Serious: The Zenith Masquerade - Merc Work for Fun and Profit (Closed)

(Oh, trust me, it's not a problem to me at all.)
Miyu looked after Seppy for a while, thinking about what she had done in the past, what she was doing right now, and what she would be doing in the future... She knew this couldn't last. It was only a matter of time until Seppy would find out the truth, and then.... He had her scent... Would she have to...
She banned the thought from her head. It was enough to make her sick.
Slowly, and a little depressed, she walked down the street in search of a place to spend the night.

"Hey..."
A young woman sitting outside a cafe said, looking up from her newspapers. Her eyes followed Miyu walking down the street. The man beside her, doing in the sun, just grumbled and turned his head away from her. She hit him on the arm.
"Hey!"
That made him sit up straight.
"What? What is it?"
He sounded angry. Like a man just robbed of his afternoon nap.
The woman ignored that, and pointed down the street at Miyu. After a while of staring at her angrily, the mans eyes followed her finger.
He whistled appreciatively, his eyes examining every inch of her body he could see.
"Nice one, sis! And here I thought you didn't care about me! You just gave me something to achieve for tonight..."
That got him another hit one the arm, a lot harder this time. A poster was shoved in his face.
"Look, you idiot!"
The mans eyes widened.
"Oh... Oh man, what a bummer..."
He stood up with a defeated sigh. The woman opened her mouth.
"Just gonna follow her! No funny business, Nelly! Promise!"
She closed her eyes and nodded. Then she leaned back. She knew she could trust her brother, at least this much. He might be a playboy, but he had some standards... No, he didn't, but he'd do the job.

Miyu stopped before a housefront. In big letters, it let people know it was a motel, and it was cheap to stay there.
Well, it didn't look...
But it was something to sleep in, and it was better than the last one.
Just when she was about to open the door, someone said something from behind her.
"I wouldn't, if I were you..."
Surprised, she turned and saw a most charming young man. She didn't like him. Something about him was shady. Charming, handsome, and shady.
Oh, he was well groomed, tall, had nice clothes and a even nicer smile. She could imagine ladies falling for him...
Miyu kept herself from being suspicious, and instead smiled at him brightly.
"Why not?"
"Shady business. Steal you money, or so I heard. I wouldn't want anything to happen to a nice little lady like you..."

All the usual information spots on the island were dry. It seemed as if nobody knew anything about any pirates, any local bandits, or anything that might be useful at all. It was discouraging, but Seppy didn't let it get him down too much. He had his own suspicious as to why.

"Damn place mus' be full up with hunters," Seppy groused, taking advantage of the descending twilights to switch to rooftops. The buildings in this town mostly had tiled rooves, the ceramic still hot enough to feel through his boots as he skulked along between buildings. Prowling along silently, unseen, he kept his nose to the air.

Eventually he found what he was looking for, and changed his course. The city was full of scents, more than most places he usually dared hunt. A place like this was not an ideal grounds; aside from the town's main square, it was a small place with few alleys and fewer places to carry out his trade. All the same, he found himself remaining optimistic.

His partner was an exceptional one, and with her powers he could fight at his prime anywhere. Seppy marveled at his great luck in finding Miyu. He'd worked with a few other partners before, when the need arose. In the end, however, he had always preferred to keep his work to solo business. One hunt, two tops, and that was it. Back on the road, back on the search.

Seppy paused, sliding to a silent halt atop a cafe's roof, watching the dwindling crowds. The idea of working alone suddenly bothered him, and the fact that it bothered him bothered him even more. Miyu was an excellent hunter, but so was he. Was he becoming dependent on his partner's skill? A brief moment of insecurity took Seppy.

They had to part ways after this hunt, didn't they? He still had goals left unfinished, a hunt that was not for money but for absolution. It was his hunt and his alone, and he'd never had any interest in an outsider's help before. He'd never needed it, either. The thought caused Seppy's heart rate to pick up. One more hunt, that was it.

Again, the increasingly familiar sweet scent snuck in past the others, and Seppy felt the same thrill he always did when he found it. Smiling brightly down on the crowd, the hunter decided that maybe it'd be okay to take a vacation. They could enjoy the festival, let the other guys here worry about hunting. This would be pleasure, business would come later. One more hunt, and then he could go back to his own devices. This, though, was not a hunt.

Rejuvenated and filled with fresh resolve, Seppy bounded from rooftop to rooftop, eventually dropping down next to an old but cozy looking building. It was a hotel, by the size and number of windows. Though a bit run down, it had a clean and wholesome look, like the sort of small place an honest family might have run for a whole bunch of generations.

"Mew's foun' another grea' place," Seppy beamed, pushing aside any unpleasant thoughts of soloing. Taking a final deep breath to ascertain that this was where she was, Seppy walked out to the front of the building.

"Shady business. Steal you money, or so I heard. I wouldn't want anything to happen to a nice little lady like you..."

