One Piece, The Race of 3! | (Accepting Reserves for Later Crew Members/Started!)

[Kyng's Old Account]

'Come on, my little brush of talent, we are leaving.' Vince said as he carried Sena by his arms. 'And if I were you I'd come along. Those bandits are bound to return, and they'll be coming for all of our heas.' Vince then placed on his mask again and he dashed off, light footed, nothing stood in the way of the Scarlet Terror. 'Now then...ah ha!' He found a market stall which he jumped upon and accessed the rooftops. This way he could speed up travelling distance greatly, The Scarlet Terror moved swiftly on the roof tops as he snatched some water. He then gave it to Sena as he continued to dart roof to roof.

[Hotaru987]

Sena took the water graciously and downed what was in there quickly. She was still extremely thirsty, and while her "over heating" condition couldn't really kill her, it was an extreme pain especially when she was in battle. The docks were coming up fast, and the three were rapidly approaching the boat. She assumed the man was coming along to get his pay for helping her out of the mountain. Soon they came to the boats, and only feet from the boat the thunderous sound of runnng footsteps, and shouts were heard right behind them. It seemed like the band of thugs waiting for Sena and the man in front of the cave had caught up to them. Not only that but the ringleader was also there. Breathing heavily from the long run over here.

"N-not so fast." He called out pointing a very fat, and stubby finger at the trio. "You guys aren't going anywhere. Now hand over the girl, and my money or you all are going to die here and now!"

Sena opened her eyes and saw the group and groaned in annoyance. "When will these people leave us alone." Her voice had regained some strength to it, but was still obviously weak. "Vince put me down." She stood on shakey legs and faced the group.

The ringleader laughed and soon all of the croonies behind him followed suit. "Oh, please! Are you going to fights us too?" He laughed, his enormous belly bouncing. "What can a little lady like yourself do?! You're can hardly stand on your own!!" While he was right about the level of difficulty it took for Sena to stand, she still managed a tired laugh. "Well, sir. This little lady is about to give you the shock of your lives. Do not take me lightly. Because you are all looking at the next King of Pirates."

This only made them laugh harder. It was very hard to take a half conscious, glowing red woman seriously about something so life threatening difficult. "YOU!?! King of the Pirates! That'll be the day!!"

"One thing I hate most of all. Is when someone laughs at my dream." She said holding out her hands, "[b]Shock shock...Explosion[/b]!!" A bright light covered the area and waves of high voltage lightening shot forward towards the men, whos laughter turned into screams of pain, and mercy. When the light receeded, all of the thugs were comically burnt to nothing but a black outline before falling over. Sena smirked, "T-take....That..." On 'That' she fell backwards having once again passed out.

[Jake the Sage]

<When there is four posts between my own you get -SHAZAM!>

Managing to stand on his own the Hermit continued to cough, more out of getting dirt in his lungs than true exhaustion. Luckily he would not have to continue the other half of this mad dash to the sea alone as the woman's comrade appeared, checking on her to ensure she was alright. Though happy to have some assistance he still regardless smacked the water that was offered to him out of the way and stood tall; his back popping audibly as he did so, as well as his neck when he rotated it in a counterclockwise circle. Having recovered mostly from the impact, the crash into the building having slowed him down enough where he hadn't died, he glanced over to see the man attending to the woman once more before being questioned, "Where was she? How did she become like this?"

Opening his mouth to answer, a rare time he would speak, he closed his mouth and turned to see more thugs approaching them. [i]"Truly they never do seem to give up,"[/i] he thought as he readied to defeat them, not wanting to use his Devil Fruit powers again. When one of them men threatened them for the return of the gold he shifted his position, intent on charging forward, but stopped when he saw the man swiftly and elegantly dispatch the entire group with a flurry of swipes and slashes; causing each one to fall down bloody and utterly defeated. Whistling he watched the man walk over to the girl, who by now had woken up, and assist her to stand; the first words out of her mouth were a plead for water. She then stated they needed to leave now . . .

Lifting the girl into his arms the man looked over to him, "If I were you, I'd come along. Those bandits are bound to return and they'll be coming for [i]all[/i] of our heads."

