Dark Isle Assassins: The meeting before the New World ((Open to Dark Isle Assassins only)) ((Closed))

Karasu first smiled at Doku's question, it seemed like the man had not changed completely after all. He asked Karasu if there was going to be strong opponents. Of course, in Karasus mind the answer would be obvious, but there had been plenty of moments in the past where weak opponents appeared in the strongest of places. This occasion, however, was a bit different.

"No worries Doku, the opponents will be strong.. we'll be fighting along side Anubis after all. I also heard the opponents in the New World are usually twice as strong as the ones in the Grand Line."

Karasu then looked at Stephan, the newly recruited assassin along with Kitsune. He asked if he would have a partner for his part of the mission, Karasu could only nod at his remark, since Karasu was the type to have his crew members work in pairs. Daiki let out a small bit of his esteem for the mission, showing just how excited he was the crew had finally been asked on a mission.. all at once. Karasu continued his explanation on the mission.

"The plan is simple. If we are at all going to assassinate a target on a well guarded territory, which is usually the case for all of us, we'll have two assassins infiltrate enemy lines to either cause a disorder in their lines, or assassinate the target assigned to them.. of course if the target is too strong, I'll settle for chaos inside the place, or just a detailed report on the area. This part of the mission also involves disarming anything on the front lines, it's part of the chaos you will be creating. The two assassins that will be our infiltration in enemy lines, or the spies, will be Stephan Little, and Kitsune.. their abilities would be the most useful in this part of the mission."

Karasu then cleared his throat a bit, there was still a second part of the mission he had to explain. The rest of the crew wasn't going to be there for nothing. He took a deep breath, pulling hair a bit back to relax himself. Karasu then loosened his grip on his hair, letting it casually fall back into the sides of his face.

"The second part of the mission, is the part that relies on power rather then stealth. If something were to go wrong, Kitsune will unleash a fireball into the sky.. this would make enemies suspicious of what it was, but odds are they wouldn't know its true nature. Once the signal of distress is put out, Doku, Daiki, and Sakura will infiltrate the enemy lines with brute force, I'll be joining them. Of course, If Kitsune can not make the signal, then Stephan will have to figure out a way to warn us.. Finally, any target we receive from Anubis must be taken care off, if they are innocent, we'll take him with us.. but odds are, we'll have to see some blood that night."

Karasu was fine with staining a night with blood, it's in his life style. He didn't know how the assassins would react to the base plan, the more complicated plan would be when he had the actual information of the target in front of him, along with the layout. For now, this was a rough estimate of what the mission MIGHT be like.

"Is everything clear? Or do I get to answer another question?"

the fox thanked doku for his kind words it felt good that he was happy for him that he didnt need branding, ''thanks, take care your up soon I guess'' he said as he watched the crew members getting braneded it seemed like a good crew of good people. some where a bit strange but they were all loyal, letting them get branded seemed like loyality, the fox found it interesting and knew he was going to tag along for a while.

When he heard that he had to team up with a wind user, that also just joined the crew he wasnt sure how he should work together he hadnt workked together withsomeone before, so it was new for him, he decided to be polite and walked forward, he stuck out his paw towards stephan little and said'' lets complete our job stephan''

a few secconds later he answered karasu who asked if there were any questions'' I have no questions about the mission sir, but I do have another, '' he said as he took out a few stones from the pack on his hip, 5 stones with different markings fell to the ground, he always marked stones, to know which was what one, '' it soudns strange but I want to ask you all to touch one of these stones and return it to me afterwards, everyone except you captain, you already touched one'' he said with a grim on his face ''think its good to tell i need a stone that was touched by someone to transfer in that certain person,

Stephan listened to Karasu's plan and nodded. If he had heard correctly, he would be doing what he does best; assassinations and spying with some other person he didn't know. This was alright with him, unless the other spy got in his way. THAT would be a problem. He then nodded to Karasu.

"It is understood, captain" he said

He then heard a voice talking to him, and turned around, expecting to see a human. Instead, he saw a fox talking to him about there mission. He was a little taken aback at the talking fox, but soon recovered. He then realized that if what it said was correct, he would be carrying him mission out with this fox. He could understand the benefits of a spy animal, but it still seemed a bit strange to him. Stephan then looked at the talking creature.

