Task Name: Developing skillz
Tier: 2
NPC or PC: PC
Location: Karate Island
Crew, Team, or Personal: Personal
Description: You're in Karate Island, might as well learn some Karate, no? Walk around the island and try out the various Dojo until you find one to your liking. You must fight using Hand to hand.
Enemy Details: 5 T1 Martial artists; T2 Jeong Style Student
Boss: None

Linnea had spent the past few days investigating that little map... It seemed like the place depicted wasn't actually on Karate Island, but pretty close... It not only pointed to an old temple for ages long past, but also pointed out paths and tips on how to navigate it. All in all it had been an incredible find, easily more relevant than the dead tiger's pelt or all the trinkets she also found with the adventurer's corpse. True, all of those put together had fetched a price more than enough to cover the expense of the adventure, which was comparatively small. If she took into account the potential treasures she might find at this temple, it would be even more so... But that would still be a long way to go before she'd get to that part. For now she had to study the map, which meant she wouldn't be moving too far in the next few days.

She still needed her occasional adventuring and a daily dose of new sights to stave off boredom and stagnation, that was the kind of girl Lin was anyway. But what could she still do in this village without straying too far, what had she not done yet? The obvious thing struck out, now that she thought about it... This Island was called Karate Island, and even pirates often got the better of the villagers, there were plenty of martial artists around. Of course, few of them had guns like the pirates did, making facing them head on a hazardous challenge. This was probably why Lin completely forgot about the Island's Martial Artist community for so long, but not anymore. Today, she headed for the dojo distric, interested in seeing if any of the many styles being taught there would have anything to offer her.

The first palce she visited was of course the most obvious: A Dojo was challenging passerby's to a bout with one of their strongest students to show off their martial arts, a kind of publicity stunt that easily suited her linking. Accepting the challenge, Linnea was put up against the strongest female fighter there, who had a rather similar height and build to hers, making for a seemingly even challenge. But as the woman threw the first punch, Linnea just used her Kenbunshoku to telegraph it, and retaliate with an uppercut to her jaw. And with another of these counter attacks, she had laid her opponent down with two strikes, even despite her slightly lower skill in martial arts...


Used C-rank Kenbu Haki (Haki stamina: 30/40)

Defeated T1 Martial artist

Alice was still hanging around Karate island. It was a decent place to just come and relax. Plus, it was kinda a big deal that the Navy didn't have a base here. She thought that while she hung around, she could scout a few locations, get a feel for the townsfolk. Seemed to be evenly split between martial artists and farmers, occasionally there was some over lap. Seemed peaceful enough, definitely more accommodating than Briss was. Better fruit too. Alice had snagged herself a small basket of apples. Challenged the seller to a fight and offered him triple asking price. Guy couldn't say no.

Of course, it was an entirely one sided experience. Alice's extensive training, Hali, and Devil Fruit ensured she'd get this small basket of apples for free. She'd been eating them as she moved in and around the village, and what had started as a small basket was now just three apples that Alice was juggling merrily as she made her toward a dojo. The apple salesman had told her if she was really looking for a challenge, she should head there, they were holding an open exhibition. Master Jeong was apparently a well respected martial artist. Alice knew the name from reports she'd read about Karate island. Apparently he'd served in the milita that drove the Marines out the last time they attempted to build a base here. Long before Alice's time, but it was still pertinent information.

Alice mused to herself that if she could study this man, and his students, the Navy might have a good grasp on what these yokels were capable of.

As she approached the dojo Alice would catch the occasional sound of pain coming from that direction, and a cheer from a small group of voices. Apparently the apple guy was right, this backwater village might provide some decent entertainment. Alice's juggling came to a slow stop, and she slid two of her three snacks into her pockets and decided to take a healthy bite out of the third. She strolled into the dojo's entrance, leaning against the frame as she wondered if she really wanted in on this action.

