Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. Jynx is mine though, and so are any other OCs that I create.
Note: This story is completely separate from, and has absolutely nothing to do with my other One Piece story, Conspiracy.
Also Note: In this chapter, and in future chapters, there will be characters with accents so there will be purposeful misspellings and grammar mistakes because of this.
Lock and Load
If you have the guts to hold a gun, make sure you have the guts to pull the trigger.
Chapter One
The sound of a gunshot echoed loudly as the faint scent of gunpowder drifted into the air. The man whom the bullet had flown past, missing his head by mere millimeters, collapsed to the ground in fear, his body shaking as he looked up at the woman who had shot at him. Her honey colored eyes glinted dangerously as she held the gun leveled at his head. Moments ticked by before she slowly retracted the arm holding the gun, and the man sighed in terrified relief as she pulled a cleaning rag out of her pocket and ran it down the barrel of the pistol.
"I would not be so relieved if I were you," she purred in her spanish accent, eyeing the man in annoyance. Weaklings like him who were all bark and no bite were disgusting in her eyes, undeserving of the very air they breathed. "You see," she explained slowly, as if to a child while setting the cleaning rag back down and stroking the gun thoughtfully, "next time, I won't miss."
Looking at the man out of the corner of her eye, she knew he understood her meaning as he began frantically digging in his pockets.
"Look Lady," he pleaded as he pulled a small black string bag out of his back pocket, "I've got yer money righ' here, so there's no need ta be sa hasty. A'ight?"
Jynx smiled a cold smile, making the man swallow nervously as he tossed the bag onto the counter with a satisfying jingle. Carefully placing the gun down, Jynx upended the bag onto the desk, looking over the money that spilled out from its mouth. When she was satisfied that all the money was there, she scooped it back into the bag, pulling its strings tight.
"Take your gun and get out of my sight. If any of your amigos think of coming here, warn them that I don't appreciate customers who try to get service from me for free. Pirate or not, in my gun shop you pay or you die. Understand?" Jynx asked, looking down her nose at the man in front of her in contempt. He nodded quickly, stammering that he understood perfectly as he stood on shaky legs, retrieved his pistol from the desk, flinching under Jynx's sharp gaze, and booked it out the front door of the shop.
Sighing, Jynx sat down behind her desk, leaning back in the chair to prop her feet in their calf-high black leather boots on the top of her desk as she rubbed her temples in irritation. That filthy man didn't come close to deserving that gun, nor would he ever if she was any judge of character -which she was.
Pulling out her own pistol from its permanent spot in the holster hanging from the gun belt at her hip, Jynx leaned forward to grab the cleaning cloth from where she'd set it down earlier.
That pirate had been her last job, and it was only late afternoon.
Polishing the cold silver barrel of her pistol, Jynx wondered again why she ever even bothered with her gun shop. Nearly every customer she ever received was some stupid pirate whose ego was so large it's a wonder they managed to fit through the front door. Then whether they wanted their gun fixed, or to buy a new one entirely, almost always, they tried to take it without paying. Not that any of them had ever gotten away with that –they would all rather pay than die by the very gun they were supposed to pay for.
Giving up on polishing her gun which was already immaculately clean, Jynx returned it to its holster and got up, retrieving her latest payment in the black bag so she could go and place it in the safe she kept upstairs in her living quarters above the shop.
The safe, which held all of her savings from the past three years, was kept under her bed in a large oak box. Pulling out the box, Jynx opened it with a key that hung from a black leather strap around her next, and opened the safe using the combination.
Once her money was safely stashed away beneath her bed, Jynx stood up and stretched her supple limbs, debating whether it was even worth keeping the shop open the rest of the day. It was possible someone from town could come in, and there was still enough daylight left that a new ship might reach the port…
Even as she debated it, Jynx heard the bell attached to the front door of her shop tingle, letting her know someone had come. Make that three or four someones, loud ones at that –Jynx could hear their every word even though she was upstairs.
"What is this? There's not even anybody here," an arrogant voice complained.
