Hello Everyone,
I put up a collage of the concept art on my deviantart, SurferoftheWeb. Check it out if you're interested. I'll post more drawings as the story progresses.
9/3/2021
Chapter 3: The Pirate
The sun was barely rising over the horizon when Reiju finished her morning routine. She was finishing rolling up her right sleeve to her elbow when her roommate awoke with a yawn.
She looked through a mess of bed hair. "Reiju-san?"
"Morning Kiara-san," Reiju replied, picking up a pink clip her brothers got her.
"Do you need help?" Kiara asked.
"I got it." Reiju said, pinning the cloth to her sleeve. Now that the extra fabric was out of the way Reiju yanked Kiara's covers off her bed. Kiara moaned in betrayal. "You're going to fall asleep again."
"I promise I won't." Kiara said and rolled out of bed, hitting the floor with a thud. She moaned again.
Reiju giggled and left their room to go to the men's quarters.
Niji must have heard her approached because he had to the door open to greet her. "Morning Nee-san."
"Morning Niji. How are the headphones?" Reiju asked, her fingers brushing over the noise cancelling headphones that Niji wore. Several months ago Niji's sense of hearing developed beyond anything she could have imagined. His ears were so sensitivity that talking sounded like bombs going off. The sudden development of his senses was a concern to Reiju but Niji's personality remained unchanged so she assumed it was a result of how the poison interacted with the genetic engineering.
The headphone would cancel all sound for an average person but for Niji, he could hear at a normal level. It took a chunk out of their savings, but Niji was no longer suffering from his own hearing.
"Perfect!" Niji said, but gave a side glance to Yonji who was still snoring away in his bed. "Though there are some people I wish I couldn't hear."
"Yonji, wake up," Reiju called. "We're training today in the afternoon."
"Awww, that's today?" Yonji groaned. "Sanji, take my place."
"I've got work, dummy," Sanji shot back, hopping around to get his other shoe on.
"Sanji is training to be a cook." Reiju said. "Until you three know what you want to do, we'll keep up your training."
"You guys should find the All Blue with me." Sanji suggested.
Yonji grinned as he switched to a nice shirt. "Sound like fun."
Reiju sighed. "Sanji, the All Blue doesn't exist. Stop chasing that ridiculous fantasy."
"But Reiju, you don't know. It could be out there. Someone's just got to find it!"
"That's enough. I don't want to hear any more about this matter. You will not waste your life chasing a fantasy."
"When I'm a cook you, can't stop me from looking from the All Blue." Sanji stated.
"You wouldn't make it out there on your own." Reiju said firmly.
Sanji looked like he wanted to say something but Ichiji shoved him from behind. "Move it, the carpenters are refurnishing some rooms and want me and Yonji to help."
"Oh crap! I'm going to be late!" Sanji wiggled around Reiju and ran down the hall. Reiju shook her head.
The rest of the siblings split up for work.
The sky was overcast with depressing grey clouds, further dampening Reiju's mood. It wasn't often that she fought with Sanji but it was always over that stupid imaginary ocean. Reiju thought it would be a fleeting fascination but it grew into an obsession instead. Now Yonji was starting to get ideas in his head whenever Sanji mentions adventure. She wasn't sure how she could convince Sanji to give up on that silly dream.
When her shift ended, Reiju went to go change into clothing she could spar in. Though they no longer needed to fight, Reiju had her brothers train enough to retain their skills so that they could protect themselves. Sanji was the exception since he spent most of his time in the kitchen and when Reiju trained with him, it was mostly for self-defense.
She would never make him fight.
Yonji personally had to work on rushing into a fight. He was stronger than they average adult man but he charges in without thinking - like a wild bull. One day he would run it someone smarter or stronger than him and Reiju had to prepared him for that inevitability.
She stepped out of her room and found Yonji waiting for her by the stairs. "Are you ready?"
"Yup,"
The ship suddenly shook, knocking both of them down.
"What was that?!" Yonji shouted.
"Cannon fire?"
The ship shook again harder, like another ship collided with the Orbit. They could hear commotion on the upper floors, it sounded like a battle was starting.
"We need to find our brothers." Reiju said, striding forward but the stairs were filled with pirates.
"Look what we got here." One laughed.
"Hey pretty lady, you available?" another jested.
"I don't have time for you. Out of my way." Reiju demanded.
"Not until we have a little fun. You don't want your kid to get hurt, do you?" A pirate asked, brandishing his pistols.
