Match #6: Kaizen and Pyro vs. Derge and Kenshin

The sun was high in the sky and the seagulls were singing a happy song, it was the perfect day for some battle to the death, or so the organizers concluded. The arena presented to the contestants was elegant but simple, there were two ships opposing each other, roughly 15 meters removed from each other ( That means outside of boarding range by regular means such as a gangplank). The ships themselves were Carracks, fairly pompous in design. That could be thought because the ship had both a large and decorated aftcastle and Forecastle, providing for two elevated decks. Both ships were not made for ship to ship battle though, for all the cannons were removed, only only markings and scratches on the poopdeck suggested there were some to begin with.

The most notable things about these quite basic ships were the fact that they were three masted, and that the sails were removed. The anchor was out, and the carracks thanks to their heavy design remained extremely steady. On the main deck (also referred to as the poop-deck) were several things that were obviously laid down there to help the contestants reach other without having to swim. ( note that equipment on both ships are the same). There were two a large ropes, easily capable of reaching from one ship to the other, with a hook attached to them. But of-course only one with really good accuracy and fairly some strength would be capable of throwing the hook and actually hitting the enemy ship. Not to mention that even when attached, the rope climbing would potentially leave the one climbing them open to attacks. To help the contestants actually hit the hook rope, a handy dandy harpoon gun was included, and if tried the hook would fit into it and fire as if they were designed for each other ( spoiler alert, they were). Aside from that, next to both ships, on the side where the two faced each-other, were small 6-man rowing vessels (meaning 3 benches with both the width to fit two grown up men). That, together with the paddles provided, made for a less risky and exposed way of closing in on the enemy ship.

Aside from the things used to approach each other with there were also a couple(2) of long rifles laid to lean against the middle mast. Someone with even the slightest knowledge in weaponry could see that they were muskets. In this time and age they were quite outdated, and in incapable hands one wouldn't even be able to reload them. The bullets (round ones) for the muskets were located in a little box standing close to the muskets.  The insides of the ship seemed like a logical maze of cabins and storage's, all empty, with nothing to note.

Now how were these opponents about to face each other? How creative could they get with the equipment given to them? And who would finally emerge victorious? All of these questions and more that were on the minds of the organizers would soon be answered, as the contestants were given the signal to start within 5 minutes ( You are given one post before you can start assaulting the other ship, this is the time for beforehand preparations and your post may only take 5 minutes in real time before being given permission to assault each other in the next post. Be realistic with this)

Derge looked at the surroundings, two ships and the man from the snow arena; they were in for another battle. Looking around, he seen the two rifles, if he remembered correctly, the other man already had arms. Derge walked over and picked up the two old muskets and strapped both of the muskets to his back with a length of rope. Derge took and coiled up the remainder of the rope and placed it around his shoulder. He allowed the hook to dangle down in front of his right shoulder while he examined the harpoon. The harpoon would be a great weapon, it didn't even occur to Derge to use it to get to the other ship. He was much to used to being around Pyro and his flying abilities.

Walking over to the other man, Derge looked at him for a moment. Derge took out his normal pistol and checked it over. It was still empty, it had been since the battle with Pyro on the pirate ship. Derge looked to the man and recalled he had, had a good amount of ammo when they last met. "I need some ammunition. A few bullets would suffice." Derge said to the man standing in front of him. If the man obliged, Derge would immediately reload the standardized weapon he had received from the marine. However if the man wasn't in the mood to share, Derge would simply replace the gun into his holster. Even an empty gun would be enough to make most men hesitate. Derge was hoping that would at least buy him enough time to slay them with his blade or one of the muskets he was carrying.

1/15

Pyro didn't remember clearly what landed him on the ship, but here he was on some random ship in an unknown sea. He could tell that a battle was at hand though. The last thing he remembered was getting stabbed and brutally beaten by luck. He needed to overcome this shame. He wondered if his last partner was here. That's when he remembered; he would have opponents. He quickly turned into his hybrid form and flew to the top of a mast and looked down. He spotted Derge.

