From the Heart

With only the Musician Card left, Thomas was only one Servant away from completing 'his' crew. Drake was the Captain, but even if he didn't have them refer to him as such, he was still the Master of each of them. Thomas didn't mind taking detours if someone had a specific destination or purpose in mind, but unless their reasons were compelling, he would be the one determining most of their destinations and goals.

Fortunately, even without vocalizing these thoughts aloud, most of the members of the 'Wild Hunt,' the name Drake had given their Pirate crew, had similar thoughts to Thomas. They were there to help him achieve his goal in exchange for the chance to have their wishes granted, so unless he went of his way to antagonize them, they would abide by his decisions and support him...

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Expecting the process to take several days, Thomas was surprised when the Musician Card activated in the evening of the same day he summoned Atalanta. What made this especially awkward was the fact he was lying in his bed, the summoning circle appearing beneath him.

Passing through Thomas's bed and body like a phantom, his final Servant appeared to be a young woman with amber eyes and ashen grey hair that grew wild and untamed near her scalp and formed an extraordinarily long ponytail that fell past her butt. Her attire consisted of a white blouse that loosely clung to her petite frame, a black overcoat with a red checkered pattern near the bottom, a red scarf, thin black shorts that clung to her hips in a manner resembling spats, and black boots with large outsoles, golden adornments, and red heels.

As the unknown, androgynous-looking Servant fully materialized, she ended up stepping directly on Thomas. Fortunately, he had 'gained' a lot in the past couple of weeks, so her 45kgs of weight only caused him a bit of discomfort in the brief moment before she lost her footing.

Falling onto her butt, the ashen-haired Servant fell into a pseudo-m-pose that made it 'very' clear she wasn't a man in disguise. She quickly righted herself, but instead of getting off of Thomas's body or the bed as a whole, she outright straddled him, observing his befuddlement with an apathetic look on her face.

Just as Thomas was about to ask the girl to get off of him, for numerous reasons, she preempted him by materializing a white notebook and a quill, writing something down before turning the pad around so that he could read, 'My name is Ludwig van Beethoven. Apologies, for I cannot hear or speak.'

After blinking several times in surprise, Thomas gradually came to terms with the fact he had a girl seated on his lap, asking, "Can you read lips...?" out of curiosity.

Nodding her head in approval, Beethoven wrote something down on her notepad before turning it around, revealing, 'I can also feel what people are saying through the vibrations of objects I am in direct contact with.'

Adopting a wry smile, Thomas asked, "Is that why you're seated on top of me? Also, just to be certain, you 'are' a woman, right...?"

Raising her brows slightly, Beethoven looked down at herself and their current position, a very faint shade of red coloring her cheeks as she scribbled something down rapidly, revealing, 'Forgive me. My heart is not prepared for such things...'

After waiting for Thomas to read what she had written, Beethoven got off him, standing at the side of the bed with a gradually deepening blush. Her expression didn't change in the slightest, but it was fairly easy to see that she was embarrassed.

Rising to a seated position, Thomas adopted an apologetic smile as he said, "Sorry. I honestly didn't expect you to pop out when I was getting ready to sleep. Also, while it's a little late, my name is Thomas. Welcome to the Wild Hunt, Beethoven."

Adopting the faintest of smiles, Beethoven used her notepad to convey, 'The pleasure is mine.' and 'Will this be where I stay from now on?'

Shaking his head, Thomas answered, "No. Each member of the crew has their own private quarters. Come on; I'll give you a quick tour of the ship and introduce you to anyone still out and about."

Since he was the type that slept fully clothed, at least when he was alone, Thomas just had to slip on a pair of sandals before he could show Beethoven around the ship. Most of the crew had already retired for the night, but that didn't stop Benienma from surprising Beethoven with her usual appearing act, asking, "Is Master going on an evening stroll? Then Benienma will accompany you, dechi."

As he had largely gotten used to Benienma's apparent teleportation, the combination of her extreme speed and A-Rank Presence Concealment, a Skill typically reserved for the most skilled Assassins, Thomas just smiled as he replied, "I'm showing our Musician, Beethoven, around the ship. She is deaf and mute but can read lips. I'm unsure how your Ventriloquism will work on her, so you'll need to speak directly to her."

Blinking in surprise, Benienma directed her gaze to Beethoven, remarking, "Deaf and mute? It's a wonder you're able to be a Musician at all, dechi..."

Adopting a faint smile, Beethoven scribbled something down on her notepad before turning it around to reveal, 'Music comes from the heart and reverberates through the soul. I may have lost my hearing, but there is nothing that can take away my passion for symphony and song.'

Punctuating her words, Beethoven placed her hand over her heart and closed her eyes. To the surprise of Thomas and Benienma, the faint yet growing sound of symphony could be heard, emanating from Beethoven but quickly spreading to her surroundings like an echo. More surprisingly, Thomas actually recognized the song, muttering, "Symphony Number 9, Ode to Joy..."