The Dojo's reputation was pretty shaken after this overwhelming defeat; everybody knew that had Linnea been a dojo buster, even their master would likely not have been able to defeat her, not if one of her strongest students could be taken down in two hits. After all, if Lin's first uppercut had went for the throat or some other weak spot, the woman would have been defeated in one hir, and everyone could see that much. The "Ooooh"'s and "Wow"'s echoed through the room, but in the end Linnea was done with this Dojo. There was nothing here she could learn if this was all the strongest students could do. Maybe the Master would have been stronger, but not being a dedicated Martial Artist, Linnea didn't see the point in possibly spending years to reach that level.

"Thank you for the fight...", was all she said before turning away and leaving.

Some of the guys still asked her to stay with the same look most men seemed to give her, but then she wasn't really interested. If she hadn't been interested before, she certainly wouldn't be now that had someone she felt like she owed her faithfulness to. She still didn't know what to call her relationship with Alice, or even if the girl wanted there to be a relationship, but while figuring that out she was determined not to do any of those things with anybody else. After that, well, it would depend on what conclusion they arrived at... Still, one of these guys actually tried approaching her directly, flashing a beautiful, charming smile, which Linnea returned shyly as ever:

"Thanks...", she smiled bashfully tugging on her hood as if to hide her blush. But a quick glance at that man was all she needed to figure out he was different from the others there. His clothes most of all, thus leading to her deduction, "You... You're not a student here are you?"

But sensing a familiar aura, Linnea's heart suddenly started racing and those warm feelings from recent memories came flooding back. That moment she turned away from the man and towards the entrance, spotting that familiar hourglass figure she'd become so intimately familiar with, spotting the blonde casually eating an apple. Now blushing even harder than before, she approached Alice with a coy yet visibly lovestruck smile:

"Hi there...", she greeted her, her head cocked down slightly as she looked up into her sea blue eyes, moving over to kiss even if the girl would probably beat her to it, being the more passionate of the two, "Here to learn more martial arts...?"

She didn't know what the other man and Alice were doing here but she could guess... Maybe they'd be joining her on the dojo hunt? She hoped at least Ali would be, glancing at the two expectantly.

Alice was hardly the jealous Type. Jealousy implied one didn't have total confidence in them selves and the sheer size of Alice's ego didn't allow room for self doubt. So when she spotted Lin and her curvaceous form dodging out of the shadow a fairly handsome looking guy, she didn't feel anything beyond the immense swell of emotions that were aroused whenever she caught view of her shy... Girlfriend? Lover? What exactly were they? Alice didn't know really. Monogamy was something she'd never grown up with, or that is to say, her mother being a whore meant that whenever she preached about love, Alice typically took those lectures with s grain of salt.

Still, those were thoughts for another day. Right now there was Lin, this dude who was now challenging the most dour of women to a sword fight, and her. The martial artist would leisurely toss the apple core over her shoulder nonchalantly and roll the both of them cooly. "Hi there" was her greeting, and in response Alice slid her arms around Linnea's slim waist to pull the shapely girl into a romantic embrace.
"Hey, cupcake.", she'd begin as she gingerly swayed her own hips side to side. The heat pumping through her body made her many to move. She knew what she wanted to do, but it'd be wrong to do those sorts of things to Lin in the middle of a dojo. Alice had a little more respect for the craft than that.

Pushing her lewder thoughts from her mind became slightly difficult as Lin pressed her cool lips to Ali's warm ones. It was a quick, shy sort of peck that was enough to catch Alice by surprise, sending an erotic chill up her spine. Her deep blue eyes would narrow into a sultry glare as her partner pulled away, likely too shy to initiate the kind of kiss the two no doubt wanted to share. As punishment for her lack of forwardness, Alice would make her live with that kiss, and instead simply continue holding her. "Nah, these guys aren't exactly my style. Figured I'd come check 'em out though. Supposedly their master is pretty strong, so I'd take a whack at him if they let me... But what about you, huh? If you wanted to learn a thing or two about kicking ass all you needed to do was ask, I'd have happily given you some tips while we were-", Alice was about to finish but soon the swordsman was finished, and so too was this dojo.

