Night was falling over Newport Island. In the Marine Base, a Marine dutfily patrolled the corridors, his rifle slung over his shoulder.
Turning a corner, he immediately slowed his pace, holding his rifle tightly to prevent it from clanking. Captain Helsing's office was on this hallway, and loud noises irritated him. It was this marine's philosophy in life that you didn't get very far in life by irritating people higher up than you.
Although he didn't know it, there was another person who needed this recruit to not attract any attention. Standing a few inches behind him was Raven, matching his pace easily. Even if the Marine had turned around, he wouldn't have seen anything.
"Hah. Kage Ninjutsu; Hitokage. Works like a charm." Every few steps, Raven reached out and tapped the wall with his hand. He'd been doing this for the last few hours, and he was starting to get annoyed. Finally, the tapping yielded a hollow thunk. "Finally."
Darting away from the marine's shadow, Raven was visible for a mere half-second before he merged with the shadow of the wall. Running his hand along the wall, he pressed in a hidden switch on a board. Instantly that portion of the wall slid out and inward, revealing a hidden room. Raven darted inside and the entrance swung shut.
His eyes near instantly adjusting to the gloom, Raven looked around. The room was quite small, having only room for two shelves and a table shoved against the back wall. The shelves were lined with scrolls and papers.
"Now what do we have here?" Taking one, Raven unrolled it on the table. It was a letter.
As he read it, Raven frowned. "Oh...this guy is pretty slick. Keeping all of these records wasn't very smart, though." Smirking, he rolled it back up and shoved it into his belt. He turned to leave, but then stopped. Quickly, he threw himself aside just as a throwing dagger whistled past where his head had been.
Whistling, the shinobi looked to where it had come from. "You saw me. Not bad."
Smiling, Hokushin stepped out from the corner of the room. "And you managed to dodge. Also not bad." He pointed to the scroll in Raven's belt. "I hate to skip the banter, but I'm going to need you to put that back. Captain Helsing keeps me out of jail, and I'd prefer to keep it that way."
Under his mask, Raven smirked. "Well then..." His wrist shot out, and suddenly the small room was filled with smoke. Half a second later, Raven was out into the hallway, darting along the hallway's shadows. "Catch me if you can."
"Smoke bomb? Not bad." His feet a blur, the assassin dashed after him. "I'll take that bet. And your head too, when I catch you."
"Tch." Raven ducked as another throwing dagger shot past his head. "Brandy's paying double for this."
One Piece: The Skull Pirates
Chapter Eleven: Tragedy at Sea! Drake's Past.
"Damn, you're heavy..." Grunting, Jack entered the cave, Drake slung over his shoulder. Laying Drake as best he could against the wall, he looked back to the interest. "When those guys get back, they're gonna be pissed, and this guy's in no position to fight. I'm not exactly raring to go, either."
"Boulder..." Jack turned to Drake, who was pointing to the side of the cave's entrance. Sitting there in an indent was a boulder about the same size as the entrance. "Hah, clever."
Jack walked over to it. "Don't bother getting up, I'll get it." he muttered. Gripping the rock, he rolled it over the entrance. Dusting his hands off, he turned to Drake, who was watching him. "Okay, kind of awkward."
Clearing his throat, Jack approached the merman. "Alright, I'm just gonna...don't freak out on me, okay?" Bending over, Jack lifted up Drake's shirt. "Just for the record, I like women, alright?"
Thankfully, the wound wasn't deep. As best Jack could place it, it looked like it was caused by a stab from a thin blade. But something else was odd.
"What the hell?" Coming out of the wound wasn't just blood, but a strange black liquid. "What is this?"
"The...Marine Captain here has a Devil Fruit. He did that to me when I tried to attack him." Drake spoke up.
"Oh, no kidding? Hold still." Jack bent over, and Drake stared as the pirate put his lips to the wound, beginning to suck up the fluid.
(A/N: Go on, I dare you. Say something. You know you wanna.)
Finishing, Jack turned his head and spit out the liquid, coughing. "Tastes disgusting...okay." Tearing off a piece of his shirt, he moved behind Drake and tied it tight around his wound.
