Nero Maraschino

Nero started life as a child under the loving care of both mother and father, living in a smaller island in North Blue. He and his family were well off; having enough for funds the necessities, and maybe even a bit extra on some days. His mother parents ran the local store together, and this allowed at least one of them to stay home and look after him on most days. Even on the busier days that they were both required to work, they had little to worry about when Nero was left alone after a certain age. The town they lived in was rarely disturbed by either marine and pirate, nor was it interesting enough to attract rowdy tourists, so the neighbors were trustworthy and knew each other by name.

Later on when Nero reached his early teenage years, however, a group of pirates looking for some enjoyment came across the normally overlooked island. The villagers were not prepared for such a thing and were taken by surprise. His parents were running the store at the time, so Nero was left alone when the door to their home was kicked down and a few stray pirates meandered inside. He ran to parents' bedroom and grabbed the dusty gun hidden underneath their bed, determined to protect what they had or die trying.

The men rummaging through the house's family room laughed when they saw the young boy pointing a gun at them haphazardly. Nero didn't notice it at the time, but his knees were shaking just a bit too much. After he finally gained enough courage, he eventually jammed his eyes shut and pulled the trigger. Nothing came out; not even a single poof of smoke. In all the excitement, he didn't realize that the gun wasn't even loaded. It took a few moments for the pirates to catch their breath after watching the highly anticlimactic scene, but they eventually pulled themselves together enough to exit the house, leaving Nero entirely alone with no one to blame but himself.

When the attack was over, his parents were happy to see him alive and worried little about the stolen belongings. Nero, on the other hand, felt guilty that he couldn't protect their own home. It was then that he decided to pick up the gun once again and actually learn how to use it this time. After practicing for some time, he grew in skill until he finally decided to join the marines and put it to use.

He started out as a basic soldier that showed potential in marksmanship, even though he wasn't the best at following orders perfectly. Luckily, the marine captain he served under didn't mind when Nero followed his instinct, but the captain eventually noticed his subordinate's lack of close combat skills that often got him into trouble. He then taught Nero the self-defense style of Systema, allowing him to at least have a chance of success when the fighting got too close for comfort.

Now at the age of twenty, Nero wasn't ranked much higher than when he began. He didn't desire badges or the ability to tell others what to do. He was content with improving his own skills and defeating pirates, taking advantage of the bounties that came with them. When he was transferred to another ship Nero's actions didn't change, but the attitude of his superior did.

This new marine commodore was much more strict than his last and forced the word "absolute justice" down his throat a few too many times. Fighting pirates wasn't about preventing people from watching their own home get robbed in front of their eyes anymore, it was about what was best for the marines and World Government. This was too much for Nero to comply with, and he soon resigned from his position. Reaching the age of twenty-three by this point, he decided to take on pirates by himself as a bounty hunter. He began to enjoy working on his own schedule and deciding whom to hunt without someone breathing down his neck, but is debating what he should do next.