So, first things first.
I was inspired to write this by Twelve Red Lines by Vikingr and This Bites by Xomniac. If you don't know these and are a fan of One Piece, I highly recommend you stop wasting your time with my story and check them out.
This is just an amalgamation of boredom and that whimsical mood of mine and mostly for my own entertainment. English is not my native language, therefore objective critiscism is highly requested.
I do not own anything in this story except my original characters and plot. Any similarities to stories and ideas other than one piece are entirely unintentional, except ideas I really like and want to pay homage to - of course entirely selfwritten and only following the general idea; thanks for understanding.
I may or may not go back to earlier chapters at a later date and change some things, you have been warned.
Without further ado:
Chapter 1
Waves crashed constantly against the side of the boat I was currently lying in and. The sky was, fortunately, a clear blue which was a very rare occurrence in this area of the sea, to be honest.
Currently, I was in the middle of a staring contest with a very particular fruit. I stared at its purple form trembling unintentionally from time to time. I remembered, couldn't forget. Various scenes flashed before my eyes; events that resulted in me being stranded in the unpredictable weather of the Grand Line…
The fruit had very unique shape, it mesmerized me, sucked me into it's world of strange lines and shapes; there was a very curvy line on the fruit which reminded me a little of a clover – I never found one with four leaves, never before...
We continued our standoff for an amount of time that could have been an eternity. It didn't talk to me and I was glad for that.
The fruit was the last edible thing I had, but I couldn't yet decide, if eating it would help me in my current predicament. I would be dying soon anyway, I was hot and couldn't move very well, my vision swam and every breath I took send sharp needles of pain through my whole body.
It was the last fish I managed to catch, I dove into the sea – disregarding the danger of losing the boat – and ate it raw. I wasn't able to start a fire without burning the boat, after all. It was juicy sweet… and disgusting. Only later did I notice that it was probably poisonous.
Suddenly, the sky darkened – I must have lost consciousness without realizing… or not, because now a gigantic seahorse towered above me, sniffing heavily and focusing it's attention on my little boat.
It took me by surprise and without thinking, I made a quick decision on the spot, more instinct than anything else: I swallowed the strange fruit whole. A very bad idea, I realized a few seconds later when I registered the awful taste. It took everything, just to hold it in and swallow, I even felt my tongue going numb.
Nevertheless, as bad as the fruit tasted, it still gave me strength, just by having eaten something halfway edible. I felt a semblance of strength suddenly rush into me and stood up. I was a little shaken and staggered, but it was good enough – I could stand again.
The seahorse licked it's lips and attacked.
I weakly pointed out with my index finger and felt something erupt, something deep in me, a mysterious power, that wasn't there before shot out of my finger and a pale pink beam consisting of circles inundated the seahorse which promptly slowed down to half its original speed.
I drew my cutlass, jumped up at the monstrous sea creature and delivered several cuts, punches and kicks right in its eyes. Just before 30 seconds were up I got back in my little boat, grabbed the rudders and rowed out of there as fast as I could.
The bloodcurdling roar it gave off when all my attacks hit at the same time gave me goosebumps. I looked back and saw it diving back underwater, creating a huge wave in the process.
"Shit!", I exclaimed before the masses of water reached me and flung my boat through the air like a toy. The boat burst apart and I watched in horror as the glittering surface of the ocean appeared nearer and nearer.
Suddenly, I remembered the devil fruit I just ate, shot a beam at the ocean… and crashed headfirst against what felt like solid rock – the water was slowed down and didn't budge in the slightest, or at least it was much slower in doing that than it should, for 30 seconds, I remembered...
before I lost consciousness.
Xxx
I awoke to the sound of a shanty I didn't know which prompted me to drowsily open my eyes. There were three other people around and one of them noticed that I was awake. He had black, short hair and wore only ripped shorts and a pirate hat. He had blue eyes and a toned, streamlined body, littered with white scars on some places. He grinned and tipped his hat.
"Hey, guys. The newcomer is awake."
They all stopped their crappy singing and turned to me in expectation.
"Welcome on board the Drifting Pirates, mate", spoke the guy again. "I'm Anscom Paley, the captain." He walked up to me and patted me on the back. "It's a pleasure meeting our new helmsman. Right, guys?"
The others nodded weakly. They looked considerably weary, no wonder, considering that, as I noticed only now, we were all just drifting along the sea currents on what looked to be a piece of the hull of a considerably large ship.
But wait, helmsman?
"I don't want to be on your crew, shit-hat."
"Well,",he replied, "that's fortunately not up to you. After all, I am the captain and have the final say, if one of my crew wants to leave."
"But-"
Without a moments notice, one of the others, a mermaid, spat in my face.
"Give up, dead weight."
She scowled at me and before I even realized, I had planted my foot right in her pretty face.
"What the fuck, spitting a stranger in the face. Apologize thi-", I said, shouted almost. She growled suddenly, grabbed my leg with both hands and twisted. Next thing I knew, I was in the air and my leg hurt like hell.
Then she was above me.
"Fishman Karate: Mermaid Fin Kick!"
She slammed her fins into my guts, pressing the air out of my lungs. With a heavy thud, my descend was stopped by the driftwood, splinters were digging in my skin. I opened my eyes and could make her form out, plunging towards me again with a fucking pissed expression.
