Screw It, I'm Going Out to Find It!

Chapter VII: First Bounty

Chaos. That was the best way to describe their situation. Ren was bailing water, Jaune was trying (and failing) to keep order, Ruby was trying to patch the holes, Blake was shouting orders to Neo who was steering, and Cardin was — he was sleeping. Somehow. They had been through snow, storms, beating sun, and strong winds. Even during the night, making their shifts for watch not just for enemies. It had been a wake up call, learning that the weather on the Grand Line was nearly unpredictable. Blake had her work cut out for her.

Ruby had managed to use some of the supplies she got for her weapon to patch up the holes in The Bucket. They were neatly in a row and now almost looked to be an added part of the aesthetic. They were really punctures made from teeth. Sea kings, an unbelievable number of them, had all appeared once the water had stilled. That was the Calm Belt, two strips of sea that bordered the Grand Line. The waters stilled, its namesake, and it was full of deadly sea monsters. The first time they had been lucky enough to be flung back into moving water; the second time was similar; the third time, they had been bitten.

Ruby had leaned out the side and sniped the serpent's uvula, getting it to let go of them. There was no way they could keep this up, as each time they faced a horde of monsters, their chances looked slimmer and slimmer. They had to be going in circles too, and Blake's compass was no use to them here. Needless to say, spirits were low.

"We need to do something about this!" Ren shouted, walking back to the center of their ship. No one gave a rebuttal as he was only voicing their own thoughts as well.

After a moment's thought, Jaune called out to Ruby, "Use your scope. Look around for anything — and I mean anything. If it's a friendly ship, they might be able to get us a log pose; if it's land, we can find one; if it's an enemy ship, we can fight for one."

Ruby gave a mock salute, but it didn't look like her heart was in it. Jaune sat down, trying to think through his situation. Things were not looking bright, and he wasn't sure what he should do about it. He looked around at his crew — his friends, his comrades — and tried his best to strategize. They should have gotten a log pose before leaving, even if he wasn't sure where on Remnant they could have. That didn't matter anymore though, since it was already too late. Were log poses sold? If that was the case, then it would be easiest for them to stumble onto an inhabited island. If they were items just kept on people, then their best bets were to steal one or take one by force. He doubted anyone would just give theirs up.

"There's a ship!" Ruby called out. "And they're headed right towards us!"

"What flag are they flying?" Ren asked, gathering with the rest of the crew.

"It's — they're marines," Ruby said with realization.

"Shit." Jaune closed his eyes, trying his best to craft some excuse. It always helped when he was younger, but acting sick to get out of school wasn't the same as explaining to marines why you were flying a pirate flag. Wait, the cloth and paint he had gotten was still tucked under a chair. His eyes widened. "We're not flying a flag yet. Get close to the ship and make up some story about struggling with the weather. Hopefully, our faces aren't that recognizable yet."

It would be easy enough to just tell partial truths. Ren caught his eye. "And how exactly will you be taking care of this, Jaune? You should take at least one of us with you."

Their captain gave a confident smile and winked. "Don't worry, I have a plan."

***

The weather over the sea was currently bright and sunny. It gave the young man a glow as he stood atop a barrel with a hand held out as a promise. He belted out his dreams and aspirations to the rest of the crew. They sat in almost reverent silence, letting the man's words wash over them. Truthfully, they were quiet because they had long since given up on saying anything.