The man then placed on his mask again before leaving the Hermit in the middle of the street. Shaking his head he turned back to the unconscious and blood stained thugs, behind him their escape noticeable by the sound of footfall on rooftops, and walked over to the bodies. Digging through their pockets for any valuables he took a piece of bread, stuffed it in his mouth, and continued to rummage through the linings of their clothing to ensure nothing got past him. Having gotten everything he wanted he turned to follow, taking shortcuts and going faster than normal to reach the docks as they did; managing to stop beside them once they had come to a halt. Having just arrived his head spun when he perceived the Ringleader and those from back at the Mountain side having arrived as well.

The Ringleader demanded the gold back as well as the girl on the threat of death. He truly was getting tired of men who did not know their place. These fools knew who he was, what he was capable of and yet still were willing to throw their lives away. As he took count of the number and possibly fighting strengths, including weaknesses, of the men before him the woman had begun speaking with the Ringleader in what he thought was an attempt to barter for their lives; he was not paying attention to their actual conversation. Taking the half munched on piece of bread out of his mouth he was about to strike first when, once more, he was interrupted by a wave of lightning shot out from the woman. It coursed through each man standing in front of them, burning their skin and shinging everything else, until they fell over.

"T-Take . . . that . . ." he had heard the girl say before passing out. Looking down at her, to her male companion, then to the fried enemies and then back down at her again he simply shook his head. It was more of an outrageous situation than he had been in for a long time, but he had to admit it was fun. Walking towards the charred people he began doing what he did, digging through their belongings for anything he'd want; certain the other man would take care of the girl. Once he was done with these people, he'd collect his payment for his assistance and be on his way . . .

[Kyng's Old Account]

'Ms Sena.' The Scarlet Terror caught Sena before she hit the ground. 'Don't worry, we are safe.' He took of his bloody mask as he carried Sena to a bed to let her rest. Before he went to a room he said to the Hermit 'Thank you.' He then entered his room. 'You stayed by my side at my time of needs and so I shall repay the favour.' He placed her on the bed he was resting upon not long ago and opened up his rucksack. There he took out a sponge and after dipping it in cold water he cleansed Sena's face, aiming to cool her down. 'There, it's all ok. Just sleep my little rose.' Vince said as he hummed a lullaby.

[Grunt Issun]

Jikka, who'd been sleeping for a while on the boat, humming a song he was playing in his dream, opened his eyes and stretched, looked around to see nothing but oceans all around, "Hey Captian, remind me agian what this big city were sailing to is called agian" he said, looking at him, "And do we have any food? Hey new guy, you cook?" he asked, looking this time at the new guy, while he held his stomuch, while it growled, "Then looked agian off the side of the boat to see if there was any sign of land nearby, then went back to humming while waiting for answers

OOC: Finnally back BABY!

[Ghoulish]

Leo cntinued to stand ont he edge of the boat with a huge grin on his face.

"Apeol? Apol? Something like that!" Leo turned to Jikka with his arms folded, "Haha dont worry I can cook!" He couldnt, just like leo thought he was a navigator, he also thought he was a cook and possibly various other proffessions. " Dont worry ill whip up soemthign Leo called as he rushed into the little cabin and looked at the food in front of him blankly.

"On second thought..." Leo bega"I cant cook in this environment, we need a cook, what do you think Jikka?"

[Christian Exodia]

Alex had seen the explosions and ran towards the group. When he noticed he is late to the Party, he goes, "OH COME ON!" And runs towards his Captain. "Vince, what happened?" He asked the Second Mate of the Crew. He tried to study the situation to gain clues. Alex pulled out a Gun, holding it in his hands for a Just in Case moment. He put on a Mask; a Dragon's Face. "Should I go after whoever has done this? If so, point me in their direction?" He had a Naive moment. He slipped his gun back into his Pocket, and smiled under his mask. "Either way, i'm keeping this thing."

