Attack from the Children of the Sea

[Shinku]

Rince sat atop the rooftop and studied the map Suzi had procured for him. The perky girl seemed to be around twelve years old, but considering how bad Rince was at judging people's age, she might actually be anything between ten and sixteen. Her wide grin and self-assured behavior was rather annoying to the cowardly teenage boy, but her map was useful, so he tolerated her.

„This place is mostly used by the whealty merchants that get frequented by the nobilities, so they too have some bodyguards although those guys are nowhere near the level of the fighers that work for the nobles.“
They were both leaning forward to get a closer look at the map and their heads bumped together. The girl just laughed and ran her hand through her shortly cropped brown hair, while Rince was feeling stupid and embarrassed. He still had trouble focusing on two things at the same time and the collision served as a painful reminder on how much he was struggling to keep awareness of his surroundings.
„Anywayyyyyyy.“ The girl went on and pointed at another section of the map. „This is where you want to bring the fight to. If you want to get the best fighters involved, it would be the ones living in this part of the town.“
„Soo...“ Rince took another good look of the map and studied the neighborhood that was visible from his roof. „That's basically over there, right?“
„Yep!“ Suzi gave him a hug simle. Annoying.

The teenager ignored her for now and started to make his way over the rooftops of Notice Town, taking mental notes as he did so. And of course the little girl followed him as if it was the most natural thing to do.
„Should you really be up here?“ he asked her, his voice implying that he thought she shouldn't.
„Of course! I am here to help you, where else would I be?“
„Um.. like... In the shelter with the other kids and the elders?“ He really didn't like the kid to be here.
That actually dampened her mood and she pulled a face. Her scowl was no where near as impressive as Rince's frown, but she was definitelly doing her best to show her displeasure at the notion that she should hide.
„I'm not a kid. I'm part of the GoV of the NIDF and I'm going to do my part for this fight!“
„The GoV of the NIDF?“ Now he was confused. He usually knew what words meant, but this sounded like gibberish.
„The Guards of Valor of the Notice Island Defend Force!“ The girl explained rather irritated, as if it was something he should have known.
„Ah.“ What else was there to say? „Does your mother know you've been walking on rooftops? It's quite dangerous up here. If you fall you might die... or worse, you'll break every bone in your body and stay crippled for the rest of your life.“ he tried.
„Me and the other kids of my group have been playing up here since we were little kids! I'm not going to fall!“ Her tone indicated that this was the end of that discussion and Rince could do nothing but sigh.
Kids always thought they were immortal, he just hoped she wouldn't have to find out the hard way that she was wrong.

After some consideration, Rince took out a pencil and marked various spots on the map.
„We need rope ladders connecting to the roof on this spots and some makeshift bridges to join the roofs here and here. If we want to place people up here, we need to make sure that they can move around.“
He pondered for another moment.
„Do you think we can make holes inside the houses that share a wall? Or at least between appartments that share a wall. We would be able to shift people a lot easier if they can go around secretly inside the building, rather than having to use the streets.“
Suzi shook her head, lifted her hands and let them drop again in a resigned gesture.
„Not a chance. Those guys love their property too much to damage it, even when it's going to save their lives.“ She told him.
„How about the houses near the shelter? They are not as... valuable as the ones here?“ They were planning to place the vulnerable people far away from the nobles where the fight was supposed to happen, but that meant the neighborhood in question was a little shabby.
„Well yes, but aren't those guys supposed to stay were they are, rather than to move around? What benefit would we gain from that? Like... if the pirates fight us there, there would only be more openings for them to attack us through.“
„If they find the people there, we'll have to evacuate, so having multiple exists will be handy. Not to mention that the pirates might be strong, but they lack manpower the way we do. They won't be able to cover all exists if we have enough of them. As long as we keep an eye on their movements, we can make sure they don't sneak into the shelter and take hostages.“
At least that's what he hoped. The best thing would be of course that the fishmen pirates wouldn't even get close to their shelter, but it was better to plan for all eventualities.

---

In a different part of the town, Bruce was conducting his observations. After the pirates left the shop, Bruce jumped on the counter and studied the burn that the poison had left there. Even now the fumes made his skin prickle and his hair stood up. The merchant's family gave him a puzzled look and Bruce waved at them reassuringly before hopping off and following the pirates in their shopping tour. Their numbers of helpers was growing and Bruce decided that he would be quite save amidst them, so he speed up then jumped up to a man who was carring a rather large bag with suplies and snuggled inside one of the pockets where he had a comfortable view and could listen in on what was going on without trouble.

[mildofthewild]

DING

DING

WHACK

Orous's brow beads with sweat as he sits alongside the other shipwrights, measuring his work along with the others to make sure he's still on track. He keeps his eyes averted as he looks down, careful not to look at anyone directly. It was odd to have his mouth exposed in such a way; to feel the cool breeze actually blowing through his teeth, not against a thin fabric. Every so often he'd reach up to breathe a bit, only to be met with nothing but the jagged and unkempt surface of his teeth.

He tries to stay focused on his work, but every so often he'd try and steal a glance around, just to see if anyone was watching him. He saw a few stares flit away, back to work, and he rumbles through a sigh and gets back to his own. Even if he felt truly exposed, the sound of wood being filed did calm him. The smell of the sea instead of the dankness of the alleys did soothe him. The song of hammers falling and saws grinding did lull him. 

