As the door opened Mashyuu and Harley both went on edge, Harley's hands clenching into fists while Mashyuu's right hand flicked the dagger in his wrist sheath into his palm and held it under the table, ready to charge and stab at a moments notice. When it was Yuurei who walked in, both Pirates sighed with relief and eased up. "Don't you know it's rude to walk into a house that you don't live in without knocking." Harley grumbled and waved the thief off as if his comments meant little to her. "I know you got an invite to Skypiea, you don't seriously think we are still here because we want to be do you? It's because we want to make sure that all our affairs are in order before we set sail." Harley grumbled, clearly not too impressed with a thief after everything she had been through. "I'm going to pack up everything I can before we go so we are gonna run on low supplies here. Try not to get too hurt guys."

Mashyuu watched the exchange and sighed with annoyance in Harley's direction. "Don't mind her, it just takes her a while to warm up to people in general. After a few days of working together, or saving her life she will treat you nicely. But not before that.... I know first hand." Mashyuu mumbled and stood from his seat, slipping the dagger back into the sheath on his wrist. "I just gotta change and we can head out. Here's the deal, Avery is running his gang out of that tavern we were in this afternoon. Good and bad news is, there is only one way in or out, aside from the back door that leads to a dumpster for trash. I don't know how well the doors are guarded but those swinging doors up front have a second door made of metal that pulls down and locks with a pad lock. That's what I was there for earlier, well that and to avoid any windows so that drunk Pirates getting into street fights wouldn't crash through my table again." Mashyuu explained while he started to strip his jacket and shirt off then walked to a chair and picked up a heavy vest and a long black jacket. Quickly following he hopped behind a couch and tossed his pants off and changed them to a similar pair followed by a set of black boots. Topping things off he pulled red gloves on and placed a white and red face mask over his eyes.

"So, I figure I can fly you over the bar, drop you down and let you do a scouting job. We can meet back a block away and lay down the ground work of a plan. Granted I don't know what plan we could really come up with if not charge the door and hope to god we don't get riddled with bullets. But if you can figure a way in and blend in, I'll charge in and we can ambush them." Mashyuu went on to explain while walking out the door and spreading his wings to fly the pair to the bar...

When Yuurei had entered the facility he had noticed that the two pirates that were in here looked tense as hell, and seemed like they were ready to attack whoever entered this place. He could only raise his hands to both of them as he looked over to Harley who spoken up. It seemed like she was not pleased with his appearance, and he could only move his hand from being where they were to the back of his head. [color:b7f9=blue]”I guess I got her mad. Well then I should assume that is out of the window after all,” he thought to himself as he watched her walk off as he couldn’t help, but wonder what he had truly done to agitate the young lady. His attention had gone to Mashyuu now as he could only seem like he wished Harley was a bit nicer to the people he was trying to recruit. ”Then that is settled I will have to gain her trust, but she does get annoyed easily, if I say so myself,” he chuckled with those words as he stood where he was.

He cracked his knuckles as he figured things were going to get more complicated from here on. It seemed like he was going to have to wait for Mashyuu to get dressed. He wonder why he didn’t just go out looking like he did now. Still, he figured he would wait it out and allow the man to do that at least. Still, he was able to gain the information that he needed from Mashyuu, and it seemed like the second doors that were hidden was actually great for him to learn about. He didn’t know about that, and it would have sucked to be stuck in that Tavern without actually knowing about that. The last thing his new captain said confused him, but he figured he had a situation where a drunk pirate jumped out of a window, which took the fight outside on the streets. Yuurei was usually that person that would jump out of the window, but it was just to make a run for it.

The man started changing and Yuurei could only brush his hair back, and tap his left foot on the ground while his free hand leaned on the sheathed of his blade. When he looked at Mashyuu to see what he had changed into he was a bit surprised to see the red and white mask on his face. He didn’t say anything about it since he was wearing an eyepatch over his eye. Still, he had both of his eyes, but nobody ever asked or wondered if he did. He listened to the plan, and figured that would be for the best. When he got there he could do the scouting; hopefully he would be able to get the numbers to the guards outside down correctly. When they had made their way outside of the clinic he noticed that Mashyuu had spread his wings and Yuurei wrapped his arm around this man’s neck. ”Well this would be a funny way of dying,” he chuckled.

