Sebastian wondered about his island. He was a quiet boy who carried a satchel full of papers and a windpipe. His caramel hair was short, as short as his father wanted.
The wind of the New World always felt odd, always in a strange flux. His island was an Autumn island, as such the leaves of the trees always remained in a bright orange and red. The smell of pumpkin’s cooking carried in the air, a staple of this island's culture.
Sebastian walked silently into town, looking around at all the people. Most waved at him, though he didn't respond. He just continued his slack jawed gaze, his sleepy eyes taking in each bit of the world around him.
His mother had let him free of his lessons for the day. He still could feel the keys of the piano below his fingers. His brother compared it to when he went swimming for a long time and could still feel the pull of the waves.
“Hey look at that.” A gruff voice said. Sebastian turned to face the sound and spotted a group of pirates. They were one of the two crews that recently had stopped at this island. He thinks they were called the Otir Pirates or something. They had just come into the new world recently and were still making a large enough name for themselves. “Its the village retard.” The lead pirate said, causing a wave of laughter from the rest of the crew.
“Look at him, Captain.” Another said to the first man. “Cant even speak, just staring endlessly at us.”
Sebastian thought for a moment. This was a good moment to give a witty comeback like he read about in his books. He opened his mouth, then shut it.
“Aw nothing to say little dumbass.” Another pirate laughed.
Sebastian could see the villagers begin to whisper amongst themselves. They wouldn't step in. Sebastian turned to walk away. He didn't judge his fellow people for not helping, as each pirate was armed with a weapon.
“Hey!” A voice yelled out. “Are you making fun of my brother!”
Sebastian turned quickly, spotting the image of his brother running towards the pirates. He was tall for his age, with muscles that he had defined through constant exercise. His caramel hair was long and wavy, as his father had given up trying to rein in the boy. That was his brother, Edouart Corpis.
“Look at that, its another stupid kid.” A pirate laughed as Edouart stepped into the gap between the pirates and Sebastian.
“They hurt you?” Ed asked Sebastian. Sebastian shook his head left and right. “Good, hey assholes, leave my brother alone!”
The pirates stood, hands on their weapons. “Yeah, or what?” They asked, glaring down at him.
Sebastian caught Ed bringing his hand into a fist. Before he could move though, a arm was put around him.
“Come on kid, the first step to being a man is knowing how to pick your fights.” the new commer said. The man was massive, standing over nine feet tall. He had dark skin with bright orange hair that was set into dreadlocks. He wore a brown jacket that was tattered and worn with many pockets. The arm that was around Ed held a bottle of booze, dark brown in its glassy color that sloshed with its contents. This was the other pirate who had begun to stay on the island, Roark.
“Yesh, why care about him captain?” A female voice said from the side. “He is just a stupid kid.” Sebastian looked at the voice. It was a young girl, only a little older than Ed. She had fair pale skin, long black hair like silk, and had piercing pink eyes whose irises looked like a flower from above. She wore a loose skirt with flowers all along its edges like frills. A beautiful jacket covered most of her simple undershirt, everything about her spoke of beauty. It took Sebastian a moment to recognize her, Ylva? Right, she was a younger member of the Roark Pirates! Behind her stood many members of their crew.
“They were making fun of my brother.” Ed said, staring straight at the pirates.
“Is that so?” Roark said, facing the pirates.
“Better watch it.” A pirate said, pointing at the captain of their crew. “My Captain here is a wanted man, he is worth 100 Million berries!” He laughed.
Roark smiled, then he spun around. He took the arm that was around Ed and swung it at the captain, slamming the glass bottle into the man's head. The glass shattered and spewed its contents on the crew of surprised men.
“Let's fight boys.” Roark said with a big smile on his face as he stood with his back to his enemy.
“Shit, I recognize him!” One of the Otir pirates said. “That is Roark the Demon King! That's a Yonko!”
“Why the hell is a Yonko on such a small island!” The captain said, holding his face which bled from the glass.
“You didn't know?” Roark said, turning a smiling face towards the prone captain. “The New World is the territory of the Emperors of the Sea! Hope you were ready for that when you came here!”
The fighting broke out in the streets. Ylva had drawn two daggers, one a beautiful pink with a strange curve and the other a green with a straight point. She attacked a nearby pirate and engaged in a duel. Roark stepped back as his men filled the gap, charging the unexpected pirates. Ylva fought like a ballerina, her fight more of a dance. It became dangerous quickly, devil fruit powers were activated and used in the area. Yet Sebastian stood still, watching his brother.
