In Which the Big Guns (And I) Join the Fray

A flash of movement to my right catches my eye as Zoro and I make a mad dash through the forest. Luffy bursts out of the trees, grimacing and breathing hard. He doesn't appear to notice us—his eyes are trained straight ahead, and he's running at an angle that will take him south of us. How did he come from that direction and not find the north beach? We're close enough that if nothing else, he should have seen the giant galleon when he hit the edge of the cliffs.

"Luffy, this way!"

I wave to draw his attention. Zoro grabs my arm to steady me when I turn, keeping me on my feet without allowing us to slow. Luffy stalls at my voice, searching the forest. He brightens when he sees me, and it doesn't take him long to catch up with us.

"What are you guys doing here?"

"It's a long story."

"Not long at all," Zoro says, scowling. "It's Nami's fault."

My side burns, but with both boys fueled by anger, I can't afford to slow down. Zoro's already shortening his strides to accommodate mine. Luffy is closer to me in height, but he has boundless energy that no sane person can reasonably keep up with. I push myself a little harder, forcing words out between my gasps for air.

"What about you?"

"No one told me which way is north! I just went where it felt coldest, but I ended up on the other side of the island!"

"North is this way… we're almost there."

Luffy squints suspiciously, but I don't end up needing to prove myself. A shout erupts through the air, and with it comes yelling and the clash of steel on steel.

"Please!" That sounds like Usopp. "Please don't massacre my people!"

Luffy and Zoro gain a sudden burst of speed and outpace me, following the sounds of battle. I shake my head, content to follow a little slower if it means I can breathe once I reach the fighting. By the time I arrive at the pass less than thirty seconds later, the boys are standing at the top, glaring at everyone below them. The Black Cat Pirates are scattered like marbles, bleeding and moaning in pain at the base of the cliff. Usopp and Nami are five feet below us. Nami slumps, winded, against the side of the pass, winded. Next to her, Usopp lays on the ground in a bloody heap. My hand flies to my mouth when I see him. Copious amounts of blood pour from a nasty gash on his head, his nose is broken, and he's covered with more cuts and bruises than I can count. Somehow he's conscious, but his eyes have a glazed look to them.

"That wasn't much of a challenge. I thought they were supposed to be tough?" Zoro says, his words short.

"How should I know?" Luffy huffs. "Now I'm pissed off."

I slow to a halt between the boys, and they make room for me unconsciously. I'm hardly on their radar. They're still glaring at anything that's moving below, including Nami and Usopp. The anger rolls off them in waves.

"Nami! You marooned me in that muck!"

"And you didn't tell me which way is north, Usopp!"

They shift their glares to me as if wanting me to back them up in their—I'll be honest, somewhat justified—anger, but I weakly wave them away instead.

"Not enough oxygen," I pant. "I'll leave the yelling to you."

Nami stands, stamping her feet, and points at me. I wriggle my fingers at her, and she scowls. "It's not like I abandoned you! You had Ember, and she got you out, didn't she? Why are you yelling at me?!"

"Because you should have been the one stuck!"

Usopp also pushes himself into a sitting position, his jaw dropping. He gapes at Luffy, abashed. "You ran off like you knew where to go! I mean, your ship is docked here!"

"I only had a rough idea! Very rough!"

I straighten and clap both boys on the shoulders. "Okay, okay, that's enough. We're here now, and we've stopped the pillaging. Isn't that enough?"

"No!"

I wince and drop my hands from their shoulders. I unsling my naginata and shrug helplessly at Nami. She sniffs and crosses her arms over her chest, muttering under her breath that people who have super-strength shouldn't be complaining. I have to agree with her, if for no other reason than justified or no, they don't need to shout at me. There's no calming them down when they get like this; all we can do is let them take out their anger on the poor, defenseless saps below. Usopp drops his eyes from Luffy's burning gaze and immediately makes a startled noise. He scurries up the pass, pointing at the pirates below.

"They're getting up!"

The pirates stir, laboriously pushing themselves up to sitting and standing positions. I can't hear what they're saying, but all their eyes are trained on Django. He's wearing a captain's coat. I frown; isn't Kuro the captain? The situation doesn't sit well with me. I shift closer to Luffy, peering down the pass, and can barely make out the swing of Django's hypnotism disk. Luffy's eyes widen.

"They're still alive!" he exclaims.

I shush him softly. "Listen. The weirdo is saying something."

Luffy and I lean in closer, as does everyone else except Zoro, who is still standing there fuming. Django's voice drifts up to us.

"Now listen!" he commands. "We don't have time to play around here! If our opponent is strong, we have to be even stronger! Everybody, look at this ring. When I say, 'One, two, Django,' you'll all become superhumanly strong, and all your wounds will heal instantly! And you'll keep getting stronger and stronger!"

