West Blue: Aftermath

Not yet a week had passed since the fateful day in which one of their own was lost. A few days after the incident, the body had quickly degraded to the point Iken was forced to surrender his former plans and give his former first mate a proper sea fairing funeral. A Viking funeral was held, one that was performed for the chieftains of Iken's old village. Only the most important members of the former Steel Village were ever given such a funeral. Typically it was reserved for the village leaders and heroes that had at one time saved the village.

Iken had watched as the boat sailed away from their ship with flames roaring, turning the contents it held into ashes before ultimately sinking the ship that carried it which caused the water below to snuff it out. As he watched, he thought about everything that had happened. It served as a reminder that no one from his home island had a proper burial or funeral of any kind. His thoughts then switched to the place he currently called home, and the people that lived with him. For Iken, it only felt right to bring back the old traditions lost with the destruction of his old village, the old Steel Village and resurrect them with the new.

Iken looked at a map of the area; he needed to find an island close to their location that could meet their current needs. Despite almost an entire week of rest with no reservations held upon the stock of supplies, Iken and Desais were still recovering from injuries they suffered. It would be imperative to have their wounds checked over by a decent doctor. Thanks to Iken's generous allowance with the supplies they, were also running low. While they needed food stuffs, Iken was rather concerned about the state of the ship. It needed repairs, without them the damage would only worsen with time. It was a challenge to find what they needed in such a remote part of the West Blue. The fact that Iken's navigation skills weren't much better than someone picked off the street didn’t help much at all. Struggling and fumbling around with the map for quite some time, Iken was finally able to find an island that fit the criteria. It was an island due East, three days from their current location.

10/15

Desais laid where he had fallen after the fight for quite some time. He was slowly being able to move his body finally. After nearly a week his body was finally listening to him. The battle had definitely left a toll on Desais's body for sure. It definitely wasn't a great time for him to go up against the marines already but he had survived it. Thanks to Cat and Iken. Cat's sacrifice left the biggest scar of all that the other attacks couldn't amount to. This scar ran deep. For Desais only knew Cat for a moment, but it seemed like they were together for a lifetime. The corpse that laid next to him began rotting during the week he had to try to recover. People had to feed Desais and practically take care of him during that time. But by the end of that long miserable week, the crew had to say goodbye to their friend. It was sad, but they couldn't keep a corpse on the ship. Diseases would spread and people would get sick. Desais helped Iken set up Cat's final burial at sea. Tears flowed freely down his face as the boat was set aflame. But Desais had to remain strong so he quickly stopped the tear flow and saluted the burning vessal. Then he turned around and walked away with his hands in his pockets.

Picking up his weapons that lay on the ground, Desais sheathed them. Then he came over to bloody mess that was the ship. "Sigh....What a rough time." Desais said as he began cleaning the deck. With every scrub that he gave to the ship, he relieved the battle and the hardship. Although he couldn't stop, he did take a break every few minutes to regain his composure. He knew that the captain must be taking it worse than himself. The emotions ran deep throughout the ship and it caused Desais's own emotions to intensify.

After swabbing the whole deck and fixing what he could with barely anything, Desais took in a deep breath. "Ah the ocean breeze! Nothing smells or feels better than this." Desais said aloud as he smiled looking upon the ocean. The view was magnificent. Desais couldn't help but climb up the mast to look upon the beautiful colors the sun had shown on the ocean top. The red and orange colors mixing in with the green and blue of the ocean waves was breathtaking. At least for Desais. He couldn't get enough of it was he gazed off into the majestic beauty. For awhile it was so tantalizing that it made him fall asleep at the mast.

13/15

Kaizen was dragged out of the tournament and forced into a transport. For violating the rules of a certain tournament he was sentenced, by one of the powerful three, to life in the underworld prison. The only problem was that the closest one was in West Blue; and the safest to get too without getting to the New World. The voyage put Kaizen in a small container with iron shackles on his wrists and feet. It was many weeks before Kaizen stopped feeling the harsh waves, thunder, cold winds, and random battles outside of the ship. Every once in awhile they would stop in an island and return with more footsteps and new voices. These voices would then transport Kaizen to a new ship and continue moving. Kaizen couldn't help but wonder why he was going through so much transportation if they could have easily killed him on the spot. It wasn't until he heard men talking that he understood the reason. Apparently a certain someone had made the arrangements to transport him to a cell; in that cell he'll have to fight every day, for free, while anyone could come over and make money out of it. It was a gladiator battle, without any rewards for the gladiators other then surviving the next day. It was easy money, there was always contestants, and it was the perfect way to manage an underground fighting arena without consequences. A person like Kaizen without no background would be a perfect candidate for this prison.

Eventually he was transported inside a cell. They cracked open the crate; food crumbs could be seen everywhere around Kaizen's used-to-be expensive looking suit and tie. The men grabbed him, with the iron hand and feet cuffs, and dropped him in a room with iron bars and a wooden floor. The men then closed the door to the cage and walked around the corner to a hallway. The door behind them closed. Kaizen looked through the window; he had to make sure this wasn't the final stop.. otherwise it would be too late for him to escape without troubles. When he looked he saw the ocean.. and moving waves. He could feel the gentle breeze of the seas. Footsteps could be heard from the ceiling. This definitely wasn't land. This was a ship. Kaizen felt the rocking up and down to confirm it. The two guards that dropped him in the cell walked through his section of the hallway once again; it took them about ten seconds to cover all of the areas they needed to cover. Kaizen confirmed this a third, and even fourth time. When they walked by his cell a fifth time he quickly turned into a snake and slithered behind them. The second they both turned around Kaizen turned into his hybrid form and jabbed his claws inside their necks. They were done for.

