Prof. Pirate. Chapter 8: A Job Half-Done Was At Least Well Begun
"Reports of my update schedule were greatly exaggerated."
-B. R. III.
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The Straw Hat Pirates were currently still situated at their chosen table, and though their
"Hey Luffy, mind explaining why you're so set on getting that old guy onto the crew? I mean he seems nice and all, but isn't he a little old for a grand adventure on the high seas?" Came a confused question from Usopp.
"Well every really great pirate crew had an old guy on it right? You just have to have one." To Luffy, the answer was obvious, to Usopp, he was practically aghast.
"But don't you think we should know a little bit more this guy before you invite him? You can't seriously be saying that's all you need to take someone onto your crew? We don't even know where he comes from." The poor long-nosed boy asked in a voice that did little to show his mounting distress.
"Yep!" The young captain said, still smiling. "Plus he looks a lot like Shanks." He added, as if that was all the reason that anyone could ever want.
Usopp looked desperately around the table to anyone that might help him, but all he found was a despondent ginger attempting to avoid eye contact and a swordsman trying to hide his face in his drink.
All at once, Luffy's face took on a look of great concentration. "Actually, where did they go? I'm going to go find them, save some food for me!" And with that, he left the table at once and bounded over to the side doors that his two, presumable, subjects of attention had recently exited from.
Usopp rose in protest. "Luffy come on! It's none of our business what they're do-" Before he was forced back into his seat by the strong grip of Zoro, who, with his face no longer obscured by his drink, looked just a tad more serious than usual before he began to speak.
"I don't think there's going to be anything that you could do Usopp. You know what they called me before I joined this crew? Pirate Hunter, and that only made the idiot that much more exited to get me to join. Besides, the old guy seems alright." He paused while the younger man glumly considered his words before cracking a large grin. "Who knows; it might be nice to have someone else on the ship that's not a coward, an idiot, or so obsessed for money that they'd charge people on the brink of starvation for food." He finished sardonically.
The attitudes around the table changed immediately. "Oh like you're any better! You're the one that got yourself stabbed in a life or death battle just to show off how much blood you had!" Came a reply from the now irate ginger. Usopp appeared to be formulating a counter attack of his own, and with that his concerns where, for now, left behind for more 'Important' matters.
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Luffy was not, contrary to popular belief, unintelligent. On the contrary, he possessed a keen understanding of both a surprising number of subjects and his capabilities and limitations in them, and was, generally at least, fairly accurate in his summations.
So when he walked out onto the upper deck of the Baratie and saw the Professor standing at the railing and seemingly watching something intently, Luffy decided to do something that was not at all what someone with less knowledge of the young man would expect him to do:
He stayed quiet.
With his patented 'Stealth mode' activated, Luffy approached the old man, and as he got closer, he could hear the unmistakable sounds of a man giving an impassioned speech with a stuffed nose. Or it could have been a sea-faring duck attempting an extended mating call. Either way, whatever was down there was clearly worth listening to in some capacity, and so, by pure logical reasoning, he decided that he had to find it's source.
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"-So just put your differences aside for now. After all, no matter what your ambitions are, if you die of starvation, there's no way you'll ever manage to reach them. I don't care if you want to kill each other, just do it after you eat." Sanji was making a noble attempt to convey to two men that achieving a armistice was a good idea to the best affect that he could, and he was doing quite well, considering he had a laundry pin clasped upon his nose. Beside the two men, were pistols of a strangely ancient design, one of which seem to have been discharged recently.
Siegfried was quite certainly intrigued by what he saw, intrigued and yet also somewhat befuddled as he methodically took in notes from the targets of his observations and their bedraggled appearances.
Here before him on the lower deck sat two men, one old and one young. One was wearing a headband and a jacket as clothing that seemed to have been worn on him for a while and was obviously a pirate of some years, and currently of a diminished constitution, likely due to starvation. The man had the innate feeling of a killer about him, and yet The Professor felt there might be something more, somewhere.
