The Adventures of a Couple of Wondering Travelers (Open to Lost and Cobdogred)

Iken woke up to the booms of thunder that came from the stormy skies. The waves rocked the moderately sized passenger ship each time it's haul cut through the violent seas. However despite the cold stormy weather out on the ocean Iken felt a warmth coming from just beside him. He squinted his eyes looking at the shape next to him, and almost instantly he knew who it was. It was Chi, the girl he had met and quickly connected with on the fall island about a week and a half ago. Since then they've been on this ship as it sailed toward the next island, the closest island to restock on supplies before taking off to their intended destination. He sat up leaning back against the headboard of the ship staring at Chi.

Today was the day. The ship pulled up to the docks and lowered their anchor which caused the ship to jerk when the anchor hit the sea floor. Iken packed his things back into the bags he had them in before. Of course he had trouble making everything fit when it had fit perfectly before. With a sigh, he shoved the the remaining items in the bag; forcing them to fit. Even though they were likely coming back to the ship in a few days, he didn't like leaving his things just laying around. He looked at Chi and smiled. brightly taking a hold of her hand. "Are you ready to do? We should be back on the sea in a few days." Iken said.

The island was a pretty typical small resort style. Tiki Bars spread across the island that served fruity drinks to anyone with the coin. Tropical fruit tree spread across the island giving it a hint of green making it all that more relaxed. The mood was slow and laid back, as if they didn't have a care in the world. An active volcano on the west side of the island was really the only down side. It slowly spewed out magma that dribbled down the west side into the ocean. The size of island increased daily, however the west side was mostly uninhabitable as the magma burned everything in it's path. Every now and again the volcano would erupt and effect life on the east side every couple hundred of years. The last time it went off, it nearly killed everyone on the island. However that was only fifty years ago and another wouldn't be due for a long time to come.

Tsujo had arrived in this town a few weeks ago, the resorts were amazing but paying for them was somewhat tough... Tsujo had to steal almost every night.. He was running out of things that were Semi valuable to sell and steal.. he had to leave this place soon.. But he didn't have a boat or any way to get off. One of the things Tsujo had thought he had grown out of.. Joining Pirate crews just to go places.. Ugh Tsujo thought to Himself Its a shame that I have to leave It really was seeing that he was living a semi luxurious life. Lounging around all day.. Having nice drinks.. Tsujo really hoped that he could come back here sometime soon. Or somewhere that was Similar. As Tsujo stepped up from his chair he sighed.. He never wanted to leave and there was one more thing he wanted to do here before he left... He wanted to try stealing from someone who looked strong.. It was a stupid thing to do. But Tsujo thought it would be fun. As Tsujo left the resort and headed into the market district he scanned the area and wondered who to steal from..

At the market district, Koga had been walking for quite a while, under a hood of course due to the fact that he was a wanted man. Apparently, the turtle humanoid was on the island for quite a while. Unlike all the people who used to live in the resorts, as Koga was a sea creature to begin with, he used to live at the sea and he just happened to come to the island to see some people and to peek on any beautiful woman that would cross his path. Koga was as perverted as always and that was what led him to the island. When he heard about this place, he thought that it would be a magnet for women and so he decided to swim towards the place to see what was going in. For many days, the turtle had been swimming around the seas. Being an aquatic creature, he could cross greater distances than any human while swimming, and his swimming at this point was as fast as a caravel ship's, if not faster. Koga's body had developed to become that he was like a very powerful human and that combined with the fact that he was a sea-creature made it very easy for him to move from island to island.

It had been a week since the turtle had arrived to the island. Apparently, he enjoyed his staying at the place more than anything else. It had been a while since he had so much fun. The last time he remembered himself enjoying himself that much was when he was with the Dusk Pirates, at the start of the crew, when his captain was moving towards Navarone in order to take his revenge on the man that defeated him at the war of Atlantis. These moments were coming to Koga's mind from times to times while he was thinking of how much fun he had, but in the end he tried to empty his mind of those memories, as they belonged to the past and they would never come back. Koga knew that the next time he would meet his former captain, it would be to a duel to the death, unless he changed his behavior... And that was definitely something impossible to happen as Maximillion showed that he would never change...

"Why are all those things coming to my mind?..." Koga wondered while walking at the market place and he looked at the sky. "And not only this, but this thunderstorm is preventing most of the beauties from coming here! DAMN YOU, LUCK!" Koga thought again. Apparently, at the moment he was moving through the market place, a thunderstorm was taking place. As a result, he could not see as many people at the market as they used to come when the weather was nice. The women were much fewer than they should be and that irritated Koga to the maximum. "LIKE ALWAYS! ME AND MY STUPID LUCK!" he screamed, making his presence noticed among the people of the market. While he screamed, he screamed so loudly that almost everybody turned his head towards him. Seeing him dressed like that, people started thinking he was crazy as he had just shouted something for no reason... And that presumption was not too far from the reality...

Iken turned his head when Chi slid her arms around him, lightly and gently he pecked her on the lips. A smile spread across his face as she pulled away to to fix her hair and her dress. She was such a girl sometimes. Iken couldn't help but stare at her. She looked perfect, her dress was dirty though. Even so Iken didn't mind. The only thing he was worried about was the fact she didn't really have anything else to wear at the moment. He decided to take her shopping so she could get something more

Walking out towards the deck, it hit him. It was raining outside and Chi was in a white dress. This was not a good combination. If that dress got wet, she might as well not have been wearing it in the first place. Iken wouldn't have minded it if this happened in the confines of the bed room or somewhere privet. However if it was in public he would like gut the first person to even glance at her wrong. Stopping for a second, Iken rustled through his bag for a few moments. The sounds coming from the bag was all that Chi would have heard until Iken pulled out what he was looking for. He pulled out another cloak similar to his. It would probably be to big for the girl, but at least it would cover her and protect her from the rain.

