Serious: Swords for Hire

"No, attacking them would be complete suicide. Neither of use can dodge bullets or defend against them, especially when there are so many marksmen down there in one area. This is a clearly thought out trap to make sure no one like us escapes the island." Iken said looking around. While crouched down, Iken moved back from the cliff and studied their surroundings. He seen something that could help them while they were running towards the cliff.

"Come on Cat, we need to retreat for the moment." he said making his way back. There was a large crack that separated the rocky cliff from the rest of the ground on the island. It wasn't much to go by, however it was something. Upon closer examination, he could see a number of large tree roots extending from the ground into the rock. Looking around he could see a few large trees on the side of the island. It was likely they were the source of the roots. With his blade Iken began whacking away at the roots. Once he had finished cutting through one of the thick roots, it snapped as if there had been tension on it. He cut two more roots on either side of the cliff before there was only one root, larger than the previous three left. It only took one swing, all of the built up tension caused a backlash of energy that caused the rocky cliff to crumble falling down onto the shore where the marines guarded. However, the ground they and the the trees stood on also was swept away by gravity. Cat and Iken fell with the cliff, hitting the water with a heavy slash.

7/15

Cat followed Iken and his plan after he told Cat that running in, or jumping in, would be a bad idea. Eventually they made it to a tree with roots in it. Cat didn't know why Iken had arrived there. Eventually he saw Iken hitting the roots of the tree, so Cat started doing something similar; Cat was kicking rocks. Because Iken was doing something random that seemed to intrigue his interest Cat wanted to do the same thing. At one point he kicked a rick and it went over the hill and down to the soldiers. Cat hoped it would hit one of them in the head, although it was highly unlikely if not impossible. Cat sighed, maybe if he kicked 200 more the marines would get hit.

Cat walked close to Iken, about to ask him what he was doing. He looked behind him to witness the chaos of the people running around. There was war. People were dying left and right and blood seemed to stain the grass that covered this island with green not to long ago. Cat looked at Iken hoping for him to do something. When the last tree root snapped the ground underneath them moved to the marines like an avalanche. Cat looked in awe, Iken had done something amazing! Then the ground caved in and Cat and Iken plummeted into the ground. Cat tried to grab every rock from the wall on the way down. When he landed on the floor he had landed with his feet which decreased the damage by a lot, but it still gave him pain in the knees suddenly.

Cat looked around to look for his sword. His sword was in his possession a few moments ago but because it wasn't sheathed he lost it during the fall, now he had no weapon. Cat looked around frantically for his cutlass sword but didn't find it. It was probably under the rubble created by Iken. Cat cursed his luck by punching a nearby boulder. He looked around and found no swords laying about. The marines they defeated were riflemen, so none had cutlass by their sides only flintlocks. Cat grinded his teeth and turned around. He'd have to continue on without a weapon.

The fall hurt like hell, however somehow he had managed to survive and it sounded like Cat had as well. Dust was thick in the air, it was almost smothering as he tried to catch his breath after that massive fall.  In the distance he could hear at least a couple marines coughing and choking as much as he was.  Iken wasn't sure how many there were, but maybe someone with a much higher perception could tell.  From the sound of it, the marines had no idea Iken and Cat were they; otherwise they would like have been trying to cover the sound of their coughing as to not give away their positions.  Iken pulled his sword getting read for the dust to settle or for something to happen.  

"I think there are at least three of them left." Iken whispered to Cat.  After he spoke to Cat, he shifted positions just in case one the marines had overheard them.  This way, Iken would avoid any marines that decided to blindly shoot towards where his voice was.  Only someone like Cat would be able to tell where he was.  Cat had an amazing control over his sense.

8/15

Cat heard Iken over the dust. He said there were at least three of them. Cat heard them coughing and realized their exact locations through the thick fog. They were nearby, and Cat's senses were good enough to hear them through the dense smoke. Cat hurridly ran past Iken while jumping and using his free hand to assist him in jumping over objects. The used his sheath and swung it around slamming it against the opponent's face from the side. The sudden smacking sound and silence from that part put the other marines suspicious almost immediately, but they were too busy coughing so they didn't notice it enough to silence themselves. Cat then span around knocking two of the marines to the floor via tripping. Cat then immediately slammed his sheath to the first marines face then twisted himself around and slammed it straight down in the next marine's face. They were all knocked out almost immediately, but the last man let out a loud scream when he briefly saw the sheath head towards him. Then there was a loud bang, and Cat saw his sheath fly in the air and lose itself in the fog.

