Just Deserts: Part 2

[BlacKitten]

Pluto - 1

One-hundred meters below the waters. A horde of navy soldiers dwelling within the submerged vessel. Encaged within a cell was a criminal who went by the name of Ara. She was a very sweet and tender looking girl, especially when dangling off the middle of her cell by the cuff of her wrists with her slender body suspended off the floor. Strands of jingling chains slithered like snakes and coiled around her bare legs, keeping them restrained.

“Arugh… Ah… Guh,” the twenty-year old girl with long silky black hair that reached towards her lower back, gritted her teeth, emitting a faint grunt of pain every so often as the chains tightened like a boa constrictor, grinding against her flesh. The strands binding her midriff, ribcage, and neck made it especially difficult to breath.

A few trails of blood trickled down her arms and sides. Her white tube-top riddled with shreds, revealing a reddish mark.

WWH-PSSH! 

Metal chains whipped against flesh as a weakened cry sounded from the suffocating cutie.

“Nya-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho!” a blonde woman nearing her thirties stood tall and proud in front of the prisoner, wearing a sleeveless black leather attire. Her pink irises watching the half-conscious, bloodied, beaten youth before her with such bliss. “Ara of the Revolutionary Army. You are absolutely titillating. Such willpower. I just want to break you.”

An agent of the World Government, her name was Jezabela, The Sadist. Her dream in life was to one day work for Impel Down, but since they someone had already taken the role of torture, she had decided to walk down her own path.

“It’s your punishment,” she mused, having been sharing the same cell as her for the past hour or so. “Leval and Grave have both mocked me for buying into your little threat. What was it that you said? Oh yes, the Revolutionary Army’s secret weapon is coming for us. Well, I believe you, sweetie,” she walked up close, caressing a hand gently down the side of the youth’s face.

“So please. Tell me more. Is he strong? Oh, please tell me that he’s strong! I love watching the strong ones gradually deteriorate both mentally and physically.”

Suddenly, the tension around the prisoner’s neck eased. “Haah… Haah… Haah…,” Ara panted a bit louder as the airway to her lungs widened just a bit. “He is… Haah… much stronger… Haah… than me…”

Jezabela licked her lips as she cracked a smile from merely picturing the scene in her head of having this mysterious brute at her mercy. “Excellent…”

…

Resting near the base of a sand dune, a group of pirates settled down in the shadows to rest. Their total forces had dwindled from thirty-eight to now about sixteen. They used to belong to the same crew, but ever since a subset of them departed, the two divided forces would have clashed in a blood-filled skirmish had it not been for a single, dangerous man who kept all of them on their good behavior. And grudge or hatred that they may hold against each other were completely sealed by the sheer strength that this one individual wielded. They had seen his power with their very own eyes, and they dared not upset him with something like a clash amongst themselves.

He was mostly quiet, a young man with very few words. Yet, in his eyes was an undying light of determination. Something was driving him. Every decision and movement he makes was fueled by a burning passion to rescue his little sister and his close friend from the navy. They all shared a common adversary in that respect. Although he was not a pirate himself, they had an unspoken mutual alliance.

They shared their resources with him in exchange for his protection against threats that may linger in the desert. Although many men were lost, they would all be long gone had it not been for his presence.

“U-Um…,” Nina, the brunette who’s the only female in the group, broke the silence with a whisper to the anonymous boy meditating beside her. “May I ask… what your name is?” Throughout this entire time, she still didn’t know the Black Wing’s name, and it felt silly and impolite to refer to him by a rumor-spawned epithet.

Sitting cross-legged with hands resting by his kneecaps, the black-haired boy held an upright posture in his spine. Chin tucked, chest concaved, his breath was ever so silent that it was as if he wasn’t even present. After a short pause, he whispered a response, “Pluto.”

---

Miu - 1

Koneko Miu, a criminal with a bounty of sixty million beri, had been traveling the desert at night on all four paws. A flaming, two-tailed, elephant-sized cat had gradually slowed down her pace. On her back was two grown men along with supplies to aid them in survival. One of them was a white-haired man who went by the name of Kite, and the other was a larger and older man who went by the name, Gaunt. Both were bounty hunters, and the three of them together were journeying to find rescue the five youths who were captured by the marines as well as finding the wild card known as Pluto who presumably was far ahead of them.

Slowly, the Bakeneko began to shrink in size. Her long, twin tail merged into one. Her ghostly, bluish flames began to weaken in both size and intensity. Upon reaching the size of a light-brown kitten that camouflaged well with the desert sand, she curled into a ball, wrapped her tail around her body, and closed her eyes. “Sleepy… Kite… Gaunt… I’m tired. It’s cat nap time,” she purred.

She was the consumer of the Neko Neko no Mi, Model: Bakeneko, making her a Bakenko Human. One of her abilities was shapeshifting, allowing her to turn into any kind of feline that she desires. This ability had been recently explained to both Kite and Gaunt in order to lay out the tools at their disposal for the eventual rescue mission that they will embark on.   

[Phantasma]

    Hidden by darkness a few of the more knowledgeable survivors went rigid at the mention of the mans name. In particular the former captain of one of the groups that now meshed into Pluto's protected flock. Rumors which they were only aware of due to exotic circumstance, a typical advantage that most people would be ignorant of... outside of that Pluto was a person that didn't exist. A ghost. 

    Distant howls of animals blanketed the camp in an ominously calm atmosphere. In tracks of desert that seemed endless and distant it was under that same uncaring moonlight that both the away group and the rescue team basked in. Unlike the stragglers however the survivors of the scorpion assault would soon see mornings light, if they hadn't taken the chance for shut eye. 

---

    "I had told her not to push herself so hard. Typical that she does the exact opposite of what I say... Hey! Stop making that stupid heart symbol with your hands Gaunt. You offered to make that den before remember?" Kite wasn't snappy so much as he was jolted, picking himself out of the sand and collecting the items strewn about by the sudden transformation. 

    Gaunt had been the first to sense something was wrong and by the time he could poke the bounty hunter ahead of him the transformation had begun. In a sleepy daze the feline transport had collapsed from exhaustion and shrunken just fast enough to dislodge her comrades. The half scorpion known as Gaunt, a fellow zoan Devil Fruit user, had taken to teasing Kite with his little easily misinterpreted comment before helping him to his feet.

    The man was the kind of guy who said little and only spoke a lot when he needed to, a stoic facade hid what was a big brother personality. Like with Kite he worried and wore most of his emotions on his sleeve, the difference between the two lay in practicality and emotional intelligence baring that the elder knew himself back to front. Thanks to his past life as a marine he had a certain sympathy for the criminal of the three and instead of capturing her, through an odd series of events, had come to aid her in exchange for rescuing children he had saved from the horrible Duke Fuldoon. 

    In brief silence Gaunt adjusted his wind-scarred somewhat more white cloak ruffling the massive sheet and shaking clean the sand that clung to it. Kite, still clad in his odd disguise of a bandaged face and reversed inner coat with stained black pants followed suit. The meticulousness of dusting yourself off in a desert likely would've landed Miu remarking about the irony but as the minutes passed her rhythmic snoring made it clear she was content to just moon bathe having exhausted her little interior kitten-sized battery. Both males made eye contact just prior to speaking, Kite had to look up naturally to meet the taller mans gaze as he shifted further into his insect form. 

    Scales, armored plates, sprouted out and over the cloak while a curved tail protruded from the back of his cloak and quickly hung over his head as an ordinarily bipedal two legger became something more. 

    "Right, right. Make sure I don't bury her. This'll be a cinch," Turning around and speaking over what would have been his shoulder the now fully transformed dark brown scorpion skittered off. 

    Kite tried not to stare and instead sat beside Miu looking off at the lumbering arachnid. No matter how many times his now infinitely smaller dare he say friend transformed it didn't make the process any less fascinating. Before he could admire the scar-riddled hide of the bug-man for much longer Gaunt took his two big frontal pincers and began shoveling out sand, like a machine the tunneling was precise and rapid fire. Streams of sand shot out either way and had the pair been under or near the site they would've been submerged under disturbed earth. A distance that totaled a few meters, maybe four, and Kite could still see little insects flown into the wind snatched up by birds which in turned screeched when a jet stream of sand pelted otherwise lithe and agile bodies. Deafened by the digging or not caring enough Gaunt continued only emerging a minute or so later in his remarkably human form. Tilting his head to the left side and jerking it he spoke with his body to get things moving. 

    Compliant and understanding Kite gave a curt dip of his head downward and gently got to his feet tiptoeing away from Miu before dashing to work. First came moving the two tankards of water and the few sacks of supplies they had. What would have been tiring and exhausting for ordinary men were no match for Kites above-ordinary strength. Hefting either barrels over his shoulders he jogged off at a quick enough pace leaving the wind to howl in his ears and flutter his bandaged cowl which kept close his iconic white hair. Clearing the distance and following down the hilled incline to the yawning mouth of the below ground den Kite took a few moments to look around. Attuned senses, oddly heightened by adventures and perhaps current looming danger, allowing him to admire the wide open circular interior. Although periodically bits of sand pooled at the corners the roof made no indication of collapsing and the ground was solid enough to be more like stone than sand. What's more the incline that fed from the three person sized hole didn't intrude or move any closer suggesting almost like it was glued into place. Making an approval grunt the pearl-skinned youth deposited the tanks against the furthest back wall of the sand-cave continuing the same trip over and over until all the supplies had finally been deposited. 

