CH - 45

Halcen led the two young man out of the elevator and around the rocky shore to his ship, the Black Tail, where the rest of his soon-to-be-leaving "crew" were awaiting his return. This included his first mate, the two snipers, and, Halcen was sure, the crew Max had lent him as well. Being that he was going to welch on their deal, Halcen was sure Max was going to attempt to take everything back from him.

The crew seemed a bit surprised to see Halcen coming around the side of the island, rather than coming straight down the mountain, the same way he had gone up.

Jory was the first to greet them. "How'd it go?" he asked, looking at Halcen. Then he looked back at the other two.

"No problem, kid." Halcen answered.

Jory was only 16. Jin was apparently 18, and Fein was 19. So Jory was still the youngest on the ship. Bailu had them all beat as the eldest, though Halcen had no idea how old he was.

"Did everything go well, Captain?" Loyola asked.

"Yes," he said, loading his shit back on the ship. He aided Jin and Fein in doing the same.

"What's with all the stuff?"Jory asked.

Halcen looked at Jin and Fein. "They're loading it on the ship."

"I mean, why do they have so much stuff?"

"They're gonna need it if they're gonna be here long term."

"Long term? What are you talking about?"

"They're joining my crew."

Everyone aboard turned in surprise. This was a shock.

Jin bowed before them and said "My name is Reisen Jin, and I'll be joining your crew. It is very good to meet you all," he said in a very earnest kind way.

Everyone seemed just as thrown off by his voice as Halcen. Halcen chuckled silently to himself.

"Say what?" Jory jolted. "They're… joining the crew?"

Jin looked to Fein, and said "You bow too."

Fein growled and said "I don't think so."

"That's no way to make friends."

"I'm not here to make friends. I'm here to avoid being murdered."

"So… what's going on?"

Everyone but Bailu, Kazuki, and Bo seemed to want to get involved. That meant Loyola and Valentina came up closer for a better look. They started shrieking in joy when they saw Shira being carried in Fein's arms.

"OH MY GOD!" Valentina squealed.

"He's so cute!" Loyola joined in.

"What's his name?"

"Her," Fein corrected.

"What's her name?" Loyola said.

"Shira," Fein said in annoyance. He looked down at Shira happy to be being petted and adored. Her face lit up and she panted and let her tongue hang out. "Traitorous bitch."

"Sorry about my friend. He's a little standoffish sometimes. This is Mangetsu Fein."

"So, what happened up there?" Jory asked.

"Well, long story short, they won me over," Halcen explained.

Grey pulled Halcen aside for a moment while the crew got to know Jin and Fein.

"What are you doing? Isn't this just supposed to be a run for Max? Aren't they supposed to be prisoners? I'm sure Max wants them so he can kill them."

"I don't think this should matter much to you," Halcen told Grey. "Not like you're gonna be on board long enough for you to care, anyway." Halcen had to remind Grey of his impending departure.

"Halcen, this is stupid."

"So I'm stupid now? For having standards in my crewmates? You almost got me killed. These two are willing to die for each other. I want that in a crew. They're on board. Deal with it."

Grey just shook his head in rage as he stared down Halcen. "Fine," he said as he stormed off.

Halcen turned to re-enter the conversation the others were having.

"That's gonna piss Max off," Loyola said.

Halcen nodded. "I'm aware. I'm going to see if I can swing it with him; make another deal if I have to."

"But why?" Jory asked.

"Because they're good at what they do. And I need more people like that in the crew."

Bo and Kazuki welcomed them as if they were passing strangers, which made sense. None of them would be together for very long anyway. Halcen was likely about to be stripped of the 4-man crew Max had lent him. He was losing Bo and Kazuki once they hit Loguetown, where he was also kicking Grey out. So it was going to be just him, Jin, Fein, and their mutt. He shook in disgust at the idea. No, I can't let that happen. I need this crew. I can talk to Max, work something out.

"Alright… so what's the plan then, Captain?" Loyola asked.

"Our destination remains the same: Corteano. I need to talk to Max." Halcen looked to Valentina. "Can you take us there?"

Later that night, in sleep deprivation, Halcen went to the kitchen again, where he saw Valentina, rummaging through the fridge for snacks. She looked up at him in shock as she was stuffing chips in her mouth. "Halcen," she said through a mouthful. "What's... going on?"

"I was just…" he nodded toward the counter, "Trying to get some coffee. Again."

"Gotcha," she nodded.

He walked toward the counter as Valentina tried to move without freaking out. He could feel the tension. "Can I talk to you?" He asked, turning around.

