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.

Sora and Sakai had been running for awhile now, they had passed through the small wooded area and arrived at the old town. The old town was a series of old looking buildings that had been evacuated first when the attack started.

He looked around and saw that he had found a pretty clear area in the middle of the place. Plenty of space to fight and if there was any property damage, no one would be hurt.

"This looks like a good spot." He said as he turned to Sakai who simply smiled at him. "Good, the faster we can get this done, the faster I can claim my prize," he said as he unsheathed his blade, the same blood red katana that Sora had briefly seen him use against Cob. He got a better look at it this time and couldn't help but appreciate the intricate details of the blade. It had wispy cloud-like patterns going along the length of it. Sora gave it a careful glance as he looked it over.

'I wonder…' He thought to himself as he noticed how well made it appeared to be.
Sakai watched as Sora looked at his blade, and frowned. "What's up?"

Sora looked at him, before pointing to the blade. "That sword…it's a named blade isn't it? Probably a Ryōwazamono, or higher if I had to guess.." He said as he examined the sword from a distance.

Sakai looked at him in surprise for a moment before smirking. "You've got a good eye." He said before holding his sword out and pointing it at Sora. "This is Akai Kumo, or Red Cloud. One of two swords owned by my father and passed down to me after his passing. It is indeed one of the Ōwazamono."

The young wolf Zoan whistled as he looked the blade over. Credit where it was due, the blade looked very well kept and was in pristine condition. "It's impressive, I'll say that much. My sword honestly can't compare to something like that." He said as he drew it from its sheath, a normal katana. He wanted something to practice with Cob, who had been an absolute slave driver these last two months. It wasn't anything special but it was what he had to deal with.

Sakai looked at the blade. "Listen, not sure what you're gonna do with that, but before we get into this, I wanna offer you a choice." The man said, causing Sora to blink in confusion. "What kind of choice?" He asked unsure what this person had in mind. Sakai's smile turned to a serious neutral expression. "Simple. I'm offering you the choice to live. Leave now, and you won't have to give your life up for something stupid."

Sora paused at that…"What do you mean, 'Stupid?'" Which caused Sakai to frown as he heard that.

"I mean you won't have to die for someone like the old bastard you saved earlier with that little stunt of yours." He said with a scoff, before continuing. "I mean this isn't really any of your business in the first place, so why don't you just leave it alone and go on your way." Sora listened as he took all this in. His expression slowly turning to anger as Sakai continued.

"Just get out of here now, and I promise not to touch a hair on you or your friends." He said before smiling. "What do you think? Pretty good deal right? You get to leave and the old man gets to die. I'd say i'm being-"

"SHUT IT!"

Sakai paused as his expression turned to one of surprise again, he watched as he saw that Sora was gripping his sword tightly as he looked down at the blade.

Sora remembered all of the times Cob had been strict with him during their training so far. How he had thrown him around and run him ragged, then he thought about all the fun he had going fishing with the old man to help them make ends meet.

"I might not have known the man for a long time…but he saved my life." He said, shocking Sakai, who could only listen as Sora continued. "He's been looking after me since then, me and Cynthia both…" He said fondly, before looking at Sakai.

"You may not think this is any of my business, but I won't let you kill the man I owe my life to!"
He said as he laid down the gauntlet.

Sakai held the same expression, before sighing and then looking at him seriously.

"Well…I tried…don't go blaming me when you end up dead. Alright?" He asked rhetorically before slowly resheathing his blade.

Sora smirked as he looked at his opponent. "I won't make it easy for you." He said as he prepared his own sword as well, holding the sword out to his right.

Sakai smirked when he heard this. "That's just the way I like it." He said making Sora frown before he watched Sakai get into a stance that he had seen back in his own world. The swordsman grinned ferally. "Well then….Here I come."

In the next instant Sakai took off like a bolt of lightning, and as he approached him he quickly unsheathed his blade trying to end the fight with a quick Iaido slash but he was surprised as Sora barely got his own sword up in time to block the incoming slash. Sakai smirked and turned on a dime going for his blind spot. He frowned though as Sora was able to block this one as well.

Sakai leapt back to get some distance, but Sora went after him and swung with a downward sweep. Sakai barely managed to dodge and his eyes widened as he saw the small slash mark in the terrain below him. Sakai turned back just in time to block another slash, this one aiming for his shoulder. Sakai and Sora landed locked in a sword struggle, as the two tried to overpower the other.

Sora grunted as he realized he was being overpowered. He quickly came up with an idea, and decided to try it. Sakai smiled as he seemed to get Sora down on one knee, before something suddenly sent the two of them flying. Sakai was able to stick the landing without much effort, but Sora wasn't as lucky as he landed on his back.

