The Devil Bat's Diary[One Piece RP/IC/Not Accepting]

[Hotaru987]

Angler's face burned red with unbridled rage. Either that or embarrassment, from Boone's sharp, truthful words. Either way, he wasn't going to let Boone get away with not only hurting his men but also bruising his over inflated ego. Author laughed, his carefree nature not allowing him to take such foolish company serious in any light. "Looks like blondie here is about to pop! Maybe we should give him a hand, huh?" He asked slinging an arm around Boone's shoulder as if he had known him for ages. If at all possible, Angler's face went redder. Sana wondered if anyone could go that red. "You two bastards! We run this town! And I think it's time I show you who is in charge around here!" 

 

Sana, just like the rest of the crew was both shocked and appalled by the scene playing out before them. In her own anger she hadn't noticed the tightening grip on her hand, until she felt a bit of numbness in her own hand. Looking down at Mano, she was surprised to see him barely holding back his rage and desire to lunge at the two men. Even so, he controlled himself looking at her, pleading with his fiery gaze to let him charge at the scum bags. As much as she wanted to let Mano do what he wanted, they needed to think about the situation. Not only were they in a confined space - which wasn't much of a problem in itself - but there were innocent people here. And as it was previously seen they didn't have any problems with shooting the civilians. People with guns were dangerous, but fools with guns were recklessly dangerous and Angler definitely fell into the latter category. Sana glanced around wondering why the other people hadn't let yet, but figured that with the Buff Buff Crew grunts blocking the only exit it was't possible.

 

Just as Yura, Sana too turned to look at Dan wondering what their game plan would be but was also surprised to see him walking up to Angler. After telling him that he should take the brown haired man's advice, Dan delivered a powerful kick to Angler's face sending him flying, and leaving a large bump on his face. Thor, called his partner's name about to rush to his side but he too found the floor when Jack - who had been surprisingly quiet through the whole thing - finally went into action, punching the large man in the face. Dan then declared that it was time for the Devil Bat's to rid the town of an infestation problem. Over by the bar Author reached into his pocket and pulled out a flyer, then grinned in triumph. He had been searching for this very crew all day! What luck! 

 

Sana just laughed, "What are pest control now?" 

 

"Yo mister Captain guy!" Author called out about to walk over, when Angler and Thor began standing up.

 

"W-who the hell are you guys, and just what do you think you're doing!?" Angler shouted his octave rising as he got angrier. "Do you even know who you're messing with!"

 

"There is no reason for you to interfere with our business." Thor said, his voice deep. His brutish face was screwed in anger, as he held his bruised cheek with his hand. "We just want their heads." He pointed to Author and Boone. Author waved cheerfully back, making Sana wonder if the man knew what exactly was going on. He seemed weird.

 

"Well you interrupted our relaxing time, so it became out business. It's only fair." Sana called out. "Now you two better just leave before you find a matching bump on the other side of your face."

 

"That's it! Buff Buff Crew!" Angler called out. Suddenly the grunt men, now spread out there appeared to be about 12, all drew their weapons, which were all swords of some kind. The were pointed at the civilians sitting down, now frozen in fear. Some tried to press themselves against the wall, and other attempted to slip around but it was useless. Sana frowned. It was such a cheep trick, but she knew that something like this might have happened. "Now, I bet you'll listen to us." Thor smirked. "If you don't want any of these nice people to be hurt then you Devil Bat's better not try anything fishy." 

 

"Now," Angler pointed his weapon back at Boone with Thor facing Author.

 

"Woah, woah, woah! So much hostility." Authur laughed. Did anything ruffle this man's feathers? "Look, you two look like business men-" Just who was this guy kidding. "-And I like that. So how about we make a deal. You said you wanted out heads, so how 'bout we have a little brawl? You win you get our heads, we win then you guys have to leave. That ok, with you buddy?" He asked Boone after he already made the negotiations.

 

Angler smirked, but with the shoe shaped bump on his face it looked more like a grimace of pain. "Fine, but you lot stay put." He told the Devil Bats, "Any one of them move you kill everyone in the building." Angler and Thor began to walk out of the bar, as their fight would be outside. Author just smiled as if he were a child in a candy shop, "I want the big guy!" Then took off outside without giving Boone much of a choice, as if he ran it could cause even more problems. As Boone would make his way out side, Author and Thor would already be fighting. As for Boone himself he found three bullets suddenly heading for his head the moment he exited the bar, which if he didn't dodge he would instantly be killed.

 

In side the Bar, the tension was building as the grunt men laughed in dark amusement. Some of them toyed with the people, putting their weapons against their skin, pretending as if they would harm them and coming very close to doing so but in the end leaving them unscathed. It was sickening to watch. There were four of them closest to her, which her and Mano could take out easily before they managed to hurt the others. By Yura there was another two men. Dan was also near three other men, which would be no match for him. As for Jack, who didn't have the same advantage as them would be left with the remaining three on the side closest to the entrance which was opposite of his position. Though, Sana was sure he would be able to reach them in no time flat with the amount of speed he had. So it was no problem. No doubt the others were also taken in the positions of the men as well. As for Mano, Sana quickly noted he wasn't on for thinking of strategies. Even so, she was hoping his instincts would dictate him to move for the men closest to him. All that was left was to wait for Dan's move.

 

"Heh, you guys don't look so tough." On of the men cackled. "Just a bunch of losers."

 

"They even have a girl and some monkey boy! What a joke." They laughed, unaware of the beat down they were about to get.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Kyng's Old Account]

Promptly as Dan and Jack began to show off their killer moves, which Mano himself knew he could do just as good if not better than the pair of them due to his exceptional confidence in his own combat abilities, Mano watched the pair with intent, and growing restlessness. He was eager to join in the scrum, so very eager. He wanted nothing more than to bring justice to the Buff-Buff Crew. What they were doing just ticked him off. How dare they even consider acting like this? It was the height of rudeness to interfere with Mano getting food. That was just uncalled for, absolutely unfair. Who in the right mind would ever do such a thing? Mano wanted to get his own back, and soon.

Eventually there were guns brought to this knife fight, or more aptly swords brought to this fisticuffs flurry. The point is that the Buff-Buff Crew did all in their power to turn the tables and increase their own level of strength. If the overwhelming numbers wasn't enough for their own beliefs, then surely the thugs with swords would restore the power balance in their hearts. By then, Author had convinced Angler to brawl, which'd lead Boone towards their direction. This left the remaining Devil Bats with the foes in front of their face, and 12 of them to be exact. They easily overwhelmed in terms of size and number, and were taunting the poor victims in this wicked crime.

Mano spotted four in his vicinity with Sana that he had his eyes on. His eyes didn't lie about his burning rage, having accumulated a total of 8 Rage Stacks with his inability to do anything, the frustration boiling his innards in a putrid manner. Of course, as soon as they called him "Monkey Boy" he had lost his rag - how dare they address the Monkey King, THE Monkey King as a mere boy? Do they not know, nor understand the force they'd be confronting in a matter of mere seconds? Maybe they hadn't seen the news, but even so, ignorance is never a justifiable excuse. So, growling audibly now, Mano took Sana's other hand with a tight grasp and looked to her trustingly.

Almost like a bullet, Mano had pulled himself via Sana's arms onto her shoulders and, using them as a springboards, leapt into the air, performing a picture perfect back flip. Upon his descent, however, he extended his arms, bringing two elbows straight for the faces of the closest targets he could get his sights on. One of the grunt somewhat clever enough to use his arm to attempt and block the elbow would meet Mano's near snake-like swiftness wrapping around the arm and performing a power arm-breaker, as well as the boy sinking and gnawing at the thug's fingers and hand in the process like a feral ape. He knew he couldn't keep up the hold for long, as there'd be an attack pretty soon in retaliation - spotting another of the thugs going to stomp him with a boot Mano knew just what to do.

Flipping the pinned goon over with his raw strength, Mano evaded the boot and promptly drove his knee straight to the thug's gonads. The Monkey King abided one principle when fighting: no holds barred. Watching the thug curl over in pain from the dirty blow, Mano drove a vicious sucker punch uppercut, sending him airborne which only went according to Mano's devious little plan - with graceful timing Mano propelled himself into the air, making use of his refined Somersault technique, balling himself up as he came crashing down onto the airborne punk he had just a few seconds ago sent skyward.

Soon after, the first thug he downed along with the fourth completely fresh fellow began to target the vicious boy fighter. Trick-robatics came into play as Mano began to dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge the flurry of attacks they threw at him. This of course began to make him smile, and as a result was calming down the Monkey King and decreasing his Rage Stacks. Of course, this wasn't for too long - Sana would notice Mano was paying his full, undivided attention to the two assaulting Buff-Buff Crew gang members, but had completely forgotten to keep an eye on the chap he went out to break his arm. This fellow having recovered went to kick Mano in the back of his head, behind his back. Sana would have to act fast in hopes to aid the chimp chap.

