Siege on Starfall Island

Jinnosuke had been awake far earlier than the others it seemed, he had a lot to think about after the celebrations had died down and people shuffled off to find somewhere halfway decent to sleep for a change. The Prince wasn't going to rob them of that, the ship was well stocked and they should be allowed a few days of relaxation. So the newly named Captain was sitting in the old Admiral's chambers, a cozy place and rather sizable. Though with the size of this ship in general it wasn't really to be questioned. It was rather new after all, so he could only imagine those posters were going to be distributed before they made landfall.

The most prominant thing he had been contemplating were the lives he had taken in his bid for escape. Before that fight he might have said that such violence wasn't nessecary, he was obviously capable of dealing with it with a less lethal hand. Perhaps the anger of seeing his friend had simply pushed the isolated prince too far. The injustice too great. Not as though he hadn't given them warning of what would happen. He sighed, glancing over to the family blade sat across in the corner, resting on the mantle, there was no going back it seemed. With a bounty came the life of a pirate. He decided that he would attempt to do better, his sword was something that couldn't be used in anger. He wanted to protect people, which he could justify to himself as a worthy cause. If there was cruelty so deeply rooted out in the seas then he would do his part in combating it. Anywhere he could.

In the office area of the quarters, the largest room that acted as a sort of central space, there was a map of the known world with a number of newly placed pins. It was a plan that Jinno had cleverly crafted while getting to know the people he had now promised to protect. Though their journey had suddenly gotten a lot longer, it wouldn't be fair to just abandon these people now. If some decided to stay on, all the better. It had almost been a bit of a game, pinning everyones homelands to see just how far this newly formed crew hailed from. He had spent the night planning where to go, and the first island wasn't all that far.

Starfall Island wasn't particularly well known it seemed, Jinno had never heard of it in all of his studies. Perhaps the Marines literature just didn't deem it all that nessecary. Regardless, it was said to have been impacted by a meteorite in the distant past. A city eventually formed around the crater, while harvesting the debris from the crash. This meteoric iron was said to have rather impressive properties when properly forged, though Jinno couldn't be too sure of that either. It had piqued his interest though, and with it being the closest island outside of the World Government's interest, it seemed a perfect spot to begin their journey.

Kanna had found a place away from the company of others, somewhere high up with a view of the sea before her. Honestly, it was surprising how the ship could have such a comfortable crow's nest. Enclosed for the most part with to keep the elements out, but open on the sides enough to stick a telescope out of. The ocean breeze seeped through brushing past the woman as she curled up in a corner of the crow's nest calming her mind from the day's events enough that she could finally sleep. With nobody around, Kanna seemed to be able to let down her guard, if only while she slept.

Her first night alone in such a long time proved to be less effective than she had hoped and every night after seemed to follow. She spent every night alone in a different spot than the last, but they all yielded ineffective in aiding her sleep. She woke throughout the night in fear of her own nightmares as she combatted her panic attacks from the things she had experienced. During the day, she proved to be less talkative and the dark circles around her eyes were proof of her inability to sleep, although nobody dared ask her about it. For a few days, she seemed to avoid others and keep to herself on account of her embarrassment.

Kanna had heard of their next destination, but she had hardly been able to meet Jinno face to face without fear of him pointing out her shortcomings. However, with their next destination coming fairly quickly, she assumed that she would need to be able to function as a proper member of this rag tag crew. So, she would make her way to the previous admiral's quarters taking a few moments to stare down the door. Her hand wavered before the wood, until she took a deep breath and knocked on it. As she pushed the door open, Kanna could be hear speaking in a softer voice than usual, "H-hey, Jinno? Are you there?" She would ask before opening the door some more and letting herself into the room. Her eyes would catch the prince before darting away to stare somewhere else. Her face would immediately brighten as she would pick at her finger nails, a new habit that she had picked up. "Oh, uhm, i-is this a good time? I can come back.. or something."

Jinno finally found himself breaking from his thoughts when he heard the door gently open. He had said his door was always open, which is probably why he had forgotten to lock it. Not that he would have refused Kanna either way. He smiled warmly "Come on in Kanna, haven't seen much of you lately." He motioned over to one of the many lounges tactically placed around the office, ensuring there was always the perfect space. "Have a seat! Perfect time." He was a little concerned to begin with, she had been acting a little strangely since the escape but he had figured she just needed time to process everything that had happened.

