Work Text
It's been a while since I've written anything for One Piece. I have to admit that, since the time I wrote Open Seas, a lot has changed, I've matured as a writer (I think) and definitely as a person, hence, I wanted to do a little bit of content again for this beautiful work of art. Seeing as Wano has finally come to anime and Marco appeared again there, I just couldn't resist writing a little bit about him. Hence, here we are. For any of you who've read Open Seas, keep in mind that I'll be changing quite a few bits and pieces about my OCs in this story, as I plan to do a rewrite of that, as well.
While writing this story, I was listening to quite a bit of tunes. I felt like sharing them with you guys, so that you may get a similar feel for this story. Hence, the playlist is as follows:
La Llorona – Carmen GoettMean Mary – Iron HorsePoor Man's Poison – Hell's Comin' With MeThe White Stripes – Seven Nation ArmyShawn James – Burn The WitchErutan – Temple of the SkyDevon Cole – W.I.T.C.H.The Rolling Stones – Paint It Black (Wednesday Cello OST)Fall Out Boy – Last Of The Real OnesCamila Cabello – Don't Go YetLizzo – About Damn TimeShawn Mendes, Camila Cabello – SeñoritaCamila Cabello - Havana ft. Young ThugCamila Cabello – LiarCamila Cabello – My Oh My ft. DaBabyGALXARA and Saweetie – Sway With MeAURORA - Cure For MeLittle Mix – Woman Like Me ft. Nicki MinajJulie Fowlis – Into The Open Air (Brave OST)
I hope you enjoy these tunes as much as I did while writing! :D
Without further ado:
Chapter 1: A visitor
She took the bed sheet out of the large wicker basket and straightened it in the air with both her hands. Then, she fastened it to the clothesline, making certain it was completely tight along it. When she bent to pick up another sheet from the basket, she saw something unusual in the distance, approaching. It was a large cat of sorts, yellow, in a kimono, walking on two legs. Jade stopped what she was doing, moving the sheet which was swaying in the breeze to step in front of it. In the calm, impossibly green valley, the clearly visiting odd cat-person was heading up the path to her small home on the hill. She smiled wide, turning towards the cottage."Marco, visitor!" She called out, going back to her sheets. She didn't want them to wrinkle while in the basket. Soon enough, her husband appeared at the door of the cottage, glancing out, squinting in the sun."Who is it, yoi?" He asked, putting his hand up to shield his eyes from the bright sun. Jade giggled."Get your glasses and you might see something, damn mole-rat," she grumbled back to him. He huffed, as he always did when she brought up the state of his eyesight."Don't go poking at my technical difficulties, woman," he retorted, going back inside to find his spectacles. The cat-person made his way up to the hill while Marco was still inside. Jade didn't even look at him while greeting him."Marco will be right out," she said. "He forgot his glasses and he's blind without them." The cat laughed his odd laugh."Marco needing glasses?" He asked, shaking his massive head. "This I have to see!""Stop telling everyone I'm blind, woman!" Marco complained, leaving the cottage, this time with his red-rimmed spectacles on."Honestly, I have no idea what you were doing without them," Jade commented, laughing. She finished her work and grabbed the basket, walking towards the large cat. "Shall I make some tea?""It would be much appreciated," the cat bowed his head. Jade nodded, leaving the two to catch up. She heard Marco's remark to the odd visitor as she was leaving."I'm not blind without them. I'm just nearsighted, yoi," he grumbled. "She makes it out to be a disability, almost." The cat laughed at that and he continued. "How do you give a child a bath with your glasses on? It's impractical!" Jade shook her head, leaving the basket by the door and put the kettle on, before she headed to the bathroom to see what state Marco had left their son in."You've become awfully domesticated in your old age, Marco," she heard the cat say. "It suits you.""Doesn't it, yoi?" Her husband laughed. Jade lost the conversation as she walked down the corridor of their wooden cottage, reaching the bathroom."How's it going in there, hun?" She asked, peeking in. Their son, Ace, was standing in front of the mirror in only a towel, drying his hair."Good, mum," he said, grinning up at her. "Daddy helped bath today." Jade walked forward and ruffled his damp hair."So, daddy helped you with your bath today. I'm glad you had fun," she said with a smile. Their son looked more like Marco than her. He inherited her dark pigmentation of skin, but his hair and face was all from his father. The curly mop of blonde reminded her of her husband. Not to mention the personality. He was definitely his father's son, through and through. "Your father has a visitor, shall we go say hi when you're all dressed?""Yes!" The boy rushed to get his clothes. "T-shirt, pants." Jade couldn't help the grin on her face as she left the bathroom and went back into the kitchen. While their son surely resembled his father when it came to personality and appearance, he had her brains. It was a comforting thought, knowing that she would be able to help him develop whatever skills he desired to develop, unlike her parents. She put four cups on the table and fetched the hot water, preparing the tea she'd promised. By the time the beverage was ready, Ace joined her in the kitchen, this time dressed. "Visitor?" He asked, jumping onto a chair to get a better look at what his mother was doing. Jade poked his hand when it came too close to the steaming cups."It's hot, careful," she warned. "Daddy has a visit from an old friend, I believe." Jade took the tray of cups and led them outside into the warm summer breeze, heading for the back of the cottage where her husband usually relaxed on an old log. Really, that was meant to be chopped up for winter fires, but the weather was still nice, so it had stayed out back, serving as a seat for the small family on more than one occasion."What do you say?" She heard the cat-person ask. Her husband responded in a somber voice."I'm out of the game, Nekomamushi," he said. "I've been for two years. I have a family now, a wife, a son, I need to think about them and this place before I go out headfirst into a battle." Jade frowned, walking over to the duo."The tea's ready." Marco turned in his seat to look at her. "Here you go.""Thanks," the cat took his cup, sipping, then quickly pushed his tongue out into the air. "It's hot.""Your tongue's too sensitive, yoi," Marco laughed. He took his own cup, but didn't drink. "It's too dangerous. I can't help you." Jade's frown deepened. Before she could give her input, her son peeked out from behind her, looking at their visitor."And who might this be?" The cat grinned wide, bending down to see the boy better."I'm Ace Hawthorne! I will be Pirate King!" Jade's two-year-old boy stepped out from behind her legs, proudly pointing to his chest as he spoke his conviction. She grinned, looking at Marco and his companion. Her husband was smiling, as he always did when he heard their son speak his mind about traveling to Laugh Tale. The cat-person, on the other hand, seemed shocked for a moment. Then, he smiled wide."A worthy dream for a strapping young lad!" He commented, extending his hand for the boy to shake. "They call me Nekomamushi, Ruler of the Night at Zou and a retainer of the Kozuki family of Wano, one of the Nine Red Scabbards. It is my pleasure to make your acquaintance, future Pirate King Ace! Garchu!" The large cat lowered his face close to the boy and then rubbed it against him, almost knocking him over. Jade was quick to stand behind her son and stop him from toppling over. Ace laughed merrily."It nice to meet you, Master Nekomamushi," he said, rubbing his cheek back against the big cat's. Nekomamushi laughed, pulling away."Jade Hawthorne," Jade said at his glance to her. "Marco's wife.""Aah," Nekomamushi nodded in understanding. "I see you've built quite the life for yourself here. How did you two meet?" Jade grinned wide, turning to Marco."Will you tell or shall I?" Marco smiled wide at the memory."You love telling it so much, yoi," he motioned for her to join them. "I wouldn't dare take this rare opportunity away from you." Jade plopped down on the grass in front of the log, taking her cup of tea."It was all way back when Marco was a rebellious teen, you see," she began, and immediately he protested, much to his visitor's amusement."I was never rebellious!""He actually got imprisoned on the island where I grew up, in East Blue of all places!" Nekomamushi laughed at Marco's obvious frustration."Oh, do tell!""It was a nice summer day," she continued. "The apple trees were in full bloom and everywhere you went you could just taste the nectar on your tongue."
To be continued…
I'm looking forward to your feedback!
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter 2: The kid doctor
The air smelled of apple blossoms and soil fresh from a warm, late spring rain. The weather forecast was everything anyone could ever hope for – sunny, with a few white clouds in the bright blue sky, a perfect day for a lazy afternoon on the deck of a ship or a walk in the forest of an unknown island, enjoying the breeze. However, for Marco the Phoenix, the weather seemed more like ironic laughter directed his way, telling him just how ridiculous his situation was.Marco was in chains. It wasn't that it was his first time, and certainly not his last, but it was purely ridiculous. This wasn't the New World, where his captain held reign and prestige as a Yonko. This wasn't the dangerous, unpredictable sea with strong Marines and pirates wandering about, looking to make their mark on the world by taking down a member of the Whitebeard crew. This was the East Blue, the calmest of the four great seas and an area where Marco being in chains was almost laughable.He hadn't expected to encounter an Admiral in those seas. He hadn't expected his little crew to be so badly defeated in a marine battle. He'd expected to run the errand he was sent on, head back up the Reverse Mountain, and be back home on the Moby Dick in record time. And yet, there he was, sitting in a Kairoseki cage, with Kairoseki cuffs on, a smile on his face from the sheer ridiculousness of the whole ordeal. At least, his crew hadn't been badly hurt. He had managed to spot them here and there, in different cells, divided carefully to avoid plotting and planning, all cuffed securely. However, with the Kairoseki on his wrists and the wounds he'd sustained after it had been slipped on him in a moment of carelessness, Marco's chances of breaking out of prison seemed slim.Marco was prepared to die for his cause. He hadn't expected that to happen in East Blue. Nor had he expected to die at merely eighteen. He had expected to die on his way to making his captain the Pirate King. Or, at least after he'd seen that day when Whitebeard became the most revered pirate in the world. But, seeing his present situation, Marco figured that it was likely the end of the line for him. The lovely summer weather carrying the sweet scent of apple blossoms seemed to be laughing at him."On your feet," the voice of a marine soldier broke Marco out of his daydream. He looked away from the small round window which had been his only view of the beautiful weather outside for the past few hours, despite the bars in the way, and glanced to the man ordering him around. The marine had decided that Marco hadn't been fast enough and yanked him to his feet."Easy, yoi, I'm injured here," Marco complained, but managed to get his partially numb legs under him. The marine glared and slipped a chain through his cuffs without a word. Then, he pulled the pirate out of the Kairoseki cage, through the long corridor which led along the rows of cells in the belly of the marine ship and out onto the deck. Marco blinked a few times in the sun, adjusting to the sudden brightness. They were closing in on an island. He spotted the rest of the Whitebeard group sent with him a little ways off on the deck, much in the same condition as him. They brightened up upon seeing him, but nobody said a word. He gave them a nod."No colluding," the marine in charge of him warned. Marco offered a lazy smile."Just checking in with my men," he shrugged. A bad idea. His shoulder hurt to heaven come. The marine smiled widely."You'll have your time to check in with them at the prison, before they escort you to Impel Down," he told the young apprentice gleefully. "Be sure to say your goodbyes." The gods, or the weather, or everything in between, seemed to be grinning at Marco much in the same manner as the marine was – with ironic smirks.The prison was horrid. Not that Marco was of a hobby of checking them out, but he especially didn't like this one. It was old, built in stone, clearly not cleaned in the past century, and deep underground, smelling of mold and urine. It was, in one word, a disgusting place. At least he was with his crew in the same cell. The marines had chained them together in the same space, the stronger, more notorious members to the wall, and the less known pirates with just their hands cuffed. Marco, of course, was worst off. His hands and legs were bound, both attached to the stone walls with Kairoseki. It was a horribly draining state. The stone was endlessly tiring, sapping away any energy he had left, making even thinking straight rather strenuous."How are you doing, Marco?" One of the pirates asked, a man who'd been left 'in charge' of Marco and the small mission by Whitebeard. He was known as Kondor, a rather large, well-built man, who didn't like fighting much and preferred staying under deck in the kitchens when on the Moby Dick."Sore, yoi," Marco's head lolled to the side. "How's everyone doing?" There were murmurs among the pirates. The majority had some kind of an injury, but all in all, it was bumps and bruises. Marco and Kondor had gotten the brunt of the attacks, given their bounties."We'll think of a way out of this," Kondor said in a reassuring, fatherly tone. He was calm, as always. "We've been in worse pinches." Somehow, despite the even tone of the words, Marco doubted them. The situation was perilous, at the least.The whole morning had been slow. From the crack of dawn, in her usual gardening routine, to the everyday scrapes and bruises she treated. Then, onto the typical poultice and tonic making for the regular patients, followed by a walk downtown to distribute them personally to each and every one of her precious people. It was the most normal, casual, slow late spring morning for her. Nothing out of the ordinary. Until that ship docked at their tiny bay.King's Watch was a small, small town, barely available to be seen on any map, at the very peak of the Crescent Island, which much resembled the celestial body it was named after, in the East Blue. Nothing of importance happened there. They hadn't really been a hometown to any remarkable people, marines or pirates. They hadn't been a part of any war. They hadn't been the usual stop for any pirate ship on their way to the Grand Line. There were a few towns, few and far in between along the coastline, a couple of villages and a lot of vineyards. The only thing the Crescent was known was the infamous Red Moon, a brand of quality desert wine loved by all. But, still, nothing much happened on the island. They made the wine, they packaged it, ships picked it up and they got the funds to repeat the process. A typical, peaceful, small island.It was a year or so ago that the World Government had ordered a Marine base be built on their island. It hadn't been much of a hassle. There had been room, just above the King's Watch where it met the bottom of the closest vineyards. There, a structure had been constructed, Marines flooding in. In the end, after the novelty wore off, only a few stayed. A small platoon of thirty or so odd men and women, under Commander Jonathan Shepard, who thought too much of himself, in her humble opinion, ended up remaining as a constant on the island. The Marines weren't too bad. They drank, they ate, they practiced their fighting skills. They enjoyed spending time in town with the locals. The Commander stayed away, mostly holed up in his quarters with his big dreams of becoming a Captain. She didn't mind, nor did she care. Her daily life hadn't been upset by the Marine base. The novelty wore off quickly for her, like with everything else.An odd child, they called her. A genius, or something. Not that she cared. Ever since the death of her folks, while she was away no less, she had been numb. Her parents had done the best they could've with her, but when her questions of 'why' and 'how does it work' got too much even for them, they sent her away to boarding school. It had been the right decision, in her opinion. From the Longvalley Boarding School for Girls to The Star College for the Gifted, she found her path. Medicine was something she loved doing, exploring and practicing. She'd gotten her license officially the week before her parents passing. Her letter, the news of her success, she'd found in the mail when she'd arrived home for the funerals. Something, she wasn't certain what, but something back then, broke that thing inside her which had caused her to smile, to laugh and to be merry. Two years ago, at the tender age of six, she'd become completely numb to everything around her. She existed in a mechanical routine.And then, that ship docked, and, much like when the Marine base was being built, a curiosity of chaos was sparked inside of her. If she'd known what kind of a life she would be leading because of that Marine ship, she would've probably run towards it like a beast out of hell, eager. But, she'd merely inspected the tall mast and sails, before continuing on her way with a shrug."Jade!" It was in the afternoon a few days later that her routine was interrupted by an out of breath marine. "There you are, kid wonder," the man grinned, making her raise an eyebrow at him slowly. "We need some medical aid at the base, if you could." With a nod, she got up from her table, leaving her lunch unfinished. She packed her basic supplies kit and followed the man into the street."Be grateful we're allowing you this courtesy," the marine grit through his teeth at Marco, making the pirate force himself not to roll his eyes. The marine in question was the Commander at the base, as he'd learned. A tall man, with a lanky frame and a little too much hair on him. Like a monkey of some sort. He definitely reminded Marco of the monkeys he'd seen at one of the islands while traveling on the Moby Dick."It's greatly appreciated," the blonde pirate grinned lazily instead. His cavalier attitude to the whole situation seemed to irritate the Commander even more."Wouldn't want you lot croaking before you get the chance to rot at Impel Down," the man retorted with that grin full of crooked teeth. Marco didn't have a reply for that. He knew where he was going. It didn't really matter that he wasn't a Commander of a Division on the Whitebeard ship. It didn't really matter that he was just a nobody when other, big time names, were taken into account. He was a member of one of the strongest pirate crews out there, one with a high enough bounty to book himself a one way trip to Impel Down."Commander Shepard, sir," another marine called out, coming down the stairs of the prison. He saluted the nasty man in front of the cell. "I've brought her." Marco strained his neck to see past the Commander. It was no use."Good," the marine nodded, stepping to the side. "Here are your new patients, girl. Keep them alive." As soon as he was out of the line of sight, Marco managed to spot the newcomers. The second marine was shorter, but stockier than the Commander and he had a kind, but dull face somehow. It wasn't him that intrigued the pirate, but the company he brought. A small girl had just finished coming down the stairs, barely in her teens by his own estimate. She had wild, curly hair, like an untamable lion's mane in the brightest of red colors all around her dark face. The clothes she wore were plain – a dark dress without any embroidery and a simple white lab coat over it. But, her face was anything but inconspicuous. Large red lips, a button nose and piercing green eyes under thick red eyebrows. She was glaring at the prison surrounding her."Keep them alive?" She echoed."The prisoners," the Commander pointed to the cell full of pirates, in various states of illness from infected wounds. Those green eyes narrowed. The girl didn't say anything to the marine, but walked forward confidently, waiting for the cell to be opened. When the bars were pulled away, she entered, inspecting her new patients slowly, one by one. Then, she headed for Marco first."How long have they had these injuries?" The girl asked. Her voice was much like her, a child's voice. But, her question was precise, clinical, doctor-like. Adult. It didn't suit her, yet did, somehow."A few days," the Commander shrugged. "Just get them to a state where they can survive a trip to Impel Down. A ship will be here to collect them by the end of the week." The girl's frown didn't falter. She lowered her bag, a medical kit, to the floor, making a clicking sound with her tongue at it. Then, she reached up for Marco's shirt, opening it wide to see the slashes across his torso, seeping with puss."Tend to my men first, yoi," he said. "Please." Those green eyes went up to him then, glaring evenly."I'll decide when and what I do," she replied in an icy tone. Then, she got to work. Marco watched carefully as the little girl treated his wounds like a