-
The Fugu Pirates
-
“Who said I was useless?” Carina asked cheekily, before dragging the bag of loot down into the ship’s hold and stashing her smuggled book somewhere hidden in her quarters while Raphael started a more thorough investigation of the ship. When he came back, they had already set sail to the nearest island. She watched the navy ships warily, but it seems like they weren’t giving any chase, and their brig slipped right past them.
Carina followed a little ways behind Raphael taking her time in really looking around the city. The wanted poster was a little worrying. Hopefully, nobody on the island would recognize Raphael. It’s not that she was worried about having to fight their way off, but it would be a shame to have to wreck the town before getting their goods sold. The wanted poster picture had a pretty detailed portrait of Raphael, but luckily the poster failed to mention his immense size. There were a variety of other wanted posters plastered on the walls, and she quickly took them all to peruse later in search for a big-name pirate to take down. A so-called gang of “Shadow Pirates” seemed to be called to the front of marine attention with Raphael close behind. To Carina’ surprise, she had her own wanted poster. The drawing was the same one she had to sit for upon joining up with the marines and featured her still in the uniform. Her eyes widened at her bounty listed. 150 Beri!!?
She stashed the papers in the knapsack she liked to wear when exploring in the town, and rushed over to the nearest vendor, a food merchant. “Hey! Hey, mister! What can I buy for 150 Beri?” The man gave her a strange look and then began searching through his wares before finally holding up a stick of blue colored rock-candy. Carina gave him an unamused look. “Really? This is it?” The man huffed, losing his patience with the impudent girl. “Yes, now are you going to pay up or run back home, kid?” Carina flushed red with anger and hurriedly handed over the money from the coin pouch she looted from the pirates and snatched the stick out of his hand. She stomped angrily back to Raphael, munching furiously on the candy and continued to look at the different stall-owners.
On the island, Carina started looking for jewelry store or some kind of weapons merchant to fence their stolen good off on. One stall which caught her attention was that of an elderly, pot-bellied man shouting at pedestrians to buy a “nice present to impress a lady”, and displayed a variety of silver and copper pendants and earrings. Carina tugged at the corner of Raphael’s shirt to get his attention, and gave a pointed glance towards the jewelry vendor. “I think I’ll be able to sell some of the gems and accessories I picked up over there. Can you handle finding someone to buy the pistols?”
-
-Raphael took the small box that housed the twin pistols as he walked past the stall that she was selling the gems. He reached it before her so he bent down to speak to the man who she was about to sell to”try and cheap her out on her money and ill break you”. He left the man wide eyed and bright red as Carina came up to sell her bag of jewelry. He looked around until he spotted a rifle and sword cross armed like a jolly roger. He walked over to it and pushed the door open having to duck way down to get inside luckily the roof of the room was higher. He walked over to the man seeing all the fire wares the man had “He ran his hand along a few fine swords and rifles and he saw something that caught his eye it was the three swords of Zoro in a case. How could this man have them why didn’t his son have his swords, Raphael knew about Jeht as they had both grown up on dawn island just like King Luffy. He placed the pistols down and the man opened the box to be shocked by the find. He opened up a book and showed they were worth 50,000 berries together as they belonged to Admiral.
Raphael pointed at the blades”ill take half of that and those swords, It in your best interest to accept the deal because those blades will be mine”. The man saw the look of truth in his eyes so he pulled down the three blades opening the case and then looking up to him the man spoke”These blades have name Shuusui,Kitetsu III, Ichimonji they are suppose to sell for four hundred berry each but something tells me you will take them for free if I tell you no so I will give to you but you must promise if you ever meet the true owner of these blades to give them to the demon of the New world”. Raphael took them and placed the three blades on his hip and walked back to Carina knowing she probably would know what they were but he had no plan of telling her as he handed her the 25,000 berries”time for something to eat”.
They walked past a group of men that did know the blades and planned to stalk them back to there ship to kill and steal the three blades no matter how big he was.-
-
“Excellent,” Carina exclaimed at the announcement of dinner time. Strolling along the streets, as the sun began to sink under the town’s tiled roofs, she looked for a restaurant and upon finding one that had no line and looked to be serving decent food she pranced over and secured them a table for two against one of back walls of the establishment. A waiter showed up with two glasses of water and black leather bounded menus for the both of them, looking a little nervous around the oversized man with three swords. The girl quickly scanned through the list of items choosing a dish with plenty of roast vegetables and noodles before snapping shut the small booklet and grinning at Raphael.
