The struggle for coin

[odango]

Ruby #1

Rondure was truly a fascinating place. All the buildings were suspended in the air like trees. The bigger buildings seemed to grow even taller so the main city of Rondure reminded of a modern forest. It was strange watching people walk around the sphere like buildings to enter them from the bottom. She couldn't understand how comfortable it would be to live like that. For example, what if one house burned down and the inhabitants had to first scramble for special shoes before running outside to avoid death. It seemed absurd. The red haired woman figured some islands just weren't meant to be inhabited.

Slurrrrrrrp She took a long sip of a milkshake through a straw. The item had been procured at a stand on the way through the city. All the buildings were suspended but market stalls were still on the ground to help out the locals and the odd tourist.
'Even the plants are spherical. It's like this island is on ball shaped steroids... I'll never live here.' Ruby told herself while taking another questionable look at the cup she had received for her milkshake. It was a sphere and the straw looked like it consisted of tiny round links as well. It was still a good shake, however, - vanilla flavor - so she kept on sucking out the contents and walking down one of the main streets.
It had been an exciting couple of days already so the tan ginger couldn't wait to go win some money to spend at a local pub. While she had an odd liking to milk, she did enjoy ale as much as the next pirate. Drinking was probably one of the only ways Ruby became more sociable. Perhaps, that is what she missed but didn't want to realize.

Something caught her eye. A taller man in front of her that was part of a group of a couple peers. They were all men and quite odd looking. Some of them looked more green than the average person she'd been used to but that wasn't the main focus. Getting a bit more spring in her step, the curvy fighter eyed the obvious bag of coin the man was carrying. The metal coins jingled in the bag and played her favorite tune - money.
She pondered for a while if she should take it or not. Ruby had always been quicker than most people. And the men looked quite carefree so she decided it was best to try. Besides - she hadn't met a lot of people that could take her in a fight.
'Oi! Catch!' she spoke out to the man she had examined after walking up beside him and taking his pace. The young woman was dressed in a pair of combat boots, denim hot pants, a black tube top and a dark brown leather jacket that had the sleeves rolled up to over her elbows. She tossed the almost finished beverage container in the air and towards the man before snatching the bag from his hand and dashing away.

'Now I just need a pub.' she spoke out loud to herself while cutting corners of market stands and tangling into some crowds of people.

[pepsi]

Gideon Brandwen was rather fed up with the idea of having to stay on that island for another day. Everything was round, too round; in the eyes of a very practical man like Gideon most of the architecture didn't make a glimmer of sense. He walked down the streets, or what could be called street being it the flattest surface on which to travel, looking at the round houses and shaking his head.

The rest of his crew wasn't happy either, and shared his desire to either do something else, or go somewhere else. "Soooo... Are we there?" A tall, pale man with green horns and green facepaint asked. Gideon sighed, and replied: "No, Amber."

"And now?"

"No."

"And now?"

"No."

A couple seconds passed, and before Amber could ask again, another one from the group put a hand over his mouth. It looked like a plague doctor, complete with leather coat and top hat.

The group walked for a few meters, when suddenly Amber's attention was called by someone. "Yes?" He managed to say, before the spherical cup slammed into his face. The plague doctor noticed Amber's money bag went missing, as well as the quick red scoundrel bolting away from the group. "Gideon," he called, "they got his coins."

Gideon tapped on a fourth person's shoulder, and sighed again. "Sometimes I wonder why I even bother with you." The painted guy smiled back at him, and went: "... Because you love me?"

Gideon didn't reply, but he wished he could roast him right then and there. The fourth person, an agile black cat Mink quarterblood, got on all fours and sniffed the spherical cup.

"This is... Milk? And vanilla?" The Mink said, licking his lips at the mere thought of milk.

"Can you track the scent, Akiko?" Gideon asked, but his second-in-command was already on his way.

Ruby had left a very vivid trail for the enhanced senses of a Mink, and it wasn't difficult for Akiko to track her down. A few minutes passed with him catching up as Ruby slowed down...

He descended from an oddly shaped house, dropping in front of the girl in the middle of the street. His fangs shone bright over his dark skin and black, long and messy hair.

"This money isn't yours, Milky Girl."

Akiko licked his lips again, rising up his clawed hands.

[odango]

Ruby #2

The pirate lady had slowed her pace and once again took in all the tiny shops around her. However, the girl wasn’t under the illusion anyone would just let her do what she wanted and she didn’t know who exactly she had robbed just now so the chance of someone coming after her was quite real.
’Maybe I did it for the thrill?’ she asked herself as she gradually slowed her pace even more. Her dark brown eyes pierced the space in front of her and the woman was deep in thought for just a moment until someone’s voice snapped her back to reality.
’Soles! Get your magnet soles here! Want to visit a friend in Rondure? Well, no one can jump that high and ladders take effort so come one come all – get your magnetic soles, add them to your shoes and walk around like a local!’

Ruby lifted a brow but looked down at the bag of her newly acquired beri and a smirk played across her lips. ’Well…’ she spoke aloud, ’When in Rondure…’ and made her way to the stand.

