~Tavvy~

"Hey, have you seen a guy named Bailey around here? He's wearing some really dirty clothes and has a whole ton of rings on his fingers."

"Nope. Sorry."

Tavvy tugged at his hair. "Argh! Where's Bailey?" he shouted in frustration. He had searched everywhere since the crack of dawn! The inn, the shops, town hall, even the jail. But Bailey wasn't anywhere to be found. Maybe he was kidnapped. Oh, no! Bailey was kidnapped!

Tavvy spotted a shady-looking person near the docks. He looked like the type who would kidnap innocent people. Tavvy ran towards him.

"Where's Bailey, you bastard?" Tavvy demanded, raising his fist in a threatening manner.

The man, who really had nothing to do with Bailey's disappearance, was quite shocked. "B-Bailey? Who's Bailey?"

"Don't act dumb! Spit it out! Where is he?"

"What are you talking about? I don't know who Bailey is! Go play with your friends somewhere."

"Bailey is my friend! Give him back!"

"I don't know who Bailey is! Leave me alone, kid!"

Tavvy glared. This person was too suspicious! He was definitely the one who kidnapped Bailey. And he wouldn't even admit it! He should be ashamed.

Just when Tavvy was about to continue his shouting, a figure leaning against the hull of a large ship spoke up. "Leave him alone, kid. Your friend wasn't abducted."

Tavvy whirled around. The stranger was a tall man in his late twenties to early thirties. He had silvery white hair, flecked with black, which stuck up in jagged spikes from his head. But the first thing that Tavvy noticed about the stranger was his eyes. They were like frozen pools of clear water, piercing through the early morning.

"How do you know?" Tavvy growled. He then noticed the jacket of the stranger. White with dark blue, fur trimming and a very familiar symbol on the left side, chest pocket. The symbol of the Marines.

The stranger pointed in the direction of some sparse trees. "Your friend went that way by his own free will. Now leave that poor man alone."

But Tavvy was now more interested in the jacket than Bailey at the moment. "Whoa. Are you a Marine, mister?"

"Yeah."

Tavvy stared in awe at the stranger. "That's so cool! What rank do you need to get to before you can get a jacket like that?" he asked. He really wanted that jacket. Then, it occurred to him to ask a very important question. A question that would determine if he really did want to join the Marines. A question that would determine his entire destiny. "Is it warm?"

The Marine looked down at what he was wearing. Sure enough, he was wearing his Marines jacket. He hadn't meant to put it on. You see, he had woken up far too early and had been immediately assigned to thwart the evildoings of Timily Rocce and his henchmen, so he hadn't paid much attention to his attire. It took him almost two days, without resting, to reach the other side of the island. But when he had arrived, lo and behold, Timily Rocce was already behind bars as well as his bodyguards. The locals claimed that it was a boy who had done them in. A boy with white hair and a red bandana tied around his arm.

"Yeah. It's warm," answered the stranger, rather awkwardly.

"Can I have it?"

"Hell no."

Tavvy pouted, but then remembered that he would have to earn such a wonderful prize. If he wasn't good enough, then he didn't deserve that jacket. The stranger noticed Tavvy standing a little straighter.

"Weren't you looking for your friend?" the Marine prompted. All he had been trying to do was prevent the teenager from beating up an innocent man (who had already fled the scene) and disturbing the peace. Now, the boy seemed to be immersed in a daydream.

"Haha! I will become the ultimate Marine! And I will have my jacket CUSTOMIZED!"

The Marine sighed. Not many people were crazy enough to join the Marines for a jacket, even if it was extremely comfortable. He knew only one other person like that. Maybe they were related.

"Your friend," the Marine tried again. This time, Tavvy snapped back to reality with a jolt. He blinked a few times at the Marine, then seemed to finally comprehend his words.

"Oh, yeah. Thanks mister!" Tavvy pranced away in the opposite direction of where the Marine was pointing. The Marine sighed as Tavvy came back around, laughed sheepishly, then sped off in the correct direction.

