Fandom One Piece: Setting Sail for Paradise 1x1

[Craftsdwarf]

“Fuck.”

Stooped at the old pier, leaning to one side under the dusklight, the young tramp in ragged clothes jumped up as his bottle went down, splashing into the ocean.

“What was that?”

“...Nothing.”

“If you dropped it, go get it!”

“It’s more seawater than anything now!”

“Ah hell.”

THUNK.

“How much of our money did we spend on that?” the second tramp looked back to the city, old buildings of Black Star Island still buzzing with the activity of its folk, civilian and criminal alike. “Not like there’s anything else here for us…”

“Then move.”

The two able bodied vagabonds looked up, their forms seeming to shrink under the 8 foot tall man, who's small boat had just landed without their notice. From his shoulders, a black naval frock coat was draped over a chest bound in bandages, the blood dark in its age. Heavy boots shook the dock as he moved past the two cowering men, who might as well have seen the devil himself, for crowing his mess of mid length black hair were two horns sticking frontward before curling up, the dark tan matching the rest of his skin.

Paths cleared as the devil man made his way through the ratty and rugged town on Black Star, unnamed as it remained forgotten in the eyes of the world. If he took note of the looks of fear or apprehension in the wake of his low rumble through, he didn’t notice it.

Turning to a tavern, the horned pirate shuffled through the swinging doors, only for a server to bump into him. “S-sorry!” he offered as he tried to meet the demands of their evening patrons. But for a moment, those demands were silenced by the face of the newcomer, twisted and terrible, teeth bared under his hooked nose, black eyes blazing. A low rumble started from his chest, like that of a beast awakening from slumber. Going pale, the man begged, “Oh god, I didn’t- I’m sorry!” He blitzed away, moving off to the back. The tables of patrons went silent as the pirate’s face returned to its regular, burgeoning anger. He went to the counter. “I want a room, food, and drink.” His words were stiff, like an old levy in a new storm. “New bandages wouldn’t hurt either,” he grunted, wincing.

“O-of course! You’ll be taken to your room right away.” The barman cast his orders, having the pirate set up with a room, the rest of his demands on their way. Once he was shut away, he kicked away his boots as a hand clawed at his bandaged chest, where the reckless server had bumped into him. “That fucking HURT!” Stomping in, his toe met the support beam, crumpling.

The following roar seemed to rattle the windows, the patrons only having a brief respite before the aura of that man returned to darken their day, sun seeming to go down ever faster. But after that last gasp, the tavern would be quiet, enough for those remaining to decide whether or not they’d be turning in early or not. Meanwhile, the man known as Avalon was curled up on the ground in his room, tears in his eyes, cradling his stubbed toe.

 

[takki]

Setting: Black Star Island
Characters: Hoshiya

Approaching the busy dock of Black Star Island was a ravaged ship that resulted from a rough storm it passed on the way towards the Reverse Mountain, but they had to turn back because of the risk of getting capsized. The ship's' keel had large gaping holes supported only by thick planks of plywood patched from the inside. The head of the mermaid sculpture attached to the stern was nowhere to be found. But most importantly, the mermaid-faced Jolly Roger at the top of the ship's crow's nest suggested that it was a pirate ship that was starting to dock in this island--and they were only one of the many other pirate crews who sought entertainment and supplies in this lawless populace.

"Miss Farah, we've docked!" A young, blue-haired man shouted from main deck. He was holding the thick rope that held the main sail, keeping it from flying around and losing their main source of speed. His thick-skinned palms was enough to keep his fingers from bleeding from the rope's rough texture, but his elbows were already at their tipping point ten minutes ago before they spotted the island.

Hoshiya wore a bandana over his forehead, wearing a ragged blue t-shirt, black pants, and a battle-scarred sword strapped on his right hip, which he dared not draw except for protection.

"Good work, Hoshiya, you little brat!" Farah punched the head of the peasant--the newly recruited swordsman whose strength exceeded every man in their ship. With the other crewmates jealous of his capabilities, they resolved to blame all their mistakes towards him. Fortunately for these men, Hoshiya didn't mind!

"Yes, ma'am, I apologize!" Hoshiya bowed in apology, seemingly unfazed by the woman's punch.

"Had you only secured the rope properly, we wouldn't be in this mess," Farah blamed.

"But I didn't--" Hoshiya's words were cut off when Farah grabbed him by his neck, lifting his head, choking him as the blue-hair didn't even try to struggle free. After all, along the lines of Hoshiya's thinking was "I probably deserve this."

"Shut your excuses, brat. Johnny saw you fasten the rope with your lazy ass. Johnny, come here!"

"Miss Farah..." Her crewmate spoke from behind.

"Now what?"

"Johnny went overboard during the storm."

"Oh... right. So sad." Farah let go of Hoshiya's neck, with him stumbling to the wall of the deck and falling over as he gasped for air. "Let's go, boys! Get some supplies, try not to pay for it if you can. Be back here by sunrise."

Farah and the other 20 or so of her crew dropped to the dock, ignoring Hoshiya all together. He knew that what they were doing to him were outright abusive, but that's what the Master did for him when he was a child. "They only do this to make me strong... Especially since we are going to the Grand Line after repairing our ship."

After a short rest at the deck, he stepped outside the ship and walked towards the busy and bustling streets of Black Star Island. Filthy, squammy, and filled with trashy pirates, but still liveable. "A nice bed and a big dinner will do for tonight," He muttered. "Then maybe, steal some supplies from some of the pirate ships at the dock first thing in the morning."

---

A brightly-lit tavern-inn caught his eye as he approached near the center of activity at the island. Before entering, he heard a deep, reverberating scream that echoed from inside the building. After the roar, whom he assumed to be the tavern's patrons and even the chefs and servers immediately exited through the door, rushing in panic as if someone dangerous had entered the building.

Commonsense would tell the average joe to simply search for another place to sleep but for Hoshiya, however... "Less people means more rooms to sleep on." And so, he entered the tavern without hesitation.

He was greeted with a lively-looking tavern with music playing from a recorder. Well, less lively than it would've been had the people not rushed outside and the barman wasn't cowering in fear.

"Um, excuse me..." Hoshiya called to the cowering barman politely, to which he flinched as he did. "I'd like to have a room, please."