He wouldn’t want to fall to his death now would he? Yuurei could see everything from a different view. It was the first time he was actually flying or above Mock town. His long arms gave him advantage when fighting as he reached was longer than most, but they didn’t give him the ability to fly. Still, it didn’t take long for them to arrive close to the tavern that he was drinking from earlier. Yuurei had dropped down to the ground, and figured that his scouting would start now. ”I will be back in a second,” he said to Mashyuu. He moved through the crowd slowly as he was trying his best to blend in with the people around him. Yuurei kept himself close to the buildings, so that he could lean on anything and look stealthy around corners. ”Thank god I didn’t tell that bartender my real reason for being in that tavern. She would have snitched me out to Avery so fast,” he thought to himself as he had learned that Avery owned the Sapphire Tavern.
When he got to where the Tavern was located he peeped the corner indeed and he was able to see a two guards in the front of the bar. It seemed like they were making sure that Mashyuu couldn’t just walk into the Tavern so easily. Then he also noticed that there were also a few people walking around who were guards as well. They were keeping watch from what he could tell, so he would have to be careful about how he moved around the area. ”This is going to be annoying indeed,” he thought to himself as he moved around the area. He ran through, but he made sure to have some distance from the Tavern. He ran around Mock town, and soon enough he was able to see the back of the Tavern. He could see just two guards in the back where they tossed garbage out, and the fence that was build there. The side of the Tavern also had a few guards walking back and forth as if they were happy to look for Mashyuu.

”Did Avery put a bounty on our heads?” he thought to himself as he figured he would make his way back to Mashyuu. Yuurei ran around again, and of course he made sure that he wasn’t close to the tavern, so they couldn’t make him out. When he got to where Mashyuu would be his speed slowed down and his run had instantly turned into a walk. ”So they have two guards standing in the front, but a bunch of guards are moving around the front to see if they can spot us coming any directions. The side of the tavern is the same way as they are walking around to make sure that we don’t come from the side of the Tavern. The only thing that is least protected is the door in the back. They have a gate there, and two guards protecting the door. I’m assuming they feel like the two guards would be able to stop anybody who tries to come through the back because they have to climb or jump over the fence,” he paused for a second.

”Still, we have your flight, and coming in from above would surprise them and easily take out the guards in the back. It would give us an easy way, and there won’t be any commotions outside and nobody who is innocent to this wouldn’t be harmed. If you have anything to add, let me know, or we should just start now,” he said to Mashyuu as he was ready to do this, or listen to an alternative.

Mashyuu's face twisted with a bit of shock when Yuurei wrapped his arms around the winged man's neck like the pair were about to dance but Mashyuu didn't say a word about it. Instead he commented on Harley. "Harley is just worried that you will stab me or her in the back since you admitted to being a thief. She comes from a marine family, ask her about it when we set sail and you might see her reason for worrying so much." Mashyuu explained then took off into the air, moving much slower than he normally did thanks to the added weight that he hadn't really expected. Once the duo were close to the tavern Mashyuu lowered himself to the point that Yuurei could drop down without hurting himself then rocketed himself up high to avoid beeing seen by anyone who was passing by but still be able to look down and see who was who.

The Pirate simply waited until Yuurei returned and dropped down slowly to meet up with the rogue like swordsman. Mashyuu listened to the report of the outside of the building and pondered to himself. "Nobody on the roof then? Must mean there isn't a way to get inside from the top of the building. We can work with that. Lets drop in from the back. You said two guards? I'll take one and you take the other, from there we will have to battle it out with anyone else in there. I don't care if you kill or let live but Harley might if she finds out what's going on. Every life she doesn't save makes her feel like she failed as a doctor but one day she's gonna have to learn that life doesn't work like that. Anyway lets get moving. Oh, and before you ask, the mask is because I don't want to be running from Marines in every town we go to. So the mask is to keep my identity secret while letting me move around as a pirate. It's why I change clothes too. And while I know that eventually it won't matter, for now it does." Once again Mashyuu's wings opened wide and the pair took off into the sky...

