Sol Invictus
Chapter Eight: When Words Are Enough
"I think this is the last of them," Luffy said, throwing a beaten body atop the pile of Black Cat Pirates. Black hair fell into her eyes in casual disarray as she readjusted Boshi.
"Finally!" Nami huffed, leaning against her rod. She caught her breath and groused, "This would have so much faster if the damned swordsman bothered to show up."
The two of them stood at the edge of the village nearest the road that wound to Kaya's mansion. At first glance, they were alone for as far as a passive observer would care to see, but Luffy could spot several pairs of eyes peeking at them around walls and through windows.
"Oh yeah." She looked around curiously. "Where is Zoro, anyway?"
"Probably got lost, that directionless muscle-head."
Hmm. That was a rather strong possibility.
She found it impressive, really, that her first mate could get so utterly lost everywhere and anywhere, but Nami didn't seem to think the same. Regardless, someone would have to go retrieve him, and since her navigator still looked a little winded…
"I'll go look for Zoro, then! Nami, wait here, okay?"
"Fine. Look in the forest, that's where I last saw him."
"Alright!" Luffy bounced off into the collection of trees nearest to her with a grin.
Wait until Zoro sees what he missed!
(And by no means had she forgotten about Kuro. But at this point she could only clench her fists and hope that nothing had befallen Kaya, that Usopp had been enough on his own, that Kuro hadn't found them yet...)
This guy is annoyingly fast.
Zoro's eyes followed the flash of black with his eyes, trying to discern some sort of pattern. It dove in, and he caught the kitten nails with his swords. Black eyes daggered at each other and then Kuro pushed off again, knowing better than to try to overpower the so-called demonic beast in physical strength by now.
The three sluggishly bleeding lacerations on Zoro's side bore witness to his own carelessness, having underestimated the other man at first. The marines did not give away sixteen million beli easily; the shallow gashes littering his body attested to this.
Kuro, however, had gotten the far worse end of the stick, haggard and heavily wounded, his black suit mauled beyond repair and his skin ridden with gouges. Treacherous blood tagged the underbrush in a mosaic of red. Too many times the ex-pirate had escaped death by only a few inches, thanks to that bothersome speed of his, but just one last strike and the man would be out like a light.
The problem was, such had remained true for the last several minutes and Zoro still didn't have a head to take back to his captain.
Luffy was the only one - male or female, human or beast, alive or deceased - he had ever tamed himself for, and his role as her first mate meant that he could not allow insults against her pride to go unpunished. He found himself rather in accord with the title Luffy had offhandedly bestowed on him because if this bastard was any indication, that was one duty he would never rid himself of. Now, however, it would not be for the bounty.
'Pirate Hunter' indeed.
So if Kuro would just stand still for a moment and let him do his job, instead of turning tail and running off into that densely packed thicket...
Shit.
"Coward," Zoro spat under his breath as he gave chase.
Usopp panted and slumped against one of the few intact trees remaining in the rounded copse. Across the way was Kaya, who sat curled defensively towards a low trunk, and in between them sprawled the unconscious body of 'Jango', or so the weirdo had called himself. Wisps of smoke spiralled from the man's face where his final Kayaku Boshi had impacted, finally knocking the persistent bastard out. Just in time, too; a few moments later, and Kaya would have been writing out her own will, and nothing would protect her from death once that paper was signed.
Usopp had... beaten him.
He had really - he had really beaten an actual pirate! Him! Sure, he'd been more terrified than he was willing to admit, and sure, he had never been in so much pain in his life, but for this glow of pride, of triumph, it was more than worth it.
That wasn't to say that their problems were over yet.
He limped over to Kaya and reached out his hand. "Come on, we have to go before Klahadore finds you."
She shook her head, blonde strands forming a halo around her shoulders, and stubbornly refused to take it. "There must be some kind of mistake - Klahadore isn't a pirate! He can't be. You must have seen wrong - or - or he was framed."
"Kaya..." Usopp said, almost regretting having to do this to her. Should he lie? Tell her that he'd seen wrong, that her faithful butler wasn't actually Kuro, the cutthroat pirate?
But it was too dangerous. The threat of Kuro still loomed darkly over both their heads, and if he foolishly allowed her to trust him... well, that would get her killed. If he knew that she would be forever be safe from the wretched pirate he would do something like that without a beat, but the man still lingered somewhere in this very same forest and could stumble across them at any moment. Usopp sometimes preferred his fibs to reality, but he refused to endanger Kaya in such a way.
