Shifting slightly the teen rolled over in his newly acquired bed. The room he had taken for his own, dedicated as the Captain's Quarters by the plaque on the door was semicircle in shape and located in the lowest part of the ship, below the ocean's surface. The entire back wall of the room was made up of three massive observation windows separated by large metal arches showing a view of below the water's surface.
Unlike the rest of the ship, the Captain's quarters had been locked, without his Fullbring powers he doubted he'd get in without breaking the door down, luckily he hadn't needed too. It seemed that whoever had abandoned the ship hadn't wanted anyone to barge in on the captain's private area. All the furniture within had been covered with white sheets so while it had been dusty it hadn't been anything major to clean and with a little bit of utilizing of his Fullbring abilities, the dust had soon gathered in a pile and cleaned up with relative ease.
The room was no doubt the largest among the ship's living quarters, designed for comfort for the Captain it seemed. While Ichigo didn't really mind, he honestly just wanted a place that he could call his own. He was still getting accustomed to having to live in this world and sometimes he would need his solitude. He didn't doubt that Yosaku and Johnny would try and barge their way in sometimes. He would just need to make it clear that this was his room and was off limits to the rest of the crew.
The room pretty much had everything it needed, amenities present included a sitting space off to the right with a small rather comfortable couch, a desk area located on the right also, a wardrobe located over on the left which was barren of any other clothes considering he hadn't had the chance to actually get anything new since coming here, right now his white jacket was the only thing hanging in there. A large bed with the foot of the bed facing the wardrobe and the headboard up against one of the observation windows.
Ichigo was still stunned at how modern the ship was compared to the Going Merry's more iconic build for such a pirate era. He was beginning to become more and more intrigued about who the ship's original owner had been. But he was thankful for it's design, he figured trying to learn and understand the true mechanics behind sailing was just beyond him. With this ship, they had a coal steam engine, no doubt they'd have to find someone capable of maintaining it, along with other aspects that their crew was lacking.
"I'm going to need to start making a list of what kind of skills our crew is going to need, and soon." Sliding out of bed, his feet hitting the cool floor as he ran a hand through his orange hair, a glance out of the window while it was into the murky depths, gentle rays of silver light were breaking down from the ocean's surface, the moon was still up more than likely. Rolling his shoulders he walked across his new room to the office like set up.
Hachi had brought him down a map of the East Blue when he had brought Yosaku and Johnny back from the Silk's Diner after their celebrations over the defeat of Gally had ended. The map was of the East Blue Hachi having outlined Ichigo's venture since Syrup village when he had met up with Luffy and the others. If everything went according to plan, then they would be headed for Reverse mountain from Silk's island. After their little mishap in Logue Town they were a little further south than expected but not a big Issue, he learned after seeing the map that they had backtracked a fair bit in heading for Silk's island, but it was no big blunder.
According to Hachi Reverse Mountain would be the best way for them to enter the Grand Line and considering they had no other stops to make they should make good time especially since they weren't reliant on the wind, a couple of days at most before they got there. Either that or fight off giant ass sea monsters in the calm belt, he didn't think Silk, Johnny or Yosaku were up to that task quite yet. While they had a propulsion engine, and could easily navigate through the calm belt unlike a lot of other ships that relied on the use of their sails, he'd rather not have to face off against massive monsters just to get there.
"I think I've fought enough giant monsters for one lifetime." Ichigo mused to himself taking a seat observing the map. It would also give him time to help set up a regiment for the three crew members that seriously needed it. Johnny and Yosaku needed to build their bodes and no doubt Silk needed to do the same, but they also needed to learn how to handle their weapons properly when the time calls for it. "I'll ask Hachi if he can give me a hand, he said he had some skill and I doubt Arlong would have kept him around if he was useless." Ichigo added mentally, he was coming to rely on Hachi a lot more than he thought he would. "Heh, maybe I'll make him first mate." Turning back to the map he looked at the large strip of sea that represented the calm belt.
It wasn't really a feasible option for them for as soon as they passed through the calm belt, they'd be lost considering that the Log Pose wouldn't be set to any island not giving them a proper heading. Heading to Reverse Mountain they'd be able to get a proper heading and go from there. He trusted Hachi, the Fishman having come from the Grand Line, he had more information then the rest of them. It was lucky that they had someone with knowledge of the Grand Line, otherwise they might have been in a lot of trouble if Hachi hadn't decided to join up with them. He had to wonder if Nami had the knowledge Luffy would need to navigate the Grand Line.
