It was the morning after landing in Alabasta and Reina still felt grateful for being on dry land, even if the land was literally arid. The abnormal heat kept her up at night, making her toss and turn and even sleep on the tile floor because it was cooler than her bed. That first morning she awoke expecting to take a good run and practice with her sword when a pair of sentries fast approached her. " Cadet, what are you doing up at this hour"? asked the first guard. He and his companion were clean cut, uniform hair and the same stern expressions on their faces. " Uh well I was going for a morning run an-". The man stepped forward, practically brandishing his flintlock rifle. " You are to follow orders like the rest of us girl. No one is to leave the barracks before 500 hours. You may sleep until then or at the very least, change your clothes. They reek of the ocean". Reina scowled at him and walked away,complying with them for the time being.

Come sun up, everyone gathered in the mess hall for breakfast. Despite the strictness of the marines on Alabasta, they at least talked a bit while they ate during meals. A woman and a couple of men sat at the table reina did, " So how's alabasta treatin ya greenie"? Reina was playing around with her food, scooping bits of her oatmeal and letting it drip off the spoon. " So uptight around here. I havta actually change my clothing and can't train while everyone sleeps". The man laughed rambuctiously and gave her back a few good slaps, " Aye girl, that's how it is on the Grandline. You'll get used to it. Just don't let the Captain or other officers see your attitude". As the man spoke he slowly turned to see a shadow slowly engulfing the group, reina the only one showing no concern.

" So cadet, I hear you're unhappy with the rules"? Reina turned about face to see a man around 7 feet tall with his arms crossed looming over her group. Reina stood up and looked at the giant without hesitation, her gaze affixed upon his own. " I'm not fond of the rules,but it's not a big deal". The other ensigns at the table started to eat, no scarf their food rather quickly. Their gaze upon their food and heads down as if they were taking cover. " Well cadet you're in luck. I got just the job for you. Head over to Lieutenant rogers after your meal". Reina saluted him with the same furrowed brow and continued to eat her food. The others gasped for air, as if they were holding their breath during the encounter. " You're scary greenie. That was Captain barret. What are you thinking"? Reina turned the girl with a dumbfounded expression, " So that's the bearit guy? It's no big deal everything will be fine". The other three at the table shook their heads and continued to eat, the girl gave Reina an extra muffin. She said the newcomer would need it.

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After breakfast Reina left to meet the officer in question. Her clothes felt tight and inflexible, unlike her dirty uniform which conformed to her body. She could not freely move as she had done before since those clothes stretched and allowed her to move without regard for her movements. As she walked about with her newly assigned gear, she reluctantly looked at the blade assigned to her. Carefully unsheathing it at her hip, she noticed it had no knicks or smudges like Ol' Reliable. She sighed and slouched her shoulders. Man this sucks...

Upon arriving at the front gate she noticed a small battalion of marines, ten in total. Standing at the ready, were a group of four women armed with flintlock rifles and five clean cut men armed with both sword and rifle. At the head of the pack was Lieutenant Rogers, a scruffy man with a curly mustache. He glared at Reina with his hands at his hips. " Well little miss gets on the wrong ship, you're finally here"! The man stopped her in her tracked, pinched her cheeks and gave her a sly smile. " Okay you take your sassy red headed self to the end of the line with the other girls. We got lots of work today"! Reina pulled back, shaking her head away from his grip with her gaze trained on him as well.

Rogers frowned as she slowly backed away, being on guard against him. Moments later he resumed his position in front of the pack and began barking orders at his cadets. " Alright you lilly livered lovelies, here's a run down for miss sassy pants. We're gonna be heading into the Capital city's slums. EVERYONE is your enemy until proven otherwise. Be on alert as you are on patrol". The pack in a standard procedure lined up in groups of 5, splitting up the groups almost evenly between men and women. Reina's group had two women including herself and three men as well. Together they marched onward toward an older side of the capital.

There wasn't a particular marker or line which let one know when you were in slums. Reina noticed the roads were paved all the way,but their state of disrepair increased as they marched farther away from the marine base. She noticed the buildings showing age, paint less vibrant and eve chipped. Windows being broken and an increase of makeshift shacks as opposed to formally constructed housing. The people themselves did not decrease,but rather seemed to increase in number as they moved toward their destination. More homeless people muttering to themselves on the wayside, twitching was common and public drunkeness was common as well. The state of disrepair and order itself, dropped as they reached the slums.

Funnily enough, there was one last striking detail about the slums versus the normal city. Most shops and businesses in the maintained part of the city were bigger and more established. Hospitals were larger and better equipped, restaurants nicer and shops better equipped with lawful goods. The businesses and services in the slums were more varied, small and in some cases run down. Shopkeepers were more shady, most selling counterfeit goods and contraband. The clinics and public services were smaller and more improvised. The battalion stopped at random, Rogers turned to reina with his nose up in the air, " Now you see what I am talking about? You are treat the slum rats with contempt. You are to provide the security needed for these people who do want to escape this hole with their own businesses. Anyone else should be ignored until they break the law". Reina nodded in acknowledgement of his order, with his fists balled up in anger. " Yes sir".

