/jp/ - Otaku Culture

Jo'on was stepping forward, Shion floating behind her. Feeling very nervous, I stepped forward too, meeting her in the open space. "You're just a regular human. What are you even doing here?" Now only capable of a few words, I eventually managed to say that I was here for a family meeting. "In...Former Hell. Okay, whatever. Here's the deal. You don't hold back. If you do, I'll stop holding back." I swallowed nervously. I wasn't sure I could hit a girl. "Well, I guess you'd better learn quickly, hmm?"

On my side, Yamame was staring up at Shion, who towered over her. She was probably close to my height. "You're so gonna pay for calling us poor. You - You spider!"

"Excellent insult. You're doing terrific." Yamame muttered dryly. "Are you fighting any time soon? We'll be late for a meeting at this rate, Miss...What's your name, again?"

"Shion Yorigami, local poverty god turned Billionaire tour god - Wait, you're mocking me!" Shion shouted, then she shot forward, her arms wreathed in fire. Yamame, as I knew, was very flexible, and threw herself backward, letting the blue-haired girl pass over her head thanks to the momentum not letting her stop. Immediately, Yamame launched herself into the air, and I saw strands of web shoot up into the darkness above. Shion turned, looking upward, and then over at Jo'on, who was watching along with me. "Jo'on, she's ran away..."

"I don't think she has." Jo'on said, pleasantly. "Oh, there she is." In fact, Yamame was shooting above Shion and trailing bullets behind her, and then, she dropped down, crashing into the poverty goddess and knocking her to the ground.

"Oh, right. Hey." She tapped me on the shoulder. "I'm Jo'on Yorigami, local pestilence god turned oil baron turned tour guide." I turned to her, and before I could blink, I was doubling over. The pain only registered a moment later, when I realised that she'd driven a fist into my stomach. As my breath was driven out of me, I thanked Lady Kasen in my mind for having me do so many body-strengthening exercises. "Remember what I said." She let me struggle upright, then aimed another punch at my head. This time, I was prepared, and I ducked under the punch and threw a punch of my own out, which Jo'on easily dodged. Jo'on was faster and leagues more experienced than me, but I had luck on my side, so I managed to dodge a couple more punches before she connected again, with another hit to my stomach.

It hurt, but I was happy to see that it didn't hurt as much as I'd expected a hit from those rings on her fingers to hurt. "I like your coat, by the way. How about you give it to me?" I ducked under a punch which flew over my shoulder, then threw myself forward, my shoulder crashing into Jo'on's face. I forced out that it definitely wouldn't fit her, then I tried to punch her in the stomach. Shockingly, I connected, making her double over. Immediately, I felt bad and tried to apologize, and she used that chance to punch me again, in the shoulder this time. "Oh, shut up! It's a fight, people get hit! You got bricks in there or something!?" She shouted at me sharply, looking at my fists. I frowned and looked at them, then shrugged.

Then, Yamame flew between us, having been hit by Shion's dives. My first instinct was to check if she was okay, and Jo'on made me pay for it. I only caught the fist just before it connected with my face, so I did as Yamame told me and clenched my jaw. I think, if I wasn't so much taller and enhanced by the peach, I'd have been done for there and then, but thankfully, I only felt like everything had gone white for a split second. I staggered to the side, happy that I didn't seem to have lost any teeth.

Yamame launched back through, this time spinning into a kick aimed at Shion's head, which sent the billionaire tour god to the ground, possibly even tearing some new holes in her clothes. Then, as Shion got up, she repeated her technique of dropping on her from above, sending her head into the ground a second time. The crowd cheered at that, and Yamame even looked a little proud of it.

Now that I was starting to understand the place a little better, I knew that I'd best really get into the swing of things. I turned, already throwing a punch, only to see that Jo'on had come to the same conclusion. Our fists ended up connecting, sending a wave of pain through my hand, but through her's as well. Not waiting, I tried with my other hand, but she slapped it away before it could reach me and tried to swing her free fist up into my jaw. I barely shifted my head enough to avoid it, then brought a knee up into Jo'on's side, which sent her staggering. Then, I ran forward, jumped at Jo'on, and slammed my head against hers, sending us both to the ground. It was a stupid move, because now my head hurt as much as it might have made hers, but it had seemed like the sort of grandstanding gesture that would be useful here.