"Yonji," Reiju said.
"Yeah Nee-san?"
"Don't hold back."
Yonji grinned.
The pirates didn't know what hit them. Yonji leapt right at the pirates with a fearless battle cry. He always rushes in. On the other hand, fighting these pirates could hardly be considered a warmup.
Reiju landed a kick to the last pirate's head and dropped him. She stepped over the moaning bodies and walked up to the next level, Yonji trailing behind her. The Orbit was still rocking harshly. The weather must be getting worse in addition to the pirate attack, but Reiju's first objective was to protect her brothers. In order to keep her brothers safe, she needed to protect the Orbit from the pirate attack.
Any pirate that dared cross her path was dispatched with ruthless efficiency. Where was the captain? If she could cut off the head of this attack, the rest would fall into disarray. From the various comments the pirates shouted at her before she took them down, this was the crew that belonged to Captain Red-Leg Zeff. Red-Leg was one of the few terrifyingly powerful pirates to originate from the East Blue. His name was earned from his shoes, dyed red with blood of his enemies. Reiju had heard he entered the Grandline some time ago. Apparently he returned.
Reiju was about leave the shelter of the interior when she heard a loud snap - like a tree was shattered - and the ship was jostled once more. One of the masts was probably taken down and since she didn't hear cannons, it was likely brought down by a person. Excluding herself and Yonji, Reiju could count three people who could knock such a solid structure down, two being her brothers.
Disregarding precaution she would have drilled into Yonji's head minutes ago, Reiju burst out onto deck. She took one step out and was struck by a brilliant red light. The light burned through her shoulder, she could smell her flesh burning.
"NEE-SAN!" Niji screeched.
The beam disappeared into air. Before she hit the ground, Reiju traced the origin of the beam all the way to Ichiji?! Ichiji was on his knees, hands clamped over his eyes. There were black lines etched into the deck, railings, and walls that all pointed back to him. Most of the pirates were recovering from the beating her brothers probably gave. The main mast was gone and there was a monolith wall of water coming down on both ships.
"Nee-san!" Niji ran towards her. "Sanji got thrown-"
The massive wave crashed down, obliterating the ships. Reiju managed to grab Yonji and they plunged into the cold ocean. The wave spun them around, smashing her against the sinking ships. Recovering, Reiju spotted a blot of red. Yonji latched on tightly with her hand free so she could swim. Reiju maneuvered around the wreckage that blocked her from her brother. Ichiji had his eyes closed, flapping his arms around trying to find the surface but was swimming further into the dark abyss. When Reiju grabbed his shirt, he struggled against her hold until he felt her much shorter left arm. Though he didn't open his eyes, he latched onto her.
Niji swam over and pointed up towards the surface. Reiju followed him up. The surface was in chaos, the winds howled loudly and the ocean water churned in discontent. The raindrops were sharp, stinging against Reiju's cheeks. Niji found a large piece of wreckage and swam it over to his siblings. There was enough room for the three boys to sit comfortably on it with Reiju remaining in the water.
"Where's Sanji!?" Reiju demanded.
Ichiji choked, clenching his hands hard.
Niji lips wrinkled into a frown. "Sanji fell into the ocean."
Those words pierced Reiju deeply, she failed her mother. She couldn't protect her little brother.
Yonji shrieked as a large wave tossed the rudder in the air with a direct course towards them. Reiju planted her hand on their wreckage and spun into an onehanded handstand and kicked the rudder away. Reiju collapsed when her wound gave her a sharp pain from the stress of her muscles and she fell back into the water.
When Reiju surfaced she couldn't see her brothers. "Ichiji! Niji! Yonji!"
"HERE!" It was faint but Reiju had a direction. She put everything into each stroke fighting against the current and the wreckage. She didn't stop until she reached her brothers. Yonji and Niji helped pull her half way onto their makeshift life raft with Reiju gasping for air.
"Too close." Reiju gasped. The current almost took her brothers out of her reach. Sanji was already missing and if she tried to search for him, she could lose the rest of her brothers. Though it felt like she was betraying her promise to her mother, Reiju held onto Niji, Yonji and Ichiji and weathered the storm.
..oo00oo..Zero..oo0000oo..Reasons..oo00oo..
It took a while but the clouds broke apart and let the light blue sky shine through. The waves quelled to a gentle ripple and any trace of the pirate ship or the Orbit completely vanished, all but the small piece of wreckage the four of them now drifted upon. Finally having time to rest, Niji and Ichiji explained what happened while Reiju and Yonji were below deck.