"What an idiot," the Marine muttered. But this Marine had excellent observation skills. That boy had an incredible aura around him that only those with the right experience could recognize as amazing. What's more, he had white hair and a red bandana securely tied to his upper arm…

~with Bailey~

Bailey felt a bit guilty. As well as that bowl of ramen, he had bought a pack of six popsicles, a small bag of hard candy, and some dried apricots, all with Tavvy's money. He doubted Tavvy would really care, but that didn't prevent his guilty conscience from nagging at his mind. Also, he couldn't forgive himself for leaving Tavvy all alone. That guy was probably looking for him right now. But it would be pointless.

"BAILEY! BAILEY, ARE YOU THERE?"

Bailey chuckled. Wow. He was even imagining Tavvy's voice. Then, he heard footsteps. Tavvy jumped in front of him with his hands on his hips.

"There you are!"

Shocked, Bailey spit out the apricot he had been snacking on.

"I've been looking everywhere for you! I even thought you might be in jail!" shouted Tavvy. When Bailey made no inclination to move, Tavvy scowled and grabbed his companion's hand. "Come on! You've already wasted the whole morning!"

But Bailey pulled free of Tavvy's grasp. "Not so fast there."

Tavvy looked at him, confused. "What? We're gonna go to the other side of the island and sign up for the Marines there…right?"

The coldness in Bailey's emerald green eyes took Tavvy by surprise. They were still glinting with mischief, but in a more malicious way.

"Man, you really are a gullible idiot," said Bailey. He began twisting the rings on his fingers, one by one. A small smile played on his lips. "I only said I'd go with you 'cause of the food. It's not like I was seriously going to sign up with the Marines."

"But…" began Tavvy, though he stopped without any momentum to continue. There was no real reason for Bailey to join the Marines, was there?

Bailey tugged off all of the rings on his left hand fingers. "Well, it was nice meeting you, Tavvy. Bye." He turned and walked away. Tavvy held still for one second, two seconds, three seconds. On the fourth second, Tavvy leapt towards Bailey, slamming his fists downwards. Bailey barely dodged.

There was a giant hole in the ground where Tavvy had hit. A pillar of dirt had shot up, falling back to the earth with a dull thud. "You're a horrible friend!" Tavvy shouted furiously, a fine layer of dirt dusting his entire person. "Sammy wouldn't just leave me all alone like that!"

Bailey spit out a mouthful of dirt. He remembered Tavvy mentioning Sammy before. They were best friends, but had split to go on opposite destinies. "I'm not your friend. I'm just Trafalgar Bailey, a Supernova's grandson."

Tavvy stood. "Don't say that! You're not just Trafalgar Bailey," he said. "You…you're…"

Bailey was quite surprised by the sincerity in Tavvy's voice. He had thought that he might have underestimated Tavvy. Maybe he wasn't some huge idiot after all. It was quite touching. Well, that was until Tavvy finished his sentence.

"You…YOU'RE ALSO A GODDAMMED CROOK!" Tavvy finally managed. "I COULD'VE BOUGHT A WHOLE BUNCH OF STUFF WITH THE MONEY YOU SPENT!"

Let's just say that Bailey was taken aback.

"I MEAN, IVAN-SAMA WORKED SO HARD TO GET THAT MONEY SO THAT I COULD BUY SOME REALLY COOL STUFF AND YOU JUST HAD TO GO AND SPEND IT!"

*Bailey in state of shock*

"AND MARIA-SAN TAUGHT ME TO NEVER SPEND MONEY RECKLESSLY, SO OBVIOUSLY YOU NEVER HAD A MARIA-SAN IN YOUR LIFE!"

*Bailey still in state of shock*

"MONEY IS A PRECIOUS THING!"

Bailey finally snapped out of his trance. "I-I thought you had a bit more of a brain than that!" he spluttered.

Tavvy sniffed, offended. "Well I'm not a genius, you know!" he said indignantly, shaking the dirt from his hair.

"That's an understatement," Bailey muttered under his breath.

"Anyways," continued Tavvy, "I'm still going to be taking you with me. You owe me three hundred and sixty seven beli!" He looked ready to fight. The air seemed to ripple around him. "Ivan-sama said that it's never good to be in debt."

Bailey growled in frustration. Why did Tavvy have to be so dumb? This was beyond irritating. "How many times do I have to tell you? I'm not going to join the Marines!" he shouted.

"Why not?" Tavvy challenged. "The Marines are the keepers of Justice! Plus, I hear the pay isn't that bad either."

