Fighting Club (Arena)

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #1

Logue Town was city full of mystery. As the place of birth and also death of the first pirate king, it acted as a monument, drawing all pirates and other shady existences to itself. Because of that the city gave birth to many...unofficial places...like the Fighting Club. The gathering of frustrated gentlemen from all walks of life, who wanted to blow out some steam in all out brawl against fellow minded individual. There was only one rule, aside from the obvious “no talking about the club” and that was, that killing your opponent was prohibited. Other than that, everything was allowed, martial arts, weapons, even usage of devil fruit was fair game.

Working on invitation only, the club had pretty stable base of members but time from time it happened, that they invited another one among their ranks. And that was also the case with Gabriel during his stay in the East Blue. Having much to think about himself, he didn´t hesitated, when young looking man addressed him on the street with his fighting name, inviting him for this nigh.

And so there he was, standing in an abandoned warehouse, barefoot, yet still wearing his regular suit, the Professor was waiting for his first opponent. He didn´t know much about him aside of the fact, that he was supposed to be incredibly strong for the Blues, even rumored to have power of the Devil within him. That made the veteran fighter curious as in his career he never fought Devil Fruit user seriously, if you doesn´t count his frequent sparring matches with Myra, which he didn´t.

Going slowly through his Qui Gong routine, to relax his breathing and warm body, Gabriel was scanning small crowd that gathered around him. It was almost time, so his opponent should step out anytime soon.

[viruswithshoes]

The cotton balls that the Fighting Club had in stock were earmarked for plugging up various bloody orifices. The only convienent spacer Dagon Basqiat could find were teeth of various shapes, sizes and levels of breakage scattered across the dirty warehouse floor.
The teeth were adequate and after Dagon's toenails were dried into tidal blue, the okama fighter crushed the pearly whites between his recently painted toes and watched intently at his opponent's Qui Gong routine.

Dagon sat down on an overturned bucket and lit one chili pepper cigarette from the previous one he smoked. The very few people that knew him knew that the okama only chain smoked when feeling particularly out of sorts.

No dramatic ring entrance, no boasting, the undercover marine simply smoked and watched while trying to get a feel for his opponents style. Fighting styles were, after all, the truest form of expression and Dagon believed that he should learn all of them in order to understand the world.

When the mohawked man wearing only a long black skirt stood up, some were surprised that the person with the slender physical frame and fair skin was a fighter.
Dagon extinguished his chili pepper cigarette on the patchwork of callouses and scars that were his knuckles and took a deep breath before exhaling a stream of acrid smoke.

The few okama in the crowd made enough noise at the sight of one of their own in a fight to temporarily drown out the rest of the fight enthusiasts.

The bell signalling the beginning of the fight rang and before the Ding could fully leave anyone's ears the make-up wearing marine unleashed an axe kick causing a vertical air slash to fly towards his qi gong using opponent.

Whether the slice of air connected or not didn't matter, as Dagon followed it with an erratic, drunken style of punch passed down from his ancestors known as The Suiken.

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #2

The Professor didn´t have to wait long before his opponent emerged from the crowd. He was tall, around Gabriel´s height, but way thinner, actually too thin for a fighter. Yet Moon wasn´t the time who would underestimate someone just because of their appearance. So when the okama with mohawk walked from the crowd, he stopped his warm up and faced him directly.

“Good evening sir, my...”

Following the proper etiquette, Gabriel wanted to introduced himself first, but before he could do more than just a few steps the gong announcing start of their match ringed and his opponent kicked with enough power to send him a blade of compressed air instead of welcome gift.

Faster, than it should be possible for normal human, the professor sidestepped and twisted his body sideways, letting the air blade to pass him by few millimeters. The crowd screamed as some of its members were forced to jump from the dangers way. But Moon didn´t even have enough time to think about them, as his opponent rushed forward. His moves unpredictable and irregular focused the older fighter to back off instead of countering, at least until he´ll figure out the patter of his movement.

“Edge”

Using his toes o propel himself suddenly and without previous warning, Gabriel jumped few steps backward, dodging the incoming fist. Even then, he could thank only to his incredibly fast reflexes for staying safe as he knuckles of his opponent brushed his shirt.

“Good grief, you are a troublesome one.”
Moon sighted, as he took his signature Cat stance, with his front feet on it´s toes and fingers of both hands pointed to make the Thrust more accessible. Waiting for his opponent to move, the professor let his front foo to hit the ground, sending fast and inhumanly precise jab against his neck.

