I woke up not long after. Exhausted and in pain, but with a massive grin on my face. Looking over my surroundings I saw that I was inside Ruben's tree hollow. It was quite nice actually. There wasn't much, but felt very comfortable.
Stephen and Mikayla sat beside me, sleeping peacefully on piles of leaves seemingly taken from Ruben's bed. I'll have to thank them again later. They've been following me around allot more openly recently and have helped me twice. They made training in the forest after my loss slightly less boring. Though their constant bickering was rather annoying, I still enjoyed their company nonetheless.
Stephen hadn't made much progress in his boxing form, but has been attempting to incorporate kicks so as to increase his range of movements.
Mikayla on the other hand never needed my help. I'm not even sure how she got captured in the first place with the way she moves. If I wasn't paying specific attention to her she would be almost completely undetectable most of the time.
When I took them to the combat gardener hare's territory to train, Stephen was never quite able to grasp the timing and was hit constantly while Mikayla only got hit the first few times before avoiding them completely. She couldn't counterattack like I could, but her reaction speed is still very impressive given her age. I still wonder sometimes if she's actually a fishman?
Shaking away those thoughts for the moment I looked towards the trees entrance. Ruben was sitting there, holding his shin with his left hand, looking out as the sun dipped past the redline bathing the island in shadows.
It was just past midday. I had slept for less time than I thought.
I struggled to walk over before stopping and leaving myself against to purple bark to keep from falling. "Didn't expect you to be up. And even if you were I would think you'd run, or at least squish me while I slept." I said half jokingly as the half-giant looked down at me.
One of his eyes was still half closed and he had several bandages on his face, especially around his nose. It was awhile before he spoke. His voice was soft yet remained slightly rough due to his throat injury.
"Thought it would be pointless to keep running. I've been running away from things most my life. Figured it was time to stop. And I enjoyed the fight. I thanked your two friends for helping me, but they just told me you told them too. Your not the brightest bounty hunter are you? Your definitely brave, I'll give you that. I rarely ever get pushed that far in a fight. But that was honestly a first for me to experience. Most go for my hands to stop me from using my weapon. Or my legs to keep me from moving. You basically ignored them both and went straight for the choke hold." He said while rubbing his neck.
"That's not true. If I didn't hit you with that first strike to the shin, we both know I wouldn't standing right now. And I enjoyed fighting you too" I said with a sigh, "And I will admit, when a thought gets inside my head I have to stick with it. Regardless of how simple the solution might seem to others, I always end up ignoring it to go my own way. I've always been like this. Seems it's not liable to change anytime soon." Responding to him while channeling my souls energy through my body I started to stand on my own, without the trees support. "Anyway what is it you've been running from exactly?" I asked curiously.
And so Ruben told me his story. How he his nations army chased him away. How grew up in a circus and fought for others entertainment. How he killed his ringmaster to escape. And finally how he got a bounty on his head and up here. Even that he's not really half-giant.
He also told me how he met Lenora. It surprised me at first, but I guess if she knows him it makes sense as to why she would think highly enough of him to test my skill. She was apparently one of their best closing acts. During her time at the circus she used to shoot at moving targets while walking a tightrope blindfolded.
Honestly that's one act I'd pay to see.
I listened patiently to his story as he spoke. He genuinely seems like a good guy. Yeah sure he's massive, and he has to get his clothes specially ordered, but that doesn't make him any less of a person.
We ended up talking about random things for a long time. Things like our favourite food, the strongest creature in the forest, what kind of opponent is the most fun to fight and much more. My respect for him only grew further. I even told him about my dream of sailing around the world and exploring the most unique and interesting places. Places only found on the Grand Line
I liked talking to Ruben. He was an honest and caring individual who didn't like to flaunt his great strength. It's just a shame the Sevlar nation didn't see him for who he was, but rather just saw his size and judged him before ever getting to know him. Oh well. If they didn't do that, I may never have had the chance to fight him. When I told him that he looked at me weird before laughing.
After getting to know him more I only had one thing left to ask him. "Hey Ruben. Join my crew."
He stared at me for a moment before laughing hysterically. "Tell you what, if you can get your hands on a ship I can fit on I'll gladly join your crew."
We both laughed.
"I don't have a dream of being an adventurer like you do, but maybe I can find my own goal to strive towards if I travel the world. I'm pretty tired of running and hiding. And if I can follow someone I respect, of my own will free will, what more could I ask for. Just don't disappoint me and I'll have no problem calling you captain" Ruben added while chuckling. The look in his eyes said he was serious though.
"I wouldn't have it any other way." I smiled back. A fierce look of determination burning in my eyes. We sat in a companionable silence for a few moments.
Eventually Stephen and Mikayla woke up. They seemed slightly afraid of Ruben at first, but after he made us food, they warmed up to him. We stayed in his tree hollow for the next few days. I spent this time talking to Ruben and Mikayla, helping train Stephen and focusing on my injuries to help them heal.
Eventually I was feeling strong enough to start training again, so I immediately started doing Yogi Pathik's sacred poses. When Mikayla asked me what I was doing.
