AN: Well, here we are, yet another one-shot. This is another school assignment. This is just Paulie/Kaku friendship, but see it as whatever. Sorry if everyone is a little OOC. Or very OOC. I apologize either way. Is it just me, or do I make Kaku seem very childish and soft? XD Anywho, on with the show!
Iceburg carefully set down the sheet of paper to look at one of the two men in front of him. One of them had orange hair, a long rectangular nose, a plain white cap, an orange shirt with long blue sleeves, and long eyelashes that really didn't make him look feminine. The other was wearing a white muscle shirt (and indeed he had muscles), a black top hat, had a tie-wearing pigeon perched on his shoulder, and the small amount of facial hair he had was the most interesting Iceburg had ever seen in his life. "...This says your 18," he said bluntly.
The man he was speaking to, the one first mentioned, frowned. "Yes. Is there something wrong with that, ja?" he asked in concern.
The Galley-La president looked down at the paper, then back up again. "..No. There is nothing wrong with it, Kaku. Everything looks fine. Congratulations, you two. You both now have jobs at Galley-La shipwright company."
Kaku looked like he was about to jump up and punch the air in triumph. Lucci, the other man, just stared blankly. "Coo! Thank you, Iceburg-san!" Hattori, the pigeon, cooed from his perch on Lucci's right shoulder.
Iceburg packed his papers together and gave them to his beautiful new secretary, Kalifa. "Right. For now, I will assign you two to assist one of my more experienced workers, so he can teach you what you don't know and get you used to working here," he said, standing up. He motioned for his two new workers to follow him.
Once outside, Iceburg led them over to a young blond man, hard at work. His hair was shoulder length, and sleeked back with gel. He was wearing a blue denim jacket with flame designing on the sleeves and a string of cigars on the right side, along a pair of protection goggles with orange lenses. He lifted these goggles from his eyes when Iceberg approached. "Hello, Iceburg-san," he huffed out, catching his breath from the exhausting work. His lack of breath also probably had to do with the fact that he was smoking a cigar while working. He looked over his mentor's shoulder and saw the two that had accompanied him. He looked at Lucci. Lucci just stared at him blankly, while Hattori cooed. He looked at Kaku. Kaku gave him a large, friendly grin.
"Nma. This is Paulie, one of my best and most trusted workers. Paulie, this is Rob Lucci-" Iceburg indicated the said man, "and Kaku," he said, doing the same with the other. "I want you to help them out with whatever they need. If you two have any questions, ask Paulie."
"Hey," Paulie said, waving to the new shipwrights.
"Hello!" cooed Hattori, waving back. The pigeon hit Kaku in the shoulder. "Say something, Kaku."
Kaku glared at Hattori, then looked to Paulie. "Hi," he said.
Paulie wasn't paying attention. He was staring at Hattori. "That pigeon... just spoke..." he muttered, taking a step back. Kaku looked at him curiously, before cracking up.
"Ha ha ha! Actually, it wasn't Hattori. It was Lucci. He's pretty good at ventriloquism," Kaku laughed. Hattori smacked him again.
"You didn't need to tell him that!" the pigeon said angrily. Kaku just laughed harder.
"Alright guys," Paulie said, grabbing their attention, "I need you go down to the Dock One and help repair ships. I'm assuming you know what to do, but if you need any help I'm sure the other shipwrights can help you out. Just tell them Paulie sent you. I'd go along, but I've got something really important that I'm doing here. Grab what ever you need and good luck."
The two newbies looked at each other, then back at Paulie. "Right," Kaku said, grinning like mad. His happiness and excitement could have shamed a two year old discovering they could break things. He grabbed Lucci and ran off.
As they left, Hattori could be heard yelling, "But which way is Dock One!"
"Just follow me!" Kaku answered.
Kaku and Lucci arrived at Dock One to find that the repair crew was a few men short. "There's been a serious fever going around, and some of our friends caught it," said a large, burly man name Tilestone. Kaku liked the fact that he said 'friends' and not 'co-workers'. It just gave Galley-La a friendly feel. Tilestone had set the two on some easy work, but soon found that wasn't necessary. Especially for Kaku. The orange-haired shipwright was quite good with ships, even more so than Tilestone himself. The two new workers had been expected to be inexperienced, but that simply was not true. They ended up helping with a lot more than just repairing.
Paulie took off from work a few minutes early to check on the two. They were just getting ready to leave when he arrived. "How was the work, you guys?" he asked.
"It was fun!" Kaku exclaimed happily. Lucci said nothing. Hattori cooed.
Tilestone came up behind them. He had a tendency to say everything very loudly. "They were really good at the work. Especially this guy!" he said, slapping Kaku on the back. This inadvertently caused the capped man to fall forward with the force. "He could even give you a run for your money, Paulie."
