– Bellamy –
"You've done well with them, Bellamy-san. You should be proud." Izou told me and honestly, I agreed with him.
I was proud of my crew.
Looking at them now, you wouldn't have guessed that for the most part, these were the same chumps who had gotten their asses kicked by the Saruyama Alliance in the canon timeline. Granted, the enemies we had beaten today had been at the bottom of the barrel amongst their peers even whilst they'd been in uniform, and the years of easy living in semi-retirement had allowed their skills to decay even further. But even accounting for all that, their rate of growth was by all metrics, simply astounding, having gone from being disposable, nameless fodder to an actual, viable fighting force. If they kept this up, it wouldn't be an outrageous proposition to pit my crew against the Doflamingo Family when the time came.
"They're the best I could ask for." I replied, a soft smile on my face as I watched them celebrate on the deck of our ship.
My relationship with them had also changed over the last six months we had spent together. My initial worry, that they might mutiny and throw me overboard for being an impostor, seemed so silly now. I was still unsure whether they had noticed I wasn't the Bellamy they'd initially set sail with, but if they had none of them had called me out on it. Of course a rather substantial part of that had something to do, with how I had inherited most of the original's memories, bits and bobs having slotted themselves into my memory bank over the course of months.
However, there was really no comparison between experiences watched through another's eyes and the ones I had lived through myself. And hence, I could now say with confidence, that my crew had become more to me than characters out of a show with whom I shared this world. They had become people with whom I had friendships with. They'd become human.
It was a realization which had surprised me when it first hit me. I really had changed, hadn't I?
"Considering what you told me you had started with; I had been fully expecting to have to step in and intervene. That I didn't have to for either fight was a pleasant surprise."
"We really worked hard to get to where we are now. But don't think I didn't notice you softening those two up a bit before tossing them to us. Thanks for that by the way."
Roughing them up, crushing their spirits, intimidating them, destroying their favored weapons…it had all served to weaken them further and make them more vulnerable to Byron's emotional manipulation. Plus, from the look of it, my crew hadn't noticed, meaning this was going to be a great boost to their self-confidence. I'd have to make sure they didn't take this too far and become arrogant and overconfident, but that was in my job description anyway. And for now, this was a good thing.
----------------------------------------
"Shura, Mani said you wanted to talk to me?" I asked as I approached the former priest at the prow of our ship, who shifted slightly over to make room for me.
"Yes, I did. Thank you for seeing me."
Shura was another one whose position in life had radically changed. I had first met him as my first real enemy in this world, one who had pushed me to my limits and forced me to accept Bellamy's combat instincts. Then he'd been my prisoner, who after experiencing Eddy's tender mercies, had been convinced to offer us his services as our haki instructor. A task he'd done with diligence and in good faith, resulting in Laki, Rivers and Mani unlocking their observation haki. This in turn had led to him going from being a prisoner to an unofficial member of my crew.
Personality wise, he'd mellowed a bit too. Much of the arrogance he used to have was nowhere to be seen nor could I pick up any real resentment against us for essentially kidnapping him from his home. Having gotten to know him, I felt a little bad about it but if I had to make the choice again, I probably wouldn't change a thing.
"What did you want to talk to me about?" Despite my prodding, Shura didn't respond to my question for a while, just staring out into the open ocean where the sun was starting to dip below the horizon.
"I used to be one of the strongest individuals in my world. Apart from Enel, I would have argued that I was the strongest of the four priests and there hadn't been a foe I could not kill. Perhaps Urouge would have been a match for me when he still walked amongst us, but Enel cast him down so we never clashed." Shura said, his eyes not leaving the reddening sky. "Then one day, you came along. I was defeated by someone who didn't have mantra and my god was slain. Over the course of only a few weeks, you tore my world asunder to reveal another behind the illusion I had been living under. What is it you Blue Sea dwellers say, a big fish in a little pond? You forcefully shoved me into a big pond where I was a little fish."
"I won't lie and say I regret it, but I apologize for not attempting to convince you first."
"It wouldn't have done anything anyway. The way I was back then, there would have been nothing you could have offered me that would have convinced me to follow you." Shura replied, lazily waving his hand. "In a way, I'm thankful that you did so. I have made more progress in the time I sailed with you than I did in the last decade. Plus, I wouldn't have been able to witness the battle at Marineford. To think that feats like that were possible…it was like a divine revelation."
"I saw that you already put some of those lessons into practice today. A net created on the spot using steel wire? That was honestly impressive."
