Today is the third day of sailing on the Casanova, a passenger ship that was on its way to Logue town. I had a week's wait for it to arrive, during which I helped out in Louis at his tavern and finally started leveling up my Brewing skill. I also asked the doctor for advice and some lessons on medical matters; if I was to be alone I needed more knowledge on how to fix myself up! I ended up raising that to level 5 and it unlocked a special skill of bonesetter which would be handy if someone ever broke my bones!

I was, to be quite frank, bored. Ever since I came to this world I have had something to do; be it sparing with the marines on the Gilded Lily, defeating bandits, healing, or even practicing with my staff, singing, or learning the erhu. Here there was no real space to practice my katas, no friendly face to talk to, and there was only so much fishing and staring at the sea I could do. I'd read all my books, I'd practiced my music a bit, and I let my wounds heal.

Today I finally gave in and went to join in on the gambling that occurred near the bow of the ship. There was always a game or three running it seemed. The participants seemed rather rough; their bodies muscled, clothing clean but worn and well patched. Something in their eyes said they were no normal travelers: as such I avoided them. I didn't want to borrow trouble after all! But I was super bored and didn't want to spend another day singing softly to myself as I fished. There were only three today, one of which young and not as rough so it ought to be safer.

"Mind if I join in?" I asked politely as I approached. The small group looked up at me, eyes seeming to categorize and judge me in a second.

"We were about to start a new game... you in for beli's or just playing?" The dealer asked; he was a slim man with a long black pony tail and dull grey eyes, the cutlass at his side well used and worn.

"I can do either so long as it's not too big a stake." I responded and sat down next to the youngest of the group as they made space for me. I would have said he was too young to be out here alone since his wide grin and straw hat with its red band made me think farmer boy, but something about him said 'danger.' It might have been his build, the lean but muscled in a way no farmer would be, or maybe it was his pale amber eyes that were sharp and intelligent despite his youth, or maybe it was just the ease with which he moved and his confidence.

"There's four of us now;" the boy with his bright red hair spoke up; "why not play Black Lady? We can all put in to a pot and winner takes it all?"

"Black Lady?" I asked, that was a game I didn't know.

"A type of Hearts game." The dealer said and he looked to the last man, this one dark skinned like me but with a shocking bushy head of white hair. "Pot or no pot?"

"Loser pays for everyone's lunch at the fancy place instead of the cafeteria?" Was the broad black man's response. "I'm Phil."

"I'm Shanks. I like the lunch idea!" The boy, or rather teenager, said with a laugh.

"Boulra." The dealer introduced himself last.

"I'm Jasmine, and I do not know hearts either. What's this about the fancy place though? I thought there was only the free food?"

Phil chuckled; "The Captain makes good money offering a fancier dining room and better food for those that can afford it. He probably didn't mention it to you since you don't have the air of wealth about you. It'll be about 500 beli a meal for each person though. Can you match that?"

"I can." I did have it in cash right now, though I could always go to the Oceanic Bank broker they had on board. Handy thing that…

"That works." Phil began to explain the game as Broula shuffled and dealt. "Object is to not take points and make someone else go over 500 points. Each heart counts as one point and the queen of spades, the black lady, counts as 13. If you take all 26 points you shoot the moon. You can either go down 26 or send everyone else up 26. If you take every round played, you shoot the sun and can either send everyone up 50 or you can go down 50. You can't go below 0 and if you have less than 26 points or 50 when you shoot you can't go down. After you look at your hand you pick three cards and pass em. We do a variant where each round you pass to a different person, right, left, then across and the last round is a hold hand and no one passes. You have to follow the suit of card played unless you are out; then you can play whatever you want. Only exception is that hearts cannot be played unless someone has 'broken' one on another player. Which means someone needs to have a void in a suit to play a heart. Aces are high and highest card dealt takes the round. Whoever has the 2 of clubs plays it first to start us off. That make sense?"

I nodded and looked at my cards. So make someone else eat points. I organized it to find I had no hearts, 5 spades including the queen and 5 low clubs including the 2 and 3 medium high diamonds. I passed the three diamonds; might as well right? That would give me two of these 'voids' and a better chance at getting rid of the queen. From my left Boulra, the fiend, passed me three more diamonds, I pouted slightly and he chuckled. At least they were lower than what I passed!

"I've got the 2." I said as I play it. "What happens if you don't have four people?"

