First Steps

"Wow, you are from the East Blue? That's amazing, I didn't know people from there could travel so far!" Came a woman's voice, thick with interest and a slight tang of seduction.

"Yeah, well we may be a humble sea when compared to the rest, but we all have our fair share of ambition and prowess." Spoke John, trying his best to speak clearly and not show his discomfort towards the woman.

"Wow, so cool!" The pretends to check her dress, subtly moving closer to John.

"Well, I try my best." John states as he scratches his head in an exaggerated manner, slightly moving in the process to increase his distance from the woman.

John was unfortunately not having a very pleasant day. He was tired and aching and was anticipating the moment Water 7 came into sight so he could find a nice hotel, try to get a better night's sleep, and find a more permanent residence for purchase tomorrow.

You see, John did not sleep the night before, the emotional weight of his first kill weighed heavily on his mind, and the young fish-man's face would occasionally pop into his mind. What made matters worse was that even in the few moments where he could get such thoughts out of his mind, his shoulder would start to ache again, starting the process all over again.

So, between existential crisis and a poorly treated wound, no sleep was had. Funnily enough, in his attempts to rationalize his place in the world and the life he took, he gained 1 point of Wisdom, bringing it up to 51, as if applauding him for his turmoil and introspection.

John thought that, while a soulless thing that had no true agency in his life, that system was kind of a d*ck in that moment.

Once the sun rose, John decided to spend most of the day on the top-deck to take in the beautiful waves and await the arrival to Water 7. If he was just going to agonize and not sleep, why not do it in great weather?

This turned out to be a mistake for keeping John's sanity, since it leads to him being pestered all day.

Whether it was from sailors congratulating him on his kill, or the merchants grateful over their saved cargo, John in his quest for peaceful contemplation was getting tired of people getting up in his space, especially after they would not give him the time of day yesterday.

Then there was the merchant woman who introduced herself as Katherine but insisted he called her Kat.

John wasn't sure what switch he flipped in her, but now she would not leave him alone. From making unsubtle glances at his body, to making suggestive remarks about going places once they landed, the lady was insatiable. When John thought about how in any other situation having an incredibly attractive and young lady speaking with him would make him happy and confident, now he was just creeped out.

Fawning over a hero? Sure, that made sense. A guy who just happened to be there and survived a harrowing struggle? Weird.

It truly was a shame too, she was gorgeous.

However, John decided to tolerate her presence around him, and in fact did his best to remain cordial to all the people who came up to him today. While he would have loved to ignore them and get them out of his life, these people unfortunately had value to John.

As a newcomer to the Grand Line and Water 7, John really needed as many friends as possible if he were to survive on his own without being tied to some group or organization. Who knows if one of these merchants would be a valuable contact when starting his business? Or even a potential supplier or customer?

Being rude to them would only alienate potential allies.

Additionally, he could use these people to help build a story for himself when he reached Water 7. A good story was always told, and he had no doubt that the sailors when they would go on leave a drink at the bar would tell the story of the fish-men raid, and the scrawny man who helped send them off.

In One Piece where reputation is everything, a small story like that could be the difference between constant harassment by lowlifes thinking he was a mark, or a peaceful time. And with rumors going around that the new merchant in town was a great shot, he hoped it would cause some of the more unsavory types to leave him alone.

Additionally, with the woman being so interested in John and who he was, he decided it was about time to start spinning his backstory. His hopes were that by telling this woman his tale and being loud enough for the other people on the ship to hear him, that the rumors would spread and people would see that story as the truth instead of trying to dig deeper about him.

At least, that was the hope. The story was simple, say he started from the East Blue and hopped aboard merchant vessels until one ship he was on got into a storm on the way to Sabaody Archipelago, where he then washed up on Banaro Island. There, he would tell people he got lucky finding gold there which gave him the capitol for his business. Easy-peasy!

