I do not own any ideas taken from One Piece, Naruto, Bleach, Dragon Ball, HunterXHunter or Yu Yu Hakusho. Eiichiro Oda, Masashi Kishimoto, Tite Kubo, Akira Toriyama and Yoshihiro Togashi are the brilliant minds behind those manga and I'm simply using them to set the stage for my story! It's all for fun so please enjoy!
Chapter 12: Calico
Tazuna led their group through the small village. The houses and vendor's stalls were very run down and the people looked ragged and overworked.
"Bulma, do you have those DynoCaps?" Asuka asked.
"Mhm." Bulma nodded and handed them to him.
Asuka popped the Dynocaps and the money they took from the pirates fell in a pile on the ground. "Please distribute this across the Wave Chain." Asuka said and their group kept walking as the villagers swarmed the pile of money.
"Thank you, boy." Tazuna said as they walked.
They reached the edge of Fusha Village and came to a thin two story house. Tazuna used his key to unlock the door and led them all inside. The house smelled like roasted fish and was pleasantly warm.
A tall woman with long black hair peeked around the corner and smiled, "Father, you're back." She walked closer and hugged Tazuna tightly.
"These kids have come to help us." Tazuna said, nodding. "Kids, this is my daughter, Rem."
"Shuhei."
"I'm Bulma!"
"Yesui."
"Mugen."
"I'm Zika and this guy here is Hama!"
"My name is Senju D. Asuka!"
"It's nice to meet you all." Rem said with a smile. "I wish I had known you were coming, I didn't buy enough fish."
"That's alright, we can go back to town and get more." Tazuna said with a nod.
"Tazuna, when you get a moment I'd like to discuss the situation more." Shuhei said.
Tazuna nodded, "Of course. We can talk more after dinner."
"Are you going back into town?" Zika asked.
"Yessir, we can buy more fish and rice." Tazuna said, nodding.
"We have more than enough rice, father." Rem stated.
"Did I say rice? I meant booze." Tazuna laughed.
"I'll go into town with you." Zika said.
"Me too." Bulma added.
Tazuna, Bulma, Zika and Hama got together and walked out of the house to go shopping. Asuka, Yasui, Mugen and Shuhei walked around the thin house and looked around as Rem continued cooking food.
"Shuhei, how did you meet Tazuna?" Asuka asked.
"The madman was sailing around in that small boat looking for help. I've recently wanted to help more and figured I could lend him a hand." Shuhei answered slowly.
"Help more? What did you do before?" Mugen asked.
Shuhei smiled slightly, "Family business. I was born into a family of assassins and worked to the bone my entire childhood."
"Really?" Yasui asked.
"That's cool! You're an assassin?" Asuka asked with a smile.
"I can't tell if you're kidding or not." Mugen said simply.
"That's what people say about me a lot." Shuhei chuckled, "Where did you guys come from?"
"We met in the North Blue and set out to the Grand Line." Asuka explained.
"And you're Peacemain Pirates?" Shuhei asked.
Asuka nodded, "A man named Dosu told me that pirates can be divided into two categories. Morganeers pillage and plunder without care or conscience. Peacemains sail the seas looking for adventures and help defend people from bad people like the Morganeers."
"My grandpa told me about that once." Shuhei smiled.
"There's no such thing as a 'good pirate'!" A voice suddenly shouted. The four of them turned quickly to see a boy with black hair wearing blue overalls sitting on the stairs. "Pirates are evil!"
"Who are you?" Asuka asked.
"If you're pirates then I don't want you in my home!" The boy pointed a finger at them, "Leave, you pirate scum!"
"Rinku!" Rem shouted at the boy, "These kind boys and their friends are here to help us."
The boy, Rinku, leapt off the stairs and ran out of the house, slamming the door behind him. The four boys looked at each other, "What was that about?"
Rem looked apologetically at them and said, "I'm sorry about that. That's Rinku, my son. He's really a nice boy but he isn't fond of pirates."
"Because of Gato?" Yasui asked.
"Yes." Rem looked sad as she nodded, "I need to watch the food." She walked away quickly.
Mugen walked to a corner in the living room and laid down, falling asleep quickly. "How do you fall asleep so fast!" Yasui shouted at him.
"I'm gonna go for a walk and check out the nearby woods." Asuka said.
"I'll join you." Shuhei said and they both walked for the door.
"I'm gonna keep an eye on the house." Yasui stated as they left.
Bulma used the Flying Nimbus to hold their groceries as they bought fish and booze from the vendors in the village. The people seemed a lot happier than they had been just twenty minutes ago. Zika and Hama both sniffed the air and looked down the road.
"What's the matter with yuh?" Tazuna asked as he popped open a bottle.
