To Star AJT 84: Either you post kinder reviews or don't review at all. Your reviews look as if you hate this story! Can't you be any nicer?
Chapter 22: We Meet Once AgainAbout two days after leaving Genji's island…
Everybody is lying around on the deck, bored to the bones. The weather has been unbelievably peaceful, and no signs of danger in the sea either. This isn't really what they're expecting…
"I'm bored of the sea…" says Chocolove. "All you see is the sea… No matter where we go, the sea is the only thing you see. No matter how hard you see it, you only see the sea. The sea is all you see if you're sailing on the sea…"
Yoh and Anna are sitting next to each other on foldable chairs. Anna pulls open her dress collar and looks into it, and then asks Yoh the strangest question ever, "Yoh…?"
"What is it, Anna?"
"Do you think… my breasts are small?"
"Whoa! What's with that question all of a sudden!"
"Seriously, do you think it's too flat?"
"Um… Uh… I think it's all right…"
"Really? I'm beginning to think my body isn't perfect enough for you…"
"Don't think that kind of thing… I already like you as you are right now!"
"There's someone adrift on a raft!" shouts Ryu from the crow's nest. Everyone runs to the side of the ship and sees a medium-sized raft floating towards them, and a man is seen lying on it. They steer their ship towards the raft and hauls up the man.
The man looks about 20 years old. He is topless and wears only a black pant, and he has a cowboy hat on his head. "Is he dead?" asks Tamao. And they hear a growling sound.
"No, it's not me," says Horohoro.
"Food… Hungry…" mumbles the man slowly.
"I guess he's hungry. Let's cook something for him to eat," suggests Yoh.
-
Everyone stares at the man as he wolfs down his meal one by one. The table is stacked with about 10 plates already! "He must be related to Horohoro somehow," says Chocolove jokingly.
The man begins to slow down his eating pace and says, "Thanks for saving my life! I ate up all my food while on my boat. I thought I was a goner, but you kids rescued me! Thanks!"
"No problem! We cannot leave someone to starve to death!" says Yoh. "What is your name?"
"You probably heard of me. My name is…" Suddenly, his head plops down onto his food.
"Ah! He's dead!" screams Tamao. And they hear snoring…
"He's only asleep…" Pirika tells her.
The man wakes up again; his face covered with rice. "Uh? Where was I? Oh yeah! I was going to tell you my name!"
"And you fell asleep all of a sudden…"
And he falls asleep on his food again.
"Hey! Don't sleep on your food!"
The man wakes up once again! "Oh? I slept again… My name is Portugas D. Ace. I'm sure you heard of me as Fire Fist Ace."
The shamans shake their head.
"Oh…? You never heard of me? Never mind, I'm not as famous as Gol D. Roger anyway."
"Wait a minute, you have a D initial in your name. Are you related to Monkey D. Luffy?" Manta asks him.
"Oh! You know my younger brother too?"
"You're his older brother?" asks Yoh. "Sure! We met him and his crew! He's a really nice guy!"
"Yeah, he's nice! Just like me!" And Ace falls asleep on his food again…
"This must be some kind of a sickness…" says Ren.
Ace wakes up again. "I once asked him if he wanted to join the Whitebeard Pirates, which is the crew I'm in. But he rejected… Oh well, he likes to become a great pirate by himself. I wouldn't stop him from becoming one."
"So why are you sailing on a raft?" Yoh asks him.
"I'm looking for Blackbeard. He's a wicked villain who killed one of our crewmates. Whitebeard is angry with this, so he sent me to kill him. I will not stop traveling until I bring his head to Whitebeard."
"Must you kill him? It sounds so cruel…"
"That's the life of a pirate. People try to kill you and you kill them back."
"I don't like killing."
"Yeah, it's just you. And by the way, may I ask why that white hair dude is floating in midair rather than standing on the floor?"
"Oh? You can see Amidamaru? He's a spirit, that's why."
"A spirit? You mean… As in a ghost?"
"Of course!"
"Wow! I never thought I would see one!"
"Are you a shaman? Or do you have Devil Fruit powers?"
"I've heard of shamans, but I'm not one. And yes, I'm a Devil Fruit user."
"Cool! What fruit did…"
"I see land!" shouts Pai-Long from outside.
Everyone runs out the ship cabin and sees an island, along with a ship docked next to it. The ship's flag looks very familiar to them, and they soon recognize it as the Straw Hat Pirates! "It's Luffy's crew!" exclaims Horo. "I never expected them to be there!"
"Let's steer to that island and meet them!" says Yoh.
"I'd be glad to see my younger bro again!" says Ace happily.
So they sail their ship towards that island.
-
"Okay, everything is ready," says Nami. "The Eternal Pose has pinpointed to another direction, so let's go!"
"Hey! There's another ship coming to this island!" says Usopp, pointing to the ship not far away. He looks into his special goggles to get a clearer view. "Hey! Guess who it is! It's Yoh and his friends!"
Luffy springs up from lying on the beach immediately. "REALLY! Let's meet them!"
After a while, the shaman's ship docks at the shore and everyone got down to meet the Straw Hats.
