Chapter 5: Itsuka
I zipped from tree to tree, bouncing through the air with Gepo and moving full speed with Soru as I approached in fear of overshooting my target. I was moving with a determined purpose for the first time in my life, not even stopping to make a plan like I usually would have. My mind was filled with the image of a young Baby 5 alone in a dark forest, having just been abandoned by her mother and was about to become prey for whatever monster was now baring down on her.
My mind was racing so fast that I couldn't concentrate enough to keep my Haki from going haywire and the closer I got, the more blurry the location seemed to be, however, I still recalled the general area of the two and was headed there as fast as I could. I only hoped I wasn't late as I grit my teeth and pushed my body a little faster and a little harder than before.
(3rd POV))
Baby 5 was sitting in the middle of a forest clearing hugging her legs and weeping softly. It had been hours since her mother had abandoned her and she had spent those hours crying herself into exhaustion and unconsiousness, only to have hunger pangs wake her up after what was only a few minutes.
Baby 5's stomach grumbled loudly as she hugged her knees even more tightly. She was hungry and tired and had nowhere else to go. Worse yet, even if she did have one, if she wasn't useful to anyone then what was the point of living? Baby 5 scanned the landscape around her dead eyes. She hoped, vainly, that her mother would come back for her any minute now. Surely, yes, it must have been a mistake. Her mother wouldn't leave her alone in this place.
Baby 5 wasn't stupid. She knew her mother loathed her to some extent. She'd always steal Baby 5's share of what little food they managed to scrounge up. She'd force her to do dangerous jobs for the people in the village and then take Baby 5's payment for herself. There were even times Baby 5 would be kicked out of the small shed they called a 'home' whenever pirates would come. Her mother would sometimes invite them in and they'd always leave some food for her mother and her after she came back hours later.
Even if her mother never really cared about her, surely she wouldn't just abandon her to die, right?
A twig snapped nearby and Baby 5's excited face immediately turned toward the sound. It was her mother! She'd returned! Or so she thought. There, standing in silhouette was a gigantic beast. Its wide face was larger than her whole body and piercing large yellow eyes stared hungrily at her. Baby 5 could hear a low but deep growl coming from the creature as it stepped into the light of the setting sun.
"El Tigre!" She whispered to herself as she stared down the 10-meter-long, 4-meter-tall tiger that was slowly approaching her.
Baby 5 immediately stood up and stared down the beast as it showed off its large white fangs. She began to shake as she commanded her body to move but it just stayed still. El Tigre crouched down and got into a punching position.
"Move. Move. Move. Move." Baby 5 commanded to herself as she knew the Tiger was about to leap.
"Move!" She yelled with all her might as the Tiger lept for her and she dove underneath the leap just in time.
Baby 5 flopped unceremoniously to the floor before turning around and looking to see that El Tigre had sailed clean over her when he pounced due to her own movement, however, now the massive predator was annoyed and turned to face Baby 5 again, letting out a loud roar.
Baby 5 immediately picked herself off the ground and began to run away. She knew, in the back of her mind, that she was running further and further away from the village she grew up in, but she had no other choice. If she had to run to the other side of the island, then she would.
She ducked and jumped over and through the underbrush, her clothes tearing and skin being whipped by branches as she fled from her life. The monster was close behind her. She could hear it tearing through trees as it pursued its fleeing prey. After several more moments, Baby 5 tripped on a root and began tumbling down a slight incline, landing hard in a small nook in a very large tree.
Baby 5 took several seconds to catch her breath as she looked around, for any way to escape. There was a thunderous crash as the monster smashed into the tree, rattling the entire structure. Baby 5 covered her head and screamed, she turned her head only to notice a large paw coming at her. It struck her hard, pushing her further into the nook, but thankfully the monster's claws had gotten caught on the tree and were now stuck.
Baby 5, now pinned to the rapidly collapsing tree looked around for anything that could possibly help her free herself, spotting a crack in the wood that led to the outside world. Her eyes went wide. Through the crack, she saw a large apple tree nearby, full to the brim with juicy-looking fruits. Her adrenaline pumping, Baby 5 tried pulling herself free fo the paw that pinned her. It took a few more moments of struggling but eventually, she was free.
She crawled through the hole in the wood and ran towards the tree. Just as she reached it, she quickly jumped into the air using all of her strength, picking a large strange-looking apple that hung down lowest of all the apples. Her plan was to pick a few while El Tigre was still stuck and then run away, however, she never got the chance.
Just as she landed from a second leap in an attempt to collect more apples, the tree that was holding El Tigre at bay burst open and the large monster stood, ready to continue the chase.
"Oh no!" Baby 5 said as she began backing up, ready to run.
Baby 5 looked down at her small collection of apples in her arms before dropping all but two. She chucked the one in her left hand, hitting El Tigre right in its eye and causing it to shriek in annoyed pain before twisting on her heels and preparing to run once again.
"Not so fast you big stupid cat!" She heard a cry from behind her and against her better judgment, she saw a handsome young boy with purple hair in the air directly above El Tigre.
"Watch out!" She yelled in concern.
"No need to worry! [Tempest Kick]!" Ramiel called out as he swung his leg quickly, sending a wave of cutting energy at the Monster who was now fully fixated on its new prey.
