[IC] One Piece: A pirate's life for me!

[pyroman]

It was another peaceful morning in the Cocoyasi village, as it has been for quite some time. The only somewhat recent event that actually took place in the village was an attack, and only a very few amount of people were hurt in any way, none were killed. Over the years, the village had expanded, taking over the area that was once Arlong park and turning it into a port for traders, merchants, and the occasional pirate that made their way to the village. A young man sat against a window as he saw the sun rising. He had his hours of sleep, but whenever he came to this building sleep wasn't the thing that he wanted. He wanted the pirate who attacked his village dead and he'd travel ever corner of the great blue just to do it. Few people are actually injured during that attack, but one person, a very close person to him, was heavily injured from the attack.

Simon wasn't too young to know what was going on, but he just wasn't ready to face it. His friend was one of the few who stood against the attacking pirates and refused to give them what they wanted. In return, they beat her pretty badly and she was forced to stay at the hospital until she was okay, making her the warning to anyone that refused to give them what they required. He was there when it happened and he wasn't able to do anything to help her. He wished that he could do back and find a way to stop it, but he knew that wasn't easy. He was just one young man who hadn't ventured out further than the surrounding islands. He didn't have a crew, weapons, money, or a ship. His head turned back away from the sun and to his friend whom he had visited almost every day. She lie there peacefully and took in slow and quiet breaths.

A tint of orange light up the room and made her usually light brown hair a soft orange color. He just wanted for one day that he'd visit and she'd be completely fine, no injuries, or anything. As the moment passed and the sun lifted itself from the horizon, the room was no longer orange, and the soft smile he once had on his face left. That day was still a horrid scar in his memory and he just wanted to get rid of it no matter what. It plagued his mind and would always find a way to appear in his thoughts. A few more moments passed before he heard soft footsteps. He knew the routine well and knew that it was some of the nurses, checking on some of the patients that had one way or another ended up in a bed with broken bones and deathly wounds. Some of them travelers who ran into pirates, and others were pirates themselves who had enough money to persuade them to heal them up. Almost all of them know about the woman who Simon was visiting, but very few actually knew that Simon was there almost every day. As the footsteps gradually got louder, he decided that it was time to leave. He opened up the window and slid out, to the small balcony, closing the window behind him and slowly but surely making his way down the building and to ground, where he would later go to the port and visit any of the traders or merchants who were there today. He knew well that this was going to cost him, not only the operations, but also the room and how long she was staying in it, and everything else. He needed money and a good way to get it fast.

[Card Captor]

As Max's tiny boat landed on the shore, he got out and created a very large card. Slapping it down on the boat, he sealed it inside the card. That done, he put the card into his body for safekeeping. "So...this is Conomi Island" he said to himself "It seems so peaceful. Hard to believe that it's in the same world as the Grand Line." Pulling out a card with an apple in it, he released the fruit and began eating it. As he munched on his meal, he began to take a walk along the beach he landed on, listening to the sound of the waves crashing on the sand. "It's still hard to believe how far I've come, how much my life has changed these past few years. But I suppose just wandering around is still better then living there." It wasn't long before he caught sight of a village "people! It'll be nice to talk to someone after being alone on the ocean for so long" he said to himself as he ran off to the villiage in the distance

[AcetheKidd]

" oh my,this village along with the island is very peaceful. " clyde sat outside of a cafe,causelly drinking a cup a tea and eating on a pound cake. " i can't believe that arlong invaded this place. It gives us fishmen a bad name. " he remembered when it happen. Even if he Wasnt there. Clyde remember the small pirate crew that ran them off." Well anyway,i should be careful around. I don't want anyone chase with pitch forks.." the fishman begin to work on his weapony. Mainly his guns

[Rin]

Strawbella Parfait

Finally, civilization!

It had seemed like months since Strawbella had set off in her makeshift pumpkin boat. Months without contact with other humans, drifting across the ocean... Sure, she'd came across the occasional island, but they were always uninhabited. At least with her powers she hadn't had to worry about starving...

But here she was! She had no idea where she was, but she at least saw a village inland. And the moment she saw it, she realised it was her best chance of getting back to civilization. But to do so, she'd need an oar...