"Why are you helping me?" asked Drake. Jack shrugged. "Just feel like it, that's all. Now hold still."
Drake winced as Jack sinched the makeshift bandage tight. Jack snorted. "What are you, a baby? I thought you guys were supposed to be tough."
"I thought the same thing, only about pirates." Drake deadpanned.
"Oh, funny. You're a regular comedian." Walking back around him, Jack sat down and crossed his arms. "Well, now what?"
"What do you mean?" asked Drake.
Jack shrugged. "Well, I can't beat up a wounded guy, can I?"
"I don't see why not. You are a pirate, after all." Drake replied. Jack glared. "You have kind of a bad attitude, you know that? Not all pirates are bad guys."
He thumbed at himself. "Take me, for example; do I look like a scary guy to you?"
"You're a walking skeleton."
"Well, okay, yeah..." Jack sweatdropped. "But that doesn't mean I'm a bad guy, does it? I mean, you of all people should have an open mind, right?"
"...What do you mean by that?" Drake folded his arms.
"Uh..." Jack scratched the back of his head. "Um, well, you know...you guys."
"You mean, Mermen?" Drake frowned.
"Crap crap crap crap crap crap!" Jack began to stammer. "Uh, well, I, I just mean, you know, everyone thinks you guys are evil, right, but some - I mean, most - of you aren't, right?"
"...You have a point." Drake admitted. "Of course, it's opposite for pirates. Most humans think mermen are evil, but most of us are good. However, most pirates are evil."
"Well, alright, but you know's a pirate? Arlong. You kind of look like him, too. The nose doesn't help, either." Jack reached out and flicked Drake's nose, causing it to boing up and down.
The merman caught it, looking annoyed. "If you must know, I'm only half saw-shark. This nose is from my mother."
"Oh, really? What was your dad?"
Drake grinned. "Great White."
"Why do I always get the weird ones? Why couldn't I meet a normal half-fish man?
...Well, guess I answered my own question there."
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"WHERE THE HELL IS HE!?" Screamed the red-haired man, flailing both his axes around. His eyepatch had slipped down, revealing a disfiguring scar across his eye.
"C-calm down, Red, calm down!" Shrieked one of his gang, ducking under one of the axes. "He ain't here, that's for sure!"
"I CAN SEE THAT, MORON!! GO FIND HIM AND THAT OTHER GUY! THEY COULDN'T HAVE GOTTEN FAR!"
A noise suddenly came from the pocket of Red's pants. Furiously he reached in and pulled out a vibrating Den Den Mushi. He tore the receiver off the shell and held it to his ear. "WHAT!?"
"That's not a very nice way to say hello, Red."
"B-boss?" Red's voice instantly faltered.
"You sound surprised to hear me, Red. Maybe because you're somewhere you aren't supposed to be? Like above ground, maybe?"
"N-no boss, I was just-"
"Out hunting the white whale, huh? Or shark, in this case. You're certainly a glutton for punishment, Red. He already took one of your eyes, you wanna give him an arm or a leg now too? Well, I won't fault you for enthusiasm, but I will fault you for being a stupid ass. What happens if one of those Marines from off the island see you? Our whole cover will be blown. Get back down here, right now."
"But...but..." Red stammered.
"Red. Get back here. Now. Or I'll come up. And you don't want that."
Click. Red stared at the silent snail in his hand before cursing and throwing it to the ground. He whirled on his cronies, who were staring at him. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU LOOKING AT, HUH!?"
Red seethed with anger. "Let's...let's just get back to the cave. We'll harpoon that shark later."
"...don't you harpoon whales, Red?"
"SHUT UP!"
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"Where is he? I know he said he would get into trouble, but I didn't expect him to vanish completely!" back at the Skull, Mary paced back and forth across the deck of the ship, looking worried. "And now it's nearly dark out, and this island is full of marines! Not to mention that Gerald's disappeared too."
She turned around. "Frank, you're sure you didn't see him while you were out today?"
The masked ninja shook his head. "No. Although I did see many marines patrolling the island today, I did not see the Captain, nor did I witness him being captured or fighting. If I had to guess, I would say he is safe, but unable to come back to the ship for whatever reason."
