chapter 1: Well all stories have a beginning ((Flashback)open to crimson and me)

FiFi had been docked within Rykoko village for over a week, her mind had lingered on the lack of money she had as she couldn't get away from the island. The village was large but it was used as a dock for the larger towns around the village. The docks of the town were famous throughout the island and the local islands due to the efficiency of workers of the docks and the sailors who called the place home as they weren't the strongest but they were able to navigate the ship through the blue without a map and the speed they could get anywhere was almost unrivalled due to their knowledge of the sea. The village was mostly made of factories, docks and warehouses, living quarters for people was much lower priority as most of the workers either never stayed long enough that they needed a play to sleep on the land or they called other towns upon the island the home. This town sells the Iron and ship parts created from the many towns upon the island as they weren't going to use parts from another island either to distrust or pride either they, they are arrogant. FiFi had no allies as she had deserted them for a life of freedom away from the marines. Fifis clothes had gotten alittle tatty as she had been living rough for the first time well ever she didn't really know what she was to do on this island, she spent time looking for work within the docks but due to her age or distrust of the new comer they didn't give her the jobs so she just had to sleep within the factories when they were empty. For food well she found out like with the marines these sailors don't seem to keep count of how many there are of them, she cooked herself only the finest meals with some of the rarest meat she could get hold of and the money they had, they didn't need it anymore she used it to buy what little else she needed or could afford at the time. She decided in the morning of the fourteenth day of her stay she would leave this place either she would steal a vessel but that wouldn't be smart, she may be sneaky but she knew that she would be no match for these sailors. The other plan was to sneak upon one of the vessels but she didn't just want to end up with the same problem on the next island. She sat upon the street corner it was obvious she didn't belong her clothes made sure of that her hair had started to become ratty and dirty as she couldn't clean herself very well almost gaining a red shimmer from the blood and the same with her skin it was dirty with either blood or dust cleaning the parts exposed to people were cleaned to the best of her ability as she had limited access to clean water that she didn't need to drink as she tried to keep herself in state people would want to let her work. She tried to keep herself together thinking she had gotten herself stuck on this island before she had even begun. Her body was weary from the many days sleeping in the cold of the factories and the backs of storerooms as she knew she had barely started to get to work on experiments, the sailors were starting to bore her, they reacted the same way to her experiments each and every one of them which created the experiments, she curled up trying to keep herself from snapping in anger as she didn't get a glance from the busy workers around her as she had to think of something as she shook alittle cold in the wind.

Akira stood with Valor on top of a building, the Island of Rykoko was much colder in comparison to his home village. The Change in climate also affected Valor as well, they either had to leave or find a place to stay quickly. They had arrived two days ago after a long flight, and Valor was much to weak to continue on their journey, so leaving was practically out of the option. Both the small figures shivered as a cold blast of wind hit them. Sighing he hoped nobody saw as he shifted to his normal human size, allowed Valor to jump to his shoulder, and hopped down into an alleyway. Walking onto the streets he smiled, despite the cold stares of those around him.

Taking out the last of his coins, he purchased two rolls of bread and a bit of feed for his Falcon. The two turned around and walked into another ally, sitting down to avoid picking up any more attention than was necessary. Pouring a bit of the seed into his hand he held it out to his trusty companion, Valor was probably hungrier anyway. Sitting there for a moment, Akira began to wonder about the future, without any money they couldn't afford food,and without food it wouldn't be much longer before... well... He shuddered, not wanting to think about that, instead enjoying the peaceful moment, only interrupted by the casual gust of wind blowing his hair to the side.

FiFi sat there still shaking cold her dress wavering around her ankles the bad stitching around her clothes were holding but only just as she had sewn them back together with medical thread and needle thinking it would be just as easy for her to stitch clothes together as it was to stitch skin together but obviously it wasn't. she turned to look at his Guy who sat next to get shifting away alittle as she looked up at him and his pet bird a grin sprouting on her lips for only a moment as she saw the bird thinking it may be delicious but she didn't want to scare this guy off, well not yet. she looked up at him showing him how scared she was since she was alone trying to get his sympathy by being alittle girl all alone and homeless and spoke quietly " P..please sir do you have anything i can eat". She was hungry but she did have enough money to feed herself but if she could get something for free, its free. she made sure to hide the knife that was by her side under her dress so he wouldn't go looking for it moving it with her foot. she continued to look up at him confused of why he decided to sit next to her, why did he pay her attention when no one else did, why wasnt he scared of her when just about everyone else was of the criminal.

