My Osu Lies Over the Ocean [Dual Contract Search]

[Suzuki Setsu]

"Osu m'girl. You're probably wondering why of all places to look for the elusive lightning bird I chose to fish for it here in Moon Country. It may seem like a strange decision, but I assure you it was based on fact." Now that the pirate threat had been dealt with, Tama and Osu had returned to their original task, questing for the Lightning Bird. The Mochizuki was hard at work scrubbing down the bloody deck, and had multiple clones of herself assisting in this work. Osu was still recovering from the exertions he had undergone in the capture of the newly rechristened S.S. Shiri-tan, so Tama wasn't forcing him to clean the ship (despite the majority of the rusty red stains being the work of the mini-medic). "You see Osu, a little known fact about the lightning bird is that it is in fact a cheese gourmet. The moon is made of cheese, thus Moon Country is the most logical place to search for it. I mean why name a country after the moon if it didn't have a thriving dairy industry?" Osu would probably get the feeling that someone, somewhere was having a good laugh over this.

After finishing her cheesy explanation she resumed swabbing the deck, humming the Osu-shanty as she did so. Hopefully the chibi-Chigokai had recovered enough to retort, or possibly explain to Tama just how scammed she had gotten, but if not Tama would just continue to clean merrily. Until she had an epiphany, "Osu!"she shouted, suddenly grabbing him by the shoulders, "One of the characters in name is 'moon!'" After a slight pause she explained the reason for her excitement, "This means we don't even have to look for the dumb spark chicken, it'll come to us!" She released Osu before rushing back over and grabbing her mop, twirling it expertly like a baton. In the process, she also flicked watery blood in various directions. "And when it comes, you'll do some blood stuff, I'll punch it in the face, some other stuff'll happen, and them BAM!" Tama stomped her foot on the ground for emphasis, "one caught lightning duck, goose, whatever it is." Tama waved her hand dismissively at the knowledge of what the correct species the lightning bird was.

Tama hoped that the bird would show itself in a public area with lots of people, she preferred an audience to behold her spectacles. After all, who would take their word for it that they defeated a mythical, lightning-spewing, cheese seeking, avian creature. But if a whole town or city saw them defeat it, no one, not even Tomo would be able to refute their claims. Tama's twin had scoffed at the idea that the lightning bird would be anywhere near Moon. Something about Moon being outside the creature's natural habitat, whatever that meant. The girl was eager to prove her brother that he was wrong. Not only would they ride back to Kumo with a legendary beast in tow, but they would do so in style, aboard the S.S. Shiri-tan! Tama glanced at the Jolly Roger flapping atop the mast, Need to do something about that too, she thought to herself.

Note: Any references to lightning bird, spark chicken, boom duck, thunder goose, etc. are made in light of the Lightning Bird event in Cloud, and not because of an attempt to search for a contract animal ICly. The event can be found here

Searching with Osuteno.

 

[Osuteno]

Osu was feeling rather exhausted both physically and emotionally. How many people had he just killed? That would be a rather easy question to answer if he just pulled all the blood scattering the ship and separated it. There were several things preventing him from doing so though. First and probably the only real excuse that he had was that he was currently suffer from the after effects of chakra exhaustion, which was some nasty business and someone would probably mistake him for being seriously seasick as he heaved over the side of the ship. The other reason being that he was currently standing in a puddle of blood from where he had mercilessly murdered a crew of men. Yes they were pirates, but the vague memories of them exploding in burst of blood leaving nothing behind or being ripped apart by that creature he made caused him to lose his stomach further.

This led to the next reason Osu wasn't separating the blood. He wasn't sure how well he could handle knowing just how many people he had killed. It was bad enough that there wasn't a spot on this ship where he wasn't standing in his or someone else's blood. It was only to be expected when he made it literally rain blood, another thing he had not been aware of knowing how to do though it seemed obvious now. Uso was in his head clouding up his thoughts with an admittedly impressive and deserved string of insults and accusations for nearly killing them while he was consumed with bloodlust. How could he have lost his head like that? He had been around blood plenty of times in the hospital and when training with his Aunt Manane or his cousins. The meditation techniques had always worked for him. Come to think of it many things about him just hadn't felt right since that mission he went on. Before he could wander down a possibly enlightening and extremely important line of thought that may have clued him into his future troubles, Osu heard the most ridiculous things come from Tama's mouth.

