The Family (Part 2)

Minutes later Fred walked home with a smile... and also using his arms as if they were legs since the biggest muscle cramp in history persisted in his lower extremities.

With great difficulty he opened the door with his feet, stretched out on the floor, waited for his legs to be minimally operative again, showered and began to prepare the food while Norman worked out of the hospital, probably making a last minute visit to a patient's house

'Today I have to make lunch… let's see what's in the fridge'

Both took turns preparing breakfast, lunch and dinner and today it was Fred's turn to prepare the food, specifically the bear meat stew, but more specifically from the bear that Fred and Stephen caught in the woods last week.

'And dinner too, I'll try to buy something special for dinner today'

Since he was very young, Fred proposed to always cook to help at home since Norman was the one who worked the most, after all, Fred was mentally an adult man who had lived an important part of his life alone.

'And I think that even a stowaway like me deserves a dessert....'

He wasn't comfortable with the fact that he, who had possibly possessed the body of his real son, was simply parasitizing Norman like almost all children do with their parents at that age.

"Hello son, I take a quick shower and go down to help you" Said Norman, who entered the house and ran upstairs to remove all the dirt that had accumulated on his last visit.

"Is not necessary, take your time…" Replied Fred, who was preparing the table while the stew was cooking itself on the fire

However, Norman refused, he wanted to pamper him and let him live with hardly any worries or responsibilities, the dream life of a rich boy in the city... something that Fred didn't accept and therefore they agreed to take turns doing the housework, applying the famous middle ground

"Hi Fred, how was today?" Norman asked after getting out of the shower and entering the kitchen, where his son had just now finished putting the food on the table.

"With the usual result... half dead...

Luckily today I have the whole afternoon off, more or less...

And you?" Fred asked as well, especially because in his father's diary there was no home visit, which meant that someone in the town had had some emergency unknown to him

"There has been a last minute complication with a cow that has eaten something that it shouldn't have eaten, nothing important.

However... I prefer not to go into details" Norman replied, who preferred not to explain certain things at lunch.

"Yes, better... better not to go into details..." Fred replied, who guessed what he was referring to, so he didn't ask any more questions.

Father and son had finished their morning chores and sat together at the same table to eat in order to supply energy to their bodies to continue with the activities of the afternoon and above all not to die of malnutrition... and of course talking, as all lovely families do in a world where there are no televisions or mobile phones

"Mmm... it's delicious...

But...

Are you seriously going to put ketchup on that?

You're going to kill the taste!" Norman said, criticizing his son's eating habits, which in his opinion made everything taste the same

"On the contrary, I am improving the flavor with one of the most exquisite sauces that humanity has created in all the universes...

By the way...

Did you know that ketchup is a non-Newtonian fluid that increases in viscosity when it's subjected to stress forces?

That's why it is difficult to remove from the pot when we shake it, especially when there is little left and yet it's easy to spread in the food" Said Fred to change the topic of conversation and educate his fans about the wonders of Ketchup

"Well, no, I had no idea...

You learn something new every day...

HAHAHA!" Norman replied with a genuine smile that made him forget how his son was wasting the food.

Both talked about the nice details of the day like the good times Fred had with Stephen, the other kids, Marlon and Roxanne… or the good times Norman had with his easy-going human patients...

Until Norman was forced to resume the conversation they couldn't finish this morning.

"This...

Fred, about this morning...

You're very smart and I'm sure you know why I'm worrying so much.

Right?" Asked Norman, who waited for dessert time, the moment when Fred used to be most receptive.

"Of course I know...

You're afraid that I'll overdo it during training or have an accident and get hurt... and also expose myself to danger when I go hunting with Stephen, I know...

However, we have already talked about it many times, I have everything under control... besides, the townspeople are already more than used to it, it's one of the biggest events we have... and they even make bets on how many hours in a row I can last.

Don't tell anyone, but Uncle Marlon and I team up" Fred answered, lowering his voice with the last sentence in case there were neighbours nearby who could hear him

"Hahaha...

Regardless of the probability that you will harm yourself, that it's a little embarrassing to see you do these kind of trainings and that I disapprove of you rigging bets with Uncle Marlon… although that's Uncle Marlon's fault, I'll talk to him tonight...

What worries me is the other thing you told me a few days ago..." Norman said, with a slightly more serious tone, showing that this time he wanted to get to the bottom of this matter.

And Fred understood the source of that seriousness, so he replied without further delay "You mean being a bounty hunter?"

"Yes, that's what I mean" Norman nodded, hoping that Fred could develop his opinion

Nevertheless...

"..."

"..."

That didn't happen!

Fred was still eating his dessert, as if there had been no question in the first place...

As if Fred was waiting for his father to start voicing his opinions so he could counter them, as usual…something Norman knew might happen, so he kept quiet, waiting for Fred to make the first move in this conversation.

