Ryoko felt the cold night air rush around her, the sweat on her body immediately feeling like it froze her skin. She ran to the railing and swiftly hopped over it, as her feet hit the grass she was in a run. Completely ignoring the other pirates as she focused on the man in front of her, "Mister Cricket," she called as she slid to a stop next to him and immediately crouched down.
The man, who lay face down on the ground, slowly turned his head to look at the woman who crouched next to him. "What are you doing here?" He forced out with a cough, his body tensing as he wanted to stand and keep fighting, but his body betrayed him. "You should be out... looking for a south bird." He continues, eyes feeling heavy.
"No one told me to wake up to do that. Please, stay lying down, you're hurt pretty bad." Ryoko says softly, before glancing toward the group who was looking toward them. The same cocky grin from the bar showed on the blonde man's face, his fists still slightly covered with the blood from beating up on the trio. "Another little straw hat, didn't we already teach your crew to stay out of our way? You know, when we beat up your weakling of a captain." He cackles the look of chaos in his eyes beginning to show more.
Ryoko held her tongue as she reached into her side pouch and pulled out a roll of bandaging, which she began carefully wrapping the older man's head. Her eyes flicked over the other injuries that littered his body her face remaining neutral despite her mask. She could tell from the way he spoke, he was trying to provoke her into action, and she wasn't gonna fall for that bait.
A sharp pain radiated across her scalp as someone gripped her by the base of her braid and yanked her to her feet, "The captain's talking to you, you better listen." Her eyes turned to look toward the pale blue-haired man from earlier, the one whom she had heard offering to buy Nami out of the crew. She was then easily tossed onto the ground away from the old man and toward the crazy blonde.
Ryoko pushed herself backward and onto her butt, not even wanting to kneel to get up, not in front of this man, "I was listening, I just didn't have anything to say in response. Your crew did beat up the captain, the first mate, and even the tailor. But if you think that is all it takes to stop the crew, you are sadly mistaken." She says calmly, although her blood is boiling, she shoves herself with force onto her feet.
"You're lucky we don't beat you up too! Show some respect!" A man from the crew exclaimed, before gripping the back of her head and attempting to slam her head forward. However, Ryoko reached back and gripped the arm of the man as she dug her feet into the ground and she pulled him forward, causing him to become off balance and topple forward. Not releasing his arm she turned it and stepped her foot onto the back of his neck at the base of his skull. "I am respectful until you prove yourselves not to be worthy of respect." She twisted the man's arm a bit further.
"Stop! Stop you're gonna break it!" He cried out in pain, he reached back with his free arm and attempted to draw his firearm, only to find it on his opposite waist. "That's the point." She says calmly before having to release the man as a glint of light catches her eye, and dodges a giant knife that dug into the ground where she had just been standing, "Rude." She says as she spun around to stand behind the knife-wielding man, "And you said you were gonna buy my friend." She says before dodging the knife that swung back toward her face.
She leaped backward, landing next to the two ladies standing outside the circle, pulling them both to her sides, "You laughed at her." She says to the red-haired one and turns to look at the blond, "And you tried to use me as a footrest." she says before hefting them both toward the knife wielder who drops the knife to keep them from hitting their faces on the ground.
"Spring-Spring: Sniper!" The crazy captain exclaimed launching forward with great speed, aiming a punch toward the woman's chest only for her to sidestep and watch as he launched off of a tree, breaking it in half. "You slammed my friend's head, through a bar taking advantage of his naivety." She says dodging around the second attempted attack on her. She drew her revolver as she rolled out of the way of the knife that was swung at her face, moving back closer to the trees as she aimed and fired the first shot into the knife wielder's hand causing him to drop it and cry out in pain.
Ryoko darted off to the side, attempting to move away from the three injured men on the ground, but something in her gut made her stop. Her back toward the house as she looked toward the enemy pirates, "All in all you don't deserve even an ounce of any sort of respect." She says bluntly, tilting her head slightly, "Normally I wouldn't have bothered to do much. However, you happened to hurt people my friends care about. I don't like that." Her eyes narrowed beneath her mask, her eyes scanning over the group.
