West Blue: Act Two: Mayhem at the Marketplace

Lazy little islands had not always been Red's first choice of settling place.
If anything, she was far more of a fan of bustling ports, rowdy towns, brash cities and villages where excitement and unrest were bubbling only a few centimetres beneath the surface.

However, after all of the unrest and drama that had overtaken her in the last few days- the young woman was actually quite happy to make berth in a nice, calm, event-free island for the next few days.
Or at least until she got bored.

Red stepped out from beneath the shower-head, taking up a nearby towel and blotting her hair and skin. The innkeeper who owned the little establishment where she and her dear partner had chosen to take up residence was a sweet, elderly woman whom Red couldn't quite find it (entirely) in her heart to scam.
Plus, the water was always hot and there were always clean towels available: simple luxuries that life on the sea did not always leave at a traveller's disposal.

Upon getting herself dry, Red went about dressing and returning to the bedroom. She finished lacing up her corset, adjusted her shorts and fastened her blouse. The weather was warm and welcoming and Red intended to make the most of it. From her familiar perch at the vanity table, Red plaited her hair and bound it up.
"Hmm... I wonder if the little town has any navigational shops," she murmured to herself, taking a small tube from her satchel and painting her lips scarlet.

Her icy blue eyes occasionally glanced over her shoulder, seekng out the young man that she shared a room, a mission and (in some respects) a life with.

Days went by in their hidden room inside the Inn and Kaizen started to doubt the security of the island. With three devil fruit users using their powers outside of the room, one would think that Marines would have shown themselves by that point. But none did. In fact, Kaizen was surprised that ships didn't even show once through the oceans the entire time he was in the island. Eventually Red and him decided to leave their hidden, overpriced room and went with a more peaceful area. Half of Kaizen didn't like it, but after the ordeal with Red's ghost friend it was better never to risk being in a room with no windows, and no help, again. Not that he didn't enjoy it secretly.

A week has passed since they arrived on the island, and Kaizen woke up from his usual sleep. The bed was comfortable, and with warm sheets that all but cancelled the cool breeze that came through the open windows. Kaizen isn't usually the type to enjoy these things, in fact he isn't, but it was nice to see that the day gave off all of the 'false security' that comes with the calm before a storm. Now all he had to do was set his plan in motion. When was the last time he trained Red to use her powers? When did he force her to choose between saving herself and others less fortunate? When has he forced her to think for herself in a situation that will cost her her life? All of these questions, and many more, swarmed Kaizen's mind as he rose up from his bed, walked to the bathroom to brush his teeth, and walk out of it after bathing (with warm water) straight to the kitchen.

He briefly made eye contact with Red's icy blue eyes with his own snake-like yellow eyes as he focused on the lazier then usual strides that he wanted to make to emphasize the false security that should accompany this day. He was barefooted, and wore his boxers instead of actual pants. His only other choices were long pants, and he didn't want to wear them indoors. Red'll have to manage.

Kaizen, now shirtless, walked over to the fridge that accompanied their room and opened it, fiddling with some of the food inside of it and closed it. Then he checked some of the food on the counters, the cabinets, and kept shaking his head. "Damn, and I had such pleasurable plans too." He said to himself, knowing fully well that Red would be listening to him.

Red watched Kaizen as he made his way to the kitchen.
His eyes only briefly made contact with hers but the woman had to consciously bite down on the inside of her mouth to prevent a shudder running down her lower back.
She frowned, returning to her make-up, moving to paint a long black line along the bare rims of her eyelids.

She had grown accustomed to living and travelling with Kaizen and true, she had seen him at his most vulnerable. However, she had also seen at him at his most fierce and his unpredictability made him terrifying. She was determined, of course, not to allow him to see the effects of this intimidation surface in her.

Red’s jaw clenched as she turned to look at him where he stood.
“If only I could read his mind,” she lamented quietly, examining every inch of exposed, snowy skin.
He was only wearing his boxers: was he trying to garner her attention?

She stood up slowly, forcing herself to smile gently, her heart rate lifting as she approached him from behind and wrapped her arms around his torso. One arm slinked around his waist, the other slipped around his mid-torso and moved upwards to stroke his chest.
Red rested her head against Kaizen’s broad back, pressing herself up against him.

“Mmm, good morning, baby…what’s the matter?”

Kaizen didn't notice the shiver that crawled on Red's skin, but he knew that she didn't trust him as much as a random stranger would after the misadventures that the two had shared so far. It's safe to say that Red would sense a sudden change in his behavior and immediately go on the defensive. He had to 'not set off any alarms', a saying that perfectly described this situation.

As Red hugged him from behind, greeted him, and asked, in a way, what his worries were Kaizen refrained from smiling and instead frowned some with his eyes closed. His index finger was touching his chin.

