One Piece Fanfic: The Jagaimo Island Story Arc

Well, the end of the Krull Pirates is quite near now.. And I already have plans for what will happen afterwards.. The first thing is going to be maybe four or five chapters long tops... Then after that I'm going to add in something that will probably be as long as the Krull Pirate Gang portion of this fanfic.
In this chapter, Krull must face what has been bothering him since he first boarded the Going Merry under the guise of Vivi -- his heart. The conclusion is near.. What will become of Krull and even Keiko?
You will find out soon and I hope you enjoy the rest of the Krull Pirate portion of the fanfic. Hell, I hope you enjoy what comes after it... It will definitely screw with your mind let me say! :D
Anyway, here is chapter 13! Enjoy. :)

Krull sat down in his chair in the briefing room and propped his head up on his hands.
"Somethings gotta change.." He muttered.
Keiko, who was sitting beside him, exhaled deeply from her nose and put her hand on his shoulder.
"Whats bothering you?" She asked him. Her voice was calm but her face was worried.
"After being with those pirates for what, half a day, something inside me.. Clicked.."
He laid his arms down on the table's surface and leaned back.
"At first I thought that what I was feeling was a result of touching Vivi and taking her shape.. She's a very warm, caring girl and I just assumed that somehow her morals were so strong that they were affecting me without even noticing it.. But that wasn't it at all. It was what I witnessed, what I heard, and how they interacted that made something click inside me.. Something that hasn't clicked in a long time."
"What?" Keiko whispered.
"My heart.." He replied as he looked into her eyes. "They are so strong willed and believe in each other without any doubts or regrets.. And they are there to fully support each other no matter what happens. It may not show on the outside, but while I was one of them I learned that they all care deeply about each other.. They care so deeply that there is love between them all.. And I felt it. It got inside me.."
They paid so much attention to me.. The respect and admiration I felt from them was unlike anything I ever experienced. Krull thought to himself.
"If it weren't for my past.." He paused and smiled. "I'd probably want to go with them."
Keiko returned the smile and gently held his hand. "So what are we going to do?"
"I just want to peacefully leave this island.." He said.
Keiko blinked. "How are we going to do that?"
"There are some old, rustic boats and canoes down by the shore that I think the villagers abandoned long ago... We could just use one of them.. Then we would be free.. And we would be together."
Krull slowly slid out of his chair and wrapped his arms around Keiko.
"Its almost over.. Almost.."

Sanji and Zoro leaped onto the Going Merry with satisfied expressions plastered on their faces.
"Z-Zoro! Are you really okay!?" Chopper asked nervously.
Zoro chuckled. "I told you not to worry. I've been through worse."
"Wheres Luffy?" Sanji said as he surveyed the deck.
"He went to find Vivi.." Chopper said as he scratched his head.
"Did she get captured again?!" Sanji asked, his eyes widening.
"No.. Vivi never returned to us in the first place, it was all a trick. It wasn't Vivi who came back, it was Captain Krull!"
Sanji's eyes widened and Zoro clenched his fists.
"He wears a white cloak.. Shirt.. Pants.. Everything.. And he took that girl with him when he left." Chopper's voice trailed off.
Sanji and Zoro both looked at each other.
"Was he.." Zoro sputtered.
"I.. Think it was.." Sanji moaned.

Vivi took a step out of Gilles' houses and stretched her arms. Gilles stepped out beside her and looked up into the sky.
"I can feel it in the air.." He whispered.
"Feel what?" VIvi asked surprised as she turned to face him.
Gilles smiled. "A great change is in the air."
Vivi returned the smile. "Don't worry, once I get back to the ship and tell everyone about Captain Krull then the change will come!"
"Thank you Vivi." Gilles said softly as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "You don't know what this means to me.. And to the village.."
He lowered his hand and sighed. "You better run along, your friends are probably wondering where you are."
Vivi nodded. "I will.. And I'll come visit again before we leave!"
She turned and left, anxious to get back to see Luffy who would certainly be able to set things right. As she left, she turned and waved to Gilles again.
She walked into the forest and kept following the path for a few more minutes when she saw someone up ahead. She squinted and then a moment later she smiled.
"Luffy!!" She shouted as she started jumping up and down waving her arms.
Luffy looked in her direction and waved. "Vivi!!"
Vivi broke into a run and when she was close enough to him she wrapped her arms around him. It wasn't until this moment that she finally felt safe again. She was with Luffy..