pro. She cleaned them, not even warning him about the upcoming stinging, before suturing so quickly he barely saw the stitches being formed. Finally, his wounds were all wrapped up and the girl pulled away, looking at her kit. Taking inventory, he realized, when he saw her scan the other pirates. "Mr. Thorpe, if you would be so kind to go to my clinic and fetch me the following," the girl said, not even turning to look at the marine who'd brought her into the cells. "Bandages from the left cabinet, there is a whole basket of them, not the green ones, the blue ones, they're a pale color. The salve kit from the glass cabinet behind the counter, it's labeled salves and wooden-" and she kept rattling off a number of things in much the same manner."Right away, ma'am," and the marine was gone as soon as he had the list. Marco saw the Commander of the base grit his teeth so hard that he was sure they'd crack. Then, the small doctor checked on his bandages one more time."Those are pretty amazing little delicate hands, yoi," he commented before the little girl had the chance to step away from him. He was met with a hard, icy, green glare for his teasing."They'd better be," she retorted, puffing out her chest. "I'm the best doctor on the island.""That's not much of an accomplishment," Marco shrugged. The girl frowned."I was top of my class.""Still only best for one of the tiny barely-on-the-map islands in East Blue.""Bet I'm better than your crew's doctor," she smirked."Likely," it didn't faze him one bit. "He's been considering retirement for ages, yoi.""True that," Kondor agreed from his right. "He can barely see out of his left eye and is almost deaf." The girl raised an eyebrow."How are you people still alive?" She asked. Marco shrugged."Sheer luck?"The little dark-skinned girl doctor was called Jade Hawthorne, Marco learned. She was only eight and she was the sole medical facility, prescription production and hands-on treatment included, on the Crescent Island. Despite her young age, she was revered and held in high esteem by all the marines at the base, and likely the rest of the island. She was, in short, their pride and joy.But, Jade was a prickly little thing. She had a temper of a fierce lioness and the confidence to back it. She issued orders like a proper captain of a ship, making marines do her bidding and causing the Commander to grit his teeth and go red in the face. Upstaged by a slip of a girl really didn't do him any favors, in Marco's opinion. Still, he found himself rather liking the little firecracker. He watched her interact with the rest of the pirate crew, and while they weren't a very scary bunch at first glance, he knew of his old man's reputation and expected at least some hesitance on the girl's part. There was none. She issued orders instead. Turn this way. Move this out of the way. Hold your arm like this. It was all very clinical in a sense, very professional. The girl who wasn't even in her teens sounded like she was at least thirty and it bothered him in some way. Or intrigued. Marco wasn't sure."The state of these cells is inexcusable," Jade concluded, standing up when she was done treating all the crew. She turned to the Commander, looking up at him square in the eye, as if she hadn't been ordering his men to bring her this and that for the past few hours."It's a prison," the man retorted. "It's not built for comfort. This scum certainly isn't worth it." He turned to leave, nodding towards the cells to one of his men."I won't stand for it," Jade fearlessly continued. "This place is a breeding ground for bacteria. Illnesses such as salmonella, E Coli, or even Legionnaires' disease follow. Not to mention the open wounds these men have. I'm not ruling out sepsis, impetigo and even abscesses as potential complications due to environmental causes." The Commander slowly turned, glaring down at the girl. "I won't stand for it." Jade stood her ground. "If you won't clean the place, I will. If you won't let me, I'll bring my patients to my clinic.""Out of question," the marine growled. Jade's hands balled into fists, coming to her hips. She leaned forward in a menacing manner, glaring still."By getting me involved in their healing process you've made them my patients. I have never lost a patient who wasn't terminal and I'm not looking to break my streak. Either find another doctor to treat them or let me treat them properly.""Why you insolent little-" the Commander reached the girl in two long striders, entering the cell. Marco felt himself tense up at the height difference. The marine towered over the confident little doctor, making her crane her neck to look at him properly. "They're pirates! Scum of this earth! They should be grateful they're so lucky to receive medical treatment." Jade huffed."Medical aid is available and a right of every living being, human or otherwise," she protested in a low, even tone. "Don't jeopardize my work." Marco felt his stomach clench with dread when the Commander reached forward, grabbing the girl's clothes and picking her up effortlessly. He knew, however, that he couldn't even help the kid who'd probably just saved his crew."They're scum! I'll decide what I do with them and what kind of conditions they'll wait for their sentence in!" The marine shook the girl. The rest of his men, about a dozen in the cells at that point, were all looking at the scene with wide eyes. "You should remember your place, girl. You're just a little kid playing doctor, while everyone allows for it! This is the World Government you're dealing with, not pig farmers and peasants!" He threw the girl to the ground and Marco grit his teeth. Jade, however, scrambled to her feet in no time, raising a finger to point at the man's face accusingly."You're not God to decide who gets and who doesn't get medical aid!" She stomped her foot on the dirty ground. "I say, as a doctor and healer, that these conditions are unacceptable for a healthy healing process and my word stands!" She stepped closer to the Commander, unafraid still. Marco could see her knees bleeding from the impact with the ground, but she wasn't paying attention to that. "No one will receive subpar treatment in my care!""Why you-""Commander!""Sir!""Don't you dare-"Before anyone could do anything, despite both his men and Marco's warnings, the Commander's hand balled into a fist and flew into the side of the girl's head, sending her back to the ground. In horror, the pirate watched as the girl crumpled to the ground in a heap, staying there for a short second. Then, she struggled to her feet, swaying. When she stood back up, her nose was bleeding and her brilliant green eyes were glistening with unshed tears."E-everyone deserves medical aid," she repeated in an even tone. "You may kill me for my insolence, but you won't jeopardize my medical opinion." The Commander grit his teeth, huffed and then his hand rose again."Don't you dare hit her again, yoi!" Marco warned from behind the girl, pulling at his shackles. The Commander gave him a look, then his hand fell back down to his side."They won't be leaving this place," he stated to the girl. "They stay here until the ship comes to take them to Impel Down." The girl nodded."I'll make this prison a suitable space for recovery until then," she agreed. The Commander spun on his heel, stomping away. Jade seemed to tremble for the briefest second before she turned to the rest of the marines, who were all watching the situation carefully. "Bring me a mop and a bucket of hot water.""Yes, ma'am!" And they were off like ants in an anthill. Marco saw the way her delicate thin fingers, the ones which had been so carefully working to mend him and the rest of the crew moments before, trembled as she balled them into fists and relaxed a few times. Still, her tears never left those mesmerizingly green eyes.The girl worked tirelessly, Marco had to admit. She didn't take breaks, other than to drink a sip of water and to check on her patients. She ordered the marines about like a proper commander of base, making them aid her in cleaning, moving the pirates about and rearranging everything to be a 'medically suited environment for a speedy recovery' as she phrased it. Marco was impressed.The first thing the girl did was struggle with the doors, including the back door of the cells to create a draft and air out the place. Then, she scrubbed those stone floors well enough so that one could eat off them. Following that, she ordered the purchase of mattresses, blankets, pillows, sheets and the arrangement of said things inside the cells. When all the physical labor was done, she found the cook of the base effortlessly with probing questions and put him to work, too.After eating a healthy, home-cooked meal (whatever you eat with a spoon is healthier than something you eat off a food stand, the girl pointed out) both Marco and the rest of his crew felt like they'd just been hosted by a proper Sabaody Archipelago luxury hotel, not a marine base prison. Despite the ache in his wounds, he felt calm somehow, content. Like he would make it out of this pinch, no matter the situation. As the night fell, Jade checked on the bandages of each pirate personally, changing which needed it, before she bid them good night and left, promising to be back in the morning. Marco leaned into his new, soft mattress, his legs and wrists shackled together, but no longer attached to the walls."The girl has fire," Kondor pointed out from his right, making Marco sigh and nod."Proper pirate material, yoi," he agreed. There was something about Jade which reminded him of the recent departure from their crew, Kozuki Oden. The blatant disregard for the rules. The drive to do what she desired. He was impressed, to say the least. Enamored, more like. The little doctor was a revelation."Shall we take her away from this dull provincial life?" Kondor laughed and Marco chuckled, as well."Think she'd let us?" He asked, imagining the short thing yelling her head off at them for even proposing such a preposterous notion. Kondor laughed harder.
To be continued…
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Warnings: Mild swearing, Jade being a little shit, Marco being a bigger shit
Chapter 3: Diagnoses
"Why'd you become a doctor, little girl?" Marco heard his crewmate ask the petite girl who was back early the next morning, just before dawn, to treat them. Jade glared, as she always did.
"I'm no little girl," she fired back.
"Little lady, then?" Kondor laughed his booming laugh. Jade didn't comment, focusing on her task.
"My parents sent me to a boarding school when I was five," she told him. "They didn't know what to do with me anymore. They thought I was unhappy here, without any new knowledge to impart on myself." Marco sat up, not caring that he was eavesdropping.
"And were you?" Kondor asked, moving his arm the way the girl showed in order to give her better access. "Unhappy?" He answered her raised eyebrow.
"I was… content," Jade said after a moment. "There wasn't much to do. My family was in the grape business. There wasn't much to do."
"And at the boarding school?" At that, her face lightened up.
"It was a really fancy, I mean, prestigious school," Jade replied eagerly. Marco noticed her slip-up and smiled. So, her politeness and formality did have a more casual framework which they had been built on. "The Longvalley Boarding School for Girls is well-funded, well-equipped and it is really difficult to get admitted into. I aced the exams."
"But, did you enjoy being there?" Kondor prodded.
"Of course!" Jade instantly chided, like she was scolding the much larger man. "They had all the necessary tools, the educated teachers and the rich libraries to make me interested in all sorts of subjects. I chose medicine as my path our of all the various areas of interest and went off to The Star College afterwards, to study further."
"I've heard of that place, yoi," Marco joined in, making the girl look at him. "It's pretty exclusive, isn't it? I've head it's mostly for nobles."
"True," Jade nodded. "The majority of my classmates were of noble blood. But, it's a merit-based college and once they saw my worth there was no stopping me. Now, I'm the only doctor here, board certified and college educated."
"Must be boring," Marco said, making the girl glare yet again. He wasn't sure which expression he liked better on her face. The one when she was excited about a particular topic or the one where she was rearing to bite his head off.
"It's perfectly satisfactory, working here, in my hometown." Jade returned to her work.
"Bet you'd be challenged more on a ship," Marco teased again. The glare she gave him was an overture to her biting reply.
"And why'd you become a pirate, hm? Dysfunctional family?" Kondor did his best to suppress his laughter. He failed.
"My folks are just fine, yoi," Marco shrugged.
"I'm not well-versed in psychology, but my studies tell me that teenage acting out occurs due to stress in a home situation typically, leading to the logical assumption that either your parents are deceased, were abusive or you have some sort of a psychological disorder," Jade said in an even tone, not even looking at Marco. Kondor seemed to be chocking on his laughter.
"My family is just fine," Marco defended. "They're perfectly normal, living out their lives in their port hometown. I often write to them, yoi."
"Bullied as a child, then?"
"Nope."
"Beaten?"
"Wrong again."
"Psychological disorder it is, then," Jade concluded, finishing her wrapping of the pirate's arm and looking up at Marco, satisfied with her diagnosis.
"I'll defer to you on the medical expertise in that area, yoi," Marco laughed, unbothered by her attempt to rattle him. The crew, though, were having a blast with her little teasing match with the usually calm and collected phoenix.
"You'd better," Jade said with a grin on her face.
The cuffs came off easily. Another turn of the keys in the lock, and Marco's legs were free, too. He rubbed his wrists tentatively, doing his best to chase the soreness away and readjust to the lack of constraints. It was truly odd, how quickly a human being got used to wearing tight shackles, he mused.
"Are we all set?" Marco whispered, looking around the cell. He got thumbs up as his reply from various crewmates. A wide grin appeared on his face. "Let's blow this popsicle stand." The smiles he got in return told him that his crew was more than eager to follow his order.
He really was sad to go, in a way. He'd gotten used to Jade coming over, treating their wounds, listening to their stories of travels. He'd grown accustomed to small bits of banter with the incredibly intelligent doctor, who still had that childish lack of filter on her, asking whatever was on her mind straight up. Even the marines weren't too bad, once Jade had made them realize that even pirates were human. They complained together about the same problems of spending their days on a ship, about captains, commanders, the World Government, the local paper, and so on. Prison had been, in a way, pleasant. If one ignored the whole shackled and injured aspect.
But, after finding out in passing conversation that the Admiral had gone ahead of them to notify Impel Down of incoming prisoners and that only the local force was on the island, Marco's mind was set. He hatched a brilliant escape plan and it had worked smoothly. He had to credit Tori with the majority of the heavy lifting, as the nifty little bugger had incredibly sticky fingers which were annoying when turned in his direction. However, in this situation, they had been God-sent. A clever swipe of some of the doctor's tools. A few long nights of fiddling with the locks. A night of searching for the key safe. Then, they were all free.
Sneaking out of the prison wasn't a taxing event. They had been watching Jade clean it and marines run through it for days. But, they all knew that they had only that night to make off with their ship safely. There were no goodbyes. No tears. Just memories.
As Marco ran in front of his small crew towards the bay, he glanced back at the sleepy King's Watch. Truly, if the circumstances of their stay had been different, he might've considered coming back.
"Think we could steal the doc?" Kondor laughed from his left.
"And risk the following wrath?" Marco grinned, shaking his head. "I'd rather not." Soon enough, they would nab a ship from the harbor if they couldn't get their hands on their own one and they would be off to complete their original task. Marco tossed one last glance at the vineyards in the mountains and the twinkling lights in the town, before he looked towards the sea, his home. A lungful of salty air made him feel like he always had near the ocean – free.
Jade was awoken abruptly by a hard knock on her door. Thinking it might be an emergent situation, she disentangled herself from her bed sheets and shot up, heading for the door. Another knock made her forego any dressing. In only her nightgown, barefoot and hair wild, she glared towards the door.
"I'm coming!" She yelled at the third set of knocks, ripping the door open. There stood three marines, looking down at her impassively. Instantly, she smelled trouble. "Is there an emergency?" Jade asked. She didn't receive a reply. The men she'd been chatting casually with for the past few years, greeting in passing and enjoying shopping with grabbed her arms and dragged her from her home. "Hey! What's going on?! This is assault!" Her wriggling and yelling didn't pull a reply out of them, just made them grip her harder. So, Jade conceded and went quietly with them.
The sun hadn't risen yet. It was too early, four or five in the morning according to her estimate. The marines dragged her through empty, haunting streets of her hometown, not saying a word, heading for the base at the top of the hill. Jade did her best to ignore her discomfort due to their tight grip on her upper arms and the stinging in her feet from the occasional sharp rock. The situation was dire if she was being dragged like this. It was in her best interest not to agitate them further.
Soon enough, as dawn broke on the horizon and windows and doors began to open with the locals setting up their shops, they were almost in front of the marine base. Jade ignored the gasps and worried looks from her fellow islanders. She had no answers to give them. And then, they entered the marine base, headed up the stairs and into the first office on the left. Jade was pushed through the door, sending her to her knees on the plush carpet inside.
"We've brought her, Commander," one of the marines said. Jade glared back at them, seeing them standing at attention, not even looking at her. She turned forward. Commander Shepard had his back to her. He was looking out the window into the rising sun.
"Miss Hawthorne," he slowly said. "You've been found guilty of aiding and abetting a pirate escape. For this crime the punishment is execution." Jade felt her stomach clench.
"What?" She asked incredulously.
"The execution will be carried out in an hour," the Commander continued in that same cold, detached tone, finally turning to her. He had a wide grin on his face, like he'd won the lottery. Jade got up to her feet and rushed forward at him, but she was caught by a set of arms on each side.
"I didn't aid anyone!" She screamed, kicking out and trying to bite the men restraining her. "I'm innocent, you idiotic clown! Let me go! Let me go!" Her voice broke on the last word, but she kept kicking out, thrashing, doing her best to get loose.
"It's best if you simply accept your punishment," the Commander told her with a sneer. "I would've loved to have seen what kind of a woman you'd grow into. You would've been a right looker." His grin was positively disgusting. "But, those pirates were incredibly valuable to me."
Jade was disgusted with both the perverse man who called himself justice and herself for being so naïve as to trust the World Government, going numb and finally limp. Before she could say anything else, the marines took her to the prison she'd so recently been coming in and out of freely. They slapped a pair of cuffs on her wrists and tossed her into the same cell the intriguing pirates had inhabited for the past few days. The prison was empty, save for her. After the metal doors locked behind her, Jade glanced to her hands, her eyes stinging. This was the end of the line, she supposed. At least she was going to die for doing right by her patients.
The sun was shining and the air smelled of apple blossoms. Jade stood on the platform, regarded by the majority of her hometown's residents in disbelief and outrage. She was dirty from her uncomfortable trip to the marine base and still in her simple white nightgown, barefoot. The shackles on her wrists felt like they weighed tons. But, the sun was shining and the smell of apple blossoms was alluring. If this was the day she would die, it was a good day. A pretty day at the end of spring. She raised her head, defiantly glaring at the Commander of the base.
"Jade Hawthorne," he began, causing the murmurs of outrage in the crowd to lull. "You stand accused of aiding and abetting a pirate escape from prison," the sneer he was giving her was borderline insulting in its morbid glee. "The punishment for this crime is execution by beheading." The crowd erupted in yells and screams. Someone was crying. Jade didn't bother getting up to her feet. She just glared from her spot on the makeshift execution podium, an old theater stage, really.
"I'm not guilty of those crimes," she said, shushing the crowd again. "I did my job. Their escape had nothing to do with me."
"How do you explain your tools being used for the successful escape, then?" Shepard asked. Jade shrugged.