"Somebody has to be here Kidd, the front door was unlocked, and you don't just leave the front door unlocked –especially in a gun shop."
Jynx allowed a smirk to grace her lips. At least one of her visitors seemed to be on top of things she thought as she descended the stairs. When she emerged into the front of her shop, the men's backs were to her as they continued to debate on what to do. There were three men in all, and even though she could only see the back of them, Jynx could tell they were dressed rather oddly.
The man farthest on the left had to be the second one who had spoken. His long blonde hair ran down his back, hiding most of his black shirt which was decorated with white polka dots. There seemed to be a sort of helmet or mask on his head with a blue and white striped pattern to it. Next to him was the first man who'd spoken. Jynx couldn't see anything of him other than his flaming red hair which stood up on his head and the large dark brown fur coat which covered his back completely. On his other side was a man with pale blue hair worn long in a shaggy style that resembled dread locks. He wore red pants and a dark blue bodice laced with red strings, and tattoos ran down his arms that resembled thorny vines.
Jynx would be a fool to not recognize the three men in her shop even from just seeing their backs since she made it a point to memorize the faces on all of the bounty posters the marines sent out, added to the fact that the blond haired man had called the man in the coat Kidd.
She had Eustass 'Captain' Kidd in her shop along with his first mate 'Massacre Man' Killer, and a third member of the crew whom she didn't know by name, but there was no mistaking that he was part of Kidd's crew.
"This is a gun smith Kidd, they could be out back in the forge for all we know," Killer said in a placating tone.
"Then why don't you go and check," Kidd growled. It was pretty obvious to Jynx that the captain wasn't in the best of moods. No matter, she could handle a foul tempered man in her sleep. Although, according to rumor, Kidd was more violent than most men, but Jynx felt there was more to him than that.
It took more than just being violent to be the captain of a crew in the grand line –if you wanted to go far that is.
"There'll be no need to go look since I'm right here," Jynx called out to the pirates, brushing a stray lock of her dark brown wavy hair, which had gotten caught on one of her gold hoop earrings, back behind her ear –most of her hair was secured back underneath a dark purple bandana with just a few bangs peeking out in front. She resisted the urge to smirk as all three of the pirates started in shock, and whirled around, instantly on guard. The one called Killer was in the process of activating the spinning blades attached to his wrist guards when Jynx held up a hand, signaling him to stop.
"I won't attack you as long as you don't attack me first, or make me angry 'Massacre Man' Killer." Jynx nodded in satisfaction as Killer lowered his arms slightly, the blades remaining still.
"You've heard of us then?" Kidd asked, drawing Jynx's attention momentarily. She graced his question with a nod before casually strolling across the floor towards her desk.
"In my line of work, it is never a bad idea to be familiar with the bounty faces Eustass 'Captain' Kidd," Jynx purred, turning around to face Kidd as she hopped up and sat on her desk. "Now, tell me, what brings you to my shop?"
The look on Kidd's face was priceless as her words registered in his head. No one ever expected the best gun smith -not to mention only gun smith- in town to be a woman. Many times people thought she was joking and would ask for the boss or her husband, assuming that she was nothing more than a counter girl.
Jynx had long passed the point of being irked by something like that though, and instead found entertainment in the different ways people reacted to the information.
"You're the gun smith?" he asked slowly, as if not completely sure he'd heard her right. Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Jynx nodded. She watched in amusement as a confused frown settled onto Kidd's face. "You? Do you even have any skill with a gun?" Somewhat surprised by the question, Jynx nodded.
"My shop is located here for a reason –there's a shooting range out behind the forge if you're interested in a demonstration." The frown on Kidd's face slowly turned upside down into an interested smile. Before he even opened his mouth, the slight change in his body posture gave Jynx her answer.
"Heh, let's see what you can do. I don't want any amateur touching my pistol." Nodding serenely, Jynx hopped down off her desk, indicating the three pirates should follow her. She had enough bullets in her belt pouch for a demonstration and would still have more left over, like always –a gun was no good if you were out of bullets after all.
