Ω•The Hunter VS The Pirate•Ω


It's a very peaceful spring morning on Poppy island. The island has only one village but it makes it up by the vibrant forests and rocky mountains. The locals make a very decent income by selling materials such as ore and lumber to areas that don't have much. They also sell and trade furs from hunters and pirates.

Like the Heart pirates.

Trafalgar Law and his small crew of twenty men had made a stopover for resupply. When he heard the locals will pay them for certain animal, edible plants, and rare stones; he sent out a few members to get the items. They were supposed to come back to the local motel for a afternoon drink and supper. By the afternoon, all but one had returned. Doing a mental head check, Law frowned. Shachi, his medical assistant, is the one that hasn't come back.

He looked over to his one crew member with tense eyes. "Penguin, have you seen or heard from Shachi this morning?" He asked.

Penguin, his head technician, glanced up from his book. He paused before shaking his head very slowly. "No I haven't but I do know he has his transponder."

"If he's in the mountain range, the snails won't work." Shane called out from the poker table. The blond looked up from his cards. "The locals said the signals are weak, even for the adult ones, so they told us to not expect them to work at all." He added.

Law nodded at the memory when he was at the bookstore that morning. "Knowing him, he'll be tripping over his feet." He chuckled while standing up. "I'll look for him. Penguin's in charge until I get back; do not disturb the residents." Looking over his shoulder, he gave them a death glare. "I don't want the marines here or have the locals pissed off at us."

The little group silently acknowledge him and went back to their poker game. Penguin smiled at his captain and waved him off. Law, satisfied that they'll listen to his threat, finally walked out the door with his sword in hand. Looking up to the large forested mountains, he sighed.

"I just hope he isn't as cut up like last time." Law muttered under his breath while starting the long hike ahead of him.


In the mountain top: The north side


"No no no no no!"

Tumbling out of thick bushes, rolling off large rocks, and hitting several tree roots, Shachi finally crashed into another prickly bush. This was the fifth time he tripped over lose rocks to get a simple mushroom or whatever the heck is on the list Law had gave him. Don't get him wrong, he wasn't clumsy when it comes to fighting but when it came to hikes, well…he's anything but graceful.

Groaning, he cursed under his breath while trying to sit up. "Stupid rocks." Hissing when sudden pain flared up in his back, he cursed again. "Why did I agree to hike up a impossible mountain?" Chuckling to himself, Shachi rolled his eyes. "Oh right, it was my captain's order to find a fu-"

He stopped his rant when powerful, nasal, and loud gruff came from his left side. 'Oh…crap.' Looking over his shoulder very slowly, Shachi thought his heart stopped at the sight. Hovering over him is one big, shaggy, musty smelling, and pissed off wolverine. He'd heard stories about them. The ones when they hunt for deer and bully bears when they're in it's territory. The red head also have heard, however, when it attacks humans.

'Why do I always end up finding the dangerous animals!' He sucked in a breath as it lowered its head towards him.

The animal, snarling while bearing his canine teeth at him, sniffed around the red head. Suddenly, it turned around when hearing a low hiss a few yards behind it. Shachi is surprised at the sight.

It was a medium sized lynx but it's fur was a lot thicker than the ones he'd seen before. It's light haunting, piercing green eyes fixated on the duo as it's in a stalking position. The fur is raised, puffing around it's neck and the pointed tufted ears are pressed backwards. Shachi knows that it's trying to scare off the wolverine or warn it that he'll attack at any moment. The cat growled again, much louder and more deeper than before but the large weasel heed the warning. It took off in a hasty retreat. Leaving the pair alone.

Shachi swallowed hard when the cat approached him and-

A arrow suddenly pierced into the thick and sturdy cat skull. Blood oozed out of it's mouth, but it wasn't quite dead yet. Shachi can see it blinking it's eyes and letting out a pained growl from it's throat. But before he could put it out of it's misery, another arrow pierced it's neck. Killing it once and for all.

"Shachi!"

Looking to his right, he saw his captain running towards him in panic. "I'm fine! The shot didn't have my name on it." Glancing back to the dead animal, he yelled once again. "But I can't say the same for the cat."

Law let out a sigh of relief as he came to Shachi's side. "At least it didn't attack you. I've heard on the way up here that a lynx was attacking hunters." Helping his friend up, he let out quiet chuckle. "Whoever shot it has good aim."

