#5

Chapter 5: Recruitment

'Hmm' - Thoughts

"Yup" - Speaking

[ ] - Scene/POV Change

{ } - Techniques

__________________________________________

[ Two Weeks Later - Paradise ]

Jeremiah and Naruto were currently walking through a forest .

At the moment , Jeremiah was wearing a long sleeved blood red trench coat with a hood , which was currently resting on his head , over a loose fitting long sleeved black shirt and pants that stopped a few inches above his ankles . He had on a pair of crimson and black ankle length shoes . He also had on his usual necklaces and headphones around his neck and was not wearing his glasses .

Naruto had on a black light jacket that had orange stripes going down his arms with an orange t - shirt . His black pants also had orange stripes , and he was wearing a pair of black light boots . He also had on black fingerless gloves .

The reason they were in this forest was simple . They were here for who Jeremiah hoped would be the third member of his crew .

"You sure she'll want to join us ? I mean we won't exactly always be law abiding citizens ." Said Naruto while observing the different forest animals .

"I'm pretty sure . At least eighty percent . Still , you know you didn't really have to come with me right ? I wouldn't have minded if you wanted to relax for a bit on the ship ." Jeremiah said as he turned his head towards Naruto .

Naruto folded his hands behind his head . "Nah . I've done enough relaxing on the way here . Aside from some light training on the ship all I've done is relax these past two weeks . I could use some action . Besides , this may not be grand but its still an adventure ." Naruto said while walking with his eyes closed .

"I hear you on that . I like and appreciate peace , but too much can definitely get boring . Anyway , we're here . " Jeremiah said as they reached a cave located in the forest .

Where a giant girl was sleeping .

Not giant compared to normal people , rather she was an actual Giant .

"Whoa! She really is something . I'd heard there were Giants out in the world , but to actually see one ..." Naruto trailed off as he stared at the sleeping girl in fascination .

Said girl had brown medium length hair that was currently let down , showing it stopped just at her shoulders . She was wearing a simple brown gown with nothing on her feet .

It was Diane .

One thing Jeremiah took definite notice of though was that she seemed to be a lot younger than her SDS counterpart since the one in front of him was currently only ("only") about 15 feet , whereas Diane in SDS was about 30 feet tall .

That didn't matter to him though . He knew just how high her potential was and how strong she could be . Not to mention how loyal she was .

He would help her become powerful . Even more so than her SDS version . The most powerful Giant in the world .

Shaking himself out of his thoughts , Jeremiah moved a little closer to her .

"Hey ." No response . "*Sigh* Hey !" Jeremiah really hated yelling , but when the time calls for it...

Diane shifted but didn't fully wake up .

"You want me to do it ? " Naruto asked helpfully since he had learned that Jeremiah was a pretty quiet guy that didn't like to make loud noises .

"Please do ." Jeremiah said as he took a few steps back .

Naruto nodded with a smile and took a deep breath . "HEEEEEY !"

Not only did that succeed in waking up Diane , it also scared off all the animals in the vicinity .

Diane gave a loud yawn as she woke up while rubbing one of her eyes .

Suddenly she realized there were two people near her .

"Hm? Humans ? " She was confused since humans very rarely , if ever , came this far into the forest .

"Hey . You alright ?" The human in red with caramel skin asked .

"Who are you ?" She asked . It was weird that these guys weren't freaking out at all about her appearance .

"I'm Jeremiah . An adventurer . This here is my vice captain , Naruto ." Jeremiah said as he motioned with his head toward Naruto .

"Yo !" Naruto said with a wide smile as he gave her a peace sign.

"Diane ." Diane said slightly nervously . She didn't interact with people often .

"Cool name . Now that we're all introduced , care to answer my initial question ?" Jeremiah asked as he pulled his hood off .

Diane blushed lightly .

He was really handsome .

"I'm fine . What made you ask ?" She asked confused .

