The Progression

[Dandead10]

Ruhe had been too focused in her combat to be noticing the petty squabble between the dancer and her vice. Holding her Naginata out horizontally above her head, she had blocked a sword strike aimed to split her head into two. This was a battle of territory she was more used to than dancing and evading gun fire. The young child had matched blow for blow, but was now keeping her distance from the captain as the students looked with anxious stares. The Sensei had a fantastic stance as he had an excellent offensive and defensive power. He fought one handed in an almost acrobatic stance as it was heavily loose.

Ruhe's stance was more rigid and stiff when using her Naginata to utilize the defensive ability of her Katana. Their blades would clash together as they looked into each others eyes. Ruhe however was starting to force him down by using both hands and her body weight to push down on her Halberd. The Sensei had struggled before he would use his second hand to push against the blunt end of his sword as he would slowly push her Halberd backwards. The man had pushed Ruhe back, and as she was being pushed backwards she leaned back to avoid being beheaded before kicking the wrist of the man upward.

The man's blade went soaring out of his hand as she had taken the opportunity to lean back forward into a motion of a pseudo flip. As the man had leapt to gain his weapon back, Ruhe had thrown her Naginata slamming the man's katana and out of his grasp. As the man had landed, Ruhe had dashed in front of him with her own twin katana drawn. Her blades had been crossed and intersected close to the man's neck. "Yield. I have won this battle." What more could be said other than the man was utterly shocked by his defeat. This wasn't possible. He didn't lose to this young child. Not only did he lose to this young teenager, but a female one.

Upon his silence, the young Ruhe had pushed her blades slightly closer as a small dot of blood had formed along his throat. His eyes widened as the teen spoke yet again. "I said yield...or else I'll make sure you do not live to teach another day." The man had looked disgraced as he swallowed. "I submit...I yield." The man would find the blades pulled away from his throat as the students around him looked in shock and surprise. Walking step by step passed the man, she had taken her Naginata which had embedded into the ground. She had flung the katana of the Sensei with her Naginata as he would catch it.

"S-Sensei. This can't have had happened! You didn't lose! This girl was cheating! She had more weapons than you!" Ruhe had frowned at the slander until the Sensei had raised his hand to silence his student. "I had lost...that is simply the truth. I am no longer your Sensei. This...girl is." Ruhe had looked to the man and her new students...her dojo as suddenly several angry voices protested. "This girl will never be our Sensei! You be trained us for years! We'll follow you even if we train in an empty field! Damn this girl!" Ruhe had smirked and chuckled as she held her hand over her face. This was absolutely amusing.

Sliding her Naginata onto her back sheath, she had spoke with a smile on her face. "A man must hold honor above all things yes? As a warrior I understand this my friend. Thank you for sparring with me. I will allow you to keep your dojo and the students who wish to follow you. I came not to fight you for dominance but simply to test my ability. I will pay personally for the repairs for your gates. However, any of your students whom wish to follow me...I shall allow it."

The man had looked utterly shocked as he slowly broke out into a smile. "You have my gratitude young warrior. You are truly kind hearted. Is there anyone here who wishes to leave me and follow this...warrior?" The students had talked amongst themselves before several had segregated as nearly half of the Sensei's students had decided to follow her. Now that this dilemma was mostly cleared up, she would look to see what her Vice Captain and the Dancer may have been doing in this time. Ruhe counted they had thirty combatants to follow them to the ends of the seas.

[Greil9]

Thankfully the kid samurais friend left the dojo, improving the day of everyone present by quite a lot. Now Shandra could focus on watching the match. Or what little of it there was to follow, seeing as Isshin didn't even last a minute in the ring. Whatever Aunt Celia had hoped the dancer would learn from him, she had no idea. Maybe he was stronger twenty-something years ago when her adoptive mother was still a pirate, but it didn't seem like there was much to be learned here. Perhaps something about loyalty considering some of the students had the guts to refuse joining the samurai kid, but that was not something the dancer needed to learn considering how closely knit group the entire Beat Buster Bar was.

However having grown quite a dislike to Ruhe, Shandra hoped to just get her business done and leave. "Well, that pretty much settles it. If you could beat him like that, I got nothing to learn here. After all, I matched you blow for blow. So if you don't mind, you can pay for cutting my shirt now and I'll be on my way to a place hopefully far away from you and your friend." Though claiming equal strength, she was willfully ignoring she was the one taking more punishment than giving it in their match. But it was close enough in her mind to forget some parts of the fight.

The kid samurai seemed to think for a while before speaking her mind. "If you want me to pay for your shirt, follow me."

"Uhh, follow you where?"

"To battle, of course. Someone such as yourself would make for a good addition to my crew."