"Incompetence of the officers at hand," she told him, breaking out in a sly smile. "I'm no marine, I'm just a doctor. It's not my job to keep watch over the pirates, but to treat anyone who becomes my patient." Shepard's face went red.
"It's your job to take care of your tools and not lend them to be used in criminal affairs!" He yelled, rounding on her, grabbing the chain of her shackles and tugging her up. "Take a close look, citizens of King's Watch! This is what happens to those who rebel against the World Government!"
"She's a child!" Someone yelled from the crowd.
"She's a doctor, not a marine!"
"This is unlawful!" The Commander threw Jade back to the floor, where she landed roughly. She didn't see it coming. She didn't even feel it, at first. Then, her cheek exploded with pain. The Commander had struck her with his first, making her head snap to the side violently. It made the crowd quiet. It was the second time he'd done that and she was beginning to get sick of it. Her cheek stung horribly from the first time, still.
"She's a pirate sympathizer!" He yelled out. "This is what happens to scum!" Then, he turned to the marines standing behind Jade and nodded. Two of them tugged her forward, cuffing her chain to the link on the floor and then exposing her neck. One of them unsheathed his sword and raised it. It gleamed in the sun, making the reflected rays dance in Jade's field of vision. She grinned wide.
"Fuck your perverse justice!" She yelled out.
"Execute her!" Shepard yelled, and she was willing to bet that his face was red and that he was spluttering as he screamed. He always was a disgusting man. But, the fateful blow never came. Instead, a burst of blue appeared in front of her, making Jade look up in shock.
"Well said, yoi," the blonde pirate from prison, one of her patients, was standing in front of her, enveloped in blue and golden flames, looking positively ethereal. His leg, no, a blue talon, slammed into her shackles, breaking the chain apart. "Next time you have unsuitable desires for a child, try not to attempt execution and seek help instead," the pirate said to the Commander with a lazy smile on his face, making Shepard turn an interesting shade of purple.
"Marco the Phoenix! You scum!" He drew his sword, but it was too late. That very same pirate with the teasing, lazy smirk grabbed Jade with his talons and launched into the air at breakneck speed. She shamelessly screamed. The scent of apple blossoms and ash was in the air, along with something deep and masculine, like sandalwood or musk. She was wrapped in warm blue and golden flames, not scorching, but pleasantly warm even on the hot summer day. Secure. Safe. In the air. She didn't stop screaming and holding onto the talons above her with a death grip until her feet felt ground underneath them again. Trembling, Jade managed to stay on her uncooperative legs. The pirate landed in front of her, flames vanishing. He looked completely normal once more, except for the fact that he was holding onto his ear.
"If I didn't regenerate this fast, you'd have burst my eardrum completely, yoi," he complained. "Who injures their savior?" Jade rushed forward, slamming a fist into his stomach, the highest point she could reach, making him grunt in pain.
"I'm afraid of heights you damn moron!" She screeched. The cuff around her wrist rattled as she reared for another punch. This time, he didn't grunt. Still, he let her hit him. Her face felt wet. Jade reached up, feeling tears rolling down her cheeks. For a brief second, the odd duo was quiet. Then, the pirate reached up and wiped a tear from her cheek, smiling softly.
"You won't ever have to go through something like that again," he said. "I swear." Jade looked up at him, properly, for the first time. He was an odd looking thing. With that blonde hair only on the top of his head. And the weird lazy smile. And the oddly loopy eyes. But, to her, with that backdrop of the green Crescent Island and the apple trees and the vineyard and the summer clear blue sky, he was the most bewitching thing she'd ever seen. "Are you alright? That sleazebag didn't do anything inappropriate to you, did he, yoi?" He asked when she didn't reply for a hot moment. Jade was spellbound. She couldn't move. She couldn't stop the tears. "H-hey, say something…" the pirate looked her over, inspecting for injuries, probably. Jade giggled. The force of it made her body shudder. And then, she laughed, her whole body shaking, fingers trembling. The pirate was looking at her with a quirked eyebrow. She exploded into laughter, her stomach hurting from the force of it, bending over, crying, laughing, sniggering, doing her best to compose herself. But, it was no use. She couldn't stop the odd things going on in her body. It was shock. She knew. She was in shock. But, she kept laughing. "Alright then, let's get you off this island and to safety, lil miss," the pirate offered another lazy smile to her, his arms wrapped in blue fire yet again.
"Jade," she said.
"Huh?"
"Not little miss," she corrected through her sniggers, wiping her tears off. "Jade Hawthorne, M.D."
"Marco," he introduced himself, grasping her hand which had shot up for a handshake automatically. And then, he pulled her into his chest, throwing her up, up, making her sit on his shoulders. "Don't scream your head off this time, yoi."
"W-wait, n-no, don't-aaaaaah!" Jade's call for a more civilized approach to a hasty escape was ignored and her words melted away into a scream as the man under her shot into the air once more, his arms becoming wide wings enveloped in golden bursts of flame.
Jade landed once more on shaky legs, this time onto a deck of a small ship. She pushed away the blonde pirate, Marco, who attempted to steady her. He raised his hands up in a defensive motion.
"Miss Jade?" Turning to the sound of the voice, Jade found Kondor, the stocky, large pirate she preferred much more to the blonde one who had so recklessly manhandled her. Midair nonetheless. "Marco… Did you kidnap the good doctor?" The pirate asked, his hands going to his hips, tone of voice telling Jade that he already had a lecture at the ready.
"W-wha- no! I saved her! Well, I did kidnap her if we're going into details, yoi," the blonde backtracked quickly, turning to Jade. "Tell him! I saved you from the execution block, yoi!" Jade did her best to put on an innocent, near tears, expression on her face. She turned to Kondor.
"H-he saved me," she did her best to keep her voice low.
"A lie if I've ever heard one!" Kondor immediately rounded on Marco. "I can't believe you, really! She's in her nightclothes! You're to take her back home instantly!" Marco glared under the man's arm at Jade, who blew him a raspberry, grinning wide.
"Why you little-" the pirate lunged forward, but Jade evaded him, moving to stand behind Kondor and putting the larger man in the middle of them yet again. "This is what I get for my good deed then, yoi?"
"You kidnapped a little girl!"
"I'm not a little girl!" Their little squabble in the middle of the deck had attracted attention. The small crew of pirates, led by Marco on this particular mission, gathered around, watching them in amusement.
"Oi, Kondor, don't spank him now," one of them remarked, causing laughter to break throughout the group and making Marco's face go bright red.
"See if I'll help you next time, you little liar," he shot to the girl, grumbling as he left to go below deck. Jade grinned proudly, watching him leave.
"Did he really save you from execution?" Kondor asked after a moment, receiving a nod. Jade extended her wrists to him, which still had iron shackles on them, despite the connecting chain having been broken. "You'll have to apologize to him later," he scolded the girl.
"What for?"
"For getting him in trouble with me for no reason whatsoever."
"I told him not to fly," Jade pouted back at the pirate.
"Still shouldn't've gotten him in trouble with me," Kondor patted her head gently. "Let's get some food into you while you tell me exactly what happened. Exactly what happened," he warned gently as he lead her away from the deck, as well. Jade grumbled, much in the same way as Marco had earlier, but she wasn't about to jeopardize the unexpected much welcome hospitality of the odd pirate group.
"So, he blamed you for our escape?" Kondor asked, sitting in the small canteen across from Jade, watching her stuff her face full of the delicious dishes he'd prepared. He was smoking and sipping a coffee as he gathered from her mumbles through the food what had transpired after their hasty retreat from the island.
"Shepard's a dick," Jade said after she cleared her mouth with water.
"Language, young lady," Kondor warned, but Jade simply shot him a disbelieving look and continued. Her fingers were still trembling and she was certain that she was in shock. Swearing was a defense mechanism.
"He's always looked at women funny. Always found something to blame them for. I think he's a solid example of a malignant narcissist with repressed sexual predatory tendencies which he exhibits through transference of guilt," she said in one breath, scooping up one of the dishes she particularly liked meanwhile. "However, psychology was never really my area of interest, so don't hold me to my diagnosis." She stuffed three spoonsful into her mouth consecutively, struggling to chew and swallow for a moment.
"It's good that you're away from that place, then," Kondor extended her a glass of water and Jade washed her food down. "You will be safe with us, I promise." The look he got was half a glare and half a questioning raised eyebrow.
"Safe? With pirates?" Jade huffed. "Please. Just leave me at the next port we dock at." Kondor leaned his elbow onto the table and settled his chin into his palm. Jade wondered if his stubble was itchy.
"If you really were up for execution, do you think that you haven't gotten a bounty on your head by now?" Jade paused eating at that. She thought for a moment.
"You said your ship's doctor was old, right?" she finally asked, looking up at Kondor. He nodded. "Then, take me as a replacement. I'll pay back the saving, the trip and the food." At that, the pirate laughed.
"You'll have to talk to the Captain about that, little lady," he chuckled.
"It's Jade Hawthorne, M.D., not little lady, not little girl, not little miss," she grumbled. Kondor did his best not to laugh.
"Alright then, Jade," he agreed. "When we reach our mother ship, you're free to discuss the terms of your stay with our Captain."
"Alright," Jade agreed.
"Meantime, you're free to do as you wish on this vessel, after you've apologized to Marco," Kondor didn't forget to remind her. He saw the grimace of displeasure she made and chuckled. It was odd, seeing the little girl, not even in her teens, managing to irritate Marco so well. Marco, who was usually so calm and cheery, grumbling about something. It certainly was a new side of him.
"Do I have to?"
"Yes," he was adamant and Jade nodded, defeated. "First, you'll eat your fill," Kondor said, reaching across the table and over the food to pat her head. "Then, you'll take a shower, get some new clothes and some rest. After that, you can find Marco and then, if he accepts your apology, you're free to stay. Does that sound acceptable?" Jade made a face, but nodded. She would need to get disinfectant for her feet and wrists, but that she could negotiate later. She continued eating for a moment, before pausing and looking up at the pirate.
"Who's your Captain anyways? My skills are too good to be used on a mediocre crew," she waited for the reply.
"We're with the Whitebeard pirates, Jade," Kondor replied, smiling. He enjoyed the way her eyes grew to the size of dinner plates instantly. "Think it's a good enough crew for your skills?"
"Whitebeard pirates?!"
To be continued…
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter 4: A day of shopping
Marco liked the crow's nest the best. It was the highest point of the ship, making it easy for him to take off of when he used his abilities. Ever since he'd eaten the Devil Fruit, not really questioning what kind it was, he'd been a little bit in love with the abilities which came with it. He was capable of flying nowadays. A wonder, truly. Ever since he'd set out onto the seas, a desire to be free made reality, really, he'd felt a kind of weightlessness to him. A weightlessness of both body and spirit. Training came easy. Going without food came easy. Fighting marines came easy. And once he'd gotten wings… it was all too good to be true, in a way. He just wanted to float around, enjoying the air currents, enjoying the view from above, enjoying the life he had in his body.
Life on Whitebeard's ship was pleasant. The crew was nice. The old man was nice. The ship was nice. There wasn't much he desired past what he had. Truly, Marco was happy. Sitting in the crow's nest for the night shift, he was enjoying himself, despite the long hours of watch and the solitude. He didn't mind any of it one bit. That was when the little brat found him.
"Finally," Jade's voice came from behind him as she struggled into the crow's nest, arms and legs trembling from the height of the mast. She truly was terrified of heights. Marco grinned lazily, glancing back.
"Need something, yoi?" He asked, looking at her upside down. The small doctor, really, it was a wonder that she was a true medical professional, stood behind him as tall as she could, hands on her hips. Kondor had gotten her some new clothes, which was nice. She looked out of place, like a lost little orphan, dressed in a pair of old shorts and an aloha shirt, buttoned up. It was too big on her, coming across more like a dress than a shirt. They were lucky that they'd managed to steal back their own ship, not have to nab a marine vessel.
"Yes," she said, not moving from her power pose. She hesitated and Marco let her take her time. He wasn't going anywhere anyways. "Is your Devil Fruit the Mythical Zoan Phenix type?" She chickened out from her original aim. Kondor had told him of the agreement with the young doctor. Marco wasn't opposed to granting her his forgiveness, but she'd have to ask for it.
"Yeah," he replied, returning his gaze to the horizon. Jade came up to sit at the small bench of the crow's nest, right next to him.
"That's a cool Fruit," she said. "It's the only one I ever considered eating, if I would have the opportunity." Marco looked at the small thing next to him. She was staring out towards the sea, for the first time not glaring or seeming terrified. A cute little girl, he decided, when she wasn't trying to bite someone's head off.
"Sorry to take the opportunity away, yoi," he grinned. She shook her head.
"It was a hypothetical anyways," Jade replied. "We discussed the Fruits at college in our spare time, considered which who would like to possess." The breeze blew her locks into her eyes and she brushed them back behind her ears. "I weighed the pros and cons and decided that the Phoenix Fruit is best suited for my occupation."
"How so?" Marco frowned, thinking. The ability to fly sure seemed useful for a doctor, as it would allow for them to reach their patients quicker. But, he really wasn't sure how else it could be beneficial. There were plenty of other Fruits which seemed more suitable, like the Ope Ope Fruit.
"The abilities, obviously," Jade turned to him then, quirking her eyebrow up. When she noticed his lost expression, her hands moved quickly to his belt, slipping a knife loose before he could intercept her movement.
"Hey, what are you-" Marco reached for the knife, but the girl was too quick. She sliced it across her palm, droplets of blood budding instantly from the cut. Then, she extended injured hand to him.
"Heal it," she demanded. Marco finally managed to grasp the knife and moved it as far away from her as he could.
"I'm no doctor," he replied.
"You're a Mythical Zoan," Jade replied in an exasperated tone. "Your flame has the power to heal, both yourself and those around you." At the confusion on Marco's face, her jaw dropped. "Don't tell me you don't even know what kind of a Fruit you ate!" Marco laughed, putting his hands up in defense.
"I just knew it was a Bird Type," he told her, shaking his head. The girl huffed, taking her hand away from him. She searched through the pockets of her new outfit, but didn't find anything useful. "Here," Marco said, unbuttoning his shirt and taking it off. "Wouldn't want those valuable hands to have lasting damage." She reluctantly accepted the shirt and wrapped her hand in it.
"Thanks," Jade said, looking down to her lap. "And thanks for saving me." Marco waited. "And sorry for landing you in trouble with Mr. Kondor." Marco bit his lip not to laugh. She looked so irritated at the fact that she had to both say thanks and to apologize to him.
"No biggie, yoi," he shrugged. "Not the first time I've been in trouble with him," he grinned at the kid doctor, reaching over to ruffle her messy hair. With a glare in his direction, she smoothed her head and tucked her locks behind her ears again. "So, you know a lot about this Fruit, then?" He steered the conversation in the other direction. Jade instantly perked up.
"A lot? I know everything there is to know!" She got into his face, grinning wide. "Like the full transformation and the healing flame and the restoration and-" she abruptly stopped, then grinned slyly. "It will cost you."
"Cost me?" Marco was intrigued by the change of pace.
"If you're looking to use those abilities properly, I'll be your master, sure," Jade said, proudly puffing her chest out. "Just offer me something of equal value to my knowledge." And with that, she stood up, looking reluctantly down the rigging rope ladder.
"Saving your life isn't payment enough, yoi?" Marco laughed. Jade grinned at him.
"Since I'll be your ship's doctor, not in the slightest," she told him, before descending shakily from the crow's nest. Marco reached up, his hand going over his face as he laughed. Despite how irritating Jade was, he had to admit that he liked the little firecracker. She would fit into the crew just right.
Jade found that adjusting to life on a pirate ship wasn't too taxing for her. For the first few days, she struggled with personal space. She had always had issues with being left on her own, wanting her own time, her own space, peace and quiet. On such a small vessel, there was no such thing. Kondor assured her, after telling her pointedly to stop adding mister to his name, that on the Moby Dick there was so much more space than on the small vessel they were currently using. Still, Jade remained without a moment's rest for the first few days.
She wasn't very useful on the boat. She didn't know the first thing about sailing, despite having been on a ship multiple times. The first time she stepped on a boat had been when going to her boarding school. The only thing she could recall from that trip was the salty, warm wind in her face and her shoe falling into the sea and her crying about it for hours. She'd also been on a luxury vessel from the Star College, which brought her to her new dorm, when she was only five. Again, she didn't remember much of the trip, other than the amazing food and the vast library hosted by the ship, where she'd spent the majority of her time. Jade could, however, recall every single passage she'd read while on that three-day voyage perfectly.
This, though, sailing with the odd group of Whitebeard pirates, was completely different from anything she'd ever experienced. During the day, they worked tirelessly - adjusting sails, setting course, cleaning, cooking, oftentimes evading marine ships. It turned out that Kondor was definitely the go-to cook on the vessel, despite not being the official chef of the crew. Marco, surprisingly enough, was the navigator and captain of the small vessel, which shocked her. To Jade, he seemed too young and immature to be leading an expedition on a ship all on his own. Yet, when she asked Kondor about it, he told her how it was Marco's first time leading a mission for the Whitebeard crew and how he was doing a fine job of it, despite the couple of small hiccups.
Out of the small group, Jade liked Kondor and Thomas the best. They both reminded her of how she remembered her father, being kind to her, taking care that she was always well-fed, well-rested and never uncomfortable, with either the crew of the trip. Marco, she didn't know how she felt about. On one hand, she really was grateful to him for saving her life, from the bottom of her heart. On the other, she wanted to strangle him whenever he gave her that knowing, lazy grin. It was a toss-up, depending on her mood that day. The rest of the crew was perfectly fine. She didn't interact too much with them, so she didn't like them or mind them particularly.
"C'mon Jade," Kondor called out, making the girl whip around from her spot at the bow. Jade had been standing there for the past hour or so, overlooking their docking into a small bay with glee. She was all too eager to have her feet on solid ground once again.