Seppy stared at the young pretty boy warning Mew against the Hotel. Instantly he felt the fur on his back and arms rise, his lips curling back instinctively. The man smelled good, like a woman or many of them. There was nothing about what Seppy was seeing that he liked.

"Nothin'll happen to a 'nice young li'l lady like Mew," Seppy said in a forced jovial tone, virtually appearing next to Miyu from the building's shadows.

Not knowing why, he hooked his right arm around her shoulders. He made careful to let his claws show to the man as he rested his hand on her. His smile was bright, as friendly as could be, showing off his double-set of fangs. His eyes, however, were tell-tale. The pupils were narrow near to invisibility, tiny black slits in the shining amber-gold of his irises.

Almost instantly, Seppy realized he was being unprofessional and careless. His fur started to go down, his pupils dilating and rounding out a bit. He had no idea why he'd let his instincts meddle with his behaviour like that, but the second he was between that man and Miyu his conscious mind had taken back the driver's seat. Letting go of his partner and looking down at her, Seppy's usual innocent, childlike demeanor had returned.

"'S fine, Mew. We'll sleep here, 's a good place. No bad smells coming from it. At least," he stated, his lips curling up a tiny bit as he turned his eyes back to the interloper for a moment, "not from inside of it."

Taking Miyu softly by the wrist, not even sure why he felt he had to, Seppy turned and began walking into the door. As they stepped inside, he smiled down to her again.

"I decided t'take a vacation," Seppy announced happily. "We still gotta buncha money from Yoren's head, righ'? So I figger we'll jus' enjoy erselves, y'know? S'place for fun, notta lotta crime here." Strolling happily over to the check-in, Seppy released Miyu's wrist. It suddenly occured to him that his brilliant plan to prolong their partnership by being lazy might not sit well with a professional hunter of her caliber.

"I mean, if 's'okay with you," Seppy added, turning to the man at the counter and flashing a single finger, indicating that he wanted a room.

Miyu didn't know what had just happened, but she was glad it did.
And even better: NO manhunting this time! Simply a festival!
She smiled.
"Of course that's..."
and again, her brain jumped in. Seppy was a hunter, by profession and nature. So why didn't he want to go hunting? Wasn't he feeling okay? Maybe there was something wrong with him!
Carefully, and lacking the smile and loudness of her voice, she said:
"Uhm.. is there a reason...?"

Seppy froze up for just a moment, but it was perceptible. Laughing, he brushed the matter aside.

"There is, yeah." Tilting his head back, Seppy began to work through his thoughts.

"See, 'm havin' a lotta fun. Some time, I'm gonna..." he trailed his words off, finding himself surprisingly unwilling to explain what should be easy enough to put into words. Sooner or later, he'd have to leave. He just wanted it to be later. Easy enough, but he suddenly had a bad feeling about saying it.

"I'm gonna haveta spend the money from th'last head, first, y'know?" he finished, finding the first lie that came to mind. "It's a pain carryin' too much, I jus' hunt when I need ta."

Normally much more attentive, Seppy wasn't paying any attention to whether or not the man who'd tried to stop Miyu had gone his own way or not; taking a key from the clerk, he stepped up to their room. His head was spinning, his confusion keeping him off his normally much sharper guard.

Now that was worrying... Seppy wasn't himself. Maybe he was sick?
In the back of her head, another thought stopped lingering and decided to make her notice it.
Maybe he had found out? And he was heartbroken because she had hidden it from him. He didn't want to hurt her, but he knew he had to!
Her thoughts went wild with her bad conciense, and the theories in her head got wilder and wilder.
Of course it was her fault! Who elses should it be?
She was pushed out of the way by a woman on her way to the cashier and fell back. Luckily, she was caught by someone.
"Watch where you''re going!"
The woman was tall and had muscles, dark skin and even darker hair. There was a kind of beauty about her, but it was a masculine beauty. The kind of beauty that could wrestle a bear.
"I'm sorry..."
Miyu whispered, before turning to the one she had fallen into. It was the man from before.
Really fast, Miyu got away from him. She wouldn't stay in that ones arms one second longer than necessary.
"Woah, relax.... Just wanted to help, tha's all."
He held his hands up and looked at her with an innocent look on his face.
"You look pretty sad... Anything I can do to cheer you up? There's a bar down the street..."
"No, thank you!"
Then again, why not? He looke so genuinely disappointed, and it was just a bar, right?
She couldn't possibly face Seppy now, that she knew how sad she had made him...
So she took the arm the man offered her and they left the hotel.

The woman by the counter watched them leave, then turned to the stairs. Theo would take care of the girl, and she'd make sure this one was occupied.
A nasty smile on her face, she slowly went towards the room and knocked.
Of course she knew who he was. She was one of the best informed cutthroats of the worlds. At least she liked to think so.
She knew about how dangerous he was. And she knew her own strenght.
"Too heavy... Let's see if I can't do something about that..."

