Silvers D. Naruto
AN: Glad to get all the nice reviews for the last chapter and seeing all the anticipation for this one, hope you all enjoy it.
This will be the end of the "Harnuno" island arc and once the next chapter comes out there will be…stopping for suspense…a new opening, yay! Not that it really matters in the grand scheme of the story whether there's an opening or not, but I like it so I wanna keep going with it. Just something to look forward to.
Anyway, Story Start!
Chapter 11: Pigs, Farmers, and…
Cover: Inside a home, a man with black hair that has red streaks, an eyepatch over his right eye, and a left eye with red pupil and yellow sclera is seen sitting at a sewing machine creating a female sailor uniform. Behind him are two other uniforms for men hanging on nails, one's scarf is oceanic blue with white accents making it resemble eyes but oddly has bright yellow highlights and on the torso are six odd black markings three on each side; the other uniform has a brown scarf with white accents also resembling eyes with orange highlights and a black and silver color scheme. The uniform being made by the man has a blue scarf with gear-like markings that look like eyes with black highlights on its right side and a red highlight on its left with its color scheme being black and red.
(We Are! Opening-see Chapter 5 for visuals) [Aw, I'm gonna miss you We Are! :'(]
A palpable silence washed over the marine base. The unconscious bodies of the marine foot soldiers that had been defeated by the Kiryuin Pirates littered the ground. Not too far from a certain trio were those two Kiryuin Pirates that had caused all the destruction but were now unconscious as well, Omiko Hakodate and Takaharu Fukuroda both worth 20 million Beli had been defeated and laid out by a duo of rookie pirates that they had the misfortune of meeting.
Naruto and Kurosaki Ichigo had after hard-fought battles with the two opposing pirates had saved their bounty hunter charge Matoi Ryuko from the uniformed pirates. Unfortunately, before they could take a break and recover from their injuries in any substantial way, the 'Boss Bitch' as eloquently called by Ryuko had appeared with another unknown pirate, standing at the top of a staircase.
And with so many surprises coming one after the other, what else could be said but…
"Eyebrows…" Naruto blankly repeated not being able to take his eyes off the female's full, thick eyebrows.
"Are you still on that?!" Ryuko smacked the blond in the back of his head. "Don't you realize how much trouble we're in right now?!"
"I can't help it!" Naruto rubbed his head and pointed up to the woman. "Just look at them! It's like a caterpillar crawled across her forehead and decided to stay!" Naruto described.
"*Pfft*" Ichigo snorted to himself, covering his mouth with his hand to stifle his chortle.
"You too?" Ryuko looked to the swordsman.
"Of course not. This is serious…no matter how ridiculous or true that was…" Ichigo composed himself.
"So…who are they anyway, Ryuko?" Naruto asked the girl.
"Yeah, you called her the boss. She the captain?" Ichigo glanced at the bounty hunter.
"No, she isn't…" Ryuko glared up at the woman as she looked down on them. "But she has just as much power as the captain of the crew because she's her daughter and co-commander of the Kiryuin Pirates, Kiryuin Satsuki!" Ryuko informed the two.
"Co-commander? Not just co-captain?" Ichigo wondered about the specific title.
"The captain's daughter?" Naruto rubbed his chin, "So, it's a family thing?" tilting his head the blond asked, "What's she doing here, then if she's so important?"
"Those two were after me, remember?" Ryuko reminded. "They were talking about catching me and taking me to their mistress…her," Ryuko tilted her head to Satsuki.
"That explains why those two kept mentioning being short on time. They were trying to make sure they had you ready for her," Ichigo frowned.
"She probably won't be happy about you beating the snot out of them," Ryuko looked to the two unconscious pirates.
"I dunno, maybe she'll let us go," Naruto offered, putting his jacket back on without care.
"Yeah, I'm sure a pirate from the Grand Line will love having her time wasted…" Ichigo rolled his eyes.
"So, we fight them?"
"In our state…if they attack first…" Ichigo growled at the helpless feeling.
Up at the top of the stairs, the two high-ranking Kiryuin Pirates continued to look down on the three as they talked amongst themselves. The man took a glance at the battlefield, roving his eyes over it until they fell on his two subordinates lying unconscious against each other.
"*Whistles* They took out Hakodate and Fukuroda?" he said in a slightly cheerful but still laid-back tone, "That's no easy feat, they may not be the highest on the food chain but they're no slouches either. These guys are interesting," the teen smirked.
Kiryuin Pirates: Big 4
"The Monkey" Uzu Sanageyama
Bounty: 200,000,000 Beli
Sanageyama then turned to his leader and looked genuinely apologetic as he addressed her, "I'm sorry, Satsuki-sama. It looks like those two failed to complete their mission," he bowed at the waist. "Rest assured that their failure is my own and will mete out their punishment as soon as possible."
Satsuki looked down at Fukuroda and Hakodate, then Naruto and Ichigo, before they finally landed back on Sanageyama.
"There will be no need for that," she said simply.
"Milady?" the monkey rose a brow.
"It was our failure, not theirs," she closed her eyes, "We informed them that Matoi would be alone and were under the impression that she had no allies to rely on. We believed it would be a simple pickup based on this information, but it was clearly proven false," Satsuki opened her eyes once more. "Given that, while still needing a slight punishment for failing, they won't need anything severe. Though it is commendable that those two were capable of defeating wearers of Two-Star Goku Uniforms with only mild injuries," Satsuki looked at the two rookie pirates.
"Ain't that the truth," Sanageyama smirked and looked back to them.
"I believe we should allow them a chance to explain themselves, Sanageyama," Satsuki softly commanded.
"Of course, milady," at that his personality did a complete 180 and he shouted down to the trio, "Hey! You two, Identify yourselves!"
"He came here, shouldn't he tell us who he is first?" Ichigo had a vein bulge at the haughtiness.
"I'm Naruto and this is Ichigo!" Naruto called up.
"Why do you keep doing that!" Ryuko and Ichigo shouted.
"Nice to meet you!" Sanageyama smiled at the blond. "But that isn't what I meant! My lady wants to know just who you are and what your connection to Matoi is!"
"Oh, we're pirates!"
Satsuki blinked at that, "Pirates?" she finally spoke to the trio.
"Yeah, that's right!" Naruto said proudly with a smirk.
"Hm, amusing, and pray tell, why would you feel the need to get in the way of another pirate's business?"
"Geez, these guys are like broken records…" Ichigo had the funniest sense of déjà vu.
"Because I can do whatever I want!" Naruto shouted back. "I like Ryuko and I don't need any other reason than that!" he ended by sticking his tongue out at Satsuki.
"I cannot argue that as pirates we are permitted to doing anything that we see fit, so I will not hold what you've done to my subordinates against you. If anything, it is admirable that you, two nothings, were capable of defeating them," Satsuki…complimented?
"Did she just praise us and insult us in the same sentence?" Ichigo's eye twitched.
"I think so," Naruto tilted his head.
"Enough about them!" Ryuko finally spoke up from the background. "I've been looking for you assholes!" she rose her scissor blade in front of her. "You killed my dad, right? You've got the other half!"
Satsuki looked at the blade in quick recognition but reigned it in before it could be totally perceived. "And what of it, Matoi? Say I did kill your father, what then?"
"Then I'm gonna kick your ass of course!"
"In that state? It's most likely taking all you have just to raise that blade," Satsuki saw right through Ryuko's bravado.
"Come down here and find out!" Ryuko challenged.
