The second rule of fight club

[yourotherleft]

Who: OPEN...ish
When: IC 6/16, late night
Where: the pleasure district
What: it's time for a field trip to the underground fight clubs - voluntarily or accidentally. Not limited to characters Zoro personally knows, feel free to bump into him, thread amongst yourselves, etc.
Rating/Warning: violence, bloodshed, etc. I mean, it's fight club.

This time, it's not about the money. It's about letting off some steam. Zoro has some things to work out, okay, best done with bare knuckles and blades, and he knows he's not the only one.

He's talked about the underground fighting rings to a few people, so when he gets it in his head to go looking for one, he starts with a round of texts to those closer to him, who he knows would be up for some fun. Vietnam, Kashuu, Kaneda, maybe Mutsu. After that he adds in Dotanuki and Angelo and a few others, he's not as close to them but they sound like fun in a brawl. Sanji, well, he just gets dragged out of the apartment by the arm. He tells them they're welcome to bring a friend along, if they know someone who'd be all up in this mess. Meet at eleven outside a certain host club. Of course, a group like that prowling around the pleasure gardens looking for nondescript doors leading to basements guarded by thugs instead of patronizing any establishments is going to attract suspicions...

Success! This looks like just the place to get some fight on.

[ooc: so here's the deal. There are two fight clubs, we'll call them A and B. When people get tired of one (or kicked out), they can head to the second. Treat this as an open log - pick a setting, toplevel, tag around! No need to thread with Zoro alone, he's just one among many tonight.

Club A is a flashy setup where the fighters, some of them well-known with popular followings, like to don silly nicknames and even costumes or gimmicks. It's not just for show, though, these guys know how to fight and there are no restrictions on weapons, armor, or powers. A force field usually protects the audience from the blood splatter. Fruity alien drinks, scantily clad...uh, creatures of any gender, actually, this is the place for an exciting night out. A bettor can make it big if their fighter keeps going all the way in tournament brackets, but even one upset loss can be bad news.

Spectate from the bar, join the fighting, or pretend you're somebody's coach and sneak into the locker rooms to ogle the pro-fighters in their costumes.

Club B is dingier, darker, and not big on the showmanship, but the fighting is so savage that the stakes are much higher for both the fighters and anyone who bets on them. No armor allowed, and fights vary from fists-only to simple bladed weapons, no lasers. The drinks are terrible unless you like your booze neat, which probably is necessary for some of those bruisers to dull the pain receptors. They enjoy rookie fighters brave enough to show their mettle, and while not all fights end in someone's death, it's not rare.

The real heavy-hitters in the underground frequent this one, there may be heads of rings of illicit activities in the shadows. All that technology smuggling has to happen somewhere, after all.

If your character wouldn't be in Zoro's contact list to get an invite, or get invited by a friend/enemy/frenemy, feel free to run into him while he's talking his way into the fight club with the nice gentlemen in their very tight t-shirts standing guard at the door. He'll let anyone come along as long as they know what they're getting into - after all, Vietnam gets to play!]

Comments

OPEN

[yourotherleft]

Club A

[Zoro's not as into the colorful costumes and delightful nicknames as some, but he knows he can really let loose here - they don't restrict him from using all three swords, or haki, or anything else he wants. He usually gets booed for entering the ring under his own name with no costume, so there's that.

He'll be happy to fight against anyone else who came on the field trip and wants to face him - he promises only one thing, and that is to leave you alive.

Else, you can find him at the bar, tasting a little of everything as if to drink his troubles away, instead of fight them away. There's something up, he doesn't seem to be the usual happy fellow he is when he parties.]

Club B

[By the time they get to the scary club, Zoro has imbibed enough alcohol to make him happy, but happy + issues = reckless. He's even willing to fight bare-handed, part of him wants to see if any of these guys can even land a hit on him.

Oh, they do. They land a lot of hits on him.

