Chapter 1: A New Family

"If you can beat me," Sidd said, shaking the hand he just threw a punch with to loosen it up, "I'll want to join your crew anyway." He shot forward, appearing in front of the pirate almost instantly, "That's a big 'if' though!" he said, swinging his hand backward toward the side of his opponent's head.

A venomous smile appeared on Hyouga's face. His piercing gray eyes glanced to his opponent who had just appeared by his side, poised for a strike at his head.

"Don't underestimate the Glacier Pirates." He said in a tone of warning.

Just as the mans fist was about to smash into his head, a wall of thick ice shot up between them after Hyouga stomped the ground with his foot. He heard a grunt as the opponents hand went through the ice, which shredded his skin on its serrated edge. At Hyouga's will, the wall fell back into the snowy ground from whence it came. He could see the surprised and questioning look he received from his opponent.

"I ate the Koori Koori no Mi... the Ice Ice Fruit, one of the Devil's Fruits." Hyouga said simply.

Hyouga clenched his fists, they suddenly formed a sheen around them, and soon ice formed into a strong gauntlet. He pounded them together and got back into his fighting stance.

"Let's go."

Everyone had jumped into battle all at once, the words of the pirate that saved him were echoing in his mind. "And if I win, you join my pirate crew.. sound like a deal? The same goes for my other opponents here... and you with the three swords." Watching this man form gauntlets out of ice was definately a sight to see. He had eaten a Devil's Fruit, a rare fruit said to give a man powers beyond ones imagination.

Zein zigzagged towards the knifeman and threw a left hook towards his waist. It didn't seem like there was much of a chance of winning against this ice pirate, however it could be possible to even out with the other fighters. After all these years of intensive training, he refused to let his fighting status go unrealized. Zein let out a proud roar. "I agree to your standards ice pirate! I'll take you all on!"

Sidd leaned out of the way of the punch, grabbed the swordsman's arm and pulled him off his feet, then swung threw him at the pirate.

"You know, I'd say it's not very fair that you have your powers and we get no weapons," Sidd said, "but whatever."

Hyouga's mood was good. He felt like finally letting loose, which he almost never was able to do in other battles. Other third rate pirates had joined in the brawl almost immediately after hearing the yells outside. All of them of course came from various bars and pubs, half drunk and slurring their threats.

Hyouga looked toward the swordsmen fighting, his sword style was unique, but no style in the world mattered if their wasn't character and power to back it up. Hyouga charged into a pirate, smashing him in the gut with his ice gauntlets. He went flying high into the air, higher than any mortal man could send. Hyouga covered his eyes against the sun and smirked as he followed the flight of the man he had hit. A crash was heard when the pirate fell through the roof of a home.

"That's one down.. but he won't be joining my crew, I am looking for strong fighters." Hyouga said turning back to the fight.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the swordsmen get hit toward him. He spun out of the way and looked at the pirate who hit him.

"I never said anything about powers now did I... but if you don't want me to use them, I won't."

Hyouga's gauntlets melted at his will, and he continued fighting.

"Get ready!" Cecil said, charging towards Hyouga with his fists clenched. He was definitely enjoying himself in this fight. It was nice to loosen up with a good fight every once and a while. It definitely helped relieve stress. Cecil jumped at Hyouga and drew his fist back to punch the man.

I hope all the strength I gained from gunning is still in me, Cecil thought to himself. It'll be almost worthless fighting if I can't give a good punch.

Time seemed to slow down almost for Cecil. His perception of it slowed as he threw his punch towards Hyouga's face, hoping to connect the blow...

Zein was lifted off his feet as the knifeman flipped him off blanace. Planting his hand on the ground, he kept momentum as he hopped back to his feet. More and more pirates were surrounding them and even joining into the fight. In a circular motion, Zein's fists rushed through pirates after pirate. The streets were filled with yelling and fierce battle cries.

Launching himself into the air, Zein plummeted towards the ice pirate. Jabbing his fist forward, he let loose with much strength. "Rrraaagghh!!!"

Hyouga ducked beneath both the pirate and the swordsmen. As if time slowed itself by seconds, Hyouga saw what he wanted to do. With both hands, he grabbed an ankle of the swordsmen and an ankle of the pirate. Spinning around, he used all of his strength to hurl the two in opposite directions. They both flew many feet and hit either buildings or other pirates in the process.

"I don't need my Ice Ice Fruit to do this... I just wanted to let loose is all." Hyouga commented.

He blocked an incoming blow from another pirate and grabbed his face. With gusto, Hyouga smashed the pirates face into the snowy earth and watched the unconscious pirate sink to the ground, head still buried beneath snow and soil.

Cecil flew into two pirates after the very strong pirate had thrown him and knocked them both over, provoking them greatly. Cecil got up dazed, and received a punch to the face by one of the pirates he smacked into. Cecil recoiled and hit the man right in the forehead so hard he got knocked out.

"Looks like I still got it in me!" Cecil remarked to himself. The other pirate attempted to take a swing at him, but Cecil ducked under it and punched the man in the stomach several times before he doubled over in pain. Cecil finished him off by cracking him in the back of the head with his elbow, sending him to the ground.

