The Mink growled angrily as Keibe faced away from the bars. The chains held him in place as he glared swords into Keibe. This mink was nothing like Baihan or the other minks that were a part of Ollin’s crew. This one was almost feral.
Keibe approached, then laid against the edge of the ship wall. “Looks like we will be roommates for a bit.” Keibe said, trying to make small talk.
The mink continued to growl.
“They must have treated you poorly huh.” Keibe said, looking over the mink. His fur was scratched and cut all over, and on his chest was the brand of the Celestial dragon. “Tell me, are you from Zoa?”
The mink stopped growling, and looked more confused then anything else.
“Elephant.” It said, its voice hesitant and scared.
“Yeah the elephant, that is Zunesha.” Keibe said, taking advantage of the opportunity the mink gave him. “I have only heard about it from a few other minks.”
“M-Mink?” The panda asked curiously.
“Huh you don't know the name of your own species?” Keibe chidded. “How old are you?”
The panda looked confused at this.
“How long have you been in slavery?” Keibe asked.
“Long time.” The panda said. He looked toward the ceiling. “I dont remember not being a slave, but I have dreams.”
“Dreams about what?” Keibe asked.
“The elephant.” The panda said. “It was so tall it touched the sky, and a home that was built out of stone, tall to avoid the river. I remember the moon alot, it was a nice moon. They don't let me see the moon, they force me into the day, even though I am so tired.”
Keibe looked at the panda and saw his sadness. “What is your name?”
“My dad called me Jaquar.” The mink said.
“Your dad was a strange man.” Keibe laughed. “I am Keibe.”
“Its nice to meet you.” Jaquar said.
Keibe stood up, then faced the bars. “Alright, let's try getting out of here.” WIth that, Keibe punched. His haki enhanced his punch, yet it still wasn't strong enough. His will had been damage from the years of slavery. He only managed this little bit of effort at seeing the young mink. Jaquar seemed like a child, and all he knew was slavery, Keibe felt the sudden desire to show this one the greater world.
“What are you doing?” Jaquar asked.
Keibe punched again, still nothing. “I am going to get us out of here.” He felt his knuckles begin to bleed. “You haven't eaten a devil fruit have you?”
“The magic fruits?” Jaquar asked. “No, I only eat the grain they give me.”
“Good, We can swim out of here, you'll just have to hold onto me, we can get away.” Keibe said as his fist hit the steel again. He realized the bars were made of sea prism stone, which were not known to break easily. “We can go to my home, Fishman island, its on the bottom of the sea.”
“A place at the bottom of the sea!” Jaquar said excitedly. “Places like that exist!”
“And so much more.” Keibe said, hitting the bars again, his knuckles began to bleed. “There are islands that water cannot touch, they repel it somehow, there are islands that reach high up into the sky. Ones over grown with so much life you cant find a trace of sunlight once you enter it. Some have storms that rage on forever with no end. I have seen some where the sun never seems to rise on it. The ocean is a wonderful place.”
“For reals!” Jaquar said happily.
“For reals!” Keibe said, eyes tearing up as his fist hit the bars again. “And when you get out of here you go see them all! See the world as a free mink!”
“Free.” Jaquar said as if the word was foreign to him. “How does one be free?”
“That is a tough question.” Keibe said, pain filling his face. “Though a good way to start is to become a pirate.”
“A pirate?” Jaquar asked.
“Yeah, they are the most free people on the sea.” Keibe said, memories of his time with the RagingWorld pirates filling his mind. “They are not bound by laws, and they can go wherever they want, the ocean is there domain, and nobody can stop a pirate. No marines, no celestial dragon, no one! Pirates are the freest of the free!”
Jaquar seemed to bounce with excitement, then he stopped. “Are humans pirates?”
“There are alot of humans that are pirates.” Keibe said.
“THen they are bad people.” Jaquar said, his voice turning to a growl. “Humans are bad people.”
Keibe stopped and faced Jaquar. He was bearing his fangs and his pupils shrunk. “Jaquar, that is not right.”
“What?”
Keibe stepped over and sat in front of Jaquar. “Not all humans are bad, not all pirates are good, not all minks are good, not all fishman are good. The world isn't black or white, it is gray. You cannot blame all humans for what has happened to you.”
Jaguar calmed, but did not respond. He looked as if he was scolded by his parent. Keibe faced Jaquar for a long while, then smiled.
“Seems I wont be breaking us out today, but in time we can.” Keibe said.
“That thing you were doing, what was that?” Jaquar asked.
“It is known as fishman karate.” Keibe said. Then he thought for a moment. “Can you stand?”
Jaquar stood. Keibe realized his arms were chained to the wall, but he could still move.
“Jaquar, would you like to learn fishman karate?”
Jaquar smiled.
The days on the ship passed, when a guard came to check on them they would pretend to be doing nothing. If they came to inspect the noise of Keibe fighting the bars he would turn it into him slamming his head into the bars as if going mad. During the time when no guards were present Keibe taught Jaquar to use fishman karate. It wasn't long before he had a handle on the basics of his Jellyfish style, though he was a long way from mastering it.
“When we get out of here I'll teach you so much.” Keibe said.
Jaquar stared into the ceiling. “There is a storm coming.”
“Huh?” Keibe asked.
Jaquar looked at Keibe. “I can smell it, there is a storm coming.”
Keibe leaned back. “That is a useful skill for a navigator.”
“Navigator?” Jaquar asked.
Keibe smiled. “It is one of the most important roles on a ship, the Navigator is incharge of guiding the ship on the safest path to its destination. If you ever join a pirate crew you should become a navigator.”
Suddenly, the ship shook. A sign of the storm hitting. However, storms don't usually have the sound of gunfire.
