Serious: Endings Become Beginnings (Open)

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Another sweltering day had come around, the fan in the bar was spinning, but not nearly fast enough for the patron's liking and whilst a cool breeze swept in every time someone entered the heat quickly rejoined them in a matter of moments. Seemed today there was just no escaping it. Patrons sat slumped in their chairs with beverages filled with ice. The odd one or two men were holding the ice against their faces and feeling it melt against their faces and what was once an ice cube slide down their face, necks & torso.

Wiping his brow the bartender swept the sweat from his own brown before returning to cleaning up the glasses. Heavy sweat patches hung beneath his armpits and down the front of his vest which was on display. The heat had caused the bartender to open up his shirt to let a little fresh air in and his rotten stench of body odor out. Sitting at the bar however was the only man who could withstand the heat and didn't mind a nice hot day. Slinging back his head and the small glass of a brown beverage the man placed the empty glass back down and reached into his pocket. Flipping a single silver coin out, the bartender placed another clean glass down and opened his hand where he caught the coin in his hand.

"There you go Ernie, cheers for the drink, I'll probably be back later on sometime for another." the man said as he got to his feet and wiped his mouth of any residue left from the drink.

"Yea, I'll see you again." Ernie called after the man as he exited the bar with his hands in his pockets and eight shots of death hanging from his waist. Stepping out into the sweltering heat of the ball that hung in the sky, Captain Heartly Hayes pulled on a pair of aviator sun glasses he'd taken from the last criminal he'd put away. Smiling he turned to the left and started to make his way down the Brickston District. A district known for its drug trade. It was only a small time thing, but it was better than nothing and gave him some work to do on a day like today.

Keeping his eyes peeled for shoes with the laces tied together and hanging over signs Heartly recognized this sign, he'd seen it a million times before and always knew what it meant. In this case, it meant he was in the right place. Pausing he turned to look at the housing. Stopping he looked at one house. The front door had the number's both on it, not wonky, windows all in tact and clean, windows open with no curtains blocking the view inside. Children playing outside and mother in the kitchen window can be seen cooking. Sniffing quickly Heartly was able to tell just what she was cooking too.

Good Chili he thought to himself. Turning his view to the next house Heartly caught sight of the horrid brown windows, door front door shut, no children playing outside, all windows covered up and the lack of people seen in the house. Turning his head to the next house it was the same as the first. It only took him seconds to figure this out, but the middle house was most likely the drug den. Stepping up to the front door he knocked on it gently holding his head down. He could already hear that they'd added numerous locks on to the other side of the door as he knocked he'd heard the rattling of a chain.

Waiting for an answer he heard voices behind the door and in this instance he decided to take advantage of this time they were taking to answer the door.

Inu Inu: Hybrid

With one of the men peering out through the window to his right hand side and lifting a revolver up which Heartly had seen out of the corner of his eye, Heartly heated up his fist and slammed it into the door. Breaking the door down and sending it into flames which quickly became ash, Heartly stepped in. Swears words were cast into the air and screams from outside could be heard. Standing in the corridor Heartly could see the stairs directly in front of him and catching sight of a gun man at the top of the stairs he ducked down to all fours. Leaping behind the wall at the top of the stairs Heartly sprinted up those stairs with his increased height and black skin.

Spinning back around to take aim and tear the bastard with scorching paws & black skin, the gunman was met with a scorching agony as Heartly's claws tore through his abdomen and left him on the floor in tears. Dropping the gun down the stairs Heartly smiled looking at him on the floor barely clinging on to life.

Inu Inu: Hybrid: Draco Slice

Stepping over his body and hiding behind the wall, Heartly crouched down and closed his eyes to try and hear the movements of people below. All hea heard was more swearing followed by words crying "He's here, he's here!" shaking his head Heartly stepped into the middle of the hallway on the second floor and gave a small jump. Crashing down on all fours his body heated up to scorching temperatures. Burning through the floor sending ash in all directions as he landed Heartly landed smack bang on the dining table in their dining room. Shattering the table in the process, not only did ash fly in all directions, but so did many beli notes.

Noticing the 6 others in the room, Heartly lunged towards his left which happened to be the far left corner. Inu Inu: Hybrid: Draco Paw slamming his palm into the man's throat he fell back choking clutching his neck trying to cool it down. Turning he caught sight of the man to his right now the first left corner as you entered the room. Inu Inu: Hybrid: Draco Wrap wrapping his tail firmly around the man's wrist he dropped his gun in seconds screaming in agony. This was followed by silence when Heartly's fist met his face and his head hit the wall knocking him unconscious. Turning to the remaining four assailants Heartly could see they were now all in a much better situation. The dust had settled and money was scattered all over the floor, but first things first, get rid of the fuzz as they liked to call them.

"Well, won't this be an interesting fight." Heartly questioned looking over the four of them. One with a chain which he was swinging around, this would be perfect if he went for the chain man first and scorched his chain making it weaker. The next had two revolvers and after that they both had swords. Now he had a plan.

