Chapter 6
While the girls were reporting what happened at the manse, Warren had already returned to Meli and dispelled his clone, shocking her completely to see him disappear into lightning.
"Ahh, he blew up!" Meli exclaimed. Right before she was on a verge of tears, she heard a hearty laughter, only to turn around and become shocked again.
"Rhahaha, don't worry, Meli, that was just a lightning clone. I hadn't had the chance to tell you yet, but I'm actually a Shinobi and can perform different Jutsu like the one you just saw." said Warren, his chest swelling with pride once he saw the stars in Meli's eyes as her tail quickly swished behind her.
"That's so cool! You have to show me more once mast- I mean... Mr. Harriman gets back. I wonder what's taking him so long? His manse isn't that far." Meli asked curiously.
Reminded of that hairball, a frown appeared on Warren's face under the mask. Warren decided that he doesn't want Meli to know the dark truth about what happened, at least not yet. He had the idea before, but seeing how sweet she was even with her fucked up life, Warren wanted even more to take her with him and make sure she had the best life.
"You don't have to worry about him, I think he's dealing with a little something stuck in his throat. In the mean time, here, I have your chests from your parents and your things." Warren said as he opened a seal containing her belongings.
"Chests?" Meli asked slightly confused. Right when she was about to inform Warren there was only one chest, in a poof of smoke, a few of her things sat on top of two familiar looking chests, completely surprising her as tears streamed from her eyes. Falling to her knees, Meli carefully touched the chests in front of her, worried that it was all just a dream and would disappeared the next moment. "H-how? How do you have both chests? My parents only had enough time to give me one before they... they-" Meli said before she began breaking down in tears, hugging the chests.
Warren was at a complete lose, as he was never good when it came to what to do or say when someone was grieving. But, feeling as though he needed to do something, Warren knelt down and rubbed Meli on her head, as she switched to hugging him, sobbing into his chest.
"Meli, you're a free woman now, but if you don't mind, I'd like you to travel with me and be apart of my crew." Warren said, suddenly getting nervous about her response.
Still sobbing, Meli looked up from his chest, her face full of uncertainty. "R-ronin-san, are you sure you want someone like me? I'm not really a fighter... and the only thing I know about sailing is how to tell the directions and stuff.. and-" Meli said before she was interrupted by a hearty laugh from Ronin.
"Rhahaha, that's perfect! Even back in the Navy, I was never the best at navigation. Then it's settled, from this moment on, you're officially the navigator for my crew!" Warren said as he crossed his arms over his broad chest and gave a short nod.
When Meli heard this, she was completely shocked and excited. She dreamed of escaping and heading to the seas to see the world, and thanks to Ronin, who literally fell from the sky in front of her, she finally has the chance to live the life of her dreams.
"Great, now we just need to hop on the Static, head to the Grandline, and find the rest of our crew and get a better ship made!" Warren said after they sealed all of their things and they made their way towards where the Static was docked.
Practically skipping next to Warren, as her large ears flopped around, Meli looked up to him and asked, "That sounds good! So, how many people are in are crew?" Meli asked excited to meet new people and have fun on adventures.
"Hmm, counting you and me, that makes two so far! Rhahaha!" Warren said, stunning Meli.
Just as Meli was about to reply back, she saw Warren jump in the air, landing on a small, black, caravel with arcs of blue lightning painted on. It was truly a stunning looking ship. After waiting for Meli to use the loading ramp to enter the ship, the two took a few quick moments to get their things settled, then pushed off the dock and drifted into the sea, letting the wind take them.
Running to the port with a few subordinates behind her, Commander Tily is panting when she looks out and realizes that she's too late. She had just received the report about the Harriman manse and the trapped girls, and knew immediately that this was the work of Warren. Even though she didn't agree with the gruesome means and would've preferred that Harriman stood trial, but that didn't change the fact that once more, she was deeply grateful to Warren for saving those girls.
Back on the Static, a few hours have gone by, and Warren and Meli stood on the top deck of the ship, while a very nervous Meli stood behind the helm. "W-W-warren-san, are you want me to do this? I've never sailed a ship before! What if I crash?!" Meli asked, panic entering her heart as tears welled up in her large pink eyes.
"Meli, calm down. We're literally out in the middle of nowhere. There's nothing out here but us, so that makes it the perfect time for you to start getting familiar sailing the ship. You are the crews new Navigator, right?" Warren said as he ruffled her hair and walked down the side stairs to the main deck.