Looks like the best student, and the sensei had been defeated. Probably not worth sticking around, then. There was another dojo though, somewhere down the road. Probably where Lin was going next if she was serious about practicing martial arts. The swordsman was packing up his stuff and Alice gestured to him with a stray finger
" So is kendo kid traveling with you? Or is like... Just some swordsman who goes around challenging martial artists to sword fights?", she'd chuckle as she asked her somewhat rhetoricalquestion, and at the ridiculous notion. He could be the worst swordsman on in the Blues and still peel a win off of someone who hadn't practiced with one. Still, he looked halfway decent with a blade. Probably just trying to show off for... Someone. Lin maybe?

If all those memories the two of them shared were enough to make her blush and smile like a young schoolgirl in love, one might imagine the effect seeing her lover in the flesh might have on her. She was growing used to Ali's favorite nickname for her, and hearing it leave her lips with that almost cocky, seductive smile just made her defenses melt down, assuming she'd have any to begin with... Not against Alice. Letting out a soft little gasp when she was pulled into a tight embrace, feeling the fighter's body push up against her was enough to make her heart throb; her breasts heaving against her as their bodies meshed together perfectly. She naturally returned the embrace, her hands seeking her lover's exposed skin on her back as a resting place. But feeling those soft, sweet lips against her for the first time since they'd left the island had her blushing redder than before... She got to enjoy the sweet taste of her favorite fruit on her favorite blonde's lips and closed her eyes for that little heavenly moment. She even let out a slight happy giggle once their lips finally parted:

"I guess you're right...I knew you were in still in Karate island, but I didn't know where to find you.", she smiled excusingly, giving a slight shrug and leaving her hand around Alice's waist. There was a certain glimmering admiration when she looked at Alice in her natural envoiroment, and she had to wonder what the girl might have to teach her, "I was hoping to find a Dojo I could learn in. But I'd like to learn from you too..."

She gave Alice a slightly coy look as if there was some other hidden meaning behind these words, often enough Lin remained completely unaware of these, even when she spoke them out herself. This time was no exception, since she completely failed to notice what her request might have come across as. Still, the Kendo man had now soundly defeated the Sensei, and with that the trio left the Dojo. She hung around enough to chat with Alice and a certain curiosity to see the fight unfolding before her eyes but now that both of them had left the Dojo, Lin too had nothing to do there and left as well. Her lover inquired on the man, and Lin was reminded of how she really didn't know anything about him:

"No, I just met him...", she shook her head, before turning to the man with a bright, gentle look, "What's your name by the way? I'm Linnea; nice to meet you!"

Glancing into his eyes for a moment as she waited for the guy's answer, she nonetheless kept on walking, and looking at Alice to see if there was any Dojo she might be interested in. She had fought and the man had fought too; she hadn't, not that any of them had seen, and Linnea knew that among the three of them, she was bound to be the strongest Marital artist...

Alice leisurely played with her lover's hair, running her cool fingers across Lin's hot head, sliding her silky, platinum blonde bangs behind her ears so that she could catch herself in the archer's cold, pale gaze. For a shy, friendly girl Lin had the most coldest of eyes. They shimmered childishly  along with her dutiful, lovely blushing cheeks and truly cliché girlish giggle it was enough to earn her a sweet kiss to her forehead from the suddenly sentimental kickboxer. Linnea was like... Something out of a cheesy love story. Alice could easily imagine her as a young, shy village girl. So disgustingly adorable as she attended school, and dud normal family things... It was hard to imagine she was actually a deadly archer from an island of amazons, located in the Grandline. A very far cry from karate island all the way out here in the south blue.

Of course, Linnea also had a funny way about double entendres. She made a valid excuse, without a den den mushi there was no real way for the two to keep in contact. Short of asking around they'd never really know where the other hung around. This was especially true for Alice, who wondered around the island quite a bit. Might be worth investing in one, should this be... Some serious.