*%%*
Jynx's shooting range was nothing fancy –a clear area with dirt mounds, targets, and crates to set objects on to shoot at- but it functioned well enough for her and anyone that wanted to test out one of her guns or the work she'd done on one of theirs. She'd debated on the walk out to the shooting range what would be the best way to demonstrate her skills with a gun, and had decided to place small, apple sized wooden blocks of different colors on the scattered crates to shoot at.
It had only taken her a few minutes to setup, and now she was standing at the shooting line with the Kidd pirates just behind her, watching on.
"So you'll be shooting at those small blocks?" Killer asked curiously, noting the varying positions they were all in. The closest was about fifteen feet away on an average sized crate while the farthest he estimated was nearly a hundred feet away on a short crate. Jynx nodded as she loaded the chamber of her pistol, checking to make sure everything was ready to go.
"Would any of you like to call block colors or shall I just shoot at will?" Jynx inquired, placing her pistol on safety and putting it in her holster. She didn't bother to turn back; if her instincts were right then-
"Red!" In a single fluid movement, Jynx drew her pistol, released the safety, and pulled the trigger. Almost instantaneously the red block flew off its crate with a sharp crack. Before the sound of the gunshot faded completely, Kidd called another color. "Blue!" Not even blinking, Jynx had the blue block flying off a crate in the back almost before the word died from Kidd's lips. This pattern repeated itself eight more times until the final block was sent flying –Jynx hadn't missed a single one.
"Heh, you pass. You're certainly better than I originally thought," Kidd commented, turning back towards her shop. "I don't think I ever caught your name." Pistol back in its holster, Jynx walked passed Kidd. From the corner of her eye, she caught a look at his face, and knew he was more impressed than he was willing to let on.
"My name is Jynx."
"Jynx huh? Where'd you learn to shoot a gun like that?" Jynx could hear the curiosity in his voice, and felt her pride being stoked. After the idiot she'd dealt with earlier, she'd have never thought this day would turn out well, but Kidd was proving her wrong.
"My papá was a gun smith before me. He taught me everything I know," Jynx explained as they reentered her shop, her eyes shining proudly. In his lifetime, her father had been one of the most renowned gun smiths in the first half of the grandline. Now, she considered it the greatest honor to his life and memory to continue on in his footsteps using the knowledge he had so patiently and lovingly taught her. "Compared to him I'm still a novice in every possible aspect."
Kidd let out a soft grunt. In her short demonstration the girl had already proved herself to be far better than any of the marksmen he had come across since setting sail as a pirate back in the South Blue. Even on the two islands of the grandline his crew had already been to there hadn't been anyone with that kind of skill, at least not that he'd seen, but supposedly the grandline was a place where people like her were supposed to be everywhere.
"Now, you were saying something about your pistol, no?" Jynx purred. Kidd could feel her eyes on his pistol which he kept strapped to his chest on a bandolier along with his dagger. "May I see it?" she asked, holding out a hand towards him. Letting out a soft 'tch', Kidd pulled out his gun and handed it to her.
Hefting the gun, Jynx checked the chamber for bullets, and removed the two that she found. Only an amateur would inspect a loaded gun for problems, there was too much risk of the gun accidentally going off and injuring the person. Setting the bullets down on her desk, Jynx systematically went through all the mechanics of the gun.
"Have you been having any… problems, or is this more of a routine check?" she asked, looking down the inside of the barrel to make sure nothing was blocking it. She could feel the eyes of the three men on her, but ignored it as she was used to being watched while doing her work.
"The trigger started sticking," Kidd complained, eyes narrowing in annoyance. The stupid thing had kept him from easily killing several people with its new little habit of catching. Going back to the trigger, Jynx tried it a few times, nodding and muttering softly under her breath. She'd have to pull the gun apart to fix it, but the job wouldn't be very hard.
Looking up from the gun to the pirate captain, Jynx nodded thoughtfully. "I can fix the trigger, but it will take a few hours since I would have to pull the gun apart. If you came back at sunset I could have it done -if you'd like me to fix your gun that is." Kidd nodded, he wouldn't have bothered hunting down a gun shop if he hadn't planned on getting his gun fixed.
