Author's Note: Okay, thank you all for continuing to read. It means a lot even if you don't review :). Special thanks to trollypop and becket for the continuous encouragement and reviews. Thank you to everyone else who have signed up for alerts and for those who favorite this story too. So, here's the third chappie, hope it's not too late. I would hate to keep you all waiting forever.
Disclaimer: I do not own or ever will own the characters or the plot line. I only own the small changes I have made with the addition of the characters I have thrown into the mix. Thank you for your patience and enjoy.
Story Starts!
"What the evil caretaker's here too?" oh silly Luffy, I think he does this on purpose.
Then Kaya comes out of the woods behind the stupid butler. What the hell is she doing here? Does she want to get herself killed?
"Copper." I yell to get his attention. He looks over and nods already understanding what I want him to do. He always knows what I want done without me telling him, it's just some kind of bond we have. I wonder if it's always been like this. Focus Danny, some important things are happening and when you're in the middle of battle is not the time to reminisce on the past. Wait, where'd Kaya go? Damn it I always miss key parts of things because of my inability to focus. I see that Copper is also gone so that means he's protecting Kaya. Well, at least she's going to be okay; although Copper does have a pretty bad wound I know he can protect her. I have complete faith in him. Unlike my faith in the other two pups. I can also see rubble everywhere around us. Hmm you think I would have noticed something like that happening. Wait, rubble? Are the pups okay? They were on top of the cliff after all. I spot them cowering with Usopp near the top of the hill. Usopp looks beaten up pretty bad, but I see Milo does also; well at least he's trying unlike another weak pup I know who hasn't gotten a scratch on her. I also see that the weirdo hypnotist is gone also, so he must be going after Kaya. I see Luffy far up the slope and sprint to him. I'm supposed to be protecting him not spacing out.
"Buchi!" the butler yells at one of the brothers. It's only then that I notice the predicament that the swordsman has gotten himself into. I pause in my stride to catch up to Luffy torn between helping my person or helping the one who looks like her really needs it. I did send the one that was supposed to protect him away so now protecting him lands on my shoulders. But before I could even turn to help him the swordsman kicks the brother off and slashes him with his swords. Well, I guess he doesn't need my help after all. I catch up to Luffy at last since he stopped walking and stand next to him ready for the worst.
"What was that?" Usopp asks as a flock of birds fly out of the forest I'm assuming the Kaya escaped to.
"Who knows, Jango's got them covered, maybe you should take a look for yourself. However, you may be too late already." The smug butler states.
"You bastard, you've been living under the same roof for three years, don't you have any compassion for her?" Usopp yells.
"None! Like I said, Kaya is only part of my plan. After her death, I might then thank her." Man that butler is not only a heartless ass, he's also mentally disturbed, not like I didn't already know that, but I didn't think it went this deep.
"Why you" Usopp says.
"Hopeless bastard." Zoro states.
"I didn't plan to save him in the first place. Usopp! You go and look for 'em. Leave everything here to us." Luffy yells with a smirk on his face.
"Leave it to us!" Zoro confirms. I bark my own confirmation.
"Milo, you help him, Sadie you too. Go with him, protect him and help him protect Kaya. That's an order!" I bark at them.
"Yes Alpha!" they bark back in unison. Usopp struggles into a standing position with Milo and Sadie helping as best they can.
"Oh you can still move?" the butler asks. "Not bad."
"Shut up. I won't let you have your way. You dare betray the villagers and Kaya's feelings! Do you think you can simply do as you please?" Usopp says making himself fall from the strain he's putting on his body.
"Usopp!" Luffy calls out in concern.
"You really amuse me." The damn butler says after laughing. "I betrayed them? Are you kidding me? Everything was planned. This isn't like playing some pirate game, where you'd go around pretending to be the captain. So just stay put and don't move. Well, even if you do manage to catch up with Jango, you're no match for him. You'd be much safer here."
"Even if I can't; even if I can't, I want to protect. I still want to protect them. For I am the captain of the Usopp Pirate Crew. I am a brave warrior of the sea! I won't allow you to lay a single finger on any of the villagers!"
Man that Usopp sure can preach I'll give him that. Then the pirates behind us start laughing at him. Peeved beyond the point of return I whip around and growl fiercely at them. But Luffy decides to take it a step further by throwing a huge ass boulder at them successfully shutting them up. Damn little shits for brains.
"What's so funny?" Luffy yells scarily. I have to say, I wouldn't want to be the one to have to face him after he's pissed off.
"Luffy! I'll take Usopp and go after the hypnotist. Any problems?" Zoro asks wile heaving the long nosed captain on his shoulder.
"Nope! Get goin'!" Luffy answers. The pups look back at me and I nod. They follow Zoro as he makes his way up the slope.
"Hey you fools, who gave permission to get past this slope?" the smug butler asks.
