Hello~! I'm back for now~! Life really has a way of kickin' ya when you're down, huh? I know I promised that I would be done with the short one's but it seems I've made a liar out of myself...again. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoying reading and as always, let me know what you think!
"Should we...do something about that?" Run mutters, motioning to the door Brook has dashed through. "I know we're already in trouble but..." No one makes a move to chase after their musician and eventually the red head shrugs his shoulders. Several long minutes pass in silence before the same doors that Brook has run through suddenly burst back open.
"King Neptune!" exclaims the Minster of the Right. "There was a kidnapping! Somebody kidnapped the Princess!"
"And Pirates are falling like rain at the tower!" adds Brook. "They're your enemies! They're attacking!" The sound of running foot-steps echo through the hall behind Brook and the Minster, and numerous pirates begin to pour into the room through the open door. Each of them looks as if they've been put through the wringer...were they the 'projectile' that caused those explosions earlier?
"Open the gate...we have to open the gate," huffs a man at the head of the group. "If we want to survive we have to open the gate!" Brook backs away from them and tosses the Minster onto the ground beside Neptune and the others before reaching for the top of his cane. "Kill them...kill them...k...kill...k..." The man collapes face first onto the ground, foaming at the mouth. The others follow him one after another, all foaming at the mouth and each lying face first on the ground. Run sighs and scratches the stubble on his jaw.
"There's no need to waste time dealing with them, Zoro," Run says, turning to look at the man. He releases the tsuka of one of his katana and then crosses his arms with a huff.
"Wh...What did you do?" asks the Minster of the Left. "What was that?"
"Aah, that? The same thing I did in the banquet hall. There wasn't any reason to fight with them." Neptune suddenly falls on his side, slamming against the ground and surprising all of them. All heads turn to the man and then the red head. "I only targeted them, I swear."
"Give me back Shirahoshi-jamon!" cries Neptune.
"Why do you think we'd want to kidnap the Mermaid Princess?" Usopp asks him.
"I know 'Straw Hat' Luffy did it-jamon! Shirahoshi!"
"I did see Luffy and the Shark coming out of the room for sure," agrees Brook. "But I didn't see the Mermaid Princess with him."
"She's not the type of girl who sneaks out-jamon!" Neptune wiggles in place and finally sits himself back up. "Shirahoshi is as big as me-jamon. Someone would definitely notice her if she were to leave the tower." Brook recoils and seems put off by the thought that the princess is as big as her father. "Oh, yeah-jamon! Maybe he hid Shirahoshi in Megalo's mouth and took her out that way!" The guards surrounding them begin laughing at the very thought of smuggling out the princess in the mouth of a shark.
The laughter is suddenly broken, however, by the cry of one of the guards. "Intruders!" screams the Fishman. "We have intruders!" All heads turn towards the main entrance of the room to see a group of Fishmen pirates walking in their direction.
"Damn you!" growls the Minster of the Right. "How did you lot get in here?!"
"I can't believe this!" laughs a four-legged Fishman. "I was ready for a fight right away but Neptune and his soldiers are all tied up already!"
"I didn't expect a present like this," adds a tattooed Fishman wielding a red trident. "What a surprise."
"The damable Vander Decken!" growls the Minster of the Left. "You've finally shown yourself! And you...Hordy Jones from the Fishmen District! You were once a respected soldier in our army! Why are you doing this?"
"Is this some kind of trap? It's too good to be true."
"More and more visitors keep showing up," grumbles Zoro. "What a lively palace."
"You're their accomplices, aren't you?!" accuses the Minster of the Left. "You planned to let them in from the start!"
"We wouldn't be in this place if you hadn't let us in to begin with!" retorts Usopp. "They look pretty formidable! Who are those people?!"
"Vander Decken!" growls Neptune. "Since you're here there is no doubt! You're the one who did it! Give me back my daughter!"
"We're not even married, yet!" laughs Vander. "Isn't it too early to say that, father?"
"Don't call me father! Where did you take Shirahoshi?! You'd better pray that she's unharmed!"
"You're talking like she isn't here."