"Hmmm, I wonder what fruit would work best... Ah!" It was a bit risky, but... Well, even if it was technically a vegetable, it was still classed as a culinary fruit. Would a loophole like that work? There was only one way to find out...

"Oh splendid, it worked!" Strawbella clapped her hands together, most pleased that she'd managed to summon an overly large stick of rhubarb. Its shape was perfect! Taking hold of it, she began to row herself to shore, and soon enough the giant pumpkin came to a stop upon the sand. "Ah, this island seems nice... I do hope the locals are pleasant. Oh my, maybe I will be able to eat meat again! It has been so long..."

Leaving her pumpkin behind, Strawbella made her way towards town, skipping daintily as she went. For someone who had just spent months alone at sea, she seemed... Rather unaffected by it. Not only was she still cheerful (mother had taught her that an optimistic mindset could conquer anything, after all), but she still seemed well dressed, clean and... Well, she didn't really smell that bad either. She still wanted to have a nice bath as soon as possible, though, so she tried to head to the nearest inn. Well, she assumed it was an inn. Maybe it was a bar or a tavern. She wasn't entirely clear what the difference was; after all, she'd always been taught that these places were unfit for someone of her standing. But she didn't have much choice right now, so...

All eyes turned to face her as she entered the room, unsure of what to make of the short girl dressed in the pinkest and girliest dress they had ever seen, doubly so when she curtsied as she made her introduction.

"Hail there, fine fellows. On this beautiful morn... Or noon, I am not quite sure which one applies at this moment... Would it trouble you greatly to offer this fair maiden far from her homeland a room to stay, a freshly cooked meal and a warm bath?"

[Dblade26]

Before anyone could properly answer Strawbella they were all interrupted by something that could only be described as...a sound. A very, very loud sound.

"HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOY!!!~"

The source of the noise soon became very apparent as a small black and white thing burst through the door of the inn. Closer inspection would reveal it to be a small boy of about eight or nine years old. A very unusual small boy, for he was dressed head to toe in an outfit modeled after some kind of black and white bear including paw shaped shoes and a hat shaped like the bear's head. Despite the disarming appearance, he carried two swords sheathed to his back, had half of his face covered with some form of mask and was running with alarming speed.

He was running with such alarming speed in fact, that he was bound to crash directly into Strawbella. Not noticing this, he seemed to be speaking even as he burst through the doors.

"My name's Mushuro of the Hattori and I Chal-Waafgh!~" 'Chal-Waafgh' was not in fact an intentional part of his introduction or some strange phrase from his native island, but instead a direct result of his sentence being cut off as he collided with the elegant young lady, ricocheting off of her and getting knocked back to the floor on his butt.

"Sorrysorrysorry Ms.Nice-lady! I didn't see your butt in my way, please be okay and not mad at me please!" From the floor Mushuro tried to scramble back up all while saying this and many other apologies to the poor girl he had just bumped into before even managing to get back to his feet. Once he did, he stared at his feet for a minute as if trying to ignore the embarrassment of his ruined entrance, then jumped back a step before pointing dramatically all around the bar, seemingly trying to pretend the incident hadn't happened.

"My name's Mushuro of the Hattori Clan and I challenge the strongest person in this bar to a fight with me, the future strongest person in the world! Anyone who's not a coward without a trace of the sea in their heart has absolutely no way to refuse!"

[VitaVitaAR]

There was indeed someone who took notice of the new arrivals. She was an oddly inappropriate sight for a bar, what appeared to be a ten-year-old girl sitting on a stool(bolstered by a book to reach the counter). She had glanced over her shoulder, eyeing the pretty girl and the loud ninja boy for a few moments. Her eyebrow raised and an eager smile came to her lips.

Rita's cheeks were flushed. She'd already drank quite a bit, and she was very, very definitely drunk. The tiny silver-haired girl hopped off her stool, swaying slightly and smiling as she approached the two newcomers. Her smile was widening further and further into a grin. Oh, this was going to be a pretty good time, she could tell. She was going to impress the girl, too...

"Oiii... ya say ya wanna fight?" Rita began, cracking her fingers as she did, "Sure, I'll take ya up on that! 'Specially since ya ran right into that cute young lady, that's not how ya treat a girl's butt! I know how to treat a girl's butt and that's definitely not it!"

