Chapter 10: How We Met
I stood silently as the wind blowed gently past me. The sand behind me was stained with dried blood and broken ship parts as corpses were mangled and twisted into the shick wreckages that I had uncaringly crushed into a group of rocks.
A single grave stood in front of me, with nothing more then a wooden cross and a blue scarf wrapped around it. The one beneath it deserved so much more...
I bowed my head in both respect and loss, choking back me sobs as I wiped away my tears. I sat in front of the grave, paced in front of it, thought in front of it, until I felt I was ready, and that's when I started my defeated walk back to town.
I opened the door to the bakery soulessly and closed it just as such. "Ellix! Is that you?" Oren called from the other room. "Where have yoiu been!? I've been worried sick, I thought those blasted Buggy Pirates had got you!" He came into the room and just stared in shock. "What the hell happened to you!?"
"Nothing." I stated as I pushed past him and went to the sink.
"Don't give me 'nothing', why are you covered in blood!?" He demanded.
"There was a second group of pirates that came from the south side." I replied as I washed the red off of my hands and face. "I stopped them."
"It looks more like you massacred them!" He retorted.
"I was protecting the town from a war between two pirate groups!" I shouted.
"By killing all of them!? Ellix, there are plenty of Marines out there like that, but that is NOT the one I trained you to be! What would Marcus even think about thi-"
"MARCUS IS DEAD!" I screamed, slamming my hands on the side, before taking a shaky breath. "Marcus is dead..."
"Shit..." Oren sighed, going into the other room and sitting on the chair. There was silence for a few seconds before he spoke again. "I'm sorry Ellix...I know how much he meant to you."
I shook my head. "It's my fault...why didn't I persuade him to leave?"
"You should take some solace in Marcus' death." Oren advised.
I looked at him. "Solace? He didn't deserve to die how he did in the first place!"
"Marcus went out the way of his old life, fighting. I don't think any man could ask for a more honourable death."
"Honourable!? It was bloody, that's what it was!"
"He had a good life! Nobody he cared about died, and even in old age, he had you! Be grateful for the fact that nothing terrible happened to him and that he could go happy!"
"The only way he could have gone happy is if he died PEACEFULLY! Not SHOT THROUGH THE FUCKING HEAD!"
"Don't use that language in this household, Ellix." He threatened.
"...You know what? I don't care! I've made up my mind!"
"About what!?"
"I'm gonna become a pirate! And then I'm going to continue Marcus' dream of finding One Piece!"
"Are you mad!? Most of the world will become your enemy with a reuptation like that! What have I been telling you all these years!?"
"How to fight! And Marcus had been telling me the life of a pirate! And I'm not gonna let his dream go to waste!" I stomped towards the door.
"Where are you going!?"
"To the harbor! I'm getting a boat, and then I'm leaving for the Grand Line!"
"Don't be so reckless!"
"Screw you!" I slammed the door and started running.
I stormed through the town angrily looking back. 'Stupid ossan!' I yelled in my mind 'I don't care what he says! I'm gonna be a pirate, it was his fault anyway for training me in Rokushiki! He'll see! I'LL FIND ONE PIECE AND BE THE PIRATE KING!'
Just as the speech crossed my mind the ground in front of me exploded, screaming I leaped back and stared into the smoke that had appeared in front of me. In the newly formed crater was a boy, 17 I thought, so a year older then me, wearing a red vest, blue shorts and oddly a straw hat with a red ribbon tied around it.
"H-Hey! Are you okay!? D-Did you just fall from the goddamn sky!?" I screamed frantically at him, still not over my shock.
He turned and looked at me with a blank face, He had shaggy black hair and a scar under his left eye. "Huh?" He said "Who are you?" Tilting his head at me.
"Answer my question first! How can you fall from the sky and be okay!?"
"Oh." He answered smiling a big toothy grin "That's easy!" I then watched with bug-eyes as he hooked his finger into his mouth and STRETCHED IT to the length of his arm. "I'm a rubber man!"
"Rubber? Did you eat a devil fruit?"
"Yep! The Gum-Gum Fruit!"