The other was a young bandaged marine with a similar, if not as severe, starved appearance and some kind of blood loss apparent to him, quite probably from his newly bandaged wounds, these Siegfried eyed over for a moment. So for that moment, let us take a brief glance into his mind.
"He's sustained two shots to his arms, left is fully out of commission due to puncture wound but the muscles aren't irreparably torn, right received slight gashes and surface area cuts to a maximum deepness of 0.00156 centimetres, both should be expected recovery to be two to three days thanks to proper treatment from Sanji. The projectiles that caused this are of an uncommon shape, round ammo? Strange.
One ricocheted off his topmost right rib at an angle of approximately 6.4679 centimetres. Just a few off from skidding off the tip and tunnelling through his chest and into his heart, which is currently beating semi-regularly, probably from a recent release of adrenalin from his system."
His eyes roamed from his wounds to the rest of the boy
"This boy looks so green he's probably been plucked off his home branch less than half a year ago, So why is he here alone?" The Professor wondered to himself.
Tying both of these interesting appearances together like some kind of Gordian knot was a blond chef that had just finished an excellently employed verbal essay in an attempt to get the two seemingly starving men to eat the fine plates of fried rice and meat laid out before them without any goes at each other's throats due to the logically assumed animosity between their respective allegiances. And yet the weapons continued to frustrate him. If only he could get a closer look he could-.
"Oh hey Thorson! What's going on?" Siegfried was disappointed with himself, he'd let himself get so wrapped up in analysis that he forgot to remain aware of his surroundings. After the shock wore off, and he managed to avoid falling off the railing, he resolved to make sure not to let that happen again.
Likewise, the narrator resolved to attempt his best to not be interrupted by the exuberant lad in the future.
The Professor pressed out the resultant creases in his suit. "I've yet to divine the exact nature of how this scene came to be as it is Mr. Luffy, honestly I was watching to find out myself. Here, take a look yourself."
The younger man looked confused for a brief moment. "Why are you calling me mister? Oh hey, it's that chef guy!"
Siegfried chose to ignore the first bit, as much as it confused him, he decided to let it drift to the back of his mind for the moment as he saw that Sanji had walked away from his prior position and sat down against the railing a short distance away before lighting up a new cigarette and gingerly removing the laundry clip from his face, though he winced and coughed a bit as he did so.
The other two inhabitants of the lower deck seemed to keep switching their eyes from the plates of gently steaming food to each other's faces, both sweated and neither one seemed like they'd be willing to attempt a move before the other. They then promptly both collapsed on the deck. A few minutes passed before they, from their position on the floor, reached out to the food and began eating with a furious enthusiasm.
Siegfried was not unpleasantly surprised when he heard the lilting of gentle, grateful sobbing coming from the two formerly starving men as they ate. He knew the feeling well.
"Thank you! This is delicious. Thank you. Thank you so much, I thought I was going to die." The pirate sobbed out in-between shovelling in food.
"Of course it is. You're lucky I came out when I did you know. In the shape you're in, I can't imagine you'd get very far after your little fight with your marine friend over there, and I doubt Patty would allow in a non-paying customer, bastard that he is." Sanji nonchalantly replied as he finished taking a drag from his cigarette. "By the way kid, your arm should be good in a few days. You're either really lucky or really fast."
The boy, as The Professor could now see he was, was currently engaged in the process of inhaling the proffered plate of food as the chef finished his sentence, the boy then attempted to agree via vigorous nodding of the head. Unfortunately, he attempted to do this while still shovelling food in at that unprecedented rate, and that lead to a good few minutes of coughing on his part. Siegfried winced, getting rice caught in your repertory system was not an experience he ever wanted to repeat.
Siegfried looked back at the young man with the straw hat, mostly in an attempt to bury the memory of that one particularly large rice grain, when he noticed that the youth had once again donned his large smile.
"Hah! Looks like I found my chef!" He exclaimed excitedly while laughing. "You're both lucky he gave you some food. I thought you were goners!" He laughed and smiled still more. "So hey listen Mr. cook, why don't you leave this boat and join my crew?"