Sakai saw this and decided to capitalize on it, jumping up into the air and stabbing down at his prone opponent.

Sora's eyes widened as he quickly rolled out of the way, before coming to a knee and trying to slash at the man. Sakai simply smirked and proceeded to hold himself up with one hand on his sword, effectively avoiding the strike, and Sora had only a second to get his other hand up before a kick slammed into his side sending him tumbling.
Sakai smirked as he landed, and then removed his blade from the ground. He slowly approached his opponent.

"Can't you do any better than this?!" He asked before he was on him again. Sora frowned and then pushed off the ground with his hands as he landed a double kick to Sakai's stomach. Sakai was sent staggering backwards, but before he could recover, he felt a blast of wind send him tumbling. He looked up just in time to see another blade of wind come sailing right towards him. Sakai dodged to the side, before spinning in mid air, and sending his own red flying slash at Sora.

The wind user didn't have time to dodge, so instead, he decided to cancel out the strike with one of his own. Swinging his sword he released another blade of wind. The two slashes clashed before canceling out. Sakai landed before grinning at the man.

"Come on, is this all you've got? I'm barely even getting started!" He said as he jumped high in the air and went for a kick that would have made Might Guy proud. Sora avoided it, and was shocked when he saw a small dent in the earth where the kick had landed. Sakai wasn't just a good swordsman it seemed; he also had physical strength to match.

Sora quickly capitalized on his opponent's kneeling form and sent three wind empowered slashes towards his opponent. Sakai looked confused before one of the slashes cut into his shoulder. Sakai quickly jumped out of the way of the last two before landing and looking at the twin slash marks that appeared on the building behind him. He frowned as he looked at the result. "This could be more trouble than I thought." as he turned to look at Sora. "But still…it's not gonna be enough to stop me."

Sora grimaced as he looked at the man before a thought came to mind to give him a chance to catch his breath for a moment. "Before we continue, what's your name? You're strong enough so you must have a bounty and a title to go with it."

Sakai blinked before rubbing the back of his head. "Oh right, sorry my bad. I guess I got carried away." He said before leaning the blunt of his sword on his shoulder and looking alot more relaxed.

"My name is Sakai, and my epitaph is The Red Cloud, given to me after the name of my sword for one. And also because I tend to leave a mess where I go. Sorry in advance." He said not looking sorry at all. "My bounty… is 120 Million Berries" He said with a smirk.

Sora's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, and his mouth fell open. "120 MILLION!? ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?". Now he was more concerned than before. Not only did this guy have a named sword, but he also had a bounty of over 100 million.

Sakai smirked as he saw Sora's expression shift. "Offer still stands, if you want to run, i'll let you go." He said with a grin, before sheathing his sword. "What do you say? Let's just let bygones be bygones."

Sora gritted his teeth, as he looked down at his chest wound, and how apart from a scratch or two he hadn't done much damage to Sakai. He looked at his opponent before letting out a sigh of resignation.

"As much as I hate to admit it..I can't beat you the way I am right now."
He said frowning as he stared at his more skilled opponent, making Sakai grin happily as he smiled at Sora

"Great, then I'll just be on my-"

"But that doesn't matter."

Sakai's grin fell once more as he heard this, before giving the young man a glare. "Oh and why is that?"

Sora looked at him with a intense expression of determination. "Because I'll fight, and die, protecting the things I care about." He said, as he realized the meaning of his words. If he went through with this, odds are he would end up dying.

This guy was high above his weight class, and there wasn't much he could do. Even with the powers of Mythical Zo-.

Sora stopped as a he suddenly had an ephiphany. 'THAT'S IT!'
He looked at his hands and smiled. 'Sky Wolf…maybe…maybe that could work…' He started as he closed his eyes, and wind started to gather around him.

Sakai frowned as he saw his opponent shut his eyes. "Whatever your planning won't work, and I'm afraid you're wrong about that."
He said as he got into a new stance putting his hand on his sheathed blade as he prepared to unleash another powerful strike.

"You'll just die a fool." He said as he bolted in again and prepared to finish the fight. Much to his surprise though, all he ended up striking was air.

"What the hell?" He asked, before he felt something blast him in the back sending him tumbling. Sakai tried to get up and looked to where he had been struck, just in time as two blades of wind went sailing towards him. Sakai barely avoided one, before having to cut through another. He looked at where they had launched from, but was surprised to see no one there.

It was only thanks to his experience that he was able to dodge the next slash in time, and he finally got a good look at Sora. He had a new expression on, one of serious determination, and as Sakai tried to retaliate with a strike of his own, he watched as Sora seemed to pivot out of the way before landing a pommel strike to his cheek, wind erupting from the point of impact and sending him tumbling away.

