The Honest Truth
Ryuuga was completely out of it. It was the day after the event with Kotsubo and Mizore, and he felt an everlasting anxiety inside of him. So much time had gone by since he and Mizore met. How could he face her now? Especially since he had the knowledge that she was in the school?
The Kitsune sat at his desk in the Public Safety Commission base. He had finally reestablished order in the PSC, and everyone under him now respected his authority. They even actually liked him. He and Keito had been off to a rocky start, but after some time she had come around. But None of those things stirred in his mind. He was more focused on Mizore. He twirled the small charm around his neck between his fingers. He sighed as he let it fall back around his neck. He still wasn't sure how to face her yet. What was worse is that he was sure that she was now a part of the Newspaper club, which he would be paying a visit to soon.
"Sir? Can I come in?" Keito's voice sounded behind his office door.
"Yes Keito, feel free to enter." Ryuuga responded, snapping out of his deep thought. The spider ayashi slowly entered with several folders in her arms. In contrast to how she was weeks ago, angry and agitated, she was now calm and even relaxed slightly, something that showed on her features.
"Here are some small cases in the school, I figured you might want them for the… newspaper club." Keito said, muttering the last part. She had no love for said club, but she was now more used to the idea of the groups working together.
"Thank you Keito, you've done an excellent job, I'm glad to have chosen you as one of my lieutenants." Ryuuga declared genuinely. He felt that he hadn't said enough in thanks to her or the rest of his people, and felt they deserved praise. Keito blushed slightly at his words before casting her gaze away.
"W-well it's only because you've… been a really good leader. Thank you Ryuuga." She muttered quietly. The Kitsune raised a brow in surprise at her own praise before nodding. Before he could speak she spoke once more.
"I mean it. Everyone's really… impressed how you've handled the job, myself included…" She declared quietly. "In fact, I was wondering if you-"
Before she could finish, the door swung open. Keito and Ryuuga jumped slightly before the Kitsune grabbed his sheathed sword.
"You've been busy Ryuuga, don't tell me you forgot about me?" a man said walking through the door. Ryuuga widened his eyes as he realized who it was. He had a long cut down the middle of his head. He wore long earrings and a button up shirt that was not school regulated.
"Midou, what are you doing here?!" Keito announced in irritation. Both her and Ryuuga had met the thug, the dealings between The PSC and the Outcast Ayashi were regular occurrences under Kuyou.
"We've had such good relations up til now, why such animosity?" Midou asked with a dark grin. Ryuuga put a hand on Keito's shoulder and pushed her behind him.
"That was under Kuyou's rule, things are changing now Midou. And that means our relationship is over." Ryuuga declared narrowing his eyes at the Ayashi.
"So you all get your tails kicked by the idiotic newspaper club and become all goody two shoes? How pathetic Ryuuga, I always thought you had more stock than that." Midou sneered at the Kitsune. Ryuuga growled lowly as he gripped his sword. Midou stopped though, holding his arms up in surrender.
"Don't worry, I'm not gonna attack you. I just want to show you how important we find our agreement. The Newspaper club will be the example." He said with a dark smirk. Ryuuga blinked for a moment before chuckling, which made the smirk on Midou's face turn to a scowl.
"Something funny?"
"Yes, the fact that you believe that your so called 'Outcasts' can challenge the newspaper club. You know nothing of their strength."
Midou's expression became darker, feeling insulted that he thought they would lose. "We'll see how confident you are after we obliterate them." He said turning to leave. Ryuuga watched as the Ayashi's presence was now gone, making him sigh in relief.
"I'll have to agree with you on that one." Keito spoke up, "He has no idea what he's walking into. I still don't like them, but I know what they're capable of."
"Still, I'm going to go and warn them of the threat. I'll be back soon." Ryuuga declared as he tied his katana to his back. Before leaving the room he stopped and looked back at the spider ayashi.
"By the way, there was something you were going to say earlier, what is it?"
