A/N: And now, the exciting conclusion of Hook Vs. Kisame! Also, more slight body horror. I don't want to see Movie 6 again, but I keep subjecting my readers to graphic descriptors… what does that say about my character? Ah, who cares? Onward!
Chapter 26: "...And the Strength of the Wolf is the Pack"
The citizens of Cocoyahsi held their breath; so much had happened in just one day already, and the sheer weight of the events threatened to overwhelm most of them. First, Nami returned… and brought back some woman that promised Arlong a fabulously great treasure. As Arlong prepared to disembark, a second set of strangers came charging in, saying they were gonna take Nami away to be on their crew! Even more surprising still was that she was okay with it! In between that and Captain Nezumi trotting down off his high horse to take all of Nami's money to buy back the village, Nami's guest had apparently robbed the Arlong Pirates, making Arlong seem pathetic enough that everyone on the crew had asked the new recruit to lead in his stead!
This freaky news was slightly overshadowed by a) said new recruit was packing enough power to make Arlong step back, and b) the second group of strangers had cleaned the clocks of every single Fishmen on the crew, including Arlong, his officers, and their pet monster! Now, here they stood, with all other enemies defeated, only the new captain of the very short-lived Sunset Pirates stood between victory and agonizing defeat, and opposite him was some boy who had somehow taken the time to put on some gold-like armor during their fight. While James Hook had glared through his last remaining foe with cool indifference and slight pale discoloration around his eyes, Kisame's mind had given in to the pressure of the fight, as well as his body judging by the wounds. Baring his constantly regrowing teeth at the boy, Kisame opened his mouth-
"HOOK! WHY THE HELL DO YOU LOOK LIKE THAT!" And closed it in shock and annoyance as Ussop spoke over him, crying like a broken fountain. "D-DON'T TELL ME THIS GUY GAVE YOU TROUBLE! I RAN RIGHT TOWARD MY OPPONENT, AND I KNOW I'M NOT STRONGER THAN YOU! S-SO... YOU SHOULD HAVE FINISHED BY NOW, RIGHT!? PUT THIS BASTARD DOWN! SO... SO..." His nerves seemed to stop him for a minute, his entire body shivering. He bit down on his inner jaw, steeled his spine, and cried out, "SO WE CAN GO TO THE GRAND LINE!"
The crowd watched the whole spectacle in silence. Equally silent, Hook gave Ussop a thumbs-up, which gave the spectators a great view of his arm covered in black and gold, the transition traveling down his arm to his torso. Finally, as the coating spread to the cape, Hook regarded Kisame with a grin, devoid of exhaustion. "Hey, Fishface! I just thought of something. I can adapt..."
A sound over half of the crew was familiar with filled the air: the sound of metal-on-metal clanking together. Before their eyes, Krieg's armor began to shift and melt to their captain like a second skin. The cape vanished, but the chest plate tightened and compacted, the gauntlets and diamond knuckles gleaming in the sun. "And you can't. Clank-Clank Armory: Blitzkrieg!" As Hook slammed his knuckles together, he went on, "It's just like they said! You Sunfuck Pirates... are just stepping stones to us!"
At that statement, Kisame screamed wordlessly before grabbing his fist tight enough for his hand to begin changing colors! "Wait..." Nami blinked as if to make sure she was seeing what she thought she was seeing. "Is he... the hell!?" It was an appropriate curse when one watched someone expand their arm to huge -ridiculously huge -proportions! When Kisame was done, his fist was the size of Hook's chest, and his veins pulsed grotesquely through stretched skin, as the rest of his body now looked shriveled up and sun-dried.
"Behold!" the Tiger Shark mummy spoke through papery lips. "My final trump card! Fishman Karate: Million Tile Brick Fist! All the water in my body concentrated into one final attack! Die, human, with the knowledge that you will be immortalized as my stepping stone!"
"Seriously!?" Genzo's eyes bugged from his head. "Even by Fishmen standards, this is absurd! How can he-!"
"Clakakakakaka! You look like jerky! Clakakakakaka!" Most everyone's jaws dropped as Hook laughed right in the bastard's face, almost doubled over from the sudden fit. Kisame's glare only intensifies. "Seriously, where do you keep pulling these tricks! From your ass!?" Kisame's answer was another wordless scream, as he swung his enlarged arm forward. Rather than focus on that, the teen's expression seemed ponderous, before lighting up. "Oh! That's actually not a bad idea!" Despite already being covered in metal, Hook activated Summon on his arm. "I think I figured out how to do this now!" When it receded, one arm was now doubly melded with the Iron Mace, Wootz Steel making most of it, with the tips of the dull spikes coated in diamond. "Clank-Clank..."
