Pirates!

Davy Back Fight Part 4

Captain's Fight

The cannon was a standard ship cannon attached on a platform on wheels. The small group of pirates that had disappeared to go retrieve it dragged it through the snow back to their current location and placed it in between the two separated groups. The announcer stepped beside it and placed a hand on the cannon's wide barrel and patted it once.

"With this cannon, we will pick the battle field," he explained, more to Chris' team then to his own. "The two captains, step forward!"

As Leo broke from the rest of his crew, excited cries of approval rang out from the crew. Chris' crew remained relatively silent as she stepped forward, waiting patiently for the result. When both captains' were standing before him, the announcer stepped back and continued. "Captains, spin the cannon," he said.

Chris hesitated, confused, but placed a hand on the barrel of the cannon. Leo did the same and as she pushed it, he pulled, spinning the cannon on its platform. She pushed it again, harder this time, when it came around the second time, then the two captains stepped back to let it spin on its own.

"When the cannon stops naturally, the cannonball loaded will fire, and wherever it lands will be the battle field!" the announcer said.

Both crews watched the cannon beginning to slow down, holding their breath. No matter where it landed, it would be fine, right? Chris had no Devil Fruit limitations if it landed in the water, though the coldness of it would definitely be a problem. The forest wouldn't be that bad either, and directly on the beach would be ok as well.

The cannon stopped, facing the path leading toward the town in the distance, and fired. Chris' eyes went wide as she watched it rise into the air, then fall into Fourth town with a bang. "Oh no…" she muttered. Blue tensed beside Gonzo and his eyes narrowed behind the sunglasses. Leo, however, smiled.

"The battle field is chosen. The borders of the field are a fifty meter radius from the location of the cannon, meaning a circular 100 meter field! In other words, the entire town is free ground. You may use any weapons within the field, and no one except the contestants are allowed in. The area above and below is also considered to be the field,"

"So how do we win?" Chris asked uncomfortably. She wanted to get this done with as little damage as possible if any at all to the town. The announcer stared at her in aggravation.

"I was getting to that," he said before clearing his throat. "Anyway, before I was so rudely interrupted by the Crescent Dagger's captain, I was going to say that the first person to knock the opponent out of the ring is the winner! Captains, return to your crews to prepare!"

Chris frowned unhappily as she forced her eyes away from the town and returned to her friends. She was greeted with an angry glare from Blue and she looked away uncomfortably. It took her a moment to compose herself and looked back at him. "Look, I'm sorry," she said. "It's not like I intended for that to happen,"

Blue looked down at her with his arms crossed. "This is exactly why pirates aren't welcome here," he said. He turned and walked away from the group, back into the trees, and disappeared.

(--)

The ring was set up within the hour and the two opponents were standing on opposite sides of the street where the cannonball landed. They were the only two within the town, as someone had come and evacuated, but there was a Den Den Mushi beside them, connected to the announcer with the rest of the crews on the beach.

The two opponents stared at each other and Chris grabbed her Double-Sided dagger from her belt. She wished now that she would have brought her Deer Horn Knives with her, but it was her own fault for not. She spun the dagger in her left hand briefly before gripping it tightly. "This is going to be quick and easy," she assured Leo.

"That's right," Leo agreed. He lifted his hooked hand. "It won't be like it was on Kiri Island. This time, there's no one here to save you."

Chris scowled. "Who says I'll need saving?" she asked. "Besides, you should be more worried about your self,"

"Fighters prepare yourselves." the Den Den Mushi shouted. Hearing it, the two tensed. "Ready: Begin!"

Leo reached his good hand into his pocket and took something out; some sort of bomb by the looks of it. He threw it down on the ground in front of him and smoke began billowing out, rapidly filling the air between them. Chris defensively raised her dagger, her eyes narrowed as she tried to see through the dense smoke. She backed up to try to get out of it.

That was when Leo appeared in front of her. He spun on one foot, the other drawn up, and when he'd completed the spin, he lashed out with the foot, kicking Chris' defending arm. The force of the kick knocked Chris off her feet and through the door of the building behind her. The wood, surprisingly, splintered, knocking the wind out of her, and she hit the ground inside the building with a grunt.

