Be a Hero?! Versus the Occupying Pirates! [Nacho|Roin|RK]

[Deleted]

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Mission #37 ★
A bounty of only 20 Million might not seem like a lot but when the pirate is a fishman and he's currently occupying the Island of Zarzara with his crew (including his first mate worth 16 Million) it might just be a problem. Luckily he seems to be good natured and has offered to leave the Island and go back to the Grand Line if someone defeats him in combat! Of course, word of this has spread to the Marines as well and anyone to defeat him would instantly become more notorious in their eyes! Will you risk it to become well known in the South Blue?

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Quickly shedding the coolness of the night as the sun rose, the early morning air of Zarzara kingdom offered a welcomed chill to the normally oppressive heat of the desert. The oasis town of Waq Waq was lucky in its location, with its canals and proximity to the water, but it was still a hotter place than average. Not too many of the inhabitants seemed disturbed by the steadily rising temperature as they went about setting up their shops and starting their day—this was, after all, routine heat. For newcomers to the island however, used to cooler air, it wasn’t as comfortable.

"It... is positively sweltering here."

For the first time in a while, Illiana Voclain found herself actually questioning her style of dress wear, which was a shame because she had gone through the effort of adjusting her normal outfit for Zarzara Island's climate as she had read about it. She had chosen to find a balance between modesty and necessity, and wore a simple wrap dress of a cool bluish white that flowed down to her knees, held in place with a belt containing her trusty knives in their sheaths. Her arms were bare for once, milky pale arms offensively bright in the sunlight. That was alright, however—sun protection came in the form of an expansive shawl over her head and shoulders, light enough to provide shade and protection from the elements. Alas, her preparation and research had done little to make things more comfortable for her in practice—her forehead was already glistening with a minute layer of perspiration, and she wondered if the application of the average layer of make up had been wise. It had never had to stand up to an assault from body moisture back home in the considerably cooler atmosphere of Gestalt.

“Your majesty, is it too uncomfortable for you out here?” Behind her, the hulking suit of armor that was her faithful companion Gendarme spoke, his joints creaking irksomely as he leaned over her. Of course, he was a bit more resilient to the heat, but that hadn’t stopped him from requesting a thobe similar in color to Illiana’s dress. Illiana made a mental note to grease his joints at some point, casually reaching up behind her and placing a hand affectionately on the side of his helm.

“I’ll be fine, Gendarme. Please tone down the honorifics, though—I am not royalty… yet.” She said, looking up thoughtfully at the large building that stood before them. The Palace of the Princess was a site to behold, with its domed torrents and white-gold clay towers a stark contrast to what she remembered of Blake’s palace back home. The structure stood out against the gold of the sandy backdrop, the morning sunlight causing a brilliant gloriole around it as it rose. This was presumably the home of Princess Amina, the current ruler of the island. Illiana thought back to the things she had read about Zarzara’s formation, its relationship with the nearby Cuidadela Queendom, and the resulting political presence. ’I wonder—what kind of person might she be?'

“If you are hot, your majesty...” Gendarme spoke again, ignoring her pensiveness to dutifully provide for her as always. “Perhaps you can enter me?”

Illiana’s cheeks flushed at the abrupt lewdness of the comment. “Enter you? What do you mean—Gendarme?!” She turned in place to address him, only to be met with the site of the suit of armor holding his thobe open like a flashing streaker, showing an opened chest piece and hollowed interior save for his spine, wrapped in chain netting. He had placed Illiana’s bag on the ground. The hinges of his legs and chest had swung open, inviting her to presumably ‘wear’ him and come inside. If there was any way for a physically sexless suit of armor to be sexually inappropriate, it had to be this.

“What are you doing?” Illiana hissed, closing the distance between the two and aggressively pushing Gendarme’s chest shut. “People will see!” She chanced a look around at the crowds of people going about their morning routines, hoping none of them had noticed the hulking armor that had just exposed its disembodied nature. She wasn’t particularly in the mood for inquiries at the moment, and calling too much attention would probably do more to disrupt her intentions with this place.