    Absent of some celebration a silence clung to the camp once Miu was carefully placed near the supplies and far enough from Kite and Gaunt. Sitting dead center in the room they eagerly gulped down water from wooden cups and chowed down on some preserved jerky-like meat. Nosily and greedily smacking as they went occasionally coughing or needing to down additional water from how quick they were eating. Kite spent a minute or two dabbing at his lips with a piece of fabric trying to dislodge any wary food while Gaunt fell backward with his arms crossed behind his head letting out a loud enough burp to slightly rock the solid cave. Halting Kite with his preening and in the process getting even more comfortable Gaunt let out a raspy sigh. 

    "You trying to make the whole place come down on us?" Kite remarked, putting away the handkerchief inside of one of his many pockets.

    "Relaxing. It's probably going to be one of the few times we can take things slow like this... because as soon as she wakes up we're going to be on the move again," Propping his head up the darker skinned male replied through the darkness of his cloak. 

    "Point taken... kind of curious how you managed to make the cave so solid," Tracing a hand across the ground Kite found few particles sticking to his skin and rubbed his fingers across his palm just to be sure. 

    "Trade secret. Dig deep enough you hit harder rocks. That said, unless you're a magic cat don't put any of this near your mouth," Letting his head drop back to its former position Gaunt closed his eyes. 

    "Funny... funny," Kite remarked, shaking his hand clean for good measure before falling backwards in a similar fashion like Gaunt sending out a soft 'fwump' into the cave. 

    "Jokes aside, we should probably go to sleep. I've ran out of annoying things to talk about and I doubt you want to endure more small talk," Yawning and closing his eyes sleep came sooner to Kite who had somehow managed to exhaust himself by prolonging his active hours far past the suggested norm. 

    "We make strange bedfellows. Ah... he fell asleep and she did too... Guess that puts me on watch duty. Funny how I've taken up talking to myself as well," Grinning that ironic grin Gaunt turned to his side to watch one of the cave walls. 

    Whether he had actually used his own scorpion venom to sculpt the walls would forever remain a mystery it seems. 

    Sleeping lightly and poised to attack whatever went bump in the morning Gaunt allowed his allies to sleep the hotter half of the day away. Thanks to their cross-desert journey a good part of the night had been exhausted and for a reason-- it would be safer and easier to travel under the cover of darkness even aboard a massive light-beacon. The harsh desert heat would be too much for the group. 
    

[BlacKitten]

Pluto - 2

Rainbase, Alabasta 

“Puru-Puru-Puru-Puru,” a dull ring sounded dryly in the room.

An imposingly tall man who wore the symbol of justice on the back of his white cape picked up the receiver from the shell of the living communication device sitting at his desk.

“This is Jezabela, reporting in,” a feminine voice came out. “Everything is going according to plan. No hurdles so far.”

“Very good. I didn’t expect a member of the Revolutionary Army to be involved in any of this, but I suppose we can consider her arrest as a bonus.”

“About that, sir,” she said with a curious tone right before a short pause. “Ara had said something quite strange. Supposedly, the rumored Black Wing is on this island.”

Silence filled up some time before the man could register and recall that epithet, “What!?” A faint remembrance of that name tickled the back of his head. He could have sworn he heard something about it but dismissed it as just hearsay.”

“After torturing a little girl, she coughed up some answers. It turns out that she is the Black Wing’s little sister and her big brother consumed a Zoan-type Devil Fruit that turned him into a Bat Human. Furthermore, Leval had reported that he encountered someone whose identity remains a mysterious to even him. He sent out a bounty hunter, named Gaunt, to kill this mysterious figure just to be on the safe side. Shortly after, guards from Nanohana reported that a man was inexplicably shot through several buildings, the very same man that Leval sent out to kill.”

Palms slammed down on the desk as the man leaned forth and gaze down with a momentous visage. “Jezabela, the Black Wing has been an unsolved case for the marines for quite some time. Investigations have made very little progress into finding out who this man is. A few months back, there was a marine lieutenant who went missing. She was taken into an underground city known as Hannai at Athens Island. This spot was a smuggling ring, filled with dangerous pirates and creatures. Not even the local marine base could do anything about it. Under normal circumstances, that marine officer was thought to have died. But miraculously, one morning, she was found on a hospital bed. She reported to have been saved by a single individual with black wings. Upon inspecting the area, nearly the entire pirate force was wiped out, including four prominent pirate captains whose bounties neared a hundred million as well as the strongest genetically modified creature on that island.”

“That doesn’t add up. You’re saying that the Black Wing, connected to the Revolutionary Army, went out of his way to save a single marine officer in what would have been a suicide mission?”

“It was also witnessed by both marines and World Government agents of a duel between the Black Wing and the Red Terror. Scarlette Grimm-Rosa had a bounty of seventy million beri, and it was thanks to a winged individual that we could successfully detain her in prison on a special island. No one else was capable of stopping her killing spree at the time.”

“Based of these accounts, I cannot begin to understand this man’s motives. But I’m sure about one thing. The Black Wing is probably coming to rescue his little sister. From the sound of it, he is beyond what Leval and Graves can handle. Allow me to deal with him, sir. After all, my doriki is five times theirs.”

The man smirked at the suggestion. “You have my permission. However, don’t tell anyone else about this.”

“Thank you, Vice Admiral Kagenori,” a deranged, lustful tone seeped out.

…

Throughout the daytime, Pluto and his temporary companions spent their hours under the dune’s shade, sleeping their misery away. Before the sun could strike noon, the raven-haired boy created a deep hole in the ground that angled away from the dune. There, he hid like a hibernating creature until the night could bless them once again with coolness.

Right before sunset, the pirates gathered up their belongings and set up their lizards to continue riding once again.

---

Miu - 2

During the early afternoon, a sand cat was napping on the ground while sunbathing. The kitten-like feline was completely unaffected by the hot temperatures, all curled up into a ball, nonchalantly lazing around. Her light-brownish fur camouflaged with the sand. A few faint stripes marked along her back and legs.

A hiss sounded in the distance as a large serpent slithered its way towards the sleeping critter who was practically a sitting duck waiting to be devoured. The patterned brown snake encroached the furred animal’s personal space before quickly wrapping its body around, coiling and squeezing all to constrict the breath out of this cutesy animal.
The happy, purring desert kitty subconsciously lit herself on fire as a blue flare ignited from her tiny body. The serpent, all nicely wrapped around her, was suddenly grilled to ash. The serpent hissed and frantically squirmed across the sand before burrowing into the sand to extinguish the flames.

From that point on, the serpents learned about the hierarchal structure of their ecosystem’s food chain. A cat, which they have never seen before, was known to be ranked higher than the snake and scorpion species. The strong devoured the weak. And this unknowing sleeping kitten had established her dominance without even knowing it.

As the fiery ball of orangish light drowned into the horizon, the little kitten slowly woke up after having peacefully slept longer than she had in a while. Large round greenish-yellow eyes glowed in the ever-growing darkness, she sat up on her hind legs and instinctively knew what to do next.

With supplies being placed right next to her, the little furball quickly swiped out a few salted, preserved fish. Like all felines, fish was their primary source of power. Just one fish could allow a kitten to eradicate an army of wolves. It was fuel for the body and steroids for the soul. As if to exemplify this undeniable, nonexaggerated fact, the little desert cat suddenly exploded in size.

Reaching the stature of an elephant’s height, Koneko Miu had entered her true form. A two-tailed beast cloaked in mystic blue inferno, this was what a Bakeneko looked like, the one and only. The creature let out a great big roar as if to announce her presence that she was ready to sprint across the desert once more. With the power of fluffiness and cuteness, she had sworn to save her close friend, Rebecca.

[Phantasma]

    Falling asleep earlier than Gaunt had its perks. For one Kite didn't listen to his occasional snores or that little bit he did just before slipping off to dream land. It ensured that the younger of the hunters was able to get the maxim amount of sleep before the more odd things happened during the heat of the day. A point of which eventually got the probable-albino upright and reaching for his weapons only to blink awake and scratch at his eyes, reeling back when he smelled burned lizard. Hacking and pinching his nose shut the lithe, spry youth rose up and belted out a quiet yet over exaggerated series of grunts and sighs as he popped what needed to be popped. Through cracking his fingers and rolling his shoulders he crept towards Miu and dropped to the source of the offensive odor. Turning up his nose and stabbing the poor fried critter Kite walked to the opening of the rocks dip and tossed the carcass out. A flurry of feathers and squawks hinted at its likely desecration and Kite dodged some of the more solid bits of gore that shot back down. A skull, picked clean for instance which surely belonged to the small reptile. 

    Walking back towards the cool of the Cave Kite spun his blade around in his hand for a bit, humming a soft tune as he squatted back where he had initially been sitting. Contemplation was slow like syrup in the heat of the day and being alone as he was, not feeling the urge to talk to himself further, he kept his hands busy. Taking out his handkerchief and wiping down his left blade with his right hand admiring the bright glimmer that shown through in the artificial darkness of the scorpion pit. 

    Turning the blade over in his hand some it didn't take long for that memory to resurface from last night. The wicked curved edge of the blade like a key to recent memories, twisting inward and revealing that technique he had accidentally used. Hardly one to start before he fully understood the basics it was with skepticism that the youth spun the blade around in his grip like he had so many times before. Padding fingers against the edge leaving just enough surface area on his manipulators to avoid cutting, satisfied with the resulting spin which at first issued out a low whistle. The lonely tune quickly vanished once the speed picked up, Kite holding his mouth open in slight surprise at the development of a now completely silent spin. Possessing something more than speed it was almost like the knife was fluttering away in his grasp and for several seconds Kite could've sworn it was flying. Attempting to catch the pommel as it came rotating by the softly floating blade adopted a mutated trajectory, shooting off to the left towards Gaunt forcing Kite to freeze up and make a running jump disturbing just enough of the ground in his three or four steps to get the scorpion man to toss in his sleep mumbling. Narrowly missing his head the knife plunged deep into the ground making a paper thin yet long crevasse that spanned the entirety of the cave up until the roof which it stopped. 