But she was picked out of the air, before she could reach me and held tightly by another woman that stepped in my sight.
"Nice to meet you.", said the woman of about 20 years with long black hair and a long, barbed spear on her back. Her clothes were ripped and dirty as well with the exception of a black and blue mantle on her shoulders.
"I'm Arlin Xix."
"My first mate.", butted Anscom in. Arlin looked upset for a moment, but then sighed and said:
"Hahh, yes I am the first mate of this crew.", and sat down, with a defeated look on her face, still with the mermaid hugged between her ample breasts.
The following silence was only disturbed by me coughing and desperate heaving, but it gave me fortunately time to catch my breath.
Arlin whispered something to the mermaid and then released her. The mermaid calmed down, but still showed me her middle finger, which turned into a thumps up and a forced smile as soon as she glanced at the captain who was currently whistling the shanty from before in such a way that I feared that atop the injuries I already had there would also be ear cancer.
Then, the mermaid, clad in beautiful red scales and a stylish purple hairdo, spoke up happily. "I am Meriel, the navigator of the great drifting pirates." Anscom shot her an approving look and a thumbs up. She grinned at him in turn.
"Welcome on the crew that will one day even surpass the Yonkou.", she exclaimed, hugged me briefly and whispered in my ear:
"Something like this again, and I'll kill you!"
It seemed like the captain of this – I coughed in my hand, leaving a trace of blood on them – shitty captain didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, because he was already studying me with interest.
"So, what's your name, mate?"
I looked at each of them, carefully. They looked ransacked and were, like me, sunburned from an unknown amount of weeks on open sea without cover. They were, however, not nearly as emaciated as I was. Where my skin stretched over bones, theirs stretched over healthy muscles and flesh.
I was faintly able to tell that, even if I were at my peak, I wouldn't be able to take any of them easily.
I sighed, I had no strength left to argue.
"You can call me Eadon. I am, as our captain so readily decided, the new helmsman of our crew."
I smiled.
They flinched back.
"Boah, mate. What's up with that freaky smile?", asked the captain.
I smiled weakly. This time only Meriel and Arlin flinched.
"That's just how I smile. I suggest you get over it quickly, if you want to be in the crew with me for any amount of time."
I let that sink in and changed the topic.
"So… do you have any food?"
I held my skeletal hands up.
"As you can see, right now, I am kept alive almost entirely by willpower. I would appreciate something to fill my stomach. After all", I glanced meaningfully at the captain, "A captain wouldn't let his crew starve to death, or would he?"
Anscom paused for a moment and then burst into laughter.
"Of course, of course."
He laughed again.
"Arlin!", he commandet.
Arlin, sighed, stood up, licked the blade of the spear and got in a stance, aiming at the ocean.
"Ibar!"
She threw it with such force that the driftwood we were on almost capsized. The spear sang eagerly– a sound that gave me the creeps – as it ripped through the water surface and vanished in the depths of the sea.
Surprised, my gaze wandered over to Arlin, but she just stood there, eyes closed and calm as one can be. Suddenly she opened her eyes.
"Athibar!", her voice rolled over the sea like a galloping horse.
I watched the place where the spear disappeared expectantly and, sure enough, a few seconds later the spear shot out of the water with a velocity as great as when it was thrown and splashed us with water as it broke through the surface of the ocean again.
This time, however, it was stuck in the skull of a giant seahorse, dragging it onto our driftwood.
Alrin grabbed her spear, forced it out of the sea creature and slung it over her back again. There was no blood escaping the wound; I watched with horror how the last blood drops vanished inside the blade of the spear. It released an – I didn't have better words to describe it – aura o-of wrongness that gave me the creeps.
Alrin noticed my gaze and told me helpfully: "It's a cursed spear." I wanted to throw up… , but her proudly glittering eyes helped me suppress that urge. "Really, that's so cool!" I exclaimed exuberantly while regarding the creepy thing with an amazed look; I swear I felt a wave of malice directly targeted at me from that thing when I said that.
Alrins eyes turned cold. "I don't like being lied at. I ask of you that you're at least honest with me." Then she turned around and didn't bother with me again.
"No, no, you've got it all wrong, I really like your spear and-"
"Fishman Karate: Mermaid Chop."
"Ugh..." Only barely could I cling to consciousness, holding my head while tears streamed down my cheeks.
"Quit your babbling, you fucking #$%&$. It doesn't work." I focused on one of the Meriels and hoped it was the right one. My head hurt, my foot hurt, I was starved and parched and my tongue was still numb from that disgusting fruit; I couldn't bring myself to feel anger anymore. The only feeling I had left was apathy.
"That creepy weapon can sense strong feelings. If you feel fear or disgust while praising it, then of course she's gonna know that you lied, dumbass." With a snort, she too turned away and struck up a conversation with Alrin.
An unidentifiable thing dropped suddenly on the ground before me.
"Here's your food, mate. The best sushi in the surrounding area." I eyed the slimy piece of fish and wondered if it was poisonous.
"T-thanks, capt'n" I took a huge bite; it was still food, after all and I couldn't not eat something without dying – no matter how slimy the consistency was. It tasted surprisingly neutral.
"Well, good thing you get along so well with the rest of the crew." He laughed uproariously.
I eyed the fish again as apathy turned slowly into something else.
The poison was hopefully a little more powerful this time.