“Thrust”

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Edge} Using the incredible speed and strength of his lower legs Gabriel can either propel backwards or pull himself forwards using nothing more than the toes of his feet. This technique doesn´t allow him to move with blinding speed nor a very far away (three to five steps at best), but since it does´t involve any large movement in the opponent´s field of vision and can be kept out of sync with the movement of the rest of the body it can confuse the opponent greatly and make it harder for them to predict Gabriel´s movement. To work correctly he have to be either barefoot or wear very flexible shoes.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Thrust}
Fast and powerful thrust performed with the so-called “spear hand” or Nukite, where all the fingers on one´s hand are extended and strongly pressed together. Because the full strength of the user is focused on their fingertips, this attack is somehow faster and more destructive than a regular punch as its energy can penetrate deeper into the body of its victim, although it can not truly pierce through it. However, since the extended fingers are more fragile than the fist it´s better to target soft and naturally vulnerable parts of the enemy´s body to prevent damaging one´s own fingers. This technique is a scaled-down version of Gabriel´s Nukite where he gave up the protective and destructive strength of Indestructible for greater versatility of his attacks.

[viruswithshoes]

"Dagon Basqiat," he choked out those words to man in the cat stance with wet hands that smelled like rum.
"I like your technique. I'm not one for conversation. My voice is in my fist. Listen."

"Vandellia Cirrhosa." Dagon swayed in directions and at angles that were only possibly by someone with a body of liquid, such as alcohol. The punches could come from any angle and at any time during what looked like drunken stumbling.

Dagon broke his random stagger to deftly strike out at Gabriel's liver with his painted blue tips of his index and middle finger. It would feel like a gentle prod but it was one of seven attacks at the the major organs of his enemies. Small, precise, fishman karate strikes used water manipulation to attack the liver, kidneys, lungs, heart and brain of the unfortunate person being attacked.
One pirate Dagon had used it on described it as having all the organs jerked harshly.

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #3

This man was the truly troublesome opponent. Gabriel had to give him that as Dagon used very unusual movements to dodge his initial strike and to counter with his own. His barrage of strikes and associated movements had the weird fluid-like quality to it that puzzled the Professor, giving him the impression of someone whose body lacked all bones. This weird technique picked his interest. It was somehow similar, yet very different compared to one of his own and so he decided to discover its secrets. Instead of pressing on the offensive, Moon slipped into a more defensive stance, pushing his speed and reflexes to their limits to guard against the chaotic attacks. Dancing on the edge of his reach thanks to his Edge he was studying his opponent, however, despite his best effort, he was unable to discover the trick behind it. It was frustrating but still helped him anyway as his focus on Dagons rhythm alerted the professor when it changed.
"Something is coming."
He realized when that man's movements suddenly became more focused and precise.
Unwilling to take any unnecessary risks this early on, the professor relaxed his muscles making his body completely limp and flexible. In this state, it was easy for him to feel the flow of Dagon's power and go with it, thus dodging the incoming attack before it could do any real damage. As someone trained in Rokushiki, the marine could probably recognize the principles of Kami-e in Moon's technique even though the execution was slightly different.
Using this state to dodge his technique, Gabriel waited for the opening after its end before going for a counterattack. Tensing his body once again the Professor stepped forward, using his incredible speed and accuracy to stop on that Marine's foot to limit that strange movement of his. Before attacking with a fast uppercut on his chin.

---

Used Techniques

Edge: Using the incredible speed and strength of his lower legs Gabriel can either propel backwards or pull himself forwards using nothing more than the toes of his feet. This technique doesn´t allow him to move with blinding speed nor a very far away (three to five steps at best), but since it does´t involve any large movement in the opponent´s field of vision and can be kept out of sync with the movement of the rest of the body it can confuse the opponent greatly and make it harder for them to predict Gabriel´s movement. To work correctly he have to be either barefoot or wear very flexible shoes.

Mirrored Moon: Instead of using ones own movement to intercept the incoming attack, Gabriel learned how to make his own body completely limp and flexible by relaxing all of his muscles. In this state, he put virtually no resistance to an incoming attack and so he can let it´s energy to push his body out of the way without taking any real damage himself, with the possibility of taking his opponent out of their balance by the momentum of their own attack. Like a leaf dancing in the wind.

Stomp: Simple, yet very effective technique usable during infighting, when Gabriel will raise his leg and stomp on the front foot of his opponent with his full strength. This, aside from being very painful will block the foot from moving, limiting the opponent´s mobility and maneuverability during the fight until they can free their foot from under the foot of the user, or are released by him.