"Well , you are sleeping in a cave of all things . And that gown doesn't look very comfortable . Surely you don't live out here ?" Jeremiah said bluntly and then asked .

Diane looked down at her current attire . It was certainly true that it wasn't comfortable . She didn't even have any footwear .

"Diane ." Jeremiah's voiced snapped her out of going on a downward spiral of emotions .

"I asked if you live out here ." Jeremiah said while looking right into her eyes .

Diane tried to hold his gaze , but couldn't and eventually looked away while nodding sadly .

" Why ? " He asked simply and Naruto was just observing the whole thing silently .

Diane was silent for a long while . She didn't know why she felt so compelled to answer him , but as he kept staring directly into her eyes she couldn't help it .

" I ran away ." She finally answered quietly .

"Why ? " He asked again .

" ....I'm not like other Giants . I don't like to fight all the time just for the heck of it . I didn't like being told that I had to be strong or I would be a disgrace to Giants as a whole . I didn't like them trying to decide my life for me !" She said as her eyes grew a bit watery before she quickly wiped them .

She thought he would say that she was being a brat . That she should just suck it up and do what's best for her clan .

She couldn't have been more wrong .

"I see . Well... To Hell with 'em then . Right Naruto ?" Jeremiah said and asked as he looked at Naruto , who was sitting on a log .

"Definitely ! No one should be forced to do anything they don't want to !" Said Naruto .

"What he said . Its not cool for people to try to force their ideals onto others ." Said Jeremiah while standing with his hands in his coat pockets .

"How long have you been alone Diane ?" He asked her curiously .

" About two years now ." She asked after thinking for a bit .

"I see.... And how long have you been lonely ?" He asked softly while looking into her eyes .

Diane's eyed widened , before her eyes were filled with water .

She was lonely . For so , so long she had been lonely .

"A *sniff* a lot longer." She said while crying and sniffling softly .

Jeremiah and Naruto stared silently at the crying girl .

Suddenly Jeremiah jumped up onto her shoulder .

"Don't cry ." Jeremiah said .

She looked to the side and slightly down at him while still crying a bit .

"Come with us . From here on out I'll be the one to look after you and protect your happiness ." Jeremiah said while placing his left hand on her cheek .

She looked at him with wide eyes .

She couldn't believe how her life was turning around such a small amount of time .

"Why do you want to help me so much ?" She couldn't help but ask .

He gave her a small smile . " You seem like a good girl . You should see the beauty of the world . Don't let others ugliness get in your way ." He finished .

With that he jumped off and held out a hand towards her .

She stared at his hand for about ten seconds before she gave a big smile and grasped his hand .

Which ended with her grabbing his whole arm and shaking his whole body .

Its good his body was much tougher than the average person's . It would have sucked to have his arm torn off from a simple handshake .

"Sorry ! I'm not used to interacting with humans ! " Diane said as she quickly let him go , afraid that she had hurt her new friend .

"Ah , I'm fine . You don't need to worry about holding back when you interact with me . I'll make sure I'm always strong and durable enough to handle it . " Jeremiah said as he patted his bicep .

Diane blushed and nodded quickly while smiling .

"Now then , let's go Naruto , Diane ."

"Right !"

[ One Month Later ]

Jeremiah , Naruto , and Diane were walking through a village by the name of Hage . Why ?

For their (potential) first swordsman .

They could actually already see him . He was currently doing pushups and judging by the amount of sweat he was producing , he seemed to be at it for a while .

He had pale blonde hair with a black headband on his head , along with green eyes , a black muscle shirt , dark gray pants , and brown shoes .

Asta .

They could also see that he had a European style sword next to him with the blade stuck in the ground .

" Hey ." Jeremiah called out to him .

Asta paused in his workout to look up at who called him .

"Huh ? Who are you guys ? No wait , I'm Asta . Nice to meet you ! Whoa ! That girl is huge ! " Asta said as he hurriedly got up and approached them .

" He seems weirdly excited , doesn't he ?" Diane whispered to Naruto with a sweatdrop .