[Kyng's Old Account]

'Alex, she doesn't seem very well.' Vince confirmed to him. 'She collapsed, most likely due to dehydration or heat exhaustion. I can't tell for sure. However Ms. Sena was accompanied by this stranger. I cannot confirm his identity, but it appears he's with us. I don't know why he was with Ms. Sena, but it appeared it was an escape attempt.' Vince then looked at the Hermit. 'You do indeed look exhausted yourself, may we offer you something to drink or perhaps a bed to rest upon?' Then he asked Alex 'D'you mind taking care of him? I need to keep by Ms. Sena's side nd keep her well.' He then walked back into the room and shutted the open curtains to reduce the amount of heat in the room. 'Ms. Sena, my dear sweet princess, I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you. I'm so sorry.' Vince then looked at the roof, though he was actually looking to the heavens. He thought 'Why do I keep failing my sworn duties? Why do I keep failing you Lady Rosalind?' And a tear drop rolled down his face filled with sorrow. He then held Sena's hand. 'Ms. Sena, why do I keep failing you?' as he cried into the bed.

[Grunt Issun]

"Definatley," Jikka replied, "Eating raw foods is getting boring" Jikka said, "At least we still have that sack of food from the villagers" Jikka remembered, and took out a loaf of bread, "Anyway, Apol sounds like it would be a good place to stop" Jikka decided, "Never heard of it, sounds big though" Jikka thought aloud, then Jikka realized somthing, "So why exactly DID you become a pirate Leo? You don't seem like any kind of pirate I'd imagine" Jikka asked, then opened up his guitar case and examined it, [i]'Lets see... maybe I could... no thats stupid'[/i] Jikka thought as he did so.

[Jake the Sage]

The Hermit watched as another man came up, apparantly a member of this crew, and began making sure everything was okay. He shook his head as the man asked if the woman was alright, an obviously retorical question seeing as she was not. Taking deep pants to ensure he did not pass out and kept himself upright. He was worse for the ware but not pushed too his limits; if anything he was just panting because of the "exercise" he had gotten. He gave a nod when the man, Vince, mentioned his name, a formality he picked up when being introduced, and then waved the him off when he asked if he wanted something to drink or a place to rest. After that he took the girl, Sena, into the ship so that they would not be out in the open. Leaving the Hermit with Alex; he had picked his name up when his commrade called out to him.

[Ghoulish]

OOC: ~N~ and Raine, Ill make my character App soon, at the moment assume, Chuck is named Robin, he is quite ttall, has long black hair, wears a black suite but with nno shirt or jacket, and he has 2 crows on his shoulders.

Leo folded his arms and smirked, walkign to the edge of the boat he looked out at the distant ocean.

"2 reasons." Leo smirked widly. "1, me and my brother and sister allhave the same dream, to roam the oceans freely, to search for all that others have tried to search for but coulld never, to become the best....Pirate Kings! But that's not the only reason, you see, I was left on an idle village as a kid, by my father and older brother...apparentl my father didnt wnat me to become a pirate...I dont know why..anyway, I promised myself that I wold meet them in the ocean, however...One day I got a newspaper with terrible news...apparently my brother...Ligar D. Gallow, destroyed a village with his crew, an innocent village....of course i dont believe it, hed never do anything like that!"

Leo clenched his fists and grinded his teeth. "then again I didnt know him to well...maybe...maybe he did do it...anyway thats the others reason, I want to find out the truth about my brother. His a wanted man at the moment, last time I saw his bounty it was at 80 million Beri." Leo put both his hands behind his head and sat ont he boat.

"What about you Jikka...Im sure my talk wasn tthe only reason you came out!"

Robin , whilst navigating the ship listened to Leo's story

"Ligar you say?" Robin began. "Ive heard rumours of him, said to be heartless...though from my experience as a former bounty hunter, I know you can't trust the marines.

[Hotaru987]

It was hot...

Like being in a furnace....

That's how it felt after using her devil fruit when she was already in her stages of "over heating". It felt as though the heat would go on for ever, but suddenly something cold was pressed onto her. And it felt as though she was doused in a wave. She could almost laugh, even in her subconscious. One simple dab of a cold rag, and she felt as though she was swimming in the ocean. Though she would never go swimming since she couldn't, at least not after eating the devil fruit. To Sena the seconds ticked by eternity slow, and when the world was starting to make sence again she heard muffled crying. There was a hand holding onto hers. How were they if she was burning up? They should be in pain from how hot she was, but then she realized that she wasn't burning up as much. It was strange. She had never recovered from over heating so quickly. Maybe she was getting used to it or something.

Sena turned her head and was surprised to see that the crying came from Vince. Why was he crying? She sat up, but he didn't seem to notice yet. "Vince? Are you ok?" She asked, "You're not hurt are you?"

