Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fan-based fiction. One Piece belongs to Funimation, Toei Animation, Fuji TV, and Eiichiro Oda. Please support the official release.
One of my reviewers noted that Runo seemed a little over-powered, and maybe he does, but keep this in mind: he's more experienced than both the Straw Hat crews and he's been in the New World a lot longer. He's bound to win a little before he's finally defeated. And I assure you, he will be introduced to the ground by the least likely of people, and the relationship with said ground will be intimate.
SBS 12!
Chapter Question: "What do you have planned in terms of future One Piece stories? Perhaps a sequel?"
Hahahahahaha!
Yeah. No.
This isn't the type of story that could have a full-blown multi-chapter sequel. Once this story is over, I do have a one-shot planned called Straight On Till Morning, which will detail Kāla receiving new but incredibly familiar visitors. After that, I hope to do a story I have had planned for ages called No Strings. This one will include Straw Hats, adventure, mystery, drama, and several new OCs who I hope you'll all like in the quirky spirit of One Piece. The story itself will reference Tomorrow's Romance Dawn, but can be read alone since it won't technically be a sequel.
But a lot of that is indefinite. Who knows what will happen in the near future? I'm in college now and my time for writing will be hectic, especially since this story is going on a break. Only time will tell I guess.
Chapter 20: Game, Start!
Location: Center of the Bounty Hunter Camp
Time: Night
It was absolutely amazing how one's plans could go so horribly wrong so fast.
Robin, Roronoa, Brook, and Usopp stood silently across from the violet-haired wild man, who was still waiting for a response. They were partially wondering how he managed to sneak up on them, and partially wondering how he had woken up when his tent was on the other side of the camp.
"Sorry guys," Tony whimpered weakly in Roronoa's arms. "He got the drop on me... I never even heard him..."
"I am deceptively light on my feet," Runo said before any of the pirates could respond. "I am also a deceptively light sleeper, and I have Haki that has finally worked around the island's dampening effect. So if you're wondering how I found you so fast, there you go."
Roronoa gently passed Tony over to Usopp, then put a hand on Shusui. Robin crossed her arms, and Brook scooped up one of the fallen guards' swords.
"Ah, you see, I was hoping you would want to fight. I wasn't joking when I asked if you had any ideas." Runo shrugged. "I mean, it would be devastatingly easy to just use Hypno Hypno Trance and make you surrender willingly, but my duel with the cyborg not withstanding, I haven't had a decent fight since we got to this stupid island. Since I refuse to let the old hag, the vampire, and my sister have all the fun, I am open to suggestions if you have them." He grinned slyly, looking like a snake. "Just know that this is my game we're playing, and I don't take kindly to losing."
"Talkative bastard, aren't you," Roronoa commented.
"Hold that thought."
Runo closed his visible eye and raised one hand to his face, sliding the appendage under his bangs that covered his other eye. With one swift movement he brushed the bangs back, revealing the hidden eye- and once revealed, his eye went from bright green to a solid swirl of rainbow color. After a few seconds, the eye returned to normal and his bangs fell back into place.
What was that? Robin thought.
Creepy... Usopp and Tony thought.
"Sorry about that- had to check something," Runo apologized. "As for you Pirate Hunter, I do like to talk. Erity would say it's because I like the sound of my own voice... and I will neither confirm nor deny that. But I'm getting off track."
Runo lifted his hands to the center of his chest and began circling them around each other. As he did this, a swirl of color emerged from his palms, illuminating the dark night. "It's time for my allotted play time, and my patience is limited."
Robin didn't know what he was doing, but she wasn't about to let whatever it was succeed. "Tres Fleur!"
Arms bloomed out of Runo's body and held down his upper arms and head, startling him and making him lose whatever he had been creating.
"Clutch!"
Runo's torso was forcibly bent backward, but unlike when Robin did this to other people, there was no resounding cracking noise following it. The hypnotist didn't even cry out from being forced into what would typically be a painful position.
"... I'm sorry, but was that supposed to accomplish something?" Runo said boredly.
"WHAT THE HELL?!" Usopp shrieked. Roronoa and Robin shushed him.
"I suppose this is why Franky-san referred to him as a 'jelly-boned freak'," Brook whispered.
"I don't care if he is jelly-boned, we need to take him out before the rest of the camp wakes up, if they haven't already," Roronoa growled in a low tone.
Brook nodded and the two swordsman charged, blades drawn and ready to attack. Robin, Tony, and Usopp hung back for now, though Robin made more arms sprout from Runo in order to keep him in place. Runo simply flexed his muscles and her Flower Flower limbs burst into a shower of petals. Vivi had been right- they could see his lean frame betrayed his immense physical strength. Robin bit back a shout of pain from her bloomed arms' sudden destruction.
"Robin!" Tony cried out.
Now free, Runo ran forward to meet Roronoa and Brook. The two swordsmen moved so that they were on either side of the hypnotist and swung. Runo simply lifted his hands and the swords met with the metal bands around his wrists. The blades were stopped dead in their tracks. Grinning, Runo shoved the pirates back, making them stumble. Roronoa recovered the quickest and immediately went on the offensive, slashing furiously. Runo met each strike with one of his wrist bands. Even attacks from odd angles were met as the hunter showed off his extreme flexibility.
"You thought you had an advantage because I was unarmed, didn't you?" Runo taunted. "Dude, I spar with my sister almost every day. I know how to fight a swordsman."
Having fought Sanji over a million times, he actually didn't think that- not that he thought Runo cared. So Roronoa stabbed at the hunter's face.
"Hypno Reel!" Runo called out and set off a large swirl of his colors, causing the younger man to miss by a fraction.
