Chasing the Rascal [Arc - Part 1]

The Quest:

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Ryuji was standing alongside a marine commander at the front of the moving Navy ship that was aimed for Baterilla, the place where supposedly an associate of the Supernova was, as well as a clue to what Ryuji was after. Ryuji was investigating the disappearance of a missing Rear-Admiral known as Chuck Newriss, according to marine reports some pirate claimed responsibility for the kill, but there was no bodies involved, Ryuji doubted the reports and apparently from what is shown on the data of this pirate, his hometown is Baterilla.

The commander got Ryuji's attention saying "Sir? were coming close to the island. If I may ask, why did you come along?" Ryuji said "That's my own business, just know that once I'm off, you'll have free reign of the soldiers. Capture the associate of the supernova and leave, don't start any drama and don't be here any longer then needed." the commander saluted and went off to the main deck, Ryuji's assumption was that he's going to address the soldiers about the mission.

As Ryuji was drenched deep in thought, time passed by and realized that they were getting pretty close to the port of the island, for landing. There were a couple of guards at the port along with a well-dressed man who appeared ready to introduce the marines to the island. "I thought our arrival would be kept secret... oh well, nothing we can do about it now." Ryuji then patiently waited for the marines to anchor the ship so they can walk down to the port.

The lull of the ship, the quiet pass of the waves breaking against the ship's exterior and the smell of the sea was something that Mori hadn't felt or smelled in several weeks. Taking in a soft breath as he stood at the bow of the ship, Mori continued thinking to himself, was he seriously assigned to locate an associate and then arrest said person? Sighing again Mori looked up and then turned around. Having done so he saw his commander, Rear-Admiral Kazama; smiling slightly and then dropping the smile, Mori decided he had best get his equipment ready. Walking away and to the crew quarters, Mori had grabbed his whip and then the small pistol he had that had been issued by the marine.

It was a few moments later that Mori had heard people moving around a lot more. This meant that land had finally been spotted. Chuckling slightly, Mori walked back up the steps and then crossed toward the Fo'c'sle of the ship. As he moved there his eyes had spotted the light outline of an island up ahead of them. A few people had then begun talking about how this was the island known as Baterilla. "It's been said that a supernova's associate is here. I wonder what he's like?" "Yeah, is he dangerous?" The conversation held beside him was far too...lenient. Shaking his head, the young man known as Akihiko Mori sighed. Once more, Mori moved away from the people around him toward the Portside, Mori spoke to himself.

"Even if it's a supernova, it is our job to take this person down. But, we must be cautious, we don't know what they look like nor what kind of power they have." Mori then began preparing to disembark, his ears still listening to everything and everyone around him. Finally, they could see the island fully. With a smile, Mori took a breath of relief and then looked at his commander. Walking to him, Mori spoke. "I'll be heading to the inn first sir, I need to set my other stuff there. Once I do, I was wondering if we could talk about the 45th a bit more. I'd like to know of its history."

Baterilla, an island that was practically the opposite of Centaurea. Miku had been stowed away on a small mercantile ship when she had arrived here a few weeks ago. She had been traveling for a while now and had made sure to never stay in one particular location for too long but the peaceful island of Baterilla had offered a welcome respite from the constant worry of bounty hunters or marines. Thus she had decided to take a break from starting trouble to simply enjoy life for a little while. Of course, this equated to spending all day at taverns and bars enjoying the local life and getting into a friendly brawl here or there. None of the local men were anything special and she often took them down in less than a minute but she always made sure to buy her victims a drink afterwards to smooth out any bruised egos. She didn’t want to be run out of town yet.

It was another peaceful day that Miku had woken to before deciding to take a leisurely stroll through town. She always had her vambraces donned and hidden underneath the sleeves of her shirt but she kept her gloves off and tucked into her pocket since they had her Pirate’s Knuckles attached to them. The embossed Skull and Crossbones on her weapons would give her identity away in a heartbeat and she didn’t want that just yet. As she strolled through one of the smaller markets she began to hear mutterings of possible marine activity in the area. Miku silently cursed as she wasn’t happy to hear about that. Though it wasn’t anything to worry about since she could handle most of the typical marines grunts that tended to come after her. Honestly, just because of her looks most men thought she would be an easy target. A short woman with no Devil Fruit powers, what a piece of cake. Next thing they know they are on the ground missing teeth. Miku chuckled as she actually began to look forward to possibly running into some grunts.


With thoughts of possibly ending her vacation early, Miku began asking around to see if she could find transport off the island, preferably under the cover of night. It might take her a few hours and some palms may need to be greased to ensure her passage aboard but that was nothing to possibly being booked a passage aboard a marine ship as a prisoner. After an hour Miku struck gold as she had found an old fisherman who was planning to travel to a nearby island for a business trip. She had paid the old man a generous amount  to ensure her passage aboard his humble ship alongside his small crew. Now to pass the time, she thought to herself as she headed back to her tavern. She had grown thirsty and was looking forward to having a few drinks to help make the time pass. Maybe she would be lucky enough to run into a few marines to entertain her at the bar. Nothing like a final brawl and some property destruction as a proper farewell from the Rowdy Rascal after all.

