Hey there everybody! =D Here's the next part!

In this chapter we finally learn a little more about Beret and the mysterious Empty Town. Why does she act the way she does? What's her past? These questions will be answered and more! Oh and we get to see more Jules and Beret adorableness <w< Enjoy!

Anyway hope you like it, please fav & comment, and have a great day!

Breda & Mr. Elroy owned by Belker
All other characters owned by me
Pokemon & One Piece NOT owned by me

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Voyage:
Empty Town! The Hidden Secrets of Empty Streets?






“So… you’re telling me that plushie is your nanny?”

“… w-well… t-that is her name…”

“And it’s her job too right?”

“Y-yes…?”

“You guys are so cooool!!”

The Cuddlebutts crew gave Beret a look as the smeargle giggled and stretched a little, still waking up a bit from nap time. “Sooo…” she said smiling back at them “What now? You’re gonna show me more cool things right? Right?” she giggled eagerly swaying her hips a little as she stood there grinning. “Didn’t Breda say you were going to show us around?” Jules piped up making Beret stop mid-sway and make a face. “Yeeeeah… but I reeeeally don’t want to.” The smeargle said sticking her tongue out a little “Like I said this town is dull, dull, DULL.”

“M-maybe… b-but we’re g-going to be here f-for a while…” Anne said softly to the pouting girl making Beret fold her arms and sigh “Fiiiiiine. Any questions before we start then?” she asked giving an over exaggerated sigh. “Ooo! There any good food places around here?” Chouji asked, arm shooting up and eagerly waving as he asked it. Beret just shook her head and the fishmon’s face and arm fell. “Okay then, lets get going…” she turned to leave only to walk right into the plush tummy of Nanny as the purugly chuckled softly.

“Now, now dears first we need to get you all changed…”

“Changed? Changed into what? What she mean?”

“…”

“…… seriously?”

“Yep…”

“Not so cool.”


*********************


A few changes, and some awkward explanations of the after effects of long term exposure to Petie’s powers, they were on their way… except for Petie who opted to stay behind to help with the boat since he would need to use his powers on it as they worked. It was rather odd for them to see Beret grumbling and dragging her feet as she lead them along the dirt path into the town proper. Up to that point all she’d been a eager, bouncy, spirited ball of annoyance. Her tail swished with agitation as she walked, splattering pink paint behind her while she pointed to various places.

“Over there’s the mill. The people who run it also own the sugarcane fields with my folks. They’re stuffy uptight jerks. Those are just a bunch of empty houses, the people who lived there left years ago. No they didn’t leave any stuff behind, I already checked all of them. Oh and over there’s my family’s bar but lets keep moving…”

She was moving at a deliberately faster pace trying to get it all over with as she just zipped past everything, her unfortunate tour group scrambling to keep up. There was the mill she’d mentioned, old and worn looking with an attached house overlooking the town and sugarcane fields, there were the abandoned houses with broken windows, missing shingles, and a copious amount of graffiti painted on them in a familiar pink hue, and lastly the bar… probably the best cared for building in the town proper but that wasn’t saying much. It had been a grand building at one point but now it was just as worn as the rest of the town with the wooden sign bearing a stylized paw print hanging on threadbare ropes over the door.

They stopped to look at it for a moment, much to Beret’s frustration, before Chouji spoke up “So… do they serve food in there?” he asked eyeing the open door to the bar curiously. “Yeeeah… but” Beret started to say but before she could go any further a grinning Chouji hurried into the building. Sighing and rubbing her temples she groaned “This won’t end well… don’t you guys go in there too okay…” she watched as the rest of them followed Chouji inside “… oh COME ON!!!” she stomped her foot a little before following after them grumbling.

The inside of the bar was plain and bare bones with several tables, a large bar with a line of stools, and not much else. The Cuddlebutts crew looked around in confusion, having expected something more with the amount of hate Beret had spoken of this place. Other than being insanely clean and looking rather old it was just another bar. “We don’t server minors. Get out or come back with your parents.” A voice said bluntly making them all look up. Leaning against the bar was a bored looking aipom guy who looked to be in his early twenties. He had one eye half opened sleepily to glare at them as he rested his head in his hands.