Fight a tag-team with him here, before he gets messed up, or wait around until he's had enough and shake your head at just how terrible he can be. He's gotten in over his head, but there's a lot of credits under his name, now, so maybe it's worth it. He might need a healer, or someone to carry him home.]

Club B!!

[hoasen]

[She was curious about what this place was going to be like. What she didn't expect was for Zoro to suddenly run into so many issues with his fighting style

She knows he's usually better than this.

Fortunately, she did not drink at all, since if she's going to join in on a fight, she wants to be sober. That and at least injuries doesn't really leave lasting damage on her (most of the time).

Martial arts is more her forte than it is his, in any case. So she doesn't mind landing quick punches on a group that was trying to target his back.]

You certainly found an interesting place.

[yourotherleft]

[melee is usually fun but geez, these guys. It's like they knew he was coming and stacked the deck against him]

Isn't it, though? I told you. Having fun?

[he slashes out at someone coming at him from the other side, putting his back to Vietnam's, but the fighter slides under his reach and comes in too close, fighting as deftly with switchblades as he does with swords. Can't talk, must fight!]

Club B

[beaconed]

[ Jaune had just returned to Cerealia after what feels like three months away from the place, when in reality it's only been three days from this world's perspective. Normally Jaune likes to spar just as any other student from combat school (and let's be real, he needs the training more than anybody), but he's not here entirely to learn how to fight. Is it to toughen up? To let off some steam? Could he be punishing himself for someone he failed to save?

Perhaps it's all of the above.

But either way, Jaune is here, voluntarily and ready to fight alongside Zoro, even though Jaune has very likely taken a worse beating than his impromptu tag team partner. For starters, Jaune doesn't even fight other people -- his targets are normally monsters! There's no finesse here either. Jaune dropkicks whoever was heading at Zoro, but the move hurts Jaune more when he lands on his back after the hit, and he's already quite bruised. ]

Ow... --is that all you got?!

[ Uh-oh, their opponent looks even more irritated at Jaune-- and now at Zoro by association. ]

[yourotherleft]

[Zoro's seen this guy around the network, so even if they've never met, he's got no problem going shoulder-to-shoulder with him. He knows Weiss, right? Can't be all bad.

The tag-team is no-weapons, and even though he's not terrible without his swords, it definitely leads to more hits actually landing on him. Jaune...Jaune what are you doing. In the moments it takes the other guy to get up, Zoro slides between partner and opponent and throws down a hand to help him up.]

You're gonna get your ass kicked if you keep doing shit like that. Duck.

[whether Jaune listens to the last command or not, Zoro throws a punch at the opponent's teammate coming at them from behind. Jaune better duck so he isn't the one getting hit!]

Club A

[serving_love]

[Sanji's next to Zoro at the bar, leaning back against it as he observes the crowd around him. It's definitely an interesting spectacle, not quite what he imagined -- probably Club B fits that idea better, but.

He cracks a small grin, elbowing Zoro slightly.]

You didn't tell me there'd be costumes and shit.

[As he whips a familiar pair of sunglasses out of nowhere and slides them on. He takes a drag of his smoke, then allows his smirk to widen after he exhales.]

Guess I can make this work, though.

[yourotherleft]

[Zoro's taking it easy, though he did already list himself so that he would be called on to fight later. For now, drinks.

He snorts at Sanji's insinuations.] Didn't know this one was one of those. I ran into Namur at one like this last time...he's not answering my texts, though.

[...really, cook? Sunglasses? Nerd.]

If you wanna make yourself look like an idiot, you go right ahead. I'm fighting as myself, that's enough.

[playboyknight]

[ Club A ]

[When he received the text from Zoro, Angel came right away and dressed appropriately or so he thought. He even did his hair differently for this. He even brought both his Shamshir of Light and Odin's Bow along for the ride. Before he does any fighting however, he decides to get a few drinks from the bar. After a few drinks, he attempts to sneak into one of the locker rooms to peek on the ladies. You're free to either see him hitting on any women at the bar or foil his sneaking attempt.]

