After eating a mound full of food at the tavern, Levi's puppy brown eyes locked onto Elena. His head went lopsided as he watched her, swallowing a lump of chicken as he did so. She was leaning over the bar, her head propped up on her hands as she stared fondly towards him, a loving gleam in her sharp yellow eyes.
There was something about the woman that seemed oddly familiar to Levi. There was something recognisable to him. He just couldn't remember. He tapped his forehead and bit down on his lips as he thought to himself. He groaned like a child when he couldn't think of where he had seen her before.
Elena blinked, fluttering her eyelashes, and brushed her long black hair behind her shoulder. A waft of the sea enticed Levi's senses, and it was then that he remembered her and the promise he had made. A big broad smile spread from ear to ear across his face.
"It's you!" Levi beamed. "You look pretty!"
Elena softly chuckled an innocent laugh that had some of the locals looking up in her direction in surprise. The dark and mysterious landlady never laughed with such innocence.
"Hello, Levon. Took you long enough to remember me. You're usually quicker than that." She elegantly smiled. "Don't go telling anybody about me. It's our little secret." She tapped his nose.
Levi nodded continuously, not listening to her anymore. His concentration was back on his food. Elena girlishly giggled. He hadn't changed, not in the slightest. Until the time was right, she knew Levi could keep her secret and his promise.
"Do you have Jess' sword?" His hands were darting between the different plates of food set before him as he continued to stuff his face. Using his super speed earlier had taken the energy out of him.
"I do indeed." Elena snapped her fingers, and the rapier sword appeared strapped to his back.
He quickly glanced over his shoulder.
"Thanks," he beamed, not at all bothered that she had used magic. He had seen her use it before, so it wasn't something new to him.
"You're most welcome." She suddenly looked serious, and her eyes sharpened and a dark aura clouded over her. "Look after Jessica. She's very important to me, and she will help you complete the promise you made."
"I know." Levi swallowed, his mouth full of food, and slowly looked up to meet her sharp gaze, for once a serious expression on his usually kind-natured face. "I will not let anyone harm her. Jess is my friend!"
With that Elena relaxed, and her smile soon became clear again. She knew Jessica was in capable hands. "Good. Now run along. She is waiting for you."
Using his cursed soul, Levi sprinted off, forcing Elena's smile to disappear into a thin red line.
"He forgot," she mumbled angrily to herself. "He knows not to leave without..."
"I almost forgot!" He sprinted back into the bar and leaned over the counter, a cheeky grin on his cheerful face before he stole a kiss from her, taking the breath out of her. "I'm going to marry you one day!"
His lips landed on hers one last time before he sprinted back out, leaving a trail of dust behind him and a very red-looking landlady. Every man in the tavern had fallen silent, all of them awed by what they had just witnessed. No man dared to touch the landlady, let alone kiss her.
Who was this boy that had captured the heart of Elena Sharp? It was evident in her eyes as she placed her fingers to her lips and slowly smirked to herself that she was in love.
Elena had been in love with Levon since the day she met him many years ago when he stole her heart. She chuckled to herself at the fond memory, something she would always remember and never forget.
Levi sprinted down the cobbled street. It was dark, and the coloured lanterns that hung across the street were the only source of light. As soon as the temple guards spotted him and started charging towards him, he dodged them with ease, using his speed and locomotion to jump up onto the rooftops and spring from building to building, soaring through the air until he finally made it backstage of the beauty contest.
The contest had finished, and the town square was clearing out, the audience having resumed enjoying the other activities of the festival. Levi's head was looking from left to right, but Jessica was nowhere to be found. He frowned, wondering where she could be. He stood in the exact spot she said she would meet him. Eventually, he saw a man in a black suit and red tie, the same man from the bar earlier that day. Levi approached him.
"Have you seen Jess?" he asked directly.
The tall man looked down at him with a deep frown. "Aren't you the boy who disrespected the high priest?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." Levi whistled.
Such a bad liar, the man thought and pinched the bridge of nose with a deep sigh.
"You're Mad Man Levon?"
Levi nodded with a grin. "That's me, and don't you forget it!" He pointed his thumb at his chest.