Sanji walked over to the table with a freshly prepared fruit salad. As he set it down he glanced at Nami who seemed to be testing her shoulder by moving her arm. Needless to say, her face told Sanji exactly how her shoulder was. Still in pain.
"Will you be able to eat, Nami-san?" He asked her. His face was genuinely concerned.
"I'll be fine Sanji-kun." She replied with a forced smile.
Zoro, Nami, Usopp, and Chopper all started ti eat while Sanji slowly walked to the door and looked out at the deck.
What a freakish island. He thought to himself.
"Sanji! Any food ready?!" He heard from down below. He bent his head to see Luffy and Vivi climbing up onto the ship.
"Vivi-chan! Are you okay?" He asked as he skipped to her, almost knocking Luffy overboard.
"Y-Yes, I'm fine.. But I'm a little troubled. Luffy, lets go inside so I can tell everyone else about the village." She said as she looked in Luffy's direction.
"Theres a village?" Sanji murmured.
"So.. Krull has been exploiting the villagers like a parasite." Zoro stated.
Vivi nodded slowly. "And when they don't meet their quota, one of the villagers is killed.. Gilles told me that lately they are having difficulty just meeting it. Imagine how little they get for themselves.." Her voice trailed off as she looked at her hands which were resting on the table.
Luffy stood up quickly and cracked his knuckles. "I'm going to kick his ass!" He shouted as he marched outside. Everyone followed him.
"Promise me that you will be careful." Vivi said as she reached for him.
Luffy stopped and stood where he was for a moment before turning to face Vivi. His eyes burned with courage and determination.
"I'll be careful." He promised her as he turned back around and started to walk to the bow of the ship.

Keiko nervously looked around as she and Krull approached the shore.
"Why are we going this way? They are down there.." Keiko asked quietly.
Krull held her hand tightly. "Its the fastest way to the boats... I'm sure that there won't be many problems if any."
As Krull and Keiko cleared the forest and walked onto the shore, they both spotted Luffy with his head down. His arms hung down by his sides lazily.
"Hey.. Something wrong?" Krull asked. His hand slipped out of Keiko's.
Luffy's head slowly came up. "You tricked us all! And you caused us a lot of pain! For this..... I'm going to kick your ass!!" He shouted.
Krull and Keiko both gasped.
"Look.." Krull began slowly. "We don't want to live this way anymore.. The fighting.. Killing.. Its been too much and.. I have you and your crew to thank for it."
He stopped and looked at Luffy who said nothing.
"While I was Vivi, I learned... And felt.. So much.." He looked over at Keiko.
"You taught me to love and respect once again.. And that is why Keiko and I must leave. We want to pursue a new life together -- on the sea."
Luffy still said nothing. He just looked at Krull with a very unforgiving expression.
"But most importantly.. You all taught me to believe in myself again.. Nothing is impossible as long as I strive for it and nothing is ever out of my reach.."
"I'm not letting you go." Luffy said suddenly.
Krull shook his head. "I don't want to fight anymore.."
Luffy took a step forward. "Fight me or get your ass beaten in!!"
Krull sighed as he turned to Keiko. "Follow the coastline east.. You will find the boats there. Wait for me." He said softly. He brought her close to him and planted his lips on hers. After a moment and he pulled away and let go of her.
"Go.." He whispered. His voice sounded old..
Keiko hesitated for a moment but turned and sprinted away.
When she was out of sight Krull turned to Luffy.
"I don't want to do this... I want to change my ways, but if you are going to stand in the way of my freedom... If I have to defeat one last person in order to obtain my dream... Then I will do it! Even if I die trying!!!"

To Be Continued

So, I decided to end this chapter at this point... Things are definitely settling down, but there is still a very small, intense blaze burning very brightly.. And the flame hasn't been extinguished yet.
I tried to really develop Krull's ambitions this chapter and I think that he is now a significantly different character than he was at the start of the story.. But when he was with the Strawhat Pirates a whole new, forgotten world opened to him that was so much to take in at once that it overwhelmed him.. And now we have a man striving to be free, but in order to become free, he must commit one final act of violence which is being forced upon him.. Ironic..
Anyway, this was the second longest chapter (chapter one still holds the record of being the longest) so I hope that I successfully delivered with this one! See you next time! :)