"Huh ? What do you mean ? That's normal isn't it ?" Naruto said back with a confused look .

Suddenly Diane seemed to come to a realization .

"Nevermind , wrong person to ask ." Diane said with an even bigger sweatdrop as she turned away .

"Huh ? Hey ! Why do you mean ?!"

Shaking his head at the antics of his two crew members , Jeremiah replied . " I'm Jeremiah , the blonde is Naruto , and the Giant is Diane . We're adventurers and -" Whatever Jeremiah was gonna say next was cut off as Asta excitedly ran right up to him .

"Adventurers ?! That's awesome ! " Asta exclaimed and Jeremiah thought he saw stars in his eyes .

"..... Would you like to join us ?" Jeremiah asked after taking a few steps back to get some personal space .

"Would I ?! Yes ! Wait here , I'll go pack my things !" With that Asta ran off to , apparently , pack his things .

"..."

"..."

"....That is one fun guy . I can already tell ." Said Naruto with a smile .

Jeremiah and Diane simply shook their heads .

[ Three Weeks Later ]

Jeremiah was currently sitting in a small restaurant having a salad in a town by the name of Sainan . Asta and Naruto were walking around the island while Diane was on the ship training .

He was wearing a gray short sleeved trench coat with a hood over a red long sleeved shirt that stopped just past his elbows . He had on black pants with gray stripes down the sides , and red and gray combat boots . He wasn't wearing his headphones since for now he had gotten used to his enhanced hearing . Though he was , of course , wearing his two necklaces and he had his glasses on .

He was here to get the woman he wanted as the doctor for his crew . Whenever he asked around for her by name , everyone would start laughing .

It would seem that at this time in this world , or at least this island , most people are of the mindset that women should not have positions like doctors , teachers , etc .

It annoyed him .

As he was eating , he heard someone walk in and as he looked up he couldn't believe his luck .

There she was , with her brown shoulder length hair and emerald green eyes .

She was wearing a pink long sleeved button up and a black belt around the middle of it . On her bottom half she was wearing a black mini skirt with thigh high black socks and pink high heeled shoes .

Mikado Ryoko .

She walked with her head held high even as people sneered and snickered at the sight of her .

"Look look , its Ms. Delusional ." One patron whispered

"She's stupid thinking she should be allowed to do a man's work . " Said another .

"She'd probably just kill anyone that came to her . Maybe she just gets off on seeing people bleed ." Another dared to say .

Try as she might to hide it , Jeremiah could tell from looking in her eyes .

She was hurting . She has a strong will , but anyone would start to eventually crack when they've got an entire island against them . Humans , even the strongest , are only so resilient .

That goes for himself as well .

He had tremendous respect for her being able to stay strong as long as she did through all of the scorn she's received in her life . He wouldn't wish that on anyone .

He watched as she sat down to begin eating . At least the staff was willing to feed her . Though he guessed they figured money is money , no matter who its coming from . It certainly didn't look as well prepared as some of the other food he had seen them make in his time there .

One patron decided to be bold and impress his buddies and the other customers and staff . He walked right up to where she was sitting .

"Hey !" The big guy said as he towered over her . He was about 6'8 , but had a very fat body which made him look bigger . "What do you think you're doing ?" He continued while trying to intimidate her .

"Eating ." She said as she continued doing just that .

"You're bothering us . Leave !" The fat man yelled with an angry look .

" How ? How am I possibly bothering you when all I'm doing is eating ?" She said as she looked at up at him .

"Because you don't deserve to be here! You who won't accept your place in society will always be at the bottom !" He yelled again .

" Why ? What have I done that is so wrong ? How can you all be so hateful towards me when all I've wanted to do is help people with the gift of medicine ?! How could that be such a wrong thing for me to do simply because I'm a woman ?!" She started quietly but slightly raised her voice towards the end . Her eyes were a little watery , but she refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing her shed even a single tear .

