Hello my dear friends, how is everyone doing?
Here I'm after so long with another chapter in this story of mine.
I have nothing much to say regarding the long wait, it's the same as always. Though I'm trying to go back to writing with more force now, if I will succeed it's honestly still up in the air, though I hope this chapter helps me with my recently almost always low writing drive.
And before I do the two guest reviews I would like to thank everyone from the 100K Views!
It boggles my mind every time I see the number, big thanks to everyone that read my fic even if just a line.
Guest (Ch. 16 May 30,2021): Is good to be back =)
Guest (Ch. 03 Apr 16): He's a western dragon.
Eastern dragon like what Kaido is are cool and all, but I prefer the western ones.
On my profile there's some links to pins that can more or less help you visualize how his draconic forms look like.
DISCLAIMER: I don't know if I should do this or not but whatever, I don't own anything here apart from my OC's.
May have grammar errors
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Marine Base – Mel Island
'I said that too soon…'
This is what I thought as I stood before Commander Triscratches inside his office.
After meeting with the others the plan was to head to the cafeteria and grab something to eat before we had to work, we were about hallway to the cafeteria when that Chief Petty Officer we saw yesterday sprouted from the shadows and ordered me to follow him.
The Commander had summoned me.
The others obviously got surprised and worried at the sudden summon, but I just smiled and reassured them that everything was alright. I had a pretty good guess of what this summon was about, it didn't took much thought considering what I did in the previous night.
Having said that I was still feeling kinda nervous, after all, whatever I was going to get scolded or not when meeting the Commander was still up in the air.
Which is exactly what I'm wondering right now as I waited for said Commander to pass his judgment over me.
We're on his office, just a temporary one he will be using while here, but befitting of his position man was sitting behind a wooden desk and looking straight at me.
"Thanks for coming lad, Ricardo was the one supposed to talk with you, but considering he's trapped behind stacks of paperwork I will be doing the talking instead" said the Commander as he looked straight into my eyes.
"So… Lucas, do you know why you're here?"
'How could I not know by now?' Smiling wryly I could only answer "It's something to do with what I did last night?"
"Right on the money" said the man as he lightly tapped his desk "You aren't exactly subtle in your actions you know?"
I already knew the answer, but still…
"It was that obvious?"
"Let's see… A metal plate with a message falls from the sky on our post in the East River Park, three tied burglars scared senseless by a 'flying monster', a gate locked with blue lightning, and finally reports of some people swearing having heard a strange roar late at night" I grimaced a little at the last one "Like I said, not very subtle. I'm surprised; somehow I thought you would do a better work in keeping your powers hidden"
"But what's the point of that?"
"Oh?"
With that answer I caught the Commander's attention, with a curious look on his eyes he looked to me waiting for my response, seeing that I just went and gave him my sincere thoughts on the matter.
"Since the start I never intended in keeping my status as a devil fruit user a secret" raising my right fist I made it glow blue as lightning crackled around it "My powers are the biggest tool I have under my sleeve, an essential part of my being. When doing my job there would be no way that I wouldn't use my powers when helping others, as doing that would mean I didn't put my all when trying to help them. Besides, imy powers aren't exactly easy to hide anyway, as such, why bother hiding them at all?"
After saying my piece I dispelled the lightning and lowered my fist, when I looked back at the Commander I saw the man smiling.
"Well said lad" Commander Triscratches said with a chuckle "It's our sacred duty to protect the common people that can't protect themselves alone, as you've said not pouring our all when doing that duty is the greatest disservice a marine can do!"
Hearing the man agree with me made happy.
"Glad that's not a problem"
"No really lad, in fact the big majority of devil fruit users in the Marine don't try to hide their powers either, those that do generally have a good reason for it" explained the Commander before nodding at me in satisfaction "I only asked you this question to see your answer, and as expected you didn't disappointed me!"
I smiled at that, but then I remembered the fact I went out of the base without permission.
"What about me going out?"
"About that…" at that his face regained some of his usual seriousness "Going out without permission is bad, but not that big of mistake in my book. Remember lad, you all aren't prisoners in this base, no one is really against any of you going out in your free time to take some fresh air and see the sights of the city; Furthermore you did stop a crime and caught three burglars red-handed, so that's another point in your favor there "
'Thanks God for that'
I was about to let out a sigh of relief when I heard the Commander speak again "Having said that, next time you caught some criminals when going out don't just drop them from the sky like that, just come forth and present them to us instead. It saves everyone a lot of time and paperwork"
Seeing that I wasn't going to get scolded or anything I let out a breath I didn't noticed I was holding, I was relieved that things ended alright.