To cap it off, she flashed her grin to the girl, and winked. And then... she stepped back, winding up her fist...

"Now I'm gonna show ya why I'm the strongest!" the air whirled around her fist as she wound up harder and harder. Yeah, there were people watching and staring. Yeah, she didn't care at all.

And then... she threw the punch, hard, at the boy.

[The Irish Tree]

The sun beat high over head as Toridus drifted unconsciously through the waters, the waves calmly lapping against the sides of his head as he drifted along, Verdier tugging at his shirt collar as she swam along, dog paddling her way through the waters. Their small dingy had gotten devoured by a Sea King, and they had drifted along on that Sea King's corpse until YET ANOTHER Sea King had devoured it, this time dissapearing into the deep blue without giving Toridus a chance to react. They were just lucky they had jumped in time, otherwise they would have had to contend with the larger Sea King, and Toridus was feeling rather lazy when it happened anyway. They'd drifted along for 3 days, switching off who slept and who swam as they paddled along, hoping to reach an island or a ship in some timely manner.

As Verdier paddled along, land came within view, in fact she was getting closer by the minute! She sped up her paddling, dragging Toridus clinging to her back, though in her haste, she'd somewhat submerged his face in the waves. As they came upon the shore, an elderly fisherman was trying to get a catch, and Verdier, not being the brightest hammer in the box, bit down on the bit of meat he'd been fishing with. The man was ecstatic, believing he'd caught something huge, though he was a bit shocked to find a Pangog clinging to his hook, her armored mouth preventing the hook from really sinking in. She hopped off the hook and onto the rock beside the man, rolling her back to get Toridus off. She tried rousing him, but to no avail. Eventually figuring out that he was probably drowning, she placed her forepaws onto his chest and thrust downwards, no respons. Eventually she stepped back, and lunged at him, rolling into a ball mid-jump, surrounding herself in her plated exterior as she slammed down into Toridus stomach. He began spouting water form his mouth like a fountain, and oddly enough, he coughed up a fish as he rose, panting a bit as the old man looked at him with a great deal of concern. "Um...You alright there Sonny?"

Toridus surged forward, jumping onto his feet so quickly he startled the old man. "Little wet behind the ears...but other than that, hungry."
Saying only that he walked over to where the old man had been fishing before, taking one of the several spears from the large, quiver-like holster on his back that had been capped shut. He sat cross-legged on the rock-face, staring into the deep blue water, his grip tightening with every ripple and motion he sensed in the water.
"...You uh...got any friends or family, sonny?"
"Nope, don't have 'em, don't need 'em, I got Verdier and my spears, that's all I need to live." He replied as the old man took a seat next to him, offering him his rod, but Toridus pushed the rod away with his free hand, his focus never leaving from the water.
"...Don't you ever get lonely?"
"Maybe just a bit, but a man's gotta depend on himself, and I got Verdier for company. I've been alone before, it's not so bad when you get used to it...Mr. Fisherman person, are you ever lonely?"
"No no no, I have my grandkids and my wife to keep me company. I got a all a man can ask for, and I got this beautiful little spot to fish from."
"I can tell it's a good spot.
"What exactly are you doing?"
"Fishing."
"With just a spear and no bait?"Verdier had been shaking herself off after resuscitating Todirus, and she now took a seat on the side of the old man, who patted her head which elicited a happy whine from her."She's a beautiful Pangog, you raise her?
Well, more like she raised me, but sure, I guess I taught her some stuff....Shh, quiet...I hear something.
The old man leaned toward the water slightly, trying to see just what Toridus was getting at, when suddenly Toridus' arm moved quicker than he could see and the spear darted into the water, Verdier rose and started barking at the water before a bit of blood began showing on the water. Toridus quickly rose from his seat and removed his shirt as he saw the blood trail begin to move away, he wasn't letting his prey get away so easily. He crashed into the water in a dive, another spear at the ready as he came upon the sea beast, it was the same one from before that had eaten their makeshift raft's assailant, and Toridus was content to exact a bit of "Nature's revenge" on him.

