Disclaimer: Do not own One Piece. All plot and OCs belong to Volleys-chan and I.
The Dragon Chronicles
Chapter 19 - Proposition
"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."
-Dr. Seuss
Rei wasn't sure what she was doing anymore, much less how her attempted robbery had evolved into something as absurd as sitting across from one of Water 7's wealthiest businessmen in one of the ritziest restaurants on the island that she had no right even being in. This place had a unspoken dress code, or so it seemed. Rei had discerned this based on the excessive attire of the other customers. It was blatant to see that she was breaking said code with her very presence since not only were the clothes she wore pretty much her only worthy set now days, but her hair was oily, her face was grubby and she outright refused to remove her ragged cotton gloves from her hands or her circular sunglasses from her face. She was sure he had already realized how red her eyes truly were, but she didn't feel like making a spectacle of herself by exposing this fact to everyone inside the establishment.
The young teenager was merely relieved that Tetsuya-san had asked to sit upstairs in one of the more private areas of the restaurant. An area, of which she had no doubt, was usually utilized for the private conducting of business; not for taking a street urchin to lunch on a whim. Still, despite the privacy given to them, Rei couldn't help but feel uneasy about eating with him. She truly wanted to flee, consequences of doing so be damned, but the man still had custody of her blades and she would not leave without them being returned to her, uneasiness be damned.
She jolted a bit when a waitress came up from behind her seat and placed a cast iron tea pot between the two of them before placing two cups on the table. She smiled kindly at both of them as she informed Tetsuya of the tea type. "Gyokuro, Yokoyama-san."
"Much obliged, my dear," he nodded at her before she turned around and headed down the stairs. Tetsuya quickly served her some of the green tea before pouring himself a cup as well.
"It seems that they put us in my usual spot." Tetsuya told her calmly as he took a small sip of his tea. Rei mimicked his actions in acute self-awareness of her significantly lacking knowledge of table etiquette. "I apologize preemptively, but I am bound to have a few associates with whom I do business popping up throughout our meal and possibly interrupting us from time to time. However, despite that inconvenience, there is no other restaurant I prefer more than this one. Most of the time my privacy is respected- with a few welcomed exceptions."
"I don't mind at all." Rei shook her head. "They have much more of a right to your time than I do."
After all, she really didn't mind. She had no right to be treated so well after attempting to rob him, but here she was, sitting in one of the nicer restaurants of Water 7, getting treated to fine cuisine. Other than the few bento boxes and meals provided by associate's of Kaito's, Rei had not had fancifully cooked meals since, well, ever.
"You are truly too kind, my dear." Tetsuya chortled breathily as he took another sip of his tea before setting it down. "But, I believe you are wrong. Currently, I think that the only person who has a right to my time is the one with whom I have sought companionship. Wouldn't you agree with me, Kyo-chan?"
Rei nearly jumped when a woman's voice spoke from behind her. She really was not liking how she couldn't see the workers come and go from her angle at it was setting her senses into a tizzy. She turned her head upwards a bit to see the other female. She was one of the more unique residents of Water 7 with two-toned hair. One side was a light auburn color and the other side was dyed platinum blonde with a few strands streaking over into the brownish red side of her hair. Rei admired the striking contrast. Her eyes were also notably pretty. Both were brown, but one was lighter brown than the other and was only something noticeable from a close distance. Another thing Rei noticed was that she wasn't dressed like a waitress, but instead in black slacks and a white button up blouse. Rei assumed she was a chef, maybe...
"Yeah~." The woman drawled cheekily as she rested her hand against Rei's chair. "Though I hope you won't be too put out when a few of us make our usual appearance."
"Of course not. Not when it's you, my dear." Tetsuya assured her, giving her a endearing grin. Rei could tell it wasn't anything more than friendly affection he held for this woman and she saw him just the same. They were good friends able to speak freely without concerns about propriety and status that may separate them.
"So," Kyo straightened as she lifted up a notepad, ready to take notes. "What will you and your guest be having today?"
The Rei quickly looked at her menu, trying to select something, anything, so that she didn't look so foolish and out of place alongside her lunch companion. Alas, fate was being a particularly significant bitch today, as the menu was written completely in characters, not romaji. Just perfect.
"We'll have the chef's special for today." Tetsuya spoke up as he scanned the menu. "As well as whatever would be the catch of the day." He hummed for a second before smiling brilliantly, and handing the woman his menu. "Also, two fruit parfaits to start us off alongside the tea, if you would my dear? We shall select our dessert after our meal." Kyo nodded before holding out her hand for Rei's menu. She handed it to her in silent relief that she wouldn't have to look foolish in admitting her inability to read the menu to anyone.
"Oh, shame on me. I nearly forgot." Tetsuya admonished himself. "My young associate here has a severe distaste for sour dishes. Would it be much trouble to petition the chef to keep the more tart ingredients from use? At least, the ones more noticeable to the senses. I doubt she would mind otherwise, no?"
Rei's eyes widened a bit as he directed his gaze onto her and realized he wanted her to confirm his statement. "Not at all."
"Wonderful." Tetsuya beamed as he turned to glance once more at the young waitress. "Then let Araki know our specifications, if you would, my dear."
"Of course, Tetsuya-san." The young chef couldn't help but smile back. "And perhaps some warm sake for you to drink with your meal?"
"You know me well, my dear Kyo." He politely affirmed.
The young woman beamed as she grinned widely at the older man. "I will get your orders filled and then I will go tell him that you are here. He hasn't seen you in sometime and would love to at least say hello."
Somehow Rei wasn't surprised that he had some sort of relationship with the head chef of this restaurant. He was, after all, Yokoyama Tetsuya. Everybody seemed to know who he was and what he had done for the city. Everyone probably wanted to know him or at least say he considered him their friend. At this point, she doubted there was a person alive in the city that didn't know what Yokoyama Tetsuya looked like. Well, except her. Yay.
She was sogoing to shank Kaito for this humiliation.
"I would be ecstatic to see him as well! Unfortunately I cannot remain long to converse. I have very important company with me currently and it would be exceedingly rude of me to ignore her in favor of catching up with Araki. Friend as he may be!" Tetsuya gestured over at Rei as he politely requested for the visit to be short.
Kyo looked over at Rei and the young girl wanted nothing more than to be saved from all this attention. She knew she didn't look her best and it was embarrassing that Tetsuya spoke as if she was some sort of significant individual among the citizens of Water 7. It surprised her greatly as the woman looked her way and, instead of looking at her as if she was out of place (which she knew she was), she gave her a genuine smile of kindness before beaming at Tetsuya.
"Of course! He wouldn't want to impose on someone else's time with you! He knows just how important your guests are to you! He probably just wants to make sure you look healthy and that Aria-san has been keeping you well fed."
"It sounds more as though he believes Aria is starving me with how concerned he was about my daily food intake."
"Papa is just overprotective of his favorite patron. You know that, Tetsuya-san." Kyo laughed. "Personally, I think he's been waiting for the day that Aria-san finally retires so that he could become your chef in her stead."
"I do not doubt your theory for a moment, my dear." Tetsuya grinned easily. "He's been hinting at it since I first started coming here five years ago when this establishment first opened."
"And he'll keep on hinting at it until you finally tell him that he's hired." The woman teased with a lopsided grin. "Now, let me go get you those parfaits, and I'll persuade Papa to wait till after your lunch has been served to interrupt. But I make no promises. He can be so stubborn when he wants to."
"That would be most appreciated." Tetsuya nodded his thanks to her as she finally scurried off to get them their small pre-meal treat.
Rei now found herself alone once again with the high-standing man. She felt tense under his lazy gaze. That poised yet lackadaisical look of his was deceptive and misleading, to be frank. Rei had already realized how frighteningly preceptive he was and had no doubt in her mind that his nonchalant demeanor was a ruse to throw off unsuspecting people when he was doing business with them. However, she was longer fooled by him. She was quite aware that he was accessing her as he slowly sipped at his tea.
"So, Rei," Tetsuya finally broke the silence between them, setting down his tea and taking his gaze off of her to watch his own actions. His tone was more business like than before, but it wasn't stern or authoritative. "I would be simply elated if you would be so kind as to tell me a little bit about yourself. Perhaps how you came to be here on Water 7?"
To be honest, Rei wasn't feeling comfortable enough to tell him, but she felt obligated to tell him something since he wasn't going to report her to the authorities and was treating her to a very nice lunch. "I... I... um..."
Dear ancestors above, she couldn't do it. Not only that, but her tongue was getting tied and she felt like a stuttering fool. She hadn't had problems articulating her words since she was but a little girl.
His eyes laid back onto hers and he gave her a gentle nod while smiling kindly at her. "That's alright. I do not want to force you into saying anything you do not feel comfortable talking about. What say I begin with what I have gleaned of you and we can proceed from there?"
Rei wasn't expecting much other than the obvious, but merely to humor him and to perhaps remove him from the subject of her arrival here on Water 7, she nodded. However, a small part of her was truly curious how much he had divined about her in his short knowing of her.
"Hm, where to begin? It is always a grand idea to commence at the beginning because that is what beginnings are for, but it can be delightful to start in the middle or even at the end at times, to capture curiosity as well as the full consideration of the audience. A cold opening as it is called in the show business!" He contemplated aloud to himself.
Rei mildly wondered how much he truly knew of her indeed if he was contemplating where to begin relaying his observations.
