Brago

Two years later. Time 1495.

Markus, now ten years old, walked through the city of hiding just behind Marine HQ, still sore and rubbing his back. Bogard had been especially rough on him today, more so than ever.

" Ah! That hurts so much." Markus complained. He rubbed the small of his back with his right hand repeatedly, hoping to soothe the stinging sensation from Bogard's wooden sword. " Man, I hate it when uncle Bogard is in charge of training. He never holds back."

Markus couldn't wait to get done with training so he could get away from the monsters known as Garp and Bogard. Now, he just wanted to be able to relax, something he hardly was ever able to afford.

Though Markus complained about it often, he did appreciate all the time he spent with the two men, even when he was getting beat up.

And not for nothing. Markus was decent bit taller than kids his age, already standing at five foot one, bolstering an impressively fit build as well. More so, through his intense training with Garp and Bogard, Markus was already strong enough to fight and beat grown men with no problem.

" Man, this sucks so much." Markus grumbled. He continued rubbing his back and groaning about his pain until, just a little further away, in an alleyway he was passing, Markus saw a group of five older kids picking on this small kid.

The older kids, mostly consisted of teens as tall as Markus and some a little taller, nearly as tall as Bogard was. They appeared to be a gang, as they all were dressed in the same attire, white shirt, black jacket and black jeans with slick black hair.

" Look it's little Brago, what are you doing here shrimp? Thought we told you to get lost."

" Yeah, shrimp. What did ya come back looking for that stupid necklace? Well, ya ain't gettin it. So beat, before we beat the crap outta ya."

" Yo!" Markus shouted as he approached the group.

He walked right up to group without reserve and confronted the five boys.

" What do you want, punk?"

" Yeah, can't ya see we're busy?"

Markus looked at the two boys shouting at him and laughed.

"Bwahahaha!"

This irritated the teens to no bounds.

" Do you know who we are?"

Markus laughed and shook his head. " No, an I don't care. All I see are a bunch of bullies, pushin around someone smaller than them. Well? I'm smaller. Why don't you try pushin me?"

" Aye tony, get this punk!"

Tony was the largest of the group, easily.

Markus grinned as the larger boy started running at him, he raised his right hand and cracked it in his palm.

Tony raised his fist, clumsily, and tried throwing a very sloppy punch at Markus.

" Hrrrrrraaaaagh!" Markus responded, weaving under the fist and slammed his fist into the boy's chest sending him crashing into the hard stone floor.

There was a brief moment of silence.

......

-....-

" Hey, Tony? Come on man get up. This isn't the time to be joking around."

.........

" Tony?"

" Ton?"

" Hey T"

" Come on man get up!"

" Hey Tony?!"

Tony's gang, all circled around him and started trying to shake him awake. But no matter how hard they tried; Tony was just not showing any signs of regaining his senses.

There was an ominous feeling quickly coming over the teen's senses.

Tony was the best fighter out of the group, hands down. But he was just taken down effortlessly, with one punch.

" Who's next?" Markus asked the four remaining men. He didn't particularly want to have to beat these guys up, but he would. And that became more and more apparent by the second.

" H-Hey man. Do you know who we work for? You can't just do this." The boy speaking appeared to be the leader but stuttered over his every word. His face was twisted into a painful look of dread.

Markus glared at the boy, clearly not fazed by his incessant threats. " Give him his necklace back and get lost, before I do the same thing to the rest of you. Now." Markus told the man. His gaze was strong and dark.

Fear instantly took over the man's body.

He reached into his pocket and placed the necklace that had apparently belonged to young kid behind him on the ground. " Look, see I put it down. Just let us go, man."

Markus nudged with his head, and in an instant the four boys took off running, leaving behind their friend.

" Bwahahahahaha!" Markus erupted into laughter as the boys scurried past him, trying to avoid even touching him as if he were some kind of freak. " Hey, you, you okay?" Markus asked the kid. He bent over and picked up the necklace on the ground and walked over to Brago and handed it over to him. " I believe this is yours." Markus placed the necklace in Brago's hand and helped pull the kid to his feet.

Now that he could really see him, Brago was dirty, his black hair was nappy, and the dirt on his face covered his brown skin.

" Thank you." Brago muttered.

" No problem. What was that all about anyway?" Markus asked the kid.

" They took my mother's necklace. I wanted it back, so I came to fight one of them for it, but I just couldn't win." Brago explained. The poor boy was on the verge of tears. " Dad would have killed me if I didn't back. So, thank you again."