Pyro had flown the ship at a safe distance from his pseudo-ally and his partner. He decided he would start a conversation before the bloodshed commenced.

"You know, I always did want to see how you faired against me, friend. It's been too long... but for some reason I can't seem to remember how long it has been. Do you have any idea where we are?"

After waiting for a response, with an appropriate reaction being performed (in next post), he would continue.

"It seems bloodshed is once again on the horizon for us. As much as I'd love to team up with you and take on the others, I still have my pride, as I am sure you have as well. We are arrogant bastards aren't we? Be prepared though; I won't hold back and I better not see you doing so either. If you're holding back, it better be because I am a foot in the grave and to determined to realize it. I'll show the same courtesy. With that out of the way... I want to make a suggestion about the battles. 1v1&1v1. I want to battle you, Derge. My partner can handle your partner. The idea is we only kill if it is the only way to win at the time, and the victors battle if on opposing teams. Basically, a simple tournament-type setting. What do you think, bro?"

14/15

Kenshin had already had a chance to briefly look through the ships layout and was on his way out to load the muskets and notices his teammate the marine had already picked them up. At first he was thinking but then decided to be brutally blunt instead. "may i have one of the muskets with all due respect i belive they can do more damage in my hands than in yours" When derge then asked for ammonituion he nodded and gave the man 4 shots worth of ammo leaving him with 220 bullets left for himself that should be enough for this combat.

when pyro then flew and started to talk to derge kenshin said quietly to him "so the bird zoan is our enemy what can you tell me about him at the pirate ship battle u two seemd to be partners so im guessing u you know a bit about his abilities."   as he waited for a response he looked up at pyro estimating the distance one of his hands on the pistols as he calmly said in response to the laters propsal of a tournament setting of 1 vs 1

"there is no such thing as honor in combat all that counts in the end is who wins and who loses. life or death so why should we lower your chances at victory just because you want a fair fight?"

1/15

Kaizen smirked when Pyro flew into the air to talk to the other men. He walked around the ship and readied the harpoon guns. He placed them behind cover, in the off chance the opponents had the same weapons found on their ship.. or more (he was concentrating on the muskets). Kaizen Took out the toolbox behind cover and started to load the rifles, even preparing them to make sure the bullets were inside and ready to fire. The tricky part will be trying to make it across to the enemies ship, or making them come to his ship. Kaizen readied the harpoon guns as well, it didn't take long for him to realize that he wasn't strong enough to throw the hook to the other side.

Kaizen readied the small ships on the side to make sure he could leave if the opponents ever made it to the ship and Pyro and Kaizen were overwhelmed. Kaizen didn't bother to try to overhear the conversation of his partner and Derge, they were a decent distance away and the sea breeze made most conversations of that distance hard to hear. Kaizen, however, was working in the shadows and trying his best to not get noticed. If anything the opponents shouldn't know that Kaizen is actually a devil fruit user, and that his skills are dangerous if used under the right circumstances. Kaizen wasn;t going to attempt to be the shooter in the group, if Pyro had even a drop of knowledge on guns he would be the better choice of the two. All Kaizen can do is shoot in a reasonable range with his two flintlock pistols. Although Kaizen was secretly hoping that this didn't end up like the last battle; Pyro was defeated by the enemy quickly.

While doing all of these things, thinking and preparing himself for battle, Kaizen was smiling from cheek to cheek. If he does have to fight two on one again it will make things very hard for him, but it doesn't mean he'll give up easily. Within five minutes, if it passed, Kaizen will be aiming the harpoon gun in the direction of the enemies ship. The little box was placed behind cover as well.

Derge looked at his former ally; he was up high on the mast where Derge couldn't get to him very easily. That was just like Pyro, he'd make you think he wasn't planning anything, but in reality he always was. His plans weren't any better than most, but he was still up to something. Derge smirked when he looked up and towards the man that had been a fellow marine only a short time ago. "You mistake my hate and brutality toward pirates as pride. Even I am not so gullible as to think I could beat you one on one my old friend." Derge said as he took the ammunition from the man.

