Chapter III: Clowns and Tricksters

A/N: Aargh! Stupid weird Word glitch that deleted all my hard-earned three thousand words! Sorry, but this on top of my college schoolwork will put me way behind as I try to rewrite EVERYTHING for this chapter. I planned on making this a combination of an omake and actual chapter, but my frustration urges me to skip my omake. I may, MAY try to rewrite it and add at another point in time, but I must bring us back to the main story. A thousand pardons, my loyal readers, for the continued delay. And thanks for your patience. I am trying to write when I can, but most days leave me in a less than adequate mood for creativity. Well, on with the story!

East Blue – Somewhere out at Sea

- Kitsune -

Luffy will never ever be allowed near the food storage ever again. Even if I have to lock up the fridge and cabinets and the kitchen itself, grumbled Kitsune.

They had been out to sea for a several days and had been without food since day two of their voyage. Turns out that the captain had snuck past the sleeping guard fox curled up at the foot of the kitchen door. He ate every scrap of remotely edible thing from their couple weeks' worth of food. Kitsune even made sure to estimate roughly how much they would need with two D's and the possibility of two or three more people. And Luffy ate all of it. ALL OF IT! All they had left was a few barrels of water. Kitsune swore to beat some sense into his brother once they had some more food aboard.

And booze, amended the fox as he looked down on their latest member. Roronoa Zoro seemed like an okay guy. A bit rough around the edges, insufferable when asking Kitsune to spar with him, a bit dense like Luffy, but Roronoa seemed fair enough in spite of all these annoying habits of his. And the guy did seem to have the will and familiar stubbornness to make his dream reality. Kitsune could respect that.

When Kitsune shared his few months of apprenticeship under Hawk, Zoro practically interrogated the older swordsman. Zoro wanted to know all about the man he would one day fight, and Kitsune saw no reason to sugarcoat his opinion on the matter. In short, Zoro had absolutely no chance against Mihawk Hawkeye. Nope. Not even half a percent. The fox loved riddles and ambiguities, but when discussing plans, training, and so forth, the fox shiftshaper was as sharp as his blade. He punctuated his point by taking Fuzakeru Kasai, aptly named Playful fire and one of the 21 great blades, and cleanly sliced one of the normal steel knives he kept around the small ship.

/ "This is nothing compared to what Hawkeye can do. Just a little spark to a roaring wildfire. And, I did this without haki, the force that every serious person on the latter half of the Grand Line can use. Do you think that you, a swordsman of the weakest of the four Blues, can beat someone who can make cutting steel child's play? If you want to achieve your dream, then I suggest you prepare yourself for years of pain, sweat, and blood. Train yourself to your limits and then exceed them. Falter in the world of piracy – in battle, in mind, in will – and you will fall," spoke Kitsune after he sliced the knife from several feet away, from tip to hilt. "Not only you but also all who stand by you if you're not too careful." Zoro only smiled, his eyes holding that gleam the fox remembered back on Shell Island.

"I won't," promised the swordsman. "I will beat Hawkeye and become the world's greatest swordsman. Now, tell me all about Hawkeye, your training, and what exactly this haki is."

Kit raised an eyebrow and stared intensely at the younger man, inspecting his worth. "Alright. How about when I first met Uncle Hawk…" /

Kitsune made himself comfortable and tried to ignore the grumbles of his stomach. The wind had died down for the past few hours, so the ship sailed at a sluggish pace. Below, Kitsune could hear Zoro and Luffy grumbling about their lack of food and drink.

"Gum-Gum…!"

At the sudden shouting, Kitsune slit one eye open and watched as the red blur of his brother slingshot into the sky and…get caught by a bird. A bit bigger than what Luffy must have thought, thought Kitsune with a grimace. The bird was flying off with Luffy! And Luffy (hopefully) would realize that falling while over the ocean would not be a great idea. Nope, not at all.

Kitsune leapt off the roof of the cabin and rushed to take out the emergency oars, shouting orders at Zoro. Kitsune grabbed a pair of oars and flung one to Zoro and started rowing on one side. Their boat cut through the ocean until they suddenly rammed something. Or someone. A couple of clowns were drifting in the ocean and managed to cling to the boat and climb aboard. Kitsune spared their threatening stance only the barest glance.

"Zoro, I'll take your oars, if you will…?"