Charging towards the man with the gun, Heartly anticipated the common attack of an attempted lash that wouldn't work since it had no plausibility of the attack missed. Using his left hand to burn the chain quickly and cause the man to let go, Heartly caught it and quickly cast the chain towards the two with swords attempting to wrap up their swords with the chain.

Watching as the chain instead wrapped around the lady swordsman's arms he took it as a win. As for the gunner who now stood directly next to him, Heartly simply raised a hand on to the revolver's barrel and guided the revolver to the left. Barely missing him the shot tore through his jacket and into the wall. Watching as the swordsman behind her took a swing for him, Heartly took a step backwards whilst still holding the woman's arm. As the swordsman brought the sword back down after struggling to bring it out last time, Heartly dragged the woman by the arm to her right and into the line of the sword.

Slicing straight through her arm and embedding itself in the ground once more, Heartly smiled and delivered a scorching kick to the swordsman's chin. Knocking him back on to his back, Heartly looked towards the one armed woman with a revolver in her free hand. Aiming it at Heartly and taking quick steps back Heartly found himself in trouble now.

"You ain't gettin' our stash." The woman shouted back trying to ignore the pain in her arm as it had been sliced off. Thankfully though, the copious amount of narcotics made the whole situation more bearable for her, even without an arm.

"Well that's just great, cause I didn't come here for your stash."

Shaking the woman squeezed the trigger launching off bullet after bullet, thanks to the drugs however, he sense of accuracy, was non existent and every bullet she fired, had a better chance at hitting the ceiling fan that it did Heartly. Feeling some debris from a horrible shot fall from the roof over himself, Heartly looked up to see whiteness draining down and spilling over his back. Closing in Heartly stepped to the left, then right, then left again before throwing himself into a roll.

Inu Inu: Hybrid: Draco Roll

Crashing into the woman's stomach and slamming her into the wall, Heartly smirked feeling better about himself as she grunted upon contact and hit the floor unconscious. Getting to his feet and dusting himself off as he reverted to human form, Heartly made his way towards the front door, where he reached into one of his pockets to find his den den mushi.

Stepping outside the front door, he gave them orders and directions to come to the Brickston District. Hanging up on them he felt the sun gazing over him once more and could hear the moans and groans from the people who'd suffered his heated hands.

Waiting a total of 13 minutes the marines came to find the house with drug dealers and takers inside. Three soldiers headed inside and each left with a series of criminals. Lead by Ensign Junior, Heartly nodded to him in acknowledgement.

"Good job here, Heartly. Leave it to us and we'll get these guys locked up."

"Just doin' my job Junior"

"Well keep it up."

Nodding as Junior lead the way back to the lockup, Heartly stepped away from the door. Heading out of the Brickston District he figured a simple stroll to the outskirts and to the top of Musty Hill might give him a better idea what to do on this lazy Sunday.

However at the harbor a newly arrived ship dropped anchor and sails were raised. Deck hands smiled as the sun's gaze washed over them and kissed their skin with a golden glow. Heading to the front of the ship and leaping overboard to the stone paved dock, was their leader, their captain and the notorious Marine killer, Captain Hank Artysan.

With his feet firmly planted on the stone paving followed by two colleges. First mate & Swordsman Gage Kitzu & Marksman Marty Kageyasu, Hank gestured for them to follow him as he headed towards the inner town. Following closely behind heads turned with each step they took and memories rushed back to the Bounty posters they'd seen of these men. The monsters of the Artysan Pirates.


Everyone in the East Blue knew these men were dangerous and had heard of their exploits which ranged from murder all the way to bank robberies & destruction of Marine property. Each with a crowning achievement. All members of the crew looked up to them with their heads held high in the hopes that they could one day aspire to their remarkable goals.

Hank Artysan's incredible achievement was for the public execution of three Marine Captains. Capturing the three of them and single handedly carrying them to the top of a clock tower in Foosha Village, the notorious captain set up three nooses then rung the bell atop the tower of which the captains were sat beneath. This captured everyone's attention and when the first marine had a noose wrapped around his neck and shaken head which still echoed their neck was snapped and bodies left to hang.

Gasping at the first body that hung the second and third were seen, what gave Hank his notoriety however was his confidence in his ability. Taking a simple stroll down the stairs and from the clock tower marines had rushed to arrest him, but with a quick slice 'n' dice that ripped through their bodies the navy's attempt failed miserably and Hank walked free to the harbor to make his escape.

Gage's large achievement was the time he took down an entire marine ship by himself. He'd been freed by Hank whilst the two of them had been locked away in captivity. Managing to break the bonds of his own and Gage's, Hank offered him the chance to join him as a crew member. Accepting the offer Hank gave him conditions. The condition being prove himself as a warrior. Loving a challenge Gage set off to prove himself. Using his shirt a bit of piss and his sheer strength to bend the bars, Gage escaped the holding cell. Strangling the first marine guard with his piss stained shirt and taking his swords, Gage set out to hack 'n' slash the rest of the soldiers aboard the ship.

