Start of the Heaven Eye Pirates:

[Tsukai Xoi]

He gently tapped it as he heard no reply for a long time, until finally she answered his last two questions and chuckled a bit. Slowly he glanced to the side, seeing his friend nod to him from below he called over. "Jajik! Take the Wheel. Dont crash my baby." He grinned and a young man maybe fifteen who was missing and eye chuckled, taking the Wheel and nodding. "Aye Capin'." With that Tsukai lifted the crate at her question to answer her he murmured softly into the hole. "You'l find out in one moment." With that he headed down the stairs, surprisingly not jarring her in the slightest thanks to his power, he then gently set her down inside the large room and nodded to the man who grinned and exited, closing the door and heading upstairs.

Tsukai waited a moment then smoothly ripped the top off the crate with his hand, setting it down her offered her his hand. "A lady shouldn't have tot ravel sitting on a bunch of canonballs." He said with a soft smile, as long as she took his hand he'd help her stiff body out of the crate and motioned tword the nearby big fluffy chair, handing her the bag. "Go ahead and sit back ... I'll be back in a moment, -please- don't wander around ... Im not ganna make you, but this ship isn't like others, I know your a blacksmith and you'd be curious, but by god ... don't ... touch anything without me here. Please." he seemed sincere, not insulting as he even placed his hands together and bowed to her a bit, before ... lifting ... up the entire crate of canonballs with one arm right before her eyes, turning and heading out the door, she heard a very loud rapid clanking as he dumped them in their storerooms canonball tank, before he re-entered about ten minutes later.

As long as she just looked and didn't touch, hed give her a polite smile and close the door, but not lock it, showing he wasn't keeping her prisoner and walked up to her, gently he took her hand giving it a kiss to the fingers. "Now, a real introduction. Im Tsukai Xoi ... captain of this ship, the Angels Wing. Annd the heavens eye pirates ... can I ask why you jumped on, and how I can help you?" He arched a brow and lightly released her hand afterward, sitting down on the bed as he leaned back and eyed her curiously. Two blades were visible, but ti may be noted that their sheaths had a lock clicked onto the sheath, so they couldn't be drawn. Everything about the ma gave off the feeling of not a threat it seemed as eh watched her curiously.

Stamina: 2560/2590

[Ira Travis]

There was more conversations among the crewmen, during which time she fell silent, merely listening to their words. She ran her fingers slowly through her hair, blinking as she felt the crate moving again, she swallowed a hard lump in her throat as he told her that she'd soon find out what he was going to do with her. She shifted idly in the crowded container, her icy eyes dancing almost nervously as she patiently remained in her place.

Before long the container was set down again, and she straightened her back slightly, alert. She could hear a door close, and someone walk away, which made her frown just slightly as she wondered if she had been left for dead. She was reaching for her toolbox (in order to free herself), when the man from earlier ripped the top of the crate off with his fingers. She allowed herself a split second of staring before grabbing her things.

Carefully she tossed the staff of her naginata, then the blade, and finally the toolbox, which she threw slightly away from the rest of her possessions. As she was about to hoist herself out of her somewhat high perch, she noticed his hand outstretched towards her. Initially she regarded it as though it were diseased, but she slowly accepted and allowed herself to be helped out.

He handed her bag to her, gesturing to a rather comfy looking chair. He suggested she sit, but also begged her not to touch anything. She straightened as best as she could, keeping a neutral face though her back was aching somewhat from the uncomfortable ride. Her gaze flickered to him as she saw him moving, and he promptly lifted the case of cannonballs and walked off with them! She gawked after him, alarmed, though slowly backed herself to sit in the large chair.

She massaged her temples slightly as she sat in silence, aside the noise the Tsukai was making some ways away. Her cold eyes wandered, but as per his request she did not touch anything, merely sat in the chair with her bag in her lap.

The man entered, closed the door, and then came towards her. She tensed as he took her hand, then proceeded to place a kiss on her fingers. Her head cocked a little to the side as she tried to figure out the purpose for this, which feeling awkward having someone else handle her not-so-soft hands, and he soon introduced himself formally. Being somewhat at his mercy she decided to do the same, pulling her hand almost protectively towards her as he released it.