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Upon being split up, reina and her fellow marines jived a bit about what they should expect. Her fellow marines said most of what he said was true. " Even if Rogers may be blunt about it, these people are poor and desperate. Stay alert and never let your guard down, you never know what'll happen". Reina nodded back at him and walked ahead, looking at all the poor people being abandoned by state. "Even if this zone largely unregulated by the government, the world government should be working to make the people's lives better. For if they didn't, then who would?"she asked with a trembling fist. The marines around her comforted her and they went on their way showing her the ropes of being on patrol.

It was not long however before conflict would arise. In the middle of the road was an old lady stooped over what looked like his son. A group of ten thugs were laughing and jeering at them. They formed a nice little ring around the couple of civilians on the ground. " I'll teach you kid. What you think yer better than me cuz you have a business? You were born a slumrat and will stay one"! Reina sprinted forward without a second thought, kicking off a nearby wall and slamming her knee into back of one of the punk's skulls. Her team following close behind started to blow their whistles, " Stop you punks"!

Reina's assault didn't stop there, as she grabbed the man below her by the ankle and slammed him into the his compatriot who was probably reaching for a gun. The other marines by that time engaged a thug themselves, locked in combat they had nowhere to run. One thug grabbed a brick and ran toward reina, but by this time she had already invoked her sixth sense. His moments and the rest of the thugs movements became all to clear as she balanced herself on one arm and struck the brick out of his hand, following up by straightening herself up so she could lunge and grab his collar to deliver another jab to the stomach. The blow sent him back holding his stomach as another pair charged her with a sword in each hand. Without hesitation she placed her hand upon her sheath and  closed her eye for a brief moment. All the world within that 30 meter radius came into focus as she opened her eyes and slashed through both of their swords, one sword shattered and the wielder's  torn wide open. The other sword heavily damaged, sending the thug flying back. He took one look at his blade, splintered and his clothes dripping with blood and panicked. He and the remaining thugs still standing ran off in a hurry.

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Reina slashed the air and charged forth, giving chase to the two stragglers not caught by the other marines with her. The other girl in her group reached for reina, before hitting the ground next to her and growling. The female marine whipped out her den den mushi, " Leiutenant rogers, miss sassy pants is chasing down two stragglers and we've got our hands full! Over. Please excuse my tone and lack of adherence to procedure sir. She's gonna get herself killed. over". The den den mushi with its curly mustache and slitted eyes were concentrated upon the ensign, " Roger that".

Reina saw one reach for something in his pocket, so she leaped into a nearby alley. However, it was only a bluff and the furious woman knew it as he smirked and kept running forth, ending up in an abandoned warehouse. She kept on his trail bobbing and weaving through the back alleys around the area until she came to the same place. From within she could sense 7 men, but she didn't know what they could do or how strong any of them were.

She circled around the place until she was back in the street only to find the place was deserted. In the distance she could feel the approach of her fellow marines, but on the inside the culprits were already there. Not wanting them to escape, she cracked her knuckles and headed on in with her blade drawn. With one hand she feigned ignorance and slowly pushed the steel door open as if it were prudent to enter in such a manner. There in a drunken stooper was a man who donned a blood stained marine jacket, which was draped on his shoulders. " Well well poppet, welcome to my humble abode. Would you like something to drink"?

Reina's gaze found his own and she tilted her head slightly, " No thank you, but you can turn yourself in peacefully if'n you wish". His grin turned into a full blow smile, bearing his grizzly yellow teeth in the process. " You marines think you're above us just because you dawn that fucking uniform. Well then, let I, raido from the slums, teach you who's in charge. Hint: It ain't you shitty stuck up marines". The man(tier 3) raised his club with one go, brandishing its spikes at eye level. " Really fucking nice, talk down to a marine from the same low class as yourselves. Bring it on you lazy self centered fuck"!

The man with on bound leaped above her with his club raised above his head, swinging down upon her. In that instant Reina scanned the environment and lunged to the right and leaped onto a crate as the floorboards all splintered from the force of his swing. He growled in frustration and in one swift motion turned about face to swing his club toward the crates where she was perched upon. A moment before his club would connect, she leapt over it with a backward aerial somersault and landed upon his shoulders. Just as she was about to land the finishing blow, his other goons came out in full force, one throwing a knife headed for her back. Without hesitation she dropped down to avoid the blade, while plunging her own into their bewildered leader. Starting from the shoulder and heading down into his back, the sound of his flesh being rended resounded throughout the warehouse.

The rest of his goons backed off, as the woman turned to face them. She whipped their leader's blood off her sword with a cold lifeless gaze. Before she could go forth, her own allies stormed the building, their guns trained on the 4 men left over from the conflict.

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