Derge unstrapped one of the muskets and handed them his partner at his request. He was right; his abilities would be better suited to the gun. Even so, Derge kept the other gun; he needed something to defend himself with. Quickly Derge placed a few of the bullets into a pocket before loading one shot into his simple flintlock. Derge placed the cocked flintlock into his waist band. With the harpoon gun in hand, locked and loaded; Derge was ready for whatever assault Pyro would dish out. "The man before us is a rare type of zoan called a mythical zoan. He's a fire bird with a ridiculous healing factor. As far as I've seen, he can't regenerate limbs or organs, but everything else heals quickly. Besides the standard normal and full forms, he also has a form that allows his fire to burn his enemies. Normally it does not." Derge said explaining his old ally’s abilities to his new partner.

2/15

Pyro boisterously laughed when Derge admitted that he was weaker than pyro. At least in human standards, Derge was far stronger than Pyro already. If he was taken by surprise, he could easily be dealt with... Like last time. In good faith, he decided to try it.

"To my shame, the last battle resulted in severe injury for me. A devil fruit user that could create glass quickly defeated me when he surprised me during one of my more reckless plans. I dived at him, and suddenly he appeared in front of me and almost killed me. Though for this match, I plan on making up for this... By the way... My partner defeated both opponents last match by himself due to my blunder. I'd say he's as strong as you Derge, maybe a bit stronger when he really gets going."

Pyro was thinking about how his part er was a zoan type. The bonus in physical ability would allow him to overwhelm derge more than likely. He did not, however, know how experience would take fold, or what the partner's strength was like. He quickly returned to kaizen to convene, seeming to be waiting for them to come over to the ship, leaning on the mast.

15/15

(( i wonder where the ships came from wasent there first time i read ? )

"thats good to know. I saw a rowboat on the side of each of our ship i was planning on shooting a hole in theirs to limit their options to either fly over or if they have the same equipment as us use that to get over here" while he was talkin he was going through options a mythical zoan that would prove troublesome and they still didnet know what his partner could do.  After pyro had flew over to his partner kenshin took the musket and aimed for the bottom of the enemy teams rowboat while muskets where hard to aim for thoose with no skill unlike him they sure packed a punch. After having fired the shoot to cause the rowboat to sink he went back to his partner to reload his musket this fight could come down to who made the first move and said quietly "i belive our best goal is to try and make them fly over that would make them a target as they fly since theres a good chance they do not know what skill-set i do posses. On the other hand we dont know anything about his teamate either and he must he ratber strong if he managed to take out 2 persons in their last fight. So whats your thoughts and opinion on this matter? while he waited for a response he looked over at the other boat it seemed like their opponents waited for him and derge to come to them.

Kaizen waited, and his prayers were answered. Just as Pyro landed on the deck Kaizen heard a shot from the opponents side, with Kaizen's head sticking out he immediately knew that it was a musket. While the opponent went behind the wall Kaizen immediately went into action. With the musket being reloaded, and the opponent not watching, it meant that Kaizen had his opportunity to strike. Kaizen whispered to Pyro the second he heard the shot, on the fly, "Cover me." Kaizen put back his musket in arms and ran towards his opponents with his pistol in the other hand and the grappling hook gun in the other. Suddenly Kaizen's body turned into an oily type with scales instead of the usual human skin. His teeth grew fangs, and his claws grew as well. Kaizen then shot the grappling hook, not even two seconds after telling Pyro, and hit the other side of the ship. While doing this Kaizen aimed his pistol at the enemy, like he knew his partner would also be doing in case one of them tried to pop their head out to shoot. Kaizen hoped Pyro would be flying by this point.

