Digizel

The Dragon and the Tiger (One Piece RP)

Hibiki was stunned from his own missed shot. By the time he realized that Mitsuki was throwing his sword, it was far too late to get a proper reaction. He cried out in shock as the sword flew through the air. The trajectory of the blade caused him to mistakenly believe it to be heading straight for his body, which caused him to recoil. He gasped and stumbled back a couple of steps before quickly and desperately trying to raise his gun again.

"N-no, back-!" he cried out, but it was far too late. Before he could do anything more, and before he even really saw the movements his target had been making, the swordsman's foot was slammed directly into his face, which caused him to cry out in pain and fall backward. In that same motion, he helplessly witnessed the gun he had been clinging to get sliced in two. Now the weapon was effectively useless! And even worse, his opponent wasn't finished yet. The blade came down, resting just above his neck, threatening to end him in one swift motion.

"A-alright, alright, I-I get it!" he cried out. "Don't kill me...!" His eyes were panic-stricken and his voice shook...clearly, he was not used to being so close to a blade.

---

Ryu's eyes widened slightly as he watched Baku raise his arm, the cannon coming with him. He knew that he had to get away or else he'd get crushed beneath the huge barrel! Luckily, escape was rather simple. He reverted his transformation, causing his tail to shrink and disappear completely, thus causing the Captain to lose his grip entirely. At that point, it was a simple matter of rolling to the side, narrowly avoiding the crash of the cannon slamming into the ground.

"Gah...!" he cried out, however, as he got caught up in the shock wave, which tossed him to the side. He rolled slightly, ending up on his stomach a couple of feet to the side. "Th-that was close...." He looked up to check on the damage...as well as Captain Baku's position. He had to be careful and think about his movements carefully. His opponent was definitely far stronger than himself. If he was to get out of this mess, he would need to think more tactically....

The Dragon and the Tiger (One Piece RP)

The Marine's eyes widened as his attention was grabbed by the man in front of him once again. His blade was easily batted to the side, demonstrating a clear difference in power that even he would have a difficult time denying. He hadn't felt somebody knock his blade away this casually since Captain Baku himself. But before he could even concentrate on that thought for even the briefest of moments, he felt a powerful grip grasp his wrist and he quickly realized that Mitsuki had closed the distance even further in that brief moment of distraction. He was incapable of even uttering an exclamation of confusion before Mitsuki pulled his arm behind his back, causing his eyes to go wide with shock.

His target was right where he wanted him. Hibiki was quickly reloading his gun as fast as humanly possible. 'Damn these rifles for taking so long...' he growled to himself in his mind. He had the perfect shot lined up, but he couldn't do anything about it. He had to take all this time to reload, despite his clear shot. But he soon had his rifle reloaded and it was raised back up to his shoulder and he lowered his eye once more, readying to take aim with his now-loaded weapon.

"You're dead!" he shouted before the explosion sounded that symbolized his gunshot going off, aimed down toward Mitsuki's back.

"How dare a criminal like you say that I have no honor!?" Will growled back, wincing slightly in pain from the arm pulled behind his back. You're the one who-" However, he was cut off by Hibiki's sudden exclamation. His eyes widened slightly, realizing just what was about to happen. "Hibi-!" but he was cut off once again. This time by the bullet his comrade had launched. As Mitsuki rolled away to safety, Will's arm had been released, but it was too late. The shot that rang out pierced through his back, causing his eyes to widen and his weapon to be involuntarily dropped from his hand. "You...idiot...." he growled lowly as his body fell forward, collapsing to the ground as his blood began to drip from the new wound in his back.

Hibiki, meanwhile, stood frozen in place, his gun in the same spot it had been when his shot was fired. He didn't need to be told his mistake. And he was clearly somewhat shaken by just who he had ended up shooting instead.

---

Ryu was actually rather surprised his blow managed to land as easily as it had. He smiled a bit to himself, pleased with the results. He had acted quickly and without much thought, but it had turned out for the best. And now, he could press the advantage and continue his attack!

...Or so he thought. Before he could do anything more, he felt something grasp his tail with a firm grip. And before he could even utter a cry of surprise, he felt himself getting pulled through the air. His back crashed down heavily onto the ground, causing him to let out a gasp of pain while he laid sprawled on the ground at the Marine Captain's feet. He stared up toward the Captain, his eyes widening when he saw the condition of his face.