"Yeah" he said, shaking the fox's paw

Daiki listened to his captain's wise words. It was important that everything came out perfectly. Well, actually only the outcomes, because the way to get there would never be as expected, and even more when they didnt even know what the assasination mission was about. But the crewmates needed to trust each other, even if as assasins they shouldn't trust anyone, they needed to trust their family. After all, they were marked, and these marks were forever.

"I think everything sounds good, Karasu."- Daiki pointed out. -"The plan seems fine, although we should always have a way to communicate to each other so we can change the plan if needed."

Ater that, he didas the fox, Kitsune, directed and touched one of the pebbles from in front of him. It had some weird marking, the fox spirit said it was to recognize them, which sounded reasonable. Daiki gave it back to Kitsune, waiting for him to remove his paw from Stephan's hand after shaking it.

Doku walked up and took a stone gently before handing it back. "Uhh there." He said a bit awkwardly.

*Mail*

Mail meanwhile was on a small island about half a mile away from the dark isle pirates. With a sigh he stood, "Well then...I'm right fucked aren't I?" he asked him self. He had ran out of food and drink, his raft had crashed and he couldn't swim anywhere. "Welp guess I'll wait for death to come then." he said laying back enjoying his 'final moments'.

Karasu looked in the distance, Kitsune was busy asking everyone about their stones. It seemed like everything was fine. The crew mates all understood what they were going to do, but it seemed like Daiki had brought up a valid point.. one he was glad he pointed out.

"I took care of it Daiki, I have 6 den den mushi in my ship, they are portable."

It seemed like even when Karasu was giving out orders Daiki was still on the top of his game, Karasu wondered how strong he had gotten over the many months he was gone.. how long was it, a year? Karasu didn't bother counting the months, it could be more.. much more, or much less. Karasu looked at Daiki, and everyone else whom had touched the fox's stone. It was obvious the fox had already made some friends, it was up to Karasu to ensure that the trust within the crew mates grew.. since in the future they would have to rely on each others skills to pull off a successful assassination.

Karasu was enjoying the picture he was conjuring up in his mind of the perfect blend of assassins. He looked into the distance, and saw something he didn't think would be possible.. someone was stranded on an island not too far away. It was barely visible, but the image was there. Now Karasu had two thoughts roaming around in his head.

"Either this man is strong enough to live on an island like this, or weak enough to be coincidentally stuck in an island so close to the holy land. He could be powerful since he is so close to the New World.. and he's obviously stuck on the island, death could be within his reach... I guess I have no choice." (Karasus thoughts)

Karasu looked over at Daiki, whom had finished what he had been doing with the stone. This was the perfect time for Karasu to see what Daiki had been up to all of this time.

"Daiki, there is an island near here... I need you to check if the man on the island is weak or strong, if he is strong then invite him into the crew... we might need someone powerful enough to almost make it to the New World."

Karasu nodded at Daiki, knowing fully well he was strong enough to handle most enemies on the seas. His first mate should have gotten much stronger since the last time they met, he should've reached new heights.. Karasu wanted to see how far he had gotten.

"Everyone else, get to know each other.. By the time we leave i expect all of you to know each others names, and to call each other by your names. I don't care if you have to ask someone about their life story, but there better be SOME kind of bond in this crew when we're leaving."

Karasu looked at the crew members, he was being serious.. the number one thing teams need is a connection, learning their names is the most basic of things.. and obviously it would help their abilities to work together. Karasu had already given out the mission, after this small task there should be little holding Karasu back from leaving the island in the ship.

"For those of you that don't remember, you may call me one of three names.. Lord, Karasu, or Lord Karasu. Never address me as captain, since I don't consider myself a pirate."

Stephan nodded to Karasu, his first mission, although easy, was very important. He had to get to know his crew mates. As this made sense for crew team work, it would also be a chance to see who he would work well with on a mission. He decided to start with the person/ animal he would be doing a job with. He then looked at the fox.