    Like the legendary sword in the stone the knife just lightly tucked itself into the ground near Gaunts turned head. Whatever calamitous racket would've came from the new geographical feature was instead just a soft sigh, not even a dust cloud. Bleary, cracked eyes pierced through the veil of the hood and Gaunt took both hands peeling back the white fabric to reveal blood vessels popping out the side of his head. Face contorted into a furious expression until unfocused eyes finally saw Kite who just casually landed on his butt right in front of Gaunt. Forcing a blink or two from scattered dust all Kite could do was move his lips and try to make words who was quickly shushed by an, admittedly softer eyed but now temple rubbing Bounty Hunter. 

    Rolling onto his back and setting up pausing only to stare down at the blade that was now near his head and squinting at Kite. What would've been a nervous sweet on Kalisto's face was absorbed with bandages. Nearly fumbled the blade that was soon tossed to him. 

    "New house rule. No more practicing blade work near sleeping people... even if you're sure of your skill. You don't see Miu using fi--" Noticing the scorch makes in the sand, eyes going wide for a brief moment he lost his composure. 

    "Ahem... Just don't. Get some sleep," He grunted and fell back to the floor immediately shutting his eyes and launching out a series of loud snores which made Kite cringe and cover his ears after having put his blade away. 

    Admiring his work on the cave wall and trying to replicate that spin was what Kite busied himself with. Although with the training wheels on and needing to practice outside, it certainly hampered the whole discovery aspect. Only took a few seconds above for the young man to come back in fighting off sun blisters and the heat. 

    Keeping his voice low out of consideration he spoke aloud all of once. 

    "So close... But just what the hell was that anyway. It was almost like I managed to make some kind of flying saw,"

    ...
    
    Scratching at his eyes and yawning by the time night came Kite was the last to join his companions in selecting rations. Going for yet more jerky and water the pungent odor of fish ate away at his nostrils and voiced him to avoid having a rebound of his dinner, swearing upon the most holiest of meaty flavors he wouldn't soon waste the jerky. Granted many of time it was so tough it felt like chewing leather-- but what wasn't a trial in life and in eating? The tougher it was to chew, the more you had to gnaw at. But at the risk of being compared to an animal Kite kept that fun fact to himself silently relishing the meal he had gotten. 

    Doing his best not to belch he loaded the rest of the supplies up onto miu utilizing the draw strings on the sacks to make a sort of sloping harness. Instead of going all the way around the feline it just used to sources of solid weight on either side and had the stronger bit of rope over her back. Given how light they were becoming it wasn't much of a bother even at full force, hardly ever swinging around and buckling. Kite and Gaunt made sure to secure it with their weight however, having the strings rest under them or in their grasp adopting as best as they could to the intense speed the massive Bakeneko ramped up towards. 

    Hardly an eventful start the group exchanged a few words, greetings and inquiries of health/mood during eating and a bit of checking over supplies and plans just before departure. Compared to the dialogue yesterday it was more of idle chit-chat that carried no real length other than occasionally the full sentence. Gaunt favored this and the somewhat tired Kite did as well who tried to hide the yawns that overtook his body periodically on the dash towards the ruins of Erumalu. 

    With the moon hanging overhead and the desert wind died down, the cold ate away at them. Fended off thanks to the bulk of Miu's body heat. But if it wasn't the chill then something else would've been nagging at them ever since the get go from the scorpion den. It was the pressure you'd feel bore into you when you ordinarily should be alone, the reason why you might talk out loud when you otherwise wouldn't. Something out in the hill-sized dunes of the desert was watching the gang and every so often a shape would even appear just out of the corner of peoples eyes. Forcing Kite into a more uneasy state he very quickly darted his eyes from left to right with Gaunt following silently in suit. 

    Off in the distance on an even taller hill came a glimmer that immediately got both of them tensed, speculative and wary. 

    Whatever shone like a star on the desert ground appeared to grow and rise up in the air. The harsh screaming whistle of a high speed projectile proved that instead of growing it had just grown closer while the movement was its flight path and judging from how it was dropping now it wouldn't be long before impact. Still nothing more than a shining, star like shape the zooming-- homing mote of light continued. The sniper responsible smiling to himself having successfully cut off yet more reinforcements likely feeding to Nina. 

    The girl was devious. She had managed to fool one of the greenhorn pirate crews into capturing her as a slave-- it was doubtless that she was using them as cover. 

    'But no more!' Solo thought. 

    'I won't let her get yet more men to storm Erumalu... Not when I just positioned my own away team to intercept that measly straggler group she's used as a shield!'

    'And then after that it's just one flash dial away from having my crew take down hers just off the shore... or wherever she put them.' 

[BlacKitten]

Pluto - 3

Tears rolled down her reddened cheeks. A small girl with dark hair and violet-hued eyes stared into the darkness. She felt so empty and lonely. She missed Ara. And most of all, she missed her older brother.

”Pluto,” she whimpered. “Where are you? I want to see you.” She missed being by his side without worry, knowing that he would protect her from harm. She missed watching his reactions when embracing him in her arms. She missed having a meal with him, watching him enjoy her cooking.

This never would have happened had she and Ara not separated themselves from him. He had always been very protective of them, and to take the small risk of taking his eyes of them for just a short moment, he must have lost all trust now that they’ve been captured.

This situation was different. Never had they ever gotten in trouble by the marines before. Pluto would always keep a low-profile and a quiet presence. He did so to avoid attention from dangerous individuals that might target someone like his little sister. But now that the fundamental reason had been violated, there was nothing left to hold him back. If years, she had always worried about being a burden to him for being so weak. She wasn’t a fighter, and she didn’t like to hurt others. But what would happen if the strongest person she knew had decided to stop hiding and unleash his full wrath?

Through their voyages together, Rebecca had the privilege to witness all sorts of battles that no other little girl could ever hope to imagine. She had witnessed countless of monsters, the kind that could destroy buildings, ships, and infrastructure, the kind where when two of them clash, the surroundings immediately get blown to bits.

When thinking back to the point of meeting her brother for the very first time, he was just a regular boy who was very cautious and calculative. He was cold, cynical, and distrusting. The very first time he left his home island, he was escaping from a fleet of assassins. The very first person he had allowed to journey with him other than her had tried to kill them both. He was beaten, bruised, bloodied and was forced to use every trick he could think of to survive.

Rebecca was perhaps the only person in the entire world who got to witness her older brother evolve from a regular boy to his current self. The progression of his skill, confidence, and strength had left her in awe. The ability to come out of every tough spot stronger than before. And now, he had reached a point to where maybe -just maybe-, he could challenge the world itself.

More so than anyone else, she had always placed all her faith in him. No matter what happens or who he ends up becoming, she would always love him. She knew that he had been afraid to open up to her, afraid of what she would think of him. It didn’t matter what the world would think of him. They could name call him a monster, a demon, or a devil, but to her, he was her savior, her mentor, and most of all, her only family.

…

Rebecca, hang in there. I will find you.

“!” Nina looked up, catching sight of Pluto who leapt a great distance onward. “What are -?”

RUMBLE!

The sand began to shake as a giant purple lizard popped out of the sand. The sheer size of its gaping mouth filled with triangular teeth could devour all of them whole. Its height along was several dozens of times taller than a human.

A Sandora Lizard. They hide underground, waiting for a prey. How did he know before the lizard even attacked?

Black claws raked the air, projecting crescent blades that bisected the creature down the middle. Two halves fell apart as blood gushed out.

---

Miu - 3

“!” A sparkle in the Bakeneko’s eyes as a shiny star-like projectile seemed to be closing in toward her. “Ooo! Shiny!” The whimsical feline was distracted at the bright, twinkling thing that flew at great speeds.

The curious cat wanted to take a swipe at it just for the fun of it, but as time went on, the object began to fan out, slowly turning bluer as it reflecting the light emitted by her flames. The glowing projectile soon revealed itself to be a net of some sort that covered over her massive body.

At first, she was in awe at the blue shininess. But then, her pride took a shot at a sudden realization.

Miu, master of the fishing net, had spent much of her life catching fishes in the waters, cooking them in an open fire, and then eating them. She had spent so much time catching those slippery delicacies, but never had she thought to be caught by a fishing net herself.

What an insult!

She wasn’t a fish. She was a cat.

How dare someone tried to use a fishing net on her.

A low growl hummed out of her vocal cord as fangs bared out in the open. The flames around her body grew in intensity. The rising heat palpable to anyone who touches her.
The very material that tried to wrap around her quickly caught on fire as it burned. Her gleaming yellow eyes sharpened, able to see the world around her as if it were daytime. Thanks to her own flames and the moonlight, she could naturally see several times better than humans as she had her own version of night vision. To what appeared to be completely dark and pitch black to a mere human, to her, it was clear as day.

Lowering herself towards the ground as her legs compressed themselves, weight shifted towards the back, the giant cat suddenly bolted like a missile, completely shredding the burnt net along the way. Viciously, she sprinted madly, generating a gust of wind to blast towards her face and her flames trailing behind like a comet’s tail. With her keen eyesight, she pinpointed her target to originate from the hill in the distance.

And without restraint, she roared like a mighty lion which can be heard for miles away. The flaming, two-tailed beast was on the hunt.

