Ohgodohgodohgod. I missed an update… *tips over* I swear it wasn't my fault! I had the entire chapter typed out, and I went to my dad to ask for some internet time yesterday! (Yeah, I'm grounded from the computer's internet and I have to ask for time.) But he wouldn't give me any! Probably with good reason though… He was kinda pissed and confused about how I could spend the whole week on Microsoft Word and not get my report done. At all. I was all eh heh… Oo;;
But lookit! TEN THOUSAND WORDS! ARE YOU AS EXCITED AS ME OVER THIS? 10,000 words is where I draw the line, yo. Now if only there weren't 3,000 words in the Author's Note… I'll work on that. I mean I need 10,000 words in the story itself. AN shouldn't count.
Happy Easter! If you don't celebrate Easter, happy April! Thus begins the Shimotsuki Arc! (because I can't find a name for the island Shell Town is on for the life of me) :D I guarantee there will be a bit more action in this actually fairly short arc, including the prelude to a very special (at least to me) arc, which actually has one of my favorite non-Strawhat characters by Oda-sensei! And he's someone that I haven't seen on this site. Ever. So I'm making a whole arc dedicated to him~! He may not be important, he may be someone not to be taken to such a degree, you guys may think me stupid for doing so, but he's coming anyway! And the next arc will be longer, and much more exciting. Technically, this arc is so short in comparison and so related it could be considered part of the next arc, but then I wouldn't tell you the name, because that would ruin the surprise!
So apparently the last chapter wasn't too rushed, despite every fiber of my being screaming at me that it was very much so. I trust you guys, you know. If not letting me know about me being rushed is some kind of April Fools joke, I guarantee it isn't funny.
But I do need you guys to let me know about something I'm doing wrong! Anything at all! I want to do the best I can and improve with this story, so don't hold anything back! If I'm not giving one of the characters enough screen time, let me know! If one of the characters seems OOC, let me know! If Lin is developing any Mary Sue like qualities, for the love of cheese, PLEASE let me know! It all really depends on feedback from you guys! I realize that everyone seems to have their own opinion of what is or isn't a Mary Sue, but I'd like to know if Lin draws any red flags from you!
I just barely escaped with my story intact in this week's weekly manga! Good ol' Shanks, he made sure that he didn't contradict my story at all! And the whole Ace thing… He made it less hurtful. So it's kind of official that Ace won't be alive in this story, and I'm brought out of my denial at last. Ace is dead! I miss him so! TT And I have no comment on the end of the Whitebeard War. At all. Except for that.
I can't get the song 'Cod Liver Oil' out of my head. Plus when I was looking at CDs I listened to 'Sonny's Dream' and I was all O3o;; Usopp? You had a song written about you? And on the same CD was the song 'Maid on the Shore'… So Nami. And 'Harbor Le Cou'. I lol'd at that, for I immediately thought of Sanji. :D When I got to the songs 'When I Am King' and 'Drunken Sailor' I just kind of pulled a blank face and bought the whole CD. Creepy things happen to me.
This week's semi-advertisement semi-credit corner features 'Fate in Piracy' by ImmortalRoseOfTheThorns, 'From the Inside' by IzumiTheMoogle, and 'Endgame: All Blue in Seven Courses' by Penniless1. Why three this week? Because I read three 'inspire me to write' fics this week, of course! :D
Thanks to TwilightFever-FutureCullen for showing me 'Fate in Piracy', the story of Kisaki Soul and her own adventures as a Mugiwara. I do love these stories, in case you haven't noticed, and then you couple that with the fact that Soul is actually one of those few OCs that knows absolutely nothing about One Piece. Nada. Zip. Zilch. And without a devil fruit! Have you ever heard of anything so- *pauses, then turns and shoves Horizons in closet* -so death defying, so daring, so reckless! But ImmortalRoseOfTheThorns pulls it off so well, and with the adorable pairing of ZoroxOC, this story is a great read! Because I'm just a fan of that, even if I could never hope to accomplish it. :C
'From the Inside' is amazing. Absolutely amazing. The story of Zoro who, in one of his usual bouts of 'saving the crew', takes a little dart for Luffy. A poisonous dart combined with liquid sea stone. His nakama race against the clock for a cure, each showing just how much they need the grass head in their own way. IzumiTheMoogle balances the perfect amount of angst with that amazing nakamaship that we don't see often enough! I usually get in a bad mood after reading angst stories (heaven knows why I go looking for them regardless) but this story managed to beautifully portray the perfect amount of each category with the crew being In Character and Zoro being… Well, Zoro. That same Zoro who would do anything for his crew, and this story portrays how they would do anything right back. Warmed my heart, I tell you! x333
'Endgame: All Blue in Seven Courses'. Oh, where do I begin? This is a post-Raftel novel that is pure WIN. The story starts about five years after Luffy becomes the Pirate King, as we enter his wedding to Nami on Sanji's restaurant. The story goes right into the heart of a fantastic plot and conspiracy that slowly unravels as the previous villains return for revenge and allies old and new gather. Bringing together the unlikeliest characters in the unlikeliest ways, this story is guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat as it goes to extraordinary lengths with the plot. I can't describe it properly, so you have to see for yourself! Featuring LuffyxNami, UsoppxKaya, FrankyxRobin, ZoroxTashigi, and SanjixBonney (as in JEWELRY Bonney, the Supernova!) Chopper and Brooke are just two good-natured bachelors. :D
On a serious note, Sayonara Yasashii Akumu brought up a good point about the length of this story. I'm personally a fan of a good, long story. But the main issue is how long I'll go on updating this story, as those who looked back would see that any other multi-chapter story I've started in the past I never finished. I have plenty of excuses; such as how I started the two in a last ditch attempt to keep my interest in Danny Phantom alive, even when his show ended (plus I loved the idea of Kim and Danny meeting, but then when they actually met I was all 'now what'). But it is a worry of mine about how long I'll be working on this. Obviously, my chapters are getting longer and longer with each update. So with the number of overall chapters slowly decreasing, I should finish this within the year. Should. With the occasional double update for special occasions (based on me, as I realize I missed Usopp's birthday but still love him :D ). Personally, I think I've been going on with this story for so long already because of a key thing my previous stories never had.
