Threats and Invites
Disclaimer: Don't own One Piece.
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"Dammit, Azu, you just had to go and throw up on that guy, didn't you?!"
Niri shook her head as Pingu tried to pry the jug off of Azu's head...a jug that Rayo had slammed onto his head after he found out that Azu was the one that threw up on him.
"Who was that guy?" Azu's muffled voice asked from within the pottery, "And how did he know Axe?"
Again, Niri shook her head, "I don't know...but I swear, I think I've met him before...but I'm not sure,"
Siamon took a swig of his beer, watching the two go at it, "That man...Rayo the Beast, a man worth 244,000,000 Beli. He knows your captain," he shook his head, "Your captain must be something else,"
"Oooh, you can say that," Niri muttered, eye twitching, "You can definitely say that,"
-----
"That has got to be the funniest damn thing I've seen in a long time, Rayo!"
"Don't make me kick your ass, kid!!"
"Aw, shaddup for now and hold your breath," Axe muttered as he pushed Rayo's head into the large pool of water that was at the bottom floor. He waited for a few moments before pulling Rayo's head back up, the transporter gasping for oxygen.
"What are you doing, trying to kill me?!"
Axe dunked his friend into the water again, "No, trying to help you clean up...if I wanted to kill you, I'd toss you in right now, but I'm not like that and you know that,"
For a short time, this process was repeated, the dunking, the writhing, and the retrieving of Rayo's head until all traces of vomit was no longer on him. His jacket was now soaked, but clean, after being washed in the same pool. Luckily for Rayo, most of the vomit was on his head, and the rest of it was on his jacket. Now clean and carrying his soaked jacket in his arms, Rayo shook his wet hair like an animal, splattering nearby people.
Axe patted him on his white shirt, "There ya go, Rayo, all nice and clean now...," he eyed the small chunks in the water, "I sure hope that's not drinking water...,"
Rayo tied his hair back into a ponytail, lightly glaring at Axe, "Thanks, I guess. What the hell are you doing here, kid?"
"I'm entering the race with my crew," Axe jerked a thumb to Chizuru, who was getting some food for them, "That's my navigator. You should remember the rest of the crew when ya met them back in East Blue,"
"That's if you can find them," Rayo tilted his head to the side, letting water drain out of his ear, "Then again, a lot of shit's been going on since we met last, Axe...what about you, anything happen?"
Axe grinned widely, "MAJOR stuff, Rayo, stuff you wouldn't even believe man!"
"Try me,"
"First, got into a mess with a takeover attempt with Crocodile and the Royal Family of Alabasta," Axe raised a finger, "Got cut deep," he raised another finger and pulled open his vest to reveal the scar from Gaine, "And I...," he cleared his throat and looked away, "...pissed off my crew by keeping the old crew a secret, but they found that out, as well as my bounty,"
WHAP
The next thing he knew, Axe lay on the floor, a large lump on his skull. Rayo's eye twitched as he lowered his fist, "There are so many things wrong with what you just said, I can't believe it...,"
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?!" Axe shouted, holding the lump, "You ask me what happened since we last met, and when I do, you clobber me!"
Rayo glared at him and pointed a finger at him, "When we parted ways years back, after I trained you to survive in the world, I thought you would use your head! After a while, I thought that was true because I didn't read or hear anything about a guy with an axe for a time, so I thought you were smart enough, but it looks like that wasn't true!"
"Rayo...,"
"No, you listen to me," Rayo leaned forward, "If there's one thing I know, Axe, is that when you get some nakama who trust you, no matter what you do, or what you are to them as a nakama, you don't piss them off by keeping major secrets!"
Axe sighed, "I thought it was best to do at the time...now, a lot of them are pissed at me, including an old friend of mine," he shook his head, "I really screwed up,"
"No shit,"
WHAP WHAP WHAP
"DAMMIT!" Axe moaned as more lumps appeared on the first one, "Cut it out, Rayo!"
Rayo sighed and propped his head on a hand and closed his eyes, "I come here looking for info on the Tome of Verrani and Black Crow, but all I find is a rock-headed baka who doesn't listen to a damn piece of advice I give him,"
"Hey, it's because of your advice that I'm still alive, Rayo," Axe said defensively, "Sure, I made some mistakes, but who doesn't? I-," he stopped and poked his mentor's forehead, "Wait, why are you...looking for a man worth at least 800,000,000 Beli?"
Rayo cracked an eye at looked at him, seemingly not affected by the poking, "Shidyk lost in Alabasta,"
Axe stopped his poking, "Wait, he did? He lost?! Wait," he frowned, "How the hell do you know?"