"..."

"..."

However, seeing that this awkward silence didn't bother his son, Norman had no choice but to be the one to resume the conversation they had this morning "Fred...

Do you know what kind of job it's to be a bounty hunter? Do you know how dangerous it is?

Do you know..."

"I know perfectly well... and I also understand why you are so worried...

Is a job where you have to constantly move from one place to another to risk your life in order to defeat dangerous criminals in exchange for a hard-to-get reward…

Many die at the hands of such criminals and many times, even if the criminal in question is caught and handed over dead or alive, the cost of catching him is likely to far outweigh the reward either for the money spent to catch him or for the injuries sustained in the process...

And that's if you manage to confront the criminal in question, since many die in the middle of the sea due to changes in the weather, attacked by sea beasts, for lack of provisions, for diseases or infections...

And not only that!

Even when you are resting in a more or less safe environment, there will be people plotting against you. You will be seen as an enemy by pirates who want to kill you to eliminate a predator and gain fame, by other bounty hunters who don't want competition, possibly by the Marine for the same reasons… and I think everyone will want to steal from you, since if you are successful it's a very lucrative business

In short, it's a dangerous business with a high possibility of everything going wrong" Fred answered, interrupting Norman, offering him a very detailed analysis of all the dangerous facets that this profession implies.

An answer that scared Norman even more than he already was, his son had found even more risks than him in that plan, so he was forced to shout "IF YOU KNOW ALL THAT WHY DO YOU WANT TO DO IT!?"

"What I've told you only applies to most of the weak, idiotic bounty hunters out there.

However, I'm preparing to be the best bounty hunter ever! Seriously, there are a lot of weak idiots with high bounties out there waiting to be hunted by me!

With the money I will earn we can have a luxurious life even if we don't invest it.

We will never have to work at a certain point again! Both of us living on a paradisiac island on the edge of the world, with everything we want within our reach with hardly any worries, especially without worrying about money or our safety since I will be prepared, toned and armed to the teeth!" Fred responded, who optimistically presented his plans for the future and the results of said plan.

"..."

And seeing his father's still worried expression, Fred used a more sober and rational approach to continue his explanation "A few years of risking my life, seeing the world and becoming stronger in exchange for a great reward to enjoy the rest of our existence

Doesn't sound bad to me!

And before you call me delusional for believing that everything will work out for me when others won't, remember that I always put myself in the worst possible scenario before making decisions.

If I have made this decision, it's because despite the chances of failure, I rationally believe that I can succeed where others have failed"

However, Norman didn't buy that idea, he refused to let his only son embark on such a dangerous business. "But is it really necessary to take such a huge risk?

For what? To fill the basement with millions of berries? So that your name appears in the newspapers and thus satisfy your ego?

Don't you live on an almost paradisiacal island with hardly any worries right now?"

"Dad...

I like the island, I like live with you in this house, I like play with Stephen, I like fix bets with Uncle Marlon, be pampered by Aunt Roxanne and I'm fine with my life in general, but…

You may be satisfied with just this, but I don't.

I know there's a huge world with many possibilities outside this island and I don't want to spend my whole life locked up here, even if I decide to come back in the end...

I want to do something other than work for the rest of my life in a family clinic on a nearly abandoned island that in a few years he will run out of patients...although I like it and I'm comfortable as I am right now" Fred replied, who like Luffy, was willing to leave the warmth and simplicity of home in exchange for finding his place in that world and fulfilling his dreams, something he lacked in his previous life.

"...

I know you like money, the face you put on every time you receive money and when you have to part with it has shown it to the whole island, but...

Do you have to make money being a bounty hunter?

You are a smart boy, you could get money and notoriety doing many other things

Why do you choose this dangerous and unpleasant route?" Norman asked again, who continued to focus on the profession that Fred had chosen to supposedly succeed in life.

"As I explained to Stephen this morning, the first step in this world to achieve something great is to be powerful or else the other powerful ones will take everything away from you.

Individual power is the basis of everything in this world" Fred answered, who after finishing the dessert began to clear the table and wash the dishes while Norman was still sitting trying to continue the conversation… to try to make his son come to his senses

"Fred, I think you're exaggerating...

There's much more in this life than being strong and know how to fight!

Look to you!

Despite being only nine years old, you have developed several incredible...strange...but incredible medicines and y are able to perform complicated operations that I couldn't perform until after I graduated with twenty-three years!

You are intelligent, methodical, observant, hard-working... and also kind and sensitive, even if you always try to hide it

You know how to use common sense, the least common of senses, to improve your life and the ones around you

Damn it, Fred!

