Mission 10: Hunting For Fruits?!

[BEX]

Jack held the sheet of paper in his large hands and an expression of distaste gripped his face quite visibly for everyone to see. Of course no one stopped to ask him what was wrong since his muscular physique was quite discouraging. Since his days on Saint Reia, Jack had longed to be free from the menial bondages of everyday life, although he had always been much too lazy to make any moves to complete his goals. All that changed when he unwittingly stepped up against the World Government and found himself battling for his life; the funny thing was that he enjoyed every second of it and he would do anything to attain that rush once more. Anything.

“Yuki…yuki…no mi?” he asked bewilderedly as he stared at the strange request that was supposedly going to bring him large amounts of beri in exchange for a strange fruit which is the party holds in very high regard. Even with the amount of money on the line, Jack didn’t feel as though he would have the motivation to do this alone; he wanted to fight strong opponents.

Maybe if I offer one of these people walking around I can have them do the work of finding it and then crush the life out of them afterwards he planned deviously. The tall, dark man’s gaze fell over the people walking in the remnants of what used to be the home of the “Ohara Devils”. Immediately he caught sight of an interesting fellow and he smiled as he approached the youth.

"Hey, do you know anything about a devil called the Yuki Yuki no mi?” he asked callously with a dangerous expression upon his face. If anything he didn’t want the man before him to believe that Jack was the superior person in the situation. With a steely unwavering gaze he stared down at the young man when he noticed that the other man had a sword as well, A swordsman as well… he thought the mission already beginning to fade to the back of his mind as the young man became the focus of his interest.

[deathrouge]

Xun read the poster in his hands. What a large reward for a Akuma no Mi. True they were very rare Xun has only seen one on in his life time, but four million was more money than he knew what to do with. Putting the poster in one of his pockets he started to examine some of the other people here that were probably looking for the same thing he was. As Xun was pondering this thought one of them slowly approached him. He tightened his grip on his sword.

"Yuge Yuge no mi? I know a little bit, but no more than anyone here might." Stated Xun in replay to the man's question. He noticed as the other person was looking at his sword. It was then he noticed that he was still griping it tightly. Maybe this person could help him.

"So, What's your name?" asked Xun as he loosened his grip. No need to start a fight now. Some of these other people could easily be part of his crew, and he would be out numbered and out powered. " Ah I see mine is Xun by the way." Xun noticed the sword on the other persons body. He must be a swordsman too. Things had started to get exciting

[Die]

"Yuki yuki no mi?" Estelle said to herself as she stared at the poster she held with her left eye twitching, a slight expression of dissatisfaction at the information given. However, the only thing that had manged to get her interested, was the fact that the person was offering four million beri for the Devil Fruit. It was more than she had ever had in her seventeen horrible years of life, but if it could help her, then she figured she might as well. Wearing a simple corset top and short shorts, she drew many looks as she continued down the street, staring at the poster. She seemed to be able to navigate herself around people despite the fact it was clear she was not watching where she was going. Or perhaps people were simply moving over for her because of the large and deadly-looking halberd that was strapped to her back.

After she was done reading, she folded the poster and slipped it away in a pouch that hung off of her hip. As she made her way, she noticed two other people were holding similar posters, probably discussing the nature of the little fetching assignment the patron was asking for people to do. Curious, she walked up towards to do. Putting on a smile, she asked the two, "Excuse me, would either of you happen to be looking for a Devil Fruit?"

[luffy890]

Ruppi heard what they were saiying, Ruppi walked there and said"yuki yuki no mi hmph i dont know anything about it i dont even really care about devil fruits but anyway since jack is here i will help." Ruppi then noticed Estelle"she is here!" Ruppi controled himself and had a flashback of when Estelle beat him up Ruppi wasent happy. Ruppi was also tired"well i am leaving i need to eat i will come back." Ruppi's stomach was growling. Ruppi fell down"argh whatta heck my stomach" Ruppi ran to the resturant holding his stomach, Ruppi then reached the resturant. Ruppi began eating he ate alot of food. Ruppi felt better he then started thinking about his brothers. Ruppi got up and left, Ruppi then saw a thief on the resturant Ruppi was not happy. Ruppi took his sword out of his sword holder, Luppy then yelled his moves name"Wolf claw!" Ruppi slashed the thief the thief died easily, Ruppi then talked to the owner"i am sorry for showing you that but i couldnt help my self the food you gave me was the best" the owner said"thank you" then Ruppi left, and was heading back to jack.