"Ira Travis, blacksmith," she announced, though the latter was obvious enough. "I got on because I could," was all she said at first, but she supposed this was vague and slowly continued, "because I wanted to get off of that island." Her eyes drifted to her discarded tools and her disassembled naginata, remaining there as she continued to speak to him, "that all I really want, is a ride somewhere." She shrugged somewhat listlessly.

"I have no idea where," she was soon to add, figuring that to be his next question. Her eyes traveled to the ship, which she regarded with interest (while still keeping up that solid, cold exterior). Ira's mind wandered back to what to the question she had been wondering earlier, and so she leaned back just a little in her chair.

"I can make, fix, or upgrade armor in exchange for a ride," she suggested, grasping slightly to the bag in her lap as she did so.

Stamina: 685/715

[Tsukai Xoi]

As Tsukai returned and saw she had stayed as he had pleaded, he smiled a bit and nodded to himself before he smiled as she opened up just enough to introduce herself and blinked. "Blacksmith hmm. Im a Carpenter ... nice combination." He chuckled a bit before he leaned back and crossed his arms considering er words as she spoke. "Nmm ...A Ride huh." He hopped up and tugged down a book from one of her selves, opening it she saw nothing but maps as his fingers trailed along finding the East blue. Hearing her payment offering, he shook his head. "We arnt like most Pirates. All we care about is adventure and living life, so payment isn't necessary if this is to help you get a better life." He continued to examine the east blue page, raising his finger slowly west he nodded. "There are a few options for you." He said after another moment of looking he held the book up. "You can be dropped off on any of these smaller islands, lots of natural resources and alot of wild animals. But little to no people." He frowned and shrugged, then moved to the next one.

His finger then tapped the next major Island, "Then there's Konomi Island, its a huge Mangrove forest Island above the water. A few villages, no minerals but tons of other natural resources. Then there's Shell Island, which is a Marine based island though thats no biggy." He nodded and set the book down, "Or ... you can stay on here and join my crew ... see the world, work with the ship, do everything a blacksmith would ever want to do, have my protection from anything of threat to you, and of course live free, able to leave at any time if you find it isn't to your liking." He did flair it up a bit but all he said was true, he closed the book sliding it back onto the shelf and looked tword her crossing his arms over his chest and simply waiting of her answer patiently. "No matter what you choose though, this will be your room long as yer on the boat. I'll get you a key for it and a pistol if you want one." He nodded a bit.

Slowly his gaze rested on her face as he cocked his head curiously, he couldn't read this girl very well eve with his Haki, but he could feel beneath the cold exterior, something that made her hide and vulnerable, innocence. He frowned a bit and sighed, reaching into the next room that was connected to hers which was the kitchen, the bath was the other connected room. He grasped inside and pulled out the tray of food previous broughten down, setting it in front of her he also gently gathered her weapon and tools resting them neatly beside her in the chair. "If you want time to think about your choice thats fine. It'l be a few days before we reach th Geko Islands ...you have a few days to make up your mind likely." He gave a soft smile before crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back motioning tot eh food and water. "Please eat and drink ... if you need anything for that back of yours just let me know. This ship can give you just about anything." He smiled softly and caressed the inner wooden hull for a moment.

Stamina: 2555/2590

[Ira Travis]

Ira watched Tsukai intently as he considered her words, her icy eyes finally having come to him, as he was only looking at books and not at her. She rubbed a little at the side of her face, watching him cautiously. His words surprised her, but it didn't so much. If he really didn't want anything in return for something then he must have been the only person in the world like that - not that she was entirely sure she even believed him.

Her mind and gaze drifted as he talked about some of the islands that were coming up. He explained some of them to her, and she considered them carefully, clearly trying to decide where she would be content to live. She was also worries that living on an island so near Dawn Island might mean that her previous... owner... might come to claim her once again. It was brief, but she frowned at the thought.