"D-do you want food, a drink, and some bandages to go with that?" The barman replied.

"If I don't have to pay any more for that, then--"

"Fifth floor, first room to the left. Meatballs. Beer. Bandages. Goodbye!" The barman seemingly snatched the key, plate of meatballs, a full pitcher of beer, and two rolls of bandages from the kitchen and the counter.

"Mister, my payment--" But after he gave Hoshiya what he needed, he took off outside the tavern, never to be seen again.

"Why is everyone in a rush today?" Hoshiya sighed as he placed two gold coins on counter, before taking his stuff with him to his room.

---

Deep into the same night, the barman finally recovered his wits and returned to his own tavern, along with some newly-arriving civilians that gathered back at the tavern. Unbeknownst to them, a lowly crew of pirates has just arrived on the island, ready to take in any request from a more known pirate captain in hopes of getting infamous...

An 8-feet-tall demihuman, half-dog and half-human, broke the swinging doors to the tavern with his iron ball riddled with spikes. strapped to a hilt with a metal chain supporting it. He entered the tavern with an intimidating and menacing presence, wearing a leather cloak and a tophat. He had a body of a human and a face of a dog (German Sheperd). His speech was coherent if the they could ignore the barking sound every time he spoke. "Hello, you lowly, disgusting humans-woof! Men, round up the women and the children! Kill anyone who resists, woof."

Behind comes inside his crew of fifteen men, armed with flintlock pistols, swords, wearing a scummy expression on their faces as they stared at the helpless patrons. Most of them walked to the upper floors, but those who remained with their dog captain started rounding up those inside the tavern.

"We are the Dog Pirates, woof! And now, you are our slaves. If you resist or try to fight us..." The demihuman captain swung his chained spike ball at a table, and it was smashed into bits and splinters with just a single swing. "This will happen to your head-woof."

KAINI, CAPTAIN OF THE DOG PIRATES
DEAD OR ALIVE
BOUNTY: 1,000,000 BERI ​

Some of the people staying at the inn started to descend from the staircase, threatened to follow Kaini's commands lest they get killed horribly. However, for the two pairs of armed pirates ascending at the uppermost flowers, they were about to meet an unfortunate end. The remaining two uncaptured people: a horned, eight-foot-tall pirate, and the other a swordsman.

Code By Nano

 

[Craftsdwarf]

The door to Avalon’s room came open, but he didn’t stir. Laying on the bed, mouth hanging open, his snores shook through the bones of the two pirates skulking through the door.

“Damn, this guy’s big. He’ll go for a lot.”

“Kekehehe, maybe we can keep him for ourselves, he can probably scrap real good.” Flintlock pistols out, the front man jabbed it against Avalon’s forehead. “Get up, punk!”

A dark eye cracked open in the dim light. “Hah? You got food?”

“You can eat lead if you don’t listen. You’re ours now.”

Avalon shuffled out of bed, dwarfing the two men, his horns nearly scraping against the ceiling. “I’m whose?”

Gunshots rang out, and a moment later, the door and the window both burst into shards, pirates blasting through, one crashing to the ground outside, the other making peace with the opposing wall. Bandages clear, eyes still shaking away a grogginess of awakening, Avalon shambled out into the hall, stepping down the stairs to see the congregation of pirates and would be slaves.

Running a hand through his dark locks, his bandages clean under his coat, Avalon glared. “The fuck is going on here?”

Blades and guns came out. Kaini brandished his weapon. “You better comply, or things are gonna get ruff.”

Avalon raised his eyebrow at the captain and his weapon, chortling. “Well, that doesn’t seem right. Since when does the mutt hold the chain?”

Sharp teeth bared, Kaini barked, “That’s enough from you! Get him!” The men closest to Avalon jumped in, blades up. The first one didn’t make it. In a flash of steel, he was knocked back. Taking chair, table, and wall with him, he flew out the building. Those left behind paused, eyes agape at the swiftness of the destruction, like a cannonball ripped through the tavern.

There was a clatter of metal as Avalon pulled his weapon back, a ball and chain of his own caught in his hand, the iron smooth, and a bit smaller, fit to go into a cannon. Flashing a dark grin, chain changling in his hand, Avalon remarked, “This seems a bit more natural, don’t it?”

 

[takki]

Setting: Black Star Island
Characters: Hoshiya

Immediately after Hoshiya settled at his room, he absolutely devoured the plate of meatballs and the glass pitcher of beer he was given. If not for the barman's absence at the first floor, he would've paid more to get a few more plates, but his current food would do for now. He hid the bandages he was given on his pockets, and he lied on the bed to prepare for his sleep.

"Stopping by an island is the best part so far," Hoshiya smiled as he stared at the ceiling. "Sleeping is comfortable and food isn't just leftovers."

But before he drifted to sleep, a loud snoring noise reverberated next room. Too loud in fact, that he could feel the bedframe vibrating on the mattress. At first, Hoshiya tried to ignore it, until it devolved to him burying his face and ears with his pillow wishing for the noise to stop. "What the hell is with this guy's snoring?!"

He's finally had it. With sunken eyes and an annoyed expression, he exited the corridor to knock on that guy's room. As Hoshiya knocked on the room next to his, the snoring only seemed to get louder. He moved towards another room, then another, until he finally realized--

"There's no way this guy's snores can be heard three rooms away from me...?"

A man's deep sleep need not be disturbed. Hoshiya understood that himself, so he walked towards his room, defeated and coming into terms about not even getting a wink of sleep tonight.

---

A few hours pass, and in addition to the echoing snores, the noise from downstairs became much more apparent. "Sure is getting louder downstairs," he said, but for now, he was training as to not waste time trying to sleep. He was covered in sweat, swinging his sword for nearly three hundred times consecutively and that was after he had done two hundred push ups.

He was stopped when a loud shuffle of footsteps was heard from outside, then a banging from his door. Hoshiya stood on guard at the door with his sword drawn, and once the pirates broke the door open, their arrogant expressions icked the hell out of him.

"Hey, kid. Drop the sword and come with us," One of the pirates said, his flintlock pointed at the blue-hair's head. "Or, you can stay there forever with a bullet in your head."

