A Hunter's Paradise

[Cirrus]

For fuuck's sake...

Disappointment. That was scrawled all over Abel's face; as if some tyke had decided to colour in emotions, and the blank outline that had been the novice bounty hunter was prime target. The emotionless face of the white-haired gunslinger had fallen, replaced with a scowl and a glare full of storms.

That damned Aizo had managed to pick this - the moment of Abel's glory - to throw around huge pirates as if they were shields. Sure, he'd suffered for it, but in Abel's view not nearly enough. That pain would heal in time. This...this would take years. The novice bounty hunter glanced at the body of Cludd; who, it seemed, had had enough pirating for the day, and skulked off somewhere - probably to find that other pirate that had lead Abel here in the first place. Abel looked back at Aizo, who had made himself busy; in his hands was the head of 'Five Finger'. Somehow Abel had managed to drown out the sound of the neck taking a little 'vacation'. The albino gunslinger winced. That really was rubbing salt into the wound, wasn't it?

Still, retribution did come in the form of the other white-haired bounty hunter plucking the head deftly from Aizo's grasp. That made Abel smile. It did more than just elicit a smile, however; it also piqued his interest. Why were they fighting for the head? It would be so simple to just incapacitate them there and then, and walk calmly off with the bounty. But once again he stayed his hand. These two were an interesting pair; it would be a shame to mar that intriguing factor. There was something else about them too...something that Abel couldn't put his finger on. Obviously ending the pair wouldn't allow him to find that something..

“So who wants it?” A challenge. The other white-haired bounty hunter proposed a little competition for the head; the bounty; the prize. Abel smirked. This'd be a cinch. As the head of 'Five Finger' rolled innocently into the center of the three bounty hunters, the albino one of the trio let the guns slip through his fingers; letting the chain come into his grasp. As it did so, he gripped tightly; determination flowed freely through his veins again. He started to get into a rythm, swinging the pistols around as if they were some object less cumbersome for doing so. Soon, they were a blur. Abel thrust one arm forward, and the gun followed suit. The pistol landed next to the head, and, a few deft movements of Abel's wrist later, had anchored itself to it; the chain securing its position. Abel tugged, and the target was in his hands.

'See ya suckas!' He yelled, flipping both the other bounty hunters off. Abel broke into a sprint, running back in the direction of the harbour. He kept to the most visible streets; it wasn't too challenging to track him. Abel did this deliberately though - outright winning from the start just wasn't fun enough; he needed a little resistance before he turned up the awesome to eleven!

[Tori Tori Chopper]

'That hurt a lot more than I expected..'

Aizo mumbled to himself as he stood over five fingers corpse, taking a step away from it leaving the evidence of his neck bent off to one side. His arm was throbbing, though it serves him right for doing such a crazy thing, he could have always let him die and just take the kill as his own.. No.. That would have been disgraceful, he was supposed to be making progress across this world, its only with that ending strength that he will be able to succeed in his journey. As he suspected the others seemed hardly pleased with the situation, grumbling and grunting from the result of their apparent loss in this conflict between hunters, as for him it was simply a ticket onto the next stage, one step closer. He looked over to his most recent victim of the potential attack, he seemed hardly bothered now that five fingers was literally bent sideways, slumbering off into the distance with a blood trail in his step after the first white haired man almost demanded that he left so he could continue looking angry without having to worry about some giant fist swinging his way, clearly because he wanted to not be disturbed as he dramatically proposed his next action. The white haired bounty hunter cleaved the bent head of five fingers clean off, taking it by its hair as he shoved his wanted poster into five fingers mouth, throwing it back into the center with what could only be described as a competitive glare. Aizo knew exactly what he wanted, in the end the other guy had the same look on his face, they needed some sort of victory after this result.. And if it meant giving in a head, then so be it. Novices had that kind of glory seeking tendency, seeing as once he watched the other two prepared themselves, he wanted in on it too.

The gun spinning chain version of the white haired bounty hunters seemed to have the advantage in regards to grabbing the head from between them, making Aizo wish he had some sort of fancy grasping weapon as he watched the head fly into his hands, leading with a quick departure and a lovely exiting line. No doubt his other challenge would quickly depart too, and Aizo was left gripping his arm in pain as they waltzed away towards their prize. Part of him wanted to just walk away from this situation, the target he had been told to go after had been dealt with, whether it looked like it was done by his ow hand was beside the point as he could simply move onto the next one.. But there was a sense of unfinished business as he turned his back on the race, a quick glance over his shoulder saw the to two blasting through the open streets.. It did look pretty fun after all.