While the two bodies laid on the floor bleeding to dead, and choking on their own blood, Kaizen slithered to the top in his full form. The men in the ship, which wasn't big, were about twenty in total. Kaizen quickly slithered behind a barrel and waited for an opponent to crawl through; one that looked weak. When two men passed a third showed himself with barely any muscle in his bones; he held a pistol, however. Kaizen sprung up towards him and bit his neck so he couldn't scream for help; he was also being constricted around his neck. Kaizen then slithered away while four men investigated the dead body. They looked around looking for any suspects and ran back inside the prisoners den. Kaizen followed them quickly inside. Before anyone could scream Kaizen killed the two behind with his claws and the last two after they turned around to see the swift noise they heard. Kaizen then took one of their clothes; since it looked similar to his but less worn. Now it was time to return back outside.

Kaizen left the prisoners den and slithered, quickly, towards the next barrel he remembered was close to the door. He hid in the shadows of the ship and attacked only when a person strayed too far from the others. This process took hours to accomplish; and each of the bodies were stashed either in barrels that were laying on the floor, the prisoners den (if they got too close to it and nobody was watching), or close to the ocean (he just stabbed them and threw them off the ship). When there was only six men left the group became suspicious and called out of the others. Two of the men left to check the sleeping quarters and Kaizen sneaked in through a window in snake form. The men looked around briefly and heard the door behind them close. When they turned around Kaizen was there in his hybrid form. The men called out for help before Kaizen could deal the finishing blow; the second man even unsheathed his weapon and attacked Kaizen. He made an error in his calculations; but it didn't matter. Kaizen dodged the attack, easily, and jabbed him in the jugular vein. Two more men tried to knock on the door to see the inside. One peaked through the window and saw two dead bodies, but nobody else inside. After careful inspection of the area before entering they burst through the door with pistols and swords and looked around. Kaizen, in snake form, slithered behind one of them and turned into his full form, killing both by neck jabbing. Kaizen then took out the final two with the pistols he found laying around. He threw all of the bodies out of the ship and decided to seize one of the smaller ships on the side of the larger ship. He couldn't man this one by himself. He then went out to sea after grabbing a map.

While heading the wrong way to the island he found a pirate ship. Kaizen's flag was white, so they shouldn't suspect him to be dangerous. Kaizen smiled, while covering his face with his fedora. He then looked up with his light green eyes. "I'd like a ride to the nearest island if you don't mind. I can pay, if money is what you want." Kaizen said this loud enough for the group to hear, not that anyone could miss a ship slowly sailing towards them in the middle of daylight. "All I require is a ride, and some food." His eyes were closed while he was talking.

After making a small adjustment at the helm, Iken set the wheel so he could walk around the ship for a while. He stood in the middle of the deck, where Cat had met his end. Desais had scrubbed the blood off of the deck earlier. Iken appreciated the thought from the man he had just met only a week before. Desais was definitely Steel Village material in Iken's mind; therefor Iken could ask him to officially join once they reached the island. Iken looked up at the man as he slept in the crow’s nest; he knew his decision was the right one. Maybe someday, Desais could even be the first mate that Iken needed.

To be honest, Iken liked both of the people he'd been sailing with. Ada was kind and cared for Iken and Desais and even Cat when they needed it. However Iken was worried about her. She wasn't exactly the type you'd expect to find on a pirate ship, little lone one that was going to the Grandline eventually. Either way, Iken decided to ask her once they reached the island as well. He'd leave it up to her to decide, an island or his ship, either way it'd be somewhere that she could make a home.

It wasn't long before Iken found himself stand upon the figure head of the ship, a memento of its previous owner. He stood there watching the ocean part as the ship cut through it. Watching the small wakes it created was strangely entertaining, it was almost mesmerizing as the ship sail along. There was nothing to see for miles other than ocean and more oceans. The sun sparkled on the reflective surface during the day and the moon glittered on it at night. As long as one wasn't stranded on it, sailing through the ocean with no land in sight was strangely romantic.

As Iken stood on the figure, a small boat from a good distance away could be seen steering towards them. The small ship was no danger to the larger ship, from what Iken could tell it had no weaponry to speak of. "Desais, hoist the sails and slow her down." Iken ordered standing on the head of the ship. By the time the small ship had caught up, Iken's had nearly come to a halt. There was one man on the ship, it appeared he had little with him, and little in the means of supplies. Iken listened to the man as he spoke, asking them for their aid. The man looked shady, giving an Iken a tinge of mistrust deep within his stomach. He watched the man carefully for a moment, examining him from head to toe. Iken had a feeling that the man was wanted, although he had no idea who he was. The man on the ship took precautions to ensure his identity was undiscovered instantly raising a red flag. Even so, Iken thought about it logically for a moment; he really didn't have a reason to distrust the man at that point.

"You're free to board, and we'll provide one meal and drink a day of rations. I won't charge you anything, but we're not going to stop at the nearest island either. We're heading for a place about two and a half maybe three days away if the wind is poor. We don't have time to be stopping someplace else. But I don't see you as one to r really mind where you're dropped off anyway." Iken said narrowing his eyes. The last time Iken had a feeling like that, one of his crew died in a battle that resulted from the actions of that person. To say the least, after his large bounty increase was seen in the paper; Iken's paranoia about random ship finding them in the middle of the ocean was most likely well founded.

11/15

Desais dreamt a quick dream of a battle that had waged. One where Desais was beaten fairly easily. It upset him a little but luckily before the final blow was struck to Desais, Iken had called his name and woke him up. He had heard Iken request for him to hoist the sails and slow the ship down. Desais wondered why but questioned not. "Aye Aye Captain!" Desais said with a chuckle as he slid down the rope that held the main sail. He heave hoed it up and tied it off. Then with a quick hop up to the helm, Desais held the ship steady.

Curiosity kicked in as Desais saw another boat move up to their ship. Hmmm I wonder who that could be? And why are they on such a tiny ship in the middle of the ocean all by themselves? Desais had thought as he overheard the conversation between the two. Iken was right to be a bit skeptic about the person. He looked rather shady from afar. Imagine how he would look up close. Thoughts of what the man could possibly do to the crew and the ship ran through Desais's mind. He wandered off to lala land as he drifted into thought. One swift shake of his head brought him back to reality as he watched the two of them.