"DIE!" Kisame stepped forward, his legs looking ready to buckle, with swollen arm aimed at destroying his target.
"Morningstar!" With his own battle cry, Hook's fist meets Kisame's head-on, the pressure causing small ripples to form on the pool's surface. Neither side gave an inch... until a crack was heard. More soon followed...
As Hook's fist began to break under the onslaught. Kisame noticed and grinned triumphantly. "Watata... WATATATATATA! YES! THIS IS WHAT IT TAKES! TRUE POWER! TRUE DETERMINATION! THE ONE TO UNITE THE WORLD MUST HAVE THESE! ONLY THOSE WHO CARRY TIGER'S WILL CAN ACHIEVE THIS! ONLY I CAN-!"
"Quicksilver." The quiet, barely spoken word was all the warning the zealot got before the weight he was pushing against vanished. As he stumbled forward, he looked up from his bowed position... and right into waiting diamond-Wootz-iron spike knuckles. "And... MORNINGSTAR!" With the attack switched to the opposite arm, and a dash forward, Hook was able to slam home a solid hit to the Fishman's face, teeth flying in every direction. He roared once more under the strike, trying for one more countermeasure to no avail, as he was sent careening over the wall, out to sea by the mile, and off of the Conomi Islands!
Enemy defeated and energy spent, Hook fell into blissful sleep, the armor reabsorbed automatically, as breathless silence gave way to cheers of the recently freed.
As Hook slowly came about, the sounds of revelry and cheers woke him further. He looked around, confused as to why he was laying down in a lamp-lit room. "Huh? Wasn't I... outside?"
"About time you woke up." He turned his head to the voice, wincing at how sore he was!
'Good grief, it was like I was hit by a tidal wave!' he groused as his attention turned toward Nami's.
"You probably want to stay still for now. Nako, the town doctor, isn't too familiar with poisons, so he... ah, had to get creative," the redhead explained with a one-shouldered shrug.
'Had to get...?' Hook looked at his arm, the best he could without moving most of his body, to see it wrapped in bandages. "Well, I'm not sure what happened, but I'm not dead, which is great news!" As Hook pushed himself into a sit-up position, Nami watched on with worry. "'M fine. What's going on?"
Nami chuckled lightly, scratching at her own bandaged arm. "Where to start...?"
"Well," Hook looked at Nami thoughtfully, "let's start with you. How do you feel?"
The redhead looked a bit surprised but recovered quickly with a smirk. "I'm… fine. Best I've felt in a while. The village has never been so lively either." As if on cue, the noise outside swelled for a moment in wordless cheer.
"That all from the village?" Hook blinked owlishly as he tried to recall how many people he saw when he landed. He blinked again at Nami's laughter.
"Hook, that's from the whole island! Cocoyashi was only part of Arlong's rule. With him gone, everyone- everybody!- has never been happier! You did exactly what I thought you would… stick your stupid nose where it didn't belong." Despite the jab, Nami's words carried no heat, her careful mask completely discarded. "And I can't thank you enough for it. You've been out since you knocked Kisame clear off the island," Nami added after a pause. "The minute it sunk in that you and the others… that we helped lead them against their captors, so many villagers ran to spread the word! Probably took an hour for the whole island to set up the party you're hearing now!"
"An hour? For the whole island?" Hook gaped, before remembering something Nami said earlier. "Kiasme… where is that bastard? Did he-!?"
"Nah, he's gone, I think," Nami shrugged. "Some of the villagers tried to look for him, but nobody's found him… or Kuro." Nami answered the question already on Hook's mind next. "Sometime during the fighting, he broke out. Looks like he was long gone way before you even showed up when you got launched there."
"Well, whatever," Hook snorted, clearly upset, even though trying to brush it off. "He's a coward, so we probably won't see him anytime soon. But what about everyone else?"
Nami giggled again, though Hook don't recall if anything he said was so funny. "Well~ once we managed to drag everyone back here, we walked in on Nezumi—the Marine you guys knocked out earlier—trying to gather up all the Fishmen, even Arlong. He was definitely gonna claim he beat him on his own… right up until, Zoro, Sanji, Ussop, and Silk leveled the entire platoon! Again!"
Despite the pain surging through the Combo-man's very being, the thought of even Ussop menacing the Marines brought a full-bellied laugh out of him, and tears to his eyes! Nami had followed suit, still describing the smack-down; highlights included Sanji and Zoro turning it into a competition to see how many they could knock out, Ussop slamming a Wake Up Star up one's nose, and Silk body-slamming Nezumi!
