4. bells (ring it, it's time to depart)

They meet Titus, and Titus meets the strange child. They speak of dreams and treasures, and magical stones of myth and lore.

Takara learns the sea routes, and Captain goes on a slightly dangerous adventure.

Titus was a strange man.

"You have weird hair, mister!" was the first thing Cross said to him. "It's all yellow and shiny! Like gold!"

The blond took off his cowboy hat, setting it aside.

Titus laughed warmly at that. "It's pretty common, actually," he told the kid, "in fact, red hair like your pal back there is rarer."

"Really?"

"Yeah. your pal's more of a magenta and brown mix, though. It's unique," Titus said, "there's a pirate called Akagami out in the sea, and his hair is said to be such a shade of crimson, pictures can never capture it well."

"Red hair? That's a weird name," Cross said.

In a moment, the boy sauntered off his own ship and landed on Titus' rowboat, sitting uncomfortably close to the stranger.

Titus stiffened, but composed himself quickly. "It's not his real name. It's just a nickname the Marines gave him."

Cross was handed a paper from Titus' bag. It's a wanted poster of a red-haired man with three scars across his left eye.

"Shanks," Cross read it. "Cool, his hair is more like blood than Takara's!"

"More like blood, huh. That's true." Titus said, "He's known as one of the four 'Emperors' of the sea. One of the strongest pirates in the world right now. See the price?"

Now Cross squinted at the paper.

"One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred..." he turned to Titus, "what comes after that?"

Titus burst into laughter.

-

"What are you trying to hide with that much cloth over your skin?"

The bartender's quite a busybody.

But maybe Takara's pretty eye catching after all. Mug Island's peaceful, too out of the way for pirates to bother robbing-- so a man in a trench coat stood out.

"A lot," Takara said simply.

"So what're you looking for?" The man says, blowing out a large cloud of smoke from his cigarette. "Mister Reject?"

Takara laughed. "Am I that obvious?" he swirled the cup of sake in his hands. "Well, maybe you get the gist of the story. We're going to escape to the Grand Line, so I'll need to know the nearest islands."

The bartender wiped the glass in his hands.

"There's Toroa, the town of Music," the bartender put down a map of West Blue on the table. He points to Mug Island where they're on, and trails directly forward to an island down south. He then points to another. "Here's Vetar, they have good sake."

Takara hummed with interest, taking a sip from his cup.

Noticing something, he took out a map from his sack-- and laid them side by side.

"I see, my map's out of date," he said, taking out a pen to cross out Ohara on his old map.

There's a small island nearer to them than the other two, and it's an absent location from the newer cartography.

"Then what's this island? It's not in the new map," Takara said.

The bartender set down the glass in his hands, and looked closer.

"That's probably Shikke Island," then the bartender waved his hand around, "I'm warning you, kid. That place is bad news, so don't even try to head for there."

"Shikke," Takara repeated the name curiously, "it used to deal trades with Kano and Ohara, didn't it?"

"Yeah, and the economy collapsed after Ohara burned down," the bartender warned him. "They had a civil war. Don't know who won, but they cut off all connections to Kano Country and even to the government. Going there even by accident is suicide."

Surely, if a country cut off all outside contact, they definitely wouldn't be friendly to any outsiders, much less pirates.

"I appreciate the information. Thanks, sir," he downed the rest of the glass and laid a pouch of coins on the counter.

Gathering up his own map, he stood up to leave.

-

Captain snuck around town. It wouldn't be the first time he explored a town on his own, but it'd be his first time in a new town!

"Woah! It's a bear!"

The humans parted for him, all staring agape as if he were an attraction.

He rawred at them.

"It's cute!!"

"No, it's still a bear! Don't go near it!"

"Yeah, what'll you do if the mother shows up?!"

Captain was scooped up into a little girl's arms. Then a man snatched him away from her, holding him away by the scruff. The bear was then passed around the crowd, because they couldn't decide if it was better to let him go or take him in like a stray puppy.

Captain quite liked the attention.

When he was finally set free near the woods, his fur was full of money and little jewellery he'd stolen from those unsuspecting humans.

-

"Here's an archery brace, two hundred iron arrows, and five boxes of bolts. Pay me however much you want, and please get out right after."

"Right. Thanks, sir."

Takara tossed the man a sack of beri.

It's normal to not be welcome in civilian islands, especially when the newspapers have a published account of how you brutally murdered thousands of people by setting fire to the richest produce island of West Blue.

The World Government was infuriated by the destruction (and large economic loss) so in a package deal, the Rejects of Moribakari have a twenty million beri bounty on their heads.

West Blue didn't have the greatest track record of obeying the government. Their immediately issued bounty wasn't unexpected.

In hindsight, it probably meant that West Blue was quite a pirate-prone sea. It also meant that the civilians here have the strength to give you a run for your money if you try anything less than civil.

He spun a pack of cigarettes in his pocket, and casually took a visor hat off the shelf, depositing it on his head.

The shopkeepers don't notice.

-

"So you guys are pirates?" Titus found it slightly humorous, "with two people? And a bear?"