"How can I help?" The Prince sensed that there was something on her mind, no point in delaying it now she had come out of hiding. They were still well out from their destination yet, so long as Arthur hadn't lead them astray somehow. He had been the first to declare his intention to join Jinno and Kanna on their journey back to Wano. So their 'official' crew had already grown by one and there were others yet that hadn't decided but seemed to be moving in just such a direction.

If she had been at all worried about his injuries, he already seemed well on the mend. Though he wasn't quite back up to full strength it was hardly even noticable at this point. Jinno pondered what she might be so worried about. At least she looked rather tired, when this was apparently the comfiest ship in the fleet. A concerning thing, which he was sure he'd complain to the Admiral about the next time they all met up.

Kanna would make her entry into the room as she came to sit in front of Jinno in a rather awkward manner. It seemed that she had gotten into a stash of the admiral's clothing, although it was much more revealing than her typical uniform. A bikini top and a pair of tight, leather pants that had captured her eye in the light. They were better than the marine given garb that screamed at her every time she passed by a mirror. She couldn't stand seeing herself in such a degrading outfit and this was the only thing that she could find that didn't remind her of the admiral either.

She would take her seat across from Jinno, although her focus was more directed at her nails as she picked at them nervously. "Oh, uhm, well.. I would like to ask you a favor..." Kanna would begin to speak as she tried searching for the words to ask the prince. She wanted to pick her words carefully, however she also wanted to spill everything that was on her mind. Between the overthinking, Kanna would come to the conclusion that they were equals in Jinno's mind, even if that was something unfathomable in her eyes.

After taking a deep, irritated breath, Kanna would stand from her seat and place her hands on the desk in front of her. Her eyes would meet his in one unwavering stand to get everything off of her chest as quickly as possible, even as her brain screamed at her to stop. "I-I WANT YOU TO TEACH ME!" Kanna would shout loudly before her face would turn some shade of pink as she began to shake her head back and forth. "Well, sorry. I mean.. I want you to teach me how to fight. I want to be able to fight like you." She would speak this favor before standing up straight again as her eyes would wander to the floor. Her black hair shifting over her shoulders to form a sort of curtain to block out most of her features.

"I can't stop worrying about it. I wasn't able to protect myself. I just stood by while you fought for.. everyone else. You got hurt because of me. Even when that captain came after me, I-I couldn't move. I was frozen and you still had to save me again. I want to be able to protect myself, especially since we have wanted posters now. I don't want you to have to worry about me like that again. I don't want anyone to get hurt for my sake. So, please? I want to learn how to fight. I'll do anything." She would speak all of the things that had been weighing on her shoulders with her fists clenched at her sides. "I-I don't want to be afraid anymore."

Jinno didn’t seem to notice the odd choice of clothing, at least at first, instead focusing on the request she had for him. He was not, however, ready for the sudden outburst and demand for tutelage. He couldn’t help but grin at the idea, he had never really been given a chance to teach before. Her reasons wouldn’t really matter in the end, as noble as they were. Not that he didn’t listen of course, he simply didn’t need them. He let her finish, feeling it was only healthy to let her process everything that had been going on out loud.

The prince didn’t say anything, not right away at least, instead he stood and walked around the desk. Moving out of the room without a word. She could hear a rummaging through the doorway before he returned. “First, you’re going to catch a cold wearing that you know.” He revealed the first item he had been collecting. A crimson travelling cloak, it had a feel of quality to it as he draped it over the girl’s shoulders. “I found a crates of these things, no idea why they have so many.” He chuckled as he threw on his own cloak while moving back around to the desk while revealing the second gift that had been slung over his shoulder.

“Kanna, I don’t want you to think you are some sort of burden to me. Nothing that happened was your fault.” He frowned, stopping to think a moment before he went on. “Learning to fight like I do isn’t easy though and putting that knowledge to use in real combat is harder still.” It was something to think on at least, he would expect her very best after all. “So, you’re gonna do great!” And there the usual optimism decided to shine through.

“If I’m going to teach you, you’ll need a weapon.” He held out a long case of sorts, covered in protective cloth. He removed the cover to reveal a fairly plain wooden case that he then held out for her to open. The case opened on the hinge at the back, exposing a similarly elegant inner lining with a short, but quality blade. It seemed much smaller than the blade Jinno carried himself, but it was obviously a weapon from Wano.

