Nina's Pirate Journey Begins: Banaro Island Retreat!

Nina stopped rowing to rest her arms and now drifted along. She had luckily gotten enough to eat from the mysterious bag of food and things were moving along smoothly. As she was resting, she noticed an island in the distance and realized that it was part of the Grand Line. "Thank goodness. I made it here,"she said with a sigh of relief. She continued to row, this time she made sure to use enough strength to make it to the Banaro Island before dark. In her mind, she hoped that she could find a pirate group, or something that could help her. Maybe she would be able to get a ship while she explored the island.

After 25 minutes, Nina made it to the island and tied her boat to a post. She got out and stretched her arms and legs, which nearly fell asleep after traveling for so long without doing much but sitting. Nina made her way into a town and found an inn to rest in. An old man with wrinkles clearly visible on his face noticed her come in and he greeted her, "Welcome! What can I do for you little miss?" Nina went up to the counter, ignoring the "little" comment. She asked the man if she could rent a room for a few days and he chuckled, "Well, we are quite lucky that someone decided to come by for a stay. You know, business has been quite slow for the past few weeks. Apparently there are some bandits running amok for some unknown reason. I'd say that they were in search of some pirate that rubbed them the wrong way." Nina cocked her head to the side in slight confusion. What kind of a pirate was he meaning? She asked him, "Do you know if that pirate is still here? I'm trying to find a crew to join since I left the Marines." The old man shook his head, "Sorry, Miss. I have no idea where he could've gone. But, I did hear one thing about him. He's on a journey to become the Pirate King, maybe if you travel to every island here in the Grand Line, you might find him." Nina nodded and thanked the inn manager. She got the key to her room and made her way up the stairs and to suite for some rest. To her surprise, there was a working shower with hot water and a system for her to wash her clothes. As she enjoyed her time in the shower, Nina remembered the events that had unfolded. She said to herself as the water hit her back, "I made it to safety, I think. Captain Shepard might not be able to find me here. Hopefully I can find the Black Coat Pirates in time. I guess I can just make my own crew sometime. For now, I suppose I will rest and plan some stuff. Maybe I'll look into that bandit situation while I'm here."

Later on, Nina rested in bed with her clothes drying by the window. She had gotten a new pair of clothes a few hours ago, so she was able to sleep in something a bit more comfortable. Now was the time for a good rest, tomorrow she would be investigating.

sc: 31
Two Sword Style Mastery: 31/50

The morning was brilliant with birds chirping and people roaming the streets of the town. Nina was currently in her room cleaning her swords and fixing up the strings that held all three sheaths together. All of them were getting to be worn out from extended use. Eventually she would have to get another, which was what she would probably do today before she began investigating. She hid her swords in one of the dresser drawers and walked out of the inn, and into town. There were a few good shops that sold high quality items. One in particular caught her attention. It was very close, just a few buildings down from the inn. She said to herself happily, "Time to do some shopping."

Inside the shop were several articles of clothing. Various belts were included and boots that were excellent for traveling long distances. She picked out an outfit for cold weather if she came across it. A long, black jacket with warm fabric on the inside, long pants that could resist cold temperatures, a pair of brown boots and socks. She also got a few black leather belts that were made for holding many swords and were durable enough to be used for years. In addition, she bought clothing that could be used for chilly nights or rainy days, which included: a light pink jacket, a purple formfitting shirt, blue jeans, and regular brown boots with a small heel. When she checked out of the shop, Nina went back to the inn to get ready to go out. She got back when rain clouds came to release some rain onto the island. "Gee, I have nice timing. Well, I guess I'd better dress warm,"she said and picked out an outfit.

Nina put on her pink jacket, blue jeans, and the brown boots that she bought earlier. Her new belt was worn loosely around her waist and the three swords were attached to it. She told the old man that gave her the vacant suite about how she would look into the bandit's motives and he thanked her with a bag of a few hundred pieces of gold. Even though she wanted to protest, she accepted the gift and went on her way.

sc: 23
tsc: 54
Two Sword Style Mastery 54/50

It was raining a bit hard now as Nina patrolled down the streets in search of the bandits mentioned by the owner of the inn. If they were in town, she knew that no one would really allow them into their homes. The people in here seemed to be quite stubborn, which could possibly annoy the bandits. Nina stopped abruptly in her tracks when a deep voice shouted out to her, "Hey, you! Where do you think you're going without paying?" She turned around to see a group of 10-20 bandits staring her down. The one that had been yelling at her stood at the head with a large scar running down the majority of his exposed chest. He had to be the one that was causing trouble and he looked really tough too. He growled, "Well? You going to give me your money, you little brat?"

Nina, with an expression that could turn someone to stone, faced the bandits and mentally sighed. She wasn't in the mood for giving a random person money that she herself owned. They would have to kill her for it if they wanted to use force. Her silence seemed to have struck a nerve in the bandit leader and he ordered all of his followers to beat the girl, but they were easily dispatched by a wave of lightning that immediately stopped their hearts. Nina said to the bandit leader, "You should watch yourself around newcomers. You may never know if that one had the power to destroy an entire island." The leader of the bandits took a few cautious steps back and held his sword up for a weak defense. Nina unsheathed the Yubashiri and darted for the bandit leader. Before he was able to block her attack, she swung her blade with great speed. The outcome...a severed hand and a deep slash in the bandit's chest that made a diagonal cross over his other scar. He dropped to the ground on his back...he was gone. Nina examined her new sword and realized that there was no trace of blood on the blade. "Strange, it must be some kind of extra that comes with it. I suppose my work here is done,"she thought to herself aloud.

Back at the inn during the dark night, Nina enjoyed a nice meal made by the old manager. They were eating together like a family would, or a father and his daughter would. The manager praised her, "You have saved the town. You have such talent since you were able to do that. I thank you, the whole town does." She smiled and thanked the man. After he had asked her of her back story, Nina told him practically everything there was to know. He was quite surprised about her being a former Marine and was even more surprised about her being a pirate. Her stories were easily believed and there were no doubts about them being true. "Well now, I can't believe my ears! You are one amazing person to have to live like that. You're welcome here anytime and I hope your journey goes well,"he told her with a bright smile. She giggled and said, "Thank you so much. I plan on visiting here when I finish everything. Well, goodnight. I'm going to leave tomorrow morning." He nodded and the night eventually rolled by with no problems.

As Nina rested, she dreamed about her times as a child. Playing in her childhood home and enjoying the pleasant days. Her grandfather would always play with her and take good care of her before he died. She woke up a split second later and sat up in her bed with a tears rolling down her cheeks. Nina brought a hand over her eyes and cried softly in the darkness of her room. Memories of her beloved family rushed through her mind. Now she had to find someone to help her forget about this traumatic past.

sc: 48
tsc: 102
Taka Nami: Two Sword Mastery Freebie

Nina awoke at the brink of dawn the next morning. The sun was hardly shining over the horizon in the distance. Nothing was awake at this time. Not the birds, land animals, or the townspeople. Only Nina had the energy to wake up at such an early time. She grabbed a backpack that she was given by the old manager, known as Roger Timbers. It was in great condition for being 5 years old, but unused. It's nice material had to last for at least another 5 years before it became worn. Nina packed all of her things in the bag and tied her boots to the bottom of the black strap that would hang on her shoulder. Once she left, there would be no turning back for quite some time. Before leaving, she had gotten some supplies for the journey ahead.

At the docks of the island, Nina stood by her boat and piled her stuff inside. She then untied the rope and got into the boat. "I'll miss all of you. Maybe we will see each other again real soon,"she said sadly and began paddling for the next island.

sc: 15
tsc: 117