Piracy? Unchanging facade in a new world!

Author's notes:

I figured I should try this and see how it goes. Let me know if the new layout of chapters with the single spacing is a bit better on the eyes and the like. Or if you prefer the double spacing between text. If there are any questions, then feel free to ask; I will be a bit vague if they come into spoiler territory or cover anything I plan on revealing at a later date. 

Finally, apologies for the strange schedule...or well lack of one altogether. From now on there will be at least one new chapter every month (this goes for the four main fics I'm handling: Phantom Masquerade, Scars of White, Class Wars, Piracy! One chapter for each of them every month.) with the word count increasing to at least 3000 words per chapter. Let me know if that's a change for the better as well.

That and a surprise that I'm looking forward sometime in the near future (Probably next month or the month after), I'm excited for it. But I'll reveal more details with that as it becomes relevant.

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The brilliant yellow light from the sun shone down on the beach swallowing up the entire shore and illuminated the passed-out bodies of my future crewmates after the evening of celebration I was subject to.

A few of the animals approached almost as if they could sense our time together was shortening. I subjected myself to the suffocation that was their presence. If I wasn't already sweltering due to the humidity, then this would certainly exacerbate that. Well, not that I'll have to deal with it for much longer. If this is what they need for a goodbye, then so be it.

"Argh, my head… Nami, what time is it?" Those words escaped from the swordsman, rather tiredly at that.

"Usopp? Luffy? Gaimon?... Blank-faced bastard?" Really, that's what I get? I think I'll just pretend to be asleep.

"Ahhh! Get away, you're too warm! It's too early for this crap… Hold on, maybe he's asleep. Slowly… slowly. Ack! Get off my foot! Hey, I said move!" Is this guy incapable of being silent? Does he seriously think I wouldn't be able to hear him approaching? He should make a habit of drinking less; I think it may be having negative effects on his brain.

Gradually I could feel the cooling sensation from a shadow cast over my face. Ahhh, that's much better.

The overwhelming stench of alcohol and fish erupted from the man's mouth as he neared my person. When was toothpaste invented? Quickly brain think or I'll have to be the inventor of modern hygiene in this world!

"Just… slowly…" Having enough of this tiresome game I decided to open my eyes abruptly in front of my intruder.

"Ack!" Dramatically the swordsman had fallen backwards into the pile of animals crowding me, at least they cushioned his fall. Although, I was kinda hoping for a little damage as payback.

I was hardly happy that the first sight to greet my eyes was the haggard face of an alcoholic pirate, though. Luffy's cheerful visage or Nami's beautiful features made much more pleasant impressions on my eyes. Regardless, I suppose I should arise from my alcohol induced coma.

"So, you were awake blank bastard?" Such a welcoming statement. I'm overjoyed at my new friend.

"…In the future you could do with being quieter, if you plan on sneaking up on someone." It would have taken more effort to have feigned sleep that entire time.

"Ain't exactly my expertise. Usually, I just put someone in the ground if they get in the way." Yeah, that seems pretty apt. Despite obviously being annoyed he was rather gentle with the animals as he attempted to stand back up.

"Learn then, that won't work for you every time. Evidently." In this line of work, it would prove useful, were my thoughts anyway.

"Not happening. I'll always choose to fight. How else will I become the strongest?" Strongest? Isn't that the type of dream people give up on after growing past the age of ten? It's like I'm facing the very childish ideas of that man right now. Albeit a more innocent and naïve version.

"Individual strength is important, however there's always strength in numbers. You don't really expect your strength to be able to contend with the world, do you?" I may be getting ahead of myself. This is a different world; it is entirely possible to stand at the precipice through strength alone. In my world the idea is childish, power is dictated by political strength and resources. Public opinion and manipulation are needed in spades to create such a position. It could be that this world doesn't follow that same rationale. Just like the other differences I have noticed along the way.

