OH GOD I'M SORREEEEEEE! TT3TT I was so busy I almost forgot but NOW I AM BACK AND I HOPE YOU FORGIVE ME.
And then there's summer school. A lot of people thought me amazing because I would update Horizons weekly in the middle of the school year, but I never actually went five days a week. I went to a high school where you only go two days a week. One full day and one half day.
Yes, I cheated. :D
You guys better give Tamari a BIG THANK YOU for reminding me this story existed I SWEAR I almost forgot. Tamari, I saw your reminder and I slapped my forehead, broke out my mp3 and listened to Friend Like Me on loop as I typed FIVE THOUSAND WORDS IN ONE DAY. This is big for someone who ACTUALLY WENT TO SCHOOL AS WELL. *dies*
Yesss, the song Friend Like Me is my well of inspiration. Not Arabian Nights. That's messed up, yo.
Drama llama chapter. I swear, I always feel so silly writing this kind of thing... Embarrassed, really. D:
But then I found that they didn't have stairs in houses in Japan back then, and I began to think about an alternate way for Kuina to die. And then I got carried away. *sweat drop* I realized later that to think not having stairs was silly, and that the source LIED to me but by then... Oh well. :D
Oh yeah, there's blood in this chapter. Lots of it. And implied death. Sort of.
I do not own One Piece or Aladdin. And I really do enjoy this story, I just honestly forgot. ._.;;
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
"It begins on a dark night where a dark man waits, with a dark purpose."
~Traveling Merchant
Kaya felt tears well up in her eyes, but forced them down as she cradled Usopp's head behind Johnny and Yosaku. Usopp looked up at her, despite the blood spilling onto her clothes, and offered a shaky smile.
The tears streamed down Kaya's face.
"Why, Usopp?" She choked out. "Why did you try to save me, even after I said all those horrible things about you? Why would you risk your life like that?" Kaya could still see in her mind how Usopp jumped in front of her when Kuro lunged at her, and how he still clung to his ankle when the demon man tried to step over his fallen body.
"You will not touch her!" Kaya shook her head to dispel the memories as Usopp coughed and spoke.
"You're... a good person, Kaya." He murmured. "My mom... she said my dad was a bandit... but he still cared about good people..." Another cough, and a suspicious sniffle from the two guards in front of her. "I didn't make the Vegetable Bandits for money, or even for food... I made it for a family. You care about your family... that makes you a good person, right?" He grinned up at her, and she could only hold him a little tighter.
The guards in front of her burst into tears.
"Broooootherrrrrr!" They wailed. Usopp rolled his eyes as they turned around with tears almost comically falling down their faces.
"You killed the mood."
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
Zoro scowled as he fended off the claws with another wave of his sword, wondering how long he could hold off. Normally he would have simply placed the sword in his mouth and drawn his last sword, then blazed right through his opponent, but Kuro was far too quick to ensure that he would get him with one strike.
And if he wasn't standing in front of Kuro, he would get to Usopp.
The thought honestly surprised Zoro. Why should he care what happened to Usopp? He was a thousand years old (in his prime, damn it all), and he knew he would outlast any master he ever got. Luffy would make his last two wishes eventually, and then he would never see his headache-inducing ragtag band of idiots ever again...
The thought of leaving them almost hurt. No schemes pulled off by the crazy prince, no face-splitting grin when he had to be dragged back by Usopp, no fantastical stories from the pathological liar, no motherly nagging from the greedy witch, only the inside of that damned lamp.
Zoro remembered when he had first become a genie, and life didn't get much more painful than that. In comparison, a sword through his chest might have felt like a feather. When he thought about how much it had hurt, he could easily dismiss any other kind of pain. Like how when he thought about losing Kuina, or even that damned thing soaring right into him and forever... Well, anything compared to those events made life almost boring.
But he didn't want to leave the group. It was painful to admit, but he honestly felt like real nakama. Anyone from his country knew what such a bond was, and how many had searched for such a thing was incredible. Even in his travels he had always isolated himself from such a thing, because eventually people leave or die, and the pain of losing them was something that hurt even after a thousand years.
Kuina.
"You're weak, Zoro." The face taunted at his mind as he struggled to push back the long, sharp claws. "Can't even beat a-" And then the voice would go silent, and the face would twist into something sour. Kanaye, his name was. A fitting name, for it meant 'zealous one'. And everyone knew how hard Kanaye worked for his goal of becoming the world's greatest swordsman.
Zoro challenged him. He lost, but with honor. Under the rising moon, he swore that he would become the greatest swordsman in the world, and they could fight for that honor for the rest of their days. And Kanaye began to cry.
"I... I can't." Zoro gave a start. Glared.
"Why not?" He demanded. Kanaye looked his way and sniffled.
"Because Oto-san says a girl can't become the greatest swordsman in the world." Zoro then looked past the cropped hair and boyish smirk that usually sported the face, and stared.
Kanaye was a girl. No one at the dojo had known, not even himself. Women were forbidden to learn the ways of the samurai that fought at the front lines. But she was the best, and not even he could beat her. Zoro shook his head in disbelief.
"B-But..."
"I'm sorry." She whispered. "But you'll have your dream, because when girls grow up, they get weak. It's why we're not allowed to fight with other samurai. Soon... I'll have to disappear. Oto-san always said that someday I would, and then I'd reappear as a girl, and no one would know the difference. I'd just have to sit back and learn to be a real lady, because I can't be a real warrior..."
"Shut up!" The girl gave a start and turned to Zoro who was shaking in rage. "You're saying that this whole time, all of my training to defeat you, is going to be thrown away because you're a girl?" Zoro marched up to her and stared her in the face. "You've always beat me because you were determined to win! Not because of what you were, but because of what you did! And you're going to throw that away because you're a girl!" Zoro scowled and held out a hand.
"A promise! One of us is going to become the world's greatest swordsman, because we're both going to work for it! We're going to reach that goal together, and nothing will stand in our way!" Kanaye sniffled as she stared at the offered hand.
"... Kuina."
"Eh?"
"My real name... it's Kuina..." A grin. She slapped her hand in his own. "And I'll remind you when I defeat you again, and when you lie in front of me because I became the world's greatest swordswoman, and you were left behind." They shook. Zoro grinned back.
"Don't count on it!"
Zoro was shaken out of his thoughts by a faint noise. He gave a start as Kuro broke off, looking up with interest.
"Ah, he's returned." Kuro grinned. He then took three steps back.
BOOM!
The noise was Luffy yelling as he fell from the sky. Had Zoro asked, he would have heard about how Kuro had given Luffy a good swing and how Luffy had flown off so quickly that no one could tell where he'd gone.
Well, apparently he'd gone up. Luffy shook the sand from his vest as he stood, holding a hand to his hat. "Wow, that's was scary." Kuro's eyes narrowed.
"I honestly expected you to be a few minutes longer... Ah, well, the moon is just about right." He gave a glance to the full moon, which was nearly fully exposed. "The fun is just beginning." Luffy tilted his head in confusion.
"What fun? This isn't fun at all!" Zoro nearly slapped his forehead, if it wouldn't mean beheading himself with his swords in his hands. And he wasn't dropping those until Kuro was gone.
"Idiot!" Luffy looked back at Kaya and Usopp, who were cowering behind the beaten Johnny and Yosaku. Luffy narrowed his eyes as he cracked his knuckles.
"It's just me, Zoro and the bastard then. I told you I'd kick your ass!" Kuro only shook his head.
"Honestly, placing so much trust in someone that could so easily turn on you. There are more stories besides the one from up north, you know. Like a certain one from Japan..." Kuro mused to himself, sliding sideways to avoid a punch by Luffy. "Ah, I'm getting ahead of myself. Perhaps it started when your little friend was murdered?" Zoro's eyes narrowed and he snarled under his breath, charging forward with his swords outstretched. Kuro only sidled behind him.
"And when he took vengeance, the walls were painted in blood." Kuro recited silkly. "The tale of the child of Asura that killed a group of rouge warriors with three swords. Do you remember, Roronoa?" The voice seemed to ring in Zoro's head.
"Do you remember how she died?" Zoro growled something under his breath and charged after Kuro, the thoughts still ringing in his head.
"Ha, this one was a girl!"
"Bastard...!"
"Oh? One of them's still alive..."
"Aw, leave him. Not much he can do anyway." Zoro coughed, blood spilling from the corners of his mouth.
"I'll... I'll kill you..." A figure crouched down and patted Zoro's head as he lay in the dirt, the dojo burning behind him. "Listen kid... nothing personal, right? You've got two swords, but you'd need a thousand to deal with us! Don't even try, just live. Humans are fragile little things, after all. One little snap, one misplaced sword, and life's over for you." Zoro attempted to meet the face looking down on him in contempt, but even in the firelight of his home and the moonlight from above, all he could make out were shadows crouched over his friend.
And glowing red eyes that burned into memory.
Kuro's eyes glowed red as Zoro recalled the night, and it only seemed to add fuel to the fire as he charged forward. Kuro sighed as he skipped back from the blades again.
"So tragic. You almost seem to blame me for the creatures that took away your home." Kuro darted in with a swipe that nearly cut Zoro across the chest if not for his block. Kuro skipped out with a grin. "People may call you some sort of demon god, but you were nothing more than a rogue samurai gone wrong the day you lost everything! An honorable warrior of the time would stab themselves after taking such measures..." Another swipe, another lazy dodge. "But you were one of the few that decided to live!"
Zoro gripped his swords like his life depended on it as he looked over Kanaye's... no, Kuina's body. His master lay dead in the dojo that was no more than ashes by now, and tears streamed down his face. Students fallen around him... and Kuina's sword still glistened in the moonlight.
And the blade pointed to the forest the demons had all but melted into.
Luffy leaped forward and attempted to slam Kuro down, but he missed. Narrowly, but missed nonetheless. He was getting faster. Or Kuro was getting slower. Kuro hissed as he jumped back, glaring at Luffy.
Then stiffened and looked up at the sky as though in a trance. Zoro followed his gaze to where the full moon was completely risen. Kuro began laughing, an almost hysterical sound, as his form seemed to waver, shifting into a nightmarish monster.
"And now time's up! And you've been deserted!" The creature snarled. Belatedly Zoro realized that Nami had disappeared. Luffy stared with wide eyes as the thing grew to massive proportions, black silky fur over what was once human skin.
A black panther that walked as a man, with eyes as red as blood and fangs that gleamed in the moonlight. And claws that flew towards Luffy with an almost desperate snatch.
Blood flew.
They really hadn't thought much of it. A kid that decided to take revenge on his master by following the demons back to their group. What caught their attention was the painted sword, a fine blade indeed, firmly clenched in his teeth.
Not that the kid had anywhere else to put it, what with his hands being occupied with his other two swords. Claws sharpened on stone, fully expecting to at least give the kid a quick death. Even they respected such bravery. Or foolishness.
The eyes narrowed above the blade, the hilt in his mouth still red from the hand of its former master. It was all they had of warning before steel the color of the moon flashed.
And blood followed like the tide.
Luffy staggered back, claw marks visible on his chest as the thing then tackled Zoro. A muzzled snarl erupted in his face and he shoved off the thing before reaching for his last sword...
Only to realize his hands were empty, and he had only Kuina's sword left. He cursed words in a snarl as he drew his last sword just in time to block another swipe of claws, and the eyes seemed to glow in delight as he staggered back.
"Sh-Shit!" A dodge, a swipe, still going backwards. "I'm not good at-" Duck. Now. Almost got a haircut, there. "One sword!" Anything else was cut off by a back hand and he flew into a nearby dune, hand clenching his last sword like his life depended on it. And it did, in a way. He looked around wildly, but his swords were no where to be found.
"Looking for these?" The thing hissed, and Zoro could just make out his swords wrapped up in a long, black snake of a tail. Then the tail flung the swords out of sight among the dunes.
Zoro saw red.
"Swords that aren't yours..." He charged forward, sword held down. "Need to be treated with respect!" An almost wild slash, and Kuro staggered away. A faint trickle of blood dripped down from a small cut on his cheek. Zoro grinned... and ducked.
Luffy came in for a punch right above the genie, right in Kuro's face as the cat staggered backwards, clawed hand at his jaw. Luffy grinned dangerously.
"That one was for Usopp! Gomu gomu no..." The he charged forward, punches flying towards Kuro so it seemed as though there were more than two fists flying his way. "Gatling Gun!"
Eventually Kuro flipped backwards on the dune some yards away and snarled at them.
"You can't defeat me! No one can!" He roared, then sprang forward not towards Luffy or Zoro, but towards the princess and her two guards, all frozen with terror. "You've failed!"
Luffy's eyes widened and he leapt after Kuro, tackling him away from the four just in time.
"Don't you dare!" He shouted. Kuro only charged towards Luffy. Zoro swore under his breath, but without all of his swords...
"Heads up!" A voice called, and Zoro blinked as he saw his swords suddenly fly towards him and dig into the sand in front of him. An orange head peeked over some nearby dunes, and Nami winked at him.
Zoro stared incredulously. "You... threw my swords?" Nami snorted.
"You're welcome." Yes, Zoro thought he certainly would miss this group as he placed the white sword in his mouth and pulled the other two from the sand.
"Thanks." Meanwhile Luffy was sent sprawling in front of the guards, and Kuro was leaping forward with claws outstretched...
A flash of steel, and Kuro was sent backwards with the telltale slash mark on his chest. Zoro growled as he stood in front of Luffy, Kuro falling in front of him.
"Bastard. I hate attacks on those who've fallen." He didn't save them, Zoro reminded himself. Otherwise the cuffs would have stopped him mid swing. He was only... attacking what attacked him first. Yeah.
Luffy still sent him a grin that said otherwise. "Thanks!"
"I didn't-" Luffy only tackled Kuro. "... Save you." Zoro scowled under his breath as he stood watching for when Luffy would get off of Kuro, and he could slice up the bastard some more. "Idiot."
"S-So cool..." Johnny breathed behind him. Zoro almost twitched, then sighed.
"Usopp, how you holding up?" He couldn't see him, but Usopp reached up a hand that he slowly curled into a thumbs up. "Hmph. That takes away a possible wish then..." He could hear Usopp slam to the ground in disbelief, but only grinned to himself. Just a little.
Luffy got his arms and legs wrapped around Kuro's arms and legs. "Stay still!" He yelled, eyes ablaze. "I told you I'd stop you! Gomu gomu no..." his neck stretched back, then he slammed it forward. "Kane!"
His head smashed against the back of Kuro's skull with enough force to send the cat-like beast into the sand below.
It was over soon. A battle fought against the rage of something that turned their own slaughter against them, something unheard of for a samurai, which never fought in the dark, and never attacked from the shadows.
The demon that leaned against the wall with its last ragged breaths was very sorry to be on this side of such. He stared in awe at the child in front of him that still clenched the sword between his teeth.
"Who are you?" The boy seemed about ready to collapse, but stood tall and looked the demon right in the eye.
"I am Roronoa Zoro." He stated firmly. "And I'm going to be the greatest swordsman in the world! Someday my name will reach the heavens themselves, and..." He choked back a sob, and the demon seemed to realize all over again how young he was to lose a friend. But he hadn't lied; it was nothing personal. They only needed to feed. "And I'll keep my side of the deal." The boy said softly, carefully taking the sword from his mouth and staring at the painted blade.
Even in his last hour, the demon didn't doubt him.
There was an odd silence as they all gathered around the still form of the monster, Nami looking down in awe.
"He's... really gone." She murmured. Kaya's lip trembled as she took in the odd panther features on his face.
"What is he?" She whispered.
"Cursed." Zoro stated flatly, wiping his swords against a cloth. "Born normal, but cursed somewhere. He was probably a pirate. Luck, good or bad, seems to cling to sailors like the salt of the sea." Nami's eyes snapped up to Zoro.
"How do you know?" Zoro looked over the blade in his hand before sheathing it, staring right back.
"Things never leave you alone, once you've done something wrong." He said, face blank. "Like stepping into a demon's home uninvited, or killing a rogue group of them in vengeance." He scowled. "Then no matter where you go, you get targeted by some sort of black luck." Luffy blinked.
"Black luck? Like what?" Zoro only stared pointedly at Kuro, and the group shivered. Yosaku stared at Zoro.
"How do you know that, brother?" He asked. Zoro shrugged.
"I'm not supposed to be alive. I was supposed to die long, long ago. And look at me now." Zoro snorted. "Eternity of servitude. Stuck in a common household object for living quarters." Usopp blinked, sitting up from where he had been bandaged by Nami.
"Didn't you say that was your choice?" He wondered out loud. Zoro scowled.
"Obviously I had a reason, baka." He growled out, then walked back to the horses. "We should set up camp." Luffy then let out an exclamation of how cold it was, much to the annoyance of the others. But they couldn't blame him; in the heat of the battle with the odd creature, they hadn't realized just how cold the night was. Nami sighed and walked over to the camels.
"I'll get the tents out. Zoro, start the fire." Zoro grumbled under his breath, but did as she said anyway.
"Damned witch."
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
The vikings all froze as the boat pulled up on the shore, and a burly figure leaped out onto the sands below, more vikings following behind him.
"What is going on here?" The man bellowed, though the town wondered how such was possible with the odd metal that seemed almost fused to his chin and up to his mouth. The man was... huge. Big, bulking muscles, and a single strong arm that ended in a large axe. Prosthetics were special after all, and axes were manly. At least this had been Morgan the Axe's reasoning behind his unusual appearance. Only it was said with much more yelling, and a lot less consideration for the village healer that had only told him it was impossible.
The smeared stain on the wall was a reminder to the next healer that carefully attached the axe to the severed stump on the viking leader.
Morgan's eyes narrowed as he looked over the fallen vikings under his command, snorting in contempt. "Huh, a bunch of weak villagers and this is what I find." One of the nearby vikings squeaked.
The axe flew and the viking was erased from existence. Morgan proudly held up his axe at the terrified villagers. "This axe is a symbol of my power! How dare you oppose me! You will all perish!" He roared, veins bulging on his neck.
Zoro snorted, and Morgan's attention whipped to him like a snake. Morgan's eyes widened. "You!" Zoro stared at him oddly as his face curled into a sneer. "The Viking Slayer, Roronoa Zoro."
The murmur around the villagers was one thing, but the look of faint surprise on Zoro's face said much more to the townsfolk. Zoro blinked.
"Viking Slayer? Honestly." Zoro scoffed. "I didn't slay them. Well, not all of them." Men shivered at the calm allowance on the man's face. "After all, they said that they were the strongest warriors in the world. I took it as a challenge." Zoro cocked an eyebrow at the seething Morgan. "Are you going to tell me the same?" Morgan's eyes narrowed.
"I am the strongest warrior in the world!" Zoro sighed and turned fully to him.
"I take that as a challenge, I hope you know." Morgan only nodded at the other vikings, and they formed a sort of circle around him and Zoro. He paused thoughtfully, then grinned nastily.
"I believe I've seen that type of weapon before... Helmeppo!" He snapped, and a scrawny kid standing nearby flinched. "Get the thing!" Helmeppo raced to the ship then came back holding a small parcel, which, at a cue from Morgan, was unwrapped in full view of Zoro.
Zoro went very, very still to see Kuina's sword in the grasp of the young, pale viking. Morgan smirked at his reaction.
"You still want that fight?"
"You..." If the villagers had been terrified of Zoro before, when he had cut through the vikings with ease and seemed almost bored doing it, then the sight of his deadly venomous look as he took in his sword was enough to make them wonder who the real devil was. Zoro practically snarled in rage as he dashed forward at Morgan. Helmeppo hid behind a group of vikings with a squeak, shoving the katana in one of their hands. "Will not touch that which does not belong to you!" He roared as he ducked under Morgan's wild swing and sliced the viking right through his chain of armor.
Morgan's eyes nearly bugged out of his head, but he jumped back and threw off his armor with a growl. "Had you not such impudence, I would have even allowed you to join my clan under my command! Those who oppose me will die!" Another swing, and Zoro ducked as the sand behind him flew up in a from the strike, even at such a distance.
Coby's eyes bulged out of their sockets. "S-Such power..." Everyone, viking and villager alike, had paused to watch the fight between Morgan and Zoro. The two were staring down each other, both weighing the other in their mind.
Then Zoro smirked, and dashed towards Morgan. The viking leader's heavy bulk made it nearly impossible to move quickly, and instantly found himself under a barrage of strikes from the younger warrior. Coby cheered along with the villagers as slices rained down on the viking, the green-haired man never being touched. No one noticed the blonde, scrawny viking sneaking away with the katana.
They certainly noticed when a little girl kicked him in the shin and he gave a shrill cry, not unlike a very non-viking woman. Even the women of their tribes were fierce, something Coby remembered with a shudder as he recalled the viking that had first kidnapped him. Alvida. Smashing a barrel over the psycho's head and sneaking away with a small, handmade dinghy had seemed to do the trick. Until it sunk not too far from Shell Village, of course.
Little girl. Viking brat. Kicked in the shin. Of all the eyes that widened, Zoro's seemed to grow to occupy half of his face as he made an odd choking noise.
"Rika?" Coby wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry at the sight of the small girl holding a broom and whacking the viking repeatedly, scolding as she did so.
"Stupid viking! Taking my brother's sword! Sneaking away like a stupid coward! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" She punctuated each 'stupid' with another whack to the head. The viking was on the ground with comical tears on his face, but then he ducked away from the blows and whistled.
"Soro! Come!" He yelped. A low, chilling growl then emanated from the ship, and the hair on the back of the villagers' necks raised when a large, black dog leaped onto the beach in front of Helmeppo.
A first glance would say it was a dog. A second glance would say it was a black dog the size of a small calf. A third glance, one directed at the glowing red eyes set above the sharp teeth said so much more.
"The Black Shuck!" A villager wailed. Coby's knees trembled in terror. He'd heard of the Black Shuck, a legendary asset of the vikings. It was a real demon, not like the vikings even with all of their bloodthirsty pillaging and torching and absolute madness... This was something to really fear.
And now it directed its hollow gaze directly on Rika. And crouched dangerously, a chilling phantom growl leaking from its bared teeth. It almost seemed to be made of shadows itself, and even Helmeppo was near hysterics as he cackled in triumph, pointing at Rika.
"Soro! Attack her!" A growl, and Soro dashed directly at the small girl. Who cried out even as she swung her broom out...
"NO!" Zoro wasn't stupid. He'd dealt with demons before. He knew that few things could fight off a demon, and he knew a phantom demon when he saw it. You couldn't touch those without salt or a good charm. None of which he had on him. And he knew what they did to those their masters pointed at.
So fight forgotten, Zoro ran towards Rika using all the speed he could muster and shoved her out of the way.
And the large dog went right into him.
And Zoro let out a yell of agony that sent chills down the spines of everyone present, including one wide-eyed and unharmed Rika.
"BROTHER!"
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
Zoro jerked forward from his sleep as his eyes shot open, chest heaving. The fire was still blazing in front of him, and the tents were still there. No demon dog. Zoro inwardly cursed himself for letting a silly little thing like a memory get to him. Especially in a dream.
It was only a dream, after all. Even if it had really happened. Usopp and Kaya were chatting by the fire, while Luffy, Usopp, and Kaya's two guards were doing... something with a dagger? Eh, Zoro didn't really care either way. And Nami...
Was staring him in the face. Zoro was proud to say he didn't flinch. At all. This didn't make her sudden appearance any more... unsettling. Nor did it decrease the worried look on her face as she leaned over him.
"Nightmare?" Zoro opened his mouth to say that no, he didn't get silly things like nightmares, but then he got a good look at her own countenance. Pale, cold sweat, heart likely racing. She'd had her own dreams.
So he shut his mouth and only gave a firm nod. She gave a shaky smile.
"I know I'm probably not the person to say this... but talking always seemed to help." Nami stated carefully. Zoro snorted and leaned back against the rock he'd propped himself up against when he first decided to sleep.
"Just something that happened a long time ago. A crazy-ass kid that almost got herself killed." Nami shook her head sadly.
"Kids do that. Never thinking of the consequences... What happened to her?"
"..." Zoro looked up as he thought about it. What had happened to Rika? Or her mother? Or even the town...? "... I don't know. I never saw her again."
"Because of the..." Nami made a gesture to him, and Zoro huffed.
"Yeah. Because of that. I'd wager they all died a thousand years ago." He said matter of factly. Nami's eyes widened. She hadn't really thought of living forever, leaving people she cared to age and die while she...
"That's horrible." She breathed. Zoro shrugged.
"It wasn't too bad. I never expected to see them again anyway. My home was gone long before then, and I left my country on the idea that I would never return there again." He yawned. "I said my goodbyes." Nami stared at his complacent attitude at apparently losing everything.
"Why would you leave? What is worth saying goodbye to everyone you ever cared about and claiming yourself some sort of demon?"
"... I didn't call myself anything but my own name." Zoro mused, looking up at the stars. "I only told them that I was Roronoa Zoro, and they decided to add on to it. Like my own name wasn't good enough. Huh." He snorted. "Idiots. I promised I'd make my name reach the heavens, not some title like 'Viking Slayer' or 'Asura'."
"... Viking Slayer? Is that what Kuro was talking about?" Nami asked. Zoro shrugged.
"It was a long time ago. Vikings called themselves the greatest. They challenged me, and I took it. I won. Idiots weren't really worth my time."
"And now here you are, rambling on like some senile old coot." Nami teased, not even flinching when Zoro gave her a half hearted scowl before closing his eyes and attempting to drift off.
"I'm not old. Witch." He growled out. Nami scowled back, also laying back.
"And I'm not a witch. Seaweed head." The vague twitch was quite satisfying to see, even as she slowly drifted to sleep with the thoughts of her own nightmare buzzing in her head.
Bellemere...
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
Kaya smiled at Usopp, who only looked at her worriedly. Nami, Zoro, Luffy, and the guards packed the last of their camp in the background.
"Are you sure you'll be fine?" Usopp asked. Kaya nodded.
"My sickness was from the grief of losing my father. You and your friends have helped me see that I need to move on from the past, and start anew in my country." She took a deep breath, turning to Johnny and Yosaku. "We must be swift. It may take many more days to reach East Blue palace." Luffy stared at her.
"What are you talking about?" Nami smacked the back of his head.
"Don't be rude. You didn't even tell her." Luffy managed to looked sheepish as he rubbed his head.
"Oh, right. Well, Zoro got this great idea last night!" He grinned and pointed to Zoro. "I still have two wishes left, and you guys need to get to East Blue palace really soon, right?" Kaya gaped at what he seemed to be offering.
"I-I couldn't ask you for such a thing, Luffy." She shook her head. "One only has three wishes in an entire lifetime." Luffy shrugged.
"I don't want the wishes though. So you can have one!" The guards sniffled and looked at Zoro in awe.
"So selfless!"
"And humble!" They almost attempted a dance before Zoro snatched them by the back of their clothes, scowling.
"I did it for me, idiots. The sooner I can get his wishes, the better." Johnny and Yosaku still looked at him in wonder, and he sighed, dropping them. Johnny held up a hand as he thought of something.
"Wait, you look for great swordsman, right brother?" He asked. Zoro nodded cautiously. Yosaku grinned.
"Great! We have a world's greatest swordsman in this century! Do you know the name 'Hawkeye Mihawk'?" If Zoro had been eating anything, he would have choked on it. A very sad death for an all powerful genie and master swordsman, but true. As it were, he only choked on air. Luffy patted Zoro on the back until he recovered, and then grabbed Yosaku by the front of his shirt.
"How the hell do you know that name?" He demanded, shaking the poor man. He seemed almost pale, Nami noticed. And twitchy. Definitely twitchy. Johnny held up a hand.
"Oi, oi brother! I-It's just a name! Calm down! He's supposed to be the greatest swordsman in the world!" Zoro dropped Yosaku, staggering back.
"I know that!" He snarled. "He's..." He trailed off and shook his head. "Never mind. It's impossible. Huh." He sighed and brushed sand off his vest. "Just make the wish, Luffy."
"Shishsishi! Yep! Okay, I wish Kaya, Johnny, and Yosaku were at the East Blue palace!" Zoro didn't wave his hand or give any magic words, but in the next instant the three were gone, camel along with them. Luffy blinked. "Oh, I almost forgot the camel. Thanks!"
"Hn." Zoro only grumbled and jumped on his horse. As the four began to ride off, Nami noticed how he still seemed shaken from whatever Yosaku had said.
How did Zoro know Hawkeye Mihawk?
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
Shanks was casually strolling through the palace gardens with Ace, both somber.
"... He'll be fine, Ace." Ace snorted.
"I'll believe it when he comes back. How long was Gramps out to sea?"
"Almost thirty years."
"EH?" Ace stopped and stared at Shanks incredulously. "And you let him go knowing he might be longer?" Shanks blinked and shrugged.
"I thought you knew?" He offered sheepishly. Ace slapped himself in the forehead.
"Where Gramps found a guy like you, I'll never know..." Ace grumbled to himself, storming back in the direction in the palace. Shanks only grinned to himself.
"Where indeed." He was about to walk after the boy but was cut off by a voice.
"Merri!" Well, Shanks would be damned if he didn't know that voice. Unexpected, but okay. He walked around the corner and paused.
"... How'd you get the camel in the pond?" Shanks asked casually, taking in the odd scene as two masked guards struggled to get Kaya's camel out. Kaya turned his way with a start.
"Shanks!" She cried, running and throwing herself at the man. Shanks caught her in a hug, noting with alarm how her shoulders were shaking.
"Easy, easy, what happened? Where's your father?" He demanded. The question only brought forth a sob, and he held her tighter with a grim expression.
"Let's go see the sultan."
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
"... Is that so..." Garp mused to himself, watching the girl nod with tears still streaming down. She took a deep breath as Shanks asked
"Did he follow you?" Kaya nodded, but offered a smile.
"He did, and he almost caught us, too. But then we ran into Luffy." She started.
"What? Luffy?" Ace demanded, coming into the throne room himself. He then bowed sheepishly. "Um, nice to see you again, by the way." Kaya nodded back, then turned back to Garp.
"The man turned out to be some sort of demon, and when the full moon rose..." She trailed off, eyes almost haunted. Shanks sighed.
"A werecat, right? Something that takes on the form of a cat under the full moon." He explained at her confused look. "And Luffy..."
"Fought him off along with his friends." She nodded. "They were so brave, even after..."
"What?" Shanks asked kindly, and she shook her head.
"Nothing. It was already sorted out. But I was surprised, I'll admit. How did a prince find a genie?" There was a silence for about two heartbeats, and then a chorus of
"Whaaat?" Garp burst into laughter while Shanks wasn't sure where to look. Ace...
"Of all the crazy things to do, he found a genie?" He demanded, positively ablaze. "I bet the first thing he wished for was meat!" Kaya shook her head.
"He only wished for two things. To save Usopp, and to send me here." She stated. Ace rocked back on his heels.
"Huh. Weird." Kaya giggled a bit as she thought of something.
"It's strange, but the genie seemed so eager for him to use his wishes immediately. And Luffy refused to do so." She giggled again. "Poor Zoro."
Shanks stiffened, and forced himself not to attempt to shake the young woman. Although his silence seemed to catch her attention enough, and he cleared his throat shakily.
"W-What... did you say?" He asked carefully. Kaya blinked.
"The genie's name was Roronoa Zoro. I didn't even know he was a genie at first," Kaya admitted. "He was traveling with the group like normal. Luffy seemed to have wanted to keep the man in his company as a friend rather than a genie, and didn't ask for anything from the man..." Shanks didn't wait around to hear the rest, and all but flew out the door.
"Shanks? Shanks!" Garp called after his retreating figure. He leaned back, puzzled.
"What's with him?" Ace asked, staring after the Grand Vizier worriedly. Kaya blinked.
"Was it something I said?"
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
Oh Kaya, how little you know... XD I started writing this the second I got your review, Tamari. It just took me longer because I'm actually going to school every day. How do you people live like this?
Second wish granted! I was thinking so hard when I was first writing this chapter because it was crucial to my plot that Luffy would get his second wish in this arc, because WHAT WOULD LUFFY WISH FOR AND- *slap forehead* Duh. Kaya and co. need a way home. Insert bang head on wall.
I went overboard with the whole flashback things, yes. But Kuro's gone, and this arc is OVER! :D Yay. This story is almost half way over. Oo;; What a terrifying thought.
And I think I explained the Black Shuck to someone, but I forgot who. TT Here's a bit of copy and paste from a Norfolk myth website to clear things up:
An Old Norfolk Saying... "And a dreadful thing from the cliff did spring, And its wild bark thrill'd around, His eyes had the glow of the fires below, Twas the form of the Spectre Hound"
There are so many myths, tales, legends and sightings of this fearsome apparition that it is hard to know where to begin. Black Shuck is said to be one of the oldest phantoms of Great Britain, with the name deriving from the Anglo-Saxon word 'scucca' meaning demon or devil.
Other historians say that the hound has its origins in Norse mythology based on the huge dog of war of Odin and Thor 'Shukir' who came over to Britain thousands of years ago along with the Vikings long-ships.
Local legend tells of a huge hound, the size of a small calf with blazing eyes, who regularly prowls the coastal path between Sheringham and Overstrand.
Unsuspecting night walkers will first become aware of the pad pad sound of the hounds heavy paws.
Out of the corner of their eye they may see a gathering darkness, which slowly forms into the outline of a huge hound.
Lurking in the night shadows the beast is said to track the steps of its victim, drawing ever closer.
Anyone unfortunate enough to turn around and meet its fiery gaze is said to die within a twelve month period.
I tweaked it a bit on the last point, obviously. But I went searching for hours on finding a suitable demon dog for Soro. Then I found this. IT WAS SO PERFECT YOU HAVE NO IDEA.
Because was I the only one who looked at Morgan, a raging hulk of a guy with an axe for an arm and his constant yells of 'ALL WHO OPPOSE ME WILL DIE', and immediately think primitive medieval warrior? Alvida too. *gigglesnort* Vikings, ha. I crack myself up. xDDD
Special thanks to eternitybeckons, bookishangel, Son of Whitebeard, Tamari, and cb for your lovely reviews! YOU GUYS ALL OWE TAMARI A COOKIE, BECAUSE I WOULD HAVE SERIOUSLY FORGOTTEN THIS STORY EXISTED WITHOUT THIS AWESOME PERSON.
… I'd like a cookie too? :D