"Yes, Kondor," the girl nodded, trotting up to him. "What do you need me for?" The man smiled, reaching over to ruffle her hair. They all did that. Ruffled her hair like she was a little kid. She didn't particularly like the infantilizing effect it had on her, but she liked the action. Secretly. Quietly. Which is why she'd stopped berating them for doing it.
"We're gonna get you some real proper clothes," he told her, leading her towards the side of the ship, where two men were setting up a plank for them to easily go onto the dock. "Can't have you wearing Tommy's spares forever." Jade blushed profusely, thanking her dark complexion for hiding her embarrassment. She'd gotten used to the old clothes, even going so far as to tie them with one of the spare rigging ropes to fit better.
"Thank you," she muttered into the ground, her head low.
"Is that humility I hear, yoi?" Jade's small smile instantly turned into a frown, her mood sullying. It was the kind of day when she felt like kicking the living hells out of Marco. "It just might snow!" She turned to him, glaring. It had absolutely no effect, other than getting him to laugh at her. He reached over and ruffled her hair, too. "Glad to see you're getting proper manners."
"You need proper manners," Jade instantly fired back. "Might get you a girlfriend." Kondor wheezed from laughter, while Marco's eyebrows knitted together in displeasure.
"I take that back, you're a little beast, yoi," he concluded, instantly making Jade rush forward, aiming with her fist towards his exposed belly. Why did that man never button his shirts? And why did he only wear purple shirts?
"I'm not little, yoitween!"
"You don't deny being a beast, do you, yoi?" Marco laughed, his open palm on her forehead nullifying the vicious attempt to cause him some kind of physical pain. Jade thought that the day couldn't get any worse. Yet again, she was wrong.
On the small island of Corbury the pirates effectively split up into two groups first, the guarding group and the provisions group. Jade was in the latter, along with Kondor and Marco, while Tommy waved them goodbye from the ship as they left. Then, that group split up further, Kondor heading out with two men to purchase food and drinks, one group to stock up on paper and maps, leaving Marco and Jade to awkwardly stand together in the lively cobblestone street, abandoned with their own mission. For a moment, neither spoke. Then, Marco sighed, extending his hand to her.
"C'mon, red," he said. "Let's get those clothes for you, yoi," his tone spoke volumes of patience. Jade huffed, turning her head away from his hand.
"Stop treating me like a child," she retorted, starting up the street on her own and leaving him to follow. Jade inspected the place as she went. The climate was nice, warm, similar to her hometown, but the streets and the citizens were very different. They were dressed much more fashionably, all women wore makeup and the men seemed posh, in a sense. Nothing like the few places she'd visited previously. In her makeshift getup, she looked horribly out of place. Jade tugged at the edge of the borrowed shirt, pulling it down over the colorful shorts underneath it. She seemed like a street rat compared to the fancy women around her. Even the architecture was of higher class, in a sense. Nothing like the buildings at Star City, which housed the Star College, which had been created at the turn of the century to be as luxurious as possible while utilizing the buildings of old castles and city houses with multiple floors. It wasn't that kind of opulence. This small settlement in Corbury was more of a port town, with stone houses that had an artistic flair to them, multicolored, with carved details near the roofs and around windows and doors. It was all a little too fancy for Jade's taste.
"Wanna check this one out, yoi?" Marco's voice shook her out of her self-conscious daydream, making her look away from her clothes and to the place he was pointing at. It was a small boutique of children's clothing. The outside was in pastel colors and inside she could see a variety of frills and lace. She looked up at the pirate, quirking her eyebrow. "What? It looks fancy?"
"Too fancy," Jade replied. "I don't need fancy, I need practical." He nodded, tilting his head to the side.
"Wanna ask a local if they've got anything like that?" For the first time, she didn't mind the suggestion. Jade nodded. "Alright then, yoi," Marco smiled, heading for the lone ice-cream stand in the middle of the street. "Let's make a little dent in our budget with some treats first, eh?" To that, Jade wholeheartedly agreed, smiling.
"Not too many scoops, it's bad for your teeth," she instantly remembered and lectured. Marco chuckled.
"Yes, doc," he still agreed to defer to her better judgment on the topic. Jade couldn't help but feel a sense of worth rising up inside of her.
"This should be it, yoi," Marco said, stopping in front of a small shop. Madame Claire's was a tailoring place, rather than a children's clothes shop, but the kind ice-cream vendor had told them that there were often children's pieces in stock there, so that it was the only other place they could take a look at, if they weren't interested in the popular styles on the island available on the main street.
"Doesn't look too chic," Jade commented, standing next to him, her tongue going around the three scoops of strawberry and vanilla ice-cream. The strawberry was really nice, as it had bits of the actual fruit in there, tantalizing when she bit into them in her mouth. Also, the additional caramel syrup on top was worth the possible toothache, as it was homemade, thick and quite possibly one of the most delicious things she'd ever eaten.
"You don't seem like a fashionista to me," Marco said, pausing to slurp up the side of his cone, where the chocolate and mousse scoops had begun to slide down due to warm weather. He spotted her inspecting his ice-cream. "Want a taste, yoi?"
"N-no! That's unsanitary!" Jade blushed profusely at the very thought of licking where his tongue had been. He shrugged, walking closer to the shop window, peering inside. "And I'm not a fashionista," the word was odd in her mouth. She didn't quite know the meaning, but she guessed it had to do with her sense of fashion. "Rather preposterous of you to be questioning my style choices," she added an insult for good measure.
"Oh?" Marco grinned lazily, pushing all of her buttons at once. "Look at this, might suit you if it's the right size, yoi." Jade stepped next to him again, looking inside as she licked her ice-cream. He was inspecting a dark maroon dress, buttons in the front, with a lacy white collar.
"It isn't too bad," Jade agreed. "C'mon, hurry up." She rushed her sweet treat, biting into the scoops and the cold making her wince instantly.
"Good doc, seems to me like your diagnosis is brain freeze, yoi," Marco chuckled, but he copied her, wincing, too. Jade laughed.
"Seems to me you share my diagnosis." He laughed, too, and they quickly entered the shop after finishing their ice-creams.
Madame Claire's turned out to be a jackpot. She didn't only have the maroon dress in Jade's size, but also a few other items. So, with a bag of new clothes, containing a few dresses, some pants and shirts, and the much needed underwear, they were leaving the shop about two hours later, exhausted, yet content. Jade felt bad that Marco had spent so much money on her, but he'd reassured her a few times that it was spare funds and that if she insisted, she could pay him back when she began working for his 'Pops' as he addressed his Captain. She had rejected the idea of getting dressed in new clothes right off, insisting they had to be washed before she wore them. Marco had laughed at that, but agreed.
He had surprised her. Despite their usual biting banter in the store, he'd been actually helpful with constructive comments. While Madam Claire, a petite, blonde woman with impossibly perfect curls, unlike Jade's own, had been more than happy to declare that the little girl looked perfect in everything, Marco had been the voice of reason. He'd taken a seat in front of the dressing room, ignored the obvious attempts at flirtation from the tailor and devoted his full attention to the outfit choices. Some comments included that her hair clashed with particular colors, others that it suited her skin tone or body type well. Jade felt like she had been put on a fashion podium, given a little bit too much undivided attention and generally, she'd felt girly. For once. Her cheeks were still warm when they left the store.
"That was productive, yoi," Marco said, looking up. "It's almost time to meet up at the docks," he told her, motioning down the alley they'd come to the tailor shop by. Jade followed him obediently, walking faster to keep up with his long strides.
"Let me carry some of that," she asked immediately, reaching out. Marco moved the bags out of the path of her seeking hands.
"Now, now, what kind of a gentleman would I be if I let you do that?" He grinned lazily down at her, reaching with his free hand and ruffling her hair. "You just enjoy the sights, yoi." She smoothed her locks with a frown.
"Wasn't aware that pirates had a gentlemanly code," Jade grumbled, falling into step with him. She glanced to his legs, seeing how he'd slowed down, matching her instead of setting the pace. Despite her desire to detest the vexing man, she had to admit, she was beginning to like him more and more. He was painfully considerate. Obviously caring. Dangerously friendly. Relaxingly calm. She hated him.
"There's always a code to a way of life," Marco said in his slow, lazy manner. "It's some kind of an unwritten set of rules, more like guidelines, yoi," he told her. "Starts from not hurting kids and goes on to how one behaves around womenfolk." Jade frowned.
"I feel strangely objectified." To that, he laughed.
"Don't you worry your pretty little head about any of that," he said as they entered the sunny cobblestone street and headed down it, towards the docks. Jade spotted the ice-cream vendor and her mouth watered.
"Say, Mr. Marco," she shyly began. He laughed from his belly, glancing down at her and reaching over once more to ruffle her hair. Again, she put it into place as soon as his hand was away.
"Just Marco, please, you make me sound so old, yoi," he commented.
"Then, Marco," Jade looked up hopefully. "Can we get more ice-cream?" The grin that spread on his face was something between infectious and annoying.
"More? What about cavities, yoi?"
"We'll brush our teeth when we get back on ship!" Jade instantly replied.
"Alright then, more ice-cream it is, yoi," Marco agreed. "You really need to check out the goat milk ice-cream on Grand Line if you like this one so much, it will blow your mind."
"Goat milk ice-cream?" Her curiosity got the better of her and she asked before she could stop herself.
"Yeah, on this small island on Grand Line they raise goats as their primary source of food and milk," Marco explained, completely enthralling her into his story. "It's an island full of mountains, you see, yoi."
"Larger than the ones on Crescent?"
"Much," he agreed. "There, they make ice-cream out of goat milk, instead of cow milk, and it's chewy and stretchy and it's just delicious, yoi."
"Really?" His smile was kind. Not annoying in the least.
"Yeah," Marco told her. "When we were there last time Pops declared it his territory," he explained. "We ate so much ice-cream I thought everyone would be sick, yoi." Marco stopped by the ice-cream cart, waiting for the small family in front of them to finish their purchase. "I think the booze which went with the sweets didn't do us any good."
"Alcohol isn't healthy," Jade frowned instantly.
"Not even wine?"
"One glass a day is fine, more is too much," she nodded sagely. "Red wine contains antioxidants which help prevent coronary artery disease, hence, heart attacks. It's also good for the gut and brain."
"We need to switch from rum, then, yoi," Marco laughed. Jade put her finger up, in full lecture mode.
"Not necessarily," she explained. "In moderation rum is often prescribed in order to lower the patient's cholesterol levels and maintain low blood sugar levels. I've also read of it being used for managing diabetes, but I'm not certain how valid that research was. Furthermore, rum is great for colds, coughs and even known to relieve muscle pain sometimes." When she looked up at Marco again, she saw him inspecting her with an amused look on his face, a hint of surprise there. "What?"
"Just how much knowledge have you got in that little head of yours, yoi?" He asked, reaching over to ruffle her hair again. Jade evaded his attempt.
"I have an eidetic memory," she grumbled once he succeeded in messing up her hair. She smoothed it down.
"Fancy."
"It means that I remember everything I read," Jade proudly proclaimed. At his raised eyebrow, she grinned wide.
"Really, yoi?"
"Really." She gave him a nod. "Feel free to test it."
"Maybe sometime," he chuckled. "Which do you want this time? Strawberry or-"
"Chocolate and mousse, please!" Jade immediately interrupted him, pointing to the ice-cream in the cooling cart.
"You should've just tried mine if you wanted it that badly, yoi," Marco grumbled, but chose his own scoops and paid for the treats. Jade was happy, for the first time in years, she truly was happy. Walking down the sunny street with this vexing, yet likeable pirate, eating the four-scoop ice-cream, fourth scoop on the house from the vendor for their patronage, she felt alive.
To be continued…
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
My thanks goes out to A Deathless Song for the continuous reviews! I hope you enjoy the update :D
Chapter 5: Doc
"Are you coming or-?" Marco turned around to see where his little companion had gone, only to find her glued to a window of a shop in the street. They'd eaten their ice-cream, gone down the main street and almost descended into the small port. That was when Jade had fallen out of step with him. "What have you got there, yoi?" He asked, wandering over to where she was, peering inside, as well."They've got the new copy of Isshi-10 Surgical Techniques for Curious Healers," Jade said, in awe. Her nose was to the glass, her breath fogging it up as she read the title of the brand new, shiny book in the display."Wanna go in?" Marco asked, checking out the name of the shop. A bookstore. How predictable, he smiled."N-no, I was just looking," Jade immediately backtracked, blushing profusely and turning away. Marco sighed, shaking his head."I was gonna look for a book for this one crewmate anyways, yoi," he commented casually. "Sure would appreciate some help in picking…" He found her attempt at holding back her passion adorable. Still, he figured this would work. And, predictably, it did. The little girl turned to him with eyes sparkling full of glee."I'll gladly help!" She was at the door of the bookstore before he could blink. Marco followed her into the shop with a lazy smile. The bell above the door jingled when he entered, making him look up. It was an old thing, a bunch of round bells held together by a deep blue-colored bow. The instant the door closed behind him, the noise from the street was completely gone. The inside of the bookstore seemed to be in another world, in a sense. It was dimly lit, with lanterns in each isle and along the shelves which reached the ceiling. As he looked deeper inside, he spotted wooden sliding ladders along the walls, for easier access to all the knowledge around him. The scent of wood, paper and ink hung in heavy in the air. Indeed, compared to the bright and fancy Madame Claire's, this seemed like a place Jade would enjoy better. Speaking of the little doctor, he spotted her already deep inside the medical section, rummaging. Marco headed for that isle, as well."Found anything interesting?" He asked, leaning down to see what she was inspecting at the moment. One book in her hands was in a completely different language, one he didn't speak, but the other one read 'A thousand islands and a thousand infectious diseases' by Mary Margaret Jones."There are quite a few new publications I didn't know about," Jade grumbled back, a frown on her face. She seemed to have forgotten that she was speaking to him, not to Kondor, which he enjoyed. The little doctor had so many sides to her that he felt like he was always on a rollercoaster by a dangerously active volcano. "King's Watch had a bookstore, but nothing of this caliber. And this is small. The ones at Star City were so amazingly well-stocked that I would always spend all of my pocket money there." The frown gave way to a smile."Want to get any of them, yoi?" Marco asked, his hand going to his pocket. Kondor had told him to allocate some funds in order to make the girl's journey more comfortable, whatever that entailed. And, they still had a substantial amount, seeing as they'd politely cleaned out the Crescent Island marine base treasury on their way out. While taking into account the cost of the supplies, possible ship repairs, individual spending for each of the crew and their share of the loot, there was a comfortable sum which Marco had calculated for Jade. Her clothes hadn't made a large dent in it, but he had to keep in the mind the rest of the trip and any necessities she might possibly need. He wanted to sigh from it all. Luckily, Whitey Bay was quite the accountant and had taught him the basics of fund management."I-I couldn't possibly," Jade shook her head, looking down. She immediately put the books back. "What were you looking for, for your friend?" She turned around, doing her best not to glance back to the medical section."Stories from East Blue, yoi," Marco grinned mischievously. "Like, fairy tales or comics." Jade frowned up at him in a disapproving manner."How old is this friend of yours?" She asked with a raised eyebrow."Thirtyish?" Marco needed to think for a moment to remember the man's age. Indeed, their recent addition to the crew seemed like a timeless man, his age didn't really matter when his child-like wonder of the world was taken into account."And you want to purchase fairy tales for him? Comics?" Jade sounded disappointed."If we'd gone to North Blue I'd have definitely gotten him the Sora, Warrior of the Sea, yoi," Marco laughed, shrugging. "You'll understand once you meet him.""Riight," Jade flatly replied, turning around. "Well, if you want fairy tales, maybe Noland the Liar? I know it's more popular in the North, but we read it here, too." The girl wandered through the bookstore, looking for the children's section. "Here, they have a pretty edition. Or, perhaps Elbaf Adventures?" She asked, picking up another book, too. She turned to Marco, holding them out, side by side. He frowned, deep in thought, hand going to his chin."He might enjoy Elbaf a bit more, I think," finally the teen said. "I don't think he'd like Noland, considering how he is." Jade nodded, putting the first book back."Alright, then, shall we find Sora, too?" She asked, looking up at Marco again. He didn't miss it though. He didn't miss the way her eyes longingly glanced back towards the medical section of the bookstore. He couldn't help himself."Why don't you go back to the medical books and I'll rummage, yoi? I heard about this one tale while traveling which I think he'd enjoy, too." Jade gave him a dubious look, but she still gave him the Elbaf Adventures, a sweet tale about a giant's everyday life, and zoomed over to the medical books. Marco shook his head, pretending to be looking through the children's section, while actually following the little doctor with his eyes. He spotted her opening book after book, skimming through the pages at incredible speeds, before putting them back. Whatever she was doing, it made her ecstatic, seeing as there was a small grin of utmost concentration on her face. He got the feeling that he was beginning to figure out how the prickly world of doctor Jade worked, bit by bit."I feel like we got too many," the little doctor said as they walked towards the ship, both of their arms numb from all the books."It's all for a good cause, yoi," Marco replied with a smile, not bothered one bit. He'd gotten only three books himself, but Jade hadn't been able to pick. In the end, she had ten to her name now, along with her clothes, and still, there was money left over in her fund for the rest of the voyage. Marco was content, because she was, despite her guilt, happy. He'd seen the hungry look full of desire she'd given those tomes. It would've been a waste not to get them for her."I still think that-""There you two are!" Kondor greeted them from the docks, interrupting Jade. He was grinning wide, which told the odd pair that he'd definitely found something worthwhile when it came to culinary delicacies in town. "We were beginning to think that you'd gotten yourselves lost, or worse." The knowing smile in Marco's direction said everything. They had taken bets on whether the two would return in one piece, talking, arguing or if only one, victorious person would come back from the 'war'."Everything set?" Marco asked, choosing to take the higher road. Just because the men, much older than him, were immature, didn't mean that he had to stoop to their level."We're all good, commander," Tommy said in a teasing voice, making them all laugh. Marco smiled, but shook his head."Maybe someday, yoi!" He led the little doctor onto the deck and then proceeded to give out orders to set sail. He didn't stay to keep watch over the men, however. Instead, he led the girl below deck, into the joint sleeping quarters. She'd been very good about that, too. When he thought