"Pah. You're strong but a wimp. If you're a man reach for the top. What's the point in living without grand ambition?" The amount of people that have been swallowed whole by that ambition is no small number.

"Grand ambition? You can live without that sort of thing…" I had been the target of such things before, all I felt was suffocation from the aspirations I wanted no part in.

"…It's not the question of if you can… It's the very question; is it worth it?" He muttered the last under his breath.

The idea that something is missing from your life otherwise. I've heard that idea touted before, personally I don't understand it myself. I've witnessed and even been the target of someone's unwanted dreams. However, during that time I merely satisfied my own curiosity. The idea of it serving some grand purpose or answering that person's ideals. They never entered my mind for even a single moment. Even if that was the path that I found myself upon in the future, that would be all it was. I have no interest in power, influence, connection, apart from the benefits they grant me by having them. The same is for knowledge and strength, if I held no curiosity for them or obvious advantage by having them, I would quickly discard them as well.

In saying such it would seem that my life really didn't have much worth in the grand scheme of things. But that hardly matters. I think therefore I am. I exist and will continue until my last breath, finding any semblance of enjoyment or fulfilment I can along the way. That's how it has always been, new world or not it makes no difference. The only variable would be the breadth of my curiosity for my new surroundings. Whether this one or my original, I was detained from the outside world so nearly all of it is new. In which case, what I have to do hardly changes.

"…" I opted for silence after that. Our viewpoints are too different, we won't concede on our worldviews. Further discussion would just sour the atmosphere.

"…Nggghhhhhhh. Zoro, Ayanokouji. You guys already up? C'mon, help me get the others. We need to prepare to set sail!" A high-pitched voice only belonging to the navigator had said those words. Peering over the crowd of animals still surrounding me I could see the figure of the red head. How the hell does she manage to look completely unaffected after last night? Just from looking at her you wouldn't be able to guess that she had drank the swordsman and myself under the table with minimal difficulty. A smile plastered on her face all the while. Not a smidgen of exhaustion or fatigue could be seen from her just by observing. What a useful constitution… Not that I plan to make a habit of drinking like this. Maybe it's acclimation to the alcohol? Either way it isn't the best idea to become used to ingesting that stuff often, there isn't much benefit after all.

I decided it was better to acquiesce her, so I finally raised my weary body from the floor. I noticed a certain long-nosed crewmember just a few feet away. Still enjoying his slumber. What a shame if someone were to interrupt it…

"Mgh… Luffy… don't eat that…" Good luck with whatever you were attempting to stop your captain from doing. I don't think that'd be possible even in the dream world… I nudged the young man to try and rouse him from his stupor.

"…K …aya." Rather than rousing him he grabbed my arm as I gripped his shoulder. Judging by the fact he mentioned what I assume is a woman's name… I don't intend to be a victim of a different kind of arousal, so I quickly smacked him on the back of his head.

"Igyaaah! Bastard! What the hell was that for?!" Eyes still shut he abruptly sat upright and screamed in retaliation to my (incredibly light) reprimand.

"Do I look like my name is Kaya?" Upon that name his eyes spontaneously opened, to reveal my no doubt happy face.

"Huh?... AAAAHHHHH! I apologise, please don't kill me I don't taste good! Take Luffy!" So much for the trust and reliability of camaraderie. You don't need to back up that far away though. My face wasn't that scary, was it? The young man continued to scoot back humorously until his back hit a tree a meter or so away. Blocking his escape…

Well, if I planned on doing anything.

"Good. We need to get ready to leave. Gather any things you have." Without waiting for a reply, I walked towards the centre of the camp where a sleeping Gaimon and another congregation of animals all lay slumbering corralling the bearded man.

The faint noise of Nami and Zoro attempting to wake their captain could be heard in the camp, to no avail. He was a strange one. I've seen just how humans adhere to the seven major desires. However, I had yet to meet someone that embodied the total pursuit of gluttony and sloth whilst still holding such great ambition. I had certainly seen those overtaken by one deadly sin. A certain few individuals overcome by lust and pride appeared in my mind. I found myself wondering how the resident narcissist and the goon squad(?) as a classmate had once referred to them, were.