Seppy had gotten all the way back to their room by the time he'd noticed that Miyu wasn't following him anymore. His mind quickly pulled itself out of the clouds, an audible crashing noise marking it's return to his skull. That shook the hunter a bit; a moment later the sound repeated itself, and he was able to properly identify it as the door.

"Did I lock you out, Mew?" Seppy asked, walking over to the door. He took the door nob when a sudden sense of something being very wrong took him. His partner was further now, rather than close. It was a new scent, feminine, but not Miyu's. Seppy threw the door open nonetheless.

"Y'need somethin'?" Seppy asked, looking outwardly every bit disoriented and confused as he'd been a moment ago.

"Septera Mc Seppymerc, huh?"
Not waiting for an answer, she aimed a kick to his face instead. She wasn't good at manipulating. She preferred a more... direct approach.

Meanwhile, Miyu was wondering if she had done the right thing.
Sure, Theo seemed like an okay guy, even though she couldn't shake the feeling something was dodgy about him, but....
"Maybe I shouldn't have left Seppy..."
She was thinking out loud.
"Seppy? The guy who was with you?"
Miyu nodded, looking into her glass sadly.
"You know, I don't think you two go well together."
He leaned forward slightly, with that nice smile on his face again.
"He's not good enough for you."
Now he cupped her chin in one hand and came even closer to her. He wasn't going to...?
Miyu shook her head, freeing herself from his hand. There was no way this'd work. She knew there had been something dodgy about him.
"I think I should go."
clink.
She felt something cold on her wrist and looked down. Handcuffs, and judging by the slight dizzyness...
"Well, I don't think you should, Miyu."
Theo held up his right hand, cuffed to her left one. His smile wasn't one hint less handsome, his eyes not one bit less cold.

Seppy didn't move at all when the kick came flying towards his face. He didn't move at all, either, when it passed through his face, coming out the backside of his head. He sprung backwards, the bed a little ways behind him and off to the left showing a brief impression where his actual leg hit. A moment later, both tentacles burst out of the backpack, hovering menacingly in the air.

"It's jus' Seppy," Seppy informed his assailant, voice low and threatening. A slight hiss passed his lips, his feline nature not so easily suppressed.

His eyes were already open wide, his pupils narrow verticle slits. In the room's poor lighting, provided only by a window, Seppy's irises gleamed gold. A thought occurred to the hunter, who had unwound his chain from his waist and was weighing it in his hands, remaining back and waiting for his foe to approach him.

"Where th'eff's Mew?" he asked, his voice still low and quiet. "You pirates got some damn balls, y'know...comin' after a pair a hunners in th'middle a th'day..."

"Hunters?"
The womans laugh was high pitched and cold. Not for one second did the thought occur to her that the girl could be a bounty hunter...
"Well, that explains some things, then... And here I thought you were a professional."
She had to control herself to not burst out in laughter again.
"Really though. I'm Nelly Linton, me and my brother Theo are ... jacks of all trades, masters of some. Your wonderful... hunter, Miyu Delaney is with him."
She was still grinning, and wiped a tear out of her eye.
Then she moved incredibly fast and aimed a hit for his stomach.

There was something to the woman's tone, the way she spoke about Miyu, that set Seppy on edge. His nostrils flared, his pupils dilated. Seppy shifted his perceptible light-image back to himself. He wanted her to know exactly where he was standing, to come right at him.

The woman's speed was something; Seppy felt like he could have dodged that hit, but there was something going on here that stole away all of his traiting and replaced them with a more feral instinct. His was the way of an assassin; stealth, combat by surprise, quick, clean kills. To stand and fight was not his path. Nonetheless, he stood his ground.

When the blow hit, it hit like a truck. Pain surged throughout his abdomen, but he stood his ground. His soft, expensive leather boots slid silently across the floor as he was knocked backwards, further and further, by the punch. When he came to a halt, his teeth were clenched, double-set of fangs bared, his eyes fixed on his assailant with electric intensity.

"What d'you know 'bout Miyu?" he rumbled, sounding more like a great cat than a man. His arms flew down, muscles straining against the lightly fur-covered skin, in an attempt to catch her arm in his spiked chain. Both tentacles whipped around, purple streaks of barbed, deadly flesh, aiming to wrap around her waist and other arm.

"What th'hell d'you wan' with her?" Seppy snarled. "And where th'eff is my partner!?"

For a moment, a slight moment, there was fear in her eyes.
She jumped back and unconciousl wiped her fist on her pants, as if they were strained.
Then she was herself again, smug smile and all.
"Well, aren't you quite the well informed one? To think we originally wanted to share it with you..."
Sure, it was hard to dodge those tentacles, but who said she wanted to?
Instead, she grabbed one just where the spikes ended, and held it tight in her fist.
"Her bounty, I mean."

