II - The Image :

Arriving in the market area, Shuu began collecting information on the feedback from the prototype model he'd entered to be sponsored by the local marketing firm, however, they'd had yet to deliberate on any of the submissions, since it was only around mid-day, he'd probably get a response by evening time. Knowing his jitters, the scientist decided to take a much needed 'off day' from work, and browse around the district, in attempts to find out if he'd have to begin gathering parts for his Congo Line. At the same time of Shuu's arrival, a posse of pirates that go by the alias of the Gong Pirates, arrived into the port, causing a chaos from their docking. Toppling over the islands welcoming committee, the Captain, Gong proceeded to enter into the marketing district, sporting his two elongated war-hammers as insurance. With several piercings sported across his nose bridge and earlobes, Gong marched through the city with no remorse for the locals etiquette. Fate had brought the Cancer zodiac much tools to be used for his simmering plots but none more sweeter than person. Roaring above the audience, Gong slammed his hammer into a salesperson stall, shattering the gear like clocks they'd put their all into. Spitting into the owners face, the man grabbed onto the owner's daughter's arm, a small frail girl, around her early twenties, dressed in a regular long shirt which flowed below her knees, a headdress and a plaid long sleeve shirt. "Heh... Behind all of the hiding clothes, you gotta nice figure." Gong commented, holding the woman with a single hand. As she dangled, only about 5'3 in height, the woman's freckles were accentuated by her now flushed red face in anger. "How about this old man..." Gong carried on. "I'll leave your daughter if you and your workman buddies here give us 30% of all sales you make." Gong commented, chuckling as his grunts waved around their rifles to reinforce the fear in his threats. "We have rules on Spider Miles! Pirates are welcomed but we won't take any disrespect-" the shop owner and father commented, only to be picked up by a singular hand of the pirate.

Sick of the sight, Shuu approached the crowd subtle, making sure to reveal no intent of hostility when huddling around closer to inspect what was really going down. As soon as the situation came into vision, Shuu could only sigh. "Really... Robbing from merchants is so mundane. Pirates are climbing through the ranks all across the world. Becoming Pirate Kings and Yonkos... and you're options are making ruckus in a backwater sea. Losers." Shuu screamed, hiding behind the crowd of onlookers. Pissed, Gong shouted, "Who in the fuck said that!?" from the top his lungs, the anger echoing throughout the small market's area. Clearing a pathway, the winged scientist was revealed, left solo to face the music of the pirate, Gong. "Was that you-" Gong started to speak, only to be interrupted by Shuu, "Oh please don't lead with that cliche 80's villain line... save me the bad guy intimidation speech, of , 'Was that you!?" Shu shouted, changing his expressions to mirror the man's rising eyebrows in the pit of frustration. "It was me. I said that you're trash for attacking people whose strengths are in numbers not power. Spider Miles is about trade... If you want to make a name for yourself, go piss off against some marines." Shuu stated. Lifting his left-handed hammer backwards, the pirate captain winded up to slam his weapon's make against Shuu's face. Analysing the man's movements, it was as if Gong was moving in slow-motion. Drawing the pistol from his right holster, Shuu fired off a single shot against the man's left knuckles, the force of the shot blasted away two of the man's core index fingers, making it impossible to grip his left most weapon any longer. Dropping the hammer onto the ground and screaming in pain, a devilish grin slipped onto Shuu's face. All of Gong's brutes, readied their pistols and rifles, aiming towards Shuu. "Shall I liberate your fingers as well?" Shuu inquired, resting the heated revolver against his cheek.

Screaming out in agony from the loss of his fingers, the juggernaut, unimpressed with Shuu's antics shouted, "Shoot him. Kill that winged prick now!" Gong shouted, ripping off pieces of his under shirt in attempts to wrap the wound on his hand and stop the bleeding. About to open fire, Shuu could hear the intricate sounds of the rifle's metal work, as the first rifle sounded. Launching himself in flight, using his wings, Shuu extended his left, hand revealing his second colt, moving out of range of the fired rifle shots, three in number. Above the crowd with a few flaps, Shuu aimed from above, firing off in two's shots towards the men's solar plexus, leaving them paralysed from the bullet wound, this process would be repeated until the chamber was empty, and at his ten meter distance from the ground, precise shots like this was cake. Eleven of Gong's men folded before Shuu would have to re-load, once the chamber was empty, he'd fly even higher, at about twenty-meters above ground, simply due to the fact that at this range, even with their rifles reach, actually hitting Shuu, who'd been hovering and swaying left to right, a moving target would be more than enough out of their skill-sets. Retracting his left gun into his sleeve by flinging his hand outwards, Shuu re-loaded his revolver with seven bullets in it's chamber. Hovering, he'd noticed Gong picking up several barrels and attempting to throw them at Shuu's current location, to no avail.

