A Waiting Game

[Docile]

North Blue::.
Summer Season::.
3:00PM::.




Heavy waves batted against the side of this small merchant ship whilst they sailed along through thick & thin. It had been two days since the last island and Koto still had no idea where he was going. He had his tools for navigation all laid out on a table but he honestly hadn't actually planned anything other than see the world so he would go where ever and wouldn't care where it was at all. However the thing about sailing was that it was a waiting game.

There was always sleep but that took the fun out of it not that there was allot of fun to be had, but some people enjoyed it. The soothing waves the gentle breezes & the vast open seas of wonders. Shame Koto Bazzi fucking hated it. To him it was boring as fuck and just a waste of time. Its part of the reason he'd taken up learning navigation. He wanted to see the world, but hated the sailing bit. But as long as he knew how to navigate he could figure out the quickest route.

Whilst he'd been rather bored Koto had searched the ship for anything he could find aboard. In his search he'd found a few small gadgets and in a mere matter of moments he'd dismantled them and quickly started placing them back together different mixing them up trying to create something half decent and useful.

Shame the gadgets weren't anything special.

"So Taki I've been thinking." Koto had spent his time in between tinkering thinking far too much. He'd seen pirate ships & Marine ships sail past and it had really got him thinking. "If I were a pirate, would you join me? Just wondering y'know like if I was a pirate. I mean as far as things are I'm just a navigator, but y'know. Just humor me."

Koto asked.

A large wave slammed into the ship and Koto felt himself thrown from his feet on to his back, grunting a little pain from his bullet wound stung. He lay on the floor in slight pain before picking himself up and stretching. Travel was a killer and it was days like these Koto wished there was something faster or something more fun to do aboard ships. But where there's only two of you there's only so much you can do.

[Vaetric]

Laid on the deck of the ship, Taki snoozed. She was on her side, her right elbow pressed against the floor with the arm propping up her head as her left arm stayed at her side. She hadn’t slept for a couple of days and now was the best time to catch up on it, in the apparent safety on a ship. Even if it sank, it’d be Koto’s fault and he’d be the one drowning because of it. She yawned, though she did keep her senses up. She couldn’t go full-snooze, dolphins keep literally half-awake while they monitored their breathing, so she guessed she could learn how to do that, even though she had gills.
 
Koto was a navigator, so he could figure out where they were going. She was just there for the ride until he bullet wounds fully healed, plus, she at least owed him a guaranteed safe travel to wherever he wanted to go now for plucking those bullets out of her. He didn’t seem to know where he wanted to go though, and it sounded like he’d bitten a bit more than he could chew when it came to the storm weathering around them, she didn’t care though.
 
She opened an eye as she heard Koto ask her a question. Yawning, she’d shove a finger in her ear and twist it for wax. “Dunno. You’re pretty small, even for a human. People’d just laugh at the height difference.” she’d say, yawning again and lying on her back, this time placing both hands behind her head as the wave threw Koto back.

[Docile]

At the mere mention of being small even by people's standards Koto's eyes widened and his fists were clenched tightly. Like a dog's anger growing in ferocity Koto spat out a venomous response.

"Fuck off! You're just a freak of fucking nature you fucking fish!"

Koto hated being told he was small and wouldn't accept being told he was a midget. He didn't need to be told what he knew every moment of his own fucking life. The freaky fucking giant fish freak! Clearly Koto was a little mad.

"Just cause I'm small doesn't mean I ain't strong. Bet I could knock you out or push you over bitch! I could be a pirate & a bloody good one too. Just let me show you! I'm no fool!"

Koto had already set the two of them on a route towards another island. But as the two made their way to the island they would have to wait. It was time to get to know each other a little bit and maybe discover a little bit more. Koto knew that he wanted to prove himself to Taki. She may have been big & bustling with muscles but that meant nothing. He was stronger. He could & HAD to prove it.