It was quick and clean, nothing to write home about, the corpse of the Sea King began to slowly drift to the top of the water, it's eyes dead and two spears were lodged into it's right gills, it resembled a large eel, and had a lure like an angler fish. When it came to the surface, Toridus jumped out of the water and onto the top of it's face, his right foot placed on top of the shaft of one of the spears, his left hand was at his hip and his right arm was thrust outwards, his index finger extended toward the awe-struck old man who's jaw was dropped and Verdier who yipped happily as she circled around the old man.

"This is the Strength...OF THE MANLIEST MAN IN THE OCEAN!"

[Dblade26]

"Wait? What about butts?"

Then the punch connected full flush on the boy's chin as a crazily strong uppercut. So strong in fact that he practically rocketed off of the floor and then through the ceiling in a shower of exploding debris. From there he kept on shooting upward until he eventually may as well have been nothing more than a twinkling star in the sky, as far as both altitude and likelihood of crashing down in a disastrous manner to leave a smoking crater in the ground was concerned.

Suddenly though, something probably unexpected was heard. A sound, rising up from above in the sky as a little black dot grew more and more distinct. In fact the sound seemed a lot like someone saying: "Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!~"

As the cry of amusement echoed out across the area, the small black dot resolved itself into the very same panda-clothed ninja boy, who proceeded to land on the ground in a blur and actually manage to leave a small crater and cloud of dust in his area of impact despite landing on his feet. He politely waved to all of the people passing by on the street to or from the harbor and its' markets as if to let them all know he was alright, then rushed back into the bar grinning like...well, like a child who had just gone on an amusement park ride and enjoyed it a lot.

"Do that again awesome lady! I wanna fly a few more times before I beat ya!~ Pleeaaaaase?~"

[Rin]

Strawbella Parfait

To say Strawbella was knocked back by the young ninja as he entered the bar would be inaccurate. More that she was knocked forward due to where exactly he had collided with. She clenched her fist as she was about to launch into a tirade about how a young man should not be colliding with... With that part of a lady, before taking a deep breath as she tried to calm down. Chastising him in such a way would be most unfitting for someone of her station. Well, former station. The fact was that it would be unladylike to do so.

"Ah, um... Young man, um..." She began, before suddenly blushing intensely as she heard someone mention her... Her posterior. The blush vanished rather quickly, however, when she noticed that the words were coming from a young girl, someone who couldn't be any older than ten years old. And then she... She...

"Oh... Oh my, that was... Quite some punch..."

At least the young boy didn't seem too much worse for wear when he returned. In fact, he seemed to be rather excited about the fact that he'd just been punched halfway across the island. It was... Odd, but at least he didn't seem too badly injured.

"I implore both of you, please calm down," she said, as she sat down at the comfiest looking seat in the bar. It seemed that whilst she waited for Mushuro to return, she had already ordered a pot of tea and three cups; after pouring some out into each cup, she offered them to the boy and the child-like drunkard. Not only that, but a varied selection of fruit was laid across the table too, although it was unclear as to where she had got it from. "Good children should not fight, after all. Please, have some tea. It is my treat."

She smiled at the two, before realising something very, very important.

"Oh my, where are my manners? I have not introduced myself... That is most unladylike. Strawbella Parfait, pleased to make your acquaintance, Mushuro of the Hattori Clan and... And I do not think I heard your name, young lady."

[pyroman]

Making his way over to the docks, Simon explored the wares of the traders, some of them carrying things that he would need such as food and books. He liked to read in his free time, but it was hard to find new material to read since it was basically all he did to pass the time. He read whatever landed in his hands and once he started on a book it was hard for him to stop unless he finished it and came up with some thoughts about what would happen afterward. All thoughts were stopped as he heard what sounded to be a child and then the sound of impact. He stopped everything to see that happened.

He followed the direction of the sound at top speed and found the crater, along with a boy who seemed to be standing on his feet like nothing happened at all. Before he could say anything to the boy he was running off. He wasn't very sure about what happened and despite a part of him telling him to leave it be, he went after the boy. He wanted to know what just happened and he was planning on finding out. As the boy entered a bar, Simon followed him and saw the next set of events. It was quite odd, to say the least. Now getting a good look at the boy, it seemed that he was wearing a panda suit and was asking for a woman who seemed far too young to be drinking at a bar (Especially in the morning) to hit him again and send him flying. Another woman spoke up and introduced herself to the boy and the other woman. It was sure and odd bunch, but Simon wanted to know what was going on. He stood at the doorway and listened in to what would happen next.

