Tomorrow's Promise
A One Piece Fan Fiction
By Sacred Sakura
Title Conceptualized: 8/10/2007
Conceptualized/Written: 8/13,20-22,25-28/2007, 11/11/2007
Published: 11/11/2007 ZORO-SAMA'S BIRTHDAY!!!
Rating: T
Genre: Angst/Supernatural
Disclaimer: If I owned One Piece, I would be in heaven right now. But I'm not, so I don't. BUT THE ANGELS AND DEMONS HERE ARE ALL MINE!!! (fanged grin and maniacal laughter) Oh, and I don't own Star Wars. Just a jab at it, though, can't be helped.
Dedication: THANK YOU TO ALL MY LOVELY, WONDERFUL READERS!!! Especially Nez-chan, Zenon-san, Shironatchan, Keira-chan and Tashina-chan, my repeat reviewers!!! (cries happily)
A/N: SORRY I'M LATE!!! My social life outside of school has died the past few months. I'm hoping to revive it during the next two months, if possible. But then it might die again once I get a job…
Again, sorry for ending the previous chapter abruptly, but I didn't want to spoil such a nice ending...yet.
Another note of warning: MORE FLASHBACK SEGMENTS. (They're italicized.) Man, I really missed my angels... BTW, Renge's not a vamp, nor does he possess a fetish for red things…
Please R&R! Review replies and extra author's comments are at the end of the chapter! And yes, this update is in tribute to Zoro's birthday!!! "Tanjoubi omedetou, tanjoubi omedetou, tanjoubi omedetou Zoro-sama…"
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Journey Three: Bitter Tears
"CHABO!!!" she screamed, her tears mingling with the life-giving liquid that streamed from her wounds. "NOJIKO!!!"
Blood. Too much blood.
"GEN-SAN!!!"
Numbing pain. And then...blackness.
Next thing she knew, she was back in that bright white room. With the same annoying secretary-scribe-whatever-he-was and his histrionics. And the apparently lothario-minded angel with a bad tan. And his anorexic pixie-faced assistant with the weird fluffy yellowish-green hair and a major past-relationship problem.
"Damn. You guys again."
"AAAAAUUUUGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! She swore!!! She swore in Heaven!!!" wailed Alistair, tearing his hair out in agony.
"Hey, she remembers us!" Rafael's countenance brightened.
"Oi! Loverboy!" Althea thwacked her superior—well, superior in status, anyway, though not necessarily in the intelligence department—in the head. "We got work to do!!"
"Aw, ange..."
"Wait a minute."
All three angels froze and fell silent.
"Is there something you're not telling me here?"
All three angels sweatdropped, guilt plastered all over their faces as they fruitlessly sought other things to distract themselves with.
Kuina propped her hand on her hip. "'Cause I don't know about you, but don't you think it's weird that I keep dying and having to be reincarnated?"
They exchanged looks but continued to say nothing.
"You guys haven't even asked me who keeps freaking killing me each time you send me out."
Alistair couldn't resist a discreet cough arising from nervousness and a suspicious tickling in his throat.
"See? There's obviously something you're hiding from me." She glowered at them as the other two angels in turn glared at the scribe angel. "Not to mention" —She glared pointedly in the direction of the lime green-haired angel— "that you somehow know this Renge guy."
A light pink tinge appeared on the addressee's cheeks as she simultaneously visibly paled.
"And before we do any reincarnating, I want answers." The raven-haired girl crossed her arms. "So out with 'em."
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A young girl, dark-haired and dark-eyed, beached her small rowboat at the base of a low hill. The shifting tide gently caressed the barnacled sides of her coracle as she tied the bow to a nearby tree. After reaching under the seat for her tan knapsack, the girl stretched out her arm to grasp the worn branch she had found drifting in the ocean not too long ago. She then straightened, looked up toward the hill to her right, and set off for a new life beyond the path set before her.
She soon came upon a trio of young boys slumbering beneath a blossoming apple tree. There was a lanky one with red hair covering his eyes, a bespectacled youth possessing a head of scruffy straw tufts, and a green-haired kid with a determined set to his brow and a piiman-shaped hair style. All three were sprawled about and sleeping without a care in the world. So peaceful they looked, that the girl was almost afraid to awaken them.
But awaken them she did. "Excuse me?" She walked up and nudged the nearest one—the one with the piiman-shaped haircut—in the ribs with her foot.
