"It's the Leviathan! Run for your lives!"
A figure sat up in the darkness, rubbing their eyes. The words were still echoing in their head. "Another dream. Hm." They sat up and walked to the window. The moonlight bathed the person, showing their figure. It was a young man with a thin, long braid and shorter, sharper hair around it. His yellow eyes narrowed sharply as he looked out at the street.
"Tch. It seems they're out again." His clothes fluttered behind him as he disappeared from the room.
Out in the street, a few men were looking around carefully, each one holding a torch. "Are you sure it's over here? You must have got something wrong."
One of the men growled, "I saw it! He walked into one of these buildings and didn't come out! I just… don't remember which."
"Ugh, of course you don't remember! You always get drunk in the middle of the day. Now, we should start searching inside. I doubt the beast would be hiding out here."
"Looking for me, boys?"
They span around, their mouths opening to yell before a loud thud was heard.
A group of pirates walked into the town after docking. There was a group of people standing in the middle of one of the streets. The captain narrowed his eyes. "Killer, go see what happened."
"Very well."
One man separated from the group, his long blonde hair flitting slightly in the wind. He walked silently up to the group without being noticed.
"It was here! I-it attacked us! The beast could still be out there!" someone was yelling hysterically.
There were two men sitting on the ground and both had bandages on their heads. Near them was something covered by a white sheet. Killer continued to listen to the people arguing about this "beast."
A woman started crying. "Our children will never be safe! Did it leave this island yet?"
One man on the ground was shaking his head. "I-I don't know… It attacked the three of us and disappeared."
Killer pushed through the crowd and picked the trembling man up by the front of his shirt. "Who is this beast you speak of?"
"I-it attacks our people a-and it's a terror in the night!"
Killer shook him. "Who?!"
"T-the Leviathan!"
The man was thrown to the ground and Killer walked away. The people quickly moved out of his path. It was time he reported back to his captain and say what he learned. He followed the same path the rest of the pirates had taken until he was in front of the bar. There was no pause as he walked into the dimly lit room.
"Killer! What did you find out?"
The silent fighter walked up to his bloodthirsty captain before stopping. "Kid. They said a beast attacked. They called it the Leviathan. Have you heard of it?"
Kid frowned. "The Leviathan? I haven't. Heat, Killer, I want you to start looking for this so called beast. Let me know what you can find. I want to know everything I can about it."
"Yes Captain," the two men echoed.
Heat rose from the table and followed the first mate out of the bar. Once outside, Killer stopped to look at his crewmate. "Search around the town; see if you can hear anything from the people."
"Yes Killer."
Killer span around and walked in the opposite direction Heat had taken. As far as he knew, Leviathans were creatures of legends; no one had ever encountered one. His first stop would be in the town's library that was only a few doors down from the bar. The door creaked loudly in the silent air. There were no people in there as far as he could tell. Killer walked passed a few shelves of books before he met someone. He walked directly up to the hooded person.
"What do you know about this Leviathan?" he commanded.
The person looked up slightly at him. Yellow eyes almost shone from under their hiding place to stare at his masked face. The person looked back down. "I'm afraid I'm not a local. Perhaps I can direct you to a book that could answer some questions." Killer followed the person to a different section of books. A book was held out for him. "Here you are. I can tell you that Leviathans were known as creatures that destroyed ships during storms, but they were simply stories made up by fishing communities. These people living here may be similar. It could simply be a story made up to cover the fact that a person attacked them."
Killer looked up from flipping through the pages to find the person was gone. His eyes narrowed beneath the helmet before turning back to the book in his hand. It said the same thing the person had told him, though in different words.
"The Leviathan was a large sea creature known for the destruction of ships during storms. It originated in the South Blue and eventually spread to the other seas. There were two types of Leviathans that appeared in stories: the Sky Leviathan and the Sea Leviathan. The Sea Leviathan was the most commonly occurring creature in the stories. It lived in the water and came up beneath a ship to break it into pieces. The Sky Leviathan was a much rarer known creature. It could fly through the skies just as a Sea Leviathan would swim through the water. It hid in clouds during storms and would fall from the sky to attack.
The appearance of these creatures was never clear. Some were said to be as long as three Marine warships while others were only as long as one. There have been few stories of the creatures making it onto land, though it is unknown how since all stories have agreed they have no legs. A common description would be a massive creature with scales covering the whole body and having two shorter arms with claws sharp enough to cut through steel. For Sky Leviathans, they were sometimes said to have little appendages, similar to wings, which were found along the length of its back. As far as it is known, these creatures do not exist, yet stories of them continue to appear across the seas."
