high_seas | Masquerade Ball - Totally not an ambush

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Masquerade Ball - Totally not an ambush

Who: Anyone going to the Corsair Island Masquerade Ball!
Where: ...IDK?
When: April 26th - 27th (Early AM)
What: The Masquerade Ball + Ambush (12am)
Warnings: D for dancing, V for violence, A for Ace, L for Luffy
Style: Action or prose.
Status: Open to anyone attending!

There are going to be two main threads. One for the ball itself and the other for the Ambush! There will be an obligatory third thread for FASHION. Just remember to tag your muse in the subject header and OTA or 'Closed to ???' as you comment.

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[Now this is what Ragna calls a party. While he felt completely out of place for most of the evening, once the battle begins all the humiliation and boredom he's endured are immediately forgotten in favor of taking action. Admittedly, his options are somewhat limited, since there's no way he could've brought his Blood-Scythe to the ball without being found out, but that is not to say he's defenseless. No, far from it─ and when the first group of officers approaches him, thinking he's an easy pray due to his lack of weapons, Ragna quickly proves them wrong. With a simple gesture from the man, a dark, beast-shaped shadow raises from the ground, hitting the soldiers and throwing them into the air.]

C'mon, Navy dogs. The Grim Reaper's came to invite y'all to hell!

[Just another day in the life of Ragna the Bloodedge, it seems.]

[He's left Tojiko holding her part of the invisible line pushing their crew out of the room, spreading their strength out and being careful with his chakra just in case Sakura turns out to be right about the costumes after all. As such, he's not using Susano'o's ribcage when bodies start raining down around him as if punched up from the ground -- in the absence of unconscious protection he's forced to slice through a falling body.

His glare for the source leads him to a strange creature (formed in chakra, something oddly similar to the release of a tailed beast) apparently controlled by -- wasn't that the person Luka had escorted to the ball?]

You were with Luka, weren't you? [He calls it as he sweeps a handful of soldiers aside, lightning chakra singeing clothing and skin.] When did you get separated?

[Ragna doesn't answer immediately, too busy fighting off another wave of Navy officers. He spins around, kicking the approaching soldier when dark-red claws form around his leg, cutting the man. That's when the Grim Reaper stops to catch a break and look around for the source of the question─ and surely enough, he finds himself facing some guy he's never seen before.]

"Separated"? She's right─

[He turns to point nearby, only to pause as he realizes Luka certainly isn't there. Crap. When did that happen? Some "bodyguard" he is... It was easy to predict it'd happen with all the chaos around. He should've paid closer attention to her whereabouts... Dammit.]

... Not too long ago, I guess.

[Sasuke cuts through a pair of soldiers while waiting for the man to realise that Luka is nowhere nearby, focus more on the strange energy than the attacking men, some of whom seemed more furious about the interruption of their feasting and drinking than the actual fact of the ambush. He's not concerned about Luka in any material way with the level of opponent he's seen so far, but he's also not in the mood to have to hunt down an unconscious crew member or deal with the possibility of capture.]

She can't have gotten far in that time. [He shunts another man in the direction of -- 'Ragna the Bloodedge', wasn't it? -- just to see what else that energy could do.

There's no flash of yellow or the weird burst of chakra he's come to associate with the whole transforming-into-special-clothing thing, so his best guess is that she's taken his words about their finances to heart.]

She said you were her plan to get out -- were you planning to protect her?

[The Grim Reaper makes a face when he sees some man being flung towards him with the corner of his eye, but doesn't waste his time complaining about it and instead takes a swing with his right hand at the officer─ though the moment it reaches him, Ragna's arm no longer looks entirely... human. If anything, the black and red claws look more like those of some kind of monster. He grabs the soldier with it, lifting him overhead; a split of second later, the air becomes filled with the sounds of slashes and screams of pain. After a short moment, those cease and Ragna lets go of the corpse, which hits the floor with a thud. With that, his right arm goes back to its original appearance, as if nothing happened at all.]

... "Planning" isn't the right word.

[The whole idea of "protecting" is almost foreign to him at this point─ he's not entirely sure if he's still up to the task. Hell, it's never been his greatest asset, has it? Jin was right; he couldn't protect anything... or anyone...