I wonder just what happened for me to arrive here? Would I be able to go back? Do I even want to? Not like I really have much control behind that in any case… I gathered what little belongings I had come to this island with and waited.

I had no intention of waking the only other dweller of this island, we had already said our goodbyes. So far as I'm aware our business should be finished at this point. Instead, I simply took a seat on one of the logs around the remains of the campfire, which was long dead by now. Not that we particularly needed it.

Almost instinctively the red blazer I had arrived with appeared in my hands. My mind racing back to just a month prior when I was attending that place… How bizarre.

Just a month and I was already treating this as if it were normal. Trying to adjust to the people. Growing accustomed to the rules of this world, of the game. Slowly but surely. All so I could gain a good position.

"That's a strange looking blazer, is that yours?" Nami had snuck up on me before I had dispersed the thoughts appearing in my head.

"…Yeah. It's one of the only things I had with me when I woke up here. This and the clothes I'm wearing right now." I seldom mentioned the phone I had already disposed of. The battery was dead long ago and wouldn't serve any purpose at this point. It would just add unnecessary questions in this world…

"It almost looks like a uniform, what kind I have no idea… It isn't navy apparel. It's well made though, were you a rich boy?" I could understand that train of thought. If technology were similar to the 16th century in my world, then these clothes would probably be some of the most seamless in the world. Trust a thief to recognise quality material.

Should I keep an eye on it? These are some of my only possessions in this world. Although I don't see myself getting concrete usage out of them, I still feel some lingering attachment to them. As foreign as that statement might be from me…

Nah. She won't bother stealing from me. It'd be foolish to at this point.

"No idea."

"Well, let's hope so. If you were, there might be some people looking for you." There's no way that's the case, which I'm beyond glad for.

"Are you just hoping for a reward?" I found it hard to believe that Nami of all people would be showing actual empathy for my situation right now, with what little understanding I have of her anyway.

"Huh? No, no way. As if I'd do something that heartless!" That isn't very convincing when I can see the yen symbols in your eyes.

Speaking of which, what is the currency in this world? I actually never got to that question with Gaimon. Being on a deserted island meant it never registered as particularly important in the moment. Never mind the fact that whenever I brought up the idea of money or similar topics, the 'treasure' of this island was on his mind. No wonder he was so averse to the topic itself. In the moment he would always come up with some random excuse or shift the conversation in the most abrupt ways to steer us off track. I just relented after a while as it didn't matter much at the time.

My first instinct even now was that money wasn't much of a concern. Being the great age of piracy, my understanding was that rogues were all over the place. Therefore, crime would also be at an all-time high. With dated technology it would be difficult to track and sentence petty criminal activity, so for the time being I should be able to get by.

The question that played on my mind was more; how does this crew survive?

Nami was a thief and a con-woman I was sure of that. She'd likely steal from me whilst looking me in the eye if she had the chance, so she makes sense. The captain and the marksman are too gullible and cowardly respectively to commit such actions. The swordsman would probably kill for bounties or maybe even steal off of his combatants bodies… But where do these guys get their money from? They must need money for provisions, repairs, information, weaponry etc. etc.

I didn't want to draw too many conclusions prematurely, but honestly apart from half of the crew I failed to see exactly how they made this work… The thought of Luffy holding a knife to a throat for ransom seemed incredibly discordant with his personality. In fact, if the conversation yesterday was anything to go off of, he might not even understand object permanence. Or the fact that money was in fact needed to procure goods like food or… Actually, that's probably the only provision that he's interested in.

"Out of curiosity, what would the ransom of someone like me net you?" As soon as the words left my mouth, I realised the question was a bit too broad for a person like Nami. I was better off asking an innocuous question like this to the sniper or their captain. That wasn't really the reason I asked her though.