"LOOK OUT!!!" yelled the kid, suddenly jumping up—his eyes still closed—and waving around an invisible weapon. "PIRATES!!! C'MON, GANG!!! THE USOPP DEFENSE SQUAD MUST PROTECT SYRUP VILLAGE!!! PROTECT MISS KAYA!!!"
"... Huh?"
The other two boys also jumped up in imaginary fighting stances, ready to attack whatever intruders had invaded their dreams. "ATTACK!!!" all three cried out in unison, charging in the girl's direction.
"Wha—" She stared at them, flummoxed by their odd behavior. "What the hell?!"
Just as the boys were about to swipe at her with imaginary clubs and swords, instinct took over. Fending them off with her walking staff, the girl then proceeded to utilize the stick as a bar to shove all three onto the ground. The force of her defense combined with the boys' heavy fall finally snapped them out of their sleep-fight.
"...Huh...?" the carrot-top wondered groggily, looking around with half-open eyes in confusion. "What happened to all the pirates...?"
"Ahhhhhhh!!! Please spare me!!! I beg of—huh?" The straw-haired boy looked utterly baffled to see that his so-called attackers had vanished. His glasses hung from his right ear.
Only the piiman-top remained alert. "Who are you?!" he challenged the girl.
"Nice to know you're finally awake," she said sarcastically. "Oh, it was tons of fun being attacked by a bunch of idiots." She shot them a glare of death.
"Huh?! Huh?! Where'd they go?!" wondered the redhead.
"It was you guys!!!" she yelled with a throbbing vein. The trio flinched.
Regaining her composure, the girl cleared her throat and said, "Anyway, the reason why I woke you morons up in the first place is because I need to know where the nearest inn is."
"Inn?" The piiman-head gave her a suspicious glare. "What for?"
"I need a place to eat and sleep. Dur." The girl rolled her eyes. "Now will you tell me which way to go, or do I have to guess?"
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"One more time," hissed the dark-haired man, his hand gripped tightly around the lavender-haired woman's neck, "I want you to tell me where the girl Kuina is."
"Why?" Nojiko demanded between gasps for air amid the leaves of one of Bellemére's mikan trees. The gash in her side was bleeding heavily and hurt like hell. "What do you want with an innocent girl like her? And how do you know her name?"
"You're not in the position to be asking questions," replied the raven-haired man coldly. "In fact, you're not in the position to be doing anything but telling me where Kuina is and begging for your pathetic life."
"... 'Beg?'"
"Yes, beg!" he sneered, scarlet eyes flashing. "You're nothing but a lowly human, a mere mortal unworthy to claim this earth as your own."
"If I'm a filthy human, as you say," the young woman asked hoarsely, "then what the hell are you?"
The crimson-eyed man smirked, about to reply. She could see his thin lips part, see his blood-red tongue curl to form the beginning of a word.
But then a voice spoke. "He's a demon called Renge."
Startled, the heads of both adults whipped around to identify the unexpected speaker. There, on the most direct path to the cottage, stood a dark-haired girl tightly gripping a metal pole in her hand. To her side stood a shorter boy clad in a green t-shirt, tan bermuda shorts, and an orange beanie tugged over his scruffy brown hair.
"Kuina!! Chabo!!" Nojiko paled."What—what are you doing here?!"
"Oi, you jerk!!" yelled Chabo, running forward to accost the demon. "Let go of Aunt Nojiko!!!"
"Chabo!! Don't!!"
Renge's crimson eyes flashed. He made a swift movement where he stood, and before anyone realized it, the boy skidded to the ground meters away, clutching his stomach and groaning with pain.
"CHABO!!!" the lavender-haired woman screamed.
"Foolish child," sneered the man, licking the edge of his bloodied silver blade. "You should've known better than to attack a demon."
He raised his gaze to meet Kuina's eyes.
"Now," he drawled, drawing the knife edge against Nojiko's throat, "I'm certain you wouldn't want your dear caretaker to lose her life for your sake, now would you?"
The girl trembled, her shoulders shaking amid the dark locks of her hair that had begun to grow out the past few months. What should she do? Last time, no one had gotten hurt for her sake—that she remembered, anyway. Rafael and Althea had assured her of the fact.
But this time...this time, the people close to her had already gotten hurt. There was a gash in Nojiko's side that continued to bleed heavily. Chabo's abdomen had a shallow yet painful cut. And what of Genzo, whom they had been expecting to come over for dinner?
She had to make a choice. A decision that would protect those she had grown to love—even if it cost her life once more.
