"SLASH!!"
Various gushes of blood flowed violently from Harry's new wound, thanks to the deepness of Chris's Crescent Comet attack. Clutching to his stomach, he slowly turned around to watch Chris guarding the Crescent Dagger in its sheath. The moment the dagger's hilt touched the sheath, Harry collapsed out of exhaustion, though still aware of his surroundings.
"You'll never take me alive, you pigs!" Harry said, struggling to get on his feet.
"Oh, just look at the irony of that comment…" Chris said, adjusting his cap.
"You'll never take me to Impel Down alive! You'll have to drag my corpse to…"
"WAIT, what the hell are you talking about? Impel Down? Take you alive? What the hell is wrong with you?" Jin asked, holding onto his wound, though managing to stand up.
"I-I thought you were marines! That's why I was fighting you! I thought you had come here to get me!" Harry said, though Chris raised an eyebrow.
"Wait a minute, even if that's true, why the hell did you send that other guy flying against that building?" Chris asked, pointing to the hole in the building Jin had been lying on. The hole was subsequently right next to him. Jin then took a look inside, and saw the unconscious body of a man in the middle of smashed crates… he was wearing Marine Soldier clothes.
"He's a Marine!" Jin said, turning to Harry. Harry nodded. "I was walking around here, when suddenly that wimp tried to take me down! Must be a newbie, with a single chop he was sent flying!"
"Well, no wonder! I don't really care for these Marines, but you deserved it for what you did to those civilians!" Jin said, though this time it was Harry's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Civilians? What civilians?"
"You know what he's talking about! We reached the docks, and guess what? A group of civilians had been completely slaughtered, and judging from what I saw, you did it for FUN!" Chris said, gritting her teeth. Harry just sighed, and took out a paper from his pants' right pocket. Harry handed it to Chris, and in the next seconds, shock was a bit plastered on his face.
"It's a Hotel Check!" Chris said, as THIS TIME Jin raised an eyebrow.
"Hotel Check? What's that supposed to be?" Jin questioned.
"There are new places in Fuschia called Hotels! It's a place where people can unpack and sleep if they don't have a place to stay! Mostly pirates and tourists use this! When someone goes to an Hotel, they receive this Hotel Check to prove that they've paid for their stay!" Chris replied, carefully reading the information that lied on the paper. "According to this, you checked-in in Hotel Fuschia about… three days ago!"
Jin just stared at blank, not quite following what Harry was trying to accomplish there.
"I don't see what you're trying to tell us! So what if you've been here for the last three days, you could've just attacked them if you'd want to! That's just stupid to even bring up…"
"He kind of makes a point…" Chris commented, a smile growing on his face. "Trust me, whoever's in that Hotel isn't a bad person!"
"What the... How can you be so sure? I mean, seriously…"
"Just trust me on this one, ok? Stop being so close-minded and listen to me: he's not a bad guy!" Chris said. Jin stared at Chris for a few moments, studying his face. There was something on Chris's eyes that caught his attention, something… out of character. He just sighed, but still wanted to clear one final doubt.
"What about the bloody footprints that took us here?"
The Way of the Kaizoku
Pride on the Dagger's Reflection (III)
Secrets and Revelations, The First Mate Maybe?
"Well then, what about them?" Jin asked, suspense now filled the air, realization dawning on Chris, who turned to Harry, and saw his training shoes covered in blood.
"Blood? What're you talking about, kid?" Harry asked. "During this battle, I got covered in blood, and even stepped on it. Even the kid I fought with has blood all over him!" Harry did have a point; Chris had been soaked in Harry's blood, AND even in a bit of his own blood.
"Hmm, he's wearing training shoes…" Chris thought to himself, walking back to the place where they'd came from. Upon reaching one of the footprints marks, a sudden tick mark formed on his head. He then turned to Jin, and JABBED him across his jaw, sending him flying in comical anger. "YOU'RE AN IDIOT, WATER-BOY!"
Jin landed on the ground, and in comical frustration tried to defend himself. "HEY, WHAT DID I DO?"
"IF YOU HAD LOOKED CLOSELY, INSTEAD OF BLINDLY RUSHING INTO BATTLE, YOU'D KNOWN THAT WHAT YOU HAD BEEN FOLLOWING THIS WHOLE TIME WERE IN FACT BOOTPRINTS! THIS GUY IS WEARING TRAINING SHOES!" Chris told him, slumping down in defeat, knowing he just wasted huge amounts of energy for no apparent reason.