Instead of complying or fighting them, Hoshiya frowned in disappointment. He uttered, "Why are the small fries the ones always trying to pick a fight?"

"The hell did you call us--" The other pirate, the one holding a saber, shouted in an attempt to intimidate Hoshiya, but both pirates were distracted by the gunshots on the other room. It was consequently followed by a loud CRASH that broke two sets of walls.

Hoshiya adjusted the grip on his sword before he switched his stance to slash them. "Move," He commanded, his suddenly intimidating presence prompting the pirate to shoot. A gunshot rang inside the room, which the swordsman avoided by ducking under the gun's barrel and slashing the two pirates' chest in quick succession.

He sheathed Sabakiri onto its scarred sheath, before rushing downstairs to see the commotion, "What the hell is going on now?"

Hoshiya was almost ripped into shreds when a cannonball seemingly missed him before stepping onto the first floor, and the cannonball retracted itself? The force of that attack destroyed everything in the vicinity of the bar area, soaking the ground in mixed wine and alcohol.

"Heh, that all you got? I'll show you something special," Kaini started to spin his spiked iron ball around the chain. His weapon started to crackle with electricity, and in one swift motion, swung it towards the horned man. "Get shredded, asshole! Thundrous Blackout!"

While the remaining crew of the Dog Pirates were recovering from that strong attack that punched a hole through the building, Hoshiya sneaked towards their victims and untied the rope on their hands. "Escape through the backdoor, help the others!"

"Hey, don't let the slaves get away! Kill that guy!" One of the pirates shouted, and those who were able to stand started to charge towards Hoshiya, their swords and sabers drawn with the intention of killing him.

Code By Nano

 

[Craftsdwarf]

With a flick of his wrist, Avalon’s wrecking ball launched to intercept, crackling against Kaini’s with a loud crash. While Kaini’s strike was deflected, Avalon’s whole body shuddered, Electro shooting through his body and making his muscles jerk. Face contorted into a grimace, he growled, “Bitch.”

In Avalon’s weakness, the nearest few pirates leapt in, one crossing the threshold where Avalon’s weapon wouldn’t so easily reach. He moved to jab his sword, but Avalon stepped in, fist raised. With the clanking of chains, Avalon’s fist smashed into his face, the grip of his weapon serving as a brass knuckle. The pirate hit the ground and bounced higher than he’d been standing, the wood dented where he’d landed. As he fell, Avalon whipped his weapon around, ball forming a half circle, catching the falling pirate and all in his range. Gathered like moss, the crumpled into a heap in the corner, hitting the wall in succession like raindrops. Just over half a dozen men still stood, including the captain, many with their attention occupied on the blue haired young man intent on the captives. Pausing for a second, Avalon looked down to see fresh blood staining his bandages, not in the position to spare a thought for others.

 

[takki]

Setting: Black Star Island
Characters: Hoshiya

He should've realized that it wasn't just these pirates who were going to try and fight him. Battle-thirsty pirates and fight-crazed people outside saw their chaos and eventually joined in with their swords, fists, and guns drawn towards mostly Hoshiya and some towards Avalon, judging them to be the weaklings that thought they could get away with bullying them.

Because of the sheer number of pirates trying to attack Hoshiya altogether, they couldn't help but bump into each other in the lightly cramped space inside the ruined tavern. These short-tempered men would get distracted from him and fight each other, and while it helped him manage the amount of enemies he had to incapacitate, he was still restricted because the captured people were still going out the backdoor, one by one.

After the last child escaped and the burden of protecting them was finally lifted off his shoulders, he put his thoughts into words, "I guess a bunch of grouped-up small fries would be good practice." He held the Sabakiri with one hand, with the tip of the blade being held by two fingers to ensure a quick strike. But for this moment, he didn't even have to think.

All he sees are a bunch of low-class pirates leaving their guard open.

The ones close enough to approach Hoshiya had their chests swiftly slashed, making it seem like he had barely moved from his footing at all. Those who were foolish enough to charge with their sabers and killing intent were directly dealt with as well, using their momentum to shift their balance and get themselves knocked out by bumping into another charging pirate's head. The pirates who pointed a gun straight at the blue-hair couldn't even aim accurately at him because he kept moving erratically.

It was an odd and rather meticulous spectacle that displayed Hoshiya's swordsmanship that was native to the Zenko Swordsmiths' Island in South Blue. Once the horde of pirates began to thin out, it caught the Dog Pirates captain's attention.

"That rrrruuuuff--motherfucker hid under my nose this whole time? The slaves are gone too, the---ruff--fuck are you guys doing?!" Kaini's loud complaint bellowed, but his questions went unanswered as his whole crew was gone and incapacitated amongst the bodies of pirates scattered around the tavern. "I'll kill you later," he threatened the injured Avalon.

As for Hoshiya, his angered stare bore straight into the dog's eyes. "You know, you could've gotten what you wanted by stealing shit somewhere else. You made your mistake bringing innocent people into your weak-ass agenda. Dog fucker."

His last two words triggered Kaini, and he wasted no time thinking about sparing him. He charged towards Hoshiya with his spinning spiked iron ball. The air started to crackle with electricity, and while the crackling lightning surprised Hoshiya, his primary thought was "I wonder if I can take that..."
Kaini put all of his power into this swing in an attempt to emancipate his head, as he shouted, "Thundrous Blackout!"

Hoshiya blocked the attack with his sword, using both his hands and his legs to keep him from losing his footing and potentially flying across the barely intact walls of the tavern. The electric current started to flow around his body and it caused him to spasm. He lost his footing eventually and was sent flying towards the wall, where he lay on the ground seemingly unconscious.

"Ruff. I'm impressed you were able to take my attack without losing your head, but that was embedded with fifty thousand volts of electricity. If my iron ball didn't kill you, then the current would be enough to stop your heart in mere seconds," Kaini smirked arrogantly. "It would've made a nice explanation if your dead body could even hear." Kaini turned around to finish killing Avalon, but he was distracted when he heard the same man speak again.

"Ugh..." Hoshiya began to groan as he rubbed his head, shaking the little bits of rubble that got stuck in his hair.

"What--?! How are you alive?!" Kaini bellowed in surprised. He thought, "No puny human should be able to take that much electricity and--"

"Well, playtime's over. I'll return what you gave me."

