window shopping

"Nyaa, maybe i should ask a blacksmith to make me some pans, maybe he can attach it to a chain and a knife, then i can use it as a weapon too?" she looked around a little saddened. "Even Captains gone nyaow..."

She looked up into the sky a little absent mindedly, there were rather few people around and the shopkeepers seemed all caught up with their own buisness.

Sakura and Damian were heading back to the ship when they saw suzume looking around. Damian made a 'ill-see-you-at-the-ship' nod with his head and walked onwards with the materials. "Why hello Suzu dear, and where might our Happy-go-lucky captain be. I was under the impression she was with you? She smiled and waited patiently on the reply.

"...hm?" Suzume turned her face to sakura. "Hey Sakura~" she answere enthusiasticly.

"Captain went to the docks, i kind of lost her, nyao" she sounded a little apologetic. "I also needed cooking stuff, it would have been boring for her surly, myew." she scratched the back of her head looking around. Looking back at Sakura she smiled weakly.

"I should speed up with shopping or dinner will be delayed. Also, I don't like the fact other pirates are docking near our ship, they look belligerent. They have been fighting another for no good reason when I left. Exception is the one who's after my booty, nyaa"

- continued from the docks-

He walked up to an explosives shop. "Ooh, a bullet bomb. Sweet! and a ton of dyanimite! Heha,this shops is perfect!" He happened to glance at a bounty poster. He looked away again, running his eyes over the varoius bombs, then looked back to it in shock. "Wha-I'm on there!? wait a minute, just a million berry? That's pretty cheap,after all I am the record holder in west blue for monster slaying. But that's not important!I'm a bounty!" He pulled up his hood, and took out a metal mask from inside his vest.He tied it on, and spoke, his voice echoing hollowly. "Haha, now I'm unreconizible! Maybe I best jsut wait on the ship, and relax....." He turned around,and saw the woman ninja and swordswoman. "Oh no,those two are fellow pirates, I best hide, just in case they're still interested in bounties...." He junped into a nearby barrel. "Man, how do I get myself into these perdiciments....."

Suzume scowled at the barrel that Hyusa was hiding within. What does they think i am, a rookie? i can tell people apart just by the vibrations they make from walking. she pattet on Sakuras shoulder.

"could you cut apart that barrel over there, nyaa?" she said, her face showed she was slightly annoyed. "It's one from that rival pirate group. I don't know if he's trying to eavescope on us or cowardly hides, either way it's embarrassing." She didn't keep her voice down but didn't speak up loudly either, it wasn't like she was trying to hide from him that she noticed his attempt on disappearing from sight, but she doubted he'd hear from over there.


She had noticed him ages ago, but ignored him from the start. In his condition he wasn't even a thread if she was alone and not allowed to use her arms or any weapons.

"But of course Suzu dear, it might be good to show my number one technique to my new crew member" she had a strange smile on her face as she simply walked past the barrel, as she did a bright flash could be seen aswell as the sound of a katana getting sheated. -5 Step Massacre- Sakura flipped her hair walked, one step the air around the barrel grew silent, two steps the barrel creaked. Sakura made the last three steps in a slow sucsession and as her foot hit the ground at the fifth step the barrel split appart as 5 slices had divided the barrel after they split they turned to splinters.

"Perfect" She smiled in content as she made a V with her fingers towards suzu.

Hyusa's temple twitched as he heard the word "cowardly",and he was about leap from the barrel, but it suddenly split apart. 'Huh,that must be the swordswoman.',he thought. He turned to the ninja. "I, mam, am not a coward. I have faced off against creatures that can lift up a house and throw it 10km. It's just that,well,I don't feel like dealing with bounty hunters,and you guys are hunting for a bounty and all........Um, did I just say I have I have a bounty on me outloud?.............I must go, have a good day, see you on the high seas and all that." He turned around and started walking for the docks really fast.

Suzume frowned, crossing her arms infront of herself. "and how exactly are we supposed to take the reward being pirates? What will the marines do, nyaa?" she cocked her head. She didn't like dealing with small kids, they were hard to reason with.

She looked at the bounty paper. pointing at it, "Also, one million berry isn't all that impressive, i assassinated people worth several times as much." she answered on his note. She didn't find his explanations all that impressive. AS he turned around she did so too, turning to sakura.
"by the way, nice move" she raised her hand and gave a thumbs up. "but we should get going, as I said earlier, I still need some things."