Miyu was dizzy, and she couldn't think. Should she be afraid? Yes, maybe she should be...
She was pretty helpless right now... To think she had survived this long relying only on her devilfruit abilities...
Of course it'd have to end like this someday. Maybe she had known, somewhere in the back of her head, known since the day she had seen those marines on the island. Marines didn't normally come to small islands like hers...
Miyu was ripped from her thoughts by Theos voice.
"You know, actually it's pretty fair. Many people think that it's stupid for a devilfruit user to carry seastone handcuffs around. But Nelly, she's my sister, you see, and so brutal and unfeminine... Where was I ?"
She didn't even listen anymore. How could that man talk so much when he should be affected by the seastone as well?
They were still sitting in the same spot.
"Well, anyway, my sister's gonnago and make a deal with that Septera guy, since he caught you first, and then you'll go right to your execution. Such a shame, too... Don't find girls like you that much nowadays..."
She couldn't help but notice that he sounded like an old man sometimes. But she didn't really care either.
If only she could get those handcuffs off.

Seppy was stunned for a moment, not by the woman's dodge, but by her statement.

"Her bounty?" Just then she grabbed the tentacles. Seppy didn't seem to notice or care, the appendages simply hanging in place. The pain he should be feeling in his stomach would have to hit him later; he didn't have any room left in his crowded mind for such concerns.

"Mew's a hunner, y'friggen nitwit!" Seppy shouted, his rage remembered. The ends of his tentacles, flexible as earthworms, wrapped around the wrists of the hands that held them, the spikes digging into the skin and holding them in place. A moment later the woman was in the air; no matter how strong she was, she couldn't pull down with any more force than her own weight.

Seppy slammed the woman back against the wall, then dragger her along it, through the dresser. His tentacles constricted tighter and tighter, the barbs digging deeper into her flesh. Presently he pulled both in different directions, their strength incredible for their slender size. Holding the woman dangling in the air, a few meters away where she couldn't kick anything or find any purchase, Seppy stared at her with clear, unabashed, feral murderous intent.

"Effin' pirate...comin' after us? Yer well informed, are ya? I jus' tossed a man's head inna the money bin a few days ago, his damn arm was stronger 'n yer whole body. If it were Mew, y'd never have even lanned a hit," Seppy snarled, his eyes growing wider, his mouth bent into a cheshire smile, more a beast with cornered prey than human at this point.

"'M gonna throw you out th'door...and th'window," Seppy informed her. Seppy pulled even harder for a moment, nearly hard enough to cause joint damage. "One half out th'door..." He pulled again. "An' th'other half out..." A final, sharp tug. "...th'window."

"Less, a'course," Seppy stated plainly, easing the tension with his tentacles a tiny bit, "y'tell me where Mew is. Then 'll jus' throw y'out th'window."

"Hrrgh.."
Nellys face was full of anguish and fear. Never had she met a man she couldn't take on with only her strengh.
"I said the truth! She's with my brother, Theo! He should be bringing her to the marine post right now!"
She was confused and humilitated. He should know, right? He was a bounty hunter, he should know! She never lied about anything!

Theo frowned as he looked at his watch.
"This isn't like her at all..."
He seemed to be a little worried, his eyes darting from the street to his watch to Miyu, who was starting to get really tired.
Then he seemed to make a decision.
"C'mon!"
He dragged her up and dragged her away from the bar. Miyus protest was hardly worth being called that.
"Where are we going?"
They went down the street, through the people shopping and enjoying their lifes.
"Oh, you can talk! You know, you almost had me thinking your voice was a devilfruit ability too, drained by the seastone..."
So he wasn't going to answer the question. He always dodged questions he didn't like.
Miyu started asking herself if he really was a devilfruit user... Wasn't he tired at all?
It certainly didn't seem like it, he was walking down the street with a bright smile on his face, winking at girls while he continued talking.

Soon, Miyu could see where they were headed, and her protests grew stronger.
"Oh c'mon. You knew it'd end like this. The marine's been chasing you for quite some time now. Time to meet your fate..."
Her protests were ignored by him. They were still two blocks away from the marine post, but it was enough to make Miyu shiver.
"Can't really imagine a weak cutie like you being the coldblooded pirate they're looking for, but what do you know... It was nice knowing you, too bad we never got closer than that..."

"The marine outpost? Why th'hell woulda pirate take a bounny hunner to a marine outpost!?" In any case, Seppy didn't care anymore. If that's where they were headed, that's where he was headed. Keeping his word, he flung Nelly out of the windows, making sure to knock her head on the pane along the way; he didn't need her getting up and following him. Feeling a bit vindicated, he came to his senses long enough to remember that it still daylight, and the street outside had people in it.

Before he could make his haste out the door, he spotted a piece of paper on the floor. A bounty poster, a familiar white-haired girl in the picture. Slowly, tentative, Seppy picked it up, staring at the bounty intensely. Even after he had realized what it was, sweat streaming down his face, he continued to stare daggers at the thing, hoping that he could change it by force of will.