“Even if it’s just food?” Chouji asked climbing up into a stool in front of the mon. The monkey snorted “Even then, now get out. This is a respectable place we don’t need a bunch of babies piddling over everything.” He said flicking Chouji’s forehead with his tail paw and ignoring the sour look the fishmon gave him. Adjusting his head in his hands he looked ready to doze off again… till he noticed the smeargle in the doorway “Well, well , well… looks like the brats back. Hey little sis, long time no see.” He said giving Beret an unpleasant smile as he sat up “Let me guess, you were hanging out with those freaks down at the docks when these freaks showed up?”

“They’re not freaks, they’re shipwrights… and it’s none of YOUR business Arturo.” She said coldly, sticking her tongue out at him. He stuck his tongue out right back and snickered “Maybe not… but when I tell mom and dad you skipped out on your shift polishing the glasses that’ll be THEIR business won’t it?” he said smugly making his little sisters jaw drop “And before you start the whole “I POLISHED those” argument remember which one of us mom and dad are gonna believe.” He added casually tossing a rag at her “Unless of course you wanna be a GOOD little sister and take over MY shift polishing them… then I might be tempted to forget about mentioning it…”

Her cheeks flushed with anger Beret looked like she was contemplating how to murder him with the rag as he broke into laugher “Lighten up little sis! Come on… you know I’m only hard on you cause you waste time hanging out with those freaks… so not cool right?” he gave a playful smile that just seemed to make Beret angrier “If you’d just stop that I’m sure we could get along juuuust fine… excuse me?” he asked as he suddenly found himself nose to nose with Jules who had climbed all the way onto the bar top. Glaring the older mon in the eyes Jules growled softly “Don’t make fun of her or be mean just cause she’s doing what she wants to do! What kind of big brother are you?”

Arturo just stared back for a moment before placing a finger on Jules forehead and pushing him right off the counter, the puppy squeaking as he bounced on his diapered bottom. “While my folks are working in the distillery I’m the big brother running this place… which means I get to tell you to get out of my face.” He said, obviously unimpressed “And for that matter get out. I already told you we don’t serve minors.” The small group just glared back for a moment before reluctantly turning to leave, Anne having to tug Jules along as he looked ready to pick a fight with the guy. As they left he called out “Except you Beret, I was kidding about telling mom and dad… hey! HEY! Get back here!!”

“Go kiss a grimer Arturo! Tell mom and dad whatever you want I don’t care!”

A moment later they were all back outside as Beret stormed past them, tail whipping and scattering paint as she went. They watched her go for a moment before scurrying after her. They finally caught up with her a ways down a side path as she’d stop to scribble angrily on a brick wall. Judging by the fact it was a painting of an aipom being eaten by durants it was safe to say she was still angry. They let her scribble for a moment before Anne timidly spoke up “B-beret?” without looking up the smeargle answered a blunt “No.” and kept painting. Jules puffed up his chest at that and stepped forward.

“You didn’t even let her ask anything!”

“Fine, what?”

“W-what w-was that a-abo”

“No. Moving on.”

“Hey!!”

“Look little girl just cause you got caught up in some of my family’s issues doesn’t’ mean I owe you the whole story.”

“I’M NOT A GIRL!!”

There was confrontational growls from Beret and Jules as the two puppies glared at each other… till a burst of water soaked them both. They both blinked in confusion and looked at Chouji as he spit the last of the Water Gun to the side “You two cooled your heads now?” he asked as they sputtered for a moment “Good. Now Beret? You’re right you don’t owe us the story… but we ARE involved in it so could you please tell us? I mean honestly I didn’t get one bite of food out of that… you owe me SOMETHING.” Chouji whined, rubbing his stomach for emphasis.

