Disclaimer: I don't own any of this.
A/N: I've had a long hiatus, and an unexpected one. A few things came to me: No pairings. 2nd: Are disclaimers on every chapter needed? I don't think so. Kind of habit, I guess? Oh well. One of those "new writers at fanfic" thingy. Dunno, I'll keep it.
I-I-I-Chapter Eight-I-I-I-
I-Second Fight-I
Robin closed her book and sat up, head scanning the crowd fro that sound. A squeak or snarl of some sort… it was quite close.
"Hmm…I wonder how Usopp's doing," Nami said, shading her eyes to look at the jungle. She paused and sniffed the air, then touched her arm.
Robin noticed and asked, "What's wrong?" Nami looked up at the horizon and pointed to a gathering of dark clouds.
"Storm clouds, no doubt. That's not good," she murmured. A bright flash appeared, followed by a low rumbling.
"Go get something to eat Luffy, your stomach's bothering me," Zoro grumbled as he turned in his sleep. Luffy stood up, grinning.
"All right!" he replied, walking towards the stairs before Nami pulled him back.
"It's thunder, you idiot," Sanji said irritably. The rumbling intensified after the next flash. Zoro sat up, swearing.
"Luffy, what'd I-"
"QUIET!" Nami ordered. The sun peeked over the horizon and fled from the lightening. Palm trees began to sway slowly, Luffy rocking back and forth with them. The sticky feeling in the air grew almost unbearable.
"Nami, the sun's gone," Luffy remarked. Zoro felt his cheek, grimacing at the humidity.
"It's grown so dark in so little time. I hope Usopp's doing okay," Nami murmured worriedly. Suddenly Robin furrowed her eyebrows.
"Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?" Robin shook her head and waved the matter aside.
"Never mind. Just the wind."
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Torikki crept through the woods, careful not make a sound lest they caught him. Almost sundown… the trees swayed, groping for him in the nearing darkness. Now the sun slid under the horizon. His pace quickened eyes sharp for anything. The fireflies started to appear in the dusk. He had to get there fast. Of the four Alucard hired, Aob tied for most deadliest with the other, but he was the most reluctant.
His sleek coat didn't provide a snare for the trees. Suddenly he felt hard ground. Pausing for a breather, he looked up at the stone seat high above. He took off his shades and started to deposit them into a pocket. Now to get the job done.
Then a rustling behind him alerted him, but it was too late. As he spun, scarf flying and eyes wide, the net caught him.
What were these green beads? Seastone! What rookie vampire did Alucard send this time?
Torikki writhed a bit, then heard some chuckling. The net grew tighter and he fell to the damp ground. Flipping onto his back, he locked eyes with the young vampire in the forest. The vampire stopped laughing and his face paled even more as the glowing eyes bore into his.
"I ate no devil fruit. Piss off," he spat. Then with a snarl he struggled violently and ripped through the net, and with his back to the foolish vampire, Torikki leapt over the high fence and into the jungle. Lightning flashed, and Torikki disappeared.
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Aob was no where to be seen as Usopp moved through the jungle. Stepping slowly on the canopy floor, he swallowed and adjusted his overall strap. Sweat trickled down his back as he advanced through the jungle, ears and eyes open for any sound. The only thing he could hear was the whispering trees in the wind. They started to whisper fiercer, and he noticed how dark everything became. Then he looked down and found that the trail was no more.
The creepers swung in his face and smacked his nose. Usopp frowned and bent down to look for the trail, but as he did he felt something whoosh over his head. He jerked up, looking around. Puzzled, he bent down again with his eyes scanning the brush as he feigned inspection. Some movement to his left…
Before his mind could register the movement his instincts took over and his body rolled to the right when a green whip flew out, slicing the ground where he once stood. After seeing that he kept rolling until he entered a thick mass of vines.
He kept very still, and then heard a sound behind him. He sprang forward without hesitation and bolted through the jungle, looking wildly for an end to the trees, a clearing of any kind to stand his ground in. His ears caught the sound of his pursuer. Time for a trick of his own…
Screeching to a stop he jumped into the bushed to his right. His chest heaves as he tried to control his breathing. The wind moaned ominously, the jungle with it. Usopp knew Aob was around here somewhere.
Then he felt the pain. It began from his left ankle and started to spread up his leg. Lifting his pant cuff, he inspected his ankle and frowned at the thin cut on it. He touched it gingerly and bit back a scream as the pain surged. Then he backed off, arm held up protectively in front of his face.
A green, scaly whip sprang out of the tree next to him and arched, flicking his fingertip mockingly. Suddenly, it shifted movement and arched left, speeding towards his head.
