Serious; Chapter One: Dawn of a New Age; Closed

The gunman glared down at Patch and Genshi. He doubted that he would be getting a clear shot anytime soon, but if his men were unable to kill Patch and Genshi…he might just risk a few shots. Faustino wouldn't mind losing a crewmember or two if they were all useless anyway.

Those thoughts were shattered when Patch spat a glob of venom at the gunman. Moving quickly, the gunman fired a single shot from one of his gatling guns. The bullet tore through the venom and scattered it.

The gunman frowned, but his expression soon turned to a grin. Now that Genshi was protecting Patch and had managed to get most of Faustino's men out of the way, Patch was no longer surrounded by the pirates. That meant that he was wide open for the gunman to fire at him. There was one annoying detail. Genshi was using an unconscious pirate as a shield, but it hardly mattered. At least the man would be dying for a good cause. While Genshi thought he was protected, he would be brought down under a hail of bullets. At least, that was the gunman's plan. Things changed very suddenly.

"I'll take him," came a voice from behind the gunman.

The gunman glanced over his shoulder and his grin widened.

"Lance," he said. "About time you showed up."

"Sorry," Lance replied. He ran a hand through his spiky blond hair and yawned. "I was sleeping. So what's goin' on?" Before the gunman could answer him, Lance held up a hand. "Never mind. It hardly matters." He pointed at Genshi and then Patch saying, "Kill him and him." He jabbed with his thumb back over his shoulder, indicating Takao. "Leave him with the boss. 'Nuff said."

"Actually no," Faustino cut in. He turned his back on Takao and headed for his cabin. "Deal with all three of them. I'm tired."

"Will do," Lance replied, giving Faustino a careless salute.

Lance sprang from the side of the ship and landed lightly on the pier. He stuck his hands in his pockets and began walking towards Genshi and Patch.

"So, which one of you wants to go down first?" Lance asked.

"HEY!" the gunman yelled, waving his fist at Lance's back. "Don't hog all the fun!"

"Calm down," Lance called back. "I'll let you have at least one of them." He looked over Genshi and then Patch. He pointed at Patch. "You can have him!"

"He's injured, jerk!" the gunman shouted. "I was here first! I get to cho-"

"TOO LATE!" Lance replied, leaping towards Genshi.

Meanwhile, Takao had stood back up. "You're not going anywhere," he rasped. With a flap of his wings he shot towards Faustino's retreating back.

"Persistent whelp," Faustino growled. He spun, his fist raised as he prepared to pound Takao into the deck once more. "FINE! I'll finish you myself!"

Takao's hand shot out and he caught Faustino's fist. He flipped backwards and landed a full force kick to the base of Faustino's jaw as he did. Faustino was hurled, head over heels, into the wall behind him. Takao, on the other hand, completed his flip and landed down on one knee, his free hand on the ground bracing him while his other hand gripped the center of his spear's shaft.

"Enough," Takao said, his voice filled with anger. "You can smash me all you like, but don't pretend that this is going to be an easy fight. I'm not strong, but I will win. And that's all there is to it."

Genshi's previous assumptions were correct, the companion doctor's power was awesome. With the gunman preoccupied with the projectiles coming his way, Genshi dropped the pirate he used as a meat shield, and with his free hands was prepared to pummel a few more targets. They appear to have grown some brains, most likely realizing that they were out of their leagues.

"I guess even underlings need to know when to pack it in, huh?" Genshi stated, chuckling.

Genshi was prepared to lower his guard and help the scarfed man, until a new challenge entered the battle field. A spiky blond haired gent with apparently enough power and guts to challenge the fighter despite what had been done to his comrades.

"Finally, some interesting competition." He thought to himself, his fists still coated in clay.

The white haired pirate leaped forward, poised to drop his new target with a single, well-aimed uppercut.

(Well, as much as I hate to leave a crewmate behind in the posting, we can't allow this thread to become totally inactive while he is away.)