PLANNING.*lightning flashes, thunder crashes*
Yeah, that's right. I never planned for how I was going to end Fenton Files. I only came up with the bad guy somewhere in the middle of chapter six! And even then I kept bouncing back and forth. But this story… I've got the whole main overtones worked out. I've got a profile for my main villain, and a whole other group I'm working with. I just keep getting stuck on the little details in between, but SilverStar94 helps me with those and it works out. :D Did I mention thank you? In like, every chapter? Cuz I mean it!
Admittedly, I only planned for the East Blue and the next part, which is why I'm ending Horizons at the beginning of the Grand Line and just making a sequel to continue.
So basically, I'll make a bunch of sagas and a new story for each one. The next saga is going to be fun~! I'd tell you what it's called now, but I'd be giving away too much by that alone! I'll put in some foreshadowing somewhere in the middle of Horizons, and I've got some really weird ideas that I have yet to see on this site and I think will definitely work out! If I plan carefully, that is. BUT I'M SO EXCITED TO TYPE THEM. xDDD
But the point is I'm focusing on each chapter one week at a time. Thinking about the future of this story depresses me, oddly enough, so one chapter at a time, and hopefully it will work out. :D Plus my deranged teenage mind takes writing this story as a ninja challenge, both the writing and the attempts to hide it even when grounded, and I do so love ninjas. Even if using said ninja skillz to write a pirate story. Go figure.
Don't own One Piece. Don't own Pokémon. Don't own Pika… Well, the only things I own are this plot and Lin. And I still question that, because someone else had to think of a post-Raftel self-insert (with the Strawhat crew still adventuring, of course)… Right? I CAN'T BE THE ONLY ONE!
A bit of warning, this chapter contains many, many shameless theories and states many things that are most likely inaccurate. Physics, swordplay, pokémon professors, pokéballs, and magnetism are not my forte. If you are offended, I apologize. If you want to correct me… Be my guest. I wouldn't mind knowing how they actually go. My only internet access this week came from my DSi, and maps of the ship are virtually impossible to view properly on those tiny screens. Sorry!
"Madness is rare in individuals-but in groups, political parties, nations, and eras it's the rule."
~Friedrich Nietzsche
They had only been out of sight of the island for a few minutes when another ship appeared. A very specific marine ship; Lin recognized the dog figurehead immediately.
As if there wasn't enough evidence of whom it was, Garp himself appeared on the deck, a maniacal grin on his face.
"So, you trying to leave without saying goodbye to your grandfather? Ungrateful brat!" He shouted. Luffy took one look behind him and blinked rapidly, before his face quickly grew bored.
"Oh, it's Gramps." Garp seemed to hear from all the way on his ship, and he began roaring
"DAMN RIGHT IT'S GRAMPS, BOY! I CAME ALL THIS WAY TO VISIT AND YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE THE DECENCY TO SHOW ANY RESPECT!" Coby and Helmeppo appeared on deck with him and began waving frantically at him as he began rummaging around for something.
"G-Garp-san! Please don't do this!" Lin's jaw dropped as Garp pulled out a gigantic cannonball, which was attached to a chain about as big around as Garp himself. Garp hefted the cannonball onto his shoulder and Lin began twitching.
"B-Big…" Nami gave a start at the sight of it.
"Shit! And he's coming from the west, too! Brooke!" She shouted down to the crew. "We need to turn to the south-by-south-west! And Franky! Get the Coup De Burst ready!" She turned and looked at Lin, who was staring at Garp as he swung around the cannonball like a flail.
"S-So big…" Nami swore, then called back.
"Robin! Grab hold of Lin! And Lin!" Lin twitched her blank gaze to Nami. "Hold on tight to Pika!" Lin dimly registered her snatching Pika, who was in a similar state of awe at Garp, and squeezing her tightly. Franky rushed out of the hold, giving a thumbs up to Nami.
"All right! The Burst should be ready in five…" Garp gave a final swing of the chain.
"Four…" He released the cannonball, and it sailed towards the Thousand Sunny.
"Three…" The cannonball began to blot out the sun from where Lin was standing.
"Two…" Hands sprouted from the wall beside Lin and snatched her, keeping a tight hold.
"What the-?"
"One…" The cannonball was just about to hit the ship…
"COUP DE BURST!" The ship flew into the sky as the cannonball landed in the now empty sea with a colossal splash. Lin kept a tight grip on Pika and the arms took a tight hold on her. The ship seemed to almost hover in midair before gravity took hold and they began falling. Lin began screaming; it was a lot like a roller coaster.
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" She could just hear the crew laughing behind her as the ship fell into the water with a splash.
Garp's ship was no where in sight when the waves had calmed, and Lin carefully sat on the deck as the arms vanished. She immediately passed out. Pika, who Lin was still clinging to, was unable to breath due to Lin's vice grip and passed out as well. Luffy soon ran up to the back deck, grinning.
"All right! Now that Gramps is gone, we can- Eh? What's wrong?" Robin walked on to the deck as well, smiling slightly. "Nah, Robin? What's wrong with them? Are they sick?" Chopper looked up from the deck at the word.
"Sick? What happened?" He ran up to them in a frenzy. Robin smiled at the little doctor.
"They have simply passed out. Although Pika-chan seems to be slowly suffocating to death." Chopper's jaw dropped.
"EHHH?" Nami looked up at the noise and sighed over the chart she was looking over.
"Sanity will only get you killed on this ship."
"Yosh! Now that everyone's better, we can start!" Everyone was gathered in the middle of the deck, Luffy in the middle. Pika was fully recovered and resting on Lin's head, who had also recovered (although there was still the question of post-traumatic stress). Lin looked at Luffy curiously.
"Start what?" Luffy stared at her as though she was crazy.
"The kenpai! Are you stupid or something?" Lin slapped her forehead as Nami stepped up to Luffy.
"Now hold on, Luffy! We just had a kenpai! We'll most likely have more kenpais at our own hometowns!" Luffy began whining.
"But we need a kenpai for our new nakama!" A fist slammed him into the deck.
"No! Right now we need to talk about the delay your grandpa has caused! Then we need to acquaint Lin with the ship and routine!" She turned to the crew, who stood silently at the look in her eye. Nami looked at Lin first.
"Right now, we're heading to Shell Town, where we will walk to Shimotsuki Village, which is Zoro's hometown! But because of the fact we had to change course, it will most likely take the entire day instead of only a few hours like we planned." Zoro grumbled.