"Well.. I was going to cook something, but I don't have any ingredients to make it. I had the wine, and most of the seasonings, but no chicken or pasta." Kaizen sighed, closing the cabinet door that showed no pasta to mix with red sauce. "Going shopping will probably take an hour or more if I go, then I have to cook.." He stopped mid-sentence, then lightly palpated Red's hand before grabbing it.

"If you go to the market and grab the pasta, the chicken, and a few other seasonings and spices, I'll promise to try and make today special for the both of us." Kaizen then, if she agreed, walked over to the counter and wrote, with his morphed hand, the ingredients and seasonings needed to make the rounded pasta on the wood. Among them was one odd ingredient, a 'Sacred Angel's Seasoning', which shouldn't be something that Red would recognize.

"Oh, and the Angel's Seasoning, it's hard to find in the store. They switch its location every other day, even the people who work there will often get its location mixed up. Just focus on finding it without bothering the staff, it'll take you less time." Kaizen cringed, as if he remembered something about that incident, "Trust me."

Red’s breath hitched slightly when he placed his hand over hers and she had to bite down on her lip to prevent herself from jumping when he suddenly grabbed it.
She listened to him explain that he wanted to do some cooking and being completely devoid of ingredients.
Red watched him as he moved away, her eyebrows raising.
It wasn’t unlike Kaizen to want to do a bit of culinary exploration and she knew that he had pretty exotic tastes but she also wouldn’t have put it past him to use this as an excuse to mess with her head.

Then again, a simple errand seemed to be a little mild in comparison to the Shadow Snake’s usual tastes. She eyed him as he spoke, frowning a little and following him, looking at the list over his shoulder.

Red dropped her head to his shoulder, her scepticism rising in levels as she studied his face. He seemed legitimate in his needs and Red had made plans to go shopping anyway…but she still couldn’t shake a distinct feeling of distrust.

Cool and calculating, she jumped up on to the counter beside Kaizen, crossing her long, bare legs and flicking her hair out of her eyes. “Hmmph…you’re very, very lucky that I planned on going out today, anyway.”
She took up the list, shaking her head and looking surprised at the special ingredient.

“Huh…Sacred Angel Spice, eh? I’ve never heard of it.” She scraped the corners of her mind for any kind of reference to the seasoning that she may have heard before.
Red’s brows knitted and she leaned forward, studying the list for any hidden messages, innuendo or hints towards Kaizen’s true intentions; if this man was planning anything- she did not intend to be the one to buy him the supplies for it.

But no, everything seemed absolutely fine.
She pushed herself down to her feet, shrugging. “Well, dinner sounds good, Kaizen-kun…especially if you’re cooking.” She smirked, tucking the note into her cleavage and shrugging her satchel up on to her arm. “I’ll get everything you need, baby.”

Disbelieving as always though, Reiko leaned up to Kaizen’s ear and kissed his cheek, whispering: “You’d better hope and pray that nothing too eventful happens in the market. You wouldn’t want anything to…take me away from you, now would you?”
She giggled girlishly, the malicious hint of a smirk on her face as she planted a kiss on his neck, flicking her tongue out against the pale skin.

She walked out the door, hips swaying and not looking back.

The market was fairly loud and quite busy, even considering how temperate and tranquil the little fishing village usually was.
Red generally tried to avoid attracting any attention- deciding that her Wanted Poster definitely might be in full circulation, considering the trail of theft and murder that she and Kaizen were leaving in their wake.
She made her way to a spice stall, inspecting the wares.
Begrudgingly obedient, she didn’t ask the shopkeeper about this specialised spice that she was to obtain.

“I probably should have asked him more about the appearance of the goddamn stuff,” Red groaned, examining the barely-legible, hand-written labels on the glass vials.
The weather was quite hot, the sun beating down on the exposed slit of skin between her corset and shorts. Red mentally promised herself a cold drink when all this nonsense was good and done.

“Next time, snake-boy can do his own shopping...cooking or not.”

When Red sat on the counter with her legs crossed Kaizen focused on the objective. Under normal circumstances he'd caress her leg, or worse, but he had to maintain his focus on the food that he apparently needed. If he, even for a moment, lost character then this would all be over. His attention unwavered, since he was writing down the list of things he needed and maintaining his neutral expression mixed with some worry.

When Red leaned over and whispered in Kaizen's ear he blinked, confused at what she had told him. "Eventful? If you mean angry shoppers, you're going to find those everywhere. If you mean a bad situation, those are unlikely unless you look for trouble." He then looked at her with judging eyes, the type that looked at her up and down, to make sure she wouldn't be doing the later of the two. "If you're going to do something troublesome, you will need to wear a mask."

When she turned around and left Kaizen couldn't help but look at her swaying hips, it was hypnotizing to him. "Hmm... it would be a waste of her abilities and talent if she ended up dying today.. gosh, I sure hope my Red can survive the ordeal." That's when Kaizen walked over to the cabinet of the sink. He took out a big chunk of chicken and some pasta, along with several spices. "Now.. how do I cook these infernal things." He popped open a book, put on an apron with the words 'SSSSSSSSexy cook' in the front, and heated up a pan with water in it.