14/15

Kaizen looked up at the two passengers on the ship that showed themselves. One seemed to be armed with two swords, the other man had just woken up from the crows nest and slid down to the ground. Kaizen looked around for a rope to get on board, since the captain seemed to be ok with Kaizen joining the crew. He clearly mentioned that Kaizen only got one meal a day and a drink. However, the captain didn't drop a rope to help Kaizen onto the ship. Was this a challenge? Kaizen couldn't accept it. It would show too much too quickly. Kaizen tipped his hat up so he could make eye contact with Iken.

"I'm not that good at jumping you know, I wouldn't mind a ladder or rope of some sort." Kaizen smiled up at Iken and his crewmate. He wasn't going to attempt to get on the ship without some help. After all, he was only human.. in this form. The last thing he wanted was to show unneeded details to potential enemies. One of the two had two swords around his waist that looked above average. The man must be good with swords. Kaizen then slowly picked up the pistols from the inside of the ship and put it around his waist. He emptied the barrel inside and put the bullet(s) in his right pocket. The other swords, the cutlass, was left around his waist as well. By the way Kaizen held it around his waist a person with enough sword skill could recognize that he didn't know how to use it very well. The sword almost hung awkwardly from the side.

Cat's death had left a great impact on Ada. It could actually be said that in the past week Ada hadn't been herself at all. She had become a shell, walls up and sheltered from the outside world. She did things, because after all, she did acknowledge that she was needed, Iken and Desais needed her to cook and also take care of them, and she had promised Cat that she would. But she still looked emotionless, a blank stare and only necessary movements were made. She didn't feel like herself, she felt like an empty shell. Like Cat's death had drained her of everything she had ever been. It wasn't healthy and Ada knew that, but she couldn't help it, she felt that she had lost a really important person to her, even if she had known Cat in the span of a few hours. Those few hours actually defined her life and her destiny.

She aided Desais, who was in a terrible condition, and even fed him since he seemed to not be in control of his body, not fully anyway. She did everything she was asked for. But her eyes, her eyes were void of any emotion, and her whole being was monotonous, and ...off. She had her light blonde hair pulled up in small pigtails to the sides (like this), and her clothes were wrinkled and dirty, from the raining, the falling, and taking care of people. Cat's blood was also stained somewhere in her white skinny jeans...

Ada moved from place to place, not really giving it much thought, but it was when an unknown voice talked that she was pulled out of her daze and looked around worried that someone was attacking them. She went out to the deck and noticed that it was in fact a stranger asking to come aboard and join them in their trip to the next island. He just needed a pull. Ada sighed a breath of relief as she walked towards where the stranger was. She grabbed a rope and tied it to the mast, then threw it towards the stranger so he could go up, after having heard his comment about not being able to jump "that high".

"I hope the rope is enough, it's tied so you should have no problems pulling yourself up to the deck" Ada said peeking over the deck and trying to see the stranger's face. Her cheeks were a soft red due to the continuous exposure to the sun, and her eyes had more life in them than in the last days. Someone new, someone who could make her forget about Cat just a second. She had a soft, although slightly fake but mainly hopeful, smile playing on her lips as she waited for the stranger to go up.

Iken waited for Ada to tie the rope to the mast and throw it down to him, she seemed more than happy to have another man onboard. Then again, Ada was more than happy to meet Cat and himself back when they stumbled into her family’s cafe; dirty and sun baked. He thought about saying something, but he realized it would do no good. It was simply the way she was to trust without a second thought, to be naive. Even though it was a bother in this situation, it was something that he admired in her. In reality, if it wasn't from that naivety they probably wouldn't be together. Fate is a fickle thing, so maybe; in reality this encounter was a good thing.

"Sigh” Iken walked over to the edge that the man was trying to climb up and grabbed the rope. As soon as the man grabbed onto the rope, Iken used one arm and pulled the man up to the level of the deck. He held the rope until the man was able to climb over the railing and onto the ship. Iken looked the man in the eye, looking down upon him. Iken was half a foot taller than that man, not to mention he appeared to be physically a much bigger threat. "Make yourself at home." Iken said turning away; walking back over to his spot.

12/15

Notification; things in Italic are meant to be thoughts of Johnson.

Some time ago, on a ship not far out of sight from the steel ship, there was a carrack transporting fine goods from one island to the other. Among the crew of this ship was a man named Johnson. He was what could be called a jobbing pirate, taking sailor jobs here and there to come around rather then to cause mischief and mayhem. He had been on this particular ships for days, but the sometimes a bit too witty Johnson had found himself in a situation where he got into a fight with the first mate. The captain, being a long standing friend of the first mate did not tolerate this behavior from Johnson, and decided to banish him from his ship, granting him, according to their traditions, a barrel, a loaf of bread, a flask of rum and all of the time in the world to think about his actions  in the middle of the ocean.

As the crew was coming together to watch the spectacle they laughed and sung merry songs. Standing at the side of the ship was Johnson, wearing a bit too casual clothing. He was wearing a light blue polo shirt. Shaking his head Johnson tried to reason with the captain and the first mate, who were standing in front of him. ''Come on captain, you can't just throw me off the ship, I'm your only doctor!''. Johnson, scared at the thought of being abandoned at sea and dying an unfortunate death, tried everything within his grasp to keep him on the ship. The captain however only shook his head as he gave a nearby crew member a hand gesture, signaling it was Johnsons time to leave. Throwing a loaf of bread, and a flask into the barrel that lied waiting for him in the water the crew member appointed to banish Johnson smiled. After all, it was now his turn to throw Johnson into the barrel. Grabbing him by the collar the crew member lopped him a bit gracefully into the barrel.  After having cut loose the rope that was keeping the barrel together with the ship Johnson was left to the clutches of the seas, drifting further and further away from the ship he hoped to earn coin from, or at least steal some nice goodies from.