Turning his attention away from the map to the two Wanted Posters Yosaku had given him, one of Arlong and the other of Gally. Ichigo didn't really want to keep a trophy or such for the people he had taken out but both bounty hunters insisted that he keep them, to show how much good he had done in defeating them. Saving Conomi Island and stopping Silk's town from being destroyed.
Tapping his fingers on the desk he sighed slightly, he still didn't know what he was going to do in the grand scheme of things. He had resolved himself that there probably wasn't a way home, at least from this side. He didn't have the know how to actually even consider to reverse the power that had sent him here, there was only one person he could rely on for that. His best bet was to just wait on Kisuke but there was still no guarantee that he would come through. Shaking the thought from his mind he rose from the chair, taking the map with him. Grabbing his jacket from the wardrobe he headed out of the cabin, immediately heading up the staircase that led to his new quarters.
Passing through the common room, it was dark as his assumptions that the sun had yet to rise proved correct with a glance out onto the deck showed it was still early morning, the silhouettes of buildings of Silk's home town just beginning to take shape. No doubt the town would soon awaken. Heading from the common room up the spiral staircase arriving on the bridge. Heading for the wheel he reached out with his Fullbring, bringing the engine to life with a low rumble. Taking a look at the map and seeing what direction they needed began to set their heading.
There was no point sticking around, it'd only be a tearful goodbye for Silk and since she had taken upon herself to sneak on board last night, it was obvious that she had already given her goodbyes the prior night if his talk with the Mayor had been anything to go off of, no need for a repeat in his opinion. Maneuvering a few levers letting the engines heat up as he watched the gauges. He'd need to make sure the coal reserves stayed high, he knew there was plenty there now but depending on how long the journey between each island was, it would be best to keep them stocked.
The ability of Fullbring was much more useful than he could ever have imagined, giving him details on things he once never understood by listening to the souls of objects. He had really only ever used his spiritual powers to fight, never having needed them for anything else. If he hadn't had his Fullbring he probably would have drowned while facing Arlong. He wanted to talk with Zangetsu again, to find out what the Quincy powers meant but so far the sword spirit hadn't made himself known again, not even the slightest presence was felt from him.
Seeing that the readings were all green Ichigo grabbed the lever by the wheel and pushed it down, a low rumble sounded out before the ship began to move, breaking away from the docks. Ichigo watched as they drifted from the town before lowering the acceleration lever further increasing their speed, correcting the course he made sure that they were headed in the direction of Reverse Mountain, their journey to the Grand Line underway.
"Now." Ichigo began stretching his arms as he headed for the deck, the sun just beginning to show it's rays over the horizon. "Time for some training." Now that he had his human body to deal with, he couldn't just rely on the strength he had as a Shinigami, he would need to train just like the others to keep in shape and keep his strength up. Also if he was going to be going into fights that required him to use Cero's and the like, he'd need his body to be able to handle the strain of it all.
As Silk awoke it took a few moments to familiarize herself with her surroundings as it wasn't her usual room. No, instead it was the room she had chosen when she had first stowed away on the beautiful ship during the night's celebrations. She had never seen anything like it before, it had no sails and such an odd construction to what she knew to be the basic vessels that traveled to her small island. It was going to be a bit to get used to. But it was definitely exciting for the teen girl.
Giddiness filled her and she leapt from her bed. The belongings she had managed to bring with her were stowed away hastily under the bed. Yosaku and Johnny had egged her on after she had confessed to the two crewmen that she was a little nervous in asking Ichigo to let her come on their adventure with them. She had seen people come and go from the village ever since she had been there, pirates came some good most bad, they always left on their adventures always leaving her with a sense of longing.
Maybe it was her parents' pirate blood in her that craved an adventure that had made her finally decide to do something about it. Or maybe… it was the fact, unlike the rest of the townspeople that had always known her shortcomings, known that she was no great fighter and a hothead… that Ichigo had believed in her to take Gally down, mentored her in moments where she needed it. A bit of recognition.
Despite being maybe a year or two older then herself, he was different from others his age, she could just tell that what he had experiences in his life was not normal in any means. In those few short moments in her fight with Gally, she had wanted to prove herself, not to the townspeople but to herself that she could do it. While it hadn't been the most graceful win and the pirate had ended up pulling a gun on her in the end once she had lost focus, it was a victory in her books. She had taken down the Great Pirate Crescent Moon Gally… maybe calling him great was overshooting it, but it's how she would tell the story.