She rolled onto her stomach and pushed herself to her knees, coughing. "Shit, that hurt,"

"Hey… mister, are you ok?" she heard in front of her. Her eyes widened and she looked up; a little girl was huddled in the corner, hugging her knees and holding a single large kitchen knife in her hand. Hiding? But the place was completely abandoned.

"I… I'm fine," Chris said, rising with slight difficulty to her feet. "Wait, what are you doing here? Are there others?"

The older girl looked at Chris terrified, but responded. "I don't know," she said.

"I see…" Chris muttered. "Look, you have to get out of here, ok? Find your parents. This place is dangerous and—"

"Behind you!" The girl shrieked. Chris caught sight of an arm wrapping around her throat and a glint of metal and lifted the Double-Sided Dagger. The large blade caught the hook just before it could touch Chris' throat and she struggled to keep it at bay.

"Stupid girl," Leo snarled at the kid on the ground. "When I'm done with him, I'll get rid of you as well,"

"Like hell you will," Chris snarled. She pushed her head backward with all her strength, slamming it into Leo's nose. With a surprised shout, Leo dropped his arm. Chris took advantage of the situation and turned around, hitting him with a spinning kick to the chest and knocking him out the door. "Get going!" she shouted over her shoulder as she ran after Leo.

"One hundred meters… it'll be hard to get him out in a field like this. But I've got to be careful myself…" She stopped outside the door and stared at Leo, lying on the ground, unmoving. Had she hit him too hard? She stepped forward cautiously and circled around to his head. His eyes were closed…

Suddenly, his hand lashed out and grabbed her ankle. He pulled it and she fell with a grunt as he rose to his feet. With a roar, he lifted her up, spun, and threw her through the air. Chris' back collided with a solid wooden wall and she crumpled into the snow.

"Ow, ow, ow…" she muttered as she started to her feet. He'd definitely gotten stronger since they'd last seen him a few months ago. She looked to Leo, who was standing, his back arched, his chest out.

"You know, Crescent Dagger, there's a reason I worked so hard to make my name 'Gold Lion'," he said. He started toward her, the snow crunching beneath his feet, and Chris raised a dagger. "Since I heard of the Devil Fruits twenty years ago, when I was fifteen, I've been hunting for one in particular. An extremely rare one at that,"

Chris was about to charge, but then she noticed something… wrong. Leo wasn't walking normally. He was staggering, and his face was beginning to change. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. He stopped, his hand twitching, distorting. "Yes, there's a very good reason I wanted to be known as Gold Lion…"

Then, she realized it. She'd seen Faith like this when she first changed in front of Chris. But back then, she'd been trying to resist the change; she hadn't wanted to change in front of others. This man… he was just showing off. Suddenly, his muscles expanded, his body growing, bones shifting. His hair lengthened, becoming wilder, and his eyes narrowed and stretched to a more feline shape. The only part of him that looked out of place was his hooked hand amidst the golden fur.

When the change was finished, Leo's golden eyes stared at Chris, the pupils shrinking to mere pinpricks. "I've spent my entire life searching for this Devil Fruit," he repeated. "And just after meeting you, I found it. The Neko Neko no Mi, Model: Lion!"

Again, Chris felt that strange sense of uncertainty she'd felt when fighting his pet lion, Bao. She had to remind himself that despite the fruit, his mind was still human. She could beat him if she stayed focused. With that in mind, she reached into her hat and took out her Crescent Dagger.

What she didn't expect was the terrified scream behind Leo, coming from the broken down door. Chris' eyes widened as she shifted her gaze to look past the lion at the little girl, shaking in the doorway. Her dark eyes were wide and she was frozen in fear at the sight of the hybrid human. Leo's rounded ear twitched and he turned his head a bit, his eyes flicking to the side to look at the girl behind him. Then, he grinned, flashing jagged white teeth. Leo turned to face the girl and started toward her.