He laughed . Loud and obnoxiously . It wasn't only him either . The majority of the people in the restaurant joined him in laughing ans pointing at her .

"HAHAHAHAHA!!!" As they continued to laugh Jeremiah grew more and more annoyed .

"You're just a stupid broad ! The only thing you're good for is being fucked and doing housework !" The fat piece of garbage continued to taunt her .

Ryoko's face grew red with anger and sadness . She wanted to leave . She had never been unkind to any of these people and yet they always treat her like this . Always . Why did she have to be the one to endure everyone's hatred for simply trying to follow her dream ?!

"SHUT UP !" She finally yelled at them .

Everyone quieted down as they stared at her shocked . She never fought back so what was this ?

"I will not keep begging you all to let me try to help you when all you do is hurt me over and over ! I have been more than patient with all of you bigots and I respect myself too much to let myself continue to be put down on a daily basis !" At the end of her rant she was panting a bit due to the her emotions running so high .

The restaurant was quiet for about 10 more seconds . Until...

"Y- YOU FUCKING BITCH!" With that the fat bastard swung his fist toward the Ryoko who closed her eyes and threw her arms up in a feeble attempt at defense .

It wasn't necessary .

"Well said Miss ." Said a voice that was unfamiliar to all of them .

Ryoko opened her eyes and was shocked to see someone in front of her holding the fat guy's fist . Protecting her . HER .

The one who was protecting her had a hood on and had his back to her , so she couldn't see his face , but she could see that he was tall , much taller than her and even a few inches taller than the one who tried to hit her . Her protector was dressed in a red , black , and gray outfit .

This was Jeremiah obviously .

He had been observing silently , wondering how anyone could be so unfairly cruel to a woman like Ryoko . To anyone really . He didn't consider himself a hero , but there were certain things he simply wouldn't ignore . This being one of those things .

" Huh ? Hey ! Who the hall are you ?!" The big guy yelled .

"Just a concerned citizen . So , what's the issue ?" Jeremiah asked even though he obviously already understood .

" The issue is that this- " The guy was cut off when Jeremiah suddenly yawned tiredly .

"Ahh... Sorry about that . Please continue . I always yawn when I'm interested ." Jeremiah said sarcastically .

Ryoko tried to hold back her giggle , but ultimately failed .

"Damn you ! I won't be mocked !" The guy yelled with an angry red face as he pulled back his other fist that wasn't being held and aimed a relatively strong punch at Jeremiah .

Jeremiah used his left hand to redirect the punch upwards , before he retracted his right hand from around the fist he was holding and rapidly delivered light pokes to his torso before ending it by delivering a palm thrust to the stomach that knocked all the air out of the fat man .

The guy couldn't even comprehend what had just happened . One second he was throwing a punch and the next he was on the ground wheezing for air and unable to move his upper body .

The whole restaurant went silent .

"W.... *Pant .... Pant* What did y- you do t- to m- me ?" He wheezed out shakily .

"Who knows ? Don't you wish there was a doctor here to examine you ?" Jeremiah responded smartly .

The fat man attempted to glare heatedly at Jeremiah . Attempted because he was in so much pain that it came off as more of a cross eyed ugly look .

Jeremiah looked behind him at Ryoko to see her staring at him in amazement .

She couldn't believe someone was actually on her side and that he had taken down someone that big so easily .

"Miss ." He said as he turned his body halfway to look at her , allowing her to finally see his face .

And she would admit that he was incredibly handsome , with his beard giving an added manly charm .

Shaking those thoughts away she replied . "Yes ?"

"Are you okay ?" He asked with his smooth deep voice .

"Y- yes . Tha- Watch out !" Ryoko was saying and then cut herself off as she saw the downed man's 4 buddies decide to retaliate .

Jeremiah's face shifted back to an annoyed one . He had thought those guys would be smart enough to realize they were outmatched . He would show them how low they are in the pecking order .

