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"If someone can find me a needle and the right thread, sure." Cynil nodded, continuing to chop away. "I would use my own, but...well, I sort of jumped aboard without really grabbing any of my things." Quite literally. She only had the clothes on her back and the book that was (hopefully) still sitting peacefully on top of a barrel. Or crate. She did set it on one of those, right? She'd find out once she was done in here.

She paused when hearing his idea about teaching the other girls dance. Something she probably would never do - mainly because she felt she'd make for an awful teacher. She was gifted with "natural" talent, mastering the basics quickly and then moving on. She knew not everyone learned like she did, and she imagined she'd constantly default back into her fast-paced ways of getting things done; it'd inevitably frustrating for both her and anyone else involved. Not to mention she was terrible at explaining things. Though, if they ever asked, she'd give it a shot, she supposed. No harm in trying.

Cynil chuckled. "Fate and I haven't been seeing eye-to-eye lately," She mused, listening mostly. She moved the carrots she had spent the last few minutes chopping away at. "But I'll take your word on it." She allowed the carrots to fall into the pot of boiling water. While she did keep in mind that she probably shouldn't get some nasty burn while around these people, she found the warning a bit humorous. In the end, she'd rather let them in on her little "trick" later, when they wouldn't probably freak out. When she had a better gauge on their personality and knew they wouldn't either take test shots on her, see just how things worked, or tossed her off on the nearest island. While they didn't seem the types for either of those, she'd rather be careful than risk it.

"Anything else you need?" Cynil asked, looking back up at him.

*~*~*

Zoro blinked, scratching his cheek as he stared intensely at Julia. Just favors? Well, that didn't sound so bad - he could probably do favors. Though, it was a matter of what her favors would be; they could potentially be worse than being in debt to Nami - no, no, probably not. Nami was a loan shark unlike any other. He imagined she would use it against him, too, just to get him to do something. Like hell he'd agree to it, though. He could see her using some underhanded method to tricking him into it, and that was what was really making him change his mind.

That, and he had yet to see Julia try and trick someone like that.

"Fine, I'll think about it." He said, arms crossed. And the more he thought about it, the better of an idea it sounded. It basically came down to two outcomes: risk potentially humiliating himself a few times, or try to come up with an almost impossible amount of money and ultimately continue life as something of a slave to the whims of a mad woman.

The choice was obvious.

With an almost defeated sigh, Zoro grasped one of the ropes leading up to the crow's nest. He wasn't a total idiot, he knew when he had to put his pride on the side - this was one of those moments. "Alright!" He called as he easily pulled himself up. Being in debt for the rest of his life sounded like too much of a pain. "Fine - fine. I'll do it. Just get Nami off my back already, okay?" Maybe he could've come off a little nicer, but he never was the best with people.

He looked to the side, head down. "Thanks." He grumbled under his breath, though it was more genuine than it probably sounded. He didn't know how Julia was going to do it, but he imagined that it'd be something of a challenge. Either she had the money now, or she would have to convince their navigator to drop it. Both of which would be miracles in their own right.
 
"Nope, I think I'm good. If you want to wait in here until lunch is ready, you're welcome to keep me company," Sanji winked at her, a sly grin on his features as he continued to stir the soup broth, occassionally seasoning to taste. "Otherwise you're free to go as you please. I just don't recommend touching Nami's things--she gets a little protective of her treasure." He smiled, conitnued to work--lunch would be ready soon. Sanji was always his calmest when he was preparing food. That just was his thing, and he was glad that Luffy had given him the ability to do it on his ship while also searching for his dream--the All Blue.

Julia heard Zoro approach before she actually saw him, smirking as she turned to see the head of the green haired swordsmen as he agreed to her demands. She couldn't hide the grin on her features as she sat up, standing to look at his cute embarrassed face when he apologized. Honestly, they could have just done this in the first place and avoided a whole lot of mess! But a promise was a promise, and Julia patted Zoro's shoulder (having to reach up slightly in order to do so). "Glad to see you've come to your senses. Consider it done!"

The rest of their afternoon went by rather uneventfully. They had lunch, with the usually amount of bickering, and the usual amount of people slapping Luffy's wandering/stretchy arms away from their own portions, and the sky was clear with a few puffy white clouds dotting the sky. During lunch, Julia had also managed to tell Zoro that she had gotten Nami off of his back like he had contracted her to do, and as the brunette winked confidently at him, the red haired navigator put two fingers to her eyes, throwing them back at both Julia and Zoor. She was never pleased, it seems...

As Nami kept the boat on course with the log pose on her wrist, they were all able to enjoy sailing for a moment. It wasn't until some mist appeared that all hands were called up on deck. Julia was sent back into the crow's nest to watch for rocks that could ruin the ship, but nothing was coming up until... they appeared to enter some sort of channel? "Just stay in the center and we should be fine!" The brunette's eyes narrowed--she had enough knowledge of the portion of sailing after Reverse Mountain in order to know where exactly they could be. She wasn't too confident, but... if she thought correctly, the channel should open up into a bay. What she hadn't been expected was the cheers from a huge crowd as the mist cleared and they entered a bay, seeing crowds of people dotting the shores.

"WELCOME, PIRATES!" Her eyes furrowed. Where on Earth did that make sense? Who said that? Ever?

No one, that's who.

Sanji's eyes sparkled as he stood by Cynil, his hands on her shoulders as he grinned. "Look at all the people! How great is it that they're so welcoming!" He should have been a little more cautious, but he was a little tired of the crew, and this place looked like the perfect place to relax and take a load off. Not to mention... "Besides, look at all the beautiful girls!" Okay Sanji, time to calm down. As the Going Merry Docked, they were allowed off their ship with open-arm welcomes from the people of the town, a man with huge, curly hair walking up to them.

"M-Ma! Ma." Was he... singing? None of the Strawhats could really tell. "Welcome Pirates, to our humble town of Whiskey Peak!"

"What kind of a town welcomes pirates?" Nami was the first to say what had been on most of their minds, a suspicious frown upon her face as she put her hands on her hips.

"Oh who cares, these people seem nice," Luffy said lamely, a brainless grin on his face as Nami growled, thinking about hitting him for a solid moment, until the big haired man spoke again. Julia hung back, looking upon the people with distrust. She had been around those willing to betray her for long enough to know when people were lying in their kindness... this place set her on edge.

"My name is Eggarapoi, it's very nice to meet you, Strawhats. Whiskey Peak is one of the first islands in the Grand Line, and it's pirates who bring business and wealth to our town, so of course we would welcome you with open arms. Please, tonight we will host a feast in your honor! Besides, it will take about 12 hours for your log pose to lock into Whiskey Peak's magnetic force and send you to the next island. And while you're all here, you should try our famous Whiskey Peak Whiskey!"

"Sure, a party sounds like a great idea," Sanji readily agreed, scanning the crowds and making sure to wink at a few women. He really was hopeless. Turning to the black haired beauty beside her, he smiled. "Besides, it would be rather rude to refuse their hospitality, right Cynil?"

During all the commotion, Julia shuffled closer to Zoro, her voice low enough just so he could hear her. "I really don't trust this place... it seems to me like it's a little too good to be true." The female crossed her arms over her chest, her eyebrows furrowed slightly.
 
Cynil had excused herself, chuckling at the chef's not-so-subtle suggestion. She made her way down, found the leather-bound book and set to reading through it. As per usual for her dearest ex-boss, it was written in some sort of code; to the unsuspecting eye, it would appear to recount someone's travels and sights. Of course, Sergoi would do something like this - it seemed his times as a spymaster hadn't been forgotten. Though, this was an added headache for her because she'd have to figure out what was just to mislead and what she needed. It wouldn't be too hard, she's done it before plenty of times, but still.

There were times when she couldn't help but chuckle to herself. Hidden messages, each an individual goodbye from the others of the troupe since they weren't really there to do it in person. As time went on the further she got through its pages. From what she managed to decode, this "Phantom" was a dangerous guy who went after marines. Funny thing was that people weren't entirely sure if he was a guy; as she read more and more between the lines, the more it seemed he was more monster than man.

Tall figure, wreathed in shadow. No face to be seen, but eyes that pierced the soul. Sometimes there was evidence of almost beastly claw marks, but those were rare.

There was something to the marines, but, of course, Serogi didn't openly say it. No, it seemed that he had hidden this little bit even more carefully. It was important, it seemed - something to do with the marines themselves? Damn, she'd probably need to go over this thing more than a few times now because of this. Thanks, Serogi.

But that would have to come later, it seemed that they were nearing an island. She hopped up, placing the book down as she made her way over to the others. She squinted to see through the fog, and was taken aback by the cheers and all-too-happy faces in the face of pirates. The hands on her shoulders caused her to tense, relaxing before she looked back. She gave a small nod in his direction as she refocused her gaze to the people, forcing up one of her charming, stage smiles.

"Right," Cynil murmured, chuckling. She didn't trust this at all - she had worked with all sorts of dishonest types, and she learned to trust her gut when things felt off. Especially when it regarded general safety of oneself. "Rude it would be." But she also learned to play the part of a fool, not show her hand until an ideal moment.

*~*~*~*

Zoro's eyes narrowed as he looked the large crowds over. All smiled, but it didn't really seem to reach their ears. They cheered, but the words didn't really fit. Instinct told him this was wrong - that they were faking it.

His instinct was hardly ever wrong.

While his head turned to Julia, his eyes never left the crowds. "Yeah, something doesn't add up here." He agreed in a low voice. "In all my times as a bounty hunter, I never once came across a single person who'd be happy about pirates showing up. Especially ones they don't know."

Maybe if they knew them. Maybe if they recognized the ship, and believed that they were peaceful (from previous experience), then it would seem fine. But they were strangers - and pirates. Referred to as "monsters" and "scourges", they weren't really the type of people islanders really wanted to see docking. In fact, they hardly ever wanted something like that, since it usually meant trouble was bound to follow soon after. That even applied to his own crew, though in a less intentional way. Trouble just seemed to follow them.

They stepped onto the island, and his eyes darted from person to person. He was half expecting them to attack right now, but they didn't. Maybe he was wrong? No, no; this was too weird to be sincere. Even if the Grand Line was weird, he doubted even this would happen.

One of his hands remained on his sword as he followed behind his crew closely, frown still apparent. So, it seemed they had no choice; the log pose would leave them practically stranded here for twelve whole hours. Might as well make the most of their hospitality, no matter how false it may be.

"Let's just go along with it for now." He glanced over at Julia, making sure no one else heard them. "If they're planning on tricking us, might as well let them try. Besides, it'll make seeing their faces all the better." He smirked, finding the idea entertaining. Now, it was a matter of whether or not they'd actually fight. With their numbers, probably. As he scanned the crowds once more, he sighed when he didn't see a single person who looked like they'd pose a challenge.

How was he supposed to become the greatest swordsman when he was stuck dealing with a bunch of weak people?
 
As they followed Egarappoi, Sanji found himself entranced by the happy greetings of the people there at Whiskey Peak. The blonde cook really hadn't been a pirate long--he had been a member of the crew of Baratie ever since Zeff and him had been picked up by Zeff's crew after being stranded at sea for nearly three months. It was a crazy and life changing experience. However, despite how they used to be pirates, the Baratie was indeed just a floating restaurant, and Sanji was easily seduced by the idea of free food, free whiskey, and plenty of eye candy for the rest of the night. It was in his nature to see and fawn over beautiful women, and the worst of it was when he got all lovey-dovey... like literally right now. If one looked hard enough, they could see the hearts in Sanji's eyes as a blonde, brunette and black haired female all hung off of his form.

He spoke to each of them about this and that, and they all laughed at his jokes and complimented his looks... it was like a dream come true! Only... something didn't feel quite right. As much as Sanji wanted to let himself go and have a good time like Usopp and Luffy were already doing, he couldn't help but feel like the fact that four of their members hadn't joined them seemed to resonate within him, and his eyes narrowed at Egarappoi as he lead them into the city hall building. Well, they'd have to see how this night drew on, that was for certain.

There was plenty of drinks to go around and much partying. Loud music was being played, and Sanji sat with Usopp and Luffy at a couch that was pushed up to a table, Luffy stuffing his face full as Usopp told stories that were so far fetched the blonde cook couldn't believe the fact that both men and women alike were nodding eagerly along with him and begging him to tell more. That was when he began to notice that something was wrong within this group of people. Normally, literally no one believed a word the long nosed sniper said, and so... he narrowed his eyes once more. There was definitely something fishy afoot.

"Oh Sanji, do you have any stories about the seas?" A blonde asked, eyes shining as she looked to him.

"Yes, please tell us of some of your daring feats," a brunette begged, and a loud chorus of 'please's' and 'yes's' rose out from the small gathering of females from around them. He grinned as he nodded to them.

"I'm sure there's a story that might tickle your fancy, ladies. Sure," he grinned, going into detail about some of the tough customers that he had the privalage of meeting while working on the Baratie, and explaining all about how he had to kick certain people out, using force if necessary.

All while this was going on, a large man approached Cynil, two cups of Whiskey in hand. He offered one to her, a cool and collected smirk on his features. "Hey there little lady. It's all on the house tonight thanks to the Mayor, so I suggest you drink and eat your share. He's usually not this jovial," he said, nodding to the Mayor as he laughed with Luffy. He was calm and dark skinned, light blonde hair contrasting against his deep chocolate skintone. His body was well built, and had numerous scars along his form. "So, what brings you and this crew through Whiskey Peak? We typically don't get many visitors in town--they all stop on the furthest point of the island just long enough for the Log Pose to set and then go off again."