The man frowned. The boy couldn't possibly be the Mad Man, could he? He was supposed to be a monster who defeated Madame Cheng, not this pipsqueak.
"Jessica asked me to give you this letter and said that you're not to read it until you're with the rest of your crew."
He passed Levi a piece of folded up paper, turned on his heel, and left. Levi looked down at the note, tempted to open it now, but Jessica had said to wait until he was with his crew. So instead, he stuffed the letter into his pocket and made his way back to the ship.
Later on in the evening and back on the deck of the Leo, a very tired first mate woke up from his nap. He yawned and slowly stood up. He attached his red longsword, Akatenshi, meaning Red Angel, and his white dagger, Washiro, meaning White Harmony, to his hip and decided he would go and venture out onto the island in search of a drink and something to eat.
"Hey, Levi," he said as he walked past his captain.
Alex paused and backtracked a couple of steps after noticing that his energetic captain, who was usually full of life with a big grin always plastered across his face, was pouting. It was a deep sad pout. He sat on the wooden railing of the deck, his legs gently swinging as he looked up to the almost-full moon.
Levi had a piece of paper scrunched tightly in his hand, and Alex noticed that he had Jessica's rapier sword attached to his back. Alex's head tilted when he saw a black pouch with white drawstrings attached to the sheath. He frowned, hearing the hum of the sword. It was a soft hum, unlike the vicious hum it had given him when he had picked it up.
So the sword's spirit liked Levi but not him? Why did that annoy him so much?
Alex sighed noticing the ever-deepening pout on Levi's face. He wasn't usually one to care about other people's feelings, but he could tell that his captain was unusually upset.
"What's up?" He approached Levi and leaned against the wooden railing of the deck.
"You were asleep before when I arrived and read the note to everyone." Levi handed Alex a piece of paper.
Alex's eyebrows knitted together as he read the note.
"Dear Levi, as much as I would love to be a part of your crew, I've decided that I won't go with you anymore. I thought long and hard about my decision, but I see now that my future isn't with you. It's to stay on this island. I'm sorry for getting your hopes up, Jessica Red."
Alex clicked his tongue. "We don't need someone like her anyway."
Deep inside, Alex felt sad that she wouldn't be joining them. He immediately regretted what he had said when Levi looked at him darkly, his hat shrouding his features.
"Something's up!" Levi burst and clutched his chest. "Jess promised she would be a part of my crew!"
"Sometimes promises are broken, Levi."
Levi snatched the note from Alex and tore it to pieces. "I won't believe it!"
Alex shrugged. "Believe what you want, Levi, but she's never coming back, and that's final."
He patted his captain on the shoulder and headed out to the town in search of some booze.
Levi's hand clenched tighter onto the locket under his green vest.
"I'll be wanting that locket back that is around your neck. That locket means more to me than anything else. So keep it safe for me." Levi reminisced about what Jessica had told him earlier that day.
"Then why didn't you come back for your locket if you didn't want to join my crew?" he thought aloud. "I still have the sword you asked me to find."
Levi took the sword off his back, noticing the black pouch for the first time. He opened up the small bag. A few items were inside of it: little trinkets, an old key, money, a Mr Compass, and a white piece of paper with a note on it addressed to Jessica.
"Try to remember who I am, Camellia," he read from the note on the piece of paper.
Levi, tapped his head, crumpling his forehead into an assortment of lines as he thought, digging far into the back of his mind. Camellia. Where had he heard that name before?
"That's right, Camellia Flint!" His fingers snapped, and a big grin formed on his face. "Zachary Flint's wife!" He chuckled, remembering when he had first met Zach. The Pirate Lord had mentioned his wife, a beautiful, elegant woman from Hive Island.
He took the golden locket from his chest and flipped it open, revealing the picture of the woman with raven hair and honey gold eyes. He snapped it shut and tucked it back under his green vest. He frowned at the note, wondering why it said "remember who I am." What was there to remember about her? She was Jessica's mother.