Ryuji was about to jump off and head to his investigation, until Mori, the latest addition to the 45th stopped Ryuji. When asked about the history of the 45th, Ryuji said "I'm doing my own investigation on the island, I won't be joining you or the others on the hunt for this supernova. I know you don't like taking orders so if the commander bothers you about something, just tell him I gave you my full permission to do what's necessary. Just remember, we need the associate alive, not dead." Ryuji turned around and noticed the marines were on standby, along with the commander, it appeared they were waiting on Ryuji's word "Commander, didn't I- nevermind... Well troops, you know what you need to do. We need to find this associate so we can have a lead to hunt one of the supernovas. Those guys have been at large for far too long and we need to put a stop to it, remember... we need this associate alive. Don't kill him or her. Now move out!" all the marines yell out at the same time as they salute "SIR YES SIR!" then as the division of marines start charging forward, he stops Mori. "I have confidence in you, I need to do my own thing but I'll step in if this associate proves to be too much of a challenge alright?"

And with that, Ryuji started to walk on the ramp that was placed on the side of the ship, and walked off to be stopped by a man in a well-dressed suit that he noticed from earlier, he said "I'm assuming you're in charge here?" Ryuji then started to walk along anyway and the man followed along. "Yes, I'm the highest ranking marine on this island currently." the man then said "Okay, I'd like to inform you that this is a neutral island, we aren't interested in any deals with the World Government." Ryuji then looked him in the eye, seriously now and said "I'm not interested in taking over your island, there are two things. One is a supernova, a associate of a supernova is reported to be on the island, and were trying to find him or her. Secondly, there was a recent disappearance of a fellow Rear-Admiral, the same rank I am. You do realize the trouble your authority will be in if we find out you're involved with either, right?" Ryuji then kept walking forward, but the man kept catching up then saying "Please slow down sir! I assure you, were not involved in any malevolent behavior." Ryuji then walked to the entrance of what appeared to be a mansion, he was looking for Intel and the starting place for him was usually the higher classes of an society.

"Good, then you guys have nothing to hide." Ryuji walked through the entrance, thus, his investigation then started here.

When rear-admiral Ryuji had mentioned he would be doing his own separate investigation and not hunting the supernova associate, Mori got quite a bit excited. This meant he would have a lot of free time to do whatever was necessary and to use his own code of justice. But they were to keep the associate alive and not kill him or her. Shaking his head slightly, Mori nodded in agreement. "As you say commander." It was simple, he just wouldn't use force, at least not yet. As he was about to jump down and then get going to the inn he would be staying at he was stopped by one of the other marines. The marine had then turned him back around and had him listen to what Ryuji had to say. Rolling his eyes, Mori shook his head at all these grunts and low powered people.

Finally, they had been dismissed to go about their duties. It was Mori's job to locate the associate. But first, he needed to make sure he had a good place to rest. Walking off of the ship and down the ramp, Mori's eyes scanned for anyone that seemed off. Walking by Ryuji, Mori was allowing his Haki to slowly seep out as his search was already beginning. It helped him do a lot of things, like spot a child that was hiding from his mother in a barrel. Chuckling, Mori walked toward the barrel and then opened it before smiling down at the child. "Hello there young one." As he spoke these words the child's mother came into view and exclaimed her apologies to Mori and her anger to her child. "Oh, it's quite alright ma'am." Mori laughed and then waved at them both as they left. Turning around he walked in the opposite direction. It was obvious he was navy just by his outfit, he had the justice coat on after all.

After walking around the town for a while, Mori had located an inn and paid for a room. He asked that it was left alone while he wasn't there and even asked for the key. He had been promised both and received the key with a smile. Going to the room, Mori placed his suitcase there in front of the bed before getting changed into different clothes. Putting on his gloves and then shirt and pants. He looked at himself in the mirror and chuckled. Yeah, he didn't look like a Marine anymore which would be good for questioning people. Sensing someone at his door and then hearing a knock, Mori smiled and walked to it before listening to the person say where the nearest tavern was. Nodding his head, Mori paid the man a few beli for the information and swiftly left.

Ah, the Smiling Weasel tavern, just the place Miku loved to frequent when she wasn’t getting into fights or running from the authorities. Miku smiled at the sign outside that had a outlandish Weasel with more of a grin than a smile but it was welcoming enough. She entered the saloon and got a few random hails as she had been a regular her for a the past few weeks she has been here. Miku returned their greetings with a small wave of her arm before spotting her usual table being free. It was near the bar and had a clear view of everyone who walked in and out of the establishment. It wasn’t well hidden but she had no reason to really hide on this island. No one seemed to pay much attention to the bounties that occasionally came in with new ships and so she was never identified as a pirate.