"I didn't catch your name, what was it again?" he asked politely

The fox gladly accepted the stones after he let loose of stephans hand, he put them in his pocuh reminding who touched what stone, he needed this to turn into their form, ''many call me kitsune'' he said to stephan little, as he stared at his captain ready for the mission to begin he noticed how his captain didnt want to be called captain, and he almost couldnt resist in answering with yes captain, I won't call you captain, but he shouldn't do it around the crew members, he knew karasu accepted a joke, but didnt want it to be foccused on him when the crew was around, kitsune had gathered most of the stones, and was ready to begin his mission, he was nervous but happy to have found a family that seemed like one he could trust

Reiko Fujiwara, for the first time in her life, felt genuine terror.
It was as if an icy hand was suddenly gripping her soul, stealing her breath and clenching her rapidly beating heart.
In fact, as she sat in the warm sands, her legs crossed and her eyes staring out at the ocean before her- the woman whose hair had given her the nickname "Red" took no joy in the surroundings.

The island she had come upon was beautiful, from the ivory sands of its shores to its leafy palms and scattered coconuts. The glorious weather also provided the perfect atmosphere for complete serenity, making the island calm as it was picturesque.

It was the ideal place for some long-needed relaxation which is exactly what the doctor had prescribed for her.

"No stress. That means no thieving, no fighting and no pillaging," the fishwoman doctor had said. "You're not the first pirate lady to come to me in this condition. I know it's not an easy thing, considering your lifestyle, but you have to take yourself out of harm's way..."

Blood had been pounding in Red's ears.
"No,"she kept telling herself. "This can't be happening. This isn't happening."

She remembered shaking and shivering, her eyes widening with horror when the doctor finally told her why she had been throwing up every morning, why she had been feeling cramps in her abdomen and why her temperature had been fluctuating- one minute making her sweat and the next, she'd have goosebumps.

Maybe this was all some kind of bizarre form of karma, she considered, crossing her bare legs in the sand.
It was cruel karma though, considering the sins that she was paying for and that this event would change her life forever.

And she couldn't stop thinking of him...
Red felt tears prick at her eyes. It had been about a month since they had been together.
It had been a month since their passionate, joyful, wild and fun affair and a month since she had seen the man that had undoubtedly stolen her heart.

"Karasu Ammo..."
Even saying the white-haired man's name under her breath was difficult for her. He had made an imprint on her life in ways that he'd probably never know and she'd more than likely, never see him again in her entire life.
She could still remember how soft and tender his kisses felt, how the diamond stud in his ear glinted in the moonlight, how his toned muscles rippled against her body when he held her, the way he made her laugh, the way his pale brown eyes captivated hers...

Red felt a hot tear slip down her face and wiping it away, she stood up and started to walk down the beach. Her long, pale body was clad in a glossy black bikini and she allowed her long crimson curls to fall down her back, the wind sweeping it over one of her shoulders and revealing the black rose tattoo there.

Being a Devil Fruit user, she could never swim but a walk to clear her head at the very least, seemed very appealing. She sighed, looking at the palm trees around her. Red had heard a rumour that assassins were using this island as a base but she had dismissed them as mere murmurs among sea-farers.

After all, sailors and buccaneers alike were known for their useless gossip.

She continued down the beach, her blue eyes distant, her red lips parted for breath and her destination, unknown. Maybe it was just her imagination but she thought that she had heard voices in the distance.
"Or maybe I'm just going crazy," Red thought with a sigh.

Daiki smiled at his captain, good thing that he was always one step of everyone else. One way or another, Daiki had to make sure that everything was in order. As the first mate his duty was to ensure the captain's power and authority. Making the plans work and alway having an ace in the sleeves of his shirt was part, not only of his work, but of his nature.

Daiki to a quick look at each of his crewmates. It was interesting how they complimented each other's abilities to create one of the best assasination groups he had seen in his whole life. He then looked around and listened to his captain, apparently, there was someone in an island that was close to the horizon. It looked more like a sand bank... Following Karasu's instructions was a priority: check if the man was weak or strong. That could only mean one thing, he wanted Daiki to fight the man.

"Understood, Karasu."- Daiki nodded and then turned his back to him, facing the island. -"I'll be off now."

To get to the island Daiki had to take different means than just swimming. He couldn't swim, he was a devil fruit user, so he would use that one thing that took his ability to swim: Devil Fruit Powers. Daiki used is Nendo Country technique to materialize a clay platform below his feet, since it was only for himself he made it look like a surfboard and started gliding through the air, towards mail.

