Trip to The Beach

[Ricter]

"Why would you say they weren't? They were people you worked around I'm guessing...unless they meant you harm I don't think they really could have been with evil intentions if that was the case." Both Azalea and Xavier didn't know much about his well being, more so about him being a contractor, a concept that was so different from what they were used too that she couldn't even begin to relate with it. However as she watched him she could tell he was experiencing something, something he probably hadn't before, he was starting to become depressed and not only this but his voice was showing he was thinking about the loss of those people. And really if they weren't his friends she wouldn't expect him to think in such a manner, you only morn your loved ones and those you care about, rarely you morn the death of those who wanted you dead.

"Are you...okay Dust?..." Was her rebuttal to this, his odd silence after saying that as well as the melting ice-cream around his hands indicated that something was amiss as she felt she needed to help him along with his emotions. Something Xavier might have a hard time doing given she had a more nurturing touch to what she did most of the time, "You look like your going through some emotional pain, if you don't wana talk about this any more, I understand." She tried to calm him down a bit, making sure he knew that she wanted him to feel better and not have to go through any more or any less pain than what he wanted. But right now she knew it was up to him to want that, for a man to gain freedom and be able to express his mind and wants all at once, it was a powerful thing to gain them like a rushing tide instead of a simple trickle of water.

[Dust]

Dust would address her earlier remarks, but not before the latter. "No. That's the problem, I'm going through a lot of emotions right now and I don't know how to handle them because I haven't had any in 13 years." He explained, trying not to get loud with his voice, but there was a noticeable difference in his volume when he was done. His hand unintentionally squeezed her's a bit. More like he needed help than he was angry with her. "They weren't my friends, because I didn't have friends. I had co-workers, squad members, formation patterns, landing partners, and enemies."

"Shock might have had some compassion for me, for the abused dog of the Russian army, but that didn't stop her from tearing me up on multiple occasions. Drake berated me, he called me Pup no matte how many times I beat him to the ground, he mocked me. Those aren't characteristics of friends." Of course, he never blamed Drake. Drake was in the same predicament as Dust. Told where to go and what to do, and if he didn't. They punished him. Or at least he liked to think they did. In reality, perhaps Lycan was the only one ever punished, because he was canine in nature. Fighting dogs were trained, not born. The training is cruel and torturous, and involved inhumane methods. He was nothing but an asset to them. Maybe a bit more precious than they let on, if they weren't going to let him go without killing everyone involved.

"I can tell we aren't from the same worlds, so I'll explain as best as I can. I'm a contractor. That's my being, not my profession. I have a power that I was not aware of until I was 13. Its not the most powerful, its not the most devastating, but it was enough to warrant my capture and abuse as they shaped me to be a weapon. A emotionless weapon without remorse, before today I couldn't even hate Drake for what he did. I didn't know what loneliness was, let alone what freedom entailed. I only knew logic and instinct." Still, that didn't explain why he felt the need to cry fro him, to grieve his enemy. Up until that last moment, Drake had been his greatest challenge. But not his friend, not until he was dead and Dust could feel pain did it click that he was protecting him.

Dust felt guilty about the ice cream turning into a puddle of chocolate milk in his hand, but he's lost his appetite, he half heartily offered her it. "They were smuggling a weapon out of the country, a caged monster that they planned to use for themselves. I think I remember Shock singing to me, but that could easily have been the screeching wheels of the train. She pitied me.. Felt bad for a beaten dog like me." He said, again, making more sense of the many bandages and scars on his body if you thought about it.

[Ricter]

Pausing as Dust began to speak up Azalea was a bit scared at first, but not for herself but for him as his voice got slightly louder in volume and he began to expression thoughts on emotions he never even felt prior to coming to this world. He didn't even seem to know what it felt like to lose people around him much less to enjoy life for what it could hold as he explained details of his life that would make even the hardest of people wonder something about themselves. She felt lucky, lucky that the sickly boy named Xavier took her along or she might have felt the same feeling he was going through, cut off form the world emotionally however in her case physically, and in a way this was part of how she could maybe relate to the man but it all felt just sad in the end.

Hearing what was mostly the mechanics of what he was she found it hard to figure this out, however Xavier was kind enough to clue her in on it, not that he knew about it but he was better at taking information and understanding it to a degree that Azalea wasn't familiar with given her inability to directly interact with humans and people around her. Which this was why Xavier gave her the chance to mingle when she could, because this was healthy and gave her a new scope on life as he finally began to explain everything in the keen most detail that came to his troubled mind. Waving off his offer to give her the rest of his ice-cream she would shake her head as she held on to his hand, keeping his mind at least focused on this as it was better than dismissing it entirely.

"So...this monster that they believed you to be is pretty much free of its cage, and now he has to deal with the memories and emotions that weren't existent before but now are a binding part of his new found freedom...I can't say it will be easy dealing with all this, especially at once, but...I'm here all the same. I can understand a bit about how it is to be alone, and even how it is to regain feeling emotions about certain things. I was alone for a long time, so much so the first human I saw in decades after death was Xavier and I didn't even know how to really interact with them, or what I should feel towards them. But what your feeling now is sadness, regret, even grief as they are gone, but those are normal things you have the freedom to experience now with out anyone telling you what to do. I guess at least in this world your allowed to have a sort of second chance and maybe enjoy your life..." She already eyed the many bandages and scares he had, she could tell he had been through hell, and maybe in the end this was better for him than dying at the hands of what ever he faced prior to coming here as she nearly was on the verse of crying for the man.

Instead however she would aim to pull him into her, she was smaller than him sure, but she still held Xavier's strength and in aiming to do this she would try to hug him. Pressing her chest against his own as she tried to cull his pain a bit, even wrapping her arms around him as she spoke softly, "I'm sorry...Typically those who are struck with this kind of pain just need to experience some kind of caring emotion, its what people do sometimes, I hope its alright." She asked as her cheek pressed against his chest as well, it was soft and slightly warm as even Xavier didn't mind that she did this. After all not like a guy like himself could do the same thing to such an effect.

[Dust]

The ice cream was casually tossed to the sand when she denied it, food for the seagulls. He felt the need to snap at her when she explained the emotions to him, like he was a child. But his logic, barely heard by now, whispered that he was essentially a child. He was a very confused child, but still he didn't want a mother to coddle him. And her words were starting to bounce off his tough skull rather than sink in.

That's when she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a genuine hug.

And then what she was doing and saying clicked. He realized that maybe he wasn’t alone.. maybe not as friendless as he used to be. Dust wrapped his thick arms around her, slowly embracing her and giving her a tight squeeze. He didn’t know what relief was, but he liked it as to stress. "Thank you. Azalea." He said straight into her ear.

[Ricter]

A soft purr would escape the woman as she would nearly seem to snuggle up to him, luckily she didn't have him laid on the ground or else she would find a reason to do this to an even better effectiveness. None the less as she would hug him and hear those words of thanks she would feel good, her long black hair pressing on his chest as she laid her head there as well, smiling brightly. "Your welcome, just...if you need to talk about how your feeling and maybe need help expressing it just come to us, we can help at least a small amount through what you need." Azalea was very willing to help Dust go through all his problems now but she felt like he needed to suppress and split up how he was feeling and go through them one at a time at a natural pace.

Which was why as she pulled away from him a tad reluctantly she would point out something, "Now, lets have a bit of fun~" Xavier would have pulled the plug on this right here and no if she didn't stop him just to explain what she meant as she motioned over to a public beach volley ball net with a few players about to set up to play. They could easily step in and join them if they allowed as she was confident that both herself and Dust could convince many people with just looks alone. "Tell me you've played volleyball before where your from? That or at least know about it?" She had to ask, after all the last thing she needed him to do was mistakenly think a man was the ball and toss them with the power of a hand cannon to the other side of the net, that wouldn't look too pretty for either of them as it would also give her an opportunity to take off her shoes and the white shirt she had on.

[Dust]

Wolf thought the purr was cute, and smiled at that and at the kindness behind her words. When she perked up and offered to have some fun, he looked at her curiously. When she motioned his view over to a group of people just setting up for a game of volleyball his expression must have mimicked Xavier's. It was the tell-tale face of 'ohhhhh!'

"I learned it in school, but that was a long time ago. " He said, letting his facial features relax as he stared over at them. There was a guy with long purple hair and a toned body, a guy with dark spikey hair and slightly buffer than his friends, and a bikini wearing girl with a dark tan and bright blonde hair. "I remember most of the rules, but I wasn’t the most athletic guy on the court." He didn’t always look like this, nor has it really been all that long since he was beat into shape. "But I'm up for a game." Lycan added as he watched her take off her shoes.

[Ricter]

Xavier did indeed feel a bit ready to pull the plug on this little 'adventure' Azalea was having, however in the end he approved of this fully and as she would smile and walk over to them she was more than happy to hear he knew a thing or two about volley ball. At least to a degree that she didn't have to worry about really holding back if they ended up on opposite teams, with a bit of charm and just a good talking she was easily able to get the guys to want them to play, especially given she began to unbutton and take off her white dress shirt. Revealing only her black undershirt that clung to her frame a bit given her bust size, "Thanks boys, I'll be sure to go easy on you, I might not look like it but this is the sport where I'm queen in." She stated as she took off her hat, placing her things off to the side as her face was more so open to being fully looked at, the woman's raven colored hair would then be tied into a pony tail so to not block her vision but all the while she looked as if she were very attractive none the less.

