Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece or This Bites. These belong to their respective owners, I'm merely taking inspiration from the two and adding my own characters to their worlds. I hope you enjoy.

Back on the battlefield with Sora and Cynthia, the two were sizing up their opponents. Sora looked at the surrounding area, there were two many building's here for the two of them to fight. He wanted to do minimal damage. Sora looked at his opponent.
"Hey, let's do this somewhere else. I'd rather not pay for the property damage this fight could cause." He said looking at his fellow swords man.

Sakai stopped for a moment, and thought it over. Before smirking at Sora with an air of confidence. "Sure, I don't see why not." He replied before turning to Daryl. "Daryl, think you can finish up here?" He asked the older man.

Daryl gave a mighty laugh. "Of course, just be careful. Use what you've learned in your travels." He said with a grin, making Sakai laugh.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure to do this right." He said before turning back to his opponent. "Lead the way." He said cockily, before watching as Sora ran off to another part of the town.

Cynthia watched them go before she circled her opponent as she prepared to fight in her hybrid form. Flames licking at the ends of her at the heels of her feet and end of her brown bushy tail. "So…how should we do this big guy? Introductions first?"

The older bearded man looked surprised for a moment before belting out a hearty laugh. "Well I wasn't expecting this, a Mythical Zoan…What a treat it will be to face you."

He started to flex showing off his muscles "I am the right hand man of Red Cloud Sakai, with a bounty of 60,000,000 Berries, I am the Fist of Destruction, Daryl!" He said with a smile. "Now then, I hope you're ready!" He said, before introducing himself. "And what is your name fair maiden?"

Cynthia looked at him before thinking to herself..'Probably not a good idea to give him my real name…so then..what to call myself….' She thought for a moment, before smiling, as she changed forms, turning into her hybrid form, her tail's fire glowing brightly, as a fireball formed in her hand.

"You can call me…The Shepherd of Fire….Sinder!" She said as she threw the fireball at him. Daryl quickly raised his arms in front of his body to protect himself! A large explosion of flame erupted around him, scorching his body somewhat. He looked at his arms and he smirked.

"So it seems like you have some power. GOOD I WON'T HAVE TO HOLD BACK!" He said as he rushed through the flames and launched a punch straight towards Cynthia's face.
Cynthia managed to dodge the punch, only for a kick to send her skidding backwards. She grunted as she looked down at the bruise that started to form. Even in her hybrid state that had still been painful.

"Ah, damn it that hurts!" She exclaimed, before looking him over, she quickly rushed him with surprising agility and Daryl tried to punch her, but Cynthia dodged it before she started to launch a coordinated flurry of strikes. A kick to the knee, a punch to the gut, and then a cartwheel high kick to his chin, as she got some distance..
After she was finished she smirked as she expected for it to have done some damage. She was right as she looked at the man who had fallen on his back.

Cynthia was confused…That…that shouldn't have been enough to knock this guy out. Using caution she backed up as she prepared to launch another fireball. However, just as she was about to fire it the man started to get up, coming to a knee.

Before disappearing completely from view.

"What the hell?! Where did he-" She tried to ask before she felt an impact to her gut and had just enough time to see that it was Daryl who had done it, before being sent flying. This time, it felt like she was hit by a freight train. She knew it was only thanks to her increased durability as a Zoan that she wasn't knocked out, as she slammed through the wall of a building nearby.

She tried to stand up, pushing the broken parts of a chair and table off of her as she stepped outside the building. What she saw…worried her. The places where Cynthia had previously landed her attacks, were now flashing a bright red, like a warning light.

"What the hell is going on?" She said to herself.

Daryl smiled, "I see you're confused. Not to worry, I'm sure you'll figure it out soon. Now then, come strike me again!" He said holding his arms out in a grand gesture inviting another onslaught of attacks. Cynthia growled at the man's overconfidence, "Fine! You asked for it." She got up and launched straight at him, throwing a barrage of punches and kicks and empowering them with her flames to increase the damage. The man grunted as he was sent for a loop by the constant barrage of attacks. He couldn't keep up with her speed. If he dodged left he was smashed from the right, if he dodged right she attacked him from left.

"Now this is more like it!" He said as he tried to endure the onslaught of attacks.

Cynthia attacked time after time, but over time Daryl started to catch on to the pattern of her attack, letting him begin to start blocking the strikes. Cynthia decided she would try and finish it with one attack. She lept in the air, flames licking at her right foot. "JUST STAY DOWN!" She said as she dropped kicked him to the back of the head. Daryl felt that one, as he went down soon after, face first lying on the ground with a burn mark to the back of his head.

