Chapter 2: An Island for Training


"Have you found the Devil Fruits?" The captain asked the marines. The marines shirked back in fear. They had been unable to find either of the Devil Fruits they had come for. Not only that, but they had killed all the people on Haven Island, meaning that there was no one to interrogate. Unfortunately, for one marine, he had to report the news to his captain.

"Captain, we were unable to find either of the Devil Fruits." He gulped audibly when his captain turned to look at him. The captain pulled out a pistol and pointed it right at the marine. The marine was nearly peeing himself with fright.

"Then go and interrogate and islander. We must retrieve those stolen Devil Fruits." The marine was really scared now. He had to tell his captain that they killed everyone as well. The marine peed himself with fright.

"We... killed them all, sir." The captain pulled the trigger, shooting the marine on the spot. The marine felt to the ground, dead. This captain was the youngest captain in the marines, exceptionally talented, and had connections. The captain moved towards the rest of the marines and holstered the gun. The captain struck an imposing figure, despite the captain's relatively small size. Fear was necessary to control these men, but killing them all would solve nothing. Leave it to the marines to give this captain the hardest marine crew to manage.

"I'm disgusted with your behavior. We are marines, not monsters. Do you think the word 'Justice' is a joke? We were here to secure the fruits by terrifying the people with cannon shots from afar, and then raid the island for it. I did not give any orders to kill them all. We cannot afford to let both the Paramecia and Logia fruit fall into the wrong hands, but that does not justify murdering an island with children who had not known the pirate life and especially murdering the wife of one our superiors. You men are lucky that I do not leave all of you to die in the Calm Belt. However, you will all be held responsible for disobeying my orders." The marines were terrified now. They knew nothing would happen to their captain, for their captain was very well acquainted with the higher-ups and would only get a small slap on the wrist for what happened.

But, as for the marines that went overboard...

Their fate was sealed.

"Captain, why are these particular Devil Fruits so important?" The captain looked at the marine who spoke. The marine was frozen by the coldness he felt in the eyes of his captain. Eyes that would rest well at night if he died right then. The marine felt worthless in the eyes of his captain, so great was the captain's fury.

"They are extremely powerful and dangerous. We do not know how they were stolen, but, in the wrong hands, millions could die. I swore on my name, Naoto Shirogane, to retrieve them at all costs. And, given the fact that they have not been found yet, they most likely have ended up in the wrong hands. The Devil Fruits have left the island."

"Sir, there's one other thing. Two boats have gone missing. One was one of the island's boats that our sources told us of, but the other was one of ours. It was one of the smaller boats we used to bring our men to the island. We found the remains of several of our men near each area."

"Remains?!"


The blue-haired teen smiled as he relaxed in his boat. The gentle lulls of the waves were rocking him to sleep. He would let the ocean decide his fate. Then, he would begin his journey. Thinking back to earlier, he was quite happy that the fruit worked when it did. He was told these things sometimes have a delay on them. He was lucky to have consumed it the previous day. However, now he was content. The fruits had gone to the right people.

"I'm going to be the Pirate King. Perhaps then, our paths will cross again... Yu."


"Welcome to the Velvet Room."

Yu and Yosuke had managed to get away rather easily on their boat. It was a small hard to notice boat. Most of the marines were having still busy on the island (looting and making sure everyone was dead and whatnot) as they slipped out and into the open sea. The two newbie pirates sailed off until they were a good distance away from the island. Then they decided to finally rest and go to sleep. They decided on a plan to switch off sleeping. It turned out Yosuke did know how to keep a ship on course, but that was the full extent of his knowledge. Yu made sure everything was set up for Yosuke before he went to sleep. If Yosuke had any problems, he could wake Yu up.

Then Yu somehow ended up here.

