10 Setting sail

My eyes glazed over as I stared at Tanken. It had been three years since we had started my training, and now I had just completed the last test that he had for me, yup I was going to set sail.

I knew that it was three years before schedule, but father said that I was ready, what with the semi-mastered haki, and my somewhat overpowered devil fruit. I was to start off at north blue, gathering my crew before stepping into the grandline to tell my own tale, maybe fall in love, meet a few people and have an awesome adventure.

Of course I knew that I would probably get hurt a lot, but I had long learned to ignore pain (owing to the devilish tortu-Ahem training, yes that's the word, training of Tanken-senpai) and now I could barely wait. I would set sail tomorrow night, on the eve of my tenth birthday, with a small boat and some escorts to the tip of the redline in the boundaries of North Blue.

I knew of course of the shit that I would probably see there, but I had made up my mind. This was going to be my adventure, screw the main story and the god-forsaken cannon, I was going to mess with the story however I wish, so there Humph!(I confess, that sounds childish even to me..)

I had already made up my mind with the type of pirate I was going to be, and I also knew that I needed to get a bunch of competent crew mates, not like the idiot Luffy, I mean a deer? what you were smoking, step-sworn brother of mine, quite eludes me, though I wouldn't mind having a little of it…( for research purposes of course..)

I even had a list of laughs I wanted to try out!! Anyway, I was getting too excited and I knew it, and so did everyone around me, if my father's glower and my teacher's glare were enough responses to go by.

"Brat this time marks the beginning of your journey to pirate-hood, make your old man proud!" My father said, as he passed me a canister of sake ('any man old enough to set sail is old enough to drink!') and patted the ground next to him, before grabbing his own glass of sake and chugging it down vigorously. (Haki users had strong, impervious kidneys..)

Tanken too had settled down, sighing forlornly as he drunk. "Tell that idiot son of mine to come see his old man from time to time!" He said, before promptly realizing that we were at Raftel and settling into an even greater sadness.

"Brat, you'll be ten by the time you reach the North Blue, so here is a birthday present in advance, your mother wanted you to have it, especially when you set sail, and so I am giving it to you, here catch!" my father said, before throwing at me a package, wrapped in a thick paper, with a somewhat small strip of cloth attached to it.

'Dear lore,

So many things to say, yet so little time, son, lore, know this mother loves you like no one else in the world, you have been one of the stars in my life, and I hope that, in these times you are brave, brave enough to face all your problems, if ever you have a problem that you cannot face, then remember, father and mother believe in you.

In this is a small present mother prepared when she saw that you were going to be a pirate like your father, it is a mythical zoan fruit, for someone in your future crew. It is the gryphon fruit, something mother obtained when she was young, I did not know who to hand it to, but now I have, son, give it to someone you trust, and let them eat it, it might be only a fruit, but I am sure that in your hands it can truly reach the best user!

Good luck, happy adventures, and glorious life!

With love,

Mother'

the letter on attached to the package read. Hot tears ran down the sides of my cheeks, as I silently wept, holding the package to my chest, trying to stop the pain in my heart. True, I had lived for a life before this, but still the, the love of a mother touched me, the letter again reminded me of the fight back then, the noises, the screams, the smoke and the terror that that day had been.

I felt my father's hand on my shoulder, before I dove into his bosom. Tears wrecked my body as I trembled unceasingly, a shadowy silhouette seemed to magically enter my minds as I remembered my mother pretty face, her warm eyes and her doting aura, I had missed her without even knowing, I missed my mother......…..

***********************************************************************************

"Get in the damn boat brat!!" my father roared as he all but shoved me onto the rickety canoe that they had prepared for me. "Dosen't my bloodline have any benefits? What are you playing at, father, do you want people to see and marvel at the poverty sticken-ness of the gols?? Don't you think that it will besmirch your reputation to have your son on a ship, that barely has any life expectancy???"

I asked trying to both negotiate, and maneuver on the sad abomination that was to be a mode of transport. "Do it yourself, go on shoo!!" my father said ruthlessly pushing the boat away from the port with his crutch while faking some tears.

"Atleast give me some oars! I'll drown! I'll seriously drown!! Old man I'll remember this!!!......." I said as I wobbled on the dangerously unsafe boat, on a misty night......…..