He stared with a small jaw drop as he listened to Tama continue her explanation for having them come out this far in search of the legendary bird, and had no idea how he was going to explain to Tama that someone had told her a rather bold falsehood. To do so without reserve would potentially require him to be rather rude so that was out but at the same time he had a feeling he couldn't really leave all that much room for interpretation with his words. After a small pause Osu attempted to to set the matter straight. "Uhh Tama-San? Are..." But she began again and he just didn't have the heart to explain to this adult woman that she had been duped. Bamboozled. Raiden above, she had been smeckledorfed.

After Osu felt like he had probably lost all that his stomach would allow him to he clean himself off and downed a health pill with an energy drink. The taste the combination made was downright horrible but more than that it was harsh on his already upset stomach. Still it wasn't like there was another doctor around to help him, just a reminder really why medics were supposed to stay in the back and focus on support. "Tama-San you can stop just give me a few minutes and I can clean all of this up." But all he did at first was rest. Still if Tama took the time to observe him she would notice that his wounds were healing and his energy was recovering at a very quick pace. Just another thing he didn't know too much about but when he asked his Aunt she just chalked it up to being the result of centuries of selective breeding which was customary in the clan though nobody knew who Osu's parents were. Still the effect was obvious. His wounds weren't gone, but they were certainly looking much better and his chakra stores had replenished decently.

Osu, while still resting with his back against the side railing, formed a few hand seals and a small orb of his blood slowly began hovering towards the middle of the ship, where it began emitting a steady stream of chakra. At first it was only Osu's blood that rushed to make the small orb that started out the size of his fist to being a good two meters wide if not more. Before it became full sized though the rest of the blood on the ship began orbiting around the large sphere in individual orbs of a bit more than a gallon each for most. only to be expected when the rest of the person was gone. Osu did not look at it though, afraid he would begin counting the orbs and simply rolled out his large Blood Vault scroll. "Condense," he said simply and the spheres hardened and became smaller. He stared at his massive orb and simply dropped it into the sea, his blood wasn't in short supply, the rest... "Seal." He said with a hurt look in his eyes and one by one the others were sucked into the seal. The process had taken a few minutes as he had to also pull up the blood that had soaked into the deck and that which had dripped below (though he would have to go below deck and do this again to make sure) but the ship was about as clean from blood as it was ever going to be all things considered.

A bit lifelessly and tired Osu looked in Tama's general direction. "The deck is clean Captain Tama. Awaiting orders." Since they had already come this far it would only be a waste of many things if he didn't just go ahead and play along. Who knew, maybe Raiden would bless them with some sort of adventure that didn't involve him killing more people today.

MFT WC 1000

 

[Tanuki Rinko]

You got the Marine Mammal Contract!
Do you accept or decline?​

 

[Osuteno]

*Had to consider it for a few minutes.* I accept

 

[Suzuki Setsu]

I accept as... whale.

 

[Tanuki Rinko]

In the distance, the sound of some sort of ocean life splashing along the surface could be heard. At first it was on the edge of their hearing, but it drew closer and closer with each passing second. Eventually they had a visual of whatever was approaching. It was white against the ocean blue, and odd metallic gleams caught their eyes as the sun somehow reflected off the creature. A minute later, they could see that the odd aquatic individual was wearing armor, specifically an iron helmet and shoulder pad. Somehow, a voice rang out. "Regreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!"

Now it was close enough to identify. It was a mammal, specifically a manatee for those with animal knowledge. It was swimming frantically, moving as fast as manateely possibly. As it approached the broadside of the S.S. Shiri-tan, the creature let out a scream. "WAAAAH!" It's stubby arms reached up to protect its head as it ducked underwater. After a moment, the creature emerged, lifting an arm in greeting. "Oh hey der. How's it goin' eh?" Not only did this mammal have the uncanny ability to speak the human language, it possessed an accent to boot. "Looks like you're headin' to Moon Country eh? Might not be the best course of action, don'tcha know. That direction is crawlin' with pirates. Angry pirates that don't like der stuff stolen, don'tcha know. Not really stealin' if it's already stolen though, if ya ask me." What would the Kumo nin make of this situation?

Edit: Turn order is irrelevant. Post when you are able.

 

[Osuteno]

Before Osu got an answer from Tomo the strangest thing happened. At first he noticed an odd glint shining in the ocean... it was heading towards them. After a moment that triggered the instinct it should have initially. Were they under attack? Again? ... But by what? There was no ship and it seemed to be moving along the water's surface...

As it came closer it was more obvious the creature was swimming far faster than a human would be able to. A bit closer and it was obviously not a fish.,, Maybe it is one of those seal things... but that didn't seem quite right. A dugong perhaps? Actually before that... Is it wearing armor?" It was indeed wearing armor. That was very unusual. Even more unusual was its cry. Almost sounds as if it were saying regret. Oh no the poor thing was about to crash into the side of the ship... but no it ducked under just in time.