“… FINE.” Beret huffed and folded her arms still dripping water as she glared at the fishmon “But you aren’t gonna like what you hear…” she added before turning and starting to walk again. Exchanging looks, and a glare at Chouji from the soaked Jules, they followed her. She led them off the path proper and through some bushes till they emerged next to a tree with a crudely made swing hanging from it on top of small hill. Sitting on the little swing Beret sighed and pointed “See that building over there? The one behind the bar?” she asked as they clamored around her for a good view. Sure enough there was a large house of some kind right behind the bar that they hadn’t noticed for the trees around it.

“Well that’s my “Home”… or at least where my family lives. We’ve got a distillery under it that’s been in the family for, and I’m quoting my dad here “Generations upon generations and cared for nobly by our family as is our duty”…” she said flatly as she swung back and forth a little “… I want you to keep in mind what I’m about to tell you is more or less what my parents told me… to my face. You got that?” they just gave her a confused look as Anne tried to give her a friendly smile “I-I’m sure it’s n-not that b-bad…”

“… I was a mistake…”

“….!!!”

“Yeah, something like that.” She muttered seeing their shocked expression “Apparently they planned on leaving everything to Arturo and his eventual wife and family… then Mom had me and they had to change their plans. So guess where they decided to fit their only daughter into their grand vision…?” she said bitterly “Working for her big brother as a serving maid in the bar and basically being his assistant… and yes they told me it that way thank you very much for asking.” She spat as they looked at her in horror. She gave a bitter laugh as she swung a little more “They let me have a little childhood but the moment I was old enough in their eyes they tried to force me to work towards their little dreams… whether I wanted to or not and BELIEVE me I don’t…”

“That’s… horrible!”

“Yep, glad you’re getting the point little girl.”

“Not a little girl…”

“Anyway that’s my story and hey! HEY! Leggo of me!!” Beret squirmed as she found herself pulled into a hug by Anne of all people. The smeargle flailed for a moment, scattering paint everywhere, before finally calming down when Anne didn’t let go. Fidgeting nervously she looked at the cubchoo as Anne sniffled softly and cuddled her “I’m s-so sorry… n-nobody s-should have to g-go through t-that…” the shorter girl said softly. Coughing lightly Beret tried to hide her blush and timidly hugged back “It’s okay… d-don’t worry about it… I’m dealing with it. Okay? Now let go already…” she said softly as Anne finally let go. They just stood there for a moment in silence before Chouji interrupted the moment.

“Well I’m gonna go down to the docks if you need me.” He said starting down the hill “Since I can’t get any food at the bar I’m gonna see if I can catch something for dinner… pretty sure there’s a net around her somewhere…” he muttered as he headed down into the town. Beret looked to the others “He eats fish? Isn’t that… I dunno… cannibalism?” they just shrugged as Jules piped up “No clue… but I asked the same thing first time I found out.” There was another awkward moment of silence before Anne spoke “I’m g-going to see how P-Petie’s doing, okay? S-see you later…” she said as she followed Chouji down the hill towards the docs making Beret raise an eyebrow as she’d been left there alone with Jules.

“Looks like it’s just you and me now little girl.”

“Not a little girl!”

“Yeah, yeah…”

“I challenge you to a duel!”

“… come again?”

“I wanna fight you! This time without that stupid pier getting in the way!”

“… seriously?”

“Yeah! And if I win you gotta stop calling me a little girl!”

“Sure but if I win I get to doll you up as much as I want.”

“Deal! … wait…”

“Too late! No take-backsies!”

“Darn it!”

“Come on, lets find a better spot for this!”

“Fine…”


*******************


A few minutes later the two were in what had probably been somebodies backyard but was now just a lot hidden between a few houses with overgrown grass and a few random crates and barrels. Jules stood there tapping his foot as he waited for Beret to come back out of the house she’d gone into. Finally the smeargle came back out carrying a hammer tied to a stick like the one she’d used before and with a little purse/bag slung over her shoulder “Glad I kept a spare here.” She said while grinning to Jules as the puppy tilted his head to the side curiously and pointed at the building “I thought you said all the houses were empty? How come your stuff was in there?”

“Oh most of them ARE empty silly so I use one or two of them as home bases. Keeps me from having to go home to my family with I’m not with Mr. Elroy and his kids.”

“… is that legal?”

