Wind and Sky, Fang and Noise (Mission 166)(Jazz)

[Deleted]

 
 The waves around Dojo Island were calm, and the breeze gentle. The rather rapid progress of the sailboat approaching it's shores was all the more odd, given these facts. On board, an unusual figure slouched in a chair, inhaling deeply, then exhaling towards the sails. Twisting his head to the side, Lucian Gyre breathed in. Unlike most people, however, this inhalation caused visible motion in his surroundings, as a massive quantity of air was stored. Then, rolling his head lazily back, he pursed his lips, and exhaled towards the sail. 

 From the small O of his mouth, a gust of wind shot forth, snapping the sail out, and sending the small ship jetting forward again. The tanned giant smirked, and adjusted his sunglasses. Unusually tall, the user of the Fua Fua no Mi was nearly ten feet in height, and wore a simple white dress shirt, with black suit vest and tie. His hair was a deep, lustrous grey, and he had what would be considered quite a handsome face, excepting the jagged scar that ran across it. Grinning, as the island's shore came within distance, he opened his mouth for one final breath. As he grinned, the final oddity was revealed. His teeth appeared to be entirely of the canine variety, pointed fangs that, while not larger than normal, made his smile far more predatory.

 With a crunching thump, the sailboat landed in a small cove, surrounded by trees on all sides. Within the dense underbrush, animals could be heard scuttling about. As the pirate climbed from the boat, carrying a sack, he glanced around. Didn't seem like there was any humans.... Best to be sure. With a deep inhalation, he turned, aiming along the coastline, and blew. A gale exploded out, ruffling the treeline, and blowing several clumps of leaves off their branches. It also revealed much of the surrounding area. Satisfied that no-one was watching, Lucian retrieved a shovel from the boat, and dug a quick hole near a rock in the sand. Tossing the sack inside, he kicked the sand back over it, frowning a bit at the scratches this left on his pointed shoes.

 "Oh well. Nothing to complain about there. If this temple really is as loaded as they say, I'll just buy a new pair. If not... Well, a little property damage really clears those blues away, FUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA."  Smirking, the immaculately dressed thief strode forward into the jungle. Expeling minute airbursts from his mouth as branches and leaves presented themselves, he wove his way through the forest, approaching the center of the island. Gold and Treasure were here, he was sure, he was certain! His only job now was to locate it, and get away with it. That and possible break some things. Non-valuable things, anyway. Threatening to break the valuable things he couldn't carry might be a good way to locate more valuables though. From what the fence who had mentioned this place had said, however, the locals were poorer than dirt. Some crazy local religion or another. 

 The nice thing about local religions, in the cannibalistic cook's opinion, was that they tended to group all the shiny things together in one place. Why knock over every hovel in town? Just go for the building with the big windows and arched roof, swipe some things into a bag, and kick a fat, overbearing man in a robe into a choir. Quick, efficient and fun. Certainly more amusing then bowling with balls. Although, now that he thought about it, Dojo was a term for a fighting school, right? Leader of this place was probably a reasonably skilled opponent. His teeth flashed in that predatory grin again. Well, here was hoping that it was some young punk, high on his own natural skill, and not an old geezer. Wrinkly old bastards never tasted good at all, and it wasn't the Gyre way to waste a meal. 

[Helix]

"Jeez, what is the master thinkin'... Slaying one 'a those goddamn dragon things ain't gonna be a piece 'a cake, for sure," The young martial arts pupil whined to himself. He had been sent out on a test of his strength, one he was told everyone who trained with the Grand Dojo Master went through (though he was fairly certain it was just the ill-tempered old man hazing him). The test was to go out, kill one of the so-called "dragons" that were native to the island, and bring back its head. How he was supposed to remove its head at all was beyond him, though he was fairly sure he could take it down, no problem.

He sighed, walking through the dense, forested jungle until he heard a disturbingly loud hiss come from the bushes right in front of him. The sound stopped him in his tracks; he had certainly never heard a growl quite as terrifying as that one. He hesitantly raised his fists and moved slowly towards the bush in question. Briefly, he saw a flash of green, and... orange? With barely any time to process that info, another hiss/growl sounded off to his right, then to his left! Suddenly, it seemed as if, either the one dragon (he assumed that's what it was) was darting all over the place, or he had stumbled on to an entire pack of 'em! One was trouble enough, but the possibility of three or more at the same time? "I-I gotta get outta here!" he stammered loudly, sprinting back the way he came.

~

Blowing a stray purple hair out of her face, Jazz opened her eyes and sat up. Man, she took a break for ten minutes and some noisy joker shows up to ruin her nap. The grass beneath her, damp as it was, had been fairly comfortable too. She'd been walking through the damn forest for long enough, didn't she deserve a bit of a respite?! Needless to say, when that kid had woken her up with his blatantly loud stomping, she had been pissed. Pissed enough to play a trick on the damn kid, using her Gensei technique. Good thing she had been hearing those hissing roars periodically throughout her little hike, or she might not have been able to fool him so hilariously. Besides, it wouldn't do to have someone find her just lying on the ground in the middle of a jungle like that. A rock star has to keep up appearances, after all.

And she was definitely still a rock star, even if she no longer had her band. It was, after all, how she had caught a ride to this island, giving a group of loyal fans a solo concert. Of course, her fans had been pirates, given listening to her music was generally frowned upon nowadays. Once they had arrived on the shore, the pirate crew (the No-Nose Pirates, since their captain was apparently noseless) had gone into town on one of the paths. "Wimps," Jazz muttered to herself. "And why the hell should I go on a path someone else made? I... I MAKE MY OWN PATH!" Jazz hollered in a burst of emotion. The declaration even echoed a bit before dying out.

Jazz placed her hands in the dirt and pushed herself up to her feet. Stretching her hands above her head 'til her spine cracked, the young singer thought about her purpose in coming here. She had heard of this island through the Revolutionary grapevine, but no one had been willing to give her a ride. She was, despite her fame, a new recruit, after all. The fact that this island had a frickin' dictator, though, was absolutely unforgivable. It made her grind her teeth just thinking about it. She didn't care how powerful or rich the guy was, she'd beat his ass until she was convinced he wouldn't be oppressing Dojo Island's people anymore.

She began hiking briskly through the tropical forest, though the sweltering heat was making her throat a bit parched. "Whatever, the sooner I get to that village, the sooner I can beat down that dictator bastard. Plus, a drink of water sounds fantastic right now..." About half an hour later, Jazz came across a clearing in the trees, and the village she had been searching for. "All right! Now where can I find some water..."

[Deleted]

 
 As the dandy man exited the forest, somehow entirely clean despite the undergrowth he had been walking through, his eyes fell upon the houses. Nearby, A group of villagers were arguing frantically with a number of raggedy looking men. The one wearing the big hat had no nose, and spoke rather loudly. Oh, did he have competition, then? That wouldn't do at all. Drawing his knife, Lucian was about to go "Resolve" the discussion, when he noticed someone approaching from another portion of the jungle. This was interesting. The girl appeared to have wings, which was admittedly not something he was used to seeing. Her hair was in a number of colors, and she had very loud clothing on. She looked rather familiar, actually. Something about music? 