After fastening the soles to the bottom of her combat boots, the girl went on her way. The couple of minutes she had stopped probably cost her some distance between the pack of people she robbed so it was on her mind to make way quickly to a further corner of the town and find a cozy pub. She had barely made two blocks when a figure landed straight in front of her. A feline-like man that was now towering over her now stood in her path. The man’s features were something of wonder and she took a few seconds to take in his appearance. The woman hadn’t met a mink before – let alone a quarter one.
’Eeeh? Quite a hero you are…’ she spoke sarcastically downplaying her amazement of his features. He was dark skinned, had claws and long dark hair. Also, his teeth were a lot sharper than she’d ever seen. The closest she had ever went to seeing someone non-human was a fishman teenager who got killed by Torin in the tournaments. That boy had fins on the side of his head, he was a lot bigger than anyone else in height but not as muscular. His features were those of a squid and he didn’t have any fingers. The creature didn’t last more than twenty minutes against Torin and his javelin of choice.
The thought of Torin made Ruby wince a bit as a couple of memories flashed back to her and she quickly returned to the task at hand.
Theatrically, the flame haired woman lifted a hand that held the money a bit higher before she spoke:
’My hand. My money.’ she grinned at the beast-like man in front of her and then fastened the bag to the side of her hip.
She reached in her pockets and pulled out a knuckle knife from each of them. They were more like trench knives with a feature of brass knuckles as the guard and the blades were one sided and a bit curved. The weapons were appropriately named ‘Fangs’ because of their resemblance to them.
’I’m only interested in men that buy me drinks or offer a good fight so you best move along, pussycat.’ Ruby spoke with arrogance dripping from her tone and pride gleaming from her eyes. She was gradually getting excited. Would this man prove a good sport?

’Hunter’s Oath.' she let out before lunging at the man in front with her blades crossed in front of her. ’Mark of Prey’ The attack was a favored one where she utilized her blades, her inhuman strength and speed to get close to her opponent and land a huge cross slash on either their chest or back.
This time, remembering how the man landed in front in front of her, she figured he’d leap back and that was exactly when she’d run up one of the bases of the buildings to the suspended ones. She had the means to walk on walls and ceilings now, so to speak, so the fun thing to do was to try it – even if under these circumstances.
And with that thought in mind, the girl went up to the round buildings by running clean up the round walls to the roof of one from where she would use the connecting tubes of buildings to travel around. It could be easier to find a nice pub from above.

[pepsi]

Akiko snarled at the girl, hissing like a stray cat. "That's our money, thief" he growled, bringing the claws closer to his face.

The woman shouted something that didn't really register with Akiko's ears. Then she leapt forward, charging at him with blades akimbo; the black cat's paws fizzled with electricity as she got closer and closer.

The cat stepped to the side, avoiding the attack; he got ready for the riposte, but contrary to his assumption, the girl didn't stop anywhere close him. Instead, she continued walking towards a conveniently placed house, and used the odd magnetic devices to walk on its surface.

Realising he had been played for a fool, the black cat growled again, and ran on all fours back to where he came from.

A few minutes later...

---

"... and so I couldn't get it back. I didn't have those shoes..." Akiko said, his tail sadly flopping between his legs; in his voice was pure disappointment. Gideon listened to his words with crossed arms and closed eyes.

"It don't matter," he said, "we've got a lot of money still."

He pointed at Amber behind him with his thumb, and specified: "We just have to remember to not give any to this moron." His hand went to pat the cat on the shoulder, which made Akiko feel a little bit better. "Come on. We're still going to celebrate." The black cat nodded, and the group paced towards their destination again.

It looked like a very high-class pub, the one that they were all looking at. The plague doctor retrieved magnetic devices for everyone from a bag, and they all placed them over their own shoes. All, except Akiko and the plague doctor himself, declaring instead they would join afterwards. Gideon responded by telling them all to wait outside, and in the meantime he'd set up the rest of the day for them.

Gideon, thus, climbed up and went into the pub by himself. He approached the bartender, a young woman, and started talking.

"I'm with a few friends, and I would like to know how to get a private space all for ourselves here." Gideon, with more than two meters of height, towered over the girl. She looked midly intimidated by the build and size of the man. "While I wait, bring me some strong ale, would you?"

He got his beverage, and while sipping it facing the way opposite to the counter, he looked at the people in the room with him.

[odango]

Ruby #3

Walking with the soles on was quite strange. It took a little bit more effort to walk and, when she needed to actually enter a building, gravity worked against everyone. She witnessed a couple residents going home with groceries and they approached the door with arms dangling below their head so nothing would fall out from the bags they were carrying. It was a little absurd to be that much aware of every carried possession. Ruby was lucky she had almost nothing in her pockets and the bag of coins was strapped to her hip. Her leather jacket would hang down below her head, exposing her torso to a light breeze and she would have to bring her arms in to her sides so that the thing wouldn’t slip off. Such was the struggle of entering buildings. Also, no one could remain on the bottom of these spheres for long because of blood rushing to their head so she imagined there was never any lingering.

’This is stupid… what if someone drops their keys?’ she thought with her brows knotted by annoyance.