Sitting in her favorite seat, Miku raised her arm and yelled at the middle aged man behind the bar. “Oi, bring me the usual and keep them coming. Today’s my last day and I want to remember that I forgot all about this place!” A cheeky smile was on her face as the bartender, Wilfred, simply grumbled a response but anyone who knew him would recognize the response as a positive one. Soon enough one of Wilfred’s younger sons came by her table delivering her drink. “Here you go, miss!” said the child. He couldn’t be older than twelve but he was tall for his age and already passed her in height, then again most people did. The way he smiled at her reminded her of a certain brat she left in charge back home. Now that kid was a real rascal. Miku simply ruffled the taller boys hair before giving him some belli as tip. He was a good kid with a good family.

Miku sat back in her chair as she began to indulge in her drink. It was a little early to start drinking but she figured she would make up for the drinking she wouldn’t be able to do later that night. She supposed she had been lucky enough to be able to stay here so long without anyone coming after her. Maybe the marines showing up was simply a sign that it was time for her to head out once again in search of more trouble. And hopefully some people she could trust to watch her back.

Ryuji came to knock on the door, but the man kept pestering him to stop. "Sir, what is it you're after? you do know this mansion contains records of everyone born here in the town, I doubt you're interested in that." Ryuji then said "That's exactly what I'm after." and the man showed a surprised face, the door was open to find a well-dressed woman with long, flowing blond hair. He came close to a perverted greeting after such an appearance, but he was on business and he knew better to treat such an serious investigation better then that type of behavior. He greeted the woman and she welcomed Ryuji in. She said "Who are you, if I may ask?" before Ryuji could say anything, the man interrupted saying "This is a Rear-Admiral of the marines, I believe his name was Ryujiuk-" "Ryuji, Ryuji Kazama." is what Ryuji said after the misspelling of his name. She showed a civil meeting and said "Pleased to meet you Ryuji, I am Vanessa, my husband owns this mansion." Ryuji face then turns into disappointment. He thought in his head "Husband? maann... that sucks, she's pretty good looking too. Oh well, that's not what I'm here for anyway."

Ryuji then went off ahead into the mansion, to investigate around a bit, when he went back into the main room from where the guy who was pestering him and the woman was, the guy was gone. She said "Is something the matter?" he said "That guy from earlier... where is he?" then she said "Oh, don't worry. I assumed he was pestering you so I sent him off, you're an honored guest here Mr. Rear Admiral, please make yourself at home. If you need something regarding business, my husband will be home soon." Ryuji was after the documents of everyone that was born here, and this husband the woman is married too sounds like an important guy of the town, so it would probably be wise to wait for him to get what Ryuji needs. So he did, he was waiting in the room with the woman for her husband to get home.

There was a quiet moment in the town of Baterilla it seemed. Because when Mori had walked out of tavern, he had sworn he could feel stares. Maybe it was because of what he now looked like. He looked like a punk ready for a fight with his black coat and earring on. Stopping the nearest person, Mori smiled and asked for directions to the nearest tavern. The person informed him that there was only one in the town and showed him exactly where it was. Paying the man a few few beli, Mori chuckled and then walked inside of the tavern.

Instantly his eyes had scanned each and every person within the tavern. A few of them he had noticed from the ship he had just disembarked, but the others seemed to be citizens of Baterilla. His eyes had then landed on the barkeep, smiling he ordered an ale. Once he received it, Mori looked beside him at the female and smiled softly. "Fancy seeing a beautiful lady here. Here I thought Baterilla was just known for it's tropical paradise. If I had known it had someone this beautiful I would have bartered for a ride here years ago."  The way he talked sounded dark and not that typical associated with marines. In fact he looked far from a marine currently.

From the whip on his side to the earrings, Mori had the appearance of a rogue. Shaking his head, Mori continued to speak. "Perhaps I can interest you in some food? Food with Ale is the best thing after all." It was a way to test the waters, see if he still needed to train his ability to be in disguise. If this worked it meant he'd have passed with flying colors, if not well; he'd have to go back to the drawing board to see where it had gone wrong.

click for Mori:

The mug was half empty and Miku could already feel the alcohol warming her up. She wasn't able to hold her drinks very well and was one of the reasons she got into so many bar fights. Alcohol and a fiery temper were a dangerous combination and for some reason it always attracted the wrong type of people. A perfect example was the confident man who had just sat down near Miku. Of course the first words out of his mouth were hollow compliments. Typical man Miku thought to herself with an eye roll. She was content ignoring the man until he offered to buy her a meal with her drink.

Miku’s eyes shifted over to the man and actually gave him a shred of her attention. He was dressed in a rather punkish outfit that she found interesting. On one ear he had an earring dangling and a smirk that matched the ensemble. She gave a smirk of her own and decided to take him up on that offer of his. “Who says chivalry is dead? She asked with a hint of sarcasm before signalling over Wilfred. “Bring me the usual, Wilfred. My new friend here is footing the bill.” Wilfred grumbled an acknowledgement and headed into the kitchen to start the fryer up. Miku loved fried food and never passed an opportunity to get some.