about it, she'd been very good about everything, except taking a spin around the rigging. Despite the fact that the small vessel only had joint sleeping quarters with hammocks for the crew, Jade had pointedly chosen one with a view out a round window and settled down there, quietly. She didn't have complaints. She didn't have any requests. She watched a lot, looking out of place sometimes. Marco hoped that ice-cream was reward enough for her good behavior on ship. "Here we go, yoi," he set down the bags, Jade mirroring his action. They now almost buried the small, shared dresser where the nearby crew left their belongings."Why is calling you a commander funny?" She asked immediately after she caught her breath, looking up at him inquisitively. He liked that about her, if he was being honest. The directness. She always asked her questions, no matter if they were appropriate or not, flat out. There were no pretenses or chit chat. Just the gist of the matter."Pops recently made a new arrangement of his crew, yoi," Marco explained with a smile. "Since we've grown in number and notoriety, we now have a captain and commanders. So far, five divisions." Jade nodded, taking out her new books and putting them into drawers so they wouldn't fly about in case of bad weather."It seems like a logical organization for a larger crew," she said. "So, why is it funny?" Marco chuckled."I'm nowhere near good enough to be a commander yet," he replied. "I'm too young, too inexperienced. I haven't got a direction yet, also." Jade turned to him with a glare."I hope you're going to go into medicine," she scolded instantly. "Because if you didn't, it would be a waste." Marco laughed at that."I was thinking more like navigation," he told her with a shrug."Psh," she huffed. "With your Zoan, anything except medicine is a waste. Don't think about it. Try it." There was something in that glare which told him that her words weren't entirely hers. Like some kind of a mantra she told herself and was now imparting onto him. With a raised eyebrow, Marco looked at the little girl in front of him. Really looked. She was too old for her body. Too smart. Too hurt. Too pained. Too… Jade was too… much."I promise to think about it, at least, yoi," he settled on, reaching out to ruffle her wild red hair. She instantly pouted, an action he was certain she was unaware of, and smoothed her locks down. A peculiar child, he decided. But not one he disliked."Oi, Doc!" The nickname had stuck and Jade partially hated it. Only because it came from the annoying blonde one. The birdbrain. Otherwise, she didn't really mind the name. She was a doctor, so a shorter version of her title was fine as a nickname."Yes?" Jade asked, meandering away from the side of the ship, where she'd been watching the waves glitter from their ship's lights. The crew was mostly on deck, holding some kind of a celebration or another. It was always like this with them, she'd realized. They partied almost as much as they worked. On one hand, she didn't particularly care. On the other, she'd prepared more hangover medicine within the past month than ever in her life."Come now, the guest of honor can't be brooding in a corner the whole night!" Tommy hugged her as soon as she was within reach and tugged her over to the center of the small gathering. It was an improvisation on the deck, as it always was. Barrels and crates of supplies served as seats and food and booze was passed around while the pirates sang and cheered. She already knew a few songs by heart, but her favorite was probably the Binks' Sake one."Guest of honor?" Jade asked, looking around. They were all grinning at her. Then, Kondor produced a paper from his pocket and extended it to her. Jade took it."May it grow merry!" He said, raising his bottle."Aye!" The rest of them cheered, drinking. The resident musician, Gale, looked to her."Any requests?" His eyes twinkled as he asked. When Jade didn't speak, too stunned by the paper in her hands, someone else piped up."Give us a Binks' Sake, Gale, she likes that one!" And the song began with its jolly tune. Jade, on the other hand, was looking at the paper in her hands, still. She couldn't believe it. Her own face was staring up at her. She looked a proper mess. In her nightgown, hair wild, basked in sunlight which reflected the dried tears on her face. She was glaring at something above her with clear defiance. Underneath the picture it spelled out: WANTED dead or alive: Jade the Child Doctor 1000 B. She couldn't keep her eyes off the amount."You okay there, Doc, yoi?" She didn't look up at Marco. She stared at the amount incredulously. Then, she finally broke."Only a thousand belly?!" The small crew laughed at her outburst, but the music never stopped and neither did the party.Jade was awoken when she fell out of her hammock rather unceremoniously. She grumbled, rubbing the sore spot on her forehead as she picked herself up off the floor. The ship was swaying left and right, making it difficult for her to stay on her feet. The few loose items in the sleeping quarters were sliding from side to side, following the haphazard motions of the ship."What in the world-?" She grumbled to herself, heading for the door to go up to the deck. It was slow progress, however, seeing as she had to stop every two or three steps to hold onto something and prevent herself from joining the objects flying about. In the corridor leading up to the deck, with two doors branching off to the captain's quarters and the canteen, it was much easier to move. The walls weren't too far off from one another, allowing her to simply head forward and cushion herself with her arms when she flew to the side. Finally, she made it onto the deck, peeking out from the relative security of the door."Return fire!" Someone was yelling, making Jade look around with wide eyes. The sky was completely dark, with occasional flashes of lightning. They were the only illumination on the otherwise dark deck, showing her in picture-like frames the mess outside. It was raining. Hard. The storm had created humongous waves that rose up like walls of black, incoming doom towards them and washing over the deck. Icy droplets of water hit her face, accompanied by the cold wind. And, to top it all off, there was an enemy ship on the horizon, which Jade couldn't make out, but it was firing at them. The crew was running about, arranging canons, firing them, holding onto the rigging which had come loose under enemy fire and all in all, it was a mess.She poked her head further out, seeking familiar faces in the occasional light. She spotted Kondor near the bow, pulling ammunition towards the canons. There was Tommy on the rope ladders, shouting directions for firing. Marco was nowhere to be seen. Then, in the far distance, when they climbed on top of the black wall of water, she spotted azure and golden flames. Marco was near the enemy ship, fighting from the air to disable the vicious attack they were under."Stay inside!" Tori yelled to her when he spotted her in the doorway, running past with the movement of the ship. Jade saw that his head was bleeding, but it didn't seem too serious. Head wounds tended to bleed a lot, after all, even if they were minor. Still, she knew that there would be plenty of work after the storm. Jade struggled back down the corridor, going into the sleeping quarters yet again. The swaying of the ship sent her flying into the dresser next to her hammock, where she kept all of her supplies. She grunted from the impact, but she'd managed to cushion it with arms. She rummaged through it, looking for all the things she'd told Kondor to buy at their last stop. Bandages, salves, stitching kit, needles, scalpels, all of them were there, neatly packed away. She grabbed the sheet she'd been using to cover herself with and wrapped them securely into it. Then, her slow journey back to the deck began anew. While she was content enough to remain in the security of the doorway, she wanted to be certain she would be at hand, if someone was injured more severely. She had a job to do.It wasn't that Jade was defiant. She really wasn't. She followed instructions well enough when they appeared to be made according to sound logic. She also followed orders well enough, especially when they were lifesaving ones. She could recall, even now, the time when her father had warned her to be careful on the vineyard elevators. The thick lines of rope with seats attached to them which locals used to tend to their crops. They led from the highest top of the mountain, all the way to the bottom of the valley and every farmer had their own line, or multiple ones. They offered magnificent sights, too, if one was interested. Jade hadn't been that interested in the sights, in the conventional sense. She'd been curious about the spiders, the bugs, the worms, the flies, the caterpillars and everything else the rest of the children called 'the creepy crawlies' in King's Watch. She wasn't interested in them when it came to their effect on grapes or the taste of wine, like the adults were, either. She was curious about their life cycles, their insides, their dietary choices, their hiding spots, everything a tad on the unconventional side. And, naturally, the best vantage point for seeing these sights, spending hours on end sitting and documenting the life of bugs in the vineyards, were the seats that weren't being used during that season, the ones on the old rope lines or the ones whose owners had gotten too elderly to use them. Her father had cautioned her. They were old. They were rickety. They swayed. When the fast, cold mountain wind blew, they rattled and a small child, like herself at the time, could easily fall. She had been warned. But, the sound logic of her mind had prevailed, deeming any other vantage point inferior to those seats. A month into her research, she had a broken arm. The very next day after the doctor from a neighboring island put her 'isolated distal ulnar shaft fracture' into a secure cast and warned against strenuous activity – she'd been lucky that the bone had stayed perfectly aligned – Jade was back in those seats, documenting her bugs and morose that she'd missed a day of their lives. Her father had given up on ordering her against the vineyard lines then. He'd settled for warnings, instead, rationalizing them as best he could to her numerous questions of why.So, in retrospect, Jade was aware that Tori's warning had held merit. However, upon seeing Tommy's fall, she knew exactly what the possible intracranial complications were from such an injury, including delayed hematoma formation, post-traumatic seizures, infections, cerebrospinal stulas, post-traumatic hydrocephalus, injury to cranial nerves, and vascular injuries. Naturally, she'd rushed from the safety of her doorway straight onto the deck, heading for Tommy. If possible, she wanted to treat his head injury straight away, instead of waiting even a moment to see the possible damage.He'd warned her right away to go back inside. But, her sound logic had told her no. Her job was right there, on the slippery cold deck, shining a light into the pirate's eyes and ordering him not to move and to follow her instructions carefully and meticulously. He had obeyed.In retrospect, it would've been better if she'd taken him inside to do her doctoring. In retrospect, it would've been safer for the both of them inside the belly of the swaying ship. In retrospect, her sound logic had been missing a few key steps to being sound. But, Jade was far from perfect. She admitted that. She lacked the know-how on a ship. Her knowledge told her to treat the injury immediately and she did it, forgoing further deliberations on the topic.The wave rose from the side, tall and black, taller than any of the ones before, illuminated in the flash of lightning. Jade only had a second to glance away from her patient and towards it, before realizing what would happen. Tommy did his best in his disoriented state, grabbing both her and her makeshift medical kit with one arm, while holding onto the rigging with his other. Still, as the wave broke in half and washed over the deck with a force she didn't know it could have, the pull was too much for the injured pirate. The wave pulled, pulled and pulled Jade away. She lost her desperate grip on his hand in the icy water and for a brief moment, she was aware of getting banged around the deck and then, the wave rushed over the starboard railing, skipping over it almost like a child jumping rope. Together with the torrent flew Jade, waving her arms about wildly and gasping for air, doing her best to keep her head above water and also find purchase to hold onto at the same time. Both failed. Her lungs burned with lack of air, her head got dizzy from the hypoxia and her thinking slowed. She became groggy, sleepy, disoriented. Even the cold water became warm, which she knew was bad. Early signs of hypothermia, her currently useless brain unhelpfully supplied.Jade splashed into the sea, still thrashing wildly to stay on the surface. For a moment, she went under the water and then managed to get her head above it. She'd grown up on an island, so she knew how to swim. That wasn't the problem in this case. It was the turbulent waves and the raging ocean which were unknown to her. The ship seemed to grow smaller and smaller, despite her vicious attempts to reach it. A wave rose in between them, completely obscuring it, and then Jade felt it for the first time – the fear of the ocean. She'd never properly understood what the odd few fishermen from Crescent Island meant when they said that the sea was cruel mistress. At that moment, she understood it, not with her mind, but with her body. The fear froze the blood in her veins. The panic made her stop thinking. The cold made her fingers go numb and her legs feel like lead. Just like back then, when she'd fallen off the old seats into the vineyards below and felt the impact through her whole body – but mostly through her arm – she felt the desperation of being all alone, without even a raft or something to hold onto while she floated, in the dark ocean in the midst of a storm. The terror. The regret.Her brain immediately went to all the medical complications one could have after being exposed to the elements in such a manner. To the lack of drinking water and food and what a prolonged state stemming from that would cause a patient to suffer. But, this time, she was that patient. The possible side-effects all concerned her. Her brain then went to everything else she knew about the ocean. The creatures that dwelt in the dark depths, which would consider her a suitable bite-sized source of nutrients. The sea kings. With her throat closing up and tears in her eyes, Jade managed to gasp out as she threaded the water, barely keeping her head above surface."H-help!"
To be continued…
Looking forward to hearing what you thought of the story so far :D
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter 6: Brief truce
The battle was over, but the storm was far from done raging. Marco lazily flew back from the enemy ship which had had its canons disabled and crew demoralized. All that was left was to let his men loot the ship. He circled his vessel once, twice, going lower each time. Then, he spotted something out of the ordinary. Tommy was waving wildly up at him, yelling something. In another circle downwards, Marco came close enough to hear him.
"She went overboard! Marco, Jade went overboard!" Marco felt panic set into his body instantly. Tommy was ahead of his question, however. "That way! I saw her that way last!" He pointed out towards the starboard side of the ship, into the dark ocean. Worn out from the areal battle and slowed from the salty droplets hitting his Devil Fruit given form, Marco pushed past the fatigue and flapped his winged arms to go up again. There would be no breaks this time. He looked into the dark sea and didn't see anything.
"We've got the rest, go! Go!" Kondor was yelling from the bow. Marco nodded, flapping his tired wings again to move back out towards the sea. At least, she'd gone the opposite way from the enemy ship. There was no chance that one of the stray pirates had seen her. He sped towards the ocean, going low to increase his chances of spotting Jade. The waves were still tall, but he scaled them easily, ignoring the drops which fell on his face and body, weakening him further. The pit of dread inside his stomach kept him going. Finally, quite a bit away from the ship, Marco spotted the telltale flash of red inside the sea. He dove low, going parallel with the ocean, so that he would be able to grab Jade without dipping himself inside the power-draining water too much. He extended his talons forward, like an eagle descending on its prey and waited for the last possible moment. In and out. He dipped his feet, feeling strength drain through his legs into the ocean, and pulled them out, along with the small, freezing body. Next, Marco whirled upwards, risking the screaming about the height they were climbing to. But, there was none. He glanced down, where he was holding the soaking girl in her brand new maroon dress. She wasn't passed out. Instead, her green eyes, full of tears, were looking up at him like he was a God or something.
"You okay, yoi?" Marco asked with a kind smile. Jade, though, was trembling now. She shook her head. "Took a little dip there, thought you might fancy a swim, yoi?" Her little hands grabbed onto his legs and she quickly struggled up, climbing him like a monkey would a tree. He let her. Soon enough, she was holding onto his neck in a death grip, still pushing up with her legs as if to go higher. He didn't mind it. He wouldn't bruise. He hadn't bruised or gotten hurt since eating the Fruit. He had supposed it was his luck, but Jade had said something about regenerative abilities concerning his Fruit.
"It was right there," she whispered into his ear in a puff of air that was too cold for his liking. She was still trembling like a leaf.
"What was?" He asked, getting to cruising altitude, not too far up for her to be even colder and not to close to the sea to risk going limp himself. Her little fingers gripped his neck and she climbed even further up, almost onto his shoulders.
"The sea king! It was right under me!" Marco wanted to laugh. From the air, he would've been able to see anything in the water around her. There hadn't been a single thing near her.
"I haven't heard of any sea king sightings in this area, yoi," he chose to attempt rationality. She usually responded well to that. But, her face left the comfort of his open shirt, where it had been buried, in order for her to glare at him in pure panic and terror.
"It touched my foot! It was going to eat me! You didn't see it! You weren't in the water!" She said it all in one breath and Marco did his best to keep from laughing. Jade still saw his struggle and squeezed his neck tight. He coughed.
"Don't choke me mid-air, yoi!" He complained back with a wheeze. "Not unless you fancy another swim, along with keeping me afloat!" Her grip instantly relaxed back to the tight one it had been before. At least she wasn't attempting to choke the life out of him anymore.
"Don't patronize me, it was a sea king! It touched my foot!" She screamed into his ear and Marco relented. He bent his legs in, so that he was cushioning her form into himself. Then, he concentrated on his flames and fanned them out, enveloping them both in licks of gold and azure.
"Aye, a right save from death it was, then," he settled on, smiling kindly to himself. "You're alright now, yoi."
"I hate you so much, yoitween," Jade muttered, but didn't make another attempt on his life. Instead, she buried her face into his neck. "Knew you would come for me." She said it so quietly he almost missed it. "Knew you could heal, too." That one, he heard. "Thank you." That one warmed him up more than his own flames ever did. Marco headed for the ship, smiling wider than he had in a while.
"Doc!" Tommy exclaimed as soon as Marco's talons touched deck, running forward.
"You found her, thank heavens!" Kondor was there in a split second, too, reaching out for the trembling girl. But, Marco was having none of it. He dispersed his flames and talons, his arms wrapping around his precious cargo.
"She's alright, yoi," he told the rest of the crew, all who had come rushing towards the pair. "A little shaken, but just alright." Jade didn't move from his arms, still gripping his neck tight. Shivers were racking her body ever so often. He didn't like it.
"Did she get hurt?" Kondor asked immediately, looking over the small girl for injuries. Marco shook his head and then nodded towards the entrance which led below deck.
"Just a little shaken from what I've seen, yoi," he told them. "I'll take her to get into a warm bath. Can you get some warm tea and dry clothes for her, Kondor?" The man nodded a few times jerkily.
"Aye, aye!" Nobody commented on the reply usually reserved for their Captain and Commanders. The rest of the crew was carefully watching the two as Marco walked towards the door. Then, Jade's face appeared from the nook of his neck, glaring hotly.
"Just shaken?! I almost got eaten by a sea king!" She yelled straight into Marco's ear causing him to wince and making them all grin and shake their heads. Sea kings that far into East Blue were almost unheard of. They were as rare as a unicorn.
"Stop bursting my eardrums, yoi!" Marco screamed right back. "Was attempting to choke me not enough payment for my gallant rescue?!"
"Shut up, birdbrain!"
"Looks like she's just fine if they're bickering already," Tommy chuckled, shrugging. "Back to work, yall!"