You have too much potential to waste it on something as horrible as killing people for money and probably dying somewhere miserably!" Said the calm Norman, who couldn't help but explode in this way when imagining his only son throwing his life overboard chasing something that he considered unworthy for him

However, Fred was already prepared for arguments like these and therefore had the right response "What exactly do you want me to do?

As long as you don't ask me to be a nobody in the eyes of the world and history...

Do you want me to be a prestigious scientist like Dr Vegapunk to improve the world with my inventions, for example? Shall I remind you that the World Government kidnapped him because of his brilliant brain and now he's effectively a slave of the Government who has to do whatever they tell him to do?

And look how curious, from that moment all his research was oriented to military purposes that belong exclusively to the World Government, surely that helps the world a lot...

Is that what you want to happen to me?"

"..."

"Who are the scientists who managed to escape from M.A.D.S without being caught when they were ambushed by the World Government? Only Queen and Judge, the others were captured, practically enslaved and/or killed for knowing something that an organization of thugs wanted to monopolize.

Why only those two were able to escape? Because before being intelligent they were powerful!

That's why they keep their freedom to this day!

That's why I train as I train and I investigate what I investigate!

To prevent that from happening to me, unlike the rest of the weaklings in the world!" Fred yelled as he finished washing the last dish, leaving his father speechless in the process...

"..."

"Although I love money, above all else what I want is freedom, since money is of little use if you are simply a slave.

To be truly free I need strength and if I do have strength it's a waste not to monetize it, that's why I want to be a bounty hunter first

No matter how much I study how cure illness, create medicine and perform operations, If I don't try to put that knowledge into practice I will never become a good doctor...

In the same way if I don't fight with strong people I will never become truly strong, no matter how much I train in this nursery surrounded by water

Here's another reason besides money..." Said Fred finishing his speech while washing his hands and sitting back at the table to finish the conversation

"..."

"..."

Once again an uncomfortable silence invaded the kitchen and once again Norman tried to end it, however deep down he knew that whatever he said he could do nothing to convince him to change his mind using reason

The only thing left was to appeal to his feelings and sadly emotional blackmail to try to keep his son safe, although he had also realized that his chances of success were slim to none "...

...

... Fred...

Is the lifestyle we have now that bad?

I know it's modest, we can't allow ourselves according to what luxuries, it's full of routine and even boring on many occasions...

But as far as I know we have never lacked for anything and here we live peacefully without any kind of problem.

You don't have to be obsessed with..."

"Dad...

I know you want to keep me safe from danger and therefore you want me to avoid taking risks like training like a madman, hunting huge beasts in the forest, researching poisons, or doing risky work...

In short, to stay here with you, but...

Many times the biggest risk we take in this life is not taking any risk... and it doesn't just apply to being strong, but to everything else...

Change is inevitable, problems will always come no matter where you are or how much you try to run away from them!

The only way to overcome those challenges is to be prepared for everything that may come... and of course one is not prepared to face challenges living with the head buried in the ground..." Fred replied as he got up from the chair, stood behind his father and gave him a little massage on the shoulders to prevent him from being so tense, trying to calm him down after this argument

"..."

And since it was evident that he wasn't achieving it through his medical arts, he tried to calm the atmosphere by talking with a more positive and cheerful tone "And don't worry so much!

I'm not going to be a bounty hunter all my life and I'm not going to start being a bounty hunter tomorrow.

Once I have enough funds we will retire wherever you want, even right here, although improving everything to look like an 8-star hotel

And when that day comes you too can stop rummaging through the asses of the village cows... or even sooner.

YOU WILL SEE! HAHAHAHA!"

"..."

A method that wasn't working at all either, making the situation even more awkward

CLANCK! CLANCK! CLANCK!

Luckily in this town someone always showed up just in time to interrupt the bad moment

"FREDERIC FREED! THE BOAT HAS ALREADY ARRIVED AT THE DOCK!!

GET OUT BEFORE IT'S GONE!" Shouted Mr Smith from outside the Freed family home

"I'M COMING MR. SMITH!" Fred yelled too, who had been waiting for that yell for minutes. After that he took a very big bag that he had prepared since last night and said to his father, who was still sitting in the same position as before "See you later dad

Is there something you need?"

"You have the list and the money at the entrance

Can you try to get a good discount like always?" Norman replied with his usual smile, as if he had already forgotten the discussion a few seconds ago.

"The doubt offends" Fred replied, returning the smile and marching again outside his house

It was only when Fred closed the entrance door that Norman, completely despondent, erased the smile on his face, replacing it with a bitter face of sadness as he opened his shirt, took out a pendant that he kept inside his clothes, which opened in front of his eyes

"Susan...

What would you do?" Norman said with love and sadness as he looked inside the pendant, in which there was a photo...

The photo that he, his wife and his new-born son took on the happiest day of his life

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