[.:Blu:.]

It didn't took long for Angler and Thor to get back up after receiving blows from Dan and Jack; after all, they were only "greeting" blows. Dan had hoped to agitate the two bandits enough so that they would direct their attention to him and Jack but the plan failed when the two Buff-Buff leaders commanded their men to take the innocent patrons of the bar hostage. "(Tch, I shouldn't have expected these lowlife bandits to do anything predictable. After all, these bandits play dirtier than most pirates.)" Dan thought as an annoyed frown appeared on his face. Looking around, Jack was disgusted by the bandits' actions. They were toying sadistically with the innocent townsfolk, holding their blades to the civilians' skin and such. But what was he to expect? They're bandits after all. Fortunately, there was still some shred of good news - well, it wasn't exactly GOOD news but at least it didn't involve the townsfolk becoming injured.

It appears that Angler and Thor were still interested in getting revenge against the two individuals who had confronted their men before. This prompted one of the men, who was acting unusually calm and casual during the entire scenario, to suggest a duel: him and the other individual versus Angler and Thor. Finally acting like how Dan expected bandits to act, Angler and Thor agreed to the duel to satisfy their need for revenge and for their bruised egos. This made for a nice distraction so that Dan and his crew can rescue the civilians. "(Hopefully those two can handle themselves while my crew and I rescue the townsfolk.)" Dan thought as he kept calm and looked around his environment. After one pair, Angler and the larger of the two young men, stepped outside, Thor and the casual fellow began their brawl. The lackey bandits paid no mind to their superiors' fights and, instead, continue to mentally torture the civilians, making the townsfolk believe that they were going to cut them with the blades.

Dan saw the shadow of a large tankard upon the bar counter. If only he could reach it, he would be able to defeat the three bandits closest to him. "(Damn, but if I move, I'll be risking the safety of the townsfolk.)" Dan cursed his position in his mind. Suddenly, the perfect opportunity arrived for Dan and the other Devil Bat pirates as Mano suddenly lost it and started attacking the four men close to him and Sana. His attacks were quite ferocious like a wild, angry animal that had escaped from its prison and was now on a rampage. It scared the living daylights out of the other bandits as they stood there watching with their mouths wide open. Dan noticed the opportunity that Mano had, unknowingly, presented to him and quickly made his way to the bar counter. Clenching his right hand into a fist, Dan punched downward into the shadow of the tankard. Amazingly, his hand and arm went straight through the shadow. Almost immediately, his fist shot straight up from the shadow of one of the three bandits near him and uppercut the bandit right in his jaw, sending him to an early nap time.

The other two bandits watched with their mouths opened even larger and their eyes extended from their sockets. "What in the world was that???" one of the remaining two bandits asked. "H-How the hell should I know???" the other bandit responded. Dan's fist retreated back into the shadow of the bandit before he impacted the ground and resurfaced from one of the two remaining bandits' shadow. Dan proceeded to knock out that bandit as well and before the last bandit could react, Dan proceeded to take care of him. "That's the power of my Devil Fruit." Dan smirked in a cool manner. "Move to a safe corner and away from the other bandits." Dan told the patrons he just saved to which they promptly followed his command. "H-Hey, we told you Devil Brats to stay still! That's it! Now one of these townsfolk dies!" one of the bandits shouted before attempting to slash at a bar patron. However, before the bandit could strike, his arm that was holding the blade was immobilized when a dense white smoke wrapped itself around his arm. "H-Hey, I can't move!" the bandit exclaimed.

"Acting in such a manner is quite distasteful..." Yura ominously spoke from behind the bandit, causing him to turn around. The bandit saw Yura's arm had become smoke and that was the same smoke that had grabbed onto his arm. Before the bandit could say anything, Yura launched a smoke fist into his face, knocking him unconscious. Yura then grabbed hold of the second bandit and swung him up into the air then slamming him headfirst into the wooden floor below. "Quickly, retreat to the corner over there with the others..." Yura told the townsfolk he saved. Finally, it was Jack's turn. He unsheathed two of his four katanas; this time it was his Shutora and Kinkame. He then shot an intimidating stare at the three bandits from afar. "S-Stay back or else we'll kill them!" one of the bandits warned despite being unnerved by Jack's two-handed sword style. "Heh, you interrupted my crew's relaxation time. Worse still, you interrupted my drinking time. That is-" In an instant, Jack appeared right before the bandit. "UNFORGIVABLE!" With a flurry of slashes that resembled some form of intricate dance, Jack successfully took down the bandits on his side. "Go hide over there now." Jack calmly said as he sheathed his swords.

"(Man do I look cool. Did any beautiful women saw that?)" Jack thought in a perverted manner while maintaining his cool facade.

[Kakashi Hatake]

Boone was content to sit there and watch as events unfolded until he heard Authr say "You win you get our heads, we win then you guys have to leave. That ok, with you buddy?" He asked Boone after he already made the negotiations. Boone didn't like being dragged into things, but he didn't have much choice in the matter this time. The two men, Angler and Thor, made their way out the door with Authur in toe. Boone soon stood from his seat and made his way to the door, looking around at the bystanders. As he exited the bar, he found that three rounds were headed straight for him, which would kill him if not dealt with. Thinking as swiftly as he could, he side-stepped to the left and turned to the side only to have his coat slightly grazed by one of the bullets. With a sigh, he brushed off his jacket and said, "That was a cheap shot." Lifting his own gun up about waist high, "Let's see if you can dodge mine." he said, sending a baseball-sized round hurdling towards Angler.

[Hotaru987]

Soon Sana would find out that the signal from Dan wouldn't be needed, as Mano, who had done quite well controlling his rage, finally had enough. Suddenly grabbing her other hand, he looked at her with complete trust, though she was unsure as to where this was going. She quickly fount out when Mano pulled himself up onto her shoulders, via her arms, using them as a springboard and performing a picture perfect back flip into the air. Because she wasn't expecting it, she hadn't very good footing so she stumbled backwards, but prevented herself from falling. Starting a chain reaction, the others lunged for the rest of the Buff Buff Crew that inhabited the bar. People scrambled out of the way as to not get caught in the cross fire.

 

Sana watched Mano take on the four guys on his own, using impressive martial arts and acrobatics to easily dodge the clumsy strikes. It didn't look like she would need to step in at all. That was until one of the men Mano took out earlier was standing up. While Mano was still dodging two other men - laughing and jeering at their failed attempts all the while - the third man was about to kick the unsuspecting Monkey King in the head. Of course, Sana wouldn't let such a cheap hit land. Quickly Sana positioned herself between him and Mano, easily catching his leg in one hand then grasping the collar of his shirt in the other. "Don't think I'll let you get away with trying to hurt my teammate." In a show of strength she pivoted on her foot launching the man into the wall knocking him unconscious. By now, the last two trying and failing to hit Mano were tired, their strikes becoming nothing more than pitiful jabs. Swiveling back to the last two, Sana's palms were charged with lightening. "Mano, jump." Lunging forward, she ducked under the poor attempt of an attack, thrusting her palms into their stomachs, shocking them with hundreds of volts and sending them flying into a table. Sana smirked 'That was cool. I wonder if Dan saw that.'

 

"Well that should do it. And you were awesome! Guess they don't call you the Monkey King for nothing." She smiled at Mano, holding her hand out for a high-five. Now that she was able to see him in action she knew that he would be more than a great help to their quest to find One Piece. Sana turned back to the bar when she heard movement. Turns out the bartender that was shot was alright.

 

"Thank you for the help." He nodded in gratitude.

 

"Ah, well no problem. We couldn't just sit by while all this was going on. But uh-" She looked at the table she destroyed, "Sorry about the damages."

 

Richard held up his good arm in a "Don't worry about it" gesture, "It's fine. Things would have been a lot worse if you folks hadn't come by."

 

Sana smiled, "Great, so you think you can finish things up in here?"

 

"You bet, Mason. Carl. Go in the back I have some rope there." The two men quickly moved, returning shortly with some rope and began to bind all the unconscious men together. "We can take it from here."

 

"Right, Dan." She looked to Dan before following him outside.