When he approached him he noticed that the man didn't look completely human. He had metallic parts in his body. He had dark... black hair and apparently was pretty tired.

"Who are you... and how did you manage to get here? So close to the Holy Land."- Daiki asked. He needed his name, after that he would try out his strenght. If he was strong enough, he would invite him to the crew. If not...

"I am Mail. Marine rank, commander. Former member of the hooded knights marine crew." Mail stated in a bored fashion. "Got any food or drink on ya?" he asked with a yawn.

Karasu nodded as Daiki went off on some sort of platform.. no doubt something he had gained over his time gone. When Karasu thinks of Daiki his thoughts overwhelm with pride, the one closest to being the perfect assassin.. how odd it was to have found someone like this stranded in the middle of the ocean all those years back. To have seen Daiki grow so much since the beginning, and see him mature to now.. it was almost like having an extra diamond in the ship.

The fox seemed to be taking to the crew quite well, in only moments he had already made friends with most of the crew members, his technique for trust was well executed.. Karasu would probably have to take notes in the future. The fox had a very clever way of doing things, and Karasu had to respect that.

Stephan seemed a bit more gentle towards the fox then Karasu had originally thought. Stephan was almost purposely asking for his name, not worried of anything else then developing the bond he needed for them to be a very successful group. He probably didn't know this, but Stephan was one of the two people in the crew that specialized in bursting through enemy lines. This was in the file of DIA, his skills were pretty impressive.. it was only now that Karasu was remembering the details in the file. Stephan also had a very peculiar fruit, the wind type... something that could be very useful in the future. Kitsune and Stephan would obviously be their main means of infiltration for now, without causing too much of a ruckus.

Karasu nodded at all of his team mates, but noticed the hot sun beating down his back almost instantly after seeing Daiki in the distance. Karasu was wearing a coat for some odd reason.. in the middle of the sunny day. Karasu took off his black coat, and maintained himself on his black t-shirt. He noticed there was probably going to be little to no time for them to rest when they arrive in the new world.. maybe a small time for relaxation wasn't such a bad idea. Karasu looked at everyone enjoying themselves, Daiki still had to test the man in the distance.. he was in a bit of a debate.

Ultimately he had to stay, so he continued to look at Daiki, that was.. until he heard his name somewhere in the distance.. was it his imagination? Karasu had forgotten to look through the island for trespassers before arriving, such a dumb mistake.. he only assumed there was nobody on the island. Karasu closed his eyes, and focused on the distance around him at first, 50m around him could be heard perfectly. Karasu started checking the distance from each heartbeat and sound of movement.. and finally, something odd had reached his ears. Someone was walking through the beach, and so nearby.. it was possibly someone that was an enemy. Karasu suddenly walked out of the group, looking back at Daiki as he regretted not being able to see his growth.. he'll just have to be patient, he'll be able to use his powers in the New World, Karasu had a feeling.

He took his first steps, looking at the crew with his cold eyes to warn them not to follow him, he wanted to deal with the problem personally. Karasu walked in the direction he last heard the heartbeat and made a swift turn through the forest, eventually taking out his normal pistols and aiming in the direction of the enemy. At first, he didn't know what he would expect.. but then he saw someone pull out of the corner of a tree, someone he didn't expect to see in a very long time.. it was Red, the women that made him think twice about his way of living in darkness. Eyes became almost completely white for a second, as his heart beated like a boxer had been punching its way out. Karasu had tried to forget about her, but there was never a night when he didn't have dreams about her.. he couldn't believe she was in front of him.

Within moments he could see her completely, in a Bikini of all things. He didn't know how to react to her in such an alluring attire, his past experience with her gave him the excitement to see her again, but he tried to hold all of this back. To the average person Karasu was only slightly stunned, however his insides felt like they froze, and his heart skipped a beat.. and almost stayed that way.

Karasu finally managed to let out a few words before regaining his composure, eventually having one arm stay on a nearby trunk to help him ballance himself. The shock of finding red here almost made him fall.

"Well well Red, weird finding you on this island isn't it?.. how have you been?" These were among the questions Karasu did NOT want to ask, he had many others.. perhaps more then many could count, but those two seemed like the most controlled he could allow himself to say.