Suddenly he leaped to his feet in realisation. "Oh no! I have to find Zoro! See ya Skinny!" He then promptly turned and ran off.
I stared for a few seconds before reacting. "Sk...what? Zoro? Sk...Zo...Sk-Skinny!? Wait up!" I yelled dashing after him until I ran alongside him. "Just who the hell are you!?"
He then turned to me and gave me another toothy grin. "I'm Monkey D. Luffy! The man who's gonna be the Pirate King!"
"So wait...your a pirate!?"
"Uh-huh!"
'He certainly doesn't look like one...' I sweatdropped.
"Zoooooorooooo! Where are yooooooou!?" He called as he dashed off ahead of me and around a corner.
'Zoro? Zoro the Pirate Hunter?' I thought as I slowed down to a walk. 'Okay, he's gotta be bluffing. Why would a Pirate Hunter be on a pirate crew? Much less with this guy...'
Suddenly I heard what sounded like fighting around the croner, and I pressed myself against the wall. 'What now?' I peeked around the corner to see Luffy, some ginger girl, and three of Buggy's men passed out! 'Hey, looks like he can fight at least...'
The two then began walking off together. 'Where are they going? Are they crewmates or something?...Whatever, they don't seem harmful, I'd better just get to the harbor.'
After a while I finally got down to the area and found a vacant ship that wasn't smashed to bits by Buggy. 'Damnit...I'll feel bad if I take one of the townsmembers ships...' I then noticed two rafts on the edge. 'Hey...could that be that Luffy guy's raft? I can use that!'
I jogged over to it and began to untie it, when I stopped. 'Am I really doing this? Just leaving my only home to deal with those Buggy Pirates?' I sat down and ruffled my hair in frustration. 'Ahhhhh! Curse my conscience! '
KABOOM!
"Waaah!" I cried as I lost my footing and fell down. 'What the hell was that!?' I looked in the direction of the noise and my eyes widened in horror.
A quarter of the town had been instantly levelled, houses turned into broken pieces of wood with debris scattered everywhere.
'Th...They blew it up!' I thought. 'Just destroyed so much of the town! Why!? For what purpose!? Just for fun!?' I clenched my fists in rage. "You think you casn just desatroy so many peoples lives and memories in those houses and just get away with it!? BUGGY! I'm going to kill you!" Spurred on by rage I sprinted towards the tavern.
Halfway there I heard another explosion! 'Again!? Bastard!' I continued to run until something caught my eye. 'Huh?' I backtracked a bit, rubbing my eyes to see if they were tricking me. '...No way.'
There was Roronoa Zoro himself, dragging a cage containing Luffy in it along. 'Is he...really a part of his crew?...Woah, top points.' Forgetting my goal of pummeling Buggy into the core of the earth momentarily, I walked up to them. "Hey! What are you doing!?"
"Huh? Who're you?" Zoro panted.
"Oh hey! It's Skinny!" Luffy smiled.
"That's not my name!" I yelled at him with shark teeth. "It's Ellix! Wodos T. Ellix! Get it right!"
"That's too long." Luffy pouted. "Skinny is easier!"
I facepalmed just as Zoro collapsed. "Hey! Are you alright!?" I ran over to him to see blood spilling out. "You're wounded!"
"It's no use...I've lost too much blood...got to rest..." He wheezed.
"Then why the hell were you dragging a giant metal cage around!?" I shouted, slapping him across the face.
"Hey! A dog!" The rubber pirate pointed to Chouchou, standing rigid as always in front of the Pet Food Store.
"Oh, hey Chouchou." I greeted him. "See this situation hasn't fazed you."
"What's with it?" Zoro asked.
"Maybe it's dead." Luffy poked him between the eyes, making him bite his face. "Ow! Dumb dog! Let me go!"
"A dog's gonna do that if you poke it between the eyes!" I shouted at him, was this guy retarded or something!?
The two collapsed from their respective injuries. "Oi, oi, you guys aren't very smart are you?' I noted as Chouchou licked my hand affectionately.
"They can't be if they're hiding in the middle of the street." A new voice said, I turned to see that ginger from before.