"You're right." nodded Mary. "If anything had happened to him, I'm sure we'd know about it. He's that sort of man, after all." she walked closer to the shinobi. "Frank, you're sure those marines won't find the ship, aren't you?"
Frank nodded. "Definitely." Unclasping one of the scroll canisters on his belt, he rolled out a sheet of paper on the deck. Mary leaned closer for a look and saw that it was a sketched map of the island. The ninja pointed to a set of dotted lines going in and around three Xs. In the middle of it all was a large circle.
He traced the lines with his finger. "This is the path the marines took in their patrols. They don't come near where the ship is located, so we should be safe."
Mary smiled. "You managed to make a map of the island that quickly, Frank? That's very impressive."
Frank adjusted his mask, looking embarrased. "Not really." he said modestly, "this is a basic shinobi skill. Back at home, there are people who can draw entire copies of islands, right down to the animals and people!"
Mary folded her arms. "Frank, you should be more confident with yourself! You can do lots of things that other people can't,
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"So anyway, how come you hate pirates so much?"
Drake looked up at Jack's question. "Why do you ask? It has nothing to do with you."
Jack shrugged. "Nothing, really, I'm just curious. I have a habit of running into people with interesting backgrounds."
Drake considered it for a moment. Then he nodded. "Alright." He reached up and began to take off his shirt.
Jack recoiled. "For the last freaking time, I do not swing...that...way..."
What had caused the pirate to trail off was the sight of Drake's chest. The merman's front body was riddled with scars. Four puncture wounds were most prominent. Two of them were at the top of his chest, set across from each other. The other two were set on the bottom of his chest, near his gut.
Dividing those wounds was another; a long jagged scar split his chest straight downward, as if someone had attacked him with a dagger. Dividing that was a similar scar straight across, overlapping the horizontal wound halfway down.
This formed a pattern that was very familiar to Jack, and he quickly realized why. "Looks like someone tried to draw a map of the world on his chest with a straight razor. Doesn't look like they're that recent, either."
Drake looked distant. "A pirate gave me these scars...after he killed my parents."
The cave was silent for a moment after he said that.
Jack fidgeted and scratched the back of his neck. "Sorry. Guess that's not the kind of thing you want to remember, huh?"
Drake shook his head. "No. The past isn't something that can be forgotten. Someone important taught me that. I'll tell you, since you want to know. Just remember that you're the one who asked."
He began his story.
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Years ago, on an island on West Blue...
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In the ocean of West Blue there was an ordinary island; one of many, it stood out in no way, other than that it was rather small. It had one small town of fishermen and divers, who lived normal but happy lives.
One way the town was not normal was a family of Mermen who lived there. A great white, his wife a saw shark, and their child, boy. Despite the difference in species, they got along well with the people in the village, and were soon accepted as one of their own.
The family lived a happy life there in that village...
That was, until the pirates came...
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The town was ablaze. The pirates had set fire to one building, and since they were so close, soon the whole area was alight.
In a street in the middle of the town, a great white shark merman stood in front of a house, a heavy club in his hands. In front of him was a wide stream bisecting the roads in a canal; it ran through the center of the town.
Hearing footsteps from down the road, he turned as a pirate holding a dagger and a cutlass ran at him. Dodging a jab from the knife, he swung the club into the pirate's arm, breaking it with a crack. With a pained curse, the pirate swung his cutlass. Jumping back to avoid the swing, the merman then leaped forward and swung his club. With a loud crack, the club connected with the pirate's head, knocking him straight into the stream, quickly carried out of sight.
Nodding, he shouldered his club and turned back to the building as a female saw shark came out, what possessions she could carry loaded into a strap on her back. He walked up to her.
"Are you ready?" he asked. When she nodded, he pointed down the road and out of the village. "The rest of the families are heading to the caves on the other side of the island. I want you to stay there until it's safe to come out."
"What about you?" she looked at him.
"I'm going to go help the rest of the fishermen hold off the pirates. They've been good friends to us, so I have to repay the favor."
The woman nodded. "Alright. But..." she reached forward and gripped his arm. "You'll be careful, won't you?"
The merman smiled gently, reaching forwards and brushing a strand of hair from his wife's face. "I will. I'm from Merman Island; no pirate will kill me."
