Introductions and Murder [Arc Part 1]

When the morning sun carefully peeked over the horizon, it was probably surprised to find someone already waiting for it. On the quiet deck of a Marine ship, a lone figure stood at attention. A closer look revealed a young woman with a steely gaze and a sword at her hip. While she wore fashion from far away, the white coat draped over her shoulders still marked her as a Marine. Not the most popular kind of person where the ship was headed. As for why she was up so early when she wasn’t even in the night shift, well, today was a big day and she wanted to be fully prepared. At four in the morning. Of course.

Several hours later...

While the ship steadily approached the appointed destination, Yumiko’s former squad carefully approached her. Confused. Worried. None of them had ever seen her tremble so. One of them made the mistake of asking her if she was nervous. She spun around, eyes twinkling like tiny stars. “Nay! ‘Tis excitement.” She had been dying to talk about this, but too embarrassed to bring it up herself. To do so would have been arrogant. Buuut now that someone had asked... “At last the esteemed lords of the Navy shogunate have heard my pleas and assigned me to serve a worthy commander.” The people around her exchanged odd looks. Well, they were happy for her, sure, but... Maybe they also felt a sliver of pity for the poor sap who had to put up with her now. Just a tiny bit.

Eventually the shape of the Loguetown docks came to view. The samurai’s steely gaze sharpened, spotting a grand paddle ship. There was her destiny. She faced her comrades and captain one more time... and promptly prostrated herself. “My friends, for taking care of me, you have my eternal gratitude. May we one day meet again so I might repay this debt. Now I must bid thee farewell!” Winds started whirling around her. She stood up and spread her large sleeves, letting a mighty gust pick her up like a kite.

Soon whirling winds blew across the other Navy vessel’s deck. It was followed by a surprise dropping from the sky. Yumiko landed right in front Anton with the lightest of thud. Without wasting a moment, she clicked her heels together, saluted and announced her identity. ...Loudly. “Sir, Petty Officer Yumiko reporting for duty, SIR!” She immediately dropped to one knee and bowed her head as low as she could. “‘Tis a great honor to offer my blade and body in your service.” Every word was spoken with relentless fervor. “I hereby solemnly swear to die for your sake or die trying.” After getting most of the overflowing devotion out of her system, she fell silent. Keeping her head bowed, she remained as still as a statue. A servant did not raise their head unless given permission.

When the new captain, strangely, ordered Yumiko to avoid death, she immediately nodded. “As is thy will.” While she couldn’t quite understand why some of her superiors insisted that, she never questioned it. Likewise, the offered hand was met with an intense stare. ...As her sharp eyes didn’t really lend themselves to a puzzled one. Imaginary question marks slowly rotated around her head. What was he expecting of her...? She blinked as a sudden realization popped into her mind. Ah, perhaps it was his signal to rise. An odd method, but... Denying it would be rejecting his honorable help... So, after a long and awkward pause, she finally took the hand and straightened her back.

As the superior introduced himself, the subordinate offered back something faintly resembling a smile. A poor fit for her stern face. “Likewise, Anton of La’croix.” She studied his mannerisms closely, quietly gauging his worth. While his decorated outfit was bit... erm... outlandish in her eyes, at the very least he had proven to be polite in his speech. A good start. Her piercing gaze shifted onto the other two present. An imaginary quill carefully jotted down all the new names on the pages of her mind. “Well met, Celia of Stanson and Julius of Black. From this day onward I shall consider thee my kin.” They too would get their share of her overbearing devotion whether they liked it or not.

The swordswoman answered the masked doctor’s assumption with a nod. “Verily so. I am...” A brief, hesitant pause lingered between her words. “...a samurai, that I am.” She declared it with a deep, husky tone. ...Even though for a casual observer it might have seemed kind of obvious. The sword was a pretty big hint, one might think. While distracted, she completely missed the shadows sneaking onboard. Neither her sharp hearing or nose picked up a trace of them. After all, there were so many new sensations all around her. And she wasn’t expecting to find enemies on the ship of her new allies...

Eager to work barely described the brilliant blaze burning within Yumiko. While her cold exterior hid it from the world, her actions told a tale of their own. She approached her superior, moving until she was exactly three paces behind him. If he turned, she too would move. Like the tail of a dog. Only if explicitly ordered would she stop on her tracks. Between the steps, she commented calmly. “Please mind me not, sir. As thy personal servant, I shall become thy shadow.” ...Okay, there might have been a tiny miscommunication about her actual duties in the crew. When the transfer order had announced her role as this Second-in-command, she had drawn her own conclusions.