When he realized that nothing he could do would change the fact, Seppy dropped the paper to the ground. A mixture of betrayal, anger, and fear swelled inside of him. As if he'd not yet drawn enough attention to himself, Seppy slammed his fist against the wall, knocking a chunk of it out onto the street, where it banged against Nelly's head, a second large lump with a little white X bandage on it forming.

The world whited out into a sea of rage. He remembered a time when he'd been betrayed before, too. Long blonde hair and pale white skin came back to him, and he let out a roar like a pack of hunting lions. Seppy'd made up his mind: he'd go after Miyu, as planned. When he found her, he'd kill whoever'd taken her, then take her in himself. In pieces.

As he turned to leave, his decision made, he heard a voice.

"What happened to you?"

Somehow, Seppy could feel the rage leaving him all at once, as if the plug had been pulled on him and it had all just drained out. An image popped into his mind, of a barefoot girl with a white dress bumping into him.

"What happened to you? Your face is bloody! Are you okay? Is there anything I can help you with?"

She was concerned for him when they first met, wasn't she? Seppy found himself laughing a bit at the thought.

"So you're... not hurt then? T- that's a relief... Sorry I can't help you, m-maybe you'll have better luck next time. I wish I could at least give you some money, but it seems I'm broke, too."

Seppy laughed a bit harder. Poster or no, how could a person like that really be bad? It didn't make sense, and paper meant less than people anyway.

"Miyu. My name's Miyu Delaney."

In spite of his urgent need to get moving, Seppy burst out laughing full bore. He wiped his eyes free of tears, then began jogging down the hallway. It was easy, so easy that he felt stupid for not have figuring it out last time, with Unitera. Beating the law by a moment, Seppy burst out down the street in a mad dash, grinning wildly, following Miyu's scent.

----------------------------

"Can't really imagine a weak cutie like you being the coldblooded pirate they're looking for, but what do you know... It was nice knowing you, too bad we never got closer than that..."

"She's not weak or coldblooded," Seppy stated, dropping down from a rooftop to block off the way to the marine outpost. "An' who cares if she's a pirate...?" Seppy snarled, unwinding his chain once more. "So'm I, soon as th'law finds what's lefta yer sister. So it goes like this..."

Seppy pointed at Miyu, catching her eye.

"Y'can take off those cuffs 'n' go run back to big sis, or I can take th'cuffs off myself...an' yer arm, with 'em."

(This, sir, was a work of art, and I was truly, deeply touched by it!)

"Seppy!"
While Miyus head was still trying to make sense of what he said and how to feel about it, the rest of her was already overflowing with relief and joy. She wanted to run to his side, but was kept back by the handcuffs and Theos arm in her way.
"You! What did you do to Nelly?"
Obviously, he didn't want an answer. He didn't seem good with anyone but himself talking. Out of nowhere, he had a small silver key in his hand.
"Just you wait, I'm gonna..."
The sentence wouldn't finish with:"Unchain her and go away as if nothing happened, and everything will be well!".
Such things could be figured out simply by the tone of his voice.
He did unchain one end of the handcuffs, his end. The one around Miyus hand, he kept closed. Then he grinned, waving the key and throwing it way off into the sea.
"Never would have taken you as the type to break the law for some pirate. I mean, you're a bountyhunter. She's a pirate, and some catch, too. Still, you live together like some big, happy family, like... like... I mean, you want to save her! You hurt my sister, a law abiding, honest citizen, for saving her! Just what is it with you two I don't quite get?"
His voice got louder and angrier with every word, and in the end, none of his smugness was left, replaced by the face of a man who was seriously, seriously mad.
He slashed out with his hand, his fingers growing longer, becoming very sharp spikes which went towards Seppy at a hazardous speed.
"Double stinger!"

((You do me too much kindness; I've just been really enjoying this RP, and somehow it got my shounen spirit pumped. It makes me really happy to know you're enjoying it, too.))

"Just what is it with you I don't quite get?"

As the two giant spikes launched at him, Seppy ducked and rolled to the side. One of them passed through the placeholder image of his arm, the impressions in the dust giving away his actual location. In a split second he'd gotten his feet back and charged.

His target, however, was not the other hunter. The pain from his last fight was starting to catch up with him; now that he was certain that Miyu was safe, he didn't have anything else to distract him from it. His power was particularly troublesome, too. If Theo could sprout that spines from anywhere, touching him with his tentacles would be a terrible idea. Seppy didn't know for sure, but he wasn't willing to risk it.

Rather, he bolted past Miyu, rushing around Theo and scooping her up as carefully as he could at his current speed with his tentacles. One wrapped around each shoulder, and then both wrapped around her waist, tightly but carefully. A moment later and she was on his back, watching the other hunter shrink as Seppy fled.

"Sorry, Theo, but yer never gonna get it," Seppy called back, doing his best to keep ahead in spite of his pain and the added weight. "An' I ain' got th'time to fight righ' now. I got what I wanned!" Seppy called back, turning down an alley in hopes of shaking the chase.

"Jus' hold on, alrigh'?" Seppy instructed Miyu. A moment later he'd hit the rooftops, bounding towards the tallest buildings he could find. As they'd met back together near sunset, the sun was almost down; Seppy liked to think that there weren't many skilled enough to track him through a dark city.

"'S not like I'm a coward or anythin'," Seppy said by way of defending himself. "Jus' don' wanna get tangled up in anythin' so close to th'marines, an' all. Not when yer all seastoned up, 'least."

For a while after that, Seppy remained silent. He didn't know if Theo was giving chase or not, so he couldn't stop just yet. Despite his immense relief, fatigue and pain were wearing at him slowly. On top of that, though he couldn't bring himself to regret his decision, the idea of being a pirate weighed heavily on his mind.

He'd been a hunter since the day he rejoined the normal world; it had been a career choice born of convenience. He had no talents other than killing, and hunters could do that as much as they needed to, and legally no less. Seppy didn't recall when or why he had started hating pirates. Morally, he had nothing against crime or nothing in favour of law. Law had simply been the easier path, and now it was gone.

Though the title and designation meant little to Seppy, being a hunter had given him a sense of identity in a world he knew nothing of. He was one of a kind, a species without name in a world that named everything. Being a hunter had become more than his profession; it had become his race, too. The thought of becoming something else so suddenly was hard on him.

Then, it hit him.

Stopping at last on a particularly tall building, behind a watershed, Seppy gently lowered Miyu down off of his shoulders. He unraveled his tentacles from arms and waist, then crouched down besides her. Taking her still-manacled wrist in one hand, Seppy began to inspect the cuff.

"I jus' noticed, like, a secon ago," Seppy began, turning the cuff this way and that, "that y'never once said y'were a hunner. I was jus' thinkin' how tough it's gotta be, y'know, t'go an' try to be somethin' yer not all at once. It's a real pain, righ'?"

Smiling broadly, his pupils dilated to catch every bit of the rapidly darkening dusk, Seppy hooked a clawed nail under the cuff's rim in two places, scratching Miyu's skin just a bit as he did. A moment later he pulled as hard as he could in both directions, his tentacles lowering and holding her arm steady. The cuff spread the tiniest little bit, but didn't yield. His effort seemed to be in vain.

A moment later, however, Miyu could feel her strength slowly returning to her. Seppy had created space, however small, all the way around her wrist; she was not in contact with any part of the cuff. Nodding, Seppy caught her in the eye.

"Y'can take care a the rest yerself, righ' mew?"

((Sidenote - Also, sorry if you had intended a longer fight. I figure this way, we can get to your crew reuinion faster. If you want a longer fight, just have Theo catch up; at least now, Miyu can fight as well, hehe.))

Miyu didn't waste time, being in contact with the seastone for so long had worn her out enough already. It only took her one second, and her arm was free and solid again. She had to admit, she was getting better...
"Yes, I...."
She was worried. And she felt guilty.
"I wanted to tell you, but.... I'm so sorry, Seppy..."
There was some silence between them, the only sound being Miyu rubbing her wrist. wearing the handcuffs had made it sore, there was a slightly red marking around it.
"Did...did you mean that?... I mean, what you said back then?"

Seppy put on his typical, clueless look for a moment.

"What couldn' I have meant about it?" he asked, seeming confused. "I beat th'piss outta a hunner. 'M a pirate, too, now."

Keeping his nose busy in case anyone came up there after them, Seppy crouched down, putting both arms directly between his legs. He looked exactly like a housecat sitting up.

"If y'd a told me too soon, I woulda done somethin' stupid like tryin' t'hunt you." His eyes and teeth glowing like the Cheshire Cat's in the darkness, Seppy smiled down at her. "'Course, youdda been fine, but then we never woulda had any fun, righ'?" he asked, his tone lighthearted.

There was a pause lasting a few more moments, Seppy occasionally turning his head this way or that to check the air and surrounding rooftops. True to his instincts, he felt much safer when he was high up, in a dark place.

"We need t'get outta here," Seppy mourned, his smile and voice falling a bit. "I really wanned t'go t'th' Mask Raid with you, too..."

Right, the festival!
She had completely forgotten about that!
"But what about the clothes? They're back at the hotel! And won't they be looking for us?"
She was only upset for a moment, then calmed down when she remembered it was Seppy who she was talking to. He'd know a way out...
She looked over the town, feeling like she must glow in the darkness with that white dress and her white hair and pale skin...
Theo would be able to spot her a mile away...
And if he did, then she'd have to fight, or run... But how could she possibly run? She had to do her part, too. Seppy had saved her so many times already, yet she had never...
"Uh... Thank you, by the way... for... uhm..."
It was barely a whisper, but she was sure he had heard.