 A disturbance over in the main area of the village forced him to turn back out of curiosity. Besides, he was fairly certain that she wasn't a classical performer, and he was quite selective about his rock preferences. It appeared that the villagers were quite selective about their visitors, as a number of people in martial arts uniforms were entering the square, with a figure in a gaudier outfit behind. Despite the size of the pirate crew, the students outnumbered them significantly, and even a few seconds after the fighting began, it was clear that the pirates were not skilled in the least. Still, they were holding their ground for the moment. Besides, that gave him an opening. Best not to waste it. Although, a patsy might come in handy.

 Skirting the treeline, the tall cook approached Jazz, his knife bouncing against his hip. While the girl was about half his size, it was entirely possible that she was secretly stronger than she appeared. Unlikely, but odder things had occurred. Upon reaching her, his voice purred "If you know those blokes, then I apologize for the beating their taking. However, they don't appear to be going for the kill, but rather to knock them out. My intention is to reach the temple that these men have come from. If this is yours as well, Ma'am, then I think we can be... of use to one another. I am Lucian "Red Skye" Gyre, wanderer, pugilist, and epicurean. Who might you be?"

 Now that he got closer, he was not overly impressed. Her muscles indicated that she was likely not a brawler, but still, someone who could run slower than he was always useful, especially if the blame was evenly distributed. In the background, the pirates were mostly down on the ground, unconscious and sprawled every which way. They were joined, however, by a number of martial artists. There were still many monks standing, but their ranks had visibly lessened in the interim. Interestingly, the man in the fancy outfit, presumably the Dojo Master, was not attacking. He seemed content to watch his pupils punch the outsiders, a cruel little smirk on his face. 

 Surprisingly, despite the relatively odd appearances, nobody had yet noticed the pair at the treeline. However, once the pirates were taken care of, this would likely change. Keeping one eye on the rapidly diminishing quantity of distraction, Lucian drew his knife partially from it's sheathe. Best not to reveal his hand too early. Letting people underestimate his abilities was rarely a bad thing, and firing off a blast of air would certainly alert them to the fact that he was no ordinary opponent. 

(Rank List: Martial Artists: E class 
Dojomaster: ????
Lucian: D Class
Jazz: D Class
Pirates: Mook/E Class mix)

[Helix]

A skirmish in the center of the little town momentarily caught Jazz's attention. Was that... No Nose and his crew? They appeared to be harassing the villagers a bit. The motley dresser sighed to herself. "Well, pirates are pirates after all..." Projecting her voice a bit, she yelled over to them. "Hey, No Nose-Kun! Whatcha guys up to?" The noseless man, however, was completely zeroed in on the "prey" before him. Jazz could hear his raucous voice even from where she stood at the edge of the clearing. "Oi, c'mon, I bet those Dojo guys ain't that tough! Just a buncha pansy, robe-wearin' scumbags!"

Captain No Nose tried to continue his interrogation of the town, but found that the villagers had turned their attention elsewhere, and seemed to be getting more and more nervous by the second. Jazz looked past the crowd to see what seemed to be a small army of what appeared to be a crowd of monks of some sort. "Dammit..." "They're back!" "That time of the month again, huh..." From the villagers' reactions, it sounded like these guys were definitely bad news, and probably not as pacifist as she assumed monks would be. The bat-winged girl's hand crept upwards towards the wrapped head of her Mic Staff. It was precariously "sheathed" in the space between her body and the hoodie she had tied around her neck. "Hmmm... maybe they're like, Karate masters, or somethin'..."

Jazz found her attention particularly drawn to the fellow in the back. His robe was a few shades darker than the men around him, and seemed to have a number of shiny bits tacked on. Jewels, maybe? If it were jewels... then she might have just found her target! After all, only a stupid, self-confident dictator would walk around with an army and a fancy robe like that! "Haha, fucker, prepare to get your ass handed to you!" Meanwhile, it seemed that the Karate guys had begun to fight the No Nose pirates. That was unforgivable, especially seeing as her loyal fans didn't seem to be the most skilled of fighters, to say the least. The vocalist was just about to run off into the fray when she heard footsteps coming from her left. Heavy ones, from the sound of it.

Turning her head to the left, Jazz was startled to find such a massive man walking towards her. She was even more surprised that she hadn't noticed him before now. "H-huge..." she let slip in her shock. Twice her size, easy, he seemed to be rather well-dressed, as if he had just arrived from a funeral of sorts. Once he had gotten relatively close to her he stopped, and she straightened her back. She refused to be intimidated by this man, especially since intimidation was clearly God's intention when He had made this monster of a man, and the little contrarian didn't intend to bend to even God's whims. When he opened his mouth to speak, she couldn't help but notice how his teeth didn't seem to be human; they were way sharper than a normal person's. She was already beginning to like this guy, for the same reason she had chosen to ride with No Nose; he was, in a word, a freak. That was something she could definitely relate to.

The man spoke; his tone of voice was silky-smooth and, surprisingly, quite polite. Unfortunately, people usually didn't use that tone of voice unless they were either A) hiding something, or B) wanted something from her. Or both. Well, whatever. She thought about what he said for a bit, when she realized what his last words had been. "Who might you be?"

Who might she be? Who might she be?

"EH?! Don't tell me you haven't heard of the infamous Jazz DeRoque?! The fallen angel, the revolutionary rock star, the girl like no other in existence?! C'mon, that's me! Jazz! De! ROQUE!" she exclaimed, volume rising throughout her speech until she striking an extravagant rocker pose on the last word, arm raised and index and pinkie finger pointed skyward. Surprisingly, though, it hadn't even cut through the din of the pirates and Karate guys' scuffle, as no one had even looked over in their general direction. With a sullen glance at the town's apparent indifference towards her, Jazz saw that the man (Lucien, was it?) had been right; they weren't being killed, just K.O.ed. The flamboyant Revolutionary turned and looked up straight into the man's eyes. "Well, to answer your question earlier, I was planning on headin' to the temple, sure. But my quarry is actually that fancy-dressed guy over there; The Grand Dojo Master, a bastard dictator if I ever saw one. And you guessed right; I do know those clods over there, another reason why I can't ignore this. But feel free to head on up there for whatever you want after I show this guy the light." she stated with a grin, planting a fist in her palm to emphasize her point. Pivoting, and taking a few deep breaths, she began a slow march towards the field of baddies before her.

[Deleted]

Tapping his chin, the cook considered the girl's loud and somewhat brash declaration. Jazz de Roque, was it? That actually sounded familiar. A musician who had gone rogue, and joined the revolutionaries. Interesting, quite interesting indeed. However, she was now heading towards the rabble nearby. That likely wouldn't end well, but it was a nice distraction. Tapping his chin, Lucien reached into his jacket pocket. Drawing out a cigar, the tall man placed it between his lips, and lit it as he contemplated his options. Staring at the battle taking place, minuscule and stupid though it was, a few options presented themselves. He could go and try to beat this man up, and then rob the dojo. However, that seemed... boring....