[Kyng's Old Account]

When Sena woke up and asked how he was, Vince couldn't help but to hug her. "Ms. Sena! Thank goodness you are ok! I was very worried!" He cried into her shoulders. "I'm fine, I am even beter now. Ms. Sena, you must promise me that you must avoid danger. I couldn't bear for the worst to happen to you. It would tear my heart into two small fragments of it's former self." He then wiped his tears and ooked at her dead point in the eyes and said "Ms. Sena, you know I swore to protect you. That is a mere understatement of my true duties. Your mother wished that I would assume a father-like role over you. I accepted because Ms. Sena, I love you like a daughter I never had. Seeing you weak and fraile, I couldn't bear it. Ms. Sena, please forgive me for failing you and your mother!"

[Hotaru987]

Sena was surprised when Vince began crying into her shoulders, and then telling her that she shouldn't put herself in so much trouble. Sena smiled, "If it means this much to you, I'll try my best to stay out of trouble. But I mean, we are pirates now so staying out of trouble will be a hard thing to do. Especially when we actually get bounties on out heads!" She was starting to get excited but quickly reigned in her excitement, "Besides, you in no way failed me or my mom. So you don't ever have to feel like you did. There are just some things that we cant control, or prevent. But if it does happen, then the only thing we can do is try our hardest to fix it. There is no use fretting over things that happened in the past. I'm fine now, and that's what matters."

She grinned at Vince. "So does this mean that I should start calling you dad now?" She joked swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. "Hey where's that guy at? The one who saved me. And is Alex ok?"

[Kyng's Old Account]

Vince looked at Sena and took in everything she said deeply to heart. "I suppose you are right..." Then Sena decided to joke with him. "No, you don't have to. Feel free to call me Vince as much as you like, my sweet diamond." He then stood up and gave her a hug. "And those two, I haven't heard much from either of them. The one who saved you was quite silent, and Alex, I'm not sure. You'd have to see for yourself."

[Jake the Sage]

The Hermit had finished picking what he wanted from the charred bodies of the thugs whom Sena had nearly burnt to death. Once he had gotten all of the things he wanted with him he climbed up to the ship's boarding railing and began walking up, leaving Alex outside to keep a look out. As he took the final step onto the ship he felt it rocking back and forth underneath his footing, making his body sway along with it. Looking out to the wide open sea he took in a deep breath, feeling the taste of salt in the back of his mouth, and slowly exhaled as he dug into his pocket and pulled out a locket. Opening it he peered down at it and actualyl smiled, examining the picture he had looked upon so many times he could regale people of every single detail of the features of the person's face, and then slowly shut it with a click as he heard some footsteps behind him.

[Birkeland]

Isha groaned with disappointment before hanging his head down. "I guess not. I'll just have to make due..." The doctor jumped onto the ship, making sure he kept his balance and belongings. While he didn't mind if he fell off, his medical kit would not be as fortunate. It was his duty to see that his crew was always in tip-top shape, which meant that he needed to be at their beck and call. His Devil Fruit would allow him to take care of any major injuries the crew received, but nothing could replace the benefits and efficiency of medical science.

Taking a look around, the doctor took in a whiff of fresh ocean air before finding a nice spot to rest. Isha walked to the ship's mast and sat at the bottom, slightly shaded by the crow's nest above. His worldly possessions were placed beside him while his medical supplies lay in his lap, ready to be used on a moment's notice. The doctor looked over the horizon, his mask hiding his tired eyes. "I wonder who is next? The more the merrier, right Captain?" he began. "Onward to our next destination! Onward to... another person to take care of..." his tone shifting back into depression once more. "They're gonna call me worthless. And they'd be right..."

[Hotaru987]

Sena stood up, using Vince to keep herself steady as she had started swaying a bit. Afteer regaing her barings, she began slowly walking towards the door. She opened it, squinting when the light of the sun hit her face. Once her eyes adjusted, she looked at the man that had saved her life and smiled, "Well hey there. Thanks for helping me get out of that place. Whats your name?" She asked. "My name is Sena D. Wolf. I don't know if he told you, but that's Vince, my first mate and the kid is Alex, the cook." While waiting for the man to reply she looked at the men she had fried and wondered if she had over done it a bit. The towns people had chosen to stay away from the charred group.

