"Hey! Who be the asshole that bumped into my-"Cassandra stopped mid-sentence as she opened her eyes to see that her small boat - a raft with a bubble-like encasement on it similar to a
Bon Chari - had actually been pushed against land instead of being bumped into,
"Oh…"
Blinking a few times to wake herself Cass sat up from her lying position before throwing a foot upwards causing the bubble to rise up then fall onto the back of the raft. She held her arms out pulling her body backwards letting out a few groans as her back cracked. She slowly stood, keeping steady as the raft rocked back and forth gently atop of the waters.
"Perfect timing, I need to re-stock on alcohol!" she spoke out before letting her knees bend, shooting forward as she jumped off of her raft and onto the hard ground.
She looked back as her raft drifted away from the island, though staying close nonetheless. She liked keeping her raft off the land just in case she needed to jump back in for a grand escape without the hassle of pushing it into the water, though she knew the risks of keeping it on the water for too long. Turning her head forward she began walking towards what was an obvious town in sight.
It didn't take long for shit to
pop off once Cassandra entered the town. A middle-aged man ran up to her asking if she could help him get something he couldn't reach. It seemed like a genuine request considering his small size, and the small size that seemed to be the average around the area especially compared to her six' two height, despite ladders being a thing she agreed to help.
Now she was in an alley with a middle-aged man holding a knife to her back with two younger men with swords a good distance in front of them. She should have been smart enough to consider it being a trap, atleast on an island she had no knowledge of.
"You're going to give us everything you've got pretty lady, and I mean everything!" One of the younger men said as he licked his lips, eyes trailing down the female's body.
"Well if you wanted everything from me then you could have just asked. I'm willing to share," Cassandra stated with a wink as her hands slid up to the opening of her shirt, slowly pulling it apart. The two stared, too lost in lust to realize that the female had been replaced with a barrel.
Shing! One more head in the world now not attached to it's body, brought to you by the guy on the left, which was probably the hand he used. Pivoting to the right Cassandra brought her blade downwards, slicing open the shoulder of the man to the right. Foot flying forward managing to collide with his chest he was sent into a wall which freed her blade from his flesh.
Turning to face the last man brought a chuckle out of her as he charged forth with his knife. Pulling her right arm back she let it shoot forward, releasing the cutlass in her hand. It shot straight forward with only little drop. The only thing the man had to do to dodge was duck, which was what he did. In that moment Cassandra switched places with the sword then crouched, dealing an uppercut to the man with her left hand. The armor added extra damage causing him to rise off the ground a little, shattered teeth flying into the sky.
Cassandra sent a right punch to his temple sending him into the ground quicker than what he was dropping before slamming her right foot onto his ribs. His mouth shot open revealing only tongue, gums, and blood. He tried to yell in pain but only wheezes came out, then more blood. Flipping her hair and tilting her hat forward, Cassandra walked back to go pick up her cutlass before walking out of the alley dusting herself off.
"Where can a lady buy a drink here?"
A smile crept onto Cassandra's face as she finally came across one, a pub!
"Ah, here we are!" she called out as she began walking towards it. Walking inside the pub, she ignored the
woman by the door with the swords giving an eerie look, and sat down on a stool in front of the counter.
I wonder how they knew, or is it just a coincidence?, Cassandra thought before the bartender came over to her asking what she'd like to drink. She gave a smile,
"A cup of rum, and a barrel to go. Don't worry. I can pay for it all! I don't have gold on my hand just for show!" Cassandra held her right arm up, showing off the gold gauntlet on her right hand.
The bartender just smiled and nodded as if he was anticipating being rich by the end of the day. Cassandra anticipated being drunk by the end of the day, and satisfied that she had scammed another fool. Good thing it seemed her bounty hadn't reached this place, but that was probably why
they were here as well. Her cup was served and her barrel was placed besides her,
too trusting, she thought.
"Bottoms up!" she called out before downing her whole cup. Slamming her cup onto the counter a flush crept across her cheeks while she held a sly expression. She was about to up and run with the barrel before she fell to the floor, seemingly barely able to move. She crawled onto her knees, hands on the ground as she struggled to get up.
"I…When…?"
"Oh Cassandra, I never took you as one who liked that position. You dirty girl!" the woman with the swords said as she hovered above Cassandra laughing. She kicked Cassandra causing her to fall to the ground,
"We have people everywhere, we thought you knew. You know, you're becoming easier to trick by the day."
Cassandra let out a cough as she raised a hand to grip onto the counter, lifting herself from the ground and using her free hand to keep her hat on. She looked at the woman whose name was Hatsume. Leaning on the counter she then spoke slowly,
"You didn't trick me…I just happened to fall for your trick."
"But…That's-" A smirk appeared on Cassandra's face before she swapped places with a chair. Running through the bar Cassandra burst through the doors to the outside, running towards her raft, laughing at how she deceived Hatsume. The look on her face was priceless!
