Pirates? [Sabaku -> Mori]

Konran listened to the story, still feeling more of the calmness come over him with the more of the green herb that he inhaled. He was getting used to it at this point, and no longer coughed.

The girl was named Destiny, or Dez as Alec called her. She was a medic. An experiment she was working on made her turn back into a child. Konran couldn't understand how that could happen, but perhaps he wasn't meant to, so he didn't think on it long. She came looking for Alec, and hitched a ride on a ship that was hijacked.

With what he was just seeing, Konran knew that Destiny and this bear named Tibbers could have easily made minced meat of these pirates, but she went along under the guise of a harmless little girl. When Alec spotted them is when they got serious.

Konran was surprised to see that the bear could talk like humans could, and began to think that perhaps he'd inhaled too much of this green stuff. Alec thanked Tibbers for having Destiny's back, and welcomed him into the family. A crew member Alec about what they should do, and Alec responded by saying to take everything and sink the ship, something the pirates didn't agree with as they'd began to protest.

When Alec motioned for them to follow him, Konran jumped back over onto the Mossberg with him.

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Artemis listened as her sister explained her story. She had been working on a medical experiment when something caused it to go wrong, the result being that Dez got turned back into a little girl who looked even younger than Artemis. Dez explained that she had tried to reverse it using one of her highly skilled medical ninjutsu techniques - a skill that was supposed to be permanent - but it had only worked for a few hours before Dez ended up looking like she was now. Dez waited several days and realized that she was growing like a normal child would, so this change wasn't permanent in the long run. Apparently while Dez was traveling in search of finding them all she stumbled across the bear Tibbers who was really part of a Senjutsu clan and highly intelligent. After this Dez ended up paying some merchants so that she could travel on their ship with them and after having fallen asleep found herself waking up face to face with the pirates. Given that Dez had two choices - go with them or make a very long swim back to shore - Dez chose the easier of the two figuring that eventually they'd either end up running into someone else or hit land.

"...." Artemis was speechless at first. It sounded like a fun adventure, but it also sounded like something out of one the books Jynx had taken to reading before they left: a fairy tale. Yet, here was the proof in front of her. Her sister was younger than her, and she now had a teddy bear that could turn into a giant raging firey ball of fur at a moments notice. "Just... wow.", was what Artemis ended up saying.

While shaking her head some in disbelief she heard her father's first mate ask what to do with the ship to which her father replied to take anything not nailed down and sink the rest. The pirate crew seemed unhappy with this response, but Artemis knew that they didn't stand a chance against all of them so it wasn't like they had a choice but to deal with it. Shrugging to herself Artemis followed after her father, sister, and Konran, and jumped right back onto the Mossberg.

Once on the ship again she turned her attention back to her big - or was she little? - sister. "So, did it hurt? The experiment gone wrong I mean."

Destiny explained a very interesting tale, something that sounded like it came out of some book of fiction. However, it was apparently all true since the proof was right before Jynx's eyes. She never imagined such things could happen, but then again she never imagined being out of that cage she had grew up in. So, this was all new to her and she was just winging it as she went - perhaps one day she would get used to all of the surprises that the world had to offer her.

When Alec was asked what he wanted to do with the ship he gave his instructions and then headed across to the Mossberg with Destiny. Konran and Artemis followed suit. The pirate crew looked upset and Jynx just shook her head before muttering, "Sucks to be you guys."

Jynx ran up the rope she was standing on, across a horizontal pole, across another rope, and then onto the Mossberg. Once back on the ship she climbed herself down carefully, and jumped the last few feet to the deck. She moved out of the way of the crew and everyone else as she adjusted her shirt sleeves by folding them back up since they had started to slide down with all of the climbing she had been doing.

"Haha, no problem. She definitely seems to get into some interesting situations.", Tibbers commented after the top of his head was rubbed. While the first mate was asking Alec what he wanted to do Tibbers shifted his attention back onto the remaining pirate crew, eyeing them a bit like someone would eye a thick juicy steak. They hadn't harmed Destiny, that much was true, but they still had kidnapped her and put her in what was a potentially dangerous situation - so Tibbers didn't like them all that much.

Her father instructed that they should take everything not nailed down before carrying her over to the Mossberg. Destiny offered the pirate crew that was still alive a cheery and bit sarcastic wave goodbye before glancing around the Mossberg with quite a bit of curiosity. "So, where exactly did you get a ship, dad? And what have you guys been doing since you got here? I see some new faces." Destiny asked curiously.