The feral man then dropped to the ground and kicked Roronoa's legs out from under him. As the swordsman fell, Runo rammed his foot into the former's back, sending him flying into the air. Roronoa had to grit his teeth to keep from crying out. This freak kicked almost as hard as the cook- he was lucky his spine hadn't snapped!
Hmm, Runo thought. He should have stopped, not missed. The effect must have been weakened by him being a cyclops. I'll remember that.
"Zoro-san!" Brook shouted, forgetting to use his comrade's new name. He began stabbing rapidly at Runo. "Polka Remise!"
Runo maneuvered around the skeleton's jabs. The attack was obviously not as potent as usual, since it wasn't a blade Brook was used to. Runo released a Hypno Reel around his head and moved to palm-thrust the musician in the face, but quickly had to block another aimed stab.
"Huh? Why didn't you-?" Runo began to ask.
"Those colors are lovely, but they are visual hypnosis!" Brook explained. "I have no eyes!"
Runo snarled and let the blade's next stab slide along his left wristband. Smirking, he locked his arm around Brook's. He then pulled him close so that they were nose to nose (not that Brook had a nose).
"If I recall correctly, you're the guy who one-upped my sister, right?" Runo asked with strained politeness. "Sliced her up and knocked her into the ocean?"
"Vivi-san did that second part, actually," Brook admitted nervously.
"Just checking."
Runo bent backward, lifting Brook into the air and flipping him over his head... just as Roronoa was finally coming back down. The two pirates collided and went tumbling on to the ground. When they finally stopped rolling, they were so tangled up in each other they couldn't get up.
"Zoro, Brook!" Tony cried out. He jumped out of Usopp's arms and ran at the bounty hunter. "Kung Fu Point!"
"Tony!" Robin called out.
"Take Usopp and find the others!" Tony ordered. "Your powers don't work on him, so I'll help Brook and Zo- Roronoa!"
Robin nodded and grabbed Usopp's wrist, dragging him as she began to run.
Tony lept and prepared to shove his hoof into Runo's throat. Runo grinned and and snapped his fingers, causing a burst of rainbow light. The reindeer's eyes widened, his attention completely ensnared. It didn't last as Runo crescent-kicked him in the jaw. The little doctor crashed into the pole Brook and Usopp had been tied to.
Dang it! Tony thought through the pain. It's just like earlier! That rainbow haze distracts and keeps me from fighting properly.
"Sorry Fluffy, that was a reflex!" Runo apologized. "You said that form is called Kung Fu Point, right? Let's see it!"
Tony watched as Runo shifted into a strange stance. His knees bent and he put his body at a weird angle. He also raised his hands, one hand higher than the other and keeping his palms level with the ground. Looking at him, the reindeer couldn't help but think of a cobra getting ready to strike. Shaking off the pain from his impact, he rushed him.
"Hi-ya!" Tony yelled, punching and kicking and jumping around the violet-haired hunter. "Ya! Ya! Hi-ya!"
Letting his Haki come into effect, Runo deflected each punch and kick. His arms and legs were like liquid, adjusting smoothly with each movement to just the right position to thwart Tony. It was like trying to hit a writhing serpent.
Again with the snake comparison, Chopper thought. But everything about this guy makes me think of them!
Runo drew one palm back. "Dancing Cobra..."
"Cloven Cross!" Tony shouted, putting his hooves together and pushing them forward.
The hunter thrust his palm, still level, at the reindeer. "... 12 MPH Strike!"
The tips of his fingers met Tony's hooves. The reindeer cried out as he felt his arms be forcibly pushed backward and he swore he saw cracks form in his hooves. He reverted back into Brain Point as he went barreling into Roronoa and Brook, who had just managed to untangle themselves. Like a bowling ball hitting a set of pins, the two swordsmen were once again knocked to the ground.
"Oh no, Chopper!" Usopp said worriedly, looking back toward the duel.
"Did Runo just say 'Dancing Cobra'?!" Robin asked, coming to a sudden stop.
Usopp looked at her suspiciously. "I think so. Why?"
Robin looked grim. "Dancing Cobra is a rare Alabastan fighting style- but I never heard of someone actually using it! It's meant to mimic the movements of a desert cobra, and is incredibly difficult to master. You need to be ridiculously flexible to wield it to its full potential."
"Considering you tried breaking his back and he didn't even blink, I'm going to say he's plenty flexible!" Usopp snapped.
Robin frowned and began running again. "The style is very dangerous. Taking that into account, I suppose 'Dancing Haze' fits him more than we assumed-"
"Excuse me?!"
Robin and Usopp skidded to a halt. Runo was standing in front of them, hands on his hips and scowling.
"HOW DID HE-?!" Usopp started to scream.
Robin quickly bloomed a hand to cover his mouth. It was a miracle no one else in the camp had awoken, so they needed to maintain covertness.
"Did you just call me 'Dancing Haze', Devil Child?" Runo asked in a dangerous voice.
"Yes...?" she answered slowly.
Runo stomped his foot. "Oooooh, I hate that name so much! It's so lame! I wanted to be called 'Snake Charmer', but by the time I finally thought of it, that godawful epithet had stuck! Just for that I'm punching you in your upper abdomen!"
"That's so specific!" Usopp shouted in horror. (Actually, considering his mouth was still covered, it sounded more like "Tas ho hefifif!")
Robin crossed her arms. "Dos-"
"First though, time out!"
Robin actually stopped when Runo held up his hand. He proceeded to lift his bangs again, and his eye lit up with multicolored light. After a few seconds, the light ceased and he let his bangs fall.
Why did he do that again? Robin wondered.