[Phantasma]

    Blood and sand was a disgusting mix, in the aftermath of the near instant attack a lot of folks struggled to get out of the way of the splash zone. A distinctly rust-like odor coated the air and many people hardly came out clean, the worst had to have articles of clothing removed rather than cleaned. Celebration wasn't exactly in the air but should the group choose to take a break a lot of them would flock to the cleanly cut carcass extracting meat and seasoning it before grilling. 
    
    Had a break been a luxury not taken what could be collected was. Scales for ceramic weaponry, sparse meat preserved as the crocks' dashed stowed away in bags to prevent further desiccation. Further dissonance quietly wedged itself between Pluto and the rest of the crew as yet again he proved how far above their capacity he was. The difference in strength being like the depth of a deepest canyon compared to the zenith of a mountain just about to pierce the misty heavens above. 

    What Nina saw in him, savior or tool, she likely knew wouldn't be easy to manipulate. But maybe they were kindred? That loneliness which hollowed his eyes, longing and desire which motivated him to try his hardest... they had that in common. This treasure was to provide for what little flesh Nina had left in this world that mattered. A frail little boy who just couldn't leave her be, sick with some illness that baffled most doctors. 

    Money could change that. 

    And 'Could' was damn good enough of an excuse to try. 

---

    
    "Just what is that supposed to be?! Who could possibly be targeting us-- the old man? Kite? Miu?" Gaunt pointed a skyward right finger at the increasingly closer trajectile. 

    Gleaming ever so ominously transitioning from a sickly white shine to a ghostly bright blue. Kite found it hard to directly look at it and often squinted or got a scarce hand to press against his forehead to cast shadow into those red eyes. The more he tried to make sense of it and to answer Gaunts question the quicker it came and the larger, more riddled with holes in its incandescence it became. 

    Overworked eyes which rivaled that of any animals saw very quickly what was soon to enrage Miu. That zooming, collection of sparks was some sort of net. A binding device of indeterminable materials that was somehow lighting up the sky much like the Bakeneko's flames. Was the selfsame reason why its sniper wasn't clear despite the possibility to trace back the angle. 

    "A net? I-- No! This probably isn't the cannon firing stuff again! Has to be someone else but who--" Kite started, lurching back and letting out a surprised yelp as his ride suddenly kicked it into maximum gear. 

    Gaunt followed suit clenching his teeth together and bracing himself as the desert transport reveled in volcanic levels of rage. Seething emotion propelled the power user to mach speeds sending up torrential streams of sand in either direction, starting much the instant she landed back on the ground. Her cohorts were left to jiggle around like loose parts letting out obscene words or praying to some higher power that they don't make like those flames trailing and roll off. 

    Strapped to a crazy ride as he was it was in moments like these that Kite could appreciate how fast his brain was clocking in. Approaching a particularly large sand dune, more so bulldozing through it, a shape in the darkness materialized quickly shrinking as it fell backwards and knocked away something smaller.

    Compared to a cats vision, night vision, there's an anatomical difference of course. Our eyes possess specialized photon sensitive cells lovingly nicknamed Rods and Cones with photo-sensitivity or response to light based stimuli varying on the concentration, some species even take this a step further including additional structures behind even the Retina. To make a winded explanation shorter this would mean given the proper treatment a human could potentially hone themselves to levels previously associated with predatory animals, often erroneously so. This care, or perhaps stress, would lead to why Kite could see in such low light conditions. And why a sudden bright flare that would soon consume the whole of their front would burn his eyes in such a painful fashion. 

    "GOD DAMMIT!" Cursing rather furiously Kite slammed his head down onto the sack front most to him, pain forcing a contortion upon his now hidden face.

    Moments to the intersection the roaring feline was about to achieve was ruined prematurely. Solo in his moment of awe had very quickly secured himself in a fetal position dropping to the desert floor only to reach for his waterfall of luxuriously blond hair now swirled all around him. Through his own special power he polished it, rubbed hands along the waxy body and made it blast the surrounding area with the light of fire and that of the moon taking whatever opportunity he had to roll out of the way. 

    Instead of taking the mortar like cylinder, one hopelessly out of his reach flowing down the backside of the hill after it was kicked in surprise, he made a run for it. Thoroughly convinced that he wasn't going to win in a contest of strength with such a weird power user-- one that he swore was like a Zoan! His little Shaolin Monk robe was ruffled, sand falling out of places it ordinarily hadn't been. If Miu's senses, her sight, returned in time she might even see the dark orange and brown sprinting man looking over his shoulders with wide eyes and a trailing golden shadow like shape rolling off of the top of his head in one long, unnaturally thick rope-like coil. Either it was hair, or some kind of ridiculously sized cowl. 

    'I'll just have to get back to my lizard! She's buried herself somewhere... the coward... Grr! And if it isn't my animals being uncooperative it's the existence of YET MORE power users! Gah I hate this gaudy little number!' An olive-shaded pretty face shifted from dread to annoyance, his twin moles on the apex of his chin hidden by a now massive frown. 

    "Miu! Augh... if you can see them they might be on the run-- I didn't see any more launchers. That smelted net couldn't have been thrown unless they're superhuman. Since it was metal and all," Recalling the sight of Miu's flames engulfing the shiny metal forcing both men to blink was similarly burned to memory. 

    As was that smell. One that could hardly belong to anything other than metal. 

    For now Kite scratched away at his eyes blinking back tears until his recovery was successful and despite numerous dots dancing ahead in his vision he could see further and further as his eyes readjusted. Vowing to react quicker once he saw that unholy glow spring up in the dead of this desert night. 

    Grasping at his hip for a weapon Kite kept his eyes peeled waiting for Miu to get close enough or to launch cover fire. Gaunt had little in terms of hesitation and prepared to fling his tail back firing off various globes of poison along or before Miu decided to attack forcing the dashing shape to go into a ground roll heading off the side of the dune in an uncharacteristically straight line. 

    "They're after something!" Gaunt howled out. 

    "Another launcher?! Miu! We got this!" 

    Securing supplies under the crook of his chin Kite was quick enough to collect his rightmost blade in its matching hand. Spinning the thing in a mad series of rotations until eventually it became a blur of silver in his deft fingers. Looking like he did the Kalisto youth almost appeared to be some sort of anime villain preparing up a trump card. Only thing missing was him yelling out an attack name. 

[BlacKitten]

Pluto - 4

“Hm?” A pirate subordinate widened his eyes as the lizard slayer made a strange request. “A piece of paper? S-Sure…,” he kept a small notebook to write down about his voyages. A single blank page was ripped out before handing it over with anxiety. It didn’t matter to him how much of good person one can become. When a man possessed this level of power was present, he could not help but feel the slightest bit of fear and insecurity. Like everyone else, all he could do was listen and obey to avoid any risk of being killed. He could tell by the look in this boy’s eyes that this kid had seen some pretty nasty stuff and had likely partaken in bloodshed himself. When someone who was so skilled in the art of killing that it become a form of art, how could this man not be afraid of even the slightest possibility of some of that skill being turned on them?

When in possession of the sheet of paper, Pluto held it in between his index and middle finger, centering it in front of his eyes. A spark of violet dazzled around his two fingers. Electricity. First, there was smoke, and then there was fire. The paper suddenly burned, emitting an orange candle-like light before it was tossed into the pile of dry wooden scraps which further fueled the baby fire into an adult.

The pirates were stunned by this strange act. No sort of lighter was used. From just the tips of this boy’s finger, he generated a strange spark of electricity which in turn burned the dry slip of paper.

Cooking this will be a lot easier if Miu was here, but we will have to make do with this. There will be enough meat here to feed everyone here. I’m getting kind of sick of eating nuts.

The lizard meat was fresh. With swords or knives, the pirates carved out their meat from the giant carcass that was slayed cleanly before them.

---

Miu - 4

“Meow!” Miu’s irises quickly narrowed into vertical slits, limiting the flow of light into her eyes. With the eyes of a cat, her irises can alternate between thin and round to degrees far greater than a human could. With the innate means to avoid blindness by the sudden surge of light, she was the first to adapt. Next, she dimmed the intensity of her own flames, having learned earlier from the shiny net that it reflected the light that her body was emitting. Then, she homed in on her target, spotting a man in robes, running away while looking back with widened eyes.

A ball of fire was concentrated in her mouth. The Bakeneko suddenly fired off her signature assault. However, unlike before, this giant glob of flames suddenly split apart into five smaller fireballs that arced through the air and converging towards the long-haired man from different angles. By dividing her single large scorching assault into five, she made it more difficult for her assault to be evaded.

Miu lunged forth, utilizing her momentum to swipe her paw against the ground to whip up a giant glob of sand forward, casting a smokescreen made of nothing but sand to shield against any further illumination of light.

Five fireballs arcing through the air and a smokescreen made of sand, these more tactical maneuvers only highlighted ho much she wanted to watch this man suffer for trying to throw a fishing net at her. After all, she wasn’t a fish; she was a cat.

[Phantasma]

    "As if! Going to have to get up earlier in the day before something like that would work!" The guy shouted while looking ahead, obscured momentarily by the converging assault of fireballs. 

    Perhaps Miu would miss it through her sand shield but in the last moments this man had he ducked low to the ground running naked hands across sand. The result being an instant, soft yellow like texture evoking dirty gold which spilled out like fluid in a wide radius of at least 30 meters (fading once it drifted beyond that). Rippling across and consuming the sand, as it gained more ground the mans speed also became apparent. Sliding on his flat feet he continued towards the horizon utilizing minor dips, curves, bounces in the desert polishing them to be like personal foot ramps. The speed was so great that at many times he looked to be like a line of color, in all of an instant he had cleared the distance Miu covered at the top of the dune and was already sailing somewhere down the 10 meter slope to uneven desert. 