... Mashyuu took the directions that Yuurei gave the man and soared over the building, circling carefully while slowly lowering himself down. "These guys will hear my wing beats soon, attack now..." Mashyuu whispered. Once Yuurei dropped Mashyuu did the same, dropping down and slamming the bottom of the shaft of his weapons into the top of one guards head, causing the guard to grunt from sudden and unexpected pain just before Mashyuu landed on the ground just in front of where the guard dropped. Mashyuu quickly snatched up the man and flew him up to the roof by dragging him with his chain, then did the same to the second guard, making sure to keep the two from getting back into the fight. When he returned to Yuurei, Mashyuu gave the man a thumbs up and nodded his head. "Okay, once we get in here the real fight is gonna start. I'm ready when you are." Mashyuu withdrew Silver Wind and whipped the two weapons around in his hands and lifted his foot to kick in the door....

Yuurei had thought about what Mashyuu had said to him at the beginning of their take off. He did right out tell them that he was a thief, but he only told them this because he wanted to let them know who they were dealing with. He was a thief heart and heart, and that was something he couldn’t change about himself. He had been doing it his entire life, and it was all he could do to survive. He wasn’t going to tell them, and that is because he wasn’t close to them to open up to them. The thief figured he would talk to Harley and make sure she was okay with him tagging along. He knew that he wouldn’t be anywhere he wouldn’t want to belong and that was for sure. Still, after everything had happen with him scouting the area, and explaining everything to Mashyuu, he had asked if there as anybody on the roof. There wasn’t anybody on the roof, but there was also no way of accessing the inside from the roof. He had known that from the beginning.

He listened to his new partner and it seemed like they were going to do this together, which was good. They would appear in the back, and of course from air, which was he was okay with. Then from there go on an assault making sure to either render people unconscious, or kill them. He did listen to him speak about Harley, and he would take her into consideration while taking these goons out. He figured that the guards would be easy to take out and just knock them out, but he wasn’t sure about Avery and anybody who was as strong as him. Now the mask explanation was actually quite good, and he was able to understand why he had dressed up that way. Yuurei figured he would do the same thing from now since he was traveling with Mashyuu and Harley from now. He figured there would be things that they would do, which wouldn’t allow him to just stay in the dark.

”I actually get man. Maybe I will get a helmet or something to hide my identity for the time being. I know the marines are filled with strong people, and if I’m going to be hanging around you, then I guess there will be time where I have to fight these people,” he said as he grabbed a hold of Mashyuu and took off again. The second time in the air he felt different and was more relax than he was the second time. He could see the speed they were going in, and knew it was because of his weight. Still, he was looking down to the see the two guards in the back, and was waiting for him to get close enough to drop down and get the surprise on one of them. He heard Mashyuu giving him the order to attack, Yuurei let go of him without hesitation and took out his blade. This time he was holding it differently as if it were a reverse sword. He slammed the blade on the guard on his shoulder knocking him out with the power of his long arms, and the use of gravity.

With that he landed on the ground safely and sheathed the blade again as he knew that Mashyuu would have been able to take care of his target. He sighed as he looked to the side and noticed that the wing-man had flew up in the air with the guard, and he could only chuckle as he knew what he was doing. Soon he would return and take the guard Yuurei took out. The thief would only step to the side as he waited for him to make his way back down. He noticed the thumbs up that came from Mashyuu and he was quick to do the same. Yuurei turned to look at the door now as he looked at his captain real quick and he grabbed onto his sheathed as he nodded to show that he was ready. And then it happened the red and white mask had kicked the door in, and with that he entered first being the person who usually scouted things he subconsciously entered first. He looked around and noticed that there was nobody in the kitchen.

Still, he knew the kick in the door probably alerted them, but still this was the start of a good fight. He made sure that there was nobody in here, and he signaled Mashyuu to enter. Yuurei moved forward as he could see that there was opening not too far from them, and he figured that this was probably leading to the front. ”Well here goes,” he whispered to his captain, and soon moved forward. Yuurei had entered the front, and he could see the man with the top hat, and nice tuxedo on him, but that was all that Yuurei seen. ”Well you came back, I’m going to need my pocket watch,” he said with a smile on his face. Yuurei had chuckled when he heard that, but then soon enough he noticed something in the corner of his left eye. It was too late for him to react in the best way possible, so he did what he could do. He moved his armed as quickly as he could, but he wasn’t able to harden his arm for the blow quick enough.