She smirked as she saw that her last attack had cause some bleeding. Probably fractured his skull a little. 'Hopefully he'll stay down this time.' She thought to herself as she watched him. Her smirk faded in the next second as she saw the mark on the back of his head start to glow the same eerie red.

"What?" She asked taking a step back.

She watched as he started to stand up, his shirt scorched off and chest bruised from all the punches and kicks she landed. There were burn marks on his arms from where he had started to block her. He gave a great big smile to her. "Incredible! You truly are incredible! I almost lost consciousness with that last strike. Now then! Allow me to return the favor!" He said, as he once again disappeared.

Cynthia thanked whatever god gave her a Zoan. Because it was only thanks to her heightened senses, that she lept away and dodged his next strike.
It was a good thing she did, as Daryl appeared where she had been and struck the ground. What she wasn't expecting was for the large man to crack the ground, sending debris into the air. Rocks went flying and threatened to hit her. She dodged out of the way moving left and right, before finally all the debris had landed on the ground. She breathed in and out, as she looked around at the devastation.

She then turned to where Daryl had struck and saw the crater his impact had made. In fact the ground didn't just crater, it cracked, as the earth had been uplifted and jagged rocks now stuck up right from the earth. Cynthia took a step back, as she looked at Daryl who removed his fist from the earth. 'If that had hit me…'

She didn't want to think about it, as Daryl slowly rose to his full height. "This is great!" He said with a big laugh. "I've only felt this powerful a few times before!" He said as he looked at her. Cynthia grimaced. "How the hell did you do that!? Your punch wasn't nearly that strong before!" She yelled as she looked at the destruction caused.

The old man smiled. "It's quite simple! Like you, I ate a Devil Fruit." He said as he once again flexed. He lifted up a rather large piece of earth, and chucked it into the air.
Cynthia watched as the boulder sailed into the air before coming down. And she promptly gasped as proceeded to smash the boulder into pieces as he looked at her.
"The Pain Pain Fruit!" He said with a grin. "It allows me to take all the damage I've sustained, and convert it into power. Not just physical strength mind you, but Stamina and Speed as well." He said with the smile she was becoming quite familiar with.

Cynthia's mouth fell open in shock. "That's so broken! There has to be a catch right!?"

Daryl chuckled. "There is indeed. While the pain I'm dealt is converted to power, the pain itself is not nullified. Meaning, if I take too much damage and fall unconscious my power shall return to its base state!"

The Hellhound hybrid looked surprised. "I…I guess that makes sense. It would be too busted if it didn't have a drawback."
Daryl looked at the young woman confused. "What do you mean by busted? My power's are not from a machine." He asked as he tried to make sense of what she meant.

Cynthia sweat dropped a little not expecting that. "It's just a term from where I come from..it just means overly powerful.

Daryl nodded as he heard that smiling all the while. "I see, that makes sense." He said cheerily as he once again smiled at her. Cynthia frowned as she thought about his attitude thus far, "You know…for an enemy, you sure have been pretty open. Why is that?"

The man tilted his head confused. "Is there something wrong about wanting a fair fight? I merely wish to test myself to the best of my abilities. When I fight, I hold nothing back, and hide nothing from my enemies. That is a fair fight. An honorable fight!" He said proudly.
The young woman was surprised and looked at the man with a new form of admiration.

. "That's…not what I was expecting…" She said before thinking for a moment. "You seem friendly enough… Any chance we can just call this off for now?"
Daryl unfortunately shook his head. "Sadly, I can not do that… While I'm sure we could be comrades, my loyalties are to my captain first and foremost." He said, as he looked to where Sora and Sakai had run off to.

"You may think your friend is powerful…but I'm afraid he won't last much longer against Sakai." He said as he turned back to Cynthia.
Cynthia frowned. "And why is that? It's not like he's stronger than you, right."

Daryl frowned as he looked at her. "That's unfortunately exactly what I'm saying… While my bounty is only 60 million.." He paused before continuing with two fingers held up. "My captain's bounty is twice that."

Cynthia looked horrified, "YOU MEAN HE'S WORTH OVER 100 MILLION!?"

The bearded man nodded. "Indeed, though i'll have you know we didn't get that by pillaging other villages…" He looked sadly at his friend. "There is a reason my captain has come to attack this day." He said as he looked at his captain sadly, His expression changing to one of remorse.

Cynthia cursed their luck. Of all the enemies that they had expected to fight upon being thrust into this world, getting stuck fighting a pair of pirates with a collective total of 180 million berries was not on her bingo board.

