Akira frowned. This could get ugly… He supposed he might as well stop them before someone got a limb ripped off. And maybe after that he could convince that nice cat-girl to join his crew. She didn't seem too bad…. Let's just hope she's a good fighter.
As he got closer, the Red haired man took note of his presence. The stocky man smirked.
"Oh, we got ourselves a little runt?" he said, radiating arrogance. "Maybe I could use 'im as a warm up!" He cackled.
Akira just smiled sweetly as he neared. "I think you should find a different person to use as a warm up; you might need it before you try to fight me." Akira announced, hands on his hips.
The red haired man burst out laughing, accompanied by a few others. "Oh, you're a real riot, aren'cha kid?" He said as tears forming at the corners of his eyes as his laughing died down.
Akira's smile never wavered as the man talked. The red haired man just chuckled as he took out his own sword. "How about I go easy on ya, just to show how incredibly nice I am." The man said, smirking.
"There'll be no need for that." Akira noted. "If anything, I would need to be the one going easy on you."
The man's face twisted into an ugly scowl, and he ran forward. As he neared, Akira drew one of his swords. He darted past the man, slashing his blade across his chest as he did so. That was a bit anticlimactic for me. Akira thought as he sheathed his sword, turning to check the damage done. He hadn't cut too deep, so he should live, but he would probably have a scar.
He turned again, feeling slightly pleased with himself as he made his way back over to Laila.
"That was… impressive." Laila admitted. She hadn't expected him to be good with a sword, she didn't know why but she just got that kind of "I don't really care" vibe from him.
"Oi, are you saying you thought I would get beat?" Akira scoffed.
"Well, not beaten, per say…" Laila replied. "More like, it would have taken more time than that."
"Hey, can you turn into a hybrid of your cat form and your human form?" Laila asked. She was really wondering, and she wanted to know what he would look like as a hybrid.
"Yeah, of course I can." Akira stated, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Well… Can I see then?!" Laila asked, curiosity shining in her eyes.
"Sure, I don't see why not." Akira said, scratching his head. He then proceeded to grow to fluffy green cat ears, a shade darker than his hair. She also noticed a long green cat tail, the same color as the ears, swishing behind him. She checked his hands, and saw claws forming.
Laila stared at the ears for a second, before reaching out and rubbing one with her hand.
Akira jumped a little, not expecting the contact. "Why are you fondling my ears?" Akira asked, trying not to giggle at the expression Laila took on at his wording.
"I'm not fondling them!" She hissed, feeling her face heat up a bit in embarrassment. "I was petting them; they looked fluffy." She continued, crossing her arms stubbornly as a light blush dusted her cheeks.
Akira couldn't help but chuckle; she was pretty interesting.
"Hey." Akira said suddenly, pulling Laila out of her pouting. "Wanna join my crew?" He asked, a smile crossing his features.
"Whaa..?" Laila asked, slightly confused. What did he mean, a pirate crew? She had never really considered being a pirate before, but it didn't sound too awful. As long as he wasn't a complete jerk to innocent people... But something told her she wouldn't really need to worry about that.
"I mean, wanna join my pirate crew?" He asked, still grinning. "I mean, it would just be me and you for a while, but I'm sure we'd find more people in no time." Akira said dismissively as he waited for a reply.
Just us two…? Laila thought, frowning as she felt a slight blush on her cheeks. Gah! What's wrong with me?! Before she knew it, she found herself hesitantly agreeing.
Akira grinned in victory. "Awesome! Do you have anything you need to get before we go, because I wasn't planning on staying long…?" Akira trailed off as Laila stood looking thoughtful.
"Oh, I just need to get some clothes and food." Laila replied, still a bit surprised at how simple it all seemed. Get her stuff and leave, with a stranger she had just met. Eh, she could always beat him up if he tried anything stupid, she supposed.
"Great, I'll meet you at the docks. And just so you know, I don't have some huge boat; yet." Akira said as he turned and walked towards the docks, changing back to his full human form.
Well, this was definitely going to make her life more interesting, at least.
Hey! So, this chapter is a little short, but I already have an idea for the third chapter so bear with me as I work on it. (: Hope you enjoyed, R&R, and have a WONDERFUL day. Still taking OC's, need marines, warlords, and three yonkos too!
