Fire, Ice, And The Blade
Ch. 4
Buggy Bugs Me
About 10 minutes later, we reached a small port at the edge of a village. Zoro threw the rope and tied it, then hopped onto the dock. "Aaah… Firm land…"
I stepped out of the boat and stretched. "And where's a village, there's food."
We looked at each other, stomachs growling. "Yeah… Food…"
We were about to walk into the town when a loud explosion rang through the streets. Zoro and I looked at each other, frowning at sound. "What was that?"
The three men behind us broke out in cold sweat. "It's one of Buggy-sama's Buggy Balls!"
Zoro smirked. "Buggy Balls?"
I raised an eyebrow. "That's probably the least threatening name for a weapon I've ever heard…"
The men shook their heads frantically. "NO! It can wipe out an entire village in one shot! Don't ever get in front of it!"
I whistled and looked back at Zoro. "Well, seeing how dangerous it is, I'd say there's a good chance our captain is there. He seems to be a magnet for this kinds thing."
He nodded, looking grim. "Yeah. Let's go."
We ran towards it, leaving the three pirates behind. We followed the wreckage of several houses, and headed for to top of the Drinker's Pub; where the shot had come from. We were halfway up the stairs when a girl's scream rose above the noise. When we finally reached the top, three things became clear. One: our captain was in a cage. Two: the scream belonged to the orange-haired girl crouched by the cannon. And three: she about to die. I ran to Luffy, and Zoro ran to the girl. He stopped the attacking pirates with the flat part of his sheaths, all four men running into them. "Hey, hey. All these people picking on just one girl?"
Luffy grinned at us. "Akane! Zoro!"
The girl looked over her shoulder, a half-scared frown on her face. Zoro set his right sword on his shoulder, looking over it. "Injured?"
She made a sound, standing up. Our first mate narrowed his eye, speaking slower this time. "Are you injured?"
The girl shook her head, shocked. "Huh? Ah, no. I'm fine."
Luffy sighed deeply, still grinning. "Yaaa, thank goodness! You were actually able to find this place. Hurry up and get me out of here."
Zoro looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "What on earth are you doing? First a bird takes you away, and now you're in a cage?"
Luffy shrugged, drawing my attention to the rope tying his arms. "It's an interesting story, actually."
I sighed and reached through the bars to untie the knots. "How can you be so nonchalant about this?"
The teen turned his head towards me, frowning. "Noncha-what?"
I started slipping off the rope, shaking my head sadly. "Nevermind…"
Behind Zoro, one of the Buggy pirates started talking. "Zoro! Zo…"
His crewmate, who was wearing a ridiculous cat hat, turned towards him. "That's what he called him, right?"
The girl watched our swordsman walk past her, staring in disbelief. "What's going on?"
Buggy suddenly spoke, drawing my attention. "Akane, eh? I recognized the hair. I haven't seen you since… Well, our last bout with the marines. Have you come to join my crew?"
I turned to him, looking out from under my hair. "Really? I don't remember- Oh wait, that was you? I never got your name... Well, your crew sure has grown. But no thanks; I've already got a captain of my own. Besides, would you really want a renowned back-stabber on your ship?"
He shrugged, cocking his head to the side. "Fair enough. And you there, the green-haired annoyance. You're Zoro. What do you want? Did you come for my head?"
Zoro closed his eyes, frowning as usual. "Nope, not interested. I quit being a pirate hunter."
Buggy raised his head, a painted grin on his face. "But I am. If I kill you, I'll become even more famous."
Zoro looked back at him, opening his eyes again. "Don't do it, you'll die."
The clown whipped out two long daggers, spinning them in his fingers. "Eh? Okay."
'Hey! That's my trick!'
The swordsman sighed deeply. "I guess words can't make him understand."
The crew started cheering, punching the air. "Whoo! Take him down, Captain. Captain Buggy! Buggy! Buggy! Buggy!"
Said Captain licked one of his blades, grinning widely. Zoro unsheathed his swords and got into position, unphased by the cheers. The clown immediately charged, laughing crazily. "Time for you to die!"
Our first mate sliced through him neatly, not moving an inch. "No reaction at all…"
I frowned at the severed body, pulling the last of the rope off of my captain.
'It shouldn't have been that easy… From what I remember, he put up decent fight… What's going on here?'
Luffy's jaw dropped in surprise. "This guy is really weak!"
The orange-haired girl stared at the enemy captain's body in horror. "No way."
The crew started chuckling darkly, looking at the man who had just diced their leader. My frown deepened as I turned to face them.
