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Role-Play Name: New Faces, New Places |
New Faces
Benjamin sat on the deck in a lawn chair. He didn't ordinarily like to relax, but he figured if he remained to wound up, then his battle senses would get dulled... That and his doctor told him his stress levels would lead to early heart failure. Well, he couldn't have that. He couldn't trust people like Azrael and Phoebe to kill pirates.
Curled up on his chest was the sleeping form of Cringer, the cat he had picked up at Gold Axe Cove. He had just eaten a great of food and thought it would be a good idea to take a nap. Benjamin didn't mind. He didn't want to admit it, but he loved cuddling with the fluffy kitty.
"Commodore Benjamin!" called one of the soldiers.
Benjamin's eyes fluttered open. He knew what that meant. He got to his feet, the cat hopping off as well, groggily following him across the deck. The new ensign was arriving.
Behind the soldier was the ensign that the commodore had heard about, and just from a mere glance, one could easily deduce that she and her new superior were different in every way. While he was this towering figure, she was maybe five feet tall, though that was surely a generous estimate. She slipped from behind one of Benjamin’s soldiers, and glanced up at her new superior.
“You’re the commodore, Henry Benjamin,” she spoke, her tone expressing a certain degree of surprise. “They put me with you?”
"Yes," said Benjamin, "and what might your name be? Headquarters told me I'd be getting a new officer, but neglected to give me there name, or tell me anything about them for that matter."
"Meow!" called Cringer, nodding his head as he agreed with his master.
In response, her body instinctively assumed the traditional At Attention pose. For several months, she assumed this position every single time so inquired her name, and only being a day removed from her academy, this habit was still very much familiar.
"I'm Marine Ensign, Diez Lucy, Commodore Benjamin," she replied. "I'll be under your supervision for the time being."
"You don't need to be so formal with me outside of combat. Just call me Benjamin, or Ben if that's too many syllables for you. Tell me about yourself."
Cringer had walked up to Lucy's leg. She had given her a quick sniff before hissing at her loudly.
Lucy glared at Cringer, before redirecting her attention at Ben.
"Well, there isn't much to me aside from the fact that I'm one of your newest recruits. I graduated middle of my marine class, and...yeah. That's about it."
She scratched the back of her neck. "Is there anything you'd like to know specifically, sir?"
"Do you have any Devil Fruit abilities? Or any skill in any of the Rokushiki techniques? Or perhaps a more unique skillset." Cringer had begun circling around the girl, still hissing periodically.
Lucy twitched in annoyance.
"Excuse me sir, but can you do something about this cat...I'm suddenly feeling pretty allergic. I'd hate for anything to happen to such an....elegant, creature."
"Trust me when I say there's nothing you can do that would hurt him," said Benjamin, "at least not at your current level. Of course, I could be wrong. Maybe you'd like to show me your skills."
"I'd rather save my talents for pirates, sir." Lucy replied. "But, about my devil fruit. Yes, I have eaten one. The Mushi Mushi no Mi, Model: Kabutomushi. I'm a Zoan user, sir."
"Zoan, huh? Those are useful, especially for martial artists. My second in command, commander Suzuran, she's a Paramecia user herself." Benjamin made a gesture with his hand, the cat returning to his side, happily rubbing his head against his master's leg. Benjamin kneeled down, petting behind the cat's ear. He quickly fell onto his back, leaving it wide open for Benjamin to continue petting his belly. The cat latched onto his hand, making sure he couldn't pull away. "It'd be helpful to know how strong you are before headed into battle. You could have an ability that could save our lives, but none of us would know about it. On the opposite end of the spectrum, you could jump into the fray prematurely and get hurt. It's why I always make sure to be aware of my subordinates strengths and weaknesses before headed into battle."
Lucy exhaled. "I see you're one of those type of leaders then. Okay, I'll play along then. My strength is my swordsmanship. My weakness is everything else."
Benjamin picked up Cringer, cradling him in his arms. "Perhaps we can help compensate for those weaknesses by working together. Welcome aboard."
"Thanks," Lucy replied. "Feel free to use me however you like."
Benjamin felt a strange shudder after hearing that. It reminded him of the inappropriate statements of Azrael. "Axe! Come over here!"
Walking at a quickened pace from the other side of the deck, Axe returned his blade, Shigure to its sheath before joining Benjamin and Lucy. He analyzed her appearance quickly, blushing internally before Ben addressed him.
"What do you need, sir?"
"I need you two to have a duel with Ensign Lucy, in order for me to gauge her power."
"H-huh?! Fight a fellow Marine!? Is that ethical sir?!" Axe clenched his fists reflexively, eyeing Lucy once more, his body somewhat nervous.