This offer took no time to think through. "Well let's see, you attacked me and cut my shirt while your friend insulted me and told me to smash my mothers keepsake. So let me put it this way: there are no treasures of clothing in this world that would make me follow you. I'm going to become pirate one day, but it won't be with you." Having said her piece about how the two treated her, she simply turned around with her hands thrown behind her neck and began walking towards the gate. "So since my next few weeks are effectively empty now, I'm gonna find a bar and decide what to do next over a fruit cocktail." Either way she'd need another place to train or just forget the whole thing and travel back to East Blue, maybe just spend her vacation on Mirrorball Island instead.

"Shame...we have riches, a ship, and adventure to be getting to. Excuse my vice captain, but I'm not her. Her actions are not my responsibility."

For a moment, Shandra stopped and thought about the latter addition. However since her goal was to have fun on the seas, it was a no-go. Adventures were bound to be no fun in that company and riches were more like a bonus, not the reason she set off to the seas. "Were you anyone else, I'd maybe be interested in the last one... and a little bit on the first one. But I don't like you and I already hate your vice, so my answer is still no. Besides, with so many people that riches is getting split too thin for my taste."

"I could have used a dancer like you on my crew...a position of power could have been yours...shame."

The last part finally caught the dancers interest properly. Just the thought of having the vice captain under her was a heartwarming mental image. Though this required further clarification. Turning her head backwards, she asked "Above or under that vice captain?"

"... below her."

Not skipping a single pace, the dancer turned around and continued to leave like nothing had happened. "Pass." Working under someone like Yvonne would have been a nightmare considering her hatred of music and generally horrid attitude to someone she just only met. Shandra may have held one against the leaders of this now-created band of pirates, but they both gave her several reasons for it and tried sweeping it under the rug with bribes.

Ruhe kept shouting something at the dancer, but by that point she had put her headphones back on to finally block it out. Buttering her up with any praise or wealth would do nothing to win her over for that crew. What Shandra sought for was friends to seek danger and thrills with while making a name. Something the pirate captain was most likely not going to offer her. But the sea was full of pirate crews, certainly one would be more to her liking. Or maybe she'd start one herself. Anything but this crew.


(OOC: All lines by Ruhe were approved)

[Dandead10]

The dancer had left as she had no desire to join the crew. Fair enough. Ruhe had simply taken her new followers and had left a bit of cash for her new friend Isshin. It was time to move on to a new adventure, but conveniently she had to walk the same path as the dancer to reach her ship. Yvonne where she previously was had been able to defeat the first marine as she had began to escape saying sailor curses all the while. The four remaining marines had chased after the disguised Yvonne but had conveniently lost them as Yvonne somehow climbed on top of a building and was travelling from rooftop to rooftop to avoid being spotted. The marine forces were awfully confused but knew the woman couldn't have gone too far. Thus, they had continued their search for the woman who kicked an officer in the face...twice.

As Ruhe trailed behind the walking Shandra, she would see several marine officers suddenly rushing to her side. If they were to get her to stop, two squads of five had located the woman. The leader of the group of marines was the same man whom was kicked in the face by Yvonne Starling before. Shandra might be oblivious to the scene due to her headphones. "Stop right there in the name of the law! You are under arrest!" How interesting this all was. Several marines had surrounded them and one had quickly flashed a picture of Shandra with a camera stand. The head marine didn't look too happy at the moment as he looked to Shandra. "Care to explain why you kicked me in the face twice little lady? Or shall I wait until you hit the court for assault." Ruhe Krieger had looked at the scene with a calm analytical look thinking about the proper way to act. They were outnumbered at the moment and surely more would come if they caused a ruckus. Therefore, seeing she wasn't a registered criminal as of yet, she decided to play things smart.

Walking up to the marine officer, she had calmly and quietly spoke. "Excuse me sir, but I am sure you have the wrong person. I have been with this woman all day and I am certain she has not kicked anyone in the face. Please think again and make sure this is the woman you are looking for. The marine looked again closely only to see that...she looked similar but was in fact not the woman he was looking for. He had looked to Shandra in a snobbish manner before speaking. "You're lucky girl that you aren't in trouble with the law. Next time you shouldn't dress up like some sort of criminal." It seemed the scene was over...until the marine had closely looked at Ruhe Krieger. Something wasn't right here. She seemed to be familiar for some reason, and then it hit her. She was wanted for assault of two marine navy officers!

"Get that kid men! She's that sliced down the men at Outpost B-6!" Ruhe Krieger at that moment had been frozen for a second before breaking out into a cold glare. Her picture was taken too by the trigger finger marine in the back as several of the marines had drawn their swords. Making a conflict like this in the middle of the open was a horrible idea, and so she quickly backflipped a whopping five feet backwards as she drew her rumored weapon Wabiskue the Ko Naginata. "Naginata no Jutsu:Surasshu-fū! (Wind Slash)" A flying crescent of wind had flown vertically from the blade of the weapon in a crescent ten feet tall straight into one of the marines slicing their left side of their chest with blood flying from the air. At this moment, it had also slammed into the ground creating a small bit of debris to fly into the air. Now was the time to run before the situation could get worse. She knew these streets better than most. So, she had turn and ran despite not liking it. The marine whom had been sliced gasped in pain before falling backwards crumpling to the ground. The other marines had coughed before beginning to charge after the young teenage girl. "Get that girl! Shoot her if you have to! She's dangerous! And you there! Get out of here!" He had ever so rudely pointed his finger at Shandra as the other marines had stopped...for a moment to see what she would do.