Now those two were graciously rowing the boat to the next island – destination: Orange Town.

As the three pirates rowed, Kitsune learned a few interesting pieces of information. One, these Buggy Pirates didn't sound very intelligent if these two were any kind of indication to the typical Buggy pirate. Two, there was a very accomplished thief sailing around the area. And three, Buggy 'The Clown' was a fellow devil fruit eater. Honestly, the name Buggy did stir a flicker of memory, but nothing-solid came to mind. Kitsune decided to shelve that thought for later. Chances were, Buggy was not that important of a person if he left such a flimsy impression on the nearly eidetic Kitsune. Speaking of unimportant persons, if those pirates didn't lead the two of them to Luffy after they made the older brother lose sight of his little brother, there will a reckoning.

Orange Town

- Luffy -

Oh, wow! That bird flew a long ways with his belligerent passenger. Luffy was not a complete idiot. He knew that if he really tried to struggle, the bird would probably let go of his head…and drop him straight into the sea. As Luffy tried to figure what to do, fate intervened. Or, rather a cannonball did.

*Boom!*. The startled bird opened his beak, and Luffy plunged right the middle of some pirates and a girl.

After a choice punch or three, the pirates laid knocked out and bloody. No one touched Luffy's precious hat, no one! The weird girl Nami led Luffy to an empty house and gave him some food. Then she once more asked him to join her. And she was a navigator, just what Luffy's crew needed. But then she got scary when Luffy yelled about being a pirate. She really didn't like pirates, but Luffy never believed in giving up. For some reason, she started giving Luffy this really big smile and said she would consider being his navigator if he helped her out.

Now Luffy sat tied up and in a metal cage.

"Hey, let me out of here! And let me have some of that food!"

"Sorry, but I need that map a lot more than I need you. Don't worry, I'm sure they'll just sell you."

Luffy stilled. If there was one thing Luffy hated more than almost anything (besides traitors and World Nobles), it was slavers and people who bought other people. Especially after Kitsune got that scar around his neck… His face darkened. Before Luffy could speak, that stupid clown came over to the cage.

"Man, you really have bad taste in partners. I'm afraid your fate is looking none too good. Gyahahaha! For stealing my treasure…LOAD THE BUGGY BALLS!"

Buggy balls…? Luffy tilted his head in confusion. When he glanced over to Nami, her face turned chalk white.

*WHOOSH! BOOM! CRASH!*

A whole row of houses were destroyed! And now Big Nose had the cannon aimed toward him. Luffy thought. Mama Marco warned him not to use his haki too much while in East Blue. He probably wouldn't die if that hit him. Probably.

"Nami, as a show of good faith, YOU will be the one firing the buggy cannon. Just one little flame and *BOOM!*" snickered Big Nose with a widespread of his arms for emphasis.

Nami paled and started trembling. Luffy grinned.

"Not too smart are you?" proposed Luffy. "You should have come prepared when facing pirates."

"Prepared? Prepare to what? Kill?"

"No," stated Luffy, eyes closed in his characteristic smile. "Prepared to put your life at risk!"

Luffy did not expect Nami to go and knock out a pirate. She was a lot stronger than Luffy initially thought. But now they had an angry Buggy and his pirates and…THE FUSE WAS LIT!

Just as Nami was about to be overrun, a figure came and knocked them back.

"Zoro!"

"You guys can't handle one girl? Pathetic. Pfft, Captain, how do you get yourself in these situations? You okay?"

"Shishishishi! Phew, I thought I was going to be a goner. I'm fine. And, Kit always said I had a knack for creating really stupid situations and dragging him into it."

The pirates standing back broke out in a sweat. Then Big Nose came and muttered some nonsense about his bounty and something about his infamy increasing or something. He attacked, but Zoro sliced him in several pieces! But those pirates were smiling. Luffy frowned. He activated his Observation haki. Big Nose…was still alive?! One of the hacked off hands began to tremble then levitated into the air.

"Zoro, watch out!"

Just as the knife was going pierce Zoro, it stopped just inches away. Luffy could actually see it struggling against some sort of hold.

"Shahehehehehe! What's with starting the fun without me? A circus act isn't complete without a few twists and a sadistic trick or two, would you not agree, Captain?"

The grin the young man sported was anything but the friendliness his tone projected.

