He was still restrained. Water surrounded him, chains binding him. The city of his birth and his hometown completely flooded by the waters of his despair. The surface was so far away but despite that, he knew it was still raining high above. How long would it stay like this, would the flood ever recede?

"Zangetsu!" Ichigo shouted out into the depths of the water, his voice echoing across his mindscape. There was no response, no presence other than his own in the sunken depths. Where was Zangetsu? He had been there, he hadn't imagined it. He could still feel where he had touched his shoulder, sending a course of power through him.

Ichigo had so many questions. How was he able to use those Quincy abilities? What was happening to his powers? Just how could he regain his Shinigami abilities? But there was no answer from the man that had guided him through so much of his time in the world of the supernatural. There wasn't even the lingering presence of him.

"Why show up at all!?" Ichigo roared, chains around him creaking as he shifted. "Just what the hell do I need to do!?" Sinking to his knees, the chains feeling heavy around him. Despite unlocking his spiritual presence, his Fullbring, the Hollow Powers and even the Quincy ones. The chains still coiled around him, restricting him from gaining access to his Shinigami power.

"Balance." Ichigo recalled the old man's words. Said that he had to balance both his powers and his emotions to unlock his true powers. How was he supposed to balance his powers when he didn't even know what they were or where they came from?

Sighing, he pushed that away, deciding to focus on the emotional side of things. He knew for sure that he had lost his cool in Loguetown, letting his rage get the better of him. Seeing Johnny and Yosaku beat up like that had pushed button's in him. He felt weak and pathetic, to not have even been able to help them when they needed it.

"It won't happen again."

Hatchan stood with a smile on his face, all six arms, three on either hip as he stood in the now clean kitchen that he had finished cleaning sometime ago. After he had done his cleaning he had gone fishing, more so jumped overboard and used his enhanced underwater ability to catch some sealife. Now he was ready to cook. The kitchen didn't have much of a stock and whatever hadn't gone bad was mostly spices and such so he didn't have a lot to work with. But it still had all it's old utensils so he wasn't lacking in that department.

They had been travelling an hour or two now since departing Loguetown, Yosaku and Johnny were still doing their laps around the ship. No doubt the island they were heading to would appear in the coming hour, so they didn't have a lot of time to finish. The two bounty hunters hadn't expected the ship to be so large it seemed. They were getting close to the hundred laps Ichigo had ordered them to do however. No doubt they would need a meal afterwards.

It was clear to Hatchan that Yosaku and Johnny didn't have much strength and stamina, and it was obvious that Ichigo was going to increase that before they began to learn fighting technique. He was starting from basics which would be good for them. If they were truly going to make it all the way to Fishman Island by island hopping, then they were going to need all the strength that they could, especially if they ran into trouble and seeing as though it was the Grand Line, they were bound to run into trouble. That's just the kind of place the Grand Line was.

"Time to get to work." Hachi started happily as he went about prepping the food he had caught. While no master chef he had his own recipes and until Ichigo decided that the crew needed a proper chef he could make do with cooking all their meals.

Soon enough the kitchen was filled with the aroma of cooked food, plates being served up as Hachi finished up the cooking. Grabbing a plate in each hand leaving two free he headed out to where he knew Ichigo would be. The young Captain had been meditating since they had set out from Loguetown. Hachi never knew someone who was that concentrated by meditating before, it's like he had completely shut down and gone somewhere else. It was almost weird.

Passing through the common room he spotted the orange haired teen out on deck, still in his meditative pose. It didn't look like he had moved in the slightest since before he had gone fishing. Heading out onto the deck, a frown coming to his face, they didn't exactly have a table and chairs to sit at quite yet. It was beginning to show that their ship was lacking some required items.

"It's fine on the floor for now." Ichigo's voice snapped Hachi from his musings as the teen stretched his arms. "Smells good." He told him as Hachi sat down next to him, handing him a plate of food while still holding onto the others, having the free hands to start to eat his own.

"Man that smells good!" A shout came from around the corner.

"Just a little more!" A fellow shout as the pounding of footsteps could be heard as Johnny and Yosaku raced up the side of the ship. Hachi and Ichigo simply waited as the two came screeching around the corner.

"We're done!" They both cheered, covered in sweat. Both had taken to stripping their shirts as they ran, if even to lighten the load slightly. Ichigo glanced at the two with a raised eyebrow.