"Couldn't we head there from another town…?" Robin looked at Zoro curiously.
"Why do you not want to go to Shell Town, Swordsman-san? When were you there last?" Lin knew immediately what they were talking about. She could also guess why Zoro didn't want them to go to Shell Town; but she reminded herself to not let on anything. Zoro looked away from Robin. "I'm just saying it isn't the best idea to head to the same place as Luffy's grandpa when we just got away from him, that's all." Usopp looked at Zoro oddly.
"How do you know that he's heading there?" Luffy answered.
"Because we left Coby in Shell Town when Zoro joined the crew! Coby probably wants to visit the marines that let him join!" Brooke looked at Zoro.
"So that's when you joined the crew… I couldn't find anything about that in the crew's log book, and I was most curious!" Zoro looked distinctly uncomfortable at the attention. Luffy continued.
"Besides, that little kid makes really good onigiri! Zoro liked it so much, he ate it off the ground!" Luffy laughed as the entire crew stared at Zoro, who glowered at Luffy. Lin slapped her forehead, being the only other one who knew what really happened. 'It sounds so wrong when you put it that way… Not nearly as cool as it really was.'
Sanji smirked at Zoro. "What's the matter, marimo? Were you so poor back then you couldn't get a decent meal?" A vein throbbed in Zoro's forehead, but he only growled at Sanji and walked away stiffly. Sanji eyed him oddly, but then shrugged and left to prepare lunch. Nami sighed as the rest of the crew dispersed to their own activities.
"That could have gone wrong in so many ways. Come on, Lin. Let's take a tour."
"… And this is the girl's cabin. You can have the hammock over there until we can get Franky to build you your own bed." Lin looked around, amazed at the room. It was obvious that the room was kept clean, and she absentmindedly set down her backpack on the indicated hammock. Nami looked at the backpack curiously.
"I thought that you didn't plan for a trip. What's with the backpack, anyway?" Lin blinked at Nami.
"I was in school." Nami gave her a blank look and Lin remembered Asuka's reaction to the word.
"Where I come from, people go to classes five days a week, nine months a year. You start when you're about five years old and you go to school for twelve years, sometimes more." Nami stared at Lin as though she grown a second head.
"Are you insane? What could you possibly learn over a period of twelve years?" Lin shrugged.
"Math, reading, writing, history, science, to name a few. The backpack is to carry all of my supplies; books and paper and such." Nami shook her head incredulously.
"People must be insane geniuses where you come from…" Lin snorted.
"As if. If there's one thing that people learn their first day at school, it's that you can stare at a lecturing teacher for eight hours a day and not learn a single thing. You can repeat the process for years, and no one will suspect a thing." Nami stared at Lin.
"… Right… But if you have books, you can take them to our library." Lin perked up.
"You guys have a library?" Nami nodded.
"It's the last place I have to show you. Follow me, and bring any books!" Lin walked over to her backpack and looked inside. Yep, lots of books. She just decided to bring the whole backpack. Following Nami to another section of the ship, she suddenly seemed to notice the absence of weight on her head.
"Eh? Where'd Pika go?" Nami looked at Lin oddly.
"You just noticed? I think she went with Chopper somewhere." Lin made a small 'o' with her mouth, then silenced herself as Nami opened another door. She looked inside incredulously.
Books. Everywhere. The room was a giant circle, with a long bench hugging the wall all around. In between each window was a book shelf lined with books. Lin noticed a circular desk in the middle and a ladder leading up. Nami pointed each out.
"This is the library, where the entire crew (except for Luffy) keeps their books. The desk is where I make my maps, and the ladder leads to the bathhouse. I need to go check on our course for a minute, so you can look around here while I'm gone." She walked out the door, leaving Lin to stare incredulously at the room.
"Impressive, isn't it?" Lin jumped and turned to see Robin sitting on the bench, looking for all the world like she had been there the whole time. Lin stared at her.
"How did you do that?"
"Do what?" Lin thought that Robin knew damn well 'what', but kept it to herself as she took off her backpack and set it on the bench nearby. She opened it and suddenly froze upon realizing something.
The One Piece volume from the library was still in there.
"Oh, did you have some books?" Lin whirled to see Robin simply standing a few feet away, regarding her backpack with curiosity. Lin stuttered.
"Y-Yeah. Just… give me a second." Hastily pulling out every other book (and consequently burying the One Piece book under her notebooks) she paused upon pulling out the Batman book she had recently checked out.
"… Oh. Shit."
"What's the matter, Lin-san?" Lin held up the Batman book.
"This is a popular book. How am I supposed to return it to the library now? I bet someone's already called and reserved it… It was a miracle I managed to get it." Lin sighed. "Oh well, at least there's plenty of time for me to read it now." She gathered all of the books into a pile, then paused.
"… Robin?"
"Yes, Lin-san?"
"Where should I put these?" Robin looked them over.
"You may simply leave them there; I wouldn't mind looking at them myself. But who is 'Batman'?" Lin grinned enthusiastically.
"Batman is a superhero. By day, he's the rich and fun Bruce Wayne, Gotham City's White Knight; loved by all of the people. But at night…" Lin took on a creepy grin. "He roams the city and uses his amazing ninja skills and badass cape to take out criminals, dodge the law, and defeat his enemies. No one knows that they're the same people, and no one ever suspects!" Robin regarded the odd look on Lin's face for a minute, then simply stated
"Long-nose-kun may enjoy such stories. You may want to show him that sometime." Nami walked in and saw Lin holding up her Batman book, still having that creepy smile on her face. She sweat dropped.
"Okay…?" Lin shook herself, putting down the book immediately.
"Sorry." Nami simply motioned for Lin to follow her as she led her out onto the deck. Turning, she stated
"So there's another thing that we need to resolve. Fighting." Lin made a face. "I'm guessing Zoro was right, but you need to be even a little helpful in a fight against the marines. What style do you use?" Lin sighed, but Nami was right. She needed to be helpful, even if only a little. But there was a little problem…
"It's a modified version of Kung Fu." Nami nodded.
"How does it work?" Lin sighed.
"Some people call it the lazy man's technique. It incorporates the term 'Minimum effort, maximum effect.' For example," Lin grabbed her own hand. "If someone was to rush me, instead of pushing them back I would instead grab them and use their own weight against them to… Say… Break their arm. Or jab their throat so hard that they'll be unable to breath. Whichever works. The point is to hit them in all the right places so they go down faster and harder." Nami sweat dropped. Lin paused.
