Chapter 7

"Only five days!"

"No! I touched the boat TEN TIMES! And besides, you owe it to me." I smirked as Redhair narrowed his eyes. I knew the event had been somewhat traumatic for him, so I liked to use it against him as much as possible. It was surprisingly fun to watch him squirm.

I had spent the past two days in bed, not much had happened that is worth mentioning... Except that we had arrived at the island that me Redhair will finish our Haki training on. Not that I had been out to see it, as I said, I've been in bed the past couple of days.

The morning after the event, I had awoken to find a sobbing Captain lying in my lap. He had apologised over and over, and she had cringed away from his snotty, slobbering form. When his sobs finally dissolved into sniffles and hiccups, we spent the rest of the day arguing over how many days rest I get. The first day I managed to guilt-trip him into giving me an entire month, but he arrived yesterday denying the fact that he had agreed to my terms and so our arguing continued on in the many short visits. So over three days, Redhair went from willingly giving her a month's rest to reluctantly giving her 10 days.

Although, I might have said that too soon... He hasn't exactly agreed to it yet.

I stared him down, and Redhair could hold my gaze for a new personal best of 7 seconds. He huffed, looking away. "Fine. Ten days and no more. That is final." He rose from his chair and headed to the door. He paused for a second, his back to me. "Rest means rest though. If you don't, you'll be back to training."

I rolled my eyes. "As long as I get to sit in the bar and walk around the village, that'll be enough for me." I meant it. It's not like I was going to run around the island searching for adventure like a little kid, I lost my childhood before I could even obtain one.

"Good." And he was gone. I stretched and sat up, my feet dangling off the bed. I slowly slid myself off the edge. Feet touched the cool surface of the floor. It took me a second to ensure that I wouldn't tumble to the floor, my hands still clutching the sheets of the makeshift bed. Gently, I pushed off, wobbling slightly, but not too much, which was a good sign. Moving slightly faster, a stumbled out of the sickbay and made a beeline for my room. Once there I quickly chucked on a pair of white training pants and black tank top, shoved my feet into my black lace up boots and tucked my pants into them. I whizzed a comb through my dark hair, before pulling it up into a pony. I gave myself a once over in my long mirror, smiling in approval at my reflection. My usual attire, it felt good to be going outside.

I smiled as the sun warmed my back. I skipped down the street, twisting and turning to try to take everything in. It was a peaceful village, the residents were friendly and welcoming. I returned their smiles as they passed, continuing to skip to where Benn had said the bar was. It was an island on the East Blue. I hadn't realised we had exited the grand line, but then again I was more focused on my training than where we were. Even when we stopped by the two other islands to stock up supplies, the captain kept me busy with various things so I didn't get to stretch my legs, let alone ask which island we were on.
I spotted the bar a few shops down. I grinned, and skipped towards it, the laughs of the crew reaching her ears.

I smashed through the swinging doors, stopped abruptly as the bar quietened down, all eyes upon me. I crossed my arms over my chest and put on a large smirk.

"OI! Look, its Jade!" One of the crew shouted. There were a chorus of cheers around the room and a load of them clapped and whistled as a struck a couple of poses for my crowd.

"Oi, Jade. Stick to something you're good at that." Another crew member shouted, his cheeks flushed and eyes hazy.
Boos sounded loudly from the tables, erupting back to laughter as I flipped him off.

I waltzed up to the table with Benn, Yasopp and Roo, the two idiots still slapping the table laughing their heads off.

"Glad to be back on your feet?" Benn asked. I nodded, sitting heavily next to him. "How many days did Captain give you?"

"Ten," I smirked. "He's so easy to guilt-trip, you should try it sometime."

"Only you would do that." He shook his head at me.

"Oi, Jade. Are you going to grab something to drink?" Yasopp asked, as Roo sunk his teeth into some sort of meat he had in his hand.

"Yeah, I'm parched actually. What's the best they got?"

"Uh," Benn passed his drink to me. I sipped it. Hmm, it was strong. "I dunno what it is, but it's good."

I nodded, agreeing. "I'll get whatever that is."

Yasopp and Roo gaped at me. "What? What did I do this time?"

The grating sound of a chair being pulled up next to them made them all jump. "They just haven't seen you drink before." Redhair stated. I blinked. Hadn't they?

"You drink? But how old are you?" Yasopp asked, shocked.

"I'm 13, are you not meant to drink at my age?" I was confused, Papa always let me drink alcohol, I can't even remember how old I was when he first allowed me to have some.

Redhair shook his head. "Most people your age drink juice or milk." I cringed at that, who in their right mind would choose juice when sake was available? He turned to Yasopp and Roo. "And don't you two forget who brought her up. Mihawk likes to drink just as much as I do."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever, I'm going to go get my drink now."

