Piggin' Around: Rolling Swine! [Muhd/Lexi]

[Roin]

Organ Island was certainly a bustling place... if you could call the lightly scattered streets bustling, anyhow. The town had been infamous for being owned by a Pirate, some say might have been the now-Daibukai Buggy. But now, it was more or less a large town spotted with destruction and many blocks entirely desolate of people. After all, it was only just two years after the Great Pirate Era began... and with it, merchants had begun to try and move around to profit from the damages caused by pirates. A new Pirate era had been the source of bringing this town back... but that's enough about the town... it's time to talk about who was on a small cruise vessel heading toward the island.

A civilian craft, the ship had a few marines from its origin town on board... but none of them were too worried in the Weakest Blue's waters. Most of them were lounging about, content to keep their guard duties as nothing more than an idle thought. Only one Marine wasn't lazing about... and it wasn't even a human! The soft pop-like clicks of the animal's footsteps was the first identifier that there was more than humans aboard... but as the Pig hopped up the final step and onto the deck, the cry of a loud, yawn-like Oink made it clear just what kind of being it was.

Born a pig but raised like a human, Muhd trotted over the deck with a small pack on his back. The bag carried a large majority of his outfit and gear, the sheath of his two large blades visible. The dagger was practically concealed, the hilt just out and forward enough for the animal to bite and draw if needed. With his wide-brimmed hat on, the casual atmosphere seemed to pop with the extravagant reds and purples practically blending into a beautiful gradient effect. The blue feathers bounced with each step, the Big Ham moving to quietly hop onto the prow of the civilian ship.

For Muhd's first assignment, the goofy Marines more or less sent Muhd chasing some shadow. Even if the pig was ranked as a Marine, they didn't seem to take him too serious quite yet. Inferior animals, the human race... they tended to discourage Muhd quite often. It was only the great bunch that raised the Pig Platoon that seemed to treat them well. Without his brothers and sisters, however, the Swine Swordsman simply had to hope this trip was big enough to make an impression on those bastards in command!

"This town looks quiet... hard to believe they suspect some minor villain is running around..."

A snicker behind the pig was ignored, specifically because it came from a Marine. These bums were nothing more than glorified watch dogs... they didn't get attacked nearly enough to ensure they had respect for more serious Marines. However, the Seapig Recruit watched as the ship slowly made its way into the dock... and once it was within ample distance, leaped from the prow of the vessel and onto the wooden walkway. All the animal received were a few strange looks, thankfully, the people working the dock more or less let the porker walk on. The rumor of a potential bounty being placed on this target had likely reached the local area... it was a Human by the name of...

"Run! It's Lohan Yohan!"

The dock seemed to part in fear, Muhd blinking and looking through a parted crowd. Standing in the square that met with the dock was an average looking man. To the untrained eye, the guy was a villain with that sword waving around... but Muhd knew something very crucial that made this idiot nothing more than a joke. The real Lohan Yohan wasn't a man, but a woman!

Snorting and quietly coming to a stop, the pig pulled the pack free and dropped it at his side, the bandana giving a jiggle and the hat's plumage swaying. Half climbing on the pack, Muhd recovered the cape and his swords from the bag. In seconds, the swap from a fancy, hat-wearing pig to a Musquealteer-In-Training was complete. It was rather sloppy, however, as it took a few more seconds to secure the sword's sheaths into place. But at last, the Big Ham left the emptied pack and began to trot toward the scene. If there were any bounty hunters in town, perhaps this mistaken identity would draw them out. Capturing Lohan before the bounty could be posted would be beneficial to the World Government and Marines... but if a Bounty Hunter were to take them captive, they'd basically get a free reward as long as they waited!

[Kurosaki]

There was something incredibly quaint about this Island. While it was still part of the East Blue and incredibly close to home for the Bounty Hunter, the young woman found herself feeling like she had entered an altogether different realm of reality. Instead of having cobblestone walkways crowded with people, dank and mysterious alleyways branching off in every direction, Organ Island was instead open, spacious and full of life. Not to mention that you could practically feel the sand from the dirt roads seeping in through your shoes as you walked. Instead of looking up to the sky and having it mostly blocked by two or three story buildings on most sides, the brunette found herself being able to tilt her head in almost any direction and see the bright blue skies directly above her to then watch the light puffy clouds roll by lackadaisically. It was refreshing for the city girl as well as interesting at the same time. As she passed each of the little wooden cottage homes that made up the residential area just outside of the docks, she realized that she wanted to go up and knock on the door of each one. It felt like the type of place that, if you went up to, the owners would invite you in for a glass of iced tea and chat you up for hours.

Regardless of the high level of temptation that presented itself to Lexi in that moment, she wasn't about to test her strange theory out to see if it were true as she entered into Orange Town from the outskirts. However, she did make note of a particularly lavish looking wooden house. In front was a fenced off yard. Instead of the typical sand, dirt and rocks that seemed prevalent everywhere you went, this one was sporting a thick layer of green grass that looked like it had been painstakingly cared for. There was a dog house outside with a big wooden bone-shaped sign in front that read 'ChouChou'.

The young brunette felt like a tourist as she walked, looking this way and that. Her brown eyes were wide the entire time. At one point or another she began to want to kick herself for not bringing a camera Den Den Mushi. Frowning slightly as she placed her hands on her hips and rose an eyebrow, the nicely dressed bounty hunter wondered why she always traveled so light in the first place. Granted, she had no permanent place of residence while she was out searching for wanted pirates. Also, she had no vessel of her own. Or crew mates. Or suitcases...

Oh yeah, that was why.

Somehow though, she still managed to pack enough stuff in the small bags that she toted along with her to make a fairly nice fashion statement. She was wearing a cute short dress with a white Peter Pan collar. The dress itself had a thick white layer under a see-through material with blue flowers. The dress was a short sundress that stopped mid-calf but Lexi had white tights underneath and brown boots that stopped halfway up her thigh. Right now she was only carrying a small satchel with her. The rest of her belongings, two small tote bags, were already dropped off at a local inn.