"B-by the time she broke out D-dorado, the Marines were begging-g-g for it stop! Then," Nami paused to wipe her eyes. "Then Silk pulled a you move and demanded they pay out for the bounties on all the Arlong Pirates' heads! Unfortunately, they don't carry that much at their base, but Silk settled for whatever they had on them as a down payment!"
"And?" Laughing fit subsided, Hook leaned forward, eager to hear how that could have been screwed up by the dumbass rat bastard.
Nami paused for effect. "...Nezumi almost protested, but Zoro slammed his sword hilt into his chin! He bit his tongue, so he couldn't even say whatever he was trying to wiggle out! Even his own men looked fed up after that!" The laughter between the pair came back in full force!
After that last round finally died down, Nami revealed the spoils:
5 Rifles
15 Pistols
10 Silver Sabers
100 Bullets
and…
100,000 beris!
...It wasn't much, but it was still nice to have!
"So… where's Carina?" Hook finally asked, and Nami stiffened a bit, before sighing.
"Long gone, I guess. I asked whatever of the Fishmen were conscious before they were hauled off, and Kisame said she had robbed them blind. I don't know what's worse—that I should have seen it coming, or I'm actually surprised it happened. Guess I thought…"
"Ah, she's gone?" Hook sighed, lying down again, the exhaustion of battle still heavy on him. "Well, guess we better find her." Nami started, blinking at Hook's tired declaration. "I don't believe anything that blue bastard said, and I don't believe you would either. He probably just scared her bad enough she thought the safest bet was to run."
The room lapsed into silence, save for the cheery atmosphere outside. Nami swallowed thickly, as she fell into contemplation. "I... you might be right. If what happened to her I think happened... she might be safest running for now anyway. She wants to hide in the Grand Line," she added after a minute. "We might see her... hopefully get some answers then."
Hook's only response is a nod before moving on to his next question. "So, what happened with Kisame's sword?"
"Flopped right into the water the minute Ussop went to look it over. Looks like it somehow swam away."
Hook clicked his tongue in disappointment. "Damn. I wanted that sword." Nami's giggles greet his ears as he smiled at his successful attempt to raise her morale. Well, side mission failures aside, the main goal was accomplished...
After some more chatting, Nami pulled in an old man wearing sunglasses and a headband – the town doctor, Nako, as he introduced himself. Hook readied himself to get up and join the fun... but the damn doctor wouldn't stop pushing him back into bed! Nako cited something about bloodletting, and added that with Silk's bruises and Zoro's diagonal carving that now counted as scar tissue, on top of the poisoning and broken ribs Hook had incurred, not a single one of them should be up! He practically had to tie the other two down for their rest, and only Sanji and Ussop willingly complied. (It was learned later that Ussop tried to brag to a stick-wielding boy that he was perfectly fine and only wanted to help the doctor treat the others, but his adrenaline quickly gave out the minute the door closed, and he'd been asleep ever since, while all Nami had to do was ask Sanji to lie down, and the chef melted onto the doctor's table.)
Thankfully, the party hadn't slowed the next day or night, so once everyone got a clean bill of health, they threw themselves in with gusto! Silk started an arm-wrestling ring and was whooping all newcomers, Zoro was content with drinking quietly... which ended the minute Hook brought five rowdy drunks over for revelry, Sanji was flirting with anything that looked like a lady, and Ussop was leading a chorus of people singing his praises, literally!
Nami was nowhere to be seen, but the old guy – Genzo – told Hook that both she and Nojiko were spending the second night of the festivities in what was left of their home. The fire had razed it completely, with only a good few trees surviving the onslaught and, mercifully, Kisame's attack had only torn up the forest, leaving the grove mostly unmolested. "I wouldn't worry, kid," the scarred-up old man explained, cheeks rosy from his fifth mug. "Those three... I mean two are pretty tough! They don't blame you for it, so leave it be, huh?" Genzo then immediately joined Ussop's 156th song about his bravery, so Hook got no more info from him the rest of the night.
On the third day of the "Fishman Freedom Celebration™," Hook was hanging out with Zoro and his two former bounty-hunting cohorts, as they shared stories of some of their escapades. Granted they were blitzed to high heaven (the cure for hangovers was not hair of the dog, it was just an excuse to get drunk again!), but Zoro had three tankards over them and was still coherent enough to correct their outlandish tales.