"You sure that's a good idea?" Sanageyama smirked.
"Indeed, Matoi. There is no point to your struggle, simply come with us and no harm will befall you. As far as I'm aware, we have no reason to harm you, but it was a must to retrieve you alive," Satsuki offered.
"She isn't going anywhere with you!" Naruto shouted angrily. He and Ichigo moved to stand up.
"Hmph, let's handle this civilly," Satsuki said. "All we want is Matoi, we've no quarrel with the two of you. So, as a reward for your valiant efforts against my forces, I will spare the two of you and you will hand over Matoi Ryuko immediately," Satsuki stated with authority.
"I'd take the deal, you two. Offers like this don't come around often for rookies in your position," Sanageyama smugly said.
'Dammit, these guys are probably fed up with everything they've been through by now because of me. It would be smarter just to let me go, so they can get out of here unscathed…' Ryuko started to think as she shifted her gaze between the two in front of her.
"Screw you!" Naruto interrupted the girl's thoughts, "I don't care whether you plan on hurting Ryuko or not, she's my friend! I'm not letting you take her anywhere!" he said without any fear.
"Same," Ichigo rolled his shoulder, "Lady, I'm sore, bleeding, and I had to play a stupid game of tennis because of this chick," he jabbed a thumb in Ryuko's direction, "There's no way she's getting off scot-free after all this trouble. So, I'll tell you what I told your little pals, as soon as I get an apology from her you can take her," Ichigo frowned seriously.
"You guys…" Ryuko was stunned.
Above, Satsuki's brows furrowed, and her frown deepened.
Sanageyama noticed this and chuckled, "Oh, you guys are in trouble now~" he taunted.
The Kiryuin co-commander took a step forward, her heel clicking against the hard surface of her ship, regarding the defiant rookies with a cold stare that showed her rising anger.
"You seem to be under the impression that what I said was a request when in reality, it was an ultimatum!" she sneered. "We didn't have to negotiate with you for the release of Matoi at all, we could have taken her at our leisure!" she put her hand out palm up before closing it with force as if she was crushing something. "I chose to be merciful and reward the effort you put in to defeat my soldiers by giving you the chance to sail on peacefully! Simply put, that is your only course of action! You are exhausted, injured, you would not be able to put up any opposition to our force if we attacked!" she stood straight with her sword held parallel to the ground at her side. "Against us, you are nothing, and you will recognize that!"
The three all listened to the girl's outburst, Ryuko frowned at the over-the-top reaction, Ichigo kept his face hardened, and Naruto folded his arms.
"I will say this once more! There are two options before you: Hand over Matoi to us without resistance and you will be allowed to sail away from here to continue your lives, or you can choose to oppose us and we will take Matoi and your lives, ending your journey here and now! I will not be denied, you pigs in human clothing!" Satsuki finished with a harsh stare at the two.
"'Pigs in human clothing'?" Naruto scratched his head in confusion.
"What kind of kindergarten insult is that?" Ichigo whispered.
The two glanced at each other slowly, Ichigo brought his hand up to rub his neck and closed his eyes while Naruto frowned with his arms crossed.
"Well, I don't know about you, captain…" Ichigo stared and gave a side glance to Ryuko behind them. "But it seems like we don't have a choice…" Ichigo looked back to Naruto.
"Yeah, even I can tell what we have to do…" Naruto seemed to agree with Ichigo's thought.
Ryuko deflated at these words, 'Figures, at the end of the day no pirate would risk their life for someone they just met…and frankly, that's for the best,' Ryuko looked to their bruised bodies, 'They've already done too much for me already…I can't let them get killed for me too…'
"Are you sure about this, Ryuko? There might be no coming back from this decision," Senketsu piped up in warning.
'What else can I do…they can't win, so it's smarter to cut off the dead weight. If the Kiryuins want me, then I'll go with 'em and save these two. I can take care of myself,' Ryuko smirked sadly, looking at Naruto's back.
"I…"
*Boom!*
Ryuko's surrender was cut off because the two pirates had kicked off the ground towards the stairs, running side-by-side with what could be called crazed smirks on their faces.
"Wh-what are you doing? You can't fight them!" Ryuko shouted desperately but it was drowned out.
"The only way is to go with Option 3…" Ichigo smiled with Zangetsu at his side, running up the steps with Naruto.
"…kick your asses and sail out of here!" Naruto grinned.
"Pathetic…" Satsuki said simply.
Sanageyama meanwhile was laughing, "These guys are great! I'm beginning to like them," he laughed but just as quickly he became deadly serious, "But…"
He suddenly appeared between Naruto and Ichigo in a burst of speed, the two registering him and turning to attack.
"…who gave you permission to climb Lady Satsuki's stairs?" as Sanageyama said this, he raised his hand behind his back to grab a handle, slowly drawing it to reveal…
'A sword?!' Ichigo thought and swung Zangetsu to meet the weapon before it could hit Naruto.
*Clang*
"Naruto! Keep going!" Ichigo told his captain.
"Right!" the blond didn't look back, trusting his Nakama to handle himself. He continued up the stairs to Satsuki.
Ichigo turned back and took notice of just what he had blocked, his eyes widening when he realized what it was.
'A shinai?'
Sanageyama's weapon was indeed a shinai, a bamboo sword normally used in kendo.
'But that was definitely a clash of metal!' Ichigo thought as he held his ground against Sanageyama.
"Damn, I was hoping to get the two of you," the kendo practitioner sighed, seemingly blocking with little effort.
"What, I'm not enough for you?" Ichigo shot at him.
"Nah, it's just that you two would've had a better chance at surviving. You won't last all that long the way you are…" he then tilted his head up the stairs, "And that kid…he won't last two seconds against Satsuki-sama."
Ichigo smiled and gave a light chuckle.
"Something funny?"
"Yeah, you know one of the things I love most so far about being a pirate…" Ichigo raised his head to look Sanageyama in the eyes with a lopsided smirk, "…wiping smug smirks off idiots' faces."
"Heh, well let's see if you can manage to do that," Sanageyama smirked back, raising his shinai to clash with Ichigo again.
Naruto continued up the steps, his focus completely on Satsuki who hadn't moved since his and Ichigo's attack started. Coming up on her swiftly, Naruto gathered wind onto his fist and jumped above her to come crashing down with the force of gravity added to his attack.
"Tenpesuto Panchi (Tempest Punch)!" Naruto roared, bringing his fist down on the girl and managed to hit something and the ensuing explosion of force from the wind encompassed attack obscured his vision.
"I may have to rescind my commendation," beneath the swirling wind Satsuki's voice came forth.
The girl had been unscathed by the attack for she had blocked it using the handle of her blade only! She didn't buckle or waver from the sheer force and her arm didn't struggle against the blond's strength, it was stock still.
"Nani?!" Naruto smartly replied, utterly surprised that the woman didn't so much as shake from one of his stronger attacks. He then fell forward when Satsuki moved her arm, causing him to fall forward as she maneuvered her handle to force him to where she wanted.
"If this is all you can muster in your injured state, I can't imagine either of you is much stronger in top form…" Satsuki raised her sword over half her face to make a point.
"I don't even have to unsheathe my blade to deal with you."
When given this knowledge, knowledge that seemed to show just outmatched he and his friend were compared to these two veterans from the Grand Line, Naruto didn't shake in fear, his eyes didn't widen, and he didn't sweat from caution. The blond smirked at the girl, crouched on the ground to get back up, and sweat in anticipation of the fight ahead of him.
