Disclaimer: Don't own ONE PIECE
This should be enough for anyone lacking knowledge of the bleach world for my future references.
Shinigami – Death God, Soul Reaper
Reaitsu – Spiritual energy. Not to be confused with Mana or Life force.
Zanpakuto – The sword every Shinigami uses. It has a spirit that communicates with its user, and when evolved can use specialized attacks.
Kido – Shinigami magical arts, divided into Bakudo (restraining magic), Hado (destruction magic), and general Healing Kido. Each Kido, with the exception of Healing, is known by what type of Kido it is, followed by a number which determines its difficulty, and then its name. The higher the number it is, the more difficult it is. They all have a different incantation in order to cast. When someone is extremely skilled at a particular Kido, the incantation is unnecessary, but using it increases the Kido's power.
Shikai – "First Release"; Every Zanpakuto has an initial release, Shikai, which is gained through a Shinigami learning the Zanpakuto's name, and release phrase. For instance, Kuchiki Rukia's Shikai release is "Dance, Sode no Shiraiyuki!" In Shikai form, many Zanpakuto's change form, and gain special abilities. Rukia's Shikai gives her "dances" which release ice-type attacks.
Bankai – "Great Release"; Every Zanpakuto has a second release, Bankai. Bankai is achieved in stages. The first stage is manifestation of the Zanpakuto spirit in the physical world. The second stage is passing the spirit's test. It is said that while Shikai involves working with the spirit, Bankai means dominion over the spirit, and gaining its full power. Often, a Shinigami's outfit will change to symbolize this in Bankai mode. For instance, when Kurosaki Ichigo uses Bankai, his Shinigami robes transform into Zangetsu's clothes. Also, Bankai is said to be easily ten times more powerful than Shikai.
Hollow – A dead soul that has degenerated, turning into a monster. In the process, it loses its heart, and instead has a hole somewhere on its body, typically its chest, though it is known to have appeared elsewhere. It also has a mask, used to disguise itself from the world. The mask is a Hollow's weak point.
Menos – Based in Spanish, meaning "Minus" – a reference to souls that have not degenerated, known as "Plus" souls – After a Hollow has eaten enough souls, it undergoes a transformation into a Menos. There are three different classes. Gillian is the weakest, but one is as tall as a skyscraper. Most Gillian have no sense of individuality. Gillian tend to eat each other. Once a Gillian that has retained its individuality has eaten enough of its own kind, it evolves into an Adjuchas. Once there, the Adjuchas must continue to eat other Hollows in order to maintain its form, else risk becoming a Gillian once more and never returning to Adjuchas level. After eating enough, an Adjuchas may evolve into the final class, a Vasto Lorde, the most powerful form of Hollow without undergoing the process of becoming an Arrancar. 10 Vasto Lorde working together are said to be able to destroy all of Soul Society, though thankfully they are rather reclusive.
Arrancar – Based in Spanish, meaning "To Tear"; A specialized form of Hollow that has taken off its mask and gained Shinigami-like powers. They too have a Zanpakuto, which seals away the majority of their Hollow powers. In the process, the Arrancar then takes a human form.
Resurreccion – Based in Spanish, meaning "Resurrection"; the process by which an Arrancar activates its Zanpakuto, similarly to Shikai. In Resurreccion, the Arrancar releases its power and regains the abilities he or she had as a normal Hollow.
Hueco Mundo – Based in Spanish, meaning "Empty/Hollow World"; the alternate world that Hollows live in. Fitting, as it is mostly composed of sand and Hollows.
Vizard – A Shinigami who has acquired Hollow-like powers. These powers are activated by putting the mask of their Hollow self on. In their mindscape, where the manifestation of a Shinigami's Zanpakuto is, a Vizard has an Inner Hollow, which takes on the appearance of the Vizard, with the colors reversed and in black and white. The mask itself is weak and easily destroyed; despite the enormous power it gives the user. When it is destroyed, the Vizard is greatly weakened and must resort to Shinigami powers until capable of re-summoning the mask.
Hado 4: Byakurai - Pale Lightning. It shoots a lightning bolt from the index and middle fingers.
Pesquisa - Arrancar ability. It acts as a sonar, finding and assessing Reaitsu.