"Oh look, it's our navigator." Zoro groaned.
"I never agreed to that!" She retorted. "I just wanted to thank you for saving me."
"Saving you?" I repeated, looking at the two, finding it difficult to comprehend they could save a boiled egg.
"Yeah." She sighed, before tossing a key at him.
"Oh! The key to the cage! You got it!" Luffy smiled.
"But I left the map and all the treasure." She sighed again.
"This is great! I'd never thought I'd get out of here!" Luffy grinned.
"Hah...then the rescue...was a success after all!" Zoro smiled.
As the rubbery idiot reached for the key, Chouchou suddenly grabbed and swallowed it. We all stared for a few seconds before..."Dumb dog! Cough it up!" Luffy began chokinbg Chouchou! "That's not food! Gimme that key!"
"Stop doing that to Chouchou!" I shouted as I pulled on his rubbery face.
"Oi! What are you doing to Chouchou!?" We all turned to see a a familiar face. "Ellix?"
"Mayor Boodle?...What are you wearing?"
xxxEoExxx
After we had placed Zoro in a safe house to rest, I was brought up to speed, now knowing Nami's name, Luffy and Zoro's 'rescue', and the position of the rest of the townsfolk, which I was relieved to hear was far away from the chaos.
"Oren wanted to stay, you know how he is." Mayor Boodle said.
"Yeah..." I nodded.
He placed a hand on my shoulder. "Ellix...I'm sorry about Marcus."
"It's not your fault, Mayor." I sighed. "Now though...I feel sour about leaving Oren so badly."
"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get a chance to apologise." He reassured me.
I sat next to Luffy as the Mayor recounted Chouchou's story. "Y'know...shits hit the fan because of you three, making Buggy blow up most of the town, you'd better repay it back or else."
"Don't worry, I'll sort it out." He waved it off, still listening to the Mayor.
"Don't wave me off." I stated with a half-lidded glare.
Just then we heard a roar. "Wh-What's that!?" Nami yelled.
"It's Mohji! The Beast Tamer!" The Mayor facefaulted.
"Mayor! You gotta get outta here!" I told him.
"Okay!" Both him and Nami yelled as they ran off.
"Not you as well!" I facefaulted at her.
"Oi, now something's up. Give me the key, dog." Luffy huffed.
We could only wait as some weird looking guy riding a lion turned up. "Well, well, seems we have two left. I'm Mohji, the Beast Tamer."
"We heard." I said.
"What's the matter? Your friends ditch you?" He asked. "Captain Buggy is pretty mad, you guys have committed a serious crime.
"The hell are you supposed to be, wearing a fur cap like that?" I couldn't believe Luffy's lack of prestige!
"Fur cap!? This is my hair!"
"That just makes it weirder." I failed to suppress a snicker at Luffy's forwardness.
I think he started to talk about some other stuff, but I just tuned it out, watching as Chouchou bit his hand, before he started talking again.
"Hey!"
"Wha?" I looked at him.
"Stop daydreaming when I'm talking to you!"
"Oh, sorry." I said in a bored tone.
"You little-! Kill them, Ritchie!" The giant lion suddenly jumped at us, but I just jumped back as the steel cage was torn apart, and Luffy joined me.
"Tekkai!" I hardened my body as the lion swiped me with its paw, sending me crashing into and through a building. "At least I know my Tekkai still works, I didn't feel a thing!" I stood up and brushed myself down before surveying the wreckage. "Luffy should be okay, he is made of rubber after all."
"Ellix!" I turned to see Oren running over.
"Oren!" I ran up to him.
"Thank Oda your safe Ellix." He said. "When everything started going to hell I was worried that-"
"Oren." I stopped him. "...I'm sorry. No amount of anger could justify the way I behaved to you. I have made my decision, and...I just want to say-"
I was silenced as he raised a hand. "It's alright. I understand what you were going through at the time, and I will support you whatever you do. But if you become a pirate, just don't bring it back to me, otherwise Sengoku will rain hellfire on my ass."
