Chapter 1 - And you are?
The clear blue seas shifted gently, rocking the small boat that sailed along with it. The sun stood high above the sea, indicating it was mid-day. The blistering heat is beamed down would make it uncomfortable for almost anyone caught in it, the only thing that made it bearable was the cooling sea breeze. The squeaking of seagulls in the sky being among the few noises of the sea, along with the swooshing of the waves against the wooden planks of the small boat.
And yet, laying inside the small boat sailing carelessly toward where its next destination may lie was a young man. He lay relaxing on the tiny deck of the ship, feet up on the railing, his leather outbackers hat covering his face from the sun, completely oblivious to the world around him.
The young man in the ship remained oblivious to his surroundings, he dismissed the chirps of the seagulls above and the waves picking up slightly to even recognize he was close to land. With his current heading, he was going right toward an island a mere kilometer away. How careless.
It was a few moments before the small boat came to a sudden halt as it hit the shoreline going full speed. The sudden impact threw the young man on deck forward to the bow, catching himself before he smacked off anything although his hat went tumbling across the deck, finally getting him to react to anything.
He peered over the railing to see he had run aground on whatever island this may be, "Well shit, I wasn't expecting to make land today." He said, rather uncaring. He stood up on the tiny deck and did a few stretches. Relaxing was hard work after all. "Works out anyway."
With him finally standing up you could get a clear view of what he looked like. The young man looked to be only twenty years old. He stood at six feet tall and was of a lean muscular build, clearly from years of training. Without his hat on you could see his short red hair shift slightly in the wind. His eyes were two separate colors, his left being a dark red, the right being a golden yellow. The red-eye having a few scars around it. His face was long with sharper features, like a sharp jawline and eyes. He wore a pair of fingerless leather gloves, the one on his right hand also had a rather unusual feather attached to it, a clean white casual dress shirt with its sleeves pushed up to his elbows, he had a set of large-caliber bullets stacked in his chest pocket, a thing slender black-tie ran down his chest. The initials RR engraved onto the collar on both sides of the shirt. On the inside of the shirt was a black and blue checkered pattern. A yellow strip of cloth was loosely wrapped around his neck, draped on his shoulders like a small scarf. His trousers consisted of combats, which again had bullets peeking out the pockets as well as a strap to hold a small pouch of even more various kinds of ammunition. To finish off his lower half he wore black boots with yellow stripes along with the trim.
Some of the more notable features were the two guns holstered to his chest, one on the left side of his chest, the other on the right. Both of the large-caliber guns inside looked heavily modified, well looked after, and personalized, including their holsters. A tattoo on his right forearm of a detailed and realistic skull and rose growing out of its eyes ran up his arm.
The young yawned slightly after his stretch before picking up his hat and hoping off the shit onto dry land. It had been a few days since the young man had last been on land so it was good to be back. He turned to inspect the boat.
"Well shit," The first thing he noticed was the large rock that had broken through the hull. "How the fuck do I manage these things?" To be honest, it was more a lack of sort of management that lead to this but how and ever.
The young man put his hat back on before crouching down at the hole. One glance was enough to say the boat was screwed unless he could get it repaired.
The young man just stood up from his crouching position and glanced both ways along the beach he'd stranded himself on. To his left, there was just more beach, dunes, and plenty of palm trees that swayed slightly in the wind but to his right in the distance there stood a small hut on four legs closer to the dunes and tree line behind it.
"I hope I get myself some help real fast, I don't plan to be here for long." The young man paused, "Not that I plan very much." He had to be honest with himself after all. He paused again before sighing.
"Who am I even talking to…"
Moving swiftly on with that the young man hoped back aboard his small boat to grab a length of rope. He attached it to the bow of the boat, unlodged the boat from the rock, and dragged it further up the shore toward the beach hut.
As the young man got closer to the hut he saw a series of small boats similar to his in design but just small in size. His boat wasn't big, to begin with, maybe being able to fit three people on board but the boats that lay before him were one-man sized.
As the redhead arrived in-front of the hut he saw all the tools, workbenches, crates, cages, and fishing rods.
The young man smiled, "Just my luck, a craftsman might be able to fix her right up." Referring to his little boat as her, as most men tend to do.
He set the boat up beside the workbench before turning to face the hut itself. The only way up was a ladder but off to the right of the ladder was a pulley system used for hauling large objects up into the hut. A fairly clever system.
Not wanting to climb onto someone else's property the young man opted to shout instead. "Hey! Anyone home?!"
It wasn't too loud a shout but it should have got someone's attention but once the young man got no reply he decided to step it up.
"HEY!" He yelled, this time there was an immediate reaction as an audible crash came from within the hut. Although the redhead didn't even acknowledge the sound, he just stood waiting for a reply.
And one came rather quickly this time as the door to the hut swung open and out came an older gentleman.
The older man wasn't wearing a shirt, he went shirtless for the moment which gave you a view of his grey-haired chest. This old man was by no means unfit by the looks of it but his age might be getting to him.