Sakai got up this time, and realized he had a taste of iron in his mouth. He spit out a bit of blood as he looked at his opponent.
"Alright, so there's some bite to back up that bark. But do you really think that will be enough?"

He said as he sheathed his sword "One Sword Style: Bloody Slashes!" He performed his multi draw ranged attack sending flying red slashes at his opponent. Sora matched them, sending his own slashes of winds to cancel out each one of them. Afterwards he dashed to the left in a blur, trying to circle around behind Sakai again for another strike.

This time his sword was blocked.

"I'm not stupid enough to fall for that again." He said as parried, and lashed out with a counter.
That's when something baffling happened. The swing missed, as Sora somehow gilded backwards out of striking distance.

Sakai looked confused before he saw the dust swirling at Sora's feet as he moved. "So that's it. You're using the wind to both increase your speed and give you a wide range of movement to avoid attacks that normally are inescapable."
Sora frowned as he heard this, cursing internally. 'Well the cat's out of the bag, but I should still be able to keep up with him now at least.'

Sakai frowned, this wasn't part of the plan. He didn't expect to run into someone like this. The plan was simple. Come to the island, loot it, kill Cob who was well past his prime, and leave with Aoi Kumo. Now he had to deal with this new enemy who at first seemed like nothing that special. Somehow though, he had thought of a way to keep up with him.

"Wow, honestly I'm impressed you managed something like that." He said, giving him a clap, before frowning. "I'd be more impressed, if I was also so pissed now. Now I'll show you how fast I can really move."

With that he blurred towards Sora who in turn blurred out of the way, as he tried to avoid his foe's speedy assault. It's not like he was completely on the defensive though. He was still able to land a few strikes of his own. For every one he landed though, he received two more in return. If he didn't find a way to avoid his attacks…he wouldn't last much longer. Sora glided out of the way as Sakai leaped up and struck down on the ground with an axe kick, before he and Sakai were dashing back and forth between each other, moving as fast as each of them could.

Sora stopped and pivoted, going for a strike on one of Sakai's legs, hoping to remove his speed advantage. Unfortunately, the more experienced swordsman leaped over it, and gave a backflip kick to Sora's chin for his trouble, making it hard for Sora to concentrate on his movement technique. Sakai capitalized, landing and then lunging forth with a downward strike. Sora saw this and quickly raised his arm and released a blast of wind that sent Sakai flying away. He tried to stop himself but couldn't as he slammed right through the wall of one of the abandoned buildings.

At least it should have been abandoned, but when the man shoved himself up off the floor of the room, he stopped as he heard a voice.

"Oh, boss there you are. Lookie what I found!"

Sakai looked up and saw one of the goons he had hired. He paused wondering why he was here before he stopped as he saw three forms huddled in a corner of the room. A young woman, and two smaller children, looked like they were starving. Like they hadn't eaten in a long time.
Sakai looked at the bald scar faced man who had said this.

"And what of them?" He asked unimpressed.

"Oh right, well I was looking around for some booze cause I just got done looting some rich fucks place, when I saw this fine piece of meat and her two side kicks." He said pointing to the woman who was protecting a pair of children from him behind her back. The young woman looked to be in early 20's and was shivering in fear a little as she tried to stay strong for the kids. Sakai frowned and looked at him.

"Well they aren't bothering anyone, just get your booze and get out of here." Sakai said, making the woman look at him surprised before the thought disappeared.

"Yeah, see here's the thing boss man, I'm in the mood to relax a little. So I was hoping I could play with her a little. The two pipsqueaks are really killing the mood though, mind helping me get rid of em?"

Sakai was getting more angry as he listened to him. "No, and I'm not going to let you harm them either, leave them be." He said, surprising the cornered individuals once more, and making the mohawked grunt look at him.

"Aw come on, I'll even share with you? What do you say, just help me out, and she can be al-"

He didn't get a chance to finish before a sword pierced his chest, the man looked stunned.
"B-bastard…what are yo-" The sword was violently yanked from his chest, and he fell to the floor, a bleeding dead corpse.

Sakai frowned, "Should have never hired these scum…" He said as he walked closer to the girl and the two kids behind her.
The young woman leaned back further against the wall, trying to shield the kids from him. Sakai didn't mind though as he reached into his pocket, and pulled out some bills.

"Use this to get yourself some better clothes, and make sure you get out of here." He said pointing to the door to the establishment. The young woman looked surprised but nodded, and was about to leave. "Oh one more thing." He said as he looted the corpse of the man he just killed. He was looking for something and quickly found it. A loaded gun with some ammo.

He handed it to her. "Use that to defend yourself from anyone else who attacks you." He said to which the woman nodded. "T-thank you um…do you have a name?" She asked, to which the man just shrugged.