"Kaya, listen to me." He bent down and looked her straight in the eye, to make sure she knew that he wasn't lying, would never lie about something like that. "Kaya, my eyesight is two point five. There was no way that I saw wrong. And there was no way I heard wrong, or misunderstood anything. Klahadore isn't the man you know. You can't trust him. Please, I don't want you to get hurt!"
Tears formed a film over brown irises. "U-usopp-san, I don't - I can't - "
His heart broke for her. The revelation that the man she trusted and relied on most in the world had only been using her for her fortune, it wouldn't come easily to anyone.
"For now, just... let's get out of here first, okay?"
She nodded, and finally took ahold of his outstretched hand. He took a moment to marvel at the sight of her pale fingers against his tanned skin, at how soft her hand was, but reminded himself that this was no time for that.
A rustling in the bushes caught both their attentions, and Usopp slowly backed Kaya against another tree so he could stand in front of her. Their hands were still intertwined.
"Sheesh!" someone cried. "I hate thorns!"
Huh? That was... that was Luffy's voice!
"L-Luffy?" Kaya tremulously called from behind him.
"Eh? It's Kaya!"
Something red and blue and yellow shot out of the bushes and rolled to a stop at his feet. Luffy grinned up at him from where she lay splayed on the ground, her straw hat - miraculously still on her head - pushing against his toe. Her clothes were a mess, torn at places with leaves clinging to her skin and twigs snagged into the folds. She didn't seem to be hurt anywhere, which was a relief.
He was worried that her commotion had brought unwanted attention to them but the way she was so gleefully chaotic still brought a smile to his mouth. Kaya giggled from behind him and stepped forward, letting go of his hand to help Luffy sit up and brush debris from her clothes and hat.
"What are you doing here, Luffy?"
"Ah, I'm looking for Zoro! Have you seen him?" The girl glanced around wildly, as if she thought that mentioning the man's name would summon him, before pausing when she noticed Jango's slumped form on the ground several feet away. "Hey, isn't that the weirdo hypnotist…?"
Kaya looked down at her knees and nodded.
There was only silence as Luffy properly took in the glade she sat in, the multitude of trees felled by the unconscious pirate, the bedraggled state of both Usopp and Kaya, the injuries littering his body, the scared look darkening her face. The pirate's features became grimmer and grimmer with every revelation that flashed through her eyes.
And then, she smiled.
"I'm glad you guys aren't hurt too bad. Usopp must have been really brave, huh?" Somehow, the beam she gave him filled him with more warmth than even the actual victory had.
He couldn't help but to grin back. "Of course! You can always count on the Great Captain Usopp for all your worries!"
"Is that so," a cold voice cut in. Usopp froze. His heart thundered in his ears, loud and fast and insistent. "Then I suppose you could tell me why that Jango is taking a nap instead of doing what I told him to."
"K-K-K-K-Kuro!" Usopp whipped around and directed his ginga pachinko at the pirate. "Stay back! I won't let you hurt Kaya!"
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see his friend begin to slowly digest the sight, shock settling into her as she realized that her dear guardian had turned into… this. Even though blood ran down his temples in streams, even though his finely kept clothes were now more rags than anything else, the man retained the presence of predator, sleek, lithe and incredibly dangerous - a murderer through and through. His countenance was decidedly pinched however, stretched taut and thin from exhaustion. Whoever that Zoro guy was, he had really done a number on this infamous pirate. Where was he, anyway?
"Kaya, did you say? That saves me the trouble of tracking that idiot girl down." Kuro angled his gaze past Usopp to see Kaya partially hidden behind him. Concealed by the both of them was Luffy, who had gone silent, though he couldn't see her expression to determine what she thought of this new development. The other pirate's dark eyes narrowed as his mind visibly began to develop a new plan of action. He readjusted his glasses, bringing attention to the remaining blades on his gloves. "Threatening the life of your dearest Usopp-san should have the same result as hypnosis, don't you think?"
"No - !" Kaya yelped, scrambling to her feet. A deathly smirk curving his mouth, Kuro leapt forward in a blur that even Usopp, with his prodigious eyesight, couldn't follow. It sped towards him was nearly upon him he could see his demise rushing at him like a trainwreck he could do nothing to stop it
The habitual liar suddenly bowed forward when something landed heavily on his back; his hands fell to the ground to prevent him from face planting into the dirt as he was used as a springboard. Shocked, he craned his neck up.