"Ah," his eyes lit up a bit as he made his decision. "Perhaps it would be best to start with the obvious facts about your personal history? I have already deduced in our short time together that you are not originally from Water 7. An elementary discernment to be sure, I shan't bore you further with the obvious deductions. I can tell by your features that you do share a common ancestry with the natives here, but your manner of articulating your thoughts and even how you pronounce words greatly differs from Waterians. And a most peculiar dialect." He took a small sip of his tea before continuing. "One of your parents was a blue blooded Waterian though if I had to gauge by your features but you were obviously raised on a different island. Your mannerisms are as foreign as the way you speak comparatively." He cocked his head a bit as he watched her. "How am I doing thus far?"
"That was... extremely accurate." Rei told him, her stomach dropping a bit at how perceptive the violet eyed man truly was. "You can conclude all that from just my speech and my features?"
"Every island is unique. The more isolated, the more it stands apart from more accessible islands with its culture. Simple social anthropology, as it is known in academia. If one truly pays attention to the details of each culture he, or she, comes across then the differences become more apparent. Bear in mind, in my youth I was quite well travelled! As such, I had the time and opportunity to make such observations. For example, if you haven't already noticed, most Waterians have a habit of saying 'maah~' instead of something like 'hey' at times while you, instead, have a habit of saying 'un' when agreeing instead of giving a proper affirmation. Small things like that, my dear."
Rei stared at him in awe. She had to admit to herself that she had never really noticed such things before. Such obvious things now that they had been pointed out to her. On Fireworks Island, most of the islanders would use the sound 'un' to give their affirmation, but never once had she heard anyone here do it. She had heard Kaito give that 'maah' sound dozens of times as well as the other kids and though she was well aware of what it was substituting within his dialect, she had never once thought of it as a part of his culture. Hell, being apart from society for as long as she had, she hadn't even realized it was a part of culture norm.
To her, it was strange and exciting to think of such cultural differences that set people apart and that said differences, like certain features or linguistics, could tell the observer a whole lot about how someone would perhaps act or react within certain situations by narrowing down their origins and understanding them from their cultural standpoint.
It was as fascinating to her as it was frightening. Such powers of observation could be quite dangerous within the wrong hands. She shivered that the thought of someone like Akainu having such observational prowess within his grasps. Such a dangerous ability it would become in his irresponsible and corrupted hands.
Rei was greatly startled from her darkening train of thought by the sudden, loud squeal of delight that sounded right next to her. Again she internally cursed the fact that she could not see who was coming or going from her spot at the table.
"Oh, Tetsuya, she's absolutely adorable~!" The voice cooed in that high note as someone sudden crouched by her chair, taking in her form as she took in theirs.
Despite being down in a crouch, the person before her was tall, but Rei would not call it lanky- willowy maybe? Sure, she would go with that. There was a grace to the movements of this person before her: this woman. She had long legs and was easily balancing on the balls of her feet as she smiled brilliantly at her. She had a soft angled face that was nearly heart shaped with how her fringes were styled. Her hair was a wild mess of wavy light auburn colored tresses tied into a messy but intrinsic braid that was slung over her shoulder and resting against her flat chest. She had big doe eyes the color of warm honey and long thick lashes. Rei couldn't help but think that the woman before her was absolutely beautiful. She didn't even wear a hint of make-up, making it obvious at how natural her beauty was.
However, there was something... off about her. Something that Rei couldn't quiet put a finger on, but despite all that beauty, there was something about her features that screamed odd to the ruby eyed teen.
"Hinata." Tetsuya spoke calmly but sternly as he tried to get the woman's attention, but she was still gushing over Rei.
"Hinata." Tetsuya tried again, gaining Rei's attention with his attempt, but not the one he was trying to attain.
"Hinata." His third attempt was firm, but only harsh enough to get Hinata's attention on him, causing the woman to look over at him instead of continuing to spend her unwanted attention on Rei.
"You're doing it again, Hinata." His patience seemed infinite to Rei as he spoke to the woman like this was a regular occurrence.
"Le pardon? Doing what?" The woman asked in that light tone of hers, quirking a brow as she tried to figure out what she was doing wrong. It was only now that Rei noticed the slight accent in her voice.
"You're doing that voice again." He informed her with a mirthful gleam in his eyes, his lips trying not to quirk into a smile as he tried to remain serious.
"What voice?" Again, Hinata wasn't following until Tetsuya gave her a look that practically said 'that voice'.
"Oh-" She cut herself off before, much to Rei's great surprise, the light alto pitch of her voice suddenly dipped into a tenor. "Oh. I was doing it again, wasn't I?"
Suddenly Rei figured out what was so off about the woman's features, for no matter how beautiful of a woman Rei had originally perceived her to be, only a man, albeit a drop dead gorgeous man was he, could have some of those more prominent of features.
"That girly tone of yours that you take when you see something you think is cute?" A mirthful chortle escaped from Tetsuya's throat as he tried not to look so amused. "Yes, Araki, you were doing it again."
"Damn it." His voice dropped a little lower in tone as he sulked a bit.
"Don't tell Kyo I did that again?" He asked in a hopeful tone, but even he knew it to be in vain.
"I'm sure she is already aware. I doubt anyone in the restaurant did not hear how girlishly you squealed not even five minutes ago."
"Merveilleux." The tone of his voice was harsh as he spoke the foreign word. "I am never going to hear the end of her relentless teasing if I can't stop doing it." He complained as he remained in his crouch next to Rei. She was still observing the man, surprised at the near one-eighty his personality had taken once he was no longer caught up in such an enamored pace.
"Miss Rei, allow me to properly introduce you. This is Araki Hinata. He is the owner and head chef of this establishment."
"Yes, though if my daughter has anything to say about it, I will be stepping down as head chef and soon will have to find a new kitchen to work in." Hinata laughed a bit, downplaying his importance within the restaurant. "This place was always more her dream than mine. Ambitious to the point of terrifying, that one."
"Oh?" Tetsuya humored the other man as he drawled the next sentence lazily. "And your dream is...?"
"To work as your personal chef, of course. But you already know that Tetsuya, so please, stop teasing me. Si méchant de votre part."
Tetsuya chuckled lightly at the chef's admonishment, but bowed his head slightly as he spoke his next words."Mes plus sincères excuses, c'etait pas mon intention."
Hinata couldn't help be give him a pleasant smile as he finally uprighted himself to his full height and bowed a bit at the waist. "Tout est pardonné, mon cher ami."
"So," Tetsuya switched back into the common tongue of Water 7. "Is there a purpose for your sudden appearance? I was not expecting you at least till after lunch for you to come up to socialize a bit."
"Oui." Hinata nodded, suddenly remembering the reason he had come up in the first place. He suddenly pulled out a note pad and checked on his notes. "Kyo-chan said that your guest (Rei, correct?) has, and I quote, 'a severe distaste for sour dishes'."
"Your daughter takes extensive notes as ever." Tetsuya affirmed mirthfully.
"Don't ask me where she gets it from," Hinata bemusedly agreed. "Her mother and I couldn't even read each other's handwriting, resulting in us never writing the orders down. We simply relayed it verbally to one another."
He quickly crouched down next to Rei again, so he could be more at eye level with the young girl. "So, demoiselle, what in particular would you prefer me not to use. There are a lot of tart ingredients in the world of food and narrowing down my list a bit would make it that much easier for me to cook."
Rei bit her lip as she thought about it. She wasn't truthfully picky, but ever since her time on that pirate ship, she just couldn't bear to eat anything overly sour, like not quite ripe fruit or lemons especially. In the marketplace a few days back, she had gotten too close to the food stalls and since summer was closing in, some of the stalls had refreshments like lemonade. She had felt dizzy and nauseous at the very smell of the beverage, despite how diluted with water and sugar the drink had been. No one knew about her minor discovery, not even Kaito, but she had done her best since to stay away from the food stalls the best she could.
"I mostly don't like lemons..." She finally divulged to the beautiful chef. "Anything else would probably be fine... unless its really sour."
"Nothing overwhelmingly sour." Hinata jotted it down on his notepad and Rei could understand how his wife couldn't read the man's loopy longhand. It looked elegant and attractive, but it wasn't too legible if one was not familiar with his handwriting. Right above his, she could see Kyo's. It wasn't as extravagant as her father's but it was utilitarian in its function. It flowed clearly from word to word and easy to read even upside down.
"Merveilleux." He smiled at her brightly when he finished his notes, standing up as he did. "I will be back later with your meal!"
"Try not to get too carried away with it, Araki." Tetsuya drawled as the man started to head back to the kitchen.
"No promises! I have a little demoiselle to impress with my cooking, mon cher." Rei had to admit, he had a beautiful tenor, especially when he spoke his mother tongue. With that, he was gone, leaving a bemused Tetsuya and a less nervous Rei in his wake.
"I would like to say that will be our last interruption, but knowing Araki as I do, he will make an appearance at least twice more before leaving us to our own devices." The violet eyed man confessed with an easy grin as he took a sip of his tea.
"He's very nice." Rei admitted as she too took a sip of the expensive tea. "I would have thought that a person in his... status... would be a little more... stuck up." Or at least that's what Kaito had taught her. People well off or sought after for their specific skill set were often bigoted pigs who could care less about people they view as below them on the social ladder. Kaito and she being damn near at the bottom of that ladder. Zambai was definitely at the bottom.