"Something nasty is comin'?" Zika said.
They watched as a group of goons came strutting down the road, jeering at the villagers as they walked. Two men led the group down the road. One was very round and had gears strapped to his arms and body. The other was tall and his clothes were a mess of white, black and orange.
"Gato's thugs." Tazuna grumbled.
"Mr. Tazuna, please go back home with the Flying Nimbus." Bulma said.
Tazuna nodded and walked the other way down the road with the nimbu floating beside him.
"Little birdie says y'all just got a bunch of money, is that true?" The tall man shouted to the town.
"One of our ships was taken out and robbed. You weak ass fisherman couldn't have done it. Is there another hero in this village that needs to learn a lesson?" The round man asked with a cackle.
"We robbed that ship!" Bulma shouted at the thugs.
"What are you doing?!" Zika said and looked at Bulma, bewildered.
The two men walked closer with twelve more thugs behind them. They walked toward them and smiled, "You robbed us? A girl, a boy and a dog?" The thugs laughed.
Hama barked and growled at them. "Yeah, what he said." Zika added with a smile.
"You kids are gutsy, I'll give you that. But you've got two options now." The tall man said with a grin, "You give us all of your money and belongings or we punish you in front of the villagers."
"We're not gonna give you anything." Zika said with a smile.
"We're gonna kick your ass!" Bulma shouted as she blasted a gale of wind that knocked the tall man back.
Zika and Hama charged the round man and struck his large body with heavy attacks but his body and the gears he wore acted as armor. Zika jumped away as the round man threw a quick flurry of kicks. Hama dashed over and stood beside Zika.
"You're mental!" The tall man laughed and popped his neck.
The round man flexed and said, "Prepare for trouble! I'm Big Ben!"
The tall man said, "I'm Calico Jack!"
The thugs behind them charged forward and Bulma blasted them with another gale of wind. The thugs staggered back and Zika and Hama dashed forward and slammed into them. Big Ben skipped at Bulma and threw a quick punch at her. Bulma ducked beneath his strike and Big Ben kicked her in the gut. She stumbled back and shocked him with her baton.
Calico Jack's fingertips were sharp like claws and he swung ferociously at Zika and Hama. They dodged around and Zika struck him with his Wolf Fang Fist. Calico Jack gritted his teeth, slammed Zika in the side with a sturdy kick and slashed him across the chest with his claws. Hama launched himself up and slammed into Calico Jack, sending him stumbling forward.
Zika and Calico Jack exchanged rapid blows and Hama launched forward and bit down on Jack's leg. Zika slammed a powerful punch into his chest and Calico Jack skipped away from them, shaking his leg. Zika and Hama charged forward and Calico Jack morphed into a hybrid catman! Calico Jack pounced quickly and struck Hama down to the ground with a swift kick. Zika and Calico Jack exchanged blows and Zika struck him in the chest with an anger powered punch.
The thugs stood away from the fights, shouting and jeering from a safe distance. Bulma blasted Big Ben back with a gale of wind and charged forward at him. She shocked him again and he struck her hard in the face. She stumbled back and blood filled her mouth as she blasted him with wind. Big Ben began laughing and Bulma began twirling her baton as wind blasted from both ends. He launched at her and Bulma blasted a twisting air current that struck Big Ben and spun him rapidly through the air and he crashed into the group of thugs! "Tornado Tempo." Bulma said and stuck out her tongue at them.
Asuka and Shuhei walked through the woods as birds called loudly around them. The trees were huge with thick branches and green leaves sprouted from them.
"Hey, look at that." Shuhei said, pointing up at a treehouse.
"Whoa! A treehouse! I had one back on Whale Island." Asuka said, smiling widely.
Shuhei smiled slightly and then looked at Asuka, "The kid has to be up there."
"Hey, Rinku!" Asuka called up at the treehouse.
"What are you doing?" Shuhei said, "That kid already hates us."
The door of the treehouse cracked open and Rinku shouted, "Go away!"
Asuka separated his body from his ankles and floated up to the treehouse, "Your treehouse is cool, can we come in?"
The door swung open, "You can fly?!" Rinku looked amazed for a moment and then shook his head, "What do you want?"
"We're just out for a walk and came across your treehouse. We're gonna head back to your house, you may as well tag along." Asuka smiled.
"Whatever." Rinku said and climbed down from the treehouse. He now wore a leather satchel that hung on his left hip.
Asuka floated down and reattached his body to his feet, "Did you build that yourself?"
"No, my dad helped me." Rinku said and began walking away.
Asuka and Shuhei walked after him but kept their distance. The three of them walked through the woods back toward the house.
"You ate a Devil Fruit?" Shuhei asked Asuka.
