Men of Darkness.
A/N: Okay first chapter of a longer story I'm planning to write. This story will have M-rated contend and I advise you not to read what you can't handle.
One Piece is owned by Eiichiro Oda
Chapter 1.
It was a dark and starless night. One of those that completely snuffed out all light the moon was shining towards the ground. A soft breeze flowed throughout the night air, apparently the only constant sound around for miles, as if to say: 'Hey guess what, everyone is asleep right now except for you!' Two wheeled vehicles facing each other lit up the darkness, providing the owners with a few feet of sight. Not much, but enough to see what was happening right beside you. Directly between the light of both vehicles a woman stood, long orange colored hair reaching down to her back, and brown eyes set on the darkened horizon. She was covered in a thick fur coat as to protect her from the night's cold while wearing a sweater and blue jeans underneath. Holding a small briefcase in her right hand, she clung on to the handle as if her life depended on it. The soft salty breeze tickled her face and it helped relax the young woman, barely even noticing the occasional vermin that slipped through the darkness. It was a quiet night to say the least, aside from the annoying whispers that kept bugging her now and then.
"Oi, did you hear that?" one of them asked. A hint of fear was noticeable in his voice. "I know I just heard something move there."
"I think I heard it too" another confirmed with his legs shaking. "It didn't sound too friendly"
The woman let out an annoyed grunt. "Can't they just shut up for two minutes?" Normally she could have taken it, having cowards around her who thought a rat scurrying by was scary, but not now. This wasn't a time to have them scream like little girls the moment one of those ugly pests showed their faces. Keeping her cool was hard enough without their contribution and quite honestly they were getting on her nerves.
"You know what isn't friendly?" the first coward inquired. "This guy were about to meet. Goes by the name of 'axe-hand', rumor has it he's a real monster."
"I know, right?" The other agreed again. "they say he can cut trough solid concrete with his right arm."
"He'd be able to break us like a toothpick! Why are we even waiting for that kind of a person?"
"Does the boss want us dead?!"
"Calm the fuck down!" the woman yelled, making the two drop their conversation. She had enough of them scaring each other like that. They were grown men almost peeing themselves and the 'Axe-hand' as they called him wasn't even here yet! "You guys seem to be forgetting that this is just a simple pay-out assignment. We're not fighting, not killing, just giving this guy his bribe and getting the hell out of here. So for the millionth time there is no need to worry!"
"As expected from our Nami-san!" The men swooned, both having lost their annoying coward-like attitude and replaced it with their own perverseness. "Even in the darkness her beauty shines the brightest!"
"Whatever" She shrugged. "Either way I wouldn't have cared if I lost you two.."
"So cold!" they both yelled in unison.
A third light appeared from the darkness, another car which slowly made its way over the docks. The woman cursed under her breath as the vehicle pulled up to her location. The transition was about to commence, and those idiots were still caught up in their antics. The moment they failed to keep their cool things could get messy, extremely messy on their part. After all, next to being a monster 'Axe-hand' was also immensely paranoid. Past experiences had thought her that much.
Out of the car stepped three men. Two small and a rather tall, intimidating man, having hair that was white-blondish and a tanned skin. A long navy-blue cloak was draped over his shoulder and reached down to his heels. More obvious about him however was a piece of steel that decorated most of his jaw, and of course the axe for a right hand which had earned him his nickname. He could be considered scary or intimidating to a normal thug or civilian, even if you counted out the obvious weapon he carried around. But to her it was just another day on the job.
"Morgan" she stated.
"Witch" his gruff voice answered. "So where's my money?"
"Patient as always." You could see him cast quick glances into the darkness before returning his gaze to her. So he was aching to get this over with quickly, huh? Paranoid indeed. She was just glad her little underlings were too afraid of him to screw this thing up. The suitcase was brought up to view. "Your monthly pay of twenty thousand Beri, as promised."
"Good." An eager hand started to reach out for said suitcase, only to have Nami pull out of reach for him.
"And in return" she spoke seriously "You and your little subordinates look the other way when our gang members do their 'business'."
Morgan looked a bit dumbfounded at the young lady, as in where she got the guts to make demands on him. He shrugged off the slight annoyance. "Of course, me and my men will make no report when Arlong's gang members make a move," he stated proudly. "I am a man of my word"
"Yeah right" she murmured while bringing the suitcase up again. 'coming from the corrupt police officer that's kind of hard to believe.' With an elegant swoop it flew through the air, only to be caught by Morgan. "Arlong seems to trust you a lot more then I do, so just take your money and go."