“I got a pretty good deal from the jewelry guy today. I think the stuff was actually worth only about 10,000 but I wheedled him out of twice that amount!” The pirate girl grinned at the memory of the vendor dripping with nervous sweat as she haggled him out of his precious gold coins. “So, what’s with the swords? Are you a swordsman too?” Carina leaned around her seat, almost slipping out entirely to get a better look at the three sheaths on Raphael’s hip. She noticed the intricate pattern on the hilt of the brilliant white sheath. “Hey, those look like really high quality copies of the Master’s swords. They even copied his Meito? That must take some skill! Good eye!” At this point, the waiter came back to take both of their orders.
Meanwhile, a few rough looking men swaggered into the restaurant taking a seat in one of the corners. One blonde-haired man with a ragged scar across his nose made sure to constantly keep an eye on the swords at Raphael’s hip. Their remaining companions had already hidden themselves away on the duo’s ship, ready to spring an ambush.
-
-Raphael smiled as she found a seat and he sat down across from her opening up the menu and finding a rack of ribs which he ordered. He smiled as she noticed the blades and his smile only got bigger when she realized what they were”no im not a swordsman as it is but maybe in time ill learn but for now lets say these blades are under lock and key until we find the man I call brother and the rest of the world call the Red King, These are in fact the swords of the master and If you haven’t realized we have someone tailing us already”.
He waited for there food while he scoped out the men that was watching them and he turned his gaze right to the man with the scar and he smiled showing his pointed fanged teeth he had adopted from his father. The mans eyes opened in shock knowing he had been seen. Raphael then turned back and ate his food knowing he was being watched made him smile. He loved the taste of this sauce wondering what went into it and as he finished it he waited for the male to return and laid down the check so he threw up a couple of coins as they walked by the man that was watching them he spoke openly”follow me if you dare and die by the blades of the master”. He turned to his captain with a smile as they made there way towards the ship.-
-
Carina’s eyes widened when Raphael told her the swords were the genuine article as opposed to well crafted copies. No wonder they were being followed. Even without being attached to the name of the greatest swordsman ever, just one of the legendary swords could probably sell for millions of berries. She nervously continued eating after Raphael taunted their stalker. Although higher-caliber enemies would pursue them for the swords, the main problem was location. If they decided to attack now in the crowded restaurant there would be little room for her to user her poison abilities without accidentally hitting the other customers or Raphael.
Once they finished their meal, they headed back towards the ship. The sun was just sinking beneath the waves on the horizon and the sky was rapidly becoming dark. They had just made it back to the docks when they saw a large group of thugs and hoodlums milling about around their ship. There were about ten on the docks, and some were brandishing lit torches. Carina noticed the rank smell of some chemical wafting about in the air coming from the ship. She bit her lip trying to place the exact smell but noted the slightly oily sheen glossing the deck of the ship. As soon as the duo became visible, the thugs grinned evilly. The man stalking them in the restaurant calmly caught up to them from behind. “Don’t move,” he hissed in a grimy voice, “We’ve got three rifles trained on each of you,” he threatened with a nod towards his marksmen flunkies crouched on the tiled roof of the nearby warehouse and ship garage with their guns aimed at the pirates. “So don’t try anything tricky. Hand over the swords now or else we’ll blow your heads off. Cooperate and we’ll only burn your ship. Can’t have you two chasing after us once we’re gone.”
Carina stared blankly ahead at the thug threatening them, her gaze seeing right through him as though she were shell-shocked. She was concentrating on silently and subtly emitting a toxic yet colorless gas from her body and directing it towards the riflemen on the roof to choke and blind them. Since she couldn’t physically see where her poison was, the act took more effort to control than her normal purple colored poison mixture.
