Hey, guys! Thanks for being so patient with me and my incredibly slow updates but here we are! The final chapter of Belle before we move on. I so hope you guys like it!
I ended up getting a few reviews on the last chapter just a couple of days ago and they just give me such a burst of motivation. I thrive off of reviews- even if it's mostly just keysmashing! Haha! It really helps me get focused on writing and reminds me to pick up the pace. So if it's ever taking too long for a chapter to come out just shoot me a review to remind me! I can't tell you enough how much it means to me and how much it helps!
I'm so happy to be done with Belle and with a new crew member. I hope you like the new addition! He's one of the first I created after Quinn and has changed a lot since I first started writing this story. You've only seen the tip of the iceberg with him so far and I think you can kinda tell! Let me know what you think.
It was a bit anticlimactic Quinn supposed.
"Is that really all it takes?"
Gosh, she figured she'd be an outlier. But, no. Ace's screening process was just that shit.
She sighed. "Well, welcome to the crew, we're now considered a crowd." Katsura lit up with a grin, shakily excited. The day just kept getting weirder, didn't it?
"He hasn't joined yet Quinn!"
"Right, I still have to prove myself."
"Yeah, you keep saying that but… uh-" Quinn started to say. "What exactly does that even mean?"
"Isn't it obvious?"
"We're going to fight each oth-"
"I'm going to beat the Beast!"
"He's going to beat the Beast!"
Quinn snorted, "So you weren't on the same page either then."
"Your destination is the Grand Line, isn't it? That's where all pirates worth a damn end up going." Katsura carried on without a note to Ace's mistake, nodding instead along to his confirmation. "I don't know if you know this but a Sea Beast like the one here is native to those waters. I don't think I need to explain what that means-"
Ace's face went blank.
"Ah, I'm gonna have to stop you right there for a sec." Quinn jumped in as soon as she saw the empty expression take over. "Don't assume we know anything because, and I cannot stress this enough, we know basically nothing. I cannot emphasize how little we know." He scrunched up his nose at the claim. "Well, in Ace's case, I actually know quite a bit."
"Wha- hey! I know!"
"Mn. No you don't." Ace kicked her. "OW! That's my shin, you jerk!"
"...right…" Katsura coughed into his fist. "U-Um, anyways, okay. Let me explain. The Beast is from the seas of the Grand Line, one of the most dangerous oceans in the world, and that means he's survived most of his life in those waters. He has to be strong." He asserted. "No, he has to be built that way. 'Cause even for the animals there it's a struggle to survive! And the Beast, well, the Beast absolutely dominated the food chain over there."
"Ergo, if you beat him, you'd be proving you're strong enough to handle the Grand Line."
He snapped his fingers at her. "Exactly!"
"You seem to know a bit about the Grand Line, don't you?" Ace pointed out.
"Well, of course I do!" He puffed up, jerking a thumb to his chest. "I'm from there! I should hope I know about it. I bet you won't find anybody as knowledgeable about those seas as meekshh!"
-Oh. He bit his tongue again.
Quinn shook her head in exasperation.
While Katsura was busy yelping and taking care to hold his injured tongue Ace squinted at Quinn, frown playing across his face. A sudden thought striking him. "Hey Quinn, are you from the Grand Line too? I just figured you were from that other island…" But that wouldn't quite make sense would it? He was pretty sure she'd mentioned at some point that she'd been a newcomer to that place. And now that Ace thought about it she was talking like she knew a lot about the Grand Line. He watched in bemusement as Quinn went pale and clapped her hands over her mouth, expression touchy.
"That's… one theory."
Before Ace could get to the bottom of… whatever the hell that meant Katsura had recovered and was pumping a claw up into the air, excitement palpable. It seemed to be getting the better of him. Wide grin stretched until it hurt, "Let's do this!"
Ace couldn't help but raise a brow as Quinn practically leapt on the change in subject. Either sweat or water dripping down the side of her face. "Right, beating the Beast is a good idea. It'd also help us get out of here anyways. I doubt any ship we get our hands on would hold up against it," she hurriedly said, "'Cause, you know, as much as I would love to hit the sea with no food and no plan, we don't have a ship anymore-"
"Oh, right."
"-And from the wrecks in your cave-"
"-i-it's more of an open rock formation?"
"-I take it those are hard to come by."
"We... could swim to the next island!"
"Er, no."
"Chehaha! I like the enthusiasm. Maybe if you wanna be the one to carry Quinn that far. We could always build one?"
Katsura made a face. "There's not much in way of wood. My scraps have too much water damage and are probably going to be pretty useless and you guys're the first ship that's been here in months. I think it's gotten out that coming to this island is a bad idea… only took them a couple years." Then he gestured all around them. "And: trees?"
Yeah, there really weren't all that many. And they were thin enough that they wouldn't do much good anyways.
("I mean, we could tear somebody's house down but that just seems plain rude."
"Ace, please, no.")
"Us coming here was more or less an accident." Quinn admitted. "The currents tugged us in and we gave up on getting out once we saw the island. We didn't exactly prepare to fight a Sea Goat."
"The currents messed up my arm!"
"Er," Katsura winced, "They'll do that. Maybe… don't stick your hand in the worst of it?"
Ace pouted.
Quinn slapped her hands over her face, brow twitching. "Focus, guys: Ship. We need to find some mode of transportation here." She raised a finger as Katsura opened his mouth. "A reasonable one. Not… piggyback riding."
"Right… a ship…" Katsura frowned, brows furrowing as he tried to come up with some sort of answer. Ace and Quinn staring at him expectantly. It was kinda nerve wracking actually. "I haven't been to the town in awhile so I can't say for certain but-" A sudden thought struck him and he winced. Oh. Oh. Right, that could work. "Well, you know Tava, right?"
Ace's groan was enough to bring a smile to his face.
"He may have a boat. There's… uh… just one problem." He paused, letting them lean in. "It's about the size of a rowboat and it's… probably. Maybe. Totally busted?" He squeaked out and waited for a reaction as Quinn leaned back and sighed, completely disregarding the suggestion.
"Okay. So that's a no go then. Any other ideas?"
"Hey!"
