Sabaody
Chapter 9: Sabaody
The moment of their arrival at the Sabaody Archipielago was remembered with fondness and not a small amount of amusement. Their captain had a way of throwing off everyone that was completely his.
They had barely stepped foot into the market when a little girl crashed into Karasu’s legs, falling onto her butt as their captain didn’t budge an inch.
She was a small little thing, with a head full of blond hair held in a ponytail with a red ribbon and big brown eyes steadily filling with tears.
Everyone stopped in what they were doing, taking notice of them for the first time. The group cut an intimidating figure, with some well-known faces amongst their ranks, especially after the incident at Water 7.
The whispers started, just as Gin had known they’d come. He easily caught a few of them, ‘Lotus Pirates’ and ‘so soon after the Mugiwara’s’ being only a few of the things more repeated.
People stared at them and the little girl on the floor, seemingly holding their breaths, and he was confused for all of a few seconds.
They were expecting a confrontation, Gin realised, surprising himself with the fact that it hadn’t even crossed his mind. He didn’t even try to contain a small satisfied smile at the knowledge that it would not happen.
Their captain did not disappoint.
Karasu knelt down so he was at the same level as the little girl, gauntled hands coming up to help her up.
“Sorry, did you get hurt?”
The little girl shook her head, looking a bit afraid, tears still clinging to her eyelashes as she looked from the small stain on Karasu’s pants to the ruined ice cream lying on the floor.
Gin spied a pink-dressed woman standing nearby, worry in her eyes as she stared at the pair, hands over her mouth as if to keep a shout in. Then he turned his attention back to their captain.
The younger man was now buying another ice cream for the little girl from a stumped looking saleswoman. The other pirates simply stood waiting, smirks and grins on their faces.
Still, the people kept silent as if waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Not even Sabaody had been prepared for their captain.
When the Lotus Pirates left the market, they left behind a little girl with an enormous smile and a new ice cream in her hands.
HPOPHPOPHPOP
“Shakky’s Rip-Off Bar?” read Raki aloud, eyebrows arched.
“Charming.” Drawled Paulie.
It had been Crocodile who suggested they find a coater for their ship before they did anything else this time. Asking around had them entering the lawless area in Grove 13 looking for some of the best ones in the Archipielago, but they had already visited two coaters and Paulie didn’t seem happy with leaving the ‘Free Raven’ in their hands so they were no closer than when they arrived.
The Captain then decided it was time to stop for a while and find a tavern were they could have some food and drinks. And so they found themselves climbing the stairs to the establishment.
But despite the derelict exterior and warning implied in the name, the inside looked spacious and surprisingly well-kept, a welcome contrast.
“May we come in?” asked Karasu politely, a smile in his voice.
The woman behind the counter regarded them silently with curious dark eyes, a cigarette smoking away in her right hand.
She was pretty, with short dark hair and tanned skin, fleshy lips and big almond shaped eyes. She was probably in her mid-forties, but she still had a nice curvaceous body that she showed off with her modern clothes.
“Yes, of course, do come in.”
They all did, most of them settling on the big table fenced off with a sofa, whilst Crocodile and Cricket took a seat at the bar. They lost no time at all in ordering some food and drinks and they spoke whilst they waited.
“Aren’t you being a little too demanding?” asked Cricket.
“Would you trust your baby to someone who was less than the best? No, right? Well, I won’t trust the Free Raven to anyone but the best coater.” Answered Paulie with his arms crossed and a scowl in his face.
Some of them snickered at the answer he’d been giving all morning.
“We can’t take too long finding one; we still need to find us a guide to Fishman Island.” Said Raki reasonably.
And so they did. It was said to be a perilous journey for someone who’d never travelled it and, although Crocodile and Mr1 had been to the New World already, neither felt they knew enough about navigation to safely guide Cricket. So they would look for a guide for their first trip and Cricket would watch, learn and write down everything they needed for any future voyages to Fishman Island.
HPOPHPOPHPOP
As the food arrived, Aiko invited their hostess to take a seat and eat with them.
“My dad always told me to be nice and polite to a beautiful woman.” He explained.
Shaky narrowed her eyes at the masked man for a second, thinking over the words he’d said, but they weren’t said jokingly or out of lust. No, they were a simple innocent statement and Shakky smiled before taking a seat on the sofa.
“So what are two Skypeople doing down here?” asked the woman with obvious curiosity.
“We were curious about the Blue Sea.” Answered Raki with an elegant shrug.
“So you wanted to explore? And you chose a life of piracy?” hummed Shakky.
“Why not? Pirates are free!” exclaimed Aiko in defence of his nakamas’ choice.
“And if we ever tire of it, Skypiea isn’t a part of the World Government, so we can retire.” Added Raki with a smirk.
“Interesting. Well, I couldn’t help overhearing that you’re looking for a coater.” She said.
Here some of the crew sighed, whilst Paulie straightened.
