Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. I don't even own Two Pieces. It's all quite depressing.
PLAYER ONE PIECE
Chapter 1 - The Gēmā Gēmā no Mi
The Alabasta Revolutionaries happen upon a surprising treasure in their latest raid. A devil fruit unlike any they've ever heard of. As their leader, Kohza is chosen to eat the mysterious fruit and lead them to victory over the Royalist forces. (Gamer!Kohza)
-=oOo=-
The sword swept past his head with a whistle that made his heart jump. Kohza took a step back and used that momentum to pull his greatsword from his right hip and across his body, opening a gash through the breastplate of the caravan guard opposite him. A kick to the man's chest had him sprawled out on the ground and Kohza ran a gloved hand through his short blonde hair and moved on to the next fighter.
Within minutes the only people left standing amidst the lonely patch of desert were rebels. Most of whom had been his friends for years. Kohza hated this part. A year ago, they all had jobs, or at least were looking. He'd been helping at the family farm in Yuba, even as every year saw fewer crops making it to maturity. Anything was better than that excruciatingly slow death, but watching other men bleed out onto the sand wasn't much to compare it to.
He brushed his fingers over a line of blood along the side on his white t-shirt, just under his right arm. No pain or extra bleeding, so it wasn't his own. He tugged at the edge of his maroon trench coat to cover the stain.
"Everyone is accounted for, commander. Okame got hit in the head, but she'll be fine in the morning."
Kohza picked up his fallen sunglasses from the sand underfoot and turned to respond to Erik. "Are the civilians alright?"
The other man nodded, his black top hat bobbing while the medals on his light purple jacket jingled. "Yeah, they're fine. Mostly. Should we let 'em go now or bring 'em back to camp for a week so the royals don't figure out where we are?"
"Send them home. We've been pushing our luck as it is. When we get back, we'll pack everything up and move on to the next rendezvous point. I think they're starting to catch-"
"Sir!" A boy ran up to the pair panting heavily. "Sir!"
"What is it… boy?" Kohza responded more gruffly than intended. For the life of him, he couldn't remember the boy's name. They had several running through camp as messengers, but it was sometimes hard to tell them apart.
"Uh, the scavengers, sir. They found something in one of the wagons they said you'd want to see."
That had his attention. They'd been hitting royalist caravans in this region for a week already, but hadn't come up with any of the firearms and ammunition that his spies had assured him would be here. It was usually food, which he wasn't going to complain about, but none of the army stores they were desperate for. Both to bolster their own forces and to deprive their enemy. He gave a quick nod to the boy and followed him back to the third wagon from the lead.
It didn't look like anything special. Oak plank walls, but none of the metal reinforcing the royal army liked to put on their transports.
"Doesn't look like anything special." Erik added helpfully as he jogged up behind him.
One of the scavengers, another boy only a bit older than the messenger climbed out of the back door with a small box in his hands, cradled delicately as if he was carrying his own newborn. When he glanced up to see the revolutionary forces commander he silently, if a bit reluctantly, held the box out to him.
Kohza admitted that his curiosity was running wild at this point. Such a small box. Was it jewels? The crown maybe? He took the box from the scavenger and gently lifted the hinged lid. Oh my.
Cushioned on purple velvet sat the oddest eggplant he'd ever seen. The skin was black and covered with short lines and circles in bright, neon green. It took a moment for his mind to catch up to what he was holding in his hand.
Erik put a hand on his shoulder. "Is that…?" Clearly the awe was contagious.
Kohza snapped the lid closed. "Gather the men, we'll pulling out. Now." He carried the box back to his camel and packed it carefully in his saddlebag. He didn't know how fragile they were, but he couldn't take any chances. This discovery could change the course of the war. The revolution found a devil fruit.
-=oOo=-
Kohza pushed the tent flap aside and took shelter in the dark tent that acted as their command center. Erik had already gathered the other "leaders", if you could call them that. Okame sat on a stool with a bandage wrapped around her head, black hair poking out at odd angles, looking uncomfortable, but at least her large brown eyes were still sharp. Fortunately she was tall enough to get a clear view over the table from that position. Kebi stood opposite him, wiping the dried blood off his hands so that he could rub the heel of his palms against the bags under his eyes. Running the rebel infirmary was taking its toll on the young man.
