The First Bounty

[Ulric Talbot]

Ulric looked down at the head of hair that was before him and felt appalled by it. Even if this was a house call there had to be some sense of decency. There was no care given to keeping it clean or healthy. This poor person had split ends all over the place and dirt in their scalp, nothing to say the least of the smell of the hair, it reeked of spoiled milk and old rum. Still he had a job to do, he had taken payment to cut and wash this person's hair, even if it made him gag even thinking of touching this hair with his bare hands. He knew for a fact that for this haircut he would use a pair of scissors, he didn't want to be picking out this rancid hair out from under his nails later on.

With a pair of scissors in his hand he ran one hand through this person's hair pulling it up to measure how long to leave it. Once he found the right length he slowly started to cut and move his hand to do it again starting the haircut. “So what brings you to Winchester, most tend to stay away unless they're looking for a fight and you don't seem to be the fighting type.” Making chit chat with this person would help distract himself from the pungent odor that was now emanating from the thing that was called hair from this person's head. “If ya gotta know there's about to be a big marine raid on a pirate hold out on the west side. I'ma be there to nab me a few bounties off of the dead pirates and the work of dem marines. Heh dumb marines won't even know I ain't the one doing any of the work, best job being a bounty hunter.”

Ulric looked down at this so called bounty hunter and smiled. “Is that so? Well then let's get a clean shave so you can turn them in.” This man made him sick how dare he call himself a bounty hunter and act this way, well they wouldn't be alive for that much longer. Without waiting for a response Ulric moved his thumb to this person's neck and with a quick and decisive motion he dragged his nail across this bounty hunter's neck slicing it open and bleeding him out. “You're not a hunter, just a parasite.” He had no qualms about killing this man, his hair was a disaster and so was style of life, tho the raid on the west side did make him wonder if he should try and work with a few marines to get some easy cash.

Before taking off he decided that it was worthwhile looking at what this man had on him, picking the deadman's pockets as well as looking in the closet to see if there was anything of value or interest to take. Luckily for him there was a letter, more like an invitation to join the raid for one bounty hunter and it didn't even have a name on it meaning he could use it. He kept a devilish smile across his face as he packed his things and took the letter. With his things in hand and an open window, Ulric made his escape and down the side of the hotel. The man had only been staying on the second floor so it wasn't that much of a drop. Landing gracefully on the ground and a smile on his face he started towards the marine base knowing that a much bigger payday was in store for him.

[Dandead10]

"Ensign Odayakama. Excuse me. Ensign Odayakama? ENSIGN ODAYAKAMA!" There had been a literal screaming in her ear as the distracted officer had cringed. "Gomenosai warrant officer Mikoto. What is it? In the back of her had been a marine with an air of authority as she straightened her uniform. "We are to head to the rendezvous point and prepare the raid mam.” The superior officer’s eyes widened in realization before she smiled. “I apologize about that. I was somewhat lost in thought. Prepare the three squads and let's head out.” The warrant officer had nodded with a salute as the Ensign looked at the sight of another new island. Turning her back to the scenery of the land, she walked off to prepare for battle.

Ensign Odayakama’s three squads of twelve and herself were dispatched to deal with a pirate threat as they would be raiding their base of operations. The Yakima pirates were camping out in an abandoned warehouse storage facility and were terrorizing the men and women of Winchester whenever they felt like it. The world government had been seeking help of bounty hunters, but some incompetent fellows looking to get some Bounties weren't exactly what Senshi would call help. The meeting place of the marine force and whatever bounty hunters were around was going to be at a bar ironically known as “Winchester.” The Marines walked down the roads of the crowded city before soon arriving at their destination. The cerulean eyed redhead waited leaning against a wooden railing with her hat tilted to protect her from the hot sun.