He was on the deck of a large ship. A more expensive looking, spacious boat than his little glorified dingy. Really, it was a small boat. Yosuke insisted it was a sloop, but Yu believed it did not really deserve to be called a sloop. It was insulting to this nice ship. The boat was blue and the sails appeared to be made of Velvet, an odd material for sails. Where they were going, Yu did not know. When he looked off the sides of the ship, he saw only stars. Was this a ship that sailed the "ocean of stars"?

Yu looked to the voice that had spoken to him. A strange, long-nosed, smiling old man sat on a couch on front of the helm. The old man had a black, tri-cornered hat as well as a long coat made of blue velvet hung over his shoulders. He seemed to be wearing a business suit underneath the coat. There was also a golden-haired woman beside the man who was dressed as a pirate as well, having a bandana and whatnot to prove it. She seemed uncomfortable in the clothes, if her stern face was any indication. The wheel was turning on its own. Yu walked towards the helm, climbing the stairs to get there.

"What is the Velvet Room? And who are you?" He asked once he reached the helm. The old man turned towards him, smiling creepily. Yu had strange dreams before, but this was just bizarre. It was more bizarre than the soda dream. Yu shivered as he remembered it. Perhaps not as bad as the soda dream. It was not... a sane dream.

"I am Igor, and this is Margaret. This is a place between the realms of the unconscious and subconscious. Just as man originally ate the fruit of knowledge, so too did you. You have formed a contract with this place, at the price of a weakness to the sea. The power you wield is known as Persona, as I'm sure you already know. This contract shall provide you with the means to achieve your goal. Part of that is your current power. However, there is so much more for you to unlock and understand. Time will be your friend, as you grow stronger and slowly begin to understand your own power. This is just a meeting to greet you and inform you of your current status." Igor said calmly, smiling all the while.

"So... you just decided to say hello? Well, hello. I'm Yu. I will be your Devil Fruit user until I die horribly or something else occurs. I guess this Devil Fruit I ate is just full of surprises."

"You don't know the half of it."

Igor and Margaret just smiled knowingly as the world faded before his eyes. His meeting was over. They had delivered their welcoming message. He would not see them again for a while.


One Week Later


"Yu?"

"Yes?"

"You said you could sail a boat, right?"

"Of course I can. What do you take me for? What kind of a good-for-nothing pirate captain can't sail his own boat?"

"Then... where are we?"

Yu took out a telescope he had found amidst the ship's supplies. He extended it and looked through it while keeping one hand on the wheel. They were surrounded by an endless blue sea. Their boat was a small, one-mast boat with, oddly enough, a wheel. It had enough supplies for one week when they initially took it. It should have been long enough to get to the next island. However, they had not seen any sight of land for a while. Yu had insisted on sailing the boat himself. After all, Yosuke couldn't operate the mast or anything due to his lack of sailing skill. Yosuke was having some reservations about that choice, however. Yu retracted the telescope and put it in his jacket pocket. He was currently wearing clothes he had found on the ship. They were a bit big, but he would grow into them. They consisted of black slacks, brown dress shoes (it was rather odd), a white collared shirt, and a black, long sleeved, button-down jacket with a patterned collar. Yu found it rather stylish and choose to unbutton the jacket to look more "roguish" as he described it. Yosuke found a similar outfit in storage for him, but he thought it made him look like a schoolboy and decided to continue to wear the same clothes he had at the island.

For a week.

The smell was awful. Yu had managed to barely stop himself from throwing Yosuke in the ocean so far. He promised to himself that he'd do it eventually, though.

"We are on the ocean." Yu replied blandly. Yosuke's eyebrow twitched. Yu was not the most exciting person and he hated to admit when he was wrong. That much Yosuke had been able to gather from their first couple of days together. He had to be very specific when he asked Yu a question. Because Yu was also a bit of a smartass.