Sudden movement behind his wife made him glance down. What he saw was a small merman boy, practically hiding behind the woman and glancing around fearfully. Inwardly, the merman sighed. Drake, their only child, was small for his age, and seemed timid of everything. If not for his fins, you wouldn't think he was a merman at all.
Stooping, he laid a hand on his son's head. "Drake." At the sound of his voice, the boy immediately looked up. He admired his father a great deal for being bigger and stronger than he was.
The merman looked at his son kindly. "Drake, I have to go now. Stay with your mother, alright?"
The boy looked up, worry in his eyes. "B-but..."
"Drake, listen to me. I know you're scared right now, but I need you to be brave for now, and look after your mother while I'm not there. Can you do that for me, Drake?"
"..." After a moment, Drake nodded. His father smiled. "That's my boy." He stood up and faced his wife again. Leaning forward, he gave her a quick kiss on the lips. Then he pulled back, gripped his club and set off down the street. His wife took one last look at him, and then hurried in the opposite direction.
She didn't know it yet, but that would be the last time she saw him alive.
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As Drake's father reached a corner, he paused, listening. From around the corner he heard approaching footsteps. They were uneven however, as if the person was staggering, or wounded. He gripped his club and waited.
The footsteps came closer, until the person came around the corner. The merman took a step back in shock. The man before him was clearly a pirate, but he didn't look like he'd be fighting any longer; one of the man's arms was gone, with nothing left but a bleeding stump. The pirate's left foot was also gone, forcing him to hobble on the one he had left.
Seeing the Merman, the pirate stretched out his one arm towards him. "Help...help me..."
The merman took a step backward as the pirate lurched unevenly in his direction. "It hurts...help...me...ah...AH...AHHHH!" Without warning he collapsed, blood pouring out of his mouth as he died painfully.
"What in the Four Seas?" The merman breathed. The merman tightened his grip on his weapon. Whoever - or whatever - killed this man, it must still be close.
That was when he heard it; footsteps, coming in his direction. They were light, and without any threatening heaviness, but even so the merman felt sweat slowly trickle down his forehead. His knees began to feel heavy, and his fingers trembled.
The footsteps came closer. Carried by the wind came the sound of whistling. The wordless, cheerful tune chilled him to the bone. He seemed frozen to the spot, unable to move lest he turn his back to whatever was coming. That would be suicide.
Finally, the footsteps stopped at the corner, and their cause turned it and came into view at last.
Had Drake's father been made of less sterner stuff, he might have thought that the devil was looking at him. For a moment, he nearly did. However, he quickly realized the person standing before him was a Merman, like himself; a Barracuda merman, to be precise, with a wide mouth filled with teeth, glossy black skin, and predatorial black eyes.
He was dressed all in black and purple, with long black hair down to his back. Although he wasn't as large as he was, he was tall; nearly as tall as him, and that 'almost' was only because he was leaning forward in a seemingly perpetual slouch.
When he saw Drake's father, his mouth opened in a wide smile, and he raised a hand at him. "Heya, brother. How's the night treating ya?" The hand he had raised was dripping with blood, and his clothes were covered in the red liquid as well.
Drake's father didn't answer. Answering...talking to this merman would be akin to sticking your head into a hungry sea king's mouth. The barracuda held up a cupped hand near his ear. "What's the matter? Can't talk? Eh, whatever."
He walked up to the dead pirate's body, pulled back a foot and kicked the corpse. He nodded. "Yep, definitely dead." He looked at Drake's father and smiled widely. "Didn't think he'd run this far; amazing what people can do when they're scared of dying, ain't it?"
This statement immediately unfroze the merman. Brandishing his club and teeth, he growled at the other merman. "I've never seen you on this island before. Who are you, and what are you doing here!?"
For a moment, the barracuda didn't answer, just staring at him. Drake's father tightened his grip on the weapon. "Answer me. Now!"
The barracuda grimaced and stuck a finger in his ear. "Damn, no need to shout, I'm standing right here and I can hear you just fine." He looked up and sighed, looking like he was thinking. "Well now, who am I...that'd be a long story, and I can tell you're busy, am I right? And, what am I doing here..." He smiled toothily and shrugged. "Eh, just hanging around."