The other marines within Senshi’s jurisdiction had been talking with each other and or relaxing in the shade while they waited. If one were to look at the Ensign at the moment, one would be able to see she had been chewing something. It was almost as if she were chewing a piece of gum. In reality, it had been a less bullet she formed from her powers. It tasted acrid and also a bit bitter, but yet it was something good to chew on to keep her attention off of other things. The battle coming up in the future for instance was something she didn't want to think about very much. With the help of some “Bounty Hunters” the marine forces should be able to take care of the enemy pirate forces with some relative ease. The pirates they would be pursuing were known to be cutthroats, thieves, vagabonds, and any other kind of scum mixed in between. This would be the fourth pirate crew she’s dealt with in her career as a marine? Looking to the clouds, the woman sighed contently while staring at the puffy pillows of water. After this assignment, she may request a vacation day seeing she has been working rather hard. Certainly, she’s worked hard enough to earn herself a brief break right? “Ensign Odayakama mam. The Bounty Hunters have arrived and are ready for departure.” The lead swordsman had looked to the seaman recruit in front of her before simply nodding and heading off to greet her supposed allies.

Walking inside the bar, she had expected to see a rowdy group of people who didn’t look much better than thieves themselves. Senshi was a 17 year old Ensign, obviously visible from the fact that she wore the justice coat although she did not wear her arms in the sleeves. Beautiful was what the Ensign was with flawless skin, decent bust, a slim and curvaceous body, and to some men in the room she was very short. Her cerulean eyes would scan the surrounding area, looking to the different faces around the room before she as the one leading the raid would speak up. “Konichiwa. My name is Odayakama Senshi, and I am the Ensign who is to be leading you all to the battle. Each head that you bring with no bounty shall constitute to 250 Beri, not counting any big names. Good hunting gentlemen, and let us move out.” The putrid smell of booze and cigarette smoke had floated in this bar, so she was rather eager to leave to the fresh outside. The marines on the left side would walk as bounty hunters had walked on the right side of the street. Now, began their journey to the warehouse district. Her red hair was like silk as it was somewhat wavy, but only kept in a bland ponytail under a navy cap? She needed a haircut. If anyone were paying attention, her hair smelled like strawberries ripe and in season. Perfect.

[Ulric Talbot]

He had arrived before the marines even got to the bar. This was a local watering hole for the hunters, a place that Ulric knew all too well and avoided as well given his dislike of most of the hunters in this place, but for a bounty he would make an appearance in this place to grab the newest bounty or to cash in a bounty. The smell of smoke and booze filled the air, the floor was covered in spilled beer and blood. This place was disgusting to be in, he hoped that the marines would show up soon so that he could get out of this god forsaken hell hole. Not wanting to sit down Ulric leaned against a wall as he waited.

After a while the marines started to stroll on in, each one of them in their white uniform. Ulric couldn't stand the sight of those white outfits. To him marines were only parasites leeching off of the hard working people of Winchester in order to keep the pirates on the other side of town from attacking, yet they never actually chase them off for good. They really were no better than the pirates that they claimed to defend the island from, heck some were even worse than the pirate, using the power that they had to extort the hard working people of this island.

Finally the person leader of the marines walked in, or at least he assumed it was the leader of this small group given uniform. As she walked passed him he could smell strawberries emanating from her, this was strange given that there wasn't any strawberry fields on this island, as far as he knew. However her sweet smell aside she was just short young girl with long red hair. He was taken back a bit, by this given that she seemed so plain, however he was taken back by one aspect of her, her hair. Even from a distance he could tell that she had taken great care of it and took pride in it, but the way that it was tucked into a pony tail and stuffed under a hat was a crime.

To say that he was unimpressed with the leader of the marines for this little excursion would be a vast understatement. It wasn't as if he underestimated women, however this particular female seemed rather young and inexperienced to be leading such a charge. However he knew that it wasn't best to judge people based on their appearance. Still he didn't think that this girl was best suited to face up against the pirate crew, especially with the pitiful bounty that they were offering for each head. It was hardly worth the effort. He was about ready to leave however the only thing keeping him around was the fact that her hair was rather elegant. He could still feel the greasy hair of the other bounty hunter in his fingers, he wanted to give a proper haircut, but most were hesitant to get their hair cut from a hunter, but this girl. Maybe if he played his cards right he could kill two birds with one stone.