Though she had her eyes closed, Beethoven's smile broadened when she 'heard' Thomas's words. When utilizing her Skills, she became one with the sound in her surroundings, tuning in to the symphony of the 'world' itself. When used as a weapon, she could paralyze or at least reduce the mobility of her enemies. When utilized for support, she could boost the morale of her allies, diminish the effects of fatigue, and, most importantly, incite the masses to action through song.

Understanding that it wouldn't be proper to allow her symphony to grow to its loudest in the middle of the night, Beethoven gradually restrained her zeal, regaining an apathetic look as she wrote something down on her notepad. When she eventually turned it around, Thomas was surprised to read, 'Thank you. It made me happy that you recognized my symphony. If you ever want to hear more, please let me know. I am always delighted to share my music with others.'

Punctuating her words, Beethoven adopted a happy smile that pierced through Thomas's heart like an arrow. The former had never appeared as a Servant in any media he was familiar with, but her words managed to secure her a position in his Top 10 female Heroic Spirits. He hadn't been into classical music since his time as a member of his High School Band, but he was more than happy to listen to Beethoven's music if it made her this happy...

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After escorting Beethoven around the ship, introducing her to Atalanta in the process, Thomas helped her get situated in her room before returning to his own. Now that he had summoned all nine of his Servants, he had a fair amount of thinking to do.

Though it had only been twenty-eight days since his arrival in the world of One Piece, even fewer since he started training, his strength, speed, and endurance had increased 'tremendously.' Even without the enhancement of Magical Energy, he could already pump out more than a hundred push-ups without issue, a stark contrast to a few weeks prior when he couldn't even do twenty without 'cheating.'

While he initially wasn't sure if Zelretch had given him the physique of someone from One Piece, Thomas's rapid progress and cartoonificiation led him to believe that was the case. Even when he went through Basic Training at Camp May, training for eight weeks to get into the best shape of his life, he couldn't do more than a hundred push-ups without slowing down or taking a break. Now, he could complete a full circuit of the island, navigate through the jungle, and race through the increasingly evolving obstacle course that Chiron had prepared as if he had been doing so for several years.

Unfortunately, even though he had explained the existence of Haki to Chiron, the latter didn't hesitate to inform him that it was 'impossible' for him to teach. His Personal Skill, Wisdom of the Divine Gift(A+), could not grant him knowledge of Skills outside the 'domain' of Greece's Mythic Era and the Skills derived from it. In other words, he couldn't teach things like Computer Programming or Advanced Robotics. Furthermore, as a Heroic Spirit, neither he nor the others could enhance their Parameters or learn Skills outside the scope of their Class. It was one of the many reasons he was teaching Thomas Reinforcement Magic, as the latter was one of the only known ways to empower a Servant outside of killing, ritual, and blood magic.

Though Thomas was initially concerned by the revelation, Chiron assured him it wouldn't be an issue. Even the weakest Heroic Spirits were already exceptionally powerful, and so long as they killed strong foes, particularly those with high bounties, their existence would be strengthened.

Like Magic itself, much of the power of a Heroic Spirit was derived from perception and belief. By defeating powerful foes or performing feats that would increase their reputation, either positively or negatively, their power would grow accordingly. With enough belief, they could even be elevated from Heroic Spirits to Pseudo-Divine Spirits. If the masses then began to worship them, they could develop a Divine Core and become literal Gods.

Unsurprisingly, the process of a Heroic Spirit becoming stronger based on feats, merit, and accumulating beliefs was known as Ascension, just like in Fate Grand Order. To that end, each of Thomas's Heroic Spirits had Three Stages of Ascension, their 'base' form representing their First Stage. If he wanted to Ascend them further, they would either need to kill Pirates with high bounties or perform grand feats on the world stage.

Since he wasn't 'really' a Pirate, despite what his BitTorrent history might imply, Thomas had come up with the idea of having the Wild Hunt act as Bounty Hunters or Mercenaries. It was only a matter of time before the World Government classified them as Pirates, but they could potentially secure the status of Shichibukai if they continuously hunted famous and powerful Pirate crews. That would make things much easier for them, as the Shichibukai, also known as the Seven Warlords, were globally famous and allowed to operate with relative impunity.

As he had no intention of tagging along with the Straw Hats, only getting to know them, becoming a Shichibukai seemed the most sensible course of action. It allowed them to travel about freely, hunting down infamous Pirate groups while also affording Thomas the time he needed to become more powerful. He only had around 3-4 years to become strong enough to contend with monsters that had dominated the seas for decades, so he would like to be able to focus on his training without fear of Cipher Pol or the Marines hunting him down...

With such thoughts in his mind, Thomas gradually succumbed to the sweet embrace of unconsciousness. There was so much he wanted to do in the world of One Piece, but nearly everything required him to be strong enough to 'survive.' Thus, while he had grand ambitions that involved the destruction of the World Government and space exploration, his absolute highest priority was becoming stronger...at least strong enough to deck Kaido hard enough to impress Yamato...

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(A/N: Beethoven's design is based on the character from Honkai Impact. I'll post the image here and in the comments.)