The other part of him funnily enough danced in victory as Aizo turned to the open path once more, he had some catching up to do.. and nothing that his rollerbl-.. Looking to his roller blades only to realise that they were still broken from before he grunted in annoyance as he decided to give chase the old fashioned way. Taking in a deep breath he burst into action, his arm was the least of his worries when he was hardly using it. He couldn't help but chuckle at the situation he had gotten himself into as he jumped through stands and between the people as he kept his eyes locked onto the white hair which bounced from side to side amongst the crowds, the logical person would see that the chase wasn't as necessary as you would first think. Any direction leads to the gate and from that the marine base, so any short cut could have been taken and he could have beaten the two running down the open pathways in no time. But in the end he wasn't being logical at all, that head was his prize, not what he got from it. None the less this challenge was annoying in so many ways, seeing as every time he got close to the guy he would be blocked by some of the obstacles in his path, with a childish grunt he decided that his wheels would work at least for a short time, launching himself up a group of market stores while he shoved on his roller-blades in mid-flight, landing with a horrible screech as his wheels adjusted back into proper position.

This chase was only going to get tricky before it got easy.
Why did he have to cut off the guys head anyway..

[Deleted]

“See ya suckas!”

With just a flick of the wrist and then a flick of a middle finger that was it, it was a chase again. The Shandian let out a sigh, he’d just wanted to scrap over it but on the upside at least the albino had done them the courtesy of not shooting them at point blank. That was however what Oaklan had been expecting. Once again he found himself wondering why he was running, he found himself thinking that he should just leave the other two and go catch some other bounties whilst they were distracted. Whilst this idea was entirely a favourable one, it wasn’t what he wanted. He had already decided what he wanted, he’d fight these guys and earn their respect or at least kill them, and either way it could only help him become stronger.

Now the ex-slave wasn’t the most practiced assassin in the world, far from it and for obvious reasons. Yet he had a certain amount of natural dexterity and that combined with the fact most buildings on this side of the island were only a story high, tightly crammed and flat roofed, made it possible for him to run atop the buildings with relative ease. From this vantage point he could see they were headed towards the harbour, unless he intended to escape by boat they would hit a dead end. Furthermore the fleer had already shown that he was a much better rooftop runner than he himself was. Yet he stuck to the streets and very quickly Oaklan was catching up, the Shandian sensed a trap. If this was the case the Shandian knew how to deal with traps, go in sword first and hard and hope to break it.

“Wuugh~”

Narrowly leaping a patch of unsafe looking roof he almost lost his balance, he couldn’t afford these slip ups if he hoped to win here. The bounty hunter positioned himself to the buildings edge so he could get a clear view of the albino, the streets were still fairly busy – indeed it would make sense as all of the resource for this part of the island would have to come from the sea, the majority of its residence were after all temporary. He needed a gap in the crowd and an opportunity, the sharp red eyes kept glancing down to the runner and back up again to plot his track and find a chance. Finally the distance was closed and he saw what could potentially work, a chimney jutting out about twenty metres ahead, lined perfectly with a four way junction and as such the people stood more sparsely. Oaklan had paid little attention to his other opponent, but was aware on some level of the distinctive sound of those rolling shoes that he’d been using earlier. Well as long as he didn’t intercept, he didn’t care – the martial artist would show himself one way or another.

Soon he found himself just a step away from the chimney and in full sprint, it seemed viable, yes. Planting his right foot firmly atop the brick protrusion he pushed himself skywards and soared out across the open streets below. The sound of air rushing passed as he tore through the sky was all he could hear. The Shandian brought his sword up now above his head and retracted his legs inward. He’d timed it well, he was just in front of his gunslinger opponent, but yet he didn’t want to take him by surprise entirely as it would be anticlimactic and a tad dishonourable. After all he hadn’t shot once yet, it wouldn’t be fair if his opponent didn’t know that he himself had no qualms about death blows. How would it be possible to test each other if they were to hold back? So as he began his descent, preparing for one of his more impressive moves, Oaklan gave the courtesy of announcing the attack; “Swooping Reaper!” he exclaimed before quickly tucking into a tight ball, sword still out stretched.

