Xover: Jump Force (The Rewrite) - [CONTINUED]

Brook

Chapter 09: Brook

Brook's Perspective

With the last word spoken, the umbral creatures around the group roared with pain as shards of ice burst out from where The Humming Swordsman had cut them surreptitiously. The Elder Shinobi likewise clutched the frozen, shattered stump that was his left arm a moment ago, and looked to Brook with a burning fury.

Brook knew he had taken too much time getting there, and failed to prevent Mr. Asano getting hurt. But he had made up his mind, he would not let him die. For as long as he was stuck in this world, he would do no less than his part in defending it, and his new companions, from this otherworldly threat. And he would keep up morale while doing so.

"You should know, I don't strictly have to sheath Soul Solid to activate this ability.." Brook continued in his much-practiced 'action-hero' sort of tone, ".. but you have to admit, the whole aesthetic is pretty cool."

Brook looked around the newly icy arena and the group therein, from the fuming Elder Shinobi, to Ms. Arisawa now knelt beside Mr. Asano and paying the skeleton no heed, to an indifferent Urahara-san and Mr. Sai, to a confused young Master Freecss and Ms. Harano looking like she wanted to groan at his pun.

"Pretty cool... Anybody??"

The Elder Shinobi fully turned to face Brook, his frozen stump now regenerated into his left arm once again. "It seems I must dispatch you first, the old-fashioned way." 'Temperature puns will have to wait then.' Brook thought, once again drawing his sword and becoming serious. "Then have at it villain."

The Elder Shinobi wasted little time before he advanced, attacking Brook with multiple Ebony tendrils and pushing him further back from the group. And soon more 'Venoms' appeared, besiegeing this world's ragtag band of misfit defenders.

(A/N: Shimura Danzo fanart, uploaded from reddit.com following a Google search and belonging to Mario Carvalho, none of which I own!)

~Line Break~

Some way away from the main group, on the rooftop of a three-storey building, the casual onlooker might have beheld two fierce warriors engaged in a furious but evenly matched dual. But Brook, no longer having the element of surprise, knew he was being kept on the defensive as he used Soul Solid to parry tendril blows from multiple fronts. Even with his supernaturally-granted lightweight, speed and reflexes, he was having a tough time keeping up with the dead Ninja's own supernatural abilities. He hadn't been pushed this much to his limits since his last bout with Big Mom!

But if Brook was worried, something told him that his opponent was too. The rapid ferocity of his attacks all but confirmed that the Elder Shinobi wanted to end this fight as quickly as possible. Now why would he not want to relish the experience of breaking his enemies' spirits, unless he knew his victory hung upon defeating his enemies before something... happened?