Kaishi Island Arc

"A New Pirate Crew Forms! Parting Words from a Fateful Friend!"

"Did anyone else just hear an explosion?" Atori asked, his head whipping around before settling on a plume of smoke in the distant. "What the hell was that?!"

Ches broke out in an infectious grin. "I do believe that is the sound of Kissaru's ship blowing sky high."

"What?" both Ralli and Atori asked.

Ches held back the urge to laugh. "With the help of a friend, I rounded up all of Kissaru's explosives after beating Burty and placed them on her ship. Burty – being the idiot that he is – probably never suspected anything and set the explosions off. Kissaru's finally been served her just desserts. Maybe next time she'll think twice before trying to blow up someone's home." He paused for a thoughtful moment and then added, "Assuming Jon Jon doesn't throw her down into the deepest hole of Impel Down."

"So that guy you had us running from was Jon Jon?" Ato asked. He watched as the rainbow nodded the affirmative and then a curious thought formed. "Why do I feel like we're criminals now?"

Ches laughed. "We did just take down a major pirate crew. I mean, Kissaru may not have been the biggest and baddest pirate around, but she's one of very few pirates on the West Blue that's been at it for over ten years. Most pirates now haven't been around real long because Jon Jon's usually taken them down by then. Kissaru is a bit of a legend. They say she's the only pirate to have ever faced down the commander."

Atori scoffed. "Then that Marine must not be all that tough then!"

"Yeah! I bet I can kick his ass!" Ralli demanded, his chest poked out in a show of macho.

Ches smirked at the kid. "And that is exactly why I pulled us away. I didn't feel like testing your theory."

The trio had walked a fair distance from the area. There was slight wreckage around the town, but all of the citizens seemed to be doing fine and there were dozens of marine soldiers patrolling to arrest any of the unconscious pirates still scattered about. It was hardly noon and they'd successfully stopped a pirate captain from killing a whole lot of people.

A deep sigh puffed from Atori as he leaned against the first building he could find and closed his eyes. "This is not how I expected to be spending my day." He slumped down the wall of the building and sat on the dirt of the street. His body was far from tired, but his mind wasn't exactly used to processing so much at one time. He could remember the days when the most troubling thing he had to do was clean dishes in the restaurant he and Dallis worked at.

"C'mon, Ato!" Ralli cheered, trying to rouse the tall brunette with his patented smile. "We saved a whole bunch of people today and you still have plenty of time to see that old man later!"

Atori's eyes sprouted back open before he groaned. "Ugh! With all of this crap, I'd completely forgotten about that! I feel like a whole week has passed since this morning and I still have several hours before I go to see him – what was his name, Ricket?"

"I'm sure we'll find some way to pass the –" Ches started, but was cut off.

"By authorization of Commander Jon Jon, we are to arrest all pirates under the command of Madame Kissaru!" The trio turned to the soldier, three of them to be precise, that had weapons aimed at them. "Either give up peacefully or we'll have no other choice but to use deadly force!"

Ralli, Ches, and Atori looked at the Marine for a good long second before turning to look at each other and then finally looking back at the Marine. As if they were going to turn themselves in! Atori was off the ground in a heartbeat and the entire trio were down the street like bullets, while the soldiers charged after them.

"I swear this crap only happens when I'm around you two!" Atori growled.

"THIS IS SO MUCH FUN!" Ralli cheered!

"Shut up, Ralli!" Ches demanded as they all jumped two gears when the marines began firing.


The day had indeed been eventful for the group. Either they were being chased by Marines or fighting amongst themselves – Ralli had learned just the right buttons to press to get Atori to fight with him, although the fights were half-hearted at best. And if either of those two things weren't happening, they were just mindlessly walking the town. Ralli had opted to show Ches and Atori all of his "hiding" spots that he'd found since being there. Though they really wanted to, they didn't dare go to the One-Shot Tavern for fear of encountering Jon Jon directly. With Ralli's demand, Ches had even shown off his boomerang trick with his knives and had even gone so far as to throw Atori to show how he could boomerang virtually anything. That hadn't ended quite well though when Ato thrashed around in the air and dismissed the spinning effect to fall back to the ground. Ches got two tonfa to the back of the head for that crap.