Once the swordsman took his leave of the dojo, so did Alice. Their were more dojo's across the island, speckled hither and thither. Lin admitted to not really knowing the man who approached her, which of course made him a perv in Alice's eyes. Nothing wrong with it, but if she was right he'd seen Lin and rather than concerning himself with how'd she feel, he'd waltzed up to her without introductions. She only guessed as much because that's pretty much how Alice herself had encountered Lin.

Of course, it'd be rude to remain strangers. Lin took it upon herself to catch up with the sword slinger and ask him his name, oddly brave of her. Perhaps Alice's bolder nature was rubbing off in her socially awkward companion. She hoped not. Lin was loveable, kind. The last thing Linnea needed was to imitate Alice, who had her own host of problems that, unfortunately, only booze or fights could really drown.

The man introduced himself as "Mura"and Alice had no reason to distrust him. She stretched her toned arms high into the air, arching her back to really feel the stretch. Twisting to her left, then to her right as the trio walked on.

"Mura huh? And the sword? Don't your types name your stabby sticks?" The bombshell blonde would ask nonchalantly while reaching into her pocket and removing an apple. She held it up to her lover and silently offered it to her as they neared another dojo. It looked ok, hardly anything to sneeze at. If this was master Whatshisbucket's place though, Alice needed to investigate.

"You looking to learn anything specific, Hon? Every fight is a learning experience and what not. Wanna give this place a go, see if you can't take ' em?"

The man went on ahead to the next dojo while Lin and Ali took that slight chance to catch up. Having her lover playing with her hair felt almost heart warming, keeping her smiling innocently while the other girl had her fun. It was wierd... Before she met Alice, no way would Lin ever allow someone to get close enough to play with her like that, but this time, she just held the other girl close while they finally walked out towards the next place.

That said, she only realized where Mura had gone to after thet started looking at the other dojos. She and Alice both casually exited the first Dojo after recognizing there wasn't really anything there for either of them, and unknown to both girls they would soon run into the same swordsman soon enough since he appeared to have a very similar goal to the two of them. Lin couldn't help but innocently glance at her lover every other moment, her mind still overflowing from all those warm, loving memories and emotions the two recently shared. Even if she didn't yet know what Ali's current goals were, she hoped they'd be able to spend some more time together... After all Linnea wasn't the kind of girl who could discard her first lover so easily and move on; thus spending more time with this girl was really high up there on her priorities list. She gladly accepted the apple Ali offered (being her favorite fruit and all) as they walked through the streets looking for the next place to visit...

They eventually found Mura once again at the next Dojo, where Alice promptly suggested Linnea give this one a try. She looked at her fighter lover with an intrigued look on her face, pondering on her suggestion. The way these guys fought implied a Kung Fu style, or at least one severely inspired by it. They presented flowing, yet incredibly firm moves, showing off a lot of kicks as well as a variety of weapons.

"I was just hoping to pick up something I had yet to learn in Amazon Lily... I guess I'll just go with experimenting and give them a try.", Linnea didn't seem too confident she'd learn anything useful from these guys, but she nonetheless accepted their open challenge and was promptly placed on a tatami alongside one of the elder students.

Without any female students in here, she was simply assigned a short, light looking male who seemed to match her weight class for the most part. The guy showed off some of his acrobatic, jumping moves, while Linnea just took her stance with her forearms raised, shielding her face. A gong was run inside the dojo, signalling the start of the fight. Her enemy was indeed a trained martial artist, making full use of his small size for quick, acrobatic moves. But even if Linnea was deemed the underdog, the platinum haired Kuja had a skill most of them wouldn't see. The martial artist engaged her with a sudden airborn kick, at a speed such that any average opponent would be caught off guard. But Lin was far from average: With a quick, predictive sidestep, she avoided the attack by a hair's breadth and countered with a precise, straight punch to her foe's sternum, knocking both the air out of his lungs and the man himself outside the Tatami, winning by ring out. An airborne opponent was completely unable to dodge, and thus he was punished by his high risk, high reward strategy. Granted, Haki might be considered cheating to some, but lin was just using her natural abilities. If people underestimated her, then it was their own damn fault. She returned to Alice after being showered by praise and awe by the other students, and shared her experience with her lover:

"They don't seem to know anything really worth learning...", she commented while scratching her head with a doubtful look on her face, "Wanna try out one of them for yourself?"