"Many are." Tetsuya agreed in that lazy drawl of his. "Most people could care less about the 'little people' within the social structure of their civilization, however, I am partial to the notion that it is the 'little people' that make all the difference when a society is at the precipice of change- minors especially." His eyes were specially upon her as he said that. He sighed a bit as he looked down at his drink, swirling the liquid in his cup a bit as he continued. "It is, unfortunately, an unpopular opinion among the upper-class, even in Water 7, and so I find like minded company wherever I can and keep them close to me however I can."
"But you won't offer Araki-san the job as your personal chef?" Rei pointed out with a raised brow. It went against what he had just said, at least to her it did. She flushed as she suddenly realized she had overstepped her boundaries with that comment, readying an apology when she realized Tetsuya wasn't insulted, but amused by her observation.
"No," he chuckled softly, his eyes crinkling in his good humor as his mouth quirked into one of his many smiles. "I have yet to offer any such position within my household to him because the truth is, Hinata would be bored. I rarely dine at home since I am constantly attending a business meeting over lunch or dinner, on occasions over breakfast. Simply put, Aria hardly ever cooks for me at all and when I do stay in, her bland cooking is more enough for me. No, Araki is perfect right where he is. I dine here more than anywhere else. Home included."
Understanding flashed in Rei's eyes. "So, basically, if you ever required a need for an actual cook back at home-"
"Araki Hinata would be the first and only person I'd contact with such a position." Tetsuya nodded.
That, to Rei, spoke volumes of the good-looking chef. Not only did it mean that he had Tetsuya's respect, but he held his trust and morals. Though Tetsuya seemed to be a very kind and generous man, that didn't mean he trusted people. According to Kaito, trust, especially in the business world, was earned, not given. No one was going to trust a complete stranger with anything that they could not afford to lose. Kaito hadn't when she had first come to stay with the Mizu Mizu Tribe, and, though she had gained much during her short stay, Rei had yet earned Kaito's unquestioning, unwavering loyalty and trust (she did believe he trusted more than most, but then again Kaito had trust issues). The man before her was probably very much the same as the young teenaged leader. Tetsuya was treating her to a meal, but he could easily afford it and it was obvious he could outmaneuver her in every way if she attempted anything. One did not rise in through the ranks of business by trusting every person that came along, especially street urchins. It was simply common sense.
"But enough about Araki," Tetsuya's voice broke her from her pondering as he studied her once again. "Allow us to go back to our conversation about you."
Yeah, no. Rei liked the conversation not focused on her. She was about to say something when a waitress came by to deliver their fruit parfaits. She gave both Rei and Tetsuya a warm smile before slipping away again in a matter of seconds. Then it was just the two of them again, and Rei knew it would be a while before there was any other interruptions, which didn't work in her favor at the moment.
"There's nothing much else to say that you haven't already seemed to figure out," Rei shrugged as she took the spoon in her treat and pulled it out to eat with.
"That is where our opinions differ, Miss Rei. I believe there is still much about you that mere observation cannot account for." He disagreed before digging into his own treat. He ate a spoonful, pausing as he ate, before continuing on once his mouth was no longer full. "Your swords for example. I know you have swords, but where a young lady like yourself obtained them is quite the mystery. As is the jewelry you insist upon wearing regardless how impractical it is for a person in your position. I know that some street children keep heirlooms that hold sentimental value if they can afford to do so, but yours are a bit more expensive than most."
Rei felt like she had lost her appetite as fear crept up her throat, clenching it shut as she tried not to panic. The business man easily noticed her anxiety and, after taking another bit of his fruit parfait, waved his spoon about as if casting away her fears as he finished consuming his bite.
"It is not my intention to pry, I merely am too curious for my own good at times. If there are things you do not wish to speak of, we will chose a new topic." He told her as he readied to take another bite of his parfait.
"O...okay..." Honestly this man could send her into a panic attack faster than she could blink! He was too damn perceptive for her own good.
"But before we change topics, would it be too much for me to ask to look at your swords?" He put the spoon in his mouth right after finishing his sentence, patting her confiscated fur pelt with his other hand.
"How... how did you figure out those were swords?" Rei fidgeted a bit, but forced herself to eat another spoonful of her treat. Wasting food was practically considered a sin among the street dwellers, so she ate regardless of her unease.
"I am quite familiar with the shape and weight of a blade." He confessed nonchalantly. He pushed his food further up on the table before pulling the fur pelts that bound and protected her blades upon the table surface directly in front of him. He glanced at Rei before proceeding, his violet eyes looking into her red eyes. "May I?"
"They... they aren't finished..." Her voice became quieter as she spoke and her sentence finished in a quiet mumble. "But I guess it would be okay."
That was all the permission he needed as he began to carefully peel away the layers until both her naked blades were exposed to their onlookers. Rei, regardless of how many times she looked at them, loved to stare at her two beautiful blades, knowing that they were hers.
"Exquisite." Tetsuya breathed out as he gently touched the pads of his fingertips to one. "What fine craftsmanship. No detail was overlooked. Elegant but durable. Unique but still quite utilitarian. The material itself... Most blades are forged from Tamahagane, but these two's medium is far above the highest quality attainable to even the greatest known swordsmith in the World Government." His eyes broke away from their admiration to look at Rei's with great excitement that she had yet seen provoked within him in their short acquaintanceship with one another. "You, my dear Rei, have quite the rare gems in the world of swords, finished or not. I dare say that your blades are equal to the Saijō Ō Wazamono."
"Saijō Ō... Waza... mono...?" Rei cocked her head to the side as she tested out the words herself. "I don't understand."
Tetsuya quickly realized his mistake and reigned in his excitement for her sake, though that didn't mean he was ready to removed his attention fully from the blades before him. "Saijō Ō Wazamono. They are classified as the twelve Supreme Grade Swords. They are meitō blades, to be exact, that are famous as well as the highest quality of the four class tiers."
He carefully lifted up one of the blades, the crimson one, to better examine it. He continued his explanation as he checked the crimson blade's balance in his impromptu assessment. "The other classes to follow would be Ō Wazamono, Great Grade Swords, which there are twenty-one meitō swords within that class rather than simply twelve. The next tier down is Ryō Wazamono, Skillful Grade Swords of which fifty meitō fall under. The last class is merely Wazamono, Grade Swords. They are sharp, useful even, but the lowest category for a meitō to be filed under."
Rei blinked at his unexpected lesson. She had honestly not expected him to be as well versed as he was in something like sword-craft or anything of the sort. The breadth of his subject knowledge seemed to have no end. "I... I didn't know all that. So... you're saying that... my swords are at the same level as the highest tier of swords? The Saijō Ō Wazamono?"
Damn, Tatsuo had not been boasting when he said he was among the best bladesmiths alive. She wondered if all the swords he had crafted prior to these ones would be rated as high, but she also had a feeling that she was the only human that had any sort of dragon forged blades around.
"Let me clarify,I am not an certified appraiser by any means," Tetsuya said, eyes not leaving the masterful crimson blade, "But I do know swords." He set the blade down to assess the teal one instead. He continued talking as he ran the same assessment on this blade. "I dabble a bit in swordsmithing and the like, but I've been a practicing kendō since I was but a young boy. I learned a thing or two about swords from having to select meitō to utilize as my personal blade."
That caught Rei's attention. "You're a kenshi?!"
"That is correct," he finally looked away from her swords to look her in the eyes once more. "Though work does try to consume most of my time, I have always made it a good habit to keep up with my practice."
He set down her teal blade as he continued to assess the two of them side by side. "How about you, Rei? Do you have plans on one day using these two as a full-fledged swordswoman?"
"That's the dream..." Rei slumped down a bit as she said that. She was poking at her parfait with her spoon as she sighed. "But, from what I've learned so far from the other kids, not a lot of people are interested in taking on female apprentices."
"True, most of the other swordsmasters here wouldn't take on a female student." Tetsuya went back into his lecture mode as he began to rub the pad of his thumb around the where the sword's guard would be placed. "Women, unfortunately, are viewed as the fairer and weaker sex, so without evidence that a young woman has a vast amount of potential, it is a massive gamble for the master, since not only is it his livelihood but his reputation as a kenshi. A disappointing paradigm, but nonetheless the mindset most common of the masters here on Water 7."
"Oh." Was all Rei could find to say. Her eyes lowered so that she was studying the grain of the table instead of watching what Tetsuya was doing.
It made sense. Most girls probably didn't have the ability to physically overpower a boy. She knew she could beat most of the boys around, but all it took was one person stronger than her and that was it. She couldn't physically beat Zambai in a match of strength and that was probably half of swordplay right there- overpowering the enemy.
"I recognize this signature."
Rei's eyes snapped up to see Tetsuya studying the base of her crimson blade.
"I didn't think this artist had anymore undiscovered pieces. The last blade to hold this mark was discovered nearly a century and a half ago."
"Signature?" Tatsuo was stupid enough to sign his work?! Not just that, but he had other swords floating about the human civilizations?
"Correct, every bladesmith has a specific mark that represents their work. This artist uses an insignia that can be traced back to before the void century. Every once in a while, a blade of his is discovered and added to the list of known meitō, but they never surface long enough to be appraised properly. They all end up missing shortly afterwards or in the hands of private collectors that prefer the swords not be appraised. Always so heartbreaking when that happens, being an aficionado as I am," Tetsuya informed her with an excited gleam in his eye. "I personally have one of his works back at my mansion that I am holding for a dear friend of mine. She has had the sword in her family for centuries, but, unfortunately, the collection it was a part of had been discovered by the government so she had to disperse the collection in order to hide the pieces for a while. Sadly, some of her collection was lost, but she did manage to protect most of the cursed artifacts from falling into the wrong hands."