Akira raised an eyebrow, trying not to startle his feathered friends meal. The girl looked hungry, desperate, the blood on her skin mixing with the dirt. Sighing he waited for Valor to finish his meal before taking the one of the rolls he had bought, looking at it hungrily. His stomach growled, and he remembered that he hadn't eaten in some time, but this poor girl was starving. "Curse my good will..." He whispered to himself as he looked over to the girl, a calm smile spreading across his face. "It's not much but here you go." Handing the Roll to the girl he took out his spare and too a bit out of it. The bread was rough, speaking stories about the age of the bread, however he couldn't complain it was food. He could make it last had he enough space to change size, but he didn't want to take the risk. After a few seconds of chewing, he swallowed and turned to the girl again. "What brings you to this sad town? It isn't exactly the safest of places" Laughing he took another bite.

-she took the bread he offered her and started to nibble on it slowly it was old and it was rough but nevertheless it was food and she started to eat it as she curled up alittle tighter as she was getting colder revealing her blade at her feat as she tried to act like she wasnt hiding it. "thank you for the food sir" she started to speak alittle louder, happy that this guy wasnt just going to ignore or beat her. as she then started to speak of how she got where she was "well I got dropped of here by some of my old friends, i wasnt able to stay with them anymore it wasnt safe for either of use" she glanced at the tattoo on her arm for a moment before continuing to look down. " and well um i havent found a way of this lackluster place yet, why are you here still" she had seem him before around the town but the seeing the bird up close was new to her. she was about to ask him a question before catching herself "would you like to..." she was gonna ask if he wanted some meat but she caught herself before finishing the question realizing that she had only just met him and that he wouldnt be too fond off eating people since no one was fond of her experiments or cooking.

Raising an eyebrow, Akira's eyes peered at the blade at the girl's feet. As he listened to her he felt for his blade, sighing as he felt the cloth of the handle in his grasp. The vibes coming from this girl weren't the best, Valor felt them as well, glaring at her. Then again, being stranded on this forsaken Island would probably do this to anybody. Putting a hand over Valor's head to calm him down, he looked back to the girl. "Shame that your stuck here..." Looking at this poor girl, he wondered... he would invite her to come along, if it weren't for the fact that they did not own a boat. Normally this didn't hinder Akira's journeys, however his normal mode of transportation wasn't going to quite work. Smiling to himself he took another bite of the roll. However when she stopped herself, he turned to her, confused "Would I like to what? Oh, by the way, the names Akira, and this is Valor." He patted the hawk's head, who reluctantly squawked and ruffled his feathers. "And you?"

she saw him reach for his own blade as she knew hers had been spotted leaving it in the open as not to hide it any longer she almost glared at him for a moment returning the expression he gave her and then giggled lightly "put the blade away there's nothing to be scared off. I'm just a little girl what can i do to you". She smiled as she stood up slowly as she was bored of sitting their already. As she stood up turning to answer his question briskly as if she had business to get on with "My names FiFi, would you like to help me get of this island? I know a way". She thought to herself it would be better to lie of what she meant in the first place but know seeing his interest in her and that he seemed to be stuck here as well she may be able to work with him to get a boat off this place, without needing to pay for supplies but first her notes. As she stood her clothes rustled a little the blade as she picked up the blade at her feet and slide it back into the belt around her waist without a sheath, she didn't have one and the risk was worth the time.She started to wonder off back down into the side streets unsure if Akira would follow but if he did she knew she had someone who would work with her for at least a short while and if not well then  she didn't.

Watching FiFi walk away, Akira debated with himself, should he follow the girl? He had no idea if he could even trust this girl... however he had few other choices. Looking to Valor he eventually sighed and finished the rest of his roll, if he were to start trusting others, it might as well start now. Getting up he nuzzled Valor's head with his finger before beginning after her. Catching up with Fifi he nodded and whispered to her "Alright Fifi, if you've got a plan, I'm listening... although we should probably discuss it somewhere private... the streets are dirty in more ways than one." He gestures too one the many shady figures sitting on the side of the street. "Heck, even Valors getting nervous..." He slowly comforts the nervous bird.