[Card Captor]

As Max entered the first bar he found, he noticed quite a colorful group of individuals. Including, oddly enough, a little boy and girl...strange. Taking a seat, he pulled out a card that had a glass of milk in it, still as cold and fresh as the day he put it in. He quickly unsealed it and began drinking it. As he enjoyed his frosty beverage, he watched the festivities. 'Aren't those two a bit too young to be in a place like this? And where are their parents?' he wondered about the young boy and girl 'now that I think about it...I seem to recall something about a group of pirates setting up shop here. I wonder if they killed their parents? Poor kids, I know what that feels like'

[VitaVitaAR]

Rita grinned as she watched the boy hurtle into the sky, waving her hand for a few moments before turning her attention to the pretty girl. Now... now to chat her up and maybe get some kind of reward for punishing the boy who blundered into her! Hehehe... yeah, that'd be a pretty good reward, too... Opening her mouth to speak... the drunk girl paused and started blankly when the boy came running back into the tavern, no worse for wear. She couldn't help but stare for a few moments. He wasn't even knocked out by that? Seriously?

The silver-haired girl raised one hand and... poked him in the forehead.

"... Are ya made outta some kinda indestrutabable kinda stuff or something?" she asked, inclining her head to the side. "... Whatever, I'm gonna punch ya into the sky as much as ya want after I get some alone time with the pretty lady, eheheheheheeeh."

And then... there was fruit. Fruit everywhere. And tea... and... whoa, that was seriously a lot. Where had it all come from? She was really, really confused. But there was one thing she could address. "Whoa, whoa, I'm not a kid, ya know? A kid... a kid wouldn't be able to see ya for how damn beautiful ya are! But I can! I'm Margarita Marianna McMannus! ... And wow that's a whole lotta fruit."

[The Irish Tree]

Toridus grinned triumphantly as he hauled the massive Sea King onto the beach with rope the old man hastily provided him with, Verdier was barking wildly and running in circles, excited that he got revenge on their raft-thief's-thief, and her mouth was watering at the prospect of devouring the flesh of the fallen as were the rules of nature. When she tried to take a bite of the thing's fin though, Toridus intercepted, instead of the delicious fish flesh she craved, she tasted the wood of a spear shaft now stuck in the sand before she fell over.
"Bad Verdier! Bite marks will decrease the selling value! You know how much I hate eel." He said as he removed his spear from her mouth he was growling a bit at being denied her meal, but she knew Toridus would make it up to her; he always did.
"Th-That's the biggest catch I've EVER seen Sonny! I've never seen something that big come so close to here...how'd you know it was there anyway?
Toridus shrugged his shoulders as he pulled both the spears out of the thing's gills.
"Dunno, guess it's just instinct. Grew up killing things like this, heck, this thing's weak compared to a lotta things I've killed before...Say...you don't know anybody who'd be interested in buying this, do ya?"
The old man removed his hat as he scratched the back of his head, he was balding, but some hair still clung to the back, his scalp was cleanly bald, clearly he was a man who took pride in what hair he had, yet didn't care if the world knew he wtas balding. "Hmm....I suppose some of the folks over at the trade port, you can't miss it, near the town and pretty huge."
Toridus grunted as he plucked two sizable trees out of the ground, sweat on his brow from the effort. He was about to drag the thing into town when the old man came back with a sizable looking wagon-like vehicle. "Listen, I'll show ya the way into town, don't want you ruining the path dragging trees up there." Toridus' face lit up at the prospect of doing things efficiently, and so he quickly placed the two trees back where they were once rooted, not like it'd help, and plopped the center of the Sea King into the wagon, the head and tail stretching far out from the cart. The Old Man moved to push the cart from behind as Toridus grabbed the two handles at the front, but was stopped by Verdier jumping up and placing her front paws onto the wagon, and started pushing, walking along with her hind legs as if she were a person. The old man chuckled as he followed along at a brisk pace, keeping up with the two.