Keito blinked before a faint blush crept over her face. "O-oh it wasn't that important, y-you should go!" She said turning away and picking up some files. Ryuuga watched her curiously for a few moments before shrugging and turning away to leave.
Silence crept over the entire club room. The faces on Tsukune, Moka, Kurumu and Yukari were covered with comical shock. While Mizore didn't seem as shocked, her mouth was gaping and her lollipop was hanging barely on her lips. Gin held his chin thoughtfully, sweating slightly in disbelief. Luffy and his crew finally explained themselves. They finally revealed where they came from. And needless to say everyone found the story to be more than unbelievable. If it had been from Luffy's mouth (Who was terrible at describing it) They would have blown it off as a big joke. But instead, taking over for her overly eccentric captain, Robin explained everything in his stead.
"No, it's bull crap. I don't believe it." Gin said finally in denial.
"I assure you wolf-san that I am telling the truth." Robin said with her usual soft smile.
"Alright so let's go over everything again…" Kurumu said clearing her throat.
"Do we have to? I was barely able to stay awake the first time…" Zoro said yawning casually.
"Yes! It's so unbelievable that we have to!" Kurumu shouted at him, making the swordsman roll his eyes.
"I agree with Kurumu-chan, this is a lot to take in…" Tsukune admitted.
"Just a quick review desu." Yukari added in.
"Yeah dumbass swordsman, if these beautiful ladies need to hear it again then let them!" Sanji growled at Zoro who scoffed back at the cook but remained quiet for once.
"Ok so you guys are from another world. A world outside of the world of monsters and humans, right?" Kurumu asked.
"Yep." The entire crew said together.
"A world filled with super powered pirates and marines where fruits give said powers." Gin asked this time.
"Yep."
"And all the pirates are in search for a treasure called One Piece so that they can become the-
"Pirate King, which is what I'm gonna become!" Luffy interrupted quickly with a confident grin. It had been a long time since the Strawhat Pirate was able to talk about his dream. "That's my dream! To become the man with the most freedom in the world!"
"That definitely sounds like something you'd go after." Moka declared with a small giggle along with Yukari.
"Alright back on topic guys!" Kurumu said getting their attention. "So you guys are a pirate crew right?"
"Yeah, we're all wanted by the government." Zoro spoke this time.
"I get that but I don't really see Luffy as someone who'd intentionally go out and pillage and plundering innocent people." Gin said scratching his head.
"What? We don't do that." Luffy said blinking in confusion.
"While there are pirates like that in our world, we aren't anything like them. We're one of the really odd crews you can say." Usopp said thoughtfully.
"I'll say…" Gin muttered quietly.
"So wait… all of you have those powers right? You got them from something called 'devil fruits'?" Yukari inquired.
"Nope, just me, Robin, Chopper and Brook!" Luffy declared with his usual carefree grin. "I'm a rubber man!" He said stretching his face.
"How come water is your weakness?" Moka asked curiously.
"It's mainly sea water that causes fruit users to become weak, it is the greatest weakness we have. There is also a stone in our world that's called Kairoseki, which has the element of the sea in it, and it can be used to weaken us greatly." Robin explained to her.
"I got that but then… how are you so strong?" Kurumu asked Zoro crossing her arms as she looked at him.
"I train, nothing more to it." Zoro answered shrugging casually.
"No amount of training can do that!" Kurumu said slapping his head.
"Alright that's enough, now I know you all are strong but this is just…" Gin said scratching his head again, still grasping the concept.
"Oh I have another way to prove our case." Robin said fishing into her carrying bag. She pulled out a bundle of papers and laid them out on the table. It was the entire crews wanted posters, bringing the entire clubs attention. They all studied them intently as they looked them over.
"Wanted dead or alive, Monkey D. Luffy… 300 million?!" Moka thought aloud with wide eyes.
"Moss head's got the second highest!" Kurumu declared looking at Zoro's wanted poster before smirking at the swordsman. "Looks like someone kicked your ass."
"Shut up, you don't know what happened!" Zoro barked at the succubus.
"Wow Robin sensei you're the third highest?" Yukari said blinking at her poster.