“Don’t know, don’t care, doubt anybody else does either.”

“Fine…” Jules grinned and pulled his rattle out “Anyway how are we going to do this?” he asked as Beret swayed a little, smiling innocently as she looked him over “Hmmm… how about first person to fall down loses? Course there’s no rickety old pier here so you won’t have anymore excuses…” she added playfully sticking her tongue out. Jules huffed and puffed his chest out “Deal! Ready when you are!” he shouted holding his rattle up like a baseball bat. Beret gave a short, chime like laugh and gave her weapon a twirl before holding it out like a spear “Okay then… on the count of three?”

“Okay!”

“One… two…”

“Three!!!”

Jules gave a battle cry and waddled forward as fast as he could swinging his rattle in a broad arch at her with all his strength. Bringing her hammer staff over her head Beret gave a light, almost casual, dance like side step causing Jules’s strike to miss her completely. The sheer force of his swing sent the riolu unsteadily waddling forward as he struggled to correct his balance. Beret gave a brief chuckle as she spun on her heels and brought her hammer around to lightly thump against Jules’s padded backside. The riolu squealed as this was more than enough to destroy his already damaged balance and making him tumble to the ground tummy first.

As Jules lay there stunned Beret casually walked over and crouched down next to his head before poking it to get his attention. Blushing and flustered he looked up to her as she giggled and smiled innocently “I think that means I win.” Jules’s face went even redder at that as he hopped to his feet “I demand a rematch! I wanna go again!!” he shouted leveling his rattle at her once more. She just looked at him curiously before laughing and jumping back a little “Well how can I say no to such a cute angry face?” she said teasingly before leveling her hammer again “Okay then… one… two…”

“Three!! Yaaaaaaah!!”

Jules swung at Beret again as the smeargle giggled and casually skipped to the side making the strike miss. Wobbling Jules struggled to overcorrect his swing and chased after her swinging wildly as he waddled along barely able to keep from falling over due to his own erratic swings. Beret was genuinely laughing as she easily stepped, hopped, skipped, and jumped out the way of every swing “D’aaaaw!” she giggled easily jumping up onto one of the crates “You’re like a little baby who just learned how to wave his toys around!” she cooed hopping off it and clear over Jules’s head as he smashed a hole in the crate with one of his blows.

“A really, really strong baby!” she added with a laugh as she fished around in her bag with one paw and pulled something out. As Jules tugged his rattle free of the wrecked crate and turned around something whipped into his view like a snake wrapping around his leg. He barely had time to realize it was a rope before Beret gave it a yank and pulled Jules’s leg out from under him. With a squeal Jules landed on his padded butt. Smiling Beret whipped the rope causing it to loosen its grip before yanking it back and letting Jules get a better look at it. It was a simple ships rope with a heavy knot tied in the end to act like a weight. Smiling as she tucked it back into her bag Beret laughed.

“I win again, that’s two!”

“You cheated!!”

“Noooo I didn’t!”

“Ya huh! You used that rope!!”

“Did anything in the rules say I COULDN’T use the rope?”

“......”

“Then it wasn’t cheating!”

“Noooo faaaaaaair!!!”

Beret stifled a giggle as she watched Jules pitch a mini-tantrum at this turn of events before he climbed back to his feet huffing and puffing. He glared and pointed his rattle at her “One more go! I KNOW I can beat you!” he shouted even more flustered than before. “Hmmmmmm…” Beret tapped her lips for a moment before smiling “Allright, one more match… but this is the LAST one, kay?” she added as Jules nodded in agreement. Taking off her bag she set it to the side “So you won’t whine about me cheating anymore.” she said before taking a few steps back and leveling her hammer at him with a grin.

“Ready? One… two… THREE!!”

“Yaaaaaaaa!!!!”

There was a clash as the two weapons met for the first time and Beret’s arms buckled as her hammer tied to a stick threatened to snap under the impact. She vaguely remembered Jules mentioning the rattle being metal or some other hard material but now she was willing to believe it. Opting not to break her weapon she spun on her heels and danced back out of Jules’s striking distance as the riolu nearly lost his balance again. Not giving up that easily Jules waddled after her as quickly as he could swinging wildly again. She couldn’t restrain her laugh this time as she jumped, ducked, and weaved around the erratic attacks.