Miku turned her head slightly and gave him a side glance eyeing him up once more. She supposed she could give him a chance to prove he wasn't a complete scumbag like most men. She took a drink from her mug and turned in her seat slightly to face the man next to her. “Name's Miku. And don't get any funny ideas, alright? I'm not afraid to ruin that pretty face of yours.” Miku warned only half joking. Some of the regulars in the bar chuckled as they all knew the short woman meant it as they had seen her deal with overly friendly men before.

Ryuji was patiently waiting in the mansion, waiting for the woman's husband to come home. The woman said "You sure you don't want anything? we could sit down in the rest room." Ryuji nodded, they were waiting quite a bit so he thought it'd be better to just sit down then just stand around. The woman led him to the rest room where there were a couple of drinks on standby and it appeared that there was a waitress. She then send some sort of weird hand signal to the waitress, but he just assumed she was getting a drink for them or something. He wondered about that, as there were already a couple of drinks. "So... I've always wondered, what do high-ranked men like you do in the marines?" Ryuji then answered saying. "Eh... it's not as fun as people imagine it to be, the higher your rank is, the higher expectations are placed on you, and the more responsibility you're given with." then the woman stood up, saying. "Oh? let me guess, you're feeling... stressed? perhaps the drink I sent for will help with that." Ryuji then saw the waitress head back into the room, it was in an exquisite bottle that was see-able, the liquid of the drink has an oddly beautiful pink color.

The waitress poured some with the provided silver cups from the waitress and poured some in Ryuji's cup, he thought it'd be rude to decline an offer like that so he thought nothing of it. He decided to drink it and continued his conversation. "Yeah. As a Rear-Admiral, it's one step away from Vice-Admiral, I know tons of marines who are way stronger then me. I hope to one day maybe become Admir-" he paused as he felt a sudden pain in his chest. He dropped the silver cup and started breathing heavily on the floor, he looked up to the woman with a shocked look, she then said "Hm. Surprised? I suppose you caught a tip of my husband's... "business" and you came to investigate? I'm afraid that won't do. You just drank a sleep potion, any second now your body will just shutdown and go unconscious. I don't know what my husband will do to you, but it's a shame. You have such a pretty face, especially that tattoo which gives you character..." he then fell to the ground, fully unconscious.

He woke up to be stripped of his coat and just to be in his blue shirt and beige-colored pants but no shoes. He was in a dark-room with handcuffs over his hands, he felt weak just from the feel of them and he assumed they were seastone. He tried to walk but his leg was chained to a metal pole to the ground, he was basically locked up in this room. Soon enough, he started to hear footsteps from upstairs, it appears that he was about to be interrogated.

When the lady had presented her name, Akihiko chuckled and then eyed her slightly. Well, The only way he was able to tell her appearance at the moment was because of the face. He assumed this person was a female and would continue to do so until he was corrected. Even if he was corrected, it didn;t matter to him. The quiet of the tavern slowly began to drown out and be replaced by a few more marines and some regular civilians. The slightly uneasy glances he saw from other civilians in the tavern told him that they were not used to the Navy uniform. Then again, not many people were anymore. The navy was content to let bygones be bygones for now, but with the disappearance of a few marines and navy officers, it was getting on a lot of peoples' minds.

That was one of the many different reasons that Akihiko Mori was here with his commander. The other reason was that he found himself getting rather bored at the Southern Marine HQ branch. The third reason was even more simple, Akihiko was...thirsty, thirsty to spill blood. If he didn't see some blood soon he would likely go nuts. It could be his own or someone else's he didn't care he just needed to see it. So as he listened to Miku's reply and warning, Akihiko couldn't help but laugh and then clap her or him, on the shoulder in a friendly way. "Well good on you little one! I'm glad you have such a fiery spirit!" Laughing still, Akihiko then stopped almost immediately when he had spotted one of the marines walking toward them. The man had then placed his hand on Miku's shoulder. Without asking Miku even, which infuriated Akihiko. With a quick motion, Akihiko had grabbed the man's wrist then pulled him toward Akihiko. Having done that he slammed the man's face into the bar before releasing him and watching him fall to the ground stunned and hurt.

"Sorry about that Miss. It seems Marines don't know how to use their manners. Seriously, and I thought I had bad manners." Akihiko scoffed as the marine glared at him before walking away with a bruised ego and bleeding from his nose. It seemed that the Marine people around them didn't want to mess with the guy that sat next to Miku. For good reason too, it was almost as if he had a black aura around him when really it was just his smile as he watched for Miku's reaction.

Miku was not thrilled when she heard the over confident man address her as ‘little one’ instead of her name. His hand clapping her shoulder only added to her irritation and a dangerous look began to form in her eyes. She literally told him to watch himself and suddenly thinks it’s okay to touch her? Before she could do anything another man had decided that it was ‘touch Miku’ day and placed his and on her shoulder as well and she visibly tensed up. The look in her eyes was deadly and her fist was clenched with barely contained rage. Luckily her new drinking buddy moved before she could and had removed the offenders arm forcibly. When she turned to look who the bastard was her fury raged as it turned out to be a marine. The fury was blazing in her eyes and she was only to glad to see her blonde compatriot get rid of the trash quickly.