When the odd looking creature poked its head above the water and greeted them two things came to mind. First was perhaps he somehow used too much blood earlier. Second it seems he was worse off than he thought. Aside from nodding at the creature's words as it spoke and holding back the mysterious urge to reply with 'Koos', there was but one thing Osu felt sure of.

"Tama-Senpai I seem to somehow be rather low on blood," holding back a different urge to say don'tcha know. "I seem to be hallucinating about a talking... sea cow? I'm not entirely sure, I don't know that much about animals." Osu knew this had been an extremely stressful and emotionally difficult day for him but to have such a vivid hallucination gave him a great cause for concern. "It is probably for the best that I rest for a bit," Osu said pulling out a bedroll from his pack. A medic wasn't allowed to get sick out in the field afterall.

MFT WC:331

 

[Suzuki Setsu]

Osu claimed to be hallucinating the manatee, and moved to go lay down. While Tama agreed that the girl needed rest, she also didn’t want her to miss out on a rare opportunity. She pulled the medic over and whispered, “Okay, it’s not a thunder-goose, but I betcha a talking sea-cow is waaaay cooler. So let’s catch it!” Tama waved down at the friendly sea creature before continuing, “but we need to be careful, something about it just screams extreme intelligence and cunning.”

She called down to the armored and armed sea mammal, “Aye! Stealing stolen things is no crime at all, and we happen to be experts when it comes to pirates.” Granted, the first time Tama had ever encountered pirates was earlier this morning. And while the mini medic could be considered highly skilled in many things, combating piracy on the high seas was probably not something Osu had studied all too often. Nevertheless, in Tama's eyes they were the best at it. “After all, you’re speaking to the great Captain Mochizuki Tama of the S.S. Shiri-tan, star performer of the Mochizuki Troupe, and chuunin of Kumogakure. This here is my trusty first mate Osu-pyon, Dynamite Rabbit of the High Seas!”

“If you have something to discuss why don't you come on aboard, sea-cow! Er… Sir Cow… of the Sea!” Tama's voice remained friendly. While her intent was to capture the talkative creature, she didn't want to actually hurt the animal. She planned to capture it with friendship! She already had the ship part down after all, how hard could the friend part be?

 

[Tanuki Rinko]

"Oh, glad to hear ya agree." He lightly slapped his arms against the water in joy. Tama introduced the two-man crew and invited the manatee onboard. He placed a hand behind his head coyly. "Sir Cow, eh? Well I don't know 'bout that, but I like it, don'tcha know. Okie-diddly-dokie, I'll join ya." The mammal slipped under the water for a moment before shooting out of the water vertically. He belly flopped onto the deck. "Koof!" He laid there for a moment before pulling himself up. "I should introduce myself, eh? The name's Mizutamari, but Sir Cow works too." He looked over the ship, and his eyes lifted to the flag flying above. He began to point at it with his stubby arm. "Dat der flag! Dat's a bona-fied pirate flag, don'tcha know! Ya tricked me, eh?" He pulled his short sword out of the hilt, fumbled with it, dropped it, then quickly picked it up again. "Well I say, put up dem dukes, eh?" He switched his target back and forth between the Cloud nin. The creature was a little shorter than Osu, but he stood there defiantly.

 

[Osuteno]

Osu wasn't sure what to make of this day anymore. "So it is there? And it is speaking then? With human words?" He looked down at the manatee. Goodness this day. Osu's attention turned back to Tama when she claimed that they were experts at dealing with pirates and the ridiculous nickname he had apparently earned.

He watched as the newly dubbed Sir Cow came aboard and gave a proper introduction, though Osu couldn't help but smile at how small a name Mizutamari was for someone who live in the ocean. It was a bit silly.Of course the pleasantries didn't last long as Sir Cow reminded Osu they had yet to remove the pirate flag... It appeared to be very difficult to handle a weapon without fingers. "Now now," Osu said calmly raising his hands up with his palms facing the manatee, "Until just a bit ago this was indeed a pirate ship, but we have... What's the term... Since we are military and at sea... Commandeer! That would be the word, I really need to get my nautical terms down. Yes, we commandeered the ship not too long ago from a group of pirates. We are actually shinobi of Kumogakure. There is no need for anyone to get hurt." He glanced towards Tama to see if she would also assist in calming the fellow down. Osu really didn't want to risk hurting him by binding him nor did he want to get off to a bad start.