"Don't screw around with me!" Drake's father pointed his club at the stranger. "What do you want!?"
"Sheesh, quit yelling already." The barracuda flipped a stray strand of hair out of his eyes absent-mindedly. "What do I want...well, there's really two answers to that question; long-term and short-term. I guess I'll answer the second one, since it's the one that concerns you...
Basically, what I want is to kill everyone in this town, including you. Well...is that a good enough answer for ya, brother?"
He smiled and took a step forward as Drake's father stood frozen. "What I wonder is why you bothered with all those questions. I mean, you saw the blood on me, right? What the hell did ya think I was doing?"
The shark merman's body reacted as the barracuda advanced, taking a step backward in response. Drake's father gritted his teeth, trying to ignore the terror that was welling up within him. "Don't come any closer...or else!"
"Heh Heh, alright, I'll bite: or else what?" smiled the Barracuda, not dropping his sickening cheery nature for a second.
"..." Drake's father couldn't speak; the barracuda's killing instinct had stolen his voice.
"No, wait, I can guess: if I come any closer, you'll do to me what I did to that guy back there, right? After all, I might be able to kill guys like that, but you're a cut above 'em, aren't ya?" He took another step closer.
Another. "What, aren't you gonna tell me if I guessed right or not? That ain't very nice."
One more. He was right in front of him now. "So...is anything wrong? Maybe it's just me, but you seem kind of...scared. Terrified, even. But maybe it is just me. People tend to get that way around me so much, maybe I just started seeing it everywhere, huh?"
Finally, he leaned in close, looking up into the eyes of the shark merman. His smile widened. "Sooooooo...I'm just gonna go ahead and kill ya, 'kay?" His left hand, which until now had been still, suddenly flexed and sprang forward with the speed of a cobra.
Self-preservation caused the great white's legs to start moving, jumping backward to avoid a blow to the neck. As he landed, he swung his club in a wide, powerful sweep. The barracuda leaned back lazily, letting the weapon swing past him. He then acted with the same sudden quickness as before, jumping forward with a kick aimed at the shark's leg.
The great white quickly recovered from the momentum of the wide swing, bringing back his club to block the kick, being pushed back slightly as the wood splintered. The barracuda hopped backward to avoid another attack, then yawned.
"Damn, you're a pain. I can understand the whole not wanting to die thing, but it's pretty unsporting for me, ya know?"
Drake's father bared his teeth. "What kind of monster are you? You think murder is some kind of joke? That it's funny!?"
The barracuda snorted. "Man, that's so cliche. If you're gonna call me names, at least make 'em original, alright?" He scratched his head. "Better think fast, though. Since, y'know, I'm gonna kill you and all. I mean, kinda hard to talk when you're dead. Guess it's not from personal experience, though."
"Stop talking like that..." The shark man's eyes momentarily turned to slits. "If you say you're going to kill me, be more serious!"
The other merman shrugged. "You really don't listen, do you? I just got done telling you I don't like cliches. What, should I cackle maniacally to the sky, or drink blood, or eat a puppy? Heck, why not all three at once? Then you'd know I was evil!"
He then smirked, and pointed a finger at the shark man. "And as for being serious...well, by your perspective, this fight must be pretty even, right? In your favor, even. You're bigger than me, and you've got a weapon. But, see, by my perspective...it's a bit different. You might not know this, but every living thing in this world that lives in the ocean gives off a special kind of energy. The people who know about this energy call it the Ripple, as in ripples on a water's surface. Few people know about this energy, but there are certain people who are able to harness this energy and summon it within themselves.
But I tend to ramble, so why don't I just show ya?" saying this, the merman began to breath, exhaling and then inhaling rhythmically. As he did, something came out of his body; an aura, the color of the deepest part of the ocean, where this barracuda had likely come out from. It spread over his body and across the ground, like a ripple in a pond. Drake's father shivered. This aura was like the barracuda's killing instinct given form.
The barracuda smiled widely, looking very pleased with this result. "One last thing. Most people know that energy as 'The Ripple of Life'. Mine, though...is more like the Ripple of Death."