He turned and started to run towards the main battle. There was so much brawling going on, and that strong pirate seemed to be dodging or countering every move against them. There had to be some way to defeat him. Before Cecil could think, three more pirates that he assumed to be on that strong one's side, ganged up on him. Cecil cracked his knuckles and prepared to smack some more heads.

A pile of snow rushed from the rooftop of the house Zein had crashed into, leaving him buried. Shaking himself off, he rushed back out and into the brawl. The numbers of men standing was slowly dwindling as the fight went on. From the looks of it, the knifeman, the gunman, and the ice pirate were still at full capacity. A swift leg sweep knocked another man down to the ground, Zein continued with a downward punch to the chest and left the pirate behind.

Dashing forward, he had his eyes set on the gunman this time. Planning his movement accordingly, he planted himself in place abruptly. Another circle motion led to a strong backwards punch towards the hip. Another pirate jumped in front of him as the punch was about to connect, sending him hurtling into a cart of cabbages. Zein's glance returned to the gunman as he kept himself going. With his other fist, he circled himself the other way with an uppercut. "Sky Fang!"

OOC: I laughed really hard when I saw the cabbage part! XDD It reminds me of Avatar!


Hyouga saw the men fighting ferociously. He smiled and thought he was lucky to have found them. Even if they did lose this brawl, he was going to have them be on his crew, and he wouldn't leave until they joined. All had great power, and interesting style, something that the Glacier Pirates needed more of.

Hyouga sent another pirate flying with a palm thrust to their chest, he heard their ribs break from the pressure before they flew into a group of spectators. As he fought, he noticed he was laughing. I suppose the first mate was right when she implied that he was happiest when in a good fight.

The brawl had dwindled now to a small skirmish. It was only the four of them now, plus some of Hyouga's pirates who had stayed to watch the fight. Frigid Heath truly was a pirate's paradise. They all faced off against each other, it was a free for all. Before they started fighting again, Hyouga looked to each one of them.

"You all are good fighters... and I want you to join my crew, even if you lose here. Lemme know you names. And... we had better finish this fight anyway, let the good times continue, as I always say. And, my name is Hyouga, Captain Hyouga that is."

Cecil listened to the Captain's words with interest. After fighting with us he invites us to join his crew? he thought to himself. This man is either insane or very clever. This seems like a good proposition. I miss the sea, and I really want to get off of this rock. Cecil wiped his bloody knuckles on his pants and looked around at the tired and worn pirates that were participating in the brawl.

"I am Cecil, or 'Chef', if you wish to call me by my nickname," he replied to the Captain. "Your offer interests me. I agree to join your crew, as you seem to be the most formidable fist fighter I have ever seen."

Cecil went back into a fighting stance.

"Now let's finish this," he said with a grin. "I'd be too disappointed if we quit now!"

Listening to Hyouga's voice gave Zein a shred of confidence. He was offering everyone here to join his crew. It seemed that the inevitable was upon him, but in a good way. This could be a great opportunity to discover the truth that he has been looking for. Zein faced Hyouga with his arms crossed. "I am Zein, the Ice Raven." He extended his arms to either side of him, as if he were holding swords. "I accept your offer, I'll become a pirate and join your crew."

Untying the bandanna on his arm, Zein retied it on his face. It covered his nose and mouth as he now clenched his fists. "However, I'm not going to be careless here. I'll be just as serious as everyone else is." Remaining stanced, he stood motionless. Zein studied the faces of the other fighters and decided who he was going to direct his next attack towards.

Sidd cracked his knuckles, "Name's Sidd," he said, "and I think I just might take you up on your offer." Sidd had really been thinking about this the whole time. He liked the way this pirate fought, and he knew he'd be finding something worth his time if he followed him.

"I'm about to show you just why you want me on your crew!" he said, and leapt at Hyouga with a jumping kick.

Hyouga smirked as he saw how fast Sidd attacked after the talking. He was impatient... but powerful. Hyouga thought this as he sidestepped to avoid the kick, only to watch as Sidd's foot smashed into the ground, forming a small crater beneath.

"Not bad, you'll come in handy during battles!" Hyouga said with a smile. "I think maybe it is about time to get things interesting. Blades are back in."

In a flash, Hyouga had drawn his steel cutlass from it's scabbard at his hip. The blade glinted in the sunlight.

"The rules are simple... anyone who is disarmed is beaten, anyone who has the opponenets blade to their heart, neck, or face is beaten." Hyouga said.

At that, Hyouga jumped high into the air and aimed his blade for the swordsmen.

"Let's see how you use those swords!"

"All right!" Sidd leapt for his knives. Put one between his teeth, one in his right hand, and two in the left, between the fingers, as was his main style.

"Come at me whenever you're ready," he said, "but make it quick!"

"Well now," Zein drew his left hand over his right katana, unsheathing the long blade from its hold. "Allow me to properly demonstrate my ability." Zig-zagging in a narrow path, he jumped into the air after Hyouga. Zein spiraled towards the ice pirate. "One Sword Style: Scatter Blitz!" The long katana sliced vividly through the crisp air as it clashed with Hyouga's cutlass. A small shockwave could be felt as the swords made contact.

As his feet touched ground, Zein jolted backwards and moved in a crouched circular motion. His sword approaching from above instead of below. "One Sword Style: Crescent Storm!"