Tsukai then offered her something unexpected, a position in his crew, and furthermore a chance to work with the curious ship that she was riding in. She considered the proposition carefully, though there was an air of wariness about her. It sounded good, yes, a little too good. She found it hard to believe that such a thing that appealed to her was actually being offered freely to her, no strings attached.

She was deep in thought when he brought out some food and something to drink, and she hadn't realized it before seeing it, but she was actually quite hungry. She stared at the tray a moment, recalling that it had been two days previous since she had eaten - which was nothing new for her, really, she had a habit of getting wrapped up in work and forgetting to eat and sleep.

Nevertheless she slowly brought the tray closer, watching as her possessions were placed beside her, she began to nibble lightly at the food, which made her stomach growl slightly. Her expression faltered briefly to something akin to giving into temptation, and she quietly continued to eat the food he offered her (she did quite enjoy eating, after all).

She paused after a little while, took a sip of her drink and reclined a little in the chair, "I'll join your crew," she finally told him, propping one foot on her toolbox as she did so, "I have nothing better to do anyways."

Well, I have no where to go. No money. No where to work. No place to live. Nothing to my name but these things sitting beside me. She sighed mentally, continuing to eat, me. A pirate? She mused, seeming to be a little lost in thought.

"We'll see what happens," she concluded, finally bringing her eyes to look at him, as though trying to read any hidden agenda he might have.

Stamina: 680/715

[Tsukai Xoi]

Tsukai grinned slowly, she would join. He gave a soft laugh watching her eat and slowly leaned back nodding, "Then welcome to the crew Miss Ira ... To the Heavens Eye Pirates." He grinned as he said this, when suddenly there was huge crash and the sound of canonfire his face totally changed, and he glanced upward cursing. "Seems we'll have to hold off on the fun ...! He eyed her, and his eyes softened a bit. "Ether stay here and be safe, or come with me, I have a crew to tend to apparently." He murmured before he disappeared dashing up the air as he skidded forward appearing on top of the ship. His eyes glanced about before he roared, "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" The crew ran in every direction recovering from the attack on the ship, no damage was anywhere however it seemed they had been fired upon, then again the wood of their ship was harder then titanium. He leapt up scaling the main mast until eh focused and glared. "MARINES!!!" He roared, "Three ships!" He then leapt down with a thud onto the deck. "Prep the canons and Flamers, kill the engine and lift the sales, we don't want any holes in them!"

They nodded, "Aye Captain!" He nodded and glanced over to the three ships, marines huh. He smirked as he focused on the main ship, before yelling, "Fire all Small, Medium, and Large Canons on the Two on the sides! Take out their little helpers before you take the head!" They followed is orders flawlessly and suddenly the sound of sixteen canons of all sizes blasting forward bombarding the two smaller ships, after only a few seconds they had both lost their main masts, and were filled with holes attempting to turn and retreat. "Let them go! We arnt here for killing. Hedic!!" A slim man with guns all over his body slowly moved forward, "Aye Sir ...?" Tsukai grinned, "Take out all their masts on the mains hip but leave the rest unharmed, use Big Moma." Slowly Hedics face broke out in a grin, "Aye sir!" He dashed up tot eh tenth level, smacking a lever as slowly with loud clunks the roof slowly opened, and two massive canons the size of more like modern mussel launchers rose up.

He grinned gleefully before loading them with massive red cannonballs as Tsukai then watched with amusement ... one resounding canon blast rang, it sounded more like a mountain crashing down. Before all seven of the ships masts blew apart sending wood flying in all directions and Tukai's grin grew. "Done sir!" Came the cry of glee and Tsukai chuckled, "Turn the ship about, starboard side to the Ship, we'll board them!" This grew a resounding cry as thy sped tword the marine ship, soon they were alongside it, the marine ship had been attempting to blast their canons at the Angels Wing ... but all that happened was small dinks and tinks as if they were marbles instead of canon fire again the hull of the magnificent ship. "All Hands, Ready to board!!" He cried as the ship was alongside it, "Fire Right Flamer, and release the hooks!!" He roared as suddenly flames blasted from the side of the ship ... IT HAD A FLAME THROWER?!? It coated the ship n a massive roaring inferno for several seconds before the flames died not killing anything just damaging the ships even further, and making the marines scatter as hooks shot from the side slamming into the hull and yanking it, forcing the ships side to side, the Angels Wing towering over the smaller marine ship. "Ready!!" He cried preparing for boarding.