The pirates had gathered most of the Orbit's crew on the deck so that they could raid the ship without resistance. Niji and Ichiji had been moving furniture when the pirates found them and they easily beat them up but Sanji and the other cooks were taken. When they got up on deck, the storm had begun and Sanji was being beaten down by Red-Leg Zeff. They tried to help their brother but Red-Leg's underlings got in the way.
Ichiji was unnaturally quiet, relying on Niji to do most of the recounting. He only commented on the last time he saw Sanji.
"He was biting Red-Leg's… leg." His eyes firmly closed, the edge of his lips twitched upward into a rueful smile. That tiny smile disappeared as he added with a somber tone. "But then all I saw was red."
The absence of Sanji was Reiju's first priority, but the red laser beam that came out of Ichiji's eyes was her next concern. She suspected it had to do with the Lineage factor.
Sparkling Red. That was the name she read in Ichiji's gene file. She couldn't remember what the ability exact details were but shooting eye laser seemed like it was related. All of her brother's beside Sanji had shown some enhanced abilities such as their sense or their reinforced skeletal structure but no powers akin to devil fruits had ever occurred, until now. The thought of Ichiji's Lineage factor developing terrified her. It made her wonder if his modifications succeeded, then what did that mean for his humanity? ….. No. She couldn't think about that right now.
They were stranded in the middle of the ocean with a half-submerged log as their raft with no food or water. They needed to stay alive and find Sanji. That's all that mattered at the moment.
..oo00oo..Zero..oo0000oo..Reasons..oo00oo..
Reiju and her brothers drifted in the sea for over ten days. Because of the size of the wreckage, Reiju's legs remained in the water and her torso was up on the raft. It wasn't an ideal arrangement but Reiju would rather her brothers be dry. In the first couple of days, they debated how they would handle food and water. It was cruel that they were surrounded by so much water but had nothing to drink. They were lucky it rained on the second day, refreshing their parched mouths. Now they had a small puddle of fresh water in the hole Yonji carved out.
With the weather calm, Reiju occasionally swam around to hunt for sea life. Cooking it was another issue but Niji pointed out that the lasers Ichiji fired from his eyes could be used to cook their food. Reluctantly, Ichiji agreed to be their "fish cooker," as Yonji put it. He would be positioned to look out over the ocean before opening his eyes. Ichiji tried but he wasn't able to control the beams. If he opened his eyes, laser beams would fire. That was a fact. Whenever he wasn't cooking, Reiju had him tie a piece of fabric she ripped from her pants around his head, covering his eyes to remind him to keep them shut.
Niji suggested using the beams as a signal flare which Reiju shot down. The last thing they needed to do was attract a Sea King.
The rest of extra fabric on Reiju went to binding her injured shoulder which caused increasing amounts of pain as the days dragged on. Her injury was seriously inhibiting her and slowed her down.
She found herself reflecting during the quiet moments which were becoming increasingly frequent as they were all trying to conserve their energy. She wondered if Sanji was alright or if he was like them, adrift at sea. What could he do though? He was so small in such a wide ocean full of monstrous creatures.
It was getting hard to catch any fish.
Reiju developed a fever around the twelfth day and lost track of time around the eighteenth, but it was alright. Niji would know the day if she asked. Her movements were sluggish and her shoulder felt like it was ablaze all of the time. She slept more. Each time she awoke her brothers looked thinner and weaker. It hadn't rained in nearly a week and their little reservoir of water was nearly gone. A growing feeling of guilt gnawed within her.
Every day she cursed the pirate that separated her family. Red-Leg Zeff. His name was seared into her memory. It was all his fault. His crew slowed her down from reaching her brothers. She may have not been able to do anything about the wave but at least she could have kept her family together. If that pirate survived, she was going to illicit every scream he can utter and then she would make him wish the storm did kill him.
"Hey," Niji asked softly. "What's that?"
It was small dot but off in the distance was most certainly a ship on the horizon. Reiju was too tired to lift her head off the wood but she could hear a siren sound. Not long after, the greenish colored ship reached their craft and the sailors dressed in white hauled them on the deck.
..oo00oo..Zero..oo0000oo..Reasons..oo00oo..