Ruby had found a bar after a bit of a search that appeared to have a good selection of ale. Entering buildings was also interesting. Most of them had porches but some just had a door so one would have to crouch against gravity, push the door in and crawl inside while clinging to the walls like some cockroach.
Luckily, this pub had a pretty wide porch where some people were already sitting on the edges with a smoke in their teeth and a jug of ale in the other. The outside of the place had a few tables and some chairs for customers that liked to drink and eat in the relatively fresh air. It looked quite lively and Ruby believed she was at the right place. The red head made it on the porch and noticed that it was suddenly easier to walk. The top of the porch was coated in a non-magnetic material so the people could move more freely.
The door was round, of course and left open inwards already. There were a couple fabric screens hanging over the door to keep some separation between the inside and outside. The building was lined with round windows and appeared to have three stories. The ginger pirate got bumped into by a short older man plagued by the hick-ups who was carried away singing a jig and the red head smirked. It looked lively enough to be fun.

- - -

The inside of the bar Gideon entered was rather lively and loud – especially because of a bunch of people coming to gather around a smaller table where a couple of pirates were competing against each other.
’Ruby! C’mon! a group of men and women hollered gathered around the table.
’C’mon! Tank! Break her arm! Don’t let a chick beat you!’ came even more active support from the same group of people.
There was a lot of commotion over an arm wrestling match between Ruby and her opponent – Tank J. Cooper. The man was about seven feet and two inches tall and bulky. Ruby stood at five and almost nine inches and wasn’t nearly as muscular as the man opposing her. However, she had trained most her life and this man had bulked up quickly and recently. She could feel it from his grip. The half-naked guy was wearing a pair of dark trousers and a huge spiky belt. His feet were bare and his upper body was greatly bigger than his lower half. Tank’s shoulders were especially wide and he looked almost comical hunched over the table with his huge arm propped up and struggling to break Ruby.

’AAAAAAARRRGGH!’ the red haired woman flexed her entire body and finally tapped the table with his opponents muscles. The veins on her forehead had popped out from the strain and she soon turned her gritted teeth of strain to a wide smile of accomplishment.
’Ha! I said I could beat all of you!’ Ruby bragged while hopping on the stool she just sat on to appear taller than the people around her. Her cheeks were a bit rosy from the ale and there was a relaxed feeling to her eyes.
The woman drew a hand through her deep red hair and gazed down at her cup – it was empty. Her smile disappeared and she frowned yet again.
’Oi! Tank! I’m putting the next one on your tab, hahaha!’ she laughed and the people around joined in at the sheer cheekiness of this woman. Tank seemed a bit displeased but one of his friends soon punched his shoulder to encourage him to loosen up and her let it go.

The flame head ran over to the bar and propped herself next to a taller man that had recently entered. ’Hey, fill me up and add it to Tank's.’ she put the beer mug she was holding in front of her and rested on the counter. This was going to be a good day.

[pepsi]

Gideon's attention was captured by all the fuss being thrown around in a corner of the place. It looked like a group of people, with a prevalence of males, all intent on watching one of the tables; the golden-haired captain straightened his spine, hoping to catch a glimpse of what was going on.

The crowd was too dense, and he could see nothing but a pair of heads.

So, his attention went back to his glass: a spherical, near-unstable piece of glass that had him questioning his very decision to come to the place - or to any place on the island, really. In his mind echoed the words: "On this island, everything's so..."

"... round."

As he thought this word, a sudden yelling coming from the aforementioned table made him look once again; this time, the crowd had moved slightly. It looked like the typical setup of an arm-wrestling competition.

"... round."

Out of the crowd, victorious, appeared a woman; Gideon's gaze rested on her for an instant. On her red hair, her face, on her shoulders, and below the shoulders...

"... round."

That very moment he knew there was something more exciting than just drinking to pass the time. "Well, if they aren't coming..." he thought, following the flame-haired girl with his eyes. She came directly towards the counter, asking for more alcohol at her opponent's expenses.

He took it as a challenge, and challenges were irresistible to him.

His deep blue eyes met the woman's for a brief second; that was enough a prompt for him to talk her up. "Take me on, then." His voice was deep, and matched his looks; the tone was warm - no, more than warm: it was as if the man could breathe fire. "Winner has to pay for the night's drinks."

"That's no good, bro," said a guy with a limp arm, "she's beaten even Tank!"

Gideon Brandwen, captain of the Gilded Dragons, pointed his finger at him. "I don't remember asking you a damn thing." The man refused to speak further.

He turned to her again, and declared: "Name's Gideon. And what's the name of the person who's gonna pay for me tonight?"

[odango]

Ruby #4

’Huh?’ Ruby raised a brow and looked up into the eyes of Gideon. The blonde was bigger than her but that wasn’t all – there was a strange aura about him that made the red head more alert of her surroundings. The invitation seemed that of an animal to prey and this made Ruby a little bit excited. Perhaps this man could make it interesting?

’Don’t bother, mate, that’s what everyone else said. This bird’s owed enough drinks to last her a day.’ one of the men called out from further away as he witnessed the newcomer try to chat Ruby up. ’She’ll have you for lunch, mate!’ the man and some others laughed.