“I’m not quite sure where this came from, but I suspect we’ve got a friend on the inside. I think this was stolen at the same time we were. Guess they kept it, until someone stole it back.” He pointed to a familiar icon, that being their home island’s flag, emblazoned with the Moriyama crest. Meaning it had been forged by someone under direct employ by the clan.

“It’s meant to be a paired blade, this is the smaller of the two. So, we’ll need to make you another and I think we might be able to do that on this Island.” He handed Kanna the case, allowing her to inspect it herself. "So we'll need to make you another one! Which we'll be able to take care of on the next island. We can get some supplies." The Prince had the working knowledge to run a forge, and there was all the possibility a ship like this might be able to accomodate the facilities if they found the right shipwright. "Besides, I could use the practice and you can learn at the same time." His own weapon was usually paired, with the back-up blade being personally forged. Traditionally, the Prince was expected to forge his own weapon that surpassed the Sea Fang so he could then pass it on to the next generation.

Kanna would stand with her eyes to the floor awaiting a response from her lifetime friend. It took him a moment, however it seemed he had something in mind. He would stand and wander out of the room to rummage for whatever it was that was so important. On his return, he would note that she would catch cold wearing clothing like she had and drape some fabric over her shoulders. Kanna would respond with a rather confused, "Heh?" Then, she would turn her head to look over her shoulders and, after that, to the bottom of the fabric as it fluttered out with her movement. A cloak? A set of strings would dangle around her neck as she tied to fabric to her securely. "Hey, wait! What's wrong with my outfit? Isn't this perfect for the sea? Don't tell me you like me in a kimono better?" The young woman would tease as she flaunted her cloak with every movement showing off her outfit beneath.

However, she would become less animated as he began to tell her that nothing that happened was her fault. Her fingers would twitch as he began to talk about the night they had back at the marine base. When he spoke about how difficult it would be to learn to fight like Jinno, Kanna would begin to take it as if it wouldn't be attainable. She would begin to pick at her nails as Jinno spoke, but she would stop when his optimism would shine through. A gasp would leave Kanna covering her mouth at the cheerful sound of Jinno accepting her proposal. Although, the idea of having a weapon would leave Kanna feeling rather dejected again knowing that she had never had one to begin with. What was she going to do now?

Her eyes would shift to the prince as he pulled out a box of sorts. It was long and covered in some sort of cloth. Was that to prevent the box from falling apart? Did the cloth protect it from damage? Then, why was it wrapped up so? Was it important to Jinno? He would hold it out to her before he would begin to explain what it was. The hinge would open seamlessly and the inner lining of the box would reach out to her eye. It was beautiful, even for the outer wood to be so plain. It held a blade so gently inside, but it seemed to be fitted snuggly as to prevent it from moving around. Kanna would hesitantly reach in to touch the handle of the blade before running her fingers done the flattened edge of the metal. It reminded her of the samurai she had seem wandering the lands. The ones she had seen leaving and entering the estate. It was real and it was a piece of home.

Tears would begin to meet Kanna's eyes as she was reminded of her homeland and her mother. Her mother must have been worried sick about her, but she was determined to make it back to her. She would tell her that she was alive and well. After all, a servant's child would be of no priority over the kidnaped prince. Kanna would listen as Jinno described that it was meant to be paired with another blade. So, she was going to need two? She would turn to Jinno as he said they would be able to make one on their island destination. "W-wait.. I've never even been able to hold a weapon before now. It's still in the box. How are we going to make one?" Kanna would ask before Jinno would say that he needed the practice in combat. "Now, you want to fight me?! Jinno, I've watched you train, since you could hold a sword. I don't think I compare. Are you sure I can do this?" At this point, it was obvious the girl was becoming quite nervous in her endeavors. Although, there was one things that was weighing on her mind, "Uh, how do I wear this? Do I tie it somewhere? Do I get a little.. holder thing?"

Jinno shook his head with a chuckle as Kanna decided to show off her new cloak “Well there isn’t exactly any around, so I suppose it’ll just have to do.” Even Jinno had to let go of his old clothing from Wano. His new outfit made him look less like a prince and more like those wandering vagrants. Her reaction to his outlook on training was positive at least, so that was something to look forward to. They had quite a journey from here on out, so there was going to be plenty of time to practice before they got home.

“Well I know how to make them, I’m sure we’ll be able to borrow a forge. It’s easy!” He sure seemed confident; they hadn’t even stepped foot on the place just yet. “Sparring is all apart of the training, it’s not like I’d go out.” Though if he thought back, his own training had been fairly chaotic. His father had been determined to make a great swordsman out of him. So, their sessions were always a spectacle, if only to see the young boy keep pace with the distinguished ruler of the land. “Trust me, it’s not gonna be that bad.”