Ches breathed a deep sign of contempt as they collectively walked to the docks. The day had been a joy for them all, although Atori would obstinately claim that it was the most bothersome day of his life. The sun was shining a muted red as it faded in the distance, the evening creeping up on them all with each passing second. It all felt so peaceful.

"It's too bad this will be over soon," he sighed as his hands lazily rested in his pocket.

Ralli looked over at him with questioning eyes. "Whaddya mean, Ches? What's gonna be over soon?"

"This. Us. You know, hanging out." Ralli continued to look as if he didn't understand. "Atori will be leaving soon and of course, I've got to expand my own adventure in life. We can't pal around on Kaishi Island forever."

Atori gave a passing glance before turning back to their walk while Ralli pouted. "Don't say that, Ches! You make it sound like we'll never see each other again. Besides, I've already said that I'm going to help Ato find his brother, so we'll still be together. Why don't you just join us?"

"You were serious about that?" Atori asked, cutting in before Ches could answer. Ralli turned to him with an obstinate nod. "What about your whole pirate king deal? There's no telling how long it'll take me to find Dallis, not that I'm planning on taking forever, but still. Won't helping me hinder you?"

Ralli pondered the words for a moment, obviously not having thought about it in the way Atori explained. But he didn't have to think for more than three seconds. "It doesn't matter!" he chimed with a happy smile. "I've already promised to help you, and I never turn my back on friends. If I promise you that I'll do something, it's as good as done!" He gave Ato thumbs up for good measure and the brunette smirked away his own surprise at Ralli's answer.

Ches didn't say anything else, but he watched the two with a knowing smile of his own.

They walked in relative silence for the next few minutes before reaching the dock. In the early evening, there were hardly any people around. The crew just figured they'd probably be out trying to recover from the attack earlier that day.

Atori's eyes watched the dock closely, scanning around the remaining people for any sign of Ricket. He didn't have a clue of what the man looked like, but from how the other dock worker described him, Ricket had to be a man of old age, practically ancient. And his emerald eyes suddenly landed on the oldest looking person around, the old man hunched over some papers in his hands. "Excuse me?" Atori called as he walked over.

The man didn't respond.

"Hello?"

Nothing.

"Hey! Old man Ricket?"

"Who are you calling 'Old Man?!'" the geezer suddenly shouted, making Atori absently step back. "I swear you youngsters nowadays have no respect for seasoned vets like me. Just because I've got a little more life experience, I'm suddenly old! Who exactly are you?"

Atori decided not to point out that calling someone a youngster definitely made Ricket old, and said, "My name's Atori and I was wondering –"

"I already know who you are! You think I don't know the three whippersnappers that saved us from that twisted old Kissaru."

"Why'd you ask who I was if you already knew?" Atori growled out through clenched teeth, his temper just barely suppressed out of respect for the geezer.

Ricket waved off Atori's tone like a pesky fly. "Whatcha want, boy? I ain't got all night to be lookin at ya!"

Before Atori's last nerve could snap, Ches stepped up with the politest tone as possible. "Good evening, Mr. Ricket. Excuse my friend here," he gestured to Atori, who was glaring like an animal ready to pounce on prey, not that Ricket was the least bit intimidated. "But we were just hoping you could help us out. Answer a few questions, if you will?"

Ricket sized up Ches in one fell swoop. "I guess so," he started, looking cautiously between the three. "But only cause you three saved all of our butts. So get to askin! I got other things to do tonight."

Completely ignoring the boundaries of personal space, Ralli reached right into Atori's pocket and yanked out the photo. He handed it to Ricket and said, "We need to know everything you know about this ship. A man said you might know something about the crew…or something."

