A One Piece Fan-Fic; A Burning Flame

Leaving Mephis

A Month Later-
The Bay 4:00 AM;
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The small fishing boat slowly drifted off into the distance, packed in with clothes and food, plus money. Now the popular question came along, making the children frustrated.

"Who's gonna be captain?" Asked Sabo as they drifted away from their former home. He had an orange hat with strange things on it, and a necklace around his neck.

"I guess if I have to I will!" Cried Enoc as he waved his hand from the steering wheel.

"No, if you're captain I'll die." Complained Cedar annoyedly.

"Oh, please, the same would happen if you were captain." Grumbled an angry and irritated Enoc.

"How about me?" Questioned the miniature devil.

"No!" Both of the boys cried.

Finally, the boys took a break, beginning to talk about what their names would be when they became pirates. Sabo laughed and then thought hard about it. The other two stared at him quizzically. He was never serious, aside from when Mephis got hurt.

"There is one thing I want to be..." Started Sabo as he leaned back against his sack of clothes, food, and money.

"What is it? You don't want to be a pirate?" Pondered Cedar aloud. His mind was bustling with confusion and questions.

"I want to be famous." He ended simply.

"I thought you were gonna say you wanted to be a marine for a second there!" Enoc cried in surprise and relief.

"Why not?" Sabo wondered, not realizing he spoke out loud. He scratched his head innocently.

"Because I want to be a Marine! If you're a Marine with me, everyone will think I'm a spy! You're the grandson of the real devil!" Screamed Enoc loudly.

Cedar looked at Enoc with a grim expression, "If you're going to be a Marine then... We won't be friends anymore."

Sabo looked between the two, "Why not?"

Suddenly two bumps appeared on his head as he got punched in the head by his friends. Both boys seemed angered at his question.

"Marines hunt pirates, Sabo!" Exclaimed Cedar with a finger pointing at Enoc, who was glaring at Sabo with irritation.

"Oh. Okay." Sabo answered simply, rubbing his head and laughing while whimpering a little at the pain.

"Whatever. We'll split up at the next town. Sabo, I have an idea for us pirates." Cedar concluded, starting another conversation.

"What? Okay! Then I'll see you at the top, Cedar!" Exclaimed Sabo as he heard the idea from Cedar.

"We're not separating yet, idiot." Enoc muttered.

"I know! So that we never forget our friendship, let's leave our mark on this ship!" Sabo smiled that stupid, dorky smile and the boys gave in, pulling out their daggers.

Sabo pulled out red paint, however, and began to write his full name on the ship's interior. The other two hit him on the head once again and tried to erase the paint, making them all red with paint. Laughter filled the ship and the boys definitely left their mark as they drew with their paint-covered hands on the deck.

A sudden jolt in the boat woke them up, scaring them half to death. Relief covered them with a blanket as they saw the boat had reached the beach of an island, and the boat had caught on the sand and waves.

The boys were still covered in paint, so they tore off their clothes and hopped into the water, scrubbing themselves as they swam in the ocean. When they were sure the paint was gone, they climbed back into the boat and changed into fresh clothes and tossed out the old clothes into the ocean.

Sabo got off the boat first, "See you guys later!" He called as he ran along the beach to find the town with his fairly big backpack.

"I'm off next, Enoc." Cedar sadly noted and gave him a high five as he jumped off the boat with his bag.

"Bye guys!" Enoc cried with tears in his eyes, hoping they wouldn't see it.

Enoc picked up his own backpack and left the boat there, heading in the opposite direction of the two boys. He entered the jungle ahead of the beach and turned a few times, realizing he was back at the beach. He was a lost cause. Finally he just walked straight forward, making it to a small village.

Sabo ran quickly along the beach, holding tight to his backpack. A large ship along the beach had a big flag. It was a marine ship-but what would they be doing here? The black-haired boy ran past the ship and looked for a pirate ship. Perhaps there weren't any pirates? Now that is strange. From what his uncle said, pirates are everywhere.

His eyes darted around as he heard men leaving the Marine ship. They were headed this way! Sabo quickly darted for the jungle trees, gaining security. He watched them run by, and decided to follow them. They led him to pirates, actually, and guess who those pirates were?

Enoc stared at the people. They were dead. What had happened here? Anguish for these peoples' loss overcame him, and eventually his sobs were louder than gunshots. He slowly got up, turning around to face a big man. Fear gripped Enoc, but he stood tall, thinking this would be his first act of bravery.

"Are you a bandit?" Asked the little blue-haired boy who was seething with anger.

The man could sense the bloodlust seeping out of the child, but glared down at the kid, "Maybe I am, maybe I'm not." He chuckled with calmness.

"You killed these people, right?"

"Mhmm. Their screams were great!" The man smiled evilly and licked his lips as he pulled out a sword.

"You're next." He spoke with a slightly excited tone.

Enoc shakily pulled out his sword and glared fiercely at the murderer. Courage filled his heart and he charged, putting his sword-fighting practice to use as he attempted to beat the man.

The man set his sword and grinned slyly, kicking the child with his left foot. Enoc went flying and stopped when he hit a jungle tree. Swear words filled Enoc's head, but he had no words to speak. Finally he caught his breath and cried for help. It was weak, but surely someone would hear it, right?

The killer stepped closer and closer until they were only feet apart. Enoc tried to call for help once more, but the sword was now coming down on him, and he knew it was over.

"Get down!" Cried a familiar voice. It was Cedar.