He looked to the bare blade and pondered “Hrm, well there should be..” He inspected the case further, only to find a hidden tab in the upper part of the case. The backing opened to reveal the matching sheath. “There we go! We’ll need to get a belt I guess, I’m sure we can find something in cargo we can use. Why don’t you go check, we can’t be too far off now! I’ll meet you up on deck.” He made sure they had everything settled before they parted ways to prepare for landfall.

After a bit of rummaging, Kanna would likely find what she needed among the stored gear. Mostly a practical sword belt, which she’d be able to loop her new weapon through. She would find Jinno and Arthur observing the Island coming into view. “There you go, already looking the part” He greeted Kanna with a smile, while while he leaned onto the railing peering out. “That looks like smoke past the treeline…” He couldn’t quite make out the source. “Meant to be a mining island, could be from that?” Arthur shrugged, turning the wheel to steer them in. “Might have to check everything out first, don’t want to put the ship at risk.”

It seemed that Jinno enjoyed her antics enough, as she heard him laugh at her flaunting her new cloak around. A smile on her face would show that she was happy when he was happy. As he spoke about there hopefully being a forge on the island, Kanna would tilt her head with a confused expression, "Eh?" Jinno would express that the process was easy, but from what she could remember the process didn't look easy. When her mother went on errand, Kanna was sure to tag alongside her to carry whatever she had gone out to acquire. She remembered the loud sounds of the smithy as he clanged his hammer against the heated metal on the anvil. He was usually covered in soot and sweat dripped form his brow, but never onto the ore. Was it really as easy as Jinno thought?

When Jinno told her to trust him, Kanna could only grunt confusedly, before being distracted by Jinno looking over the box. With the weapon still in hand, Kanna would watch as a sheath popped out of the bottom of the box. Her eyes would light up and she would gasp at the discovery. She would place the sheath on top of the weapon and slide it downward onto the blade. She wasn't sure if that was the right way to do it, but it was on there now, so she needed to make sure it stayed on there. She would continue to hold the blade upward pointed toward the sky, even covered as it was. As Jinno expressed there may be something for her to wear the weapon on in the cargo hold, Kanna would immediately make her way to the door before stopping to hear Jinno say to meet him on the deck. "Will do, my prince!" Kanna would shout before exiting the room and sprinting off toward the cargo hold. Of course, she would almost accidentally bump into one of the male servants before she would have to apologize with a sheepish smile. He would remind her not to run with a blade, so she would continue to speed walk her way there.

When she finally made it, Kanna would open boxes and dig through bags as she mumbled to herself about finding a belt. She would keep the blade in her hand as she struggled to dig around with her free one. Finally, Kanna would find a crate of what appeared to be support equipment and she would find some rather fancy looking belts. They were thicker than she was intending, but not unsightly. She would pull one out before inspecting her own blade to find a slot that she could slide it through. She would tilt her head around and try different ways of mounting the sword to the belt, until it finally felt right on her left hip. She would smile brightly before running back across the ship to find Jinno, who would graciously compliment her.

Kanna would stand in the most prideful position with both hands on her hips as her cloak draped gracefully down her back. However, Jinno's uncanny suspicion would have Kanna tilting her head toward the distance. He was correct. She could see the smoke on the treeline, but Arthur's explanation seemed sound enough for her. Still, Jinno didn't seem to trust it as they stirred the ship away from the island rather than directly toward it. In any case, now was her time to be useful and if checking things out was what they needed to do, "I can go look around, if you want. Shouldn't be too hard. I'm pretty small anyway. They probably wouldn't see me sneaking around."

"Hrmm, might be a little too dangerous to go on your own. I haven't actually taught you how to use that yet." Jinno admired the enthusiasm, but if he was even remotely correct about danger he wasn't going to let Kanna go alone. "But, it might be nothing. Like Arthur said, probably just some smoke stacks." Besides, it could be a chance to look around the island before the others just to make sure they weren't leaving people worse off than before. "Alright, we'll take a raft in. Arthur and the others can circle until we signal the coast is clear."