"They've made good progress," Runo said to himself.
"W-Who m-made good-" Usopp stuttered.
"TIME IN!"
As promised, Runo plowed his fist into Robin's upper abdomen before she could react, while at the same time kicking Usopp to the ground. Robin coughed up saliva as she went flying... right into Roronoa and Brook (who was carrying Tony), who had been running over to aide them. They were knocked over... again.
Roronoa jumped to his feet, growling. "This is just humiliating!"
"Robin-san!" Brook said, standing up. "Are you alright?!"
Robin stood up, cradling both her stomach and Tony. "I'm fine- he was holding back. But I'll have some fantastic bruises in the morning."
Tony sniffled, looking at his bleeding hooves. "He cracked my hooves..."
Roronoa stomped past them, drawing Kitetsu. "I don't know what's worse- the fact this idiot has knocked me to the ground three times tonight, or that he's not taking this seriously!"
"He's not?!" Tony gasped.
"He's not," Brook echoed. "While Runo-san appears to be adept at handling multiple opponents at once, he's just playing our actions against each other, for the most part. He's not trying to win."
"Well, give the criminals a prize," Runo interrupted. "You figured me out."
The pirates looked at him and all grit their teeth. Runo was standing smugly across from them, only now he had his foot firmly planted on Usopp's back and a gun pointed at his head.
"Any sudden moves, and I'm taking Sniper King here out of the game, if you catch my drift," Runo threatened. "It's not like there's not another one here on the island we can turn in."
"If anyone feels like saving me, that would be fantastic!" Usopp pleaded, wriggling as he tried to free himself.
The Straw Hats glared at their enemy, daring him to even attempt to kill the sniper. For if he did, stealth be damned. They were killing him.
"Anyway, Devil Child gets a prize for recognizing my fighting style. I was using it against the swordsmen too." Runo raised an eyebrow. "Though I'm kind of curious as to why you all didn't know ahead of time. You have the princess with you, right? My style of martial arts was common knowledge in Alabasta, so she should have told you."
A vein went off in Roronoa's forehead. Wait... don't tell me she actually...
"I should have mentioned it earlier! Sandstorms are another of the desert's dangers!"
"I'm so sorry. I should have mentioned this earlier. Warusagi Birds are desert bandits that deceive travelers and steal their belongings."
"I'm sorry! I guess I must have forgotten to mention that Sandora Dragons always hunt in pairs!"
"... DAMMIT, VIVI!" Roronoa yelled. "CAN'T YOU REMEMBER TO TELL US ANYTHING?!"
Tony, Brook, and even Usopp shushed him. Robin just shook her head. She had heard from her time's Nami that Vivi occasionally forgot to warn her friends of impending dangers, but she never thought it would happen at such a critical time.
"I have no idea what you mean, but whatever. Where was I?" Runo sucked on his cheek, then smiled. "Oh, right. Prizes. Soul King and Pirate Hunter get one for noticing I wasn't trying to win. Despite popular belief, I'm not stupid. I know that if I took this seriously, I wouldn't be able to defeat all four of you... in an actual fight, anyway."
"Hey, what about me?" Usopp protested. "Don't ignore the Great-!"
Runo stomped on his back, making him shut up.
"But like the younger Pirate Hunter told my sister earlier, I really don't have to beat you to win this game. If I wanted to win, I would have just hypnotized you from the start," Runo went on as if Usopp never interrupted. "I just have to 'play your actions off each other'- toy with you, so to speak- and have fun testing your abilities."
"You're stalling us," Robin observed coldly. "Why? Are you waiting for your comrades to awaken?"
"No, I was putting that off. Yari would get on my case for not using my powers more against you. She doesn't realize that hypnosis isn't really good for hand-to-hand combat aside from making your opponent hesitate or miss."
"Then why bother?" Usopp grunted in pain.
Runo shrugged. "Like I said, just hypnotizing you into submission would be too easy and I wanted a fight."
"Then why stall?" Robin asked. "Does it have to do with what you keep doing with your eye?"
"I was wondering about that as well," Brook admitted.
"You heard them," Roronoa said harshly. "Be Mr. Talkative and tell us."
Tony nodded in agreement.
Runo chuckled and tucked his bangs behind his ear. His eye was lit up again. "Fine. You see, I'm mentally connected with whomever I hypnotize. Some time ago, I discovered that by combining my Kenbunshoku Haki with my Hypno Hypno abilities, I could see what one of my toys was seeing. I can only do it when I'm concentrating, though. That's why I kept pausing our fight."
"You can see what Sanji, Nami, and Franky see?" Tony asked incredulously.
"No, I can only do one at a time. I'm looking through Black Leg's eye at the moment. You wanted to know why I'm stalling, right?"
Their silence was answer enough.
"Let me answer with the introduction of another game." Runo tapped his foot on Usopp's back and formed a circle around his glowing eye with his fingers. "I spied with my little eye... a group of fools who thought they could hide. Naturally, I sent my toys to go seek. Now, any ideas as to what I spied?"
Robin's eyes widened in realization. "Oh no!"
"What? Who is he talking about?!" Roronoa barked at her.
"Luffy and the others!" the archaeologist shouted. "He sent our hypnotized crewmates after them!"
"WHAT?!" Brook, Tony, and Usopp squealed.
Roronoa broke into a sweat. They had played right into that jelly-boned freak's hands!
Runo smirked. "Good answer."
With that, the hypnotist plugged one ear, pointed his gun up towards the sky, and fired.
Location: Ridge above the Bounty Hunter Camp
Time: Several minutes earlier...
Luffy placed his hands on his hips, grinning. "Ready?"
"Do it, do it!" Chopper and Lysopp chanted.