Gage became known from that day as the Psycho Swordsman by the one soldier who managed to escape. He never would always have a strong distaste for Gage, especially after the piss strangle he'd suffered. It had been enough to knock him out, but not kill him. He'd caught sight of the murderous screams aboard peered around a corner and after seeing it taken his leave. He didn't stand a chance.

Then there was the accomplishment of Marty. Back in his bandit days before joining Hank he'd managed to wipe out an entire marine attack on his kingdom. Or at least what he called his kingdom, but turned out to actually be an old run down town. As the soldiers charged in on horseback, Marty had taken up his rifle which surprisingly managed to reach from his own feet just above himself and 13 shots later there were 13 marine soldiers ranging in rank from Commodore to recruit dead scattered around his kingdom.

From afar a marine sniper had been watching this and radioed for more reinforcements, this was the time when Marty decided to take his leave from his kingdom. He'd realized there was nothing here for him anymore other than a huge force coming for his head. Shortly after he'd run into Hank whilst sailing in the sea aboard a shitty raft with no flag. This was how the crew begun, with three monsters of indescribable power each of whom just wanted to rule the world and become the best in their field.

Arriving in the town center to find themselves standing in front of a large bank the men grinned and citizens fled. Everyone knew what was about to go down, but no one more so than the marine who sat atop Musty Hill overlooking the town whose head begun to tingle. Opening his eyes from his minor nap he sat up in an instant and looked towards the town.

Today somebody, was going to die.

Today had been quite the busy day for Cloud to say the least. He had recently docked in Orange Town and he was already causing some trouble. He ran away from an angry merchant who wielded a broomstick as he chased after the thief. Cloud was just a poor hungry man who saw an opportunity to gain free food and seized it, you couldn't blame the guy right? He took a sudden turn and nearly slipped, causing Cloud bumped into a woman by accident. He couldn't apologize due to the fact his mouth was filled with bread so he just continued to run, feeling a little bad for the woman. After a few minutes of running, Cloud was confident that he had lost the merchant so he decided to take a hard earned rest against one of the walls of a large building. He swallowed the bread and panted.

"Never.. again." he thought to himself.

He reached into his pocket for more bread only to realize that it wasn't there. What? He could've sworn he shoved a loaf into his large pocket, he dug his hand deeper only to realize that there was a large hole. Ah well, at least he had a bite to eat. He picked himself up onto his feet and dusted off, so, it seemed he was at the center of the town. Things were busy, real busy. Citizens fled with worried expressions as three men approached the building which Cloud was resting against. What was up? Who were these dudes and why was there such a ruckus? Upon closer examination, Cloud recognized one of these dudes. That guy with the green-ish hair, he was in the news. Cloud rarely caught up with the news but he seemed to recognize that guy from the papers.

Hm.. what was his name again..?

Standing before the bank the crew all stood proudly in the large circle the citizens created out of fear of being anywhere near these rapscallions. Inhaling on his cigar Hank exhaled shortly after and lowered his cigar to flick some of the ash from it.

In his deep croaky voice which screamed that he'd smoked for years from such an age as nine, Hank spoke.

"Marty."

Nodding understanding the simple plan of attack from the mere mention of his name, Marty raised a flintlock allowing his black rifle with a golden pattern stretching over it to rest in his left hand. Taking aim at the bank's window with his flintlock Marty squeezed the trigger sending out a bullet speeding through the window shattering it instantly and straight into the bullet proof glass in front of a bank teller.

If it hadn't been for the bullet proof glass the teller would've been on a high way to hell. The alarm went off screaming like a terrified child.

Smiling as the bullet was stopped in place Hank took a step back and turned to face the town square with three streets opening on to it. Heading to the closest one which was to his left he stood in the way whilst Marty & Gage blocked off the other two paths.

Soon marines would be on their way and this monster trio could take down every marine the town would throw at them. Once these marines were gone, they could take this town for themselves. And if things got shaky, they always had the rest of their crew to step in and lend a helping hand.

In the far off distance the Hell hound Hayes, heard the alarm and turning his gaze towards the harbor he caught sight of the ships. He thought carefully about the ships he'd seen there the day before then the ships which sat there now. There was clearly something different but he couldn't put his finger on it.

Looking over the sails he got his answer. He hadn't seen the jolly roger with an eye patch & stitching the previous day.

Inu Inu: Black Dog

Sprinting down Musty hill in his black dog form, Heartly managed to sprint at incredible speed with his jaw firmly clamped shut. his paws hit the path hard leaving behind paw prints that scorched the ground.

Worrying a fear citizens who were walking down the path at the same time, they stepped aside worried when a sudden blaze of heat appeared from no where. Letting the creature of mystery stray past them and shoot into town the citizens stopped and stared.

Vanishing into the town and vanishing from sight completely the black dog was no longer in sight out side the town nor in the town. But instead a large thin black person with the same brown hair as Heartly's.