[Greil9]

Since she didn't have a good grasp of the good places to get a drink yet, Shandra simply walked past several streets looking for a place suited for her tastes. Some place a little classy to get a fruity cocktail. With her plans dashed efficiently, there was no reason not to have fun for a few days and get a ship home. 

Though what put a halt to her plan was a group of marine suddenly surrounding her. The reason was quite unclear to her, as she couldn't think of anything warranting their attention on that island or anything that would warrant the word being spread. This confusion wasn't helped by the fact that the tone dials on her ears completely drowned out their voices. Only thing she could react to was a photo of her being taken, instantly putting on a pose of winking at the camera with a smile, gazing at it down her extended arm with her hand doing a finger-gun pose. If they were going to get one, her instinct was to look good in the photo. Though once she finally removed her headphones, the one that seemed to be the leader asked her "Care to explain why you kicked me in the face twice little lady? Or shall I wait until you hit the court for assault."

Seemingly her confusion was necessary since the dancer was certain she hadn't kicked the guy in the face. Sure she did that to a lot of people, marines too, but usually they did something that deserved one and even then she was polite enough to remember the face she kicked. Even when she tried thinking through marines of other islands she had kicked, especially if it was twice. Though no one was coming to mind. Before she could just dismiss the assumption casually and walk off, a familiar face entered the scene. The samurai girl that had pissed her off earlier was now trying to convince the marines she wasn't guilty of what they accused her of. "Excuse me sir, but I am sure you have the wrong person. I have been with this woman all day and I am certain she has not kicked anyone in the face. Please think again and make sure this is the woman you are looking for." 

For a few moments the marine just looked at Shandra, attempting to establish if she was the culprit. Not that she didn't mind attention from men, but not from jackasses like him. Thankfully it seemed like she wouldn't have to spend much time with the marine in sight as he claimed "You're lucky girl that you aren't in trouble with the law. Next time you shouldn't dress up like some sort of criminal."
Now the marine was just doing it to piss the gunslinger off. the urge to shove his head to a nearby wall was rising by the second, not helped by how nothing seemed to have been going her way all day. Though before she could make good on her plans, the guy seemed to recognize Ruhe as some kind of criminal. Though Shandra had already guessed as much from their earlier encounter. It had nothing to do with the dancer though, yet she still found herself involved by leaping away from the flying slash due to instinct, even if it wasn't aimed at her and didn't really come close.

One of the marines wasn't nearly as lucky, getting cut up and falling to the ground. Though judging from the amount of noise and curses he was making, he was well alive. While most of the marines went in pursuit of the samurai, their commander was held back by a strong grip on the arm he used to point at Shandra. Treating her that way wasn't about to be just glossed over and at the moment she was just looking for an excuse to relieve some stress. "Hey, if you come to rough up a pretty lady AND insult her fashion sense, the least you can do is apologize."

Seemingly just as frustrated as the girl, the marine leader ripped his hand free and pointed at Shandra yet again, shouting "Try anything and I'll have a reason to arrest you: obstruction of justice."

That was pretty much the last straw. The dancer had had it with that whole island and everyone on it. And she knew just the way to finally let it all out. "... You know, I think I found a solution to both our problems." 

"What are-"
The marines words were cut short as the bottom of the dancers boot became intimate with his face. Even kicking that much upwards didn't detract from the speed and strength behind it that sent a tooth flying as the marine fell backwards. Smirking with satisfaction of what she just did, She gleefully proclaimed "Now I AM the girl who kicked you in the face, AND I got to finally let out some steam I've built up all day. I'd say it's a win win." However she also realized the negative in kicking a marine: they had the law behind them. Since she didn't want to bother getting tangled up with such bores as imprisonment, the dancer considered her best course of action to be what she usually did when in trouble: swift legwork in the opposite direction from her problem. While the marines took a moment to realize what had happened and the leader was still climbing back to his feet, Shandra had already taken off, following their other target to where-ever these guys weren't and shouting back to them "Catch me if you can!"

