Hi, all…. This is Kaji of the Instrument Trio…
So this is the original story that YCDI is stemmed from, although I've changed it…. A lot. I originally started writing Thx 4 th Mmrs back in … I think 7th grade…. And have continued to write it until recently when I went back and read what started it all…
I cried inside. Everything SUCKED, so I decided to re-write the whole notebook's worth of story I had. So without further adieu, Chapter one of Thx 4 th Mmrs…
SPOILER WARNING!
I know I haven't finished You Can Do It… so if you don't want a peek at what's to come in that story, I don't suggest you read this.
Seven years after the end of You Can Do It If You Really Try
So here I am... lying on the beach… take away the screaming kids and lovey-couples that could make a rock vomit, and it's pretty peaceful.
The waves washing up dead bits of the sea onto the shore. The gulls crying out to each other. And of course the yelling of the coastguard to get off the shoreline because pirates are coming…
Wait… what?
I sat up and lifted the brim of the baseball cap I had found a couple days before. I focused on the mark on the sail of the ship. Hm…
/I could be mistaken… but/
I took out a pile of wanted posters and paged through them. Sooner than later, I was looking at the poster of a particularly large bounty. My hands shook slightly. I recognized three of the faces on the crew, not because they had been on posters or criminals prior… no… they were anything but criminals. I knew those faces… because I knew them.
Pushing the thought out of my mind, I compared the Jolly Roger on the poster to that on the sail. My mouth turned up in a smirk.
"Bingo." I quickly stashed the posters in my bag and- unfortunately leaving the hat- made a mad dash to the nearby Inn. I ran up the stairs to the room I had been staying in, almost breaking down the door when the key didn't open it fast enough.
I grabbed my clothes and sketch book, shoving them in my bag. I snatched up my belt and secured it around my waist, then ran out of the now vacant room without a second thought. I chucked 20 berries at the man at the counter as I bolted out of the tavern and towards the port at the beach.
As I ran down the street, I heard people noticing me. Only bits and pieces though, their voices faded away before I could here the ending of most of the sentences.
"Hey- was that-?"
"Three swords… It has to be."
"It's gotta be her!"
"It's Karin!"
"The bounty hunter?"
"Gonna get another band of two bit pirates!"
I snorted, as if I only went after two bit pirates. Besides, these "Mugiwara" pirates were anything but from what I've heard.
Would the battle be tough? Yes.
Would I die trying? Possibly.
Would it be worth it? Assuming I survived to be awarded that many zeros… Hell yes.
I finished this inner conversation as I got to the dock. Guess who was unloading their ship?
"Yeah! We're here! Hey Ash! Why was it you wanted to come here again?" A boy with a straw hat was first to step off the ship. The captain. I knelt behind an oil drum to observe my opponents.
"Just call it a hunch." A cappuccino colored girl was next. My heart skipped a beat as hers, and two other faces appeared.
"Ash, last time you had a hunch about something, it ended with Sanji cooking up fire starters instead of ribs." A light blue haired, pixie-like girl said.
"Aki, I think you're mistaking me for our dear Ben over there."
A brunette was next to talk "Hey! That was once! I don't see why everyone needs to keep bringing it up…"
"We keep bringing it up because we love you." Aki smiled at Ben.
"And we never want to be that sick ever again. Chopper and Robin were the only ones who didn't eat it, and they couldn't get us better for days." A deep, throaty voice entered the conversation. It belonged to a taller, green-haired man.
As their arguments continued, I studied the captain and the green-head. Three swords were what caught my eye. The wheels in my head were turning. Roronoa Zoro. This was my chance to prove myself one of the greatest swordsmen of all time. I forgot about the three girls standing next to him and stood up from behind the barrel.
"Roronoa Zoro!" he turned his head. Much to my luck, so did the forgotten ones.
"Ka-" started Aki.
"rin!" Ben finished.
Before I knew what happened, Ashimakase had knocked me over in a glomp. Akiraka and Benomaru soon followed. They were gushing and asking questions before I even had time to sit up. My mouth just flapped open and shut like a fish.
Ashi looked at me and then remembered the last actual words I had spoken. An evil grin slowly spread across her face.
"Oh, I'm sorry Ka-chan! Here we are gushing over how much we missed you, and you just wanted to go talk to that 'big hunk of Zoro' over there!" She shoved me at Zoro.
To my disdain, I plowed right into his chest. Before anything else happened, I whipped around and fixed Ashi with a glare. It didn't last long, though. My face softened.
"Damn, you know I can't stay mad at you." Her grin turned from menacing to amused in a matter of seconds.
"Yup!"
"I'm sure I've told you this before… but-"
"You hate me?"
I snorted. It may have been years since we'd seen the other, but we still knew each other like the back of our hand.
Then it hit me… why was I here again?
/right… now I remember./
I turned around again to face a slightly amused and more than a little muddled Zoro.