Though I was sure I hadn't done anything wrong, a part of me still feared the worst when I got called here earlier.
I mean, as someone with no previous military background whatsoever the impression I had was that things would be super strict and all, but while off course it did demand one to follow orders and be in line, it wasn't even near of being what my naïve mind previously imagined.
"Just one last thing before I send you back…"
Commander Triscratches sorted through the papers on his desk before picking a specific one
"Like I said before that pirate you defeated, Prictus, had a seventeen million berries bounty on his head. Since you're the one that defeated him, his bounty is rightfully yours. The papers regarding that had been already dealt with, you just need go to the 'Wanted Posters and Bounties' (WB) department later to cash in the reward"
After saying that Commander Triscratches handed the paper he was holding to me, I picked and saw that it was actually a wanted poster. That pirate Prictus with that strange beard of his was on it, beneath his picture was a big 'seventeen million berries' reward for his head 'dead or alive'.
Although the Commander already commented about this reward before I was still quite shocked by this, the serious way he said that made this news just as impactful as when I heard it yesterday.
I could not help but ask: "Are you sure about this Commander?"
"The rules are clear as day; You defeated him, so the bounty on his head is yours" he picked another wanted poster from amidst the papers on his desk "In fact since you dealt the finishing blow to their captain part of his bounty would've gone to you too, but as I've already said before thanks to that giant hole you blew in our ship your part of his bounty will be withhold and used to pay the bill of the repairs. You can consider that a light punishment"
"Oops…"
What else I could say at that? I got caught up at the awesomeness of the moment and just went a little overboard on that last move there. Thinking back now I really shouldn't have use that strong of a [Lightning Dragon Sphere], that could've been a big problem if we hadn't skilled people onboard to patch that up real quick.
But hey, can you blame me? After saying that line I couldn't just not use one of my strongest moves, it would break the image that had been built there!
Coming back to the present I looked again at the wanted poster in my hand "Commander, do you mind if I keep this?"
"Go ahead lad, they make those by the dozen anyway" the man said with shrug "It would be a good memento, the first of many bounties I expected to hear you collecting"
"Thanks Commander"
The thought of having my own collection of wanted posters of the pirates I defeat is a very tempting one, in fact the more I thought about this concept the more I grew enamored with it. There's something about starting a collection, my own hoard, that is so tempting to me that it's borderline primal!
"By the way Commander, do you mind if I ask you one last thing?"
The man thought about it for a brief moment before nodding "Ask way lad"
"It's about the pirate's ship…."
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Marine Base Cafeteria, Mel Island
After my visit to the Commander's office I went to the cafeteria to meet with the others.
The place was big and packed with people, but luckily for me the others had saved me a seat so I didn't had to waste time searching or waiting for any vacant seat.
Being a marine requires a lot of energy so everyone's plate was big and full of food, however compared to mine's their plate didn't looked that special.
I was honestly quite surprised in the difference between us, I mean, I knew that people in my family could eat a lot more than others, but the many years eating around just them made me forget how exactly more that was.
Anyway, the food was delicious and that's what matter!
As we sat down and begin to talk the topic of our chat immediately went to what happened during my visit to the Commander's office, expecting this already I just smiled and retold the event.
For a moment everyone was silent as they paid attention to what I was saying, when I finished Torlo that was sitting beside me to my right asked me about something that caught his attention.
"You really asked for the pirate's jolly roger?"
"I sure did!"
I answered Torlo's question with a big smile on my face.
Me asking for the Ravenous Wolves Jolly Roger was honestly a spur of the moment thing, but to my surprise the Commander actually agreed to it right away, which made me quite happy.
"Why though?"
"I just thought it would be a good addition to my hoard"
"Hoard?" On my left Tashigi threw me a confused look "Not a collection?"
"A draconic hoard to be more exact" I reached out to my journal and picked Prictus's wanted poster "I mean, a wanted poster is cool and all, but they make these by the dozen. A jolly roger is way more unique and befitting of the hoard I intended to make!"