Miku turned back around and quickly downed her drink and ordered another one loudly. If marines were going to start filling the place she would need a few more drinks to give her enough willpower to either ignore them or enough sympathy for starting a fight. The man beside her still hadn’t introduced himself but was at least equally disgusted by that pigs display. She calmed down slightly and even had some semblance of amusement at his self deprecating comment. Miku cared little for manners and found the man to quickly make his way into her good graces. Anyone who could teach a marine his place was a good person in her books.

“No kidding. Damn marines think they can do whatever they want. It’s absolutely disgusting. They claim to keep order and protect the weak but all they do is take advantage of the weak and ignore those who need them unless it’s bloody convenient.” At this point Miku had another drink in her hand was pounding it back as her own words were riling her up. “Thank’s for dealing with that bastard. If you hadn’t his teeth would be on the ground. Not that that’s a problem, but I doubt his buddies woulda let me walk away after humiliating their ‘honor’. Pigs, all of them.” Miku finished this sentence by taking another large swig from her drink. Her face was beginning to turn red as the alcohol seemed to affect her quickly.

Ryuji had blacked out before he could even see the men that came downstairs, he suddenly woke up however to find a man with a set of torture tools and a man carrying a bucket that had water in it, he must've used it to splash Ryuji awake. He already felt some limbs being weak, he didn't know whether or it was because of the water or if the torture already began. The man in the suit walked up, saying "Why are you here? did you get a tip about our bosses business?" Ryuji said. "No? I was on other business. A disappearance of a high-ranked marine, his so-called "murderer" is apparently born here." the man then nodded, it looked like he knew what was going on now. "I see, so this is just a misunderstanding... still, I can't let you free after capturing you like this, can we?" then they injected some sort of drugs into Ryuji, soon after he fell unconscious.

He woke up to a waitress who kept shaking him to wake up, she showed to have an extremely worried face but when Ryuji came around to, she said. "Hey, hey! are you awake? listen, I can get you out of these seastones... but only if you promise I'm not arrested in the process. I took this job because I needed the money, but if the world government is aware of my boss's activities, I don't want to be caught in the process." Ryuji still felt weak from the drugs, but he nodded to her request, she showed a sign of relief on her face, then she said "Thank you! I'll be back when the time is right and with the keys, just sit tight for now okay?" and he did, he waited over time and as he waited, the effects of the drugs started to wear off. He heard footsteps coming down the stairs and saw the waitress again, carrying keys to the handcuffs. She sat down next to Ryuji and started trying one key after another, they started to hear footsteps from upstairs and Ryuji urged the waitress to hurry. As they walked in and saw what the waitress was doing, Ryuji was finally free. Ryuji quickly transformed into his hybrid form and as one of the men tried to punch Ryuji, he gave him a Wing Slap, which smashed him against the wall. He then jumped over to the second guy and bit him on the neck with his beak, using Beak Bite. He then went back into his normal form and saw that the waitress was scared. She asked, "What are you?"

Ryuji replied, saying "A devil fruit user. Run along now, you wouldn't want to get involved with what happens next." Ryuji ripped off the metal chain that was attached to his leg, since he wasn't weakened by seastone anymore, he then ran up to the stairs and from what rooms he remembered of the mansion, he ran into the guest room to find the woman from earlier that drugged him, and the husband. They both dropped their drink and were surprised to see Ryuji. Ryuji said "Hey there, am I late for dinner?" the husband shook his head, saying "It's still the afternoon." oh well, there goes that one-liner. Ryuji then said "Whatever, from what I heard so far, apparently you're doing something illegal? mind opening up on that? it might have something to do with my investigation."

Technique's Used: 2:

"Well miss, sometimes it takes a little push in the right direction to make Marines perform as they should. In an example, you see how well behaved they are now that I dealt with that pig of a man?" Aki laughed as his eyes lit up with mischief. He was definitely not the normal sort of person one would meet in a regular city or town. Quietly the young man began to eat and drink a bit more before giving Miku his undivided attention once more. "I beg pardon, it seems I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Akihiko Mori." He had then offered her his hand in a greeting before continuing on with the conversation. "And pray tell me miss Miku....what brings you to this quaint town? Because a lady....or man; and if you are a man then I apologize for calling you a woman, must have a small reason to visit."

It was moments like these where Akihiko tested the waters for danger or adventure. So far he could only sense adventure, a very...lucrative adventure if this was a female. There was also the small fact that most of the marines in the building were now watching them. It seemed that Akihiko had stumbled upon a very interesting prize. All of this was not conveyed through his smile; it was as a matter of fact still that disarming pleasant smile. Then there was one of the more well-known marines that had walked up to the counter and ordered an ale while dropping a few key phrases; albeit it was only phrased in a way that marines would know and pick up on, that meant the on beside Akihiko was not what she seemed. Either way, Akihiko was quite intrigued by the female beside him. If she was what the others thought she was, then Akihiko had a duty to perform, but for now, he would simply allow their conversation to be just that. A conversation.