It was a simple plan, but largely left everyone out of danger. Normally it was something the Prince would have opted to do alone, but he didn't want to stifle Kanna's eagerness for adventure. He had healed up nicely from the escape, with no real visible wounds to speak of, so he'd be able to take care of anything in the blues. From what he had seen so far, the grade of warrior out here were hardly approaching the level of the people he knew of back in Wano. Though that Admiral and her sidekick were probably the biggest threats around, and without a ship they'd hardly be able to catch up.

"Alright, lets get a bit closer Arthur. Close as you think you can, then just follow the beach." He paused, bundling up another of those red cloaks he had come across to throw to Arthur. "Seeing as you plan on staying with us, you'll need to look the part." Arthur chuckled, affixing this new gift of his to officially join the crew as well. Jinno motioned for Kanna to follow down to figure out how this ship worked before they were in range. Pausing when they found the ship's boat and the rigging it hung from. With how advanced the ship was, they could practically walk onto it and the mechanism would do the rest. "Huh, well that was easy!" He seemed, as always, optimistic about their trip at least. "So, we'll just go have a look around. Hopefully we find some friendly village folk who can explain what's going on." He had at least thought about it beyond simply 'looking around'. "When I was talking to the others they said there should be a pub just up from the docks, the village itself is a bit further inland. We can start there."

Kanna would visibly deflate as Jinno suggested that the treck alone would more than likely be dangerous. "Oh, yeah... I guess you're right," Kanna would mumble as she continued to listen to Jinno praise her enthusiasm. She wanted to start being as useful as possible as soon as possible. She wanted to go out and learn what made others so brave. What made people like Jinno want to jump into the fray rather than run from it? What did he find worth fighting for other than friendship and promises? Kanna was sure that she wouldn't understand the heart of a warrior or a samurai until she was in the thick of battle. So, her only chances were to volunteer every moment that she possibly could.

While Jinno claimed that Arthur was probably correct in assuming they were potentially just biproducts of the mines on the island, he would still elect to play things on the side of caution. Kanna would perk up again as Jinno suggested the two of them head out, while the others kept watch over the ship from the safety of it. "Yes!" Kanna would say in a whispered yell that was loud enough to turn some heads and produce a blush across her cheeks. She would immediately stand up straight and pretend that she had been calm and collected this whole time. She would clear her throat in time to congratulate Arthur on his new position in their crew. "I knew we could always count on you, Arthur!" Kanna would exclaim with a thumbs up before being beckoned away by Jinno. "Oh, uhm.. Don't worry! We'll be back!" The woman would call back to the group as she ran to help Jinno figure out their boat situation.

They would step onto the smaller boat before it would begin to lower itself into place while Kanna would stumble around at the sudden movement. She would take her seat across from Jinno as he would begin to speak about the island. "A village? What's in the village? Do we have any idea what kind of things are on this island? Like.. maybe giant birds or man eating plants? Wait! What if we get separated and then get lost and starve?! Or worse?! Do you think they're rich here or poor because of the mines? What if they try to rob us? What if I have to stab someone?! Jinno, what is our plan?!" Kanna would speak in a rushed frequency that only Jinno had ever been able to understand. Kanna seemed to always be so cautious and nervous that she sometimes babbled on about the worst case scenarios.

Jinno had expected Kanna's initial reaction, which is why he had been so quick to include her in the plans. He could handle whatever they found on the island, he was sure of that much, so there was nothing to worry about. With his trusted companion excited for their trip to the island, and their new crew member adorned in his uniform, Jinno waved the crew off as he kicked the mechanism into gear, letting the boat drop reasonably gracefully after an initial lurching fall.

"Village is a mining town around a big crater, apparently they are harvesting the iron that got deposted from the meteor." He explained, recalling the short history he had managed to remember during his time in the barracks. "It's supposed to be alright, there's a company from another island that do the extraction and there's a bit of an industry built around that. Should be pretty above board. They've got a bunch of the technology from Cogtown. Which is impressive, I think" He could see the possible issues arising from a populace getting exploited by this company, but hoped for the better. He didn't know quite as much about the other island, but the brief mentions were positive. "As far as the local flora and fauna, nothing really of note." He shrugged. It sounded pretty harmless, not some slave run mine or an oddly hostile place.

They dropped down into the water below and were free, Jinno took up the oars and got to work. Propelling them to a smaller jetty set out near an old fishing hut. "We won't have to worry about anything, just let me do the talking. Don't take your sword out unless I do, okay?" That would probably be the best words of advice. "I think we scope everything out, see if there's anything to worry about. Hopefully we can find out who runs the place and then we'll call for the others. Easy." He nodded, seemingly unwaving in his confidence that this would all go well.