Running around in a circle Koto started running his full speed in a circle with a grin. He was ready to bring her to her knees or flip the big fucking female fish overboard.

"C'mon. Bitch! Try stop me. I'll prove I can throw you over board."

Koto shouted attempting to taunt Taki. Little did he know he was convincing himself to be more and more so of a pirate and probably a pirate captain. The captain was always meant to be the strongest or most dangerous anyway right?

[Vaetric]

It seemed Koto didn’t enjoy being called short. Well, she was speaking truthfully. If they were in the same pirate crew it’d be ridiculous, especially if it’s him running the helm, who would want a captain they could step on, figuratively and literally? Then he flew a whirl of insults, she shrugged. “Maybe you’d do better in the marines, heard similar from some knife chucking guy.” she’d say, though she’d heard it many times before, she still couldn’t help but be a little hurt about the freak part. She’d frown at him, placing her hands on the deck and pushing herself up as he started to run around in circles.
 
He looked like a kid who didn’t get his way and was now running in a circle to see if he can piss off as many people to get it. He was betting he could knock her over, although he said he wasn’t a fool, she definitely thought in the direction that he is. He was able to beat someone because he shoulder-barged his groin, he could barely reach hers, the sheer ratio of his miscalculation astounded her, she shrugged. “Fine, if you knock me over or something, I’d join your crew. If you don’t, when we next see the island I’ll throw you at it.” she’d say, he’d best hope it would have a forest.
 
She’d look at him moving in a circle, before stepping directly behind him and crossing her arms so that he had the full amount to run around the circle and back toward her, she didn’t really even have to bother to brace her legs.

[Docile]

At the mention of him being better in the Marines Koto felt slightly insulted. Those bastards had arrested him after they'd destroyed his ship. Like hell was he going to join those fuckers! As Taki said that she'd join his crew if he knocked her over Koto wasn't thinking about leading his own crew but more about knocking her over and nodded as he grinned.

He wasn't going to be thrown at an island he wanted to knock this bitch over so hard she fell through the decking. Although it wouldn't be a preferable idea seeing as he would drown but it would be totally worth it.

Moving from expert to dangerous speed Koto could feel his body moving at a much faster rate. As he came speeding back around to see a foot of the large whale freak, Koto hopped into the air & started running larger circles to accommodate for Taki's feet.

"FINE! IF I DON'T KNOCK YOU OVER YOU CAN THROW ME WHERE EVER THE HELL YOU WANT! OTHERWISE YOU'RE GOING TO BE JOINING ME!" Koto shouted at the top of his lungs. His voice probably sounding rather peculiar as he sped around Taki at an ever increasing speed.

Koto was determined to bring her to her knees no matter what it took and he would prove that much to her.

[Vaetric]

Taki looked as he ran around her, she thought he was going to knock her down or something, guess he was going to keep her waiting. Though, he did surprise her a little. He was going much faster than she expected him to, he was going faster than most normal humans. Was it because of his anger? He went fast and faster, and suddenly he’s  moving faster than her. Her arms relaxed as she blinked at his improvement.
 
She frowned again, and placed one foot in front of the other, bracing herself. It looked like it wasn’t going to be as easy as she thought, she was suddenly fairly glad he wasn’t cocky enough to bet her for other things. She didn’t quite expect someone as physically impressive as this in the blues, the worst she would expect were guns.
 
“Fine! Break your nose on my leg!” she’d shout (albeit less angrily) back, she flexed her arms in preparation and tensed her legs, getting ready for the inevitable crash. He was fast, yes, but was he strong enough to survive the impact?

[Docile]

Picking up even more speed as he progressed from dangerous to lethal Koto could feel a rush of adrenaline and his hair beginning to whip back, his skin fluttering a little the loose bits at least and last but not least how hot his feet were becoming due to the constant impacts upon the decking of the ship. As Taki placed another foot down Koto quickly diverted to the right and made a much larger circle. Now speeding around her and using the entire spare space there was all over the ship Koto only started to run faster & faster. Taki was going to be in for some serious trouble as she didn't know what Koto's power was, just how to defeat him.


