Danny was running through the crowd, occasionally running back to Ray to make sure he was still with her. She gushed about the sights the entire time, pointing and giggling.
"I've only heard stories about those! I didn't think they were real! Ohh! What is this? What does it do? Are these fruit? Or ornaments? That looks so cool!" She ran back to Ray, just in time to see him emter a clothing shop. As he looked through the merchandise, she did the same with a more airy nature. She didn't need any clothes as she had packed a few extras, having changed the day prior. As she looked, she over heard the chatter of two men.
"He's at it again, That crazy bastard."
"Well, what can you do? This isn't the first time he's locked himself away, and it won't be his last. His maps are the best when it does this, anyhow." Casually, Danny walked up to the two.
"But if he needs to concentrate so hard as to require the need to lock himself away, how good can he be?"
"No, child. You haven't seen these maps." The men turned towards her, smirking a bit.
"He's the best in the world, some call him map master his maps are so good." Danny glanced behind her, seeing a woman show off a sundress. Turning her attention back to the men, her mind suddently clicked as to what they had said.
"Map master? You mean the map master? I've seen one of his maps! He's the best in the world! I have yet to see a map better than his! Where do I find him?"
"Its on a cliff to the north of here, you can't miss his place. Crazy looking as he is."

When ray had finished, Danny walked out of the store with him, gushing about her discovery.
"He's the very best, no other like him. Can we go? You don't have to stay, or should we go cheer for luro first? I think we should go find the captain and cheer for luro and then we or I can go meet the mapmaker. Yeah, that sounds-" she stopped short when a woman ran directly into Ray, nearly toppling the both of them. Instantly she held her hands up, worry kicking in.
"Are you okay? Any injuries? Are you fine? Ray? Ma'am? You okay?" She said rapidly, but the woman bowed, apologizing before running off again, declaring they looked cute. At that statement, Danny tilted her head, curious.
"What did she mean by 'you look cute together?' We're not a display, if thats what she means." She furrowed her brow, presing her lips together in thought.

Nolan the puppy slayer?

The cook arched an eyebrow at his friend before giving the woman and the child an awkward smile. "No, no, don't worry. Actually, I'm quite fond of puppies." He waved at the little girl who was hiding behind Luro's friend. "He's just kidding."

The man gave his pockets a quick pat, hoping he had some bread with him, but they were empty and he couldn't help but frown. The cook tried to keep a cheery smile on his face, but seeing the hungry child look at him with frightened eyes made him feel bad. Being a pirate wasn't a moral job, he understood that, but so far, he and the rest of the crew had done nothing but assist people and fight off the real bad guys.

He listened to his friend and the woman speak. Ah, so they were childhood friends? Well, wasn't this a sweet reunion—

What?

"...if you get in the way of me acquiring it I will kill you."

Nolan stared at the duo with wide eyes. Had he heard them right? Luro had to be joking, right? And then they continued to speak and it turned out he had heard things right the first time around. He stood there in shock, wondering what the hell was going on. This was Luro, sure, he didn't know the guy's past and sure they'd only been friends for around a month or so, but for as long as he had know Luro, he had always been friendly and kind. The silly drunk who rambled on and told jokes, the happy one, and so the scene that unfolded before him was quite hard to believe.

Luro walked away, stating he was leaving to get to the tournament and Nolan watched as the woman stared at him with distaste.

He wanted to say that his friend was joking, but he didn't even know if it was a joke. He wanted to apologize but he could only stand stiff as the woman and child walked away. Just what had happened? Hadn't those two hugged just moments ago and weren't they friends?

The cook stared at the ground with furrowed eyebrows. He felt somewhat angry at Luro, though for the most part, he was just confused. He disappeared into the crowd, to be honest, he didn't feel like cheering his friend on anymore though he decided to go to the tournament anyway.

Perhaps it was just a misunderstanding. Well, that was what he wanted to believe.

Ray had brought along most of his share of the money they had earned for saving Waterdeep and was eager to spend it. He smiled to himself as Danny fawned over everything, and left her to explore while he perused the tailor's wares. After browsing for some time, he selected a simple, yet stylish work outfit, a priority in his mind so he wouldn't ruin his clothes while working each day. Next was a fine red coat that was both formal and casual and could be worn on most any occasion. What caught his eye next was a simple ensemble that hinted at culture, enough to be innocuous yet appealing. Lastly, he gave the tailor a sizable sum to commission a project, one that, for the amount offered, the tailor promised would be finished and delivered that night to their ship.





Ray had spent nearly all his money on the four new outfits, and regretted none of it; he was quite satisfied to be in something fresh, new and clean. The tailor had his clothes sent to their ship, except for the red coat, which Ray had changed into. Danny started asking about where they should go next, spilling the words from her mouth. Something about her made Ray smile. Its her enthusiasm. For such a small person, she's absolutely bursting with it.

“I'd like to see this tournament. It sounds like quite the show, and I'd like to cheer Luro on,” he snorted, “And see if he can hit something sober.” The pair shared a chuckle, but were interrupted quite abruptly by a woman accidentally tackling Ray. Nearly falling over, Ray caught her in his arms and righted her. “I've had women throw themselves at me before, but never like this.” Ray quipped. Then he thought about it a moment and left a trailing, “Well....” Danny roused him from his brief reverie, checking to see if they were alright in her verbose manner. The woman apologized and ran off, leaving with a remark that confused and consternated Danny. Ray chuckled, both at having instantly divining her meaning, and Danny's oblivious reaction. “She thought we were a couple.” He explained. His smile turned sour when an unexpected thought appeared. “Unless she thought we were siblings.” He scowled. “I hate my siblings. Anyway, lets go, I want to see how well Luro can aim without rum to steady his aim.”

The bell rang and Runali was sitting and watching with a critical eye as she munched on some food she was offered. Being a tourist island there were many things she hadn't heard of, one being something called a churro- the delicious pastry she had been eating. But, even experiencing some new exotic food, the one eye she did have was keen and noticed every single movement. It was something she trained herself to do considering she got a little paranoid when people were on her blind side.

In the blink of an eye, the match was over and Elise was on the ground. Everyone around her were in an uproarious frenzy. All of them missed how it happened. All of them were in shock at the sudden fall. But Runali saw it. From the slightest movement of her grabbing the sword to her dodging Elise's swords and rendering him unconscious. "That is definitely good swordsmanship. If all the fighters are as dim witted as that, this Tashigi girl will get through in a breeze." She was talking to no one in particular, but a few of the spectators around her overheard and obviously had a few remarks about it being a lucky break or she cheated somehow.

Runali simply rolled her eyes, although people could only see one, and sat back. Another match went by before there was a break until the next batch of fighters in Group C. She had faith he'd rank up in his group, so when the final match was over she stood from her seat in the bleachers and went out to find where all the contestants were being held. She had time, so she stopped to get some more of the foreign snacks they were selling. It didn't look like she was suppose to enter inside, but she casually waltzed in unnoticed.

She walked in, a little surprised to see all the many people fighting for the prize. Not only humans, but fishmen too. They were a little different from mermen, considering they were able to walk around on land and breathe oxygen. The mermen's method of transportation on land was a bubble that managed to get them from place to place on an island. Her gaze passed by one who had razor sharp teeth and another with shark fins. Some people, all the losing ones that weren't unconscious, were walking out with looks of disappointment or even complimenting others and their abilities. Besides the arrogance of some, the tournament wasn't all that bad.

Amongst the crowd, it was easy to spot the tall redhead with the facial tattoos... Who wouldn't notice that? She wandered through the crowd until she found him. Weaving through, she felt a lot shorter than usual. It was no doubt because even some of these men and fishmen were tall... "Makachi." She called out before slipping up next to him, and then standing on a small step stool or bench to rest next to him. "I'm sure you'll do fine, but I'll give you a heads up regardless."

She noticed a peculiar looking fishman that's bottom half was part octopus. He was surrounded by his a few other fishmen, applauding him on. Must've been a winner for Group A...

Her focus returned to Luro, but once again she wasn't on topic. Man, the male was starting to rub off on her. "Wasn't Nolan with you? Where'd he go?" Hopefully he wasn't off to buy more food... The King and Queen had given them plenty. "Oh right, what I was going to tell you... I have no doubts that you'll make it to the finals. But, be careful. There are some that are more dangerous than they look. Alright? That was all." She put a thumbs up, trusting that that was enough for her scatterbrained shipwright to focus a little more on the matches. In the corner of her eye, she caught sight of the Tashigi girl that won Group B's match up. "She's one of the finalist." Runali said and nodded her head towards the woman.