Finally stepping into one side of the court she would stretch a bit, though it was a tad uneven she would easily request for something, "We can do it this way, you three against us two, loser buys the other a drink, we go up to 20." Though the odds seemed stacked on them Azalea had so much confidence in her skills, as well as Xavier's skills, that she didn't mind making this interesting to say the least as she smirked and looked to Dust. "Don't think to hard about it, if we lose I got the money to cover a few drinks, but I don't plan on losing...not by a long shot." The fire that was burning in her blue eyes showed she was far beyond wishing to forfeit or lose a match that she was offering. With one of the guys going to fish out the ball from one of their bags she got ready to play even if she was just in some jeans and a shirt, the hot sand not bothering her too much given she was used to it and lived on an island as a child.

[Dust]

Azalea's little speech and show of confidence only made the two men sneer at each other at how easy this was going to be. To them, the only people who brag are the ones who couldn't actually beat them. They had countless wins against this exact type of person. Cheeky, over confident, even flaunting their money around. Sure it was only a drink, but they planned to crush her.

And her little Dog too.

They agreed with smug nods, and got into place on the opposite side of the court, clearly claiming the first serve for themselves. Both looked physically fit, molded for the beach. All except they weren't as bronze as the rest of the beach goers. They also looked strangely close to each other, not like brothers, but best friends. If only in a scripted way.

The reason for this became very clear later, as screens all over the island announced a new challenger has arrived up at the beach. It reads: Clark and Sabation have been challenged by new comers!! And then followed up with a prompt to hit a button if the viewer would like to watch. At first it seemed only the volley ball players were interested, eager to see if there was any new strategies to collect from the match. But when they did hit the prompt, a announcer appeared on the coach's seat. Looking a lot like the typical lifeguard, complete with a dark tan, big sunglasses, and a line of sunscreen on his nose like war paint. He picks up the microphone and begins.

"Court 2, Champions Clark and Sabation are challenged by two Primes, both names are unknown, probably noobs. Challenge Rating Program: B, This should be quick folks. Stay tune." He then looked over a chart. "Clark, standing at 5'11, 200 lbs, Sabation stands at 6-foot nothing and has 250 lbs. Both already a challenge of muscle, though the mental exercises don't take president over their morning work out of 100 push ups, 100 squats, 100 crunches, and finally a 10,000 kilometer run, they are very in tuned with the game." He then adjusts in his seat, bringing his glasses down with his finger to eye up the competition. One might wonder if he was looking the girl up and down for other reasons though. "Female of average build, but standing at 6-foot and seemingly 150 lbs she shouldn't be too big of a hassle. And a Male, of... Oh my. 6'9"? And looks to be between 250 and 270 lbs of opposing muscle. I wonder if he does the same work out... Never mind that, our game is about to begin. Don't change that channel!"

On the opposite side, Clark, the long haired one, looks over at his friend. "If we single out miss Confidence over there, we should win this hands down." This was just out of Azalea's hearing, but Dust could hear it with his wolvern hearing. He gave them a deadpan glare, which they only caught a glimpse of it. There was a bead of sweat, but the two couldn't really believe he heard them. Even asking if they each saw the same thing.

Hokori just sighed, and looked over at his companion. He doubt she would have suggested this if she couldn't even handle a small challenge like Level B. However, he was unsure what that meant. Didn't they start new people at level D, or C? Maybe that's in the other courts. Maybe because she was bragging about being queen the upped the level just for her. And why did this feel like they were playing a video game? Where did this announcer come from? He could see it was practically a hologram, so that explained that. But it was so strange that a simple thing like this has become a big deal.

"Hello~!" The man said again, obviously talking to the audience. But where were they? Lycan didn't see anyone.. But when he looked around he did see people approaching, and some with phones out with his face on it. It then dawned on him that there were cameras all around them. Not visible ones, he could just hear it, sense it. "If you are just joining us, you are in luck, the match hasn't even started. But it is about to. Boys~!" He called off to the two on the other side of the court, and they quickly got back into game mode. The hologram then put a whistle to its lips and blew. But in reality, the sound game from a speaker somewhere on the chair. It was a quick short burst that was a full signal to go. And the ball came flying from the other team!

Dust did his part in the game, but the two focused hard on Azalea. And while he didn't think he had to protect her, he did feel like he should be closer than he was placed originally, so they didn't gang up on her. At times she'd fling the ball back and forth with no issue, until about the 12th time when she would fall because it was coming by so quick. He would come by on those times and powerhouse the volley ball and getting a point. After a couple rounds of that, the two of them knew that wasn't going to end well. And without a word, they changed tactics. Or more accurately, Ookami changed it up.

He would purposely hit the ball when they were trying to spike it at the ground, but let it bounce lightly into the air so that it could be mistaken for floating, giving Azalea the opening she needed. He recovered a lot more quicker than her, and by the time it was passed over, he could jump to intercept and spike it like a bullet into the sand.