"I WON'T BE THE ONE BREAKING MY NOSE! THERE'S GOING TO BE TWO SOUNDS. ONE OF ME HITTING YOU & TWO OF YOU HITTING THE GROUND!"

Koto clenched his fist tightly as he looked towards Taki. As he returned his gaze to his destination he nearly ran off the edge of the ship and quickly took a turn to keep himself on track.

"YOU'RE GOING DOWN!"

[Vaetric]

She’d prepared herself, Koto had started to go even faster, faster than most humans she’d seen. But he was still being all talk and no action, he just ran in circles, was he building up momentum or something? Was that how he was going fast, or was he just missing each time he tried to hit her? Their eyes locked for a moment before he continued around. “Just shut the HELL UP AND HIT ME ALREADY!” she’d say, her stomach bubbling up as she gets more and more frustrated with the guy.
 
Who the hell did he think he was? Did he swim throughout the grand line to free slaves? Did he swim through the fucking calm belt to free more? What has he accomplished? What has he done in his life to feel so cocky-as-hell? He’s nothing! She had half a mind to punch him prematurely, but the goal here was to provide a barrier that he can’t penetrate, and if he wanted to keep stalling, then that’s his problem.

[Docile]

Moving now no longer at a lethal speed but a skilled speed Koto's grin grew. He wanted to show her who was boss.

"I'LL HIT YOU WHEN I'M GOOD AND READY NOT A MOMENT BEFORE!" Koto didn't much care if she tried hitting him before hand as her chances were limited and all it would do was land her in the water and her wounds wouldn't have the time to heal. On the other hand he really wanted her to try to prove his speed was more than she could handle.

"YOU'RE GOING DOWN BITCH!" Koto yelled as he continued sprinting around. He could feel the momentum in his body building up and the speed whipping past him.

Koto was going to win this bet and he knew it, he just hoped Taki would do too.

[Vaetric]

His speed was beyond her own now, not that she was all that fast to begin with. He was taking his sweet time to attack her, and her back was starting to ache. “WHAT KIND OF CAPTAIN ISN’T READY FOR ANYTHING?” frustration crew, she stomped the floor with her right foot, probably causing the ship to tremble a little and the floor to creak as she tried to get rid of it. He may be fast, but surely he would know that as soon as he rushed into her, if he wasn’t strong enough he’d liquefy himself or something?
 
“YOU MAD LITTLE BUGGER!” she’d roar back, she was getting fed up of being called a bitch. She swung her arms back a little, causing a disturbance in the air, mostly a breeze though.

[Docile]

Feeling the ship wobble and Koto continued on his apce speeding around the ship. She called out questioning what kind of a Captain wasn't ready for anything and that is when it really hit him. Koto had agreed ti not only becoming a pirate but a Captain. He continued his pace without paying much attention at all.

His brain begun to spin and his eyes widened. He'd said that he was a pirate and a captain and that if he could knock this bitch on to her arse. She would join him. Was this really happening. Had this really come about? He was about to try and knock out a humongous whale fishwoman in exchange for her joining him as a pirate in a pirate crew that he would lead.

Snapping back into reality Koto looked towards Taki and smirked.

What kind of Captain wasn't ready for anything?! What kind of Captain she asked

"The one who has a plan." he muttered as he shot up the mast. Reaching the tip he kicked off from it throwing himself towards Taki's face. Looking into her eyes he found himself eye level with her. A ship feet below him and the breeze blowing past him he looked into her eyes with a grin on his lips.

So this is what it felt like to be a giant. he thought to himself. With a tightly clenched fist and an eagerness to him Koto delivered a fully fledged momentum fueled fist to Taki's nose.

Shooting towards Taki with a tightly clenched fist at a speed of intense. Koto punched her square in the face the perfect punch landing upon her no where near perfect nose.