"By the way.. I might have neglected to say something in the past.. I'm.. umm.." Karasu was having a hard time letting it out.. it was hard to tell her he was a shichibukai, and a King of his island. What would she think of him? A pirate, whose enemy was obviously marines and everything relating to them, being close to a shichibukai.. and apart from that he is an Assassin working under the WG themselves.

Jacob laid in the water looking up into the sky, he was just watching as the clouds rolled by. All of the commotion up on the ship was just the usual, and he had gotten accustomed to ignoring it. The water in his ear helped dampen the sounds of the ruckus. Most of them were going on about their brand new brand. A lot of them had gotten it in a symbolic place to show their commitment or place in the crew. That mush crap made the swordsman smile when he thought about that with the area on which he had his placed. They were all so serious, not a one of them wanted to have any fun. Stupid life of an assassin was all he chalked it up to.

However the air changed on the ship, it got a bit quieter than it had been. This made Jacob raise his head out of the water. He could see the captain. Karasu seemed to be transfixed with the island for a moment. Turning his head, Jacob could see the cold eyes of the man that stared at his own first mate. The kind of look you give someone when giving them an ultimatum of life or death. More serious shit. Karasu went into the forest expecting no one to follow him, like his order was a law of the universe. "Ah well bullshit to that." Jacob said getting out of the water.

Things like this had played out in front of him so many times he had lost count. The majority of the time it was a pretty serious situation. Jacob used soru to follow his captain, until he came upon a young woman. Even the great Karasu was at a loss of words when it came to her. She was hot, especially in that bikini so Jacob couldn't really blame him. He watched from behind a tree, it became apparent that she was a whole lot different from most woman. Karasu spoke to her like he knew her from somewhere. It was also pretty strange how the girl was acting. She was so distance, like her mind of somewhere else entirely.

Jacob relaxed his breathing and calmed down. Slowly he began to gain control of his body using life return. His blood flow dropped as his heart rate slowed down to the point it was almost non-existent. Being in a crew with a man like Karasu, it was always a good thing to know his strengths and weaknesses. With this technique it would make it extremely hard for the super hearing gunslinger to hear his heart beat with out using his total silence. Even with the technique his heart beat was much slower than that of any other living human. Only select reptiles were able to have that slow of a normal heart rate and still be in good condition.

As the fox saw his captain heading into the woods alone, he knew he didnt want to be followed, kitsune decided that it be a good time for a camp. nad thus a fire was needed. then he headed to the edge of the forest and searched around for some branched, After a few times walking while carrying the branches he piled them up. he opened his mouth, and spit his white fire at the branches, which lit up, the fire on the wood was still white, he planned to lay down next to it,

But it didn't take long before he was curious where his captain went, he decided to dig a hole in the sand, the others would think he would be laying in there still, when the hole was done he turned invisible and walked towards the forest, he could track the smell of karasu, he could also smell two other people being in the forest, he knew he was off to meet them, it wasn't a good plan to spy on karasu, but he was sure he wouldnt be caught, when he reached the place where karasu was he saw him with a girl, he sat down, stil invisible he wondered of who the third smell was, he was close to the girl and karasu.

The fox finally saw a men, hdiing himself perfectly, he wasnt hearable, but well he did smell. it was warm afterall and he sweat ofcourse, the fox decided to do something fun, he had a grin on his face, he stood behind the man and took a stone out, to transform into karasu, he then stood right behind the man. ''and why are you spying on me'' he said with karasus voice, he didnt know if karasu knew this man, but it was just too funny to not do this, this man would be a tad scared since the real karasu was just talking

Jacob looked the man up and down, he certainly looked and sounded like Karasu. However this was not enough to fool the veteran pirate, he had seen countless devil fruits in his day. He knew very well there were three possibilities with this man. Most likely he was a crew member. Second would be some sort of trespasser, unlikely as the island was pretty secretive. The final option would him actually being Karasu, in which this would be the least likely. At this point Jacob knew Karasu would have acted much harsher if he had found the swordsman spying on him.

"So what, the mane mane fruit? I know all off Karasu's abilities, well most of them. So I know for a fact he can't create clones or move that fast as to create an after image. Pretty much you being Karasu is out." Jacob said pulling out his swords. "Now you're either a crew member or you're trespassing on this island. If you're a crew member you had better change back to a form I remember, if you're Karasu, you wont have much trouble with this, and well if you're some random trespasser; you'll he dead. Pretty simple aye?" said the swordsman.