Ricket studied the picture for all of two seconds before grunting. "What makes you think I can see this confounded photo? It's too dark, boy. Give me a light!"

Ralli grimaced at Ricket's tone, but Ches stepped in once again to spare any offending words. He handed a light to the old man and Ricket took his sweet time looking over the photo before handing it back to Ralli, who then handed it to Atori. "Yeah, I know a little bit about them pirates. Why are you three lookin for them?"

"I think it's none of your business," Atori chimed instantly, his tone as dark as the night beginning to fall on them.

Ricket scoffed. "If you're expecting some info out of me, I'm makin it my business. And don't lie either! I can tell a fat one out of the rest of the parade!"

"Fat one out of the rest of the parade?" Atori looked too taken back by the man's phrase, but when that passed, he practically snarled. "Look old man, it's none of your business why I'm looking for them! Just tell me what I need to know!"

Ricket didn't back an inch from Ato's glare and the man looked ready to meet the much taller man head on. That is, until Ralli spoke. "We're trying to find Ato's little brother, Ricket-geezer. He was kidnapped and those pirates are the ones that took him."

Ricket's expression softened almost instantly. He still looked ornery, but not near as rabid as a moment ago. "Oh, I see," he stated, his lively demeanor shifting to one of despondency. "I'm sorry to hear that."

Atori glared down at Ralli, but the red eye was smiling too much to take notice.

"Well, I do apologize for my demeanor. I'd half expected you three to be some kind of wild pirates, looking for the next big target or something, considering how you all had handled Kissaru," the old man said as he seemed to look anywhere but at Ralli. He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly and then continued. "And I do offer my condolences for your predicament."

"Don't bother. If you want to feel bad for anyone, let it be those pirates when I get my hands on them," Atori chimed, arms folding as he looked down on the man with absolute confidence.

Ricket's head snapped up to lock eyes with Atori, the man's eyes wide as he took in the brunette's words. "You must know nothing of these pirates, boy!" the man cried, looking almost frantically concerned.

"That is why I came to see you. Although, you've been anything but helpful so far."

If Ricket was bothered by Atori's tone, it didn't show. The man took a long pause to collect himself before that shock changed back to his tempered grimace. "You've got a lot to learn, boy-o," he said, shaking his head. "Tell me something: Does the name Kaido ring any bells in that thick skull of yours?"

Atori's hardened glare softened slightly as he shook his head in the negative. "Never heard the name before a day in my life. What about you two?" He looked down at Ralli, who simply shook his head. Typical. And then turned to Ches and the rainbow looked like he'd just swallowed something sour. "Ches, do you know-"

"K-k-kaido? As in Kaido of the Four Emperors! Yonko Kaido! The world's strongest beast! Is that the Kaido you're talking about, Ricket?!" Ches nearly shouted with shock as Ralli and Ato simply watched.

"Aye!" was the man's simple response, making Ches nearly have an aneurysm. While the rainbow tried to calm himself, Ricket continued. "I hope you understand how dire the situation is now." He looked up to Atori and the brunette simply scoffed.

"I'm guessing this Kaido person is some kind of big deal around here. Look, old man, I could care less who he is, what he is, or what he's been doing. If he had anything to do with my brother being taken, then I'm looking for him and all of his little cronies. Now, are you going to get to the point or what?" Atori snapped, his attempt at respect ready to fly out the window.

Ricket could only shake his head in distaste. "You want to know what I know? Fine. The ship in that photograph arrived here, on Kaishi Island, three whole days ago. They were stopping for supplies and while here, they asked for a minor repair job below deck. It was an oddly blown out wall that I have yet to understand how it could've happened, but that doesn't really matter to you, now does it?" The old man paused just long enough for Atori to shake his head. "Thought so. The importance behind these pirates is that they fly the flag of Kaido. These pirates are under Kaido's control and attacking them would be no worse than attacking the Yonko himself. Now, it seems that piracy is a foreign ideal to you, which is why you have no idea how bad of a situation you are really in."