"You asshole ! How dare you do that to our friend ?!" The men shouted , somehow in unison , as they ran towards Jeremiah .

He simply turned to them with his pupils glowing a blazing gold , and said one word .

"Kneel ." He intoned .

With that one word , the four men all abruptly stopped in their running before their legs buckled and they all dropped to one knee .

Everyone was shocked at what just happened . This mysterious man had just uttered one word and the four men were kneeling like they were in the presence of nobility .

"W- what's happening?"

"What did he do ?"

"He's a demon !"

Jeremiah didn't care about all the background noise . He was focused on the four kneeling men who were now actually sweating heavily .

This was him using his telekinesis . He was very slowly increasing it gradually , making it feel as if they were being weighed down by gravity .

He turned back to Ryoko with his eyes still glowing and she couldn't help but unconsciously stare into them .

They were beautiful .

"Miss ." Jeremiah said as he waved a hand near her face , and she lightly blushed as she realized she had been staring .

"Y- yes ? She replied nervously .

"Take my hand ." He said as he held out his hand to her .

She was curious about what he wanted , but did as he said .

Once she grabbed his hand , he pulled her near him and turned back to the four kneeling men and other people in the restaurant .

With his eyes still glowing , Jeremiah looked at each individual in the restaurant and they couldn't stop themselves from shaking in fear .

He raised a hand .

Everyone in the restaurant , except for Ryoko and the five men who were already down , felt their bodies stiffen before they all suddenly were forced to stand .

"W... WHAT IS THIS?!" As they all started to shout in panic , Jeremiah looked at them with annoyance .

"Quiet ." He said and used his telekinesis to make everyone keep their mouths shut .

"All of you , kneel ." He said with a commanding tone .

And they all did just that against their will .

Ryoko couldn't believe how easily this man was controlling these people . Whatever his power was , she hoped she was never on the receiving end of it . She couldn't deny how amazing it was though .

"All of you .... Each and every one of you have wronged this woman . You've scorned her unfairly and now you all will be punished ." He continued with a threatening tone as he slowly increased the pressure .

A lot of them were trying to yell , to plead their case . He didn't care . Nearly all of them were crying uncontrollably , hoping this demon in human skin wouldn't kill them . He hadn't planned on it , but if Ryoko requested it .... Well he wouldn't be adverse to it .

"How would you like these people to be punished Miss ?" He asked as he looked at Ryoko .

"Me?!" She said in surprise . Was he really letting her decide ?

"You were the one that was hurt after all ." He said as he continued to stare into her eyes .

Ryoko was silent as she tried to think of something .

As fed up as she was with these people , she didn't feel like they deserved death . Plus she didn't want to feel like she was taking advantage of her savior's kindness by asking him to do something like that .

As Ryoko looked over all the kneeling people , she couldn't deny that it was a little intoxicating to see the people that have treated her like dirt , be made to kneel like peasants before nobility .

Said peasants were all shivering while crying and sweating heavily , praying for mercy .

"Hmm.... I think I've got it ." Ryoko said with a devious smile as she motioned for him to bend down a bit so she could whisper in his ear .

Complying he bent down a bit and she stood on the tips of her toes to whisper her idea to him .

As he listened his eyes widened slightly before he let out a chuckle .

"You.... Are an interesting woman ." Jeremiah said as he stood up to his full height .

Giggling , Ryoko replied "Isn't that the best kind ?"

"I think we'll get along just fine ." He replied with a smile before he started the punishment .

First he raised a hand while sticking out his index finger , making everyone stand .

At this point they were terrified he would kill them one by one .

Next he stuck out his middle finger as well , and then proceeded to carry out the punishment .

As the people realised what was happening , their eyes went completely wide and they tried pointlessly to scream and struggle .

The reason for this was that he was using his telekinesis to strip all of them , men and women , of their clothes . Underwear and all .

He then made them all go outside and take a running jump into the cold sea and made them all float there for about two minutes before he finally let them go .