Cat went straight to the ground so they wouldn't see him as easily. Cat roamed around the floor like a cat in the jungle until he felt a sword handle hit his forehead. Cat had no weapon and he was desperate. He grabbed on to the handle and pulled it only to realize that a marine was stabbed with the sword. Cat had just took out a sword from a killed marine. Upon closer inspection Cat saw that it was a katana, it had a weird keychain in the end with a cat that had crosses on its face instead of eyes. It had a skull on its tail as well. Cat also saw that the blade was made of kairoseki. Cat smiled and picked up the sheath that was left right next to the marine. The one that shot the rifle walked closer to Cat; he knew this because he could hear his every footstep. When he was within a few feet Cat quickly pointed the sword towards the opponent then lunged himself forward. He almost immediately penetrated the opponent's torso and forced him into the ground. Cat twisted his sword and ran towards the last marine whom pointed and fired at Cat. The bullet narrowly missed his face and left a scratch on it. Cat sheathed his sword and unsheathed it in a moment. Suddenly the opponent was cut horizontally and blood seemed to spray out of the upper half of the body. When both halves hit the floor blood started to form into puddles.

Cat swung his sword to wipe the blood from the blade, then sheathed it on his left side. Cat had a new weapon, a weapon he'd soon give a name.

One of the marines that Cat had beaten with his sheath stood back up, behind Cat raising his weapon.  Iken jolted forward as the dust began to clear, however he wouldn't make it in time; the marine was much to far away.  All of the sudden there was a strange sound; a slash.  It was an instant later and the marine screamed.  He screamed for his life as the liquid that was dumped over him dissolved his body away to nothing more than burned flesh and bones.  The smell was horrible, dead flesh and chemicals.  It was so strong that it burned Iken's nose hairs off.  

The dust cleared more allowing Iken and Cat to see their "savior".  It was the pirate from earlier, he had finally come for his revenge.  If Cat and Iken weren't careful their fate could be the same as the marines.  "I can't have you dying.  If it's not me personally reducing you to mush, it is simply unacceptable." said the man

9/15

Strength: 10%
Endurance: 40%
Speed: 10%
Agility: 10%  
Skill: 30%  
Tactical intelligence: 10%
Practical intelligence: 10%  
Perception: 10%
Charisma and leadership: 20%
Devil fruit control: 50%

Cat heard a man scream behind him so he turned around rapidly with his Katana about to be drawn. However, instead he saw a man melting the marine that Cat had struck not so long ago. The smell overtook Cat's nose. It was so strong that he had to jump back a few feet just so he wouldn't unwillingly throw up. The smell of the burned body was very strong. Cat placed his right palm on the hilt of the sword and waited for a reaction on the opponents end.. but it never came. Now Cat was in a very odd situation. The man that had 'saved' him from a marine was actually the pirate that they encountered a week ago. He's the reason this entire mess is happening. Now Cat had to find a way to stop him so Iken and Cat could escape.

From what Cat could see the opponent had the ability to melt things. The only explanation Cat had was the infamous ability of a devil fruit, much like the one Thor had in the crew Destroyers at Sea. Thor's devil fruit could send lasers at the enemies and cover himself in those photon beams he created; however, his devil fruit concentrated on increasing power and dealing burning damage. He couldn't melt people like the opponent they were facing now. Cat prepared himself for an attack. He wasn't going to get caught off guard with one of the more dangerous men in this war. Once Cat gets close enough.. he'll end him with a slash of his sword.

"I'll prove to you that our victory is as real as the tooth fairy!" Cat said this so the opponent would know that Cat was not going to give up just because he had a devil fruit. It can also be noted that Cat said this randomly, since it had nothing to do with the man's words earlier. There was only one problem, Cat was probably the only pirate in the battlefield that still believed in the tooth fairy. This little fact reversed the meaning of his supposedly inspiring speech.

15/15

Unlike Cat, Iken didn't jump from the smell; he ran straight towards it. With his hand at his waist, gripping the hilt of his sword Iken charged the man straight on. The pirate just grinned as the man he though of as weak come at him. With his ability, normal attacks like Iken's shouln't work. With Iken feet away from him his torso somehow changed or shifted. It bubbled like it was pure acid and his body was gone. "Black Slash" The sword left a glimmering black trail as Iken sword the heavy blade. Looking closly one could see that Iken's blade had somehow lost its tint, almost as if it was coated in some kind of black substance.

The pirate stumbled backwards as blood gushed ouyt of his chest from a deep slash. With heavy breaths he looked up at Iken and his cursed blade and then to Cat. "I know the idiot has seastone, but you. How the hell did you hit me?" the pirate questioned, spitting blood out of his mouth. "You can't possibly have it yet? It takes most warriors years to obtain it. No matter, I'll kill you fuckers anyway." he told them while fully regaining his posture.