“I just thought her majesty was hot. I am very cool within…” Gendarme said, stoically unperturbed by his liege’s response. Still, he complied, and his legs reformed themselves as they shut back up.

“That’s all very kind of you, Gendarme. I’ll consider it for later.” Illiana said, convinced that no one was going to be approaching them quite yet. She reached into her bag and pulled out a folder containing her notes. She shuffled through them as she continued. “Let’s just focus on who we came here to find. There are two people, one presumably easier to approach than the other. After all, Princess Amina won’t simply let us waltz up to her throne—I can’t exactly play the part of an unannounced envoy…”

“And who, again, is the other person?” Gendarme asked, pulling his clothes back over his head.

“He’s a pirate who has occupied this city with his crew.” Illiana responded, looking at the bounty poster in her hands, but obscuring it from Gendarme’s view. “He’s worth 20 million, and has been a concern for the Marines, Cuidadela and Zarzara…” She placed the poster away, looking up at her companion

“The ‘Sandfish Star’—Skink Delmar.”
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[RK]

“The ‘Sandfish Star’ Skink Delmar.”

Shotaro pulled out the wanted poster of the pirate he was here to defeat. He was a fishman, which would immediately make this fight an uphill battle. Fishmen are 10x stronger than Humans. Shotaro was just a normal human after all. However, this Fishman would be in for a rude awakening once he encounters Captain Mask, everyone knows that a Super Hero is as strong as he needs to be. Shotaro ran his fingers through his hair, giving out a long sigh. "Maybe I'm overestimating him." Shotaro Spoke softly, he seemed to be rather lax at the moment.

The island of Zarzara could be describe with two words. Real Hot. Desert islands were a common sight anywhere in the world, however, here in the South Blue, where things really get heated, Zarzara was just simply a beacon of dry heat. However, it was just now early morning, desert nights were very chilly, and its a good thing Shotaro had his scarf to keep him ever so slightly warmer. Now however, as the sun began to rise, the intense heat began to build to an insane degree, beating down on the city of Waq Waq.

The streets were bustling with life of all shapes and sizes. The superhero had a clever disguise adorning his body. So normal that no one would think to suspect him if he suddenly needed to change into his hero persona. Aside from his shades and scarf, he was wearing a sky blue shirt with "Bread/Man" written on the front in white letters, and a little loaf of bread with arms and legs waving. Shotaro couldn't have possibly worn pants in this weather, and instead chose a pair of baggy brown shorts. He was wearing regular shoes as well. Across his back was a backpack, with his hero attire inside. For a moment Shotaro felt almost normal. He felt like he was a normal guy, who didn't have to worry about anything. These feelings rushed around inside him up until he remembered what he was holding in his hand. The wanted poster for Skink Delmar. The Superhero had no desire to obtain the money for his head, so he simply ripped off the amount from the poster and threw it away, not even giving it a second thought.

Something stood out in Shotaro's mind however. He had left the box he inherited from his dad on his little dinghy. He still had no idea what was inside or how he would open it. He was just told that "when the time is right, you'll know what to do". Such a vague and disappointing clue only bred further questions in Shotaro. "How am i supposed to know when the right or wrong time even is...?" Shotaro mumbled to himself. Trying not to make his voice heard to anyone around him. He looked around and stepped into a nearby alley way. He pulled his backpack off and reached inside to remove the wool cap he wears that says "RISING" on the front. He grasped it tightly, hoping this piece of his alter ego would help him realize what to do. "Come on...i should know what that means." Shotaro's voice began to change slightly, he took on the heroic and determined tone of voice he used as Captain Mask. The hero inside him always knew what to do, but he couldn't always be that hero. Most of the time, he just had to be Shotaro Morishi.

Shotaro shook off his many questions and placed his wool cap back into his backpack. He'd have to think about this more later. Now however, he had to think about the task at hand. He had to find this Fishman and beat him in combat. Only then would he stop harassing the people of this island. Shotaro was as focused as he'd ever been. Up until the point where he saw a suit of armor trotting along the road, accompanied by a small girl. "Woah...it's a knight..." Shotaro uttered, pausing his voice to grant his full attention to the glorious suit of armor.