"We are done right, Big Bro?" Johnny asked nervously, seeing the questioning look in their Captain's eyes.

"I made sure to count right!" Yosaku cried, sinking to his knees.

"You were done two laps ago." Ichigo shrugged. "I figured you were trying to get out of cleaning." He added continuing to eat. Both Yosaku and Johnny glanced at one another before linking arms, dancing around in a circle while cheering that they were done. Despite a hundred and two laps, they still had the energy to act like morons.

"Here." Hachi said, offering up the two plates he still had. "Lunch." The two quickly snatched the plates from his hands and began to devour the food causing Ichigo to scowl at the lack of manners the two had. Both shoveled in the food as if it were their last meal before both leaned back on their arms, guts slightly swollen. Ichigo and Hachi hadn't even finished their own meals yet.

Yosaku watched with a smile however something caught his eye causing him to lean forward, staring at Hachi with wide horrified eyes. Hachi for his credit just gave the bounty hunter a questioning look.

"Isn't that cannibalism?" Yosaku questioned getting looks from Johnny and Ichigo who glanced over to see that Hachi was about to eat a piece of fried octopus. Hachi looked between Yosaku and the fried octopus before back again, his face beginning to pale as realisation set in.

"Oh no! I'm a monster!" He cried, causing Ichigo to facepalm. How does he meet these kinds of people and why do they all seem to gather around him? Now the three of them were panicking over what the fishman had just eaten.

"It's fine! Shut up!" Ichigo growled, finishing off his own meal. "Even wild octopus are known for eating their own kind." He stated getting wide eyed stares from the other three. Running a hand down his face he turned to Hachi. "How long have you been eating Octopus for?"

"Oh, ever since I was young." Hachi nodded. "I've always dreamed of opening up a takoyaki stand." He explained.

"Then why are you freaking out about it now?" Ichigo inquired, a twitch in his eye. "It's normal for you to do it, so do it. As long as you're not messing up the ecosystem somehow, it should be fine right? Plus, you're probably not the only Fishman that eats them, right?"

"Ahaha! Wow, that's so true." Hachi laughed. "Worried over nothing." He continued before finishing off the rest of his fried octopus quite happily.

"Your really smart Big Bro Ichigo." Johnny began. "Not like Big Sis Nami said at all." This caught Ichigo's attention, what the hell was that little sneak thief telling them about him now?

"Yeah, Big Sis Nami said you must have been really sheltered growing up since you didn't know a whole lot." Yosaku added. Ichigo sighed, if that's all she had to say then that was fine, she did have to explain a few things when he first got here after all. "Probably one of the reasons she got us to come with you." When he caught up with her again, oh was she going to pay for sticking these morons with him.

"I know enough to get by." Ichigo told them with a shrug as Hachi gathered up all the plates and stood up intending to take them back to the kitchen, casting a gaze out over the heading before raising a hand up to his brow.

"Looks like we're almost there." Hachi noted as Ichigo got to his feet, looking off in the same direction that Hachi was looking. In the distance was the obvious shape of an island coming into view. With their speed it wouldn't take long before they were there.

"Alright!" Johnny and Yosaku were once more dancing again. "One more stop and then here we come Fishman Island! Mermaids ahoy!" The two idiots had already forgotten that they were taking the scenic route through the Grand Line. Standing behind the two a smirk came to Ichigo's face.

"Alright, time for some more training. Cleaning can wait." Both Johnny and Yosaku looked behind them to face Ichigo, the happiness they just had no longer present. "You're going to do push ups until we get to the island." Both opened their mouths to speak. "You told me to train you, so I'm training you, get to work."

"Yes Big Bro." Both muttered before falling to their hands, beginning to perform the exercise. Ichigo watched them for a time, the two seemingly not having much problem with it. Smirking slightly, he began to raise his reiatsu, just small inklings at a time and forced it down on the two. Not enough to render them immobile or unconscious like the Marines back in Cocoyasi or the thugs in Loguetown, just enough to put extra strain on them, to push their muscles. This would also help with his own control.

"Gah! Something's heavy!" Johnny grunted, the excessive force pushing down on him buckling his arms slightly as he pushed himself up.

"It's weird! It feels like a ton of force is pushing down on me!" Yosaku added, resting his head on the deck before pushing himself back up, arms shaking under the force.