 

-Meanwhile-

 

Seeing that his earlier attack had been evaded, Angler glowed with annoyance. Boone, however, wasn't going to not retaliate. Angler's eyes opened so far, they appeared to pop from their sockets when Boone raised the large gun to waist high, aiming it at him. "W-wait! Th-that's an actual weapon!?" For all of the big talk from earlier, Angler's strength wasn't that much greater than the very grunts he controlled. A deafening bang rung through the surrounding area, as a softball-sized bullet when barreling at him. Angler jumped to the side, but he was unsuccessful in completely dodging the bullet. His side was clipped, and the velocity and centrifugal force of the bullet had him crashing to the ground. "J-just what kind of weapon is that!? No one should be able to handle a gun so large." He shouted standing back on his feet. "Just die already!" He fired round after round at Boone hoping to stop him from firing his weapon again.

 

As for Authur, the eccentric man was having the time of his life. He laughed jubilantly, ducking under the large fist that were swinging at him. "Come on now, at least try to hit me." Authur spun around one of Thor's punches putting himself behind his larger attacker. "Back here." He swiftly kicked him, causing the man to stumble forward. Regaining his footing, Thor whirled around glaring heatedly at the smiling Authur. "What's wrong. Are you Thore?" his cheeks puffed out as he attempted to hold his laughter, but it was no use as he threw his head back and hands on his hips. His mouth becoming animatedly big as he laughed. "G-get it? Cause your name is Thor-Woah!" Authur chuckled, jumping back to avoid another fist. Thor smirked, pulling his fist from the cracked ground, "Heh, you just keep talking. I'll shut that mouth of yours in a second. Then once I do that, I'll make sure you die a painful and slow death."

 

Authur took a moment, staring thoughtfully at Thor as if it was an offer to consider. After a while he shook his head, "Nah, no thanks. Doesn't sound like fun."

 

A sweatdrop appeared on Thor's head, "You idiot! It's not a choice!"

 

Authur just laughed, "Anyway, I got something I gotta do first." He glanced back at the bar where the Devil Bat pirates still were. "I can't be dying here, and unfortunately for you I gotta put on a good show so-" It was instantaneous. Authur was inches away from Thor, who's whole body froze as he stared into Authur's eyes. "-You have to go now." Something in his voice had changed, and Thor was suddenly flying away from the once again smiling man. Checking to see if Thor was unconscious, Authur grinned, "Great, now how is that ol'chap doing?" He paused scratching his head, "Ol'chap...Who says that anymore?" With a shrug he turned to the battle where Angler was still shooting like a mad man.

 

Angler's luck eventually ran out and so did his bullets. "Tch, you won't win! Thor an I will-"

 

"I don't think Thor will be helping anyone. He's taking a little nap right now." Authur cut in . 

 

"Da...Dammit! No one ever defeats the Buff Buff Crew! MEN!!" From all hidden crevices more of his crew revealed themselves, surrounding the three in a circle. "You really didn't think we'd fight fair did you? We're pirates after all!" As he ordered his men to attack, a group of them were forced into the air by a powerful gust of wind. Angler blinked in confusion, "Wha-." Another group was taken out by a sharp discharge of electricity.

 

A path now cleared revealed the Devil Bats having finally came out of the Bar, having finished saving those inside. Sana smiled at Boone, "You finish up your fight, we can handle these small fries."

 

Angler began sweating, stumbling backwards to try and get away. "W-wait! Maybe we c-can work something o-out." He pleaded with Boone, sweat pouring down in rivers. "W-w-hat do you s-say?"

[Kakashi Hatake]

To Boone's slight surprise, Angler was able to dodge his round even if just barely. "J-just what kind of weapon is that!? No one should be able to handle a gun so large." He shouted standing back on his feet, Boone returned to words. "Just die already!" He fired round after round at Boone hoping to stop him from firing his weapon again. Best he could, Boone started comically dodging every round like a crazy dance, "Ah! Wah, ohh!" His ammo soon ran dry and he called for his men, but soon to the confusion of Boone and Angler, many of the men were forced into the air or taken out by an electric discharge. A path now cleared revealed the Devil Bats having finally came out of the Bar, having finished saving those inside. Sana smiled at Boone, "You finish up your fight, we can handle these small fries." Boone was still a little surprised, but gave a good thumbs-up and began making his way to Angler. Angler began sweating, stumbling backwards to try and get away. "W-wait! Maybe we c-can work something o-out." He pleaded with Boone, sweat pouring down in rivers. "W-w-hat do you s-say?" As Boone got close, he planted a firm left foot forward, reached back, and brought his right palm forward onto the side of Angler's face with great power, slamming the pirate's head into the now cracked ground, knocking him unconscious and knocking out a few front teeth in the process. He stood back up straight and brushed his hands together.

[Kyng's Old Account]

Mano obeyed Sana's command right on cue, leaping out of harms way as he watched Sana send two of the thugs flying with a bonus package of 100-odd voltz as courtesy with their flight. Quite a good deal, to be frank. Mano's eyes glimmered with awe at Sana's attack, so much so the Laws of Anime had invoked Mano a moment, his hands to his quivering lips, eyes perfect circles with big round white circles that just screamed uguu~ This is probably best captured in the following image that occupies this sentence, so give it a click 'cause pictures paint a 1000 words. Of course, it wasn't just Sana who received this adoration - Mano watched both Dan, Jack and Yura when he could, giving them both the same amount of keen interest, just absolutely absorbed with their combat prowess.

Following the end of the fight, Mano smiled brightly to Sana's words of praise. Now she knew how to give royalty their appropriate respects! Much like Dan, actually. That was probably why he liked them both so much, potentially as a Father-Mother thing (which'd probably really oomph the DanxSana RP Official Shipping a fair notch should Sana find out about this) or simply in their own respects as idols. Returning the high five with gusto, Mano smiled and nodded to Sana. It seemed that afterwards, she had gone out of her way to ensure that the bartender was okay. Afterwards, when all this settled down, and Dan had led the Devil Bats from the bar, Mano was prompt to follow them

However he pouted, and tugged Sana's arm. A loud grumble from his gut was heard - all that fighting expended a lot of energy, and Mano hadn't eaten!

[.:Blu:.]

At last things had now settled down quite a bit after the Devil Bats proved triumphant against the Buff Buff Crew's men; although, it wasn't as if there was a chance the Devil Bats could've lost to a bunch of lackeys. Despite how brief the battle was, Dan actually enjoyed himself thoroughly; there was no better feeling for the young captain than proving his merits in combat no matter how weak the enemies were. Adjusting his tie as he usually does after a skirmish, Dan looked to Richard who, despite being shot in the shoulder, was still able to keep a composed demeanor. He'd even stood up and thanked the Devil Bats for their help. Surely the bartender is one tough son of a gun. One could only wonder if that was the effect of drinking the town's Sea Salt Beer for so long. Sana apologized for the damages to the bar's property but Richard was quick to dismiss her worries, stating that the situation would've been a lot more dire if the Devil Bats hadn't come along. "Great, so can we get the Sea Salt Beer now-" Jack's one-tracked mind was swiftly punished when Dan delivered a hard blow to the center of Jack's face with the back of his fist.

"This is no time to worry about booze, you buffoon. There's still the matter of the two Buff Buff leaders." Dan spoke in a composed manner. With the bar patrons safe and Richard, Mason, and Carl taking care of the unconscious Buff Buff crew members, the Devil Bats turned their attention outside. Before they left, Dan turned to his crew with his signature cool smirk. "Good job Sana, Mano, Yura." the captain stated. "H-Hey, what about me?" Jack asked. "Shut up, Jack..." Dan responded coldly causing Jack to comically collapse onto the floor. The Devil Bats then proceeded outside to see if their assistance will be needed. Fortunately, it seems the young man with the massive gun and the other man with the relaxed attitude had everything under control. It didn't took long for the relaxed man to beat Thor and not long after that, the young with the massive gun delivered a literal teeth-shattering, knockout blow to Angler. "Impressive indeed..." Yura commented quietly. "(Their battles didn't take long at all... They're strong... Just the kind of people that we need to find One Piece.)" Dan pondered.

The battle inside left Mano spent and now he was hungry. He tugged on Sana's arm, hoping that she would be able to solve his food-related problem - after all, she is the chef. Although their time together was short, Mano had now become quite attached to Sana in a relationship similar to a mother and son; one could only imagine who the father is... Back to Mano's dilemma, it seems Jack may prove to be the answer to his problem as he conveniently removed a banana from his pant pocket and began peeling it. "Man, that battle inside sure got me going hungry. Good thing I grabbed this banana before we left the ship, hehe." Jack happily said as he continued peeling the banana - a tantalizing sight for sore eyes for the Monkey King. Meanwhile, Dan's attention was directed at the two that defeated Angler and Thor.