He feels at home. For the first time in...well, in years.

"Say, Orous, this look right?"

Orous, jumping slightly, looks over to see one of the citizens holding out a carved peg for a barrier. His face was growing red, clearly not trying to look at Orous's mouth as he asks...that or he was doing his best to try and swallow his pride. Either way, it wasn't very convincing.

"Uh...yea, just...hang on. You're using some worn sandpaper, it's gonna be too rough. Here, use mine, I'll go get another one."

"...thanks," the man says, a little warmer as he takes Orous's sandpaper, setting to work on his piece. "Where'd you learn to do this, by the way? Never see you working on the boats."

"...Self-taught."

"No kiddin'. How'd you manage that?"

"My home had...lot of spare ships. Made it easy to practice...had a lot of references."

"You mean Fishman Island? Huh...you uh...did you know Tom?"

"No. He left before I was born. Not all Fishmen know each other."

"I know! I know that, I just...you're real good. We're uh...we're all happy to have you helpin' us."

"...Thanks." Orous says, the two giving a curt, manly nod as they set back to work. Of course, they both decide to just pretend the shivering in Orous's shoulders...

---

Bruce had found the perfect spot, nestled in the bosom of danger as he watches the pirates and their new captives carefully. They ransack emptied shops, they pillage supplies and food, and they make off with any spare loot they can manage. When Bruce wasn't listening to the worried, hushed whispers of the captives ("I sailed for adventure, not to just be slaves to a bunch of Fishmen..."), he was paying close attention to the Fishmen up front. 

"You mean what you said about taking this place over, Kurtz? It's nice and all, but what about heading out to the Grand Line?"

"Keep yer voice down, Emory. Of course not; you think I wanna deal with a bunch of Nobles? Their bodyguards start droppin, we might have the Navy coming down on us. We can handle one or two squads, but there ain't no way we're taking a whole battalion. Not with the shoddy pieces of crap ships they got around here. We get that gold, we'll have enough money to get us started on the Grand Line, and we'll even have some worthwhile soldiers to use as cannon fodder in a fire fight. Of course, what we do after the gold, well...we need to start showing the world we're serious. That's why I'm thinking we carve out the scum of Notice Island. We take these mooks and kill the rest; don't need anybody callin for a fleet to intercept us once we leave. Plus, I'm tired of seein' all their dribblin' faces. Stupid monkeys are makin' me pissed just seeing them cower."

"Huehuehue, maybe I can grab a snack before we leave then. Bein' around all these humans is making me hungry..."

"Stuff any of these in your gob and I'll pull you inside out! You'll get your fill once we get that treasure. Rose and Marlow said they'd have a clear path carved out in about an hour; that'll give us some time to make way through the jungle without having to worry about any of the tigers. They'll round back and we'll take off. First I wanna make one last stop. Apparently there's a museum with the actual map to the treasure; many people have tried to take it, only to get their asses walloped. So naturally, we'll just swipe it, see if it's any help." 

The fishmen and their crew move through the streets, a ghostly platoon that soon comes across an open district filled with all manner of attractions and monuments, one of which includes a natural museum. The group enters, likely to waste a bit of time looking for this supposed map...

[Shinku]

They had forgotten to agree on where to meet, once they finished their various tasks, but since Oro-chan had volunteered to help the shipwrights with some blueprints Rince knew where to look for him. As he had checked out the shipyard earlier in search of a job, he had no problem finding it this time around. The thing that had eaten up most of his time had not been the search for the place, but his cautious way of moving through the streets. So far he was lucky enough to escape a run-in with the pirates, also partly because of Suzi and her friends who called themselves Guards of Valor, who were keeping their eyes open at various intersections and waved everyone through when the coast was clear. That might be something that others appreciated but from Rince the kids only ever got a disaproving frown for their work.

The teenager squated down in front of Oro-chan and examined the work the fishman was doing. That brought back memories of how he had done so earlier today and how harshly the man had responded to his request. Just thinking about it darkened his mind, but Rince shook it of and focused on the task at hand.

„How far along are we? Do you think we can be ready in time?“ he asked nervously. Then after a little hesitation, he brought up the subject that he would have rather forgotten about.
„We did sort of plan to take down the other two pirates first before their friends join them.“ It was hard to get the words out because somehow he had a lump in his throat. Just thinking about the fight made him feel faint.
„Well... err... I don't think we have much longer.“ As a child he had been a stutterer and although it was better now, whenever he was nervous he kind of needed to pay extra attention to his words and pronounciations.
„If we want to do that, we better go and do that now... The other pirates won't stay in the town for much longer I think. And once they join up with the others, it's going to be harder to separate them.“
He let that sink in.
„Unless we changed that part of the plan?“ It sounded almost hopefully. Not like it would make the fight easier if they had to take all of them at once, but it did feel like more work when you thought that you had to fight twice, rather than just once. Not to mention that there was the part about going into the jungle, although the pirates have probably cleared the path from the tigers already.

[mildofthewild]

"Yea, I think we'll have plenty of time," Orous says, looking up at all of the people hard at work. Several groups were returning from scouting out supplies, with others returning with new recruits to help stave off the pirate threat. When he woke up this morning, he never expected to be put in impromptu charge of this town. He halfway expected nobody cared deeply for what he had to say...