[yourotherleft]

[Wow, Angelo, and here Zoro's just wearing an unzipped hoodie and his usual haramaki. Nothing fancy. But hey, it all works.

Zoro meets him at the bar, best place to get thing started.]

Yeah, you got just straight-up rum, nothing mixed in it? Yes, I'm serious. [what? stupid bartender.] 'Sup, Angelo. Figured you'd be up for a thing like this.

[playboyknight]

[After getting his drink and trying to hit on a lovely lady near by, Angelo hears the squawking of a certain individual getting a drink while greeting him. Oh look it's Zoro. He kisses the woman on the cheek then whispers something into her ear as she walks off while blowing a kiss his direction. He of course acknowledges that then finally responds to Zoro.]

A flashy bar with amazing drinks and beautiful ladies is definitely something I would never pass up. [He takes a sip of his wine.] Also, hello to you as well. I take it you frequent this place?

[fingerbanged]

[All he was looking to do was kill off a little boredom.

Sure, ViViD games were supposedly good for that-- all the glitches, monsters and all-- but after his first experience with the system, he didn't want to use it all that often. The job that the device had offered him said 'professional adrenaline junkie' on it, but what did that mean, exactly? Get into tons of trouble and fights? Not that he particularly MINDED a job like that, but it was hard to find 'work' for it, so to speak.

And thus, Yusuke had managed to find himself here, in the pleasure district, after wandering around the city most of the day trying to quell this thirst for action. Anyone with any wits to them would know that being here at this time of night made you open for pickpocketing, something Yusuke became WELL aware of the moment he felt someone's hand slip into his wallet.

... not that Yusuke wasn't prepared to handle stuff like this, however.

Hope you don't mind a criminal dashing for his life across your path, followed by this idiot doing a running tackle to slam them into the ground to rain blows upon their head.]

HEY! Don't pick a guy's pocket if you don't have a better get-away plan, asshole!

[yourotherleft]

[Zoro's busy making sure everyone gets into the underground ring without being arrested, so he's last at the door, and luckily for him his haki alerts him to people running right at him before they can run into him. Maybe the criminal was trying to get to safety inside the crowded fight club? Who knows. Zoro simply steps to the side as another guy plows into the first one and stands there watching in amusement.

Whatever the hell just happened, this kid has guts.]

Maybe you wanna get your money back before you beat the shit out of him. You know, just in case he can't remember that he has it.

[either way neither Zoro, nor the thugs guarding the door behind him, are going to bother stepping in. Yusuke can have his fun.]

[fingerbanged]

[That's good! Because Yusuke's not going to realize he has an audience until after he's gone and broken this poor thief's nose, along with a few teeth, and he looks up in mild surprise.]

--huh? Wha?

Oh... yeah, that'd probably be a good idea, wouldn't it?

[He rummages through the bleeding criminal's pocket, unearthing a familiar wallet. After a moment's consideration, he digs in the other pocket and nabs whatever card the pickpocket had on his own person, before rolling to his feet and giving them a kick swift to the behind.]

Now get the hell out of here! I'm not gonna waste my time on some weak piece of crap like you!

[The criminal scampers to his feet and quickly retreats, while Yusuke turns his attention back to Zoro and the thugs.]

What? You guys wanna fight too?

[rampion]

Is that really the kind of advice you want to give to someone who almost robbed you?

[ Yusuke isn't the only one trying to quell the desire for action. Rapunzel's been working nonstop since their return from the dark parts of the city to get in shape. So much so that she's become a bit of a hermit lately. The cultural festival was just one of several events she'd missed out on as a direct consequence of her insane training both in and out of ViViD.

Catching criminals in The Real World is not so much what she had in mind, however. Neither is watching someone else catch them, though she does the latter with a sort of flatly amused expression. Leave it to this guy... ]

...What were you doing that he tried to pick-pocket you anyway? [ Victim blaming starts now! ]

[fingerbanged]

[He looks up abruptly from his one-sided punch-fest, the criminal already bleeding and groaning beneath him, and his eyes light up for a second in recognition.]