"What..." She swallowed, praying that she was doing the best thing. "What do you want? To kill me again?"
Renge snorted. "Obviously. That's what I came for the last time." His eyes narrowed. "Of course, I don't expect that you will die quietly."
Kuina scoffed. "What do you think? I fought for my life on Baratie. What makes you think I won't again?"
Renge smiled, pleased. "Good. That means this job won't be too boring." He released his grip on Nojiko's throat, allowing the woman to weakly sink to the ground. "I assume you've been honing your skills in anticipation for this day?"
"No, actually," replied the girl as she held the pole out before her. "It's just that pirates are idiots for thinking they can try and take advantage of our so-called 'helplessness' as a small farming village."
Renge tossed his blade into the air as he walked forward. "And are you..." He deftly caught it behind his back. "...a helpless villager?"
Kuina's gaze sharpened as she leaned forward. "Of course not. What do you think I've been doing the past few months? Definitely not sitting around picking mikans out of boredom." Her gray eyes flashed. She sprinted toward the dark-haired man. "Instead, I've been fighting pirates of all kinds!! Including guys like you!!!"
A clang of metal to metal rang out as Renge blocked her attack. "Ah, but I must inform you..." His eyes glowed a deep wine red. "... Demons are an entirely different matter."
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"No, really, I can't..." protested the raven-haired girl as the sheep-faced butler shepherded her toward one of the empty guest bedrooms, "I really can't stay here..."
"Nonsense," insisted Merry. "We'd be more than happy to have extra help here, not to mention another female presence for Miss Kaya to become acquainted with."
"But really, I couldn't dare to impose—"
"You're staying, courtesy of Miss Kaya's generosity, so there will be no ungratefulness of any kind," Merry said firmly. And without any further ado, he prodded the girl into a bedroom and shut the door.
"Great..." Kuina sighed. "What have I gotten myself into this time?"
Deciding to make the best of her situation, she took a look around the room before her. Soothing pictures of flowers and scenery indigenous to the island tastefully covered the walls that were painted warm beige. White linen curtains fluttered from the warm spring breeze that entered through two wide-open French windows across and to her left. A canopied bed to her right literally oozed the height of girly flair—pearl-pink silk canopy curtains, fuchsia bedspread and pillow shams, rose-patterned sheets and pillowcases, and a magenta dust ruffle. Everything was lined in lace.
'Please don't make me puke,' Kuina thought with disgust, shuddering at the abundance of pink.
"Hello...Kuina, was it?" asked a girl's voice softly as the door slowly opened.
Kuina turned swiftly, startled by the girl's sudden—and unnoticeable—presence. "Y-yeah?"
"Oh... Hello." The flaxen-haired girl smiled, as delicate and pretty as an angel.
Well, a hypothetical angel, anyway. From Kuina's experience, angels were NOT blonde and blue-eyed. Nor were they as pale as this girl, who looked thin enough for Kuina to be able to snap in two if she tried. Not that she would ever do that.
"My name is Kaya," continued the blonde girl, still smiling. "Please make yourself at home."
"But really," Kuina protested again, "I can't live here. Besides, my stay on this island is only temporary. In a week or two, once I've saved up enough to be able to go traveling again, I'll have to leave. Sorry, but I'm better off staying at an inn—"
"No," Kaya said firmly, her quiet voice unwavering. "You'll just be attacked by pirates again."
"I managed just fine by myself," Kuina retorted, crossing her arms. "That butler of yours himself witnessed me kicking the asses of those idiot pirates in front of the tavern. I don't have a problem with fighting more of them next time."
"True," conceded the pale-faced girl, "but what if the next time they prove too strong for you? My conscience wouldn't rest well knowing that something happened to you, and I did nothing to prevent it."
A disgruntled expression made its way onto Kuina's face. "All right," she finally agreed with a sigh, scratching her head with annoyance, "I'll stay here for the sake of your conscience, then. Wouldn't want to do anything to harm that."
She jabbed a finger at the French window behind her. "Besides, if I don't do as you say, those guys there'll probably hunt me down and annoy me to death."
The three boys Kuina had encountered earlier gasped in surprise from the tree limb they were spying from. "Run for it, or she'll kill us!!!" they exclaimed, dropping from the tree branch and scurrying away.
A giggle elicited itself from Kaya. "Oh, those boys," she laughed. "Still carrying on their leader's legacy, I see."
"They your private security detail or something?"