"15 minutes before Group C takes the arena! Everyone get in your seats so the tournament can begin!

The announcement sounded all over the island for everyone to hear. Runali saluted Luro after adjusting the cat ears on her hood and then nodded. "We'll be cheering you on." She nodded and hopped off the stool and hurried to get a good seat. She figured she could watch the entire Group C match instead of just waiting for Luro's match.

Luro continued cleaning his gun completely absorbed in the task a small smile on his face as he did so, he was extremely excited at getting to fight some strong people here so it was all he could do to keep himself calm enough to wait for his turn. There were fishmen all around him and he wondered if he'd be able to fight at least one of them, even if it wasn't in the tournament he'd probably approach one outside for a duel just for the experience.
He was pulled from his task when he heard his captains voice, putting aside her new outfit which caught his attention he wondered if she had joined too but after a few minutes he realized that wasn't the case which he was happy about, since he couldn't point his gun at Runali he'd feel bad afterwards, even thinking about it made him uncomfortable.
Putting the thought aside he listened to her when she gave her warning offering a smile and a nod, he admitted it was nice to have someone concerned for him but he was going to do everything he could to bust through.
Luro looked at Alicia when his captain nodded towards her, he couldn't help but grin as he looked at her, she had a different air then the people around them that drew his attention immediately and hearing she was a finalist confirmed the feeling welling up in his chest.
Excitement.
Pure excitement at the idea of standing in front of that woman as an enemy, he had to hold in a chuckle as he was pulled from his thoughts as the announcement sounded, he watched the captain leave offering a salute in return before patting his rifle.
"Let's do our best."

"Alright! The next contestants make your way to the arena! Luro Makachi and Lillian Joanes!"

Mary weaved through the crowed getting as far down as she could so she could see the match, she was still worried about Lily fighting but she couldn't talk her out of leaving it, she wondered if it was just because of the money, something about the expression on her face made her wonder if there was more to it.
She put those thoughts aside as Lily walked towards the arena, a cutlass was attached to her waist and her hand rested on it as she walked forward still dressed the same as before, her gaze was focused directly ahead on the tall red headed man who walked towards her.
Though Lily was wholly determined and it showed on her entire being Luro was walking towards the arena rubbing the side of his head his rifle resting on his shoulder, a small yawn escaped from him as he reached the center of the arena stopping a few feet from Lily.
The two of them ignored the noise of the crowed as their eyes met one another, the announcer seemed to be talking about finalist or something but neither paid any attention to his words paying attention only to one another.
"Luro you can still resign from this, I don't want to hurt you and I'll still give you the most of the prize money if I win. I have to keep my promise."
Lily was the one that spoke first and though Luro just stared at her with half drooped eyes she continued pulling out her pocket-watch and holding it out to him.
"I swore to help Mary and I will succeed at giving her a better life, Luro...you carried our scars, took our beatings, you even shared your food with the other orphans going days without eating just so we'd have a chance at surviving...I know that person is still in there. The kind Luro I trusted, the person I aspired to surpass...I became strong so I'd never be that weak again and I'm not going to stand down from this...so please Luro just resign."
Luro closed his eyes for a moment bringing his free hand to his chin tapping it with his finger, Lily lowered her arm wondering if he was considering her offer and waited even after the bell rang for them to start.
"Well are you going to resign?" Lily asked.
"Huh oh no I was just thinking what to spend the money on," Luro said lowering his hand. "Are you done talking I'm getting bored also starting to sober up a little."
Lily bit her lip and put the pocket-watch away, she drew her cutlass and brought one of her feet forward as she got into a fighting stance.
"Fine I'll go through you then, I didn't want too but I'm not going to lose this opportunity."
"I feel kind of bad for you Lily, you're going to die over something so silly."

Lily drew her cutlass and dashed at Luro who readied his rifle watching as she closed the distance between them, she stabbed her sword towards his chest causing him to jump to the side to dodge, Lily quickly changed her footing and followed after him as he recovered and swung her sword straight down towards him to what little opening she saw. However when she saw Luro grin she felt a chill run up her spine as Luro promptly swung his rifle in an arc slamming it into the side of her sword and knocking it away, her eyes widened before Luro stepped forward slammed his fist into Lily causing her to stumble back and hold her cheek. She watched as Luro playfully shook his hand off before resting his rifle back on his shoulder.
"I'm not going to underestimate you Lily, don't expect me to hold back because we know each other."
"You're the lowest kind of scum Luro,"
"Your insults will have some merit when you start hitting me cause right now you're losing."
Lily glared at Luro and dashed forward again Luro smiled and watched her sword as she got close, he swung his rifle and brought it up deflecting her stab, Lily changed her position and attacked again only to have Luro knock that attack away, she continued her relentless assault sparks flying off her sword as it continued to be knocked away by Luro swings, if not for the fact he was clearing using a rifle it wouldn't be surprising to think the two were fighting with cutlasses, eventually she stopped and jumped back seeing her attacks weren't doing any good.
"How are you stopping my attacks?" Lily said her grip tightening on her sword.
"Instead of questioning that shouldn't you stop holding back Lily, I'm only holding back because you are start getting serious."
Lily grit her teeth but closed her eyes trying to keep her composure, standing fully up she sheathed her sword and with a flex of her hands six daggers fell out of her sleeves which she held between her fingers in each hand, Luro grinned as she started tapping her right foot on the ground.
"I was trying to keep you alive but I can't lose against you so I'll stop holding back, I have to help Mary so I can't lose this match!"
Lily threw the six knives at Luro who grinned and promptly swung his gun in a horizontal arc knocking away the daggers that would have hit him, however when he looked up Lily was nowhere to be seen, his attention immediately shot to behind him and sure enough Lily was there and catching one of the daggers she had thrown promptly went to stab Luro through the eye.
Just as the dagger was inches away Lily felt something grip her wrist, and her eyes widened seeing Luro had stopped her attack a bead of sweat running down his face. He raised his foot and hit Lily in the stomach creating some distance between them as he stepped back.
"Now that was way too close," Luro said chuckling a little. "You got my heart beating fast Lily, hope your going to take responsibility for that."
"I'm surprised you noticed," Lily said tapping her foot again.
"You always enjoyed attacking from behind, and I know that trick you're using, your counting how many steps it's going to take to reach me right?"
Lily narrowed her eyes before she leaned forward her body seeming to vanish, however she was merely quietly closing the distance between them but the speed at which she moved was hard to trace without close observation, however just as she approached Luro from the right he calmly stepped to the side as she lunged at him and slammed his knee into her stomach.
Lily fell to her knees and Luro grabbed her by the back of her blouse before hurling her across the arena, she tumbled along the ground before placing her foot down regaining herself however as she stood up she realized she was near the edge of the arena. She started to move forward but when she turned her attention ahead she noticed Luro had his rifle pointed at her.

"If you didn't hesitate in your attacks it would have been harder to dodge them," Luro said smiling at her. "I can't see you move but that brief second where you hesitate is all I need to respond. Oh and you'll need exactly six steps to reach me from where you are, if you tap your foot once I'll pull the trigger."
Lily glanced behind her at the water before her gaze started moving around her, she was positive Luro wasn't going to give her an opportunity to move.
"Did you think you were going to win because you were doing the 'right' thing," Luro said smirking at her.
Luro noticed Lily's whole body flinch at that and he chuckled a little watching her close her shaking hands as she glared at him.
"If doing the 'right' thing worked people like me wouldn't exist, there'd be no thievery, murder, or well even pirates. It's because it doesn't work that scum like me exists right? Noble reasons don't change anything, the world is cruel and doesn't care why you're trying to succeed it'll take it all away anyway. Tell me though how it feels Lily to have something you want so close yet one person is stopping you from acquiring it. Are you sad, angry, filled with resentment towards that one obstacle, do you want to kill me to get what you want you so badly?"
"...why are you doing this?" Lily said trying to disguise the crack in her voice from Luro's stinging words. "It can't just be about the money...not for this."
Luro's smile faded his mouth forming a thin line and he offered a small nod before he spoke a small edge to his voice as his eyes narrowed slightly at her.
"When you spoke of creating a new life with Mary, that smile you put on...it was a fake, there wasn't an ounce of emotion behind it. That irritated me, after everything we've endured, after all the hatred and pain we survived. Standing on our own two feet and rising from the depths of despair, pushing through even when we were filled with sorrow and almost endless anger at a world that offered nothing but misery for us. We've earned the right to smile Lily from the bottom of our hearts."
Lily gripped her chest as her eyes widened, her gaze met Luro's and for a brief moment she saw a look of pity in his eyes but only for a brief second.
"You forgot that, you smiled not because those words meant anything to you...but just because you felt you were doing a good thing. You know better than that, putting on fake smiles like that makes you just like them. A smile didn't put food in our stomachs, didn't help us stave off death but those people offered such kind smiles to us as if it would brighten our worlds and make everything better, to see you put on a smile like that...is disgusting."
"Luro...I...I didn't mean-"
"I don't need to hear it, Mary's watching right? Maybe she'll learn from this, I'll take something precious away from her and she'll suffer for it. Then she'll become stronger and stand on her own without you, a person who forgot how to truly smile in the face of despair is not good enough to save someone."
Lily felt her whole body shiver and the daggers fell from her hands clattering on the ground before she hugged herself, tears streaming down her face as she tried to hold in her sobs.
"Hey...why don't you try one more time. Try smiling in your final moments Lily...you can...you can do that right?"
Luro grinned a toothy grin at her putting as much of his heart into it as he could but Lily just stared at him her lip quivering and the tears continuing to fall.
"I see," Luro said his smile fading. "You're going to die with an expression like that on your face, how unfortunate."
The shot rang out across the entire area and Lily's eyes widened as she felt the bullet hit her, she fell off the side of the arena and plummeted towards the water eyes still wide in shock.
"LILY!"
Lily's eyes slowly shut as she heard Mary's scream right before hitting the water then complete silence, Luro stood near the edge and turning around put his rifle on his back before leaning down picking up a small object and walking away. Shortly after the announcer mentioned Luro's victory but he paid no attention to it and walked back towards the waiting area a small smile on his face.
"I wonder if there's a place to get a drink near here."