Inu Inu: Hybrid

Stepping towards the town center he caught wind of the sound of alarm bells ringing and the worried sounds of concerned citizens who seemed to be leaving a strangely big gap between the entrance to the town square. Spotting a man standing in the middle of the entrance with two swords he figured something was going on.

Turning to the left and walking down an alleyway, Heartly crouched down before propelling himself into the air. Jumping with the enhanced strength of his devil fruit powers, Heartly was able to reach the rooftop and started running along the rooftops to the left to the next entrance to the town square. Finding himself looking down over a marksman he looked towards the far entrance to see a man blocking it off with a sword & a revolver.

Resting atop the roof, Heartly started to plan a strategy as well as figure out who these men were and their plan. It was peculiar and out of the ordinary, that much was for certain.

Cloud racked his brain for any possible names. C'moon, he had just read the papers an hour ago how could he have forgotten. Just when he thought he had gotten his name, a gunshot interrupted his train of thought. The source of that gunshot was from the pink haired man, soon later the bank's alarm could be heard crying. What? Why'd they trigger the alarm? If they were gonna rob the bank then why would they even think of triggering it? Unleeeeess. They wanted attention. Cloud didn't want to dwell into this matter too much, he just came here to look for a map.

He slipped his hands into his pockets and began to whistle a tune as he began to wander around the center of the town. The alarm was getting a little annoying but he tried his best to ignore it. Now, off to the store.. where he could hopefully find some cheap maps.

Soldiers begun to pour into the town and head for the town square where the bank was. Running straight into the monsters of the Artysan Pirates they were cut up, hacked to pieces and by the captain Hank Artysan brutally murdered.

Gage sliced through them as if they were nothing delivering a cut to one marine's hip he dug his second blade through his lower back then slashed through another man's carotid artery leaving him to bleed out.

Marty delivered a bullet to a woman's neck that tore through into the chest of another recruit's. Then quickly emptied his revolver with six bullets which ripped through the torso's, legs & faces of a few good marines.

Using his combination of blade, revolver & fists Hank fired his load within the first 10 seconds before charging into battle and slicing clean through the waists of 3 soldiers followed by a hefty fist to the chin of an ensign and a blade through the stomach. This alone sent shivers of fear down the other recruit's spines.

Things were getting bad. Looking towards the marines Hank called out.

"Get me the leader of your Marine Head Quarters, I have a few choice words for him."

Nodding in a terrified fashion three of the recruits ran whilst the remaining 8 stayed in the defensive position ready to take Hank down when he attacked.

Sprinting towards the edge of the rooftops Heartly threw himself into the air and finally a roll. Landing on his paws in the town square he passed a glance towards the three members of Hank's crew. Approaching the gunner he figured it would be smarter to take down a man who had range first.

Whaaaaat!?

Cloud placed both of his palms against the closed sign of the store, his eyes still unable to believe it. Closed..? Why? Just because of this stupid event which took place it was closed!? He sighed. Well, there goes his map.

Better luck next time.

Turning around, he caught sight of what looked like a..a really hairy man? Either that or that man had a layer of fur over his skin. Come to think of it, the man kinda resembled a werewolf. Cloud watched as the man approached a marksman, it was the same marksman who set off the alarm. Cloud decided to sit back and watch the show, after all, there was nothing better to do since the bloody store was closed.

After sprinting towards Marty and picking up such speed Heartly launched himself into a roll. Slamming straight into the lower back of Marty knocking him off of his feet and rolling over him as he face planted the ground.

Hitting the ground and feeling his back burn with the sudden collision of Heartly on him, he screamed into the ground dropping his firearms. With his clothing firmly singed from his back and hair singed up the back Heartly stood before Marty peering down at him.

"Enjoying causing a ruckas in my town?"

Heartly asked.

Slightly raising his head to see the man who'd brought him to the ground with a simple barge Marty was met with a heel crashing into the back of his head. Breaking Marty's nose on the ground and knocking his front two teeth out, Heartly watched as Marty lay on the floor unconscious with blood pooling around his face from either his nose or mouth.

Shaking his head Heartly muttered.

"Such a shame."

Raising his view he turned to the swordsman's side just in time to catch sight of a technique he liked to call.

Hissing Cross

A cross shaped projectile tore towards Heartly with incredible speed giving of a reflective white glint as the bottom part of the cross dragged along the floor heating up the attack thanks to friction.

Cloud watched as the events unfolded in front of him, a fight? Why? There werewolf looking person dominated the marksman, shoving him onto the floor and breaking his nose. Whoever that marksman was, he must've really pissed off the hairy man. The battle wasn't over just yet, the swordsman sent a cross-shaped attack racing towards the werewolf.

What a fight. It made Cloud feel worn out, even though he wasn't participating in it!

Feeling blood dripping from his face and down his torso along with the pain in his back, Heartly struggled opening his eyes. Especially his right. Stinging as blood dripped down and flooded his eye every couple of seconds, Heartly caught sight of the swordsman standing over him with a grin. Pointing his blade at Heartly, Gage was ready to dig the thing into Heartly's neck.