"How do I know it's really in there?"
"You'll just have to trust me on that" the obvious answer was. A grunt was his only answer. The same annoyance came up to him as this girl again tried his patience. She was enjoying this however, bringing a low-life like him back down to reality thrilled her. It was playing with fire, but she got some sick satisfaction out of it. And she wasn't done just yet. A sly grin crept up her face. "After all who would you turn to if you were denied your little slush fund?"
"Are you threatening to cut me out of my end of the deal cat burglar?" he growled, his face now darkened and full of rage, "Because I don't like to be double-crossed, not one bit"
"Oh really, what are you going to do about it mister police captain~?"
"How about I show you!" he yelled, surprising her at how close he suddenly got. He brought the axe for a right hand up above his face in an over the top way. The two idiots behind her began to cower and were moments away from passing out. However it did not startle the orange-haired woman, she had the counter attack on the ready. In the overly dramatic way this guy was trying to be intimidating gave the opposite effect.
"HONESTLY" a new voice thundered throughout the harbor "YOU GUYS MAKE SO MUCH NOISE."
Nami lost her composure for a second. There weren't supposed any other people here, especially at this hour. Someone knowing of their little tradeoff could spell trouble for both sides, be it a another gang or the authorities. Even more surprising to her however was Morgan's change of mood. The tall man that had been so full of himself just a minute ago, was now breaking out in cold sweat and seemed shocked by the new voice. "Y-you"
She looked over to the source of it all. On top of one of the many containers that decorated the harbor sat a boy. Or a man, she couldn't really tell. Confusion bobbed in her mind as she inspected this man-boy. His outfit seemed rather on the expensive side, even though some things didn't fit these cold temperatures. Him wearing sandals was an example of that. Of course he compensated that by wearing black stylish pants, with a suede red blouse that was kept in place by a black tie. Along with a black jacket that nicely covered said blouse. A long and seemingly expensive black coat covered his shoulders, which he wore like a cape, as in not having the arms in the sleeves. To top it off a straw hat decorated his head, wearing it so that most of his face was covered by it. Only thing that was visible was a deranged grin that seemed to wander on the edge of madness.
"Y-you.." Morgan finally spoke again. "Why are you here?!"
"Morgan" his tone was daring, mocking even. Considering his position that crazy version of a smile fit him. Being outnumbered by both herself and Morgan made him in no position to act like he was in control. Yet, it seemed like he was. The overwhelming presence that seemed to ooze off him made her want to crawl away with her tail between her legs. He had spoken one word, one word and already she felt like a smaller person compared to him.
"You didn't think you could outrun us, did you?" again with the mocking tone. This guy was definitely insane.
"I can do whatever I want!" Well that was a first, Morgan losing his temper. He raised his normal arm to point at the new man. "Shoot him! A promotion for the one who takes his life!"
One of the subordinates quickly acted, pulling out his gun and pointing it at the newly appointed target. One click of the trigger and a bullet whizzed through the night, hitting nothing but the air. The grin had never left his face. The spectators stood frozen in place, it had seemed as if this man literary dodged a bullet.
"I don't think you understand." The crazy man spoke again. He disappeared into thin air earning gasps from everyone safe from Morgan. "So let me explain." A vague blur was all she could see. Nami's eyes almost popped out their sockets. The crazy man appeared again and now stood directly between both groups. She hadn't even see him move.
"H-h-how did you?" was all she managed to bring out.
"You see my boss doesn't like it when someone tries to double-cross him" he said, blatantly ignoring her question. "…And neither do I." He disappeared again, this time appearing so that he and Morgan stood toe-to-toe.
He flinched, before bringing up his axe for a hand and raising it above his head, probably to decapitate the idiotic man. "Die!" It sounded more like a roar than a command, but his intention was serious enough. He was going for the kill. His action froze midway however, which caused Nami to raise an eyebrow in surprise.
"Shigan"
A small stream of blood started to trickle down his mouth. A cry of pain was heard as the crazy man retracted his own arm, maniacal grin now gone from his face and replaced with a serious grimace. All life seemed to disappear from his eyes as they rolled back. Morgan the axe-hand fell backwards onto the cold ground.
Nami stood in awe as Morgan dropped, almost not willing to believe that a monster like himself was killed so easily. Her doubts faded however when she noticed a bullet-like wound on his chest. "right in front of his heart" She thought. It struck her as weird, she hadn't seen the crazy man draw a gun of his own or anything like that, and right now it didn't seem like he was holding one. All she had noticed was him pull back his right arm a bit. Casting a glance at the arm her eyes widened in shock. He wasn't holding a gun, or carrying a knife or something like that. The shock came from the fact that he held nothing in his hand. All she could see was his open hand and an index finger which was covered in blood.