~"Understanding is a three-edged sword. Your side, my side, and the truth"~

Upon leaving the arena Alicia was greeted with a round of applause from some of the other fighters, both victors and those who were defeated. She smiled warmly and held up a hand to express her desire for them to relent, after all it wasn't much of a fight from her point of view. The so called champion didn't know his swords any better than she knew how to breath under water which allowed her to easily plan her advance. That and he was over confident which she truly believed lead to ignorance and defeat. As she stood among the other fighters her eyes caught the red hair of a fighter holding a rifle who appeared to be talking to a girl with an eye patch. She caught him looking her way and held his gaze for a moment before she simply walked onward. She didn't have much interest in those who fought with guns, of course she'd fight them if she had too, but it was swords which she held a greater desire to fight against.

When she pushed through the door and walked out into the sunlight she took in a deep breath, exhaling with a smile before she decided to head over the road to a small tavern where she could relax till it was time for the final match. She walked into the small tavern, glancing around at the other men and women who had come to wet their lips with alcohol. More than a few turned to face her, some of them looking away with disinterest while others looked slightly afraid. Alicia was aware of the rumor about her and while she didn't pander to it, she didn't care to deny it either. She walked across the room to a bar before taking her seat, the bartender clearing his throat before asking, "Can I get you anything miss?" he asked, "Just water for me, please" she said before pushing a piece of silver across the tough oak surface of the bar. The bartender made a 'hmph' sound before walking away to get a clean glass, "Bow Black my ass..." he muttered.

The tavern had an old feel to it and had a band playing instruments in the corner. All in all it had a nice feel to it which was likely what made it such a popular spot for punters. The bartender returned with her water, placing it down in front of her. She raised the glass to her lips, taking a small sip from it before letting out a soft sigh. Some of the other punters muttered among each other, of course such a powerful swordsman was supposed to be some kind of drinking machine. And since she was apparently a man trapped inside the body of a women it was expected that she drink something hardier like Rum. But that story was ridiculous.

A long time ago there was once a captain of a pirate ship named Davian Bow who gave his soul to a demon in exchange for incredible fighting prowess as it was his dream to become the worlds greatest sword fighter, however as the demon granted his wish it also tricked him by trapping him inside the body of a women who naturally would be weaker in strength than his previous body. The women was thereafter known as Bow Black, abandoned by his crew who no longer recognized him and cursed to continue his existence as a women.

"Hey you!" a voice snapped her from her thoughts, "We saw your fight against Elise, how dare you cheat against such a great man!" protested one of the two men who looked rather angry about what had happened. Alicia regarded them from the corner of her eye as she took another sip of her drink before placing it down gently, "Elise underestimated me and stepped beyond his reach when he thought he could match me. That was his downfall and the reason he lost" she said, her words soft and smooth. The two men sneered, "You're a liar, a no good Bow Black impersonator. If you're so good, you wont have trouble taking us on" he said as one pulled a sword while the other took out a pistol. The bartender moved himself away as did some of the other punters, moving to the edges of the room so they didn't get in the way. Instead of leaving however they seemed to stay, eagerly wanting to see what would happen.

Alicia didn't move from her seat, "I would strongly recommend you put those away, we have nothing to fight about" she said before she turned to face them, "Why don't you join me in a drink?" she offered kindly. The two looked at her like she was a fool and seemed to get angrier as they felt she wasn't taking them seriously. "Let's just finish this!" his friend spat before the one with the sword rushed towards her, aiming to impale her side. In a flash her sword parried his stab and slid down to lock against his sword's guard, holding his blade away with one arm as her other hand held the glass of water. She finished the glass before placing it down again, "Thank you for the water" she said to the barkeep before she stood up, her sword still locked against the mans blade. In another flash she disarmed him, the blade sailing up above them before she struck the man with the back of her sword with such speed and strength that he flew across the floor to land beside his friend with the pistol. The other man's eyes were wide as he saw the symbols on her blade, "I-it is you!" he hesitated.

As the mans blade reached it's apex before falling back down she caught it with her other hand. The man with the pistol raised it and fired at her, Alicia's blade deflecting the bullets with a single movement. Her wrist holding the other mans sword flicked it around her wrist before she gripped it at an angle, throwing it like a knife causing it to hit the pistol. The pistol then exploded, destroying some of his fingers in the process. He screamed and fell to his knees, nursing the hand in his other. "Now if you'll please, I'm here to relax before the final" she said and returned her sword to it's scabbard before taking her seat again. The two men would scurry away shortly after.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Screwing up her nose in confusion, the navigator began walking again.
“Why would one assume the relationship between two people? It makes no sense, there’s so many ways you can come off as rude.” Danny tilted her head to the side as she listened to the announcement, realizing that it was probably Luro who was fighting.
“Ah! If we’re going, we better get going! She said, gripping Ray’s wrist she ran off, dragging the taller man behind her. She let go as they reached the arena, and ran to the edge just at the initial bell rang.
“Luro, go! Go Luro go!” she instantly began to shout cheers. She loved tournaments, as she often held them with the boys of the island. The only oddity she could see was all the girls that were fighting. She was the only female who did physical activity past gardening, so she was surprised enough to find the captain was a woman, and one who could hold her own in a fight. But when a tournament where a good deal of the participants were women, it was an entirely new experience to Danny, not that anything else wasn’t. it wasn’t long before her cheers turned to random and illegible noises and her tiny bounces into big leaps back and forth. It wasn’t hard to pick her out from the thinning crowd around her. The tiny ball of energy stopped suddenly, her chest heaving. She realized that with her excitement, she hadn’t been paying attention to the actual fight, and now that she was, she saw Luro’s opponent crying. Danny’s eyes widened, her entire being shaking. She didn’t know how to process this new information. What had Luro said? Could she not handle being in the fight? Danny’s mind whirred and clicked confusedly. It shot into over drive when the shipwright shot the girl.
“LURO! I can’t tell if you’re a jerk or a hero! Why was she crying? What did I miss? That seems mean, to shoot a crying girl. You better have not killed her. good job for winning, but jerk job for winning that way. I’m so conflicted!” her words once again dissolved into random noises, but these ones much quieter and more whine like, often changing pitch and lasting minutes at a time.

Ray and Danny managed to find their Captain in the stands and find a seat before Luro's first match began. Ray was excited to see the extent of Luro's capabilities. He leaned forward in his seat to get the best possible view. Luro was standing in the arena, nonchalantly conversing with his opponent, a woman who seemed familiar, but Ray pushed the thought aside, intent on watching the battle. Sure enough, seemingly without warning, they stopped talking when the woman lunged at Luro with her blade. A hasty blow, Luro must have provoked something out of her. Ray was familiar with Luro's perpetually laid-back attitude, but someone more serious could easily take insult.