“Same as last time huh little girl?”

“NOT A LITTLE GIRL!!”

“You’re cute just the same!”

Jules squeaked as Beret suddenly leaned in and planted a kiss on his nose making him nearly drop his rattle as he blushed and clapped both paws over his muzzle. Giving an elegant pirouette Beret vanished behind him while he was distracted “For being so cute I think I’m gonna show you one of the few tricks I’m happy my mom passed down to me… even if she didn’t mean to.” Jules blinked and turned around, confused by what she meant. He found her kneeling down to paint a red scribble on a patch of bare dirt. It looked like a circle with a crude scribble of a flame in it. Grinning she stepped back and made a “Bring it” motion with her hand at him. Even confused Jules didn’t need an further prodding and charged at her rattle ready to swing.

“Paint Trap – Ember.”

Suddenly there was a brief glow from the scribble and a small burst of flame, an unmistakable Ember attack, shot up from it. Jules squealed and stumbled backwards landing on his diaper as he stared in amazement. The Ember only lasted for a moment before it slowly died down, the paint scribble seemingly burned away with it. Beret smiled and walked over as Jules stared in slack jawed awe. Kneeling down the larger girl gave his head a demeaning pat “Neat trick huh? Apparently I got it from my mom… by painting stuff like that I can set a trap using a move I’ve Sketched, one drawing for one attack. They go off a few minutes later… course if they don’t go off soon they fizzle out so it’s not THAT useful.” She said shrugging “But hey I don’t know any other smeargles that can do it so…”

“That’s… coooool!”

“Heeey, that’s my line.”

“Sorry… and I lost again didn’t I?”

“Yep, don’t feel bad though. You gave it a good shot.”

“… still lost…”

“Yep, now then about that bet…”

“… have mercy?”

“It’s dreeeeeeess up time!”


****************


“A-and t-that’s what she t-told us…”

“… that’s messed up…”

“P-poor Beret…”

Back at the docks Anne had just finished telling Petie all the info Beret had given them. Sitting on some barrels and watching the shipwrights give the Sea Cradle a closer inspection the two bears didn’t have that much to do other than talk. Watching the three mon give the cracks in the Sea Cradles hull a deep inspection Petie called out “Hey! Beret’s parents… they can’t be THAT terrible can they? I mean… I know big brothers can be monsters but her actual parents acting like that…” There was a heavy silence for a moment before one of them looked up from the ship.

"Actually, they can." Breda leaned against the railing. "She has run here crying more than once, and at worst, you can hear it all the way from here. From what I've seen, they don't like anyone, but Painty gets the worst of it by a wide margin." She frowned and lit a cigarette. "Wouldn't be too surprised if it gets physical, too." she added grimly as Anne and Petie looked on in horror. “Wish you’d kick that habit…” Babyface said coming out from under the boat “Bothers my nose… anyway her douchebag older brother is the favorite child and he knows it.” The linoone sat down, equally grim look on his face “Only reason they don’t come here and drag Beret back to their house is they can’t stand being near us.”

The two bears just had a horrified look on their faces as they sat there in silence. Mr. Elroy just let out a slight grunt of confirmation as if to let them know his kids weren’t making it up "And if they ever do..." the mamoswine spoke up. "That bar is going to be left vacant..." Petie and Anne looked at each other nervously before the cubchoo found her voice “U-um… w-what is B-Beret to y-you if I m-may ask?” she squeaked timidly.

Mr. Elroy was quiet for a moment. "...Like a niece. She isn't part of the family, but we're close." Babyface nodded in agreement “Yeah, she’s been coming down here since as long as I can remember. We’ve even set up a little room for her… and would you quit that already?” he added glancing at Breda who was smoking away on her cigarette. The cow just raised an eyebrow and blew a little smoke at Babyface making him cough and cover his nose. Oddly enough Anne’s expression seemed to soften and she smiled to them.