Nearby, an initiate sniffed the air. What was that odd smell? Like burning, from near the woods. Meanwhile, the pirate was continuing to consider. Totally ignoring everything, even the now approaching initiate, he began to grin. Well, the girl had wings, that could be amusing. His hangglider was back at the ship, about 7 minutes walk back, and a minute at most to fly here... yes, that could work nicely. As he blew a circle of smoke out, a voice came from about his crotch level. "You there! Outsiders are not allowed inside th-" Glancing down, his eyes peering though his amber sunglasses, the cannibal grinned.



The martial artist, green as he was, still managed to get an attempt at a block in. However, when your opponent is twice your size, and can fire airblasts from his body, blocks don't help. Bringing his hand up, a vent formed on the cook's palm. Swinging the hand down, he inhaled, and as the back of the appendage made contact, a flurry of wind erupted from the Devil Fruit User's palm. With a cry, the monk went flying, and a second or so later, impacted with a nearby house, crashing through the window. The remaining combatants, startled, turned around to see a man, groaning, his upper half stuck in a wooden wall, and a very tall man with sharp teeth laughing, as he vanished into the woods.

((Sorry this is so short, just, totally muse blocked for this right now.))

[Helix]

"Haha, so which one of you bastards is gonna be my warm-up?" Jazz intoned particularly loudly, a cocky grin on her face, head tilted a bit to the side. Sadly, once again no one was noticing the attention-seeker, despite her efforts, due to the volume of the fight occurring around her. A few people glanced at her, but, while outsiders were generally supposed to be turned away, they had bigger concerns than some random teen tourist. Consequently, Jazz was beginning to lose the small amount of patience she bothered to maintain. It wouldn't be enough to simply jump into the fray; they had to know who she was, what she was doing, and why she was doing it. "Dammit all..." She hadn't wanted to raise her voice, as it was indiscriminate in its ravaging, but right now it seemed as if it was either that or play the mysterious hero. And the last thing she wanted to do was be known as "that one chick who beat those guys up."

"All right, fine." Inhaling deeply, Jazz bellowed near the top of her lungs, "ALL RIGHT, LISTEN UP YOU LITTLE SHITS! WHY DON'T YOU ALL JUST SHUT. THE FUCK. UP!!!" Everyone immediately stopped doing what they were doing, most of them wincing a little at the intense volume of the outburst, a few of the less-tolerant victims clutching their ears in pain. After the initial whines and complaints died down, Jazz gathered her thoughts. Once everyone was staring at her (most a little reproachfully) as she began to speak. "Well, now that we've got the formalities outta the way," ("Formalities my ass." one student muttered to his fellow initiate.) "I have a bone to pick with the so-called Grand Dojo Master of this island." she called out, eyeing the middle-aged man in the resplendent clothing. Upon closer inspection, he was particularly tall, taller than his subordinates to be sure, though not quite as tall as that giant of a man she had met earlier. He was bald, but had a long, gray beard, something usually associated with older men. He was staring coldly at her, an annoyed expression on his face.

"That would be me," the Grand Dojo Master stated levelly. Jazz grinned devilishly. "Really? I kinda guessed that, but I figured I'd give you the chance to push it off onto one of your lackies. Eh, anyways," the pugilistic singer paused for a second to crack her knuckles. "I'm only gonna ask this once. Will you stop this island's dictatorship? Depending on your answer, I'll-" "You'll what?" The master made his way through the crowd of initiates towards Jazz, lowering his head so that she could smell his foul, fishy breath. "You'll 'beat me up?' Do you have any idea how many have said that? Do you know why I'm the Grand Dojo Master on this island? It's because the number of my losses..." He held up his hand, thumb and forefinger curved to make an O-shape.

"...Is exactly zero. There is a zero percent chance of anyone winning a fight against me. Exactly what makes you think you'll turn out any different than the others?" Scoffing at her idiocy, the Dojo Master was turning his head to go when his ears were assaulted with an incredibly powerful noise, one which, if he had been able to concentrate on something besides the tearing pain in his eardrums, he could've identified as a scream. Jazz's close proximity to his ears made it all the worse, and the previously-aloof Dojo Master fell to one knee from the startling shout.

"YOU BASTARD! OF COURSE I'M DIFFERENT!" Jazz lowered her voice back down to a bearable volume when she had finished with her enraged scream. "After all, I'm Jazz DeRoque! There's never been anyone like me, ever! So how the hell could you know," she pulled her fist back, up over her head. "Whether or not I can WIN!" Once again forcing her lungs to take in a massive amount of air, Jazz raised her voice to ear-shatteringly levels once again as her fist came down, "DOWN," to slam into the top of the bearded man's lowered head, "BEAT!" knocking the man's already bowing head even lower, to the point where he took a tumble and fell right on his face. The combination of a dizzyingly-loud sound and the impact of Jazz's fist had made it nigh impossible to keep his balance.

Taking a few steps back from her handiwork, the teen revolutionary smiled and swallowed. Normally this would've been nothing to her, but she was very dehydrated, to say the least, which was making even a simple scream more painful for her than it should've been. She rubbed her throat and turned to the Karate guys behind her. "Hey, you guys got any water on y-" Her lackadaisical inquiry was cut off when her throat was grabbed from behind. "You little bitch," the long-bearded man growled. "You think you're such hot-stuff, huh? You caught me off guard, I'll give you that. But that is the only reason you even managed to land a hit!" Struggling to pry the man's slender yet strong fingers from her neck, Jazz was having trouble breathing, let alone raising her voice in retaliation. "Damn... you bast... shi..."

Laughing at the half-formed obscenities coming from her mouth, he released her, dropping her on the ground before landing a solid kick to her stomach. Any remaining air in her lungs was forced out, and she was once again left gasping in pain. For the life of her, she could not get a good long breath in before she wheezed it out, and she could feel her oxygen-deprived brain getting dizzy. As blackness encircled her vision, the last thing she heard was, "Take her to the doctor's residence, then bring her to my temple once she's been treated. Oh, and make sure to keep her mouth shut and covered; we don't want her screaming in that unearthly voice anymore... at least not until I tell her to." She could practically hear the evil grin in his voice. For a moment, the rebellious vocalist was seething with unimaginable rage, though it was suddenly and quickly overwhelmed by the need... to sleep...

[Deleted]

 Immaculately shined shoes thumped dully on the pale sand, as the cook calmly strolled down the beach. Stepping into his boat, he crossed the deck in a stride, and entered the small cabin. There was little room inside of it, especially for someone of his stature. However, it was quite handy indeed for storing things. Picking up a series of poles, bundled up in a tarp, he walked back out into the sun. The sounds of the fighting had vanished as he entered the woods, to be replaced by the noises of the jungle. From here, he couldn't tell if the brawl had ended. Shame, but he had other things to focus on.