"What does this have to do with…" Atori started but was silenced with a hard glare from Ricket.

"Now, moments ago, you said that Kaido must be some kind of big deal around here. By here, I'd assume you meant the West Blue, am I right?" Atori nodded with a bit of frustration. "In all actuality, Kaido is a big deal all over this world. He is especially a big deal to anyone who even thinks they can become a pirate. But here is where all of this effects you, boy-o. The West Blue is hardly a blip on the radar of man like Kaido. The fact that his pirates were even in these waters seems a bit suspicious, but I suppose that's none of my business. For whatever reason they were here, they've obviously completed it and are now on their way back to their domain. And since you three aren't exactly pirates, it makes this all a bit more difficult for you."

Atori raked his hands through his hair with a huge sigh. "Old man, so help me, if you don't quit talking in circles and get to the point. Dammit, I hate this suspenseful crap! You're killing me!"

"You tall brat!" Ricket growled at Atori's impatience. "Unless you've got some kind of machine that can cross this immense gap in distance between you and Kaido's men, there's no way of your journey ending in the West Blue!"

"So where is he going then?" Ralli finally asked.

"The Grand Line," Ches sighed, looking exasperated with all of it.

Atori's eyes shot to the size of dinner plates as he whipped back over to Ricket. The old man sighed, but nodded his head. "Kaido's men are probably a day away from Reverse Mountain at this point. There's no way that you'll catch them before they go up and over. Atori," the man called, using the brunette's voice in the most spine-tingling manner as possible. "You'll be going to the most dangerous sea in the world if you ever hope to see your brother again. I'd suggest you get ready to face the Grand Line."

The sun had long since faded and now the trio found themselves seated on another collection of barrels similar to those of the previous night. Old man Ricket had stumbled off at some point after giving his ominous news and now the docks were almost completely abandoned, with the exception of Ralli, Atori, and Ches. And even with the typically rambunctious bunch, the docks were eerily silent.

Ralli leaned over to Ches, keeping his eyes trained on Atori as he whispered, "Do you think he'll ever speak again?"

Ches sat up just enough to take in the spacey look on the brunette's face. "Let's just give him a few more minutes," he replied as Ralli nodded and once again they were all plunged back into the silence.

Ever since hearing Ricket's news, Atori had been completely silent. That had been nearly an hour of stone cold quiet. Ches had even checked the brunette at one point to make sure he was still breathing.

The Grand Line…the Grand Line…the fucking Grand Line! Dammit all to hell and back! Atori resisted the urge to yank his hair out with frustration and sighed inaudibly. Even though he had a very basic understanding of the world of pirates, Atori very much knew about the Grand Line. He'd heard so many tales, horror stories really, of the things that happened there. Truth be told, it wasn't that that had the guy so awestruck. It was the hassle he'd have to go through to get there. He was confident enough in his own skills to survive whatever awaited him on that treacherous sea, but it was getting there that worried him the most.

He could join a pirate crew? But that would lead to having a captain that was probably an ass. He could hitchhike? But that still beckons the possibility of an overbearing captain and then, he couldn't really trust riding a ship with a whole bunch of strangers. Going alone was absolutely out of the question. That poor raft he'd been surviving in thus far, probably wouldn't make it halfway there, let alone on the Grand Line itself.

It was just so much to consider! And it was hard enough chasing Kaido's men on the West Blue. How much more difficult would it be chasing them in an area that they probably called home? Ugh! It felt like Atori's thoughts were running a mile a minute and his poor brain was hardly making an inch an hour. What the fuck was he going to do?

"Here you guys are!" the voice yanked Ato out of his thoughts as all three looked over to find Sonya standing on the docks, her sly smile shining through the darkness around them. "I haven't seen you guys all day! I was worried those Marines might've mistaken you for Kissaru's men and hauled you off!"