Well, Kanna couldn’t say that Jinno’s explanation of the island was all that exciting, but it did peak her interest a bit. A company was taking control of their goods and even mining them out themselves? Did they realize what that could do to them? Why would they trust a company to do their mining for them? Honestly, Kanna didn’t really get it, but it had to have made sense to someone on this island. Secondly, Jinno would express that there probably wasn’t anything out of the ordinary that they would need to worry about. Kanna would grin hearing that this was a normal island outside of the uniqueness of the grand line’s land masses. This was the perfect place for her first adventure!

As the two of them were finally able to step out of the boat and make landfall, Kanna would stretch tall and then bend down to touch her toes. ”It’s always good to do a little stretching before going on a journey. Besides, this is the first time we’ve gotten fresh air in a couple days. Might as well make the most of it, wouldn’t you say?” The woman would smile at Jinno as she put her hands on her hips. Her cape slung over her elbows, opening up her cloak for the view of her stomach. Honestly, Kanna was in pretty good shape for someone that had only ever done servant labor before. Well, it must have been straining on the body, so it made sense that she would want to be in shape.

The duo would wander on to find the smoke stack that they had seen earlier. From where they were situated, they could still see it through the trees above them. Kanna would hold her eyes to the sky as she walked along thinking about all of the new possibilities. Jinno was taking her on her first scouting mission. It was finally time to show him that she could be useful for something! As she began to grow more excited, she seemed to notice that Jinno wasn’t beside her anymore and she had been walking much faster than him. At some point, the terrain had felt oddly bumpy before Kanna would see rope springing up beside her from all directions. ”Oh fu-“ Kanna would begin to say before a loud, girlish shriek would leave her mouth. A net large enough to hold more than one person would whisk her away into the air as Kanna bounced around once it hit the top. ”Jinno! What is this?! How do I get out?!” Her eyes would begin to water as she would panic at the enclosed space she was trapped in. Of course, it was wide open for the viewing, but it reminded her too much of the small broom closet that she would be locked in for punishment. Kanna would begin to hyperventilate at the idea of being stuck in a dark, enclosed space. ”J-jinno! Jinno. W-what do i do?!”

Jinno tied off the boat when they arrived, chuckling at Kanna’s antics as they finally made landfall. It felt like they’d been stuck out of sea for weeks. Though the comforts that this top-of-the-line vessel of theirs did help things he supposed. “Exactly right Kanna, couldn’t have said it better.” They walked along the beach out to a dirt path along the tree line. There were a few scattered buildings deeper in, old shacks or sheds that the fishermen would have used. Though with no boats and no other life, it was hard to tell. It had distracted him enough that he hadn’t noticed the trap before it was too late. Fortunately for the prince he had been far enough behind that the net missed, hauling his companion up to the sky.

The panic in her voice while stuck up in the net had him quickly evaluating what he might be able to do here. Too high to just cut the line, he looked to the gnarled old tree the snare had been rigged in. “Don’t worry! I’ll get you outta there.” Taking a quick grasp of a branch, Jinno recoiled at the sudden pain. With his hand withdrawn, he noted the surprisingly deep wound across his palm. With a slightly different angle he noticed the glint of blades embedded across the branches. He ignored it of course, deciding that climbing wasn’t going to work.

Instead, he took a few paces back, pausing to tear a strand of fabric from his sleeve to act as a makeshift bandage. “Alright, just… get ready!” He warned, though not exactly explaining his plan before he broke into a sprint toward the tree. Launching himself at some speed to rapidly ascend directly up the trunk. Every step tore bark from the sides until he reached the right height to spring through the air and utilize his sword to slice through the top of the net, releasing Kanna into the air.

Half his job complete, he had aimed to land among the branches in a tree opposite, allowing him to jump again to intercept and catch his falling friend and land back onto the path. Ending with the pair of them safe and sound, if perhaps a little shaken. He helped her back to her feet before finally taking a breather. “Alright… So there are traps. Better keep an eye out. That didn’t look like it was for animals though.” Once he found Kanna was settled, he moved onward to take the lead. Scanning for any other funny ropes along the way.