With a deep breath, Hoshiya put all of his power into his legs and dashed towards the confused and surprised dog mink. His own sword, the Sabakiri, began to crackle from the lightning that enveloped the blade. A single, direct diagonal slash opened a wound at the dog captain's chest as Hoshiya uttered the words, "Thousand-volt Slash."

The persistent electricity stayed in Kaini's body, but as a lowly pirate who hadn't felt that much pain, the wound on his chest was more than enough to make him pass out.

After making sure that there was no one else daring to fight him, he sheathed his sword with a sigh of relief. Hoshiya stared at the tall, horned man who was sitting on the ground in front of him, coincidentally placing himself there when he attacked the now-unconscious Kaini.

Upon closer inspection, Hoshiya observed that the man wore a stained bandage over his chest and a chain ball weapon that looked nearly similar to Kaini's, minus the spikes. He squatted to observe his weapon even closer, until he came to a conclusion by asking, "That weapon looks like a cannonball strapped to a chain... Did you do that?!" He pointed at the large, gaping hole across the tavern.

Code By Nano

 

[Craftsdwarf]

Finished with his breather, Avalon returned to his feet. Looking at the destroyed tavern, he admitted, “Huh? I mean, yeah, those goons were pissing me off. How’s a man supposed to get any sleep around here?” Glancing around at the destruction in total, he added, “Well, maybe it was overdone...a little.”

Ruffling a hand through his hair, he added, “But enough about that, I was just thinking about how annoying that asshole was going to be to deal with, but you just took them all out yourself! Nice handiwork.” Avalon threw an arm around Hoshiya like they were old pals. Wincing at his wound, he bit through the pain. “You interested in the Grand Line? You’re strong enough for it, I think. I'm looking for some tough men to recruit.”

 

[takki]

Setting: Black Star Island
Characters: Hoshiya, w/ Avalon and Farah

Hoshiya glanced back at the tavern. Aside from the destroyed holes on the front and back wall, pieces of wooden splinters and wood dust were scattered among the unconscious Dog Pirates and the other battle-crazed people that stupidly joined in the fight. Observing the destroyed bar, the kitchen at the back barely standing, Hoshiya commented, "Yeah, this is too overdone." In his mind was another comment that he didn't dare speak out, "He did all these because those pirates woke him up?"

Regardless of which, the damage had already been done. Hoshiya only joined in the fight because the pirates kept innocent people hostage to be sold off, so he could only hope that they escaped freely.

In response to horned man's invitation to join his crew, Hoshiya moved his arm away from him, while stepping away to get some space between them. "Ah, I can't. I already have a crew," he said. Had he met him a few weeks prior before the Mermaid Pirates recruited him, his decision may have been different.

"HOSHIYA!" A loud woman's voice sounded like it echoed from the other side of the island. "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!"

Upon hearing that voice, it sent shivers of literal electricity down his spine. Approaching towards them was a beautiful, red-haired lady who wore a leather vest, a white long sleeve, and baggy pants. Slung across her back was a large metal gun that harbored thick metal rods with a sharped tip; a harpoon gun, so to simply describe. She had a large, grandiose tricorn (pirate) hat decorated in pieces of gold, jewels, and silver chains. For any informed person, that hat alone would've been enough to recognize her.

FARAH, CAPTAIN OF THE MERMAID PIRATES
DEAD OR ALIVE
BOUNTY: 7,500,000 BERI​

Farah's mood was already ruined after her ship almost capsized from the Reverse Mountain, and seeing the unconscious dog mink with a slash on his chest made her fume even more.

"Why did you ruin this mutt's plan?"

"T-They were hoarding slaves--" Hoshiya was suddenly punched by the strong lady across the tavern, hitting the remains of the counter before it got completely destroyed when he flew towards it.

"How do you think are we going to get the money to repair our ship, HUH?!" Farah slowly walked towards the fallen swordsman. While he recovered, he glanced at Avalon to let him know that he should stay out of this.

Farah lifted Hoshiya by the collar of his shirt. "You aaaalways find a way to make everything worse that it should be, huh," She spat on his cheek, and while it provoked him, he never even thought to lift a finger against her.

Instead, he could only bow in apology, "It won't happen again, captain!" Hoshiya said, fully cementing the fact to Avalon that she was really his captain. "I'll find a way to get the money--"

"Don't. Just fucking come before I decide to throw you off the sea. We already have some guys repairing our ship, I'll just pay for it with the treasure we hoarded last island." Farah let go of Hoshiya's collar. He nearly stumbled out of balance but he managed to keep himself standing. The aching pain in his chest remained as he wiped the dirt off his cheek.

Before Hoshiya followed Farah to the ship, he handed Avalon the roll of bandages he had gotten from the barman earlier. "Take this. You're bleeding too much."

Code By Nano

 

[Craftsdwarf]

Arms crossed over his chest, Avalon had a grim look on his face as he looked at the bandages. Waving his arm, he knocked them aside, the fabrics bouncing to the floor. “Tch. Never mind, I had you completely misjudged.” Clicking his tongue, he stomped back towards the stairs, but he didn’t get far, step slowing before he turned about, getting right back into Hoshiya’s face.

“What the heck’s your deal!? You seem strong enough, why are you being a lapdog to that trash? Getting someone else to do her dirty work, then getting pissed when it doesn’t turn out: I’ve met plenty of shitty authority figures with no business leading anyone, even themselves. But honestly, you piss me off even more, letting them get away with it like a spineless doormat.”

Turning off, Avalon slipped his hands into the pockets of his coat, looking out the destroyed wall into the dark street beyond. “We’re all alone in the world. People band together, sure, but at the end of the day we’re all only looking out for us. Anyone claiming otherwise is just a liar. I can trust someone to be out for themselves, but I’ll never trust someone pretending to care more for other people, sorry.” He stood in silence for a moment, before his stance broke and he scratched at his hair with his hands. “Ah hell, you got me blabbering. I’m done. I’m going back to bed.” Avalon took a few steps only to make a complete about face, scooping up a roll of bandages and grabbing a bottle from behind the counter, the pirate heading back upstairs to find a room that was still intact.