"Damn it!" She cursed as she turned to run off and go help her friend. In a flash though, Daryl was there blocking her way. "I'm sorry miss, but unfortunatly, I can not let you interfere with their fight. My captain has waited too long for this day, and I will not allow all he has sacrificed be in vain."

Cynthia frowned, before Daryl pointed to himself. "If you must help your friend, then you must defeat me first!"
He said as he looked at his opponent. "I have told you my weaknesses, now use your own power, cunning and instinct to defeat me. That is the only way to save your friend!"

Cynthia bristled and bit her lip. "Fine… Let's finish this then." She said, as she prepared herself. She knew that if she was hit even once, she would probably be done in.
She needed a way to stop him from moving, if he kept disappearing like that, then it would be impossible for her to launch any meaningful attack against him.
She remembered what Daryl said. "Power, cunning and instinct…my senses…hmmm.."

Cynthia closed her eyes, deciding to rely on her hearing instead of her eyes. As she listened in she heard a sound to her left, and dodged right, avoiding an attack from the enemy." Daryl grinned as he saw this, "Very good! Using your enhanced Zoan senses to keep track of me. An excellent strategy!" Daryl said as he continued to attack, trying to land a single punch.

Cynthia wasn't listening, too focused on dodging his strikes as she tried to figure out what to do…That's when she started to think about what she knew about Devil Fruits. Every devil fruit has a different power based on their names. With Mythical Zoan, though the powers were tied to their mythological creatures…So if she was a hellhound...Maybe she could do more than just use fire.

As she thought this, she narrowly avoided another strike.

Daryl smirked as he stopped for a moment "Careful! Do not lose focus! If you do, you shall not last long!" He said, as he leapt at her once more.

Cynthia nodded at the man…it was almost like he was trying to help her..., It was pretty good advice, and she wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. Besides, now she had a plan…she just hoped it worked.

Cynthia fired and fireball not at her enemy, but at the ground, creating a barrier of flame. She used this opportunity to quickly head into the maze like terrain that had been created by Daryl's early strike. Hit and run tactics were the way to go, while she worked out how to do what she needed to do. It was risky but she had no choice.

Daryl smiled as he waited for the fire to fade. "So, you plan to hide from me. Not a very honorable way of fighting, but an effective tactic to recover your stamina." He proclaimed as he tried to look around for her. "Very well…As a courtesy for your valor in this fight, I shall offer you a five minute reprieve before I begin my assault in earnest." He said as he stood there. "Go ahead! I shall give you one chance!"

Cynthia heard this and grinned, this would make things easier. "Okay then here goes…" She started to think about aspects of a hellhound. They were guardians of Hell, so that would mean they could use powers from it. Fire to damage foes, but also hell was essentially a prison.

Next she started to visualize something in her mind. Fortunately the things she watched back home were still fresh in her mind. One show in particular was giving her an idea. She looked down at the ground, and was pleased to see that when she raised her hand an orange sigil with the visage of the face of hellhound inside it formed on the ground.

Cynthia smiled at the result. 'This might actually work.' She thought to herself. With her experiment out of the way, she looked to see where Daryl was. To her relief he was still where he said he would be.

"Alright..here goes." She said as she started to dash around from rock to rock, placing a hand on each one. Daryl could barely keep up with her, as he watched her speed around leaving fire in her wake. As he watched her, he didn't notice that a series of sigils had started to appear around his feet as he watched her continue her strategy.
He smiled, this one had potential, she would go far with the right training. After about a minute she stopped moving, trying to catch her breath, as she looked at him. He continued to watch her.

'Is he that over confident…or is there something more to this…' She started to think about but shook her head quickly. She needed to focus now. She needed to remember the aspects she thought about earlier. Hell was a prison, and if it was a prison.…She opened her eyes, a great inferno burning within them.

"HERE GOES!" She said as she slammed her palm to the ground. In an instant Daryl watched as the sigils appeared upon the stones. He was not expecting this but he was far from disappointed as chains began to spring from them, shackling him in place. He smirked. "Incredible, what else do you have in mind?" He said, as he looked at his own restrained form.

Cynthia was confused by his attitude, he wasn't even struggling, but then she thought to her self about what her chains could accomplish. They were used to shackle demons, and if that was the case there had to be special properties to it. She pictured what the chains would do in her mind.

Cynthia smirked, having a clear vision, before she looked at him. "You should be careful what you wish for." She said as she raised a hand, and the smaller sigils below him expanded and mixed forming a larger sigil. Daryl looked at around at the stones that the sigils were on and then at the sigil beneath him. He watched as they all started to glow..