"We just gotta find a way to put them up while En Kurtz and his men are distracted. We can probably regulate a few people to take pot shots at them; the best thing is Rose and Marlow are on their own in the jungle. They're the main ones that could combat at long range; even Emory would have trouble slicing at rooftops, though to be fair I haven't seen her since I was a kid...

But that points us to the other problem. And I think it's high time we took care of it, you're right." Orous says, standing up to his full height as he looks at the entrance to the jungle, his tired eyes lighting up a bit in trepidation. Did he really think he could fight them? He had to...

"Rose and Marlow are the weaker of the bunch...I think. And they're in uncharted territory; most likely they've lost a number of people to tigers already, but they'll have killed a number of them as well. And since we're locals, we know those woods. We'll have an advantage, which is good since we'll need all the help we can get. If it's the two of us and we take a number of people, we can beat em down while the others corral En Kurtz and the rest." Despite the fear wracking his body, Orous couldn't help but feel something else causing shivers down his spine. What was it...anticipation...

"You've been working with them. Who do you think we should bring? You up for this, as well? I wouldn't wanna force you to fight. It's not your fight, after all, like you said." Orous wants to choose his words carefully; he didn't want to make Rince feel unwelcome, but at the same time, didn't want to rope him into a fight that was undoubtedly his and Notice's to face. These weren't his tormentors, after all...

[Shinku]

„I'm not a local.“ Rince thought gloomily, but didn't correct the not-a-craftsman-just-a-bartender. Oro-chan would be able to lead him, but if they happened to be separated, there was a good chance that he would get lost. Now he started to wish that he still had Bruce with him. The little animal had a good sense of direction and would have been able to use his nose to find the pirates or Oro-chan or whoever he wanted to find. But now Rince would have to do without his help.
„At least I won't have to worry about him picking a fight with the tigers.“ It was a small comfort, since Rince knew that the haggis was not that likely to do so. Not while there were bigger fish to fight.

Rince also wished the fishman would not make so many nice statements like „they're the weaker of the bunch“ only to have them followed by a depressing „I think“. The teenager didn't like to fight at all and while he liked to keep a realistic look at his chances, he was also rather eager to accept whatever encouragement would come his way. Some hope to cling to was really really needed, even if it was a false one, as long as it got him moving in the right direction, rather than running off to hide himself...
„Shut up brain.“ he told himself. „Oro-chan knows the pirates, if he says they're weaker, then they should be.“ Choosing to ignore the uncertainty seemed best for now. Just as ignoring that „weaker“ wasn't the same as „weak“, but who cares about that when you have no other chance than to fight?

Rince closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh, collecting himself for a moment, before he raised his head again and looked straight at Orous face, trying to catch the other man's eyes.

„It's not like those @%&*ç/!+& pirates are going to care if someone is from Notice or just a visitor. And since that idiot Inari decided to stay, I don't have any means of leaving the Island, so although I hate fighting, it's probably my best chance to stay alive.“

As to the question on who to take with them...
Rince had no idea. Working with people for only a short time didn't quite make him a specialist on who was qualified to go with them. If anything, Oro-chan was probably better at making that judgment call. Rince was about to say so, when a familiar voice called out to him.

„Who are you calling stupid?“ It was a mocking tone that suggested that Rince was the stupid one for making that statement.
Rince turned around to see Inari and a few of his hired mercenaries approach the shipyard. The merchant was smiling brightly,
„What do you want?“ Rince grumbled. He had no patience to deal with Inari's mind games right now.
„You're in luck. That lady you brought over to make a deal with me is quite the haggler. We decided on a satisfactory deal for both of us, which doesn't just includes weapons but also the help of my and some of my crew during the fight.“
Well, that was definitely good news. The pink-haired teenager was not that familiar with most of the crew, but he knew that Inari would hire only competent people. They should be able to provide some decent help.
„We'll take care of the small fries for you, so you can fight the baddies without distraction.“
Of course they would... It would have been too good to be true if the merchant had decided to just take over the hard work. The guy was not someone who'd do more than he was paid to and he was good at calculating his risk as well.

„Don't forget about us, we're here as well!“
Now this person was a lot less welcome. Rince frown hardened as he turned to Suzi, who was standing there with her friends, a ragtag band of snotty-nosed brats.
„You guys stay right here, there's no way we're taking you with us to the jungle.“ Rince growled at them.
Completely unimpressed by that, Suzi crossed her arms and tried to stare him down.

„ ... “

„ ... “

„You guys are still needed here, what about the tasks I gave you?“ There was no way he was taking a bunch of kids with him. At worst they would only get in the way, at best they would be killed swiftly and he wouldn't have to worry about them.

„We already finished that, so we're free to help you fight.“

„ ... “

„ ... “

„In that case you can help the shipwrights here with their work. Some of them have decided to join us, so they remaining ones will need extra hands to finish their work.“

He held up a hand as Suzi wanted to complain again.

„You're not coming and that's FINAL!“

The girl shut up, seeming really angry and sulkish as she chewed her lip, but she didn't say anything else, though she looked as if she was about to explode.

„Then, shall we go?“

[mildofthewild]

Orous found himself looking back and forth as Rince argues with Suzi, feeling softly for the girl. He wanted to say something, but in the end, the kid knew what was best. They had to limit as much direct contact as possible...