 

[takki]

Setting: Black Star Island
Characters: Hoshiya and Farah

Hoshiya was puzzled when the horned, dark-tanned man slapped his hand, causing the bandages to fall off his hand. At first, Avalon lecturing him and speaking against his submission to Farah initially annoyed the blue hair, but he couldn't get his words out after Avalon's next words struck him.

"--at the end of the day we’re all only looking out for us."
"I’ll never trust someone pretending to care more for other people."

His words were nearly exact to what his old geezer Master had said when he was alone in this world. It took him back decades, remembering the day he was saved by him.

---

A young, scrawny child with blue hair sat alone in the corner of the busy street with his knees tucked. He would sit in that same spot for the whole day, waiting for some kind stranger to throw him a few coins to trade for food. Sometimes, he'd go without eating for days because a few coins of beri wasn't enough to buy even a speck of a fruit. Then he discovered about trash hunting--searching for leftover food, sharing it with pests and maggots, but as long as it fed him, he didn't care about the food. If he was lucky, he'd find things worth selling.

When a certain man in a white and black kimono approached him, held him in his arms, and carried him away from that same spot he had been sitting. Along with the words that comforted him and saved him until this very day, "What's your name?"

"Hoshiya," the scrawny boy gasped out, his voice raspy from the rough and unclean food he had been eating.

"Good job looking out for yourself, Hoshiya. You did well on your own, didn't you?"

---

His reminiscence made him freeze from where he was standing, and he started to wonder if Farah and his current crew were displaying tough love for him. When he met Farah, he helped them escape a battalion of Marine soldiers who were about to capture them, simply because she had helped Hoshiya fight a ragtag bunch of bandits that were terrorizing the town on the last island. That was when they recruited Hoshiya.

"Wait, how did they know there was treasure on the last island? If there was any, wouldn't the bandits have found it first?"
"If so, then why does Farah have treasure? Or how, rather...?"

He ignored the lingering thought for now as he ran towards the dock to their ship. The dark early morning sky started to brighten in hue into a darker indigo. The sun was starting to rise from the horizon.

From what Hoshiya could see in the distance, the Mermaid Pirate's ship was already mostly repaired. The mermaid figurehead was finally reattached with a few planks and nails, and most of the people and crew were hammering the mast, the hull, and the walls of the deck to further reinforce their ship in preparation for the Reverse Mountain. As for Farah, however, she stood over all of her crew, watching them build like a commandeering captain who did nothing but send orders. He nearly believed the horned man's description of Farah as a piece of trash.

And he was a spineless doormat to that piece of trash. He didn't know why Avalon's words convinced him to change his beliefs, but he knew he had nothing to lose with just a simple question.

"Farah," Hoshiya called her with complete disrespect as his captain. His serious expression and deep tone indicated that he was not the least bit joking about it.

"Hoshiya, you little shit. The fuck did you just--" Farah walked towards Hoshiya to give him another beating, but she stopped in her tracks when he held his sheathed sword with his left hand. All the other crew stood on guard as well, stopping them from whatever they were doing

"How did you get the treasure from Farial Island? I've been there for weeks, and there's no mention of anything there."

Farah wanted to beat the shit out of him for stepping out of line, but for the sake of it, she felt obligated to answer that question, "It's none of your business. You have the gall to stand up to me now, hm? You think you can beat us?"

But her threats went unanswered. Instead, he accused her, "You stole from the villagers and sold it to fix this ship, didn't you?"

"So what if I did?"

"You promised to leave the villagers alone in exchange for protecting you from the Marines," And with that, he can finally say the words out of his mouth. "You're just what I imagined. A scared coward who doesn't want to get their hands dirty."

"You're fucking dead to me, get him!" As Farah ordered her crew to encircle and attack Hoshiya, the swordsman stood with his sword drawn on guard, ready to fight another set of pirates during the day. Unknownst to the both of them, however, they were staring at each other bearing the same trait.

Hoshiya and Farah are Devil Fruit users.

Code By Nano

 

[Craftsdwarf]

“Yaaaaaaaawn,” came a sudden noise from nearby. The Mermaid Pirates turned about, catching sight of a dark haired pirate in the low glow of dawn. “Sorry, couldn’t sleep too well. I’m in a grumpy mood.”

“Who the fuck are you!?” Farah cried out.

Scratching at his fresh bandages, the man remarked, “Avalon, Inferno Pirates. But frankly I don’t give a shit about you.” Farah might have burst a blood vessel.

Bypassing her completely, Avalon asked, “Hey kid, finally decided to be a bit more honest? Maybe a little, but that’s not enough. I don’t need some goody two-shoes on my crew. I'm still just a pirate. Picking on the weak isn't my style: I much prefer taking down the ones who think they're on top just because they found a higher mound of shit to sit on.” Farah's face blazed with an bubbling anger that was outpacing the rising sun.

Arms crossed, Avalon roared, “Hoshiya! Tell me what it is you really want!”

 

[takki]

Setting: Black Star Island
Characters: Hoshiya and Farah

That loud, reverberating, and most importantly familiar yawn was heard from beyond the ship, as Hoshiya caught sight of a familiar horned figure. Farah, the rest of her crew, and even Hoshiya paused as he found himself staring at him. Avalon's absolutely insulting remarks made the blue-hair suppress his laugh, but her crew had an expression of horror, mouths agape, as they knew what would happen to the unknown horned man afterwards.

“Hoshiya! Tell me what it is you really want!”

A rush of energy soared within him. With a deep breath, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "I WANT TO BE THE WORLD'S GREATEST SWORDSMAN!" It was the first time he had felt proud and open about his dream. He will become the world's greatest swordsman to repay his salvation to the Master, and return to South Blue once he can finally say that he has become the world's strongest.

His dream was laughed on by Farah's crew. The kind of comments that he heard from them were:

"What a stupid, impossible dream!"
"What can this lousy shit even do?"

It didn't matter. Hoshiya's smile was beaming brighter than ever, relieved and overjoyed that he has found someone who believes him for his dream. But for Farah, he didn't smile at the slightest bit. Her directed anger was more intense than ever, and she would take it all out on this Avalon.

"All of you shitheads, kill Hoshiya! As for me... I'll fucking destroy him." As soon as Farah said that, her pirate crew collectively began to charge and attack Hoshiya.

