Pirates, Spies and Slayers.... Oh my!!

The sun was just coming up over the horizon as Sei sat in his bunk on the pirate ship, his jerkin and weapons harness laying on the small bench next to his "bed". He could see outside of one of the portside windows, and there seemed to be nothing but open water out here. He shivered, there were very few things that he truly disilked in this world, but there were three main ones; People who killed innocents, being caught out at bad times, and being absolutely powerless. He might still have his weapons, but out here in the ocean with no land around for miles, he was completely powerless when it came to bending. He just hoped a fight wouldn't happen today.

Finally, unable to stay in bed any longer, he got up and picked up his clothes. First his jerkin, a small black and grey one that fitted more like an open vest and less like an actual jerkin, and of course his weapon harness. His twin swords were both sticking over the top of the arms. held tight to the chest. The pouch with his sansetsukon was on the back, ready to be used at a moment's notice. Now fully prepared, he got up and walked onto the deck.

"G'day, master Kinzoku." The leader of the pirates said, smiling at him. For a pirate, Sei had to admit, this guy wasn't bad. He seemed to have a strong code of honor, even if it wasn't the law it was at least understandable. They got on well, even if he had to repeat himself a few times.
"I've told you already, Captain Finilus, when we're topside call me Paegani. Just in case there should be any spies among your crew." this, of course, didn't stick well with the captain who stormed off, obviously annoyed at the allegation of members of his crew being traitors. Still, it was Sei's job to be careful about things like this.

A loud bang was heard, rocking the ship back and forth, even knocking some of the pirates off of their feet. A ship came into view. The entire sail was covered in what seemed to be blood, and it was fresh. “What is that?” and “Is that... blood?” Was heard among the pirates. Two more bolts came soon after, rocking the boat more, and leaving black ash, something common on the other boat. As the boat got closer, you could see dead bodies sprawled about. “The crimson spark! She’s come for us!” And others, along with praying, and suicide. The remaining pirate’s eyes were fixated on the boat, but Lazuki appeared behind them, a wicked, demented smile on her face. She took quiet steps, before grabbing one of the pirate’s head, and crushing it feet away from his crewmates. She licked her hand, and prepared to slaughter the rest of the crew.

Sei's attention was drawn by the shaking of the boat. He forgot how much he hated sea travel, as he then spent the next few seconds bringing his breakfast back up and dumping it over the edge of the ship into the ocean. He looked at the ship that had caused that and noticed something. The entire ship was covered in dead bodies. Well, that's just fucking fantastic, he thought to himself, I just lost my breakfast AND we're about to be hit by a ship carrying a homocidal maniac.

As she jumped aboard, he watched her move and crush one of the pirates heads. He sighed with irritation and ran forwards, throwing the other pirate to the ground and away from her. He put his hand up, ripping some of the clay that was filling in holes in the portholes and pulling them towards him in the forms of bullets. He raised them out, not yet attacking. But it was a clear message, if she tried anything she would soon be on the wrong end of the bullets.

"Stand down, 'The Crimson Spark' " he said calmly, despite the fact that most of the pirates were backing away in fear. He'd versed worse, and he wasn't going to be scared of some girl who'd just popped up out of nowhere.... even if she had just crushed the heads of one of his shipmates.
"You just picked a bad ship to mess with. This ship happens to be coursed with the Fire Nation with a valuable cargo." he said, not letting her know that it was indeed him himself that was the valuable cargo

"With that in mind I can't just let you attack the crew. This shipment needs to get to the Fire Nation, it's pivotal. Stand down, or know that you've declared war upon a member of the Earth Nation military." he said, his voice sure. It wasn't exactly like keeping the fact that he worked for the military a secret would benefit him in this situation, and it might just give him the bit of added weight behind his words necessary to save his life.

"Stand down, 'The Crimson Spark' " he said calmly. He sent her into rage. The man in front of her was way to calm. She started to walk up to him, full of rage, anger and a bit of fear. This man wasn’t afraid of her. He was either a normal civilian, or the best pirate in the world, or at least thinks he is. She guessed that he isn’t a pirate because there was no fear in his voice. "You just picked a bad ship to mess with. This ship happens to be coursed with the Fire Nation with a valuable cargo." That gave her another reason to attack. She’d give back the item and be paid. Or she could just keep it…

“Yaaa!”