"Clone Gear" Acid formed around the pirate and began to pool before splitting off of him and shaping into clones. There were five of them to be exact. Including the user there were not six enemies capable of shooting acid at Iken and Cat. Two of the clones ran at Cat, two at Iken, and two of the pirate stayed in the background. The clones could be dispatched with a hit, however once defeated they would leave a surprise.

10/15

Cat watched Iken attack the man and cause him to bleed. With this Cat saw that the man wasn't very fast, or strong, but his abilities were very powerful. Once Iken's attack connected the man spat out blood and created five clones aside from himself. Cat readied himself for what he knew was about to happen. The clones looked like they were made of his acid, but Cat didn't know what that meant. Did it mean it would be hard to defeat them? Did it mean they would melt them upon touch? Cat didn't know, but he knew he was about to find out. The opponents then hurriedly ran towards both Iken and Cat, apparently it was 6 on 2 now.

Cat took his stance and readied himself for the two clones. One of them swung at Cat in the face while the other aimed for the abdomen; what happened next amazed even Cat. The punch to the face was avoided by a down purge, a technique where Cat narrows his body to avoid an attack to the torso, then blocked the second clone's initial punch to the 'abdomen' with his sword. Cat then turned around to swing his sword with extra force only to 'feel' an attack coming. While the clone attempted to hurt Cat he immediately turned around, after sheathing his sword, then making a split second draw towards both clones. Both of their torsos were completely cut in half. What was weird about this attack, however, was that the area where the clone initially intended to attack was not there anymore. The clone tried to grab Cat from the back, when he turned around he rotated his body out of the way without looking; Cat swung his sword after the twisting and attacked both of them when they were open by a near perfect chance.

Cat had just learned Observation Haki.

One of the clones that targeted Iken shot a blast of liquid acid at him in a stream. Iken side stepped the blast moving to the right where the second clone tired to grab him. Bringing hi sword down on the clone before it could touch him Iken thought he was safe. However the clone burst, and the acid splashed outwards. Using his cloack as a cover, he quickly threw the garment away before it could disolve and burn him. "Fuck, Cat watch...." Iken yelled trying to warn his friend. It was too late, Cat had taken out both of the clones.

The two clones covering Cat burst and splashed the area with acid. With Cat's high persection combined with observation haki it would be possible to avoid it altogther. Meanwhile Iken picked up a rifle and used its length to smack and dispatch the clone without free of the splash. Spinning the weapon around, Iken fired it towards the two remaining version of the pirate before throwing the gun back down. The pirate or perhaps the clone shot a stream of acid towards Iken as he shot which disolved the incoming bullet. The remaining clone or pirate held out his arms sending out two small waves of acid at Cat and Iken. Both waves were about six feet wide by six feet tall.

11/15

Cat looked in Iken's direction as he was turning around; getting a 360 view of the area. Cat saw Iken's clone burst right before his eyes, and the acid that left the clones body attacked Iken's coat. What Cat didn't expect was Iken throwing his cloack away to relieve the acid from touching his body. Cat then turned around and quickly split both of the clone bodies in half. Cat then jumped back, thanks to Iken showing Cat a preview of what the clones were capable of doing, and watched them both explode. Some of the acid hit Cat's blood stained shirt which made him throw it against the ground. He didn't want it to burn his skin off.

Right after dodging the technique, and losing his long sleeved shirt, Cat was attacked by a wave six feet tall. It was made of the same acid that seemed to melt almost everything. Cat didn't think he could break through the wave by force, so he had to do the next best thing. Cat ran towards one of the larger boulders, with the wave right behind him, and planted his right foot on the boulder and pushed himself up. Cat used the little cracks in the boulder as leverage for his legs as he made his way to the top of the nine foot tall boulder created from Iken's earlier strategy. Cat then put his right hand on his left side, grabbing the hilt of the sword, and prepared himself for an attack/defense.

The wave was a pain in the ass, he wasn't strong enough to blow it away or fast enough to out run it. So Iken opted to try and outsmart it. Well as far as outsmarting a nonliving wave of acid goes. Iken grabbed the bodies of two of the fallen marines before running directly at the wave. Once he was about a foot in front of the wave he threw the bodies of the marines at the wave ripping their coats from their bodies in the process. The marine’s dissolved quickly, however the force was enough to create a small opening. Iken leaped toward the opening using the two marine jackets to block any splash back as he was going though.