From the other side of the table Alvara said in amusement "If I didn't knew better I would say you sounded just like a pirate"
"I think I sounded more like a dragon but that's me" Chuckling at her remark I passed the wanted poster to Torlo's extended hand for him to see "I just need to pick it with the 'WB Department' along the bounty later after work"
"I think it's a cool idea!" Tashigi's eyes practically glowed with her enthusiasm "It's not that different from my wish to collect all Meito from the hands of evildoers, we can probably even help each other achieve these goals!"
I could only smile at her enthusiasm, funny for her to say that considering the surprise I have in store for later.
"Hearing you two say that makes me also want to start a collection of sorts" scanning the wanted poster in his hand from top to bottom Torlo looked at the man's strange beard and snorted "This guy…"
"Speaking of Dragon…" Alvara twirled the fork in her hand in my direction "Let's dial back a little, because it's seems like we got a flying vigilante in our presence here"
That one made me laugh "I just went out for a night walk and I happen to see a crime in progress, so I did what any normal marine would do and jumped into action"
"I don't know any 'normal' marine that can turn into a dragon, but that's me"
"Three dudes tried to break in into an antique shop. I gave them a little scare, put everything back in place and then dropped them off in the nearest marine post I could find" Torlo handed me back the wanted poster and I put it way back in my journal "Since I was unsure if I would get in trouble for leaving without permission I just left a message for them in that metal plate"
"But nothing bad happened, so everything ended okay" Tashigi said that with a chuckle
"I consider that a win" Torlo raised his hand for a high-give, and I off course complied right away "Hey, just remember to take me with you next time. We came here to beat pirates together, right? Don't go around hogging all the fun for yourself!" The last part he said with fire in his eyes.
What other answer could I give to that if not a draconic smile? "I wouldn't dare"
At that moment Alvara looked at a nearby wall clock, seeing the time she stood up "Well, the chat was fun but it's time for work. Catch you guys later"
"Bye Alvara"
"Have a good work"
After that she picked up her empty plate and walked way.
We three didn't stay there much long either.
After taking our empty plates to the counter we too walked out to receive our assignements for the day.
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From the cafeteria we went to the same square we stood when arriving at the base yesterday, the many marines that came with us from Marineford were basically all there in line waiting for their assignments.
"Petty Officer André, your group will…"
A older marine that looked to be an Ensign was in the front with a clipboard handing out the assignments of the day, some people got sent to the Dock's warehouse to help unload the cargo, a job similar to what we three did back in Marineford, while others got sent to do much more simpler jobs like helping clean around the base or something.
I didn't know what criteria the Ensign was using to decide the order he would call people forward. At first I thought it was by rank, then when I saw that it was not the case I thought it was maybe in order of arrival, or even by name.
Soon it became clear to me that whatever the criteria he was using it seemed that it would leave us for last, not that it bothered me much.
Though that also made me curious about the nature of our assignment, and by the looks on both Tashigi's and Torlo's face they too are very curious about that.
With that in mind I decided to take that moment to think again about what happened earlier.
Chatting with the others is always an enjoyable moment for me, after having spent more than a year pretty much only seeing and talking with my grandpa the change of pace is very welcomed. Is not like I don't enjoy talking with grandpa, in fact hearing his many stories is one of my favorite things to do, but talking with others of similar age and likes is a breath of fresh air.
I mean, technically my soul is practically double their age, but honestly? I don't feel that much older than them.
I'm no expert on the matter, but I believe my mind tries to match the age of my body. So while technically I'm mentally just as old as my mother Branca, in reality I don't feel that much older than what I look. At max I feel like I still have about the same age I had at the time of my death, which was just nineteen.
But then again I'm no expert on the matter, so who knows how that works?
"Petty Officer Torlo, Seaman Apprentice Lucas and Seaman Apprentice Tashigi…"
The voice of the Ensign calling our names snapped me out of the crazy directions my mind wandered to.
The man in question looked up from his clipboard to see the now empty space where only the three of us stood, and I might be hearing things but I could swear I heard him murmur 'Oh, so it's these three…' to himself.
It must have been my imagination.
"First of all, let me be the one to officialize your promotion of rank…"
We perked in anticipation of the next words he was gonna say.