He smirked "I see! So that's your plan!" He said as he finally started to try and escape from the binding. For some reason though, he found he couldn't. He looked confused, before noticing some sort of energy traveling the length of the chains and being absorbed by the sigils they came from. "What's this?"

His opponent smiled as she watched her trick work "I actually got the idea from you. See, my Devil Fruit is the Mutt Mutt Fruit: Model Hellhound. It lets me transform into a hellhound and control flames." She said before holding up a finger. "Then I had a thought. If Mythical Zoan embody what they make you, then what else could my powers do? So thanks to you I experimented a little." She said referring to the time she hid behind the rocks.

Daryl grinned, definitely a fast learner like he thought. "Go on." He encouraged her to continue.
Cynthia smiled and did so. "A Hellhound is a guardian of Hell, so it would stand to reason that they can also use aspects of hell." She said as she pointed to one of the chains.

"So right now, you're being restrained by the chains of Hell." She said, as she looked at him.

"And the reason you're not able to escape is because these chains have to be strong enough to hold demons. How do they do that you might wonder?" She asked before answering her own question, "By absorbing the power of those demons, so they end up fueling the very chains that bind them.".

Cynthia was pleased when she watched Daryl's eyes widen in realization. "Looks like you figured it out." She said with a grin, as she pointed right at him. "Right, now your extra power is leaving your body, and being absorbed by those chains, leaving you with only minor strength." Cynthia said with a grin.

Daryl looked surprised as she finished her explanation, before letting out an incredibly cheerful laugh. "Amazing! Truly an inspired use of your abilities! And what of the other sigil?" He asked as he saw it flare up.

The hybrid Zoan smiled at his question as she changed her pointed finger to an open hand.. "That is what's gonna finish this fight." She said as the sigil glowed even brighter and brighter until embers licked at Daryl's boots. Cynthia grinned as she shouted the name of her newest attack.

"INFERNAL SPIRE!"

The sigil sparked as the name was called and Cynthia looked at her opponent, before noticing he was smiling he looked at her with an expression of satisfaction, as he lowered his arms, resigning himself to his fate.

"Well done…" He said, with a sad smile.

With that a pillar of fire erupted around him! Cynthia frowned as she watched the pillar begin to burn away at her opponent…As she watched him burn, she looked at the chains. The energy that had been travelling the length of them had disappeared, signifying his extra power had left him.
His clothes started to burn away as his skin was set ablaze. Cynthia thought back to how friendly and kind he had been during their fight. He was her enemy but he was also honorable, and the way he had just stopped struggling at the end. It was almost like…

The young woman made her decision, as she closed her hand, letting the sigil slowly fade and the fire go out. Daryl was still there. Thanks to her chains she could tell he was alive, and from the looks of him he was still conscious.

He panted and grunted, his body covered in burns marks. "Why did you stop? I am your enemy. You must defeat me to save your friend." He said, as he looked at her in genuine surprise.

Cynthia looked down sadly. "You're right. I have to defeat you to help Sora…but that doesn't mean I have to kill you." She said as she looked down at his form, still chained.
Daryl had wide eyes before shaking his head and shouting at her. "I can still break out of these, and if I do, this will have been for nothing!" Daryl said, sounding furious and desperate.

"KILL ME! YOU MUST IF YOU WANT TO HELP HIM!" He said roaring in frustration.

Cynthia looked down at him. "You know…I kept wondering why you chose to give me advice during our fight. You let me attack you non stop at the start of the fight, which I thought was strange." She said before continuing.

"Then you told me your power, and I thought that was why you did that."

Daryl grunted. "Of course that's why, I just needed to power myself up so I could fight you!" Cynthia looked him in the eyes. "Then why didn't you just block my attacks?" She asked simply.

Daryl opened his mouth unsure what to say. He stuttered, "B-Because you were too fast!" He said, trying to argue her points, but Cynthia shook her head. "No, that's not why. You were able to block my punches later in the fight. You made it look like you were learning my attack patterns."

She said before finishing. "The truth is you could have beaten me when ever you wanted. With your speed boost you could have dodged the chains, and even at the start of their absorption you had the power to break free of them. You could have blocked every single one of the punches I landed on you if you wanted to." She said as she looked at the man. "You were holding back the whole time."

The man was left with his mouth open, before he looked down. He no longer looked like the proud man she had come to know during her fight with him. He looked….broken. He nodded at the girls as he sighed, he suddenly looked much older…much more tired.
"You're right" He looked up and gave a small empty laugh.

Cynthia looked confused and so she started to question him, wanting to find out the truth.