Performing a single somersault he hurtled toward the ground sword first, he would land where the albino would have been if he’d continued to run at a steady pace but of course he wouldn’t. Keeping his eyes firmly open, he had to stay aware, he didn’t want to land full of lead. After all, he had to survive long enough to give that Aizo at least one decent scratch. So after the initial attack, if permitted by his opponent he intended to bend into the ground to absorb the impact of the descent, slap his left hand to the floor, the sword in his right and perform a right footed leg sweep and then pushing himself upwards bring both hands to the blade and use the momentum to perform a massive arcing strike and hopefully after all that end standing upward, ready to face down the albino. Giving enough time for the last party member to make his no doubt flashy entrance, this was at least... his ‘plan’.

SPOILER: Click to show

Swooping Reaper: Launching himself into the air, Oaklan performs a single somersault as he curls into a ball he holds his sword out in front of him and comes hurtling down on top of his opponent. The sheer momentum and weight of the weapon make this quite a powerful attack.

[Cirrus]

“Swooping Reaper!”

Abel stopped abruptly when the attack name rang out. To be honest, he certainly didn't want to be cut down from behind; the novice bounty hunter was sure no one did. So, he watched as the other white-haired bounty hunter descended from the sky, landing a few metres ahead of him, slashing at nothing. An expression that said "What the hell?" formed on his face, before being superseded by a battle-ready one. The sword-wielding bounty hunter had not been idle after the embarrassing miss; striking out with a sweeping leg. Abel jumped backwards into an unnecessary flip, landing with grace. He was really rather irked; who did this guy think he was? At any rate, the white-haired bounty hunter was one that liked to take advantage; swinging around with his blade, while Abel kept his bullets for another day. He sighed. He wouldn't stoop to this guy's level. Rather, he'd soar above him like an eagle!

Abel ran forward, the head still wrapped snugly in his chains. With one gun out of commission for now, the albino decided that he'd have to play a little dirty to keep up. Coming into range, Abel let a bit of chain fall through his fingers. He got low; all in preparation to rise up and take this guy down - any pretence of racing was lost at this moment. Top on Abel's agenda was proving that he was better than them both. Part of that was earning the privilege of walking to the marine base.

Abel sprung up furiously; pumping the muscles in his legs with vigour. Dust kicked up from around his feet, forced into the air from the sheer power with which he moved. His velocity served as a makeshift fan though; as Abel went from high to low all airborne debris scattered. The chain in his hands went taut. If all went well he'd find purchase on the other bounty hunter's neck, with intention to follow up with a crude headbutt. Assuming he didn't the albino gunslinger would roll off and continue his sprint, still leaving some kind of mark on the his target. A vicious snarl and a malevolent glint in his eyes would accompany him whatever he did.

[Tori Tori Chopper]

'Sorry about this!'

'Excuse me~'

'Oof! Sorry!'

Scratch his previous idea, blading through a public area was hell, no matter how good you were. People became objects and objects became.. Well, objects that get in your way even more than people. The bunny-hopping white haired man just had to pick the main street in mid-day, because nothing says a high speed chase like slowly weaving through market hour pedestrians. It didn't seem to be much of a worry for those two though, as one was just generally being an ass to whoever got in his way and the head stealing one had a wonderful tendency to hop around rooftops.. Made him wish he wasn't so polite sometimes. Slowly but surely keeping pace with his two opponents as he ducked and dive through the busy street, he couldn't help but notice the sudden change of play as white haired man number one went to make a move of attack rather than constant keep-up, now would be a better time than any to slide in the action and take the head for himself, with that all he would have to do then is sprint to the finish.. Easy peasy. The attack the the large-sword wielding version of the white hairs had to offer was none-the-less impressive as he almost seemed to charge himself up as he leapt from his base, spinning like a top on its side as he slammed himself down in front of his target, or at least that's what Aizo saw him doing ahead of time, he had to just plan for it.

Luckily fr him with his decision of making a move his fate rewarded the thought with open arms, not to mention an open path as man of the townspeople noticed the incoming human sword spinny-thingy and cleared away, the entire strip of read being left wide open in case the man decided to do any more fancy sword moves around them. From a clear observation of the path it was much to Aizo's surprise that the damage they have cause in their quick little A to B race had been quite substantial, the stands in which he was pretty sure they had all cleared through were in ruins, being wounded from running of butting into one another, the road left with all sorts scattered after being dropped by the scared observers. He had the weirdest feeling he was going to have to answer for all of this when he met back up with the captain, and part of him just wanted to back up now. Sure he was a ass-kicking hero but that captain was something else, he preferred to just take what he was given and steer clear of him rather than having to answer for a job which was supposed to be quick and clean.. But then again how was he supposed to know this white haired duo was going to pop up unannounced?