Only after he made them go a mile out . They were both lucky and unlucky . Lucky because it was night time and no one was around to see this happening to them . Unlucky because due to it being night time , the water was even colder than it would usually be .

As he and Ryoko , who was laughing joyously , stood on the beach watching them all swim as quickly as they could , he asked her . " Was it everything you hoped it'd be ?" He asked while smiling at the sight of the people desperately making their way to shore . The fat guy had to be pushed along by all of his friends .

"Everything and more !" She said in between her laughs . She was happy for the first time in.... She couldn't even remember how long . She literally had no friends and her family was long gone .

It was nice to have someone to laugh with .

"Say , we never introduced ourselves did we ?" He suddenly asked . It had slipped his mind in all the commotion .

Ryoko realized he was right and quickly got her laughter under control so she could properly introduce herself .

"You're right . Mikado Ryoko , aspiring doctor . Nice to meet you ." She said with a smile as she stuck her hand out for him to shake .

"I'm Jeremiah , an adventurer . Its been a pleasure meeting you as well ." Jeremiah said as he shook her hand before turning it , bending down , and kissing the top of her hand softly .

Mikado blushed lightly . She hadn't ever had anyone show her affection , even with her amazing looks and personality .

Watching as all the people finally made it back to shore while shivering like crazy , Jeremiah once again made them kneel .

"Now , apologize . Apologize to Ryoko for everything you all have done to her , and it had better be sincere or you'll receive worse than what you just got ." Jeremiah said as he looked over each of them with his glowing eyes .

And they wasted no time in complying .

Once they all shouted their apologies , Jeremiah allowed them to stand . Though he had to make the fat guy stand since his upper body was paralyzed .

"You all be sure to tell your family , friends , whoever . Tell them all what will happen if I ever hear about something like what was done to Ryoko happening again . Now go ." As soon as he finished they all nodded hastily and ran away as fast aa they could .

They would all be sick by the morning . For sure .

Stretching , Jeremiah turned to Ryoko with his eyes finally back at their usual golden-brown color . " Hey Ryoko ..."

"Hm ? What is it ?" She replied with a peaceful smile on her face .

"Do you have anything tying you to this island ?" Jeremiah asked while taking off his coat . He was pretty sure he knew the answer though .

"... No . I don't have anything . No family , no friends , no job . I've been getting by on the money that was left by my parents . I've been fortunate that no one knows my family had money . I'm sure they would try to take it from me . Maybe even kill me ." She said with a now sad look on her face as her eyes watered .

Suddenly Jeremiah put his coat on her . It covered her whole body .

It carried his warmth .

"Then , come with me . I know we just met today , but I'd like to think we've become friends in that time . Come with me and follow your dream . Be the doctor of my crew ." Jeremiah said with a smile as he bent down to look right into her eyes .

It was cold out tonight but he didn't mind . He wanted to protect her and help her in any way he could . He knew he wasn't invincible , but he would do anything in his power to keep her happy . That goes for his whole crew . He'll always get stronger to help them whenever they need it .

Ryoko stared at him with wide eyes and a red face before she started crying , letting out all her emotions while hugging him tightly .

She had a home now .

[ One Month Later ]

"Someone stop her !" Someone yelled .

"She stole my wallet !" Yelled another .

"She stole food from my store yesterday !" People continued to yell different things after they chased after the thief .

Said thief had short spiky green hair with purple eyes . She was wearing a burgundy shirt that was open with the sleeves torn off , making it into a vest which was worn over a yellow dress that had a frilly v showing some cleavage . Around the dress she had a brown belt . She also had on a choker , gloves , and shin length boots , all of which were burgundy .

This was the woman known as Moulin Rouge , and she was currently trying to run away from a mob of angry people .

Over the past year she had been stealing different things from the people in this town . Nothing major . 100 beli here , some food there , clothes , etc . She always made sure to never steal too much .

That didn't stop the people from being angry . Especially since she had been caught multiple times , so they all knew it was usually her whenever something was stolen .