"I promise." I chuckled, but we were interrupted by the sound of barking. "Chouchou?" We both ran back to the store, only to find it up in flames! "The store!"
"Ellix! Grab some buckets!" Oren yelled as he handed me some, whilst he filled up his own.
"Chouchou! Your beat up bad!" I gasped at the little dog. "You fought hard for this place..."
In the end, we could only stop the fire from spreading, with the Mayor and Nami arriving as the store became nothing but burnt wood and ashes. "Chouchou..." I couldn't think of anything else to say as I bandaged his wounds.
"This guy, that guy, pirates are all the same!" Nami yelled. "Destroying everything precious to others!" I looked at her briefly, having a recollection of my former self before Luffy arrived. "Oh, so your still alive, Pirate-san, I thought that lion would've killed you."
"Bit harsh." I sweatdropped, before returning to tending Chouchou. I tuned her out as she was getting loud and annoying, until Luffy placed a bag of dog food in front of Chouchou.
"That's the only one I could bring back." He said as he sat down. "The rest was eaten up, if you believe me! You fought hard, well, I couldn't see it, but I can guess what happened."
Chouchou picked up the bag and walked a bit, before barking his thanks. "Yeah! You be strong too!"
I stared at Luffy in disbelief, he fought a lion to avenge Chouchou's treasure, was this the type of pirate Marcus had told me about.
"Hey Skinny, who's the ossan?" He rudely asked, pointing at my father figure.
"That 'ossan' is my mentor, Marcus." I said.
"Glad to see Ellix making some new friends." Oren shrugged indifference.
"Hey." We looked at Nami. "I'm sorry for screaming at you."
"It's okay, you lost someone important to you because of pirates." Luffy said as he stood off and brushed himself down.
'That's new, but it does explain her hatred for pirates.' I thought.
"I can't stand it anymore!" The Mayor screamed suddenly. "It's just terrible! Chouchou and the youngsters are fighting like this...but why am I, the mayor, just standing around and watching our village get destroyed!?"
"Mayor..." I breathed.
"Woah! Calm down for a second!" Nami tried to reason with him.
"To a real man, there are some fights that cannot be avoided! Isn't that right, kid!? Ellix!?"
"That's right." Luffy smirked.
"Of course, Mayor!" I agreed.
"Don't encourage him!" Nami yelled at us.
I admit I tuned out as the Mayor told his famous story of Orange Town's founding, it gets boring after awhile. I did wake up when a cannonball obliterated the Mayor's house, along with a whole lot more!
"Zoro was in there!" Luffy yelled.
"A man was in there!?" Oren asked as he stood up.
"Hey, Zoro! Are you still alive!?" Luffy called.
"Yeah..." Zoro just sat up in the debris like it was nothing! "That was some bad way to wake me up..."
"Hey! Your alive!" Luffy grinned.
"How exactly?" Me and Nami sweatdropped.
"My chest!" We all looked at the Mayor. "It feels like it's being scraped out! I'm just allowing pirates to trample all over us a second time! They think they can do as they please, but I won't let them ruin 40 years of hard work! I'm the Mayor of this village! And I won't let it be treated this way! I'm going to fight right now!"
"Hold on, Mayor!" Nami tried to hold him back. "Just what are you trying to do!? These people are dangerous! It's too reckless!"
"I KNOW IT'S RECKLESS!" He yelled with tears in his eyes. "Just you wait! Buggy the Clown!"
I sat with a huff as Luffy and Nami began to argue. "I've never seen the Mayor so fired up."
"It's because this village is his treasure." Oren said, before chuckling. "That seems to be coming into play a lot today."
I took out the tiny chest around my neck and looked at it. "I don't really have anything I can consider a true treasure. Maybe I'll find one."
"Maybe you will." Oren said, as I noticed the trio walking off.
"Oi, where are you three going?" I called.
"To get a map to the Grand Line!" Luffy cheered. "Oh, and help that ossan!"
"So are you two coming or not?" Zoro asked.
Oren tapped me on the shoulder and pointed to the roofs, where I could see figures. "You guys...go on ahead, we have business here."
"Suit yourself." He shrugged, though I happened to notice one getting too close to the edge for my own good.
