Serious: The Crusade of the Order of the Black Rose ((Open to all members of the order))

[[Tarino island]]

The still calmness of the islands area was certainly on show tonight. Tarino was an island famous for its ports, beer and wenches. The island was still known as a popular shipping area but ever since the existence of the order, things became worse for the criminal under lords, as the mafias and pirates, were driven out of the city, which was good for the general public, bad for underworld business. In this island, it was never night time , making it a beautiful island, but overheated at times. On the top of the island sat a mansion which looked very much like a castle. And this castle for famous, for it housed the the Order of the Black Rose. From this part of the ocean, the order was mixed, in that it was famous, and at the same time, not famous. It was a secret usually, but alot of people knew about it.

Within the castle entrance sat a man in a tuxedo, his grey mustache was his most oustanding feature. "Hopefully the knights will reach in time... we should prepare the chambers as well, did you get all that Simona!!?" The petite maid nodded and replied before running to prepare "Yes Mr Ruddle!!" The man with the moustache was ready to greet the order members and show them to the mistress

[[Mr Ruddle Flitter]]
[[Graves family butler, and weapon organizer as well recruiter of the Order]]

A young hooded man appeared. With big black boots and long black pants, a torn T-shirt and a brown cape with a hood. And on his belt a sword was tied up a green sheet with a golden green handle was seen. The mans name was Nathan Shardo. Or also called the Green Beast in East Blue. Nathan slowly walked and reached the castle gates. He unhooded him self before the butler. Nathan looked up and started to stare at the butlers mustache with big green eyes. Nathan looked at the butler and his mustache for a while and then calm said

Woow... So this is it...?

Waiting for the butlers reaction and stopped staring at his mustache.

Ruddle looked at Nathan and bowed as he pointed to the prepared Ale and assorted treats he had prepared at the welcoming table. "Good evening Sir Nathan, im so glad to see you again, congratulations on your title as Knight, it was a great achievement after only one year, Lady Ariel sees much potential in you" Knights and directors were to be treated with respect in the order. Squires were the lowest rank and were considered rookies and scouts at best. Still they handled the lesser contracts.

Thank you butler

Nathan said nice to the butler. As he followed him to the table. When the butler left Nathan looked around in the room.

Thinking: Wow.. Nice castle, people really must like the order..
Nathan saw that he is appereantly the first one from the order at the meeting. Nobody else was in the room except the maids. Nathan went to a chair, sat down, put his legs on the table and crossed them. He then put his hood back up. It might not be very cultural from Nathan to put his legs on the table, still out on the sea you might get some bad manners and alsoforget on how to behave. Nathan then turned his head down so the hood covered his whole face in shadow and waited.

"Ruddle ojii-saaaan~, what are you doing?" asked Miharu as he went over to where Ruddle was on top of Kohaku, who was carrying him on his back and wasn't wearing his armor. The man on top of the big canine was wearing a crisp light blue long sleeved shirt and white pants, his staff firmly placed on his back and his hair pulled up on a ponytail. People who didn't know him personally would think of him of being a woman for how he talked and looked, but those who knew him know better than that.

As Kohaku finally stopped next to the butler and sat down Miharu slid down from his back and went to greet the old man with a grin. "Yo, do you know where Ariel-chan is old man? Haven't seen her since this morning" he asked while petting the dog's side which made him wag his tail back and forth in content. He then looked over to Nathan and arched a brow when the other presented him as a Knight. "Knight eh? Guess I missed out on some stuff, but oh well," he said casually as he went for a cigarette and lighted it while heading over to where the man was sitting. He frowned slightly as the other placed his feet on top of the table and sighed as he went over to Nathan's side. He then proceeded to kick the other off the chair, an annoyed look on his face.

"Don't you have any manners?! Sheesh, men," he said with a roll of his eyes as he took a drag from his cigarette. "It's rude to put your feet up on the table in the presence of a lady," he said with a scoff as he looked at Nathan with an annoyed look.