Cross nodded. "Hey, Titus," he pronounced the name with an extended 'su' at the end, trying to imitate how Titus pronounced his own name. Then he paused. "How do you spell that?"

Titus laughed.

Dipping a hand in the water, he wrote on the rails with wet fingers, so the watery letters stayed on the wood. T-I-T-U-S.

"In Western, you pronounce it Titus (tye-thus)," he said, "in Eastern, you pronounce it Titus (tee-tah-ssu). Like I did."

Cross leaned over the rail. "Titus, you're Eastern?"

"No, I'm Southern," Titus said. "You know where the South is?"

Cross looked to the side a little, thinking. Then, "oh!" he brightened up, "the bottom right side of the map, right?"

Titus smiled. "That's right. Everyone on the left speaks Western, everyone on the right speaks Eastern. This includes the Grand Line, too."

"They're different?" Cross asked.

Titus shook his head, "they just sound slightly distinct from each other. It's called an accent."

Cross hummed. "That's weird."

"You can call me anything you want," Titus told him. "So, what are you and your cyborg big brother going to do?"

"Cyborg?" Cross asked. Then, "I dunno. I just go where Takara wants to."

Titus blinked at that. "So he's the captain?"

Cross shook his head. "Captain is captain."

Titus stared blankly at that, not too sure how to answer. He decided to shove the matter aside, "so he's the navigator?"

"What's a navigator?" came the next question.

Titus broke into a nervous chortle, "looks like this is going to be one hell of a long conversation."

-

Takara walked in on a bunch of bandits cheering loudly. They were at the edge of the forest, tents set up to have a little roasted meal with booze.

He took a drag of his cigarette.

"Oh, hey there," one of the cheering bandits spotted him and greeted, "we got plenty of meat to share. Want some?"

Before them, a small bonfire was started. Hung over the wooden pole like a pig about to be roasted-- is a very familiar bear.

"I think I'm fine," Takara told them, still staring at the crying, sobbing little creature that was begging for his life.

"Really?" the bandit asked, "well whatever. More for us. Roast 'im!!"

And the crowd cheered again. The bear squawked in terror.

Takara scratched the back of his head.

"Uh... sorry to rain on your parade, guys," he decided to speak up. "But that bear's mine. I need him back or my kid's gonna start crying."

The bandits turned around, starved fury in their eyes.

Takara sighed.

"Oh?" the one in front of him stood up. "You're looking to steal our catch."

Takara stared at him. The other bandit was much taller, let's call him Beanstalk, so with him standing an inch before Takara, he probably was trying to be intimidating.

Takara breathed out a cloud of smoke at his face.

"He's got a collar," Takara pointed the cigarette at the bear, who was sobbing something indistinct at this point, "that means it's not food."

"And whose rule is that?" Beanstalk shoved his forehead against the redhead's, pushin forward like a kid trying to pick a fight. "You think bandits listen to rules, punk?"

Takara stood perfectly still and unfazed. It's hard to be pushed back when you weigh a few tonnes on prosthetics alone.

He hummed, "you have a point. My bad," he said. Pulling up his sleeve, he pressed a button at his wrist, and a crossbow installed in his arm popped out, snapping into place.

"What the fu--!!"

In a second, Takara had them pinned to the ground by their shoes, arrows lodging into the earth. He loaded the next round, and aimed it at the man's face.

Takara shrugged. "I guess I'm stealing your catch."

"You piece of shit! It's first come, first to take!" Beanstalk yelled. "It's common sense!"

Takara raised his crossbow. "Huh? I'm a pirate, you know," he feigned innocence, smirking slightly. "You think pirates operate on common sense?"

-

"Ehhh?! Why won't you join me, Titus? Let's be pirates together!"

"I'm not a pirate, I'm a Treasure Hunter."

Maybe it was because Titus didn't trust the kid to watch a boat by himself. At first, he seemed just about to leave-- then as they began to talk, he just settled down and stayed there, intending on waiting until Takara came back.

"Then become a pirate," Cross told him in a matter-of-fact tone.

"It doesn't work that way," Titus retorted.

Cross pouted, but didn't make a fuss. Instead, he slacked at the top of the cabin and made a groaning noise. "Why not? Pirates are fun!"

Fun, huh?

Titus turned away. "Fun is nice, but I'd rather have freedom," he said.

He looked toward the sky, reaching out.

"To become a pirate is to throw away your privileges. There are places you can't go to, and inevitably, people you can't protect," Titus turned to Cross-- and he sucked in a breath when he saw the boy.

Cross laid on the cabin, his hands under his chin. There's a very uncomfortably sweet smile on his face-- and his eyes-- was that eye blue before this? There's no way it could have changed colours, right?

"What are you running from, Mister Titus?"

When Cross spoke, Titus instantly knew something was wrong. Cross had said his name in a Western accent this time, even though before this he'd been saying it in Eastern like how Titus had introduced himself.

"I'm not... running," Titus told him, fists tight.

Something is wrong with this kid. Something... and he didn't know what.

The kid chuckled, like he knew better. "Then, what are you trying to protect?" he asked. "Family? Treasure? Or, pride?"

Titus' gaze sharpened. "Is there a difference?"