Kaku rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Hey, I'm not that good. Iceburg-san said Paulie was one of his best workers. I couldn't compare to him," he said.
"Cut the false modesty," Hattori said, looking as annoyed as a bird could.
Kaku glared at him. "It's not false modesty," he said, just as annoyed as the pigeon. "Paulie's skills are on a very different level than mine. I'm not as good as he is. Those are just the facts."
Hattori cooed, but said no more.
"We didn't really get very well acquainted earlier, did we?" Kaku turned back to Paulie.
Paulie shrugged. "Yeah, we didn't. Wanna get some drinks somewhere or something?" he asked, really just trying to be friendly. "It doesn't have to be alcohol. Just, drinks."
Suddenly, Tilestone started laughing. "Paulie, you just want an excuse to go gambling."
"'Gambling' is not the same as 'drinks'. I was not." Paulie said defensively.
"Hey, whatever works for you. Gambling is good," Kaku said quickly, trying to keep this from becoming the argument he knew it would. He elbowed Lucci in the arm. " Right, Lucci?"
Lucci gave him a look. "Sure. Gambling," Hattori cooed from Lucci's shoulder.
"...Okay," Paulie said finally. "We can go gambling, but Tilestone, you have to watch my back." Kaku distantly wondered what Paulie meant by this.
"I was coming anyway," Tilestone said, so all four were soon seen walking down the streets of Water Seven.
Paulie walked forlornly over to the table where Lucci was playing poker, and effortlessly winning. "How do you do that?" the blond man sighed. Lucci ignored him. Kaku, who was leaning over Lucci's shoulder, laughed.
"He can have no expression other than the neutral one he's wearing now, so you can't tell what he's thinking. The fact that he ignores everyone also helps," the white capped man said. Hattori pecked him. Paulie was contemplating telling everyone what Lucci's cards were, just to spread his own pain to someone else, when Tilestone came over.
"Paulie, we have trouble. The casino owner knows your here," he said. Paulie's cigar fell out of his gaping mouth.
"Then what the hell are we waiting around here for?" he hissed. He grabbed Kaku's arm. "We've gotta go. Leave Lucci to his game," he told the other man urgently.
Kaku blinked. "But why?" he asked, his voice teetering on the border of whining. He was having fun watching Lucci win.
"There's no time to explain, just hurry up and-"
"There you are!" came a sudden voice from behind. A dramatic hush fell over the gambling men and women. Drinks were put down, and cards were carelessly dropped. Everyone bar Lucci turned their heads as the manager of the casino strode forward, pointing a finger at Paulie. "You're not leaving this building until you pay back all the money you owe me!" he said. As if to emphasize this statement, two large men dressed in black appeared on either side of him. Paulie took a step back.
"L-look, I don't have the money right now," he said nervously. All eyes were on him.
"That's not what I want to hear," the manager tsked, shaking his head as though he were berating a child. The two bulky men beside him each took a step forward. Paulie gulped. How was he going to get out of this one, completely surrounded by people? If he started a fight, innocent bystanders might get pulled into the fray.
"Hey," Kaku leaned over and whispered to Tilestone, "I've got the sneaking suspicion that Paulie needs to get out of here. Am I right?" Tilestone nodded. Kaku nodded back. "Right. I'll help," he muttered. Tilestone gave him a questioning look.
Kaku suddenly rushed forward. He grabbed Paulie by the waist and jumped clear over the the manager and his bodyguards. People gasped. Lucci ignored. Paulie yelped. The three men whom Kaku had just jumped over stood dumbstruck .
As soon as they landed, Kaku grabbed Paulie's hand and started running. Fast. It was only after they had burst through the doors that anyone had the thought to give chase.
"After them!" the manager cried to his henchmen, and they dutifully followed orders. After all, what were they getting payed for? Sprinting at full speed, they burst trough the casino doors just as the two men before them had. However, those two men were no where in sight. The two pursuers ran off in a random direction, both failing to see the long nosed shipwright peeking around an alley corner just a few yards behind them. As soon as he saw them run off the wrong way, he let out a sigh of relief and turned back to Paulie.
"Well, that's over," Kaku said. "You owe those guys money?"
Paulie, face downcast, got up from off the filthy alley ground and brushed the dirt off of his pants. He slowly looked up and gave Kaku a glare. Then he just walked off. Not before checking for pursuers, though.
Kaku watched Paulie's retreating back curiously. "You didn't answer my question..." he mumbled to himself.
When Paulie got home, he collapsed onto his couch and lit up a new cigar. He couldn't believe it! He had been saved by the newbie, who was also apparently a better shipwright than he was! And being so modest about it all! Acting like jumping over two six-feet tall men was no big deal! That guy had ruined his reputation! And how old was he, anyway? He spoke like an old man, saying "ja" at the end of every sentence that emerged from his constantly running mouth! Paulie punched a throw pillow in annoyance. Or perhaps it was anger?
