*I tried my hardest not to have a cliffhanger this time, but...*

Chapter 29: Teacher's Will

Jorge hated living in Shell. This city was too loud and constantly filled with noisy tourists. Oh how he could wish he could live anywhere else, but that was impossible. He was too old and had too many responsibilities as the school's only teacher. He taught every subject to children between the ages of 5 and 13. The local Shellians sent their children to other islands to study, so the purpose of the lone school was to placate the city's poorer residents who couldn't afford to send their children anywhere. It was a World Government sponsored school and anyone with above average intelligence could tell that it was a front for something sinister.

He knew he was a pawn in the government's game of subjugating the entire globe. He grew up on Ohara and learned from the best, Nico Olvia. However he was recruited by the government at a young age with the expectation that he would only be gone from Ohara for a year. That year turned into ten and then Ohara was annihilated. With no home to go back to he accepted his to die a slave.

He knew why he wasn't killed along with the other Devils from Ohara. He was a loyal slave who could read the ancient texts. Whenever they discovered something related to the ancient weapons or the missing century they came to him to decipher. By this point he had been trained well and knew not to go against the government.


He taught so many children in his lifetime and it brought him great joy to watch them grow up. He was known as Uncle Jorge throughout Shell and was someone to look up to. What little wealth he had, he gave to better his community, called Hill Row that happened to be away from the hustle and bustle of the seaside city, but somehow he could still hear the noise the city made. It was a forested area that had rolling hills and the people that lived there lived in wooden huts or caves.

Only a park separated Shell from Hill Row and the difference between the sections was astounding. Shell showed off its wealth. Hill Row had none to show. Those that lived near the park made sure that the tourists never saw the opposite side using creative signs to keep them away from the park: "For the enjoyment of the locals, the park is closed for guests. Thank you for visiting Shell."


Sienna and Sanji ignored this sign when they took their carriage through the park. It was mostly empty and they didn't get into trouble. It was at this time that Jorge saw them.

It wasn't unusual for tourists to be in the park, it was beautiful. That's why he was having lunch with his students in the park. Getting them out of the stuffy building was always the best policy. They ate and played, well the children played and he kept protective eyes on them. It was when he noticed one of the boys was not with the group and he stood up to look for him, when he saw Sienna.

He could never forget Sienna. He hadn't seen her since she was a toddler but she had the same baby face. He thought she was dead. She was one of the first experiments to be live past birth. Although he was told that she was a failure so he believed that she would have been executed years ago. His heart broke when he remembered all the "failures" that died and he wanted to go to her and talk with her.

But he had his students to take care of. He gathered them up and told them it was time to go back. They gave the customary groans and whined about it being a pretty day and being inside "sucked". Instead of admonishing them for using the word "sucked" like he usually did, he chuckled and said, "Yeah, yeah, it sucks, but let's get this day over with."


Once the day's classes were over, Jorge went in search of Sienna. He first thought was to look for her at the pier. He just so happened upon her walking with a young blonde haired gentleman, so he followed them for a while.


It didn't take long for Sanji to recognize that they were being followed. He causally looked back and noticed that it was an old man who kept up with them.

"I don't want to scare you, but we are being followed," he whispered to Sienna.

"Yeah I know, it's about three of them," she whispered back.

"Three? Where?" he asked. They had stopped at a flower shop and were pretending (or not in Sienna's case) to smell the evening blossoms.

"On the roofs," she answered while bringing a couple of petals to her nose to hide her mouth's movements.

"Are they all like the old man?" he asked, bending over to check the price on a potted fern.

"No, what old man?" She asked, this time looking around. Then she spotted Jorge walking towards her. There was something familiar about him, but she didn't think he was an enemy like the ones on the roof.

Sanji moved closer to Sienna and casually lit a cigarette, preparing for a fight. However Jorge walked up to them, handed them an overly patterned handkerchief and said, "Young lady, I believe you dropped this in the park," and kept walking.


Sienna looked at the handkerchief and saw that words were sown on it, almost imperceptible within the pattern. This trick was something her master used when passing on orders. She had to use her fingers to trace the otherwise jumbled message and knew what she had to do.

She reached up to hug Sanji, pressing their bodies close. She said out loud, "Thank you for the wonderful date!" Then when his shock wore off, and he took the cigarette out of his mouth, he placed his arms around her middle, she whispered to the crook of his neck, "We need to run, we can't go back to the Sunny right now. I know the way to go, but we just need to get rid of our tails."

"I'm on it," and he let her go (regretfully) and brought the cigarette back to his mouth.

She grabbed his hand and led him to an alleyway that had a set of stairs that led to the roofs above them. Before they could take a step up the stairs their pursuers dropped down.

"Really? This is some bullshit?" Sanji cursed. Their enemies were more of those creepy marine kids.

"Just because they're kids, doesn't mean you should hold back, Sanji," Sienna said. She was apathetic about fighting after she saw the kids. Mainly because she thought this would be the perfect time to use her blade and she was upset that it wasn't here. She was pouting before the first punch was made.


The fight lasted for only a few seconds. Sanji knew that it was because this group of kids was weaker than the ones they fought a week ago, but he was surprised by Sienna's reaction. He was worried that she would turn into the monster that Robin, Brook and Usopp witnessed. What he got was a bored girl who took out her opponent in two hits and waited almost impatiently for Sanji to finish. Once done, she turned and ran.

"You seemed disappointed," he said as he followed her through the streets of Shell.

"I just wish I had my blade, that's all," she said.

They bumped into a couple of waiters from the restaurant earlier. Sienna stopped, because she got the idea to have them deliver a message to the crew. She only managed to hand them the handkerchief before a loud shot rang out and Sanji fell.