____________________________________________________________​

Zoro's words rang true, and though she gave him no physical sign of agreement, the brunette hummed a low note that could be taken as a noise of understanding. Julia looked to the people, nodding to those who attempted greeting her and she tried smiling as happily as she could possibly act. If these people really did have malicious intentions (which she felt inclined to believe considering the increasingly bad vibes she got) then it would be best not to let any of them know that they were on to them, as Zoro suggested.

"Come, much drinking and celebration lie before us!" The very curly haired man called out loudly, always seemingly performing to them as Julia's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. This was definitely going to be an interesting encounter, if anything. Her wing would still be sore from the last fight, though it probably wouldn't take more than three days to heal up thanks to her body's quick regeneration skills. Still, should they have to fight, she would feel much more comfortable in her demon form. "MA. MA. MAAAAA!" She looked back to the curly cue'd Egarappoi, and her eyes narrowed slightly. Yes, very interesting indeed.

They were ushered along by the Mayor and his people towards their city hall, which also seemed to double as a bar--it made sense considering the island was called 'Whisky Peak'. As they were brought in, food and the town's famous whiskey was served, and Julia hung to the back of the crowd, uneasy in such a large group of strangers. Especially strangers who seemed to have ulterior motives. She watched in mild amusement as three of their members lept right in to the people of Whiskey Peak's hospitality--those three being Luffy, Usopp, and Sanji. The other four people on board, Nami, Zoro, Cynil, and Julia were all a little more reluctant to join in, though Nami looked like she was about to join a drinking contest where the prize was money. Julia shook her head--that red head would never change, and honestly, it seemed that she was more of a real pirate than Luffy was most of the time.

Deciding that she would have preferred to slip away to see what the town had to offer, Julia tried to quietly slink away (considering she was already in the back of the room) but there were some guys there waiting for her, overly happy smiles on their faces as one held some whiskey, and two put their arms around her shoulders. The brunette glanced to them uncomfortably as they slowly walked her back to the party. "Hey lady, why don't you hang out with us tonight?" The one on her right was the first to speak and then the man on her left followed suit.

"Yeah, we'll show you all that Whiskey Peak has to offer, and then some!"

"I'll drink to that," the third said, downing his own drink quickly before grinning at them all.

"Yeah, uh... thanks, but no thanks..." Julia mumbled, trying to get them off of her without hurting them--after all, if they were really okay, the last thing she wanted to do was to hurt them and ruin their hospitable mood for the others. However, she really didn't like the looks of these guys... she wished she had left when she had the chance. Or, better yet, stayed on the boat.
 
Cynil had made herself scarce, making small talk with people as she hung close to the sides. It'd be better to just stay out of the way and wait for all of this "festivity" to be over. Though, it was boring in all of its entirety and she was quickly getting sick of it.

She had been glancing to the sides, looking for something to do that wouldn't bring much attention to herself. It was then she was approached by some tall man who, she wouldn't deny, was rather attractive. Well, it seemed she just found what she'd pass the time with. She put on her most charming smile, looking up at him through her eyelashes. If she played her cards right, then she'd probably be able to weasel some information out of him without the guy even realizing.

"Oh, I'm just wandering the seas with these people, nothing overly interesting," She gave a dismissive wave. "But I'm certain you have much more interesting things to talk about, don't you think?" She traced her index finger along one of his scars her free hand brushing her hair out of her eyes. She accepted the cup held out to her, taking a sip of it while her smile remained on her face. This would be fun, she was certain of that.

Cynil had learned long ago to use the power of feminine wiles to get what she wants, often allowing her to completely forgo any sort of actual fighting. Not to mention it was just entertaining to watch reactions, though that was more towards strangers than anyone she'd spend any considerable time with; didn't want to make things awkward, after all.

"I'm Cynil, by the way - and I'd love to hear how you wound up here," She continued on. "Someone as strong-looking as you doesn't strike me as the type to just settle down in a little town like this - what is it about this place?"

Everyone loved flattery, even if they said they didn't. And she was no stranger to inflating one's ego to the high heavens just to get them talking.

*~*~*~*

Zoro had been sitting in a chair, ignoring most of the commotion going on around him as he downed drink after drink. He wasn't one for parties, especially when the people just seemed so off. Though, he wouldn't deny that, after a few (hundred) drinks, he could behave almost as much of a fool as Luffy. Okay, so maybe not as bad as Luffy, but no one could match their captain in being a fool who could pull through like him.

"C'mon, Zoro!" Nami elbowed him. "If you join, then there's a higher chance of us winning the money!" She continued on. He gave a flat "no" in response, not interested in the competition she was a part of. Now that he was free from being in her debt, she couldn't strong arm him into doing anything.

After a few moments of sitting there, finding himself with a headache that just got worse and worse from all the yellings going on around him, he stood and decided to make his way off. To where? Not a clue, but he might as well check the place out. If they were up to something, he'd probably find evidence of it somewhere. If not, then good for them - he wouldn't have to kick their asses. Though, it was a matter of finding out where he should look.

He scratched his cheek, eyes scanning the area. He noticed Julia accompanied by three other men. He arched an eyebrow, easily noticing that she didn't seem too keen on their company. Might as well get an accomplice.

"Hey," He called as he approached, his voice stern. It was a simple intimidation routine - square his shoulders and come off as angry (well, angrier than usual). "What are you doing?" One blinked up at him as if taken aback at the tone he used.

"Uh, we're just bringing your friend here back to where the fun it," He smiled, though one could see the nerves in his eyes and how the smile didn't seem as confident as it had prior to his arrival. "No harm, no harm."

"We're heading out," Zoro motioned off to the side. "We'll be back later - you can count on it." He allowed an ominous smile to quirk up at the corner of his mouth.

"What, you're leaving?" The second one spoke up, eyes narrowed in confusion. Suddenly, his eyes widened a bit, mouth an "oh" as he removed himself - as well as forcefully knocking off his friend's - arm from Julia. It seemed he had come to some sort of conclusion of his own. Whatever, if it got them out of here, then he'd accept it. "Fine, it's fine; we'll come to check on the two of you later just to make sure you don't get lost, okay?" He gave a weird grin as if sharing some inside joke with Zoro. It was now his turn to be confused, but he shrugged it off. These people were weird as hell, he wouldn't waste time dwelling on it.

"Right..." He glanced between all three of them as he started making his way out, giving a small motion for Julia to follow.
 
The man grinned at her, nodding along with her words, though he seemed a little more interested in staring anywhere but her face until finally they made eye contact again. "Well, to me that sounds a little interesting. After all, wandering the seas can lead you anywhere in this world." He was earnest enough, and seemed not to be too interested in the partying crowd around them. Cynil had captured all of his attention. As a member of Baroque Works' 1000s, they were told to go after any conspirators of the one who had infiltrated their ranks and learned the identity of Mr. 0. All this man did was follow orders, and he had studied the pirate crew of the Strawhat Pirates. However, this woman wasn't familiar to him, and that in and of itself appeared like it was a damn shame.

As she introduced herself and questioned him about his line of work, he found himself leaning next to one of the supporting pillars of the town hall/bar, a grin on his features. "Well, it's nice to meet you Cynil. I'm Buck." He made sure to 'cheers' her cup before taking a sip of his whiskey, allowing the alcohol to burn down his throat as he sighed. "I've been here to Whiskey Peak on work related business a few times before, in fact, that's why I'm here now." Of course, she could sweet talk him as much as she wanted, he wasn't going to directly say he and the others were all hired to kill them or at least put them out of commission. He, however, was bound to let more things slip the more she distracted him, and the more he drank. "However, the people of Whiskey Point are very unique, its not easy for a grunt like me to always feel welcome, but they sure do a good job of it."

That could honestly mean anything, but he was more than willing to share some of his life story, if not all of it. "Truth be told, I used to be a mercenary. I'd often do bodyguard jobs or really anything for anyone, as long as they could pay for it. Let's just say what I do now is just... a whole lot more legal." In certain terms, of course.

In the meantime, Sanji was having the time of his life--or at least he thought so--as he was surrounded by women on one of the couches. He was telling them stories, basking in their presence, while occasionally yelling at Luffy for being a messy eater, or getting on his nerves by how he was inhaling rather than fully appreciating the food that was placed before him. The first person he noticed that he could find was Zoro, as he took a sip of the famous Whiskey Peak Whiskey, not seeing the moss ball head anywhere. When he couldn't spot Julia either, he immediately got a bad taste in his mouth, and he set down his mug, unable to drink anymore at the thought. 'I swear if that idiot so much as touches her...!' he growled under his breath. But as he noticed that they were missing, he found that he also couldn't find their newest addition. His eyebrows furrowed, and sat up slightly, looking about the festivities for any sign of the black haired beauty, and found that he could not find her.

"Hey, has anyone seen Cynil?" As he spoke, he turned to Luffy and Usopp who were too preoccupied in food and their storytelling respectively in order to help him look for their newest crewmember. Unsatisfied with the lack of help he received, Sanji stood, the hand in his right pocket finger the package of cigarettes that was there.

"Sanji~ don't leave us just yet~" a redhead cried from the couch, her hands reach up to try and coax him back down onto the couch.

"Yeah, we've barely gotten to know each other..." another blonde pouted, batting her eyelashes at him, but this was when the male started to feel that there was something seriously wrong with the people at Whiskey Peak. Trying to play off their advances cooly, he grinned, pulling a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it.

"Sorry ladies, I just need some fresh air for a smoke for a bit," he smiled, stepping away as they let out a chorus of whines. He merely smiled and bowed to them slightly. As soon as he turned away, however, his eyes narrowed as he began scanning the crowd for Cynil. If the women were this friendly, he couldn't begin to imagine the guys, and that thought made him uncomfortable considering he couldn't find her. Nami was by Luffy and Usopp, clearly in control of herself as she 'drunk' anyone under the table. Julia was gone, but at least it seemed that Zoro was with her--as much as he fought with marimo, he recognized his strength, and realized that he could at least make sure the brunette didn't get hurt. Cynil was the only one unaccounted for, and Sanji was going to make sure she was okay.


____________________________________________________________________________​


Julia was getting ready to flip at least one of these men over a table. She wasn't too keen about having a bar fight when so far, all these people were was hospitable. But! If they were going to continue to keep their hands on her for any longer than they already had, she might have to resort to force to get her message across: not interested. But clearly the slight twitch of her brow, annoyed refusal, and flat out saying that she wasn't interested wasn't good enough for any of them. Sighing, the female was just about at the end of her rope, when help came from one of the most unlikely of places. Her deep blue eyes blinked at the green haired male as Zoro came to her rescue. Refraining from breathing a sigh of relief, she listened to him question the males who were hogging all of her attention.

For a moment she thought he was going to let her suffer as revenge for her being able to hold those favors over his head after she had saved him from being indebted to Nami for the rest of his life (honestly, it was amazing what people were willing to pay for 'natural' beach glass). Julia rose an eyebrow at Zoro's words. Just like that? She was to go with him and they would let her? As the one guy seemed to read too deep into the swordsman's words, Julia's eyebrows furrowed, but at least she was grateful that he pushed his friends off of her. Stepping freely away from them and towards Zoro, she felt a bit of weight (both literal and figurative) lift from her shoulders, turning back to look at the guys as they seemed to find something funny? She was seriously confused, but that didn't seem to matter, as she quickly turned and followed Zoro, her cape flapping behind her slightly as she turned.

She was glad she had remembered to put her cape on, for as soon as they stepped out into the dusk of the town, a chill swept through the city of Whiskey Peak. Her eyes narrowed--the more the sun set the more ominous the whole place seemed--however she chose to ignore it for the time being, choosing instead to turn to Zoro with a grin. "Thanks for that back there. I was just about to lose my cool and throw one of them across the room," she snickered at the thought. At least, it seemed like a funny thought in retrospect. "Geez, with how many times you've saved my butt I'd think I'd be in your debt." At that, she quickly backpedaled, "b-but you still owe me for paying off Nami! Still... I think I'll bring down your favors to four left. I think I'll count that as one."

They walked on for a bit in silence, just seemingly wandering the city. The more they walked, the more Julia felt uneasy, and it took her a moment to fully understand what was making her so uncomfortable. As it dawned on her, she paused in walking, forcing Zoro to wait for her and look back at her. "I've been thinking that something was wrong this entire time, and it just occured to me... where is everyone?" She turned her head, chocolate locks falling from her shoulders as the moonlight palely shone upon where they stood in the street. "Sure, it's night time. But don't you think some people would leave their lights on for a bit? The entire population can't possibly be in that one room..." Of course, it had been so startling to be greeted openly as pirates back when they had first docked, but thinking back on it, the more Julia began to question the size of the crowd. "I officially don't like this place. I was on the fence before, but now I'm certain." Her troubled eyes turned to Zoro, and when she found that her voice had lowered to a whisper. The shadows seemed to grow around them along with the height of the moon. "Zoro... this feels like a trap." The shadows seemed to shift even more.
 