"Roronoa Zoro- I'm here for only one reason… no, wait- that's a lie… I was here for one reason. And that didn't have much to do with anything except for money… then those three turned up, so now I guess I have three reasons for- but now… If I each one of them as a reason… but then I would have to count the bounty too… so in total… no- no never mind I'll just count that as one… so then I have… five! Five reasons for being here right now." I laughed after a slight pause. "But all this rambling leaves me wondering how the hell I ever accomplish anything." I looked over to Aki and Ben- they just smiled at me. "Thanks guys, very reassuring."
/Note to self- smack them later./
"Anyways, getting to the point-"
"HEY ZORO! SHE'S GOT THREE SWORDS JUST LIKE YOU!" the captain interrupted. Behind me I was sure I heard a couple foreheads get smacked while someone was grumbling.
"Yeah, Luffy. Now if you'll be quiet for a second." Zoro gave Luffy a look, and the straw hated boy seemed to catch the hint and bit his lip to stop the words from tumbling out. "Now then, obviously you're a female swordsman- which is rare enough. But as my doof of a captain observed, you also practice Santoryuu?"
I nodded, we seemed to be getting where I wanted the conversation to go. "So the way I see it there are two options. First, your one crazed fangirl. Second, the Santoryuu is just a coincidence and you're looking to prove yourself as a swordsman by beating me. By the way your eye flashed just a second ago confirms my assumption that it's the later of the two."
The corner of my mouth twitched with a smirk.
"Yeah, but what I've found with any other man I challenge is that they go easy on me." /for various reasons…/ "But you won't do that- will you?"
"If I did, I'd be giving up the title of best to you. Would I do that?"
I snorted "I knew you couldn't have been all muscle… there had to be some brains in that skull of yours." I drew one sword and put it in my mouth. The other katanas followed.
"So, Karin's really gonna fight him…" Aki said to herself. I spat out the katana in my mouth.
"No, I'm gonna fight that bunny over there." I rolled my eyes.
"Smart-ass…"
"Better than a dumb-ass!"
Zoro smirked. "So are we gonna do this or what?" he, one by one, drew his swords in a similar order that I did.
"Bring it." I put my third katana in my mouth. We both bowed slightly, then slid into a fighting stance.
There was silence, we just stood there- waiting for the other to strike first. My impatience got the better of me as I dashed at him. He blocked my attack and I retreated a few steps. He went next and swung his swords at me. I countered the attack. We kept at the close combat attacks and counter attacks for a good five minutes, when I heard Benomaru yell.
"Hey! You! Can't you see their fighting? Don't interrupt!"
Zoro and I both stopped to look at the newcomer. Before I could get a good look, Ben cried out in pain and buckled over clutching her side. The culprit jumped off the port and onto the beach before either Aki or Ash had time to react. That did it, now I was mad.
"Stay with Ben! Get your doctor to fix her up. I'm going after that Bastard!"
I was racing after him before they could argue. I was a good 20 meters behind him when he whipped around. My eyes narrowed. "You're dead, Rich."
"Not if I kill you first, bitch!"
I took several swings at him, half of which made contact. He fell to his knees clutching his wounds.
"You threaten to kill everyone I care about, if I don't join you little 'gang', and you can't even hit me."
He grinned wickedly at me from the ground. I felt the burning pain in my waist before I heard or saw the pistol.
It was my turn to slump to the ground while he gloated. I didn't even hear half of what he said because of the hammering in my ears. My hand went to my side and I felt the wet, sticky blood quickly leaving my body. For the first time in seven years, I felt the warm flash of my eyes changing to the liquid amber of another being. I got up slowly. I was so intent on killing this man that I almost didn't hear the familiar voices calling my name. Everything seemed to be silent. I heard a fain heartbeat quickening with each movement I made. "Your existence in this world is ending." Richard seemed to move in slow motion as I finished it. "Viper Strike!"
I plunged both of my katanas through his front and back on either side of his heart. His eyes rolled into the back of his head, and I withdrew both of my swords. I sheathed them in the reverse order I drew them. Then my eyelids shut, and I fell onto the sand.
My eyes opened slightly to see a mass of colors running in my direction. They closed again, and everything went black.
Not bad huh? It's hell a lot better than what it was before… *shakes head*
Well if you liked it please review and I'll try my best to update soon, can't guarantee anything considering I have three more weeks left to my Junior year… but hey- I keep my word… usually :D
Now for something I'm hoping I can continue to do for you each chapter if you liked it…
A SNIPPET OF THE NEXT CHAPTER!!!
"I still don't get how she didn't see that pistol coming… that's so not like Karin…" the voice belonged to Benomaru. A more musical type voice replied.
"Well who knows, she might have been dating the guy."
There was a silence when a slightly scratchier voice cut in.
"Um… Aki? She killed him… not even mercifully… she stabbed him on both sides of his heart."
"What, so you don't think she would?" Akiraka sounded as though she were in disbelief.