- Kitsune -

Of course. Buggy. The same Buggy from Shanks's stories. His stupid friend that ate the Chop-Chop fruit. Good thing Kitsune remembered in time, or else that knife would have pierced right through Zoro in and none too pleasant place. Kitsune hopped down from his place on Luffy's cage, form shimmering into existence. The look on Buggy's face was priceless. Kitsune barely stifled another attack of giggles. What pirate worth his salt would have a bright red nose? Just leaving one's self open to all sorts of jokes.

"So, what do you think you're doing executing such a dishonorable maneuver? Striking someone with their backs turned?" Kitsune's grin turned feral. "Cowardly, if you ask me."

Buggy's face turned bright red and steam began to simmer from his head.

"Honor? We're pirates, kid, there is no such thing as honor among pirates! And you're a naïve fool if you think that," sneered Buggy.

Kitsune did not let his smile fall. He held out a hand in front of him and curled a finger in a come here gesture. The struggling hand suddenly popped open, and the knife zoomed toward him. Kitsune deftly snatched it out of the air just before it would have pierced him. Twirling his new knife, Kitsune turned to his flabbergasted audience.

"Two can play at the devil fruit game."

"Devil fruit? Hah, should have known. But whatever it is, it can't compare to my own powers! I, Buggy 'The Clown', ate the Chop-Chop fruit and am now a chop-chop human. Slice me all you want, I will just put myself back together." Buggy brandished his other hand that held four similar knives to the one Kitsune just stole. "What if you have some sort of telekinesis ability? You won't be able to stop everything at once!"

"Whatever Big Nose! Kit can totally kick your ass! Zoro, Nami, hurry up and free me so I can kick this guy's ass, too!"

Stunned silence.

"Y-you-YOU DARE CALL ME BIG NOSE!" The hand full of knives went straight for Luffy.

*CLANG!*

Zoro had his three swords crossed and blocked the attack. "Quit being dramatic Kitsune, and help save our idiotic captain," he grunted around his sword.

Aah, well, I guess he has a point, noted Kitsune. He turned to the cannon whose fuse had burned almost to the very last. He flashed a positively evil grin. Buggy's floating hand suddenly flung right back into its owner's face. The other hand soon followed. In the next moment, Kitsune stood by the buggy cannon and gave it a swift upwards kick. The whole thing flipped. The end was pointed at the Buggy Pirates.

*BOOM!*

It blew the unfortunate pirates and their captain clear into the building behind them.

"Alright, now then," said Kitsune, turning back to Luffy in the cage. He reached back and unsheathed his kodachi. White fire licked the edge of the blade. He slashed the air in front of him three times. The air seemed to shimmer where the blade sliced. Suddenly the bars of the cage fell apart as if something cut right through them. Even the ropes fell into several pieces.

"Shishishishishi! Thanks Kit!"

"Come on, I want to go grab some supplies from town before those goofballs try anything. Although I do really want to see their faces when the other half of my surprise triggers. Oh well."

- KASL -

From the smoke and rubble, several forms crawled out. One of them was a very irate Buggy.

"Damn, those punks. When I get my hands of them…"

"Captain!"

"Eh?" Buggy turned to the poor pirate that dared to interrupt his captain's monologue. "What could possibly be that important?" The pirate in front of Buggy trembled, his legs making audible clicks.

"Uh, S-sir? I think one of them left something behind." Scattered across the roof was several very small brightly colored balls of light. Buggy knelt and grabbed the nearest one.

"What the h-" The little ball pulsed, and a flash of light from all the firebombs covered the area. When it faded, not only were all the pirates extra crispy, but in the area surrounding each explosion, paint made rainbow splatters on everything and everyone within the blast radius.

- Kitsune -

"Owowowowow! Let go! Let go!"

Kitsune shook his head at the continued idiocy of his little brother.

They had stopped in town while Kitsune foraged around for supplies. He sent Zoro with Luffy to go check out the other side of town, and Nami tagged along with them. By the way she would eye him out of the corner of her eyes, Kitsune guessed that she was a little more than wary of him. Not surprising. Kitsune may act silly and facetious at times, but any thief worth their weight in gold knew better than look only on the surface. And a thief Nami was very much. A good one, too, if her run-in with the Buggy Pirates was any indicator. But her naivety and morals would get her killed if she continued on as a solo act. But she seemed competent enough Luffy had the right idea trying to recruit her. Luffy's instincts were good like that.