Lance didn't even hesitate as he moved towards Genshi. In fact, when he saw Genshi come at him to attack, he grinned openly. He came to a very abrupt stop as Genshi came into range and he leaned backwards, allowing Genshi's punch to whiff past his chin without touching him at all.

"Close!" Lance cheered.

Balanced on only one leg, Lance continued to lean backwards and spun around so that he was underneath Genshi, staring up at him. A pair of short blades shot out from their sheathes, which were hidden underneath a couple of wristbands that Lance was wearing. Casually closing his hands into fists, Lance thrust the blades up at Genshi's chest.

"Piercing Pummel!"

The gunman, still irritated by the fact that his own ally had stolen 'his fight', now turned his attention on Patch.

"Fine!" the gunman growled, raising his guns. "I'll just have to settle for you!"

With that, he opened fire with both of his gatling guns. Dozens of bullets were now raining down on Patch's position.

With a roar, Faustino exploded out of the rubble from where he had been thrown. He hurled himself at Takao with astonishing speed. As he did, he lowered his shoulder and slammed into Takao's chest, sending Takao flying backwards. Fortunately for Takao, he managed to regain his balance by thrusting his feet into the deck, opening his wings, and skidding to a stop. But when he did, he caught sight of Faustino and what he saw shocked him.

Faustino no longer looked like a distinguished gentlemen. His perfect suit had several rips in it and his chin was slightly bruised, but that wasn't all. Brown fur was starting to sprout from Faustino's skin while his arms and legs were growing thicker and more bulky. His back became slightly hunched and his nose elongated, turning into a muzzle. He was the perfect example of what a human-shaped bear would look like.

"Whoa…" Takao muttered. "I guess that's your devil fruit ability, huh?"

"Kuma Kuma no mi; Model: Grizzly," Faustino said, his voice coming out more like a growl than its previous tone. "I dislike using this form, but sometimes I just can't help myself." His lips drew back in a half-snarl, half-grin revealing rows of sharp, glistening fangs.

"Hmmm…" Takao leaned his spear against his shoulder casually and leaned his head to one side. "I may have to change my previous assessment…perhaps I will lose this fight."

(Oi, don't hog all the fun! >:O)

"Damn it!" Patch thought to himself as he watched the gun man aim his gun straight at him.

Patch fell to his knees and quickly hit both palms straight onto the ground causing a 3 walls of poison to appear from the ground.

"My new move, Liquid Poison: 3 layer shield." he muttered to himself.

He hoped that this wall would defend him against the bullets. He then quickly gathered poison in his mouth and prepared to fire around 5-9 bullets of poison right back at the gun man. He wasn't gonna go down without a fight.

The quick movement of Lance caught Genshi off guard, and the blades he was wielding was sure not to do him any favors. Quickly thinking, Genshi jumped aside to try to avoid the thrust, but was unfortunately hit, as one of the blades cut through his shirt and bandages, effectively slicing his hip. Quickly putting one of his hands over the wound, and raising his other hand in a balled up fist. He could feel blood dripping down his sides, and began to worry about those on his back. But he shook the thought and focused on his opponent at hand, one that would certainly prove to be dangerous if underestimated.

"I used to use blades, then I surpassed them. Allow me to show you what I've learned since I did." Genshi stated, rearing his fist back and leaping forward.

When he was at a close enough distance, Genshi gritted his teeth and removed his hand from his wound and swung his elbow at the opponent in an attempt to knock him out.

"Eat this. Heavy Elbow." Genshi shouted, the pain in his hip and his adrenaline increasing by the moment.

The bullets cut through the first wall of poison without seeming to slow. They slammed into the second and broke through that wall as well, although there was some difficulty. They struck the third wall and, much more visibly, began to slow. They almost broke through, but then came to a stop.

The gunman frowned. His ordinary bullets were not going to cut it here unless he got close enough to avoid the shields. But he wasn't ready to do that just yet, and he had one last trick that might help him.