She heard the gentle patter upon the stones of his footsteps as she turned and smirked alittle, she didn't trust this guy but at least she had someone who she could at least work with for the time being. she looked at him for a moment confused of why he trusted her though so quickly to follow her down an alley. Before she could get in a word she heard him speak of the fellows across the street as she turned away at an instant as she started to wondered down the winding  alleys almost feeling like she was leading him into a maze. the stones would turn rough as they were getting deeper into the alleys because it was leading into the industrial area of the town as she then panted alittle feeling the slight patter upon her head as she felt the rain start to fall from the sky her dress starting to get alittle damp and cold. Her hair started to become more slick as it fell to her shoulders alittle more in the wet, the rest of her skin started to feel the cold as she shivered alittle. it would be after 10 minutes of the alley ways that she would finally lead them into a small back door which looked like it led into the warehouse but all it was, was a storage room she had fasioned into a small home. she had been almost silent as they walked all she could think was "why did he trust her so quickly and why didnt she feel almost scared to let him this close so quickly?". The storage room had a small pile of sheets upon a bed that looked like something you would find in a hospital, a closet which was almost empty apart from a single change of clothes and a small box of medical supplies and her notes and a bag to carry it in, a large row of disused equipment used as side unit and under the bed the floor boards looked alittle bent up as if something was hidden under there. The room was lit with a single lamp that she had lit which hung upon a shoddy hook in the ceiling and the roomed had a feint smell of meat but it mainly smelled like metal and oil and industry, the whole room looked old and decrepit.. she turned to him and grinned alittle "well they shouldn't be able to find us in here well at least  not for a while". FiFi turned and opened her closet as she started to pack her stuff up what little she had "If we were to take one of the merchant vessels we would have what we need to survive and a ship to travel with and maybe just alittle money from the merchants, those ships are always travelling through here, we just need to get onto it and so long as your as strong as you look we will be fine" as turned away quickly pocketing a small pouch from her side unit filled with a few coins as the smell of meat and started to overpower the smell of oil and metal

As Akira followed Fifi deeper into the alleyway, he sighed as the beginnings of rain began to drop from the sky, he attempted to cover Valor under his arm, the bird snapping at the rain. Nether the less, the pair followed behind the little girl earnestly. When they reached the small warehouse, he raised an eyebrow, however he was thoroughly impressed with the place this girl set up, probably all on her own as well. Pushing some clutter out of the way, he looked around at the state of the room as Valor happily jumped up, happy to be out of the freezing rain and chill. Akira laughed as Valor happily jumped around the room, while his wings weren’t quite ready for flight, the bird’s energy had returned to him. Changing his attention back to Fifi, wondering just how she planned to acquire this ship. “Alright…. But just how do you plan on taking the ship?” He was a bit worried, but he didn’t let it show. However he noticed a definite smell of meat drifting up. "Um... hey, what's that?"

She giggled alittle under her breath at the bird as it flew around the room almost wanting to snatch it up and see if she could improve it alittle because it seemed injured but for now she had more on her mind that the mere bird. she placed her bag on the bed and sat on it to rest her legs alittle as she started to speak repairing her clothes alittle more as she did "well to start with, I think we should sneak onto the ships they dont check if you are crew normally when going on board the ship but still we can't be too suspicious and then when we get on board we wait for the ship to leave port and then we take the ship they are rarely guarded by many people and even if they are would you rather die on this island starving to death or get of this stupid rock" as he then mentioned the smell her nose perked alittle as she then glared at him for a moment "that is none of your concern, if you want to get off this island and then i may bless you with the answer" but she knew as soon as she got on the ship it would become all too clear as she got ready to leave her home so soon.