"But it really is meant more for one on one. I… haven't learned how to effectively use it against groups… I just got my green belt a few months ago!" Nami nodded firmly, taking Lin's arm.
"Right, come on then. I think you need a weapon."
Brooke paused in his music and Zoro carefully set down his weights as they both stared incredulously at the three. Zoro spoke up first.
"You want us to what now?" They were all in the Crow's Nest; Nami was standing in front of Lin and Usopp, who seemed to be almost hiding behind Nami. Although Lin was more staring at the weight that was previously in Zoro's hand. How did the ship not sink with that thing? Nami began to explain to Zoro, interrupting Lin's musings of the laws of physics.
"I need you two to teach Lin to use a sword. It doesn't have to be professional; it just needs to be basic." Zoro immediately protested.
"Why us? Why not anyone else?" Nami glared at his resistance.
"Chopper, Luffy, and Robin rely on their unique devil fruits to fight. Franky, Usopp, and I all use specialized weapons to fight! You two are the only ones that use regular weapons! And Sanji..." Lin grumbled to herself.
"Sanji won't teach me anything." Nami sighed.
"Sanji-kun's chivalrous, Lin. It's rare, but he really does just care." Zoro cleared his throat. Brooke had officially established that if Zoro went down, he would go down. And he trusted Zoro to argue enough for the both of them, so he picked up his violin and continued his playing.
"Why can't Usopp just make her a weapon too, then?" Usopp interrupted at this point, albeit quivering slightly.
"They already asked me to. But I can only make weapons based on a basic weapon fighting style. And Lin, apparently, was taught a bit of kendo." Lin shrugged as Zoro turned to her.
"When you get to be a green belt, you get to pick a weapon of choice. I chose a sword. I barely learned the basics though…" Nami gazed at Zoro steely.
"And if you two do this, I'll decrease your debt by ten thousand beri." Zoro snorted.
"That's barely even half of a percent, witch." Nami shrugged.
"It's a start. You really should focus on that debt, you know. All the swordsmanship skills in the world and you can't even pay off one measly little debt." Nami smirked at the look on Zoro's face. "Besides, the faster Lin learns, the more opportunities you'll have to pay off more debt. And if she learns from the Greatest Swordsman in the World, she'll pick it up just fine." Zoro sighed in defeat.
"…How long?" Usopp took on a professional tone as Nami left, satisfied her work was done.
"I already have some ideas for weapons, but they all revolve around two-sword style. Can you teach her that?" Zoro gave him a look and he gave an odd little 'eep' noise. "… Please?" Zoro scoffed.
"Fine. I'll need three shinai." Usopp looked at him blankly.
"… What's a shinai?" But at one look from Zoro he was sent scurrying down the ladder after Nami, leaving Lin to stand there awkwardly.
"… Hi?"
Usopp came up about ten minutes later, carrying a bundle in front of him. He proudly revealed the bundle to be three new looking bamboo swords, two of them shorter than the third, which was about the size of a regular katana. When Zoro questioned the length, Usopp only replied
"The weapon will be shorter than a regular katana, so I figured it's best if she learned with shorter shinai, which" Usopp interjected heatedly, "I had to interrupt Robin to find out what it meant, let alone how to make it. And she was in the middle of some new history book, so there was this creepy vibe around her the whole time!" Usopp shivered.
Zoro simply shrugged, "Thanks, Usopp." then handed the two shorter shinai to Lin and the longer one to Brooke. Usopp watched curiously.
"You aren't going to spar her yourself?" Lin appeared startled.
"Spar?" Zoro ignored her.
"I'd kill her." There was a bit of an awkward silence. Usopp broke it first.
"…Right. I think I'll leave to go work on the new weapon. Good luck Lin!" He was down the ladder and off the deck before she could put in a word. She looked at Zoro nervously.
"Spar?" Zoro gave her a look.
"You will spar Brooke here, and I'll tell you how to improve. It's how I learned."
"By sparring someone you could never hope to compete with and having someone stand off to the side and tell you what you did to nearly get yourself killed?" Zoro shrugged, moving so that he gave Brooke a bit of perimeter.
"Something like that." Lin mentally slapped herself as she played her words over in her head. Brooke gave the shinai a few experimental swings, then gave Zoro a salute.
"I shall do my best, Zoro-san!" Zoro snorted.
"Just keep your speed down." Even so, when Brooke first rushed Lin it seemed to her to be at the speed of lightning.
Pika was in the kitchen with Chopper and Sanji. Sanji was making lunch and technically not a part of the little discussion that the other two were having, but he was there nonetheless. And it wasn't much of a discussion in his eyes, either. It was more of a 'Chopper asking questions and being satisfied with the weird noises the mouse made'.
"So what's the strongest attack you have?"
"Pika pikachu."
"Whoa, really? That's so cool! Is there a downside?"
"Pikapi."
"… Oh. That's not good. Have you ever tried it?"
"Pi. Pikachu pika, pika."
"Well, that's good. Does she know about it?"
"Pika pika pikachu."
"Really? Then she must, right?" Sanji couldn't take it anymore. He whirled around, pan in hand, and demanded
"What the hell are you two talking about?" Chopper appeared startled.
"W-We were just talking about Pika's strongest attacks…" Sanji looked at Chopper curiously.
"Strongest?" Chopper nodded, eager to appease the chef.
"Pika says it's called a Volt Tackle. But it's life-threatening because she overrides her voltage storage and spreads the energy to the parts of her body that are susceptible to damage by electricity. I was wondering if Lin ever made her do it." Sanji almost kicked the small reindeer for such a question.
"As if Lin-chan could ever ask such a thing of anyone~!" Chopper nodded frantically in agreement.
"I was only curious! Pika said she didn't, and apparently trainers always know about a pikachu's signature attack." Sanji stopped his noodling.
"Trainers?"
"Yeah. Where Pika's from, the one who captures pokémon is a trainer, and they teach pokémon how to fight." Sanji seemed confused.
"So, Lin-chan teaches the little mouse how to fight while the marimo still has to teach Lin-chan?" Chopper and Pika exchanged a glance.
"Zoro's teaching Lin how to fight?" Sanji snorted.