    Standing up and twisting around on his little slide he managed to pound his chest with his right fist. The hand making a harsh, smacking noise across clothed and bare flesh before finally being raised high into the chill of the wind stream surrounding him. No longer wide eyed but positively brimming with confidence, all as he skated with his back exposed. 

    "I'll admit the cat thing was legitimately scary. However I can't mistake your reactions-- the whole lot of you are newbies! Not even Nina would bother to rope you into her scams and I would HARDLY accept you onto my crew. Rejoice that I'm not even going to waste the time figuring out how to blast you back to the ocean!" Crossed his arms behind his back and gripping his hands he let out a bow, deep enough to bend forward and almost flatten his upper half at a perfect 90 degree angle towards the ground. 

    His butt end caught aflame quickly after this sentiment forcing him to rocket back up and make his eyes go wide as hands slapped around trying to extinguish the flames. He settled for his hair which very quickly adopted a dull, dirty color slapping against the ghostly flames hopefully using a lack of oxygen to get it off. If that didn't work? He'd tear at clothes and trim down hair, he wasn't about to be burned by fire that had somehow stuck onto him!

    Certainly motivated his acrobatics to be more careful. Ironic that the same focus he now applied to the cat, what he perceived to be the real danger, evaporated what cares he had towards her companions. Those he thought were feeble. 

    He missed the little knife that was tossed around the time that Miu sent out her flames. However unlike the ghostly nature of the fire which passed through things, in the fading solid polish which made the desert gleam like a gem the rotation of the blade carried it like a mad toy. In a straight line, over the hill across the basin towards the even smaller dip Solo was heading towards. Every time it dug into the sand it chipped the material like glass forcing it to revert to powder, thanks to how finely wedged it was the weapon only resurfaced occasionally like a shark on the hunt. Wordlessly Kalisto watched, tried to track the trajectory before he saw Solo up and tripped flailing up in the air before landing on his head in one dramatic toss up. 

    Rumbling was what clued the pirate captain into something being wrong. Initially he had dismissed the passengers aboard the demon cat. It was easy enough to avoid the poison globs just by running, or polishing the desert to increase his speed. Readying into a squatting jump the source of the noise surprised him with finally breaching, hitting its pommel right up against his right and left foot but hardly ending there. The spinning force caught him and put just enough torque in the right position to sting, a hit that got a reflex for him to lift his foot up. The second sensation was a clean cut to his right foots underside combined with the weapon bursting up from the ground. Swapping air time with the next foot Solo slipped, he bumbled, his whole world turned upside down and before he blinked he managed to see that cursed dagger twirl right back to its handler who adopted as much of a glower as he did surprised jaw-drop. 

    It wasn't pretty, watching the guy pancake like that and skid around making that screech noise. Like wet skin on tile it was a pain to the ears like it was the eyes. Even Gaunt who had kept composure this whole time despite the annoyance of the light footed pirate gritted his teeth and clamped shut his eyes. Depositing the blade after slowing its spin Kite rubbed at his ears and blinked for a solid minute trying to soothe the pounding in his eardrums.

    He failed getting up the first time, a wayward shot of poison had made sure of that, fired off in a hurry during the beginning of the encounter. It wasn't exactly clear if any had made it into the wound or the guys mouth but he certainly let out a string of expletives as the toxin soaked into and dyed his clothes. 

    Being that he was fast it wasn't long that he stayed on his back, much to the time it took him to travel prone he hopped up at the last leg of the run towards the little baby sand dune wasting no time before diving right in head first and all. Following the land side swan dive a Banana-wani with a canopy cover supported by iron poles on either side emerged shaking free the particulates of the environment. Solo glanced at the gang flipping them off and sticking out his tongue, snapping his free fingers to get the animal into roaring and sprinting off in the opposite direction of the fight. 

    Equally light on its claws the stout little potbellied crocodile flicked up a stream of sand and let off a distorted warble-roar that left its tongue to lag out of its crooked smile of a face. Its driver sunk fast into a cushy ottoman like saddle trying to grip on the reigns to direct his pack animal in a desired direction. Often whipping it or snapping to get it to go quicker. 

    "... A vehicle... HE HAD A VEHICLE THIS WHOLE TIME?! Where were the weapons? The big fight? Conflict! ... I'm not the one to normally search these things out but that's anticlimactic!" Hitting his head a bit, softly, against his supplies Kite groaned out squinting in frustration to make out the shrinking dot ahead of them. 

    "Better than having another cannon... but I do agree... we need an actual plan of engagement other than tossing around artillery like that. Especially since we know Kite here can actually use ranged attacks," Musing out loud the hunter framed his massive jaw in his hand thinking.   
    
    "Not even really sure how I'm doing this. Did it with the scorpion... hardly got it to work then and now. Is it really that reliable?"

    "Kite. It was silent while it flew, if I wasn't watching it I wouldn't have even known you threw that knife. Unlike Miu's fireballs that thing is an inverse, a real ghost."

    "If we catch up to that jerk he's going to be a ghost. My eyes still sting... And I'll be sure to throw harder. Aim was off, spin was sloppy," Kite remarked, recalling about how shakily it had dipped and rolled as it flew off through the air planting into polished sand racing after Solo. 

    "... Miu you think you can get your fireballs into my knife if I get another chance to throw?" Gaunt shifted in his seat to look at Kite, humming in brief thought. 

    Over the course of its trip across land that fancy blade spin boring underground had moved incredibly quickly. Almost like the hard polish material was like a magnet, speeding up its acceleration exponentially undoubtedly doing the same for its cutting power.  

[BlacKitten]

Pluto - 5

What did the Sandora Lizard taste like?

This was his first time consuming reptilian meat. Upon taking his first bite of the roasted meat, he thought it tasted just like chicken. The fat was bland, and the flesh was grainy. Normally, he would conclude that this didn’t taste good, but having limited variety of food, his standards had lowered to the point where even this tasted delicious. At the same time, his appreciation for his little sister’s cooking only grew. His so-called ‘student’, Koneko Miu, was extremely skilled at cooking all kinds of seafood. Would cooking a lizard be outside of her area of expertise? But no matter how good a chef is, they lacked ingredients to really elevate the taste to a higher level. And when it came to survival and personal wellbeing, nutrient and calories came first. Taste was secondary and of minor importance.

“!” The pirates, who were sharing the same meal, were all astonished by the amount of meat that Pluto was consuming.

Those who exerted more calories required more calories. The amount of energy he had unleashed required more quantity of calories to replenish himself. Some of the energy that once circulated through this lizard would now be transferred to him.

CRUNCH!

Not only was he eating the meat, but his teeth were crunching through the bones as if they were stale crackers. Minerals, collagens, amino acids, he wasn’t going to waste any of it.

---

Miu - 5

“Hm?” The giant cat, sitting peacefully on her hind legs, nonchalantly turned towards Kite as the white-haired man made a strange request. “Why are you two talking as if my fireballs didn’t work?” The Bakeneko smirked mischievously.

Her head shifted towards Gaunt, “So you wanted to see a Ghost, huh? Just where do you think my fireballs are right now? They never disappeared to begin with.” While the two were so fixated on the opponent, Miu’s five fireballs had phased through the ground upon collision. She had a feeling it wouldn’t be so easy that her initial assault would land. Things would never go that smoothly which is why she had already set up a backup plan.

Throughout the time that Kite was targeting the robed man with his spinning knives, Miu was watching and observing the man’s slippery movements. The longer she remained dormant, the more she would be forgotten. And now that the target had chosen a creature as a form of transportation over his own slippery maneuverability, she decided to choose this time to make an ambush.

“When my fireballs turn into their ghost state, they also remain silent because they no longer interact with the physical world,” she informed them while raising her forepaws to make an upward gesture. “And I can also control the trajectory of my fireballs with my paws.” She crunched up her fingers, each finger symbolizing a fireball being converged towards a common point.

Miu's power wasn't limited to just generation of her mystic flames. She also possessed a level of pyrokinesis of the flames she creates. It was easy for anyone to mistake her fireballs as merely tools of wild destruction, but those fireballs were far more deceptive than what meets the eye. 

…

“!” The man riding on his crocodile widened his eyes as he would soon find himself surrounded. Five glowing blue orbs had shot forth right out of the ground, angling straight towards him in a pentagon formation. “AH CRUD!”

It was at this moment that Gaunt realized how much he underestimated Miu's powers, but he was also equally annoyed by how this was a Zoan-type power. 

[Phantasma]

    "Or just shrug off my suggestion. I guess," Kite held his eyes towards the sky for a brief moment, rolling his shoulders and neck before once again returning to the fight. 
    
    "Seemed fine before without elemental enhancements. Why do you think you needed help?" Gaunt talked sideways out of his mouth while he continually pelted out shots of poison. 

    His tail winding back only to lurch forward and spew out a venomous payload in a sticky, globby roughly sphere-like shape. 

    "Something's still off," Unsure in expression and questioning in voice kite prepared both his blades. 

    If Miu didn't watch to go for a combined assault he couldn't force her. If he mastered this technique however it'd be an invaluable asset to the team. Unlike the fireballs it could exponentially increase in speed and its destructive payload yet unknown. If that sand was any indication it was likely going to be something of a large scale precise cut. That was by hope and design, Kite held himself back very obviously and a move with the aim of causing excess collateral damage would be as hypocritical as it would be unexpected. 

    A vast amount of surprise and disappointment would likely accompany the correct usage of this attack. That sinister spin. 

