Speed Dawn, VOLUME ONE

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME"

A deep, baritone echoed from a dark, lonely, foggy street.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME . . . "

The voice echoed again, and was followed by another, higher-pitched baritone.

"Your birphday waf yefterday."

"SHUT UP!"

The deeper voice replied, and soon, two men emerged from the fog into the moonlight.

"I ftill can't believe we got out of there," said the man with the shriller baritone. Standing at six feet two inches, the man was the shorter of the two. His long hair, white and unkempt, flowed in the wind. His face was adorned with a green headband and a tattoo on the left cheek.

"You may not believe it, but I already knew it, long before it even happened," replied the man with the deeper baritone. Taller of the two, the man stood at seven feet seven inches.

"We haven't gotten away with it, though," said the shorter man.

"You think they'll kick a fuss?" asked the taller man.

"I do."

"For two old crooks like us?"

"I GUEFF FO! We're level five prifonerf, for God'f fake! By the way, that waf a terrible rhyme."

"By the by, that was unintentional."

"Fo, what now? I fay, we phould ftay low to avoid any unnefeffary attenphion from the Marinef?"

"Stay low? No way. We are gonna be pirates!"

"FAY WHAT NOW?!" screamed the shorter man.

"Pirates, my friend! Piracy... piracy... piracy..." replied the taller man with a broad smile.

"Yeah, that'f a great way to avoid Marine attenphion!"

The taller man's smile disappeared. He calmly spoke, "Bill, you're a free man now, yet you think and talk like a prisoner."

Bill replied, "We're not free men. We're fugitivef, Morrow."

"Yes, we're fugitives. We're being chased. So, let's be pirates. We'll be chased either way. Let's explore the sea. Let's explore freedom. I only desire speed and excitement from my life, and for that, I need freedom, freedom... freedom!"

"This is madne—"

"I LOVE MADNESS!"

"You don't fear the Marinef?"

"I do. I fear a lot. I just don't let that fear stop me. You see, facing fears? There's excitement in that! Sailing all around the world? There's excitement in that."

"We need a phip. We need a crew."

"Get a ship. I'll get the crew."

"How in the blue hell am I fuppofed to get a phip?!"

"This is where we part ways, Bill. We shall meet in one week. I'll be waiting for you on the beach of Cleed Isl—"

Bill screamed, "DON'T YOU IGNORE THE QUEFTION! MORROW!!"

"Until we meet again," said Morrow, and disappeared in a flash.

Left all alone on the street, Bill quietly muttered, "Hif fpeed never fails to impreff me..."

Kagura and Kamui
"He's out," said Kagura, continuing, "Bootstrap's with him."

Her brother asked, "That Bootstrap?"

She answered, "Yes, of course that Bootstrap. How many Bootstraps have you heard of?"

"I don't know. Quite a lot, actually."

"Well, that's not important. What's important is that he wants to meet us."

"How do you know that?"

"Well, 'coz a note was found in Level Five which said, ''"I want to meet Vega Kamui and Vega Kaguya. Signed, Morrow"''."

"Oh, he did NOT," exclaimed Kamui in disbelief, extending his arm to reach the newspaper his sister was holding. Suddenly, Kagura shifted the newspaper away from him.

"Whatcha doin'? Gimme that," spoke Kamui.

A panicking Kagura shredded the paper apart, screaming "NO!"

Kamui stared wide-eyed, open-mouthed at his sister. "What the fuck did his note say?"

"I just told you," said Kagura, now calmed down.

"Tell me."

For some reason, Kagura always thought that her brother was awfully intimidating. She finally broke, "It said ''"I want to meet Vega Kamui and Vega Kaguya. I'll be waiting at Cleed Isle. September 27. Eight o'clock. Signed, Morrow"''."

Kamui flashed a wide smile. A smile that frightened Kaguya.

She spoke, "Kamui, no!"

He spoke, "Kamui, yes!"

"We'd be fools if we show up."

"Yeah, and your point is?"

"This is madne—"

"Madness, I know! Madness and stupidity! I love it!"

"We're not gonna go!"

"Yes, we are."

"No, we are not!"

"Yes, we are."

"No, we are not!"

"Yes, we are."

"No, we are not!"

September 27. Cleed Isle. 07:56 A.M.
"We're not gonna go!"

"We're already here."

A bewildered Kagura stared at her brother for about a minute, as if trying to register his words, before she spoke again.

"We can still go back!"

Kamui smiled like a maniac. "It's 07:58. Wild Sea Kings cannot drag me away from here now!"

"Well, it's actually 07:57."

"Do I look like I give a damn?"

The duo were waiting, hiding in the trees, looking at the beach from a distance. They kept looking at the beach, until 08:01.

"He's not here," spoke Kaguya.

Kamui stared at her, "What?"

"Morrow's not here. It's past eight and Morrow's not here."

Kamui remained silent for a few seconds. He then broke the silence, "Did the note say A.M. or P.M.?"

Kagura stared back at her brother, her eyes wide open. "If you think we'll be waiting here for that bastard till 8 P.M., then you're in for a BIG surprise!"

September 27. Cleed Isle. 07:59 P.M.
Kagura was exasperated. "Puh-leeaassee let's goooooo," she groaned, "We're really gonna wait for him till 8 P.M.?!"

"It's 8 P.M. already."

"Wait, what?"

"I just it's 8. Well, one minute to 8, to be precise."

"W-W-W-W-W-We've been here for twelve hours?!?!"