"Quit your moaning." Ichigo growled. "This is just the start of your training. Expect it to get a lot tougher from here on out."

"Yes Big Bro!" They chanted out. Ichigo watched them, no longer were they in sync with their push ups, both doing what they can just to push through.

"Listen up." Ichigo began. "I don't know what we're going to face out there on the Grand Line. You should be ready for anything, so I want you to ingrain this into your minds." He told them. "When you dodge, you don't let them hit you. If you protect someone, you don't let them die. When you attack, you kill." Ichigo told them the same words that Kisuke told him so long ago to unlock his resolve. "Now. When you counter!?"

"We don't let them hit us!"

"When you protect someone!?"

"We don't let them die!"

"When you attack!?"

"Kill!"

"Repeat it!" Johnny and Yosaku repeated and repeated the mantra as they continued to go through the movements. Over and over again they pushed through, when they started to get used to the strength of the reiatsu, Ichigo increased it a bit. Numerous times they fell on their faces, flatted to the ground before pushing through again. Ichigo could see it. The resolve in both of them to get stronger.

Hachi watched from behind, the air around Johnny and Yosaku looked completely distorted with some unknown pressure seemingly radiating from Ichigo himself. He could feel it in the air, the unknown power Ichigo extered. He remembered feeling it back when he faced Arlong. During the fight, the power was focused into his attacks, the first being the slashing of his sword that sent a crescent wave of power that bisected Arlong, the second time was when he fired that powerful black wave from his hand at the rest of the crew.

Still, Hachi couldn't place what it was. He knew Haki and while wasn't an expert or a practitioner of the strange power himself, he knew that Ichigo's power was different from what Reyleigh had told him when he was a child. He was honestly stumped in what kind of power Ichigo possessed.

"I'll direct us into port, Ichigo." Hachi called over getting a glance over the shoulder from the teen before a simple nod as Ichigo turned back to the two bounty hunters.

"Time to stretch my legs." Ichigo sighed as he walked down the ramp from the deck onto the dock. Hachi following after him as Johnny and Yosaku trailed behind, both had their dadao swords at their hips while Hachi had the katana that Ichigo had nabbed from Loguetown strapped down his back.

Hachi's presence immediately grabbed the attention of the surrounding Townsfolk as they disembarked their ship, Hachi simply gave a small wave seemingly making the children happy but the adult's didn't care for it much. Pulling the children in close. While it upset Hachi he was understanding, knowing that Fishman would not have a good reputation, especially in the East Blue with Arlong's crew just having been defeated after so long.

"Now, we need to focus on stocking up the supplies on the ship." Ichigo continued as they headed into town, briefcase in hand, containing the one million beri.

"Ingredients for meals, some sets of furniture, medical supplies." Hachi began to list, no longer paying attention to the townsfolk stares. "We still haven't fully checked out the armory yet to see what's in there." Ichigo nodded.

"Yeah, let's focus on the day to day first and the essentials." Ichigo suggested. "I want to give the ship a new coat of paint, it'll fill in time between islands." Ichigo added, recalling how bored he got when he was sailing with Luffy and the others. He needed something to preoccupy his time and training Johnny and Yosaku wouldn't take up every hour of the day for him. Maybe Luffy was right in the whole aspect of getting a musician for the crew, at least they'd have some form of entertainment then.

The four walked, more so Ichigo and Hachi walked, Johnny and Yosaku dragging their feet behind them, still recovering from the exercise. The small group soon found a marketplace that was bustling with life. Hachi took the initiative in buying their food, while the people were still frightened of his appearance, it seemed after seeing the million beri that Ichigo carried around, they were eager to trade despite his appearance.

Johnny and Yosaku were soon pitching in ideas of what they needed and before long each of them were carrying large sacks of bought items. Other items would be sent to the docks for delivery to the ship, such as the paint Ichigo ordered and the barrels of fresh water Hachi had requested as well as the furniture.

The most expensive items were no doubt the medical supplies, Ichigo having little knowledge on medicines did help when choosing which to buy, but even so they weren't exactly the same as what were in the clinic back home. The sellers were helpful and gave him suggestions, he had the money to play around with and it's not like they wouldn't use it if they needed it. Better to have it and not need it then not have it and need it.

They should probably think about getting a doctor on board at some point.