"He's trying to trick them into getting stronger," I say. "That's ridiculous."

"What a load of bilge water," Nami agrees.

"One… two… Django!"

At the last second, Django pushes his hat down over his eyes. The rest of the Black Cat Pirates freeze, their eyes trained on the swinging disk. With a roar, the men who seconds earlier couldn't stand jump to their feet. They brandish their weapons and knock them together, making such a ruckus I'm surprised the village can't hear it. Nami shrinks against the wall, and I flinch, my grip convulsively tightening on the haft of my weapon. One of the pirates runs to the cliff wall and, with a shout, slams his fist into the rock. It crumbles from the impact, breaking into boulders that fall and tumble down the path.

"That's impossible," I stammer. "The hypnosis worked!"

"They were exhausted a moment ago," Nami says, incredulous.

Zoro stiffens, finally finding enough interest in everything happening to forget how angry he is. "What power. He broke the cliff!"

"If one of them can demolish a cliff," Usopp exclaims, "imagine what a whole horde of them can do!"

"Now march!" Django yells. "And if anyone tries to stop you, destroy them!"

The pirates do as he commands, careening up the pass with their terrifying power. I gulp and adjust my grip, taking a half step behind Luffy. We're in big trouble if one of them lands a hit. Zoro seems to think likewise because he jabs his thumb toward the area behind us.

"You three wait at the top of the hill!"

Nami nods and hooks Usopp around the waist, helping him to his feet. Together, they hurry to the top of the hill, but I don't follow. Taking a deep breath, I square my shoulders and step away from Luffy. Zoro frowns.

"What are you doing?"

I shake my head, fear thick in my mouth. I force a smile. "I can't let you take all the glory, Roronoa."

"Do you have a death wish? Luffy and I can handle this. We don't need your help. Right, Luffy?" He falters when Luffy doesn't respond. "Luffy?"

Luffy doesn't move; he stands with his head bowed so his hat shades his eyes. Unease trickles down my back. I look from Luffy to the rampaging pirates and then back to Luffy, unwilling to put to words the doubt creeping up inside me. With a shout, Luffy throws his arms into the air. His eyes are blank with mindless rage, and I groan.

"He hypnotized you, too?" Zoro shouts.

"That feeble-minded fool," Nami says.

"The hypnotism wasn't even aimed at him," Usopp says.

"Next time I'll blindfold him," I mutter.

Completely ignoring us—if he can even hear us—Luffy barrels down the pass toward the approaching Black Cat Pirates. His shouts match theirs in intensity, but his attacks blow theirs away. With a flurry of punches I can barely keep up with, he charges. When I do manage to see the direction one of his fist flies, the next thing I see is a pirate flying off in a completely different direction. The pirates waver; it would look like not even hypnotism can convince a person to fight Luffy.

Usopp's muttered surprise over Luffy's stretchiness and power are barely distinguishable over the moans from the pirates, despite Usopp being considerably closer to me. The pirates scream and scurry away on hands and feet, but Luffy is relentless. He runs right past most of them, but they scatter anyway, fighting each other to stay out of his range of attack. Luffy doesn't stop until he reaches the keel of the Black Cat Pirates' ship. He grabs it, his muscles bulging. I gasp, and the sound is repeated from three other mouths.

Nami jumps to her feet. "Go, Luffy!"

"He's gonna scuttle the ship!" I yell.

With a roar, Luffy yanks the front of the keel, along with the masthead, off. He swings it around, chasing down the pirates. They scream and dive out of his way. The more he swats at them, the more I get the sinking suspicion that Luffy didn't realize he would ruin their ship. He just wanted a big stick to whack some annoying pirates with. Zoro exhales, and I shrug. That's our captain.

"He'll smash us like roaches!" the men scream. "Captain, do something!"

Django lifts his hypnotism disk and quickly announces, "On 'One, two, Django,' you'll fall fast asleep! One, two, Django!"

Luffy swings the stempost toward Django and exposes himself head-on to the hypnotic attack. He stumbles, eyes losing focus. He takes another step and Django shies back, but then Luffy's eyes roll up in the back of his head and he collapses. The post lands on top of him, scattering the pirates.

Everyone freezes. The pirates mutter uncertainly, too scared to approach our captain. I put my hands to my ears; Luffy's snoring answers me and I exhale. I return Zoro's questioning gaze with a nod, and he smirks, propping his sword on his shoulder.

"Luffy wiped out most of them," Nami says.

"But he's smashed under the stempost!" Usopp exclaims, looking between the three of us with an incredulous expression. "He'll die!"