The young woman rested on her elbows on the counter, stretched her back and took a step back, leveling out the tilt in her body. Her legs were quite long and she crossed them straight while standing as she leaned forward. The pirate was feeling a longing for ale.
’Hmmm…’ she let out from her throat in a low hum. The barmaid brought her a tall beer mug of ale that was, of course, widened in the middle to give it a more round shape. The liquid was dark and faintly smelled of burn bread and the slightest hint of fruit. Ruby eyed the glass hungrily.

’I could play some more...’ she spoke playfully as a grin spread over her lips and her dark brown eyes looked back up at the man next to her.

’But first-‘ she straightened up again and reached out for the mug. The red-haired pirate lifted its edge to her lips and drank. She didn’t stop and there was no telling where the liquid was going so quickly but her body moved slightly with every gulp and, in a matter of seconds, the pint was gone. Ruby lifted her head straight up as she finished the glass – as if to get every last drop of it. When done, the girl let out a deep breath and smiled happily at the barmaid.

’Man, I needed that! Another one!’ she spoke to the barmaid and once again set the mug down on the counter.
The woman wiped her lips with the back of her hand as some drops had gotten past the corners of her lips and had made their way down her chin and neck.

’That’s wishful thinking if I ever heard any.’ she smirked at the last words Gideon said about wanting to know the name of the one who’s buying him drinks.

’I’ll tell it to you - if you win.’

Ruby pushed away from the counter and turned to gesture towards an empty table. As soon as she did, the crowd sort of moved along and already started to huddle around it.

’After you.’ she laughed and reached back to pick up the yet again filled mug.

[pepsi]

Gideon stood silent as the group of males laughed it off. They didn't know, he thought, they didn't know anything; and if only he could show all of them at once how wrong they were - but that would have involved scaring everybody else as well.

Including the flame haired girl in front of him. The colour of her hair did indicate the fire inside her, the fire that everyone else had tried to handle; they all got burned trying.

But him? His skin was impervious to fire.

It wasn't impervious to heat, because he had to look the other way when his eyes fell on a rogue drop of ale running down her neck. Instead, he smirked, and announced: "It's a deal, Red."

He drank the last few drops from his inconveniently shaped mug much like the girl, and walked to his table amidst the laughter.

They'd stop laughing before long, he thought. He sat, confident and slow, and rolled up his right sleeve.

After they locked hands, Gideon exhaled; from his mouth oozed a puff of black smoke.

"Are you ready?" The referee for their challenge announced.

"Then go!"

Gideon isn't a regular human being. He ate a certain Devil Fruit, one of those that belong to a class known as "Mythological Zoan".

Mythological Zoan Devil Fruits bestow the eaters with a set of powers taken directly from myth, as the name implies. In the case of Gideon...

... It's the primordial dragon of Persian myth, the Azhdaha.

Those monsters possess a strength far beyond that of mortals. They are said to grow up to ten thousand "gazes", roughly ten kilometers - those are absolute beasts.

And in that moment, Ruby would feel the entirety of such unfathomable strength. Gideon, a living, breathing dragon, whose primary means to fight is to always overpower his opponent.

She would push - hard, indeed, much harder than many of his own crewmates - but Gideon wouldn't move an inch. Until she used the same level of strength that she had used against the other dudes, that is.

Gideon grinned towards the girl. "You can start with your name, Red. I'll make you tell me your name, surname, day of birth... And I've got all night."

[odango]

Ruby #5

The man’s attitude was entertaining and Ruby eyed him like a meal as he rolled up his sleeve. He was taller than her and when they stood she wouldn’t even reach up to his shoulders but only the upper torso. This way, sitting down, they were a little bit more leveled.
The woman slipped off her jacket from her shoulders and laid it over the back of her chair – this time hers wasn’t a stool for a change. She pulled herself forward and pushed her legs apart for more balance. The red head took a sip from her mug, set it back down on the ground for safekeeping and rolled her shoulders – getting more used to the surrounding air on her skin.
After resting her right elbow on the table, she leaned a bit forward and took Gideon’s hand. The blonde’s was bigger than hers but she wouldn’t let that intimidate her. Tank’s hand was more like the size of a tennis racket so, in comparison, this was nothing. Gideon’s, however, was warm. It was a pleasant feeling and made Ruby twitch just a little. That kind of warmth was something she hadn’t felt before and it made her more curious about the man.
Her fingers wrapped around the side of his palm and drummed on it once again to get comfy, and she moved her wrist around before flexing it and turning the back of his hand just slightly towards herself. Hopefully, after talking a big game, this wouldn’t be over as soon as it began like with so many of the other men.
The referee let them begin and Ruby gradually put pressure and weight on his arm. Her eyes widened just slightly at the realization that, firstly - he wasn’t even trying to beat her yet and, secondly - that her efforts didn’t even make him twitch.
’First the smoke, now this… I’ve seen some odd men but this is something new. I can’t tell where his limit is.’ she frowned slightly and the slight look of surprise washed away from her face completely. Its place was taken by a look of stubborn determination.
’Hm’ The guy was taunting her but she didn’t let it phase her. Instead, she put even more strength in her pull and put her entire body in it. When she did this with Tank, the guy only lasted a couple more seconds.
’Tch.’ Even while keeping a relatively calm exterior, the girl was a bit annoyed. She was putting a lot of effort in yet this arm just wouldn’t move.
Ruby clenched her teeth and pulled her body together even more. The tension could be seen in her arms and abdomen – all the way down to her feet.
’Just… move… GODDAMNIT!’ She was now annoyed and didn’t know if she could up the output of power any more. The woman had acquired inhuman strength throughout her life of vigorous training and fighting for her life almost daily but never had she felt this helpless in the last decade and it pissed her off.