 Rolling out the canvas, and selecting a pair of poles, the thief began to work. Smoke curled from his cigar as the metal slid together. The framework was almost finished by the time his smoke died, and with a snort, he inhaled. Exhaling a quick burst of wind through his mouth, the butt shot out, and landed some distance away, making a small ripple as it hit the water. With a grin, the giant man lifted up the tarp-covered framework, revealing it's nature. A light blue triangle of canvas lay taut over the poles, held together by bolts. Hefting it over his head, he inhaled deeply. The intake continued for a long moment, as he adjusted the hang-glider. Raising himself up on his toes, a pair of vents formed on his heels and spewed out air, sending him up, nearly 30 feet, the glider catching on the sea winds. Gasping a bit, Lucien shook his head, and then, inhaling once more, formed vents on his back. Letting a burst out every few seconds, he gradually climbed into the sky, as the wind carried him towards the clearing in the center of the island.

 By the time he reached the village, he was nearly 200 feet in the air. The cannibal was also getting quite winded. The glider was doing most of the work holding him up. However, the winds away from the shore were growing weaker, and if he got too low, he'd begin heading to the ground. Probably best to head for the mountain over there. Turning slowly, down below him, he saw the villagers moving about, picking up after the scuffle. Several monks were lying on beds that had been moved to the middle of the street. No pirates were visible, which likely meant that the Dojo had won. Interesting.

 Nearly 3 Miles away, a mountain loomed in the distance. It wasn't huge, but it was definitely the major feature on the island. It also, to the Devil Fruit User's delight, appeared to have reasonable gusts leading to it. With a smile, Lucien gave another burst, catching a wind current, and heading towards the mountain, and upon it, the steps leading up to the monastery. Inhaling again, he ran over his plan once more. 

 Land on the peak below the monastery. Then, stash the glider. Enter from roof of Monastery. Locate DeRoque if at all possible. Locate treasure, determine how much is portable. Stash it near glider if possible. Smash the damn building up some, depending on how many of those martial artists there are, and how good they happen to be. Might fight the Dojo master if I have time. He had some fancy stuff on the gi of his. 

[Helix]

"Welcome home Master!" Jazz stated warmly as the Grand Dojo Master walked in through the door. Clad in the stereotypical maid's uniform, she proceeded to bow until her face was parallel to the ground. "Ah, yes, my little maid. Give me a back rub, will you?" "Yes sir!" The obedient maid got right to it, massaging the older gentleman's back through his shirt. "Mmm, that's the spot... Now, how about a sponge bath..."

"KRAAAAAAH!" Jazz bolted up in bed, her scream reverberating throughout the room. Hair frizzy, skin damp, she just couldn't stop hyperventilating. That had probably been the worst nightmare since the one where she went deaf, though this one took the cake for sure. "Aaaaaahhh, that hurts..." she cringed, clutching the side of her head. Felt like a bomb had gone off in her brain... As well as in her chest! The fuck?! And it felt like she had been lying on her wings weird... "Goddamn, what the hell happened to me?!" she griped, rubbing her temples. "Ohhh, right, that bastard." He had choked her practically to death, then kicked her full-throttle in the gut... Probably one of the most painful beatdowns she'd had in a while. "Tch," she spat a wad of spit (and a bit of blood) into a cup of water by her bedside. Whipping away the sheets, she found her whole torso bandaged rather thickly, and, while her shirt and hoodie had gone who-knows-where, her pants seemed to have been loyal enough to stay.

"Man, why the hell am I even alive?" she wondered aloud, grabbing the cup of water and chugging it, despite the excretions floating in it. "Well... you see... Umm..." a small voice came from the door. "Eh?" Jazz turned her head toward the intruder, taking a deep breath in anticipation for a possible threat. "Who're you?" A young girl with seafoam hair, large, round glasses, and pigtails was standing in the doorway, with a frightened look on her face. "I-I'm Missy Stewart, and I'll be your nurse for the duration of your stay!" The little girl was stating it rather loudly and monotonously, like she had rehearsed it. The girl was scared, probably. Hearing a blood-curdling shriek like that would startle even the bravest of warriors, and this girl... definitely didn't fit that description. "Hey, aren't you a little young to be a nurse?" Jazz asked, slightly exasperated.

"Ummm," Missy looked down to the ground, like her feet had suddenly become more interesting than Jazz. Jazz looked to the side in annoyance. As if. "My mom's out right now, so when the Grand Master needed someone to take care of you, I was the only one who could..." Well that explained it. Only way for a kid like that to be a nurse, Jazz supposed. "T-to answer your question from before," the girl quickly took a sharper tone, and her voice dropped down into a whisper. "You see, I think he said he wants to make you his personal slave or something!" Jazz sighed. "Great, another frickin' pervert who wants me for their weird fantasies..." "Oh no!" The bespectacled girl revealed in her secretive voice. "The Grand Master doesn't like girls. I mean, think about it. Why else would he surround himself with only boys for students?" Jazz looked at her sharply. "Seriously?" "SERIOUSLY!" The little girl was suddenly barely an inch away from her face, causing Jazz to lean back slightly. "Well, that's... good, I guess."

Looking around the tiny room for the first time, she noticed that everything, the walls, the floor, the ceiling, was white. Or maybe just a really light color. Not that it really mattered to the color blind girl. A sole window decorated the wall on her left, which seemed to be the only source of light. There was another, empty bed beside hers, and both of them were accompanied by a small night table, from where she had grabbed that cup of water. Speaking of which... "Hey," Jazz started, causing the girl to jump slightly. Seemed like she was back to being timid again. "Can I get another glass of water, uh... Missy?" "Oh! Certainly! I'll, um, just be a minute!" she quickly grabbed the empty cup, and sped out. Looking around some more, Jazz spotted her missing articles of clothing, and quickly pulled them on over the bandages. Those flimsy pieces of paper were annoying, but her ribs still felt bruised, so she she decided to leave them on for now. Plus, it had gotten a lot colder in the time she had been unconscious, so any extra covering was definitely appreciated. As such, she had pulled on her hoodie as well, flipping its hood up over her head. Still seemed light out, though, so unless she'd slept all day, she probably hadn't been out for too long. 

Missy arrived with the full glass of water. Grabbing it from her hand. Jazz threw her head back and chugged it again in one go. "Ah, that helps a lot! Thanks, Missy!" "Y-you're welcome... Uh, are you leaving? Because I was told not to let you-" "You were told? HAH!" Jazz glanced back towards Missy with a grin. "Why would you do anything someone like that bastard says? Cuz he's strong? SO THE HELL WHAT!" Jazz started ranting. "You still don't have to do anything he says!" Pumping her fists in the air, she ran out the door, yelling "Woohoo! Screw authority!" as she went. Sitting there a little shocked, Missy gathered her thoughts for a few minutes before she realized that she needed to tell someone about this! Similarly to Jazz, she sprinted out, calling "OI! WHO WANTS TO KNOW A SECRET?" 

Jazz, meanwhile, had realized that, 1. She was definitely no longer in the village, and 2. Her Mic-Staff was gone. The fluorescent-colored teen sat herself down on the top of a long set of steps. Before her, she could see the entire island. The village was maybe a few miles away. Looking at the minimal movement the sun had made, it seemed like she'd been asleep for... little less than an hour? That nurse girl had worked fast, to be sure. Anyway, she had to find her Mic-Staff. Then, she'd beat that Dojo bastard's ass for sure! She did not know where he and his students had run off to... The baths? If that gossiping little girl had been right...