"And... there we... were!" Johnny continued between hiccups, face rosy as a cherry.
"20 of the meanest crooks you've ever met~!" Yosaku was even worse, as he used his wobbly bro to keep upright, with his drink splashing out of the tankard.
"There were five," Zoro corrected for the sake of honesty.
"Armed... to the... the teeth with... swords and hammers!"
"And guns as big~ as your head, H-hook!"
"Two sabers, one hammer, and only two average-sized pistols."
"They lunged at – at us!"
"Me and bro took on five each~!"
"They each fought one, it was pretty close."
"But... but Big Bro-bro right here!"
"He whipped the other ten~ like it was nothing~!"
"After Johnny and Yosaku were knocked out, I cut down all five. The fight was decent." Despite his constant corrections, Zoro seemed to really enjoy hanging out with the pair, if his easygoing smile was anything to go by.
"Clakakaka! You two are great! Zoro, we should bring your bros with us!" Hook spoke up after a sip from his drink.
As Johnny and Yosaku did a spit take, Zoro sighed in annoyance. "Again with this. I'm not joining-"
"Once we meet up with Gin, we'll head straight for the Grand Line!" Hook added after he came up for air.
"OI! DON'T IGNORE ME, DAMN IT!" Zoro yelled as he chopped the back of his captain's head.
"We'll probably run into Carina too, I bet." Hook ignored the goose egg on his head as he addressed the pair of bounty hunters as well. "So, wanna come?"
"Well..." Johnny began, but his voice seemed to sputter out.
"It's just..." Yosaku picked up, but he too fell silent. They traded looks, nodded, then got up... and ran like hell away!
"See you later, Big Bro!/We'll be back later~"
"Wha-?! Where are you two going!?" Zoro roared at the fleeing pair, as Hook clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"They didn't give me an answer... anyways, how's your wound?" Tossing aside the previous matter, Hook turned back to Zoro, poking him right in the chest. He spasmed and pushed the boy away as he laughed at the reaction.
"Damn, first Silk, now you! It's fine, okay!" Morosely, Zoro looked into his mug. "That old fart... said it's a miracle I wasn't cut in half. He's only half right." Zoro scratched idly at his chest. "He wasn't trying to cut me in half... but he could have if he wanted." The 'he' in this conversation went unsaid, so Hook just nursed his drink and listened. "The gap between us..." The man sat silently, not so much looking at his drink, but staring through it like his strength was at the bottom of the mug. "See the world, huh? I wonder..." He looked back up to Hook, who sat and waited for Zoro to finish. The swordsman blinked like he suddenly realized something, before laughing. "Geez, I'm an idiot. Ok, James Hook. If I join your crew, my main goal is to become the World's Greatest Swordsman! Nothing goes before that! That means I only sail with you because only the craziest and strongest S.O.B.s are gunning for Pirate King! If you ever change your mind, if you ever mess with my goals... either I leave the crew or go through you, got it?"
Hook tilted his head at the declaration, before also laughing and responded, "Clakaka, if I ever go back on my word, you might as well take me out anyway! Welcome aboard, Training Instructor Roronoa Zoro!" Hook held up a fist, Zoro nodded with a smirk, and pounded the offered fist in solidarity.
To celebrate, the two of them had a drinking contest, drawing in enough people that Silk began leading a cheer for whoever was in the lead, mostly Zoro, with Sanji just crooning how melodious Silk sounded cheering, and Ussop was taking bets for who can avoid passing out. In the end, Genzo cut them both off after 5 barrels had been drained. Ussop, realizing too late neither of them was gonna drop, tried to close the pool early, and now found his butt being hunted by the buzzed betters to beg back their beris. All in all, great afternoon!
As Zoro wandered off for a nap, Hook snuck off with a barrel of beer from under Genzo's nose (moved as fast as Kuro for an old guy!), vowing to find Nami and Nojiko. Carrying the barrel up the hill, Hook searched around the wrecked farm first. The house sat empty and desolate; the last scar left behind from the Fishmen's reign. "Hn, no one's here." Hook frowned, looking Kisame's handiwork again. Suddenly, he grins as an idea comes to mind! "Hey… I bet I could fix this place up! Let's find out!" So, for the next hour, Hook tried to figure out how to shift and repair Nami's childhood home. It used all of his Scrap Wood from his 'pocket,' and a few other materials as well, but at least the end result was… mostly livable. Truthfully, the house looked like a wooden wreck, with nails sticking up in several directions and windows that now resembled no known shape in existence. "Damn, how does Ussop make this look easy?"