The punch connected and he felt the strength behind that hit as he was pushed to the side. His legs had picked up from the grown and he was moved to the side of tavern. Yuurei regained his balance quickly and shook his arm as he could feel the strong hit. ”You punch harder than I do, which makes you strong. Still, I think I can handle a two versus one,” he was lying about the last part, but he figured Mashyuu would show himself soon enough. ”Go for the head of the organization and then everyone will fall down after,” he said as his eyes locked on to Avery. He rushed over to the man as he did take account that he was holding a damn gun. Avery had pointed the gun towards Yuurei, and the thief had unsheathed his blade tumbled to the right as the gun had begun releasing its clips. His back had pressed against the side of one of the seats as he was going to get ready to chase after Avery again. Black Fist was getting ready to attack Yuurei, but he would soon meet Mashyuu.

The winged man followed Yuurei into the bar, first entering the kitchen. The Pirate Captain looked around to check the area, just because he was used to being on his own and not having anyone to watch his back. The man narrowed his eyes as Yuurei started to move for the dining room of the bar. "Yuurei, wait... Check the... Shit!" Mashyuu called out but Avery's voice echoed in the room and as Yuurei entered, Mashyuu saw a man in a black vest and shirt with black gloves and slacks strike out at Yuurei, knocking the man aside and out of view. The winged man spun the hand scythes in his palm, whipping them around in small circles for a moment while the chain of Silver Wind rattled gently. Mashyuu's wings moved up as high as he could get them while he started to run at the kitchen door leading to the bar room floor. The wings on his back flapped hard at the ground, boosting his speed and propelling Mashyuu out into the room. He crashed through the door and slammed hard into Black Fist, knocking the man to his left a few paces while Mashyuu replaced the positioning himself where Black Fist had formerly stood.

Mashyuu slipped into a fighting stance, quickly glanced over at Yuurei and Avery then back to Black Fist. "You must be the enforcer... I'm sorry about what's about to happen. But if you walk away now I won't have to hurt you." Mashyuu offered the young fighter. Black Fist grunted and straightened out his vest then turned to face Mashyuu, while glancing over his shoulder to the barred metal door. "I wanted to fight you one on one. Glad you avoided the guards outside." Black Fist grumbled and fell into his fighting stance.

Without warning, Black Fist launched an uppercut at Mashyuu, the speed of his strike threw Black Fist forward towards Mashyuu at a speed that matched Mashyuu's. The strike collided with the winged man's jaw and knocked him off his feet and through the kitchen door, causing Mashyuu to slide for a moment before he scurried to his feet. With only one way to reach Mashyuu, the winged man planned to land the second blow. He whipped the left side of his weapon in a circle while holding the chain then launched the weapon forward just as the door swung open, smashing the head of his scythe straight into Black Fist's chest, knocking the wind out of his lungs before Mashyuu pulled the weapon back to his grasp. Resettling into their stances as the door of the kitchen shut behind Black Fist, the pair glared at one another, knowing each could likely defeat the other in a single well timed strike.

Both men charged, Black Fist swinging his fist out in a straight jab, shooting a shock wave out at the winged pirate. At the same time, Mashyuu threw himself up and to the right, evading the strike while jumping over a metal table. As he landed on the ground, Mashyuu spun in a circle and lashed out high with his left arm, and stabbed low with his right, using the pair of scythes as an extension. Black Fist weaved the strike from the left and tried to back up but wasn't fast enough as Mashyuu's weapon hooked the back of Black Fist's leg and slid up to his back. As hard as he could, Mashyuu pulled Black Fist forward and jabbed out with his left handed weapon, catching Black Fist in the face with his weapon.

Countering, Black Fist screamed and threw an elbow down at Mashyuu's weapon, only to miss the strike as Mashyuu let go of the handle of the weapon, letting it drop away so he could instead catch it by the chain and whip it hard with his wrist to wrap around Black Fist's legs. Mashyuu yanked tight, pulling Black Fist off his feet and sent him crashing into the floor hard. As the chains loosened around Black Fist's legs, he slid out and threw both fists forward, sending a wave of energy straight at Mashyuu to knock him up and into a hanging rack of pots in the center of the kitchen.