Farah jumped off the ship and towards the cemented dock, skipping the wooden bridge entirely. To the sharp-sensed, they would feel a small gust of headwind that breezed against them as she lightly landed on her feet. Without any more words, a strong gust of wind blasted from her feet, sending her tough body and a readied fist flying towards Avalon at a high speed.

Code By Nano

 

[Craftsdwarf]

Avalon jumped to the side, Farah sailing past and rebounding to her feet. Ball and chain appearing in his hand, he remarked back to Hoshiya, “To be honest I was thinking you just wanted a girlfriend or something but this works better for me.”

Farah didn’t give him time to chat, air rushing as she met Avalon again, this time hitting him with a whole body tackle, shoulder first, right on the torso. Avalon fell back, snarling as he collapsed into a heap. Voice deep, he clutched his reddening bandages as he growled, “Oh did you have to get me right there!?” Farah was already on him, leg up as she readied an axe kick, dropping her heel on his head. This time Avalon only tilted slightly, her heel meeting his curled horn. With a wail, she hopped back, arms clutching at her ankle and knee as she hopped on one foot. “Augh! What the hell are you made of you piece of shit!?”

“Tougher stuff than you,” Avalon remarked as he stood. Spinning his wrist, ball twirling in the air, he added, “You just caught me on a bad day.” Just as he moved to throw it, Farah raised her arms. The iron ball never quite touched her, but she was pushed back all the same, sailing through the air until she smashed into the side of an old dock house building, splinters forming a cloud of dust in the air.

Then, in one burst, it all blew away, Farah still crumpled into the wood, her hat having fallen, hand waving away the dust. Her arms trembled, still reeling from the shock of having deflected Avalon’s strike with a cushion of air, only barely. In just an instant, she lowered her harpoon gun, aiming it over her shoulder. There was no trigger to pull: the only indication that it was about to fire was a stirring of wind. With a pneumatic hiss, the harpoon lobbed out of the gun, Avalon gritting his teeth as it pierced through his shoulder. As he fell back, wailing, she stood, loading her next shot.

Biting his tongue, Avalon put a hand near the ball of his chain, twirling it at short range, smacking it against the butt of the harpoon, blood spurting as it was sent through. Spitting blood from his mouth, he readjusted the grip on his chain as the next harpoon came. He launched it out with a howl, the two projectiles hitting midair, metal splinters and fragments blasting out in a hail of shrapnel. Farah only had so many shots left, but Avalon’s grin faded as he pulled his weapon back to find the iron ball cracked all the way through, several chunks missing. “Ahhhhhh!”

Farah stalked forward, blood running down her face to her lips, curled into a frenzied grin. “Ohohohoho! You’re mine! I’ll make you regret every word! Death is too good for you, both of you’ll. I’ll wring you two for all the money your blood your worth, then you can die!” Avalon had already been running, shattering the remains of his ball against the ground, until all that was left was a bolt at the end of the chain. “Coward! Talking a big game about me making others do the work for me, only to run, what a slovenly-hey, WHAT ARE YOU DOING ON MY SHIP!?”

Bolt in between two of his knuckles, Avalon found a hefty cannon sitting on the deck. Jabbing it down, he pierced the metal towards the back of the cannon. Taking a breath, he bent down, arm around the barrel. Blood leaking from his wounds, the whole ship shuddered and titled as Avalon hoisted the cannon over his shoulder, now attached to his chain. Though his steps came heavy, he still moved, heading back down the gangplank. “That’s mine!” Farah snarled, firing her harpoon again. Avalon bent his knee, the spear hitting the metal of the cannon and glancing off.

With a grin, Avalon warned, “Hey Hoshi! Get outta the way!”

Farah went pale as he lifted the cannon and chain even higher. “You...you can’t be serious.”

 

[takki]

Setting: Black Star Island
Characters: Hoshiya, fighting the Mermaid Pirates

When Avalon said, “To be honest I was thinking you just wanted a girlfriend or something but this works better for me.”

Hoshiya responded with, "The only thing I'll marry is this sword--whoa!" followed by a slash that scratched his cheek and nearly took off his ear.

While Farah and Avalon were fighting, Hoshiya was busy fighting and fending off the attacks of the 15 or so Mermaid Pirates that were continuously attacking him. The main difference between them and the low-class pirates back at the tavern was he was fighting a whole pirate crew. Bonds were formed between each member of the Mermaid Pirates. Each attack gave an opening to the next, guns forcing him to make strides that would lead him closer to a pirate. It was similar to a turning clockwork where each tooth had a chance of killing Hoshiya for good.

Yet he didn't feel the pressure of such; rather, he was enjoying it. Deflecting the attacks and barely avoiding death wasn't the cause of it, however, but the joy of being able to stand upon these people after realizing that someone believes in his dream. He couldn't just die after finding someone like that. The same goes with Hoshiya, he hoped Avalon wouldn't die fighting the red-haired captain as well.

Their attacks were getting more fiercer and more aggressive by the moment, to the point that Hoshiya had to use his last-resort ability. "Thousand-volt Slash!" He shouted as the crackling of visible lightning emitted from his blade, and a wide arc of enemies from where he slashed in front of him began to spasm from the voltage. Even the slightest touch of his blade was enough to paralyze them for a little while.

"H-hey, you're actually--" One of the pirates' worded his thoughts by shouting towards Farah, "MISS FARAH! Hoshiya has a devil fruit!" Yet she couldn't hear it because she got blasted towards an old dock building.

"Time to end this," Hoshiya muttered after thinking that the fight was already over between Avalon and Farah. He stepped back onto the side of the door near the captain's quarters, placing himself a great distance between the rest of the pirates and himself. As they charged Hoshiya with sabers drawn and guns blazing yet missing, Hoshiya stood still and sheathed his sword. He arched his body, with one leg bent and the other slightly vertical, as if he was preparing to run.

He unsheathed his sword a little to reveal the glint of the blade, but never fully drawing it. He inhaled, then exhaled the words, "Veloxus Slice."