"You two managed to defeat these bozos without much effort. Impressive..." Dan complimented as he comically stomped the unconscious Angler lightly on the head a few times. "If you don't me asking, how about you join up with us? We're the Devil Bat Pirates and we're the ones who will find One Piece...!" Dan stated.

[Kakashi Hatake]

With Angler defeated and the bar safe, Boone thought he could relax again until he was approached by seemingly the leader of the motley crew that had arrived in the bar just in time to jump into a fight. "You two managed to defeat these bozos without much effort. Impressive..." the man complimented as he comically stomped the unconscious Angler lightly on the head a few times. "If you don't me asking, how about you join up with us? We're the Devil Bat Pirates and we're the ones who will find One Piece...!" he stated. This announcement didn't exactly surprise Boone because pirates were his best guess as to who they were, but the request to join their crew was a little sudden. Join up with a gang of pirates? That was the last thing Boone was looking to do when he set out to the sea. "The "Devil Bats"? I've never heard of you." Boone said. Really, he was stalling. The silence in the air he was buying felt like an eternity trying to decide. Pirates messed up his life, was it really worth it to become one? Was his goal really worth the possible sacrifices of joining some unknown pirate crew...?

 

Letting out a sigh, he replied, "Yes." Reaching out his arm for a firm handshake, he added, "But if something happens that I don't like, or you're not the type of people I hope you are, I'm out." You could almost see the determination in his eyes, but also the worry.

[Kyng's Old Account]

Mano's eyes immediately darted to the banana, an expression mixed with disgust for the abomination in the manner of Jack's peeling of the banana, which he knew from his upbringing that Jack's attempt could not have been more wrong, as well as a strong pang of envy by the fact that he was hiding a banana from him all this time. That was Mano's banana! I mean, sure, he didn't call dibs or nothing, but it was obviously implied that if there was a Monkey Boy on board, all bananas must automatically go to his stomach. asn't that obvious? Well, clearly it wasn't, so Mano was determined on his new goal: to nab that nanner and to make sure Jack knew that bananas were officially the property of the Monkey King.

So, Mano attempted to swipe the banana from Jack's grasp. Swinging a balled fist underneath Jack's hand, Mano hoped to have the banana propel skywards and, followingly, into his open right hand, which he'd use to nab and gnash at the sweet, yellow treat. If all went to plan, he'd feel an aura of divine grace as his belly tasted the beauty, the sheer euphoria that was the Banana. Cue Angelic Choir!

[Hotaru987]

[spoiler=End of Chapter 1] "If you don't me asking, how about you join up with us? We're the Devil Bat Pirates and we're the ones who will find One Piece...!" Dan stated. Sana just smiled. These two people were not only strong, but they even stepped up to help the town get rid of the Buff Buff Crew. Just the kind of people they were looking for to join their crew. Hopefully they would join. The guy who took out Angler took only a few moments to decide in the affirmative. As he put his hand out to shake he gave them a warning. If they weren't the type of people he thought them to be then he was going to leave.

 

"We're nothing like those guys." Sana told him, "You'll see soon enough." She looked at Mano who had yet again swiped another banana from Jack. Sana just giggled. Well she knew what he liked. Guess that meant that the need for an abundance of bananas were in order. After all this work they would need a feast. Not only that but Mano had yet to eat a decent meal, except for the two bananas he took from Jack.

 

"Ha, great! So I guess that means I can join too!" The other man called out jogging over to the group a large grin on his face. "I've been looking for you guys all day!" He pulled out the flyer, "I must say whoever made this flyer is a real artist! Though he forgot to put the place to meet, but it doesn't matter now, huh." He kept talking causing Sana to raise a brow in interest. He really was a strange one.

 

"Well Dan has extended the invite to you both and since you were looking for us in the first place I don't see why not." She grinned, "Well then, welcome to the Devil Bat Pirates!"

 

Later that day the crew, mainly Mano, finally got that food and taste of Sea Salt Beer. As always the day came to an end, and with three new crew mates the Devil Bat Pirates started their long journey to find and claim One Piece![/spoiler]

 

Chapter 2: Cry In The Mist

 

[Spoiler=Chapter 2 synopsis]

After the Devil Bat's success in recruiting 3 new members, they finally set off for the beginning of their adventure to find One Piece. While the crew slowly becomes acquainted with one another they soon find themselves inside of the thick steam produced by their next destination; Steam Island. With their visibility hindered greatly by the phenomenon just what could be awaiting our heroes inside of the mist.[/spoiler]

 

Only 3 short days have passed since the Sea Salt Village incident, and during that time the Devil Bat Pirates made steady sailing towards their next destination. During the three days the new crew member's roles on the ship had been delegated. Considering his skill with his large, and formidable weapon Boone had been charged with the Gunner position. Seemed like a smart decision to Sana. The more problematic decisions were Authur and Mano. When asked if he had any particular skills Authur shrugged, not exactly helping the situation. In the end he became the one man cleaning crew. After which the deck never looked shinier. As for Mano Sana proposed he be their Cabin Boy, and just help out around the ship when he could. As for lodgings, on the Gloomy Mary there were only 4 rooms for sleeping, which weren't a problem. Sana, and Dan had their own rooms for obvious reason; Sana being female and Dan the captain. In preparation for new crew mates Jack moved into Yura's room, leaving the three new crew members to share the 4th room.

 

It was on the morning of the 4th day when their ship entered a thick fog. So thick that it was impossible to see anything more than a few feet in front of you. This fog, however, was different than a normal fog. The air inside of the fog was strangely warm, and moist. More like the properties of mist rather than fog.

 

"Well I can't exactly clean like this." Authur sighed no longer being able to clearly see the deck in front of him. "Yo! Walking wind tunnel! Do you even know where you're going?" He called up to the helm, though not being able to see it. "Hope you didn't get us lost." He leaned on his mop as he waited for an answer. Whatever Jack's reply was, Sana just laughed having come onto the the deck and heard Authur's question.

 

"Even though it is Jack we're talking about he isn't completely incompetent. When he wants to be he's one of the best Navigators our there, so don't worry."

 

"Huh, is that so." Authur mumbled.

 

"This fog is actually a by-product of the next stop on our way to the Grand Line, and seeing that we finally reached it the island can't be more than an hour away." Sana began explaining. Even though they couldn't see, everyone's hearing was just fine so if they were in the area then they would clearly be able to hear. "Well, technically this is just steam."

 

"That's impossible." Authur said.

 

"Actually it's very possible. Our next destination is adequately named Steam Island. The island itself seems to produce such intense heat that all of the water in it's immediate surroundings boils to a temperature that causes the water to steam. It's so hot that the water will instantly cause burns and when they extract the water they have to wait an entire day before it's cool enough to touch. All along the island are pockets that constantly gives off steam, which creates this fog we're currently in. It's actually all very interesting. Listen to this, because of the extreme heat all of the marine life near the island has a hard steel like outer skin that protect it from the harsh temperatures. I would love to get my hands on one of those fish. Also I heard that steam is good for the skin." She added gently rubbing her face. "But enough about that. Everyone come eat, I prepared a special meal." Speaking to Jack she said, "We should be fine if you leave the wheel for a while."

 

"Well it's not like I can finish cleaning with things like this, besides I'm starving!" Authur dropped the mop and followed.

 

Sana held the door open for everyone allowing everyone to enter and lay their eyes on the large table filled to the edge with a feast. There were large pieces of Bar-B-Q'd meet, fish both grilled and fried, sliced ham, fried shrimp, of course your fair share of vegetables and a lot more. Of course there were also a plenty amount of banana inspired dishes as well for everyone's favorite Monkey King. "We were busy getting everything settled with the new crew members, and with things calming down I thought I'd make a feast as a little welcome. It's not much but I hope everyone enjoys it, I put a lot of effort into it." As always before hand Sana put aside a portion for Yura for him to eat later. She grinned at the others. "Don't be shy dig in." 

 

"Ha! Well don't mind if I do!" Authur exclaimed wiping away a rather large swab of drool from his mouth, and moving to take a seat close to the plate of meet. "No wonder you were cooped up in here for so long!"

 

"Right." Sana nodded.

[Kakashi Hatake]

Over the last few days, Boone has been familiarizing himself with the ship and its layout. Making small repairs and minor upgrades here and there, nothing too noticable, to make the ship a little stronger. As the fog rolled in, Boone was lazing around and tinkering with doodads here and there as he listened to the banter of the crew, paying particular attention to Sana's reciting of the information on the situation. When it was time to eat, Boone made his way into the dining room with everyone else. When he layed eyes on the fried shrimp, it was like he was quaking on the inside. Fried shrimp was one of his favorite foods after all. he tried to keep his relaxed composer but he couldn't stop himself from quickly taking a seat and grabbing a generous plate of fried shrimp, fried fish, and vegetables. He looked down to his plate as it shined a comical shimmer. "Thanks for all the f-food." he said shakily, but still relaxed as he dug in starting with the vegetables, saving the best for last.