" Don't mention it. My names Markus by the way, but you can call me Mark. How old are you Brago?"

" Ten. How old are you."

" Bwahaha! I'm ten too!" Markus exclaimed. " Hey! I have an idea, wanna come fishing with me? I was just going to the docks at the other end of town."

" You know how to fish?" Brago asked.

" Yeah, pops taught me when I was real young. Gotta know how to take care of yourself. Wanna learn?" Markus asked.

Brago was star-struck. For the first time in his life, he had met someone that treated him with kindness, like a friend. His eyes immediately lit up, and in his view, Markus was shining as bright as the sun.

" Sure!" Without hesitation, Brago jumped to his feet and started following Markus on his walk.

For Markus, he didn't mind it all really, he thought it would be nice to have some company his own age for once.

And for both of them it was nice to have a new friend.

.........................

A little while later, after having had a day full of laughter and fishing, Markus and Brago were sitting on the edge of the watery docks staring out at the sea as the ocean slowly splashed up, underneath their feat.

" Ahhhhhh! That was awesome!" Markus bellowed. Even after such a long day, he was still bursting with energy.

" No kidding, you totally surprised me back there. I didn't think you'd be crazy enough to jump headfirst into the ocean." Brago muttered. Brago on the other hand was absolutely dead inside. His arms were heavy, and his head ached.

" What? It was the easiest way to catch fish. I didn't see you complaining when you started pulling them out of the water." Markus joked.

" You mean when you first, dragged me in with you, then started throwing fish at me left and right?" Brago stated.

Markus raised his hand and started waving it side to side. " Come on now, let's not bring up history."

" THAT WAS TWO HOURS AGO!!!!" Brago shouted. He reached over to his pile and chucked a small snapper right at Markus, hitting him in the face.

"Guh!" Markus choked on his own breath as the fish slapped him across the face.

The sound it made when it hit him, and the slick squishy flopping noise it made when it hit the ground made Brago laugh wildly.

" Yahahahahahaha!"

" OH?! Oh so you think that's funny? You having fun now?" Markus asked.

Brago wiped the tears from the corner of his eyes and nodded. " Yes. Yes, now I'm having fun. Yes." Brago joked.

" Well, good. It's about time." Markus told the boy. He was glad to finally see Brago starting to relax a little more.

" What is up with you? Why do you do such crazy things?" Brago suddenly asked. " I mean, why did you really invite me out? Why did you save me?"

That was a simple a question for Markus as any could be.

He looked at Brago and a grin as wide as the moon itself appeared on the boy's face. " Because it was the right thing to do." Markus muttered. " I have a dream to join the marines, like my pops. In the marines, they have a code of justice called absolute justice. But I don't agree with it. No, I have my own justice, I call it Moral justice." Markus explained.

" What's that mean?"

" What does it mean? Well, Pirates are bad, and Marines are good. That's what we're always taught. But I don't think that's how it is. I think there are bad people everywhere. And I think there are good people everywhere. I don't see a world of black and white, instead, I see many different grays. I want to believe in a world where all people are equal, regardless of race or religion." Markus spoke. He then raised his hand to the sky, to the moon. "I have a dream where that world exists, and to do that, I will become the strongest Marine ever. And then when the day comes, I will guide the new world."

Brago listened closely, with as much focus as he possibly could. There was something magical about what Markus was saying, the look on his face, that softened look on his face that spoke of peace, but the raging fierce fire in his eyes that showed how serious he was.

For some reason, Brago believed it to be possible. That this insurmountable dream, just might be able to come true.

" Hey! I know! Since you're my first friend. How about it, Brago? Wanna turn the world upside down with me?" Markus asked. He looked at Brago with a grin on his face.

And once again, as if by magic, Brago was swept up in the moment. This timid kid, with no friends, no guts, all alone with nothing to believe, in this moment found something worth believing in. So, in the moment, Brago took a leap of faith and dove in headfirst. " Let's do it, Partner!" Brago raised his hand and together, he and Markus shook hands together.

" Bwahahahahahaha!"

" Yahahahahahahaha!"

While the two boys laughed, heartedly, they were being watched from the shadows by a figure dressed in navy blues.

" Hm? Garp will be interested in hearing about this. This kid.... Always a troublemaker." Bogard cracked a small smile on the corner of his lips, something that was rarely ever seen from the man. All this time, he had shadowed Markus and Brago, watching them closely as was his responsibility. " Turn the world upside down? Haven't we had enough of that already? Well then, guess I better rase the training." Bogard pushed his hat down over his face and for a second Markus felt a shiver run down his spine.