SERIOUS: Intel Gathering Squad, Chapter 1: Pit stop at Water 7 and the mysterious man (CLOSED)

He had managed to distracted her from the creature who caught her attention - over her apparent inability to play her own game correctly? He was suddenly the master of cover-ups after being confused by them moments ago? She couldn't tell if his voice was filled with hatred or frustration. Her gaze grew cold and apathetic as she regarded him.
"Do as you like, magician. Nothing pleases you and I simply do not have the energy to care any longer."
This time her words were not an act. She passes him without a word and without looking back. It was dangerous to separate- if their objective was revealed, they may never leave Water 7 alive. They would be faster, more efficient, and more vigilant to threats if they stayed paired but it made no difference to her; death would make finer company that dealing with that chronically oblivious magician. He was actually more mentally exhausting than Ginji but in a very different way. He clearly hated her so perhaps returning the hatred would be a more efficient way to work with him than intentionally making him uncomfortable. Crew members weren't required to be friends.

"I thought we came here for a mission, not for weird antics like these, but fair enough." Hawks responds back calmly, and as Jade walks away, he turns and walks away too, on the opposite direction, calmly on the outside, but irritated on the inside. *What is with this woman anyway ? Why can't we just get along for once ? How bothersome ..* he thinks, as he walks away, deciding to look for that person his captain assigned them to find all by himself. Speaking of which, that weird person Jade mentioned before, couldn't be him. Wally gave a description, and even thought this man's face was well hidden, he just didn't fit the body built he was told to look for. So, who was that person ? Just a random encounter, or was he something more ?

Rabid irritation rattled her to her core. She didn't understand why his oblivious nature got to her so much. He was also constantly shouting and reprimanding her for trivial nonsense. It was much like living with a very awkward grenade. "If I don't leave now - I'll definitely kill him." She tried to focus on the mission but the greater though of why in hell she even joined this bizarre crew haunted her thoughts. She had even been mysteriously separated from her ship by the new crew mates. Perhaps they were all trying to be rid of her - the magician particularly. Perhaps their wish shall be granted ... soon.

She forced herself to focus on the current situation. As she rounded the corner and veered off into an alley, her form abruptly diminished until she resembled nothing more than an average house cat with an odd golden coat that most resembled a lion's fur. She climbed up to a nearby window sill, disappearing around the next corner, only to appear again on the roof of an adjacent building. This would give her a much better vantage point and no one would give a cat on a roof a second glance. Her tail flicked and her ears flattened as a distant figure caught her attention. Silent paws swiftly propelled her along her high perch toward her prey.

The mysterious man has just gotten out of a building. It looks like an old shop of sorts, it's rather dirty and the windows are really taunted with smoke, offering little visibility for passerby people to look around. However, the person seemingly knew where we went. As he begins to walk around the streets again, he is carrying a large, long, packaged object. With Jade in her "cat" form apparently having spotted him, the man of course wouldn't know that he is followed. After a few turns, he seems to vanish yet again however.

Meanwhile, Hawks is checking out some map that it seems that someone with not a lot of skill in that department drew, and then looks around the buildings. "Am I going the right way, I wonder .." he speaks to himself lowly, before he resumes walking.

Deft golden paws trailed along the rooftops in pursuit of a lingering shadow constantly eluding her reach and direct line of sight. She pauses for a moment, ready to take the leap that would propel her to the next roof when the realization hit her. They were supposed to extract a piece of information at a precise point of the city and within a specific time window. This person was clearly leading her in the opposite direction. He had to be a decoy. The thought enraged her; play time was over. She hopped to the ground, just where she'd last seen him 'round the corner. Her body grew and twisted until she was in her full, towering beast-form. Crimson rage flickered in her eyes as she growled, glaring down at her target. A clawed hand reaches to slam the man against the wall of the building. "I have better manners than to play with my food. You have only seconds to state your purpose before dinner commences ..."

The man stops walking, and slowly turns his head towards Jade. Now, normally, when you see such a sight as a large, raging beast ready to devour you, you are expected to show fear, maybe freeze, or fall down, beg for mercy, or just generally panic. However, the man instead responds with a smile on his lips, a devious smile to be exact. He slowly bounces that object he earlier received from that shop-like place, on his right shoulder. He then speaks, he has a pretty deep voice. "Sanura Jade .. I was wondering when you'd actually lose your patience and proceed to act like that. Hopefully my information was right, otherwise, I'd have to kill you while you was in that really cute golden-fur kitty. And I wouldn't like to kill something cute like that." He is actually not afraid, and more importantly, he actually knows Jade by her name, not to mention he is not surprised of her Devil Fruit powers at all. Who is that person ?