"Yes but that doesn't make me the third strongest of our crew, that place is reserved for cook-san." Robin said smiling. The group looked to see Sanji's wanted poster, who as soon as he saw it immediately tried to hide it.
"Don't look, it's too disturbing to talk about!" He said literally on the verge of tears.
"Wait what do you mean?" Moka asked blinking.
"They never got a picture of Sanji so they sketched a poster instead." Usopp said snickering with Chopper and Luffy.
"Is it that bad?" Kurumu said raising a brow.
"It looks exactly like him if you ask me." Zoro said with a smirk.
"Shut up stupid marimo, you don't know my pain!" Sanji shouted grabbing his shirt while crying. The group merely looked at each other with a sweat drop before turning back to the posters.
"Hey, Chopper-kun, here you are! You have a bounty of… fifty?" Yukari said before blinking and looking at the reindeer. He was on the ground sulking.
"They didn't see me fighting…" Chopper muttered quietly. Yukari sweat dropped before patting the reindeer on the head sympathetically.
"Hey who are these three?" Moka asked grouping three of the posters together. Luffy looked over her soldier and smiled.
"That's the rest of our crew! That one's Franky, our ship right! He's a cyborg and has really cool weapons and stuff! Then there's Brook, he's our musician! He asks girls to see their panties, it's really funny!" Luffy said laughing at the thought.
"Pervert…" Kurumu and Moka said puffing up their cheeks.
"What about her?" Mizore asked this time, having been quiet through most of the conversation.
"Oh Nami? She's our navigator! She's really good but she can be really mean too!" Luffy said laughing.
"You all have no idea…" Zoro said groaning in annoyance at the thought of the 'witch'.
"Good." Mizore mutters, happy to see that Luffy didn't have feelings for Nami in any way.
"Oi you assholes, don't talk down about Nami-swan!" Sanji growled out getting mainly in Zoro's face.
"Shut your trap, ero-cook!" Zoro said getting ready to fight, but the two were promptly pushed away from each other by Kurumu. "No fighting right now, we're still in the process of understanding it all!"
"Who's the guy with the mask? Oh never mind that's you huh?" Gin said seeing the nose on Sogeking's poster.
"Wh-what? No, I am the great captain Usopp! My bounty is so high that they didn't realize that I was in the crew!" The sniper declared smugly, making the others sweat drop at his lie.
"Ok I think I've got everything now but… if this is all true, why are you all here?" Tsukune asked curiously.
"While we were sailing, we stumbled upon a strange island. Inside of a cave, we came to a place that acted as a link between our worlds. Thanks to that, we were thrown here by accident. We are unable to get back at the moment, and the Chairman of the school let us stay here until we could figure out a way to get home." Robin explained to them.
"You guys have been here a while desu, are you afraid of what happened to the rest of your crew?" Yukari inquired.
"Actually we needn't have to, for when someone from one of our worlds crosses into the next, the world they came from seems to barely move despite how long we might be gone. We have been here for several months, but right now weeks only equal minutes in our world."
"Eeeeeh?!" The group shrieked in surprise.
"H-how do you know that?" Tsukune asked blinking.
"The chairman told us after we arrived. I was suspicious at first, but his theory proved correct once Chopper arrived here. He was only a few minutes behind us in our world, but here it had already been several weeks."
"All that stuff is still really confusing to me." Luffy said tilting his head to the side.
"There are a lot of things that can confuse you…" Usopp said with a sweat drop.
"Does that cover everything? I don't want to go over it a third time." Zoro groaned in annoyance.
"One last thing… if you guys find a way back to your world, does that mean you'll… leave?" Tsukune asked quietly. The entire room seemed to become quiet at his question, the girls frowning as they looked at the crew. Zoro was silent as he knew a certain captain would speak up.
"Of course! We have to go back to our adventures!" Luffy declared with his large stupid grin again. The hearts of the rest of the club sank at that, stunned as they realized their friends could be gone the next day without warning. Sanji picked up on the atmosphere and sighed slightly, lighting up a new cigarette.
