Serious: For those who have yet to wake up

The Southern blue had a few marine bases where in each of them quite a few captains were stationed, often ruled by a few higher ups, these captains were asigned the bigger missions, where they'd lead a crew of marines to govern safety for the islands and citizien under their wake. These Marine captains were highly trained Individuals who were seen cappable in both leadership and combat skills, often assisted by a few right hand men, and a good bunch of firepower in the form of recruits and seaman, they were a force to be reckoned with, a force said to keep the blues safe and as pirate free as possible.







For most it was a normal day in the peacefull little town of Arington, Rain was pouring down, as it was quite often, the skies were filled with clouds, and hard winds would make the trees at the port dance from left to right. Many people said that Arington was not the most ideal location for a prosperous town, and even less for a Big marine headquarters, though it's location is what made it special. In the middle of islands, with only hours of sailing to reach other islands, Arington was a great location to serve as marine post.

Rumors had been filling the headquarters, for the past few days, Monday a new Captain will be starting to work here, he is one of the youngest captains to ever reach the blues, would often be heard through the corridors in the marine base. Rumors were flying from left to right, and everyone had big expectations of the new marine big shot, that was send to help out, fight the increasing criminality in the region.

Many people were shocked to see someone dressed in a yellow hoodie with a duckface, long green hair, and a somewhat sloppy look. Being used to talk like that, Birch just ignored the expectations, and rumours that had been going on for a while and was set up in his office. As a new leading captain, his office wasn't all that special. a few sqaure meters, a nice chair behind it, and some less luxury infront of the desk for meetings, loads of cupboards and a den den mushi with a light blue and purple shell.

Ring - a - ding - Ring - a - Ding- Ring - A ding.

''Gotcha''

''This is Captain Birch of'' uhm what was it, he thought to himself as he quickly reached to some papers, and continued '' Arington Headquarters. '' ''Gooday Birch, congratulations on reaching the position of captain, I have to inform you, that we have send two marine officers towards Arington to join your crew, due to the lack of experienced seaman, They shall assist you with your first task, and I take you have been briefed about that'' A Kind, but serious womans voice sounded from out of the Den Den Mushi. '' I have been briefed about this mission and have started planning towards it'' Birch answered, as he stresfully looked into his papers, was this really something for a first mission? he wondered. As he was wished goodluck by the woman that had called him he took a deep breathe to analyse the situation.

Waiting for the officers, and recruits to come to his office as the headquarters told him to, Birch quickly went to get some tea, the recruits wouldn't be here that fast right? and in any case, a Birch without tea, was like a captain without a ship, '' oh wait'' he muttered standing still for a few seconds as he continued walking towards the kitchen to get some fresh tea.

"Aren't you a little old to be chewing gum, mister?"
Reyes sighed and looked back at the little kid, pulling the Marine coat tighter to protect his body from the rain. It wasn't working.
"I'm trying to quit smoking, now run along."
The child stayed on the barrel, looking at him for a bit longer.
"Are you a robot, mister?" the child asked in her same naive yet irritating voice.
"No I'm not a robot. I once beat up a toaster though," he replied jokingly. The answer put the child into silence for a minute or two as she studied him further. Reyes pretended not to pay attention to the creepy little girl and instead looked out over the sea. The ship was travelling quite fast and according to the captain, the island was only a few minutes away. All Reyes could see was the silhouette of it through the rain. What a place to build a Marine base.
"What's a toaster, mister?" she asked, pulling her legs up to tuck them under her baggy blue raincoat.
Reyes sighed exhaustedly and looked out to the sea again, wondering how long it would take him if he swam the rest of the way.

Nanami's ship reached the island twenty five minutes ahead of schedule, she had almost began sweating with worry as they said she'd be arriving on the day, she wanted to be there at least two days prior to the meeting time. However, she managed to make it, or rather the ship did.  Walking toward the marine HQ, she looked for directions before figuring out where his office would be. She kept her hand upon the hilt of her sword as she stood in front of the door. About ten minutes until they were supposed to meet, she supposed that being early is a good thing, though she didn’t have much time to get ready beforehand, so she had to get to the office as she was when she left the ship.

 

Looks like she’ll have to stand next to the door and wait to be summoned in. She looked around, marines buzzed on their daily business, people jogged across the halls to get to their destinations, weaving through the others. She had to press herself against the wall to keep out of the way. She felt impatient, what was her captains going to be like? She did have some experience in patrol routes, but she won her large jump in rank for her swordsmanship rather than administrative abilities, which she made a mental note of practicing as soon as they set off.