[.:Blu:.]

Three days have passed since the Devil Bats' little misadventure at Sea Breeze Village. Despite running into trouble with the Buff Buff Crew, the Devil Bats managed to recruit three new crew members to join them on their quest for One Piece: Mano, Boone, and Arthur. Not long after their recruitment, Dan, with Sana's help, assigned to the three their new roles on board the Gloomy Mary. Because of the new additions, Jack now had to bunk with Yura in his room which he had decorated into the medical bay slash his own personal laboratory for medical experiments. Needless to say, Jack wasn't thrilled with the new sleeping arrangements. He's barely gotten any sleep during these past few days. The next morning, the Gloomy Mary entered into strange waters. The area the Devil Bats had entered is enveloped within a thick fog - or at least that's what they thought initially. Turns out the fog is actually steam; lots of it. It hindered visibility greatly and there seems to be no end to the steam even despite the rapid rate of evaporation of water molecules. Sweating profusely and with giant bags under his eyes, Jack continued to tiredly navigate through the endless steam; yawning frequently while he does so.

Once more, Jack yawned. "Damn it, it's like a super-sized sauna here. And I didn't even get any sleep last night because of Yura's experiments." Jack complained before resting his arms on the wheel. Jack let out a sign and began to daydream about the night he had his first taste of Sea Salt Beer. "Aww man, what I wouldn't do for a mug of that delicious beer right now..." Jack said as a bit of drool rolled down his chin from the corner of his mouth. That night, it took Yura, Boone, Arthur, and Mano to pry Jack's hands from the bar counter. Jack even managed to rip off a piece of the counter in the struggle. Down on the deck of the Mary, Arthur - now the one man cleaning brigade - shouted his concern to Jack on whether or not he could navigate through the steam. "Don't worry about it. I've gotten through worse." Jack assured Arthur to which Sana also did the same. She then went on to explain about the steam and the island they were likely to bump into. Jack was completely oblivious to Sana's explanation as he continued to daydream about the Sea Salt Beer whilst steering the ship.

"Arrg, DAMN MARINES! THIS IS A COMPLETE INSULT TO MY IMAGE!" Dan furiously shouted as he stood next to Mano and Boone. "How dare they used this unflattering picture of me for my wanted poster?! I had my eyes shut!" Dan complained as he held up his wanted poster for the entire crew to see. The picture was of Dan while he was in the middle of saying something; he had one eye completely closed and the other eye almost closed. Overall, it really was an unflattering image of such a cool captain <-- Dan's words. Not long after, Sana had called everyone to come to the dining room for a special feast - one that would celebrate the welcoming of the Devil Bats' newest members. And boy was it a feast. There was virtually every single type of good food on the table. It left the other crew members drooling their way to the table. "I'm gonna get this and that and this here- Ooo and definitely this!" Jack spoke out loud as he warped around the table collecting food onto his plate. After everyone took their seats, they began to chow down with the gusto of real pirates. "Thish ish absorootree derishious!" Jack attempted to speak while he scarfed down his plate and went in for seconds.

Dan also ate at the same inhuman pace but at least he kept from talking in order to not appear rude. As Jack swallowed a massive amount of food in one go, he looked around and noticed Yura was nowhere to be seen. "Hmm, I wonder where's Yura? He usually shows up even though he doesn't eat." Jack wondered. "I'm sure he's probably just doing one of his experiments." Dan stated. "Oh yeah, I forgot. Here Dan, you left your diary here last time." Jack said as he held up Dan's dia- err, journal. Dan suddenly began to tremble as anger built up in his body. "HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU??? IT'S NOT A DIARY, IT'S A JORNALLLL!!!" Dan exclaimed. "Give me that!" he then proceeded to forcefully take his journal back. As Dan's anger subsided, he looked to the newest crew members. "So, since we're on the topic of welcoming you three to the crew, I would like to know if you three have any dreams or goals in mind, other than finding One Piece of course." Dan asked.

[Kyng's Old Account]

Peering at the picture Mano then made grabby hands, to take a closer inspection of the picture. Afterwards, with a wide smile, he began to gently tear out the picture from the paper, so much so until he had the little portrait of the un-photogenic captain. He'd then go over to Sana and give it to her - over the course of three days Sana had given Mano a scrapbook in order to organise himself better, and he had hoped she'd put this new picture inside it.

 

Having a seat at the table, Mano had made it his personal mission to hoard as many bananas as he could. There were plenty unpeeled which he could safely store for later, but for the potassium plants that were fried and such he had no choice but to scoff it down. He couldn't let it go to waste after all. Although, the taste of how well Sana had cooked them made Mano smile. There was just so much food to choose from, Mano couldn't even think where to start! Oh, with the exception of bananas of course. It seemed that, despite the running room and the mist, that Mano was finally moving up in the world, and Mano could not be happier about it.

 

Sana began to talk to Arthur and explained about the Steam Island, what it was and where it came from, etc. Mano didn't understand some of the fancy things Sana explained, but she had plenty of big words in her reasoning which lead to Mano placing even more trust in her. She seemed very friendly, and reminded Mano of home. He felt safe on this ship, but mostly due to Sana and how sincere she seemed. Sure, you can't replace your Mom, but Sana seemed to be very tuned in with keeping the guys on board in check. He noticed a respect they each owed her in turn. That's what secured her role on this vessel, no doubt about it.

 

Looking to Boone whom hoarded shrimp Mano smiled, looking to the chap with an uguu~ look of adoration - had he finally met his match? Someone with a belly as big as his own? The idea brought a spark of challenge to the eye of the boy, and with a wee bit of chatter he began to fill his plate to meet Boone's own portion in terms of quantity, before attempting to devour the entirety of the plate. That's when it hit him. Mano had almost instantly hit a wall! See, this chimp was a scavenger, who lived off of small portions of food. Being faced with mountains in a single feast? Well, it was obvious what was the end result.

 

After an outburst about a book, Mano looked to Dan as the captain asked him a simple question: what did they want to do with their lives. Taking out his marer pen and whiteboard, Mano began to etch and sketch his message for the captain to interpret - this would give Boone plenty of time to explain his own desires on the topic at hand. Eventually, for the benefit of story cohesion, Mano's completion of his drawing would be synched perfectly with Boone finishing his turn to speak - or, if he hadn't spoken on the subject, let's say 2 or 3 minutes after Mano started doodling. Handing the whiteboard to Dan, Mano smiled and chattered about the doodle attempting to explain. Of course, no-one understood what he was saying.

 

The whiteboard, though, looked like this.

[Hotaru987]

As any cook would be, Sana was filled with accomplishment while watching her fellow crew mates fully enjoy the meal she prepared for them. She wanted to know what each of their favorite foods were, and what food they didn't like. Mano was by far the easiest to figure out. Just as his chimp like personality would suspect, he had a fondness for bananas. Otherwise he seemed to enjoy most other foods. As for Boone, the past three days she hadn't notice him take any particular liking to anything she made, but now she saw that he favored a lot of the fried cuisine she prepared. Authur was another story. Similar to Jack and Dan, he too scarfed down the meal with such gusto that even Sana couldn't help but feel pity for the food. He didn't look in favor of anything specific, so that research was still in progress. Well as long as they all enjoyed the food.

 

"So, since we're on the topic of welcoming you three to the crew, I would like to know if you three have any dreams or goals in mind, other than finding One Piece of course." Dan asked.

 

'Ah, I'm curious as well. I wonder what their motivation for this journey is.' Sana turned to the others waiting for them to answer. While they waited Mano pulled out a board and began fervently drawing something. More than likely his answer. Boone also seemed to be considering his answer, so Authur figured he's just go first.

"Well, to be honest I don't have anything special I want to do. Finding one piece sounds fun and all, but I just wanted to travel and have some fun along the way." He burped then patted his protruding belly. "That was the best meal I've had in ages. You're pretty good at this stuff little lady."

 

"Thanks...I guess." She mumbled the last part. Mano was finished with his drawing and handed it over to Dan. Unfortunately, no one could understand what he was trying to explain, and Mano's attempts to speak were all for naught since none of them spoke monkey. Boone was the last explaining his reason, and by that time the meal was all gone. "What about you guys? Have any individual goals?" Authur looked at the veteran members waiting the answer. Sana waited until the others spoke and went last.