"Oh yeah, just watch me. I'll make you draw your sword!" Naruto said confidently, standing tall against Satsuki.
At this point, for the first time since meeting her, Satsuki rose a brow in slight confusion, "Why would you actively strive to have me draw my blade against you? If I did that, I would only defeat you faster."
Naruto chuckled and closed his eyes, "I dunno, I just have this thing about me where when someone tells me that I can't do something…" he opened his eyes, his smile turning feral and determination shone in his blue orbs.
"…I have to prove them wrong."
"Do you?" Satsuki was skeptical, deciding there that she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of doing so.
"Yep," he smiled normally again, and then he said… "Plus, I want to ask you something while I'm here," Naruto called the wind to his fists as he got ready to fight.
"And just what would that be…" Satsuki asked, curious.
Naruto gave a smirk before launching into action against the co-commander.
Kiryuin Pirates: Co-Commander
Kiryuin Satsuki
Bounty: 400,000,000 Beli
Back with the two swordsmen, it appeared that Ichigo and Sanageyama were evenly matched. They matched each other blow for blow, the ringing of their swords clashing being heard in the quiet marine base as they continued to battle on the white staircase. Though on closer inspection, one could see that Ichigo was putting more effort into fighting due to his existing injuries while Sanageyama seemed bored with it as he fought the orange-haired swordsman.
Upon locking into another power struggle, Sanageyama let out a tired yawn and scratched the back of his head to show how unconcerned he was with the fight he was currently engaged in.
"Ah, sorry about that," Sanageyama said sincerely, though it sounded sarcastic. "This is just so boring," he looked to the sky and sighed. "Looks like crushing you is just too easy when you're exhausted."
Ichigo took umbrage with the passive way that the kendo swordsman wrote him off simply because he wasn't in his top form and may have been a tad sluggish. Ichigo pressed into their stalemate with a hard stare aimed at the greenhead.
"I don't know what you're talking about, pal, 'cause from where I'm standing, we're dead even!" Ichigo smiled harshly through grit teeth.
Sanageyama looked surprised at this, "Oh, you think so? Sorry, I like to make my fights last a bit longer than normal…" he then smirked sinisterly, "…so I like to bring myself down to the opponent's level to enjoy it a bit more," Sanageyama revealed to the shock of Ichigo.
"Tch, nice bluff!" Ichigo growled.
"No, it's true, I promise. To be honest, this isn't even 5% of what I'm capable of," Sanageyama's eyes narrowed evilly once he said this. "If you want some proof, how about I punch it up a bit?"
With his piece said, Sanageyam placed both of his hands onto the handle of his shinai and his power suddenly seemed to increase exponentially, beginning to overwhelm Ichigo in their clash. The monkey was soon in the upper position looking down on Ichigo with his smirk still present on his face.
Suddenly, Sanageyama withdrew from their stalemate and reared his shinai to his side for a horizontal slash and quickly struck. Ichigo saw the movement moved Zangetsu to block the attack just in time, the shockwave of the impact reverberated in the air and made Ichigo buckle from the force. With his ears ringing and muscles still vibrating from the previous impact, Ichigo had to immediately block once more without reprieve, shaking his insides further.
'He wasn't just bluffing!' Ichigo came to terms with this as the speed of Sanageyama's attack began to increase in speed, force, and ferocity and the orange-haired swordsman was losing ground with each successive strike. "This guy is the real deal!' Ichigo began to sweat with exertion as he was barely keeping up with the monkey.
Taking a chance, Ichigo went for a stab when he'd read an opening but was mistaken as his opponent raised his sword to have Zangetsu skirt along his shinai, redirecting the large blade to Sanageyama's side and leaving Ichigo open to attack.
"Gotcha!" the Kiryuin enforcer smiled and raised his wooden blade above his head, ready to strike down on Ichigo.
"Men (Head)!"
*Thwack*
The bamboo blade was brought down on the top of Ichigo's head with such incredible force behind it that it caused him to be brought to his knees and blackout for a split second, his eyes turning white from the shock. Blood flowed down his forehead and to his chin, Ichigo forced himself to remain up rather than fall forward, having to place his hand onto a step. Ichigo panted heavily after the attack, looking down as his blood drops stained the step below him, trying to pull himself together.
'His sword! There's something wrong with it…for bamboo to hit this hard…' Ichigo's eyes were shaking from the amount of adrenaline pumping in his system holding back the pain and exhaustion that this day had rained on him.
"See? I told you I needed to hold back," Sanageyama put his shinai on his shoulder and pocketed his other hand lazily, "One strike and you're already on your knees."
"Bastard!" Ichigo wobbled, bringing his head up in anger at the mockery and going to attack Sanageyama with Zangetsu.
"Kote (Wrist)!) the shinai struck Ichigo wrists and made him waver from the shock of pain in the sensitive and not often struck area. "You should just lie down for a minute," Sanageyama taunted and rested his blade on Ichigo's shoulder to keep him in place, though with the glare that the monkey was being given, it didn't seem likely that the orange-haired swordsman would let that stop him.
That is until…
"Agh!" a scream of pain was heard from up above that caught everyone's attention.
Ryuko looked worried and felt helpless, Ichigo's eyes shot open in worry when he looked up, and Sanageyama simply turned his head nonchalantly and gave a side look to the top of the stairs.
Above these three was Naruto, laying on his back at the top of the steps…beaten with Kiryuin Satsuki's heel digging into his throat to make it harder for him to breathe.
"Now tell me," Satsuki looked down at the beaten blond with a cold stare, not a single scuff or scrape on her person to show she had been harmed. Looking into the blue orbs of Naruto she spoke, "Do you not regret your choice?"
Despite his situation, Naruto continued to smile with blood trickling from his mouth, he coughed and answered, "Heh, I was taught to never regret my actions," his eyes were hard and unafraid as he was at her mercy, "We're pirates, every day could be our last, so why should I waste them feeling sorry for each decision I make…good or bad, I made them and I have to live with 'em!" Naruto laughed hoarsely, "So, to answer you, No! I'm glad I was here, and…" he looked directly into the cold dark blue of Satsuki's eyes.
"…I'm still happy to be one of them anytime!" Naruto shouted cryptically.
"This is pointless…" Satsuki sighed and drew her blade, at last, a black sword, and laid its edge against Naruto's face.
Below, his Nakama grew panicked when he saw the position his captain was in.
"Naruto!" Ichigo forgot his own pain and exhaustion when he realized what might happen to his friend and, with a burst of speed, he ran past Sanageyama intent on saving his captain.
"Hey, now, you think it's wise to take your eyes off your opponent?" Sanageyama called…from in front of Ichigo, having moved even faster than him.
"Out of my way!" Zangetsu was being raised to attack the obstacle…
*Slice*
"Dou (Body)!" Sanageyam's brought his shinai down quicker.
Blood spurted from Ichigo's chest, a confused look across his face as he didn't even register Sanageyama move. Gasping with wide eyes, Ichigo was again brought to his knees, losing the rest of his strength, and made to watch helplessly as his captain was about to die.
"Don't worry," Sanageyama told him placatingly, moving to stand in front of Ichigo to block his view of Naruto's demise. "I'm not going to kill you in front of him and I won't let you live longer than him either," Sanageyama's shinai was placed at Ichigo's heart, "No, crewmember should have to see their captain die in front of them and no captain should feel the pain of losing their crewmate. We Kiryuin's like to obliterate those that cross us…it's merciful that way," Sanageyama said seriously with an actual frown on his face and a sad look.