In his time of worrying the attack was already in full swing, a large thump shot through the nearly silent crowds of observers as the sword and the man holding it smacked against the cobblestone, and as much as Aizo had thought the attack would somewhat connect all it did was hinder the runners progress, leaving him to back up and in turn stare-down the swordsman who responded with a menacing glare. As he approached the two who seemed to almost lock-down in place, just asking to be tricked by the awesome moves of Aizo, he bent backwards as he legs split, angling himself to that he was considerably lower than before, his already broken roller-blades screeching across the stone as they were forced to nearly spin on their sides as Aizo shot between the two as the chain wielding white haired man went to launch a counter-attack, Aizo reaching out towards the head in the small time he had as he passed, a moment which lasted seconds took forever as the chain slowly and annoyingly eluded his grasp as the head-bearer moved luckily just in time. 'Oh come on!' Aizo's shot had been missed, leaving him to blast off down the open path and bowl into a small crowd ahead of them, stopping in his tracks as a man remained un phased by the out of control Aizo smashing into his legs. 'Aizo..' A voice he was only moments ago cursing to himself as he made his move, shaking himself out of his dazed state he picked his crumpled self off the floor, looking up slightly to the large lanky man who stood dominant in his captains coat. 'Hey Boss..'

Aizo recoiled like a child when the man angrily barked his annoyance into his one ear, his eye slightly closing to emphasized the uncomfortable few moments his rage caused. Aizo didn't really catch the majority of it, mainly something about damaging property, gallivanting around the place and not obtaining what he was told to collect as fast as he expected him to do it. Aizo just looked back to his angry glare through his thick shades as he laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head to keep himself occupied as he gave a childish grin. 'Yea.. Sorry about that..' He let out a few more chuckles before looking back to his combatants along with the captain as the second white haired man seemed to be on the run again, through pretty much right into them. 'I finished him off but, they decided to turn it into a contest.. like they did the entire hunt..' Aizo said with a hint of glee, as in the end he found the whole event quite entertaining. 'I asked you to finish the job and return back, and instead you have taken twice as long as expected and you've decided to turn it into a play date with some of your novice friends..' The large man grunted as the complications he wasn't expecting. 'But you have still overdone it.. Again, report back to the base, and apprehend those two.' He gestured too Aizo's competition as the large pile of marines responded in unison, moving around the captain and Aizo with intent to arrest both of them. Aizo would have been in the same situation as them two if he hadn't already known the consequences, letting out a sigh as he took Five-fingers poster from his baggy pocket, handing it to the captain as he followed him back towards the other side of the wall.

He didn't really want to think about what the captain had in store for him, or them. He had one of those weird smirks on his face.

[Deleted]

"What the?"

The sound of a chain cracking as it became taught was the only brief warning Oaklan had before it came clamping around him like a metallic lasso. He managed to get a hand underneath the chain before it finally closed around his neck, the force was more than he expected and he found himself having to drop his sword to hold the chain with both hands or else be throttled there and then. The albino however left him little time for thought, as a sudden pressure made him stumble forward. He looked up to see white hair flying toward him, there was no time to lift the sword and skewer him mid-air. Instead the Shandian decided to meet the flying head butt head on and so bowing slightly he met the impact of the attack with his own head. Yet his opponent’s momentum meant he came out best from the clash, whirring backwards Oaklan managed to move semi-graciously as he span onto one knee he also managed to pull and lift the chain from around his neck. He held his head for a moment, more dazed than he’d like to admit. Then the sound of the chain retracting pulled his attention back to his opponent. He was already on the move again, running back along the street. He turned to deliver a snarling grin and then continued. The Shandian met the look with an icy glare, but icy glares were not going to get him anywhere.

Scrambling for his sword he barrelled forward, already running before even finding his feet properly. ‘Where the hell is that Aizo character... I wouldn’t have thought he’d have given up and I just gave him a hell of an opening and time to catch up...’ That thought would have to wait. Catching sight of the albino it was apparent he’d just been walled off, ambushed by a large group of men and as Oaklan came skidding to a halt next to what had been a moment ago been his opponent, suddenly he found himself surrounded as more marines came to take their flank.