"Stupid Kaku!"
Being a man, his ego was shattered. Also being a man, he was acting like a woman about the whole thing. His brain rattled, Paulie got up to eat dinner. Maybe food and then sleep would make him feel better.
A month quickly passed, and Kaku was quite content with life. Working undercover as a shipwright beat listening to his leader Spandam whine about everything any day! With Kalifa's help, he had even affectionately stitched the word 'Galley' across the front of his white cap. However, he was not completely happy. Something was bothering him. Ever since that casino incident, Paulie had been acting very cold towards Kaku.
It was very hard not to let this fact bother him, even as he was diligently working on his tenth ship in a bottle since he had arrived in the duly nicknamed City of Water. The very well crafted other nine were placed in various places within his home. Deciding building bottled ships wasn't doing him any good, Kaku put on his shoes and decided to take a walk. It was, after all, his day off. Not that he wouldn't have been happy to work at Galley-La 24/7.
Without any destination truly set in his mind, it wasn't long before Kaku ended up back at Dock One, where he worked. Coincidentally, it was also where Paulie worked. He scanned the multitude of shipwrights, looking for one blond head in particular. At last his eyes settled upon the desired subject, sawing a plank of wood quite a long ways away. As though feeling that there were eyes upon him, Paulie looked up and saw Kaku. The later let a smile spread across his face and waved happily. The former looked back down and ignored him. Kaku's smile slowly faded into a sad frown, and he felt like he had just died a tiny bit on the inside. Why did Paulie hate him? He was used to being hated by fellow agent Jyabura, but for some reason he just couldn't stand for Paulie to dislike him.
Maybe he felt this way about all Galley-La employees. They were all so kind and friendly, it was a shock for Paulie to hate on him so. Sure he yelled at Kalifa for being so scantily dressed (as he did with all women, scantily dressed or no), and at Lucci for being annoyingly silent, but those were just quick short temper episodes. He may have been stubborn, but he wasn't one to hold a grudge. What he had against Kaku was obviously a grudge, and whatever Paulie was grudging against him for, he obviously hated the orange-haired man for it.
One of the Dock One foremen, a man named Lulu, stepped beside Kaku. Kaku found Lulu's name hilarious, but he never said anything out loud. That would have been rude, and he was not a rude man. At least, he tried not to be. "Hey Kaku. Couldn't keep away from the dock, could you?" Lulu laughed.
Kaku turned his head, looking miserable. "Lulu, why does Paulie hate me," he asked sadly.
Lulu looked at him in surprise. "What do you mean, 'Why does Paulie hate me?'," he asked back.
"He's been glaring at me, and ignoring me for weeks." Kaku sniffed a bit. Lulu shrugged and pushed down the spike of hair that always determinedly stuck out from his head. It popped back up in a different spot.
"If he's ignoring you, then I think you just need to grab his attention somehow," the black-haired man supplied. "I'd chat a bit more, but I've got to get back to work. Good luck with Paulie." With that, he left.
"Yeah, that's really helpful," Kaku thought to himself sarcastically. He looked back at Paulie, still sawing planks. The blond looked up when someone called his name. A man rushed over and they had a brief conversation that Kaku couldn't hear. The long-nosed shipwright thought for a long time as the two men talked. "Actually, perhaps that advise wasn't so useless," he thought. He needed to get Paulie's attention, but not with words. With actions.
Paulie yawned as he pulled on his jacket over his orange and white dartboard shirt. Coffee could only work so well for someone who drank it so much, and he had only gotten four hours of sleep. "Better than nothing," he thought as he walked out the door and started walking down the sidewalk. It was early, and eerily quite. It was also kind of peaceful. Paulie looked all around and saw that no one else was out. Then he stretched his arms.
Someone tapped him on the shoulder.
The blond screamed and jumped, then fell on his backside. Standing right beside him was Kaku, grinning like a mad man. "Wha- H-how in the name of Impel Down did you get there?" he exclaimed, severely shaken up.
Kaku was quite pleased with himself. He had gotten Paulie to speak to him! It was out of surprise, but still good. Still grinning from ear to ear, he opened his mouth to answer the other man's question.
"Wait. Stop. Don't answer the question. Just go away," Paulie said angrily. He got up, dusted his pants, and walked of, but not before giving Kaku a glare. It was much like that day in the alley beside the casino. Kaku was downhearted, but he was also determined. He wasn't giving up yet.
For the next few weeks, Kaku did many things to get Paulie's attention. Stealing the blond's goggles right off his eyes, repairing whole ships by himself, taking out an entire rowdy pirate crew alone, "accidentally" dumping water on Paulie's head while he was working. Paulie thought he was doing some to be annoying, and most to show off. His attention would be caught only for a while before he went back to ignoring.