“The best coater, in fact. We’ve seen a bunch already, but I wouldn’t trust them to coat a boat, much less our ship.” Said the blond with evident displeasure.
“Hmm, I know a coater that you might ask, if you want. He’s the best I know of, but he’s also quite expensive.” Said the woman.
“If he’s good, we don’t care how much he charges. Within reason.” Said the Gin after exchanging a look with his captain.
“Good, he’s due back this evening so you’ll get to meet him and see for yourselves if you stick around for a while.” Revealed Shakky. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’m curious as to how such a diverse crew met.”
Subtlety wouldn’t get her anywhere with this crew, she sensed, and so the spider crafted a very obvious net to gather the information she was curious about.
And, indeed, she’d been right to think this crew would be worrisome.
She liked them.
HPOPHPOPHPOP
What the crew hadn’t been expecting was for the coater that Shakky offered them to be none other than Silvers Rayleigh.
The man was a living legend, and none had been as happy to meet him as their captain.
Aiko had asked all kind of things about Gol D. Roger, but none of them had been what others may have expected.
What was his favourite colour? Did he hate vegetables? What was his favourite sake? What had he thought of being considered the Pirate King? Whose opinion had he held in highest esteem? Why did he choose to let two children embark?
Those had been only a few of the questions that their captain had fired in rapid succession at the old man.
And Silvers Rayleigh, after a long hard look at the shining green eyes and smiling mouth, had answered them patiently one by one.
The crew was stumped but at the same time not. After all, Aiko had managed to charm them all just as easily.
At the end of the day, Paulie felt comfortable enough to let the old First Mate of the Pirate King be the one to coat their ship for the difficult voyage ahead of them and Cricket and Wyper left the bar to move the ship closer to Grove 13.
HPOPHPOPHPOP
It was on the next day that they discovered something curious.
Shakky had mentioned the Mugiwaras being on the papers again. Something that happened a lot recently with them reappearing after two years and then all the happenings in Gyojin Island.
And then Paulie had asked about them, apparently having met them during their stay at Water 7.
That had sparked everyone’s interest and soon, they discovered that Aiko’s whole crew, for good or for bad, had met the Mugiwaras.
And so they spent the day trading stories.
Gin told them how the Mugiwara cook had fed him when he was at his lowest and how they had been involved in his leaving his disloyal first captain.
Cricket told them how he helped them prepare their ship to take the current up to the Cloud Sea.
Raki told them the story of how they met and fought the Mugiwaras thinking them enemies.
Wyper told them how they helped them defeat Enel and ended centuries of feuds between the Skypeople.
Crocodile, without an ounce of shame, told them how he’d tried to take over a country only to be stopped by the Mugiwara Crew and how he’d then fought in the Marineford War.
Daz had mentioned the respect he couldn’t help but feel towards their swordsman.
Paulie spoke of fighting secret government agencies and helping Franky build the Thousand Sunny.
Victoria told them of her own fight and consequent death before she woke in their own path.
“So did you get to meet them too, Midori?” asked Raki, curious at how they had all had some kind of relation to the Mugiwaras.
“No,” answered the man with a shake of his head that made the blended red and black hair whip around his head. “but I can’t wait till I do!”
Neither of them were truly surprised at his enthusiastic answer, but all of them agreed that when ―not if― Karasu met the Mugiwaras it would be pure chaos.
HPOPHPOPHPOP
Rayleigh was deeply confused by this new crew. Not only were they a strange ragtag group, but there was something about their captain that bothered him. Ryuu ―as Rayleigh had taken to affectionately calling Aiko― had something familiar that he couldn’t quiet place.
It was in the way his eyes lit up with such expressivity that his mask remained obsolete, in the way he moved with a strange sort of secure grace and, especially, it was in the way he smiled, so wide and honest.
For some reason, it made him think of the package he had waiting in his room, the one Luffy had given him before leaving.
‘Someone will pass by here who’ll want this.’ He’d said handing him the brown package. ‘You’ll know him when you meet him.’
‘Can’t you be a bit more specific, Luffy?’ he’d asked amused.
‘I’m afraid not. I don’t know much about him, but I can’t wait to meet him.’
‘How did you hear about him, then?’
‘Someone spoke about him to me in a dream.’
‘A dream?’ repeated Rayleigh surprised. ‘But Luffy…’
‘Don’t worry, you’ll know him for certain when you meet him.’
Now, Rayleigh was beginning to understand what he’d meant and he had a feeling he’d be parting with that package sooner than he’d expected.
HPOPHPOPHPOP
On their third day there, Karasu appeared with a bunch of tickets for Sabaody Park and a birthday cake.
It was July 7th, Raki’s birthday.
They spent the day at Sabaody Park, enjoying themselves immensely. And when night came, they had a party at Shakky’s bar.
Since Paulie’s birthday was on July 8th, Midori had asked Shakky if she’d mind keeping the bar open all night for them.