"Soru." I dashed up to him. "Shigan." I pierced a hole in his stomach, making him flop onto the street. "Important business."
"Sugoi!" Luffy grinned. "That mystery power thing is cool!"
"It's called Rokushiki." I corrected him as more pirate members made themselves known.
"Yosh! I've decided! Skinny! Join my crew!"
"My name is Ellix! And no." I shot him down.
"I suggest you three help the Mayor, and leave these ones to us." Oren suggested.
"Great plan! Thanks!" Nami agreed in slight panic as she pushed the other two away.
The rest of the supposed ambush group jumped down. "These guys are serious!" One noted.
"N-No fear guys! Just kill 'em quickly! For Captain Buggy!" The rest cheered before charging.
"These guys should do for a light workout." Oren said.
"Finally I get to practice with moving targets." I grinned.
We both dashed away with Soru and next to one. "Shigan!" We both stabbed one each.
"Kami-E!" My body leaned to the side as one threw a punch, knocking out the guy behind me.
"Tekkai." Oren shattered a sword with his bare hand before tossing the soldier away.
"Soru!" I whiplashed my arm into another, sending him smashing against the wall. "Rankyaku!" The slicing air wave knocked over three at once.
"Shigan Oren!" My mentors finger stabbed rapidly into three, tossing them back like ragdolls. "They didn't name that move after me for nothing!"
"Th-Th-They're impossibly strong!" One yelled.
"Retreat!" Another screamed, sending them all scrabbling away.
"It seems I've taught you well, Ellix." Oren smiled.
"Yes, you have indeed." I smiled.
xxxEoExxx
I still couldn't believe he did it. Luffy had managed to beat Buggy and save my hometown. Easily! I had to admit, I was very impressed.
But of course there's a catch, he was pestering me to join his now three membered crew, saying it was because of my 'mystery power thing'.
"Join my crew!" Luffy yelled.
"Why should I?" I replied. "I was planning to sail solo."
"That's really cool, but why not come with me?"
I sweat-dropped, was he listening to a single word I said? "Listen, I appreciate the offer, but I have my own dreams to fufill."
He tilted his head at me. "Really?"
"Yeah. I wanna become the worlds greatest Rokushiki master!"
"You mean that mystery power thing?"
I once again sweat-dropped. "Sure, why not. But...there's a different reason I wanna be a pirate, have you ever heard of the Blue Scarf Pirates?"
"Nope!" he bluntly proclaimed with a toothy smile.
"Well I became friends with the captain a few years ago. Back then I thought all pirates were evil, but this guy..." I smiled.
"This guy was the nicest man I ever met. His name was Marcus and he was retired by the time I met him, he always told me stories of him and his crew's adventures in the Grand Line-"
"Sugoiii! He went to the Grand Line!?" Luffy yelled with sparkles in his eyes.
"That's right." I laughed. "He was the best friend I ever had, and he only had one regret in his life, do you know what it was?" Luffy shook his head like a little kid.
"That he didn't see the One Piece with his own eyes." I immediantely crossed my arms and frowned. "And when those Buggy Pirates came along, I tried to help him leave, but more pirates appeared, and he died, protecting this village..."
I sighed. "So...I wanna see the One Piece, even if it's just so I can look at it and not touch it. To make sure that if there is a place we go to after...you know...I can tell him. Do you see now? I have to fulfill two dreams, by myself."
Luffy's hat seemed to be covering his eyes when he next spoke. "You have a dream of your own, and you wanna help this old guy..." For once he actually seemed deadly serious. "But that doesn't mean you have to find your dreams on your own. Guess that's your choice." He then stood up. "Ok then! See ya!" And started walking off.
I just stood there for a second, contemplating the actually smart words he just spoke before calling to him. "Listen Luffy, if you really want me to join your crew then-"
"Yay!" He cried wrapping his rubbery arm around me. "Skinny's our new nakama!"
"For the last time, my name's not Skinny!" I yelled at him with shark teeth. "It's Ellix! Wodos! T.! Ellix!"
"That's too long." he whined. "I'll just call you Ellix."