He landed rolling into the water, discarding the jackets as he did. Taking off from an all fours position, he ran towards the pirate and the clone. His and Cat's sudden appearance from behind the wave startled the pirate. He and the clone were unable to throw another acid attack before Iken was upon them. "Demon Claw” Iken slashed at the foe four times in the blink of an eye while coating his sword with haki. However the pirate pulled a blade, trying to block the slashes. Iken had picked the right one. Meanwhile the clone took the opening and attempted to latch onto Iken's midsection before exploding.


12/15

Cat watched Iken throw a body at the acid and run through it. He discarded the bodies and went to the water, where the effects seemed to almost negate themselves apparently. Iken then ran towards the enemy, to his surprise, and attacked him with his sword head on. The man blocked it, showing he was real, and had his clone attempt to attack Iken. If the clone got near him then Iken would be finished, and Cat would follow soon after. There was no hope for Cat to defeat this enemy on his own. Cat glared at the enemy running towards Iken and quickly reacted; he jumped in the air and dove straight to the enemy.

Cat plunged his sword, suddenly, through the clone and drove it to the ground like a shovel. The attack was swift and it gave the clone enough of a distance from Iken so the acid wouldn't hurt him. Then Cat jumped out of the blade and landed a few feet away from it. The clone exploded behind Cat and splattered its acid around the area but only a few drops made it to Cat. A bigger drop made it to his right thigh which caused an open wound. Cat quickly took off his pants and ran to the ocean where he started to wash the pants. Cat was now doing laundry so his favorite fighting pants weren't ruined.

"Damn it, I hope this doesn't stain." Cat continued to scrub the pants with water, forgetting that the acid was more of a melting problem then it is a staining problem.

Iken held his sword firm as he began to push the man back while their swords were crossed. The foe had some much endurance, that he was able to hold back against Iken's overwhelming strength more than most would have. Even with the wound he sustained initially did little to slow him down. With his greater strength Iken was able to push the pirate back, giving him a small opening. "Black Slash" Iken didn't have time for one of his stronger techniques, however another cut was added to the enemy pirate. This time the foe was hit in the abdomen. "Just die already!" exclaimed Iken getting sick of his attacks hitting yet doing little to his foe.

Meanwhile his only ally was sitting in the ocean with his ass exposed trying to wash his pants. For some strange reason, getting the acid out of his pants came before killing the foe in front of them. Luckily for the furture firstmate the future captain was too busy actually fighting to notice him with his ass exposed washing a pair of half rotten pants...

The pirate coated his blade in acid before swinging it at Iken. If Iken were to jump back the acid would splash him, and the same would be true if he blocked. However if Iken were to dodge to the side it would likely give the pirate time to create a more devistating attack.

13/15

Cat washed his pants thoroughly, but quickly. He wanted to make sure there wasn't a hole in the wrong area. His underpants apparently had black kittens around them. Cat heard the sound of swords clashing and the grinding of two forces with swords trying to push each other back in the background. The sudden noise took Cat's attention and that's when he immediately remembered that he was in the middle of a battle. His perception has saved him. Cat immediately put his pants on and ran towards the sword he left on the ground. Cat's hands and feet were wet, along with small areas around his body.

Cat grabbed his sword by the handle. There was a slight burning, but it looked like the sea water weakened the effects of the acid.. but it didn't take it completely away. Cat's hands were bleeding from the acid still left in the handle and blade. Cat walked back to the water and started to run around. While Iken fought the man face to face Cat positioned himself behind the opponent, a few dozen feet back, after carefully running through the beach water. Thinking the opponent wouldn't notice Cat by this time with Iken grabbing his attention he put his blade in the position of a 'stab' attack. Cat then waited in his position for some kind of signal, or opening, for him to attempt to lodge his sea stone blade through the opponents back.

Cat waited silently behind the opponent with the chaos of the battle masking his every footstep and breath.

Iken could see Cat coming, sneaking up behind the foe; he was readying himself to strike and take the foe out once and for all. What Iken had to do was distract the pirate long enough for Cat to strike. Iken was a more skilled than the pirate when it came to the sword, and would easily beat him in a normal battle. However it wasn't a normal battle. The pirate had an acid logia that could easily tip the tide of the battle in his favor. Once slip up from either Iken or Cat and everything would end, their adventure would be over; it was life and death.

Iken feigned to the right to get in close to the foe. His block had to be precise, perfect otherwise Iken would be hit by the acid splash. Iken blocked the mans sword by the hilt of the blade with the exact same area of his own blade, it was a technique designed to block multiple blades at once. However the same technique also put the user close the foe and in this case where the foe could kill the user with a simple touch, it was a risky move. Iken's gamble all depended on Cat.