 

"As you may know I have a strong passion for cooking. I really want to make a book of my own recipes that can triumph over any other cook, and of course become the greatest chef in the world. A name that will be even more well known than San-" Sana was interrupted when a thunderous, wild, roar rattled the entire ship with small tremors; such was the power of the roar. What kind of beast could make such a powerful sound? "A sea monster?" Sana shook her head at Authur's question. "Of course not. You won't find any sea monster in the South Blue...But just to be safe we should probably keep a look out." She hoped she sounded more confident than she felt. "Either way, lets hope we don't run into whatever it was that made that noise. We'll be coming up on Steam Island in a few moments." True to her word, the Devil Bats was soon docked on Steam Village. It was naturally warm on the island, and they could actually feel the heat from the island through their shoes. Though the island was the source of the steam the visibility was strangely high compared to being further out at sea. "By far this is the worst island ever." Sana complained attempting to fan herself to no avail. She hadn't anything against sweat but Sana was sure that the amount she was sweating was unnatural.

 

The only thing that would make stopping here worth wild would be that another person who saw their fliers was here just waiting for the chance to join their crew. For the time being they wouldn't have much to do in the town.

 

"At least we can see, but it's really hot."

 

"Well, this is steam. It's supposed to be hot." Authur laughed. He wasn't bothered by the hot and humid temperature the steam provided. The fact that he was still wearing his jacket was making Sana even hotter.

 

'I hope this doesn't make me overheat.'

 

Only a few steps from the boat and trouble was already starting on the island. A woman in her middle ages ran down the docks, shouting to anyone who would listen. In her arms was a young girl who looked unconscious. Those in the area stopped what they were doing to help the lady. "Please! The doctor! Where is the doctor! Lady Miyu is hurt!" She shrieked. The woman turned Miyu on her stomach and on her back were three large claw marks spanned her entire back. The young girl was very pale, and cold despite the heat. She was losing a lot of blood and fast.

 

"Hana, What happened?" "How did Lady Miyu get like this?" "Somebody find the doctor!" "He can't right now he healing someone else." "Then what do we do?" The men shouted all in a scrambled to help.

[.:Blu:.]

Once the question of goals and aspirations was posed by Dan, Mano took initiative and began to draw something on his board to reply to the captain. As Mano continued to draw out his response and while Boone contemplated his answer, Arthur decided he should go first and his answer was a rather simple one. He had no personal goals of his own to pursue; instead, he merely wanted to travel the world and enjoy what it has to offer a guy like him. Hearing that, a grin appeared on Jack's face. "Now that's my kind of answer, hehe. Life's way too short to worry about the details. I say we just enjoy ourselves until the sea gets us all." Jack replied in agreement with what Arthur had said. Right after, Arthur had belched, patted his now-enlarged stomach, and complimented Sana on her cooking to which replied with a thanks before mumbling something inaudible. By now, Mano had completed his drawing and he then proceeded to hand the board to Dan; he had also attempted to explain what he was trying to convey on the board but of course his speech is unrecognizable to the others. Looking at the drawing, a cool smirk graced Dan's face. "I see." the captain started.

"Our shipmate, Mano, here seems to desire to learn how to speak human speech. An honorable aspiration indeed, if you ask me. Mano, know that we're here to help you to achieve your goal." Dan stated. "So that's what you want huh? Hell, we can start right now." Jack paused to pick up a banana from the dining table, "Okay, you see this thing here? Your favorite food? It's called a banana. Say it with me now: Ba-Na-Na." Jack did his best to annunciation the word banana in order for Mano to take a stab at saying the word. At the end of the meal, after Boone had explained his goals and aspirations, Arthur decided to continue the discussion when he asked the veteran members of the Devil Bats what their goals were. As the captain, Dan decided he would respond first. "Well, I have a simple goal really. I will become the King of the Pirates." Dan boldly stated in a casual manner. Following up his statement with a cool smirk, Dan turned his head towards a porthole and gazed at the steam outside. "I don't care how difficult the journey is nor how long it will be. It's my only dream; I won't quit until I've reached it. And with the help of my crew, I'm certain I'll reach it." Dan stated.

Jack smirked as well after hearing Dan's statement. "I'm gonna become stronger. Strong enough to the point that no one will stand in our way in reaching One Piece." Jack explained. After the navigator's explanation, it was Sana's turn. Unfortunately, just as Sana was beginning to explain her goal, a loud roar intervened and caused the ship to rattle with the tremors it produced. "What the hell is making that noise?!" Jack asked as he covered his ears from being damaged by the sudden roar. As the roar finally subsided, Sana began to question the source of the noise. She initially believed it to be from a sea monster but quickly set that idea aside as there were no sea monsters in the South Blue. It didn't take long for the Devil Bats to arrive at their next location, Steam Island. After docking the Gloomy Mary, the crew headed off ship without Yura, believing he would join the rest of them later. As expected, the island was unbearably hot for most of the crew. Arthur, however, seemed just as relaxed as usual. "Let's just hurry up and get the supplies we need. I can't stand being in this steam pot for much longer." Dan told the crew. Suddenly, the crew saw a middle-aged woman running down the docks shouting for help.

Not help for her but for a young girl she was carrying in her arms. The woman frantically shrieked, "Please! The doctor! Where is the doctor! Lady Miyu is hurt!" She drew the attention of the other people in the vicinity before she was forced to placed the young girl named Miyu down. She then gently rolled Miyu over, revealing a terrible injury; it seems to be the work of some animal. Miyu was in dire need of help. The Devil Bats quickly ran over to the scene. "What happened?" Dan asked. "Lady Miyu has been injured gravely. She needs medical attention immediately. Is any one of you a doctor?" one man asked hastily. "I am..." Suddenly a familiar - ominous - voice came from behind the Devil Bats. It was Yura but something was unusual about him: his skin was a pale red color. "Y-Yura?" Jack asked, seeing his friend's condition. "No time to explain, we have other matters to attend to... Hurry, bring her aboard the Mary..." the Devil Bats' doctor directed. Sometime later, Miyu was brought aboard the Devil Bats' ship and into Yura's medical bay. With his expert knowledge and skills, Yura successfully managed to stabilize her conditions and brought her back from a critical state.

Taking off his gloves and wiping the sweat from his forehead, Yura walked towards the rest of the crew and the villagers of Steam Island. "She'll be fine. I've managed to stabilized her condition so there is no longer a threat to her life..." Yura explained. "Oh thank you so much, sir!" one of the villagers said. "So, anyone care to explain what happened to her?" Dan questioned.

[Kakashi Hatake]

As the question was posed as to what the aspirations of the newest crew members was posed, Boone didn't exactly know what to tell them. He contemplated his answer well as the other two answered and were replied to by the crew. As it came down to Boone being the last to answer, he decided he should speak up or be forgotten. He stopped chewing and swallowed what was in his mouth before looking to the crew with the almost pure intention of clarity. "I'm looking for someone--" he finally replied. "--and I doubt they'll ever find me so I have to find them." he didn't mean so sound so unclear to the rest of the crew but there wasn't much more to be said. He went back to eating at the same pace as before as he listened to the rest of the conversation until they'd docked on the island.

[Kyng's Old Account]

Mano nearly pooped his pants in response to the boat-shaking roar, and had by then clinged to his bananas in hopes to preserve them, even if it meant his life - fortunately, it didn't, and they did manage to dock onto Steam Island, how aptly named. Furthermore, with their boat docked in Steam Village, again aptly named, Mano's instinctive drive to perk people up kicked in a notch. The poor damsel that was Sana was found fanning herself to keep her cool, but the cook shouldn't be doing a job that the Cabin Boy could do! So, getting out a spare fan before leaving the boat, Mano decided to walk by Sana's side, fanning her all the while he did so. He couldn't let a crew mate go unattended!

 

Eventually the poor girl who was unconscious met a very fortunate fate - Mano watched with sparkly eyes of admiration to Yura as he took the girl inside the Mary Anne and proceeded to treat her. Upon his return he'd find Mano on his knees, bowing to him, worshipping him like some form of deity - from where Mano came, medicine was unheard of, so he could only associate this with a miracle. That made sense, to Mano at least - Yura must have drawn the taint from the girl to cure her, and so the ideal image of the Great Red Healer! was born in Mano's imagination, an entity indeed worthy of praise.

 

Other people, though, might assume the Monkey King had gone loopy from the heat.

 

After this situation dissolved, Mano recalled something - he had forgotten to take up Jac's offer. He was so scared by the roar, he had completely abandoned the thought - but promptly walking to the Navigator Mano stood upright and, chest out, stomach in, board shoulders and hands to his side, took a deep breath from the Steam Village's fresh air and looking to his comrade, saying "Ah-na-ah!" hoping to have done well in the lesson - whatever Jack's response would be, Mano promptly began to shake his booty to a rhythm in his head.