    ...

    "Hey Gaunt what's with the annoyed expression? You saw this power before. Back at the tower," Hollering over his shoulder Kite kept his eyes on Solo watching him continue his dash regardless of the fire. 

    "If it's any consolation-- and I realize I shouldn't say this in a fight-- but your Zoan is cool too. Now lose the sour expression, I really doubt that whoever he is will be stopped by fire alone," Taking both blades and spinning them in either hand Kite reared his hands back getting ready for the toss. 

    Miu's trap, a reprise of what she had pulled earlier, still had the issue of having an overhead opening. A bananiwani was not known for its strong legs, neither were its cousins of the more docile kind. Crocodiles, Alligators, known of them were particularly acrobatic much less out of water. What they had going for them were tough scales, a strong biting power and disguise. Rather than despair Solo whipped the reigns going 'Hyah' to drive the beast further to the encroaching wall, a rather mischievous expression curling his lips into a smile. Once again he pressed his palms to an object, this time his own transport, dying it a lustrous shade of jade which only grew brighter and brighter as the fireballs encroached almost going supernova once they smacked into eachother or hit their target. 

    "It's skating... despite nearly being blind, I'm seeing an oversized Lizard skate across the desert."

    Perfect at timing, or by miracle, Solo had the animal jump right through the fire adopting a corkscrew like roll as it did. Momentum played a factor, speed carried it up and the uneven ground gave it some hang time. The act of spinning straight through the flames wasn't without its own science though. As the temperature of the crocodiles surface heated up Solo had hoped it would refract just enough light to make a heat shield. Obviously, this would never worked but it had unintentionally created a convection current that would've sapped the heat from the flames so long as they stayed near or on the pair. So long as Solo stayed conscious, it was likely his little stunt had more than prevented lethal damage to his person.

    He was still going to cuss like a sailor once the pain started. Stopping only to catch his breath and once the speed again surpassed the rate at which Miu moved her flames. The weakness of all control based powers, acceleration-- an action that relied on observation rather than just continually applying itself automatically. 

    Up ahead through tears of pain and patting himself down for burns Solo was forced to grip his animal tightly as the ground beneath him shook, the crock quickly adjusted its path by just barely hopping to the left. Upon contacting the ground again its legs buckled by choice, the jade chubby lizard banked on how smooth it now was to bobsled across the harsh desert environment. Shredding whatever rock it came up against while the pilot couldn't help but clap his hands in delight. Scorched or not the act of getting off its feet, using its weight and its incredibly slick exterior meant it was just going to go faster more so than when it had been sprinting earlier. A jet stream-like gust of wind followed the pair off towards the horizon and threatened to steal them right out of view. The pillar of sand which would've been right under them fell back towards the earth, Kite gripping his blades once they returned. 

    Depositing them and trying to slow his heart he replayed over the events. His voice independent of his thoughts.    
    
    "We need to speed up too, like a rocket..."

    Throwing both blades at once they silently flew towards the pair. Flames didn't harm the blades either by choice or quality of the metal. Once inside Kite couldn't see too well but he had assumed from the bizarre texture of sand on the pommels they went underground. The sound of them hitting each other was unmistakable, a fingerprint to the swordsman with the result being a geyser of sand about the size of a height of one of Nanohana's towers immediately evacuated from the ground. Had it hit the animal or Solo head on the damage would've been devastating-- not quite a one hit kill but probably something very close. 

    'Just a little further... just a little further... Once I get to my crew, tell them to attack this business will be concluded. All of them are freaks even that knife guy! Why is everyone so weird all of a sudden...!' Lamenting the current difficulty and reminiscing upon the ease of pirating in the blues the oddly dressed, slightly soaked captain continued. 

    Unaware that if his injuries remained exposed to his shirt he would be contact poisoned. Something that Gaunt was banking on, crossing his fingers over even. 

    His venom wasn't the like to kill instantly. It inflicted the sensation of burns before paralyzing an animal or person in large enough doses. Confessing to himself alone he didn't have much of an idea on the lethal dosage. 

[BlacKitten]

Miu - 6

“Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Watching him run away is fun!” The Bakeneko chuckled lightheartedly. Like a cat who saw a mouse running away, her hunting instincts seemed to have kicked in – often expressed as a way for them to play. It wasn’t uncommon for birds and rodents alike to end up dead from the cat accidentally overdoing it. Right now, she felt like this was a one-sided game of dodgeball with her fireballs being the ball and that long-haired gator-riding man being the one trying to do the dodging.

“Well then! Well then! How about I try this?” Miu mused, having thought up of an experiment. If this was a contest of speed, then what would happen if she were to become the fastest land animal? Her large, bulky form suddenly began to shrink by just a bit as her limbs and torso grew lither. Even her blue flames disappeared from her body entirely, revealing a sandy-shade coloration filled with black spots. Her tail even merged together to become one,

She was still monstrously huge, relative to an actual cheetah at least. Her mass had decreased, and her mimicked form appeared more aerodynamic. She had to be big enough to still hold two grown men on her back while small enough to have less mass to carry. Finding that optimal balance, the large feline began dashing forth. Her shapeshifting powers did not change anything about her athleticism. She was not suddenly stronger or weaker; her changed appearance was merely a façade. However, like most Zoan-based transformations, her weight did in fact change along with the geometry of her body.

This should no surprise to Kite and Gaunt who had seen her in many different forms as a cat, but this was the first time she had shown them the appearance of one of the Big Cats.

Even if it was just playing pretend, the power generate from her muscles was still very real. Kite’s analogy of a rocket was rather accurate. When Miu first took off, an expanding ring of sand manifested from the spot she left. She had to assume that the passengers didn’t mind the risk of being blown off her back. Then again, the whimsical four-legged creature was likely to preoccupied with the thought of playing with the funny-looking gator.

Never once had she eaten a reptile before. She was curious. If she were to rip open that scaly armor and cook the meat within, what would it taste like? She had heard somewhere that gators were edible, but she had never seen such an exotic creature before.

She wondered if Kite and Gaunt would like to try out some gator meat.
Without the symbolic blue light to signify the Bakeneko’s presence, the robed man had to think twice as to what was going on when he looked back to see the cat monster completely replaced by more ordinary looking beast. Did the passengers somehow switch over to a different beast?

“!” The long-haired man widened his eyes as the giant cheetah suddenly pounced on top of the gator’s back, hooking her claws onto along the grooves of the gator’s polished jade-colored armor. “Hi! Can I eat you?” The giant cat spoke with a gaping mouth full of sharp teeth along with some drool right over the man’s head.

“GAAAAAAAH!” The man screamed at the giant talking cheetah who just spoke about eating him. He also didn’t think the cat would catch up to them like this.

The giant sliding gator was slowed down by the drastic increase of mass pressing over its back.

“Hey Kite, Gaunt. How about you get this guy as I get this gator?” She spoke with nothing but food on her mind. The man who threw a net toward her no longer piqued her interest. She was far more interested in this magnificently large creature that was filled with meat.

---

Pluto - 6

“I guess our supplies weren’t enough to keep you full,” said Nina who felt kind of bad, now knowing just how much Pluto can eat.

“Are you saying that nuts and granola sates your stomach?” He found it hard to believe that any of them could be satisfied with their meals so far, especially traveling with the mentality of conserving food and water for as long as possible. That way of thinking discouraged overindulging oneself and being full.

“Ha-ha. I suppose not.”

“We’re close,” he said bluntly.

“Hm?” She tilted her head.

“The ruins. We’re almost there,” He clarified. Journeying for this long in the desert was rough. He wanted to get this over with as soon as possible.

“Ah. That’s right. We should be there soon.” She had been so caught up with the journey itself that she had almost forgotten how close she was to her goal.

However, Pluto made one thing very clear to them, “Once we get there, our contract will end. If you all want to fight amongst yourselves over the treasure, then be my guest. But I have my reasons for wanting to go there.” He had no interest in becoming their friends or their bodyguard. Even he wanted to, he would struggle trying to protect this many people. And besides, he couldn’t even protect two people who he holds dear.

There was a certain type of people he was expecting to be there in the ancient city of Erumalu. 

[Phantasma]

    Solo's grand scheme was to intercept the newbies and bring them back to his crew for interrogation. To lessen the risk of being seen, much like a certain pirate who put a man at the gate, he ordered his men to be far off in the Alabastan wastes. He thought he was being clever spreading himself thin like this, using himself as an advanced away team. But the more he struggled and sped off towards what he hoped was where he left his men realization dawned on him. Practically beaten into his head at this point was why he had been successful. Superior numbers were only good so long as you could use them...

    Soft? Complacent? Something had gone off to make Solo just stop caring about dangers. Had he crossed this desert by himself just for the thrill of feeling alive? For the possibility of losing? Because at his present pace that might very well happen. The fact Miu hadn't vanished off the horizon was proof of that alone, ominous shades of death riding atop her back like reapers. Perched, ready to fly off and chop away at what was their due. 

    'If I make it back to the men... we're going ahead with the frontal assault. Even if I have to mow through my ranks. This strategy was utter nonsense,' Hanging his head and hitting the reigns again he got the crocodile to increase in speed. 

    Much like a large jade bullet it zoomed off on the sand leaving a dune-y rut in its wake. Depressed fallen particulates molded into the shape of the lizards massive tummy. Even by its own species standards the thing was stuffed, large and in charge, obese even. But Solo had liked that, took it as a sign of the thing being superior to the runts that shared its mother. 

