Serious: The Drop Dead Pirates: Chapter 2 Drop Dead Arrival, a death in Logue town? (Closed to Drop Dead Pirates Open to ArchAngels)

Red blinked, her blue eyes opening when she heard someone knock at the door for her.
It was Smatch.

"Funny coincidence," she thought. "I was just thinking about you..."
Before Smatch had knocked, she'd been thinking back on their long, crazy day. She had expected a lot of things from Logue town.
Reiko Fujiwara had expected to get chased by Marines. She had expected to get into a fight. She had expected to be flirted with by some guys.
But she certainly hadn't expected to fall in love.

The feeling had only barely sunk in.
She was in love with Smatch.
Red normally never cared so much about anyone but herself and certainly not young pirate men who she met in bars. But Smatch was different. He may have been a pirate but he was good, sweet, strong but sensitive, intelligent but not arrogant, brave, considerate...and to top it all off, quite handsome.
Red had traced his form in the bubbly water, imagining that white, ivory hair and those soaked, defined muscles before gently lifting her hand to feel the unfamiliar pink blush that fell across her cheeks at the thought of him. "Smatch-kun..."

He was younger than her...but not by much.
And he certainly didn't act immature by any means. Sure, he was a little shorter than her, but that didn't faze Red, (who really didn't mind if she had to stoop for a little kiss every now and then).
Reiko's face got hotter when she thought about his lips and how they had felt on hers and she found herself sliding her hand down her face and to her neck, caressing her hair as she closed her eyes.
Why had no one ever made her feel like this before?

She jumped a little when his voice pulled her from her little daydream and she sat up in the bath. He sounded a little uncertain so she called back, a smile creeping across her face. "It's alright, Smatch. Come in..."
He had used her first name too- not just "Red."
For some reason, that signalled to her that this was important.

Red watched as he slowly emerged from the hot clouds of steam after shouting something to Kayzen and she settled back in the water, letting the bubbly water creep up over her breasts, up to her collar-bone, obscuring her from view.
He had seemed a little uncertain earlier, so Red was going to let him make the first moves that he wanted to make, rather than pushing him out of his comfort zone.

The navigator crossed her legs in the water, looking up at him with a ruby-lipped smile. "Something on your mind, baby? Or are you just here for a bath too?"
Her brows furrowed when she suddenly noticed something. "Oh, you're bleeding...your nose..." Red felt worried and immmediately handed him up the towel at the edge of the bath-tub.

Smatch looked at Reiko's beautiful curves and saw that her body was covered up by the water, when she handed him a towel for his nose he quickly took it and rubbed his blood off from his nose and smiled. He hadn't been treated this well by many people.

"I just came in...for, I. I wanted to say that I, urm, I really like you Reiko and I would love to join you for a bath. I guess your right, that I do look a little rough and beaten up."

Smatch took a deep breath, he gripped the bottom of his soggy shirt and lifted it up and over his head letting the shirt peel away from his torso and abdominals. Smatch felt heat rush up to his toned body and smiled at Red. He never felt confident enough to do this sort of thing in front of anyone but with Red things were different and he wanted to show that he was not only brave but also confident enough to strip down in front of a woman who was quite frankly amazing.

Smatch then wrapped the towel around his lower half and slipped out of his trousers and pants. Smatch walked towards Reiko feeling embarrassed about doing this and knelt down beside the bath red cheeked and leant in to kiss Reiko on the cheek after whispering into her ear.

"I-i-i. I think I. This may sound stupid, but I think...I'm falling.......for you."
His heart beat then rose quickly as he could see her beautiful smooth wet skin and he didn't know what to do and hoped Kayzen wouldn't interrupt. He just wanted to reach the Grand Line with his crew backing him and the gorgeous Reiko Fujiwara at his side.
"I can't wait to see what the future holds for us Reiko."

Red listened to what he had to say, her heart thudding wildly in her chest and her own face heating up a little. He really did feel the same way?
For a moment, the scarlet-haired navigator found herself unable speak or even to breathe, her lips trembling a little.

She watched as he removed his wet shirt, her eyes scanning every inch of gleaming muscle and taking it all in with baited breath.
Her lips quirked a little in a small smile when she noticed his shyness about his lower half. She didn't mind at all, though. Modesty was a valuable thing that everyone deserved to be allowed to have.
Red closed her eyes a little when he kissed her cheek, enjoying the feeling.

"Mmm...Smatch D. Pengs, that doesn't sound stupid at all."
She reached out and cupped one of his reddened cheeks in her hand as she spoke, stroking his cheek with her thumb as she looked into his eyes. "Because I honestly think that I'm falling for you too."
She leaned in closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. "I can't wait to see what the future holds either...but I'm a little preoccupied with the present, at the moment."

And with those words, she gently kissed his smooth, light lips with her own crimson ones. Her fingers lightly skimmed his ivory hair and traced the scar over one of his eyes tenderly, as if trying to erase the pain that it once caused.
After a few more moments, she deepened the kiss, closing her eyes and sitting up a little more to get closer to him, not caring that her chest was now a lot closer to the surface than before.
That didn't matter to her anymore. All that mattered was him.