 

She nodded to herself and stood to attention, outside the captain’s office.

 

About five minutes to go.

Nanami & Birch

Walking back from the kitchen holding two cups one was for while he walked, and the other for once he reached the office, otherwise he would run out of tea before he reached his office, and a man, especially a captain should not run out of tea, as he was sipping his still boiling hot tea he saw a woman standing infront of his office, She had short spiky black hair, standing up a bit and was formed quite bigly, she looked like she had seen her fair share of battles.

Wondering if he should go back first to get more tea, so he didn't have to give her his second cup he shook his head and continued walking towards his office, '' Greetings I am captain Birch Holt, I think you might be looking for me, do you want tea?'' he said in a bit quickly manner, he wasn't the greatest with social interaction and sometimes seemed a bit quirky, but Birch had a good heart, good enough to share his tea with someone, offering her the tea he lead the way into his office and grabbed some profile's '' nope, not you, not you, yes there you are'' he said.

throwing the profile on the desk in front of him he smiled, '' Nanami it is right?'' he asked as he looked a bit through the profile, this woman had quite some experience and looked like a strong fighter, '' so you are one of the officer send to assist me right?'' he asked, wondering how she would react, he always liked guessing how people would react, especially when he wore his duck hoody like today.



Reyes

On the pier, holding an umbrella was a woman with short orange hair and a pair of oval glasses, wearing a suit waiting for Reyes to arive, '' urgh that new captain is already a pain, I have to wait for his officers in the rain'' she muttered under her breath as the sounds quickly got nullified by the pooring rain.

The ship that was getting closer and closer had now nearly arived. Waiting outside to spot anyone wearing a marine outfit or matching the description she got she continued to wait, inpatiently.

The Marine vessel bumped up alongside the pier and three recruits sprinted past Reyes carrying a long plank. The captain walked over to the tall commander and took the laughing girl from his shoulders.
"Bye, Mister Reyes," she giggled.
"Bye," he waved, smiling as the captain took her to her room and sighing with relief when she was finally gone.
"Commander?"
Reyes turned to see the three men squinting through the rain at him, all holding the plank steady as the sea bumped the ship. He pulled his jacket collar higher and stepped onto the gangplank, walking across it swiftly. Trying not to fall on his face, he stepped from the plank to the pier and looked around. There wasn't exactly a crowd waiting for him so he assumed the only person standing there, a woman with orange hair, was his welcome party.
He took a few seconds to look her over before walking towards her, smiling.
"I'm Commander Reyes," he said quickly, sticking out his hand for it to be shaken. "I assume you're here to escourt me somewhere warm?"

Nanami stood to attention as she heard the captain introduce himself, before looking at him and blinking. He was wearing.. A duck hoodie? Eyebrows raised, she shook her head. “No thank you.” he said tartly, following him into his office. Why would he.. Wear one fof those? She shook her head and remembered that he was her captain and she should follow his orders.
 
When he took out the profile, she nodded. “Yes, captain.” she said, trying tnot to look too miffed about his lack of appropriate attire. Her outfit was spotless and crisp, what would those who’d dare defy the World Government think if they were facing a boy with that on his head? “May I ask, Captain, why do you wear.. That?” she asked, nodding to his hoodie.

Reyes watched the woman leave before entering the room and closing the door behind him. He quickly stepped across to the vacant chair next to the woman who also sat in front of the desk. Dropping himself into the chair with a sigh of relief he started speaking:"I'm Commander Reyes as you may know and I look forward to working with you both." He gave them both a quick grin, ignoring the hat as much as possible.

Perhaps it’d have been polite to accept the tea, but she wasn’t very interested in it. Truth be told she never drank any before, and she didn’t quite wish to start now, perhaps on a victory day but other than that..
 
She listened to the captain. It appeared that he wore it due to it being gifted from someone she guessed he liked, so she dismissed the matter for now, she did feel a little better when he brought out a badge. At least it was an  item of proper standing for his rank. She looked around the office. “Commander?” she asked, it seemed that she wouldn’t be the second in command upon this vessel, which was disappointing. “Of course.” she said to her knowing the mission when he got here. “I am a swordsman, my blade is one that I have won from a tournament.” she neglected to tell him that her rank was also a product of the same tournament.
 
She turned her head as the Commander was brought in, nodding in a salute, he looked more up to marine standard, though he did seem to have a metallic eye. “Greetings, Commander.” she said.

