I'm gonna start putting in a "Coming up" type thing at the bottom ^^
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Flashback
Attack name
Chapter 9
Baratie's Dining Room, the next day
Haruka and Mizu had gone to eat at Baratie for the third time. And again, they ordered the same thing they had before (at a discount, thanks to Mizu's new friend Sanji). Yuka had stayed on the boat.
Haruka had been keeping an eye on the boy with the straw hat. She'd already learned that his name was Luffy, he was a pirate captain, he was headed for the Grand Line, and he wanted Sanji as his chef. Haruka refused to believe she was stalking.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, Haruka got a chance to talk with Luffy. He walked over to a table and sat down, staring at a plate of food. Haruka gulped and walked over.
"Hi." She said. "I'm Haruka." The boy smiled and stood up.
"I'm Luffy!" He exclaimed. "Monkey D. Luffy!" Haruka blushed. The two of them began talking, and eventually Haruka was sitting next to Luffy. "So you're headed to the Grand Line too?" Luffy asked.
"Yup!" Haruka exclaimed. "I've already got a financial assistant—" She turned and pointed to Mizu; Mizu waved. "—and a swordswoman, but she's keeping an eye on our stuff."
"She didn't want to come in?" Luffy asked. Haruka shrugged.
"She's… I dunno." She said. "She seems depressed lately…"
"Well, that's my crew over there." Luffy said, pointing to the orange haired girl, the boy with the long nose, and the green haired man. "That's my swordsman, Roronoa Zoro." He said, pointing at the green haired man.
"Cool." Haruka said. Luffy gave her a large grin.
"Hey," He began, "we should get our crews together!" Luffy laughed. "We can go to the Grand Line together!"
Haruka laughed. "That sounds interesting!" She exclaimed. "But I don't think we'll be able to go all the way together." Luffy frowned.
"I know." He said. "But it'll be fun!" Haruka laughed.
"Yeah." She said. "And we might need all the help we can get…" She paused. "You'd understand if you saw our ship."
Luffy was called back to work a few minutes later, and Haruka returned to her table.
"So?" Mizu asked. "How was it?" Haruka was blushing.
"He's so cool!" She exclaimed. "He wants us to go to the Grand Line together!"
Mizu beamed. "That's great!"
Halfway through their meal, Mizu and Haruka heard glass shatter. A few people were screaming and running around.
"It's Don Krieg's Pirate ship!!" Someone screamed. Both Mizu and Haruka stood up to see what was going on.
Approaching Baratie was a huge, beat up looking ship. It had a ripped up pirate flag with two hourglasses.
"Who's that?" Haruka asked. Mizu gave her a weird look. Suddenly, the doors to the restaurant flew open and the man from a few days before walked in with a huge man limping next to him.
Mizu swallowed hard. Haruka quickly glanced out the window, looking for any sign of Yuka.
The man from days before—Gin—looked panicky. "Excuse us!" He exclaimed. "Could you give us some food and water?! The money is no problem!!"
The large man limping was thin and pale. He looked ready to pass out. And sure enough, the next moment, he was on the ground.
"Captain!" Gin exclaimed, rushing to Krieg's side. "Please! Give him some food!" He shouted. "Please! He'll die!"
No one did anything. Suddenly, the large man that had served Mizu and Haruka before started laughing.
"Impossible!" He exclaimed, "Is this really Don Krieg, the scariest pirate in East Blue?!"
"We have money!" Gin shouted. "So we're your customers!!" The large man turned to a chef.
"Go contact the marines." He said. "There won't be a chance like this again. I won't give him anything!"
A few people in the crowd started cheering. Haruka and Mizu stood quietly among them.
"If he regains his strength, he'll destroy the restaurant." A chef said. "We won't give him even a cup of water."
Suddenly, Don Krieg got on all fours. "If you give me something…" He forced out, "I'll leave peacefully, I promise." He was breathing heavy. "Please!" He suddenly bowed down. Gin panicked.
"Stop it Captain!" He exclaimed. "A great man like you shouldn't bow your head for something like this! Please, this is shameful!"