"I've seem you do those before. Those weird moves. What are they?" She said as her big eyes looked up at me.
"Special stretches that help maximize the use of one's muscles. Making them more flexible as well as making them stronger. I can teach them to you if you want, but they are not easy to complete."
"I can do them no problem!" Came her confident reply.
Twenty minutes later she was lying down sprawled out on her back soaked in sweat barely able to lift her fingers.
"You never said it would hurt." Complained Mikayla as she struggled to steady her breathing.
"I told you not to rush through them. Your body isn't used to moving like that, so of course it's going to be painful. If you had done them slowly, like I said, it would just be mild. But nooo. You had to finish them as fast as possible and look what happened." I didn't even know what else to say.
I looked beside her within the tree hollow. 'Sigh'
Ruben and Stephen were both in the same position. They had tried to compete with each other after i showed them the basic forms. But since they didn't learn them properly and tried to rush through them, they ended up like this. With overly strained muscles. 'Tsk, Tsk'
"I expect this much from her since she's still young, but you two should have known better." I said while stifling a laugh.
They didn't even have the energy to respond. They were older and less flexible than Mikayla, so they had it much worse. Chuckling to myself I finished stretching and went into my weapons bag. Taking out my spear I began to carefully and slowly practice my form. Not trying to exert too much pressure on my body.
It didn't take long for them to be able to move again. After a few more days, they had gotten somewhat used to the poses and I was mostly healed and ready to head back to Grassroots town to find Lenora. That proved unnecessary as she walked right Into Ruben's dwelling just as I was readying to leave.
"If I didn't see it, I wouldn't believe it. Not only did you beat him, you made him cook for you too! How low can you get." Came the coquettish voice of the woman in the ever white suit. She had a different colour of frilled garments attached to her neck and frilled sleeve cuffs as well. They swayed in the wind as she walked forward.
"Ha. Don't try that with me. He cooked because he wanted too, I'm not some villain making him do my bidding once he lost. Besides, if we fought again who knows how it would go!" I replied knowing she was joking.
Me and Ruben had sparred a few times since waking up. If you count our losses to each other, of the five times we've fought I won three times and he won twice. Once you understand his rhythm, as long as your quick, the difficult part is just getting close enough to land a proper strike.
"Your no fun. You could have at least acted surprised to see me." Pouted Lenora as she glanced at Mikayla and Stephen. She nodded to them slightly before looking back to me.
"Anyway, I told you I'd teach you to shoot if you beat him and you did. Even if I never expected you to pull it off, a deals a deal." And she pulled out both her revolvers before firing right next to me. The bullet rolled on the ground as I looked toward what she shot at. A small fly with its wings missing was trying to pick itself up.
'Wheeew' I whistled in awe.
"That's how I'll teach you. I shoot and you watch. I don't know any other way and I won't waste my time spending every second with you. Anything you pick up or learn during our time will be on you. I'll fire 6 shots from each gun. You can ask questions in between. Now watch carefully. I'll only do this once."
And with a swift motion she rebelted her pistols and fired. One at a time this time. Again and again she put them back before drawing and firing. Left first, then the right and finally both at the same time. I studied every second as if it was for a test. I didn't need to ask questions if she was willing to slow herself down enough to show me it in perfect motion.
All her shots had formed a target like pattern on the inner bark of Ruben's tree. "You can use that to practice." She said before walking over to Ruben. She spoke with him for awhile and patted him on the arm before tilting her head back and laughing. It was like the tickling of a bell mixed with a pigs snort. She caught herself and stopped before glancing around. She looked right at me handed Ruben the money from the bet she lost and stared walking back.
"And if your interested. I'm forming a team to take down Heist master Keith. For now it's just Ruben, Arthur and I, but if you join in with those friends of yours and we get afew more bounty hunters, we might just have what it takes to get both the bounty and the Crown Jewels. That'll definitely be enough to get out of this place." Completely ignoring her laugh from earlier she proposed a rather interesting idea.
"I thought you always rejected Arthur's offers to do stuff like that. What made you change your mind now?" I asked, slightly suspicious of her motives.
"Simple. With just us we would have failed. And Ruben was too down on himself and out of practice to fight with us, but now that you've triggered the fire in him, he's ready to join. That was what I sent you here for. I really didn't think you could win." Replied Lenora as she shook her dark curly hair out of her eyes. "Since you did beat him though, it will make our task that much easier. See I've never been afraid of Keith. The only reason I haven't claimed his bounty is because of his group and the amount of men he has. Plus I've never planned on living out my days in this place."
"I see. With us together, we'll deal with the fodder while you handle the boss. Am I right?"
"Exactly." She smiled at my understanding.
"Deal. But why do you want to leave here so bad. I thought you just wanted to retire comfortably."
"Tch, whoever said that is a moron." She seemed to recoil at the thought of retirement before continuing. "I want to be the best bounty hunter. No I WILL be the best there is, was or ever will be! One day I'll be strong enough to capture any criminal regardless of their might. But I'll never reach that goal if I'm not able to push myself. Ive been stuck in a small place like this going after weak, smalltime bounties for far too long! Keith is just the first on my path to the top. And his 100 cronies are in my way."