A usual musket took at least 15 seconds to reload, which gave Kaizen plenty of time. Five seconds after the shot the grappling hook was already on the other ship, and Kaizen was running through it. His ballance was apparent by his ability to sprint through the rope the grappling hook created. While running Kaizen had the musket behind him and two flintlocks on both hands. He ran forward. The second Derge or the other man showed their face Kaizen would shoot, and thanks to these ships not being so far away from each other the shot will probably hit, or at least the opponent should become frightened enough to not shoot. While running on the rope Kaizen yelled, "Fly under me!". Kaizen had a plan, and he hoped his partner would follow it. Kaizen shot one of his flintlocks at Derge's direction, even if he didn't show his face. When all of this took place, it had been about 10 seconds. It would take him less then 2 to get to the other side of the ship.

As soon as Derge heard the hook hit the deck of the ship, he ran over to see some kind of man monster making his way across a rope onto the ship Derge and his partner had started on.  Derge was certain that the second he went past the cover he would find a foe, most likely waiting for him; waiting to strike.  There was a good chance that Derge could be seriously hurt if not killed.  He was willing to take the risk in order to win, to win would allow him more power; the power to achieve his dream.  A world rid of the scum they called pirates.  Pulling the musket off of his back, Derge leaped over the cover.  Almost instantly a shot rang out, there was a stabbing pain in his shoulder.  Once again, Derge had been shot.  "Why they fuck do you bastards always have to shoot me in the goddamned shoulder.  Mother fuckers!" Derge yelled going into a tangent as he raised his musket.  

Would the foe be able to take a bullet as well as Derge just had?  Derge fired his round at the man and threw the gun down before placing his arms over his chest and face.  "Now, fire!  Don't let either of them escape! Kill those fucking bastards! Now fire, fire, fire!" yelled Derge taking any of the possible shots that could have been fired for his partner.  With Derge as a human shield, the man behind him should easily be able to take out at least one of them.  Not only did his partner have the skill he didn't he also had two guns able to fire rapidly over and over again with little interchange between the clips.

3/15

"Right, I'll get to it."

Immediately, Pyro grabbed a musket and shot it at Derge's general direction, knowing he would react or tank it; either of which helping him. He kept his cutlass at the ready, expecting a battle at any time. Following his partner's plan, with a little improv, he flew towards Derge.

Phoenix kick

He made a feint just out of countering-range of Derge and dived under his partner, turning into the full phoenix mid-dive. He didn't know his partner's plan, but turning into the full phoenix would allow him to protect him should the enemy retaliate; furthermore, he could fly his partner somewhere in this state. He was preparing, however, to use the rumble ball. His sacred form would be a powerful tool in this battle, since Derge only seemed to be worried about his corrupt form.
1/15

a usual musket took 15 seconds to reload but if you was used to using gun you could do it in about 10 or shorter. And kenshin was anything but inexperienced he swiftly loaded the musket not paying much attention to what his teammate did until he heard the thud.

Had the other team used their harpoon gun ? if that the case they did the first move after all. After having reloaded he put a handful of bullets into his pocket as he ran to his teammate and arrived just in time to see the later get shoot. It did not however seem to bother the man as much at it seemed to annoy him. And when he then made himself a living shield kenshin felt a deep respect for the mans resolve. With the musket in one hand and having pulled out one of his pistol with the other he leaped over the cover,

A swift glance told him that his opponent probally was a zoan wich was perfect as he wouldn't have to deal with intangibility. He started a steady fire aiming for kaizens legs more specifically the knees head throat and for the rope itself with the intent of incapacitating his opponent one way or the otehr easiest seemed to be to get him into the water. Close enough he stopped his fire and a grinned as his opponent just noticed himself it was nearly impossible to miss at this distance even if u where a rookie with guns and after all kenshin had some skill he aimed the shoot straight at the others chest where the heart would be in a normal human, And after having fired the shoot he threw the musket down and pulled his other gun and started a steady rain of bullets at his opponent and after having unleashed atleast 10 bullets at kaizen he unleashed another ten at pyro that he saw came flying, and He knew what the phoenix was capble of based on his partners information
(this leaves me fyi with 5 bullets left in each gun)