“Huh, what’s this.” As they passed further inland, they passed by another abandoned shack beside the road with a peculiar hat hanging from a hook on the side. “Looks like one of the ones from home.” It looked a little worn, though oddly of good quality. He turned it over a few times before putting it on. “What do you think?” It shaded his features giving the good natured Prince an almost ominious look, armed as he was. It was hard to really believe such a look seriously with the usual relaxed smile still etched in his features. “Might keep it, kind of reminds me of home.” What it was doing here wasn’t exactly clear, something to investigate when they got to the village.

Kanna would grab the sides of the net as she attempted to steady herself as it swung wildly from being slung up in the air. Jinno would call up to her that he would get her out of there, although she wasn't sure what he planned to do. She would try to calm herself as the she tossed and turned in the net. It would begin to slow the less she moved around, eventually enough that Kanna could breathe again. In her panic, she had managed to make herself light headed with the incredibly short breaths she had been taking.

However, it seemed that her adrenaline would soon kick in as Jinno called up to her to ready herself. "W-wait! Ready how?! Jinno!" Kanna would call out being unable to see him from her current position. Her eyes were facing the canopies of the trees unable to turn for fear that she might somehow hit the ground face first. From the sound of it, Kanna's eyes would open wide as she realized Jinno was ascending the trees quickly toward her. He would slice the net from the branches and Kanna would feel her stomach turn inside out as she began hurdling toward the ground screaming on the way.

However, half way down the prince would catch her miraculously landing on the path beneath them with Kanna tightly wrapping her arms around him. After a moment of being on the ground, Kanna would open one of her eyes as her feet would reach the ground and she would release the man. "Y-yeah. Sorry," Kanna would respond before she would dust herself off turning to Jinno slowly. "You know... you could warn me next time! How was 'get ready' supposed to help me! You're lucky that I like you, Jinno." Kanna would hold a slight growl in her throat as she spoke to the prince crossing her arms in front of her. A loud sigh would come from her mouth shortly after following along the path angrily.

Soon enough, they would run across an interesting find attached to a shack in the woods. Jinno would pick it up from the hook and put it on being his usual carefree self. He would ask Kanna how it looked as she glared at him only to break her serious look with a laugh. "Yeah. Looks good on you. You could almost be scary in that, if I didn't know you." Kanna would smile brightly as Jinno said he would keep the hat. "Yeah.. I can't wait to see it again. Home." The girl would say as they would continue their journey forward.

Jinno just chuckled, finding the talking to amusing mostly. Though he caught himself quickly enough to stay out of trouble. “Well it was a complicated plan! You seemed really eager to get out is all.” He shrugged in his own defence, fortunately the results spoke for themselves. In the end the prince determined silence would probably be his best bet to avoid enraging his comrade further still. He needed her focused after all.

“Scary huh? Who would be scared of me?” He tried to picture it, though was seemingly unable to comprehend it. His thoughts of intimidating hats were swiftly set aside at Kanna’s longing for home. “Yeah. It’ll be nice. And think of all the stories we’ll have to tell everyone.” Before this whole misadventure had begun, Jinno had wanted to go an explore outside of their home.

They travelled onward across the rough dirt path through the forest, avoiding further traps along a slowly rising hill. By the time the reached the peak, they were greeted with the cleared forest overlooking the town. Stretches of farmland spanning the outside all the way to a central wall that ringed the mining town at the centre. They could see the peaks of industry near the centre, before the sudden drop off into the centre of the impact where the mining was heaviest. It was also where they saw the first signs of trouble, the gates were clearly locked down and barricaded, with men patrolling the wall. “Guess it’s not the factories.” The prince frowned, motioning over to the opposite side of the crater. A hastily put together camp with a roaring fire was clear enough to see, though little else.

He motioned to follow the treeline, staying out of sight to circle around the area to get a better look. The closer they moved to the camp, the clearer the conflict around the area became. Most crops were overgrown if they hadn’t been burned, with patrols of occasional rowdy looking pirates scouring the area. They weren’t doing an awfully good job though, openly drinking as they stumbled about in their patrols. Jinno stopped them, finding some heavier tree cover to retreat into to plan. “So, I don’t think we’ll be bringing everyone else in just yet. I want to check out the camp, maybe we can help out the town. Do you think you could get the message to Arthur?” He was clearly considering storming these attackers alone.

"What do you mean?! You realize that nothing you do is remotely human, right? I think given the rright circumstances you could look plenty intimidating." Kanna would express rather loudly and confidently to prove the point that she was making. How did he not understand that he was terrifying in the right moment? He handed it to a captain of the Navy and never thought twice about it. Everything he did was insanely unnatural, but it always seemed to work out in his favor, which made it worse! For someone that was so confident in his own skill, he sure was dense at times or maybe just incredibly humble.

