The skies were clear and blue above Marine Base Seventeen, and several seagulls could be hear squawking nearby from the base’s docks. The sea rose and fell gently, covered in deep blue waters rolling across the surface that caused the ships docked at the base to sway ever so slightly. There was a cool breeze lazily wafting through the air, and the Marine flags posted here and there fluttered in the wind. Truly, it seemed to be a peaceful day for the Marine Base and no one was enjoying that more than the newly promoted Lieutenant, Hoshikita Cross. After recovering from the wounds he’d received some days earlier during a pirate attack and receiving the rank of Lieutenant, Cross felt like he was on top of the world. Surely, his time stationed here at the base was looking up, and the way things were headed Hoshikita felt like Marine Commander might not be such a far off dream. He may have still been under the command of the extremely strict Captain Maria, but even she seemed to have softened up a bit after hearing of his victory against the enemies two elite warriors.

The days following the attack on the base had been largely uneventful aside from Hoshikita’s promotion and that was perfectly fine with the young new Lieutenant. He may have been happy to receive recognition from his actions, but he was still nervous about being burdened with command when no other officers were present. Holding the lives of the men who serve as his comrades seemed like quite a heavy burden to bear, and he had been wondering if he was truly ready for it quite often following the announcement. Still, he knew that he had been given a duty and he had no intention of shirking it no matter how nervous he was. The others might consider him lazy, but Hoshikita held pride in his station as a Marine and he didn’t want to do anything that might bring it dishonor.

So, head full of obligation and doubt, Hoshikita stood his post at the docks of the base and took glances at the passing seagulls as he stood at attention. Today, he was to take charge of a prisoner handoff from another branch of Marines. The Captain and Commander of the base had other duties to attend to so the task had been left to the next highest ranking officer, Hoshikita. When he had been briefed he had been informed that the prisoner in question was a highly dangerous man, who had apparently eaten one of the devil fruits. Hoshikita had heard of devil fruits before, but he had never encountered a user in person during his time on the planet. The information made him a little nervous about the task, but he didn’t voice those concerns for fear of disappointing those who had seen him promoted. Instead, Hoshikita redoubled his efforts in training during the days before the handoff, wanting to be more prepared than he had been the last time in case of any unexpected pirate attacks.

So, awaiting the appointed handoff time, Hoshikita remained stationed at the dock enjoying the view and mentally preparing himself. It was another few hours before he spotted the Marine ship approaching in the distance, and Hoshikita’s heart began to flutter as the massive white sails came closer and closer into view. As the ship approached, Hoshikita called the ensigns he had been given command of to attention, and the men lined up on opposite sides of the dock. The young Lieutenant himself stood at the end of the dock, his Marine cap placed firmly on his head and his Hawaiian shirt still hanging open in the breeze. The ship came to dock smoothly and without issue, and the plank was raised to allow the men to enter the base. Hoshikita greeted the Marine Captain who had escorted the prisoner, putting up a salute as he did so. “Lieutenant Hoshikita Cross, sir. The Commander and Captain had business to attend to, so I’ve been charged with the hand off.” He said clearly and concisely, wanting to appear professional in front of his superior. The Marine captain gave Hoshikita a warm look, and was about to say something when an arrow flew through the air and suddenly lodged itself firmly into the captain’s throat.

Hoshikita was in shock for a moment, not sure whether he was dreaming or not as he watched blood pour from the speechless captain’s neck. The sudden movement of the prisoner brought him back into reality as he watched the man scramble in his cuffs to snag the key from the incapacitated captain. Hoshikita was finally able to grasp the situation, and he started the rotations to begin a roundhouse kick aimed squarely at Barry’s head. However, before he was able to make contact he heard someone moving extremely quickly towards him and before he knew it there was a woman between him and Barry, blocking his kick with her own forearms. “Hands off the Captain, you Long Legged bastard!” The woman shouted, repelling Hoshikita’s leg with a flick of her forearm and bringing her arms into a fighting stance once again. Thoughts raced through the young Lieutenant’s mind as he brought up his knee and entered his own fighting stance. Where did this woman come from? Is she his woman? She said he was her captain. Is she in his crew? Where did that arrow come from? Why today? What the hell is going on here? He frantically asked, pressing himself for answers that were out of his reach.