They all played as Broula answered. "Different amount of cards passed or we take out some of the 2's. Or we play a different game." Shanks took it with his ace and began leading spades with his high ones. I was stuck with playing my low spade and Phil got away with taking with an ace of spades. Phil then played spades and Broula got away with his King of spades! Both had been downstream of me and there was no way of knowing if I could have played the queen and gotten away with making them eat her. Now though there were two spades left not in my hand while I had three spades. I was safe at least! I ducked the rest of the rounds, waiting eagerly until someone finally broke hearts and played a heart round. I grinned as Shanks played his 4 of hearts. I flicked out the queen of spades.

"Better hope only one of them has lower." I grinned happily as he looked at me with large puppy dog eyes. Rather effective ones too.

"So cruel… you're out already?"

"Didn't have any to begin with."

"That explains my hands distribution." Phil chuckled as he and Boulra both ducked with the 2 and 3, leaving Shanks to eat the 16 points. The game progressed, me and Phil ducking left and right and making Broula and Shanks split the rest.

"My hand was perfectly split. " Boulra said with a disgusted sigh as he passed the deck to Phil to shuffle. We passed the rest of the morning in a nice competitive fight, my nerves at approaching these strange and dangerous men easing considerable. Boulra looked stern and taciturn but had a nice dry sense of humor while Shanks and Phil each had loud laughs and quick smiles. In the end Phil ended up shooting the sun and putting both Shanks and Boulra and managed to get my points above his as well. I pouted; I'd almost won!

"Devil's luck." Boulra grumbled as they packed up and we all stood to stretch our legs out. "Don't see a perfect shoot hand like that very often!"

"Almost never." Phil agreed with a booming laugh. "Looks like you two get to split the bill! And," He eyed the sun. "It's about time to eat anyways! Perfect timing don't you agree Jasmine?"

"Yup! Is the food worth paying extra? I rather liked the buffet stuff they've had so far."

"It may only be 500 once… but if you eat there twice a day every day the trip ends up racking up points. And he serves alcohol there that the rich idiot who bought out most of the booze can't buy. "

"Wait, they still have alcohol? I was told they were out!"

"Everyone always carries booze!" Phil said as he fluffed my hair. "It sells better. But the fat jerk who only comes out at night bought all of it. Luckily the captain put his foot down and said no to buying out the fancy place's stock. "

"Cause then we'd have to go and liberate all that poor sake and beer. And maybe his gold too since he spends it so freely." Boulra said in a very serious tone. I shook my head and swatted Phil's hand.

"I didn't feel like getting drunk anyways."

"One bottle ain't gonna hurt you." Boulra rolled his grey eyes at my comment.

"Actually… it kinda does." I laughed in embarrassment. "I'm a light weight."

"In that case more for me!" Phil declared. I looked over at Shanks who'd been keeping quiet. He was pouting.

"What's with the pouty face Shanks?" I asked teasingly as Phil and I both leaned on his shoulders and loomed over him. Being tall was nice!

"They don't let me drink yet."

"Cause you're a kid!"

"I'm 17! And still growing!" He elbowed us in the ribs as we laughed.

"17 is still a kid!" I grinned. "So long as that teen is still in your age, you can't escape it!"

"If it weren't for your height I'd call you a kid too." Boulra muttered at me.

"I'm 20 though." I said with a smirk. "20 is officially an adult!"

"I'm old enough looking." Shanks sulked as Phil and I both began chortling again.

"Try filling out a bit and not be so scrawny if you want to be mistaken as a man." I snickered.

"I'm still growing!" He rolled his eyes and his pout vanished to be replaced by a grin as he changed the subject. "So what's an old lady like yourself traveling about all alone?"

"Old lady? Rude." I sniffed and answered his question anyways. "Just traveling. Might end up going to Logue town. Might end up finding an adventure before that." His grin dimmed and eyes darkened briefly as I mentioned Logue town, it happened so fast I almost missed it.

"What sort of adventure?"

"Preferably one that involves lost treasure, mythical creatures, exotic locations, and hot men."

He had a nice laugh, a deep warm one. "Sounds like my type of adventure! With some variation though."

"Same here." Phil agreed as we entered a room in the starboard end I hadn't been aware off. It was indeed fancy and obviously some thought had been put into making it look comfortable, elegant, and not tacky. The walls had been painted and there were clean rugs to give the wooden floor color. The seats and tables were all made of much finer wood than the furniture I'd seen about the place so far. Shanks and Boulra paid the man who approached us and we sat down.