"Please…" Krieg continued. "Even a tiny piece of food… Anything…"
The large man raised an eyebrow. "Huh?" He said. "You think we'll feel sorry for you?"
Suddenly, Sanji came out of nowhere and aimed a kick at the large man. "Pati, out of the way!" He exclaimed, kicking the man across the room.
Sanji walked up to Gin and handed him a plate and a large bottle. "Give him this." He said. Everyone seemed to be in total shock.
Haruka and Mizu secretly sighed in relief.
"Sanji! Take the rice back!!" A chef called. "Don't you know who he is?! He's the trickiest pirate of East Blue! He's extremely strong! I don't think he'll actually leave peacefully after he's finished! Just let that worthless man die! For the peace of this world!"
Suddenly, Sanji turned and was met by a huge arm. Don Krieg was back on his feet and slammed Sanji with his arm, sending him flying across the restaurant.
Suddenly, Baratie's side doors burst open and Yuka walked in. "What the HELL is going on?!" She exclaimed.
An instant after entering, Yuka was slammed into a wall by Sanji, who had slammed into her the moment the doors closed.
"Yuka!" Haruka exclaimed. Mizu started coughing again and sunk down to her knees. "M-mizu?!" She exclaimed.
"What's the meaning of this?!" Gin shouted. "I took you here because you promised not to hurt anyone!! Besides, he saved my life!!"
Krieg grabbed Gin's arm and squeezed it tight. "This feeling…" He hissed, "it's great!" He laughed. "This is a nice restaurant…" He smiled wickedly. "So I will take it."
Mizu finished coughing and as soon as she stood up, a hand grabbed her by the neck: Don Krieg.
"Mizu!" Haruka shouted. Before she could do anything, a loud roar erupted throughout the restaurant. A HUGE tiger came flying though the restaurant and quickly chomped down on Krieg's hand, and released it even quicker. Mizu fell to the ground and started coughing again, but with no blood.
Krieg yelled and grabbed his hand. "What the hell?!" He shouted. The tiger, which had gone crashing into a table, stood up weakly. Everyone around either gasped or screamed and went running to the walls, trying to get away from the attacking animal.
But instead of attacking, or even turning towards Krieg, the tiger just stood there. Mizu and Haruka just stared at it, like everyone else.
Then suddenly, a few drops of blood dripped off of the tiger's mouth. A few more people started screaming.
"It's tasted blood!" A woman screamed.
But the tiger just stood there, motionless. Finally, its legs began to shake and its breathing got faster. Then suddenly, it moaned loudly and changed. Its orange and black fur began turning into black clothes. Now more people were panicking.
Mizu's eyes widened. 'Kodaigo…!' She thought. Then she remembered what Reach had said the day earlier…
Reach sighed. "I'm sorry about… taking off." He said, trying to change the subject. "It's just… blood—I…"
"Don't you pretty much eat blood when you eat… meat?" Mizu asked. Reach laughed quietly.
"Ironic… isn't it?" He said, looking up at the sky.
He had a fear of blood! And now, it was all over his mouth. Mizu gulped and Haruka helped her to her feet.
Reach, in full human form now, was gasping and breathing heavily. He spotted a bottle of water out of the corner of his eye and lunged at it—much like a tiger would. He knocked the table over and poured the water in his mouth. Then, he quickly spit it back out—near Don Krieg.
Krieg, appalled, barred his teeth and squeezed his hands into fists.
Reach, wiping his mouth off, stood up weakly. He spit out some excess blood—with a dazed look in his eye—and pointed at Don Krieg.
"D…don't…" He forced out. "Don't you ever… put your hands… on her… AGAIN!!"
A woman from the crowd gasped loudly. "That animal that attacked was a man?!" A woman screamed.
"Hey!" Shouted a man, "That's Kodaigo Reach!!"