"He's right, we have our own dreams to fulfill. We can't do that while we're here." Zoro added in.
"Hey why does everyone look all sad?" Luffy said blinking as he finally noticed their sadness.
"It's that easy huh?" Kurumu spoke up quietly, grabbing everyone's attention. "You guys could just pick up your stuff and go like that? Without even thinking about the feelings of the people you call friends?" She said as her eyes showed a great intensity and anger. Luffy sweated slightly and shook his head.
"Wait, you guys don't understand, I was gonna-" He tried to explain but she stood up suddenly, her chair falling to the ground.
"I don't wanna hear your excuses! We've all been through a lot together in this short time and I thought that… maybe we were more important to you guys. I guess I was wrong huh? All that stuff you spew about friendship is a lie huh?" She said turning away to the door.
"Wait, Kurumu!" Luffy shouted getting up from his position. She didn't listen as she slammed the door behind her. The room fell silent in shock and sadness. This time it was Moka who stood up with tears in her eyes.
"Moka wait, I was trying to say that-" Luffy pleaded but she didn't listen as she ran away as well. Tsukune chased after her without a word, for in his heart he felt the same way. Yukari, Mizore and Gin were the only ones to remain.
"You really need to learn how to read the atmosphere Luffy." Sanji said sighing as he blew a puff of smoke.
"This talk was going to happen eventually, even if it meant hurting their feelings. It's the truth." Zoro said sternly as he crossed his arms.
"Zoro-nii… Chopper-kun… Luffy-san…" Yukari said as her eyes started to fill with tears. "You're really going to leave?"
"I don't want to leave you Yukari! But we really do…" Chopper muttered trying to explain himself.
"I'll follow where you go Luffy-kun, even if you leave." Mizore spoke up despite all the dreariness over the pirate captain. Luffy didn't say anything as his gaze became downcast.
"Guess it can't be helped, while the others might take it personal I think I understand it anyway." Gin admitted thoughtfully. Before any could respond Ryuuga opened the door.
"Oh good, most of you are here and… Is something wrong?" He asked with a raised brow at the depressed silence. He noticed Mizore who's eyes bore into him, but he did his best to ignore it, trying to keep his eyes off of her.
"Was there something you needed Ryuuga?" Robin asked this time, bringing the kitsune's attention to her.
"Oh yes, I came here to warn you all. There is a threat to your club and friends that must be addressed." He explained, grabbing the entire group's attention.
Kurumu was had soon arrived at the pond outside the school. Things had so greatly changed since she had hypnotized Tsukune in this very spot. She gained his trust and friendship along with Moka's despite their bad encounter. Luffy and Zoro were the first ones to accept her for who she was, and didn't see her like every other man did. She would never have thought she'd make friends like them, one's who fought and protected her and the others and asked for nothing in return, much like Tsukune. It was something she'd never admit to the swordsman, but she felt especially closer to him, a way that she thought impossible with another man than Tsukune. She was still in love with Tsukune of course, but she felt a bond with the swordsman that she couldn't really explain herself.
"Hey Kurumu-chan…" Moka said walking up behind her. Kurumu didn't bother looking, still playing with her reflection in the water.
"Hey Moka…" She muttered back, finding no other words to say at the moment.
"You know… ever since Luffy-san and Zoro-kun became our friends, I thought our time together would go on forever…" Moka spoke up, taking a seat next to Kurumu. "They made things different than I imagined they'd be. Luffy would always know how to put a smile on everyone's face. Even though he always acted tough and quiet, Zoro was always there for us too… Then Chopper came along, and brightened up the group even more. It saddens me that they might have to leave sometime soon as well but… I want to remember all the good times we've had together."
"She's right Kurumu." Tsukune spoke as he arrived. "We can't turn our backs on them now, not after everything we've been through. Even if it's not for that much longer, I want to spend as much time with Luffy and the others as I can." He said smiling kindly at the girls.