That's when Chris acted. "Hold it right there!" She spun the Crescent Dagger into its secondary hold, the blade sticking out between her ring and middle fingers like a claw. She jumped, wrapping an arm around Leo's neck, and stabbed the blade into Leo's shoulder.

He roared in pain and stopped his advance, focusing instead on getting Chris off him. She dug the blade deeper into his thick skin and the blood speckled her face. "This is a game, Leo. The girl has nothing to do with it!" she snarled. Then, to the girl, she added, "Get going already!"

The girl didn't need to be told twice. With tears streaming down her eyes, she took off. Chris watched her until she was out of sight and that was enough of a distraction for Leo. His large hand caught her behind the neck and he pulled her over his shoulder. He slammed her down into the ground and knelt, pushing her head into the snow.

"I know," he said to her. "The rules say that you can use whatever weapons are present on the field. A distraction counts as a weapon. Though it would have been much better if I would have killed her, you would have been frozen on the spot," He pushed Chris' head deeper into the snow.

"You think that would stop me?" Chris asked, turning her head with difficulty to look up at him. "You don't know anything about me, obviously. Something like that would do nothing but piss me off!" Suddenly, she stabbed her other dagger into Leo's arm. He roared again and released her. Chris rose to her feet quickly and jumped up, gripping a handful of Leo's fur for support, and pulled her Crescent Dagger out of his shoulder. She kicked away from him, knocking him back a few paces, and flipped to land on her feet.

Leo recovered quickly and his hooked hand swiped at Chris' stomach. She stepped back to avoid it and then, she turned and ran. "Don't think you can get away, Crescent Dagger!" he shouted after her. He jumped forward, changing to his animal form in the process, and took off after her.

Chris was breathing heavily as she dashed through the snow, weaving through buildings. It was fifty meters from the center, right? They hadn't left the center, so if she ran fifty meters in any direction, she'd definitely reach the boundary of the ring. But she was only human, without the power of a Devil Fruit. She was starting to get tired.

Chris heard a roar behind her and threw herself to the ground. Leo jumped right over her, skidding to a stop in front of her, and turned to face her. She pushed herself to her feet and stared at him. He was definitely bigger than his pet lion that was for sure, but again, the hook in place where his right paw should have been looked comically out of place.

He growled briefly, then he charged again. She twisted to the side as he pounced and took off again. Just keep going in the same direction, you'll make it. She thought to herself. She paid no attention to the sound of crunching snow behind her and continued.

Soon enough, she could see the boundary. The corners of her lips curled into a smile and she continued a few more meters before skidding to a stop and turning. Leo changed into his hybrid form as he pounced for a third time and she dodged it quickly. She spun and with an cry, rammed her elbow into his back. He hit the snow beneath him hard. "Take this you son of a bitch!" Chris shouted. With that, she threw a kick that would have made Black Leg Sanji proud.

Leo was sent spinning along the snow, managing to stop just before the boundary line. He pushed himself to his hands and knees, coughing, his good hand holding his ribs in pain. Soon enough, a shadow stood over him and he looked up.

Chris stared down at him, sheathing her daggers. Leo started to stand, but Chris pushed him down again with her foot. A group of Leo's crew members stood a few meters away from the boundary, watching with bated breath.

"Devil Fruit or not, you're still not strong enough," Chris said calmly, trying to control her tired breathing. "Next time you make a challenge, you'd better make sure that you can win." Then, with the same foot, she pushed him out of the ring. "Get out of here before I decide to make you,"

There was a moment of silence around them, the Gold Lion Pirates shocked beyond belief. Chris looked at the announcer, who was standing silently with a Baby Den Den Mushi in his hand. "Well?"

Her voice startled him and with a shaky hand, he lifted the Baby Den Den Mushi. "The winner… of the Captain's fight is… Crescent Dagger Chris Hopkins," he said without enthusiasm.

Chris heard an excited cheer from somewhere behind her and smiled slightly. Without another word, she turned and walked away.