"Cursed?" Rei blinked at that.
"Yes, most of the swords that this artist is famous for are sentient in some way or another. Most of them are cursed blades. Meitō that have some sort of malignant spirit sealed within. It was said that the bladesmith traveled alongside a young devil fruit user who could bind things to objects. The two of them would travel from island to island, the bladesmith forging blades to which the young man would bind demons and malignant spirits in. They travelled together for decades until news of the devil fruit user's death spread across the lands and the bladesmith seemingly disappeared into history."
Well that explained a few things about Tatsuo's travels, especially why he always seemed to be invading someone's smithy to work on 'something' as he always vaguely told her. But that wasn't all that interested her at the moment.
"You said that he traveled around with someone who could bind things to objects? Like the foolish man's brother in that old tale about the origin of the Devil Fruit?"
For the first time since she met him, she had legitimately caught Tetsuya by surprise with her knowledge of folklore. His eyes widened for a second before he could conceal his astonishment with his pleasant grin. "You know of that story? I would have never expected a child your age to know such old, forgotten tales."
"Oh," Rei shrugged as she took a bite of her parfait. "I didn't know it was that old a tale. I guess that's why no one here knew of it when I first told it."
"How does one so young know such an archaic tale? I have knowledge of such tales due to owning antique books filled with such lore."
"I was told the story by a storyteller I knew. She had plenty of stories memorized and told me countless tales when I was young. That one had always been one of my favorites." Rei couldn't help the sad smile that crossed her lips as she took another slow bite of her treat. She was almost finished with the small appetizer and it did nothing but wet her appetite, regardless of her earlier nervousness.
"I take it that you no longer are in contact with your storyteller friend?" There was a slight melancholy to his voice, as if he was already expecting what her reply would be.
"No, she died." Rei didn't speak any further on the subject less she start crying in front of the man, which would be worse than crying in front of Kaito.
"Ah, I understand." He was quiet for a moment after that as he took one last look at her swords before wrapping them up again.
"So, does anyone know the bladesmith's name? Or is his signature more of a crest than a name?"
"If someone did know his name, they'd have to be very old." Tetsuya confessed as he finished wrapping them up and putting them back where he had them originally. "His insignia is a mix of the ancient language and another old language even more scarce to find."
"Oh..." So no one knew Tatsuo was a dragon or that he lived longer than humans.
Just as Tetsuya was about to speak again, the two were interrupted by the return of Hinata and their lunch. He proudly put his dishes in a particular pattern before his customers, even adding with a bright tone that there were no lemons to be found in any of his dishes, just for her.
"Hinata, when I normally tell you not to get carried away, you usually come back with a main course that's a little too extravagant." Tetsuya was staring at their lunch caught in middle of amusement and disbelief. Rei, on the other hand, she just chose to stare wide eyed at what Hinata had brought forth. "However, if I were to be honest with you as well as myself, I don't even know how far above my idea of excessive this is."
"Oh hush," Hinata laughed as he swatted playfully at Tetsuya's shoulder. "I told you I had the need to impress!"
"Why didn't you put in this much effort last time I brought a king to dinner?" He couldn't help but complain insincerely to the tall, talented chef.
"Because he was rude, stuck up, and ugly to boot. You didn't even go into business with the man! It would have been a complete waste of my time to attempt to 'wow' him with my cooking." Hinata huffed as he put his hands on his hips.
"And so you had the desire to 'wow' a young teenaged girl who has probably never eaten at a restaurant prior to today because... why?" Though there was a bit of teasing in his tone, Rei could sense that the question was truly there. Though, she was still a little dumbfounded by how beautiful everything looked as well as how wonderful it smelled to really pay attention to their conversation. Especially when Hinata switched to his mother tongue.
"Elle semble être un bon investissement de temps et d'efforts pour moi." The chef confessed with a knowing smile.
He bid them a good lunch before disappearing back to his kitchen. Tetsuya gave him a thank you and a slow nod of his head while Rei broke out of her stupor fast enough to say thank you as well.
"Well, let us eat before our hotter dishes cool." The violet eyed man suggested politely as he picked up his eating utensils and began to quietly eat his meal. He seemed to have something on his mind as he ate, which was fine with Rei because talking between eating food like this was not something she could do without looking like she completely lacked manners.
After Rei had managed to finish the catch of the day and most of the chef's daily special, her companion began to converse with her once more.
"So, my dear, what are you considering in regards of your situation in finding a willing swordsmaster to teach you kendo?"
"I'm not sure... I can always ask and see if there isn't a way I can prove to them I would not be a burden or a mockery to their sword-style..."
"And if that does not work out? You have two fine blades, unfinished or no, that would then be nothing but dead weight to you."
Rei lowered her head a she frowned at the table. "I would hate to waste them, but if I can't find a swordsmaster, it would be irresponsible to attempt to use them, even if I somehow managed to get them their missing components."
Tatsuo had specifically left them unfinished because he wanted her to find a swordsmaster. It would be disrespectful of her to go against his wishes to both him and the blades. However, it seemed like this was going to be an impossible feat, at least, here in Water 7, and she didn't really want to leave. Something was telling her that this is where she needed to be, most likely her dragon instincts.
"You could always sell the blades to a private party. I bet they could provide you with enough beli that you would never have to worry about destitution for as long as you live. They are beautiful pieces regardless of being unfinished." He told her with that lackadaisical tone of his. His face never once giving away his thoughts on the entire matter.
"Let me guess... you'd be the private party interested in purchasing the blades if I was to sell them?" Regardless of how controlled his visage was, it didn't take a genius to figure out what he was insinuating with that suggestion.
"I would certainly be the one with the best offer, if that is what you end up doing, there is no doubt of that." He admitted outright. "But only if that is what you chose to do. They are, of course, your blades."
Rei bit her lip as she stared down at her plate, deep in thought about the entire situation. She didn't have a swordmaster to teach her and she had attempted to find one that would willing teach her, but with nothing to her name and living on the streets as she did, Rei was finding it a little hard to convince anyone to look at her as a candidate, gender be damned. However, that didn't mean she wanted to sell her swords. As tempting as it was to never have to worry about an empty belly, she honestly didn't care about such commodities like wealth. Money had no hold over her other than a means to getting a decent meal, but she could survive without selling her swords. Tatsuo had made these swords for her with both his and Ayane's scales as a way to always be close to her, regardless of where she travelled.
"The offer is really tempting, Tetsuya-san, I will not lie." She confessed to him as she finally raised her gaze to meet his deep violet one. "In the end though, those blades mean more to me than any amount of beli you could offer me. They were a gift. If I can't end up finding a swordsmaster here, I'll just search elsewhere."
The two stared each other down. Neither smiled as they gauged the other's sincerity. Rei was almost afraid that Tetsuya would attempt to take her swords regardless of if she wanted him to or not. He had them in his custody after all and who would believe that a street urchin like her owned such expensive objects as those.
"I see." Tetsuya finally broke the silence as a pleased smile tugged at his lips. His eyes seemed to look at her proudly, as if she had earned his respect with her final decision. "Then I guess the only thing left to do is make sure you learn how to properly wield such fine blades as these."
"Wh-what?" Wait a minute, what? She had not seen this coming!
"I can easily provide you with the names of some of the best swordsmasters in Water 7 on top of a letter of recommendation that none of them would even think of ignoring when considering your apprenticeship to their dojo." Tetsuya swiftly informed her, not letting the girl get in a word in edgewise. "In fact, with my letter of recommendation, all of them would be fighting over which one of them would be given the honor to be your shishou." He leaned back, taking in her slack jaw and wide-eyes, yet never missing a beat as he continued. "However, there is also your education that needs to be taken into sincere consideration. I already noticed you were struggling the read the characters on the menu and you were completely unaware of what Hinata and I said to one another when we spoke his mother tongue." Rei tried to put up a fuss about how no one in Water 7 (outside those two) probably knew how to speak more than their one language, but he raised a single finger to silence her rebuttal as he finished speaking.
"You're sharp, my dear. Brilliant, even. Even so, you lack the proper education required to allow you to be a successful adult, potential swordswoman or no. Taking that into consideration among other factors, I will save myself any effort in writing a verbose letter of recommendation and instead personally offer you a position in my household as my protégé."
She couldn't believe herself. Well, she could, sorta, but no, not really. She could not believe that she had just taken off like she had after what Tetsuya had told her- what he had offered her. She had also, in her immediate flight response from the table, left her swords with him.
Stupid, stupid, stupid! She chanted to herself as she tried to reason with herself as to why she was even running.
She was running because he had blindsided her with that. She lost the little control she had over the situation. She had felt overwhelmed by his sudden gesture. For some reason it had triggered her fight or flight responses, being as overwhelmed as she had been. And, instead of trying to reason with him why she wasn't worthy of such kindness, especially from a man who was practically a stranger (no matter how nice a man she knew him to be), she fled. She was running because she didn't know how to respond. She was running because, shit, she was being stupid.
He was asking her to be his student. He was asking her to live at his home. He wanted to teach her not only how to wield a sword, but he wanted to continue her education. She hadn't studied academics since she was eight and she knew she was sorely behind. She had almost said yes. She had almost agreed, but it frightened her. She was about to gain a hell of a lot more than she had over the past few years and she was frightened of the implications of it.
For all that she would gain, she would lose just as much, she feared. She would lose her freedom. She would be held responsible for her actions and all her actions would reflect upon her teacher. The other kids wouldn't understand and be furious with her for gaining such an opportunity with none of them had any hope of being quite so lucky. But most of all, she feared she would lose Kaito.