To the pirates' visions, it's like Hoshiya suddenly disappeared from thin air. At the center of the pack, a large group of pirates were thrown back from the force of his quick dash, and each enemy caught in his blade had a large and potentially lethal wound if left untreated. Those who were "lucky" enough to meet the dull end of his blade were thrown off the deck or stumbled hard on the side of the deck. Most importantly, it was as if his sword never left the sheath to begin with.

He was just in time as he saw Avalon jump to the deck, "Good work." He complimented his new captain until he realized that the fight wasn't over yet. Upon seeing him attach his chain to the back of the cannon's metal, another shiver of literal electricity was sent throughout his whole body. "Don't fall! I can't save you if you drown!" He jumped off the deck and towards the dock, putting himself well between himself and the ship.

Code By Nano

 

[Craftsdwarf]

Blood still running out onto the deck, Avalon admitted, “I think falling’s about the least of my worries.”

Feet hitting the black sands of the beach, Avalon chucked the cannon upwards, arm flexing as he yanked the chain. Pulled along, the artillery curved in Farah’s direction. It crashed against the ground, the wheels and other weak bits outside of the iron barrel crashing and breaking, for Farah had already moved. Leaping high into the air, wind flowing about her, she cried, “I have you now!” Another bolt flew, catching right in between the links of Avalon’s outstretched chain, spinning to a stop.

Farah began to fall, at the same time Avalon began to maneuver his feet, spinning in place. The chain began to twirl, the cannon lifted up, sailing a few feet above the ground. Farah was falling right into its path. “N-no you don’t!” There was a blast of wind knocking her back, the woman crashing into the sand. Going to stand, her knees buckled under her weight. H-huh? I didn’t cushion my fall! “Help me you idiots!” No response, her crew had already been cut down. “I-I’m sorry Hoshiya! I won’t do it again! I'll pay it all back! I’ll even let you be first mate! Just stop him!”

Planting his foot, Avalon snarled, “GET THE HELL OUTTA HERE!” Chain released, its flight curved, the metal cannon smashing clean into Farah. She was blasted across the beach, straight from the dock to the town proper, dust in her wake as she flew across dirt roads to land in an old, unused stone fountain, the already weathered statue of a man and a dog being beaten down to dust. The cannon didn’t quite go as far, bouncing to a stop, cracked straight down the middle, threatening to tear in half.

Plopping his back onto the sand, Avalon’s eyes spun. “I’m gonna fucking hurl,” the man whined, voice strained.

 

[takki]

Setting: Black Star Island
Characters: Hoshiya, interacting with Avalon

When Farah asked for Hoshiya's help, he simply shot her a nice, endearing, and unthreatening smile. He gestured his thumb pointing down, along with mouthing the words, "Piss off."

Hoshiya watched from a safe distance as he saw Avalon throw the 3-ton cannon at Farah. She was smashed across multiple obstacles along with some unaware pirates getting caught in the crossfire. At the town, other pirates gathered around the unconscious Mermaid Pirates captain and the thrown cannon that nearly broke in half, wondering who could've done such a feat. He honestly felt a bit of pity for her after that, but still relieved that a major burden was lifted off his back.

After seeing Avalon stumble onto the sand, Hoshiya rushed towards him while shouting, "Avalon! Are you okay?!"

He squatted down to look at his injuries--and it was much worse than yesterday night. The bandages on his chest were already dirtied with so much blood that were beginning to soak through the bandage. A bloodied harpoon stuck to his shoulder from Farah's harpoon gun, and it made him wonder how he could still move even with an actual metal arrow. "Shit, we need to get you to a doctor."

"They're over there!" Someone shouted from the town. It was a group of Mermaid Pirates who had escaped Hoshiya's lethal slice coming onto the beach. While it seemed like they were the only ones coming to fight, a horde of pirates followed behind them. "They're the undercover Marines, kill them!"

And if the whole island filled with literal pirates discovers a pair of Marines, nothing good can always come out of it. Hoshiya knew that these kinds of pirates could not be reasoned out, especially since they witnessed the defeated Farah in the town.

"Oh fffuck. We have to run!" Hoshiya stared at Avalon in panic. "Do we have a ship, captain?!"

Code By Nano

 

[Craftsdwarf]

Avalon shot up to a sitting position, his hair matted with sand and blasted in random directions.

“I came in on a boat but I don’t have food or water. I also need...blood.” Avalon flopped down again before struggling to his feet. Grabbing his chain, he yanked it, pulling the bolt free of the cannon. Staggering off, he said, “You grab stuff from that ship, I’ll get the boat.”

Avalon’s rugged pace was not quite enough. The frenzied movement of his chain was enough to keep the pirates at bay until he could hop from his pier into his boat, paddling his way back to the Mermaid Pirate ship some minutes later, gunfire from pirates shooting their pistol into the night following him. Dropping the sail once he got close, he called, “Hoshi let’s go! -Shi.”

 

[takki]

Setting: Sailing off Black Star Island
Characters: Hoshiya, interacting with Avalon

"Will you be f--" Before Hoshiya cut off his words, he was concerned if Avalon could handle fighting for this extended period of time. He shook his head to take that thought away, and trusting him is better than hoping he wouldn't die.

"Okay, I'll be quick!" Hoshiya ran as fast as he can to the currently empty Mermaid Pirates ship. Putting all his power on his foot, he leaped from the pier, skipping the dock entirely and softly landing at the deck of the ship. He walked into the storage room and picked up a small sack to get all the stuff he could. Given that they were in a hurry, he only got as much as they needed until the next island. A few rolls of bandages and disinfectant, canned food, apples, potatoes, and a wallet that got lost in the storage. He couldn't grab the more important things, like the map of the Grand Line and a compass. Though, it's not like they were going to go to the Grand Line with a sloop.

Hearing Avalon's voice near the bow of the ship, he ran towards that direction and jumped to his boat. Hoshi had to keep his head down as to not get shot by the incoming bullets.

The rowdy shouts of the pirates at the beach soon became fainter in volume as they sailed away, the wind and sea taking them away from Black Star Island. Because their ship was significantly smaller (note: I assumed) than the brigantine-sized ships anchored at the dock, it was much faster and gave enough reason for the pirates to not go after them with their ship.

Hoshiya rested himself against the deck. He grabbed the bandages and the disinfectant and handed it to Avalon. "Here, replace your bandages. You aren't looking too great." He followed with a question, "Where are we going next, captain?"

