Ink's Notes:
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA I AM SO SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG TO UPDATE! I've been sick, like, really really really sick, and I mean I still kind of am but I'm at least doing well enough to write stuff now! As an apology (and a thank you for hitting and passing 100 reviews seriously how did that happen), I'm going to tell you the order that we meet the other Grand Line characters in! This of course means I'll be revealing who they are, too.
The order is as follows: Bepo, Perona, Tashigi, Aisa, Paulie and finally the Kung-Fu Dugong.
So without further ado, let's get started!
Chapter Twenty-Three
After a day of traveling, Marco, Sakura, Vivi and Carue decided to stop about two thirds of the way to Tanigakure – in a small town on the borders of the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers – for the night. Sakura, Vivi and Carue had set themselves up in an inn for the evening, but Marco had wanted to wander around town in human form to see if he could gather any information or potential leads on people who seemed out of place in this world.
And bars were a very good source of information, which was why he'd chosen a local bar near the inn that they were staying at. Okay, so maybe he also wanted to get a good drink and enjoy himself – he was a pirate, after all – but he could listen in for strange stories while he was there.
"Do you think those guys are going to recover?" he heard a voice ask, and immediately turned his attention to the conversation that was happening to his right. A woman was talking to a man, both who looked like ordinary civilians.
"Their injuries are pretty bad, but this town has good doctors. That stray summon animal didn't give them anything lethal," the man responded, and Marco's eyes narrowed. "Still, I don't think I've ever heard of any summon animals that wear clothing…"
Animals wearing clothing, huh? Marco sighed, swirling the drink in his hand before downing it in one go. It sounded an awful lot like these people had run into a Zoan-type Devil's Fruit user. He got up and went over to the two civilians. "Excuse me," he spoke up, bringing their attention to him. "This 'stray summon animal'. Whereabouts was it?"
The man and the woman exchanged glances. "Are you sure you want to know?" the man asked. "It'd be better to let shinobi take care of it."
Marco scratched behind his head as he quickly formulated a quick cover story. "A friend of mine had a fight with his summon animal, and it ran off. We've been looking for it ever since." He hoped that was a thing that could happen, or at least that if it wasn't, these two civilians didn't know enough about summon animals to call him out on his lie. "This stray summon could be his."
The woman nodded slowly. "We ran into it while traveling, and we dropped our map in shock and ran away. We asked some shinobi to track it down and take care of it, since it might hurt someone, but they came back beaten and bruised. You had better ask them where they ran into it. I can take you to where they're recovering…"
Marco nodded. "Great, thanks. Just one second…" He took out some paper and a pen, writing a note for Sakura and Vivi, before creating a little bluebird sized version of his phoenix form. The bird took the note from him in its talon, chirped and saluted, then flew out of the bar to go deliver it.
Before long, the man and woman had led him to the local hospital, where he'd been shown to a group of shinobi who were laying in hospital beds to help them recover. A quick conversation with them had given him the information that he wanted – the place they'd run into the 'stray summon animal' – and he began making his way towards the exit to the town.
Only to find Sakura standing there, hands on her hips, and the little bluebird-sized Marco on her shoulder. It chirped, flew over to Marco and landed on his hand before disappearing in a poof of blue flames. "…Hey, Sakura," he greeted. "I got a possible lead."
"I saw," she frowned, holding up the note. "But you're not going to check it out without me. You might run into trouble."
"I think I'll be fine. It's likely that it's another Zoan-type, who's saying in animal form, or something like that," Marco scratched behind his head. "But you can come. Are Vivi and Carue staying here?"
"They've already gone to bed," Sakura explained. "I was woken up by your bird-clone pecking the window."
"Should have left it open," Marco snarked, then began leading the way. Sakura followed, before picking up her pace so they were walking next to each other. "This guy's taken out a few shinobi, but they said it seemed to be fighting more defensively than anything, so we should be okay as long as we don't try to start anything. Then again, if it's a Marine, we might be in trouble, yoi."