But why exactly was she on this Island? Was it to sight-see? Not exactly...

Lexi's job was to capture pirates with Bounties on their heads and turn them into the World Government watch dogs, the Marines, in order to cash in on their head. She always turned them in alive, which made things a lot more difficult for her but in the end kept her conscious clean. Other than that, she had no real rules for how she went about tracking them down and taking them in. Most of the time she simply just winged it.

Like now.

While rumors had persisted that the feared Lohan Yohan had been sighted with their ship right off of the Organ Islands Archipelago, most of the Bounty Hunters had been after bigger fish closed to Loguetown. Meanwhile, Lexi, who wanted to branch out, had been one of the few Hunters that she knew of that had come out of the way for a simple 10,000,000 beri bounty. While it wouldn't be the biggest score ever, she still felt like it was a pretty descent one if she managed to find the wanted pirate and defeat them.

Regardless of her own personal financial gain, Lexi was also concerned with the people of this Island. From what she had heard, they had, in recent years, built up quite a lot from only a few years back when their town had been completely rampaged by Pirates causing mayhem. The other thing was that Lohan Yohan supposedly was a cruel son-of-a-gun who looked for trouble in all the right places and caused mayhem constantly. Just what this little place needed, right? Maybe it was a tad naive of her to imagine that she could save an Island from dealing with such a crises but the young brunette was willing to at least give it a shot with this one and see how it went from there.

Of course, she hadn't banked on the whole Island being full of gullible morons. As she turned the corner getting closer to the docks, and saw the scene in front of her, she wanted to hang her head in shame. So far all she had done was pump up this place in her mind but she had forgotten that people were still people. As she watched 'Lohan Yohan' causing some sort of fuss. Noticing a food stand nearby, she shrugged her shoulders and took a sharp left, ordering a big tub of popcorn.

Slowly she began to enjoy her delicious treat while she became a watcher on the sidelines of the show that was taking place. Surely she wasn't about to waste her time taking on a grunt like this one that had no clue which end of the sword was the pointy death-causing part. He was a small fry and some Marine soldiers had already arrived to take care of him anyway. Speaking of which... Was that a pig!? In a hat?! Was that pig a Marine!?

Lexi nearly choked to death on her popcorn.

[Roin]

Like many bums among humans, the small Muhd could hear one of them laughing. As the situation wasn't a humorous one, the little guy could only reason out one reason. Steadily, the crowd seemed to notice Muhd as well, each addition drawing a new set of laughter that only seemed to get loud. The sounds of fear were replaced with the harmonious chuckles of envy and misunderstanding. To all of them, the Marine was just some animal wearing a hat, each looking for the owner of the pig. For all of his life, the Pig had believed in a greater justice to the world... that even an animal as pathetic as himself could be a Marine...

And as the little guy at last cleared the laughing crowd to reach the confused and sword-wielding moron. The man joined the laughter, pointing the sword while the other hand covered his face. The air around the pink warrior grew tense... but no one seemed to pick up on it. They were all too busy laughing and gasping for air. At long last, however, the little pig took hold of the rapier on his side, having to angle the head with trained precision to grip the hilt. With an expert finesse, the pig withdrew the sword only to get a louder "squeal" of laughter from the crowd.

"Hahah! Someone taught it parlor tricks!" "It can use a sword! So weird!"

Muhd, however, was done listening to such mocking tones. It was for reasons like this that humans were horrible in his mind. To the trained onlooker, they might notice the pig's belly expanding slightly to touch the ground. Why? The little guy was taking a deep breath, not to calm himself but to prepare for something else. As the second breath started, Muhd considered if these people would truly understand their situation. It wasn't as loud as his true squeal's power level... but it was still going to cut through all this laughter and no doubt stun quite a few of the yokels. As the pig finished puffing up the final time, a single thought cut through his mind to ensure the squeal's intent was solidified.

Chilledo Del Lion!!! "SQYU~WE~~~!"

Unlike the squeal of a normal pig, the practiced "Lion's Squeal" cut through the laughter. It wasn't enough to numb the ears like if performed without any weapon or with his smaller blades, but in exchange the range allowed it to reach the entire crowd. The criminal dropped the sword and clutched his ears in pain. After all... it was still a loud squeal! If someone had time to cover their ears, they'd have hear just a normal squeal... but to those that hadn't such as the man, they were in confusion as they tried to cover their ears, some even falling to the ground. Unlike Muhd, human civilians were often like pigs... and they needed a proper example every once in a while. And as the squeal died out, "Lohan Yohan" let out a confused blink... specifically because Muhd sheathed the blade before lowering his stance. Normally performed as a lethal attack... the pig had decided to take care of this wannabe right here and now.

"Cerdo Pasando!"

Leaping upward and into a spin with power quite remarkable for a little guy, the man's stunned eyes bulged in fear. That fear kept him frozen... right up until Muhd crashed snout-first into the unlucky fellow's gut. It was so close and so unexpected that the man bent over and audibly emptied his lungs. As Muhd fell to the ground, hopping to the side as the man collapsed to the ground, the entire audience (at least the civilians) had gone silent. As the man went face-first into the road, groaning and clutching his gut, a few of the marines from the dock came running up in complete disbelief. The Seapig Recruit took a moment to shake his head, angling the wide-brimmed hat back into shape and onto the top of his head.

"This man is not Lohan Yohan! I am a new marine sent to bolster this island's defenses until we find her! My name is Muhd Roller, a Musquealteer-in-training, and I hope you all will come to me with any-"

After a long moment, the laughter picked up with a snort... and then the people began once again. Muhd was stunned, the little pig clearly disturbed. It was likely his voice that had caused it... but why were humans so eager to laugh at him after single-handedly disarming this minor crook? Was it because he had exposed this to not, in actuality, be the real Lohan?