And he would've done so if it hadn't been for Heartly and his monstrous powers of the mythical hell hound.

Inu Inu: Hybrid: Draco Wrap

Wrapping his tail around Gage's left calm Heartly watched as he howled in pain pulling his sword back and away. Taking advantage of this as he lay in the debris of the side of a house, Heartly delivered a scolding kick to his stomach and whipped his tail pulling Gage's leg out from beneath him.

Landing on his back Gage felt the tail release him and watched Heartly stand over him, he jabbed with both his swords.

Inu Inu: Hybrid: Draco Drop Down

Watching as the man vanished into the sky Gage tried to pick himself up to find an orange outlined heatwave projectile heading his way. Slamming into his face and shoulders in the midst of him getting to his feet, Gage felt the projectile burn his face and shoulders. Managing to maintain his position he grunted.

Lifting himself up on his swords he tried to quickly make his way somewhere safe to gain some energy to feel a foot hitting his neck and crushing him into the ground. Howling in agony he screamed. Stepping off of his neck and crushed body, Heartly turned his attention to the leader.

Smiling he figured he'd just knocked his gunner unconscious & probably paralyzed his swordsman, now it was time to arrest the captain. Turning after the marines who stayed were beaten captain Hank Artysan looked towards his crew mates and the black skinned man.

"So you've beaten my colleges have you?"

Walking towards Hank with the blood still dripping down his face, Heartly wanted to wipe it away, but knew it'd hurt the wound over his face and torso so decided not to instead.

"Looks like it, doesn't it?"

"Looks like Gage gave you a nasty lookin' scar there."

"This thing? Pfft, this is just a flesh wound."

Stopping the two of them stood staring at each other in the town square which had become empty due to terrified citizens and dozens of marines dead. All but one.

"That what they call it now Marine."

"Sure is Pirate"

Things just got more gruesome and bloodier. Cloud continued to stand idle and observe the fight from a distance, that werewolf guy was on a rampage. Although he gained a wound, that didn't stop him from beating the swordsman down and possibly even paralyzing the guy.

It kinda sent shivers down Cloud's spine.

Two down, one to go. The town square was empty, this was most likely due to the one sided fights which were currently taking place. Cloud had no idea what to do or where to go for now, he decided to continue watching this little fight. Although it was somewhat gruesome, he had to admit. Part of him found it a little entertaining, not that he enjoyed other's misery.

Swinging his sword for Heartly's head, he ducked down and launched a barrage of scolding punches towards Hank's abdomen. Landing two of the punches and burning him, Hank screamed before he twisted his revolver in his other hand around and upper cutted Heartly with the butt of the revolver.

Knocking him back and stumbling with a burst lip, Heartly was stunned by the force behind the assault. Looking towards Hank whose abdomen was still in tact if not on display and a little burnt thanks to Hearty's heat powers.

Stepping forward and taking on a new stance Hank swept his revolver towards the left and squeezed the trigger, confused at this attack Heartly waited staring stunned at Hank when a sudden piercing pain struck him. Reaching for his right side, he felt blood seeping out and drenching his hand.

"Argh! Good shot, good shot!"

Ignoring the pain the best he could though Heartly charged towards him to find Hank sheathing his sword and gripping Heartly tightly around the neck stopping him. The scorching effect took only seconds to cause this big bastard Hank to let go. Pulling his hand back Hank checked his hand which the skin was peeling off of. Landing a land to Hank's groin, Heartly ducked out as Hank bent over to clutch his testicles.

Looking at the man and wiping the blood from his lip and face, mainly his eye Heartly grunted in pain trying to figure out how you beat a man like this.

That last guy was a tough nut to crack. The werewolf guy easily took down the other two but the last one was little different, he could actually put up a fight. Cloud couldn't just stand here and admire the werewolf all day, he needed to get a move on.

Where to now? The bar! He could earn a bit of cash from there easily. Despite the fact that every time he gambled he came out empty handed, Cloud felt like today was gonna be a different day. A day where his gambling skills start to shine. He needed to relax, no need to get happy yet, he didn't even know where the bloody bar was.

It had to be somewhere in this deserted town square. He began to wander around, in search of a bar. Since the streets were empty it made things a whole lot easier.

Maybe things will actually go Cloud's way today...

Feeling the pain in his side and slight pain in his neck Heartly looked at the pained Hank and gritted his teeth, it was time he took things up a notch. Waiting for Hank to attack Heartly was standing with blood dripping from his busted lip.

Thrusting with his sword towards Heartly's abdomen, Heartly stepped aside to the left and grabbed the blunt side of the blade. Scorching it and tugging it from Hank's hand Heartly cast it aside.

Taking aim with his revolver however, Hank fired out the last 5 shots towards Heartly whom in return leapt into the air. Flipping through the air he made a point of doing his best to avoid the bullets. The last of which skimmed his neck leaving a small cut just above his carotid artery. A few centimeters deeper and he'd be in trouble.