This was what kind of Captain he would be. The kind that proved himself to others. The kind that wasn't afraid of others and the kind that had a hell of a punch.

[Vaetric]

Koto ran up the mast, she just had time to look up before seeing his descent. Wasn’t this kind of how they met? Unfortunately, that gave her an ominous feeling. Before she was able to bring her arms up to protect her face, Koto’s fist smashed into her nose, causing blood to spray out as she exhales through it in surprise. He kind of looked like a comet, a small, but impressively strong red comet.
 
She was expecting an attack from the front, not from above, her knees began to buckle as time slowed. She was falling, as a defence mechanism her eyes closed, but she could still feel the wind blow upon her back as she fell, gravity took its toll and she couldn’t righten herself.
 
Time continued normally as she landed on the deck with a thump, bouncing upward once. She groaned, attempting to brush Koto off of her face to rub her nose. It was already flat, but that also meant the impact hit around it as well, her whole upper face pulsated in pain. “Urgh..” she hadn’t been hit like that since she first came to the blues.

[Docile]

With blood spraying out and the large fishwoman hitting the deck hard Koto landed on top of her. Standing with a now crimson stained white shirt & a face Koto grinned looking down over Taki's face. He'd not only knocked her over but busted her nose up something fierce.

"Still wanna underestimate me?" he asked as he stood over her feeling empowered. Not because he stood over a giant fishwoman but because he'd taken her down with a single punch. There wasn't many people who could accomplish such a feat and he knew that which made it seem all the more impressive.

"You may be a monster in terms of looks to some people but the real monsters are those whose inner demons are capable of escaping and being tamed." Koto replied before he was brushed off of Taki by her hand.

Landing on his feet he looked towards Taki and smirked.

"Don't worry Taki, you can be my first mate & deep sea diver should I ever fall beneath the waves of this treacherous blue."

Proud of himself that he'd not only gained his first crew mate Koto started to smile much more than he had been doing so before. He'd proved himself and now needed a crew name & flag. but question was where to get one from? The island they were headed to might offer a helping hand. But if he was entirely honest the bullet wound in his shoulder still hurt a little and he would very much like that wound patched up properly as he was sure Taki would like her wounds healed up properly. They'd done a quick fix job and tried to clean the wounds and let them heal on their own but it didn't stop them from hurting. Especially when you were trying to knock down fishmen who were almost three times your height or even bigger.

[Vaetric]

Taki didn’t reply to his comment about underestimating him. She did so once, she wouldn’t again. If she ever had to actually fight him, she’d have to deal with him before he was able to move so fast, it seemed that he had to build up momentum before unleashing devastating attacks, so if she caught him before that stage then he’d be easy pickings.
 
But still, they made a bet and she lost. He said something that sounded an awful lot like “don’t judge a book by its cover”. “…Yeah.” she said, not quite if she was in the mood for a lecture. She dabbed her nose and shook her head, she pinched her nose and sat upward, then forward.  “Nice punch.” she continued, she was a little shocked about what happened. She supposed that it wouldn’t’ be so bad, or embarrassing if he was able to become so strong, it’d mean there’s less of a chance of him embarrassing her through his.. Height problems.
 
“Thanks.” she’d say drily, of course the fishman’d get a job to do the sea stuff. At least she was given the first mate status, she’d be outraged if she didn’t at least get that.
 
..Bloody hell did she just get herself in a pirate crew? “So where next?” she’d sigh, her nose still pinched, it hurt like a bitch.

[Docile]

"I don't know what the island's called but there should be an island up ahead. We'll stop off there and get our hands on some supplies there. Then we can also sort out a pirate flag & I guess make a name for ourselves. Although to be honest I haven't got a clue what to call ourselves."

Turning to face out to the sea Koto grinned. He was on the road to becoming a pirate and the way things were looking. Possibly a pretty strong one too.

"If we land on the next island, I'll head out to see if I can find us a new crew mate & you can gather some supplies? How's that sound?" Koto asked as he turned to face Taki.