"It's Sakai, but I doubt we'll meet again, just get to safety." He said, causing the woman to smile. "Thank you Sakai." She said before the two kids a boy and girl looking to be about 13 and 14 looked at him.

"Thank you mister!" They said before the three left the bar, leaving Sakai to his thoughts. He didn't stay idle for long as he soon exited through the hole he made in the building.

Sora watched as he exited the building looking a little beat up and cut up.
He also watched as a young woman exited the building and ran with her two kids trying to keep up.

He blinked, "What was that about?" He asked Sakai. "Why'd you let them go?" He asked, confused.

Sakai smirked. "They weren't worth killing. I'm here to kill Cob, and loot this place for everything it's worth. Anyone who gets in my way will die, and those who don't are pathetic cowards who can't stand up for themselves." He said as whipped the blood off his sword. "Now where were we?" He said as he lept right back towards Sora with intent to continue their fight.

"Head's up!" A voice shouted, before a pawed boot met his cheek and sent him flying once again. Sora was surprised but thankful to see it was none other than Cynthia who had performed a textbook Dynamic Entry onto the unsuspected swordsman sending him crashing through another building.

Sora smiled at his friend who landed next him. "Glad to see you're okay." He said, giving her a high five, which Cynthia returned with a grin.

"I'm more than okay! I've gotten the hang of some new powers and I really want to try them out sometime." She said as she looked at the hole she had made in the wall.

"Right now though, we have to stop this fight." Sora shook his head as he looked at the same hole. "Not gonna work, he's dead set on taking Cob's head."
Cynthia frowned as she heard this. She closed her eyes as if she was lost in thought before opening them.. "Fine then, i'll talk to him."

Sora was confused and looked at her with wide eyes.. "What good will that do? He's crazy, and he's super strong, like monster level trio strong. We should fight him together that way we can-"

"Sora."

The young man stopped as he looked back at his friend who had a sad expression on her face. She looked like something was bothering her greatly. "Trust me…I need to talk to him."

Sora inspected her face, trying to determine just what she had in mind. When that failed, he sighed and relaxed slightly. "Alright if you think it will help." He said, with a resigned expression. Cynthia smiled at her friend once more. "Thanks Sora, don't worry I'm sure I'll be able to get through to him.

"I'M REALLY GETTING SICK OF BEING BLASTED THROUGH WALLS!" An angry voice screamed from inside the hole. She sweatdropped as she heard this. "After I get him to calm down somehow." Sakai stepped out shortly after and looked for just who had sent him flying, when he spotted a familiar young woman.

"The other wolf Zoan?" He asked in confusion, before that slowly turned to shock and fear as his eyes became wide.

"BUT DARYL WAS FIGHTING YOU, DON'T TELL ME YOU BEAT HIM!"

Cynthia grinned at him and held up one of her hands and made a V with her finger.. "Yep, I fought that Daryl guy and won."

She stopped when she saw just what that had done to the person she was trying to talk out of fighting them.

Sakai's sword was starting to glow an even brighter shade of red, as he looked at her with a furious expression on his face.
He screamed in outrage, "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO HIM!?"

Cynthia panicked and took a step backwards towards Sora. "W-wait! He's fine! Totally fine! He's got some burns but he's alive."

Sora stared at his friend, slowly beginning to doubt that this was the right move. He was about to reach for his sword when he saw Sakai's blade begin to dull in color. He watched as Sakai's shoulders sagged in relief as he quietly said. "Thank god…"

Cynthia sighed in relief before slowly approaching once again. She smiled at him. "Look, let's start over. You're Sakai right? My name is Cynthia." She said with a friendly tone.
Sakai frowned as he heard his name used. "How do you know my name?" Before blinking as he quickly filled in the blank.. "Oh Daryl probably told you, didn't he?"

Cynthia smiled and nodded at him. "Bingo!"

The swordsman sighed as he facepalmed. "Always a talker and a show off." He said as he dragged he shook his head and looked down. He was not prepared for what Cynthia said next.

"He also told me about what happened to your dad." Cynthia said sadly as she looked at him.

Sakai froze up at that and slowly looked up at her as he tried to find some sort of deceit in her eyes. He stopped when he found none and then his eyes turned wide once more as he looked at her in shock.

"W-what, but that's…why would un- I mean why would Daryl do that?"

Cynthia looked at him with a serious and pleading expression. "Because he knows this isn't who you are. You're not a killer Sakai. You don't kill needlessly, you only want to protect what's important to you right?"

Sakai was confused why she said that, but she continued. "I saw you save that family. You didn't have to, they were complete strangers and yet you saved them. I heard what you said, you didn't just leave them to their fate, you can try and play the villain all you want but you have heart just like Sora and I do!"