"Lucas and Tashigi, the both of you showed great valor and strength during the pirate attack that happened yesterday; As such you two more than deserved a promotion" The looked at us and nodded "From this moment onward you two shall have the rank of 'Seaman First Class', congratulations!"
"!"
Like with the bounty for the pirates, even though I kinda knew about this incoming promotion from the Coammnder the impact of hearing those words didn't diminished one bit! The smile of a Monkey D. was in full bloom in my face, and to my side Tashigi with her eyes gleaming was just as giddy!
Although Torlo didn't get promoted he too was beaming at the news, clearly happy for us.
To be honest it was practically taking all my willpower to not just turn around and host the two of them in the air in a bear hug!
"Having that said, here is your assignment of the day. The three of you shall go out and patrol the Commercial area, that's all. You three can go now!"
"…"
Having received our assignment we waited for him to say which native marine from the island we should follow in order to do that patrol, but a few moments later with the sun beating down on us we soon realized he wasn't going to say anything more.
Torlo, being the older of us and the one with the highest-rank, stepped forward in order to ask the obvious question.
"Uhh... Sir, where's the other marine that will guide us in this assignment?"
"Oh, about that…" The Ensign that was already turning around to go away looked at us and said in a nonchalant tone "There's no need for that, you three can just go around by yourselves"
And just like that things got even more confusing.
"But sir, we've just arrived from Marineford!"
I could practically hear the man huff in annoyance there with the expression he was making "You all are above 'First Class' rank, know what that means? It means you don't need anyone to hold your hands anymore!"
Well, he wasn't exactly wrong there.
From what I learned about the ranking system, Seaman recruits are, like the name implies, just recruits. They had just ingressed into the organization and are pretty much still civilians all things considered. A seaman Apprentice was someone that received the formal training from the Marine, still pretty much a rookie but now able to do actual marine duties while still learning the ways of being a marine.
It was only at 'Seaman First Class' rank that one was considered to be a fully fledged marine!
Or as grandpa once said:
'Recruits and Apprentices are just brats that need you to hold their hands all the time; Only at First Class they grow up and actually can be trusted to not stumble every time you turn your eyes away from them! Bwahahaha!'
"Though two of you hadn't been marines for long, the fact you advanced to 'First Class' this quickly shows your competence. Just have confidence in your capabilities and go!"
Though a little flattered by the vote of trust, we still had some doubts about the whole idea. But then again, he's the officer here, so we just shelved those questions and walked away.
Luckily for us he did gave us a map with the route we will be making drawn on it, and from the looks of it the place is the same one I went during my night stroll yesterday, so it's not like we will be going blind there.
Besides, it's just a simple patrol.
What can go wrong?
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"Sigh… they finally left"
After seeing Lucas and the other two leave the Ensign that just gave them the strange assignement sighed loudly.
'I'm always filled with work to do, and now having to manage everyone that came from Marineford is doing nothing short of killing me!' As the man walked away he rubbed some of the wrinkles that began to appear around his eyes 'Luckily for me those three can handle themselves alone pretty well, it frees me a lot of time'
'That kid, Lucas, has a super-rare devil fruit. He alone was able to blow giant holes in both ours and the pirate's ship! And going by the reports I read earlier he can more than well handle himself alone!'
'The other two are also not bad either, the girl Tashigi is a very skilled swordswoman and wields a Wazamono grade blade. Torlo Adkins while less attention grabbing than his two friends is also not bad, actually being quite skilled and knowledge in fire-arms'
Eventually arriving at the door of his office the Ensign let out a tired sigh, knowing full well that a mountain of paperwork was waiting for him in the other side.
"I mean, they would be just doing a normal patrol!"
"What's the worse than can happen?"
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Well, that's the end of this chapter.
First of all I would like to ask what you guys think about my grammar, I wished to know if I improved at all since I started writing this fic. Also. as you all must have noticed this chapter was almost all wrote in first person, which was something that I wanted to try out for a while now. any thoughts on that are also welcome.
Overall the chapter is pretty much a direct follow up of the previous chapter, along with setting up some things for the next one. That if everything goes alright will not take long to come out, but then again I wouldn't bet solely on my word.
Like always thank you all for reading, we arrived at the number of 651/803 favorites and followers!
Which combined with the 100k views mark is one the flames that keeps my drive for writing alive, again, thank you for liking this fic of mine.
Constructive critics are always welcomed.
Fiquem Bem!