Cynil nodded along, occasionally taking small sips of her drink. She made sure that she didn't drink too much - she wasn't quite a lightweight, but she was close enough to the point where she knew she'd have to be cautious. Besides, she could feign the reliable friend card, and say that "someone has to keep an eye on them" if she was ever questioned. That worked for the most part unless someone was being particularly pushy; then she would just come out and tell them to stop nagging her about something so trivial before she gives them something else to deal with. They usually backed off at that point. Or they were forcefully pulled away by someone else. Either option was nice.

"A mercenary?" There was a hint of awe in her voice as she stared up at him with slightly wide, stary eyes. Arrogant asses loved that. "That sounds so dangerous - you must really be strong." She honestly doubted it, but it was part of the role she took. She was about to continue on with her near-mindless flattery, but a noise - just barely heard through they merry-making around them - cut her off. A distant shattering of glass and her head was whipping to the side. Damn, was something going on out there? It didn't seem like everyone heard it, and, those that did, seemed to ignore it. Outside of the few that seemed to have made some half-assed excuses and went to check it out.

"I must've just been hearing things," She shook her head, quickly getting back into character. "Besides, I doubt I've got anything to worry about with you around," Her eyes flicked up to meet his, and she had to hold herself back from smirking. "Do I?"

It seemed that whatever they were planning was going down soon - or, well, now. Sooner than they intended at least. It took one glance around to see that some of the people were almost having trouble keeping up their facades; they fell halfway into annoyed confusion and their smiles. Commendable, keeping a ruse for that long. It wasn't an easy feat, she knew that much.

An idea formed, and it took all her willpower not to laugh. Would it work? She was going to find out. "Though I am kind of curious if anything is going on out there but if something was going on - why, I doubt I could really defend myself all that well." She feigned a pout before her face lit up. "I know! Would you come with me?" She looked up at him with hopeful eyes. "Please? It'd make me feel much better if I had someone as capable as you with me."

She was already making her way towards the door, though it was at a slow pace as she took the few steps backward to keep eye contact. She wasn't sure if she should hope that he didn't - and make it a challenge for her - or if she wanted things to go over easily.

*~*~*~*

Zoro paused mid-step at the revelation. It had been in the back of his mind, surfacing briefly whenever he'd get a passing glance around. There was no one else around. Besides, he didn't really hear anyone talking about "normal" town things; no talks of actually voting for mayor, no mention of "this is my family's home so it's mine as well" or any sort of real connection. The more and more he heard and thought about it, the more and more it seemed like....

Oh...

He had a feeling he knew exactly what was going on. Those lame-ass names - that "Miss Wednesday" and "Mr.9" - it was all starting to make sense. Yeah, he knew exactly who these people were; it seemed their suspicions were right from the beginning.

Zoro's hand shot out, grabbing onto Julia's wrist as he pulled her with him. He could hear footsteps attempting to be silent coming in their direction. He doubted they had eyes on them just yet, so they still had time.

"I think I've got an idea on who these guys are," His voice was hushed, nodding his head in their general direction. "Baroque Works - took me a bit, but I'd recognize those stupid names. These guys aren't a town; they're just a bunch of bounty hunters preying on inexperienced pirates who come upon the island." He couldn't help but chuckle. "I doubt a single one of them will actually be a challenge on their own, but I imagine that's why they've grouped up like this."

He turned his head, hearing the footsteps. They stopped, and then started up again but with less care on being quiet. He heard a quiet "What the hell?!" and unintelligible bickering between multiple voices that ended with a, "then look for them!"

Zoro rested his hand upon his sword, ready to unsheath it in a moment's notice. "Looks like the gig is up," He spoke, not caring who heard. Cautiously, he heard someone just about to round the corner. The moment they came into sight - one of those three guys from earlier - he slammed his shoulder into him to send him flying back as he saw the other two out of the corner of his eye. The one who took the attack fell through a window, the noise echoing in the almost eerily silent night (outside from the obnoxiously loud partying).

"Things just got a whole lot more interesting."
 
The man seemed to speak more the more Cynil listened to him. Of course, it had been a hot minute since anyone seemingly interesting had arrived to Whiskey Peak, and to this man in particular, the other 100s really weren't worth his time or his efforts. They were all boring and had the same dumb goal despite their apparent weakness in abilities. They all wanted to rise and become one of the 10 digits that got their own partners and worked directly under Mr. 0 instead of getting their orders from them. They didn't have what it takes... he supposed he did, however. He was, after all, in the 20s and climbing. That was something that this woman would be interested in.

"Yes, a mercenary," he grinned, taking a swig of his own whiskey, eager to tell her more about himself. He even physically puffed up upon hearing her interest in him, and he was ready to tell her about himself until she was sick of it. Who knew, maybe he could even make her his partner if she really like him that much? However, she seemed to hear a noise, and he rose an eyebrow before chuckling at her words. "Of course not, I'm all the brawn you'll ever need!" He gave a boisterous laugh before taking another swig of his drink.

He was about to speak when the pretty blackette cut him off with her curious inquiry. "Outside's dangerous at night some days," he mumbled, a little off put at the idea of going outside when he knew what was supposed to be happening tonight. After all, it was said that Mr. 9 and his partner were actually frauds and needed to be recaptured... what if they ran into them while they were out? However, one look at the short and alluring female was enough to put his mind at ease. "Alright," he grinned, shrugging as he put down his jug. "I suppose if you really need me, I can keep you safe. After me," he grinned, leading the way out of the bar.

Sanji, in the meantime, was having a difficult time spotting Cynil through the partying crowd. He was pretty sure Nami was still caught up in her drinking game, and Luffy and Usopp were just about asleep after eating and partying too much. It wasn't really them he was concerned about. First of all, he was concerned with the fact that Zoro and Julia had disappeared together--especially considering the fact that he didn't think Zoro was capable of protecting her. But that was clearly beside the point right now! As much as he hated leaving Nami with only the protection of their dimwitted captain and the lying sniper, but he was far more concerned considering he couldn't see Cynil. At least he though Zoro was with Julia, but Cynil... he hoped she was alright!

Just then, out of the corner of his eyes, he saw black hair disappearing out of the front door, and he gasped. She couldn't leave! After all, who knew what kind of predators lurked out in the darkness?! He had to go after her! "Cynil!" He cried out for her, fighting through the tiny wave of people that separated him from the door, and, his destination. "Wait my darling, I'll go with you! D-Don't leave yet!" Why was it so hard to get through? It's not as though there were that many people...!


__________________________________________​

Julia had known that everything had seemed too weird, and far too good to be true from the very beginning. That was far too obvious to all of them, or at least the brunette had hoped it was. After all, what town truly welcomed pirates, bogus made up reason or no? She sighed, looking to her green haired companion before wondering what was exactly going through his head. After all, he seemed to be pretty lost in thought. She was still trying to decipher what he was saying when she felt him reach out and grab her hand, and the brunette's blue eyes widened in surprise at the gesture, though she remained quiet and contained herself. What was it?

Of course, it did not take her very long to hear the sound of 'sneaky' footprints swiftly encroaching on their position. The female's eyes narrowed as she looked to the dark shadows, seeing some of the shift despite blinking so as to clear away any fuzziness. It appeared as though they would be getting some action this night... but not the same kind those three drunks had thought was going to happen. And all the better for it--the more she thought about Zoro in that sense, the more Julia became distracted, so she knew it wasn't good for her! Clearing her thoughts, she paid attention to his voice, and nodded in swift agreement at his revelation. "I've heard of it, actually. I doubt we'd even meet any of the lower numbered members on this island... if they think we're inexperienced..." a slow smirk played upon her lips. "Well, then let's just say that they're going to get one of the rudest awakenings of their lives." Their hushed whispers were now almost not as loud enough as the now-rushing footsteps, as if their enemies knew that the jig was up. It was just as well.

As Zoro unsheathed his sword, fire engulfed Julia's form--her wounds had healed since Loguetown, though the job hadn't been exactly seamless. Still, her wings would carry her far, and her actual skin was rather tough and warm to the touch, too warm if one were to hold on for longer than a minute. "I think I can hold my form for long enough to dispose of these lowlifes..." she murmured, smirking slightly. Sharp claws glinted in the moonlight, and as one of the three men from earlier was flung through a window, Julia took off towards the other two with a powerful wing beat, clothes-lining them so they collapsed to the ground, coughing. Picking up one by the collar of his shirt, Julia's eyes narrowed, the once-white's of her eyes now black and hollow in the night. The man let out a silent shriek of terror at her demonic form, and she snickered in amusement. That really would never get old. Tilting her head, she rose an eyebrow at the man. "Talk, where are your other little Baroque Work's members hiding...?"

"Th-they're... everywhere," he wheezed, trembling in her grip. "All waiting in ambush...!"

"Thank you," she grinned, before knocking him out, dropping him on top of his still-coughing buddy. Turning back to Zoro, the ogre demon frowned softly, fire engulfing her. "I don't think I should take to the skies. If they really are everywhere, it would make me an easy target..." she put a finger to her chin in thought, but gasped lightly as an excellent idea came to mind. "Hey, instead of getting the others involved, let's have a friendly little competition, you and I." The brunette put her hands on her hips. "Let's see who can get more baddies. I guarantee you my numbers will be better than yours~ definitely because I can clear houses quietly, and not get lost in the process~," she winked at him cheekily, waiting to hear what he thought about her proposal.
 
Well, it looked like things would be rather easy. Though the more she thought about it, maybe it wasn't too wise to be seeking a challenge when potentially surrounded by people who wouldn't hesitate to put a gun to your head. Yeah, might as well handle things nice and simple like.

As she followed him out the door, she could've sworn she heard someone call her name. But who? She only introduced herself to this man here, and the crew she had been with seemed far more interested in their own activities. She was probably just hearing things. She brushed it aside, focusing at the task at hand. Which was....

....

To be honest, she hadn't really thought it all through. She was more curious to see how she could push this guy, and her decision was rather spur of the moment - maybe she should've thought of something? Would've been the smarter thing to do, but she couldn't be bothered. Might as well actually figure out what that noise was. "Right, I think it'd be best if I followed you," Cynil glanced around their surroundings. "Won't have to worry about getting lost that way." She chuckled, trailing after him. Not to mention she'd rather be behind him than the other way around.

"So," She moved to match his pace, walking close enough so that her arm would brush against him from time to time. She glanced behind them to see the lights getting further away. She leaned closer, lowering her voice as she spoke. Might as well take a risk - what's the worst that could happen? He'd try to kill her? "I know what's going on here - the whole little setup." She stepped in front of him, sly smile on her face. She stood close - too close for this to be considered a simple friendly conversation. "I'm not really with them - more like a straggler they picked up on the way. Hardly even know them more than a few weeks," Her hands were laid flat against his chest. "All I'm asking is if you let little ol' me slide out of the crosshairs. I do truly believe in giving and getting, so I'd be more than happy to pay you back."

This was the best place to be in. A double agent of sorts - able to jump to one side or the other based on which way the wind blows. She liked them, she really did; they seemed like a nice bunch, but she wasn't certain if they'd be able to handle themselves in a fight of this proportion. She couldn't risk getting caught up here, possibly even getting killed. That was definitely out of the question. Not now. Not until she found that damn twin of hers.

"Do we have a deal?" She had to crane her head to stare up at him, her smile sly. There were worse people to owe a favor, but she'd rather not be stuck with him for long. She'd probably be gone by morning, sneak out if she had to. There was no way in hell she'd be staying any longer than she had to.

*~*~*~*

Zoro stood up straight, looking about them. It seemed that they were alone at the moment; he wasn't sure for how much longer, though. They'd realize that a few of their guys were missing, probably send a few more to look for them. If they didn't come back, then they'd definitely know the jig was up and that it was time to jump. He knew the others would find a way out of it, they always seemed to manage, so he didn't need to bother checking on them. No, not when they were probably walking into the sights of who knows how many Baroque Works agents. None of them seemed particularly strong, and he doubted he'd have to even try to beat them.

"Yeah, you probably shouldn't. Don't feel like having to drag you on the ship again," He stated, returning the jab. That was when she gave her challenge. Nothing too extreme, just take out as many people as possible? Might as well make a game out of it.

"Ha, I don't need to know where I'm going to beat you." He declared, feeling the corner of his mouth pulling into a smirk. "You're on."

With that, he turned and started moving. He never could back down from competing with the others, especially when they did it in a fight. Even if the prize was just bragging rights, he'd be content knowing that he bested them.

Finding other Baroque Works members didn't take long. The guy wasn't kidding when he said that they were everywhere. He could recognize a few from when they were inside; they probably were the ones they sent to check things out. That was fast - did they really make that much noise? With a shrug, Zoro waited for them as he listened to their footfalls slowly approaching. He leaned up against a wall, arching an eyebrow when he finally saw them emerge. His opponent wasted no time pulling up a gun, but he was faster. The bullet went just overhead as he charged forwards, crossing both blades in an x-slash.

He wasted no time in moving on - he bet a few of the others heard that shot and would come looking to see what happened. Of course, they'd see their friend there and then the alarm bells would sound. Metaphorically, of course; he hadn't seen any system like that setup.