All the while the announcer is really getting into the game. "The monster of a man blocks again! He seems to be all the competition the two champions need, but no! The girl is lightening fast and.. Did she climb up his back to back hand that ball? YES! No, this is not a mismatch at all!"

~~~~~

Later, they found themselves in another one of the taverns. The lazy fan coasting through the hot air and only giving them the slightest relief. He had a large drink of multiple colors. Green, blue, gold, turquoise and other varieties. It was a slushy of color and flavor, and was decorated with an orange, pineapple, and cherry skewer umbrella. He was panting still, sweat covering his entire body and the tips of his hair soaked. He was leaning back in the small chair which some how contained his heavy weight and bulk. He was staring at the fan with a bit of anger twitching at his eyelid. Annoyed that there was so little air for such a big fan, and on such a hot day. And yet the cool breeze told them that night was approaching. The waves were getting slightly more aggressive, laughing as the ocean lapped at the sand meters away.

Well that's one way to waste away a day..

There was a hand radio listing off the new champions of the beach, and somewhere on the list was his and her name.. It was basically a High Score board, but without a phone he couldn't see what he scored. He was pretty sure he only made it because he was teamed up with her. Or him. Whoever it was now. After they listed off the high score holders, they played a gentle but energetic song about drinking, beaches, and summer love. He sighed again, and finally set up straight. He leaned against the questionable table, putting his pale elbows on the particle board, and made it lean his way without trying. Or without noticing. He leaned in and put the straw of his drink in his mouth and sipped. He would have preferred a gallon of water, but he already had a spare cup.

As soon as he was done, he looked over at his companion. "I guess we find a shower next.." He said absently. Thinking about a shower and some clothes. Where do they go next? What do they do now?

[Ricter]

As the game drew to a simple close she would smile as they had done well, and were soon rewarded with a nice stay at the local tavern. It was hot and the day had gone well for them, playing games of volley ball however took their toll on your body and given how sweaty Xavier was right no, or Azalea as she'd like to be called, she soon allow Xavier control again given she had her fun and didn't wish to feel all sweaty and gross. No matter as Xavier's body altered and changed back to normal he would drink form the glass of what seemed like a nice smoothie, something clean and flavorful as he murred at the taste as well as the fact that he was learning more about where they were and what was going on. However as he looked outside and away from his phone he began to remeber the old times, from where he was in his own universe and what not.

And soon spacing out, he began to remember...

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[spoiler]The sun that day was a bit bright and also hot too but it was nothing like any other day many other people have been threw, carving threw the water a small ship, around dolphin class was heading towards Gecko Island. They had no flag or even any markings on the ship except for the name "Sausay Mare" on the side and a statue to illiterate on the front of the ship, this particular ship full of men and one two women if you count a large duck as a girl as well, were on business.

Directing the ship was none other than Xavier, not that this was important or anything he was just making sure they get to port as they had a small escort from a marine vessel belonging to one of his father's long time navy friends. As they would pull into port on the afternoon sun he began to start tying the line to the docks as well as beginning to pay the dock keeper his fee for staying here with his ship.

Sighing some memories of before when he stayed here as a kid began to come back, he remembered standing on this very dock, talking to his dad before he went off to sea to go turn in bad guys and what not. He could remember sitting at the long pier and just watching the ocean, wanting to see if his dad would come back when he said he would and sure enough he always did, it was a bitter sweet memory knowing that he was now gone but he enjoyed it none the less.

Yawning a bit he wondered if everyone else was up now, looking back at the ship he climbed aboard, he guessed they would all be up and about since it was nearly 11:00 in the morning but he didn't wish to interrupt sleep if they had to get it. That party they all had was a bit over the top, luckily he didn't have much to drink, just some small sips when asked, he wasn't the drinking sort but didn't mind it in special occasions like a party of even a wedding.

Maruki was packing up some of her things to take with her back to her home for the few days they might be here, mostly cause she seen no point in sleeping on the ship when her home was waiting for her on the Island, granted she would be coming Back here to check on the ship now and again, but she couldn't help that really. After all she built it with her own six hands, it was hard to not worry about it. Being an octopus girl pretty much she was fairly unique around her home town before embarking with Xavier for a bit, however in this world everyone was unique in their own way.

Maruki has a rather young face, her waist length hair framing it nicely, usually a smile or as laugh ready to come out, she has healthy tanned skin, she also has some tribal looking marking on her skin by they are just natural patterns on her body. For her height she is very lithe, not really muscular but then it's hard to judge that when talking about a person who's limbs are solid flexible muscle, she carries herself in a very assuming manner, her six arms usually doing some sort of fidgeting or moving around, if not just relaxing in her pockets.

As she finished getting her things she was gonna take for now she placed a hand on the wall and smiled a bit "Don't worry I will be back and we will be heading out again Wha~~ You just enjoy the rest you deserve for a few days okay Wha~? and thanks for the fun trip so far" she giggled a bit as she then headed out of the ship and down the ramp to see Xavier had tied them to the dock, she then looked back up and spotted him on the bow, she headed on back up and waved to him.

"Yo Wha~~ excited to see everyone again Wha~~?" she asked as she walked up next to him and smiled, it was an exciting feeling to be back home and she was eager to see her family and introduce her new friends to them, then she wondered what her parents would think of her ship and she started to get nervous right there and then.

As she walked over to Xavier Both Scuttles and Noodles wandered on out....well more Scuttles wandered out, Noodles was currently riding him wrapped in a lettuce leaf and looking a tad sleepy, Wandering over to both Maruki and Xavier Scuttle gently pulled on Xavier's pants leg as he held up Noodles for Maruki to take, which she did and she giggled at the little Noodle roll that he looked like all curled up in that lettuce leaf "I think Noodles couldn't decide if he was tired or hungry Wha~~" she giggled a bit as she pets the little bunny that was currently nibbling on the Lettuce leaf turned blanket turned snack.

Scuttles meanwhile seemed to be writing a little note to Xavier asking what his orders were while they were off the ship, or if he was coming with them. Scuttles was a small robotic crab that Maruki had created some time ago, it was hard working too and helped around the ship with many things.

Jericho was sound asleep, laying in a curled ball position up upon his bed as he dreamt away. He was dreaming about random things, things that even he couldn't quite grasp himself, but he was having fun and that was all that mattered. He then began to dream about the party they had, and how he had been doing balancing tricks for most of the night. Ah, good times happened at that party, excluding how he felt sick to his stomach before it had happened. Eventually, after all the fun his brain could muster had begun to cease, he slowly opened his eyes to a new day.

Wondering if they had made if to the island after he fell asleep, he slowly climbed out of his bed and made his way out to the deck. There was a small problem with his quick approach however...he forgot to put his clothes on. Eh, socks and boxers would do, he wasn't getting off of the ship just yet. Still, it was pretty indecent to just show your body off to the world, so he'd figure that after seeing what was going on, he'd go back inside and put his clothes on.

Making his way on deck, he saw that it seemed pretty peaceful outside. The sun was shining, the ship looked nice, and no one was in sight...wait. Weird, usually when he got up it was a bit close to noon, which meant he'd at least hear voices by now, but he didn't hear any. Maybe they had gotten off the ship to go sightseeing or something, in which case he could just relax and go back to sleep. Walking around, he began to hear voices coming from off of the ship, and thought it best to check them out.

Looking overboard, he saw Xavier, Maruki, and a dock keeper. Well, at least a few of the crew were awake, but he wondered where'd they go. They were probably going to visit friends and family and the such, they did live here before they set out to sea. Well, that was grand and all, but Jericho thought about exploring on his own, or maybe he could explore with Niteo, either way sounded like a plan. "Hey! What're you two doing?" He called down to his crewmates, giving them a smile and a friendly wave.

Looking along the dock Xavier really felt like he was a kid again, running along them and falling down when his shoe laces tangled up, causing him to hurt his knee but he would live threw it. Dad would just smile and pick him up and say 'its just a little scrap, buck up and grow some hair on your chest' laughing to himself at the memory he always had a rebuttal to that, mostly that hair on your chest was gross.

Snapping out of his thoughts yet again he turned to see Maruki as well as Noodles and scuttles coming along, smiling he was happy everyone was up and awake now. They had nothing to do right now but go visit everyone, supplying the ship as well as making sure they got everything for the trip ahead would come later. Giggling a bit at the noodle roll Mika had he gave the little rabbit a small pet as it slept in its leaf blanket, the twins would enjoy seeing him.

"Hey, and yeah, its almost been a whole year since I left to go out and what not. Best part is no one will expect it haha, oh hey there scuttles..." Looking down at the small robot he scratched his head and watched it write a note to him, reading it after taking the paper he smirked and nodded to the crabot. "You can come with us Scuttles, I think Maruki's mom and dad would love to see some advanced robotics walking around their home."

Pausing he saw Jericho and gave him a wave back as he walked over, "Oh nothing yet, I think were going to be visiting our families, me, Maruki, Noodles, Scuttles and Stacey if she wakes up soon. You can come along if you like? If not I think the marine ship may have some wanted posters up, after all Gecko Island is a nice place but pirates are always a problem...That's if you want to go off and just beat up bad guys in your underpants."

Snickering a bit he didn't mind either, they would all be doing some of those bounty's sooner or later but today was just a relaxation one for himself at least. Hearing a few chirps from across the dock Stacey began to fly towards them, seemingly happy and getting a small head start on seeing the island once again. Seeing what changed and what was all the same, the animals here still was a bit scared of her but that would never change for her as she landed beside Xavier.

"So did you want to go see my mom or should we head to your parents place?" He asked nicely to Maruki as he glanced to Jericho, he wondered where Niteo was, maybe he partied a bit too hard and wanted to sleep in. Either way he could meet them at any time, besides today he wouldn't be planning anything for Jericho and Niteo, tomorrow might be a bit different unless he changed his mind.

Carrying her little Noodle Roll she giggled a bit at the happy little Dance Scuttles was doing as he heard he could come, Xavier was right though her parents would LOVE to see him, they both loved things like this...well...they never seen anything like him but she more meant techy things, she remembered her dad making her a friend robot....out of wood...okay so it was a wooden doll but it was still silly to see him make the robot noises and such when he first gave it to her.