Bailey sighed exasperatedly. "It's not about money. I already told you. The Marines won't even allow me past the front gate. I have pirate blood!"

Tavvy's eyes widened in surprise. "Whoa! You mean, you need a certain type of blood to become a pirate?" he asked. "I didn't know that!"

At first, Bailey wanted to punch him in the face for being so stupid, but then, he found it rather funny. Really funny. He laughed. And of course, Tavvy was utterly confused. Wasn't Bailey supposed to be mad? Maybe it was something he said.

Bailey grinned. "Man, you're hilarious!"

"Does that mean you're going to sign up for the Marines with me?"

"No."

Tavvy pouted. "What's going to convince you to come with me?" he asked, crossing his arms stubbornly.

Bailey thought for a moment. "Maybe if you can beat me in a fight, I'll go with you," he said, the corner of his mouth twitching upwards. "Maybe." He unfurled his hand in which he held his rings and they fell down on by one. What was intriguing was that the rings were all connected by two thin wires that were visible only when they caught the sun's morning rays. Bailey spun his string of rings around experimentally.

Tavvy smiled. He loved a good fight. He placed his arm straight in front of him, then bent it by the elbow so it was parallel to his chest. "Bring it!"

Bailey made no inclination to attack first, but neither did Tavvy. Finally, after an unbearable amount of time, Bailey made his move. He swung his line of rings at Tavvy. The ring at the end was quite heavy and slammed into the side of his head. But the most painful part was the electric shock that came with the impact. Tavvy wasn't very compatible with electricity. He yelled out in pain.

"What the heck is that?" he shouted, stepping back to avoid another swing.

"My weapon," Bailey answered. Stepping forwards, he swung again. It wrapped around Tavvy's arm, sending a constant electrical shock through his body. Tavvy tried to unwind it, but just ended up badly hurting his hand.

Bailey yanked on the wire. It unraveled, slicing through Tavvy's skin as it did. Tavvy bit back from crying out and jumped backwards, out of the range of Tavvy's weapon.

Tavvy pushed his uninjured hand in Bailey's direction. The movement was slow, as if he were pushing something very heavy. "Manchou."

At first, it didn't seem like anything happened. Then, Bailey felt a huge force creeping towards him. It was probably the same kind of attack Tavvy had used to defeat those bodyguards in kilts. But how could it be stopped?

Without any other option, Bailey put up his arms just as the force was about to hit him. He heard a crackling sound and realized that while he was unharmed, Tavvy was sent tumbling backwards, electricity arcing around him.

"How did you do that?" Tavvy demanded, jumping back to his feet painfully. "Not even Sammy can avoid that one!"

Bailey thought for a moment. He still couldn't quite figure out how Tavvy fought. Tavvy didn't use any weapons. Maybe he used a Devil Fruit. That would make a whole lot of sense.

"I'll tell you if you tell me your fighting style," said Bailey.

"Huh? That's it?" Tavvy scratched his head and thought. "Let's see. Well, me, Sammy, and another friend met this weird, old guy who told us that we were all gifted with something called Reikonshoku Haki and he taught us how to control it and all. That's it. Now, spill it out! How did you block my attack and shock me at the same time?"

Bailey had never heard of Reikonshoku Haki before. As far as he knew, there were only three types of Haki. "I have no idea why your attack didn't work. Maybe your Haki's not working today."

"But it always works!" hissed Tavvy. Then, he had a sudden spark of genius. "Oh! That's why!" Tavvy rounded on Bailey. He charged straight at him. Bailey whipped his weapon at him, but it just glanced harmlessly off Tavvy's shoulder with a small spark.

Tavvy swung his fist into Bailey's face, hitting him in the jaw. Bailey stumbled backwards, but Tavvy grabbed his shirt, yanking him forwards. He then punched Bailey right in the gut, sending him flying through the air. Bailey crashed into a small tree. He managed to get up and wiped a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth.

"I figured it out!" Tavvy exclaimed, beaming. "The wire conducts electricity which comes from that battery in your hand and the rings act as outlets! Wow, I had no idea Ivan-sama's lecture on physics would be so useful in life."

Bailey spit. "But it should have shocked you. That time, you didn't even flinch!"