"Don't worry about him. He'll be fine," Zoro says. "See to your own wounds. You, too," he adds to me, frowning.

Grinning, I reply, "I guess it's a good thing I'm not hurt."

He scowls and tightens his bandana. "Fine. Just stay out of my way."

"Did you guys hear that?" Nami leans forward. "I think they have more people on the ship."

"It is a big ship," I say.

"It's the Meowban Brothers!" the pirates shout. "The ship guards!"

The pirates laugh, taunting us about how much trouble we'll be in once these Meowban Brothers find us. Between the giggling Buggy Pirates and these chortling cat-eared idiots, I'm growing tired of laughter being used as an intimidation tactic. A person has to actually be scary before that works. Sharing my annoyance, Zoro advances, sword drawn and at the ready.

Rolling my shoulders, I ease some of the tension out of them. Despite what I said to Zoro, I'm not at the top of my game. The stitch in my side might be gone, but my head is pounding at an even faster rate than it was before I helped Zoro on the other beach. Headache and general tiredness aside, I'm still in better shape than Nami and Usopp, which makes me second best fighter now that Luffy is out. Zoro could probably take everyone on his own, but that doesn't mean he should have to.

"Meowban Brothers, come on down!" Django cries.

Two men appear at the fore of the ship. They pause as if taking stock of the situation and then somersault off the bow. They land in the sand with barely a puff of dirt rising from their movements. I blink, taken aback; the bow must be a good fifty feet above the beach, and they stick the landing with ease. These two feel like a higher caliber enemy than the rest of the Black Cat Pirates.

The Brothers straighten and stretch. The shorter of the two has bright green hair that curls in three areas, along with clawed gloves and the signature cat ears. His short blue shorts expose his long, skinny, hairy legs; my lip twists in disgust. I could have lived quite happily without ever seeing that. Cringing, I study the other one instead. The second brother has a lot more weight on him and wears a cape in place of a shirt. A gold bell holds the cape together. He also wears cat ears and clawed gloves.

"They look… interesting," Nami says slowly.

"Interesting?" Usopp says. "They jumped off that high deck like real cats!"

"Everyone we meet is weird," I mutter. "Where are the normal pirates?"

Zoro remains silent, his lips tightened into an unimpressed line. I move to his side, but he stops me from going any farther with the back of his sword. Without taking his eyes off the Brothers, he shakes his head. I do as he says, listening as the ship guards—Siam and Butchie—express multiple times to Django that they're not strong enough to face Zoro. Hearing their words, his eyes narrow, and I wonder what he's thinking.

"What do you think?" he asks me, his voice low.

I blink, taken aback that he asked for my opinion at the same time that I wondered about his. I study the Brothers, trying not to let their whining and appearance influence me. They act scared, but what little I know of Kuro and the ruthlessness of his pirates doesn't line up with that attitude. Kuro is a deceptive man; I'd wager his subordinates are, too.

"I don't trust them," I say.

"Of course you don't," he retorts, "but does that mean they're going to be a nuisance?"

Something about the way he says that irks me, and I whip around. He adjusts his grip on his katana, refusing to meet my eyes. He doesn't want to know if they'll be a nuisance—he's asking if I'll be one.

"You think I'm going to slow you down!"

His jaw tightens. "I never said that."

Siam raises his clawed hands and runs up the pass. Tears leak from his eyes. He flails his arms, and his head is tilted back as if he's worried Zoro is going to punch him or something. He's completely unlike the bold man who jumped off the ship a few minutes ago.

"Ready or not, I'm coming for you! I'll scratch your eyes out!" Siam screams.

I step to the side, giving Zoro more room. "Go ahead," I say, waving toward Siam with my naginata. "He's all yours."

Zoro scowls, squaring his shoulders. "I'll cut your head off if you don't stop!"

Right before he reaches us, Siam drops his chin to his chest. A devilish glint lights up his eyes. He grins, baring sharp teeth. Zoro and I both stiffen.

"Go ahead if you can," Siam taunts.

"What the—"

"Roronoa, watch out!"

Siam pounces, his awkward loping increasing tenfold in a flash. Mid-jump, he changes direction, soaring toward me. I don't have time to make a sound; I barely have time to react. I swing my naginata up between us, steadying it with my left hand, a heartbeat before he's on top of me. The shock of his claws clashing against the haft sends tremors down my arms. His claws stop inches from my eyes, so close I can't see anything but the pointed tips. Siam's grin widens. He bears down on me, and I bend beneath his weight, knees buckling. Nami shouts my name.

"Would you look at that," he purrs. "I thought for sure I'd get you. You look slower than your friend."