[Dandead10]

The marines had now chased after the criminal dancer, and the child samurai as Ruhe had known these streets better than most anyone else. Seeing the dancer was not only older but taller than the young blue haired girl, she had eventually caught up to the young captain with the marine group following right behind the duo. Looking behind her, she had saw that the dancer was not very far away, and so she had spoke out to her in a hurried voice. "Hurry and follow me. We need to lose them on the rooftops." The young girl had ran on avoiding bumping into the many walking civilians in the street. She had taken an opportunity as she saw the roof of a fruit stand in the nearby district. Using her Naginata as a pole vault, the girl had flung herself somersaulting through the air before landing onto the tiled roof of the stand before leaping high into the air a second time landing onto the roof of a nearby building. People looked on in interest at what was going on, and the marines realizing they would not be catching up, had split into another group to intercept their next location. The officer Shandra had kicked was not happy, and was in fact calling for reinforcements to begin to cut off escape for both of the criminals. This certainly wasn't good, and was a lot of trouble for Ruhe. She would await Shandra to reach the rooftop like her before making her next move. The marines dare not fire in case of civilian casualty and of course the dreaded damage to property which they would have to reimburse.

Some of the marines had decided to chase after the two still by climbing up the rooftop, but Ruhe had other ideas. "Dancer. Head to the West, and I'll catch up with you." Spinning the Naginata within her right hand, she had twirled it around her body in a circular motion before tensing her muscles. "Hyah!" Releasing a large ten foot slicing crescent, it had slammed onto the roof of the fruit stand which several marines were trying to get onto, and thus it had shredded into the soft wood, causing it to splinter and shatter as then it would creak and fall backwards causing the marines to yell and or scream as they fell to the ground. Twirling her weapon twice more, she had placed her bladed pole arm onto the holster on her back before leaping after the dancer appearing by her side after a few moments. Shandra may have been wondering where they might have been going, but before she could ask, they would find themselves located by a series of woods as the houses came to an end. Ruhe had leapt down before cutting into the woods, but stopped to urge the woman to follow her.

"I know you don't like me, so this is where we may go our separate ways. I am heading down these woods to loop down and return to the harbor by going east to my ship. If you go west, you will find yourself returning to the largest shopping district of the island where you may go and spend your time enjoying a drink or two. I do ask that you please reconsider my offer. If you do so, I shall meet you by the dojo where we had first met tomorrow at noon." The sun's rays were dimmed in the deep forestry, and thus the girl had just walked off. They had lost the marines for now, but surely more would come at a later date. It was of no real consequence as she planned on leaving as soon as the ship was finished with its construction and the ship's non combatants were gathered. She with her basic knowledge of the sea from sailing with her father had planned on heading to the next island in the south blue that she could find. It seemed there was a problem however which would most likely lead to a conflict at the moment. She had little to no money at the moment to pay wages for her crew. She would have to persuade them to follow her for some time, or else find a quick and easy way to earn money for her followers loyalty. Most likely it would be the latter. Ruhe was smart, she would think of something to earn money. Their ship was stocked with food supplies and cannonballs already, and if it came down to it they could rely off of natural resources for food and water. Money would be easy to come by as pirates by robbing, stealing, and or raiding. Everything would work out in the end she was sure. The dancer was momentarily forgotten as she young captain walked step by step into the serene fauna. Too much was to be done for the hopeful pirate crew to become a reality.

Ruhe would eventually find herself back at her ship in the dying daylight as she had been scratching her head at all of the problems coming her way. After arriving at the ship, it seemed Yvonne was not present. However, her new students had arrived and in full force awaiting instructions before the young swords woman had called and instructed her new crewmembers. "Return in one week my students as in that time proper lodging will be assembled on the ship despite its unfinished state. At that point in time I shall personally begin training you in the art of combat. Pack your belongings and prepare yourselves to say farewell to your loved ones. However, do not be sorrowful for one day you shall all return rich, strong, and more renowned than ever before. I as your new captain and leader shall give this first order out to all of you!" The crew cheered at the thought of this, and had left allowing Ruhe to think and buy time for what she was going to do about her financial buisness. She had no heart to say farewell to her own parents seeing they would be ashamed perhaps at her...hate her for defying her destiny. Then again, had she really? Destiny guided her on this path after all. She sighed as she walked along the unfinished deck before hopping down to the completed bottom floor. She had requested a piano be brought down and so it had as a little luxury for her room.

She had sat down on the mahogany bench she had placed right next to the piano before she had stretched her fingers experimentally pressing a few keys before beginning to think of a melody to play. She had thought back to the songs she memorized as a child on her two instruments and she had closed her eyes allowing her fingers to dance along the keys. She would play a slow series of notes as she had played something more solemn she had heard and learned from a traveling musician. It was rather old and had been said to have been composed by himself after his travels in Wano Country. She loved the sound of it to her ears as it sounded like a persona was being born with high and low melodies more poetic than any sonnet poem on a summer day. She had played for nearly five minutes or so before stopping as she ended it. Another song should she play? No...not now. Later perhaps but now now. The samurai had decided to take a walk on the docks and get some fresh air at the moment as she decided to take a break from thinking such heavy thoughts. Thus she walked onto the oak wood planks of the docks she used to play on as a child looking out to the now black sea. She was lost in serenity at the moment...so peaceful

youtu.be/-RCUiZBTKMQ

[Greil9]

Despite not really wanting to follow along with the little samurais plans, rooftops did seem like the most sound solution. Not to mention getting up there was most likely going to be pretty fun. However seeing as the dancer lacked a long stick to use for pole-vaulting, she had to find another way to gain higher ground with the law behind her. Thankfully just such a way revealed itself to her in the form of a cart being loaded full of crates. 