"Yea, let's go. I'll lead," Orous says, nodding at those coming as they head off for the entrance to the woods themselves. The streets were deserted, which makes the trek much easier than it normally would have been. Once they arrive, Orous hesitates at the mouth to the forest, a great, gaping chasm with untold menace emanating from within. He had never been scared of the tigers; he was far bigger and tougher than they were. But now? Well, now there was something more than just tigers...something more than just enemies...

"Come on. Stay close; there might be a few tigers still around, and we wanna watch...our...backs..." Orous's words trail off as he sees a number of bloody spots right at the entrance, a trail of droplets leading deeper into the dark woods before eventually becoming a thick, red trail. Blood...Orous figures they'll be seeing a lot of it...

---

WHIP!

CRACK!

"Tch, well ain't this o' fine mess a'things? Who knew the tigers be this ornery? An' here I figered we'd 'ave ourselves a merry crew of monkeys!"

"Yea, yea. Now they're all, uh...um....tiger chum! Using blood to draw them out so we can whittle em wasn't too smart, I guess. Now they're all as empty as uh...paint tubes, hehehehehehehehe."

"Well, we at least be doin' our job. Thinnin' out the area; 'sides, monkeys sprout and grow like'n lice on a dog. Kurtz'll have more o'em for us. Kiiiiiiiigigigigigigigigi!"

Both Rose and Kurtz survey their recent handiwork, chuckling softly as if sharing a good joke as they're surrounded by the withered bodies of their human crew, along with the bleeding bodies of the Notice Island tigers. The trampled leaves and worn pathway gave way to a view of a practical ocean of death, one begotten by the two "weaker" members of En Kurtz's crew....

[Shinku]

Laughter was building up inside his throat as he examined the blood splatter on the ground. It wasn't as visible on the brown soil, but the red stood out brightly against the green vegetation.
„Looks like I won't need Bruce to find them.“
It was a rational thought, intended to keep the horror at bay. They hadn't yet gone into the forest and there was already a trail of blood. Was it normal for the tigers to come so close to the edge of the forest? Or had the animals been attracted to the fishy smell of the pirates? Now that he thought about it, Oro-chan didn't seem to have much of a smell that set him apart from the humans, but then again, tigers might have better noses than his.
As if in shock, Rince lifted a hand and covered his mouth, pressing it down hard to suppress the rising laughter. It wasn't funny, far from it, but somehow laughing was his way to deal with the stress and fear. But it would seem really out of place and would probably be misunderstood by the others, so he tried his best to calm himself.

A sweating hand on the hilt of his wooden sword, Rince followed Oro-chan into the jungle, trying to make as little noise as possible. His knuckles were white and his jaw was pressed together, his whole body felt tense and ready to jump at the first sign of danger.

It didn't take long for them to encounter the first body and Rince had to suppress a nauseous feeling. The pink-haired boy turned his head away, not wanting to look at the dead man. The best was to just press on, right?
Right... of course it wasn't.
Rince forced himself to step closer to the body and look at it properly.
The man looked middle-aged, had a beard and hands that spoke of hard work.
He also didn't look as if he had been attacked by a tiger.
„Don't those wounds look too... clear-cut to have been done by a tiger?“ he asked Oro-chan. Maybe the tigers here were different, but somehow he had been expecting the body to be more... mangled.

Noticing that he had been staring at the body for quite a while now, Rince tore himself away from it. Strange how he had become so transfixed by the dead man after not wanting to look at it first.
„Whatever, lets go.“
They still had two fishman pirates to take care of.

A hushed silence had descended over the assembled fighters as they made their way forward through the leavy path. Blood became more common and now there were also some dead tigers, side by side with dead humans. It was a sorry sight, but deep inside, Rince was quite happy that he didn't have to fight the tigers himself.

Laughter sounded somewhere in front of them. It was still some way off, but the nasty sound was sharp and high and those carried farther. A shivering went down his spine and Rince exchanged a look with Orous.
That was them, no doubt.
And the boy didn't feel ready at all.
There was no plan.. not really.
There was a plan for the other three, but not for those two. Nothing aside of tackling them while they were separated from their friends.
Seriously, what was he thinking, trying to take on a duo of fishmen like this?!
But it was too late to turn back. It was do or die.

[mildofthewild]

"Yeah, they do," Orous says, examining the body, noting the clear slash across its neck. He mumbles as he tries to see any other cuts or even any bite marks. This was done by the Fishmen no doubt. Rose, if he had to guess.

"Seems like they wanted to try and weed out as many tigers as possible. For that, they had to get the smell of blood in the air. Their prisoners were just the right pick...

Orous lifts his own head as he looks far off. The laughter...piercing, mocking...and haunting, as he remembers how much he heard it in his youth. Rince wasn't the only one afraid. Orous was doing his best to keep from shivering, but it was proving a fool's effort as he tried to console himself. He didn't want Rince to feel discouraged, after all...

"Marlow is the biggest threat," Orous says in a hushed whisper, motioning for Rince to follow him into the brush so they could sneak up on them. "His range is longer than Rose. If we can take him out, Rose won't have much to work with. He might even try to flee. So that means we'll have to try and make this quick so we can cut him off; otherwise, he'll ruin our whole plan." Orous says all of this as his teeth chatter, thinking about how exactly they might try and pull that off. He didn't even know what Rince was capable of...or himself, for that matter. He never really learned Fishmen Karate; he had been laughed at by his fellow trainees and his brother made sure that he couldn't even try once he started his studies in shipwrighting. Still, it was some semblance of strategy...