Kurumu was quiet as she looked back at the two before sniffling and smiling sadly. "Yeah, you're right… Let's go back. I want to apologize…" Kurumu said quietly standing up. Moka smiled happily at her and nodded, the three coming together to leave.
"I hope we haven't interrupted something here, but oh well." A deep voice rang out from trees. The three froze as they saw several figures go through the surrounding forest. A man walked out who carried a knife, smirking darkly at the group.
"W-who are you?" Tsukune asked as he took a position in front of the girls.
"We're the Outcast Ayashi. Thanks to your clubs fight with the PSC we've lost some ground in the school. So as payback we're gonna make examples of you three. Nothing personal, just business." He answered darkly. Suddenly the girls were grappled from behind by several monsters.
"No!" Tsukune reached out but was stopped as he was hit over the head by the leader from earlier.
"Hey you should be happy, you get a front row seat as we do what we want with the girls, right fellas?" He sneered as he dug Tsukune's face into the ground.
"Let us go!" Kurumu growled, thrashing as the ayashi held her back. They all chuckled darkly as they started to pull at her clothes.
"Both these chicks are super hot, we're gonna enjoy this!"
"NO!" Tsukune growled as he was able to slip out of the grip of the leader. He tried to grab one of the men holding the girls, but he was quickly swiped away.
"You're as weak as I've heard, guess I should have expected that." The ayashi leader scoffed as he started to beat down on Tsukune. "You guys go ahead with the girls, I'll enjoy beating on this loser."
"Leave him alone!" Moka shouted as tears filled her eyes. The monsters holding her started to rip her clothes as well, making both girls scream in fear.
"Man how does it feel to be the weakling of the-" The boss taunted until suddenly Tsukune caught his leg. He sweated as he saw Tsukune's eyes become slitted and red. Before he could move, the thug leader was suddenly kicked away.
Poitrine Shoot!
A thunderous crack sounded as Sanji blasted the ayashi away, who spit blood as he crashed through several trees.
"You shitty monsters won't get away with treating those beautiful women so harshly!" Sanji shouted enraged. The ayashi dropped Kurumu and Moka who's clothes were tattered but not entirely gone. They started to back away in fear but were not getting away.
Santoryuu: Uzume!
Gomu Gomu no: Cannon!
The ayashi found themselves utterly smashed away from the girls. They laid on the ground in pain, the two pirates now stooping over them dangerously.
"You don't ever touch our friends AGAIN!" Luffy growled in anger as he grabbed one of them by the collar.
"I'll finish the job next time. You don't touch women like that and expect to get away with it." Zoro declared darkly as he put his swords to their necks.
"Luffy, Zoro…" Kurumu said widening her eyes at their sudden appearance.
"Hey you bastards, I wanted to be the one to kick their sorry asses!" Sanji declared in annoyance. He swirled over to the girls and knelt down to them caringly.
"I'm sorry we came slightly late ladies, allow me to help you." He said holding a hand out to them. He suddenly froze and nose bled when he saw how revealing they were at the moment.
"DON'T LOOK!" Kurumu shouted using her arms to cover her body and kick him away.
"Mellorine~" He shouted as he fell at Tsukune's side.
"Tsukune…" Moka said quietly, trying to cover herself too. The brunette was currently unconscious, his body battered and bruised still.
"We'll have Chopper look at him, don't worry." Luffy said putting a hand on Moka's shoulder. Moka looked up at him with a kind smile and nodded, before blushing slightly.
"W-wait, don't look at me!" She said trying to cover her body again.
"Huh what's wrong?" Luffy said oblivious as usual until Moka kicked him in the face instinctively.
Zoro threw his blazer over Kurumu's shoulders and offered her a hand.
"You guys cant help but get into trouble huh?" He muttered kneeling down next to the succubus. She blushed as she pulled the blazer further over her body.
"Technically it's yours and Luffy's fault we're in this situation you know." Kurumu said lightly as she took his hand and stood up.
"Well then stop dropping your guard around people for-" Zoro said retorting but stopped when Kurumu hugged him suddenly. He widened his eyes and Luffy and Moka watched them curiously.