"No, Yu. Where are we in relation to the next island?" Yosuke asked hoping that Yu wasn't going to say what he thought he would. Yosuke was a carefree, happy person (in his own opinion), but he there were some things that just irritated him. Things such as Yu not giving any straight answer or not admitting he was lost. Yu stared at Yosuke. Yosuke stared back. The staring contest continued for a minute before Yu sharply and silently turned his head back to the front of the ship, staring ahead as if nothing ever happened. He continued to steer the then he spoke in a monotone voice.

"First Mate Yosuke, your captain now hereby promotes you to Navigator. Yay. Congratulations. You have worked so hard for this position. I applaud your perseverance and determination. You get a larger pay cut. Rejoice." Yosuke's brow crunched up in annoyance.

"That's not the way the hierarchy works! Don't you even know that much? And since when did I get paid?!" He shouted, outraged at Yu's indirect admittance to being lost. Yu shrugged as he continued to steer the ship. His face was serious, as always.

"Navigator Yosuke. Stop shouting or I will demote you. And I shall reduce your salary as well."

"NOW IT'S A SALARY?!"

"There goes ten percent of your salary." Yu said, still in monotone. What Yosuke didn't know was that Yu very much enjoyed conversing with Yosuke, even if he was messing with him most of the time. It helped keep his mind off what happened to his home. And the fact that they were... somewhere that was not their destination yet. Yosuke was his only friend in the world right now. He cherished his friend. However, he was also Yu's only source of entertainment. And that was not a fun job.

"Ten percent of wha-"

"HELP, please! Help me, please! You guys in the boat! Help, please!" A girl's screaming voice cut off Yosuke's tsukkomi. Bright eyed, Yosuke placed his right hand on Yu's shoulder. Yu looked at Yosuke and frowned when a lecherous look worked its way into Yosuke's eyes.

"Dude, she sounds cute! We have to go save her! Oh man, this is just like that magazine! I think she'll be grateful to her heeeroes. How grateful would you say she would be? Would she be willing to provide special services?" Yosuke said in a... perverted voice. It seemed that the guy was starving for the attention of a female. Two dudes on a boat can get very boring, very quick. Yu's eyes looked at Yosuke's hand placed on his shoulder. His eyes still held the same serious look as always.

"Don't touch me, lecherous pig. I have no idea where your right hand has been. And we have no guarantee she is cute, or that it is a girl screaming. Some Devil Fruit User could be imitating a 'cute' sounding girl." Yu said in a slightly irritated tone. Yosuke removed his hand, shocked at Yu's reaction. They were fellow men! How could they not be thinking the same thing?! It sounded like a cute girl screaming! Guys aren't supposed to think with their brains when a cute girl screams! Yosuke thought all men were the same in that regard! He was quite wrong, however.

"Come on, man! Stop acting like a prude. Don't you have any balls?" Yu's eyes narrowed. He began to turn the ship towards the sound of the voice that was still crying out for them to save her. Yu spotted the girl from a distance. She was floating on a small piece of driftwood. Luckily, she wasn't drowning. They had a little bit of time to get to her. Yu could afford to get in another remark. Yu would save her, however. It was one of his goals to do so.

"I do have balls. Want to see them?" Yosuke shirked back in disgust, about to retort something about his apparent admittance to homosexuality. Yu then reached into his pocket and pulled out two small, spherical stones. Yosuke cracked a smile. Yu definitely was a smartass.

"I must admit that was clever. You do indeed have stones." Yosuke nodded sagely. Yu nodded as well. There was silence for a moment. The two then burst out laughing. Yu laughed for the first time since he had left his home island. His eyes lost their seriousness for a little while. It was a good time.

"What are you two doing? Will somebody help me?! I'm stuck in the middle of the ocean!" The girl was still screaming. Yu hadn't paying attention and they had drifted to the side, almost ignoring the girl.

"That girl has quite a pair of lungs on her. Do you think she's a singer? Perhaps she's an athlete. They both need a healthy pair of lungs, after all." Yu asked as the two began to go to rescue her. Yosuke shrugged.