Shaking off those thoughts, Ragna turns to the side and sends another shadow-beast across the floor in the direction of Navy officers.]

I'll see what I can do.

[That's the most he can give him at this point.]

[It's definitely something that echoes the sickly demon chakra of the tailed beasts, now that Sasuke is taking a more deliberate look, but if it really is something of the ilk, this Ragna guy is doing a better job controlling it in its violent stage than any of the jinchuuriki Sasuke has seen. The eight-tails is the only one on par that Sasuke can recall, and even then the easy flow of one chakra into the demon chakra is so smooth it doesn't seem different at all.

The question of Luka's well-being is (for better or worse) of less immediate concern than that observation, though Sasuke tosses a careless:]

She can probably handle herself if there's any real trouble.

[There doesn't seem anything trickier than these civilian-level sailors, anyway, at least not on the side they're opposing.]

What is that thing? [He asks it after cutting through an advancing squadron, lightning chakra leaving them in a pile of pain. L-Elf will complain about leaving witnesses, but at this point there are so many witnesses there's no point wasting time eliminating some of them.]

[~~honestly I'm not even sure if the Black Beast has any tails~~

Sasuke's observations are correct─ Ragna does have control over the Grimoire's power, thanks to years of extensive training. Even so, his Master would always warn him that this power is not his to command, nor will it ever belong to him. On some level, he's aware of it, but has yet to learn the true meaning of those words.

Which is probably why he doesn't hesitate to throw it around while fighting even such low-level opponents.

The Grim Reaper lets out a grunt that can be interpreted as agreement. Luka's mentioned having a bounty on her head back in her world the first time they talked, so he figures dealing with the officers shouldn't be a problem for her. What bothers him more at the moment is this unknown brat's interest in his powers, and he glares down at Sasuke after knocking down another soldier.]

... None of your business, that's for sure.

[The response is -- probably to be expected, but it's still a surprise after how easily Sasuke's own crew talks about their abilities. (Maybe he should mention it to them ...) It's something Sasuke himself would likely have said, but the rudeness of it grates on his already-annoyed nerves enough that he narrows his eyes, turns to the soldiers between them and the door, and summons Susano'o with a rush of pain and chakra.

There's no need for anything more solid than the chakra-monster's ribcage and two arms, but the appearance of giant glowing bones is enough to earn a number of screams. To their credit, the Navy soldiers rally after a moment of staring and attack, fooled by the chakra's translucence; most end up swept aside in a heap of broken limbs.

It's not that Sasuke wants to show off (not completely), but that he also wants to compare the appearance of true chakra and what passes for it on other worlds.

And if it piques curiosity in Luka's date, that's a side benefit.]

[And as far as Ragna is concerned, this conversation is over. He has no intention of getting into the details about his Grimoire with anyone, much less a stranger. If the brat decides to leave him alone now that he's made it clear, the man would welcome it.

... Though it's hard to ignore the kid when that... weird monster thing appears. It doesn't take a genius to figure out Sasuke is the source, but as for what exactly it is, he has no clue. An Ars Armagus? No, that doesn't seem likely; after all, he has yet to see one here, outside of his own world. Magic? ... It's plausible, although the Grim Reaper isn't thrilled about that possibility.]

What the hell is that thing?

[He probably shouldn't expect a straight answer after the one he gave a moment ago, but it's worth a shot.]

[If there had been a more detailed description of him or his abilities on the bounty poster, Sasuke might have been more circumspect; as it is, even swatting flies gets annoying when the flies are as many and as determined as the impractically-dressed sailors here. Susano'o is barely even used at its full capacity, reduced to just tossing men aside; it leaves him plenty of time to turn and raise an eyebrow at Ragna.]

I asked first.

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Masquerade Ball - Totally not an ambush

OTA

8D?

8D!!

8Db!!

8Db!!!! ....okay I'll stop now

D8 DON'T STOP

YOU ASKED FOR IT: 8DDDDDDDDDDDDDbbbbb!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

\8DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD/

/o/ \o\ /o\ \o/

\o\~~~~~