As the woman rushed in to take him on, Hoshikita was finally able to focus his thoughts onto what he did know rather than what he did not. He knew that he needed to repel this woman and secure Barry above all else, and that with the Marine Captain incapacitated he needed to issue orders to the ensigns to do so. “Battlestations, men! Secure the prisoner and help to subdue the enemy! Keep a lookout for any hidden assailants; that arrow had to come from somewhere!” He shouted as he leaned back to dodge a series of punches that the young woman threw at him. She was relentless and angry, but Hoshikita planned to use that to his advantage. He continued leaning back until his body was almost at an arch just as she threw a powerful punch. Her momentum caused her to follow him and she leaped off the ground, right where the Lieutenant wanted her. With a swift hop back with his hands, he was in perfect position to send a mean kick right into her gut. The impact sent the poor woman flying backwards and onto the Marine ship that had just docked there, ready to be subdued by the other Marines while the wind was still knocked out of her.

Hoshikita could see that Barry was still struggling to undo the locks by himself, but two other pirates had appeared on the docks and were engaging the ensigns who had been tasked with securing him. The ensigns weren’t faring too badly, but the enemy pirates were able to hold them back with seemingly little effort. Hoshikita started to move to help them, but as he took the first step he heard a dull “thunk” behind him. Turning his head to see what it had been, he saw that an arrow had just barely missed his right heel. With a quick ascertation, Hoshikita was able to discern the direction the arrow came from, and he saw the glint of steel up on a high tower of the Marine Base. "Keep at it, men! Don't let a single one of them escape!" Hoshikita shouted before turning off towards the archer. Deciding to leave the prisoner to the ensigns for now, Hoshikita ran off to confront the man who had assassinated the Marine Captain. He had no need for the stairs, as he had been practicing another of the Rokushiki techniques exhaustively and he finally felt confident in it’s use to implement it in battle. The young Lieutenant swiftly kicked at the air and shot off into the sky towards where he had seen the flash of steel. He moved incredibly quickly, and the archer likely lost sight of him as he zigged and zagged and made his way towards the enemy’s position to eliminate him as a threat.

Techniques Used:

Hoshikita landed on the tower that he had seen the flash of metal, but the assailant was nowhere in sight. Instead, he found the bodies of four ensigns who had assumedly been killed by the archer so that he might have a place to snipe from. Thinking quickly, Hoshikita looked through all the exits for a glimpse of the man but found nothing. He was rather frantic as to where the man might be, and he thought that perhaps it might be better to return to the battle rather than going on a wild goose chase for the man with the bow. Just as he was about to head back however, he noticed a large hook hanging from one of the tower walls. Rushing over to inspect it, Hoshikita saw that it was connected to a rope and he quickly slid down it thinking that the archer must have used this to escape. Sure enough, once he reached the bottom, he saw the archer rushing over to a ship manned by a few other pirates. It seemed that they had docked in the Marine’s blind spot and taken out the ensigns on watch in the area to perpetrate their plan, and Hoshikita didn’t plan on letting a single one of them escape. They’d killed a superior officer, and from where the young Lieutenant stood there was no justice in that.

He rushed at them speedily but calmly, feeling confident enough to start doing some vocal exercises and thinking up some verses to relay to his enemies as he took them out. He could see the archer panicking as the long legged man quickly closed distance with him, and the pirates manning the ship had begun rushing to his aid after seeing the lone marine chasing after them. “The sand sticks to my feet, and it feels crusty.” Hoshikita began before executing a Soru and closing the distance between himself and his opponents almost immediately. The technique was a bit harder to complete in the sand due to less friction, but he was still able to pull it off successfully. When he came to a halt, he continued his verse as he executed a roundhouse kick to one of the pirates faces. “Blood sticks to my feet, too.” He recited as the impacted pirate fell to the ground. The other four pirates rushed at him angrily as the archer panickedly attempted to draw his bow. Hoshikita wasn’t about to back down though, and with a sweeping kick of his long legs he swept up the four vagabonds and sent them sprawling onto the ground in a pile. He then bent himself backwards to dodge the arrow that sailed right past where his chest had been and sprang back upwards with a mischievous smile on his face. Then, in a somewhat whimsical tone for the lazy talking Lieutenant, he began the final verse of his poem. “Sand and blood do. I wonder, do you stick to feet, too?” He finished, rushing at the man who was still fumbling for another arrow. Hoshikita didn’t give him a chance to draw it however, and he slammed his foot into the man’s face with devastating force. He could hear bones cracking as the archer stumbled backwards. “You rhymed too with...too.” He muttered before falling to the ground unconscious. At that, Hoshikita brushed his hands off and scoffed before turning and running back towards the battle. “Shitty bastard just doesn’t know good poetry.” He thought to himself as he ran off.