Sweat drips down my cheek and I bare my teeth, struggling to hold his weight. With his hands free, Siam slashes at my face. I flinch and duck, the sudden movement causing me to lose my footing. I crash to the ground and he lands on top of me, pinning me beneath my naginata. He strikes again. I can't move with him on top of me, but I jerk my head to the side and his fingers slam into the ground where my head had been moments before. Dust and debris hit my face, flying from the small crater his attack created. He raises his hand again. If I don't want to find out what one of those holes will look like in my face, I need to move—fast.

I push against him. Siam doesn't release me, but I don't need him to; when he shifts his weight, I twist the shaft one short turn until the blade is facing up. Snarling, I pull the naginata to the right with as much strength as I can muster. The blade slices into his boot. He jumps off me, hissing, and lands in Zoro's path. Zoro swings, but Siam jumps again, twisting in mid-air and landing on Zoro's back. Zoro reverses his katana and stabs behind him, but Siam is already gone, standing below us. Blast it all, but the man can move. Siam licks his claws, looking pleased.

"You shouldn't underestimate me," he taunts.

"So he's not a coward," Usopp exclaims. "He's fast!"

I sit up, rubbing my head. My cheeks burn. "He's stronger than he looks, too."

Nami gasps, pointing. "Zoro, your swords!"

"What?" Zoro shouts. He scrabbles at his side, finding only his haramaki sash and air—his katanas are missing. "What the—?" He glares at Siam, murderous; his swords are slung across the man's shoulders.

"You kids have a bit of talent," Siam says, "but you shouldn't take Siam Meowban of the Black Cat Pirates so lightly. Did you lose something, buddy? Your pretty swords, perhaps? You should be happy I took them instead of her face." He wriggles his fingers at me and I stick my tongue out.

Zoro swallows. His face pales—in anger, I think, but maybe with a hint of worry—but he doesn't take his eyes off the guard. I move closer to him, wanting to give him what little backup I can, but he shakes his head without looking at me.

"Find a way to help Luffy," he says in a low voice.

Indignation and guilt flare inside me. Does he blame me for losing his swords? "But I—"

"Ember!" he snaps, voice full of authority. "Help Luffy. Leave this one to me."

I balk at his tone—this isn't a suggestion, this is a command from my superior officer. For whatever reason, Zoro doesn't want me in his fight. It might be because he thinks I'll get in the way or because he doesn't want to defend me, but a small voice in the back of my mind suggests that his order is more straightforward than that. We need Luffy, and he's entrusting that to me. At least I tell myself this because to consider the alternative is to invite in more guilt than I want to deal with. Hunching my shoulders, I take two steps back. Part of me still hopes I can stay and fight, but he makes no inclination that he might change his mind. When I can't wait any longer without it looking like I'm stalling, I give him a curt nod.

Turning on my heel, I run to where Nami and Usopp are waiting. As soon as I leave, Zoro demands that Siam give his swords back, and Siam taunts him again. I push their fight firmly from my mind. Nami gives me a hand up to the cliff's edge where they're sitting, and I stand, shading my eyes so I can better see Luffy's position on the beach.

"You're not going to help him?" Usopp asks.

"No."

"But… doesn't he need three swords to fight?"

"He does," I respond, terse. "But I do not have a katana, and thus am of little help to him at the moment."

"You're not just going to sit out of it, are you?" Nami asks.

"I'm going to wake Luffy up."

"What?!"

"But he's surrounded by enemies," Nami says.

"And you'll have to go right past those Meowban Brothers," Usopp adds.

"I know," I respond, still studying the area below. "But Zoro will take care of the Meowban Brothers, so I don't have to worry about that."

Half of Luffy's body is hidden under the stempost, so I assume he might require some help to wriggle free after waking. Zoro and Siam are the only two people on the pass at the moment. Butchie and Django stand at the foot of the cliff where the path meets the beach. Zoro's swords are halfway down the hill, isolated. It would be so easy to run down there, grab them, and toss them back to Zoro… but he didn't give me that order, and I can't waste time helping him instead of doing my job. Most of the Black Cat Pirates are on the ground, either watching from that position or too weak to stand and fight. I don't think I'll have to worry about them as much as I will Django. The guy gives me the creep; there's more to him than he's revealing.

"Can you give me artillery support? Make sure none of the little guys sneak up on me?"

"Uh, y-yeah, I can, but are you sure you want my help? All I did was get beat up."

"I wouldn't trust the job to anyone else," I say, and I mean it. I didn't see any of his shooting in person, but he and Nami survived until we arrived, which means he has to have some skill. "Ready?"

Usopp adjusts his goggles, his face determined. "Ready."