OOC for Eijisu:

Kaizen saw the marine opponent(?) aim his musket at Kaizen after he ran out of his cover. The opponent then aimed at Kaizen with his rifle; Kaizen already knew what was about to unfold. Behind Derge was another man with pistols and a musket. It was time for Kaizen's plan. Before Derge could pull the trigger Kaizen turned into his snake form and slithered forward, not even a second afterwards the other man unleashed a 'rain' of bullets that weren't aimed at the exact area that Kaizen turned into a snake. All of the bullets were aimed at either his heart, arms, legs, or even throat. The second Kaizen transformed the bullets zoomed past him, not a single one had hit him since his head and body were now in the mid-section of his body balancing on the rope. Kaizen used Derge's body as interference as well, like a wall to hide under for cover. Because Derge was shorter then Kenshin, Kaizen made sure to land on the ground as soon as possible and continue to slither forward. Once the bullets missed their intended targets Kaizen hissed so Pyro would hear it.

"Attack!" Kaizen's speed was more then Derge, and even Kenshin, which meant he was too quick for them to dodge with speed alone. His agility was higher as well. The second Kaizen hit the ground he burst in speed towards Derge and opened his fangs. Less then a second for a reaction would mean that Derge would probably defend himself somehow. Kaizen sped up towards Derge head on, and with his low position it would be hard for Kenshin to aim and shoot at him without getting out of the wall Derge had created.. not that it was easy hitting a target that was faster then his perception, skills, and agility stats (all needed to defend). Just as he was about to strike Derge he quickly slithered and changed his direction, Pyro will likely take care of Derge while Kaizen took care of Kenshin, it was a very direct feint. Immediately, since Kenshin wasn't far behind Derge, Kaizen attempted to bite Kenshin in the upper body while very quickly slithering around the opponent to strangle him at the same time. Kaizen was attempting to constrict the opponent and bite him at the same time in the neck area, or arm, to try and deal some damage while squeezing him out. With Kaizen's speed it would be very hard for someone to react in the amount of time it would take for him to get from Derge's position to Kenshin's position, since he'd be blocked off from view in Derge's position and running too quickly for most people to react and shoot well-enough.

:

Derge held his position to protect his partner, however only one other shot was actually fired.  A distance shot from Pyro that gave Derge some relief as it wasn't even close.  Even with the opening Derge gave his partner, all of the shot that he aimed towards the snake man missed thanks to the timing of his transformation.  Derge wasn't sure of what came of the shots that were directed at Pyro nor did he care.  At this point, unless one of the shots got lucky, they’d do little more than slow him down.  As the kick attack came in, Derge braced himself only to find it was a feint.  The supposed attack did little to distract Derge as Pyro went in to act as a shield for his partner just as Derge had.  
 
Pulling out his cutlass, Derge went to slice the snake foe as he attacked.  Unfortunately the opponent changed direction and went for Derge's partner instead, causing Derge's swing to miss.  Reacting to the feint Derge moved to the side and swung the sword once more for the back on the snake’s neck while pulling his pistol and aiming it at Pyro.  Derge timed the swing so it'd hit when Kaizen was most vulnerable; the second he sunk his fangs into Kenshin.  Derge's tactic was a double edged sword, he attacked an opponent that couldn't see him while the foe was distracted; however if Derge were to hit the foe, he'd likely hit his partner as well. It was more than enough for Derge to believe the action was a reasonable trade.  His partner had already botched the opening Derge had risked his life to make; now it was his partners turn to risk life and limb.  
 
4/15

Pyro heard his partner and flew straight up, avoiding Derge's attack by pure luck, having not realized it would do anything. Pyro dived around for a fake attack from the upward behind, just like he had done against the logia user last battle; unlike before, however, Pyro knew that an opponent would just take advantage of it if he went through. Likely, Derge would not realize the experience and Pyro was banking on that. He would wait for the counter and then flip behind Derge to avoid it. Even if Derge guesses his move, it would be obvious if Derge would try to counter it, and if by some chance it wasn't, it would likely not do anything as far as real damage goes.