She was rewarded with an elbow to the side, letting out a small oomph. "You're pretty quick to give up. We'll just have to fix it!" Ace laughed and bumped his fists together. "It sounds like it's our only option anyways. So where is it?"
Katsura coughed into a fist. "So maybe there's two problems…"
"What."
"I. Uh. Don't know?"
"How is that in any way a solution then?"
Ace quirked a brow, muttering. "Starting to agree with you here, Quinn." They were coming back around to square one again. "There's gotta be a good way off this island." There had to be. Ace refused to get stuck so soon on his journey.
Katsura felt his face heat up, heart palpitating. Damn it, he'd never get the chance to prove himself if he couldn't help with something as simple as a ship. "W-Wait- I know it doesn't sound like much but it's definitely within the village limits!" He pressed the points of his teeth against his tongue, nervous, as he watched Quinn cross her arms and turn to- he was assuming, at least - the Captain. Brow raised and questioning, she didn't sound too hyped.
"So what's the plan, Ace?"
He almost jumped.
"Huh? Uh-"
"We could keep brainstorming?" Quinn tried.
Ace was used to having someone looking up to him, unfortunately he was also used to his words being either completely ignored or taken with a grain of salt, so the eyes looking for actual direction was a welcome surprise. The openly honest wide brown eyes stretched out in hopeful anticipation were definitely a familiar sight. The tired black ones drifting seemingly in-and-out of focus: not so much. But Ace still found himself puffing out his chest under the attention. This is what it felt like to be a Captain and he was busy eating it up- thoughts stalling long enough that Quinn's gaze was drooping away in disappointment and Katsura had noticeably dimmed. "Let's look for it!" He quickly blurted, wiping the blank look off his face. "We'll just have to search the island then and repair it. It can't be too hard to find."
Quinn held back a groan at the decision. "I thought you were gonna agree with me…"
"Well, it was a terrible idea anyway, so it's no loss."
She balked.
"-Oh, so that's how it's going to be, huh?"
"That's how it's gonna be."
He quirked a brow. Amusement palpable.
Katsura gasped, stars in his eyes. "Really? You're going to follow my idea? Nobody's ever done that before!" He said, making Quinn instantly feel bad. "I'm sure you'll be able to find it somewhere, you guys. It's a small island after all."
Quinn deflated. Well, it was better than nothing at least.
-0-
"I still don't think this constitutes a plan."
Quinn almost regretted offering to carry his bag. The straps of both of theirs together sliding down her bicep every few seconds was just getting irritating. She struggled to adjust them with one hand while still keeping up with him, having to jog a little every few seconds when he pulled ahead.
"It's not that bad."
"OOh, let's find a ship that potentially doesn't exist. We're really playing it straight here. All our cards: on the table." The sarcasm: expected. The accompanying gestures: unnecessary emphasis.
Ace slapped a hand against her back, nearly knocking her off her feet. "C'mon, Quinn. Quit complaining!" He chided. "With the amount of whining you're doing you're starting to sound kinda like those nobles up in High Town." Quinn stopped abruptly, mouth hanging in open horror. He almost didn't notice her stop until he turned back to her, confused. "Quinn? What's with that face?"
Wow. That hurt.
...She really didn't know what to say to that.
"T-That's- I don't think that's a fair comparison." She managed to choke out finally. That was way more offensive than she'd thought it'd be.
Ace hummed, "Hmm. Yeah, I guess not. Compared to most other nobles I've met," which was like one but he'd been in High Town enough to hear them run their mouths and get a pretty good impression of what they were usually like, "you're pretty chill actually."
That's not any better.
"...I'm not…" She trailed off awkwardly before- "Right. I just like being prepared is all."
Ace shrugged. "Anyways where'd that Ta... Tam... Uh, where'd that guy from before go?"
Quinn decided it best to leap on the change in subject. Voice cracking a bit, "Don't know, and Katsura already ran off too." He'd taken off the moment they'd started walking towards the direction of the village. She thought she'd heard him shouting something about gathering up his things and then fighting the Beast before catching up with them. Whatever. That kid was too enthusiastic.
"Damn. We could've gotten directions from him. If it's that guys ship then he's gotta know where to find it."
"That would've been nice, huh?"
Ace nodded and Quinn sighed as he crossed his arms, frowning.
"This is… boring, isn't it?"
They were walking. The land was flat and pretty uninteresting and the town didn't have any people, or at least none they could see. Yeah, it was kind of a boring place. But she didn't think that's what he meant.
Quinn sideyed him.
"Ace, I almost got eaten by an oversized fish."
"Yeah, but it was boring."
She was almost afraid to ask.
"...What do you want to happen?"
Ace shrugged. A better answer than she expected. And then he looked at her, "Hey, you could try luckifying it! Maybe something cool will happen then!"
"I… is that even a word?"
"I said it, didn't I?" He clapped a hand on her back and Quinn shrunk away. Urrrrgh. "C'mon, Quinn! Do it. You gotta try it out! What's the point in having powers if you never use them?"
"What's the point in using powers when you know it won't end well."
"What's the worst that could happen? Why don't you try living a little?"
She grimaced.
It felt like they were challenging the universe here.
But he had a point. She guessed.
"...Fine."
"Yea-!"
She stuck a finger in his face. Ace had half a mind to bite it. "But if anything goes wrong, at all: I reserve the right to say I told you so."
He grinned, "And if we find the boat. Then I get to."
"Uh-huh, sure." Like that'll happen. She rolled her eyes. Something was telling her that this really wasn't going to end well but, damn it, it was the best idea they had so far. "Let's just flip this damn coin and see what happens. Heads, the boats to our right. Tails, it's on the left." God, why was she doing this. Quinn swiped a mark of gold across the inside of her palm. The last time she tried this they ended up getting chased off the island by its hybrid inhabitants. Still, she shoved a hand into her back pocket and fished out a loose coin, surprised to find it there from the last island.
Ace stopped to watch, bouncing on the balls of his feet like a giddy highschool girl.
"Oh, Lucky Lucky powers, don't jinx me now."
Quinn balanced the coin on the nail of her thumb and flipped.
Then, nearly collapsed when something heavy hit her in the back of the head. Vision blacking for half a second. She yelped instinctually. "Dude, what the fuck!" Ace jumped to catch the coin before it hit the ground, eyeing the… "Is that a freaking rock?!" Holy shit, she's surprised she didn't get knocked out. She ground her teeth together, feeling the back of her head for a cut.