"Menu's and everything." I said as I looked through it. "Nice range of drinks too."

"The amber cherry sake is actually pretty light on alcohol content iffn you're worried about getting too drunk." Boulra said as he placed his order. It sounded good so I ordered a bottle to go with my fried rice and teriyaki chicken.

"You any good with the blade or just leaving home with no training?" I asked Shanks curiously as he had a sword at his side much like Boulra. Of course I'd also 'just left home with little training' considering I'd just been brought back to life but then I cheated by being a game character.

"I've got some skill. Not the first time I've left to go sailing." Was his mild response. I had expected some bragging; perhaps he was actually good at it?

"Mind sparring sometime during the trip? I'm still healing from my last fight but I'd rather not get too rusty while we just sit around sailing. Offer's up to you two as well." I looked at Boulra and Phil who looked interested.

Shanks pale amber eyes flickered to me looking for a weapon type or wound and he tilted his head curiously. "What do you use?"

"Bo staff mostly. Some martial arts."

"Is a stick any good against pistols or swords?" His nose wrinkled as he asked the question. Phil ended up answering for me after he stopped laughing.

"Go in with that thought and you'll end up on your ass!"

I nodded in agreement with a small smile. "It's strong enough you can't cut through it easily, gives me range your saber doesn't, and is excellent for blocking and attacking. And it doubles as a walking stick. Against pistols I try to take them out first or dodge."

"Huh... maybe it's not too bad a weapon. Though people are gonna think you're unarmed."

"You should probably start walking around with it." Boulra said. "I heard some of the others mentioning you last night and the fact you don't have a weapon on you. Some unsavory ideas got bounced around."

I paused at this and looked at him. He merely shrugged.

"Pretty unarmed lady on a boat full of men… what do you think they're gonna think?"

"True…" I sighed and shook my head. "Hopefully it doesn't come to that but I can handle myself."

"You mentioned wounds?" Phil looked at me with worry in his dark eyes.

"It's mostly healed now." I pulled off the glove on my left hand which had been hiding the bandages. "Grabbed a sword so I could stop the person from attacking me and took him out while doing so. Ribs got mostly healed slash wounds. Worse one is the axe blow to the thigh I took."

"You are remarkably blasé about this." Boulra shook his head as the food arrived.

"It happened and I lived."

"Why'd you get in that situation in the first place?" Shanks asked, his eyes lighting up as he sensed a story time.

"Corrupt marine captain was taking pay offs from the pirate group that was running a protection scam. Pay us and we don't burn your shop down sorta thing."

"And you didn't just call the marines?" Phil tilted his head questioningly as he dug into his large bowl of spaghetti.

"Oh I did that too. But well, I was there so why not help out?"

"Cause its dangerous!" Shanks pipped up. "And messing with marines can always go badly."

"And if I avoid everything dangerous I might as well not set out to sail at all." I rolled my eyes. "Women aren't all weak and delicate you know."

"I'll take you up on the spar offer." Boulra chimed in. "I've got a bo staff myself so I can use that instead of my blade."

"Many thanks!" I smiled happily. Lunch turned to other topics after that, mostly about things they'd seen at sea. Many of them seemed fantastical, but who was I to say what was or wasn't real? I had some weird game character thing going on! And maybe they were true… some of their stories matched up with legends I'd read of in my book. I made note of them as I went to grab my staff from my quarters and meet Boulra back by the bow. I stored the left over sake in my bag as well for later.

I found that Phil was in the process of carving a quick wooden saber for Shanks and a large bo staff lay by his side as well.

"Staves are best at training and make good weapons when you don't want to kill anyone. Boulra and I train with them when we want exercise." He smiled as he gave his answer, which I completely agreed with.

"I am a user of the Sky Dragon style. Phil there uses Stone Monkey."

"I use Simple Monkey." My style sounded so weak compared to theirs! Sky dragon and Stone Monkey? Nice!

"Ahh, then I can teach you my style. Stone is a style that uses Simple monkey as its base." Sweet! Something to do and learn extra! Hopefully I could add it to my skill list or at least it'd be an option once I leveled up. "Sky dragon uses … what's its starting style, Boulra?" Phil paused and his forehead wrinkled in thought as he tried to think of its style.