Her thoughts were interrupted. It came from the ship boy. He couldn’t more than 16, and yet he was attacking the most feared pirate hunter in the sea when she had her guard down. Lucky for her, he had aimed for the wrong arm, and his small dagger bounced harmlessly off, and sent him to the floor. She jumped upon him, completely by primal instinct, and put her hand on his throat, about to blow it off, when the man said: "With that in mind I can't just let you attack the crew. This shipment needs to get to the Fire Nation, it's pivotal. Stand down, or know that you've declared war upon a member of the Earth Nation military." Lazuki sent a warning shot into the air instead of killing him. The shot violently exploded, sending a gust of hot air toward them. If this man was going to attack, he better know what he was up against.

A pirate whispered to Sei. “Sir, I don’t think you understand.” That’s the demon of the seas. She’s taken out more ships than you can count, and destroyed ships twice as big as ours…With her accursed hand.”

Sei watched the ship's boy run and attack the new-comer. He facepalmed as he screwed up completely and got his ass kicked. Suddenly she stopped and he sighed. She was going to use him as a hostage. One of his bullets flew forwards and ripped through his eye socket, piercing his brain and killing him instantly. He was not playing the hostage game. Members of the crew looked at him as if he was a monster, to which he flashed a grin. He really didn't care what his ship-mates thought of him, just so long as they did what he wanted. Fear was just as likely to inspire someone to do what you wanted as friendship was.
"We are not playing the hostage game, spark." he said, crossing his arms like a playground teacher, telling of a student. He was still extremely calm, a skill he'd picked up over years of being deep in enemy territory with only himself to rely on. He'd faced worse than her, even if he had just watched her crush a man in just her hand.


A man whispered to him “Sir, I don’t think you understand. That’s the demon of the seas. She’s taken out more ships than you can count, and destroyed ships twice as big as ours…With her accursed hand.” he nodded and smiled, so a demon eh? A woman after his own heart.
"Well then, let's try not to make her blow the ship down. I'd hate to have to kill a girl that cute on a day like this." Many of the crew members looked at each other, before trying once more to explain it.
"Sir, you don't understand. She's killed hundreds of people." he rounded on the guy who wouldn't leave well enough alone and snapped

"Midshipman, I'm not asking you for the chronicled events of the crimson spark, am I? No? then shut up. If you're talking about blowing things apart, I've ripped down several ships, even entire bases, just to find what I want. You've heard of Paegani, right?" he said, his anger clear in his voice. That name only came with one connection. One of the largest bases in the Fire nation had gone quiet a few months back, and all they found was a base full of dead people, one who had written the name Paegani in his own blood before he died. Hundreds of people, killed by collapsing buildings, hails of bullets and in one case, being kicked against a brick wall like a football, all because a mission had gone south. The man nodded, and he grinned
"Who the hell do you think you're transporting, eh?" he turned back to the girl and returned to his normal tone

"I'm sorry about that, my dear, some people just don't know when to let sleeping dogs lie. Now, where were we.... oh yes, you were threatening my crew." he took a step forward, shaking his finger as if telling off a little kid
"No, no, no. That won't do at all. You saw what I did to your precious little hostage. If I'll do that to my own allies, what exactly do you think I'm willing to do to you, hmm?" he said, his tone not threatening but questioning, as if asking how gruesome her imagination could reach. From what he'd been told, he assumed pretty damn far.

"We are not playing the hostage game, spark." he said, crossing his arms.

The boy wasn't a hostage. He was a toy the man, Paegani, had broken. Wait.. Peagani? She had heard that name before... she had even seen him once, and he was as good at what he did as she was at what she did. She casually threw the boy to the side, and listened further.

"I'm sorry about that, my dear, some people just don't know when to let sleeping dogs lie. Now, where were we.... oh yes, you were threatening my crew."

The pirates... they shouldn't have been important to anyone. Why did he need them? For labor? She didn't care, as long as the died.

"No, no, no. That won't do at all. You saw what I did to your precious little hostage. If I'll do that to my own allies, what exactly do you think I'm willing to do to you, hmm?"