"Just parlour tricks, nothing more. I've still got a long way to go." While he did try to play it off, I could tell that he was proud of his achievement. Shura had lost nearly his entire arsenal when he came down here. Fuza abandoned him, his lance was confiscated by the Shandians and his string cloud didn't work. The amount of effort that had been invested in finding substitutes was by no means trivial.
After that, we both said nothing for a while, silently watching the first stars come out. The evening breeze was nice and refreshing, carrying with it the smell of the sea I had become so familiar with over these past months. Both of us just enjoying scenery. In the end though, I was the one that broke the silence.
"I wanted to thank you for helping out earlier today, but I do have to ask. Why did you help?" I asked, fully turning to face him. Shura did not.
"I'd plead temporary insanity, but we both know that's not true. Am I crazy for having grown fond of the ones holding me prisoner? Or is it normal that when torn from everything I've ever known, alone in a strange and unknown world, I would latch onto my only source of human contact and security? Perhaps, teaching mantra to others gave me a purpose after Enel died." he said in a contemplative manner before gritting his teeth when mentioning his former employer. "Good riddance to him by the way. The bastard deserved what happened to him for abandoning us like he did for his twisted sense of amusement."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because I'm leaving. I've heard you and Laki talking, you know. I've also spoken with Marie. I am aware of what's out there and what was likely to happen to me if I had been alone until now. But after spending several months down here, I've gotten used to the Blue Sea and have gotten familiar with its dangers. So, here's the question: will you try and stop me?" The question was accompanied by a challenging stare, which I evenly met.
"No, I won't. You've done good by us, so this is me returning the favor." I answered, shaking my head. He'd done enough for us and with Izou joining us, the original purpose for keeping him around had been negated. If he wanted to leave, I would let him go. Not least because having an unwilling and resentful person on board was a drain on resources I did not need.
"I expected you to try and convince me to stay." Shura admitted, idly twisting his moustache.
"To be honest, I'm surprised you didn't want to leave earlier. Most people in your position would have resented us."
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
"I'm not most people, but just because I've grown fond of you and yours, well fonder than anybody alive at any rate, doesn't mean I've forgotten. Also, I frankly don't feel all that comfortable being on the same ship as Eddy."
"He told me he apologized…" I mumbled, my voice trailing off. It was a weak excuse and I knew it.
"He did, but does that really fix things? You just don't do…that…to a person."
"…"
"Then again, time mends most wounds, and maybe this won't be any different. It's not like Enel didn't torture us when he felt like it and we still ended up following him until his death."
"Do you mind if I ask where you plan on going?" I asked, intentionally shifting the conversation in another direction. It was an awkward position to be in, because as Eddy's captain and as the one who had given him the green light, I couldn't apologise. On the other hand, I couldn't just tell Shura he didn't matter. Hence, the change in topic. Thankfully, Shura played ball and moved on.
"Captain Byron approached me with an offer to become his first mate. I accepted the offer." He revealed to me, though I had been half expecting it to happen. Shura really did fit the recruitment requirements that Byron had. He was decently strong, had a valuable skillset, was not a core member of my crew like Nero had become, but had been around long enough for Byron to get a sense of his character. Still, there was one thing I had to confirm.
"You are aware that you'd still be associated with us, right?" I pointed out to him to which he nodded.
"I am and I don't have a problem with it. Even with Eddy. My mind is not so frail as to remain fixated on something that took place months ago. Like I said, I just don't want to constantly be in the near vicinity of your navigator." Then he tacked the following on as an afterthought, "No offense."
"None taken. It's a perfectly understandable reasoning." I shrugged before holding out a hand, which Shura grasped in his own. "In that case, I wish you all the best on your future travels and I thank you for your service."
"Is it now my turn to thank you for kidnapping me and showing me a whole new world?"
"…you're joking, right?" I deadpanned and Shura smirked.
"What do you think?"
----------------------------------------
Not long after my talk with Shura, Byron announced the formation of the Harmony Pirates, a homage to Byron's passion for music. We threw them a party to celebrate, drinking late into the night with plenty of dancing and singing, both of which got progressively worse and more enthusiastic as the night went on.
By the time the moon was directly overhead, the accounts of our battles had also become increasingly outrageous until we had fought a dozen vice admirals of Garp's caliber with a hand tied behind our backs. And this despite all of us knowing exactly what had truly happened, including those members who had been left to guard the ship, thanks to Aisa's very detailed reporting. In fact, it had been so accurate that she had transmitted Izou's lecture word for word to her audience and unlocked armament haki on the side.