Coming out of the flip above Hank Heartly smirked as he pulled back the hammer on the Heart Stopper.

Eight Shot Eclipse

Tearing through Hank's body from groin to face eight holes revealed themselves allowing light to pass through. Touching ground again in human form, Heartly landed in a crouch painfully and reloaded his Heart Stopper. Standing up he watched as blood trickled from Hank's mouth down his chin and he groaned falling over backwards to his death.

"Some people just aren't happy till they're dead are they." Heartly mummered to himself.

Pulling out his den den mushi and heading towards a bar Heartly stepped in through the front door. Sitting down on the stool a little bloody and battered he pointed to a beer on the taps to the bar keep. Nodding the bar keep poured the drink.

"Hello this is the Orange town local Marine Head Quarters how can I help you?"

"Captain Hayes here, I'm calling from Carpenter Town Square, beaten down thee pirates possibly one of them is a captain. One is unconscious, one is paralyzed and one is dead. I myself am badly injured. Send recruits to apprehend the criminals and two first aid teams. One to looking after the criminals and one for me. I'll be waiting in the Red Hooves tavern."

"We'd much rather prefer you to wait with the bodies captain."

"That's lovely." Heartly replied before hanging up the mushi

[CLANK]

Reaching for his drink and sliding a crumpled up note across the bar Heartly received the change and slid it into his pocket before downing the drink and ordering another.

Walking into the bar, Eve pulled the hood from her head. The dark blue cape on her back kept her warm, and sense she liked the heat, she didn't mind it. Especially with her fairly revealing outfit which consisted of a black and white one piece with some gloves and long black boots. She had ignored the early commotion which had taken place just a few moments ago, and was continuing to ignore the comments of people in the bar. 

"It was only a fight, why are people so rattled up about it." Eve asked herself, a bit confused as she placed her hand over the black handle of her halberd, which was currently strapped to her side. She had walked into bars before, and she was well aware that fights were fairly common. Especially now a days. However, she was ignoring it just the same. Her curiosity was a burden, one which she did not give into quite often. 

As she walked to the bar, she got a glass of plain, regular rum. She wasn't a big fan for the taste of alcohol, but she didn't hate it. And due to her experiences with water, or at least what she could remember, she wasn't a fan of that either. Taking a sip of the rum, she saw that she had sat next to someone. "I'm sorry," Eve told the man, who was currently finishing ordering another drink. "I wasn't paying attention, is this seat already taken?" Being rude wasn't a thing of hers, and there were plenty of seats open at the bar, so moving wouldn't be an issue.

After a few minutes of walking around, Cloud finally found the bar he was looking for. It was right next to him the whole time and yet he failed to spot it, wow. Now it was time to make an entrance, if he ever was gonna win a game of cards, he needed to look intimidating to make his opponents feel uneasy. He cleared his throat before kicking open one of the double doors of the bar.

"I challenge the best poker player in he-"

The door swung right into him, it caused him to stumble back outside the bar. What a stupid move. He didn't know these doors swung back one pushed open. Great, now his plan failed horribly and was probably now a big laughing stock. He approached the doors once more and this time casually pushed it open and walked in.

Some of the people inside the bar chuckled as he made his way over to the counter. His head was hung low as he took a seat in front of the counter, beside a bloody man. It seemed this man was having a bad day, he didn't wanna ask what had happened to him, might bring back some bad memories.

"I'll have something cold."

As the next drink came over, Heartly noticed a woman sitting beside him in a strange attire, looking her up and down before returning to his drink he heard her ask about the seat beside him. Wiping the blood away once more from his eye, Heartly placed the drink on the bar and smiled.

"Of not, nobody likes sitting beside a bloody battered man such as myself, so nobody has."

Noticing a new comer to the bar, Heartly raised an eyebrow as he made a fool of himself and a few gentlemen laughed. Taking another swig out of his drink, it was clear to anyone with eyes, Heartly was just trying to drink the pain away. his burst lip throbbed a little, but it'd heal in due time. feel more blood leak down his cheek, he snatched up a tissue from the bar and held it over his lip.

"I'm sorry about the blood, was dealing with a few local bandits, can't let them wreck my home town." Heartly apologized to the lady sitting beside him.

As another man sat beside him, Heartly turned his gaze and saw it was the man who'd just made a fool out of himself. Turning to him Heartly smiled.

"If your looking for a poker game I believe there's one being hosted just up those stairs in the corner. This place doesn't have a license to gamble so they do it in hiding, but honestly its not that big a crime so no body really cares about it."

As the man whipped away some blood, Eve looked back down at her drink, cupping it with one of her hands as the other remained in her lap. "You don't need to apologize about the blood." She began. "I do hope you're alright, and I would suppose that you were the one who participated in the fight which people refuse to stop talking about?" she wasn't typically noisy, but starting conversation was something she wasn't against. It was then, however, that a man walked in. The doors hit him, sending him back but he quickly bounced back up. He walked over to Eve and the man sitting next to her, and she slowly stood up. 