Dashing past the guys heaving to lift the heavy crates onto the cart and almost pushing one of them over, she took a few leaps to first land on the cart and then a crate atop it. From there she had high enough point to leap off from, landing her arms on the roof of a nearby building. Despite not having anything to grab to get herself properly on the roof, she had her arms steady enough to swing her legs back and forth to toss them on the roof and swiftly flip herself to a standing position. 

Though as Ruhe turned to address her, Shandra at the samurai. "Hey, I'm not with you and I do as I please. I just have more fun if the people chasing me don't need to split up to chase someone else. I'm in this just because that guy was an asshole and chase seemed like a lot of fun."
Having shared her mind with one of the pirates, she turned towards the other one she had even less fondness for. "And you..." Noticing how similar the two suddenly looked, the dancer stood confused for a moment. However it didn't take long for her to draw her own conclusions about the situation, smugly saying "Honey, I know imitation is the greatest form of flattery, but you're not pretty enough to pull that look off."

Looking down at the streets where another attempt to follow them was foiled by the flying slash attack, she calmly smirked as she explained. "Besides, I've been chased by marines before. Sure, a few times I spent a night or two in a jail cell, but that was when I was younger. Nowadays I can avoid minor offenses like this no problem since they're not even pulling out guns."
Still heading west seemed as good as any other direction and then all the marines would stick to them, so Shandra decided to just follow along for the time being. However it didn't take long for them to reach a more forest-like area which would make it much easier to keep ahead of the marines. This is when the samurai once again tried to get the dancer on her side. "I know you don't like me, so this is where we may go our separate ways. I am heading down these woods to loop down and return to the harbor by going east to my ship. If you go west, you will find yourself returning to the largest shopping district of the island where you may go and spend your time enjoying a drink or two. I do ask that you please reconsider my offer. If you do so, I shall meet you by the dojo where we had first met tomorrow at noon."

It didn't take long for Shandra to decide her reply. "So what you're saying is, seeing as you've barely done anything to make me actually want to reconsider, I should head east now, that I should try my best to forget about you and just enjoy a vacation? And be nowhere near that dojo around noon tomorrow? Can do." With her mind set on not joining, Shandra walked off to the other direction without bothering to look back. She anted to become a pirate and would become one, but if she had to share it with captain she didn't like and first mate she hated, she was better off buying a dinghy with her savings and starting out on her own. Besides, mulling over people like them would just ruin her mood.

Taking off in a different direction did mean the forces would be split among chasing the two groups, but at least dropping down from the rooftops provided some degree of risk in the chase. Speaking of the chase, the marines coming after them were right on their tail. Not only that, but having people coming from another direction trying to cut them off would add to the tension. Though the more open woddland area wasn't as easy on the marines since they had to watch more directions. "Okay. Now I just gotta stay..."

Running right at one of the marines ahead of her, she began to hum to herself a little tune in the heat of the chase. Just as the man of large frame tried to grab he, Shandra instead slid on the grassy ground on her knees bent way back, going right between the guys feet. "One slide, ahead of the asshole.♫"

Though feeling good about the impressive dodge, the dancer was soon brought to a halt by a sword thrust right in front of her face. Had she been half a second slower to react, she might well have a nasty face-scar as well as end to their hunt. "One step, ahead of their swords.♫"

Deciding to avenge herself on the marine trying to dislodge his weapon, Shandra gave him a swift boot to the shins, dropping the man on his stomach. "I kick, only when you're being a dork.♫" Quickly looking over her shoulder as she continued her escape between the trees, she slyly whispered "That's not all the time."

Despite most of the trees being rather large, not something one would easily bring down, there was a smaller specimen Shandra considered could be used in her escape plan on the marines behind her. Kicking herself off another tree to get a straight angle on the next kick, using the revolvers in her boots for a Forte Kick. This was enough to bring down the tree behind her. As it fell down, few were caught under it and while its weight was hardly anything that would leave anything permanent, but it did knock them down as well as tripping the ones behind them. And the ones behind them tripped over the ones who tripped before them. "One tree, ahead of the lawmen.♫" Yet as she kept her speed up, the steps behind her seemed to grow further with every step. Wishing to mock the marines trying to chase the dancer down, she turned around while raisin her palm above her eyes. "Too far, this chase is a joke.♫" Waving at the men, she began fleeing once again. "For me, you guys are just way too slow.♫" Seemingly her insulting tone didn't go over too well since several marines were yelling curses at the dancer from behind. As well as one that had a different opinion.

"Riffraf!"
"Street rat!"
"Cutie."
"Take that!"