"Blade Cannon"

Jacob slashed upwards, cutting the ground under him and launching a large sized airblade from the sharp end of his small katana. The airblade was moving just under soru speed, so it was moving pretty quick. To someone that was untrained this sort of thing would be pretty devastating. However to someone that's had training it would be to terribly hard to dodge or block or even counter. Certainly someone of Karasu's caliber would easily be able to deflect it with on shot.

''You are a smart one'' the fox said laughing in karasus voice, as he turned into the fox to duck under the attack, with his small paw he itched his head '' awh that was close, so close I almost lost a tail, luckily I got an other one, '' the fox had a grim on his face. jacob would know the fox was just teasing him. the fox stared at jacob for a while, not saying anything just trying to provoke him for a bit, most of the people in his crew were serious, but the kitsune liked to goof around,

''so mr spy, or mister watching karasus back, why are you spying on my captain, oh and uhm how shall I put it you smell quite a bit, thats why I was able to find you, '' the fox was wondering how the man would react, he hoped he could take the joke. and accept it,

So he was a marine... were marines allowed to join Shichibukai crews? Daiki had no idea, but his captain's orders were clear, see if the man was strong, and if he was, invite him to the crew. Having made it so far was already a symbol of strenght, but accidents could happen. Daiki was surprised when he said that he was a former member of the Hooded Knights, if his information was right it was Vice Admiral Darnel Warshack's crew. Why would one of his ex-crewmembers be stranded so near to the holy land.

"No, unfortunately I dont carry any drinks with me."-Daiki said. If he had been surprised, he didnt show a single sign of it.- "I am a representative of the Dark Isle Assasins."

Daiki said this and then paused... he didnt want to reveal any information, only the crucial.

"I have been asked to test out your strenght." -Daiki commented. -"Will you fight me?"

Daiki was being extremely plain and cold, no emotion and no interest at all.

Mail stood up and cracked his neck. "Been awhile since I had a good fight...Maybe I'll need to try." He said in a bored tone. He took a fighting stance "Well...Ladies first." Mail said with a chuckle.

Doku:

Doku sighed "Dammit Karasu..." he mumbled. He hated talking, actually talking, to people. He looked around and tried to find someone, anyone, to speak with. None really interested him/he didnt know how to talk to them. So he opted to sit under a tree.

For a moment, Red couldn't believe her eyes.

Hearing someone coming, she had initially drawn herself into a reluctant fighting stance, preparing to use her Devil Fruit powers if necessary.
However, when the person approaching rounded the corner and came into view, her body went limp and her heart almost stopped beating.

It was Karasu Ammo.

Red didn't notice any of the other assassins watching, (not that she would have been able to anyway with their elite skills), and for a moment, time seemed to come to a grinding halt all around her.
Her breath caught in her throat and her crimson lips started to tremble as she looked upon the man that had been the main subject of her every thought, day-dream and aspiration since the day that she had left his side.

For a moment, she thought it might have been a hallucination- after all, there had been many a time when she had convinced herself that she had seen Karasu in a crowd or that she was going to wake up with the tall, handsome man himself lying beside her in bed, despite climbing into bed the night before, alone.

But no, the way the sunlight was captured in his gleaming, brown eyes, the way the shadows settled across the pale skin of his perfectly crafted face and the way the rays of light passed through his flawless white hair all told her that he was real.
He was really standing in front of her.

"K-Karasu?"
Her mouth felt dry as he started to speak. There were so many things that she wanted to say to him.
To tell him.
To confess to him.
And among all of these things- one thing stood out as being the most glaring and most vital. Red had sworn that if she ever got the chance to see him again, this would be the first thing she'd tell him.

Suddenly, though, she was overcome with terror. Telling him what she had to could potentially drive him away from her forever and along with that, her heart would be broken.
Not to mention, the terrible burden the knowledge would place upon him.