Tibbers, meanwhile, climbed carefully from one ship to another. Once on the Mossberg he walked over until he was standing next to Alec and Dez. After a shimmer of cool to the touch fire surrounded Tibbers his form reverted back to that of a teddy bear. Destiny reached out her hand and the teddy bear flew right into it. With Tibbers tucked safely underneath of her arm she watched as several other individuals including her sister made their way back onto the Mossberg.

While the crew looted what was left of the pirate ship, Alec walked back up the deck and up 3 stairs to where the wheel was, sitting Dez on the railing next to it. He began to explain the tale of how they took over Kuraiyamigakure, and the gang called the "Headbands" that were running it through fear and extortion. Each of them took an area of the village and exterminated the boss that ran it, moving up the ladder of riff raff beforehand. While Artemis took over the rich district, Kinzoku took the slum area, Kuro handled the marketplace and Alec went north, to where the big boss that ran the whole city occupied.

All of them were eventually killed. Alec helped get the village back on its feet, ensuring the villagers that it would be run right, and they would be protected. He explained to Dez how Jynx and Konran were both prisoners and experiments, and how he'd taken them both in since neither of them had anyone else left in the world. Alec noticed that Konran was wearing the pirate captain's hat, and also how smoke was coming from underneath it. Alec tilted the brim of the hat, to notice a cigar of sorts at his lips and a calm look on his face. Alec took the cigar from his lips after sniffing the air a couple of time to take himself a drag, confirming it to be just what he thought it was. Alec took another drag, bigger than the fist, then put the cigar back to his lips.

"This is Dez, you guys," Alec said to Jynx and Konran, after choking back a cough. "She may not look it anymore, but she's actually grown, older than Artemis here."

The Mossberg crew finished loading everything. Alec told the first mate that he and the crew were to take what they wanted for themselves, and anything left over was to be sold and divided among the crew, surprising them all. When asked about his share, Alec said he didn't need any, all he wanted was for his crew to have everything they needed and wanted; in other words telling them basically that a vehicle only ran with gas in the tank. This just increased the crew's loyalty to him. The Mossberg let off several cannon blasts at the remains of the pirate ship, killing several amid their protests, and causing several to fall into the water with the man eating sharks. As they got further away, the pirate ship began to sink, and soon all that remained would be food for the fish...

"So, since we're running a legit village now instead of a criminal empire, I figured it a good idea to go make friends with the other villages," Alex explained as they began to pick up speed. "We're cool with the desert; the Kage there is named Marquetta. Holeman's family moved there too, he and Misukai live there. So the sand is definitely in our pocket with them there. Next is a village called Morigakure, it's in a forest on the other side of this ocean. The Kage there is Temaki, I met her once before. She seemed cool, so we're going to cement relations. After Mori is somewhere called Umigakure."

When they'd all re-boarded the Mossberg, Konran, taking periodic drags of the "cigar," listened to Alec tell the story of how he and his friends and family took control of the village and defeated the "Headband" gang that his deceased parents were once a part of. When Alec flipped the hat to see him smoke, and took it from his lips, he half expected Alec to yell at him or scold him. He didn't, and even took a couple of hits for himself before putting it back to his lips.

Alec introduced Destiny, and Konran waved to her. Alec said that Destiny was actually a grown woman in a kid's body. Ordinarily he would look confused, but at the moment he was too intoxicated to really be alarmed. Konran was beginning to realize that most anything was possible after watching him and his friends in action.

Konran went to sit at the back and lean on the back railing, where he usually sat. Cannon blasts went off, startling him and causing him to jump. He didn't actually plan on keeping the captain's hat, and threw it overboard, glancing back to see the pirate ship sinking, and those who were left behind being eaten alive.

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Between the training in Sabakugakure and the fight now Artemis was finding herself increasingly tired. Her sister was fine - healthy at least - though it looked like she was going to just have to grow up again unless her and another medic could put their heads together to fix the problem she had. So, with the pirate ship sinking and the last of the pirates meeting their demise Artemis yawned while covering her mouth with the back of her hand.

She listened to her father explain the whole story of how everything came to be, and what they had been doing since they had reached these lands. She listened as her father explained about Jynx and Konran, as well as how the Holeman clan had settled in the desert and how they had made friends with the kage of Sabakugakure named Marquetta.