Suddenly, Jazz noticed a lightly-toned blob moving towards the mountain at a fairly high speed. It was a little hard for her to make out, but, as it got closer, she saw it was a triangular shape. "Huh... Weird animals on this island, that's for sure." she stated in a distracted tone of voice. She needed to find both her Mic-Staff and the Dojo Master guy. In other words... She needed a plan.

[Deleted]

 Diving down toward the dojo, the lift provided by the wind quickly depleting, the cannibalistic cook smirked and glanced about. In retrospect, placing the glider farther down was stupid. He would need maximum lift to escape, especially with a sack of treasure. How to do it was the question. Fortunately, a likely answer was presenting itself as he drew closer to his destination. On the rocky crag, several hundred meters below the peak, the steps ended, and a large chunk of the mountain was revealed to have been carved away. Within the lee of this alcove, protected from the winds, was a building. Ornate to the extreme, it's stylized roof was decorated with a truly silly number of carved dragons. The lower building was likely ornate as well, but there was no way to tell. When looking at a place from directly above, the walls are hard to see. 

 Drawing closer, the Ability User stared at the rocks ahead. There were 4 that could work, being plenty long enough. The one on the right decided on, he swung his legs forward, and just before he hit the mountain, threw himself away from his glider. The sudden forceful ejection shoved it in a swooping curve, and it flew up, kissing the face of the peak. A moment later, momentum lost, gravity took hold once more and caused it to fall down. Lucien had guessed correctly about it's angle, and a spire of rock hooked it, sliding neatly through the handle. Wind swirling past, the glider remained, hanging motionless off it's makeshift hook. It's rider fell in the meantime, hand's outstretched.

 As he plummeted downwards, the thief took a second to enjoy the feeling. The rushing air, the cool chill of tension. It was invigorating. As the rocks approached, his mouth widened, and once more, the gigantic man inhaled heavily. The soles of his shoes seemed to slit, as vents appeared, and with a burst of air, he kicked off from the side of the mountain. Thankfully, his fall had been no more than 40 feet at most. The recoil was minimal, and he was able to correct his angle. Twisting in mid air, and sucking in another gulp, he growled out, "Van Rickoch!" With another burst, he kicked off the next bit of surface, sending a few rocks crumbling down the slope.

His speed now comfortably under his control, he hopped down the mountain. Inhaling every other jump, he made it to the roof in pretty good time. The statues of the dragons, now that he took time to inspect them, were indeed ornate. Interestingly, they even had jeweled eyes. "Interesting... Perhaps they were thinking that up here, they'd be harder to steal. No normal peasant would be able to climb up here, that's certain." With a hiss, his knife flicked out from it's sheathe, and the cook pressed it into the soft gold leaf, popping out the eye. A brief inspection revealed it to be low grade stone, but valuable nonetheless. Worth keeping, at least.

Leaning over the edge of the roof, one long leg hooked around a statue, he could just see a window below the overhang of the roof. Leaning a bit, he managed to hook one hand on the sill. Unwrapping his legs, his body arced around, and smashed directly through the window, dropping him into a hallway as wooden shutters rained down around him. Lucien stood, and dusting himself off, looked up and down. The Dojo was clearly well built and maintained. If a place like this did not have a stash of treasure somewhere, then it'd be the first time the cook had seen. Nodding in a gentlemanly manner, the well-dressed thief exclaimed "Well then, I believe some creative redistribution of wealth is in order, as well as some wanton shenanigans. Or no, that's wrong..." Tapping his chin, a sneer suddenly split his scarred visage. "I mean to say..." With a crash, his fist blew through the wall, smashing a hole nearly as big as a cannonball in it. "IT'S TIME TO FUCK SOME SHIT UP!" Laughing like a lunatic, he charged off down the hall.

[Helix]

After sitting on the top step for a few minutes, Jazz stood up, stretched, and leaned against a wall. "A plan, huh..." The closest thing to a plan she could think of was to run around this huge place looking for her staff, but then there was the chance she'd find that Grand Dojo guy first. And he had made it pretty clear that she didn't stand much of a chance against him unarmed. "Hmm... AHA! I got it! I can just check all the doors in this damn palace. Gonna have to be a bit sneaky, but it's not like I can't keep quiet if I need to-"

"OI!" Suddenly, the pig-tailed girl from before ran down a hall perpendicular to the one Jazz was facing. "THAT COLORFUL LADY TOOK OFF! DOESN'T ANYBODY WANNA KNOW? OOOOIIIIIIiiiii..." The girl's voice trailed off as she continued her jog down the hallway. Jazz stood still for a moment as she tried to process what she had just seen. A few seconds after Missy had disappeared, the rock star finally put two and two together. "HEY! SHUT UP, YOU LITTLE BRAT!" Breaking into a sprint, Jazz took a right down the hall, after the little tattle-tale. Catching up in less than a minute, Jazz continued berating Missy. "Jeez, did that whole speech I gave mean nothing to you?! Tell me, are you deaf, or just stupid?!" Looking back to see Jazz right on her heels, Missy panicked, tripping over her feet to land and slide painfully on the floor. Jazz, in a rare moment of grace, used the momentum to leap over the little megane, turn around mid-jump, and land on her feet in front of Missy. 

The annoyed rocker reached down, grabbed Missy's collar, and lifted her up. "Whoa, you're pretty light... Anyway, why the hell are you still working for these guys, huh? They're terrible! The type who would dominate an entire island for money, and kidnap someone for... whatever the-hell reason they kidnapped me!" Missy stopped struggling and looked at Jazz in bemusement. "Why? What else is there?" Jazz set her down, and crouched down until she was at the young girl's eye level. "Well, if you rebelled against this bastard, you could do anything you want! You wouldn't have to do whatever that Dojo bastard says, you could control your own life! You could get off this island, and see the world! Doesn't that sound cool?" Despite Jazz's efforts, Missy continued to look relatively uninterested, until something seemed to occur to her. "You mean, I could find my dad?" "Yeah, you could find your dad! ...Wait, your dad?"

"Yes, my dad! I never really knew him beyond what Mom told me, but he tried rebelling against the Grand Dojo Master too! But he couldn't do it, so he got banished. I'm told the only reason they didn't kill him was because he had been a good friend of the Master! Maybe he knows a good reason to rebel!" "Yeah, maybe he- Wait, what're you sayin', brat-" "It's all so clear now! Dad's out there right now, waiting for someone to finish what he started and bring down the Grand Dojo Mas-" Missy suddenly froze like a statue. "Hey, what's the matter?" Jazz asked, a little concerned. Missy slowly turned to Jazz, a scared and anxious look on her face. "T-there's no way I can beat him..." She started sniffling, and Jazz tried to calm her down. "That's no problem! I can beat him!" she said, giving the crying girl a thumbs-up and a cocky grin. "B-but you (sniff) got totally destroyed by him..." Missy waveringly argued. "Well, my throat was a little dry..." Jazz said, slightly annoyed at this girl's lack of optimism. "But that doesn't even matter! Once I get my weapon back, I'll be able to beat him for sure!"