"Why though…didn't you say you wanted to protect your captain."
Daryl frowned as he looked to the ground, seeing the burn parts of his clothing scattered on the ground. He then turned his head up and told her the truth.

"Because I deserve death."

Cynthia had to take a moment to let that sink in. She was surprised that he would jump to such and extreme. "Why do you deserve to die? What about your honor that you were so proud of back during our fight?" She asked as she stepped back slightly.

Daryl looked away ashamed, as he responded. "My honor has long been taken from me! Not by anyone else, but my own foolish whims!" He said as Cynthia watched the full man begin to break down into tears before her eyes.

"It's my fault! It's all my fault. If things had been different, that boy wouldn't have turned out this way!" He said, as he sobbed, showing a side of him she had not seen this whole time.

Cynthia was taken aback by his change in demeanor. Here he was a grown man crying before an enemy who he barely even knew. "W-what do you mean?"

He looked up with tears in his eyes. "It's my fault Sakai is doing this. It was my fault he was driven to this. If it wasn't for me…Sakai would still have his father…"
Shocked, Cynthia could only ask the one burning question she had in her mind. "W-what happened?"

Daryl sighed and tried to collect himself. "Well, I guess I at least owe you that much for beating me…" He looked at the chains. "Would you mind?" He asked, to which Cynthia nodded and allowed her chains to release him, enabling him to sit down on the ground.

He took a moment to think about how to start this. He then looked directly at her. "The truth is, Cob, myself and Sakai's father were all friends. We toasted cups when we were younger…We were always together…"

He looked like he was lost in thought, he smiled fondly as he remembered the days of the past. "We traveled all over the world exploring places far and wide. Eventually we made friends, and before we knew it, we had a crew with us, sailing the open sea's without a care in the world. We weren't well known at the beginning so none of us received bounties right away. We tried to stay out of the way of the navy and did have to fight the occasional pirate."

Cynthia smiled, it sounded nice, being able to see all sorts of interesting places with friends you cared about. She looked at him concerned though.

"So…what happened?"

Daryl continued, with a neutral expression. "As we fought more and more pirates, we soon made a name for ourselves as bounty hunters. We were good, really good." He said before smiling fondly once more. "But Sakai's father was the strongest of us. He could do things I could only dream of doing. The way he fought was like nothing I had ever seen."

His smile turned to rage as he thought about what happened next. "The only problem is, we found out something that the government didn't want known. And just like that, we we're suddenly criminals." He said, before trying to take some breathes and calm down.

Cynthia frowned as she heard this news, there were only a few things she could think of that would make the World Government suddenly turn on someone. Granted there were probably more, but she had a hunch of what it was. Cynthia looked at him deadly serious.

"Was it a Ponyglyph?"

Daryl looked shocked at what he heard. "H-how?" He asked in disbelief
Cynthia shook her head as she felt an anger growing inside her. "That's not important right now, what is important is you telling me who you know that could read them!"
Daryl shot back a little, in surprise, she seemed frantic.

"S-Sakai's mother…she once studied in Ohara before heading out to sea. She was a talented swordswoman, with a kind soul and sharp blade."

Cynthia frowned as she thought about this for a moment. "And Sakai's father, how did he die?"

Daryl laughed hollowly. "Because I was a fool. When we found the damn thing we were just exploring some ruins. Sakai's mother, Selene, happened to come across it, she ended up showing us. A couple days later, we found our bounty in the next paper."

Cynthia let out a sigh. "That will do it." She looked at him again, skeptically. "So, what's your actual bounty." She asked curiously.

Daryl laughed nervously about that. "Sorry about that…I didn't want to intimidate you as all. If I had you probably wouldn't have fought me." He said before pointing to himself with his thumb.

"My actual bounty is 600 million" He said with a grin.

The hybrid just about fell over at that. "S-s-six HUNDRED million." She said taking a step back before she fainted.
Daryl laughed at her reaction. "Yeah, sorry about that, like I said, you would have run for the hills if I had told you." He said rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

Cynthia nodded as she tried to collect herself. "So you're telling me, your a New World level pirate?" He asked, astonished.

Daryl grinned before he turned his arm black. "Yep, I've been on these sea's for a good 20 years." He said grinning allowing her a chance to recover, but he stopped at he saw her expression change.

Cynthia had stars in her eyes. "You gotta show me how to do that!" She asked eager turn learn ways to do more damage with her fighting style.
Daryl looked at her surprised before laughing. "Sure, i'll show you how it's done." He said with a grin, before getting serious again. "But lets stay on topic for now." He said to which Cynthia blushed embarrassed.