Bakudo 1: Sai (Restrain) – the very first Bakudo. This locks a person's arms behind their back, elbows bent so the hands are held near the top of the spine. It looks rather painful, but is extremely easy to break by any Shinigami with even average strength. Its only practical purposes appear to lie in distractions, binding humans who are getting in the way of Shinigami duties, and for introductions to Bakudo for Shinigami.
Double Incantation: By mixing the incantations of two different Kido, a Kido user can utilize both Kido one after another at full power. This is especially useful for higher-level spells. It's also useful in confusing people in what Kido you're using. This ability is first demonstrated by Rukia, combining Bakudo 61: Rikujokoro (Six bars prison of light) and Hado 63: Soren Soukatsui (Twin Lotus Blue Fire Crashdown).
Bakudo 4: Hainawa (Crawling Rope) - A very low level Bakudo, but highly effective. This technique binds both arms to their sides via an energy rope until the Bakudo is broken.
"Normal speech"
'Inner speech/thoughts'
"Kido/Zanpakuto attacks"
"Hollow speech"
Memories and Strength!
[Going Merry, General POV]
Malaki was doing the first thing that came to mind…
…Marveling his new features
He liked his hair more than his other features. If it had grown out in spikes like the rest of his hair he would have cut it since it wouldn't fit under his cap. The way his hair was now was perfect. His hair was spiked like before, but once it crossed his hairline it was smooth as silk, and the faded white at the end only added to its unique style.
"I look… different." He said confusedly. His tongue felt strange, almost like it would pop out of his mouth the next time he spoke.
"I see you like our knew look."
Malaki jerked back in surprise, "Who?!"
"Woops, my bad partner. Forgot to tell you we can speak to each other now" Igualda said.
Malaki sighed, "Great, now I have to deal with you all the time."
"Awww, I'm hurt partner, but don't worry about it."
He shrugged his shoulders, "Well… I got to get dressssed and sssee what I've missssed."
"Ummm… partner, you've been out for a while, so we might be further then you think."
"Thanksss for that."
He could feel the Hollows smirk, "No problem partner."
"Um… how do I stop this hissssing?" He asked, it was getting annoying.
Igualda gave the mental equivalent of a face fault, "Umm… you should be able to control your tongues length, so just focus on retracting it." He said.
Malaki close his eyes and did as he was told. He felt a stinging sensation in the back of his throat. He opened his eyes, time to test it out.
"Superior snipers snipe Siberians."
"Partner…the hell does that mean?" Igualda asked.
"Nothing, just testing my tongue." Malaki thought for a moment, "Now, when can I expect the next phase of my transformation?" He asked.
"Not for a while, your body still needs to adjust to the changes already made, so you should probably just focus on your physical strength, extending your senses, things like that without Reaitsu to speed up the process." Igualda said.
Malaki was still unsettled by the idea of an extremely intelligent Inner Hollow, but was always open to new ideas.
Could you really blame him?
Most Hollows are violent and near insane, but they all harbored a dislike for anything outside their own race, and even then they ate each other.
Malaki shook off the train of thought, it wasn't going to help.
He ran a hand to his, now long, smooth hair, a welcomed change. It wasn't all spiky and annoying like before, but it made managing his shoulder length hair that much easier!
He looked around the room, seeing no one he sighed, 'What am I missing?'
"You might want to get dressed partner." Malaki could feel his hollow cackling.
Malaki's eyes widened, he looked down and blushed a bit.
No wonder it was so drafty.
He looked at the bed he had slept in only minutes ago and noticed all his clothing was folded, and sitting at the edge of the bed.
He quickly wrapped the bandages around him and put on the rest of his clothing except his pant legs and boots.
He looked at his pant legs or whatever you would call them. 'Should I wear them? They will do nothing but hinder my speed.' He asked himself. How had he not noticed this flaw before?
His hollow agreed, "Yeah, then there's the fact that you're a foot taller now, they probably won't reach your knees."
Malaki nodded at the logic, it was nice to have another sane mind to speak with that wasn't obsessed with swords or food.
He left the pant legs alone and put on his combat boots; he then picked up his necklaces and placed them around his neck. He winced, after all, he did just have his DNA rewritten, and it hurt like hell.
He walked to the door and grabbed the handle when he suddenly felt the ship shake harder than usual. He balanced himself with relative ease.
"What was that?' He thought, his Hollow was thinking the same thing.