    Hardly any warning was given other than the shifting sands. The blue outline behind him vanished, the captain could hardly let his shoulders droop before the predator was on his transport bearing down on him bringing the previous quick slide to more of a slow crawl as the animal thrashed about growling and letting out its low-toned roar. Before its rider left the thing was even trying to do a death roll to get Miu off trying to turn around and over to free itself from the talons currently gripping into it somehow despite the slick and glossy surface. Readying his hands beneath the canopy the blond debated using his powers as a last ditch effort to sabotage the pin and escape, ultimately deciding on himself once Kite jabbed a knife or two through the paper thin banana-like covering. 

    Solo let out a yelp.

    And another one once Kite got to stabbing away at the roof, a few more and its pilot eventually tumbled out off the side head over heels. Rolling a fair distance before coming to land on his back, rolling over onto his stomach and standing up with a wobble. Glaring at the party but cowering once Kite hopped off the cat gently setting the supplies down, a double cower when Gaunt followed suit with a third lesser flinch when the larger man roughly threw his supplies onto the sand. A soft pop was all that was heard before the pair started their approach, backs to a cat who was likely either going to make a shower of gore or go for a clean kill. Either way the crock thrashed, teeth clamped around and the tail flicked up sand. A bizarre smell was even coming out of its mouth as it continued to try and go for a death roll, having to give up and start trying to twist again when strength was applied or it caught itself against another limb. 
    
    "Don't... expect this... to be easy! I'm a captain for a reason you know! I'm strong! Very... very strong," Solo warned, reaching up to his hair and bringing the coil of rope-like hair in front of him, layering it over his right arm and smiling a toothy, sinister leering grin.     
    
    "The strong rarely brag about it," Gaunt cracked his knuckles adopting scales over his tanned arms and thinning hairline. 

    The process was quick, by the time it was done his skin had turned to an armor like covering while he grew a tail and hands fused into pincers. His cloak was straining but the material hadn't busted yet. Through intimidation Gaunt was able to get Solo to back up and twitch around jerking his eyes from either of the combatants as they inched closer through the meter or so space that kept them apart. 

    "Hiiiii.... YAH!" Solo yelled, yanking his neck back and flicking his head forward. 

    Face now hidden the long hair flew forward, some unseen weight causing it to snake out like a solid force. As it stretched within the half a second it went towards Gaunt, Kite saw it. Through the gold-like exterior of the hair hidden in the multitude of strands were pieces of metal, serrated shards designed to make the hair into a whip of sorts only much more painful. Reacting in that window Kite was able to dash forward and cross his knives over forming an X, standing directly ahead of Gaunt deflecting each shard as it came bearing down. Shock, bewilderment flashed across Solo's head as he heard noises of metal on metal forcing him to look up and in doing so retract his ranged weapon coming across the scene of Kite standing to Gaunt's front. 

    Connecting the dots, mostly from the quirked brow of Gaunt, he had the defense measure figured out. Cursing silently the enemy once again started rearing their neck back only this time whipping their head about several times. Muscles burned as Solo gave them an intense work out flicking out his locks at a speed that made blond tendrils spill out every which way. Almost like a sword master the movements were a blur of speed. 

    Kite met a few, Gaunts tail was there to catch what he missed. The both of them only exchanging the briefest of glances. Nodding when their eyes met and charging forward simultaneously.
   
    Bearing his teeth again Solo went for an even quicker assault, finding that he had to backpedal the closer they got. Amazed at how well they coordinated themselves but more so why each hit was getting quieter and quieter. When he had realized they cut each piece of metal out his hair was limp by his side and in tatters. Not nearly to his back and more split ends then frayed rope. 

    "Thanks for getting him to move Kite. It'll go into effect any moment now," Gaunt rubbed his hands together, ringing them as he shifted back to his human form making slow steps towards Solo.

    An expression of fear flashed on the mans face before he fell back. He didn't come back up, or rather his body locked up to the point where he couldn't even move his lips. Scarcely able to draw a breath Kite dragged him back towards the gator, towards Miu. 

    Using gator was a tad incorrect however, as this thing was ultimately a crocodile. And yet, would it really matter in a few seconds once it was cooked? Could it honestly complain about being misidentified. 

    "Very quickly tell us why you were running. If you're a captain... I might even guess it was to your crew or something more valuable."

    "If you're not honest, you'll die. A scared man doesn't run in a straight line."

---

    Somewhere far off in the desert, but not too far a group of people huddled together on their desert crocodiles. Blankets draped over themselves, shivering away as they watched the horizon through three binoculars. Looking more like rocks thanks to the density of blankets the watchers took turns lowering their gadgets and exchanging darkened looks. 

    At one point one of them fumbled in the darkness of their quilt for a whistle. Pressing it to their lips the shark tooth like instrument let loose a hoarse, shrill cry for the rest of the camp that sat by the dying embers of the camp. The whisper tendrils of smoke still kissed the sky while the scent of freshly cooked meat stained the air, wafted skyward far from them. 

    "Captain's been downed. Should we send out Miroku? Dee?"

    "Miroku. Dee stays with us... Biscuit." 

[BlacKitten]

Miu - 7

Once the humans were off doing their own thing, it was just the giant cat and the banana gator. One was hungry, and the other was scared for its life. Predator versus prey. The sheer size, the fat content, and the muscles, this healthy, chubby Bananawani was perfect for the picking.

Gradually, the cheetah began to grow larger and bulkier. Her tail forked into two. Blue flames draped her body. She entered her full-beast form, adding further weight on top of her struggling prey.

Several tons of weight pressed onto the reptile’s back. The gator tried to roll, and the cat obliged to allow it to. Sensing the shift of her balance, the feline deliberately slipped off, anchoring the left side of her paws onto the ground. Her right paws pressed and rolled along the creature to keep its motion in check.

Raising her left paw with blue flames radiating outwards, she lashed her foot-long sized claws straight through the underbelly the instant it was exposed towards her. Puncturing, pinning, and burning all in one clean motion.

The creature roared and squirmed in pain for a few seconds before suddenly going limp. The light in its eyes had faded, and it wasn’t long until its entire body was engulfed in the same blue flames.

“Hmm...,” the feline hummed, judging the composition of the meat from her paw touching its internals. “I think this is best served medium rare. And perhaps two minutes of cooking.” The chef adjusted the temperature of her flames accordingly to properly cook this fresh gator meat. Her specialty was seafood-based dishes, so this creature was outside of her area of expertise. But meat was meat, and the supplies being carried with them wouldn’t be nearly enough to keep her full. She was a growing kitten who needed her protein.

By the time Kite and Gaunt were finished with that funny-looking pirate, the Bakeneko turned towards them to give an update, “The cooking is just about done. You two want some meat?”

Miu ripped a chunk of flesh straight from the stomach before shoving it into her mouth. Sharp, triangular fangs chewed on the freshly roasted medium-rare deluxe exotic nourishment.

CRUNCH!

The sound of bone casually breaking and grinding in between teeth alerted that this feline would eat just about anything.

“If not, I’ll just eat the whole thing,” she noted, secretly hoping that neither of these two would be interested in this free meal.

---

Pluto - 7

“Ahh…,” Pluto let out a satisfied sigh, having not felt a full stomach for quite some time. By the time the group had finished their share of the Sandora Lizard meat, there was hardly any skeleton remaining.

To those who have been pampered by meat being served on a dish, they may find all this disturbing. The killing of an animal and eating directly from its corpse. Even if they thought this was wrong, they could not deny that the meat that they consumed before in their lives was once a living animal that has been killed by someone. There were a few ways to survive in this desert, and one of it was to become the apex predator above all these creatures, consuming their sustenance to replenish and strengthen oneself.

“Hm?” His eyes keenly took notice in the far distance towards the horizon. It was faint, but there was a vague glowing aura of blue in the far distance. He couldn’t make out the details, but he only knew of one creature that can emit such a colored light.

Miu, is that you? Ah… now that I think about it, Miu and Rebecca were quite close. 

His little sister gave the little kitten lots of pets and rubs in response to purrs and brushes of fur against her skin. Rebecca loved cute animals such as cats, and Miu loved to behave as a cat embody it as her identity.

That’s right. Miu will likely want to save Rebecca.

He looked up towards the sky, reflecting upon his past. For so long, it had just been him and him alone. He had to fight all by himself. No one offered him a helping hand before. He had always been the lone figure who protected his little sister.

But what if there was more than one protector?

Am I… not alone?

He had always been afraid of others helping him. The obstacles that had stood before him were not something an ordinary person can help. They were life and death. To help was to risk one’s own life. He didn’t want to risk the lives of anyone trying to help him, so he had always fought all by himself. When allying with anyone, he would try to keep his distance and avoid sentimental attachment for then their deaths wouldn’t hurt him as much. That used to be the case with Rebecca as well as Ara. He would keep his distance from them in fear of their deaths.

But ultimately, he had failed. He grew attached to them.

Love and hate were two sides of the same coin. The more he loved, the more he hated. The more he cared for Rebecca, the more wrathful he becomes when anyone comes to harm her. 

[Phantasma]

    "She... huh. She cooked the man's transport. Weren't we going to use that to get across the desert?" Gaunt blinked once or twice, having walked along with Kite back towards the smoldering animal. 

    Nose crinkling a bit from the flavor of blood and smelted organs the white haired male breathed a sigh of relief seeing that another fight wouldn't happen. Or perhaps it was exertion from the fully paralyzed man laid across his shoulders like a board supporting two pales full of water. Either way the duo rejoined the mystical cat, desert rocks were selected by Gaunt who kicked them into place near the gator carcass. The stones were pretty even and if they weren't the bug man took his arm and shifted it straight to bug claw crackling through sediment to have a cleanly sheared and flat surface. Dispensing of the limb once it was gone, sitting close enough to select meat without being in the gore splash zone. 