[BEX]

Several inconspicuous characters showed up and among them came a well-developed Bilkan girl that Jack recognized from an odd adventure with a particular little girl,

“Nice to see you again….Estelle” he greeted the girl politely. Insults didn’t go over well with the fierce woman and Jack didn’t see any point in forcing a fight with her when he had an interesting young man right in front of him,

“I see you received the same job as I have” Jack continued when the last of the visitors abruptly entered the conversation and quickly left. Silence rested over the place as it took time for Jack to wonder what sort of person this Ruppi character was, On top of that he knew my name before I even said anything to him… he wondered. Deciding that the sudden increase in participants mattered very little since it was a hefty amount of beri,

“Xun…Estelle” he said firmly,

“Let’s join on this mission and split the payout” he suggested with furrowed eyebrows as he heard a disturbance in a nearby restaurant; it seemed that the strange Ruppi character had slain someone inside the restaurant for a whimsical reason, I wonder if he strong .

“…maybe we should take our eager friend that’s approaching us?” he asked the other two; Jack didn’t care about piloting the mission. He only wanted strong opponents to fight and so far he was sure that he had met at least one person with potential he grinned darkly as his eyes flicked towards the Xun for a second before he closed his eyes again to quell the excitement that dwelled within.

“Alright then, what will be?” asked the eager Jack while folding the paper with the mission info on it and pushing it into his pocket. Itching for a chance to test his blade against someone's flesh.

[deathrouge]

It was the right choice not to start a fight with the man whom had still not given himself a name. From the other person Xun could only assume it was Jack. He seamed to know both of the other members that were here.They didn't seem to be of the same crew, but there was still the risk of have the fruit he was searching for taken away. Xun listened to the man preposition.

"Very well we can split up into groups of two. That way if anyone of us try to escape with the fruit they can't go without a fight." Catching his breath Xun noticed the other man was eying him again. He is obviously plotting something. He thought continuing on with his plan.

"I am a devil fruit user myself, so my partner preferably should not have eaten a Akuma no Mi." The other person was coming closer. Xun notice he too was a swordsman with twin blades still dripping some blood by the looks of it.

"Anyway once we get the teams sorted out where do we look? To my knowledge this place was a archeological island." He could already tell that this was going to be a hard search, but the reward was too great to pass up.

[Die]

Estelle's left eye squinted and twitched. "No way...You've gotta be freakin' kidding," she said. "You're Jack?" She could tell who he was by his voice, but this was the first time she had seen him without his mask on. "Lookin' good hot stuff," she said as she flirted by coming very close to Jack and running a finger up his neck to his chin, and then stepping back. She only did it for sh*ts and giggles, intentionally trying to make him feel uncomfortable through her actions and provocative face.

Looking over, she saw another familiar face intrude into the group abruptly and speaking his mind with incoherent babble. A look of disgust manifested on her face, as if someone had stepped on a pile of dog crap with very expensive shoes. What was HE of all people doing here? "I should have finished him off when I had the chance..." she thought to herself. As quick as he barged in, he had suddenly left, apparently to go find for some food.

Once he left, Jack suggested that they all search for the fruit, and split the pay. Considering the large amount of cash reward, Estelle nodded, agreeing with the plan. A ruckus from nearby drew her attention, watching the stupid boy kill a thief. Just his mere presence annoyed her, how she would have enjoyed drawing Freya and firing the lance at him. Looking at Jack, and pointing her thumb behind her at the approaching idiot Luppi, she said, "Do we really have to lug that idiot along with us? If I could kick his ass to the curb with barely a scratch, then he doesn't deserve a cut of the pay."

[luffy890]

Ruppi heard estelle"argh you get on my nerves" Ruppi's killing instinct was kicking in,but he knew estelle's power"i wish i could kill you" Ruppi wasent happy with the idea of groups.Ruppi looked at xun with his cold scary eyes Ruppi then began to laugh Ruppi stopped his stomach was growling again,"argh stupid stomach".Ruppi then noticed a coconut tree Ruppi took out one of his swords from his sword holder and destoyed the tree.Ruppi ate the coconot"finally my stomach stopped growling".Ruppi looked at jack Ruppi felt his power and saw his sword"is that a sword i see hehehehehe",Ruppi wanted to fight since jack had a sword"hehe fight me right now dont worry there wont be no killing i just want to surpass you the only serious fight was when i was fighting estelle i lost and i didnt like that" Ruppi yelled one of his moves name"Wolf Claw" Ruppi used the move the attack was powerfull so smoke came out Ruppi jumped back and saw if the attack slashed him"i know you are still there a person like you wouldnt have died by that" Ruppi bringed up a grin but then he stopped because he was thinking of the fruit"hmph lets get started with the fruit i hope a fight will come soon".