[Kurosaki]

While Lexi wasn't going to be that person that burst out laughing and pointing fingers, her innate curiosity gripped her. What was with the pig?

Of course, maybe the pig would be upset at being called a pig. Maybe it was actually a warthog. From where she was standing as well as her lack of knowledge of most animal species, it really could have been the case that she was mistaken in her initial assessment. Maybe he even just wanted to be referred to as Mr. Pig!

With a brow slightly raised as she attempted to figure out the complexity of the situation, Lexi finally returned her attention back to the commotion playing out in front of her. While her popcorn seemed all the better of a choice now, she hardly touched it as she watched the crowd around her burst into a round of such intense laughter you would have thought that the pig was actually coming in riding a unicycle and juggling milk bottles. I mean, seriously, it wasn't that funny. That was when the little ham pulled out his sword, causing the crowd to roar with renewed laughter. Though it wasn't all that hilarious, Lexi actually cracked a smile at that with her perfect white teeth though it was more the fact that she couldn't help but chuckle a little when so many other people were finding this so comical. Perhaps laughter was catching?

"Man, this is too much," she commented to no one in particular, shaking her head slowly and taking another handful of popcorn. Really there wasn't much in it for her to continue to watch the scene. After all, this man was clearly not someone with a bounty. However, that being said, it didn't necessarily rule out the fact that he had ties with the real Lohan Yohan. It could all be some sort of stage show to throw them off the trail. After all, what was the likelihood of a wanted pirate being on the same Island as their impersonator? You'd think that the impersonator would do their research before attempting such a stunt.

Well, if Lexi could get a hold of this fraud and sit him down for a bit, she was sure that she could have him squeal out all of the information that he knew. That wasn't just a funny play on words either. As a Bounty Hunter, Lexi had a pretty good understanding of what made people sing like canaries and was able to exploit that to her benefit time and time again.

"Ouch!" cried Lexi suddenly as a loud sound reached her ears and caused her to flinch down in an attempt to escape it. The sound wave had already penetrated her ears, however, sending resounding pains through her entire body as her mind was essentially assaulted by the noise. Tears sprang to her eyes before she attempted to blink them away as the sound finally ceased. Rubbing her face, she realized with an intense frown that something else had happened while she had attempted to cover her ears in such a haste; she had dropped her popcorn onto the ground. Most of the contents of the bag had spilled completely out and onto the ground. Though she was no longer on the dirt walkway, the cement below her was not necessarily clean either.

Whatever the swine did next, now that she was a bit pissed off enough to refer to him as such, Lexi wasn't sure what it was he had called out. She was having a hard time of hearing anything. After all she was practically deaf now thanks to that initial attack. The thought of having some bacon for her next meal occurred to her and at first she relished in the idea of exacting her revenge for her damaged ear drums but finally cooled off her hot head and relaxed again as she watched the fight play out, her brown eyes lighting up a bit when she witnessed the pig slam into the fake right in the gut, knocking all of the wind right out of his lungs. It was almost as if she had witnessed the fast deflating of a life raft which was rather comical.

While the pig apparently had a speech, proving that the little guy was more than just a common barn animal, the fiery brunette had practically no clue what he was saying other than what she assumed from attempting to read his lips. While she would have normally been fairly successful had the pair of lips been human, she was having a bit of a harder time figuring out what the snout was forming the words to. The most she got out of it was that the pig was sure that the man he had just flattened was not Lohan Yohan.

"I could have told you that...," Lexi muttered to herself with a roll of her eyes. People were so gullible. Just like, how did they get by in this world just believing whatever some random guy shouted in the middle of a street? In essence too, this man had been knocked out simply because he had declared a false identity. Maybe he should have thought about that before he tried to cash in on some fame and fortune he hadn't actually earned.

Sauntering out now from the crowd, she approached the little piggy and his men. After all, it seemed like this one was in charge. There was a metaphor in there somewhere but she wasn't searching for one right now.

"Obviously this isn't the real Lohan but it's possible that he knows where the real one is, right? If you want, I could get him to tell us the information," and with that, she winked confidently. After all, what was the point in making that statement without being sure of herself that she could pull it off? She had to believe in herself before she could prove herself to others. Of course, she had forgotten one important detail. The fact that her ears were still ringing significantly, making her increase the volume of her voice so she was all but shouting the offer at the Marine. "My name is Lexi Harting, by the way. I'm a Bounty Hunter in case you were wondering." While she didn't want to risk the chance of losing her bounty if the Marines simply took the information she gathered, she also knew she would never get close to this impostor without Marine permission now that they had him in custody.

[Roin]

Despite the little porker's best effort to get the situation under control, it seemed to fail until the actual Marines showed up. They pushed in, moving to secure the man even though they knew nothing more than he had caused a scene. Due to the bunch having been with the ship, they knew of the pig's actual identity... but even they had a chuckle or two as they came. As they began wrapping his wrists with rope, a voice snapped Muhd out of watching... specifically because the woman was close enough that Muhd couldn't see much of her. The shadow of his brim was large... but with a quick turn around and hustle, appearing rather goofy, the Seapig Recruit turned about and looked up with a significant distance between them.

"Don't worry, I'm not a gynophobe! I just prefer to speak to people eye-to-eye."

With a snort, the pig thought back on all that was said... finally giving a snort and small hop to show he was once more paying attention. This woman had offered to extract information from some miscreant? The man was foolish for imitating a candidate for earning a bounty, but that was his only crime. A village idiot was a pain, but no crook, after all. Only moments after the offer, she introduced herself as Lexi Hogging, as Muhd heard it, and a Bounty Hunter. While the little Marine animal hadn't been wondering, it was certainly good to put a name to a face.

"It's good to meet you, Lexi Hogging the Bounty Hunter. I am Muhd Roller, Musquealteer-In-Training and Seapig Recruit. Your offer is a sound one, but the Marines don't require services for extracting information from civilians! I simply stepped in because the scene wasn't handling itself!"