As she suspected, her fingers drifted over a gouge in the back of her head.
"Ow, 'm bleeding."
"Hey, Quinn, I found the villagers!"
She groaned, "I noticed." Was it just her or was the sun brighter than usual. "But why?" She rasped.
Well, they seemed to have solved the puzzle of the missing villagers. Quite a little crowd had gathered at the other end of the street and a few heads were poking out from around corners and windows at them. If Quinn didn't know any better she'd say they looked angry- oh wait!
"HEY- you two!"
There was someone heading the crowd, a group of boys carrying old rusty harpoons practically hanging off said person. Had Ace been paying them more attention, or if he had a better memory for nameless faces, he would've remembered that they'd been the ones with Tava earlier, when he first washed ashore. Unfortunately, both him and Quinn were left staring blankly at the group.
"You're with that monster-brat, aren't you?! How dare you attack the children of this island and to kidnap one of them…" Oh, they were pissed. "We'll make you pay for coming to our village!"
She wanted to be intimidated but her thoughts weren't exactly caught up with her just yet. And Ace leaning over nonchalantly to check the back of her head, squinting at the dark locks, was not helping. "It doesn't look too bad. I don't think."
"Huh? Oh, uh, thanks for checking?"
"You should dodge better next time."
"So sorry." She rolled her eyes.
"YOU'RE NOT LISTENING?!"
"Hey, the marks gone."
"Ah, is it?" Quinn replied airily. "Check the coin then."
"Ah, it's heads." Ace grinned, pocketing the coin quickly. She narrowed her eyes. That was her damn money. "That means it's to the right! Come on!"
"Alright, don't grab- okay, being dragged."
She was just barely pulled out of the way of another rock.
"GET THEM!"
There's not much she can do other than let it happen. Squeaking and feet stumbling with an annoying sense of deja vu. "Be glad I have good cardio." She hissed, "Can we, really, not make a habit of this? This is… the third time we're being chased off an island."
"It's not that bad."
"We've only been to three islands."
Quinn yelped and ducked under a rock.
"Chehaha- At least it's not boring anymore!"
"Oh, shut u- gah!"
"This way!" They tore off down a side street. "For such a small place-" Ace dodged an apple core thrown from a window. "-there sure are a lot of people!"
"Tch. Think about how many people got sucked in just like us, except they didn't have the added benefit-" Quinn had no idea where they were going but Ace seemed to have a clue, turning and looking around before rushing down another path, making sure to keep to the right."-of not being racist."
"What's that gotta do with anything?"
It was weird to have this conversation while running for their lives- well maybe not their lives. That was pretty dramatic. Maybe just their hides. Especially since Quinn instinctually started to talk with her hands, the hand not holding their bags gesturing just wildly enough that Ace was shooting her bemused glances every few seconds.
"All I'm sayin' is that Katsura seems very eager to please. It's rather sad really. I wouldn't exactly say I'm pleasant," she ducked, "but a couple kind words and he's ready to kick a Sea Beasts ass and leave everything behind? I bet everybody here took one look at his gills and assumed the worst. And I'm sure rumors from that Tava guy didn't help."
"What makes you think there's rumors?"
"Ace, there's always rumors."
It sounded like she was speaking from experience.
But well, Ace frowned, she had a point. The people here were certainly problematic in all the worst ways. And he wasn't just talking about the attempts to stone them to death. Though those were starting to die down as they got further and further away. The crowd falling behind when they showed no signs of slowing down. It wasn't surprising. There always seemed to be some kind of push to get rid of anybody who didn't fit in. And, in Ace's admittedly quite limited experience, that usually resulted in fire and the smell of death and rubbage. The resulting growl of frustration was more than warranted, "But it's his decision to come, not theirs."
"They certainly provide excellent incentive."
There was no denying that.
Didn't mean he had to like it.
Ace suddenly slid to a stop and Quinn stumbled, nearly running past him. "Where are you going?" Quinn was panting harder than she should, vision edged by a blur. She grimaced, yeah, that was a definite concussion. Ow. "It just told us to go to the right, not take all these winding paths. How do you know which way?"
"Gut feeling."
"-Ace, please, that's not…" she hung her head, "That's not a viable method."
"It's as good as luck!"
She shook her head, resting up against one of the houses doors. "Sure, whatever you say, Ace." They weren't going to get anywhere at this rate. And she was definitely not going to flip another coin if it meant they were going to be chased again. These luck powers were going to be the death of her. "What're we going to- ah!" Quinn went down flailing when the door fell open beside her. "OW, ow, ow, ow! Arm!"
Ace blinked.
Well, there was the ship.
"Huh, told you so."
Quinn groaned, yanking her bruised arm out from underneath her. "You're not helping."
In the dustiest corner of the room there was the hull of what was obviously a small ship beneath tarps and stacks of newspapers and other things. She didn't know why but she glared at it. There didn't seem to be much wrong with it, other than it being old, but still. She sniffed suspiciously. "This is… scarily convenient, isn't it?"
A glass smashed right next to her head.
"Aa. figured."
She wondered if Katsura was doing any better.
…
…
Okay. Okay. Okay. He was okay… he thinks.
"I've got this, I've got this, I've- oh I don't got this!" Augh, he felt his teeth chattering, nerves absolutely fried. "This isn't going to end well…" As soon as he said that he quickly slapped himself. "Nope! No, negativity! I have to have this!"
Those two were counting on him! If he didn't beat the Beast then there was no getting off the island at all and he didn't want to be the one to cut someone's pirates career short.
Right, so Katsura had to complete this mission, and he had the utmost confidence in himself.
"Who am I kidding? This is going to suck." He groaned, dragging a hand over his face. He shook his head. He had to get back on track. "People are countin' on you, Katsura: it's time to batten down the hatches and get ready to di- ve!" If he extended the word a bit awkwardly in the middle, well, he'd deny it.
