Sail On!: Chapter 3



''It had been three days since the White Scarf Pirates had arrived at, and they had spent that time searching for the dreaded Crimson Princess, Aisa Himegami. Or at least Jon had been, the others were busy searching for their captain Eustass D. Sid, who had gotten lost in the city on the first day and was yet to be seen.''

Jon: How many times do I have to tell you, he'll show up sooner or later. He isn't really as stupid as he lets on.

Lisa: But he's a wanted man now, you saw the poster. What if the Marines find him?

Jon: (Suddenly much more polite) Don't worry, he's gonna be fine. Come on, you said you wanted to buy more food didn't you? We'll go shopping while these two guard the ship.

Meanwhile, in a distant corner of the town, Sid walks sulkily in the wake of a blonde girl, staring longingly at any and all food stalls that they cross.

Sid: Come on Uri, I'm hungry. Just let me pick something up.

Uri: I said no. And stop calling me that, my name is Ayane. Ayane, not Uri.

Sid: (Sticks out tongue towards the back of Ayane's head.) But I can't think straight if I'm hungry.

Ayane: Then go, leave me all alone to find him and have your meal. Its just that I thought you had given me your word that you would help me.

Sid: I gave my word, didn't I? That means I'll help you no matter what.

Just then a commotion from behind drew their attention, the two of them turning around just in time to see a man extracting himself from a pile of broken pots and begin running away as if his life were on the line.

Ayane: That's one of the guy's who took Lucky. I told you I had seen him somewhere here.

The two of them immediately run off after the man, following him through the market, down a side alley and even over a series of rooftops before they cornered him in a dead end.

Ayane: Where is he? Tell me, what did you do to him? Tell me or he'll beat it out of you.

Kidnapper: You don't know what you're getting yourself into, yo fools.

Suddenly half a dozen more men appear behind them, effectively blocking the two of them inside the alley.

Thug#1: Beat him up? We'll see about that. Now why don't you tell us why you have been asking around about us for the past two days?

Ayane: Where is my friend, where is Lucky? You give him back to me right now.

Thug#1: Your friend? Oh, you mean that talking cat? Well don't worry, he's quite alright, he's going to make us reach. Guess how much the Tenryūbito will pay for a cat that talks and flies?

Sid: (Eyes brightening visibly in excitement.) He can fly, that is so cool!! The two of you have to join my crew!

Ayane: Is this really the time for this? Didn't you hear what he said, they're going to sell him as a slave, and I will never let that happen. Even if I have to loose my life for him.

Sid: (Now completely serious.) Then I shall put my life on the line as well. Take care of that weakling behind us, will you? I'll deal with these morons.

''Saying so he would rush forward into the midst of the thugs, slamming his palm into one of them as he passed by, sending him crashing into the wall. He would bring his knee up as he reached the first of the remaining thugs, slamming it into his jaw, two of the thugs now out cold before even realizing what had happened. But the others would spring into action now, pulling out swords and start attacking him. Sid would respond instinctively and suddenly his entire body would be covered in flames. Moeru Yoroi! As the blades came down towards him, he dodged them one by one, letting them pass through the space he had occupied just a moment earlier, then lashing out with a punch or a kick to knock a thug out. As the last one would fall, he would suddenly hear a scram from behind and turn around to see Ayane on the ground and her opponent running towards him, tossing back a small object towards Ayane. Recognizing it as a grenade, he would rush forward towards her, slamming the thug out of the way and into the wall as he dropped himself over Ayane, putting out the flames covering the front of his body and bodily covered her. As the small grenade would go off, the flames on his back would absorb much of the blast, though the thug who had just tossed the grenade would not be so lucky and would feel the full effect of the blast. As he would slowly rise a few seconds later, pulling Ayane up by a hand, he would examine them both to see if there were any injuries. Though they were both a little bruised, and their clothes were in tatters, everything seemed to be alright. Nothing so serious that Mira wouldn't be able to patch them up.''

Sid: You alright?

Ayane: Ye..yes, thanks for doing that.

Sid: Hey, what are friends for? Come on, lets get some answers from these guys and get out of here before the Marines show up.

Half an hour later they would be standing outside a small and rundown shop, a antiquities dealer the leader of the thugs had identified as one of their fronts and the place where Lucky was supposed to be held.

Ayane: Lets do this, he must be really scared.

Sid: Hmm, lets go get the flying cat.

Stepping into the store, they would find themselves in an old dusty room, a middle aged lady standing behind the counter at the far end of the room.

Lady: We don't allow beggars in here, get out.

Sid: Shut up.

''He would simply walk on past the counter and through a small door at the back that lead to a small staircase to the upper floor, Ayane following right after him. Coming to a stop outside the only door on the upper floor, he would kick the door in, revealing two more thugs inside with a small, blue skinned cat kept inside a small cage in between them.''

Lucky: (Crying loudly.) Ayane! Get me out of here.

''Sid would rush froward and covering both his hands in fire, catch the thugs by their heads and slam their faces into the nearest wall, sending them crashing through the wall and down into the street below. Meanwhile Ayane would remove Lucky from the cage and start consoling the wailing cat.

Sid: (With a very serious expression on his face.) Take him and get out of here. I'll make sure they pay for this.

Ayane: What are you going to do?

Sid: Go.

''A few minutes later, as Ayane would be standing outside the store, waiting for Sid to emerge, she would be surprised to see the middle-aged woman they has seen inside come running out of the store, half of her hair scorched off. A moment later an explosion would rock the back of the house and soon the entire house would go up in flames. As a few exploding bits of the house would come flying towards them, Ayane would avert her hands for a instance, only to find Sid standing next to her the moment she would look back ahead.''

Sid: So Uni, can we go eat now? I'm hungry.

Lucky: Me too, I'm hungry Ayane.

Ayan would simply stare dumbfoundedly from the boy to the cat, too shocked to speak just yet.

''A few hours later, at the docks where their ship was docked, the remaining members of the White Scarf Pirates would be loading supplies into their ship as a growing commotion from the direction of the town would draw their attention. Jon, who was about to load the last crate of food, would look in the direction of the growing sound and notice two figures coming running towards them, with what looked like a large bird flying behind them, and he was sure one of them was Sid. Running behind them would be a number of Marines, most probably trying to catch them trying to catch them. Running up the ship, he would pull in the plank linking them to the dock and run to the stern and start pulling in the anchor.''

Jon: Hey baldy, get up here, we need to get out of here real fast.

Buzz: (Running up below deck.) What are you on about? What happened?

Jon (Pointing in the direction of the approaching crowd.) That happened.

''The sight would be enough to convince the shipwright and he would jump into action. By the time Sid and the others would arrive at the docks the ship was well and truly on its way. Sid would jump and just manage to reach the ship, while Lucky would grasp Ayane from behind and fly her onto the ship. Getting onto the deck, Sid would turn back to take one look at the gathered Marines before bursting out laughing, Ayane and Lucky soon joining in. Pretty soon Lisa and Mira would also have arrived on deck and all four of them would stare at the laughing trio.''

Sid: This is Uri, she's our new navigator. And that's Lucky, he can fly!!

Ayane: (Screaming.) Stop calling me that!!

Lucky: Hi!

''Sid would simply start laughing once more as the rest of his crew watched with thunderstruck expressions at the talking, flying cat. They were off once more, and though they hadn't found Aisa, they had gained two new friends. Their adventure was well and truly on its way.''