Farafra stooped and pushed his massive frame into the tent right behind him, taking up position at his right without saying a word. The big man was effectively a mute since he lost his tongue to a bandit, but there wasn't anyone Kohza knew who was half so reliable. Truth be told, Farafra had the look of a thug, with a jutting jaw, wild hair, and muscles like cords of steel wrapped in a tiger-striped cloak, but a gentle nature better suited to protect than attack. These were his childhood friends. Aside from Erik, they'd been founding members of the Suna Suna Clan, back when they were kids, and the man with the medals fit in as if he'd been there all along. How were they in charge of the People's revolution? How was he? The world was mad.
Without a word, Kohza set the box on the table and opened the lid. Those who hadn't seen it yet gave a sharp intake of breath. "Kebi, is this what I think it is?"
The shortish man in the red bandana stared open-mouth for a moment. "Um, well I'm no expert."
"None of us are, but you have the best education. What's your best guess?"
"Uh, if I had to guess… then yeah. That does appear to be a devil fruit. And you just FOUND it in a random caravan? No special guards or anything?" Kebi's incredulous voice seemed to sum up the feelings of everyone present.
"I don't think this was in royal hands. Most of the wagons were civilian merchants. Only a small royal army escort. Probably headed for the black market."
Okame was standing at this point, staring at the box's contents. "Speaking of which… where this came from isn't nearly as important as where it's going. If it was headed to the black market in Alubarna, then there is probably already a buyer there. This would sell for hundreds of millions of Beli!"
Farafra grunted as he raised his right hand in a fist and pounded it firmly into the palm of his left with a smack.
No one responded while Kebi simply nodded at the big man. "Yeah, we can't forget that the devil fruit is a weapon too. And we're in need of weapons." While no one outright said anything, they'd all had that thought. Only a few of them had ever spent much time at sea, so the prospect for giving up the ability to swim for the ability to compete with monsters like the King's guards, Pell and Chaka, was very tempting.
Kohza cleared his throat. "If we sell the fruit, the proceeds go to everyone in the revolution. Medicine for the infirmary..." Kebi's eyes lit up at that. "And extra horses or camels, so we can go back to switching them out to keep them healthy. If one person eats the fruit, how could we even decide who it should be?"
Kebi chuckled, unintentionally drawing everyone's attention. "Er… well, isn't that obvious? I mean, Kohza man. You're the best fighter we have, and you're our leader. You with a devil fruit? We could really win this thing! Not just hitting caravans and hiding until we get backed into a corner."
"Bah… and here was I just dreaming about the part where I use my powers to get all the honeys to fall in love with me!" Erik slapped his commander's back with a big grin on his face.
Kohza was startled by the admissions, but Farafra put his own massive hand on his old friend's shoulder and gave him a serious nod.
Okame just rolled her eyes when Kohza looked her way. "If we're not gonna sell this thing, then of course you're gonna eat it. You're the commander, dummy!" Kohza gave a self-deprecating grin and looked back down at the mysterious fruit.
"Wait, before you bite in, you should know that devil fruit abilities range widely. Some are powerful, like Crocodile's sand abilities, but I've heard of other powers that are more trouble than they're worth. Since none of us recognize this particular fruit, it'd be a crap shoot." Okame huffed at Kebi's uncanny ability to ruin the moment. "Y'know, full disclosure and all."
Kohza smirked and responded, "Well, we won't know 'til we do it. If I melt into a puddle, just promise to hold a nice service for me." Erik blanched at that, seeming much less eager to imagine it was him eating the fruit all of a sudden. Kohza reached out and gently plucked the not-eggplant from the box and held it in front of him. It was hard not to treat this as some kind of formal ceremony, so he did what he always did when he was about to overthink something. He just did it.
Oh my god! "Plbegght! Plehg! Oh god, that is disgusting! I don't think I've ever eaten something so foul." Kohza was trying to wipe any remnants off his tongue to the amusement of the comrades. "Is it supposed to be that nasty?"
Kebi just shrugged in response. "I don't think I've ever read any reports of the actual eating process. Actually, speaking of that, we should probably run some tests in the infirmary."
Kohza nodded in return, but didn't say a word, stilling trying to keep his lunch down.
Okame huffed again. "Well, he doesn't seem to be mutating or anything right now. Promise you'll call me if he starts changing into something hideous. Or funny." And with that, she pushed aside the tent flap and left. Erik and Farafra left shortly thereafter when Kebi sat Kohza down to check his heart rate.
"So… how's the family?" Kebi's humor was an acquired taste. "I'm just kiddin'. So, your heart sounds fine. Do you feel anything unusual?"