"Don't play dumb! Why else would Shirahoshi have disappeared from her room if not because of you?!" The man seems to geniunely panic for a moment before Hordy calms him down by reminding him of the pirates he 'threw' at the palace. He finally comes to his senses, and then sprints away from them. Neptune immediately breaks down, begging them to go after Vander and stop him from getting to Shirahoshi.
"Aaah, fine," sighs Run, dashing after the man. "Zoro, I'm gonna go after him. Least we can do since we...sort of caused this."
"Run, here!" shouts Nami, tossing a piece of pink coral to the red head as he dashes off. It's barely appeared in his hand before his form flickers and he disappears from view. Only Zoro follows his movement through the group of Fishmen Pirates all the way to Decken. The Fishman dives out of the hall and, oddly enough, uses a piece of bubbly coral to coat himself quickly. Run does the same, diving through the bubble surrounding the inner palace, and following after Decken, who now seems to be riding a large piece of coral as if it were a surf board through the water.
"Damn it! Moon Walk!" The red head kicks as hard as he can, and surges through the water in an instant. He catches onto the back of the coral, and holds tight to it as it glides through the water. With a grunt he pulls himself up as it cuts sharply, diving down a well-like structure and down a long tunnel, all while Decken screams at the top of his lungs above his love for the mermaid Princess.
"I'm coming! I'm coming!" screams Decken. "To wherever my Shirahoshi is! I've waited for this chance for years and now it's finally here! It's death or marriage!" At the speed that it's traveling it takes only a few seconds for them to leave the sea behind, and come spilling out into the sky above Fishman Island. The red head finally manages to stand, unassaulted by the rushing water.
"C'mon, pal. Don't you know when to give up?" Decken finally seems to notice his extra passenger and turns quickly to face him. "If it's been years then she's obviously not into you."
"You're just jealous of the love we share! I won't let anyone stand in the way of me and Shirahoshi, red hair!" Both the red head's eyebrows raise in utter surprise as he stares at the Fishman.
"What? Jealous? What?" Decken rushes forward quickly, balling his four hands into fists. Run raises his hands in response, catching his arms by the wrists and blocking a knee aimed at his ribs with one of his own. He cannot, however, block the second aimed at his right side and it slams in as hard as the Fishman can manage. The red head grunts in pain and then responds by whipping his head forward, and smashing their foreheads together. Decken's vision blurs, his knees wobble and his strength falters for a moment before he comes back to his senses just in time for Run to plant a foot in his gut and kick him toward the front of the coral.
"You're pretty strong for a Human, I'll give you that." Decken presses a hand against his stomach with a grimace. "But even so, I won't let you stop me! Your jealousy only makes our love stronger, red hair!" Rather than rush towards a second exchange with the red head, Decken boldly turns away. "Shirahoshi! I want the answer to my question! If it's 'yes', then you can escape death! You have to...marry me!" His annoying laughter fills the air and Run stalks forward slowly. "What's it going to be?! I suspect it's 'yes'!" The closer he gets to Decken the more he can see of what's going on below.
There seems to be a large crowd of Fishmen with a massive shark all surrounding a giant...Mermaid? Could that be Princess Shirahoshi? "U...Um," stutters Shirahoshi. "Y..."
"Yes?! Are you saying 'Yes'?!"
"You're not my type!"
"Y...Y...You bitch!" growls Decken. "You trampled on my feelings that I've held for ten years and now you plan to marry someone else?!" Decken produces two large single bladed axes, holding them high in either hand. "If you don't love me, your very existance irritates me! Drop dead, Shirahoshi!" Run moves forward quickly, reaching for the hilt of his saber. As he nears, he catches movement out of the corner of his eye and leaps in the opposite direction quickly. The coral explodes into powder seconds later, and through the storm of dust and small debris Run catches sight of none other than Luffy. "Why do you want to interfere with my business with Shirahoshi?! Are you the one who took her out?!" Luffy stretches his legs out, and quickly wraps them around Decken.
"Are you the one that's been throwing things at Coward?!" demands Luffy.
"I'll kill you both! I'll chop you both up into quarters!"
