Chapter 16: The Promise of Zou

As soon as I heard that voice, I turned to look towards the doorway that I decided to not pay attention to, where it came from, to see a small... humanoid... orange and black furred fox... girl... with black hair... child? In a rag dress?

I immediately recognized what this child was. 'What is a Mink doing all the way in the East Blue of all places? Especially on Logue Town? Zou is all the way in the New World, so what happened to cause this?'

They backed up a little into the dark room, trying to look around the wall, and I fully turned my body towards her. 'I should probably just grab some money to replace mine, but I might as well ask first.'

"So, little girl." She winced at that. "What are you doing all the way on an island in the East Blue while you should be on Zou?"

She shivered and shook while asking with dazed eyes "Who are you!? What is Zou!? What are you doing here!? How did you get here!? East Blue!? What are you talking about!?" And continued asking questions with... swirled eyes and actual question marks coming out of her head.

'Whelp, seems she's in an unstable mental state. Guess I'll take my money and interest now and come back later when she's done. I can trade the gold for money before then, right?' and I turned to the pile of literal gold, took a couple steps towards it before the fox mink girl ended up sliding in front of me with her arms wide open as if she was protecting that money, causing me to stop.

She stared at me intensely and yelled "YOU CAN'T TAKE THIS! I NEED IT!"

'Not the reaction I was expecting. There is totally a reason, might as well ask. I don't have anything else to do for the day, or for a while.'

"*Sigh* Okay then, why can't I get a little more than you took from me?"

"Because! I'm going to find my homeland!"

"So, what are you going to use that gold for?"

"I'm gonna use it to pay people to help me find my homeland! But I don't know how much it would take, so I've been collecting hoping it's enough!"

'Oooooh, that makes so much more sense. But trying to find Zou? That amount of money is not even close to enough to get anyone to help you in the New World.'

And we just stood staring at each other for a couple seconds before I actually saw a lightbulb appear over her head. "Didn't you say Zou? Is that the place I'm looking for? Since you know, can you take me there?" And she changed from staring intensely to staring and waiting for an answer as she retracted her arms to look at me for that answer.

'Are you serious? That's the conclusion she comes to? To ask someone who may be bluffing about the whole thing just for the hope of finding her homeland of Zou? She really is a child.'

"You trust way too easily. I could be lying about the whole thing, and you just take my word for it?" I still had my hood on, so my face was still hidden, even with my evil looking eyes.

And then she started to back away again, this time switching to being scared, with her face and her curled up tail showing how scared she was.

"Y-you wouldn't d-d-do that, r-right?"

"OF COURSE I WOULDN'T!" And I eccentuated the truth of that statement throwing my arms up and down, and stomping on the ground with my foot.

She jumped at my movement, but then realized what I had just said. "Y-you wouldn't?"

And continuing my over exaggerated movements, I answered "No! I wouldn't! In fact, if you asked, I probably would bring you along when I decide to go there!"

Moving closer to me ever so slightly, and being slightly cautious still, she asked "You would?" With a slightly skeptical, slightly questioning, and a star or two in her eyes.

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"*Sigh* Yes. It may be a few years until then, but I probably will." And then started to sweat a little. 'Did I forget Dogstorm and Nekomurashi? The two um.. mink followers of Oden and future leaders of the Mink tribe on Zunesha? I seriously need to write down everything, and if I remember more, I better write that down. I'll need a fresh notebook for that though.'

"In fact, I know some others from Zou other than you. They could probably help get you there."

And she jumped up with an unfurled tail in excitement, then saying "CAN YOU TAKE ME THERE NOW? I WANT TO MEET OTHERS LIKE ME! THERE IS SO MUCH I WANT TO KNOW! Who my parents are, why I can't swim, how I can make rocks appear from nowhere, and how I ended up here! I can't wait to ask!" And with a smile, she ran over to the blanket pile and started to grab them?

'Did she say she can't swim? Is that why she needs so much gold? So she can pay people to bring her there the entire time? I mean, I get the problem but.. did she also say she can just make rocks appear? Pair that with the inability to swim, and it sounds like she ate a devil fruit! I don't remember the mink tribe being able to just make rocks or unable to swim, so a devil fruit would make perfect sense.'

I turned to her direction, and asked "Did you eat a devil fruit?"

'Wait, that's the wrong question! She just started to get ready to go on a journey that quickly? Is she expecting me to take her there right now?' I walked close to the blanket pile after hearing her say 'Huh?' and then said "Nevermind! The real question is, what are you doing? I didn't say I was going there now! I said I was going to go there in a few years! Not a month! So can you slow down on this whole thing?"

She was facing away from me, but using observation, I could see her start crying a little, but I didn't need to as she turned her head to me and asked "So you won't take me?" With tears welling up.

'Oh crap. What do I do with this? Whenever a girl cried in my last life, I didn't know what to do, and just sat there or stood there. What do you do in a situation like this?' and so, I just started to talk out of nowhere. 

"I never said I wouldn't take you, I just said it would be a while. And so, if you hear me out, I'll take you there when I go." And the welling tears stopped accumulating, only for her to sit down on the pile of blankets with her hands on her knees.

And I walked over, sat down next to her, and said slowly and calmly "I will take you with me to Zou, but only if you help me out as well. I will only help you if you lend me all of that money you have, and travel with me when I do, only then will I bring you to Zou. I will promise you that I just need money, and I'll be good. I may use the area around here to train, but other than that and the money slash gold you have, and I will personally bring you to Zou."

For a minute or two, there was just silence while the fox girl child was thinking on what I just told her. And the she started crying again.

'Okay, a rollercoaster of emotions is not something I wanted to go through today, but I guess this is what I get for wanting to get my stolen money back.'

She asked me while turning her head and looking me straight in the eyes "Why? Why would you help me out? Why are you being so nice to me?"

That caught me off guard. I didn't expect her to ask questions like that, but I needed to answer them.

"I am doing this because I wanted my money back, but then I decided to start asking questions, and got roped into helping you, so I guess the answer to why I would help you out is because I assume you wanted help. As for why I'm being nice, that is purely just me. It is how I act, it is how I am. Does that answer your questions?"

And she continued to ask more "Why don't you treat me differently? Everyone I have tried to talk to yelled at me, kicked me, called me a monster, and I didn't know what to do, so I ran and found this hole in the ground. So why don't you treat me differently?"

'Another off guard question. Yay.' I fell backwards onto the blankets and let my hood finally fall down, letting her see my red nose and blue hair. "Well, I would be treated differently too if people saw my face. Although I probably would be hunted if people knew my past and knew how I looked, so I've just been hiding myself from the populus until the time is right. What that means is: I'm different too."

And she just stared at me for a little while before saying "You will really help me?"

"Yes. I will help you... I don't know your name yet."

She wiped away her tears and looked at me. "My name is Taki. I'll help you if you bring me to this Zou place." And smiled.

"Then I promise on my name, Buggy D. Clown, that I will get you to Zou."

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