoro moves through him and slashes outward from the center. By the time he reaches the far side of the ring, Mr. Cleaner is crashing backward like a felled tree. Game over.

Zoro takes the sword from his teeth and sheathes it, first, and then looks around to see what the damage is. Does that count? Is he being expected to finish the guy off? That'd be a shame, he has such potential - if only he'd stop relying on tricks and gadgets and just fight.]

[om_nom_namur]

[It's good enough. This isn't Dressrosa, after all. But there's not as much wild cheering as there ought to be. It's more... polite. A lot of people were betting against Zoro after all.

Namur goes crazy for a little bit. The payout from this fight's going to be the best ever. He disappears while the refs do their thing. Holding up Zoro's arm, getting Mr. Cleaner drug off the floor, wiping up any spots of blood too wet to dry on their own. But he's back by the time they're ready to let Zoro out of the ring, ready to smack him on the back and usher him out to the waiting room again.]

Nice job, Plecobait! Coulda drawn 'im out a li'l longer an' got the bookies all a li'l more convinced it'd be a longshot for y' t' win, but not bad. They got yer number now though, an' ain't no one gonna go easy on y' from here on. Sheheheh! Break a sweat? Need a drink?

[yourotherleft]

[He's still coming down from the rush, a little, but Zoro's grinning just as widely.]

Hell yeah I could go for a drink. Wait, how much money did we win?

[THIS IS IMPORTANT okay]

[om_nom_namur]

[Namur cracks his neck from side to side, sort of more pointedly in one direction- where more of the other fighters happened to be sitting around, ostensibly minding their own business- and smirks.]

Literal. Shitton. A'ight?

[He's not going to give specifics here, sheesh.]

Next fight's important too. Gonna have a hell of a lot more peeps bettin' on y' this time 'round. Smaller payouts for them, but yer cut comes from all a 'em so no more screwin' 'round, aye? All them boys golf clappin' for y' this time's puttin' creds on yer name as we speak. Hit 'em hard, hit 'em fast. Fight better drunk or'm I gettin' y' water?