-
-Raphael looked around himself to see all the thugs and sighed as he the men with the torches and knew instantly they coated his ship”I knew you guys didn’t have brains but now your selling your heads to us on a platter, your fighting the most dangerous fruit user that has sailed the sea and a fishman with the power of the lost lord Arlong”. The men around them shivered hearing the name Arlong, even though he was long dead the warriors of the fishman pirates were still at large and the Marines never gave chase to find them. The men on the roof seemed to begin coughing and one rolled off the roof when he tried to wipe his eyes. The other men looked to him and yelled to see if he was ok but it was enough time for him to run and jump past the men with the and kicking there ship out to water and out of the reach of the fire. He bounced back from his kick right between all of the men who had been waiting for them.
He smiled as he drew the white sword”did any of you know the Zoro had no devil fruit but could easily cut a brig in half imagine what a fishman that’s ten times the strength of a human can do with such a blade as this”. He swung the blade cutting off the arm of one of the men who had threatened to burn there ship as he smiled. He then used his free hand to pick up another of the thugs by the throat and throw him in the water. He made his way back to his captain not wanting to leave her in the open to get shot. He smiled as he had a thought”time for you to get target practice with those bubbles of yours”. He stood behind her planning to block any sword or bullets that they tried to send at them.-
-
Carina grinned as her first mate threatened the thugs. When he put it like that, they were actually pretty scary! “Haha! Yeah! I’m the most dangerous!” She gleefully coated herself in a thick layer of viscous purple poison and joined the fray as Raphael took advantage of her little distraction to devastate the group of thugs. Turning her attention to where the thugs crowded together to surge upon them en masse, Carina took in a deep breath and began using her “Doku Doku No Chloroform Ball” attack to stop the rush in their tracks. The small purple bubble hit the leading outlaw and popped, spreading toxic gas throughout the whole group. The thugs taking the brunt of the blast promptly fell to the ground unconscious while those behind them tripped over the fallen bodies and then screamed about the burns appearing on their exposed face and arms before succumbing to the poison as well. After this fiasco, the thugs quickly scattered away from the group, taking pot-shots and making sure not to stand too close to one another but now no longer able to attempt to overwhelm the pirates by sheer numbers.
More bubbles of noxious gas fired at the dispersed pirates, and a few more got taken down as Carina’s accuracy started to improve. One thug donning a red bandanna fired a volley of bullets at Raphael and Carina and then stood his ground as the Devil Fruit user promptly targeted him. As soon as he saw the bubble coming towards him, he hurled himself to one side to dodge the attack. The expression on the girl’s face furrowed for a moment as she then cocked her head to the side, causing the bubble to turn and follow the thug. He scrambled to his feet and began to flee the dock, but the bubble continued to track his movements. Carina giggled with amusement watching the older man scurry around before turning to another thug and continuing her assault.
“Are you doing okay, Raphael?” She asked her first-mate, slightly concerned about the bullets. By now there were only a small handful of thugs and the leader. A few more turned tail and fled the combat, their boots stomping through the dark alleyways. Carina casually blew a number of bubbles to pursue the cowardly thugs and then turned to the remaining thug leader with his three guards: muscle-heads each wielding a rifle and enormous clubbing weapons embedded with vicious steel spikes. “Time for something flashy, eh? Do you want to do the honors or should I?” The captain asked Raphael with a cheeky grin.
-
-Raphael had stopped running and attacking as he watched her move the bubbles seemingly effortlessly to chase the man with the red bandanna but once he was down Raphael returned to fight spinning the white blade in his hand to slice the limbs from the men dumb enough to stand in his way. He”Im fine just a few scratches here or these from passing bullets”. His skin could stop a bullet easy but a passing bullet passed with enough speed that if it only touched a small enough surface it could cut him. He turned to her and turned his head”you go ahead and take your shot, the captain should try and get a bigger bounty then her first mate”.-
-
“So that the pirate hunters come after me first?” Carina teased, even though she was pretty unconcerned about becoming a target for the World Government. She would defend her crew regardless of who attacked them, but was it cowardly to want to avoid the trouble she could? A sigh escaped her lips, “Well, I guess no one will join my crew until I get a real bounty anyways. Here I go.” The thugs in question growled angrily, “Don’t think we’re just going to lie down and take it, girlie!” They charged her with weapons raised and ready. Carina raised her arms in anticipation dripping gobs of purple noxious ooze at her feet. Once the thugs got in range she made the poison surge forward in an enormous tidal wave of poison. Her enemies fired their firearms futilely at the tidal wave; however the bullets became absorbed and suspended within the viscous liquid.