Used C-rank Kenbu Haki (Haki stamina: 20/40)

3 T1 Fighters beaten

The man who identified himself as Mura didn't exactly brag about his fancy hunk of metal like Alice had expected him to. He stated it's name, and what it meant. Of course it was something edgy, just like his soul no doubt. Alice couldn't understand swordsman's obsession with their toys. They gave them names, cleaned them, talked to them, kept them safe, cleaned up after their messes in public. She imagined if somebody really wanted a pet that couldn't do tricks, why not find a nice stone? Definitely a lot more portable than the average sword, did pretty much the same things, it was inexpensive and you could use it as a paperweight without looking like a pretentious asshole.

Of course, she wouldn't say as much. Swordsmen's swords were like their dicks. If you made fun of it too much, they get mad and whip it out, swing it around like a lunatic trying to prove a point. Always ended up pretty messy. The trio walked on, and Alice removed the last of her apples from her other pocket and began to eat it as they carried on to the next dojo.

This was seemingly the right place, but master Jeong was nowhere to be seen. Had that Apple salesman been talking out of his ass? Or had Alice just not interpreted his directions correctly? Frustration mounted itself upon Alice, as it was clear this man was going to be a pain her well toned ass to find. The only thing making this hunt worth while was Lin, her pleasantly naive, innocent girl with an hourglass figure from the island of amazons was indeed a shining light in an otherwise boring evening.

It was no surprise to Alice to see Lin lay out her opponent so cleanly. The girl had only the most basic understanding of form and technique as far as martial arts went. It looked like a very grounded Fighting style, and so far it appeared she was quite defensive. Alice hadn't ever seen her initiate with her attacks ever, and it made sense why. Linnea was an archer first, a martial artist second. She likely used hand to hand combat as a last resort, preferring to react to her opponent and strike as needed.

Of course, this dojo's fighters should be on par with her. They exhibited many of the same flaws in stance that a practiced student could and would take advantage of. Linnea however, was easily able to weave in and out of attacks, predicting where each blow was going to land, avoid it, then strike as she needed. Likely the girl was using her Haki to supplement her vision. She'd been training it when they last met, and it would explain how she was able to overcome opponents who were her equal in skill. They claimed to be sending their best but there was no way these punks were the cream of the crop. They suffered the same flaws Lin did, flaws a better martial artist could easily take advantage of. In fact, Lin was likely able to exploit these weaknesses herself with that Haki of hers. Clearly these people needed a reality check.

Once Lin was finished she moved her way toward Alice, asking her if she wanted to fight some of these "top students" as well, however Alice wasn't quite listening. Liars put her in a bad mood, especially when they were lying about their skills. Not only did it disrespect the craft but it was making her analysis of the islands martial capabilities rather inaccurate. Which in turn, made her a little peeved. Combine that with the lame excuse for a fight Lin had against an opponent clearly inferior to his peers, Alice was ready to make a stand.

"Hold that thought, cupcake.", Alice would say, holding a single finger up to her lover's lips as she swiftly moved passed her. " You guys can do better than that, right? You... Like. Are you always in the business of underestimating your competitors, or is it just because she's a girl?" Alice would jerk her thumb to Lin before looking around at the male student body. There were plenty of guys around that were just as "skilled" as the guy Lin beat, but they'd sent him along because he was about Lin's size.

Martial arts wasn't always a fair fight. This notion of babying a student was more than enough to get Alice in the mood for a fight, and indulge her in a bit of violent hypocrisy. If that kid was one of their best, Alice's Devil Fruit powers would it impossible for any of these guys to hurt her. With her Haki she could fight them blindfolded, and with her leg centric fighting style, she could do it all with her hands tied behind her back. It would make any fight against these... Amateurs, unfair in every way, no matter who they put against her.