"Try it!" Luffy spins in air, raising Decken above him quickly. "Gum-Gum...Jet Hammer!" He smashs Decken down into the ground just as the red head lands and rolls to break the impact, shielding himself with Haki to prevent any scrapes and bruises. He picks himself up quickly, staring at the struggling Decken several meters away. Luffy comes hopping his direction quickly, legs and arms bound together. "H-Huh? Run! Is that you?!" Luffy laughs loudly and hops in his direction. "Help me with these!" Run nods and quickly unties his Captain. Luffy tells him to help with the others, and he's surprised to find Chopper, Sanji and Hatchi.
Sanji is unconscious, and when Run asks he finds out that he passed out from a nose-bleed after laying eyes on Shirahoshi. With everyone untied, Luffy signals for the shark to take them out of here. Shirahoshi quickly climbs onto the back of the shark along with the rest of them.
"S-Sorry, everyone!" calls Shirahoshi. "I'll be back by dinner!" As they take off into the sky, they hear a voice calling for them to be stopped, and the giant Sea Bonze breaks the surface of the water and blocks their path.
"Isn't that the Sea Bonze from before?" Run asks.
"Yes," Chopper affirms. "He works for Decken!"
"Stop them, Wadatsumi!" demands Decken.
"Second Gear!" Luffy grunts. "Gum-Gum...Jet Pistol!" In an instant, Luffy knocks out Wadatsumi's front tooth, and knocks him onto his back. "Alright! Coward, let's go to the Sea Forest...!"
It's a surprising quick jaunt down to the Sea Forest while riding the shark, and before they know it they've left behind all the noise from before. Beautiful coral and fish of all colors surround them on all sides. It truly is a beautiful sight to behold. Shirahoshi seems to be beside herself with emotion. Whether it's got to do with being cooped up for so long or just due to the amazing sights, it's difficult for them to tell. "Oi! Look, it's the Sunny!" exclaims Luffy, suddenly.
"Ohh! Franky's there, too!" adds Chopper. The Sunny sits undamaged on the sea floor, surrounded by a massive bubble.
"Franky! I didn't know you were here!"
"Luffy?!" bellows Franky. "What the hell?! You've found yourself quite the pin-up girl!" They push through the bubble and set down next to the Sunny quickly.
"Franky, this is Coward." He motions to Shirahoshi and Run slowly shakes his head in response. He could at least be a bit nicer to the Princess of this place, especially after everything that she seems to have been through. But she doesn't seem to be too concerned with it.
"Oh, you're Coward? You should try to be tougher, sis."
"I-I'm sorry," replies Shirahoshi. "My name is Shirahoshi."
"Oi, did anyone else find they way here?" Run questions him.
"Yeah, red," Franky tells him. "Robin came here too but she said she had to go look for something, and went into that forest of huge coral." Franky motions behind them to the massive coral forest. The red head scratches at the stubble on his jaw and then sighs. At least he knows that she's safe now, or as safe as can be. Foot steps sound behind them and all heads turn to face them. A large Fishman dressed in a kimono, and wearing geta not unlike the red head's approaches.
"Jinbe!" laughs Luffy. "Oh, Jinbe!"
"It's been a while!" Jinbe laughs. "You look so strong now. I hardly recognized you!" The two continue their conversation for a few moments before Shirahoshi finally greets Jinbe and he greets her in turn. "Huh?! Princess Shirahoshi?! What are you doing here?!"
"Oi, Run, Franky!" calls Chopper. "Would you give me a hand with Hatchi and Sanji?" Franky responds loudly in the affirmative but when no answer is forth-coming from the red head everyone scans their surroundings for a moment before finding him gone...
Robin stands, silent and unmoving before the massive stone, journal open. She's just finished sketching every last glyph down within the journal, making sure not to miss even a single character. "I see you found what you were looking for, then," speaks a familiar voice speaks suddenly. A familiar face moves into her peripheral vision, staring at the 'words' writing in her journal. "Hmm...no matter how many times I see them, I can't make heads or tails of any of it."
"Hmm, it's not particularly difficult to read," Robin assures him.
"Really? I'll just have to take your word for it, then." The red head suddenly steps around and paces towards the Poneglyph slowly. He squints his eyes as he stares at the 'words' carved into the stone and slowly shakes his head several several long moments later. "It just looks like a bunch of squiggles to me." Robin chuckles softly in response, slowly closing her book. "Is it what you wanted to know?"