(--)

"Phew, that was definitely one hell of a game!" Zugai said with a wide grin as he lay on the couch in the girl's room of the inn. Jae sat on the arm of the same couch, Gonzo leaning against the wall, and Chris, Aya, and Faith sat on respective beds. (Chris was actually lying down, but that's beside the point).

The point is, a day after the games, they were tired. And each and every one of them was ready to get off this crazy island, with crazy old man fortune tellers that knew too much and could tell too much for their own good.

"Guess it was an adventure, wasn't it?" Aya agreed with a small laugh. "Nonetheless, I want to get out of here."

"Don't we all," Gonzo agreed.

A knock on the door caught their attention and at once, all of them turned their attention to it. There was a moment of silence, then, Chris called, "Come in," and the door opened. The little girl from before stood there, partially hiding behind a taller man wearing a navy blue jacket. Chris sat up in her bed and looked at them.

"Blue-san," Jae said, slightly surprised.

"And who's this?" Gonzo asked, nodding to the little girl. Her blue hair was tied in a low ponytail at the base of her neck.

"She wanted to thank you," Blue said to Chris, "for saving her yesterday," He stepped aside and the girl stepped into the room a bit, fidgeting uncomfortably.

"Oh, right," Chris said. "You're the girl from before. I never got your name,"

"Xena," the girl said nervously. She fidgeted with her dress uncomfortably, then, she bowed. "Thank you so much for saving me yesterday," she said.

Chris smiled. "It was nothing," she said. She stood up and looked at Blue. "Hey, sorry about the whole thing. I didn't think the town would get involved in it, but it ended with miniscule damage at least,"

"That's true," Blue agreed.

"Now, I gave you an offer yesterday, and it's definitely still up for grabs. That shot gun that you always carry around, you're a marksman, right? We need one on our crew,"

Blue hesitated, looking around at the others. They looked indifferent about the situation in his opinion. Was he really willing to leave and become a criminal?

"I have a goal to accomplish," he said slowly.

"We all do," Zugai interrupted. "We've got people to find,"

"Things to do," Gonzo added.

"Places to see," Jae continued.

"Lives to save," Aya and Faith said simultaneously.

"Dreams to catch," Chris concluded. "And we made a promise before entering this backwards ocean that we'd accomplish them before we reach the end. Do you want to join that promise?"

Suddenly, Blue smiled. "Why the hell not?" he asked. He took off his sunglasses, revealing his stunningly blue eyes. "Alright, I'm in,"

Chris grinned. "Alright," she said happily. "Welcome aboard, Blue!"

"Hey, Chris," Gonzo suddenly said, looking out the window. "I think we'd better get going. I can see Marine ships approaching."

Chris frowned. "What, really?" she asked unhappily. "Man, that's a bummer… alright, guess we've gotta go, huh?"

Zugai and Jae jumped to their feet and pushed passed Blue to the door, returning to their own room to get their supplies. "Hope you're ready," Zugai said, "because you're about to jump into the life of a pirate,"

Blue rolled his eyes and put his sunglasses back on. "Of course I'm ready," he said.

"Well then let's get going! We don't want to get caught before we even start, right?" Chris asked. She helped Faith and Aya collect the bags around the room and started toward the door.

Within five minutes, the crew was out the front door of the Inn, running down the street back toward their ship with their newest addition right beside them.

Crew Members:

Chris Hopkins: 16 years, Spy/Captain

Zugai Hibiware: 18 years, First Mate/Shipwright/Blacksmith

Gonzo: 17 years, Cook

Jae Axia: 17 years, Navigator

Faith Williams: 19 years, Doctor

Aya Vincent: 17 years, Doctor

Blue: 20 years, Sniper/Gunfighter

A/N: Alright, so we've got our next member! Took me all day to write this… different scenarios were running through my head. But I hope you enjoyed it. They've got their new crew member now! Thanks to all users who are letting me use their characters. Now, expect some 'filler chapters' until I come up with a new arc idea, since I'm completely out of ideas right now. Don't forget to read and review (and feel free to drop me some ideas…). Bye~