Nanami turned out to be a swordswoman, who had won her sword in a said tournament, he wondered what kind of sword this was but he would ask, or see this in action later on. When Reyes joined them and introduced himself, Birch looked at the two and smiled for just a second, they formed quite a nice team, atleast looks did and he wondered what heights they could reach too.

'' Now you are both here, I can start the briefing'' Birch started as he got out a few folders from his desk where he had stored them, placing a few on the table, he began explaining. '' I don't think you have heard this, but years ago on an island group called the stonemasons islands a group of rebels left quite a mess as they left the island they had been ocupying, having been undercover, some under officers have recently been sighted on futteron island just close to here. As this group links to my past, we have been asked to investigate this mather, though care is adviced as each of the spotted members have bounties of 3 milion or higher, we don't know if a base is being established there, so we are going with a little task force consisting of us and a few seaman for the sailing of the ship to investigate this mather. Please take time to prepare yourselves and get to know each other, as I will go for some preperation as well'' as he finished he stood up and left the room '' and tea'' he muttered under his breath as he left the two in his office, while he was off to the docks to inspect their new ship.

Reyes snickered. Seamen. Hehe, seamen.
He turned to look over at Nanami as the captain left.
"Well, Ensign, what do you think of the captain? Be honest, I'm interested in your opinion."
He smiled slightly and stood up, looking around the room to give her time to think. Reyes involuntarily jerked his head to the side for a second before resuming his look around the office. Captains have WAY better offices than commodores, he thought, like a child thinking about how another child's toy is better.

Nanami listened carefully to what Birch had to say. She nodded in understanding, rebels, bounties and so forth. They were to be sent to investigate the rumours of a base, it did seem a little large for a newly formed crew, she expected paltry patrols rather than something as dangerous as this, each of their members having at least three million bounties is no small task, and she wouldn’t want to be caught by them, at least; not until they had a good understanding of what was going on.
 
She turned to the second in charge, the Commander Reyes, he was snickering for some reason. Her captain left. “He doesn’t seem professional at all. His.. Avian attire should not be worn while on duty, however it may have been received.” she said sharply once she was sure the Captain would be out of earshot. “And yourself?” she would ask.

Leaving the room Birch smiled, and nodded to himself, would it be good to have a skirmish with these two before they went out on their mission, they had quite some time on the boat to look forward too, which meant it be nice to have a little training match, but first he needed some time to grab some boxes and belongings to bring along, his staff aswell, grabbing them from the lockers he was off to the ship and waited for his crew to arive before they could set sail.

(( you can rp freely together till you reach the ship, if you want that to be one post or five that's okay, ill post once you two reach the ship))

He lifted a cup free from the mound of papers on top of it and examined it with mild interest and a hint of disgust.
"I agree," he finally answered. Nanami seemed like the bulldog type; takes orders well and gets the job done.
"However, I also think the era of a rigid Marine force is drawing to a close," he sighed with a hint of regret, gently placing the cup under the pile of papers once more. Reyes took the chance to beckon her to follow him as he started for the open door.

The commander seemed to agree. However, she guessed that they shouldn’t underestimate the man. If he didn’t climb the ranks through his “inspiring” example, or through buying his way, he must have impressive combat prowess. She would be mindful to watch him in action should they require it.
 
“To a close? What do you mean?” she asked as she got up, accompanying him out of the door. She gestured to a rank of marines marching past them in a line. “Order and stability is what makes the marines such a force to be reckoned with, order, stability and discipline. Without those three we would be like the common rabble that cowers after the first two casualties.” she said, walking along the corridor.
 
She glanced to him, it appears that his weapon of choice was an axe, a crude weapon that would more than likely lose time trying to get it loose out of an opponent’s chest. His shield also was made of wood, strange, why not metal? It would be more durable, though heavier; but it would suit his axe as well. “You have strange armaments.” she confessed her mind to him.

"Thanks," he grinned, tugging the strap that held the axe and shield to his back proudly.
He left the moment in silence for a second before continuing: "There's an old saying that you fight fire with fire. We could do the order versus chaos thing before pirates grew in number. Now we need chaos to fight chaos. Chaos like our dear, duck capped captain-" he grinned again, nodding to another group of recruits who greeted the pair as they made for the dock. "-to take those bastards down."
He ended by jerking his head to the left for a second before continuing his walk.

“If fire were to be fought with fire, then the world will be ashes.” Nanami countered, “We are the pillars upon which humanity has prospered, removing them would bring the entirety of civilisation down; just what those.. Revolutionaries, would wish for.” she said, not particularly enjoying saying the name of those who would object to the Marines or World Government.
 