Jin looked utterly embarrassed, knowing he hadn't paid enough attention to the footprints he had been following to consider that they were BOOTprints.
"Huh, but it's weird, though! You remember the civilians exclaiming "That Pig!" when we found them, right?" Jin asked, to which Chris stepped back a bit.
"Well, huh, yeah, but… I mean, maybe it was just a coincidence, or…"
"It wasn't me, kid! I've been here for three days, and this is the first time I've transformed! In fact, you two are the only ones on this island that know about my Devil Fruit powers!" Harry said, while Chris and Jin just kept thinking about what was happening.
Chris then took a glance around, and noticed one of the buildings' walls. It had many posters placed there, but a purple one stood out from the rest of the others. It read: "FUSCHIA TOWN'S MASQUERADE!!", which gave an idea to Chris.
"Maybe, those people didn't quite see it at all… maybe someone was masked!" Chris said, throwing her idea in the air. Jin then started following her train of thought.
"Y-Yeah, if the attacker is as strong as you think he is, then… Wait, why the mask idea all of a sudden? Somebody wearing a pig mask? I don't' see why…"
"Because tomorrow night's Masquerade!!" Chris told Jin, pointing the nearby purple poster. Jin turned to his head to the side, noticing the wall covered in posters. One peculiar poster stood up to him, despite the Masquerade one's extravagant color.
That peculiar poster was a wanted poster. One of the other posters covered the photo, but the bounty was clearly visible. Jin's eyes became wider than ever, noticing the bounty's value. It was like no bounty he had ever seen before. It was clear; the value was none other than…
"… 600.000.000 Berry!" Jin commented to himself, a shocked look never leaving his normally lazy expression.
"He probably jumped to some place or something; this guy is definitely a high threat!" Chris told Harry, who had now been bandaged and was seemingly getting along with Chris. The two were a bit behind Jin, examining the bootprints made by blood. Jin then broke his line of thought, and turned to Chris.
"We should catch whoever did that!" Jin proposed, with his arms behind his head, in a casual tone.
"You idiot, how do you expect us to find someone with a pig mask, in the middle of many other masked people?" Chris asked, annoyed at Jin's sudden outburst.
"I don't know, I was never one for plans! Although I want to catch this guy before he causes more trouble!" Jin said, annoying Chris even more.
"One question, though. Do you have any idea why this guy may've slaughtered those people in the first place?" Chris asked, forcing Jin to ponder on the subject, rubbing his chin. He then looked back at Chris, seemingly carrying a response. "Didn't you say that the mob was after Devil Fruit users? Maybe the guy who did it got attacked first, but then took the chance and decided to have a little fun!"
Chris was a bit taken back, not being used to witness such a smart conclusion from this guy. "W-Well, maybe you're right. Ok then, let's assume you're right, and that was what happened! How are you sure we'll find him on the Masquerade, or how are we even going to find him?"
"Look, I don't know, alright? I already said I was never good with plans! I'm just good at kicking ass!" Jin said, half-cockily, half truthfully. Chris couldn't believe that this guy was so cocky. "It would be great if we could read people's thoughts, to know everything they're thinking!" Jin commented, walking alongside Chris and a silent Harry. Chris then got an idea from Jin's speech.
"Maybe not reading thoughts… but intentions…" Chris thought, taking a sudden turn, while dragging Jin and Harry along. "We're going to the Hotel you are currently in, Harry! I have a friend to visit."
----------
Once they reached the Hotel, and stepped to the entrance, they were greeted by a blonde man, with a well-combed hair, green eyes and a face-shredding smile that defied human physics, making him look a bit… stupid. He was dressed in a white buttoned shirt, with a black tie a bit loose. He also wore black pants and black, polished shoes.
"Dagger, it's always a pleasure to see you!" the man shook Chris's hand, almost widening his already huge smile. "And I see you already met Mr. Hanford!"
"Likewise, Toushi! Well guys, this is Fuschia Hotel's manager, Toushiru Nagazawa! And Mr. who, by the way?"
"Huh yeah kid, that's my last name!" Harry said, receiving a fit of laughter from Jin, further annoying Harry. The man, now named Toushi, turned to Jin and carefully examined his eyes. His once gigantic smile had now decreased into a frown. Jin then stopped for a moment, noticing Toushi looking at him, and decided to keep up the Staring Contest.