'Naruto!' Ichigo had his mind on his captain at the moment but couldn't move his body, 'It's going to happen again!' he thought, trying, begging for any movement his body could muster.
"Any last words, before your journey ends?" Satsuki asked.
"Yeah, I still win," Naruto gave his happy grin, still ignoring the severe predicament he was in as his eyes closed and he laughed.
"I got you to draw your sword."
Blinking, Satsuki seemed to realize that the blond was telling the truth as she glanced at her sword. Her face remained stoic, listening to the laugh that Naruto was letting out at winning that little challenge.
"Hmph, then take your little victory with you to hell," Satsuki conceded and rose her sword to deliver the final strike to the blond rookie pirate captain.
Simultaneously, Sanageyama also brought his shinai above his head to strike Ichigo down at the same time his mistress ended the blond's life.
On the ground floor, Ryuko looked on in fear noticing the bad way that the two pirates that defended her were in. Wanting to run up there and save them, but knew with her injuries and number disadvantage she had that there was no way that she would last a second…but she had to do something!
'Those damn idiots!' Ryuko ground her teeth in anger, zeroing in on the colorful hair of the two pirates at the mercy of her targets. 'I didn't ask them for this! They should have left me behind…now they're about to die because they wouldn't leave me!' Ryuko looked down and resolved herself here and now. "Senketsu," Ryuko raised her hand next to her face with her palm up, "You have enough left in the tank for one last trick?!" Ryuko asked her partner.
"I do," the sentient clothing affirmed, he then moved his eye up to Ryuko, "But are you sure about this, if I help them, it won't be long until I deactivate to prevent too much blood loss," he warned her.
"You think I have time to care about myself right now!" she yelled to him quietly, her angered eyes went back to the two that were about to be killed. "These idiots are throwing their lives away for me, they're going to die…and I can't have that on my conscience!" Ryuko said with the utmost conviction in her next actions.
Senketsu's eye turned up at the corners, his closest approximation to smirk, "Then you can count on me!" closing his eye to focus himself, Senketsu put his plan into action.
Slithering from Ryuko's sleeve, thin almost imperceptible red fibers shot up the stairs and attached themselves to the collar of Ichigo's shirt, and stuck itself into Naruto's jacket as well, making sure to leave the Kiryuins none the wiser.
"It is unfortunate that you could not see how outclassed you were and now your journey must end before it could truly start," Satsuki spoke not only to Naruto but to Ichigo as well.
"In the end, the two of you are just as I said, pigs in human clothing," with that, Satsuki swung her sword to kill Naruto and Sanageyama made to do the same to Ichigo.
It was then that Senketsu opened his eye and called, "Sen'i Sutorando (Fiber Strands)!"
The fibers pulled their charges away from danger, surprising them when they were suddenly yanked from their impending doom down the stairs toward the bounty hunter.
"C'mon, you idiots! We're gettin' the hell out of here!" Ryuko shouted with the hand that had the fibers coming from it behind her, prepared to run as soon as the two pirates made their way toward her.
"The hell?" Ichigo wondered, ignoring the pain his body was in at being moved so quickly against his will.
"Ha, great job, Ryuko! Hmmm…" Naruto looked down from his midair position and noticed Ichigo getting dangerously close.
"You've gotta be kidding me!" Sanageyama said in shock as seeing their escape method.
Turns out that Ryuko wasn't going to reel them in and flee, instead, she turned and ran with them close enough to carry more easily but they were more like kites floating behind her as she fled…and the two had knocked their skulls into each other from the rough treatment.
"They're running away!?" Sanageyama gaped at the ridiculous idea. They were all in bad shape, especially those two rookies.
How could they manage to escape like that?
Satsuki didn't seem bothered with the situation. She looked down at the fibers that were carrying the two pirates and trailed her gaze to the outfit that Ryuko had on, her eyes never giving away her thoughts.
'I see, that's why she needed to be retrieved…a Kamui…and no mere knockoff either,' the Kiryuin co-commander thought to herself, her mission's importance becoming all the clearer to her. She turned to her enforcer and called to him, "Sanageyama."
Instantly, the monkey was on a knee in front of her awaiting her command.
"Do not let them get away," she sheathed her blade and turned her back on him, leaving no room for anything but success.
"Yes, milady, it will be done," he smirked as he turned back to stare down the steps at his targets' backs, "No more playing around…" the stars on his jacket collar shone. Sanageyama's uniform reacted to this, unleashing its power and transforming, much like Senketsu could.
The threads of the outfit came undone to begin reforming around its wearer, leaving the monkey in the buff. The three stars appeared in front of him, spreading his arms out Sanageyama passed through each one and that was when his uniform finished its reconstruction.
By the end, instead of a man standing on the steps, there was a hulking mech that had a dark-green color scheme and vaguely resembled a suit of kendo armor. The helmet has a golden faceplate with slats for the eyes to see through, giant shoulders with the left shoulder showing the three stars. It had small feet that appeared to be like stilts with the thighs being much larger than them, and huge gauntlets with each finger having a hole at the tip. The odd piece of this uniform was the two huge canisters on its back.
"Three-Star Goku Uniform: Blade Regalia" Sanageyama shouted, "…I'm going to crush you for real now!"
With the three running, they were having their own problems.
"What kind of rescue is this?" Ichigo shouted angrily, constantly bonking his head against his captain's as they were freely floating behind the running girl. "At least pull one of us in a little furth-Ow!"
"Sorry…" Naruto's forehead stung from the impact.
"You think I've got time for that?" Ryuko yelled back without turning. "We needed to get out of there, or you would have died, so I think some gratitude is in order!"
"All I'm saying is that you should think about the ones you're saving a bit!"
"Hey, guys…" Naruto tried to get their attention.
"How about I make you run instead!?"
"If you do, you won't last a second when I kick your ass!"
"Guys…"
"WHAT!"
"Did you hear that?"
"Hmm, hear what?" Ichigo asked the blond.
"It sounded like…a transformation…" Naruto said, looking to the sky.
"Not this again…" Ichigo rolled his eyes.
"I'm serious!"
*Thud*
A thud from behind silenced anymore talking, moving his blue eyes toward the sound, Naruto eyes bulged out in surprise when he saw Blade Regalia immediately upon them with an oversized shinai above its head to strike them.
"Ahhh! There's a giant mech chasing us!" Naruto shouted in equal parts shock and appreciation for what he perceived as a giant robot, stars once again shining in happiness at a young boy's dream.
"This chick transforming was a specific instance, Naruto, I don't think…" Ichigo moved his eyes to regard his childish leader only for them to widen upon finally seeing it himself, "Holy shit, a mech really is here!"
"I told you!" Naruto said indignantly, turning up to their getaway runner he called to her, "Ryuko, you gotta fight this mech, he's gaining on us!"
"It ain't just a mech, I think that guy with the bamboo sword is inside it!" Ichigo's eyes narrowed.
"I'm hurt here, too, you know! I can't fight right now!" Ryuko huffed, never breaking her run even when she saw the pursuing enemy.
"You have to! At least block!" Ichigo shouted.
"It's coming!" Naruto warned.
"Dammit!" Ryuko skidded on her heels, kicking up dirt, and using the momentum to swing herself around to meet the huge shinai and protect the three of them. She raised her scissor blade defensively, but she was far too fatigued and injured to put up much resistance.