Listening and looking to Ricter she giggled a bit it was true it had been nearly a year, she wondered what had happened on the island in that time, she also wondered how Xavier's family was doing, and she knew her mother and father were helping them...they had been trying to since Xavier's dad had passed away, well..not just them after all it was a very nice and kind community so she was sure others had been helping as well. "Yeah You'll be coming with us Scuttles, besides the whole crew should try to visit at least a bit, Wha~~" she gave a bit of a cheer.

The smile stayed on her face as she heard Jericho call down and she looked up "Oi Oi Oi Wha~~ put some pants on there Buddy Wha~~" she said with a snicker to the fact that he was only in his boxers and waved back to him, seemed he was in a good mood that morning despite how crummy he had seemed when the party started....though the fact that for most of that party he was being treated for that mild poison from the crab he had been fighting, she hoped it taught him to be more careful really. But at least after that he had managed to enjoy the party fully.

Looking back to Xavier as he explained the plan for the day she smiled and nodded a bit "Yeah you can come along too if you want Wha~~ meet the families and see what they are like, as for the pirates if any here Wha~~? well I doubt they would be around long since the marines are here and my parents and the village militia and all, but you might still find some I guess Wha~~" she smiled a bit as she mentioned them and then noticed Stacey.

"YAY STACEY IS HERE WHA~~~!!" she said as she then hugged the large duck, oh yeah it was clear that she was excited about being home alright as she hugged the large duck and giggled happily, then she gently let go and resumed her place on the ground since she had hopped up a bit to hug the large ducky properly, and stood there bouncing on her heels a bit as she was just full of energy and eagerness to see them all again.

Alright, seemed like he had heard enough of Xavier and Maruki's plans today. They were going to go and see their families and such, which was cool, and also sounded like something that he'd like to do with them...at a later time. Let them have their family reunion, he felt like he should make his way around town and explore a bit. They could all meet up a little later and talk about their adventures, yeah, that seemed like a good enough idea for him.

"Hey, leave me and my underwear alone!" He joked, striking a few poses before he began to laugh. "You guys are just jelly because I could be a model." He said. Ah, a model, something he didn't really care for. But back to reality, he wasn't gonna be doing anything soon unless he put his clothes on, which would be difficult since his clothes seemed to always be somewhere other than where he put them. Didn't matter, he'd turn the ship upside down if he had to, he'd find 'em eventually!

"Well, you two have your fun, I'm gonna explore the town a little bit. Don't worry though, I'll catch up eventually." He told the duo as he waved to them before turning to head back to his room. He had already created a game plan in his mind as he spoke to them. Part one of the plan was to find his clothes and get off of the boat, simple enough. Part two, to explore and find something worthwhile to do. Part three? To eventually beat a pirate up. Sure, it seemed like nothing, but hey, sometimes pirates just need a good kick to the throat every now and again.

Alright, once he made it back to his room, there was a mess of a bed awaiting him. Jeez, he needed to clean that thing...later, yeah, he'd do it later. Now, to look for those clothes! "Okay, need to do this as silently as possible so as not to wake Ziteo up." He whispered to himself, tip-toeing through the room before recklessly throwing things all over the place. What a one-track mind he had, but anyway, before long he had found his shirt, pants, socks, shoes, and his sword. There was just one problem...he wasn't going anywhere without his hat and glasses, he downright refused to. With the mess in the room, added on to by his throwing things all around, Niteo's bed was literally the only place in the room void of messiness. This was gonna take awhile...

Xavier snickered a bit at Jericho's small display, he really shoud put some pants on, even if he was a model as he so stated. However it was hardly believable, hearing that he also wished to meet up later he nodded and reached into his bag, he had a phone handy. Alright, but if you get into trouble and need some help be sure to call one of us, and we should be around the docks layer if you want to meet up."

It was a small precaution but he did worry about his friend, maybe because he hadn't known him for a while like he had known Maruki. He didn't worry about Maruki as much because she was pretty strong, she proved that multiple times when she fought and even as kids. This was also the reason he would have to give both Jericho and Niteo a small test, he needed to know just how good they were, after that he wouldn't need to treat them like children to a parent.

Looking to Maruki as Jericho began to go back into the ship to finally place on some clothes for the day Xavier smiled to Stacey hugging the little octopus back. Using her wings to envelope her as she gave a few happy chirps, happy to see her as well. Well looks like everyone is here, besides Niteo and Jericho but that's fine. Anyways lets get going before someone warns our fokes of us coming."

Ready to head out he knew a lot of people would notice Stacey and with a boy and an octopus girl close by it could only be them. Though its not like they were super famous or anything, maybe a little famous but that was from the many fights and weird battles himself and his crew had. Taking the lead while placing his hand into his pockets he began to head down the pier, taking in the scenery as he began reminding himself of the times when he walked down this path to visit Maruki and her family.

"I see your happy, excited to see your family again Maruki?" waking along it would only be a few more yards till they all made it to Maruki's old house. Stacey was close behind, chirping a small song along the way as the large yellow duck was equally as happy to see her old home town again and almost nothing changed too. The docks were the same, builds a bit refurbished but the same as well, the only thing was the large casino ship that was down the docks.

Men in black suits seemed to be running it, not to mention it seemed to be getting a lot of attention from the locals. A keen eye would notice they had simple pistols for some reason but Xavier and company were heading in the opposite direction. The ship was well above whale class and had around 6 floors to them, making it as massive as 1/4th of an island, for a simple ship it was way too big for just a casino. At first glace anyone would guess it had rooms, maybe even a swimming pool and even a court for basketball and tennis.

Going back to Xavier he was currently fiddling with a small puzzle box scuttles gave him a while ago, he had wondered what was in it for a long time and wanted to solve what was in it. Of course he could just crush it easily enough but he found that trying to solve the puzzle was just as fun and helped keep his mind at least 1% sharper.

well all that just proved that Jericho was a at least a kidder which was nice, maybe eventually a little of that would rub off on Niteo?....or Niteo would end up trying to kill Jericho for something small....well she doubted he would go that far, and besides the two seemed to be as good as each other at fighting, Well Maruki thought so anyway but she wasn't exactly the best judge of Fighting prowess. After all it was Xavier that had trained her and she supplemented that training with the booklets her parents sent to her.

Granted she was catching on to a lot of the moves but she had been confused with a few of the instructions and wanted to ask her parents about them for a long time now. At least she could ask when she got home...well after the celebration that her parents would no doubt like to have once they got there of course, Then there was the issue that they might want her to stay. While she LOVED this island she wanted to explore with Xavier even more, after all he had wanted to become more famous then his sister and Maruki wanted to help him do that.

When Xavier and Jericho finished and the boy gave his pans and headed to go get clothing she looked at Xavier and smiled a bit more and giggled a bit when he called Niteo Biteo well...at times Niteo could be a bit snappy so maybe the nickname would stick? she really didn't know though he had a point "good Idea don't want the surprise ruined, besides we are a bit recognizable, not many people have a ginat adorable ducky Wha~~!" she giggled as she was hugged by the large duck she hugged her back happily.

Giggling as she walked with Xavier and Ducky she was getting more and more excited, always remembering this walk she used to use it when coming home from school usually because Xavier always walked to the docks after school and she joined him more often then not, and the buildings around where well kept and in good repair but considering her dad was a carpenter and lived near by she guessed that that was his doing. As they came into view of her home they could see smoke rising from it, the forge apparently working overtime for something, so no doubt her mother was working on something important.

They could also hear the sounds of the hammer falls, as well as the sound of several people building something Maruki only smiled as they got closer "sounds like they are really busy in their workshop Wha~~ well I think I can invite you in...after all I still technically live here Wha~~" she said with a bit of a giggle as she started to go around the well decorated structure.

The building was well decorated with engraved shapes of under sea plants and creatures, the engravings expertly made and made so well that if one had the learning they could probably name many of the engravings on sight, the larger ones where a lot easier to make out, but even the small ones had detail to them. the house was roughly as big as a basic two story with basement, and there was several decorations on the lawn around it, made of both metal and wood, and each of them quite well made, It all made Maruki smile even more as it all brought back so many memories.

Then as they rounded the corner they would see a woman with a turtle shell, her back to them as she worked on something on the hammer, the hammer though was quite large and looked like she shouldn't be able to lift it with one arm, beside her was two buckets of water, they both said water on them, but one said Metal, the other said Smith apparently to keep the Turtle fishwoman hydrated as she worked the forge.

Across from her was where the sound of construction was coming from, a single Octopi fishman was working on several projects at once and apparently had made more then one part at one time of the thing he was making, Xavier would recognize the things both were working on where replicas of his fathers sword as well as a to scale replica of his fathers ship and home, Both of them apparently absorbed in there work as nether actually looked up.

Maruki smiled at Xavier as she then looked over to them again cupped all six hands near her mouth and let out a very VERY loud "WHA~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~" startling both of them and making them look up, both far to skilled to make mistakes on what they where working on, and they both went from an annoyed surprised look to a happy one as they both got up and headed over, Maruki's mother getting there first and hugging her tightly.

Maruki! Oh I am so glad your okay hun, we were so worried about you, I mean after you asked for manuals on how to fight...I was worried that you where going to go bounty hunter or something" she then looked over at Xavier now that she was closer her small tank top and shorts where easier to see behind the apron, apparently sporting Blue and white colors. "OH Xavier your here too" she said with a smile as she walked over to him and gave him a hug as well.

Then Maruki's father hugged her with all six arms as he laughed happily "Maruki Gah~~!!! So glad you came to visit how is my little girl Gah~~?" he held her happily as he looked over to Xavier "and I hope you have been taking good care of my little girl mister Gah~~" he said in a mock serious tone.

Jericho was throwing things around his room, still searching for his beloved hat and glasses. While both were kind of wacky in appearance, they made him happy, so he'd turn the ship upside-down if he had to. But as he was ready to wake Niteo up to ask him where they could possibly be, he had a thought pop into his head. Maybe...maybe they weren't in his room anymore?

That was a possibility, maybe someone picked them up and put them somewhere else. It was a stretch, but it was an idea nonetheless. Then he had another thought, this one shooting down the other. The room was a mess, no one in their right mind would want to steal anything out of here without using wearing something over their noses. Yes, the room was that dirty, it reeked of yuck. Maybe it was time to clean up after all, simply because he did 95% of the mess. Wouldn't be right if he let Niteo awake to a heaping ball of steamy yuckiness, though his reaction to it would be pretty funny.