Sanji seemed more confused by the offer than anything as he looked up. "Huh? What are you talking about?"
"I could use a cook like you on my pirate ship." The young man beamed before leaping down to perch on the railing next to the trio.
"You're a pirate?" Sanji asked in an almost bemused tone. The older pirate sitting next to him just looked on from his finished dish in bewilderment at the young man.
"Yep!" He laughed. Though Siegfried could only see the topmost portion of his face, he still looked like just saying that was one of the greatest things the boy could experience. It seemed strange to him, even after Luffy's earlier declaration of pursuing a monarchic position over the nautical criminal class. So he made a mental note to ask the boy about his reasoning for accepting such a marking moniker for his chosen profession.
"Hey uh, is he okay?" Siegfried saw the straw hatted boy motion at the still snorting naval boy who was now attempting to make what may have been an accusatory gesture at the young man asking about his health.
Sanji gave the rice-impaired boy a cursory glance. "Yeah he should be fine be. But in response to your question, I can't join your crew, I have business that I still haven't finished here." He said.
This only seemed to affect Luffy's mood as much as a stray cloud on a sunny day would effect a plant, that is to say he was blooming with only slightly less enthusiasm than before.
"Really? How come?" He asked. Truth be told, Siegfried was himself rather interested in the conversation. It was hard to believe that just a few moments ago he'd thought that he would have to play the part of the negotiator between two wounded and starving sea farers and a chef that didn't seem like he reacted entirely the way he was supposed to the blend of fine herbs he'd given him. That latter part was something he was feeling particularly glad hadn't come up in a manner that he'd have to directly respond to yet.
As it stood, he had yet to form evidence sufficient to calm the young man's questions, and he'd never liked lying to well meaning people.
So for the moment, he was content to stand on the second deck and listen to the conversation going on below him and catalogue information.
Among several pieces of trivia about the owner of the sea-faring restaurant, most of which gained a soft inward smile as his beloved observation skills proved to still be proper working order by Sanji confirming much of what he'd gleaned from his little staring match with Zeff the other day, he managed to pick up one or two lines about why he was having to drag out his old set of carpenter's knowledge.
"How on Earth do you turn self defence into a stray shot the way he did?" He thought to himself in response to Luffy's claims.
As the conversation slash argument wore on between the two young men, Siegfried found himself looking out at the sea and it's endless allure. He was almost forced to wince as he stared out at the line forming his vision's end of range as the sun glittered off this strange ocean's blue, had it really been that long since he was at sea? He found himself wondering.
Ah, but it was just as beautiful as he could remember in his best of memories. A shining stone of aquamarine and sapphire, that's what she was. He supposed an old sailor's longing for that wondrous deep blue never really left, as much as he'd found his Katherine's eyes fresh, forest water eyes to be as deep and beautiful as the sea on it's calmest days, if not more so, it seemed that the ocean's envious curse on the men that sailed her still attempted to haunt him. Even if this sea seemed an entirely different one.
It was that very thought that brought him back to his current reality, and that brought back those curious firearms that he'd seen on the lower deck before. So, not wishing to test the mettle of his legs again so soon, he took a more roundabout route than the one his apparent wood-working apprentice took.
"Seems the dinning room's calmed down nicely. They must deal with things like this fairly often I suppose, if the given state of naval battles are being presented as factual in those old papers. Too many pirates and big-headed marines apparently." He thought as his route took him through the now normally running dining area.
When he managed to find his way through to the lower deck, a journey he was annoyed at himself forgetting to ask directions on a large ship he'd only been on a day, he saw that the scene was mainly the same, save for the fact that the overly bandaged marine boy seemed to have finally cleared his windpipe, and was nursing a rather large welt on his head. The older pirate with a headband was now standing in a small rowboat, and the conversation he was having between the duo of Luffy and Sanji seemed to be fairly benign from what The Professor could hear on the wind.
The dishes from the two recovery meals had also vanished.
Siegfried arrived at the group just in time to hear the tail-end of the conversation.
