Post by BEX on Jun 30, 2010 23:34:42 GMT -5
Jack was feeling down about the way things had turned out following the incident with the conman, Akugi and how there was now some dead person lying in a dark alley of Saint Reia. Having a thick skin, the young man knew that he would never mention it to anyone because of how the situation would implicate himself. Besides its not as if my getting in trouble will change anythin’ later on about that guy’s life he convinced himself as he watched his legs dangling over the edge of a roof. Thanks to the sudden wealth the young man had been able to spend sometime away from the fisherman and the docks to simply enjoy doing things on his own. It was this peace of mind that Jack truly appreciated as he quietly thumbed through the gnarled edges of a book that he had found while walking around the town; it seemed to be a recount of how a strange inventory that existed somewhere in Saint Reia. Whether it was authentic or not, the lazy youth was never tempted to rise up and go searching for it himself since he simply wasn’t that kind of person. Sighing Jack wished he had gone to purchase new headphones with the wealth that he had acquired so that he could at least enjoy his time reading such an uninteresting piece of literature.
Most of the information in the book was about non sense items that Jack vaguely remembered some children searching for; the adults had known about this book for sometime, but it still served as a way to keep their children busy when the days began to wear on the exhausted denizens of Saint Reia. Having been liberated from the Noble scum that used to rule the place with the military power of the Marines, Saint Reia had become a place that was pleasant to visit. Deciding that the book wasn’t worth reading any longer Jack clamped the book shut with his right hand as he observed a Marine with a sour look on his face prodding some children with the butt of his rifle. The children seemed to be poking fun at him so Jack strolled over and prepared to hand over the book to the children in hopes that they would stop causing trouble; he hadn’t really cared for the Marine’s plight, but he had intended on ridding himself of the book anyway.
“Yo, here ya are ya brats!” he called to the raucous street urchins who immediately responded to his calling with awed expressions as they sucked in huge breaths at the sign of the book.
“That’s the treasure book that my dad told me stories about!” a fat boy yelped excited with a toothy grin, “…he said that if you follow that book you will be led to one of the many treasure on the island!”
Jack nodded his head and smiled superficially while inwardly began to grow agitated with the prolonged response to seeing the book; Just take the damn thing already.
As he began to shove the book into the chest of one of the boy’s who had stepped up to gawk at it Jack was intercepted by the Marine that had previously been the object of the children’s fascination. Confusion wrought the young man’s mind as he stared blankly at the Marine, who began to lead him away from the children who began to protest the unforeseen interference. Once they were away from the children and they stopped launching stones angrily the Marine began to speak,
“I’ll give you a nice reward if you give me that book and show me one of these treasures to ensure that it isn’t a complete fake” the man offered with a desperate look upon his face.
Jack’s eyes widened in shock and he held back the urge to laugh at the Marine’s gullibility, but then it occurred to him that this meant that he could make a lot more money this time without having to beat someone to death. Tapping his chin as if in thought the lazy opportunist made sounds to express the deep thought that he was in while the Marine looked at him with longing eyes; it seemed that there was some reason the Marine needed to gain wealth quickly. Shrugging his shoulders Jack handed the book to the World Government officer who greedily snatched the book from his hand and clutched it to his chest while laughing maniacally. Jack’s eye twitched as he watched the odd behavior that the other man was exhibiting, but the idea that he could make some quick beri forced him to regain his composure. Coughing suggestively he managed to rouse the man out of his state of disillusionment,
“Uh…anyway before I show ya anything I need to see this stash yer talkin’ about” he explained with crossed arms.
For a moment the Marine was quiet as he eyed Jack, but then deciding that the boy wasn’t a threat he waved his hand indicating that Jack should follow him. The Marine led him back where they had first met; the area where the children had been giving him grief for standing post at such an odd area. Jack’s face twisted unhappily,
“This is the reward?!” he questioned incredulously as he glared at the man, who calmly pulled at a flap on the side of the supposed brick wall that he had been standing in front of and tugged slightly to reveal a metal box.
“In that box is a large amount of beri…so show me one thing and then I can leave this with you while informing my superiors of the other things this island has to offer” the man enticed with a wide grin.
Jack grinned as he already envisioned himself spending the money however he wished,
“Of course, let’s go and find that proof then” he responded happily.
After several hours of following the meandering path that the book was famous for suggesting, the two men finally came to a spot where a supposed treasure was supposed to be. Of course there was nothing special as they stared into the desolate heap of trash that piled alongside the dumpster. Jack gulped because he knew he would have to act quickly in order to salvage the situation, but he wasn’t motivated enough to come up with an elaborate scheme so instead he reached over and snatched away the Kairouseki cuffs that the man had latched to his belt while the Marine was dawdling over the directions. Placing his hands auspiciously while leaning over to the Marine to look over the map as well Jack began crushing the cuffs in his hand, but the stones were pretty recognizable even crushed so Jack politely excused himself to go to the bathroom around the corner.