Movement caught her attention as she lurched forward, slamming her boot into the flat of the large kukri-like blade of the seeming first mate of the crew. The blade slammed into the ground next to Masira's head. "Shit, I can't go on the offensive like this." she cursed to herself, however, a heavy impact slammed into her chest sending her flying back to focus. She was aware of the punch from the chaotic blond which had knocked the breath from her lungs. Her back crashed through the stone wall of the house behind her. For a moment she couldn't breathe in, as she lay on the broken remains of the table. She shifted momentarily, as she gasped air into her lungs and allowed a golden carved bell to roll under her body before collapsing back on top. She allowed her body to fall limp and staged a form of unconsciousness that she remembered seeing a few times in fights.
A man, clearly part of Bellamy's crew, walked into the house and began to tear it apart looking for the gold the man had. His grin was wide as he picked up a golden statue of a strange bird, and picked up a bell that sat near the woman's feet. He then left a mark on the wall, using some ink and paint, although from her position she couldn't get a good view of it. He cast a glance at the seemingly unconscious woman before hefting the gold up in a cloth and exiting.
Ryoko lay on the bell for a moment longer before sitting up slowly with a groan of pain. "No way. You punks have no right taking that gold." Cricket said clearly angry that the pirates were stealing the gold he and the other two had worked so hard to retrieve.
"I'll show you what gives us the right!" Sarquiss yelled, and although she couldn't see much from inside the house she could hear the name of the attack. "Big Chop!" A thud of a body was met with a brief cackle from the blue-haired man. "We're way stronger than you and your pals old man. I say that gives us the right to take what we want, when we want. Come on let's dance."
"If you don't mind I'm cutting in! Havoc Sonar!" Came the voice of one of the two men she had only briefly seen while heading back to the room. She then covered both her ears hearing the sound of a loud yell projecting out from, she assumed the man.
The yell stopped with a loud gagging cough, and Ryoko quickly rolled to the left side of the room and watched as the hole she had made, got smashed open by the larger man who also crashed through the wall behind her. The sound of splintering wood, along with a distinct splash had her moving as she got onto her feet and leaped out of the wooden facade. Her form shifted in one swift move to spread her wings and avoid plunging into the ocean waves. Her eyes landed on the shape that slowly came to the surface, the man with long green hair floated unconscious at the top of the water.
Ryoko lowered herself, beating her wings hard to keep herself from ending in the water, and hooked her talons on the man's shoulders. She then flew upwards, dragging him from the water as she flew back to the edge of the island.
"As for you old man, grow up! This city of gold is just a fairy tale, that liar Nolan dreamed it all up! If you want to be a pirate in this new era, you better wise up, your dreams will never come true! Ever!" Bellamy yelled, laughing along with his crew. Ryoko landed on the ground, after setting the man carefully onto the ground in front of the now-broken home.
"You know something, junior?" Cricket says taking out his lighter and lighting his cigarette, "A worthless little punk like you, who is too afraid to believe in dreams, doesn't have the right to call himself a pirate." He let out a drag of smoke.
A sinister grin curled across the man's face, "What was that?" Bellamy asked although it was clear that he fully heard what the man had said. His legs began to curl into spiral springs and crouched down ready to launch forward.
However, Ryoko moved in between the two men, her eyes flicking over the crew and noting the special revolver that was sitting in the blond woman's belt. Her eyes then looked back to Bellamy, "You already won this fight, you have the gold. Just go." She says putting calm force behind her words as she narrowed her eyes ever so slightly at the man.
The captain seemed to freeze for a moment at her words, and his pupils dilated ever so slightly before he stood, "None of you are even worth my time." He growls lowly and turns his back on the four before heading up onto the ship with his crew.
As the ship pulled away Ryoko turned to face the men, she cursed under her breath as she looked at the man whose back was sliced open. "I'll be right back. I'm gonna stitch you up okay?" She questioned, although she wasn't sure he was even conscious. She then went back to the Merry to retrieve suture material and a hooked needle. Upon her return, she cleaned the wound as best she could before beginning to stitch the wound shut. By no means was Ryoko a doctor, illnesses and medicines were beyond her, and so was the idea of surgery. However, she still remembered distinctly how to deal with injuries that could occur from fighting. She was also thankful it seemed like she was still not rusty on the suture administration, "It's a good thing you weren't awake." She mutters before moving back to Cricket. "Let's move over to the table," She said before helping the man over to the stump that sat outside like a table.
Once the man was settled, she walked back over to the broken wall and door and entered the building. She crouched down at the broken table and picked up the bell that she had managed to hide under her. Her eyes panned upward to the marking the man had left, a Jolly Roger, her nose scrunched up in disgust. She then returned to outside, approaching the man from a blind spot.