Kuro had been stopped by a fist to his face.
Usopp's mouth dropped open. "Wha…"
"I hate people like you," Luffy snarled, her hand still embedded in Kuro's temple. She reared her other arm back and slammed it into the other pirate's jaw, sending him crashing to the other side of the clearing. "Planning to kill off all your nakama just so you can carry on undisturbed, playing with people's emotions for years like they're nothing, running away from the life of a pirate just because you think it's inconvenient..." she listed, stalking towards the still body, slumped against a tree.
For a moment, Kuro didn't so much as twitch, and Usopp almost thought he was dead. But he opened his mouth and spoke. "Oh? You seem to know quite a bit about me. That's right," he huffed in amusement. "All of what you say is true. But what about it? Is there anything wrong with wanting a peaceful life? Those reckless cretins aren't worth my time anyway. Not a single person will care if they live or die, because a crew's only purpose is to be used as the captain sees fit."
Can a person really be this horrible?! Usopp thought with a gasp. Exactly how little did he think human life was worth? And to think that this bastard had been loitering around Kaya for years!
"What a pathetic little man you are." A voice broke Usopp from his scrutiny. "You don't know anything about being a real pirate."
Despite the clear exhaustion undermining his every twitch, Kuro still managed to lurch forward angrily, eyelids snapping open. "What did you say?"
Luffy stopped in front of the man, her arms hanging loosely by her sides. If Kuro was mad, then her eyes were absolutely furious, searing Usopp's skin from even this distance. "First of all. It isn't the captain that makes the crew. It's the crew that makes the captain. And secondly," the girl dug her fingers into Kuro's shoulders and reared her head back. He watched in amazement as her neck streeeetched in a way that couldn't possibly be human, reaching up to several feet in length. "Don't set out to sea if you aren't prepared to risk your life! Idiot!"
Her forehead slammed against Kuro's with such force that the tree behind Kuro's head shattered into pieces, and the man went soaring into the air, specks of blood and spittle flying from his mouth, pupils rolled to reveal the whites of his eyes, glasses knocked askew.
Usopp could only gape.
To be very frank.
The Majū was pissed.
Of all the times to get turned around, he thought, irritated. Stupid fucking trees, all looking the same. Stupid fucking pirate, throwing me off his trail.
Zoro's hand instinctually fell on his sword handle when he felt something rushing at him from behind. Two of his blades were smoothly pulled out as he turned, but a streak of red and yellow caught his eye in time and he managed to resheath them in the very same moment. Instead, the momentum of his arms were used to catch an airborne girl by the waist.
"Nishishi!" Wild flyaway black hair and large vibrant brown eyes and softly rounded cheeks and a pert upturned nose - it was most definitely his little captain. Her arms curled over his shoulders and she hung from his neck like the monkey she was. "I found Zoro!"
"Luffy." There was a pause, and he knew she had seen the wounds on his back, knew that she had noted he had nothing to show for them, that he hadn't even finished the job properly. "... I'm sor – "
With a knowing look in her eyes, she interrupted with an, "You worked hard, Zoro."
"I did nothing," he told her, the wind carrying the smell of blood on her knuckles from around his throat.
"Shut up, stupid." A wide grin stretched her mouth. "If I say good work, then Zoro has to just accept it."
Then...
"... It was nothing," he said, the tension in his shoulders beginning to melt away.
Her grin widened, and he knew she understood. "Let's go. Nami's waiting!"
"Aa."
She dropped from his shoulders and grabbed his hand and he let her pull him along in the direction of the village, her palm warm against his own.
"Nami! Nami! Nami!" a familiar voice yelled cheerfully. The aforementioned woman turned to see Luffy waving with frantic energy as she trotted towards her with an impassive Roronoa Zoro in tow. "Look! Look! I found him!"
"Stuuupid," Nami mumbled to herself, with a helpless little smile. "I can see that already."
When the two of them got close enough, Luffy released Zoro's hand and pounced on her, making the orange haired woman stumble back from the sudden weight. "I did well, right?"
If the girl had a tail, it would be wagging furiously. A bright, eager face peered up at her, and Nami felt a sweatdrop forming on her temple. Now that the crisis is over, back to being carefree again, is that it? she thought with exasperated fondness. (Fondness? No, it was just exasperation. Wasn't it?)