Once he was out of sight of the Marine, he smashed the remaining crumbs of the hand cuffs against the wall in frenzy while hoping that the man wouldn’t hear the noises against the old wall. Several minutes of fruitless beating left Jack with the cracked pieces of two handcuffs that still looked very much like handcuffs and the flustered Jack slumped against the wall with groan. His eyes widened when he heard the sound of the Marine searching for him in the corner that he had gone to hide in,
“Hey, come on. I don’t think there’s anything special around here…waste of time believing you” the man grumbled angrily.
Jack did the only thing that he could think of at the moment and threw the pieces into his mouth seconds before the Marine came around the corner to tap his shoulder signaling that they should go. When Jack turned around with tear streaks on his face, the Marine apologetically backed away and stated that he would give it sometime before he would bother Jack. As the man retreated hastily Jack crunched painfully upon the Kairouseki slabs that were in his mouth; the taste was foul and the hard material cut into Jack’s mouth as he bit down thinking only of the money he would make once this was all over. An hour later and the young man tottered out from the corner clutching his mouth which was bleeding profusely as he regarded the Marine,
“Look I found unrefined Sea Stone….ain’t that interestin’” he lied with lackluster; the effort of grinding the material down with his teeth made it impossible for him to put any effort into trying to convince the man that it was the truth. Luckily the Marine was dim witted and immediately rushed over to Jack snatching away the wet pieces of stone from him,
“And they are still wet from the sea” the Marine cooed as he rubbed the material against his face while Jack secretly grimaced in disgust at the man’s behavior, Since when does my saliva pass as Sea water? he wondered.
Before Jack could remind him the Marine whirled towards the young man and rushed them both back to the spot where the metal box was,
“Here. It should be a fair amount of beri in that box. Of course this unrefined sea stone along with this book will easily be worth much more than that” the man chimed proudly at the success of his findings. Jack only nodded as the Marine plopped the box in his hands and rushed the boy away while he ran off to tell his fellow Marines of the discovery that he just made. Without a word Jack happily walked back to his apartment with the metal box safely in his possession and a painful smile on his face so when he attempted to whistle only blood spewed from his mouth, but even that didn’t ruin his mood as he locked the door safely behind him.
A few days later, Jack was walking down the same street and he saw a miserable looking Marine standing near the area where the metal box had come from. Once he and the Marine made eye contact the other man’s face widened in rage as he pointed to some other Marines nearby,
“That guy! He stole the Marine funds get him!”
Jack simply smiled before sprinting off into the direction of the docks with the Marines in close pursuit of him. At the last second, the dread lock toting young man dove into a net of fish and remained motionless as the Marines spent the remainder of the day looking for him until finally they had no choice, but to concede defeat. In the dark, the young man ascended from his fishy bed and smiled at the fortune he had made by pawning off an old town legend to the Marines; he was getting pretty good at making money off the World Government.
Most of the information in the book was about non sense items that Jack vaguely remembered some children searching for; the adults had known about this book for sometime, but it still served as a way to keep their children busy when the days began to wear on the exhausted denizens of Saint Reia. Having been liberated from the Noble scum that used to rule the place with the military power of the Marines, Saint Reia had become a place that was pleasant to visit. Deciding that the book wasn’t worth reading any longer Jack clamped the book shut with his right hand as he observed a Marine with a sour look on his face prodding some children with the butt of his rifle. The children seemed to be poking fun at him so Jack strolled over and prepared to hand over the book to the children in hopes that they would stop causing trouble; he hadn’t really cared for the Marine’s plight, but he had intended on ridding himself of the book anyway.
“Yo, here ya are ya brats!” he called to the raucous street urchins who immediately responded to his calling with awed expressions as they sucked in huge breaths at the sign of the book.
“That’s the treasure book that my dad told me stories about!” a fat boy yelped excited with a toothy grin, “…he said that if you follow that book you will be led to one of the many treasure on the island!”
Jack nodded his head and smiled superficially while inwardly began to grow agitated with the prolonged response to seeing the book; Just take the damn thing already.
As he began to shove the book into the chest of one of the boy’s who had stepped up to gawk at it Jack was intercepted by the Marine that had previously been the object of the children’s fascination. Confusion wrought the young man’s mind as he stared blankly at the Marine, who began to lead him away from the children who began to protest the unforeseen interference. Once they were away from the children and they stopped launching stones angrily the Marine began to speak,
“I’ll give you a nice reward if you give me that book and show me one of these treasures to ensure that it isn’t a complete fake” the man offered with a desperate look upon his face.