BWAAA!
The shaking increased dramatically, forcing Malaki to grab the door handle for dear life.
"HOLY FUCKING SHIT!"
After a few seconds of being twirled like a rag doll it finally stopped shaking, leaving a dizzy Malaki in shambles.
'What…the…fuck'.
"Get outside and see what that stupid ass crew of yours did!" Igualda snarled. He may not be outside, but he can feel everything Malaki can damn it!
Malaki nodded before attempting to get up, which result in his world spinning more. After six, incredibly sad tries, he stood up, albeit reluctantly and opened the door. His nose was immediately assaulted with the smell of acid.
"What do you think?" he head someone say.
He turned to see Zoro and the crew staring at the unusually green water. Malaki noted his captain's absence.
"'What do I think', he says." Sanji snapped. Zoro didn't even notice; he was too baffled already. "We clearly just got swallowed by a whale."
"Is this a dream…?" Usopp whispered, too stunned by the inexplicable sky and small island floating in front of them.
"Yeah. Probably a dream." Zoro answered.
"I'd go with that to."
"So, the house on that island…?" Nami asked.
"An illusion." The sea began to rise and part, as a massive squid rose from the depths.
"Ah… and this?" there was a moment's pause, before Nami and Usopp screamed in unison. "A GIANT SQUID!" the fighters tensed, ready to strike…
Before the house on the door was flung open, and three harpoons shot out at a dazzling speed, punching holes in the squid. With nary a sound, it fell back dead. Sanji smirked. "Looks like someone's home."
"Where are we?" Malaki asked, right behind Sanji.
"HOLY SHIT!" Sanji yelled. The rest of the crew practically flew into the air, except Zoro strangely enough.
"GAH!" Nami screeched, she turned to Malaki, "Malaki-kun don't do that."
Malaki's eyebrow twitched, 'there it is again…'
Igualda was just laughing his ass off, his bad mood completely forgotten.
Nami along with the others stared at Malaki, taking in his new appearance.
Usopp had stars in his eyes, "Awesome! You look like a lizard man!
Yeah, what happened to you? Nami asked.
I stared at them for a moment, "I don't really know, what happened when I passed out?" He lied, of course he knew, but they didn't need to.
The others tensed at the memory, it had been pretty traumatic.
An awkward silence enveloped the group until Nami spoke up. "After Luffy was shot you told us to run. Then…then you started turning into a giant lizard monster, but you helped us instead of attacking us. You healed Luffy somehow and wiped out a marine ship with a laser." She said, and his eyes widened. If he used a laser then it was…
Cero.
A Hollows trademark attack.
I looked at Zoro, "Where are we?"
Zoro turned to Malaki, "I think were in a giant ass whale."
Malaki just stared at him for a moment, damn how long was I out…
'What happened? You should know more than them right? '
"Well king, you turned into a Hollow, saved your captain's life, fired a Cero, and killed Deadpool." Igualda said
Malaki sweatdropped, 'You're pretty blunt aren't you?'
"Don't see why I shouldn't be."
"Hey, you in there?" Nami said, pulling him back to reality.
"Yes." He replied in his usual blank tone.
"Hey! What are you brats doing here!?" A gruff voice shouted.
I turned to the left and saw a silhouette of a man inside the house. He was pulling the ropes of the harpoons back, taking the squid closer to the house. The man stepped out and showed us his appearance. He was a massively built man with a barrel chest and two thick arms. He had scars on his arms, more than me, and stitches as well. He wore a pink shirt and shorts, and had some weird grass necklace. Strangely enough he had a flower on his head? He was bald with a white beard and an abnormally large lower lip.
Where do they come up with these proportions?
If looks could kill the crew would be dead from his stare. He just sat down on a lawn chair, pulled out a newspaper, and ignored us.
Where did the newspaper come from?
"YOU GONNA SAY ANYTHIIIIIIING?" Sanji shouted in anger and annoyance.
He continued to read his paper for a second before he turned to look at us.
"Hey! You wanna fight? We'll fight! We got cannons back here you bastard!" Usopp tried to intimidate him, but he was all the way inside the galley of the ship with the door open. The old man shot another intense glare at us for about a minute.
"You try it and someone's gonna die." He said to us.
"Yeah? And who's that?" Sanji said back to him as sweat ran down his face.
