Searching for the Max [Maximus]

[BECKY LOVE]

Becky had set off on a journey of her own.... it was odd for a spoiled and pampered rich girl to be so far away from home, especially in a town like this, but she had a mission and she wasn't going to go home until she completed it. How she had survived thus far was likely to be thought inexplicable by many, just as how she had managed to get so far from home, however, when a girl sets her mind to something, the possibilities of her accomplishments extend infinitely.

Well, she had been tracking Max down for a few weeks now. He had taken a bit of her advice too seriously.

"Don't let your father mistreat you," the words of her past rung in her ears. "You should do whatever is necessary to follow your dreams"

However, to think he would listen to her and go so far as to kill his father? Becky never would have imagined. He was in a lot of trouble already. And Becky did blame herself. She wished that she could have kept her mouth shut. All that she wished to do now was bring him home, and she was going to search for him until she had done so, even if she had to drag him by the nose.

[Maximus D. Illumina]

It had been some time since he had left home, a couple months tops but for him this was the longest amount of time he's ever spent out of Illusia. But the time he spent on his home island would hopefully be forgotten one day. That place was full of nothing but misery for him and going back would be nothing short of condemning him to death.

All of the despair he had endured over the years finally came to an end as soon as he put an end to his father's life. Despite doing such a terrible thing, it actually made him feel quite good inside. It was then he realized that killing wasn't as bad as everyone said it was. Or maybe it just meant that he was a monster after all.

Since killing his father, he had killed several others. Mostly low life thugs and a few local pirates, no one too amazing or notable.

The blond pirate walked down the streets of Loguetown, swords at his side to be drawn at a moment's hesitation. Little did he know that his childhood "friend" was walking behind him only a few yards away. The very person who gave him the little bit of courage it took to kill his father.

[BECKY LOVE]

Unfortunately, finding Maximus in this town wasn't as easy as Becky had been hoping that it would be. There were so many people here of varying body shapes and sizes, especially men. How she would find him, she wasn't certain. Anything short of just randomly calling out his name seemed unlikely to work. And the latter would just draw attention to herself. She'd sound like a poor lost little girl, which would be sure to draw attention to a pampered girl like her.

"Heya, toots," the voice of a shirtless pirate in ragged pants and sandals projected itself from behind Becky. She soon felt his hand upon her right shoulder, beckoning her to turn around and face him. However, as soon as she did, she caught a whiff of his breath. It was the unmistakable stench of alcohol; he was drunk.

"Oh umm... hi," Becky answered him. There was an obvious nervousness in her voice. Her cheeks were now bright red, and if anything, she was even sweating a bit from how uncomfortable this was.

"You should come with me and show yer daddy a good time," He said, his hand steadily crept under her skirt, after which he stole a few quick squeezes of her flesh. After this, with his free hand, he threw his free arm around her, beneath her arms and around her chest to grab her and hoist her up.

"Jerk! You'd better let go of me now! Help!" She cried out loud. Though in only moments, he had moved his hand from beneath her skirt to over her mouth to muffle her screams.

"Ye come here dressed like a school girl, you must be lookin' ter learn somethin'! Well here's what, Daddy's gonna give you some free lessons!" The pirate said as he began to drag Becky away, as stealthfully as he could. His aim, to take her into the nearby alley.

[Maximus D. Illumina]

He had been minding his business, going about his way for the most part. Even the most important of situations got ignored by Max unless he was apart of it. If he wasn't, then why even bother himself with getting involved in something if he didn't have to? Ah, he was such a simple minded little pirate yet it was simple thinking such as that which would keep him alive in a dangerous world.

The cries and pleading of a young female had caught his ear. It wasn't the fact that the voice was female that really got his attention, it was just that it sounded just like...her.

With little hesitation, the pirate would turn around and notice a bright patch of pink disappearing headed toward an alley. A closer look told him that a girl was being carted off to an alleyway for various things to happen to her. Normally he'd let this type of situation slide by, but something in his gut made him think of...Becky. But it couldn't be her. She was safe in Illusia, right? He'd head over to the girl who was in need, he'd save her for sure.