But with his sniper sight he saw it coming. He lifted his hand as if to wave aside a fly and the whip snapped against his palm weakly, vibrated, then withdrew. Usopp backed up, his eyes intent on the tree. With the light dimming, he couldn't see.
"So you are Usopp," a voice spoke quietly. He saw movement in the tree and the young man appeared at the base of it. He wore a green, loose shirt with pants to matchthat seemed to meld with the jungle at moments. His hair was a tousled and black, and it contrasted with his fair skin. Chinheld up proudly, danger flashed in his dark eyes, a slim eyebrow above each one. He couldn't have been more thantwenty.The muscled arms were no lie.
Usopp stepped away until a good twenty feet was between them, then started talking, his hands clenching his slingshot. "Of course I'm Usopp. There's only one on the Grand Line." He eyed Aob's wicked whip. If the two had met on different terms, he would have been itching to hold it, examining its craftsmanship thathe could witness standing here. Unfortunately, he was actually itching to bolt.
Aob cocked his head, green eyes glinting. "And what do you want to win for? The money?" The whip snapped softly.
Usopp tensed. "To win for a friend, that's all. What's your reason?" he shot back. Keep him talking…
Aob's eyes seemed to focus somewhere else for a moment. He glanced at Usopp. "To win for a friend? I guess I'm in it for that too…" he drifted and off and blinked, eyes hard again. He raised his arm and whipped the tree trunk. A lash like a scar grew visible on it, and green juice started drip from the gash. Aob glared at Usopp as he realized the marksman was just out of range.
"Word's out that you're a pirate. You'll have to go through me if you wanna win." And with that he rushed towards Usopp.
He was ready though, and in the time it took Aob to cover half the distance between them, Usopp had fired two of his bullets.
Wa-chak, wa-chak. Two more flew, cloudy on the inside. Aob had no problem dodging the first couple. Weaving between the bullets, he flicked his wrist and broke the two coming at him. As he turned to dodge the others Usopp released the fifth. It seemed pieced together, but in the dark only he could discern which bullet was which by touch.
Then the two bullets shattered and smoke poured out, billowing into the jungle. Aob snarled and whipped wildly. He noticed a bullet streaking into the smoke. Preparing to evade it, he managed to be feel surprised as it separated into five pieces at lightning-fast speed. And with that speed they exploded.
He turned his face and covered his eyes as the minute shards of glass imbedded into his skin. An angry roar tore from his lip. It echoed in the jungle and Usopp shuddered.
He was safely out of the smoke, but he went a far way off where he could still monitor the cloud and still retreat. He grinned and tweaked his nose in accomplishment. As he readjusted his spot he felt another pain on his upper right arm. He turned his head to look and saw the tear in his suspender strap; underneath it blood was flowing. He looked accusingly at the cloud and moved past the tall trees.
Then he heard a distant rumbling and stopped to listen. Was that the audience? No…thunder and lightning. He placed pressure onto the wound, then staggered to a thick bunch of trees. The pain in his ankle returned and he looked back at the disappearing cloud. What did he land himself in? A crazy guy with a whip, he himself was lost in this "small" jungle, and all for some Belli. He caught himself as he almost tripped over a root. Nami had a lot to explain for.
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Nami frowned as she smelled the air."It's gonna rain soon. Where are we gonna sit now?"
"There's no where else to, anyways," Luffy said, his hands up in the air anticipating rain drops. She sighed and folded her arms, looking up at the sky.
"I wish I'd brought my umbrella!"
"Already taken care of," Robin murmured as her hands passed up slim umbrellas to each Straw Hat. Nami looked at Robin incredulously.
"Where did these come from?"
"A large amount was found in the storage decks, strangely."
Poof, poof, poof. The umbrellas went up as did others in the crowd. Soon an audible pitter of the rain warned of the drizzle that came down on the spectators, increasing into a hard downpour with thunder rumbling. Nami shared an umbrella with Sanji, who swore his was broken. Luffy caught the drop in his mouth, gurgling.
"Zoro, it's raining, you might get sick," Nami called to him, not bothering about the captain. He opened his eyes halfway and winced when rain got into it. As he rubbed his eye, he looked up and frowned.
"It's raining?" Grabbing the broken umbrella near Sanji, he opened it, positioned it above his head and resumed his nap on the wet stone seats.
"Rain ish phun!" Luffy gurgled. Robin suddenly heard a short yell from within the jungle and looked down. The trees on the east side moved violently, then stopped. Sanji raised an eyebrow.
"Wonder what Usopp's got himself into?"