[viruswithshoes]

After eating the sake-sake no mi, Dagon Basqiat turned from a laconic stoic to a laconic bundle of nerves and insecurities.
Eating a Devil Fruit meant something different to his family than most other people. To worshipers of Sea Devils they were a holy sacrament that imbued one with great power and purpose. Even as an atheist, this was something Dagon wanted to avoid. There was a part of him that believed in his family's religion and thought himself to be an indestructible avatar of the Devils.
Having his foot stomped upon and being sent flying upwards and backwards by Gabriel's punch disabused the okama marine from that arrogant notion.

The hard, cement floor suddenly became the most comfortable place to lie down in all of the world.
Dagon's head pounded in agony and he did spy some of his blood coloring the drab, grey floor which caused him to smile as he stood up, first the lower half of his body then the upper half. For a few moments it looked as if the marine's back had contorted and flexed in a way not humanly possible. A few of the spectators looked disturbed.

Dagon's partially liquor body swayed at angles incapable of beings with a skeletal system. He held up his right hand as if holding up an invisible bottle of liquor. It was a mere stance, but Dagon had no real alcohol to toast his enemy with...other than the alcohol that made up his entire body.
"That was a good hit."

His blue lips parted in a smile as he ran toward Gabriel, but not in a direct route. It was a line that only a drunken man with no bones to speak of could travel. Rather than point A to B Dagon traveled from A to Q to 37 to -4 and finally to B in order to throw his signature punch to the other man's solar plexus.
"Suiken!"
While his right fist shot toward Gabriel's mid-section Dagon's left arm attempted to slap into the back of his enemy's head. Those two techniques would have been impossible without his Devil Fruit which sparked a proud smile on his normally placid face.

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #4

During infighting, many fighters were forgetting on their foot, or rather they were paying attention to the big flashy techniques, ignoring the small and seemingly harmless one. And as it turned out, Dagon was no exception to that rule. Quick stomp on his leg, to stop his weird movement and powerful uppercut to send him flying. Up to that moment everything went according to plan. Until the eccentric fighter twisted his body into impossible angles and started lifting himself back up on his feet. Well not that Gabriel would think that punch like that would really knock him out, however something about this guy was simply odd.

“Hey, just a question...”

He muttered, while going back to his cat foot stance.

“Is this your technique, or are you Devil Fruit user? Because if the former, I want to learn it´s secret!”

With that, the professor charged against his opponent. However instead of clashing with him head on, he was forced to stop and turn as the wobbling fighter suddenly changed direction of his movement, making it very hard to for him to predict his next attack.

“Very well, if you insist on running, I´ll simply wait for your own strike...let´s see what you got Nukite!”

Hardening the muscles of his body on the level of steel, Gabriel let his opponent to hit him, while stabbing with his steel like fingers against his solar plexus. The plan was sound, however it didn´t worked out as he imagined. While the defensive capabilities of his technique were more then enough to absorb the physical impacts of Dagon´s attack, something other happened, like if the insides of his own body acted against him, punching him from inside.

“What the...Blink.”

Releasing his technique the professor kicked the ground beneath his feed so fast that he literally disappeared before the spectator´s eyes, only to appear few meters away with one arm on his abdomen, shaking his head to get rid of the spinning and wobbling.

“Uh...that was nice hit...how exactly did you do that?”

Gabriel painfully smirked as he straightened his back again. This hit got him alright, but he was still far from over.

“Alright, guess I don´t have to hold back then...Phantom Kick!”

Disappearing again, the Professor charged with blinding speed against his opponent, unleashing swift low kick against his lower leg. The kick itself was seamlessly connected to the sprint performed with the same speed as the rest of the technique. Using the low kick as a distraction to let Dagon focus on his lower body, Moon kicked the ground one more time, propelling himself in the air with his True Step technique, only to finish the combo with a powerful somersault axe kick against the top of his head.

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Used Techniques}Nukite:- In his regular stance, Gabriel will extend the fingers on his hands and press them together to form the so called “spear hand”. At the same time, using the principles of Steel Kata, Moon will harden his muscles to the level of steel without loosing his mobility. From this position he can then attack his opponent with either jab or cross. Although this technique can not really pierce through human body, given the hardness of his fingers, it´s still pretty destructive especially if aimed at vitals such as throat or solar plexus.


Blink:- Using his feet as a wholem instead of just toes, together with his natural speed and power, Gabriel can greatly increase the speed of his movement, to the point where he is able to hit the ground ten or more times in the blink of an eye. By timing the movement with the moment his opponent blinks and taking advantage of their blind spots he can create the illusion of vanishing in the thin air, enabling him to close distance or change position easily. Unlike the Phantom step this technique doesn´t allow him to carry the momentum of his movement into his attack but on the other hand doesn´t restrict him to linear movement thus greatly increasing his mobility.