"Silent Serpent." Came the quiet response. "I can also teach you I guess. Serpent uses a bit more sudden movements and quick strikes while monkey does more lunges and leaps."

I bowed to them in the traditional way; hand holding the staff in reverse as you bent from the waist. "I'd be grateful." The fact they knew a second tier of fighting style told me they were probably a few levels above me; odds were I was about to get beaten! Ah well, it'd be fun right? And the best way to learn was to see and fight against it so you knew how it was used.

It didn't quite go that way; Boulra was on my level it appeared, faster than I was but his hits were not as strong. Either he was taking it easy on me or I simply had a higher body stat. Or both! I ended up doing a wait and see approach, waiting until he struck before striking myself; while his strikes were faster, my longer reach and my styles leaps and rolls kept him at bay. Phil called the match after ten minutes, not wanting me to strain my leg.

Spar vs Boulra: Draw. +30 exp.

While I rested and Phil waited his turn, Boulra showed me the katas for Silent serpent. Sadly the alert that did pop up was not the one I wanted.

Martial Arts (bo staff, unarmed) Fighting style: Silent Serpent unlocked. It may now be selected as a skill when leveling up.

When I was rested enough, Phil and I sparred while Boulra and Shanks danced off to the side. Phil was a whole other kettle of fish compared to Boulra! My longer reach did not exist here as he was taller than me and his weapon longer; not to mention he was stronger than me! The breadth of his shoulders told me that much. His stance was... flawless I suppose you could say. It spoke of no wasted movements, of perfect balance, of crouching strength. Phil apparently put in a lot more time into his martial arts than Boulra!

"This is gonna hurt isn't it?" I chuckled. His response was a wry grin.

"I'll try not to go too hard but you won't learn if I hold back too much."

"I knew that when I asked for a spar. Stone is based on more defense and strong strikes than speed right?" I asked curiously and he nodded affirmatively. Right, expect hammer blows and slower speeds but still fast. Also hard to hit. Lovely.

For him I moved around a lot more than against Boulra as I tried to get him out of his solid defensive stance. Every strike I tried, he would block with a blow that made my arms strain as I struggled to not lose my balance of staff from the sheer strength behind it. The best I managed to do was a hard strike behind his knee that made him stumble for a minute as I leapt into the air charging a critical strike as I did so in hopes of getting another solid hit off. He moved with a surprising turn of speed, rolling forward to get out of my range. I dented the wooden deck beneath us as I did so and Phil grinned.

"Oh ho ho. That was a strike meant for a real fight girly… upping the ante now eh?"

"Won't be able to fight you at all if I don't put in everything." My grin was just as feral as his. His deep rumbling chuckle was the only warning before he went on offensive. I dodged for my life, sometimes using his staff as a launch pad to get out of the way. Near the end he used this against me and when I tried doing it again, his staff somehow slid along my leg and hoisted me into the air. I'm not sure how, but somehow I twisted out of the way of his strike in midair and landed in a crouched position at his feet. I rolled backwards barely avoiding his downward strike; which also dented the wooden deck, though his was far more impressive. I'd felt the wind from that strike and laughed as I relaxed and slumped from my slouched position to a lounging one on the deck.

"It's my loss." My leg was beginning to throb and I wanted to save some energy for Shanks.

"Good dodges."

Spar vs Phil: Loss. +30 exp.

I kept my eyes from widening as I saw the experience for a tie with Boulra was the same as a loss against Phil. Just how much higher in level was he?

"I only managed one hit though. Aye-yaya. That last blow would have hurt!"

"As would have your strike."

"Geeze guys.. isn't this a spar?" Shank's tone was dry as a desert. I looked over to see him and Boulra eyeing the dented deck. "Ol' Phil there would have broken the deck if he hadn't pulled his blow at the last second."

"Tell me about it." I muttered as I began stretching. "He didn't which means his control is just that good." I said in a louder voice. "In a bit you and I get to duel then Phil gets to pound you too." I said with a laugh at Shank's horrified expression.

"I'll be squashed!"

"I'll send flowers to your funeral." Boulra quipped. "Phil's been practicing all his life, focusing on learning each one completely before he moves on to the next. It's why he's so good at the staff."

"How old are you Phil?" I asked curiously. His white hair could be naturally white since I'd seen odd hair colors like pink and blue so white might not mean age.