Hoshikita was able to return to the docks of the base rather quickly due to his longer strides, but it seemed the battle had already taken a turn for the worse. It seemed Monty had gotten free of his cuffs and looked to be flinging knives left and write, piercing into ensigns and causing many of them to fall helpless onto the docks or into the water. The other two pirates were also standing as well, and it seemed like no one in the ensigns had the power to stand up to them. The three pirates seemed to be fighting their way off of the docks, likely trying to make it to the pirate ship that Hoshikita had just seen. The lieutenant wasn’t about to let that happen however, and he stood at the end of the dock and gave out a rather peculiar order. “Hit the deck, men! Drop as flat as you can!” He shouted out before waiting a moment for his orders to be carried out. The pirates were somewhat confused by the development, but took it as a blessing and began rushing towards the end of the dock with renewed vigor. Hoshikita remained standing there not showing any signs of aggression until he saw the last marine hit the deck, at which point he let kicked through the air with every ounce of force he could muster. As his leg careened through the air, a blade of wind began to gather around the limb and shot off at high speeds towards the approaching three and over the bodies of Hoshikita’s companions. The near invisible blade of wind sliced open the bodies of the two pirates who had assisted in Monty’s escape, but the captain himself had blocked the blow with a cross guard of knives. The two men fell to the ground from the shock and pain of having such massive chest wounds, and Monty looked a bit taken aback from the sudden reversal of the battle.

Techniques Used:

Hoshikita breathed out a sigh of relief as he brought his leg down after his attack. He was glad that his Rankyaku had actually been successful, as in his training he had only been able to pull it off about seven out of ten times. Luckily, this had been one of the seven and with two of his three opponent’s taken out, Hoshikita felt like subduing the prisoner was very doable at this point. He stood tall at the end of the dock, ready to move at the slightest sign of aggression from Monty. “Give yourself up, Bell. You’re surrounded.” Hoshikita said, giving the signal for the ensigns to stand with their weapons at the ready. He truly felt like a capable officer at command, and the young lieutenant couldn’t help but smile as he carried out his duty. Still, from the look on Bell’s face, Hoshikita could gather that the pirate captain didn’t plan on giving up so easily. Hoshikita would have preferred the man to just give himself up, but he also hadn’t really expected him to. So it was no surprise to the Marine when he saw Monty pull back his hand with a knife in his grasp, ready to throw.

Hoshikita had been briefed on the captain’s abilities and he knew that the man was not one to underestimate, but he also knew that the captain wouldn’t be able to use his devil fruit powers unless he placed a hand on him. Even with that in mind however, Hoshikita would still have to close the gap if he was to have any chance of beating a long range opponent. It was already apparent that he was skilled enough to fend off his Ryankaku even if Hoshikita were able to successfully pull it off a second time, so close range combat was the only option left available to him.

As one of the steel knives flew by him, Hoshikita ducked out of the way and started making his way down the dock, keeping his body low and darting from side to side to avoid projectiles. The enemy captain was no slouch however, and no matter how hard Hoshikita tried to dodge, he was unable to avoid any of the knives thrown at him and several had even lodged themselves in his flesh. He’d been nicked in several other places as well, and his Hawaiian shirt had been torn in the process. It appeared as if the enemy captain didn’t rely on his devil fruit power to do all of the work and was a powerful marksman in his own right.

Hoshikita wasn’t stopping though, and he took the blows in stride as he tensed his muscles in an effort to stem the bleeding. He then darted in close to his opponent and just barely dodged a knife thrust that passed over his Marine cap and through the air as he bent down low and executed a leg sleep to knock his opponent off of his feet. The captain saw through this however and leaped upwards to dodge the sweep. Hoshikita’s reflexes were not to be underestimated though, and he quickly pivoted his foot and swung his leg upward right into Monty’s groin. The impact was accompanied by a painful sounding squish and Monty yelped in pain as his hands dropped the knives he was holding and instantly shot down towards the offended area. Monty then fell to the ground clutching his groin and feeling around to make sure that nothing had been permanently damaged while Hoshikita stood up and looked over to one of the other marines who had been standing with musket at the ready. “Get a report to the captain of what happened here.” He ordered, before looking to yet another marine standing at the dock. “Get those cuffs back on him and make sure he’s guarded well until superior officers arrive.” He told them before rushing off to have the men on the beach gathered up as well. “Being a Lieutenant is hard work. I wonder if Captains have it easier.” Hoshikita thought to himself as he rushed off back towards the base, feeling rather pleased with himself.