That's what it really was. She knew she'd lose her best friend if she said yes to the man. And what made her feel worse was that she desperately wanted to say yes.
She'd let Tetsuya keep her blades for now. She just needed to get away, calm down, and think about all of this before giving him a legitimate answer. Her nerves were to frazzled at the moment to do anything more than that.
She didn't even realize how far or where she had run until two arms snagged her up and pulled her to the side of the street. She nearly drove her fist into her grabber's face but caught the gleam of the sun flicker off of that familiar hair ornament when she spun around on her heels.
"Woah there Mighty Huntress, what's got you all spooked?"
"Kaito!" Rei breathed out, slightly from her startle and slight from how frayed her nerves were. She felt relieved for only a second before she suddenly remembered who was responsible for her current predicament.
"You!" She shoved him as she glowered angrily at him.
If it hadn't been for that stupid pretend bet that he had put her up to, then she would have never been placed in such an uncomfortable position where she had no idea what to do.
"Yo, yo, easy!" Kaito put his hands up in a defensive gesture as he took a step back. He had a nervous grin on his lips as he seemed ready to get slugged by her. Hard. "I know your pissed but-"
"But what? You set me up! You knew I'd get caught! You knew!"
"Yeah, so I knew what was going to happen. Don't think I've done it just to you." Kaito easily defended himself as he tried to calm down his angry friend. "Tetsuya-san always treats the kids he catches to a lunch, asks them about their passions, and hell, sometimes he writes them a letter of recommendation if they impress him enough to whatever interests them. That's how I managed to get Paulie his job working for Iceburg-san! And that's how Darjaleen got her apprenticeship at the theater."
Rei wasn't sure why it made her so angry, perhaps because if felt like, in some way, he was trying to get rid of her, but she was seeing red at his confession. She shoved at him again as she yelled angrily at him. "So what? Best case scenario, you get a burden off your back, worse case scenario, your victim gets treated to a very traumatizing lunch and you end up with a black eye? Was that your great idea?"
"Maaah~! Let's not execute the black eye part. The ladies would weep." Kaito was now actually looking at her with genuine confusion and worry. "What's wrong, why are you acting like this? It's not like he's a pedophile or does any creepy shit. He's the best guy in the whole damn city to have a recommendation from!"
"You left me with someone I didn't know, who I didn't trust, who could overpower me and could manipulate everything to his favor with not even a 'hey, don't worry, this is my messed up idea of a job interview'!"
"Okay, so I didn't mention it. I never do, but no one else seems to care afterwards! You're just pissed because- I don't know why!" Kaito was now taking a more aggressive stance but he was still genuinely confused as to why she was so angry. This wasn't like her at all. She usually was straightforward in her remarks and had no problem getting straight to the heart of it. "What went wrong? Did he not give you a letter of recommendation to a dojo?"
"He offered to write one, or his other idea was to save him some time writing one and personally offer me a position as his protégé!" Rei yelled angrily as tears filled with frustration, fear, and anxiety started spilling down her face.
Kaito stared at her with a look of disbelief. "Seriously? He asked you to learn under him?!" Rei nodded as she withheld a sob. She felt too overwhelmed to deal with this right now. She had wanted to hide away for a while to deal with it internally before sharing the news or even giving anyone a response. She hadn't meant to say it like that and now she knew she'd lose him. Every kid that lived under his protection knew how he felt about the upperclass and she'd be one by association. However, Kaito always had a knack for surprising her.
"Then why the four blues were you running like a bat out of hell? Shit, Rei, what did you tell him?!" He now looked very concerned as he ran a hand through his hair in distress. "You told him 'yes' right? You gave him an answer, right? Or did you just run away like a scared little girl?"
No matter how happy it made her feel hearing him say he thought she should say yes was overpowered by her anger towards the unnecessary barb he had thrown her way. "I didn't know what else to do!"
"So you ran!" Kaito was now getting as frustrated and angry as she was. "What are you, stupid?! Do you know what kind of an offer that is? I have sent countless kids his way and never once did he offer them something like that! Shit! I doubt he'd even offer me a position as his protégé if I ever attempted."
"I'm not stupid!" She shoved at him as she stomped her foot. Their argument was gaining scrutiny, but neither of them really seemed to be paying enough attention to notice. "I wanted to say yes, but I couldn't!"
Kaito stumbled back a bit, nearly hitting the stand behind him and getting a loud verbal warning from the vendor of the stall. He glared at her as he finally got fed up with her attitude and her shoving and pushed her back.
"And why the hell not?" He yelled in her face. "You probably ruined your greatest opportunity to get the hell off the streets, you moron!"
"Why are you so intent on getting me 'off the streets'?!" She shoved him back harder, getting up in his face as well. "Are you really that sick of me that you'd do anything to get rid of me? Put me in some place where you'll never have to see me again?! Why not just do yourself a favor and sic the orphanage on me. It would have probably been easier than setting up such a stupid scheme!" Even Rei knew that she was being ridiculous, but she was angry and the words just fell from her mouth.
"What is your damn problem!" Kaito shouted as he shoved her again.
"You are!" She shouted back as she shoved him back.
Somewhere after that admission, the two of them began to openly fight, ignoring the upset civilians that had to dodged them as they shoved and wrestled each other violently in front of the food stalls, that is, until Rei tackled Kaito so hard that he lost his balance and both of them fell back into the food stand behind them, spilling the vat of cool refreshment all over them.
While it did nothing to Kaito, who was already rolling them so he was on top of her, it was an entirely different matter for Rei. The scent of it covering everything, the taste that invaded her tongue, even the feel of the yellow drink burned at her skin, absorbing into the scratches and scrapes caused by her and Kaito's scuffle. She had already been at the brink prior to this moment, her emotions overwhelming her, and now... it felt like she had been thrown back in time, back to those horrible days where that bitch reigned over her like a nightmare. Her hands, though gloved, felt like they were burning. She could feel every single one of her scars like they were all new. Even her vision had pulled her from reality and she could see it all on replay. At that moment, she was just that little eight year old girl again and that woman was hovering over her with malicious intent.
She could hear the muffled words of concern, but the moment she felt that gentle touch upon her skin, she screamed. She struggled harshly as she tried to get away. She grabbed hold of something in her flailing and felt a sick sense of pride twist inside her when it snapped in her grip. She could hear the anguish of her assailant and tried again to escape the damn woman's prevailing hold of her now that she had been injured.
However, before she could continue to struggle, she was plunged into something -water, she realized. She suddenly feared drowning as all her strength slipped away and could only repress the need to sob as she remembered how she had been helplessly dunk before, and how there was no way she'd be able to pull herself out; no way to escape. She almost thought it hopeless, her consciousness starting to slip further into the recesses of her mind when she was reminded of her rescue from the ocean's wrath by the mercy of her golden companion.
She wasn't anywhere near that woman- that bitch pirate... no... she was... she was...
She gasped for air when she was suddenly yanked out of the confines of the water's hold, her strength slowly returning to her with every heave for air she made. Her eyes still couldn't see, but the smell of lemons no longer overwhelmed her nose and its burning touch had vanished too.
Dread pooled in her stomach as she remembered where she was. She wasn't on the pirate ship. She wasn't anywhere near that vessel... She was on Water 7...
Oh dear ancestors above, what had she done? Who had she hurt in her affliction?
Her mind swirled, blackness overtaking her vision as her ears caught the muffled voices of two individuals. Her eyes flickered unseeing towards them, but soon her consciousness faded out and she knew nothing more of her circumstances.
Rei groaned as she wakened from her faint, throwing her arm over her eyes as to block out the sunshine. She was going to smack Kaito for picking such a bright spot for her to recover, but suddenly something triggered warning bells in her head. She was lying in a bed. Not a cot, not a mattress on the ground, but a soft, luxurious bed. Instantly, she was on guard as she sat up quickly, taking in her surroundings. She could honestly say she was unfamiliar with the place. It was a clean room with dark handsome furniture and green walls.
"Maah~" She heard a voice behind her, causing her to swing her head around to look towards where the sun was filtering into the room through the windows to see Kaito spread lazily against the length of the window's sill. "It's about time you woke up, Mighty Huntress. Welcome back to the land of the living. Oh how we missed you."
Rei instantly relaxed. If Kaito was here, everything was going to be alright.
"Where am I? What happened?" She didn't really remember much. Everything was a little foggy, but she vaguely remembered arguing with Kaito and the two of them getting a little too into it before- she shuttered.
"In a house in a room in a bed." Kaito dodged the first question. "You're safe. A doctor's already taken a look at you. Said you had suffered from something called a flashback, where you sorta relive an event in the past that had caused you great trauma and other shit. That's me paraphrasing after he started getting way too medical in his terms for me to follow."
Rei frowned as she looked down at the sheets that pooled around her lap. They were green, much like the walls. "I remember... some of that. We were fighting-"
"Over the most stupid thing, by the way," Kaito added in as he continued to lounge on the window sill.
Rei flushed a bit as their fight started coming back to her. "It... it was sorta stupid..." She couldn't remember why she had felt so angry about it at the time, just that she had.
"Though I guess I did deserve it for a bit, you know. I didn't really tell you anything, I did set you up, and I didn't have your back like I normally would have in those circumstances." He admitted, rubbing at his shoulder outside the window. "Sorry..."