Zoro scaled up the side of a building, staying low to keep from being spotted. As he crept to the other side of the building he was on, careful not to make any noise along the shingles of the roof, he peered over the edge. A group had started making their way, throwing stealth to the wind. There were about six there, each looking around them as they made their way down. It seemed one finally caught a glance of a shadow that just didn't look quite right and lifted his gaze up to see Zoro. Before he could utter a word, he dropped down at the center of the group, surprising the others. He caught most of them within a spinning strike, though missed one. The guy who saw him earlier - he had just enough time to back up.

However, he ran right out of that; Zoro lunged, stomping his foot atop the other man's, stopping his movement. He tripped and fell face first into the ground. It seemed he had managed to knock himself out in the process. It was pitiful, but who was he to complain? Less work for him. With a shrug, he continued on,

What was that? Seven? Eight, if they counted the one he threw through a window.
 
The man walked alongside Cynil, at this point maybe even a little bit tipsy himself. Typically they were warned not to drink too much by the other Baroque Works members on the island for whenever an unsuspecting pirate crew came through, but when a woman, and a hot one at that, was giving him attention instead of letting him blend into the crowd amongst the hordes of hundreds that were there too? Well, he couldn't help but let his guard down ever so slightly. His cheeks were even a little bit pinkish, but as far as to how exactly drunk he was, it couldn't be estimated for sure. He definitely still had most of his wits about him, at least.

"Of course, miss," he grinned, taking the lead when she pointed out how he probably knew the area better than she did, which was correct. He continued to lead her into the dark night, wondering just exactly where he would take her, and what it was that they might... well, do. Or who. That was a legitimate question, in his mind. He was hyper aware of the fact that her arm would brush against his every so often, and it was starting to drive him mad. Hopefully something good would come out of it... but little did he know that he was being played. The further away from the lights of the Town Hall, the more ominous their surroundings became. At Cynil's hushed voice, he stopped in his tracks, his eyes narrowing. He had mentioned to her that he was a mercenary, right? Exactly what was she hoping to gain from giving herself up? "A straggler eh..." he mumbled to himself, his face obscured in the shadow of the night. He made sure to let her speak her piece before he then looked up to the moon, his face out of her sight still. "There's quite a few of us Baroque Works members here, little miss. I don't think this game you're playing is wise." He turned to her, a more sinister look upon his face as he towered over the dark haired dancer. "But, if you and I slip away somewhere, I'm sure I can continue to keep you saf--" he was cut off as a stunned look came over his face, and he slumped to the ground, completely knocked unconscious, only to reveal Sanji, smoking a cigarette, his leg high up in the air, complete with a rather disgusted look on his face.

"Men like him are the worst kind of scum," he growled, eyes narrowed into slits. "I'm sorry I followed you, but I'm also glad I did. I figure you can probably handle yourself, but just in case when I noticed I couldn't find you in the room, I knew that I should probably look out for you. After all, it wouldn't sit right with me if I left a lady wandering around in the dark." He took his spent cigarette out of his mouth, and threw it to the ground, snuffing out the flame with his heel before walking up to Cynil. "Are you alright? He didn't try anything, did he? It appears as though there's a lot about this place that's a little too good to be true."

_______________________________________________________________​

Julia glared at Zoro as he jabbed back at her, her eyes narrowing though a clear smirk playing upon her lips. She definitely liked this friendly banter. "I only needed you to feel like you could 'contibute to the cause,' nothing more." The brunette turned to face a different direction than he was. "Besides, I weigh a whole lot less than those ridiculous weights you use." As he agreed to her little challenge, she felt her own smirk grow ever so slightly, and she took her Scimitar out of it's sheath--it wasn't the one that was her family heirloom, more like a stand-in for the one that Nobutenga stole when he and her entire crew committed mutiny against her. It paled in comparison to the beautiful weapon that she called her own, but it was decent as far as blades went. "You ready to lose?" But as Julia started talking, Zoro was already moving off in one direction. Rolling her eyes at his impatience, she ran off down a conjoined alleyway.

On her route, Julia tore through the first few members who were unfortunate enough to run into her, scimitar glinting in the moonlight. Baroque Works was an organization that she wasn't completely familiar with, but she had definitely heard of them, even on her home island. A mysterious organization with numbered members, and a notorious leader named Mr. 0, who kept a very big seceret... people often died if they knew, and one could say that Julia was simply dying to find out herself...~ Okay, even in her head that was corny. Sighing to herself, she grinned. "This exercise is exactly what I needed," she said to herself as she jogged through the alleys and streets, taking out two more Baroque's Works members as she went. She mainly used the butt of her hilt but sometimes using the blade was completely unavoidable. She cleared out two separate buildings with only one person inside each, using her superhuman speed and strength to her advantage in swiftly moving through the mostly empty town of Whiskey Peak.

Hearing some commotion on the roof as she stepped out of the last house she had cleared, the brunette scanned for a quick way up. Using the post over the door, she vaulted herself to a second story window, before jumping up on the roof she was there just in time to see a big buff bozo try to get the jump on her green haired partner from behind on an adjacent roof. Launching herself across rooftops, she was a blur to the man, landing on his back and pushing him face first into the ground. He groaned as she knocked him out with the bottom of her hilt, and she smirked at Zoro, darting away. "Man, hope you aren't losing your game on me~ my count is 10 so far!"
 
Cynil's hands pulled back, her own gaze challenging his. She had a feeling his "nice guy" attitude would change; if she knew, then there'd be no reason to keep it up, after all. "Not wise? I've already made a few different plans to get away from you, darling," Her smile was no longer a smile - it was more a baring of teeth with an upturn to the corners of her mouth. She was about to continue, to further emphasize that her size gave her an advantage against him; not to mention she was probably quick enough to evade whatever lumbering attempts to catch her he may try. A simple matter of evasion and she knew evasion well. She opened her mouth to cut him off, to agree but in the most aggressive way she could think, when his expression seemed to shift.

And then he fell.

"Wha-" Her face scrunched up, stepping back to avoid being dragged down with him. Lifting her gaze, she was met with the sight of one of the crew members - Sanji, was it? "Oh," She blinked almost owlishly. "Ah, thanks?" She wasn't so sure she was too thankful, but she did prefer her current situation more than what it would've been so that was enough for her. "It seems that way, doesn't it?" She shrugged her shoulders. "I've known people who've been on both sides of these little arrangements and know how they usually end." She paused for a moment. "Well, if anything is going to happen, I imagine now would be the time for it." She turned on her heels. She could see the ocean, so she imagined that she'd be able to find it pretty quickly after making it there. "I mean, if they're all anything like him-" She nudged the unconcious man with her foot. "-then I think they're just smart enough to know when to drop the act...Just not aware enough to get taken out, it seems."

Cynil glanced back at the town hall, raising an eyebrow. It seemed quieter. Much quieter than it was before; either things were winding down or they realized that many of them realized something was up. Either way, she doubted that just leaving would be an option - at least, not one that was as simple as it sounded. She knew nothing of this "Baroque Works" that guy (what was his name again?) mentioned earlier, but she doubted they'd just let them go. Not after all this setup.

She started walking. "I'm heading back to the ship. Probably going to sleep." She nodded. Yeah, just wait until everything blew over. Maybe, if things turned out badly for them, they'd just happen to miss her? Yeah, she doubted that. Well, whatever happened happened.

*~*~*~*

Zoro whirled around, jumping back and preparing to strike. However, he was met with Julia standing on some guy. He shoulders sagged down as he rolled his eyes at her. With no words, he turned. With a quick glimpse around, he was off again.

Finding the next group of people wasn't hard in the slightest. In fact, it seemed like they were out en masse now - subtlety be damned, it seemed. With a group this large, taking them all on at once was a stupid plan that would likely get him killed. No, he'd have to lure them around corners, funnel them through smaller areas where they couldn't all fire blindly at him and one of them get a lucky shot. He had to be smart about this.

Zoro kicked over a few stacked boxes, the noise loud enough to draw their attention. When they started moving in, he bolted out of sight - just around a building, and easily hopping into a window he had pried open. He ducked down into the dark, listening to people move. He started making his way towards the back door, hitting his elbow against it. The noise wasn't too loud, but it was enough for a few to hear.

"In here!" One called, waving the others over. Zoro watched as the door handle began to twist; once he saw it was fully pushed down, he slammed the bottom of his foot against the door. It flew open, hitting whoever had been grabbing the handle, and sending them flying a few feet. There were a few gasps, but others were quicker at lifting up their guns. He managed to dodge the bullets, feeling them tear through the air around his body. He managed to bring his sword up, slicing the barrel of a gun in half. With a twist of his blade, he sent another bullet off trajectory - it had been on a path right for his side. He moved quickly, one by one taking each out.

Nine.

Ten.

Eleven.

Twelve.

Thirteen (fourteen if you counted the one who fainted at their side).

He heard another, larger group closing in from both his sides. If he stayed any longer, he'd be filled with holes - that wasn't a very good way to become the greatest swordsman. He shoved the person in front of him to the ground before turning and scaling the building once more. As he leapt over towards a neighboring structure, he heard a voice shout "There!". It seemed they were following him now - good. This would make picking them off easier since he could lure them out and pick them off one by one. This way, he'd be able to win this little competition with ease.
 
It had been clear to Sanji what he had to do in order to protect the dark haired dancing beauty. After all, it would have eaten him alive if he hadn't followed after her and something bad had become of her. He couldn't, in good conscious, leave a lady out and about by herself, regardless of who she was or what 'side' she belonged o, unless she had severly hurt those he loved. Cynil was someone whom they had only met recently, but the bblonde haired cook already felt like there was something about her person and countenance that made her seem like she just... fit among the other members of the Strawhat Pirates. Just like Julia, and even himself before her, Cynil seemed to fill in a gap that they hadn't even known they needed filled on board the Merry.

"You're welcome!!" As soon as Cynil thanked him, Sanji seemingly melted until his limbs were like noodles. Unfortunately whatever suave coolness he had been previously had been completely cast aside in favor of the 'lovey dovey' mess that he became when someone beautiful noticed his exist or even breathed in his direction. "You're so smart and knowledgable about these things, wherever did you learn?" He continued to gush as he followed her, eager to please her more as they began to look about their area. Even Sanji's good mood couldn't last for long, as the growing silence snapped him out of his trance.

"Now that you mention it... it is pretty late into the night, yet when we left the hall they were still loud. It's awfully quiet now," he frowned, dark eyes narrowing. He wanted nothing more than to light another cigarette, but he figured it would probably be a bad idea to have a trail of smoke following them when everything was so eerie and still. When Cynil began walking to the ship, Sanji was quick to hurry after her, not eager at all to be left behind. "I'd better go with you, just in case! Who knows what kind of creeps are lurking about in the dark at night..." he mumbled as he walked, his long legs quickly catching up and almost overtaking her stride as they slowly made their way to the docks.

As they walked in relative silence, Sanji strained his ears, thinking that, for a moment, he could hear the clashing of steel on steel further into the town, but he couldn't pinpoint it exactly. "Something is definitely going down. Maybe it really is better to stay on the Merry in case we need to make a hasty escape. If you want to sleep, be my guest. I'll keep an eye on things."

__________________________________________________​


"Not even going too acknowledge my playful banter?" Julia called after him, though he was probably already too far away to realize that she was still talking to him (either that, or he just didn't care. Both were just as likely). Realizing that she'd really need to get her act together if she had any hope of beating Zoro at their little betting game. Which was, admittedly, already harder than the idea sounded. She was going after the ex-Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro.

Running swiftly across the rooftops, her steel glinted in the pale moonlight--the moon was big and bright, illuminating her path well before her. She slid down the side of the building, using her claws to dig into the stone and ease her descent. She didn't retain many of her demon attributes while in her human form, but two things seemed to carry over in a more tamed-version: her sharpened canines, and her durable, strong claws. The corridors and alleyways were dark and quiet, but not quiet enough for her to miss the murmurings of hiding Baroque Works members. Slipping into a home, she slowly cleared it--ten, eleven, twelve.

Her blade danced in the night, singing with blood. Between her and the other strawhats, these lowclass members never even stood a chance. Julia had reached 15 when she ran into a bit of a problem. A literal problem.

"Kilo Kilo Crush!" The voice was just above her head when Julia neared the docks, and the brunette dodged just in time to see a woman covered in lemons stand up from the crater in the ground where Julia had been just a second earlier.

"A devil fruit user...?" Julia growled, her eyes narrowing as she crouched. Her blue eyes darted to the side as another person stepped out of the shadows.

"Looks like we've caught ourselves a rat, Miss Valentine," a smooth voice said as Julia narrowed her eyes at the duo.

A shrill laugh followed. "What an accurate description, Mr. 5!" The woman whom Julia assumed was 'Miss Valentine' covered her mouth with her hand as her garish laugh pierced the air. "Well, no matter. I've always considered us good exterminators."

"Yeah, you wish," Julia sneered, brandishing her sword. Her eyes narrowed as the male silently reached his hand up to his face. At first she thought he was going to reach p to push up his glasses or something, but Julia shrieked when he stuffed a finger up and into his nose. "That's disgusting!" Julia then jumped out of the way, just in time again, it seemed, as the building she was standing in front of blew up behind her. Her eyes widened in horror and shock. "Wh-What the hell?!"