They were rescued by the marines, the ship that rescued them patrolled this area of the sea. The marines were aware the Orbit sinking and had been searching for survivors for several weeks. Reiju managed to stay awake to watch over her brothers' treatments but the doctors nagged her to get some rest. She tried to tell them about Sanji but her voice came out in a strained whisper.
The marine took them back to the base where the ship made port. Once at the base, the siblings were taken to the infirmary to be fully treated. They had severe cases of dehydration and starvation, and Reiju suffered from an infection in her shoulder wound and having it constantly soaking in the ocean did it no favors. She remained weak and bedridden for days and she slept most of the day.
In one of the short periods that she was awake Reiju explained to a nurse that her brother Sanji was missing. The nurse assured Reiju that her brothers made the marines aware of their plight and the marines intended to search the oceans thoroughly of any more survivors. For the time being they would remain at the infirmary to be treated. The marine doctors did what they could to treat the infection in her shoulder as quickly as possible but Reiju was still out of commission for longer than she wanted, not that she wanted to be confined to her bed anyways. Still the infection drained her energy for days. Reiju was asleep when it happened but Ichij, to avoid setting off a laser beam in the marine base, managed to convince the pediatrician that he was blind and his eyes were fine.
About a week later, the marine had the siblings moved to the civilian hospital in the nearby town to finish their treatment. The island had two main land masses that was connected by a low thin shoal that was submerged during high tide. The marine base was located on the east side while the town was laid out in the west.
Niji, Ichiji and Yonji were housed in the infirmary with her, separated by a white screen. They were recovering well, their cheeks were filling out again to with healthy baby fat and their strength returned.
Knowing that three of her brothers were recovering, Reiju was itching to get out of there and search for Sanji but one particularly annoying nurse made sure she followed the doctor's instructions. Reiju resigned to spending her painfully slow recovery in the marine base and soothing her brothers' worries.
"What if something happened?" Niji said one day. Yonji and Ichiji had gone to get a physical evaluation, leaving the pinkette with her second brother. Niji traced the outside of his headphones nervously. "There haven't been any other survivors and the marines have been searching for weeks."
Reiju put down Red-Leg's wanted poster, pausing in memorizing her target to talk with Niji, "They found us, didn't they?"
Niji frowned. "Yeah, but we're not normal. Sanji…. to quote Yonji, he's squishy…. We have superpowers and still almost drowned…. What…what chance does Sanji got?"
Reiju gripped her bedsheets tightly and gave her brother a forced smile. "I will find him. I won't let a storm separate us, not when we are finally free."
Niji didn't look convinced and neither was Reiju.
After that talk, Reiju started talking strolls through the hospital at night when her brothers were quietly tucked in their beds and the halls were empty, save for the night staff. The night was an opportunity for her to collect her thoughts. The stillness in the hospital was so quiet, it was deafening, almost enough to drown out the growing hurricane of dreadful reality that grew stronger within her each day.
They had been out at sea for over three weeks and on the island for two, yet there was no sign of her last brother. Reiju was beginning to fear the worst because there was very little chance that Sanji was strong enough to survive that long out in the ocean. Many times during these nights Reiju cursed that pirate.
On one of her moonlit walks, Reiju heard shouting echoing throughout the hospital, it sounded ghostly. After weeks of inactivity, Reiju felt a surge of the familiar and instinctual need to investigate the unrest. She dashed through the halls and found the source of all the commotion. A stream of doctors and nurses, most not on the night shift, were rushing back and forth through an hallway intersection. From Reiju's distance it was a bit hard to tell what all the shouting was about but she could isolate some of the more familiar voices.
"A merchant brought them in!"
"How long stranded?"
"Nearly 50 days!"
A nurse wobbled around, carrying a large rudsack, "Where do I put this?"
"Throw it in the closet! Their lives are more important!"
"Where is Dr. Kamma?"
"The older one's vitals are dropping!"
"I can't believe it."
"His own leg,"
"Do you think….."
Eventually the commotion died down and, not long after, a procession of satisfied doctors and nurses sluggishly made their way back towards the exit to get some much earned rest. Going against the flow of medical staff was a doctor and a lone marine, talking in hushed whispers.
"I can't be sure, starvation's done a number on this fellow. He's more like a corpse than a fearsome pirate." the doctor said, unaware Reiju was listening in on their conversation.
"It's best to confirm before the man wakes up." The marine replied. "If it is Red-Leg, we should transfer him to the base as soon as possible."