"Bottoms up!" she called out before downing her whole cup, atleast that's what she made it seem like. The taste was awful right off the bat! While most people probably couldn't taste poison when mixed in with food or drinks, she could with this particular one. She forced herself to remember it every time it was given to he back then. She prayed that her exchange ability wouldn't fail her now and that she could take the poison out of the drink as she drank it...Good, now it was time to act and make her escape.
Cassandra kept her hat held down as she quickly ran. If Hatsume ran after her, or more so started to catch up, she would then resort to her devil fruit. But of course she wasn't prepared for what came up next. Skidding to a halt her eyes widened as a
man stood in front of her.
"H…Hajime?" she asked.
"Hi, my name is Hajime! What's yours?"
the friendly boy asked with a grin, hands gripped tight around the bars of the cage Cassandra was placed in.
Sitting the furthest away she could from the boy on the outside, she held her scarred face ignoring him. She wished he would just go away. She just wanted to kick his stinky fingers! But she knew something bad would happen, so she didn't.
"Tch, Hajime get away from that filthy thing!" Hajime's sister, Hatsume, yelled at him, "Filthy things are beneath us!" Hajime sighed looking back at his sister. "Sometimes the clean can get dirty, or they really are the dirty ones. While it's the other way around for the ones perceived as filthy." Hajime then looked back at Cassandra with a smile, "Besides, filthy or not everyone needs someone, and you look like you could use a friend…So, may I know your name?"
"It's…Cassandra."
"Long time, Cassandra," Hajime said in monotone before his eyes shot past Cassandra,
"I should have known my younger sister couldn't handle the job. And she wonders why father favors me."
"Hajime, I thought-"Hajime cut her off.
"I'll end this here, you will be brought back." Hajime held a hand out with his finger tips beginning to sparkle. He showed no emotion.
"Wait a goddamn minute!" Hatsume said as she ran up to the two, standing closer to her brother. She pushed him over drawing her blades,
"This is my mission!"
"A mission that you have failed," Hajime replied.
"Hey! Somehow the bitch got past the poison!" Hatsume yelled,
"But it's not over until it's over. Now move your big ass back so I can kill the bitch!"
"Killing isn't an option. I'll have to execute you on the spot if you killed her. But fine, I'll trust you this once. But let me remind you that I have a problem with incompetence, and like to rid of things I perceive as useless. So don't fuck up." Hajime finished speaking then moved out of the way.
"Yeah, yeah I get it!" Hatsume yelled before she shot at Cassandra, wildly swinging at her with her blades. Cassandra deflected one blade while she backed up to dodge the other, going on the defense to analyze. The attacks weren't very strong, so it seemed Hatsume relied more on speed, meaning if she went up against someone stronger then she could easily be knocked away if they got a good one off. But that's where her second blade came in. Only one attack could be pulled off before another blade came at you….Atleast for most people.
As the right blade came down at her Cassandra hit it with her own blade only for the left blade to swing down. Cassandra smacked the left blade aside with her left hand only for the right blade to come down at her which she blocked with her right hand. Good thing she had armor. She smacked the blade off her arm with her left hand, backing up as the left blade came down once more only barely able to cut her arm. It didn't matter, the wound wasn't too big, it'd heal.
Hatsume grinned seeing she was on the winning side. The bitch was too prideful. She held her arms out with her blades held upside down. Beginning to spin them rapidly her blades would become invisible due to the speed. Throwing her arms forward the blades had extended past Cassandra's neck. Bringing her arms together at great speed the blades began closing in on Cassandra, aiming to behead her. She saw Hajime reach forward to stop his sister, but it was too late….
Splat! It was everywhere! Everyone was covered in it! It mostly splattered onto Hatsume and Hajime, but a bit had gotten on Cassandra too.
"What…The…Fuck!?" Hatsume yelled as she tossed the remains of the squashed watermelons Cassandra switched her swords for onto the ground. Hatsume took that chance and ran past the two, letting Hatsume hear her giggling. Conveniently placed fruit stand, it seemed.
"Incompetence, you'll be dealt with accordingly," Cassandra heard Hajime speak. Continuing to run she noticed that the island began dimming to the point that it seemed to be night time despite the sun being out. She didn't know what was going on but she wasn't going to stop to find out. Hopping off the land and landing onto her raft she quickly pulled the bubble over her. Her foot slammed on one of the pedals causing the raft to make a sound similar to a motorcycle starting up before shooting off.
Looking back she watched as a flash of light surrounded the entire island. Parts of the island began breaking off and falling into the deep waters, some buildings even falling apart. What was that power? She sighed, not wanting to know what other damages she had brought upon that island. Looking forward once again she couldn't help but wonder what had happened to the sweet boy she once knew. She couldn't dwell on it too long. She needed to find another island. Alcohol was what fueled her raft, and she was running low. This time she just had to get out before another island was destroyed.
