The Invitation to a Challenge!

Sage Accepts?

"Hey, listen," said Mikoto, "I'm sorry for burning the kitchen." He was sitting outside the kitchen while Sage frantically tried to recover whatever she could from the kitchen. "I was trying to cook me a salmon…I think its safe to say I failed."

Sage peered into the frying pan that Mikoto was using. Whatever he was cooking was a big lump of burnt crumbs. Failing wasn't exactly what Sage thought…this was way worse then failing. For some reason Mikoto always seemed to be trying to do a nice thing whenever he apologized.

"Its okay!" shouted Sage from the door as she burst out and hugged Mikoto, "I forgive you! Its not like you never did anything that stupid before!" She finished with a smile before returning to the kitchen.

Mikoto sighed. "For some reason that really just makes me think you are going to kill me." He hadn't heard from Ridley or Enma all day since they left in search of alcohol. Something told Mikoto he should've went with them. Alcohol sounds like it might help him dull the pain Sage is going to inflict onto him.

"I'm not going to kill you, silly," said Sage, "unless I can kill you with hugs and kindness!" Sage resumed her cleaning on the ship. She swabbed the kitchen with remarkable speed. She sighed when she stopped and she swung her mop back onto her shoulder and went out to see Mikoto. "Where's Hiro-Shu and Zesiro?"

Mikoto shrugged. He was sure they'd be here soon enough and even if they weren't they could handle themselves. It was Ridley and Sage who might get in trouble if they were attacked. Even though Sage at least had her Devil Fruit she'd live long enough if it came down to it, Ridley only had his music. "They are listening to my life story."

Sage chuckled, "I wish I could be there to hear it." Sage's mind flashed back to Dai Mungi's message. "Killers deserve to be killed." That's what crept Sage out. Mikoto was a nice guy, except when he was drunk. He'd never kill anyone…at least not on purpose.

"Yeah," said Mikoto, "I would like to see Xavier's reaction when he sees that I've been traveling around with a girl like you!" Xavier never had much faith in Mikoto. Whether it was because of Mikoto's intelligence or his awkwardness, Xavier never had much faith that Mikoto would ever EVER meet a girl that would actually be able to tolerate him.

The comment took Sage a bit by surprise, but she'd ask him about when there wasn't a death threat looming above their heads. "I ran into a man today."

Mikoto eyed her suspiciously, "I ran into a lot of men today, too. None of them were good-looking, though."

"His name was Dai Mungi," said Sage with a quiet, yet serious voice.

Mikoto's ears perked up, "I remember him. I used to fight with him all the time. He was a fun little punching bag." Mikoto was only happy that Sage didn't say she met Melanie, he'd be happy as long as those two stayed away from each other. As far as he knew, he and Sage would be friends until their deaths, her meeting Melanie might ruin that.

"Punching bag," thought Sage. "That's not like Mikoto…he fights a lot, but to consider someone a punching bag?" Sage was reminded of incident with Mikoto while he was drunk, she swallowed hard. "Yeah, he wants to have a fight with you…a fight to the death, I'm guessing."

"Yeah," said Mikoto. He felt sick to his stomach all of a sudden, "did he give you any reasons why?"

"Yeah, because killers deserve to be killed," said Sage. She couldn't help herself as she blurted out the next line, "but you never killed anyone, right?" She couldn't believe herself! She knew Mikoto! They'd be traveling together for months now! And she asked him if he has killed anyone! Of course he hasn't.

Mikoto looked back at her. He thought about how he should answer this, but the long silence was answer enough. He really wished he would've went with Ridley to get alcohol now.

"Mikoto?" asked Sage, "you said you were a Peace Maine! You said you don't kill people. That was one of the first things you told me! The only thing that you even said before that was because you mistook me for a man!"

Mikoto couldn't reply. How could he? If he said anything about the not killing someone issue, he'd be lying, if he said anything about mistaking Sage for a man, he'd be killed. He remained silent.

