A Fateful Meeting: The Swordsman and the Toymaker!

[Deleted]

Approximately 1-year pre-current day.

“Silent loneliness.

The blue sea bubbles and spits,

But waves pay no mind.

Wind grazes water.

Comfort in the red sunlight.

Home still beckons me.

What Purpose is there,

When everything is taken?

Do I still hunt on?”

Quiet words fumbling out of the mouth of the giant woman on the docks were met with silent stares from onlookers, confused at where this lady came from and curious as to why she sat alone on the docks of Loguetown. With a sigh, and a wish to no longer be ogled by strangers, she stood up, appearing to change from her slouched and sitting fifteen-foot height to that of her truly staggering forty-foot height. She turned back toward Loguetown and took a deep breath. Steadying herself with her one remaining arm, Akane made her way into the city, carefully avoiding anything under foot, as finding trouble was the last thing on her mind.

Her kimono was tied a little higher than usual to avoid dragging or pulling on anything or anyone she approached as she moved along the city streets. She was much taller than she was wide, though her body attracted plenty of attention, mostly from those of the male persuasion. She ignored the attention, and nobody dared say anything offensive regarding the woman as tall as a building for fear of facing her massive wrath. Still, she was as gentle as she was tall and tried her best not to interrupt the daily life of the citizens of Loguetown.

The first place Akane visited was the execution platform. Many famous pirates lost their lives here. Many justly so, but she could not say how many lost their lives for no good reason at all. She knew that injustice was everywhere, but still believed there were good people in this world who could fix it. She had intended to be one of those very people and seeing the charred remains of the platform only reinforced her wishes. The Marines, who were meant to protect people, had done more harm in her experiences than good. She had met good marines in her life, but there were many more who were cowards and turned a blind eye to injustice when the threat was too strong for them.

It didn’t take long for Akane to move past her idle thoughts and connection to her past. She was searching for something, some meaning that might guide her towards her ultimate goal. She felt lost, and while she may have found some companionship in the revolutionaries who taught her to move beyond her limits, a large part of her life had been stripped from her and it left a hole in her heart she yearned to fill. She made her way through the streets, looking over buildings to get a better view of the streets, to familiarize herself with the environment and perhaps find something to take her mind off of anxieties.

It was then, whilst peering over a particularly short building that she caught a glimpse of something that made her eyes shine and let out a short gasp in surprise…

It was the cutest stuffed animal she had ever seen in her life. The tiniest little stuffed sloth with the biggest eyes she had ever seen! Despite her serious demeanor, Akane was a sucker for cute things, and stuffed toys were no exception! The only problem was…

“Aww… the shop is too small… I doubt I could even fit a hand through the door…”

With a small pout on her face, Akane let out a deep sigh and slumped onto the roof of the building, careful not to cave it in with her weight.

---

Endo Akane | Dove Gray #7c6e7f | Post Count: 1

[pepsi]

-- CHAPTER 0.5 // THE SWORDSMAN AND THE TOYMAKER

Slow day at the shop for Deman and Phoebe. He dedicated the morning to his studies, scribbling equations on his notebook while he kept a pointer on a book with the other hand. Phoebe, on the other hand, had walked around the shop on the same path for the entire morning; every once in a while, Deman looked at the floor just to check if her insistent pacing dug into the wooden tiles. Afternoon was just as slow, but this time Deman opted to shut himself in the workshop behind the counter, trying to come up with yet another marvel of mechanical engineering.
Just as he was trying to fit two pieces of wood together, he heard knocking on the door. "It's open, Phoebe..."
The girl opened the door just a little, and stood silent. After a couple seconds, Deman turned away from his workbench, put down the optics on his left eye, and asked: "So? What is it? A customer?..." Phoebe didn't respond. "... Danger? Phoebe, go get the-"
It was Phoebe's panicked motioning that prompted him to leave the unfinished toy right then and there and come check what the hell was going on.

A few seconds earlier...

Phoebe had finally understood what she could do to pass the time. She was going to list every single type of carrot she knew. She tried before, with celery, but she couldn't get past the first and only entry on the list, "regular celery".
And after thirty minutes, the only entry of her new ordeal was "orange carrot". Gently bapping the pencil on her lips, lying down on the counter, she kept thinking of any other kind of carrot. There must've been at least another one, somewhere, somehow, right?
All a sudden, Phoebe noticed that she couldn't see her own writing very well. The light from outside must've been blocked, she thought; she went closer to the large exposition window to catch more of that light, but what she saw made hew jaw drop.

... And currently.

"... Curious." Deman had never seen a Giant before, apart from the few pictures he could find in books. A marvel of biology, truly, as they defied the laws that bound the size and surface area of animals. Fascinating creatures - and one of them was peeking through his window right that moment. Phoebe didn't know what to think, she simply clutched her piece of paper; on it, below "orange carrot", was now written "giant carrot". "What do we do?..."
Deman replied with a slight smirk. "What do we do? We welcome our customer, that's what we do."
The white-haired toymaker opened the door, and calmly stepped outside. Was it dangerous? Deman had deducted that no, there was no danger. If the giant was going to attack, it would've done so already - and even then, the building was quite short and unassuming. A rampaging Giant, even if they were just playing, would've preferred targets as big as them. Hence, you can't not hear them coming if they are hostile. "Good evening, Miss" Deman called, his hands at the sides of his mouth to amplify the sound; "See anything you fancy?"

-- NAME // Deman Reeves

-- CLASS // E

-- TECHS USED // None.