Keeping low, I run along the edge of the pass until I'm past Zoro and Siam. I jump the ten feet, tumbling at the bottom, and roll back to my feet in time to see Butchie barreling up the hill. I flatten myself against the cliff wall, but he doesn't stop for me. He races past without sparing me a passing glance, and when I look over my shoulder, I see why. Zoro is pinned on the ground with Siam on top of him.

"You've got this," I mutter under my breath, half to myself and half to Zoro.

Django glances at me from beneath his hat when I approach, eyes narrowing. I give him a wide berth in case he tries to stop me. I haven't seen him with a weapon yet, but that doesn't mean he's unarmed. His hand twitches toward the pocket of his captain's coat, but he changes direction as if thinking better of it and lifts his fingers to his lips. I reflexively lift my naginata in response. A sharp, piercing whistle echoes through the air and steadily increases to a high, painful shriek that trails off into the wind. Other than the noise, nothing happens. Django turns his attention back to Zoro, effectively dismissing me. I shrug, uneasy, but don't stop walking. The situation is surreal; is he going to let me run right past him to Luffy?

The answer hits me in the back of the knees like a cannonball. Numerous pinprick-like pains pierce my calves and the back of my thighs. With a cry, I slam into the ground. Someone lands on top of me, winding me. Nails dig into my shoulders, holding me down, and I cough, inhaling a mouthful of grit. Another round of pain shoots through my shoulder, more intense this time. Warmth drips down my neck, and mingling with it is the hot breath of whoever is on top of me. I hiss, my shoulder throbbing, but can't get out from underneath them. The tearing pain disappears and reappears in quick succession three more times, accompanied by an uncomfortably moist sensation. Understanding dawns on me and I swallow thickly, disgust sending my stomach roiling—this person is chewing on me.

"Someone's being a naughty little mouse."

"Who are you calling a mouse?" I retort.

He snorts and tangles his hand in my hair, shoving my face into the beach. His knees dig into my upper arms, effectively immobilizing me. "I'm the ship's scout, Chet. You can try, but there's no sneaking up on me, and there's no going against the Captain."

What type of job is a scout for a pirate crew? What is there to scout except for the waves and the air? That sounds like a throw-away job to me. I can't stomach the idea of some brat with a made-up position defeating me.

Chet's breath coats the side of my face like a damp blanket and I shudder. Between that and the force of him shoving me into the beach, I'm finding it increasingly hard to breathe. Grinding my teeth—and ignoring the sand scraping against the inside of my mouth—I slam the back of my head into his face. I hear more than feel the crunch of contact. Chet shouts. Jerking, he lets go of me, and in that same moment, something explodes behind my back. Chet flies off me. I push myself to my knees, shaking sand off my face, and finally, see my attacker.

Crouching on the beach is a boy a little younger than Luffy with a wild mane of blonde hair and amber eyes outlined in black. Blood drips from his nose and is smeared around his lips. He's wearing a fur-lined crop top and leopard-print shorts. Like the Meowban Brothers, his gloved hands have claws on them and tufted cat ears stick out of his hair, but unlike them, he's barefoot. Snarling, he whirls around to glare up the pass, and when he does I notice his teeth are filed. Three lead balls sit smoking in the sand at his feet and I grin, relieved. I can't see anything of Usopp except his black hair sticking up over the edge of the cliff, but I give him a thumbs up anyway. With a growl, the boy leaps over me in the direction of the pass. His cheeks are flushed and his eyes narrowed. Usopp gives a strangled cry and his head ducks below the cliff's edge.

"Oh, no, you don't," I mutter.

Still on my knees, I hurl my naginata. The weapon isn't weighted for throwing, but the boy is close enough that it strikes him despite the wobble in its arc. He manages to evade the bladed portion, but the shaft tangles in his lanky legs and trips him. I hurry to my feet, almost tripping myself in the soft sand, and dive onto him before he can get up. He makes a high keening noise, swiping behind him in an attempt to dislodge me. I lean back, dodging his claws while continuing to hold his shoulders. We roll on the ground, him trying to throw me off and me trying to keep him pinned while extricating my weapon. My back slams into the stempost and I see stars. Winded, I let go without thinking, and it's instinct alone that keeps my grip on my weapon. The boy scrambles to his feet and I follow him. He's fast enough that if I put myself at a disadvantage, I won't last long.

"Old hag," he says, spitting near my feet.

Heat flares in my chest. "Are you even old enough to be a pirate?" I retort.