Last one however was the very same marine she had introduced to her boot earlier, slamming her in the gut with a hard fist from behind the tree and knocking the girl down. While she wanted to believe such a sneak attack was way above her, fact was that Shandras good success so far had made her careless. She thought none of the marines posed a challenge, meaning when one actually did she didn't prepare at all.

Trying to crawl away on her back, she weakly sang to him "Just a little smack guy.♫"

Seemingly he wasn't too forgiving of the offense, approaching her with a rather grim expression on his face. The strike was enough to knock the wind out of Shandra, leaving her little options in terms of self-defense. However one option the marines weren't too concerned with and which didn't require too much strength to pull off were her boots. That is to say, the guns attached to the heels on them. Lifting her leg up, the dancer fired with her left leg thrice, hitting two of the shot in the mans torso. They weren't something Shandra was exactly accurate with, but at that distance accuracy wasn't an issue.

While the rubber bullets weren't going to kill anyone, the marine was caught off-guard and clearly got hurt by them. It might not have been enough to win a fight, but it was enough for the girl tocatch her breath. The earlier punch was hard, more so than marine usually despite coming from an awkward angle to accommodate the sneak attack. To the point Shandra wasn't really sure she could win this fight. She was overconfident enough to believe she could, but with the now rapidly approaching backup things weren't going to be in her favor either way. And since going through the big guy wasn't really an option, only way to go was up. A nearby tree had a few low-hanging branches to make for good climbing platforms. Though as she dashed upwards past the marines attempted grip, she made sure to fire her heels on each branch when jumping off to make sure she'd not be followed.

Even more furious than before, the marine began slamming his fists against the tree while shouting.  "Bring her down here! Jail her for years!"

This was not just raging either. Each strike shook the tree to the point Shandra was fairly sure it'd come down in a minute or so. The trees weren't packed tightly enough for her to make a leap into another one without a good running start, something that was impossible from her current position. Though before she had too much time to find a way out, the branch she currently stood on started to sound like it would snap at any second. Hoping to at least stay up for a little while longer, the dancer leaped off to hand from another branch a bit lower. However as her former position finally gave in under the added force of her sponging herself, it managed to fall right on the head of the marine trying to play lumberjack with his fists. At the distance it fell, this lucky shot was enough to drop him to the ground, seemingly unconscious. Seeing her chance come, the girl swung herself forward and let go, singing as she rolled on the ground to mitigate the fall."I can take a hint, gonna face the facts.♫" With one final wink at her pursuers, she smugly finished her performance by telling them. "I'm way too good for you.♫" In her head even the lucky finish was all part of her great escape and completely planned.

The jump had given her enough headway to lose the rest of her pursuers and with the officer out of picture for the time being, losing the rest of them wasn't going to be much challenge anymore. It didn't take her five minutes darting past the trees and later hiding in one of the houses surrounding the area through an open window while no one was looking. With the pursuit over, Shandra could finally take breath and start thinking about her vacation. As well as a new style to adopt that would allow her to enjoy rather than look out for marines at every street corner.

Being chase by marines just a moment ago and them snapping a picture was indeed a damper on her vacation plans, but they seemed a simple folk if they confused her for someone else so some change of appearance would probably fool them. Sunshades and hat, tying her hair so that it all stayed under the hat, different style of clothing, losing the pistols in her heels and they'd most likely never be smart enough if their former behavior was any indicator to go by. Not that they'd look a minor offender all that hard anyway.

Indeed having changed in a local clothing store earlier, she didn't see any real trouble from marines coming close to knowing they were looking for her. Shandra was able to have a somewhat relaxing day, enjoying a coconut filled with a cold fruit drink through a straw. With the sun setting over the horizon, the docks made an ideal place for a calming walk to lose any leftover stress of the day she had so far. For the time being she didn't even want to listen music. Well, maybe she might have but nothing on her dials was appropriately calm.

That is until she heard a familiar piece being played on a piano. Someone was playing a song very close to her heart. It was calming, majestic, slightly sad, but most of all it was one to which she had memorized the choreography and lyrics by heart. It made her want to dance.

Quickly gulping down the remainder of her juice, Shandra breathers out as she removed her shades and and took a few calm steps forwards with the first few notes. This was unlike her usual dances full of energy and motion. Now she was restrained, almost serene. To her, dance was expressing her emotions very externally, yet she knew this was not the song that called for such wild motions. The the melody softly moving forward, her moves became slightly more elaborate as she began singing. Some passerby even stopped to look at her perform, though only a few did it for more than a minute. Yet she did not care for the attention at the time. This dance was for herself first and foremost, reminiscing on her own experience with said song. The beautiful playing accompanied by her singing and dancing set a beautiful scene of Shandra moving gracefully against the backdrop of a sunset being reflected in the ocean. Yet as it came to an end, Shandra found herself standing still. Somehow she just felt like staying for a while, appreciating the moment. Despite the awful start, her day didn't turn out as bad in the end.