Jade couldn't stop her shivering. Even after taking a warm bath, courtesy of Marco's golden flames heating up the water, she was still shaking. He didn't leave the bathroom. Instead, he waited for Kondor to bring warm tea and sent the man out again for Jade's dry clothes. He lingered near the doorway, only coming close to hand her the mug and then moving back. Jade appreciated the caring, but not the watchful eye. Like she was about to break down into tears or something. Well, she'd already done that.
"I'm fine," she repeated for the thousandth time after leaving the deck. Marco nodded, leaning against the doorframe.
"You said that already, yoi," he commented flippantly.
"There are injured crew I must tend to," she tried again, but her fingers betrayed her, shaking against the porcelain surface of the warm mug.
"You've said that, too." He wasn't moving. Instead, he kept his eyes respectfully on her face and inspected her for something. Hypothermia, she supposed. Hysteria, maybe. He was waiting for something. A knock came from the other side of the door. "Kondor?" Marco asked, moving from the doorframe to open the door. The older pirate poked his head in.
"I've got a towel, warmed up, clothes and undergarments," he said, passing them all to Marco. "How you doing, kid?" Jade didn't have the strength to glare or correct him.
"I'm fine."
"She's fine, apparently," Marco and Jade spoke at the same time, then she fixed him with a glare. Kondor smiled at them both, then nodded.
"Well, you come on over to the canteen after you've taken your bath," the man instructed. "I've got some warm soup simmering for you and I'll have all the injured crew wait for you there. I suppose you've both already argued about that, no?" Jade huffed and Marco sighed.
"Yes."
"No," They said at the same time, and then Jade glared at Marco again. Kondor shook his head.
"We'll be waiting for you," he told her. "Take your time, we're just glad you're alright." With that, he was gone. After setting her things on the dry sink, Marco leaned on the doorframe again. Jade glared at her mug instead of him, settling down in the warm water. She sipped the tea. Chamomile with a hint of sugar. She sighed in contentment.
"Chamomile was the right choice," she said almost to nobody, but knew that Marco was listening.
"How so?" He prompted and she smiled, back in her element.
"It's been traditionally used in folk medicine a lot," Jade explained. "Chamomile tea has been prescribed to calm nerves and reduce anxiety, to treat hysteria, nightmares, insomnia and other sleep problems. Other than that, it has various other applications, including treating cold symptoms. It's second only to mint, perhaps, which is also fairly popular."
"I see, yoi," Marco said in a whisper, almost. Jade looked up to see him not meeting her eye. Then, slowly, he sank to the floor, ending up with his head in between his legs.
"Are you okay?" Jade asked, tilting her head to the side.
"I'm fine."
"Liar," she called him out immediately. Marco sighed, then his head came up. The way he looked at her then had her regretting all the yelling and screaming and insulting she'd done in her panicked state. He looked at her caringly. She'd seen that face before, those eyes. She'd seen them in her father, her mother, her teachers. When she did something right or wrong, when they want to praise or teach her. Those kinds of eyes.
"There is a reason why a hierarchy exists on a ship, Jade, yoi," he told her in a defeated tone. "A Captain knows everything there is to know about seafaring. A Commander almost as much. The rest of them, depending on how long they've been on a ship, can know as much as their leaders, but they trust them with the administrative stuff and the decision-making, yoi," he paused, hand going over his face. "I know that you've always been the smartest person in the room. Heck, you're probably the smartest person on this ship, maybe even out of our whole crew, yoi. But, believe me, a hierarchy exists for a reason, and when someone more experienced than you gives you an order, you listen, Jade. You listen, yoi." She didn't have anything to reply to that. There was no rebuttal, no argument to be made. He was right. He was completely, totally and irrefutably right.
"Understood," Jade said. Marco's head didn't come up from his knees for a long time. Then, it shot up.
"Is the water getting cold, yoi?" He asked, as if just becoming aware of the fact that Jade might be sitting in freezing water yet again. She shook her head.
"It's fine," she replied, setting her cup on the edge of the tub. "I think I'd like to get out now. I'm warm and begging to prune." Marco jumped up to his feet.
"R-right, sorry about that," he grabbed the towel from the pile of clothes Kondor had left for Jade and brought it over, unfurling it as wide as it could go and extending it towards her, in between them, like a screen. He even politely turned his head away.
"Thanks," Jade said, getting out of the bath and into the towel. As soon as she had hold of it, Marco turned completely around, away from her, letting her get dressed.
"When you're dry, let's go to the canteen, yoi," he said. "There's a few injuries you ought to treat."
"Yes!" Jade got dry in record time.
"Jade!"
"Doc!"
"Enjoyed your first man overboard, did you?"
"How big was the sea king?" As soon as Jade entered the canteen, closely followed by Marco, a barrage of shouts and questions hit her. But, she found that she didn't mind the attention as much as she would, usually. Jade had always been a bit on the odd side, a bit on the quiet side and a bit on the loner side. She liked unconventional things, after all. Not a lot of her peers, age-wise, from the King's Watch, enjoyed participating in what she defined as fun. Even at school, she'd preferred going to the library on her own over socializing. And, after opening and establishing her own practice, she enjoyed the quiet, idyllic lifestyle of a slow, countryside life, more than anything. It was the quiet routine which she liked, not the buzzing streets of the town. But, the odd pirate group showering her with attention oddly wasn't unwelcome. She patiently replied to all of their questions, going from person to person, inspecting their injuries.
"Keep this dry and see me every morning or evening for a dressing change," she instructed, leaving Tommy with a pat on the arm, before heading over to Kondor, who was already behind the bar in the galley, cooking up a storm.
"There's our little adventurer!" The man grinned wide, immediately producing two plates of hot food, setting them on the bar. Jade frowned when she saw the deep gash on his forehead and the cut on his arm, but figured that chastising him would only make him work harder before letting her treat him. Instead, she struggled to get up onto the barstool for a moment. That was when two strong arms picked her up from behind and sat her on it. She turned, finding Marco already sitting on his own stool, pulling one plate of food closer to him. She'd thought that she'd lost him while she was going from one pirate to the other, but obviously he'd been keeping an eye on her.
"Thanks," Jade said, turning to her own food. A spatula clanked as it fell to the floor. Jade looked up, mouth already full of food.
"Are you alright, Kondor? Dizzy?" She asked around the food. He was looking at the two with wide eyes, tears threatening to spill out of them.
"Have you two finally found common ground? Are we going to be robbed of the delicious banter and bets?" The pirate asked, bending to toss the spatula into the sink and grabbing a new one. Jade turned to Marco only to see him shrug.
"Who knows, yoi?" He laughed. She glared at him. It didn't do much.
"Unlikely," Jade muttered into her plate, shoveling the warm and delicious chicken marsala into her mouth. There was just something about Kondor's food. It was too delicious to pass up and too good to eat slowly, despite having the desire to savor it.
"Oh, then, still salty about the flying?" Kondor chuckled.
"More like the kidnapping," Jade countered.
"It ain't kidnapping if the victim is willing, yoi," Marco grumbled.
"Willing my arse," Jade retorted, pointing her fork at him. "What about screaming my head off and yelling 'no' seems willing to you?" Marco sighed.
"Alright, not willing, but in need of a kidnapping," the teen countered. "I consider it more saving than kidnapping, yoi." Jade huffed.
"If a lady says stop, you stop," she lectured. "Aren't you the one who explained the whole treating a lady proper-properly," she corrected immediately, "to me?" With a raised eyebrow she asked. "Where's that gone?"
"I was treating you proper, yoi," Marco grumbled. "Got you away from the execution block and all. That, in any book, is proper gentlemanly behavior, yoi." Before Jade could retort, Kondor was already laughing, joined by the majority of the crew in the canteen. She huffed, swallowing her biting reply together with her food. She'd let him have that one. "Did we get anything good off the ship, yoi?" Marco asked, turning to Kondor. Jade returned to her food. Soon enough, Kondor had a bowl of soup in front of her, too.
"Some treasure, some maps, good spices, a few crates of meat, mostly salted, and a lot of clothes," Kondor sighed. "Nothing too important, but nothing irrelevant. Most of their ammunition was used up on us, it seems."
"Too bad, yoi," Marco shrugged. "We'll resupply at the next port."
"Why did they attack us?" Jade reentered the conversation, looking at the two men questioningly. Kondor raised his eyebrow, as if confused by her question. Marco chuckled.
"We're part of the Whitebeard crew, yoi," he said. "It's only normal that they'd attack us."
"Out of the blue?"
"Out of the blue," he agreed. "Even though we're just a portion of the crew, we're quite well-known. By defeating us here they would gain notoriety worldwide, yoi." Jade interrupted her chicken marsala with some more soup. It had a lot of pepper in it, spicy to the tongue, but it warmed her up and didn't make her cough, like pepper usually did.
"Regretting your choice of crew?" Kondor asked in a contemplative tone.
"No," Jade immediately countered. "I like you guys fairly well," she told him. "Besides, I don't believe in regrets. There's no logic to being regretful."
"Oh?" Marco asked with a smile, his hand coming up to prop his face as he leaned on the bar. "Not even the execution business, yoi?"
"Not even that," Jade shook her head. "I was in the right," she adamantly stated. "I did my job and I was blamed for something I had no control over."
"Right, sorry about swiping your tools, yoi," Marco said as an afterthought almost. "If we hadn't, you wouldn't be in this mess." Jade frowned.
"You think I didn't notice?" She asked incredulously. "Each and every one of those tools is precious and necessary for my job. I knew right away that one was missing."
"And you said nothing?" Kondor asked, leaning on the bar from the galley side. Jade shrugged.
"It's my job to fix patients, it's your job to escape marines," she grinned mischievously. "Nothing wrong in using whatever's at your disposal." To that, the cook and the teen pirate laughed. Kondor reached over to ruffle her hair and Jade immediately smoothed it down.
"We might make a pirate outta you yet!" Kondor remarked merrily.
A week passed in quiet journey. Jade was content enough to stay cooped up below deck, studying, while nobody bothered her. The pirates, instead, came to her properly for their wounds to get checked, on their own. The only one she had to hunt down was Kondor, who didn't seem to mind his injuries, but cooked whenever she wasn't there to warn him not to strain his arm. In the end, most of the injuries had been cuts and bruises. They looked worse than they were.
"Doc?" Jade's eye twitched. She was certain that her eye twitched. Slowly, she looked up, not putting her book down or closing it. Her glare met Marco's relaxed expression. He was always too relaxed. She hated it. She hadn't left her hammock much during her week of resting. After her little excursion off-ship in the middle of the ocean during the storm and during a battle, she hadn't really felt the need to leave her hammock. The books Marco had gotten for her provided the perfect time-filler for when she was done with her patients and useless with the day-to-day, as always. She was studying a mystical, mostly traditional, technique of energy manipulation within a body. Acupuncture was only a sliver of a shaving of the top of the proverbial iceberg, and she had dived headfirst into the studies, aiming to find the answers she was missing. How does one hone their own energy in order to utilize it to heal? How does one use their patients' energy to heal them? How does one- "Oi," Marco interrupted, his hand reaching out to wave in front of her face. Jade refocused and glared up at him again.
"Yes?" She asked, not putting her book away. She was showing, quite clearly, that she meant to go back to her reading as soon as possible. Marco didn't seem perturbed.
"We're docking, yoi," he told her. "Do you want to-"
"I'm fine here," Jade cut him off curtly. "I'll see you at supper." It was the end of the conversation, in her opinion. Her book went back up, removing the annoyingly relaxed expression of the blonde pirate from her view. She glanced back to the lines, finding where she'd stopped in her translation. That was part of the reason why her studies had been a slow progress. Her Qinqui wasn't perfect and she often had to consult her mental dictionary when deciphering the text. She heard Marco sigh and smirked to herself. He was giving up.
"Wasn't it you who said, just a week ago, that all the sun was doing us good, yoi?" Jade's smirk turned upside down. "And now you're staying all cooped up in here?" The book went down again, her glare fixing on Marco.
"Vitamin D is essential when it comes to maintaining our skeletal, cardiovascular, neurological, and immune systems," Jade said flatly. Marco raised his eyebrow.
"Meaning?"
"Sunlight gives us vitamin D," Jade sighed. "Meaning all the exposure to sun is good," she said slowly, as if talking to a child. He frowned, clearly picking up on the patronizing tone.
"So, get up on deck, go about town, take a walk, yoi," Marco's hands went to his hips. "Wallowing below deck won't help you. Nobody really cares about what happened, other than you. They're just happy you're okay, yoi." Jade slammed her book shut.
"I'm not wallowing."
"Alright, sulking."
"Not sulking either."
"Hiding?" He offered with a small smile. She wanted to slap it off his face. She considered throwing the large tome at him. Maybe it would work. The downside of damaging her book prevailed over that urge. Jade jumped out of her hammock, landing cleanly despite the swaying of the ship. Kondor had told her how she'd found her sea legs rather quickly, compared to some of the crew. Jade put her book into the drawer and turned to Marco, putting her hands behind her back.
"What can I do you for, then?" She asked, placing a dangerously polite smile on her face. Marco frowned at her.
"You can go with Kondor for supplies, with Tommy for the maps or even with me for the letters, yoi," he said, thinking. His hand came up to his forehead, forefinger scratching it as he thought of all the options she had. Jade frowned.
"So, you don't have a particular assignment in mind, just want to derail my studies?" The smile she'd done her best to put onto her face was gone and she went back to the drawer to get her book. "Thanks, but no thanks. I'd rather study. See you at supper."
"I'll treat you to ice-cream." Jade didn't pick up the book, despite the open drawer. She slowly turned, partially, to glance at the teen. Her eyebrow rose at his expression. He was uneasy. She was making him uneasy.
"I want three scoops," she said.
"Two, yoi," he bargained.
"Two, and a syrup topping of my choice," she shot back.
"Done," Marco extended his hand.
"Done," Jade closed the drawer and shook his hand. "What kind of letters are we mailing?"
To be continued…
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts :)
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter 7: A pirate's life for me…
She was freezing. That was the first thing Jade became aware of. Then, she was freezing and there was nothing under her feet. No solid ground. Instead, she was treading water, amidst turbulent waves which rose on each side of her like dark walls of doom and quickly approaching death. The inside of her mouth was salty from all the seawater she'd swallowed and she kept doing her best to spit it out, but it kept getting in. Then, something touched her foot and she screamed. She flailed around, trying to get away from that spot, turning to look back. Underneath her, in the dark water, she spotted a shadow which was moving quickly, enormous in size. Then, she was rising, above the tall waves, still in the freezing water. She could only see a set of sharp, white teeth around her, like a halo in her in own little pool, before the humongous mouth of the sea king closed around her and she was enveloped in freezing darkness.
Jade shop up in her swaying hammock with a silent scream. She gasped for air, her hand coming up to her chest. In the darkness of the safe, warm sleeping quarters of the ship, she sat in her hammock as it rocked from side to side with the gentle waves. It was shock. She told herself. It was the trauma of being exposed to the elements in open waters during the storm. She rationalized. She was fine. She hadn't fallen overboard since her little trip during the battle. Her fear, lingering still in her dreams, was irrational. She'd even gone for a swim when they were docked at an island's beach. There was no real fear of water, just the lingering aftermath of her experience. It was some kind of a PTSD. Jade managed to get her breathing under control and looked around the room. The rest of the crew was perfectly asleep. She could hear Kondor snoring loudly from his hammock. The only odd sound was her quick breathing. She did her best to further calm it down. Deep breath in, deep breath out. She was fine, she told herself. She was on the ship, not stranded in a storm. It didn't help much. This was something outside of the realm of rationality – which wasn't her forte.
Jade scrambled out of her hammock and landed perfectly onto the wooden floor, barefoot. Her new nightgown was fairly modest, on the account of all of her male crewmates, but it still left her feeling bare occasionally. She rummaged through her drawers for something warmer. Even though the weather was nice, she felt cold. She found a sweater and pulled it over her head. Then, Jade headed for the door. When she opened it, she saw that the hallway was lit up. She didn't pay it much mind and went towards the canteen. She felt like drinking some warm milk. She knew exactly where they kept it, because she'd spent a lot of time watching Kondor cook.
The canteen was also illuminated. Not with all of the lights, but the side lanterns, which swayed with the motions of the ship. Jade went behind the bar and into the galley. There, she grabbed milk from the fridge and poured it into a small pot, then set it on the burner. As she was waiting for it to warm up, she rummaged for sugar.
"Can't sleep, yoi?" She almost had a heart attack, jumping and slamming her head in the open door of the cupboard above her. "Oh, damn, didn't mean to startle you there. You okay, yoi?" Marco's worried face appeared from above the bar, peering at her while she crouched, clutching her head where it hurt.
"I'm fine," Jade told him in a mutter. She hadn't seen him in the canteen. He'd probably been sitting somewhere near the wall, and he hadn't spoken, either. Sneaky little birdbrain.
"Everything alright? Other than the head," Marco asked her, coming into the galley, too. He closed the cupboard door and extended his hand to help her up. She didn't take it. She got up on her own instead.
"It's fine," Jade told him. His eyebrow rising told her that he wasn't convinced.
"Then why are you awake at this ungodly hour, yoi?" His tone was flat, clearly telling her that she wasn't getting away with her misdirection. Jade quickly switched tactics.
"Do you know where Kondor keeps the sugar? I feel like some warm milk," she asked, putting on her best innocent child face. Marco still remained unconvinced. Though, he did reach up and open the cupboard again and take out a porcelain container labeled 'sugar'. He passed it to her silently. Jade smiled wide, despite only wanting to throw the container into his face and run away, saying: "Thanks." She added a generous amount to her milk and stirred.
"So, why are you awake?" Marco was like a dog with a bone. She supposed it was a good thing for a pirate. But, she also supposed that it was one of the things that annoyed her about him. He could just never let things go. He liked to follow them through to the end. On the other hand, she was very similar, in that sense. She hated unfinished business. It was like an equation with no solution. Like a disease without treatment. A wound left to fester. She hated infections.