Ralli leapt off the barrel with a huge grin. "They tried to, but we were way too fast for them!"

"I'm sure," she chuckled a bit before waving them on. "C'mon! I didn't get a chance to properly thank all of you."


They were all seated in the One-Shot Tavern, sitting at the bar with Sonya on the other side to dish out drinks and gummies. With the activities of the day, the bar was shut down to the public and had even been deemed a structural hazard considering the massive hole Kissaru had made, or rather Ralli had made Kissaru make. Naturally, Sonya wasn't one to listen to others and demanded to risk the trios' lives alongside her own for a drink.

"You are sure this place won't cave in on us, right Sonya?" Ches asked, watching the poorly patched hole carefully before wincing when the building creaked in the wind.

Sonya laughed. "Don't worry, my little chess-square. We'll be fine. Promise!" At that very moment, the whole building creaked just a bit too loud for comfort. "Well, I doubt we die anyway."

Ches swallowed loudly as Ralli laughed. "You're funny, Sonya!" He then looked around as if expecting to see someone behind him. "Where's Marty and that Marine Jon Jon guy? Ooh! Do you think Jon Jon will fight me?"

The barkeep looked at Ralli as if he'd grown a second head. "They're off doing 'guy stuff' at Jon Jon's battleship, ya know, whatever it is Marines and ex-Marines do for fun. And Ralli, I think Jon Jon would be more apt to handcuff you, which is why I sincerely hope that you'd steer clear of him. He is a dear friend of mine, but he takes justice to an extreme. If he'd even heard you say that you wanted to be pirate king, he'd have locked you up right then. Good work on getting him out of dodge, Ches." She nodded her head in kind to the rainbow. He reciprocated.

"Why so glum, emerald eyes?" she all of a sudden asked, watching Atori closely. The brunette was so deep in thought, he hadn't even touched the sake she'd sat down for him. "You've been unusually quiet. Well, unusually quiet for you anyway."

Atori simply shook his head, offering little excuse for his behavior before Ches spoke up for him. "Ato's received a bit of bad news. Turns out the people in the photo are a crew from Kaido's pirate army and he's going to have to go to the Grand Line to hunt them down."

Ato didn't even feel like glaring at Ches for putting out his business, so he just watched admirably as Sonya stumbled to catch the glass she'd nearly dropped from hearing the news. "Oh my goodness! Kaido! As in Yonko Kaido? Ato, your involved with one of the four emperors?!"

Atori overlooked the fact that everyone had just referred to him as "Ato," and just shrugged. "Seems like it. And now, I've got to go to the Grand Line if I ever hope to see my brother again." He picked up the glass of sake in front of him and knocked it all back in a massive gulp that seemed to be inhumanly possible to do at one time. It was almost like he'd unhinged his jaw to take all of the fluid in. "And I have absolutely no idea how I'll be getting there."

"Ato, you're so dumb!" Ralli chimed, drawing everyone's attention as his smile practically lit up the room. "Is that why you've been so sad looking? Isn't it obvious? You're coming with me as my first mate silly!"

Atori watched Ralli liked he'd never seen a human, making the red eye laugh out loud. Ches had even smirked at the scene and Sonya was watching with her usual sly interest. Ato took a few moments to gather his thoughts before saying, "There's no way in hell I'd join your crew, Ralli! Are you sure you're even capable of leading a crew of pirates? You're not the brightest, you know."

If Ralli was offended by the comment, he certainly didn't show it. He drummed his fingers absentmindedly on the bar for a second to ponder Ato's question. "We'll figure it out, Ato! Ooh! You know what? I can just let you make all of the important decisions and I can just be the awesome captain!" Atori deadpanned at the mere thought. "C'mon Ato! We'll sail the seas and be the best pirate crew around! No one'll stop us! We'll save your brother, then he can join the crew and we'll keep going down the Grand Line until we find the One Piece! It'll be great!" Ralli was so dreamy eyed with the thought that he'd already seen every great adventure they'll be having.