The old geezer stood at around five feet, 10 inches. He had long wild grey hair and beard, dull blue eyes, and a singular missing tooth. He wore only bright blue surfer shorts and sandals, nothing more.
The old man's gaze settled on the youth on his front lawn, if you could call it that.
"Was that you callin ma?" He asked, his voice rather gruff. He stepped to the edge of the platform his hut was built on, examining the man in front of him with a curious expression.
"Would you be able to repair the damage on my boat?" Cutting right to the point. The old man didn't delay either. He hopped down from the platform, which was impressive for his age considering he seemed to be in his late seventies. The fall was well over twelve foot so not bad for the old man.
"First of all, the names Zen. Nice to meet ya lad!" He smiled over to the young man, "Let us check out this boat then shall we?" The geezer moved over to examine the damage on the tiny boat alongside the young man.
"Ahahaha, this isn't damaged! Tis but a scratch!" Zen laughed at the weak damage before turning to the young man. "I can get her sailin again no time!" Zen stood up straight, a clear proud smile on his face.
"Really? Thanks, Zen. I appreciate it, I'd be stuck here otherwise." The young man replied, giving him a thumbs up. "Is there anything I can do to help?" He paused, "I'm not good with ships but I'm sure I can try." The redhead smiled sheepishly, the fact he couldn't fix a boat when he knew he was going to be on one for a long time was kind of stupid if he thought about it.
"Alright, tell ya what lad. I'll fix her up for ya but while I do that can you do me a favor?" Zen asked as he went to gather his tools which were scattered around the beach.
"Sure, what do you need?" The redhead replied. It was only fair right? Fair trade.
"Ya see that sled with the crates on it behind ya?" Zen gestured to the sled near the ladder of his hut. The redhead glanced over his shoulder to see it.
"Yeah, what about it?"
"Ahaha," Zen laughed, "Can ya haul that into town for me. I need it delivered today." He explained, "It's a haul of fresh fish, I was going to deliver it in a minute but seein as I'm going to be helpin ya out, would ya mind takin it to the town for me?"
The young man grinned at Zen, "A fair trade, you help me out I help you out. Deal."
"Whooo!" Zen yelled out, "Alright, I'll get to work on her as soon as possible. You deliver that to a shop in town. It's a shop called Fresh Cut, it has a blue billboard on the front of it, ya can't miss it. Just head further on down the beach to reach the town. By the time you're back your boat ill be as good as new!" Zen chirped happily to himself, you could see he'd rather spend his time working on boats or crafting something rather than hauling a load of fish to a nearby port town.
As the young man made his way over to the sled he threw the rope over his shoulder ready to go but was interrupted by Zen.
"Lad! What's ya name? I didn't catch it!" Zen stopped placing his tools beside the boat as he stared at the redhead.
The young man gave him a tilt of his hat and a smirk, "The names Rangetsu D Ryder. It's good meeting you Zen!"
Zen gave him solid wave, "You too Ryder. One more thing before you go. Be careful in town, there's a marine base up that way. So don't cause too much trouble." Zen stared at him with a knowing gaze which confused Ryder.
Zen turned away with a smile on his face before Ryder took off with the sled. The weight was child's play for him but he could understand why the old man wasn't a fan of it.
As Ryder put distance between himself and Zen, Zen looked after Ryder watching him go. "So, I wonder what kind of trouble young pirate-like ya self will cause on a day like today."
With a knowing smile on his face, Zen could practically smell the sense of adventure coming off Ryder.
The lad was a tough young pirate in the making for sure, without a single doubt.
He smirked, "And a D clan too. Things might be getting interesting in the world again." Zen gave one last small laugh before turning his attention to the wounded boat.
It didn't take long for Ryder to see the town in the distance, although all he could see was the pier and the buildings along the shore he knew it was the town he was looking for.
The small journey here only took twenty minutes at best with the speed Ryder was going, he wasn't slowed at all by the extra weight so he made the trip seem like nothing.
As Ryder reached the town he was immediately greeted by lights along the pier and twinkling lights along the shop fronts.
Although it wasn't anything special it wasn't a bad thing either, to see the town decorated in such a pleasant way just to brighten, quite literally, the place up.
Ryder stopped gazing at the town as he sensed a figure approaching, turning to face them.
"Hello," An old woman greeted Ryder. "Would you by any chance have been sent by Looney to deliver fresh fish?" She asked curiously.
This elderly woman was around seventy by the looks of, similar to in age to Zen. She wore an old pale red sundress, simple sandals, and a sun hat with a band made of flowers wrapped around it.
Who the hell was Looney? "I'm here to deliver fresh fish from an old man named Zen but I don't know this Looney person," Ryder explained to the old woman.
All Ryder got in response was a short giggle. "Young man, they're one and the same. Everyone in town just calls him Looney, that's all."