The merman disappeared, and then just as suddenly was standing right in front of the shark man. Before he could make a move, the barracuda struck out with his fist, hitting the other merman in the face. While he was reeling from the hard blow, the murderer swung out his leg, knocking the shark man down the street.
Drake's father tried to get up, but with the wind knocked out of him it was painful to even raise his chest. Running toward his downed opponent, the barracuda lept into the air, coming downward with a hard punch. The shark rolled to the right, the barracuda's fist plowing into the pavement where he'd been laying a moment ago.
The barracuda pulled his fist out as Drake's father got back up, and smiled. "Should be right about...now, I think." as soon as he finished his sentence, the shark merman began to choke, his free hand going to his chest as he coughed up blood. Rather than attacking him at that moment, the barracuda simply watched with a smile on his face.
The great white lifted his head and stared at the other merman with venom in his eyes. "What...did you...do?" the barracuda cocked his head to one side. "Man, you really don't listen, do ya? When I said it was the 'Ripple of Death', I wasn't just being metaphorical. Even the slightest bit of my Ripple's energy can be poisonous to any living thing not trained to deal with it...like you." he chuckled. "See what I mean now, brother?"
The barracuda watched as Drake's father stood up. "Still standing? Aw well. When I fight people, they usually brag a whole lot, but after I hit them the first time, it tends to get pretty sad. They start begging, kissing my ass, trying to bargain...asking me to spare them, because they don't wanna die. Pretty pathetic, I gotta say. You'd be surprised what even the toughest guy will do to save his own hide. But you probably think that you're different, am I right? Made of sterner stuff than those weak humans? Well, I can't blame ya for thinking that, but-"
"DO YOU EVER SHUT UP!?" roared the other merman, suddenly charging at the barracuda and swinging his club right at the murderer's head. The barracuda shrugged, sticking out his hand and stopping the weapon completely. "I dunno. Guess I just like to have the last word. Of course, being what I am, I usually do. Kokkai Ken!"
Drake's father let out a grunt of pain as the barracuda's fist shot into his gut like a cannon. The sadistically cheerful merman stood back and watched as his opponent stumbled backward, more blood coming from his mouth. "Y'know, I feel like I should point that I could probably kill you more or less instantly in any number of ways. But I'm not gonna. It's like when you're eating a good meal. You don't just gulp it down, right? You eat it slowly, savoring every bite. Uh, not that I'm a cannibal or anything, that was just the first metaphor that I thought of."
He slowly began to walk around the shark as his poison worked away at the merman's insides, looking not unlike a shark himself, circling his intended victim. "This is kinda ironic, isn't it? 'The hunter has become the hunted', something like that, right? Course, I am a predator myself, but I'm sure you get the drift, right? Yeah, I bet you do."
He continued to circle, watching the other merman be wracked with pain. He then frowned as he saw Drake's father was simply gritting his teeth, watching him calmly with hard eyes. "...Hasn't your mother ever told you it's rude to stare like, brother?" the barracuda deadpanned.
"You're one to talk. It doesn't seem like your mother did a very good job of raising you, murderer." the great white shot back coldly. For just a moment, he thought he saw the barracuda's face twist in anger. Then the calm smile returned. "Alright, we've pretty much established that you're not afraid of me. But...why is that? Hmmm..."
He snapped his fingers. "Ah, it must be because there's someone else you're scared for, is that right?" his smile stretched wider as he saw Drake's Father freeze up for a second. "Ah, ding ding ding, we have a winner! You're scared for your family, is that right, brother? Well, hell, no reason to be ashamed of that.
Cause, I find that of all the races of the world, us Mermen have the most reasons to be afraid. Every fear is compounded ten times, plus a few special ones just for us. Fear of prejudice, Fear of enslavement, Fear of just being feared. And Fear of all of that happening to our families. It's a real bummer, right?"
He stopped as the shark man charged at him. The merman appeared to swing his club, but at the last second feinted and threw his fist forward instead. The barracuda snorted, stopping the attack cold with his palm. Undeterred, Drake's father swung his club for real. The murderer stopped this the same way. Then, smiling, using the club and arm as leverage, he boosted his legs off the ground. "Makai Nagare!"