Reach paid no attention to them. He just stared at Don Krieg, his yellow-gold eye glistening. Then, suddenly, Reach quickly glanced over at Mizu. Don Krieg saw the opportunity as an opening and took it. He swiftly kicked Reach in the chest, sending him flying into a wall, barely missing a few people in the crowd.
"Kodaigo!" Mizu exclaimed. Krieg snorted.
"I have one hundred men on my ship!" He exclaimed. "They're injured and need food, now!" No one moved. "THIS IS AN ORDER!!" Krieg snapped. "Whoever refuses DIES!!"
Yuka, who had stood up earlier, snuck over to Haruka and Mizu, who had somehow gotten in the front of the crowd. Yuka had a cut on the side of her forehead and she had a black eye.
"Are you ok?" Haruka asked. Yuka gently tapped her eye and winced.
"I think…" she said. "That chef's elbow hit my eye… What the hell happened?!"
"That guy—" Haruka began, pointing at Krieg, "—barged in here, Sanji—" she pointed at the blond boy who was just now getting up, "—gave him some food, then Krieg smacked into him and sent him flying into you." She paused. "Oh yeah, and the tiger came in and got his ass kicked too."
Mizu looked for Reach among the debris and dust. She knew he was weak, so why would he come?
Sanji started heading for the kitchen. Pati screamed. "OI! SANJI!! This is your fault! Where are you going?!"
Sanji turned. "To the kitchen." He said. "I've gotta make food for a hundred people."
Suddenly, a loud cough came from one of the walls. Reach stood up and stumbled out of the dust. Sanji sighed.
"A hundred and one people." He corrected.
Reach smiled, his eyes closed.
"That's the best decision." Krieg said. A few chefs pulled out pistols and pointed them at Sanji.
"We won't let you in the kitchen!" One chef exclaimed. Sanji raised his hands in the air and smiled.
"What're you waiting for?" He said. "Go ahead and shoot." He sighed. "I know these people are bad, but it's none of my business. When I give people food, I don't want to think about the consequences that will occur." He paused. "For a chef, if there are people hungry, then he must cook for them!"
Suddenly, Pati jumped up and slammed Sanji in the back, knocking him out. "Tie him up!" Pati exclaimed.
Krieg was staring, narrow-eyed, at Reach, who still had his eyes closed. He looked like he was asleep. Krieg walked over and stood right in front of him. Reach's eye slowly opened; the first and last thing he saw in that instant was a giant fist flying towards his face. Reach barred his teeth, wide-eyed, and stepped back, but it was too late. Krieg's fist slammed into Reach's face and sent him flying back into the wall.
Suddenly, Pati appeared with a giant canon looking weapon.
"After the meal, why don't you have some dessert?!" He exclaimed. "Syrup Canon!!" A huge blast erupted from the canon and went flying straight at Krieg. Weakly, Reach was able to stand up, but as soon as he regained his eyesight, he found a giant canon ball hurling towards him.
'Damnit!' Reach thought, tripping and literally dropping back down onto the floor. He quickly jumped up, merely sidestepped—despite his condition—and fell back onto the floor.
"This must be a joke!" Krieg exclaimed. The blast hit Krieg directly. He went flying through the door and slammed into the railing.
"I broke the door?" Pati said. "Honor's gonna be so upset…"
Suddenly, laughter snapped everyone's attentions back to the door. Krieg was back on his feet. He had solid gold armor on and he was completely unscathed.
"You're dessert tastes terrible." He said. Reach growled and stood up again. Haruka noticed his legs shaking.
Krieg looked down at him and growled back. He was wearing solid gold armor.
"It's just armor!" Pati exclaimed. "Everyone get him!" Suddenly, a few gun looking flaps appeared out of Krieg's armor.
"LOOK OUT!" Haruka screamed. But it was too late; bullets shot out of Krieg's armor and hit the chefs directly. Mizu looked away as blood splattered the floor. From the other side of the room, Reach closed his eye shakily.
"Don't ever try to go against me, weaklings!" Krieg shouted. "I am the strongest man alive, remember that!" He took a deep breath. "I have five-thousand ships at my command! I ALWAYS win!! When I order you to cook, you COOK!! Whoever doesn't follow my order—!!"