The captain nudged his friends. "Guys, pay attention." And all four of them stared at her with large round eyes, even Roo's goggles seemed larger than usual. I scowled at them, they were going to use me as their entertainment, were they? That's just fine, they'd have their entertainment.

My chair squealed as I stood, turning and stomping over to the counter. I hopped up on a stool and waved lazily over to the bartender who was handing out a couple of drinks.

She was a young woman with doe-like, dark eyes and her shoulder length dark green hair was covered with a yellow bandana. She wore an orange blouse with long black sleeves and a long, light blue skirt. All in all, she was very pretty.

She came over.

"Ah, hello, miss." I smiled brightly at her. "The best you got, please."

She returned my smile and disappeared. I tapped my fingers lightly on the counter as I awaited her return. I could still feel the stares of a couple idiots who were seated at the table behind me.

"Here you go," the lady placed a mug that looked similar to the one Benn had down in front of me.

I thanked her, taking a sip from it. "What's your name?" I asked, glancing up from my cup.

"Makino, what's yours?" She asked politely.

"The name's Jade," I grin.

"Jade," she tested the name on her tongue. "Hmm, I like it." She smiled.

I tipped the mug back, chugging the contents before slamming it back on the table. "Well, as much as I love this apple juice, Makino, I'm really after something a bit stronger, if you get my gif. Maybe whatever my buddy is having." I nodded my head over to Benn, who only smirked slightly, the other three falling all over the table laughing.

The lady stared at me for a second, before smiling slightly, her face pale. "Ok, I'll be right back."

I turned to look at the boys. Roo was holding his stomach, tears leaking out of the sides of his goggles, heaving in breaths. Yasopp had thrown his head back, howling for all the world to hear and Benn was shaking his head at me, smirk plastered on his face. Their captain was roaring above them all, slamming his hand on the table which shook, causing their drinks to spill slightly. "That's my Jade." He declared. I rolled my eyes. Idiots.

Night had fallen and I was still at the bar. The regular village-folk had all gone home, but the pirates were only just starting to party. A bunch of them were screaming the lyrics of 'binks sake' a couple tables down. Redhair and the others had joined them. Not feeling like having my eardrums split, I hopped up on one of the counter stools, having a small moment to myself. Before long, Makino had joined me.

"Haven't seen you round these parts much." She stated.

"I've never been here before." I confirmed. "I arrived three days ago."

"Yeah? That's about the time those pirates dropped in."

I laughed. "That's probably because I'm travelling with them. Redhair... He's an uncle of mine."

She blinked, putting her head in her hand and leaning towards me over the counter. "You... Are his niece?"

I nodded. "Well, something of the sorts. I don't think we are actually related though. He's mates with Papa. He's taking over my training for a couple of years."

Makino's dark eyes twinkled and she leaned closer. Her interest was almost creepy. "Yeah, I was gonna say you two don't look much alike. What kinda training is that?"

"Everything, I guess. Whatever he wants to teach me. It's all to do with fighting and survival though. You see, I'm a swordswoman. I take after both my parents that way."

The lady nodded and leaned back, picking up a bottle from underneath the counter. She offered a refill, I accepted, pushing my mug towards her lightly. "Isn't it strange travelling with a bunch of older men who you don't know? Although, I guess you know your uncle.."

I shook my head. "I literally only heard of Redhair the day he picked me up, so even when I first climbed on board the Red Force... I was in the midst of strangers from the very beginning. It's is a bit strange having so many people around. It used to just be me and Papa, although, half the time he isn't there either, so..."

"Wait, it was just you and your dad?" I nodded. Makino frowned. "Don't you get friends over? And what about your mum? Do you have siblings?" She leaned in again, getting closer and closer with each question asked.

I blinked. "Uh, I have no siblings and I have no idea where my mother is, I just know she's been out of the picture for a long time. Also, it was just me and Papa, not just in our house. We are the only two on the island." I paused to drink from my mug.

Makino gaped at me. "What? What do you do to amuse yourself?"

"I train." I said simply. "Papa's quite well-known, and he's got a couple enemies. He needs to know that I can protect myself." That's what the letter said, anyway.

"Well-known? Is he a wanted criminal?" I shrugged. No idea.

She examined my face closely. "Your eyes." Makino whispered. "Is Dracule Mihawk your papa?"

I made an affirmative noise as a chucked back the last of my drink. I sighed, wiping wayward dribble of sake from the corner of my mouth with the back of my head.

She laughed and looked me up and down. "Well, that explains a lot."

CRASH! A roar of laugher shortly followed. I sighed, "It was a pleasure to meet you Makino, but you'll have to excuse me while I attend to my 'uncle'." I heard her light, humour-filled laugh behind me as I spun around on my stool, cracking my knuckles and smirking evilly at the rowdy bunch of men. The smart ones chuckled nervously and disappeared into the background. Good idea, boys.