“T-that’s good… I w-was worried she m-might not have anyone…”

Breda flicked off the butt and blew out the smoke. "Please. She's an annoying brat, but even she needs a home." Petie meanwhile was scratching his chin a little as he appeared deep in thought. He finally looked up and asked off-handedly “Hey… how good is she at ship repairs? She said she learned from all of you but what do you think?” They were quiet for a moment before Breda spoke up again. "Well, like Babyface said earlier, she pretty much learns by looking. That, and dad teaches her on the off-time. Of course she lacks the strength for heavy lifting, but sure, I guess she's good enough. Why?"

“… no reason… where’d Chouji go again?”

“H-he said he w-was going to c-catch some fish f-for dinner.”

The shipwrights looked at each other for a moment “… he’s going out into the bay to fish?” Breda asked pulling out another cigarette. Anne nodded “Y-yes, why?” she asked curiously as the shipwrights just looked at each other for another moment… and tried to muffle their snickering “No reason… no reason at all.” Breda said making the bears exchange nervous looks with each other.


****************


“This is where I stay when I’m not with the Elroy’s so I don’t have to go home, what’cha think?”

“…….”

“Oh come on, don’t be so pouty! This is going to be fun!”

“Says you…”

“Yep! Now lets get that shirt off you!”

Jules pouted as Beret tugged at his shirt. She’d led him inside the abandoned house and he’d found it wasn’t as empty as he’d expected. For one thing pink graffiti covered every single inch of wall he’d seen so far. Beret led him through the house to an out of the way room that he guessed was her hideaway. A few worn pillows littered the floor along with dolls and other toys. A worn looking wardrobe filled with what looked to be dress up clothes stood in the corner. It looked like more a cute rate little girls playroom than anything a teenage girl would put together but Beret seemed much happier once they were there.

“When my parents wanted me to throw out all my old toys and stuff so I could “Grow up” and follow their dream I moved it all here instead.” She said as she tugged Jules’s shirt off over his head “This is my secret little kingdom so don’t tell anybody about it, kay? Now lets start you off with a pretty dress…” she rummaged around the wardrobe for a moment as Jules contemplated escape as he looked around at the room. He honestly felt sorry for Beret having to make a place like this just to relax. Before he could regain his focus something pink and lacy was yanked down over his head making him yip in surpise.

“Hmmm, glad I kept my old stuff. Doesn’t fit me anymore but it looks ADORABLE on you puppy!” she cooed as Jules whined. She’d shoved him in what amounted to a toddlers princess costume with ribbons, lace, puffy sleeves, and a short skirt that stuck out like a tutu putting his diapers on full display. With a gentle shove Jules squeaked and tumbled backwards to sit on a pillow letting her pull some matching pink socks up his paws and put hard soled little girls shoes on his feet. Jules whined more as he looked at the shiny shoes while Beret grinned and said the words that made him go pale in fear.

“There we go! Now it’s time to work on your face!”

Jules tried to run but Beret was twice his size and easily pinned him against the pillow with one paw and her body weight as she wiggled her paint brush tipped tail in front of his face menacingly “You DID make a wager puppy… now close your eyes and make a kissy face!” she commanded giggling evilly. After squirming helplessly for a moment Jules whined and complied as he felt the paint brush delicately dance across his face doing Arceus knows what to him. “There!” Jules yipped again as he was suddenly yanked to his feet, the little girl shoes messing up his balance worse than the thick diaper, as Beret tugging him over to a mirror leaning against the wall next to the dresser.

“Aren’t you just precious?” she cooed as Jules’s hear sunk. Little blush circles on his cheeks, lipstick, and eye shadow all done in a pastel pink. She’d even painted on little feminine eyelashes to complement the already girlish ones he had. He stood there glumly as she started to brush his shoulder length hair and gather it into childish ponytails, humming happily the whole time. As she tied pink ribbons into adorably large bows to hold the ponytails up Jules finally found his voice through all the humiliation.

“H-how come I c-couldn’t beat you?”

“… you really expect me to know?”

“Oh… s-sorry…”

“Cause I do, it’s just you probably won’t like it.”

