Blackstripe

One Piece: The Blackfin Chronicles

"Mmnmmnmnn," Siobhan replied.

She then removed his hand. "Ah, so it's them again."

Well, it was pretty obvious they would encounter more of Blackwell's men at some point, she was just a little surprised it was this soon after dealing with the last guy. It did appear that this one hadn't exactly chosen to be here, though, given the state of his vessel...not that she was complaining. The more of the Marquis' men she took down, the greater the chance of her getting to face him personally became!

"Fine, let's hide our ship and then see what exactly your man there's up to," Siobhan agreed.

They could probably get away with docking it about a mile's walk from town. She doubted they would be looking for such a small ship from that distance, particularly while it's dark out.

---

"Right, so I've never properly been here before," Siobhan admitted, "but I have heard this is a fairly busy town, due to bein' a bit of a trade hub for the island."

Having secured their little trawler some distance away from Coverie, they were now once more on the outskirts of the settlement. They could see pairings of torchlight moving down the streets on occasion, but otherwise all of the structures were dark. The only concentrations of light seemed to be from the wrecked vessel of the Whip-Fang pirates and an old church near the center of town.

"So, unless they just slaughtered everyone, then they've probably got the town held hostage."

One Piece: The Blackfin Chronicles

Glancing over to where her regular clothes were stacked in a neat pile, Siobhan smirked. "Their names are Taimi Taitale, Eadgar Grauwulf, and...uh..."

Scratching her head, she felt her cheeks redden when she realized that she had forgotten the third one's name. "He...I know it's a guy..."

Crawling over to her clothes, she began to rustle through them for the list. Right as she managed to find it in her right coat pocket, something in the corner of her eye drew her attention away from the task at hand. It was a shadow rising above the horizon off the port side...land!

"Hey, do ya see that?" Siobhan perked up like a startled prairie dog. Glancing up at the stars, she grinned. "That's right, I lost track of the time! We're here!"

---

Hopping off the boat, now in her usual overcoat and pants, Siobhan's eyes darted about the island. "Per usual, I did a brilliant job gettin' us to where we needed to be! Welcome to Coverie!"

Spreading her arms wide, she expected to see the sight of a bustling town full of lantern lights and nighttime activity. What she received instead were the sound of crickets, and nary a shadow in sight.

"...I said welcome to Coverie! Hello?!"

One Piece: The Blackfin Chronicles

"I'm a pirate," Ragnvald corrected him. "I'll do what I've got to in order to survive."

Watching the swordsman plop himself down on the ground, a vein slowly rose on the pirate captain's head. To say he was pissed off would be a gross understatement to say the least. "Alright, you wanna to be difficult, you bastard?"

Drawing a flintlock pistol from his sash, Ragnvald aimed it at a nearby hostage, squeezing the trigger without another word. The crack of a gunshot saw the man's head thrown back, his body falling limp onto the ground. Returning his gaze to Grauwulf, he sneered. "For every minute you remain here, I'm going to execute another one of them!"

"Make your decision, swordsman!"

---

Blinking when Jones brought up her old Captain, Siobhan's surprise expression was quickly exchanged for a warm smile. "I did...he's a great man, like none other. More like a da to me than anythin'. Certainly more than my real one."

Resting her chin on the rim of the small trawler, she watched the light of the sun slowly fade beneath the distant horizon. "He's a Fishman, and an amazin' fighter, like none I've ever seen. Even I'm no match for him yet, like. He also taught me everythin' I know about bein' a pirate, from how to throw a punch to how to manage the riggin'."

Reaching up to tug one side of her recently donned shirt down, she showed Jones the tattoo on the right side of her upper back: a blazing sun. "His name's Jinbe, and he once sailed with Monkey D. Luffy, right up till the battle with Blackbeard."

One Piece: The Blackfin Chronicles

Dipping her hands overboard into the water to wash them after having finished eating her own immense portion of the angler, she smiled over her shoulder to the doctor. "Well, firstly, West Blue was originally my home sea...though I've been away for a long time. That's why I came here in particular."

"And you probably weren't aware, but you've built up a nice reputation as a skilled doctor who exclusively works aboard pirate ships," Siobhan explained. "For sure that's a rare combination, with most pirate doctors either bein' hostages or just plain shite."

Breathing in the crisp sea air, she considered the other names on her list. "Each one of em' is somebody uniquely amazin' in their own way, be it as a warrior or a brilliant scientist."