Sighing, he slowly began to clean up the room, putting things back where they belonged, sweeping, mopping, the whole shebang. After minutes of hard work, and a few breaks, he was finally successful in cleaning the room. It looked...different, all clean and good-smelling. He should be rewarded for this, he did a good deed by cleaning this room up, he was even able to find his glasses in the midst of it. But now he was still missing his hat, though he figured that one for two wasn't all bad.

"Meh, I'll find it when I come back on the ship." He said to himself as he began to jog around the ship before hopping off of it. Landing on the docks, he looked at the surroundings and began to smile. This place was pretty big, and now that he was somewhat ready, he could explore. Glancing around, he saw what seemed like a casino and began to walk towards it curiously. It seemed to be pretty popular, the locals were very interested in it. There were some men in black running the place, but that wasn't really a concern of his. His concern, was if he was old enough to go inside and look around.

Soon seeing the shop Xavier began to put away his puzzle now, not wishing to meet Maruki's parents again and end up being too focused on the puzzle but he did make a few more moves and turns to see if he could get it before his attention averted to what he was actually doing right now. Perking up when Maruki called out as he noticed her mom and dad simply working, not missing a single beat while doing so, he smiled as they greeted the two of them.

Hearing the part where Marukis mother mentioned them going bounty hunting it wasn't too far from the truth, luckily they hadn't read the paper lately. If they had read it then they might flip out about them beating up grand line pirates in the blues, but hopefully not too much flipping out, after all this was a good thing in a way. Much better than maybe working on iron for long periods of time, no offense but Xavier couldn't sit and do that, he would much better beat up people that were bad then make weapons that could be used by bad people.

Waving to Maruki's mom as she addressed him he smiled and gave a simple, "Hello!" To her as she hugged him, hugging her back however getting a bit of dust on the boy. But with a few swipes from his hand he was able to dust himself off, the black smudges however he would need to clean though as he tried but they didn't come out. Looking around the shop for a second everything seemed like it was when he was a kid, nothing changed and the things that did change were small alterations to what was hanging on the walls.

Seeing her dad he smiled and gave a small wave to him as well, he was slightly intimidating as he scratched his head to his comment but answered the man none the less. "I try but shes really tough, its hard to take care of someone who can do that herself." Though it was a weird complement it was a complement none the less for Maruki, smiling to her he was glad she was independent and also happy she didn't need him for a lot of things, it meant he didn't have to worry and nor did her parents.

"Its nice to meet you guys again, um did you get our letters from last month?" He asked personally as Stacey came in, smiling and waving with a flap of her wing, sending a gust of air into the work space and making the fire for the furnace grow hot as well. Blushing under her yellow feather's she tried to keep her wings at her sides now, not wishing to kick up a small gust again and end up burning the place down in some kind of way.

The men standing outside of the casino seemed to notice Jericho but didn't pay him much mind, only a few of them talking to one another as they discussed random things. "Hey shouldn't that kid be with someone?" "Nah, not like we should care, if he has money to spend then he's welcomed to piss on a few customer's for all I care..." Two said as he passed by, no one really paying much regard to him as the stairs leading up into the boat was completely open.

But just as he might come by two men were throwing something over board, it was a man, he looked beaten up and they did this at the far end of the ship where most people wouldn't notice but at the same time it would be easy to notice if you were looking around. Splashing into the water the man they threw overboard seemed to not be dead but he wasn't awake either as he floated in the water and came to the shore, groaning as he laid on the beach helpless and tattered.

Maruki smiled as she hugged her dad and giggled at What Xavier Said, "Hey I may be tough but.....hmm I forgot what my point was Wha~~" she said with a giggle as she looked at the things her parents were making, seemed most were the normal things, tools for people, some work on a few wooden rails and the like for the village, then she spotted the replica sword and the oddest little toy ever, it was a little wooden doll of her family and she picked one up and started to giggle.

"Dad what are these Wha~?" she asked as she looked back at her father who turned around and gave a rather hearty laugh "HAHhaaa those Gah~~? Those are souvenirs I make for the customers, just little random toys, and then I decided to make one of myself for advertising Gah~ and it kinda grew from thee Gah~~" he said with a laugh.

Then Maruki's mother Spoke up "oh don't listen to Your Father, he's a big liar, he made one of you about a month after you left, and he has been making them every few month cause he missed you, and Yes Xavier me and Saul both got the letters from your guys honeymoon" she giggled a bit as Saul seemed to blush and scratch behind his head.

Maruki Giggled as she heard this and put the doll down a smile on her face and a massive blush on her cheeks from the joke her mom had made "well thanks for thinking of me Wha~~ then again I guess you both would Wha~~" she said as she pointed at a little metal sculpture that looked a lot like her, Making her mother blush and giggle a bit as she picked it up, it was a little metal statue of an octopi fish girl jumping up and apparently cheering happily, with the largest most cheerful smile you could imagine.

It felt really nice to know that even if she was far away here parents where still finding ways to include her in the family in some small way, it meant she had a connection to her home in some small form, "well i am glad you guys got the letters I sent Wha~~" she said with a smile, and an odd glassy look to her eyes.

In her head though there was chaos as the little Maruki crew was running around trying to stop an overload of her brain the little Maruki captain coming out of her office and looking around
Status Report NOW!!!" one of the other Marukis gave a salute and nodded "Sir we took a direct hit by a sonic weapon of some kind, and it nearly over loaded the brain, we are currently doing damage control but it's not looking good systems are failing one by one and it looks like a total system restart will be needed".

the Little Maruki Captain nodded "carry on....and umm...where is the trouble maker?" of course the captain was referring to the one known as 'sane' maruki and the deckhand maruki smiled "we took the liberty of locking her in the broom closet again sir" at about that time angry sounding thumps could be heard from the broom closet and the Captain Maruki only nodded.

As Jericho continued to approach the casino, some of the men in black had passed him by. As they did so they had spoken about how all he needed was money and he'd be able to enter the casino with no problems...well then, lucky he brought some along with him. Though it was really for any snacks he happened to come upon, a little curiosity never really hurt anyone, so he continued on his way into the casino when he glanced over at a certain thing that was going on.

There were two guys carrying something, he couldn't really make the object out much but he knew it was something big. Continuing to look on, his eyes widened a bit as he realized that the object was actually some guy, and he didn't look to good. Whatever had happened to him, it had really did a number on him. Hopefully the men carrying him were getting ready to take him to the hospital or something, though he was a bit suspicious at the fact that they were so far away from the stairs. Well, they were getting to take him somewhere alright, they threw him over shore...how rude!

The guy hit the water with a splash, floating around before he had been washed ashore. He wasn't dead, he seemed to still be alive, but his condition didn't get any better because of that overboard bath he took. A bit worried for the man's safety, Jericho took a detour from the casino and began to make his way to the beach shore where the man was lying. Walking up beside the guy, he squatted down to get a better look at his face before poking his forehead. "Hey mister, you alright?"

Smirking a bi to Maruki's almost scatter brained like attitude he gave a small laugh to her comment, "Haha~ its a complement, try thinking about it before you say its bad silly~" Letting her enjoy her reunion with her family he was happy to hear that they got everyone's letters, not to mention that they were doing so well. Wondering a bit about his mother he decided to ask them about it, "Hey um Marleen, how has my mom been doing?"

Though waiting for a response he didn't mind just taking a small look at everything while Maruki and her fokes began to talk to one another. At the same time Stacey was sticking her beak into a few things, she found human related stuff pretty interesting, after all if they could make a device that allows her to say a few words she could more or less do anything with some help.

"Honeymoon? Well uh we didn't really do anything like go you and stuff, but we did take some pictures of places we went together, some of them are kinda cute." Smiling He gave Maruki a small hug, pressing his cheek on her's to show the combined cuteness as he did his 'sparkly eyes' to cement this. But he was quick to let her go, she was blushing already, he didn't need her reacting the way she did when he gave her a kiss.

Nor did he need to tell them about that little event either, least Maruki becomes a vegetable thanks to her parents saying snarky comments about it, well...not so much snarky as in just comments parents normally do when they find out their son or daughter has interest in someone else. Going back into what Maruki was holding and picked up it was a small statute of herself, it looked well made and by telling the look in her eyes she was happy for having her parents care so much about her.

"Maruki? you okay? You have that dazed out look in your eyes." Poking her a few times he wnated to make sure she was alright and wasn't going to be lost in space like last time. However he didn't know what triggered this expression but at the same time he was only being sure the little Maruki's in her head weren't going threw a crisis situation.

Going back to the man at the shore he seemed to open is eyes and spit out sea water as he looked up at the boy poking his head, grumbling in annoyance as he began to get up, waving off his pokes. "*sigh* just a kid...well if you really want to know I'm not too alright at the moment, I...I just lost what could be my lively hood to those damn pirates..."

Continuing he began to explain a bit more, venting since he had no one to really vent too at the moment except Jericho. "This casino came only a week ago, sure it seemed fun on the outside and I even won some money but after one game they took it all and I was behind after that. I was willing to sell almost anything to get my family out of dept but they wished for my wife and daughter...I went to them just now to beg them to take anything but them but they wouldn't have it and threw me out."

"Sorry, this shouldn't be your problem, I just needed someone to vent too...can't go to the marines since its a legal transaction, not to mention they said they would come for my family if I did...I just don't know what options I have left." The worried man that seemed to be in his late 30's began to toss off seaweed from his shoulder, looking at the sea as well as taking a few glances at the large casino ship as he felt a massive amount of regret for even stepping foot on it.

Marleen smiled as she looked at Xavier "well you know how your mother is sometimes, but we help as much as we can, Saul and Myself have even helped with her harvest a few times, she does enjoy having the help, and the twins seem to like the toys we make for them at times, she always seems happy to and more so since you started to send letters every month" she said with a smile as she had a feeling Maruki wasn't going to be responsive for a few moments.