"Nah. All girls are loud. That's why you have to wear earplugs when you break up with them."

"Ah. That is useful advice."

...

...

...

"Is that it? No quips about my love life or anything? You seemed to be on a witty roll earlier." Yosuke wasn't expecting the smartassery to stop anytime soon. The fact that it did was almost... disappointing. Yu looked at Yosuke and shrugged. His eyes held the same serious look as they did before.

"You're a virgin. Do I need say anything else?"

Ooh. Burn.


"Thanks a million! My name is Chie Satonaka. So what are you two doing this close to Shimotsuki Village?" The girl they rescued was wrapped in a towel and sitting on the floor of the boat. She was sopping wet, but getting drier slowly. Yosuke seemed a little depressed. The girl they rescued was a tomboy, if her short hair and choice of work out clothing was any indication. Yu took note of that information. Yosuke likes cute, feminine girls. Now, how could he use that to his advantage?

"We're close to Shimotsuki Village? Chie Satonaka, your captain, Yu Narukami, hereby promotes you to Navigator. Dun dun. Yay. Yosuke, you're demoted, your pay will be cut, and I will throw in the ocean." Yu said monotone again. Yosuke wasn't sure if Yu was kidding or not about that last part. However, it was presumptuous of Yu to make her part of the crew.

"Since when was she part of the crew? And what do you mean throw me in the oce-"

SPLASH!

Yu turned back toward Chie and smiled politely at her. She smiled back. Yu sat down in front of her.

"You smelled him, right?

"Yes."

"Well, then I'm sure you understand my reasons for doing that."

"Absolutely. I love the fresh sea air. His stench was suppressing it."

Yu leaned closer and whispered very quietly, "We may or may not be lost. Personally, I think Yosuke was failing his job as Navigator. Would you mind showing us the way to Shimotsuki Village?" She smiled brightly and nodded her head. As soon as Yu leaned back with a satisfied look on his face, Yosuke starting making more noise.

"Hey guys! Can you... help me?" Yu and Chie ignored him for the time being and continued conversing.

"Sure! I'm from Shimotsuki Village anyway. I was going to ask for a ride back from you guys." Chie replied happily.

"Hey, I'm sure you guys are having a lovely conversation, but I was wondering if you could please help me?"

"Well, as long as he's being polite." Yu went over to the side of the boat and threw a rope over to Yosuke. Yosuke climbed back onto the boat, completely soaked. Yu decided to go throw the trouble of getting him a towel as well. He didn't want Yosuke complaining later on. Yosuke, now a lot more bearable in terms of stench, decided to ask a few questions.

"So, what were you doing all the way out here?" Yosuke asked her, this time genuinely interested. He had gotten over the fact she wasn't his perfect idea of a 'cute girl', but that didn't mean he was still interested in what she was doing in the middle of the ocean. Chie scratched the back of her head with an embarrassed smile on her face.

"I was training. I was swimming out and was about to swim back when I had a leg cramp. I guess I shouldn't have tried to increase the difficulty by using only my legs. Luckily, there was a piece of driftwood for me to hold onto and wait for help." Yosuke face-palmed.

"Idiot," Yosuke said.

"Hey! At least I didn't get my captain lost!" Chie yelled back. Apparently, she was easily offended. Yosuke turned to Yu with a look of spite. Yu just continued to steer the boat. Yosuke turned back to Chie, outraged.

"You don't even have a captain!"

"Well, he hired me!"

"He was joking! Besides, what could you do on this ship? Do you even know why we're out here?!"

"I can cook... and fight... and... uh... be the helmsman... and... Well, what are you guys anyways?!" Yu looked at Chie and smiled. It was odd, seeing him smile. Yosuke frowned. For the entirety of their time together, Yu had barely smiled. Now he was giving his smiles out to anyone that talked to him.