"Because, Shidyk is a good friend of mine," Rayo explained casually, "We've known each other for awhile. Met him up in Alabasta...," he turned his head towards his former student, "He also told me about what happened on Drum Island,"
Axe snorted and crossed his arms, "Guy got lucky,"
Rayo scoffed, "From what I heard, you got lucky, Axe! You're lucky Shidyk spared your life...also, that you managed to blind and punch him through a treeline," he frowned slightly, "Very few people can do that...how the hell did you pull it off?"
"As you said," Axe shrugged, "I got lucky. So, since you're here, how's about I offer a little bit on the side cash?"
Rayo cocked an eyebrow, "That depends...," he said slowly.
Axe grinned, "If people don't enter the race, they can bet on the racers. If your bet wins, you get 350 times the amount you bet!" he rubbed his hands together, "I know you're not one for LOTS of money, but if you get a lot here, you can keep going in your journey, just looking around and be lazy for awhile...,"
"Hmm...you know, this reminds me of that time you tried getting that one lady to hook up with me...,"
"Hey, I was trying to be nice!"
"...it was a guy in drag!"
"..."
"..."
"I was trying to be nice!"
Rayo opened his mouth to say something, but stopped and looked to the side casually, "Axe, six o'clock,"
Axe rolled his eyes. This was a little thing that he knew about from Rayo. If any of them spotted people that may look like they'd cause trouble, one would warn the other and what would happen from there, would happen.
"How many...?"
"About...," Rayo glanced behind his friend, then back at the side, "...a couple dozen,"
"Oh, that much?" Axe grinned, "They look mean?"
"By my standards, no, but that's just me,"
Axe nodded and turned around to see a large group of armed men standing a few feet away. Leaning to the side, he could see Chizuru in the thick of them, looking more annoyed than scared.
"Are you the one they call Axe?" the apparent leader growled, brandishing a large, single-headed, axe with a black blade.
The young treasure hunter grinned and hefted his giant stone axe, "Yeah...who wants to know?"
"I guess, you can call us representatives of the great General Gasparde," the man grinned, "He likes strong people, and I'm sure he can use you on his crew for this race...after all, a man with a bounty of 265,000,000 Beli on his head must be good,"
"Yeah, I am good, but I'm gonna have to say no to your offer," he jerked his head to the side, "Chizuru, c'mon, let's go get the others,"
"I'm afraid I'm kind of stuck, Captain," Chizuru looked around, "They won't let me leave,"
"That's right. She's kinda cute," the leader laughed, "I'm sure she'll give us a nice breaktime when we earn it,"
"Captain...,"
"What's going on?"
Axe turned to see that Devon and Kirsty stood beside Rayo, who was staring at them. From the looks of it, Rayo looked surprised to see them there. Though, why he would, Axe wouldn't know, given his senses with the Neko Neko no Mi: Model Lion Rayo ate.
Devon glared at the men who wouldn't let Chizuru leave and his hands came to rest on the Water Moon, "Just give the word,"
Kirsty pulled out her sai, "I can use the exercise," she glanced at Rayo, "Hey, I remember you,"
"Guys, if you wanna have fun," Axe plopped down into his seat, "Go ahead. Save the pleasantries 'til you're done,"
Devon grinned as he unsheathed Water Moon, leaving his other blades in their covers, "Kirsty, how much you want?"
"Oh...I think I'll let you have fun and take only a fourth of them. You take the rest,"
"Thank you,"
"Oh, no problem,"
"KILL THOSE ASSHOLES!"
Rayo glanced at Axe, "Don't wanna insult your crewmates, but can they handle them?"
Axe could only grin while his doctor and first mate ran into the crowd of pirates, "Just watch,"
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Dusty whistled a happy tune as she walked around the different terraces. As she had walked, she had caught up with DJ and Austin, who were stuffing their faces with the free food this place had offered. After they stuffed themselves, the boys walked with Dusty, trying to make more room for more.
"I gotta say, I was kinda pissed at the Captain...," Dusty put her hands behind her head, "But for some reason, I feel happy now!"
"Must be this place," DJ muttered, patting his stomach, "That food sure is good though. I gotta try and get Herman to stock up on this place's food,"
Austin belched loudly and nodded.
"Mac? Mac, wake up!"
The trio stopped and looked to the side to see an interesting sight. Sitting in a large hole that was in the wall, was a tall young man, at least seven feet in height. He was completely out cold, as if someone had just clobbered him.