The young captain gave a toothy grin as the fluid washed over the three guards flooding them with a painful, paralyzing neurotoxin. The thug leader’s face dropped as he saw the sheer ease with which the young lady decimated his guards. “Now hold on for a second, maybe we can work things out.” The leader backed away cautiously, while stealthily reaching for a throwing knife kept in his boot. His large feet made a soft splashing noise as he stepped in a puddle of poisonous goo. “What the-” A glance down at his feet showed that he was completely surrounded by poison. Carina’s grin widened as she flicked hand at the thug leader. The poison settling within the cracks of the floorboards of the dock surged into the sky and then covered the the leader, slamming him down onto the hard ground while seeping into his system by coating his nose and seeping in through his mouth. His legs and arms flailed about as the thug began to have a series of spasms on the ground before falling unconscious.
Carina grinned, “And this round goes to….us!” She turned to Raphael with a triumphant look of victory, ” Hey, we should create a team name! Something awesome so you don’t have to explain who we are to idiots like these all the time. I mean, wow. Those guys really sucked, do you think they have anything interesting on them?” The girl prodded one comatose body with the tip of her boot, listening for any jingling of coins in his pocket. “Also, let’s get out of town in case someone heard the noise!”
-
-Raphael looked at the men kicking one into the water that seemed younger so he would drown to death instead of dieing slowly of the poison. He felt it was only right before he turned to look around the area”nah these guys are broke they would have ran for there lives if they had the money to get to there next meal instead of fighting us”.
He handed her his new swords before he jumped in the water and stirred the boat back to dock so she could climb aboard without having to touch the water. He threw out a bridge for her to climb across”Im not sure what to call ourselves as we need something to strike fear in more then thugs but the warlords and kings of the sea along with the wet dog that call themselves marines”.
He turned the ship back to open water as people began to look over the bodies as he shouted out”do not touch those bodies, or you’ll end up like them”. He took his swords back and looked at them sighing knowing if he used them they would end up broken or stolen so he took them down to a locker in the kitchen and stashed them there a place no one would look. He then walked back up stairs whipping his hands on his pants before pulling off the wardrobe he had put on earlier. He looked to her”well when you think of a name will make a flag and then paints the sails but first I think we need to get a few new people to work with us before we leave Lougetown.”-
-
Carina quirked an eyebrow as Raphael kicked one of the thugs into the water before grimacing. “Aww, that’s unfortunate. We won fair and square, the least they could do is give us something.” She ceased prodding the unconscious thug and rose to her feet, stretching nonchalantly before accepting the swords. The lass held them carefully, taking the time to properly examine the glossy lacquered designs on the sheathes of the sword. The swords really would fetch a lot of money on the black market, but the likelihood of getting stabbed in the back seemed astronomically high. Unless you were a master swordsman, the fame and legacy surrounding the blades made them more trouble than they were worth. “I wonder who they were planning on fencing this to, ” she wondered out loud before noticing that Raphael had towed the ship back.
Carina climbed back onto the ship and handed over the swords to Raphael before hearing a commotion and several shouts, prompting her to rush to the railing in order to watch as the small island town began to grow smaller and smaller away. A small crowd milled about the scene of the fight murmuring nervously at the still forms of the the thugs. She snapped her fingers so that any remaining traces of her liquid poison disappeared. She wouldn’t want the civilians slipping in it after-all. Raphael began shouting at them to avoid getting contaminated causing the townsfolk to stand back and nervously run to fetch the village’s doctors and law enforcement.
The pirate captain quickly lost interest and grabbed an apple from one of the trees and munched into it thoughtfully as she considered a name for her crew of 1. It had to be a good name and preferably something acknowledging her first-mate since it might only be them for a while. She pondered the conundrum for a while before going over to her bags and finding the scrap of black cloth she had purchased. The King’s crew had been named by marines describing their Jolly Roger, right? Using a basic white fabric paint, she traced out the outline of a pirate skull. Carina stared at the skull wondering what decorations to paint on next. Shit, she really did need to come up with a name before they could be proper pirates.
Another huff, and Carina put the flag in process on hold as she hopped onto one of the stairs’ railing and took another bite out of her sweet apple, making sure to lick up every drop of sugary juice. When her first mate emerged, she agreed with his suggestion to recruit some more pirates. “Alright, let’s go to a new town and find some new shipmates. We could use some more hands so you don’t have to run the whole ship. Also,” the girl began to count on her fingers, “we could use a navigator and a shipwright as well.”