"Krieg!" A voice shouted from outside the restaurant. Reach suddenly stiffened up, his teeth barred, eyes wide, and he was sweating. "Give it a rest…"
In walked a man in an open red jacket, and dark red pants. He had greenish-blue hair tied in a ponytail under a red helmet looking hat. Reach's breathing became fast and broken. He turned and came face to face with the red man.
"Hello Reach." The man said.
"Gikushaku…" Reach whispered, his voice panicky. The man—Gikushaku—smiled.
He walked up to Reach, shaking his head. "Honestly, Reach." He said, hissing Reach's name. "I thought you'd be able to do better than this."
Gikushaku looked out among the crowd. He spotted the small puddle of blood by Krieg and then spotted Mizu. He laughed.
"What's… so funny?" Reach hissed. Gikushaku turned to him, narrow-eyed.
"You're still unwilling to make sacrifices to get ahead, I see." He said. "You coulda just killed her and gotten out of here. But you had to stick around and apologize. Hah!"
Mizu barred her teeth together and squeezed her hands into fists. Her heart began racing. Whoever this guy was, Reach was beginning to show signs of panic. Like he was ready to snap.
"But seriously," Gikushaku began, turning his back on Reach and walking away. Reach just stood there.
'He looks like he's trying to hold himself back…" Yuka thought.
'Why don't you just attack?!' Mizu thought. Reach's whole body was shaking.
Gikushaku turned around and walked back hastily. Reach said nothing. Gikushaku frowned. "What's wrong, Reach?! You're not up to a good fight?!" Reach still said nothing; Gikushaku laughed and grabbed Reach's collar. "You're about as pathetic now as you were back then!"
"You know nothing about me." Reach said calmly. The man lifted Reach's collar to chin level.
"You know..." He whispered, "The master's getting tired of waiting for you..." He smiled. Reach raised an eyebrow. "He's relocated, baka." Gikushaku continued. "He found a new facility to continue his... research."
Hearing this, Reach's eye widened and his muscles tensioned more. But still he remained silent.
Gikushaku laughed. "Of course, he can't find many new test subjects... so he's been settling with what he has on hand... documents and crap like that..." He paused, smiling evilly. Reach was watching him with narrowed eyes.
"Why should I care?" Reach said calmly. But there was a hint of anger in his voice. "I'm still going to kill him, research or not."
Gikushaku laughed. "Really?" He said, laughing. "Well, I hope you know he's tired of tracking you down. So he's been waiting for you... to come to him."
"And is that what you're doing here?" Reach asked. "Being his messenger boy?"
Gikushaku snorted. "Shut the hell up, you freak." He said. Reach's lip curled, revealing one of his fangs. "This was only a side job he's making me do."
"And what are you really out here for?" Reach asked. Gikushaku ignored him.
"He knew you wouldn't come quickly without a reason..." He continued.
"That's one thing that asshole and I can agree on." Reach whispered. Gikushaku smiled.
"So he wanted me to tell you..." He smirked. "'She'll only live if you come to me'."
Realization hit Reach like a ten-ton bus. His eyes widened and now both fangs were showing from behind his lips. Reach's eyes lit up with anger and shock.
Gikushaku, noticing this, laughed. "Better get to it!" He exclaimed, forcefully throwing Reach back and punched him in the face, sending him flying into a wall. "We can't keep this up forever!!"
Coming Up in Future Chapters:
Reach is reunited with an old enemy! How will he get out of this one, especially when he and his opponent used to "get along"?
Mizu struggles with her heart… in more ways than one! When all hell brakes loose in Baratie, what will she do?
Haruka and Luffy fight together for the first time. But they seem to fight more than attack! Using heat on metal isn't the best strategy, and Luffy learns the hard way.
Yuka's heart is torn. On one hand, reveal herself and risk an epic fight. On the other hand, if she doesn't it could mean certain death for the man who's been tracking her down for years.
STAY TUNED AND REVIEW!!