Cricket's eyes were focused on the two younger men who were lying on the ground near him. "Thank you, for getting Shoujou out of the water." He says looking at the green-haired man. He looked over to the girl as she stopped next to him, a look of surprise crossed his face. "How did they miss that." He says in disbelief as Ryoko holds the bell out to him, taking the gold bell in his larger hands.
Ryoko let her hand fall, "It's important to you... Also, I crashed into your table and broke it... Sorry about that... But I hid it under me when that hooded dude came in. It's not much but it's something." She says with a small frown on her. "I'm gonna have to go get my gun back before we go to the sky, I could go grab your gold back too." She offers.
"Don't bother. It's not worth getting yourself beat over a gun, and my gold is my problem." The man says, setting the bell on the stump next to him as he looks at the woman. A look of defeat briefly passed through his eyes, causing the girl to frown deeper.
"Yes, I understand swallowing your pride very well, it serves people well in many different circumstances." Ryoko says as she straightened to her full height and crossed her arms over her chest, "While knowing when to do so, is important. I agree if you are going to die, swallow your pride."
Not waiting for a reply from the older man she headed over to the two larger men lying on the ground. She surveyed the wounds on both men, she carefully flipped the long-haired man over and checked his front as well. She stooped down, scooped the man up in her arms, and carried him over to the older man, resting him against the table stump. She then returned to the man with his back stitched up and frowned. She was conscientious as she turned him over, and scooped him up in her arms, wary of the stitches she had put in. She then moved him to lie on top of the stump so she could more easily cover the wound with strips of clean bandaging.
Once the bandaging was covering the wound, she shifted him back into her arms and sat him down against the stump as well. As she went to wipe her forehead she stopped, her hands were bloody, and she grimaced before hurrying off to the Merry to wash her arms and hands.
After washing her hands and arms clean, she then returned to the trio as the away party returned to the mess. "What the- what happened here?" Nami asked.
"Ryoko, my dove! Are you alright? You didn't get hurt did you?" Sanji asked, rushing over to the woman who blinked a few times before smiling softly.
"I'm alright, truly Sanji, the others got more hurt," she says before the smile fades off her lips. Her stomach was stirring and bubbling as if it were boiling, but what she felt did not reach her face instead falling to a mask of neutrality.
"Sorry kid. We tried to stop them, but we weren't strong enough. Even your friend there wasn't able to do much against them." Cricket's voice causes her to pause and look over at the men, "At least she was able to talk them out of beating us closer to death." He stood up, somewhat wobbly on his feet, "We have to get moving on fixing your ship, and getting her ready for the journey."
Luffy stood in front of the man, "Wait pops, hold on a second. Tell us what happened first." he requested, reaching out to help stabilize the injured man, "What happened and who did this to you?!"
Seeing that the man didn't want to really say, and was actively trying to defuse the situation with the young captain, Ryoko spoke up, "It was Bellamy's crew Luffy, They took most of his gold and my gun." She looked towards the captain, "I'm sorry I didn't protect them from harm."
"It's not your fault Ryoko," Luffy says, there wasn't a smile on his face for a moment. "Want any help?" Zoro asked, looking to the captain as well, the south bird still hanging in his hand. "I'll handle this myself," Luffy reassured.
"Don't be stupid Luffy, we have to set sail in three hours!" Nami exclaimed, concerned about the deadline. "If I follow the coast will it lead me to mock town?" The captain questioned Robin who gave her confirmation.
Ryoko moved past the woman and toward the captain, "That'll take time Luffy," she pointed out before stopping in front of the captain, "Let me help get you there, the fastest way." Her voice lowered so only the boy could hear, "Please Lu, I need to go."
The boy in question readjusted his hat before turning in the loose direction of the town, "Let's go." he said before stretching his arms for a moment.
Ryoko's form shifted, back to her avian form which hopped in front of the captain, "Climb on," She said allowing the boy to climb onto her back before she lifted off of the ground swiftly, "Three hours!" Nami reminded as they flew off through the air back toward Mock Town.
The flight was silent, although she did have to dodge around some rather large praying mantis, 'Mantis... Mantises? Sorta want one.' Ryoko thinks, 'Maybe not the big one like that.' She thinks, trying to keep herself calm as she flies. Her eyes locked on to the lights of the town ahead of them, "I'll be able to land soon, do you want to be close to the pub?"