Shachi was about to pick up the cat when another arrow landed tad shy of his foot, followed by a male shouting from above. "That is mine, thank you very much!"

Both pirates followed the direction of the voice. Although hard to see because he's in camo clothing and obscured by branches and leafs, both can see a younger male holding a compound bow. The hunter gives them a stern another warning. "Since you're not from here, I'll give you a piece of advice. If someone else kills a game animal; don't take it for your own. That's the rules and if you wanna break them; hunters, like myself, will shoot you."

Law raised his hands up in defence. "That's very good advice." He sneered at the hunter. "Provided that the would be stealers aren't pirates."

The male up in the tree paused before sighing. "Pirate or not, don't touch my game." He lowered his weapon to show them another arrow is ready for firing. "Unless you want a few holes in your hands…"

Law was about to argue back but Shachi place a hand on his broad shoulder. "I know you hate being ordered around but we don't want to cause trouble either." Looking to the red head, he see's a worried smile on his face. "Please." He whispered.

The captain hated to agree but he was right. They can't afford to stir up any more problems until repairs were made and supplies are restored. He finally backed away and signalled his friend to follow. After watching the duo leave out of his line of sight, the hunter finally inched down the large old oak tree before jumped down onto the uneven ground.

Readjusting his beanie and brushing away a few strands of very light blond hair, the male let out a long sigh. "Xander my boy, you need to keep your mouth shut." Looking down at the dead animal, he chuckles. "But I do believe we've struck gold on this one."

Taking out his hunting knife, Xander bent down and began to harvest the goodies. Listening to the birds sing and other gun shots echoing into the air, the male smiled. "Hunting season has begun." After he said that, a loud shot could be heard in the distance.


After Law returned Shachi to the hotel while ordering rest of the crew to meet him at the local bar, he decided to check out a hunting store. He could use a new sword cloth and wanted to learn more about the island, in particular, on hunters. This island is known for having high level marksman because that's what they've been taught since at a young age. He hopes one wouldn't mind leaving this place an join his crew, since the majority of his crew are close combat. It'll give them a edge if dealing larger groups of enemies and increases the chances of having less injuries. Chuckling at that thought, he entered the store.

Once inside, Law scanned the massive store. Stuffed shelves with lures, rods, parts such as arrow heads, shafts, and to his surprise; taxidermic animals. Hundreds of them, littering the floors, hanging on the ceiling, poking out shelves and fanning onto the floor. When reaching the middle of the store, one caught his attention instantly. It's a bear in a defensive position as a lynx is leaping into the air, aiming for the beasts throat. Whoever made this even added rocks, moss ground, and other small extra features to make it seem like it's in the forest.

Law slowly approached the item, eyes trained on the cat and other finer details that's on it. He only broke out of his trance by a slurred, but alert, masculine voice.

"Interesting pose eh?"

Turning around, he's startled to see a teenager. He's sitting in a rare, but not unheard of, motorized wheelchair with a small basket attached to the front. Inside of it, Law could see books and a notebook with a pen attached to it. Presumably used for taking notes or making lists for whatever he needs or wants. His eyes continued downward, taking in the rugged pants that barely cover his leather slippers. When looking back up, he saw him readjusting his baseball cap that's hiding very short, but bright, blond hair. It intensified his deep turquoise coloured eyes, shape like a cats but more human like.

Realizing he hasn't answered him, Law quickly nodded to him. "It is." He looked back at the item once again. A small grin crept across his face when looking it over again. "Whoever made them is very talented as well. I've never seen them done this nicely before." He mused while hearing a soft purring sound of the wheelchair coming towards him.

The teen chuckled. "Thanks. I take pride in making 'em." His smile grew when seeing Law's surprised expression. "What? Never heard or seen kids like myself doing them?" After Law shook his head, he laughed again. "Mis'er you're not from around here, are ya now?"

The captain confirmed with a sneer. "Guilty as charged, Mister…?"

"Alistair." Extending his hand, he let out a hearty laugh again. "Alexis Alistair."

Law took his hand and gave it a soft squeeze. "Trafalgar Law." After releasing Alistair's hand, he smiled back at him. "I have a few questions to ask Mr. Alexis. Mainly about the island but could you explain on how you require these specimens?"