Kitsune just finished picking through some of the better-looking stores (leaving some berries – he was a pirate, not a lowlife crook no matter what the navy said), and he found Luffy with a dog. Or rather, he found the Luffy struggling with a dog that found his rubbery arm a very nice chew toy. Zoro and Nami just watched the young captain yell his head off. Taking pity after another minute, Kitsune strode over to captain. One glare and bared teeth later, and the dog let go of Luffy, backing away with a rising growl.

"Wow, Kit, you're good with dogs!"

Zoro snorted. "Probably because he is one."

"~Care to say that again swordsman?" sweetly crooned Kitsune with one of his daggers twirling between his fingers. Zoro just answered with a toothy grin.

"I don't even want to know," muttered Nami.

"Hey you! Leave Chou Chou alone!"

Some guy who gave a real close impression of a poodle in leather armor walked toward the group. Turned out the dog Chou Chou had one of the most heartrending stories of doggy loyalty and stubbornness. Mayor Boodle (seriously?) was one of the few townsmen that came down from the temporary encampment just to take care of Chou Chou. Kitsune knelt by the dog. Chou Chou growled low. The fox stared long and hard into the dog's eyes. Then he smiled. I'm such a sucker, idly thought Kitsune as he absentmindedly petted the dog, ignoring the warning growls.

The group had just walked off in the direction of one of the stores recommended by the mayor when they heard a crash. Smoke was quickly billowing into the sky from the other direction. The four rushed back to the pet store. There was nothing but fire and rubble of the old store. Chou Chou sat bruised and beaten up, barking as his home burned.

"Hey you! Captain Buggy wants a word with you four!"

Kitsune flipped a dagger into each of his hands. Approaching the pirates and thief was a man covered in white hair astride a large lion.

"I suppose you were the one responsible for this," asked Kitsune.

"So what? Richie wanted a snack and that mutt there bit me. Me, the great Mohji 'The Beast Tamer', first mate of Captain Buggy."

"Never heard of you."

Mohji face-faulted. "Why you-"

"What's with that silly outfit?" asked Luffy. "Are you trying out for a part as a polar bear or something?"

"…THIS IS MY REAL HAIR! Richie, get them!"

The lion lunged, claws outstretched. Luffy waited and sidestepped the massive animal. The look in Luffy's eye – Kitsune remained on the sidelines and watched. Luffy reared an arm back.

"Gum-Gum Pistol!" His fist sent the lion flying.

"What the hell?!"

"What are you?"

Nami and Mohji gaped at the rubber man. Luffy turned to face them and giggled.

"I ate the Gum-Gum fruit and became a rubber human!" Luffy's grin faded. He looked hard at Mohji. The pirate begged, but Luffy would have nothing of it.

"Forgive? That store was a treasure to that dog. There's nothing you can do to bring it back." Luffy slowly walked to the backing, crying pirate. "I'm going to kick your ass! And the ass of your captain!"

One beat-down later.

"I think you overdid it a bit little brother," commented Kitsune as he watched the barely conscious and bloodied pirate totter away after Kitsune separated the two. "Save it for Buggy. The guy does not like your guts I would say. Plus, we kind of need that map of his if we want to make it to the Grand Line from here. I can't say I know how to sail to the usual entrance, honestly."

"Big Nose? He's not that strong."

"Yes, but we are trying to keep ourselves inconspicuous."

"Inconspeculous?"

"Never mind. Marco said not to stand out. So don't go beating up every single damn idiot that makes you mad. There is a better way. Honestly, you can be as hardheaded as Grandfather. Remember, most everyone on this side of the sea are leagues out of their depths compared to us."

"Okay," pouted Luffy. Kitsune smacked Luffy on the topside of his head. Ignoring Luffy's indignant yell, Kitsune sat down on the cobblestone and gently stroked the injured dog. Faint blue wisps glowed around the appendage. The dog gave him a look before walking off with the bag of dog food that Luffy managed to find with Kitsune's help.

Mayor Boodle had an intense and thoughtful look on his face for the past several minutes. Suddenly, the old man yelled in frustration.

"I cannot stand by anymore! This is my town, my home. As mayor, I must do everything I can to take it back from those no good pirates!"