Of course, before he could say much else, a sharp CRACK echoed in the brush around them, leaves falling onto their shoulders as Orous stops dead in his tracks. 

"Who's out there?! You ti...uh...Ligers?"

"Tigers, ya dolt, tigers! An' I never 'eard o' any tigers that can whisper! Come on out, and we promise to only flay ya a little bit, KIIIIIIIgigigigi!" Orous could feel his blood freezing over like ice. They should've been more careful....still, he figured they'd have to act quickly then. Marlow had range, but if you got close enough, he was near helpless. He remembered as a child getting enraged once and actually managing to bite him after bearing through some whips. That was before his brother beat him to a bloody pulp, but it was an opening at least. 

"I'm gonna make a break for Marlow; you'll need to keep Rose busy. He's fast, but he likes to play cut n' run. If you keep him on the defensive, we have a shot. It's now or never, Kyou. I trust you if you trust me.

BREAK!" Orous shouts, bustling through the brush before immediately having a whip lash across his face. He slows for a moment before pushing through the pain, charging forward with his mouth gaping open. 

"Orous? You're alive? Weird. Well, guess that makes this sorta interestin'. We can just kill you and then tell Kurtz lat-woah!" Marlow is cut off as he narrowly dodges a large bite from Orous, dashing back and sending a few warning CRACKS from his tail. "You...you're chargin' me? You think you can charge me?! I'll whip the skin from ya, you miserable excuse of a fishman!" Marlow says, enraged as he starts sending whip after slash at Orous, bleeding cuts starting to appear on him as he gets closer. All the while, Rose waits, looking for a moment to strike, unaware that Kyou was lying in wait. 

"Yer a lot tougher than I remember, Orous; 'figer I'll have to make a jab a' ya, right in the gills..."

[Shinku]

Rince froze over when the giggling voices called them out. He quickly got over it though and pulled out his sword. It was a wooden one and would not be able to cut, but at least it would give him some reach and leverage to build power on.
So much for sneaking up on the pirates and getting in a sneaky surprise attack. There was also no time to surround them either, which was the last idea that had gone through the boy's mind before they were interrupted.

The boy opened his mouth to say something to Orous, maybe an assurance that he would trust and follow, maybe a question about who was Rosè and who was Marlow again, but the craftsman shot away way too fast and didn't give him the option.

„Stay back and wait for the right moment to fire your weapons.“ He told Inari and the others, lowering his voice even more than before to not be overheard again. Inari gave him a smile and a thumbs up, as well as gestured in a way that indicated that he would go around and try to surround them. The shipwrights just nodded and Rince was not sure if they were determinated or simply afraid.
„Just don't shoot me.“ Rince asked of them, before turning to the fight.
At least he now knew who Rosè was, assuming Oro-chan was true to his word and had attacked Marlow. And lucky for him the fishman was on the smaller end of the spectrum as Oro-chan had attacked the burly one, but considering that Rince was only 5'9'', small was rather relative. But at least the fishman would not tower over him so much.

„Not yet. Not quite yet.“ Rince told himself as he watched the red fishman carefully. In his mind he went over what Oro-chan had told him about his opponent. Fast... that's what he remembered, and hard to hit because his eyes enabled him a good all around view. So even though the pirate was watching his nakama fight, he would probably still spot him once he moved. At least the guy had not yet joined the fight and attacked Orous himself, but the way he was watching the crafty barman, he was probably considering it.
„Are they not aware that there are more of us?“ Rince wondered. „They should know, since people usually don't whisper all by themselves.“
Do they hate him that much that they forget everything else, or why are they both so focused on Oro-chan? But for whatever reason, the fishman pirate's attention was diverted, and the pinkhead was going to make the most out of it.

„Now!“
The pirate had started to move and Rince jumped forward, putting all his strength into his feet to get as much speed as possible. Even if the pirate spotted him fast, Rince was counting on the probability that the pirate would have a harder time to change his direction now that his momentum was pulling him forward.
Shots sounded almost at the same time as he left his cover and distracted the red fishman further.
„Nice timing.“ he thought as he brought down his bokken on the fishman as hard as he could.

The red perch fishman managed to stop him though, lifting his knife to block the hit. Having his attacked blocked, Rince's first reaction was to jump back and get some distance from his opponent, but he remembered in time that Orous had told him that both Marlow and Rosè were capable of long range attacks- though the craftsman had not specified exactly how. Staying close was probably better.
The pirate put pressure on his knife and repulsed Rince's sword quite easily. The boy ducked low and rolled over to the side, letting his momentum carry him to his feet again and attacked again with a series of sword strikes. This time he didn't try to match the fishman's strength, that would have been futile, but he hoped his strikes were fast enough to keep the enemy occupied.
That would give the hidden fighters time to shot at the man, and who knew, maybe he would even get a hit in if he really tried.

[mildofthewild]

"Eh?! What the-" Rose manages to screech before being forced into a sword fight with Rince, the latter pressing into the Fishman and forcing him to go on the defensive, something he wasn't good for. While his strength was greater than Rince's, it wasn't his reliance; the mere fact the boy kept him on the defensive was enough to make him struggle. For each step back he took, Rince manages to close the gap, infuriating the Red Perch Fishman. 

Dammit! This lil monkey knows my style; he's nae lettin' up! I've gotta turn this mess around...