By mid afternoon they basically had most of what they needed and had dropped a far amount of cash in the marketplace to the point other sellers were calling out to them to come see their wares. Most people no longer shied away from Hachi's presence welcoming the Fishman in and offering him wares of all types. Ichigo had to drag him out of a few stalls otherwise he would have spent more than necessary on things they didn't need.

The four were heading back to their ship to take back their own bags of items they had gotten. That's when a Bell rang out, echoing over the entire town. Ichigo stopped and looked around, the attention of all the people in town turning to the large bell tower.

"PIRATES!" A shout came from the tower. "PIRATES ARE COMING!" Fear struck the town as the people began to flee in terror, screams and panic arose as the townsfolk rushed to evacuate the city. In mere moments the town had gone from peaceful to a ghost town just at the prospect of pirates attacking.

"Just once, I'd like to stop somewhere without something going wrong." Ichigo muttered to himself as they made their way to their ship, the pirate ship that was approaching the island coming into view as the four reached the docks. There was also a large crowd of people gathered, so not everyone had run away it seemed.

"What are we going to do Big Bro?" Johnny questioned.

"Yeah Big Bro, what's the plan?" Yosaku added.

"Should we do something?" Hachi questioned, looking at the approaching pirate ship. "I don't recognise the flag." He added. The three turned to Ichigo who ran a hand through his hair, as he watched the pirate ship come closer and closer to the island. He honestly didn't know if they should intervene or not, but he didn't like the fact that if these pirates were like other pirates, then this town was about to be hit hard. If he could have done something to prevent that… and didn't? How was he any better?

"Let's go see what's up." Ichigo muttered as Johnny and Yosaku grinned, placing their bags down in a heap with Hachi's before the four walked over to the group. As they approached there was a main with a pair of binoculars looking out at the ship, hands trembling around the item as he lowered them from his eyes.

"There's no mistaking it, that's Crescent Moon Gally's ship!" Murmurs arose from the crowd, all trying to come to terms with everything and come up with a plan.

"I heard he recently made the bounty list." A woman spoke up.

"Our small town doesn't stand a chance." Another of the crowd spoke.

"We could try and bargain with them." A man suggested. Arguments began to arise as the situation began to fall apart, fear setting in as the ship grew ever closer.

"Heard of him before?" Ichigo questioned Johnny and Yosaku, Yosaku pulled out his bounty posters and began to look through them.

"He must have done something to have a bounty." Hachi told him. "It's probably not good either." He added. "The Marines don't give bounties to just anyone." Ichigo nodded, Arlong's bounty was twenty million and Luffy had just gotten a bounty of twenty five million, so this guy was probably up there with them.

"Here." Yosaku started offering Ichigo the bounty poster which the teen took, glancing it over. Five million? That was it? Looking up at the approaching ship, it's size was quite large with a purple snake figurehead and a forward cannon protruding from the snake's mouth. Hachi chuckled lightly seeing Ichigo's expression.

"It's rare for a bounty to be very high here in the East Blue." The Fishman told the teen. "The East Blue afterall is the weakest of the four blue seas." He explained. "Honestly, I don't think you've anything to worry about."

"I see…" Ichigo mumbled as he passed the poster back to Yosaku who tucked it back inside his jacket.

"Mayor, what should we do?" A man questioned, the rest of the crowd turning to face the small mayor with black hair around the sides of his head and on top. However before the man could answer, a voice shouted from the back of the crowd.

"We fight!" The girl was the centre of attention as even Ichigo, Hachi, Johnny and Yosaku looked back to find a tall, slim girl with blond hair and brown eyes wearing a blue T-shirt and green and white chequered shorts. In her hands she held a sword with a purple sheath with a cutlass like handle.

"Silk!? What are you doing here!?" The mayor called out to the blonde girl, the whole crowd was shocked to find her there.

"There's nothing to debate! We chase them off!" A collective sigh came from the crowd as they all turned away from the teen girl.

"Shut up." They all began.

"Eh?" Johnny and Yosaku blinked, they were almost moved to tears by the young girl's determination to protect her town, instead the whole crowd just turned their back on her suggestion.

"What're you sheep!?" Silk shouted out at them. "I live here too you know! Why should we kowtow to Pirates! We must fight!" She declared.

"Stay out of this!" One man growled as he grabbed her by the right arm.