The pair broke apart and verbally sparred for a moment before returning to battle. Ray was silently impressed with Luro's dexterity with his rifle, parrying all the woman's sword strikes. Suddenly she drew several throwing knives and threw them in an impressive spread. Ray leaned forward, eyes wider, excited with this new twist. Luro deflected the ones aimed for him, but his opponent had stepped into his blind-spot and hastily caught one of the blades that missed mid-air. The shadowstep, an impressive, if unsporting, technique that I've never learned. If you know it's coming, its easy to counter, but unnerving, especially since you can't see your opponent. Sure enough, Luro knew it was coming and countered it at the last second, provoking a mad cheer from the audience. Luro kicked her away and they started talking again. Ray began to wonder if they knew each other, considering how much time they had spent talking instead of fighting.

Then, Ray noticed her tapping her foot. Ray leaned in and furrowed his brow. What is she doing...? One, two, three, four, five... Then she closed the distance between the two of then faster than he had seen any Lendrian duelist move. Eyes wide, Ray was astounded that Luro was able to riposte her blow. Luro hurled her across the arena and aimed his gun at her. Ray leaned back let out a deep breath that he had unconsciously been holding for some time. The fight's all over. They're nearly point-blank and Luro has her to rights. He's probably trying to convince her of that. Ray noticed Danny, nearly incoherent, had been completely caught up in the excitement of the crowd. Laughing, he said, “Okay, calm down, Danny, the fight's over.”

But when the woman started crying, something clicked in Ray's mind. The woman who bumped into Danny and I, she wore the same dress. Its her down there, and she knows Luro. She had dropped her weapons and stood, sobbing, facing Luro.

Ray jerked when he heard the crack of Luro's rifle. On the face of it, Ray initially thought Luro behaved rather cold-heartedly; Danny certainly seemed to think so, but Ray realized they must have had some history, perhaps history like his and Lisset's, and since he hadn't the faintest idea what they were talking about, he decided to trust in Luro's judgment. “Makachi had his reasons. He must have.”

“So, when's the next fight?” he asked, brightening from his darkened mood.

Group C's matches began and Runali sat, watching each fight with interest- even the bad fights. Each time, someone showed their own set of skills and how they fought. Some- well a lot of the fighting styles were uncommon to her. Being surrounded by water, the Fishmen still had equal advantage, just like the humans in the arena. Fishmen definitely had a unique set of skills, as long as the human set they acquired as well.

Finally, Luro's first match happened. She sat up, and leaned against one of the rails in front of her, used to assist people walking through the coliseum. As she watched them carefully, she noticed the two were talking and it didn't seem very friendly. 'He knows people here?' The way they looked at each other, if any one noticed anything else besides the fight, it looked as if they had some sort of history together...whatever that may have been. The match ended with a bang- a literal one since Luro decided to shoot the girl, which made Runali shake her head. "You're not s'pose to kill the contestants Luro..." As he walked out, the medics swooped in to retrieve the girl that had been taken down, not saying whether she was alive or not. There was a warning saying the possibilities of death during the match so it wasn't uncommon. Most, that weren't egotistical and evil, had friendly matches. But, people overlooker the kill and continued to cheer.

Not many noticed, but there was a distinct shrill cry of someone...somewhere. Runali turned towards the sound but couldn't figure out where it came from. Maybe she was just hearing things...?

By then, she had reconnected with Danny and Ray, whom she gave a two-finger salute to before adjusting her hood a little lower.



Despite the mixed feelings he had, Nolan made a U-turn back towards the arena. He couldn't just not support his friend. Maybe Luro was just saying things. Maybe he was just a little too sober. He had to be... The chef sighed and walked towards the tournament, moving a little faster when he heard it starting. All the while, he was thinking of the woman's reaction, and the fear the little girl had. No matter how much he wanted to believe Luro was just joking or he was teasing...or anything more rational, he couldn't. Nothing added up. And how harsh Luro had been to the poor girl was inexcusable!

The crowd was cheering, indicating that he had missed a few matches. Nolan took a seat in an area that wasn't too filled with people going overly insane for the fights. He, obviously wasn't too much of a fan for violence, and it baffled him why so many people would be excited to watch people hurt each other. Soon enough, Luro's match was up. There was an immediate pang in his chest as he saw Lily walking out from the opposite side. "Oh dear..." Was all he managed to mumble out before the fight began.

His eyes were wide with fear for the woman. Nolan had witnessed Luro's fighting and knew that he was pretty tough. Maybe not as intimidating as Kai was, but nonetheless Nolan would never think to get into a fight with him. And suddenly, the sound of gunfire rang through his ears. Nolan shot up from his seat, just as everyone else did, and gasped as he watched Lily fall into the water.

"How could he- Why would he do such a thing!?"

Confusion, anger, and sadness for the girl boiled inside the chef as the intermission began. He didn't know what hurt worse; watching an innocent life be taken by someone he trusted, or knowing that Luro said he would kill her. How could he trust him? What could he believe? Luro was such a fun loving, carefree, and humorous spirit...until recently. This cold hearted person he had witnessed now was not the person he knew.

