Neo One Piece
By Nezumimaru
Fuschia Town Arc
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Blitz sighed and leaned back on the side of his small boat. One day out and another three days to the next island. So far so good. But still, he felt that something was amiss. Glancing lazily at his bags, he went over what he had.
Guns? Check. Food? Check. Map and compass? Check. Bag of Bellies? Check. Bowie Knife? Check. Rum? ………………. Blitz straighten immediately, jaw lack, eye dark and depression filling the air.
"I FORGOT THE RUM!!!!!!" He shouted to the heavens. Blitz slumped over, mumbling and grumbling. "How could I forget the rum? It's the life blood of pirates! A whole day and I didn't notice……Was I that excited?" He then looked at the direction he was heading. This was going to be a long three days.
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One Day Later
Blitz sat in solemn silence as the waves gently rock the boat. Four days with out rum, that's the longest he's ever went. He wasn't an alcoholic by any stretch, but he still missed the taste. For the thousandth time that day, he looked ahead, hoping to spot the next island. According to the map, the port on the island would be called Fuschia.
And bless his luck, that very town was just coming into view! Jumping up, Blitz yet out a shout of joy. Rolling up the sail, he then grabbed the boat's two paddles and rowed with all his might. Rum waits for no man.
Upon reaching the docks, Blitz jumped on the wooden planks, pulling his boat in next to the landing. As he tied the boat to keep it from floating away, he heard a voice address him.
"Hey, mister! You new around here?" Looking over his shoulder, Blitz saw a small group of boys, some pre-teens, some older. The one in front seemed to be their leader and the one who spoke. He looked about 15 or 16, and wore a loose back hat that was pulled over his eyes. Giving him the once over, Blitz also saw that he was wearing a brown loose long sleeve shirt, a baggy tan vest, blue jeans and tennis shoes. At his hip was a dagger with blades on both ends of the handle.
Snorting, Blitz continued to secure the boat, replying, "Maybe, what's it to you, kid?" He stood and turned to the group fully. Some of the younger boys flinched and took a step back, while the leader seemed a little shocked but quickly regained his composure. 'Probably spooked by the eye patch.' Blitz thought, mentally shrugging it off.
"My name's not kid, it's Chris." The head boy remarked, annoyance in his voice. "It's apparent," he continued, "that you are new here, if you don't know who I am. The captain of the Fuschia Pirates!" Chris smirked. "And we have a landing fee that new comers have to pay: 1000 Bellies!"
Blitz chuckled, "What? That's all? Oh wait, let me guess, you also have mock sword fights with wooden swords and kick the canes out from under old men, too, right?" That pissed the 'Pirates' off a good amount. Blitz smirked. This might be fun.
"Don't mock us, One-Eye! We're so feared that not even the local Marines dare mess with us!" Chris retaliated, and then drew his double sided dagger. "And does this look like a wooden sword to you? It's a real knife!" Getting a good look at the dagger, one side was narrow, about three inches long with a slight curve, the other end was about five inches, serrated on the backside and the tip split into two prongs. Over all, a well made blade. Not that Blitz would say that.
"The Marines probably just can't be bothered with kid pranks, you know, having to deal with real threats." After pretending to inspect Chris's dagger, Blitz added, "And that looks more like a tooth pick." Drawing his nine and a half inch Bowie Knife from a sack, he held it up. "This is a knife." Now the older boys stepped back, with the younger taking another, all sweating slightly. All except Chris, who was now livid.
"That's it!" Chris shouted, bringing his dagger up, "I'll teach you not to make fun of the Fuschia Pirates!" He then charged at Blitz, who just sighed. Who attacks a person with a weapon out head long? This guy is not very bright. He easily blocked his attacker's strike, causing Chris to stagger back a bit. Blitz took the opportunity to attack, working up a good horizontal swing. Chris saw this coming and let gravity take hold, allowing himself to drop as Blitz swung above him.