---

As they arrived into town, people were gasping at the sight of the massive creature, and at the sight of a single man hauling it, occasionally children giggled as they saw the Pangog in the back pushing like a person as they made their way to the market.

---

Toridus smiled as he counted the Belli he'd just sold the Sea King for, thing had been worth around 34,000 so he'd gotten far more than enough to buy a meal and a place for him and Verdier to stay for a while. The Old Man laughed as they walked along, bringing up how that was the finest catch he'd ever seen form a man without a pole, and about how that spot musta been lucky after all. Toridus simply turned to the elderly man with a smile on his face before thanking him for letting him use his spot. Before the man could even react, Toridus shoved a majority of the money into the man's hand and ran off, Verdier barking happily as he ran towards the tavern, hoping to find something to eat.

Instead, he found what looked like a little girl hitting on a young woman, and a little kid running around in ninja panda pajamas begging for her to punch him...
"...City folk." He muttered to himself as he took a seat at the bar, trying to ignore the insanity.

[Dblade26]

Mushuro paused to consider what the apparent not-small-girl said as she poked him in the forehead, pondering her question of whether he was made of some kind of indestructible stuff or not. It only really took him a second to come up with an answer to the obviously rhetorical question she'd asked, although he stated the answer with utmost seriousness, clearly believing his own words as absolute truth.

"Well, I AM made of a combination of fifty percent ninja, fifty percent pirate an' one-hundred percent burning passionate heart, so I'm pretty sure that makes me the most indestructible thing in the universe, yeah."

Mushuro was distracted from further philosophical musings by the sudden appearance of tea and copious amounts of fruit. His eyes seemed to bulge out of his head while reflecting the fruit-y banquent of snacks that had been laid before him. "Thanks nice lady! You're the best!" the moved with the same surprisingly blurry speed he had when entering the bar and snatched up some of the fruit to begin munching on it, apparently able to do so effortlessly without removing his mask. In between gnawing on various fruits like he hadn't eaten in days, Mushuro continued to talk, mostly about being a pirate. If one looked really closely the way he talked about it almost seemed rehearsed but not quite, like something he'd heard before but couldn't quite remember, or something he practiced to himself a lot but could never quite say the same way each time.

"Yup, being a ninja was kinda cool, but if I had to choose any lifestyle then there's no question that it's a pirate's life for me! You get to sail the seas as free as anything can be with no one but your heart and your captain and crew to tell you what to do! There's adventures all over the place, and you're bound to run into really strong people like you've never even seen before out at sea, and all sorts of weird and awesome rare creatures too! That's not even getting into all the amazing treasure you can get as a pirate! You just reach out and there's gold and jewels and stuff before your eyes, and even if you gotta fight other pirates to get to it sometimes it's worth it because just one big score can set you up for life with anything you need! That's not even getting into how crazy and awesome the Grand Line is, or the greatest treasure of all, One Piece! It's so great that anyone who gets it can become king of the pirates! It's dangerous out on the seas so to make it your crew's gotta be like your family too, but that's all part of the fun!"

Mushuro paused for a second to unintentionally prove that he was just as good at drinking tea through his mask inexplicably as he was at eating fruit that way.

"And...and...something about lots and lots of bottles of rum, I think. But yeah, being a pirate can let you do anything you dream of! That's why I'm a pirate who's gonna prove he's the strongest person in the world, even if I'm a ninja!"

With his theatrics finished Mushuro continued sipping tea and munching on fruit.

[pyroman]

Jade green eyes examined the bar before him. It was quite the odd sight but interesting nonetheless. The ninja-pirate boy seemed to have a strong dream of being a pirate, but before sailing the seas he'd have to get a ship before anything. It wasn't impossibly hard, since Cocoyasi village had become a port town more ships came along and the village expanded, but that means that stealing a ship would be harder since everyone would know. Having a ninja might make it a little easier, but Simon wasn't so sure. He himself had actually planned on becoming a pirate a while ago. It wouldn't be that much of a change from the life he lived now. He was by himself and did what he could to survive, even if it meant "borrowing" goods and items for his own benefit. Stealing simple items was much easier than taking a ship, but Simon knew that is was completely possible. He didn't have the time to build a ship, so stealing one was the easiest thing to do in that scenario.