“What the hell’s the meaning of this!?” the Shandian yelled, fury always quick to overtake his confusion, he pulled his sword out in front of him.

“Apprehend them both!” he had heard, before the identical looking maggot-men came closing in, swords drawn.

Turning away from the albino, he silently assumed that they would both hold off half the men each. His red eyes moved erratically from man to man, ‘Did the dragons send them?’ he found himself wondering, ‘no he said them both, so he wants the albino too...’ The rationale brought some measure of relief.

However, if there was one thing Oaklan did not want in life, it was to be taken captive. He’d spent the vast majority of time in captivity already and after what was yet to be a full month of freedom, he’d be dead before he’d return. That said, if he was being apprehended for something minor like disturbing the peace, he’d be out in no time. If he went slashing through these marines, then the sentence would be much worse. It presented a dilemma.

Next thing he knew he’d sheathed his sword, then unbuckling the strap at the shoulder, he tied it tight around the hilt, meaning it would remain firmly inside. Then bending slowly he put the sword at his feet and raised his arms above his head. A marine approached producing some cuffs, a smirk on his face. “You made a wise move, we would have had to~”

—Crack!—

Spinning quickly the furious ex-slave brought his elbow into the side of the man’s head. Then quick as a flash, he pressed his left foot down on his sheathed blade, lifting the tip slightly from the ground. Then smoothly he slid his right under it and flicked it upwards catching it in both hands, and brought the sheathed blade crashing into the man’s stomach, finally pushing him over lightly.

The others were closing in on him now, he began swinging violently and one after another they fell. Even so the progress was too slow for Oaklan, he had to avoid there blades whilst bludgeoning them with his encased one. He parried metal with leather and ploughed on through, roaring and screaming curses at anyone and everyone. It took several minutes before he was finally subdued and even longer to put the cuffs on him. After all that, he still struggled as he was pulled between them, but they quickly beat the fight out of him, or at least he decided he’d hold onto his strength for a better opportunity.

“You bastards, what the hell did I do? I swear I’ll rip you all—nggh, mmmngh, urdfagudgdgghhh!!” They gagged him. Oaklan got no answer, and wondered where the hell they were going to take him.

[Cirrus]

The other white-haired bounty hunter met his skull bash head on, but seemed to come out of it worse for wear. Abel broke away on a sprint, and nearly made it to the docks, when Aizo came shooting past. He stopped, startled, and was unable to get going again for some marines had showed up. A confused expression formed on the face of the albino gunslinger, which was only amplified by the towing away of Aizo. Wasn't he on their side? Kinda? Why weren't the marines after him? Abel didn't have time to find answers though; two menacing-looking marines were advancing, obviously looking to do him in. Abel ran forward, fist bunched in a conscious-rending position. He thrust with all his might, smashing the first marine in the jaw.

'OWW!'

The hell?! He furiously questioned himself. Why had that hurt so much? He was fine before; beating people up with abandon in that bar. Why was it now that defending himself became such a chore? The marine who he'd hit smirked maliciously at Abel's reactions. He lifted a fist of his own, and Abel knew he was in trouble. A hail of fists rained down on him, making the white-haired bounty hunter feel closer to the ground than he'd ever been before. Blood flowed freely from his nose and mouth. He looked pathetic.

'The...the f-' He was cut off by another punch. Abel gazed into the bloodthirsty eyes of the people beating him.

SLAM!

WHUMP!

POW!

More fists decided to familiar themselves with Abel's already battered and bruised body. Didn't these guys know who he was? He saved them once or twice, didn't he? Why were they treating him this way? He tried to numb the pain of his ordeal, with little success. He focused on the faces of those abusing their authority. He recognised none. They must have changed shifts during his little excursion, and now these guys must have thought that he was one of the transgressors! Bemoaning his bad luck wouldn't do anything, so Abel decided to act. He caught the next punch, inches from his face. His assailant was so surprised that for a second Abel's grip actually seemed vice-like. The surprise lasted for a split second, but that was all Abel needed as he rolled out of the way and onto his feet. He was a little dizzy from all the punching, losing blood fast, and up against some marines who thought he was the scum of the earth.

Shit.

He didn't even put up his fists to fight, rather choosing the more effective option that were his guns. Pulling the pistols with a well-practiced motion, Abel aimed them both at the marines. Before doing anything rash, he backed away; unfortunately into the strong hands of their Captain. His shoulders were clasped tight, and so he could do nothing to resist as he was literally hauled up into the air. Subtlely, he slid the guns back into their holsters -- the marines would never take that from him -- and tried to envision a fate worse than this.