Reiju stilled but her mind was racing. The two people she was eavesdropping on turned the corner and she numbly followed after them. They may have found that damn pirate but not Sanji? As much as she wanted to kill that pirate, she would rather have her brother alive and in her arms. Why did fate have to be so cruel? She had to know. Who was brought in?
Hazarding a guess, Reiju made her way to the intensive care ward. She could see light spilling out to the doorway into the dim hall and there was quite a bit of shouting going on. She recognized the authoritative tone of the marine's voice and maybe a pleading nurse. There was another voice, distressed and defensive, higher pitched than the others and sounded very strained. Reiju paused right before the threshold and peered in.
There was a man lying on one of beds. He looked like death with waxy skin stretched over his skeleton frame and his eyes sunken with deep shadows. The marine was by his bed, bounty poster in hand while shouting down at someone Reiju couldn't see behind the beds and the marine. The nurse was kneeling, trying to get whoever it was arguing with the marine to get back it their bed.
"You can't take him!"
Ah, so the remaining occupant was a child. That was the only explanation.
"Please, your very weak right now." the doctor explained.
"I'm not going to let you take him!" The child – boy – shouted.
"He," The marine pointed to the man sleeping in the bed and shoving the poster down towards the child, "Is a dangerous pirate!"
"Is not! That's… that's someone else!"
Why does the voice sound so familiar?
"How are you so sure!? What's this man's name?!" The marine challenged.
"He's my dad!"
"SANJI!" Reiju shouted, pushing her way past the marine to get a proper look at the boy. She choked back a sob. The fair haired boy before her was nothing more than a standing corpse. Parched lips parted in shock as he stared up at her, tears forming at the edges.
"Nee-san?"
Reiu collapsed to her knees and swallowed him up into a hug. She wanted to crushed Sanji into her and never let him go, but he was so small and thin. Sanji's always been skinny but feeling his bony fingers press feebly into her back as he cried, Reiju felt like she could snap her brother in two. At the same time, Reiju couldn't help but feel relieved.
The nurse stood up and joined the doctor by her side to give Reiju and Sanji some space but the marine wasn't as courteous.
"Do you know this boy?" the marine demanded.
"Yes," she managed to say, burying her nose into his hair. He smelled horrible but under the stench, Reiju could smell the sea. "I'm his sister."
"Then can you confirm the identity of this man?" The marine asked, gesturing to the bed.
"Nee-san!" Sanji shouted, instantly having her full attention. He looked up at her with pleading eyes and held on to her tighter. "This asshole says Tou-san is a pirate and he's trying to take him away!"
Reiju's eyes furrowed, trying to understand what had gotten into Sanji. Regardless who it was, the man in that bed was not their father.
"How is a man supposed to sleep with all this racket?" a new voice croaked. Gathering Sanji up in her arms, Reiju stood up to see who was in the bed. The tired eyes of Red-Leg Zeff gazed up at her. Reiju held her brother closer. It was all this man's fault that her family was separated, his fault her little brother suffered, his fault she nearly lost Sanji. He looked pitiful.
"Tou-san!" Sanji exclaimed. Red-Leg grunted and his eyes flickered over to her brother, Reiju tilted her body away to shield him.
The marine held the poster up for Reiju, "Can you confirm if this man is your father or Red-Leg Zeff?"
Reiju looked between the photograph and the man on the bed. He really didn't look like the fearsome pirate in the wanted poster. Reiju was sure the marine would rely on her testimony to seal Red-Leg's fate. The pirate laid against those white sheets, helpless to fight what was happening around him. It wouldn't feel satisfying to kill the pirate when he was in such a pathetic state but Reiju couldn't let go of her need for revenge. Just one word and this pirate would be arrested and summarily executed for his crimes. That thought was satisfying enough.
Reiju must have conveyed her feelings fiercely enough through her gaze because Zeff shut his eyes, resigned to his fate. Sanji shook in her arms. Reiju opened her mouth to confirm the pirate's identity but she was overruled by three new voices.
"TOU-SAN! SANJI!" Niji and Yonji sprinted into the room, Ichiji followed after them, slow and unsure of his surroundings, but he joined the others next to Reiju and at Red-Leg's bedside. Sanji stopped quivering and he relaxed into his sister's arms. Reiju looked at him with confusion. Was Sanji….. relieved? It must because he's reunited with his brothers. But what were the other boys up to?
"Where were you, Tou-san!?" Niji asked.
"Woah Tou-san, you and Sanji look like skeletons." Yonji remarked, grinning up at Sanji. "You're no longer squishy."