The thing that pulled him from his thoughts was the mentioning of the One Piece and becoming the Pirate King. The current Pirate King was Monkey D. Luffy, and although he didn't currently have the One Piece, almost everyone knew that he did in fact have it and hide it for the sake of making more pirates. His wish was granted and Pirate were becoming popular again. The Conomi Islands had their fair share of pirate encounters, but Cocoyasi Village always seemed to be quiet. The you boy's spirit and vigor was starting to get to Simon, and his thoughts to setting sail returned. Kira might not be able to be on the adventure with him, but he was happy to know that she was alive and getting better. He'd be sure to pull her into the adventure as soon as she got better because she was the one who had given him thoughts of being a pirate in the first place.

Having decided that he'd seen enough, Simon stepped from the doorway and created a small smile at the edge of his lips. The look in his eyes wasn't Simon, the boy who lost the most, but it was Hawk, the self proclaimed Land Pirate of Cocoyasi Village. He hadn't used that name in so long, but he was reverting back to his old, happier self, so it seemed like the proper thing to do. "You'll need a ship. You can't go anywhere without one." He spoke up as he walked towards the boy and glanced at the immense amounts of food before him. His head turned to the prim and proper woman and nodded slightly. "May I... Madam?" He wasn't really sure what to address her as, but seeing by the way she talked, acted, and looked, he assumed that 'Madam' would be the right thing to call her.

[Card Captor]

It was then that Max saw an opportunity; traveling alone in this world was really dangerous, he was in fact really lucky to have made it for so long all alone. However, he knew his luck wouldn't last. Right now, his only goal was simply to survive. Since he didn't really have any kind of skill that he could settle down and make money with, that meant living as a sailor. Something he found he didn't mind. So if these people needed a ship, then that might just be his way in "um...excuse me" he said to get their attention "I...I have a ship. It's not the biggest, but it can carry a few people. It'll be good enough in the mean time"

[Rin]

Strawbella Parfait

"You are... A very precocious young lady, I shall grant you that." Strawbella smiled at Rita as she took another sip, trying her best not to get flustered. It was embarrassing enough that she was saying such things about a pure lady such as herself, but the fact that such things were coming from a child was just... She wasn't sure how to take it, really. So she just smiled and went along with it for now.

As for the other child... She couldn't help but admire Mushuro's spirit. The way he so passionately spoke about his dreams, and what it meant to be a pirate...

...Oh, pirates. A pirate had taken everything from her, but... That didn't mean they were all bad people. Even she had heard the tales of the legendary Pirate King Luffy, a man possessed of great honour and compassion. The legends stated that he was twenty meters tall, breathed fire and shot lasers from his eyes... That he lead an army of a thousand pirates including the master swordsman Roronoa Zoro, who fought using the fabled twelve sword style... And Nami, who legends told could control the very weather. And who could forget the most dreaded pirate of them all, the mighty Sogeking, who swore allegience to the pirate king after Luffy defeated his crew of one million giant, invulnerable, completely invisible pirates? And...

...Not all pirates were like her stepmother. She realised this. And Mushuro definitely seemed more like one of the legendary Strawhats than something like her. Maybe... Maybe it would be a good idea to tag along with him for now. Who knows, he did say he was headed to the Grand Line... Maybe, just maybe...

"Ah, the life of a pirate sounds most wonderful, Mushuro of the Hattori Clan," she said, clapping her hands together and smiling warmly at the young ninja. "It must be so exciting to sail off to foreign, exotic lands, too..."

And then opportunity knocked once more, as another man approached them. She couldn't help but giggle playfully as Hawk called her "madam".

"Oh my, I am much too young to be called "madam", good sir... I would much rather prefer to simply be known as Strawbella to you all, to be perfectly honest." With another sip of her tea, she nodded and smiled as yet another newcomer showed up, offering his boat for usage. "Well, I have no ship, but I am sure a group of privateers would be in need of an accomplished chef. I do not wish to boast, but I am rather skilled in the culinary arts, and would be most welcome to the idea in exchange for..." She hesitated for a moment. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to tell them just what she'd like in exchange just yet. They seemed like nice people, but she wasn't entirely sure she could trust them just yet. "...In exchange for a chance to see the world. I have heard that the Grand Line is a truly marvelous place... I have always wished to see the many wonders that lay upon it."