"Take this!" he shouted, lifting of the cannons that was hanging on his back onto his shoulder. He pulled the trigger and a massive cannonball shot down at Patch.

Lance spun back up into a standing position facing Genshi. He blocked Genshi's elbow by crossing his blades in front of his body. However, the force of the attack still pushed him away from Genshi, skidding across the ground.

"You're tough!" Lance told Genshi, his smile widening. "I think we could have been friends if you hadn't made the boss mad."

He sprang forward, thrusting once at Genshi's gut, but it was a feint. He followed it up by aiming a second thrust at Genshi's head with his other blade. This too was a feint. The real attack came next when Lance spun, lifting one of his legs just slightly, and aiming a sweeping kick at Genshi's legs in an attempt to trip him up. If he was successful in his maneuver, Lance would follow up the sweeping kick with a single blade thrust at the nearest part of Genshi's body, while Genshi was falling.

Faustino exploded forward, moving at Takao faster than ever before.

Takao took a step backwards, at first not realizing what he was doing. Then, irritated by his own fear, he thrust his spear at Faustino's chest, putting all of his strength into the strike.

"Horn Rampage!" Takao shouted.

Faustino blurred to the side of the attack and stepped in, moving too close for Takao to draw in his spear in time to defend himself. Faustino landed a 'light' uppercut on Takao's chin, lifting him several inches into the air. Then, with a roar of fury, Faustino punched at Takao's chest with all of his might.

"Nature Force!" Faustino growled.

The punch connected with Takao's chest. For a moment, from Takao's point of view, everything seemed to slow down. He felt his ribs bending under the strain of the blow and several cracks began to form along a few of them. His body folded inwards and started to slide back. Then, everything shot back into normal speed. Takao was launched backwards so fast that he almost vanished. He slammed into the front of the ship, tearing through the figurehead, and shot out over the ocean. His mouth was hanging open, his eyes staring, almost lifelessly, at the blue sky above. In that moment, his spear began to slip between his fingers.

Genshi held up his free arm over his torso to shield himself, but the sudden movements of this adversary was cunning. His eyes grew wide when the blade was heading to his head, but the distraction lead him to get tripped by the sweep kick.

"Wha- where did that come from?" Genshi thought to himself, falling to the ground.

The pirate felt the blade enter his body again, this time on his opposite hip. Hitting the ground, Genshi held his sides, wailing in pain, he tried standing up, telling himself that he'd been hurt worse in the past.

"Maybe giving up swordsmanship was a bad idea. If I still had my swords, I'd be able to make minced meat of this guy." thought Genshi, making it to his feet.

"Well, I don't have them anymore, so I have to make due with what I do have. Otherwise, I'll never grow stronger." He said aloud, raising one of his fists skyward.

Clay began forming on Genshi's torso, covering up the wounds for the time being and giving him a nice layer of protection. He realized that he needed to block out the pain and focus on the enemy at hand. The white haired warrior began layering thick amounts of clay over his fists, he knew that the longer the fight lasted, the worse off he'd be. Gritting his teeth, he leaped forwards, throwing a heavy hook at Lance, keeping his other fist by his side for an uppercut, in the case the initial punch were to miss.

(OCC: The sniperman is on top of something high, right?)

Patch stumbled away from the shield and began to charge around 8-9 poison bullets within his mouth. The moment the bullet's pierced through all 3 layers, the shield sank to the ground. Patch looked straight at the man however he suddenly realized a cannon ball charging right at him. Patch tried to leap out of the way but couldn't due to his injury the cannon ball hit against Patch's belly and sent him flying. Patch coughed out a lot of blood, he hit a wall. Patch's vision began to get blurry ever single time he blinked. He began to lose his breath. His eyelids slowly began to shut. However a visoin of Takao suddenly came into his mind.

That was right.