"-and again, no matter what, you've saved my life, and I won't forget that." The Headband pirate said to Sanji.
Sanji grinned. "You just make sure that you don't end up starving again, alight Gin?" Of course now that he was leaving, Siegfried had found out his name. The whims of convenience where often ill-timed it seemed.
Gin, as Siegfried now knew as all to frustratingly late, stopped for a second in his preparations to leave "What are you going to do with the him though? I can't imagine he'd be able to find his way at sea even if you gave him a boat after all." He said. The remark seemed to sting the younger man in question, however, the stinging of his head seemed to triumph over the other, and he remained seated, but grumbling.
Sanji casually glanced at the boy before grinning again. "Oh him? Well we keep running out of waiters, so maybe he could earn his keep for a bit while he's waiting for the next marine vessel to drop by." He said.
This seemed enough humiliation to actually make the young marine rise up from his sitting position, and from what Siegfried could see, was more like than not to earn himself another unsalaried wound.
Whether it was out of compassion for the young lad, or simply out of his old naval instincts, Siegfried decided that it would be best for all involved if he were to introduce himself into the conversation now.
And so, dragging out his best officer's voice from it's long resting place, playing cards and talking about how much better things were back in the day when he actually used them with his angry voice and his Italian voice, he spoke.
"Recruit! Fall in and present yourself, on the double sea-man!"
Hearing this was actually enough to unbalance the young man enough that he almost fell right on to his face, but with an impressive amount of bodily self control, he managed to right himself and snap back onto his feet with a proper salute. Though he winced as he was forced to bring his right arm to bear over his head.
"Sir! Sea-man recruit Forested Timothy reporting!" He respectfully yelled out.
However, instead of seeing lieutenant Fullbody or one of his petty-officers red in the face over his failure to respond or, presumably apprehend the now sailing away pirate, he instead saw a tall, kindly faced old man with a finely looked after grey-red beard and a very comfortable looking suit.
He smiled through his beard at the much younger man. "No need to panic my young friend. I only really have one question." He then had a rather confused look on his face. "Actually, make that three questions. Is that alright? Also, I'd like to apologize for startling you, I just thought it would be the best way to help you avoid getting yourself hurt… again I'm guessing?" He said in a low bass voice.
"Uh, um.. Sure?" He answered. Clearly the young man was not quite over his shock at not having to be forced under the scorn of his commanding officers
The Professor smiled brightly. "Excellent! Now then, first of all. You belonged to the ship under the command of that Fullbody fellow, yes?" He asked.
After sitting back down and going back to nursing his head, as well as his other wounds, the boy answered. "Well, yes. Or, I mean, I was. It looks like they took off without me though. We were supposed to be guarding the Pirate Gin to headquarters and- oh gosh darn it!" He shouted. For a sailor, he evidently didn't have curses of one, young as he was. "Why the heck did they leave the guy that was on no rations for a week to guard the prisoner?!" He smashed his head against the deck in frustration, then immediately regretted it as he remembered what kind of shape he was in.
The Professor was a bit taken aback. Of course, why else would he in a starved condition. Well that was two questions down for the price of one, which was almost always useful. Though the boy appeared to have a bit of a disposition towards looser lips than one would recommend for a young sailor. However, seeing the situation he was in, Siegfried could understand the boy's plight.
"Well then, if you don't mind we'll move on the second question. Could you tell me your name again?"
The boy raised the eyebrow that he wasn't picking splinters out of. "It's Forested Timothy, didn't you hear me the first time? I'm sorry if you didn't, I can try better next time!" He seemed very concerned for such a minor thing.
Suddenly something nearly clicked in The Professor's mind. He wasn't sure what, but he had a feeling it would come to him with the next question.
"Don't worry yourself, I was just a bit confused for a moment. Now for my third question, would you mind terribly if I took a look at your firearm? I know you should keep it to yourself, but-"
"Oh sure, have a look!" He said, interrupting The Professor's attempts to convince him against his better instincts to give his only weapon over to a stranger. Clearly, the boy was too naïve for his own good.