Both of Maruki's parents smiled and Marleen even giggled a bit at seeing Xavier hug her and give that Sparkly eyes look, Saul letting out a hearty laugh "well glad to know you two have been enjoying each others company Gah~~" by this point he figured that Maruki would be unresponsive considering her eyes looked totally glassed over and her face looked like a tomato, sometimes he wondered if Xavier even knew his affect on his little girl....course if he did and he was just messing with her like this all the time well....he might have to beat the boy into a puddle.

Inside Maruki's head the little crew of tiny MAruki's where still in panic mode as they tried to keep the brain from shutting down and restarting "okay everyone calm down we just need to take a deep breath and make the heart slow down a bit, then we can get the brain back in order and start to work on restoring all the other systems" the little Captain Maruki said loudly to the others who FINALLY took the time to look up to her and and saluted.

Then one of them moved forward a bit and scratched her head "Oh umm...sir?..about the report that the trouble maker was already tied up in the broom closet....well....we got the wrong one....we think she changed places with the one we sent to detain her...I mean we all do kinda look alike after all" a few of the others nodded while a few looked a little annoyed at that comment.

The little captain Maruki facepalmed as she was given the news "Oi...okay first things first we get the brain working..." As she gave her little speech the one little Maruki we know as "sane" Maruki was on the other side of the brain and checking a few wires that had come loose "Doing everything they can to fix it my six arms...they didn't even check to see if everything was connected right...there" and the power turned back on in the brain, she then headed to the window, the eyes, with a sign that said "send help and Bacon".

Meanwhile the captain was finishing up "and now that the power is on.....can someone detain her and get that sign out of her hands before someone can see her!!!!" she pointed at "sane" Maruki who looked back and meeped as they all rushed her. well....at least she got the brain working again.

In the real world Mauki suddenly hiccuped then again, then a third time as Xavier would notice a little twinkle in her eye, which was probably Sane Maruki waving her sign, she then looked around for a second and put the toy of herself down before smiling "Yeah I am fine just really happy to be home again I guess Wha~~" she said with a large blush on her face, she then giggled a bit as she Noodles felt her forehead then wriggled back into her hair.

"OH that's right Wha~~ Mom Dad this is noodles my pet bunny, we got him on candy island as thanks for helping this large ship that was just full of the little guys Wha~...I think I mentioned him in one of my letters Wha~~ And this is Scuttles, he was mailed to us one day, really don't know why I think it was a contest or something Wha~~ but he helps take care of the ship I built Wha~~" she smiled as he introduced the two of them and her parents took there time looking them over. of course at the same time Maruki was hoping that nether of them heard her say she had built the ship, she had been going this whole time telling them she bought it.

Jericho listened as the man told him his story. It seemed that he was really in a pickle, the people in the casino were seemingly not joking when they said they were gonna take his wife and daughter from him. Well then, can't just allow some people to take a man's family from him, it wouldn't feel right to just let that past him. Well it was official, he was gonna help this guy out! Besides, he'd finally get to see what the inside of the casino looked like.

"Hmm, pirates you say?" He muttered, stroking his chin as if he had a beard to stroke in the first place. That certainly made things interesting, if these guys were pirates, then he'd simply kick their butts and help this guy out. Now on the other hand, if he was just calling them pirates while they really weren't, then that was a different story. Still, he was on the lookout for pirates somewhat, couldn't hurt to at least check to makensure they werej't pirates or anything.

Okay, here's what his mind had grasped so far. One, this man needed someone to help him that didn't happen to be a marine...check. Two, his family was in danger and he needed someone to make sure that they wouldn't be harmed, also check. Three, this casino place was probably legit, but because of the things they had asked for when someone was in debt, they might need a sword to the gut to persuade them to at least leave this island alone. Pfft, scratch that thought, if he found any reason to send anyone to jail, he'd jump at the chance. Hey, needed some wonderful adventure to report back to the crew, what could've been better than taking down a crooked casino?

Nodding in agreement to his own thoughts, he began to smile widely as he turned to the man and chuckle. "Don't worry mister, I'll help you!" He said to the guy. "I was interested in the casino anyway, might as well check it out and see if the place is as legit as that transaction you did." He told him as he began to walk towards the casino boat. Making his way to the boat, he began to walk up the stairs that would eventually lead him to the entrance. "Hmm, wonder what a casino looks like on the inside?" He thought aloud as he finally arrived in front of the casino.

Xavier did spot the small twinkle in Maruki's eyes, it was a bit odd given her glassed over appearance as she seemed like she was going to be a statute for a while thanks to his comment. Looking at her again she seemed alright after the twinkle past, weird, but he welcomed it as it meant she wouldn't be frozen any more hopefully as he decided not to make her blush any more while with her parents at least.

Letting Maruki introduce her pet bunny that they got from a ship a while ago as well as scuttles, a present for stopping the giant crab that was basically rampaging some time ago he could tell her parents were interested in them both. One being cute and the other being a high tech piece of work, mulling over what they said about his mom as well as his younger twin sister's eh was happy to hear that she wasn't all by herself in all this, nor did he believe she was a burden on everyone.

After all she was a strong woman, even after his dad died she didn't get down about herself, even trying to smile when she knew she wished to cry about it. She did cry a lot back then, but now a days she was more confident about herself and really made himself and his older sister to be a great role model as she always said he took after his dad but his sister takes after mom.

"Thanks, I'm glad to hear that shes doing alright, I think I will go and see them all soon, I bet they have been worried sick lately with all the stuff we've been up too and all the places we've visited recently. Oh and we got scuttles for that crab thing remember?" Trying to remind her he knew she was kinda trying to lay low about all the stuff they had done, he could only imagine that if they knew about some of those things they would worry ten times as much.

"Oh and we also had some friends come along with us both but they are a bit indisposed as of right now, one of them is named Niteo and the other is Jericho. I think we mentioned them in our letter's, at least I did I think." Thinking for a second he wondered what Jericho was doing right now, he said he wnated to go sight seeing and maybe do a bit of work, however he hopped he wouldn't get into too much trouble while they were out visiting family.

The inside of the casino was one of the most extravagant things ever, it was a ship sure but the red decorated carpets, multiple slot machines as well as live entertainment and games of chance all would leave anyone sparking with energy to just play and enjoy everything. Show girls walked around handing people drinks for what seemed like free, they were red liquid cups and looked to be a popular drink among everyone in there.

In a few area's men in black suits like outside were around, simply enjoying the show and or standing guard around the middle floor of the casino, after all the ship had 4-5 floors in this place so there was a lot of guards. In the near back the floor owner was in his back office, looking at everyone threw camera's, the office was guarded as well and seemed to only display the floor they were on currently as it didn't show the deck, bottom and other floors at all.

Now for the floor it was very vibrant, anyone was allowed to play as well, as even small kids with parents were playing small games too, betting play money and drinking the hand outs form the girls that passed by.

Maruki Smiled as her parents busied themselves looking at the little crab bot and plucking the little Noodle roll off her head and petting the little bunny, so she looked at Xavier and giggled a bit "well they seem to like the two of them" she said as she was glad that they seemed distracted by the bunny and crab so they didn't seem to realize that she said she built her own ship, and she was glad that maybe they wouldn't head off to the ship to see her handy work, not that she thought she did a bad job but more because she was worried that they might wanna work on her ship.

As she thought this she looked to Xavier once more as he mentioned visiting his mother and sisters and she liked that Idea and she smiled even more "That would be great I wanna see them again Wha~~ I hope they remember me after all this time, maybe I should make some toys for them Wha~~?" she said as she looked at the workshop, maybe she could make something for them later after the meeting to make sure she could make something she knew they would like...that made a lot of sense.

Looking at her parents she started to giggle as it seemed Noodles had moved to her mothers head and made a little nest there, while her father was apparently still checking out Scuttles as the crab-bot was busying itself tidying up the workshop area and basically trying to study how it works without having to take it apart, Her mother meanwhile was giggling as she pets her head bunny.

"Well Honey they are welcome to come see us if they want anything we would be glad to meet them" she giggled as she pets the bunny a bit "mind if we let these little guys stay with us during your stay? Noodles is so cute and I think Scuttles will have a lot to clean up along here....then again Maybe your mother might be happy to have scuttles around the house?" she smiled as she pets the bunny then moves it to Maruki's head.

Maruki giggled as Saul also gently shooed Scuttles away, the little crab-bot scuttling away with a bubbling giggle as it waved to them very happily,  well Xavier did you want to go and say hi to your folks? before someone warns them?" she giggled quite a bit.

Jericho looked around the casino and simply stared in awe. This place was simply...well, amazing! He had never seen such a beautifully decorated room before, well, on a ship anyways. The carpets were red, seemed like a good start, red was one of his favorite colors. there seemed to be alot of games around, he'd be sure to try a few out before he left this place.

Continuing his search of the ship's casino, he began to notice that there were ladies walking around giving out drinks. Hopefully they were free, he didn't see any reason for them not to be. Everyone who was here seemed to be having a great time, and for a split second he doubted that the place was capable of throwing someone overboard like they were the mafia. Then again, he did see it with his own eyes, and that had to account for something.

He saw some more of the men in black walking around, though they were enjoying themselves as well. he didn't like the fact that they were security or anything, though he had to admit that they did look pretty cool like that. Looking around a bit more, he had finally spotted the owner's office, though it seemed pretty guarded as well. Well then, looks like he was gonna have to play nice for a little bit, if only to see if he'd be able to get inside.

Approaching the owner's office with a plan forming in his mind, Jericho stopped once he had made his way in front of the men in black and simply tapped one of them on the shoulder. It was a gentle tap, but forceful enough to get the man's attention. "Hey, excuse me mister man in black. I heard through the vines of grapeness that some of your guys threw a man off of this here ship and I was just wondering if you knew anything about that?" He asked him. He had expected an answer like 'Nope' or 'What's it to you, kid?' or 'random noises that come out of adults' mouth', so he had stared at the man with an accusing expression.

The site of Maruki's family all enjoying the smaller members of his little crew was very cute, of course Stacey felt a bit jealous because she didn't get much attention but she didn't mind this really. Besides they were home now and she could meet mom again, so could Xavier as he smiled at a few memories he had that were interrupted once Maruki brought up the suggestion to go meet his own mom and siblings.