He failed to.

[Tori Tori Chopper]

'So I'm off the hook?'

Aizo's voice of relief caused an echo down the white hallway regardless of his quiet tone, as even their footsteps caused sounds to bounce away ahead of them. 'You did the job we asked you to do, it was no where near as fast or as effective as I had hoped.. But you finished it none the less.' The man accompanying Aizo was the same man as before, he stood proudly and was more bent back than slouched in his posture, his hands hidden behind his dangling captains jacket as his thick black shades covered the majority of his facial expressions. 'You do know that this is only the beginning though, the targets will only get harder.' A sprinkle of sympathy covered his words, leaving Aizo somewhat insulted. 'You think I can't handle it?' The captain shook his head. 'I think that next time you will not be aided by your competition, nor will the enemy give you a chance to mess up as many times as you did.' Honest advice hit Aizo like a knife, how was he going to get anywhere in regards to finding his brother if he can't take down one simple target? The challenges of the new world were easy.. Maybe it was the competition which knocked him off key. 'I'll do better next time, you can count on that.' The captain smiled, placing his hand on Aizo's shoulder. The man was cold to the core, but even he believed in making friends with those he knew he was going to be stuck with for a long time. 'Good, because if you were to do worse then I have another to blame.' Another? Aizo halted their casual stroll in confusion slightly away from their destination as the captain turned, pressing his hand against the door ahead of him. 'I'd like you to meet your new partner.' He opened the door, inside the large circular room were a large group of marines, a chair in the center, with an all to familiar face sitting upon it. 'I believe his name was Oaklan.'

Aizo wasn't sure how to react, annoyed? Confused? The Captain made it his pleasure to pick for him. 'Seeing as you two were so keen on fighting each other over a prize I figured it would be more than useful to team you up. After all competition makes one work harder if anything.' The captain chuckled slightly, placing his large shades on his forehead to reveal the pale white eyes and numerous scars underneath. 'You will work together until I order otherwise, friendly competition is expected but a step over that will issue equal punishment, do I make myself clear?' Aizo didn't respond, simply nodding in acceptance as he looked around for rival number two in his little adventure to Five-fingers head. 'And the other one?' The Captain looked to Aizo, leaning forward to him and towering him still he gave a sarcastic upset look. 'Mister Abel will not be joining us, or anyone for that matter for the rest of his life, he has been immediately shipped to Impel down under acts against the World Government.' Aizo's eyes widened at the knowledge, he knew too well that the Captain would have done the same to him if he had nod been under orders to protect him. 'Your friend here will not suffer the same fate.. Yet.' He turned his leaning intimidating glare to the White haired Bounty hunter on the chair. 'Though one step out of line, and you'll be meeting Abel very soon.' He stood up straight, flicking his shades back over his eyes he gestured towards the door, as the marines quickly left in formation, the Captain following close behind. 'We will be moving out tomorrow morning gentlemen, I expect you to be ready for departure before then.' He waved as he turned his back on the two, leaving them both to ponder over the inevitable.. 'Captain Scar.. Quite a charmer, no?'

Aizo didn't really want to talk to this guy right now, he had just been tugged away from the streets against his will, and that little display of authority just placed him as the prime cause of the event. None the less he had to make the first move, much like the captain he figured he may as well get to know the guy he'll be teaming up with in the open ended future. 'So your called Oaklan? Nice to finally put a name to a rival.' He extended his hand with a small grin. 'Don't worry about the captain, he's usually a lot more tame when things get done the way he wants them to.' He had a feeling it wasn't going to be that easy to get through to the guy, and after a small moment of silence Aizo decided to retreat from the potential hostile situation. 'Well, I'll see you tomorrow then, I'm sure you'll know Captain Scar's boat when you see it at the docks..' Aizo simply presumed the guy was going to go along with what was being asked of him as he left the room, even then he could just up and leave without anyone really caring.

He'd have to see his decision in the morning.

[Deleted]

“Though one step out of line, and you'll be meeting Abel very soon.”

Oaklan clenched his fist; he didn’t like this captain one bit. Abel on the other hand had been a good opponent, skilled and honourable and yet with all that with a few words this man had ruined him – Yes Abel, he’d remember the name. ‘Is this real power? Authority... a few words and enough lesser men and no amount of muscle can resist. I really do need a bigger sword.’ The whole time the Captain continued to speak the Shandian just glared angrily, wondering if he’d earned his position with his sharp tongue or with his fists. ‘Can I take him? Best to wait...’