"If you'd pay attention to all of the shitty racket going on, you would have gone to investigate yourself a long time ago. Shitty skeleton not respecting a lady…" He grumbled as he turned back to the stove. When Chopper and Pika tilted their heads to the side, a series of whaps sounded from above. But Sanji wouldn't be able to hear-
CRASH!
Oh.
"Straighten your wrists more and learn to pivot properly. Keep your back straight!" Lin nodded, focusing on Brooke. Brooke looked for all the world like an undead gentleman, not a crease out of place on his suit; like he hadn't been beating the crap out of Lin with the harmless looking stick of bamboo just a minute ago. He bowed to Lin.
"My apologies, Lin-san. But perhaps later you can show me your panties?" Lin gave him a look. Zoro rolled his eyes.
"Less talking, more sparring." Brooke merely bowed again and attacked Lin.
Zoro watched them carefully. Lin was indeed a fighter as he suspected, being both conservative in her movements and perhaps a bit faster than he anticipated (even if it meant nothing to him or Brooke or any real fighter on the Grand Line, he was sure that there were maybe a few enemies in East Blue that may appreciate her speed) and she had definitely learned the basics of using momentum to deal effective strikes. But she was not ambidextrous at all, as is usually the case when learning two sword style.
While Lin seemed to understand that Brooke always attacked from the same spot and could pull up her left shinai, she apparently wasn't left-handed and her defense would often fail in the face of Brooke's strength. She didn't seem to have much arm strength at all. If she attempted to block with her right shinai, her defense would go a bit better, but her uncoordinated left counter attack would be inadequate and weak, and Brooke would easily block it.
While Brooke would easily block any strike Lin could come up with, she should at least be able to properly counter. And both attacking and defending was made nearly impossible with her left hand, mostly because of the fact that she wouldn't properly hold the shinai with her left hand. She had just backed away with another welt on her arm when she heard someone coming up the ladder. She turned to the hatch as it opened and a little face popped up.
"Pika?" Lin blinked.
"Pika? What are you doing here?" Pika gave a little leap and was inside, looking around curiously. A pink top hat soon followed, and Chopper clambered into the nest after her. He straightened up as he looked at Lin.
"Eh? Lin? What happened?" Lin was covered in welts all over her arms (and a few on her head), having taken off her jacket a while ago. Lin shrugged, wincing only slightly as it disturbed her injuries.
"Just a bit of sparring. What's up?" Chopper looked ready to protest that Lin looked a bit like a pink balloon, but sighed, knowing that Zoro knew what he was doing. He instead stated
"We were coming up to see what the noise was." Lin winced and looked to where she had tripped over Brooke himself when she had forgotten herself and attempted to maneuver too close. She had crashed into a (what Zoro had declared) 'small' set of weights which looked and sounded as though they would go right through the floor when they made contact. Pika looked at the weights curiously as Chopper continued.
"Plus I was kind of curious about something." Lin looked over at Zoro, who nodded at Brooke. Brooke set down the shinai and took up his tea as Lin set down her own shinai.
"What's up?" Chopper didn't seem sure about how to ask.
"Well… I was wondering… You're a pokémon trainer, right?" Lin shrugged.
"More or less. In theory, I suppose. Why?" Chopper fiddled with his hooves.
"So what does that mean for Pika? We were talking about Pika's attacks…" Lin sat next to Chopper.
"You're asking how a pokémon trainer does things?" Chopper nodded. "It's kind of complicated. A lot of the rules are kind of sketchy and really only apply to battling other trainers or pokémon. They wouldn't work here. But the concept is fairly simple." She indicated Pika, who was looking around at the weights with awe.
"In a rule-following battle, it's actually more like a game. The trainer tells the pokémon which moves to use and how to use them. It's usually one on one, but the trainer never really does anything but tell them what to do. And, of course, tell them when to quit and switch out pokémon. Usually a trainer has up to six pokémon with them, and they store all of the others somewhere else." Chopper looked at Lin incredulously.
"Store? They don't even use them?" Lin nodded.
"Yeah. That's why the pokéballs are so handy. They convert the pokémon into a coma-like state. It's as if no time has passed at all when you take them out. Some pokémon don't like it, though. So there are a few trainers that like to keep them out all the time and only use the pokéballs for emergencies." Chopper nodded eagerly.
"Like you?" Lin smiled.
"Yeah, like me. I'm not sure myself if Pika minds the pokéball, but she's fun to have around." Chopper nodded, but then looked down.
"I'm… not sure if I'd like that place… But what about the attacks? A pikachu's attacks?" Lin hmmed to herself.
"Pikachus are popular among trainers, but they're also fairly rare. They actually have a signature move called Volt Tackle. It's extremely powerful and can easily win a fight." Chopper looked at Lin, startled. "But it's life-threatening, and not many pikachus live through it. It's a final attack, because even if they do live, it's completely draining. I hope Pika never has to use it." Lin looked out the window thoughtfully as Chopper sighed in relief. Lin looked at Chopper knowingly.
"Pika told you about that, didn't she?" Chopper nodded sheepishly. "Don't worry. I would never ask Pika to do something like that." Lin watched Pika attempt to balance on the weights, thoroughly enjoying herself. Chopper smiled in satisfaction as Zoro walked up to them. He turned to Chopper.
"Oi, Chopper. You got any bandages?" Chopper nodded in confusion; Zoro would never ask for bandages if he was hurt, and no one else seemed too injured. "Let me have some."
Lin looked at Zoro in confusion as Chopper handed him a roll of bandages from his little backpack. Chopper seemed just as lost as she was. "You know how to tie them, right? What do you need them for?" Zoro turned to Lin, nodding at the shinai on the ground. Lin picked them up as Zoro began unrolling the roll.
"Lin has issues with keeping a good, proper hold on her shinai. That would be a problem in battle, and it's a problem in sparring." Before Lin could blink, Zoro had completely tied her hands to the handles of her shinai, almost cutting off her circulation.
"Eh?" Lin tried to wiggle her hands, but found that even her wrists could only pivot from side to side, instead of up or down. Jeez, he tied a good knot. Zoro walked back to his observatory spot and nodded to Brooke, who gently set down his tea and picked up his own shinai.
"Ready, Lin-san?" Lin attempted a few swings with the binding and nodded, then suddenly giggled as something occurred to her.