Liking the sound of it he nodded to her, adding with a chipper tone and slowly brightening expression as he got his hopes up slowly for meeting them all again once more. "Yeah sure I think we can go see them now if you like, unless your enjoying your time with your mom and dad then we can go over to my old house later. I don't want to pull you away and make you feel like your getting dragged or anything like that."

It was true that he wanted to go and see how mom as well as younger twin sister's, wishing to hug and talk about what he had been doing on the high seas with his friends and what not but at the same time he knew Maruki hadn't seen her fokes in a long time. So if she wished to stay just to talk to them for a while then after maybe a little while they could all meet up for maybe a full family dinner then yeah he didn't mind that at all.

Giggling a bit at how cute noodles was acting while Maruki's mom gave her a few pets and 'unwrapped' the little rabbit as it seemed content with her attentions he waved to both Scuttles and Noodles as well. Gesturing for Stacey to follow as the large duck went over to him after examining things Maruki's parents had on the wall, simple weapons as well as exotic works probably made famous or just special in general with how well made they were.

"I'll be heading out with Stacey now, bye bye for now, I'll bring Maruki back in a little while if your coming along I mean." Waiting for her response before they would head out he smiled as she looked very happy, this must've been a major boost in moral for her since she got to see her parents again. It would also be a major one for him since he missed his mom a lot and siblings when out and about sailing threw the sea's and other places.

The man he poked seemed to just look down at Jericho, folding his arms as he stated, "We throw people out all the time that stink up the place when they have no money, if your broke and can't play games here or are just a dead beat then there's no reason for you to be in here. Anyways why do you care?"

Hearing they were going Marleen and Saul smiled then noticed that Stacey seemed a bit jealous so they both walked over and gave her a hug "oh don't be like that Stacey you know we missed you too, you just looked busy checking everything out is all""Yeah didn't wanna pull you away from your curiosity it's good to see you are back to you silly duck Gah~~" she both said as they hugged her then let her go and smiled to the rest of them, Then they both gave a little laugh as Maruki hugged them both.

"see you guys later, maybe we could all have a bit meal together? both families Wha~~? that would be GREAT Wha~~~~!!!" she smiled as she waved to them a she left with Xavier, she knew her parents wouldn't mind her leaving for a bit, after all they had been in the middle of work, and they knew she would be here for a bit "Feels good to be home after so long Wha~~" she proclaimed as she stretched a bit as she walked with Xavier towards his house, another walk she remembered quite well.

Remembering Back, Her first time walking down this way was during one of her first wanderings of the island, she had wandered off the road and into the forest for a bit and found the weird little boy that was Xavier poking a tree, she giggled a bit at the memory of how she just watched for a bit before she walked over and started to pester him with questions then started to poke the tree as well for no other reason then she was board, and really that was how she started hanging out with him. She was bored and he always seemed to be in that odd clearing poking a tree or kicking at it or something just as random.

With a smile Maruki continued to walk along and she looked off into the woods, still staying with Xavier and the Stacey though, she then pointed into the woods and giggled a bit "it was about in that direction I met the oddest boy poking a tree Wha~~" she said with a giggle as she continued to walk, Scuttles walking along with them while Noodles was sitting on Maruki's head nibbling on the lettuce leaf now. "I wonder if that tree grew to be tougher after all that poking and kicking and stuff Wha~~?" she asked no one in particular, really it was just musing out loud.

Jericho listened to what the man had to say and was a bit disappointed at his answer. Sure, it wasn't what he had expected to hear, but it was still displeasing in the end. So they simply threw people out if they didn't have money or seemed to just be lounging around? How rude, these people needed to be taught how to be nice or something, seemed like he'd have to be the guy to teach them.

"Well, here's the thing." He started, clearing his throat so that he could get his point across. "I saw this guy get thrown overboard because he did 'something', I don't know what, and he told me something interesting." He told the man, poking his arm as if his words were very important. "He told me that he was playing games and then he got stuck with some bad times, and then he said that you guys had demanded something from him, or at least, someones."

At this point Jericho had entered his detective mode, pacing back and forth as he began to rub his chin. A seemingly normal thing to do in his mind, but he really was thinking about what he was going to say next, it had to be clever and smart and, well, other stuff. "He said that he'd give you things to pay off his debt, but you guys wanted something more, so you guys said you'd take his wife and daughter from him. Admit it!" He said, pointing his finger at the man as if accusing him. He was getting into this detective thing a bit too heavily, because now he felt it right to add dramatic sounds to his accusations

"Yes, admit that you are guilty of asking of this." He said, gesturing as if he had a pipe, which he substituted with his thumb. Yep, seemed as if he had this whole thing in the bag now, all he needed to do was prove it and he'd be a happy kid.

Chirping happily she seemed to out right say "Thanks!" As he hugged Saul back, enjoying the hug from the older and bigger octopus as she understood that she shouldn't be so jealous, after all she was the senior animal member of the crew, she was basically their captain. Looking over to them Xavier almost forgot she had that voice collar thing, maybe she would start using it more when she wanted to communicate rather than Morse code which was a pain to translate sometimes.

Hearing Maruki start to go on a bit about her own feelings towards being home he couldn't agree more, it was like coming back to a candy shop you used to love as a kid and finding out they had everything you loved still. Smiling to her proclamation he simply went along, heading up the side of the stone road heading up past some of the near by hills, the little house would come up soon once they walked a bit further but they had time to talk a little now while walking.

She mentioned the tree Xavier looked over and scratched his head, he remembered that as well, the reason why he did that as a kid was because he was imitating his dad. He knew how to use some attacks and abilities and fought using strong kicks that knocked people down easily, his own fighting abilities have changed to be more forced on both his hands and feet but he still had those thoughts from the past. Training everyday to try and use those techniques and become just like his father in almost every aspect.

"I think so, after all if it hand not then I would have broken it a long time ago..." Musing along with her for a moment he began to head to his old home now, out in the fields about half a foot balls field worth of land was all farming area. The rest were rolling hills combined with part of the town near by, oh in the fields however he noticed two small girls picking peppers and placing them into a basket.

They didn't seem to notice Xavier right away till he called out to them, they were his twin younger sisters, Lisa and Susie. They looked like him quite a bit but they had his mom's red hair, or at least Lisa did, Susie had his dads black hair while wearing a hat to typically hit how 'bland it was' or so she would say at ties. Soon the two of them would drop their baskets and stare at him a if not knowing or understanding what was going on, but Susie as quick to snap out of everything and soon glomped him onto the ground.

"X-Xavier? is it really you??" "Of course it is, who else would it be?" Cheering she hugged him tightly, nearly crying as she whimpered, sniffling as she seemed to get emotional, holding her back eh could understand that she might have been worried about him and well him being gone for nearly a year was not something to scoff at. "There there, no crying okay? I missed you too Susie, and I see your happy Lisa."

He pointed out as his other sister flustered, feeling roe shy than her sibling but she smiled none the less, "Yeah I am, but I think mom would be more happy to see you now, oh and hi Maruki, Xavier told me that you guys had been traveling together. Did you guys make out yet?" Even though she was slightly shy she as also teasingly outgoing to an extent as Xavier flustered, "N-no, well...maybe but your not supposed to think about that stuff now a days, your 11." He pouted as she nodded.

"Sorry hehe~"

The man looked at Jericho confused at first, wondering why he seemed like he was acting as if he were a detective almost as the man was taken by surprise when he began to point out what some of his boys did a few minutes ago. "Fine I admit it, but it doesn't change anything, you see that logo?" Pointing to a logo of a black and white spade that was inverted down the middle he continued to talk.

"Were the black spades crew, we know how to have a good tie and then some, we can pay off anyone for them just to keep quite about our little operations and no one will listen to you kid. Sorry to break it to ya but you might as well tell that sorry excuse for a husband man that we can buy who we like in these times, so either he gives us our money or his wife and kid are ours. Now I think you over stayed your welcome kid, time to get out." Reaching for him he was going to try and take his arm and pull him out of the place.

both of Maruki's parent waved to the five of them, as they headed off, smiling brightly as they both started to talk to each other about what to bring to the large supper that they where planning on making the whole occasion, then of course the two of them went back to work needing to finish the projects they were working on since they were getting paid for them after all.

As they walked and Xavier made his own comment about the tree he had been poking she smiled a bit and nodded, more then likely he would have broken the tree, thought that did bring a question to her mind as she looked over at him "I didn't hold your training back did I Wha~~? and I'm not slowing you down now ether right Wha~~?" that was a question that was always bugging her even as a kid, since the last thing she wanted to do was to hold him back.

But before he could answer they came upon the farm of his family and she smiled as she spotted the twins and waved to them with every arm at her disposal, then She giggled as she watched one of them basically tackle hug Xavier to the ground "I think they are happy to see you Wha~~" she said jokingly as she looked down at Xavier and Susie before waving to the shyer of the twins and giving the largest smile she could.

Thinking back she remembered the girls thinking she was there age when they first met her, well and when they all played together anyway, and she giggled at that thought, they way they always treated her like they would a girl there age, and how surprised they where to hear that she was almost as old as there big brother. Course that was where the little teasing started but she didn't mind it, she knew they where only being playful after all.

Of course as she thought that one of them asked if they had made out yet and Maruki was about to laugh and tell her no, even though her face was turning red. When Xavier Decided to answer and said Maybe that was about all it took for her brain to shut down and for Maruki to simply stand there going "Whaaaaaaa~" as her brain was currently in ether shock....or a closet as it tried to hide from the embarrassment.

"Crew huh? Like, what type of crew?" Jericho had asked the man as a small smile had appeared on his face. Black Spades huh? What kind of a nutjob came up with that name? He scoffed at it, believing that he could've come up with a better name in his sleep. Alas, there were other things that he was concerned about, like the fact that he basically said that him and his buddies were in the clear from being accused or anything. Jeez, money seemed to talk alot to people, well he wasn't one of them.

"I don't need much to figure out that you guys are serious about taking thay guy's family from him." He said to the man. It seemed true, they were a crew after all, so they'd at least keep their promise. "But taking his family from him? A bit much if you ask me...which is why I won't let it happen. Why? Because I care." He was continuing on, but as he did so the man had grabbed his arm and had begun to drag him out of the casino ship. "Wah! Lemme go you big ugly...ugly...monkey-faced booger!" He called as he kicked the man in his family jewels.

