Chapter One: Mihawk's Apprentice
Waves crash against the small boat and shift it slightly from side to side, the rocking almost soothing. The faint sounds of yelling are off in the distance, all male and rowdy at that. The candles surrounding us burn with a menacing and ghostly green.
My hand rests on the dark blue sheath of my treasured sword. A dark haze covers us in secrecy as we sail toward the sounds of the struggle ahead. I glance casually over my shoulder at the man behind me, his amber eyes are acute yet lifeless and stare forward into the fog.
"Sensei," My voice brings his piercing eyes to me. "Are we heading toward Don Krieg's ship again?" He gives me a small nod and his eyes flick back forward, never one for conversation. As the haze finally clears around us, we near a ship that I easily recognize as Krieg's.
My sensei stands and nonchalantly swipes his sword up, cutting the ship cleanly in half. I look away and sigh, my face covered with nothing but boredom as he places the blade back in its rightful place
'After half a year, honestly, this all gets boring.'
Shouts from the still battered pirates alert everyone to us and bring me from my thoughts.
"Don Krieg! They followed us!" I sigh once more and scowl at the men, who glare back in retaliation.
"Damn you, you bastards!" One yelled as he pulled two guns from their holsters pocket, aiming them at us. "What! Do you hate us so much that you have to chase us down?"
Sensei merely tilted his head slightly toward the pirate, one eye shadowed from his plumed hat, "I'm merely wasting my spare time." He replied with simplicity.
"Die!" The man screamed, firing several bullets toward us. Sensei suddenly grabbed the handle of his sword and I watched his hand tense just the slightest.
"I see…" The amber-eyed man muttered before once more using his weapon. I observed with mental amusement as the pirate fired a few more bullets and my sensei merely changed their trajectory away from us with the sharp tip of his black sword.
After the pirate gave up, a defeated look on his face, another yell rang out and drew my attention towards a floating restaurant that resembled a fish.
"Look! It's Roronoa Zoro, the Santoryuu user!" I blinked several times, looking for this man instantly. Sensei and I had heard of him a few times in taverns. He was the famed 'Pirate Hunter' and apparently a devil of a man.
So naturally, this sparked my interest.
An older teenager, with a black bandana over his bright green hair, stood some yards away on a buoyant piece of Kreig's ship. My eyes landed on his swords, three in all.
One in each hand and one in his mouth.
'Ahh, so this is the famed Roronoa. This might be a little interesting.'
He glared at the two of us and I raised an eyebrow in curiosity. Sensei gazed at me and nodded, jumping over to where the man stood. I followed and stood off to the side, my face blank as I took in his stance and quickly judged how long this would take.
'Maybe ten, no five minutes...but then again, he is a user of Santoryuu. The Pirate Hunter might make this interesting.'
"Pitiful, wretched weakling," Sensei began, taking me from prejudicial thoughts. "If you fancy yourself a swordsman, there is no need for us to cross blades. I shall divine the difference in our strengths by eye. I see you may be a tad stronger than my student-"
"Sensei!" Yelling in slight surprise, I glared at the man.
"Hush, Arcelia." I was silenced immediately and looked at Roronoa, who cast a glance in my direction. From what I could tell sizing me up with his dark green eyes. I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest, choosing to stare off into the distance. "Does the bravery to stand before me with blade in hand come from your heart? Or your friends?" He nodded toward the restaurant where a diverse group of people stood off at the entrance. "Or from simple ignorance?"
"My ambition." Roronoa replied, his words muffled just the slightest by the sword in his mouth. "And a promise to an old friend."
"Ambition...and a promise?" A smirk formed over my lips. "You certainly are different from the others, Roronoa."
"I actually didn't expect to meet you this quickly." The green-haired man stated, dismissing my comment.
"Then it's a waste really." Sensei sharply voiced.
"No one can match Aniki!" Someone cried out with pride.
I gazed over the area and landed on a man with a long green coat and a wide katana strapped to his back. I scowled and caught his gaze; he shrunk back and quieted immediately.
Sensei reached for his cross necklace and removed the bottom peg, revealing a hidden dagger no longer than his middle finger. I couldn't help but sigh.