"So then" he finally said, crazy grin once again appearing on his face. "anyone who wants to avenge their fallen leader?"
Morgan's lackeys, well ex-lackeys stood cowering at their feet not even bothering to mourn the loss of their superior. They just snapped back to reality before running back to their car and hightailing out of the harbor. The other spectators watched with a sweat drop as the sound of the engine faded away.
"So then, on to the next problem at hand" he turned to the people still remaining at the location, his aura taking a rather dark presence to it as he scanned all three of them. "That would be you guys."
"get back in your cars" she hissed towards the other two "now!" They quickly complied by stepping in their vehicles, but did not drive away probably waiting for their superior. The crazy man didn't move when they acted, his gaze set on the orange haired girl. She presumed he knew they wouldn't take off without her. She still had something to do.
The men next to her had nearly dropped dead from fear, but Nami had overcome the initial shock that this man's actions had triggered. And to be honest, she was quite curious to who this new killer was. "Y-you" well, maybe not all of the shock. "Who are you?"
His head shifted slightly, straw hat never exposing anything more than his jaw. "you should mind your own business." His tone having lost mocking side, it being all serious now and full of killing intend. She took a step back at this change of behavior. He pointed at the lifeless body of the police captain behind him. "Because if you don't, you might end up like him over there."
"Yosh got it, stay away from the bad man." Nami replied with a nod. But he won't be satisfied with that kind of an answer. She thought. She would still have to somehow tell her boss how this little exchange turned into an assassination. Capturing the perpetrator certainly wasn't an option. The man's physical strength outweighed her own and any others here easily, so fighting in direct combat would be suicide. Returning with an explanation like 'stay away from the crazy straw hat wearing guy who has superpowers' would probably not make a very valid excuse either. 500 Beri's say nobody would believe that. No match in combat,so perhaps she could best him in the mental area. "But how are we supposed to know who to stay away from?" she asked while bringing a finger to her chin, trying to imply she was thinking. "When onii-san won't even say who he is?" To complete the act a small pout appeared on her face, as if her miniscule brain couldn't comprehend that one.
He retorted with a low chuckle, before getting back to his usual behavior. "You don't have to play dumb with me miss… cat burglar was it? You see judging by you conversation with Morgan just a few minutes ago, I noticed that you are at least that smart."
Nami's eyes widened in surprise. She took a step backward. He started to freak her out. Now it seemed this guy had the upper hand, not for not falling for the easy bimbo act she tried to perform but having at least some information about her, while she had none. "So you know who I am then?" she asked, trying to hide her surprise.
"burglar cat, bounty of 16 million. No picture available. As of yet real identity remains unknown." He quoted, no doubt having memorized her wanted poster. "Sound familiar?" It gave him even more leverage than before, and she was getting in a tight spot here.
"Someone's done their homework" she murmured, in a fake attempt to get a friendlier air between one another. "So now that you know so much about me it would be only fair that I got to know a few things about you, wouldn't you agree?"
"Fair enough, what would you like to know?"
"How about a name?"
He laughed at her. Not a chuckle or a grin, a full out laughing in her face as if she just told the world's most hilarious joke to him. She just pouted at him. For someone who killed without hesitation he sure had a joyful laugh. "You'd really think I'd give you my name? I'm not stupid you know." He seemed rather surprised at her question. The glare she sent him was enough to make him spill at least a little information. "I have an alias though." he pointed at the straw hat that still obscured most of his face. "Thought you would have recognized me by now. People mostly like to call me Mugiwara."
"Mugiwara huh? Never heard of your name before."
"Indeed, and I usually tend to keep it that way. That's also why I need you to do something for me."
"Was wondering why you hadn't stabbed me yet." She said dryly, now getting his intentions.
He chuckled "Don't worry, just give your boss a message." He turned his back towards her to imply that their conversation was over. His voice now went back to the almost demon-like tone. "Just tell him, if he tries taking over more of the East-blue district, then Baroque works will retaliate…. And not in a nice way."
"Baroque works? She asked surprised "What are you talking ab-"
"Soru" He disappeared again. This time not coming back into view or anything. Nami looked around to see if he was still around, but to no success. He was gone. She let out an exasperated sigh before turning to the back of her car and letting one of her goons drive off.
"Nami-san" he asked "Who the hell was that guy?"
