The young females words would hopefully make those on board the ship aware, this is not the blues, this is the grandline. The way they acted, the way they were superior, none of that mattered here. None of that would be taken in to concideration. They were nothing but amateurs, or even worse, they were noobs. The entire crew including herself and Naga had no capabilities, no understanding of the grand line, regardless what books and information they had been given. The phenomenons that they would see here, the ever changing weather, the way the seas changed instantly. They would have to see it all, learn it for themselves and combat it on their own terms. This was the grand line. This was what they had to face. Melissa for one, was not sure she was ready. Thankfully for her, Naga had agreed to train her, to teach her the secret to the ability to strike those of her own nature. She needed to be able to hit her targets, otherwise her own strength was useless.

The land of justice was in the distance, far enough away that only the shadow could be seen. Yet Melissa felt strange, the sea was pulling them towards it. With the ship being docked, this meant it wouldn't be pulled away. She couldn't get over the fact that they were pretty much marching to the death. Her stomach churned a little. Shehad been feeling ill for a few days now, though she would push this from her mind. Melissa could bare no distractions. She would fight at 100%. If she died, hey well at least she was going to take a ton of those bastards with her. She hated the Log pose though, the fucking thing had led them to destruction. "Just don't do anything stupid" Melissa would say to herself as she walked from the ship. She would need to meet Linnea.

Melissa wore the beige attire, she needed knew clothes, the marine outfit from Yotsuba had taken damage, she was hoping to repair it because well, they may need it now more than ever.It actually worked out well that she had attained it. Her beige top allowed her arms to be seen. Or it would have if not coupled with the white shirt, her pencil skirt was cut down the side to allow for movement, and her boots were sturdy enough to give her good grip. She looked incredibly smart and normal, one wouldnt be able to tell she was one of the strongest warriors from the blue. Brushing the hair from her face, she would have two large bunches on either side, amazing how she had them symmetrical so they did not look stupid. Her sea blue eyes shone. "It's going to rain" she uttered as she walked

Finally getting to the destination, Melissa would wave. "So this is it, our final training ground right?" she would say, her tone was joking, yet the underlying quiver would give away her nerves. Enies Lobby, there was like a 1% chance that Naga and her would survive. That did not bode well for the lesser known and weaker members of the crew.'

WORDS: 529// TOTAL WORD COUNT: - || NOTES: -  || POSTCOUNT: 1

Linneas tone would help to soothe Melissa, the way she spoke, the warmth of her tone filled Melissa with a new sense of understanding and relief. They were the strongest two of the generation, if they could not do this then who could right? Together the duo of snow and ice would have make sure not a single crew member were to fall. Melissa would tame her fear, use it to fuel her own power, her own understanding. Her physical power was unsurpassed in the blues, here she was one of many whom had super human strength ,yet her nimble fram would cause many to over look this fact. Her Yuki Yuki power was believed to be her strongest factor, this was far from the truth. The monstrous power held in her arms, her tiny fists was what would push her through, that is what she would be seen for in the grandline.

"I guess your right, we can't go down so easily and let all the boys have the fun right?" She would say gently, the traces of fear in her voice no longer lingered. In response to her friends own smile, Melissa's would follow, the clouds began to circle from above and the first few spits of rain began....only to clear up. In mere seconds the sun would be shining. The drastic change of the grandline. "Thats not something you see every day" the snow girl would reply averting her eyes from the sun, her eyes would flow once more to Naga, as the ranger began to speak, talking about the energy she utilized. Though it was known by different names Haki seemed to be its first. "Is that the power Rei uses? Is it similar to her Chi bending?" Melissa would ask, obviously most of the information being new to her.

Now when Naga asked her to come for her, Melissa would look shocked. The two had never had a one on one and in honesty Melissa had never fully revealed the extent of her physical capabilities. She would begin to worry, until she recalled something. Naga's power was superior, Snow was not as strong as Ice. Melissa understood this even when helping her gain the power. She had a logia, that Melissa could not hit. Physically if Melissa landed a blow upon her, she would be fine. Nodding to herself as if she had made up her mind. She would take her stance. Eyes determined, looking at her friend. Though instead she chose to go straight forward, Her speed was superior in terms of actual movement, though she would not utilize her full force. She was in uncharted territories and Melissa wasn't the type to just rush in like some crazy person. Thus she would clear the distance quickly, her eyes locked on to the female. She got close enough, and her right hand moved forward, the punch was slower than what she could normally do but it was thrown out experimentally. She assumed the female would dodge it, that is why she would begin to release a flurry of them, same speed with a gentle fluidity to them.'