With his gauntlets on he started on to leave the bar, yet as he did so he felt his right boot stick to something on the ground. Some old rum mixed with blood had turned into a viscus paste that now clung to the bottom of his boot. “Great....” He muttered under his breath as he exited the bar with the rest of the bounty hunters that actually decided to go along with this hunt. There weren't too many given most couldn't be bothered to move for less than 500 Beris a head. However this gave him a chance to make a better impression with this marine leader. As the two groups walked he made his way closer to the red headed female leader with a smile across his face.

However the smiles faded slightly as he got a closer look at her and her hair. There was something about it that was absolutely unforgivable. “So captain~” He spoke in a calm and sweet tone to the red headed woman. “Want to tell me why someone that takes care of their hair so much has let themselves get split ends?” Even from this distance he could tell that some of the ends of her beautiful hair was fraying and splitting apart at the end. “If I maybe so bold, you need a haircut my dear. After this come find me, I'd be more than happy to trim those crimson locks of yours.” He said those final words with a smile across his face as he stepped back into the crowed of other hunters. If she did care about her hair as much as he assumed she did she would come and find him sooner or later.

[Dandead10]

As she walked along with her men trailing behind her, one of the bounty hunters had approached closer to her to start some casual conversation. The youthful looking officer turned her attention to the man, observing his appearance before he curiously asked her something a bit odd. Odayakama Senshi was just asked by a random bounty hunter why she allowed her hair to get split ends despite her taking such good care of it. Allowing her right hand to brush her crimson locks, she felt the tips to indeed see some splits. “Well, I suppose it’s because seeing I’ve just come from fighting a war, my haircut was a bit rushed since the last time.” Then curiously enough, the bounty hunter she get a haircut from him? “I would like to take you up on that offer. Are you a barber may I ask? What’s your name? My name is Odayakama Senshi.” The young woman had walked step by step with a confident stride. The woman continued to chew her lead bullet bubblegum before blowing a large black bubble. Perhaps he would be curious seeing black bubblegum; certainly was curious. Maybe he would like a piece? The young woman had planned on asking him some more questions, but one of the marines had tapped her on the back. “Ensign Odayakama. We don’t have time to be talking about haircuts at the moment. We should be more concerned with discussing the plans on the raid.”

She turned to the warrant officer before nodding. “Gomen barber, but we should talk more after we finish the job. I’ll certainly come for a haircut though.” Senshi walked forward also glad to be out of the dump that was known as the bar. The woman looked out ahead before deciding perhaps it would be best to move ahead of both parties. The part of town they were entering now was a bit more abandoned and rugged. Broken buildings followed by signs of destruction. The earth itself was disturbed as craters of cannonballs were visible. The wood of the homes were littered with bullet holes by the look of it. Soon the warehouse would be easily visible in the distance, appearing to be the least damaged sector so far. However, the strong ensign found it odd she found no guard squadrons patrolling the area. One more step she took, and then she saw a fellow stand up from a building rooftop. “Die marine!”

A single bang would be heard as a bullet at fast speed had smacked the marine officer right in the skull. She fell backwards from force as immediately the building in front of the fighters of justice and money would show several armed individuals. “Get em boys! Kill em all!” Two marines were shot down before the rest immediately sought cover among crates, barrels, or whatever else they could hide behind. The bounty hunters would also split to the other side of the street as they were under heavy fire. The lead marine would at that moment slowly stand onto her feet...temporarily getting shock from the third party; the pirates. “I shot er in the skull! She should be dead! What the hell?!” A second shot had been fired into the woman's chest only for it to absorb into her skin. Soon, there would be a light laughter coming from the marine officer. “That won't work on me. I ate the Nama Nama no Mi and became a lead human capable of creating and manipulating lead. Shoot all you want, but no lead bullet will ever kill me.” A look of fear spread across the pirate’s face before it quickly faded. “Go and kill em! Kill her with swords then!” The group of pirates armed with cutlasses and other various blades would charge from the building as Senshi pointed her finger out. “Attack!” Thus the battle would begin, but it seems some of the bounty hunters were more cowardly than first thought as some remained huddled behind their boxes. “AAAAH! I don’t wanna die!” A cowardly man armed with a short sword had proclaimed this as more and more bullets pelted their cover. A battle cry had ensued as both sides would clash their weapons.