"We're processing your request, Mister...?"
Damn those marines! They didn't know shit!
Theo was angry, very angry. After he had lost track of that damn McSeppymerc, he had gone back to retrieve his sister.
Up until he had seen it with his own eyes, he hadn't believed she had actually been defeated!
Nerissa von Rosberg! His big sister! Defeated by an... an amateur! A peasant! Theo grabbed the marines collar and dragged him up from his seat.
"Look, you little shit! I'm Theodore von Rosberg! The next leader of the von Rosberg family! OUr family line is older than your goddamn town, and my sister has just gotten the beating of her life! I want both: Miyu Delaney and Septera McSeppymerc caught and executed!"
The marines face paled, mostly because Theo was holding the collar to tight. He started gasping for air.
"Well, well Theo..."
A warm, fatherly voice called out to him from behind. Theo let go of the man and spun around to face the newcomer.
"Uncle Adolfo! I thought you were stationedin the New World!"
The elderly man who ahd entered was wearing a dark suit, like theo ones worn by high government agents. His face was warm, and so was his smile. His eyes weren't. They were the iciest blue ever seen in a human, and the look they gave Theo cooled his temper down immeadeatly.
What had been a self centered, rich, excentric noble before looked like a schoolboy scolded by his favourite teacher now. And for once, he shut up.
"I'm sure there's a solution for all of this... Now, why don't you tell me about what happened since you ran away from home the last time?"


(Aaagh, so many NpCs. Don't worry, I don't think we'll have to deal with Adolfo or Theo any more, Especially not Adolfo, since I actually designed him for another character...)

"Y'don' need t'thank me," Seppy stated, standing up to full height and stretching, his tentacles coiling back into his back. "We're part...err, well, not partners since we're pirates, now. We're...crew, then, righ'?"

Peering about the town from his high vantage point, Seppy spotted what he was looking for. Reaching a hand down to help Miyu up, he nodded his head towards the east horizon.

"'Till they get some posters prinned up, 'm still technically a hunner. I know a few guys'll grab 'r stuff an' meet us down at th'docks. We can jus' head out tonigh'."

Turning his face back towards Miyu, Seppy was still smiling brightly.

"'Sides, I know theres a holiday comin' up when ev'ryone mask-raids all day. We can use 'em then."

Well, that was a bummer....
They wouldn't be able to go to the festival, and it was all her fault... And Seppy would be a criminal... He'd have to give up his lifestyle... Her fault, too...
Miyu couldn't help but feel depressed. Why couldn't she do anything right? It was just what had happened at the island all over again except worse because it was actually affecting another persons life too.
She grabbed Seppys hand and dragged herself up, even though she didn't feel like standing up at all...
"What are we going to do? I mean, you... I don't think you'd make a good pirate. You're too much of a good person. A lot better than I am."
She genuinely thought he was. After what she had done to him, how could she still be a good person? She had never been one.
Thinking back, she had brought her parents sorrow by disappearing, the villagers were surely worried when she left without saying goodbye, then they must have felt betrayed when they heard about her bounty, she had caused Haru nothing but trouble, then had left him, again without saying goodbye, and now... now this...

((Hey, I just realised how true that is! Wait, I really wrote that? So much coincidence!))

Holding onto Miyu's hand, Seppy raised her arm until her wrist was infront of his mouth. Gently, he liked the scrapes and abrasions along her wrist, his tongue as dry and textured as a cat's. When he finished, he let her hand go and turned away from her, his backpack writhing in excitement.

"'M I really a good person?" he asked, his voice oddly introspective. "I jus' sorta started huntin' 'coz I was good at it...good at killin', I mean." Turning back to Miyu, Seppy's face was the model of optimistic cheer.

"My old man taught me t'kill things," Seppy stated plainly, much as one might comment on the weather. "I got these crazy bod mods from a scientist who taught me how t'kill," he continued. "'S what I do, y'know?"

"'ll make a fine pirate, 'coz we'll be a crew, righ?" Seppy asked earnestly. His smile faded a tiny bit, and he learned forward, his nose about a quarter-inch away from Miyu's.

"I can smell it when yer sad," Seppy said with an accusative tone. "Yer scent's a lot better when yer happy."

Seppy paused for a while, staring her in the eyes, then pulled away to stand at full height, his arms hanging at his sides. Turning his head to the sky, the dark hair shining with it's unique violet tint in the light of the rising moon, the ex-hunter seemed to be speaking to the sky as much as Miyu.

"Doesn' matter if 'm a pirate or a hunner, now. I'm having more fun since I met you, y'know?"