"Mm...yes, and no." Robin slowly tucks her journal back into her bag before slinging it back over her shoulder. "Every Poneglyph has history worth knowing." The red head nods slowly in understanding. "This one is...well, it's actually quite different from any Poneglyph I've ever seen before." Robin takes a seat on a small rock behind her, staring up at the Poneglyph.
"How so?"
"It's...more of a letter. A letter of apology to be correct." Run scratches the stubble on his chin absentmindedly as he stares at the Poneglyph. "If you don't mind me asking...how did you find me?" Run chuckles and holds up his right hand. Pinned between his index and middle finger is a single slip of paper, with a single 'R' written neatly on one corner. "A piece of my Vivre Card."
"Want it back?"
"Well...I suppose you can keep it. For now." Run chuckles and tucks the paper away into his pocket. He turns on his heel and approaches her slowly before taking a seat on the rock next to her. "It seems we've made quite a stir here already."
"Don't we always?" The two of them sit in silence, enjoying the company of one another for several minutes before Robin eventually stands. "Time to go? Fine, fine." The red head stands with a heavy sigh and they start walking back in the direction they've come from. It takes a few minutes to reach the Sunny and the rest of the crew but when they arrive they're just in time to see Luffy and Jinbe squaring off with one another. Both are rushing head long, fists raised in an intended strike. As the two near each other their fists aimed each other's chin. A clone of Robin, a technique Run has seen before, suddenly appears between the two.
"That's enough," Robin's clone announces, holding her hands up.
"Robin, move aside!" exclaims Luffy.
"Who are you?!" demands Jinbe. "Move!" Sanji seems to move in an instant, appearing behind the clone with arms open wide. However, when he attempts to embrace her the clone disappears into nothing more than a few flower peddals...resulting in Sanji taking a hit from both Luffy and Jinbe.
"Don't fight now," Robin says, watching the three slam hard to the ground. "You two are friends, right?" The three lie flat on their backs for several long moments before Luffy and Jinbe slowly sit up.
"Think, Luffy. What will happen if you and your crew resort to violence on Fishman Island, now? Every time Fishmen tried to open their hearts to Humans the Humans disappointed them. Because of that, thoughts like 'Humans are violent', and 'Humans hate and look down on Fishmen' were born. Those twisted ideas have been deeply embedded in the minds of everyone since long ago. In regards to Arlong, many people believed that Humans hunted him down simply because he was a Fishman. If you, the people who took him down step in now, what do you think will happen? Even if it helps the Island in the long run, witnessing you and your crew take down Hordy who is standing against Humans...it would make everyone think that things will never change!" Sanji, who has been silent and still until now, reaches up to his bent, nearly broken cigarette and takes a long drag.
"But, Jinbe," begins Sanji, slowly exhaling a cloud of smoke. "We have to rescue our crew mates...and if nothing is done, then Hordy is going to take over Fishman Island. We've got a lot of friends on the Island. Oi, Hatchi." Sanji sits up now and glances over at Hatchi. "You've been trying to hide who roughed you up...but you also mentioned that Hordy attacks those Fishmen who are sympathetic to Humans. Did you catch a beat down because you spoke up for us?" Hatchi turns his head away from them in response, all but confirming their cook's suspicions. "Jinbe, I think the reason that Luffy wants to fight is because this is your home. You helped Luffy when he needed it most...we can't thank you enough for that. So, if Luffy wants to fight, then we'll fight. It's that simple. We can't leave the Island like this because...Camie is here~!"
The serious air that has been surrounding them is shattered quite easily by Sanji's out-burst. Jinbe and Luffy stand slowly now, squaring off with one another again. It seems that neither of them have any intention of backing down from their position.
"Oi, get out of my way, Jinbe," demands Luffy. "You gotta let me go!"
"Not going to happen, Luffy," Jinbe replies. "Leave this to me!"
"Alright, ya bastard! Then I'll just have to fight my way past you!"
"I'll beat you as many times as necessary until you understand...!"