While she withstood a good amount of the damage, Ryuko was sent careening through a building, Naruto and Ichigo forced to follow her as she burst onto the other side of it. Ryuko struggled to raise herself from the ground, her arms wobbled slightly which made her look down at them in slight anger.
"Ryuko, you can't take any more hits like that!" Senketsu warned, "You've only got a few minutes left before I'll be forced to deactivate…and I don't think I need to tell you that our chances drop to 0 if that happens," Senketsu's eye narrowed.
"I know…" Ryuko got up at this point, her scissor in hand, and looked to the injured boys behind her, "…but what else can I do…" Ryuko growled under her breath.
Sanageyama then burst through the destroyed building with a cackle once he saw that his targets hadn't taken advantage of the lull in the action to run more.
"Giving up, Matoi!? That's good," Blade Regalia's shinai shadowed the three as it was poised to strike, "Wouldn't want those two to suffer for you any more than they already have, would we?!"
"Run, Ryuko!" Naruto shouted from his downed position.
"Huh?" she smartly asked.
"Are you deaf? Move, there's no way we can take him!" Ichigo concurred with his blond friend.
"You won't leave this island! On my honor as Satsuki-sama's enforcer!" Sanageyama yelled proudly and brought his weapon down. The shinai hit the ground, cracking it and making a crater at its point of impact but missed the three.
"I hope you've got a plan, cuz I'm running on fumes here!" Ryuko shouted to the two pirates while running once more.
"You just focus on getting us out of here!" Naruto shouted to her.
"What do you think I've been doing?" Ryuko smirked at the clueless pair. "I ain't got a ship, so this whole time I've been running, I've been making my way to the civilian port…where your ship is!" Ryuko revealed to the pirates.
"That's really cool, Ryuko!"
"Didn't expect someone like you to have that level of forethought," Ichigo jabbed.
"You think I was gonna just run around this whole time?" Ryuko jabbed back.
"So, all we have to do is lose our pursuer," Ichigo moved his eyes back to the suit of armor that was still coming after them. "Naruto, block him!" Ichigo shouted to his captain.
"I can't move my body right now…" Naruto struggled.
"Damn," Ichigo lifted Zangetsu slightly, "I've probably got a couple more shots in me before I'm done," Ichigo charged his blade and released his crescent of energy, "Getsuga Tenshō (Moon Fang Heaven-Piercer)!"
As the energy traveled toward their enemy, Sanageyama didn't slow his stride, he instead continued. Lifting his gauntlets to the canisters on his back, the monkey revealed why there were holes in the fingertips for when he pulled his arms back there was shinai protruding from them.
With minimal effort, the hulking armor used the index fingers on each hand in the shape of an 'x' and flicked the orange swordsman's attack away from his body and into another building.
"Is that all you've got left!?" the kendo user laughed mockingly.
"What's that thing made of?" Ichigo sneered.
"It reminds me of Ryuko's outfit…" Naruto hummed.
"Yeah…" Ryuko looked back, 'I thought you were the only thing like this, Senketsu?'
The sentient clothing paused, his eye narrowing in thought and contemplation before he finally answered…
"So did I."
"Watch out!" Naruto yelled when Blade Regalia was upon them. Seeing that Ichigo wouldn't be able to fire off another Getsuga in time and Ryuko had to keep her attention on fleeing, Naruto took a deep breath and let out a condensed ball of air to slow the shinai's recent descent upon them.
The air bullet managed to block the shinai's approach, deflecting the weapon to the side and making it slam into the ground next to the group. Rubble was kicked up by the missed blow, but it did little to deter the running trio as Ryuko continued her way toward the port.
"This guy's defense and attack are off the charts…" Ichigo frowned.
"We can't get a clean hit," Naruto reasoned, thinking on the same wavelength as Ichigo.
"You guys've got nothing left! Why not just forfeit the girl already!?" Sanageyama shouted, having leaped above the three with the shinai poised for a thrust.
"Ryuko, above!"
With little choice left for her, Ryuko stalled herself and turned sharply to avoid the most recent assault by the kendo-using suit of armor. Sanageyama landed his attack in her previous location and attempted to continue his pursuit but due to the incredible size of Blade Regalia along with its small legs…turning wasn't something that it could do all that gracefully especially in the enclosed streets of the island.
Meaning that he managed to trip through a building slightly before he could correct himself. Unfortunately for him, that little slipup was noticed by a pair of blue eyes.
"Oi, Ichigo…you see that?" Naruto asked his partner.
"Hard to miss when he's chasing us…" Ichigo answered back simply but knew that he and his captain were thinking of the same plan.
"Ryuko!" Naruto called to the fleeing girl, ignoring the burst of debris as Sanageyama reappeared behind them, "…take as many turns as you can!"
Ryuko glanced back at her charge, her eyebrow up when she'd heard what he suggested. "What are you talking about?" Ryuko turned back around and pointed ahead of them, "I dunno if you two realize this, but the fastest route between two points is a straight line, turning is going to slow us down and make it take longer to get to the boat!"
"Just trust us! You think we're trying to get killed!?" Ichigo yelled back to the stubborn bounty hunter.
She saw the giant armor gaining on them once again and felt that she had little choice but to go with whatever harebrained scheme the two pirates had, making yet another turn down an adjacent street as quickly as she could. This move tripped up Sanageyama who planted his feet to slow down and make the turn easier on himself. As he motioned his body to turn down the street, Sanageyama was forced to defend himself hastily from another Getsuga and was pushed back a fair bit because he was off balance.
"I'm spent…" Ichigo panted with his arms falling limply and a weak grip on Zangetsu.
"That's fine! Now we've got him!" Naruto blew another wind bullet out of his mouth with an eye closed to assist in aiming as he used it to add force to Ichigo's attack to force Sanageyama further back and buy them time.
"That's probably not going to work more than once…" Ichigo narrowed his eyes, watching the kendo user disappear behind a corner as Ryuko turned again to get back on their original path.
"That should be fine…I see the port up ahead!" Ryuko smiled in happiness. Her body was beginning to run out of energy and could feel the beginning of Senketsu deactivating to put less strain on her injured, exhausted body.
Seeing their salvation up ahead let the girl relax her body slightly. They could actually make it out of this ordeal alive!
"I'm not letting you get away, Matoi!" Sanageyam yelled rushing toward them.
"I never fail Satsuki-sama!"
"Dammit, he's a loyal monkey, isn't he?" Ryuko said under her breath, leaping high into the air to finally land in the greenhorns' boat and finally escape…only…
"Shit, we don't have time to set off!" Ryuko looked back to Sanageyama's quickly approaching form, all his shinais were in his fingertips and seemed to combine them into a large shinai, he was planning on capsizing the boat with it.
"You have to do something!" Ichigo was to the side of the boat unable to do much to help at this point.
Once he'd finished his sentence Senketsu shimmered and deactivated, at last, leaving Ryuko huffing and puffing without his added support. She fell onto her behind as her adrenaline wore off and all her pain and fatigue washed upon her all at once, putting effort just to stand again.
"Can't…" Ryuko winced, "…after getting this far…"
"Guys!" Naruto kept his focus on escaping and not the dismal reality they were facing, unable to move himself and lying face down on the floor of the boat. His lone eye showing as he turned his head to the side to look at the two, the determination in it never left.
"Flip me to the back of the boat!"
"What? What are you going to do?" Ryuko shouted down to the blond. "You can't even move!"