"You turn the tiniest problems into the biggest catastrophes!" Another added as he grabbed her left, lifting her off her feet as she swung her legs trying to kick out at them.

"Take her to hide with the others." The Mayor spoke getting nods from the men holding Silk. "Let me talk to them, only a few of you need to stay."

"Hold up old man." Ichigo's voice cut through the murmurs of the crowd. "You have no idea what's coming on that ship, you have no idea if those pirates will negotiate with you. Your only option might be to fight." The Mayor turned to find Ichigo standing with his crew.

"What does a stranger have to say about it?" The mayor questioned. "You have no allegiance to our town."

"Hey! That's no way to talk to Big Bro Ichigo when he's offering his help!" Johnny shouted.

"Yeah! Big Bro Ichigo's the only way you guys make it out of this alive!" Yosaku shouted alongside Johnny. Both bounty hunters turned and grinned at one another before striking poses.

"Big Bro Ichigo is here to help!" Ichigo's eyebrow twitched before he smacked both of them in the back of the head, slamming them to the ground.

"Shut up, morons." Ichigo growled as he walked forward, Hachi crouching down to make sure the two were okay. "What I'm saying is, you shouldn't turn away those wanting to help. The girl wants to fight, if it comes to it, let her. Right now she's the only one willing to protect this town." Everyone shared glances with one another, guilt sinking in knowing his words struck true. They were all too afraid to fight.

"We don't have the manpower or weapons to hold off such a crew of bloodthirsty pirates!" The mayor argued. "If we atleast hold negotiations long enough for everyone to evacuate, we can just rebuild!" He shouted at Ichigo, revealing his true intent to the crowd.

"That's not living!" Silk shouted, struggling out of the grip of her captors and rushing forward towards the Mayor. "If we live and rebuild! We'll just live in fear of it happening again, and again!" Gripping the mayor by his shoulders as she stared down into his face. "We have to fight!" The mayor stared back at silk before nodding his head once making a smile grow on Silk's face.

"I won't force anyone to stay, those that are unprepared, leave." The mayor told the crowd. "I will try for negotiations first." He said with a glance at Ichigo who nodded, it was the man's decision after all. "Will you aid us, stranger?"

"Kurosaki Ichigo." The teen introduced himself. "They might be morons." Ichigo chided, gesturing to Johnny and Yosaku. "But they were right, I'll help. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I just left you to it." He explained getting a thankful nod from the mayor.

"Alright Big Bro! Show them what you've got!" Johnny grinned as Ichigo raised an eyebrow at him. "R-Right?"

"Yeah Big Bro, a five million beri bounty should be nothing to you." Yosaku added awkwardly.

"You really don't get it yet?" Ichigo questioned as two of Hachi's hands landed on both of their shoulders, jolting them slightly.

"Ichigo wants to see what you're capable of." Hachi told them, causing their faces to pale in response, they'd never gone after someone with a five million beri bounty before! "Don't worry, I'm sure it'll work out." He told them with a smile. Hearing footsteps Ichigo glanced behind him to see the blonde approaching him.

"Thank you!" She bowed her head deeply. "They never would have listened to me if you weren't here." She told them. Ichigo eyed her for a moment, the hand she had her sword in was trembling slightly as she looked up at him. Ichigo turned to face her fully.

"You sure you're ready?" He questioned surprising her, her hand tightening around her sword.

"I am!" She declared, resolve in her eyes. While frightened, she wasn't backing down. She had resolved to go through with it, even through the fear. Ichigo nodded, at least someone in this town held such a resolve. Looking over to the crowd around the mayor, several had left only leaving a small handful.

"Don't worry Little Sis!" Yosaku declared, surprising Ichigo slightly as both Johnny and Yosaku stepped around him.

"You're Big Bro's will take care of you!" Johnny told her. "I'm Johnny."

"And I'm Yosaku!"

"You're both a pain in the ass!" Ichigo shouted figuring they were going to go for their whole stupid introduction that they had done on the Merry when he first met them, grabbing their heads he smacked them together.

"That hurt Big Bro." They both muttered on the ground causing Ichigo to sigh as Silk laughed at the display.

"I'm Ichigo, this is Hatchan." Ichigo introduced and thrust a thumb up at Hachi.

"Hello." Hachi greeted with a wave of three of his hands making Silk take a step back with wide eyes, as she stared in shock at the Fishman probably only ever hearing about them. "It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you." He smiled. "You can call me Hachi." Silk nodded her head before their attention was brought to the ship coming into port.