"I had a nightmare," Jade conceded with a sigh. Marco didn't prompt her to continue, just waited patiently. He had that in immeasurable amounts. Patience. She hated that about him, too. He was willing to take his time with everything. Like the world just stopped turning and waited with him. She liked it, too, because time was needed for things to be done properly. She really hated Marco. Really. She did. "About falling overboard," she muttered as an explanation as she stirred her milk so that it wouldn't stick to the bottom of the pot. Kondor would have her head if she ruined his pot. She didn't expect Marco's hand to gently land on her head and ruffle her hair, and she jumped a bit when he did it. She'd stopped trying to tame her locks. The whole crew patted her head too often for her to fix her hair after. And, it was already wild from sleep.
"When I joined the crew, I had them, too, yoi," the teen pirate said. "I had them after our first battle." Jade turned to look up at him, finding him pensive. "The fight turned out pretty bloody, and I had never been in a battle like that before. I had never seen anyone get cut and bleed, yoi. I kept seeing everyone injured in my dreams. Couldn't get it out of my head."
"What did you do to make the nightmares stop?" Jade found herself asking. Marco hummed, head tilting.
"Not much, yoi," he told her. "I talked to the Captain. Told the crew I was closest with about them. They all helped me when I woke up at night after the dreams, yoi." Marco smiled down at her. "You're already on the right path, warm sweet milk does help a lot." Jade grinned.
"It's unofficial medicine," she told him proudly. The thing was, it was something her father used to do for her when she was scared or sick. He would always warm up milk for her, no matter the hour, and bring it to her in bed.
"That it is, yoi," Marco agreed. Again, he ruffled her hair. "When you're done with that, I'll see you to your hammock. I'll stay by your side until you fall asleep if you want, yoi," he promised. Jade didn't reply. She stirred the milk instead. "And, if you ever want to talk about it, I'm here." To that, she did look up at him.
"Thanks," she said. "Thank you, Marco." She saw him blush all over his face before he turned his head away. Jade spotted azure feathers around his neck when he attempted to hide his embarrassment. Odd. Odd and intriguing. He was more in tune with his Devil Fruit than he knew. Then, Marco chuckled, reaching over to completely mess up her hair.
"You're really cute when you're not trying to bite my head off, yoi," he told her with that grin she hated so much. She pushed his hand away.
"My milk's gonna burn," Jade muttered, getting a mug.
"Wouldn't want that," Marco replied. "Kondor would kill us both. Probably hang us from the mast, yoi. As an example to the rest." At that, she laughed. True to his word, Marco patiently waited for her to finish her drink and then followed her to the sleeping quarters. He helped her back into her hammock and tucked her in. With only her face poking out from the covers, still in her sweater and comfortably toasty, Jade saw Marco pull up a stool and sit by her bedside. He tugged a lantern close to him and lit it up, pulling a ledger and a pen from his back pocket.
"Don't you have watch?" She asked him in a whisper. Marco shrugged.
"Tori's in the nest," he whispered back. "He'll let us know if there's trouble on the horizon." Jade nodded. Then, she closed her eyes and did her best to fall asleep. Still, she couldn't empty her head. It was full of raging black waves and sharp tall teeth. She opened her eyes and looked at the pirate by her bedside. Marco was reading through the ledger and writing in it occasionally, propped up by one arm on the nearby crates. Jade blushed profusely at her intrusive thoughts. Before she could close her eyes again, Marco glanced up at her. "Having trouble still, yoi?" She nodded in a small motion. Marco pulled his stool closer, moving away from the crates. He extended his hand into the hammock, going under the covers and finding her own. "I'll be here until you fall asleep, I promise, yoi," he told her, his warm fingers holding her hand gently. Jade nodded mutely, closing her eyes again. "Good night, Jade," she heard Marco whisper. This time, with the warm, long fingers enveloping her small hand, she didn't think about the storms on the open seas or sea kings and their dietary preferences. Instead, she thought about the gentle azure and golden flames and the wings which carried her to frightening heights, but which always came to help her when she was in need. With a smile on her face, Jade finally fell asleep, this time dreaming about a sunny street and three scoops of ice-cream which an irritatingly agreeable handsome pirate who never seemed to stop ruffling her hair had bought for her.
It took them three months to arrive close to the Reverse Mountain, a place which Marco and Kondor talked about with smirks whenever they were around Jade. She wasn't certain why it made them so happy, especially in relation to her, but she supposed that there was some kind of a mischievous gimmick to it which they couldn't wait to see her reaction to. She had begun to expect those things from the two, after they'd convinced her to try a local specialty at one of the islands, which was, in gist, an incredibly sour candy. She'd spat it out almost immediately, running to get a glass of water, all the while cursing them with tears in her eyes. Speaking of curses, she had quite a bit of novelty in her arsenal there. Tommy was the main culprit, as he swore like… well a sailor. He kept wincing when she regurgitated his vocabulary in the most inconvenient, populated spots, saying how she ought not to repeat everything she heard. Still, Jade enjoyed using her newly discovered filthy phrases. They ruffled Marco's feathers and got his eyes to widen when he looked at her. He'd begun to laugh at what she said, though, instead of chastising her for the language. It was Kondor and Tommy who were the ones that attempted to save her 'ladylike dignity', still.
The men began to assign her small jobs around the ship, the things she knew and could, due to her age, do. She'd become quite the cabin boy, the best cabin boy a Captain could wish for, if one believed Kondor's words. She scrubbed deck like a professional. She was also rather good at fishing. Not the best, she couldn't take that spot off Tori, but she was good enough to pose a serious threat when it came to getting lunch in the middle of the ocean. She was still very much convinced that he was somehow, very cleverly, cheating. Speaking of Tori, he was a very good, or in Kondor's words, very bad, influence. He'd taught her how to pickpocket and she'd practiced it on every single member of the crew since. Marco was still the unconquerable challenge when it came to that, though. Jade would be willing to swear on her license that he had eyes on the back of his head. Or in his pockets. The sails she didn't go near. Despite the numerous reassurances of the crew, how someone would catch her if she fell, she didn't dare go up the rigging. Still, she did enjoy the occasional visit to the crow's nest. She'd learned to appreciate the silence it came with, especially during the night. It was on one of these kinds of evenings that Marco joined her in her 'quiet reading time' at the highest point of the ship. At first, he didn't say anything, just plopped down next to her. Jade gave him space to address her. She had stopped reading when he appeared, after all. He made it impossible to concentrate properly.
"You said you knew about my Devil Fruit, yoi?" Marco finally said. Jade lowered her book, marking the page as she closed it.
"Quite a bit," she confirmed with a nod. Marco took a moment to collect his thoughts again. Then, he spoke.
"I'll trade you six scoops of that goat milk ice-cream if you tell me about it, yoi." Jade's mind was made up the moment he said the magic word. Still, she knew that she couldn't just give in. She needed to bargain. Draw as much as she could from her victim.
"I'll take four and an IOU," she told him, grinning up at him. Marco frowned.
"You've been spending too much time with Tommy," he grumbled. "No IOUs, seven scoops," he told her adamantly. Her grin widened. So, there was room for negotiation. Tommy had told her that as soon as her target relented and offered something else, there was plenty of room for negotiation, she just had to push.
"Five scoops and an IOU," Jade said. Marco balked.
"It was four just a second ago, yoi!" He was looking at her incredulously. "I'm not giving you an IOU." Jade shrugged, opening her book again. Tommy had told her, pretend to be disinterested. Play it cool, as he said. Never show what you really want.
"Okay," Jade said in an even tone. "No deal." The silence of the evening was quickly filled with Marco's one-sided bargaining.
"Eight scoops, yoi," he offered. She didn't react. "Okay, we'll stay for two days, I'll offer ice-cream every morning and evening. Four scoops each." She still didn't react. "Fine, you get an IOU, yoi! Only an IOU!" At that, Jade perked up.
"I'll take three scoops and an IOU," she told him, flipping the page. It wasn't like she'd read it and she would definitely go back, but she needed to keep up appearances. Besides, she'd already gotten Kondor to promise her six scoops for helping him clean in the galley, along with disinfecting everything. Also, Tommy had offered three on his own. Her mental tally was going up to an ice-cream each morning and evening with Marco's three.
"No, yoi," he grumbled. "Only the IOU."
"Fine, no deal," Jade shrugged. "I know how much my knowledge is worth." Marco grunted, messing up his odd hairstyle in frustration.
"Fine, fine, three and an IOU, yoi! But not a scoop more!" Jade's book shut with a thud. She turned to him with a shit-eating grin.
"Deal," her hand extended.
"I'm telling the men not to teach you how to pirate properly anymore, yoi," Marco said, shaking her hand. Jade's smirk turned smug. She knew they wouldn't listen. Not unless he made it a proper order from top down.
"So, let's start with the basics," she said conversationally, tucking her legs underneath her. "You can use partial transformation for now? Have you figured out how to use the flames?"
"Only in battle, yoi," Marco mumbled. Jade nodded.
"It's a start," she said. "According to my reading, which isn't wrong, you should be able to access self-regeneration properties of those flames soon enough. Then, full transformation follows."
"You mean, becoming a phoenix?" He asked her with wide eyes. Jade nodded.
"The previous user of the fruit who was known to the world was a marine Admiral called Connor James," she told him. "He made his mark on the world by fighting pirates in his phoenix form and was called The Healer. His handler and the record keeper for the marine base wrote rather extensively of how he could heal almost anything with his flames, on top of being borderline indestructible himself. Hence, the logic follows that you should be able to access those powers in the following years. How long has it been since you ate the fruit?" Marco seemed contemplative.
"Maybe a year, yoi?" Jade nodded.
"The timeline fits," she said. "So, for starters, let's focus on self-healing properties of your flames and then we will continue onto the full transformation." Marco's face turned into a worried grimace.
"You don't mean…"
"Oh yeah," Jade grinned wide.
"I didn't sign up for you beating me up, yoi," he grumbled. Jade suspected that it would be a rather comical sight, having his arse handed to him by a little girl.
"Feel free to call me Master Jade," she proclaimed smugly.
"As if!"
"Enjoy the rest of the watch!" And Jade skipped over to the edge of the crow's nest, slowly descending on shaky legs.
"I'm not calling you anything other than extorter Jade, yoi!" Marco's shout from the top of the mast only made her giggle. She heard him mutter a few unsavory words about her from the nest, but she didn't care much. She'd gotten her side of the deal perfectly well. She couldn't wait to tell Tommy.
Surprisingly, they were a good team. Marco was a quick study and with her extensive explanations he was able to, within a few days, heal minor bruises and cuts on his own body. Jade would never admit it, but the sight of him fanning out those azure and golden flames would never get old to her. There was just something about it. Something magical. It wasn't like she hadn't had the opportunity to see other Devil Fruit users in action. Since the beginning of her adventure with the small portion of the Whitebeard crew, they'd been under attack a number of times. Still, none of those people had quite lived up to the rush of awe she felt whenever she saw Marco's abilities manifest. Jade did her best to ignore her fascination, though. Just like she did her best to hate the annoyingly lovable teenager. He made her want to smack him just for being nice. But, she'd stopped being mean to him unless provoked, at least. The crew had undoubtedly noticed the change in their banter, but they hadn't commented. Just offered those smug grins to the both of them in passing. She chose to ignore them pointedly.
"Welcome to Loguetown," Kondor said to Jade when she joined the crew on deck early one morning. The ship was docking at a small bay at the back of the largest of the Polestar Islands, as Tommy had informed her the previous night. In order to avoid the heavy marine presence in town, they would be going in incognito. Hence, the furled sails to hide the Whitebeard Jolly Roger and the tied flag at the top of the mast. Jade didn't particularly mind either, but the crew seemed to be bummed out about having to hide the identity of their Pops, as they called Whitebeard in conversation, even for a short period of time. "I actually know a pirate from here," Kondor said, his hand coming up to stroke his chin in thought.
"Oh?" Jade looked up at him and away from the rows of houses they were nearing. "Is he a good pirate? Does he have a large bounty?" Kondor laughed at that.
"You do know that bounties mean nothing?" He asked her with a smile once he stopped chuckling. "It's just how noticeable you are to the marines, really. Or how pissed off someone was at the moment." Jade shrugged.
"Still gotta count for something when you have a nice number of zeros next to your name, no?" She asked. Her gaze wandered again to the small bay. The docks were made of white stone, mostly clean, unlike the previous port they'd been in. Even from their position a few dozen meters away, she could see the rows and rows of shops and fish stalls next to the walkway which was in sight after one walked up the wharf and onto dry land. She couldn't wait to explore them all.
"He's a good fellow, I reckon," Kondor mused. "Really interesting ideas about piracy. Last time I saw him he was adamant about finding the One Piece. Something about conquering the seas and all that." Jade's head whipped around to see him.
"One Piece? Isn't that a myth?" She frowned. "I mean, I've read about it, but there's nothing really conclusive in any of the public archives." Kondor huffed.
"Of course there isn't," he told her. "Marines don't want nobody poking about where they shouldn't. After all, the One Piece is supposed to be some kind of a truth revealing treasure, or something."
"Like a library?" Kondor laughed at that and reached over to mess up her hair.
"Maybe," he said. "Maybe it's a magical item. Maybe it's the vastest treasure hoard in the world. Nobody really knows."
"Is Whitebeard going to look for it?" Jade asked immediately. The image of mountains of gold coins stacked as far as the eye could see didn't truly appeal to her. She had no use for endless wealth. But, a book or two with secret, never before read, information did interest her. Perhaps the One Piece could accommodate someone like her, too.
"Pops?" Kondor laughed. "Dunno," he shrugged. "It's up to him to decide how he wants to play it. I'm not particularly curious, as long as I can keep eating new stuff and cooking new stuff."
"As long as you're not attempting to assassinate half of the crew, I'm fine with that ambition, yoi," Marco joined their conversation suddenly. "Prepare for docking!" He yelled out to the men who had been assigned to the docking group. The ship became as busy as a beehive in a flash. Crew running about, setting up for the docking process.
"Assassinate?" Jade asked with a grin. "How so?" Kondor slapped his forehead.
"It was one time, Marco," he grumbled. "One time. You don't need to keep bringing it up." Marco huffed.
"I seem to remember a few incidents, now, yoi," he grinned down at Jade and raised his hand to his mouth as if to keep the conversation away from Kondor. Still, the man could undoubtedly hear him due to the volume of his next words. "Once he made us some kind of a bean dish which had men shitting their pants for days on end, yoi," Marco laughed. "And then, he also tried some kind of a sweet dried squid and attempted to remake it without the recipe, and it turned out that squid plus peanut butter plus seafaring made for a lot of projective vomiting-"
"Marco!" Kondor scolded, reaching out to smack him, but the teen evaded swiftly, laughing his head off. Meanwhile, Jade was frowning, disgusted at the very thought of the last dish.
"P-peanut butter and squid…" she repeated incredulously, then shivered. "The very thought of that together makes me want to projective vomit."
"And he gave it to the whole crew disguised as dessert, yoi!" Marco was still laughing, this time safely in the air, away from Kondor's attempts to smack him. Jade giggled at the red face their resident cook was sporting.
"I'll feed you octopus in honey next!" Kondor threatened, making Marco balk. "You won't even know 'till you start spewing it out of your shithole!" At Marco's worried face, Jade couldn't help it, she laughed merrily.
To be continued…
Hope you enjoyed the little recipe reference there :P I couldn't help myself hahahaLooking forward to what you thought of the chapter! Thank you all for the continuous support, and especially A Deathless Song from FFN!
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter 8: New seas
"Shouldn't you be paying a bit more attention to your so-called student, Master Jade, yoi?" Marco huffed, dropping to the ground, a few meters away from the aforementioned girl. Jade didn't even look up from her book. She was nearing a breakthrough in her Qinqui interpretation, after all. She just needed to figure out what the hell all of those element names had to do with inner energy and she would be set.
"I'm paying attention to your miserable attempts," Jade grumbled. "At the rate you're going, you're more likely to shit yourself than to transform into a bird." To be fair, that wasn't quite right. Marco was making substantial progress. He'd managed to get his legs to go very… feathery in places. Odd places, but feathery nonetheless. He also had subconscious transformation appearing on his person due to strong emotions. It was progressing rather nicely. Still, Jade couldn't help but poke fun at him. It always produced results, after all. Ruffling his proverbial feathers ruffled his literal feathers, in a sense. "Or lay an egg. Do phoenixes lay eggs, even?" He grumbled before coming over to her.
"Shouldn't you know that, Miss Smarty-pants?" He asked, plopping down next to her with a sigh. While Jade's days were spent either working on the ship or exploring the town, if they were docked like at the moment, her nights were monopolized by the birdbrained teenage pirate, seeking his magical form. Marco was as patient as he was relentless. He was adamant about mastering his full transformation before returning to the main hub of the crew. So, every night, he practiced. He woke her up if she was asleep and took her out onto the deck, bleary-eyed and endlessly grumpy, or, like at the moment, to a nearby empty hill, where she never forgot to bring a lantern and a book, and did his best. Not that Jade minded. Really. She'd gone without much sleep for the majority of her school years. Three hours and a power nap was just enough for her. Him, on the other hand, he might've thought he was sneaky about it. But, she'd spotted him sleeping on his feet on deck. And skiving off his town exploration for a much needed nap. It made her giggle. But, she couldn't help but admire his spirit.
"Dunno," Jade shrugged, putting her book away. "I'm not a mythical creature researcher or a historian. Not even a biologist. I'm just a humble doctor."
"Is that supposed to be a humble brag, yoi?" Marco laughed. Jade shrugged with a smile of her own.