In that state Johnson remained for a full day, left to the tides of the sea, hoping that an island may appear before his eyes. But what happened instead was a rather bad scenario. What Johnson stumbled upon was a pirate ship, or at least the flag it was flying around at its mast sure looked like one. It was a jolly roger.. but then again, not the usual kind.. it had some kind of helmet on. Being a bit nauseous because of all the splashing against the barrel Johnson was not up for this adventure.

Johnson, who was alerted by the sight of the jolly not so roger looked over the edge of the barrel he was located in. Before him lied a not too big of a ship, probably caravel class.. And if his predictions were right, at the pace he was going to collide with the not so fast going ship. Johnson wanted to worry why it would have slowed down, but he had no time to do so. Using his one and only dependable trait, his observation Haki, Johnson scouted the ship from roughly 8 meters distance. From this distance he was able to perceive most things around him. 4 people.. well 3 on this ship, but Johnson sensed another vessel on the other side of the ship which carried one more person. Heh, perhaps I'll be able to overpower these people if I play it sneaky . Thinking of all sorts of possible plans and tactics to use against 4 men he got carried away, and thanks to that he only noticed that the 4th person was yelling, but not what he said. He felt someone throwing a rope down to the smaller vessel to the side, and without realizing it, the barrel knocked against the side of the larger ship.

Having been woken up from his thoughts by the blunt noise the colliding of the barrel and the ship made, Johnson looked for a way to climb up. Shaking a bit Johnson attempted to climb onto the ship by first standing on the edges of the barrel, which thanks to that just barely managed to keep floating. Trying to get a grip on the hull Johnson managed to pull himself up. But his climbing adventure was short for the tiniest of waves made the ship shake enough to make Johnson fall. The thing Johnson feared the most happened, he fell, with a rather large and loud splash, into the water but centimeters from the barrel. Gasping loudly for air Johnson quickly realized his error, and feared for the worst. If these were really pirates, the mean kind, he would be fucked, but only time would tell him how this would play out, for he had lost the ability to sense the people on the ship. Johnson was way too focused on swimming as quite as possible.

13/15

Desais smiled as he saw Ada brighten up at seeing the new person trying to get on board. He watched as she tied the rope off to the mast and sent it down to the man. "KYAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" Desais couldn't help but burst out laughing as he saw Iken grab the rope and pull the guy up with no problems. Clearly Iken was incredibly powerful, but Desais already figured that from the way he wielded that sword. Then suddenly and loud splash was heard from the port side of the ship. Desais quickly ran over to see what was causing the noise. Sadly, all Desais could see was a random barrel. His curiousity kicked in as ran to get another rope, tied it off to a post on the side, as well as tied it to himself. Without a second thought Desais dove into the water to get the barrel. I wonder what could be inside! Oh I can't wait to get it! Desais thought as he smiled on the way down.

Once he got into the water he saw a man. Desais noticed the man was drowning. Clearly the man didn't have any swimming ability at all or he had eaten a devil fruit. Desais thought the latter version was the true one. He quickly grabbed the drowning man and hoisted him up into the barrel. "What are you doing way out here and in a barrel none the less?" Desais thought as he began to question the man. He wasn't exactly sure if he could trust the man just yet. But since he obviously saved his life, he trusted him for a moment. "Captain!" Screamed Desais as he called for Iken.

15/15

Kaizen grabbed on to the rope that the third crewmember seemed to throw for Kaizen to get on the ship. He held on tight to the rope and felt three men haul him on board. When he looked closely at the people pulling the rope so Kaizen could get on board he noticed that it was actually one man, and he looked the most capable in the group. Kaizen continued to smile though, even while looking at this man that seemed very strong for his size. He looked taller then Kaizen, by a good amount, which frightened him to some extent. It meant longer reach for attacks, and the swords guaranteed that.

Kaizen took a mental note to try and stay away from this man.. and upon looking closer at his face Kaizen knew he made the right call. Iken Namikaze, bounty of 25 million belli. Currently one of the most wanted men in the west blue. Kaizen didn't know much about him, if anything, but he knew that a bounty of 25 million meant he had to be dangerous. However, he also didn't attack kaizen right away which meant he probably wasn't the dishonorable type of pirate. He was among the rarest type of pirates in the world. "Thank you for the lift, I'll repay you, even if you won't accept it." Kaizen tried to play the honorable part. He'll have to play this game very carefully. When he looked t the younger girl that dropped the rope to pick him up he tipped his hat and bowed slightly.

"Thank you, and what is your name?" Kaizen then heard something drop in the water. He didn't bother checking to see what it was, whoever or whatever it was seemed to be the crews problem, not Kaizen's. It isn't like Kaizen wanted to know what a splash was the first day he met the crew, for all he knew it could be something that could get him killed. The crew member that went to check on it asked why a man would be in a barrel in the middle of the ocean. Kaizen already imagined the situation. He probably hit the ship and dropped in the ocean. With the ocean waves a person with average swimming skills could easily drown. Kaizen stood talking to the woman. "Do you guys usually get visitors in the ship? Or is it fate that we both arrived here at the same time?" Kaizen didn't really believe in fate, only work to get the job done. Seeing another man arrive in the ship confused him though, it was very unlikely that both of them would find a ship in the middle of the ocean.

Ada's eyes widened slightly as Iken pulled the rope and helped the man join them on board. She smiled softly at Iken,thanking him for the help. She knew that Iken was a honourable man and deserved to be followed by Ada and Desais. Not only that but his strength was worth looking up to and Ada knew that if it came to it, he would protect them. For a fraction of a second Ada felt guilty for knowing nothing about combats, she had good physique but when it came to fighting she was just an average person with decent stamina. However, Desais could defend himself, maybe not as well as Iken and ... Cat could, but he would at least give a fight. All Ada could do for now was cower behind them and maybe make some cookies for the after-celebrations. Shaking her head softly she stopped the bad thoughts and turned her attention back to the stranger.