"Mikoto!" shouted Sage, "Say something! Say you didn't kill anyone before! Say that you are Peace Maine!"

"I am a Peace Maine," said Mikoto in a low and sullen voice. After that he didn't say anything else. He already knew what this was leading up to and he couldn't change it.

"What about killing a man?" asked Sage as she continued to interrogate him, "have you killed someone before?" Mikoto didn't reply. "Have you?" She looked and Mikoto, her eyes were pleading with him to say something to her.

"Yes," said Mikoto with a heavy sigh, "I have." He realized he just said the one thing that she didn't want to hear, but there was no point in lying.

Sage was dumbfounded, "you…have? But you always acted so self-righteous. You always acted like you hated killing and anyone who has ever killed anyone before! You attacked Dominic Renvont for attacking Zesiro's island! You fought with Karasu because he killed Ridley's mother! You defended me from Oz, the pirate, who killed my mother!"

Mikoto felt like it was unimportant at the time to mention that he lost to both Dominic Renvont and Karasu, and that Sage was the one who beat Oz. "You learn something when you kill someone…you learn that you did something terrible and you made a mistake. I've learned my lesson and I've grown from it, I learned that I can kill a man. Can you?"

"No," said Sage as she stood up and slapped Mikoto's face with all her might, "I could never kill a man." She left the ship of the Infinity Pirates. When she was walking out she saw Hiro-Shu and Zesiro standing on the deck, "I'll be back, don't worry. I have someone I want to talk to."

Hiro-Shu nodded and Zesiro groaned, "what did Mikoto do this time?" The crew was becoming less and less stable and for some odd reason, Mikoto was at the center of it.

"What makes you think its Mikoto's fault?" asked Hiro-Shu. There was a faint scent of smoke in the air, he was trying to figure out what had caused it.

"It always is," replied Zesiro, "it always is." Zesiro decided it was best to leave them alone and let them work it out, but Hiro-Shu was curious what could've set Sage off and if he could do anything to help.

It took Hiro-Shu a good hour of wandering around the ship to find Mikoto. When he finally did Mikoto was in the same spot he was in when Sage left him. Still slumped against the wall, still with a throbbing pain in his cheek.

"What did you do?" asked Hiro-Shu as he sat down next to Mikoto. He settled down comfortably. He was beginning to completely believe that Zesiro was right, it was always Mikoto's fault.

"I killed a man," replied Mikoto in a solemn voice. "I killed a man when I was just eleven years old." Hiro-Shu nodded recalling Xavier's story. "Sage is upset with me for doing so, she has a good reason I guess. I killed a man." Hiro-Shu shook his head in disappointment.

Mikoto glanced up at him, "can you kill a man?"

Hiro-Shu thought about it for a moment, "I suppose I could." Unlike Mikoto he has yet to do so, but Mikoto was already feeling down in the dumps. No point in kicking a man while he is down.

"Good," said Mikoto, "that means you won't. Xavier once told me the people who don't think they can kill a man usually will. You have to understand that you are capable of taking lives in order to be better at saving them."

"Why did you become a pirate?" asked Hiro-Shu. Truth be told, he was thinking about it for awhile. Mikoto didn't seem like the kind of person who would be a very good pirate. He was…kind and he sucked at being cold-hearted.

"I wanted to explore the world, gather riddles, and find the One Piece," said Mikoto.

"Then why be a pirate?" asked Hiro-Shu, "why not an explorer or a Marine?" Even though in all honesty, the thought of Mikoto in a Marine's uniform being a poster boy for hard work and all that is good made Hiro-Shu chuckle.

"My dad was a pirate," said Mikoto, "he gave me life. Then my dad's friend, Marco Okuso, was a pirate and he protected my life. I owe my life to pirates."