[[Miharu Kaizen]]
[[Former Bartender, now one of the 8 Directors of The Order of the Black Rose]]

Ruddle bowed again. He had lots to say to the young knight about putting his feet on the table but found that it was pointless to begin quarelling. if lady Ariel heard any of the going ons downstairs she would certainly not be pleased. And then Miharu had to go and kick the man. A fight between the two would be most unfortunate "Yes it is good to see you Lord Miharu, i have to say it has been long, but i would ask you do not kick Sir nathan please, we don't want to start a fight in the castle...."

"NONSENSE RUDDLE, A YOUNG LAD LIKE THAT NEEDS TO BE BROUGHT DOWN A FEW!!!!" The man was near 7 ft tall and towered above Ruddle. He wore full on chains as well as a axe at his side. He sat down at the far end of the table and nodded to Miharu "I see you met the young tyke who got promoted, Ariel sees something great in that kid though, aint that right Haru chan, GOOAHAHAHAHAH" He had brown hair and a grizzly face.

[[Sir Emon "Chain" Ruckford]]
[[Knight of the Order]]

Nathan appereantly got kicked down from his chair by a women... Or man? He actually couldn't really tell, still he wasn't very angry, Nathan is always calm. Well that doesn't mean he likes being kicked donw of a chair he sat on.
Nathan stood up and looked at Miharu and said with a calm voice

I see you have this ''manners'' too, kicking people down of their chairs.

As he put his hood back up and sat back to his cahir well this time he dodn't put his legs on the table, he turned his head a little to the side and saw a another guy, he wasn't sure but he thought that this might be Emon.. The chain guy. He eventually put his head up and reveld his face to the 2 new people behind the table and said with a nice calm voice

Hey nice to meet you two.. Emon and Miharu I think..

Walking along the path leading up to the front door of the mansion was a well-dressed man in a suit donning a hat that was tilted downward to hide his eyes. As he walked, something large appeared in the sky. Looking up you could see the shadow of a bird but as it descended, it slowly revealed itself to be larger and larger. The bird landed on the path gracefully without so much as kicking up any dust. The bird turned out to be a large pelican and in its beak was a large bag that was filled with something with a note tied to it. The man walked over and examined the note. After reading it over for a moment the man petted the Pelican on the beak,prompting it to open its mouth slightly so the man could take the bag.

After untying the bag the man took his right hand and stuck it inside so you couldn't see anything under his elbow. Suddenly, the bag began to shrink. The contents were rapidly disappearing until after a few seconds, it was a completely empty bag. The man withdrew his hand. He petted the pelican again, causing it to fly off toward the sea. It became a speck as it flew further and its shadow eventually vanished over the horizon.

The man walked up to the front door and used the knocker. Before anyone answered the door, the man took off his hat revealing his eyes.

[[Droy Depper]]
[[Banker and Financier; one of the 8 Directors of The Order of the Black Rose]]

[[Berry the Pelican]]
[[Droy's assistant and collector]]

The man just looked at Ruddle with an incredulous look as he flicked his cigarette in his hand. "But Ruddle he needs to be more respectful, we can't have brats running around here if they're not," he said in protest as he placed the cigarette back in his mouth. When he heard Kohaku bark with energy and wag his tail, he smiled and waved at Emon energetically.

"Yo Emon-chan!" he called out with a grin as he went to sit on the opposit side of where Nathan was sitting but a few spaces where Emon sat, the dog sitting right beside him. "I don't see what she sees in him, but I guess we'll find out soon once everyone's gathered," he said with a chuckle as he flicked his cigarette again. "Eh? I have more manners than you so don't get cocky eh? And it's Haru-san for you" he said with an indifferent tone as he served himself some Ale and took a drink from the cup.

Ruddle went to the door and ordered the lever to be opened. The door steadily rose apart. Ruddle greeted Droy "Lord Droy, welcome back there are others in the waiting room with snacks, Lady Ariel is in the middle of getting ready."