[Dandead10]

Ruhe Krieger had enough staring at the ocean, and so had walked down to see the dancer by the docks done with her dancing. She had looked to the older woman before slowly deciding to approach her. “I'm surprised to see you here. Did you happen to hear the song I played miss?” Ruhe had looked up and down to make sure she wasn't looking at the wrong person. She deduced that although the clothes she wore were different, this was in fact the dancer from before. Ruhe wouldn't try to force anything upon the dancer, as she's had a stressful time herself this day. She was fourteen and trying to become a pirate captain, and she could immediately tell it wasn't easy. Ruhe was lucky that she had known the forests so well and that the dancer had stayed to fend the various marine officers off. If she hadn't she would have to engage in a confrontation before she would be completely set to leave the island, and that wouldn't be good. The ship wasn't even completed yet, and she would be utterly defeated to be stuck on her own home as a wanted criminal. She was fortunate not to have run into any marines on the way to the docks, but then again she was swift in her decision to leave.

She had sat on the edge of the dock before laying her back down on the oakwood planks. She had looked to the sky as it would begin to turn dark. The young girl had thought about her family and what they might be doing right now. Were they worried about her and how she has not returned back to the household? She didn't want to burden them and say farewell to them as she would possibly never see them again. She needed people she could trust on the hard seas, and those were always hard things to come by. She had looked to the dancer before she had the audacity to ask, “Would you like to join my crew? I am looking for people to trust. To find people to call my family on the seas. Those are always hard to find...aren't they?” In the dying lights of the sun, her red and blue gi had appeared to be a dark purple. She had finally been honest to the Shandra of what she was truly looking for.

“I'm young, inexperienced, and I'm lacking skills in several areas. Therefore, I'm looking for people to help me lead on the seas. I know that the way we met wasn't the greatest, but I would be willing to try to make it up to you somehow. I want you to join me and help me conquer the world. Is there anything you think I could do about that?” Ruhe had offered Shandra opportunities, but had lacked to give her a proper apology to begin with. Ruhe had awaited Shandra's reply before slowly sitting up and turning to the woman's direction and looking into her eyes with a shining cerulean. Ruhe had interrupted before she could speak one last time. "Please..."

[Greil9]

As she looked over the horizon at the sun painting the sky in an orange hue, Shandra noticed someone coming to dock from the same ship she heard the playing coming from. Though what she didn't see coming was the samurai she met earlier being the one to come out and claim responsibility for the playing. Though she wasn't sure how to feel about someone who was nothing more than a headache earlier, she still blurted out "That was you?!" However her confusion faded fast, having been mellowed out by a great day beyond the troublesome morning. Grudges weren't something the dancer was good at holding onto, asides some exceptions like one she already got that day. "Well, guess you got some good sides if you can play like that. And especially since you got some good taste. I've loved that song since I was eight and heard it in the musical."

When the music came up as a subject, Ruhe actually mentioned having heard the song from a traveling musician. Not only that, but this musician also claimed to have created the song, which Shandra knew to be original to the musical she was so fond of. With little thought to dishonesty by either party, she exclaimed in surprise "No way! You've met Toragi Stavarius? I knew the guy was considered a bit odd, but a traveling musician? Didn't see that coming. The guy has created the music for several classic musicals. Or so I hear, I only know one of them and don't honestly care to learn if the others are good. Man, hope we run into him some day. That guy almost literally made me a dancer."

However that wasn't the only surprise. As Shandra still stuck to the wall she leaned on earlier, the samurai laid down on the pier a little ways from the dancer. She seemed to start actually speaking from the heart, laying down her insecurities and making a more earnest request for Shandra to join the crew. Not to mention one piece of courtesy that seemed so rare from most people: an apology. With some honesty on the table, this little speech made the dancer actually think about joining the crew, for the time being at least. Nudging herself off the wall, she began walking towards the water. "Well, count me surprised. You got some manner after all. But you're in luck, I was planning on becoming a pirate anyway and you'd be getting a second generation pirate, so you know I'm good."

Leaning so that she was looking directly down at the laying samurai, Shandra began lifting up fingers as she counted a few conditions she had. After all, with that start she needed to be sure the follow-up wouldn't be the same. "Ground rules. One: I take no orders from that vice captain until she proves she's stronger than me. Except most likely she isn't, so I just take no orders from her period. Two: I'm in your crew tentatively. If I find you guys not worth sticking with, I'm out. And being a pirate, I'll most likely grab my share of the treasure we got, plus interest for wasted time. Three: You're replacing that shirt. And four-" As she stated the last of the rules, Shandra straightened herself up as she briskly strode towards the ship from which Ruhe exited earlier, though turning her head to keep eyes on the samurai. It'd be easier to dance to a tune that she could hear more clearly. "We go do another set. I've been on a ship with no music but my dials, so I want to do something different. Plus live music always brings that element of personality you just can't match with a tone dial." Perhaps Ruhe wasn't the ideal captain. Then again the dancer herself was only starting out herself, so perhaps that was somehow fitting. Either way there was a smell of excitement coming from this path, something she found impossible to resist. Whether good or bad, at least it would be interesting.