"Would you mind putting this on?" Iken said handing her the cloak. "It'll help with the rain, so your dress doesn't.....get wet." he said a little sheepishly. Looking around Iken felt like there was a slight awkward moment all because of his doing. Even with them sleeping together for weeks now and seen her at just about all times, but still the man was a bit off on this situation. Hell he had been completely nude in front of her before, since it wasn't much of an issue he didn't really bother going somewhere else before undressing or dressing.

Opening the hatch, Iken could feel the rain hit his face as he stared up into the darkened sky for a moment. The chilled wind on his face snapped him back into reality. "Oh, do you want to buy some more clothes? I mean what do you want, so I know where to go?" Iken asked looking at Chi as if she wasn't blind at all.

Tsujo had been walking towards the Market district of this town for a while... He hadn't encountered many people.. Obviously because it wasn't very nice out.. Damn it. Tsujo thought Nobody is going to be there! Tsujo really wanted to steal something from before he got off the island... It might not happen.. When Tsujo reached the market district he surveyed the area.. Not many people in the market district.. and only one of them looked out of the ordinary.. A man wearing a hood who turned all the attention to himself when he screamed.. This man seemed to have a problem... Tsujo wanted to find out what it was maybe he could help Tsujo out later! Tsujo walked over to the strange man... "Hey, need help with anything?" Tsujo asked... He really did hope that the man had something interesting to say... Either way. Tsujo would follow him around..

Koga looked at the people around him with an embarassed look on his face, despite the fact that even if he grabbed the attention with his scream he could not be seen thanks to the hood. Apparently, the turtle humanoid felt strange. All the eyes had fallen on him... Those people would think that he was crazy. That was not too far from the reality, but supported with the fact that he walked in the middle of a tourist resort with a hood on his head, people would think that he was even crazier than he really was... Who knew what people would believe about him because of his behavior.

"Oh my God, what have I done?! Oh my God, what have I done? Oh my God, what have I done?" was the only sentence that run through Koga's mind and he started walking quickly in order to get out of the market before people would start approaching him. As he walked, only that question appeared on his mind, with exception of a few other sentences such as "Foolish, Koga, foolish Koga!" or "What are you doing, you idiot?".

However, as he walked, something was about to draw his attention to the point that he would stop listening to all these things. Apparently, the turtle humanoid was approached by a young man who wanted to learn what was going on and offered him assistance. His fears were getting real! Koga was approached by people on the island and he did not really want that, as he had a bounty on his head that was high enough to deem him a threat but not high enough to be a powerful threat. He could be an easy prey for the marines who would get him and the bounty itself was high enough for the normal bystanders to report his presence to the marines so that they would receive some money.

"Erm, it's nothing really!" Koga said with a smile on his face that could not be seen. Koga felt so stressed that he could not really control his actions... Even if he did not want to smile, he did that as he was in a very awkward mental state... The turtle humanoid was really strange... A crazy, really crazy turtle. Then, he turned his back at Tsujo and he started walking away swiftly, hoping that the man would not follow him and leave him alone... (OOC: That does not imply that you should not follow Koga, Burii! XD)

Tsujo got a little annoyed when Koga waved him off and started walking away, Tsujo had been kind.. and asked what was wrong when the man yelled.. When the man started walking away Tsujo started thinking about what Koga could be Hiding.. So many Possibilities... It all made the unknown so much more interesting. Tsujo started walking quickly following the hooded man. "Hey! Wait up!" Tsujo yelled ahead... He had found something interesting.. Without this. Tsujo would have nothing to do! So Tsujo was not going to lose this Opportunity. As Tsujo chased the man down the Street he wondered if this man had a way to get off the island... That is what Tsujo needed. He had spent enough time at the Resort anyway.. And was running out of Money.. Adventure and Fighting would be nice...

Iken lead Chi through the streets of the small village, despite it's size it was rich with money it made from the tourists that made their for the usually amazing weather. However that day it was raining, coming down hard as thunder rolled in the background. It wasn't a hurricane or anything, but you would think it would deter some of the people from coming out. Well that would be a false assumption, the streets were beginning to fill up; and fast. All of the shops were open, even the outdoor ones; there were a tremendous amount of sales advertised on signs hung on the doors or at the counter of the venues. It seemed that there was some sort of festival being held that day to honor the crowning of the soon to be leader of the island.

Iken and Chi walked down the paved road towards the center of the village. When they arrived at the town square, a band was playing some soft local music, as a young and rather beautiful woman stood up on a platform waving to the crowds. She had long black hair down to her waist and wore a tight dress with a red floral pattern on it that covered her from he neck down. Above her was a large black overhang that blocked the down pour form reaching the girl. Next to her there was another girl, a bit older; but just as gorgeous as the previous one. She had a white nearly silver colored hair that nearly reached the floor if she had been standing up, and wore a red and gold dress and robe that looked fit for royalty. The only difference between them, the older girl was on the ground, her arms and legs shackled tightly to the stage. Her long hair surrounded her making a circle on the floor; as she sat there with her head on her knees.

It was obvious, even if she didn't look up; her face was red from crying and her body shaken from some type of stress. Iken held Chi's hand tightly and clenched his fist of his other so tightly blood began to drip down. It was all he could do not to interfere with the situation. After all whatever was happening was a part of their culture, he wasn't about to tell them that their century; maybe even millennium old tradition was wrong. Iken, himself came from a culture that would be frowned upon by most. Sending children away with a stranger to train to become soldiers to fight a never ending battle with an enemy they had no hope of defeating in any of the near life times.