"Quaw quaw, quaw quaw!" Carue chanted along with them.
Luffy nodded. He crossed his arms, closed one eye, and scowled.
"Stop being so predicable and maybe I'll let you," the rubberman said gruffly.
Chopper, Carue, and Lysopp burst out laughing, rolling around on the ground and holding their stomachs.
"Oh my gosh, that was perfect!" Lysopp gasped out.
"You sounded just like Roronoa!" Chopper added. "Do another one, do another one!"
Carue nodded in agreement. "Quaw!"
"Okay then. Robin impression!" Luffy took on a placid expression with an eerily calm smile. Even his eyes seemed to look like the archaeologist's. "A statue this size would undoubtedly sink your ship and drown you all."
This new impersonation sent Luffy's audience into a round of hysterical giggles. Meanwhile, Nami and Vivi watched them with varying emotions.
Nami crossed her arms. "Ugh, why do they have to act like little kids? We're in the middle of a rescue mission here."
"Leave them be," Vivi sighed, patting her shoulder. "They're just trying to lighten the mood."
"Now is not the time to lighten the mood, it's the time to remain vigilant! Who knows when a bounty hunter will wake up and find us!"
Vivi smiled weakly and pointed to the side. "Normally I would agree with you, but I think a certain someone is being plenty vigilant for the whole group."
She was referring to Sanji, who was kneeling next to the ridge with Lysopp's telescope held to his eye. He hadn't moved from that spot since Roronoa's group left almost half an hour ago.
"How is everything going down there, Sanji?" Nami asked.
"Well, nothing's exploded yet, I can tell you that much," Sanji said, lowering the instrument. "We're too far away and since they put out the campfires it's just too dark to get an accurate picture of the situation."
"Keep trying anyway. I don't want any surprises."
"Of course, Nami-swan! There won't be a surprise attack on my watch!" He turned back to his spyglass, and not even a second later he paled. "Oh crap, I think there's been a surprise attack."
"What?!"
Hearing Nami's shriek, the Goofy Trio and Carue quit their silly game and joined the girls next to Sanji.
"What's going on? Did something happen with Zoro-ossan and the others?" Luffy asked.
"Yeah. It's difficult to tell from here, but I'm pretty sure one of the lieutenants woke up," Sanji answered, tense.
Lysopp's jaw dropped. "Already?! Which one, which one?"
Sanji adjusted the lens. "I can't get a clear visual... but it looks like the lieutenant has purple hair. Geez, Lysopp, you need to get a better telescope. This thing's a piece of crap."
"Hey! I've had that telescope since I first started this voyage!"
"Focus, boys!" Vivi interjected. "If the lieutenant has purple hair, that narrows it down. It either Yari or Run- oh, no!"
"What's wrong, Vivi?" Chopper asked.
"I completely forgot!" the princess despaired. "I should've mentioned this earlier, but Runo is a master of Dancing Cobra fighting style! It's a rare and very lethal Alabastan martial art that almost no one knows! Since he's so naturally flexible, he can utilize it to its full extent! It's especially good for evasion and sudden, powerful attacks! Mr. Roronoa and the others won't know how to prepare for it!"
"Seriously, Vivi?!" Lysopp shouted. "We've talked about this! You have got to remember to start telling us crucial information!"
"I know, I'm sorry!"
"Relax, Vivi. It'll be okay," Luffy said confidently. "Zoro-ossan, Chopper-ossan, and Robin can handle one bounty hunter. They also have Brook with them now. Besides, our plan is rescue, not going all out. They just need to grab our nakama then get past Nerve Girl or the Hippo Guy. They can handle it."
"Runo isn't a Hippo, Luffy," Lysopp, Nami, and Chopper said together, waving one hand each.
"We'll talk animals later. Right now, we should move to a different location," Sanji said, giving Lysopp his spyglass back. "There is definitely a fight going on down there, and who knows how long it'll be before everyone wakes up and send lackeys out to find the rest of us."
"They're going to come after us?!" Chopper gasped.
"Only if Robin and Tony let Roronoa, Brook and my younger self get too noisy, which I will admit is likely," Lysopp said. "Or if they let that lieutenant wake everyone else up-"
FOOOOO-WHEEEEEEEE!
That high-pitched whining was followed by a brief explosion and the sky above the camp suddenly being filled with a bright red light.
"Whoa, where did that star come from?!" Luffy shouted, adjusting his hat so it would shield his eyes.
"That's not a star, it's a signal flare!" Nami shouted, shielding her own eyes. "The bounty hunter must have shot it!"
"Stop jinxing us all the time, Lysopp!" Chopper barked at the sniper, whacking his arm.
Lysopp his abused limb. "Ow! What the heck are you talking about?!"
"Boys!" Vivi scolded. "Not now!"
Sanji ignored this series of exchanges, focusing on the flare. There was no doubt it was launched with a purpose, but for some reason he didn't think it was just to wake up the camp. While bright and loud, it didn't seem like enough to do the trick.
I have a bad feeling about this... the chef thought.
And like anyone else who had thought this at one point or another, Sanji was right to have that bad feeling. Vivi had been trying to wrangle everyone together to move- and failing, since Chopper and Lysopp had kickstarted a group argument- when she noticed something strange.
"Uh, guys?" the princess piped up.
"WHAT?!" everyone except for Sanji hollered at her.
She pointed up. "Are bubbles supposed to be black?... And sparky?"
The crew's heads simultaneously snapped upward to see the black, sparky bubbles.
Lysopp paled but reacted almost immediately. He grabbed Chopper and Luffy by the back of the shirts and started running. "RUN, NOW!"