"It's just a sparring match. Don't fight to kill, or even maim for that matter. Unless you'd prefer if Cringer were to fight her."
Lucy exhaled in annoyance. "If I have a choice in the matter," she interrupted, "I'd rather not fight the cat. I don't deal well with animals, you know."
"If you insist..." Axe scratched the back of his head, taking a few steps towards Lucy. "I hope I am helpful." he bowed, his body's motions rigid. He moved a few paces back afterwards, and grabbed onto his sword's sheath.
"Ready when you are."
Lucy nodded in agreement as she drew her blade from its sheathe; a sharp katana, whose sheathe was engraved and decorated with unusual ornaments. Perhaps decades ago, no one would have known the cultural significance of these decorations, but in this current day and age, since she had opened up the borders, everyone knew that this sheathe and blade were from Wano Kuni.
She took a step forward, flipping her blade so that it was gripped in reverse.
"Come!"
"Ehh! Does she intend to cut me?!"
Axe's eyes widened and he gulped audibly as Lucy's highly decorated sword left its sheet, her sword hand holding it with an unusual grip. It was a stance Axe recognized as he himself used it occasionally in conjunction with Soru.
Stepping on the ground, Axe's knees bent slightly, as his expression changed, his focus now completely on the battle at hand. With another step, he blasted forward, his speed remarkable despite his lack of usage of any techniques. The next time his feet touched the ground, the distance between him and Lucy had been somewhat closed, as a few inches separated him from the range of her reversed blade.
"The reverse grip is fast...true, but its range is cut down significantly." With his sword sheathed and his arms extended, so as to abuse the range within them, Axe swung his blade at Lucy's side, opposite from the one her sword found itself in. It was surprisingly fast, and precise, reminiscent to an Iaidō technique.
"Be prepared to take a hit, if you're going to dish one out," Lucy muttered under her breath, as if she was reciting a phrase or philosophy she heard. She stepped forward, closing the distance between the two, and completely ignored Axe's own attack with an assault of her own. She struck towards his main body, intent on taking the strike completely to ensure hers landed.
Initially, Axe was taken aback. His eyes widened, as with a single, simple step, Lucy closed the distance between them once more. Even though his sheathed sword would strike her side, her own would slash at him in a swipe.
"I-is she a masochist?" No. She was simply outsmarting Axe. He who chose to hold back would now pay the consequences for his decision, or so she thought. As Lucy's blade approached, Axe didn't stop his sword hand from moving, instead he slid his back foot around, spinning along the trajectory of Lucy's blade so that he was out of its range of motion. Unfortunately this also meant that his own sword strike's aim would change slightly, it would hit somewhere between Lucy's back and side.
Lucy grinned as Axe spun around, barely moving outside of her blade. However, what was truly spectacular was his control, and his ability to turn a dodge into an attack. Regardless, the moment he spun, delaying his own attack, was all the time she needed to initiate just a portion of her transformation.
As if upon command, her back began metamorphizing; it churned into a vortex of...something, causing her white cloak to expand as her body size increased ever so slightly.
"A beetle's shield....is in the back!" Lucy announced, yet again ignoring Axe's attack, and moving immediately to the offensive. She briefly let go of her blade, and then clutched it again, strengthening her grip, but allowing her just a bit more mobility. She thrust the sword backwards as she took a step backwards, hoping to close the distance again, yet intent on jamming her sword directly into Axe's body as he made contact with her back.
With Lucy's back having transformed beneath her cloak, Axe remained in awe as he realized that whatever she had done, had severely enhanced her physicality. His sheathed sword met something tough, and before he could react, Lucy had taken a step towards him, her back facing him as she aimed to stab Axe.
His mind raced, and her unorthodox manner of fighting had caused the distance between them to dissipate once more. There was no humane way for his sword to counter hers unless...
"Soru."
He used something beyond humane. He uttered that familiar word that had saved him time and time again, yet his legs made no effort in moving, instead, his sword hand did. By applying the Soru technique upon his arm, Axe was able to do things that others simply couldn't. His arm managed to retract back, his sheathed sword now clashing against his as he managed to deflect her sword but not without causing Axe to be launched backwards slightly.
His back clashed against the wooden floor with a resounding thud as he groaned. He stood up, his left hand touching his torso as to confirm that he wasn't injured.
"A-are you really a swordsman...er swordswoman?!"
He left little time for a reply, as his face suddenly hardened. Hand on his sheath, he began walking towards Lucy, his pace as normal as ever.
"Soru."
He uttered those words once more before he reappeared behind Lucy, returning Shigure back onto its sheath, almost as if it had never left while his pace remained the same as before.
"Shidentoryū: Washikari."