Stamina: 2550/2590

[Ira Travis]

The peace didn't last long, and Ira nearly knocked the food off of her lap when the sounds of cannons firing rang out. She wasn't certain that she had ever heard such a loud noise. It was rather annoying. Before long Tsukai dismissed himself, giving her the option to stay where she was or follow him.

She calmly finished her food, albeit she was eating a little quicker then she had been earlier, before setting the tray aside and reaching for the pieces of her naginata. With an unwavering look of boredom she put it back together, secured it, and got to her feet.

Ira held the naginata in one hand, spinning the massive pole between her fingers as she casually made her way through the ship - follow hallways and flights of stairs until she arrived on deck, where there was pure chaos. She meandered forwards, towards the railing, and peered down at the side of the ship, an air of curiosity surrounding her.

The ship was struck, but it didn't seem to take damage like the ships in the distance had. "Hm," she murmured, the naginata slung over one shoulder. She watched in silence thereafter as Tsukai's ship proceeded to blow the mast of another ship apart. Some of the men looked at her as they passed, but largely things were too chaotic for them to really take note of her presence.

There was a burst of fire from one side of the ship and Ira blinked a tad stupidly, trying to figure out what was going on. It was a short burst, and seemed to have been a planned one. Interesting...

She continued to look on as the ship she was on latched onto the smaller ship, uncertain of what was going on really, but by the looks of it they intended to get on the other ship - she couldn't really fathom why, she'd have figured that they would want to do such a thing. Shouldn't they just be blowing them to pieces? wasn't that what pirates did?

He did say they were different, she mused, standing out of the way as she observed all of the chaos with a sort of morbid fascination. What will you do next? She mused, looking towards Tsukai with a hint of curiosity.

(Stamina: 675/715)

[Tsukai Xoi]

He watched calmly as everything was set and the boat was yanked over, Looking to Ira he gave a grin before turning to the men. He considered telling them the rules so that she would think he was a good, or rather realize he was. But then he also realized she was to smart for that, she knew a crew would follow rules no matter what, so instead he went another rout. "What are the rules men?!" He yelled out, the looked confused a moment, then slowly one of the older ones stood up and grinned. "No Killing, No Raping, No Pillaging, No Doing anymore damage to the ship then is already done, No sinking the ship, and Don't Die!" Tsukai grinned nodding to the man as everyone cheered in agreement, "Good Man! Alright, keep all that in mind, you know the rule, take the Beli, take the Books and Maps, leave everything else and Take No lives!!" They cheered again and he nodded, "Flats of swords and no Guns, Lets go!" With that .. unlike most cowardly captains that let their men go first he leapt over to the other ship first.

They were pirates after all, they were bound to steal ... but he made sure that thats all that happened, they were not like other Pirates, and he didn't want to ever sink that low. He grinned as he leapt over the edge and then focused on the first five marines to charge him, his eyes focused and all five dropped onto the faces foaming at the mouth ... knocked unconscious suddenly ... maybe they fainted? Of course the crew knew what this was, and cheered leaping over after him about fifteen remained on the ship as the rest boarded the hip and began to take it over, filling through the hallways. In minutes the ship was board and under control, the marines were bound or had ''fainted'' by the captain and were all placed into one of the levels with food in it. The door was then locked and barred, it'd hold them a day but they had locked them in with the food and after so they'd be fine.