It wasn't a complete lie. She had always wished to see the world outside of her life as an aristocrat, after all... Hopefully it was convincing enough.

[VitaVitaAR]

"Huh... that explains it!" declared Rita, cheerfully, before happily slapping Mushuro on the back. The idea of punching him more had flown completely out the window, and it seemed like everyone had been pretty distracted. And that really had explained the whole thing! Why else would he have gotten up so quick from being punched into the sky? There really was no other explanation. With a smile, she turned to face the pretty lady once more... and her smile momentarily faded.

"Whoa, whoa, you're... talkin' to me like I'm some kinda little girl or something!" replied the... tiny girl, her frown deepening as she folded her arms. "Just 'cause I'm not busty 'n tall 'n stuff doesn't mean I'm not an adult!"

That was all a bit of an understatement. After all, Rita was physically speaking no older then ten. It's just that in every other respect she was around twenty years old. "I'm twenty! I've even got some papers 'n stuff to prove it! So don't go thinking I'm too young or anything, I'm plenty old to handle you~"

[The Irish Tree]

Toridus had been sitting at the bar, trying his best to ignore the table with the...small bear child, the drunk girl, and the suspiciously proper young lady, honestly trying to keep himself under control. He understood why a kid would see a lot of fun in being a pirate, but in the real world, pirates were criminals, outlaws, murderers, thieves, vandals, litterers, and just generally not very nice people. At least the ones he's seen and been told about, sure he's heard good things about the Pirate King, but he'd never met the guy personally. He ate away at the moderate meal served to him, as the bartender brought him another plate, he set it down on the ground for Verdier who happily barked, with one hand shoveling food into his own mouth, he patted Verdier's neck with his free hand, her soft scales felt cool to the touch, yet her coarse fur was still warm, she scarfed all of the meat down in seconds, and looked up at Toridus with a happy, pleased expression. Seemed she'd rather have this than eel too.

He nearly dropped his drink when he heard another man enter the conversation with the 3, bringing up the need of a ship for a pirate crew. "It's nothing, there's no way those guys'll be able to get a ship togethe-" He immediately regretted thinking at all, as yet another young man entered, saying that he had a ship of his own. Alright, he's stayed quiet long enough. He got up from his seat at the bar, and walked over to where the group resided. He pulled a chair up to the table and awkwardly glanced at each person there, most of them didn't look like they had much combat experience...he felt some sort of aura coming off of the children, and he could have sworn he heard the little girl mention being...20? That...confused him a bit. A lot. Okay, he decided trying to figure it out would hurt his head far too much. Sighing a bit as Verdier started smelling the young lady who smelled of fruits, he said:

"...If you're all being serious about becoming pirates...I think it'd be best for you all to quit now. Before you have bounties."

[Dblade26]

Mushuro blinked at astonishment at this foolish stranger's incredibly odd statement. He in fact got quite angry and indignant at the idea that he should just run away now and give up, and he really didn't see why a bounty was a bad thing at all. He stared right at the odd guy. Although the Pangog with him seemed really nice and friendly enough, it was a serious insult to any true pirate for someone to say they should give up at all, at least in Mushuro's head, and he wasn't going to stand for it!

"Well, I dunno who exactly you are Mister, but that's a pretty strange thing to say! How's anyone ever gonna know I'm the strongest person in the world if I don't beat up enough people to get a really really big bounty? Everyone knows all the strongest famous pirates have big, big bounties! Even more importantly, all the best marines and bounty hunters go after guys with huge bounties on their heads! So if I never get a bounty big enough to attract super-strong marines and bounty-hunters I'll be missing out on a huge section of guys to fight! Bounties are awesome exactly 'cause the more stuff you do and the scarier people you beat up the higher they go! They're kinda like an awesome power-level-y thing, y'know? Also you're seriously asking a man of the sea to quit on his dream?! It'd be easier to ask me to die than do that, 'cause a person's only ever really dead when their dreams die! So I'm gonna be a pirate with a gigantic bounty for sure, got it?!"

Mushuro tried his best to munch on some fruit angrily and pet the Pangog in an insulted manner after that.