"Err…Mayor Boodle?"

"You guys and Chou Chou…I will no longer sit back while people like you are actually doing something for this town. Am I wrong, kids?"

"Chill old man," said Nami. But, Luffy had a different approach.

"You're right, old man," grinned Luffy. Nami began yelling at Luffy, too.

The man went on a spiel about the town's history, and the mayor's role in protecting the town. In the middle of his speech, a high-pitched whizzing sound rapidly grew in pitch. One of Buggy's special buggy balls nearly hit the group, but Kitsune had jumped in the last second and aimed a spinning kick, sending the projectile crashing to the far left of the group. The impact caused several nearby houses to shake and windows to break.

"THAT'S IT! Over 40 years of struggle and hard work, and those ruffians come here and try to destroy it. No, so long as I am mayor of this town, I will protect it!"

After that, the mayor ran off to go and confront Buggy.

"Things are getting exciting," said Zoro with a smile.

"Well then, we'd better go make sure Mayor Boodle doesn't die, right?" murmured Kitsune.

"Yeah! Shishishishi! I really like that old man, so I won't let him die!"

- Nami -

What is wrong with these people? Nami thought once more with disturbing regularity. Buggy had freak powers that were a hell of a lot more impressive than Luffy's, Kitsune acted like a cross between a kid and a devil, and Zoro was a bloody demon with the way he just smiled at the prospect of a life-and-death encounter. But sticking to these guys would probably lead to treasure. And there was hardly nothing that would stop Nami from getting her gold. Not if she wanted…/Flash of a smiling woman with a Mohawk, two little girls giggling by her side…A malicious face full of sharp teeth/...Nami shook her head clear. The alliance would only last long enough for Nami to get a big enough score. Then she would ditch these pirates. After all, pirates were nothing but scum. She had to remember that.

Buggy's Base

The group arrived just as Buggy was strangling the Mayor with his disembodied hand. Luffy rushed in and separated the hand from the mayor. Nami watched as Kitsune and Zoro moved in to flank their captain.

Her eyes widened as Luffy spoke. "I keep my promises, Buggy! I'm here to kick your ass. So you'd better be ready!"

"Same here," smirked Kitsune.

"Just here for the treasure and map," mumbled Nami as she stood back from the three men.

Buggy scowled up on the roof of his base. His face became nearly as red as his nose.

"You guys don't even have a trace of fear. You morons…YOU'RE ALL DEAD OR WISH YOU WERE BY THE TIME I GET THROUGH WITH YOU!"

Nami gulped. Buggy 'The Clown" was still a real monster. Then, again, so were the three people in front of her.

Mayor Boodle climbed to his feet.

"NO! This is my village, and I will protect it as the chief. Do not interfere, or-"

Kitsune leaned over and chopped at the mayor's neck. The man instantly went limp and fell back down to the cobblestone.

"Why did you do that!" yelled Nami to the unabashed fox.

"What? He's in our way, just as Luffy said. I just made sure he would be safe and sound while we deal with the tomato nose here."

Silence. Then, "FIRE THE SPECIAL BUGGY CANNONBALL! FIRE, FIRE, FIRE!"

Nami whimpered and began to run. "Are you trying to get all of us killed!" she screamed.

"Ttch," Nami looked back at the three pirates. "Luffy, hot air combo?"

Nami just stopped moving as she watched the straw-hatted boy pop up like a balloon with a yell of "Gum-Gum Balloon" and sent the cannonball packing back to the Buggy Pirates. Kitsune jumped on top of Luffy, landing hard and making him expel air.

"Foxfire Scream!" The fox exhaled a torrent of fire and smoke bolstered by the air coming out from Luffy. The combination of the explosion and fire destroyed the building.

Nami fell to her knees in utter shock. Her thoughts froze. "How, what, HOW? Are you guys even human?"

"I thought we went over this already," remarked Kitsune. "Luffy ate a devil fruit, a cursed fruit from the Grand Line. Those who eat it such as Buggy, Luffy, and myself gain mysterious powers depending on the fruit. He ate the Gum-Gum fruit and became a rubber man. Buggy said he ate the Chop-Chop fruit, so he can split himself or allow another to split him into many parts without dying. It even becomes an advantage! Me, I guess I didn't mention it, did I? I ate the Dog-Dog fruit, model kitsune. I can turn into a type of mythical fox spirit, or demon as they say. Pretty rare power, as you can imagine. Highly ironic name, too, but I digress. I can use a ton of cool powers and abilities like fire and illusions from earlier. And a few more, but stick around and you will get to know them all, I bet!"