Chris rolled away and sprung up, staying in a low crouch and his blade in a defensive position. "Not bad," Blitz said, tossing his knife from his left to his right in a casual manner, the other boys watching in awe, "Now let's see if you can actually use that dagger, or are you just a poser?" Chris gritted his teeth in anger and leaped forward, Blitz doing the same.
Their blades locked, the two combatants baring their teeth at each other. The two pushed, trying to topple the other over. Being taller and apparently physically stronger, Blitz was winning the lock. As he pushed the juvenile delinquent down, he got a look at his eyes. They were a yellowish green, almost cat like. Almost feminine……
Chris noticed that Blitz was distracted by something and took the advantage. Hocking, Chris prepared to spit in his foe's eye, but Blitz caught on and leapt back, just as Chris spat. The shot hit the ground harmlessly.
"That was nasty!" Blitz said, disgusted, "You don't spit in a guy's eye! Especially if his has only one left!" Chris just grinned.
"That's how a pirate fights!" He said as he charged again. And once again Blitz blocked. Only this time Chris was ready and didn't stagger, instead entered a flurry of attacks, not stopping. Blitz tried to block, barely keeping up with Chris's barrage. He attempted to get a few attacks of his own in but they were easily blocked and left him with little time to recover.
'Damn!' Blitz thought, 'I'm a gunner, not a knife fighter! If this keeps up, I'm going to get cut to ribbons!' Suddenly, he remembered that his pistol was still in its holster at his hip. If he could just get this guy to back off for just a second, he might gain an up hand. But he was just not letting up!
Then, Chris flourished, knocking Blitz's arms wide, leaving him open. Seizing the opportunity, Chris reeled back him arm for a strong strike. The band of young pirate wanna-bes closed their eyes, not wanting to se what would happen next. In that split second, Blitz reached for his pistol. Just as Chris swung forward, Blitz brought up his pistol. In an instant, it was over.
As the others slowly opened their eyes, they were awed at the sight in front of them. Chris's dagger was an inch from Blitz's throat, and his pistol was an inch from Chris's face. Both were panting heavily, exhausted from the bout. Chris gave a small smirk. "Heh, stalemate, I guess."
"No." Blitz replied. Suddenly, he brought his knee up, contacting with Chris's gut. As Chris doubled over, grunting in pain, Blitz grabbed his arm, slammed Chris to the ground and held his arm behind his back, sitting on him to keep him down, not registering that he knocked off Chris's hat.
"Checkmate." Blitz finished, keeping his pistol pointed at the back of Chris's head. "And that, boys," he said, talking to the shock group still watching, "Is how a real pirate fights." Their jaw dropped. He's a pirate?!
"Chrisanthia!" Slightly startled by the new voice, Blitz looked up the road to the center of town. Standing in the middle of the road was an old woman in here late 60's, wearing a grey dress and large hoop earrings. And she looked pissed. "You-you brute! Get off my granddaughter this instant!" Blitz cocked an eyebrow.
"Granddaughter?" Looking at Chris, he then noticed that his hat was off, revealing a head of vibrant red hair. Sheathing his Bowie Knife, Blitz grabbed a bit of hair and turned Chris's head so as to see his face, keeping his gun concentrated on him. He was glaring daggers at him from his position underneath him. And he really was in fact a she! "Well I'll be damned." Blitz whistled, "I guess you really can't judge a book by its cover."
Before he could do anything else, Blitz was slapped across the face hard by Chris's grandmother, sending him flying several feet. "OW!" Blitz grunted, getting up painfully. 'That old hag can really bring on the hurts!' Glancing towards the two women, he couldn't help but snicker. Chris was being smothered by a crushing embrace as Grandma stroked her hair and fretted.