Carina consulted the map, “Well, let’s NOT come back to this island any time soon… Hmn, we could still go recruiting around these northern islands. The King’s navigator came from Cocoyashi, maybe we’ll get lucky and find one for ourselves! Or at least get some good equipment. I bet the town’s gone nuts for navigating! ” The girl winced as soon as she finished her musing as she remembered her first mate’s history. “Erm, if you have… bad history there that you don’t want to revisit I’ll understand that too. It’s out of our way and it’ll take some time but we could try recruiting around the Organ Islands instead.” While she really wanted to go to the historic town, Carina did not want to be the type of captain to pressure her crew to do something without a very good reason.
-
-Raphael looked to her as he took his own apple from a tree and as he went to take a small bite nearly bit it in two when she mentioned his home town. Old scars came back to the surface”no I feel your correct saying we should head to Cocoyashi village as were more lucky to find one there compared to anywhere else before entering the grand line.” He spun the wheel and they began to head to his home town as he thought on it he began to speak from history more then his view”After the fall of my father and the crooked Marines that were working with him they turned Arlong park into the Mayors home who now is the son of the man who protected Nami and her family all those years ago. Fish man from the grand line led by Jinbe came and fixed the town and its surroundings and some even call this place home so don’t be surprised if you see any humans my size as were common there but as a shark fish man were about a foot bigger then are brethren”.
He saw the wreckage of ships that still lay at the bottom of the sea reminders of what took place on this island. As he pulled the ship into dock and walked onto the island the entire dock went quiet as they saw that Raphael had returned but that wasn’t the name that was called out”Axel what are you doing back on this island, you were banished by the elder one”. Axel sighed as the jig was up and hoping he would be able to check the sites before some recognized him so he turned to the female who had an evil smile”You know sis you could be nicer to your older brother, as I wasn’t banished as much as thrown off because I was hated and the elder feared they would try and kill me well I have returned stronger then any Human or Fish man that calls Cocoyashi there home”. The young human woman smiled she was a younger version of there mother standing at five foot nine long red hair much like Axel’s but she wasn’t muscular like him just small and petite like a dancer but when she run and tackles him giving him a hug she knocks him over and onto his back before helping him up.
She looked at the woman behind her brother and gave her a raised brow”Since when does my brother hang out with humans, you either have made a real first appearance or your some charity case he feels bad for but since your with him welcome to our home and we hope you enjoy your stay as short as it may be if Axel is found out to be here”. His sister walked away and he sighed turning to Carina”Well you have met Alexis she is also a shark type fish man hybrid but she looks more human so she fits it better but we share equal strength which makes no since to even me but its all genetics and I don’t try and understand really but come on ill give you a tore around town then will head to the mayors home to pop in and speak to the mayor who would be the one to speak to about finding a shipwright as he runs the local ship building company which is what the rest of the Arlong park”. He had his hands in pockets as people stared at him he was getting waves and glares which each was shared with his companion”I think we keep the pirate word quiet for now, they will think im the next Arlong if they find out”.-
-
-It wasn’t long before the captain marine and his wife got on board and they took sail towards Cocoyashi. This would be a 15 day journey. At arrival Tanakami was 19% stronger, 12% faster, and 33% better with her Devil Fruit. They also gave her clothes to attempt to make her look more like her father but with an added touch. She wore her normal black shirt under a black leather tail coat, dark red pants that had some give to them with a studded belt, black leather boots that fit her feet exactly, a pair of pointed gloves that gave her sharp nails room, and a black belt collar which had pieces of seastone inside of it and against her neck so she couldn’t use her powers unless she took it off.
They lowered her dinghy for her and even gave her a rope so she could tie it up at docks. Even though they had offered to give her a few supplies, she opted to go get her own. With that she walked onto the dock and saw that there was a ship far on the other edge, she never noticed the wreckage around the island as she had been inside getting dressed. This didn’t bother her and she just walked straight towards the village to get supplies.
She tried to ignore the locals but seemed she was a bit of an attraction seeing as her horns were showing a bit more by how she was now parting her hair. She shied from them and popped her collar up to hide her lithe neck. She ended up being greeted by a small group of people who seemed to want her out. “Go away, freak.”