Her eyes narrow in rage until the man speaks. A flicker of recognition flickers across her face. She sighs as her body shrinks back to her human form, rolling her eyes a bit as her arms cross across her chest in exasperation.
"YOU again. I bloody told you to stop following me. For the last time, I'm not going to join this idiotic scheme of yours ...
She walks forward, her eyes teeming with contempt. She puts a glovd hand up before he can say anything else.
"Before you start your nonsense again, you can't try to blackmail me anymore. My sister is dead .... my father too - EVERYONE... all dead. There is not a single piece of bait you can dangle over my head. Everything I cared about is dead now... there is nothing you can take from me. You wasted your time coming here - unless you'd like to join them. Now that you have no leverage, it would be the easiest thing in the world for me to tear your throat out and eat your miserable body whole ... but you don't deserve a death that merciful. You're right... I have lost my patience; chose your course carefully.

The man laughs, looking at her with a somewhat happy, or at the very least, relaxed, expression on his face. "It's been 2 years, yet you haven't changed at all. Always vicious, blunt and straight to the point, I like that in you." Obviously those two have a past, thought what kind of past and relationships they had is unknown. The man turns his back to Jade, placing his hand on his chin, as if he's thinking, and takes a few steps. He then turns at her, throwing away some bandages that he had on his face and torso. He's not wearing anything below that open jacket of his, and there's a large scar on his torso. Taking out his hat, his blonde spiky hair are seen. He smiles at her, albeit a bit bitterly. "Unfortunately, I'm not here to have that little game of blackmail with you again. These days are over. Although, it was fun, especially back then at .. hmm, never mind, I am sure you don't like to speak about that. Also .." He also removes those wraps around that object, revealing it to be a really unusual broadsword, it has an ark in the middle, kinda looks like a scythe infused with a blade. "This time, I am paid, to come here, not to make any "deals", but to kill you." Whoever that man is, not only does he have a past with Jade, but he also knew she'd be here now.

Despite being in human form, her feral feline eyes blink slowly, uncaring and unaffected. She smirks a bit as her eyes wander over jagged length of his scar, admiring her work. It rather looked like he lost a fight with a tiger. The deep cuts from her clawed glove were a sort of signature on the few foes she allowed to live.
"Fun, was it? I recall having to stop the fun you though you were going to have - or need I remind you where you got that attractive scar of yours?"
She approaches him and placing her clawed glove along the matching trenches of his scar, slowly dragging it harmlessly along its length while staring dangerously into his eyes.
"I also recall promising to aim much lower if you should every try your nonsense again - to prevent you from passing your stupidity to the next generation. Have you come to redeem that promise?"
She drags a single claw of her glove under his chin and grins wickedly.
"I see you are every bit the idiot you always were - whoring yourself out for an easy Beli. My sister never saw that side of you... never knew what you were. Now that she's gone, I don't have to keep the promise I made to not kill you. Did someone give you that cheap sword in exchange for hunting me down? Lets see if you get it keep it..."
She steps back, unsheathing the mineral enforced katana at her side. An inaudible murmur escapes her lips. "Forgive me, sister."

The man smirks, containing a small laughter that came to him when she mentioned that "much lower promise of an incoming injury there", and, as he sees that Jade is actually preparing for combat herself, he raises his weapon and lets it rest on his shoulder, while he takes a stance with his legs open, and his other arm at the front, taunting her. "I am sorry about your sister .. but hey, you will go and meet her soon too; I have to warn you, Jade .. I am not the same person you kicked his ass back then .. I will trash you. It's a shame, taking down an old .. friend. And this sword is far belong what your little dead sister could ever create." He adds, obviously taunting and trying to enrage her.

"You're not as sorry as you're going to be. Nikara went to her grave believing you were a treasure as you betrayed our entire crew."
She yawned a bit as she rotated the blade a bit to loosen her wrist.
"I'm sure that junk is better than anything Nikara could have made because she didn't make swords, idiot - that was Kiana. You know - the psychotic blacksmith that gave you those burns after you tried to ... well, I thought you would have remembered her better after she nearly castrated you with her scythe - hot and fresh out of her forge. How does that scream go again?"
She give him a wicked grin, still absently twirling her sword, unworried.
"It was Nikara who stopped her. My sister saved those worthless ... 'jewels' of yours more than you know and you still haven't managed to become a man."
Her eyes darken as her blade comes to a halt, clanging against the hard metal of her clawed glove.
"You'll find no friend here..."