The Mayor stood out front of the group as the pirate ship docked, Ichigo let the mayor have his way. If this all could be solved with negotiations, then that was good. However considering his track record with pirates so far, The Black Cats and Arlong's crew… things probably weren't going to go that way. Especially if this was a pirate with a new bounty wanting to raise it and prove himself for whatever reason.

One day, he'd sail to an island where there wouldn't be any pirates and he could just relax. That was the dream.

The pirates began to disembark their ship, Silk gripped the hilt of her sword but Ichigo rested a hand on her shoulder to stop her from drawing it. She looked up at him, but he wasn't looking at her; he was looking at the approaching pirates, a fierce look on his face that made her stop and turn her attention to the pirates.

"Remain calm." Ichigo spoke softly. "Anger can be used as a weapon, but you shouldn't let it consume you, stay focused." He offered getting a nod from Silk as she took a deep breath and steadied herself once more. A smile came to the teens face as he looked down at her, she was interesting to say the least and had the nerve to stand up to pirates.

A glance to his right showed Johnny and Yosaku, they were doing their best to keep calm but the extra sweat on their brows was evident to their nerves, he had to wonder if they were up for this. Hachi seemed fine however, no doubt having experienced fights like this before, maybe even on a larger scale.

The Mayor of the town was out front with Ichigo and the others in a line behind him at his request. The other townsfolk that had remained were in a group behind the line. The pirates began their approach down the pier, weapons already in hand and just by the looks of them they had no intention to settle this like civilized people.

"I see, so it's true that there are some that try to negotiate with pirates." The pirate out front with a crescent moon shaped mustache dressed in typical pirate garb grinned as the pirates approached. The mayor cleared his throat as he took a step forward.

"We have nothing for you here, pirates. We ask that you leave and don't return." The mayor called out. Laughter rang out from the pirates as the Captain walked forward.

"Do you have any idea who you're facing!? You're nothing but lowly insects compared to me! Just get trampled on!" He roared signaling for his crew to attack. Brandishing weapons they charged across the pier of the dock.

"You tried Mayor." Ichigo started stepping forward where the pier connected to the dock. Holding his hand out, badge in his hand he poured reiatsu into bringing forth a black six pronged Tsuba. Eyes widened at the power and before the pirates up ahead could figure out what the teen was doing, Ichigo had already launched the spinning Tsuba directly down the centre of the pier.

The Tsuba caused the front group of pirates to jump off the sides of the pier into the ocean before it coursed through knocking several more pirates down only seeming to aggravate the others.

"Johnny, Yosaku." Ichigo began. "You're up." The first group of pirates launched themselves up in the air, intending to bring their blades down on Ichigo, the teen however stepped back allowing the two bounty hunters to take his place. Locking blades with the pirates the two pushed them back before charging forward. Clashing blades with any pirate that came in close.

Johnny ducked beneath the swing of a sword which Yosaku defended against holding the pirate at bay before Johnny kicked out at the pirate, knocking him down into the ocean. Working together they quickly made short work of the pirates as they tried to get off the pier. Hachi meanwhile walked to the water's edge, sword drawn as he watched the pirates swim for shore. However at the sight of the menacing looking fishman they stopped before quickly retreating, swimming from the shore as fast as they could to get away.

Soon enough, there were only three pirates left on the pier, a large fat man with a vertical striped shirt, a skinny lanky man with a horizontal striped shirt and Gally himself.

Johnny and Yosaku were both surprised at themselves. Whatever pressure Ichigo had asserted upon them when they had been training made them feel lighter, as if nothing could touch them. Sure they had been nicked a couple of times, but they were barely out of breath despite having faced down the majority of Gally's crew.

The large fat one charged forward, forcing both Johnny and Yosaku to withdraw off the pier and onto the dock before Johnny locked blades with the fat pirate, glaring at him from behind his glasses. Yosaku was about to help before the skinny pirate caught his attention and he was forced to defend, he was a lot faster than the other pirates and maneuvered like a snake.

