Hello! This is an update as of December the 22 (No, I am not abandoning this!) Just wanted to let you all know, I made a huge mistake while updating last time, and posted what was meant to be chapter 18 in place of chapter 17. I've fixed it now, you can go and view it. Thanks!
As always, many thanks to my betas for your efforts in proofreading this chapter.
"Haruta has been inconsolable for almost a week." Izou snapped. "Jiru's practically taken over all of her work. Something needs to change."
"Alright, yoi. Curiel, the tenth division hasn't had any major incidents lately, so if you could lend Jiru a hand-"
"I meant about Haruta!" Izou shouted, shocking most of the commanders. Whitebeard looked at him with concern as he continued. "She hadn't been to any meetings recently, either!"
Marco glanced at the twelfth division commander's empty seat. "And what do you want me to do, yoi?" he asked calmly.
"Tell us what happened so we can help." Izou said tersely.
"But what if we don't know what happened?" Thatch asked. "We have no idea why Haruta is behaving like this. Marco and I have both tried to talk to her!"
"Didn't Ace talk with her before he left? They weren't on good terms, maybe that's why?"
"Ace apologized for leaving without fulfilling their agreement and promised he would fulfill it the next time they meet, yoi."
"Why did he leave anyway?"
Thatch glanced at Marco. "Maybe he had something he needed to do urgently." he suggested.
"Tch. As if. He probably just gave up." Curiel muttered. Many commanders nodded in agreement.
Thatch opened his mouth to argue otherwise, but a look from Marco had him closing it without a word. How could they think that of him?
The two men that weren't afraid to laugh stood out starkly on the street.
Their stances indicated confidence, while their appearances were just plain weird.
The one with the pompadour had two swords and looked like he knew how to use them.
Her instincts were telling her they were dangerous, and that she should just walk past them.
But they were also telling her they were loaded, and she couldn't afford to miss such a golden opportunity, not if she wanted to clear the debt she owed the local apothecary for sewing up some nasty gashes on her arms.
Three steps away.
Two.
One and…
She was knocked straight to the ground.
The man with the pompadour was like a freaking bull! She began to wonder if he was made of metal.
"I'm so sorry!" The man began to panic.
"Uh-"
"Are you alright?"
That was her cue. "Yeah, I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention." she said sheepishly.
"It's fine."
"Do you know where the docks are? I left my uncle's ship this morning and now I have no idea where I am."
"They're just two blocks down that way, yoi," The blonde pointed in the direction they came from. "Just keep going straight down and make a right."
"Well, at least I'm close." she said, after letting out a sigh of relief. "Thanks!"
"No problem, kiddo! I'm Thatch, and this is Marco."
"Haruta, nice to meetcha!"
"We're headed to the market, any chance you could point us in the right direction?"
"Just go straight and there'll be some signs posted up, you can't miss it."
"Well, we have to go. Maybe we'll see you around, Haruta!" Thatch smiled.
"We're not leaving for a week or so, so maybe we'll meet again." Haruta waved to them cheerily and continued down the street.
She took a turn into a dark alleyway and shook the pouch a bit. "Idiots. But man, this is a lot of money."
"I want a crate of apples and a crate of peaches, to be delivered to the second ship docked at the pier. It's shaped like a whale."
"I'll need a down payment now and the rest after it's delivered." the old man croaked.
"Nah, we'll give it all to you now. It's too much of a hassle to keep track of how much we owe to who."
Seeing that the old man had nodded his agreement, Thatch reached down to grab his pouch of money.
"Um… Marco?"
"Yeah?'
"Is it just me, or is the money missing?"
"We literally spent twenty minutes on the island and you managed to lose all of the money for restocking?"
"It was right here a second ago?!" he said with a hint of panic. If the money was well and truly lost… he shuddered, crying internally. Marco's going to deduct from my precious allowance again!
"There are a lot of thieves in the city. The locals know to avoid them, so they usually steal from newcomers." The owner of the fruit stand added his own thoughts. "They can sniff out money no matter how you hide it, so it's not wise to keep too much on you."
"But I would know if someone robbed me!" Thatch protested. "Marco? Hello?"
"I don't think anyone got close enough to take the money… You bumped into a kid, didn't you, yoi?"
"But what kind of thief would tell his name to strangers he just robbed? Isn't that just asking to be found?"
"Hey, old man. Is there anything I can do today?"
"Yes, actually. I need you to give a hand to my boys to get all the orders done today. Lots of merchants docked yesterday and today so we're behind."
"Great, thanks!" Haruta smiled.
"And the last order is…"
"A crate of apples and a crate of peaches, to the ship shaped like a whale."