'So he thinks that lowly of him...'
"What are you going to do with that?" Roronoa questioned him, eyes narrowed.
"I am not a rabid beast who needs all of his power to hunt rabbits," Sensei retorted in a bored tone. "You may fancy yourself a renowned swordsman, but of the four seas divided by the Grand Line and its fellow Red Line, the East Blue is the weakest of them all. Unfortunately for you, I'm not carrying any knives smaller than this."
My eyes widened the slightest, watching as he toyed with Roronoa. It was surprising in the least. With most challengers, he either quickly fought and defeated them, dismissed them, or let me handle them.
Never had he teased a swordsman. But then again, we had never met a swordsman like Roronoa.
"Why don't you give the insults a rest for once?" The older teen yelled in obvious annoyance. "Just don't be upset when you're dead!" He charged at Sensei, blades glinting in the summer rays.
"Listen to the frog in the well." Sensei mocked, unmoving. "You must learn the world is larger than you think!"
"Onigiri!" Zoro crossed his arms, still charging as he gained momentum for his attack. At the moment when he was about to strike Sensei with all three swords, they were all stopped by his knife.
"He stopped Aniki's Onigiri!" Another man with brown hair and sunglasses screamed as if the impossible had happened.
"That move blows away his opponents all the time!" The other one from earlier explained just as loudly.
"What are you doing, Aniki? Show him your real power!" The brown haired man yelled once more.
I watched as Roronoa struggled to move forward, determination glowing in his eyes.
"What burdens you?" Sensei cried, his words resounding across the area as he easily fended Zoro off. "What is it you see at the pinnacle of your strength, weak one?"
"Did you say Aniki was weak, you freak?" The two men cried, about to jump over the railing and to my mocking sensei. However, their heads were slammed into the deck of the restaurant by a teen in a red vest.
"Don't get involved!" The straw-hat boy shouted at them, holding them down. My eyes widened in surprise, as he seemed to shake in anger at the sight of Sensei holding off Roronoa so easily. "Just hold it in!"
"Toragari!" Roronoa backed off and stood tall, his two black-hilted swords held over the white one clutched in his mouth, as he began his second named attack.
The green-haired man charged towards Sensei and I watched as his arm shifted just the slightest to the right.
'He's making sure he doesn't hit his heart...'
In a split second, the knife was thrust straight into Roronoa's chest.
"Aniki!" The rather vocal duo screamed from under the vested boy's grasp. Roronoa's white shirt began to flourish with a deep crimson and his blood dripped quietly to the broken deck below.
Everything seemed to stop all at once for me as I gazed upon the standstill. If either made a move in the wrong direction, the young man would be dead.
'He's leaving too many spots open. And Sensei can see right through those.'
"Do you wish for this to go through your heart? Why don't you pull back?" My sensei asked Roronoa, his voice calm and even.
"I don't know." Roronoa replied, exhaustion clear as day. He kept a firm grip on his swords, unmoving and determined. "If I take even one single step back, I feel like I will have broken my oath to my friend. One I have held until now. And it will mean-"
"Yes, your defeat." Sensei said in a simple monotone, interrupting him.
"And that's why I can't step back" Roronoa said with a weak laugh, glancing up at the hawk-eyed man.
I took a step towards the two, a look of pure curiosity etched across my face.
"Even...even if you should die, swordsman?" He looked at me, a smirk on his face.
"I would welcome death!" Roronoa exclaimed proudly, his gaze never tearing away from mine.
'He would welcome death? At a point like this?'
Sensei seemed to nod to himself before he slid the dagger from the man's chest, blood covering it to the hilt.
"Your name, boy. What is it?" He asked Roronoa as he put the dagger back in its respectable place on his necklace.
"Roronoa Zoro." He replied as his swords began moving in a windmill motion.
"I shall remember that name." Sensei said as he removed his sword from his back and held it out in front of him, pointing it directly at Roronoa. "I have not seen someone with your strength in some time. And with the courtesy of a swordsman, I will sink you with my ebony blade, the strongest in the world!" He said loudly and in a proud voice.