Besides the young man, two people were kneeling, shaking the unconcious male, trying to wake him up. One was a young man who was dressed in brightly colors, and because of that, his clothes looked like they were part of a colorful explosion. The second figure was a beautiful young woman wearing a miniskirt and a matching jean jacket over a white shirt.
Dusty walked over to them, "What happened to him?" she asked, poking the large one's foot.
The girl sighed, "I don't know! We got seperated and when we found him, he's out of it!"
The kitsune girl tapped the floor idly and looked up in thought, "I wonder...," she turned and walked to a nearby table, picked up a large mug of beer, then walked back and poured it out completely, soaking the giant.
However, that did the trick because the large young man came back to conciousness, sputtering and coughing.
"There ya go," Dusty dusted her hands and started walking off again, the boys behind her, "Later!"
Leaving the strange people behind, the Axe-Head trio continued to explore the many terraces of the race's meeting area.
"There are tons of people here...," DJ adjusted the sabre he kept on his back, "I get the feeling sooner or later, we're gonna get roped into a brawl,"
"OH MY GOD!"
"What, what is it?!" DJ gripped the handle and looked around, "Bring it!"
"DJ-kun, it's Luffy!"
"What?!" DJ snapped his head to see Dusty leaning over another railing, looking down at the terrace below them. He sped over and looked down as Austin joined them.
There, standing in front of the terrace's railing below, was Monkey D. Luffy and his crew. However, it looked like there was one extra crewmate. A tall, young woman with black hair, dressed in violet. Somehow, she looked very familiar.
DJ grinned when he saw Roronoa Zolo, "This is awesome! I gotta go tell Zolo about my encounter with Mihawk," he touched the fresh scar over his left eye, "We gotta go get the others!"
"Oh hell ya!" Dusty grabbed Austin and DJ by the collar and sped off, dragging the two boys behind her, "CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAPTAIN!!"
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"Hm?" Axe looked around, "Anyone hear something?"
"No,"
"No,"
"Nope,"
"Sorry, Captain,"
Axe scratched his head as Devon cleared the table of a motionless attacker, "Must be hearing things then," he sighed and looked at Rayo, "So, since we were interrupted...," he cleared his throat, "Where is Shidyk, anyway? Since he lost to Black Crow, I'd expect him to be either dead or moping. And since you're looking for Crow, he can't be dead so he must be moping,"
Rayo shook his head, "No, he isn't, Axe. While he's recovering from his battle, Shidyk will train to become stronger. Right now, he's helping a girl get back home," he clicked his tongue, "Cute kid, but you can't help but wonder where a girl with wings came from,"
Almost immediately, Devon, Kirsty, and Axe began choking on their food and beer.
Rayo sweatdropped, "Was it something I said?"
Devon was the first to recover, "A girl...with wings?" he asked slowly.
Rayo nodded, "Yeah. Her name is Aisa. Cute little kid, too. What's with you three?"
Instead of answering, Chizuru, Axe, Kirsty, and Devon turned around and huddled, whispering quietly. Rayo sat there, wondering what the hell was going on with these people. Moments later, they all turned back and Devon cleared his throat again.
"Rayo, we're about to show you something...something that we have no clue as to what it is,"
Rayo sweatdropped again, "Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" he murmured.
Devon turned around, took off his jacket, and once his nakama kept his back hidden from view of outsiders, he lifted his black shirt to reveal to Rayo that he had his own pair of wings. Rayo's eyes went wide, "Holy...,"
"Aniki," Axe sat back down as Devon covered his back again, "Devon and his little brother, have these-,"
"His brother too?"
"Aniki!" Axe sighed, "Listen. Devon and his brother, have had these wings on their back their entire lives, but they have no idea what they are, or why they have them," he leaned forward, "If Shidyk took this girl, Aisa, to her home, and she has wings, then she has a connection to my nakama. Rayo, please tell us, where is Shidyk headed?"
Rayo waved him off, "Okay, okay, okay...I get it. Look, he said he was headed to an island further down the Grand Line, a place called Jaya. I don't know what he hopes to find there, but if he thinks that place has a clue as to Aisa's homeland, then you might wanna go there,"
Devon nodded and ran a hand through his blonde hair, "Okay...Jaya...Captain-,"
"Say no more, Devon," Axe interrupted him, "As soon as this race is over, we'll head straight for Jaya,"
"Thanks," Devon turned back to Rayo, "I've heard you're an informant, as well as a transporter-for-hire, correct?"