"Maybe," she told him. They sat in companionable silence for a moment before Marco sprawled back onto the soft grass with a sigh of relief. He closed his eyes, hands under his head, breathing evening out. Jade was worried he would fall asleep, like last time, leaving her stranded on a hill in the middle of the island until morning. "What is life on Whitebeard's ship like?" She asked, making certain she would not have to watch him snooze for hours. Or even worse, snuggle into his side like last time when the evening wind made a chill seep into her bones. Not that he'd noticed. He'd pulled her into him almost like a child did a plush toy and rolled over, trapping her in a rather nicely warm embrace and slept on. Luckily, she'd managed to escape the deathtrap of his arms before he woke up, swearing to herself that the incident shall not see light of day.
"It's relaxing," Marco said in a soft voice. He opened one eye, lazily looking up at her with a smile that told her he had plenty of fond memories of the ship and crew. "Pops is really nice, thinks of all of his crew before himself. The Commanders are awesome, too, yoi. There's plenty of work, but also plenty of adventuring. We're always trying something new, meeting someone new, fighting someone new. It's never boring, yoi." Jade's eyebrows furrowed.
"How is it not boring but also relaxing?" She asked, trying to make sense of Marco's logic.
"It's not boring, yoi," he told her slowly. "And it's relaxing." Jade wanted to smack him.
"That doesn't explain anything," she complained.
"You'll understand when you experience it yourself, yoi," Marco gave up with a huff. "I can't explain it well." Again, his eyes were closed. Jade wasn't taking any chances with that.
"Why were you all the way out in East Blue?" She asked again, making Marco look at her with one eye. She usually avoided being under his, strangely analytical, watchful gaze. It made her feel… odd. It made her feel naked. And not in the literal sense, but more in an emotional sense. The birdbrain was annoyingly good at guessing whatever was in her head and acting on it before she could. It vexed her. But, his looking at her and talking meant that he wasn't sleeping. She was fine with him taking a moment to rest, but not with him dozing off.
"Running an errand," he replied, not really telling much.
"Is it confidential or something?"
"Not really, yoi," he said. He seemed to consider something for a moment, then spoke again. "We were looking for a new doctor." Jade gaped at him.
"This was all part of your plan, then?" Her tone took on an edge which he picked up immediately, both eyes opening and looking at her pensively. "You did all of this on purpose?" Jade felt something hollow grow inside of her. The sight of those relaxed, droopy eyes looking at her from that relaxed expression seemed almost patronizing. She was reminded of the way her fellow colleague in college had set her up to fail at social situations, all the while pretending to give her honest advice. She was reminded of the teasing looks and the whispering in the hallways. She was reminded of her ugly nickname and the disappointment she felt when she looked at the so-called brightest young minds. She was reminded of the shame she felt for not being mature enough.
"No," Marco's words were firm, but Jade couldn't help herself. She wasn't convinced. "Jade," he grabbed her hand before she could stand up. "There was no plan, yoi. I was looking, I didn't set it up." The expression on her face prompted him to continue. She wasn't aware of what kind of a face she was making. She was going for an expressionless one, but she wasn't sure what she looked like at that moment. "The mission said to go scouting for a willing new crew member who had knowledge in the medical field. I liked you, yes." Jade tugged in an attempt to get her wrist free, but Marco's warm grip was firm. He wasn't hurting her, but he wasn't letting her go. "I liked you from the get-go and I wanted you." Jade was painfully aware of a blush on her face. She was glad for her dark complexion for the millionth time in her life. "But, I'm not that selfish to tear away a child from their hometown. Don't you trust me by now?" Those words broke her. They really did. She looked down at the pirate who really hadn't given her a reason not to trust him. He had been every bit the gentleman to her. Even when she was being a right brat to him, he'd behaved like a proper gentleman.
"Then why were you back in town?" She asked in a low voice. "Why did you come back?" She did her best not to cry. She really did. But, still, her voice broke a little. Marco sat up, his other hand coming up to grab her free one.
"I was going to ask you, yoi," he told her. "I was planning to risk it with the marines and try to ask you to come with us." Jade looked at him. She really couldn't spot a lie on his face. But then again, he was a pirate. He was probably a good liar. "The crew liked you, I liked you, I was going to come and ask. When I saw the commotion… I was acting before thinking it through, yoi."
"I trust you," Jade nodded, raising her hands from his, this time he let her, and wiping at her unshed tears. "I trust you, okay?"
"Okay," Marco grinned in that irritating way at her, reaching over to her head. But, he didn't ruffle her hair. Instead, he pushed a lock of her red curls behind her ear and poked under her chin to make her look up at him. "Now then that's settled, shall we go back to figuring out this Zoan?" Jade huffed, but she was smiling. The pit in her stomach was gone.
"Just don't strain yourself too hard and burst a vein," she told him flatly. That time he did ruffle her hair before getting up and giving his attempt at a full transformation another go.
Marco was vaguely aware of Jade yelling something from below him. The full transformation really did put things into perspective. It changed the way he saw the world, felt it and heard it. The initial few days after he fully changed into a bird were rough. He had to work out how to walk, fly and change form again. It still took time to go between his human and bird form, but it was getting much faster than in the beginning. He had figured out that if he fanned out his flames around him the transforming came much easier than when he simply envisioned it.
Blinding pain shot through his head, spreading through his shoulders and then his torso. Slowly, Marco went down, sliding against whatever he'd hit with a squeak and crumpling to the ground. That was when he became aware of the running doctor and finally heard her words.
"Oh my God, are you okay?!" Jade's hands were on his, very human, body, checking him over. "Did you break anything? That looked positively painful." He turned to look at her, vaguely aware that his neck shouldn't be turning in such a way. The face Jade was making when she met his eye told him that his transformation wasn't completely undone by the shock of slamming into something. Marco fanned out his flames, concentrating on his human body. His neck went back to normal.
"I-I'm fine, I think, yoi," he told the doctor. His forehead hurt the worst, but there was also a warm, tingly feeling in it. He reached up to touch his head. Jade was there instantly, getting in his face, looking at the wound with wide eyes and almost clinical interest.
"Looks like it's healing," she said with glee. "How's that arm?" At her words, he looked down to see his arm bent in a way it definitely should not be bent in. He picked it up with his free one and turned it around. Blue flames blossomed around it and soon enough, it didn't feel numb at all.
"Seems fine," Marco concluded his assessment. "What did I hit?" Jade did her best not to laugh at the question. Marco looked up at the tall building he'd slammed into, fighting a laugh himself when he saw what had cut his flight short.
"Well, you are a bird…" Jade muttered, then finally cracked up, laughing openly. He joined her, shaking his head.
"A window, really, yoi?" Marco wheezed. "How cliché."
"Let's skedaddle before the residents wake up," Jade managed through her giggles. "Can you walk?"
"I'm right as rain, yoi," Marco said. "Don't tell the men," he begged. Jade's expression told him all bets were off. Despite the lack of pain, he let the small doctor help him to his feet and lead him back to the hill above Loguetown for another attempt at a full transformation. He was beginning to enjoy the sweet side of her rather selfishly.
"We're going up that?" Jade asked incredulously, standing between Kondor and Tommy on deck. She was staring with her mouth hanging open at the usual way up the Reverse Mountain which pirates used.
"What do you think?" Kondor asked with a wide grin on his face. Now, Jade understood all the snickering that came with the mention of the passage. Now, she understood why they had been awaiting her reaction eagerly, like little children.
"We're all gonna die," she said flatly, turning away. She was ready to tuck tail and head below deck to a remote sense of safety. However, her hasty retreat was interrupted when Kondor effortlessly picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.
"No, no, young miss, we gotta have you in the best seat for this once in a lifetime first experience," the older pirate smugly commented, heading forward. Jade hoped her was going for the bow. He wasn't. When she saw him grab onto the rigging, she balked.
"No, Kondor, please," she begged without any shame. "Look, I'll have a nice vantage point from the bow, there's no need to-"
"This is the best way to experience the pass," Kondor was already halfway up the thin ropes. Jade hadn't believed her eyes when she saw him do that the first time. He was bulky, built like a rock, and he climbed like a monkey. Still, she gripped the back of his shirt tightly, doing her best not to think about the quickly growing distance between her and the deck. Soon enough, Kondor was setting her down on her feet inside the crow's nest. "Now, you sit tight and hold on. Here comes the current." Jade rushed to obey him. She wasn't playing with this one, after all. One trip overboard was enough for her. Remotely safe in the wooden seat of the crow's nest, which was a tight fit next to Kondor, she gripped the railing so tightly that her knuckles went white. "How does it look?" He asked loudly over the sound of the rushing current.
"Illogical," Jade commented. "Terrifying. Terrifyingly illogical." Kondor laughed, reaching over to mess up her hair. And then, before either of them could say a word, the ship lurched below them.
"We've caught it!" Kondor exclaimed with glee. Jade had to admit, it was breathtaking, and not only from being terrifying. The ship began to climb at an impossible speed. It headed up the mountain, almost parallel to the structure, rushing up, up and then further up. Then, there was a short moment where it stopped at the very top, swaying back and forth. Jade looked behind them, which was not a great idea. The wide expanse of blue, peppered with strikingly white clouds, brought a sense of dread into her stomach, making her sick.
"Brace, yoi!" Marco's voice rang out from behind and Jade saw his telltale magical flames at the back of the ship. With a war cry, he slammed his talon into the back of the ship, convincing her to go forward. And then, Jade was flying together with the rest of the crew. For a brief moment, her butt left the safety of the wooden bench, causing her breath to catch in her lungs. Then, she slammed back down onto it and they were flying down the mountain, into the vast new sea before them. Kondor was whooping from next to her, arms in the air, enjoying the ride. Jade couldn't breathe. From fear? Maybe. From excitement? Definitely. The ship splashed into the ocean's water safely, lurching forward before returning back into its proper, upright position. Jade's chest hit the railing with the motion, causing her to grunt, but also to breathe again. She glanced back once more, only to see the red mountain looming behind them. It seemed almost inconceivable that they had just flown over it. Kondor tapped her shoulder. She looked up at him to find him grinning wide.
"Let me be the first one to welcome you, Doc, to Paradise!"
"Our first stop will be in Arabasta," Tommy told Jade later that week at dinner one day. After crossing the Reverse Mountain, their trip had been rather uneventful. The supplies from Loguetown were extensive enough to make them skip the next few islands in favor of going to, apparently, Arabasta. "We have an Eternal Pose for that island, so we prefer to just head straight for Nanohana," he explained further. She's learned all about the Eternal Poses and navigation from Marco when he joined her on watch one night. He'd been kind enough to go over all the details with her, explaining, showing and appealing to her logic with all of the intricate workings of the new sea they were in.
"Nanohana?" Jade asked, looking up from her food to check out the man's reaction. He nodded to her.
"It's a port also called the Little Flower of Arabasta Kingdom," he told her. "It's a rather sizeable place, much bigger than Loguetown, so make sure you're with one of us at all times, so you don't get lost." Jade took in the information.
"Is there a map?" While she did enjoy exploring the city with the crew, Jade often found her lack of independence vexing. All of her life, from a very young age when her memories started, she could recall being able to do anything she needed without aid. And while the crew were very accommodating and nice to her, she missed it. She missed being able to experience new things on her own. Go wherever she wanted whenever she wanted. It wasn't that they restricted her movements, other than when there was danger of running into the marines, but that she missed the time to think. The solitude she'd grown accustomed to had given her the opportunity to truly be alone with her head. That was what had been missing during her journey with the odd pirates.
"Yes, but it's still best to be with us at least for the first few days," Tommy said. "Note down any places you might want to revisit later on your own and make sure to clear it with Marco. Then, we will know where you are in case we need to leave in a hurry."
"Is there a heavy marine presence on the island?" Jade asked, putting another spoonful of delicious goodness into her mouth. Kondor had made some kind of a pickled cabbage dish that evening, rice and minced meat stuffed inside the delicate sheets of green, which made her feel like she could eat an entire pot of it herself.
"Not too much of a presence last time we were there," Tommy shrugged. He was shoveling the food into his mouth, as well, mumbling his words a bit. "Still, we don't know the current situation and it's always best to be on guard when it comes to a surprise marine fishing expedition."
"Fair enough," Jade agreed. "I'll be looking forward to it." She grinned wide, despite her full cheeks.
Kondor and Marco were the ones to take her with them during their first visit of Nanohana. And, Jade wouldn't have it any other way. On one hand there was the polite cook who was going from vibrant stall to vibrant stall, shamelessly spending his salary on all the delicacies he'd been missing from the culturally rich and diverse region, and on the other there was Marco who provided history and navigational know-how. Jade tried everything Kondor offered without reservation. She liked both the falafel, which he swore he could make just as well on the ship if he was provided with the right ingredients, and the savory shawarma. But, the best treat had to be the hummus, which was mostly eaten together with the previous two, but could also be spread on bread and salted. The desserts had her mouth watering. Between the choices of kanafeh, baklava, semolina cake, mehalabya, kunafa rolls, ma'amoul and a wide assortment of puddings, Marco had been forced to limit the two food junkies to only three desserts a day, much to Kondor and Jade's disappointment. He'd originally wanted them only to buy one kind of delicacy per day, but that had quickly descended into a bargaining session. And, with Kondor and Jade as a united front, Marco had spectacularly relented.
Which wasn't to say that Marco lacked a sweet tooth. No, their navigator and leader partook in every single delicious dish they bought, but still had some semblance of self-control, unlike the other two. The route he chose for their group was simple, file the letters containing financial and route reports, written in code, for their Captain to be aware of their movements, and then, they had to resupply the kitchen, before having free time for exploration. Kondor ended up asking to flip the second two activities on their agenda, preferring to first taste everything and then buy when he gathered information about the current economy in Nanohana and where quality had changed with time. Jade didn't mind the itinerary either. She ended up with a few new clothing items, mostly suited for warm weather, and a cute bandana which one apparently tied around their waist, that had metal coins sown into it and jingled as she moved. Part of why she liked it was because the sound annoyed Marco to no end, even getting him irritated enough to call it flashy and tacky. Jade didn't take it off for a week in protest.
But, exploring the city with Marco in her group proved very informative. Not only did he know a lot about the melting pot of various cultures in Nanohana, but he provided a lot of information when it came to the rest of their travels as they went. He instructed Jade regarding the tricky navigation, the different climates around islands and so on. He offered her his hand to hold when they were in the busy market, making certain that she wouldn't get lost and she didn't miss how he always positioned himself between her and the pushy local merchants, seeking to sell their wares at the best possible price to the men by winning her over. With Kondor and Marco's lovely tour of Nanohana her disappointment at not stopping in Drum Kingdom quickly waned in the face of Arabasta's beauty. Not even the fact that her medical idol, Doctor Kureha, lived in Drum Kingdom, and that she'd missed potentially meeting her hero, could get her down in the face of all that splendor.
It was in the evening of the first day of their visit to Arabasta that Jade began feeling suspicious. The crew were all eagerly chattering in hushed tones to one another in the canteen, all the while eating the local food Kondor had brought for them. However, that wasn't the odd part. What really got her suspicion to rise was how they would immediately go silent if she was in their vicinity. She'd learned that the pirates enjoyed sharing almost anything, to the point of her knowing who belched the loudest, shit the most or drank the messiest. The secrecy… it bothered her. She didn't approach any of them with her questions, however. She chose to wait and see. After all, her usual go-tos, Kondor, Tommy and Marco were also included in this odd new practice.
"Ah, I lost!" The sheer despair on Tori's face told Jade that he absolutely hadn't wanted to get night watch that evening, further increasing her suspicion. Tori was a night owl, through and through, which Marco often joked was due to his previous employment affiliations as one of the best thieves about. He usually volunteered for night watch.
"Tough luck, mate," Tommy grinned wide, slapping Tori's back, while the pirate despaired. "Have fun all on your lonesome!" The rest of them laughed loudly at that. Jade, though, was eating her dinner quietly, noting mentally all of the oddities. Hushed conversations. Keeping information from her. Not wanting night watch. Being forced into drawing straws for watch. Those were all of the symptoms. She had to connect them and logically decide on the ailment of the crew as a whole, as well as the possible remedy.
"We'll be here a week, yoi," Marco chuckled, walking over to Tori. "You'll get tomorrow night off, I promise." Tori didn't seem any happier with that fact.
"Make sure to do proper scouting, then," the pirate said, sighing. "I'll head up to the nest," he grumbled, getting the night meal which Kondor always packed neatly for the watchman. Jade noted how sour Tori's mood was as he trudged out of the canteen. She frowned, finishing her dinner quickly and heading up to the bar to turn in her plate. The three people assigned to dishwashing duty were scrubbing furiously in the galley while Kondor was cooking up a storm, seemingly in a rush for once. Fast completion of usual chores was added to Jade's list of symptoms. This ailment… whatever it was, she would figure it out. Understanding that it wouldn't manifest with her around, seeing as the crew were pointedly being secretive around her, she made a show of yawning and stretching her arms over her head.
"Do you need me for anything else?" She asked Marco, who was lingering around the bar. He grinned at her.
"Tired already, yoi?" Jade made a point of yawning again.
"I think all the excitement has done me in," she rubbed her upper arms, turning to their leader with an innocent expression. "If there's nothing else I can do, I'll turn in for the night?" Marco waved her off a little too eagerly.
"We're all good, Doc," he reassured. "You go get your beauty sleep, yoi." She didn't even bother blowing a raspberry at him. Her leaving the canteen was followed with calls of 'good night' and 'sleep well'. Jade waved to the men and then proceeded to head not in the direction of her hammock, but up towards the deck to a small alcove in the hallway which was used for storage of spare rigging and cleaning supplies. There, she crouched down and evened out her breathing, listening intently. Soon enough, the ailment showed its ugly face in the form of the whole crew leaving, one by one or in pairs, giggling to one another suspiciously as they headed towards the deck where they aggregated.
To be continued…
If you're curious about all the food which has been mentioned in this chapter, all of the Arabic choices were named, and I suggest them all! They're delicious :D The cabbage dish is called sarma, native to the Eastern European region, and it quite delicious as well :D
Looking forward to your feedback!