[Ulric Talbot]

It seemed that his offer to cut her hair was taken rather seriously and well received. This was a good thing for him, it never hurt to have a few marines owe him a favor or two and it didn't hurt that Senshi was good looking for her age, even if she was just a bit younger than he normally liked. He did hear her ask him for his name, however by the time that she had asked he had already slipped back into the group of other hunters that were still getting their weapons ready. It was at this time that Ulric noticed something, a lot of the hunters he saw here seemed new and younger than him and even younger than Senshi.

However before he could fully grasp the situation that he was in the warehouse came into view and a bullet fired from out of the warehouse striking Senshi right in the forehead. It seemed as if that would be the end of her rather short lived career. Ulric would feel sorry for her, but that was the way of life for marines, pirates and hunters. Kill or be killed, his attention would be drawn back to the pirates ready to move to avoid bullets that would soon follow after the death of the leader of the marines.

However before anything else could happen he heard Senshi speak again, reliving that she had eaten a devil fruit and was immune to lead bullets. It seemed that the haircut after this would still happen, which was a good thing for him. Screams of terror followed after Senshi declared an attack however not from the pirates, but from the hunters. Many of them were running to find cover and hide. Shit, are these guys just rookies? This thought crossed his mind as a small group of pirates started to run at them aimed with bladed weapons. Right now he was in the middle of a fight with rookies all around and pirates ready to kill.

Strangely in the middle of all of this Ulric found himself rather calm and smiling about the situation that he was in. He started to slowly laugh, it seemed that this simple hunt would be much more fun than he first thought. A pirate drew his blade and tried to slash at him Ulric grabbed the pirate's wrist using his left hand digging his nails into the man's flesh while pushing it backwards. “Sorry buddy, you're dead.” Before the pirate could even respond Ulric's right hand moved upwards his nails digging into the throat of the man and up his chin eventually pulling away as he came to the man's hairline. Blood would pour out of the pirate's wounds and he would quickly die.

“MAN UP YOU WORTHLESS SO CALLED HUNTERS.” His voice echoed out as he screamed at those that were still hiding behind rocks and other cover. “IF THE PIRATES DON'T KILL YOU I'LL DO IT MYSELF AFTER THIS IS OVER.” He hoped that his threat of death from him would spur some of the cowards to come out and fight, he really didn't care too much if they did or not to be honest. The less hunters that actually fought the larger his bounty could be, but he didn't want hunters to be seen as dead weight to the marines here. As much as he hated it he needed marines to bring in jobs like this and those that acted like cowards would force marines to just use their own force instead of paying for extra muscle.

He wouldn't find out if this would be helpful at all as he was soon attacked by two pirates at the same time. One using a dagger the other holding a rather large club. As the dagger wielding pirate attempted to stab him Ulric kicked the pirate in the chest. This knocked back the pirate into the other club wielding. They weren't out for the fight, but at least he had a bit more time to deal with the two of them as they recovered, if they were given a chance to recover, which Ulric wouldn't give them. He followed his kick up by running at the men the knife user still trying to catch his breath as Ulric knock it out of it would soon find that Ulric's nails would dig right into his neck followed by the tip of Ulric's fingers.

This would be the end of that pirate, as he would collapse and fall to the ground dead from having his neck punctured. However Ulric still had one more in front of him and he was already swinging his club horizontally at Ulric. Instead of moving backwards he ran right into the pirate and headbutted the man. There would a be a brief moment in which both of them would feel a pain from their forehead and in that moment Ulric used his weight and strength to push the club using pirate down to the ground. From the ground Ulric would finish off the man like he did the other two, using his nails to slice open his throat. This would be three pirates down, but the fight was just starting and there would be plenty more pirates to kill.