Atori scoffed. "First and foremost, captain, do you even know how to sail a ship? I can't help but notice that we don't exactly have a navigator yet."

"Can't you?"

The brunette groaned so hard he actually hit his head on the bar and then just lied there. "I can't believe I even remotely thought of saying yes!"

Sonya laughed at them both while Ralli merely tilted his head in confusion.

"I think I can help with that situation!" Ches piped up, with a bit of a smile on his face. "I'm actually quite good at navigating the sea. I've been sailing from island to island on my own ever since I was sixteen. There's not a wind current that can get past me unnoticed!"

"Ooh!" Ralli cheered, hopping with joy in his seat. "We've got a navigator, Ato! This is perfect!"

Atori didn't even bother with lifting his head. "What about a doctor, or a cook, or even someone to look after the ship because I'm telling you now, Ralli, I'm not going to be our handyman! And I know enough about the sea to know that crap breaks on ships all the time!"

Sonya punched Atori in the shoulder, making the brunette snap upright. "Quit being such a storm cloud, Ato! You'll figure all of that out as you go! Right now, the important thing is that you've got a navigator and a trusty boat. And before you ask," she said, right when Atori looked ready to question the boat situation. "I'll be handing you all a new boat. Call it a thank you gift for all that you've done." She winked at the collective trio with her sly smirk.

Ralli looked ready to explode with excitement! "I can't believe it! It's really happening! I've finally got a crew! Ooh! Then it won't be long until we go to the Grand Line and then we'll find Ato's brother and then we'll find the One Piece and then…well then we'll do everything that's fun and cool and awesome! It's going to be great!"

Sonya smiled down at the boy in wonder, a very pleased smile tugging at her lips as she watched the trio. Ralli was still babbling on about what they'd do and who they'd see while Ches simply laughed every time Ralli nearly exploded with his excitement. And even old emerald eyes was looking at the red-eyed wonder ball with the slightest of smirks on his face. She was so happy for all of them.

"Did you hear me, Sonya?"

She blinked quickly as she'd just realized Ralli was talking to her. "Sorry, no. What is it?"

"I was just wondering have you ever been to the Grand Line? You know, back when you were a pirate."

She waved off the boy's question with a smile. "Oh no, of course not. We'd nearly gone this one time, but Madame Kissaru chickened out at the last minute." She continued smiling at the boys for nearly a full minute before she'd realized what she said. Her eyes shot to the size of dinner plates as she covered her mouth in hopes of pulling the words back.

"Did you say Madame Kissaru?" Ches asked with a careful eye on Sonya.

"Don't tell me she was that horrible captain that you'd been talking about earlier? Atori added.

"Sonya, she wasn't really your captain, was she?" Ralli asked, sounding like he was pleading for his own sake more than hers.

The feisty barkeep sighed heavily as her gaze dropped to the floor. "Guess the cat's out of the bag, huh?" She chuckled darkly before looking at them, trying her hardest not to look sad. "Yeah, Madame Kissaru is the pirate captain I'd mentioned earlier. Very few people know that I'm a former pirate and even fewer know that she's my former captain. I don't know why, but it always shamed me, just because of how horrible of a person she was, she is. The really sad part about it was that I'd always wondered what it'd be like to be a pirate when I was younger and then out of nowhere here comes Kissaru to give me the firsthand experience. Maybe I felt a bit guilty, as if I'd brought that cursed woman to my home just by hoping that I could one day become a pirate. Like it was my fault that she'd killed everyone that I'd ever known or loved." Sonya paused, a stray tear rolling down her cheek as she obviously thought back to the carnage.