"Remarkable!" Toushi thought, a small grin now re-appearing on his face. "And who might this be, Dagger?"
"You know Toushi, now that you mention it, he hasn't told me yet!" Chris said, turning to Jin, who had the face of someone guilty. He then grinned. "Huh, guilty as charged, I guess! Sorry, my name's Jin, Jinketsu Namura!"
"Well anyway, let's cut to the subject!" Harry said, now getting a bit anxious due to Chris's sudden plan.
"Yeah, well it's like this, Toushi, I was thinking…" Chris was cut short by Toushi, who threw him his, seemingly trademark, huge grin.
"Say no more Dagger; you know I wouldn't miss that for anything!" Toushi said, both Harry's and Jin's jaws hitting the floor in comical confusion. Chris snickered, noticing his two companions in complete and utter confusion. Though he had a feeling all questions would be answered, eventually.
"Well then, we have to wait until tomorrow! Let's start planning everything! Harry, do you mind if we stay at your room for tonight? This might take a while!" Chris said, while Harry slowly nodded, not getting the big picture that Chris was trying to uncover.
----------
A whole day had passed, plans had been made, and night had covered the skies of Fuschia. Fireworks blasted through the skies, ripping the darkness with the brightest and most colorful lights ever. People, who either wore costumes of fictional characters, or just wore masks, filled the streets of Fuschia in infinite happiness and mischief. The lights of the big city of Fuschia also filled the air, lighting up the packed restaurants and other convenience stores. Jin and Harry walked down those packed streets, looking around.
"Ok kid, we can't screw this up! You want to kick this guy's ass, and I want to clear my name!" Harry said, determination dripping from his eyes, which kind of freaked out Jin. Jin then grinned a bit, his arms behind his head as he lazily strode through the street, occasionally taking a glance at the windows of the stores.
Jin then remembered something. "Didn't Chris tell us to wear masks?" Jin asked Harry, whose eyes opened a bit, in sudden remembrance.
"You're right, kid! But I bet most stores have already sold out!" Harry said, but whole looking at his left, noticed a Costume Shop, still opened, with two masks noticeable by the window. One of the masks was of a grey wolf, and the other was of a pig. Harry grabbed Jin by the shoulder, as Jin looked to the place where Harry was pointing him to. "I take back what I said! We're in some luck!"
Jin then took a closer look at the gray wolf mask. It wasn't the animal in itself that caught Jin's interest, but it was mostly its color. That gray color reminded Jin of something, something he was sure that he forgot. Suddenly, a few familiar memories flood into his mind.
----------
A younger Jin was seen sitting on a sidewalk, dressed in ripped, brown pants, dirty shoes and a light-brown jacket, and he also had that headband across his head. He also had a backpack hanging by his shoulder, with a zipper slightly opened, revealing its content: a huge amount of papers, and a black pen, a rubber, a pencil and a ruler. The backpack itself wasn't that big, so everything inside was a bit cramped.
Suddenly, a thunder ripped through the sky with immense brutality, seconds later followed by rain. Jin then shaped up a grin, chuckling to himself. "I thought it was never going to rain again!"
A man then walked right pass him. He had a gray beard that reached his chest, he had a bit of pot-belly, had white pants, a green, long jacket that reached his ankles, brown boots and sunglasses. The man then took a quick glance at the content of Jin's backpack and smiled.
"You know kid, if you don't keep your content hidden, it may attract attention!" Jin turned to said man, and while zipping up his backpack, threw the same smile at the man.
"I guess it already did, didn't it?" Jin and that man then shared a hearty laugh, but it was quickly cleared out by an incoming lightning that was heading to Jin's direction. The man noticed it, and in one swift motion, clearly breaking every single law of nature, KICKED the lightning, re-directing it toward a nearby tree, setting it on fire. Momentary fire, though, that was quickly put out by the consistent rain.
Jin's mouth was wide open, shocked at the scene before him. Due to his powers, that lightning could've been his death, and Jin could only guess that the man didn't even knew how much he saved had saved him.
"Y-Y-You saved me… that was astounding, amazing, I've never seen anyone do something like that! What can I do to repay you?" Jin asked, standing up and facing the man. The man chuckled.