"We're homeless people. I'm thinking about becoming a pirate, though. What's your take on them?" Chie stood and looked straight at Yu with an angry look on her face. She grabbed his shirt and pulled him in to yell. Apparently, someone had a problem with pirates. What argument would she use? Would she talk about the justice of the marines? Or about some sob story in which she encountered bad pirates as a child?

"Pirates are bad guys! Don't be one of them!" Yu looked at her in disbelief. Was that her entire argument? Yu was expecting something a little more... adult-like in nature.

"Okay?" When Chie sat back down with a smug look on her face, Yosuke burst out laughing. She really didn't have much experience outside of her island, did she?


"Welcome to Shimotsuki Village! The island of training! The famous pirate hunter Zoro comes from this island. He's my idol. His success inspired powerful warriors to come here and set up dojos to train the youth of this generation. My master specializes in a martial art based heavily on kicking." Chie welcomed the two as they pulled into the dock. Yu and Yosuke had reached the island. While there were homes and such, there seemed to be a lot of training facilities and dojos that varied from sword styles to jujitsu. Yu and Yosuke both had the same thought.

'It's training time!'

Yosuke was going to find a school that could perfect his skills. Yu, however, was going to train his own Devil Fruit abilities solo. Chie was going back to her own school.

"If you guys ever want to hang out, then look me up, alright?" Chie said as she ran off to her own part of the village.

Yu and Yosuke looked towards each other. They were going to part temporarily. Yu and Yosuke both needed training, though, and they couldn't train together. Their fighting styles were far too different.

"So, how are you going to train?" Yu asked Yosuke. Yosuke smiled.

"I want to work on increasing my speed under a master here. If I had been just a little bit faster back on Haven Island, then my dad wouldn't have..." He trailed off, a pained look on his face. Yu placed a hand on Yosuke's shoulder. Yu put his other hand into his packet and pulled it out, close into his fist.

"Take this," He said, handing Yosuke what he pulled out. They were the two small stones from earlier.

"You have stones, Yosuke. Deciding to choose a master like that must have been hard. I'll see you in about a month. Learn what you can, and then we'll train the rest of the way on the ship. Also, look for a new ship. That boat we were using stinks." Yu waved to Yosuke as he walked off into the distance. Yosuke looked at the stones in his hands and then back at Yu who was still walking away.

"What the hell?" Yosuke just shrugged. He began to realize that he, perhaps, wasn't following the sanest of captains.


Yu was heading to the outskirts of the town, hoping to find a grassy area to train. It seemed to be the stereotypical area one would find in a village like this. However, as he was walking through the bustling town, he heard a familiar voice coming from a back alley.

"STOP, evildoers! I, the Galactic Dragon, am here to stop you!" Intrigued by this, Yu headed down the alleyway, his abilities cloaking him in the black coat and steel mask of his Persona. In his hands, he held his naginata. It would be best to be prepared for combat. As he neared the sound of the voice, he saw a masked woman in green facing off against some thugs. Two of them had guns and a third had a very long sword. It appeared they had been in the middle of robbing a middle-aged man. The woman's mask was in the form of, well, a dragon's head with glass for the eyes in the dragon's mouth. It was really more of helmet. She also wore spandex... Spandex? On her legs, she wore heavily armored grieves. Yu decided to join in the fun. He was bored and could, at the very least, beat up a few guys while acting silly for once. It was a new experience. It would also be a little bit of good training, hopefully.

Yu approached the group. He readied his weapon. He spoke, trying to imitate the brave, fake sounding voice of the woman. "I shall assist you, Galactic Dragon! I am the Steel Avenger, Izanagi!" He stood beside her, his weapon pointed at the thugs. The 'Galactic Dragon' turned her head towards Yu in recognition before turning back to the thugs. The thugs pointed their guns at the two of them, while the third held his sword at the man's throat.

"What do you kids think you can do, huh? Scram before we shoot ya! We're doing some legitimate business here!" A thug, most likely the leader, said. Yu pointed his naginata at the thug with his sword held against the throat of the hostage. 'I hope this works.' Yu silently though as he uttered the word of his attack.