[Dandead10]

The hunters running and hiding was a bit of a surprise seeing she didn't expect the hired help to be running off. Although it seemed one of them had a bit more spine than the rest of them. The powerful Ensign stood in the back watching the battle ensue as clashing metal and gunshots were heard. When a voice broke out saying that one of the bounty hunters would kill the rest if they didn't man up, Senshi was a little bit more than concerned for the mental health of her associates. She really should have been worrying more about herself at the moment as it seemed she had some company. "Raaagh!" A man with twin knives had leaped at the crimson haired officer before he slashed down rapidly with full intent of impaling her like a fish. "You're all mine little girl!" The movements were erratic and fast, but they were readable enough. Swerving to the right, the marine dodged the first slash. Ducking her head backwards, a horizontal slice had sliced the tip of her cap sending it off of her head. While playing on the defensive, Senshi had leaped backwards out of the range of the knife man before to avoid a third slash delivered for her neck. Picking up her fallen cap, she plopped it back onto her head as her enemy looked angered. “You think you’re so hot?! Take this! Cutland Douse!” The man threw both daggers at the marine fast enough to cause a whirring noise in the air. He smirked but then frowned as twin black jitte had formed in both of Senshi’s hands although it quickly turned back into a smile with sinister laughter. ”You think you can stop these knives? Get skewered!”



Slashing down against these knives, she skid backward as the knives for some odd reason seemed to be pushing her as if the man were standing there himself clashing with her. Securing her foothold, she pushed forward with her upper body strength before glaring at this thug with her cerulean blue orbs. “Hrgh!” Both knives had been diverted to slam into the floor. The knives had created enough force to cause two very small explosions of sand and dirt behind her before she vanished from sight moving in a blur of fast speed. “What?! Where did she g-” Appearing in front of her foe using the Soru, the serious marine officer was already in the motion of a strong side kick to the man's face. “Brick Break!” Her foe stood there with a heavily bruised cheek before he grasped her leg with a vein growing on his temple and his eyes shadowed. “You move fast, so how about if I keep you from moving?! How rude are you!? Slaughter Slam!” He tossed her into the air preparing for some sort of attack. The young woman yelled upon being tossed, and thought quickly about her options. “Nama Nama no!” A black plating of armor would form above her clothes but underneath her justice coat. As she fell back to earth. The man delivered a dual palm strike with a twist to his fists. “Lead Armor!” The result of these two techniques clashing was...interesting to say the least. The redheaded woman was sent flying backwards, tumbling and crashing into the a run down saloon building. However, the man in front of her yelled in agony as he had nearly broken all of his fingers in that blow.



The marine Odayakama coughed from the rough landing, but otherwise felt as if she was alright. Her lead armor had cushioned the damage although it was badly cracked from just one hit of that man. It seems the criminals she was facing are just getting more and more powerful nowadays. This one was pretty competent out of the enemies she faced before. Absorbing the lead armor back into her body, she was eager to get into battle. That was until a pirate whom had been hiding within the bar yelled out, “You’re mine mate! Die!” A sword was swung downward aimed for her head as she was still down on the ground. The scene would fade to black as a slash sound was heard and then silence as the title One Piece would flash on the dark screen. This was the end of the episode as the credits would begin to roll. A random marine voice would then sound. "Is Ensign Odayakama alright?! She took a big hit from that pirate!" Another marine had called from the background. "Who cares about the Ensign! We have to take care of ourselves!" Senshi's voice would then call out to the audience, "Find out next what my fate was next week on Bon Voyage One Piece!"

[Ulric Talbot]

The loud thumping of Senshi and the pirate fighting caught Ulric's attention, he could only watch as Senshi was sent flying backwards into a building and the man that she had been fighting standing there with what looked like broken fingers. For a moment he worried about that redhead, but then he remembered that she had a devil fruit, it wouldn't be that easy to kill her off. The man standing with broken fingers tho, that was another story. Without the use of fingers he was a sitting duck and only good for one thing, a quick kill and another head to add to the bounty he was going to collect. With a smile across his face he grabbed the dagger that a pirate had tired to kill him with and rushed right at the man, ignoring the other small skirmishes that were going on at the moment, while it was a slow start to a battle between both side, now everyone was fighting. Some marines were winning, some were dying. Hunters were running around picking off those that were weak enough to end with a single blow. No matter how you looked at it, the pirates were losing right now and if this kept up it wouldn't be that much longer till they all died.