"Yeah."

"What the f—"

"Shut up and just look at the beach."

And they did. They kept looking at the beach. Suddenly, a fleeting shadow dashed across the beach, kicking up a cloud of sand. Suddenly, a hail of bullets and cannon fire assaulted the beach.

"He's here," whispered Kamui.

"And so are the Marines," spoke Kagura sternly, "Now, let's get the hell outta here!"

"I'm glad you showed up," said Morrow, calmly, and rested his hand on Kamui's left shoulder. Kamui turned around leftwards, but suddenly found Morrow standing by his right side.

Kamui and Kagura asked simultaneously, "Who are you?"

"My name is Morrow. Pleased to meet ya."

Kagura asked, "Why did you want to meet us?"

"To ask you to become my First Mate."

"Me?!"

"Yes, and your brother the second."

Kamui asked, "So, you're a pirate or something?"

"I will be."

"Well, we don't want to be."

"Then what do you want? Keep hiding for the rest of your life?"

Kamui stared hard at Morrow. Deep down, he knew it in his heart that he did not wish to hide. He longed to be free.

With madness in his eyes and a smile on his lips, Morrow kept his hand on Kamui's neck, brought him closer, and spoke with passion in his voice, "Come with me, man. It's gonna be risky, but trust me, it's gonna be so fun!"

"So, it's gonna be just the three of us?"

"Four."

"Bootstrap," said Kagura.

Morrow clicked his fingers at Kagura, "Exactamente."

Kamui, still hesitating to comply, said, "Four pirates, without a ship..."

"Bill's gonna build one. He's gonna meet here right here, in five days."

Kagura rolled her eyes. "You expect your buddy to build a ship in five days? Expect a boat."

Morrow turned to Kagura. "He'll build a ship. He doesn't need a week for a boat. He can make a boat in minutes."

Kamui raised a brow. "Really?"

"Yeah. You see, that's because he ate this weird fruit, and n—"

"Woah, woah, woah! You're saying that Bootstrap ate a Devil Fruit?"

"Yeah, that's what he told me. He calls it Kiji Kiji no Mi. He can make, become and manipulate swamp, woods and plants. He says it's a Logia-type."

"Logia? I bet he's strong."

"He is."

"I'm still a bit shaky on the whole four-mates-only thing," said Kagura.

"We'll expand our crew. By the time we meet Bill, we'll have over a thousand men."

"Well, that's ambitious."

"Look, the way I see it, there are only two ways of becoming big. One, become big gradually. It'll be a steady progress but it'll take time. Two, take down a guy who's already big. Once he goes down, we become big. It's a quicker way, but harder. You can't convince a guy who lords over thousands to yield to you. You gotta take him down in a fight."

Kamui asked, "How good will you do in a fight?"

"Not great, I guess. If you can rip apart thick steel walls with your fingers, as I've heard, then..."

"I can do better than that, actually"

"... then maybe I'm not as strong as you. But I have speed. I have precision. I have instinct."

Kamui smiled, "We're in. Let's do this."

Kagura screamed, "WHAT? NO WAY."

Kamui quickly spoke, "Correction. I'm in. Let's do this."

Kagura stared angrily at her brother. "You're not gonna leave me alone. You're NOT gonna leave me alone!"

"I'm not. You are leaving me. Everything this guy wants to give me — fun, madness, excitement — I want that! I want all of that! I'm tired of hiding. I don't want to hide anymore," spoke Kamui before turning his gaze towards the sea, "Look at the sea. A few minutes ago, the sea was just lots and lots of water to me. Now... Now, I feel I can dare to find a new life in that water. A new journey of risks, dangers... A new journey which may lead me to my doom, but I want this journey. Please. Please, come with me."

Kagura said nothing. For the first time in years, she saw passion in his brother's eyes. Her eyes welled up.

"Okay," she whispered.

Kagura and Kamui, CHAPTER ZERO
''Kagura and Kamui. The daughter and son of a distinguished family. Their father Vega Vic, renowned as Toothpick Vic, was a streetfighter whose grandfather Vega Vincenzo rose from poverty and became a smuggler, a businessman who dealt with pirates.''

The businessman's blood coursed strong in Toothpick's veins, but by heart, he was a fighter.

''One day, he found a young fighter, much like himself. Impressed by the young boy, Toothpick took him. The boy, Bill, served as Toothpick's muscle, and served him well. The only thing that Bill wanted was money for his brother's education, and that's exactly what he got.''

''Toothpick had enemies, lots of them. He also had friends more dangerous than enemies. Men of Toothpick's nature — the ones who were driven by their hearts, not their brains — didn't live long in business. Toothpick didn't, either.''

''His demise came by the hand of Bill, the boy driven by money. Toothpick didn't blame him. Bill was a fighter who was out for himself, and nobody else, and that's precisely what Toothpick liked about him in the first place. As a final sign of gratitude towards the businessman, Bill escorted Vic's wife and kids, the three-year-old twins, to safety.''

''Kagura and Kamui didn't blame Bill either. They only blamed the minds behind their father's death. Years went by. A couple of World Nobles — the perpetrators of Vic's death — were killed by the eighteen-year-old twins. They were hunted by the law, and have been hiding ever since.''

''But no more. You know why? 'coz I'll find them. We'll get out, and I'll find them. I'll take them on a great adventure. I know it in my heart that they'll come with me. You know why? 'coz I am Bill.'' — Morrow