Re: Introductions and Murder [Arc Part 1]

Sat Dec 28, 2019 9:05 am

Any claims implying that the cheering was unnecessary were promptly ignored. The samurai knew how important it was to support one’s allies. Losing one’s will to fight meant losing one’s life as well. No power nor sorcery could help when that happened. Just then the assassin proved her right. He lost the battle the moment his will faltered. Only when the foe fell for good the loud cheering finally stopped. Silence drifted over the vessel. Even the wind stopped whispering. It was a decisive victory for the Marines, but...

Without wasting a moment Yumiko tossed the fans aside and rushed to Anton’s side. “Captain! Are you alright?” She didn’t even wait for an answer before drawing her own conclusions from his slightly ruffled attire. Her gaze narrowed and teeth gritted. “No... That foul villain...” A haunting realization echoed through her mind, gnawing at her conscience. He was terribly wounded. Clearly. She should have been by his side... Taken those attacks on his behalf... Shaking the thoughts out of her head, she went to grasp the man in a supportive hold. Firmly. Insistently. Honestly expecting him to collapse any second now. “Sir, please lay down. We must tend to thy wounds quickly lest they worsen.” She cast an intense stare towards Julius.

“Doctor! Thou are needed!”

Once the samurai’s ~~motherly~~ sisterly fussing was either followed or rejected, she finally gave her superior some breathing room. Taking a couple of steps back, she gathered her courage. With her resolve steeled, she prostrated herself before her superior. “I am sorry!” Without raising her head from the floor, she went on to clarify the sudden declaration. “I should have noticed the villains before they ambushed us, but I failed. My negligence placed you... nay... the entire crew and the ship in grave danger. For that I offer my deepest apologies.” But as any samurai knew, apologizing alone wasn’t enough. She raised her head slowly... “To atone for this unforgivable mistake, I shall cut my stomach open.” ...and started unsheathing her blade.

COMBAT TRACKERS:

Sat Dec 28, 2019 10:31 am

Seeing Yumiko go from being adamant that they stay out of Anton's battle, to instantly doting over him like a mother (or maybe sister. She seemed around the same age as Anton) was a little jarring, but Celia had long since gotten used to strangeness in this crew. After all, she'd been around Anton for the longest time.

Speaking of Anton, whatever state he had been in during his fight, was immediately snapped out of it when Yumiko held him in her arms. The way she was acting, it was like he was on death's door or something. "Erm, I'm fine. Really." It was a little surprising he was in such a good shape. Normally he'd be a lot more beat up after a fight. Julius took note of this as well, walking over to the pair of them. "Do not fear," the doctor said, approaching them and taking Anton off of her hands, "He seems in rather good condition, all things considered. I'll have him up and right again in no time." The eyes of his mask glanced over at her as well. "And I'll be tending to your wounds as well."

"Alright, what's going on here?"

Eyes turned to the gangplank as a gruff man stepped onto the ship, followed by a small group of marine soldiers. Anton and Celia recognized him as a marine commodore who was stationed here.

Commodore Ryu:

Celia saluted. "Sir! Our captain was just attacked by a couple of assassins sir. However, Anton and Yumiko were able to beat them." The Commodore nodded as his men fanned out across the ship, moving to inspect the bodies of Holly and Destroyman. "Sir, the woman's dead. The man's still alive, albeit unconscious." Ryu nodded. "Good. We can at least get some information out of him when he wakes up."

It was at this point that Yumiko made his apology, and made a move towards her 'atonement'. Anton was on her in an instant, hand grasping her wrist to stop her from bringing out her blade. "No!" Anton exclaimed, a little louder than he might have intended, before he took a second to calm himself. "What's important is that we beat them. And you helped in that. Thank you." He did NOT want his new first mate to kill herself on her first day. Anton wasn't sure how he'd handle something like that.

Sun Dec 29, 2019 1:04 pm

While lost in the fervor of fretting and then apologizing, the swordsman completely missed the arrival of the revered Commodore. His presence barely registered in her mind. Perhaps it was better that way... If she had realized how terribly, awfully she disrespected him... Well, the blade would’ve come out all the quicker. Likewise, she only vaguely acknowledged the new scents around her. Now her utmost focus was on the atonement. The ritual had very specific motions to follow.

However, fate had different plans...

Much to the samurai’s utter bafflement, her superior stopped the sacred act of seppuku. Loudly. Her blade was stopped in its sheath. She could only stare back in wide-eyed shock and stammer in disbelief. “B-but... I... Sir... T-thy honor...” Questions twirled around her head in dizzying patterns. Why would he stop her? Was he not angry? Did he not understand the gravity of her mistake? Her jaw dropped when the captain instead... thanked her? “I-I...” She released her grip on the sword only to bow down again. “I am not worthy!” With her forehead pressed against the rough planks of the deck, she tried to quietly gather her thoughts. To understand what was happening. Foreign ways were so very strange...

Several awkward seconds -and deep, calming breaths- passed before Yumiko raised her head again. Since the atonement had been denied by a superior’s order, she had no choice but to reluctantly obey. She turned her steely gaze towards the doctor who had offered to tend to her wounds. “I thank thou for thy kindness, but ’tis not necessary. ‘Tis merely a scratch.” The blood slowly trickling from her bruised nose told a different tale, but she was very adamant in her opinion. Any further offers would be politely but firmly rejected. A true samurai did not feel pain, fear or even hunger.

The samurai returned to her superior’s side, to act as his shadow once again. When she thought no one was looking, she pulled out a small, silver flash from the folds of her kimono. A quick sip filled her mouth with an intoxicating taste that reminded her of home. It extinguished the embers of shame burning inside her chest. ...Mostly. Quickly she slipped the flask back into hiding. The Marine code didn’t exactly approve of drinking on the job... Buuut she had always considered herself a Marine second. And she didn’t know how else to cope with her terrible failures...

COMBAT TRACKERS:

Mon Dec 30, 2019 10:40 am

Anton tried not to chuckle as Yumiko fell to her knees, declaring that she wasn't worthy of his thanks. She was certainly a strange one, but she had proven to be a big help. After all, if she hadn't fought that other assassin, Anton would have found himself fighting both of them at once, and he'd be in an even worse state than he was now. She had already proven to be a capable first mate.

As she rebuked Julius' attempt to tend to her wounds, the doctor placed his hands on his hips. "You have your duty Yumiko, and I have mine. I'd hardly be able to call myself the ship's doctor if I didn't attend to the captain AND the first mate's wounds. Now, the pair of you, make your way to the sick bay, double time!" Anton gave a small chuckle and a shrug. "Well, he IS the ship's doctor. He can kinda make us do that," he said to Yumiko, before turning to make his way down to the sick bay. Really, he was feeling better than he normally would after a fight like this, but he wasn't about to deny the ship's doctor.

Celia nodded to the rest of the crew. "I'll take care of everything up here," she said, before turning back to Commodore Ryu, as his men were carrying away the two assassins. The commodore nodded. "We'll look into these two, try to find what we can on them. In the meantime, I must ask that you all remain docked here in Loguetown until we can get to the bottom of this." Celia nodded. That certainly made sense. These were assassins after all, and assassins didn't attack people randomly.

Someone had to have hired them. And they needed to find out who.

Mon Dec 30, 2019 2:27 pm

The swordswoman opened her mouth with the intent to insist she was fine, yet she couldn’t get a single word out. The doctor’s argument was fool proof. Or samurai proof at least. Interfering with a man’s duty was dishonorable. But so was wasting the doctor’s valuable time when the captain’s well-being, nay, life was clearly more important... Ultimately she bowed her head. Any defiance vanished from her calm tone. “Very well. Do with me as thou wish.” It was easier to accept the help when she rationalized it as a part of her mission. In order to protect her new master, she needed to be in top condition.

Where Anton went, Yumiko followed. Always three steps behind, as quietly as a shadow. In fact, she didn’t say a single thing without being prompted. The captain would find that a running theme. There were countless questions she wished to ask him... About the crew, the ship and his particular animal sorcery... But now was not the time. He needed to rest. She could try to sate her thirst for knowledge some other time.

As the two walked along the ship’s corridors, the samurai scanned every single shadow twice. Her hand constantly hovered over the handle of her blade. Perhaps it was intuition, but something told her the danger was not yet over. The words of that strangely dressed assassin echoed in her mind. '...we were picked for the job...' Her gaze narrowed with suspicion. Someone had sent them here. And a snake who relied on assassins would not stop after one failure. Today’s mistake could... would not be repeated. Her eyes were drawn to the captain walking ahead of her. Tonight she would be sleeping by his door. Just in case.

Introductions and Murder [Arc Part 1]