She looked at him as he began to tell her the story of Sakai's death.

Daryl frowned, as he recalled the day vividly. "It was a week after our bounties had been posted. At the time my bounty wasn't that high, and I was nowhere near as strong as I am now."

He said before continuing.

"I made a decision that cost Sakai's father his life." He said with a frown. "I tried to bargain with them. I wanted out bounties removed. We had treasure that we didn't know what to do with, so I went to the nearest base."

Cynthia heard this and frowned. "There's no chance they would have let you go after that, even if you offered the treasure."

Daryl nodded. "You're right, I was foolish back then, and it almost cost me my life." He said before thinking back. "It was only thanks to my brothers and my friends that I made it out of there."

Cynthia watched as expression shifted once again. "So why weren't you all able to make it out?" She asked worried by the answer he might give.

"We got trapped…They took me hostage…while Cob…He was told to take one of Nagai's swords and kill him…His own brother…" He said tearily. "Cob, he begged them not to force him. They didn't listen…it was either Nagai died or all three of us died…The others were busy in another part of the base, trying to fight their way out." He said…


Flashback.

It was stormy day that evening as Daryl was held in a cell, chained and was set to be executed the next day. He had given up hope on a rescue. He had caused this, there was no way the others would come. Imagine his surprise when he heard the sounds of fighting nearby.

Looking outside the cell he was locked in, he was surprised to see the familiar face of one of his brothers.

"Nagai! What the hell are you doing here?" He asked the man, who simply smiled at his brother. "Saving your ass idiot, come on lets go!" He said as he tried to slash bars. To his dismay, they didn't break.

"Damn it. Suki you're up!"

A young woman with cheetah ears and a tail smiled as she pulled out some tools. "No problem! I'll have this open in a jiffy!" She said with a grin, as she looked at the lock.
"Lets see, turn it this way, then that, way…." She muttered before smiling as she heard a click. "There we go!" She said as she quickly opened the door.

Sakai entered the cell and quickly slashed away the chains restraining him.
Daryl rubbed his hands a little as he looked at the two. "Where are the others." He said as he exited the cell and followed after them.

Nagai grinned, "Providing us a distraction so we can get you out of here."
He pulled out a transponder snail and made a call to the other crewmates. "Selene head to the ship, we're pulling out!"
A female voice on the other line responded. "Got it! Be careful, there's alot of them." She said with a worried expression.

Nagai just grinned. "Aren't I always careful?" He said much to his crewmates disapproval.
"No, you're a reckless idiot." She said before grinning, "But you're also stronger than anyone I've ever known. Give em hell!"

Sakai nodded and dialed another number. "How we doing Tsuna?" He asked to which a voice calmly replied.
"Good, I'm ready at the ship in case any of you get hurt." Another voice said with a calm tone.

Sakai nodded before dialing another number. "Big Bro, time to go!" He said, but he heard a heavy panting on the other end.

"Nagai…I..I think we have a problem.."
The three stopped their run as they looked at the snail. "What kind of problem."
"The kind that has 8 swords." He said as soon as the connection was cut off.

"Cob? Cob, are you there?" He asked but cursed as he realized he had lost him. "Damn it! This changes things."

He looked at Suki, "Get the others to the ship, and watch yourself. We don't know if there are other officers around."
Suki looked at him with a serious expression. "Got it, leave it to me boss man!" She said as she changed to a cheetah and sped off down the hallway.

Nagai looked at Daryl. "You ready for this?" He asked, his middle brother.
The man grinned. "Do you even have to ask?" He said as the two made there way outside. They looked as the marines turned to them.

"There they are! Get them!" One of the marines shouted as he rushed at the the two.

Nagai had serious expression on his face, as he looked at the marines. He unsheathed his swords and looked at the group.
"Two Sword Style: Bloody Sky!" He said as he disappeared and reappeared behind the group of marines..releasing a flurry of red and blue slashes.
The marines stopped before all at once wounds opened up on their bodies, as they all collapsed.

Daryl grinned as he saw his brother deal with all of them at once. He ran after him as they fought their way through them all. He grunted as he received a cut from behind. The marine smirked before he saw that the cut started to glow red.

The man who had just watched this screamed the only thing he could think of "What the hell!?" Is all he got out before he was bashed into a wall.

The group soon made it to Cob, who was holding his position behind with his duel pistols. "What took you so long." He asked rhetorically before firing a shot from his position at one of the marines on the other side of the dock they were fighting on.
Nagai grinned, "Sorry, got a little held up, come on, we need to pull out of here."