Ralli opened his mouth to speak, but she shook away his intended words. Needing to finish uninterrupted, she took a deep breath and continued, starting off with the smallest of smiles. "I guess I can't be too upset with her though. If it hadn't been for Kissaru, I probably would've never met Marty and that man's the best thing that ever happened to me. But yeah, I was a part of her horrid crew for seventeen months before I'd finally gotten sick of her. At the time, she was only a rookie pirate, hadn't hardly been at it for two years. She wanted to make a name for herself by being as brutal as possible. When I'd finally gotten sick of it, I began secretly informing on her to the Marines, to Marty since he saw me most of the time. When the time had finally come to take her down, it'd been a mess, a poorly executed plan that led to a big confrontation. That was the fight that made Kissaru famous for being the only pirate to ever face down Jon Jon and escape, even though she'd practically lost all of her crew in the process. But she didn't run before leaving Jon Jon with a parting present. She'd stabbed him and the wound was so horrible that he'd nearly died. I felt so horrible after that because I'd thought that I was to blame. If I hadn't been trying to go against Kissaru, then they never would've gotten hurt. Marty had even been forced to give up the Marines due to a severe injury to his leg."

She paused again, taking a deep breath as she was on the verge of crying. "After that, I'd cried so hard for so long. I'd hated myself, hated Kissaru, hated anything to do with pirates, and cursed the day that I'd ever even thought of becoming one. But it took Marty to rebuild my heart and help me through it all. I can't thank that man enough and even Jon Jon had grown close to me after it was all said and done. That all happened twelve years ago, but it was all brought back to my mind the day Kissaru and her pirates stormed into the bar. I'd honestly thought that she'd forgotten about me since she hadn't made any direct moves to attack. I was wrong though. The day she was arrested, she'd finally voiced her feelings. She'd never forgotten me or Marty or Jon Jon or any of their other friends. And she vowed to one day make us regret crossing paths with her." She then chuckled a bit. "But that was before Jon Jon cracked her clean across the face. That was the first time I'd ever seen him hit a woman, but then again, Kissaru's more beast than woman."

Sonya then locked her eyes with each of the trio, a thankful smile on her face as she watched their undivided stares. "That's why I love you three so much!" Tears actually streamed down her face and she didn't make a single move to wipe them away. "If it hadn't been for you three, I wouldn't be here right now. This whole town wouldn't be here right now and I would've had to die thinking that I'd brought destruction to more innocent people. Which is why I need you three to give me hope for the world of pirates! You need to be gentle, but fierce! As wondrous and delicate as a butterfly, but as ravenous and monstrous as a wild tiger! Prove to the world that there is a such thing as honorable pirates, pirates that don't bring destruction but will save the innocent from it. I'm not asking you three to become superheroes, but just…just…just…" She stumbled over the words, her tears still streaming as she screamed, "Prove to me that everything I'd ever dreamed about wasn't wrong, dammit! I want to know that there's more to being a pirate than just death and destruction! Please! I'm begging you, all of you! Show me the world that I'd dreamt of!"

All three smiled, not at all laughing at the woman's conviction, but absorbing it and letting it pour through them.

Ralli slammed a fist onto the bar and jumped out of his seat. "It's a promise, Sonya!" he chimed, standing proudly with the biggest smile he'd shown thus far. "And when I make a promise, I'll die trying to keep it!" He offered her a thumbs up before Ches and Atori stood as well, their thumbs struck out as their promises were made to Sonya, the feisty barkeep.

Sonya wiped at her tears as she looked back at each of them. Then, she smiled herself. "Thank you."


The night came and went without much event. And now the trio was back at the docks, all of their items packed for the long haul. Through the light of the beginning day, they'd found one another and began walking the area for Sonya. The barkeep had promised to meet them there with the boat that she'd promised that night before.

"Hey, I think I see her!" Ches called, squinting his eyes before brightening up and point far down where Sonya was waving ecstatically.

"First one there gets to laze around while everyone else works!" Ralli cheered before breaking off into a sprint.

Atori and Ches shared a moment's glance before blasting off of the ground like bullets to chase down the red-eye.

Surprisingly enough, Ato had been the two, catching up to Ralli in no time. The red eye whined that Atori cheated somehow, but the brunette shrugged away the concern.

