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Chapter 7: Blow for Blow! Holl's Seimei Kikan.

(Holl's P.O.V)

I know what this is.

The power in my limbs.

The lengthening of my hair into an untamable mane behind me. My skinny hands with veins jutting out proudly across the skin.

The reason why my nails look more like claws, the points ending in a thin edge, sharp and durable enough to shred metal apart.

Seimei Kikan. Otherwise known as Life Return.

The ability to manipulate your own body cells, resulting in healing injuries and enhancing physical abilities.

I breathed in, careful not to take my mind off my must stronger opponent. Even in such a situation, my mind couldn't help but latch onto what this new state could do.

I could exert control over my hair. I could move individual strands if I wanted.

And my nails- clutching my hands into fists made my palms bleed. The nails penetrated through the skin easily.

With this ability, you could turn your own body into a living weapon.

Now, while it sounds overpowered, it was pretty limiting in what you could do with it.

Or rather, the only one to display the ability had only managed to control his hair and increase the rate of his digestion.

Kumadori of Cp9.

That wasn't important thing.

It was the implications of my body awakening this ability that stood out to me. The Pet Pet Fruit had elevated my strength to almost Killer Croc's.

No normal body could survive that kind of stress.

It was biologically impossible. Yet here I was, looking like bootleg Jiraiya. Only where his hair was white, mine was black.

I had a suspicion why the Pet Pet fruit had allowed me to awaken Seimei Kikan. And now my theory felt more justified.

Somehow my biology had been changed. I now had a body similar to a person from One Piece. And if I was right, then armed with the Pet Pet Fruit and the various skills and abilities I could train to master...

I could own this world.

******

Flakes of white dried paint rained down on us in the hallway.

Croc and I watched each other keenly. Him with his yellow eyes narrowed and me with a small smirk on my face.

"I've gone up against Gods and Monsters. Survived bullets and explosions that could rip apart a whole building."

He declared, spreading his hands out.

"What do you hope to achieve when you look so malnourished? I bet a breeze could knock you over."

Oh boy was he going to be surprised. My hands glowed green as I activated my pet pet fruit ability.

Croc widened his eyes, grabbing a framed picture of Dr.Leslie from the wall to block the slave band.

A snicker left me. He had fallen for the ploy. I pushed off my feet, dashing forward at the fastest speed I could manage.

My clawed hard pierced through the doctor's smiling face on the picture, as it headed towards Croc's neck.

The mutate backed away quicker than I expected and something fast shot towards me from the left.

His tail.

He's experienced.

In comparison, I had only engaged in a few streets fights with the hoodlums back in my village. I wasn't trained in martial arts or fighting.

But I could scrap.

Knowing I was too close to him to dodge the strike, I braced for impact and grabbed the tail.

The strength in the muscles of his tail was incredible, enough to smash me to the walls.

Breath left my lungs but I kept my grip on the tail, using my hair to cushion the impact from my back.

He pulled back the limb and I went with the motion, pivoting with his momentum in the narrow hall and then heaving his entire body up by the tail.

I released a roar the same instant I released him.

Croc's body sailed down the length of the hallway, his form blasting through the reception, smashing into the furniture and equipment.

Papers flew everywhere, glass shattered, a pipe broke, starting to spray water all over the room, quickly spreading across the debris filled floor.

Croc shook his head, unsteadily getting to his feet not even the least bit hurt, only disoriented.

He snarled my way,

"Not bad. But you will have to try harder than-"

A massive explosion rippled out from the small kitchen adjacent to the reception area.

I felt the surge of heat even before noticing the fire, and in quick thinking, rolled around the corner, using my hair to create a barrier around me.

The heat wave passed and for a few seconds all I could hear over my own breathing was the roar of flames as everything begun to burn.

Fortunately, I was unharmed.

I stared around the corner, hoping to spot my opponent. He had been closer to the explosion than I had been. Which meant he was most likely hurt.

Good. I could take advantage of this and put him down for good.

Not sparing a single thought about the fact everything was on fire, I dashed down the hallway towards where Croc was.

There.

He was trying to get to his feet while coughing. But other than that, his scales had protected his body.

Increasing my speed, I grabbed a chunk of the sink that had been torn off the wall by the explosion, spun and without a single warning, I planted the whole thing on Croc's face.

The porcelain shattered, a few pieces bouncing off my skin but leaving red scratches behind.

Surprisingly enough, Croc only stumbled a single step backwards.