Rose continues blocking with his knife, backing up against a tree, acting as if he were cornered. His eyes widened, the fishman blocks a number of Rince's blows, keeping up the charade, until his little mouth opens into an insidious grin, ducking quickly so that Rince's sword would hit the tree trunk. Grabbing the knife in his mouth, Rose dives for the boy's legs in an effort to knock him off balance. 

Meanwhile, Orous was being beaten down by Marlow, the Thresher Shark Fishman's tail proving a worthy obstacle to overcome, notable by the welts and cuts all over the former's body. 

"You think you're so tough?! Let's see how tough you are without any skin! Look alive, meat, hehehehehehehe!" Marlow throws his tail out again, lashing an incredibly nasty laceration across Orous's chest, his body practically doused in the red of his own blood. Marlow's ears pricks as he turns his head, catching sight of Rose being pinned against a tree. "Hey! You lil...you lil...aaaaaaaagh, forget it! I'll just whip that nose off your face!" Marlow rears his body back, aiming at Rince. This was just the window Orous needed. 

Quickly diving in the way, Orous manages to catch Marlow's tail around his wrist, the sharp sting of its CRACK causing him to grimace, but he stands firm. Quickly, Orous wraps his tail around his arm, Marlow's eyes widening in shock as he's suddenly yanked towards the, admittedly, burly Fishman. Was Orous really this big?

"W-wait, wait, how did-" Marlow says, his mind swimming in confusion before meeting Orous's fist. Marlow's body goes into shock as he feels his skull cracking, and he goes limp upon being slammed into the hard earth. He was in a daze, but Orous wasn't finished. 

Tightening Marlow around his arm, he spins the fishman once, twice, thrice, before the momentum picks him up in the air. Marlow just starts to come to...right as he sees himself swinging right for a tree trunk. 

SLAM! His body jerks before slumping against the tree, the Fishman slowly pulling himself up to catch a breath. "Ghk...Gggeee....You...you sonuva..." Marlow tries to say, only for the words to be caught in his throat. Orous, shaky from losing so much blood, falls on his butt for a breather, before looking over at Rose and Rince. Crap...

"Hey, don't let him get distance! Shoot him!" Orous says, calling out to the support in the bushes, which probably wasn't the best idea...

[Shinku]

There was no fear in his mind, now that he was fighting. He was focused on the fight and fear didn't have time to catch up with the action. Should there be a lull in their fight, it might flare up again, it wasn't gone, not really, just pushed down and waiting for its time to rise again. But right now it was controlled.

The sword movements got faster and faster and although the fishman pirate managed to block them all, Rince was able to push him back. Slowly, step by step, the perch fishman retreated until he was with his back against a tree. It was one of the bigger trees, with a diameter of at least one and a half meters, with big branches forming a solid treetop above their heads and a heavy curtain of creeping plants. There was no easy way to get around that tree, so the fishman was very much pinned down against the wood as the teenager did his best to keep him from fleeing.

„I can do this.“ Rince thought, almost surprised. His ability to keep the upper hand against a fishman no less, let him draw new hope and with it he gained new strength as well.
His footing became more stable and he held his shoulders more relaxed, letting his whole body move more naturally than before.
That didn't make him stronger as such, but he could bring out more force with the same move, while lowering the stamina he needed to make motion as they were now more precise and minimalistic.
In short, he was now self-assured enough to actually use the skills he learned before, rather than just blindly hitting his opponent by instinct.

Although the red perch fishman required his full attention, Rince could not help but to keep half an ear open, listening for Orous, who had yet said nothing, even though his opponent seemed rather chatty. What the fight going well or not for the craftsman? Having his back to the others, Rince couldn't tell at all, though judging by the various trashing sounds it was an intense fight on their side as well.

Too distracted.
When he caught the grin on the pirate's face, it was already too late.
The fishman dodged his swing, letting the sword clatter uselessly against the tree instead of the fishman's scull.
Anticipating the enemy's next move, Rince jumped up, but the ugly red guy was way too close for him to dodge the tackle in time. The perch fishman caught one of his legs and Rince felt himself toppling over forward. With a huge BANG his head collided with the tree trunk letting the boy see stars for a moment. His flailing hands however managed to catch on to some of the climbing plants that hung around the tree and he could prevent himself from falling over completely.
His opponent however had used that short time to gain some precious distance from the pink-haired teenager.

„Hey, don't let him get distance! Shoot him!“ Orous called out.

The mercenaries knew their job and stayed calm, but the shipwrights who had come freaked out and started shooting, even though Rince was still in their line of fire, which was the main reason none of them had tried to shoot yet.
One of them must have managed to hit the fishman, because the guy yelped in pain, but one of the bullets also grazed Rince, leaving a dark red trail of blood on the boy's side. Luckily it was just a grazing shot that hit him around the high of the eight or ninth rib.
Wincing, Rince pressed a hand against the wound, checking how bad it was.
The rib didn't seem broken, so he figured that he wasn't that badly hurt. Especially compared to Oro-chan, who looked alot worse, either unable to stand or currently just too weakened to as he seemed to have lost quite a bit of blood. But at least his opponent seemed to be down as well.

Now it was up to Rince to take down his enemy as well.
Ignoring the pain in his side, he ran forward, trying to close the distance between himself and Rose again. The boy was a fast runner, but the fishman had gained quite a headstart and the gunmen seemed discouraged by their earlier faild attempt.
„Damm, what is Inari doing?!“ Rince wondered, as he ran after the pirate.