"What's it going to cost?"
Jynx thought about it for a moment. The job wasn't a hard one to be sure even if it took a few hours to pull the gun apart and clean up all the parts to get it working smoothly again.
"You're looking between three and four thousand beli. It all depends on whether I have to replace a part or not," Jynx proffered, waiting to see what Kidd thought. Some customers would try and haggle her down to a ridiculously low price, not that she ever let them. Surprisingly though, Kidd just nodded. After all, to him the price seemed fair enough.
"Killer."
Jynx turned her attention to the masked man who approached her, pulling 4000 beli out of his pocket to hand to her. Nodding, Jynx accepted the money, placing it in the pocket of her loose gray pants. It was always nice when a customer paid ahead of time instead of when they came to pick up their gun.
"We'll be back at sunset, so you'd better have my pistol ready then," Kidd ordered, turning and walking off with his two crew members in tow. Jynx impressed him –somehow he just knew that she'd stick to what she said without any threatening on his part, so he might as well go and enjoy himself instead of sitting around being bored and wasting his time. Still, he made sure to slam the door shut behind him –he couldn't have his image going to ruin just because he'd found someone who actually dealt fairly with a bunch of pirates.
"You seem to be in a better mood," Killer commented from his left as they walked down the streets of the town. He honestly hadn't been having a very great day thanks to Kidd's earlier foul temper. He wasn't sure just what the gun smith girl had done, but if Kidd's good mood kept up he might just slip her a couple extra hundred beli when they went back to get his gun...maybe not though. He was a Kidd pirate after all, and Kidd pirates didn't do things like slipping an extra hundred beli to a gun smith, but still, with the way Kidd had been acting the past few days he might just do it anyway.
Kidd just let out a grunt. He knew Killer was sick of his temper –all of his crew was, but the past few days out at sea had been so boring that he couldn't help but be in a foul mood. Of course, most of the rest of his crew hadn't been in the best of moods either. Peace and quiet just didn't suit them well –they needed action, and sparring against each other only helped to keep the worst edge of the boredom away.
"What are we going to do now Boss Kidd?" Kidd didn't even bother glancing over at Pierce who had spoken. The stitch covered man functioned as Kidd's second mate even though at the moment he could manage with just Killer. Kidd knew his crew would need to grow larger, so rather than deal with it later, he'd put Pierce in a position where he unofficially was second mate so that when his crew grew large enough that he really needed a second mate the transfer from unofficial to official would go over smoothly.
"Let's see what this town's got in the way of entertainment," Kidd replied, a dangerous grin on his face. He was really hoping that someone would get on his bad side so he could start a ruckus of some sort.
*%%*
Taking a break from working on Kidd's gun, Jynx stood up and stretched. The flintlock was an interesting piece of work. She'd heard of a new model that was invented in the South Blue, but it was her first time seeing one up close and personal. It wasn't much different from its cousins other than the fact that it could hold a few extra bullets and used a slightly longer barrel by about an inch and a half than the standard kind.
Pulling a root beer out from the ice chest she kept near her work table in the back of the shop, Jynx popped the top off the glass bottle and took a swig. The cool liquid felt nice against her dry throat. Placing the bottle down on the table away from Kidd's gun, she looked at the firearm consideringly.
Finding what was making the trigger stick had been easy enough –the bottom of the flint arm which was located down in the fire grate wasn't able to move properly because of a buildup of debris within the fire grate. It happened a lot, and was no trouble to deal with. She did have to replace the flint arm though since it had taken some damage.
Now, she was taking her time to give the gun a thorough cleaning which she was almost done with before she put it all back together. She wanted a chance to go test it out back before Kidd came back. It was against her policy to give an untested gun back to a customer just in case something went wrong.
Sitting back down on the stool at her work table, Jynx got back to work, wiping down and greasing all the different parts. She'd have to work quickly since sunset was only an hour or two away.