[pepsi]

Initially, the strength of the girl wasn't anything to write home about. But as she leant more and more into it, putting the full strength of her body, Gideon had to respond with some of his own. His muscles bulged with every passing second; at one point, he thought that if he didn't actually put in some effort, he could even lose ground.

And as he began pushing back, the first one to yield...

Crack!

... Was the table. It split exactly in two, caving in; the whole crowd - who went silent for the majority of the match - exploded in a resounding "Kyeeeeeh?!"

Gideon released his pressure on the girl's hand, finding himself a few inches from her face. He was surprised they both would be that strong; he smirked, and softly blew a puff of black smoke in the direction of her face.

"Not bad, Red. Another round?"

Outside the Pub

---

"No!" Akiko screamed, "let me go!"

The cat tried to cut through the bars of his cage, but couldn't; his crewmates, in cages of their own, tried their best to get out of those as well. "Yes, yes..." said a woman, ending the word with a crack of her whip. "... You will be perfect for the next show."

They were dragged atop a - round - carriage and brought away from sight, maybe never to be seen again.

Back inside

---

"You know, I should really check on my mates. Wait for me here, we'll have a rematch soon." Gideon winked at the flame-haired girl; he stood up and walked outside, leaving the rest of the people present with a jaw touching the ground.

"... H-how..."

He came back just a few tens of seconds after, with a look on his face that meant anger, fear, and worry all at once; he reached the counter, informing the bartender that payment for all the damage had to wait. Then he looked for Red, with the intention of telling her:

"Red... My mates are...!"

"They're not there. I don't get it, they wouldn't run away like that. I'll have to look for them now... The rematch will have to wait." And that being said, he started gathering his things.

[odango]

HUNTRESS PIRATE CHRONICLES
II - VI

- t h e  s t o r y   o f -

T H E  S T R U G G L E  F O R  C O I N

---

A soft growl emitted from Ruby’s throat and she could feel blood rushing to her face. This match was sobering her up rather quickly and the challenge was making her blood boil delightfully. She felt her temperature rising and she couldn’t tell if it was from the excitement or from being so close to Gideon. All she knew was that she liked the thrill. It was like a sweet drug – competing for power with someone who proved to be worthy of her time. The man showed potential of being more than a common pastime and there was a good chance she’d remember the encounter for a good few weeks.

His power was increasing and at one point she felt her chest heavy to draw a breath from the tension. Her body was reaching its limit but giving up was never an option. The red haired pirate would rather break a limb than give up and so she inhaled sharply and puffed her chest for a better push back. The muscles in her arms bulged a bit and her face had acquired a shade or rosy pink.

’!’ The table broke in two straight underneath them and Ruby felt pulling towards her opponent’s arm after the counter support from below had disappeared. With half of the table still clutched in her hand, the girl looked up to find herself only a breath away from the blonde’s face. The tension began to release her body. Her shoulders relaxed and her lungs felt free to breathe again so her chest heaved in welcome of each new inhale. She was somewhat caught off-guard and her eyes shed the always relaxed look. The dark brown orbs peered at the bigger man just inches away from her and she felt an uplifting sensation. The reasoning to that was simple – she was having fun.

’Heh, I can go all night.’ she grinned with a mischievous glint in her eye in response but couldn’t help but wonder about the smoke. The tiny puff whirled around her head and she noticed the scent of burnt ale. It was truly interesting. Times like these were when Ruby was proud to have left Lulucia. Of course, had she not gotten lucky and escaped her previous lifestyle, none of this could be possible. It was quite a culture shock to go into such an interesting world after having to fight for her life in a tournament setting in a closed environment since the age of seven.

Ruby didn’t nod in acknowledgment or say anything when Gideon went to check on his crew. The woman didn’t do approving nods. Instead, she just followed him with a half curious gaze that was soon drowned by the surrounding people. As soon as the blue eyed blonde left, some of the crowd flocked close to her like flies and went on to examine half of the table that she only then dropped on the ground. The red-head picked up her ale that had miraculously survived and downed it. She smiled from ear to ear right after with a pleasant sigh. Slowly, she could feel the rush of blood dissipate a bit and her pounding heart had calmed down.

’Ah, that was nice!’ the pirate exclaimed in a satisfied groan but it seemed to add to the shock of the others – even to the point of annoyance.

’THAT’S NOT WHAT YOU SAY!!!’ Most of them scolded in unison and Ruby took the moment to get up, put her jacket back on, pick up her mug and stride back to the bar counter.