"Trust him and do what he said!" Ichigo stopped the girl's protests, having already began moving to do as his captain ordered.
"Tch," Ryuko helped the orange-head move the limp blond to the back of the boat, his hands dipping into the water with his head leaning off the edge.
"Thanks!" Naruto told the two, getting ready to do whatever he was planning.
"This is the end!" Sanageyama finally made it, towering above them with the great shinai ready to strike them down. Its size blocked the sun for the three with Ichigo and Ryuko gritting their teeth at their perceived end.
"Hissatsu: Isshin Zenzanken (Finishing Move: Sword of the Mind's Mountain)!"
Time seemed to slow as the oversized bamboo sword bared down on the dinky tub that the three were in. Ryuko shut her eyes, not wanting to watch this happen and thinking back to her father and how she wouldn't be able to avenge him when captured. Ichigo stared the danger down head-on a glare aimed at the weapon, but it was more directed at himself for not being able to do anything to stop what was about to happen.
And Naruto…he was still over the side of the boat not paying any attention to the danger.
Just as the bamboo blade was going to hit them all, a large gust of wind was kicked up, splashing water all around and obscuring the vision of both parties. Sanageyama pulled his shinai back and covered the slits of his helmet from the water in his brief shock.
Once he'd lowered his hands, the monkey saw the small craft sailing through the air…and away from him at a breakneck speed.
"The hell did you do?!" Ryuko shouted in surprise, hanging on for dear life to the front of the boat.
Ichigo stayed silent while he also gripped the edge of the boat with his remaining strength, keeping his eye on the stationary Sanageyama on the off chance the kendo pirate would still somehow find a way to chase them all the way out here.
"*Pah* I couldn't move, so I used the air in my lungs for an emergency getaway," Naruto wheezed, plopping back into the boat and sliding down onto the floor. "If we didn't have time to set out the right way, then I thought we'd have to do it the wrong way," Naruto smiled.
"How the hell're we gonna land?!" Ryuko yelled.
"I'll leave that to you guys…" Naruto shifted his eyes to the side shadily with some sweat on his temple.
"Figures…" Ichigo sighed and joined the blond on the floor of the boat when he was sure that they weren't being followed.
"Get your asses up and help meeeeee!" Ryuko's voice trailed off as they kept flying through the air.
Back at the port, Sanageyama had disengaged Blade Regalia, his eyebrows raised in disbelief and face dumbfounded as his targets…flew…they flew away from him...when they could barely move!
"I don't believe this!" Sanageyama stomped childishly. "They think they're getting away so easily!?"
*purupurupuru*
A ring was heard from the pirate's jacket pocket, making him stop his indignant tantrum and pull out a Baby Den Den Mushi that resembled his mistress.
*Gacha*
"Satsuki-sama, I regret to inform you that Matoi has fled the island with those two rookies…" Sanageyama answered the call without hesitation, knowing that his leader would want an update, "…but if we bring the ship around we can tail them and have them cornered within…"
"No, Sanageyama," Satsuki silenced the enforcer with her simple command.
"Milady?"
"Let them go."
"Forgive me for asking, but why? It was our mission to bring Matoi in by…your mother after all…" Sanagyeama scratched his cheek. He would accept any command given by his lady, he was just curious why she would allow peons that they could crush so easily go.
"Because I know now why we were sent to fetch Matoi…did you not see it for yourself?" the woman paused and when she hadn't gotten a reply she answered, "Matoi is in possession of a Kamui."
"Hm? Really? I thought that exhibitionist getup felt a little off…but how'd she get her hands on one of those?" Sanagyeama rubbed his chin.
"It seems that Professor Matoi was more cunning than we'd given him credit for. It was hard to believe that the scissor blade he created was the only weapon he'd make to combat us, but that braindead girl had said she'd ransacked his laboratory top to bottom and found nothing. Clearly, she wasn't thorough enough and her lost eye wasn't as severe a punishment she deserved for leaving the other blade and not finding the Kamui," Satsuki's frown deepened, just imagining the stupid smile on a certain girl's face as she knocked her knuckles against her head and uttered an 'oopsie' while sticking her tongue out.
"If that's the case, milady, should we really let her go?"
"It's fine, I will take the blame for this," Satsuki closed her eyes, "Besides the way that girl is, she can hardly be considered a threat to us. It is best that we make our way back to the Grand Line, we have injured that need tending to as well," she cast her eyes to the unconscious bodies of her subordinates and closed her eyes again.
"There's no doubt that this mission was a complete failure on our part."
From her position at the top of the stairs, Satsuki was able to see the small dot of the trios' boat becoming smaller as it gained distance from the island. She imagined the blond…Naruto, she believed, laughing his head off at surviving the incident and making the Kiryuins seem like fools.
"Hm," Satsuki actually smirked.
"Satsuki-sama?" Sanageyama questioned.
"It's nothing…it's just…that boy, the blond…he said something so foolish when we fought…" Satsuki thought back.
(During Naruto and Satsuki's fight)
"Would you care to repeat that?" Satsuki dodged and weaved around the haphazard and wild attacks of the blond pirate, the most damage to her person was the stands of her that were cut off by the roaring wind coating Naruto's arms.
His fist smashed into the floor hard with a resounding boom that was largely ignored. Satsuki's heels clacked against the floor as she backed up to add distance between the two, her bored expression still on her face as she swept her locks behind her ear.
"I wanna know," Naruto turned to her, taking his fist from the floor with blood on the knuckles because of the force he'd hit with, "Why'd you call us pigs?"
"Hm, very curious, aren't you?" Satsuki chuckled condescendingly.
"It just doesn't make any sense!" Naruto sped in front of her ready to punch her across her face.
"Then I'll educate you!" she avoided the blow and jabbed the end of her sheathed blade into the blond's stomach, knocking the air out of him and sending him into a coughing fit. "I called you such because that is what humanity is! Pigs that masquerade as higher beings!"
"What?" Naruto coughed out, confused.
"Think, humans mill about in their pen helpless, powerless, and aimless. They are animals that turn on each other and step over others if it means that they will get ahead or survive! That is why those like me must take charge!" Satsuki swept her arms out to the town behind them using it as an example, "I am the farmer that gives these worthless creatures a purpose! I make the most use out of them, give them power and a goal, my goal, to work towards and in exchange they serve me! Led to slaughter in the name of Kiryuin Satsuki as is all pigs ultimate purpose!"
Somehow the sun shone down directly onto the female pirate as if the words she was speaking were the divine truth.
"I am the farmer and they, my livestock!"
Naruto frowned, squinted his eyes, and began to vigorously scratch his head. He clutched his chin and tilted his head in serious thought with his arms crossed over his chest. After about a minute of this intense internal debate, Naruto opened his eyes and had his comeback…
"You're right."
Satsuki smirked at the simple answer, happy that the blond was agreeing with her, "Perhaps you aren't as foolish as I previously thought."
An index finger from the blond gave her pause.
"But…if you're a farmer…then it must be really lonely," Naruto said in a calm voice the wind blowing his jacket and Satsuki's hair.
The girl's face tensed as her frown deepened somewhat from the blond's words.
"I mean…if you have to be in charge of all those pigs…you don't have the time to relax. You're busy running everything, so you can't spend your time knowing them or be able to trust someone else to take charge for a bit…you can't have friends."
Satsuki was in stunned silence when she heard the blond's reasoning, unable to come up with something to say.