Looking over to her sword that was leaning up in the corner of the room she smiled. Johnny and Yosaku had told her that Ichigo was training them to take on the Grand Line, meaning she would undoubtedly be training too once she had gotten settled on the ship. She couldn't wait! She was already bursting with the excitement of the prospect of becoming a great swordsman.
But first! She had to make a good first impression on her new Captain, she would need to prove her worth and pull her own weight, she'd make the whole crew breakfast! While she had learned that Hachi was a good cook during the night's celebrations he obviously didn't have the experience that she had. While no Master Chef, she could definitely give the crew a balanced nutritious diet.
Heading for the door she opened it, poking her head out and peering down the both ways of the hall. All seemed to be quiet. Exiting the room she recalled the makeup of the ship, how she had gotten to the living area after coming aboard. Other than the sheer lack of upkeep on the ship, Hachi explain that it was a recent purchase and hadn't had any care in decades, she adored it and would do her best to make the ship a place worthy of their crew. This would be her new home, while saddened at prospect of leaving those she cared about and the diner, she would eventually come back here, she already knew that.
As she walked the halls she began to feel a slight shift, curious she stopped and realized that the ship was moving the low rumbling of the steam powered engine giving off a soft hum all around her, they had already left her home. Did they leave during the night or was the crew already up? Hurrying down the hall she peered out into the common room, newly set up furniture was in place, a large dining table with chairs. She could already hear someone in the kitchen and moved to see who it was. Peeking in, she saw Hachi already at work making breakfast for the crew. The fishman noticing eyes on him turned to the door and smiled.
"Good Morning Silk." Hachi greeted her with a smile, well aware that Johnny and Yosaku had urged her aboard. "Sleep well?"
"Oh, good morning. Yes, I slept great." Silk smiled happily. "I was going to get up and make breakfast." She said awkwardly, while she didn't want to intrude she did want to show that she wasn't a burden. Hachi, Johnny and Yosaku already knew she was aboard the two bounty hunters, convincing her to stow away instead of asking Ichigo straight up.
"Haha." Hachi began to laugh. "I'd leave it until you get used to the usual routine." He told her.
"Routine?" Silk questioned before a hand landed on her shoulder making her jolt upright as she turned to find her Captain with an annoyed look on his face, he had a thin layer of sweat and his white jacket was no wear to be seen the teen only wearing a black shirt. Swallowing nervously she was about to speak before he beat her to the punch.
"Bout time you got up." Ichigo told her, before his grip on her shoulder tightened and he began dragging her across the common room towards the doors that led to the deck. "You've already missed the first hour of training, Johnny and Yosaku have been up since dawn."
"Eh?" Silk was stunned. "Training, what training?" She questioned. She knew without a doubt that she'd be training at some point, but there was an order to things right, like shouldn't he be stunned that she was here at all!? Being pulled out onto deck she saw Johnny and Yosaku collapse in puddles of their own sweat chests heaving trying to take in air.
"It's abundantly clear that you're a self taught fighter, but you've had a lack of training your muscles." Ichigo explained to her. "So, Johnny, Yosaku." Ichigo's tone was commanding and immediately the two were before him despite their ragged state. "Run her through the morning drills."
"Yes Big Bro!" Both saluted.
"EH!" Silk was more stunned by the fact that Ichigo didn't even bother to wonder why she was here as Johnny and Yosaku began to take her through the morning drills.
It was just before lunch, Ichigo had taken to seating himself before the ship's controls his feet propped up on the console, keeping an eye on everything while taking to reading a book. As he had discovered when traveling aboard the going Merry, ship travel was fairly boring and had sought out some books at the market place in Silk's town, no doubt as time passed he would get a rather large collection, he would also have to find something else to occupy his time. However what was drawing his attention away from his reading was Hachi, the Fishman was pacing a few feet behind him which was starting to irritate the teen, he expected it from Johnny and Yosaku, and knew at times Hachi could be a pain to deal with... but what the hell did he want!?
"Hachi." Ichigo began, placing his book down and leaning back in his chair.
"Ah! Yes!?" Surprised at suddenly being addressed he looked up to see Ichigo peering over the back of his chair at him with an annoyed glare.
"What is it?" Ichigo questioned, figuring he wanted something otherwise he wouldn't be up here bothering him. The Fishman had taken to making sure the others were focused while training and were keeping hydrated and not overdoing it, giving them pointers here and there. While Ichigo was in charge of their training, he wasn't going to start teaching them properly until they were in better shape. It would set their determination to push themselves harder to be acknowledge that they were ready. Nervously, Hachi rose up his three arms and pressed the fingers of each hand against one another.