Blanking out, the nostalgia of the moment reminded Shuu of the war against the humans on Skypiea in youth days. Flying around Upper Yard, the young pillar would fly with such control that his wings would give off minimal noise, before his enemies even noticed, he'd closed in distance from above and fired off shots towards their throats, resulting in instant fatalities. At the time, Shuu was still new to killing, his hands would shake after every kill. "Yahoo!" one of Shuu's underlings rejoiced, landing around the prey in the open area within the yard, surrounded by a fleet of fauna. "Humans are so pathetic. Sniping them from the sky is like killing ants with a magnifying glass huh, Captain?" Shuu's underling, who'd no longer possessed a face in his memories so candidly called out towards him. Snapping back to the present, vomit filled the mouth of the scientist, covering his mouth, he'd try to suppress the feeling of throwing up but his oral contents filled with the stomach liquids. "You've made me remember a disgusting part of myself... You plebs." Shuu commented, now staring towards the pirates who, in a neanderthal type reasoning, continued to fire shots a target they couldn't hit. Pointing his gun out once more, Shuu emptied another seven shots towards the men's solar plexus, leaving eighteen of the twenty-five grunts, paralysed and bleeding out. Closing his eyes tight once again, Shuu could clearly remember the sick expression on his face. "Indeed. A most disgusting memory..." Shuu commented, continuing the internal and external dialogue with himself.

Descending suddenly, the movement appeared as a blur to the grunts below, swooping behind Gong once again, this time, placing the barrel of the pistol against his head. Frozen, the pirate Captain began to piss himself, literally. As the urine soaked his pants, the male dropped to his knees. "Look man. I don't want to die... The North Blue is home to some of this seas cruelest pirates... but compared to Paradise they're nothing. I thought if I build a name for myself in these backwater islands... I'd be able to live comfortable you get me?" Gong shouted, in a saddened, almost pitiful tone. At this stage, the townspeople were stuck in awe, firstly, not many of the citizens knew of Shuu's ability to fly and thought his wings were often times, clip ons, as he'd usually walk towards the city, approaching from the merchant's strip, which winds through the Scrapyard's main facilities.

Tapping the trigger twice, Shuu fired two shots directly to the left of Gong's ear. The shock from nearly being shot execution style caused the man to pass out. Retracting his sleeve gun, Shuu placed the other gun in his holster, only to be lifted up by the locals in mid-air. "Wait... Stop... Too close!" Shuu exclaimed, as the locals hoisted him above their shoulders. The remainder of the Gong pirates gathered up their remaining members, and plotted a strategic retreat towards the deck. The members who could no longer walk, crawled against the ground, and who could assist, hoisted the men on their backs, towards their ocean hovering base, their ship in the dock. Peering slightly over in their direction, Shuu noted the general direction to which the men headed towards, grinning, he'd continue to bask in the glory of the locals appreciation. "I might be able to use this situation to my favour." Shuu thought. As the excitement died off, Shuu was placed back to his feet. Getting down on their knees, the few merchants that had be harassed began to give the man thanks repeatedly. Spider Miles had low to no marine activity, the pirates and locals fought off all ill-willed by themselves, and it was a non-profitable practice. Many groups even force merchants to pay mark-up prices for protection, it was surely an abandoned spec in the North Blue's chain. "Hey... Guys... there's no need for you to thank me." Shuu exclaimed, feeling slightly uncomfortable from the praising. Walking over, Shuu stooped down on one knee, flapping his wings to arc, sliding them beneath his jacket once more. "I'm a citizen of Spider Miles as much as everyone else here. This is our land and city to protect. Of course I'd chip in. If anyone should be sorry... I'm sorry for showing you a side of myself I thought, I'd left behind." Shuu commented, his hand trembling from the reverb from firing off the shots earlier. Grabbing his hand, the merchant's daughter inquired, "Is there anyway we can reimburse you, Angel?" the woman asked shyly, pushing her chest forward.

Pulling away his hand embarrassed and clearing this throat, "Look. No compensation is necessary. Can I just ask you a few questions about the merchant life here? Before that, let me introduce myself, I'm Shuu Finely, engineer at the Jenkins Scrapyard." Shuu said, stepping back, crossing his hand across his chest and bowing. The woman looked up, as the light shone down gently on Shuu, it'd look as if, indeed, a true angel had appeared before her. "I- I- I'm Kisa. 18. Favourite Food... is umm..." Kisa rambled. Whistling and heckling went on among the merchants, "Oh... He's a plant worker. You might've struck the jackpot if your daughter can use her charms right." the locals would whisper. Though internally, a more intricate plot began to form behind Shuu's current grin and force flushed expressions.