"I don't suppose it's that huge ship over there?"
"I'm pretty sure that's a pirate flag…"
"I'm pretty sure it's the Whitebeard Pirates' flag…"
"Here, Haruta! We'll tell our old man to pay you extra for your troubles today, just finish this last delivery for us! We just remembered we have something urgent to do, so thanks!"
"Seriously, guys?" she shouted at the two teens' disappearing backs.
"Um… Hi?"
"What is this?"
"Fruit." she replied flatly.
"Hey, Jack? Did Commander Thatch mention he was purchasing fruit?"
"I don't remember. Go and ask."
"Yeah, sure. Wait here for a sec, kiddo."
Thatch… that sounded familiar. Not in a good way.
"They delivered the fruit? Yeah, I didn't pay the vendor for that yet. Let me get the money…"
Crap.
Yep, she knew him after all.
"We know it was you, yoi."
"Where's the proof?" She crossed her arms stubbornly.
"Seriously? Come on, kid."
"I told you, I didn't steal your money! And I'm not a kid, either!" She glared at Thatch.
"So you didn't take this bag from us?" Marco fished out an empty pouch with a familiar jolly roger on it from her pocket.
"..."
"I'm not giving it back. I don't even have it anymore."
"Okay." Thatch shrugged. "I guess you need it so it's fine."
"What do you mean, okay?!"
"We're leaving in three days. Wanna come? I know Pops already asked you."
"Go to hell. I'm not going to be a pirate."
"Why not? Don't you want to sail the Seas and see everything the world has to offer?"
"No."
"Then you wanna stay here forever?"
"Go away."
"Make me."
She glared at him. "I'm going to be a Marine."
"Bet they rejected you."
She hissed at him angrily, proving him right. "That's none of your business."
"Well, it is now, seeing as you're going to be my little brother. Come on, let's go! To adventure!" Thatch grinned.
"I'm confident that the higher-ups will accept Fire Fist as a Shichibukai. It is a decision to be expected. After all, prior to my visit to Marineford,the Marines were completely unaware of our existence. We have tipped them off this time."
"Zehahahaha! That's fine. We can always take out one of the other Warlords when the time comes. I still haven't found the fruit, but the lead I'm following now is reliable."
"Sengoku already knows that Jesus Burgess and the others were responsible for Drum. He'll be trying to catch us."
"He won't be able to find me until I have my fruit. What better hiding spot then under the shadow of the great 'Whitebeard'?
A/N:
Hello! How has the summer been going for everyone?
I've actually been pretty busy lately doing things like community service.
(A quick mention, in case anyone is confused, the Whitebeards do not know Haruta is a girl. Some of the more perceptive ones will discover it, but yeah. Short hair and all, I think Haruta can act as a boy pretty convincingly).
***** An update on the status of this fanfiction:
Recently, I've finished my emergency stockpile of chapters (and all of my brain juice, apparently) so I've been unproductive…
This has made me take some time to consider this fanfiction, and based on my observations not everyone is content with my frequent lapses and changes in my schedule, which have been occurring more commonly.
I am regretful to inform you that this will most likely continue until I find an updating schedule I can adapt to with the loss of my pre-written chapters, or until I have a sudden burst of inspiration and miraculously write 20k in one night.
After reviewing and rereading ASL Reborn multiple times, I can assure you that I've made some changes in my plot for the next few chapters, which will make them easier to write.
I WILL NOT BE GIVING UP THIS FANFICTION ANYTIME SOON. *******
On the other hand, some news you might enjoy.
As we continue further down the plot, some of the characters that we haven't seen much of will begin to appear (Straw Hats, Revolutionary Army, Marines, etc.)
Also, things will be getting more exciting as we see some more action. Please be patient!
Review(s):
Hey, WhiteyWolf26! It's great to hear from you again. I know that with my wacky updates a lot of readers might think I've given this up and have stopped following, so I really appreciate someone leaving a review for me to provide encouragement and ideas. I'm not exactly that great at describing wounds or battles, so I probably won't be going into too much detail, but I'll make him undergo surgery or something… (Yup! I"m a evil person!) Blackbeard escaping smoothly is definite, because I have plans for him. In the future it might be a bit difficult to deal with him… Nahh, should be fine. In the manga, it's clear that Luffy fighting Blackbeard + the Navy will likely be the final showoff, but I might not necessarily make it like that. What do you think? Ideas will be helpful!
I will be going on vacation soon, and it is unlikely that I will squeeze out another chapter in such a short time, so… September, I guess.
Thank you to everyone for continuing to support ASL Reborn.