 

[Suzuki Setsu]

Tama glanced up at the flag atop the mast, and then at the manatee, then at Osu, and then back at the manatee. The small medic was trying to explain to the creature that they were in fact not pirates, but rather privateers. Tama nodded at this, “Yeah, we’re pirates who only pirate other pirates’ pirate-y stuff. And shinobi too. And just all-around awesome people.” Tama was trying her best not to laugh at the manatee’s outstretched sword arm. Or was it sword flipper? It was trying it’s best to appear intimidating, but it was just too cute to succeed in that area. “We only secured my,” she glanced at Osu, “our new ship recently. Like maybe a few hours ago? But I haven’t had time to change the flag.”

Tama then had an idea, she sidled up to the manatee and threw an arm around its shoulders. “But now that I think about it, isn’t it a good idea to keep the pirate flag up?” she stage-whispered to Mizutamari, so Osuteno could hear what she was saying, “I mean you did say there pirates over there right?” Tama gestured vaguely towards the direction the manatee had come from. One of the Tama clones still wandering about the ship began to steer the Shiri-tan in the direction Tama pointed. “As long as the flag is up, they’ll think we’re pirates too right? And they won’t attack us while we sneak in to steal their treasure right? Cause if these guys were any indication of pirate intelligence we could totally swap their treasure with fireworks or something and they probably wouldn’t even notice.” Tama would begin to gingerly lower the manatee’s sword as she spoke, putting in back into Mizutamari’s scabbard. “And since it’s already stolen, like you said, it wouldn’t be a crime to um, ‘un-steal’ it.”

She grinned at her two companions, “Alright! First Mate Usa-pyon! Sailing Master Mizucchi! We’re off to go on another adventure of daring-do and fun and stuff! Let’s go steal me, er, liberate us some pirate treasure! Mizucchi! You’re in charge of navigating! Lead us to these angry pirates!!” Without his consent, Mizutamari had been added to the crew of the Shiri-tan for the time being. The chuunin didn’t stop to consider the fact that perhaps her crew of two weren’t inclined to go on an adventure so wrought with peril. But Tama was consumed with the hilarity that would ensue when pirates would open their treasure to have it explode in varied brilliant colors. And besides, there were just pirates, what could go wrong?

[MFT WC: 431]

 

[Tanuki Rinko]

Mizutamari still held up his sword, but the angry gleam in his eye had waned. Osuteno was quite the diplomat, and the tubby sea mammal had a feeling that the child was telling the truth. He flinched when Tama wrapped an arm around his shoulder, but didn't attack. With Osu's mention of their real occupation, and the Mochizuki's verification, Mizutamari gave a nod to himself. With Tama's intentions declared, the animal spoke. "Shinobi, eh? I've heard of ya. I was actually comin' to find one of ya, don'tcha know. I..."

The manatee was cut off as his eyes honed in on a distance dot. It wasn't long before that speck grew into a ship, which flew a black flag. Upon that flag was a red rose, wrapped in thorns, with a skull at its center. The white beast hopped behind Osu and crouched down, his body shaking. "I....i-i-i-it's her!" The ship sailed up beside the S.S. Shiri-tan, coming to a graceful stop. An intimidating woman with an eyepatch slammed a boot against the railing of her ship, giving the Kumo nin a wicked glare. "Yar. Yer not..." Her mouth curled into a smile as her good eye scanned the Shiri-tan's crew. Soon she released a boisterous laugh. "Yar har har har!!! Yer kiddin' me!" The rest of the crew laughed along with their captain before she again slammed her boot against the wood. "I'm boardin'. Don't try nothin' or yer as good as dead." Two men slid a plank across the gap, and the female captain clomped across. She landed upon the Shiri-tan's deck with a loud thud. There was little elegance in this woman's movements.

Scanning the youths again, she neared Osu and slipped a hand underneath his chin. "Mmmm. Why ye may be the bishiest of 'em all, given a few years to mature." She straightened and glanced back at her crew. Upon further inspection, the shinobi would notice that there wasn't a single unattractive specimen amongst this woman's crew. Those knowledgeable in such things may even speculate that she was in possession of a reverse harem. Turning her gaze to Tama, the woman crossed her arms, stared, then shook her head. "I already have me lesbian of the crew. Don't need 'nother." A scantily-clad girl, who appeared to be wearing lingerie rather than armor, was mixed in with the male crewmates. She rose her hand gingerly. "Um...Captain. I've told you. I'm not a-" The captain pulled her pistol and shot into the air, which effectively cut the girl off. The woman returned the weapon to its holster, acting as if nothing happened. She took a few steps back and gave the shinobi a grin. "Yer in the presence of THE Dread Pirate Rosalita. The honor is yers." She pulled off her hat, swung it to her chest, and replaced it upon her head. "Ye certainly got balls ta be flyin' a pirate flag, but I like balls." She placed an arm on the hilt of her sword and stared at Tama, obviously taking her to be the leader of the group. "Tell yer what. I'll pay ya fer the white beast and the baby bishie." She motioned to Mizutamari and Osuteno respectively. "Five copper." Rosalita's eyes held on Tama's.

