“Ahaha! Did you hear that little runt?” Came a voice from nearby the scene. A trio of pirates that happened to be walking by had stopped, watching the merchant guard and boy struggle. The largest one, wearing a loose red shirt and tan, ankle length pants and sandals, a sword at his side, laughed again, “He thinks saying that’ll keep him outta trouble, huh?”

One of the others, his head bald, his chest bare, a pair of pistols at his hip, wearing long pants and boots, shrugged, muttering quietly, “Well, he’s got a point, don’t you think, Corny?”

Grimacing, the third pirate, the shortest of the lot, wearing a baby blue bucket hat over his orange hair and a matching jacket, with white shorts and sandals and a pair of black tonfas at his hip muttered, “Don’t you dare call me that again.”

As the other two pirates laughed, the guard had hesitated, eyeing the pirates warily. He tensed as the one dubbed ‘Corny’ approached, hands in the pockets of his shorts. Suddenly, the orange haired pirate ripped his fist out of his pocket, jabbing it at the guard, stopping just short as he flinched. The guard cracked a cautious eye open as Corny said, “Yeah, he’s with us, so drop him if you know what’s good for you.”

Angrily, the guard looked between Boy and the three pirates, before reluctantly putting him down. Corny grinned, unfurling his fist and patting him in the chest, not even blinking as he subtly slipped a couple of Beri coins into his breast pocket. Heading back to the other two, he snapped his fingers, saying, “Oi, kid, come on.” The other two pirates looked between themselves, but didn’t complain openly as they walked from the scene as the guard returned to his post.

Corny asked, “What’s your name? Where’s your parents?”

The larger pirate behind the pair scoffed, “You’re way too soft on brats...”