“Please tell me!”

She sighed as she tied the last bow and led Jules over to a few of the pillows, holding his paw so he wouldn’t fall down due to his awkward waddle. After sitting down and sitting the puppy in her lap like a little sibling or toy she hugged him and started talking “Well first off you obviously had no clue to what in the world you were doing.” She said in a blunt tone that held none of her former teasing “You were just swinging wildly at me hoping you’d hit. Meanwhile I’ve been helping build ships and set up rigging so I’m a lot faster and more agile then you… that’s also where I learned that neat rope trick in case you were wondering.”

“Now that you mention it…”

“Anyway” she went on while lightly playing with Jules’s ponytails “You’re stronger than me. Did you know that? If you’d hit I probably would have been knocked across that yard… but cause you didn’t know what you were doing you nearly knocked yourself down every time you swung that rattle meaning you’d have probably fallen over sooner or later whether I did anything or not.” Jules nodded weakly, now that Beret was bringing it up he could see what she meant. Noticing his despondant look she cuddled him “Heeeeey now it’s not the end of the world! You just need some actual training is all. Find somebody who actually knows how to use a sword… club… rattle thing and have them teach you.”

“But where am I gonna find somebody like that?”

“…… nope, sorry puppy can’t help you there. Looks like you’re up a creek.”

“… you’re a bad liar.”

“Doesn’t change the fact that I’m not gonna tell you anything more.”

“Pleeeeeeease?”

“No.”

“… I’ll play dress up with you more later if you help me?”

“…… fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Okay, now talk!”

Beret sighed, moving to that bored and frustrated tone she used when it came to talking about her hometown “There actually IS somebody here who could probably teach you… she’s a retired swordswoman and really strong… buuuuut she’s also an annoying, worthless, no account drunkard who doesn’t do anything other than sit on her ass all day.” She finished as Jules looked at her confused “… what’s she doing here then? This seems like a weird place for anybody to retire to.” The smeargle just shrugged “Hell if I know… all I do know is she’s frighteningly strong despite being drunk off her ass constantly so my folks give her free booze to keep her around as an anti-pirate measure. Near as I can tell they hate her too… but they hate most people so…”

“So you think she would teach me?”

“Nope. I’ve never seen her do anything more than sit, drink booze, and occasional cut pirates who start trouble to ribbons.”

“We’ll I’ll just have to try anyway!” Jules said squirming to his feet and wobbling unsteadily towards the door, his little shoes making cute tapping noises as he went. Beret watch him waddle and end up having to grab the door frame to keep from falling over before speaking up “You do realize you have no clue where she is, right?” she said making Jules stop in his tracks and look back sheepishly to her. “… fine. I’ll show you where she is.” Beret sighed waiting for Jules’s face to light up before giggling “On one condition.” Jules’s face fell again as he whined out “What’s that?”

“You hold my hand on the walk over there and call me big sister.”

“… why?”

“Cause I always wanted a little sibling… both cause they’d be cute and it’d mean I wouldn’t have to suffer alone. We got a deal?”

“… fine.”

“Fine whaaaaat?”

“Fine… big sister.”

“That’s my precious little baby sister. Now lets go meet the drunkard.”


***************


Standing on the end of the pier, a currently empty fishing net slung over his shoulder, Chouji took a deep breath “Hear me my feral siblings of the deep! I give thanks to you and the sacrifice you are about to make for me! Though we share the same bright blue ocean you are all so very tasty when fried and sprinkled with just a hint of lemon and maybe some French fries on the side…” he paused his dramatic speech for a moment to regain his composure and wipe a little drool from the side of his mouth “Aaaaaanyway I give thanks to you for providing me sustenance so that I may one day become the strongest, most skilled, and most respected practitioner of fishmon kar”

CRACK!!!

The already creaking pier finally gave way under Chouji as the wood broke and sent him tumbling unceremoniously into the water with a splash. The furiously bubbles that surfaced as he sunk carried with them the finneons furious mumblings about the stupid pier ruining his whole speech and prayer.


To Be Continued…