The stranger asked Ada what her name was and thanked her for the rope. Ada kept her small smile and shook her head. "It was no problem, don't worry about it. My name is Ada Butterfly, nice to meet you" she heard then a loud splash and panicked for a second, but then when Desais rushed to see what was happening she felt safe, so decided to ignore it and continue talking to the stranger. He seemed to have done the same thing and continued talking to her. He asked if there usually were visitors or if it was fate. Ada shrugged and looked at Iken, then back to the stranger. "Maybe it's fate. You are the first visitors we have had. It's quite strange that both of you came almost at the same time, finding our ship in the middle of the ocean, don't you think?" Ada asked, feeling a small weight disappear from her shoulders. Maybe she was finally getting over Cat's death, slowly, but one day she would wake up and Cat's death would be a part of her everyday life, of her constant thoughts, and his memory would stop hurting.

This stranger's presence was helping Ada a lot, he was chasing away the thoughts of a certain boy that haunted her every thoughts. He was still there, but it hurt less. Ada's smile widened slightly. "What's your name?" she asked, tilting her head to the side slightly. She heard Desais call for Iken but once again she decided to ignore it and continue talking to the stranger, Iken could easily solve anything that was happening with Desais, she would only be dead weight anyway. At that thought her smile faltered for a second, but it was back on her face. She hoped the man hadn't noticed her change of attitude.

Iken heard something hit against the side of the ship, it could have just been debris or even another small ship. If it was another ship, the man standing next to Ada could very well be their enemy.  He turned his head and looked towards the sound before looking back towards Kaizen and taking a hold of the hilt of his sword.  Iken was making his way over when he seen Desais jump in ahead of him. As Iken was about to the rail, Desais yelled for him to come over.  Iken looked over the side of the ship.  He seen a barrel just as Desais had, and the man too.  However Iken was able to pickup on the slightly more subtle things.  The bottle of rum and crumbs of what looked to be what was left of a loaf of bread.  It was obvious what Iken's first guess was correct, the ship had ran into nothing more than trash.  

"Desais, bring him up onto the ship.  We'll replenish his loaf and get him another bottle before we send him back off." Iken said turning around. He walked over to Ada before turning back around to Desais. "Keep watch over him, make sure he doesn't go anywhere alone before we set him back. For the night, we'll allow him to dry his threads, but the first thing tomorrow morning he goes back in the barrel." he said. Iken turned back to Ada and smiled. "Would you mind getting a meal ready, while you do; I want to have a word with this gentleman here."

13/15

The worst case scenario for Johnson happened, he was discovered.. not only that he had gained an audience as well. Having been lifted onto the barrel for he could hardly swim in these waters, especially because he had no physical aptitude. Falling into the barrel his head clonked against the bottom of it. Looking a bit dazzled and gasping for air johnson felt Iken coming, and looked him straight into the eyes when he did. What Iken found were not the eyes of just another stranded person however, but the eyes of someone who had ulterior motives. Hearing both the one who fished him up and the one who dared to look down upon him he sighed. ''I guess that's all I can ask of you villains huh?''. It was not, by far, Johnsons intentions to sound as smugish, but it just flapped out of him.

Standing up he looked at his clothing.. completely drenched. No way he was going to survive for long if he were to go into the chilly nights the ocean had.. going up was the only option left. ''Hut ho'' he exclaimed before jumping from the barrel, grabbing a hold of the hull again, this time rather successful. Making weird noises as he managed to pull himself over the side he fell down onto the deck, panting. He did not bother to look at the people standing on the deck. He had noticed with his sixth sense how many there were. Looking up into the clear sky Johnson appeared to speak into the nothingness. ''Don't you dare looking down upon the one who is someday going to become the most famous pirate in the world.. Not even pirate king comes close to describing the fear and awe people will feel when they hear my name being said..''. As he stood up he looked at the people who were still present on the deck. ''I am no man to accept something without earning it.. doing so would in-debt me. Hand me a sword and I shall duel an opponent of your choice good sir, today I strangely enough don't feel like being in debt with a bunch of scallywagons.'' .

Johnson bluffed with all his might, heck even he began to believe in his lies of grandeur. But even so somewhere in his eyes, which shined of passion, something twitched showing his wavering thoughts and confidence. Johnsons doubted his very move.. they had no reason to accept his terms, it was a one sided deal.. or at least as far as he knew. The merchant in the back of his mind told him that countless of times, but somewhere Johnson hoped to be lucky.. lucky enough to stand in front of pirates with a lust for battle. Besides, these guys can't be that strong right? Look at their ship.. not big enough to fit a capable combat force in.. Hah, perhaps they truly were but a bunch of scallywagons sailing the seas on luck and whim!

Desais saw as Johnson had began to climb up. Sensing no need to be in the ocean much longer, Desais grabbed a hold of the rope around him and began climbing up it. This was a pretty easy feat from Desais since he had a fair enough amount of strength. It didn't take long before he had reached the deck of the ship. He unraveled the rope around his waste and began to wrap it up in a neat bundle. Desais couldn't help but chuckle as he heard Johnson spout that crap. Although it seemed rather farfetched, Desais couldn't help believe it a tiny bit. But he didn't for once believe this guy could become grander than the pirate king. Whom Desais knew deep down Iken was going to become.

"Bwhahahahaha! What crap do you spout? If you wish to be greater than the pirate king then maybe you should learn to swim first? Also how about obtaining a ship better than this barrel of yours? Kyahahahahaha!" Desais bust a gut as he couldn't help having a laughing fit from the words. Desais put the rope away near the mast and walked over next to Iken. He gripped the hilts of his swords as he looked at Kaizen and Johnson. Clearly he didn't trust them just yet. "Now what brings the two of you all the way out here in the middle of the West blue?" Desais asked with a stern face. He was quite curious but he knew this has to be treated as a serious manner. Especially after what the three of them have already been through. It was quite odd for not only one but two men to show up where there were to be none.