One Piece: The Blackfin Chronicles

Siobhan indeed knew how to prepare fish. In truth, she possessed all the basic skills an experienced sailor would be expected to know. While, aside from navigation, she didn't excel at any particular one, she understood the basics of cooking, first aid, and how to operate a vessel. It was hard not to, when you grew up on a pirate ship.

"I'm sure they'll join," Siobhan replied to him, shoving an angler fillet in her mouth. "They're the crew I need to reach One Piece. No one person can do it alone. I need a strong crew that will cover one another's weaknesses, my own included."

Inelegantly stuffing another large hunk of fish down her throat, she glanced to Jones. "My old Captain told me a lot about what would be needed to reach One Piece, and it is pretty much the most difficult thing in the world to accomplish."

One Piece: The Blackfin Chronicles

Grinning at his commentary on her appetite, she began the process of gutting and deboning the gigantic fish. They had been sailing towards their next destination for a couple of days now, after a news coo had delivered to her an issue of the West Blue Times talking about a certain man who had been active in the area.

While she didn't claim to be the greatest navigator to ever live, she knew her way around a nautical chart, could read the stars, and was intimately aware of the signs of an oncoming storm. Making it to the island of her choice was a piece of cake, especially in comparison to the Grand Line...

As they ate her latest catch, Siobhan glanced out in the direction of their current heading. "Our next comrade is somewhere in that direction, I can feel it."

---

"You understand don't you, Grauwulf? One wrong move and the blood of these people will be on your hands," Ragnvald, aka "Bluewell" warned the swordsman before him.

Standing behind him were several dozen members of the Whip-Fang Pirates, their blades each pressed firmly to the throats of a villager. "And don't think you can use your speed against us, either. We've got more in the old church, and if my crew there hears anything...suspicious, they have orders to execute the people inside."

This wasn't how Ragnvald had wanted things to go. Stuck in a worthless hostage situation with a notorious bounty hunter, his ship wrecked on the coast of some forsaken backwater island...what a disaster. The Marquis would have his head if he discovered that he had failed in his extortion assignment because of a freak storm.

He had to get back on course before it was too late, and that meant getting rid of this bastard.

"So you see, your only choice is to back the fuck off and let us get our ship in order. If you do, we'll leave this town in peace."

Their real target awaited, after all...the town where that fool Redwell had gotten himself killed.

One Piece: The Blackfin Chronicles

@RinThe arc was also pretty short, since it was basically our equivalent of Alvida.

One Piece: The Blackfin Chronicles

@ZapdosI wouldn't be opposed to it.

By the way, that concludes the first arc! Now, we need to figure out who should be the second person Siobhan's burgeoning crew meets!

One Piece: The Blackfin Chronicles

"For sure! Let's stuff as much as we can on my boat!" Siobhan replied enthusiastically, always being up for some phat lewt.

This was so exhilarating! She had her first new comrade, a doctor! While she would always love her old crew, Jones and the other people on her list were the ones who would stand with her as she realized her dream.

Smirking subtly while her doctor lead the way to Redwell's quarters, she couldn't wait to see which comrade fate would lead her to next.

---

Several days later

The small fishing trawler had departed Boaduor shortly after the defeat of Redwell, but not before Siobhan had painted her jolly roger (a black fin rising to partially eclipse the sun) on the side of the Red Baron. Regardless of any reservations her new doctor might have had with such an action, she wanted the Marquis to know exactly who clobbered his man.

Sailing without interruption ever since, food (perhaps surprisingly) was not much of a problem despite the Captain's appetite. The reason for this was quite simple.

She was really good at fishing.

"Giant Angler incoming!!" The Captain's voice called out, a massive fish erupting from the water a moment later. The unnamed trawler violently rocked on the resulting waves even as the the creature hit the deck, it's horrific maw of jagged teeth still violently gnashing in Jones direction.

Climbing up over the railing, Siobhan, wearing her standard one piece swimwear, rolled her shoulders. "That should be good for dinner!"

One Piece: The Blackfin Chronicles

Her vision was starting to blur thanks to the effects of the poison, but she could still clearly see Jones when he ran up to her with a wooden bowl. Oh right, he was a doctor! That was the whole reason she was here...

Shakily taking the bowl in her hands, she tilted her head back and gulped the putrid concoction down. "Blegghh, that tastes cat as fuck!"

Pursing her lips tightly to keep from vomiting up her cure, she slowly nodded when Jones inquired about her health. "Aside from my mouth tasting like I rinsed it with sewer water, I am."

Managing a smile despite the lingering aftertaste, she lightly smacked Jones on the side of his arm. "Good on ya, doc! I knew I put ya on the list for good reason!"