Tanakami looked at them and spoke without a smile, “I am just here for supplies and then I will be gone.”
They glared at her and wouldn’t budge, neither was she. They just had a stare off as they didn’t seem to want to use brute force on her and she didn’t want to use brute force on them.-
-
Carina nodded and took in Raphael’s explanation silently, her mind whirring away as she took in as much information as possible. She was trying to get a read on what her first mate thought about his heritage. Arlong was a powerful pirate but also a low-down scoundrel and if his extraordinary size made Raphael stand out, then he likely had a pretty hard childhood. Would other mixed-bloods have been afraid to associate with him to avoid being labeled under the same roof as Arlong? It was a thought to take into account. ‘
She blinked in surprise as a tall, beautiful woman addressed Raphael as “Axel” and asked why he was back given his banishment from the island. Apparently, her theory about Raphael being some kind of outcast even for mixed-bloods was right on the money. Carina kept her mouth shut during the family reunion but fully planned on asking Axel about his name change afterwards, but when his sister directly addressed her she responded with a sheepish smile, “Thank you for your hospitality, and it was a little bit of both, I reckon.”
She and Raphael walked off down through the town of Cocoyashi, brushing off the glares of the angry townsfolk. “They won’t hear it from me. But don’t forget that you now have a poster and if anyone will have that information it’ll be a mayor.” The human girl tried to keep up with his long-legged gait by speed-walking but eventually resorted to short bursts of jogs and trots to keep up. They headed towards the middle of town despite the open hostility. “So… is there a story behind your name? Which one should I use?”
At one point of the town, a small group of villagers were acting aggressively to someone OTHER than her and her first mate. A small group of both average townsmen, concerned middle-aged women and obnoxious looking kids barred the path for a strangely dressed woman wearing mostly black and plenty of leather. The air was thick with tension and anticipation between the two forces, both waiting for the first hint of violence. The girl gave a callous laugh, “Hahah! Wow. People here aren’t too friendly, huh?” Carina’s green eyes twinkled with a mischievous light as took in the situation with her face frozen into an amused grin. She felt no need to step in one way or another. Mostly, she was curious as to how this stranger would deal with the situation since neither side appeared to be backing down.
-
-Axel sighed as they walked knowing it needed to come out sooner or later”I am Axel by birth but off this island I am Raphael, I started going by that name after my imprisonment five years ago”. He stopped and looked around before sighing deeply and continued”A man was shot by a marine for insulting them after his son was murdered, I saw this and tackled the man and beat him almost to death before ten marines pulled me off and they chained me planning to execute me that day but when the sword nor gun could pierce my skin they threatened to imprison me for the rest of my life unless they knew what kind of freak I was, I told them of my lineage and the fear in there eyes broke as they threw me into a cell planning to keep me there for the rest of my demonic life”.
Axel’s head was bowed as he finished”They feared I used a fruit so they used sea stone chains on me but after three and a half years of working at it they began to break using the drips in my cell from the constant rain on the island I was kept in until the chain snapped though I did not run as I knew it would only be worse one day though the warden of the prison passed away leaving room for a new one who took pity on me giving me my freedom though it was not without his reasons he had hopped to follow me back here but after jumping ships many many times before I lost him and he gave up”.
He began to hear a noise up the road”I took the name Raphael from a boat I saw passing by though I know he is always going to hunt me one day they will find me and by that time I must be stronger to defeat those that hunt me, This is why I became a pirate”.
He saw the group of people yelling at the woman so he walked forward before he roared not yelled but roared like a beast and everyone jumped back and fear yelling his real name before running back to there homes. He walked to the last villager that was standing right in front of him this woman had always been crude to him and had demonized him from birth” Deala leave now before you see my new strength and not even a whale of a fishman can stop me so run little fishy or this hungry shark shall rip your flesh from bone”. The woman only came up to his shoulders but her yellow eyes gave proof that she was not human, she hissed at Axel before walking away. His anger had gotten the better of him though he let it pass as he walked up to the woman that was foriegn to these lands”Don’t expect them to accept you here as new comers haven’t been allowed in a long time as they fear a repeat of what happened with Arlong”.-
Log in to reply.