1/15

Kaizen tried to remember the name. Ada was a simple name, but it had a gist to it. She also agreed that the meeting could be fate; Kaizen didn't believe in such things. It was unlikely for it to happen, but it wasn't 'fate' that put the barrel-man and Kaizen in the ship at the same time. Kaizen heard the man scream that he was going to be stronger then the pirate king. Kaizen smiled, this man had devotion. If it was true then that meant that this man could be a very valuable pawn. People that had dreams that large, and believe themselves to be capable of grabbing it, usually become the easiest to control. This is assuming he was a normal man.
 
Kaizen then looked back at Ada. She asked his name. Kaizen smiled and answered the girl, it wouldn't do him any good if he lied about his name.. it wasn't like any of the passengers in the ship knew about the underworld enough to hear about Kaizen, a lonely beginner assassin. Even his devil fruit powers are unknown to the world.Kaizen wanted to keep it that way.

"My name is Kaizen. You may call me Kai."

Iken wanted to talk to Kaizen by himself, but earlier Kaizen thought he saw Iken walking towards the barrel with his hand on his sword. This meant Iken was the cautious type, probably thanks to the bounty on his head. The bounty was placed recently as well; it might be too much for some people to handle all at once. Having two people show-up at the same time wouldn't be either. It made sense for the average person to be suspicious. It wouldn't end well for either of the new members to the ship if the captain was the overly paranoid type. With the strength Kaizen saw Iken could probably knock out Kaizen with a direct punch to the face. He'd rather avoid confrontation from a pirate with a high bounty.
 
Kaizen continued to smile with his eyes seemingly closed when Iken asked Ada to make them food. Then Desais showed up and asked Kaizen why him and the other man showed up at the same time in the west blue. Kaizen spoke in a calm tone, "I wouldn't know why he is in the middle of the west blue, but mine is a bit.. complicated. See, I was in a ship recently and I decided to escape. That ship there is proof of that, it's an escape boat." The small ship had a lifeguard next to it and some minor foods inside, as well as a first aid kit on the side of the middle bench in the boat. Kaizen continued talking, "That's really about it. I'm nothing special." While he talked his lips didn't cease to smile. His eyes narrowly opened, showing his green eyes underneath like a snake at Desais when he talked about not being special.

Ada smiled at Kaizen and then frowned slightly as Iken told her to go prepare food. She didn't mind cooking, seeing as it was what she did for a living, but she had wanted to talk to the new addition to the crew (kind of). However she turned to him and smiled apologetically, "I'm afraid I have to leave for now, I'll have the food ready soon enough, I'll talk to you later Kai" Ada said as she turned to leave. She had decided to call him Kai because it sounded adorable, even if the man didn't necessarily fit under the category of "adorable". She giggled a bit to herself and heard the commotion that was happening, but decided that it wasn't anything serious, after all boys could be loud and obnoxious. Ada had a small smile on her lips as she turned towards the kitchen, deciding that the boys would fix their problems in peaceful ways and if it turned for the worst, Iken would just kick whoever was making all that noise and trouble.

Had she been more cautious, Ada would have noticed the tone of Desais' words, but she just thought he was playing. So walking towards the kitchen, Ada thought about how nice the boys were getting along. After all, boys are loud between friends, right?, she thought and entered the kitchen. Then something passed through her mind. "Kaizen... his eyes..." where was something about the man that suddenly registered in her mind, he was... being cautious, and so was Iken. There was a tense atmosphere that she hadn't seen earlier, but it was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Ada yelped and her knife fell to the floor with a thud. She ran outside just as Kaizen finished talking.

She went to stand behind Iken, looking at the other stranger that was now on the deck. She knew this man meant trouble, because Desais had his hand on his sword and Iken had his back tensed up. She hid behind Iken but poked her head out. "What's going on, Iken?" she asked softly, hoping that only he would be able to hear her. she had her hand on his back, softly, trying to calm him down but knowing that she wouldn't be able to stop a fight from happening.

Iken raised an eyebrow at the man's words, spoken out of smug arrogance. With a deep sigh, Iken turned from Kaizen towards Johnson. Waiting for the man to finish the crap he was spouting Iken was about to speak, however Desais beat him to it. It was the first time Iken had seen Desais, upset about something. Iken couldn't help but grin a little; Desais was sticking up for the honor of the crew.

"You claim to be honorable, yet your actions and situation show us otherwise. We offer you something you didn't have in the first place without charge, and your reaction is to attack us with our own weapon? That my friend, is not honor. You can claim that you're going to be anything in the world, but I can tell you here and now that you'll fall flat. As a man that has in his own right, lost everything he has ever had; my friends, and family, even my village, I am one of the few people who can rightly say this. A man with honor can never truly lose everything while a man with no honor will eventually lose everything. The man with honor will find friends and family anew time and time again, while the man without honor will lose them time and time again. Before you ever come close to your dreams and aspirations, they'll be crushed for no one man can be the pirate king; it takes many to boost a captain to that level. I for one don't aspire to be the king of the pirates; I aspire to be the best captain for my crew." Iken said.

He took the hand from his hilt and held Ada's shoulder trying to comfort her. "Don't worry, everything gonna be alright. Like I just said, I'll be the best captain I can. That includes protecting the two of you." he said turning back toward Kaizen. "I think we'll have to speak later, right now isn't a good time. So if I can, I'd like to take a rain check on speaking with you for now." Iken said before turning towards Desais. "Don't worry about such things; there isn't anything we can prove at this time. Just keep an eye on the dishonored over there" he said nodding his head towards Johnson.

14/15

Having heard and seen the responses of the people that stood in front of him Johnson couldn't help but chuckle a little bit. ''I guess you don't have to accept either way.. but let me give you a little tip, be sure to let some doctor check out some of your wounds, they seem infected.. Of course I could try to treat you, but then again, should a man with no honor really do that?''. As Johnson sighed he sat down against the side of the ship, seemingly keeping a close watch of the individuals in front of him. ''My name is DOCTOR Johnson, and for as long as you won't send me back into that barrel I guess I can't stop myself from being indebted to you lot... So if you actually require something just ask, its the least I can do.''.