"You will do no such thing, Pirate scum." A voice said, as a man stepped forward.
The group frowned as they saw the man, he was wearing an officer's coat on, and behind his head six spider-like legs protruded, each one ending in a hand that held a blade. He also carried two himself.

"You will die here, and none of you shall be making it out of here alive." He said with a grin.

Nagai frowned as he saw the man. "You in charge here?"

The man before them grunted. "Show some respect scum, you're speaking to Read Admiral Onigumo."

He said as he pointed a blade at them. "You damn pirates…Always getting in the way of things. I've had enough of it. I'm going to kill each of you."

Nagai smirked. "Not likely." He said as he rushed at him. "Daryl! Cob! Keep those other guys off me! I'll handle him!" He said as soon he and Onigumo were trading blows, sword met sword, as Nagai was somehow able to keep up with the man who had eight blades.

Daryl was impressed by this before he felt someone slice him again.

"Damn pirates! You'll pay for this!" He said, but Daryl just grabbed him.

"We're not pirates! WE'RE ADVENTURERS!" He said as he through the man to the other side of the dock where he landed on the ground.

"Who's next!? HUH!? I GOT PLENTY OF FIGHT IN ME!" Daryl roared before feeling a stab from behind him. Turning around he was shocked to see a female marine, she had run him through with a blade and smirked evilly as she removed it. Daryl felt his strength fading fast as she stepped on his back sending him to the floor.

"DARYL!" Both Cob and Nagai screamed before Onigumo used the distraction to knock one of Nagai's swords away.

Nagai let out a curse before Onigumo kicked him backwards sending him right next to Cob and his sword. Nagai struggled to stand but slowly grabbed his sword.
"Nagai! Are you alright?" He asked as he looked down at his friend still firing at the marines.
Nagai nodded but then he looked up at the the situation that had unfolded.

Onigumo had approached Daryl's downed form and had him held at sword point.

"Well done, ensign. I'll see you promoted for this." He said to the woman who had done him in.

The woman saluted him. "Thank you sir!"

Onigumo nodded before turning to the other two, who had yet to be apprehended. The one with the two swords, seemed to be the leader of this group. A smirk formed on his face as he thought of something to deal with this problem.

"You pirates, alway causing mayhem and havoc wherever you go. Why do so many of you refuse to obey the laws set in place?"
He said before looking at Nagai. "I offer you a chance to redeem yourself."

Nagai and Cob looked confused by what he said. "What are you saying?" He asked, worriedly.

Onigumo smirked. "I'm saying I will let you all go, you claim to be adventurers, but this one." He pointed at the Nagai. "Is guilty of killing multiple officers on this very base."

He then continued. "If you wish to escape, kill the one next to you." He said with a serious expression. "If you do, I'll let you all go."
Cob looked baffled. "W-what you're crazy!? We're not gonna do that just because you said so!"

Onigumo nodded. "So then you don't care if punch a few holes in your friend here then?" He said as he moved his swords closer to Daryl.
Daryl shook his head at the two. "DON'T DO THIS! LEAVE ME! THIS IS MY FAULT TO BEGIN WITH!"

"Shut it!" The woman lashed out with a kick to his head, and grinned. "Pirate scum like you need to learn when to be quiet." She said smiling.

Nagai thought about for a moment, looking around, there was no way they were going to make it out of this without some form of deal. "No choice huh…" He said before he simply laughed. "Well, I guess that's the end of that…" He said as he turned to Cob. "Cob…" He said seriously as he unbuttoned his shirt… "Kill me."

Cob looked at him. "Are you crazy! No, we'll get out of this!"

Nagai shook his head. "There's no way that we will be able to beat them. They've probably called for support. If we wait too long the others will be in danger. This is the only chance we have of escaping…" He said…before looking down.. "I want you to take Aoi Kumo and Akai Kumo.." He gestured to his swords…a sky blue and blood red pair of katana's.

Cob was in tears as he looked at him "I can't, what about Selene?"

Daryl looked panicked as well. "NAGAI YOU CAN'T DO THIS! DON'T WORRY ABOUT ME! JUST GET OUT OF HERE!" He screamed as he struggled to get up from the man holding him in place.

"Silence!" The man said as he stabbed Daryl in the hand with a sword.

"AGH!" He screamed, causing the two to look over.

"Cob, we don't have a choice." He said, as he looked at the he said.

Cob was petrified…he turned to his captive brother. "D-Daryl.." He turned and looked at his youngest brother. "Naga-" He didn't get a chance to finish before he suddenly felt someone hug him from the front. He paled as he saw what had happened. Aoi Kumo had penetrated Nagai chest and was sticking out the other side. He felt arms wrap behind his head.