Right hand gripping for the handle of one of his katana, cold steel was once again brandished by the blond pirate. It was as if death were in his hands, capable of delivering it to any individual who crossed his path. With no lapse between when he had drawn his weapon and when he decided to delve its blade into the back of the pirate, a fountain of blood would pour forth as he jammed his blade into the man.

"That's off limits for you. Now you die." Even though the boy's eyes were as blue as the sky, they still didn't seem at ease at all. If anything, his eyes were filled malice, hate and murderous intent. Killing no longer bothered him, it hadn't since he killed his own father.

A crowd would gather as this ruthless form of street justice was implemented. Just as quick as he had stabbed the pirate, his blade was already once again sheathed. "UGHHHHHH! What did y-" The dying pirate's voice was muffled by all the blood in his lungs filling up as he no longer could hold Becky and would begin to topple over.

"You should have stayed home, it's dangerous." That was as close to a greeting as anyone could get out of Max anymore.

[BECKY LOVE]

The drunk man soon released Becky from his grasp, after which she was able to catch her fall by landing on her own two feet. She quickly whipped around to see her would-be attacker standing there impaled by a katana. The voice of the boy who had saved her was very familiar. However, his voice was also different. He no longer sounded like a boy. He had the convictions of a man now. Perhaps it was a testament to how he had been living his life as of recently.

Becky watched in horror as the drunk man Max had just killed fell to the ground, now dying in a puddle of his own blood. Max had killed him. And now, Becky was in a state of shock. Was it right to kill the man? Perhaps, after all, he was by no means innocent... but still, murdered in cold blood. She never would have wanted to see it. She had never seen anything like it before.

This was now the second person she had seen who was killed by Max. First, it was his father. She was the first one to see his dead body when she went to his house to visit Max. And now, this time not only had she seen the body, but she had witnessed the murder as well. She didn't know what to say. She was lost in words.

"Max!" She flung her arms around him and held him into a tight hug. Her eyes were teared up and she was crying. She couldn't help it, she was both in shock, confused, and happy, all at the same time.

[Maximus D. Illumina]

Why was she here? That was the only question going through his mind at the moment. Any other question would be dumbfounded and unimportant at this point. Becky was one of the only "friends" he had back in Illusia, if he dared to call her that. Sure, they were neighbors and classmates and all that jazz, but what made her cross an ocean to come follow him? What made her act so stupid?

Soon enough, he felt a tight embrace from the scared female. The warmth of her body was somewhat refreshing, though the wetness of the tears that followed didn't get the same feeling out of him. Eh, he didn't like these types of awkward situations at all.

The pirate's eyes homed onto Becky, though the soon wandered off as the sobbing continued. He'd let her hug him for a little, but only as long as she didn't expect him to hug back or say something comforting. That would be just...weird.

"why are you here?" The question was simple and he wanted a simple answer. Something told him that he already knew the answer, but he still wanted to hear it from her directly. Hell, she might even surprise him....yeah right.

[BECKY LOVE]

After a few quick moments, she released him from her hug, especially realizing that he had made no effort to hug her back. She wondered truthfully how much he had changed since he had left home. Surely, killing a man had changed him. There was no doubt about that, but how different was he on the inside. What was the extent of his change?

Sakura raised her wrist to her eyes to wipe away the tears. She was so happy to see him again. She was so happy to have him back in her life. He was her best friend after all. That was what she considered him, though that may have been because she had no other friends, and was much more commonly picked on at school for her "nerdiness".

"I came to bring you home," Becky finally said. "I told everyone about what your father did to you... And I think they're going to be more lenient to you. My father is going to hire lawyers for you as well. Y-you don't have to be worried or scared. Y-you can come back and live with me."

[Maximus D. Illumina]

Bring him back home? What for? He had nothing to return back to. Well, unless she was trying to make it seem as if she was the thing he had left there and that he should go back to be with her. That was just a strange thought or assumption or whatever one may call it.

"I don't want to go back." The blond said rather quickly and firmly at that. "I'm a pirate now. I refuse to go back and live a lie. All this training to be a Marine like my father? That's a waste. He was a waste." Even though it had been a short time since he set sail for the first time he had still managed to learn a lot.