To no surprise, the barmaid looked annoyed and unimpressed. There was no telling how much this girl had seen in her life and how many messes she had to clean because of it. While some people would feel bad because of this, Ruby found her expression a bit funny. After all, all things got destroyed sooner or later and someone had to deal with it – it was just life as she knew it. The goal was to have as much fun as possible till her time came.

’Another.’ she grinned and Gideon came back in just as the lady had finished pouring it. The barmaid served the drink with a heavy sigh. It looked like she was preparing for something even worse.
’Hm?’ The man had looked quite shaken and went on to explain his associates had vanished. Ruby’s brows drew together in an expression of distaste but she didn’t object. It wasn’t that she was disappointed that he went off on some heroic mission to find people, it was the fact she had already beat everyone here. The girl doubted anyone would want to go a round of sparring with her a few drinks in – definitely not after what they just witnessed.

’Oi, you…’ Ruby began to the barmaid as Gideon was about to leave. ’Use what’s left of the bag I gave you for the table and, if anything’s left, keep it in my tab. I’ll be back.’ The girl once again downed a much needed ale because one didn’t just leave a nearly full mug. This time, however, she took a few seconds longer to enjoy it and, once done, again wiped her lips with the back of her hand.
’Good ale.’

The red-haired fighter went to exit the pub together with Gideon and spoke up as they would leave the building: ’So, you left them outside?’ She didn’t ask if she could tag along, nor did she tell him she was going to. The man was supposed to understand that it would be less boring on this chase than in the pub. He should also have understood that Ruby didn’t really ask for permission before doing something.

She picked up the pace and took a leap down the platform at the entrance of the public house. There seemed to be quite a commotion beforehand. Some people were still whispering about it on the sides of the street, there was a lonely bag of groceries that looked like it had been trampled by a horse and driven over. Some scuffle marks and scratches on the ground here and there. All in all, it was a head-scratcher. What did they do, drop a tiger off a wagon?

Ruby’s ear was caught by a middle aged man whispering with another man while eying the scene as if he had just seen a ghost. Without much pondering, the woman approached them straight away and pulled one of them close to her by the front of his shirt. It wasn’t violent per say – she needed to intimidate him a bit to gain answers quickly because he likely wanted no trouble. She was aware.
’What happened here? Did you see it?’
’Ah! I don’t know! Th-the woman! The whip woman came and took the creatures! Please! Don’t hurt me!’ the man panicked as his friend took a step back in fear. The surrounding people also gasped and backed away from the pirate. There was no telling what she would do.

At times like these she just wanted to tell them all that, technically, she was a pirate so they could all suck it up and move on. Honestly! She barely touched him! Her grip on the man’s shirt loosened and she let him go completely with a light push so he wouldn’t topple over. As a result, the guy stumbled back a bit.

’Whip woman? Creatures?’ she asked out loud and looked to find Gideon: ’Does this make sense to you?’

---

Tag: pepsi
Words: 1277
Ruby: b90910

[pepsi]

Gideon had started to enjoy the company of the girl, and he was rather sad when the thought of having to leave the pub to look for his crew alone had passed his mind. He put his crew before everyone else, of course, but it had to happen just as he was having a little fun...

Except, the girl didn't leave his side at all from the very beginning. Without saying as much as a word, she followed him as if she was compelled to find out more as much as he did; the actions of this woman left Gideon speechless for the first few moments. That behaviour, he saw it only in his crewmates once before - when they would be there for him no matter the circumstance.

Red went as far as inspecting the place, and when she wasn't satisfied with the answers that inanimate objects gave her, she started even asking the animate ones; her passionate behavior, her burning flame, scorched one man who casually happened to witness the scene. The way she grabbed him, without even giving it so much as a thought; the way she yelled at him...

"What a woman." Gideon voiced in his mind.

He approached the man, covering him entirely with his tall, wide frame. "Creatures?..." his crew might have been a badly put together batch of misfits and freaks, but nobody had the rights to call them just like that... "creatures". Gideon exhaled, letting wisps of smoke frame his angry stare; the man's skin became even paler, and his legs started shaking. "Tell me all that you saw," Gideon gravely thundered, "all of it."

The man couldn't take it, and broke down into tears. "I... I just saw her load them cages on a carriage! Then she went away! I swear!" "How many?!" Gideon roared, "I need clarity! How many were with this woman?"

"T-two" the man said, teary-eyed. "One of them had an orange suit and... the other had a cowboy hat!" Gideon looked at the man with an expression midway between disbelief and confusion. That didn't help them much if at all, but maybe they could have done something with whatever kind of information that was.

Gideon's hand reached for the girl's wrist almost on its own, with the intention of lightly holding it. "Come, Red. I think I have an idea."

"And thank you." He looked almost embarassed to say such a thing; it must have been unusual for him.

"Last time I heard of a guy dressed like a cowboy around here, it was Clint Maynard." Gideon explained as the two walked around a circular junction in between two houses, following the signs. Clint Maynard was the leader of a local gang of rascals and criminals, "the Horseshoe", and the description matched either him or one of his men. Gideon's money was on him, but one can never be sure. "We're making him eat his hat until he tells us what he knows."

Maynard's hideout was a small conglomeration of spheres by the side of the city, around a hundred meters from ground level, and his entrance was guarded by a pair of large thugs dressed like - as expected - cowboys. Gideon didn't give them half a thought and proceeded forward towards the opening.