Then the raiding began, but it was surprisingly organized, they indeed took only the gold, silver and other such things that could be organized as Beli, transferring it over to the other ship, and then came books and maps, historical resonances that they all seemed to care ten times more about then the Beli surprisingly enough. They all carried the books and such with incredible care and gentleness, Tsukai slowly walked over to her smiling a bit. "Well. Interesting first day ..." He said with a chuckle, the crew left her alone ... they saw her with the Captain so they figured she was alright, they trusted him enough to know he'd explain at a alter date. He slowly glanced around and frowned however, "Hmm ... though they should have a captain here somewhere ... I doubt he was on one of the smaller ships that ran .." As if on cue, a Young woman leapt from the wall, a marine captains cloak billowing around her as she gave a scream of anger, "DAMN YOU!" Bringing a blade crashing down on Tsukai ... he however, slowly looked up watching with boredom as the blade collided with his kin and nothing happened and her eyes slowly widened. "... H-Haki?!" She said in fear as he looked at her blinking. "Whats Haki ...? Your sword kinda Dull lady." He said playing it off with a grin.

Stamina: 2545/2590

[Ira Travis]

Ira listened to Tsukai as he barked out orders to his men, or rather rules that there were to follow. She wasn't sure if it was for show or not, but all of the men seemed to agree without hesitation, so she supposed that they must have been sincere words.

She remained on the ship as they boarded and proceeded to take control of it more or less without incident. She yawned a bit to herself, raising her head slightly and glancing around occasionally, though her gaze always seemed to return to the ship below.

They then began to transfer the goods from one ship to another, and before long Tsukai had wandered up to her to make a comment about it being an interesting first day. She contemplated this, but said nothing of it as he went on to talk about the fact that there should have been a captain.

Then a young woman leaped out and swung a sword at him, swearing on him. Ira tensed on impulse, but Tsukai didn't seem to be injured at all. In fact he didn't even flinch!

For the first time, Ira gave him a look that was something more than neutrality, though it was sheer confusion it was the clearest emotion that she had given the entirety of the day.

Her attention soon turned to the Marine Captain, and Ira tapped her naginata lightly on her shoulder, eying the other female, though her attention waned, and she once more simply looked bored. "I'm going back inside," she announced simply, and went to move past the woman, she yawned a little, even rubbed at her eyes with the back of her hand - a very clear and blatant sign of disrespect on her part, which was perhaps why the Marine Captain decided to try her luck with Ira instead.

The woman swung her sword at the passing Ira, who just sort of sidestepped. The blacksmith looked to the Marine captain, wrinkling her nose a little cutely. "That sword is too heavy for you," she announced, and again tried to move on - but she was denied as the woman took another sweep at her.

This time Ira blocked it, holding the naginata with both hands, as one might a staff. There was a bit of a struggle for power, which ultimately led to both women pushing off of and away from each other.

"This isn't just for decoration," she pointed out, grasping the naginata in one hand. "And quite frankly, I have the upper hand," she went on to say, her voice somewhat monotone.

"And what makes you think that?" The Marine Captain asked, sneering a little as she began to circle around Ira, getting nearer and nearer.

The blond was silent for a moment, before she gave a listless shrug as the other female came well within her reach, "it's simple, I'll show you," she murmured, making a stabbing motion with the naginata, though she didn't hit the woman, and that wasn't what she was trying to do. The bladed end hooked in the woman's captains cloak, which Ira then pulled upwards, effectively draping it over the woman's head in one swift movement while the marine lashed out blindly with her sword, which skimmed across the back of Ira's hand, making her bleed, but she didn't seem terribly put off by it as she had the woman where she wanted anyways, wrapped in a cloak, unable to see.

Wordlessly and effortlessly she brought the blunt end of the naginata towards the woman, bringing the piece of metal across her head and causing her to go limp (though not with enough force to kill her, mind you) on the floor. Ira then huffed a little and rose her hand to observe the cut, before merely shrugging it off as a cat scratch.