Ryder smirked, an odd nickname for sure but hey, it got a laugh out of him so it is what it is. Ryder would have to ask about the origins of that nickname later, he'd bet there was a story behind that.
"So this is from Looney then? Great. Would you mind just leaving the sled over by the shop front?" The old woman gestured toward a shop behind her. Ryder examined it for a moment, it certainly fits the description Zen gave him of where to deliver the fish in the first place.
Just as Ryder began to haul the sled over to the shop the old woman spoke up again. "The names Genie by the way. I'm a long time friend of that old Looney you must have met earlier. If you don't mind me asking who are you and how did you end up doing an odd job for Looney?" She asked inquisitively, curious as to who Ryder and how he'd ended up doing Zens work.
"Rangetsu D Ryder," Giving Genie a head nod, "We traded jobs, I haul these crates to town for him while he fixes up my boat so I can set sail again. That was it." He quickly pulled the sled over to the shop, Genie following behind.
As Ryder released the rope he was using to haul the sled a voice called out to both him and Genie.
"Halt!" Turning to the source of this command he saw two marines standing either side of another marine, the two on the sides were armed with rifles and a sword on their hips. However, the one in the middle looked to be a Lieutenant. Ryder couldn't tell for sure, but by the way he stood ahead of the other two, standing in a more confident posture to the other two.
The lieutenant stepped forward again, "Did you pay the import tax on this?" He smirked at Genie specifically, "You know the rules. All imported goods are taxed."
Ryder stood to the side of this conversation, he frowned at how the marine approached and stood over Genie. He was clearly flaunting his status or at least the status he thought he had.
Nobody noticed Ryder place his right hand on his holstered pistol, turning his stance slightly ready to move on the drop of a coin, he just silently observed the interaction between the group.
"None of this was imported, it was all caught here on this island." Genie defended herself and she was being completely honest as well.
The lieutenant didn't react well to the back talk, "Are you challenging my authority?!" At this point, the crowds that were on the street stood off watching this whole exchange. They couldn't really do much to help Genie.
This lieutenant had a short fuse since he immediately went to strike Genie. But before he could his hand got caught by Ryder, blocking it with his forearm.
Ryder had drawn both of his pistols the second he motioned for a strike. The whole area went silent as some random redhead stood against a marine.
The short fuse blew again, "How dare you! You son of a-" Shutting him up immediately, Ryder twisted the lieutenants arm out of the way and struck him across the face so hard blood spurt from his nose and he went tumbling backward across the street.
The whole town looked on in shock at what Ryder had just done, including the two stunned marines left in place. It's extremely rare to ever witness someone attack a marine outright like that.
The only person who wasn't shocked was Genie, she just sighed frustrated at the whole ordeal. Of course, she'd have the rough-looking man smack around a marine right now, "Just who did you send our way, Looney." Genie mumbled to herself in the silence.
Breaking out of their stunned state both the marines raised their rifles at Ryder, "Don't move!" They yelled together but before they knew what hit them a shot rang out, the marine on his left felt incredible pain fire through their leg causing them to collapse to the ground clutching his leg and dropping his rifle. The other marine was quickly dispatched as Ryder appeared between them and struck him across the face with the butt of his pistol.
As quickly as it had started Ryder finished it. Twirling both his guns in hand he holstered his left pistol while keeping a hold on the right.
"Pick on someone who's willing to fight back." That was all Ryder had to say to them, his attention returned to the lieutenant who was staring at him in both shock and fear. Wordlessly Ryder just fired off a shot, hitting the ground at the lieutenants' feet causing him to jump from fear.
Ryder smirked at him, "Start running."
With that the lieutenant took off to the marine base all the while screaming, "You'll regret this, you bastard!" Clearly going to get reinforcements or his captain in charge, either way, Ryder didn't really care.
"A young man with a pair on him I see." Genie stepped in front of Ryder, "Although I'm grateful for your help you do realize what you've done right?" Genie asked, even if she had a feeling Ryder didn't care about consequences.
"Not at all."
Was that seriously all he replied with? Seriously?
"At least you're an honest youngster." Genie sighed at Ryders' uncaring attitude. Stuff like that will get the man in trouble if it keeps up. "If I had to hypothesize what'll happen next I'd say that lieutenant will run off toward the marine base further in town, call for help and they'll try to hunt you down and either kill you or arrest you."
The word arrest caught Ryders' attention first, "Do they have a prison or holding cells here?" A prison is a good place to find pirates and where there were pirates there were potential crewmates, and Ryder was on the hunt for a crew.
"Yes, they do. They hold all sorts there, innocent and guilty. From civilians that bad mouthed the captain or trouble making bounty hunters, pirates, and delinquents." Genie grumbled out, she had another feeling, somehow she knew what Ryder would be doing next.
"Is that so?" Ryder smirked, twirling his gun once more. "Looks like I'm going to jail!"
Disclaimer, I obviously don't own One Piece. All OC' go to their respective owners and such.
AlcatrazDGold- Till the next chapter...