She decided that she disliked Reyes.
 
She would walk onwards, not particularly impressed with her team so far. Birch just seemed to have an obligation to impede the dress code, Reyes was openly admitting his dislike for the rules, she would have her work cut out for her when they went on the field.

"I like you," Reyes laughed, acknowledging her counter. "You're a bulldog, but you have a brain." He honestly wasn't winning points in tactful conversation. The corridors of the Marine building parted on either side of them as the pair stepped out into the rain. Reyes pulled the collar of his coat higher and looked out at the dock in front of them, spotting their captain a few hundred meters away through the sheets of rain.

“I shall take that as a compliment.” she replied tartly, walking through the rain without much of a thought for it. She placed her hand gently upon the hilt of her sword, it was a fine blade indeed; a very rare one and she was glad to own it, at least for the time being. She could see the captain with his blasphemous hoodie upon the ship. She continued to walk there until she reached the ship, looking around expectantly.

Some time passed at the ship as Birch waited and waited till finally her fellow companions showed up, almost hand in hand as they had formed a relationship, well not really but birch liked to think they did, waving at them he waited till they were close and got ready to lead the way on the ship and down decks, a few recruits were around already and birch had them all instructed, while they'd be sailing they would have a training fight below deck  to see what everyone was capable off.

'' Good to have you here, we will be leaving soon, though that is in the hands of the seaman, for now I want to see what you are cappable off, lets do this '' he said. grabbing hold of his long staff, and smiled. spinning around he taunted the others waiting for them to make the first strike, it be two against one, but he was fine with that.

"Greetings again, Captain." Nanami said coolly as she stepped onto the ship, looking about at the ship. It looked.. Adequate.

She turned back to Birch, who seemed to be wielding a quarterstaff, his tone and choice of words indicated him wanting to fight then. She wasn't sure, but since he didn't specify who was fighting she could only guess that he wished to face the both of them.

"..As you wish, Captain." she'd say, in one fluid motion she would unsheathe her sword, step backwards and hold it at stomach-height with the tip of th sword pointing toward the ceiling in a kind of salute, she would then rotate her wrist into a flourish and point it toward her captain. She turned her head to Reyes.

(( Sorry about the delay D: ))

"Seaman, classic," Reyes smirked softly before whipping the shield off of his back and lifting the axe. He looked at the two, both standing there defensively. A few seamen stopped pulling on the rigging to watch the scene...from a distance.
"So I'll just attack you then?" Reyes asked rhetorically after a second or two of awkward silence.
He leaped at Birch, shield raised in his left hand to block attacks from that side. His axe swung at Birch's head. The axe head was turned around so that it didn't mistakenly slice open the captain's head.

(( lets get the thread going again))

" let me see what you are made off" birch yelled out excitedly as reyes charged head onshield first axe second .nanami was just behind him using her fluent looking sword skills .smiling enjoying the thrill off battle as he let the emd of the pole slide to his right hand .where he now slashed the long pole right over reyes his shield .his semi long range attack could possibly hit reyes head or axe .and if hed dodge then nanami might get hit .afer this swing he inmediatley grabbed the pole back in the middle and continued observing his sparring parthners . wondering what their moves would be

Nanami watched Reyes decide to jump into the frey with no action plan whatsoever. She sighed, he swung for Birch but of course he managed to block the attack. She’d duck a bit in case Reyes decided to dodge and then endanger her, before stepping forwards in order to press the attack, she would use the flag end of her blade to swing from the right. Should Birch block the swing by placing the pole along himself in this position “|” then she would kick the bottom of it.
 
In kicking it hopefully it would send the top part towards her so she could grab it and pull Birch into Reyes’ sights.

"Captain Birch, eh?"

A red haired man made his way over to the docks, he seemed to be holding some sort of document with his left hand whilst his right hand was tucked into his pocket. He was examining the document with a smile, he was finally going to get back to work. Ever since his last crew disband, Matt had been sitting idle for quite some time. Now all of that was about to change, he had been assigned to Birch's crew and was pumped to get started again.

He noticed the ship he was looking for in front of him, according to some of the marines, Captain Birch was supposed to be on that ship with his recruits. Matt folded the document and tucked it into his pocket. He made his way onto the ship and removed his backpack, placing it somewhere to the side.

"Officer Matt, reporting for duty, sir!" Matt yelled out loud, ignorting the fact that Birch was right beside him. Old habits die hard, eh?