Emon nodded and slammed the mug of ale down "Ar , nice to meet you tyke, i heard your pretty handy with the sword, seeing as you and me are same rank, we will have to do our best wont we, GOHAHHAHAHAHAHAH"

Miharu, I'm not here to get yelled at bout' my manners

Nathan said with a calm voice to Miharu. And then he looked back to Emon and countiniued after he heard what Emon said to him.

CJAHAHAHAHAHA! We have to do our best anyways if we don't want to get killed! HAHAHA!

Nathan said with a relaxing voice and unknowingly put his legs bac on the table and crosse them.

"Already talking back to one of your bosses? So rude," Miharu said in an exasperated voice as he leaned against Kohaku who just proceeded to lick his face. "I still wonder when the other Directors are coming though," he said idly as he took another drink from the Ale in his glass.

"Thank You, Mr. Flitter." Droy walked into the castle and handed his hat to Ruddle to be held on to. Droy entered the waiting room to find that there were already several people assembled there.

"Good afternoon everyone. Miharu-san; Emon." Well it was rather hard to actually discern the time of day. Droy did not wear a watch and the fact that it was a daytime island up did not help. Droy walked to the table and after studying the atmosphere a little, took the seat nearest to the door. He reached for the plate with the cookies and took one from the top. He promptly ate and finished it and then wiped his hand on a napkin. Droy sat with his legs crossed and his hands placed in his lap.

Miharu suddenly perked up and waved with a smile when he heard the familiar voice of Droy, Kohaku also greeting him with a bark of his own. "Droy-kun! You finally made it eh?" he said with a chuckle as he took one of the treats and took a bite out of it before settling it down on his plate and wiping his mouth with a napkin before leaning back against his chair.

"Yes. Sorry I was a bit late. I had to deal with some business before I came here."

By business, he meant his banking business. He had several clients in all four seas who trusted him enough to hold their money. It was the reason why his Pelican flew to him with a delivery earlier.

After his response, Droy reached for a second cookie. He was thinking to himself "Kun? I hope you haven't forgotten which of us is older..."

"Tell me, Miharu-san. Is that a new knight sitting over there?" Droy was referring to Nathan who by now was sitting with his legs on the table again.

"I haven't forgotten Droy-san, it was just an endearment! The way I call Emon-kun 'chan', even though he's older than me as well," he said with a lazy wave of his hand as he laughed. He then blinked and looked over at Nathan, frowning while showing his teeth as he looked back at Droy. "Yeah, that's him and he has no manners what so ever! Hey, take your feet off the table, how many times do I have to tell you!" he exclaimed at the other angrily, Kohaku growling lowly and narrowing his eyes at the new Knight.

Feeling tired after enduring such a rough few nights Kage had arrived at the castle which belonged to the Order of the Black Rose. Still a little bloody, beaten, battered and with heavy black bags under his eyes, Kage entered the castle then wiped his nose and shook his head shaking his long shaggy hair.

[Kage "Hazard" Michaels]
[Knight of The Order of The Black Rose]

Kage was here to be knighted or meet a knight or something, he couldn't quite remember since his brain had been scrambled a bit during his last job, along with the fact that he had to remember other more important things along the way too. His head ached still a little bit as he had been tied up and beaten pretty badly but as for now, he was alright. Still able to function properly without needing any assistance.

As Kage wondered in he saw a few people already there and felt like a late comer to the party. Kage looked around and yawned, he hadn't felt this tired in a long time and needed somewhere to lie down.
But not after getting himself reacquainted with the Order once again.

Emon nodded and continued drinking from his mug. Ruddle stood over and watched them eat as someone walked into the room from a door that appeared from no where. It was a man with long blonde hair. His face was smooth and shaved. He wore a jacket and jeans with two staffs crossed on his back. Ruddle bowed "Welcome Gideon sama......"