As Johnny fended off the fat pirates slashes, he could tell that the pirate was getting tired, not able to keep the power behind his blows as he got increasingly more and more tired as the fight dragged on. Seeing an opportunity, Johnny deflected the pirates sword upwards before sending a kick into the pirates gut causing him to stumble backwards, Johnny didn't let up as he charged, raising his sword above his head he slashed the pirate from shoulder to hip. The pirate dropped his sword before dropping to his knees and face planting the ground.

Yosaku was ducking and weaving, doing his best not to get caught by the blade's speed. Deflecting the pirate blade to the side he went to strike out but the pirate had already predicted the punch and drove his knee into Yosaku's gut. While it had speed, it didn't pack a punch. Gritting his teeth, Yosaku tackled the pirate to the ground as best he could, laying the pirate out before launching his fists at him. With the pirate beaten and bloody Yosaku heaved a heavy sigh of relief before collapsing backwards onto his rear.

Gally himself was enraged as his only two officers had been brought down, the rest of his crew driven off in fear due to the sword wielding Fishman, and who stood before him? A little girl wanting to play hero.

Silk had drawn her sword, as she stood off against Gally, the sheath of her sword on the ground discarded a few feet away. She could feel everyone's eyes on her as she faced the Pirate Captain. Gally went from infuriated to laughing as he pointed at her.

"You! You plan to be my opponent! You're just a little girl!" He shouted as Gally drew his sword and dashed forward, Silk gripped her own with both hands and deflected the blows from the pirate Captain.

Ichigo watched the girl fend off Gally's attacks, while no master swordsman she had trained and knew how to handle herself. When she was given an opening, she took it however her control over the sword wasn't great and her swings were too wide or overdone. But she certainly had Gally off guard since he was no master either. But as the fight between the two went on, Gally started to get the upper hand. Silk was losing her focus, letting her emotions control her as Gally began to taunt her. Her swings became more exaggerated.

Silk locked swords with Gally, the pirate Captain grinning from ear to ear as he pushed her back. Silk grit her teeth and tried to get out of the sword lock but in doing so stumbled backwards, her sword leaving her grip as she landed on her back, the Captain standing over her.

"It's no use girl! It's over for you!"

"Remain Calm, don't let your anger consume you, stay focused." Silk recalled Ichigo's words and smiled softly. She was focused but to get out of this mess, she needed for Gally to become enraged.

"Weird Beard." She grinned widely despite being beneath the Captain, the moment those words left her mouth the entire area rang silent, a few snorts of laughter that Johnny and Yosaku couldn't keep in before the entire crowd of people bar Ichigo was laughing, even Hachi covered his mouth to stop from laughing.

"Wh-What did you say!?" Gally roared. "How dare you insolent the magnificence of this beard! Die!" Gally raised his sword above his head with both hands leaving his entire body open. It only took a moment, one quick movement and every male around winced as Silk's boot collided with Gally's groin. The pirates sword hit the ground and Silk took the opportunity to crawl away as Gally fell to his knees, cupping his unmentionables. Silk got to her feet, picking up her sword she smiled.

"We won!" She cheered thrusting her sword up in the air as the cheers of the crowd echoed out over the dock.

*BANG*

The sound of a gunshot rang out, making everyone go quiet before turning to Gally to see him on the ground, smoking pistol in hand as he had aimed it from his position on the ground. What surprised Silk the most was Ichigo who was standing before her despite having been nowhere near her, hand outstretched, blue vein like markings covering his hand before he opened it, the bullet that had been shot at her falling to the ground.

His other hand was wrapped around his badge, where a blade and hilt now protruded from it. Dense power swirled around Ichigo before covering the blade with the dense power as he raised it above his head. Gally, fearful from the look in the teens eyes panicked, begging and apologising but it went on deaf ears.

"Getsuga Tensho." The blast tore everything in front of Ichigo asunder, Gally was no longer present nor was the edge of the dock, the pier completely disintegrated amidst the blast and Gally's massive ship split in two, creaking open as it split down the middle before crashing down into the water on either side. Ichigo rolled his shoulder as he turned back to Silk.

"Just because you're opponents down, doesn't mean the fight is over." He told her as he flicked her on the forehead. Silk barely registered the flick, still wide eyed at what she had witnessed from the teen in front of her. Ichigo raised an eyebrow at the bewildered faces of the rest of the townspeople and they seemed just as shell shocked as Silk.