14/15

Cat readied himself and saw Iken stop the attack of the opponent with his hilt. Cat had his chance. Cat dig his foot in the sand underneath his feet and pushed himself forward. The power of his attack could be seen by the ripples forming behind him. Some water formed behind him as well. Cat ran forward with all of his might with the blade in a near perfect 3:45 position (90 degrees from the body). Cat didn't care about the consequences of this attack, it was all or nothing. He knew that if the opponent countered the battle would end in the opponents favor. Cat could only hope that the enemy wouldn't notice the blade coming towards him 25 miles per hour.

Cat swung his arm back, fully using the arms ability to bend (flex) upwards with his elbow above his back, and timed his attack so the blade would hit the opponent when it swung upwards at full force. Eventually Cat made it behind the enemy, with his elbow fully bent, and he extended the arm while moving it upwards to penetrate the opponent through the abdomen from the back. The attack, if successful, would hit the spine and penetrate the aorta. This was an area Cat has noticed caused the most bleeding. With all of his force he pushed the blade upwards; his feet dug into the sand to add more power to his blade. Cat tried to make no noise while running that could be heard through the battlefield, that's why he didn't scream while running at the enemy like a wild samurai.

If the attack hit, Cat would speak to the opponent from his back, "If you were a Cat you'd have nine lives. Too bad, huh? You could use one by now. Right Iken?"

Even with Iken holding the foe in position the pirate was moving to the side when Cat's blade penetrated him.  The wound was fatal, however it wasn't in the exact location that Cat had targeted.  If Cat took his blade out, the pirate could still use his powers and possibly attack, however if they lft it in it would take him much longer to bleed out.  It would waste time they just didn't have.  Iken stepped back and pulled his sword back to the right.  "Smashing Darkness"  Releasing the tension on the sword, it shot forward slicing the foes head off.  It was finally over.  This battle at least.  

With a large sigh of relief, Iken used his sword to push the pirate to the ground.  The pirate was on the ground, blood pouring out of his various wounds.  Blood was spurting out of the mans neck desperately trying to send oxygen to the disconnected brain.  His body twitched on the ground, however eventually even that came to an end.  Cat and Iken's most dangerous foe was finally dead.  "Yeah, Cat if he only had nine lives." Iken said falling back onto his rump.

15/15

Cat smiled when he saw Iken kill the man by severing his head. Blood splurted everywhere while Cat looked around to check for a ship they could 'borrow'. Marines and pirates were still killing each other in he top of the cliff, and without the captain leader it looked like the pirates didn't stand a chance. Cat looked in the distance and saw a familiar site. Cat's dingy was floating gently next to a very big marine ship. The ship was big enough to ignore the little boat parked next to it. Cat smiled, he knew he had parked his little boat somewhere in the island. Cat ran to the water and jumped in, leaving a small trail of blood behind him from the burns in his hand.

A few minutes go by and he eventually reaches his ship. He quickly climbed on board and opened the sheet that made it ride forward.. that's how Cat remembered it. The ship then took control of itself and went wherever the winds took the ship. Cat didn't know how to control the ship, so in his mind the ship knew where to head. The only problem was that the boat/ship, in this case, was heading the opposite direction. The ship was almost making a U-turn towards the open ocean. Cat stood up on his ship and waved his arms.

"Iken!! We have to go!! My dingy wants to head towards the open ocean and I don't think he is patient!!"

Iken was kneeling trying to catch his breath after the battle when he seen Cat leap into the ocean and swam towards a loose dingy. He was a little concerned about the blood trail, but that was something they could deal with later. Iken leaped to his feet and ran towards the right. He leaped off the shore and out of sight behind a large rock. However a moment later he and another dingy shot forward.

Iken and his dingy closed the distance between him and Cat. Thanks to Iken's slight skill in navigation he knew that he was able to increase his speed by following current. Iken has planned ahead in case he needed to make a quick exit. He mapped out a current and tired off his ship in it so all he had to do was release the ties. Once he was close enough Iken threw a rope that was tied to the front of his ship towards Cat. "Tie this to your ship so we don't get separated." Iken ordered.

As the two were headed away from the island, a large crate like object could be seen in the distance. Once they neared the object, they could see it was a large water proof treasure chest. It must have come from one of the sunken pirate ships. It all of what both Iken and Cat had to heave the thing on board. When they opened it, a decorated sheath stuck out of a large pile of golden coins. Iken took the sheath and looked at it for a moment. He hesitantly stuck the blade into the sheath to find it was a perfect fit

1/15