"Not something I usually deal in to be honest. It'd depend on the family you were part of, how long ago the request was posted, the difficulty and distance between the locations. Hehehe. Well, that and you can always negotiate for more after that!"

"Hypothetically, how much would you pay to save me?"

"Hah, is that a joke? I'm more likely to ask you to spare the people searching for you. At the very least, if someone's put a request up it isn't going to look like a wanted poster…"

"Saying I'm not wanted is a bit far…"

"…" Damn my inflection!

"…O-Oh, Hehehe! You're a kidder, huh? I wasn't really expecting it… If it's any consolation… I'm sure someone's looking for you, we just need to find them. Cheer up." This definitely isn't what I was aiming for… I was hoping my sarcasm regarding my amnesia would work as a topic to make fun of, being the only thing she knows about me. My making fun of it was to bring the topic into the open so it would gradually be known that I wasn't particularly bothered about it. Now it just looks like the exact opposite! She's even giving her support in looking for my non-existent family, what a pain. The beginning of that sentence was an effort to save my awful attempt, which she incorrectly assumed was a thin veil of stoicism covering actual insecurity and trepidation!

I seriously need to re-evaluate what normal people would react like in a situation similar to mine…

 [Piracy!]

Ignoring that failed attempt at comedy and connecting with a new crewmate. The ensemble of our party had finally awoken, thanks to the efforts of Nami and gathered together at what would be my new home for the foreseeable future. Gaimon and his congregation also joining us thanks to the noise generated by the crew.

A large vessel, well compared to a human being. My small knowledge of piracy and naval development would classify this ship as a caravel. Quite fitting for a group of this size. It was basically the jack of all trades, master of none. Decent firepower, space and manoeuvrability.

Larger ships like a galleon or the like would be completely out of sync with the size of our group, frankly we wouldn't even be able to sail properly. Even with my person added, the numbers were lacking somewhat. Was the plan to recruit more people as we sailed along the East Blue? I mean what was their plan regarding Nami? She's a self-asserted temporary navigator, if we lose our navigator we might as well capsize the ship ourselves. Getting lost at sea would be a death sentence for basically anyone. First priority should be to get their plans from them, otherwise I'll be saying goodbye to this crew come the next major port.

"Take all of her in. This is the Going Merry, isn't she grand?!" The sniper shouted; arms spread wide as if to reveal the ship I could already see from a distance minutes ago. I noted that it was the sniper that introduced the vessel rather than any other member of the crew, not incredibly important. But certainly, an odd detail; as if it was his pride on the line rather than anyone else's.

Despite the size being infinitely smaller than the Speranza I was filled with a feeling of greater excitement when witnessing the pirate vessel. The bow had the visage of a goat or ram with its protruding horns. Otherwise, the ship was rather unassuming, well other than the large jolly roger of a skull and bones wearing a straw hat. Wouldn't it make more sense to disguise yourselves as just another ship? It seemed counter-intuitive to not put just regular towns people but also the marines themselves on guard thanks to that signal. Are they stupid? No actually, this is definitely the captain's doing… In which case it's a pointless question.

Assuming technology is similar enough to mirror my own world during this time then even a ship of this size would require a fortune and time to build it. The kind of thing that would require either a family's backing or an extremely fortunate individual…

Nami's out due to the temporary nature of their partnership. If the ship were hers, she certainly wouldn't allow them to fly their own flag from the sails. The swordsman and their captain look like they'd sooner spend the money on booze or food than a large expense like a ship. That would leave the sniper as the one to procure the vessel… Well, I suppose they could've just stolen it. I'm reading way too much into little details, I could just ask them like a normal person. Sometimes I curse my own brain.

"Nice ship! Isn't this a bit fancy for just you guys?" Gaimon seemed to have the same idea as myself.