The door above deck suddenly smashed to splinters, a body of a guard flying threw it. Keibe looked out, then spotted the attacker.
“Jirahs!” Keibe said, his eyes filling with tears.
Jirahs stood like a hulking beast as he ripped the sea prism bars from their housing.
“Let us go, Keibe.” JIrahs said offering a hand to Keibe.
Keibe turned to Jaquar. “Please, free him too.”
“Ollin says to free all the slaves.” Jirahs said, entering the cell and pulling Jaguars chains apart.”
The Windsweep felt like a long forgotten home. Keibe kissed its deck, eyes filled with tears. The other slaves, including Jaquar, stepped onto the wood hesitantly.
“Welcome.” Ollin said, the rain pouring atop the deck of the ship. “My name is Ollin Blackblade, I am the captain of this ship.”
“An emperor in the first half of the grandline?” A slave said hesitantly.
“I have released you all, you are all free to decide your fate from here.” Ollin said, approaching the group. “If you would like, you may join me. Perhaps not as a crew member, but as a member of one of my islands. The choice is yours, however, we first must return a friend of ours to his home.”
Ollin placed a hand on Keibe’s shoulder. “Let's get you home Keibe.”
“Why did you come back?” Keibe said sadly.
“Because we had to.” Ollin said. “You are still a member of our crew, and we do not leave a RagingWorld pirate behind.”
Keibe broke into a sob then.
Days later they grew ever close to fishman island. Jaquar was hesitant around all the humans, but he was doing fine. The sun began to set on the horizon as Jaquar and Keibe leaned over the railing away from the setting sun.
“What will you do?” Keibe asked.
“Their navigator taught me a little.” Jaquar said. “I think ill go become a pirate like you said.”
Keibe smiled. “Perhaps you can join the Ragingworld pirates, Ollin has told me he would take you willingly.”
Keibe looked over Jaquar, the Ragingworld Pirates had tattooed his fur to cover the symbol of the celestial dragon, as they did for him as well.
“I think I might.” Jaquar said.
They both looked out into the blank sky, the moon beginning to crest the horizon.
“I have a brother at fishman island.” Keibe said. “He probably misses me.” He pulled out his necklace, the one Arial had given him. He was so close, so very close. When he returned he would not hesitate to reach her.
“I would like to meet him.” Jaquar said, looking out to the moon. He must feel at home with the moon up, as he was a nocturnal beast before.
A door to the captain's cabin opened. Ollin stepped out. “Keibe about tomorrow.” He cut of suddenly as Keibe turned towards him, his jaw went slack with terror. “Get him below deck!” He shouted suddenly, pointing towards Jaquar.
Keibe spun to face Jaquar, catching sight of the rising full moon. Jaguars eyes became transfixed on the moon, his fur beginning to swap the white with black, and black with white. The fur grew extraordinarily long, and the whites of his eyes turned a blood red.
“What.” Was all Keibe said before Jaquar turned and attacked.
Keibe felt Jaguars claws pass straight through his body. Blood filled Keibe’s lungs, and a cough made it come up suddenly. The blood landed on Jaguar's face, one now full of beastial rage.
Keibe fell to his knees as Jaquar pulled his fist free of Keibe’s stomach. He prepared to strike again, but was stopped by Ollin, he had grabbed a bag and now worked to cover Jaguars head. Jaquar bucked Ollin, trying to break free of the grasp, but could not stop the Fishman that was well over double his size.
“What?” Jaquar said as his body returned to normal, he seemed to have grown in size as well. “Where? What?”
“Jaquar.” Keibe muttered. “Its okay.”
“What?” Jaquar said, voice muffled by the sack on his head.
“Damnit.” Ollin said, tears staining his eyes. “Doctor! Keibe is Hurt!”
“Keibe?” Jaquar said, unsure of what was happening. He clearly didn't know, Keibe smiled at his innocence.
“It's okay Jaquar.” Keibe repeated again, feeling his life slip from him. “It's not your fault.”
“Damnit!” Ollin yelled out. Keibe felt people rushing across the deck towards him. “Keibe hold on! We can fix this!”
Keibe struggled, but pulled free his necklace, the image of Arial in his mind. Kontu joined the image, they would miss him wouldn't they? He reached out his weak out, dangling the necklace from his grasp.
“Jaquar.” Keibe said, blood filling his throat. “Hold out your hand.” another cough sent more blood onto Jaquar. The mink reached out his bloody red fist towards Keibe. “Take this, please.” He forced the necklace into Jaguars open grasp. “Don't look at me, please, just go out and see the world, become a pirate, be free.”
Sobs greeted Keibes last words. Jaguars were loud, even muffled by the sack. Ollin’s crew were around him, trying to fix his wounds, but it was fruitless. Jirahs and Ollin stood over Keibe, pain in their eyes.
“Thank you.” Keibe said to the Ragingworld pirates. “Thank you for showing me the world.”
Ollin said something profound to Keibe, but they fell def on Keibes ears, as his life slipped away. He died like the pirate king, with a smile on his face. Thus ended the life of Keibe ‘The Kraken’. He had fought countless battles, even fighting off the majority of the Great Wind pirates crew. He was feared as one of the strongest members of the Ragingworld Pirates, and had gained the respect of all those he had challenged across the sea. His life was one that stained the hearts of all the pirates that day.
And yet, his last memory was nothing to do with his time as Keibe ‘The Kraken’, instead it was of Keibe of the Fishman district, brother of Kontu, lover of Arial, one of the greatest Fishman karate practitioners. The last memory was of that kiss from Arial after he had been beaten. He longed for that kiss one last time as his soul departed.