In the month or so that they sailed together.... Did they even know each other?

~~~~~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Oh no, oh no, oh no..." Mary muttered and ran out the coliseum. Her vision was blurred by newly tears. How could he do such a thing!? That tall man knew that Lily was all she had! And- And he killed her! He, Luro, had been so nice to her- even attempting to offer her food... But was all that just some lie?
The child ran as fast as her legs would take her. She ran around the coliseum trying to find the back door where all the contestants entered through. As soon as she found it, and tried to run in, she was blocked by someone guarding it.

"Sorry little Miss, I can't let you go-"

"My sister is in there! She got hurt really bad! I have to get to her! I have to see if she's okay! She's the only one I have left! She can't die! S- She can't die..." Mary had been yelling with tears streaming down her face. As she yelled, she tried escaping the grip of the shark like fishman that held onto her. "Pl-Please." Her voice came out in broken sobs and eventually she gave up trying to pull away from the fishman. Lily may not have been a blood sister to her, but the older girl had definitely protected her like one. And that was the only family she had.

The shark saw how desperate she was and looked inside. He ran his webbed hand through his hair and sighed. "...Alright kid. Just...Just don't get into any trouble." He let arm her go.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The matches continued and Luro had advanced each round of his group. The crowd went crazy for the matches and even Runali applauded for them, especially Luro. She just didn't hoot and holler like everyone else. The final match of Group C took place. Luro against someone else who managed to get far for the title.

And in less than minutes, that person was down for the count.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the winner for Group C: Luro Makachi!

The crowd roared and cheered for him as he was declared victor and was lead back to where the remaining contestants were held. There were now only three left. The group winners from A, B, and C.

"We'll be taking a brief intermission for the challengers to get prepared for the final tournament! Stick close to the coliseum because you don't want to miss it! Intermission time: 10 minutes! Don't forget to try out all the food and drink we have! And explore the island, there's plenty to do and see!

The announcer sounded pretty convincing, but Runali decided to stay in her seat for the time being. She could wait out ten minutes. She could sleep for ten minutes, or wander around the large coliseum to see if there was an even better spot for her to see the fight. Some others stayed as well, conversing with their friends or families, but a lot of them rushed out to go to the concessions or take care of quick personal business like going to the restroom. The captain imagined that would be a long...long line if that was the case.

* * * * * * * * * * * ~ ~ ~ ~ ! ~ ~ ~ * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"People of Utsukushī! The final match is about to begin! I repeat, the final match is about to begin! Hurry and grab your seats for the moment we have all been waiting for!

People piled in, hurrying to grab any seat they could find. People were already cheering. People were already placing bets as to who would win. Runali on the other hand, lifted her hood from over her eyes and yawned. A ten minute nap. Short, but pretty decent... Like cat napping. Her crew was around...at least she thought they were. No matter, they'd be around soon enough. A bell went off, indicating that the announcer was to get back to announcing.

"The main event is here! What you all have been waiting for! This match will be a tad different for the newcomers that don't know. With three groups, meaning three winners, this match is an Every Man for Themselves challenge!
Our three challengers are:
Of Group A - Ikaros Ryu!

"Of Group B - Alicia Tashigi!
And of Group C, Luro Makachi!"

As their names were called, each contestant was to come out from their respective entrance. The crowd went wild seeing each person walk up in their own way. A moment of cheering went by just for the anticipation.

"May the best, win!"

"Good luck."

And then the bell rang, for the match to begin.

Alicia and Luro

Luro enjoyed going up against the opponents he fought, some were harder then the people he usually went up against but in the end none of them really got his blood pumping or his heart racing too much, he still appreciated the fights and thanked each one for the match well when they woke up anyway.
Eventually he found he was the winner of group C which brought a wide smile to his face, he would be going up against anyone in the finals next, he couldn’t wait but he was going to take advantage of the ten minute opportunity and get himself something to drink finally.

Luro was a bit late when it came to reaching the arena, a little more so than his two opponents. Running as fast as he could he ran through his entrance to see Ikaros and Alicia out, he had two full bottles of rum on his belt along with a flintlock pistol and a half drunk bottle of rum in his hand. Resting his hands on his knees he caught his breath holding up his free hand before he spoke between breaths.
“I...I’m here…” he said before straightening his body and rotating his right shoulder. “Man it took forever to find a place with something to drink, still I made it.”
Luro looked at Alicia then at Ikaros and he couldn’t help but laugh a little to himself before he brought the rum to his lips and downing the rest in one motion put the bottle back on his belt.
“This is great I get to fight two strong people at once, a fishman and you,” Luro took his rifle off his back as he stared at Alicia.
“You have this way about you, it kind of reminds me of a man I know except his was more like a lion waiting for you to invade his territory, yours reminds me more like a poisonous cobra about to strike, I can tell your dangerous but I’m naturally curious about what you are, still if I get too close if your bite doesn’t get me, your poison certainly will. I going to enjoy every part of you Alicia Tashigi.”
Luro stopped himself for a moment and held up a hand before bringing it to his head.
“No that’s not right, what I mean is I’m going to enjoy examining all you have...no hold on…”
Luro brought his hand to his chin and looked over at Ikaros giving a small wave to please wait before tapping his chin.
“Oh I got it I’m going to enjoy examining all you have to offer, no that’s not it either, what I mean is I want to fight you and examine how strong you are, not what I wouldn’t mind seeing parts of you but you’re my enemy so we have to fight physically with weapons. I think I meant I wanted to fight you to get to know you, that’s it that’s what I meant, there we go I knew I’d get it.”
Luro didn’t even notice the bell rang for a moment but when he heard the announcer he perked up.
“Oh right we’re fighting each other, listen I want to take you on without interruption so I’m going to fight this guy over here first since I’ve always wanted to fight a fishman, you mind waiting a moment I really want to indulge in this fight, though fighting both of you at the same time would be nice too...no no I want a good memory of fighting a fishman better fight him first.”



When Alicia stood and began to walk towards the door to the tavern, the punters who had managed to settle back down after the tension went silent, as if she would strike down anyone who would so much as breath in her direction. Though in truth she was fairly gentle by nature and only demonstrated her prowess against those who would seek to harm her. Of course this tournament was an exception as it was a sport which made it a circumstance she wouldn't count. Even if some of her opponents were less than serious about the competition than she was. When she arrived back at the tournament she pushed back through the doors, making her way in just as the final fight was announced. She made her way over to her spot at the center of the arena, regarding the fishman with a subtle nod of her head before taking her position. Little did she know just how odd her other opponent would be when he turned up panting and resting on his knees, clutching a bottle of rum.

As he spoke to her she merely raised an eyebrow, which then changed to a look of slight confusion, which then lead to a small blush which ended up in a combination of all three expressions as he finished his statement. 'So I'm a cobra? or am I lion... did he just call me a man?' she thought to herself before she refocused as he asked if she would wait for him to fight the fishman. She considered it for a moment before taking a step back, motioning with her arm in the direction of the other sword wielder. "Be my guest" she replied with a small smile. Her purpose in this tournament had already been fulfilled when she defeated Elise who claimed to be the best swordsman on the island. Anything after that was merely training for her along with a little fun on the side. In any case allowing the red haired man to fight the fishman one on one would allow her to observe strengths and weaknesses of the victor, allowing her an advantage when she'd take her stance against whoever would win this duel.


Luro grinned and turned fully towards Ikaros Ryu resting his rifle on his shoulder.
“Thanks Alicia Tashigi, we’re enemies and all that but you can call me Luro while we fight. I like nice people, be right back.”
Luro walked over to the fishman taking his rifle off his shoulder and pointing it at him with a small grin as Ikaros stared back at him.
“All right Ika...Ikairu...Koru...Lur...no that’s my name.”
“Ikaros Ryu,” the fishman said.
“That’s too hard to remember I’m going to call you Ikki, anyway let’s go!”
“Ikki…” Ryu said as Luro ran at him laughing as he closed the distance between, Ryu stabbed one of his legs at him with the intent to trip him up, Luro grinned seeing the attack and jumped stepping off his leg and flying through the air.
He fell towards Ryu bringing his gun back to attack however, he noticed Ryu promptly stab his sword at him, Luro arched a brow but swung his gun hitting the sword but the force of the attack sent him flying back through the air.
He hit the ground hard landing on his back but he rolled backwards stumbling a little.
“Oh you’re way stronger than I thought’d you’d be,” Luro said grinning. “Guess I shouldn’t hold back then, time for strategy!”
Luro put his rifle on his back and ran forward towards Ryu, he ducked and weaved between his legs and closed the distance between them, Ryu launched one of his legs at him and Luro grabbed it as it flew by, he did the same catching another leg before grinning up at him.
“Ah ha! I got two of your...uh..six legs...I did not think this all the way through.”
Luro’s eyes widened as he leaned his head dodging the attacks of Ryu’s other leg an irritated expression showing on the fishman’s face as he raised his sword up causing Luro to nervously chuckle.
Luro leaned over and bit one of his legs causing Ryu to yell before slamming one of his tentacles into his chest sending him sliding back.
Luro eventually came to a stop and gripped his chest patting it a few times.
“Hmmm senseless violence would be much easier if I didn’t see two of this guy,” Luro said smiling a little.
Ryu shook his head and turned towards Alicia spinning his swords in his hand seeming done with Luro’s antics, however he noticed Luro wasn’t finished out of the corner of his eyes.