He fumbled with the straps of his bags, adjusting them so they strapped down tightly to his chest. No matter how little was actually in them he was carrying everything he owned on his back, sans the majority of his shell collection, and he'd be damned if he was going to lose anything because he was an idiot who forgot to secure it. Katsura pressed his lips together, a smile threatening to spread and he couldn't keep the silly grin down for long. He was just absolutely exhilarated. With the claws fastened to his hands and the waves on his side the Beast wouldn't know what hit him!
"Today's the day I start my adventure!" He shouted, scrubbing a hand over his face. "I wish you could see me now, I'm following all the rules you set to leave this place."
"Well, I see you."
"Mom?" Katsura gasped.
"What-?! NO!"
Tava yelled, waving a fist.
Oh. That's… disappointing.
"I don't sound anything like a girl, how could you make such a dumb mistake?! You idiot!" He stomped towards him, face red. "You think you're so big, don't you?" He didn't wait for an answer. Cheeks puffing out and shooting him a suspicious glare, "What're you doing up here whispering to yourself? You're not planning anything are you? Maybe with those pirates?!" Katsura couldn't help but blink, anger at him showing his ugly mug again temporarily abating, he was really getting worked up over this, wasn't he? "That's right! I overheard," he accused, "you're thinking of joining them. The only ones that could stand you is a pair of crazy criminals, huh? I always knew you were no good. I can finally see it all comin' to fruition-"
Katsura tilted his head at him, "You're kind of… sad."
"-ah- w-wha- you…!" Tava sputtered, face souring even further.
"Yeah, pretty pathetic."
Whatever he'd been planning on saying was silenced as Katsura found his smile back in full force, "Sorry, Tava, but even you can ruin my mood anymore today." He clenched a fist, raising a clawed hand to point it at the boys chest. "Today! I'm going to beat the Beast and prove that I'm strong enough for the Grand Line- then… then I'm going to sail away from here. And I'm going to collect every last one of those special shells, starting with the one you tossed! Wherever it may be!"
"I-"
Tava flinched at the blades. But then, in a moment of daring, he took an angry step forward.
"You're a bitch."
"And here I thought I was a kitty all these years."
He backflipped off the cliff edge.
Katsura yelped, hands slapping his cheeks, "Augh, that was so lame! I could've come up with something so much cooler, oh my god- embarrassing!"
He hit the water.
…
…
"I was already pretty certain I'd be saying this eventually but," Quinn started as calmly as she could manage, voice clipped, "THIS SO COUNTS AS I TOLD YOU SO!"
Something- or, more accurately, somebody slammed against the broken door, sending the rusty hinges rattling. It took all she had to stay standing, stumbling back a step before throwing her weight back into the door to hold it down, catching some fingers. The jeers and screaming and cheers of "we got them cornered" were not making the job any easier.
Ace flashed her a thumbs up.
"Do your best. You got this, Quinn."
She was going to throttle him.
"Oh, stop it." She snapped. "Just fix the ship! I won't hold them for long."
He rolled his eyes and sneezed as he tugged the ship out of its hiding place. Everything leant up against it came to a crashing fall. "Whoops." Turns out the boat wasn't as good as she first thought. Ace let out a low whistle, "Wow, this is one crappy boat! It's pretty much falling apart. Why even keep this? Could scrap it an' sell it, and I could've used some of this wood on the treehouse…" The door thumped behind her and Quinn's brow twitch.
"Can you fix it or not?"
He snorted. "Of course I can."
"Great…"
There was that at least.
Ace set to work. The ship was not in good shape. The hull was mostly intact, sure, which was lucky because if it was damaged he probably wouldn't have been able to scavenge it. He slid his hands over the boards- the big issue was the bow. The wood was warped and there was more than a few nails waiting to stab him, the whole thing would have to be worked around with parts replaced. He began looking around the room for anything he could use.
Seeing as Ace seemed to know what he was doing she gritted her teeth and stubbornly shoved her back harder into the door when someone on the other side began throwing their weight around. The problem was that it was locked with a sliding chain, which was putting up a valiant fight actually- thank you little chain- and fingers were trying to wiggle their way in.
Speaking of which, a hand was creeping frighteningly close to the lock.
"I will cut you."
"What?"
The hand snapped back.
"Not you," she shook her head, "Just focus on the boat."
There was enough stuff around that Ace could work with. A semblance of an idea beginning to form. He was not a shipwright in any sense of the word but having dealt with Luffy and both his destructive habits he'd gotten pretty good at repairing stuff to a… reasonably working condition. It just wouldn't be pretty. He gathered up whatever loose nails he could find and pulled boards off of an old barrel, struggling with the metal work for a bit until finally getting fed up and snapping it over his knee.
"Holy shit, dude."
Quinn breathed.
"Huh?" Ace cast a distracted and bemused glance over his shoulder.
"Nothing." The door thumped. "I take it you've, ugh, got experience with this kind of thing?" She couldn't make heads or tails out of what he was doing, but didn't really care enough to figure it out either. More impressed by the simple fact that he could do it. "There's a mallet that you can use as a hammer to your right."
He perked up. "Sweet. Thanks," before shrugging, "Uh, yeah! There was all kinds of scraps in Grey Terminal, I don't know why the Nobles would throw half the stuff they did away- I mean, all the food they wasted too- and we had to repair the treehouse a lot. Especially after that one time Luffy got struck by lightning…"
If she hadn't known that he was impervious to lightning she'd be blanching right now. "Seriously?"
He didn't seem to hear her. "Nobles are downright idiotic about the stuff they waste, no offense."
"Why would I-?"
"Aha, just what I needed!" He exclaimed, bending the broken metal into rings around a couple boards. Securing a large chunk of his work to the front of the ship. Quinn didn't know what it was supposed to do. Parts were sticking up every which way and he'd removed a good chunk of the messed up bits, fiddling with a pair of boards and trying to put them together. It looked like the ship exploded from the inside out, honestly.
A frustrated shout came from outside. "They have to come out at some point. You, keep at the door, everyone else, let's surround the place! We'll make them tell us what they did to Tava!" And Quinn drooped in relief as some of the pressure on the door finally disappeared. She still didn't walk away from it but she did take the chance to slide to the floor, flopping her arms between her legs, head pressed back.
"They've moved around the building."
He waved her off, "I heard."
"Hope they don't light the place on fire while we're inside," she muttered, and Ace winced. "That would suck."