"That's what everyone calls me." I replied sweat-dropping. "Also...wanna refresh me on what happened to the Mayor?"
"I knocked him out so he wouldn't hurt himself."
"...Remind me to punch you later."
As we walked down to the harbor, Zoro and Nami were waiting for us. "So, are you coming with us?" Zoro asked.
"Yep." I confirmed as Luffy hopped on. "You guys sail on first, I'll catch up."
"Why? And do you have a ship of your own?" Nami asked.
"I have my methods." I said as I helped push their ship off. "I just gotta say goodbye first."
"Stop right there you morons!" I jumped as the Mayor ran up next to me.
"Mayor!" Me and Luffy both gasped.
He panted for a bit, and I waited until he looked up with tears in his eyes. "Thank you! I owe you!"
"Don't worry about it!" Luffy waved. "Just live happy lives!"
"I don't know how to express my gratitude..." The Mayor sobbed.
I smiled. "Mayor...I'm planning to go with them."
"Huh? How will you...ah, I see. So you've finally made your choice?"
"If it's with a group like them, I couldn't be happier."
"Mayor Boodle!" The rest of the townspeople joined us. "Are you alright? And Ellix? Why are you here?"
"I'm fine." The Mayor reassured them. "And me and Ellix were just talking."
"Everyone...I'm leaving now." I said.
"Leaving?" A man echoed.
"What are you talking about Ellix?" A woman asked.
"I'm setting off with a pirate crew!"
"Nani!?" They all facefaulted.
"Ellix, you saw what pirates did to our town."
"I know, but these ones are different." I insisted. "I'm sorry, but I've made up my mind. We're heading to the Grand Line."
Everybody looked amongst themselves for a bit. "Well, Ellix...if this is your choice, then I wish you all the best."
"Just be careful okay?"
"Don't get into any dangerous scraps!"
"Everyone..." I smiled. "Now that I'm leaving, I'm sad, you're all...the family I never had."
"Aw damn!" One man sobbed. "We try to give you a respectable farewell, and then you gotta say something like that!"
"We're all gonna miss you, Ellix!"
"Bark!" Chouchou plodded up to me.
"Hey Chouchou, take care of yourself." I petted him affectionately. "Mayor...thank you for protecting me all this time."
"You don't need protecting now." He smiled with teary eyes. "Good luck Ellix, I'll miss you."
I then noticed the one man I wanted to speak to. "Oren..."
"No words are needed." He smiled. "Take care...Ellix." I smiled warmly as we bowed to each other.
"Oh yeah, one more thing." I dragged a bag over and opened it to reveal half of Buggy's treasure. "A present from my crew. There's 5 million Berri worth in here, it should be enough to restore the town, right?"
Everyone just stared with dropped jaws until they all began hugging me. "Ellix! You and your crew are the best!"
"There's...no way I can repay all this gratitude!" The Mayor cried with happiness. "Ellix, tell your friends thanks, from the bottom of my heart!"
"I will." I looked out to the two fading ships. "Well, I'm off...see you again, everyone." I took a running jump off of the edge. "Geppo!" I then kicked through the air onward, leaving the cheers of the town behind me.
"Sugoi! Ellix! Teach me how to do that!" Luffy yelled as I caught up to them.
I landed on Luffy and Zoro's ship. "Alright! I'm here!"
"Welcome aboard." Zoro smirked.
"Glad to see you gave your town a proper farewell." Nami nodded.
"I had to. It's the only place I've ever known."
"Okay!" Luffy pointed forward. "Let's go to the Grand Line!"
I shared everyone's smile as we let the waves and wind carry us, the unmistakable feeling of adventure rushing through my veins.
'I'm on my way, Marcus...'
I have returned from the dead!
Yeaaaaah sorry this is so late, but I've been really busy with revision, coursework and practice exams, please forgive me!
Wow, only Thief-chan reviewed? But Thief-chan's awesome, so that's okay!
Ellix: Oi! I was not cute back then! *grumble*
Okay, okay, I'd better get this chapter up. Review if you enjoyed, and see you next chapter!