How would he feel if he found out that Patch lost in a battle. How could Patch ever face him? He would be a disgrace to the crew. He stumbled to his feet. He held both of his hands out slowly. Blood began to slowly trickle down his chin.

"P-P-Poison B-Boxing..." Patch mumbled under his breath.

Poison slowly began to cover both of his hands. They formed into a....boxing glove! Patch positioned both of his legs so that they were together. They suddenly began to merge with each other. They transformed into one big spring. Patch bent down and then leaped into the air straight for the man.

"HAAAAAAAAAAA!" Patch yelled out

He pushed his right hand forward with great force towards the man's face.

"POSION BOXING: CANNON!"

(OOC @Frozen: Yep. That's right. The sniper is up on the ship and since the ship is a proper sized pirate vessel, it's probably at least ten feet higher than the pier.)

"What is he doing?" the gunman muttered watching as Patch came towards the ship. He wasn't really sure, but that poison looked like it was turning into a…boxing glove? Really? How was Patch planning to attack him with that? There was no way he could reach the gunman.

A moment later, Patch used the spring to bounce right up in front of the gunman, whose eyes widened in shock. He had no time to dodge or even try to make a run for it. The glove slammed into him with not overly devastating force, considering it's made a of a liquid-based poison, but the gunman was still thrown back and besides, causing damage through sheer force was not the main element of the attack.

The gunman toppled over and landed on his back, covered in the poison. His mouth opened slightly in an attempt to scream as the poison burned him. It was a foolish, if understandable, mistake. The poison seeped in through his mouth, burning and poisoning the inside of his body as well as the outside.

The gunman wasn't quite finished, however. Despite all of the pain, he knew he couldn't simply collapse. Not when Faustino was in such a bad mood. If he fell now without at least beating his opponent, Faustino would never forgive him. So, fighting through the pain, he raised on of his arms and pointed a gatling gun at Patch. His arm wavered, but he proceeded to press down on the trigger…and then he blacked out. Not a single bullet was fired as his arm flopped uselessly on the ground. Patch had won.

Despite his victory over the still nameless gunman, Patch wasn't out of the woods yet. Thinking he had beaten Takao, Faustino now turned his gaze in the direction of the other fights. He spotted the gunman laying nearby on the deck of the ship. Growling in annoyance, Faustino started to move in the direction of his subordinate when something landed heavily nearby. Faustino looked over to see Takao, somehow still alive, standing near the front of his ship.

Takao was in bad shape. Several of his ribs were barely holding together, he had splinters all throughout his skin, bruises covering his back and gut, and he was hurting all over. He could barely hold his spear, which was hanging loosely from his fingers. Takao wasn't even looking directly at Faustino. His head hung low, his eyes staring at the deck below him, his entire body shaking as he gasped for air.

"You look like a dead man walking," Faustino commented, his voice touched by the slightest tinge of wonder. At his words, Takao's head came up and their eyes met. Faustino felt a chill run down his spine. "Your eyes are no different," he muttered, visibly shaken by Takao's cold, lifeless stare. "I'll admit, a bit surprised that you have lasted this long. But if you're just going to keep getting up, then I'll tear you to pieces until there's nothing left to stand!"

With a roar, Faustino sprang towards Takao, his claws outstretched.

Meanwhile, in Genshi's battle, Lance dodged the hook easily by ducking down.

"HA!" he cried. "You mi-"

The following uppercut caught Lance on the jaw, cutting him off midsentence. He was flung through the air and hit the ground hard. A moment later, he sat up, rubbing his jaw.

"Ooow…" he grumbled. "Did'ja have to hit so hard? I think I lost a tooth." He stood, brushing himself off. He had been weakened by the blow, but still looked very much ready to fight. "You hit like a monster. I don't know if I can survive another hit like that."

The first punch missed wildly, however a smile crept on Genshi's face, as the second punch made an impact. He couldn't help but feel proud of his power when Lance spoke of his strength.