    Kite was more busied with sitting their guest near his rock stump. Having him in plain view so he could talk to him and tempt him with food. That or horrify him with what the group had done to what was presumably a comrade or prized animal. Incapable of wriggling a bit of a whimper came out of the properly dressed man forcing a bit of a glance from Kalisto. Quickly flickering his eyes back to the meal at hand he selected his blades, made quick work and selected a prime cut of the tender flesh nearest to the neck facing belly side. Blades cut into dermis, past connective tissue and into the Platysma muscle. On a cow this would be regarded as a chuck or brisket. 

    Holding the meat onto the edge of his two blades he reclined back and waved it around some letting the cool night air bathe it and whisk away excess heat. 

    "Guess not. Before I eat though... let me set some ground rules, and yes Miu. We kept him alive for reasons," Jamming some of the meat into his mouth by tilting his blade faceward Kite gulped down the meal leaving a bit more on his left knife-- a decent fist sized chunk. 

    "Mm... Alright... shl... Okay. You're not going to yell, run for help or try and get clever enough to kill us in our sleep. All of us can pretty much hear folks moving through walls, let alone when they're right next to us. You make a move... and I won't be able to think of enough reasons to keep you alive. I won't be the one killing you either, so don't immediately beg me to get out of this situation," Kite gobbled down the rest of the gator meat when he finished. 

    "How dare--" Solo began only to have a sizzling blade lightly tapped to his lips, the point curving towards the ground. 

    "None of that," Kite looked towards his extended left arm clicking his tongue. 

    "Tell us what you were running towards... Gaunt thinks you had a plan leading us off like that. And I'm inclined to consider that over you just getting scared. So spill it-- I'd hate to see what happens when Miu gets curious what a burnt mop tastes like," Kite referred to the split ended paralyzed man as a cleaning product which really got his face turning red. 

    Yet when the youth removed his weapon all the man could do was grumbled and mumbled spitting, foaming at the teeth from restrained verbal venom. He conceded eventually hanging his head and letting out a series of increasingly quieted grunts. 

    "My crew... they're going to come for me once I don't show back up. Hard to get an order across to them that they agree with. Frankly... I'm in more of a managerial position because I know how to talk, when to lay words on thick... Boy you're very similar to me," Giving a crinkled up smirk and fiery glare Kite launched his own head skyward and scoffed. 

    "That's your opinion. You're very wrong opinion. Continue."

    "Wh! ... Grr... If you DON'T release me you'll have a fight on your hands. And I promise you these people overshadow me greatly... if you want to live to regret crossing me you'll give me the antidote and send me on my way so I can at the least ignore you for now. Bigger fish, bigger things to do."

    "There's no antidote. What could possibly be more important than revenge on a handful of people taking you down? We're not even pirates and we managed that," Gaunt added, noisily slurping up some meet and cracking past the harsh skin with modified teeth. 

    "No... antidote...? Wh... Okay but you can at the least let me go! I'm after treasure-- in... in Erumalu! Yea... It's why I wanted to stop you! But now that I can see you're completely ignorant to that I know you're not my enemy. So I'll overlook this," He stammered, eyes scanning the group for a hint of sympathy. 

    His face read desperate and his rapid blinks indicated a sense of distress. 

    "I don't think I've ever met a captain that... was outclassed by his crew. Ordinarily the strong attract strong. If you're a captain I don't think we have much to fear, much less since we have you hostage. Erumalu though... huh... lots of things are starting to line up there," Depositing his blades in their sheath after cleaning them with a pocket square Kite took his chin and started to rub it going from that to running fingers through his hair in thought. 

    "You are after the treasure then--"

    "No. Completely different end goals. Though if we really wanted to we could probably take the treasure... a lot of us could use it," Gaunt leaned back on his rock belching up at the sky and groaning some, patting his distended stomach. 

    From ferocity of appetite the crocodile was nearly stripped at this point. Not quite bleached bones getting stained by the desert air and cold. 

    "Still! The crew won't view me as an important enough hostage... I was thrust into this position BY strong people! Don't cross them!"

    "If they get in our way, we're going to knock them aside. Whoever you are. The mission we're currently on requires a resolve much more tempered than simple greed."

---

    
    The voices were getting louder the more Miroku approached. Encapsulated in his makeshift blanket he crept along the sands pressed flat against the ground. His body shifting from man to snake form, scales silently gliding across the sand while his covering clung to his own body disguising him as just another part of the desert landscape. An assortment of blades clung all over his body in holsters and sheaths while his spartan, militant ensemble was basic. He looked like any native Alabastan... Only that his face was scarred and had features brutally carved or ripped off. A nose was missing, blister pocked skin raced around his neck and ears. His eyes were just holes viewing into the abyss. 

    It's why he often fought with a cowl over his face. Or why he kept himself partially shifted into a reptilian form. 

[BlacKitten]

Miu - 8

If there was on thing that the Bakeneko had learned during her time journeying this desert, it was that banana gator meat tasted like chicken. It was still a tad bit different. The meat had a springier texture than chicken with a light taste and scent that one would find from a fish. This might be related to the fact that this species spent time in the waters as well as land, but she wasn’t entirely sure. But she certainly loved it as the meant felt like it was somewhere in between chicken and fish. This was quite an intriguing and delicious experimentation.

As Kite was mostly busy playing with the weak little paralyzed human, Miu seized this opportunity to eat more meat as she wanted a bigger portion size than the other two eaters combined.

“This is pretty good for meat that isn’t seasoned,” Gaunt commented.

Towards the end of the lengthy conversation between Kite and Solo with a few remarks from Gaunt, the ravenous feline had devoured over eighty percent of the available meat along with some of the bones. She hoped they continue chitchatting as that meant less time for Kite to eat and more time for her to eat what he could have eaten.

“!” Miu perked her head up in alert, much like a tiger who feared someone who was going to interrupt and steal its meal.

“?” Gaunt took note of her wary gestures, “What’s wrong?”

“My kitty senses are tingling,” her ears twitched followed by the a few sniffs from her nostrils.

“You have good hearing, strange cat,” echoed a sinister voice from the shadows. “Intriguing. You appear to have consumed the rarest type of Devil Fruits of them all.”

The Bakeneko stared at the dark silhouette slowly approaching, all while casually chewing on meat and bones like someone eating popcorn at a theater, “Mhm.”
The paralyzed man clenched his teeth as his rolled his eyes towards the familiar sounding voice. “M-Miroku!”

“I should’ve known we couldn’t have relied on a weakling like yourself, Solo. But fear not, I will avenge your pitiful death by eliminating these three.”

“But… I’m not… dead yet…”

---

Pluto - 8

Half a football field away, a pair of leather heels pressed the ground.

“Tee-hee!” A pink-eyed blonde woman held back her snicker as she sets her eyes on the group of riffraff hanging around a Sandora Lizard’s corpse. The fact that such a monstrous creature was taken down didn’t surprise her in the least, but the manner it was brought down did intrigue her greatly. Not one. But five beautiful, masterful crevices that divided the corpse down the center. Had it not been for the contamination of hungry eaters chewing on the meat, it would have been a work of art in her eyes.

“Why hello there, gentlemen,” she greeted out loud. “Oh!” She then took notice of a minor inaccuracy in her statement. “And lady, too!” She corrected herself upon seeing long-haired brunette in the group of dirty, blood-stained, sweaty men.

All eyes shifted their attention towards the tall, voluptuous outsider.

“Huh?” The pirate captain rose a cranky brow, “Who the hell are you, woman?”

BANG!

“Arugh!” The man felt a sting of pain as he gazed down, finding a hole in her chest as if he had just been shot by a bullet.

“How dare you speak to me in such a disrespectful tone?” the woman yapped with just her pointer finger gesturing towards the man who spoke.

“C-Captain!” A few men panicked as they rushed to their leader’s aid. But it was too late. Shot in the heart, the man had passed away in less than a heartbeat. And to top if all off, they couldn’t find a single weapon that the woman carried on hand. She appeared completely unarmed, not a gun in sight – only cladded in a sleeveless leathery black attire.

“You will all address me as ‘mistress’ from now on,” she said firmly with soft eyes.

That was the Flying Shigan technique. This woman… is with the World Government. And, no ordinary one at that.

Nina shrunk back and slowly scooched behind Pluto, using him to hide herself. That blonde woman scared her. Without any warning or restraint, that crazy lady casually killed the captain way too easily.

“Now then! I have one question for you all. Any one of you can answer me. Who was it that slayed this beast?” she asked as she stepped close and closer towards the group. Hand clasped around her wrist behind her back as she shifted her glance side to side. “Was it you?” she leaned towards a burly man who carried a cutlass by his waist. “Nah. I doubt it.” She concluded upon seeing the man almost quivering in fear by the mere sight of her.

“Oh?” she made a sweeping glance. “What’s this? None of you are willing to speak up? Then, how about this? For every five seconds I don’t hear a response, I’ll randomly kill one of you. I’ll count to five. One!”

“Two!”

“Three!”

“Four!”

“Fi-!” She paused at the sight of one brave soul standing up in front of her. He stood only slightly shorter than her, but with just one detailed look, she knew she had found the one. That black hair. Those violet eyes. He was even kind of cute in one perspective, sort of like his little sister. But it wasn’t just his appearance. There wasn’t a shred of fear in his expression. He did not quiver and stood with a posture that only someone with confidence would have.

“It was me,” Pluto answered. “Do you have a problem with that?”