'He just took a strike like that and powered through it to do this...? Th-that's crazy...! What is this guy made of...!?' he thought to himself. This was going to be even more difficult than he thought, it seemed....

The Dragon and the Tiger (One Piece RP)

Hey! @RyuHll I disappeared on you again it would seem. That...is a lot of times now. I apologize for that yet again. This time, my computer's charging jack started breaking down on me. It wasn't getting any power. And it was just plain cheaper to get a new computer than to have it fixed. So...that's the decision I made. And now here I am. Finally got a new computer, and got everything in order. Sorry for the wait. I'll get a post done for you on the off chance that you're willing to keep going.

One Piece: The Journey of a Thousand Miles

@jynmi88

Hey guys, it's me after...what, 5 months? XD Anyway, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for disappearing on you all. My computer actually broke and it took me ages to get a new one. Well...technically, it was the charger jack that broke, so it wasn't getting any power. Rather than trying to get it fixed, it was going to be cheaper to just get a new one...and so that's what happened. XD

Since I've been gone for so long and you guys have been getting it started anyway, I figure I may as well just step out. At least for now. I want to make sure things are okay before I get involved in an RP that could potentially hold people back if I disappear again. I'll stay subbed to the topic and might go through and skim the RP at some point, though. Just in case.

Anyway, sorry again for my disappearance. Have fun with the RP!

The Dragon and the Tiger (One Piece RP)

Will's blade met Mitsuki's and it was deflected to the side. However, he swordsman was quick to right himself and return to his ready position, holding the sword's hilt downward and the blade slightly to the side. He was then at the ready for the blow Mitsuki attempted to strike, backing away from the blade, avoiding it completely. He moved as though to lunge back in again...but hesitated. His reaction to Mitsuki's taunt was immediate. His expression shifted from one of perfect concentration to anger, brow furrowing and his mouth twisting into a slight frown.

"I don't-!" he started, but was cut off by another gunshot from behind him.

During the brief struggle, Hibiki had quickly lined up another shot, unleashing a bullet toward the center of his skull.

---

Ryu quickly realized that he might have needed to keep his words to himself. He had just been so relieved by the results of his quick, on the spot experiment that he had momentarily let his guard down. but once the Marine finally lifted the cannon off of his arms, he was finally able to move again. However, the Captain did not take a break in his movements. The cannon that was raised was suddenly pulled around and swung at his side.

Even from the brief moment he had to see it coming, he was able to realize what would happen if that attack scored a direct hit. He would no doubt be launched to the side and slammed into some of the nearby buildings. While his armor had protected him from the brunt of an overhead swing, it would not work quite as well if his opponent were able to actually follow his swing through all the way, especially without the ground to brace against.

He could only dodge this attack.

Ryu allowed his scales to vanish, transforming back into his normal, human skin. As soon as his armor was gone, he immediately performed another transformation. This time, however, he focused his attention on his right leg. Crimson scales formed around it as his lower leg transformed into the leg of his dragon form. A form that had more power in it. He lifted his left leg and kicked off of the ground with his stronger right. Thanks to the extra strength, he was able to leap upward, barely clearing the cannon's swing in time. At the same time...he realized that an opportunity also presented itself.

His leg quickly reverted back to its original state once more. In its place, his lower back began to change color. He focused his mind on the base of his spine...and soon, a new appendage began to appear. A thick, crimson tail appeared behind him.

With that, he quickly tried to spin in the air, attempting to swing his tail around in an attempt to smash it into Captain Baku's face, hoping to at least inflict some kind of damage....

The Dragon and the Tiger (One Piece RP)

Well, technically speaking, the last game you could name everybody in was III..the NES version anyway. After that, you could name the first party member for a while...and then afterward, they started just giving them all static names.

That's kinda why I want to play one of the updated versions of the original game and why I'm considering emulating the NES version of III. xD So I can go through it with the names of friends or characters. xP

The Dragon and the Tiger (One Piece RP)

I do actually really want to play IX as well at some point. It's the only "Modern" Final Fantasy that's really caught my interest. I'm not a fan of the 100% Sci-Fi direction they took the series into. I always preferred the medieval-ish setting with Sci-Fi elements, like the Airships and ancient tech and such.