Luro sprinted towards Ryu again however this time when he got closer he didn’t attack, when Ryu responded by bringing his sword back Luro promptly hurled his rifle at his chest, the sudden attacked caught Ryu off guard but he raised his tentacle catching Luro’s rifle however Luro jumping off the tentacle that grabbed it turned his body and with a small spin slammed his foot into the side of Ryu’s head sending him flying off to the side dropping his rifle in the process. Luro hit the ground spinning catching his rifle in the middle of it and promptly readied it before aiming it at Ryu a wide grin on his face, however he noticed Ryu had already recovered having stopped himself mid flight with his legs and was holding his blades at the ready to respond.
“Oh ho you’re pretty resilient,” Luro said twirling his rifle and holding it behind his neck with both his arms resting on each end of the rifle.
“Hmmm guess I gotta play a little dirty.”
Luro took one of the bottles off his belt and spinning it hurled it at Ryu as he dashed at him, Ryu shook his head and started to dodge the bottle but noticed something else come flying at him, he brought both his swords down knocking both the objects away, he noticed the other was Luro’s Flintlock pistol, he promptly turned to Luro but he was nowhere to be seen.
He looked all around for him his gaze moving to Tashigi for a moment but Luro was literally hiding underneath his legs, he put a finger to his mouth to Tashigi before promptly raising his rifle straight up finding his target, Ryu’s eyes widened in pain and he yelled before he jumped back...right over the edge of the stage.
“I got some lasses with that move,” Luro said grinning as he watched Ryu go off the stage. “Nice fighting you!”
He didn’t noticed two of Ryu’s legs had gripped the edge before he turned towards Tashigi.
“Alright then shall we get started?”



Alicia moved away as the fight began, casually taking a seat on the ground with her sword on her lap as she watched the one called Luro engage the Fishman. The engagement was interesting and she found herself pleasantly surprised when Luro proved that he wasn't all about shooting and hoping for the best. She'd met far too many gun users in her time who felt that aimlessly spamming the trigger would earn them an easy kill. But this one demonstrated a greater degree of skill which peaked her interest as he continued his attack on the fishman who she remembered was named Ryu. When Luro deceived Ryu before shooting him from underneath she gave a short clap of her hands to accompany the cheers of the audience as they marveled at his strategy. However her expression shortly changed to one with a slight frown as she realized something which Luro hadn't.

In the beat of an eyelid she was already on her feet and dashing towards Luro, her hand gliding to the hilt of her sword as she bent herself into a leaning sprint. The announcer excitedly spoke over the audience, "Here it is folks! Bow Black has entered the fray!" he said, the crowd responding with a roar. Alicia would close the gap to Luro, waiting for his counter which she'd parry with a flick of her wrist. It was then that Luro would hopefully realize his mistake and her true intention as she jumped and used him as a platform to kick herself from as she launched herself into the air just as Ryu threw himself from the edge of the stage and towards Luro's back. Alicia met Ryu midair and struck a massive blow against his attack, rolling herself in mid air from the momentum of the clash. Ryu's eyes widened in surprise as the small women appeared seemingly out of nowhere to block his ambush on Luro.

As she rolled mid air she slammed her foot into Ryu's stomach, sending him hurtling away in a different direction. The fishman recovered as he landed and slid on his feet a few meters, Alicia landing and rolling into a defensive stance opposite where he landed. Alicia looked less than pleased, "A true swordsman attacks their opponent on equal ground, not from the shadows like an assassin" she said before she spun the blade around her wrist with trained speed and precision. "I apologize Luro, but I'm afraid I must take part in this fight from now on, whether you stand in my way or not" she said softly as she readied herself for an attack stance. The announcer spoke again, "Bow Black intercepted Ryu! what a turn of events!!" he almost screamed, "Ladies and gentlemen you are witnessing one historical battle here today at Utsukushi's own arena!" he continued, further exciting the audience.

Ryu placed a hand on his stomach as he recomposed from the strike, his own expression looking less than pleased as he felt insulted at her accusation and likely a little ashamed. It was his turn to advance now as he accelerated towards her. Alicia took in a deep breath, exhaling as she began walking forwards, as he closed towards her she took a quick few steps into his range, her blade flashing forwards as their swords met. A flurry of blows creating tiny sparks of light as the two fighters exchanged their blows, each of them impressively fast and accurate. Ryu then stepped to the side, one of his tentacled arms shooting out to latch her arm which held her sword. He pulled her from her feet and into the air where she once again followed the momentum into a forwards roll before slamming both her legs into his face, causing him to stagger backwards as she fell towards the floor. As she landed she rolled backwards into a defensive stance just as before. Ryu looked to be getting irritated now, pulling out another blade with his other arm.


Luro lowered his body and went to attack Alicia but her response knocked his attack away which caused him to grin as he changed his footing to try and respond to her, however he quickly noticed that she wasn’t trying to attack him and remained still as she stepped off him and attacked something else, when he turned and noticed it was Ryu his eyebrows arched as he turned towards the two as they started going at it.
He could have sworn he knocked the guy off but looking at him now that didn’t seem to be the case. Still as he watched the two he watched Alicia fight, he noticed she was good but he didn’t expect her to be this skilled, she fended off his attacks with a scary kind of precision, he opened his other rum bottle and started drinking from it as he watched the two go at it.
It was hard to look away, the sparks flying between them as they fought and the sheer ferocity reminded him of two ships going at it, except instead of cannonballs they fired swords at each other…except those probably wouldn’t be as effective, interesting to watch but not effective.
Luro started thinking about the idea of ships shooting swords but he was pulled back to the fight as Alicia spoke to him mentioning her involvement.
“Hmmm well why don’t we work together then, I’ll create an opening for you, then you finish him off,” Luro said before downing the rest of his drink and putting it back on his belt. “I’m satisfied having gotten to fight one besides I can’t kill captain ordered me to avoid it…oh and the rules too.”
Luro walked forward checking his rifle before picking up the pistol he had tossed and readying it, he walked with both guns his rifle in his right the pistols in his left as he stood a few feet from Ryu.
“Kinda cheating to use a third sword and attacking me from behind, as a pirate I like your dirty tactics and as your opponent I can kind respect it but as an enemy it’s kind of cheap.”
Ryu’s eyes narrowed at Luro before he raised the pistol and pointed it at his skull a small smirk forming on his lips as he spoke next.
“Let me return the favor by ripping each of your legs off and eating them for dinner tonight.”
“I’ll just grow them back,” Ryu spat back at him.
“What really you can do that? That’s actually pretty cool, huh well I was trying to threaten you but that won’t work. Uh what can kill you exactly so I do a better threat?”
“....uh…mating I suppose. My kind tends to die that way,” Ryu said clearly confused by the sudden question.
“Really that…wow I’m so sorry that sounds awful. Great way to go but…man…oh okay I got it then. I’m going to make you mate and watch you die.”
“Well even doing that it takes a bit for us to actually die, it’s not immediate, normally a couple of months generally. Besides that doesn’t really sound like a threat and watching me mate is a bit creepy.”
“Yeah you’re right on both accounts, hmm alright then I’m just going to shoot you, miss then hit you with my rifle in that order.”
“Wait what-”
Luro sprinted forward and ran towards his legs again, Ryu’s eyes twitched remembering what happened last time and promptly closed his legs keeping Luro from going under him, he slashed at different parts of Luro’s torso with the swords all at once however Luro grinned and sliding dodge the attacks one getting dangerously close to his head before pointing the pistol at his legs and firing, Ryu opened his legs to keep the bullet from hitting him which gave Luro just enough time to dive under him as he regained his footing.
Ryu promptly moved forward not about to suffer the same attack but as he did he felt something behind him, when he turned Luro was in the air his rifle brought back to attack a wide grin on his face.
“Feint successful,” Luro said grinning.
Luro let out a loud yell and slammed his rifle into the back of Ryu’s head, the force of the attack sent Ryu lurching forward his eyes shut at the pain.
“Tashigi now! Finish him off!”



She once again found herself to be pulling an expression of slight confusion as the two had a little back and forth about how to correctly insult the fishman. Such a thing in the heat of a fight was alien to her, having been raised to take her title seriously. It was kind of refreshing in a way, to see that despite the prowess of both these fighters they could still afford the time to stop and have a conversation like this. It was more Luro who seemed to instigate it but never the less she was taken back by it all. When Luro had suggested teaming up she agreed, feeling it was acceptable given the situation. She prepared herself as Luro went forth, declaring his intentions which turned out to be another form of deceit as he appeared behind Ryu, delivering a devastating blow to the back of his head. Her eyes caught the sight of Ryu's eyes closing and seized the opportunity, kicking off her back foot as she dashed forwards towards the staggering fishman. She closed towards him in seconds before delivering a singular viscous blow, her lungs exhaling fully as she struck with all her power and precision, using the back of her sword to avoid turning him into two pieces. Ryu let out a choking gargle and spat blood as the impact into his torso bent his body from the sheer force, taking him off the floor. Alicia spun the blade around her wrist again before delivering the finishing strike onto the same spot Luro had struck, sending his body back to the ground with a harsh thud as his body crumpled at her feet. Alicia whipped the blade out to her side before returning it to it's scabbard in one fluid movement. The audience roared and people jumped from their seats as the announcer called, "RYU IS DOWN!! TWO FIGHTERS REMAIN!!" he cried over the noise.

He couldn't tear his eyes away from the woman, not even when her body had been moved.

"Is she..." his hands clenched into fists. He understood that they were pirates and that they would kill to defend their ship and themselves, but to kill in a competition where it wasn't necessary? He suddenly jolted upright. What he wanted most at the moment was to sock Luro in the face and demand an explanation.

"Oi, siddown will ya?" A voice from behind him yelled.

Nolan didn't move, "is she dead?"

"How should I know, kid? It happens. Now sit, you're not exactly a shorty."

