"Why do you do it?" Coby asked as they were sailing, his voice timid and weak.
"Do what?", I glanced over to him, enjoying the sunlight, which hit my face. I was lucky that I didn't inherit the vampire's weaknesses, only their abilities. I couldn't live without the sun!
"You drain your victim of their blood. It leaves quite the impression but… why?", he swept away a lock of pink hair as he stared at me, fear shining behind those big, bright eyes.
"To get stronger"
"Stronger? How does that make you stronger?" Coby, despite being terrified, still asked. A bit of the determination resting within his heart shone through.
"I am… special, not quite human"
"Did you eat a devil fruit too?" Luffy asked whilst devouring another fish.
"No, nothing like that. I am a vampire… at least that is the best way to describe it. I drink blood and can use it to become even stronger. It is one of the boons of being what I am", I took a bite of an apple, savoring the juicy inside.
"So why can you stay in the sun?", asked Luffy, "aren't vampires supposed to burn in the sun? Are you sure it isn't a devil fruit ability?"
"I am sure it is not. I can still swim just fine and that 'vampire' thing is just the closest thing to explain what I am", I shrugged, "My heart beats, I am still alive"
"How strong are you when you use blood?"
"Stronger than most in the east blue… wanna arm wrestle?"
"Yes!", Luffy set up a box as our table and we positioned ourselves, with Coby as a referee.
"R- ready?" Coby asked us. We both nodded, Luffy with his carefree smile on his face and me with a determined grin, activating blood buff, "okay… go!"
The two of us struggled against each other, vying for control. Luffy was strong but so was I.
My muscles bulged and I began pushing Luffy back, millimeter by millimeter. It took three minutes of struggling before I had pushed Luffy's arm onto the crate. My estimation was correct, I was ever so slightly stronger than Luffy.
"Whoa, Cain, you are pretty strong. Just as expected of my first crewmate, shishishi!"
"Yeah, Luffy beat Alvida like that and you just beat him… was Alvida weak? She always seemed so far above everyone and yet you two are so much stronger than her…"
"This is nothing compared to the grand line pirates. Once you become a marine you must grow even stronger than us if you ever want to take us in. We won't stagnate, we will become even stronger than we are right now" I explained, lying on my back, "We should arrive at shell's town any hour now… there is a marine base on that island. We are pirates, so you can't be seen with us. Go and enlist, don't worry about us"
"Yeah, whilst you are off joining the marines, we will search for that Zoro guy, to become our next crewmate", Luffy exclaimed, looking out for the island, "Our Nakama will grow and we will all achieve our dreams!"
"I still don't get why you think Roronoa Zoro would join you, his nickname is literally 'Pirate hunter'!" Coby whined.
"Well, first I have to see if he is a good guy but if he is, he will become my nakama for sure"
It sounded ludicrous but it would work, I knew, so I kept my mouth shut. Once Zoro was on our crew, I would have to learn swordsmanship from him. I had the basic skill from sucking dry that pirate but that wasn't enough, not in this kind of world.
He trained his body as they approached the island. The one piece physique was truly something else. No matter how hard I trained, I could always push beyond my limits.
"I see the island!" Coby said as I was in the midst of my 378th pushup.
I stood up, sure enough, there was Shells town, a small island, with a white and blue stone navy base on it.
"This is where our paths split, Coby, become a great marine, so that we may clash in the future", I smiled.
"But we are still a good bit away from the-"
I grabbed him by the back and threw him into the water, "Sorry but if you are seen with us, you could lose your chance, just swim over"
"You remind me of my grandpa", Luffy chuckled, "Always throwing me into the danger to get stronger"
"Is that so?", I looked towards the island, my fingers drumming along the wooden hull of the boat.
When we arrived at the island, we walked around, "Where do you think Zoro is?"
The civilians jumped back a few meters around us, speaking in hushed whispers.
"I don't know… maybe we should ask the marines? He is a bounty hunter after all", Luffy rubbed his chin.
"You do know that we are pirates, don't you? What, you think we can just stroll up to the marine base?", I laughed.
"I don't know what kind of prank you two are pulling but you really shouldn't joke about things like that! You know who the captain of this marine branch is? It is ax hand Morgan!", a woman spoke in hushed whispers and yet, when Morgan's name was uttered, the civilians around them jumped up, "Haven't you heard? Even the demon, pirate hunter Zoro submits to his might"
"What? Where is Zoro now?"
"In the training yard, bound to a wooden cross. He killed the wolf that Morgan's son, Helmeppo was so proud of when it attacked the tavern owner's daughter! He hasn't been given any water or food for three weeks"
"No food for three weeks?! I could never! And all this to save a little girl? He is a good guy" Luffy nodded determined, his resolve to get him into his crew solidifying.
"Yeah, Helmeppo said that if he survived a month on the cross, he would be released, washed free of his sins", the woman spoke, loosing her whispering tone just enough for some people to overhear.
One of those people was Helmeppo, butt chin and all, "Yes, I told him that, didn't I? I thought he would break after a week… well, I'll just have my daddy execute him instead. He deserves no better!"