-- NAME // Phoebe Von Kessler

-- CLASS // E

-- TECHS USED // None.

[Deleted]

Akane nearly jumped back in surprise after being called out to by who she could only assume was one of the workers in the store. Had it not been for her size awareness, she might have accidentally crushed something under foot! Instead, slightly embarrassed yet somewhat eagerly, she cleared her throat and stuttered out a few words.

"H-hi... Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you..." Her voice, though firm, had a softness to it that betrayed her size. Akane scratched the side of her head whilst looking down at the roof she was leaning on. She stood up and rested her arm on the hilt of her blade.

"I can't really reach it... but... th-that stuffed... sloth is really cute...." As if turning into a mouse, Akane's voice shrunk to barely audible levels.

Why am I so embarrassed? It's just a stuffed animal... but it's so cute... I don't want to come off as weak!

"That sloth in the window... How much is it?"

Trying her best to stand tall and confident, Akane flashed a somewhat forced smile and put her hand to her side, where a large bag attached to her hip stood unlocked and ready to open. When she reached in to grab a comedically small wallet.

"I would come in to pay, but..." She gestured to herself with a small chuckle. Actually, talking with someone after so long was... relieving in a way. Most people simply stood and stared, talked amongst themselves, or taunted her with named under their breath. Speaking to a person who didn't seem afraid of her felt good, and even allowed her to calm herself a little.

---

Endo Akane | Dove Gray #7c6e7f | Post Count: 2

[pepsi]

Deman scratched his head. A proper Giant, like those from Elbaf, right in front of his shop. He'd seen pictures before and heard stories, but seeing it with one's own eyes... No wonder Phoebe was scared, he thought.
The strangest feature of that exchange, though, was not just his interlocutor's size. A Giant, in front of his shop, asking for a plushie! Now, Deman never thought he could get to make Giant-sized plushie. But there he was.

Phoebe, who kept her guard extremely high until then, immediately relaxed the moment that the Giantess spoke. If before she would hold the little notebook in front of her face, as if it could hide her entire presence, she now peeked with both eyes from behind it.
"She wants... the sloth?" Phoebe asked, lightly turning to Deman. The white-haired toymaker shrugged, and replied: "It appears so."
"Normally, I would indeed ask you to come in!" Deman said, shouting back at the Giantess, "But, are you certain a larger one wouldn't be better suited for you?" As the exchange continued, Phoebe seemed to calm down more and more. Her body didn't look stiff as a board anymore. Seeing Deman so confident in speaking with a Giant perhaps made her realise that there was nothing to fear - in this regard, she still pretty much depended on him. "I can make one for you, Miss! Custom-made, at the lowest price!"

Deman didn't care about the price. He wasn't looking to sell against a competition. He simply did not want any attention driven to his shop - he had to make just enough to not draw any suspicion on his activity. And an entire Giant buying right in front of his shop... he had to do something about it, and quickly.

-- NAME // Deman Reeves

-- CLASS // E

-- TECHS USED // None.

-- NAME // Phoebe Von Kessler

-- CLASS // E

-- TECHS USED // None.

[Deleted]

The giant woman steeled herself, washing away the feelings of embarrassment and cleared her throat. In a low tone, she reached her hand down and steadied herself. With a vibrant smile, she spoke confidently to the man in front of her.

"Just that one would be perfect. Despite what you might imagine, I quite adore that little creature. Is there somewhere we could discuss payment? A little cozier perhaps?"

The change in Akane's attitude from mere moments ago could be compared to speaking with two sisters who looked identical but were opposite in personality. She stood to her full stature, dusting off the skirt of her kimono, slightly revealing the scars and bandages beneath them. With her arm resting on her sword's hilt, she walked around the building and carefully knelt in front of the shop.

"This is such a cute little shop... I wonder why there aren't many customers?" She spoke softly for her size, but it was still plenty loud for the two strangers in front of her to hear. She contemplated where she would put it, until the thought returned to her of why she was here in the first place. She had joined up with the revolutionary army a while ago, but still she had received no orders, nor direction. They had taught her much, yet communication with them had been scarce recently. She was told she could find someone here, but where were they? After buying this sloth, she thought, she would find them for sure! What was the sign she was supposed to give again?

---

Endo Akane | Dove Gray #7c6e7f | Post Count: 3

[pepsi]

The woman speicifically requested the smaller size, which was completely fine with him. It spared him work and materials to produce another identical one to put on exposition after the sale would be concluded. That in iself was not a problem.
Payment wasn't a problem either, as he could simply hand the plushie to her and that would be that. If she wanted to haggle the price a bit, however, that would require some additional head scratches, and that was what perplexed him.

He opened his mouth to speak, but he was interrupted by Phoebe's voice. The girl pumped with a fist up towards the sky and went: "OH! I know!"
Deman turned to her with a raised eyebrow. "There's a new place in town that makes amazing baozi." Deman smirked, and shook his head lightly. Phoebe was jumping on the opportunity to sneak away from work and eat. Normally, he'd put his foot down and tell her no, but the circumstances were rather peculiar. "Alright, then. Care for some baozi, miss?"

Phoebe cheerfully hopped down the street in the direction of the aforementioned restaurant. She stopped right at the giantess' feet, extending one arm up in the air in an attempt to shake hands despite reaching barely her knee's height. "By the way!" she chirped, "I'm Phoebe!"

-- NAME // Deman Reeves

-- CLASS // E

-- TECHS USED // None.

-- NAME // Phoebe Von Kessler

-- CLASS // E

-- TECHS USED // None.