Meanwhile, with Red in the mall, she'll very quickly find out how hard it was to find Sacred Angel Spice. In fact, there was no real hint of it anywhere. Not in the shipments from other villages, not in the normal spices isle, or even in the 'noble section', where all of the stupidly expensive items were kept. One could almost smell the uncertainty in the air at this point. Every other ingredient was easy to find, even the chicken. The only thing that seemed impossible was the Sacred Angel Spice.

A clerk, noticing Red walking around the store (who wouldn't) walked up to her with a smile. "Hello, do ya need any help? Don't worry, I get paid by the hour, so take your time." The man had dark brown hair that reached his neck, and had square metal frame glasses that were slim. In truth, the man seemed a little odd because he was the only one smiling out of the bunch in the market. He had an apron, short sleeved shirt with a collar and a tie (think, banker) and fancy shoes that one could tell are fake.

Red bit the inside of her mouth to stop herself from grimacing at the sight of the shop assistant.
Regardless of her shopping ventures, this lady liked to shop alone and without the overlaying shadow of a nosy, pressuring shopping assistant. Her eyes scanned the shop assistant’s body, looking him up and down.
Perhaps living with Kaizen was just giving her incredibly high standards when it came to men and their fashion but Red felt fit to gag when she noticed the quality of the man’s shoes.
Obviously fakes.
Her darling snake-in-a-suit wouldn’t be caught dead in anything but his own customised label-wear.

Red forced the prettiest smile that she could manage and leaned against the shelf, balancing her basket on the crook of her arm. “Yes, actually I’d love some help if you wouldn’t mind. I’m looking for a special spice known as Sacred Angel Seasoning or Spice…or something to that effect. Apparently, it’s vital for a certain recipe and it’s quite rare…I’ve actually never come across it myself…”

The shoping assistant smiled back at Red when she asked him for the spice, it almost looked like he was holding back a giggle. "Sacred Angel Spice? I have never heard of it. Considering I personally restock most of the store, I am pretty sure we don't sell that product, if it even exists in this ocean; maybe it's part of the grand line?" The man tried to think, but it was obvious he didn't have an answer for her other then his current one. He has a lot of items in his store, and it's hard for him to hear of one without knowing exactly what it is and where it is found in the west blue.

While the man thought ten men walked into the store at once, all wearing cloaks and hoods. Two of them stayed at the front door, while another three walked over the only other exit behind the store. Once everyone was in position the most noticeble one, the only one wearing a black cloak and hood with long white hair, pressed a button on a den den mushi he was holding. His voice then echoed through the store.

"Attention all shoppers, I hereby claim all of the treasures in this facility as my own. Everyone's belongings are now mine, and the money in the registers will be left outside and neatly stacked for me to grab on the way out. Any and all resistance will be met with either an instant or slow and painful death; it depends on my mood at that point and time. Like, if you were to do it right NOW I'd probably just rip your intestines out and watch you bleed to death, but if I see more money I might be more merciful."

At first there was only slight panic in the crowd, one man even tried to leave the store. However, the two men standing by the door immediately took out their pistols. They fired their guns, and the man dropped on the floor, dead. He had a hole on his forehead and another on his neck. The men knew how to aim decently at close range, apparently. When the shots were fired the store was met with several screams emanating from both men and women, and kids. The apparent boss with long white hair dropped his hood, revealing a masquerade mask with a scicle on a chain as his weapon. The chain is wrapped around his right arm while the miniature scythe is on his right hand. He then walked through the isles, starting with the first. He walked pasttwo women and a male. The women were already on the ground, looking for their belongings to give to the white haired fiend, while the male couldn't move from the horror that struck him. The white haired fiend cut his throat before continuing to walk down the isle, two of his men grabbed the purses and money on the ground, one of them even looted the corpse of the man.

"At the rate this is going, my bounty might increase by another 5 million." He said while walking.

White Hair
Bounty: 8 million
Crimes: Murder, kidnapping, robbery

The men by the entrance and exit then locked their doors, which was possible with a switch that locked the closed doors together. These men knew the store, apparently, which could mean one of three things. They spent weeks planning this mission (not likely since they would get more money from a bank), they used to work on the store (... the least likely of the explantion), or someone told them about it, which conveniently took away Red's possibility to leave the store undetected. Coincidence?

Kaizen was, at this point, looking at the clock in the ship and smiling. "It should be starting now. I wonder how well she'll do~ I should definitely start making that dinner for us. If she comes back and I haven't even done that I might have a repeat of that night." Kaizen remembered the painful ecstasy that occurred the entire day, without stopping, and the countless times he climaxed painfully to the point where he was almost in tears. He then smiled. "I'm sure she'll be fine, I'll make sure she comes back to some dinner." And like that Kaizen left to another super market, to grab some cooked chicken to put on the table.