Still, before Alice could volunteer to show these plebians as lesson, Mura stepped up and did his honorable bowing nonsense. Dud he do that at the start of every fight? Hopefully not, otherwise he'd have a pretty bad time making it as a swordsman. Still, the guy went two on one with men similar in strength to the one Lin laid out. It was enough to bring a grin to Alice's face. She'd sink her hands into her pockets and lean back into her rather cocky position. "Hell, even the swordsman can beat 'em... Islands been a total joke so far..."

Alice turned he head to Lin and shook her head, giving the girl a tired look. "You have fun, Cupcake. I've seen all I need to. I'll be hanging around the Iron-fist Inn if you wanna... Train a bit more intensely later." Alice would say with a yawn followed by a sly wink. She'd then turn her head to face Mura and give him a friendly, silent nod in his direction before making her way out of the dojo and back to town. She had better things to do than waste her day watching Lin and Mura take down dojos all evening.

EXIT

So his sword had a name huh... Throughout her travels she learned that one of the differences between a random thug with a sword and an actual swordsman was how the latter seemed to enjoy naming their blades. It wasn't a strange habit in Linnea's eyes, who was used to seeing snakes being used as weapon, and those snakes naturally had names, easily being both the most popular pet and most popular weapon rolled into one. She couldn't take her snake weapon when she finally left Amazon Lily, but still looked fondly upon that tradition and hoped to eventually get a snake who could fulfill that purpose, as well as provide her with venom to coat her arrows. That would be her ideal pet partner...

As her fight came to an end and she approached Alice, Lin fell quiet and her eyes widened slightly as her lover silenced her with a finger to her lips, scolding the dojo's fighters for underestimating her. The archer actually smiled to her standing up for her even if Linnea herself didn't really care; it made her happy to see Alice did. Mura the swordsman beat them to the punch, taking to the mat and this time not picking a wooden sword or even any other kind of weapon, but not before making poor shy Linnea look down with a soft smile. He would be fighting with his fists, or rather, with his palms, and even if Martial Arts weren't his area of expertise, the guy still has some manner of fighting experience he managed to use even when outside his comfort zone. She looked disappointed to see the girl leaving, but knowing where she was staying made it all worth it. For once her suggestive innuendo wasn't lost on her who looked up at her lover with a blush on her face:

"Alright, I'll see you later, Ali...!", regardless, she still gave her beloved a sweet, shy smile before watching her head off.

That said, there really wasn't much else to do around this place, so Linnea simply decided to head out, looking back at Mura to see if her coming or staying. The next dojo actually seemed interesting. They put Linnea against another girl who was said to be the strongest fighter there. After what happened thus far, she took it with a grain of salt but took to the tatami anyways. Much to her surprise, this one didn't immediately attack her, and for once it appeared her style was mainly defensive. But Linnea was still curious to see her fighting style in action, so she took it upon herself to attack this one time. Throwing a simple straight punch, and what happened next completely blew her mind. Even though she relied on her Kenbunshoku Haki, she couldn't see anything. Her foe showed no intention to move, as if she was waiting for the very last moment. When Lin's fist came close to her face, what happened next was a move so fast that even with her Haki she just didn't see it coming. Grabbing her arm, the other girl stood behind her and literally swept her off her feet with a snapping kick to her shin.

Just like that, Linnea went down. She didn't lose, but the whole forwardness and the way she damaged her leg completely caught her off guard. It made sense since not only was it a hard angle to defend and counter against, it robbed her of much needed balance. Using her haki, she felt the woman coming at her to follow up with a simple stomp, and simply rolled out of the way to avoid her... Trying to take a page from her book, Lin swept her leg past the girl's shins, knocking her off balance and getting up with a rising uppercut followed by two body shots. They traded a few more blows and even then the girl still managed to strike Linnea despite her Observation Haki. But in the long run the ranger still managed to win by pushing her opponent off the tatami.

It was as rough fight, and Linnea most certainly impressed. SHe was introduced to Master Jeong afterwards, realizing this must have been the Dojo Alice was looking for. She was defenitely interested in coming here again...



5 T1 and 1 T2 defeated