"My taste buds want to die, but otherwise I feel surprisingly good."
"Well, that sounds like a good sign. Here, put this under your tongue." With that, Kebi put a thermometer in his commanders mouth. "Alright, so I'm not sure what we're supposed to be looking for, but I think you should be on the lookout for even little things. Like itchiness. Does anything itch?"
Kohza gave the almost-doctor a deadpan look with the thermometer sticking out between his lips.
"Yes? No?... Okay, maybe I'll check again later." Kebi pulled out the thermometer and hummed to himself as he whipped off the saliva and checked the level. "Looks fine. Okay, we're gonna play it safe, so no meat or alcohol until we start seeing what kind of changes are happening. Uh, Kohza? Are you listening?"
No he wasn't. Kohza had his eyes glued to a spot a few inches above his friend's head.
"What?"
"I think I found something unusual. Honestly, this reminds me of when we took those mushrooms when we were kids. There are some bright green words floating above your head."
"Um… okay, I think we're officially out of my area of expertise. So… what's it say?"
Kohza reached up to point at the words as he read them. "Alabasta Revolutionary, Doctor, Kebi, L-V-8."
"... Seriously? Oookay. How about this?" Kebi held up a hand mirror angled so Kohza could see above his own head.
It took a moment for Kohza to work his way through the text backwards. "The Gamer, Kohza Jakkaru, L-V-14."
"Huh, okay, that's our first clue. My description was accurate, so if we assume that it's true for you too, then your power thinks you're a Gamer. Oh, hey! I bet that's what the L-V stands for. You're level 14 and I'm level 8 according to your new power. Wait... Only level 14? But you're the strongest fighter we have! How strong do people get?"
"What do you mean?" Kohza clearly hadn't followed all of that.
"Didn't you play any video games as a kid?"
"Sure, I played that one with the monkey, and that other one with the vampire hunter. Been a long time though."
Kebi sat there with his mouth open for a moment. "Okay, so teaching someone about video games in the middle of a civil war is a little trippy. Anyway, so if we both have levels, then it sounds a bit like a role playing game. So we should check to see if other RPG things are true. Try saying 'Character'."
With a shrug, Kohza followed along. "Alright, character- Whoa!"
[Character Menu]
Name: Kohza Jakkaru
Titles: [The Gamer], Leader of the Alabasta Revolution, Leader of the Suna Suna Clan
Level: 14
STR: 20
VIT: 23
DEX: 15
INT: 11
WIS: 6
LUK: 10
Points: 25
Money: 280 Beli
"What? What do you see? Actually, you know what? Try writing it down." Kebi scrambled around until he found a pencil and some blank paper.
Kohza copied down everything from the… whatever it was floating in front of him. When he was done, he pushed it across the table and sat back onto the stool Okame had been using. "So what's all that supposed to mean?"
"Hmm..." Kebi studied what he'd written down. "Were there any buttons? Maybe arrows by these numbers here?"
"Oh, yeah, there they are. Little up arrows. Am I supposed to push them?" He reached up to see if he could push one of the arrows, but Kebi grabbed his wrist.
"Yeah, but hold off on that for a second. So do you know what those acronyms mean?"
Kohza read over the words again. "Some, I think. S-T-R sounds like strength. And it feels a little weird that it knows exactly how many Beli I have."
"Guess it doesn't pay very well to lead a revolution." Kebi snickered at the helpless grin Kohza returned. "Anyway, S-T-R is strength. V-I-T is vitality, which is like how good you are at taking a hit. D-E-X is dexterity. That's kind of like how fast you are, but really more like coordination. Then I-N-T is intelligence, W-I-S is wisdom, and L-U-K is luck. Different games treat those things differently, but since this is different, they're probably more literal."
"Wait, so this makes me look like a musclehead!"
"Eh… I guess a little. It's alright though, 'cause I think we can fix it. Try tapping the arrow next to WIS."
As Kohza's finger came in contact with the button, the solidity of the window surprised him. In response, the number jumped from 6 to 7 and the number next to Points dropped to 24. "So the points are what I have to spend? How do I get more?"
"My guess is leveling up. We'll have to see how many you get when you reach level 15. For now, focus on INT and WIS. We still don't know what effect this stuff will have on the real world, but I don't want to follow a meathead." Kebi ducked the hand coming up behind the back of his head and chuckled.
Kohza tapped the arrows next to INT and WIS several more times a piece, then a few times on DEX when it started looking low.