Those scales...I wonder if I could do something like that. Harden my skin so much that damage was reduced.

I didn't have scales but what I did have was a mane of wild hair, which I had only been using for defense like he did.

But Seimei Kikan was meant for more than defense.

Knowing that a normal attack wouldn't cut it, I controlled the strands of my black hair, coiling them tightly around my hand.

Then I pulled the hand back just as Croc was regaining his senses.

Bam!

My fist, covered in tough strands of hair, landed on his chest. To be precise, the solar plexus. Croc's eyes widened as he was forced to take in a deep breath, breathing in the smoke around us.

He fell to his knees but I was already moving. This time I wrapped the hair strands around my shin, and with all the power within my body, I kicked the bastard on his chest.

His body shot out like a bullet, breaking through the glass door and leaving the metal frames bent. I heard him smack onto the pavement and crash through something.

Someone on the outside yelled something about a bike.

My hair retracted, hanging behind me loosely.

I walked out with a serious expression on my face.

"What happened to tearing me limb from limb?"

Bastard had sounded so confident when he said it. He had actually thought he could kill me.

I kicked the remains of the door away, tearing the hinges off. The cold night air buffeted me, slightly cooling my sweaty skin.

I could hear sirens from afar coming our way. There were also onlookers but I paid them no mind. My attention was on the reptilian man struggling to get to his feet.

"I've had so many chances to bring you back under my control Croc. Wonder why I haven't?"

I asked.

My teeth showed, lips stretching out into a nasty smile. My friends always called me a maniac when I got like this. And all of them knew what would follow.

You see, I always ensured to pay back any wrongs done to me.

Ruthlessly.

Tenfold.

"It's easy."

I stopped a few feet away from him, my hands glowing green. Croc watched my hand warily, stepping back.

"Consider your services terminated. I don't need a pet like you that can't learn tricks. I'm going to kill you Waylon. I'm going to kill and enjoy it."

He gulped, most likely understanding how serious I was.

A few small pellets fell on the ground between us, bursting into grey smoke that covered the surroundings.

Fuck. What now?

"Cassie let's go."

Someone whispered and before I knew it, a shadow jumped through the smoke. Following that, strong legs locked around my neck faster than I could react. Even in this state.

Then the world turned on it's head as I was flipped. I pulled my hair around me, protecting my head and shoulders, just before landing heavily on the sidewalk.

I rolled with the momentum, already determining that the Bat family was on scene. It couldn't be anyone else.

I heard Croc roar through the smoke just as I got to my feet. The shadow jumped through the smoke once more. But this time I managed to capture its trajectory.

Gripping the shaft of a street light beside me, I tried to pull it out and failed. So I flexed my nails, tearing through the metal. Then I grabbed it and swung the severed shaft like a bat.

The shadow elegantly kicked off it, flipping in the air, over my body, then coming at me from my back. It's steps were silent but the recent downpour gave it away. There were puddles of water everywhere.

I strengthened my hair, making it as hard as I could.

Still the kick that landed on the small of my back, pushed me to the front, and then something was ensnaring my feet, causing me to fall on my face.

Ok. This is dumb.

I slashed the ropes on my feet, standing up, my ears peeled to capture the shadow's movement. She was too sneaky and small for me to properly see.

Yes, I had already determined her gender but it mattered little. The second I got my hands on her, she was going to pay for kicking me.

The dust was already settling, letting me see how far down the street we were. Croc seemed to be fighting with someone too.

Another girl dressed in purple and wielding a Bo staff. My own attacker had seemingly disappeared into nothing.

I turned my head around, covering 360 degrees.

"No trace of her. She must have ran away."

I laughed out loud, turning my attention to Croc and Bo Staff girl.

Further down the street from them, a few blue and red lights appeared. The cops were here. I should escape. But not before taking out Croc.

I bent down and dashed towards the two. Luckily he was occupied by who he was fighting. And damn she was skilled. Almost as skilled as my opponent.

But for all her skills, all she could do was simply keep him occupied. I had no complaints with that. Infact, it was perfect. He had his back to me, presenting the perfect target.

My fingers flexed, budging with veins as I wielded my palm into a knife shape.

One thrust and I would pierce through his scales and tear apart his heart. The Bo Staff girl saw me advancing to them and immediately disengaged, saying something to Croc.

He started turning around but it was too late. I had him.

And then the shadow that had been running on the rooftop of the building next to the clinic, decided it was time to intervene.