"You're too young to accept my offer, kid! I WAS going to ask you to join my crew, but I seriously don't know what position you could fill!" Though the man's uncertainty quickly vanished, only to be replaced by utter shock as Jin's arm was encased in water, forming a gigantic arm, probably due to absorbing the rain. The man then smiled, an approving smile, in fact.
"I'm also a navigator! If you want, take a look…" Jin was about to unzip his backpack, when the man stopped him.
"I don't care! I need a navigator, and if you're one, then you're officially on my crew!" To Jin, that man was a God. Everybody else in that town had denied him as their crew's navigator, either because he was too young, or because having a Devil Fruit user on board could be dangerous. After all, the Devil's Massacre had only happened one year ago.
Jin then followed the man, who told him he was heading for his ship. Jin then remembered something.
"You didn't tell me your name! I'm Jinketsu Namura, captain!" The man smiled at the mention of the "Captain" word being spat out of Jin's mouth so quickly. He then took a brief pause on his thoughts, remembering the kid's last name.
"Namura, huh?" The man though, chuckling a bit to himself.
"Well kid, my name's Gray…" The memory only went as far, being slowly replaced by a blinding, and at the same time, deafening darkness.
----------
Jin then took notice of his surroundings once more, as he saw Harry stepping out of the shop, with those two masks on his hand. He had already placed the pig mask on his face, and was now handing him the gray wolf one.
Jin quickly placed the mask on his face, the only way of being able to recognize him, was by his clothes, much like Harry. The two then nodded, and hurried up, running up to the place they were supposed to meet at, sometimes bumping into people.
----------
"FINALLY, we thought you weren't going to show up!" Chris said, with Toushi by his side. The two sweatdropped, but quickly recomposed, while Chris re-told the plan, making sure everybody knew their part. "It's like this: you two take these communicators with you…" Chris said, handing both Jin and Harry two Walkie-Talkie-like devices. "… and start roaming around that huge amount of people down there."
In fact, the huge amount of people down there was about more than half of the population of Fuschia, all in some sort of Fair. The outer surroundings of the fair were a forest and other places, like cliffs and parts of the city.
"We'll be constantly in touch! Toushi will be looking around people from up here, and once he finds out the guy we're after, he'll warn you! I'll then jump to the occasion, to corner him, so he has no way out from us!" Chris said, while everyone nodded. "But we have to be careful! If this guy's truly a Devil Fruit user, we'll have be on the look-out, and…"
"Wait a minute there, kid! How can this guy find out who the guy we're after is?" Harry asked.
"Well, he…"
"Allow me to explain, Dagger! You see, I, like both you and Jin, am a Devil Fruit user, too!" Toushi said, while Harry's doubt was starting to get cleared. "I ate the Naii Naii no Mi, or as you may call it, the Intention Intention Fruit! It allows me to identify everybody's intention and personal opinion on things if I so do wish to know! All I have to do is look at the person!"
"So THAT'S why Chris defended Harry back when we were accusing him of beating up those people at the dock!" Jin exclaimed, while Toushi nodded.
"Yep, Toushi here only allows good-hearted people to attend his Hotel facilities… or people that are convenient for him…" Chris said, eyeing Toushi who eyed him back.
"Whatever Dagger, we have no time!" Chris, Jin and Harry nodded, as Jin and Harry jumped into the crowd, turning on their communicators.
----------
"Nothing yet…" Chris said through the communicator to Jin and Harry, eyeing them up above from his cliff. Toushi kept on looking around. Through his eyes, what he saw weren't exactly people. It was more like paper sheets and each and every sheet had written on it their intentions, their personal opinions, dreams, EVERYTHING.
Suddenly, a curious sheet caught Toushi's glance. The letters on it had that dark, twisted, Horror movie font to it, and it had clear intentions. The intentions were as followed: After having a little fun at the docks with that mob of people and setting up those kids, meet up with the Chief.
Jin and Harry were having a hard time finding people with pig masks on. Besides Harry, it was hard finding people with such masks.
"Oh my God! Chris, tell them that the person they're looking for is…"
"RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU!" Chris finished for Toushi, through the communicator, as Jin and Harry looked straight ahead. Whereas, there was a man wearing a light-red, sleeveless hoodie, a white, long sleeved shirt underneath, jeans and dark-brown boots. He had a pig mask on, the same style as Harry's mask. The man eyed them and once he saw who they were, he turned around and ran away from them. Jin and Harry quickly followed him, trying as hard as they could to keep up with him, though their task wasn't getting any easier with the mobs and mobs of people getting in their way.