Sanji picked up Nami and Carue threw Vivi onto his saddle, and then proceeded to follow after the sniper. This was done not a moment too soon- as soon as they got off the ledge and started down the path, the bubbles popped and a pillar of lightning crashed down on where they had been only seconds before. Rocks went flying and the shockwave nearly sent the group sprawling. They didn't stop running, but they did look back at the damage. There was nothing left of the ledge save blackened stone.
"What the hell was that?!" Nami hollered, looking over Sanji's shoulder.
"You!" Lysopp replied, letting go of Chopper and Luffy so they could run for themselves.
"WHAT?!"
Before Lysopp could clarify, the group found their path suddenly cut off. So suddenly that they ran right into the obstacle and went tumbling backward.
"Damn!" Sanji yelled, rubbing his face. "What did we hit?"
Vivi and Carue recovered and looked. The former paled. "Oh no. Not again."
The new obstacle in their path was none other than Franky, standing rigidly before them with blank, glassy eyes.
"The fireworks have begun. Now we play," the cyborg said coldly.
Sanji grit his teeth together and put a protective arm around Nami. Lysopp looked distraught, but he pulled out his Black Kabuto to be safe. Vivi gulped and clutched Carue's reins. Chopper entered Heavy Point and took a defensive stance. As for Luffy...
"AWESOME!" the rubberman shrieked in delight. "IT'S A ROBOT! A REAL, LIVE ROBOT!"
"He's a cyborg!" Lysopp snapped. "He's also your currently brainwashed, bloodthirsty shipwright!"
"My shipwright is an awesome robot," Luffy went on. "I can't wait for the future!"
"Are robots really that cool?" Chopper asked, temporarily forgetting about the danger.
"Of course! They're part of a Man's Romance!"
"Wow!"
"DON'T IGNORE THE PART ABOUT HIM BEING BRAINWASHED!" Sanji, Nami, and Lysopp yelled.
Vivi would have shaken her head in exasperation if she weren't so terrified. Even if she weren't, she wouldn't have had the chance to. She and Carue suddenly found themselves being shoved to the side by the moron in question. Luffy raised his arm and the princess saw the skin on his forearm ripple, as if something were hitting it. Approximately one second later, the captain's body was overcome with a blast of electricity.
"Luffy!" Vivi cried out.
"QUAW!" Carue added.
The group turned away from the cyborg in time to see Luffy get shocked and discover the attacker was a woman who seemed to appear out of thin air. They would have cried out as well if the electricity hadn't cleared to reveal the rubberman was completely fine. Vivi's would-be assailant tried to stab at Luffy with her staff, but he blocked each strike and then lightly kicked her back. It was then that the crew finally got a good look at her, her cold eyes reflecting the red light of the now dimming flare. The staff's wielder was a young woman with orange hair who was wearing a gothic lolita dress.
Luffy smiled. "Hey, Nami."
Nami, or rather Future Nami, tilted her head to one side blankly. "How did you know I was there?"
"I don't know how you were see-through, but I saw something shimmery behind Vivi and decided not to risk it," Luffy replied vaguely. He grinned. "It's still cool though! I bet our Nami can't wait to learn how to do that!"
The group- save Lysopp, who was paling at an alarming rate- stared at the future navigator in disbelief. It was one thing to see Franky- they didn't really know him save for Vivi. But to see an older version of Nami when their time's was with them...
"That's the future me?!" Nami gasped. She frowned. "What the heck am I wearing? What, do I suddenly lose my taste in clothes?!"
"It looks very good on you, Nami-swan!" Sanji complimented, ogling the older navigator. "Like a princess!"
"I am a princess, and even I wouldn't wear something like that," Vivi said numbly, trying to ignore the fact she'd nearly been electrocuted. "Maybe Yari got to her?"
"I have a better question- how come Luffy isn't dead?!" Chopper squealed. "He was just electrocuted!"
"He's made of rubber," Lysopp said, switching between aiming his Kabuto at Nami and at Franky. "Rubber doesn't conduct electricity. Trust me, it's going to come in handy."
"Awesome!" Luffy crowed.
"Such noisy playmates," Future Nami said in monotone. She held out her staff. "But playmates nonetheless."
"Master doesn't want us to play here though," Franky added. "He wants us to play with everyone else."
The crew did not like the sound of that. 'Everyone else' probably meant those in the camp below.
"Lysopp, if there's anything you can tell us about their abilities, now would be a good time," Sanji said cautiously. "I have a hunch this is one of those 'fight because we have no other choice' kinds of instances." He glanced down. "Unless we all want to jump off the ledge."
The group all looked over the side of the trail, where the jungle and the camp lay far, far, far below.
"I vote for fighting!" Nami shouted.
"Ditto!" Vivi agreed.
"I third that!" Chopper said quickly.
"Quaw!" Carue declared.
Luffy frowned sourly at this. He had said earlier he didn't want to know what his future nakama could do because they would be avoiding them at all costs. Only now they couldn't avoid them. So what to do? They could jump off the ledge, but then they'd end up in the camp. The camp was where all the bounty hunters resided... including Vampire Guy. But if they stayed here and fought Robot Guy and Nami-ossan, it probably wouldn't end well even with a future crewmate with them.
Ugh, Luffy hated this island. Ever since they'd come here he'd done nothing but think! It was exhausting! Narrowing his eyes, the rubberman turned his attention back to his friends.
"Are you all out of your minds?!" Lysopp was hollering. "We can't fight here! We have no room to move whatsoever! We'd all probably fall off anyway!"
"They're hypnotized! Can't you just hit their temples with your slingshot and free them?!" Nami yelled.