[Roin]

In the streets of Zarzara and within earshot of the trio, a single noise carried above the hustle and bustle of the early morning desert town. The sound of strike upon strike on an object and the cheers of spectators. The sandy road seemed to be forming a small cloud nearby from the sheer force of these impacts... but it was betraying to what one might believe.

Wearing a pair of dark blue pants and boots alone, the man that had so much attention was a Long-Arm man. With somewhat lengthy legs, it was almost as if he were a mix between the Long-Limb's most known groups... but the difference was that his leg proportions weren't lengthy nor powerful in their presence. The power of his fist, though, and the lengthened arm were clearly representing the heritage of his father. With his arms slightly out to the side to allow for a normal strike range, the red-haired man was throwing blow after blow into a sandbag. With each one, the bag seemed to shake and crack, the material threatening to give way as it threw out sand. Normally a punching bag could suffice if it were properly designed, but the sand was such an ample source in this land that it only made sense.

With a series of blows, the bag ruptured out at the side, showering sand into the breeze before it was caught and brought back over his shirtless form. Glistening with sweat from the training, the moisture caught the sand along the scarred and battered surface of the martial artist. Closing his right eye, the mysterious boxer continued his assault on the bag as the danger of blinding himself was nullified. The pack on his back was tightly sealed, holding the arrangement of his martial arts uniform... but for once the man had decided to wear the signature weapon of the Ritz Dojo.

Billowing with each motion roughly two to three feet behind him was the weighted, red scarf. The recent stitching along it to display the word "RITZ" was nice, but the true meaning of wearing it was to ensure the weight could be present in his striking. As the striking reached an unprecedented climb in speed, nearing a blurring force, Jaeger's muddied eyes opened wide as he began to yell with each strike.

"Ichi, ni, san, yon, go, roku, nana, hachi, kyou, jou!"

The series of punches rained harder with each count, the final one carrying so much force that the bag's thin, fiber-made bindings snapped and the sack crashed into the wall, the sand exploding out from all around it and covering the wall as if some sand-entity had been brutally murdered. As the bag slid down, Jaeger at last raised his foremost arm in a fist with a smirk. Unlike his grandfather who had specific techniques, Jaeger had nothing special. Such training was preparing to name his own, after all... and that was the reason he had come to this island to make his persona known. As the small crowd around him clapped or started off to their business in the market-like street, it was hard for him to believe it was so utterly in peril due to some fishman pirate. Kneeling and leaning forward, he'd reach up and over his back in a way most humans could never imagine doing, making the arm more or less hook-shaped, Jaeger brushed the weaponized scarf aside to grab the pack and pull it open. Tucked deep within was his uniform, but at the surface was a water bottle.

As the man pulled the bottle free and closed the pack with ease, he rose to stand once more. With a quick twist from the other hand, the motions looking strange due to the lengthy arms, the Karate Island native raised the bottle and took a long drink. The crowd around him was gone, allowing him enough time to look out the corner of his eye to spot the strangest sight. A man with large armor and a woman who was acting strange nearby. They were talking, but the sand covering one ear made it difficult to hear anything. The only thing he could imagine was that the man could potentially be an evil-doer... but that was a bit wild for someone to be doing such a thing in the open and during the day. Without any sense for finesse, Jaeger looked back to the destroyed sandbag and let loose a rather loud statement.

"So many weirdos out in the South Blue these days. Why are all the tough guys trying to be criminals? To imagine this place doesn't even have cheap cheese... I should have gone to train on a different island..."

[Deleted]

[/font] She asked, only to draw back a little as a visible gleam shone off of her armored companion’s helm visor. It was almost as if his eyes, or rather where they would have been, were shining.

“I am a knight!” Gendarme stated aloud, quite abruptly. There was an uncommon, juvenile joy in the armor’s voice as he said this, excitement ringing through in his words. He turned in place, looking beyond Illiana in Shotaro’s direction. His liege took no notice of the man that had drawn his attention, instead smiling patiently, if not a bit condescendingly, like the mother of an excited toddler.