Dread Pirate Rosalita

Spoiler

Rosalita's Crew

Spoiler

 

[Osuteno]

Ah thank goodness. It seems that Mizu-san was being cooperative. Tama was still giving him weird nicknames and seemed to have forgotten the original purpose of this trip, but it wasn't very likely they would run across a second pirate ship today so maybe they would simply be able to assist Mizu-San with what he needed help with instead of Tama-San's dangerous plan. The last thing he really wanted to do was fight anyone else for a while.

Of course since fate really likes picking on Osu, a pirate ship sailed right up to them. The woman who seemed to be the captain was rather... dramatic, Osu believed would be about as polite as he could describe it. Osu tried to be as relaxed as possible but it was definitely he had a hood to help him at least hide his tension. He had a few jutsu he could perform without hand seals so he could wait until the last moment if he had to...he had to calculate his range and the blast radius... Could he manage a 25 foot radius? No too tired and there was a chance he would hit them as well. He could likely manage a 20 foot radius. Aim right for their mast, hopefully it would at least stop the others from taking action. Tama was a close quarters fighter anyway so at the least she could likely blow the captain off their deck and they could sail off... The whatiest of them all? Tama was a lesbian? What was a lesbian? The lesbian wasn't a lesbian? As things continued little Osu found himself becoming more and more confused by what was going on. Apparently the woman was a dread pirate? Was that some sort of worse variety of pirate? How does one qualify to be a dread pirate? Was there a test? What the heck did bishie mean?

...5 copper? "5 fucking copper!?!" Uso screamed in anger from inside his head. "Let me out right now I have a word or two for this bitch! I have a dose of Iron Vein I want to shove right up her..." Osu shut Uso's voice from his thoughts with great difficulty. It couldn't blame her though out of the times people have tried to buy him it had involved pounds of silver or a considerable pile of cash. 5 coppers was a bit... insulting didn't seem to be quite what he was looking for. He wasn't happy people kept wanting to buy him but he thought himself worth more than dinner... Why was she trying to buy Mizu-San too?

"Uhm excuse me? Rosalita-San? I hope you don't mind me asking, but why exactly do you want to buy us? I mean I don't have any sailing experience and I really don't see how useful I would be to your pirate crew. Mizu-San here would also have difficulty in performing tasks on a ship due to his lack of fingers." He thought it was a fair enough line of questions.

 

[Suzuki Setsu]

Tama had a smirk on her face as the captain boarded the Shiri-tan. Her newly acquired captain's hat was way more stylish than that of her counterpart. However, the smirk gradually turned into an irritated frown as she sized up Rosalita herself and her crew. The so-called "dread pirate" had an actual crew, not one of clones. And they were all gorgeous. Not as gorgeous as Shiranai himself of course, that was impossible, but Tama had to admit that they all were rather easy on the eyes. Also the captain herself had a slightly bigger bust than Tama did. Hmph, they're probably padded anyway.

Tama nearly laughed as the captain introduced herself formally, but kept her cool demeanor. This situation called for cleverness and tact, "Damn right the honor's mine. Yer in the presence of Admiral Mochizuki flippin' Tama, star performer of the Mochizuki Troupe, and," she paused right before part where she generally added 'chuunin of Kumogakure' instead adding, "the most dangerous woman ta sail the seven seas." Tama was reckless, attention-seeking, and battle-hungry, but she knew when to keep some of her cards close to her chest, not that it still wasn't too difficult to piece together her other occupation. "By the way, the honor's still mine." She copied the dread captain's movements, but her eyes remained locked on the pirate's.