"I'm fast, but so are they! In the time it would take me to disable one, the other would obliterate us!"
"Some 'protection' you are!"
Luffy groaned to himself. He guessed there was only one thing left to do.
"Oi, Nami-ossan!" Luffy shouted all of a sudden.
"Who are you calling an old man?!" Nami and Sanji shouted at their captain.
"Yes?" Future Nami answered.
"Don't answer to that!" Nami scolded her older self.
"Nami-ossan, can you get us down the mountain and to Zoro-ossan and the others?" He smiled innocently. "You wanted us to play with them, right?"
His friends all stared at him like he was insane- which he probably was.
"Luffy, what are you doing?!" Chopper said. "We're not supposed to go down to the camp!"
"But if we're there, then we can least get the rest of the future crew's help," Luffy reasoned. "Those of us from the past could even slip out in all the fighting and confusion. I did that once in a restaurant with Ace when we had to dine and dash!"
Having heard about Ace earlier, Nami, Vivi, Sanji, and Chopper were wondering just what kind of influence he had on his younger brother. Then again, they were both pirates so maybe it was to be expected.
"Deal," Future Nami said before there could be any more protests. "Sanji."
There wasn't any time to respond. One second they were standing on the mountain path, the next a black blur came spinning from above and crashed into them. The path shattered and the group went sailing into the air.
Sanji was the first to look down. Floating where there had once been stone was a tall man wearing a suit, smoking a cigarette. He had eyes as glassy as Future Nami and Franky's, but there was no mistaking that face.
Okay, I might have to apologize to Mosshead, Sanji thought as he gazed upon his elder self. That is really freaky.
"LUFFY, YOU MORON!" Nami was screaming, clinging on to Lysopp for dear life.
"Sorry! This was our best option!" Luffy apologized.
"Wait, what is Future Nami doing?!" Chopper shouted.
While they were still in the air, Future Nami had broken her staff into three sections and was pointing one up at them. At the end of the section was a clear bubble.
"What is that, more lightning?!" Vivi asked.
"Quaaaaw!" Carue yelled.
Lysopp grit his teeth. He recognized that bubble.
The pirates finally started to come down, and Future Nami spoke.
"Perfect Clima-tact... Gust Sword."
Location: Center of the Bounty Hunter Camp
Time: Back when Runo fired the flare gun
The Straw Hats stared up at the glaring red flare, then shift their focus back to Runo. The bounty hunter looked extremely pleased with himself.
"What?" he asked, spinning the flare gun on his finger. "Do you have any idea how many times I've accidentally shot my men? The others would trust me with a real gun about as far as they could throw me." He paused, grinding his foot into Usopp's back thoughtfully. "Actually, that's a pretty bad analogy. They could all throw me pretty far. At any rate, it doesn't matter. You guys didn't call my bluff and the others get to join the game."
Sure enough, there were now shouts of alarm echoing across the camp. The lackeys were on the move, and the other lieutenants wouldn't be far behind them. They wouldn't be surprised if Carrion himself showed up.
"I don't believe it," Robin muttered in irritation, squeezing Tony a little.
"He played us? Again?" Roronoa ground out.
"Like a harp," Runo said with satisfaction. He grinned his snakey grin. "First my little cave ambush, then our fight, and now this. You Straw Hats are making this way too easy for me. I provide bait and you respond. I make a little threat and you respond. No wonder your captain failed so miserably at Marineford, if he's anything like you. So freaking weak and emotional."
Usopp didn't know what Runo was talking about, but by the way his future crewmates now looked unbelievably angered, it was bad. Robin looked like she wanted to snap Runo's neck, Tony looked ferocious, Brook was gripping his sword so hard the sniper could have sworn cracks were appearing in the bone, and Roronoa...
Wait. Where did Roronoa go?
The weight on Usopp's back vanished in an instant. When he looked up, he saw Roronoa making a lightning-fast assault on the feral freak, both looking demonic in the dimming light of the flare. This time though, Runo was the one on the ropes. It looked like it was taking all his willpower to keep up and guard with his wrist bands.
"Whoa-ho-ho!" Runo laughed as he blocked. "A little touchy, are we?"
Usopp got up and ran as fast he could to the others. In his sprint, he managed to catch a glimpse of Roronoa's face. On the outside, it was utterly calm. Tranquil, even. The facade was shattered when you looked into his eyes though.
In that one, dark eye, there burned white hot, unadulterated, unspeakable fury.
"You're fast when you're angry!" Runo was saying. He frown. "Then again..."
The hypnotist ducked and sucker-punched the swordsman in the stomach. "So's my sister!"
Roronoa coughed out a worrying amount of saliva and bile and jumped back, sounding as if he were trying to hack up his lungs.
Runo chuckled to himself. "If you're reacting this badly, maybe I should tell the younger Straw Hat about this. I'm sure he'll love to hear what an utter failure he's going to be." He frowned. "Don't get cocky. Just because you all managed to piss off Big Mom doesn't change the fact you all got wasted at Sabaody and Marineford. No one is going to forget that."
Usopp wanted to so badly to ask what he was talking about, but he was afraid to. He'd never seen Tony, Brook, or Roronoa look so pissed. He'd only met Robin that one time on the Merry, but she'd had been the epitome of unshakable confidence then- seeing her furious made her even more scary. This information probably fell under "The Future" and Luffy didn't want them to know about that.
Usopp decided he didn't want to know either way. He already had enough negative expectations of the future- he didn't need to add on to the list.
Roronoa coughed one more time then grinned. "I'm the cocky one? Look at your arms, dumbass."
Runo gained a puzzled expression, then his eyes widened. His metal wristbands shattered and long cuts appeared on his arms, squirting blood.