"Listen..Selene is pregnant…you…you ..I..I want you to take care of my child when he's born….Please promise me that." He said as life slowly left his body…

Cob was in tears as he heard the request but could only nod. "I..I promise" He said as he sobbed into the neck of the one he called brother.

Nagai smiled… "Thank you…and don't blame yourself…this isn't your fault…" He said as he slumped into Cob's arms, the feeling in his legs leaving him. "I'll always love you…thanks big bro…"

With that, his arms fell to his side…Cob held him, and fell to his knees, sobbing as he weeped for his younger brother..

Daryl tried furiously to get free, as he tried to get his fruit to work but nothing happened.

Onigumo smirked. "What a fool. To think he could stand against Justice." He said before turning to the others. "And now, you will join him."

Daryl looked at the man furious by what he said. "WHY!? YOU SAID YOU WOULD LET US GO IF HE KILLED HIM!"

The Rear Admiral just laughed. "As if I'd ever let criminals like you escape. Justice is absolute. There is no room for mercy. No compromise shall be given when dealing with criminals!"

The woman looked at her superior, "Oh, let me do it! Please sir, I promise to finish him off." She said to which Onigumo sneered. "Very well, finish this ensign Rumiko."

Rumiko grinned and walked up to Cob, pulling out a pistol as she held it to his temple. "For what it's worth, this is what you deserve for being Pirates in the first place. Don't hold it against me, okay?"

Cob heard this, and his mind went blank. He thought about all the times they shared together, how they grew up. How Nagai was so happy to just be able to explore a world so vast and amazing as the one they lived in…
Cob saw Red as he turned and looked directly at the woman with the gun.

Rumiko frowned. "What are you-" She didn't finish as she felt a wave of pressure hit her, so strong it knocked out everyone except Onigumo himself.

The spider-armed man staggered back away from Daryl, and before he could even comprend what had happened, a sword slashed across his forehead leaving a nasty wound that nearly took off the top of his head.

"AGH BASTARD!" He said as he tried to reply with a swing, but a kick sent him flying backwards into a pile of boxes.

Daryl was shocked and confused, before rushing over to Nagai, horrified to see him dead, but knew there was no time to mourn. "COB WE HAVE TO GO!"

Cob looked at the man who had been the cause of all this. He turned and ran, leaving the man for dead, and taking the twin katanas with him. Daryl took the body of his younger brother and brought him with them.

End of Flashback


Cynthia was left silent as Daryl finished his tale. "We made it back to the ship, but…it didn't matter. Everyone had gone in to rescue me, but Nagai paid the price for it. Sakai thinks it's Cob's fault, he overheard something he shouldn't have and after he did, he took Akai Kumo and came to find me. Ever since then, I've been looking after the boy."

Cynthia frowned as she thought about all she had heard from the man.

"I'm sorry…I can't begin to imagine what that's like." She said with a frown…before looking at the man. "But what I do know is that it isn't your fault. It's that bastard's fault, and the World Governments fault." She said firmly.

Daryl looked at her wide eyed and confused. "B-but I was the one who tried to bargain with them!"

Cynthia replied with a firmness he hadn't expected from the young woman. "Maybe, but it was the government who put it on you in the first place."
She knelt down next to the older man and wrapped her arms around the man, trying to comfort him.

Daryl could only cry softly, before letting a large smile cross his lips. "You know what…you may be a hellhound…but you have a heart from heaven, young lady." He said, causing Cynthia to smile as she released him from the hug.

Daryl smiled and rubbed his nose. "Thank you, and please…stop him ... .He shouldn't have to go through this alone. He needs friends by his side, and what's more, I know that's all he wants."

Cynthia nodded, "Don't worry, Sora and I will knock some sense into him. You just focus on getting better." She said as she stood up and was about to rush off to find the two of them, before she stopped and turned back to the older man.

"Hey, could you tell me and Sora more about your adventures on the Grandline after this?" She asked.

Daryl looked at her before letting out his signature laugh "I'd be happy to, I've got some great one's that I can share with the both of you."
Cynthia smiled at him. "Thanks old man." She said before turning. "Wish me luck!" She said as she took off running to where she thought the fighting might be taking place.

Wow, this was a long one. Longer than I'm used to, but hopefully that will be the case as I get more used to writing. I really hope you enjoyed this one.
On a side note, I'm looking for editor's, I could really use someone who could help describe the appearance of these characters. I'm completely terrible at describing clothing.

Also I'm looking for OC's for the story if anyone wants to submit one, just let me know in a PM. I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

Next time it's Sora vs Sakai.