"I hope for your sake, you don't survive this next attack." He angrily stated, taking a step forward.

A pain shot through his back, nearly bringing Genshi to a knee. The wound in his back must've reopened. That's what he gets for seeking medical help from a pirate town. The pirate forced himself to his feet and raised his fists, slowly approaching Lance. He stepped forward and placed his fist in his palm. Once at a close distance, he thrusted his elbow forward, attempting to end Lance with a single blow.

Lance almost grinned. He had no doubt that he could dodge this attack. All he had to do was bend his body to the side and…

Lance's planning session was cut short when he realized that his legs weren't moving the way he wanted them to. They were shaking badly, barely holding him up. That last hit he had taken had rattled him far more than he had expected.

Trying to make up for his lack of locomotion, Lance simply bent his upper body to the side as he had already planned. He didn't dodge the whole blow, but he managed to avoid taking a direct hit. Instead, his ribs were grazed by the attack and he was shoved back, spinning to the ground. He turned the spin into a roll and forced himself to his feet.

Now he was really in bad shape. Forget what he had said earlier about not thinking that he could survive another blow as powerful as the one he had taken earlier. Lance was well and truly at the end of his tether.

"This is the end," Lance said, his voice almost sounding sad. He raised his blades. "Let's make it count!"

With that, he charged on his unsteady legs. He threw finesse out the window and thrust both of his blades at Genshi's chest. This wasn't a skill attack. It was one based purely on Lance's power.

"PIERCING PUMMEL!" Lance shouted.

For Takao, it was like the whole world had gone quiet. Even the pain was gone, replaced by an almost apathetic silence. Faustino was rushing towards him, but it hardly mattered. Nothing he did would make a difference to a man who no longer felt anything.

Takao raised his spear in front of him and twirled it once. His eyes locked onto Faustino's approaching form and for a brief moment, he felt as if time was slowing down. Faustino's huge paw was rising in preparation to smash Takao into the deck. It would surely end him if it connected. Takao was already half-dead. Whatever happened next would determine how the fight would finish.

Takao leaned forward, bending his knees ever so slightly. He tucked his spear in at his side, his eyes narrowing in concentration. Then he leaped forward with all of his might, sweeping his spear in an upwards, diagonal slash as he shot past Faustino.

"Fang Rip," Takao whispered as he came to a stop behind Faustino.

Faustino's eyes widened in shock and horror. A moment later, his chest was torn open as the full effects of Takao's slash caught up with him. With a howl of agony, Faustino hit the deck of his ship, blood pouring from the large gash. Takao, likewise, dropped, though he managed to land on his knees. He coughed once, blood splattering onto the wooden planks beneath him. Takao took the briefest of moments to marvel at the depth of his injuries. If he was left in this state for more than an hour or so, he would very likely be dead. Never had he been in such terrible condition, and yet he didn't feel the slightest bit of fear or regret. At least he had done his duty. He had fought his hardest to protect both his crewmate and Thor.

Unseen by Takao, Faustino began to stir behind him.

(OCC: Im taking it that Patch and Takoa are on the same level of height)

Patch began to pant for breath. The poison slowly melted away and fell to the ground. His wound began to sting very much, he clenched his teeth. His knees began to shake. His vision began to blur. He had pushed himself to hard. However he managed to take sight of Faustino who was right behind Takao. Patch's eye sight went back to normal, he had to help him! Patch sucked in a big amount of air before yelling out.

"TAKAO, BEHIND YOU!"

Once these words slipped out of his mouth he fell on the deck. Unconscious.

Genshi could feel his strength fading. Sooner or later he'd drop and be unable to stand. But he needed to beat this opponent, he was so close. What's more, these allies of his were fighting their hearts out, and Genshi was not about to be shown up, especially to those he had a appointment with the winged man the next day, and the brawler was not about to let this go so easily. He reared his fist back and, with twist of his hip and shoulders, threw a jab between the blades Lance was thrusting forth. One of the blades pierced his shoulder, and this lead him to grit his teeth.