'There was something about him… God, why can't I remember? They wouldn't be laughing if he were dead. Buggy, what are you hiding from us?'
Zoro frowned at his victim, sheathing his swords. "He died really easily… Too easily…"
Luffy grabbed the bars in front of him, squishing his face to them. "Hey, Zoro! Help Akane get me out of here!"
I shook my head clear of Buggy-related worries and looked at the approaching swordsman. "The door won't open without a key. Can you slice it open?"
He shook his head, inspecting the metal. "Not through iron… I'm not strong enough yet. What about you? Couldn't you just melt them or something?"
I shook my head too, although more bitterly. "No. Metal conducts heat better than anything. I don't have enough control and would probably end up burning him. God, this is pathetic… Three of the strongest pirates in East Blue, and we can't get past a measly iron cage…"
The enemy crew's chuckling turned to laughter, bringing back my doubts. Zoro turned towards them, his voice somewhere between questioning and angry. "What's so funny? Just give us the key. I don't want to fight you guys."
Luffy leaned forward, watching them with interest. "They're pretty weird…"
I shook my head angrily, frowning again. "No. They know something. I-"
A dagger whizzing past me and towards Zoro, cut me off. I gave him a hard shove, knowing full well it wouldn't be enough. The swordsman fell to his knees, the dagger piercing through his side. Buggy's crew erupted in hysterics as Luffy watched his first mate's face contort in pain, eyes going wide. "Zoro!"
The girl yelled, looking just as concerned. "What's with that hand?"
I gritted my teeth and pulled out the knife, gripping the hand attached to it. "Why didn't I see it sooner? Buggy the Clown. The man who ate the Cut-Cut Fruit."
Zoro turned, staring at the object in my hand. "What the hell is that?!"
Buggy re-assembled, laughing again. "Right you are! I can't be killed by a sword… I'm a splitting man!"
Luffy stared in awe. "Splitting man… Is he a monster?"
I snorted a laugh despite the situation. "Said the rubber man to the temp girl…"
The clown paused his laugh long enough to speak. "Although it's not critical, thanks to your precious girl there, the wound is still pretty serious. This fight is over."
He then resumed laughing, his crew taking over. "The captain has won! Buggy! Buggy! Buggy!"
Zoro forced out a sentence, sweat beading on his forehead. "The situation isn't looking too good."
I nodded and tossed the hand at its owner, then put an arm underneath my companion's to pull him up. "I know. We have to get out of here, and fast."
Luffy shouted from his cage, his face against the bars again. "Attacking from behind is cowardly, BIG RED NOSE!"
'Luffy you moron.'
All noise suddenly stopped, except for Buggy's rage-filled speech. "Who… has… a… big red nose?!"
He threw a dagger at Luffy, hitting his target with perfect accuracy. Zoro and I shouted out, fearing for our idiot captain's safety. The latter called out to his attacker, his tone light and almost mocking through the knife in his teeth. "Buggy! I will kick the crap out of you!"
Buggy and his crew burst out laughing as our captain snapped the blade in his teeth. "Kick my ass? You're dreaming! All four of you are going to die today! Now how should I finish you guys off?"
Luffy burst out laughing too, cutting them off. "I'm not gonna die! Run, you guys!"
Zoro raised an eyebrow at him, putting more pressure on his wound. "What?!"
The girl piped up as well. "He's telling the guy who came to rescue him to run away! What about you?"
Luffy just hummed in response. Zoro and I grinned, getting the message. "Roger."
I let go and jumped out of the way as Buggy lunged at us, trusting Zoro to hold his own. I got under the canon, pushing the barrel upwards, as Zoro sliced through Buggy again and ran to join me. We flipped the canon over, the Buggy Ball now pointed at its makers. Zoro collapsed and glared at the girl next to us, holding his wound again. "Hey, light it! Hurry!"
She nodded and immediately struck a match, making Buggy scream his protests. "Ahhh, wait, wait wait wait! The Buggy Ball is still in there! You lit it! Ahh, wait! Hey, stop! Stop it! Stop it!"
The canon then fired into the enemy crowd.
Author's Notes:
1. *crying* I'm sooo sorry you guys! I got crushed by a sudden shit-ton of schoolwork and other stuff... I'll try to update more often from now on, please don't kill me. But thank you for not forgetting about me :')
2. I'm not sure if I said it in previous A/Ns, but I'm using subbed, online manga, and a bit of dubbed; so you'll have to forgive inadequate translations. If there's something you'd like me to fix, let me know in reviews and I will.
3. I have nothing else to say right now so... REVIEW