[Hotaru987]

"Ah, thank you Mano. I don't know what I would do without you." Sana thankfully smiled at Mano, his attempt at keeping her cool deepening her fondness for the lovable Monkey King. It was a much better alternative to her hands that was for sure. After Dan asked what was wrong, they were told they needed a doctor. Thankfully, Yura finally appeared though his appearance was a little different. "Did you do something to your hair?" Sana asked even though it was obvious as to what was different. She was more than interested as to why he looked like that, but the young girl was more important at the moment. Taking Lady Miyu back to the Gloomy Mary, Yura got to work easily patching up the wounds and steering the girl clear from death. Mano, who was impressed by Yura's medical feat began bowing at him. A choir or 'Awwws' resounding in Sana's head at the sight.

 

The singing was broken when one of the villagers thanked Dan, to which he questioned what had happened. Meanwhile, Mano took Jack up on the earlier offer and tried to say Banana. Cute.

 

"Well..." One began, "Lady Miyu is a very adventurous spirit. She likes to venture out into the forest that surrounds the town and covers most of the island. Normally that isn't a problem. In fact most of the children would play in the forest, and we collect all of our fruits there as well. Recently, however, that's almost impossible to do. You see if you venture deeper into the forest you'll find all types of dangerous beast, and animals inside, but never in the centuries of our town being here have one ever gotten close. They usually stay away from the village, on the other side of the island." He gripped his right arm, and only then did Sana notice the freshly wrapped bandages. "But just last week they've started to move closer and closer to the village. More than once we've found them at the edge of the village, roaming around and even attacking the people here. We've had many casualties just trying to keep them at bay. Our village doctor is skilled, but he's only one guy and he can't get to everyone in time."

 

"But why so suddenly?" Sana asked, trying to ignore the sweat rolling down her face. She didn't care how long she stayed here, she would never get used to this heat. "I mean, given that up until now they never messed with the village proves that they really don't care that you're here."

 

"Maybe they got tired of living on half of the island and decided to evict you all." Authur offered his skin as dry as a bone. 

 

"Actually we think we know why they are coming closer." Before the villager could further explain they all heard the same roar from earlier, this one longer than before. Though because they were closer it was much louder. So much so that Sana had to cover her ears. 

 

"So that noise was coming from here?" She was surprised. "Just what kind of animal was that?"

 

"That's the thing, we don't know." The man explained, "But all this stuff happened around the time when we first heard it, and that was a little over a week ago." Sana thought about it for a while, and things were starting to make a bit of sense. Guess what Author said earlier was a bit true. Whatever kind of animal took up residence here was taking over, and pushing the other animals out. In doing so, they ventured out in search of new territory which happened to be this town.

 

Around that time one of the villagers who left earlier had returned with another, much older man. Maybe in his 50's, the man was tall and lean showing that he had some type of athletic or fighting ability. His hair was in an un-kept brown mess, and the stubble on his chin said he didn't shave that morning. His light blue shirt was only half tucked in his black pants and he wasn't wearing any shoes. The guy was in a panic, eyes darting about the room before resting on Miyu.

 

"Miyu!" He rushed to her side gently grabbing her hand. "How is she? Will she be ok?" He asked Dan and the others.

 

Author looked from the guy to the others, "So who's the hobo?"

 

"This is our Mayor, and Lady Miyu's father." 

 

"Ah, so...You have a hobo as your Mayor? I don't think that's a very good idea."

 

"He isn't a hobo." 

 

"He just looks like one, got it."

 

"Author." Sana chided. The older man just laughed. "Come on, just trying to lightened the mood."

 

Once one of the others had pacified the Mayor's worries he sighed in relief. "That's good. Sorry about the appearance. When Jaden woke me up and told me that Miyu was hurt I kinda rushed out the house." That explained why he looked like he did. Wait...It was already in the afternoon, why was he just getting up."Thank you for saving my daughter. I'm Hakune, the Mayor of Steam Village. Even though you're pirates, you saved my daughter and for that I'm grateful."

 

"Well it was actually Yura who did all the work." Sana nodded to Yura.

 

"Thank you doctor. Pirates usually steer clear of here because of the heat, but I've glad you all made your way here. If there is anything I could do for you while you're here let me know." Turning to Yura he asked, "Is it ok if I move her, and take her back home?" 

[.:Blu:.]

As Yura stood idly by to listen to the villager's explanation of the incident, he suddenly noticed a figure from the corner of his eyes: it was Mano and he was... bowing to Yura? Yes, it was quite the surprising sight for the doctor. "Umm, what are you doing, Mano...?" Yura questioned but Mano seemed too focused on worshiping the "Great Red Healer" to even supply a response - it's not like Yura would understand the answer anyways. All of a sudden, a beam of holy light from the great above shone down onto the confused Yura and a spiritually-lifting chorus struck up out of nowhere. Although that may just be from the imaginations of some of the crew members. In any case, Yura found himself in an unusual and uncomfortable situation. "A-Alright, you can stand up now..." Yura attempted to cease whatever was occurring. Luckily for Yura, Mano had now turned his attention over to Jack who was casually relaxing close by. Opening one eye, Jack noticed Mano approaching. "Hmm, you want something?" Jack wondered. Mano then took in a deep breath of the steamy - strangely refreshing - air and proudly pronounced, "Ah-na-ah!"

Expectations
Hearing the flawless pronunciation of the word "banana" exuding from Mano's lips, Jack opened both of his turquoise-colored eyes - they shimmered like precious jewels reflecting the color of water found only in coral reefs - and jumped to his feet. He then placed his hands onto Mano's shoulders and began to shed proud tears. "You did it Mano... You did it! You can speak!" Jack announced to the heavens above. In the background, numerous doves flew up into the air in formation and a rainbow appeared across the sky. The rest of the Devil Bats began to applaud the accomplishment with great vigor. Dan, with a handkerchief, wiped away his tears and said, "I'm going to record this momentous event within my diary for future generations to behold." Yura then removed his jacket, revealing an incredibly handsome and chiseled face underneath his raised collar. "We're all proud of you, Mano." the doctor smiled. Even the unconscious Lady Miyu had woken to applaud alongside the other villagers.

Reality
"Terrible, it's a 'B'! BAH-nan-nah!" Jack corrected with a comically angered expression.

Back to more serious matters, one of the villagers began to explain the entire story to the crew. In his story, the villager mentioned how animals that had been living on the other half of the island for centuries have suddenly started to appear on the human-populated side of the island. Some of the crew started to question why the animals were moving closer with Arthur suggesting a possible theory. Then, one of the villagers proposed that he may know the actual reason but before he could explain further, the same roar from some time ago burst into the air; this time, it was much more intense and louder causing everyone to cover their ears to avoid damaging them. After the roar was finally over, Sana noted that the roar originated from the island to which Jack agreed with as he approached the crew. "Yeah, and it sounds even more pissed off than before." Jack stated. The villager then continued his story, explaining the source of the noise as being a mystery to even the villagers living on the island. Whatever animal is responsible for the tremendous noise is also responsible for the other animals moving to the human side of the island, it seems.

Just then, an old man of around fifty years of age boarded the ship. Turns out, the old man is the mayor of the village and also happens to be the father of the unconscious Lady Miyu. After some light-hearted bantering between Sana and Arthur, the mayor turned his attention to Yura; thanking the Devil Bats' doctor for saving his daughter's life before asking if it was fine to bring her back home. Yura shook his head in disagreement. "Though I may have successfully steered her away from death, her condition is still very much a concern. In her current state, she is much to fragile to be moved; it could put her body into shock. It's best to keep her on board the Mary for the time being." Yura explained. Suddenly, Yura turned to the captain. "Dan." Yura called. Turning to face Yura, Dan asked, "What is it?"

"As a doctor, I refuse to sit by and let these people get hurt while knowing that there may be a way to help them. We need to find whatever animal is causing the other animals to enter human territory and stop it. If we don't, more lives will be at risk. Please, Captain, we have to do something." Yura stated.

Hearing his doctor's plea, Dan shook his head in agreement. "You're right. Not helping these people would be going against my conscience." Dan then turned to the mayor and the other villagers. "If you would allow us, we, the Devil Bat Pirates, will solve this problem for you." Dan declared.

"Just one more thing. Since Lady Miyu's is still unconscious, I'll be staying here to look after her. Unfortunately, I won't be able to use the powers of my Devil Fruit in this thick steam so I'll need someone to stay behind to assist me." Yura told Dan.

"I see... Arthur, do you mind staying here and helping Yura?" Dan asked.