"It's almost over old boy. Just a little further until you can rest." He told himself, forcing his fist forward.

Genshi's fist smashed into Lance's face, shattering his nose and launching him backwards. Lance flew across the pier, bouncing only once, before rolling to a stop. He lay motionless. There was no way that he would be getting up any time soon.

Takao heard Patch's warning and he looked back over his shoulder. Behind him, Faustino rose. Any semblance of the well-dressed man was gone. In his place was left a twisted monster, both bear and human simultaneously. The dark red of blood stained his fur in several places, particularly around the long cut on his chest, which was still bleeding profusely. The monster's eyes had lost their humanity in an endless torrent of rage and hate. And yet…despite the horror and power of the monster's form, Takao could see that Faustino was in just as bad shape as he was.

The monster let out a sound that was half roar and half scream of fury. It swung one massive paw, its claws curled so that their sharp edges could be used to tear Takao's head from his shoulders. Takao simply turned, coming to his feet as he did, and he reached up to catch Faustino's arm by the wrist, stopping Faustino's attack in its tracks. A playful smile touched Takao's lips as he stared into the eyes of the beast.

"It's over," Takao said. "And like I told you before, I'm going to win!" He began to twirl his spear in one hand, its blade spinning so fast that it looked like a fan. "CLAW SPRIAL!"

With that final shout, Takao drove his still spinning spear into Faustino's chest once more. Both the blade and the shaft of the spear cut and battered Faustino repeatedly, driving him back first one step, and then a second. Takao slowed his spear down and caught it so that its shaft was facing forward and its blade backwards. Then, with a mighty swing, he brought the shaft of his spear crashing into the side of Faustino's head. Faustino went down at that point, this time in defeat.

Takao remained standing, panting as he stared down at his former. After a moment, a small grin appeared on his lips and he threw his head back, thrusting his hands into the air as he did. He let out a loud whoop of excitement and laughed.

Any members of Faustino's crew who were still conscious turned tail and fled the scene. Not one of them remained to witness as Takao fell on his back, out cold, but still grinning like an idiot.

Genshi approached Lance, rolling up his right sleeve, exposing the elbow pad he wore under his shirt. Grabbing Lance with his left hand by his spiky blonde hair.

"You were a tough adversary." He started, rearing his fist back and raising Lance to face height.

"But I am tougher." the pirate said, throwing his punch and intentionally missing with his fist and hitting lance with a heavy elbow attack.

Although he may have been unconscious beforehand, this was merely an added provision to keep him down as long as possible. Genshi rolled down his sleeve and began walking away, he needed to keep his strength up, for a greater opponent was set up for tomorrow.

"You're next, winged man. Be prepared, I sure will." He thought to himself, stepping into the doctor's office again.

(Timeskip time. It has been about sixteen hours since the fight and is in the early morning hours of the next day. A quick recovery, I know, but screw the rules of reality! This is One Piece!)

The room where Takao woke up was rather simple. Its plain, white walls and floors were stainless and utterly plain.

Takao suddenly realized three things at almost the same time: First, he was lying on a table. Second, he was in a lot of pain. Third, someone had wrapped him up in bandages, very tightly.

Sitting up, Takao took a moment to look around the room. It didn't take him long to figure out that he wasn't alone. Men and women dressed in doctor/nurse attire were sweeping around the room, checking on various people who were also lying on beds, like the one Takao was on.

Takao scanned the people on the tables in the room and was rewarded with the sight of a familiar face: Patch was also here. Takao slipped out of his bed and made his way over to Patch, dodging tables and ignoring the medical professionals who came his way, demanding that he lie back down until they told him he could move.

Upon reaching Patch, Takao leaned over his friend and made sure that he was still breathing. Fortunately, he was. They had both survived the battle.