"Ow my, should i go and clear this horrible misunderstanding with the boy? Sakura followed the boy with her eyes as he disappeared out of sight "We are not hunting for bounty's, our captain just wants a bounty on her head before we head into the grand line. Well it seems it would be a wastede effort to explain it to him. Suzume i shall accompiny you it seems Damian has already gone back, it is always betetr to move in two's in these kind of neighboorhoods. Its not for the protection of us but rather a rule to be certain at least one of us keeps an eye on our captain. Though it seems we failed........again She chuckled and strated walking in the direction of a blacksmith.

He stood there, an expression his his face. "I don't know weither I've been insulted, or told I'm free to go.....Eegh,whatever, I better keep shopping for explosives......" He walked into the shop, and saw two huge men by the bounty list. One of them turned to his partner"Burgi, this kid hear is worth a thousand berry,see?" He pointed his finger toward hyusa's picture on the list. "Thousand,huh?that's nothing. Check out that female ninja on the street. She's bound to have some expensive weapons on her.." "But,it doesn't look like she has anypouch or anything with her...Oh I get it now..."The huge men grinned and pulled out short,studded clubs. They walked outside,and Hyusa followed them,looking around for something to help him out. He looked up at a platform tied by rope to a beam, holding up bricks. "Hehe, perfect..." He tossed his razor boomerang at the rope just as the thugs crossed under it. The bricks fell down with a crash,and the thugs buried under them. He walked up to them, and the one who looked like the boss turned his head to him. "Ugh, kid,whoever you are, why did you do that?" Hyusa took his mask off, his canines gleaming as he grinned. "Cause, buddy-boy, as a Sea Knight, I am duty bound to protect my kind when I can. Doubtless she coulda handled you easy, but I saw a chance to take you down without a fuss and i took it. Good night now..." Hyusa punched him in the jaw and he was knocked out. The other one was already out like a log."Hmph, I guess I best buy some more bombs..." He snagged the bag lying by the guys hand, and took out the junk inside it."This'll be just fine for holding the bombs..." He walked inside the store and came out, the bag bulging. "That should do it. And I bought some smoke and bullet grenades for my self, just incase." He patted the seercet pocket inside his vest, and walked to the docks.

(ooc: try making paragraphs, it's kinda hard reading such long passages without thinking of history lessons)


Walking on Suzume had began humming, some kind of sad yet calm and relieving sound, with time she began mumbling untill she found herself singing out aloud the song that had been on her lips for some time now. She enjoyed Sakuras presence, she had a calm air around her without turly becoming lazy of some sort.
People that heard Suzume singing threw glances at her, some even leaving their shops just to find out whoms voice was dancing within the usualy tiring air of the town.

(her song)

When they walked past an old and shabby looking store which seemed rather dubious she suddenly stopped singing, holding right there on the spot and looking at it for some time, before motioning to sakura to enter, smiling while doing so. This could probably pass as a rogues and cutthroats favorite shop, and that probably wasn't so far off. However, there was something peculiar that Suzume had noticed, she knew she could find the perfect knives in this place - a ninja's intuition.

As he walked to the dock, he looked at a shabby looking shop that didn't look like anything special. But,useing bladeuser's intuition. he knew that even if he couldn't find more razor boomerangs, he could at least find more throwing weapons.He walked into the shop,and imeddiltly felt calm. "Aah, this is defintly a shop for me, alright." He looked at a odd contraption that looked liek it was supposed to strap to your forearm."What, a self-propelled grapple hook? How is that even possible. Oh,well,I'll bite." He looked around a little more, bought a few more boomerangs, and went back to the grapple. 'Hmm, it's only 90 berry. A bargain,if it works." He grabbed that, and and went to the counter, where the shopowner was. "I'd like to make a purchase,sir." "Eeh,what's a kid like you doing with all that dangerous equipment,why don't you put all that down and go play?" Hyusa's temple throbbed, and his eyes turned to a dangerous-looking dark blue."I,sir, have fended for myself for the past five years, not only hunting down monsters that can destroy this shop under three minutes, but also helping solve murders and the like. I know my way around these things.Trust me on this."
"Fine,fine,I get it,i get it, you're a tough guy.geez,that'll be 200 berry." Hyusa grinned and pulled out a small sack,which clanked promislingly. "Here you go, 200 hundred berry. Have a fine day." He turned around, the grapple hook attached to his left arm, and three more boomerangs concealed within his vest. As he was walking out the shop, he ran into the female ninja and the swordswoman. "Um, hello, mam's. Making a purchase to?"