Lazuki thought of the wonderful things he could do, and then things he couldn't. He couldn't stop himself from exploding, so she walked up to him, and put her normal hand on his chest. She could react before he could, so even if he tried to cut it off, it would be too late. Instead of blowing him up, she waited for his reaction. Some of the pirates scrambled away, knowing what may happen next. The pirate that had been talking earlier looked to Sei. "Move..." He said under his breath, but knowing that that was what Sei intended to do.

Sei watched the woman get closer, and for some strange reason she put her normal hand on his chest. Wait.... what? She had a perfectly good, strong metallic hand, and her method of attack was to stroke his chest? What was she going to do, molest him to death? Then one of the pirates warned him to move, and suddenly ideas of what was going on flooded his mind. Was she a bloodbender who could corrupt his body from touching it like this? Was she a firebender who would use the oxygen in his body to turn into an explosive? He didn't know, but he also knew that he wasn't just going to turn and run in the face of battle.

He raised one foot and rested it on his other knee, as if in a strange martial arts pose.
"You know, it's not like I don't think you're attractive, but seriously; Buy me dinner first." he said, jokingly, before finishing his sentence with
"Because I swear, if you do, I'll ROCK your world." He slammed his raised foot down, sending heavy vibrations through the ship. It was strong enough to even knock most of the pirate's on their ass, and they were standing twenty centimeters away. It would only be magnified as close as she was.

With his new found time, he threw himself backwards, catching the banister that led to the upper floor of the ship and getting purchase just out of reach by hand. After that, he pushed his hand out and sent all nine bullets speeding at its intended target, having used the time they had spent talking to maneouver around her in a circle, now closing in from all sides. The last time he had used this, a proud assassin had been turned into a mewling quim.
"Everyone get out of her range, NOW!" he said to his crew, who nodded and ran to other sections of the ship, splitting up to avoid all having to face her at once. Now it was up to Sei to deal with her.

"You know, it's not like I don't think you're attractive, but seriously; Buy me dinner first." he said, jokingly, before finishing his sentence with"Because I swear, if you do, I'll ROCK your world."

Cheesy one-liners? She thought. Then he slammed his in the ground, causing her to fall to her knee. She was ready for anything, even that. She quickly dug her spiked arm into the ground, stabilizing herself as she prepared to blow up this entire ship. Before she could however, she saw the pellets come towards her. Instead of blowing up the ship, she shot one to the ground under her. She had perfected the move recently. Instead of a giant explosion, she gathers lots of oxygen and lets it go before it can explode, sending her flying into the air, avoiding the rocks. She was furious with him now, but didn't show it. She calmly walked to the side of the ship, and jumped onto her's. She waved a hand for him to come.

Sei saw her fall to her knees and raised an eyebrow as she stabbed her hand into the ship. Before the bullets could reach her, however, she was fired off of the ground like a rocket, dodging each and every one. He turned them back for another go, when she just left. Wait, what? She wasn't just leaving, she was beckoning for him to follow. He was glad that he hadn't left anything on the ship, planning to steal Fire Nation uniform when he got to the docks. He nodded and jumped down, walking across the gap to the ship.

Many of the pirates looked at him, as if saying "thank you for sacrificing yourself." wait... they thought he was going to die, and they weren't going to help? It wasn't so much that he was afraid of her, but he was a little irritated that he was being used as a sacrificial lamb in a situation like this. He clenched a fist and turned to Spark and raised an eyebrow.
"Well, what was it? What was it that couldn't have been said on the other ship?" he asked, a little impatient.

Many of the pirates were murmuring about what was happening. Some thought that Sei was being a hero, sacrificing himself willingly. Some others thought he was in cahoots with her and he was selling them out for slaughter. Others still just thought that they were going to debate what was going to happen somewhere private. Honeslty, Sei didn't know either. All he knew was that he'd never met this woman before and yet he was being treated like more important than everyone else on the ship. He couldn't help but wonder if that was out of awe for his reputation, hatred of pirates, or a combination of the two.

"Well, what was it? What was it that couldn't have been said on the other ship?"