[Raine]

Dutch tipped his head back and lit a cigarette, inside the alley the sunlight was small and filtered by the people and buildings. With a single motion he removed his pistol from the holster and held it in his hand, through his sunglasses he stared at it like both an abomination and precious gift. "Too bad, I couldn't have just choose an uneventful life and maybe fell in love. Oh well, no point looking on the past." Dutch flicked away the butt of smoke and moved out into the road filled with merchants and civilians. Dutch soon entered a local tavern and sat at the counter beside an odd looking man dressed in all black. He motioned over the bartender, "I'll have the house special on the rocks." The odd man moved slightly, "I found the information you wanted, pirate lord Drago Knightly is in town operating as a small mafia boss. The guy has connects and power but the worst part is, he's been hiding something. A lot of funds are gone without a trace and this man has started to lose it since he left Grand Line." Dutch leaned over and looked at him, "Where is he?". The man looked shocked and looked around, "Your not going after him are you? Its suicide, the guys a former candidate for a Shichibukai." Dutch left the counter, "Divine Retribution, the gods are on my side".

Dutch sat on the cliff facing the sea. He began to light another cigarette but dropped it, "Small time marines and what-a-be pirates are one thing but can I really cleanse the world of people of such caliber?" He layed on his back, "Are gods really on my side, a side for justice." He shut his eyes, "Pisses me off...". He peaked an eye open and noticed a ship on the horizen, "Probably a trader." He continued to lay.

[Ghoulish]

The 3 of the Big Bang crew began approaching an island. "Oh." Leo stated in a realising tone. Leo jumped up to a stand still and pointed at the not to distant town. "A town! Haha! Jikka, Chuck, Let's sail there!" the 3 had been on the seas for quite some time, perhapsnthey could not only find a new crew member, but also a new ship and more supplies.

"I can't wait till we dock!" Leo stared at the sky in amazement. "We're bound to be known by now! I can't wait till we get bountys!!!" The crew then docked the ship at the small port, noticably the town not to far away seemed like a larged sized town.

"I wonder where we should start?" Leo questtioned after walking off the ship.

[Jake the Sage]

Slowly shut the locket with a click as he heard some footsteps behind him he turned his head to see the woman he had rescued squinting against the burst of sunlight through the thick gray clouds. Once she was able to see once more, Sena thanked himfor saving her life and introduced herself to him; Hermit found out that her entire name was Sena D. Wolf. She even introduced the other two, Vince and Alex, whom he had came across during their sprint back to the ship. With a smile he then did something he knew was going to happen, as it always did, and she inquired, "What's your name?"

He paused for a minute, his head turning back to the wide open sea, and the quite grew steadily more uneasy. While the man did not speak Sena looked at the men she had burned earlier, her face twisting into worry, and she could hear him utter something so low it might have been her imagination. Not looking away from the sea the man repeated himself, louder so that he could be properly heard, [size="1"]"It will be 100,000 berries for my real name, not including the payment you already owe for my services . . ."[/size]

[Hotaru987]

Hearing that she would have to pay 100,000 beries just to get his name, Sena sweatdropped, "W-well in that case its um...Ok to not know." Then the mention of her having owed him for the rescue and escape came up, and her sweatdrop grew in size, and she laughed nervously scratching the back of her head. "Actually about that. I dont have the money for that..um...Yet anyways." She added slightly stepping back just in case the man went crazy and attacked her. She didnt know why he was going after those men but it obviously had something to do with money since that was what he stole.

"You see...I'm going to be King of the pirates one day. Well I suppose it'll be Queen and not King since im a girl, but thats not the point. In order to do that I have to find One Piece of course. So I was going to use that money to pay you." During her talking he was slowly moving behind Vince, and by the time she finished speaking she was hiden bhind him completely. "I was als thinking that maybe you should come wth us and join my crew. I mean, it would be easier to collect your pay, and when we find One Piece you can have twice your weight if money if you want. So what do you say?"

Sena held up Vince's arm to look at the man. "In all fairness I never did say when I'd pay you. Just think of it as an IOU."