[Character Menu]
Name: Kohza Jakkaru
Titles: [The Gamer], Leader of the Alabasta Revolution, Leader of the Suna Suna Clan
Level: 14
STR: 20
VIT: 23
DEX: 21
INT: 18
WIS: 18
LUK: 10
Points: 0
Money: 280 Beli
"Okay, that looks better. ... Damnit!" Kohza cursed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
Kebi blinked at the commander. "What?"
"Well, we wanted to figure out what effect the fruit had on the real world. How the hell are we going to test an increase in intelligence and wisdom?"
"Uh… good point? Okay, well then… I guess we'll just have to get you leveled up then."
Kohza nodded absently. Now that they'd been able to make some sense of the new find, he couldn't help but start thinking about his other obligations. Half of his comrades were busy packing up the camp so they could move to a new location. The prospect of learning about his new powers was much more interesting when he thought he'd be able to breathe fire or fly. "Later. First we get this tent broken down so we don't hold up the tear down. We'll discuss this further when we reach Katorea."
"Sure thing, commander." Kebi responded in a yawn, apparently remembering how tired he was as the tent flap fell back into place from Kohza's departure.
-=oOo=-
Thoughts whirled around his head as he meandered through the busy camp. Everywhere around him were his comrades, but each one had a title, a name, and a level above their heads. On a theoretical level, the life as a video game idea sounded kind of fun, but these were people who bled with him for their cause. To stop the king from stealing the rain from the people of Alabasta. Seeing the labels made him a little uneasy.
[Alabasta Revolutionary]
Natto Pan, LV4
He'd known Natto since they were kids. It seemed wrong to label him like that. He hoped this new power didn't make him forget that. It also pointed out that some of his men needed better training. Really? Only level 4? As he walked, he skimmed over the labels of dozens more of his comrades. Some of the labels had been slightly different. Like Kebi's saying he was a doctor, but that one seemed odd.
[?]
Mr. Love, LV7
What was that? He scanned the group of rebels packing up gear and everyone else had some variation of the same title. Why was this guy different?
Trust your gut.
As he took a step toward this 'Mr. Love', a window popped up in front of him. He nearly yelped in surprise and was glad he wouldn't humiliate himself front of men who followed him into battle.
[Quest Alert]
Title: Unraveling the Conspiracy
Description: Investigate a suspicious member of the rebel army.
Reward: 500xp, Unlock Major Questline
[Accept] or [Reject]?
Well, if he didn't have a good reason before, he certainly did now. That sounded all kinds of ominous.
Here goes...
"You there!" Kohza called out to the apparent 'Mr. Love' as he was handing bundles up to another man on a wagon. "Come here for a moment!"
The man pantomimed back, "Who, me?"
Kohza simply nodded in return and waited as the man hesitantly walked over. "Don't worry, I only have a couple questions, although, I seem to have forgotten your name. I apologize. You are…"
The man seemed much more comfortable as the conversation didn't seem hostile. "Korobi, sir. I'm Korobi Bakeru."
"Right, Korobi-san. I'm concerned that out movements might be reaching the wrong ears. Do you think we might have a mole?"
The man's eyes went wide as saucers, and a moment later he'd pulled a knife out of his sleeve and lunged at Kohza. While the suddenness of the attack surprised him more than he'd like to admit, he was grateful that his body seemed to work on autopilot in parrying the thrust. Kohza grabbed the man's wrist and wrung the life out of it. Shouts rang out around him and more than one of his comrades came closer to wrestle the man to the ground. Seeing the situation turn so completely against him, 'Korobi' dropped the knife, slipped out of the hold and took off across the sand.
Right into the steel arm of the ever-intimidating Farafra. The man was flat on his back and dazed as the big man placed a heavy foot on his chest.
"Wait! I need information from him!" Kohza pulled the ring of men apart to make his way to the captured man's side. "Alright, you're going to tell us what we want to know Korobi-san. Or would you prefer 'Mr. Love'?"
-=The next day at Katorea, an oasis north of Nanohana=-
Okame paced back and forth in front of the chair in the dimly lit tent. It was a hassle to stuff bundles of random gear into all the places where the afternoon sun could seep through, but she insisted that it was important. Kohza sat in the shadows at the edge of the tent. No one was quite sure what to make of the revelation about his powers, but the knife thrust had lent a lot of credibility to his claim. Now they just needed to get some real answers.