With another yawn Artemis shook her head a bit, trying to wake herself up enough to focus. "I'm going to go take a nap... I don't want to be tired for when we reach Mori.", she would comment before walking off and inside; even a quick nap would help shake some of this tired feeling.

[Exit Unless Prevented]

Jynx listened quietly as Alec once again told his tale; she for one never got tired of hearing it. Sometimes it was still hard to believe that all of it had, in fact, happened. But, it was all true given that Jynx was no longer locked in a cage, and Konran was no longer held prisoner either.

She waved hello to Destiny the same as Konran while still trying to wrap her mind around how Destiny was full grown and yet now looked like a child. She figured that there was a lot of stuff she was eventually going to end up learning about, and decided to simply try and keep an open mind. This world was much bigger than the one she had been in for the past short years of her life; a lot bigger than the few feet large room that had been her prison.

She watched then as Artemis headed down to take a nap and decided to do the same. "I think I'm going to go back to my nap, too." With that she gave another wave and a smile before turning and following Artemis inside.

As Destiny was set down she placed Tibbers on her lap while glancing over to the pirate crew; they were likely going to die in the next few minutes and she couldn't exactly bring herself to care considering they likely had done more than a few foul things in their lives to good and innocent people.

Destiny listened to the whole story of how they took over Kurayamigakure and saved it from the "headband gang". She could imagine that the people there were a lot better off than they had been, considering that was how it had been with Makkuragakure as well. Her father had turned their other home around, and she could imagine that he had done exactly the same to this one. She listened as well as he explained about Konran and Jynx; returning both of their waves with a grin.

She watched as her father lifted up the brim of the hat Konran had on and removed the cigar looking object from his lips, sniffed it, and then took a hit of it himself: the smell in the air instantly told Destiny that that wasn't an ordinary cigar. She watched then as her father replaced it back to Konran's lips who looked very, very calm.

When the crew finished loading everything her father seemed to shock most of them by saying that they were to take what they wanted, sell the rest, and divide it among the crew - that he wanted nothing for himself. Destiny simply grinned a bit and wrapped a hand around Tibbers to keep him steady on her lap instead of falling to the floor. Shortly after this the pirate ship was hit with some canon fire and began to sink; those still alive becoming a quick meal for the man eating sharks in the water.

She focused her attention once more onto her father, noticing both Jynx and Artemis heading off to take a nap, and listened as he explained that since they were running a legitimate village now he figured it was a good idea to meet the other kage. Destiny nodded again with a grin. "Sounds like fun... I heard that most of Umigakure is underwater, though. I'm sure that'll make for some interesting sights, and an interesting meeting."

Artemis and Jynx went below deck to the bedrooms. Alec could sense that they both were tired. Perhaps it was because they'd trained back in the sand. He could notice how Artemis had become a little more sharp, while Jynx was getting stronger. Konran took his seat in what was becoming his usual spot in the rear.

Dez said that Umigakure was an underwater village. Alec had never been to a village underwater before, and wondered how it looked. Did they have ninja there too? He became curious. "An underwater village. I have to see this for myself... but first, Mori."

The Mossberg continued toward the destination, with landscape, trees and forest on the horizon...

/Exit/

Konran settled in for the rest of the ride. he didn't want to finish off the "cigar" so he put the rest out for later, wondering how long this calm and collected feeling was going to last. Jynx and Artemis went to go sleep out the rest of the trip.

Dez said the village of Umigakure was underwater. He'd read about it but never figured that he'd get the chance to visit it before. Konran thought about how a village could exist underwater. Were they going to drown? No... there had to be a way to breathe if humans lived there. or were they merpeople?

Konran decided not to think about that too much, and just wait until they got there to see it with his own eyes. With the Shift Blade leaning on his left shoulder, Konran could see the silhouette of trees on the far horizon.

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[Exit]

Destiny nodded; she was curious to see Umigakure upclose by at the same time she knew that business was business. Besides, meeting this kage named Temaki would likely be just as interesting, especially if her father thought she was good people. So, Destiny simple shifted around on the railing she was seated upon, hooking her legs in a way so that she wouldn't fall over, and held Tibbers on her lap in both hands as she turned her attention in the direction that the ship was moving.

She closed her eyes, allowing her chakra radar to go into effect, as she watched Morigakure move closer and closer to them... This was definitely the making of a brand new adventure.

[Exit]