-------

Vivi had lost Karu, and now she was struggling to gather her bearings. First she had been separated from Mr. 9 thanks to a sighting of Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine, and now she was wandering the dark streets of Whiskey Peak alone. Her Peacock Slashers were in her hands loosely, ready to go for a spin at any minute. There was some noise behind her, and she froze, hands shaking. All this mess seemed to be because her snooping had finally been noticed, and especially now that she knew the biggest secret of the Baroque Works orginization. Shrieking as a figure leapt out, she covered her head. "P-Please! Don't hurt me!" It was a natural reaction. Wasn't she supposed to be stronger than this? She had to! For Alabasta! Slowly peaking open her eyes, she was surprised to find a familiar face. "M-Mr. Bushido..." she mumbled, staring up at Zoro. Just then, an explosion sounded not too terribly far from where they were.

Vivi turned to look towards the flames, her eyes wide. "That has to be Mr. 5! He and his partner are looking for me--t-trying to kill me! But if I'm here... who's he fighting...?!"
 
Cynil blinked, arching an eyebrow at the sudden change of disposition. She shrugged it off, continuing on her trek. How she knew? Multiple reasons, actually. "Had some friends who've been known to pull these stunts, had some friends that got caught in them, the lady that raised us wanted it bashed into our skulls - nothing all that groundbreaking, really." She spoke as she surveyed the horizon, trying to pick out the blot of their - the ship in the sea. It was easy to point out, especially with the moon out in full to give some light. It wasn't that she herself had ever been involved in a stunt like this (on either side) until now, but the knowledge of what to look for had been drilled into her mind time and time again.

Deja's was more a demand that she not be seen as a fool - that could reflect badly on her upbringing, which, in turn, would reflect badly on Deja herself. Her pride wouldn't allow that. She also imagined that her whole plan for raising kids was the exact same way she trained her own men; with a touch more "care" and for a longer period of time, of course. And time was a precious thing to her. To waste her time would end in a bad time for you, something she had learned very, very quickly. It didn't help that she had a hard time even coming close to touching Deja's impossibly high expectations, which often fell under the category of "wasting time" to the older woman.

And then there was Krenn and Markeer. Both from her troupe, both recruited at relatively the same time. Krenn had been hoodwinked - all of his money and valuables snatched away under a scheme quite like this. Serogi had found him, a scowling mess who begrudgingly agreed to help out the troupe in exchange for getting his things back. When they tracked the perpetrators down, they found a crew of good-for-nothings. Except for one. She hadn't seen it at that moment, but Serogi had. Out of that massive crowd, he managed to point out brilliant mind even when it was on the verge of passing out. It hardly took any convincing to get Markeer to join them, as he wasn't interested in a dead end life there. From back then to just before she left, hardly anything changed. Krenn continued to scowl, all huffy and seemingly annoyed by every little thing only to hide the fact he wore his heart on his sleeve; Markeer used his genius to create all sorts of devices (and to simply annoy their other genius Ryker) and spend his days sleeping - what many saw was laziness was truly the sporadic sleep schedule of someone who always had "one more" thing to work out.

In short, they were both complete idiots in their own regards but had enough redeeming qualities that she was fine with it. Except when they had some dumb idea and it involved her - then she'd let the hate flow through her.

Pushing back the unnecessary memories, Cynil set off. She could hear an...an explosion? Well, it seemed as if things were getting intense back there. She'd rather not get caught up in it; go and wait things out. She didn't know much about this "Baroque Works" that guy had mentioned earlier, but she doubted she wanted her face to be one they remembered. Better to stay out of the way, let things be handled by others.


*~*~*

Zoro came to a halt, one blade poised to strike as he froze. His eyes narrowed, peering down at the figure of a girl cowering before recognition flashed through his face. He glanced around, lowering his stance as he relaxed. They seemed relatively alone from what he could tell - aside from that weird duck-thing she had with her. Though, he did have a few choice words for her. "You led us into a trap." He stated, giving her a questioning look.

He didn't feel any anger or ill-will towards her. If she tried to do it again? Maybe, but he wasn't too bad with people and he could tell she wasn't that bad of a person. More tolerable than her partner was, at least. Now that guy was kind of annoying in an idiot kind of way.

"Wait, so there's more of those number guys around -" He was in the middle of an annoyed sigh before he cut himself off. Wait, they were fighting someone? His mind started to go over all of the people he knew it could be. Luffy? No, no - he was still at the town hall and he'd have heard him laugh or something. Definitely not Nami or Ussop due to the lack of screams of terror resonating through the air around them. Maybe -

Zoro's face blanked a moment as realization struck him. There was one person he knew was over in that general direction before he took off. He turned, giving an annoyed growl as he started in the direction of the explosion.

"Damnit Julia!" He grumbled. He knew she could fight, that much was clear to anyone. However, he knew that she had been injured from their narrow escape not too long ago, and those definitely hadn't fully healed. He also knew that those guys with the number-names were much stronger the lower their number was. He could imagine this Mr. 5 wasn't a pushover - and they had partners. A two-on-one fight, and that one was also still recuperating from a previous fight? Yeah, even he knew when help was needed.

Zoro skidded to a stop, glancing side to side. The noises had died down before he heard another explosion. It seemed it was just a block or so away at this point, he just needed to find out where. As he followed the sound to the left, he realized the path split off in two different directions. He needed to go straight ahead, but that didn't seem to be an option. He shrugged, taking the right path. Right was usually right.....right? That sounded logical in his mind, so he went with that.
 
Sanji could almost change his personality at the flip of a coin, considering how he acted around women in general. You either got the epic, cool, and suave side of Sanji that seemed to primarily show up when he was cooking or doing something like fighting, and sometimes even when he was arguing with Zoro. And then there was that side of him that completely freaked out when he was noticed and/or chasing after women. It was somply a part of him that was trying to fight with his own morals that made him such a way. He wanted to appreciate every beautiful crerature that walked the Earth, and he was simply one man. Still, he hoped that he could control himself enough around Cynil so that, as a newer member of heir crew (temporary enough as she claimed to be) he wouldn't make a complete fool of himself. However, most of the time, he just... well, he really couldn't help it.

Back on the Baratie, he had felt truly at home--after all, it seemed as though he could control himself more. But was that also truly surpressing himself? That thought made him stop and think for a moment--if he had truly been surpressing himself for years, then it was a miracle that he had been recruited by Luffy when he did. He had said that he would rather die than become a member of a pirate crew at one point, despite that he had been saved now by two pirates. He had a tremendous debt of gratitude he owed to both Zeff and Luffy, ones that he would never forget.

As they walked, an explosion sounded in the distance, and Sanji turned sharply, his eyes narrowing as he witnessed a plume of smoke rise from over the tops of the houses. The cook wasn't exactly sure what was going on, but he silently hoped that no one was hurt. Honestly, a part of him wanted to run and see what was going on, but at this point he knew the worst thing he could probably do was split up and leave Cynil to fend for herself. "Let's hurry back to the Merry..." he said finally, picking up his pace and making sure that Cynil was truly following him. If anything were to go down, maybe it would also be best that the Baroque Works members had no idea who two of the Strawhat members were...

It didn't take them too long to reach the Merry, and Sanji urged Cynil up the gang plank and into the cabin. A small smile on his face once he closed the door behind them, the blonde haired cook leaned against the stove, another urge to pull out a cigarette rising within him, but he didn't want to smoke inside the Merry. Especially not with Cynil there (even though she probably wouldn't have minded too terribly). "There, safe inside. Hey, is there anything I can get you? Hot cocoa or coffee or something?" He wanted to make sure he was comfortable, and as explosions sounded outside, his legs itched to kick something, but he refrained. If this really wasn't the last they were going to see of Baroque Works, then as he had thought earlier, they could use two unknown 'agents' in the long run. "Let's just stay here and make sure the Merry is ready for a swift departure when the others get back."

___________________________________________​


Vivi followed after Zoro as he ran off, figuring that she would probably be safer if she stuck with one of the Strawhats. Just because Mr. 5 was over there didn't mean that one of the other lower numbers wouldn't be out and about, not to mention his partner Miss Valentine was technically still unaccounted for to her knowledge. As Zoro took a right, Vivi panicked. "Mr. Bushido!!!" Her voice echoed a bit and she winced slightly as she ran, hoping to keep up with his swift pace. "That's the wrong way, take a left!" She assumed that he probably thought one of the other Strawhats was fighting them. She could only hope that he would be able to protect her so long as she followed him, or else she would look for Igaram. Either way, she would have to go toward the fight herself in order to find out.

---

Julia dodged his boogers left and right, but Mr. 5 was by far picking them faster than she could dodge, with Miss Valentine cackling all the while. Her eyes narrowed at a pause in some of the smaller barrages, her chest heaving as she panted. "H-hey... how disgusting is your nose?! Honestly?" The man didn't answer, and Miss Valentine only shrugged, so Julia took the opportunity to ask another question. "Why are you two here, that's my question."

"Oh?" Miss Valentine rose a petite eyebrow in response, and Mr. 5 paused his picking.

"Our boss Mr. 0 must keep his identity a secret..." Mr. 5 said with an ominous key to his tone. "Someone among us is a double agent, and a valuable person to the boss. We're here to take her to see him since she seemed so eager to find out who he was..."

"But that doesn't mean we can't kill a few rats in the meantime," Miss Valentine grinned wickedly, twirling her parasol.

"Oh yeah?" Julia chuckled, causing a wrinkle in the lemon-lady's brow. "Well, I haven't even started yet!" Closing her eyes, she let fire engulf her form for the second time that night. Her wings weren't completely healed, that much was certain, but she knew if she could quickly get this fight over with, she wouldn't have to worry about tearing out her horrible stitches. She loved the sound of the audible gasp Miss Valentine had at her new demonic form, not to mention the rush of adrenaline she got from the visible shiver the woman gave when Julia's dark, almost glowing, eyes turned to her. "Try using your 'devil' fruit powers on a real demon!"

She flew forward, but cringed in disgust as she was blown back into a building, crawling out of the rubble. She had been so distracted by Miss Valentine that she had forgotten about Mr. 5's stupid boogers! Growling, she rolled out of the way as Miss Valentine made holes around her body, trying to crush her. "I don't care what you are! You're just another bug I'm going to crush!" The brunette growled, taking advantage just as Miss Valentine made herself light again, Julia took a clawed hand, grabbed her leg, and through her to the ground.

The female cried out, but used her leg to flip the oni onto her back, stepping on the small of her back and increasing her weight. "Gack!" Julia coughed out saliva as a small crater appeared underneath her. She scrabbled at Miss Valentine's legs, clawing them. The blonde woman winced, but didn't let up. It felt like her spine was bending a little more than it should. "G-get... offa me, fatty!"

"How dare yoU!!!" Miss Valentine increased the weight, and it literally knocked the demon out of her as fire engulfed her form once more. Seeing that she had seemingly 'defeated' her, Miss Valentine smirked, stepping off and floating back to her partner.

The warm glow of fire was behind her, and so Julia crawled, knowing that if she could just eat some, she would be able to regain her energy back. "Not so fast," a voice sounded right behind her, and she turned her head and her blue eyes went wide and nearly cross-eyed as Mr. 5 flicked a disgusting explosive booger straight between her eyes. The explosion sounded through the city.
 
Zoro came skidding to a halt, whirling around and charging off in the direction he was told. Left. He needed to go left. Damn, why did they make cities so confusing?! Couldn't they just make things direct without all of the twists and turns?! No, they had to go and add "style" to the town, making it damn near impossible to navigate!

"Alright, now which way do we go?" He looked over his shoulder, trying to find his current blue-haired companion only to see - well not see her. She was gone. He stopped once more, staring the way he came. Had she tricked him? No, no, she seemed far too genuine for any of that. And if she was being honest about people coming after her, then he doubted she'd want to separate herself off like that. It was easy to draw up what happened, considering his track record.

...

...

He went left! She told him to go left, and he went left. How did he manage to lose her - wait. Did she mean left as in an immediate left from where he was, or to turn around and go left? Because, now that he thought back on it, she probably meant for him to backtrack to where the path split off. And he didn't do that. Damn, he could be an idiot sometimes; he would admit it. Now, how could he find his way back? Or should he?

With an annoyed groan, Zoro shook his head. No, he'd find a way. Hopefully. He usually did...sometimes. Okay, so not all the time, but it was enough. "Alright, how hard could it be?" He mumbled to himself as he began his search once more. He just needed to figure out which direction the explosions came from. It was...okay, so before he went right, it sounded like they were dead ahead, but then he made that turn. Then he made another turn at the behest of Miss Wednesday, but apparently it was the wrong turn, but he still made it. It was...it was left right? So, if he made a right, and then he made a left -

"Ah, screw it!" He gave a frustrated noise, shaking his head. He'd just wander around, then he was bound to find it!

Thankfully, it never came to that. Another explosion sounded, and it was right over the building next to him. With a relieved sigh, Zoro scaled up the side with ease. He loomed over the edge, seeing the two figures - wait, two? He didn't recognize them, and, from how they didn't seem to have any hostility towards each other, he could conclude they were working together. After that, it was easy to assume they were Mr.5 (from the large "5" on his coat) and his partner. But if they were here, and obviously fighting someone, then where was their opponent -

It didn't take him long to see the form of his crewmate on the ground, beaten rather badly. "Damnit, Julia." He gritted his teeth, jumping off the side. So, two against one - he wasn't injured, but he'd need to figure out how they fought. From what he heard, they had access to explosives? How? He didn't see any on either of them, so there must be something he wasn't getting.