Chet's eyes flash with anger. His muscles tense, but I take the initiative. Jumping forward, I twirl my naginata in tight arcs; the more precise I make them, the harder it is for him to anticipate where I'll hit next. I use that to my full advantage. The few stances I know are predictable—shoulder, ankle, wrist, knee, repeat—but I switch them up to keep him guessing. He retreats, eyes jerking back and forth in an attempt to keep up with me. The butt of my weapon makes contact on his shoulder and he hisses, eyes widening. I grin.

He changes direction abruptly, bending backward, and the blade slices through the air above his head. He lands on his hands, twists, and aims a kick at me. I lean back and the blow glances off my arm. Pushing off his hands, he performs a backflip and lands gracefully on his feet outside my range. Lunging, I jab in quick succession at his stomach, forcing him to take hasty steps to avoid me. His lips move silently as if he's counting. When I draw back for another stab, he slides to the side and grabs below the hilt of the blade, shoving it into the sand. Vaulting over my naginata, he lands, cat-like, on the shaft. The sudden shift in weight pulls me toward him, my arms trembling under the strain of keeping my grip on the weapon with him perched on top of it. He's waiting for me when I stumble, and he meets me in my fall. I fling my left arm up to fend him off, and he takes the opportunity to sink his teeth into the exposed flesh. He bears down with a vengeance, sending stabbing pains all the way from my fingertips to my shoulder, and I scream. I'm half-terrified that if I shake him off, he'll take a chunk out of my arm.

Through the agony, I notice that my naginata still supports most of his weight. I do the only thing that comes to mind and let go. Chet stumbles but doesn't release me, and I careen into him. Something tears in my arm, but I push the pain to the back of my mind. Now that he's no longer standing on my weapon, I'm able to snag the shaft with my foot and kick it back to my hand. Chet, realizing what I'm doing, unlocks his jaw. He leaps, his hands closing around my throat. When his claws dig into the soft skin on the side of my neck where my pulse dances erratically, I don't give ground. Blade pointed down—I don't have enough room to swing it in a full arc to slice him—I jerk the butt of the naginata between us. The blade bites into my shin for my trouble, but the wood smacks into his jaw. There's a dull crack and Chet stumbles back, clutching his face.

Instant shame floods me. He's just a kid, and I'd rather not beat him up if I can help it. Chet's eyes narrow, almost as if he can hear my hope of going easy on him, and he lunges again. I twirl my naginata around, and this time I have enough space to bring the blade into play. I twist it at the last second so the unsharpened end makes contact with the side of his head. His thick hair dulls the impact, but not enough to save him. Less than a foot from me, claws outstretched, Chet's eyes roll back into his head. He collapses. I poke him with the toe of my boot, shame still licking away at me. His chest lifts and drops, and I exhale a breath I didn't realize I was holding. He's still alive.

"Sorry about that," I say, touching my neck where his claws closed around me, "but you didn't give me much choice."

Now I understand what Usopp must feel like, and why Zoro told him to sit this one out. My body feels like it's been shredded. I limp toward Luffy, feeling with every step the places on my legs, shoulders, and arm where Chet bit and clawed me. It's only when I'm standing over Luffy that I notice everyone has gone deathly quiet. A voice explodes through the silence.

"WHAT IN NEPTUNE'S NAME IS GOING ON?!"

The shout sends tremors through my spine and I spin around. Kuro stands at the top of the pass holding a large black bag. His crew backs away from him, trembling in fear. Zoro still faces the Meowban Brothers—although neither of them are fighting after Kuro's arrival—and Nami lies curled up on the ground near his swords. Her shoulder is bleeding and Django looms over her. Blood drips from his hand, but the angle of his body obscures whatever weapon he holds.

Kuro speaks, and I strain to hear him over the murmuring of his crew. "Are you telling me these children held you up? Is this what the pirates of the Black Cat have come to?"

Django gives an involuntary twitch. "But you said it didn't matter if we let the kid go!" he exclaims, gesturing to Usopp.

"Yes, I said that and I was right! It shouldn't have been a problem! Anyone could have predicted that he would try to stop us, but I didn't predict your defenses to be so feeble!"

"'Feeble,' he says?" Siam hisses. "Us?"

Butchie tenses. "Care to say that again, Cap'n Kuro?"

Kuro's gaze flickers to the Meowban Brothers. "Do you have something to say to me?"

The steeliness of his words make me take a step back; I'm glad I'm not up there right next to him like Zoro and Usopp are, although their closeness makes me worry for them. Kuro exudes danger. How do Siam and Butchie not sense it? Are they really going to mutiny at a time like this? After spewing off a few more reckless taunts—and completely ignoring Django's advice to stay the hell away from Kuro—the Brothers charge.

Kuro casually adjusts his glasses, completely unperturbed.

"You're not our captain anymore!"

"If you're just gonna kill us anyway, we'll kill you first!"