"Y-you're weapon?" Missy stopped crying for a moment. "Yeah! Do you know where it is?" Jazz eagerly asked the girl. "W-well... You know, it might be in the armory! That's where they put all of their weapons, actually!" The gossiper was back to her more enthusiastic side. "Alright! Can you take me?" "Sure, I know this temple like the back of my hand! Me and Mom live here, you know. Only doctors in the village. Guess it's just another way for the Master to control everything, huh?" "Yeah, don't worry though. I'll definitely beat his ass up!" Jazz declared, regaining her enthusiasm for the situation at hand. "Lead the way, Megane-chan!" "Um, actually, my name's Missy, you said it before..." "Right, right, Migane-chan!" Jazz waved her forward, too distracted by her newfound chance at beating the island's dictator to realize her mistake. Deciding to leave it at that, Missy started running back the way she came. After a minute or so of running, Jazz heard a faint, yet noticeably enthusiastic, yell echo throughout the building. 

"Hey, didja hear that?" Jazz asked, trying to pinpoint where it had come from. "Hmm? I d-didn't hear anything, actually... But say," Missy glanced back at her flashy companion. "Did you know, they say that this temple is haunted by invisible ghosts? I swear I've heard them a few-" "Hey, Migane-chan, focus on where we're heading!" Jazz interrupted her, stopping her before she crashed into a wall. "Ah! I-I'm sorry! This way, please!" she skidded to a stop and took a left. After a few more minutes of labyrinthine hallways and doors, Missy halted before a great metal door, easily over twice Jazz's height. Whipping a small grey key out of her pocket, the teal-haired girl proceeded to put it in the door's lock. "U-umm, could you help me with this, by chance?" she asked Jazz. "Sure! Leave it to me!" the flamboyant teen affirmed, cracking her knuckles before grasping the giant doorknob.

Leaning back, Jazz pulled on the door with all her strength. The door began to open, slowly at first, then quicker, until the interior was visible to the two loquacious girls. Inside, on the right, the wall seemed to be devoted to various assorted weapons. Swords, clubs, muskets... the works. The other side was a bit more interesting, with several racks full of what looked to be ceremonial weapons, with gold and jewels immaculately encrusted on them. At the far end of the armory was a full suit of armor on a mannequin, just as bejeweled, if not more so, as the weapons on the left wall. Stepping inside, Jazz began to shuffle through the weapons, to look for her own, as Missy stood outside, nervously looking for any approaching guards.

[Deleted]

It was quickly obvious that despite his initial drive for destruction, the Dojo was entirely empty on this floor. The ceiling was a few feet lower than his head here, and so the cook was bent nearly double. Squatting, he briefly contemplated just breaking the ceiling. Probably a bad idea, however. If it could hold those dragon statues, it'd be far too long a task. Also, he should probably be SOMEWHAT stealthy. The martial artists had actually looked somewhat competent, and his maneuverability was limited in such a small space.



After far too long of scooting along the attic-like area, Lucian managed to locate the stairs. The attic space's stairs were tight, and he had to go leg first down the initial flight. It was plain that the area had not been built for people his size. The stairwell was just wide enough,but the door frame refused to let his shoulders through at first. Bracing his arms against the wood, he heaved, and with a pop, slid forward. This would have been all well and good, had it not been for the dumbwaiter on the landing. As time seemed to slow, the impending jackassery looming like a specter of shame, the pirate reflected.



Really, he should have seen this coming. The stairs were narrow and hard to navigate, and this floor was obviously for storage. Carrying barrels up and down floors was a giant pain, and so a giant lift was necessary. This had been true in several places he had cooked. Granted, he typically had used the dumbwaiters to hide bodies or something of the like. Being a cook for criminals tended to give one different priorities. Time resumed it's normal course, and he slid into the dumbwaiter, legs folding up as they hit the far wall, and his head poking out. The ropes creaked for a moment, as he sat there. Then, sighing, the cook lifted one hand to pull himself out.



*SNAP*



"Oh for Fu-" The lift's rope snapped in two, the weight of the giant man causing the already frayed rope to break. The Dojo's cook had been meaning to replace it, but had been waiting on new rope, rather than use the old hemp he had on hand. None of this meant much to Lucian, who was now falling down the shaft, his head smacking back and forth as each new floor impacted it once more, bouncing it out of the way long enough to dodge the guillotine-like effect of the open dumbwaiter passing it. With a crash, it finally ended. Opening his swimming eyes, the cook looked out into a basement kitchen, rough stone walls and ovens lining them.



Sitting himself up inside the hole he had just ridden a plank of wood down, he shook his head a few times. His sunglasses were bent, and his vest was disheveled, but other than a bruise on the back of his head, he was alright. Sliding a hand into the inside of his vest, he retrieved a second set of sunglasses, orange and crossed with metal like the first, and slid them on. Stowing the original pair, he noticed a pair of legs crossing the room toward the hole that the dumbwaiter was accessed from.



The portly, grouchy cook that made the food for the students, and the banquet that the master and his "Special Pupils" dined on was a miserable sod. He was also quite top heavy, which did not work in his favor when Lucian's arms shot out from the ground-level hole, and dragged him, screaming, into the dumbwaiter with him. A moment later, the screaming stopped, and the cannibalistic Ability User emerged, dragging the fresh corpse with one hand, and holding his now bloody knife in the other.



In the interest of taste,(Besides Lucian's own), we will skip the ensuing butchery, cooking, spicing, and eating of the former cook. Instead, let us skip forward an hour or so. Lucian sighed, wiping his mouth and swigging the remains of a bottle of high-class bourbon that had been marked with "Dojomaster's. Do not Touch." Stretching, he stood, kicking over the chair, and tossing the now clean skull up and down, up and down. "Well then, time to get ta lootin'. I wonder where those bastards are? OI,COME OUT YA MORONS."
When no answer was forthcoming, he grumbled, and began to force his frame through the staircase that led out of the kitchen. The lack of an answer was probably due to the muffling effect of the basement, and the fact that all of the returned martial artists were meditating on their victory in a silenced room. 


As he emerged from the staircase, he found himself in a far more luxurious area. The floors of a richly hued teak, and the artistically painted paper walls made the entire area almost painfully showy. Not too far from where he had exited, however, was a pair of large metal doors, which were standing open. Those generally were the type of doors that had interesting things behind them. Walking over, he poked his head in, and peered about.



Within were a few things of interest. Weapons, for one, which he decided to peek at if he had the time. Those tended to come in handy, but usually categorized themselves as not worth their weight. There were a number of treasure-type valuable things, also in the form of weapons. And finally, there was that girl, Jassity Chalk? Or something? He grinned, and looked down at the now terrified other girl in the room with Jassity, who was facing away from the door, looking for something. " 'Ello there. What's goin' on in here, then?"

[Helix]

"Dammit, dammit, DAMMIT! No luck!" Jazz finished rifling through the rack holding the normal weapons, all of which had been unceremoniously dumped on the ground. She was about to start on the other side, when a vaguely familiar voice from behind drew her attention.

" 'Ello there. What's goin' on in here, then?"