Suzume walked past the boy, paying no attention to him and his question. She walked towards the shopkeeper and past him, looking around in thought.

"hey, you need something." the man spoke up.
"hmmm, yeah, where's the shopkeeper."
"That would be m-"
"I meant the real one." she interrupted
"I said, I - am - the -one." he pointed at himself, annoyance in his face.
Suzume pouted, walking to a wall and knocking against it. she did it several times on other places as she walked through the shop, as she walked behind the counter she suddenly began smiling.
"found him." she declared, the man was slightly sweating.

she opened a hidden door in the ground, slipping through it, the man followed after the counter obstructing anyone from following. "Alright you two, you stay up here understand? dad doesn't like people who can't handle knives, even if you two are sword-users. And no more than one person at a time. you can stay here and take a look at the other stuff I sell, but down there is off-limits."

Hyusa's temple twitched, and he grinned a full grin,showing off his large canines. "You weren't even the real shopkeeper,huh?' The man started even sweating even more. "Y-yes...." ".........You coulda just told me the stuff down stairs was off limits, you know..." "I-I'm sorry,oh so sorry." "Relax,just tweaking your nerves a little,you know." Hyusa grinned as the man got an aggrivated look on his face. He took out a toothpick from from his vest and looked at the hatch. "Too bad,though,I'm getting very powerful juju vibes from down there. That ninja must know her way around Haka knifes and the like. Me,I prefer plain steel, other than Oni Claw here." He patted the gaint scimitar on his back. "The first Sea Knight ever used this to slay a thousand monsters within one night. Of course, I'm no were near any as skilled as he was, but oh well."
He curled his fingers slightly,and one of his shortswords shot into his grasp.He flipped it around and through his fingers, weaking a pattern of air around them. "K-kid, that's dangerous.." " I told you, I know my way around blades, expessialy the ones I've been with most of my mature life." "Mature?You're only fithteen, how could you possibly be.." Hyusa grinned that dangerous grin,and his eyes turned to a steely blue. "Having your family murdered right before your eyes,and then almost dying yourself, can make a kid grow up reeal quick." He stopped spinning the shortsword around, and it spun into the air and back into his sleeve. Hyusa bent down to the hatch, and grinned. "I'm gonna go down there." "W-wha? But you can't! The ninja lady was too scary to not let past, but you're just a kid,even if you know you're way around blades, it's too dangerous!" Hyusa grinned "Excactly why I'm going down there!"
He jumped, and landed in a tunnel. He looked ahead, and saw three rotating gaint blades on a pole, and another three of those traps ahead of that, and then what looked like like the doorway into a large room. Hyusa practilly shook with the feeling of power coming from that room. "Ooh ya, this place is defintly a shop for me!" He crouched down, and then suddenly sprinted, jumping through the fisrt blades, and then rolling under the bottom blade of the second one. He stood up and looked at the second set. "K,then lets finish this." He jumped through the the third trap,just like the first one, and then landed on his hands and pushed off, jumped complently over the blades on the fourth one.He landed,and then stood up and straightened his vest and armor. "Huh,that was easy.Now,to check these out, if for the heck of it. besides, Ken needs some weapons that won't break on him." He walked through the doorway, and his jaw dropped. The walls of the cavern,for cavern it was, were covered in blades of variuos shapes and sizes."W-wow....."

(you realy do model the shop I introduced quite a lot, just watch out how much you decide, considering I have a particular reason for introducing it)

Suzume bowed japanese style before an old men who sat cross leged before her. The secluded wooden room was lit by several candles along the walls, the room did not hold any weapons, but was rather empty. The old man had the look of a mafia boss, he had dark tanned skin with more bruises than a cutting board on him. He nodded.

"You show a fair amount of honor and discipline, it has gone amiss in this new age." His voice was realy deep.
"As a true master of an 'origin' style that is the very least I am to do." Suzume answered, still bowing.
"You may raise. It is true that I am a master of the black fang, but without a good youth these styles mean nothing, do they." he chuckled a little.
Suzume raised herself, she had a serious face showing manners towards the man opposing her. She couldn't even try measuring her power according to his, even while acting calm and lazy he had that air of pressure. He didn't need haki to scare people off.

"that is why I gave my son this shop."
"I assumed that much, but with you still alive he cannot be consired the true owner. After all it would be you holding the true treasures."
"the treasures you intended to see."
"I wanted to, even when i cannot wield these weapons they are like a remnant of the past."
"or a requiem... I have decided." the old man raised up.