It's not like she wanted to do this!

They were the ones that were so untrusting of her that they wouldn't even give her a job! All because she wasn't from this island ! How could they be so petty ? Like her being from another island makes them better than her ! She hates it !

She was homeless because of them !

Suddenly a rock hit her head making her stumble a bit , but she kept running . She felt a bit of blood run down the side of her face .

They had become more aggressive recently . She had a gun to defend herself with , which was tucked in her belt , but she unfortunately could not afford any ammo and she was all out after using it to hunt for food .

While running , she barely noticed the wind beginning to pick up around her .

"Turn right ..." A voice seemed to whisper in her ear .

Looking around frantically , Rouge tried to find the source of the voice but saw no one .

'Am I going crazy?' She thought as she continued to run .

"You're not crazy . No , I cannot read your mind . It's just that I'm sure most people would think that when they think they're hearing voices in their head ." The voice said and answered what she was about to ask next . She noted that it was definitely a male voice .

"Who are you ?!" She asked while dodging other things being thrown at her .

" Someone who wants to help you ." He responded .

"How can I trust you ? How do I know you aren't leading me to a trap ?" She asked while ducking into an alley and hiding behind a trash can .

"If I wanted to hurt you or let you be hurt , I wouldn't have contacted you in the first place . Please , just let me help you ." The voice said .

Rouge was conflicted . It was hard for her to trust anyone after the way the people on this island made her an outcast . Still , she would easily admit , at least to herself , that this life of petty crime and alienation was not one she enjoyed . Not one bit . If this guy offering her help was sincere then....

".....Okay . Tell me where to go ." She finally said . She hoped she was making the right choice .

"Great , now just follow my directions ." He said as he began to guide her .

Rouge couldn't help being amazed at what was happening . From what she could tell , the guy was nowhere near her and yet he was guiding her perfectly , making sure she didn't run into a single person that was chasing her.

"Turn right up here and then head straight for the dock . You'll see a big red and black ship . Head towards it ."

Rouge did just that . Arriving at the dock , she quickly looked around for the "big red and black ship" . And she found it .

Though the word big may have been an understatement . It was HUGE .

(La Dama Negra from AC4 , only about three times as big . We do have a giant after all .)

Looking all the way up the ship with wide eyes , she saw that all the sails were painted blood red as well and had a silver star on them .

"Like what you see ?" A familiar voice asked her from behind .

Whirling around quickly Rouge finally saw her mysterious helper . The first thing she noted being his height . He towered over her small 5'6 frame . He had caramel skin , golden-brown eyes and had long twisted hair that was up in a pony tail with some hanging over the front of his head and a beard .

He was wearing a knee length gray trench coat with long sleeves and a hood which he was not wearing at the moment . He had on a black shirt , black pants , and gray and black shoes . He was also wearing two necklaces . A small one with a star medallion on it and the other a longer one with a black and gold spear pendant .

He stuck out his hand . "I'm Jeremiah . An adventurer ." He said with a small smile .

After looking at his hand for a while , she finally stuck out her own and shook his hand . "People call me Moulin Rouge ."

"Hmmm.... And what's your real name ?"

Her eyes widened . "W- What ?"

He cocked his head a bit to the right and replied "That's not your real name right ? You did say that's just what you're called ."

"..... It's Bisca . Moulin Bisca ." The newly identified Bisca said after being quiet for a bit .

"Pretty name ." She blushed lightly . " So Bisca , I'll cut right to the chase . I'd like for you to join my crew ." He said bluntly .

"Join your crew ? Me ? What could have possibly made you want me ? And what does your crew do anyway ?" She asked rapidly .

"I've been on this island for about a week now . As creepy as it may sound , I've been watching you for a few days now . I've seen what you can do with a gun . You must've worked hard . I think you could become the best given enough time . As for what my crew does , it depends on the day I suppose . That ship there is something we all spent the last month making together , though the majority of the credit goes to my shipwright ." He informed her with a small smile .