Johnson didn't like this.. Not one bit. He was indebted to some bilge-rats he barely knew. Next to that, he couldn't refuse any request they made.. well unless it was something that outweighed his gain in this exchange. Having accepted his fate Johnson actually took the time to inspect the people. A woman, a cool kid, the apparent captain, and some guy who seemed to.. perhaps fear him.. or he was just being really cautious, in any case Johnson couldn't afford to let his guard down either. Glaring the other people down with a glance that suggested distrust he hoped to just pass the day, hopefully dry soon, and to survive to live another day; After all battle's are not fought by dead bodies.

The speech Desais heard Iken give right after his little boast, inspired Desais even further. For certain this was the man he was looking for. There was no doubt about that. He couldn't help but make a big grin and nod his head to everything Iken was saying. But hearing the loss of people he cared for triggered past memories. It hurt Desais more than a mortal wound could ever do. He couldn't help but let go of left hilt of his sword and grab for his head. He kept one eye on Johnson and Kaizen as the pain surged. When Iken's speech was over though, the pain seemed to stop. The memories stopped flowing as well. It was a relief that it had stopped. Then Iken turned to Desais and told him to keep and eye on Johnson. "You've got it Iken." Desais said as he glared towards Johnson. He wasn't sure what it was about this guy but he bothered him somehow.

Although he didn't really trust him he walked over to him. "So your a doctor huh?" Desais asked as he peaked his curiosity. But then he shot him a hard glare. "What kind of doctor?" It was for certain he wanted to know before he even let him take a look at their injuries. They may have been injured pretty badly and getting an infection in some areas, but Desais needed to be sure he was legit. But they didn't really have much for supplies and neither did Johnson. Well for what it looked like since all that was in the barrel was a bit of a loaf of bread and a flask of rum.

3/15

Kaizen didn't show it, but he was relieved. The situation died down almost instantly. The apparent mad man was actually  doctor of some sorts. Kaizen didn't see that coming. The last time Kaizen saw a doctor was to help someone else with injuries, although it will be useful to have a doctor on the ship in the off chance Kaizen got injured in battle. The hard part for Kaizen is never avoiding hits, it's taking damage. Once an attack hits Kaizen he's noted that his body takes about the same as an average person. Even his strength is average. He'll have to do something about that some day. Today though, he'll have to settle for a doctor on the ship.. even if it might be temporary.
 
Iken was kind enough to leave the conversation for anther time. Judging by his earlier attempt to ask her to leave, and him stopping the conversation conveniently after she returned, Kaizen might have to stay with the girl. Whatever he wanted to talk about was private, which meant there wasn't restrictions to Iken's behavior. Kaizen looked calm in the outside, with the same smile he had when he came on the boat. But in the inside he was calculating. He already knew the pecking order in the ship. Iken was the captain, but he seemed to have a soft spot for Ada judging by the way he talked to her earlier. He looked very kind for a moment. The other man on the ship Kaizen hasn't had a chance to investigate, but judging by his reaction to the man's speech he probably had a very high loyalty to Iken. Although that was probably an understatement. Ada seemed like the kind one in the ship. Kaizen didn't know how she became a pirate, but it's one of the few things on this ship he was interested in figuring out without a deeper purpose for the knowledge. Finally was the apparent doctor. He seemed very strange even to Kaizen. He didn't look easily predictable, which wasn't something Kaizen was used too. The doctor seemed to be compulsive, and an idealist. But with all of these random moments Kaizen didn't know what to believe. He had to keep a closer eye on the doctor, but Iken was his priority.
 
After Iken told Kaizen that he'd leave their talk for another time he nodded, with the same smile on his face and his eyes now closed, "I wouldn't want to spoil my appetite anyways, which reminds me. Is this the only meal I'll receive? Cuz if so I'd like to save mine for later." Kaizen only had enough food in the small ship for two days, and only if he saved it. Normally it would only be enough for one day, three meals. if he can survive the first two days with one meal, then he can eat normally the last day. He can enjoy one great meal, or above average, from the ship cook and eat three times that same day with normal foods in the ship.

5/15

Ada nodded as Iken continued speaking, talking in a kind manner, like she was used to him using. Once he mentioned how he had lost friends and family, Ada's eyes darted to the floor, feeling her eyes tear up slightly due to the memory of Cat. I'll be strong, Cat, like I promised you..., she thought in her mind, silently trying to stop her tears from spilling. After a second she achieved what she was trying. Once Iken wrapped his arm around her shoulder and mentioned that he would be a good captain, and that meant protecting her and Desais as well, she smiled softly at him, thanking him with her eyes, but she was sure that he understood and there was no need to say the words to him.

Her eyes travelled to Kai, she knew deep down that she could trust him, maybe not as much as she trusted Desais and Iken, but at least certainly more than Johnson, the stranger that had started the commotion. Then her eyes landed on said man, and they narrowed slightly, Ada wasn't one to show animosity towards anyone, but she still didn't like the fact that Johnson had spoken lowly to Iken and Desais. Still holding onto her beliefs, however, Ada left the security of Iken's arm and went towards Johnson, extending her hand towards him. "Hello, I'm Ada. The ship's chef" she spoke softly, her voice a mere whisper compared to the loud waves crashing against the ship. She turned to look at Iken and Desais, a warm smile on her face. "I hope you don't cause trouble for us, we're just helping you out, so you should be grateful" she spoke calmly, trying to get Johnson to understand their point of view. "Please, just don't do anything reckless" she pleaded and smiled at Johnson before letting her hand drop, figuring that a handshake wasn't necessary.

She turned to Kai, "Come with me" she turned and started walking, once she was besides Iken she smiled at him and said "I'm having Kaizen help me with the food, I hope you won't mind" she waited for everyone's replies.