What greeted them once they'd arrived was a huge, dory-style boat. It was about 20ft long and seemed to have a custom built mast at the very back with a rudder and a sail to catch the wind, but rowing was definitely a possibility considering the paddles stashed away beneath the tall wooden sides. It was nothing extravagant, but it certainly outdid anything that they'd had thus far.

"I know it's not much, but it's all that…"

"Save your words, Sonya," Atori interrupted as he stepped past the woman and leapt into the boat, instantly reclining against the side. "It's more than what we deserve, so you've done good."

"Yeah, Sonya! I like it!" Ralli chimed, hands on his hips as he took in the glory of their boat. "Now all we need to do is put my jolly roger on that sail." He scrutinized the sail closely, as if trying to decide how he would want the sail to actually look.

"Oi!" Atori called. "Let's save the jolly roger until after we've actually gotten a ship. I don't want some rival pirates showing up to blast us away because you're impatient."

Ralli looked ready to argue, but Sonya settled him with a comforting pat on the shoulder. "I think it's a good idea, Ralli. No need to draw too much attention to yourself just yet. You can get the biggest and brightest jolly roger when you all find a ship. How's about that?"

"I guess," he whined like a child as he stomped over to leap into the boat.

Ches laughed and leapt on in himself. "The conditions seem perfect for sailing. We'll be able to catch a nice breeze on the sea once we set off."

Sonya let out a small whimper as she watched them all get comfortable. "Oh! You guys are going to make me cry! Gosh, I feel like I've known you forever!" The guys all smiled at the poorly restrained tears in her eyes. "Let me go before I start crying again. You three had better be safe out there, okay! Ches, make sure Ralli isn't doing anything stupid and make sure Atori doesn't kill Ralli in his sleep. And someone please make Ato smile at least once a day, otherwise his face will freeze into that scowl he's always wearing."

"Oi! I don't scowl all of the time!" he demanded.

"Yeah, you do!" they all replied simultaneously.

Atori touched his face a bit out of shock as Sonya burst with laughter. "I should go before I decide to jump in the boat and set off with you." She turned to leave, but stopped and turned back. "Oh! And you'd all better get huge bounties! The bigger the bounty, the badder the pirate!" She winked a sly one and then ran off, trying to pretend like she wasn't wiping at her eyes again as she did so.

"I'm going to miss her!" Ches thought aloud as he pulled off the rope holding the boat to the dock.

"I think we all will," Atori added, stretching out on their boat as he closed his eyes.

"We'll see her again one day!" Ralli demanded, standing proudly in the boat as they shoved off from the dock. "And when we do, Ato'll have his brother back and I'll be KING OF THE PIRATES!"


And they're off! See ya Sonya, you brave little vixen you! I honestly will miss writing her character. Too bad she couldn't join the crew, but I don't think Marty would enjoy that too much. Anyways, you guys got a nice little backstory from the barkeep there. Kind of explains the whole deal with Kissaru and such. Hope it was enjoyable. But I got a serious case of the feels writing it though. Poor, Sonya. She will be missed by this writer. But no time for sadness. Only smiles and rainbows as the crew sets off. Onward to...well, somewhere.

So this ends my first arc of the story and we've already got the crew together. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I think the hardest part of writing this story for me is that I have to start at the very begining and work my way up to the action on the Grand Line, but oh well. Every story has to start somewhere. I'm hoping that I can gain the attention of more fans as the story progresses. In any event, I've pretty much got the whole West Blue Saga written out, so I don't plan on slowing down until our crew hits Reverse Mountain! All in all, there's no telling how long this story will be. I've got so much planned and so many other ideas that I'm trying to find room for. GAH! I just can't wait for this story to unfold. Heck, reviews, follows, favs, or not, I just want to see the story play out! So much to consider.

Anways! Catch you guys next Monday for the crew's next stop.

See ya!