So Iken dressed in his cloak pulled Chi into a store, there were far fewer people inside than outside in the square. Most of the people seemed rather transfixed with the scene with the two girls. The shopkeeper looked up from her book and gave Chi a warm smile before giving Iken a glare. They had walked into to an all woman's store. It carried just about anything a woman would need. Or so their slogan would have you believe. It wasn't that men were banned from this type of store, it just was't very often that they actually came in. Iken looked around the store glancing from section to section, the girl staring at him made him feel kind of uncomfortable. "Do you want to handle this yourself, or do you want me to help?" Iken asked keeping and eye on the hawk-eyed clerk. "Oh maybe you should wear your clothes out once you find some to your liking." he said trying to remind her of the condition of the dress.

Koga was slowly walking while leaving away from Tsujo, even if he wanted to get away from him as soon as possible. Apparently, that meeting with the young man awoke memories of the turtle humanoid... Memories he could not forget... Memories that would always lie in the deepest part of his heart. The way the young man persisted and approached Koga all the time in order to speak to him for something that bothered him, reminded him a lot about Maximillion. Of course, there was a major difference between the two. Maximillion would do that in order to do something evil, while Tsujo did not look like that. Nonetheless, that persistence reminded him of his former captain as well as the times of the past, when he was with his friends in the Dusk Pirates.

The image of the Dusk Pirates was coming to his mind. The savage musician, Frank, who was a zombie... The mad doctor, Quincy who had transformed into a muscular and powerful man after abusing some steroids that he used to have his strength increased... Manta, the crazy brother of Maximillion... Ellen, the explosion maniac shipwright of the crew that also was a female... Wako, that annoying clown whose antics would always annoy everybody... Maximillion, the mastermind captain who would always move based on his crazy plan for world domination... And finally, his late best friend; R.A.M. 2, the brave cyborg that died during a battle at the hands of Derge Namikaze Sr. when he stepped in front of his attack in order to protect his captain... "R.A.M. 2... Why... Why would you do this? Why would you do this and leave me alone? After some time and after bonding with you... You really were the only one I could trust in there... You really were the one who could understand me the most out of all these crazy people. All of them... They turned out to be a bunch of crazy bastards who only enjoyed killing... However, I would not leave the crew as long as you were in. When we were together, I knew that I had somebody to protect and fight for... Somebody to sail with and face with a smile on my face. Somebody who would always be there to listen to me and my problems... Somebody who would cheer me up during my bad times... Yet, you had to leave like that... You sacrificed your life for a man who did not give a damn about you and the rest of his comrades and only cared for his self-being... A guy who would throw away his comrades in order to have his revenge by himself...".

Then, he stopped walking for a second. He grabbed his Subagun from his waist below his cloak. He looked at it. The Subagun was a weapon that he got from R.A.M. 2 after he died. It really was the only thing he had from him after his death. By looking at it, Koga would always start thinking more and more images of the past that included himself and R.A.M. 2 in them. Images of happines, images of sadness... A tear appeared on one of his eyes and Koga started thinking "Now what? What am I supposed to do? I... I left away to find myself and find the power to defeat Maximillion... I left away to find the power to seek vengeance for you! I miss you... R.A.M. 2.". Koga's mind was quite unstable at that moment. All those things would not help him get better but get worse. Whenever he was thinking of all those things he was in a despair...

And while he was thinking of all those things, he listened to the sound of a few steps. He turned his head. The person who was coming was no other than Tsujo. "Hmph... Tell me what do you want?" Koga said from below his hood with a serious voice. He figured that if he let Tsujo speak whatever he had to say, he would stop following him faster than he would originally do. Koga had no other option but to listen to whatever the man had to say.

Despite his uncomfortable state, Iken helped Chi with everything there was to. He told her the colors and prices as well as the make and size of the items. The Yonkou also dropped a few hints as to what he thought she would look good in. Whether or not she picked up on these, he wasn't all that certain of. All the while the store clerk kept an eye on the couple as they looked for suitable items. The longer the two were there, the less the clerk paid attention to them and the more she buried her nose into the book she had been reading when Chi and Iken had come in. Once they were finished Iken carried the clothing up the the counter and placed them down in front of the clerk. The bookworm of a clerk jumped when Iken dropped the clothes, it was apparent that she had lost interest in Chi and Iken and turned all of her attention the the book instead, somewhere down the line. "That'll be 300,000 berri please." announced the female clerk, after having rung the couple up. She was still paying more attention to the book than the costumers. Iken dug in his pocket and pulled out a large sum of bills and few wrinkled notes and placed them on the counter. Picking up all of the bags he lead Chi towards the exit when he smelt something.

Walking out the door, Iken made his way down the road a bit quicker than he usually did with Chi. "There maybe a slight problem." Iken whispered to Chi as they quickly moved down the street trying to blend in with the crowd. Why hadn't he noticed it before? From the strength of odor, he had been on the island longer than Chi and Iken. The only thing Iken didn't know was why. Iken was almost certain that none of the rest of the Dusk's were on the island, however with a crew of that magnitude he could be certain. He had received information that a few of the Dusk Pirates had abandoned the crew after a battle with the marines, but Iken didn't get any solid names. Could it be pure coincidence that a member or perhaps a former member of the Dusk's was on the same island as Iken?