"A-ab-about?"

"The conversation from the other night."

"Oh…?" she said, clearly scared. She swallowed and coughed hard. "What… about it?"

"I just-" He took a step toward her, with his hand out, trying to mime what he was trying to say. "I wanted to say… I'm sorry."

She looked at him in disbelief. "Oh?"

"I was out of line. I'm stressed out and there's not a lot keeping me grounded."

"So… wait… do you…?"

"No!" he said abruptly. "I mean… I still can't. But I am sorry how I acted about it, before. I'm just… not in a good place for this kinda thing. I have way too much going on. And now especially that Max is likely to take this crew away from me for not handing over Jin and Fein." He sighed "I just can't."

"Okay…" Valentina nodded. "Thank you… for talking to me, at least."

"I still want us to have a working, professional relationship, but that's it."

"Alright… I guess," she said solemnly. She left in the quiet as Halcen returned to his coffee.

When the sun began to rise, and nobody else was awake yet, Halcen was still sitting at the table, sipping on cold coffee, when Jin walked in.

"Oh… sorry," Jin said lowly.

Halcen hadn't noticed him until he spoke. He had been so zoned out. "Oh, no. You're fine. I'm just… sitting here," he said slowly, as he realized how odd that was.

"You alright?" Jin asked.

"Perfect."

"Alright... Well, uhm... I was just gonna get some tea…"

"Oh yeah, go for it."

Jin began rummaging through the cabinets, looking for a box of anything he could use to start his day. "Where… uh… where do you keep it?"

"It's uhm..." Halcen stood up to go to the other side of the kitchen and showed Jin where it was. "Here."

"Oh, thanks."

"No problem." Halcen decided that he should probably get himself a new cup of coffee too. A hot, fresh cup.

Jin took a moment to look through their limited selection. "Mmm… black tea."

"It's not that good," Halcen said.

"What?"

"The black tea. It's super bitter."

"Yeah," Jin laughed. "You gotta add stuff to it. By itself, yeah, it would be."

"Wait… you're supposed to add stuff? I thought you just... drank it?"

Jin snorted. "No… I kinda treat it like coffee. Add some sugar, or honey if you have it, then milk. It's really good after."

"Really?" Halcen had never thought of that.

"Yeah."

"Well, if it's basically coffee, why don't you just drink coffee?"

"Well, tea is better for you."

"Coffee has health benefits."

"Yeah, a little. But with as much as most people drink in a day, and the quality of the coffee they drink, it's more bad than good."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Jin nodded.

Halcen looked at his mug. "I think I'll stick with the coffee."

Jin laughed. "Alright. Fair enough."

Once their drinks were done, both men sat down at the table across from each other.

Jin took a sip and went "Aahhh… much better." Then he looked across the table. "So… Halcen."

"What's up?"

"I just… wanted to say thanks."

"Oh?"

"You, uh… made a bold choice, and are trying to save our lives. Now, I don't know if this is the kinda thing you do often, or really much about you at all, but I wanted you to know that I appreciate it. Regardless of if Max actually lets this go or not… you're trying. And that says a lot."

"Listen…" Halcen cleared his throat, then got real serious. "I didn't do it to make myself look like some hero. I'm not that guy. I did it because I truly believe you'll be more use to me alive than dead. And as far as Max goes, I'll take care of it. We made a deal." He looked at Jin, and Jin could see the morning light reflect off his green eyes. "So, you're mine. Nobody else will lay a hand on you."

Jin got shivers as he began to realize the kind of man he was dealing with.

Another day passed and finally they came to Corteano, the scum-infested island of the East Blue. The Black Tail pulled up to the city docks as Halcen stood, waiting patiently. They pulled in and Halcen took his time going about the ship, making his preparations. He was trying to delay the oncoming confrontation.

Again, he took the Devil Fruit, tied to his waist with him, to ensure nobody could try to use it against him. This power needed to be kept out of malicious hands.

He gathered the crew and had a chat with them. "Jin, Fein, you two need to stay put on the ship until I come back. I'm gonna try to work out a plan with Max."

"And what if he says no?" Fein asked. He was still being stubborn.

"I know how to twist Max. Trust me, I can handle this."

"But let's just say… hypothetically… what if he won't budge?"

"Then I beat his ass and we make a break for it."

Fein's face froze with his mouth agape. He didn't have a rebuttal.

Nobody else seemed to know what to say in response either.

"Anymore stupid questions?"

"We're all good here," Jin stated.

"Everybody stay here. Don't leave the ship, don't let anybody on."

They all nodded in agreement.