"They have a world filled with Rubber People, Fishmen and they can't seem to grasp the concept of a Getsuga?" He sighed quietly to himself as he looked over to Johnny and Yosaku, while they hadn't done perfect they'd done their part. Hachi had done his bit, making sure none of the pirates came ashore so that they weren't overwhelmed. Still though, why so afraid of a Fishman?

"Big Bro! We're hungry!" Johnny and Yosaku groaned from where they sat on the dock seemingly snapping Silk from her trance as she looked around, while the dock was damaged it could be fixed in time, there were no signs of the pirates either. Cheers erupted from the crowd as Silk smiled happily, tears coming to her eyes, using the back of her hands to wipe at her eyes before a hand landed on the back of her head.

"Good work." Ichigo told her with a small smile. Sniffling, she nodded happily.

Ichigo sat at the bar having just finished his coffee, after the fight the residents of the town had issued the order of a party and a feast for those that had protected their town. While he didn't really want to stay around for much longer, Yosaku and Johnny were already in party mode before he could really say anything about it. He figured they deserved a little reward for what they had done.

Right now the two of them along with Hachi were all passed out on the floor of Silk's diner, too much alcohol it seemed. Despite fighting against Gally herself, Silk had spent most of the evening cooking for the party Hachi had helped her out and the two seemed to get along fine, despite Silk's first impression of the Fishman. She had enjoyed herself too, being congratulated from the returning townspeople after they heard what she had done.

Getting up from the bar, he exited the diner into the cool night air. The party had gone long into the night and he didn't exactly feel comfortable sleeping at the bar. Figuring he'd make it back to the ship and find a bed to sleep in considering they hadn't chosen rooms yet. Although, when he had connected his soul to the ship's he already had a room in mind for himself. It was the Captain's quarters after all.

Hands in his pockets he came up to the port, the damage he had made still evident, the massive ship he had cleaved in two had been a large topic when the townspeople had gotten back. The ship had been investigated and there was a large stockpile of treasure within. Despite Gally and his mannerisms, it turns out he was quite successful as a pirate, at least until he stumbled upon Ichigo. Ichigo had tried his hardest but the townspeople had basicalled pleaded with him to take it. If the Marine's caught wind that a small town like this was full of treasure they'd hold a full investigation thinking there were pirates hanging around.

Begrudgingly he accepted and the treasure was stored in the cargo hold of their ship. Somehow he kept coming into wild amounts of money that he didn't even know what to spend it on. Looking over to where the ship was docked a small smile came to his face, it was his home at the moment and even though he hadn't had it very long, it already felt like one.

"She's all stocked up, I had the people in the market throw a couple of extra things in for you, for your help." The Mayor's voice reached Ichigo, the teen turning to find the old man standing on the side of the dock looking out over the ocean.

"You didn't have to do that." Ichigo would have argued, but with how damn stubborn everyone in this town seemed to be it wouldn't get him anywhere.

"I still don't feel like I've repaid the debt." The Mayor told him as Ichigo leaned on a barrel that was sitting around. "You saved Silk's life today." The man wiped at his eyes. "For that, I can never repay you." Ichigo frowned slightly, it was like a father and a daughter almost. "Please." The man looked back at Ichigo tears welling up in his eyes, the teen raising an eyebrow slightly. "Take care of her." There was silence for a few moments before Ichigo breathed out a slight sigh.

"Johnny and Yosaku?" Ichigo questioned as he walked over to stand beside the man.

"They somehow convinced her you'd accept it if she was already on board, she's probably already stowed away somewhere on your ship." He chuckled. "She was a little intimidated by you to ask you herself, so she sought the help from those two." He explained getting a nod of understanding from Ichigo. "You were expecting her to ask?"

"I figured something like this might happen." Ichigo told him honestly, he had thought about asking but how she acted after the fighting during the events of celebration he was just waiting for her to ask herself. She went a roundabout way of doing it though.

"I'll do my best to keep her safe." Ichigo told the Mayor. "I'm training Johnny and Yosaku so I'll do my best to make sure she can defend herself from whatever we come across. I'll never force her into a situation she can't handle." His hand slapped Ichigo's back as the Mayor nodded happily.

"She'll be a handful." He laughed happily as the man walked away down the path causing Ichigo to breathe a sigh once more before a small smile came to his face.

"Yeah, it turns out everyone I get roped with turns out the same way." Ichigo chuckled lightly to himself as he looked up at the moon shining brightly in the sky.