As Fifi got defensive, Akira began to wonder more about the smell, but then again more important matters were at hand. Calling Valor over to him, he stood up and nodded. “Alright alright, I wont ask.... but I’ll help you get off this rock, but you have to promise... No unnecessary murder.” While his complexion was generally happy, there was a seriousness about the way he spoke.  “Or at least keep it to a minimum…” He was silent for a moment, before looking towards Fifi. “Do we have a deal?”  He asked with his hand outstretched towards her. He wasn't sure how violent her plans were, but there weren't many other immediate options. Valor turned his head to the side, seemingly awaiting Fifi's answer as well.

Fifi looked at akira as he seemed to drop the subject mostly as she took his hand and looked him in the eye and nodded "of course, I'm sorry but we will have to kill a few but most should run in fear" she spoke quietly with seriousness as she shook his hand and picked up her bag almost having her mood changed in an instant from happy to be able to leave this place to a mood of determination and had a small shudder as she knew it was only time until her true experiment. The ability to reason and let this man this close to her home and her in general felt odd to her as she didnt want to keep further away from him. as she opened the steel door to the alley as she pointed to down to the exit of the alley and to the docks. "We may want to get started quickly they are starting to get ready to leave and we need to be on their as they got of the port" she started to walk out a slight grimace on her face knowing that she would have to kill more people, contrary to what people believed she didnt enjoy ending lives she just found it more interesting that most as she looked at the tattoo on her arm she felt guilt for what she was about to do but she just shook it off as she continued to walk.

Akira sighed, unneeded violence was one of the few things he hated... but perhaps he could reason with himself. No one on this island was a "good person"... and they needed to do this. Otherwise it could be days, weeks, even months before another ship would arrive in port. Following Fifi out the door, letting out all of his worry out with a sigh he shook his head. he saw the ship they were walking too, and overall it didn't look that guarded. Perhaps he could scare most of them away with minimal violence, heck a few guards looked fresh out of the gate, new meat not quite knowing what they were being hired for. He noticed that Fifi was paying more attention to the tattoo on her arm, which he noticed for the first time. AS they approached the dock, he walked in front of her and gestured for her to follow his lead. Nonchalantly he walked past workers taking cargo on and off, and strolled along the deck, none even batting an eye as he walked past them.

As she followed him letting him act like an employee leading her onto the ship as a visitor as none of the men seemed to notice them, she found it alittle odd as if they were brainwashed or if they were somehow just too concentrated on their work for them to care about what was going on with them as they moved onto the ship. she pointed towards one of the doors "lets head inside until they start to leave" she watched the guards start to get onto the ships they were equipped fairly basically with just a sword and a rifle just like the marines she was so used to dealing with but the captain seemed like a alittle differant as she came on with no weapon which perplexed her alittle as they made there way inside the ship they would find themselves inside an almost pristine kitchen fully stocked up with food as she giggled alittle to herself "hmm looks like they have stocked up specially for us"

Akira looked around hungrily, it had been quite some time since he had eaten 'real' food. looking around he noticed they were the only two around and grabbed one of the plentiful fruits from the barrels. Taking a bite he savored the delicious taste of the apple, barely able to hold himself back he grabbed another one and sat down. Looking to Fifi he asked through his bites "So... now that we're on board I'll follow your lead, I'm guessing stay low unti-" Akira was cut off immediately by yelling on the deck, and the rush of deckhands to finish moving. "Hm, it seem's there shipping out already..." Shrugging he took another bite, grabbing a bottle of rum he began gulping it down. Meanwhile valor found his way into a barrel of seeds.

-she ran her fingers over the chopping boards and the knives accidently cutting herself on the blade flinching alittle as the blade was so sharp. she felt the ship move dropping the knife by accident as she felt the boat rock alittle as it moved in the rough seas. she then looked out upon the deck and started analyse what she had gotten herself into, she wasn't very hungry at the time though all of the food was tempting she couldn't concentrate on it as she started to get alittle worried as she picked up the knife she replaced her old one as she noticed the guards were posted all around the ship and not just on the deck but the captain of the guards was commanding the deckhands around on the deck as she tried to think of a plan she then turned up to Akira "well we just need to captain dead or at least not here since if we can get her, the rest should scatter or at least be alittle easier." she sat back on a chair for a moment panting from exhaustion from lack of food or proper sleep causing her alittle pain.