Suzume rejoiced a little inside, but remained in her position.

(k,sorry, ill cut back on the details)

He saw the femal ninja and an old man talking to eachother. they seemed to be discussing something important, so he decided to keep back. He walked to a shaded corner, and sat down.' I know this won't work,but i might as well pull my hood up too. If anything, it'll give me a feeling of comfort.',he thought to himself. He pulled Oni Claw from the sheath on his back,and stuck it into the ground beside him.
'I wonder how long I can remain hidden? Probally for three minutes,naa not even that long. Oh well.'
He looked around at all the powerful weapons on the walls. "Wow, I haven't felt this much power ever since I first vistited the Shrine...'

The old man had brought a small casket from old wood, there were a couple of words inscribed on it, but Suzume had no idea what they meant, even though she was by no means uneducated. The small box still seemed less valuable that one would ecpect from it's contents. the lid was slowly shoved down, reveiling 7 daggers lying beside another, each having some little quirk that gave it individuality.

"the seven sins." the old man narated, motioning that suzume could touch them. she picked up the 5th and started moving it around in the air.
"It's so smooth... they're lighter than air itself, they dont cut but shove apart."
"you own the knowledge to wield them. And the one you have picked first was lust." suzume listened up. "A dagger is a weapon that is not blocked or evaded, it does not need to kill on touch, but moves towards it target without delay. And just like that it shows the truth, ones weakness and strength. You yearn for happiness, no matter the cost, yet you try to bring this happiness to others aswell - this is the first sin."

Suzume nodded, she seemed happy to have found this man, what she had expirienced was more than enough.
"take it."
"nyaa?" his words surprised her.
"take all of them, weapons are made to be wielded."
"I-... thank you." she bowed before him. what now came was unexpected.
"WHAHAHAHA! It seems the new generation will be coming up just fine." he laughed aloud. "but tell me, what will you use these knives for?"
"either cooking or fighting." she answered truthfully.
"WHAHAHA, just like my master used to, WHAHAHA - Go to Tsubujari's at the docks, you will find what you search for. And Greet your captain and the female swordmaster up in the store - take the kid with you, if he can answer wether he knows fear or not correctly he can take one of my other weapons with him. WHAHAHA!" the old mans voice rang up to the store itself as he was laughing, it was shaking right down to the bones with just his laugh. he pushed the box to suzume who took all the knives and stored them away, bowing one last time as she left the room.

She grabbed the boy in the shadows by his neck and picked him up into the air, with her other hand she took her own knife and held it to his throat.
"Do you know fear? Do you accept it? Will you listen to it, speak up coward." her eyes were freezing cold, she was aggrivated by the fact the boy had been following up behind her.

I look into the female ninja's eye's, my eyes a shadowy blue in anger as I remember the day my current way of life began. "Mam, I used to know fear, but that ability was lost the day my family was killed in front of my eyes. Now, I know nothing but anger and vengance. If I am to put my family's souls to rest, I have to find the man who did it. Anytime I hide or run, it is because I can't let myself be bothered by those who are after me." He smiled sadly. "Ever since I took the Blood Oath, I've been doing nothing but fighting...." He looked up at the ninja again, his eyes a seriuos grey-blue. "Mam, I'll fight anybody I have to to fullfill that Oath,even you. I know I'll die if I went up against you in my current level of expertise, but neverless,I'll fight. So,in truth, the question you need to ask me is not if I know and feel and accept fear, but if I'm any longer human, is it not?"

Suzume sighed, letting go of him and sheathing her dagger. "wrong." she walked off towards the exit, not even evading the traps, they just seemed to go past her.

She turned her head. "If you are no longer a human then i could not kill you. After all, objects can only be destroyed. Since you cannot even answer such a simple question I assume that is the way you will perish. As an object." she walked on before stopping again, adding another passage to her sentence. "For me... I do fear. Especialy death." her words spoke the truth, even though ninjas were never supposed to feel anything.

He nodded. "You're right. I am nothing but an object, at least not till I kill that person. Or maybe I'm nothing but a killer forever,who knows?All I know is that I'm bound by my word, by my oath that I swore to 5 years ago. And thank you for sparing me so I can continue my quest." I turned to the old man, who I knew to be more powerful than he seemed. 'Thank you for giving me the chance to have one of these amazing weapons. I can feel the power flowing off them, so I know you do not idly offer these blades to just anybody."