There could be a couple other reasons that the aquatic mutation was here at this point of time. Koga could merely be here coincidentally like he has thought before, or he could be there for some other angle that could cause everything to turn out badly. The alliance with the Dusk's was always in question and became even more so when Maximillion achieved his goal. It really depended on Maximillion's mood at the time; Iken considered him be the Wild Card Yonkou. His tactics and plans can appear to go one way and do a complete 360, and the whole time it was apart of his plan. With a member on the island this could be a preemptive strike against the Steel Village by catching the captain off guard and alone. For that to be true at least two conditions would have to be fulfilled; they would have to know Iken left, and they would have to have been tracking him the whole time. For the first condition, it would likely mean a traitor on-board the crew; this is something Iken doubted. He was certain that the crew was loyal, they were like his family than anything else. A spy would be extremely ineffective against the Steel Village under normal circumstances as the espionage division would find then almost instantly. However with Maletrix down and Ami away, their underwater defenses were diminished greatly. With Koga just at comfortable in the water as on land he could easily hang around the Steel long enough to notice Iken was missing. This lead Iken to the second theory. Koga was a rouge operative and looking to get revenge on Maximillion by starting a war with the Steel Village. The second possibility would most likely be the most damaging of them all.

Once Chi and Iken caught up to the little turtle-man he was in the middle of the road talking to a man. They seemed to be half arguing, half talking about what to do. It almost seemed like Koga was trying to lose the man while attempting not to draw attention to himself. Normally when someone had something to hide it meant they were up to something, however in Koga's case that may not have been true. For one he was stranger than most fishman in appearance and secondly he had a bounty on his head from his days in the Dusk's. For now at least Iken was certain that it would be a good idea to follow Koga while staying out of sight. At least he could learn what the Dusk was up to. This whole thing was a social political nightmare among the pirate community. "Hey Chi, are you able to feel the electrical fields around people? If you can, please try and target the two gentlemen about five yards to your 3 o'clock....uh that'd be your right." Iken asked Chi while glancing through what the nearby merchant stand had to offer.

"Ah shit." Iken mumbled when Chi said she wasn't able to do what he asked. He wasn't surprised honestly, he knew her powers weren't all that well developed. However without her sight he had hoped that something like this would have developed naturally. Unfortunately, between her skills of echolocation and the people that took care of her she really had little need of it. So far she hadn't really used her powers for more than a luxury item. This was disappointing, but it wasn't like he was mad at her or anything. It’s like being mad at the cow without a calf that didn't produce milk; there was just no reason for. Knowing Chi, Iken had to reassure her that this wasn't a big deal and wouldn't come in between them.

"It'll be fine; I should be able to keep on them with the senses I poses." Iken said with a great deal of confidence in his voice. However there were plenty of ways to avoid tricking the super sense Iken possessed, especially when they knew what it was. Iken hadn't kept his ability to smell like a bloodhound a secret or anything so it wouldn't take much to come up with something to throw him off. A trick as simple as someone else wearing a jacket, or a few items of clothing from the target, and then splitting up could would Iken , to have to choose which one to follow. Naturally Iken has years of battle experience allowing him to determine which would be the correct path by the strongest scent path. Another option would be to somehow add a strong smell that would make it painful or even dangerous to trying and sniff out the foe. In that type of situation, it would just become a chase the whole reason to stalk the foe without being seen would be pointless.

All this spy game stuff was really annoying Iken, Luke and Kiba were much better at it than he was. This was obvious, they had to have the patients of a saint. Iken didn't, at least not for this sort of business. It was decided, Iken was done pussyfooting around. The Yonkou wrapped his arms around Chi and hugged her and followed up with a kiss. He move his head to the side so his face practically entered the hood of her cloak. "Chi, remember that no matter what you can or can't do I will always ............" he said the next couple of words quietly so she knew that something was about to happen. Iken walked towards Koga and the other man as if they were going to walk right past. However at the last minute, Iken placed his hand on Koga's shoulder and looked at him from under his hood. "Come on little turtle, you and your friend here coming with me to my hotel room for a little discussion." Iken told them. With one hand on Koga's shoulder, Iken had the other firmly on his blade. "I'm certain that none of us want a battle in the middle of the town so please don't try anything." he said trying to avoid a conflict.

Tsujo stood in the street next to this strange man.. He had followed him for a moment, until Koga stopped.. And seemed to be lost in deep thought. Tsujo began getting annoyed at the man, Koga had stopped and Tsujo had thought he was going to actually talk to him instead of thinking...Tsujo placed his hand on his "Special" sword and began to slowly pull it out of his sheath... He really was annoyed with Koga.. Would he ever say anything? Koga must really be hiding something...Thats all Tsujo was really interested in..

Tsujo's sword was about a quarter ways drawn when Koga Finally spoke.. Asking what Tsujo wanted....Wasn't it obvious? "I wan't to know what you're hiding from me!" Tsujo said while sliding his sword back into its sheath.. but still keeping a firm grip on it. " If you don't tell me , I will never stop following you! With all that being said Tsujo had began to imagine himself chasing Koga around... pouting and grabbing ahold of his leg...Tsujo still had the personality of a child... Tsujo was a kid with a sword...

Tsujo waited for the mans reply... But before anything else could happen, another hooded figure butted in and told Koga and Tsujo to come with him.. Tsujo had heard Turtle.. He must have been adressing Koga seeing that Tsujo, in no way resembled a turtle.. Tsujo decided he would only go if he got his way " You seem to know this guy! So I'll go with you as long as you tell me what he is hiding!" Tsujo said eagerly awaiting an answer.. and ready to follow him.

