[color=gray]“Not quite what I had in mind but…”[/color] Shigeuchi looked up at the burning platform, the musty, rotting wood going up in seconds when subjected to the heat of Nikko’s Devil Fruit ability. [color=gray]“I guess this is a good start.”[/color]

Shigeuchi had long thought that Nikko had the potential to be one of the great pirates of the age, something he had tried to foster in the brat for years now to little success. He had an incredible Devil Fruit ability, one of the strongest Shigeuchi had ever seen, he had pedigree in being The Golden Lion’s son and he had a determination, or perhaps a better word would be [i]obsession[/i], which would let him reach any goal he set for himself. More than that however there was just something about him, a presence that made him seem larger and more [i]there[/i] than others. It wasn’t always there, but Shigeuchi caught glimpses every now and then.

The only problem was that Nikko… was Nikko. He was more interested in his writing than anything else and while that might occasionally lead him to pretend to be a pirate every now and then, the writing was always his priority. Their first journey together had been one with the aim of researching the life and career of Gol D. Roger and any piracy they committed along the way was only done coincidentally for the most part; stealing and raiding when they needed something and fighting when Nikko went too far. The marines were more annoyed with the contents of his novel than any crimes he might have committed. Now this journey looked to be the same, but instead of just following the footsteps of the last King they were going to be walking them as well.

Not exactly what he meant by ‘making your own story’, but it was sure to lead to big things nonetheless.

When Nikko spoke about going to Alabasta, to visit the city where Luffy had defeated one of the Shichibukai, and said that he needed to see the city destroyed so that he could relive what Luffy must have felt in that moment, Shigeuchi saw another glimpse of that presence. He’d been part of Shiki the Golden Lion’s crew. He’d seen Whitebeard and even Roger himself during battles fought against their fleets. He’d met pirates and marines both who would go on to do great, terrible, huge things with their lives. They all had the same feel to them, the same intensity, the same presence that Nikko did right now.

Shigeuchi turned away from the burning platform. The crowd of onlookers seemed frozen in place by something, a spectre of the past perhaps? At the back of the plaza he could see the first marines rushing down the main road, encountering the civilians and trying to push their way through to reach them; they’d have to fight their way back to the ship. The first mate of the Red Lion pirates drew he sword. [color=gray]“To Alabasta then.”[/color] To Alabasta and beyond. To Impel Down and Marineford. To Fishman Island and Wano. To the New World and all the way to the end of the Grand Line.

For someone who only wanted to write a book, sure did act like his father at times.

[@Reflection]