"Oi!" one of the thugs said, putting his arm in front of him. "Don't ya know 'tis is Maynard's territory?"

Gideon growled, saying through his teeth: "I just wanna talk."

"Y'all ain't talking to nobody," said the other, shoving Gideon a little backwards with both hands. Gideon looked at the guy, his eyes firing up with that same rage that burned the whimpering man from earlier. In a flash, his right fist smacked the cowboy in the face and staggered them; the other one reacted by pushing Gideon with more force. "Oi!" he said, shoving the blond from off the spherical surface.

Gideon's magnetic shoes didn't connect properly, and he slipped; his grip didn't help him, and he slid off the sphere cleanly, plunging into the void below.

The cowboy that wasn't staggered then tried to approach the red-haired girl as well, trying to push her away just like he did to Gideon a second before.

[odango]

HUNTRESS PIRATE CHRONICLES
II - VII

- t h e  s t o r y   o f -

T H E  S T R U G G L E  F O R  C O I N

---

It caught her a little off guard. The blond man took her wrist in his hand to lead her away. No one ever touched her besides wanting to fight in some way or move her out of their path so the pirate took a second to register the notion. It was strange but, for the sake of the moment, she let it be and followed with the movement for a few steps. Well, the message was clear – they would embark on a journey somewhere. She figured it wasn’t necessary to hold on to her since she could see him. This man was truly interesting. It’s almost as if he wasn’t at all afraid of her. She hadn’t met a lot of people who didn’t fear her, hate her or want to kill her.

”Warm…” if Ruby were to pick one word to describe the man, that would be it.

They went down some unsurprisingly curved streets to pass some spherical houses and, honestly, if Ruby saw Rondure again after a hundred years – it would be too soon. Gideon ventured a guess about the people involved. Supposedly some big-shot chose to settle there and had a bad taste in style.

”Oh? Sounds like a party.” she spoke in response to the threat on Maynard’s life and a light chuckle escaped her lips.

The pair eventually came to the cowboy base of the city and the sphere they were targeting was a lot higher than the buildings back in the city center. It was quite an awkward track upwards. Ruby certainly had advanced physical capabilities but she didn’t like walking vertically. It was needlessly strenuous on the core and, when making steps, one would feel the weight of their released leg a lot harder. She doubted the locals really got used to it. What did their old and weak do? Crawl up with magnetic gloves added to the soles?

”This place makes little sense…” she complained under her breath as they would go up to meet the thugs.

After a short exchange of Gideon wanting to enter and the guards saying ‘no’, they pushed Ruby’s companion off the sphere. She was a bit further off to catch him and the woman had never been one to save anyone – the thought rarely if never occurred to her. It was nothing personal. Her life had made her care for herself first. Besides, Gideon was strong. She didn’t believe he’d die from it.

There was no time to even think about worrying because one of the guards came her way to shove the red-head away. See, Ruby didn’t take such things lightly. In a blink, she had retrieved the King Fangs from her pockets and now they graced her knuckles. The slightly bent trench knife knuckle guards were a lethal weapon when utilized by the brown eyed girl.

”That’s not gonna work.”

Putting the weight on the balls of her feet and bending her knees, the girl took a sort of boxing pose and delivered three quick jabs with her right hand to the big guy in front of her. Bloodlust gleamed in her eyes and there was a cold air about the woman. One could almost see how her mind worked on analyzing her opponent and looking for the best opportunity to strike. It all happened so fluently that it was obvious her second nature was fighting. Ruby took a large slash with her left fist across the man’s chest next. Her speed was better than any human due to vigorous training throughout her life so fighting someone as bulky and heavy was easier for her.

She had drawn blood and the behemoth in front of her looked quite done so the flame-haired pirate jumped up to land a kick with her left foot to his right temple and, thus, the man was the one getting moved aside. He fell over and slowly rolled down the sphere as she turned her attention to the other man.

”How do you wanna go?” she baited the other huge man with a smug grin on her face.

In a few seconds she did, however turn backwards to where Gideon had fallen off just a moment ago and called out: ”Gideon! You still alive?”

---

Tag: pepsi
Words: 706
Ruby: b90910

[pepsi]

Of all the fears that the sentient mind can have, one of the most common is the fear of heights. It makes sense for a creature to be afraid of heights, of falling, and of hitting the ground. But there is one type of creature that cannot be afraid of any fall, of any height: the one that flies.

Flying creatures don't have fear of heights, and so didn't Gideon. Plunging into the void below, his almost perfectly vertical trajectory predicting a more than painful encounter with one of the lowest spheres, he stood unnaturally silent and calm. His blond hair, swirling around due to the air currents pushing past his head, framed a set of eyes that still were firmly hooked to that one place, where Ruby was left alone to fight.

She managed to kick one person clean off the sphere, much like the same person did to Gideon, and then went for the second one; this second target of hers (who, quite understandably so, didn't want to end up the same) had drawn his own knife, getting into a more defensive position with his knees bent and his arms closer to his body.
"I will gut you like a fish!" The man said, approaching the red-haired woman.