Although Koga was looking at Tsujo, he was apparently not paying any attention to whatever he said. There was something that was creeping him out... That touch... That whisper... He could recognize the voice... It belonged to a man that he had met before once and saw him, a strange and powerful man that was well known throughout the world. The man was none other than one of the sea emperors, Iken Namikaze, the head of the Steel Village Pirates. That guy... Koga had once been with him and he had seen him before... And that meeting was not one of the best ones he had...

[Flashback]

Many months ago, during the Atlantis War... As the opposing parties were having their battles, Koga, in his turtle form at that time, was taking his time and he was destroying the cannons of the place so that he would help the side of the pirates and so that the Avenger Pirates would not be attacked by the time they would steal Oro Jackson... Maximillion had already explained his plan to the crew and so Koga was doing what he had to; he was doing what his captain ordered him.

"Damn it..." Koga said with an angry look on his face, while smashing a cannon with his shell. "Why am I really following that guy??? He is quite intimidating and fearsome... That guy is very dangerous..." he continued saying while moving his shell back. "He's so crazy... He even took part in this battle... That guy is such an idiot!" he thought while throwing his shell towards another cannon, smashing it successfully. However, the more cannons he was smashing, the worst things became. As the battles were erupting, Koga was getting more and more scared. The marines were going all-out. The two admirals who were there were having their battles and there were many other marines who were attempting to take down the pirates... The situation was a living hell for the little turtle.

"Oh man... Where am I?!" Koga said with an shocked look on his face as he looked at the pirates getting killed. The more the time passed, the situation was getting tighter and tighter... Cannons could be heard shooting from around and the place started sinking. Moreover, one of the Royal Shichibukai Roberto D. Wally appeared at the scene and from what it seemed he was taking on the marines... Maximillion was siding with him... Something was going on... Something that Koga could not explain as he was standing very far from them and could barely see them.

"HUH? WHAT IS GOING ON?" Koga wondered when he looked at the events that were unfolding. "What is he doing there? And why is the captain assisting him?" he questioned himself and he was about to move towards the main site of the battle where the high ranking marines were taking on the pirates. However, before he even reached the place, something else happened. He could see Maximillion falling on the ground as soon as he listened to man singing. The man was none other than a marine... He had blond hair and he wore a black suit. He had a marine cape on his back and he also had blue eyes. The look on his face was showing an evil intention against the pirate. Finally, his appearance was completed with the cane he carried with him


"Huh? WHO-WHO IS THAT GUY?" Koga questioned himself once again as soon as he looked at Zigfreed. While looking at him, the marine turned his head towards the direction of the turtle. Then, he grinned and as the place was sinking more and more, he left the unconscious Maximillion while departing with the rest of the marines. The pirates and the marines were all getting away from the place. The war had reached its climax and the victor could not be determined. There were only two figures standing; one of them was Iken, the captain of the Steel Village and the other one was none other than the marine Admiral Jiper Juicest.

The battle between the two was epic. The marine would not hold back on his attacks and the pirate would successfully move them back towards him with ease. As the battle was taking place, Jiper would speak his words to the pirate about justice, while Iken would reply that he was not better than pirates. And as the conversation between the two took place, while Jiper listened to the screams of the marines that were trying to survive because of the Buster Call he called himself, he left the battle and used all of his power to buy some time for everybody to escape before the place would be completely sank.

And that was when Koga found his chance to move. He was about to move and try to protect his captain so that he would not be drowned by the sea... However, before he did so, another person was the one who would provide the solution. Iken, without knowing Maximillion, was the one who dived in and saved him before Koga could... And that was how Koga firstly saw Iken and listened to his voice...

And all those images came to Koga's mind as soon as Koga felt the man touching him and speaking to him.

[Flashback ends]

"I am not a little turtle." Koga responded to Iken, while still ignoring Tsujo. He took his hood down, only to reveal his white hair and the glasses he had on his face. "I have grown up, as you can see." he commented.

"It's fine really...." Iken said trying to reassure the girl following behind him without the other two noticing. His head was cocked back and slightly turned to his right so he could speak to her in a whisper so that she could hear and the other two could not. Returning his attention back to Koga and the other man he noticed Koga had taken off his hood. "I see you have developed into a fine man in the time since we met last." Iken said looking at the pair of glasses. Pushing his hood back a bit a large smile spread across his face, a mischievous smile. "I've been keeping tabs on Maximillion's crew and their growth, and I can say you're by far the one that grew the most out of all of them." he said pulling his hood back up. Taking a quick look of the area, it was pretty clear that no one had noticed the group. They were either too busy getting out of the rain or had seen their fair share of odd pirates. It wasn't that surprising honestly, pirates had money too and they liked to live it up just as much as anyone else did. Why would the island turn in a potentially large source of income? Unless they did something to wrong the island, Iken was certain that the islanders would be tolerant of most anyone. However, despite this, for someone like Iken it would be better to just be safe, rather than sorry. If someone turned Iken in, they would likely be set for life - well that is if they weren't killed in the ensuing panic of the marines.

"Hmmm, let’s get going this way." Iken said leading the group to a large hotel that resembled a rather large tiki-hut. Inside the building it seemed almost immaculately clean. Therefore the group got more than a few glares as they walked in and through the lobby. The person behind the counter looked at them as Iken walked in front of the group. "We'll need a large....private room." Iken ordered. The man was dressed to the t in a fitted black and white suit, with a tie. He had a handlebar mustache that was sucked into his nose every time he took a deep breath. His breath became more and more irritated the close the group got. He held his nose in the air as if to look down on them. The guy seemed like a real prick from just the way his body language spoke. When Iken ordered the room the guys jaw clenched tightly, it wasn't all that clear if he was going to be able to respond.