When she had spoken about how she distrusted Marines, Akihiko couldn't help but laugh aloud. "My goodness, and I thought I had a problem with them. I must admit, you have quite the tongue on you. If there was any marine in here that would be offended I am sure that they would have grabbed you just now!" Akihiko was semi-correct, several of the marines in the tavern seemed to have clenched fists and scowls in their general direction. But, none of them acted. They all seemed to fear Akihiko already even if he just arrived. "But I must correct you on a bit about Marines, you see I have met a few that have deserved some amount of respect, though I still dislike the lot of them. Now tell me, if you had the choice of either joining them or let's say...being forced to Ennis Lobby for no apparent reason, which would you decide upon? Preferably I would pick Enis Lobby, but something tells me they could be quite useful to be allied with."

Akihiko then rubbed his chin as he spun in the stool chair and then stopped himself by slamming his hand on the counter top. "I know! Why don;t we both join the marines!?! We could make their lives a living hell!" He laughed, no one could tell if he was serious or not at this point.

A third drink was served to Miku as she had just finished her second right after her rant about how horrible marines were. She was obviously intoxicated at this point since her stature made her alcohol tolerance incredibly low. She half listened to Blonde boy as she drank her ale. The burn was satisfying and she noticed a plate of various fried foods slide in front of her. She shot Wilfred a smirk and raised her mug to him. He simply grumbled and returned to washing some mugs behind the bar. The two had just had a whole silent exchange without anyone realizing it in that short time. She then turned back to Blonde boy as he finally gave himself a name.

“Finally a name! You sure know how to keep a girl waiting, Akihiko.” She said rather loudly without realizing. It wasn’t anything new as the bar filled up so did the noise levels in general. A few marines went up to the bar to order and were very noisy in their conversations. Obnoxiously loud. Damn, marines. She grit her teeth and took another swig, they weren’t bugging her she wouldn’t bug them. Though Akihiko said something that certainly ruined what was left of her mood. She turned to him with rage in her eyes as he questioned her gender. Had he not heard her voice? It was a woman’s voice. Had he not seen her face? It was a woman’s face. He would NEVER see her body as she would never allow such a scumbag near her. She took another long gulp to distract herself as she let the Blonde idiot keep digging himself deeper.

Oh, he knew a few respectable marines did he? So just because he knew a few good marines all marines must be good, eh? Even she with her hatred of marines knew not all of them were bastards. It was the corrupt one’s that got under her skin. Then the conversation took a strange turn, why was he talking about joining marines or being imprisoned at Ennis Lobby? A gut feeling started to warn her something was wrong but in her inebriated she wasn’t sure what it was. The he suddenly spun in his chair and slammed his hand on the counter causing her to jump as the loud noise was unexpected. Did he just say what she thought he said? Join the marines? Her? She would rather die in front of a firing squad then join the corrupt marine corps.

“You just love to talk and talk and talk, don’t you?” Miku stood up quickly and turned to him with unrestrained rage in her eyes. “So you know a few marines deserving of honor? Let me tell YOU a story about the marines I’ve met.” She stood up on the bar and looked over the entire crowd of marines. “No, I got a story for all of you! Let me tell you why I don’t like you damn marines!” She bent down to snatch her drink and chugged it all down before dropping to mug near the Blonde Idiot.

“Let me tell you about a little island that everyone pretends doesn’t exist. It’s my home mind you. See, I was born on the island of Centauria. Really nice place. It’s the most poor island in all of South Blue, after all. You see it’s overrun with gangs, poverty, homelessness, disease, and children with no homes or parents. You see, that was me! I grew up on the streets, fighting just to survive every day. Can any of you claim the same? Well, let me tell you, I had no caregiver for the first few years of my life until a kind woman took me in. She raised me, taught me to read, and loved me. But that’s when some marines visited the island. Yes, the heroes arrived. The marines! Here to save us from the rampant gangs and violence. No. They were sick. They all had some disease and came out our island and took the little medicine we had for themselves and left. Gone. But they left us a gift! Their illness!”

At this Miku swooped down and took some strangers drink and took a swig from it. “So that’s how the only woman who cared for me died. A slow, painful, death. But it isn’t over. I went back to the street and learned how to fend for myself. See, most of you may not know this, but I’m a woman! If the voice didn’t give it away, ya idiots! See, when men are desperate, lonely, and desolate they don’t see children and women as separate. So I had to learn to defend myself. I’ll let you imagine why.” She even threw in a wink at this. “So, I grew up, got a small group of kids that I took care of like I was taken care of. They all called me big sis! But our wonderful lil life was shattered by, guess what, MARINES!” Miku downed her stolen drink and tossed it into the crowd.