Bisca was a little startled at hearing that this guy had been watching her without her knowing it . Though in the end she guessed it didn't matter much . If he wanted to hurt her then he easily could have done so without ever revealing himself .

It was also nice to have someone appreciate her gun skills and the work she put in to acquire them .

" How about it ? It'll be fun . Plus you won't be homeless anymore. " He said as he looked down into her eyes , and she was having trouble looking away .

"... Alright ." She finally said as she looked away with a blush .

He had a strong presence . Especially when you looked into his eyes .

"Cool . Let's go then . You can meet the crew ." He said as he picked her up in a bridal carry and began walking up to board the ship .

"H- Hey ! Put me down !" She yelled with a blush as she squirmed in his arms .

"Haha , it's fine . You aren't heavy or anything ." He said as he looked down at her with a smile .

"That's not the point !"

Looks like the crew just got even more lively .

[ One Week Later ]

Jeremiah , Naruto , and Asta were sitting in a restaurant while the ladies all walked around getting new clothes and other necessities . He and Ryoko , mostly Ryoko , had developed a pill that Diane could take to decrease her size for about five hours since Jeremiah wanted her to be able to explore as well .

They had sold their old stolen ship and were able to get a good amount for it , so Jeremiah told the girls they could splurge a bit .

Jeremiah at the moment was deep in thought . 'Hmm ... After we get who we're here for , maybe we should all take a break and train for a bit before I decide to take care of that mission I told Naruto about .

As it stands Naruto , Diane , and myself are the strongest , with Asta behind Diane . We all need to train further in haki , and I also have been meaning to start training myself and the others in chi...

*Sigh* We've been fortunate to not run into any big hitters yet , but we will eventually and I need to make sure everyone is more than ready to handle threats like Garp , Shiki , Aokiji , etc .' Jeremiah thought . He had been making great progress in terms of finding the crew members he wanted .

The downside was that he hasn't had a lot of time to train since he recruited Naruto due to him finding most of them so quickly , plus he , Naruto , and Asta had all been helping Diane to make their new ship which took up a lot of time . They had barely slept during the process of it .

"Jeremiah!'' He heard Naruto say a bit loudly while waving a hand in his face .

"Hm ? What is it Naruto ?" He asked as he shook himself out of his thoughts .

"You've been spacing out all morning ." Naruto said with a raised eyebrow .

"Yeah . Are you alright ?" Asta asked with concern .

"I'm alright . Just thinking about a few things . Anyway , what's up with you two ? You usually eat more than this ." He said as he looked at the two and saw that they only had two bowls/plates each .

"Well it was a little weird trying to eat with you staring at us the whole time ." Naruto said as he and Asta shared a laugh .

"Hmm ... Hey Naruto . Did you know they say there are ghosts in this part of the sea ?" Jeremiah asked before sipping his tea and observing Naruto's reaction .

"G-G-GH.... *Gulp* Ghost ?! " Naruto asked with a pale face .

Naruto never disappoints .

"Yup . They say they especially like haunting and even possessing people with blonde hair and blue eyes like your's . Something about it being exotic or something like that . Anyway , I guess you'd better be careful ." Jeremiah said while holding back a smile .

"Don't worry Naruto ! If those ghosts come for you I'll help you kick their butts !" Asta said with fire in his eyes as he pounded his right fist into his left palm .

"Asta !" Naruto said and the two suddenly clasped hands while shedding a waterfall of tears .

Jeremiah stared at the two with pity .

'Poor guys . Maybe I'll have Ryoko look into a finding a cure for idiocy .'

Shaking his head , Jeremiah looked around for his target and spotted him quickly .

He had spiky red hair with a white headband tied around it , and yellow eyes . He was wearing a long sleeved navy blue shirt , charcoal colored pants , and brown shoes . He also had on a white apron .

It was Yukihira Souma , and he would be the cook .

...