On a sunny day, there was a white-haired, fair-skinned teen standing on a small planked stage in a plaza. He had a dark-brown violin on his shoulders and had his head resting upon it. A bowstring in his right hand, he solemnly moved it up and down. The strings generated a melodic and depressing symphony. Contrasting the upbeat and sunny atmosphere of the plaza.
Passerbys had subconsciously halted their steps as the rhythmic notes passed through their ears. Slowly, the crowd intensified and the musician reached his encore. Edward Faust furiously moved his bowstring as the violin responded with its sonata. After finishing his ballad, applause echoed in the plaza. Ironically, it was the best moment of his performance. Hearing the sounds of his audience cheering for him was music to his ears.
"Thank you! Thank you!" he basked in the attention given and took a graceful bow to the crowd. "It is a musician's every dream to have their audience applause! Thank you, everyone!" Edward had a grin on his lips. 'Yes! praise me! adore this genius, hahaha!'
Edward stepped down from his mock-up stage and placed his violin on its case. He waved a hand to the crowd and walked on the street. 'As expected of the great me! They stopped what they were doing and were mesmerized by my music...' a whistle escaped his mouth and bumped into a wall.
He looked up and grumbled under his breath. Edward noticed a dark-green-haired man in front of him. He sported a white yukata that had blue waves on its sleeves. Paired with a black jittoku haori patterned with moon-shaped logos on it. "Are you blind!?"
"No, I see you just fine. " answered the green-haired man. "Your music is worthy of the applause earlier. "
Edward curled his lips. "Of course! I take pride in my music. So, are you a fan? I am not signing anything for you though... "
"Hm. If you simply stop using your devil fruit abilities, I would like to listen to your true music..." he had a serious look on his complexion. "Enchanting the crowd to bask in their applause is not of my concern. You can continue doing what you like, but I truly want to hear the authentic song you played. "
"What do you mean by using devil fruit abilities? I have you know that I am not enchanting my audience!" Edward felt insulted. "I come from a talented family of musicians! They are famous throughout the kingdom! The king proclaimed my talent and music as the one in a millennium prodigy!"
The man frowned at his remarks. "Is that so... " his tone disbelieving his claims. "You can continue deluding yourself with that narrative. I don't honestly care, but I can distinguish true music from fraudulent ones."
"Che—," Edward scoffed. "You claim that I am a fraud...!? You? Can you even play an instrument, no, do you know any notes, chords, or any theory about music? No! Why do I, a prodigy that even most masters in music pale in comparison, need to convince a layman that my symphony is authentic?"
"I don't mean to offend you in any way. I thought that you would know that you have devil fruit powers. " the man had an apologetic and sincere expression. "I only want to hear your true music, without you influencing my mind. It seems that you have no clue about your ability to enchant the senses of others. Recall your early memories, have you eaten a fruit so disgusting that you want to wash your tongue with soap? If you ever remember, you can find me in the harbor of this town. "
Edward still had an ugly expression evident on his face. He watched the back of the man who insulted his years' worth of hard work in improving his craft to this day. "I don't need your recognition! You hear me!?"
He murmured under his breath and stomped his feet on the road. Edward arrived in his studio in a bad mood. He couldn't stop himself from punching the wall of his room. "Devil fruit!? How can a fruit invalidate my craft? I spent my childhood learning from my father, blisters on my fingers. I almost wanted to quit many times but persevered. ... And that bastard attributed my blood, sweat, and tears to a measly fruit! Unbelievable! I have him know that I am an authentic prodigy without the need of a devil fruit to have an audience appreciate my music!"
Edward noticed the paper he bought weeks ago. "I swear to god, I have this paper tossed in the trash. " he picked up the paper and saw the wanted poster attached to it. He recognized the man in the poster, a look of rage and shock occupied his visage. "A damned pirate claimed me a fraud!? The gall he had! I will have his bounty and hang his neck to cleanse this insult he had given me. "
Edward walked forward to his desk and placed his hand on the handle of the drawer. He pulled it back and his eyes stayed on the twelve inches long pistol. Deciding to commit what he had thought, Edward breathed out and grabbed the gun. He checked its magazine and nodded at the bullets it had. "Time to go bounty hunting. "
He placed the gun in the compartment hidden in his violin case. "It has been a while since I have touched this gun. I should not be too rusty with my aim... " Edward stepped out of his studio and strolled to the harbor. He arrived a few minutes later and noticed a pirate ship that has a crescent moon as its jolly roger.