"I'm going to become the Pirate King. And I'll do whatever it takes to get there, even kill. After what happened in Illusia these last fifteen years, I'll never give up my freedom again." Firm in his stance, he'd never give way or allow his ideals to be crushed by anyone. He cared for Becky's well being and her opinion a lot more than anyone else's but even she couldn't stop him when he was already this far.

"Besides, if I don't try...I'll never know."

[BECKY LOVE]

Becky didn't like a single word that she had heard from him so far. Going back to Illusia was the only option for the two of them. Living as a pirate to her seemed like nothing less than a child's fairy tale. There was no way that a child such as him could live such a life. Granted, he had just killed that man pretty effortlessly, but...

"You can't! We're children!" Becky attested. And this was true. Perhaps there were young pirates their age, but all in all, they were pretty young, and she considered the two of them to be pretty weak. She held her head up, her eyes were fixated on him. Her tears were already dried up, and she had become a bit more calm, as she usually was.

"No more nonsense," she took a few steps forward and seized his hand. She held it in her own. And with that, she attempted to pull him along with her. She was going to take him home. She hoped that he would follow. After all, what was she? Becky was shorter and weaker than he was, no doubt. If he fought against her, there was only so much that she could do.

"Maximus, you're not alone. I care about you, and my parents care about you. That's why I came all the way out here to find you, and we'd better go back. I'm sure they're worrying about us right now."

[Maximus D. Illumina]

"You don't get it, do you?" The blond stood still, allowing his body to become dead weight as Becky attempted to pull him along. No, of course she didn't, she was the type of person who always did what daddy told her to do. That's why he found her to be quite infuriating to be honest. However, they usually saw eye to eye on most topics.

His head was hung low, his hood blocking his eyes from meeting with hers. "If you care so much, then let me follow my dream. I mean if I go back with you, what's there besides the everyday lives that we live? There's no glory, no riches, no adventure, no stories that we keep forever. I won't be caged up again. Not by my mother, my father or you. The only way I'd go back to Illusia is in a body bag and anyone who thinks about killing me will die first." The blond was huffing and puffing now, clearly getting himself quite worked up.

He wasn't mad or upset, just...riled up. Besides, he already had a bounty on his head for other things he's done so even if he didn't go to jail for killing his father he'd certainly be sent to Impel Down for killing others.

"What's your dream? What if I took that away from you?"

[BECKY LOVE]

Becky was horrified by the thought of him returning in a body bag. How could he even say something like that? And to make matters worse, she could see it happening. If he continued to play with the big boys, then it was very possible that he could end up dead. Why would he even say something to make her think of this. All it would take was one wrong move, just like the nameless man that now lay at their feet had made. He was drunk, and he wasn't even sober. Perhaps he was otherwise a nice man, and now, after one mistake, he was dead.

Becky could feel her eyes watering up again. But this time, they stopped there. No tears rolled down from her eyes. She locked eyes with Max. Not for a second did her eyes peel away from his. Now realizing that he wasn't going to come along with her, she released his hand from her own. There was nothing that she could do to bring him along. She realized that now. He was much too determined. Had he gone crazy? Did he no longer care for his life?

She wondered. But before she could derive an answer to the question, he had already posed another to her. What was her dream? What if someone tried to take it away from her. She had never thought of anything along those lines before. She had given Maximus the advice of following his dreams... but really, who was she to give advice? She realized this now. She wished that she could have just kept her mouth shut earlier. She felt terrible.

"I-... I don't have a dream..." she answered truthfully. There was nothing that she wanted other than to please her family. That was all that there was to her life. She had never really needed to think about what she wanted to gain from life. Surely enough, she was just going to live the life that was lined up for her, and perhaps marry a wealthy man, have some children, grow old and die. What more to life was there than that?

"All that I want now, Max, is to be with you. I don't want you to leave!"