Takao sighed and smiled. He couldn’t remember what happened after the fight. He had fallen unconscious only a couple of seconds after bringing down Faustino.

Suddenly realizing that he had lost his spear, and feeling rather exposed with all of the doctors staring at him, Takao poked Patch's cheek and said, quite loudly, "Hey, are you awake?"

The bronze statue of the pirate king. Those who would carve their name unto it would be sending a message to the whole world, that they had their sights set on becoming pirate king. The previous day, Genshi Molynieu had challenged the winged man to a fight, and today was the day he was gonna get it. They're battles the previous day had been impressive to say the least, but they were going to face opponents that were certainly capable of holding their own. At the moment, he was stretching his shoulders and feeling up his bandaged wounds, he was lucky to have found a doctor willing to help, especially with the carnage he helped cause. Genshi began contemplating the involvement of the winged man's companion, the scarfed guy with the ooze devil fruit, would he be able to fight him off too?

"It's time to show the world what I'm made of. Again." He though, placing his right hand on his right hip and reaching outwards his left hand, effectively stretching his abdomen.

Patch lay on a bed. It seemed he was in the same room as Takao. His foot was covered in bandages, it looked like he was treated by a doctor. He felt something poking him. It felt like a..a...a finger? Patch slowly opened his eyes only to see Takao with a smile on his face. Slowly getting up, he rubbed his eyes, his glasses were on a desk beside him. Picking them up he placed them over his face.

"Yep, I sure am... captain." he replied with a smile.

He let out a yawn before stretching out his arm. There were clutches placed beside his bed. Slowly getting off his bed , he tucked the clutches under his arms.

"So, where are we going next...?"

(I'm going to speed some stuff up here, guys. Tiberius and Health Candy have been waiting for way too long to come in.)

"That depends," Takao replied. He turned to a nearby doctor. "How long have we been asleep?"

This particular doctor had not been paying attention to Takao or Patch. He had been merely walking by, wringing his hands and muttering to himself nervously. He jumped slightly when Takao spoke and looked over at him before glancing around the room, looking shocked to find himself in such a public area.

"I-I'm not sure," the doctor said. "I just got in here myself. Let me see…" Snapping his fingers, the doctor called to a passing nurse, "You there! How long have these patients been here?"

The harried-looking nurse slowed only long enough to give the brisk reply, "Sixteen hours." Then he was gone, moving on to go and find whatever it was another doctor had asked him to bring.

"There you have it," the doctor told Takao. "I don't recognize you myself…sixteen hours…I didn't realize I had been gone for that long…" He moved on, muttering to himself again.

"Sixteen hours," Takao repeated. "So that means…it's tomorrow!" He grinned and cracked his fingers. "Let's go, Patch. I've got a fight scheduled today." Takao walked to the nearest door, threw it open dramatically with more force than necessary, and strode through it…only to find that it was a supply closet. Walking back out, Takao returned to Patch with a sheepish look on his face. "Well, maybe we should find a way out of here first."

A few minutes later they were out the front door. Takao had located his spear while they were leaving and now he stood in front of the building, trying to decide which direction to go.

"I guess we could head back to the port," Takao said. "But I doubt he would be there." Suddenly Takao knew where to go. "Actually, I think I might know where he might be. I first met that guy in front of a statue of the pirate king. It's possible that he went back there, since that is where he first challenged me." Takao turned to Patch and pointed at the medical facility they had just left. "You can go back in there if you want and rest for a little while longer. If not, well, either way I'm going to go see that guy and try and ask him to join our crew."

With that, Takao headed towards the statue, doing his best not to get lost in the winding streets.

Genshi began worrying about his physical status. The battle he went through on the previous day took a huge toll on his body, and he may not have completely healed. The fight that would follow would certainly be a big one, perhaps one of the biggest of Genshi's entire pirate life, and he wasn't even at 100%. He did his best to shake his worries, as he was certain that his opponent would arrive shortly. The white haired man took a step forward, but almost immediately fell to a knee, the pain in his abdomen and back were flaring up, rather inconvenient for the battle to come.