Koto wasn't certain what he was looking for but he knew that he wanted what others had and that with his powers he could easily take it for himself. Looking at Taki's muscles & how large she was Taki started to hatch ideas. The grin on his face said everything.

"I might also get some other supplies too." he muttered as he looked at her with a large grin. Realizing that the life of a pirate would be trouble Koto reached into his backpack and placed the mife into his belt which sat around his waist. He figured he best have it at the ready.

[Vaetric]

Koto droned on and on about what they were going to do about the miscellaneous stuff, supplies and flag and so forth. She guessed it’d depend on the kind of island they reached first, whether it was uninhabited or not. “If there aren’t people, getting supplies should be simple enough.” she’d be able to fish, Koto could.. Look for natives or something, she couldn’t quite see herself shopping for groceries and other supplies. “But yeah, whatever you say, Captain.” she said, she COULD be bitter about her predicament, then again it could be a lot worse.
 
She could be in some alleyway with a burst stomach full of lead.
 
She saw him looking at her with a large grin. “..What?” she’d ask, before shaking her head. “I’m gonna look below deck. I’m a cooper as well, you know.” she’d say, not that she thought he’d know what that was, but oh well. He can ask if he wants to. She’d walk to the doors of the deck, which were woefully small for her. She had to move to her side and sort of edge along to get through it. Eventually after making her way through the claustrophobic smallness of the ship, which made her crouch to get through; she found the place she was looking for.
 
There were more than a few barrels, she supposed she could find water and so forth for them, as well as get food like salted fish in. Some needed work though, the previous owner must’ve been a cheapskate.

[Docile]

As Taki made mention of heading down below to look for supplies Koto nodded. He heard her say she was a copper as well and understood that she could make barrels. Looking out towards the large open blue her saw the island coming into view in the distance. It was time to start his journey as a pirate.

"Land." he muttered beneath a smile. It was time to get looking for some new crew mates and get start building an empire. Koto had heard about shichibukais and they sounded like dangers on the blues. He started to think how great it would be to be one. Maybe one day he would become one himself.

"Koto Bazzi the shichibukai. I like the sound of that." he muttered grinning. Soon they would be at the island and soon they would start their journey.

[Vaetric]

Whenever the barrels were used, apparently it wasn’t within the last century. They were practically caked with mould on the outside, apparently they thought it’d be alright if only the insides were clean. “Absolutely disgraceful.” she’d mutter to herself, most of the other barrels were like that as well. At least the water LOOKED drinkable, and only two of the five barrels of salted.. Something smelt off. She’d take the two barrels and squeeze herself out of the ship, she found herself disliking the idea of having to crawl along the tight space, one day she might get stuck.
 
“We’ll need wood.” she’d say as she pushed the a barrels out into the open, the green things rolled along the deck, she found herself rushing to get them, only to get her shoulders stuck in the door. After a small amount of cursing she’d turn and make her way out again, grabbing both barrels and placing them right side up. “The meat smells off as well. Want me to toss them?” she’d ask, looking toward Koto expectantly.

[Docile]

The sound of cluttering and bashing about sounded like Taki was getting into the life of a pirate and discovering her new digs. It didn't sound like she liked it much at all. As she arrived back on deck with two green rotten looking things and made mention of these as barrels Koto looked at them in shock. His jaw dropped and with the question of booting them overboard he nodded. They needed a better way to store food than in moldy barrels.

"We're nearly at the island. If we can we'll see if we can get our hands on a ship. Maybe we could steal a decent one this time or get someone to build us one." Koto suggested.

Coming clloser to the island Koto started to grin. It would be nice to be on land again. He hated all of the waiting to dock.

As Koto regained the wheel he shouted to Taki.

"Get ready to dock Taki, its time this pirate crew took the world by storm."