WORDS: 523// TOTAL WORD COUNT: - || NOTES: EXIT || POSTCOUNT: 2

If any strangers were watching, It may look as though the two killer females were engaged in some warrior dance, the way the school teacher like warrior struck her fists in such beautiful motions. The way the white ranger commanded her body to avoid in such elegant and beautiful ways. Melissa though was getting slightly frustrated, sure she could ram up her speed and hope for the best, but Linnea was stating her assaults before she had even released them. Speed may help but it would have to be a lucky shot. Her hand struck air once more, the final punch not being able to find its target. A slight burst of anger seemed to erupt from the body of the female, wind shot forth in a circular manner, yet nothing would happen. Naga held the superior haki abilities, yet the unleashing of the Haoshoku haki would be a tremendous discover. Alas Melissa would not know of it. Nor would she allow her friend a chance to explain. So Melissa was capable of learning this power right? Then lets have at it, she would think to herself as she moved forth. Now that she had seen the technique, she understood something about it. The weakness of it.

Melissa would indeed continue to strike, wondering if having her eyes open meant Linnea would still be using the sensory like capabilities in which she had show great proficiency in. Melissa hoped so, or any hope of avoiding the flurry of fists would be lost. If this were the case, If her ranger friend were to continue avoiding her assaults, then this would drive Melissa's next series of actions. Yet she recalled her own incapabailties when she first held the power of a logia fruit. Previously during an event with Rei and Linnea herself, Melissa had shown the capabilites of destroying a ship with a ranged strike. One that she had previously used to crush an opponent. It indeed was a deadly technique, one that she thought about using in this situation. What was wrong with her? she was really willing to go so far as to possibly kill her friend, simply to show her own capabilities. How pitiful.

These thoughts would happen in a mere instance, her plan of attack changing completely. Upon the final [around fifth] punch failing, Melissa would jump backwards, her body low. Her eyes closed. So if she were capable, then....all she saw was darkness. Wait...a flicker,  a gentle flicker of light stood within her mind. Her hands moved towards the light though Naga was well out of range of her physical powers. Yet the sudden burst of power would reveal her next move. Two hands, much larger than Melissa's own would erupt from the flurry of snow that escaped Melissa's hands. The flurry formed in to the orbs that the hands were attached too. Melissa darent open her eyes. She willed her hands to extend, aiming to strike the ranger while she herself kept the flickering light, the flickering silhoutte of the female in her head. Slowly she opened her eyes, the light remained. She could see, yet she had some form of seventh sense. It was fuzzy and slightly unclear. Was this Haki?

As she wondered she watched her large hands attempt to close around the Hie Hie No Mi. Knowing that her snow hands could not really hurt the ice woman, only incapacitate her for the time being, Or would the female have another trick up her sleeve?.'

techs:

WORDS: 583// TOTAL WORD COUNT: 1635 || NOTES: Haoshoku revealed/Kenbunshoku haki used/Haki stands at D || POSTCOUNT: 3

The gentle snow would make no noise, even as it formed, thus allowing Linnea's words to teach Melissa's ears. Her vision was not fully hindred, thus being able to witness the transformation of the arms. The black armour like material stunned Melissa, yet her movements would follow through. This haki was interesting and in deed powerful. It allowed her logia body to be struck. It allowed her opponents to dodge attacks. Essentially it was designed to halt all of Melissa's abilities. Yet it would seem it would be Linnea whom would be on the receiving end of this lesson. Perhaps due to the fact it was a training exercise, perhaps she allowed her guard to slip, or was there a slight chance she relied to heavily upon her own Haki abilities and forgot that it really came down to her own. Melissa's arms were powerful, conjured snow, compacted together. It had amazing strength, trying to meet that a punch of her own was slightly foolish. If Melissa had not intended on capturing her opponent. The ranger would have indeed broke her arms. The armour may be powerful but it did not mean it was undefeatable, a technique like this would have been enough to easily break the arms of the ranger.

Thankfully for Naga's sake, Melissa had only intended to capture her, the arms spread open, palms at the ready, The massive hands would receive strikes to them. Yet the Haki wouldn't even break through them. Instead, the right hand would close around the slender body of the female, halting her movements while the left hand wrapped around the right hand, fully blocking off the females ability to struggle. With Melissa's own strength, her own skills abilities, she knew how they worked. Naga had been confused for sure, she may have believed her hands were actually attached to the larger ones. This was not the case. The little orbs of snow were what they were attached to. In that case if Naga had intended to halt Melissa with her own hands. Well that would have been even sillier, Melissa was far superior in terms of her own strength. She was a close range fighter. Holding Naga Melissa would frown. "You might rely a little bit to much on that power of yours. I can tell you now, there is no way that armour could stand up to my physical capabilities. If this had been my own fist, your arms would have shattered" Melissa would state, her voice showing how strongly she felt about this.