The captain made her offer for the two individuals that weren't copies of Tama dressed in various piratey costumes. Tama was flabbergasted at the mere idea. "Five copper? I could get a better deal from a fish-monger on the streets of Port Cirrus, the boy alone s'worth his weight in gold. Lookit the squishiness of 'is cheeks!" Tama pinched Osu's cheeks in an attempt to increase his appeal. "They won't be this soft and malleable for long, ya know. Not to mention this white beast is my subordinate, and outranks you, so show some respect. That's Rear Admiral Mizucchi of the Mochizuki Naval League, also known as the 'Great White,' perhaps you've heard of 'im? If so, consider yerselves lucky seadogs, because most who cross 'im fall to 'is blade. Yer prob'ly seeking a different white beast entirely," As she spoke, she willed chakra to gather in her lungs, and exhaled it through her speech. It whispered to the dread pirate and her crew, attempting to remind them of little known tales of terrors, dismissed by many as simply crazy talk that resulted due to having one too many pints of grog on watch. Tama spun tales of the nefarious deeds of Admiral Tama, Rear Admiral "Great White" Mizucchi, and the Mochizuki Naval League. She tried to leave the stories vague enough that some of the pirates would draw their own conclusions, but detailed enough that they didn't sound entirely fictional too. Tama hoped that there were some conspiracy theories and unexplained disappearances that some of the pirates could possibly attribute to the completely fictional Naval League. She didn't need them to whole-heartedly believe her, just enough to plant the idea in their minds that she could be telling the truth.

In reality she was using a very diluted version of a simple lethargy genjutsu. Sleepy minds don't see through deceptions so well, and hopefully it would assist in distracting them from the ridiculousness of her story. With so many targets, Tama knew she wouldn't be able to ensnare every single person in a complete genjutsu, despite being able to use her control over sound and wind to amplify her illusory capabilities. So drowsiness would have to do.

After this Osu spoke up. talking about logic and reason and how he and Mizutamari would be fairly poor additions to a crew of seasoned pirates. Tama had to agree with him, not to belittle the young medic, but most of the tasks on their ship were being handled by Tama. But another quick once-over of the sparkling pirate crew and their dominatrix leader led Tama to believe that the true reason was that this woman one of those type of people. She leaned over to Osu and said in a whisper, "It's because she's a whore-der, you know. Did I get that right? Read it in one of those medical books in the hospital while I was bored. She probably feels a...uh...compulsive need to collect people to...what was the word...project her fantasies on, and it controls her life. Do you suppose she needs treatment? Before it leads her to do something illegal?" Tama blinked and corrected herself, "Something else illegal?"

MFT

 

[Tanuki Rinko]

Tama had successfully used her Genjutsu, enough to make the captain and her crew more open to the suggestions she gave. Rosalita let out a loud guffaw, entertained by Tama's tales and Osu's belief that she wanted he and Mizutamari for work. She glanced at 'Great White' to see him shivering in his armor, hiding behind the little medic who was only barely taller than him. "An amusin' yarn ye weave. Some I believe, most be whale dung." Her eyes returned to Tama. "I will believe the lad is special. He be one o' them ninjas. That absurd manner of speech of his be a giveaway. Yer kind be more trouble than their worth." She scowled at Osu, obviously recalled run-ins with the shinobi of the world. "Ye can keep the baby bishie. I can find plenty o' 'em in Moon that WON'T have the potential ta shank me." Her eyes glanced again to Mizutamari. "I still be wantin' the beast. Yer tale o' his deeds be the smelliest of dung. He be nothin' but a ballsy beast with a bit o' sticky fingers." The woman's eyes lingered on the blade and helmet worn by the manatee before gazing again upon the Mochizuki. "Fifteen copper for the beast alone. I be generous even offerin' compensation for catchin' the thing. I suggest ye take it and be on yer merry way." Mizutamari looked like he wanted to say something, but was frozen in fear.

 

[Osuteno]

Osu just sort of stared at Tama through her who strange tale and began to feel a bit sleepy, though that was quickly fixed with Uso giving him a sort of mental slap to the back of the head while muttering something about genjutsu. He listened patiently as the two adults made their respective statements (his manner of speech was absurd?!) and as the apparent dread pirate expressed her dislike of shinobi. Osu wasn't at all surprised Rosalita didn't really believe Tama's tale Honestly that was a good thing for him as he was apparently off the table. Now he just needed to find a way to get their aquatic friend off of said table.

The last thing Osu wanted to do was fight. All the while while they were talking Osu was slowly been maneuvering a (Osu) fist-sized plasma bomb behind him, sent it down below the edge, around the back of the pirates' ship and positioned the bloody explosive against the mast a bit below where the bottom of their sail would normal unfurl to. The moment things became violent he would take out their mast, should it come to that. He still wanted to try the diplomatic approach since he already been part of too much violence that day, though he had a not so small concern that Tama had not had her fill yet.