"Ah well..." Hachi began. "I... we... hmm?" Ichigo rose an eyebrow, he hadn't known Hachi for long but the Fishman didn't mince words or dart around a subject like this.
"Spit it out Hachi."
"Right!" Ichigo swore that the guy was about to salute but realizing where he was and no longer under the gaze of Arlong, restrained himself. "I'd like to make a stop before we leave the East Blue." This surprised Ichigo somewhat, especially that he was bringing it up now that they already on their way to Reverse Mountain. Then it hit the teen... the few days he had traveled with him... why hadn't he picked it up sooner? Had he been so focused on himself he hadn't bothered? And considering their course and how they had back tracked from Logue Town they weren't exactly that far away.
"You sure you want to go back?" Ichigo questioned, Hachi's eyes widening in surprise.
"How'd you...?"
"I should have realized it sooner." Ichigo commented, turning back to the console before him, raising a hand to his chin as he observed the mechanics before him, still coming to terms with all of the controls and such that controlled the ship. "It's probably been tearing you up inside, despite the probable Marine presence, you want to apologize." Ichigo shrugged before he began to change their course, pulling on the wheel as their course turned them East bound, heading towards the Conomi Islands. "We're not on a schedule Hachi, we can make the stop the two morons can wait for mermaids a little while longer. No rush."
"I'm sorry." Hachi lowered his head.
"Don't be." Ichigo smiled as he rose from his chair and walked towards the Fishman. "We'll make sure you get to apologize, and I'll make sure Genzo and Nojiko get everyone to listen at least. It's not going to be easy though, I want you to understand that." Ichigo assured him, but despite it, he would be there to help Hachi. While he may not be forgiven by those of Conomi island, Hachi just wanted to try and make things right.
"I want to do the right thing, regardless. I know I may never be able to redeem myself for what I've done, but I still feel like I need to do this." Hachi told him and Ichigo nodded. "Thank you, Ichigo."
"Hey Little Sis! What the hell is wrong with your village?" Yosaku turning to the downed blonde as he looked up from the paper he was reading. The teen girl rolled her head, sweat dripping coating her skin in a slight shine, still recovering from the morning workout.
"Huh?" She managed.
"Here! There's a story already on what happened yesterday with Gally and his crew! Big Bro Ichigo isn't mentioned anywhere! Hell, even we're not mentioned!" He thrust the paper at Silk, the blonde sitting up only for the paper to be snatched by Johnny before she could get her hands on it, the man tilting his glasses up resting them atop his head as he read the article that was clearly not front page news.
"Yeah, sure Gally is mentioned, along with the Mayor and Silk's village, but who the hell are these 'Suspected Hero's' that they go on and on about? That's suppose to be us!" Johnny asked. "Credit should be given where it's due! They even got a picture of the ship that Ichigo split in two right here! Not just anybody can do that! they're gonna mistake us for Hawk Eyes Mihawk! He'll get all the credit!" Johnny shouted turning the paper around and shocking it in Silk's face. It took a few moments to adjust and when she did she pulled the paper from Johnny's hands and took to reading it aloud.
"Recent Pirate Bounty of Five Million Beri, Gally of the Crescent-Moon Pirates has been defeated by an unknown source..." Skipping through a few lines she continued. "These suspected Hero's rushed to the aid of a small fishing village..." Skimming again. "The Mayor of the town didn't divulge the identities of the person or persons that were involved, only showing his gratitude." Eyes scanned the last few lines. "There will be a full investigation into what has happened."
"Well, maybe Ichigo asked the Mayor to leave your names out of it?" Silk questioned with a shrug of her shoulders, unsure of what was going on exactly. "The Mayor wouldn't do this on purpose, maybe he was just protecting us encase we got mistaken as pirates..." She trailed off before gaining a curious look. "Are we pirates?" Johnny and Yosaku glanced at one another for a few minutes and then back at Silk before shrugging.
"No, we're not pirates." Ichigo's voice reached them as he walked out on deck with Hachi who was smiling. "It's better we don't get ahead of ourselves, if people find out we're hunting bounties we might become a target for those wanting a challenge. There were a lot of people that were gunning for Zoro if I remember and he was a renown Bounty Hunter, and you guys aren't exactly ready for that." Ichigo shrugged.
"But Big Bro!" Johnny and Yosaku whined together. "Our debut!" Ichigo rose a hand to his nose, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. Why were these two the bane of his existence? Oh, he was so going to get Nami back for this pain in the ass next time he saw her. Casting a glance to Hachi, maybe he'd let Hachi eat her... do Fishman eat people? Deciding to focus on that when the time came he ignored their outburst.