Ulric's movements weren't unnoticed however, the large man that Senshi had been fighting with cried out for someone to help as his hands were broken. Those calls for help weren't ignored, which was bad news for Ulric, because of who answered them. A large brute of a man came to aid his fellow pirate, Ulric wasn't normally afraid of a pirate, however this man was a bit larger than him and wielding a large sword to match. Stopping a good ten feet away from the man Ulric looked at him dead in the eyes. This man had an all black wardrobe with a matching turban as well, his skin was darker and tanned from years in the sun. The blade he carried was curved and could easily be called a scimitar.

As two locked eyes and the man started to swing his sword around in his hands as a display of skill and talent. This would be more of a hassle than he wanted and it would turn into a battle of sword vs claws both sides equally skilled with their weapons. However, as luck would have it Ulric would find a rather simple and easy way out of this fight, by chance a pirate and a marine would roll right infront of him, one another trying to kill each other. Ulric didn't really care about that, but what he did care was for the pistol that the pirate had on his belt. Grabbing it while the pirate was busy with the marine he aimed at the giant man's head and pulled the trigger killing him instantly, and like that an epic duel between the two was cut short as if just a tease of what could have really been.

No longer distracted Ulric went back to his original target the man Senshi had been fighting. Without a way to defend himself Ulric quickly ripped out his throat using his nails. Another dead pirate, however while this was going on he noticed that he hadn't seen Senshi yet again. Worrying for her he ran towards the building that she had been knocked into. He would peek in the hole she created wondering what exactly she was doing.

[Dandead10]

A sword had been swung down with full intention of the marines life, but Senshi soon found herself lifting her right hand grasping tightly around the blade with a thin covering of lead guarding it. The cut was still strong enough to break her skin and crimson blood dripped onto the floor. Grasping the blade tightly, the lead on her palm soon turned thicker and stronger. “G-Give me my sword back! Just hand it over!” He continued to tug but to no avail under Senshi’s iron grip erh...lead grip. Now that she was free of the weight impeding her, she curled on her back twisting her body before delivering a backwards kick straight for the face of her foe sending him flying backwards behind the barkeep counter. Afterwards, the swordswoman had flipped the man’s katana back into a proper sword stance in her right hand. “Next time when you’re trying to kill me, don’t announce it.” The lead gauntlet had slipped inside of the open wound in Senshi’s hand almost like an invading bacteria before slipping into her bloodstream. Turning, she saw the barber, the bounty hunter who was going to give her a nice haircut after all of this was over. However, it seemed that while looking in the hole he left his back exposed to the chaos outside, at least judging by the pirate sneaking up on him, club in hand.



“Soru” Using a burst of speed, she had kicked off the floor ten times in order to propel herself in a rapid fast motion. In order to stop from overgoing the momentum, she learned to skid and apply force to the ground to stop herself. She had finally mastered the technique Soru. The redheaded woman would appear completely invisible to most human eyes at the moment before stopping behind the armed thug before flicking the katana she used. The pirate had groaned before falling face down. She had used the blunt side of the blade to take this foe down. “Might want to watch your back sir. I might have to get serious in a second.” Adjusting her cap, Senshi turned out to the pirate battle before gaining a second ring around the iris of her eyes. She vanished for a second time before appearing in front of a pirate and delivering a powerful fist to his stomach sending him flying backwards and slamming into the support of the saloon. Another flash and she found herself appearing in front of a rifleman before kicking him in the chin sending him high into the air.



“Geppo!” Grabbing the pirate by the legs, she went nearly fifteen feet into the air before swinging his legs in a circle. The screams of a terrified pirate filled the air before he was tossed to the ground below. Slamming with three of his comrades, they would be out of the fight surely. “Damn it! Everyone let’s get out of here! Many of the pirates were quick to reply as they left several of their comrades behind for the sake of their self preservation. However, it seemed that it wasn’t only the pirate side filled with dishonorable people. Some of the pirates that Senshi herself had deleted had the vultures of bounty hunters preparing to claim the heads. One particular bounty hunter had merely kicked each unconscious pirate that Senshi created before dragging them together and claiming them as his take down. “Alright! Four pirates all by myself!” Senshi herself did not notice this as she was busy using the Geppo to gain a vantage to look at the overall layout of the warehouse. There were certainly more pirates and she wasn’t allowed to leave until she had captured the captain of this despicable crew.
It was going to be a long day.