“Yes, dear, I suppose you are…”

But Gendarme had crossed past her in two long strides, causing her to wheel around to see what it was that had him so transfixed. Gendarme made his way directly in front of Shotaro, Illiana taking measured steps to keep in his range, while still hanging back. While she may have given items a life not unlike hers, this didn’t always mean their dispositions were a match. Where Illiana would have gladly kept to herself for the entire stay at the desert city, Gendarme clearly was feeling several times more social. He raised himself to his fullest height before the shorter human, apparently out of the habit of his station back in Gestalt. There was a pregnant pause for a few seconds and suddenly Gendarme raised his metal fists in the air and started flexing in the most ridiculous manner.

“I’m a knight, that’s right! Strong and polite!” He chanted, pointing his limbs in grandiose motions as a visual punctuation. “To protect my queen, I’ll always fight!” He quickly drew his sword and raised it in the air. Gendarme swung at the open air over Illiana and Shotaro’s heights, before driving the blade into the sand and pressing both gauntlet hands over its handle. “I do it for her, and I would do it again…” His helm tilted downward, up until this point staring proudly into the air. “I am Sir Gendarme. Who are you, friend?”

Illiana hung back in Gendarme’s shadow, absolutely horrified with Gendarme’s extreme daffiness, quite obvious in her pained expression. She stepped up, placing a hand on arm and on his back, trying in utter futility to gentle usher him back discretely. Who on earth had told him he was actually a ‘Sir’ was beyond her—was this Gendarme acting out his ambitions in the most childish manner. Gendarme, however, took no notice of his queen’s discomfort; if armor could smile, he would be positively beaming, but all Shotaro would be able to garner would be the endorphins of complete pleasure emanating from Gendarme. Who would have known that Shotaro had uttered the exact phrase that would make Gendarme so effusively happy?

“Umm, I’m very sorry, he can get excited—“ Illiana began, aiming to explain away her partner’s childish enthusiasm. She could appreciate Gendarme’s joy, but if he continued, he would compromise her cover and drawn nothing but unwanted—

“She is Queen Illiana. She is my queen.” Illiana’s eyes turned a stark white in disbelief, and the color seemed to vanish from her face completely. How, in all her careful planning, had she not realized just how ridiculously open and honest Gendarme could be?!

“Err, he’s joking! He likes to fancy himself…” Well, there was not point in being mean to him, was there? “Well, fancy me as someone very special.” She let out an awkward, airy laugh as a pathetic attempt to ease things, but who knows how much it’d had actually succeeded. As if realizing how awful a ruse it was, her cheeks flushed with color. “I’m sorry…you were?” She finally asked, falling into line and finally speaking to Shotaro honestly. Baby steps, Illiana, baby steps.

---

A few feet away from this scene, a single woman seemed to have taken noticed of both Illiana and Shotaro. Not, as one would have thought, for their brief interaction, but for what the two had so absentmindedly uttered when they thought no one had been listening—they had each mentioned Skink Delmar by name, and she, at least had taken notice. After all, it was her job to notice. She had made her way discretely away, moving with the crowd, into the alleyway where Shotaro had done his musings with the wool cap. She dropped her basket, filled to the brim with several wares, and knelt to the ground, picking up the torn parchment on the ground—the piece of the bounty poster containing Skink Delmar’s worth.

She crumpled the piece of paper before placing it amongst the wares of her basket. It was common knowledge and old news in these parts anyways. With an effort, she rose back to a standing position and walked away, the front of her jibab bulging slightly at the front, further out than she was wide. She looked like an average Zarzaran, dark skinned and a single side swept bang of back covering on her brown eyes. She moved swiftly away, passing by others quickly. She’d deal with those three later when she head back, but for now she could be a simple commoner who had joined the crowd of folks watching Jaegar’s display.