When she put the last piece back in place, Jynx hefted the gun, making sure it felt right, letting out a satisfied 'hmm' when it did. Setting the pistol back down, Jynx washed her hands off and retrieved a fresh cleaning rag along with a container of polish.
Taking the gun in hand again, Jynx set about shining it up and wiping away any blemishes. A good gun deserved to shine after all. Humming to herself while she worked, Jynx was soon finished, and smiled in satisfaction at the final product of her few hours of work.
Kidd's gun looked like new, so now it was time to see if it shot like it was brand new.
Going out to her desk in the front of the shop, Jynx opened up one of the drawers and pulled out a new box of ammunition, checking to make sure it was the right kind. As long as Kidd didn't come early, she'd have a few minutes to test the gun and make sure everything was working correctly.
The tinkling of the bell above her door drew Jynx's attention as she loaded the pistol's chamber.
"Hold it righ' thar Lady," a sneering voice called out, accompanied by the click of several guns being pulled back to full cock. Glancing up, Jynx's eyes narrowed –the filth from earlier had returned, and this times his little amigos had decided to tag along.
"What do you want?" Jynx asked, already having a good idea of what the answer would be. This wasn't exactly the first time something like this had happened.
"We wants our money back, and any udder cash yeh migh' have on ya," the man who spoken earlier called out. Jynx had thought the man earlier was filthy, but this man made him look clean with his disastrous clothes and unshaven face. By the way all the other men were arranged around him though, she guessed he was probably the captain of this shabby bunch.
The Kidd pirates would be coming back soon so she didn't have the time to deal with these fools. "I'm afraid you're mistaken. This shop doesn't deal in refunds, so unless you want to pay for a service or a new gun, get out," Jynx drawled, her tone laced with a dangerous implications as she placed the final bullet into Kidd's gun with a satisfying click.
The sound drew the man's attention and he spat on the floor. "Drop da gun Lady or we's gonna half ta fill ya up wid lead, and we's genteelmen like, so we's don' wanna be shootin' no ladies ya hear?" His voice was distinctly slurred, and Jynx's nose wrinkled in disgust.
She could see out the front door that one of the men was holding open that the sun hadn't quite finished setting, and he was already drunk? What a pathetic excuse for a man, let alone a captain. "I don' have time to deal with you fools. Leave now while I'm still in a good mood," Jynx replied, done with this entire situation.
"I dun think ya gets it Lady –we's the ones pointin' our guns at ya, so we'll be da ones doin' da orderin' aroun', not yous. Now, put down dat gun ya got dere, and give us back our money." Staring calmly down the barrel of the man's gun, Jynx didn't feel worried at all.
"Shoot me."
"Wha? Lady, are yous crazies or somedin?"
Jynx resisted the urge to roll her eyes and let out a laugh. If anyone here was crazy, it was them, not her. Anybody around town could have told them not to mess with her, and she'd even dealt with one of them earlier. "Why do I have to deal with you idiots?" Jynx wondered out loud, glancing around the room in annoyance.
"Hey Lady, no speakin' in dem fancy-like foreign languiges. Us norma' folk can' undastan' when yous talks all fancy like dat. Speak so's we can undastan' ya."
"You really are an idiot. I told you to shoot me, so why haven' you?" Jynx challenged, eyes glinting dangerously as she stared the man down, ignoring his annoyance at the fact that she'd spoken in Spanish.
"I can' do dat! Yous hasn' tol' us where yous stashed da money yet!"
Jynx let out a silent sigh. "Is that so? Then I suppose you'll be the one dying instead of me." Before any of the men could react, Jynx had brought Kidd's gun up, cocked it back, and pulled the trigger. Blood spattered onto the ground and the men around him as her nameless opponent fell to the ground, eyes wide in the surprise of death.
"Cap'in!" the other men shouted in shock and terror. They all instantly fell silent at the ominous sound of Kidd's gun being cocked again.
"Looks like your gun is working just fine now, Kidd."