Red forced herself to smile and she found herself giggling nervously. "Yeah, I suppose it's kinda weird that we're meeting here like this...wow..." She took a breath, feeling herself blush. "I thought I'd never...I mean....I thought I'd never see you again...I just came here looking for a place to relax and..."
She placed a hand on her hip, trying to keep smiling and restraining herself violently. All she wanted to do was to throw her arms around him, feel his muscular body against hers and kiss his lips until she couldn't breathe...

"I just...I just can't believe that you're really here," she said finally, her voice cracking a little. "I thought I'd never see you again." She swallowed, her long scarlet hair falling over her shoulders. "And...and I have to tell you something too..."

However, before a single tear could escape Red's eyes as she deliberated what she'd say next- Karasu made a quick confession of his own.
He said it fast.
But he said it clearly.
And his words shook Red to her core.

"What?! You're what?!"

He was a Shichibukai. One of the World Government's Warlords.
He was an elite assassin and the leader of a crew of the best assassins in the world.
He was a king...once a prince and now heir to the throne of an entire kingdom.

For a wild moment, she was expecting him to suddenly laugh and tell her that he was just joking but the hesitant but faithful look in his eyes told her that he was completely serious.
Red's world suddenly collapsed around her.

She was a pirate, an enemy of those that Karasu professed all loyalty too.
Not to mention that he was a high-ranking man of royalty; why on earth would he want a lowly thief like her in his life? Not to mention a pirate? He could have any woman that he wanted and Reiko Fujiwara knew deep in her heart that she was hardly good enough for him; she didn't deserve him no matter how much she longed to be with him.

Red dropped her head- for once in her life feeling neither confident nor carefree. Her heart was pounding in her chest, tears in her eyes as she looked up at Karasu, deciding it was now or never. His own confession had robbed her of any cool-headed self-restraint she may have had before.
Even if he hated her for it or wanted nothing to do with her, she had to say it now and both fear and adrenaline brought he words to her lips.

"Karasu, I'm pregnant!" she said suddenly, a tear sliding down her cheek as she looked downward, looking uncharacteristically vulnerable and frightened. Her voice lowered to a hush. "And the baby is yours."

Karasu thought he heard noises in the background, but he kept listening to Red.. he could not stop looking at her, and how beautiful she still was from the day he met her. He never forgot her figure, but somehow.. looking at her in a bikini brought back even more details, details he lost with the days that went by. He had forgotten about her black rose tattoo.. the signal for forbidden love, if Karasu remembered correctly.

Once he snapped out of his zone, he looked at Red.. and took a deep breath, sighing instead.

Karasu said what he had to say quickly and fast, he did not want her to stay on the subject for long.. or that was how it played out in his head. In reality, he had unknowingly put enough emphasis on what he was to let the point go clearly towards Red. His voice didn't crackle like he meant to, his voice did not make an unnecessary stop to blur out the sentence, he simply let it all out.. quickly yet effectively.

"Red, I am a Shichibukai, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. I am the leader of some of the best assassins in the world, and a King of an island of assassins known as Dark Isle."

His words came out perfectly, but for once.. he did not want it to end that way. He wished, secretly, that she would never have understood what he had said. That somehow his words would be mumbled and blurred by space and time into something completely new to reach her hears, or for his words to wonder somewhere else taking someone it wasn't intended for by surprise. Instead, the words went straight to Red.. and he felt like the world had almost ended.

At first, she dropped her head.. this was the point where Karasu thought she had thought she wouldn't want to be with somebody that was in the WG business, a dog of the marines.. that's what they called Karasus kind. Of course Karasu never thought of himself as a dog, but the rumors of them working for the marines were true. Perhaps she was disappointed in a man like Karasu, ending up as a 'dog' instead of the man she wanted.. Karasu had honestly thought his world would be over, all over some honesty he had to take out.

Soon after she had put her head down, she looked up at Karasu with tears in her eyes.. no, this was not what Karasu had thought she was true, this was something else entirely. She would not be crying because Karasu was not the man she thought he was, nobody would cry for someone they would not care about.. so why was she crying then? Karasu was confused, but the more he looked at her eyes the more he wanted to comfort her. It took every ounce of him to stay his ground, instinctively grinding his teeth to hold himself in his position. She looked like she about to say something.