"Eh?" Looking over her shoulder, she recognized the insanely-tall guy from earlier. "Oh, wow, it's you, huh? So you made it up here after all, even without my help!" The rock star replied with a cocky grin. Turning back to the multitude of shiny weapons the left wall-rack had to offer, she began to sift through them, occasionally tossing behind her any that got in the way of her search.  "Tryin' to find my weapon, since someone apparently took it while I was sleeping... Aha, here it is!" She held up a golden staff with a massive, egg-like pearl at its head, something which was almost indistinguishable from her normal staff to her colorblind (and admittedly rather unobservant) eyes. Upon closer inspection, the adolescent realized that it was not even close to being her weapon. The head was way too shiny, with none of the criss-crossing lines of a microphone head. "Or not. Dammit! Where the hell else could it be?!" With a sigh, she nonetheless slung it over her shoulder. "Whatever. It'll hafta do until I find mine..." Jazz glanced at Missy, who appeared to be petrified of Lucien, then at the man himself, then back to Missy.

Connecting the dots, Jazz attempted to comfort her new friend a bit. "Hey, c'mon, don't tell me you're scared of him? Sure, he's like, ten feet tall, s'got fangs, and dresses weird, but it's not like he's gonna eat you or anything, right?" "A-are you sure about that, Jazz-san?" Scoffing a little at Missy's cowardice, she replied confidently, "Of course- Hey, wait." she halted her comment as she noticed something odd about what Missy had said. "I'm pretty sure I never told you my name, so how the hell did you know it?" "The Grand Dojo Master told me." "Seriously?" "SERIOUSLY!" Missy had switched back into gossip mode, and the scene from the doctor's office seemed to replay itself, with Missy getting much too close for comfort. Jazz inwardly slapped herself for falling into that trap again. "I mean, he actually seemed super happy you were here! He was all like, 'Oh yes, my dream of having my own private musician is finally coming to fruition!'" The bespectacled girl stated, adopting a lower tone of voice and stoic continence.

"Weeell, that explains it all then. Naturally, my fame and talent preceded me, driving even a man like that to abduct me for his own, twisted purposes!" she asserted loudly, nodding to herself. Glancing back at Lucien, something occurred to her. "So, what're you doing here in this bastard's castle or whatever? Did he piss you off somehow? Like I said before, I'm just lookin' to kick that guy's ass."

Meanwhile, in a training room on the far side of the temple...

"Man, how come we gotta clean dishes when everyone else just sits and chills in the Meditation Room?" a student complained to his companion. "Yeah, I know right?" Student #2's voice blasted alarmingly loud. Startled, Student #1 dropped the dish he was holding, which shattered upon hitting the floor. Whipping around, #1 confronted the other student. "What the hell, man? Don't scream at me like that!" "It wasn't me, it was this thing!" #2 said defensively, holding up a microphone on a long metal pole. "Whoa, what is that thing?" #1 asked, momentarily forgetting the dropped dish. "Found it off that weird girl Master kidnapped! Didn't know where to put something like this, so I figured I could just take it! It makes your voice louder when you speak into it, like this! HELLO!" He shouted into the microphone, practically destroying his and his friend's eardrums. "Ach, man, don't do that!" They both covered their ears from the residual pain. " 'Sides, you should shut up with that before the Master hears you! You know how pissed he gets when people disrupt his meditation." "Yeah, yeah..." #2 complied, dropping the microphone on the ground (subsequently making a loud BAM for them to both wince at), and walking back over to the sink, where they continued washing the dishes.

[Deleted]

 As Jazz loudly assured the maid that the tall, tan cook was not interested in consuming her, said pirate began to feel an odd tingle in his throat. Working the long, slightly pointed tongue back, he coughed slightly, and flicked the bit disturbing his digestion forward. Snagging it out of the air, Lucian glanced down. In his palm sat a small gold ring. He vaguely recalled seeing rings on the cook, but he could have sworn he removed them before sauteing the hands.

 Shrugging, he tossed the trinket into the air, letting it fall into his pocket. As he did so, a roar of rage came echoing up from the basement. Seconds later, the walls seemed to reverberate with the sound of a gong, and then a voice, screaming in fury. "INTRUDERS! THEY'VE EATEN OUR FOOD! DRUNK MY BEVERAGES! .... Oh, and that fat cook's dead, I suppose." Glancing around, Lucian realized that the group was currently sitting right in the middle of hallway. "Right, you two, get the fuck inside this door." Dashing inside, the enormous man quickly began to shut the doors, as from upstairs in the dojo, a horde of stampeding feet could be heard. "Dammit, I thought I was so careful! How did they find out I was here?"

Ten Minutes Earlier

    As he passed through the halls, headed for the dojo, the Grand Master sniffed. An odd smell was wafting up through the dumbwaiter shaft beside him. "Odd, it smells like fried meat.... I wonder if the cook is making something new. It'd be a first, he's been fairly staid thus far." He was about to turn away, when something finally registered. The edge of the hole was dented heavily, like it had been hit with a hammer. On the edge, a tiny, drying drop of blood sat. Blinking, the dojo master turned, and ran as fast as his old legs would carry him. As he went down the stairs, he could see that the dumbwaiter on the first floor was damaged as well. Below him, the tall cannibal was just turning the corner, ducking out of sight as he came barreling down the stairway to the kitchen. The Grand Master frantically stared into the dumbwaiter's exit, but there was no body to be seen. Sighing in relief, he stood up, and turned back around.

 In doing so, he came face to face with the piled up bones of the cook. His face turned green, and bending over, he threw up into a bucket. After the heaving subsided, he reached for the whiskey that should have been placed on the shelf for him. Instead, his hand grasped a clearly empty bottle. As the haze of disgust fell from his eyes, replaced by the burning clarity of rage, he noticed that the food had all vanished, some eaten, some poured into a large barrel that now bore the words "Pig Swill" in deeply slashed letters. Eyes narrowing, the Dojo Master stalked over to the wall, where a gong hung before an upwards sloping shaft. The gong had a large cone attached, and was typically used to call for dinner. However, it would serve well as an alarm bell.

Current Time

 "Yep, must be one sharp guy. He caught my scent so quickly. It was inevitable, I suppose. " Inhaling deeply, Lucian began to build up air. As the ruckus outside grew, he prepared to unleash a burst of air at the first person to open the door.

[Helix]

"Hey hey HEY! What the hell?!" Jazz blurted out as Lucian slammed the doors shut on them, though not before Missy squeaked her way inside. "Why are we hiding in here from those bastards when we could just take 'em all on? What, some big guy like you's scared or something? We've got like thr-" A glance at Missy stopped the Revolutionary rocker in mid-sentence. "Okay. Two people. Whatever, I count as like five myself, so there's no need to worry. Let's just go out and kick some ass!"

The fact that Lucian had practically "ordered" them inside the weapons' closet only served to amplify Jazz's discontentment with the situation. Meanwhile, Missy was huddled in the corner, muttering her own discontentment at a rapid-fire pace. "We're dead, we are so dead. I didn't think he would catch on to us this quickly, oh jeez, I didn't properly think through this situation, no one can beat the Grand Master when he's serious, why did I ever think this could work..." More mutterings were issued, but even Jazz couldn't make it out over the increasing sound of shouts and feet clattering on the wooden floor. 