"That would be me!" Luffy exclaims as he throws a punch at the butler using his stretching ability to close the distance at an amazing speed. "Go! Zoro, Usopp!" Luffy yells as the butler is just able to dodge the incoming fist. "One more punch!" Luffy yells again as he lets himself be whipped towards the offending man only for said man to dodge again almost making Luffy fall over from the speed he was going. The butler tries to take a swipe at Luffy only for Luffy to stand on his hands and aim a powerful double kick at him. Of course the damned man disappears again and Luffy doesn't fail to notice his attack miss for the third time.
"Before we fight, I'd like to ask one thing. As an outsider, why are you getting yourself involved?" the infuriating man asks Luffy.
Luffy only smirks and replies, "Because there's a man here whom I don't want to see dead."
"That's simple, but is it okay? For this will be the reason for your death!"
"It's fine, but I'm not going to die!"
"Let me show you death!" then they resume fighting. I run up the slope so I have a better chance at defending Luffy because so far, I've been pretty useless and I don't like that feeling. Then the butler stands on Luffy's out stretched fist.
"I'm getting bored." He says.
"You bastard!" Luffy yells. Then he comes running up Luffy's arm and I know what he wants to do. I refuse to allow Luffy to get hurt anymore. I made a promise to him, even though he wasn't conscious to hear it. I jump in front of Luffy's face and take the kick from the butler that was meant for Luffy. I hit the ground a few yards away hard, but I refuse to let him do me in. I get back up shakily and a growl rips out of my throat. I make my way back to Luffy not even paying attention to the concern shining in his eyes. The crowd below starts cheering for Captain Kuro.
"Don't call me that name! You still don't get it do you? For this is my plan to completely be rid of the name 'Captain Kuro'! I've had enough, the days when I had to plan everything for you guys; whom only knew how to make a ruckus. Enough of those government dogs who kept chasing me for the reward! I can't take it anymore! And so, once today's plan succeeds, I will have achieved my goal. I will have money and a tranquil life. You get it now kid? This plan which has taken three years will not fail. My plan never fails!" the butler then charges at Luffy, his hand pointed in front of him intending to stab my person. Not on my watch bud. I get ready to intervene again but Luffy has another idea. He stretches behind us and grabs a boulder and puts it right between that insane butler and us causing him to stab the boulder instead.
"It seems you can do more than just stretch yourself." The butler observes.
"Of course, I'm well trained, to be a pirate!" Luffy then pulls the boulder away snapping off the blades on the butler's right hand. "You can't take it anymore you say? If you're so afraid of the fame on the sea, then you're not qualified to be a pirate!" then Luffy smashes the boulder into the butler's face before speaking again. "If you wanna compare ambitions, mine is much greater! Only five left, eh? Those weird swords of yours." He says before dropping the boulder to his side. Then the people behind us are cheering again. What the hell? Didn't they just see him get his face smashed in? What a weird bunch of pirates. Then the butler yells at them to shut up. I guess taking a boulder to the face makes him cranky.
"I will exterminate all of you later, of course Jango as well!" the psycho butler yells. The crew doesn't get it. They start asking him why. Honestly, can't they see that the dude is clearly missing his sanity? "You don't need to worry about the plan anymore. As long as your bodies are here, I can prove my innocence. I never planned to have you guys leave this village in the first place. It would have been troublesome. I don't want anyone to find me still alive and kickin'." Oh now they get it. What a slow group of people. "That's right. I planned it way back when I was still Captain Kuro three years ago. Everything; everything was planned!"
"Are you all morons? What a dumb pirate crew."
"'Dumb' you say? A pirate crew is merely a bunch of dogs which aren't fit to live in a civilized society. Without a plan laid out for them, what can they do? It's always been my plans that they follow. Shipmates are just pawns at a captain's disposal. Whether they live or die, it's all up to me. No matter how big the obstacle is, my plan must proceed. They are supposed to die to fulfill my plans. This is the fate of pirates! Don't you dare lecture me, boy!"
"Even if a captain like you had tens of thousands of men, you could never win against Usopp!" Luffy protests.
"What'd you say? I can't compare to that make-believe captain?" he asks incredulous.
"That's right." Luffy says simply.
"That's really funny. Don't think too highly of yourself just because you took care of one of my hands. Where can he surpass me? Tell me!" he yells before disappearing again. You know that's really starting to get old, the whole disappearing and stuff. It's getting on my nerves.
"Composure." Luffy states.
"What?" the butler asks amazed.
"You don't know the real meaning of being a pirate!" Luffy yells before whipping his fist around and catching the butler behind us, hitting him into the side of the cliff.
"You dare insult me?" he says coming out of the dust cloud his impact had made. "You really want to know what a real pirate is like, then let me show you right now. How terrifying; how terrifying a pirate is when he's been to hell and back countless times!" then the insane man starts swaying with his shoulders slumped giving me the impression of a puppet on a string. What in the world does he think that will accomplish? Then the crew starts pleading for their lives to be spared.
"What's going on." I hear Luffy mutter.