"No way your not Maruki, your wern't before and your sure as heck not doing so now, besides I could barely do anything before when I was here on the island. Even if I trained majority of my life I wouldn't improve much unless i ventured out into the world and beat people that were stronger or just better than myself in certain area's. Of course you helped in improving my abilities, I remember back when everyone was scared of y...

[Ricter]

Continuation...

[spoiler]After all by the looks of it she had another 'Maruki episode' where she got too embarrassed and now was zoned out again. "I think you broke her again Xavier, quick! lets draw on her face!" "Your so mean, alright I guess we'll jut have to wait for her to come out of it, I should really watch what I say." he said as he then looked to both his sister's.

Taking Maruki's hand so she wouldn't be standing in the middle of the field with her black out look in her eyes he began to head to the small house now, smiling as he came to the door and the twins rushed in first. Getting his mother when she came over to the door she paused, almost unable to contain herself from hugging him tightly and spinning in place. She was taller than him by about 4 inches and had long red hair, a fair face and a womanly body, resembling the amount of kids she had as her wide hips swayed every time she walked.

Pulling his ear now the happy moment seemed to take a weird turn, "Xavier, why did you call! Showing up her out of the blue like this, you nearly made me drop some plates I had!" She said with a stern look as Xavier groaned at the ear pulling, trying to escape but soon she stopped and gave him another hug. "I'm glad your safe and sound here though sweetie..." Smiling Xavier nodded and hugged her back, "Thanks mom..."

Letting her go soon after he pointed to Maruki with a simple gesture as she was with him as well after all, "Oh hello there Maruki, I see your coming along with Xavier too, have you went and gone to see your parents yet?" Waiting for her answer Xavier began to take a small look around his old home, everything looked the same except for how they arranged furniture. It was still dusty as ever but he enjoyed the dust, it was like a novelty.

The man had no warning to being socked strait in the gems, by the kids foot that is, dropping to the floor as he groaned and whined another guard simply laughed at him as two of them walked over. "Looks like your having trouble there haha~ can't even handle a little kid any more? Geez and you call yourself a black spade, anyways fun's over, get the hell out of here kid before you get hurt, I don't think you want to pick a fight with guys that came from the grand line." One of the other men warmed as the people here seemed oblivious o what was going on.

Maruki kinda stayed a bit out of it as Xavier led her to his old home, well...he was more dragging as she was taking kinda slow steps as she was tugged along, then as his mother talked to him Maruki kinda stayed a bit out of it the whole time, till his mother looked at her and asked her something "we are sorry but Maruki is currently experiencing technical difficulties, please leave a message after the Wha.....Wha~~~" she was still kinda out of it really.

Inside her head one could imagine the little Maruki crew were frantically trying to restart the brain as the little captain Maruki sighed and facepalmed "Never in all my time as a captain have I ever had a Maruki that had so many breakdowns....Can someone please find out WHY this keeps happening and FIX it?" she sighed as she looked up at the little maruki's currently trying to restrain Sane Maruki.

"and someone toss that trouble maker in a closet or something and lock her inside it, I don't want her causing anymore trouble or trying to put more sighs on the main portholes...and someone please clean those signs off the portholes" all over the eyes were sighs calling for help and the like that several little Maruki's were busily taking down now. and as the two dragging Sane Maruki away passed the Brain she kicked out and managed to knock something back into place as the brain started up again.

Back in the normal world Maruki shook her head and then looked around "huh? where? why? oh? hi there Wha~~" she smiled at Xavier's mom as she ran her question bath through her head "yeah we already talked to my folks, I think they are interested in a nice family meal both families showing up and just hanging out Wha~~ OH and this is Noodles Wha~~" she pointed to the bunny that had nested in her hair after she told her about the family dinner Idea.

"and the little guy that scuttled on by you is Scuttles Wha~~" she said with a giggle as Scuttles had indeed slipped passed her and was already busily cleaning and dusting, his little crab-bot brain making him wanna tidy up at least a little as a greeting, a content bubbling purr escaping him "and don't worry he is harmless Wha~~ he just likes to take care of things...like the ship...any cleaning he sees needing to be done things like that Wha~~" she giggled a bit more.

Jericho felt accomplished, he had successfully brung an adult to their knees. Well, not his knees exactly, but it was good enough to make him feel good about himself. His head was filled with a bunch of wonder and glee, he couldn't wait to tell the others about what he had done today! Well, he really hoped that they'd understand he was doing it for the sake of justice, but he knew he was doing it because it was simply something to do.

Then some of the guy's friends had come over and said something about him being a little kid. Okay, for one thing, he was pretty sure he wasn't that young...or looked that young either. Another thing, he was pretty sure that these were the guys that had thrown the man overboard, they were the ones that he was looking for. Well, they all looked alike in their black suits and shizz, so maybe he was just imagining it or something. Whatever, he was just gonna whoop some black-suited butt until he got inside of that office they were so keen on guarding.

"Grand Line huh? Why do I keep running into nutjobs that keep claiming they came from the place?" He said with a sigh. Just remembering that wannabe musician was enough to make him upset, not to mention the terrible music he played. Well since these guys were so sure they were up for a battle with him, he wouldn't keep them waiting or anything. Nope, these guys were gonna get a fist to the face, a kick to the nads, and...well...whatever else he'd have to do to kick their butts!

Feeling like an eventual hero, he believed it time to do some much needed taunting. "Hey, you losers say the Black Spades are so cool, just wait 'til I'm through with ya!" He said, smirking as he unsheathed his sword. "I may not know much about cards, but it won't matter when I send you mooks home to your pervy dads!"

Xavier's mother gave a simple nod to her as she soon snapped out of her small daze, both herself and her son kinda wondering why she was in one but only Xavier could give a good guess to it as his sister's wen into the back rooms. Seeing Scuttles and Noodles she giggled, "Aww, they are so cute, I wish I could just keep both of you~...and I could see a ship docking from the sea only a few minutes ago, it was built like one of your parents designs but I didn't think it was theirs completely...it lacked something...let me guess, thats the sip you built right?"

Smiling she was pretty observant of her surroundings, a quality that got Xavier in trouble a lot, while she was talking Stacey had began to go around the farm, heading to the barn as she looked around at her place of birth. Where she grew up, it brought up a lot of fun memories related to Xavier's and Maruki as she really felt like Xavier's sister almost. "Well I think we can call the company which we got scuttles to maybe give you one as a present but I don't know if he would just follow you...unless scuttles wants too that is."

Looking down to the bubbling robot he perked up when the door was knocked on, wondering who it might be he walked over and opened it, seeing Niteo at the door he smiled and opened it fully for him. "Hey you made it, come in we just got here actually after visiting Maruki's parents...hm, looks like Jericho is still sight seeing a bit, hopefully he doesn't get himself into trouble..." Briefing him a bit at what he missed so far he let him into the small home in which he was born.

It wasn't a great house but it was nice none the less, thanks to the money supplied by his father when he was alive it was pretty standard to have a medium sized house with an upstairs for bed rooms while everything else looked to be situated like it was some what new. Stepping t the side he let his mom greet Niteo with a simple smile and light bow, "Hello there, you must be Niteo, Xavier's told me a bit about you and how you never take off your helmet too Hehehe~" Giggling the red haired woman smiled to him, she had a warm glow about her that seemed very inviting and happy.

Looking over to the food she was cooking Xavier pointed it out as he was slightly hungry, he had eaten not to long ago but he was becoming noon and a snack sounded great. "Hey mom, can we get some of that when we have this get together with Maruki's family?" Looking to the stew she was making she nodded and went over to check on it, Xavier learned most of his cooking talents from his mother while his sisters took more of a protective fighter role that his dad had. Of course he inherited that too but only later on in his life while his sister's would just only start learning to cook right about now.

"Yep, but it will be a while befroe its fully done, maybe an hour of simmering, you guys can stay around here if you like? There's plenty to explore around the farm and if you feel like just staying and kicking up your feet then feel free, that go's mostly for your Mr. Niteo since your our guest here." After all Xavier and also Maruki were probably very relaxed in this house, on the other hand Niteo was new to this place and so he would probably not feel to welcomed unless given permission to do things.

Sitting down in a dinning room chair Xavier sighed and st reached, loving the feel of his old couch, it still had the butt groves in it from when he sat in it too. "Thanks mom, well I guess we just relax here for a bit unless you guys want to do something else. I wish Jericho was here but meh, he's off doing his own thing, best not to tie him down with our little activities." Though he was tempted to see what he was up too by calling him on his den den mushi.

Meanwhile it was almost as if karma was messing with what Xavier predicted as the men saw him pull to a sword the man that got kicked in the junk got up with a groan and growled. The two other men did notice he had a sword before but didn't think it was real, however with the light dancing off the edges it was indeed real. And it seemed pulling out a weapon in here was a big no no as soon about 10 guys from around the room pulled out guns on Jericho, there were a total of 30 guys in this room alone, never mind the floor on the ship he was on as it was well above 100.

"Kids got balls I can say that...hm, wait...I think I've seen you before haven't I?" Jericho might not know what he meant by that but he would probably learn as he soon said, "Oh shit! your that guy from that bounty hunter crew that took down Maliry and her crew, I'd recognize that stupid hat anywhere!" Pausing the guy got a bit scared, however he wasn't too scared as he looked around.

"But where's your friends at, hm? You might have 10 threat but compared to the others your not so scarey when your with out back up~" Pulling out a gun as well they were pointed at him from all side, and even threw all this the people in the casino paid it no mind, still drinking the beverages and eating the odd treats they gave out for free. Something else was going on in here...However they did have enough politeness to take people out of the area, but they seemed hooked on the game they were playing, as if they were zombies almost but the light outside snapped them out of it as they regained their senses.[/spoiler]

---------------------------

It was at this point Xavier began to snap out of his day dream as he was reminded of his past, this small memories about his old life making him miss his old friends and what not but he wouldn't dwell on it too much, he had to find out more about this place and see what it had to hold. After all he knew most of his friends were now gone from that world so their was no returning to it but maybe in this world he could try to let his mind not stick around those images and thoughts. Ones of Maruki, Jericho, and the others...it was all a bit painful to really think about but maybe he would try to not let his mind wonder like that, for now he would answer his question. "Yeah, we worked up a sweat, might be better to find a nice place to take a shower and relax." He said back as he looked around. Maybe the inn had rooms available?