The old man instantly replied, "Me of course."
Malaki sighed. These people were nothing but a bunch of children.
", do you have any idea where the exit is?" Malaki asked politely. He may be cold, but he did have manners, more specifically to his elders. That and the fact that he knew this mans history, he deserved respect and nothing less.
The man looked at me strangely before a smile spread across his face, "Finally! Someone with some manners!"
Sanji grit his teeth and glared at both the old man and Malaki.
It looked like he was cross-eyed.
"What your name boy?" The old man asked.
"Malaki." Was his emotionless simple reply.
"Anyone else?" Crocus asked.
"Alright, fair enough," Zoro replied, "My name is—"
Zoro was cut off when the old man introduced himself, "My name is Crocus. I'm the Lighthouse Keeper of the Twin Capes. I'm seventy-one years old, and a Gemini."
"I'M GONNA KILL HIM RIGHT HERE!" Zoro shouted.
Malaki took his mask off and stared at the old man, "…"
The old man stared back, "…"
"…" Malaki kept staring.
"…" The old man stared back.
Malaki and Crocus didn't move a muscle; both stared at each other while the rest of the Straw Hats stared in confusion.
"…" Crocus' eye started twitching.
"ARE YOU GONNA SAY ANYTHING!" He yelled.
"Can you help us leave Crocus-san?" He asked, the others sweatdropped.
"…" Crocus stared at Malaki.
"…" Malaki stared back.
"…" The other Straw Hats sweat-dropped.
"Fine," Crocus agreed.
"Where are we?" Malaki asked. "I was… incapacitated an am confused as to where we are."
"You want to know where you are?" Crocus repeated. "I'd think it's fairly obvious since you were eaten. Now you're at my one-man resort."
"Wait, so you mean we really were eaten?" Usopp asked. "Since when does a whale's stomach have clouds in it?"
"What's gonna happen to us?" questioned Nami. "I don't wanna be digested!"
"…" Crocus glared at her.
"STOP DOING THAT!" Nami yelled.
"What's wrong? Never heard of a running gag?" questioned the old man.
"THAT WAS A GAG?" four of the Straw Hats shouted.
"The exit is over there," Crocus answered as he pointed to a large metal double door off in a distance.
"Okay, even if I believed a whale's stomach could have a door," said Nami, "There's nothing there but sky."
"Hold on, those seagulls aren't moving!" Usopp realized as he spotted a still bird up in the air. "THEY'RE PAINTED ON! IT'S A GIANT MURAL INSIDE A WHALE'S STOMACH!"
"It's a hobby of mine," Crocus explained.
"YOU'RE NOT MAKING ANY SENSE YOU CRAZY OLD FOOL!" Usopp yelled.
"Forget him," Zoro advised. "There's the exit, let's get out of here."
The entire… stomach… suddenly started lurching. "WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?" Sanji shouted as the Going Merry and Crocus' Island bounced up and down in the waves.
"It's begun," Crocus said to himself.
"LOOK!" Nami suddenly shouted as she pointed to the Crocus's island which appeared to have a metal bottom. "That's not an island! It's some kind of ship!"
"Then this isn't water!" Usopp realized. "This a sea of gastric acid!"
"And our wooden ship won't fare too well if we stay here," said Sanji.
Crocus-san, what is going on?" Malaki asked.
"The whale is very angry," Crocus answered, "These aftershocks are a result of him hitting his head against the Red Line."
"Laboon was left here by the Rumbar Pirates after they entered the Grand Line." Malaki said.
Crocus whipped his head in Malaki's direction, eyes narrowed in suspicion. The others looked curious as well.
"How did you know that? I've never told any of you about the Rumbar Pirates, nor have I told you Laboon's name." He said in a low, dangerous tone.
Meanwhile Malaki was mentally berating himself for his slip-up. 'Stupid! I should have known that this might happen… ah well, I'll deal with the consequences'
Malaki took a deep breath, calming his thoughts before speaking. "I know a lot of things Crocus-san. I have a question." He asked and Crocus nodded hesitantly. "What do you know of the Florian Triangle?" Malaki asked. He really hoped this didn't affect the future too much, but he was going to spill everything.
Crocus raised a single eyebrow, "The ghost sea? That place is damn dangerous, especially with the raging tides there. Once you get hit you're stuck there. Why?" He asked, but he felt dread grow in the pit of his stomach.