In a short span of time, Axe had applied Soru to both his arm and legs and released a singular slash that would converge at Lucy’s location at incredible speeds.
Axe's sword hit home, but just as soon as it connected one would know that the blade had not hit its _target. Benjamin had blocked the blade with the back of his hand. "Excellent job Axe. You've improved." He turned to Lucy. "As for you, your abilities are rather impressive as well. With time, I'm certain we can cultivate your strengths to make you a true force to be reckoned with."
Axe sighed loudly, partially in relief and disappointment. "I guess. With all due respect sir, if I was fast enough you wouldn't have been able to intervene." His hand finally left its sheath, as he turned around, his casual demeanor coming back to him.
"If anything Ms...errr..Lucy?" he took a second to confirm whether he was right, gauging it with both Lucy's and Benjamin's expressions. "Yes, Ms. Lucy cut me before I did her." he pointed at a cut on his shirt which had formed on their previous clash. "Anyways, glad to have you on board." he bowed.
Lucy blinked in surprise, before frantically rushing to bow alongside him. "Ah, yes, yes! Thank you..."
She was exactly unsure of how to respond to Axe's genuine moment of sincerity and kindness. After-all, she had just tried to kill him in their recent exchange.
"But, I would have lost that just now. I couldn't even see your movement, which makes sense. My physical abilities are pretty low aside from my strength and durability."
"Sometimes strength and durability is all that you need," said Benjamin, "if a fast opponent can't even hurt you, what are they supposed to do in a fight. Cultivate your strengths to help compensate for your weaknesses."
"Meow!" Cringer called. Benjamin kneeled down, petting him behind the ear. "I'm sorry, I thought I was only getting one new officer today. I didn't even know that you were here."
"My my, I guess its true what they say about cats." A sultry voice emerged. It belonged to a short girl, Yet, despite her height, she was shaped rather impressively. Which her tight and revealing dress only amplified. Grayish fabric clung to her pale skin. And despite the warm weather, she still kept a crop-top jacket slung over her shoulders that had white fur atop. warm Contrasting raven hair and crimson eyes.
"New office, Harker Mina." Mina introduced herself. "Reporting for duty."
"Welcome aboard," said Benjamin. One of the other soldiers aboard tossed Benjamin a uniform, which he in turn tossed to Mina. "Put that on."
Mina eyed the uniform and smiled. "As grateful as I am for allowing you to join, I'm...afraid I will be unable to wear that." She said with a rather venomous ending. As if that white piece of cloth was poison. "I am a Devil Fruit user and my powers sort of rely on my appearance. Such a plain piece of clothing will diminish it...making me into more of a liability."
Mina spoke...somewhat honestly. Her powers were influenced by her appearance. And pirates are less likely to find such clothing attractive. However how far this truth stretched wasn't exactly obvious.
"I see," said Benjamin. He scooped Cringer up off the ground, moving back over to his chair, sitting down in it as he began to pet Cringer behind the ear. "You're not confident enough in your appearance as is? You need to have more confidence in yourself. You're quite beautiful. I don't believe that you need to demean yourself by wearing such revealing clothing."
Lucy nodded. "You look like a whore."
"I'm sorry little girl, I don't speak dwarf." Mina said with a quick snap back at Lucy. her eyes sharpening. Hell, if looks could kill, Benjamin'd be out of an officer. She turned back to her new leader. God this is punishment. But it's either this guy or join under him... Mina thought to herself while biting her lip. She prayed that the slight pain would bury the memories as it has done countless times before.
"Anyway, thank you for such kind words. I value them greatly. But my beauty stems from myself. I do not need a man to tell me what I look attractive in." She replied respectfully.
"It's not just that," Benjamin continued. "I run a tight ship. At least some variation of the marine officer uniform is required for those that serve under me. Your uniform isn't just a piece of clothing for you to blend in with the others, it's a sign of unity and respect."
"Right, and..." Lucy chimed in, sliding from behind Benjamin, "I'm actually taller than you."
Mina's eyes squinted. By god! Lucy was right. How bad she needed glasses. However Mina would never ruin her beauty with such an obvious flaw. She existed as the physical form of perfection. "Whatever." Mina growled. "I'll find a jacket or something I can work into this outfit. Is that okay, Commodore?"
"That's fine," said Benjamin.
Cringer jumped out of Benjamin's lap, walking over to Mina's legs. He began snuggling against her legs, purring happily. "Well, that's a good sign."
"Then was it a bad sign with me?" Lucy inquired.
Cringer meowed, immediately running up to Lucy, and repeating the same actions he had done with Lucy. He then headed back over to Benjamin. "He was just tasing you before," said the marine commodore. "Welcome to the Iron Curtain."