"I see. Well all we have opened currently is the Admirals Suite, which I'm sure if more than you're looking for." the man said developing a nasty grin. His toothy smile only ceased when he noticed that there wasn't any type of reaction from that man standing in front of him. This lack of entertainment clearly annoyed the prick as a vein began to pop out from his forehead. "The suite is one million berri A NIGHT!" the man almost yelled in a raging excitement.

Iken buried his hand inside the bag he had at his side and dug for a few moments until he had found what he wanted. His digging was relatively soundless except for the occasional crunch of some paper that his hand must have brushed against while he was searching. When Iken's had emerged from the bag he held a wad of wrinkled money "We'll take it for a week, which should be enough for that and enough for you to go out and get some so you're not such a prick to everyone else." Iken throwing the wad at the man who just stood there stunned. The man looked at the wad before turning around to grab the room key for the group. "Don't bother." Iken said holding out the key as he walked towards the stairs.

Getting from the bottom floor to the top, where the room was didn't take them that long. Only about five minutes by the stairs, this could have taken an elevator much longer depending on how many times it stopped on the various floors. Iken used the key to open the door, revealing a large room. Honestly, large may have been an understatement; the thing was an entire floor. It was better furnished than the lobby down on the main floor; it had a bright red theme to it. Chairs and sofas sitting in a particular pattern that the decorators and designers have deemed fit for such a room. Extravagant art work hung from the walls, however despite all of this, none of it really impressed Iken. This kind of thing just wasn't his style; he would rather have something comfortable to sit on rather than some antic looking piece of crap that was no better than a rock. Just at the lobby was, the room was immaculate, free of any kind of dirt, dust, or grim.

Walking over to a couch, Iken sat down on one side so Chi could sit next to him. He pulled off his cloak and laid it on the left arm of the couch. Kicking his feet up, he placed them on a coffee table that was situated in the middle of the chairs and couches. The rain that was on his boots ran off onto the table smearing it slightly as Iken relaxed back into the couch with Chi at his side. He gestured for the two men to sit in the seats that were positioned in front of the place Iken currently sat. Iken didn't really care all that much where they sat, but he preferred they sat where he could look them in the eye. "Feel free to take off you coats and cloaks." Iken said finally breaking the ice. "Now, tell me what brings you here? Were you the one that deserted after the battle with the Vice Admiral? If that's the case, then I'm guessing that all the rumors about what Maximillion is doing are true? All the killing and mayhem?" he asked almost giving the poor turtle the fifth degree. "Sigh I'm sorry about that, but I didn't save Maximillion for him to go around destroying entire islands." Iken said apologizing to Koga. "I really expected better from him." he said with a hint of disappointment in his voice.

The meeting was cut rather short as screams from outside the hotel, all that way from the streets broke the relative silence of the island. Pitter patter, the sound came from the rain hitting against the windows and the roof. It was like a beat on the drums of nature as it accompanied the utter panic that came from the outside. A powerful burst of lighting struck somewhere near by causing a sonic shockwave to rip through the area and shake the buildings. Something was going to happen, something big, and the forces of nature knew it. "Hmmm.... What could get them screaming that loud that we could hear them all the way up here?" he asked while mumbling to himself. "I think I'm going to go see what's happening, I don't like the feeling I'm getting right now." said Iken as he walked over to the windows and opening them. A cold breeze shot into the room as soon as the windows were open. It was gradual, but they had warmed up since entering the hotel. Walking back to the couch, he picked up his cloak and put it on. He placed Chi's hand in his and handed her a coat they had gotten while shopping earlier before leading her over to the window. Wrapping his right arm around her waist and bending his knees Iken turned his head towards Chi. "We're going to go down, so don't be afraid if you feel like you're falling." Iken warned right before he leaped off with balcony while holding on tightly to Chi.

Using Geppou to slow the decent, it looked as Iken and Chi merely floated all the way down to the street from above. He didn't care how the others got down, even if it was from the stairs. Landing on the road, Iken watched at the villagers and tourists ran by in a panic; screaming their heads off. "Oh god, bandits!" screamed a woman running by, she almost slipped on the wet road. A group of armed guards ran in the opposite direct, one of the yelled frantically. "Fuck! Since when do the bandits attack from anywhere but the volcano? We barely have any guards positioned at that side of the town!" he yelled at another guard who he was running next to. "Bandits huh? Let’s go have a look." Iken said to Chi as he walked towards the edge of town where the guards had been heading to just moments earlier. By the time the two reached the outskirts it was an utter disaster. Bodies and parts of bodies of the soldiers they had just seen were spread all over the ground, but not one bandit. Obviously the bandits were preparing for this, and had been doing so for a long time. It was likely that the bandits were villagers that didn't like some aspect of the everyday life so they secretly joined the hoard while living their everyday lives. There was one thing Iken was uncertain of. What could cause them to be so unhappy?

Unfortunately he didn't have much time to think about the situation as a group of bandits were coming in front the gate near them. The bandits were restlessness, they were slaughtering everyone. It didn't seem to matter whether they were islanders or tourists, like Chi and Iken were. About forty strong, that's how many bandits charged towards Chi and Iken. The bandits were covered in blood, some of it their own, but most of it wasn't. They weren't just mere grunts or village raiders; they had the weaponry and skills of a highly trained and well supplied army. Iken reached behind his back, he grabbed the handle of his sword and pulled it out. His cloak fell off; however he didn't have time to worry about something like that at that moment. With Chi with him, he wasn't about to hold back or do something foolish that could potentially lead to her getting harmed. Forming a circle around them, the bandits began attacking form all sides. Just as he cut one down, two more for the opposite side attempted to attack, they were also cut down just as easily by the seasoned warrior. Iken used a powerful combination of inhuman speed, stamina, and incredible foot work that could only be obtained from a life time of training; to cut down the bandits as they charged.