"Pardon that my presence doesn't seem to be to your liking Roselita-San. Whatever Mizu-San has done to bother you, I am sure we can work this out peacefully. Would it be possible for us to simply to pay you to to leave him be? I am afraid I only have a few silver coins on me but I do have a fair bit more in Lightning Yen notes. They are fairly easy to exchange for local currency at most lending banks or I suppose whoever you typically fence items to would be able to do so for you, though I can't imagine their exchange rates are very fair." He was only expecting to be out for a day so he didn't really bring ransom money, simply his (admittedly extreme) allowance and some coin he had exchanged for Moon currency in case they had to pay for a couple rooms someplace comfortable should something have delayed their transport back. "I also would be able to provide some medical services if you or your crew are in any particular need as an apology for not having a proper ransom. Unless you have something to say or add to that Captain Tama? Surely you believe enough blood has been spilt on these waters, on this ship, today as well?"

That last statement wasn't an Osu-like one at all, though that was due to it being something Uso pestered him into saying. According to Uso if he didn't want to listen to her comment that these outlaws should be hung anyway or hand the reigns over to her, the least he could do was listen to her on the fact that things were more likely to remain peaceful if they put it into the pirates' minds that they might not actually be in the stronger position here. Uso really had meant for him to create another blood construct, this time shaped like a sea serpent for dramatic effect, but Osu believed that was just her wanting to be showy and that the pirates might see that as an attack and would actually trigger the fighting. Everything else she suggested from raining blood to spook them or creating his own clones to show that the difference in numbers meant nothing would involve using hand seals which might be interpreted as an attack before the effect was even known. They were all certainly things he would keep in mind if it did come down to a fight, but for now he would simply try to make the pirates wonder about how exactly two shinobi came to be in possession of a crewless ship. One suggestion of Uso's that Osu did listen to was to pull back his hood so the pirates could more easily see his unnatural eyes, things that appeared to be made entirely of liquid blood that held the appearance of being on the verge of pouring out of his sockets, making his polite smile seem something more sinister though he was still honestly aiming for politeness. Initially it was Tama that he looked at when he did so, acting as if everything were natural but then he took the time to look towards the crew members faces one by one before settling on the dread pirate's. He had never been comfortable with his eyes ever since his use of his bloodline began changing them but had to admit that there was benefit if intimidation could at all decrease the possibility of combat.

OOC: MFT 807

 

[Suzuki Setsu]

“Copper, copper, copper. Do I look like a penny fanatic to ya’, scalawag? Anything the great Admiral Tama does is to be rewarded with nothin’ less than gold or platinum!” Tama crossed her arms, releasing a bit of her battlelust but all the while keeping a charming smile upon her face. The young chuunin was attempting to emulate her eldest sister Sonoko. The wman generally had a chery disposition at all times, and always wore a smile. Even when filled with rage. Just remembering the contrast between her sister’s smiling countenance and killing intent was enough to send shivers down Tama’s spine. Hopefully, the pirates would feel the same way about her.

“So since I deem yer offer unsatisfactory, the answer is no. Besides, from one pirate to another, having balls and sticky fingers sounds more like a compliment than a crime.” Tama shrugged nonchalantly, clearly sending the message that the so-called ‘Dread Pirate’ Rosalita’s inablility to keep track of her booty was of no concern to the chuunin. “But I’m a captain who likes a bit o’ sport, so tell ya’ what. Why don’t we make a li’l wager shall we?” Tama produced a deck of cards and tossed them at the pirate. “Ever heard of ‘Go Contract Summoning? Apparently them ninjers came up with it, and it become all the rage in Lightning Country. But a simple children’s game game is probably too tame for the likes of us, being so great and powerful and all.” Tama closed one eye and thought for a second. “So let’s have us a little variation. I call it ‘Go Yaoi Pairing.’ These are the rules, everyone but us gets thrown overboard. But they get these conveniently placed life preservers so they don’t drown. You and I will each pick a crew member from the ocean and declare whether they be uke or seme. Then we have the pair we choose try to seduce each other. Whoever’s pick is also the role they picked wins. Simple enough to understand? Of course if you’d rather do the whole bloodshed thing that my chibi-crew member here is keen on avoiding, we could do that too. I’d understand if you were not confident facing me, the Great Admiral Tama, in a game of wits. You are only a Dread Pirate after all.”

MFT WC: 387

 

[Tanuki Rinko]

The pirate woman scrunched one side of her nose, feeling rather bored with these two. "Fer one of yar bein' a ninja, ye sure be likin' ta talk." She tapped the hilt of her rapier in thought as she looked over the three in front of her. "Tell yer what. I ain't an unreasonable sort, so I'll be takin' the baby bishie's offer." She gave Tama a toothy grin. "Yer offer be temptin' lass, but I like me men keepin' their poop decks to themselves." Many sighs of relief came from the pirate ship, though one or two sounded more disappointed. "Besides, me men should only be havin' one lover on board." Rosalita slightly turned her head and gave a wink to the crewmen. A plethora of reactions resulted, ranging from giddy squirming to averted gazes of the tsundere variety. The woman gave a small chuckle before returning her eyes to the two shinobi. "I'll take what money ya got. I probably wouldn't get much use from that beast anyway. It be seemin' a bit touched in the head, ta say the least." She held out her hand in anticipation. Behind the shinobi, Mizutamari shook violently, his eyes looking past the crewmen to the door leading below deck. Words would still not come from him though.