Nami just stared wordlessly. Monsters, all of them. I've sided against one and now I am surrounded by two more. Plus that idiotic swordsman.

"HAHAHA! Devil fruit powers? That would explain how you four took out my best officer, Mohji! Hmph, quit your chitchat! It's as though you have no fear for me, ME, the Great Buggy 'The Clown'!"

"We don't," bluntly stated Kitsune. The smoke cleared to reveal Buggy and a man in a brown cloak and blue-checkered scarf.

"To use your own men as shields…!" exclaimed Nami. The cruelty of pirates never failed to surprise her or make her loathing for them deepen.

From the rubble, that weird furred guy crawled out and proceeded to freak out about his lion that Buggy's crewmate used as a shield. The next thing Nami knew, Buggy threw Mohji straight at them! Luffy, the jerk, kicked the guy in her direction. She just managed to leap out of the way. Then the other man came at Zoro with a sword and on a unicycle. As Zoro fought the other swordsman and Luffy and Kitsune engaged Buggy, Nami decided to hang back and go get her treasure in the midst of the commotion.

- KASL -

"You shouldn't underestimate us, Buggy 'The Clown'," said Kitsune. He decided to leave his sword sheathed for this fight and flipped a dagger from one of his sleeves into his left hand.

"Hah! Are you trying to be scary, kid? I sailed on the Grand Line back in the day! I fought opponents far worse than two green rookies." Rookies? Hardly rookies. Kitsune let a little madness leak into his smile.

"So what? Luffy and I are hardly strangers to the New World or Paradise."

"So I see," grumbled Buggy under his breath. Considering the Grand Line was a mystery to most everyone in East Blue, only someone who had sail those seas knew the fine difference between the two halves of that monstrous sea. Buggy subconsciously tightened his grip on his knives. "Then I won't hold back, you brats! Chop-Chop Cannon!"

Luffy and Kitsune dodged a hand full of knives flew at them. Attack after attack came at them as Buggy cut, swiped, and separated various body parts. Luffy was a bit too careless and a hand barely missed him but scored a hit on his beloved straw hat. The hand flew to Buggy who eyed it with a flicker of recognition. "This hat looks a lot like the one that red-haired bastard wore."

Luffy extended his leg at him in a powerful kick.

"DON'T TOUCH MY HAT! How dare you damage my treasure? Shanks gave it to me!"

"It is the hat of that bastard," Buggy sneered as he dodged out of the way. "He and I sailed on the same ship, you know, back in our apprenticeship days-" But then Kitsune appeared above him and kicked the clown back to Luffy. The rubber man lunged and pinned Buggy to the ground.

"Don't dare compare yourself to Shanks. He is a great man and pirate, unlike you!"

"Great? Don't make me laugh. I have every right to insult the bastard. That guy stole my treasure and made me what I am-"

"Shut it." Kitsune had walked over during Buggy's monologue and plunged his dagger right next to Buggy's face. "I already know this story. Luffy would, too, if he wasn't snoring while Shanks told it to us. You and he sailed together on the Grand Line. Someone found a devil fruit, but no one wanted it in particular. You offered to take it – probably for the 100 million berries bounty – but an incident caused you to eat it actually. Shanks also mentioned something about you and a map?"

"You're absolutely right," gritted Buggy as his teeth clenched. "That night, I had planned take the fruit to sell, and I just got a map from that crew we ransacked. The map showed the location of a great treasure located on the seabed. I was all set when Shanks had to ruin it!" yelled Buggy in a scream of frustration and anger. "That bastard…I had just swallowed a fake fruit and was planning my grand scheme when he showed up. I had to hide the fruit quickly, so I put it in my mouth. He left after a little bit. Just when I thought I was in the clear, Shanks came back and startled me. I swallowed the fruit! Not only that, but my map flew off the ship. I chased after it, but fell into the sea…"

"And Shanks saved you," finished Luffy.

"Saved me? That jerk lost me not only my ability to swim but also my treasure map. I will never forgive him!"