Rayo glanced at Axe, who shrugged, grinning.
"Yeah, I am,"
"How much do you charge for your services?"
"That depends," Rayo took out a pocky stick and began to chew on it, "Why, you got something lined up for me?"
Devon nodded and pulled out his Water Moon, taking the blade out and laying it on the table in front of Rayo.
The transporter whistled, "Nice sword. I don't use blades myself, but this is a beauty. What is this, a supreme grade sword?"
"I don't know, and I don't care right now," Devon said quickly, "There's another sword like this. It's called Onimaru. It's blade is black and red, and it's hilt is golden. To some, it is a legendary blade and cannot exist. But," he tapped his blue blade, "They said the same things about Water Moon, but I found it! I am willing to pay anything you want for any information you can find about the Onimaru,"
Rayo blinked, "Man, you really wanna find this sword, don't you?"
"HELL YEAH!" Devon shouted, making nearby patrons jump out of their skin.
Kirsty cleared her throat, "Sorry, about that, Rayo," she nudged Devon hard in the ribs, "He can get a little hyped on certain topics. By the way, it's nice to see you've healed nicely,"
Rayo looked at her, a little confused, "Huh?"
"Don't tell me...," Axe shook his head, "Rayo, remember that tournament in East Blue?"
"Yeah...,"
Axe pointed to Kirsty, "She's the White Dragon!"
Rayo turned to Kirsty, "Oh that's right...," he rubbed his head, embarassed, "Black Dragon whooped my ass...I can't believe I forgot about that,"
"Eh, don't worry about it," Axe waved him off, "You've been busy takin' jobs and looking for info on your goals, Rayo, I don't blame ya. Hell, with my crew, I don't think all of them remember that as well,"
"CAAAAAAAAAPTAIN!"
They all turned to see Dusty speeding towards them, dragging DJ and Austin behind her as an excited look was painted on her face.
"Great, now what's up with her?"
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"So, Ashton took over your rank, you were imprisoned, you broke out, and now he's missing," Niri shook her head as she sipped her beer, "Gotta say, that punk probably deserved whatever he got. That guy was an ass...,"
Siamon sighed quietly, "True, but I don't think he even deserved whatever he got,"
Niri shrugged, "Whatever...so, why are you here?"
"Eh, my crew thought it'd be fun to enter the race," Siamon shrugged, "Though, after hearing the favorites for the race, I'm not so sure it'd be as fun,"
"Why? Who're the favorites?"
"It's not the last two I'm worried about, it's the main favorite this year," Siamon leaned forward, "People may think we're traitors for things, but one of the biggest traitors is here! Captain Gasparde!"
Niri's hand had a spasm so bad, she crushed her mug into pieces, spilling her drink and driving bits of glass into her hands. Cursing, she carefully took each one out and wrapped a white cloth around her hand, "I'll get Kirsty to look at this later. But, anyhoo," she looked up at Siamon, "Gasparde's here?"
Siamon nodded, "From what I hear, he's on the top terrace," he jerked a thumb towards the ceiling, "He's the favorite to win because of The Salamander...," he shook his head, "Betrays the Government, turns pirate, and steals a great ship. That bastard deserves to die in Impel Down,"
"Him and so many others," Niri muttered before turning around, "So where is he, the top terrace?"
"Yeah...wait, what are you doing?"
BOOM
The jug on Azu's head exploded into pieces and the drunken boxer nearly wet himself as Niri holstered her shotgun.
"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" he screamed, "YOU COULD'VE TAKEN MY HEAD OFF!"
"I could've, but didn't," Niri snapped, "C'mon guys, we got to pay a visit to someone,"
Pingu honked and waddled after Niri and the merman while Azu made sure he was in one piece.
"Crazy bitch...," he cracked his neck, "I need a beer...that'll calm me down,"
As he picked up a full mug, another gunshot rang through the air and the glass suddenly burst into shards.
"DAMMIT, NIRI!"
"GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE, AZU!"
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Kilnorc: Well, that one's down. -cracks neck- about one more chapter before the race starts. Hopefully, this was a good chapter. If not, I do apologize.
On the next chapter of Grand Prix...
Axe: Luffy's here?! C'mon, let's go!
Rayo: NICO ROBIN?! What the hell?!
Axe: Oh yeah, about that...hehehe
Niri: So, Gasparde...in the flesh. Bigger than I thought he'd be.
Kirsty: That guy with tattoos next to him is kinda creepin' me out...
Number One Favorite: General Gasparde!
Gasparde: ...big mouthed Rookies...