The conversation had switched to thoughts of home and what they would be able to tell their families. Kanna would smile remembering her mother and her spontaneous attitude. She was loyal to the house she served and was well respected by the other servants. It was a calm and peaceful place. Her grace and work ethic were nothing to laugh at. However, she could also be very kind and protective. Her laugh was contagious as was her smile. When it came to Kanna, she was mischievous, playful, and loving. Her mother was always supportive of her friendship with Jinno, but would scold them both without relent, if she needed to even if he was a prince. She was probably worried sick about her child and would more than likely do whatever it took to see her again. Kanna felt the same way. "I'm sure they'll faint hearing what we've been through," the girl would snicker at the thought of her poor mother having to hear her tale.

As the duo walked along, Kanna would double check that everything she had on her previously was still attached to her person. Thankfully, she hadn't lost anything and she was exceptionally careful at looking for other traps along the path. They would come to the opening overlooking the town. It was a very serene sight, until Kanna caught site of the mining walls. They surrounded a large area with a huge drop off in the center overlooking hundreds of miners barricaded in armed guards. What was happening here? Were they locked in or was something locked out? The idea would create a tightness in her chest and the thought of saving this island in her mind.

The two of them would move closer to the camp that could be seen from across the land. However, it soon became clear that this place was overrun by scummy pirates that only wanted to loot and capture slaves. They were despicable and incredibly ill mannered. Jinno would direct them into a tree to plan their next steps accordingly. Although, it was obvious that Kanna didn't seem to like Jinno's plan as her lips would poke out in an annoyed manner. "You told Arthur not to come in until we gave the signal and I know he will do everything in his power to keep the others on the ship until then. I'm not leaving you on your own to be some messenger girl. I'm here to help you, so that's what I'm going to do. I'm not leaving you alone Jinnosuke." Kanna would speak with a stern tone and a glare in her eyes. It was obvious that she wasn't going anywhere.

“Well… Okay, but it’s not like I’m trying to scare people!” Jinno sometimes did forget how he might appear outside of his rather small circle of companions. “Surely there was a nicer way you could have put it though.” He shrugged it off, deciding she was only telling the truth after all. Besides there were better things to think of at a time like this. Like the family that was waiting for them.

“I’m not looking forward to the talking to.” He chuckled in response. The prince was sure they’d be happy to see them home safe, though it was never easy to tell how his father might react to the situation. He was sure a lecture was in store from him as well. That and his siblings were rarely happy to see him, as one sided as those rivalries had been.

The walled mining town seemed relatively safe on the inside, at least what they could see of it. Perhaps more run down than it usually might be, but nothing particularly violent happening on the inside. He paused his surveillance while Kanna explained she wasn’t going to be going anywhere. He sighed, thinking over his options.

“Alright, but you still aren’t trained with that thing.” He motioned to her new sword “So we’ll change our plans a little.” In truth, his intentions were going to be rather direct, but he couldn’t put Kanna in danger of outright conflict like that. “We’re going to get into the town. Has to be a gap in the walls somewhere. Looks like those pirates are trying to starve them out… Maybe we can help break it.” It was a slightly safer plan, though only just. The town before them seemed pretty well defended, surely if there was a gap somewhere the pirates would have found it.

“There didn’t look like there were that many, I think we could convince them to take the offensive.” He had some training when it came to battlefield tactics. It wasn’t something that the prince had ever taken all too seriously, but in times like this there was more to it than just swinging a sword. “What do you think?”

Kanna would smile before halting her initial excitement at Jinno saying she could stay. She would look down to her weapon before nodding in agreeance that she had no idea what she was doing. Jinno would describe the plan to Kanna as she would pretend to know what it was they were doing. "Right, but if they know where the hole is... won't the hole be really guarded? They won't just let us slip right in, so doesn't that kind of like.. conflict with the plan?" The woman would tilt her head as she peered over at the wall. The pirates reminded her of cockroaches.

Jinno would continue to explain what he was thinking, but Kanna didn't quite understand why he wanted to do the things he said. "Uhm.. I don't get it. You want them to attack us? I thought you didn't want me to fight. How am I supposed to defend?" It seemed that Kanna had taken to overthinking again, but would quickly swat the air at her thoughts. "You know what... you go and I will just follow. I'm sure I can figure it out."