Sakura nodded. "What kind of animal did they say it was?" she asked. "So I know what we're looking for."
"Some kind of bear," Marco answered. "Which is a bit odd. I don't think I've heard of any bear-type Zoan users." He crossed his arms and frowned, thinking as they walked. "Not to mention, when we're in full Zoan form, our clothing usually disappears… but they specifically mentioned that this animal was wearing clothing."
Sakura frowned. "Are there any animal-people where you're from?"
"Animal people…" Marco muttered, before his eyes went wide. "Yeah, actually, a few of them. We call them-" He stopped in his tracks and motioned for Sakura to wait as well. She did so, following his eyes to where he was looking. On the ground before them were what appeared to be a few blood splatters. "…Looks like we're getting close."
Sakura nodded, and began following the splatters, Marco close behind and on high alert. It was rather dark, though, so she was having trouble seeing… but in a situation like this, wouldn't…
Sakura looked over at Marco. "I'm going to try putting my lessons to use," she told him, and he blinked a few times before nodding with a smile. Sakura closed her eyes and began straining her senses, focusing her Haki outwards. It was still weak, and everything was still blurry – like someone who needed glasses looking at the world without them – but she could make something out, she just wasn't sure what. Her head moved in that direction, and Marco placed a hand on her shoulder, breaking her focus and bringing her attention to him.
"Yeah. Something's in that direction, yoi," he nodded, then lifted a hand to his mouth. "Hey! We don't mean you any harm! We just want to help!"
There was no response at first, but after a bit the sound of bushes and leaves rustling could be heard, and a figure emerged from the bushes. Sakura squinted, blinked, then rubbed her eyes to make sure she was seeing what she was seeing.
Standing before the two of them, wounds clumsily wrapped by some cloth, stood what appeared to be a polar bear wearing a black boiler suit. Sakura stared blankly, before speaking up in disbelief. "…A polar bear. A polar bear wearing a boiler suit."
"I'm sorry…" the bear apologized, bowing to Sakura and Marco, which prompted her to yelp in shock.
"A talking polar bear in a boiler suit," Sakura corrected herself weakly, and the bear was about to apologize again when Marco held up his hand.
"You're Bepo, aren't you?" he asked, bringing the bear's attention to him. "From the Heart Pirates. You're from the Grand Line."
The polar bear, Bepo, nodded. "And you're Marco the Phoenix…" he determined, walking closer to the two of them. "You… do you know how we can get back home?"
And thus ends the chapter! BEPO has joined the party! Now, let's get on to responding to reviews.
Wicken25: I had fun writing that part, I'm glad you enjoyed it~
Krazyfanfiction1: Hopefully his hair doesn't turn gray during this whole spectacle. And thank you~!
Skipper917: As was revealed in my pre-chapter notes, you got two of those right. Congrats~
The Keeper of Worlds: Thank you! And sadly, the Straw Hats likely won't be appearing in the story. Aside from Vivi and Carue, of course.
peppymint: Well, he just did, so wish granted!
Daxen123: And find out we did. ;3
Allykrau: Thank you! And... um... I don't think Kaku would be a good idea to put near pirates. Then again, Tashigi's probably gonna cause problems too.
xlunatica: YES, BEPO IS THE ADORABLE, I LOVE HIM SO I WANT TO KEEP HIM BUT I DON'T THINK LAW WOULD LET ME.
Guest: That I shall! (Although, I'm more of a 'ladette' ^^; )
Fairy of the Friz: You would be correct there! And thank you, always glad to hear it!
Guest: (the other one) Thank you!
Cyricist001: I imagine she'd find most of them terrifying. Especially Iva, his face would scare any normal person. I was admittedly a bit weirded out when I first saw it.
CrystalHeart27: Thank you! And Sakura/Law... Hmm, well, I'm not really sure. I'd have to see how the two of them interact before doing that sort of thing. Though chances are if Sakura goes to the Grand Line, they will meet, now that Bepo's with them.
And that covers it! See you next time, and hopefully it's not as long of a wait~!
-Ink