Jack’s eyes widened in shock and he held back the urge to laugh at the Marine’s gullibility, but then it occurred to him that this meant that he could make a lot more money this time without having to beat someone to death. Tapping his chin as if in thought the lazy opportunist made sounds to express the deep thought that he was in while the Marine looked at him with longing eyes; it seemed that there was some reason the Marine needed to gain wealth quickly. Shrugging his shoulders Jack handed the book to the World Government officer who greedily snatched the book from his hand and clutched it to his chest while laughing maniacally. Jack’s eye twitched as he watched the odd behavior that the other man was exhibiting, but the idea that he could make some quick beri forced him to regain his composure. Coughing suggestively he managed to rouse the man out of his state of disillusionment,
“Uh…anyway before I show ya anything I need to see this stash yer talkin’ about” he explained with crossed arms.
For a moment the Marine was quiet as he eyed Jack, but then deciding that the boy wasn’t a threat he waved his hand indicating that Jack should follow him. The Marine led him back where they had first met; the area where the children had been giving him grief for standing post at such an odd area. Jack’s face twisted unhappily,
“This is the reward?!” he questioned incredulously as he glared at the man, who calmly pulled at a flap on the side of the supposed brick wall that he had been standing in front of and tugged slightly to reveal a metal box.
“In that box is a large amount of beri…so show me one thing and then I can leave this with you while informing my superiors of the other things this island has to offer” the man enticed with a wide grin.
Jack grinned as he already envisioned himself spending the money however he wished,
“Of course, let’s go and find that proof then” he responded happily.
After several hours of following the meandering path that the book was famous for suggesting, the two men finally came to a spot where a supposed treasure was supposed to be. Of course there was nothing special as they stared into the desolate heap of trash that piled alongside the dumpster. Jack gulped because he knew he would have to act quickly in order to salvage the situation, but he wasn’t motivated enough to come up with an elaborate scheme so instead he reached over and snatched away the Kairouseki cuffs that the man had latched to his belt while the Marine was dawdling over the directions. Placing his hands auspiciously while leaning over to the Marine to look over the map as well Jack began crushing the cuffs in his hand, but the stones were pretty recognizable even crushed so Jack politely excused himself to go to the bathroom around the corner.
Once he was out of sight of the Marine, he smashed the remaining crumbs of the hand cuffs against the wall in frenzy while hoping that the man wouldn’t hear the noises against the old wall. Several minutes of fruitless beating left Jack with the cracked pieces of two handcuffs that still looked very much like handcuffs and the flustered Jack slumped against the wall with groan. His eyes widened when he heard the sound of the Marine searching for him in the corner that he had gone to hide in,
“Hey, come on. I don’t think there’s anything special around here…waste of time believing you” the man grumbled angrily.
Jack did the only thing that he could think of at the moment and threw the pieces into his mouth seconds before the Marine came around the corner to tap his shoulder signaling that they should go. When Jack turned around with tear streaks on his face, the Marine apologetically backed away and stated that he would give it sometime before he would bother Jack. As the man retreated hastily Jack crunched painfully upon the Kairouseki slabs that were in his mouth; the taste was foul and the hard material cut into Jack’s mouth as he bit down thinking only of the money he would make once this was all over. An hour later and the young man tottered out from the corner clutching his mouth which was bleeding profusely as he regarded the Marine,
“Look I found unrefined Sea Stone….ain’t that interestin’” he lied with lackluster; the effort of grinding the material down with his teeth made it impossible for him to put any effort into trying to convince the man that it was the truth. Luckily the Marine was dim witted and immediately rushed over to Jack snatching away the wet pieces of stone from him,
“And they are still wet from the sea” the Marine cooed as he rubbed the material against his face while Jack secretly grimaced in disgust at the man’s behavior, Since when does my saliva pass as Sea water? he wondered.
Before Jack could remind him the Marine whirled towards the young man and rushed them both back to the spot where the metal box was,
“Here. It should be a fair amount of beri in that box. Of course this unrefined sea stone along with this book will easily be worth much more than that” the man chimed proudly at the success of his findings. Jack only nodded as the Marine plopped the box in his hands and rushed the boy away while he ran off to tell his fellow Marines of the discovery that he just made. Without a word Jack happily walked back to his apartment with the metal box safely in his possession and a painful smile on his face so when he attempted to whistle only blood spewed from his mouth, but even that didn’t ruin his mood as he locked the door safely behind him.
A few days later, Jack was walking down the same street and he saw a miserable looking Marine standing near the area where the metal box had come from. Once he and the Marine made eye contact the other man’s face widened in rage as he pointed to some other Marines nearby,
“That guy! He stole the Marine funds get him!”
Jack simply smiled before sprinting off into the direction of the docks with the Marines in close pursuit of him. At the last second, the dread lock toting young man dove into a net of fish and remained motionless as the Marines spent the remainder of the day looking for him until finally they had no choice, but to concede defeat. In the dark, the young man ascended from his fishy bed and smiled at the fortune he had made by pawning off an old town legend to the Marines; he was getting pretty good at making money off the World Government.