Sanji stuck out his tongue. "You suck."
"You suck more."
"Brats," Red-Leg grumbled.
"Sorry Tou-san!" the boys chimed.
Red-Leg looked over the three new faces that were lined up along his bedside. "What are you…" Ichiji reached out and found his knee. With everyone watching him with so much scrutiny that would put a kitten on edge and the sudden contact, Reiju was surprised that the pirate didn't jerk his leg away.
"We're glad your safe, Tou-san." Ichiji said, his hand trailed around the pirate's knee and frowned when it abruptly ended. "Your leg…"
Sanji quickly spoke up. "After the ship went down, Tou-san saved me from drowning but we ended up stranded on a rock. He gave me all the food and he…"
Sanji's words and Red-Leg's missing leg told enough of the story for Reiju. Reiju looked over the pirate critically.
The marine turned to Reiju to settle the matter. "Well? Is he your father?"
Yonji, Niji and Sanji looked at her expectantly. Reiju bit her lip and met Red-Leg's eyes again before addressing the marine. "Yes, he's our father."
The marine frowned. "I thought I heard you were only missing your little brother."
"I thought he drowned." Reiju lied smoothly. "I didn't want to give myself false hope."
The marine frowned, "The curly eyebrow must of come from your mother's side?"
"She answered your questions now you should go." The nurse stated. "These boys have experienced severe starvation and they need to rest."
"I'll show you out." The doctor offered. The marine reluctantly backed off and followed her out.
The nurse turned to patients and smiled brightly. "I'm so glad your family was reunited. Wait here. I'll go get your things."
"What?"
"You've been separated for so long, I won't let this stand for a second longer!" The nurse chittered and disappeared out the door.
Red-Leg spoke, "I should thank you for not ratting me out."
"Don't bother. My brothers would have gotten in trouble for trying to protect a criminal." Reiju dismissed. "Sanji, are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Nee-san," replied Sanji as she tidied his hair.
"Why are you calling him Tou-san anyway?" Niji asked, flopping down on a nearby bed.
"I'd like to know too." Red-Leg replied with cough.
Sanji scrunched his nose and frowned. "Like hell I was gonna let them drag you off."
"So he's your dad now?" Yonji asked.
"No!... I didn't know if you guys made it…" Sanji trailed off before changing the subject, "He's promised to teach me how to cook."
"You?"
"Is it surprising that a pirate is also a cook?" Red-Leg asked.
"I don't really believe you would take in a child you nearly beat to death out of the goodness of your heart." Reiju scoffed.
"Reiju!" Sanji exclaimed.
Red-Leg scoffed. "You got me pegged."
"Old man…"
"But the brat's my apprentice."
Sanji smiled brightly. Reiju was surprised to see Red-Leg give his own smirk and settled more into his bed. "Now let me sleep."
The nurse returned with their things and settled the boys into separate beds. Once the nurse had left again, the boys all gathered their blankets and moved into Sanji's bed. They promptly fell asleep. Reiju couldn't feel at ease with the pirate in the same room so she sat in a chair beside them, happily watching them sleep without a care.
"Oi girlie," Red-Leg said. "Are you awake?"
"Yes."
The pirate grunted, "Guess you can't sleep around me."
"Don't flatter yourself, Red-Leg Zeff."
"Can't be a decent pirate without my leg, besides I think it's about time for me to retire. Settle down, build a restaurant. One that can sail across the sea."
Reiju's curly eyebrows twitched, "You're joking, the sun must have baked your brain."
Zeff chuckled which deteriorated into a wheezing fit.
"Going to croak?"
"You can't get rid of me that easily."
"Pity,"
"You have a deadly air surrounding you."
"Only to those who threaten my adorable little brothers,"
Red-Leg grunted. "You're a piece of work but not too far off from what I imagined."
Reiju frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I was fading fast those last couple days we spent on that damn rock. The brat kept me awake by talking about his family," explained the pirate. "Three other brothers born on the same day he was, and his strong and cool sister who looked after everyone. With all that he told me about you, I probably could have picked you out of a crowd. It was easy to tell how much he cared about you."
"….. There's been one thing that's bothering me. I can understand why you saved Sanji from drowning, whether because you have a moral conscious or you were just trying to ease your own guilt. But why did you agree to teach him how to be a chef?"
"If it was any other brat, I wouldn't have given him a second thought." The pirate said. "But we share the same dream, we want to find the All Blue."