They jump, claws outstretched. They combine their attack and slash through the area where Kuro stands, but when they land on the other side of him, he's gone and all that remains is the tattered pieces of his bag. Kuro appears behind them as if he popped out of thin air. He's wearing his characteristic gloves that have a blade almost as long as a sword's on each fingertip.

"Who are you going to kill?" he murmurs. The Meowban Brother whip around, ready to attack, but Kuro disappears. He reappears behind them, draping his long claws over their shoulders and across their necks. "You two are right," he continues. "I have grown soft. While it's true I'm not your captain anymore, I did hire you to do a job. The penalty for failure is death."

The low muttering from the Black Cat Pirates turns into a steady stream of unease and surprise. No one seems to know what to do; should they help the Meowban Brothers, support Kuro, or continue feigning unconsciousness? Django's back grows more and more tense the longer his crew talks.

"What did you expect?" he snaps, pushing his hat down. "Captain Kuro's Pussyfoot Maneuver is a technique for undetectable movement. You could gather fifty assassins and they'd all be dead before they knew he was near. We have to carry out his plan." He shakes his head. "He hasn't grown soft. He still pushes his glasses up with the palm of his hand to avoid cutting himself on his claws. He hasn't forgotten how to kill at all! Unless you want to die, we have to carry out the job."

"You've got five minutes," Kuro confirms, "or else I kill all of you with my bare hands."

He shoves Siam and Butchie away. They round on Zoro, but they have to convince themselves to attack him. I can't blame them. Stuck between Zoro and Kuro? That isn't a place I'd want to be. Despite that, Zoro doesn't look too well. He's bleeding from slash marks on his chest and he still only has the one katana. If he's struggling to keep up with the Meowban Brothers like this, he won't last a minute against Kuro.

With all of the attention off her, Nami jumps to her feet and makes a mad dash to Zoro's swords. She kicks them and they arc in Zoro's direction. A triumphant grin flashes across her face.

"Zoro! Your swords!"

"Why, you," he growls. A vein pops out on his forehead. "First you trample me and now you're kicking my swords?"

"What, no thank you?"

Zoro snatches the katanas out of the air. He smirks, the confident gleam returning to his eye. "Yeah, thanks!"

He draws his blades and positions himself so that he's holding two katanas over his left shoulder, pointing down. Siam and Butchie charge, either confident in their attack or so terrified of Kuro that they're ignoring the waves of energy rolling off Zoro.

"Your skill hasn't changed just because you have more swords!"

"Wielding three swords and following santoryu are very different things," Zoro informs them. He slides his feet apart, widening his stance. "Tiger Trap!"

Zoro swings his blades down in one fell swoop, deftly dancing between Siam and Butchie's claws in the process. They careen off to either side of him, and when Zoro straightens, they collapse, rolling down the pass. A stunned silence fills the beach. Nami and Usopp's eyes widen, but I shake my head. Leave it to Zoro to show off with a one-hit knockout.

"Don't worry," Zoro says, staring down the edge of his katana at Kuro, "it won't take me five minutes to finish all of you."

"Try it," Kuro counters, his face grim.

His words flip a switch inside my head. What the hell am I doing gawking at Zoro's fight? He sent me here to do one thing and I still haven't done it. I drop to my knees beside Luffy. Just like I suspected, he's half buried beneath the massive stempost. I have no hope of moving that. I tug on his arm, but he stretches instead of coming dislodged. Cursing silently, I stand back up and hook him under the arms. His torso comes with me but his legs remain pinned. Of course, I can't just pull him out—that would be too easy.

"Luffy, wake up!" I shout. The sounds of Zoro fighting ring through the air. "How can you possibly sleep through all this fighting?!"

"Captain Django! The girl is trying to wake Straw Hat up."

My shoulders tense, and even though I'm not looking, I feel the weight of the stares homing in on me. I pull harder, the strain of doing so sending another tearing sensation up my arm.

"Come on, come on, come on."

"She defeated Chet?" Django spits, and I want to smack him. He doesn't have to sound that surprised. "I didn't expect that. These meddlesome kids are getting in the way."

Nami gasps, and I hear Usopp cry out, "Th-that's a chakram!"

The fear in their voices sends me into a frenzy, but I don't want to chance looking at Django and losing valuable time. Redoubling my efforts, I continue slapping Luffy's cheek with one hand and pulling him with the other. What the hell is with his body? Why won't he come out? If nothing else, the least he could do is wake up! I didn't think Django's hypnotism was this effective. Leaning back, I put all my weight into my next pull. My feet slide in the sand, but Luffy doesn't budge.

"Ember, get down!"