"Just drive Take." Nami took out her cell phone and let out another sigh as she dialed the number. Thoughts racing through her head as she replayed the scene between her and the so called Mugiwara, hoping to remember something that might be useful. To no success. "he won't be happy about this."
Laughter was heard as he soared through the sky, wind blowing through his hair while looking down at the city below him. Small 'puffs' appeared as he kicked his feet into the air with enough force to keep himself in the air much longer than would otherwise be possible. The building that he searched for finally came into view. He kept pushing himself higher into the air until the desired altitude was achieved. A confident smirk appeared as he stopped kicking and landed on top off a small balcony. He silently opened the door before entering the darkness of the house.
"You're late Luffy." a gruff voice called from the darkness.
The sound startled him a bit. "Ah Zoro, still awake?"
A yawn passed through the silence "Yeah.. someone had to stay awake to make sure you didn't get yourself killed." Out of the darkness he could see Zoro rubbing his tired eyes.
He pursed his lips at him "You're a bad liar Bushido."
'Bushido' grunted "You're the last person I want to hear that from. And what's up with the codename, I thought you already finished the assignment."
"Aa I did" He said with a frown. "Just have to inform the boss."
"You do that, I'm going back to sleep" Zoro shrugged "Remember we have class tomorrow."
"Yeah, yeah" Luffy declared as his eyes wandered to a small snail-like phone that rested on the coffee table. With a sad groan he plopped himself on the couch that directly faced the phone device. Stretching out his arm he picked up the speaker and dialed the number that was burned into his mind. It rung a few times without someone picking up. 'Well Jason I got him for you, I just wish t-'
"Who the hell is this" a whiny, and much to cowardly voice called from the other side.
Luffy jerked away from his thoughts " You're as good in a mood as ever Spandam" he joked "Did you need a day off?"
"haha very funny, I assume you called to report your assassination? "
His body tensed at the direct question. "… Yes" he finally answered.
"Morgan is dead then?"
"Yes, he is."
"Good" Spandam responded, malice perfectly clear in his voice. "That will probably solve our little problem of the local police trying to double-cross us again."
"I guess so" he said, while resting his head on the palm of his other hand. "There's still the threat of those small gangs trying to make East-blue their territory. One of them was enough to make Morgan go rogue."
"I'll report it to the boss. Spandam out"
"Mugiwara out."
Luffy placed the speaker back on the snail-device and made his way over to his room. He grumbled while he threw his coat on the couch that stood in the corner. With a quick leap he jumped on his bed back first. A hand digging through his hair as a sick grin crept up his face. 'let's hope she gives through the message, for her own sake.
"...and that's what happened" she said.
"I see" A large, blue skinned man answered. He had a weird saw-shaped nose decorating his face, and a chin big enough that would fit four people. Large gills decorated his shoulders. While he wore a Hawaii-shirt and green shorts that didn't exactly scream gang leader off of him. Of course looks don't make the man. He sat behind a desk while tapping the wood in an incoherent manner, eyes staring into nothingness, clearly he was deep in thought. His face ripped back towards her location. "Is that all that happened?"
Nami winced a bit at the harsh tone in his voice. "No, he also warned me about something called Baroque Works retaliating against us."
His eyes widened slightly. His hands stopped tapping the desk. "Go home Nami" he said sternly. She looked a bit weird at him, probably wanting to know what his surprised gaze had betrayed. But something told her that it was better left alone for now. She nodded and took her leave. As the door closed another person was revealed from the shadows.
"So, what are you going to do about this Arlong?" a voice called from the shadows. "Now that we've drawn in attention from someone like them."
"Let's just say step one of my plan is under way" he confirmed with a smirk.
A person stepped forward, revealing himself to be a ray-like fishman. He let out a sigh. "I just hope you aren't messing with forces you can't control."
"Shut it, Kuroobi."
AN: first chapter, not a lot of things get explained in the first chapter. It's annoying I know but that's why patience is a virtue. Not so much M-rated this chapter but I just rated M to be sure. Thanks for reading, if you liked it please give it a review and criticism is welcome. And yes I gave Luffy Rokushiki abilities and here I am explaining them.
Shigan (index finger gun) - The user jabs his index finger forward at a very high speed, creating a bullet like wound on his opponent and making a gun unnecessary. If used correctly the technique can penetrate skin, flesh and even bone.
Soru (shave) – allows the user to move at extreme speeds. When mastered the technique can make it seem as if the user disappeared, whereas someone who hasn't fully mastered it will still be noticeable to the eye.