Smatch felt his heart try to leap from his mouth as Red said he didn't sound stupid and told him she was falling for him too. Her lips felt amazing as she kissed him and he didn't want this feeling to stop of pure excitement which ran through his body so quickly and didn't stop.

Seeing Reiko lean closer and more of her body raise up from the water he found himself wrapping his arms around her body and resting his hands on the back of her head and upper back. She was wet and smooth and oh so beautiful. Smatch kissed down her neck then stopped as he realised how close he as getting to the water and her breasts. Smatch paused for a second then stood up and breathed heavily shutting his eyes.

Tensing his muscles Smatch gripped the towel and mentioned, "If we're going to be in love then......I shouldn't be embarrassed or ashamed." Smatch loosened the towel and he let it drop to the floor baring all standing before Reiko in the bath.

Smatch then placed his foot into the bath avoiding standing on any part of Red and slipped in beside her.

(End of Thread for the Drop Dead Pirates.)

[[Albert Hawking and Iris]]
"Yes, it took me a while but i know who you are, dont worry, im not going to kill you, not yet, im going to use you as leverage 'my dear' you see the thing is , our forces are being decimated and it seems that this project might be a bust in the end, but ill be leaving here alive, though Decadence never dies, they are never truly gone, we are always on the sea, always sailing........" He pressed the gun harder jabbing iris, motioning her to stand on her feet.

[[Johnny vs Enma]]
"A sloth eh? That mighty interesting i must say...." Johnny put away his guitar and pulled out his pistols, he held them up "You know, these are rapid fire, so they are kinda like machine guns, and guess what kind of ammo they have?" His barrels on the pistols were dripping with blood, and Johnny grinned "Thats right, my blood, which means....... BOOOMMM" He fired twice causing explosions aimed at enma.

Ioric was rather confused about his surroundings, after all he had to consentrate to avoid being touched by such filthy locals and pirates from the panic induced chaos around him, and it was not east he hastily leapt, sidestepped, rolled and dived away from the various fleeing townies, while carefully punching any pirates that came close. "Hmmmm how unfortunet to dirty my own hands on these vermin, but the rear admiral would give me quite the lashing if I harmed locals." he murmered to himself as he grabbed and threw one of the sea-faring goons at a window of a nearby tavern, sighing as the pirate burst through the glass. "Well, at least I'm aloud to do that, pity there isn't any pirates with a bounty, or even decent loot, so far they all just carry weapons.", the cyborg marine complained to himself, noticing the amount of escaping locals were thining.

Leverage? Of all things?
That was not only highly nonsensical, but also unflattering.
She might treat her body as a way to get what she wanted, a tool if you will, she might not be ashamed to use herself almost as a ware, but that was because it was her body. And now this man, this pirate came along, completely unaffected, it seemed, by her charms (which was insulting by itself) and called her leverage. That would not even have been okay for a normal man, it definitely wasn't okay for a pirate.
"Well then...."
Despite the anger, the outrage inside of her, Iris stood up with a calm smile on her face, seemingly ever the good hostage... until her fingers, in the process of slowly standing up, brushed the handle of one of her sickles.
".....You do realize I cannot just let that happen?"
She grabbed it and, hoping to have the element of surprise (after all, who'd be crazy enough to attack someone who clearly had the advantage in form of a gun) slashed at the pirates hand in one clean motion. Leverage? Not if she had a say in this!

((Dau, meet up with Martello and Duncan))

[[Iris and Albert Hawking]]
Albert felt his hands being sliced clean off. His gun falling to the floor. The bar had a few people screaming and some panicking and some who just went about drinking as usual. Albert yelled in a high pitch and fell to the floor. "MY HANNNDDDDDDD GRRRRRRRRR"

[[From a far away on another ship]]
The man lowered his den den mushi which was watching Iris and the supposed Albert. THe mans face was hidden under his brown cap , he looked pretty normal. He spoke into his other den den mushi nearby "Yeah, yeah, the Logue Town project was a failure, the forces here are being decimated , yes , yes, it would seem so......ok, i understand , Mr Albert Hawking, its nice to speak with you again."

As Ioric carefully dodged round anyone that could contaminate him with a face full of horror, as well as easily punching out simpelton pirate goons, occasionly stopping to take any of the said sea-faring criminals loot, until he spotted one rather nasty looking cut-throat making his get away with a sack full of rather valuble looking jewlrey, as well as cash. "Oh yes what a good idea, carrying a heavy sack that restricts movement and being an easy target.", Ioric muttered to himself cheerfully as he rushed aheahd of the pirate before clotheslining him painfully, and sharply landing a knuckle hammer with his colossal hands to the criminals face, before happily picking up the sack full of valubles, opening it for a moment to chuckle greedily at it's contents. Well, until the marine doctor realised that Martello and Duncan were nearby. "Ah, why hello good sirs, my what good fortune at seeing you two heroicly watching a crew member pick up some stolen loot. With full intention of returning it, ofcourse.", Ioric blathered to the fellow marines, shortly punching a sudden sneak attacking pirate to the ground.