Yes, he agreed, that would indeed suck. But it wasn't like they were stuck so it wouldn't be that bad. He spun the mallet in his hand as he shoved boards into place, making sure they were tight, before he struggled to bend the metalwork to help hold it all together.
"You're gonna give them ideas."
"...Shit. Think they can hear us?"
He glanced around the room. As if he'd see anything to tell them otherwise, before settling with a shrug, "Probably not."
Quinn ran her hands over her legs awkwardly. It was quiet except for the sounds of Ace working and the door trying to open, painfully grinding into her back and definitely going to leave a bruise later.
She clapped her hands together.
"So…"
She should say something.
"...How's your day been goin'?"
Not that.
Ace snorted, unable to stop a snicker. "Pretty great actually!" He pinched his sweater. "Aside from the sweater though, and the lack of hat…"
"I'm workin' on it. I'm almost done, too. And the sweaters just to keep the sun directly off your skin, don't need you getting skin cancer. You'll just have to settle for heat stroke." She smirked and teased. "It'll be fun. You'll pass out and feel terrible."
"Chehaha. We have different definitions of fun then." He laughed and jumped up onto his feet, turning to rummage through the rooms items. Looking for something but Quinn didn't know what, eyeing the room.
She licked her lips. "What are you searching for?"
"I need to find something to seal the boards together." He frowned. "It'll leak if I don't." One too many rainy days had taught him to not skimp on the details. And if a roof could get water pouring through it then he didn't want to think about what it would do to a boat in the water. Quinn followed his line of thinking and made a face.
"Oh, we are so screwed."
"Maybe with that attitude! You should try being more positive," Ace felt a grin stretch over his face. Idea hitting him as he took in the sight of what he had to work with. "I'll use tarps!"
"Tarps?" That… did not sound like it would work.
"If I use a shit ton of nails and metal to hold it to the boards then it'll work well enough." Yeah, that did not sound like it would hold together for long. "It just needs to keep water out of the gaps."
Quinn sighed.
"How long?"
"Five minutes."
"Five minutes…" She echoed. "And what, in five minutes, are we going to do about them?"
"Kick their asses of course!"
"While carrying a boat?"
Ace opened his mouth, and then shut it. She had a point there.
"I'll just come up with something else then!"
Quinn frowned. It probably wouldn't be a very good idea. Light bouncing off the metal suddenly caught her eye. Ace had sure bent that pretty easy, huh?
A crazy thought came to her. "Uh… hey, Ace?"
He didn't know if he liked that glint in her eyes.
"Yeah…?"
"How strong are you exactly?"
…
…
"Ready?"
"Count to three."
"Wait, on three or after three?"
"On."
"Got it. One… two…"
So, Ace had managed to finish the boat and Quinn had kept anyone from getting in. Unfortunately, that raised the question of how they were going to get out without getting attacked or their boat wrecked by the villagers. And then Quinn got an idea.
A stupid one, really.
Ace should have said no. But he agreed to it. The shit.
Which brings us to what they're doing right now: executing the dumb plan that should've been scrapped.
"THREE!"
"Mush, Ace! Mush!"
"I'm not a dog!"
"Just go already!"
He grumbled under his breath, disgruntled. To be fair, Quinn was entirely just in the comment, taking in the sight of ropes wrapped around his arms and attaching him to the boat like reins. It made it fairly hard to keep her footing when he took off, dragging the boat with her situated inside through the slamming open door. Really, the guy on the other side didn't know what hit him. She almost felt bad.
Then she tossed a heavy can at someones head: "Boom, headshot!" And instantly forgot about it.
"Chehaha! Nice one!"
She couldn't help but laugh with him. Already pulling a few more from the pile of cans stacked in the base of the ship and taking aim at anybody she could see. It… the sadistic glee may have been a bit worrying.
"Taking a left!"
"Ah!" She almost went spilling out the side when he took a sudden sharp turn. Losing a few cans in the process. She yelped, falling to her knees to hold onto the sides. "Careful, I'm almost out of ammo!" But she guessed it didn't really matter as the majority of the villagers fell back to either nurse their wounds or avoid getting hit. "Ah, take a right and then a left! We'll be at the water's edge then!" The plan was working, at least, as no one who tried to attack the boat was able to get close.
Ace made a few more sharp turns, following her directions. The ropes twisted around his arms uncomfortably at the move and he glanced back to see the boat hit a rock and turn over. "Watch out!" Quinn barely managed to kick off the side of a building as she nearly went careening into a wall, just barely managing to right herself back onto the correct path. Almost twisting her ankle in the process.
"I see the ocean!"
Ace called back to her with a toothy smile.
"And," before he raised a brow, "Someone else?"
"Huh? Who?"
"HALT!" A large man threw out a hand in the universal sign for stop, a sword clutched in his other hand. Sneering at them. "If you shall not answer for your crimes…" He seethed. "THEN I WILL HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO CUT YOU DOWN! IF MY NAME ISN'T- AIIEEEEEY?!"
Quinn reared an arm back and chucked a can at him. Straight.
Into his crotch.
"Oh, sweet mother of god-!"
Ace blinked. Unable to help but turn a bit blue in sympathy. "Erk, that's a really low blow, Quinn…"
Even she made a face. Rubbing the back of her head sheepishly, a bit disappointed in herself that she didn't feel the slightest bit guilty at the shot.
Ace grimaced at the collapsed form and just decided to jump straight over him. "Sorry!"
"Woah-" Quinn fell back when the boat hit him and was sent jostling up into the air. "Ah!"
Ace managed to unwrap the ropes tying him down just in time to land in the flying ship. Grunting as his knees slammed into Quinn and sent both of them sprawling. "Ow, ow, ow…!" Quinn muttered under her breath and tried to shove him off. "Ge' off!"
She had almost been about to pull herself back up when Ace suddenly exclaimed..
"We're about to hit the sea!"
"Ha-?"
The boat hit with a loud creak and splash.
For a second, water spilled over the sides of the boat and she sprayed out a nasty gulp of sea and sand before they were floating away from the shore with a few well-timed strokes from Ace paddling them further away. He stuck a tongue out at the villagers forming on the shoreline with a silly face, taunting. "You can't catch us, we're pirates! Che- hey!" Abruptly Quinn shoved him off. "Rude."