"Yes, yes, you did a good job."
Luffy's eyes crinkled with her smile. "Nami too!"
She paused in surprise. "What?"
"Nami did a good job too!" Long lashes lifted open to reveal warm chocolate. "Thanks for your hard work today!"
"You too," Nami replied automatically.
When... when was the last time someone had sincerely said this to her? Not since the day Bell-mère had died, at the least; Arlong said it too, sometimes, but it was a shallow platitude that fell from his serrated teeth, nothing so earnest as this.
She was hit by a wave of nostalgia. Years back, after a hard day of harvesting from the plantation, Bell-mère and Noji and Nami would laugh as they greeted each other in this way, each carrying different sized baskets filled with oranges. The twilight would paint the sky in warm colours, the brisk breeze a welcome balm against their sun-warmed shoulders, the tangy aroma of ripe tangerines tickling her nose, and her heart would feel so, so full because they weren't the richest family, but they were, they were family, and they loved each other.
Ah, she thought. Damn it.
By comparing Luffy and Bell-mère, she'd just made it more difficult for herself to leave if - when, she reminded herself - it became necessary. In an attempt to backtrack, she tore her eyes away from Luffy's sunny beam and glanced to Zoro instead, only to feel her lips quirking in amusement.
Sharp eyes picked out the tension in the corners of the fearsome pirate's mouth, the way his fingers curled ever so slightly, as if to catch the dissipating heat.
What are you, seven?
He was sulking that Luffy had left him for her. He probably wouldn't ever admit it, but he was definitely sulking.
Ha. What a captain, to reduce the both of them to this. It was both impressive and frightening.
Nami shook her head and disentangled herself from Luffy's arms. "The villagers have called for the marines already, so we don't need to worry about those guys anymore," she said, gesturing to the pile of Kuroneko pirates several feet away. The Usopp guy had added two new bodies to the bunch since Luffy had left to find Zoro. She recognized one of the faces; Kuro of a Hundred Plans, reportedly captured by the marines years back. The wimp hadn't seemed nearly strong enough to go up against a sixteen million beli head and win, so it had to be...
Her eyes raked over her two crewmates and categorized their various wounds. Luffy was mostly fine but for a few scratches and a bit of blood on her knuckles - and a few specks on her forehead, what was that about? - but Zoro's shirt had to be scrapped and his spine was set a little stiff - likely from some sort of injury on his side - not to mention the strange claw marks marking his skin here and there. Nothing too bad, and not nearly life threatening. He'd be fine after a bit of rest.
"But Nami," Luffy said, cocking her head. "We're pirates too."
"We should be fine; none of us have a bounty, so they won't recognize us as pirates as long as we keep our mouths shut - "
Zoro snorted to let her know what he thought of that idea. "This one here, keeping her mouth shut?"
Nami stared at Luffy's open face. She thought of the last few days.
"Alright, the marines are going to arrive by late evening," the navigator smoothly continued, as if she wasn't contradicting her earlier words at all. "So we'll have to stock up and get out of here by nightfall."
"But what if these guys wake up after we're gone?"
"What if they wake up after we're gone?"
"They'll attack the people!"
She'd let herself get swept up in Luffy's pace earlier, so she hadn't thought much of it, but now, she couldn't help but realize that — "Luffy, that's none of our business."
There was nothing tying them to this quaint little town, no reason to go out of their way to protect it. Helping out the villagers when faced directly with danger was one thing, but purposefully inconveniencing herself for the off chance that they may be endangered again? Why would she do that?
"Yes it is," the girl said, resolute. Eyes of burnt umber bore into her own. "Because Kaya and Usopp are our friends. So it is our business."
Friends, huh?
There was no changing Luffy's mind at this point, was there? Not that she really felt up to it. Nami sighed in resignation. "They won't wake for a few hours, at the least. If we throw these guys on their ship and push it out to sea — judging from the wind, and the air pressure, and the movement of the clouds, they won't be able to return here if we take their compasses. Besides, they'll probably be found by marines before they wake up, so it should be fine."
"Nishishi!" Luffy leapt at her in another hug. "Thanks, Nami! You're the best!"
Well it isn't like you really gave me a choice, the navigator thought with a wry smile, but she accepted the embrace anyway.
Honestly though, she'd robbed them blind earlier when Luffy had gone to find Zoro. Without supplies or any sort of direction, those pirates would probably die of dehydration or starvation out at sea.