"Me too..." There was a bit of a silence between them before Rei let out a huge sigh, burying her face in her hands. "Ancestors, why did I run! I blew it! And he still has my swords-"
"-they're scrap metal, remember? It's not a sword until it has all its parts." Kaito corrected playfully. Rei peeked between her fingers to scowl at him. The teenaged boy merely ignored her look and continued on. "Don't worry about it, okay? I was able to... manage a few things after you... uh... blacked out?"
"What does that mean?" Rei wasn't too sure that Kaito's cryptic words bode well for her.
"It's just that," Kaito suddenly seemed uncomfortable with the subject. "That flashback episode of yours... it was... it was..." He let out a huge sigh as he shook his head a bit. "It was pretty violent. You were fine one moment, the next, you were screaming like a banshee, thrashing about as if you were trying to escape, and... and... shit."
Rei frowned as she looked over to her best friend in concern. His tone of voice wasn't one of amusement or his sarcastic bite but genuine loss of what to do. Dread pooled in her stomach as she looked at him anxiously. "What? What is it Kaito?"
"Rei," he looked her in the eye, a stern but sad look in his expression as he forced himself to do so. "You need to accept Tetsuya-san's offer. I can't have you on the street anymore with a condition like yours."
"Wh-what?" Rei wasn't sure why he was saying such things. "I've never had an issue before now. I've never had a flashback or whatever that was before! I'll just be more-"
"I can't risk it, Rei! I can't risk you having an attack and hurting anyone, damn it!" Kaito cut her off with a harsh swing of his right hand, the one that had been hidden from her view till now.
Rei felt like she was going to throw up. Kaito winced at his mistake and quickly pulled his arm back out of her line of sight, but the damage had already been done. She had seen his hand wrapped securely in gauze. She instantly was aware of what had happened. She had broken his hand. She had inflicted an injury to her best and only friend here in Water 7. And she knew that had it been anyone else less than Kaito, the injury would have been far worse.
"Its just a few fractures is all and you managed to sprain it too. It was my own stupid mistake. I apparently triggered a negative response from you when I had attempted to calm you down." Kaito shrugged it off, but wouldn't look her in the eye. "After you did that, I figured my best bet was to roll you into the canal, let it sap you of any strength and proceed from there, but..." He shook his head as he looked ashamed. "I nearly drowned you. I couldn't swim with my hand like that... I almost killed you and all because of some damn plot to possibly get you moving on with your life and to get you enough food so you could phase or shift or whatever it is you do." His voice became tighter and eventually he was looking out the window, but she could smell the salt of his tears on the breeze. "Damn it. I coulda killed you..."
Rei honestly didn't know how to comfort him. It wasn't his fault. She had provoked the fight. She had been the one to trigger a violent flashback. She was the one who crippled him to the point that he couldn't support her in the water. He had simply been doing what he could to minimize the collateral damage. Guilt nearly swallowed Rei up as she nervously wrung her hands. She didn't know what to say in response to his words, but she knew that she had to stop fighting the wishes of her nest's leader. Her insubordination was bringing them nothing but misery.
"I'll find Tetsuya-san... I'll ask him if I can still be his protege..." She finally spoke.
"Don't bother looking." Kaito had composed himself a bit by this point, wiping his face quickly to hide any lingering tear stains on his face. "This is his place. Guess who pulled us out of the canal?" He peered at her, eyes slightly red from his crying, only enhancing how blue his eyes were. "You ran off, he chased after you in concern. Good damn thing too."
"So... this is Tetsuya-san's home?"
"One of his guest bedrooms, yeah." Kaito informed her as he started to shift a bit at the sill. "He's been waiting for you to get up. He'll probably check up on you in a few more minutes. He usually comes in by the half hour right on the damn dot. Talk to him about it then. And tell the man that you graciously accept, damn it. Before I end up with two useless hands."
Rei nodded, looking down at her lap again before glancing up when he started to shuffle about a bit more. He was now mostly out the window sill, damaged hand pulled to his chest as he readied to leave through the window.
"You're... you're leaving me, aren't you?" It was for the best. She had hurt him so badly. She was ashamed of herself. She never wanted to hurt anyone she held close ever again.
"I have other kids depending on me. You are not my only responsibility, Rei. Besides, you got this. You don't need me around to hold your hand anymore. That's what Tetsuya-san's gonna be here for." He turned and gave her that rougish grin of his, though even she could see he was forcing it. "I'll see you later, Mighty Huntress."
"Yeah... bye... Pauper Prince..." She was certain she'd never see him again.
He was soon out the window and out of her life, leaving her in that empty guest room of the man who wanted her as his student. However, it wasn't for long. Just as Kaito predicted, Tetsuya checked on her right when the clock struck the hour. He gave her a gentle smile as he stood at the threshold of the room.
"Hello, Miss Rei. I am thankful to discover you up and have your wits about you. You gave us all quite the scare with that episode." He didn't come in still, but she could see from her spot his genuine concern on both his face and in those deep violet eyes of his.
"I'm sorry about before, Tetsuya-san. I didn't mean to cause anyone trouble."
"Trouble? Nonsense. I am merely relieved that you are alright. I'm grateful, though, I decided to go after you when you had taken off like you did. Both Kaito-kun and you were in quite the predicament when I finally caught up." He told her, for once sounding very serious instead of his usual lazy tone. "I managed to get Kaito-kun to sit still long enough to have Kyukyu-sensei take a look at his hand, but the whole time, he was fussing about you. By the time his hand was seen to and he knew you were going to be alright, he bolted. Must be a street child instinct, seeing as it has happened to me twice in one day." He chuckled a bit at his own joke, but once he realized it did nothing to lighten her mood. He cleared his throat as he returned to his serious persona. "May I come in?"
Rei blinked. This room was a part of his house. Why was he asking her for permission to enter? She found herself nodding regardless. That was all he needed and soon he was sweeping into the room, sitting on the same sill Kaito had been lounging at earlier.
"Your swords are downstairs and they are safe." He informed her about first. "However, I do hope that perhaps we could discuss your reply to my earlier offer? You took off before giving me your response."
Rei stared at him for a while before nodding, a melancholy smile on her lips. "I would honestly be honored to be your student. I'm sorry for running. I was just... overwhelmed by it all."
"That is quite alright, my dear student. I have been known to overwhelm my company at times. Normally it works in my favor as a businessman, but not every time. This is one of the few times I should have reigned it in a bit better." Tetsuya admitted to her. He then slapped his knees and he pulled himself up. "Now then, Kyukyu-sensei told me to make sure you stayed in bed for the rest of today. He mentioned you were malnourished and underweight and, until he clears you, nothing too strenuous to your body. We will being your academic lessons tomorrow and start your training as a swordswoman after he gives you a clean bill of health. Is this plan satisfactory to you?"
Rei glanced past him for a moment to look out the window. She knew what it would mean to give her affirmation to his inquiry. Her life as a street urchin- a life where she had been free to roam and run wild among the streets- was over. She would have responsibilities and expectations to meet. And no matter how much she had dreamed of a moment like this, it was sad to leave her previous lifestyle behind, knowing that she wasn't giving up the poverty as much as she was giving up the people who came with that life.
It was for the best. Kaito didn't need such a reckless friend as she was.
She found herself closing yet another chapter in her life, despite how short her time had been living among the Mizu Mizu Tribe in the slums of Water 7, and, in truth, it was... a little sad.
"Yes," she finally found herself looking her new teacher in the eye. "I believe your plan is acceptable with me, Tetsuya-san."
"Alright then," he gave her a kind smile as he bowed a bit. "Welcome to your new home, Rei."
French translations:
Merveilleux - Marvelous
Oui - yes
demoiselle - young lady
Si méchant de votre part- So mean of you
Mes plus sincères excuses, c'etait pas mon intention - My sincerest apologies, that was not my intention
Tout est pardonné, mon cher ami - All is forgiven, my dear friend
mon cher - My dear
Elle semble être un bon investissement de temps et d'efforts pour moi - She seems to be a good investment of time and effort to me
Japanese translations:
Meitō - famous swords with names (a rough translation. Basically swords famous enough to have known names i.e. King Arthur's Excaliber)
Tamahagane - High quality metal (steel) made in the Japanese tradition
Saijō Ō Wazamono - Supreme Grade Swords
Ō Wazamono - Great Grade Swords
Ryō Wazamono - Skillful Grade Swords
Wazamono - Grade Swords
kendō - the way of the sword
Kenshi - swordsman
Volleys-chan A/N: Thank you for the 100 reviews! Thank you Warm Stranger for the theme of the Omake. I attempted scary, but you know One Piece, humor overrides any scary situation. So, here as you requested: Gin telling little Rei a scary story. Bonus: Gin is telling a personal adventure she had as a Roger Pirate.
There will be some more author notes on the bottom, but let's enjoy the well deserved Omake.
"Hey Gin…" The words caused the dozing woman to stir and blearily open her heavy lidded eyes to look at the small girl snuggling up to her. The young girl stared at her with bright red eyes.
"Hmm?" She made a noise instead of trying to talk. She yawned a bit, forced herself to waken. If the small girl was still awake, then, in Gin's mind, there was no reason for her to try to take a catnap. Their time together was coming to an end soon. She could feel it in her bones.
"Yes, Rei?" She murmured as she stretched her limbs a bit but discreetly winced at how her injuries flared up at the movement.
"Can you tell me another story?" The girl asked, completely unaware that the older female had dozed off a few seconds prior. There was a sparkle in her eyes as she added, "a scary story that actually happened to you and Roger."