Yumiko locked eyes with Anton the moment her name was called. Her first order from a new captain... Silently she swore she would follow it flawlessly. However, the abrupt pause left her just staring expectantly. Don’t need to... what exactly? There was no time to wonder about that when a sudden shout heralded a surprise attack. Before she could act, she was already grasped and dragged down. She rolled across the deck and landed on all fours, back arched and fangs bared. How had she missed their killing intent? Worse yet... Saved by her superior when she was supposed to be the one protecting him... Shame burned in her chest like hot coals. To atone, she should surely slice her stomach open. As soon as she had dealt with this threat.

Springing upright, the swordswoman swiftly stepped between the attackers and her superior. Their back and forth banter was met with an icy glare. Her hand hovered over the grip of her blade. “Sir, please allow me to handle these villains.” Oh yes, she fully intended to fight both of them. This was her purpose. Her duty. A deep breath filled her lungs as she puffed her chest and held her head high. “Villains, thy cowardly ambush ends here! Thou face Kamaitachi no Yumiko... a samurai of the Wano Country!” No, the word still stumbled over her tongue. She needed more practice. Perhaps she could allow herself a couple of minutes before her seppuku later.

Despite the brave declaration, however, Yumiko didn’t attack. Her gaze shifted between the enemies, before focusing on the woman. Her brow furrowed with hesitation. “But first... Take this and cover thy shame.” She took off her Marine coat and tossed it to the foe. ...Who simply watched it flop onto the deck right at her feet. An awkward pause meandered across the deck. “What.” Accompanied by a blank stare, the response came out too flat to really even count as a question. Yumiko answered anyway. “‘Tis an act of mercy. Thou clearly cannot afford naught but scraps of clothes. I shall not force thee to shame thyself any further.” She gestured towards the offered clothing very insistently.

And the awkward pause made another round across the area.

Now the lithe assassin’s eye twitched. “What?” Oh she had heard the weird woman alright, but she just couldn’t believe her ears. They were in the middle of an assasination and somehow her outfit was the problem? A light sigh escaped her lips. She cast a sideways glance at her partner in crime. “...Make yourself useful and finish the job.” Slowly, slyly, her lips curled into a venomous smile. “This one is mine.” Tracing a half-circle with her prosthetic foot, she assumed a steady stance and raised her fists. Likewise, the swordswoman gripped her blade and prepared herself, still intending to face both foes at once. Unfortunately for her, the enemies had different plans...

The samurai’s cold composure faltered when the other foe... laughed at her. Puzzlement shone through the cracks on her stern expression. Had she said something amusing? Much to her immense dismay, said foe then ignored her challenge completely and rushed at her captain instead. “Hey!” As she shouted after him, hesitation froze her muscles. Her captain needed help... Or did he? He seemed to be handling the assault fine. And to interfere with a man’s duel was unforgivable. Yet so was letting her superior get hurt. The conflicting ideas clashed against each other hard enough draw sparks. In her imagination at least.

However, the swordswoman didn’t have time to assist her superior. The shadow of ill intent fell upon her. ...Also a very literal shadow. The assassin closed the distance with a deft leap. Twirling around in the air, she brought the sharp heel of her cybernetic leg down like a guillotine. [LT][Guillotine Heel] Sensing the imminent danger, the swordswoman barely avoided the strike. It left a clean hole on the deck, speaking volumes of the lethal power behind it. And the foe was far from done. Keeping the momentum, she lunged towards the marine and drove her metal knee into her gut. Hard. [LT][Cyber Knee] Her jaw dropped with a weak wheeze. Finally, a swift palm strike sent her tumbling back. [UT]

The assassin strutted closer, flexing her fingers. She stopped to loom over the fallen marine, savoring the moment. “What’s wrong? Run out of breath? Noble words to fail?” Her lips curled into a cruel smile when the samurai struggled back onto her feet. Oh the anticipation was just... delicious. Yumiko, meanwhile bowed her head. “I took pity on thee for thy unfortunate appearance... Forgive me.” As she regained her breath, her gaze hardened. “I shall not make that mistake again.” The foe’s smile vanished. “Oh my god...” The small mutter come with the realization that this weirdo was STILL talking. “Villain, thy have proven thyself to be formidable! I commend thee, yet thy cowardly attack has consequences. Surely thou realize that this means war.” The swordswoman drew her blade with a dramatic flourish and pointed it at the killer.

[LT][“Defend thyself!”]

Distracted by the strange speech, the assassin could only stare incredulously. “...What is your deal? Seriously.” She had seen all sorts of nutjobs in her line of work, but this was new. The irritating kind of new. Naturally, Yumiko took that question too at face value. Clearly her opponent wanted to know about her ability, as was tradition in a duel. “My deal is wind.” As she spoke, the breeze started picking up, whirling around her. “Wherever it blows, there my blade shall cut. Observe.” She swung her sword, just barely out of reach.... And suddenly a minuscule cut appeared across the foe’s cheek. [UT] The villain blinked, brushing the red coloration gently trickling down.

“What the...?”