"Are you alright?" she asked the man. Eve was a firm believer is caring for others before herself. She had a strong motherly instinct. The boy was only a year or two younger then she was, but that didn't stop her from caring. It was then that the man sitting next to her told the new comer that there was illegal poker upstairs. The man had brown hair, and was actually fairly attractive, despite the blood on his face. The way he spoke brought a faint smile to Eve's face, along with a little red. 

"So, what do you do for a living?" She asked out of curiosity once more. Her face got a little redder and she quickly sat back down, and looked back at her glass. "Sorry, i don't mean to pry." It was very much unlike Eve to be so nosy about other peoples affairs. "I'm usually not this curious, i don't know whats come over me." She faked a slight laugh and took anther sip of her drink.

Accepting his drink, he heard a feminine voice ask him whether if he was alright. Turning to face the woman, he gave his reply. "I'm fine. Nothing but a flesh wound, ya know.. hahaha!" Cloud then decided to sip his drink. Picking it up, he pressed it against his lips and allowed the liquid to travel down his throat. Ah, nice'n cold. While he drank, the injured man beside him informed him about the poker game going on upstairs.

He finished his drink and gave the man a thumbs up before getting up from his seat.

"You forgetting something kid?" the bartender said, picking up Cloud's empty cup.

"Don't worry man, I'll pay you once I get my money from the people upstairs..."

Cloud hurried up the steps, not waiting for a response from the bartender.

Watching the small scene between Cloud & the barkeep unfold. He'd pay when he got the money would he? Well they'd see soon enough. Hearing the voice beside him continue to ask questions, Heartly returned to her. He nodded to her first question about the fight. As he'd already mentioned he'd simply be keeping his home town safe.

When she asked what he did for a living, Heartly raised an eyebrow. It wasn't often people asked what he did for a living. Mainly because most of the time he was seen causing some form of trouble someone and being pardoned for his crimes all becomes he had a badge a contract with the Navy.

"I do this and that, y'know whatever comes my way. I guess you could say I'm kinda like an adventurer. What about you? What do you do?" he asked realizing they seemed to be sharing stuff about themselves.

He didn't mind wasting time talking whilst he waited for the medic to turn up.

Little did he know outside those wounded marines & men who Heartly had taken down were getting put away under another man's name. Captain Fraiser. The cheeky little bastard always had it out for him and never did like doing the work.

In the poker room upstairs there were three men around the table all with big handfuls of chips and a deck of cards sat in the middle which was just about to be shuffled. Two of the men smoked cigarettes and as soon as their eyes landed on Cloud the first man spoke up.

"Here to play poker are we son?"

"Pretty much the same." Eve responded, ignoring the conversion going on between cloud and the bartender. "I do what i find needs to be done." She brushed her black hair behind her ear and gave a slight sigh. "I'm sorry for prying," She said again. "I usually keep to my self." After a few seconds she looked up at the stairs. "I saw some of the men upstairs," Eve began, giving a slight crack of her neck and taking a deep breath. "I certainly hope that kid knows what he is getting into." She knew the man playing poker weren't your average men. they were all probably itching for a fight, and if any of them started something, they would certainly have one on their hands. And not a fight they were likely to win.

"But, and adventurer, huh?" she asked, giving a smile towards the man as she turned in her bar stool. "I guess that's what I am, too." Her voice was solemn, fragile. Almost as if the slightest pebble would be able to shatter it into millions of pieces. Eve didn't like being an "adventurer". What she did like, was the idea of finding a new home. However, the world would not be so able to allow her to do that before she got her memory back. 

"Anyways, I'm Eve," She spoke, holding out her hand. "Whats your name stranger?"

"I don't mind you prying, its good to talk." noticing that the woman was ignoring the conversation that had gone on between the young man & barkeep Heartly kept an eye on the surroundings. Being the detective he was and having the observation skills he had, it was what he was trained to do. 

Hearing Eve talk about the men who'd gone upstairs and the kid she hoped knew what he was doing, Heartly nodded. "He'll be alright, I can make sure of that, I don't like seeing trouble in my home town. So if any breaks out I'll probably get involved."

Listening to what Eve had to say to him, Heartly smiled, it sounded good to hear there was someone here who was an adventurer like himself. As she introduced herself, Heartly noticed her hand and gently took hold of her hand and shook it as he replied. 

"Hayes, Heartly Hayes and its lovely to meet you."

Feeling the blood trickle free one more time, Heartly wiped it away once more, thankfully this was when a medic entered the bar dressed in normal clothing he held a rucksack in his hands. Placing the bag on the stool beside Heartly he looked up at Heartly. 

"Sorry I took so long to get here."

"Its alright, I've been having a lovely chat with this enchanting young woman here." Heartly mentioned pointing out Eve. Assessing the wounds over Heartly's face the medic quickly got to work treating his wounds. 

"Sorry about this Eve, but need someone to clean up these wounds. Stupidly got stuck on the wrong end of the a projectile."

"You should be more careful Hearty."