Sacred form

After landing pyro would turn into his sacred form and feint a sweep at Derge's feet. Then he would shift weight and attack, aiming for Derge's head. He didn't really have a plan with all of this: he was only trying to show off to his friend. Display as much skill as he can, maybe gain extra respect, though probably not.

Sacred Arc

((im conceding this and dropping out. Atleast of this fight things might calm down again soon but dont count on it
so you dont have to wait for me anymore to post or get dq))

Kaizen briefly saw Derge's sword from the side of his glance. While maneuvering himself Kaizen had to move his head side to side, this instinctively helped him see the sword before it came from his side. Derge's initial attack missed; after the first attack that missed Kaizen immediately bolted forward and attempted to constrict the gunner in front of them. The gunner didn't react; he was too confused, it seemed, by the quick events that took fold. With Kaizen using his superior speed then Derge he was able to get through without much of a problem, however, he felt the blade penetrate his lower abdomen part of the snake. Kaizen, after being cut, turned into his hybrid form behind Kenshin and cut his jugular vein. Kaizen then, while he was bleeding out, took both of the pistols from his hands. The body dropped and Kaizen ran to the side to make sure he missed his partner.

Kaizen pulled the trigger and fired every bullet in the pistol while aiming at Derge. He looked at Derge just to make sure he wouldn't try anything funny, like using his pistol to aim at Kaizen, or trying to shoot at him while Kaizen aimed at Derge. Kaizen made sure to stay around ten feet from the opponent when he ran to the side; a close look at the business attire from his shirt will show he has a cut mid-way between the ASIS and his iliac crest. Kaizen felt the pain, but it wasn't enough to slow him down much. He didn't seem to bleed much, and his adrenaline was preventing him from feeling the pain, so he wasn't hindered this post. After shooting all five bullets and hearing the clicking sound Kaizen waited for a reaction before continuing. He made sure to aim at the opponent's legs, heart, face, and if he got close his throat, heart, and head. Ten bullets were fired together at one man, and Kaizen prepared himself for a defense in case this turned into a hustle.

A moment after Derge slashed his foe, Pyro attacked.  The high heel kick knocked Derge over after it hit him in the head.  A deep bloody gash appeared on his head as Derge skid along the deck a few meters before he came to stop.  Derge was disoriented and off his game from the powerful strike.  The fact that he had lost blood from the gun shot didn't help the situation either.  I wasn't long after that, that the other foe; the snake man had been able to finish off Derge's partner.  They were just about as brutal as Derge, it made him smile a little to be killed by someone like them.  

Derge rolled into a ball and placed his sword in front of him as the snake man took Kenshin's guns and used the remaining five shots in each of the guns on Derge.  Thanks to his instinctive tactic, Derge was able to survive the barrage of bullets.  Derge sprawled out on the deck of the ship, he was bleeding out.  Some of the bullets looked to have hit vital spots, one of his lungs had been hit and were filling with blood.  Derge could barely move his arms, the bullets disabled them to the point he might not ever use them again even if he did survive.  

"Looks like I lost.  My dream is over, I wasn't strong enough to redeem my family's name.  Maybe though, Iken can do it for me....just maybe." Derge said losing consciousness.

5/15

Pyro stalked forward and drew his cutlass. He and Derge always finished off their targets. Why should now be different? He refused to tournament security. He placed the cutlass at his friend's throat. Pyro laughed for a few moments, but then a surge of pity took hold. This was his best friend. Maybe he should let him live. Why ruin his dream?

"... Should we kill him? It's obvious he can't do anything more... I don't exactly want to stain my sword with his blood."

Pyro lowered his cutlass. Should he, or should he not kill his friend? Enemies die at the hands of their foes. Was he a mere enemy, or was he a rival? He look at his partner. Then he look back and the injured body of his friend. Who to help? Who decides?

3/15