Damn, she got really heated for a minute there. And here I thought she was fairly reserved. But I'm starting to like her more and more. Not only was her technique terrifyingly swift and deadly, it was something I could practice to learn. And once I did, with my minds focus their won't be anything I can't hit. Helping her now is just par for the course.
"Consider it done. I'll do what I can to hold back Keith's men with the others. Just let me know when your ready to move." I said just before she parted.
I spent the next week sparring with Ruben, coaching Stephen and practicing Lenora's instant draw. I even went out for another bounty. After fighting Ruben though, this was easy. It was 3.1 million, but he was hardly worth it as he relied on grenade like bombs as his weapons. I shot him in the chest the second I laid eyes on him to keep him from tossing any. He exploded a second later. I probably hit one of the bombs he carried. Was a lucky shot really, but money is money.
I'm done with training through bounties now and will just be doing it to gather money. No more one on one fights to the death. They served their purpose well. If I didn't experience a life or death situation I wouldn't be confident to set sail at all. Having the resolve to stare death in the face and stand your ground is the first requirement to survive on the ocean in this world. It's why Zeff told Sanji to watch Luffy fight. Because having the will to fight for your dreams in the face of death is what it means to be a true warrior of the sea.
After looking into it I realized that ships in this world are extremely expensive. A single small pleasure ship is equal to a decent sized house and several months lavish living expenses.
The one I had my eye on, a lateen sailing ship similar in both size and appearance to the Going Merry, just without a figure head and slightly larger, was 35 million. It had a few more cannon ports than the Merry, but I figured they'd be needed sooner rather than later.
At the moment with my last bounty added I had over 8million saved. So it shouldn't be much more than a moth or so of constant bounty hunting until I have my own ship. Plus whatever cut I get from taking down Keith. I'll probably need at least a couple million more for food, ammunition and to pay the crew I'll hire to sail with me till I reach the Martial Isles. There I'll find a master to travel with and train me while I sail the seas of the South Blue.
One day I'll have an entire crew of truly loyal companions that are like family. But bonds aren't forged overnight. They take time. Till then I'll have to settle for common dreamers wanting to set out to sea and make it big. Maybe instead of trying to travel with Ace, if I make it to the New world, I should try and join the White Beard Pirates.
With that thought in mind I dreamt peacefully that night. Of fighting side by side with Marco, Jozu and even Thatch. Of facing the Blackbeard pirates on Banaro Island while Ace faces off against Teach. And even of charging Marineford alongside White Beards allies and trying to save Ace right next to Luffy, Jinbei and Ivankov.
It was a glorious dream. I was actually disappointed after waking up. I didn't like how it ended. In the end my presence didn't matter. I was just another fighter along side many others. I hated that feeling. Not just of being weak or lost in the background, but of feeling helpless to change things even if I know they will happen.
I shook my head of those thoughts. Trying to interfere with events will only lead to failure. I'll simply go about my own life and travel as I see fit. If I change things along the way so be it. But there's no point fretting over things I can't change.
During the past week Mikayla asked to spar with me several times. She was rather quick, but had little to no experience with a blade. She was a much faster learner than Stephen though and nearly took my head off with her short sword when I took her too lightly. She improved very quickly and rarely needed guidance, whereas Stephen needed constant reminders to ensure he was working on his flaws correctly. He was making steady progress though.
I wasn't getting much better during my sparring matches with Ruben, but I was still improving. He was a much better sparring partner than the cave bears. He was constantly out clashing me and pushing me to my limits, I loved every second. I always made sure to eat Baona's cooking whenever I had the chance and go after the bounties that caught my eye. All in all It was one of the best weeks I had since coming to this world.
It wasn't long before Lenora and Arthur came into the bounty hunters den looking for me. They had someone with them too. It was Vandanna Sha, the fencing duelist. I wonder if they caught her?Doesn't seem like it though.
I was right. They didn't capture her. She came willingly when she heard what he wanted to do. Apparently she had once lost to Arthur and had been challenging him ever since. He respected her skill and asked her to join us.
"What about her bounty?" I asked. "With that in mind what about Ruben's bounty? Should wanted 'criminals' really help us take down another criminal?"
Lenora seemed ready for my response as she replied "I've actually called in some favours within my connections to the underworld. As far as those who commissioned the bounties know, both of them are dead, so their bounties have been cancelled. It's not like we can have them fight along side other bounty hunters as they were." She said as if it was the smallest thing in the world.
"Hold up, you can do that?" Was the only thing that I could think of after her hearing her response.
"Why didn't you help Ruben sooner?" I asked after thinking for a moment.
"HA, it was only recently she got enough pull with the brokers and credibility as a hunter within the underworld to do something like that." Arthur added jovially.
She smiled and shrugged. Vandanna on the other hand looked annoyed that I wasn't carrying a rapier on my belt. As she kept looking to my katana as if confused.
After explaining my habit of weapon swapping the three of them seemed stunned before disregarding it as just another weird thing about me.
I wonder if I should be insulted or proud. Either way our team was ready and it was almost time for our assault on the so called Heist Master Keith!