Code By Nano

 

[Craftsdwarf]

With a groan, Avalon attempted some on the spot first air, dropping his coat and working to cover his wounds, fresh or otherwise.

“You’re asking the wrong guy, I barely know where we are now. I just got lucky and followed another ship here. I don’t know the region well either, I’ve never been on a boat before last week or so.”

Wounds bandaged (albeit ruff-ly roughly), Avalon laid back, legs kicked over the side of the boat. Snapping up an apple, he took a bite. “I don’t really care where we end up, as long as we can get our bearings so we can eventually hit the Grand Line.”

 

[takki]

Setting: Sailing in the seas of South Blue
Characters: Hoshiya, interacting with Avalon

"H-hey! You should've told me that before!" Hoshiya panicked upon hearing Avalon say that he didn't have much experience sailing. He grabbed the sack and frantically searched for a map, hoping that someone had left a map of the South Blue inside the sack. Yet, to no avail. He stopped searching and instead grabbed an apple for him to eat.

"We don't have a map, but it's fine. Given that we're sailing directly from the dock at Black Star Island, we'll be fine as long as we don't go west." Hoshiya changed the direction of the sail and rotated the rudder so that the boat moved to the right. "I don't want to crash into the Red Line."

Hoshiya set his scarred sword on floor of the boat after unstrapping it from his hip. "I've been sailing alone for a month. I've been managing with a compass and a map, before, until I met Farah and the others," He idly said. "Be on the look out for birds as well. We'll go towards the direction they came from." The birds are an indication that there was land from where they came from, and usually a telltale sign that an island is near.

He glanced at the newly bandaged wound on Avalon's chest. It seemed to be deep as any kind of bandaging he did still made it bleed. He wondered about where it came from and chose to ask him anyway, "That wound--who did that to you?"

Code By Nano

 

[Craftsdwarf]

Avalon had let his head hang back, the pirate already starting to nod off. But Hoshi’s words made him jerk back to attention. “Huh? The Marines. Forget his name, Rownan or something. I was escaping a prison break on Tuol Skear. Only managed to get away because I busted up their hull with my chain.” Holding it up to himself for a second, the bolt lacking any attachment, he admitted, “Well, it wasn’t just with the chain, but whatever.”

Groaning again, he muttered, “Best swordsman in the world, huh? I’ll be fine as long as I don’t stick a sword onto a chain I guess.” Letting the silence of the night take them for a moment, Avalon might have seemed contemplative. After a few solid seconds, he spoke. “Hey, Hoshiya, what does ‘paradise’ mean to you?”

 

[takki]

Setting: Sailing in the seas of South Blue
Characters: Hoshiya, interacting with Avalon

His eyes widened in surprise. Avalon took out an actual Marine Battleship with his chain and escaped being chased by the Marines with only a slash in his chest?! That amplifies his initial thought of his destructive power back in the island. Marine ships are made with wood that can bear the harsh seas of Grand Line, which he likely destroyed in ease. It sometimes scares him how much he hasn't seen his full potential yet, and if Hoshiya faced him in his current state... he wouldn't be able to win. He sighed in relief knowing that he was on his side.

"Paradise?" For a moment, Hoshiya contemplated the answer to his question. The silence of the night, the calm ocean ambiance, and the dim moonlight held a serene atmosphere... yet his answers were more or less the opposite.

"An island full of swordsmen. If I beat them all, I'll be the strongest swordsman in Paradise!" He added, eyes nearly beaming with fire and wholly motivated to fight an island's worth of swordsmen, given that he doesn't die in the process. "Well, I'll do it as long as I have a home, and unlimited meat, and a nice bed..."

Hoshiya glanced at him. "I have something to tell you as well, but first, why do you ask?"

Code By Nano

 

[Craftsdwarf]

Avalon laughed. “Well, home and unlimited food sounds more like paradise to me.”

Sobering up, Avalon’s eyes drifted to the clouds and fading starlight above. “To be honest, I don’t know what paradise is. I’ve asked a bunch of different people and get a different answer each time. It’s heaven, it’s in the sky, it’s in the Grand Line, it is the Grand Line, its Marie Geoise, its Raftel. The only thing I can be sure of is that it’s not fucking here.” Reaching his hand up, grasping at the light that only slipped through his fingers, Avalon remarked, “That’s what my name means, apparently: paradise. I don’t know if it really exists on this world or not, but if it does I’m going to find it and make it my own.”

Hand falling back down, he rubbed at his forehead, admitting, “Anyway, I want to get some shuteye soon. What’s up?”

 

[takki]

Setting: Sailing in the seas of South Blue
Characters: Hoshiya, interacting with Avalon

Hearing his words made him contemplate even more, and while he didn't admit it, he thought it was outright impossible, even more so than his dream. Defeating all the swordsmen in the world? Charting the islands and the seas? It would be extremely difficult, but still ambitiously possible. But for this divisive world where all sorts of scummy Marines and thieving pirates run rampant, Hoshiya couldn't envision a world where "Paradise" is possible.

He blurted out a laugh, reinforcing his trust in Avalon and in his own decision to choose him as his captain. "Whatever you dream you have, I'll be there to help."

Hoshiya then proceeded with what he was going to say earlier. Instead of putting it into words, he first raised his palm near his face. Strands of lightning began to emerge from his arm, eventually converging at his fingertips. The light of the crackling blue plasma flickered in his face as Hoshiya explained, "I'm a Devil Fruit User who ate the Lightning Fruit. If I fall down to the sea, at least you'll know that I can't swim."

Code By Nano

 

[Craftsdwarf]

“Huh? Oh...yeah, that makes sense.” Letting out a yawn, one followed by a gasp of light pain, Avalon muttered, “Let’s hope we can get to some land soon…”

Avalon passed into sleep, his snores no less thunderous than they had been in the previous night. Morning came proper, and as their small sailboat continued to sail into the unknown, the sun would rise, and fall yet again. Avalon’s snoring had leveled out to a reasonable quiet, but he didn’t wake. Even as the sun came and fell yet again, still he did not wake.

It was only on the third day of their journey did any change arrive, Hoshiya spotting seagulls in the sky.