Suddenly the samurai flipped backwards, summoning a heavy gust of wind. [LT][Gale Warning] It launched the foe away, right into the main mast. She coughed from the bone-rattling impact. Without pause or mercy, Yumiko swung her blade in a wide arc. The air shimmered as she launched a blade of compressed, cutting wind at the downed target. [LT][Weasel’s Tail] A streak of red splattered across the deck, followed by a pained shriek. As any professional should have known, the tables could turn quickly...

Slowly the wounded assassin got back onto her feet, her glare burning with bitter disbelief. The wind blade had left a deep gash across her side. She clutched it weakly. A string of venomous curses dripped from her lips. The so-called samurai’s words echoed through her mind, throwing off her focus. Humiliation felt even worse than the wound. A simple job, they said... Just a scaredy-cat and a bunch of nobodies, they said... So how had it come to this?!

Yumiko pointed her blade at the foe. A pensive silence hung in the air. Finally she voiced a chilling question. “How would thou like to die?” The assassin hesitated, caught off-guard by the sudden reversal. “...What?” The question was met with an unwavering answer. “Do thou wish to die here, in the field of battle, or shall thou surrender and be executed later?” Irritation tugged at the foe’s eye. “Tch, quit underestimating me! I’ll never surrender!” Her cybernetic leg slammed against the deck, catapulting her towards the swordsman. She unleashed a relentless rush of strikes. [LT][Relentless Rush] Each one was delivered with deadly intent. Yet not a single one landed. The marine swayed back and forth in a mesmerizing motion, slipping past every punch. Enraged, the foe snapped her mechanical leg upwards with a devastating kick. [LT][Snap Kick] It too missed, as the swordswoman sidestepped past it.

However, as a final desperation move, the assassin threw a straight punch. [UT] Against all odds, it connected with a nasty crack. Almost like Yumiko didn’t even try to dodge... Her head jerked backwards from the impact. Blood trickled down her broken nose. But she didn’t back down even an inch. With a solemn sigh, she leveled her cold gaze at the enemy. “I understand.” She had never enjoyed this particular part of her duty, but... The foe had made a clear wish. It would’ve been shameful not to honor it. Her eyes narrowed as she gathered her focus. [HT][Final Mercy] In a blink, she vanished. A cold wind blew across the deck. A flash of steel.

And a spray of blood.

Yumiko reappeared in a blur. She flicked the crimson stains off of her blade and sheathed it slowly. Behind her, the foe collapsed like a marionette with broken strings. Limp and lifeless. It was over. “May thou find peace in the embrace of eternity.” With one assassin dead, her attention was drawn towards her captain. Worry still clawed at her mind, but... Suddenly she stepped in front of her allies. “Halt!” Arms spread, she blocked their path. No matter what they said, she wouldn’t let them take a single step forward. “Interfering with the duel of men... is unforgivable!” Her brow furrowed with unwavering resolve. “Thou must have utmost faith in thy captain!” She for one believed the captain could defend himself. In fact, surely he would have been angry if anyone else dared to get involved.

Yumiko’s fierce focus faltered when a sudden shockwave shook the ship. Her gaze was drawn towards the source of the sound. That shriek sounded... familiar. “Captain...” She brought her restless hands together, trying to keep them away from the handle of her sword. Standing still and doing nothing felt like foul poison coursing through her veins. Yet... She couldn’t move. Honor and tradition shackled her. Even when the foe came flying onto the deck, she steeled her will and refused to budge an inch. Neither to help nor hinder. To finish off the wounded enemy now would have been cowardly. Doing so would bring dishonor upon not only herself, but the captain and the rest of the crew as well.

Ah, but there was one thing she could still do, wasn’t there...?

Suddenly the samurai faced her gawking allies again. Her steely gaze burned with strange sort of determination. “Our captain is fighting with all his might, but this foul villain is powerful!” The loud declaration of the obvious echoed across the whole ship. “We must cheer him on!” ...Yes, she was dead serious. She stuck her hands into her sleeves and with a swift flourish pulled out two small folding fans. White and blue in coloration, they featured the familiar Marine logo. It was best not to ponder too many questions, like why she even had something so odd. They would go unanswered.

The swordswoman assumed a dramatic stance, raising her fans and voice. “Sir Anton! Hang in there! Keep fighting!” Much to her shame, she had never quite learned the traditional dances, so she had to improvise. ...Which translated to a lot of stiff posturing and awkward flailing. She compensated with her lungs. “Fight, fight, fight!” By now half of the harbor was probably wondering about the racket. As she... erm... danced, the winds around her whirled as well, making her clothes billow. Yet she wasn’t satisfied with just this much support. Her intense gaze visited her allies. “Come now! Let thy voices be heard!” Still dead serious. Regardless of whether they joined in or not, she kept cheering until her voice turned hoarse. And then some more.

“Thou can do it! Hang in there!”