Where entrepreneurs come to die [Episode]

- RISE -

There were few adults Mazin respected on board the Xu Fu, in no small part due to the fact that few were respectable to begin with. This was something he attributed to the very nature of the ship, which to him seemed laughable.  A pirate ship hosting scholars and rogues alike, after all, was bound to have an imbalance leaning toward the latter –  or worse, rogues who fashioned themselves as scholars, who would of course suggest that in the natural order of things, everyone should be grateful when they offered but a modest sampling of their vast wealth of knowledge. Men like One-Eye, whom Mazin, in the natural order of things, tried his best to avoid.

Thus, when the Xu Fu docked at Mirrorball Island, Mazin was left with two choices.  He could stay in a quieter area of the ship where he could get some reading in, such as his quarters or the library, or he could walk inland, perhaps accompany his Captain to the magic show she had invited him to watch.

In the end, he chose to stay on the ship. Not out of any particular dislike for the Captain, but rather due to an all too familiar feeling Mazin had noticed ever since she told him to chart the course for the island.  A feeling that he felt every time she or his former captain were about to get involved in something they shouldn’t. And this time, Mazin wanted nothing to do with it.

Not, however, that he expected he’d have a choice in the matter. He never did. Which was why he wasn’t surprised at all when he heard a knock on his door, followed by the voice of Roche, one of the few crew members he did respect, if not for his carefree yet dependable personality, then for his passion for ruins and untold histories: passion being an area Mazin was fairly lacking in. Mazin had almost immediately guessed what had happened, but showed some reluctance toward leaving the book he’d been enjoying at first, even if it was his third time reading it, right up until Roche smiled at him, “C’mon, kiddo.  Don’t wanna chance to put the boss in your debt?”


Jumping against the air, high above even the tall buildings of Mirrorball Island, Mazin found himself at odds with this sentiment, as it assumed he even made it to the theatre in time to be of any assistance to begin with. It wouldn’t take long, not with the combination of his Devil Fruit making himself nearly weightless as he propelled himself through the air.  Especially given that fact made it that much easier to maintain a swift pace.

There was just one problem, or at least the most important one. He didn’t know the city well enough to beeline for the theatre itself, the city’s plethora of bright lights below certainly not helping him.  Not that he was lost, per say. The ship’s navigator being lost. That’d be, well, concerning to say the least, sea or no.

As any navigator worth his salt would be, he was on the lookout for landmarks. Off in the distance, the headquarters of Doskoi Panda was an easy one, as was the dome for which Mirrorball Island was named, its surface now glittering gaudily in the evening light. There were signs advertising businesses ranging from Bugg’s Building Company to the Doll House that helped him navigate from the docks toward the entertainment district, the latter eliciting a blush and just a tad longer than usual glance from the boy’s face as he passed by, although that wouldn’t be the last sign to catch his eye for certain. He had to force eyes to keep moving as he passed a sign indicating a test site of the Rogers Robotics Corporation, a company he’d been trying to hide his interest in from Laurel earlier that day when she showed him an advertisement for one of their mecha figures. Not even he could avoid a boy's dreams.

A hoarse yet seemingly unending scream indicated that he’d eventually found what he’d been looking for. Crowds, panicked ones to be precise, as the city was certainly littered with enough of them.

Perching himself on the top of the tallest building in the area, Mazin took a deep breath and used his Haki to get a better idea of the area while trying to track the crowd's source, only to notice a familiar presence nearby. Mazin looked over to a nearby rooftop.

And there was his Captain, in perfect form. Sighing, he reached for his Baby Den Den Mushi, giving Laurel a wave with his free hand."I see you're handling this already, boss, not that I expected different. He paused for a moment, tempted to ask for details, before continuing, "Hey Goblin, you haven't croaked yet, right?"