Eventually the bounty hunter was left alone, with what had just a few moments ago been his cocky rival. He’d been awed by his prowess in fighting, clearly owed to some kind of discipline or martial art and lots of training, that was respectable now however...

“I didn’t take you for a marine pet...”

Aizo said some words and left with in a hurry, the words kind of went in; in essence he had to get on some boat tomorrow. How did this end up happening, they didn’t even know who he truly was – this was corruption, he was being black mailed but without anything incriminating as justification. Oaklan hated unfairness. Left alone, he sent the chair he was sitting on flying into the wall with a sharp kick and eventually followed to the exit. He was allowed to leave, and that sat well with him. ‘Three outcomes, I’m caught escaping and I’m imprisoned for life, that won’t happen. Or... I take his shitty job, and I’m put on a lead, that’s a type of captivity in itself, but not the worst kind. Finally, I run again... but can I afford being caught? Can I keep running?’ There was a fourth option, he knew, but despite it being in a lot of ways his favourite – he didn’t believe it could work, that was killing them all. If there was one thing the ex-slave feared it was this, death was nothing next to being alive as someone else’s puppet. Maybe option four was the best one, but would Aizo fight him? He wasn’t even sure he could take that guy one on one.

“Uraaaagh!” he let out a scream of frustration as he began hacking away with his sword. He’d walked on auto-pilot to the tree at which he’d slept these last few weeks, it was now the recipient of his pent up anger. “Fûck the Captain, Fûck Aizo and Fûck the Marines!” He continued to slash for sometime before eventually collapsing against it, sword imbedded deeply into the trunk which was now covered in deep wounds – his sword dulled and ruined.

He’d calmed some, he’d been thinking of Abel. He must have done something separate to merit such strict punishment, after all, why spare himself and not the Albino... ‘Perhaps I could save him... and then we could fight them... no we already lost, although... I was using restraint.’ Oaklan remained awake for a long time, staring at the stars, searching for a resolution. Eventually as he finally drifted to sleep for the night he found it, ‘Slaves don’t get a choice... I’ll be there dog for now, but one day I’ll bite his hand off, after using up their resources and learning what else I can. Or perhaps, I’ll find a way to blackmail him... then kill him anyway, yes... dead, dead... Captain.’

[Tori Tori Chopper]

After all had been said and down between the Hunters and their prize the dust settled as the evening came and went, leaving the remnants of that competitive brawl to think over the days events. Lives have been ruined from the days escapades and others pulled back into a life worse then slavery. As the sun rises, history turns a new page as two bounty hunters move into a unwilling business relationship, but how will they both fare under the watchful eye of the marines many notorious captains.

______________________________

'Nice try! But this time I- Ow! Okay! Mercy-mercy~'

Aizo cried with a cheerful laugh following every word as the angry looking woman applied more pressure to his bent back arm. Aizo had been teaching an enthusiastic Captain assistant the ropes to his fighting style, sadly being the professional Submission fighter that she was, she was the perfect practice for him as well, not to mention his hardest competition. The thing about Aizo's fighting style is that it is completely offensive, so when placed against the hands of one who preys on blocking quick attacks. 'Think you can get off that easily? Who's teaching who here.' It becomes a little more challenging than your average bar brawl. 'You really have to work on some defensive tactics, predicting those punches of yours is really starting to become second nature.' Releasing her grip from Aizo he quickly retreated, squinting slightly as the arm under such punishment was the one previously injured from his giant attack on well.. Mister giant henchmen.

'You okay? I didn't hurt you did I?' Aizo wasn't sure whether to prey on the over-confidence or worried tone in her voice, responding with a simple smile as he stretched his arm out to ease her troubles. 'No worries, my fault for letting my guard down.' She laughed at the idea of him having any kind of guard, turning to a quick salute as Sir stares-a-lot came out onto the deck of the giant ship. 'I really hope you aren't practising on one another again, the last time we had that permitted my assistant was suffering from a broken rib-cage.' Aizo moved to repent, the woman moved to correct, both were met with a cold glare through his shades leaving them to simply back down. 'The deck isn't a training area, that's what the room downstairs labelled training area is for..' Aizo was quickly reminded by their newcomer, glancing over the deck onto the dock to see if he was anywhere near arriving, 'We're waiting on Oaklan, wanted to introduce ourselves a little more professionally.' 'Not to mention its my job to give him a quick guide around the ship.' The woman confidently said in back-up to Aizo's remark. The Captain simple sniffed, a grumble followed by a slow exit back into the boat. 'Well he seems talkative.. As always.'