Heeeeey, it's you! The crazy chick with the stupidly long hair! Zel, right? [Blame Leon for getting her name mostly wrong, but he didn't prod any further into it. Too bad she wasn't around a week or so back-- he could have really used her advice on how to deal with hair down to his legs.]

Look, I don't mind if you gotta stoop down to certain measures 'cuz you gotta eat or pad out your allowance or something, but you gotta do it with some skill, y'know? You're just asking for someone to kick your ass if you're THIS obvious about it!

[The thief groans in protest beneath him, and Yusuke cuts him off with a swift headbutt to knock him out for the time being, before turning to scowl at Rapunzel.]

Beside, what the hell is that supposed to mean? I was minding my own business, okay? It's not my fault this dumbass somehow thought I was an easy target?

Open

[tuishou]

Club A
[Third night navigating the district went a hell of a lot smoother than the first, and with less attention on simply navigating, Neji could focus more on learning and listening for valuable things. After all, what good is a ninja if they're not always gathering information? It's how he ends up slipping into this first club, just another unremarkable face among the spectators, much too proper to be here to actually fight.

He's itching to, but no. Neji will be intently watching the matches, only once looking away to shoot a quick message to his much too-boisterous roommate. Pulling out the CereVice gets him some dirty looks from suspicious patrons which Neji challenges with a quirked brow and a mutter about the odds of the upcoming fight. By the end, it seems his horse seems to always win the race.

Shame he's not a betting man.]

Club B
[It took all of a minute to convince him that this new crowd was composed of people he'd never hesitate to call 'dangerous', and of course that just made him-- eager, he guessed. The Hyuga still seemed a touch out of place- still held his head high as if he had something riding on the wins or losses of the fighters. Ruthless as these fighters were they still respected a surrender if one was given, so he couldn't feel too bad for the idiot who never called it quits and bounced up from the concrete with a bloody face and less teeth just in front of him.

After that match ended, both fighters retired (one of them looking almost comically blue from bruises) and there was a tiny, tense wait among the circle of barbarians. If that wasn't a cue, he didn't know what was.] I'm in!

[The boy hops over the rope circling the ring- not at all buff, not remarkably tall, in what passes for black sweatpants and a longsleeved black shirt. There's one small pouch tied to his right thigh to hold a simple kunai knife but Neji is slipping into a basic Gentle Fist stance empty-handed. No powers, he knows-- he'll remember that, too. His opponent will get a quick calculated look, and then a ghost of a smile. --bait?] Don't underestimate me. [Or just a friendly warning?]

A

[corona]

[ It isn't just the solidly built of the club's patrons whose attention keeps returning to Neji; Rapunzel catches him texting out of the corner of her eye between one man's sick right hook and another's shout of pain. She uses the distraction it causes to not-so-subtly step a few feet closer, using her lack of a height advantage to... well, to her advantage.

Maybe if she peers around this guy's arm he won't notice the fact that she's totally spying on him.

--not that she can be blamed! Never ever. It's his fault for standing out so much. He hasn't even been challenged once!

It's this final thought that gives Rapunzel the push of courage she needs to do it herself. ]

...h-hey! Uh. Whatever that is, it must be way more interesting than seeing someone get punched in the face! Right??

[ Gold star for effort. ]

A

[niceguypose]

[It's not long before Rock Lee enters, looking fully ready to fight. He even came in costume! His costume being... his normal clothes, with the addition of a green cape and a fake afro-mustache combo.

Lee does some rolls and flips throughout the area before he lands near Neji.]

I am ready!!

Open;

[heiroglyphs]

Club A

[So a little one-eyed bird told her that there was money to be made betting on fights in the arena. But that would mean having to rely on some idiot doing some consistent winning. How is she supposed to make money if its not a sure thing?