"Just shut up for once will you? Just… shut up." She said quietly and chuckling. Zoro opened his mouth to say something before sighing and letting her continue.
"Damn swordsman, I should've offered my shirt to her!" Sanji shouted with crocodile tears and pounding on the ground. Luffy and Moka laughed at his plight.
"I'm gonna check on Tsukune!" Luffy said rushing over to the unconscious boy. Moka was about to join him in helping but stopped when her other voice rang out from the Rosario.
"I wish to speak with Strawhat. Use Tsukune's hand to pull off the Rosario." She heard, making her blink in surprise. She walked up behind Luffy who was lifting Tsukune in his arms.
"That's weird, he doesn't look bruised anymore!" The rubber boy announced.
"Uh Luffy, Ura-chan wants to talk to you."
"Eh, who?"
"The other 'me'."
"Ah ok, then have Tsukune take it… oh right he cant." Luffy said tilting his head in question. Moka sighed before grabbing Tsukune's hand and stroking it caringly. "I wish I could have done more before he got hurt…" She muttered before using his hand to remove the seal. Her silver hair and red eyes took their places before they glared deeply at Luffy.
"I heard what you had said earlier to the others." Moka said crossing her arms. "So you all intend to leave?"
Luffy stared back into her eyes, no nervousness or fear could be seen as his expression was more serious than usual.
"Yeah when we can find a way back. We need to get back to the rest of our friends too." Luffy declared sternly. The others watched the exchange with interest, unsure how the inner Moka would respond to this. The vampire narrowed her eyes in slight irritation, but inside she felt… saddened at such news. She had heard him before as she said, but it more hit her now that he said it directly. She cast her gaze away before sighing.
"I suppose I-"
"Hey Zoro-nii! Are they all ok?" Yukari's voice sounded from the forest. She was riding on Chopper in his full reindeer form with Mizore behind her. They were both oddly dressed, with Yukari wearing an eye patch and some slightly ragged clothes and Mizore in similar attire, but no eye patch and instead wearing a tan bandana.
"They're all fine. And I told you to take those ridiculous clothes off, pirates don't actually wear those." Zoro said sighing in annoyance.
"Pirates? Wait, what do you mean?" Kurumu said blinking in question.
"Luffy-san found a way for us all to still be together!" Yukari declared happily.
"I was going to follow him anyway." Mizore said cooly.
"What exactly are they talking about Strawhat?" Moka interrupted in annoyance. Luffy laughed and gave her his large annoying smile again.
"I was trying to tell you guys earlier, but you rushed out! I wanted to ask you all this a while back, but everyone said we had to be quiet about being pirates!" Luffy explained still grinning.
"What is it then?" Moka groaned impatiently.
"I wanted to wait until Tsukune was awake but that's ok. I want you and Kurumu and Tsukune to join my crew!"
To be continued
Ok so I know the ending was pretty abrupt but this chapter dragged on longer than I was expecting :P It went in a different direction than I had originally intended but I felt I had to include several topics and do them justice:
The involvement of the Outcast Ayashi. They're not gonna be around for much longer but I felt they deserved some recognition, and after that they shall be firmly placed in the ground.
Tsukune's Vampire blood. I had pushed this subject to the side to do more action for Luffy and Zoro, but I feel it wasn't fair. I just threw it in to make sure that everyone knows that he does in fact have the power, but since he hasn't been injured nearly as much as in the original manga, I'm gonna say that it was able to lie dormant much longer.
The explanation of the crew. I tried my best to do it in a way that the Strawhat crew would explain it, and Robin of course would make it easier. But of course it's such a crazy concept of a world I think no one could believe it right away. I also didn't at first intend for there to be drama about them leaving but I gave the subject thought and realized they might be upset by such news.
Well that's about it for the chapter I hope you liked it! Sorry to those of you who were expecting more on the Mizore and Ryuuga story, but this part took priority at the time, but don't worry I'll develop more into that later. Please remember to review and favorite for me!