[Vaetric]

Taki nodded back, “Let’s see how far you’d have gone.” she’d say, having the idea suddenly. The barrel was probably more or less Koto’s weight, if not a bit more. She’d heft it up, making a mental note to clean her hands afterwards before aiming it slightly to the left of the island, she’d put her open palm to its bottom and give a great almighty push with all of her strength, sending it hurtling toward the water next to the island some distance that she didn’t bother to look at because she just turned and tipped over the barrel so it just rolled down the deck and off the ship.
 
“I suppose. If this island has any shipwrights.” she’d say, though any island in their right mind’d probably have someone who could build a ship, otherwise they’d be destined for getting visitors who’d lost their ships and so forth. She’d cross her arms and sit upon the stairs leading up to the wheel, she wanted to spend as much time sitting down or lying down as possible, at least until  her captain told her otherwise. If he’d just have asked she could’ve helped the ship along, oh well.
 
When they reached the island she’d get up with a grunt and go to the robe, ready to secure the ship that they were likely to abandon later anyway.

[Docile]

Watching as Taki tossed the barrel which was more or less his weight Koto was surprised to see it sailing so far. But then again those big muscles weren't just for show. Smirking as it fell quite far he turned towards Taki with his tiny stature compared to her adonis like stature.

"You have no idea how glad I am to have you on my crew." he said with a smile plastered over his face.

As the ship came into the island Koto hopped up on to the wheel and started to steer the ship slowly as he signaled towards Taki to lower the sails & prepare to drop the anchor. It was time they made their next stop for more supplies, crew members & possibly a better ship.

Steering carefully between the ships Koto watched as he carefully led them into the perfect spot between a Naval ship & an unknown ship with a black octopus figurehead which had 8 tentacles hanging down spreading over the front of the ship and for eyes there were two white triangular shapes.

Koto looked over the ship and raised an eyebrow, the ship looked horrible and not like one he'd ever want to set foot aboard let alone steer. With large dark wooden walls & a grungy mast covered in markings reaching right to the top Koto questioned what kind of man would sail on such a ship.

The answer was coming to him sooner than he thought. A loud squawk was heard and from the skies behind Koto a large vulture shot towards him & glided just over head. Ducking in fear only to see the bird soaring towards the ship with the octopus figure head he watched as a tall scarecrow type man stood on the deck as if he'd come from nowhere. He held his arm out and the vulture landed upon his arm.

Standing with an old olive hat that seemed to have a rather large brim, straggly grey hair which hung down just below his shoulders. The coat was a similar olive colour to his hat & hung down just below his waist. Beneath the coat was a black shirt which hung open half way mainly due to the buttons being ripped off and his pale torso with a dozen small tattoos were on display.


Turning to face Koto the scarecrow seeming man nodded to him slowly before reaching for the small bag hanging from around the vulture's neck. Koto removed his focus from the gentleman and returned to Taki.

"C'mon then Taki, it's time we head inland and see what we can find. We're looking for supplies & anything else that may take our fancy. Don't worry too much about crew mates that should be my decision."

[Vaetric]

Taki’d shrug, Koto appreciated her strength, that was good to know. Though, it may mean that he’d start to rely on her a bit, that wouldn’t be all right. Then again, he is her captain, since she’s the first mate she couldn’t show insubordination to him because she’s the one who’s supposed to root out that sort of thing.
 
Taki lowered the sails once told and they docked fairly nicely. There was some ship next to them that looked like a ghost ship if there ever were one. She glanced at the man she assumed to be the captain. She snickered at Koto as he ducked away from the bird, before turning away from him and jumping off the ship and onto the pier. Her back was starting to ache a bit, and she forgot that her nose was bleeding, so she rubbed off a dribble of blood.
 
“Right.” she’d say, crossing her arms as she waited for Koto to get off the ship so she could follow him. “I’ll see what I can do.” she’d say, walking slowly so Koto could keep up.
 
“I’ll see if I can find some wood as well.” she’d say, more to herself as a mental note than anything else, so she could make her barrels.

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