"Yes… Onigiri-sensei." Lin guffawed and clutched her stomach rather awkwardly as the group looked at her oddly. She waved a shinai at them. "It's a reference you wouldn't get. Okay, I'm ready." There were still a few blank looks, but otherwise Brooke attacked as usual.
This time, when Lin blocked Brooke's first strike with her left hand, she wasn't nearly as pushed back as before. Taking the chance, she darted in with a swing from her right, noting how it was easier to focus on her speed and form. As she continued to attack and defend, Zoro noted her improvements with a nod.
Chopper watched as Brooke shortly broke through her defenses and gave her a sharp rap on the head. Lin stumbled back, dazed as Zoro spoke.
"Better?" Lin looked at him, smiling a bit.
"Better." Zoro nodded in approval.
"Continue."
"Yohohoho~! En guard, Lin-san!"
"Eep!"
"NAMI-SWAN~! ROBIN-CHWAN~! LIN-CHWAN~! LUNCH FROM THE VERY DEPTHS OF MY LOOOVE~!" Sanji noodled as he leaned out the galley door. His face took on a semi-annoyed look. "Oi, shitheads! Come and get lunch!"
Luffy and Usopp were the first through the door, and were about to pounce on the table filled with food when a foot slammed them into the wall.
"Ladies first, idiots!" Nami and Robin led Lin to the galley, Pika on Lin's hat again as they sat together on the table. Pika jumped down and sat next to Lin, drooling slightly as she looked over the food on the table.
"Pikachu…" Lin stared at the food, which strongly resembled a buffet. Nami nudged her slightly.
"You may want to fill your plate before Luffy recovers; anything not on it is free game." Lin nodded and began filling her plate with food. As the rest of the crew sat down to eat, Luffy and Usopp recovered and immediately joined them.
Meal time was exactly as Lin had thought it would be, with Luffy snatching off of everyone but the girl's plates, arguments and yelling (and a hint of Tabasco Boshi) everywhere, and Lin enjoyed every minute of it. After the crew had generally calmed down, there were more actual discussions going around as Robin turned to Lin.
"Ah, Lin-san. I was curious about one of the books you had brought in." Lin's fork froze in front of her face, thoughts of the One Piece book still floating around even as she turned to Robin.
"Wh-Which one?" Robin noted her behavior curiously, but continued.
"There was a brown volume with interesting information in it, and I remembered what you had said about your experience at the library." Lin racked her brains to remember as she sighed in relief inwardly; at the library there was…
"Oh! That old lady's book!" Lin suddenly remembered the book that she had first seen lying on top of her backpack when she first woke up in Asuka's room. It was a brown volume, wasn't it? Robin continued.
"Would you see it with me after lunch?" Lin nodded.
"Sure." They had finished up lunch and Lin was following Robin to the library when Usopp came up.
"Oi, Lin! Got a minute?" He noticed Robin then, and blinked.
"Ah, you guys are doing something. When you're done, come see me in my workshop, okay?" Lin nodded, and he turned and walked below deck. Lin followed Robin to the library, where her backpack was still sitting on the bench. Lin noted with relief that it seemed untouched as Robin picked up a book lying nearby, handing it to Lin.
Lin opened the book and stared incredulously at the text on the front page. "'Rough Draft of a Pokédex, Fourth Edition' by Professor Rowan?" Flipping the page, she gaped in amazement at the content.
The main section was a handwritten pokédex. There were little notes scribbled on the side, mainly ones about different features that were to be put into the electronic version. And it had information on every pokémon that Lin knew (even if the sections on the legendaries in the very back were a bit incomplete) with a complete list of moves in tiny print under what seemed to be a scrapbook of pictures, some including a shiny form of the pokémon and a male and female version.
As she flipped through the pages a bit more, she noticed a small stack of papers poking out from one of the pages. Turning to the section, she was greeted with the title 'Palkia' in bold letters at the top, a picture of a carving in an old ruin accompanying it. She looked curiously at the heading under the picture.
Palkia, the Spatial pokémon.
Not much is known about this legendary pokémon, except for the fact that it lives in a gap in the spatial dimension next to ours. It is capable of completely altering the dimension itself, bending what many scientists theorize to be a sort of trans-dimensional energy used to create gaps in the dimensions and travel to other unknown ones. More research is needed…
Here the text trailed off and a large red 'X' was put through the paragraph. A paper taped under it showed instead
It has the ability to distort space. It is described as a deity in Sinnoh-region mythology.
Robin and Lin exchanged a glance over the continuing description of the mythology.
Usopp was polishing something as Lin walked into his workshop. She looked around, not alerting the sniper to her presence. While they had passed the room in Nami's tour, this was Lin's first real look into Usopp's Workshop. It was pretty impressive with all of the barrels of trinkets, and Lin always appreciated the random trinket; especially when it was being put to good use.
Lin peered curiously over Usopp's shoulder. "What you got there?" Usopp yelped and tossed the object as his hands flew into the air, and it flew a bit before thudding into a nearby wall. And staying in the wall, much to the amusement of Lin. Usopp realized what had happened in an instant and he scowled heavily, going to retrieve the object.
"Don't you knock before entering a room? Or make noise? At all?" Lin shrugged.
"The door was open, and you seemed busy. This is a pretty cool place." Usopp forgot any anger in an instant as it was replaced with pride. He swelled out his chest, jabbing a thumb at it.
"Well, they don't call this the great Captain Usopp's Workshop for nothing! It's here where I have all of my glorious creations, including the latest one that is stuck in the wall!" Usopp grunted as he pulled out the thing, handing it to Lin.
Lin gaped at it, it was… "A boomerang?"
A boomerang it was. A splendid, foot and a half long boomerang, blue-grey in color with a metallic sheen. The boomerang was curved similar to Helmeppo's kukri, with a sharp point on each side. Painted on the very edge of the curve was a black diamond design similar to the white diamond pattern on Pika's bandanna. Lin noted something a bit odd about the black-tipped pointed edges as Usopp reached over to his desk and picked up another matching boomerang and handed it to Lin.
"I made two of them; but they aren't just boomerangs, they're… They're…" Usopp paused, then scratched his head as he looked over his desk some more. "Well, usually I have more time to actually come up with a name… But look" He turned and took one of the boomerangs from Lin and held it up.