"Ex-cuse me." She snarked back, "Your knees were in my chest," she shook her head. "At least we can finally leave this place."
The villagers jeered at the pair- the two… pirates. It'd been awhile since the villagers had seen an attack on one of their own, so long as they stayed out of those two beasts ways they'd been fine, but they weren't expecting to have to deal with two strangers encroaching on their tense peace. They did not take kindly to outsiders who didn't fit in at all.
"Of course they were criminals… scum of the sea!"
"We should have known, if only we still had access to the Marines."
"Tch. You don't remember what happened the last time we called them, they would've burned the last of this place down to the ground if they found out there were pirates here."
"Poor, Tava… I hope he's alright. Wherever they took him."
They glared in grim silence.
"At least, we know they won't survive. The currents that take you out of this island… it'll tear a hole in even the strongest of ships. With a crappy boat like that, they're as good as dead." They shared a dark look. "If the Beast doesn't get them first that is."
…
…
He sunk.
Eyes closed, with slow calm breaths taken in an attempt to ease his racing heart. The water shivered to life around him and he sunk further and further down with it. Quiet, listening. Nothing.
"Hnrn… and I almost thought you'd be waiting."
Well, he shouldn't complain. He could go into this mentally prepared then.
"Alright, Beast…" He stuck out his hand. "Let's fight." And made a fist. Hissing through his teeth, nails digging into his palm hard enough to draw slow, thin streams of blood.
The red wafted for a moment and Katsura blinked. When he opened his eyes next it was to a maw of teeth and a rippling growling beginning to boil the water surrounding them.
"Hi."
Katsura tried to sound confident, tried to feel confident too, but it didn't seem to work as much as he wanted it to. The claws settled over his fingers, the currents gathered along the blades, and- nope! His heart was still thundering and he could hear the blood beat in his ears.
It was more than a little disappointing to find that the little bit of calmness and concentration the weapons provided did not settle his quivering heart. No, fear was making itself quite at home in his chest. At least it helped rein in his bolstered ego. Before, he'd been positively giddy to fight the Beast but now that there was something on the line he was terrified to fail.
He'd rather be confident than arrogant. Or, you know, only semi-injured rather than dead.
But he was about done with fear. It wouldn't do him any good here, it'd only serve to get in the way.
"Well," he licked his lips, "Guess I'll just have to be brave then."
Had Katsura not been staring the Beast dead in the face he would've missed the peeved and unmistakable roll of its eyes. Jaw dropping a bit in shock at the reaction. Like he was the one to be annoyed!
The Beast snorted- Katsura barely held back an indignant shout- and drove forward, teeth plunging into empty space and leaving him shivering at the closed maw inches from his nose. It was a good thing he dodged in time. Against such a violent snap of the jaws Katsura wouldn't have stood a chance, so he slid back behind its pupil.
The eye moved to follow him.
"Eek, that's not creepy at all!"
A tail went whipping around its side and bore down on top of him. Katsura felt his arms strain alongside the current to pull himself flipping away and further out to sea. The familiar ache of working with the ocean pulling him to a better vantage point. It didn't last long.
The Beast was turning on its head to lunge at him. He grinned, slightly nervous, slapping a hand over one of his wrists and rearing back his elbow, head ducking just enough that his bandana shadowed his face. Bubbles frothed up from the current he gathered in hand, metal humming with life and- "Time to break these blades in…"
The Beast snapped out.
"...with a-"
He threw a foot out, kicking off the water to shove himself out of the way.
"GONG!"
And the waves went concave and there was blood in the water.
The sea rippled outward in concentric swells, the resounding boom making him want to cover his ears as Katsura felt his arm vibrate alongside the hit. It was a forceful attack. One that had him shaking his arm to get rid of a spot of sting that slid up his elbow from nearly overdoing it. Ha, he may have gone a bit overboard with this one.
"...eh…!" He had to smirk though.
Opening and closing his hand and eyeing his palm, a mix of white and red where it'd connected. It felt like it burned, the sensation almost painful, but he found himself not wanting it to go away. The ache making him press his teeth to his tongue to help ignore it, blades shaking as he made a fist and turned away from the marks. The claws shone just as brightly as they did before; holding strong. "You did pretty well too…"
The Beast was sent flying back, a limp figure hanging in the water for a span of seconds. Face matted with blood that, for once, was its own. Katsura grinned. Then immediately stopped when the Best jerked, coming alive into furious motion.
He very nearly lost his head, bending at the knees in an almost perfect ninety-degree angle.
Now he'd gone and done it. Having to bodily throw himself out of the way of the Beasts increasingly violent barrage of attacks that had his heart jumping out of his chest and shooting across the sea to catch his breath.
"Brrrrroooooo-"
He didn't get the chance to.
"Gah-!"
Dodge. Dodge. Dodge. He bounced off the water and sent himself spinning above, back to the surface. He had to find a- There! An opening!
He reared back both arms, "Cymbal!" And clapped.
The water rushed out in six curved slices and the Beast screamed. Katsura took the chance to take a few more swipes, claws raking against the tough skin and teeth gritting in exertion. It was taking more than what he had in him to pierce its hide.
"Grr, Beast, stay down!" He couldn't help but growl out as he attacked. "I'll hit as many times as necessary so just-"
A scream caught in the back of his throat as he failed to throw his arms up in defense.
He wasn't expecting to be body slammed out of the water. Breath catching in his throat as water was replaced by oxygen and blood burst from his nose, head knocked back. For a moment, all he could do was stare up at the clouds in surprise before he was blinking and flipping around to stare at the ocean below.
Just in time to see the Beast slither back into the depths.
He was falling.
"Wow." Okay, he had to state the obvious. "This is high…!"
He could see most of the island from up here.
Albeit it was more than a little blurry, he could make out the town and the lack of trees and spot the silhouette of a ship setting sail into the horrendous currents that he and the Beast were making worse with their fight. Katsura grimaced. Ace and Quinn. They were not going to be able to make it much further in a boat that small, not being buffeted by the waves like they were. And, if he was seeing correctly, which he was only half sure he was, then they were headed directly into the most dangerous of waters.
He opened his mouth to try and gain their attention.