Turning her head, Jazz cast an irritated glare in Missy's direction. Rushing over, she kneeled down and grabbed the bespectacled girl by the collar once again. "Haven't you been listening to a word I've said?! I. CAN. BEAT THIS GUY! Honestly, just 'cause he got one lucky punch in before doesn't mean he's stronger than me! GOD!" As Jazz yelled in Missy's face while shaking her back and forth, the teal-hair's face continued to hold a look of despair, as well as a look of total disorientation from the treatment she was receiving. 

"It's... not just the... Master we have to... w-worry about..." Missy drawled faintly, like someone who had just stepped off an intense roller coaster and was about to get sick all over the floor. "Huh? Seriously? ...Aw shi-" "SERIOUSLY!" The nurse's assistant sprang up suddenly with an amount of vim and vigor that was most certainly not there earlier. "You see, there is a special system to the apprentices of this Dojo! That is, the normal students, of which there are about 40 or so, and who are still only learning the basics of the Dojo's arts." Reluctantly a little intrigued, Jazz sat down Indian-style on the polished wood flooring as Missy continued her spiel.


"They've got pretty much no talent when it comes to fighting, and they're usually the ones stuck with the menial chores and such. Then there's the Favorites, as the Master calls them. There are about... a dozen of them, I think? They're all being trained in the advanced fighting techniques of the Dojo; some of them even use weapons, like what's in here. There are only three students who've actually graduated the Grand Dojo Master's program, though. They're the Elites. They're all kinda strong, though not nearly as strong as the Master himself. Essentially, what I'm telling you is that you don't just have the Master to fight. Including him, there are almost 60 practitioners here!"

Having heard enough, Jasmine DeRoque stood up and smiled smugly. "Right, but I'm only fighting the bastard who's oppressing this island's people. I couldn't care less about his weird little lackeys." Missy sighed with exasperation. "Idiot, you just don't get it, do you..."

\(^o^)/

Outside the armory, a man known amongst his underlings only as "The Grand Dojo Master" had just sprinted his way up the flight of stairs and was taking a short breather, his back bent over and both hands pressed to his knees to support his wheezing upper half. Despite his obvious discomfort, a grin had just sprang to the old man's face. The reason was that he had just heard a multitude of explosive shouts from the room to his right; namely, the Dojo's armory. The Dojo Master didn't currently have enough lung strength at the moment to call over his students to go check on it for him, so he was forced until his strength had returned to him. Unfortunately, he had done a lot of running in a small span of time, and he was getting on in years, so his "short break" was taking longer than he had hoped. "Dammit all..." the flamboyantly-dressed senior cursed under his breath.

"Oh, Grand Dojo Master sir. Do you need some assistance?" A lone student had come to his aid, one who went by the name of Avon. He was, the Dojo Master realized with a lick of his lips, one of his Favorites. However, there was no time to appreciate the boy's beguilingly-athletic figure. "Oh yes. You see, Avon, I believe at least some of the intruders are hiding behind that door there, though I find myself a bit... indisposed at the moment. If you would..." The boy's back straightened upon receiving the implied orders. "Oh, yes of course, sir. Right away!" 

Despite the boy's looks, he was a prodigy who had risen to the level of Favorite faster than almost anyone. He still had a lot to learn before he could call himself one of the Elites, but the old man suspected that Avon could very well be the next, fourth one. The Grand Dojo Master had complete faith in the fact that, whoever these intruders were, they couldn't possibly best this student of his. At least not before he was ready to stand against them himself. With an amused grin on his face, the wunderkind strode over to the door. "Hey, now, we know you're in there, so why don't you just give up this ridiculousness and come on out." The boy stated in a patronizing tone, as he grasped the door's handle and pulled it wide open.

[Deleted]

 The boy's voice danced through the crack in the door, swirling down his ear canal, and began grating over every last nerve Lucien possessed. With his teeth fully grit, the pirate swallowed the air, his lungs inflating, and produced a vent on his hand. As the doors swung inward, the vested man raised the arm, and waited. A young, cocky looking man began to push open the door, and Lucien sneered. With a scything swing, the arm came crashing down, slamming palm first into the little git's forehead. The martial artist was caught by surprise, and slammed down into the floor.  As he toppled downward, the vent on the back of Lucien's hand erupted with a burst of air.

"VAN KRAZE!" The blow hammered him down, slamming the boy into the wooden boards with such force, a splintering crater was left. Jumping up, Lucien left the boy there, and looked around at the Grand Master now staring at him in disbelief. The student struggled, and began to attempt to rise, but the cook wasn't about to allow that. With a grin, he jumped up, his back tapping the ceiling, and brought both elbows forward, with his forearms shielding his face. "Van Rickoch!" The rest of the air he had stored gusted from his back, slamming the already massive man down into the boy again, elbow dropping into him like a dropped wrecking ball. There was a gasp of pain, and Avon's eyes rolled back into his head, the body going limp. Standing up again, Lucian's face was spattered with blood. His mouth was grinning like a cheshire cat, and his oversized neck muscles had tensed. 

 His back was to the pair of girls, so it wasn't clear just how horrifying he looked right now. However, the Grand Master could see just fine. His feet tapping on the floor, Lucien began approaching the man. "Good day. My name is "Red Sky" Gyre. I don't feel you've earned the pleasure of calling me by my first name yet. I'm guessing you found that fat cook. There really wasn't much good meat on him. Perhaps your students will be better fare." From behind, Missy squeaked. "D-Don't you mean fare better?" The tall man shook his head. "You heard me."

 With a roar of anger, the Dojo master slipped into a horse stance, and brought a fist around towards Lucien's side, cracking into it. He was stopped, however, and in a horrified moment, it became clear why. The 10 foot Devil Fruit user was far taller than other opponents, and the much shorter man was not actually able to reach above perhaps his hips. All that was attack-able were the very thick legs that supported the cannibal cook. Considering this, the Dojo-master nodded once, and then turned, dashing off. It would take some planning, and back-up, for this to work as planned. It didn't look like the man was in a mood to talk, and he had just flattened Avon's body like a waffle press.

 While it was possible that the older dojo master could handle the cook, it would be far wiser to get his students to tire the beast out, then make a bit of a show of it. Good to remind people who was in charge, and well, nobody had seen that embarrassing incident just now. Indeed, from a side hall, a group of the more useless students had just arrived, led by two Favorites. The Elites likely had a similar idea as himself, the old man thought, as he slowed down, heading for the stairs. This fight would be difficult enough on them, even considering the weakening caused by the hordes of mooks.

 Back in the hallway, Lucien eyed the group of stunned students, who were staring at the body of Avon, who was currently drooling out a few of his broken teeth, and smiled. They didn't look so tough, and while the Dojo Master was skilled, he wasn't used to fighting someone twice his own size. The blow probably would have shattered his ribs if it had been on a normal person. As it was, his leg was throbbing. Still, the entree would have to wait. Right now, there was the appetizers to think of. Bracing a leg against the floor, Lucian inhaled.