Sakai frowned as he shook his head and looked away. "Stop it." He said quietly.
But Cynthia didn't stop his request falling on deaf ears as she pushed on. "Please, your Uncle doesn't want this!"

Sakai shook his head as he continued to try and get her to stop. "Be quiet.."
Cynthia shook her head and Sora was getting worried as he watched her, just as she said what she was building up to.

"It's not Cob's fault!"

That was the tipping point, as Sakai's blade roared to life with an angry crimson glow.
"SHUT THE HELL UP!" He said as he gripped his sword tightly.

"Cynthia get back!" Sora screamed but his request fell on deaf ears as he saw his childhood friend stand there, face to face with the angry young man.

Cynthia wanted to take a step back, an inkling of doubt forming in the back of her mind, but she shoved it aside as she stayed put and listened to Sakai vent as his emotions reached their limit.

"WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT IT!? MY FATHER WAS KILLED IN COLD BLOOD BY HIM! THEY WERE BROTHERS AND HE MURDERED HIM!"

Sora stared in shock as he heard this but Cynthia remained still as she let the man continue to vent his anger.

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT IT'S LIKE LIVING WITHOUT A FATHER AND NOT ONLY THAT BUT HAVING TO LIVE WITH THE MAN RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEATH OF YOUR PARENTS!"

Cynthia's eyes widened in shock as he heard this. "W-wait your mother too?" She asked as she realized just what he was saying. Sora heard this and with a bit of reluctance he asked the question he was sure he would regret asking later. "W-what, what do you mean?"

Sakai turned his gaze to Sora who also wanted to take a step back. His eyes full of fury and anger as he looked at Sora.
"You wanna know the truth?"

At this point, Sora was not sure what to say, but slowly he worked up the courage to step forward and stand beside Cynthia. The two looked between each other, before both turned back to him and nodded.

He looked at the two, before the glow on his blade started to calm down, like a fire just as it was about to go out.. "Fine, I'll tell you." He said as he sheathed his sword. Seeing this, Sora decided to do the same. Sakai took a second to think, as he looked away from them and stared into the sky, as if trying to figure out where to start. Soon though he smiled, as the thoughts came to him. He started his side of the story.

"When I was born, my father was never around…It was just my mother, Cob, and Maria." He said nostalgically as he remembered the fond memories of his early childhood. "I used to play with Maria alot…she was like a little sister to me. We did everything together. Cob was like a father to me during those times, strict but not uncaring. Mother was kind and strong, she personally showed me how to swing a sword when I was growing up." He said before looking at the two of them. "My mother and Cob looked after the both of us, and treated us with love and care."

His expression turned to sadness as he continued. "But that changed a decade ago." He said as he gripped his blade tightly.
Sora and Cynthia looked at him before the latter spoke the question they were both thinking of. "What happened?"

Sakai looked at them both before he began his story.
"It started with an incident when I was 8."

Flashback

Sakai was busy practicing his sword swings with a wooden sword in the backyard. His mother was in the middle of teaching him a lesson.
"Nice job Sakai, remember, a sword his extension of yourself. You have to hone it like you would any part of your body." She said with a kind smile as she watched him continue.

"Right!" Sakai said as he continued his routine making the woman smile.

The peace didn't last long though, as the ground suddenly shook and boom was heard in the distance.

"An explosion!?" She asked, shocked by what just happened, when she suddenly saw Cob running up to her.

"Selene! We've got trouble! There's a group of pirates about to attack the town. We have to go!" He said as he holstered his two trusty pistols, Lady and Luck, a pair of colt.45's duel action revolvers.

Selene for her part stopped as she heard this, she nodded and looked at her son.

"Get your sister and get to the shelter. We'll deal with this."
Sakai nodded and went to find his sister, while Selene went inside to her room and with a frown opened a case that she had hidden inside her closet.
Opening the case with gentle care, revealed something she hadn't used in a long while.

A gorgeous katana with a tassel attached to the hilt ending with a small crescent moon. The hilt was wrapped in silver and lavender fabric, at the top of which was the guard that was shaped like a star. The blade is what tied the whole thing together. A moonlight silver, with soft purple patterns ran along the length of the blade. An inscription of the Wano kanji for Moonlight, was placed on both sides of the blade at the point where the guard met steel.

This was her sword, Tsuki No Hikari.

With a sigh she ran her hand along the blade, and gently picked it up, looking at it. She wondered how long it had been since she used it…since she lost him.

Shoving the thoughts aside, the woman grabbed the sheath for her weapon, and sheathed her blade. She ran out of the room, forgetting to close her closet the rush she was in.

At the port of town things were in a panic.

"KILL EM ALL! RANSACK THE HOUSES AND TAKE THE WOMAN! THEY'LL BE A FINE PRIZE FOR US!" A scraggly bearded captain said as he directed his crew to pillage the town.

