A/N: Hey everyone, me again. Woah, what a reaction! I guess people like these kinda stories, huh? Well, do not fret, because here is a new chapter for y'all, featuring characters submitted by M-Rated-Writer and Silver Wolf Demon! Enjoy!
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Drake gazed into the horizon as he relaxed on the small boat he had made for himself. He considered it a fine piece of work, seeing as he had no sort of experience in shipbuilding. Just tied some logs together, prop up a sail, and that was it. Though he knew if he were to become a serious pirate and build himself a crew, he would have get a real ship. He decided to worry about that later. He looked at the map Ida had given him. According to it, the next closest island would be Jaa Island. He didn't know much about navigation either, but he was quite confident he was heading towards it.
And he was right. After drifting for what seemed like a day, Drake was able to make out the outline of the island. In his excitement, he began to paddle towards it using his hands as oars. Though this did little to help progress towards the island, it made the excitement inside Drake to grow. Within an hour, he was docking at a port city on Jaa Island.
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Drake looked around as he walked through the port city. The city, known as Panom City as he would later find out, to him seemed very lively: Children were playing about, and he could see people walking throughout the city with happy expressions on their faces. Based on the small and cheaply built houses everyone had, Drake guessed that the people here didn't have a lot, but they cherished what they had. Drake found himself so occupied with the surrounding areas that he didn't notice the three people in front of him and walked right into them.
"Hey, watch were you're goin'!" Said one of them. Drake looked down to see he had bumped into three children, all looking to be about the same age of between 12 and 13. They were all wearing oriental type robes along with matching pants. The one who had spoken back to Drake looked to be the oldest, and was wearing a yellow and green robe, with his hair concealed under a hat. Another boy was wearing a sleeveless, brown robe that had strings tying it together at the front. The last child was a girl, who if not for the longer, braided hair and pink robe, would look exactly identical to the boy in the brown robe. Drake assumed those two must be twins.
"Sorry about that." Drake apologized. "My bad. I should have been looking where I was going...."
"If you wanna make up for it, ya gotta watch us perform!" Said the boy in the yellow and green robe again.
"Jiz, that's sorta mean, he doesn't have to..." Spoke the girl in Drake's defense.
"Be quiet, Aki!" Said Jiz back. "If you wanna succeed as a performer, you gotta attract as much people as possible!"
Drake couldn't help but sigh. Here he was, having finally escaped from living the life in a preforming troupe, only to begin to be drawn back into it. He figured he might as well watch, as it would hopefully be the last time he ever would have to.
"Alright then. Tin!" Said Jiz, nodding towards the boy in the brown robes. "Get ready, we're gonna be doing..."
"Jiz, Tin, Aki!" Called out a voice, interrupting their performance. An elderly man dressed in a brown shirt and matching pants was calling out to the children "Are you doing that 'performing' scam again? What did I tell you three about swindling?" He proceeded to give each of the three children a swift smack on the head.
"Hey!" Yelled Jiz, clearly offended by being hit. "It was this guy's fault, jii-chan!" He was the one who..."
"No excuses!" Said the man sharply before smacking Jiz on the head again. He looked towards Drake. "I'm sorry, these kids here are always causing trouble. I hope they didn't bother you too much."
"No, they weren't too much of a..." Drake began.
"Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?" Asked the man, interrupting Drake. Apparently he was very apologetic.
"No, you don't have to go that far..." Drake began, but again was interrupted, not by the man, but by the growling of his stomach. It was at this point he realized he had left the food that Ida had given him on his boat. This realization made him change his mind. "Well, I am a little hungry..." Drake confessed.
The old man smiled. "Well then, follow me to my inn! I'll treat ya to some food. You need a place to stay too?" Drake nodded. "I'll give you a free night's stay then! By the way, my name is Jouji" The old man added as he began to lead Drake to his inn.
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"Please, make yourself at home!" Said Jouji as he, Drake, and the three kids entered his inn. "Can I get you anything to eat?" He asked Drake.
"Anything is fine." Responded Drake as he took a seat by a nearby table. "Nice little place you got here." He noted, looking around at the small but quaint inn.
"Thanks. I've been runnin' this inn for almost 25 years now." Said Jouji as he began pulled out a pot from a cabinet and placed it on a nearby stove and began to heat some water. "So what brings you to this island?" He asked.
"How did you know I wasn't from here?" Asked Drake, simply curious to know.