Quietly motioning toward his swords, the pig seemed to emphasize the point of stepping in. Few people understood that pigs were smart... few people seemed to truly understand that Muhd was a warrior. As goofy as he was, the pig had learned swordsmanship from the Marine's best pig trainers... and even then, personal interest had prompted further study. But that was beside the point. Specifically, it was outside of the current topic... which Muhd's snout gave a twitch from underneath the large brim, lowering his head just enough to cast an ominous shadow over the pig's face.

"I don't like to talk, though... few people find my voice noraml, despite my size. The Marines would certainly enjoy the assistance of a Bounty Hunter in catching Miss Yohan. If you're aware she doesn't have a bounty yet and still wish to help, however... I am certain the Marines can offer you a stipend for volunteering your efforts."

The laughing had died down, instead replaced by boos and jeers at the now tied-up man being dragged away. The base of the town's small Marine garrison was nearby, but Muhd didn't start heading that way as the pig finished. Instead... Muhd began walking toward the town. The porker had been sent to the island not to join the garrison, but to seek out the criminal. It wasn't a matter of importance the Marines had deemed... and rather than send a squad, they had decided to send the pig alone to test the training of the little creatures. All of that was weighing on Muhd's mind... even as his sheathed weapons gently bounced in-rhythm with the sound of his tiny footfall. With cape billowing behind him, ominous cap concealing much of the Marine's head... he appeared like a Musketeer crawling along the ground, rather than a pig dressed up and believing himself to be one!

I'll head to the tavern... certainly that woman can help the local marines... but she'd only get in the way of my heroics if that human tagged along with me!

---

In one of the town's abandoned districts, a large warehouse gave a small shake as a small band of thieves stared in confusion at the angry woman before them.

"You... what!? I don't pay you morons to get caught! Why didn't you stop that drunk bastard!?" "H-He didn't think the Marines would actually-"

The man who had been talking was silenced in that moment... the others had watched in terror as the woman fired a cannon-like pistol directly into his face. Rather than a projectile, the weapon had only discharged its charge... which meant the man was burned with the muzzle-flash alone, falling to the ground either out cold, dying, or dead. In that moment, the angry woman snarled at the dozen or so goons.

"You boys better find us some good loot! If you use my name, you make sure you get away! If the Marines get a picture of me, then it's likely that they'll put a bounty on me! If that happens, yer lives aren't going to get easier! Now get the hell out of here!"

[Kurosaki]

The little pig under his wide musketeer cap swiveled around and jumped back. At first the young woman presumed that she had startled the squeaker, but that was not the case, the little guy explained. In reality, he had simply turned and backed up so he could look at her better. From his position only coming in at a little over two feet, Lexi could imagine the difficulty in attempting to look someone in the eye, especially someone of her height. While she wasn't the tallest girl that she had known in her life, she was fairly unusually tall for her gender coming in at 5'10". Again, not particularly impressive, but larger than average which definitely wouldn't have helped the little pig's neck from straining.

Thin eyebrow raising slightly, since she was also having a hard time hearing still, she had a difficult time catching part of his next sentence. It might have also been the fact that his voice was unusual, given that he was, oh, well, a pig. Regardless of the reasoning she took her right hand and tapped her ear on that side a few times. Things would probably end up coming back to normal if given enough time but she was still hearing a slight hum. She was at least fairly certain that he had introduced himself as Muhd Roller. Something popped in her ears suddenly and her left began to hear clearly so she perfectly caught that the Marines didn't need her services.

Her shoulders coming up and then falling down, she shook her head, unsure if the Seaman Recruit was really the best one she could have asked. Due to the way he was walking around earlier and taking out the wanna-be version of Lohan, she had simply assumed that this one was the guy in charge. Obviously the Bounty Hunter had been very much mistaken in that assumption. After all, she reasoned with herself, you wouldn't put a SeaPig in charge, would you?

"I'm really good at what I do and it would save you lovely folks a lot of time wandering around trying to track her down," she tried to reason but his mind seemed to be made up by the way he lowered his head, the brim of his hat now blocking his facial features entirely not allowing her to try to work her magic in convincing him to at least give her a shot.

"W-wait, wait, back up a second. She doesn't have a bounty? That doesn't make any sense... I have a wanted poster with a sketch drawing that says she's worth at least 10,000,000! I mean, granted, it's a very crude drawing but it at least has her name on it." In her own frenzy now to verify what she was fairly certain to be true, the young brunette turned her head and began to rummage through her bag. When she pulled out her stack of freshly printed Bounty posters she had gotten quite recently, she saw that indeed, she had one that matched the name sitting right on top. Perhaps it was so new that not even these Marines had received word of it? That meant that Lohan Yohan herself might not even realize that one was posted...

Turning around to spot the little SeaPig, Lexi was startled to realize that Muhd had vanished from her immediate surroundings. Despite his unusual appearance, he seemed to be quick and able to dart out of sight fairly quickly. She would have to keep in mind also that if she got on his bad side, most of her techniques in Aikido were also not effective due to his joints... How did one fight a swine in the first place? That was not a question she had ever posed to herself, the young woman had to admit.

Her mascaraed eyes drifted around her surroundings, searching through the crowd of Marines that were busy escorting the fake Lohan toward his confines. Most likely, the charges would be a mere slap on the wrist for him and an overnight stay unless they took it more seriously due to the disturbance he had caused. Regardless, Lexi knew he wasn't going to be able to be touched by her. That meant that her only real lead and possible chance to still cash in on the 10 million beri bounty that actually was on her head, was to follow the pig down the proverbial rabbit hole.

"All I can do is try to beat him to the punch and bring home some bacon," Lexi murmured to herself before shoving her things back into her bag and taking off after the pig, who she now spotted walking down a pathway headed for an unknown destination due to her unfamiliarity with the Island.

[Roin]

[Tis short, but the next one will be better > most likely!]