[mildofthewild]

Haha! Idiots! Stupid monkeys! You can't outsmart me! Yer plannin' somethin', that much I know! I'll find En Kurtz, and then we'll-

Rose's monologue was cut off as a stray bullet manages to punch a hole in his leg, the Fishman yelping and twisting about mid-run before crashing headfirst into another tree. The Fishman grumbles as they stand, a searing pain in his leg as he looks back at the others. Not only was he in dire straits, but it looks like Orous had managed to bring Marlow down for the count! At least those blundering chimps shot one of their own, Rose thinks as he massages the spot on his leg. At this rate, there would be no way he can flee; even with his speed, a limp slows one down considerably. He'd have to fight them off...

"Pant...pant...Yer...yer a tenacious one, laddie...Guess I don't gotta choice. Coursin', might not be in yer best interest to fight me. I'm a real thorn..."

Rose pulls out two knives from a pair of sheaths on his waist, bringing them to bear along with the one in his mouth, both large eyes staring at Kyou. That sword seemed dull; it wouldn't cut 'im, which means he could use that...

Rose quickly repositions himself, placing himself between Kyou and the bushes where the bullets came from. Orous was an idiot; now he knows to keep Kyou in as much danger as possible by using him as a sort of shield. 

Holding his daggers in a reverse grip, Rose stays hunkered close to the ground, keeping an eye on Kyou, before throwing one dagger and crawling forward. His speed was reduced, but if he could bide through the pain, he could do some work. "C'mere laddie, I'll whittle that toothpick sticker of yours into a splinter...and then, I'll whittle your windpipe to a bloody mess o' ribbons...."

[Shinku]

There might not have been a need to rush so much as his opponent chose to stay put rather than to run away. Still the possibility that the enemy was only stalling for time and would use the first chance possible to run away and warn his Captain was still there.
Indeed, the red perch fishman was hunkering down, either because of his shot wound or more likely because the guy was trying to get a running start to escape their grasp. Rince had to prevent that at all costs!

Noticing the daggers the fishman pirate had drawn, the teenager slightly reduced his speed but didn't stop moving forward. Instead, he put his arms in front of his body to protect himself as he closed in on the fishman.
It wasn't even hard to block the knife, the stupid pirate even told him that he would target his windpipe. As the dagger left the fishman's hand, Rince pulled his arm up to cover his throat. He could have tried to deflect the dagger with his sword, but he wasn't as certain about how well it would go and a knife in his forearm was still better than one in his throat.
What did surprise him though was that the fishman started to move directly at him.
Rince wanted to take a swing at the man, but as long as the pirate was holding those two other daggers, he was at risk if he exposed too much of his body. And once in mid attack, it would be harder to dodge the knifes as well.

Rince braced himself, but someone else had also taken action. There were multiple shots to be heard and this time they hit the target on the mark. One shot hitting the hand that held a knife, another drilling itself into the other leg, further hindering the pirate's movements.
The pirate had acted cleverly when he had positioned himself between the shooters and Rince, but unfortunately for him those weren't the only gunmen out there. Instead of grouping all together, Inari had divided them into three separate groups. If the shooters Rose had notice were placed at twelve o'clock, the other shooters were hiding at three o'clock and ten o'clock respectively, therefore being in the best position to shot without getting anyone of their own hurt.
Seeing his chance, Rince leveled his bokken and instead of a swing he jabbed the tip of the wooden sword into the red perch's face, right between the eyes.
The pirate went crossed-eyes and fainted, while Rince toppled over from exhaustion. He wasn't actually that badly tired, but with the threat gone, the tension that had kept him up and running, was all gone and his body felt like rubber.

Inari came out of his hiding place in the bushes and helped him up, while the others secured the two fishmen pirates. A little dizzy, Rince looked around and his eyes fell on Orous.
„Oro-chan! Gosh that looks bad!“ he exclaimed, using the nickname he usually used in his head instead of the crafter's full name.
„Bandages! We need bandages! Does anyone of you actually have experience with first aid?“
It was a gross oversight that he hadn't thought to bring someone with medical knowledge with them.
Rince did have his own first aid set in his bag, but it was not at all enough to cover Oro-chan's wounds.
„We need to get back and get him treated.“ Just looking at all that blood made him sick.
„Don't worry, we have you covered.“
Suzi and two of her friends appeared from behind a tree and she gave him a big grin, while the other two shuffled their feet.
„Suzi! What are you doing here! I thought I told you to stay put!“ But of course the stupid girl hadn't.
„You'd better be grateful we haven't. I've got more than enough bandages for Orous and for you.“
„For me?“ Rince looked down on his arm where the knife was still stuck and then to his side. „Oh, right.“
He shot her another frown to show his disapproval, then went over to Oro-chan and held out a hand to help him stand.
„Do you think you'll be all right?“ He asked, even though the fishman didn't look all right at all. Rince doubted that the guy would be able to fight anymore and yet they still had another set of pirates to take down. How the hell were they supposed to do so? Rince was glad enough they managed to bring down the two weaker members, but how the fight against the strong ones would go... he'd rather not imagine at all.

[mildofthewild]

Orous was breathing heavily, panting as he patted at the bleeding sores all along his body, looking as the others started to come out of the woodwork. All things considered, that was rather easy...although, he figures the other pirates will probably put up a way worse fight. But still, as far as the plan goes...