‘Sweetie, this wouldn’t be a tavern worth mentioning if it didn’t stay open till late.’ She’d answered.
And so they spent the whole night partying and the next day nursing their hangovers.
HPOPHPOPHPOP
It was early in the morning and they were all still nursing the previous day’s hangover when it happened.
The first disagreement within the crew.
It was something small and silly, neither even remembering what brought it up, but Paulie and Daz ended up in a row that brought weapons out when the blonde’s temper got the best of him.
They were about to clash when Aiko got smack in the middle and lifted his arms to stop them.
But their momentum couldn’t disappear as easily as their tempers did, and by the time they realised what was happening, it was already too late to stop it.
Paulie’s rope tightened around one of the arms whilst Daz’s suddenly sharp arm came into contact with the other before they both were thrown back in different directions.
For a moment there was only silence and then Paulie was up and hovering over the smaller man, apologising profusely whilst Daz nodded by his side.
Raki hurried over to Midori to check him, but much to their surprise, whilst the shirt had a rip in the place Daz’s knife had dug into, there wasn’t a cut in sight. Neither was there a burn mark from Paulie’s rope.
“Impossible!” exclaimed Raki. “That should’ve cut off your arm!”
Karasu simply grinned at them and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt to show the unblemished skin of his arms.
Then something dark took over his skin until it covered his whole arms.
“Busoshoku Haki.” Hummed Crocodile in understanding.
“You’re proficient in its use?” asked Rayleigh looking rather interested.
“I know the basics.” Shrugged Ryuu whilst rolling back down the sleeves of his shirt. “If your will is stronger, they can’t hurt you, right?”
Rayleigh sighed at the oversimplification and launched into an explanation of the second Haki type.
HPOPHPOPHPOP
Ryuu was sat at a barstool speaking with Rayleigh about the different uses and differences of Kenbunshoku and Busoshoku Haki and how they tied in with Haoshoku when there was a small lull in the conversation.
“So what’s your dream?” asked Shakky looking extremely interested and rather out of the blue.
“My dream?” asked Ryuu pausing where he’d been about to take a drink.
“Yes, you know, the goal you wish to achieve by being a pirate. Everybody who launches themselves at sea are pursuing some dream.”
The young man stared at her in silence for a second, thinking over the question with an unusual seriousness.
“I want to be free and have fun with my nakama.” He answered in heavy contrast to his attitude.
“Not up to being the Pirate King?” slyly questioned the woman, the whole crew ‘secretly’ listening in.
“Nah, that’ll be Luffy.” He threw back with a sudden grin.
Shaky smiled. Well, if the Mugiwara and the Hasu crews weren’t vying for the same position and didn’t want to oppose each other, she could root for them both.
HPOPHPOPHPOP
It was early in the morning of their seventh day at Sabaody that Wyper followed Midori down to the last floor of the galley of the Free Raven. There, he found his captain silently saddling Yuki.
He’d noticed him behaving strangely for a couple days already, but this ―whatever it was― wasn’t what he’d been expecting.
“Going somewhere?”
Midori jumped, startled, and Wyper didn’t bother holding a smirk in. but the captain recovered soon enough.
“Yes, actually. I’ve something to do so I’ll be going soon.”
“Aha, and when can we expect you back?”
“In a few days?”
Wyper got serious.
“Days?” he repeated. “You don’t intend to just take Yuki and leave for days alone, do you?”
Midori winced and smiled sheepishly.
“Let me rephrase: you don’t think we’re going to allow it, do you?”
“This is something I need to do alone.” Protested Aiko.
“But you’re taking Yuki with you.”
“I need help getting there and Yuki is the only one who can help me.”
“Why not take the Skyboat?”
“I will, but Yuki has offered to tow it so we’ll go faster.”
“And where are you going that’s so important as to leave your whole crew behind whilst going off with a Seaking?”
“I… I’m crossing the Calm Belt.”
“You’re what?”
“I’m crossing the Calm Belt.” Said Midori more firmly. “Yuki will tow the boat and I’ll keep him safe from the bigger Seakings.”
Wyper didn’t know what to say, but he was saved from having to say anything by another voice.
“If you’re going to do something so crazy, you’ll at least need a navigator; the sea knows you’d get lost in a pond.”
Cricket stood next to the door, arms crossed over his strong chest and wide shoulders set firmly.
“We won’t get in the way of whatever you need to do,” said Wyper supporting his friend’s words. “but we’ll go with you.”
Aiko looked between them both and seemed to sense that they were in no way changing their choice because he seemed to deflate before their very eyes before giving in.
“Alright, but don’t tell the others. I don’t want them to worry and the more we are, the longer it’ll take for Yuki to get us there.” Said the man with a sudden note of strength to his words.
Both Cricket and Wyper nodded before helping him get the Skyboat out and Yuki fully saddled.
And if both Gin and Rayleigh ―who was making progress in coating the ship―noticed them leaving, neither said anything about it.