Upon inspecting the entirely too easily given up sidearm, Siegfried was, for an entire minute, stunned with surprise. The pistol was almost exactly the same as some of the early 1800's flintlock pistols that he had in his collection. The major observable difference of course, being that it was practically factory new. All of a sudden, that near clicked realisation hit him with the force that only a scenario like this can bring.
The sea's current's felt far different then they should have been.
Piracy was rampant and there was a world government.
People using different conventions of name order.
Pre-current century weapons being produced and given out as standards to a large united naval force.
And a boy who declared with the most pure passion he had ever heard someone speak with that he would be The Pirate King.
He truly was in another world.
And that realization couldn't be put off any longer.
"Hey Professor! Are you alright?" The Professor's trained mind was always poised to latch onto stable ground as soon as the possibility of snapping back to rational thinking presented itself, and Luffy's question presented that opportunity.
He shook his head lightly as he came back into awareness as he mechanically pocketed the pistol. To the meek protests of the injured Foreste- Timothy.
"Err, yes. Right, I'm fine thank you Monkey- I mean, Luffy. I believe now would be best for us to commence with the repairs." He walked over and began speaking to Sanji in a carefully managed volume. "Well I hope you take good care of Timothy here, I have reason to believe that he's been through a quite bit recently." He said.
The blond chef walked towards the injured marine recruit and, though Siegfried knew the young man was strong he was still quite impressed with the ease that he picked up the slightly younger boy and deposited him over his shoulder. Despite the slightly less meek protests of the crewman in his custody.
"Oh don't worry yourself there old man. C'mon, let's get you into a proper uniform before you go out. Can't have people wondering why there's a marine working here, it might spook the customers." He turned to The Professor. "Oi, and Old Man, You're going to have some explaining to do about that little pipe of yours. I ended up eating a ham meant for a party of two, and you're going to have to tell me why I just happened to do that little stunt. Okay?" He stated with as about as much menace as a man that was formerly speaking with a clothespin on his nose can, before walking off with the weakly grumbling Timothy in tow.
The Professor cleared his throat and stretched. For some reason it felt like he'd just woken up from a several month rest.
"Well then Luffy, come with me. I expect that with my teachings, you'll be learning the art of woodwork swimmingly" He said pleasantly as they walked and bounced away to the new construction site respectively.
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The New World Journal of Prof. Siegfried E. R. Thorson.
Entry #1:
'Though I'm not exactly sure why I was expecting anything else-"
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AN:
"And~~~~~~~ we're back! Whew, 105 followers, and 72 favourites as of the posting of this chapter! That's quite impressive for a relative newcomer to the One Piece fanfic community if I do say so myself. And I do! Not to toot my own horn too much though. I still remember my first two reviews, as I'm sure you do as well, Kaori and See-Me-Clearly."
"Now on to the responses!"
"Well Guest, I hope that little interlude tickled your fancy, but if it didn't, don't worry! The Straw Hats will be featured much more prominently very soon!"
"Thanks again Book, your reveiews have always been very encouraging for me."
"FIREmizuchi: Thank you, just thank you is all I can say to show how much I appreciate your review. Thank you."
"To Soul's questions, well if you can get the name, you're halfway there for what I have planned for him. I'll tell you now though, he's not becoming a Straw Hat. One Original crew member is quite enough of a hassle as it is. And Soul? Sorry to tease you like that."
"Thedudemanbro. First off, I like your name. Second, I won't tell either way, as I see you're privy to Bruno's little coin trick. You won't know if I have the taste of a liar! Giorono Giov-! You get me."
"HeileWelt. I'm happy to please, I hope the next chapter lived up to your expectations. I get better the more writing I do, so I sometimes do a few touch-ups to the earlier bits."
"Celeste D. Lilica, I really do hope that you liked the other chapters as much as you wanted to. I hope that you'll like these new ones even more."
"Thus concludes the responses. I'll see you next chapter in: The Professor's Journal of Wonder!"
B. R. III.