"Another one?" The man - Mr.5 - said, rolling his shoulder as he sized Zoro up. "At this rate we might as well be exterminatiors." An annoying laugh sounded after that, coming from the woman clad in yellow. It took him only that sharp noise to decide her voice would annoy him.

"Ah, but we're never allowed any fun so why don't we just do it!"

And he didn't.

"Can we just cut the chat and get this over with?" Zoro demanded, glaring the two down.

Mr.5 gave a shrug, "Alright." He lifted his hand. He had expected him to pull a weapon or something, but blinked in surprise - as well as disgust - upon seeing him jab a finger in his nose. Did he think this was some kind of joke -

He jumped to the side, dodging as the guy's booger just...it exploded - what the hell?! It was clear to see that this Mr.5 was a Devil Fruit user. As for his partner - damn, where did she go? The explosion had obscured his vision of her briefly; that was all she needed it seemed. Zoro cast a glance to the prone figure of Julia, half-expecting to see her there, standing over his crewmate in some underhanded tactic. No, she wasn't-

And then he heard it. That loud, annoying laugh coming from right overhead. "Looking for something?" She hollered. He lifted his gaze, catching sight of the blonde coming plummeting down upon him. He rolled, narrowly missing her. The crater she left in her wake gave him two answers: either he was dealing with two Devil Fruit users, or she was a lot heavier than she appeared to be. The latter was less likely due to the fact that she managed to seemingly float into the air, so he went with the former. But he wasn't concerned in the slightest - no, not at all. It took only those two attacks to realize one thing about them.

They weren't all that strong at all.

No, they seemed to rely on their Devil Fruit powers far too much. Mr.5 had his explosions so he most likely took his foes out at a distance. He might have some skills in combat, but he doubted they'd rival his. He's just need to close the distance and probably take him out before he'd have a chance to get one more bomb off. Then for her. Sure, she had a lot of manuverability, but, it seemed that her main tactic was taking people by floating out of reach and dropping on top of them. Once she had them under her, he'd bet it'd be damn near impossible to get out. If Julia hadn't been injured, he was pretty sure that she'd have been able to take them out herself without any help.

Speaking of Julia... "Hey," He called over, those his eyes remained locked on his two targets. They circled, preparing for another strike. "You awake over there, or you out?" From the looks of things, she wouldn't be doing much moving at the moment. He'd probably have to get her out of here before she get caught up in a blast or a crushing blow. But how? He imagined they wouldn't turn away from a chance to strike their opponent while their back was turned. He'd need to think of something, though.
 
Vivi frantically followed where she had hoped that the green haired man had gone--after all, surely he couldn't have gotten so lost with her right behind him that he hadn't been able to heed her warning? She severely hoped that the only reason she had missed him was because it was quite dark outside, but the closer she got to the fight, the harder it was to tell if Zoro had actually gone the right direction. She hoped for his friend that he was indeed there.

---

Julia coughed up smoke, her face feeling charred and burned. The fire itself shouldn't have harmed her, but the explosions did do her body harm. She couldn't help but wince as her back ached, though despite any pain she felt, the warm glow of the building on fire behind her was enough to get her to keep moving. Her eyelids felt heavy as she struggled, pulling herself towards the comforting warmth, despite whatever had initially started the fire.

"Look at her! Maybe she's more worm than rat..." Miss Valentine snorted, and the brunette's slender eyebrows furrowed in annoyance. If she could, she would have loved to slap the stupid smug grin off of her face. "You can't get away from us. You might as well just die with honor."

A painful wheeze escaped her throat at that, her eyes narrowing at the emptiness in front of her. "Y-you wouldn't know honor if it slapped you in the face, lady."

This seemed to anger her, and she began floating again, ready to finish what she and her partner Mr. 5 had started, but she stopped herself at the appearance of a new figure, darting down from up above the buildings. "Hey, who're you?" she growled, emerald eyes frowning in anger and distrust as she tightly gripped her parasol.

Julia couldn't see Zoro, her face in the ground as it was, but she ever slowly pulled herself toward the flames--unfortunately at this time it would take her forever to get there--not without some sort of help. At Zoro's impatience, her smile was hidden from sight, though even in her form as it lay, there was a lot more relief in her figure. There was the sounds of a continued skirmish (she was glad Zoro had been able to take up the torch for her), and she continued to slowly pull herself out of the crater that Miss Valentine had made around her. Hearing Zoro's voice address her, she rose her head slightly, wincing slightly once more.

Rather than respond to his question, she instead chose to push her own agenda on Zoro. "H-Hey..." she mumbled, turning her head to the side in order to look at Zoro's tensed figure. "Sorry you keep having to save my ass. I have one more request of you... could you possibly toss me into that fire?" She lifted a hand and pointed at the smoldering ruins of the house behind her. A peal of laughter left her throat, bubbling up from deep inside, though it ended in a cough--turns out her lungs weren't doing so well either. "Please? I'll even take off one of the favors you owe me--you'll just have three left."
 
It was that request that had him pausing, finally tearing his gaze off the two to stare in bewilderment at his companion. She wanted him to what? Throw her in a fire? That was crazy - she was hardly beat to hell! She'd get nothing from just burning herself alive - just because of a loss? Though, from how she spoke, she seemed to have other intentions. No, there was something else; something he just couldn't wrap his head around. A plan, maybe?

Zoro gave another growl, shaking his head. "You better be on to something!" He snapped, bolting towards her. At the sudden movement, Mr.5 and his partner leaped into action as well. He caught a glimpse of yellow soaring out of view. There was a sensation running through him, the hairs on the back of his neck standing as he could just feel an explosion about to go off.

There was no time to stop and grab her - no. He kept moving before jumping. As he went over her, he managed to snag her arm, pulling her with him. The heat from the blast radiated, he hooked an arm around her as they tumbled. Zoro managed to slide into a crouched position, easily moving Julia over his shoulder as he started to run once more. The fire, she said? While he wasn't entirely convinced, he wouldn't let that hold them back. He didn't have time for doubt and would resign to trusting her.

"Just throw you in, right?" He had to speak loudly over all the carnage. He didn't wait for a response. That's what she said, he knew that's what she said.

As they neared the blazing inferno, he came skidding to a halt. Wait. They were a good few feet away, but something -. Zoro moved quick, grasping her sides with both hands and throwing Julia almost as hard as he could so she was sent sailing at an alarming speed towards her desired location. It wasn't graceful, and it probably didn't help her already injured state in the slightest. In the same instant, he leaped backward, just making it out of that yellow pest's landing zone.

"Ugh, won't you two just stay still?!" She snapped, glaring up at him with a huff.

"Says a lot about you if you need to ask your opponent to stand still," Zoro smirked as her anger flared up.

"Why you little -" She bared her teeth, stomping one foot. At least it had his desired effect - she seemed to have almost completely forgotten about Julia. He dodged to the right, an explosion burning bright where he stood. She jolted backward, leaping into the sky with an alarmed cry. "Mr.5!" She yelled, though her tone was almost whiny. Zoro was surprised to have managed to find it even more annoying than he had previously.

"Sorry, Miss Valentine." Came Mr.5's response, though he sounded rather casual and almost uncaring whether he had almost caught her in the blast or not. So, they didn't really seem to take each other's wellbeing that much into account? At least, this 5-guy didn't.
 
Julia may have been a little bit dilusional while she was still slowly recovering, but her request had indeed been real, despite whatever it was that Zoro had thought of it. She still had a few tricks up her sleeves, and even though eating fire would only temporarily boost her health, she could still feel that the recovery time for her new injuries PLUS her old ones was going to be fairly significant. Three days at least, from the damage to her spine. She wasn't prepared to see what the bruises looked like yet.

"Trust me, we need to get rid of these two..." she murmured, nodding despite Miss Valentine laughing at them in the background. Clearly she and her numbered partner were not ready for what was about to come next, and once again the brunette would be more than happy to show them that both she and the Ex-Pirate Hunter Zoro were not to be taken lightly.

She had asked Zoro to throw her into the fire--she just hadn't been expecting him to actually chuck her from a long distance, however, and a yelp pealed from her lips as he picked her up, easily hoisting her form over his shoulder. She winced in pain as an explosion sounded behind them--once again in the place where she had just been.

"Yeah, but shouldn't you get a little closer--?!" she started to speak after his question, but was cut off as his strong hands found her hips and literally threw her like a bullet towards the raging inferno. She only cried out as she landed, the only thing not bother her being the flames (it was the rough landing that had her bent out of shape).

She could hear Zoro still fighting the pair outside of the flames and the slowly-collapsing building. Beginning to inhale, she took flames in her mouth, making sure to be careful as she ate--she could burn her insides if she didn't do so correctly. For Oni demons, they were classified by different elements--Julia was red, hence her element being fire. Each Oni could gain energy by eating their element, and if injured it provided a drug-like rush of adrenaline, allowing them to ignore almost any injury while fighting until that burst ran out. If eating fire just before sleeping, it could also be used to heal, speeding up their already fast healing process for, again, as long as the energy lasted.

Interrupting the fighting that was going on, Julia's figure could be seen standing up in the inferno as energy rushed to her limbs. "This is the most disgusting flames I've ever had the unfortunate pleasure to eat," her voice was full-sounding once more in between bites, and slowly but surely the fire in front of her disappeared as she ate it, the flames licking her lips as she slurped noisily (there was no other way to eat fire, honestly). Cracking her neck, she transformed back into her demon form, and locked eyes with a completely shocked Miss Valentine.

"W-What... what are you?!" The woman physically shook as Julia's wings expanded.

"Your worst nightmare..." she responded, ignoring any and all groans at the cheesiness. "What, I couldn't help myself!" Her wings were still a little rough looking, but she didn't pay any attention to the pain--she couldn't even feel it--and while Miss Valentine wasn't fully paying attention, too far into her shocked state, Julia rushed forward and slammed into her pushing her through the building made of stone that was behind them. "Who's the rat now?" Her growl was loud as she sneered, baring her fangs. Her horns glinted in the moonlight, as she turned her dark gaze to a seemingly unfazed Mr. 5. "Well Zoro? What are you waiting for? An invitation?"
 
The three combatants had put their brawl on pause, staring at where Julia had been laying. Which she was now standing. He blinked, face scrunching up as he tried to put some sort of sense to the matter - after a small struggle to do so, he dropped it entirely. The Grand Line was a weird place, and plenty of weird things happened. He had been expecting it. Kind of; Julia did say something about the Grand Line before, right? Maybe he had just imagined that.

"Oh, come on." Zoro rolled his eyes, groan muffled from the hilt he bit down on. The cheesy punch line being almost too much for him to bear. He was half tempted just to toss something at her - small, of course. She was already injured enough as-is. He shook his head, sighing as he lifted up his blades again, ready to continue on with their fight. Thankfully, it seemed their opponents were as well.

He charged toward Mr. 5, evading explosions with ease. It had appeared his earlier assumption was correct; when he got into close-quarters, Mr. 5 took up a more defensive stance. Hands at the ready to misdirect attacks, to duck and dodge. He moved to take a step back, to put more distance between them so he could continue on with what was probably his usual strategy for fights. Too bad for him since there was no way in hell he was getting out of his reach now that he was in it.

Zoro twisted, making parallel strikes at him. They made contact, the force from the blow easily sending him flying and into a wall. Coincidently, landing atop his partner, Miss Valentine. He heard a feeble groan sound from her as she lay face down in the rubble of a wall.

Was it...was it over already?

Straightening, he glanced over to Julia. "Those guys were giving you trouble?" He raised a questioning brow, though it was followed by a chuckle. "C'mon, we should go find the others before any more of these creeps show up." He pivoted around, scanning their surroundings. Now...where did he come from again? It was...it was - wait, didn't he go over a building? Which one was it? He eyed the rooftops, trying to make out something familiar. None of them were. Who paid that much attention to what a roof looked like! Who could blame him for this one?!

With a shrug to himself, Zoro started off. He'd find it eventually; the island couldn't be that big, right? But as he looked up to all the absurd peaks in the distance (and making out the graves on them even from here) he could imagine that the island was bigger than he was thinking. He wouldn't get that lost though. Besides, Luffy and the others were bound to start making noise sooner or later (he hoped for sooner) so he'd just follow the noise again. Didn't lead him astray this time!
 
Julia was definitely another oddity from the Grand Line that Zoro was going to struggle to understand. She actually debated for a moment, upon seeing his confused expression, whether or not she should let him in on exactly how her abilities worked, but she figured that she might have a better chance to tell him at a different time. Especially when they weren't in the middle of an important fight. Honestly the brunette found it hard to believe that people like Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine were able to beat her up in the way that they had, but she also supposed it had a lot to do with the fact that the oni demon had already been fatigued and injured.

She couldn't help but grin as Zoro groaned at her cheesiness. "What? I couldn't help it!" Honestly being a bit cliche was in her blood, and he would just have to deal with it!

As they began to engage once more in a dual of blades and claws, explosions and a lady who weighed literal tons, Julia found a grin appear on her features. That familiar rush of adrenaline... the literal flames that spread through her veins from her head to her toes made her eagerness to fight (and arise victorious) filled her to the brim. There was no way they were going to lose now! Or at least... until the affects wore off... Helping to push Miss Valentine and Mr. 5 back until Zoro made them collide into each other, Julia grinned at the duo.