He couldn't even take a second step. Of a sudden, he stopped, looking at the woman with eyes as big as saucers; his confidence reversed completely, even going as far as stepping back once. Ruby could clearly see a shadow eat the entirety of the complex, going as far as darkening the surrounding areas and plunging the territory of Maynard into temporary darkness.
Before she could turn to look behind her, the shadow had disappeared; in the place of whatever must have casted that shadow stood Gideon, shimmering against the sun.

It wasn't precisely Gideon, Ruby could tell: his hair was blond, yes, and his build and height matched; she never had seen Gideon with a set of wings and a long tail, completely covered in shiny golden scales.
The beast descended onto the thug, gliding on top of them and picking them up effortlessly; clutching him by the collar of his leather vest, it told him:

"Don't even touch her!"

There was no question: that was Gideon's voice. However, that fiery component Ruby had heard before in his tone seemed to be much more prominent than before; she knew what that crackling, fire-like noise meant. The creature tossed the poor guy high up into the air, and released a coloumn of fire from its mouth.
The light from the fire reflected off the metal sphere, as well as the metal scales of the monster, in a show of bright lights that was almost difficult to keep looking at.

The burning remains of the thug fell down, hitting the sphere once and bouncing off into the void. The monster, on the other hand, gently glided back onto the sphere and kneeled, trying to take a breather.
The wings retracted onto his exposed back and disappeared; the scales also disappeared, starting from the back and propagating to the rest of his body. Finally, the small horns on his head contracted until they were no more visible.
Gideon stood up again, putting on the shirt he had removed in order not to burn it. He looked at the girl, and smiled it off: "Let's pay our cowboy a visit."

[odango]

HUNTRESS PIRATE CHRONICLES
II - VIII

- t h e  s t o r y   o f -

T H E  S T R U G G L E  F O R  C O I N

---

There were no real words to truly describe what Ruby experienced. So many emotions in such a short span of time were borderline overwhelming. At first she felt more alert due to the giant shadow that swallowed up as far as she could see. The, as quick as it came, it disappeared and left a smaller presence that was eerily similar to Gideon. That, of course, caused even more confusion imbued with curiosity. The fluctuation of not knowing for sure if the new figure was friend or foe caused doubt in plan to creep up on her and so, now freely getting pushed around by the emotions, the woman gave in and chose to observe what would happen. The flying being had already picked up the thug so Ruby just watched. Her weapon covered hands fell to her sides and she couldn’t help but wonder what it possibly could feel like to fly.

”Impressive…”

The twenty-something year old woman hadn’t seen much of the world. She spent her years locked in some dungeons and waiting for fights and she hadn’t met anyone with a devil fruit ability yet. Well, none that sprung out as fruit abilities and definitely no zoans. So Gideon was the first zoan type she would see in her life. It was incredible to behold. The man or, rather, the being, was completely covered in golden scales, had wings carrying him and a couple of horns sprouting from his head. He wasn’t human any longer. It was almost as if he was some creature out of a myth.

Gideon tossed the thug up in the air and in a second released a huge stream of fire from his mouth. Ruby pulled one of her arms up to cover her eyes a bit from the insane amount of shine the fire produced. The entire area’s temperature got raised by a few degrees and the fire made his body look like he was emitting light.

”Incredible. I arm-wrestled that…”

He soon landed on the sphere again and morphed back into what Ruby had originally met – Gideon. The scales, wings and horns were retracting and he once again looked human. Ruby kept her eyes on him carefully. This was proving to be a truly educational trip. There was no way she would have guessed that seeing something like that was on the agenda. A part of her wanted to ask him what all that was but she also knew the man had a different goal in mind for the time being.

”You know, I won’t complain if you keep the shirt off.” she gave out playfully with a smirk.

The two of them entered the sphere, finally, and, to the flame-haired pirate, it looked as awkward as it was to enter spheres. The decor was all wooden. There were hooves almost everywhere, a bunch of people were sitting around with flintlocks and semi-automatic rifles. The first room to enter was just that – a huge lounge with a bar counter and a jukebox in the corner. The machine was playing music associated with line dancing and there were some hay bags here and there used for chairs.

Further off, dead center of the lounge and behind a couple of pool tables was a sort of elevated podium that had only a couple people there. The one in the middle was probably the one they were looking for. The man had a relatively large lasso hanging on a corner of the backrest of the big chair he was sitting in. There were four women flocked around him. All of them were in denim mini-skirts and tied up plaid shirts. Of course, almost everyone in the building, besides Ruby and Gideon, had a cowboy hat on their hat, hanging around their neck or next to them on some surface.

”Oi!” Ruby surely walked forward and called out to the man surrounded by his apparent harem. There was little surprise that he ignored her completely so, of course, Ruby did the first most reasonable thing – she reached for one of the other men sitting at the table she was blatantly walking by and pulled him over the stool he was sitting on by the back of his collar. The woman swung the man around her to build up some momentum and threw him towards the big-shot. The guy hit the legs of one of the girls on the side but Ruby definitely got their attention.

”Damn… a bit to the left, huh?”

---

Tag: pepsi
Words: 748
Ruby: b90910