“So, these marines were actually sent to help us. Wipe out the gangs and restore order. But guess what, kids started to disappear instead. First it was rumors. Then one of mine got taken. So what does any good sister do? I look for him. And guess what I find? Marines. Kidnapping children. And what for? To save them? Give em good homes? No. To sell them to some mad doctor creating the next plague to wipe out the island! My home! So I did what anyone woulda done. I fought for his life. He lost his eye because of that madman…” At this a single tear fell down Miku’s face as the memory of what she had to do to save Jacob came back to her. “So there you have it, Akihiko. Those are the marine’s I’ve met. How do they compare to yours? They deserve your respect as well?!” This was shouted directly into his face as she waited for his response. Miku’s face was red with anger and her breath smelled heavily of alcohol.

The husband was about to explain himself to Ryuji, but the woman stopped him saying "No, don't! this is the last person you want to tell!" but then he continued on "Shut up! there's not much we can do... my operation involves capturing people, people who are either lonely or aren't very popular. We capture them and give them new identities, so people are none the wiser, and it's not like they were to be missed in the first place, then we sell them towards slavery." Ryuji's face instantly took a serious turn after the mention of slavery. The man showed fear in his eyes, he said "What's wrong?" the woman said "The guards checked him earlier when he was captured... apparently he has the brand of a slave..." the husband turned around, he was then cowering and shaking. "Ser... seriousl... no no no no... he used to be a slave?! you'll know what he'll do to-"

Before anything else was said, Ryuji seemed to be lightning fast and pushed the man against the wall, with his arm pushing against his neck. He had trouble breathing. Ryuji kept pushing pressure on his hold but then stopped at one point, walking back and the man fell to the ground, coughing and catching his breath. Ryuji instantly ticked at the mention of slavery, as he used to be a slave himself. It'd ruin his mission however if he were to kill this man, he needed information. "Tell me... the pirate... the pirate who claimed the kill against Chuck Newriss, the missing Rear-Admiral. Does he exist?!" he yelled. Ryuji then brought out a rolled poster and then unrolled it to show it to the couple.



The man then showed a worried face, but then answered saying "No... that man doesn't exist, we created fake documents for his identity in this town to convince those searching his origins that he existed in the first place, but he really doesn't. We didn't create the bounty however, I was just ordered to create the fake identity. From what I heard of the operation, some pirates were paid to wreck havoc in the name of this fake identity, hence to make the bounty seem legitimate, and to tie crime to a name that doesn't actually exist." Ryuji then took and understand everything, the man wasn't really responsible, he was ordered by someone, possibly from the marines to create a false identity. He then asked the man "Two questions... one, who ordered you to make this fake identity? and two, where are these pirates who created havoc to place bounty on that name?" the man was sweating, appearing to be scared of what came next but he answered still, "I wasn't given a name, I just know that it was somebody from the World Government. He said that if I didn't create the identity, my operation would've been exposed and I would be sent to Impel Down, and the pirates who were hired for that job are on Karate Island, from what I hear, they're still there to this day." 

Ryuji then picked up the man on his shoulder, he started to struggle and said "Oi, oi! what the hell are you-" Ryuji placed him down and gave him a hard punch in the stomach, he was instantly knocked out and Ryuji put him back on his shoulder, the woman was locked in place, appearing scared for what happened next. Ryuji brought out his den-den mushi and called a nearby marine squad. "Hey, this is Rear-Admiral Ryuji. I've discovered a slave operation ring up at the mansion, there is a waitress who's innocent, a woman with blond hair who's involved and the man responsible for it all, I'm carrying him on my shoulders. I want you guys to lock down the mansion and search for any captives and free them. Send any involved in the operation to the ship and in the cell section." he then closed the den-den mushi call. It was up to the marine squad to wrap up this operation, but the main head of it all was knocked out on Ryuji's shoulders, Ryuji was on his way to the marine ship to personally make sure the guy didn't run away or somehow get away for any reason, though it was impossible since he is out cold on Ryuji's shoulder.

Akihiko listened to the torrent that spewed from Miku's mouth. Each word he could smell the alcohol and hear the anger behind as well as the hurt and perhaps scared reactions. Her life had definitely not been an easy one the poor thing. Where she had lived she had seen the bad side of the Marines and it was typical that someone with such an experience as Miku's had reservations against them. As he listened, his own anger slowly came to its own boil, but not at Miku for being so rude. No, it was the scientist that had created this disease, then also the fact that her island had been one he was trying to get help to as of recently. How could someone actually target these people, they weren't just toys. No, they were people and they had emotions, feelings, and goals as well. Then he heard how her adoptive mother had passed away due to this illness.