Also something I wish were more prevalent in Final Fantasy games: the ability to name your potential party members. I mean...Earthbound did it just fine. xD

The Dragon and the Tiger (One Piece RP)

Oh man. I love Cyber Sleuth~ The Digivolution system is unnecessarily convoluted and grindy, but other than that, I certainly enjoy the game~

Oh geez, Final Fantasy. I only recently got into the series by doing a personal Final Fantasy V Four Job Fiesta run. xD I want to play FFVI on the SNES Classic, but decided to preorder the Mario Odyssey Switch bundle to finally get my hands on a Switch instead. So now I didn't have the money for the SNES when it launched. I also want to play IV at some point and maybe emulate III on the NES or DS (since I heard its endgame suuuuuucks)....

The Dragon and the Tiger (One Piece RP)

Neither of the Commanders let out a verbal reply to Mitsuki's goading. However, the rifleman Hibiki immediately began dashing to the side. He moved away from Captain Baku and Ryu, heading toward the roof of the shop that now had a hole in its wall. If he wasn't stopped, he would make quick leaps, stepping onto a nearby railing and lunging toward the roof, quickly attempting to climb on top to get himself a much better vantage point...and one that was farther away from the action.

Noticing his fellow Commander's movements, Will made the first offensive move. Whether it was to cover for his partner's attempts to climb a nearby building or simply the fact that he wanted to take his opponent down first was difficult to tell. All Mitsuki would be able to see was the flash of the blade being brought over his head and slashed downward. It was a simple downward slash...and he didn't expect it to go through. Rather, he wanted to keep his eye on Mitsuki's reactions and be prepared to block him should he make any attempt to move past him.

---

Ryu watched as the large Captain approached him. He braced himself, beads of nervous sweat starting to form on his skin. He had to admit...his nerves were getting to him. This was going to be his first real battle. He had never really fought seriously before. Especially not in the short amount of time he's had to practice his Zoan-type transformation abilities. Heck, he still couldn't transform more than one part of his body into his dragon form at a time. As such, if he was going to try to block whatever attack came his way, he could only use a single part of his body...which also meant blocking using a single arm. And given the strength this Captain must have in order to wield that cannon, he could reasonably assume that he was not going to block the attack with a single limb. He was going to need something more potent.

"Yeah...you're right, I did. But I'm sorry...I can't afford to allow you to take me in," Ryu replied.

Finally, the Captain moved, lunging toward him and lifting his massive cannon...and then it came crashing down on top of him. There was a loud crash, and the stone beneath him cracked while dust and dirt flew into the air, momentarily obscuring vision on Ryu himself. However, as the dust began to clear, a figure could be seen, kneeling on the ground, arms raised above his head, cannon resting heavily atop crossed arms.

But there was a key difference this time. This time, Ryu's body was coated in bright, red scales around his head, back, legs and arms. However, he was still very clearly in his human form, with his hands and his feet still looking the same, as well as the obvious lack of a tail. This was clearly no hybrid form.

"...Phew. I was worried that wouldn't work..." Ryu murmured. "But I guess my Red Dragon Armor is sturdy enough when I brace myself against the ground. I wondered if I could manage to transform just the Dermis and Epidermis of my body instead of my whole body and widen its reach...or if it would even hold, despite the extra support I could manage with it...."

'Still, I lack the control I want. It was all or nothing.' Ryu thought to himself. 'I could only do it by transforming my skin layer into dragon scale, and my human anatomy won't allow me to make drastic movements like this and I don't have the strength to move the cannon myself. Until he moves his cannon, I'm stuck....'

One Piece: The Journey of a Thousand Miles

@Crimson Lion Yeah, I don't really have any particular problems with it myself. Nico Robin sailed at 7. Sabo tried it as well. His was unsuccessful, but mostly due to additional circumstances. Plus, I don't remember if his age was ever explicitly stated at the time.

It also does give him a lot of room for future growth. For example, potentially learning Uchimizu in combination with his sword skills.

But yeah, all in all, I'm fine with the character. For now at least. xD

@Noodles @jynmi88

Hm. My concern at the moment is @grandia20 and his lack of commentary as of late. Even before I disappeared, Grandia seemed to be taking their time with their posts. Are they still present? If not, there really is no problem with the position being taken.