"Not only that, you're constantly watching your back…cuz there are other farmers out to make themselves the best, trying to end you or take what you've built and you won't even have anyone that close enough to you to help you stay alert…" Naruto looked directly into Satsuki's eyes with a somber understanding.
"That's what being a leader is," Satsuki countered the sentimental spin the blond tried to put on her position.
"Maybe, but not the kind I want to be. If I had to choose between being a farmer or a pig…" Naruto smiled cheekily, "…then I'd pick pig every time!"
"How ridiculous!" Satsuki went on the attack, going for a horizontal slash on the blond's midsection that he avoided by moving backward.
"I don't think so!" he grunted in exertion with a smile. He then bent his knees to spring himself back into the fray and went for a punch.
Satsuki easily read his trajectory and did a small sidestep to avoid the attack before raising her blade above his unprotected neck. She was ready to bring it down to knock him unconscious when he continued.
"Think about it!" Naruto planted his hands below himself and twirled around to gain momentum with his legs. "People might be stupid and at each other's throats all the time…" once he'd gained speed, Naruto sprung up and struck with the sole of his foot, kicking up a whirlwind that whipped around the pair.
"Senpūgeri (Whirlwind Kick)!"
Satsuki once again blocked the attack while insultingly staying still and with minimal movement on her part, using her sword to hold back the blond's foot. Looking down on him with unblinking eyes, Satsuki pushed him off her and made to go for an overhead attack.
Naruto responded by catching the weapon between his hands with a clap, "…but at least they're all on the same level!" a vein popped from Naruto's temple from the effort he had to put into holding the sword back, "We step over each other to get ahead, but there are those that stand with the others! The ones that don't follow a farmer and wanna be free! That's what I want!"
"A farmer will always take those that don't comply and force them to! A pig that won't stay with the herd and follow the farmer's plans will only be slaughtered all the faster! You either follow or die in this world!" Satsuki growled.
"Then, I'd rather do what I want with my friends and die!"
"Fool!" Satsuki roared and withdrew her sword from their stalemate and kicked Naruto away from her and followed. She appeared above him and slammed her sheathed sword into Naruto chest and sent him down onto the ground, making him skid on his back in pain as the attacks agitated his already injured body and made him go still to catch his breath which led to Satsuki placing her heel onto his neck.
(End Flashback)
"I imagine that he thought it sounded much more profound than it actually was when it came from his mouth," Satsuki placed her hand onto her face in an effort to seem annoyed or exasperated when she thought back on the conversation, but her smile didn't leave.
"It does sound like something that a kid would say…" Sanageyama smiled himself, keeping to himself that he could appreciate the ballsy blond for speaking that way to his boss while it looked like he would be killed.
"Yes, it did…" by this point, she couldn't see the silhouette of the trio's boat on the horizon. The Kiryuin heiress thought to herself for a few seconds before she made a decision, "Sanageyama, I want you to keep the specifics of what's happened here to yourself. There's no need to rile the others up with the actions that those two rookies took, all they need to know is that Matoi escaped for the moment."
"Of course, Sastsuki-sama"
"And…" the girl turned around to go back into her ship and await her enforcer's return but paused her stride, "I would like to receive each new edition of the paper from this day forward."
"Milady? You've never been too interested in what was going on in the world…why start now?" though he had a good idea.
"Hm, I have a feeling that some interesting things are going to be coming to the ocean very soon and I feel that I should stay up to date with them…are you opposed?" Satsuki smiled.
"Nah, I think I'd want to keep an eye on the ocean too," Sanageyam smirked himself. Bidding farewell to his leader, Sanageyama cut the connection on the Baby Den Den Mushi.
*Gacha*
After she placed the device away, Satsuki made her way back into her vessel her smile turned into a very smile upturn of her lips and her eyes became half-lidded as if her mind was wandering elsewhere.
"You may be right…about farmers not being able to trust others and being lonely…but you failed to mention…"
Satsuki's eyes hardened suddenly as she glared.
"…that there are those that stand above the farmers."
(Out at sea)
"Hahahahahaha!" Naruto laughed heartily a hand on his stomach as he and his two friends sailed from the harrowing experience they'd survived. "We almost died!" he said simply.
"What's with you, ya bozo! Who goes and laughs after something like that?!" Ryuko ground her teeth angrily at the nonchalant blond.
"If you're able to walk away, that means you win! That's what my gramps taught me," Naruto smiled.
"Your gramps?" Ryuko wondered for a second but shook her head. "You weren't able to walk away, asshole, I had to carry you!"
"Naruto's right. Just calm down a little," Ichigo groaned at all the shouting. "We're alive and that's all that matters after all of that," he rubbed his temple.
"You too, huh?" Ryuko looked at him.
"Where I came from it was survival first, so getting away from a battle you couldn't win to fight another day is a gift," Ichigo said with experience.
"You two are battle-hungry nuts…" Ryuko sighed.
"Yeah, but don't sell yourself short, Ryuko," Naruto said to her.
"Hm?"
"We wouldn't have even made it this far if you hadn't saved us, so thanks!" Naruto said innocently.
"Uh…" Ryuko's eyes widened but couldn't get a word in as Naruto continued.
"But sorry, we were supposed to save you…and now you're stuck with pirates, huh?" Naruto crossed his arms and closed his eyes with a sad sigh. "That's my fault…"
"Wait…" Ryuko tried.
"Don't worry! As soon as we get to the next island, we'll drop you off and leave. You're probably sick of us by now, so we won't stick around.
"I…" how could he say that…after everything that they'd done for her. He was acting like they were the ones being a nuisance…they wouldn't even be in this situation if it wasn't for her capturing him.
"Well, you better get comfortable, then, girl," Ichigo leaned on his side and rested his head on his hand. "Who knows how long it'll be before we reach the next island…" he then gave her a look over his shoulder, "…and don't think I forgot about that apology."
"Don't be like that, Ichigo…I have a feeling that we'll get to the next island real soon!" Naruto said confidently.
"And just what are you basing that off of?" Ichigo looked at the blond with a deadpan gaze.
"A feeling."
"So, nothing, then," the swordsman muttered.
Ryuko just listened to the two of them unable to accept their kindness, shaking in place before she grabbed Naruto by his collar.
"Seriously!" she glared at him, "Tell me the reason why you saved me…no one… especially a pirate that I fought and captured would be this nice…" she looked down, "So tell me the truth! You want me to owe you?! Turn a blind eye to whatever you're planning next?! It can't be just because you like me?!" she huffed.
Naruto blinked.
"Why not?"
"Huh?"
"Why does there have to be a reason other than liking you? I don't get why everyone is so obsessed with reasons from a pirate…" Naruto just scratched his head and looked to Ichigo who was smirking with his eyes closed. "I just wanted to, and I'm free to do it cuz I'm a pirate. I can count on one hand the people I like in the world, so when I find one I sure as hell ain't gonna let them die when I can do something about it," Naruto answered easily, stunning the girl.
"Got the answer you were looking for?" Ichigo asked smugly without turning, imagining the face Ryuko was making.
"Ryuko, think back on all they've done…these two despite their title as pirates…are quite selfless," Senketsu told her.
The girl's eyes were wide, letting go of the blond and tightening her hands into fists with her eyes covered by her hair. Ryuko huffed and turned her head away from the two to look out on the ocean and crossed her legs.