Nursing his sore thumbs, the Combo-Man heard laughter on the breeze. Following it to the grave on the cliff, Hook saw the Merry... and two specks on its deck, one orange, and the other blue! "Oh! They were on the Merry!" Hauling barrel and ass through Cocoyashi, Hook traveled to the ship, to meet the gay giggling girls.
On the Merry, the sisters jumped from one topic to another; one minute, Nojiko remarked on something from their childhood, and the next, Nami would talk about her voyages, mostly the ones with Hook and the others. After a brief pause to drink, Nojiko said, "So, you're jumping from one pirate ship to another? Shame, but I figured you'd be going anyway."
"H-huh!? Nojiko..."
"Nami," the eldest said in a knowing tone. "Your dream is to make a world map! There's no way you would have sat still after Arlong fell. But... I'm glad you're traveling with people who can keep you safe."
"Nojiko..." Nami's voice clogged with emotion at her sister's words. A comfortable silence settled between the two...
Nojiko added in a more teasing tone. "Plus, you're hanging with such cuties as well~" At Nami's blush, the bluenette laughed like a madwoman! "You can't tell me, you've been sailing with them this long and haven't noticed, Sis~! Like that passionate one? The cute blonde with a swimmer's body~?"
Nami shook her head at his sister, deciding to get playful back. "Blonde? Which-"
"Hey up there! Brought you a refill!" With one warning, Hook climbed up the ladder with one hand, barrel under the other arm. As Hook entered the scene, Nami 'eep'ed and held her bottle up to her face in a way only her glowering eyes were visible, while Nojiko's face was unhidden and flushed from intoxication, winking playfully at Hook.
"Well, hello~ cap'n! Sorry about using your ship, me and Nami just wanted to talk privately~!" the bluenette cooed drunkenly.
"That's alright. Nami's family is always welcome on the Merry!" Hook laughed off.
"Hook, what are you doing here?" Nami asked. "Shouldn't you be with everyone else?"
"You didn't show up," Hook pointed out in a manner that made it sound like Nami was the fool here. "I want to make sure everyone on the crew, even my navigator, is having a good time!"
Nami just looked at him before laughing lightly. "Hook, you helped free my home from the scummiest bastard I've ever met and managed to keep everyone safe." Nojiko motioned to her bandaged midsection. "Well, everyone alive, then! I'm having a great time, what else could you possibly do?"
"Well, I brought you a refill," Hook slapped the barrel. "Just don't tell the old guy! Plus, I fixed your house. Well, tried to fix your house. Sorry about that."
Nami sighed exasperatedly but smiled warmly. "It was rhetorical, geez..."
"Hey, Hook!" Hook raised a hand to catch the empty mug Nojiko threw his way. "You said you got us drinks, pour us some already!"
"You've had enough!" Nami chided with no heat.
"No way~" Nojiko stuck out her tongue at her little sister. "I haven't had a drop in about a year when Arlong demanded food tributes! I'm falling off the wagon today! I'm drinking to my health, your health, his health-"
"You drink like that, you won't have any health!"
"Hypo-shit!" Nojiko bit back with a small slur. "I've seen you drink three times your weight!"
Nami blushed at that, which only deepened when Hook regarded her at that comment. "I HAVEN'T STOPPED FOR A YEAR! PLUS, IT'S A GOOD SKILL TO HAVE WHEN ROBBING PARTYING PIRATES!" Hook's only response was to laugh as he served the girls their drinks. As shouts turned to laughter, the three enjoy the celebratory atmosphere until night broke over the horizon.
As day greeted the island, one thing was abundantly clear – everyone was partied out! The place was littered with empty barrels, bottles, and bodies. Among them was Zoro, unbothered with Nojiko's head resting on his abdomen, Sanji, somehow snarling in his sleep about lucky bastards, Hook, snoozing peacefully on Merry's figurehead, Silk, using Dorado as a large golden pillow, and Ussop, lying on top of his tower of tables where he was leading the party in revelry.
It was on that tower, that a bleary-eyed Ussop woke up in need to whiz, and saw an unusual sight rushing to the shore from sea...
"Oh. It's some giant fish head..." he muttered, before climbing down from the tower, finding a bush (thankfully with no people in it, because that was really hard to do right now), and relieving himself.
It was halfway through this that Ussop's bladder clamped in sudden realization. He zipped up, climbed back up the tower, and checked the ocean again. The giant fish head was notably closer... and getting more so at an alarming rate.
A/N: Next time, some boring company meeting, Hook's official appearance, and the end of the Arlong Park arc!