Roark had given Ed the space to fight the captain who had insulted Sebastian. The two circled each other, Ed with his bare fists, the captain with a cutlass. Sebastian sucked in a breath as he watched Ed step forward. Step, slide. Ed spun on his heel, a fist swinging wide and slamming into the side of the Captain's fist. The grip on the cutlass loosened as Ed took his next step. Slide, step, strike. He used his other foot to slide and bring himself back to the captain's face, then took a step, and jabbed into the captain's side.
Ed did not let up. He hopped to the side, behind the Captain, and punched hard into the back of the man’s head. The captain stumbled forward, and still Ed did not let up. A swipe at the leg sent the captain falling forward, but Ed moved to intercept the fall. The captain fell hard into Ed’s fist, the man spitting up blood. Ed let the man fall off his fist, but then spun to build momentum for another punch, this one to the man's jaw.
Ylva was like a ballerina, but Edouart was dancing another dance. He moved as if the wind guided him, spinning in just the right way to strike hard. It was beautiful and poetic. Sebastian stared slack jawed in amazement, was this what he was looking for? Was this the Rhythm?
The fighting ended, with no casualties on the Roark pirates side. They all laughed about the victory as they grabbed the liqueur of their fallen enemies. True pirates.
“Looks like we gotta get moving.” Roark bellowed in his strange accent. “We will be leaving tonight.”
Sebastian could see the look of relief on the faces of the people all around. The Roark pirates were not the worst pirates to come here, but they weren't the best. They still broke things and got into stupid fights. Most fights were between each other and ended with lots of damage and the fighters laughing together as if it hadn't happened.
“Seb.” Ed said, grabbing Sebastian's hand. “Come with me.” Sebastian could see the blood on his knuckles, the blood of his enemy. He let himself be tugged along.
He took him to the edge of the island along a wooded area. A small fort was built here out of wood that had washed up on shore or found in the woods. The fort was built to look over the cliff side where the sun rose. This was the secret hide out of Ed.
Ed let go of Sebastian’s hand and walked to the edge of the cliff, fingering something in his hand. It was a bent silver coin, the sight of which made Sebastian gasp.
“What happened to your lucky coin!” Sebastian said, his voice horse from being unused.
“Hm?” Ed said as if he hadn't noticed the coin. “Oh, nothing really.” he faced Sebastian. “I'm leaving tonight, I'm joining the Roark pirates.”
Sebastian gasped again. “But, mom and dad would never.”
“I don't care what they want.” Ed laughed. “I'm doing this for me, no one else. I am going to see the world and find my place in it.”
Sebastian stood in place. He didn't know what to say, so he just said whatever was on his mind. “I think I found the first verse.”
Ed’s eyes lit with joy. “Really! That's awesome! Can I hear it?”
Sebastian thought it over. “I'm not sure if its perfect yet, but I can try.” Ed egged him on, leading to Sebastian to pull out his pipe. “I think it would be better on something else, but this will work.” With that, he began to blow into the pipe. The notes didn't seem to come out right, Sebastian kept hitting them wrong. Yet Ed kept smiling all the while.
“Seems you still have some work to do huh?” Ed laughed. “That's good, this will be your masterpiece right?”
“I guess so.” Sebastian said. “The Rhythm of Life is meant to be many verses, a Symphony. I thought I found the first one, but it seems like I'm not quite there yet.”
“You got time.” Ed said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Don't try to force it, you'll get it.”
Sebastian smiled at his brother.
“When your old enough, you should head out to see too.” Ed said, looking out at the ocean. “Not a pirate per say, but just something that will let you explore the world. Break your chains and all that.”
“I think I will.” Sebastian said, looking out as well.
“When you do, come find me. We can catch up and you can play that symphony for me, once it's done that is.” Ed laughed.
That night, Ed left in the night with the Roark pirates. Edouart wasn't aware of it, but Sebastian had snuck out and watched his departure. He had brought his violin this time, and played his brother off.
It was as the ship began to sail off into the darkness that Sebastian found the verse. The Rhythm of Life was all about life, and this moment was a perfect one to capture.
“Verse one.” Sebastian began. “Oh Come My Way.” With that, he ran the bow along the strings. The notes were slow and drawn out, then suddenly went sharp. They represented the wind, which blew both angry and slow, shifting between a raging storm and the slow breeze. The notes formed a twister of sound, a Twister. That was what Sebastian had called Ed whenever he fought, the Twister. It was a song of longing for someone who had left. Someone he held very dear.
