"The Gathering" Arc: Sky Tamiko, pt. 5

Chapter 9: Sky Tamiko VS Sammy the Tigress! A Treasure Returned

Wealth, fame, power. All of these, as well as the ultimate freedom, have once more gone up for grabs. Why? The pirate king, Monkey D. Luffy, wanted to see men once again go after dreams and hopes. Fearing that his acquiring of the throne was ending piracy in the Blue Sea World, he stepped down from it and hid all his gold on a previously undiscovered island at the very end of the New World. Now, hopeful people in all of the Blue Seas have once more begun to search for the ultimate treasure… the fabled One Piece.

The evil King Aliah, an ex-pirate known as Death Star Aliah, has denied the people of Hohei Island their rights for too long. Inspired by the defeat of Mug and Boots, they have risen up in civil war with the Redtail Pirates leading the way. Will they take back their freedom? Or will Aliah prove that justice doesn't always win? Four battles shall decide once and for all who is stronger.

-Tamiko's Battle-

"I'll take Big Bird," Justin said. "Chopper, you duke it out with Lizard, and... well, Akatsuki and Tamiko, which of you can fight better?"

"Tamiko," Akatsuki admitted.

"Alright, then you take can Kitty, Tamiko. Meanwhile, Akatsuki will sneak into the weapons vault."

"Gotcha!" everyone said.

Tamiko walked up to the skimpy wanna-be catgirl and raised her fists. "You guys are gonna pay for all the pain and suffering you've laid upon this island," she growled. "And also for stealing my only treasure-my heart-shaped locket."

Sammy spat on the ground and laughed. "Ha! How can a simple locket be a treasure? Treasure is money. Treasure has value. A locket has no value unless it's made of gold, or something similar!"

"Is that what you think? You probably picked that idea up from being a pirate. Well, let me tell you something about being a real pirate." Tamiko had never sailed under a pirate flag before, but she'd heard stories of pirates from her mom, who'd met the Pirate King, Monkey D. Luffy, long ago in Skypiea. "A true pirate isn't someone who looks for gold and steals people's hopes and dreams. A true pirate is someone who looks for adventure, who knows that something doesn't have to have economical value to be called a treasure. A treasure can be something that has emotional value-sentimental value-as well." She raised her hands and water formed in them, swirling like a whirlpool. "And now I'm gonna take my treasure back."

"So you're a Devil Fruit user, too, eh?" Sammy's eyes narrowed. "Just like that girl who beat up Mug and Boots."

"You saw that?"

"Naturally. Cats are curious, you know."

"Well, sometimes, curiousity kills the cat! Misufu-Misufu, Hokkyoku Yari!" (literally, "arctic spears".) She thrust her hands out as if she was going to throw a punch with her palms, but that wasn't her plan. As her hands moved out, the water in them elongated and hardened, turning into two sharp spears of ice. They flew at Sammy with such force that they smashed the door in half, and they would've pierced the temptress's stomach, had she not flipped away acrobatically.

"That's quite dangerous," the 'catgirl' purred. "The intruders have broken through the weapons vault's door. This is troublesome, but now I am forced to kill you, Sky Tamiko."

"Just try it," the Skypiean said.

"Very well! Kitty Karate... Itami No Shawa!" (literally "shower of pain".) Sammy erupted in a sudden flurry of kicks and punches. Tamiko avoided the first few, but the speed was just too fast, and she found herself backing up farther and farther. Suddenly a kick connected with her jaw, and then her body shook as the attacks accumulated. Finally, she fell to the ground, coughing blood.

"You're no fun," Sammy complained, clearly disappointed. "So weak."

She stood up shakily, wiping her mouth clean of blood. "You think I'm weak? Then you've got another thing coming to you, bitch." She formed the shape of a dragon's jaws with her hands and said, "Misufu-Misufu, Kaze To Mizu No Ryu!" (literally, "dragon of wind and water".) Air and water built up in pressure as she held the position, and finally she released them, while Sammy watched with wide eyes.

"Devil Fruit users only have one power!" She protested, diving to the side as a dragon formed out of wind and water stomped on the floor.

"Not me," Tamiko growled. "My Devil Fruit is the Misufu-Misufu Fruit-the wind and water Devil Fruit, which means I can bend both elements to my will. It's a Paramecia type, not a Logia, because I'm unable to turn into either air or water."

"This fight is completely unfair!"

"Like it's not unfair for you to take the lives of completely innocent civilians."

The dragon started chasing the temptress around the room, although it avoided Chopper's fight, which was the only one still going on, as Justin had already shot his opponent dead. She screamed and fell as it finally crashed down on her, jaws hardening into ice so that it would actually cause harm.

Sammy stood up shakily, bleeding from puncture points all over her body where the elemental dragon's jaws had pierced her skin. She was dripping wet and shivering from the cold water. "Damn it! Kitty Karate, Ude No Ken!" (literally, "arm sword".) She dashed at Tamiko, swiping her arms swiftly like two small swords.