"Roger and I, huh? Well, I'll be honest, I don't know how scary our adventures were. Roger was a pretty fearless man and I've never been afraid of silly things like the undead. Most of it can be explained away with a rational explanation, to be honest." She admitted with a small chuckle. "Though Buggy always did cry about Roger's adventures being frightening, I don't think its the same kind a scary you are requesting, little one."
"But wasn't there at least one time you felt a little scared?"
"Nope. Not that kind of scared. I've watched in fear as Roger attempted to teach my boys how to swordplay and nearly took off Shanks's arm. That got my heart racing, but when on adventures with him? I was never afraid…" She trailed off as she suddenly thought of something: something that made her chortle giddily. "Hunhunhunhun… Actually… now that I thought about it. There was this one time I was sure that Rayleigh was going to piss his pants in terror. Even Roger had let out this undignified, girlish scream."
That caused the little girl to perk up with excitement. "Oh! What happened, what happened!?"
"It was the time we stumbled upon the headless horseman." Gin gave her such an amused grin as she suddenly pulled the girl closer and lovingly caressed the girl's hair as she began her tale.
"It was still early within our adventures in the Grand Line, in Paradise to be exact, when we had the displeasure of discovering we had run out of provisions suddenly within the night. Well, allow me to correct myself and say that Rayleigh and I were the ones to discover this fact because it had been Roger who had created the fiasco in the first place." She rolled her eyes, still annoyed about it even to this day. "The man had apparently tried to surprise me with a breakfast cook by the greatest pirate to be and attempted to cook said breakfast. By the time Rayleigh and I realized why he had been so quite, the little cabin of the boat was smoking because he had caught most of our provisions on fire."
Rei couldn't help but giggle as she tried to imagine a man like Roger- a big, burly man that Gin had described him as trying to do the more domestic chores. Even in her mind, it just didn't add up without being hilarious.
Gin chuckled alongside her, enjoying Rei's mirth before she continued once more. "Yes, well, it's funny now, but I hardly think any of us thought it was funny then, especially Roger after Rayleigh and I began to beat the shit out of him for being such an impulsive idiot. Of course, much to our chagrin, he walked off our beating within fifteen minutes of us finishing and was on to his next impulsive act.
"Rayleigh and I decided that it would be best to find the nearest island and quickly restock our provisions before attempting to continue on. We were headed to one island in particular at that time to try to get ourselves a more suitable ship because at that point, we only had a small fisherman's boat that Rayleigh had won in a gamble. It wasn't suitable at all to sail in the Grand Line and at times I still wonder how we survived as long as we did in that little boat. Especially me since I was the only woman and I had to give up certain things, like privacy, to travel with them.
"Anyways, we managed to locate an island around the time the sun was setting and the moon was slowly making its way over the horizon. It was a harvest moon. I remember because it was so big and bright the further it rose above the horizon and the darker the sky got."
At this point, Rei noticed how Gin's eyes glassed over a bit as she continued her tale. It was obvious to the little girl that she was reliving this particular tale as she continued to narrate it to her.
"All three of us pulled the ship ashore and tied it to the nearest tree to make sure it didn't drift away. I checked those damn knots three times because of how prone both men were to getting distracted, especially when they began to bicker. Once I was sure that the job was done and we would have a boat to return to, we headed out into the forest to try to find the village we had located with our telescope when we had been a while out from shore prior. That damn forest was dark, old, gnarled, and twisted. All three of us had tripped countless times as we bumbled about, trying to use the light of the moon to navigate our way."
"Why didn't you just use a torch or something?" Rei interrupted the story with her question.
"It would have made sense for us to do that, huh?" Gin agreed that it would have been a good idea with a small smile. "Unfortunately, Roger had destroyed that option when he had been cooking. We could have lit a stick on fire, but honestly, with those two, the forest would have ended up on fire instead." She clicked her tongue at that. "Damn idiots they were at times."
"Yeah, but they were your idiots." Rei reminded her, causing the woman to bark out a laugh.
"Yes. They were. Anyways, by the time we had managed to get into a meadow, Roger and Rayleigh had already gotten into three spats and I had threatened their manhood at least twelve times between the two of them. Rayleigh was always better at reigning in control over his temper, but Roger would moan and groan about it. I swear, he did it to piss me off sometimes. Even then, he was groaning about how boring this island was and how one would think that a creepy dark forest in the middle of the night should have something exciting living in it, like a witch or maybe ugly witch. I think I might have turned on him and beat the shit out of him for being sexist in that meadow because I distinctly remember I was interrupted mid-kick to the head by Rayleigh suddenly falling backwards in a startle and crab-crawling a ways as he stared white as a ghost at something before us.
"I can still remember him pointing his finger at something on the other side of the meadow chanting 'it's a- it's a- it's a-!' unable to actually spit out what he was seeing in his shock. I had looked at him funny before glancing over my shoulder to what he was looking at and, no shit, I jumped so high at the realization that there was a headless horseman coming at us at full charge. I managed to pull Roger and I out of the way before the horse could trample either of us, but Rayleigh was nearly frozen to his spot looking like he would pass out in terror at any moment. I quickly learned after that that Rayleigh isn't afraid of skeletons or zombies or ghosts or cursed objects, but he doesn't like anything to do with decapitation for some reason.
"Roger, at once, was excited at the prospect of a headless anything attacking us and instantly was ready for when the horse turned and charged at us once more. The knucklehead actually tried to take on the horse. However there was something about this horse. This horse was large, towering over even Roger's height with just his broad chest and his hooves where large and powerful. Even his eyes seemed to glow maliciously in the night and the moon gleamed hauntingly against his black coat. Still Roger was undeterred in his resolution, but I managed to get up in time to yank him out of the way before he could be trampled. He pouted at me, but I slapped him upside the head for his impulsiveness.
"Suddenly, we heard cackling throughout the meadow. A hollow sound as it echoed through the open air, getting caught up within the trees as the wind began to pick up and sway the branches of those trees, causing them to groan like a chorus of despair, even the clouds seemed to roll in, covering the moonlight and smothering the meadow in darkness. The only light was now coming from the glowing eyes of that loyal steed."
Gin trailed off to see her little audience captivated by her tale. She smiled as she rubbed her nose with the little girl. "How's that so far, hmmm?"
"What happened next? Was it really a headless horseman or was he hiding his head under his shirt?" Rei couldn't help blurt out as she stared wide eyed at the storyteller.
"Oh, he had no head on his shoulders, little one." Gin confirmed. "I had thought of that too, thinking he perhaps had rigged the heavy cape he wore around his shoulders to actually rest on top of his head and give the illusion that he was missing his head." She laughed a bit. "Boy was I wrong. That had been the first thing I managed to grab ahold of when all three of us finally gathered our wits once more, though Rayleigh's knees were still knocking a bit as he tried to convince himself that this was only a scam, and tried to fight back. However, back then, I didn't have a sword or a pistol to my name, Roger insisted to fight with his fists, and Rayleigh was more interested in his whiskey bottle than finding his talents.
"As I might have mentioned, the first thing I managed to grab ahold of was the cape, which easily fell from the horseman's shoulders with no neck or head to keep it there. Things fell apart then for us, seeing as Rayleigh was once more paralyzed with fear and I had toppled over from having pulled too hard with very little resistance. It was then that Roger tried to fight, but he only managed to get run over. I swear, he had a horse shoe shaped bruise for the next month from where that beast of a horse had actually stepped on him.
"When the horse turned once more, we heard that disembodied laughter echo once more throughout the meadow before hearing the word 'head' chanted several times. I glanced at Roger, he glanced at me, Rayleigh was cowering underneath my legs, and it was then that the voice spoke clearly. 'I want your head.'"
"He wanted what?" Rei couldn't believe her.
"At the time, I had guessed it was because of some old form of dark magic and that he'd cut off one of our heads and use it as a replacement for his." Gin told her with a shrug. "Trust me, at the time, I may have panicked about the thought of him choosing my head."
"Old magic? I thought you said everything could be rationalized."
"Old magic is a rational explanation." Gin waved off. "People have merely forgotten how to use it over time, which is why it is called old magic."
"Oh." Rei wasn't sure she believed her on this subject. Old magic was hardly a real explanation in her mind, but she pushed that aside in favor of the more pressing issue. "Well, how did you beat him?"
"Beat him?" Gin laughed. "Little one, we couldn't touch him while he was on that big badass horse of his! No, Roger was not the victor in this battle and Rayleigh was scared witless by the fact that not only was this horseman headless but he wanted one of our heads."
"Well, that means you won… But how?" Now she was really curious as to how Gin had defeated such an impossible adversary that even Roger could not overpower.
"Well, as I said, I may have panicked for a second at the thought of him trying to take any of our heads so I did what came natural to me- I started to run my mouth as fast as the words came to me. 'You don't want our heads.' I told him so quickly that it had taken a few seconds for even me to register that I had said them aloud. Oddly enough, he didn't charge his horse again and if felt like he was just staring at me, but you know, without eyes since he was headless. Hell, even the horse looked a little baffled at my statement. From what I figured afterwards, most people at that point ran screaming for the shores and far, far away from that island. I think I had been the first to actually, well, say anything like that.
"It was a few seconds before I heard that disembodied voice say: 'Oh? Why ever not?'
"Why ever not indeed, I realized and quickly started to pull out an excuse from my ass. 'Because,' I had started, not really knowing where I was going with this as I had begun this sentence. 'You're not an okama, right?'"