Around the wind, she still got her response from the boy, "That'll work just fine. But stay out of harm's way alright?" He requests, to which she nods slightly, "I'll leave Bellamy to you, I can take the gold back while they are busy too."
With a loose plan in place, they swooped down onto the roof of a taller tower-like structure near the bar. Letting the captain onto his feet first, Ryoko flew over to land on top of the sign for the pub. She returned to her human form and crouched down on the roof as the boy yelled out, "Bellamy! Where are you!?"
The saloon-style doors creaked a few times as they were pushed open and released, the sound of footsteps was also heard before the voice of the cruel pirate spoke up, "Speak of the devil. We were just talking about you, Is there something you want to say to me, kid?"
"There is. Give back pops' gold. Every bit of it. Now." Luffy demands looking down at the man, his hand on his upper back.
"You mean the junk we got from old man Cricket?" The man questions, clearly agitated as he springs up into the sky and lands on the roof, standing opposite to Luffy.
Ryoko heard the sound of more footsteps and the swinging of the doors once more, she then walked to the side of the building and hopped down, landing lightly on the boardwalk. As she headed for the door to the saloon she caught a glimpse of a clearly drunk man, "I knew it was him." She paused and turned to face him, although he was looking up and down briefly. "You were already told, those things are worthless. Get rid of them." Sarquiss demanded, standing next to the man, but looking up toward his captain. "But if it's the real deal... Bellamy could be in real trouble. He may be good, but can he really stand against someone with a hundred million berri bounty on their head?"
Ryoko narrowed her eyes as she pulled closer to the duo, sending a look over the man's shoulder at the bounty posters, "May I see that?" she asked, pitching her voice down slightly, to avoid getting much attention. When the man held the papers over his shoulders and looked up to the roof, she took them in her hands. Instead of returning them to him after looking. however, she tucked them into the sash at her waist. Her eyes flicked to the fight that was about to ensue and headed into the pub.
Ducking under the doors she entered and looked around, sitting on the bar was the stolen gold. Sitting at the bar was the blond woman from earlier, "Not gonna go watch the fight? It's gonna be an interesting one. Although that's fine by me, it saves me some effort." She says approaching the woman who sat silently for a moment. She watched the woman set down a folding mirror on the counter.
As soon as Ryoko was within arms distance of her, the blond turned swiftly in her seat pulling the trigger and firing a shot toward the woman, only for the gun not to fire. Instead, the hammer of the gun met the flesh webbing between Ryoko's thumb and pointer finger. "Don't ever try to shoot a gunner with their gun, we know the weaknesses of our weapons." She says coldly as her free hand reaches forward swiftly and grabs the woman's face. "Release it and I release you." She orders before clasping her hand around the chamber.
The woman's hands went slack, allowing Ryoko to pull her gun away. As she had promised, she let go of the woman only to quickly catch her as she fell unconscious. "Shit, didn't mean to scare you to the point of passing out." She says lying the woman down on the floor before looking behind the bar, "Hey bartender, could you make sure she drinks some water whenever she wakes up? I'm sorta in a hurry." She says causing the man from earlier to nod frantically in agreement.
"Okay. Thanks." She says with a warm smile as she pulls the hammer back on her gun, releasing her skin which had started to bruise, she then gathers the gold back into the blanket that had also been stolen. A loud crash was heard from out on the street as Ryoko hoisted it over her shoulders. She then headed out of the pub, allowing the doors to swing shut behind her.
She could identify the fact that the guy named Sarquiss was starting to get really rowdy, so she pointed her gun up in the air and pulled the trigger, a loud bang rang out. "I believe there is now a winner. I'd take care of your captain instead of getting upset." She says as she heads forward, moments later a lighter thud hits the ground behind her. The people around her made way slightly as she walked over to Luffy, holding both ends of the blanket in her left hand, "We're done here, right? Got a time limit after all."
The boy nods his head and begins to walk away with the woman, to find a less destroyed area to launch off from, "Where do you think you're going?!" Sarquiss yelled only for the young captain to turn and point upwards, "We're going up there."
Ryoko chuckled as she tied the blanket and bit into the not before shifting into her bird form. The captain hopped onto her back as she lifted off the ground, going upwards before flying back over the damaged street for a moment. Her eyes landed on the dead bird that lay outside the pub, and the blood that seeped out of its chest. She then turned her attention back to flight, determined to return on time.