"Karasu, I'm pregnant!" The sudden shockwave of that attack suddenly threw Karasu off balance, his posture immediately switching to that of a surprised person. His eyes widened, and his mouth remained opened. before she had even claimed it was his, he already knew. His eyes were shifting from her eyes, and her belly, his expression maintaining itself as surprised. This continued for several seconds.

Finally, Karasu let go of his emotions, and he walked up to her, kneeling down in front of her to get to her eye level. Before she even had a chance to see what was going on Karasu hugged her, putting his arms around her completely.. almost enveloping her with his embrace. She couldn't see it, but a smile had crossed Karasus face, not just a normal smile.. but a genuine one. He gently whispered into her ear, allowing the words to flow out of him like a gentle stream.

"I.. love you.." Karasu didn't know why he didn't tell her anything else, only the words in his mind came out of him.. the words that were mostly seen crossing his thoughts. His instinct took out the first words that would cross the mind at that moment, and like a lotto.. the odds of these words coming out were very low. Yet, he meant them with all of his soul.

"Don't cry over our child, I want to raise it with you.. and above all..-" Karasu paused in the middle, leaving the hug slowly so he could be face to face with her, whipping away her tear, "- I want to BE with you, and accomplish my goal of having a family."

Karasu then placed his lips on hers, kissing her like he had been tempted to do since the second he saw her.. after a few seconds, he stopped and smiled. His eyes were locked on hers.

"Will you stay with me?"

Daiki raised his eyebrows at Mail's statement of "ladies first". Still not showing his emotions, but showing that he didn't enjoy that kind of joke. Daiki decided to take it literally and he raised a single clay soldier. When Daiki made only one, they were really strong, equally strong as a good fighter. In this case, the soldier was a woman.

The woman, if you could call it that, could be easily noticed and was covered in the design of a war armor, she had a long sword in her back. Her hace couldn't be noticed because of a helm with the shape of a stag covered her head. If Daiki wouldn't have studied to be a navigator he would probably be able to be an artist... the perfection of the clay statue was superb. The perfection of each singular part of the body. To bad that it could be destroyed.

Daiki had coated his mobile clay soldier in a very hard clay, which was compressed to be as hard as stone.

"You will fight with this lady... at least for now." -Daiki announced and the clay soldier took her clay long sword, which was made of compressed clay to the point of steel hardness. -"En guarde!"

The clay girl was really agile, or so made her Daiki, she jumped aroud like a ballet dancer and attempted to land three round slashes on Mail.

Mail watched as the clay girl danced/jumped around and attempted to slash him. Before one could land Mail grabbed the blade of the clay woman. He then proceeded to launch his ice beam to freeze her. Once frozen Mail would then go to hit her dead center of the torso and shatter her.

Daiki rapidly analyzed the situation. He desintegrated the sword that Mail had taken in his hand and grew a new one in his clay girl's hand. He directed her with a movement of the fingers to jump to the side, avoiding the sudden blast of a beam from Mail.

Daiki directed her to hurl her sword at great speeds at Mail. The force of the soldier itself wouldn't be enough, so Daiki used his clay controlling abilities to make the sword go directly to try and stab Mail in the chest, the speed being improved by the controlling of the clay sword.

As the sword came flying towards Mail he simply leaned out of the way. It went flying to some poor guy sitting under a tree...

*Doku*

Doku looked on as a sword came flying towards him. He rolled out of the way as the blade imbed it's self into the tree. He looked at Daiki with rage in his eyes and formed a throwing knife in his hand. He chucked it at Daiki as hard as he could and yelled "WATCH WHAT YOU'RE DOING YOU IDIOT!"

*Mail and Daiki*

Mail quickly ran up to the clay soldier and leaped into drop kick form. Only if the hit landed would he activate the impact dials on his feet and shatter the clay completly.

Daiki turned and looked at Doku over Mail's shoulder. He hadn't intended to reach him with the attack of the sword. He felt sorry, but it wasn't time to be apologizing. While this happened, his clay soldier had been shattered by a really strong kick of Mail. This guy was no joke, Daiki could see it. He could have just stopped the fight now, but it was getting interesting.

"Nendo Nendo no Punch!" -Daiki said and he himself moved towards Mail a few steps, doing as if he punched the air. But the effect of this idiotic looking technique was something really strong. In the air, from where he had punched the air, a giant punch of clay appeared and started to fly at high speeds towards Mail.