Phantom Kick:- Offensive version of the regular Phantom Step. Using the original technique as his base, Gabriel will charge at his opponent with a blinding speed. Then, as he gets closer to them, Moon will attack his target with a low kick, still using the blinding speed of his. This makes the Phantom kick especially useful for a surprise attacks that shock the enemy and set them up for following strike rather than creating serious injury on it´s own.

True Step:- Pushing the speed of his body beyond it´s normal limits, Gabriel can move with his lower legs so fast that he can kick the air itself with enough power to not only jump from it, but to jump from it with blinding speed, making the user able to cover great distances unnoticed.

[viruswithshoes]

“Hey, just a question...Is this your technique, or are you Devil Fruit user? Because if the former, I want to learn it´s secret!”

Dagon couldn't answer Gabriel's question as he was mid-attack utilizing his Drunken Kaiju stule Suiken punch. When the scarred knuckles of Dagon's fist met with his opponent's mid-section there was a familiar rigidity that reminded the marine of his own Tekkai technique. Still, to Gabriel's surprise the water inside his body had been given a sudden jerk.

The Suiken couldn't do enough damage to keep Gabriel from sweeping the okama's leg an landing an axe kick atop Dagon's blonde, mohawked head. The slender but toned marine dropped to one knee but his head had met the ground with great force leaving a small pool of blood on the floor.

Dagon straightened up and wobbled while standing, but not as part of his usual drunken style stagger.
He exhaled in order to get some of the blood that had pooled inside his mouth outside then took one deep, cleaner, bloodless breath.

"The staggering and body water manipulating is part of my Drunken Kaiju style but the inhuman bending and stretching is due to the sea devil I have inside of me."
When Dagon saw he was not about to be attacked the curious fighter reclaimed the chair from before the match and sat down in hope for a detailed lectures.
"Now...what about Phantom Kick?"

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #5

Both kicks connected with great precision, sending his opponent headfirst against the ground. As he wanted to finish it as quickly and painlessly as possible, the professor landed directly into his signature Cat foot stance with both of his hands pointed in the spear hand position. As the wobbling fighter was trying to get back up on his feet, Gabriel was hardening his muscles in preparation for the final strike. However, he stopped and relaxed a bit, when the marine started talking about his techniques and even going so far as to take the nearby chair to have a place to sit on while doing so. The Professor suspected that his opponent was only trying to stall for time to recover from the last hit, but he was so interested in learning the secret of his technique that he didn't mind. Too bad that the more interesting part was done by the working of his Devil Fruit and not a technique. It would be a nice addition to his Dragon Becoming Spirit.
"Hmmm seems like you were quite lucky with your ability."
Professor Moon had to raise his voice, otherwise, it would disappear in the annoyed and angry yelling coming from the crowd.
"Ah, that's the tricky one."
Gabriel smiled as he moved his head to the side, dodging an empty bottle that flew from the crowd.
"You see, I mastered my body to such a degree that I can briefly increase the rate at which my muscles work and thus move faster than the human eye can perceive, for a short period of time. The simplest application is for walking techniques, but I learned how to use it in conjunction with other movements, like kicks, and even how to seamlessly connect these attacks to my walking techniques"
He paused for a moment to dodge another improvised projectile, this time a brick.
"Of course it's way easier said than done as you need very good timing and distance estimation otherwise you'll miss or end up in a position from which you simply won't be able to kick."
As he finished the last sentence, Gabriel took his stance again.
"Now, shall we continue in our fight? I have a feeling that the spectators are getting a little impatient."

[viruswithshoes]

"Now, shall we continue in our fight? I have a feeling that the spectators are getting a little impatient."

Dagon let out a digusted hybrid of a hiss and a sight of exasperation.
"Screw 'em. This isn't their fight."

"I didn't come here for a dialogue..."
"I got good money on the okama...don't let me down!"
More and more frustrated voices were added to the din and more objects thrown, some of which Dagon noticed an purposely let pass through his liquor body in order to get used to the odd sensation.
It still felt unnatural, but over the course of the fight the reluctant fruit user began to hate his situation less.

"If you are still conscious after this, tell me how my variation of your Phantom Kick stacks up to the original."

The fight was never about money, glory or even the joy of fighting; it was about being comfortable in his own body. The meat machine Dagon Basqiat had operated his entire life went through a drastic change and brought other changes with it. If non-devil fruit martial artists spent their lives mastering their bodies what chance did the blue-eyed okama have with an unfamiliar one.