Despite everything, Iken was beginning to understand Johnson a little bit better the longer he was there. Johnson wasn't someone they had to fear or be cautious of, well maybe they had to keep an eye on their pockets, but other than minor theft; there didn't seem like there was anything to really worry about. On Johnson's account at least, Kaizen was a different story. He was mysterious and the story he told didn't make 100% sense. Iken couldn't say what part was strange, only that there was a strange part. Regardless of the fact Iken didn't trust him; it would do little good to be paranoid of him. At that point the die had been cast, and the outcome could only be settled by fate.

When Ada mentioned having Kaizen help with the food preparations he cocked his head while looking at her for a brief moment. After a second of pondering, Iken began to wonder, just who Ada was. It was the same for Desais. Iken had only met the two of them a week or so before. Was it really wise to trust them so in such a short time? Before he could give it a second thought, he shook the thought from his head. The two of them could have easily done away with Iken so many times before it didn't even make sense for them to be enemies. "Ah well if you insist, I can't help but agree to your request." Iken said taking a couple of steps back.

Iken felt a tension in his chest and his breathing became a bit heavier. How could he have ever doubted them? They're his nakama, the people he cares about and strives to protect. It was not an honorable thing to doubt your close friends. If Iken was the kind of man attracted the kind of people he had so much doubt about in his heart, was he truly as honorable as he thought he was? Taking a deep breath, Iken tried to shake off his mini panic attack. For the time being it seemed to work.

15/15

As Johnson was sitting down many thoughts crossed his mind. For now, the crew seemed off his back. Johnson closed his eyes. Although most of them seemed harmless, he couldn't trust them entirely. Hearing the woman say something about preparing food Johnson stood up, keeping his eyes closed, and talked to the man in front of him. ''I AM a doctor, and having seen your state, it wouldn't take a doctor to notice that either you were in quite the bar-fight or you've fallen down 20 staircases, either way, if anything feels out of the ordinary just ask me for your help, I'm not that mean to NOT in-debt you to me.''. Johnson stood up, and seemed in thought for a second before he opened his eyes and looked straight into those of Desais. '' Now if you'd please stop questioning my abilities, I apparently have other things to do.

Johnson walked around Desais , and waved him off. ''Don't worry about the food chore, I'll help. I'd rather have something to do, and see it as the first steps towards repaying my stay here''. Johnson seemed quite careless as he walked away from Daises. As he walked towards the kitchen he noticed Kaizen. Giving him a look of distrust on purpose he quickly averted his eyes, this guy was most probably the most dangerous, another unknown, and someone who, until now, has yet to express any real opinions about anything. He seemed rather neutral, a sign of held back emotions. As Johnson doubted his actions he saw Ada walking further away from him. In order to not get lost in this ship it was in Johnsons best interest to follow her, and so he did. Things seemed quite enough anyways, everything checked out according to his sixth sense, yet he couldn't let go of using it. Even the slightest disturbance in the air would be enough to set Johnson off now.

Desais's eyes opened wide as Johnson told him he was a legit doctor and that he could help. He didn't know exactly what to say back. He was only suspicious because the guy had floated to their ship in a barrel of all things. Not only was he in a barrel but he appeared at the same moment as the guy on the ship. It didn't really seem all that odd that Kaizen had appeared in a ship because that was the usual case. He knew that Johnson most likely was put in the barrel but he was curious as to why. He wanted some questions answered but for now it seemed he was done with the questioning. After hearing the doctor mention if anything was out of place feeling, Desais suddenly began feeling a bit of pain that wasn't their before. He really hadn't thought of his injuries since he wasn't able to move. Clearly he needed some medical help, but he wanted to let the doctor go and help with the cooking. It was clear he needed to let him alone for a bit. Maybe I'll ask him some questions later on. Desais thought as he grabbed onto the ropes holding the sails up and tied them down allowing them to gracefully grasp the wind as the moved along. Desais went to the mini ship as well and tied it off to the side of their ship. He knew that it would come in handy someday. Finally, he raised the anchor and let the ship run its course.

Desais climbed up to the birds nest up the center mast and sat down. As he sat he began thinking of his mom. It had seemed that the talk of loosing people from Iken hadn't left Desais's mind. Then he slowly drifted off to sleep. Terrors awaited Desais in his dreams.

He was on the ship docking to a familiar island. Desais, Iken, and Ada docked their ship and headed off onto the island. The weird thing was that everyone made it seem that nothing had changed. Everyone on the island greeted him with open arms and asked how his mother was doing. Mother.... Desais thought as he left Iken and Ada and ran the path he once knew. As he got closer and closer to the house he seemed to get younger and younger. Until finally he reached the house and everything around him disappeared. He was now the age he last saw his mom. Upon entering his house he began walking around. "Mom? Mom?!? MOM!?!" Desais screamed as he picked up the pace looking at every room in the house. When he finally came to the back yard. There his mother was standing, just staring down at the ground. "Mom?" Desais said as he ran to her. He gripped her tightly and tears ran down his face like a waterfall. "Mom its you! Its really you! You're alive!" Desais said with joy. Then everything went dark. Desais looked around still gripping his mother. He finally looked up at her face. It was dark. The eyes were missing and there were pitch black holes where they should be. "Mom?" Desais questioned as he grew scared. Then a large burst of flame erupted and he they were in the house. It was a blaze again. Desais still clutching a hold of his mother. He gripped her very tightly when suddenly her lower torso burst into ash. Her face still intact laying on an ash pile. Desais kneeled down before it crying even harder than before. "MOM!!!!" Desais screamed. The nightmare had taken a hold of him and he couldn't help but awaken screaming. "MOM! I'm sorry!!! It should have been me!!!!!!" Desais screamed as he opened his eyes. His heart raced, and his chest completely soaked with tears. Desais glimpsed around at the ocean and the ship. To make sure it was all real, Desais pinched himself. "It....was just a dream..." Desais said as he hugged his knees. "Mom..."

5/15