Jeanne and Noir walked down the long street. The market began to replace itself with different types of stalls, gone were the few higher need items now replaced with different types of unique products Jeanne had her satchel and weapon under her cloak, letting them hang as the two of them walked “You ever think that this crew is special?” She asked in a serious but laid back tone, Noir had been with them for some time, but it wasnt long ago that he was the newcomer.
“There’s just…something about it, you know. I saw pirate crews from time to time back home, but they were never like this.” She said as she reminisced back to the day where Rojo Frock had attacked and Leroy had saved the town from being ransacked. She’d never seen anything like it. And that same feeling of New and Unseen just kept happening.
“Oh?” Noir’s attention was quickly dragged away from a booth loaded with different spices and seasonings that he could smell the deliciousness from them. “I guess now that you mention it, it is pretty different. Everyone is sorta independent, you know? We all link together well and support each other, but we all have our respective tasks and goals in mind. Other crews just sorta blend together and become like a mesh while everyone here is their own link.” Noir snickered, pulling out a fresh cigarette from his pocket and lighting it, making sure to take a puff from it before letting it land at his lips. “Thats probably why I joined… why did you join, Jeanne?”
“Honestly, I didn’t expect to even join the crew in the initially. Leroy just showed up on the island to grab supplies, and then some pirate named Frock appeared and wreaked havoc. And not an hour later the guy was embedded into the ground by Leroy.” She chuckled
“To think he came up to me at my stand and saw what I was doing and said ‘You should join my crew!’ When he first arrived” “But after all was said and done, he asked if i was coming with them. And i think In that moment, more than any other point in my life…” She said with a soft tone “I felt like I could do what i wanted in life. See the world and become the worlds greatest inventor!” She spoke solemnly and sincerely
Reminiscing about it, it made her think about what'd happened before for the first tim in a long time.
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Jeanne was born in the West Blue to a gun for hire and his librarian wife. Her father, Arquette Andre, spent his life fighting in the 50 Year War. After the war ended 25 years ago, and Jeanne was born he turned to a life working for a local Criminal Syndicate to support his family. Andre tried to raise Jeanne with the ability to defend herself at a young age, first teaching her how to shoot at age seven. It was very clear to him that his daughter would be more academically inclined like his wife however. Jeanne's mother, Camille, would allow their daughter to read anything she wanted in the library.
The good times of the family were not meant to last though. When Jeanne was twelve, Camille contracted a terminal illness. Andre worked longer and more dangerous jobs in order to help pay medical bills for his dying wife. The two traveled together from island to island, bough sparse rare herbs, or complex medicines that took months to be delivered.
Jeanne would learn to be self sufficient in this time, due to having to help care for her mother. She also started tinkering around this age, making new little gadgets and gizmos in attempts to brighten her mother's mood. On one rainy day however, the illness would claim Camille. Andre grew distant and kept to his work, leaving the now thirteen year old Jeanne to her own devices while he supported them both financially.
When she was sixteen, while walking on the beach near her home, Jeanne stumbled across a battered chest. A battle between a group of pirates and marines had just finished the night prior and she was looking for any usable scrap that washed ashore. She took the chest home and burst it open to reveal an odd fruit, White with cloud looking swirls upon it. Not having read about Devil Fruits she shrugged it off and decided to eat it for a snack.
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Though displeased by the taste she ate the whole thing, before feeling oddly warm. Before too long a gout of steam burst from her arm, causing her to panic. Her dad was not around so she took to her family's collection of books, hoping they would have the answer. Soon she stumbled upon one she never read before. One about Devil Fruits. Upon realizing what she just ate she decided to keep it secret from her father, not wanting him to worry.
A few years later, her father came home with grave news. The crime syndicate he worked for was going into a more active confrontation with a rival syndicate, though this was unknown to her. He would be even more absent from home, but that wasn't what worried him. What worried him was his daughter getting caught in the crossfire. So he had made arrangements, with what money he had managed to save up over the years, for her to move far away to the East Blue. Somewhere where he knew she would be a lot safer. Though she didn't have the strongest relationship with him, Jeanne was reluctant to go. Having lost one family member to sickness, now being faced with the prospect of losing another to violence. Andre wasn't taking no for an answer though, and forced Jeanne to leave the West Blue.
The trip was long and boring for her, but eventually Jeanne arrived in the East Blue. On the Island of Orange Town. It took a while to get settled. Renting a room in the loft of a tavern, where she served as Handyman, and began to get her footing. Once she found her footing on an island with a decent sized village upon it she started selling gadgets and trinkets to get by. Sometimes even being called to some of her richer neighbors to repair their jewelry, and those from the town of Pipe, a retirement old money village that was filled with geriatrics that couldn't do much for themselves beside sit upon huge sums.
Overall though she felt stagnant in her new environment, having lost her mother's vast collection of books and not having the real need to practice her Marksmanship.
Then, she made her first cannon. One that actually worked, Archie. And began to practice more and more with it. And after a few weeks, along came that red sashed man and fishman navigator. And the rest was history.
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"And then, that was that. Leroy's already said in passing a few times what we were up to before you came along." She said, finishing her long spiel.
Noir smiled genuinely at her. Not his typical dazed grin that clearly meant he was in wonderland just because he was beside a girl, but an actual smile. “Well, our captain sure has a knack for picking crewmates, huh?” He held his cigarette between his fingers before looking ahead. “Let’s hope we all reach our dreams one day!”
“With him?” She looked over at Nor with a grin slowly growing, slightly relaxed yet full of energy “I’m sure we will.”
Noir kept walking, letting the conversation end off with a chuckle. MAN he was holding an outburst in SO HARD right now. SHE WAS SMILING AT HIM WEEWOOWEEWOO HIS HEART WAS ABOUT TO POP OUT OF HIS CHEST- but it was ok, he was staying calm… verrryyy calm… he was chill and relaxed like her, of course.
She let out a relaxed chuckle as they continued to close in on Leroys location And with out even making eye contact she looked from him, and back to the street "I'm gay by the way." She said with a smile
“That’s nice! Wonderful!” Noir was kinda getting all giddy once more, not really processing what she said from just being oh so happy about having a close and tender moment with h- “…wait, what?” He stoped walking for a second, watching her with wide eyes as she walked away… before quickly running back up to her side, looking immensely panicked. “Waitwaitwaitwaitwaitwaitwait- what?? What did you say?”
"You heard me." She said with a giggle