"Ace! Qui-!"
Out of nowhere the Beast twisted out from the ocean depths and Katsura spun just inches out of a bite, bouncing against the lithe body and sending himself rattling heels over head into the water. He darted away as fast as he could to avoid the body of the Beast slamming back down on top of him, teeth grinding and face a stinging mess. It was beyond staggering but he shook his head and pushed on. If he didn't warn them they'd completely ruin the boat and then they'd most certainly be stuck.
Katsura growled and glanced behind-
At least the jump the Beast had decided to pull off had left it disoriented, head shaking and looking around for any sign of him. Tch. It'd catch his scent soon enough.
Katsura rolled his eyes and focused on moving as quickly as possible.
"C'mon, c'mon…"
Yes! There!
He felt himself break into a grin when he spotted the rickety boards and plastic tarp of a thrown together ship through the frothy sea. Speeding up with a burst of excitement and practically launching himself onto the deck. "-Guys! Hey! You managed to find the boat!" He decided to pointedly ignore the shocked screams in response. "I can't believe it!"
"Ah! Katsura, hey!" Ace was the first to recover.
Quinn was not so lucky, hand clasped to her heart and spouting curses. "Urg, ohmygod- gonna give me a heart attack. Christ Almighty."
He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
Ace rolled his eyes. Lighting up at the sight of the redhead, "Did you beat the Sea Beast already?" If so, that was certainly quick. Katsura made a face.
"Uh-" There came a telltale roar from behind him.
"Yeah, I'll take that as a no."
"Definite no." Quinn groaned.
"Well, so~rry." He pouted indignantly. "I had to run over here to help you guys." They each gave him blank stares and he huffed. "I told you guys to watch out for the currents, didn't I? You're headed straight into no-man's land- er, no-man's sea." To support that statement he stabbed his figure in the direction the boat was being pulled and raised a brow.
Ace and Quinn winced. The sight of choppy and disastrous waters not welcome. Ace bobbed his head at the waves though, this was all already anticipated. And he couldn't help the cheeky grin stretching over his face as he turned to the resident half-fishman. "That's fine! You'll just have to take care of it, won't you?"
Katsura flushed red. Flattered at the confidence.
"W-Well, yeah, that's why I came over-!"
"Then we're counting on you, Katsura!"
If possible he turned redder and bit his lip to fight his smile down. He failed, miserably. "I- Okay. Okay! Y-Yeah, count on me…!" Katsura hurried to unhook his bags and drop them in the boat before gleefully dropping onto the side of the ship to tug it into a harsh angle. More than a little overzealous.
Quinn snickered at the reaction, "Way to charm him, Ace."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
She snorted. Yeah, right.
The boat turned and Katsura grunted with the weight of it, kicking to the side of the currents as he tried to send it on the right path. If he could just get it over a tiny, little bit more then he wouldn't have to do anything to-
"BEAST!"
He looked up at Quinn's shout. "Oh, shi-!"
Ace grunted as the boat was suddenly sent spinning as a mini-tsunami of water threatened to capsize them. The boat sent rocking back and forth until it was almost perpendicular to the sea. He ended up coughing and hacking and pumping a fist against his chest to try and reorient himself, grip on the wood slippery now that they were covered in water. "Gah, Quinn?! Katsura?!" He managed to croak, rubbing at his eyes.
Quinn was the only one to respond, and she did not sound happy. "Keh-?! S-Some help h-here would be n-nice!"
"Huh?"
She struggled to form a coherent sentence. "S-Seriously, help." Quinn moaned out, water clogging her nose and throat. She was only just staying above the ocean's surface, arm thrown over the side of the ship to keep her hooked in place.
"Yep, that'd do it."
Ace gripped her under the arms, yanking her out of the ocean and the resulting devil fruit stupor. Ignoring the sharp gasp of her taking in fresh air and wringing out his sweater.
"This brings back memories."
"Hufk, ah- I'll… try to not make it a habit."
"Where'd Katsura go?"
"He…" Oh, wow, it was hard to breathe. "He tackled the Beast into the water when he popped up. Very nearly caught us in it too."
Ace hummed at that, eyeing the waves as the boat began to finally right itself. They were being shoved along the currents, a new one then what they were on before, and if he was seeing things correctly…
He brightened visibly, impressed. "Hey, he did it, Quinn! We're on the right path now!"
She closed her eyes, not really listening. "...woo, that's great, Ace."
He slapped her. Hard. "Quinn? Oy, Quinn, don't fall asleep, I'm only used to me doin' that. Not other people." Quinn openly gaped at him, hand on her cheek.
"-Why."
"Ah, good. You're awake."
"You're about to not be."
He disregarded the threat. "We gotta keep an eye out for them. Can't lose sight of 'em."
She just grumbled, eyes narrowed at his back, rubbing her stinging cheek and muttering mutinous curses just barely quiet enough that he couldn't pick out much of what she said. Which was good because Quinn was plotting his murder. She shakes her head.
"Fine, whatever, I'll…" She trails off as something lifts up out of the ocean behind them.
Quinn gasps.
"...Ace?"
He turns.
Katsura gritted his teeth to the feeling of his shoulder slamming into the Beasts form, the weight behind it bearing down on him in a monstrous display of power. But he had his own force behind him and Katsura didn't know how, and he certainly didn't know where it came from, but he was pretty sure he just managed to suplex a Sea Beast.
He cackles. "Yes! Take that, damn it!" More than a little exhilarated.
It hits before he can even move.
He can only blink afterwards.
It's as if the worlds gone dark. And there's a high pitched ringing in his ears- it cuts out all sound. The waves, the water pressure, even his own heartbeat, it all goes quiet.
Strangely, there's no pain. But something tells him that it's just the adrenaline messing with his nerves and cutting off all communication from his brain to his body. Then, all at once. It's like everything comes rushing back in full force.
The first thing he feels is his head about to burst. It's not a welcome feeling but at least it is one. The second thing is his vision coming back to him and it's like a fire lit behind his eyelids. It burns and makes him flinch awake, face scrunching and head worsening with each beat. The worlds too shiny and all at once and ow- ow- oW- OW- O- o W
Somebody's shouting.