"YEAAAAAAAAAAH!" The crew screamed as they ran into the town and started attacking anyone in their way, a few tried to stop them, but they were cut down, as the pirates started to pillage and plunder.

One particular pirate had cornered a woman and was reaching out to grab him, before a bullet landed in the back of his head and fell down with a slump. The woman looked at who had saved her and was relieved when she saw a familiar face.

"Cob, thank goodness." The woman said, as she looked at the man.

He nodded and fired at a man that was coming up to attack him while he was distracted, the bullet landing in his head as he fell to the ground with a bloody head wound that wouldn't heal.

Cob looked at the woman. "Get to the shelter, and please be careful."The woman nodded and ran to the shelter.

A group of three pirates ran at Cob while he was watching her run."You'll pay for that you bastard!" One said, as the group converged on him. They didn't get any further as in almost an instant, with a flash of light, their blades were cut in half along with the crew. There bisected forms sending a message to the rest of the pirates that a new threat had appeared.That threat was in the form of a woman, with lavender purple hair that went down to her shoulders.
She looked at the pirates and firmly stated her demands.

"I'll give you one chance, leave the island. Now." She said before gesturing to the bodies on the ground. "Unless you want to end up like them." She said with a finality in her eyes that made the pirates step away from her.

They were about to turn tail and run, when a voice spoke out. "What a bunch of useless hunks of flesh you all are. Back away, I'll deal with this." A large man said with a cloth executioner's mask, as he stepped forward, carrying two giant bazooka's, one on each shoulder.Cob didn't move, and Selene looked unimpressed.

"You the boss here?" She asked with little care.
The man laughed loudly. "Please, if the captain was here, you'd all be in hell by now." He said with a grin, before looking at her. "I'm gonna deal with you myself then I'll be promoted to officer!" He said, as Selene frowned unsure by what the man meant.

She shook her head. It didn't matter right now. She had to focus.

"Look dumbass, last chance to walk away, if you don't things are only gonna get worse for you." Selene said, as she gave her final warning.

The man fumed. "Like hell I'm running from some dumb bitch with a fancy sword. I'm gonna take your head and rip it off your neck before showing it to the boss as my prize!" He said as he fired his guns at the woman.

Selene didn't move as the shots approached her. Suddenly her arm snapped out, and the two projectiles were cut in half, half way before reaching her. The grunt smiled as he thought he had dealt with the problem, only for him to take a step back as the smoke cleared and he saw her.
Selene was visibly twitching, as she gripped her sword, she looked at the man.

"Fine then…" She said slowly as she gripped her blade.

"You first." She said as she knelt down, holding her blade before sprinting forward quickly unsheathing it.

The grunt looked at the others. "DON'T JUST STAND THERE! SHOOT HER!" He said, before he felt something strange. Or rather, it was the fact that he didn't feel anything below his head. An impact on the ground was brought to attention, as he looked up at the woman he was grinning at him malevolently. "That was for not leaving." She said before rearing back her foot, and as the man's life faded from his eyes, he realized his head was no longer connected to his lower half. That didn't stop Selene from continuing.

"AND THIS IS FOR CALLING ME A BITCH! GO TO HELL!"

She finished as she kicked him like a soccer ball and sent him flying towards the pirates ship.
The other pirates watched as the head flew out of their sight, before one of them spoke up.

"OH MY GOD! SHE KILLED KENNY!" One said, before another spoke up right after."YOU BASTARD!"

Selene was more than a little pissed by this as she looked at the group. There were easily a hundred of them. She didn't care though as she looked at them all.
"That's it, you're all dead." She said as she rushed at the group, and started to carve her way through them.

She cut through all of them, as she started creating a new bloody mess on the ground. Some tried to run, she cut their legs preventing them from doing so, and three more came up behind her. They swung their own swords, but they were no match for her, as she easily cut their swords in half, as she delivered a slash to their stomachs, as they all fell to the ground in a bleeding mess.

"SHE'S A MONSTER!" One said, as he was cut down by her.

"CAPTAIN! HELP US!" Another said as he was also taken down effortlessly.

She was just about to go for another of the crew when a large iron wall appeared between her and the man.
Selene frowned before she heard the sound of clapping from her left.

"Well, you've made quite the mess of my newest recruits miss." Selene turned to the sound of the voice, and looked at what she saw. A rather handsome man by normal standards, with short red hair, and smirk on his lips. He slowly clapped as he stood before the men around him.

The pirates looked at the man. "Alright! The captains here!" One screamed as another joined him.

"You're in for it now, you stupid skank! The captain's gonna-"

He stopped as his body was suddenly set on fire, much to everyone's shock around him. The man screamed and rolled around before he ran and jumped into the water, putting out the flame. The damage had been done though, as the remaining crew looked at the man. He was dead, a burnt corpse floating in the water was all that remained.

