Devil's Luck Pirates

After the unexpected acquisition of a new passenger, the crew continues onward.

-Here's the deal, Steve. – William said while setting a chair in the middle of the deck – You stay right here until we arrive at Tarako.

-How comforting… – The boy responds as he takes a seat in his designated place.

-I don't know about Captain. – Verona chimes in – It'll be better if we leave someone watching over him.

-Well I'm not doing it. – Pearl speaks immediately before turning her back and going inside.

-I'm still not finished with the payload, so… – Atom adds while slowly following Pearl inside.

-Why am I not surprised… – William lets out a sigh and turns his eyes to the rest of the crew.

-I got some fishing to do! – Duros proudly announces. Fish rod in hand and hat on the head.

-And I need a nap. – Ragnar adds before quickly laying down on the side of the ship and immediately falling asleep.

-Hey! At least pretend you got something to do! – William exclaims. He then turns to Verona. He was the one to suggest the idea, surely he-

-Someone has to man the ship. And since I'm the one who knows how to get to where we're going so… you take the first watch, Captain. – And so he goes; leaving William all alone with Steve, who's been snickering his entire time.

-You think this is funny, huh? – William asks defeated.

-Very much, yes.

-Well, since we'll spend some time together… – He says while sitting on the parapet of the ship – Why don't you tell me about your Devil Fruit?

Steve immediately bursts into laughter after William's question.

-You heard that, little guy? He thinks you're a Devil Fruit. – Steve utters as he looks inside his shirt. A little black ball bounces from inside it, landing on his shoulder. William couldn't tell what it was at first, but the eight small tentacles wiggling gave him the answer.

-That answers my question.

-No, I don't have one of those Devil Fruits. All I need is my… assistant, to get the job done.

-Fair enough Steve. – William says rather annoyed at Steve's boasting.

-My name is not Steve. – The boy says in a somewhat serious tone as the little octopus plays with his finger.

-Whatever you say, Steve. – William mockingly says as he looks at the sea in front of him. Hoping for this trip to end quickly and without any complications…

Unexpectedly, Pearl comes back out looking a little shy. She hastily gets close to William.

-Umm… I was wondering… w-what you're gonna do with the dead body that's in there…

Oh yeah, he almost forgot about it – Well, we can just chuck it over the side…

-Yeah, umm… would you judge me if I took it?

-Hmm… – William opened his mouth to respond only to realize how unusual was her question – Pearl listen, you're a member of the crew, and I trust you. But I have to say, your request for a strangled corpse is a little bit… off.

-W-well – Pearl sheepishly mutters – The thing is, umm… I-I'm having cravings… It's this dragon thingy you know… M-my father used to umm… th-throw… you know – The more she tries to explain herself the worse it gets.

As the girl continues to mutter incomprehensively while trying desperately not to make eye contact with him, William stops her in an attempt to salvage the situation.

-Ok, ok, ok. You can have it. Just… as long as I don't see nor hear it you can do whatever you want with it…

-Ah… S-sure… Thanks, Captn'… I-I'll AHEM… dispose of the leftovers…

He definitely did not need to hear that. A chill ran down his spine, sending shivers through his body.

Pearl goes back inside to… have a meal, leaving William and Steve alone once again. Steve, who I might add, is having the time of his life right now.

-I like her… – He jokingly comments.

-Of course, you do Steve.

-I'm not Steve!!!

Later that night, Duros' turn on keeping watch on Steve had just come to an end. He spent most of the time playing with the little octopus.

The chilly air of midnight had little to no effect on Steve. He has been through worse. So much worse…

As his mind began to wander, the door in front of him creeks open. The light was cast on the boy for a moment before the complete darkness set in. Steve could only see the silhouette of the person who was in charge of keeping an eye on him for the rest of the night.

But that was enough.

-I was wondering when I was going to see you again. – Steve comments. His smile was as big as it could be. It was as if he just met with an old friend of his…