"Zio."

Lightning shot forth from his weapon, striking the man with the sword. He was holding a lightning rod. The man collapsed, stunned by the lightning. 'Okay. Glad that worked. Killing a person here would not be good. Especially with her around. I get the feeling she'd hunt me down if I killed right in front of her.' The Galactic Dragon rushed one of the other men, who were surprised by the random lightning, and kicked his weapon up into the air. Then, before he had a chance to counterattack, she landed a spinning sidekick into his gut, sending him flying against a wall and knocking him unconscious. Yu, feeling rather lazy for some reason, just pointed his naginata at the other man.

"Zio."

The man fell to the ground, unconscious. Yu turned to the woman, who was looking at him. She removed her helmet, revealing her to be Chie, just as Yu had originally thought. She seemed to be in awe of the strange power that Yu had just used. Yu himself was in awe of how quickly she could move and how high she could kick with those heavy greaves on.

"So I guess you aren't just a homeless person?" Yu looked at her as his armor faded away into nothingness. The look on Chie's face was priceless.

"Well, I don't have a house, if that's what you're asking. What else defines a homeless person?" Chie face-vaulted at that.


Yosuke, on the other hand, had found his master. Now he was trying to run 1000 laps with a boulder strapped to his back. Needless to say, it was rather difficult. He was to have this boulder strapped to his back for the next month. He would not be able to take it off until the last day. It was extremely cruel training from Yosuke's point of view. At least now he understood why Yu said he had stones. Serving under a master in this village was not for the faint of heart. After all, it was a village devoted to training!

"I really shouldn't have told him I wanted to be stronger as fast as possible."

"Stop talking already! You talk too much! Get back to work!"

"Yes, sensei!" 'Damn it! This wasn't what I signed up for!'


A/N: Guess who isn't as dead as you thought he was?! No, seriously, guess. As for Minato, he had a Devil Fruit. It is original, just like the one that gave Yu his powers. What it is and how he got it will be revealed in time. Bet you can't guess it~ Anyway, the newb pirates need a bit of training and a boat. Both of which will be included in the next chapter. Also, they meet Chie. She hates pirates. Wonderful. Yu should see Luffy soon, if the plot I have laid out works well. Now it's time for everyone's favorite...

REVIEW REPLY TIME:

HolyMage Mouto: Labrys? Expect to see her in the distant future. Like, really distant. As for more Personae... time will tell.

Mzr90: Nice list. It makes sense too. However, it the list for this crew may end up being very different from what you originally thought.

SEESWildCard: The cast of P3 make their own crew?... I refuse to give spoilers! Muahahahahahaha!

Yuuji Narukami: I like Marie. I just need to think of where to place her... As in terms of the story, not the crew.

Chaos Theory: Shh. Don't tell anyone the crew name just yet! It's supposed to be secret for suspense!

Yu: Hey, Yosuke. We should name our crew what this guy is suggesting. It sounds cool.

Don't look, Yu! *tackles Yu to the ground* Quick, hide the crew name!

HellPwnage1337: I uh... never played Devil Survivor. Or P1. Sorry to disappoint. BUT... That's what wikis are for. However, I don't think I'll get a crew member for each Arcana. I'd end up with a massive crew of characters that would barely get their own 'screen time' and gradually lose their individuality.

kroz phantomville: Wait... and see...

Twin Judge of Gemini: Fixed the mistake. Also, yeah, Perona would PWN Yu. Also, you should wait to find out the Devil Fruit Minato got. It's awesome... And Naoto is here. Yay!

That's all for that! Thanks for reviewing! If your review did not get answered here, then don't worry! I still read it and loved it anyway!

Question of the Chapter: What fruit do you think Minato ate?

REVIEW, FAVORITE, AND FOLLOW. Pretty please with two stones on top?