Jin and Fein watched their new Captain go in an attempt to spare their lives.

Halcen left the Black Tail, alone, and headed towards Max's bar. He went in, ready to talk. When he got there, he saw Pad serving a patron sitting at the bar on one of the stools. This man wore a long orange mantle on his shoulders and a funny orange hat. He had grayish-blue hair that seemed to be coming out at the ends of the hat. That was all Halcen could distinguish from the back.

Halcen walked up to the bar to see the man was working on a pint of beer. He noticed the man had a crossbones tattoo over his forehead. Definitely a pirate. And the weirdest looking nose he had ever seen. It was like a giant red ball. That's… gotta make life difficult. No wonder he's a pirate.

The man looked over at Halcen. Halcen nodded. He raised his glass in salute and smiled with giant pearly whites. His lips were dark red and glossy. It looked like lipstick.

That's even weirder. Halcen returned his attention to the giant man standing behind the counter. "I'm here to see Max."

Pad nodded. "He's in the back."

Halcen turned to walk towards the door on the wall next to the bar.

Max was sitting in a chair behind a desk in an office behind the bar. He looked up to greet Halcen. Max was a skunk Mink, a bit on the short side. He had glossy black fur and a puffy tail with white stripes going down it. And a small tuft of white that came over the top of his head. He had a snout that came out to a pointed end and beady green eyes. "Halcen," he said.

"Max."

He glared at the man. "Did you bring what I asked?"

"I have them… they're on the ship."

Max nodded. His eyes caught the light. They glistened in glee over finally getting his hands on those delinquents. "So it's over, finally. You can go back to your… search."

"Not… quite," Halcen said, sighing.

"Oh?"

"There's a problem."

Max closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Now what?"

"I can't hand them over to you."

Max tightened his teeth. "And why… the hell… not?" he asked, standing up. Max began to walk toward Halcen. He only measured up to Halcen's chest.

"I want them to join my crew," Halcen said sternly.

"Ex…cuse me?" Max began laughing. "This is a prank, right?"

Halcen shook his head, as Max stepped toward him. "No."

"Then what the hell are you doing here?!" Max tore into him.

"I want to make a deal."

"WE ALREADY MADE A DEAL!"

"The old deal's off. There's gotta be something else you want outta me."

"This was what I wanted. Nobody else could have done this."

"Well you better think of something. I mean, how much did they owe in the first place? Maybe I can pay it off."

"Do you have 60 million beri laying around… that I didn't know about?"

Halcen took a deep breath and spat. "No, I don't. But-"

"NO! No 'buts'. You had one job! Why do you always have to complicate everything?!"

Halcen stayed silent for a moment, enraged. Then finally, he said "You don't want to go there, Max."

Then Max pushed past him, ignoring the warning, and walked out to the bar, where Pad was working and the man still sat drinking.

Halcen followed in pursuit.

"PAD!" Max shouted in annoyance.

"Yes, Max?"

"Max, don't you do this!" Halcen said out loud.

"WHOA! WHOA! WHOA GENTS!" said a wheezing voice.

Everybody turned to look at the man.

He stood up and made a simple gesture. "What is all this racket?" he asked. His breath was high and scratchy, as if he was out of breath.

"I'm sorry to disturb your drink, sir," Max said carefully, then bowed. "My associate and I were just having a disagreement."

"Money troubles?" he asked.

"Yes, sir."

The man looked to Halcen. "Well it just so happens… that I'm looking for someone to do me a little job."

"Excuse me?"

"I came here to get my ship repaired. So I'm stuck here and can't do it myself. But there's a… delivery of some precious goods being moved that might be lifted if the right person were involved."

"What kind of goods?" Halcen asked.

"Kairoseki."

"Seastone?" Max gasped. "That shit is rare."

"That's right," the man crackled. "It can be used to outfit ships to cross into the Grand Line without needing to take Reverse Mountain. It'd save the hassle of your ship getting blown to pieces. It's expensive, but worth it."

"Where?"

"There's a ship carrying it out of the Grand Line toward Loguetown, to sell to the Marines. They do runs every few months after getting enough together. They should be coming up in a few days. If you cut them off… you'd only have to take out some various crew, and probably some hired muscle. No big deal."

"How much?"

"There's a little more than three hundred pounds of it."

"Three hundred pounds? That's like a hundred million beri." Max stuttered.

"There's plenty to go around," the clown laughed. "I only need enough for the bottom of my ship," he said. "I was gonna try to sell the rest anyway. So, you guys would have it all to yourselves."

It sounded very enticing.

"How did you hear about this?"