Tavvy grinned from ear to ear. "That's the best part! I changed my fighting spirit! Before, I used the soul of water. Just then, I used the soul of the ground. That's what Reikonshoku Haki is all about…or at least, that's what the old man said." He held out his hand to Bailey. "I win, so you have to sign up for the Marines."

"I refuse!" Bailey shouted. "You don't understand anything!"

-=Flashback=-

A ten-year-old Bailey sits on a swing set all alone. He looks up to see some kids come over and confront him.

"Hey, Trafalgar!" one shouts. "I hear someone stole ten of the cook's finest pies yesterday! It was you, wasn't it?"

Bailey shakes his head. "No. I wasn't anywhere near the bakery yesterday."

The kids start to murmur to each other. Bailey can pick out a few words. Liar. Thief. Pirate.

Bailey tries to ignore them, but another kid calls out. "We know you stole them, pirate kid! Pirate kid! Pirate kid!" Soon all the kids are shouting 'pirate kid!' at the tops of their lungs. Bailey's fists clench. He starts to tremble with fury.

"I'M NOT A PIRATE!" he roars, punching a kid in the face. Someone screams. The group of children surrounds Bailey, but Bailey punches and kicks his way out. A nearby adult calls for some Marines. In moments, Bailey is handcuffed and taken to the local prison.

His father comes to get him later that day. He has a sad look in his eyes. All he will say is, "I'm sorry, Bailey." He hugs Bailey close, but only for a few seconds.

As the two walk through town, the locals cast menacing looks their way. They whisper amongst themselves.

"Look, it's Trafalgar Law's son and grandson."

"I can't believe we're letting them stay at this village."

"They disturb the peace."

"They have to go."

As promised, that night, an angry mob attacks the Trafalgars' home. One tries to hurt Bailey. His father comes between them and someone shoots him in the chest.

"DAD!" Bailey screams. He falls to his knees, crying. But his father is already dead. Next, they kill Bailey's mother, who tried to protect Bailey as well. He was the only child. And now, he was alone. Alone with a hoard of people who wanted to kill him. All Bailey can do is hide in a cupboard and hope they don't find him.

And then, he hears something out of place amidst the chaos. A whistle. Strong voices. They command the crowd to disperse. Bailey peeks out of the cupboard. It's the Marines. They have many of the villagers in handcuffs. They cover Bailey's parents with black cloth and carry them outside. Keepers of Justice who carry the sign of the flying seagull as their flag. They save Bailey's life.

Bailey wants to thank them. He wants to be held in someone's arms. He catches the eye of a Marine. The man walks over…and slaps Bailey across the face.

"It's because of your stupid pirate blood," he says, then walks away. "Run away, kid."

And Bailey runs, fresh tears in his eyes. He looks back to see the Marines burning the cloth-covered bodies of his parents. He vows to become a keeper of Justice, the knight of the people, all people. But then he realizes it is impossible. He has pirate blood. There's no way he can be a Marine. It really is impossible…

-=Present=-

"You know, you're just big idiot," Tavvy said bluntly, completely ruining the atmosphere. He ignored Bailey's look of disbelief and placed his hands on his hips. "It don't matter who the keeper of Justice is, as long as the keeper of Justice does his or her job so that the world is balanced."

"Just try telling that to the world!" Bailey shouted. "You're the idiot here!"

Tavvy dismissed the comment with a wave of his hand. "I'll prove it to you. You come with me to the Marine Base. If they don't let you in after I do some talking, then you can go and do whatever you want. But if they let you in, you have to become an awesome Marine and my sidekick."

"Sidekick?" Bailey said quizzically. He thought for a moment. "It's a deal if you cut the sidekick part."

Tavvy grinned. "Alright! Geez, that took a long time. I'm hungry. Let's get some good grub before we head off."

Bailey couldn't help but chuckle as the two of them sauntered off into the city, spending the rest of Tavvy's money on food.

Enough of my complaining. In this chapter, we discovered the secret behind Tavvy's attacks: a new type of Haki! Reikon is romaji for soul, or spirit. So Reikonshoku Haki would be Haki of the Color of the Soul. Something like that. Also, we found out about Bailey's horrible past and how Tavvy isn't good at reading the mood of situations.

Next chapter, Sammy battles a crab(?)! And he's hungry! And, Tavvy's bandana's well being is on the line! WHAT WILL SAMMY DO? Stay tuned to find out!