Killer gripped the pages in his hand and ripped them out. The person had been right; Leviathans were simply created by superstitious people, like he had believed. There was one thing he had learned, however. This "beast" that attacked the people here may have been a person who was being called a Leviathan. If that was true and it had been attacking other areas, perhaps there was something in the papers the Marines sent out. He pushed the crumpled papers in his pocket and left the dusty building. His next stop would be the bar again.
He pushed the door open and strode directly up to the counter. "Give me a paper."
The bartender quietly complied with the command; he knew better than to question a pirate. Killer flipped through the pages quickly, looking for a specific picture. His captain was getting angry in the background.
"Oi! Killer! What the hell are you doing?" He walked up to where his first mate was standing.
Killer paused at an image, or the lack thereof. He held the paper up to Kid's face. "Looking for this."
It was a bounty poster, but there was no picture. It had only a name and number. "Leviathan—2,000,000 beri—Wanted Alive." Kid frowned when he looked back up at Killer. "Wanted alive? What the hell is this about?"
Killer shook his head. "I went to the library. Someone told me to look for a person instead of a beast. It appears they were right."
Kid's frown was still present. He pushed the paper back at Killer. "Keep tracking this beast. Perhaps the Marines will catch a picture of it and then we can find it."
Killer nodded. He would add the poster to the pages he ripped out. If any more information showed up, he would get it.
The person brushed their pale blue hair back with a sigh. "Looks like they haven't found me here yet."
He jumped off the building into the alley before joining the rush of people walking down the street. His trench coat was wide open, showing a low-necked shirt and black cargo pants. He looked no different from the rest of the people except for his long strand of hair in a braid and the bright yellow of his eyes. He joined the group of people that split off to move down a side street. Most of them were talking about some sort of celebration that was going to be happening within the next few days.
"It will be so exciting!" one of the women exclaimed. "We will have to dance around the fire together, John."
"Yes, yes, of course we will, Sarah. Now let's get our presents wrapped before the children come home."
The people around began leaving one by one as houses were passed by until the man was alone once more. The buildings around him were becoming covered in shadows as the sun went down. He continued walking until he was outside of the settlement. Trees started growing in this area and they only grew thicker the further he walked. He suddenly paused in the middle of a clearing, a small light glowing from the black band on his neck.
"Hn, we were supposed to meet here. What the hell happened back there?" There was a small snap of a twig as a figure appeared at the edge of a clearing. "You're here. Why did you choose this place to meet, but first: what news do you have for me?"
The higher-ups stood at the bow of the ship as it pulled into the port. "Finally. Perhaps this island will keep me more entertained." Kid's smile was bloody and dark.
"Just make sure to leave the fighting until after we have obtained our supplies." Killer's voice was much more even and calm compared to his captain's.
There was no reply as they jumped to the dock. The people around knew to keep out of the way of the Kid Pirates and their bloodbaths. No one dared look up at the pirate captain, in fear that he would kill them all without a second thought. Kid, however, could feel the power he had over the defenseless people. And he loved it.
The first place Kid and his men headed was a store for supplies. The shopkeeper, through threatening, lowered his prices drastically for the pirates. Kid sent four men, one being Heat, back to the ship with the new food. The next place was the pharmaceutical store. Kid hated when his men sustained injuries, but he knew that having the supplies was important. As a devil fruit user, it was crucial for him to have even just a few bandages around in case he was wounded by seastone, not that he would ever let his enemies close enough to hurt him with it. Unfortunately for him, the store was closed. Unfortunately for the owner, Kid doesn't care whether something is opened or closed.
With two more men sent back to the ship and his bag of beri no emptier than before the bandages, Kid walked with a smirk into the bar. He sat down in the corner with his first mate. "Oi, bring us some drinks," he yelled at the bartender.
A quiet, young girl was forced to set the bottles down on the table before scurrying off somewhere. Killer frowned beneath his helmet at the lack of a straw for him; he refused to take his helmet off around these people. "You'd better be bringing me back a straw," he threatened the workers.
A moment later and it was set in front of him. He silently set the straw into his drink and passed it through a hole in his mask as he looked around the room.
"You were the one in the library."
A hooded person looked in the pirates' direction. They were only a few tables apart. "Hello again. I had not expected to meet you here."
Kid looked between the two. "Who the hell is this, Killer?"
"Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Frost. I apologize for not saying so earlier." The person bowed slightly in their seat. "It is a pleasure to meet the infamous Eustass "Captain" Kid and his first mate, "Massacre Soldier" Killer."
Kid's mouth turned up into an evil grin. "So you were the one who told Killer to look into the Leviathan being a person. How did you know that?" he commanded.