The other recruits and both Selene and Cob, stared at the man with wide eyes.

Before the pirates could question why their captain had done that, he spoke.

"You all were quite a waste of money it seems, and unfortunately, I don't tolerate failure."

Selene watched as the man raised his hand, she realized he was going to do something, but she didn't get a chance to do anything as the man snapped his fingers. Suddenly large runic markings appeared on each of them, and a variety of things started to happen to each of them. Some caught on fire, like the man before, but other's started to shiver as ice encased their forms, another started to choke himself to death, and more and more things followed as more of the recruits died every second.

Selene watched as the man's crew died one after another, each in a horrific manner. It was all slightly unnerving. Cob approached Selene, and whispered to her.
"This guy is trouble…" to which the woman only nodded as he finished off the last of his crew.

The man smiled as he looked around, before turning to the ones who had a front row seat to the killings that had taken place.
"Now that we've got the trash out of the way, allow me to introduce myself."

He bowed deeply, and smiled at the two of them. "My name is Lawrence and on behalf of the Collector Pirates, I humbly request your forgiveness for my former associate's rude behavior." He said with a smile. Selene and Cob were slightly unnerved as they heard this. The man continued.

"As the name of my crew suggests, I'm a collector of sorts, and I'm currently in search of rare items to add to my collection." He said pointing at Selene's blade. "The Tsuki No Hikari, is one such blade, along with the Akai Kumo, and Aoi Kumo." He said making the group freeze in place as they looked at the man frozen in place.

Lawrence simply continued as he looked around.

"Tell me, where is the one known as Twin Cloud Nagai? I wish to speak with the man who I'll be receiving my blades from shortly." He asked with a grin.

Selene was saddened as she heard the name of her late husband, and didn't respond right away. Cob saw the look on Selene's face and decided to answer for her.

"He's dead…he's been dead for about 8 years."

Lawrence looked at them with surprise. "Oh really? That is a shame, that would mean he left this wonderful woman he called his wife behind. What a tragedy!" He said as he started to tear up.

Selene listened to this and became even more depressed, and Cob wasn't far behind as he still blamed himself for what happened.

"You poor thing!" He continued before looking at them. "Never fear though, for I know just what to do to cheer you up!"
Selene and Cob stopped as they heard this suddenly acutely aware of what he was saying.

"What do you mean?" Selene said cautiously as she gripped her blade a little more tightly.
Lawrence simply smiled. "It's simple really!" He said as he raised hand again, and grinned at the two devilishly.

"I'll just reunite the two of you."

Selene and Cob's experience at Sea was the only thing that saved them as the man snapped his fingers and like line leading to a stack of dynamite, a set of runes appeared on the ground, leading to a circle of them, which detonated the second they moved away.

Lawrence grinned as he continued to snap his hands, a wall of stone appearing between him and shots that rang out from Cob as he tried to fire on him. He snapped once more and Selene watched as Ice shards formed above her head, which she dodged away from, only for her to be surrounded by a wall of fire. She heard another snap, as a large boulder appeared above her head from another set of runic markings.

She was thankful for the timely fire of Cob, who shattered the boulder with shots from his pistols. Selene smiled and leapt out the ring just as the center exploded once more.
The swordswoman kicked off one the remains of the boulder before launching herself towards the man who was the cause of all of this. He simply smirked, and with another snap of his fingers a wall of stone appeared between him and the swordswoman, which she sliced through but Lawrence had already leapt over the wall and gotten behind her. He raised a hand as a rune appeared in front of it, before a pillar of iron appeared out of it, knocking her back sending her flying into a building, and through the group of them.

Lawrence grinned as he looked at the woman who tried to pick herself up out of the rubble. She felt a taste of iron in her mouth and spit out the blood to the side. Definitely had broken something, but she was still able to fight, as she shoved the debris of herself, and stood up.

The man smiled. "Very good, you're a tough one, I'll give you that." He said before snapping as an iron wall appeared behind him, which cratered as gunshots rang out from Cob's guns. The gunslinger frowned as he tried to get to another vantage point. Selene had watched as Lawrence made the wall appear before seeing him snap his fingers once again as a blade of wind enveloped one of his arms.

"How are you doing that?" She asked him, completely confused by what he was doing.

Lawrence feigned confusion. "Doing what Miss?" He asked her, as she looked at him with a seriousness he had yet to see.

"How are you using multiple elements and creating multiple effects?" She asked as she pointed at the wall behind him and the wind around his arm. She then continued. "I know it's a devil fruit, but what kind?"