This story had flaws, but John hoped it was enough. He even chose the East Blue since he knew about the islands the Straw Hats would visit and could use memories from their adventures to 'prove' he had travelled there. He even made a point to not say the name of his home island, to try to get people to think he ran away from some trouble or responsibility. In John's eyes, that was grade-a storytelling.

Of course, anyone with a den-den mushi and a grudge could blast this plan to pieces, especially the marines. But, if he didn't step on any big organization's toes, he assumed he would be fine for quite a while.

"Hey, I think that's it over there!" Said Kat loudly, making a scene by pointing off into the distance, conveniently brushing against Jon's arm leaning against the railing of the ship. Truly, every move was an attempt to snare John, the vixen.

John couldn't help but flinch a bit and moved so no more contact was made. He noticed Kat, pout a bit before plastering on a smile. John decided to look out at the sea to investigate what she saw.

Sure enough, there was a black dot in the distance, presumably Water 7. Then there was a request for all merchants to return to their quarters so that the sailors could start working on the deck to re-orient the ship and prepare for landing.

Kat offered to let John use her room until, they landed, which John gracefully declined by thanking the woman but saying he needed to get his belongings ready for departure.

They were already sold though, so nothing was in his room.

Heading down to his room, John laid back down on his bed, closing his eyes to get some last minute rest before the ship hit land. He was unsure how long it would take to get a place to stay once he arrived, so he had to get ready for a longer night.

After a few minutes of rocking and swaying, eventually John felt the boat heave as it felt like it hit something which he assumed was the dock, and a few minutes later he heard all clear for people to begin disembarking.

John got off the bed and took one last look at his quarters for the last three days, before leaving through the door and heading towards the exit to the upper-decks.

When he finally reached the top and looked out towards the land, John was stunned. John had seen Water 7 in both the anime and manga, and John had seen pictures of Venice growing up in almost every Social Studies textbook he had ever seen, but nothing prepared him for this.

From the docks that held a multitude of amazing ships with masterful coloration and unique designs, to the city itself made with some sort bright white stone that John could not identify, John was amazed at what he saw. As he was ushered closer to the gangplank by some sailors, John noticed the finer details of the city beyond the docks, with serpentine canal ways that went upwards towards the volcano-like center of the city, littered with entryways to shops and homes adorned with decorations and the occasional stall in front.

What emphasized its unique beauty was the tube-like canals above the city that snaked around the large buildings into the backstreets like a hose of water, where John could see people in gondolas being pulled by what looked like seahorses that John remembers being called bulls for some reason.

Then John heard a large crash behind him and turned around to see what it was. It turned out to be some of the sailors dropping the cargo crates they were trying to attach to pullies to get off that the ship, but John lost focus on that immediately as he looked around behind him.

In his excitement to reach the city of Water 7 itself, John forgot that the city was comprised of many smaller islands that the city was just on top of. So as John looked out past the docks, he saw a beautiful view of many tiny islands, some spotted with houses and the watermill, as well as the greenest grass he had ever seen is his life.

John decided in that moment that no matter what happens in this world, no matter how successful he became or far he falls, he would want to retire on one of those tiny islands.

Shaken out of his reverie by the sailors again attempting to move the crate, John turns back towards Water 7 proper and begins to disembark form the ship. There, much to his chagrin, was Kat, who he was able to ignore for the last leg of the trip.

"Well, what do you think? Beautiful right?"

John smiled at her, a genuine one this time. "It is quite lovely; I think I will enjoy this place a lot. Your praise of it's beauty was not wrong!"

Then John heard a 'ding' from the system, apparently his Charisma had increased. Worried, he looked over at Kat, who was giving him a look of extreme perversion.

If it were not the middle of the day on a busy dock, he feared she would pounce on him.

"At any rate", John said, trying to cut her off from making any 'offers' to John, "do you have any suggestions for places to stay?"

This dulled the fire in the woman's eyes briefly before they rekindled again. "Well, you could stay with me if you want! I am sure I could get you an open room at the Chiza Hotel. Or", she put on a more seductive look once more, "I could see about upgrading to a suite, and we could spend some time together?"