My hidden opponent jumped at me, from the corner of my eyes, finally revealing herself.

Good. Just like I'd planned. She thought I hadn't noticed her but I had, only choosing to act oblivious to catch her off guard.

I halted, using the strong toenails on my feet to slow down my speed.

With a smooth pivot, I changed my target, turning to face my swift opponent 2 seconds away from digging her knee into my face.

She was younger than me. With black hair cut to her neck and had Asian features. At least her eyes were. She was wearing a half mask that covered her lower face.

A green jelly like substance shot out of my hands.

The pet pet fruit slave band coiled around her neck. And just like that, I had a pet.

"No!!!"

The other girl screamed.

My opponent landed on the ground next to me, splashing the water from a small puddle.

She stared at the slave band curiously. Trying to get it off but failing.

"You're mine to control now...pet."

I informed her of her new fate. It was only fitting that-

Whoosh!

The sole of her foot passed inches infront of my face. I had only dodged that through luck. She was very swift. And flexible as well.

Controlling her body through her hands, she twisted her hips to deliver a multitude of fast kicks at my face.

I jumped back a few feet, escaping her barrage.

"Stop!"

I ordered but nothing worked, she pushed of her hands, transitioning into a cartwheel while approaching me.

My hair flared up, covering my thin form like a turtle's shell, receiving the double heel kicks easily.

The strands creeped over her kegs before she could jump away.

A punch to my cheek was blocked by the hair, so was a chop to neck. How ruthless. The strands of black hair climbed up her body, restraining her.

"Stop fighting me and list-" as I was saying this, Croc was down for the count and unbeknownst to me, another nuisance was headed my way.

"Let her go!!"

The Bo staff roared through the air, aimed at my unprotected ankles. Prehensile tendrils of hair pushed me into the air, enabling me to jump away and evade her attack.

"Whoa, calm down or I squeeze your friend here into pulp."

I warned, tightening my hold on the Asian girl and making her groan.

Only then did Bo Staff girl notice that her friend's body was entirely covered by my hair.

"If you hurt her-"

She started, body trembling with rage.

"I will if you don't answer a few of my questions."

I promised, injecting as much weight into my words to show I meant it.

Bo Staff girl clenched her teeth, glaring at me with everything she had. Aaw, how cute. She's like a cat.

I squeezed my captive and this time she let out a small cry.

"Okay okay! Just don't hurt her!"

Bo Staff finally decided to comply. Now was that hard really?

"Okay, my first question, are you part of the Bat family?"

My question made her blink. But she answered nonetheless.

"Yes. My name is Spoiler and that's...Orphan."

Oh I see. This little girl is Cassandra Cain, the daughter of the greatest martial artist in the world, Lady Shiva.

What rotten luck. I also know why my slave band did not activate, Cassandra Cain could not understand human speech. Her mother or father, I can't remember who, raised her to only learn one language.

The language of combat.

She could read my body movements and actions but not understand my words or orders.

I couldn't control her if she couldn't understand me.

Fuck. Yet another weakness of the Pet Pet fruit. No worries, something told me I was going to enjoy finding ways to break the power.

"Okay, second question, how's Barbs doing?"

This time I asked while laughing.

It was priceless seeing the shocked expression on her face. Whether it was because I knew Batgirl's real name or...the other thing, who's to say.

But when she narrowed her eyes, holding her Bo Staff tight in both hands, I knew she recognized me.

"It was you..."

Bo Staff- Spoiler bit out hatefully.

"You're the one that stabbed her, you bastard."

She angrily accused.

"Guilty as charged."

I shrugged nonchalantly. But my body was tense. Waiting.

Waiting for her to get emotional, to rush in and get closer to me. And then I would make her my Pet. The ability didn't work on Orphan but it was a sure bet against Spoiler.

The cops were already very close and I only had a short time to make good on my promise. Croc was defenseless. All I had to do was get to him.

"She didn't see it coming. Barbara, I mean."

I laughed some more like an anime villain.

"One minute she's acting all mighty, then the next, the bitch is bleeding on the ground before me."

Predictably,

"I will kill you!"

Spoiler yells, dashing my way at full speed.

Yes...

Get closer. Get closer and you're mine.

A firm hand landed on my shoulder.

"I'm only going to ask you once Son. Let go of the girl and stand down."

Fuck.

Fuuuuuuccckkk.

I looked behind me and DeJa vu hit me like a 12 wheeler.

Superman was floating in the air behind me. And he was not happy.