"kh... this kid has not been taught any manners at all." with that suzume jumped up the ladder and reentered the store. She pulled out her pouch as she already knew these weapons would not be for free. Ofcourse she couldn't pay their full price, but the shopkeeper upstairs already expected as much.

"So dad goes around giving presents nowadays? What an unusual thing to see, alive and even holding something. Pay according to what you can, I just need it for a living and paying for him." the shopkeeper said. By now he didn't care anymore. Suzume pulled out some gold coins and put her pouch on the table.

"Tsubujari's better not be too expensive, nyaa~" she seemed happy about her purchase. She headed for the exit, there was one last stop she had to make. She had been thinking about realy killing off the boy, but decided not to, she didn't feel like it.

Hyusa watched as the female ninja exited the cavern,and grinned and chuckled. "Haha, just like a ninja would act. She got aggrevated that I managed to follow her, and decided to try and teach me respect." He shook his head, still grinning. "Oh well, this "object" might as well exit the scene." He turned around and was walking toward the exit when he heard a voice. "Wait, boy. I have something to tell you." He turned around again, and saw the old man holding a cloth wrapped item in his grasp, and was stroking his beard and looking at the boy in wise eyes. Hyusa bowed,his fists held together in the traditional Sea Knight sign of student respecting teacher. "Yes, sir?" "Boy, you are a Sea Knight, are you not?" Hyusa nodded, stilled bowed. 'Yes sir." The old man pointed toward Oni Claw on Hyusa's back. "A gaint of an man came to me 7 years ago, and he had that mighty weapon on his back,just like you do now. He asked me to give the items in my hand to any young man bearing that weapon."
Hyusa grinned. "A gaint of a man, huh? Yep,sounds like my father alright. Thank you, Sir, this means much to me." The old man nodded, and then tossed the cloth to Hyusa. He unwrapped the items, and two fingerless metal gloves were revealed, both with a symbol engraved on them. The symbol was a Sea Dragon in waves, and a lightingbolt behind all that."The official coat of arms for Sea Knights! These gloves are the Cheif Gloves!" He looked at the old man, and bowed again. "Thanks,yet again. May we meet again,Sea willing." he slipped the gloves on, and turned around. "Wait, lad, before you go, I have some wisdom to give you." Hyusa turned his head."yes Sir?" "The path you travel on is a dark one, but I still sense some light within you yet. Don't ever lose sight of that light, and try to remain on the side of the righteous, and you will always be a person. Never forget this."Thank you, sir, I will try my best to keep that in mind." IHe bowed, and walked past the blades, which had stopped. He climbed up the ladder, and emerged up into the 'regular' shop. "You came out alive too? Huh, interesting young man, aren't you?" "Well, I wouldn't call myself interesting,excactly. Anyway,your father is a great man." "Yes,yes.now go!" "fine,grouch...." Hyusa pulled out a big pouch,which clanked. "here you go, I figure this'll cover the cost of bugging you." Hyusa put this onto the table, and walked out the shop. he bowed to the swordswoman who was still standing inside the doorway, and too the ninja also. "Hello, mams." I looked at the ninja. "You were planning to kill me, weren't you? Hahhahahaha,I'm sorry,but you'll have to wait in line,mam. Anyway,thanks again for allowing me to continue on my journey." He bowed,using the bow of student to teacher."See you guys on the high seas!"He then ran off toward the docks, waving goodbye."

Suzume turned to Sakura. "I don't particulary like this kid. Especialy the way he sais ma'am."


She walked along the same path the boy had taken, singing to herself to get her mind off the boy. She still needed a couple of pans, she had collected the some stuff earlier and deposited it near at the port, it worked out fine this way.


((off to the docks))

Sakura chuckeld yet before leaving she tunred to the man and bowed towards him. "Might i see that sword over at the back, it seems beautifully made.

"You seem to know your craftmanship, it is a katana made in a special way. Adding snakes blood in a traditional crafting. It was said to have cut 100 man before it was lain to rest, it has lost its edge and it was only rivaled by its twin brother made the same way." Sakura paid the man the price hanging from the sword and threw it up in the air. With a quike draw she crushed it to pieces. "WHY DID YOU DO THAT"

"A sword that can;t kill is like a man with no reason, A coil waiting for its end. It seemed like the right thing for a sword to meets it end at its family's hand" Sakura's sword glimmered as it returned to its scabbard. "Rest in peace, brother of hebihimi"

Sakura left the shop and Walked in the direction of Suzume catching up with her.