"I'll get him!" Chris said, leaving Toushi behind.
"Shit, this guy's fast!" Harry commented, noticing the guy they were after was gaining a quicker pace by the second. "How the hell can he do that?"
----------
A few seconds later, luckily, they caught him in a secluded zone, where nobody else was. Right in front were a few stairs that led to the forest. The guy chuckled, being followed by Harry and Jin, who were now a few feet behind him. Harry lost his patience, though, now transforming to his human/pig hybrid. The man was almost reaching the stairs, when Chris came down and cornered him. The man stopped in his, and a small, unnoticeable grin took shape underneath his pig mask.
"Ok, this is enough! BUTA DAGEKI: IMPACT TRANSPORT!" Harry raised his left leg in the air, kicked the ground, opening a crater near where he stood. The familiar fissure grew from the crater and quickly followed in the guy's direction, who stood completely still.
"Ok then, if you insist… MIZU MIZU NO TORPEDO!" after jumping high in the air, Jin was covered in a transparent, liquid aura that got a dark blue shade by reflecting the night's sky. He then shot himself like a bullet toward the guy, both Impact Transport and himself lunging into their opponent.
Suddenly, everything became too slow, and at the same time, too sudden. The guy, who once stood still, did a movement with both his hands underneath his shirt and jacket, and disappeared. The Impact Transport exploded in the place where the man once stood, and the strangest thing happened to Jin. His aura vanished, and he now stood in the air, mere inches from the ground, near the spot where the guy once stood, which had now been reduced to crumble and dust.
Then it happened. Blood gushed out from a newly formed cut in his chest, as Jin fell unconscious. Harry on the other hand, received a painful, but quick blow to the back of his head, also making him lose conscience. Chris felt like something passed by him, but stood completely still, not knowing what was happening.
All this happened in one second. The next second, Chris was still standing still, frozen from shock. It seemed like minutes before Toushi arrived, trying to help everyone up.
"W-W-What just h-h-happened?" Chris wondered, still extremely shocked.
----------
"Well, thanks for the help, Toushi!" Everybody was now at the docks, all aboard Harry's ship. Everybody had been patched up, though it wasn't enough. Chris said goodbye to Toushi, who then whispered something in his ear.
"See that kid over there, that Jin boy? Back when we were at the Hotel, I tried to read his intentions…. And I couldn't!" Chris's eyes then opened in minor shock, though he had always known that there was something weird about Jin. "I believe he may've lost his memories, though normally not even that can erase a person's intentions from the sheet of paper that's their soul! Whoever this guy was before you found him… I'd advise you to be on the lookout!"
Toushi then waved one last goodbye to them, who were now sailing on the open seas, close to the sun rise. Once the ship sailed out of the view, Toushi chuckled to himself.
"A shame I couldn't say much about Jin… It was truth his sheet was empty… though one thing remained scribbled… maybe a subconscious intention, I don't know, maybe even he isn't aware of that intention, yet… to find his Captain… the Most Dangerous Man in the World…"
"… Gray Beard!"
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"Man that was fun!" The man in the pig mask commented, close to Fuschia's Lighthouse.
"I strictly told you not to appear at that stupid Festival…" the familiar figure of that small, brunette girl, dressed in the dark-green dress back at the beach told the man.
"Meh, you were never good at giving orders, and I was never good at following them! It's the cycle!" the man said, laughing to himself.
A small smile then crept upon the little girl's face.
"The kid… I tested him with the Sea King, and he nearly got me killed… the Water kid… isn't aware of how powerful that rare fruit of his really is! One of the most powerful fruits in the world in the hands of a lazy, ignorant navigator…"
"Though he was Gray Beard's navigator!" the man added up.
"Gray Beard… the only man in this world currently able to stop me… The Most Dangerous Man in the World… everything in him reeks of danger to both the marines… and us!" the girl commented, as she disappeared in a cloud of darkness that was, seconds later, obliterated by the Sun's rays of light. The man then chuckled.
"I hate it when you do that…"
!TO BE CONTINUED!
HOLY GOD, THAT TOOK ME SOO LONG TO WRITE! BUT IT'S DONE… the chapter, that is!
Anyway, I hope this was a good one, and sorry it was long, but it was this arc's closer. Anyways, I hope it was of interest, because I'll be updating soon, so…
Read and Review!!