A booming laugh from behind the men made them flinch in terror. Several of them turned around to face the new threat, only to visibly pale at the sight of Eustass 'Captain' Kidd and several of his crew behind him standing in the open doorway.
"I'd have to say so Killer," Kidd laughed, sparring a short glance at the dead man on the floor before looking up to meet eyes with Jynx who nodded at him in acknowledgement.
Kidd loved the feeling of terror radiating of the pathetic men in front of him –even if he wasn't the original or only cause of their terror. Although, at the same time they were so pathetic that they were starting to tick him off.
"Give me a minute to deal with these pests, and we can settle our business," Jynx called out softly, shifting her eyes to glare at the remaining men who were for the most part shaking visibly in fear.
"So, who's next?" Jynx purred, leveling Kidd's gun and slowly moving it from man to man, each one gulping nervously as the gun went passed him. "How about you?" she asked, coming to stop on the man who had been in her shop earlier.
"I already warned you once today –unfortunately it looks like you weren' smart enough to stay away." Pulling Kidd's gun back to full cock with a loud click, Jynx looked down the barrel of the gun at the man in annoyance. "Well, are you going to try and defend yourself or do I just kill you now?"
The man fumbled with his gun, his hands shaking so badly he could barely even hold onto it. Even with his life in danger and his finger on the trigger, he couldn't pull it as he met Jynx's hard gaze.
"No?" Jynx asked softly, teasingly, as if she was just toying with him –which she was. "Pity. You know, if you're going to wield a gun, you need the guts to pull the trigger when it counts. Just. Like. This."
Jynx watched the man's eyes fill with terror as she slowly spoke the last three words, but even then his finger remained stationary as hers pulled back on the trigger ending his life with a single shot. Turning even as the man slumped to the ground, Jynx glared at the rest of the men who were cowering in fear.
"I hate cowards, but none of you have personally provoked me. I'll give you to the count of five to be out of my sight, but if you're not, or I ever lay my eyes on you again-"
Jynx didn't even get to finish her sentence as the men scrambled up off the floor and ran passed the Kidd pirates who let them by, not bothering to waste their time or effort on a bunch of weaklings.
"Sorry about all that," Jynx said as the last one slipped out the door passed Kidd whom she now turned her attention to. The wide grin on his face caught her slightly off guard, but she supposed unlike the men who had just run off, he was a real pirate –one who could actually kill, so he might have enjoyed what he'd just seen.
The rest of the Kidd pirates that were there filed into the shop, kicking the two dead bodies out of their way. Several of them were eyeing Jynx with interest –it wasn't often they came across someone, let alone a girl, who would kill like that.
"Heh, that was a neat little show you just put on," Kidd said as he watched Jynx run a cleaning rag down the barrel of his gun. When he'd reached the shop and seen the group of scraggly men gathered inside, and realized what was going on he hadn't been sure what to expect, but Jynx had easily surpassed any expectations he might have had.
"Gracias, or at least I believe that was meant as a compliment," Jynx said as she held out Kidd's gun for him to take. Those two shots had been more than enough for her to tell that it would function just fine.
Grinning even wider, if that was even possible, Kidd slipped the gun into its place on his bandolier, glad to have the familiar feeling of its weight and form again. He'd seen with his own eyes that it was working perfectly, and was honestly more interested in the girl in front of him at the moment like the rest of his crew.
Taking in her appearance from her black leather boots and loose fitting gray pants to her dark purple bandana that matched her corset top which she wore over a coarse long-sleeved off white shirt to the golden sash around her waist over which she wore a gun belt, Kidd nodded slightly in approval as he looked into her honey colored eyes and saw the will power that resided there.
He could tell by the way his crew was observing her that they were interested too, and even if they weren't, he'd already made up his mind so it didn't really matter what they thought. Jynx definitely possessed the skill, the attitude, and the determination to be an asset to him; plus, her style of dress would fit in just fine as well. Heck, even her name would work.
"Oi Jynx, you're joining my crew."
Well, there's chapter one for you.
I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. =)
Reviews are awesome, and I love reading them, so make sure to leave one before you go.