There were raging, turbulent waters beneath the stoic okama's calm surface but after a few successful blows against a worthy opponent, they seemed more manageable.

The slender, blonde brushed his mohawk back and shrugged his tattooed shoulder while swaying side to side.
"Phantom Kick!"

Dagon added his own signature stagger to his copied rush toward Gabriel in order to be harder to hit. The marine kept the image and feeling of his opponent's kick in mind as he feinted with his right leg, but kicked with his left in an attempt to sweep Gabriel off off the ground.
If asked, Dagon would tell people it was a feint, but in truth he had panicked and changed his mind at the last moment.

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #6

His opponent was unfazed by the unhappy and rather violent crowd, even using his unique physique to dodge one of the thrown objects by letting it pass through his head. That was a useful ability, although in Gabriel's eyes it looked too much like that one used by Koda. And he didn't have good memories of that one. Well, never mind, whoever this peculiar fellow was, he wasn't that treacherous backstabber so, there was no need to go too serious on him. The pesky crowd, on the other hand… was seriously thinking about getting rid of them, before his opponent expressed the will to continue in their fight, even claiming that he will test his version of Phantom Kick on him.
"Interesting, so you think you figured it out so fast? Then show me!"
The professor in him was excited as every time he met a young promising student that showed a genuine interest in his subject, which had that unfortunate side effect, that he forgot, that he was in the middle of a fight. His focus shifted and suddenly, he wasn't a fighter who wanted to win, but a teacher, who wished to see his student grow.
"No, that's not it, you have to hit the ground faster, if you move like this, I can easily counter with a high kick!"
He commented on the obvious flaw in Dagon's technique, sending one swift kick against his chin. He didn't want to hit him, only to dodge his low kick and at the same time to underline his point, however, at the same time, the undercover marine switched the kicking leg, sweeping Gabriels stance one from the ground. That had two unpleasant side effects. One, the Professor's head was falling towards the ground, the second one, the resulting momentum carried his keg much further than he wanted, straight against Dagon's chin.
"Huh, that was feint?"
That was the last thought he had before he fell.

[viruswithshoes]

Tiny sparks of light swam across a dark sea in Dagon's vision. He heard shouting, but it was getting more faint and more difficult to understand, like extremely spirited murmuring.

There was a swift movement and then came that familiar almost-knocked out sight. It had been a while since Dagon had been hit hard enough to second guess his ability to get back up, much less fall into unconsciousness.
A rare smile fell across his painted blue lips even though the okama fighter currently hated Gabriel more at that moment than the marine had ever hated anyone.
That didn't preclude getting the man a free drink and have a nice chat about techniques once Dagon saw him again.

The knocked out fighter regained consciousness before the cheering even ended. It was nice not to be beaten into another coma.

Since all the talking Dagon cared to do happened during the fight, when he wobbled towards the man that knocked him out, he only pressed his tattooed fist against the man's shoulder and said: "Next time."

To Dagon Basqiat fist fights were about connection, both to oneself and to another. Losing a fight was like losing a debate; though he hated it with a passion, he was glad to have seen things from a different perspective and grown a little as a person.

He already couldn't wait until his next fight.

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #7

The Professor´s head hit the floor and it hit it hard. The lights went out and when he regained consciousness, a bunch of stars were dancing around his head that ached like crazy from all that yelling and shouting around him.

“What...where am I?”

He muttered, still confused as his mind was trying to get through the fog caused by the previous oblivion. Only slowly did he realize that just a few moments ago, he was in a duel with a fellow martial artist. One, that pulled a surprising trick on him at the very last second.

“Wait...did I lose?”

He blinked and looked around trying to find his celebrating opponent, but didn´t see anyone. So he looked at the ground in front of him, still a bit confused. And...there he was, still sleeping...actually scratch that, just waking up from his own nap.

“Did we...knock each other out?”

Now that was hilarious, like pulled from some grotesque or something. Well Dagon probably didn't share his opinion, but Gabriel didn't care. This was a good fight. One that introduced him to an interesting way of coupling martial skills with Devil Fruit powers, just as to few new techniqus he didn´t know before. So, as far as he was concerned, it fulfilled its purpose. Who cared about winners or losers anyway when life wasn't at stake.

“It was a good fight.”

The professor repeated his thoughts aloud.

“See you next time.”

With that, he climbed on his feet and waited a few heartbeats after Dagan left the place before walking out himself. The night was still young, but he wasn't in the mood for another fight. No, he had many things to think about and possibly a theme, for a new chapter for his book. Better to head back, before his still dizzy head forgets what it was about.