"Ah, you are right." He says, smirking a bit more. "You see, I forgot who she was that died because, it's just not important for me to remember such details .. she was not important, neither is Kiana. And unfortunately, you are only useful to me as dead, or I can't get my reward." He leans forward, and pulls a pair of shades from a pocket on his jacket, and places them on his eyes. "Nikara, Kiana, Jade .. I suppose the smith will be really sad to hear that her other sister died. It's a shame thought, you have gotten far more beautiful." His expression then changes to a much more serious one, his smile replaced by an emotionless "poker face". "My jewels are also working just perfectly." He adds, before he takes a step forward, tightening his grip on his weapon, still letting it rest on his right shoulder though. "Striker Maul will now take your head .. !"

"Kiana is not my sister. She's bloody native skandian - seriously, are you blind or retarded? She has bronze skin, tribal tattoos, and an accent."
She rolls her eyes as he puts the shades on.
"You do know it's night time, right? I'm beginning to think you really are blind."
The moonlight reflects off of her golden skin and makes her feline-green eyes seem to glow.
"It's a shame? You say that as if it would someway benefit you... as if I wouldn't finish the job Kiana started if you came near. You'll find no beauty in this blackened soul, I assure you. All trace of caring about anything vanished long ago. All I have left is rage."
She nearly drops her blade at his last words, working hard to suppress laughter.
"Striker ... Maul... um, Ok, Perry, whatever you say. I get why you needed a change but... Striker Maul? Bahaha... sounds like you're compensating for something. Maybe Kiana did more damage than I thought."

"Ah, that's right, she is not actually your sister .. sorry, but I don't remember things that are no longer important." Striker replies, trying to maintain his "cool" appearance, and despite him obviously failing to do so, he doesn't seem to worry about it at all, seems he actually truly thinks that he sounds or acts just so cool and awesome-like. Seemingly ignoring her comment about him wearing his shades, despite the fact that dusk is setting in, he instead responds to her other comment, the one about his name. "My name is Striker, I've told you before, haven't I ? I don't go by that lousy name anymore !" he yells, his eyebrows narrowing, his tone shows that he is the one that ended up getting irritated and ticked off by her, apparently he doesn't like having his actual name used. Another note worth saying here was that, he actually never told her that this is his name, but that's how he is, always having a problem when it comes to memory. However, back to the actual events, Striker jumps forward, then steps on the ground with his left leg, and using his momentum, spins and attempts to chop Jade in half with his weapon.

"Ah yes, there is the absurd, over-compensating child I remember. Of course I can't expect you to keep up with my crew or family tree with all of the bizarre names that you come up with for your self."
Her eyes begin to flicker as she grows weary of dealing with this obnoxious creature who wants to take a trip down memory lane without bothering to remember ... anything.
What was the last awful name again? 'Dirk Hardpeck', I think or was it 'Slate Fistcrunch'? My all time favourite was 'Smoke Manmuscle' ... where do you come up with this? It's completely hilarious. What's next? 'Buff Rockgroin'?
Seeing his frustration rise, she sidesteps out of the way as his sloppy slash, fueled by anger misses her entirely. Usually she would hold out a single claw of her glove to stop it but she could tell by his movements that his technique and strength had improved substantially.
"Oh ... Perry has been practicing ... perhaps you shall entertain me after all."
Her slender katana arcs effortlessly through the air, gaining momentum along is back-turning trajectory in an elegant figure eight. At last, it makes a slash at the man, aiming in the exact position and angle as the scar along his torso as a taunting smirk tugs at her lips.
"For old time's sake ..."

"Stop making fun of my old names, they were pretty cool too ! But an assassin is supposed to have a lot of nicknames and code names, it's part of the job !" "Striker" yells, in an obviously irritated tone, his irritation being also obvious by the sloppy and meaningless initial assault. Seeing Jade's dexterity and skill in wielding her katana, he watches her delivering a blow right on his old scar. Only that, the sword, despite striking him right on the spot, despite cleanly cutting him, in fact, chopping him in two pieces, despite the attack obviously not intended to be this powerful, no blood is spilled. No scream of pain, and not any indication that he just got mortally wounded. Certain that this will be enough to surprise her, he smirks. "You know .. my name is not the only new thing about me. I'm a Devil Fruit user too now .. !" Tightening his grip on his weapon's handle, he swings it from his side, aiming to slash Jade horizontally along her abdomen.