His kneejerk reaction is to tell them to shut the fuCK up-
But well. That gets overridden fairly quickly.
"-AT-"
"-A-KE-P"
"KA-RA-UP!"
The world spins around and settles on his face.
It's Ace and Quinn. Once again. They're shouting and screaming and- Oh wow. Are they calling for him?
"KATSURA, WAKE UP ALREADY!"
He wakes up.
Quinn's voice pierces but Ace is the one that lands the final punch.
"I thought you were going to prove it to us..." Ace laments, voice a low growl that raises with each consonant. "That you're strong enough to be a pirate!"
He's upside down, hanging by his foot.
"Aa."
Well.
"I said that, didn't I?"
He wouldn't want to disappoint.
Katsura rears back a leg. "Not today, Beast!" He's not really focused too much on what he's doing. He's kicking and punching and slashing as hard as he can and as fast as he can- a frenzy of wild movements. It registers somewhere in the back of his head that the Beast has him in its teeth. That means- he's close to its face. That means- his fists are close by. And fists are good for punching. Faces are weak to punching!
"Wow, Sherlock! Put two-and-two together did'ja?!"
Oh, said that out loud, did he?
Katsura punched the Beast in the face.
It was made worse by his claws sinking into the flesh of its snout. The resulting scream had him blowing in the wind like a loose flag. Katsura held on for dear life.
"BroOOOOOAA-?!"
"Screw off, you big ugly Beast!"
Ace is gripping the side of the ship and has such a strained grin on his face that Quinn almost thinks he's going to tear the corners of his mouth. They hit a wave and as tense as he is he doesn't move. Not even when Quinn stumbles and latches onto his shoulder for support.
"You okay?"
"He's getting tired."
"Huh?"
"Katsura."
Quinn blinks. Before taking the time to stare at Katsura whose managed to yank his hand out of the Beasts face and is flipping onto its head, claws sinking into the skull. "I…" It's hard to see, especially since the Beast is howling and bucking wildly to try and throw him off, but- Katsura's chest is heaving, his arms are shaking with exertion. And despite the determined look on his face he seems drained beyond belief. "Somehow I don't think he's noticed."
Ace grimaced. "He's getting sluggish. He's slower than before."
Quinn couldn't see that. But she chalked it up to differences in experience.
She squeezes his shoulder. "Are you worried?"
He snorts. "No way! He'll win, that's for sure!" Quinn decided to not mention the fact that he didn't relax even a smidge after saying so. The currents carried them further away from the fight, giving them a glimpse at Katsura getting knocked into the dark waves below.
The cold water rushed past.
Katsura let it.
He was tired. But he could push through.
The blood ran down his face and he could taste it in his mouth. He's sure the Beast could taste it too, a faint iron mixed with an inhuman fishiness. He ran a tongue over his lips. Gross. "Look at you, Beast…" He mumbled quietly, almost a sigh. "You're a dog gone wild. Can't you remember how you used to be?"
No answer. Of course not. There never was, not anymore. Any semblance of intelligence or calm or anything other than wild, predatory fury had gone without a trace.
"There's nothing left for us here," he hissed, sharp teeth baring, "can't you see that?"
It was a lost cause. He knew that. In a way, some years ago, Katsura had wished he could be like the Beast. Give into the mindless fury and anger and hellbent rage, but then he saw the prison the Beast had trapped himself in. Unable to listen, refusing to accept help or a friendly hand, consumed by grief that he refused to let go of. And, even as he flipped himself over and gathered the ocean around himself, he couldn't help but feel a bit of pity.
"Why couldn't I have been enough?"
There was no answer except for the blood rushing in his ears. And Katsura let the ocean scream in response.
Quinn threw her hands up as water burst forth around the Beast, stumbling backwards and tripping onto her back. Ace didn't so much as twitch at the sight. At first, they couldn't make heads or tails out of what they were seeing. The Beast seemingly engulfed by water before-
Ace punched the air, grin splitting his face. "Go for it, Katsura!"
All Quinn got a glimpse of was light flashing on metal before the Beast was howling.
Katsura had thrown himself into the air, claws raised to strike. The Beasts neck laid bare below him.
He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.
I'm sorry, Quagga…!
He fell.
"SLEIGHER!"
Executioner-style sea and blades tore through neck.
It was over.
"Guess we know who won."
Quinn shied away from the bloodied water as Katsura pulled himself into the ship with a weary laugh. Ace greeted him with an exuberant clap on the back. "I knew you'd pull through! Hey, Quinn! We got ourselves another crewmember!" The unbridled joy seeping off him was more than a little contagious.
"I can see that. Welcome aboard, Katsura."
He gave her a strange look.
Something passing through his eyes and over his face. It was a bit odd to look at. Especially considering that blood was still running out of his busted nose. And chest heaving as it was and energy spent you wouldn't think he'd have been able to think about much- not in his condition.
"You know," he started suddenly, making both of them stop and blink. A breathless laugh escaping. "I think I'm gonna take you up on your advice, Quinn!"
"My... advice?"
Ace shoots her a curious look.
"I'm gonna take it back. Starting right now. I'll make it my own." He smiled to himself. "It's my pleasure to be a part of your crew! Please, moving forward, call me Kat! It's what all my friends call me!"
Oh. So that's what this was about.
"I don't know what you're talking about, but sure!"
"And as the newest addition to your crew, I want to start by keeping my promise." Katsura- no, Kat announced. "It's time to get away from this island!"
Ace and Quinn cheered.
"Yay, we can continue our adventure!" Ace hurrahed.
Quinn's was a little… different. "Yay, no more drowning!"
Kat stuck both his hands in the water. Tiredness momentarily forgotten. The crew- that only Quinn knew would later be named the Spade Pirates-watched on as the ocean changed for them. The currents that once held them back pushing them forward and far away from the shores of Belle.
Quietly, too quiet for his companions to hear. Kat muttered his own, small cheer.
"Yay. To new horizons."
.
.
.
~And we're done! That has been the End of Belle! I'm so, so happy to be moving to a new arc soon. It took a lot out of me to write Belle. It is not the East Blue chapters I've been excited to write but I'm happy with how its come out in the end. And I think you all will be excited when I tell you where we're headed next! It's a (semi?) canon island: Sixis!