Me did something that may be very surprising to him; she gave him a normal smile, one you would have expected from a pirate slaver. It was innocent, like a child getting a new toy or meeting new people. She loathed smiling, in her experience, it only showed that you were broken. However, a smile is how most people communicate happiness and friendship.

She turned back to the ship, her smile still in tact, if a bit... lustful. Not for him, but for the wonderful death about to befall the ship. She turned her hand to the ship, and shot at it, full force. The side of the ship exploded, and it started to sink. She shot four shots at the ship, reducing it to almost nothing. She shot at whoever survived, turning them into a wonderful flurry of blood and other chunks. She turned back to Sei, and gave him the smile as before.

Sei's instincts were first aroused when she smiled at him. She wasn't answering him, she was juts smiling..... what had he just left the ship for again? It occurred to him that he could easily be taken prisoner by this woman, as once his bullets were gone he no longer had any weapons. Well, he had his swords, but he was completely in enemy territory.... he'd lost the home advantage. He was about to go see if it was too late to get back on his own ship when he saw what she was doing.
"No, wait, don't...." he started, but didn't get to finish as his words were cut off by an explosion.

For a few seconds, he just stared at the flaming wreckage that had been his ship only moments ago. There were two thoughts that were going through his head right now. Firstly, how the hell was he going to get to the Fire Nation now? Secondly, he'd been specifically chosen by her to NOT die in the explosion. It wasn't even as if she had thrown him overboard, as he'd have survived the explosion with luck that way anyway. She had specifically made sure that he was alive. He wasn't sure if he should be flattered or a little worried that she had singled him out like that. He looked at her for a few moments, before noticing she was smiling.

Yes, she was Smiling! She had just killed at least thirty people, and she was grinning about that? He sighed and voiced his complaint, obviously non-plussed about the fact that she had indeed killed all of those people, as they had abandoned him to what they could have only assumed would be his death.
"You know... I'm not going to get to the Fire Nation without a ship." he said, and although it was obvious, it felt good getting that complaint out in the open.

"You know... I'm not going to get to the Fire Nation without a ship."

Last she checked, this was a ship he was on. She took the dead captain's hat, and put it on her head, then stepping over the captain, and some of the crew mates, and then getting to the wheel. She could get him there, then be rid of this ship. She had far better ships back in the fire nation anyway. She grabbed the wheel and set sail for the fire nation. In another world, she could have been an excellent pirate. She threw a piece of paper at him, showing her real name. It was a reward for her head, but it wasn't done, and it said her first name before a splatter of blood covering her last name. It quotations it said 'The crimson spark.' 'If found, dead or alive, contact...' The ink fell of the page.

Sei looked at her for a moment curiously before he noticed her putting on the dead captain's hat. For a moment, he was confused about what she was doing... then it dawned on him. She was going to steer the ship? He sighed, it wasn't like he had a great deal of choices right now, but he would really have rather been on a ship where he didn't feel like he had to watch his back the entire time. Oh well, he figured, it could be a lot worse.

He caught the paper that she had thrown at him, looking at the name on it. The last name seemed to be crying out to him, telling him he'd seen it somewhere before. He didn't quite remember where, maybe in a rumor, maybe in a story, maybe in a nightmare. It wasn't like he had so few of them he could remember all of them.
"So, Lazuki Kojin, you're going to be the captain?" he asked, resting on the side of the ship. He thought about why she somehow seemed familiar, but decided against worrying about it. He scrunched up the wanted poster and threw it over the side of the ship
"Lieutenant Seishin Kinzoku, at your service, ma'am." he said, before walking off downstairs

As he got down to the main area of the ship, he started picking up corpses and throwing them overboard, getting rid of any evidence. However, as he got to the original captain's uniform he looked at it strangely. It seemed to fit, and it would certainly provide more protection than what he was currently wearing. Turning around so that she couldn't see him as he undressed, he started taking his clothes off and slipping into the captain's. Thankfully, they were relatively blood-free. Now finished, he threw the captain's body over the side as well. He looked up and smiled at her, his hand going back through his hair and making it slightly messy, giving him the entire pirate look.
"So, what do you think, Captain Kojin?" he said teasingly, as if this was somehow funny to him. It was certainly very odd, as ten minutes ago he had been on a comfortable ship which was now at the bottom of the ocean.