Aizo wasn't really sure that meeting him on the deck after such a erupt invitation was a great idea, the guy didn't look too pleased with him when he left.. Didn't look too pleased with anyone when he left him. He even began to wonder if he would even show up, he has every opportunity to leave before or after they did, as they weren't exactly waiting on him, none the less Aizo pondered over what he could potentially gain from working with such a heavy hitting partner. He seemed like a nice guy in the end, bar the horrible tendency to not care about anything, and the dark look in his eyes just screaming that he has something in his past he greatly dislikes.. All of these things would hopefully discovered in time, for now he would have to simply prove himself to the guy, after all he knew as well as Oaklan did that he looked like a bit of a tool. But he had his reasons. This was the only was he was going to get out into the world and cover ground fast enough to find his brother, were it not for the captain taking him in as a wild card he'd still be stuck pulling in low-life's across the new world islands today. They had somewhat become his little marine family, they treated him with respect and vice versa, that's all he really ever wanted out of the world. But he was getting way to mentally emotional and stuff.

He had a Rival slash partner slash angry person to be on the look out for. Then its out to sea once more.

[Deleted]

Oaklan walked towards the dock like a man walks to the noose, that is to say, slowly. He’d spent all morning sharpening his sword and trying to delay the inevitable. A good few times he considered heading down to the pirate side of town and stowing away, but alas the price of being caught was too much to pay. ‘Since when did I become such a coward? No like I said, I’ll use them... do I get paid?’ In reality Oaklan’s situation wasn’t all that bad, he was essentially doing the same thing, but with free transport and perhaps resources, a partner who he could learn from and all at the price of just not getting to pick his own targets. Still that’s now the way he chose to see it. ‘That Captain would be best not ordering me around... Now I should probably hurry, I’ve stalled long enough.’

He’d been told he’d know the ship when he saw it and that much was at least true. A reasonably sized marine vessel personalised in a way that screamed self important – Captain Scar... naturally. The biggest clue however was the fact Aizo was stood atop the ship, waiting to greet him. Some of the rage the Shandian had felt yesterday had faded and now lurked somewhere beneath the surface, dulled. This wasn’t the same as slavery and it wasn’t this Aizo guys fault... entirely. So instead he reserved his hatred for Scar.

Once on board, Aizo introduced himself again more formerly and expressed the fact he wasn’t sure Oaklan was even coming. “Neither was I...” was the Shandian reply, ever the conversationalist. With him was some woman, she introduced herself as the Captain’s assistant and by association a bitch. ‘Try not to stab her...’ – “I’m Oak—lan.” Oak was a term of endearment he used for himself, a nickname. It was the sort of things friends would call you, but he didn’t have any and certainly none here, so he introduced himself formerly, his full name.

“I’m here to show you around” she said in a friendly tone, clearly not sensing the hate.

“Awesome,” came an unenthused response.

They walked around the ship and the Shandian went out of his way to remain overly glum and unresponsive. ‘The Kitchen, sleeping quarters – blah, blah blah.’ The only thing that caught his attention were the words, “Training Room”, perhaps this wouldn’t be entirely awful after all. The tour concluded back on deck, the Captain’s assistant clearly a little perturbed at the briefness of conversation and so the amount of awkward silence the tour had actually been. Nonetheless he’d held his tongue and even managed a meagre “Thanks” at the end. No sign of the Captain. That was good, although Oaklan had wanted to place some conditions on this ‘partnership’, namely a wage and a bigger sword. However, the pompous Captain had apparently just assumed that he’d join up; after all he’d ‘hired’ him with a threat. Still... it was getting the Shandian riled up again.

Glancing up at Aizo he started for a moment eyeing him up, no doubt making him a little uneasy. Finally he managed, “So partners, eh?” With that the boat began to move and they were off towards somewhere or other.

--------------------------------------------------------------

The events of one day had forged a partnership from blackmail. Who knew what the future would bring? Certainly not Oaklan, and yet as they headed out into the ocean one thing was apparent, they could have given him a worse partner. Maybe, just maybe... this was all a good thing.

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