Zoro's command reaches me and I dive without a second thought—the last time I hesitated when someone told me to duck, Luffy's leg almost took my head off. Luffy's torso smashes into the stempost with a resounding crack. I land on the other side of him, wedging myself into the area where wood meets sand. Sunlight catches on Django's chakram flying through the air toward me, and I hope that his aim will be off and the flying metal wheel of death will lodge itself in the stempost instead of my face.

Luffy snaps up, eyes blazing. He directs that glare to the first person he sees—me—with no thought at all to the danger approaching him at an alarming rate. The force of his gaze makes me hesitate.

"Ember!" he cries, snapping me out of my trance. "What the hell was that for?"

The chakram slams into the back of Luffy's head. He falls toward me and I lift my hands to catch him, but he grinds his foot into the ground and stays on his feet. Gritting his teeth, every muscle in his body bulges. I stare at him in horror, guilt and fear bringing tears to my eyes. He lowers his head and I see the chakram embedded in his skull.

"Luffy?" I stammer, my eyes prickling. The trajectory of the arc would have sent the chakram slicing through me if he hadn't stood up, but that doesn't stop the guilt from rising in my stomach. I swallow heavily, forcing the sickness down. "Are you okay?"

With a snarl, he reaches behind him and yanks the chakram from his head. He tosses it to the side, much to the horror of the Black Cat Pirates. The ones closest to us scramble away on hands and knees.

"Ow!" Tears well up in his eyes, too. "That hurt!" He catches sight of me again and glares, getting in my face. "That really hurt!"

"Well, it should have killed you!" I snap, voice shaking. "Stop doing stupid things like that and scaring me!"

My voice isn't the only thing that's shaking. My chest is tight, and when I rub my hand across my eyes, my finger tremble. The image of the chakram sticking out of Luffy's head won't leave my thoughts. My nerves are reaching their snapping point.

"What?" Luffy blinks as if seeing me for the first time. He takes in my bloody appearance and frowns. Glancing behind him, his eyes alight on Nami, Zoro, and Usopp, all in various stages of injury. "What's going on?"

"You took another nap," I tell him. "So we picked up the slack, but it's time for you to stop goofing around."

His eyes narrow and he nods, turning to face the pass. I lean against the stempost, forcing myself to take deep breaths.

"You're hurt," he says, voice soft.

"I'll manage."

His hands tighten into fists. "The evil butler is here. Is this his fault?"

"More or less," I concede.

Kuro glances at his watch, casually saying, "Three minutes until I massacre everyone."

"No!" the pirates exclaim. "Not even Captain Django and Butchie can beat them in three minutes!"

Django scowls, whipping out two more chakrams from his coat. "Butchie, you take the swordsman. I'll take the Straw Hat brat."

He and Butchie face their respective opponents, but they only take a few steps before another person comes into view. Miss Kaya shuffles to the top of the pass, moving as if every step pains her. She clutches a coat around her nightgown, taking in the chaos with wide eyes. Sweat beads on her face. Her eyes alight on Kuro, and her lips press together so tightly they almost disappear.

"Klahadore, stop this!"

"Miss Kaya, what a lovely surprise. What are you doing here?"

Kuro half-turns, adjusting his glasses, to meet his former mistress' eyes. His voice is cold.

[Author's Note]

The company I'm interviewing with assigned me two writing tasks to complete by Sunday night so they can judge my writing ability under deadline. On the one hand, I'm excited! I'm moving to the next stage of the interview process! On the other hand, I had to super speed through this chapter to get it out on time because I'll be working through the entire weekend now. It's good news for you guys, though, because you're getting the chapter a little earlier than I probably would have posted otherwise! It's also the longest chapter since Chapter 1, which is still beating this one out by a good 800 words.

Honest truth, this chapter took me probably three weeks to write. I worked on other projects/chapters in that time period, but still. It took a long time, so I hope you enjoy it. My posting schedule has almost caught up to my writing speed, which means we're real close to chapter uploads slowing down. I'm not the fastest writer in the world, as evidenced by the three weeks it took me to write this haha.

Now for the shout outs! grace-adalyn sent me the most amazing PM review; I might have done a happy dance when I read it! I also wanted to express how much I appreciate the good vibes jessicabailey221 and MopingBlues sent my way! You guys have no idea how much of an encouragement and inspiration you are to me. And last but not least, I've gotta thank my girls, KnightNGale020 and WyseInk, who support me every step of the way with beta reads and critiques.

Much love, and until next week, ~D

~All rights and credit go to Eiichiro Oda, all places and characters are fictional (and if they bear any relation to real places/people, it's just a happy accident), I own nothing, this is purely fan work, and all that legal jazz.~