"Assassin? Don't flatter yourself... nor me. An assassin goes after prominent figures and usually has ambition outside of a payoff. You're just a common murderer - a trashy hit man using your treacherous history to get a foothold."
She narrows her eyes as her blade carves harmlessly through his torso.
"Figures. I knew there had to be something different about you. You would never have the stones to stand up against me before - not even in my human or kitten forms."
Her eyes darken as she brings her blade up at an oblique angle, with cat-like speed, now using both hands on the hilt the absorb the shock of the blow.
"Mmmm... someone's out for blood..."
She taps her blade under his chin lightly and offers a playful wink.
"So... you still hate me for never letting you lay a hand on me. I did say you'd have to kill me first, you vile rat. Thank you for being here... and giving me the gift..."
She spins the blade, doing an areal cartwheel over the blade to gain momentum before bringing the bringing the blade into a swift horizontal slash aimed at lame-name's neck.
" ... of taking your head."

Jade's swift, yet still elegant and skillful slash, goes on and actually chops the blonde man's neck, sending his head, cleanly severed from the main body, flying. The body falls, kneeing down, while the head spins around a few times, and then drops down. Maybe she was too fast for him, or maybe he let his guard down. However, once again, there's no blood at all, not a single drop falls, and there's no blood stains on Jade's weapon at all.
"I thought you was sharp .. did your new buddies dulled your excellent sense of awareness ?" A voice is heard, and it comes from the head, which actually rolls once, and suddenly raises up, like some unseen strings are pulling it up.
"I ate the Bara Bara no Mi .. your bladed assaults mean nothing to me." The body that seemed to be on the verge of collapsing, suddenly comes back to "life", attempting to pierce thought Jade's stomach, something that, if acheived, considering Striker's large blade, would be a deadly, sure to kill, blow. "I guess I'll have to kill you before I ever got the chance to do what you just said, it's a pity .. bye bye!"

"I can see that. I'm hungry, not blind. I just needed to know what it would be like to see that worthless head fall from those worthless shoulders of yours. Buddies? I don't keep friends. Humans are too delicate ... it's best to avoid any attachments. Death comes too easily and I can't afford to invest in creatures who will only die when I least expect it. It's too bad its a trick that you never mastered. Worthless bastards like you never seem to die."
She narrowly turns out of the way of the blade, allowing him to move forward with the thrust as she sheaths her blade and pulls out her eel staff which pulses with natural electricity. She takes an smooth and steady slash at the man's back.

(Here's the eel wand if you're curious and don't want to look it up.)
https://theonepiecerp.rpg-board.net/t2501-eel-o-matic-10000-deathwand-it-s-over-9000

"Whoah whoah, Jade, I remember you being gloomy but, why so serious ? And dark. Life's a roll, ya gotta make some bonds .. and break them once a good payment comes to you, eh?" Striker's body turns to engage Jade, only to "face" her attacking with a weapon he doesn't remember. Then again, he doesn't remember a lot of things he should. "Trying to cut me again, how many times do you have to try this, ain't gonna work~!" Striker's head floats around creepily, grinning as if he's already victorious. However, things are about to change, for as soon as Jade does cleave through, and Striker goes to brag about his "epic powers", he feels some discomfort. Followed by a blast of electricity channeling through his sliced in half body. Same goes for his head. "GYAAAAH!!!" The man screams, before his body as well as the spooky, spiky haired head falls to the ground, smoke coming from both the body and the head.

Meanwhile, at a large, luxurious room that seems to belong to a really prestigious, or merely just freaking rich, man, Hawks is sitting on a large, sparking golden chair with a red, puffy seat, and he is, with his arms crossed and a good deal of .. lack of emotions, looking towards a man smoking a cigarette. The man's only seen from within the shadows, his smile and his large white teeth are seen, as he grins. "So, you are Hawks?"