"What do you know? He's just like his sister," Brook commented without humor. "So slow on the uptake."
Runo blinked once, then twice, then opened his mouth. "SWEET MOTHER SEA-!"
(Note: The series of expletives and insults that spewed from his mouth were so crude and inappropriate that the author does not feel comfortable writing them out. Let's skip to the end.)
"- WITH A TRANSVESTITE AND DAMN SEXUALLY REPRESSED SANDORA DRAGON!" Runo finished, afterwards biting his lip in pain and hugging his arms to his chest.
"Is he done?" Tony asked, looking up at Robin.
Robin removed the bloom hands she had sprouted to cover the reindeer's ears. "I believe so."
"I think my ears are bleeding... or they would be, if I had ears," Brook said, rubbing the spots on his skull where his ears would have been.
Usopp shuddered. If his innocence had not yet been ruined, it was now.
"So what was that about not having to win? Because you might want to consider changing that plan," Roronoa taunted with a sadistic smile on his face.
"Forget him, Roronoa!" Robin shouted. "We need to get to the others! Lysopp is good, but I don't think he can handle our Sanji, Nami, and Franky alone, and we know he's not going to want the others to fight!"
"Go on ahead," Roronoa told her. "I'll stay here and finish him off, find my younger self, and get Brook and Usopp's weapons."
Robin knew better than to argue with him, so she sighed and nodded. "Okay. Just don't get lost."
Roronoa nodded and charged Runo... only to stop dead in his tracks with a shout. "Gah!"
"Roronoa-san!" Brook shouted.
Every vein in Roronoa's body bulged. Then, slowly and painstakingly, Roronoa stood up straight and sheathed his swords. The swordsman appeared to be fighting the actions he was taking, but couldn't stop himself.
"Bloody Puppet- Transyl Waltz," came a deep voice. "Let's put away those swords, shall we?"
The Straw Hats (the ones not having their blood manipulated) snapped their heads to the side. There stood Enoch Vaughan, moving his fingers like a puppeteer. Erity and Baba Yari stood next to him, both looking tired and not at all pleased. And surrounding them on all sides was the rest of the camp's inhabitants, each armed and ready to murder whoever had disturbed their sleep.
"AAAAH! THE VAMPIRE GUY!" Usopp and Tony screamed, recognizing him from the cavern and from the forest respectively.
"How did all these hunters surround us without us noticing?!" Brook yelled.
It may have had something to do with their only crewmate with them that could use Haki being distracted and affected by the island's Haki-dampening effect, but Robin felt that was obvious so she said nothing.
Vaughan shrugged and released his grip on Roronoa, who fell to his knees gasping.
"I am never going to get you guys to stop calling me that, am I?" he muttered in defeat.
The pirates ran to their crewmate as Runo stumbled to join his teammates. Robin let Tony down from her arms to check on the green-haired man.
"Roronoa! Are you okay? How do you feel?" the doctor asked frantically.
"Like I got used as a human meat puppet. Other than that, I'm good," Roronoa grunted.
Now that that was out of the way, the group turned their focus back to the lieutenants, all taking defensive stances. (Save for Usopp, who hid behind Roronoa.)
"It's the middle of the night, there are pirates in the camp, Runo shot off a signal flare to inconsiderately wake us up, and we arrive to find him bleeding profusely," Erity observed. She side-glanced Yari. "It's just like your last birthday, only there aren't any strippers."
Yari sneered at her before walking over to her brother. "Look at you, Runo. I like a good fight as much as you do, but you really should have stopped this before it even began."
"Shut up," Runo grunted. He held out his arms. "Like Erity said, I'm kinda bleeding profusely here."
Vaughan rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers. "Blood Clot."
The blood that that left Runo's body now reabsorbed back into the cuts and scabbed over.
"Whoa," Runo said, impressed. "Thanks, man."
"Just don't say I never did anything for you," Vaughan replied. "By the way, we heard your little rant back there. You kiss your mother with that mouth?"
Runo scoffed. "Who do you think I inherited it from?"
They were acting so casual in front of them. They were really confident that the Straw Hats weren't a threat. That was actually a little insulting to them.
"Enough of that," Erity interrupted. "What are we going to do with the pirates? Fighting them here isn't a good idea- we might wake up Carrion. Remember what happened last time we did that?"
All the lieutenants shivered.
"The brig was so cold," Yari whispered.
"We'll be fine," Vaughan assured them. "That time it took ten Thrust Up Streams, a Sea King attack, and Runo blowing up our entire stock of gunpowder. A measly free-for-all brawl shouldn't rouse him."
"Whatever," Erity conceded. "Let's get started then."
The Straw Hats got ready. Looked like there was going to be a big battle whether they liked it or not.
"Hold on, not yet!" Runo broke in. "Give it a second."
"...aaaaaa..."
"Do you guys hear something?" Usopp asked anxiously.
"...aaaaaaahh..."
"It sounds like... screaming?" Tony guessed.
"Screams of absolute terror, to be precise," Robin added.
"...aaaaaAAAAAAAAHHHH..."
"From above us?" Brook said, looking up.
"...AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The Straw Hats looked up only to be crushed by something big, round, and rubbery. It made a rather impressive dust cloud, and when it cleared...
"Damn it, Luffy!" Roronoa hollered.
It appeared that, to break everyone's fall, Luffy had initiated Gum Gum Balloon. He quickly deflated, letting Sanji, Nami, Chopper, Vivi, Carue, and Lysopp fall to the group in a heap.
"Shishishi! That was actually pretty fun!" Luffy laughed. "Let's do it again!"