This was also a good lesson for her. Upon activating the black armour she would have to gauge her opponents own physical ability make sure that the augmentation would benefit her and not allow herself to get over her head. A click of her fingers would release her own technique. The hands drifting into small droplets of snow. She was kind of proud of herself, overcoming haki like that. Alas she was no fool, she had to make sure the rumours were true. She would walk up to Naga, a smile upon her face. "So that thing, thats the thing that can strike me in my elemental form, the black armour? Show me. Hit me" Melissa would say, her face showing how serious she was. She could take a hit, she had been struck, she had been almost killed by the gorilla, but he hadn't used the augmentation....or had he. The battle was so blurry, she had been knocked around like a ragdoll that the black armour still seemed strange to her. Obviously she had to make sure. she had to be one hundred and fifty percent sure that it could hurt her. She was not going to be as free as in the blues. If enemies held this power, she couldn't rely on her logias capabilities. "Is it just the body, or can it be used on weapons?" she asked

WORDS: 654// TOTAL WORD COUNT: 2289 || NOTES: Caught ya :P || POSTCOUNT: 4

She would feign injury as the woman punched her arm. "Owchie" she said, though mocking the girl, it was proof though that the black armour could touch her .Melissa stood smiling next to her friend. "Then again, I'v seen you with a bow, long range isn't my fortei, and if this armour can extend to weapons, I need to be even more prepared to face off against ranged foes" Melissa would say. So Melissa's intangibility had only been useful during the blues, she would need to figure out away to accommodate this. Perhaps this aura could be utilized to negate other wielders of the power. Though that was advanced stuff, Melissa barely grasped the basics of such a power.
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"The power of kings? surely in the hands of people like us its the power of queens right Naga" Melissa would say jokingly. Though her focus right now was only partial, she would continue to look at her hands, the black armour had yet to show itself upon her, though she could see, no she could feel it. Feel it resonating within her. Such a power was needed, if she were to be weaker, if she were to not have an arsenal of power, then how could she protect her friends? How could she stand up to those whom threatened her or those she cared about. Hell how could she have a little fun? If she were too weak to do anything.

"So this power, it resonated when i was angry, but honestly, I don't know how I achieved that, i just got a little annoyed that I couldn't strike you. Maybe thats something I'm going to have to work on, Though if i'm right it's coming up to shark week, who knows maybe then I'll be unable to control it, if ya know what i mean" she would say winking to her friend. Melissa Devaroux every body, she had no inhibitions, she was a free spirit who really said whatever she wanted, even talking about her period enhancing her rage. As she sighed she would look to her hands once more. "But I can't seem to OH" she would stutter out, her white petite hand [the right one] seemed to blacken, The feeling in her gut, the knot she felt had come loose, flowing through her body and in to her hand. "Your the only person I'v known to properly wield this power in the blues, other than the gorrilla dude, but he learnt this in the grandline. Does that mean your originally from here?" Melissa would ask while inspecting her hand. she asked

WORDS: 432// TOTAL WORD COUNT: 2721 || NOTES: Caught ya :P || POSTCOUNT: 5

"Sounds like a nice place, though amazons don't like men? I could never survive without a good D every now and again" Melissa would say as she threw her hair from her shoulder, her twinkling laugh echoed through out the land as the rain erupted downwards. SO suddenly, such was the grand lines weather. Yet the cold rain would not bother the girls of snow or ice. They could get saturated, but the cold would hold no effect over them. It was a nice after effect, though she did miss the ability to dive in to the swimming pool and not you know. Drown or get so weak that she could do fuck all. That was a tad annoying.

As Melissa watched Naga's face, she herself would offer a smile, why? no idea but the nostalgic look hit her hard, Melissa could not help but think about the people she had left over in the blues. Coniko....what had happened to him, Leonidas..had he found his path? and Leparo and the crew...what would they think of her, how would they feel about her, had they got her letter?. So many things ran through her head, yet she would have to pull herself back in to reality.  Naga's voice would pull her in. "It sounds like it would be fun. I'd like to test my strength against some of the close range amazons." The female would say, a twinkling in her eyes.

The atmposphere changed, the posture, the way she held herself and, was she fidgetting? Melissa had never seen this side of Naga before, exactly what could have brought on such a change. "Are you ok?" Melissa would ask just prior to the question revealing itself.  To say she was shocked was an understatement, in terms of the crew, Melissa was the newest member or at least thats what she had thought. She had not expected to be asked such a question. Her shock and surprise would be evident upon her face. Possibly her face would go even redder than Naga's own, she felt slightly embarrassed. In terms of Leparo she had been his second in command, his first mate. but she always believed it was because she was his as did many of the crew. Such a relationship came with drama like this, no matter how she proved herself she was always viewed as Leps girl...it had been one of the reasons she had left. Now here she was being asked to be a second once more, this time though. She was no ones, she was herself. She had proven herself in the eyes of Naga.

Perhaps she had not realized how much she had needed the approval of others, She realized in this moment that how others see her, was important to her. She wanted to be strong in her own rights while surrounded by friends and warriors. She didn't want to be viewed as a threat because she was someone elses girl, because she had protection from a noble or shit like that. She wanted to be known as Melissa Devaroux. This was the first step in the right direction. Perhaps it hit her harder than it should have, to the point were a few tears would mingle from the rain. Though the downpour would hopefully hide such an embarrassing moment. Collecting her thoughts, her mind and body the Yuki Yuki No Mi User would smile wider."I'd be honoured" Melissa would say before throwing her hands around the archer in a loving embrace.

WORDS: 590// TOTAL WORD COUNT: 3311 || NOTES: First Male MELISSA || POSTCOUNT: 6