[Kyng's Old Account]

Mano didn't do much beyond belting Jack in the face with a leek, feeling a little peeved trying quiet hard to say such a complex amalgamation of sounds and pronunciations. He clearly couldn't sit in another person's shoes.

 

Nonetheless the situation began to develop. Sana, Author, Jack, Dan and Yura were dealing with the masses and finding out what was going on. Alas, because of this, Mano felt a little bit idle just fanning Sana non-stop. He was overhearing the talk and understood more or less what they were talking about, something along the lines of a big, burly beast that shouted so feral was terrorizing the citizens of the fair village. It didn't take a doctor to realize the solution, even Mano could figure out that problem: if the issues were sourced from these animals coming closer, which in turn sourced from a big, monstrous roar, then it was straightforward to realize that you're to go deal with this monstrous roar.

 

So, Mano continued to do his duty and fanned away at Sana to keep her cool. That was, of course, until he spotted something that drew his attention - like a moth to a flame, Mano's eyes fell upon a generously large merchant's cart with nothing less than a cornucopia of bananas. Dropping the fan as his hands went to his watering mouth, he could do nothing less than walk towards the moving cart - this might give the other Devil Bats an idea what was about to occur - which soon lead to him picking up speed to reach the cart faster. The driver, spotting him, barked "Beat it, kid, these're going to the market." but became a little unnerved when Mano's big bright eyes and watering lips continued to pursue. The driver then began to pick up a lot of speed: if Mano was stopped soon, he would pursue in chase.

[Hotaru987]

As the Devil Bat's were being informed of what was going on, Mano was having a mini side quest of his own. Having spotted a cart of food from the window, he quickly left in chase of said food cart. Boone, who noticed Mano looking out the window watched him leave. Seeing as no one was trying to stop him, and keeping from being labeled any more of a food thief Boone briskly followed the Monkey King. "Mano," Boone called grabbing the shorter man's collar, "Didn't we just get finished eating, and I'm sure if you ask Sana would be more than happy to give you a snack." Though playing the part of the silent observer for most of his time on the ship, he decided to help Mano out. Letting him grab a bundle of bananas, Boone paid for them. "Mano, don't take food that doesn't belong to you. Ask one of us if you want something, otherwise it could cause a lot of trouble for both you and the rest of us. Perhaps you should learn about money and trade so you can understand better." He turned back to the ship, "Anyway, let's get back." Taking a quick moment to assure Mano was following, they headed back to the ship.

 

When Boone returned it was when Dan had offered their help with the monster problem. "Thank you so much!" Hakune bowed, relief and gratitude over coming him and the villagers present. "If you can help us with this problem then we will provide you with anything that may help you on your journey. Just helping my daughter is already more that what I could ever repay you all." Yura then asked Arthur to stay behind to help with Miyu. "If it's fine with you, I'll stay behind and help." Boone volunteered. He felt like he missed a few important things so, for now he would let the others handle the monster problem.

 

"Since that's settled, how should we start?"

 

"Ah, yes please follow me." Hakune lead Dan and his crew off of the boat and further into the town. As they did Sana noticed that besides the insufferable heat it functioned like a normal town. Hakune led them to a shop and instructed them to wait. A few moments later he returned with a bag and five pairs of goggles, which he handed to each of them. "These are called steam glasses. When you go into the forest, the trees trap all of the steam close to the ground making it impossible to see. These, however, will allow you to see." He smiled. "I want you guys to keep them. They work just as well in a fog, so maybe they'll come in handy further in your travels. Take this as well. It's gonna get pretty hot in there." From the bag he handed them a bottle of water each.

 

Motioning to follow once again, they were led towards the far end of the village."How long will it take to get to the other side?"

 

"If you keep a steady pace only 5 hours. This is the east part of the island so if you head straight west you should be fine." Great and nature hike in a sauna. Sounds like fun. Soon the were taken to a man made path that lead into the forest. "Right, I guess this is where I leave you. Be careful in there. It's easy to get lost in there, and watch out for steam holes. You get caught over one of those and you may end up burnt alive." 

 

"Thanks for the warning." Sana did not fancy becoming some steam fried meal for whatever was in that forest. "And don't worry we'll have your problem cleared up in no time." Waiting for Dan's move, the crew entered the forest. Hakune wasn't kidding when he said visibility was zero. The only thing Sana could see was white Not even the others who were right in front of her, and the heat had doubled from earlier. Not even Mano's fanning would be of any use. She put on the Steam Goggles and was relieved to find them effective. Though she would have hoped for more visibility as even with the goggles on she could only see 10 feet in front of her. Having a better look at the forest it resembled an out of control Amazon. The foliage was so large that they could be compared to trees. Even the path, which was probably regularly maintained, was already starting to be swallowed up.

 

"So I guess we should just continue straight. It seems like the quickest route, right guys." For a while they managed to stay together, following closely to the path. Eventually, after about a mile, they reached the end of the path. The villagers probably didn't go past this point. "Guess we're winging it now." Looking ahead it looked like no man's land. At least they hadn't run into anything yet. The crew plunged into the thick, dense foliage fighting to get through it. Multiple times Sana lost sight of the others but found them again. After a few minutes it didn't look like they would ever get through the patch of leaves, and Sana was feeling herself get too hot. She looked at her arm and noticed it was turning red. "H-hey guys let's rest for a bit." She waited for a response. "Guys...Hey, guys!" She looked behind her, moving the brush. How did she get left behind? She wasn't trailing the group, and only just a moment ago she could hear Jack complaining.

 

"Mano?" Usually he was pretty stuck to her but not even he was around. "What just happened?"

 

Elsewhere, finally breaking free of the foliage and emerging in a small clearing filled with holes all on the ground was Jack and Mano. Leaving the last group of Dan and Arthur similarly lost within the foliage, though somehow having been turned towards the south direction.

 

Sana frowned. "Guess I don't have a choice...Hopefully everyone else can find their way." As if reminding them of his presence another monstrous roar tore through the forest, the forest trembling from it's might. 

[Kyng's Old Account]

Mano pouted a little to Boone catching him, but fortunately the chap did pay for the goodies, to which Mano had made sure he spied through and picked the biggest bunch of the lot. Cradling the beautiful bananas in his arms Mano had to toddle his way back to the ship with Boone, although he was kinda peeved - were Pirates sailors who took what they pleased come hell or high water? Or did he end up joining a charity case? Indeed the Monkey King was very much so worried and hoped he hadn't joined the equivalent of a revolutionary group who simply stuck a finger to the man.

 

Eventually the Devil bats were kitted up with a pair of steam goggles, in order to scout through the dastardly thick fogs of steam which would otherwise blind them, and a bottle of water to keep them cool. Mano found much pleasure in shaking his bottle up and down, before eventually using it as some sort of maraca and using it to shimmy a jimmy or two while he waited patiently for the down-lo on what exactly was going on. Of course it was obvious even to Mano what they needed to do - Forest Adventure Time!

 

Mano did his absolute best fanning Sana, but going any faster would tire him out. Facts were that the heat was ridiculous, but Mano chinned up, so that he'd take the environment's challenge right on said chin. If anyone though a little unbearable heat would stop him they had another thing coming. Of course even attempting to touch a vine was like grabbing a hold of a hot lead pipe - stupid. So, Mano did this about three times in a row, before deciding it was a lost cause and focussing on the mission at hand. So eventually he caught up with Sana and continued to try and fan her down a little.

 

As soon as they entered no man's land, though, all went more or less to pot. Mano and Jack found themselves in holes. Fortunately the chimp was small enough to easily get out and help Jack up, and once finding Sana again immediately took out the fan and went to town on it. Just then he smiled and offered her his water, realizing what he had available. Of course, the roar was very monstrous following this, but it really just pissed off Mano, who them began to beat his chest hard and let out a proud shriek akin to a furious ape. With any luck they'd shut up the noisy neighbour.

[Tormented]

Arthur scratched his head vigorously at the site of the constant foliage, his head turned to Dan "Well looks like we are now lost in whatever this is." He stated looking around "Superb." His comedic value added to the situation however it was apparent that they needed to get out of the foliage as they couldn't particularly see which direction they need head. His face get a small expression of relief and turned towards Dan "Okay, well, we could just head in the direction that we landed, I mean. Maybe the sun god of doom will help us!" His sarcasm ended with a large thud. He had smashed his foot against the ground, his level of annoyance was further increasing by the looks of it and this was less of an perfect time for such an occasion.

 

"Okay, I shall to take the lead and hopefully find something of interest annnnd hopefully we shall again see our friends..." Arthur turned sharply and scolded at the thought although it wasn't exactly apparent. He began brushing away the pieces of tall grass that abused his face attempting to find a path for them to head in.