"Getting into my 50's. I came back to visit the ol' monastery and pass on what I learned before heading back out with Boulra here to go visit the Grand Line again. I got part of the way through New World before realizing I should return home and pass my knowledge on before I kicked the bucket. I'll tell stories later… for now I'll show you the basics of Stone monkey. Ain't gonna go over it more than once so pay attention." His dark eyes focused as he growled the last words. I sat up and did as ordered. This was the next step in my personal style! Damn right I was going to learn it!

Martial Arts (bo staff, unarmed) Fighting style: Stone Monkey unlocked. Once prerequisites are met, it may be selected as a skill upon leveling.

After the lesson, I stood to start another spar after I felt rested. The leg was slightly shaky but the stiches were holding for now and I wasn't too worried. Shanks had his wooden saber, which was cute and adorable. He wasn't so happy when I told him so.

"It's so cute! Like a kid with his toy sword." His glare was sharp enough to cut. "Just teasing Shanks. It just looks like a toy sword and you're so little."

He charged and I jumped forward into his swing, meeting his blade with my staff and putting a foot on his chest to shove him backwards. His eyes widened as he stumbled backwards. I had a good foot of height on him, meaning my kicks would be more effective since I didn't have to leap and jump.

"Now that's just cruel." I heard Boulra mutter off to the side.

"If you got it use it." Phil laughed.

I was on the offensive immediately, not letting him get his footing back. Shanks I knew was dangerous, not sure what told me he was, but I just knew. He was going to be fast and something about his confidence made me think that if this was a real fight it would be going far differently. He wasn't on the defensive for long, he used his small stature to duck under one of my swings and got inside my range. Pity he forgot about my legs! Once again, I snapped a foot up and kicked his chest, making him stumble, though he did get a stab into my ribs with his sword. I winced and swung my staff back into his head. He stumbled and I took the opportunity to spin him around and put him into a head lock.

"I think its my win yes?" I said as I tightened the grip as he began to struggle, I had to put in a surprising amount of strength to do so to. Kid was not weak at all! Since he kept struggling I tossed him to the ground and sat on him as I planted my bo staff on his sword blade.

Phil and Boulra were howling with laughter off to the side as Shank's sputtered at the indignity.

"I lose." He pouted and I smiled. After I hopped off his back I helped him up.

"You're heavy." He said childishly.

"I'm a big girl yup. It's all those extra inches I have on you."

Spar vs Shanks: Win. +40 exp.

Sparring increases your stamina: +10 to status.

That night was far more entertaining than the rest of the trip; now that I'd made friends I had something to do and people to talk to! I managed to win some nice googles in a card game off of one of the ship's crewmembers. The lenses were crystalline glass and the dark brown leather had been treated to withstand water. The brass that held the lenses had a cute design of a small dragon winding about it; the guy shouldn't have put it in the pot! These I put on since they'd be handy when I went swimming. Otherwise I didn't make a profit, but then I stuck to the small stakes gambling games or just played board games with Phil as he taught me other games. I retired later than normal once it started to rain.

Sometime past midnight something woke me up, an itch, a change in the air. Something was off. Outside I could still hear the rain. I dressed quickly and grabbed my bo staff and goggles as I headed out. I couldn't sleep when I felt something was off like this.

As I approached the stairs I heard some soft spoken words.

"Come on—we ain't got all night! Someone's bound to wake up soon."

Event: Casanova under attack!

Survive the night: +50 exp, +1 Stat point

Save the Casanova: +25 exp, +1 Treasure Chest

Stop the robbery: +25 exp +1 uncommon item

Special: No one shall die this night!

If no one dies before dawn +100 exp, +1 random Feat

[[Jasmine bio 1]]

An: This chapter took a while to write as I kept getting distracted. First was actually planning out her whole trip, then it was mapping the stupid Grand Line and world cause I needed to figure out where she was and how she was going places. Then it was figuring out ages of canon characters and a time line of stuff before and after cannon wise. Then I just had to write this upcoming scene in a few islands that just had to be written… but finally I am back on track! And yay, first canon character! Shanks is weird; his age is like... 15 when Roger dies? But he's been a cabin boy for several years under Rogers? So did he join at like… 12 or something? So I raised his age to 17 for this. Also he is from West blue originally I think and went home to visit after Roger's disbanded his crew. Hence why he is here!

Ages for drinking: I figure since this is a not quite modern time setting (more swords and flint locks and robots are more rare) that the drinking age is probably about 18-ish?

Next chapter is like one long fight scene sorry!