"That's…just stupid," pronounced Kitsune to the increasingly vexing pirate clown. "You lied to your crew, tried to run off, and then you end up eating the fruit anyway and lost your map. Sounds like you earned that misfortune."

"You-" Buggy cut off when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Nami had just sprinted by with a huge bag of treasure. Buggy ominously floated in the air in silence. Then:

"YOU BASTARDS! Stealing my treasure and my map!"

Buggy swooped down on the defenseless Nami. Luffy eyed the lower half that remained on the ground. Kitsune grinned a bit.

"Urk!" The malevolent pirate fell just before he could lay a single blow on Nami. "Damn you!" Aah, that really had to hurt, man, Luffy…

"AAAAAHHH!" Kitsune flicked several wisps of bright red fire onto Buggy's feet. "HOT, HOT, HOT, HOT!" The toppled lower half- stumbled, half-ran as the fire burned. The upper half writhed in pain.

"Luffy, I had enough of this second-rate pirate. Looks like Buggy learned nothing when sailing with Shanks." Kitsune cracked his hands. Fire formed a shield that encompassed the area around the three and their opponent's halves. "Nami, I suggest to stay right there. Don't worry, we'll take of this clown in a jiffy."

Buggy finally managed to smother the flames. "Why you-you-you LITTLE BASTARDS! CHOP-CHOP FESTIVAL!"

Kitsune and Luffy stood nonchalantly as body parts flew all around them. Kitsune turned to the younger man.

"You know, I went easy with the fire there. I don't actually want to burn him to death. But making him crispy," remarked the fire user, "is an option. Grab those feet, and I'll give this clown a real show." A flash of smoke and a sleek black fox took the place of Kitsune. Luffy turned his head and saw the walking feet. He grinned and grabbed them. Buggy, so caught up in his own magnificence and his anger of Nami, he didn't even notice his feet's capture. Until Luffy began to tickle, pinch, and smash them. Meanwhile, the black fox manifested several colorful balls of fire.

"Fireworks Foxfire!"

His colorful art display may not pack too much punch but it did nicely as a wide range and painful and most importantly flashy attack. While the pirate froze in mid-grab of Nami's sack, Luffy smashed his foot into the clown's face. The stubborn pirate wouldn't stay, down, though. He tried to reassemble himself. Tried. But Nami and Kitsune had already fixed that situation while the pirate was distracted with talking to Luffy. They neatly tied up his body parts, so now a diminutive Buggy with only his head, hands, and feet stood.

"Gum-Gum Bazooka!" And that marked the end of the fight. Zoro, without any injuries, had soundly crushed his cheating opponent as no amount of lame tricks can beat a demon of swordplay.

- Kitsune -

Luffy walked over to where his hat had fallen. Three nasty cuts tore the top of it. He just grinned and put it on. Nami offered to fix it, which deepened Luffy's smile. The four began to talk about what they should do next when Kitsune tilted his head to the side.

"Does anyone hear a bunch of loud yells?"

A huge mob of townspeople had finally arrived. Luffy acted, well, like Luffy, and now the four were running from the crowd. Idiot. No subtlety or sense in his rubber brain. They just rounded into an alleyway when Chou Chou plopped himself behind the fleeing group. The loyal, smart dog barked at the townspeople, halting the mob in their tracks.

Thanks, Chou Chou. After smacking those three idiot Buggy Pirates that so graciously rowed the two Straw hats to the island, the four set sail. From the shore, the mayor had yelled both an insult of their intelligence (kind of true upon reflection) and to shout his gratitude.

East Blue

Kitsune had just settled on his usual place on the cabin when he heard shouting below. He rolled over to his stomach and peered down.

"YOU IDIOT! HALF OF MY TREASURE, GONE! HOW COULD YOU HAVE LEFT IT BEHIND?"

The corner of the Zoan's eye twitched as he held back a snicker. "Lay off, Nami. Luffy meant well. Do you really need all ten million berries?" Stupid question. Nami threw a boot at him. Kitsune didn't dodge since she would only hit him later if he did. Kitsune swore that Nami emanated a touch of haki when her temper really got a hold of her. Not much, though – only a subconscious glimmer of a glimmer. But enough to know that Nami had potential. Nami went back to trying to drown Luffy, and the first mate and swordsman laughed at the continued antics of their captain and navigator.