I took a step back, my breath hitched in my throat.
'This is the end. Roronoa...he's going to lose. I know it.'
"That's the one he cut our ship with...!" A man from the long-forgotten ship called.
"Aniki, that's enough! Don't do it!"
"Santoryuu Secret Attack!" They charged at each other with everything they had. "San-Zen-Se-Kai!"
The two swordsmen clashed, speeding past each other. I could tell with ease that Sensei was unharmed. Roronoa, on the other hand, was most certainly injured. With a quick snap, the two swords in his hands cracked and fell to the ground; his white one was still intact somehow.
Red filled the air as blood spurted from the large slash on his chest. Roronoa staggered slightly before he turned to Sensei, his arms stretched out wide.
"What are you doing?" The older man asked, confused by the green-haired swordsman's actions.
"A wound to the back…is a swordsman's shame" He replied, his breaths shallow once again as he gasped for air.
"Admirable." He said before delivering the last and ultimately final blow.
I watched as Roronoa fell backward into the water, scarlet rising to the surface. Seconds later, the loud duo dived into the sea to retrieve the defeated swordsman.
I sighed and walked up to Sensei, standing at his right side as per usual. He put his sword back and as turned to a small boat where Roronoa was being moved.
"He is...different from the others." I murmured, bringing Sensei's gaze to myself.
"You say that as if you were never the same." He replied, a loud yell following his words. Before I knew what was happening, I was pushed backwards and a pair of hands shot through where I was previously standing.
The same pair of hands grabbed onto a broken railing and the straw-hat boy followed through with them. He crashed and seconds later, was standing. He hurriedly dusted himself off before he glared at us. Sensei brushed him off and turned toward the boat that housed Roronoa.
"My name is Dracule Mihawk!" He shouted. "It is too soon for you to die! Know yourself! Know the world! Become strong, Roronoa! As the strongest, I will wait years to fight you if need be! Take your will, brave one and use it to surpass my blade! Surpass me, Roronoa!"
I frowned at Sensei's words. They sounded so oddly familiar.
'Now I remember…'
~Flashback~
I glared up at Mihawk from my spot on the street. My blood pooled underneath me, trailing from the many gashes and cuts along my body.
"Your skills are impressive for one of your age. If you are still stubborn and strong-willed enough, then I shall teach you to become better. That strong will of yours will help you surpass me someday. Surpass my blade, and then yours will be the strongest in the world. Try to surpass me. I know you can surpass me, Arcelia!"
I merely stared at him, trying to regain my breath.
"Become your…student?" I asked in surprise, my eyes wide.
"Yes, Arcelia. I shall teach you the ways of the strongest in the world."
A loud and prominent voice, Roronoa's, brought me from my thoughts. I glanced over in his direction, eyebrow raised.
"From this point on, I will not lose again! Until I defeat him and become the strongest. I will not lose again! Is that alright…King of the Pirates?" He held his sword high in the air, the metal glinting brightly in the sunlight.
"Yep." The boy, apparently this so-called 'Pirate King', replied happily.
A hand on my shoulder deterred my gaze from the scene and I glanced over my shoulder at the hand's owner.
"I'm leaving." He stated in his normal emotionless voice. I nodded and began walking towards the ship. "You're not coming with me." I stopped instantly, turning on my heels to face Sensei.
"Why not?" I frowned, questioning him.
"Your lessons end here. I have taught you well. So go on into the world. See everything you have yet to see. Experience everything you have yet to experience. Travel alongside Roronoa. You two are quite similar. You both have immense strength backed up by a strong and unbroken will."
His words caused my frown to deepen.
"I don't want to travel with him. I don't know him. I want to travel with you. My lessons aren't over until I can defeat you! And since I can't, you aren't going to leave me behind!" I stomped my foot childishly and Sensei took this as his turn to frown.
"You are not to travel with me, Arcelia, and that is final." I ignored his words and continued toward the boat. I heard him sigh and I glanced over my shoulder, watching as his hand tightened around the hilt of his sword.
"What are you...?" My brows furrowed in confusion.
"Must I add another scar?" He simply asked. I instantly reached for my sword.