She's pretty fast and it's not gonna be easy to take her down, the Skypiean realized. She sighed, crossed her fingers, and bowed her head in concentration, still crouching. Didn't think I'd have to do this, but it should at least reduce her speed enough that I'll be able to fight on par with her. "Misufu-Misufu, Sancho!" (literally, "mountain peak".) The air around Sammy's head reduced in density, causing her to become light-headed.

"What did you do, bitch?!" She snarled, though it was hard to speak.

"Oh, I just moved most of the air around you elsewhere. Now it should feel as though you're standing on the peak of a really, really high mountain. Your movements should be more sluggish, allowing me to fight on par with your speed."

"Why... you little..." The temptress jabbed her hand at Tamiko's stomach, but she merely sidestepped the attack and returned the favor, landing a glancing blow on the side of Sammy's head.

Her opponent tried to somersault out of the way, but ended up being too slow and landed on her feet panting. She raised her leg and kicked out, but Tamiko dodged, turned, and grabbed her ankle, swinging her up through the air in an arch and smashing her down onto the hard floor. Sammy yelled in pain as she felt her nose break.

"You're no good at all without your speed," the Skypiean said, sighing. "Boo on you. Misufu-Misufu, Kaze No Muchi!" (literally, "wind whip".) Hardening some air into a flowing coil of wind, Tamiko cracked the newly made whip across the wannabe-catgirl's face, leaving a line of blood. "I really don't like hurting people too much, since I'm a doctor and all, but I can make an exception for those who hurt innocent people and steal my locket."

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Chopper, who had by now delivered the finishing blow to his own opponent and was now watching Tamiko, winced in sympathy to Sammy's pain.

The girl screamed, holding her hands in front of her face protectively. "GAH! Stop, please!"

"I won't stop until you're defeated for good," growled Tamiko. "After killing innocents and taking away the only thing connecting me to my family, you 'royalty' don't deserve mercy." She cracked the whip across the temptress's stomach, making her howl in agony. "That's for stealing my locket, bitch. And this is to end your miserable, worthless life. Misufu-Misufu, Shikeishu Kanbo!" (literally, "death row".) Water formed in spheres in her hands. Bringing the two balls together, they merged into one and expanded into about the size of a basketball. She hurled at Sammy and it hit her in the head, hardening into ice thick enough to smash her head. For a second or two, she was still alive and coughing blood, but finally her eyes glazed over and she collapsed onto the ground, where she lay motionlessly amongst shards of melting ice.

Chopper gave a low whistle. "Whoa. Note to self: Never get on Tamiko's bad side."

The girl in question turned to the swordsman and grinned. "Don't worry. It's not that easy of a thing to do. I'm usually pretty happy, and my philosophy is to forgive and forget. But when someone hurts innocent people or touches my locket without my permission... well, that's what sets me off."

"Ah. I see."

"Is there a story behind that locket?" asked Justin.

"Yeah." she said. "I'll tell you guys when we all get back to town."

"Hey, Tamiko!" they heard Akatsuki call from somewhere below them. "I got the locket!" The three turned to the weapons vault, where a trapdoor in the center of the floor, surrounded by all types of guns and other dangerous objects, had been opened. The spy's hand was sticking out of the space below, holding something shiny and heart-shaped.

"That's it!" the Skypiean cried. "Yes, that's the one! Thank you so much, dude!" She bounced happily over to the hand and snatched her locket from it, carefully hanging it around her neck.

"No problem. It was easy to find when I looked into Aliah's mind, though you can bet that wasn't a very pleasant trip."

"You can see through someone's mind even if they're not in the same room?" Justin said, a little bit in awe.

"As long as I've met them... Yup!"

"Gotta admit, that could be extremely useful."

Akatsuki climbed up to the second floor once more, using a ladder someone had leaned up against the roof of the treasury. "By the way, there's gotta be at least seventy million berries down here. I'm gonna need some help carrying this stuff."

"Got it covered," said Tamiko. She closed her eyes and concentrated, imagining the air in the secret room below coming together, dragging all the money with it, as if it was one huge bag. In real life, the air copied her thoughts. Next, she imagined it bringing the money up onto the second floor, and it did so.

"Okay, now that's pretty cool!" Chopper exclaimed. "You should totally join our crew, uh... Mind if I call you Tammy?"

"Not at all." She shook her head, smiling. "And, you know, I'd love to join after seeing how strong you all are. You three have earned my trust. If Lucy manages to beat Aliah, then it's a deal!"

"Sweet!"

Finally! I actually got some time to work on this! Sorry I haven't updated since the Fourth of July, but I've been busy since then and haven't really gotten any time to myself in a while. Anyways, hope you enjoyed the battle of Tamiko! :D Lucy's fight with Aliah is next, and then the chapter after that will wrap up this arc. So stay tuned for more epicness!

Remember to rate and spread the word. If you want to, I'd also like you to follow and favorite this story, though these two things are not needed for me to continue writing. After all, I'm mainly on here for the fun of it. :)

And yes, I am "Scarred Pirates". However, I canceled my other story, so I decided to change my name to my Youtube name. Don't bother looking me up on there because I don't actually have any videos up yet. :U

-TheRealEvanSG