How was the crowd still cheering. Perhaps to them, it was just another day and just another casualty. He wondered if he was fit for the life of a pirate and for a moment thought about just heading back to Annie. If he went home, he wouldn't have to deal with this. He could run the tavern and just live a happy life with her...but then, if he left, he'd be a quitter. This was something he promised himself he would do and he wouldn't ask for Annie's hand until he managed to prove himself.

Not his parents or her, but to himself. "I'm sorry..." he muttered before excusing himself and moving through the aisle. He had to find the others, maybe the would understand what was going on. "Excuse me, pardon me, coming through."

Judging by the way the crowd was cheering, another fight had began, he didn't cheer and instead weaved his way through the sea of flailing limbs. Eventually, the man noticed someone who looked like Ray. He narrowed his eyes then saw him with Danny, and the captain was there too. He walked up beside them without saying a word, he looked pensive, upset even.

He narrowed his eyes at the fight that was going on below and frowned.

The match started and Runali lifted her hood up a little more to see better. She leaned against the railing in front of her, wondering what her shipwright could possibly be chatting about to his two opponents. She could only imagine. And noticing the bottles of rum, she couldn't assume it made that much sense. Then again, Luro never really did make sense. But it made him all the more amusing. Well, at least he was being friendly. It was less guaranteed that the three would go for kills.

Something...interesting happened right after. Luro decided to fight Ryu on his own. Surprisingly enough, the one known as Bow Black even sat by to let him fight. She even looked patient. "Tch, of course he would ask to fight the fishman alone." The fight between the two was interesting enough. Besides the matches before, she had never seen a fishman fight. Although, because most of them were different species of fish, they all had different styles of fighting. Ikaros Ryu was no different, and he was the only octopus type fishman she had seen throughout the whole tournament.

Danny and Ray were cheering away next to her and she looked up when a shadow casted over her. Spotting Nolan, she gave a two finger salute. "Care to join us?" Her expression changed to a more confused one when she noticed his expression. "What's wrong? Run into some trouble? Need us to throw some rats into the ocean?" As she spoke, she looked back at the match taking place though glancing over at Nolan every once in awhile to show she was listening.

Danny overheard and jumped up, hitting her palm with her fist. "Do we need to rough anyone up? I'm all for it, especially if they are messing with our crew!" Ray's attention turned to Nolan, hearing about a potential ruffian that was disturbing one of his crew members' peace. He wasn't as animated as Danny, nor did he voice out his concern. But he did wait for an answer from the chef.

The announcer and the crowd roared and cheered as Luro took down Ryu. And then Alicia delivered the final blow. "Whoa...Two left. Come on Luro. You can win this."

It wasn't about the money for them. The StarDusk pirates came up with a hefty sum in the past few weeks. This fight was all about pride- not saying a few extra dollars to spend wouldn't be nice. "This should be a good fight." The announcer rambled on and on about the fight, reminding them of the winnings and making the crowd even more rowdy.

"You guys should really try these snacks. Never heard of some of these, but they're great." Runali noted as she bought another one of the snacks she once again forgot the name of.

"No...nothing's wrong," Nolan shook his head and sank into a free seat.

He didn't want to cause any unnecessary tension. They were still a crew, though a part of him really didn't know what to think about Luro at this point. He noticed the others giving him funny looks and he was touched by the concerned gesture. "Hey captain, that woman...Lillian was it?" His eyebrows were drawn together and anger flashed across the usually cheerful chef's face. "Is she alright?"

Only Alicia and Luro were left now, the fishman had been defeated and the crowd cheered louder than ever.

"You know, she had a kid with her..." he let the thought dangle in the air. If the woman was dead, then what would happen to the child. Maybe she was a bad person and maybe Luro had justifiable reasons, but judging by their conversation at the port, it seemed as if they had been friends. And even if the woman had been someone mean, she didn't pose a threat to Luro now and she was looking after a child too.

He clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white. "I don't think the kid had anyone else left."

Making a child suffer was despicable and part of him started to hate Luro Makachi.

Danny's mood went on a roller coaster ride as the fights continued on. she'd be animated and bouncing in her seat when the fights were good, but when there was a lull, Danny's mind went back to the girl Luro shot. but then the fights would start again and that was all that filled her short attention span. Luro came on again, and she shouted even louder, waving excitably. she stood up and started jumping as he grappled with the fishman. she sank back down when his opponent supposedly went over the edge, only to get back up as the girl flew over him, stopping the ambush on Luro.
"She's as good as Kai is!" she exclaimed, visibly shaking from the excitement. her attention was once again pulled away by Nolan looking down, listening to the captain ask about ruffing people up, which she instantly joined in on with vigor. But he declined and sat down, but something still seemed off. narrowing her eyes, she watched him closely as he stated the woman Luro shot had a child with her. frowning, Danny rubbed her nose, thinking. without a word, she hugged the ship's cook.
"I have a feeling that Luro didn't kill her. I didn't see where the bullet hit. and even if he did, I'm sure he had a good reason. either way, if you say she's got a child with her, I'll give them a portion of my take from waterdeep. I don't need it- well, maybe I do. theres the master map maker on this island, and one of his maps would be real cool to have, but thats beside the point. I'll help them out, even if Luro won't. We're a crew, but that doesn't mean we think all the same or have to agree with everyone else. I mean now that I remembered that this mapmaker is within a few miles of me I want to go meet him but you probably couldn't care less, even though you should because he basically invented the Yelport's code, among other things. but I'm rambling and I haven't eaten and have you eaten? Runali is right we should go get snacks, those snacks look good, want to go get food? I think we should. why am I hugging you?"

Ray had heard tales of the fishmen from his uncle, but had never seen one, or had hoped to see one, himself. Ikarous Ryu was undoubtedly a rare specimen among his kind for getting this far in the competition, but combined with the stories he had heard and the evidence before his eyes, he silently prayed that Luro would take this threat more seriously.

Luro's other opponent was... well, she had a sword, a single-edged curved blade, but it was of foreign design to Lendria. That she was one of the finalists said plenty for her skill, but what really caught his interest was the way she carried herself. Luro had the sense of haphazardness to him, and the fishman stood with an alien, yet familiar stance of controlled power, waiting to be released. This “Bow Black,” or Alicia Tashigi as the announcer had introduced her, seemed to be so completely at ease, it seemed as if she was standing there alone, without the crowd or even an opponent to face her. When the fight started, her attitude hardly seemed to change, fighting as if she wasn't fighting, but rather dancing or making some form of art. Ray hardly paid attention to the fight; his eyes were glued on Tashigi. Her graceful style was quite different than the swift and straightforward form he was accustomed to. Hers had a beauty to it. When she landed the final blow on the fishman, Ray broke from his trance to cheer wildly for the two of them. To be an accomplished fighter and look damn good doing it? This woman is something else.

Now it was only Luro and Alicia. Luro could definitely end this if he could get one straight shot lined up, but Alicia could probably overwhelm him quickly. He was cheering for Luro, but a small part of him wanted to see Alicia defeat him, half because Ray wanted to see the limits of Luro's strength, and half because he was so enamored with Alicia's fighting style. Either way, he knew they were in a hell of a show.

Luro grinned as he stared at Ryu's unconscious body, he brought a hand to his chin closing his eyes with a solemn nod this Alicia was an interesting person, he owed a bit of thanks to Utsukushi he got to meet some fascinating people here, he still had to try some of the exotic drinks from other countries he'd have to take the time to do that later while he had the chance. He doubted any of them would satiate his thirst like rum did but trying something new wasn't a bad idea.
Luro heard the announcer and was brought back to the fight his attention moving back over to Alicia, he let out a small chuckle and playfully knocked the side of his head.
"Forgot I was still fighting for a moment there," Luro said turning fully towards Alicia. "You know Tashigi I've had fun today, normally whenever I point my gun at someone I go at them with the intent to kill, though the captain has requested I not do so often. I don't like holding back in a fight seems like a waste ya know, so I'm going to go at you with everything I have, I hope you do the same cause I'm going to stop following the rules now, I want to feel even more joy in these fights, besides I don't want to hold back against you."
Luro gripped his rifle and raising it above his head twirled it a few times in his open palm before gripping it and slamming the butt down with a bit of force before grabbing the last bottle of rum on his belt.
"Alright Tashigi let's have a grand battle, one the people of this village will speak of for generations! Here I-"
Luro cut himself off as his eyes landed on the bottle widening a little.
"Hold on a moment Tashigi," Luro said the excitement leaving his voice as he turned his attention fully to the rum.
Luro held the bottle up and tried to empty some into his mouth, when nothing came out he peered through the bottle before his eyebrows drew down a little seeing nothing in the bottle.
"My rum's gone," Luro said tossing the bottle aside. "That's right I drank it already...this is a problem. I don't have anything to drink and if I fight Tashigi I'm going to sober up, there's no way around that with the way she fights. Hmmm so either I fight Tashigi sober or fight her with a bit of drink in me."
Luro put his rifle on his back and started counting reasons on his fingers trying to weigh the advantages and disadvantages for a moment, his mind seemed far away from the fight at this point as he seriously considered his options.
"Alright I know what I have to do, I have my duty as a pirate so the answer is clear to me."
Luro turned towards Tashigi and with a grin raised his hand up before yelling towards the announcer.
"Announcer! I'm out of rum so I'm going to get some more now! You can name Tashigi the winner!"
Luro lowered his hand and looked over at Tashigi giving her a small thumbs up and a wink.
"You can have the money Tashigi I wasn't all that interested in it anyway I just wanted a good fight."