Yes, she unlocked armament haki by listening to a lecture. She couldn't use it properly yet, only managing a flickering, unstable, flimsy looking something over her fingernails…but it was armament haki. Then again, she'd been using haki for nearly a decade by this point…so maybe it was about time? It wasn't unthinkable that the only reason she hadn't had armament before today had been due to her ignorance of its existence, not that she lacked experience using haki in general. Though, this didn't make her feat any less ridiculous.
Mani for her part seemed to have had some sort of lightbulb moment during the fight, so she'd taken to walking around with a blindfold on. Of course, as she could only sense presences right now, she stumbled a lot and Rivers had to rush about removing obstacles in her path, but she was making steady progress. Spurred on by this, Laki & Rivers had also vowed to double their own training…after the party.
Felt kind of odd to think that after tonight four people would be leaving my ship. I had gotten used to having Shura around and Byron had quickly ingratiated himself with my crew. Even Marie had become a fixture in Muret's medical ward, learning all she could about emergency medicine, drugs and other concoctions. She even received a tranquilliser gun with six dozen rounds as a graduation present...
We didn't ask why Muret had so much tranquilliser stowed away.
Judy was one member of the Harmony Pirates with whom I really hadn't spent any meaningful amount of time with. Most of his focus while on my ship had been on recovering from his wounds, before going through Nero's boot camp to toughen himself up. I hadn't seen it myself, but Eddy walked in on one of their session and had gone to Muret for mental therapy…or so he claimed. I suspected it was something else, but I didn't have proof and Aisa refused to tell me.
But I was certain that they'd be fine. Byron was far more dangerous than his 70 million belli bounty would suggest, and Shura had haki which was already a near cheat in Paradise. Nero had also pronounced Judy fit and ready to…at least run away when he was in danger. That in of itself was a miracle considering that Judy had been a normal, civilian bartender before events had spiraled out of his control. Demanding that Nero enable him to win fights was definitely too much to ask for. As for Marie? Let's just say Marie had her devil fruit and leave it at that, yeah? It was unnerving. So unless they came across a proper Vice Admiral or something, they'd be fine and the marines really couldn't spare those to hunt down relative small fry like the Harmony Pirates.
"So, two years huh?"
"Yeah. We'll probably return to Sabaody a little before that to get our ship coated, but in about two years we'll be heading over to the New World."
"Because of Doflamingo?" Byron asked.
"Because of Doflamingo." I confirmed. While I could wait for Luffy to deal with the situation for me, I really didn't want to. This was my fight. And hiding behind Luffy didn't sit well with me, another aspect that had changed about me. On Jaya, I had been looking forward to tagging along with Luffy in order to survive. Now, I wanted to leave him behind…both literally and metaphorically.
"Then we'll see you then." Byron promised. It wasn't an easy promise to make, as it implied that he could prepare his new crew in time to face the dangers of the New World. But if he succeeded? There was no doubt they'd be a huge help on Dressrosa.
"Looking forward to it. Do you have any concrete plans for where you're going next?"
"We need to get my ship fixed up real quick, so I was thinking Water Seven. After that…probably get into a few fights, crack some heads…get the kids blooded. Judy is a little too green for my liking."
"What about Marie?"
"Have you seen the girl? She's a little hell cat, that one. And she's all fired up to get back at the celestial dragons for what they did to her and her beau."
"Do keep her on a tight leash, will you? We really don't want her running off to cause an…accident before we're ready."
"You should tell that to Judy, he's the fiancé. Or is there something you want to tell us, captain?" Byron replied, causing me to choke on my drink…and frantically start shaking my head in denial. "But yes, I'll keep an eye on her, though I reckon she'll calm down eventually."
"I sure hope she will. Did you need anything else before you go?"
"No, the dials you gave us are plenty already. And Nero gave us a training manual too, so we'll have enough to keep ourselves busy."
"If you do need something, anything at all…you have my number."
"I do and thank you for the offer."
Again, we lapsed into silence, watching the celebration happening a little ways away before I spoke up.
"So…this is it then?"
"This is it. One last toast for old times sake?" Byron suggested, raising his bottle.
"The last one, for now. To a better future." I toasted, clinking my bottle against his.
"Aye, I'll drink to that. To a better future."
It tasted delicious.