The great white gritted his teeth in pain as his stomach was pounded by a barrage of kicks. The barracuda finished with a forceful kick that sent Drake's father sliding backward. Steadying himself, he sneered. "Is that all you've got-" he suddenly let out a choking noise and fell to his knees, large cuts appearing on his arms and legs.
The barracuda clicked his tongue. "That's what's called 'tempting fate', brother, and it's usually frowned upon by people with common sense." slowly, he walked up to the other merman."Well, I guess I might as well-" he blinked in surprise, then jumped back as Drake's father swung his club hard at him.
The shark man slowly got back up, breathing hard and bleeding from the mouth. The murderer whistled in amazement. "Damn, you don't give up easily. Are all sharks like that?"
Drake's father glared at him. "I don't care what kind of power you have...I WON'T LET YOU KILL MY FAMILY!" roaring, he threw himself toward the barracuda, swinging his club again and again. "You know..." mused the barracuda, dodging a swing from the left, "you guys that just won't give up and die, because you have family or whatever..." he sidestepped an overhead blow, "to tell you the truth," he stepped back to avoid a thrust, "...you really piss me off."
The merman's eyes suddenly turned blood red. As the club was swung again, he swung out a swift punch, and knocked the weapon out of the shark's hands and down the street. Before Drake's father could register this, the barracuda was in front of him. "Ankou...Mure!"
The murdering merman's fists moved so fast it looked like he had extra arms, striking the great white's body with powerful force. With each blow, Drake's father could feel more of that poisonous energy enter his body. He was quite sure that soon he would be dead. The barracuda seemed to know this. Throughout the barrage, his sick smile had grown larger, and his breathing was like an animal's.
Finally, it ended as the barracuda punched the other merman backward. Drake's father was clearly on his last legs; his breathing was choked, his skin was dark from internal bleeding, and he could barely stand. But even so, he still forced his hands to raise up. The barracuda chuckled. "Doesn't matter now. You're Already Dead. Good try, though...well, you never really had a chance, but good try anyway."
Smiling, he walked by the dying merman. "Well, see y- gack!?" suddenly, the shark's strong hands were wrapped around his throat, squeezing hard. "Wha, what the hell!? Let go of me, asshole!" he punched the other merman's head twice, then blinked as it slid passively backward. Then he saw that his eyes were milky and blank. Drake's father had died, using the last of his strength to give his family a chance to get away.
"Come on, leggo...c'mon! Stupid rigor mortis..." gritting his teeth, the barracuda punched at the arms gripping him tightly, but they didn't bunch. "Okay, wanna play it that way? Fine." reaching up, he grabbed hold of the dead merman's elbow joints, gripped hard, and shoved upwards. Insantly the arm broke, and the hold loosened, allowing him to slip free. Once he did, he immediately shoved the corpse over, kicking it repeatedly. "How's that, huh, how's that!? Jerk!"
Sniffing, he stopped. "Once again, I appreciate the effort, but it's not gonna do you any good...not that you can hear me, but anyway..." stooping, he laid a hand on the merman's cooling skin for a moment. Then he got up and looked around, his eyes turning red once more. "Heh, gotcha." he grinned, then began to walk off. He stopped. "Huh...wonder if that thing about crapping yourself when you die is true...aw, who cares?"
He walked off, whistling the same song he'd been when he'd run into the great white...and soon, his wife and child.
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Something was wrong. Drake's mother looked around, growing very nervous. Even after becoming a mother, her instincts had not deserted her. If pirates were attacking, why did she hear no sounds of combat? And why hadn't they seen anyone since they left the house? She looked down at her child. Despite his father's reassurances, Drake was still staying close to her. She reached down an arm and pulled him closer. They turned a corner, and stopped dead.
Leaning up against the wall was the barracuda. He raised a hand and grinned. "Yo." instantly, the merwoman shoved Drake behind her and was on guard. The murderer took a step closer, rubbing a finger in his ear and looking bored. "Look, Mrs...uh, don't know your name...but anyway, I wasted a lot of time with your husband, so I'll just make this succint. See, I am going to kill you and your kid behind you, and you, are going to...um, die. I'll try to make it quick, since even I don't like to hit a lady."