"Because Crocus-san the Rumbar Pirates have been trapped in there for the last 50 years." Crocus's eyes widen and the others did the same.
Crocus looked at Malaki skeptically, "How do you know that?"
"I am from the Grand Line. The ship the Rumbar Pirates used matches the criteria of the legendary ghost ship that circulates there."
"YOURE FROM THE GRAND LINE!" The other Straw Hats yelled.
Malaki looked at them like they were children, much to a certain blonde's ire.
"Nami-san, if you spoke to your sister then you saw the large crater there right?" She nodded, it was pretty hard not to miss it. "That was where I crash landed."
There jaws dropped, how in the hell did he survive that?
But before they ask Crocus spoke up. "So there all dead huh? Figures… they never were the smartest bunch." He said plainly, but the tear trailing down his eye betrayed his emotions.
"You misunderstand Crocus-san, one member is still alive." Malaki said.
Crocus looked at Malaki with a heated glare. "How, you just said they've been stuck in the Florian Triangle for fifty years!" He yelled.
"Yes, I did, but one of them, the musician known as Brook survived. The only real reason he is alive is because he ate the Devil Fruit called the Yomi Yomi no mi, he is for lack of a better word, a living skeleton." He explained.
Crocus was unable to even speak, that happens when your jaw is stuck to the floor.
The others just stared at him in shock. How much did they really know about there crewmates?
"How?" Crocus said, barely a whisper. They still heard him though. "How do you know all of this? How do you know so much!?" He yelled the last part.
Malaki stared at him blankly. What could he say?
An awkward silence consumed the group and all eyes were of Malaki, who was nervous at the demanding gazes. He steeled himself; he was unemotional for a reason! Then again… it had faltered lately… maybe he shou-
He was cut off when the whale began to quake again, harder than last time.
They tried to steer the boat toward the exit and get the hell out of there, but the water was too rough. The whale kept slamming into the Red Line, shaking the place up. "With all this sloshing going on, we can't reach the exit," Nami said.
"If we don't get out of here, we could all be killed! And where the hell is Luffy?!" Zoro said. "I don't think he's here in the stomach. I saw him get tossed out of the whale's mouth!" Hopefully he hadn't fallen into the water. But if he had, all the more reason to hurry up so they could save him.
Malaki watched in disinterest as Crocus assumed position on the edge of his boat and dived into the sea of stomach acid.
When Usopp let out a startled cry, everyone turned to look at where he was pointing. They didn't see anything. "The old man jumped in!"
"What! He'll be dissolved" Nami screeched. Malaki suppress the urge to find earplugs.
"No, he is heading for the exit." Malaki pointed out. The others looked at him, "We should leave as well."
"He's right, get the oars and start paddling." Nami ordered.
Suddenly an explosion came from just above the exit. Everyone looked up in surprise as they saw three figures sailing through the air. The first two, a man and woman, Malaki knew them, but the others didn't know. "Luffy?" Malaki said thanking whatever god for saving him. Well, at least he wasn't in the water. No one really seemed surprised by the entrance.
"Hey! So you're okay!" Luffy called down, sounding very relieved. "Then save me!" The three came crashing down into the water right by the ship.
"Who are those strangers with Luffy?" Nami mused in disbelief. It would seem that, even though it wasn't water, Luffy still couldn't swim.
"Hey!" Usopp said, pointing toward the door. "The old man's getting away!" Crocus was climbing up the ladder next to the door before disappearing through a small hatch.
"Let's our captain out of the water first." After a bit of effort, they managed to pull Luffy and the two other people into the boat. The man was dressed in a in a dark green suit with an elaborate collar, orange hair and a crown, and he had a 9 printed on each cheek.
The woman had long, wavy, light blue hair pulled into a high ponytail, purple eyes and was wore a light mint-green colored jacket with fur lining around the collar and sleeves, a bustier-style shirt with white and dark blue circles on it, white shorts and white high-heeled boots. Both were carrying large rocket launchers. Vivi, he remembered right away. The appearance was unmistakable.
After what seemed like an eternity, the quaking came to a complete stop. And this time, it looked like the whale had permanently calmed down. "The whale's calmed down," Nami said as she sighed in relief .