"Heh, I've been livin' on this island my whole life." Answered Jouji. "We villagers here are a tight-knit bunch. If I don't recognize ya, You're not from here." He then turned to Jiz, Tin, and Aki. "Alright you three, help me prepare this man some soup. It's you're fault he's here anyway." He said, his tone of voice suggesting he was still angry at them. The three kids groaned, but reluctantly did what he said.
"Are those three kids your grandkids?" Asked Drake, noting that the man looked to be a bit too old to be the father.
"Nah, I took 'em in." Answered Jouji. "Apparently those three thought they could be pirates and tried to sail on the open sea by themselves, without any sort of experience or materials, they're lucky they lived long enough to wash up on this island and for me to take them in. Tin, don't add that much salt!" He barked back at Tin.
"Heh...pretty crazy..." Said Drake in a fake chuckle, realizing that story sounded almost exactly like what he was doing.
"So anyway, what brings ya here?" Asked Jouji again as he began to stir the ingredients the three children had placed in the pot.
"Oh, I'm an...explorer." Drake lied. He didn't want to let this man know he was an aspiring pirate, for fear of Jouji losing his hospitality. He quickly tried to change the subject. "So...what's everyone on this island so pumped for? Looks like some sort of festival or something's happening."
"Yeah, in two days, the Jaa Festival is starting." Answered Jouji.
"Jaa?" Asked Drake.
"Jaa is our god, and the namesake of our island." Explained Jouji. "He brings peace fertility all throughout Jaa Island. During this time of year, everything gets dried up, so every year we hold a great festival in his honor in hopes he will bring us the rain we need."
Drake was slightly intrigued by this. "Does it work?" He asked. Praying to god for rain seemed a little ridiculous to him. "Do you get rain?"
Jouji smiled. "Of course! Every time, Jaa has always provided us with plenty of rain to last us throughout the dry season. It's thanks to him we're able to have food grown and supplied!"
Drake shrugged. Hey, whatever works for you...
"Hey jii-chan, the soup's just about ready!" Said Aki, pulling the the two men back out of their conversation.
"Ah," Said Jouji. He turned to face Drake again. "Hold on a sec. I'll get you your soup." He went over to the cabinet to get a bowl, then grabbed a ladle and poured some soup from the pot into the bowl. "Here ya go," He said, placing the soup on the table near Drake. "It's not much, but it'll hold you off until the morning."
Drake took a spoon and sipped some of the piping hot soup. Not bad, he thought as he took another spoonful.
"Well, it's getting late, you three." Said Jouji to Jiz, Tin, and Aki as he glanced at his wristwatch. "You three should be getting to bed.
"Aw c'mon, can't we stay up a little longer. We're pretty much teenagers, we can take care of ourselves!" Pleaded Jiz, but Jouji firmly shook his head no. With a huff, Jiz, Tin, and Aki went upstairs.
"So, those kids the only people living with you?" Asked Drake, noting the lack of any other people in the inn.
Jouji gave out a laugh. "Heavens no. I'd go crazy if it was just me and those brats. I have a daughter. About your age." He answered.
"A daughter?" Asked Drake in between bites of soup. "Where is she? Upstairs?"
"No, she's with my brother, or her uncle. He's this big martial arts guy, and she always goes with him to train."
"Martial Arts? Is he strong?" Asked Drake. He wanted to hear about the strength of others, for some reason unknown to him. Not like this guy would ever join him.
"Very strong." Answered Jouji. "In fact, every year he is assigned the honorary 'Guarding of Jaa', in which he stands outside the temple containing the statue of Jaa before the night of the festival. Although, no one ever actually tries to steal it, and he just winds up getting drunk every time." Jouji let out a hardy laugh.
"What about your daughter?" Inquired Drake, switching targets. "Is she strong?"
"Yeah, well...She's been training with him for awhile, so I guess she'd be pretty strong...she's never showed me her skills though..." Said Juoji. From the way he had said it, it sounded like he was not keen on the subject and was trying to keep some information about his daughter away from Drake. Drake decided to let it slide. It wasn't any of his business.
"Well what about you?" Asked Jouji. "If you're asking about how strong all these people, you must be a pretty strong fella too, eh?"
"Well...I guess you could say that..." Said Drake a little nervously, also wanting to conceal something about his true strength. Mainly his Devil Fruit.
"Well, there are plenty of competitions at the Jaa Festival that are tests of strength. Maybe you could try some out." Suggested Jouji.
"Maybe." Said Drake halfheartedly. "You said that festival is in two days right?" Jouji nodded. Drake couldn't imagine himself staying on the island for that long. Not if there wasn't anything of significant value on the island or if there wasn't anyone unwilling to join his pirate crew. He planned on restocking on some supplies tomorrow, before moving on to the next island to see what was of interest there.