"It's great to see you guys again!" says Luffy happily.
"Same thing here!" replies Yoh.
"Lady Jun! Do you miss me? I miss you a lot!" says Sanji while spinning like a tornado while hearts fly in every direction.
Ace walks up to them and says, "Good to see you, Luffy!"
"Hi! It's you, big bro! What are you doing here?"
"We met him while sailing out there," Yoh tells him.
So they all sat down and had a long chat, sharing with each other about their adventures. Unknown to them, a mysterious person is watching them from a distance. But their spirits sense this strange feeling. "Master Yoh, I sense some power in this island," Amidamaru tells him. "And it feels awfully familiar."
"I think I feel it too, and it feels like..."
"Hao!" Lyserg bursts out all of a sudden. "I sense his presence here!"
The shamans are shocked. "HAO!"
"So he's still alive," says Anna. "But what is he doing here?"
Luffy stands up and shouts out at the top of his voice, "HAO! COME OUT HERE AND FIGHT ME!" His voice is so loud that all the birds on this island took off into the sky in fright.
"Whoa! What's the rush? Do you know Hao?" Yoh asks him.
"He came to our ship some days ago and attacked us for no reason!" explains Luffy.
"That's just like him… He loathes anyone who isn't a shaman."
"He said that to me too, but I'm going to prove him wrong that normal humans aren't weak!"
"Oh really? You really want to?" says a voice, and then Hao appears in a burst of flame. "Hi everyone! Long time no see!"
The shamans immediately oversoul and point their weapons at him. "What the hell are you doing here!" Ren says to him meanly.
"Can't I go as I wish?"
"You devil! You should die this instant!" says Lyserg angrily. "Morphine, attack!" His pendulum shoots forward at Hao, but he easily dodges it by hopping aside.
"Don't be in a rush, would you? I'm not in the mood of picking a fight with you."
"Who's this guy?" asks Ace. "Why is everybody so angry about him?"
"He killed many people just because he feels like it," Anna tells him. "He was supposed to be killed by Yoh, but now he's back again."
Hao looks at Yoh and then the pirates, and he shook his head sadly. "I don't understand, my younger brother. Why on earth must you make friends with those who are not shamans?"
The pirates are surprised at hearing the term younger brother. "Hao is your old brother!" gasps Nami.
"Yes it is… A sad truth," says Yoh. "He's the complete opposite of me."
"Bad brother relationship…" says Ace.
"Humans are weaklings," continues Hao. "They are not worth to live in this world." This offended Luffy and his friends greatly.
"Enough of your human is a weakling jibber-jabber!" shouts Luffy. "I will sent you flying and see if you think humans are still weaklings!"
"You really got confidence in yourself, eh? I'm afraid you will lose badly to me. You really have no chance against me."
"SHUT UP AND FIGHT ME!"
"Calm down, okay? Before that, I would like to lend my time to my new companions I met in this world. It's a surprise that there are actually shamans here also! Come out!"
Two men and a woman appear in front of Hao.
The tall and scrawny person introduces himself. "I am Mantis. I have been rejected by my villagers because I can see ghosts. My guardian spirit is the great spirit of a praying mantis!"
The second man, who is large and muscular, introduces himself. "I am the great Bull! Combined with my guardian spirit, the spirit of the bison, I can destroy anything in a single blow!"
The woman with shoulder-length blond hair introduces herself. "I am Marlin. I'm also hated by my family because I'm a witch. My spirit is the spirit of the great sailfish. I specialize mostly in water-based attacks."
Sanji become lovey-dovey upon seeing Marlin. "Woohoo! What a sexy lady you are!"
"I'm sorry, but you are not my type. Furthermore, you're just an ordinary human, so I loathe you even more."
The shamans got out their weapons. "No matter how many henchmen you have, we can destroy them all!" says Ren.
"We will not allow you to do what you did before!" says Horo.
"I will kill you and bring peace to this world!" says Lyserg.
The three evil shamans got into offensive position and say, "We will not allow you to lay hand on Master Hao!"
The shamans face each other and are about to ensue a fight when Luffy, Sanji, Zoro, and Ace step in between them, facing Hao and his henchmen. "This is our battle!" says Luffy. "I will send Hao flying with my punch!"
"Tell you the truth: I'm offended by Hao's belief about humans being weak," says Zoro. "And I'm with the captain; I want to prove him wrong."
"They, too, are humans, but they don't like us. I will give them some beating and clear their minds," says Sanji. "Though I do not wish to harm that lady.
"I don't really have an idea what's going on, but I'm also offended by what he said. Maybe I should show him what I'm capable of," says Ace.
"So you puny humans want to challenge us?" says Mantis. "We will torture you because your kind rejected us!"
"I will crush you all!" yells Bull.
"The memory of the day I was send out of my home… It still lingers in my mind and it hurts to think of that. I must release my anger and hatred upon you!" says Marlin.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Just so you know; the three new henchmen of Hao are my own OC.
And remember to make your reviews nice! I ABSOLUTELY loathe flames! They are the biggest pains an author can imagine.