"Crescent Moon Pirates, from north blue," he recalled what he had read a few weeks back. "Uzuki Ikari, the captain of this crew. Damned scum!" he mumbled and walked to the ship.
Edward scouted the ship and noticed that it was deserted. Soon, he saw the door of the cabin open and watched a green-haired man walk out. "Good, he's alone. His crew should still be in the town," he mumbled.
He stealthily walked towards the galleon and climbed as quietly as possible. Arriving at the deck, Edward placed his violin case on the floor and was about to unlock the hidden compartment to take out the pistol when he heard Ikari's voice dawn on him.
"You came!" visible joy in his tone. "I deeply apologize for insulting you unknowingly. My hearing is sensitive and heard your song earlier in the plaza. I thought that you consciously used your devil fruit ability. But I swear that you have a unique ability that can enchant anyone who hears your symphony. Great power to have in the grand line. Imagine making your enemies sleep or making them fight amongst themselves, it is a violent, but great scene to watch. Have them at your fingertips, no, strings, and render them useless as they can't escape your control. Join my crew! I will help you control the latent talent you have. We can conquer the world as we know it! What do you say?" Ikari's passionate speech rendered him somewhat frozen in his place.
Edward felt complicated at the moment, speechless even. He had come here to kill the man but instead was recruited. Edward didn't know that a spark created a fire in his heart, he subconsciously imagined what Ikari painted with his words. The vivid image struck his mind as he balled his hand into a fist. His mind supplemented Ikari's flowery words.
"I—I... I don't honestly know what to say." Edward stuttered, his hand still touching the hidden compartment. "But... I honestly don't have that kind of ability or whatever. My music comes from my hard work, not some devil fruit!"
Ikari sighed. "You are mistaken, I meant to say that having the skill to enchant the listeners is your devil fruit ability. I didn't mean to undermine your hard work for your craft, it's great that you are a true musician, not some fraud and sham musician. It only supplemented your symphony, never overshadowing your talent as a violinist. You only scratched the surface of the devil fruit ability, it is helping you turn the heads of your audience and enhancing their first impression. But they still stayed behind and admired your music until the end."
Edward somewhat understood what he was attempting to convey. A sigh of relief escaped from him. "I thought that you attributed my sonata to a devil fruit. But how can you know what my supposed power is like?"
Ikari smiled and displayed his devil fruit ability. "Because I am one myself. As I said earlier, my hearing is sensitive and you have only a basic mastery of your devil fruit. If you truly master it, I will have no idea that you already influenced my senses. Even if you master it, you can barely enchant me... I am that powerful. " he winked. "So, have you decided to join my crew? You'll be the future 'Death Enchanter' of the world, have the world mesmerized by your sonata!"
Edward blinked his eyes multiple times. "You have a silver tongue... " Ikari scoffed at the mention of his nickname. "Fuck it! Sure! I will join you, but if you fail to deliver your promise... I'll kill you. "
"Ikahahaha!" Ikari laughed loudly at his remarks. "Be sure to aim your gun well. " he turned his gaze to Edward's violin case.
"How...?" Edward had his eyes widen in surprise. "You knew that I was going to kill you this whole time? And you still invited me?"
"I trust my judgment. The moment I heard your music in the plaza, I knew that I had to recruit you... " Ikari grinned widely. "Oh, and don't underestimate my strength. I can make you kneel without lifting a single finger. "
"What an arrogant thing to say," he responded and offered his hand to Ikari. "Since I decided to join your crew, you should know my name... Edward Faust. "
Ikari shook his hand. "Uzuki Ikari. I welcome you to the Sweet Caroline, you will be the musician of my crew!"