Despite Muhd's urgency and plan, the little porker wasn't terribly fast... and hadn't made it very far. Specifically... the pig stopped at the first intersection. Few Marines would dare admit it, but the little guy had to consider that this town was pretty foreign. While they'd supplied a map of the rebuilt island, they hadn't forced the little guy to memorize it. And due to the fact that he hadn't moved... the woman's words had reached the wide-brim hat-wearing bacon-maker. But they certainly were foolish.

How could I have missed such details? Surely that woman is only bluffing-

But what if she wasn't bluffing and the World Government had deemed Lohan an actual threat? The ship hadn't exactly had direct contact to the Big G's call lines and information... but had the Marines truthfully placed a bounty after sending him out this way? As much as the pig wanted to reject such ideas... the distrust of the humans was big enough that it seemed very possible. And that alone made Muhd sigh and slightly lower his head. It was hard to look sad when you were a pig in a flamboyant cape and hat... but all the little guy could think of was that the humans didn't trust the Seapig Recruit yet.

Turning, the little guy peered back the way he came... just in time to spot Lexi running along after him. Even if she had a poster, even if the Marines had done such a thing... none of that mattered as the pig looked up toward Lexi. Just to be safe, though, the little guy took a step to the side... before giving a snort similar to a "hmph" for a person. The little swine was confident... but even he had to eat crow.

"I wonder if cro- I mean, you say there is a poster of Miss Yohan? If that is the case, then I was severely wrong to walk away. I will admit, however, that I am not very... informed of this town's layout as I had initially thought. As a strategist, I will make a sound decision to enlist your human hands in both finding and acquiring our target! But, I have to ask... are you pondering what I'm pondering?"

Alright Muhd... try to get this female human to play along... and maybe she won't step on you.

Even as the pig both tried to recover his "collective image" and gain the assistance of the Bounty Hunter, the swords at his sides wiggled. The street was wide and open, the sound the only thing in the air beside for the obvious voice of the piglet. All the while, the sky gave a soft crack... just in time for the rain to begin falling. And unlike most animals, the little guy didn't even mind the droplets of the sprinkling sky-water. In fact... his outfit seemed to make sure most of it either vanished or rolled away. All the while... the outfit seemed to be slightly expanding, like that of a sponge. The refill of water was refreshing to a pig with an outfit used to store it for hot stretches... but Muhd would try to analyze this human's disturbance. Even as puddles would form and the dry buildings became slicked with the light drizzle, Muhd's true examination of this practically energetic and sassy girl had only just begun.

[Kurosaki]

There are times when you want to strike it out on your own and other times where you have considerations to make. One of those was that the risk of going out and trying to simply beat the pig to the punch was that Lexi would lose all of the beri on Lohan's head if she was in turn late in finding her. Then again, being as stubborn as she innately was, it was hard to picture herself being on some sort of weird team-up. No, the best plan of action for her was to do something on the middle ground. Work alongside the Marine recruit and then get ahead of the game somewhere along the line.

Boots clicking on the sidewalk as she hoofed it after the short musketeer, the Bounty Hunter was able to catch up relatively quickly. The added benefit to her walk was probably due to her long legs while the short pig had to take five or so more steps in order to match up due to his small stride.

It seemed that once she caught up to him, something must of clicked in the little guy's brain to warrant his attention on what she had said earlier. "Yeah, she does actually. I'm surprised that you guys didn't already know about it. I mean, granted, it's not very high at 10 million but it's still something."

Raising a brow and lowering her head slightly in anticipation, the brunette did find herself wondering what the little pig was pondering. "I'm pondering if a team up would mean that I still get paid~?" she questioned teasingly, though by the follow-up wink that she gave and her eyebrows being raised in anticipation, she wasn't actually joking. In fact, she fully expected the little porker to give the affirmative. After all, why would you enlist a Bounty Hunter to help out unless you felt you needed their assistance and expected to pay them for their services?

Though her disappointment or excitement would hinge directly on the little musketeer's answer to her pressing question, she would ultimately decide to do the same thing no matter what the response was, positive or negative.

"Well, although I'm not all too familiar with this area, I've found that when you're looking for someone who doesn't want to be found, the best places are the dives. Places like bars, motels, casinos, diners etc are the places you want to be because they'll ultimately have to pass through at least one of them," she explained with a flourish of hand motions. If it was anything that she knew, it was how to track someone down. Her past history of doing so was a tell-tale sign that she was beginning to become an expert in the field. "Even if Lohan and her crew aren't at one of the locations, then someone there is bound to have seen her pass through. And well, we can get them to talk."

The secretive way that she smiled could have lent itself to any number of reasons. But, the ultimate one that was the cause was her imaginings of past interrogation situations. So far, she had done a fairly good job of making most of her targets fess up whatever they knew to be true. While she never resorted to outright torture methods, she had her 'ways'.

”And...," she trailed off, pointing over to the side with one slender finger where the pig had just almost passed a narrow alleyway with a sign that pointed to a pub called 'The Cage'. ”That's probably our best place to start.”

[Roin]

The little pig wasn't surprised at the pondering over payment, but the previous surprise of the woman having a bounty hadn't completely worn out as he answered.

"I suppose we can work out payment... but I do not think the proper price would be the full bounty! After all, you will be working under the employ of the Marines during the brief stint!"

There was, of course, no true paperwork to fill out to make it official. A well-informed Bounty Hunter could see through the ruse, but Muhd had very little options. Lohan was a criminal worthy of her bounty, which had been partially the reason to send the little pig on a suicide mission after her, and it meant that he would need help. Strategy alone could help him against many foes, but just the effort of keeping up with a human wasn't too easy for the pork-professional. Turning his head with her finger to face the sign, it was made all too clear how his lack of experience in the Human World put him at a disadvantage. "I suppose I'll take the lead... try not to be very conspicuous, two-legs. If we're talked to... you know me as Rolling Sword! I am a lowly pirate of considerably low character!," Muhd spouted before walking toward the door.

Once inside 'The Cage', the shady bar really seemed to open up. The stone floor of the alley was replaced with old, rotten wood boards that you would expect of such a shady place. Local thugs and bandits had formed in the place, none of them noticing the Pig due to his stature quite yet. Low to the ground, he would look up and around, beyond the tables and barrel seating. The smell of booze was strong here, almost enough to hide the scent of food, but that wasn't what his trained nose sniffed for. With a slow patter, Muhd had moved a short distance inside and come to a complete halt, the big-eyed pig raising his snout and unleashing another series of sniffs. There was one thing pirates had that differentiated them from others... and that was the smell of salt water. Even in a coastal town like this, someone who lived on the sea, swam in it, and raided along it would stand out. It would normally be hard to isolate something... but his training had allowed the pig to seemingly pinpoint a booth rather close to the door.

Sitting at the booth was a large man, shaped much like a plum, who was eating the very same food in large bundles. It was the second strongest thing Muhd could pick up in the area. The low light didn't matter with the distance to the man, the wood walls reflecting just enough light to make him seem almost monsterous in his devouring. Potentially part-Giant, the Musquealteer had quickly made an accurate assessment. That was the man they had to handle. If he was part of the crew, that wasn't so sure... but the strange, shadowy demeanor of Plum-Man made it clear that he-

"Oi, who let 'da pig in 'er!?"

Eyes had started to turn, save the gluttonous plum-eater, and in turn Muhd looked up and toward them. He was momentarily isolated in the bar... and hoped that the quick exchange would end with the Bounty Hunter following along. It was rude of him to be so fast to go off on his own, certainly, but the Pig hadn't thought much of humans. That is, unless they were the kind who served the Marines with great diligence.

[Kurosaki]

"Hm, fair enough," was her response to the pig explaining to her that she would probably not receive the full amount on the bounty. Of course, knowing the Marines, any sort of promise that was not set in stone wasn't to be trusted. On the outside, she seemed calm and understanding but on the inside, she was wondering whether or not she wanted to pursue this with the thought that she might not be paid for her services at all.

Raising a brow at the strange nickname that was dubbed to her, the brunette nevertheless decided to go along with the porker's plan to take the lead. Though, it was funny that the woman was the one being cautioned to keep inconspicuous when a talking pig dressed up like some sort of musketeer would certainly be an attention garnering thing; particularly in a bar full of drunks that would think almost anything was amusing. That being said, Lexi herself often drew some level of attention to herself, thanks to her fashionable taste in clothing. Dives and bars were known to attract some skeevy individuals, after all, and the Bounty Hunter was quite used to having unwanted cat calls and advances pointed in her direction. Of course, that also opened doors to her as some of the men were willing to tell her almost anything that she asked without the intelligent woman having to pry too much.

"'Rolling Sword'? Really...?" she questioned, keeping her voice lowered, with less sarcasm than just a large dose of surprise. If he really thought people would not see immediately through that sort of ruse, he was more instilled in the Marine lifestyle than she had previously thought. Even 'Bacon' would have been a better code name if they were going to start making up epithets now. He might as well have called himself 'Dances with Pigs'.

Hit with the smoke of the place initially as they entered in, the experienced hunter acted casual as she strolled in. Her eyes were not on any of the patrons, but rather on the front bar area where the bartender was busy on display, flipping bottles around and pouring drinks as though it were second nature. Her boots clicked on the wood as she went, though it was barely audible over the chitchat and music playing loudly from a grand piano on the far side. It looked like a typical dive. One that held a lot of promise but wasn't nearly as trashy as some of the unfortunate cesspools Lexi had found herself wandering into in the past to find her target.

Oh, wait... Pausing in her step, Lexi turned, realizing that she had to wait for Muhd. She had almost completely forgotten that he had asked to be the lead on this. Which, to be honest, was probably a bit of a bad idea since she was more experienced, but if she was going to work with him she had to play by his rules a bit. Or, at least make the impression that she was.

It seemed that the little guy had gone all but a few feet before being spotted by a patron. Lexi's skeptical look told the story as she wondered if this really had been such a grand idea. Already, with the fat, disgusting man's loud declaration, heads were turning and eyes were fixating on the pair. For a brief moment, she realized that her distance was far enough from the mini Marine that simply continuing to walk toward the bar would sever their connection and allow her to slip into the rest of the crowd unnoticed.

The choice was ultimately hers then to step forward and closer to the government worker.

"I was going to ask the same thing about you, honey?" Lexi said with a sweet batting of her eyes and a smile that could have melted a heart had her words not been so icy. After all, she had readily twisted his words back at him to imply that someone had let a pig into the bar alright; this fat man consuming ungodly amounts of grub. The statement as an insult seemed to go missed by the unsightly man, however, who's thick neck somehow managed to turn his head so fast toward Lexi that it was a shock that the big guy hadn't given himself whiplash.

A low, creepy whistle followed, which Lexi was surprised hadn't caused any morsels of food to come spewing forth from the man's lips. Internalizing her emotional reaction to this quite well she, instead of recoiling which most women would do, simply smiled and waved.

"An' what's a pretty girl like yah doing in a place like dis wan?" the man practically belched out, patting his lips now with a napkin presumably only to make himself appear the tiniest bit presentable now. With his greasy black hair, beady black eyes, large bulbous nose and three or four chins complete with chin beard, he would have to try harder than that.

Right... Lexi needed a cover story. She had ones saved up all the time, but Muhd had asked her to follow his lead...

[Roin]

With the actions of Lexi more or less defending Muhd, the pig had to say he was surprised. Few humans were of character to defend a Marine in such a situation, but she had and now most of the eyes had left the pig and gone to her. So even as the group all waited for her response, Muhd once more resumed his trot. The silence of the bar was filled with it quick enough that gazes once again moved toward the floor. The plum-eating glutton didn't turn away from the woman, but the man's eyes glanced downward as Muhd moved over to Lexi's side. A few snickers were filling the void as the pig's swords bounced along with the motion of his stride.

At last, however, Muhd stopped and turned, sitting beside the human much like a dog might... by sliding down and onto his butt. There were many ways to make a signal, but the pig was trying to imagine a way to pass a message without turning the wooden, old bar into a burning mess that might cook his bacon-composed posterior. So after a few moments, with Lexi no doubt wanting a cover story and the plum-eating man no doubt expecting one... Muhd abandoned the plan and instead flopped to the side adorably against Lexi's leg before giving a snorting sniff.

"Oink~!"

Immediately, laughs erupted from the bystanders. The plum-shaped bozo even joined in with a deep, booming chuckle fitting of a half-giant heritage. Banging could be heard as people slammed their fists and stomped the ground in the pathetic scene. It was in this chaos that he would look up and speak as quickly as he could toward the kind human. "I am your pet pig" Muhd said, ",but this man is the one we are after!" With his message relayed, Muhd dropped to the floor on his belly, inspiring even more laughs as the entire bar seemed ready to roll in laughter. There were many things a pig working for the Marines could do... but the most useful talent was to be so adorable that the villains would lose themselves in laughter to the point they'd leave an opening!

---

"He WHAT!?" "H-He said he was hungry, so-"

A shot echoed through the building, this time the unfortunate goon carried away through a nearby wall as Lohan rose to her feet with a snarl. The woman's hideout was dark, lit only by residual flame from the cannon-like pistol and the fiery smoke it expelled. The news that one of her subordinates had gone to the port where the Marines were had been just another straw for the day. Not only had these buffoons tried to use her name and caused a scene, but that plum-eating fool was more than likely going to start a war with the Marines on the island if they found him and even tried to take his plums!

"He went to The Cage, right!? You idiots go and get him before it's too late! If you have to, take his damn plums so he'll follow you back, but get him out of there now! Those Marines could make him talk by offering plums alone!"

With salutes and a quick shuffle out, a party of pirates had scuttled out. The distance to the Cage was far enough that it would take a few moments of walking... but the fact that Lohan had her crew pulling their shenanigans during such an important time wasn't a good thing. A bounty on her head was one thing, but drawing the ire of the Marines or potentially being exposed to them meant she'd be dealing with a lot more than a few tough guys that defended the town. The woman had come to hide-out for a bit, yet now the pirate was doubting her luck would allow for it. Sitting back on her throne, the woman tossed the pistol aside with a snarl.

"Someone bring me a slice of the Pflaumespeck! I'm hungry and want more! That bastard better not have eaten all of it after I worked so hard to get it out of the Grand Line!"

[Kurosaki]

"Just looking for some excitement," she responded, twirling her hand a little, giving a vague response that she knew would only cause the man in front of her to want more. The main idea was to give herself more time to conceive of a way to draw the most information out. A pro doesn't reveal all of their cards at once, after all. Though, based on the amount of beer mugs strewn about on the big guy's table, there was a time limit associated with getting clear cut answers. While alcohol served to loosen the tongue, there was a worry of her target falling asleep if he could not hold his beverage.

"Well, hun, yah came ta the right spot," the man slurred with a big faced grin that was as much creepy as it was a turn off as it emphasized all his extra chins. Patting the portion or the seat besides his rump, which was a sliver of an area due to his huge girth taking up most of the bench, tubby seemed to think that he was the perfect guy to provide that excitement Lexi was looking for. Meanwhile, the Bounty Hunter was considering just moving to hard core interrogation tactics in order to avoid getting close to the man.

"Oh? You don't look like the type actually... You see, I'm actually trying to find a crew. I couldn't imagine such a stand-up guy like you being a... Well, pirate?" Lexi responded innocently.

"Hun, ya absolutely right. I look too much of a hunk ta be a pirate, don' I!?" the man bellowed loudly, laughter following that shook his entire gelatinous belly. "But even pirates have ta have a god among men, am I right? I'm dat man! Now come, sit!"

Feeling a pressure on her leg, the young woman cast her gaze downward again to her temporary partner. Right. A Marine being present also restricted her movements. Going too far suddenly and resorting to violence was not going to get her far in this situation. Most likely, it would just cause her to loose whatever portion of the beri she was going to collect at the end of this mission. At least, the brunette assumed as much based on the character that the little pig had presented so far. It wasn't much to go off of, but the mannerisms that the anthropomorphic swine had shown the Bounty Hunter so far spoke of someone who upheld justice. Moral justice. That was definitely a rare thing to find among the soldiers just following orders under the thumb of the World Government.

A perplexed look flashed across her face as the woman's ears picked up the "oink" that everyone else in the bar heard. For some reason, it was more shocking to hear that classic noise coming from Muhd than it had been to learn that a pig in a sombrero could fight for the Marines with a sword. It didn't take long for to learn the reason why, however, as she was the only one that was listening to the little guy's explanation. Everyone else in the hole in the wall was busy roaring with laughter, pounding fists upon their wooden tables to the point where several vibrations caused plates to tumble onto the floor. The ceramic breaking summoned the waitress to the scene though even she stopped in her tracks to giggle when the fancily clad pig fell onto his back on the floor, forgetting completely what she had been about to do.

More about being subtle than anything else, Lexi gave a thumbs up in her "pet's" direction to signal that she understood. Sliding into the booth across from the big tub of a pirate with an internal groan, she wished that their lead could have been anyone else but this obnoxious man. Patting the spot besides her as though calling a dog, Lexi said, "Come on Muhd! You can do it! Jump up here next to mommy!"

[Roin]

To treat an equal as something lesser was what the world viewed as slavery. The principle didn't escape the pig as the plan moved forward with such efficiency that the woman had been accepted into the man's circle. The plan to fool the humans with the most "adorable" display he could muster had apparently worked as well. On the whole, the pork-butt had so far had everything go to plan since entering the establishment. The observation, however, probably wasn't one to make from his back and on the floor, Muhd kicking his legs in the air to further increase the adorable factor in the dying moments. A good cover was one that you reinforced, after all, and not just one so hastily thrown over.