"It could be the end for me if this happens against the winged man." He thought, standing up and leaning against the statue to keep himself up.

Patch watched as Takao asked one of the doctors for the time.It seemed they had been resting for sixteen hours. Patch's eyes widened once he heard that Takao had a fight today. He tried his best to keep up with Takao with his clutches as he went out of the hospital.

"O-Oi, you're no condition to fight, I mean, you must've been really injured in the last fight, right?" Patch said as the two stepped out of the hospital.

However he knew Takao wouldn't listen to his words. He knew him to well. He then saw as Takao pointed back at the building and said that he can go back and rest. Patch sighed.

"I can't let you get out of my sight. Who knows what will happen to you in that fight." Patch said with a smirk as he continued to trail Takao along the streets.

"Injured or not, I have to go," Takao proclaimed. "As weak as I am, as an honorable captain I will not break any promise! Much less one made between myself and another warrior!" He grinned and laughed. "Plus, I really, really want that guy to join my crew and now that my troubles are over, this is the perfect time to ask him!"

His excitement was almost overwhelming. He was slowly speeding up until he half ran and half skipped in the direction of his impeding fight. His feet barely even touched the ground. In fact, they completely stopped touching it when he lifted into the air with an flap of his wings. At his current rate, it took no time at all for him to reach his destination. He allowed himself to drop just enough that he could dig one of his heels into the ground, skidding to a stop as he came around the corner, facing Genshi, who was still a whole twenty or so feet away.

For a moment, Takao grinned, but then the smile slid from his face and he became completely serious. It was an odd emotion for him to wear, but he didn't want to ruin the moment with frivolities.

Planting the base of his spear's shaft against the ground, Takao raised his voice, saying, "GENSHI! I have come just as we agreed." Suddenly his free hand snapped up, held out to keep Genshi from advancing or speaking. "But before we do anything, I have one question for you: Why is it that you fight?"

Genshi identified the winged man and cracked his fingers. Though he had a weapon, the white haired pirate was certain he could handle it, he handled a blade user before, and a spear was just a blade on a long stick. When he asked Genshi that question, why fight.

"I fight to make myself stronger. If I can't become stronger, I won't ever be able to defend those I care about. I am always trying to find ways to make myself better, and the only way to prove that is to test myself against new adversaries. I also fight because I want to be known worldwide as a powerful adversary and an incredible pirate. In short, I want to be famous. And you are going to help me." Genshi said, raising his fists and taking steps towards the winged man.

"Why do you ask, shouldn't you be fighting me right now instead of interviewing me?" he added, still advancing despite Takao's extended arm.

Patch continued to trail Takao, still struggling to keep up with his fast pace using his clutches. He listened as he spoke, that's right, Takao mentioned some time earlier that he wanted to recruit this man. Guess there was no choice but to follow him. Once they arrived, he saw that the white haired man was near the promised place. Approaching the statue, Patch decided to take a rest. Removing his clutches, he slowly sat down and placed them beside him. He rested his back against the statue and heard as Takao began to question the man. Patch smirked as he listened to the man's answer. Stretching his arms, Patch began to prepare to witness the battle which was about to un fold before him.

Takao grinned, his seriousness vanishing in an instant. He suddenly threw back his head and burst out laughing. It took him several moments to calm himself and even then he still chuckled softly. In between these fits of laughter he managed to gasp out, "What a place! I never imagined that I would find such interesting people here!" Takao bent his knees, so that he could launch himself forward at any moment. "Now I'm rarin' to go! Get ready Genshi! Here I come!"

With that, he pushed off from the ground, using his powerful legs and wings to easily clear the distance that remained between him and Genshi. He twirled his spear once and then brought it down in an overhead strike.