He shrugged and placed everything back and paused when he found a letter hidden at the bottom of the pouch. Levi pulled it out, intrigued by what it could be and smiled when he saw it was a letter addressed to Zachary Flint. It was dated two years ago but never sent. He decided not to read it, since it wasn't his business, but her handwriting caught his attention. It was neater, smaller and much more feminine-like, whereas the letter the Mayor had given him, from what he could remember, had handwriting that was messy, big, and the flow of the writing was different.
"Damn it!" He hit his own leg in annoyance. "Why did I have to go and rip it up?"
However, he knew he was right. The handwriting had been different. He placed everything back into the pouch and reattached it to the sheath and strapped the sword back onto his back. He needed to find Jessica and confront her to find out what was going on. He sprung from the ship in search of his new friend.
Meanwhile, Alex made his way to the tavern. His left hand lazily rested on the handle of his longsword as he aimlessly walked around the port town in search of some liquor. In the distance, he heard a commotion and pulled Akatenshi out from his red sheath. His eyebrows narrowed as he looked in the direction of the noise.
It was the temple guards, and they were charging towards him, lit torches in their hands. Alex prepared himself for a fight, only to frown in confusion when they ran straight past him, not caring about him. They looked like they were searching for someone.
"I wonder what's going on," he thought aloud.
He sheathed his sword, turned back around, and started walking off again, still aimlessly trying to find the tavern. Then he felt it again, the presence of something lurking behind him in the shadows. He stopped walking, and the shadows stopped flickering. Someone was following him. He started walking again and felt the other person following him again.
He jumped around quickly, his red sword out and ready to slice the stalker, only to find no one. Even the shadows were vacant. He frowned suspiciously. He could have sworn someone was following him.
"Oink!"
Alex blinked a couple of times before slowly looking down to find a small, teacup-sized pig sat by his feet, staring up at him with big round eyes. Alex scowled. He was getting worked up over nothing. It was just a pig.
He continued walking, trying to ignore the animal that was still following him.
"Go away." He attempted to shoo it off multiple times, but to no avail. It continued to follow him.
"The pig is over here!" someone shouted.
"Thank you," Alex muttered. Someone was going to take it away. The animal was starting to get on his nerves.
It was then he noticed it was a young temple guard that had come running up to him. He looked weak and pathetic compared to other guards, finding it hard to run with his armour on, but still had a dark look.
Cautious, Alex placed his hand onto the red hilt of Akatenshi, ready if need be.
"Alex the Demon Slayer." Even his voice sounded dark. "First, you commit a crime against our high priest, now you steal our sacrifice for our Harvest God."
Alex frowned, looking down at the pig that was hiding behind his legs, shaking out of its wits. He was going to argue that he didn't steal it, but he knew it would be no use. The guard already had his mind set on arresting him.
The guard moved unexpectedly before Alex had a chance to pull out his sword to defend himself. His eyes widened in horror when he saw the blade aiming for his neck, but he was too late to defend himself. Too busy looking down at the pig.
He felt something knock into the back of his legs, making him go limp and fall over, the blade missing him by a fraction of a hair. He breathed in deeply and looked at the pig, wide-eyed, as it started to attack the guard by biting his leg.
The guard attempted to shake the pig away, cursing under his breath. In the end, he slammed his leg against the wall, knocking the small creature out in the process. The animal crumpled to the ground.
The pig had just saved his life by knocking into his legs and then went on to attack the guard. Alex narrowed his eyes towards the guard, having watched him treat the animal in such a way. Anger bubbled within him.
"You shouldn't have done that." His teeth clenched and he unsheathed Akatenshi. The blade was sharper and more bloodthirsty than his innocent white dagger, Washiro. He could already feel the hum of the demonic blade ready to taste the blood of its next victim.
However, Akatenshi was nothing compared to the legendary sword he kept locked away on the ship: Kurome, the black bladed katana that could cut down anything in its path. It was a sword so deadly Alex knew he was not ready to use it just yet without accidentally killing someone close to him in the process. Akatenshi would have to do for now.
Alex shot forward towards the guard and sliced him across the chest. The man instantly collapsed to the ground, not expecting such a fast attack.
"Don't worry. You'll live." Alex sheathed his sword and looked back over to the pig.
The small animal was still alive and moving into a sitting position as it looked up at Alex. He smiled; he'd repaid his debt.
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