Her blade makes impact; the collaborative electrolytes and an inherent biochemical electricity insure that the voltage reaches every part of his body. She straightens, her face cold, emotionless and unchanged. She depresses the trigger of the venom chamber, causing a haze of poison to slowly cover the surface of the staffs bladed edges.
Luminous green orbs glisten behind the dark shadows of her hair, giving her an ethereal, evil appearance as she regards his chard pile of parts.
"I do not have time to play. I am not who I used to be - my violence is no longer tempered by the well being or the wishes of my crew. I am now free to grant you the suffering you deserve."
Her lips part slightly, revealing razor-sharp feline canines starting to emerge as her other form tugs and the bestial violence contained within her soul. She keeps the cat form at bay and remains human for the moment. She would rather witness his suffering through her own eyes and at the mercy of her own hands.

"... Well, that was fun, getting to see your current skills." The head says, while still lying on the ground, but with a, suddenly, more serious tone than his previous talking. The body parts disappear, like a blur, and then appear behind the severed head, all assembled into one again. The body bends and picks up the head, placing it back to it's location. "Now, I gotta be serious too, because you are serious." Striker says, with a creepy smirk across his face, before he moves forward, almost like a blur. "I took that trick to train one's speed that you taught me a step ahead." He says, while appearing right in front of her, attempting to slash her from below, with a full swing.

"Current? You have no idea. I don't waste anything on such trash. You are utterly incapable of seriousness."
She allows an artificial look of fright to cross her face before the blade of her katana comes up at the last moment to absorb his blow at close quarters, somewhat surprised by the efficiency of the movements, given his history. She leans in close to him, a bit too close, while slipping a free hand behind his neck to whisper against his ear.
"I'm glad you managed to learn something in this life, but.. did you REALLY think you would beat me at my own game. I am a cat, Perry ... did you really hope to match my speed? She gives him a sadistic glare, leaning closer before abruptly back flipping away. Her eyes glow, reflecting a pale, feline green as her features expand and contort, growing into a savage beast. Her wings ruffle as, cruel demonic eyes regard him from above. She resumes her towering, sphinx shape, unable to restrain her hunger for human flesh a moment longer.
"...and now, you must die."
A savage claw glides out making a clean and elegant swipe in the direction of his torso.

"Ahaha .." Striker, or Perry, or any other name you'd like to call him, laughs a bit, smiling while Jade changes her form into her full sphinx form. He fixes his glasses, on his forehead instead of his eyes, and makes a swift back flip, narrowly evading being sliced in half, even thought his Devil Fruit's powers would normally keep him safe from any actual damage.
"I was looking forward to see that form again. It looks even cooler every time!" Striker claims, moving his hand in front, pointing his palm at Jade. "Now ... let me ask you, what makes you think ... I came here alone?" he adds, going serious again. Grabbing his sword with both hands, his expression changes yet again, to a rather vicious, predator-like glare, as if he's suddenly the hunter. "Also ... quit judging my current strength by a few swings, this here ..." he starts to say, before he swings the blade down, with incredible power, so intense, it triggers a powerful gust of wind and pressure energy, enough to cause a large, dust-infused slash, several times Jade's height, going towards her. A large explosion occurs, that actually topples the building behind them. Now, that's surely going to attract a lot of attention.

"I see the sun finally set for you."
She gives a wicked grin, momentarily stretching her wings before folding them again.
"Do come over here and have a closer look ... the sight of your blood also looks cooler every time."
She steps back, watching him movements carefully - a refined version of the familiar clumsiness that always landed him at the business end of a knife.
"A better question is why WOULDN'T I think you came alone? You have always been a sniveling coward, utterly unable to handle your own business without backup ... and you invariably trick some poor sap into providing it with promise of compensation they never receive"
Her eyes flicker to the movement he mack with his blade and instinctively her feline instincts take over and use her wings to launch her into the air for a moment. The danger sense of the cat now in her blood rescues her from her own estimation of his potential, given his history. A flicker of fear reflects in her eyes, not for her own life, but for the life of her crew members as she watches the building crumble. Now was the time to end this, before that idiot caused anything tragic to occur.
"OI.... stop being a jackass. Your battle is with ME, not buildings - those are inanimate objects - which, historically, have also been your nemesis ... like when you broke your arm falling out of bed after getting tangled in a blanket. Got your ass kicked by a BLANKET! Now... put that toy of yours down before you hurt yourself - you obviously have no idea what its for - and intimidating the population of blankets in that building isn't the answer. "
She narrows her eyes, her pupils fade to be replaced by luminous beams of pale green fury as the clean venom in her saliva begins to coat her teeth.