"Anything that doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, right Eve?" Heartly asked smiling at her.

As Heartly shook her hand, a man came over with a bag, and placed it next to the two. It would appear that the man was a nurse, and he then began to clear out Heartlys wounds. He apologized for the unsightly manor, and to this, Eve merely stood up and gave a smile. "Its all right," She began. It was then the man made a statement. 

"Anything that doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, right Eve?" 


She listened to this comment, and memories fluttered her head, or at least, one memory. She gripped her forehead and bit her bottom lip. This occasionally happened, a flashback from her past. Although, this specific flash back was more common then any other. Usually they were faces, a specific place, but this one was terrible. Waters crashed around her and Eves entire body felt as if it was being shocked with endless volts of electricity. Eve began to shake, but lucky for her, the episode only lasted 3 or 4 seconds. Her eyes quickly shot open as she snapped out of the trance, and she quickly shook her head. "Yeah, right." She spoke, agreeing with the man. 

I have to find out what happened! A voice in her head echoed as she gave a sigh. "I'll go upstairs and check on that kid while you get cleaned up," She gave a smile and shrugged off the previous memory as she rushed up the stairs. Her main goal was to check on the kid, but before she could even turn her head, she froze still. A board was on the other side of the room, right in viewing distance from the staircase. 

"Damn it..." Eve muttered to herself, softly so no one else could here. She looked around, seeing if anyone was watching her. Lucky for her, it appeared that everyone upstairs was more interested in their gambling then her. She rushed over to the board and reached up, gripping a piece of paper, and ripping off the wanted poster which had her face printed right on it. The bounty isn't big enough for most people to come after me but... Any justice freak or anyone who hunts for sport would be after me in a second... She gulped quickly and looked around, crumpling up the piece of paper placing it in one of the pockets of her cloak. 

She then walked down stairs, and gave a smile towards her newly made acquaintance. "Sorry to keep you waiting," She said, seeing that the nurse was almost done. "So, how bad are the wounds?" she asked, taking her seat and taking the last sip of her rum.

Noticing Eve leave him for a moment Heartly waited allowing the medic to clean his wounds up. Spending the time relaxing while his face was cleaned up and his wounds healed, Heartly smirked when he felt no more stinging sensation reaching down his body. Getting to his feet with the bag the medic was about to head off. That was when Eve reentered and apologized about leaving him waiting. 

"its alright." as she asked about the wounds Heartly blurted over the medic who was about to speak. 

"They're fine,not too deep at all and I should be healing up pretty quickly too thanks to my devil fruit powers." Heartly said joyfully with a little smile. Finishing his drink Heartly looked towards Eve's drink and asked her. 

"Would you like another drink?"

"That's great," Eve smiled,once again brushing back the black, raven hair. The man then mentioned how his wounds would heal thanks to his devil fruit, and the lit up smile on her face began to fade. "So you have one of those, too..." She wasn't a fan of devil fruits, especially hers. It was too over whelming to use them, and more often then not did someone get hurt. "Its more of a curse then a blessing, isn't it?" she asked, hoping he would agree. She knew that not everyone would agree, but she hoped this man would.
 
"Anyways, i got distracted upstairs, but i'm sure I would have noticed if anyone was getting their ass kicked." She gave a giggle and scratched the back of her head, however, the man asked if she wanted another drink. "Another... Drink?" She gave another smile and gave the glass to the bartender. "I think one glass is enough for me," She spoke, cracking her neck as she awaited, and then gave a sigh. "Its so boring here..." She then turned around, and quickly gave a smile. "Don't you love it?"

When Eve mentioned the word 'too' about devil fruits Heartly raised an eye brow. He as susprised as he hadn't expected to run into another fruit user. he wanted to ask what power but when she said how it was more of a curse he felt it wasn't the right time. She mentioned how she'd been distracted upstairs and Heartly shrugged it off, it wasn't any of his business. 

"I suppose it is more of a curse since I can't swim, but admittedly, my fruit helps me when I get into trouble. Lets me deal with my enemies a little easier. Although alongside the drawback of no longer swimming it also gives me another power that's kinda useful but also kinda horrid."

When she declined his offer for another drink, Heartly nodded and understood, she didn't want to get drunk or anything. Placing his third bottle with the other two, Heartly watched as she said it was boring here. When she asked if he loved it, Heartly shook his head. 

"Not really, I prefer excitement, something to do. Keeps me active and from going out of my mind.  Fancy heading out and looking for an adventure of some kind?" Heartly asked as he ran his hand over the bullet wound he'd received. It still stung, but the bullet was no more, just the mark it left. 

Looking around the bar curiously taking in its patrons and surroundings, Heartly then returned his gaze and a smile to Eve. He was happy he'd wandered into this bar of all other bars, he'd never have met such a delightful young woman to talk to and keep him company on this most boring of days.

He knew in his future he'd kill for a day like this where it was slow, beautiful weather and nothing to do, but this wasn't the future, he was in the present and he was going to enjoy each and everyday as it came his way.