"Yeah, I ate the Chop-Chop Fruit." Asuka answered.
"Devil Fruit?" Rinku asked and peeked back at them.
"They're special fruits that grant whoever eats them a power in exchange for your ability to swim." Shuhei explained.
"Oh!" Rinku spun around and faced them, "That peach!"
"What?" Asuka asked.
"I ate one of those Devil Fruits!" Rinku exclaimed and grinned.
"Really? What can you do?" Asuka asked excitedly.
Rinku picked a pebble up off the ground and showed it to them, "More-More Fiftyfold Size." The pebble grew to the size of a rock in his hand.
"Cool!" Asuka laughed.
"More-More Sixtyfold Strength!" Rinku hurled the rock at a tree and it lodged into the trunk as the wood splintered.
"What exactly can you do?" Shuhei asked.
"I ate the More-More Fruit. I can touch things and make them bigger, stronger or faster." Rinku said with a wide smile.
"That's so cool!" Asuka exclaimed.
The three of them walked down the path and Asuka told Rinku about the different Devil Fruit powers he's seen while on his adventure. The boy seemed to be warming up to the pirates.
Zika hurled two kunai that Calico Jack dodged, he lunged forward and slashed Zika across the right cheek with his claws. They exchanged rapid blows and Calico Jack barraged him with punches and scratches as they fought. Hama bounded up and leapt onto Calico Jack's back and bit down hard into his right shoulder. Zika dashed forward and slammed him in the chest with his Wolf Fang Fist! Calico Jack grabbed Hama and tossed him at Zika, who caught him.
Calico Jack hissed loudly and charged at them, Zika hurled Hama up in the air and lunged to meet him. They exchanged a flurry of blows again and Zika slammed a kick into Calico Jack's chest. He stumbled back and Hama twisted himself in the air as he fell and struck Calico Jack in the back. Zika dashed up and barraged a flurry of mad punches that struck into Jack's chest and gut! Zika spun fast and slammed his foot up into Jack's jaw, dropping him to the ground.
As the thugs and Big Ben scrambled to get up, Bulma charged forward and pulled a grenade from her bag. She blasted a gale of wind that knocked the thugs back down and tossed the grenade at them. Big Ben got to his feet and yelled as the grenade exploded and blasted him back into the pile of thugs with a wicked bang! Bulma charged toward them and struck her baton into Big Ben's head and shocked him.
Mugen and Yasui came dashing down the road and came to them as the fights came to an end. They looked around and then to Bulma, Zika and Hama.
"You missed it." Zika said, wiping blood from his face and smearing his cheek.
"What a shame." Mugen sighed and looked at the thugs. "What do we do with them?"
Tazuna walked up with another older man beside him, "We'll lock them in our jail. These are Gato's hired muscle, a bunch of thugs."
The villagers tied up the unconscious men and dragged them off to their jail in the center of the village. Bulma cleaned and patched Zika's scratches and they walked back toward the house with Yasui, Mugen and Tazuna.
"I can't believe I missed a fight." Asuka groaned.
"I'm sure there will be more men that come to kill me." Tazuna said and chuckled.
They all sat and ate dinner together and shared the events of the day. A nice dinner was a temporary getaway from the tense situation.
"Rem, I noticed the picture in the hallway was a piece torn off. What happened there?" Bulma asked suddenly.
Tazuna, Rem and Rinku all flinched when she mentioned the picture. "Gato had him killed! They killed my dad!" Rinku cried.
"Oh my god, I am so sorry!" Bulma covered her mouth.
"We'll kick Gato's ass, Rinku." Asuka assured him.
Rinku wiped his tears away and said, "I ripped part of the picture with him on it and kept it in my room."
"Kaiza appeared on Onda one day and found Rinku lost in the woods. He brought him home and there was an instant spark between us." Rem said slowly, "He helped everyone around the village and was a great father to Rinku." She began tearing up, "He stood up to Gato and they tortured him in front of the village before executing him."
The room was silent and nobody moved or breathed for a moment or two. The Misfits and Shuhei exchanged glances and looked back at Tazuna and his family. Rinku and Rem wiped away their tears and Tazuna said, "We must build our bridges and connect the Wave Chain islands."
"The bridges will be built." Bulma said with a smile.
"Whoever Gato throws at us, we'll kick their asses until he runs out of goons and shows himself." Asuka said with a clenched fist and a smile.
"Thanks, you kids." Tazuna said and tried to hide his own tears.
They finished their dinner and cleaned everything up. Asuka and Shuhei took the first watch outside the house as the others went to sleep. They sat on the roof and looked around at the village and the woods. Asuka smiled and looked up at the sky.
To Be Continued