John had a feeling this was coming, but still wanted to hear her answer to get some more background on the city. While he didn't know what or where the Chiza Hotel was, that fact that a wealthy merchant such as her was staying there made John assume assumed it was awfully expensive. And for the current act John was trying to uphold, staying in too expensive of a place may be a red flag to people paying attention, whether it was to bed a woman or not.

He smiled, "That sounds lovely, but I think we don't know each other quite well enough for to share a room. How much would a single room cost there?"

She frowned at John's refusal of her suite offer, but still looked hopeful at his mention of getting a single room. "It's about 100,000 Belly a night for a single, 250,000 for a suite! So, it wouldn't be too much more to…"

"Thank you for the information" John thanked her, both being kind and cutting her off. "I would love to look at this hotel, but I also want to look at the town first. Where would I find the Chiza Hotel later? 100,000 Belly would strain my wallet but is doable."

The lady once again flickered between disappointment and hope. John silently apologized to her for giving her emotional whiplash. "It is near the top of Water 7, heading up from the Dock One strip. We are in Dock 2 right now, so you just need to follow the signs to the Galley-La company office, and you will eventually find it on the way. You can even rent a bull for easier travel, and the strip below it has some of the most visited shops in Water 7. It would be a great place for you to start!"

Bless her trying to make it seem more convenient for John was all she wanted was a quick romp.

"Thank you so much for your help, I will definitely check it out later once I got a better lay of the city. Until I see you again Kat!" John started to wave and walked away from Kat and towards the city in front of Dock 2. Kat was both distraught that he was leaving, yet he thought he saw her pupils turn to hearts when he said he would see her later.

John needed to learn about the physiology of the people of this world quickly if he was to understand sh*t like that.

Unfortunately for Kat though, John was not actually going to explore the city today nor go to Chiza Hotel to find get a room later. Instead, he was going to find a middling hotel, get some directions from the owner of the hotel on where some banks would be in town, and then get ready to make his debut on the financial scene of Water 7.

He had a plan for tomorrow to alleviate suspicion as he tried to sell his gold, so he only hoped it worked in the long run.

Going a bit up the main causeway, occasionally crossing beautifully constructed bridges linking island to island and checking out some of the stalls outside of the shops adorning the high walls of Water 7, John finally reached a nice looking building that he was informed by a passerby was a nice but reasonably priced hotel, the Waterlodge.

Heading towards the front of the building, John reached for the wooden front door and pushed it open, leading to a large open foyer area adorned with two large staircases sandwiching a service desk on the lower floor. Behind the desk was an older gentleman who was unremarkable aside from his amazing curled mustache, making John quite jealous.

He gave John a quick glance before beckoning him over.

"Looking for a room?"

"Yes please, a nice single if you have one available."

The man looked over to his right to a set of keys on the wall, for rooms most likely.

"We have 2 available, a suite and a regular single. 30,000 or 50,000 Belly, take your pick."

Pricey but reasonable. "I'll take the regular one then." John reached into his pocket, 'bought' the Belly and put it on the counter.

The man picked up the bills to count them, nodded as the amount was correct, and grabbed a key from the wall handing it to John.

"It's room 3b, take the right stairs up one flight, you can't miss it."

John clutched the key and nodded to the man. "Thanks." John thought about the man once more before speaking again, "I'm new to town and need some directions for tomorrow, would you be willing to help me out?"

The man looked at John again, staring deeply into John's eyes, as if to see what lie withing.

Then, after a few awkward seconds of staring, the man sighed and ducked under his counter, where John heard the rustling of papers and glass. When the man resurfaced, he was holding a jar labeled 'Doug's Tip Jar'.

Then it was John's turn to sigh a bit. Why couldn't things just be more straightforward.

…

…

…

Two hours later, John entered his new room and collapsed on the bed, thoroughly exhausted, and 60,000 Belly poorer from both the room and his new 'friend' Doug.