"Take that!" As they were thrown into a building, Julia grinned. Zoro's words, however, only made the female wince, growling at him. "Hey, I was already injured, and thoroughly grossed out by king explosion murder over there with his yucky exploding boogers." She held her hands on her hips and watched as Zoro tried to remember which way he came from. "Good luck trying to find the ship after you lose!" Her words were, most presumably, lost on deaf ears as he ran back in the opposite direction from the way he came from. The female sighed, shaking her head before leaving Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine knocked out where they lay, eager to take a few more heads before the night was over.

______________________________________________________________________​

And a long story short, Princess Vivi Nefeltari was now a traveling companion among the Strawhat Pirates. Julia wasn't necessarily against helping out the female--in fact, she would have probably scolded Luffy into taking her with had he not had such a willing heart to help the desperate princess out--in a way, they were her only hope. That being said, she wasn't too crazy about the fact that a Shichibukai now knew at least the majority of their crew members and what they looked like. She did have an advantage, however. With the fire that she had eaten, it would take a hot moment for the adrenaline to wear off, and so the Unluckies only got a drawing of her ogre form, not her normal form. That might end up being a blessing in disguise... not to mention Crocodile would also be unaware of not only Cynil, but of Sanji and Usopp as well.

As they sailed through the mist that seemed to surround Whiskey Peak, Julia still had yet to detransform, and Sanji was one of the first to notice. "Julia-swan!! You look so terrifyingly beautiful--but I like your normal self just as much! Why haven't you changed back yet?"

The brunette sighed, turning to face the blonde cook as she held her cloak in one clawed hand. "Well, something happened--" Sanji almost immediately glared at Zoro. Anything that happened had bound to have been his fault since they were missing together. "And it's uh... the only way to describe it is kind of like getting off a high...?"

Luffy turned and looked to the black haired beauty, a confused look on his face. "Oh, hey Cynil, were you on the ship the whole time?" Of course, the poor dense captain was far from the truth, like he was in most things, but at least he had remembered Cynil's presence. A lesser man might have forgotten about the black haired beauty.

"Of course not you idiot, she was with us! Do you even keep track of your own crew mates?" Sanji was now bouncing from looking like he was going to murder Zoro, and now pointing his rage at their dark-haired captain. After all, Sanji would have never forgiven himself if he had done something as stupid as forget anyone of their crew mates, but he wouldn't exactly put it past Luffy's air headed capabilities.

"I just don't remember seeing her, is all," he shrugged, looking back to the bright purple-eyed female with a grin. "But hey--we should do a dance for fun! To celebrate the start of a new adventure. You're a dancer, right?"

"Captain, this doesn't seem like the best time..." Vivi cautioned, a worried look on her face. She didn't want to make Cynil do anything she didn't want to do, of course. But it seemed as though Luffy had completely misinterpreted her misgivings.

"Oh... you're right, Vivi. We really need a musician so we have music to dance to!"

"YOU'RE AN IDIOT," Nami, Sanji, and Usopp yelled at the male, all while he laughed and ignored their outcries.

"Please ignore Luffy, Cynil-sama," Sanji was quick to interject, a smile on his lips as he spoke to her calmly. "After all, he's a good man--just... dense, sometimes." Or most of the time, but it didn't exactly take a genius to figure that information out.

Julia was starting to feel the effects of the fire that she had eaten earlier wear off, and she sighed, closing her eyes. That familiar fire engulfed her form, and Vivi, who had yet to see her transform, watched in shocked awe as the brunette returned to her normal appearance. Once back in her human form, Julia winced as she stumbled on her feet, slowly sitting down next to the mast. Ignoring any curious eyes, she closed her eyes and leaned back against the mast, hissing in pain.

"Julia... are you alright?" Vivi asked, approaching quietly as she looked down in concern at the brunette as said female waved the princess off.

"Y-Yeah... it's just... when I eat fire, I can either convert it into energy in order to heal faster, or I can convert it into adrenaline. I did one, not the other and now I'm just... really sore." She didn't want to look at her back--no doubt there was some super ugly bruising there from Miss Valentine's fat body.
 
"I only dance when I know I'm getting paid for it." Cynil answered, eyes never leaving the pages of her book. She was almost through with it - almost deciphered what Serogi hid within the words. She flipped another page, chuckling at Luffy. His clueless-ness was almost adorable. Though, it was that blatant lack of thought that she'd have used against him. Just to annoy with small tricks, nothing serious.

Her eyes flicked up from the pages and to the blonde, giving a small, polite smile in return. "Its fine, I've dealt with worse." She mused, using her finger to keep her place as she closed the book. Nami arched an eyebrow at that.

"Worse?" She questioned curiously.

"The troupe I worked for, a guy there would often go out of his way to ditch me in new places to see how long it'd take for me to find my way back." She shrugged. "Though I generally did something to deserve it - not gonna sit here and pretend to be innocent."

"I don't see how you could deserve something like that - it's a terrible thing to do." Came the navigator's reply, frowning. Cynil raised her eyebrows, her gaze unblinking.

"I once filled a bag with spiders and threw it at a ceiling fan." Nami stared, almost astonished before nodding.

Her words came without hesitation. "Yeah, I think I'd leave you behind without a problem if you did something like that." She answered, another nod for affirmation.

"And where did you learn to do something like that?" It was a new voice - feminine and had practiced charm that Cynil could understand. One quite like her own, if she were to compare, but there were a few key differences. Cynil looked up, her smile smooth and unwavering at the face of the strange, black haired woman sitting atop the railing above them.

"Got a brother." She said with a shrug, matching the almost condescending smile this woman gave them all. A story for another time - a time when this woman wasn't around, more than likely. She couldn't quite place it, but there was something dangerous about her. An aura to her entire being, her general demeanor, something.

It was at that moment the others seemed to take notice of the stranger aboard.

"Nice ship you guys got here." She dragged a finger tip along the railing as if examining it before looking back to where they were gathered. Zoro immediately went for his blades but had yet to unsheathe them. Not yet; wait to see what her next move was. That seemed to be the response of the others as well, though Vivi took a more active role in reacting to the sudden appearance of this woman.

"I-its you." Vivi stared, her voice shook ever so slightly. Her eyes held a touch of fear, but, overpowering it all, was anger. "Miss All Sunday!"

"By the way, I passed by your dear Mr. 8 on the way here -" She zeroed in on Vivi, smirk growing. "He didn't look so good." She leaned forwards, hand propping itself on her cheek as she cocked her head to the side. Her stare was reminiscent of a scientist over their test subject than anything else.

"It was you - you!" Vivi's hands clenched into shaking fists, eyes flaring. One foot went forward and the princess looked ready to lunge for Miss All Sunday's throat at any second - if she wasn't just out of reach, that is. "You killed Igaram!" She yelled, fury filling her voice, but she remained in place.

Zoro had relaxed a bit, shaking his head. There would be no fight here; he could tell that much. No, this "Miss All Sunday" came here to taunt. He imagined that, if any of them were to try and attack her, she'd be gone. And if she did stay and fight? Well, that would be putting their ship at risk. They were at sea in the middle of the Grand Line. A sinking ship was the last thing they wanted. Not to mention that one of their crew members was still injured, and, from the looks of things, she wasn't anywhere near ready for another fight. If anything, she looked worse off than before.

He moved closer to the mast, almost unconsciously, on the off chance a battle did break out. Someone had to keep an eye on their friend-turned-demon, and he was the only one who had that thought on his mind, apparently. Everyone else seemed so fixated on this Sunday woman.
 
Miss All Sunday chuckled as she observed the people around her on the Going Merry--she knew the Unluckies had an incomplete dossier of the members of the Strawhat Crew, but she wasn't about to correct it. That wasn't exactly her job, now was it? She smirked, a seemingly lasseiz-faire attitude about her, and yet... she was also on alert. A calm and calculating teal gaze slid over everyone as she observed where they stood and what they were holding, etc.

Upon hearing Vivi's cry, Sanji and Usopp Miss All Sunday chuckled as she observed the people around her on the Going Merry--she knew the Unluckies had an incomplete dossier of the members of the Strawhat Crew, but she wasn't about to correct it. That wasn't exactly her job, now was it? She smirked, a seemingly lassez-faire attitude about her, and yet... she was also on alert. A calm and calculating teal gaze slid over everyone as she observed where they stood and what they were holding, etcetera.

Upon hearing Vivi's cry, Sanji and Usopp leaped into action. Sanji pointed a gun at her head (honestly where did that come from? He must have klepto'd it off of someone on Whiskey Peak Island) and Usopp had his slingshot aimed at her as well as everyone else's faces looked grim. "I don't know who this woman is, but if she killed Vivi's friend...!"

"We won't hold back!" Usopp nodded in agreement, about to let a projectile loose as Sanji cocked the gun. The dark blue haired woman couldn't help but chuckle.

In the blink of an eye, her hands... Julia's eyes widened in shock and anger as she looked up the woman. "What... just happened?" No one could explain why both Sanji and Usopp were suddenly disarmed and holding their throbbing hands. She was either really fast, or there was something else at work here...

"Now, it's not nice to go pointing such scary weapons at a lady," she mused, almost as if she was purring. A growl welled up in Julia's throat--she was clearly toying with them. A slight shadow fell over her figure and for a moment, the brunette looked up, shocked to find Zoro in a protective stance in front of her. Was he... actually going to protect her if something happened? Her eyes widened slightly before she chose not to dwell on it and slowly hauled herself up into a standing position.

Before Zoro could protest, she shook her head, biting a lip. "I'm fine. If she tries anything... I'll punch her right in the face."

"Bold words for someone in as sad a shape as you are," Miss All Sunday's voice drifted down to them. She had been paying attention to their conversation? Julia's eyes narrowed once more. Just who was she...?

"She's... she's Mr. 0's partner," Vivi answered, as though being able to guess the question that was on everyone's mind--it wasn't exactly rocket science. "She's the one who Igaram and I," her voice stiffened upon mentioning his name as she glared daggers at Miss All Sunday. "We followed her in order to find out the Boss's true identity."

"Or more like, I let you follow me."

"So she's a good guy?" Sanji wanted to slap his captain.

"Luffy, she killed that curly haired guy!" Nami, luckily, was the one to intervene before someone else chose to beat some sense into Luffy.

"So she's a bad guy!"

"So you're the captain, Monkey D. Luffy..." she mused the name over her lips, as if testing out a new food. She flicked her wrist, and Luffy gasped as his hat was suddenly lifted off of his head, and she coyly placed it on top of her violet cowboy hat, which quickly angered the black haired male.

"Hey, give me back my hat!!!" He continued to seethe as both Usopp and Sanji had to hold him back while he raged. "I've decided to see you as my enemy now, so come at me! Come on, let's fight!!"

"I came here to tell you that as you are now, your course is heading for an island called Little Garden," Miss All Sunday continued, basically ignoring Luffy and the others as she spoke, her gaze connecting with Vivi's as a taunting smirk played across her lips. "You'll never make it to Mr. 0 at this rate." Vivi growled. "But, I come bearing an Eternal Pose. Using this, it'll take you just past Little Garden to a majorly uninhabitated island just past that one, and it'll lead you straight to Alabasta afterward."

As Luffy managed to catch the Eternal Pose in his hand, he remained silent and listened to Vivi. "What do you have to gain from this? Why... why are you helping us?"

The woman shrugged, "my reasons are my own. The island is not only obscure, but it is also unknown to Baroque Works, so you won't be followed by anyone either."

"It's probably a trap!" Usopp was screaming from his hiding spot behind a barrel as Julia took a step forward on shaky feet. She really did seem to be worse off than earlier.

"Enough wasting our time!" Luffy clenched his fist, crushing the Eternal Pose in one hand.

"YOU IDIOT SHE WAS GIVING US A SAFE ROUTE AND YOU BROKE IT!!" Nami nearly cried as she stared at the broken shards in his hands. Miss All Sunday merely shrugged at their actions, tossing Luffy his hat back.

An intense look came over their captain's face, and Sanji stood closer to Cynil protectively. "Don't you dare think... that you can just choose the path of our journey for us!" His conviction was admirable, if nothing else. "She blew up the curly haired guy so I hate her!" Nami wailed at the loss of the Eternal Pose.

"I see..." the smile never left Miss All Sunday's face. "How unfortunate. Well, I don't dislike bold men. Let us meet again soon if you survive." She spoke as she moved from the railing towards the side of their ship as Luffy growled about how he didn't want to see her again. "Let's go..." she called out as she jumped off of their ship, and onto... a turtle?? Julia watched as she disappeared into the mists, and her eyes narrowed.

Sanji let out a sigh of relief, looking back to Cynil with an heir of caution. "Are you alright, Cynil? Can I get you anything?"

"Sanji, I want meat!" Luffy cried, pouting.

"YOU LITERALLY JUST ATE UNTIL YOU WERE A BOWLING BALL I'M NOT MAKING YOU SHIT," Sanji yelled as Luffy pouted. The blonde sighed heavily, taking a deep breath before pulling out a cigarette and lighting it, taking a long drag as he cooled down.