As the woman spoke to him, however, Muhd stopped and turned his head in such a fashion that even upside down the pig appeared angry. To be ordered by a non-Marine and a human had almost caused him to snap, but the surroundings dimming had made it clear that such an outbreak would only ruin the chance to slip in unnoticed. There wasn't much of a way to help it, Muhd rolling over as call was made. Despite having rolled around, the hat of the pig gave a quick "poof" as the plume and top of the hat popped back outward and to their normal state. Due to the degree of which pigs rolled around, it wasn't hard to see where his clothing had been designed to endure such a thing... but with each step and bob of the feather toward the pair, the less attention the pig was starting to receive as the shock factor wore off.

"Oinoinoinoink..." Cursed humans, I can smell the crime on you!

The many oinks would have normally been forced, but the twitch of his nose made it clear that Muhd was sniffing away with his powerful nose with each step toward the table. As soon as he had reached the end of the seating and looked up to Lexi, the human would be able to practically read the look on the porker's face. It was one of confirmation... which quickly vanished as the Seapig leaped upward and toward the seating-proper. At first it seemed like he would make it... only for Muhd to land half-way up. Immediately clear was the fact that this wasn't intentional, the adorable face replaced with one of momentary panic as his hindquarters shook with attempts to both wiggle himself up and from the kicking of his legs. With the cape giving a few billows before the little guy found a foothold, very quickly flopping himself up and onto the seat at last.

While the bar had stopped watching, the plum-shaped Casanova put on a plum-speckled grin and leaned over the table to smile at the pair of them. The man's attention was more on Lexi, obviously, but man made no attempt to hide his stupidity as a hand moved to grab one of the plums from the plate in front of him.

"So, yer little one is called Muhd, eh? Mommy must have quite tha' handful. Ya ever think a feedin' 'em plums? I consider meself a con-sig-nor of 'em, ya know..."

The big man's statement ended with bringing one of the plums up to his mouth, crunching into the food without any sort of care about seeds or anything of the like. It was only as Muhd hopped up on his hindlegs, the brim of his hat flicking and jiggling thanks to the table's edge. The pig didn't dare climb up and onto the table, but he had to put on the fasade... which meant looking at the plums with twitches of the snout and a glance toward Lexi. In no part was it Muhd's attention to let it slip... but as he looked toward "mommy", the pig's eyes were watering as if he were a proper pet pig.

"If 'e wants some, I don't mind... that is, if Mommy don't mind comin' back with a proper god among men, a? My boss could learna thing o' two from someone like ya..."

The crunching alone would have drawn his gaze, but as the porker looked toward the man he had to quickly redirect the gaze back toward the plums to ensure the spark of proper intelligence wasn't visible. Already the man was talking about a boss... perhaps because he had been so believable!? The idea was only his own, of course, but the fact that the success of possibly tracking down Lohan was getting to Muhd already. The human's worth wasn't one that he needed to worry too much on, it seemed... as she was clearly a perfect decoy to perform his genius investigation under! The guise of pet and master was so good that the Musquealteer let out a sound that he genuinely intended to make. A series of snorts, in the traditional pattern of human's laugh!

"Hnkhnkhnkhnkhnnnnnk!"

[Kurosaki]

Whatever self worth that this man had assigned himself seemed to be astronomically high and that was evident by his way of addressing himself. On top of that, there was an proper way to eat a plum and it was not the way he was going about it. Juices ran down the big guy's chin as he crunched straight through the deep purple morsel and droplets slowly made their way down his hairy arm. It was a wonder that a cracking noise didn't follow as teeth broke against the hard seed within. Instead, the man seemed to simply chew it up as though it were intended to be eaten leaving Lexi to wonder if this guy was the type of individual that also drank the marrow straight out of bones.

However, despite any repulsion that the interrogator was currently experiencing, a smile was form fitted on her face. Casually, she crossed her legs and leaned back into the seat, giggling at the antics of Muhd. It was hard not to consider the little guy adorable despite his status as a Marine. It opened up tons of questions about how his superiors had ever been able to take him seriously enough to sign him up for World Government work.

"I don't believe that he would like plums... But I could give it a try. Also, leader? I had pegged you for the boss if you were actually a pirate," she commented suavely, keeping her contact buttered up as much as humanly possible. It seemed to do the trick for he chuckled and grinned more, wiping his mouth, surprisingly, with a napkin that actually happened to be present on the wood table. "But I'd sure like to meet them."

Accepting a single fruit passed to her from an otherwise dirty plate, Lexi proceeded to rub it on the front of her dress, trying to at least give it a clean sheen before passing it to the acting pig. Since he wasn't speaking in order to keep the cover that they had crafted, it was difficult to tell if Muhd had actually wanted the food or not. Regardless, he could simply throw his snout up at it or chow it down. The decision was now in his... hoofs?

"Right, well, hows about I take ya to 'er!" their contact offered, finally bringing them to a great point in the investigation. If they were lucky, this Pirate Captain would be the very same person they were after. Worst case, it was someone different. Regardless, they might still have a beri amount placed upon their head. However, it might be in their best interest to probe a little more before wasting much time.

"So, your boss, what's she like exactly? I'm sure for someone to be your leader they would have to have an ENORMOUS bounty,"she slyly questioned, leaning forward in her seat for a moment as the criminal across from her slid slowly out of his and stood up, making no motions to pull any beri out from his wallet. The lawful person... Pig... Porker... That Muhd was would surely be annoyed or even outraged by the fact that a crime was taking place where his little beady eyes could see it. However, this man was their only lead and Lexi was going to follow it until their cover was blown. As soon as her partner for this mission got out of the seat, she herself would follow suit and begin to follow this "gentleman".