"You see the edge? That's really, really sharp; these can be used as swords, too. And there's a bit more." Usopp tapped the black tips. "These things are special magnets, I would have put in some dials (although you wouldn't know what those are) but it would have messed with the aerodynamics of the blade. If you put in a bit of electricity in them, the magnets intensify it and keep it on the boomerang until it disperses quite painfully into the next thing they touch." Lin snapped out of staring at the weapons to look at Usopp.
"Such as the person holding them?" Usopp shook his head, reaching behind him towards his desk and grabbing something.
"Not if they're wearing these!" He handed a pair of black gloves to Lin, fingerless just like the ones she was wearing, much to her delight. She felt the material and stared at them, perplexed.
"Rubber? Or leather?" Usopp grinned.
"A little bit of both. When we were in the New World, we came across a monster with rubber-like properties in his hide, rendering any electric attacks against it useless. Of course I, the great Captain Usopp, nonetheless pulled a brave and daring stunt that would only-" Lin cleared her throat. "Right. But the point is, I saved the leather from the monster's hide and I used it to make these gloves. I also made them similar to the ones you usually wear. The electricity won't affect you at all when wearing them." Lin stared at the gloves in one hand and the boomerangs in the other, before snatching Usopp for a hug.
"Thanks, Usopp! I love them!" Usopp blinked a bit then smirked.
"I thought you would; let me show you how to throw them."
Lin pulled on her new gloves as they stepped out on the deck, flexing her hands a bit. The leather seemed to actually have some sort of elasticity in it, and the gloves fit like a second skin. Lin briefly wondered if it was how Luffy felt with rubber skin himself.
Usopp looked around a bit, noting Zoro sleeping on the bench of the main mast, before motioning for Lin to follow him towards the back of the deck, near the tree with a swing in it. Taking one of the boomerangs from her, he began explaining how it worked.
"A boomerang has to be thrown a little oddly. There are a lot of different ways to throw it, but only a few will actually make it come back to you. You need to remember which boomerang goes in which direction, too." Lin blinked rapidly, attempting to pay attention to Usopp's explanation.
"The boomerangs are different?" Usopp nodded, motioning for the boomerang in Lin's hand. Holding them up, he indicated the black diamond pattern.
"I only put the paint on one side of the boomerang. When you hold them up, you want to see the paint on your side. When throwing" Here he handed one of the boomerangs back to Lin, taking up a stance with the other in his left hand. "You need to tilt the boomerang on its side a bit. You always throw overhand, giving it a bit of spin." Here Usopp demonstrated and gave the boomerang a throw, and Lin watched as it circled around the mast (disturbing Zoro slightly as it whizzed precariously above his sleeping head) then came back in a loop directly to Usopp as he caught it, jabbing out his hand and snatching it carefully.
"You need to watch out; because it's metal it doesn't have that far of a range so it comes back a bit quicker than a normal boomerang. And because it's sharp you have to be extra careful about catching it." Lin nodded. She held up the other boomerang in her right hand and attempted to mimic Usopp's previous stance.
"Like this?" Usopp looked over her stance carefully.
"Turn the boomerang a bit more to the side—Yes, like that. Show me how you would throw; slowly, and without letting go." Lin made a motion with the boomerang. "Not too bad, but mind your curve a bit more. Like this." He made another motion. Lin tried again, and this time Usopp seemed a bit more satisfied. "Good. Now try throwing it."
Lin was about to do so when she noticed that Zoro had woken up. And was watching them. Particularly the sharp boomerang in Lin's hand that was similar to the one that had nearly given him a haircut just before. And he did not look happy about Lin throwing another one in his general direction. Especially when while Usopp wasn't known as Sniper King for nothing, Lin had yet to ever aim a boomerang.
Lin gulped and turned to the side instead. Remembering Usopp's advice, she gave it a good throw, watching as it curved away from the side of the ship and disappeared behind the round building on the ship. The boomerang came back, but Lin realized that she had yet to learn how to catch it, and ducked just as the sharp edges passed over her hat. It headed instead for Zoro, who opened a sleepy eye as it came and caught it, yawning. Usopp retrieved it then looked over it, puzzled. Lin came and looked at it too. There was a sticky liquid on the blade, an almost orange tint contrasting the bluish hue. Lin rubbed a finger through it, then tasted it. She raised an eyebrow.
"Orange juice?" Usopp paled greatly, and even Zoro began to look uneasy as Lin suddenly realized the implications. Lin could hear her death march somewhere in the distance. She gave a start just as Nami came out from below deck, a pair of tree trimmers in her hand. Nami raised an eyebrow at the three, who looked really uneasy at her presence.
"Usopp? You doing what I asked you to do?" Usopp carefully nodded.
"I-I'm teaching Lin how to use her weapon, honest! Right Lin?" Lin nodded in agreement, still eyeing Nami carefully. Zoro turned and went up into the crow's nest. Nami smiled.
"Good. When I first got my weapon, Usopp only handed me a bunch of instructions mainly on how to use it as a party machine. I almost got killed because of it!" Usopp nodded, still thinking about the mikan trees that were behind the building where the boomerang had disappeared to briefly.
"Yes, it's all my fault. Now if you'll excuse us, we have to go and see something over there. Sea King watch, you understand. We'll continue training on land." Nami watched in confusion as Usopp grabbed Lin and dragged her far, far away from the navigator. She thought carefully to herself as she walked up the deck to her mikan trees.
"Why would we watch for Sea Kings in the East Blu-" She cut herself off as she surveyed her trees.
Lin and Usopp were power walking to the other side of the ship when a shriek sounded off. Lin and Usopp flinched, Lin turning to Usopp.
"I got a book you may want to see, how about now? As in right now." Usopp nodded frantically and they sprinted for the library. Nami appeared in front of the door suddenly, a most terrifying look on her face.
"Lin, Usopp…" Nami said carefully, and Lin could swear that her eyes turned red as she glared at them. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO MY MIKAN TREES?"
"RUN AWAY!" Usopp screeched, and he and Lin turned tail and fled, Nami running after them furiously.
"GET BACK HERE YOU TWO; DON'T THINK YOU CAN RUN FROM ME!"
"IT WAS AN ACCIDENT, I SWEAR!"
"LAND! LOOK NAMI, LAND!"
"AS IF I'D FALL FOR THAT YOU LIAR!"
"REALLY NAMI, I SEE LAND TOO!" Nami turned and looked, only to actually see the towering form of the Shell Town marine base in the distance. Usopp paused and turned to see what Nami was looking at. He blinked rapidly.