"Well? Who are you guys?!" Luffy asked the two strangers. The two whispered something between them, but didn't answer his question.
"As long as I live, you'll never harm Laboon!"
Malaki turned to stare at Crocus, wondering how he appeared on the platform next to a ladder so quickly. Luffy frowned in confusion. "Who's the old man?"
The two laughed haughtily grabbing their weapons. "Hahahaha! Were already in the stomach! We just need one-ACK" The male said, but was cut off when Malaki appeared in front of him and connect his fist with his face, sending him rocketing into the mast.
"You will be silent and sit still or I will kill you." Malaki stated coldly.
Vivi paled, she hadn't even seen him move! Such speed was unheard of!
"O-ok" she murmured weakly as she moved to help her now unconscious partner. The others just watched in mild worry, they knew he would follow through with his threat.
He turned to the others, "We should leave now. Usopp, tie them up." Malaki ordered.
The others did exactly as he said, they knew all to well what he was capable of. Usopp tied up Vivi and the ginger haired man, and she put up no fight at all.
"Crocus-san, could you lead us out of here?" Malaki asked, the man grumbled but conceded.
Zoro and the rest got the oars from below deck and began rowing, Zoro and Malaki took one and the rest took the other as Crocus guided them in his little iron boat, and led them to an impressively build waterway to the exit. Malaki and the others were surprised the whale hadn't died from all of this.
"Why is this whale still alive?" Malaki asked.
"I may not look like it, but I am a physician. I ran a clinic on the cape years ago. I was even a ship's doctor." He said.
"A ship's doctor! Really! Luffy asked from where he was clinging to the stump that was once there figurehead. "Then be our ships doctor!"
"Ridiculous," Crocus answered as he climbed up a ladder to open a door. "I'm to old to look after a bunch of reckless children." He understood all too well how difficult the pirate life was, and he wasn't cut out for it anymore.
He began to crank a wheel to open the door, Sanji asked, "So you're a doctor living in a whale?"
"That's right. When they get this big it isn't possible to treat them form the outside." After all how could he give Laboon medicine if his skin was several feet thick? "I'm opening the door."
The door opened, and they could feel the suns rays on their skin. Malaki was personally happy to be out of the sea of acid, water was far more inviting.
Luffy laughed as stretched his arms out with uncontrolled glee. "Wow! Were outside! The real sky!"
Nami looked at their prisoners, "What should we do with these two?" she pointed out.
"Throw them over board." Crocus suggested. He didn't like them anywhere near Laboon, plus, he hadn't seen someone drown to death since he was a pirate!
"No, I will speak with the girl." Malaki said in a tone that left no room for argument. He looked at the others icily. "Alone."
Vivi fidgeted and visibly paled in the ropes that held her and her partner as Malaki approached, as far as she new he had extreme speed and strength, more than enough to turn her into paste.
He grabbed the ropes and maid his way to the back of the deck, away from the others. He set them down against the railing in the back of the ship, he was confident they couldn't get away. He summoned his Hollow Zanpakuto and cut them loose.
Vivi was flabbergasted. He threatens to kill them and now he's just letting them go?
"I have questions." He said.
She stared at him for a moment, trying to regain her nerve. "What do you want?"
"Why is a princess working for Crocodile?" He asked. Vivi's eyes widened.
"W-what do you mean?" She stuttered. How did he even know!?
"I mean why Vivi Nefertari is here while her kingdom falls apart?" He said.
If looks could kill he would have died from er piercing glare. "You know nothing of my problems!" She snapped. She was doing all that she could now!
Malaki stared at her for a moment mulling over her words. "I know everything about your predicament; it is why I'm letting the two of you go."
She blinked. What?
"What?" she thought out loud.
"I wish to help you, but I cannot leave my captain, so you may leave with your friend."
She just stared, unable to comprehend what he had just said. He wanted to help her?
"Why do you want to help me?" she asked. She truly didn't understand this man at all.
Malaki sealed his Zanpakuto; she wasn't a threat to begin with. "Soon my crew will reach Arabasta and I intend to help you free your country." He said with cold conviction.
Her eyes widened, she had expected him to say many things, but that wasn't one of them. Why would one go so far to help a country they had nothing to do with?
"You should leave now. Awaken your friend and jump overboard." He didn't feel like wasting anymore time.