 

[Osuteno]

Once more Osu found himself listening to what Tama was saying but not understanding a word of it. whatever a yaoi, an uke and a seme were it didn't seem to interest the dread pirate enough to accept the game. Osu nodded when it appeared the pirate was accepting his proposal. First he took a handful of silver from his pocket and handed it over to the pirate. On its own it would be enough to keep the whole crew from being sober a fortnight. "There is the silver, I will just need to go fetch the yen notes from my bag." His bag of course was over near his rolled out sleeping bag and as he turned towards it he noticed something was wrong with Mizu-San. He was fidgeting and was staring at the pirate's ship, but not at any of the crew it seemed. "Come with me Mizu-San, I need you to help me make sure the medicine bottles don't roll around the ship while I am digging in my bag."

Osu led the aquatic mammal over to the side of the ship where his possessions were and the first things he pulled out of his bag were a good number of vials that would very well roll around if left unattended and put them down in front of Mizu-San. Osu would keep his hand on them until the sea cow moved to hold them in place and would tell him to hurry if he hesitated. More quietly, while pulling out more books and some wooden hands that had more joints than the average puppet, Osu asked, "What is on their ship that has you so agitated? Speak quietly and quickly, I only have so many things I can pull out of this bag before they get suspicious, and this will be my only opportunity to perform hand seals without them having the first shot." He pulled out a few yen notes from one pocket, set them to the side where the pirates could see them clearly and put a book on top of them to prevent the wind from catching them as he continued to dig. He really did hope Mizu kept a solid... flipper on the vials. Some of them were more valuable than the silver he had just handed over and were an absolute nightmare to produce. Particularly the various poisons he had on him. Honestly, he could have probably bought their safe passage with a couple vials... maybe even a single vial of Euphorium but the last thing he would ever do would be contribute to the drug trade.

 

[Suzuki Setsu]

Thanks was a little put off by the Dread Pirate’s refusal of her offer. Granted she wasn't too fond of the realm of fujoshi, but according to Kiki and Koko, all girls were interested in it. Except the weird ones, they had said. I guess this lady is weird too, just like me. Still this meant that another course of action was required, and as the manatee was not offering any assistance as of yet, it fell on the shoulders of the two shinobi to work something out.

Osuso-pyon had suggested a monetary reparation for damages incurred, and the lady pirate had agreed to take all the money they had on them. It's a good thing I don't have any money! Tomo never lets me leave with any, but I guess today it works out, haha! Tama thought with a triumphant smirk. Of course the cargo hold probably held loot from the effort of the former owners of the rechristened S.S. Shiri-tan, but Tama hadn't explored every nook and cranny of her new vessel yet. So to her knowledge they were dead broke! And it was a great feeling. Osu took Mizutamari to help him get his money and hopefully do some psycho-babble to help the sea-cow loosen his tongue and relax a bit. He was with the great Mochizuki Tama and the still-growing-into-his-greatness-that-was-several-sizes-too-big-for-him-but-adorable-anyway Chigokai Osuteno. Mizutamari was probably the safest sea-cow in the entire ocean currently.

“So what business does a ‘Dread Pirate’ like yerself have in these waters? Surely there's bigger game afoot than cuddly sea-beasts? Don't you have villages to pillage and luxury liners to rob?” While Osu gathered what money he had, the least Tama could do was make conversation. Surely someone with an ego as large as Miss Rosie would want a chance to tell her tale as well, and maybe Tama could glean some insight into the silly little pirate’s motivations. Inadvertantly, this might also buy time for Osu and Mizutamari to have a quick heart-to-heart, but Tama wasn't aware of such things. What the chuunin was aware of though was a fierce desire to trounce the femme fatale into next week and prove that she was the strongest sister of the seven seas, and it was only thanks to her family drilling the absolute importance of staying in character when performing that kept her from engaging the woman in combat. Currently she was Admiral Tama. And the goal was to prevent bloodshed not incite it. So she kept smiling as cheerfully as she could while waiting for the woman to respond and the return of her two other crewmates.

MFT WC: 437