Luro turned his back to her and shoved his hands into his pockets heading back towards the meeting hall whistling one of Ray's songs to himself.
"Oh right," Luro said glancing over his shoulder at her. "If you still wanna fight I'll be outside the stadium in a bit, we'll have a no holds barred match like nature intended. Oh and you should talk to my captain, it's a shame you're not a StarDusk pirate with your skills. Her name is Runali Le-something she wears an eye-patch and is walking around in a hood that looks like this."
Luro brought both of his hands up to his head and mimicked cat ears before waving one last time at Tashigi and walking out of the stadium stretching a little.
"Alright time to do my duty as a pirate and drink until I can't feel anything anymore and drink some more!"

Danny said
"She's as good as Kai!"

The captain watched Alicia and Luro go at it before glancing over at the map maker. "As well of a swordswoman as she is, she can't be compared to Kai." It was still a bit of a bummer that he left, but she came to terms with it. He did promise to return when he was finished, but if that wasn't for a long time, the captain assumed they could always visit Waterdeep once they've sailed around completely. She didn't believe in backtracking, so it would be a bit of time before they saw Waterdeep again. "But you know, she would be a nice addition to our set of skills." The recruiting thoughts came and went. This Bow Black character must have had something going for her. Runali doubted the pirate life was for her either. Unless she was already a pirate.

Runali glanced over at the cook when he mentioned the dead woman- or potentially dead woman. Apparently she had a kid. That's why he was so worked up. It made sense though. He was such a kind hearted soul- not really pirate like, but he fit just fine with the StarDusk crew. It still did amaze her that someone like Nolan ever agreed to join in the pirate life. Danny decided to bound forward with her help and the captain raised an eyebrow towards her uplifting words. With a slight matter of fact tone, she spoke up to the two. "I'd be careful about raising your hopes like that. Don't want them to come crashing down if you're wrong... Luro is a pirate. And before that, I'm sure he hasn't had a decet history... Not saying he would kill someone just because, but I wouldn't rule that out..." Her attention turned back to the arena, wondering why nothing had happened and why no one was attacking. "Ask him for yourself. Thinkin' about it and getting worked up won't get you anywhere."

Runali gave a light shrug and then tilted her head as Luro began trying to get something out of his bottle. Her eye narrowed when she realized nothing was coming from it. She sat up, practically getting ready to stand. "Luro..." Why did she have a bad feeling about-

Luro said "Announcer! I'm out of rum so I'm going to get some more now! You can name Tashigi the winner!"

It was loud and clear. The announcer heard it and the people in the crowd had cheered less since nothing was happening between the two... So they heard it as well. And they all fell to utter silence. The only sound that could be heard around the area of the StarDusk crew was Runali sighing and facepalming. Though, with a shake of her head, even she chuckled lightly. "What a weird, weird creature." She was starting to doubt his status as a human....No one should have been able to drink that much. And yet, Luro could.

"W-What?..../Is he serious?/"
/"The guy is l-leaving!? Oh, bloody-"/

Throats cleared in the microphones, not realizing they could still be heard while they were whispering. Once composed, they tried announcing again.

"L-...Ladies and Gentlemen. It appears we have a unanimous decision... One that has never happened in the history of our tournament.... But, um, Luro Makachi has forfeited his chance at the prize. He gave up $20,000...to go get rum!"
"Never in my life have I witnessed such a thing! He just gave the winner's title to his opponent.. Which means...the winner of the tournament is:
Alicia Tashigi! "

The announcers were trying to keep their cheer and excitement up, but even they were too confused to know what was happening. The crowd themselves didn't know whether to cheer or boo. Slowly, but surely the cheering started - until it erupted into a full cheer. Even so, some were a little upset about the outcome. They did pay good money to see a fight- and normally the best fights were the final fights. Luro did rob them of that entertainment.... Hopefully that didn't bite him in the back side later.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to go see if Luro accomplished getting his rum." She shook her head and then shrugged. "As eventful as it was, I think it's about time to head out anyway. Tourist town. We spend the night here, we'll probably end up with empty pockets. Tourist islands are like Sirens for- everyone. So make sure you get everything before we set sail." She stood and walked out of the stadium. Others stayed till the very end when one of the officials brought out Alicia's prize and once again named her the winner. 'It's a good thing this place is practically crime free. I don't think I'd want others to know I was carrying around that much money.' Runali was already out, trying to beat the rush of stadium people when they got out.

As she did, she could have sworn she saw a child running somewhere around the stadium. Of course, it made her think of what Nolan said. 'Wonder if he really did kill her. Well, his reasons are his own. And I should probably tell him that we'll probably heading off soon.' She continued along, ignoring all the tempting things vendors were trying to sell. Though, even she couldn't help but pause to look at a few of the items.

~"He said he'd break my body, to rebuild me as an instrument of violence and a harbinger of peace"~

Alicia rested her hand gently onto the scabbard of her sword, her thumb sliding up along the polished and painted wood till it pressed against the metal guard, her ear standing by for the faint click to signify the release of her lethal companion. She regarded Luro as she would any other opponent, especially as he'd proven himself to be a capable fighter. But as she readied herself to finish this fight, it appeared the red haired man had one last surprise for her, one she hadn't foreseen nor experienced in any of the many fights she'd won throughout her journey. He chose to forfeit, to walk away because he felt like he'd rather drink instead. It was strange yet she couldn't help but feel refreshed at his ability to act on his own terms, rather than what the circumstance would demand of him. As if he hadn't a single care in the world.

Alicia relaxed her stance as he began to walk away, silent without a word as she watched him leave. The crowd had fallen silent and seemed to share the confusion, not that she really noticed. "StarDusk" she muttered to herself, looking at the ground in front of her before her attention was stolen by the announcer calling her the winner of the tournament. She looked back towards the door that Luro had left through, were he a swordsman she might have taken his offer for a harder fight outside of the arena. But as he was not, she saw no reason to do so. She took the prize money from the official, looking at it in the palm of her hand before she closed her fingers around it. She gave a polite 'thank you' to the official before she headed towards the same door that Luro left through.

When she was outside she began to look around for Luro, catching a glimpse of him in the crowds of those who began to filter out from the arena. Almost instantly she was descended on by people asking about the legend, others asking about the arena fight and asking all kinds of other questions here and there. After ten minutes of politely replying with what she could, Alicia excused herself from them as she was determined on finding this strange man named Luro. She followed in the direction she'd last seen him and after some time she would eventually find him again, though it seemed he had his friends with him this time, perhaps the pirates he spoke of before as she recognized the profile of a girl with an eye patch, though truth be told she wasn't as hardy looking as she'd expected from a pirate captain.

"Excuse me, Luro Makachi?" she asked in the same soft tone as before as she approached. She'd stop a few feet away before she'd speak again, "You were quite the surprise for me today" she said with a small smile as her brows arched, "I had thought this island was done providing me with opponents after Elise was felled and although we never did have our moment, you did assist me in the defeat of Ikaros Ryu, which is why I'm here as I believe it is only fair you take this" she held out a hand towards him, opening her hand to reveal half of the prize money from the tournament. Most people would probably have said 'screw it' and taken all of the money. But Alicia was a fighter, a swordswomen who respected her opponents and her allies equally.

Danny was right, maybe Luro did have his reasons. Though whatever those reasons were, he wondered how they could justify the murder of an old friend. Nolan's eyebrows were drawn together in frustration, but then the captain spoke, and the cook nodded his head. "You're right, maybe he'll tell us what this was all about." He didn't believe his own words, but he wanted to believe that, he really, really, did.

The tiny girl pulled him into a hug then began talking about food. Nolan blinked slowly, momentarily confused, but as Danny continued her rant, a small smile tugged on the corner's of the cook's mouth. She reminded him of his little sister...

Nolan gave her a pat on the head then threw his pessimistic thoughts away. "A snack is just what I need," he chuckled then eyed the many stands just away from the bleachers. "I needed that, thanks, Danny." The crowd was going wild and the next announcement made him gape. Apparently, Luro had quit the fight to get more rum. Now this, this was the Luro he had come to known as a friend. He wanted to question the man's motives, but instead he looked away from the fight and focused on a cotton candy stall. The captain wanted to go find Luro as well. "Alright, we'll meet you on the ship, captain."

The cook turned to look at Ray and waved a hand, "Ray, do you want to join us for cotton candy?"

It was too bad they'd be leaving the next day, the town seemed to be one that was full with things to do and see, but the captain was right, this place would eat through their pockets faster than they could say cheesy fudge nuggets. "It'll be on me," he added in, hoping to grab a bite with his friends before heading back.

Danny grinned wider when Nolan patted her head, drawing back from the cook. It stayed in place when Luro walked off from the fight, declaring he wanted rum. Same old drunk Luro. It was disappointing that the fight was over, but no one could stop the red head from leaving, and there wasn't any chance of Luro not drinking. Danny's ears perked up when Nolan mentioned cotton candy.
"Whats cotton candy? Is it good? Lets go get some." She started bouncing around again, excited to try something new. She followed the cook down to the stand, impatently moving back in forth in the line. When they were up, she got herself her own, deciding she wanted to try as much as possible. She grinned, staring at it as the small group moved away from the stand.
"It looks like clouds!" She giggled, trying a bit. Danny's eyes widened, amazed at the new substance in her mouth. "They've harvested the clouds and made them sweet. These are sugar clouds. These cannot not be clouds. We should catch up to the captain, yeah? We can do so while we feast on clouds."