“Great show! There are cheaper cheeses in the east markets, sir. But we are not blessed in the dairy, as you could imagine.” She said aloud as she walked in Jaeger’s direction, seeing the opportunity to play the helpful young woman. She reached into her basket and produced a small wheel of cheese, barely the diameter of the loop of one’s thumb meeting their pointer finger. “A small sample—taste and see our island’s wares, my friend.” She smiled gently, exuding a sense of reception as she offered the cheese to Jaegar, before teasing. “There is little I can do to convince you of our island’s… martial value, however.”
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[RK]

This knight was way too cool. His armor gleamed off the sun, making it hard to stare straight at him, giving off the illusion that he was bigger than he was. Shotaro couldn't help but stare at this magnificent statue of a person. The knight then began to chant, he was a strong knight. Then he spoke of protecting his queen, something he appeared to be very diligent in. The knight then drew his mighty blade, pointing in the air, and jammed it down in front of Shotaro. The Hero in disguise could hardly believe that this knight was so chill with acting so grandiose while on duty. Shotaro began to clap at the display in from of him, such a grand knight was surely worthy of hero status, however, a hero is only as good as his intentions, and as strong as those he fights. Speaking of, he did mention that he would always fight to protect his queen...

Was she in the bathroom or something? Or wait, was this little girl behind the knight the queen he was looking for. She was certainly dressed nicely, albeit a bit strangely for this unbearable heat. The knight then inquired the name of the hero. Shotaro grinned and placed his hand up- WAIT, Shotaro stopped himself short. That could have been very bad. If he had said he was Captain Mask, that would have been it, his identity would have been secret no more. As a quick save, Shotaro placed his rising hand behind his head, rubbing it nervously. "Eheh, I'm Shotaro, Shotaro Morishi. I mostly just travel, but I have an interest in machines...and i know Reiki!" Shotaro's speech wasn't as nervous as he though it would be, and was pretty lax. He placed one hand on his chin. "So I'm basically a doctor!" Shotaro said proudly, his voice shifting dangerously close to that of his alter-ego. Shotaro placed his hands together. "Basically, I can treat wounds by transferring my inner energy into another being. It doesn't work for things like illnesses or infections, but it's very soothing and best used in areas of pain or tension." Shotaro became a bit of a teacher for a minute there, giving a brief lesson on the applications of Reiki, however, the girl behind the knight, Sir Gendarme, began talking. She seemed to be...apologizing? For what? Sir Gendarme wasn't doing anything wrong. Maybe they had to leave?

The girl explained that Gendarme gets excited, but then the knight chimed in again. Explaining that the girl behind him was Queen Illiana, his queen. Shotaro felt a hot wash of shame flood over him as his face turned bright red. He quickly got down on one knee. "Your majesty, please forgive me for not knowing." Shotaro's embarrassed voice was culled by Queen Illiana reassuring him that Sir Gendarme was joking. The Hero's head fell low, feeling extremely stupid. He got up and kept his focus on the girl now. Then again perhaps girl was the wrong term. As the hero got a better look at her, her overall face and body seemed much more mature, not extremely so, shouldn't be more than a few years older than Shotaro himself. Illiana explained that Gendarme liked to 'fancy' her as someone important. Well, that sure made things confusing. Shotaro glanced briefly at Sir Gendarme the knight once more. It appeared as though he was truly a knight...though maybe his mental faculties weren't all in order...

Illiana then asked Shotaro who he was. Hm, he had only just answered Gendarme on this before, and gave a pretty good answer, so he'd probably do well to spice up his response this time. "Well, as I told your knight friend here just a moment ago, my name is Shotaro Morishi, I'm something of a doctor, but I came here because I heard there a was a man here was doing a bit of trouble making, I wanted to see to taking him-see if I could observe when he's taken down. I'm not exactly a fighter myself, so there's no way I'd throw up my dukes against a man like that. Besides, I've heard that he's one of those sea-dwellers, our distant cousins, a Fishman." Shotaro decided that a bit of small talk would best lighten the mood. It appears as though Illiana felt the same, as just a moment ago she let a pretty hilarious laugh, almost like she wanted attention from it. Shotaro knew better than to make fun of a lady however, especially one who may or may not be a queen. "So yeah, I guess I can't really say much more about who I am. I'm pretty boring to be honest. Uh, maybe you could tell me a bit more about yourself? You seem to be far from home. I think it's safe to say that just by looking at you, you don't seem to be from Zarzara."