Alistair's smile softened as he moved towards the display. Law noticed his eye's weren't as bright, perhaps a little darker from emotion and regret. He sighed. "I managed to kill'er before being confined into a wheelchair." Closing his eyes, a smile crept back across his face. It's obviously still painful for him to accept his condition but Law choose not to say anything. He knew better not to push him, he'd seen it before.

"My older brother, Xander, shot him with his bow a month later and asked me to taxidermy them together." He dried up his sudden spurge of tears while saying sorry. "They represent us. The bear is me and Xander is the lynx…"

At that moment, Alistair went into a non-stop gabbing session which Law quickly tuned out. Besides; he's more amazed and interested that his older brother used a arrow to kill the bear. They're not easy targets to find, much less hunting them. Looking to the animal, his smile came back. 'Perhaps his brother wouldn't mind becoming a pirate…' He thought. 'However…'

"…Mr. Trafalgar?"

Shaking out his thoughts, he refocused back on the teen. "I asked if you'd be interested in meeting with Xander." He said again in a softer tone. "I'd still have to ask him, of course, but I'm sure he'd like to talk with you. Not many pirates are interested in hunters and it'll give him a chance to have a conversation with someone else." His smile returned when Law gave him a sceptical expression when he heard him say pirates.

"How can you be so sure…" Trailing off as Alistair rummaged in his basket, Law leaned foreword. Curious to see what the kid wants to show him. His own grin appeared when watching him pull out a newspaper. One that had his picture on the front page. "Point taken." He chuckled.

"I follow your progress." Letting out a childish chuckle, he turned his gaze to Law's nadochi. "I've never seen anything like your crew and the marines paint interesting stories about you. Plus; it was my dream to find the one piece…even now but it'll never happen. So Xander and I follow updates and support pirates whenever we can." He blushed when realizing Law is staring intensely back at him. Sheepishly apologizing while rubbing his neck. "Sorry, I got carried away."

The pirate blinked as a chuckle escaped his lips. It appears he has fans despite only being out for four months. Plus; the kid says he'll support them in anyway. Including restock or perhaps requiting members and information. He walked up beside him and ruffled Alistair's head lightly. "Don't worry about." Chuckling under his breath, he shifted his hand to the kids shoulder. "You can make it by helping us restock. Perhaps providing information on the nearby islands?" He asked.

Alistair beamed into a huge smile and nodded. "Sure!"

The two moved to the back of the shop. After all, that's where the main supplies were at and it's private. Away from prying eyes and ears. In about a hour, Law is given a lovely discount and a ample amount of information. Including islands that'll support pirates by helping out with repairs, resupply, and even hide them if marines are after them. While they talked, the captain learned that the boy has a rare medical condition. Friedreich's ataxia, his spinal nerves are degenerating losing mobility as the result of it. It's been a few months that he was wheelchair bound but officially ten years since he was first diagnosed. Now fifteen, he's still doing his best with therapy and making has a decent job. Even though he can't pursue his dream, his brother would gladly take his torch but only if he's taken care of. This is what the captain wanted to hear. Now all he had to do is make it happen.

Taking out his wallet, Law paid him while speaking. "I'll send my men to pick up the just before we leave. Just incase we need anything else or something comes up." Putting away his wallet, he decided to voice one question that he hadn't mentioned yet. "I'm actually looking for a sharpshooter as well. Know anyone that's highly skilled and is willing to leave the island?"

Alistair took a few seconds to respond. He looked into Law's eyes as his smile faded. "I'm afraid not. Maybe Xander but…" He trailed off. Hesitant to say that he'll stay unless otherwise.

"Perhaps I can speak with him." Law suggested. He can sense his uneasiness and from what he's gathered, Xander is also the one that takes care of him. If he's gone, Alistair may not be able to support himself. "I can tell you want him to pursue your dream. You're doing very well for someone with this condition and I can vouch on that. Since I am a doctor." Bending down to his eye level, he gave him a reassuring smile. "Ask him to come at the Rose bar and grill. That's where I'll be with my men."

The teen blinked away his tears and nodded. Law patted his back and walked out of the store. Leaving Alistair in is thoughts before making way to the family home. When turning around, he's surprised by his unimpressed brother. Xander's voice pierced through his beating heart.

"We need to talk."