"Well, it's getting late for us too." Noted Juoji, glancing at his wristwatch again. "What do you say we both hit the hay?"
"What about your daughter? Isn't she still at your brother's?" Wondered Drake.
"Ah, she always stays with him this late. I'm always asleep when she comes home. Now then, time for some shuteye." Said Jouji as he began to climb up the steps to the bedrooms.
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"HI-YA!" A girl fiercely charged towards an older looking man and delivered it to the man's face, but the man expertly parried the blow by blocking it with his two hands. The two were standing outside a large temple-like building, facing off on what looked to be a fierce fight.
"You're getting better, Tora." Said the man as they both regained a neutral. At first glance, the man would never appear to anyone to be a master of the martial arts, with his slightly chunky build, middle age, and thick glasses. However, everyone who knew him well knew what he was truly capable of.
"Thanks, Uncle Mao." The girl panted. She looked to be about sixteen and had bright, long orange hair that was tied into a braid, with equally illuminating yellow eyes. However the clothes she wore were pretty lackluster: A simple brown T-shirt with blue pants. Apparently she wasn't one for fashion.
"Now listen," Said Mao, propping up his glasses. "I have taught you my art, but in exchange you must promise me that you will never use it for personal gain, only for self defense."
"I promise." Said Tora with a roll of her eyes. He'd made her take that vow over at least one hundred times.
"Well then, that pretty much wraps it up for today then." Said Mao, his expression turning less serious. "Lets go get some drinks!"
"B-but, I'm only sixteen..." Protested Tora, wanting to go home.
"Ah, it's only two days until the festival. Where's your sense of adventure?" Said Mao.
Tora sighed. Everyone knew that the only thing Mao was better at than martial arts was drinking. He could go on for hours drinking some fine rum. He would stop at nothing to find an excuse to go drink. She began to reluctantly follow him until some rustling in the bushes caught both of their attention.
"Looks like I caught you just in time." Said a male voice as a figure emerged from the bushes.
Mao's happy expression reverted back into its' serious one as his eyes narrowed behind his thick glasses. "You again." He said the words in disdain.
Tora looked at the man that had emerged. He was tall and muscular, with black spiked hair. He wore a jean-vest over a black shirt and wore jeans for pants. To Tora he looked like someone you didn't want to mess with.
"I've come with a new offer." He spoke again in a serious voice. "500 Million Beli. Straight up, in cash. What do you say?"
Tora's jaw almost dropped. 500 Million? That could supply this whole village with food for a month! What could Mao have that was possibly so valuable.
"I told you," Barked Mao. "I ain't giving it you! There's no price to it! I'm not selling it to you, you better give up on wanting it!"
Before Mao could say anymore, the man with the spiked hair put a hand up. "Alright, I understand." He said coolly. "It's not enough, you won't sell it. Just stop yelling at me, okay?" Then, with an amazing use of strength, the man leaped backwards, back into the bushes.
Tora was completely confused by what she had just seen. "Um...Uncle Mao, who was that man? And what did he want that's so valuable?" She wasn't even sure she should have asked.
"Heh, that bastard..." Said Mao, still in a fury. He turned his head towards the temple that was in front of them. "He wants to buy the statue of Jaa!"
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"Boss," Spoke the spikey-haired man, still hiding within the bushes, as he spoke into a Den Den Mushi. "He refused our offer again. What do we do now? That festival of theirs is happening in two days, it'll be impossible to get it then..."
"Calm down, Toshiro." Spoke a voice at the other end. "We'll get it, don't worry, we'll get it. That statue is made of Chinpouseki, the most valuable mineral on the planet. That statue must be worth an astronomical sum. We'll get it, because I, the great Yaba, always get what I want." With that, the man on the other end hung up.
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And there you have it! Still not that actiony yet, just wait for it...anyways, credit goes to M-Rated-Writer for Jiz, Tin, and Aki and Silver Wolf Demon for Tora. More OCs to be featured later, so keep submitting 'em! Also, I realized that the OC sheet is missing 'position', which is kinda important. So the new sheet is:
Name: Tell me the person's name (duh)
Age: Your character's age
Abilities: Any fighting powers this person may have.
Position: If this person was on a pirate crew, what would be their position? If they're not a pirate, what are they?
Personality: Give me the traits and charecteristics of your character. Try to be specific so I don't screw up your characters.
Appearance: What your character looks like. Again, try to be specific.
Background: A little backstory of your character.
Dream: What is this person's goal?
Stay tuned for more!