Well, if you want something done right, then you better do it yourself. The fake names and outlandish outfits made it pretty easy for the heiress Weiss Schnee to make a big bet while a new masked fighter comes out of nowhere to bring down anyone in her way.

It won't be long until The Magnificent Ice Queen strikes fear into every fighter.

How hard would it be to have white rose petals fall when she makes her entrance? Hm.]

[yourotherleft]

[It's a good thing Zoro's not usually fooled by disguises, because wow, Weiss. Wow. He's already on the docket but he usually doesn't care to look at his opponents before he jumps in, which means when he thuds to a landing on his side of the ring, he looks up to see this show, petals and all, and just deadpans back at it.]

Oh, you've got to be kidding me.

[He huffs, cracks his neck, and lays a hand on his swords]

Magnificent, huh? Yeah, we'll see about that.

[His cocky attitude doesn't interest the crowd, they're way more interested in the beautiful newcomer's entrance than his daring. Only those who've seen him fight before might bet on him, and even then, a flashy entrance is all they need to forget about his swords and pick a new champion.]

[beaconed]

[ Jaune wasn't participating in the flashy Club A, but he definitely couldn't help but notice a certain masked fighter who... has a fighting style he's all too familiar with. It's Weiss, whom he hasn't seen in a while, both here and in Remnant time as well now that he has returned.

At some point, when her fights finally conclude and Weiss is getting off the stage, a bruised and battered Jaune Arc is passively acknowledging her. ]

"Ice Queen" now, huh? That's new.

[ Weiss wearing that name, that is. ]

[niceguypose]

[And now her latest opponent steps up to the ring, trying to strike fear in his own way. He is... well, he's still wearing his normal jumpsuit and flack jacket. But he's also added a green cape, and a fake afro-mustache set. He stands ready to battle, and the announcer announces him as The Beautiful Green Wild Beast of Konoha.

He quickly slides into a fighting stance as he faces off against his opponent; he has no clue who this mysterious masked woman could be.]

So, you are the Magnificent Ice Queen I have heard so much about...

...

...I am honored to face off against you!

Club A/OPEN

[niceguypose]

I.

[Rock Lee caught word of mouth from his roommate, and he soon arrived at the club, ready to fight. And in his own costume at that! Well, it was his normal clothes, just plus a cape and a fake afro/mustache combo. He quickly posed in the ring while awaiting his next fight.]

My true name is a mystery! I am but a young man. Call me... the Beautiful Green Wild Beast of Konoha! I will take on any challenger!!

II.

[Or you can catch him before rounds, sitting on a stool and drinking something refreshing while his afro and mustache slowly start to slide off of his head, in a trail of sweat.]

OPEN

[serving_love]

[Sanji starts his night off at Club A, same as Zoro. He doesn’t have a costume or anything -- some asshole forgot to tell him that was a thing -- so he’s just in his usual suit, although he’s accessorized with a pair of orange-tinted sunglasses. If you’re looking for his name in the brackets, you’ll find him under Mr. Prince~

If you’re more likely to be at Club B, however, then you’ll find Sanji there later in the night when they decide they’re ready for something more serious. He hangs out on the sideline there for a bit, just observing, but eventually he’ll shed his suit coat, pull his tie loose, and hop into the ring. He might not look as rough and tough as some of the other muscleheads lurking in the dark corners of the room, but that doesn’t mean he can’t kick your ass.

…Unless you’re a lady. Then he’s fucked.

He can also be found lingering around the bar in either place, if you're not fighting!]

Club A!

[playboyknight]

[Angelo finally decides to take a break from trying to peek in the women's locker rooms to get more drinks. So when he sits down at the bar, his eyes immediately go to Sanji's appearance. Wait... He had blonde hair and curly eyebrows. Oh! This was the guy Zoro mentioned. At last he finally found him or so he thinks.]

Pardon me, but I must ask you something. You wouldn't happen to know a fellow by the name of Zoro, would you?