[Maximus D. Illumina]

Pfft, what a childish thing to say. People who didn't have dreams were so boring and obviously weren't going much further in life than they already were. Becky was a nerdy daddy's girl who didn't like being alone and maybe she wanted to stay like that. However, Max was beyond being the son of the rich marine who abused his son and daughter, he was an aspiring pirate who was going to definitely become the Pirate King.

"But I already left. And so did you." The boy would go on to say, looking directly at Becky. He pointed to the large sign that read "Loguetown" with his thumb, a clear symbol that they were indeed no longer in Kansas or Illusia...whichever you fancy.

"Besides, what's so important about my presence? I didn't do anything but cause problems for you anyway. I don't really...even...understand you that well." He didn't know what they were to one another or if they were anything at all. Clearly they must have been at least friends if she came all this way. Fuck, this was ridiculous. He couldn't even look at her anymore because he was so embarrassed at the fact that he spewed out all those thoughts.

[BECKY LOVE]

No dreams? Perhaps it was childish, but Becky didn't think so. She wasn't raised to think outside of the box of Illusia. And the life she had lined up for her was a good one, wasn't it? She would most certainly be rich, wealthy, and she was already well-bred. It would be a waste for her to throw away that life she had planned for her. Many people fought and worked hard their entire lives to get to the place which she was born into. They struggled hard to get the things she was born with and many of them were still unable to attain them. Wouldn't it be rude for her not to accept that life which she had?

"Don't be stupid Max. Your presence is very important to me," Becky attempted to reassure him. How could he not understand that she cared a lot about him? It was difficult to explain this to him though. She didn't know why she was so attracted to him... what it was that pulled her toward him like some kind of powerful force, but she couldn't imagine living the rest of her life without him, and she couldn't even think of him being out there somewhere dead and her never finding out. It would be an unbearable stressor on her.

Unable to convey her emotions properly, she realized that the best way to express her feelings was physically. So once again, she wrapped her arms around him to embrace him. She held him tightly once again. She was crying again, and this time she couldn't hold it back.

"I'm not going to let you go off and get yourself hurt, Maximus. I can't live not knowing whether or not you are okay, especially not when it's my fault that you left," she said.

"At least bring me with you. You have to! I'm not going home without you."

[Maximus D. Illumina]

A blush graced his face as she said that he was important to her. He could feel his face getting hotter and hotter the more she spoke, it was unnatural to him though. Actually he started to get worried that this was some kind of weird reaction to poison or something, considering he wasn't the type to blush. Maybe he didn't have to understand her completely or at all, it was kind of calming just having her there.

With a bit of concentration, the tension in his body was eased and the pink hue that had sullied his face had gone. He honestly didn't know what to make of this situation or her feelings or even his own. This was all new to him, being so...genuine and open with his feelings. It was kind of gross even.

And once again he was caught up in her vice grip of a hug, unable to slip away from here grasp. Oh no, she was going to squeeze the life out of him for real. Maybe she was an assassin out to kill him! Or...nope, she just wanted to cling to him again.

"Is this one of those marriage proposal things?" He said with a puzzled look on his face, staring directly at her once more. He really...had to work on his woman skills.

[BECKY LOVE]

Maximus had to understand now. He had to understand that Becky wasn't going to let him get away. If he cared anything about her, then he would let her tag along with him. Otherwise, she would likely run into the same type of trouble that she had met today. This was because she was going to follow him no matter where he went, regardless of whether he wanted for her to follow him or not. She was going to follow him. She wasn't going to turn around. She would chase him to the end of the Earth to make sure that he was okay.

Becky held him tightly in her arms all the while. She wasn't going to let go. She knew that if she did, it was quite possible that he would leave her. She knew that it was possible that he wouldn't want a girl holding him back on his journey. She wasn't a fighter. She would drag him down. It was inevitable. But she needed to be there with him. Perhaps if she was there, she could stop him from getting into as much trouble as he would without her.

Becky began to calm down once again, and thus laughed a bit at his comment. Marriage proposal? She hadn't been thinking about marriage, or love yet. She was only thinking about how much she cared about him and how much she didn't want for him to get hurt.

"Don't be silly, Maximus, proposing is your job," she said playfully, though she was serious all the same.