[Jake the Sage]

[size='1']"It will be 100,000 berries for my real name, not including the payment you already owe for my services . . ."[/size]

That was what the man had said, one of the few things he had said since arriving on the island. Yet this simple sentance had caused the girl whom he rescued to get nervios, since she obviously did not have that ammount of money to just throw away; even if it was privilaged information. Sena then realized she actually had to pay him for the rescue and anything afterwards and began backing away while laughing a bit, scratching the back of her head. The mention of not having the money made the Hermit look at her with piercing eyes, making her jump back and hide behind Vince and exclaim that, even thought she didn't have it now, when she became Queen of the Pirates she would allow him to use One Piece to pay him with. This caught his interest for a couple reasons. First and foremost was the idea of the world's LARGEST treasure his for the picking, not to mention anything he procuired along the way; so much he could easily retire for life. What came to his mind was how a girl, so frail and weak, had gotten into her head such a crazy idea like the fact she had any chance to become Queen of the Pirates.

"I was also thinking that . . . maybe . . . if you feel like it . . . you should . . . I mean only if you want too . . . join my crew. I mean, it would be easier to collect your pay and you wouldn't have to wait. So . . . what do you say?"

The Hermit thought about it for a while. He hadn't remained with a single static group of people in a long time, normally he would leave them after his mission was accomplished, so it got him more than curious. It intrigued him. Glancing back over at her, Sena held up Vince's arm to use it as a shield, in case he attacked, and spoke out one more fact, "In all fairness . . . I . . . never [i]did[/i] say when I'd pay you. Just think of it as an IOU."

Hermit thought it was a cheap thing, stating to think of this as an IOU after he saved her life and stated she'd pay him when she became Queen of the Pirates. Looking at her, hiding behind her crewmate, he figured it would take her forever if not an eternity to become Queen of the Pirates and locate One Piece. Unless he joined her, then it would improve by a bit . . . but only a bit; as Hermit did not have any leads, nor did he ever think to pay any notice to one if it arose. Letting out a sigh he pointed at Sena and motioned for her to come closer. Once she had he took her hand and drew out the word 'hermit' before speaking in his normal quite fashion, [size='1']"I accept, but any berries located are mine."[/size]

<OOC: I just realized I am a mixture of Zolo and Nami for our crew 8/
Zolo for the reason he worked for-hire before joining the Straw Hats and also is the fighter of the crew
Nami because all she cares about, at least at first, is making money.>

[Hotaru987]

ooc: lol, I noticed! XD

Sena was very cautious of the man. She didn't know what he was going to do. He seemed to be thinking about what she had said, and was weighing his options. He could possibly kill her, if he could get rid of Vince and Alex as well, but then he definately wouldn't get paid for what he did. Or he could join them and help her become the King of Pirates and the legendary treasure. It pretty much seemed like a no brainer, and Sena was hoping he would chose the latter. Suddenly the man motioned for her to come forwards. She raised a brow and hesitantly moved over to him. Whether it was a good idea or not she wasn't entirely sure, but then again Sena has rarely been one to think too far a head when it came to situations like these.

Sena was surprised when he grabbed her hand and blushed. "H-hey what are you doing?" She asked. She was still only 18 afterall. The blush went away when she realized he was tracing something out. With each letter she said it outloud. "H....E...P-Oh wait that was an 'r'...M...I...T." She looked up at him, "So your name is Hermit?" Sena smiled, "Welcome to the team Hermit!" Even after hearing his last statement her smile remained. All she did was throw an arm around his shoulder and said, "Whatever you say my man. Now that we got everything here settle, and a new crewmate, lets continue to sail towards the north!" Sena exclaimed using her other hand to point.....West.

"Hey Alex, fix us up some good grub! I'm extra starved after everything thats happened today." She said already starting to drool slightly from the thought of food.

[Kyng's Old Account]

'Hermit? Honestly, he must be hiding something.' Vince thought as he heard Sena's instructions. "Ms. Sena, allow me to reposition you...that's North." He said as he swivelled her around. Then he said "Ms. Sena, allow me to teach you someting for whenever you get lost." He then took her hands and pointed East. "During the morning, the sun rises upon the blissful eastern coast. And it soars to the heavens above untill at midday it reaches it's zenith, when it begins it's decent on the western sky and to the orange horizon it's destiny foretells. In simple terms, the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. So this way you'll be able to estimate time and also know which direction you are heading in. Does this help?" He asked. After the response he stood up and walked to an easel where he began painting the ocean.