Gin chuckled as she just shook her head at the memory. "I swear to you. The look all of them gave me was enough to tell me that they all had thought I was bat-shit crazy. Even the damn horse was looking at me like I had lost my mind and I don't doubt that if that horseman had had a face to give me the same look all three other males were, he would have. There was a long silence before the voice spoke again, this time a little uneasy and unsure of what else to say. 'No… I'm not.' It started, adding on. 'Care to explain why that would even matter?'
'Yes,' I was just winging it at that point. 'You wouldn't want my head if your not an okama.' Again. I was getting stares, but I continued nonetheless and undeterred. 'You see, I get hit on, a lot, by men, and, well, if you had my head, you'd look like a beautiful fair maiden and some men are just that stupid. They'd hit on you. A lot.'
"There was that pause again as even Roger was just staring at me like I'd lost it. The voice spoke again, just as unsure about the whole conversation as before. 'I… see…' it drawled awkwardly before adding, 'that would indeed be an inconvenience. However, that just means I won't take your head.'
"'You don't want Rogers'.' I quickly blurted out. 'Or Rayleigh's for the matter either.'
"I swear to you, that horseman sighed in exasperation before his disembodied voice rang out once more. 'Alright. I'll bite: Why not?'
"My answer was clean, quick, to the point, and probably killed their egos completely within the matter of seconds it took for them to register what I said. 'They're imbeciles.' Of course, after blurting that out and all but destroying their self-confidence, I added. 'I mean, if you take one of their heads, then you'd have one of their brains and that means you'd suffer having bouts of stupidity so frequently you'd probably get yourself killed within the week- if you're lucky. A day; if you're not.'"
"Wait a minute- that was your great idea?" Rei could not even fathom that working. Gin was trying to suppress her laugher as she nodded mirthfully.
"Yup, that was my great idea." She confessed to the child. "I had no idea if it was true, but I wasn't sure if that's not how it worked either. Either way, if it had been the truth or not, those had been the words that had saved our, well, their lives. Because you'd never guess what happened next."
"What?" Rei was once more drawn back into the story.
"That headless horseman on his awe-inspiring steed suddenly busted out laughing." Gin smirked wirily at her confession. "And suddenly, the clouds rolled away, the wind ceased its harsh course through the branches, and the moonlight filled the now peaceful meadow. The only noise was the amused laughter of our supposed headless horseman. Even the horse didn't look as foreboding now and he seemed mildly amused at the whole affair.
"'Because they're imbeciles! Priceless!' The horseman crooned. He suddenly didn't sound as frightening. 'In all my years, young lady, nobody's given me such a damn good answer! Most run off scared witless by my mere visage!'
"I did point out to him it might be because he was, you know, sorta headless. He laughed some more as his horse whinnied loudly in his own amusement before he trotted over to us and his rider quickly tossed something at Roger, who was now standing next to me in a rather quiet sulk, telling him to catch. He did, but within the next five seconds he let out this girlish sounding scream as he tossed the item thrown to him upwards and away from him while jumping back a few feet in great alarm. However, what he had tossed up, never landed, instead floating a bit before I realized what it was."
She looked down at Rei with a playful expression, "It was a head. His head, in fact."
"W-what?!"
"Yes. As I told you, in this world, everything can be rationally explained if one has enough facts." Gin laughed as she petted Rei's hair a bit. "This man, you see, was a devil fruit user that had eaten the Ope Ope no Mi, which gave him the ability to control all the things within his designated domain, including dismembered body parts, the wind, and even the damn clouds. His name was Mordecai and he was quite the mischievous old trickster. He was playing a prank on us because we hadn't known any better. In fact, he often played this prank on outsiders because the small village had use to be plagued by raiders prior to his residency there.
"Once he explained a few things he put his head back on his shoulders and dismounted the horse, or as we were soon to discover was another devil fruit user name Facilier who had eaten an Uma Uma no Mi. He was a big black man that was at least a head taller than Roger, if not more, and twice as broad. We soon learned that Facilier was the old codger's adopted son. The two of them took us to the small village after Rayleigh, who was suddenly much better now that there was no decapitated man trying to steal our heads, and I explained our… situation. Mordecai was so amused by our situation that he invited us to stay with him for a few days, which, because we were in no hurry, we did.
"Roger and Facilier really hit it off, especially since both likes to brawl with each other, and by the end of our time there, though there was some sadness to our departure, we left with a new nakama to add to our little boat and even less privacy for me, but, damn, could that man cook. My mouth still waters at the thought of his food."
"Wait, what happened to Mordecai? Wasn't he all alone after you guys took Facilier with you?"
"No, little one," Gin's eyes twinkled somberly as her tone saddened. "Mordecai passed away during our stay. He was old and knew that his son dreamed of the ocean and adventure and discovery, however, Mordecai was technically hiding because people wanted him to use his devil fruit in a way he did not think was right. So, he made a decision and with little life he still had left, gave away a gift that many people had coveted from him because he knew it would be used right by us."
"What… what was the gift?" Rei asked, eyes wide as she leaned in closer.
Gin smiled and in a sing song voice replied with. "Se-cr-et~!"
"Hey!" Rei frowned. Why was it a secret, even now? The look on the older woman's face let her know there was no way she would tell her. So instead, Rei huffed in her vexation. "That wasn't very scary. It ended up being a prank."
"Oh? It wasn't, hmmm?" Gin smiled mischievous before laughing at bit. "I told you, I've never really been in a predicament where it couldn't be explained rationally. Devil Fruit powers are usually the first cop out in any supernatural events you may find yourself in. But I have to admit, Mordecai really knew how to utilize his powers quite well."
"His powers weren't all the frightening." Rei argued.
"The Ope Ope no Mi is said to be one of the most powerful and dangerous of the devil fruits. Are you telling me that you aren't frightened of that sort of power?"
"No. I doubt that if I came across that devil fruit that I'd be scared." Rei bravely declared. She was shy, not a scaredy cat.
Gin laughed at her a bit, causing her ward to sulk a bit, but she easily made it up by telling another tale. This time including how they had bravely sailed straight through the Florian Triangle. Rei was instantly placated.
Little did Rei realize at that time that, while she would never be afraid of the powers of the Ope Ope no Mi, she wasn't exactly immune from the chill that ran down her spine when in the presence of its next user.
Now he did scare her.
Volleys-chan A/N (again!): Yup, you people get stuck with me, the chatterbox. Now why am I doing the notes and not Ryu-chan? Easy, because I'm the reason we haven't updated since last year. So my fault means my responsibility to take the heat (I asked her to let me because of the circumstances). Sorry for the long absence, life has been crazy and I got into a pretty bad accident- don't worry, I wasn't injured, just the car. There was a road hazard lying on an uphill two way road in the middle of the night and guess who was the unlucky person to come across it? Yes, me.
Crazy enough, despite how bad my car looked (we thought it'd be totaled for sure), they were able to repair it, but I'm still slightly paranoid about it… Oh well…
But that's only a part small of my life right now. I'm not going into much detail, but there's been a lot going on with my family since my aunt's death last year (I can't believe its been a year already…). But, I've finally found enough time (and heart) to write again.
Now, explanation time! So, yes, we've added in a few new OC people. Hinata, Kyo, and mentioned Aria on top of familiarizing you with Tetsuya. And yes, Hinata will be further explained later. I love him though. He makes me smile a LOT. A little more history to Tatsuo's time among humans (how much fun was that for you?) and also learning that most cursed blades were made by him… hmmmmmmm. Haha.
For all of you who pay super special attention to silly things like I do would have realized Kyukyu is not an OC. Yup, canon folks. He's the old doctor who tended to Iceberg when he got shot in the attempted assassination. I am going to tell you all this much- the people who keep the One Piece Wikia updated and organized are wonderful dedicated souls and I think that the One Piece Wikia is the best wikia page I have EVER looked through! Don't bother correcting me if there is a better wikia page out there. Don't ruin my reality.
But really, they make my job researching 20 times easier. I've researched Naruto for a story once and wanted to shoot my brains out. Not as nicely formatted, but that's beside the matter.
Also, even though Rei will be learning different languages (cough cough French cough) I will normally try to keep from full conversations of it. Hinata and Kyo will do it from time to time (mostly one word at most) and I will give you the translations at the bottom. Also. I don't speak French so all this is made possible by Google translate. So, I get it wrong, whoops. As I said, not writing the whole thing in French, just adding more culture to the world of One Piece. I mean, Sanji uses French words in his attacks, so does Robin. IT EXISTS! It's a thing. Don't hate me!
So, next chapter. I promise you, promise you, that there is a canon character! And no, not Franky and not Iceberg or anyone from Water 7. Oh, and you'll all be super SUPER happy for this particular… character, though his part is not too big in this chapter as it will be later, just… introducing his connection to Rei.
Alright, if you have any questions, either leave it in your reviews, feedback is important, as I always say. Not merely because it if fuel for motivation, but we genuinely like to hear your opinions on what you are experiencing. Anyways, either leave it in a review or personally PM Ryu-chan or me. You want to directly ask me, then definitely PM me. I check and respond to messages.
Okay, I think that's all I had to talk about… wow… only how many extra words? Lol. I said I was a chatterbox.
Thank you all again for your infinite patience. It is because of our loyal readers (and friends) we've been able to get as far as we have! It's been almost 4 years since Ryu-chan started writing this story (2 since we posted it) and we are willing to work at it for as long as it takes to finish it! Thank all of you for your wonderful support! We couldn't have done any of this without it.
Ja Ne~
Vo-chan