"I don't know but it doesn't seem good for us or them." I growl in response.
"Isn't he just swaying back and forth?"
"That's what it looks like to me." Interesting. Then a slight breeze blows as the butler looks up his eyes completely white. What the hell? Now he's gone without a sound. Then behind us I hear a man in pain down the hill.
"Ho . . . how did he get killed?" Luffy exclaims. Then another goes down before the rock beside us gets slashed. "This time it's the rock." Thank you for pointing out the obvious Luffy. Well, it's obviously the butler, but how is he moving so fast without making a sound or raising any dust? Men are dropping left and right at the bottom of the slope with no apparent pattern. Slashes are also appearing on Luffy and me at random. Then Luffy yells having finally had enough of the selfish man's actions.
"What do you take your men for?" but the attack continues until a slash appears on Luffy's chest. Then Luffy throws out his hand and amazingly grabs a hold of the pesky butler and throws him to the ground. "Found you."
"You bastard. You should have just stood still and let me finish them. Look! Because of you all my beloved men are half dead. It would have been more humane to kill them off." Wow that pretty much sums up his crazy. "What now? You look like you've got something to say."
"I will never become a man like you." Luffy says simply.
"It's not that you won't, you can't. Not with that talent." Ha stupid butler must be crazy if he thinks he's going to get away with this. "Furthermore, you're gonna die right here. You're going to feel the agony of being cut into pieces and then die. I'll treat you with special care; I won't hold anything back when I work on you." Not on my watch you won't. I growl furiously as I watch him sway back and forth again.
"Don't think so!" Luffy yells and we both charge forward to try and catch the insane man before he disappears again, but we're too late and he disappears yet again. Damn it! The slashes start to appear on the cliff face again.
"If only I could stop him from disappearing!" I growl in frustration. The butler stops centimeters from Luffy's face then appears again behind us on a rock.
"You tired?" Luffy asks unfazed. "Shakushi has too many useless movements."
"Don't get cocky. Up till now I was just toying with you. You'll receive special treatment. It'll let you have a taste of what fear is, then I'll slowly work on you." Then he disappears again. What is it with everyone talking so much between punches, just fight and get it over with damn it! Luffy then sends out his arms again. The first one misses but the second is able to grab on to the butlers leg. Success! Then Luffy wraps himself around the butler's chest. Oh man he's a genius.
"Let's see you run now." Luffy says smiling.
"Shit let go you bastard." Looks like the butler's gotten himself in a rather sticky situation.
"With this, your three years of detailed planning has come to an end." Luffy says with a smile on his face.
"What'd you say?" really? He couldn't hear him? Luffy's right in his face after all.
Then something amazing happened. The crew actually starts rooting for Luffy. What a weird bunch of pirates!
"Let go . . ." the butler tries before getting headbutted.
"You guys, DON'T CHEER FOR ME!" Luffy yells while he stretches his head back to them to get the point across.
"Let go!" The butler tries again, but it's obviously being ignored.
"Gomu Gomu no . . ." Luffy starts.
"My plan will never fail!" the butler interrupts but is, like all the other times, ignored.
"Iron Headbutt!" Luffy finishes as he gives the final Headbutt to the insane butler. The butler falls back and Luffy hops off him landing in a crouched position. The crew is amazed at what Luffy just did and ask for his name.
"Monkey D. Luffy. Against a pirate who'd discard his name and run away from the sea, there's no way I'd lose to such a guy. A true pirate would never give up his name till he dies."
"Luffy? I'm sure I haven't heard that name before." I hear one of the pirates say.
"Remember my name for the rest of your lives. For I am the man who'll become the next pirate king!" Luffy then throws the butler down the slope into several pirates. "Get him outta here! Don't dare to come back again!" the pirates scramble back towards their ship and I trot over with his hat in my jaw and he takes it from me. "Thank you." he says.
I give him a dog smile. Then Nami comes running up the slope, a bag of what I'm assuming to be treasure over her shoulder. She gets in front of Luffy and he falls into her other shoulder. She holds him standing. "Thanks for the hard work." She says with a smile. "Even you'd be exhausted after a fight like that, wouldn't you?" she says as he lies on the ground while the pirates sail away. Hmm I wonder if they know they're missing their hypnotist. I trot over to Luffy and lay down with my head on his stomach. Luffy stays silent so Nami continues. "What were you so angry about earlier?"
"I don't like them. They're plain wrong. Companions aren't meant to be regarded that way." I agree wholeheartedly with him on this point.
"What're you talking about? That's just how it is. Pirates aren't as noble as they are in your dreams. Captain Kuro is a standard example." Hmm, she seems to be talking from experience.
"I want some meat." I look at Luffy like he's grown a second head then I bark my laugh at him. Remembering the meat I had tried to give the boys, was that just yesterday? I get up and run to get my person his meat. Man, I'm really starting to like this kid. Why did I ever think that he needed my protection? If anything, I would say that I need his.