"NOT ON YOUR LIFE!" Sanji, Nami, and Lysopp all yelled, jumping to their feet and smacking their captain.
Brook helped Vivi to her feet. "Vivi-san, are you all right?"
"I'm fine," she said, rubbing her tailbone. "Sorry for dropping in. Literally."
Carue pecked her shoulder for making a bad pun.
"The future crew showed up and Future Nami blew us off the mountain!" Chopper explained to their comrades.
"Thanks for warning us that I can control weather in the future!" Nami scolded.
The bounty hunters, hearing this, turned to stare at Runo.
"Did you time that?" Vaughan asked, bewildered.
Runo smirked and pointed his thumb at his chest. "'Master Planner,' remember? You may now bury me in shameless praise."
"Not on your life."
Meanwhile, the newly arrived Straw Hats were still beating on Luffy.
"You idiot!" Lysopp was saying. "We should have escaped, not let them drive us into the belly of the beast! And here I thought you'd finally gotten more cautious!"
"Escape where?!" Luffy argued. "We were stuck on the mountain and surrounded! You said so yourself, there was no way we could have beaten those guys on our own!"
Lysopp snapped his mouth shut. "... Okay, you've made a fairly good point."
"Statistically, it had to happen some time," Sanji sighed.
"You're telling me," Lysopp sighed. He felt a poke on his shoulder and turned. It was his younger self.
"E-Excuse me. A-Are you m-my older self?" Usopp stuttered.
Lysopp nodded dumbly. The two snipers stared at each other for several long seconds before freaking out and pointing at each other.
"I'M SO MANLY!
"I'M SO WIMPY!"
"AM I REALLY GOING TO BE THAT AWESOME?!"
"WAS I REALLY THIS PATHETIC?!"
"KI-YAAAAAH!
"KI-YAAAAAAH!"
"KI-YAAAAAH!
"KI-YAAAAAAH!"
Both pirates and bounty hunters watched the exchange with either amusement or exasperation.
"Huh. He did wig out," Tony said. "Now what?"
"I assume we're going to have a big grandiose battle," Vaughan answered. He smiled amicably at Luffy. "Hey, Straw Hat. How are the wounds treating you?"
Luffy snarled at the red-eyed man. Roronoa placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't let him get to you. I'll handle him," Roronoa whispered in his ear.
Luffy scowled but nodded. "Zoro-ossan is going to kick your ass, Vampire Guy!"
"If you say so," Vaughan shrugged.
"Then it's settled? Good," Runo said. He raised his fist to the bounty hunters. "Okay! Other than trying not not to wake up the boss...
The bounty hunters all closed in, forcing the Straw Hats to go back-to-back. To make matters worse, Future Sanji, Future Nami, and Franky seemed to appear out of nowhere and join the hunters' ranks. The Straw Hats all snarled at the sight of their hypnotized nakama, but there was nothing they could do at that moment. The pirates that had weapons raised them, those that didn't either took a stance or prayed that they would come out of it alive.
How could it all go so horribly wrong?
"... LET'S GO WILD!"
Location: Siobhan's Tent
Siobhan opened an eye, hearing the roar of battle start up. It appeared that the rest of the Straw Hat crew had come to save their friends. What a gutsy move.
... They were just like Captain-sama's crew.
"Very well then," she said, leaning back in her cage and putting her arms behind her head. "Game, start."
Next Time:
Chapter 21: Camp Assault Part 3- Big Brawl Free-For-All
What's to Come (not necessarily all in the next chapter):
"Whoever said I was trying to kill you? Maybe I was just trying to piss off Straw Hat."
"My future self did this to you, right?"
"ROKUOGAN!"
"GIVE ME BACK MY FRIENDS!"
"If you all have a very good reason for waking me, now would be the time to tell me it."
"Let me rephrase that. I'm getting you out of here, and you will lead me to the Leviathan... Princess Piranha Toel Ul Siobhan-mi.
... I'm so evil. See ya later!
"Fine. You see, I'm mentally connected with whoever I entrance. So some time ago, I discovered that by combining my Kenbunshoku Haki with my Hypno Hypno abilities, I could see what one of my toys was seeing. I can only do it when I'm concentrating, though. That's why I kept pausing our fight."
If you recall in chapter 18, "Finding the Rainbow Connection," Runo mentions this ability and says he found Sunny with it.
"Stop jinxing us all the time, Lysopp!" Chopper barked at the sniper.
Chopper is referring to when Usopp supposedly jinxed the group by saying the island would blow up. Of course, Lysopp wasn't there for that, so he has no idea what Chopper means.
I have a bad feeling about this...
Who has two thumbs and saw The Force Awakens and loved it? This girl!
But if they stayed here and fought Robot Guy and Nami-ossan...
My sister insisted you'd all think I was stupid or something if I let Luffy called Future Nami ossan, like maybe I didn't know what the suffix for an old lady in Japanese was. Here is my retort: I do know the suffix for it. It's obasan. I chose not to use it because the Luffy is the type of guy to use ossan for just about anyone.
"Do you have any idea how many times I've accidentally shot my men? The others would trust me with a real gun about as far as they could throw me."
Runo isn't kidding. If you go back to chapter 8, "Curiouser, Curiouser, and Curiouser Still", Runo did accidentally shoot one of the lackeys.
"Don't get cocky. Just because you all managed to piss off Big Mom doesn't change the fact you failed so miserably at Sabaody and Marineford."
How does Runo know about Big Mom? Let's just say he and Yari have excellent underworld connections and leave it at that.
That time it took ten Thrust Up Streams...
Thrust Up Streams are like miniature versions of the Knock Up Stream, introduced the filler Z's Ambition Arc.