[BEX]

Jack raised his own sheathed weapon as the wild one’s strange “Wolf Claw” attack clanged against the lacquered skin causing small tremors to slide down young Jack’s muscled arms; he could tell that the wild kid was no ordinary person. Seems this island is full of strange encounters all over the place… his thoughts drifted to Estelle’s behavior only seconds ago. His stomach still felt nauseous from the manner which she had chosen to great him. Since Jack wasn’t good with the subtleties of social interaction he couldn’t decide whether she was being a trouble maker or if she sincerely was happy to see him. The strange character that had attacked him with the sword was now ranting about finding the fruit and Jack sighed while snapping his sheath to the portable carrier attached to his right shoulder,

“So we are all willing to work together to find the fruit then, I presume. I think Xun has the best idea. We break into groups of two and then meet up here again while we search the island.

Anyone attempts to make a run with the prize for themselves…” he began to smile as the implication weighed heavy in the air,

“…ya kill ‘em of course” he finished. Nodding in Xun’s direction he wanted to clarify to the teams to save trouble,

“I-I think you and Estelle would make a great team…given the current circumstances…” the Bilkan girl still ensighted unease within him despite his lack of injuries and his revamped desire to fight; he would take his chances with the nutcase. Walking off in the direction of his new partner without waiting for any protests or reaction from Xun or Estelle he asked,

“Yo, name’s Jack Dancer. What’s yours?”

Although Xun was an interesting character whom Jack eagerly wanted to fight, money came first and then he could enjoy all the combat he desired.

(OOC: Jack is talking to Ruppi at the end. They haven’t formerly met.)

[deathrouge]

The partners have seemed to be deiced. Looking at his Xun began to feel small thoughts of doubt. True he did not know this girl's strength yet, but nobody would want to be on the other end of that weapon. From what he could see it seemed to be an axe/spear hybrid.

"Ohara looks like a small island. I suggest we search the east side and the west side." Then turning to his partner he said, "We'll take the east side. Is there any problem with that Estelle?"

"I'll be searching in the skies." Taking a few steps back Xun began to use his Akuma no Mi powers. As his body started to morph he made sure there was enough room around him. His Quetzalcoatlus form emerged within a few seconds.

Xun took a moment to adjust. He had the fruit for several years, but to him it still felt weird turning into a giant dinosaur. Despite this Xun took of into the sky hovering about twenty feet off the ground. The flap of his wing creating a small breeze string up some dust.

"Hey Estelle if you can fly you should join me up here." Xun said jokingly. From where he was it looked like there are about three locations on their side that might have the devil fruit. Putting this thought aside he started thinking about what he could do with 1,000,000 beli.

[Die]

"Chih, no killing because you would be the one killed, dumbass," Estelle sneered at Ruppi. "And was your fight with me really serious? I hardly broke a sweat. That fight with you was far from serious. You're just lucky I let you live."

Watching as the strange little boy tried to demonstrate his meager power by using Wolf Claw on Jack, she couldn't help but walk behind him. Drawing Freya, she simply pointed the spear in front of her. Once Ruppi jumped back, he would have come dangerously close to stabbing himself in the back of the neck with the spear point of Freya, at the very least pricking himself in the back of the neck. "Watch what you do little boy. Mess with the wrong people and you'll end floating in the water with fish picking at your bloody corpse."

Pulling Freya back and strapping her halberd to her back, she walked away from Ruppi, eyeing Jack to see if her little flirt got any reaction from him.

It worked. She got a reaction from him. Giggling to herself at her success, she wondered what else she could do to torment him. Nodding at his decision to split into two groups, she walked off after Xun.

"We'll take the east side. Is there any problem with that Estelle?" he said to her.