With a rattle of metal, Mashyuu hit the pans, dropped onto the table he had jumped over and landed with a thud. Mashyuu could feel Black Fist drawing upon him and feel the speed of a downward jab aimed right for the back of Mashyuu's head! Just before the fighter connected with Mashyuu, he rolled to the right, at the edge of the table and dragged his weapon up and down the chest of Black Fist, quickly twisting the bladed weapons at the collar bone and lower abdomen of Black Fist then dragged the blades in opposite directions again, giving Black Fist four slashes in total. "Talon Rain!" Mashyuu called out as he dropped his foe backwards and blood trailed over Black Fist's body, not killing him but knocking him out from the sudden shock of the blow.

By the time the battle was over, Mashyuu had dragged Black Fist out to the back door then went to check on Yuurei to find Avery defeated as well. Mashyuu gave Avery a second thumbs up and drew a weak breath. "Bring him with us, we are gonna hop the fence and carry these guys to the local law and turn them in." He ordered before leaving Yuurei to catch up at the back door. Mashyuu pulled his vest out to look at his torso and winced when he saw multiple fist sized bruises on his torso from Black Fist's strikes...

Once Black Fist and Avery were turned in while avoiding the small amount of men Avery had under his command, Mashyuu and Yuurei found themselves sitting with Harley at the clinic again. "Alright, I'm not completely sold on you Yuurei but the Captain came back with only some bruises. I can live with that and accept you as a crewmate for now. We will have to introduce you to Dai, or Navigator." Mashyuu chuckled and waved Harley's comments away. "No, Yuurei is good in my book just like Dai and you. Each of us are very different from one another and I wouldn't have it any other way. Yuurei, will you accept my invitation to join the Phantom Raiders and be my crew mate?"

OOC:

Yuurei looked over to where Black Fist would approach, but he could see that the man had never got close to him. It was to be expected because Mashyuu was there. He continued to hear the shots being fired in his direction, and figured it was best for him to move from where he was. His knuckles cracked from his non-dominate hand, and he pushed himself off what he was leaning against, and started running again. The thief had watched he was running as he had space due to this tavern not having anybody in it. He did take a quick glance at Avery as it seemed like the man had finally finished shooting all of his bullets at him. While he was moving he noticed that something had felt something weird on his body. He looked at his left shoulder and could see that a piece of his shirt was torn, and he could see his bare skin. His teeth clamps together as he could feel the pain surging through his nerves, and into his brain.

The thief had been grazed by one of the bullets that Avery had been shooting off on him. He was happy it wasn’t a through and through, nor that it was stuck in his shoulder, but he was wounded, and was enough to upset him. He figured this would happen the moment he seen the gun, but he was hoping that this world would prove him wrong. Still, he could see that the man was finally out of bullets at the moment. First he heard the noise of bullets being fired stopping, and when he looked he could see that Avery was trying to reload his weapon. Of course Yuurei wasn’t going to allow that as he was a close ranger fighter, and he would have to continue running around until he was done with that clip. He didn’t have time, but he did remember that Avery wasn’t using a gun because he was scared of close range. No, he remembered when Avery slapped him, and knew that he was strong.

”No you don’t,” he simply said as he swung his blade downward to catch Avery on his shoulder. The man with the top hat looked at Yuurei and blocked the incoming attack with his Tommy gun. He could only look angrily while staring into Yuurei’s face. The thief on the other hand could only be seen with a smile on his face. He remembered to his past as he was never going to be a weak person and watch those next to him get taken away from him. He was using his velocity as a source of strength, and soon enough it would show progress as the gun had stopped Avery from getting hurt, but Yuurei was able to disarm him. ”Tchh, you little shit,” he said bringing his fist upward towards Yuurei with force. It had connected on the thief’s chest, which brought Yuurei to stumble back.

He looked at him with a bigger grin as it seemed like he was able to get him angry from what he had done. He was sorry for one that, and it was that he wouldn’t be able to hold back on this person. He remembered what Mashyuu had told him earlier about killing, and how Harley felt about it. He tighten the grip that was on his handle, and moved rushed towards Avery. The man looked like he was digging into his pocket for something, but he wasn’t sure what it was, nor was he going to give him free time to do such a thing. Yuurei had slashed upward this time, and then diagonally, but Avery was able to dodge the slashes, but barely. There was the sound of tears through his clothing, and Yuurei could see that he had slightly cut him with Ichi. Soon enough though Avery was able to take out longer than usual switch blade, and he pointed it at Yuurei.