Three, four, six, nine, eleven, of them were already dead or damned close to it; their bodies lying on the ground with blood pouring out and mixing with the rain water. With in the first minute of their relentless attack half of their number had met with Iken's blade and thus was on the ground without any hopes of ever getting back up again. A vertical slashed finished the twenty-first kill causing the remaining numbers to to retreat back, but keeping their circle intact. Four members that had stayed back during the first wave stepped forward through the circle. A large man with a massive broadsword stepped forward and slashed at Iken. Iken blocked the attack with his own impressively sized blade. A female with a scythe hooked to the ends of chains threw the scythes at Iken. With a quick movement, Iken swatted them away with his free hand. The remaining two used a form of soru to speed behind Iken. One attempted to to stab him in the back from mid-air with daggers, while the other brandished a long spear and thrust it at the lower back of the Yonkou. With fast hand movements so fast the bandits couldn't keep up, honed from years of swordsmanship, Iken grabbed the chain and pulled the woman towards him with a mighty yank. Iken ducked to the left slightly as her body went flying past and into the path the man brandishing the daggers. The daggers found their home in her abdominal area. Leaping up, Iken hooked his leg around the neck of the rival swords man. Spinning around he released the man's neck for the crook of his knee throwing him into the woman and the man with the daggers with such force than they literally sent the spear user flying when they collided. Smashing through the wall of a building or two, after breaking a large hole in the bandit circle, the four seemed to be down for. Iken turned his attention to the remaining lot, however it became obvious that the strong four weren't done when a chain scythe flew past his head; taking a few strands of hair with it. Iken turned to the four; it was obvious they weren't a force to be taken lightly. Even Iken might need a bit of assistance with this one.

Tsujo followed the mysterious man to a hotel down the street.. He wanted a hotel room. Tsujo wondered if maybe he was going to kill them there..It turned out that the only thing left was the most expensive room.. Tsujo had fantasized about that room during his stay on the island.. he had heard how amazing it was supposed to be.. How full of stuff. Spotless. Amazing. Too bad it was 1 million berri a night.. there was no way this guy could afford it.. He looked strong.. But he also looked like he wouldn't have that much money... Tsujo started turning for the door figuring they would have to go somewhere else..Until he heard Iken call the man a prick.. and throw some money at him.. It looked like a ton.. and It made Tsujo's jaw drop... Tsujo quickly Scurried back behind the man.. "Holy shit.. Where did you get all that money!" Tsujo said as he followed the man up the stairs! Iken was a lot stronger and went up the steps faster than Tsujo.. Tsujo was panting while Iken made it seem like he did this almost every day.. There was no way this Guy was Normal..

When Tsujo and Iken reached the top floor.. Tsujo eyed up the large doors and watched as Iken opened them... THE ROOM WAS HUGE.. It was probably the only thing on this floor.. So much stuff. Nice couches..Painting and sculptures around the room. One sculpture was wearing a Birdlike Masquerade mask and a crimson cloak.. You could barely see the sculpture.. I guess it was the clothes that needed to be shown off.. There was nothing really interesting about Tsujo.. Unlike the turtle.. Apparently he was really strong and has History with this man... It was strange.. all these people here could probably kill Tsujo in a second..

Tsujo had found his way over to the cloaked Sculpture when he heard screams from outside.. He shrugged and let the people continue screaming.. He would have stayed in the room and Admired all this stuff even more if it wasn't for that guy jumping off the balcony! Might as well go help Tsujo thought to himself as he pulled the mask and Cloak off the sculpture.. He put the crimson cloak on his body, and Placed the bird mask on his face.. One of the only things left visible now was the bottom half of his face.. Nobody would be able to know who he was now.. Tsujo quickly followed after Iken.. First standing on the railing and Assessing the situation.. Who would he Target! Tsujo sulked when he saw how strong Iken was.. He had destroyed the people who seemed to be the leaders.. and this would be over soon.. Or so Tsujo thought.. Soon after the leaders went smashing through the walls a chain scythe flew from a the hole.. Its seemed they weren't finished..And Iken might need help.. Even being as Strong as he was... Tsujo jumped from the balcony.. He was Twirling through the air and having as much fun as he could while falling.... Tsujo realized he needed to slow his fall so he started using Geppo and landed Softly.. Splashing in a puddle behind Iken and then standing back to Back with him.. Tsujo pulled his Invisible sword and Stood ready for an Attack.

The female threw the other end of the scythe at Tsujo, however it was not more than a mere distraction. At the same time the she pulled the first scythe back trying to decapitate him from behind. Iken seen this coming from a mile away and quickly moved out of the way. In the fraction of a second after, Iken was able to gauge the situation and determine the capabilities of the young man he was fighting with. Iken grabbed the blade with his bare hand before it could even get close to the boy.

"You had better keep an eye out, these guys are pretty serious about providing a distraction. That means they're trying to kill, massacre, and create as big of a mess on this side as possible. Look at this area, they're destroying it completely; yet they're still not going farther into the city." Iken explained the situation.

Just as Iken it looked like Iken was completely distracted by his explanation the other three attacked. Using a soru like attack to appear at his 8 through 10 positions. Iken merely raised an eyebrow as the extraordinary men bared down on him with all of their might.