The blonde merely smiled secretively. "Something like that."
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"Okay, we're not allowed to tell ya everything," said the green-eyed angel, "but we can at least give ya the gist of it." She cleared her throat in preparation, and then began.
"Right now, there's a bit of conflict between Heaven and Hell."
"'A bit of conflict'?! 'A BIT OF CONFLICT'?!!" shrieked Alistair, interrupting Althea's explanation. "Are you kidding me?!! This is a state of utter war between the forces of Good and Evil!!! Between Light and Darkness!!! Between GOD AND SATAN!!! THE VERY OUTCOME OF THIS WAR COULD DETERMINE THE FATE OF THE UNIVERSE!!!"
His ravings were stopped when Rafael conked him over the head. "Enough. Let Althie get back to what she was saying."
"Thank you, Raff."
"Any time."
Kuina rolled her eyes at the exchange.
"Anyway, as I was saying, we're currently at war with the Dark Side."
"Please don't tell me you're going to use a Star Wars analogy."
"Ah...er...yes, maybe? Funny thing is, well... We'll get to that. Anyway, lately the Enemy has been trying to employ a new strategy: Demon Possession and Soul Conversion. Alistair, take it from there, but don't get carried away."
The newly revived angel cleared his throat and took on a professional air as he proceeded to give a didactic lecture. "Demon Possession is a method of attack the Enemy implements by utilizing the frailty of human will and morality. The concept is simple: A Demon enters a human body and, by controlling their mind and will, forces them to commit sins of all kinds. Depending on the strength of the Demon's will, the human's will, the human's strength, and the Demon's level of demonic Power, the possessed human's crimes can range from petty theft to the most heinous acts imaginable." Here the brunet shuddered. "The more powerful the Demon's will, the stronger is its control. However, the stronger the human's will, the more difficult it is for the Demon to control their body. So when you're alive, the stronger your will—not your physical strength—the greater are your chances of resisting Demon Possession.
"Next is Soul Conversion, which occurs when one of three things happens. One, a Demon steals your Soul and offers it as a sacrifice to the Devil. Your Soul is immediately converted into a vessel of Darkness, and the result is similar to that of Demon Possession. Second, your Soul comes into contact with a Contaminant. What that exactly is, I cannot fathom, but seeing how it has happened before, I don't doubt the possibility. Third is the worst of the three: You sell your Soul to the Devil. This one is the most despicable because while you usually have no choice in the matter with the other two, this one you make the choice yourself. Regardless of whether you make the exchange out of greed or desperation, once you sell your Soul—it belongs to the Devil for all eternity. And there is no turning back."
"Right," agreed Althea, taking up the reins once more. "In your situation, the one we have to worry about most is Demon Possession. Most Demon Possession is utilized by low-level Demons, who, not having a physical form, need to control humans in order to be able to create havoc in the physical universe. Renge, however, being located in the upper levels of the Demon hierarchy, possesses a body of his own, and thus doesn't require having to possess a human. By the looks of it, Renge was sent to kill you in order to obtain your body, which he can easily have a Demon possess, since an empty vessel is easier to take over than a filled one. But that's why we always have an Angel posted in the vicinity of a death—so that they can protect the body from a Demon Possession."
"Then what's the point of killing me in the first place?" Kuina asked, still suspicious. "If it's pointless to take my body away because it's guarded by an angel, then what's the use in taking my life a second time?"
Apparently she'd hit the nail on the head, since the three angels immediately sweatdropped while exchanging guilty looks—again.
"It's something to do with my soul, right?"
Another dart hit right on the mark. Their guilty looks increased.
She glared. "Explain yourselves."
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"Oh, Kuina-san, drop by the grocer's on your way to the bookshop; I've just run out of some important baking ingredients…"
"Hai, Merry-san!"
As the dark-haired girl stepped outside, the sheep-faced butler looked perplexedly at the spice cabinet before him. Odd… He could have sworn that just the night before the cinnamon, cardamom, curry, and paprika bottles had been full…
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Holy—!!! That's a lot for even me to write, and most of this was done back in August… For the best and most accurate updates, check my profile every month or so… Yeah…
"Aunt Nojiko": Ummm...I wasn't sure what he would have normally called her, so...yeah...
Usopp's Defense Squad!: Thought I'd skipped these guys, didn't you? (raspberry) Kuina's interaction with them is fun to write.
Demons and Angels: Ooohh, the plot thickens... Yep, more explanations are to come...