"The two of you are idiots…saving an enemy for something so stupid…" she bit her lip and blushed a bit and whispered under her breath…
"Arigatō,"
When she turned her head around, she saw the two pirates staring at her with different expressions, making her blush darken. Naruto had a big smile on his face and excited eyes while Ichigo's were wide in surprise with a stunned frown on his face.
"Uh, did she just…" Ichigo looked to Naruto while pointing to the embarrassed girl.
"I know, right! She acts all mean but she can be nice!" Naruto answered with a giddy look.
"Why does everyone act like that! You think I can't be polite!" she raised her blade threateningly.
"It's just that with your tomboy look…" Naruto gestured to her.
"Great, now I can't hold that apology over her head anymore," Ichigo groaned sadly and overdramatically.
"Damn straight you can't…especially since I'm gonna be keeping you two alive," Ryuko smirked.
"Huh?" Ichigo asked smartly.
"How?"
"'Cause I'm gonna be navigating this tub!" Ryuko jabbed a thumb at herself.
"Whoa, you can navigate, Ryuko?!" Naruto asked excitedly.
"I don't believe it," Ichigo said skeptically.
"Uh, well…I guess you can say that I'm not technically navigating…my…uh…clothes are…" she said unsurely expecting the crazy looks on their faces.
"Your clothes?" Naruto tilted his head…
"That's awesome! They transform and they can navigate? Are they like super smart, or something?"
"Come on…she can talk to clothes?" Ichigo looked to his captain, "Sounds like she was just lonely to me."
"But you told me that you can talk to your sword and no one else can hear it," the blond turned to his friend who blushed.
"That's different! I ate a Devil Fruit!" Ichigo defended himself.
"How is it different?"
"It just is!"
"The point is, my dad made him and he has the South Blue mapped, so I know where everything is because he knows where everything is," she gestured to Senketsu.
"He? It has a gender too?" Ichigo rolled his eyes.
"His name is Senketsu," Ryuko ignored the orange head.
"Nice to meet ya!" Naruto waved.
"He says 'likewise'," Ryuko translated.
"Why are we humoring this. I hope we can get a normal person on this crew…" Ichigo sighed.
"You have some kinda problem, Berry-boy! Maybe you're just upset that we have someone strong and useful now!"
Ichigo stiffened at that nickname, "What'd you call me!" shooting up and into her face.
"Berry-boy got a problem!" Ryuko got into his right back.
"At least I'm not an exhibitionist!"
"I didn't make this getup, my dad did!"
"What does that say about him then!"
"Watch your mouth…Berry-boy!" she added at the end cheekily.
"Cover yourself up before you get a cold!" he prodded.
"I'll stab you!" they both shouted at the same time.
"I'm glad everyone's getting along!" Naruto laughed.
"Who's getting along?!" they turned at the same time angrily to the blond.
"Now that we've got a navigator, I think it's time for a party!" Naruto cheered grabbing the food that Ichigo had procured.
The swordsman grabbed it from the blond instantly, "Hold your horses! We can't go wasting this! Plus, there are three of us now, so we need to divvy this up correctly or it won't last too long!" Ichigo held the ravenous blond back with his foot.
"We can just buy more! We can't not have a party when we get a new member!"
"With the money we have left, it'll be lucky if we can get a loaf of bread!"
"Geez, you guys really are hopeless aren't ya?" Ryuko smirked.
"It isn't that. He's just a monster," Ichigo explained.
Naruto meanwhile had sharp teeth that were gnashing for the food.
"This isn't my job!" Ichigo complained.
"Well then, as my first order of business with you idiots…I think we should work on getting someone to manage our food, huh?" she offered.
"It'd be nice," Ichigo made the mistake of looking away and it let Naruto grab the food.
"You mean a cook?" Naruto spoke with a full mouth.
"Basically," she said.
"Yeah! Getting groceries is nice and all, but I want a hot meal! If we get a cook then we can have homecooked food hot, fresh and delicious! And they have to be tough!" Naruto listed the traits of his dream cook.
"Don't get your hopes up for that. What cook is going to have experience in fighting…or want to leave a job that pays to join up with a gaggle of penniless pirates?" Ichigo dumped cold harsh reality on them all.
"Heh," Ryuko thumbed her nose, "Just shows how much you guys need me. See, right before that whole fiasco back there I was heading to a certain island after I made some cash for a boat that's going to solve a bunch of our problems, maybe not all at once but at least one."
"What island?!" Naruto got excited.
"One that's famous here in the South, it's supposed to be a food paradise and the price for it reflects."
"How's that going to solve our problem when we don't have money?" Ichigo asked.
"'Cause, we can just catch the food ourselves and maybe get our hands on a cook that our captain here wants," Ryuko elaborated.
"Catch?" Naruto asked.
"Yeah, the animals there are supposed to be as dangerous as they are delicious among other delicacies you won't find anywhere else, and with game like that you better believe that the cooks have to be tough!" Ryuko grinned.
"Oh! This place sounds amazing! We have to go there!" Naruto pumped his fists.
"And just what island is this?" Ichigo rose a brow at their new navigator.
"Gourmet Island," Ryuko said simply, moving to help direct the ship in the proper direction.
"Self-explanatory isn't it."
(On a certain island)
On an island that seemed entirely covered in dense jungle, though there were many screeches and roars heard coming from within to show that it was not empty, a lone booth was on the sandy shore of the beach. There was an arch with a sign that read 'Welcome to Gourmet Island' with the word Gourmet spelled in a way that each letter resembled food.
Inside the booth, there was an elderly man with grayed hair in the style of a pompadour and heavy wrinkles littered across his face. The man had an easygoing grin present on his face with his eyes appearing closed, but he was just squinting. He wore simple clothing, a ragged yellow sleeveless shirt with patches sewn on and red shorts with cheap sandals giving him the appearance of a bum.
Retrieving a flask from underneath the desk of the booth, the man took a swig from it and sighed to himself. Behind him, in the jungle, a large quake shuddered the island but did not seem to bother the old man as he chuckled.
"Eh, I think that it's about time for that boy of yours to go on the hunt…Ichi," the old man said wistfully and smiled, taking another drink from his flask.
(Infinity Ending- see Chapter 9 for visuals) {Suggested by Sirifoulous}
AN: Happy New Year everyone, this was almost a Christmas chapter…but uh…I'm slow…so, yeah.
Happy belated Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanza, or just a regular old day depending on what you celebrated.
But most importantly, a new year that hopefully won't have everyone cooped up in their houses for months on end. Please, please, please!
I'm happy with this chapter, got to see Satsuki and Sanageyama clown on the guys and recruited a navigator…and hinted at the cook. I'm sure that a good number of people know who it's about to be…but in case you don't, you'll find out.
Fun Fact: This is a confrontation that I had planned when I first chose Ryuko as a crewmember. I knew I had to get Satsuki to meet them early to get a connection between the two crews and have motivation on Naruto's and Ichigo's part to find them and assist their new crewmate in hunting them down and finding them. Naruto simply because he cares for his Nakama and Ichigo, while he won't admit to having the same want to help as his captain, can relate to Ryuko's desire to find the people that took away precious people from her.
Anyway, the next chapter might, might (emphasis), take a while. I want to try and make the next chapter of my ACU story since I've been sitting on a partly done chapter for a bit, and with how long it will most likely turn out it could be a while. Just be patient and wait for me, if you please.
Who knows, I might work on both intermittently, because coming up with original storylines with these characters is fun, so this story and ACU are at the front of my mind right now.
Happy 2021, Peace!