"That's not a very good reason," said Hiro-Shu. "I owe my life to a good friend of mine, who I lost awhile go and I don't try to be him. It seems like being a pirate is a bad career choice for someone who wants to save lives."

Mikoto eyed Hiro-Shu. It was uncharacteristic of him to talk so much, normally he'd sit back and watch them while they talked and throw in a word or two, but this time he was directing the conversation. "Marines suck and explorers are lame."

Hiro-Shu chuckled at Mikoto's reasoning. He was such a little kid in his way of thinking, he was about to say something when Mikoto spoke up, "I owe my life to pirates. I love journeys, I love freedom, I love everything that pirates do! I just hate the reputation pirates have. I want to change the image people have of pirates…I want to do my old man proud. I want people to be able to fly the Jolly Roger without fear of being branded a person who is hated and despised just because they are a pirate. Pirates are sailors who can fight and fly the Jolly Roger over their heads with pride. Nothing more, nothing less."

Hiro-Shu nodded. "Interesting take on the idea, but you're wrong. Pirates are pirates. By definition that means someone that steals or murders on the high seas."

"No," said Mikoto, "it means someone who the World Government doesn't like. Marines murder on the high seas, bounty hunters, too. The only difference is both of those get along fine with the World Government."

Hiro-Shu shook his head. Mikoto just didn't understand the fact that the world is made up of more things then people not liking others. Hiro-Shu decided to change the subject, "where'd Sage go?"

"No idea," said Mikoto, "do you know where Ridley and Enma are at?"

"No," replied Hiro-Shu.

"I probably should go and check up on them," said Mikoto as he stood up and patted the dust off of his pants, "turns out the person in charge of this island, doesn't like me very much. He's the one that told Sage I killed a man. Hopefully, Ridley managed to avoid trouble." Mikoto left.

Hiro-Shu was tempted about going back to bed. If the boss on the island hated Mikoto's guts that meant trouble was going to come to them and Hiro-Shu was a lot better of a fighter with plenty of sleep. He was about to get up when Sage's words came back to him, "I have someone I want to talk to." Would she have left to fight the boss of the island? She might've. In the mood she was in thinking clearly wasn't going to be easy.

(-At the castle of Dai Mungi-)

"Dai Mungi," said a tall and lanky man, "there is a person at the door for you."

Dai Mungi lifted his eyebrow. It couldn't have been Mikoto, could it? He probably could've bolted from his ship to the castle in the little time he was allotted, but Mikoto wasn't that kind of man, he'd take his time. So, who else on the island would've been dumb enough to challenge him? He stood up and walked down. His feet sloshed through a foot of water on his way to the door. He was planning on Mikoto to come up and fight him, the water was just a precaution.

He swung open the door. He immediately recognized the girl behind it. It was the same girl he 'harassed'. He smiled, "couldn't stay away, could…yyyoooouuuuu?" Dai Mungi suddenly lost his balance with the last word and fell down into the foot of water behind him. The water flowed around his face nearly drowning him, before he was able to regain his balance.

Sage flipped the hair out of her face. "I see a lot of water around here. Planning on fixing your fight with my captain, huh? I don't really much care for trash like you."

High Pressure!

Sage's Strength!

Uh, yeah, not my favorite chapter, but lends a bit more insight to why Mikoto became a pirate…even if it is according to Mikoto's logic. Next up FIGHT! Bet you all didn't think that Sage would go there and fight him, did you? Oh, well, it wouldn't be a very good plot twist if it was obvious now would it? I really like Sage's powers and I haven't showcased them really since her fight with Marx all the way back in the Marine Base Arc.

Also! I am working on a new story! (Well, two to be exact…but I'm only going to continue one). One is a Soul Eater story and the other is another One Piece story (what can I say I love the idea of One Piece). I'll post one of them up on Fanfiction depending on how everything else goes! If you have any suggestions on which one go ahead and talk to me, I don't bite. I find guns a lot more useful!

Beyond that…90 degree weather is HOT!