He could smell it when she was sad?
...She wanted to be happy, she really, really did, even if only for him to be not as worried.
Her eyes looked at his dark hair, again realising its colour was just as weird as hers was. They also looked at the rest of his body. It was rare that he stood at his full size... She had only noticed right now just how tall he was.
He was a good person. She was completely sure.
It was just the world that had made him what he was. Something in his past, maybe just his life... And again, she felt the desire to learn a little more about it... had made him a killer, but that couldn't make him a bad person.
Fun... Did she have fun?
Yes. Yes, she did have fun since she met him. Almost.... No, more fun than she had with her old crew, maybe.
Slowly, she took a step forward.
"Uhm... So did I... I..."
She had to muster up some courage, ignore her own anxiousness towards dragging him into all this.
"I don't care what you are, hunter or pirate or whatever, just as long as you can stay my friend. I know it's egoistic, but you are the... the best friend I've ever had, and I really can't imagine a better crew than you, so... So thank you for wanting to be my partner for some more time!"
That was too much. She had basically shouted the last part. Now she could feel her face go red with emberassment for having ruined the moment, and she added, whispering this time: "Uh... Let's head out before they.. uh, find us... Yes..."

Suddenly, Seppy felt a wave of uneasiness coming over him. His smile wavered for a moment, and a strange feeling pushed its way into his face. He sat still for a moment, not certain how he should deal with the unusual feeling. It had come just as Miyu had called him her 'best friend'. Thankfully, it faded just as soon as she changed the subject.

Because he had no mirror, he couldn't see that the 'strange feeling' had been himself blushing, the first time in his life he'd done so. All the same, he was happy when it passed. His voice - and smile - returned to normal quickly.

"Yeah, we gotta keep movin'. Jus' follow me close, Mew. I know what t'do."

-----------------------

A short while later, they were both on a small ship, a black schooner with enough supplies to last both of them a decent while. While they readied themselves to disembark, a couple of men dressed in plain grey clothes with ski-masks continued to load boxes onto the ship.

"You're all set, Septera," one of the two, the one in the blue ski-mask stated.

"Y'got the stuff from th'hotel?" Seppy asked, sounding a bit concerned.

"Yeah, we got all of it," the man with the green ski-mask answered. "Everything is all taken care of for you. You're ready to set out any time you like."

Seppy gave a nod, scurrying between the boxes and sniffing intently. When he found the scent he was looking for, he pried the crate in question open with his claws. Turning to Miyu, his smile illuminated by the light of the moon, he held up a familiar white dress.

"See?" he asked, putting it back and closing the box. "We got all of it." Walking over to Miyu, standing unusually close, he looked down at her with a genuinely happy expression on his face, his eyes burning gold in the dark.

"Yer th'best friend I've had, too," he answered at last, leaning down until his nose was almost touching hers. Much like a cat, he remained uncomfortably close, staring at her unwaveringly. After blinking at her twice, very slowly, he finally stood back up to full height. "There's nothin' egotis...egorif..." Seppy made a gesture dismissing the word he couldn't find. "Nothin' wrong with sayin' that."

Turning around and crouching at the prow of the ship, Seppy waved goodbye to the two men who had helped them and weighed anchor with his own two hands. The ship began to drift away from the dock as Seppy turned back to Miyu.

"Man...I feel kinda bad makin' 'em help us with all this," Seppy said. "They're from Stormcrow, a group a people who help out bounny hunners. There gonna be pretty miffed when they fine out 'm a pirate now, nyeheh."

Bolting up the mast, Seppy began unfurling the sails. Clinging like a stray cat to a tree, the mutant pirate looked down at Miyu. His face was difficult to read in the darkness, from that distance. After staring down at her for a while, he finally spoke.

"An' you don' need t'thank me fer stayin' with you," Seppy stated, his voice lacking the earlier excitement. In it's place there was a certain friendly, honest quality, something very warm. "An' it's not jus' fer 'some more time' either." Seppy turned his face towards the moon.

"'M gonna stay with you as long's you'll let me."

Miyu didn't know what to say, so she just smiled.
To be exact, there were many things she could have said, and all would have been true.
Things like: "Then you'll stay with me until I die." or "I know, and I'm all the more thankfull for it." came to mind, but.. hadn't they basically been said already?
So she just smiled, looked at the horizon and smiled because there was nothing left to say, and just repeating over and over again how thankful and happy she was wouldn't change a thing.
It hit her that she wouldn't be alone anymore. Of course, she had been in a crew before, but... This was different. Seppy really was the best friend she ever had.
She thought back to the time after she got her bounty, running away and hiding, still not capable of using her powers... becoming more capable, but still alone, all alone... Then, Haru and his crew... The war... Then she had been alone again. And now, she had Seppy.
Seppy, who had given up his previous life for her.
She had seen him blushing before. Why? He had never shown such emotions before. To be exact, she didn't even know... anything. Not his past, his true character, why he cared about her, she couldn't even tell if he was intelligent to the point of being a genius or stupid.
The smile on her face faded, replaced by a curious look, her eyes clinging to him as if she could find out a little more about him by just staring long enough.
Of course, it didn't work, and her eyes went back to the horizon, while her mind desperately clung to the questions.
Suddenly she knew what to say.
"I don't know who you are, or what you are, and I don't really know why you did this for me, but you're going to get into big trouble for it. That's more than enough reason for me to trust you and to want you with me as long as I can."

(Oooh, can you see my creativity fading?)