Reiju frowned. "Don't fill my brother's head with fantasy."
"Why are you keen in stopping him from dreaming?" Zeff snapped back and Reiju bit her lip. "Sanji didn't know if you four survived the storm so he focused on his dream. That drive kept him going while we were stranded. It's good that you survived but you have to understand how important the All Blue is to that boy." Reiju glanced at her brothers, watching Sanji's chest rise and fall as he slept. "Che, since you are alive I can't just take Sanji. What are your plans once he's recovered?"
"That's a good question." Reiju murmured. All of their savings went down with the Orbit, including her raid suit. They were essentially starting from scratch again.
"I'm opening a restaurant but it's sorely lacking staff to run it, if you can stand working for an ex-pirate." Zeff remarked.
"Sanji's already your apprentice. I do have my reservations about you but…. Sanji almost got in trouble to protect you."
"And that counts for something?"
"Basically," Reiju replied but emitted a malicious intent. "Let me make myself clear, I haven't forgiven you for hurting my brothers or your role leading to us being separated but I'm willing to tolerate you for Sanji's sake."
"Fine by me," Zeff grunted.
..oo00oo..Zero..oo0000oo..Reasons..oo00oo..
Several marines came to visit Red-Leg Zeff over the next couple of days to ask him questions about potential survivors but it was clear they were trying to find evidence that Zeff was a pirate. One of the Red-Leg's saving graces was that he was so starved he no longer share likeness with his bounty poster but Zeff and Reiju knew that they couldn't stay until the former and Sanji were completely recovered or it would be to the gallows for the pirate.
The nurses and doctors advised against releasing them but eventually they were given discharge papers. The hospital provided Zeff with a peg leg so that he could travel on his own and the treasure bag was returned to him. The marines would make a fuss later when they discover their main suspect vanished with his "family" but they would be long gone.
Reiju arranged passage on a passenger ship to relocate them to a different island. It was about a day's travel and they got into the harbor as the sun set. Reiju carried Niji and Sanji and Zeff gathered the other two and the treasure and departed the vessel. The town was shady to say the least. Reiju marked several individuals in the streets who were eyeing Zeff's bulky bag.
It took a while but they were able to find a tavern. It was rundown and Reiju found the sight of it unghastly but she could see Zeff stoically straining under the weight he was carrying and she preferred her brothers not get hurt when the man collapsed.
They entered the tavern and went to the man scrubbing the counter.
"Are there rooms available?" Reiju asked.
The man grunted. "You got any money?" The treasure bag landed on the ground with a heavy thud. The proprietor and customers mouths dropped open as Zeff rummaged through the treasure bag to find some belis. The proprietor jumped when the starved man slammed the money on the table. "Uh… I uh… go up the stairs, second door on the left."
Zeff hefted the bag back up onto his shoulder and lumbered towards the stairs. All eyes tracked him as he went but then he stopped. "Take a picture, it'll last longer."
Realizing he was aware of the staring, everyone went back to their activities. Satisfied, Zeff ascended the stairs with Reiju. There was only one large bed, a rickety dresser and a bench. Zeff tossed the treasure in a corner, helped Reiju settle the boys into the straw bed and took a seat.
"You kids can have the bed."
Reiju sat at the edge of the bed and asked, "Was that wise to flash all that treasure around?"
"All those scoundrels knew what was in that bag the moment we stepped in here. That's the kind of town we're in." Red-Leg replied. "I know an island not far from here. There's an old shipwright who owes me a few favors. Try and get some sleep, we'll leave here in the morning."
"We're already a target." Reiju said.
"Let them try." Zeff grumbled, slumping down on the bench the best he could to get some sleep.
"You lost a leg, isn't that half of your fighting power right there."
"You don't have much room to talk." Zuff grumbled.
"Hmpf," Reiju fixed her rolled up sleeve and relaxed back. She really doubted the man could fight off those unsavory individuals eyeing his treasure.
..oo00oo..Zero..oo0000oo..Reasons..oo00oo..
They only waited an hour before attacking. Reiju could hear them shuffling outside their door. For all his talk, Zeff's breath, while wheezy, was even and soft, signaling he was out cold. What could Reiju expect? It had only been a couple of days since the Sanji's rescue and that man lost a limb on top of it all.
There was scratching at the lock.
Reiju sighed. "I guess it's a woman's job to clean up the man's mess."