"I'm not afraid anymore." Pulling the blade from its sheath, I faced Sensei.
"Is that so?" The next second was a blur as Sensei removed his sword once again and swung at me. A sharp noise rang through the air as our swords met. I leaned forward, a scowl on my face.
"I was never any trouble and handled myself just fine." I jumped back and into the air, swinging my sword down towards his head. He deflected it with ease and pushed me away before he swung at me. I gasped and flipped back, dodging the sharp edge of the blade. "Just let me stay with you!"
"You must travel with others. Start an adventure of your own. I have seen it in your eyes. Traveling along side me has gotten boring. You cannot hide it, Arcelia!" He yelled, his sword a blur as it slashed the side of my arm.
I winced, jumping back several yards to recover for a second. Taking in a deep breath, I gripped the hilt as my sword tightly and charged forward.
"I don't care! I don't know these people! I can't trust them and you know that!" I screamed, swinging rapidly at him.
Sensei swung at me just once and the fight stopped immediately as red splattered to the wood below. I bit my bottom lip, dropping my sword as I looked down at the wound. The coal-black blade was deep in my side, unmoving and ice cold. I watched as my own blood casually slid down it and to the ground in droplets.
"My point exactly. Learn to trust others. Learn the world for what it is and not for what you believe it to be. I will leave and so will you. However, we shall not leave together. You have a journey to begin. Understand?"
"Yes, Sensei." I nodded slowly and he removed his sword from my body with little trouble. I shuffled to the boat, snatching up my tattered black backpack. "Well, Mihawk."
"Remember now. Only two people in this world have a chance becoming the world's best swordsman. Those two are you and Roronoa. Surpass him, Arcelia. And then you shall surpass me."
And with that, he left. I sighed, blood dripping down my arm and side, staining the fabric of my shirt a bright red. My eyes wandered the area before it landed on the ship where Roronoa lay injured. Nodding to myself, I jumped the distance from the wreckage to the now departing boat. I landed on the edge with a slight thump.
The three glanced up at me while I gazed down at the soaked cloth stuck in Roronoa's chest. They were all stained ruby-red and more was dripping down the sides of his bare chest. I jumped down, hiding my wince as best I could, and cast my bag to the side.
"Do you guys need help?" I asked, motioning to the green-haired man. The two uninjured ones, a brown-haired man and a boy with a rather long nose, backed away from me. "You don't trust me, do you?" They nodded as we continued to sail along on a random current.
"W-why a-are you h-here?" The long-nosed boy said, stuttering on almost every word. I simply shrugged.
"Se- Mihawk said I couldn't travel with him anymore. He said I should try traveling with Roronoa." I replied, crouching at the front of the boat.
"S-so you j-just decided to follow us?" I nodded, noticing his stutters were growing fewer.
"Are you going to hurt us?" The brown haired one asked, leaning away from me. I shrugged. "What do you mean you don't know?"
"If you hurt me, I'll hurt you." I replied. My gaze shifted back to Roronoa. "You can ask me anything later. He needs to be stitched up now." I moved next to Roronoa and began removing the wet, bloody clumps of cloth in his deep chest wound. Blood began to flow freely and I was handed a few strips of clean fabric.
"What's your name?" One of them asked me.
"Arcelia." I replied.
"And you're a swordsman…or swordsgirl, I guess?" I nodded. "Who was trained under Mihawk?" Another nod.
"So what are your names?" I asked as the bleeding died down the slightest.
"I'm Johnny." The brown haired man said while in some pose. I turned to the other one, the long-nosed boy, waiting for a reply.
"I'm the great Captain Usopp, brave warrior of the sea with 5,000 men under his command." I looked around with a raised eyebrow.
"Where are they? I don't see an armada or any sort of army. Just you and your shaking legs." Usopp's legs continued to wobble back and forth until he sat down in defeat.
I turned back to Roronoa, his eyes were closed and his breaths were pained. I frowned and looked at them, forgetting my own wounds for the moment.
"It's time to stitch him up."
Working on major revisions and such.
Review please.
With a heart that shines darker than night,
- your favorite princess