The man grinned and patted ruddle on the back "Ah, hey Ruddle , how is Ari? Is she here? Oh the others are here.... and one new one...... and Kage is here too? Now that is rare..."

[[Gideon Yard]]
[[The 8th director of the Order]]
[[Ariels cousin]]

Miharu blinked as he noticed another Director come in, smiling and waving when it was none other than Ariel's cousin Gideon. "Ah Gideon-san, you finally come," he says lightly as he gets another cookie and bites on it. He suddenly choked and his eyes widened when he noticed Kohaku was now charging over to Gideon to give him one of his "hugs." "Kohaku, wait!" he exclaimed, too late now that the dog pounced at Gideon.

"Oh dear..." DRoy stood up and turned to acknowledge Gideon. It was hard to tell if he got his attention because he seemed to be preoccupied with Kohaku.

"Good to see you, Gideon-san." Droy nodded his head once and sat right back down into his seat.

Kage looked around to see more and more people entering and smiled, he didn't know many of these people but he didn't figure he wouldn't get to know may of these people as he found that his work was mainly out in the slums or the underground world of crime.

He sat down on a chair and stretched his legs out in front of himself then rested his head on his hands behind him, he felt tired and yawned then shut his eyes. Kage's hair dipped down over his shut eyes and his breathing was quiet. His body was aching but he ignored it, he was too tired to acknowledge the pain.

"Looks like some of you are here, lets just get the meeting through shall we?" IT was Ariel she had entered the room from above and Gideon and Emon bowed and proceeded to sit. Ruddle then bowed as well before asking Kage "Sir Kage, what would you like to drink or eat?" Ariel sat at her seat. "Well first of all, thanks for coming guys...... yeah, we also want to welcome Nathan kun to the table as a knight of the order, nathan kun has only been a year here" She read a bit from her comic she was holding in her right hand and giggled before continuing "Ahh, firstly lets hear from Droy, hows the financial going?"

Kage heard someone ask him if he wanted any food or drink and Kage opened his eyes then replied, "Actually I wouldn't mind a beer...and some chocolate éclairs." Kage smiled then looked at Droy the accountant then back at Ruddle.

Feeling tired still, he yawned and let his eyes slowly close down as he listened to Droy, he awaited for him to talk about the accountants of the Order of The Black Rose. He didn't really care about the others too much as they all seemed allot more focused on getting to know each other, whilst Kage on the other hand was more focused on working as he loved the rush of adrenaline he received from capturing these bastards who thought they were bad ass enough to be pirates or revolutionaries.

As Kage rested his folded arms on his chest, a small envelope slipped from his pocket and hit the ground. Inside this envelope was something thick and hard, he had forgotten to open this mail when he got it and had just shoved it into his pocket.

"Yes. Of course miss Ariel."

Droy stood from his chair and reached into his suit jacket. He pulled out a notebook with several tabs sticking out of the top. He opened to the first tab.

"Well I am glad to announce that since our last meeting the Order of the Black Rose has been increasing its income, both through various assignments and funding from other organizations. The recent recruitment of new squires has added extra revenue from outreach to those with minor jobs. As such, it is important that we maintain a board of directors and knights who manage those of a lower rank." Looking at Nathan, Droy continued "Sir Nathan. As you are a knight I am sure that you have been told your responsibilities so I do not wish to repeat them. Only that you may use your power in a way that benefits the order. Now on another note, recently we have been receiving requests for higher level targets so I hope that we take that into consideration for the future. Thank you."

Droy returned his notebook to the inside of his jacket and after performing a small bow, proceeded to take his seat once again.

After calming down Kohaku and going back to his seat, Miharu noticed Ariel arrive and and along with the other three proceeded to bow to show his respect as well before sitting down again. He was now paying attention with a calm misdemeanor as the meeting started. He listened to Droy's report and smiled a bit when he mentioned requests for higher level targets. Higher level targets always meant higher bounties as well.