The man tied to the chair in the center of the room had certainly seen better days. They had assured him that speaking openly would have different results, but the man had demanded proof. Well, not in so many words, but he'd refused to talk. Okame was a beanpole, but man could she hit hard. The side of his face was already bruising.
"Alright, Mr. Love. Tell us what you're doing here and I can finally stop hitting you." Okame wasn't really that violent of a woman. A lot of things had changed since their civil war began.
The man tried to laugh, but he was shaking badly and the effect was, at best, unsettling. "The boss is gonna kill you all. You don't stand a ch-"
*SMACK*
Okame's footsteps were all the noise anyone made outside of Mr. Love's heavy breathing. "Why should we be afraid of some guy, when you won't even tell us who he is?"
This time the laughs felt more real. "No one wins against Mr. 0."
Okame glanced back at Kohza who shrugged in return. This was sounding less and less like the guy was working for the king. On a hunch, he stood up and walked up behind the seated man. "Have you ever even seen this boss of yours?"
While it seemed to hit a nerve, it had less effect than he'd hoped. "Any of the Officer Agents would destroy your little rabble. Especially Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine! She'd kick all your asses!"
So much for being tight lipped. "Mr. 5? Just how many officers do you have?"
Feeling like the tide had turned in his favor, the man went on, "Baroques Works is unstoppable! Besides Mr. 0 and Miss All-Sunday, we have loads of special agents, not to mention the millions and the billions. We're gonna run this country in no time!"
[Quest Completed]
Title: Unraveling the Conspiracy
Reward: 500xp received
[Quest Unlocked]
Title: Unraveling the Conspiracy, Part 2
Description: Investigate Baroque Works and their plans for the nation of Alabasta.
Reward: 1500xp
[Accept] or [Reject]?
Kohza absently hit the [Accept] button as he leaned in to listen to the man. Suddenly wising up to the idea that he was saying too much, the man went white and clammed up. They tried a few more probing questions, but something had put a mighty fear in him and none of them had the stomach to go further.
Shortly thereafter, Kohza, Okame, and Erik stood outside of the tent.
Erik blundered forward to break the ice first. "Does anyone else feel like we're missing something? When we started, I was sure the guy was working for the king."
"Take over the country? Millions? Billions? Why haven't we heard anything about someone like that? How could you hide that?" Okame's anxiety level was higher than Kohza had ever seen it, but he felt oddly calm.
"Not on Alabasta. At least not in force. Assuming he's telling the truth." Kohza touched a knuckle to his lips in thought. "He was pretending to be one of us. Either he was here to sabotage us, spy on us and report to his boss, or…"
Erik didn't follow. "Or what?"
Kohza sighed as the third option came into focus for him. "They mean to steer us. Where and why? I don't know. Honestly, we're just guessing off of suspect intelligence right now. Erik, find out what his job was and find out if he sabotaged anything. Okame… oh god… take a head count. Figure out who's not here that should be. Specifically the folks that came with us up to the the last forward camp."
"Yes sir!" The pair chorused and took off.
-=oOo=-
-=Character Stats=-
Name: Kohza Jakkaru
Titles: [The Gamer], Leader of the Alabasta Revolution, Leader of the Suna Suna Clan
Level: 14 (24% to next lvl)
STR: 20
VIT: 23
DEX: 21
INT: 18
WIS: 18
LUK: 10
Points: 0
Money: 280 Beli
Quest Journal:
Unraveling the Conspiracy, Part 2
-=Author's Notes=-
I love the style and the story of One Piece, but I can't imagine writing a Luffy protagonist. Fun to read, hell to write. I briefly considered making this a crossover to introduce someone I'd like to write better, but the Gamer ability fits too neatly into the devil fruit concept to justify merging two worlds for that purpose. Instead, I'm going to take an intriguing throw-away character and let them figure out what life is like on the big stage. Enter Kohza (or as FFnet insists, Koza). He has the hero mentality, a start on some skills based on his training from Chaka as a youth, no existing devil fruit, and a hook for a story.
Maybe it's a phase, but I have really enjoyed reading many Gamer fics in the past (mostly Naruto and HP because that's what's there). Probably because I'm a nerd and played way too many video games as a child. Maybe because I'm secretly stuck in the infinite tsukuyomi. I'm leaning towards the former.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this story, and I promise I'm not abandoning my other stories. I'm halfway through on the next chapter of Tsukumogami, and I'm still trying to reorganize some details of where things are headed in Remembering Tomorrow.