Lorry
Lorenzo laughed at the retort as if he just heard a funny joke. Om my, that sounded quite unpleasant. Did she detest him that much, or was this the sign of her suppressed feelings of love towards him? Well, probably the former, not that he minded! Violence was just another expression of the heart!
"Bwahaha, how cold of you! I don't think you could even if I did have them, Shibby. If you want to show some love, a kiss would do." He replied, tapping on his cheekbone smugly.
And so the ship ran its course, moving closer and closer to its destination.
There was a tall tower, the tallest tower in all the world! No tower could ever match the size of that tower, it was truly the most towering tower of all the world. It was a high tower that could even reach the heavens.
But that tower had nothing to do with anything, because it wasn't even in the Nexus. Well, there was a building that might look a bit like said tower, with similar looking walls and interior, but it was neither a tower nor 13 km tall. For you see, it wasn't called heaven's arena because it was tall or anything like that, but because it was one of the few that actually enabled death matches. Some competitors would go to heaven, hence the name.
Of course, this would normally be illegal, or at least immoral. Which is why, at least outwardly, this was not quite treated as more than an underground arena. This changed once inside, however, when one could realize that there was a market for this sort of entertainment. Because of that and the fact the owners of said businesses would pay a certain toll, the government couldn't quite refuse the sponsorship.
As long as the order of the city wasn't disturbed, this entertainment even grew to be accepted in a taboo sort of way. Criminals would be deported and offered the choice of acting in these death games and fights, or be executed. Of course, few would be able to rise to the top and eventually buy their freedom as cosmic gladiators. Volunteers could participate, of course, and even gain a percentage of the betting and show money.
In a city as grim and hopeless as Nexus, where some are torn from their world, families and everything they know, these cathartic pleasures are the few means of escape to despair. That, and copious amounts of alcohol.
Shinobu and Lorenzo were in the middle of the arena, all lights and spectators cheering for them. All that was left was the signal from the refree for them to begin.