"There is no crew! it's just me and you fumbling around on a ship with no idea what we're doing! By the way, w-what are you doing, Warren-san?" Meli asked as a deep blush crept on her face.
On the main deck, Warren had stripped out of some of his clothes and was now in only his shinobi pants and his mask, as he was doing push ups with some of the new weights he bought. "Before I came to Baterilla, I was stuck on a deserted island for two years and did nothing but train and hunt. We're bound to face some strong people out there, so I have to keep getting stronger!" Warren said as he stood up and wiped some sweat from his body.
"B-but why are you almost naked?!" asked Meli as she absent-mindedly wiped a bit of drool from her mouth. Though not under the best conditions, Meli was still sheltered for most of her life, so she had never seen a man with such an amazing body. She also never had such brazen thoughts running through her head about another person either, which only deepened her blush.
Seeing how Meli was acting, Warren let out a hearty laugh as it seems they were now even from her ogling her earlier. "Rhahaha this is me being modest since you're here. On the island, I used to work out in nothing!" Warren said as he sat on a chair and started lifting weights.
Doing her best to not keep drooling over Warren, Meli decided to refocus the conversation. "So, where are we going now?" Meli asked as she cautiously grabbed the helm and gave it a slight turn, then marveled at how easy it is to turn. "Even if I'm a short girl, I can actually turn this huge ship by myself? Amazing!" Meli said to herself, as she slowly started falling in love with the idea of sailing this ship every day.
Seeing this, Warren couldn't help letting out another hearty laugh as he made his way back to the top deck and behind the helm where a small table is located." Woah, calm down there, or you might turn us around to head all the way to Baterilla. Rhahaha." Warren said as he as he pulled out a map and stuck it to the table. On the back of the map, he already drew seals making it virtually indestructible, with it being water-resistant and tear or cut resistant.This was way, he won't have to worry about any inconvenient "plot events" putting him in a fucked situation.
Hearing Warren, Meli's face grew red with embarrassment. "I-I'm sorry! I'll be more careful with your ship, I promise!" Meli said as she bowed deeply to Warren, trembling from the thought of making the only person who cared about her since her parents died upset.
Meli kept trembling until she felt a soft hand lightly brush the top of her hair and gently lift her chin. "Hey, it's not that deep. I know I can be scary to our enemies, but I promise you that I would never do anything to hurt or scare you, okay? You are my first crew member, so I'll do anything I can to protect you, you hear me? I'll kill a world noble if it means I can keep you safe." Warren said as he took his hand from under her chin.
Warren waited to pull her into a hug a say everything will be okay, but he wasn't blind or an idiot. He saw the way she treats and looks at him. Anyone probably would have already taken her to bed, and she'd willingly go as well, but that's the problem. She's clearly understand the effects of Hero Syndrome, meaning basically, since he saved her, she thinks she loves him.
Warren dealt with it many times when he was a Navy Seal, and even fell for it when he first joined. He saved a cute girl from a becoming a Taliban sex slave, they fell in love, then BOOM, he came home one day to find his wife with Rick, Nick, and Harry. She claimed she fell out of love with him and that he used her saving him to manipulate her. Long story short, he lost nearly everything in the divorce, and he never gets with a girl in Hero Syndrome, as it always wears off.
Now both at the table, Warren quickly shows her the route he'd like to go. "First, we're going to head to Karate Island. I asked Commander Tily back on Baterilla and she said the island is all about martial arts, and that they even train high ranking members of the government, but they're willing to train others for a price. I want us to go here, get some training, and possibly find a new member of our crew. Our priority members are a swordsman, definitely a cook, and a blacksmith." Warren said as he looked over at a very confused Meli.
"A swordsman and a cook I definitely understand, but why a blacksmith? Also, do you mean I'm getting training too?!' Meli asked, suddenly horrified at the realization.
"Of course! I'm not trying to make you one of our main fighters or anything, but I want you to be able to protect yourself at least. This is a very dangerous world you know," Warren said, but felt bad immediately when he saw Meli get sad, thinking about her parents. Trying to avoid the landmine he stepped on, he continued. "And a blacksmith is very important. I mostly use my fist and some shurikens, but I can't waste my time picking each one I throw. On top of that, weapons wear out, what if we need armor? Blacksmith also do a number of other things, but the best part is, all blacksmiths are tough as hell. That way, we'll also get another strong fighter."
"I think I get it now, and they definitely sound super important! So, Karate Island then?" Meli asked, heading back to the helm.
"To Karate Island!" Warren shouted as he jumped to the crows nest, excited about his first adventure.