*Slice*
The [Tempest Kick] cut clean through the monstrous tiger's flesh, cutting one of its eyes and slicing part of the way through its skull. El Tigre reeled in pain and anguish after being blinded and cut while Baby 5 looked on in stunned silence as the young boy landed in front of her, perfectly fine.
"Are you hurt?" He asked, looking her over a few times, noting her cuts and scrapes.
"N-no... who are you?" Baby 5 asked hesitantly.
"Me? I'm Ramiel. Ramiel D Miles. It's nice to meet you!" He said with a big smile on his face. "What about you?" He asked.
"I-I'm Baby 5." She replied, still dazed at the events unfolding in front of her.
"Baby 5, huh? Baby 5... It really is a cruel name isn't it." Ramiel said, more to himself than anyone else.
A shock ran through Baby 5's system as she heard that and her demeanor changed, becoming more gloomy. She'd never admit it, but she didn't really like her name. It wasn't a real name, just a number, as she was the fifth child her mother had birthed, though she never did learn of her older siblings.
"Well, whatever. If that's your name and you like it then..." Ramiel started.
"No-" Baby 5 caught herself from saying anything more. She didn't want to trouble this man after he had saved her already. She clenched her fists and looked down. She just realized that he'd saved her. She was useless and needed to be saved.
'No wonder mother-' She began to think.
"No. Well then lets give you something more fitting! 5 huh... 5. Names with the meaning of 5... Itsuka? Yeah, that could work! From now on your Itsuka." Ramiel declared.
"Eh?" Baby 5 was confused for a moment. This man had just come out of nowhere and was now giving her a new name after hearing her old one just a second ago. What kind of person would do such a thing? He was weird! He was weird but-
"Roooaaaarrrr!!!!" El Tigre had finally recovered from its agony and turned back toward the two children. This wasn't about the hunt for food anymore, this was now a battle of revenge. It would kill them, tear them limb from limb leaving nothing behind but a puddle of red slurry.
El Tigre's large sword-like sharp claws emerged from its paws as it leaped into the air, ready to deliver the killing blow to the purple-haired boy first. Its killing intent was so strong it physically manifested in a deep red aura around it.
Baby 5, seeing this, shouted in shock. "Look out!"
Ramiel sighed and turned toward the monster. "Can you not? [El Thor]!" He said as he raised his alarm towards the Giant Tiger. Not even a moment later a large and loud stream of lighting shot out of Ramiel's hand, roasting the tiger instantly.
The large blackened mass crashed into the floor behind them not a second later, kicking up small amounts of dirt and dust.
"Eeeehhhhhhhhh!!!" Baby 5 was so shocked by the sudden turn of events that she made a strange face in response to it.
"Itsuka, are you ok?" Ramiel said, turning back to the stunned Baby 5, needing o wave his hand in front of her face before she was knocked out of her trance.
"Eeep! I'm sorry! I'm not tasty Mr Electric man!" She squealed and looked away from what she assumed would be her killed.
"I'm not going to kill you," Ramiel said, sounding exasperated. "For one I don't kill kids. Second I'm not a cannibal. Third, why would I kill one of my future crewmates?" He explained.
Baby 5 was stunned after hearing the last sentence and immediately turned to look at Ramiel with wide-open eyes. "Huh? Wait, do you mean... I'll be useful to you?" She asked.
Ramiel looked at her with a raised eyebrow as if confused. "Of course. Unless you don't want to-" He started.
"No! I'll do it! I'll be a part of your crew or whatever!" She said instantly and with a seriousness that was surprising to Ramiel
After a moment he began to chuckle. "Alright then. I forgot about that trait in the heat of the moment there but I guess this works too. Alright, Itsuka. Let's make a deal. In the future, I am going to set sail to see the world and experience all it has to offer me. Will you join me?" He asked.
"As long as I can be useful to you, I'll do anything!" She stated with conviction.
"Well, I'll work on that in the future, but for now, let's get going. You look hungry, there is plenty of food aboard the ship and I'm pretty hungry too after running all the way here." Ramiel said as he walked over to Itsuka and scooped her up into a princess carry.
"Wh-wh-wh-wh-what are you doing!?!" Baby 5 asked embarrassed.
"Well, I thought it would be best if I carry you. It took a while to get here even while I was rushing, it'd take all night to walk back." Ramiel said as jumped into the air and began to Gepo and Soru back toward the ship at a lazy pace.
So much had happened and so much was running through Baby 5's head as she stayed snuggled up in Ramiel's arms during their return. There were so many things she wanted to ask him but she also didn't want to become a bother, as maybe he would abandon her if she asked. There was one thing, however, that she really wanted to know.
"Um, Sir Ramiel..." She asked, a bit quietly as if not sure she wanted Ramiel to hear her.
"Yes?" He asked.
"W-Why did you want to name me Itsuka?" She asked. She loved the name, it sounded beautiful and she was actually giddy to have finally received a real name from someone.
"Oh!" Ramiel laughed half-heartedly. "It means '5th Day fo the Month' or '5 Days'" He replied.
Baby 5's heart sunk as she heard that. If it was just another way of saying five-
"It can also mean, 'Most Beautiful Flower' depending on how you spell it." Ramiel finished.
Baby 5's face burned with embarrassment when she heard that and her heart began to thump loudly in her chest as her stomach became unsettled. It felt like butterflies were flying around inside of her. "Eh?"
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Golden_Slime
Golden_Slime Double Chappy
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone