Disclaimer: Okay, seriously, we all know that I don't own One Piece…
Nine lives, a Thousand Plans
Chapter 11: Kuro's Mystery and Madness.
They days following Karla's funeral, Kuro kept mostly to himself, as her death tormented him through his thoughts constantly.
He had contemplated suicide several times, but the thought of his son living without his parents saddened him, so he dismissed the idea.
Kuro also spent most of his time locked up in his workshop; sounds of drilling and hammering coming from within it.
He rarely ate, and he almost never came out, and he sold the mansion.
James followed his father almost everywhere, usually gripping onto his shirt, whenever his father emerged from the workshop.
"Kuro?" Sekorie asked, knocking on the large oak doors.
This had become a habit for her, and as usual, she received only the banging of nails and wood as an answer.
She sighed.
"I wonder what he's doing in there…" she thought to herself.
She was worried about him, and his son.
She was about to head home, when she heard the door open for the first time in a few weeks.
"Sekorie?" he asked.
She spun around, totally startled, and looked at him.
Kuro was much paler, and his hair was disheveled, and had less of a sheen then usual.
"Yes Kuro?" she asked, her tone conveyed shock and concern.
"Get Butchie for me." He said, "I'll need him for some metal working…"
Sekorie nodded, as Kuro scurried back into his work place. He shut the doors before Sekorie could get any kind of glance in what he was doing.
Butchie was with his brother Siam.
The two were keeping an eye on James, as they did everyday.
"Butchie, Kuro wants to see you." Sekorie said.
All three of them looked up, and Butchie, more startled then ever stood up.
"Did 'e say what he wanted?" Butchie asked, as Sekorie shook her head.
"He said nothing." She said, "But he seemed urgent about it. Please find out what he's up to…"
Butchie nodded, and went off in the direction of the workshop.
For an odd reason, that he couldn't explain, he felt utterly nervous the entire way there.
Perhaps it was that Kuro had changed, or the fact that he couldn't imagine what was passing through his friend's mind, especially now that his beloved was gone, and all he had left was his son.
When he reached the shop, he took a large gulp before going in.
"Kuro?" Butchie asked timidly.
His surroundings were silent for a time, but he then heard a voice that sent chills down the length of his spine.
"Hello, Butchie." The voice said.
Butchie turned around to see Kuro behind him.
"Kuro?!" Butchie asked.
Kuro emerged out of the shadows, a sadistic glare in his eyes.
"Yes, it is I." he replied, his voice resembling the hiss of a snake, "You're probably wondering why I asked you here…"
Butchie only nodded.
"Well, I require ten swords, without hilts." Kuro said, "I want ten perfectly formed blades, you understand?"
"What would you do with only the blades?" Butchie asked curiously.
"That is NOT, your concern." Kuro snapped.
Butchie cringed,
"I only asked for your services, not your opinion." Kuro growled, "You will find out in good time, however."
Butchie nodded,
"Alright. When will ya need 'em by?" he asked.
Kuro seemed to ponder it for a while, but he answered swiftly.
"As soon as possible." Kuro said, his voice calm once again.
"Okay…" he said, trying to keep the nervousness out of his voice.
Kuro paced the floor, glancing at Butchie as if he were a panther ready to strike at any time.
"Um, sir…?" Butchie finally asked.
Kuro paused, and then slowly brought his head up to look at him.
"Yes?" he asked, his tone serpentine in every way.
"Are you ever coming out?" Butchie asked, "Evr'y one's worried about ya."
Kuro looked at him and laughed harshly.
"Of course I am!" he exclaimed, "I have big plans for all of us. We shall be rich, and with all the thrill we could imagine!"
Butchie wasn't sure of what to think or say, but he headed out, leaving Kuro in his warped state of mind.
When he returned, Sekorie, Siam and James looked at him.
"So, how is he?" Sekorie asked, holding James on her hip.
Butchie stayed silent for a while, but then spoke up.
"He's…different." He said.
"What do you mean, different?" Siam asked.
"I mean, that he's insane!" Butchie cried, "He even talks diff'rent! He's got this vibe…y'know, the ones that Django is always talkin' about!"
He shivered, as his brother went over to him.
"He was sayin' something about plans that he had…" Butchie continued, "He said it'd be adventurous, and we'd be rich… Something wasn't right about it…"
Sekorie looked on, shifting James' position on her hip.
"He didn't tell you about the plans?" she asked.
"Nope, he growled at me, and said that I'd find out soon." Butchie explained, "He wanted ten blades though for swords as soon as possible though."
Sekorie's face immediately turned to fear,
"He's not planning suicide, is he?!" she asked, frantically.
Butchie shook his head,
"I don't think so." He said, "He never seemed like the type to do that. Besides, he probably would have done it already."
Sekorie nodded, but let James go, since he was squirming impatiently in her arms.
Running over to Butchie, he tugged on his shirt.
"Is daddy okay?" the boy asked.
Butchie looked down at Kuro's son sadly.
"I dunno. He's probably lonely, so he'll come back." Butchie said.
"Yeah kid, your father will come to his senses sooner or later." Siam added.
"Can I go see him?" James asked.
"No, he's kinda busy." Siam said.
The boy's face fell.
"Oh… well maybe I can help him." James said, with total enthusiasm.
"No, it's grown-up business." Butchie said, "I'm sure when he's done, though, that he'll come and visit ya."
James smiled innocently.
"Good, 'cause I drew him a picture." The boy said, pointing to a small table, littered with colored pieces of paper, and wax crayons.
"Auntie, could you get it for me. It's the black cat that looks like Naito." The boy said.
Sekorie went over and grabbed the drawing.
When she examined it, she saw the messy letters that scrawled out:
"To dad, I luv you, James."
Sekorie felt her eyes brim with tears as she gripped the paper, and handed it to the little boy.
"Thanks." He said, giving her a grin.
James then looked at Butchie.
"See?!" he asked, holding it out enthusiastically.
Butchie gently took the paper out of James' hand and looked at it.
"It's real nice, kid." He said.
James beamed happily.
Siam then looked at it.
"Yeah, it's really nice." He said, feeling somewhat awkward.
"Yeah, I worked really hard on it… It took me almost a whole five minutes!" James exclaimed.
The two brothers chuckled lightly, as Siam picked the boy up.
James then paused and looked at them in a curious way.
"Where's my mommy?" he asked.
Everyone stopped, and Sekorie started to cry.
When she left the room, Siam and Butchie exchanged nervous glances.
"James, she's gone." Siam said.
James looked at Siam, utter confusion in his eyes.
"Where'd she go?" he asked, "Will she be back soon? She has to tuck me in and read me a story…"
The two Meowban brothers became teary-eyed as well.
"She ain't gonna be back…" Butchie said, "But we could tuck ya in and read ya that story."
James' expression conveyed nothing but fear and misunderstanding.
"But why won't she come back anymore?" he asked, "Daddy will be sad! Doesn't she love us anymore?"
Butchie wiped his eyes quickly, as Siam's eyes were glassy.
"She loved both of you, with all her might." Siam said, his voice on the verge of breaking.
James was crying now, into Siam's shoulder.
"Where did she go?!" the boy wailed, "I want her to come back!"
"James, she can't come back…" Siam tried to explain, "She died…"
"Wh-what do you mean? What is that?" James sniffled.
"It means that she can't come back." Butchie said.
"Does daddy know?" James asked, "I wanna tell him, so he's not sad anymore."
"Your father knows." Siam said, "He already knows… but what confuses me is that you should know that… it's been days!"
"I wanna tell him." James insisted, as he squirmed against Siam's grip.
Siam put him down, but James just bolted out the door.
"James wait!" they exclaimed running after him.
The young boy was unusually quick on his feet, and didn't stumble once.
The young four-year-old ran all the way to his father's workshop and ran into through the door.
Siam and Butchie paused, but reluctantly followed him in.
When they entered the back room of the shop, they spotted one of the biggest ships they've ever seen.
"Do you remember helping him build that?" Siam asked, his voice conveying much awe.
Butchie shook his head.
Once the distraction had faded, they looked around for James.
"Damn, Kuro is going to kill us…" Siam said.
Meanwhile, James was scampering around, looking for his father.
"Daddy?!" he called out repeatedly.
Kuro heard the young voice.
"James?" he wondered, "No, I must be losing my mind…"
He shook his head fiercely, until he heard the voice again.
"I better go check it out…" he thought to himself, "Just to clear the suspicion."
Kuro looked from his giant creation to his son peeking out from under the boat.
A rush of panic struck through him, but it all faded when James came bounding towards him.
"Daddy!" the boy exclaimed, reaching his arms out for an embrace.
Kuro looked at his son curiously, but bent down to pick him up.
"James, what are you doing here?" he asked.
"Siam and Butchie said that mommy is never coming back…" the little boy said, "I wanted to tell you, so you wouldn't be sad anymore… Auntie says that you don't sleep or nothing! Is it true?"
Kuro looked at his son, but felt tears once again in his eyes.
"Yes, James, it's true. But I'm sad because your mother isn't coming back… she died James." Kuro said, as he tried to keep his voice from breaking.
Siam and Butchie then spotted them.
"I'm so glad he's alright!" Butchie cried happily.
Kuro just glared at them, and both of them cringed.
"Uh, well, we'll be going now…" Siam said, pulling Butchie out of the shop.
James watched them leave, but then hugged his father.
"Don't be sad daddy." James said innocently, "I'll read you a story so you can sleep. Auntie found a really cool cat book that she said you'd like."
Kuro's eyes glistened.
"It's alright, James." He said, "I'm sorry you've been through so much… I miss seeing you. Do you miss me?"
James nodded, and hugged him again.
"I sure do, daddy!" he said, throwing his arms around Kuro's neck.
Kuro smiled sadly, as he embraced his son once more.
"You will be stronger than I ever imagined…" he murmured softly, "More than I ever could have imagined."
((A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter... This story is almost finished, but don't fret, I'm working on the third in this series as we speak...err, read... I am also getting myself out of writer's block on the Cat's Instinct story... There's just a DVD I have to get, and I can keep writing... well, see ya'll in the next post!))