"Oh, Chrisanthia! Are you hurt?! Did that thug do anything to you? You know you shouldn't sneak out when you are having your sewing lessons!" She then glared at Blitz, before marching towards him, dragging an unwilling Chris by the wrist. "You ruffian!" She yelled at him, "You attacked my sweet little granddaughter! I have half a mind to report you to the Marines! You come any where near her again and I will have you arrested!" Calming down, Grandma turned to Chris. "Now then Chrisanthia, let's go home. I'm sure you've had a dreadful experience." Pulling Chris along, she continued, "Nothing like a little painting lesson won't cure. If only you'd just sit still for more than two minutes and act more lady-like. With my teachings, I'm sure you can attract a nice Marine boy for you to wed……"
Looking back at her pseudo-crew, Chris flashed a series of hand signals at them. They nodded and a few of them ran off, two of them remained, fidgeting. As Chris and her grandma turned a corner, they let out the breath they were holding. Blitz walked up behind them.
"What was that about?" Blitz asked the two boys, one about 12, the other 16. They looked at him, puzzled. He held up his hand and tried to imitate the hand signals Chris used. The two nodded in understanding.
"Jailbreak." the older said, "The others are going to help get Chris out of the hag's hold. We'd have gone too, but we were caught once, so she knows our faces."
"We're going to rendezvous at the Barracuda Tavern. That's where Chris's dad works." the younger quipped. Blitz blinked a few times, the corners of his mouth twitching.
"Tavern?" he asked, barely containing his joy. The two nodded slowly. Blitz then ran to his boat, grabbed a hand full of Bellies from his bag and ran back to the pseudo-pirates. "Lead the way! I've been dying for a mug!" Blitz said, grinning ear to ear. The two sweat-dropped.
"He's a pirate, Jack?" The younger asked the older. "He said he was, Pete." Jack said.
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Later, At The Barracuda Tavern
"Gahahahahahahahaha!!!" A large bearded, red hair man laughed. He stood behind the counter of the tavern, as Blitz chugged down a mug of ale. "You beat Chris? That's funny! No one's ever beaten my daughter before. You must be pretty good, Blitz." Blitz chuckled, leaning back on the counter on one arm.
"As good as they come, Mr. Hopkins." He said, taking another mouthful from his mug. Mr. Hopkins gave another laugh and slapped Blitz on the back, making him almost choke on his drink.
"Ah, no need for the formalities, Blitz. Just call me Sam." At that moment, the tavern door swung open with a bang. Only Blitz turn to see who it was, everyone else knew.
"Ah, the sweet smell of freedom!" shouted Chris, stretching her arms in the air. Her hat was back on her head, but no longer hid her eyes from view, and she waltzed in with a bounce in her step. "Oh, yes! Giving the hag the slip is one of my many pleasures. At this moment, the only thing that could ruin the rest of the day is……" She then noticed the one guy at the counter, the very guy who trumped her not an hour before. Her day was soured. "YOU!" she shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Blitz.
"Oh, hey Red!" Blitz called, waving at Chris like she didn't want to kill him. "How you doing? Your dad was just telling me how no one has ever beaten you!" He then found himself on the floor, a large bump forming on his head, while two patrons tried to hold back a hell-bent Chris from doing any more damage.
"Don't you patronize me, you bastard!" Chris screeched, causing many around here to wince. "I swear, I'm going to kick your ass, right here, right now!"
"Pistol! Cryo Shot!" Suddenly, Chris's head was encased in ice, causing her to stop thrashing. The shocked patrons and bartender looked at the ice on Chris to Blitz, who was now holding a smoking pistol, aimed at Chris. "Checkmate, again." He said, getting up and brushing off some dust from his pants. The ice surrounding Chris's head began to crack, then shattered. For a few seconds, Chris just stood there, shocked, then she started shivering and holding her head.
"C-c-c-cold!!! B-b-brain freeze!!" Chris said through chattering teeth. Sam, mouth gapping, turned to Blitz, who holstered his pistol and sat back down at the counter.
"H-how did y-you d-do that?" He stammered, "Are you some kind of Devil Fruit user?"Blitz looked at him like he was asking a stupid question, and sighed.
"No, I'm not a Devil Fruit user. I just use specially designed bullets made by yours truly." Blitz said. He redrew his pistol and continued. "See this? This is the Equalizer, a heavily modified pistol, also done by me. It holds 20 rounds, has a decent range, above that of regular pistols, and has a very fast rate of fire and reload speed. Another modification is a color indicator and rotation system.