It seemed like things were going to get interesting here, and he watched at Avery moved around, and he did the same thing. He made sure that the man had stood in front of him the whole entire time, and then soon things started moving forward. Avery was quick to move forward as he lunged at Yuurei with the blade, and the thief was quick to avoid the weapon strike, but didn’t noticed that Avery was going for a second attack. The man was quick to throw a punch at him, which brought him to bring his sword to block the attack quickly. He was pushed back again, and his sword didn’t cut through Avery’s flesh because the edges never connected on his fist. Yuurei had lunged towards Avery this time as he had swung his blade at the man and watched his clothes tore up. Avery was strong, but he wasn’t faster than Yuurei, and that much he could tell.

It was either that, or his length was surprising to Avery, but either way he was glad to have that advantage. Yuurei had to avoid the man’s punches, and his damn switch blade as well. As the fight continued on, Avery decided to do something different, and soon Yuurei had seen an incoming leg coming straight at him. He strengthen his arm and brought it down and his eyes widen when he felt the force of the kick, and he was pushed to the side, and the only thing that could be heard after that was Yuurei gritting with the pain from that blow. He sighed as he looked at the man and knew that he was going to have to take him out now. Yuurei was cutting Avery, but the wounds weren’t enough to take him out. On the other hand the blows Avery landed on Yuurei hurt, and the graze wound on his shoulder started to bother him a bit.

The thief had looked at his target with a serious face now as he wasn’t playing around. His feet kicked off the ground as he moved faster than he usually did, and Avery’s eyes widen when he seen the increase in speed from Yuurei. His feet moved as he was going to jump back to avoid the attack, but Yuurei had spun in a circle slashing at Avery without holding back. ”Ittoryu: Jiten Kire,” he said as Avery shouted throughout the Tavern, and dropped to the ground. Yuurei had straighten his posture as he had swiped his blade to the side, removing the blood that was on it, and then soon after sheathing the blade. He looked over at Avery, and slouched over to see if the man was still alive. When he checked, he noticed that the man was still alive, but the blow he dealt was strong enough to take him out. He was a bit happy he didn’t kill him because Harley wouldn’t get on his ass.

Then he remembered that he wasn’t alone and that Mashyuu was with him. He could only wondered how his fight was going, and he heard footsteps coming from his side, and noticed that it was his captain who appeared from the door. Yuurei sighed because he didn’t know what he was expecting, but he was glad that it was Mashyuu. Yuurei heard what his captain had said, and he sighed because that was something he needed to get used to. He grabbed Avery by the collar and started dragging him as he was told to do. It didn’t take long for the duo to leave that tavern and turn in the two men that were waiting for them at the end. They didn’t have to move around the areas their men were guarding to get to their destination, but with that done their trip to the clinic would be next. He figured Harley would ask what happened in the Tavern, but she would be able to tell that they won with some minor bruising and wounds.

Yuurei waited for his turn as she spoke about Mashyuu coming back with just bruises. He smiled because he wished that could be said for him. Still, it seemed that the fact that he only came with bruises show that he was dependable into helping Mashyuu out. She accepted him as a crewmate, which made him smile, and now he would have to meet Dai who was the navigator for their crew. ”That’s good to hear Harley, glad to have your approval,” he said as he looked over at Mashyuu as he spoke. The thief stood tall and smiled at him. ”I will accept this invitation in joining the Phantom Raiders and be the man who steals for this crew, and himself of course,” he laughed at the last part, and then grunted as he felt the pain on his left shoulder, and his torso. ”Still, Harley please patch me up,” he grinned when he said this as he took off his upper clothing.

Yuurei would reveal the wound on his shoulder and the bruises that were around his arms, and chests. If Mashyuu looked at his body he would see the scars on his back, and the same could be said for Harley. He was glad, and nervous to be able to join the two of them. Yuurei knew he couldn’t go forward on his own, but he was scared that he might lose them like he lost his little crew back on his home island. He would make sure this time it would be different and would do anything he could to get things done. Still, a good day had past for him as he had met to new people who would soon become his friend.

Exit