The kid simpered, smile stretching wide like a cheshire cat.

Absently, Titus reached for the gun in his rucksack.

Then Cross blinked, and the blue was gone from his eyes.

Titus felt his shoulders sag in relief.

"So, what do treasure hunters do?" Cross asked, back into his childish little voice. "You look for gold?"

Titus raised an eyebrow at this. "Something like that," he said. "But I'm looking for something better than that."

That got his attention.

Cross pushed himself off the cabin quickly, "something better than gold?"

Titus chuckled. The boy looked maybe sixteen, but he really was such a kid. Titus quite liked handling children.

He retrieved a sketch from his bag.

"This is called the Marivstone," Titus showed the drawing to the boy. It's a gem, perfectly blue, perfectly round. "It's said to be bluer than the seas, clearer than the sky, yet as deep as the Earth itself."

"Maribu stone?"

"It's also called the Stone of Marie, is that easier to pronounce?" Titus chuckled. "It's a legendary stone that can grant the holder anything they wish for-- even wishes beyond logical reason!"

"Marie!" Cross read it easily this time, "can it really do anything? Like, mountains of gold?"

Titus laughed, "you could wish for gold to never stop raining from the sky, and it would really happen!"

Cross' eyes gleamed with endless interest. "That's so cool!!"

"Right?" Titus said, getting caught up in the excitement. "I really want that stone. It's my only goal in life." He crunched the paper in his hands, and his smile pulled tight. "And I won't die until I find it."

Cross watched from the side, slightly confused.

(For a second, his eye flickers blue, the being inside him filled with curiosity. But it vanished in the next blink.)

Cross chuckled.

-

-

"Now you know why I told you not to run off on your own."

The bear made a string of scandalised growling noises. Clinging to Takara's shoulder, he essentially kept barking at the man from beside his ear, teary-eyed and sniffling.

Takara tried to light his cigarette, breathing out a heavy drag.

"Yes, the collar didn't work. My mistake. But I also told you to stay on the boat, and you didn't," Takara told him, walking quickly with a sack of treasure over one shoulder, "if you steal this much from humans," he shook the bag a little, "I'd be surprised if you weren't minced first. Learn restraint."

The bear chomped on his ear.

"OW! Did you just BITE me?!" Takara snapped away, turning sharply to the grizzly.

He made a little roar.

"You cheeky little--" Takara reached over and pulled at the bear's cheek, "I swear I'll make you emergency rations one day, you hear?! I'll make curry out of you, you miniature imbecile!"

"GRAWHH!!"

"Don't 'grawh' me, you bear!"

They made it back to their fishing boat with that strange exchange drawing quite a few strange stares.

-

"No, Cross, you can't have my hat," Titus said, "give it-- Hey! Give it back!"

"I got it! It's mine now!"

"No it isn't!"

Takara walked into a strange argument. Cross had the blondie's cowboy hat in his hands (probably stole it. That shiny plate around the rim looked nice) and the blond man looked positively troubled by it.

"Cross," Takara interrupted, and all movement stopped. "Return it."

Cross made the most offended noise.

"But you always let me keep the stuff I managed to steal!" Cross whined.

"You're only allowed to keep it if the owner didn't notice you stealing it," Takara stated firmly. "If they notice you, then you can't keep it. That was what we promised, right?"

Cross pouted. He tossed the hat back in Titus' direction. Titus caught it, slightly surprised by the immediate compliance.

Cross hopped off the cabin, onto land. "Welcome back," he said, apprehensively. He puffed up his cheeks slightly, still upset with his stay-here duty. "I watched the ship."

"I hope you did," Takara said back, smiling. He dug out a visor hat from his sack and slotted it on the boy's head. "Don't be so puffy. Here's a present."

"m'Not puffy," Cross complained, brushing his hair around the hat so it fit comfortably. "What is this? Weird hat. It doesn't have a top. It's dumb."

"It's called a visor hat. Blocks out sunlight from your eyes," Takara put his load on the boat, "your eyes tend to change colours sometimes, too. Better not to show people stuff like that or they'll freak out."

Takara turned to Titus, nodding his head in lieu of a greeting. Titus held his hat to his chest, returning the greeting.

Takara shot an eye at Cross, and the bear on his shoulder 'gao'ed cheerfully. "Looks like my kid gave you some trouble. Sorry about that."

"No worries, sir," Titus grinned, "always a joy to deal with kids. My name's Titus, by the way. Glad to meet ya."

"What's with the sir, I'm not that old," Takara took a drag of his cigarette. "I'm Takara."

"By the way Takara, your kid's freaky."

"Oh trust me, you haven't seen the worst of him."

The two adults locked eyes for a short moment. Takara's hand prodded strangely close to the trigger of his hidden crossbow.

Though a smile was on his face, Titus had his hand on his gun, a second away from having his finger in the trigger.

Titus hummed. "Have we met before, mister?" he asked.

Takara scoffed, "I'm not that young, you punk."

Titus flustered, raising his gun, "mister, I will literally shoot you."

Beside them, Cross picked up Captain, stepping into the boat and humming something about being hungry. He wasn't interested in the adult's talk.