"Not at all," she replied. As he told her of his intentions of searching from the sky, Estelle shruged, "Hope you don't mind sharing airspace." Dust billowed out from around her as her feet, back, and wings glowed. What looked like afterburner exhaust extended down from them, and she hovered off of the ground, slowly gaining altitude. With a loud BANG! she rocketed up into the skies, propelled by jets of extremely hot air. Slowling down and circling around Xun, who had turned into a flying reptile, she spotted a few places that would be worth searching. "So Xun, which place will you be searching first?"

[BEX]

(OCC:Skipping over Luppy til he comes back)

When the boy whom he had addressed remained despondent Jack decided to move on without him, perhaps he intended to move about on his own and meet up with him on the way. As he trudged through the grassy area that had just begun to restore itself following the terrible “Buster Call” on the “Ohara Devils” Jack began to wonder what he was doing here. He had no real interest in money and he had already found someone he wanted to fight, I should be moving to see how strong that Xun guy is, he thought annoyed now at the current state of things. Two shadows flashed quickly over the ground causing his attention to go skyward. There he saw a large flying reptile and the shapely body of Estelle, the Bilkan girl,

“Seems like they are having a lot of fun up there for people who are supposed to be searching…” he mumbled. Focusing his gaze in front of him once more Jack wondered where on earth a Devil Fruit would be growing in the first place; the party that wanted the fruit hadn’t been very specific. Glancing down at the sheet again Jack struggled to figure out what to do next alone in the dense grass.

[deathrouge]

From his point of view in the sky he could see the islands landscape. There were some thick grassy fields and small forests scattered around. There was also a river flowing into the ocean. Estelle flew up and circled around him and surprised him though not that anyone could tell.

"So Xun, which place will you be searching first?" Estelle asked.

"I think I'll start by searching the caves to the north of us." Xun calmly stated in reply. The caves that he saw were small ruins that haven't been cleared out yet giving it the impression of caves. The other two places that might be looked at were closer to the pair, and could by comparison easily be accessed later. Thinking about the vague poster he had read earlier didn't help the current state of things. At the moment Xun's mind had to many things to worry about. How to find this fruit, Jack the other swordsman who was plotting something and Estelle or rather her weapon strapped to her back. I should focus on the task ahead, so pushing these thoughts to a lone corner of his brain he flew north towards the "caves"

[Die]

"Alright," Estelle said as Xun mentioned he was going to search the caves. Leaving him to his searching, Estelle slowly rotated in place in the air. Noticing the massive burned remains of the once massive Tree of Knowledge, she decided that it was worth searching the remains of the burned out library. After all, something could have survived the blaze.

Flying over to the remains of the tree, she descended down towards the ground. She touched down softly on the ground. Strolling into the remains of the tree, she noticed a lot of soot and ash lying around. It seemed as if they hadn't even bothered to clean up the mess left by the burning tree. Estelle extended an arm out in front of her. A jet of hot air shot from her hand, blasting the loose debris around and up into the air, clearing the place up. She went to work, pulling books out for hidden objects, and knocking over shelves for hidden entrances.

"What are you doing, Estelle?" said a familiar voice.

Estelle turned around to see a glowing figure standing behind her. Smiling, she turned and ran towards him with her arms outstretched, "Fareas!" She embraced him, hugging him tightly. To a normal person it looked like there was no one there, yet strangely, it was as if there was an invisible person there based on Estelle's body position.

[BEX]

While his focus remained on the sheet the muscular man who had led the mission continued moving through the charred portions of the island in search of a tree that might bear a fruit of the description of the Yuki Yuki no mi. As he was walking with his eyes lowered he heard a small crunch behind him and he assumed that it was simply the wild character that had appeared before him earlier,

“Hurry up we don’t have time to waste with your simple games” he chastised the stranger behind him without looking to see whom he was talking to. Without warning he heard a growl followed by rush of wind before hearing the soft sound of pads touching the ground in front of him. Warm liquid spilled from his shoulder as pain emanated through his mind forcing him to drop the paper from the sheer surprise of the attack as well as the pain that racked his shoulder,

“Che…what the hell…” he cursed as he became aware of the giant panther stood growling in front of him. Its fangs dripped with bubbling saliva as its wild, yellow eyes bore into him as if he had committed some unforgivable sin. Mother Nature was always unreasonable, but this struck Jack as being ridiculous. Having no other choice Jack prepared himself for a fight,

“Normally I try to keep my cool….” He conversed with the beast,

“….but right now I’M ABOUT TO EXPLODE!” he said with a coarse voice.