"Mountain Sages Body"

Iken's muscles hardened in his arm to the point he was able to block all three of the men's weapons with just his arm. The Yonkou came out with a few scratches, but no worse for wear than before their attack. The wooden shaft on the spear broke, splintering into pieces upon contact. Pulling back his arm, Iken held it so his palm was skywards. Thrusting it three times in the blink of an eye, Iken landed three corkscrew punches, dead center to the abdomens of his three foes. The attacks sent all three of them flying away while spiraling vertically through the air.

Tsujo was startled when Iken spoke behind him. He was pretty sure that his life was just saved.. by someone he had just met, Just as fast as he had appeared behind Tsujo he disappeared and began to fight again.. As soon as Iken was gone Tsujo was ready to jump back into his fight.. he had never killed anyone before.. But this lady.. She was killing people left and right.. She needed to be killed. As Quickly as he could Tsujo attempted to bring down his invisible sword on her neck.. Hopefully.. She would think he was just trying to punch her.. but Tsujo was unsure.. could she have figured out that he had a blade already?

The woman felt a sharp pain, and she fell down, or at least it looked like she had fallen from her angle. Her eyes widened in horror as she stared at her body, without a head squirting blood everywhere. After that it all went dark and she was no more. With one look from Iken, the remaining dozen or so ran for the hill, literally. "Well this is a mess." Iken said looking at all of the dead tourists. "They're going to seriously need to some damage control, or the marines might be summoned." he said walking back to the hotel.

The next day the festival that was going on continued like nothing had happened. From what Iken could gather it was the event where the new priestess replaced the former one. That would explain the two girls they seen on stage the day earlier. However why would the former ruler of the island be in chains, did she try a coup d'etat to try and keep the power? This was a strange situation. When he asked the islanders, all he would get out of the was "You'll see tonight at the crowning ceremony."

Trying to take his mind off the whole situation he looked a flyer that was passed out. People on the streets were handing them out to any and every one with out one in their hand. According to the paper there was a show, going on around midday. It was supposed to be an apology for what had happened the previous day. There would be food and entertainment provided, and would go on until the ceremony at night. The entrance fee for this year would be waved for any non-native.

Looking over the flyer, Iken and the group were walking to the area where the show was going to start in about an hour or so. Coming so early the group was able to get front row seats. While they waited, Iken raided the buffet and bar, eating and drinking huge amounts until the show began. It was a kind of mini-show on its own actually. At this point it was pointless to cover himself, everyone on the island was full of people looking for a good time. Half of them were drunk and the other half were from to high of a society to know who he was. For the last day, not one person looked at him cross. Even with his weapons, people didn't blink an eye; of course half of the customers were pirates after all. With that, the show was about to begin.

The stage was all set up, the lights on the stage dimmed slowly and music started to play. People off stage started to sing quietly as a soft fog ran across the stage. "ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce. An act that we are all very proud off. here she is, Emily, the burning flower!" said a voice over the speaks as the people started to sing louder, a girl walked out onto the stage. her hair was a bright red and her eyes where closed. She wore a long grass skirt and a simple white tube top. She started to dance very gracefully to the song, telling the story of her island though her movements. But not to far into the song the peaceful beat changed, into a darker sound and harder beat. Drums made the stands rumble as the stage moved, fire coming out as the girl started to move. She jumped up and flipped onto a rope that has been strung across the stage before the performance. She grabbed it and flipped her self up onto it. she stood up carefully on the rope as the floor of the stage filled with fire. One wrong move and she was dead. She started to dance again as the people sang only in a darker voice. she did a few flips on the rope and quiet a few impressive tricks before the music ended. as every thing stopped, She stood on the rope facing the audience. She crossed her arms and fell back, about to fall into the fire, but catching her self on the group with her legs.

(( beginning half of the show: https://youtu.be/6XsUgdfim8M ))
(( Emily, only with red hair:

Spoiler:

))

Iken enjoyed the show, it kept the audience at the edge of their seats the whole time. Regular people would have found it daring and death defying. Iken however, seen rare talent that most people don't have; agility above that of a regular person. The young red head had likely spent her whole life training to become that flexible. Iken grinned as he watched her walk off stage in the grass skirt and tight top. Standing up, Iken began clapping for the girl; soon others followed suit and the show got a standing ovation.

The shows to come were okay, good even, however they didn't keep his attention like the girl had. He kept catching himself drifting his view over the area where the performers came in and out of the backstage area. Even the main event, a world famous singer didn't catch his attention. The great singing king was nothing compared to the acrobatic talent of the young woman. Iken couldn't describe the rest of the show as anything more than total and utter boredom.

It was almost a joyous occasion when the shows were over. The sun was going to set in about two hours, and it was a 45 minuet hike to the summit of the volcano. As the people began venturing forth, some of the higher class took rickshaw like taxis as well as horse or ox drawn carriages. Iken opted to just walk, it would take a lot less time with the large crow moving up the hill the traffic was packed. Iken simply took to the trees, he was at home traveling that way. It had been ages since he had trained in the forests surrounding his home island, but even so it was just the same. Using the palm trees as springs, Iken flew high into the air and into another tree doing a flip mid-air. For a moment Iken almost forgot everything around him, all of the stress and hate; he was back home.

Ten minutes later Iken arrived at the peak and everything was set up. There was fruit all around the crest of the volcano lined up six inches away from the other around half of the top of the volcano. They formed a crescent moon shape facing into the volcano and away from the trail. There were armed guards, tons of them all around the cage that housed the older woman from earlier. At the head of the caravan was the younger woman that had been standing next to the girl in the cage when they were on stage. At this point Iken was watching the situation carefully. It almost looked like this was going to turn into a human sacrifice really quickly.