The door opened and two men shuffled into the dark room, eyeing Zeff and the treasure bag in the corner.
"There it is,"
"Shhh! We don't want to wake them up."
"That guy's half dead anyways," The second man didn't look convince so the third one teased, "What are scared of that chick and the kids?"
"N-no,"
"You should be." Reiju whispered into the thief's ear.
He shuddered as he craned his neck to see her shadowy figure framed by the doorway, "How did she get beh-"
Reiju brought her fingertips to her lips, "Pink Hornet."
The thieves gasped as jets of purple poison were flung and pierced through them. All the bodies dropped with a thud. Reiju observed her handiwork, she didn't dispose of them as fast as she would have before. She would have to hone her skills again.
Ichiji sat up, the sound of the bodies hitting the floor must have woken him up. That boy was damn alert even when he slept. With his eyes blocked by bandages, Ichiji swiveled his head to try to listen better, asking, "Nee-san? Are you there? What's going on?"
"I'm taking a stroll, go back to sleep." Reiju said.
Ichiji frowned. "I smell poison."
"Oops," Reiju giggled. "You caught me. I was indulging in a midnight snack."
"It's not good to eat late at night."
"Yes, yes. I'll go get rid of it." Reiju promised, quietly lifting both men on to her shoulder and sliding out into the hall. She took the fire escape to avoid encountering anyone in the tavern and dropped down to the alley. Seeing that not a soul was out this late on the streets Reiju snuck through the alleys and dumped the bodies in a dumpster several blocks from the tavern. By the time the bodies would be discovered, they would be several islands away from here. Reiju brushed her clothes clean and made her way back to the tavern.
Zeff was sitting outside waiting for her.
Reiju frowned and cautiously approached the ex-pirate.
"Enjoyed your stroll?" Zeff asked.
Reiju put her hand on her hip, "What are you? My father? I can go where I please."
Zeff waited.
Reiju rolled her eyes, time to lie. "You were awake weren't you? You saw my devil fruit ability."
"Not sure what kind of devil fruit allows you to swim."
"What gave you that idea?"
"Niji said you would swim to catch fish while you were castaways. Kind of hard for a devil fruit user to do when the sea saps their strength."
Reiju realized that this man caught her lie. This wasn't good, she would need to do something about this. Could she try and spin another lie?
Zeff observed every micro movement Reiju made as she weighed her options. The old man let out a sigh. "You are all a strange bunch. Strange enough to produce poison without a devil fruit or fire laser beams from his eyes."
Reiju's frown deepened. He knows about Ichiji's Sparkling Red abilities as well. That settles it. Reiju was going to have to kill him. Sanji would need to find a new master but she can't let anyone know about their Lineage factor. There was too great of a risk of being traced back to Germa.
"I can tell you aren't happy that I mentioned this but we need to come to some sort of understanding."
"What do you want?"
"Let's leave all our crimes and troubles in the past. I'm not interested in reliving my glory days or in what you want to keep secret. I'm ready to move forward in life, how about you?"
"A clean slate, huh?" Reiju smiled. She thought for a moment. Sanji would be really upset if Zeff just disappeared no matter what lie Reiju came up with. The whole point of leaving the Germa kingdom was for the boys to have a fresh start at life. She couldn't full trust or like Zeff but the boys did well enough. "I can settle for that."
..oo00oo..Zero..oo0000oo..Reasons..oo00oo..
The next day, they left that backwater town behind and met Zeff's acquaintance who agreed to build a restaurant fit to sail the East Blue.
It took a few weeks which gave Sanji and Zeff time to recover and for Zeff to get to know the family. Ichiji was reserved - not unlike his sister - but in a more respectful way. Niji kept trying to convince the man to let him modify his peg leg since Reiju had refused to let him build an arm for her and Yonji demanded to know about the islands Zeff seen. Sanji and Zeff spent most of their time talking about the restaurant or cooking.
With her brothers pestering the Red-Leg, Reiju should have been jealous but the peace and quiet was too nice to pass up, not to mention amusing to see the ex-pirate try and handle four little boys.
The shipwright gathered them up when the ship was complete and presented to them the restaurant that could sail the seas, bringing food to any hungry sailor, the Baratie.
Reiju couldn't believe Zeff agreed to Sanji's idea of the fish head decoration.
Hopefully he didn't agree to Niji's idea of propulsion jets.
I've been a bit tired so sorry for the grammar mistakes.
-DigitalGuardian