She nodded and slapped her friend repeatedly across the face. The third time he jumped with a start.
"Mother! Stop calling me Ginger!" He shouted.
"Calm down Mr. Nine, he have to go." She whispered.
"Huh why? And where's that cold psycho that punched me?" He asked.
"Right here."
He practically jumped out of his skin, "OH Sh-mmph!" He yelled, but was cut off by Vivi's hand clapping over his mouth.
"Calm down, he's helping us. We need to go right now." She said. The ginger stared at her before calming down. She noticed this and let him go.
Malaki had enough, he grabbed them by their collars and threw them like an Olympic Spearman.
They didn't even get a chance to yelp.
He walked back to his crewmates, who were all staring at him strangely. They heard shouting, but chose not to interfere.
"What were you talking about?" Sanji asked.
"Nothing." He replied. He looked at where the pair of attackers had once been tied and noticed something on the deck; it looked strangely like a watch.
He walked over, ignoring the questioning looks, and picked up and handed it to Nami. "This will lead us to the next island." He said.
She stared at the strange device in her hand. "What do you mean?" she asked.
"Its called a Log Pose. It locks onto the magnetic field of an island, follow it and we will eventually reach Whiskey Peak" Was all he said, and with that he disappeared with a small "Boom", leaving a baffled Nami in his wake.
[Infirmary]
Malaki sat down on a bed in, what would eventually become, there infirmary. His mind was too exhausted to deal with his crewmates zealous personalities.
He sighed to himself. He had made a real mess of the original part, not that he particularly cared, but he was all too familiar with divergent points.
He had no idea how badly he would change this world. He did know it was more than likely that there were other anomalies in this dimension, but it was unlikely that they were from his world.
Truthfully, he hoped that there was someone from his world that could help him, understand him, even if only a little. He did not miss his old life; it was filled with nothing but loneliness there. He wanted no friends, desired no family, and never showed love.
It was his lesson in life, everyone he showed love to would die. His feelings were poisonous to others, he had lost his family, his friends, and most of all the only other people he considered family.
[Flashback]
Children scurried about with toys in a painfully grey room. They all played together, it was the only way to stave off the sadness that filled this place.
All except one boy who sat curled up in a corner. The others avoided him like the plague, his presence was sadder than anything they had ever felt in there lives.
His name was Michael D Hanes.
He was seven years old. He wore a tattered white shirt and grey, torn pants. His hair was black and spiked our in every direction but up. His eyes were what unsettled others. They were cold and unfeeling, like a machine, but if one looked close enough they could see the smallest spark of insanity. Not many were aware of it but he had spent a year in an asylum. He hated the place; they thought something was wrong with him! He ended his parent's killer and believed it to be just! But he had to where a mask so he could be free of that horrible place. He became cold, so cold that his mask was no longer a mask, his emotions had been suffocated.
Though in hindsight he should've expected to be sent there, after all, he did viciously stab his parent's killer even after he was dead.
When he had been taken there they said they wanted to assess the damage to his psyche, which they found to be pretty severe. He was released about a year later broken, but not shattered.
Michael was watching the other children play with a blank gaze that showed no emotion. He found it annoying that others displayed emotion so openly. Surely they knew better? It was a weakness, a very serious one at that, thankfully he did not have it. He only watched as a reminder of that we-
"Come play with me." It took all of his control not to jump out of his skin. How had he not noticed that! He was in a corner for god's sake!
He frowned to himself and looked to the source of the voice.
And his heart stopped, welling with an emotion he never felt before, and he could barely suppress it.
It was a girl, a beautiful one in his book. Her hair was silver, a trait he had never seen before and it was tied in to ponytail that were just below her ears. She was light-skinned and showed no form of injury, something most, if not all orphans have. A yellow dress complimented her hair along with a pair of blue sandals. Her eyes… her eyes made his cold heart practically burn in his chest, they were mismatched. One eye was grey like his own, but they lacked his coldness, the other was sparkling blue. The emotions in her eyes held kindness on levels he couldn't possibly comprehend. She was smiling at him and it made him feel strange.
"Why?" He asked as coldly as he could.
The girls smile hadn't faltered in the least, in fact it had grown in size. "Because silly, no one deserves to be alone." She said it as though it was the simplest thing in the world.
That smile made his chest tighten so much, he honestly though he might suffocate. This girl was doing in mere seconds what others couldn't do in an entire year!