"Ouch," he whispers, grumbling as he feels a breeze light on his wounds. He notices Suzi and the rest emerging from the woods, complete with bandages for the noble that had risked their lives...give or take. Orous takes Kyou's offered hand, pulling himself up and gladly accepting a roll of bandages as he starts wrapping them along his chest.

"Yea, I'll be fine. I've taken enough of these to just ngh...breeze through em." Orous sucks in his breath sharply, looking about at the others gathered around. He had to agree with Rince; Suzi and the others looked far too young to be dealing with this. It was only going to get harder...

"What about you? Sorry, I should've warned you more about Rose. He's slippery...but, you kept him from running away. Great job, Kyou." Orous says, smiling briefly as he walks over to him. He stares at the unconscious body, his eyes boring into the back of his head, noting how...easy it would be to just...just...

His shoulders slump as he breathes a sigh, scooping Rose up and bringing him next to Marlow, tying both up with the latter's tail. They'd be good bargaining chips if need be...besides, he didnt think he had it in him to do...that.

"You need any help with that?" He adds on, glancing at the wound Rose inflicted. It didnt look like the perch Fishman did too much damage, but he managed a lick, and a nasty one at that. At least he wasn't using any poison.

"What do you want to do about the kids? I'd rather not see them get caught up in this; these are pirates after all we're dealing with."

[Shinku]

Maybe holding out a hand for Oro-chan like that was not such a great idea. The teenager almost felt over as the bigger man grabbed his hand to pull himself up, but somehow Rince managed to keep his footing.
What a big help he was... like always. It felt like he was more a liability than actual help. The failure to think about the basic necessities like bandages and proper first aid kits was showing that clearly. All his planning, trying to think of everything and account for the possibilities and the ones who thought about bringing dressing material was a bunch of kids who shouldn't be here at all. It was frustrating!
Even Oro-chan must have realised how misplaced his trust in the boy was by now. The fishman crafter was trying to put on a brave face and brush off his injuries as inconsequental, but Rince could see how much they must hurt. Just looking at the fishman's body made Rince flinch and he had to look away. It made him feel way too guilty, because he couldn't shake off the feeling that if he had done better, the other guy would not have gone hurt as much.
And then Orous did the most hurtful thing yet by telling him what a „Great job“ he'd done, as if Rince was a little kid who needed encouragement after botching up his homework. The shame was stinging in his eyes, but instead he just bit his lips and said nothing, keeping his feelings to himself.

Silently he watched as Orous tied the two fishmen together. The man seemed very sunken in his thoughts, probably thinking about the fight that was yet to come. Probably a good idea. As much as he regretted how this fight turned out, it was better to just let it go and focus on the next task ahead. He was almost going to sink into deep thoughts himself, when Oro-chan wanted to know if he was fine.
„Yes, no problem. I'm used to dress my own wounds. But thanks.“ he answered gloomly.
As for the more important question of what they should do with the kids...
Whatever his plans for them were, the kids were not likely to listen to him as they had already shown.
„Kids aside, what are you guys planning to do with those two guys?“ Inari wanted to know, pointing at the knocked out fishmen pirates.
„They're out for now, but what if they wake up and escape? They might join the fight again at the most unconvenient time. Shouldn't we deal with them now?“
Rince stared at his smiling friend, wondering if the merchant was serious and what exactly the man was implying. He hadn't really said anything about... offing them. And knowing Inari, that imprecise wording was very likely intentional. The sly merchant loved to tease people in order to get a reaction, even if it was a very inappropriate situation to do so.
„Deal with them? Like?“ Rince wanted to clarify.
„Oh well... lots of options there. If you don't want to just kill them, you could always break their legs so they won't be able to run.“
Ok... that sounded a lot more reasonable, though it still discomfited him to think about such drastic measurements.
„There's heavy steel cords in the shipyard.“ One of the shipwrights offered his imput. „We could tie them up with that. Even if they're strong, they would find it hard to break out of those bounds.“
Relieved to have been given a way out, Rince nodded then looked over to Orous to see if the man in charge was comfortable with that decission as well. The man had suffered a lot more under the hand of those pirates than everyone else and if he wanted to use more drastic measurements, Rince would understand him completely. He himself was pretty happy about making absolutely sure that his enemies wouldn't get up to attack him again. No one showed him any mercy so he didn't really felt like he had to show mercy himself.

„Well... lets go back? I don't think there's much to do here anymore.“
And with that he grabbed Suzi's collar and gave her one of his best intense stares.
„And you guys better stick close to us. The pirates might have killed a lot of tigers, but there might still be some around.“
As to Orous he whispered, as quietly as he could to prevent the kids from overhearing them. „We'd better tie up the kids as well and put them with the other refuges to hide, otherwise they might just ignore our instructions again and get hurt.“

The shipwrights picked up the fainted fishmen and Inari's mercenaries took the kids into their middle as they made their way back. Rince was nervously glancing forward, afraid that they had taken too much time and that the other pirates would arrive here any moment.
To take his mind of the fear he tried to focus on something else.
„Uhm... I don't think I asked you your names yet?“ he tried to start a conversation with the shipwrights.
„I'm Bruce, and this is Lee.“
That made Rince smile. He wondered how his companion would react if he knew that there was someone else here with the same name. Thinking about the haggis, Rince hoped the fluffy animal was doing all right. Had he made the wrong decision when he allowed him to go and spy on the pirates?