[Dandead10]

The young woman had saw the surprise of the dancer as she asked almost if in disbelief if Ruhe was the one who had played the song she listened to. It made her feel much better that the dancer said she had "good sides" and the song she had played had been a old time favorite of the dancer ever since her childhood. The dancer had been so surprised by her claims of having met the creator, that she was in slight awe. It seemed that she had been inspired to become a dancer from the very song she played. Ruhe was surprised by how fast Shandra the dancer was opening up to her, and she seemed to be able to tolerate Ruhe at least.

"I have met him although I wasn't aware who he really was. He only gave me the sheet music and a lesson or two before he vanished off headed to West Blue." The young girl had continued to speak her thoughts and words, and it seemed the dancer was contemplating it for a moment or two. Then the dancer decided to speak some words that brought a smile onto the young captain's face. She would join the crew it seemed by the mention of Ruhe being in luck she was getting a pirate from the second generation. Before the conversation ended then and there, the dancer mentioned some conditions before joining the crew. Ruhe would listen as she would begin to stand after this good news.

"If you wish to take the position of Vice Captain from Yvonne, you must face her in one on one combat for the position. It will be the perfect way to discover which one of you two is stronger. As for the shirt, consider it paid for. For the treasury, I must be honest when I say I do not have much funding left after buying this ship, but we should be gaining more riches in the near future. As for how much of the treasure you take, it will be reflected off of how much time is spent on the crew. I wouldn't want you to stay one day and take ten percent of the treasury after all. Finally...why not? I play Viola and Piano, your choice of instrument. Let me show you your lodging area. The ship is not finished yet, and will take quite some time before it is."

The lowest deck and the one above it had been the only completed sections as the rest of the ship was being worked on. The samurai would hop along the unfinished main deck gesturing to a series of stairs along a sort of grate. She would walk down allowing the dancer to follow to the lowest deck. The one above that would he completed, but unfurnished as the ship builders wanted to finish the rest of the ship first. Stepping down, the young girl had went to the last deck with six rooms of which were all well furnished with king sized beds, cabinets drawers, and other aesthetics. The fourteen year old had pointed to the third room down the hall as a small sign would be resting on the door that clearly says, "2" on it. The very last room down the hall had no numbers on it and was completely blank as Ruhe would walk towards it. Opening the door, this room seemed to be the most unfurnished amongst the rooms simply having the piano, a bed, a drawer cabinet, and finally a bookshelf with a few different sized texts. However, as a result it was the most spacious room for her to enjoy. "I welcome you Shandra to the Beating Heart. Your home so long as you choose to follow me on the open seas. Now...let's get to dancing and playing. The young girl had played the night away with her dancer before they sent their weary bodies to rest in their own chambers. This was the beginning of a beautiful friendship, and the growing of strength of the Wako Pirates. The second seated officer had been found and anointed, and she would make absolutely sure to announce this out to her crew once it has been fully established. The numbers signified what position they held within the crew, as the room with number one on it belonged to Yvonne Starling herself. "I'll share details with you about the crew another time. For now, dance for me, and then when you are satisfied, rest easy."

[Greil9]

It was clear Ruhe was an amateur considering how she thought a pirate would act, thinking to herself "Cute, she thinks I'm going to ask for my share." Though in that case it was most likely better for the dancer to be around. She had enough experience with dishonesty on the job, seeing as Loguetown was a stopping point for several pirates and many of them were fond of alcohol. Though whether her belief that it was enough out at the sea with the kind of pirates not bound by some standard of conduct held up by the marines remained to be seen.

Some parts of the ship weren't too impressive yet considering the work that still had to be done on it. Still it was good to see what would be her home from then on and these were rooms as nice as one could expect from a house. Not to mention having a room of her own, especially one so well furnished, meant she might actually start liking voyages rather than feeling caged for a few weeks to get somewhere. "Wow, this ship is amazing considering you're just starting out. Your family's gotta be loaded."

Having seen the lodgings she herself would have, Shandra followed Ruhe to the last room, one presumably belonging to the captain. It seemed more barren than the previous rooms. Why a captain would choose their room to not be the most decadent one, but maybe it was some cultural thing she didn't know about. Though it gave more room to move around in during her dance, so Shandra wasn't complaining. As she stretched her limbs and did a few voice-openers in preparation for another song and dance, the dancer thought to herself "So, this is gonna be my life for a while now. Here's to hoping it'll be a good one." With both parties prepared for their private performance, the two danced, sung and played the night away. Even without an adoring audience, they both enjoyed this to their hearts content for as long as their bodies allowed.