"Well, what do you know? There's actually land!" Lin turned and looked as well, gaping at the luck of it all. Nami suddenly stood behind them in their distraction, a hand on each of their shoulders and they suddenly shivered. Nami smiled sweetly.
"Well, we won't be there for at least forty-five minutes. That should give you two plenty of time to fix my mikan!" She ended in a yell, grabbing the two by the back of their collars and dragging them to the back deck. Lin whimpered slightly.
"Mommy!"
Garp and Coby walked down the gangplank into the Shell Town harbor, where a line of marines stood on either side, saluting them. A long marine stood at the end of the line, wearing a captain's cloak and saluting them as they walked up to him.
"Vice-admiral Garp! Commodore Coby! To what do we owe the honor, sir?" Garp laughed loudly, startling the nearby marines and the few townsfolk that were pressed around the harbor, curious about the large marine ship that had docked not too long ago.
Coby smiled and looked around, noting how little had actually changed. He thought Helmeppo would appreciate it, even if he had insisted on staying on the ship. Coby had consented, knowing that while he forgave him for his old ways, a whole town may not be quite as understanding. Garp gave the marine in front of him a lazy salute, grinning in his usual way.
"Captain Ripper! We're just here to grab some stuff, I was visiting my grandson and this town was the nearest place to grab any supplies!" Ripper looked a bit disoriented at the mention of Garp's grandson, the Pirate King, but nodded nonetheless.
"Well sir, there are plenty of places to-"
"COBY-SAAAN!" A little figure darted between the ranks of marines and launched itself at Coby, who caught it in his arms and held it up in confusion. Suddenly, he grinned and pulled in the figure close.
"Rika-chan!" Garp laughed outright while Ripper didn't know to be ashamed of his marines for letting a little girl slip by them or amused at the scene. He simply decided to ignore it, but made a mental note of the marines and their names. Coby smiled as he set down Rika.
"Hey there, Rika-chan." Rika beamed up at him for a second, but then scowled and began kicking Coby in the shin, much to the horror of the surrounding marines.
"Stupid Coby-san! Not saying goodbye! Not visiting sooner!" Rika sniffled slightly, pausing in her kicking. Coby's face softened and he leaned down and hugged her.
"I'm here now, aren't I?" Rika nodded. She then beamed.
"And now you can have some of my onigiri! I'll make a special batch, just for you!" Coby's face twisted unnaturally, but he managed to nod in what Rika interpreted to be an enthusiastic manner. Garp laughed, then stated how he wouldn't mind having some as well, ignoring the frantic head shakes of Coby (and a few marines, including Ripper, oddly enough) Rika was about to agree but was interrupted by the frantic running of a marine recruit from the base.
"Captain Ripper sir! Pirates are coming! And not just any pirates either, the Pirate King himself!" The poor man looked as though he wanted to also shout 'we're all gonna die,' but he managed to restrain himself in the presence of superiors. Ripper looked into the distance thoughtfully, where he could just make out a small dot in the distance. Many of the nearby marines looked in the same direction nervously, muttering until Ripper held up a hand. He looked at them sternly.
"Don't forget what the captain has done for this town. I doubt that they are coming here to invade, but keep a sharp eye out for them." Rika looked at Coby eagerly.
"Does that mean Onii-san is coming here too?" Coby nodded, much to the confusion of the marines. Rika cheered. "I'll have to make a lot more onigiri then! I can't wait to see Onii-san!" Rika ran off down the street, and Coby turned to the perplexed marines.
"She means Zoro-san, of course." The marines made an odd little faint at the mention of the demon pirate hunter that they had previously tied up, beaten, and starved. And was now on the crew of the Pirate King. And was now the Greatest Swordsman in the World.
And was no doubt coming to wreak his horrible vengeance on them all.
Garp laughed loudly as a whole group of marines ran frantically to the marine base, the others not having been there during ex-Captain Morgan's reign or just being too stupid to realize the implications. Captain Ripper watched them run with a semi-bemused expression, although his entire face said 'cowards.' Garp clapped Coby on the back, nearly sending the poor soul to the ground.
"Guahahaha! This town is so interesting! We need to come back here again, Coby!"
Oh, Garp. You people didn't think you'd be rid of him so easily, did you? :D If you got the fact that his words are parallel to Luffy's comment when he was in Shell Town, congratz! Ripper was the commander that was left in charge after Captain Morgan, and he only got promoted to one level above (I had to look up marine ranks on One Piece Wikia) during the past couple of years, but not much happens in East Blue to earn that kind of promotion to captain. After all, the only reason Morgan got promoted so far was because he 'captured' Kuro. And we all know what really happened. D:
Onigiri-sensei? Cookies to those who get the reference. Because the second I saw that guy I immediately thought of Zoro.
Yeah, so I was about halfway through this chapter when I realized that Usopp names his weapons. I couldn't think of anything for the life of me, so if you guys have an idea, please let me know!
Happy Birthday Usopp! To one of the less appreciated characters (turns out that you guys like Franky the least according to my poll) I give you… Well, does a main appearance count as a present? Usopp actually has the most screen time besides Lin in this chapter, go figure.
Boomerangs? That can be used as swords? Credit to SilverStar94 (as usual) for the amazing idea and for the scene of the little mishap with the boomerangs! Does Lin have an official position on the crew yet? Nah. But Luffy, if you think about it, actually doesn't seem to think too much about recruiting people for their required skills. Except for Franky, Nami, and Brooke. But that's just because people kept nagging him about getting a shipwright and a navigator, and his heart was dead set on a musician from day one. She'll get her position when it comes to it.
What possessed Professor Rowan to discontinue his research on different dimensions? What does Palkia have to do with anything? How will the crew survive Rika's hospitality? Will they stay in Shell Town for long? (The answer is no; MAD lack of suspense) And what evil plans does the authoress have for that little dojo of Zoro's? OH BOY, DO I HAVE EVIL PLANS. If you guys thought I was going to leave the universe unscathed in this story, YOU'RE DEAD WRONG. The excitement will come, yo. The excitement will come.
TO THOSE THAT HAVE SUBMITTED OCS:
I have received them all and will use them most definitely! But some I may not use in this saga, as I have bigger plans for the next one and the third one. Then it's all going to EXPLODE in the fourth. :D ... I think. I've only fully planned the second and third...