"HAHAHA! Marvel in its beauty, for it is a gift from my beloved Kaya! Truly a vessel worthy of the great Captaaaiiiin Usooooopppp!" There's that name again.

"You left a girl back home, long-nose?" I can only assume his dreams must be substantial if it meant to leave treasured person behind.

"W-Well, it's not exactly like that! We're friends, y-y'know. We just talked a lot; I mean it was a small village after all!" I'm not quite understanding why he backpedalled, despite clearly saying beloved just a moment ago. Embarrassment I suppose.

"No need for explanations, young man. That's what it means to be a man after all! Sometimes you need to leave the nest to grasp at your dreams. I'm sure she understands that as well." Understanding can only go so far though.

"Yeah! Yeah! That's what it means to be a man! Thanks, Gaimon you get it! You must've had people back home as well."

"Oh, yeah. Everyone has that special someone in the world you know." I can only assume he was much better groomed and wasn't yet dwelling inside a box. Asking a woman to move into the 2x2 chest I remain trapped inside would be a wild proposition.

"What happened with you two?"

"…Nothing. I mean I left ages ago. I was sailing a year or two before I even ended up here. No doubt she forgot about me a long time ago. Time passes by people move on. After all you can only live your life where you are in the moment. Especially during this time, who knows whether tomorrow is promised…"

"…"

"But look on the bright side. If your dreams matter to you then you should still chase them, otherwise you may still be filled with that regret for the rest of your life. If you're lucky that special person will be waiting for your return with the good news!"

"Y-Yeah… Thanks Gaimon." Wow, way to kill the mood. It was an important conversation to have though. It's very likely that he left without taking these factors into account. Or rather not thinking too deeply on them before departing.

The short-statured man approached me after imparting his wisdom. The rest of the crew dispersed, moving towards the ship. Likely to give some privacy for our goodbye. It was unnecessary but appreciated.

"I guess this is it, huh?"

"I suppose so. It was a pleasure, Gaimon."

"What are your plans?"

"That… I guess I'll just see where things take me."

"It would be difficult for you to even guess where to start, huh?"

"Something like that."

"Taka, I'll miss you, my friend. As I'm sure the rest of these guys will." Those whole-hearted words genuinely escaped from Gaimon's lips. I had received an attempt at genuine connection once in the past, in the moment I had decided it was against my own and that person's best interest to accept it. To get closer would be worse for both of us even if I had never encountered them again… So, I pushed them away. Relentlessly.

A small number of the animals pestered me at an arm's length, clearly wanting me to impart some last-minute affection upon them. I relented and turned my hand over, stroking the fluffy manes and feathered torso's of the strange creatures.

"Likewise, Gaimon. It was short lived, but I appreciate your hospitality. Along with you guys, of course."

The preparations were completed as the crew continued to work whilst the two of us finished our conversation.

"It probably won't be often, but anytime Taka. If this is the last time, we see each other… Then best of luck."

"Thank you." Seeing the swordsman begin to hoist the anchor up onto the deck was my cue to also get moving. Turning and gripping the rope ladder I begun to climb onto the ship, the small number of belongings I possessed wrapped into a bundle just under my arm.

"The same to the rest of you. Just know there's always room on this island for you guys!" He shouted to the entire crew as we begun to depart.

"Nyahaha. We'll be back when I become pirate king. So long Gaimon!" The captain shouted whilst sitting leisurely on the head of the bow figurehead.

The rest of the crew gathered to the portside of the ship all waving and exchanging words of goodbye with the residents of the island.

I wouldn't mind Gaimon. Meeting once again. If it's in the cards.

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Word count: 3987

Thanks for reading. Hope you've all been enjoying the story so far. Let me know what you think and comment any questions. As stated, before I likely won't go into spoiler territory, but I appreciate the engagement.

Apologies for the slow pacing, but it was a bit necessary for the future of the story. Plenty of things regarding the situation before transmigration have been revealed, better to get these out of the way now. As well as

Until next time.