Julia felt herself finally calm down, and she leaned back against the main mast, only to choke on her own spit as she felt pain spike up her spine. Coughing, she waved Usopp and Zoro away. "I-I'm... hack... wheeze... I'm fine, don't worry about me. I just need to sleep..." she gasped out, hunching over forward as the pain ebbed like a dull throb. "Hnn... I hate this! I'm gonna go cut out my spine...!" So she was tired, in pain, cranky, and over dramatic. Great.
into action. Sanji pointed a gun at her head (honestly where did that come from? He must have clepto'd it off of someone on Whiskey Peak Island) and Usopp had his slingshot aimed at her as well as everyone else's faces looked grim. "I don't know who this woman is, but if she killed Vivi's friend...!"

"We won't hold back!" Usopp nodded in agreement, about to let a projectile loose as Sanji cocked the gun. The dark blue haired woman couldn't help but chuckle.

In the blink of an eye, her hands... Julia's eyes widened in shock and anger as she looked up the woman. "What... just happened?" No one could explain why both Sanji and Usopp were suddenly disarmed and holding their throbbing hands. She was either really fast, or there was something else at work here...

"Now, it's not nice to go pointing such scary weapons at a lady," she mused, almost as if she was purring. A growl welled up in Julia's throat--she was clearly toying with them. A slight shadow fell over her figure and for a moment, the brunette looked up, shocked to find Zoro in a protective stance in front of her. Was he... actually going to protect her if something happened? Her eyes widened slightly before she chose not to dwell on it and slowly hauled herself up into a standing position.

Before Zoro could protest, she shook her head, biting a lip. "I'm fine. If she tries anything... I'll punch her right in the face."

"Bold words for someone in as sad a shape as you are," Miss All Sunday's voice drifted down to them. She had been paying attentioin to their conversation? Julia's eyes narrowed once more. Just who was she...?

"She's... she's Mr. 0's partner," Vivi answered, as though being able to guess the question that was on everyone's mind--it wasn't exactly rocket science. "She's the one who Igaram and I," her voice stiffened upon mentioning his name as she glared daggers at Miss All Sunday. "We followed her in order to find out the Boss's true identity."

"Or more like, I let you follow me."

"So she's a good guy?" Sanji wanted to slap his captain.

"Luffy, she killed that curly haired guy!" Nami, luckily, was the one to intervene before someone else chose to beat some sense into Luffy.

"So she's a bad guy!"

"So you're the captain, Monkey D. Luffy..." she mused the name over her lips, as if testing out a new food. She flicked her wrist, and Luffy gasped as his hat was suddenly lifted off of his head, and she coyly placed it on top of her violet cowboy hat, which quickly angered the black haired male.

"Hey, give me back my hat!!!" He continued to seethe as both Usopp and Sanji had to hold him back while he raged. "I've decided to see you as my enemy now, so come at me! Come on, let's fight!!"

"I came here to tell you that as you are now, your course is heading for an island called Little Garden," Miss All Sunday continued, basically ignoring Luffy and the others as she spoke, her gaze connecting with Vivi's as a taunting smirk played across her lips. "You'll never make it to Mr. 0 at this rate." Vivi growled. "But, I come bearing an Eternal Pose. Using this, it'll take you just past Little Garden to a majorly uninhabited island just past that one, and it'll lead you straight to Alabasta afterward."

As Luffy managed to catch the Eternal Pose in his hand, he remained silent and listened to Vivi. "What do you have to gain from this? Why... why are you helping us?"

The woman shrugged, "my reasons are my own. The island is not only obscure, but it is also unknown to Baroque Works, so you won't be followed by anyone either."

"It's probably a trap!" Usopp was screaming from his hiding spot behind a barrel as Julia took a step forward on shaky feet. She really did seem to be worse off than earlier.

"Enough wasting our time!" Luffy clenched his fist, crushing the Eternal Pose in one hand.

"YOU IDIOT SHE WAS GIVING US A SAFE ROUTE AND YOU BROKE IT!!" Nami nearly cried as she stared at the broken shards in his hands. Miss All Sunday merely shrugged at their actions, tossing Luffy his hat back.

An intense look came over their captain's face, and Sanji stood closer to Cynil protectively. "Don't you dare think... that you can just choose the path of our journey for us!" His conviction was admirable, if nothing else. "She blew up the curly haired guy so I hate her!" Nami wailed at the loss of the Eternal Pose.

"I see..." the smile never left Miss All Sunday's face. "How unfortunate. Well, I don't dislike bold men. Let us meet again soon if you survive." She spoke as she moved from the railing towards the side of their ship as Luffy growled about how he didn't want to see her again. "Let's go..." she called out as she jumped off of their ship, and onto... a turtle?? Julia watched as she disappeared into the mists, and her eyes narrowed.

Sanji let out a sigh of relief, looking back to Cynil with an heir of caution. "Are you alright, Cynil? Can I get you anything?"

"Sanji, I want meat!" Luffy cried, pouting.

"YOU LITERALLY JUST ATE UNTIL YOU WERE A BOWLING BALL I'M NOT MAKING YOU SHIT," Sanji yelled as Luffy pouted. The blonde sighed heavily, taking a deep breath before pulling out a cigarette and lighting it, taking a long drag as he cooled down.

Julia felt herself finally calm down, and she leaned back against the main mast, only to choke on her own spit as she felt pain spike up her spine. Coughing, she waved Usopp and Zoro away. "I-I'm... hack... wheeze... I'm fine, don't worry about me. I just need to sleep..." she gasped out, hunching over forward as the pain ebbed like a dull throb. "Hnn... I hate this! I'm gonna go cut out my spine...!" So she was tired, in pain, cranky, and over dramatic. Great.
 
Once the woman - Miss All Sunday - had left Zoro was quick to turn and face Julia. He leaned against the mast, arms crossed with a frown as he stared down at her. "Don't look 'fine' to me," He arched an eyebrow as he took in her pained expression. "Far from it, actually."

Usopp cringed in sympathy at their demon friend. "We don't have a doctor so there's not really much any of us can do," He said, scratching his cheek. "Not without risking things getting worse - you feel like you'll make it, right? It's not like 'I'm going to die in seconds' pain, is it-" The sniper was cut off by Zoro's elbow coming down upon his head as the swordsman rolled his eyes. Sometimes their long-nosed liar didn't know when to shut up.

*~*~*~*~*

"So, this is Little Garden?"

The question from Luffy - more like statement - caught Zoro's attention as he looked to the island in question. He blinked, staring a bit harder. Yep, the name had to be some kind of irony. "I thought it was supposed to be 'little'?" He asked as he took note of the oversized plant life they could make out. He shook his head. Sometimes people were idiots - wouldn't it have been easier to name it something more accurate? Though, what would that be?

"I-it's probably dangerous - it's a giant, untamed jungle!" Usopp exclaimed, staring, his eyes already wide and fearful. "Maybe we should just go to the next island and skip this one!"

Nami shook her head. "We need time to set the Log." She stated. As they entered into a river leading into the island, they watched the shore. "I've never seen plants like these in any book." She said, giving a small 'hmm'. Maybe she was starting to feel a tad bit apprehensive now. Cynil leaned against the railing, staring off as they continued on. Everything here was huge! It made you wonder if what lived in this jungle was equally large. Though, that would be ridiculous - they would've spotted things moving about if that were the case.

The loud screeching of some creature stopped any conversation happening. While she (hoped) played it off, Cynil's entire body went rigid. While she knew something would have to really work to kill her, that didn't mean she wasn't scared of things. Especially when taking her own small size into account. While her eyes widened a fraction, mouth stuck in an almost forced smile as she turned to find what made that noise. It was like a bird...if it spawned from the depths of hell itself.

"What was that?!" Usopp cried out, looking about frantically as opposed to Cynil's "don't move and it won't see you" tactic.

"Hell if I know." Zoro answered with a shrug. "Any ideas?"
 
Despite Usopp’s fear over her pain being something deadly, Julia continued to refuse any assistance despite her obvious need for a doctor. Her back looked purple and blue along her spine, horribly discolored in a few areas, but before the others could see too much of it, the brunette had shrugged on her cloak and disregarded their concerns. Even if she was in pain, Julia was horribly stubborn—to a fault—and wouldn’t let herself be pitied because her pride simply wouldn’t allow it. She was far too proud for her own good, and that was definitely a fact.

Upon arriving at the poorly named ‘Little Garden,’ most of the crew was captured in awe over the overgrown plants and the noises that came from within the dense jungle-like forests. Julia, however, seemed rather unfazed. Despite the loud noises, she merely shrugged a bit, a yawn on her lips as shadows collected under her eyes. “It’s the Grand Line, anything is possible.”

Sanji, who was used to being acutely aware of the female’s onboard and how they were feeling/responding to things, took notice of Cynil’s trepidation right away. Smiling happily, he swooned nearby for a moment, before a more cool, collected, and confident air overtook him. Walking up to the dark haired woman’s side, he smiled down at her—it was more of a smirk than anything—as he jabbed a thumb back in his direction. “Don’t worry about anything coming after you. I’ll be right there beside you, and I’ll cook it before it even knows what hit it.” Sanji, despite being mostly a hopeless flirt, was always a chef first and foremost. And he did have his moments where he could be a role model or a good person, or even just cool. Though... sometimes they were rare. Now that they were in Little Garden, the blonde haired male figured this would probably be the best place to stock up on food and supplies before they were to dock at Alabasta...

“I wanna go exploring!” Luffy shouted, raising his hands above his head in exuberance as a wide grin spread across his face. “This is such a cool island! Why is everything so big? What kind of meat is there to find??”

“Do you only think of food?” Nami was clearly not as amused with their Captain, but she wasn’t about to stop him. “Well... we do have some time before the Log Pose magnetizes to the next island...”

“WAHOO-!” Luffy was ready to go and already running, but Nami had somehow managed to grab his collar so his rubber body snapped back into place in front of the orange haired female.

“Hold it! We can’t just go wandering off on our own. This place is huge,” she gestured to the group. “We’ll split up into teams. Everyone should at least be with someone at all times, that way no one,” she gulped, terrified of the thought. “G-gets eaten... okay! Who’s going with who and doing what?”

“Um... Carue and I would like to go exploring with Luffy!” They were all surprised by Vivi starting up first, and they slowly nodded. Luffy grinned and smiled at the princess, though he was probably more glad that she was bringing along her strange large duck.

“I was just thinking that I need to stock up on food supplies before we go to Alabasta,” Sanji spoke up, voicing his thoughts from earlier. He turned to let his one orb that wasn’t obscured by his hair settled on Cynil. Bowing courteously, he blushed a light pink. “Milady? Would you care to join me?” It was no moonlit walk, but it would have to do... for now.

Julia perked up at the idea of going out into the big forest. It seemed interesting and she didn’t want to get left behind just because she had to go earlier and try and act like a hero. Now all she was doing was paying the price in pain for her reckless actions. “I suppose I’ll go with someone,” she spoke slowly, hiding a wince as she got up from where she had been seated. The pain was a dull throb in her back, and it was slowly but surely ebbing away. That being said, she would still need to see a doctor the next chance they got, but there was hardly any point in her staying on the ship. The only thing that would happen if she did, was she would get stir crazy from being kept in one place for too long and she might end up doing something even more stupid. Which, in the long run, wouldn’t be a good idea.

“I can’t believe it, escorted by two lovely women?” Oops, there goes Sanji again. Nami rolled her eyes and Julia smiled awkwardly, before gingerly stretching out her sore muscles.
 
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Cynil blinked, looking towards the blonde. Well, that certainly was one way to ask someone to tag along with you - though, from everything she's gathered from his general personality, it seemed completely fitting. Oh well, not that it'd truly bother her; this behavior was much better than a few alternatives she could imagine. "Alright, I'll tag along." She said with a shrug. "Beats sitting around doing nothing."

Despite her interest in avoiding situations that would potentially keep her from traveling, there was no way in hell she'd miss out on something like this. No, her curiosity was piqued and now she wanted to know what this place was like - to an extent. Besides, she had a trick or two up her sleeve for dealing with wild animals. One didn't simply have parents who hunted some of the most ferocious beasts around without learning a thing or two.

"You sure you're good to wander around?" Zoro asked, giving her a once-over. While most obvious wounds had healed (to a certain degree), she was still covered in bruises. Though, if she wanted to go out and about, he wouldn't stop her; wasn't really his place to say what she could or couldn't do. If she felt like she was in good enough condition to leave, then she could go. "Don't get killed out there." He chuckled. He wasn't sure if he was going to go with anyone or not. Probably not, on account of the fact Luffy and Vivi were already gone, and the only other group actually leaving the ship had Sanji with them. Like hell.

Zoro crossed his arms, scanning the trees as he started to make his way into the forest. Definitely unlike any he'd ever seen before, that much was certain. Maybe he'd find something interesting in here? Like a....okay, so he wasn't sure what, but maybe there was something. Had to be, it was the Grand Line after all. Weren't there supposed to be weird things around every corner? The only weird thing they've seen so far was an oversized whale. Sure, that whale happened to have a guy living inside of it, but still.

There was another loud noise, catching his attention. He listened, trying to pinpoint where it was. Sounded a bit far off, to his left. Almost like...laughing? A weird, loud laugh. He's never heard any animal make that kinda sound before; must be something new, or something you could only find in the Grand Line. He continued on walking. Well, if he crossed paths with it, then so be it. Right now, he needed to figure out just where the hell he was because, dammit, he couldn't remember which turn he took.
 
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