Near the hammer is a small magnifying glass that helps show the color on the bullet that's next to be shot. Different colors mean different effects, like red is the Inferno Shot, yellow is the Electro Shot, light blue is Cryo Shot, etc.
The rotation system allows me to rotate the shots, giving access to the kind I need for the situation. But if I do not have that kind of bullet loaded, I need to make sure I have room in the magazine to load it in. If I don't I just need to use a different bullet."
"Wow! That's amazing!" Pete, one of the two boys who lead Blitz here, said, finally making himself known. He eyes were wide and sparkling with admiration and excitement. "What other kinds of guns do you have?"
Blitz chuckled, "Well, I also have Matilda. She's a modified rifle that I…"
"You name your guns and give them genders?" Chris interrupted, arms cross. She just got over the freeze and while pretending not to, was listening closing. Blitz scratched the side of his face.
"Well, only Matilda, because it's a human name. Besides, naming weapons is a sign of attachment, means you'll never give it up for any reason. Any way," He continued with his explanation, "Matilda is a modified rifle, longer range and power, but compared to the Equalizer, she has a slower reload speed and rate of rife, but still better than that of your average rifle. Like the Equalizer, Matilda has a color indicator and rotation system, but only holds 10 rounds.
The last fire arm I use is Dragon's Roar, a shoulder mounted cannon. Has the color indicator and rotation system, like the other two, but holds only 5 rounds. It has the most power of the three, has middle range, and slowest reload and rate of fire. I mostly use it for large groups or heavy fortifications, like ship hulls."
"Ship hulls?!" Pete said, astounded. "You've sunk ships before!?" Blitz nodded. "Yep, of pirates who attacked my home. I used them as target practice until I got the mods down right for my guns." Sam, who was listening with intent, started laughing again.
"Gahahahahaha! You know, you're one interesting guy, Blitz! Tell you what, how bout you have the next round on me?" He then drew tap from a waist high barrel behind him, giving the new mug to Blitz. "This is my special brew, Fire Whiskey!" One of the patrons gave out a hoot.
"Come off it, Sam! Not one person has ever drunk a whole mug of that stuff! It's was too strong, the boy'll pass out from a sip!" Blitz glared at the man and gave a huff of annoyance.
"Is that so? Well I take your challenge; give me that mug, Sam." Grabbing the mug from him, Blitz chugged the whole think in one gulp. The whole room stared at him like he grew a second head as he slammed the glass down on the counter with no apparent side effect.
Suddenly, Blitz's face went bright red, steam started coming out of his ears and nostrils, his face distorted. He spazed and twitched, twisting his head around as far as his spine would let him for several seconds. He then started banging his head on the counter in a comical fashion, until he finally rested his head after the last bang, not moving a muscle.
Everyone leaned closer, trying to see if he was dead or not. Then, with out warning, Blitz sat straight up and slammed his mug on the counter, shouting, "REFILL!!" Everyone then went slack jawed and sweat-dropped.
"He drank a whole glass and is still thinking straight!" One man said, then another replied, "Well, not that straight, if he wants refill."
Then, the door of the tavern slammed open, startling everyone inside. The man in the door way was panting, trying to catch his breath. "S…Sam….it's…..Sir…..Sir Porkalot…….He's...making an early tax run!"
"WHAT?!" Both Sam and Chris shouted. The both raced out the door and down the street. The tavern patrons followed, leaving Blitz alone in the bar with an empty mug.
"Hey," Blitz said, a little put off, "What about my refill?"
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AN: Chapter two done, Arc 1, Fuschia Arc just beginning! For those people who actually read these fanfics carefully, yes I stopped using the Japanese suffixes. Why? Because after I wrote chapter one, I felt that it didn't fit and was too lazy to change it. So there. Also, Chrisanthia "Chris" Hopkins is the brain child of SeeNoEvil121.
Until next time, peeps!