Sighing slightly at this, he knew that what he had said earlier only increased her anger now. But, was it really past the point of no return? Akihiko didn't know just yet, you see he could continue to talk to her about these situations and how her life had been so miserable it was no wonder she hated marines and the navy. Then she went on how her...life had been tormented by other men, by the people she thought were friends. It was a rough time for her, but she learned how to defend herself, she learned how to make use of herself in almost every way one would have to. Then, her life had taken an interesting turn, she had created a family of sorts; of children. Smiling at this, Akihiko's smile slightly brightened but then began to fail as she went on about how kids were being taken, being used to further the disease. Her own family had been affected by these ignorant marines, this assinine scientist, and this cruel worlds.

Taking in a breath as her story slowly came to an end, Akihiko looked into her eyes, the smile was gone, replaced by sympathy and a frown. His hand reached out to touch her's but it stopped just short of it and then, he sighed. He had to think of a response to all of this, to show her that there was something past all of this. scratching the back of his head and just listening to the silence, Akihiko was bewildered, to say the least.Pulling his hand back to his own person he took a breath and then finally decided to speak about this situation. "Miku....what you have seen, gone through, everything that has happened to you in your life....it's too much. No single person should have to deal with that, should....live through that. I...I am both impressed and frightened by it. You somehow lived. You crawled, bit, fought and shoved your way out of that situation. I...I have no words other than this. Miku, whatever you desire...however much help you need, I will lend my hand. You see...I've been tracking down a certain scientist that was responsible for the Massacre at the island of Yorland in the eastern blues. This wasn't a lie, he was tracking this scientist down."

Pausing he had then heard movement behind him from one of his own men. Hearing the movement and then the man's den-den mushi ring out, he heard the relayed order about a slave ring. Shaking his head, Akihiko then looked at Miku. "May I ask you a question? How would you like to help us free some slaves? I simply ask that you...watch how some of these marines work, I know a few of them. But, if you do not feel like working beside them, then perhaps it can be just us two that go and help the people that are enslaved within the mansion?" This was the hardest thing he would have to do, admit he was a Marine, but so far he didn't have to. It simply meant he knew them and that he wanted her to give them a fighting chance, to see the good they could do. The good they could all do together.

Miku was seeing red and her eyes did notice the hand that was slowly making its way from Akihiko’s side to her own hand. Her hands clenched into fists as she began to let out a small growl of rage until it stopped in its movements and actually moved back to its original position. The woman was still raging but now she couldn’t start another fight without a good reason. Then the blonde man began to talk to her. She listened to him and didn’t know how to react to his words. It was the first time she had told anyone her whole story like this. She wasn’t one to reveal so much of herself to a stranger. Hell, she was usually the one who either pushed people away or needled them with endless questions herself. The rage that was boiling over was slowly cooling to a simmer as she continued to listen to Akihiko. He was right. She hadn’t deserved any of that. None of the children on that island did. They all had to fight to survive in their own way. Now Miku was simply lashing out at the world as she fulfilled her dream of seeing the world at the same time.

Another tear fell, then another, she couldn’t believe this man was bringing her to tears. No, he had nothing to do with this. It was the alcohol, or at least that’s what she told herself in that moment. She leaned back and rubbed her eyes with her sleeves and bumped her own forehead with her hidden vambraces. Hopefully they didn’t notice. She gently and carefully rubbed her eyes with the sleeves and considered his offer of aid. She had been looking for a people to watch her back after all. No one had ever offered her aid like this so openly. This guy was annoying and an ass in her opinion, but he wasn’t a complete bastard. He actually listened to her drunken rant without interrupting and responded calmly to her suddenly getting in his face. She felt a hot rush of shame hit her as she realized she was still standing on the bar. She let herself down slowly and clumsily beside Akihiko and slowly nodded her head. “Sure. Whatever. Let’s see if marines can do something right then. I got nothing better to do. But after this I have a ship to catch.” She looked over her shoulder at Akihiko who was behind her. “Though, maybe I can consider your offer of help until that time comes.”

Miku hadn’t noticed the use of “us” by Akihiko as she was still heavily inebriated and merely assumed the two would follow the marines to wherever they were heading. She marched up to the marine who had received the orders via den-den mushi and looked up at him with slightly damp and red eyes that were full of rage upon looking at him. “Well, lead the way. Prove that you deserve the respect you claim to deserve from me.” She then looked over at Akihiko and motioned for him to lead the way. Miku refused to walk beside marines but Akihiko would be okay to walk besides. Leave it to a random man to defend the honor of marines instead of the actual marines themselves. Pathetic. As she looked at Akihiko for longer her feelings of irritation and rage were fading as she kept thinking about the surprisingly kind and sympathetic words he shared with her. Maybe all men weren't so bad after all.

First rolls are for the NPC boss that Ryuji Kazama is fighting, the husband, which is MT-LT-LT-UT

Second rolls are for Ryuji Kazama when he's fighting the husband, which is HT-LT-UT

Ryuji Kazama Stats(Hybrid Form):

Husband Stats:

The member 'Ryuji Kazama' has done the following action : Dices roll

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#1 'Reflex Check' : 4, 17, 7, 18

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#2 'Reflex Check' : 9, 6, 4