Stamina: 670/715

[Tsukai Xoi]

He gave a chuckle as the first emotion was shown on the girls face, the woman however decided that Ira was a good target ... at first he was going to move to interfere, but then he stopped thinking for a moment as he slowly leaned back and watched for now seeing Ira's movements, tracing her with his eyes as he watched her carefully. He followed her movements, her speed was exceptional, faster then the rest of his men, but what really got him was her sudden strategical use. He grinned slowly as he saw the cloak flip over the captains head, followed by a swift thunk to her skull dropping her down smoothly he gave a soft laugh. "My my ... arn't you the feisty one ..." He grinned and slowly crossed his arms over his chest, before tugging out his book writing something down quickly as his eyes glinted a bit, maybe she had what he was looking for after all. He'd test her creativity next.

He grinned as he ushered her along with his men back to their ship, he leapt over easily and then glanced around as the men eyed him curiously. "She's your new Crew member ... so no dirty thoughts, she's Nakama now ... eye candy is fine but she has the right to smack the hell out of you if she catches you. But no touching ... drunk or not If I hear about it and you survive her, I may kill you." He said calmly, dead serious and they paled a bit, amusing with their darker skin, as they lowly nodded and skittered to go about their work he called, "Release the hooks!" There was some cracks as the grappling hooks snapped back into the ships side before he snapped. "Alright, release the steam and gas mix and hit the flamers. We need to avoid further confrontation." They all nodded and slowly the mist and steam around them began to turn an odd brownish tint, before there was a snap.

Suddenly there was a massive roar of flames as the mist ignited and sent the ship blasting forward. At massive speeds they flew forward across the ocean moving ten times faster then even a ship powered by storm winds. It flew at nearly 200 miles an hour for almost three minutes strait, before it slowed down slowly to a steady 60 miles per hour after the huge burst and it began a steady movements tword the western seas, he chuckled a bit and stretched. "Alright ... So Missy, where'd you learn to fight? ... and what do you want to look at here first?" He grinned a bit and gave a soft chuckle and laugh, obviously enjoying himself immensely at being able to test out their bust ability of the ship. As they headed west he blinked ... eyes slowly resting on the horizon, thinking he saw a ship for a moment and tilting his head curiously.

Stamina: 2560/2590

[Ira Travis]

Ira looked to Tsukai as he called her feisty, giving a bit of a shrug as she did so. "The quiet ones are the ones you have to watch out for," she said simply, looking to the crumpled form of the Marine Captain as she did so.

Wordlessly she moved with him and his men as they headed back onto the larger ship. She noticed that some of the men seemed to be looking in her direction, but largely tried to ignore it until Tsukai himself addressed the issue. Seems I'm officially a pirate, she inwardly mused, absently listening to his words, she watched as the faces of the dark skinned men paled at their warning. ... I'm a gold fish in a shark tank, she rubbed a little at the side of her neck. She wasn't terribly afraid of any of the men. None of them really showed much potential besides Tsukai himself and his intentions seemed honest enough so far.

We'll see...

He gave some orders that she didn't understand, and she merely spaced out, taking a moment to lick along the small wound on the back of her hand, an old habit of hers. Naturally, she didn't do it because she liked the taste of blood, she just got cut and burned a lot because of her trade, and often couldn't just drop whatever she was doing to mend such minor injuries.

Ira watched quietly as the men went to work, some oddly colored steam form, and the ship bolted forwards, nearly knocking her flat on her ass. Nevertheless she somehow managed to keep her balance, though she did slide a few feet away. Her hair whipped about her face a little and she merely blinked, wondering how fast they were going as they seemed to be going faster than the speed of light (to her, at least).

Tsukai soon addressed her, and she turned her attention to him once more. "Well, I often practice with the weapons I make, to check their weight and sharpness," she began to say, rolling her naginata across her shoulder slightly as she did so, "so they made me start doing weapon demonstrations in order to get people to buy the more unpopular weapons, or to find the correct weapon for a person. The naginata, for instance, is mine," she pointed out, petting the staff of her weapon as she did so, almost fondly.

She realized that she had rambled more than she had intended, and so fell silent as she considered his second question. "I don't know much about boats..." She muttered, more so to herself than to him, but she clearly looked thoughtful. This ship wasn't like others, was it? Because it clearly had some sort of power source propelling it. "Engine," she decided.

Stamina[/u]: 665/715