For Kaku, this was a problem. What good was all of this, if it only caught attention for a few seconds or a minute? He wanted Paulie's full attention. He wanted Paulie to tell him what he did so he could apologize. Then again, he also wanted a giraffe.
Dock One was up very high. If you looked over the edge, you could get a great view of the city. Everyone else was hard at work, but Kaku was standing near the edge, gazing at the beauty that was Water 7. The view made him wish he could fly. Was there nothing about this city that wasn't wonderful? Well, there was Aqua Laguna, but that happened every year. Everyone was used to it. Not that he had seen the storm yet, but... well, never mind.
Paulie felt a little sad. It was usually around this time that Kaku did something to get his attention, but the capped person hadn't even looked at him all day. Why did he feel sad about that? He should have felt relieved! The annoying jerk was leaving him alone for once, just standing over there dazing!
Peering over the edge, Kaku suddenly had an idea. A large grin spread over his face, as it often did. It was stupid and dangerous, but Kaku didn't think about that. Instead, he stepped back a few feet. "Hey, Paulie! Paulie!" he yelled, managing to get everyone's attention but the man's he was aiming for. That person was working not too far away.
Ah. There was the daily attempt. Paulie kept looking down at his work.
"Paulie, Paulie, Paulie, Paulie, Paulie-"
He still ignored him.
"Paulie, Paulie, Paulie, Paulie, Paulie, Paulie, Paulie, Paulie, Paulie, Paulie-"
Okay, that was it. Paulie slammed down the tool he was using and swiftly turned around. "What?" he yelled angrily.
Kaku's grin widened, if that was even possible. "Watch this!" he yelled back, waving. The orange-haired man got a running start, then cast himself over the edge of the cliff.
Many people screamed.
Lucci stood a ways away with his arms folded. "That utter moron..." he muttered with a mixture of horror and disbelief. Lulu, who was standing right beside him, whipped his head around.
"You can talk?" he exclaimed in confusion.
All of the workers looked toward Paulie, who hadn't made a sound. His mouth was gaping open, his cigar on the floor. He suddenly gave a scream of horror, ran over to the edge, slid onto his knees, and stared down. "Kaku!"
Several people followed his example of looking over the edge. They saw Kaku fall a long way, right over a house. Just as he was about to hit it, many of them looked away in fear. When they didn't hear the sickening crunch they were expecting to, they hesitantly looked back.
Kaku had landed completely unharmed on the roof of the building, then had practically used the impact to jump to the next one. And the next one, and the next one... Everyone was staring in awe.
The practically flying shipwright was laughing so hard it almost hurt. This was so much fun! He should do this more often. The people below looked up and pointed. Some of the women and children screamed, but both for different reasons. The women in fear, the children in excitement. Indeed, it was exciting. It was amazing. It was fun. It was an attention grabber.
All of the Dock One foremen watched as Kaku jumped around a good portion of the city, eventually making his way back. No one spoke. Instead, the crowd of workers all parted to reveal a very shocked Paulie to the returning shipwright. Kaku looked at him. He had definitely gotten the blond's full attention. Now what?
Suddenly, Paulie got the most livid look on his face he had ever had in his life. He honestly looked scary, even to Kaku. He grabbed Kaku by the shoulders and shook him. "Why the hell did you do that!" he yelled at the other man.
Kaku just shrank down for a few seconds. Then his eyes glazed over as though he were attempting to hold back tears. Paulie instantly regretted his outburst. "I... I just wanted to get your attention," Kaku said meekly.
The anger faded from Paulie's face. He hated himself. Kaku hadn't been trying to show off or be annoying. This entire time, he had just been trying to get Paulie's attention. And Paulie had ignored him. The blond hugged the capped shipwright, much to the surprise of the latter. "I'm sorry," he muttered.
After that, Paulie and Kaku became good friends. The rare occasions where they got angry at each other didn't last long. Kaku was better friends with Paulie than he was with Lucci, someone he'd known since childhood.
As it would happen, Kaku became in charge of checking ship damage. He could soar over the roof tops in a matter of minutes, which really saved him time. It was hard to get used to someone jumping over your head and not falling and dying, but the citizens of Water Seven got used to it. They even nicknamed him "Yamakaze," mountain wind. Life was looking good.
Paulie and Kaku were walking home from work one evening, just talking and laughing when they came to a casino. The exact same casino they went to on the day they first met. Paulie stopped in front of it. He started laughing.
"Hey Kaku, want to go gambling?"
AN: Yay! Happiness! It's done! Wow. I don't think I've ever written anything this long. XD I probably wouldn't have been so descriptive of some of the people if this wasn't a school assignment, but it adds to the length, so who can hate it? Yup, I'm pretty sure I make Kaku too soft. Oh well. As long as it's still acceptable. =^^= Remember, the review button loves you. Please tell me what you think!
~Gir Crazy ;3