The person shook their head. "I'm afraid it was simply an educated guess. I have been researching things such as the Leviathan, though no one seems to be able to tell me anything. I've been following the same path that it has been taking, so hopefully it will appear soon."
Killer seemed to sit up straighter. "It should be here? How can you tell?"
"From what I can tell, the Log Prose has been pointing to only one island lately. If it's a person, and I do believe it is, they would have to follow the direction it points or else chance being lost in the middle of the sea."
Killer nodded his head as he listened. "So we are on the same path as the Leviathan then."
They nodded. "It would appear so. If my guess is correct, the Leviathan, if it really is on the island, will be forced to stay for one more day. The Prose will set after 36 hours, and it had been seen at the last island just before I left. Unfortunately, I don't know how it travels, so I can't give an exact time."
Kid chuckled under his breath. "We can find it then. Oi, boy, tell me how to find the Leviathan."
The person ducked their head slightly. "I'm afraid I don't know that yet. However," they began before Kid's temper could rise, "it is possible the Leviathan does not fit in with the locals here. It's been reported to have attacked many people, most either suffering from severe injuries or dead. It would be my guess that it doesn't mingle properly with people. If you want my opinion, I would look for the outsider that is most out of place. You may even get lucky enough to have someone anger it enough to see what truly happens when the Leviathan attacks."
Kid's laugh echoed throughout the room. "You've given us enough information. I'll let you live for now."
The person bowed once more. "If you need anything more, I will be around the island. If you will excuse me." They got up after leaving a small bag of beri on the table and left. Killer watched as the door closed behind the person.
Kid continued to grin. "The Leviathan is here. I want everyone out looking for it until our ship is ready to leave."
"Very well, Captain." Killer continued watching the door long after the person had left. "How is it possible that this one knows so much about the Leviathan when no one else seems to have a clue?"
Kid frowned slightly into his glass. "It's strange. Are you thinking he knows something else he isn't saying?"
"Or maybe he knows the beast…"
The people of the island were setting up decorations around their city. There were flowers, banners, and streamers, plus so much more. The pirates did not feel as happy with these decorations as the people did.
"What the fuck is going on?" Kid hissed. He hated pretty things; it only made him want to destroy everything.
"It appears they have some sort of celebration." Killer had been listening to the people around them. "There is to be a fire and dance near the forest. What will you do?"
A few women walked by them at this moment. The pirates' eyes followed those scantily dressed women. Kid started to grin. "Let's see what sort of celebrations they have."
The people who were around the forest's edge were setting up large logs for burning in a triangular pattern. No one was paying as much attention to the dangerous pirates. They seemed intent on this celebration that they were preparing for.
Killer grabbed the arm of a passing man. "What is happening here?"
A flash of fear crossed his eyes. "We're getting ready for the autumn celebration. We dance around the fires and celebrate the life that's living and the life that we will make."
His helmet hid the small smile that grew. Killer released the man's arm before to turning to his captain. "So they celebrate children and sex," he said with a hint of amusement.
Kid laughed, his deep voice booming through the air around him. "This island is getting more interesting! We're staying for this party, Killer."
The group made themselves comfortable, taking over a seating area nearby. As the preparations were finishing, the sun was setting. The fires were lit once the sky began to turn black. That was when the women began to dance around the fire, some with partners, some without. The ones without wore the clothing similar to the ones the pirates had seen before: a simple bandeau and low-cut pants that hugged their curves. A few of them slowly made their way over to a few of the pirates, becoming "special" performances.
Killer didn't pay much attention at first. However, one girl had captured Killer's attention. Her hair glowed orange in the flickering flames, though the long black hair behind her stood out in stark contrast to her pale skin. Her eyes appeared to be locked with his as she slowly danced around the fire. She moved around it once, twice, and then started towards him. Her eyes looked yellow in the light of the fire. She moved towards Killer, not stopping her dance. She slipped past him, her hand brushing along his neck as she did. Killer quietly stood up and watched her moving towards the trees. He followed slowly after her.
There was a snap of a twig as he stepped into a clearing. The girl was still dancing, though her eyes were closed now. A soft voice reached his ears; she was humming. She slowed her dancing until she froze with her arms in the air. There was a sudden roar behind Killer and he snapped his head around to look. Above the trees he could see a massive snake-like creature rear its head. Killer shot forward, almost disappearing with his speed.
This will be my first multi-chapter story. I will update when I can, but no promises. I can still do request oneshots if anyone asks for one.
I will say this only once, so you'd better remember it: I don't own One Piece, only my characters and ideas.
Let me know what you think and I'll answer in the following chapters.
-Levvi