"Since you lot have so much energy, despite morning training." Ichigo smirked seeing the three trainee's face fall. "It's about time that we cleaned up the ship, don't you agree? We've got new furniture to build and set up, the whole ship needs a good scrub and then we can get on with painting the ship. We've time to kill while we make a short detour before heading for Reverse Mountain."
"Eh, detour?" Yosaku asked turning to Johnny who was just as shocked.
"I though we were heading straight for Reverse Mountain after we stocked up on everything we needed?" Johnny asked turning back to face Yosaku.
"You promised us mermaids!" Both rounded on Ichigo before the teen scowled and slammed his fists down on both of their heads sending them to the deck in a heap, both groaning as the clutched at their heads.
"I didn't promise either of you crap!" Ichigo growled. "Now get to work!"
"Aye!" Both men shouted before getting to their feet and running into the ship, Ichigo turned to Silk who was slightly bewildered by the interaction between her new Captain and her new crew mates.
"Got something to say Stowaway?" Ichigo growled at her making her face pale.
"No Captain sir!" She saluted. "Happy to be aboard! Sir!" She continued before hurrying after Johnny and Yosaku, Ichigo groaned as he rolled his eyes. The last thing he wanted was some overbearing subordinate on the ship. Once they got back to Conomi Island he'd make it clear that they weren't under any circumstances to call him Sir, or Captain or whatever. A light chuckle erupted from beside him causing him to shoot his gaze to Hachi.
"What's so funny?" Ichigo questioned.
"Oh, it's nothing really." Hachi smiled. "I'm just, happy I guess." He added. "It was never like this with Arlong and the others, sure we had fun at times but I guess it's just not the same." He shrugged. Ichigo sighed before reaching down for his badge, the small wooden object easily detaching from the rope Nami had it attached too. With a burst of bringer light it reshaped itself, the blade jutting out one end, the hilt from the other before the badge spun into the guard. From what he recalled Ginjo telling him, the remnants of his Shinigami powers lay dormant inside of him, and to help kick start them they had trained him in Fullbring. Supposedly it would take time for those remnants to join with his Fullbring.
"Just how much time." Ichigo frowned slightly. Not only that, he had already discovered something else laying dormant, these supposed Quincy ability's just didn't form from thin air. If those Quincy powers, the Remnants of his Shinigami powers and the makeup of his Fullbring and Hollows powers converged all into one. Just what the hell would happen? Ginjo said it would surpass that of a Shinigami... something like Aizen was trying to achieve? A scowl came to his face, better not think along those lines too often.
Hachi walked past him gaining the teens attention before the hiss of steel reached Ichigo's ears as the Fishman drew the sword that they had gotten from Logue Town, the same one he had seen in Tashigi's office that the those of the Barto Club had looted when ransacking the Marine HQ in the town.
"If we're going to the Grand Line, I'd like to start training again too." Hachi stated as he stood across from Ichigo, surprising the teen. "As a Fishman, I'm stronger than a human, that's just biology. But I feel that under your training, those three might soon surpass what I'm even capable of. I don't want to be a burden on you Ichigo, or the rest of the crew." The teen was surprised by how truthful Hachi was being.
"So you want to train too?" Ichigo mused aloud to himself after a few moments of considering what Hachi had asked. "I was honestly going to ask for your help in teaching those three." Ichigo admitted.
"I would be happy to do so." Hachi nodded eagerly. "But I saw what you did in Arlong Park and I still don't know the limit of your strength. Arlong... isn't someone you just take down like that, your strength is not something one would consider normal." Hachi admitted. "I've never seen a power quite like yours, and for someone so young too." How many times had Ichigo wondered just how he had become so strong and so quickly before he had lost his powers and with still no answers to make up for it, it certainly wasn't normal, by any means. Ichigo sighed before turning to face Hachi head on, the teen raising his blade up pointing it towards the Fishman.
"I'll train you on one condition." Ichigo began as Hachi listened intently. "You become my First Mate, Second in Command." Hachi's eyes widened at the sudden declaration. "I need someone that I can trust, someone that I can rely on. Someone who has the crews best interest at heart." Ichigo's brown eyes bore into Hachi's. Hachi was shocked that Ichigo wanted him to be his First Mate, while true Johnny and Yosaku weren't exactly fit for the task, and Silk was new. Why him? No, that's not what he needed to ask. Ichigo knew what he was doing, he trusted Hachi and that's all that mattered to the teen, and to Hatchan.
"Okay."