The man looked at her with surprise before laughing. "Well if you know that much already, it would be a pity to leave you in the dark. It won't matter much since you'll both be dead soon." He said before snapping his fingers, this time though he made a wall of runes appear before him, as he reached in and pulled out an actual blade. Selene watched in amazement as he then put the blade back before snapping both his fingers, a pillar of ice appearing behind him, and to the left of that a pillar of fire.

Lawrence savored Selene's terror as she stared at him.

"I ate a Paramecia , but a very special one. I ate the Rune Rune Fruit." He said, as the runes appeared in front of him.

"The fruit allows me to not only manipulate elements by combining certain runes together, but it also allows me to do many other things. For instance, the trick I showed you before with one of my many blades in my collection." He said as he snapped his fingers and to her surprise the same runic markings floated in the air, from which appeared many blades that all pointed directly at her."An example of what this power can do is create a sort of pocket space, where I can store my many weapons. I call this The Vault." He said before smirking.

Selene watched this all as she realized the severity of the situation she found herself in now. Lawrence smiled as he saw this on her face. "Now you see, that is why I need both your weapon and Nagia's blades. They will make fine additions to my collection." He said with a grin.

Selene frowned as she heard this, but before she could say anything, she had to dodge out of the way of the hoard of weapons that lashed down at her. She jumped away and knocked multiple blades away from her, as she did so, dancing between the impromptu projectiles with great skill.

Lawrence smiled and snapped his hand creating pillars of stone that shot out at her. Selene quickly cut them apart, as she rushed at the man. Lawrence for his part was unperturbed as he reached into his pocket space, and pulled out a blade. Covered in runes, he quickly blocked her attacks, and snapped his fingers, his blade catching ablaze causing her to jump back. She got down and sheathed her blade as she spoke.

"One Sword Style: Moonlight Flash!" She said as she disappeared and appeared behind him. She finally did something to the man, giving him a deep and visceral slash to his shoulder. She grinned as she saw this. The Collector however saw this and frowned as he turned to her.

"Well done miss, you actually managed to cut me. I'm impressed.." He said before frowning. "Or at least I would be if this hadn't been my favorite coat." He said, as he snapped both of his fingers at the same time. A shadow overcast the two of them as a large boulder, larger than the one he had created before appeared above her their heads.

Selene panicked as she saw this, and looked at the man. "ARE YOU INSANE!? YOU'LL DIE WITH US DUMBASS!" Lawrence simply grinned sinisterly at her. "This is my last parting gift to you. I'll search the town while you are preoccupied. Take care now, do try not to leave too much of a mess." He said, and with an elaborate bow before she could say anything, he vanished.

Selene panicked as she looked at Cob, the man shooting at the boulder and leaving giant craters in it but not doing anything to stop it. Selene grimaced she was going to have to stop it...but how!?

"DESTRUCTION FIST!" A voice called out as an impact crashed against the boulder. She watched as a familiar form had smashed the boulder to pieces with a blackened hand.

"Daryl!" She said, surprised as he landed next to her. The man looked older than she remembered, but then again, it had been 8 years since she had seen him.

"Selene, Cob! What the hell is going on here!? I come to visit for the first time in years, and find you all in the middle of a crisis!" He said with a worried expression. Selene smiled at the sight of her friend, before shaking her head. "Nevermind that! We have to go after him!" She said as she looked at the man.

Cob looked at Daryl and said with great urgency. "We'll explain on the way, right now though we have to find him!"

Meanwhile, back at the house, Sakai was busy trying to convince Maria to leave. "Maria, we have to go!" He said, but the girl was stubborn.

"NO! Don't want to! Mommy and Grandpa are gonna beat those dummies! You'll see! They'll be fine, and I want to be here when they get home!"

Sakai frowned, unsure of what to do, before a sudden knock on their front door alerted him.

Maria smiled at the sound of this. "That must be mommy and Grandpa! Their home!"

The young boy frowned as she said this, and a thought occurred to him too late to stop his sister.

'Why would they knock on their own door?'

He watched as Maria reached up to open the door, and screamed running to stop her.

MARIA WAIT!"

It was too late, as she opened the door, revealing the face and form of someone he was unfamiliar with.

Maria looked at the figure in confusion. "Who are you, and where are Mommy and Grandpa?" Sakai got more and more alarmed as he quickly got between his sister and the man in front of them.

Lawrence smiled at the two children. "Apologies kids, but I'm afraid they won't be coming back anytime soon."

Even longer one this time, as we got Sora vs Sakai and we get to see some more backstory from Sakai's childhood.

As of this chapter I've passed 20k words. *Confetti noises* I've got alot more planned, and I look forward to hearing what people have to say about this chapter and the one's to come. I'm still looking for a Co-Writer if anyone is interested.

Let me know your thoughts on this chapter in the reviews.
See you all next time!