He then snatched out his hand, grabbing a knife the merwoman had thrown at him out of the air. "Buuuuuut, apparently that doesn't go both ways. Okay, fine, but let the record show that I tried to be progessive. Most husbands hit their wives, but I, the freaking mass murderer, tried to be nice, and I get a knife thrown at me. Real good."
Slowly, methodically, he stepped closer, and closer. Drake's mother backed up with each step he took, until they were at the edge of the river that ran through the village. The merwoman looked down at her son. "Drake...please, live...I love you." she then shoved him backward.
The last thing Drake saw before the water overtook him was the barracuda raising a hand toward his mother, and then everything went dark.
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Jack leaned back against the wall, scratched at his forehead, and let out a long whistle. "So, this guy shows up, says he killed your dad, says he's gonna kill you and your mom, and you only made it out because she did that...that's a bummer."
"Is that all you have to say?" said Drake. Jack shrugged. "Well, there's really nothing else I could say, is there? But...if it makes you feel better..." reaching down, Jack tugged, revealing a chain around his neck, connected to a pendant shaped like a skull. He looked at it for a moment. "...I do understand how that feels."
He put it away. "But one thing I don't get: you say you hate pirates, but what makes you think that guy was a pirate? It would make more sense if you hated other Mermen. Not that that would make sense, but-"
Drake interrupted him. "It's not only pirates. People who use their strength to hurt people weaker than them, and do it for their own amusement...anyone like that is my enemy."
Jack nodded. "Fair enough. But guys like that aren't always pirates...just like they're not always mermen."
The merman said nothing for a moment, and then smiled. "Fair enough, Jack."
The pirate motioned to him. "Well, go on."
Drake blinked. "With what?"
"With your story, of course. You're still alive, right? So of course there's more to it."
"...Alright." nodding, Drake continued his tale.
To be continued...
Next time, on One Piece: The Skull Pirates...
??: If I hadn't fished you out, you'd probably be dead by now...
Drake: I'll kill you...no matter what, I'll kill you for this!!
??: You're weak, and I'm strong. That's the way the world works, kid.
??: Very well. If that's your wish...then I'll train you.
Chapter Twelve: Inner Courage! The Power of the Ripple!
Alright, alright, I know this one took a while. Again. But I promise you that the next chapter will come sooner.
Anyway, yes, Mr. Barracuda will be a main villain later on. And yes, I did have way too much fun writing him. You'll find that I do that with villains. Not that this says anything about me, or anything...
Terms and Attacks:
Kage Ninjitsu; Hitokage: Literally, "Shadow Art; Person's Shadow". By blending in with a person's shadow, Raven can remain undetected by the bare eye. This skill is understandably useful for infiltration.
Ripple: A spiritual form of energy. Unlike Ki or Chakra, which exist inside one's self, the Ripple is gathered from the ocean, and the living things found within it, through use of a special breathing technique. This energy can be used for healing, or for combat, and although normally benign, it can be twisted by a certain technique and transformed into a deadly poison. The effects of either form of the Ripple can be fought off, if the person has great spirit.
Kokkai Ken: Literally, "Black Sea Fist". With a straight punch, a small amount of the Dark Ripple is transferred into a person's body, causing internal bleeding and great pain.
Makai Nagare: Literally, "Hell Stream". A blistering flurry of kicks, administering the Dark Ripple in a way designed to disable an opponent's limbs.
Ankou Mure: Literally, "Sea Devil Swarm". A storm of punches, each carrying a bit of the Dark Ripple. This attack is extremely dangerous, as even if the punches do not harm you, the poison carried with them most certainly will.
Reader's Reviews:
DayDreams1920: You're very welcome. I must admit, writing is quite fun. Of course, I like to think that true for all of my characters, really.
Charzonsos: Oh ho, why thank you. When I read you comment, I could barely believe someone said that about me. Thank you very much, sir.
Malchior the Draco: Stammer Well, uh, I, ah, just meant, y'know, um, since you're always, ah, talking about, ohhh, having rivals and stuff, that I f-figured...Wilt
Well, see you next time...soon.