"Why would you care?" He asked, his voice wasn't as cold as it was before.
"No one deserves to be alone."
Those words struck him deep. His eyes widened, this girl…
He felt a small, almost unnoticeable smile tug at his lips, "Ok."
Her smile practically split her face. "What's your name?"
"Michael."
She held out a hand, which he hesitantly took.
"Mines Sophie."
[Flashback End]
He grit his teeth at the memory and shook his head. He truly hated those memories; it only reminded him of his curse. It didn't matter anyways, they were gone because of him.
He fell back on the bed, he didn't need sleep, but his mind did. He closed his eyes and sighed, something he found himself doing often as the darkness pulled him into his subconscious.
[Inner World]
Malaki's eyes opened as he found himself in his inner world. He looked around, nothing really changed, a little more grass here and there, but altogether it was the same.
Getting up, Malaki looked around for his Hollow; if he was here then he may as well train right?
He suddenly ducked as a black blade swung over his head. He jumped backed, summoning his own blades in the process.
He looked and saw a grinning Igualda with an exact copy of his Hollow sword.
"Training time partner! HAHAHAHA!" He laughed maniacally as he holstered his blade.
"Training?" Malaki asked.
"Yeah training! You need to get stronger because your still weak! I could kill you without my sword!" He yelled. "Think about it. A swordsman is nothing without his sword, just as the sword is nothing without a master. If you stay weak I'll become the swordsman and you'll be the sword,"
Malaki narrowed his eyes at Igualda, "Then lets prove it." Was all he said before he leapt forward, blades poised to strike, but was stopped when he felt pain in his chest. He looked down and saw Igualda's fist lodged in his chest. He was sent rocketing into the ground with the sheer strength of the attack.
"Gotta do better than that partner." Igualda taunted with his trademarked mad grin.
Malaki stood up and pointed a finger at Igualda. "Byakurai" he whispered as a beam of electricity launched towards Igualda.
The Hollow scoffed and raised a finger in turn, red energy spiraled into existence in the form of a ball, "Cero!" He shouted.
Malaki's eyes widened as his attack was completely overpowered, he Shunpo'd before the attack reached him. He turned to his attacker, but found he wasn't there. He turned around and was met with a fist to his face that sent him flying upwards.
He climbed higher and higher, reaching up into the stormy clouds of his mindscape. He looked up and saw Igualda ahead of him, foot arched back.
He didn't even get a chance to move before Igualda kicked him in the chest, knocking the wind out of him along with some bile as he spiraled downwards to the ground.
He crashed into the earth with a mighty "BOOM" sending chunks of dirt and dead plants into the air.
Malaki was lying down in the crater, barely able to move. His clothing was torn to pieces and covered in blood, his cape was gone. His Zanpakuto were still in his hands, gripping tightly on the hilt. Multiple gashes and bruises littered his chest and a few more on his face, blood leaked from his mouth. He tried to stand; ignoring the pain shooting through his system, and used his Zanpakuto for support, but Igualda appeared right in front of him with a grin.
As much as Malaki hated to admit it, his opponent appeared to be stronger than he was.
If the beating he just received was anything to go by, then the fact that the Hollow was hitting him so rapidly he couldn't even move did.
The fact that Igualda hadn't even drawn his sword was the worst part of it all.
Igualda stopped his rapid attack and watched in amusement as Malaki dropped to the ground like a log.
"This partner, is what true power is. Now what will you do?" He asked.
Malaki looked up at Igualda, who wore a grim expression. He thought about what he said, but what could he do?
He was weak; it had been the story of his life really. He had been too weak to save his parents, to weak to get over their death, to weak to save them. His fists clenched as he forced himself to stand, despite the multitude of shattered bones and torn muscles.
He needed power! The power to protect what he cares about, the power to stop their deaths! The power to defeat his enemies!
Malaki looked at Igualda, eyes glowing black with determination and power. "I'll...become...stronger!" He yelled through gasps, more to himself then Igualda.
The Hollow smiled with pride, "That's what I wanna hear!" He smile turned into a mad grin, "Now its time for your tou- I mean training." He said in a sickly sweet tone.
Malaki felt his bones mend, and his flesh knitting itself back together, he brandished his blades without hesitation.
It was time to get stronger.