It'd probably be best if Luffy wasn't ever told about such details. The kind of person she was, it was possible that she'd have those deaths on her conscience until the day she died. Luckily, the girl was optimistic to the point of fault; she wouldn't think of such scenarios herself.
Normal people were one thing, but Nami couldn't care less about what happened to these men, rotten pirates that they were. Zoro likely thought the same, seeing as how he was keeping silent despite the acknowledgement in his black eyes. And that eavesdropping Usopp wouldn't mention anything that would help the bastards who attacked his village.
Nami appreciated when things could be wrapped up as neatly as this.
"Going to deliver Binks' Sake!" Luffy belted, as she trooped down the nearly empty road. A large sack was slung over her shoulder, bulging with supplies. "Following the sea breeze! Riding on the waves!"
Not bad, Usopp decided, his knees shaking. Not exactly a voice he'd pay to hear, but she would be fun to sing with.
Stop delaying, he chided himself. Just ask her! She said we were friends, didn't she? Courage! You're a brave man of the sea!
Now if only if were that easy.
"L-Luffy!"
"Far across the salty depths – Oh! It's Usopp!"
Usopp let out an 'Eep!' when she changed course and started walking towards him, waving wildly and grinning just the same.
courage courage courage courage
"Aha! Ahaha! What nice weather we're having, right?" He wanted to smack himself. So much for brave man of the sea. No, no, he could still ask, there was still time…
"Eh, is it?" She tilted her head back and watched the clouds far above spiral through their blue canvas, the faintest strains of pink beginning to highlight edges of fluffy white. It had been the exact same yesterday. "I guess?"
"I-I'll join your crew if I get to be captain!" Ah, no, that wasn't what he wanted to say either! That damn pride of his had taken over his tongue again!
"No way!" Luffy said, her brows quirked in irritation. "I'm captain! Sheesh, if that's all you were going to say, I'm going."
The girl hefted her bag back over her shoulder and began to shuffle away again, her small sandals tmp-tmp-tmping against packed earth.
Hey, hadn't Kaya been wearing those earlier? Usopp wondered detachedly. Luffy must have lent them to her.
Slim ankles traveled farther and farther away, and his heart thundered furiously in his ribcage.
Just say it just say it just say it JUST SAY IT
And the words burst from his chest before he could hesitate any further. "LUFFY! CAN I JOIN YOUR CREW?"
She paused for a moment, then continued walking, as if she hadn't heard him.
Of course she wouldn't let me! I'm useless and a coward and a weakling and a wimp and...
His head drooped further and further until it was hanging limply from his neck, nails digging bloody welts into the flesh of his palms.
Soft footsteps stopped. Then, suddenly, a bold voice demanded, "Why aren't you packing? We leave in an hour, you know."
Usopp's head whipped up so fast he nearly gave himself whiplash. "O-of course! I was just deciding what to bring!"
"Shishishi!" She grinned at him over her shoulder and he found himself grinning back. "We'll be waiting at the beach!"
As he watched her walk away, Usopp would swear up and down and side to side that he wasn't tearing up, at all.
Obviously.
"UWOO!" Luffy cheered, as she saw the ship that awaited her. A sheep figurehead smiled back at her, clear varnish gleaming bright and new against the glare of the ocean. "So awesome!"
"I'm glad you like it," Kaya said, tucking a strand of blonde behind her ear. Her white dress swirled around her ankles from the sea breeze. "Merry designed it himself."
"Indeed," said the man. "Her name is the Going Merry. I've already explained how to maneuver her to your navigator, but if you would also like to know, I'd be happy to tell you."
"What are you talking about?" She cocked her head and squinted at him. "You make it sound so complicated. Just wait for a nice wind to come by and hope it takes you to the right place, isn't it?"
He gave her a horrified look. "O-on the other hand, perhaps it is for the best that I talked to your navigator first, yes."
"Luffy... you're going now, right? Even though we only met this morning, I – I really will miss you!"
Luffy grinned wide and attacked the taller girl with a hug. "Stupid, don't say that like we'll never see each other again! Once I become Pirate King, we'll definitely come back to visit, and then you can throw us a feast!"
Kaya giggled and rubbed away an errant tear. "Of course!"
The pirate was struck by a thought. "Actually... Kaya, do you have a den den mushi?"
The ojou-sama brightened and hopefully turned to Merry. "Do we?" Please say yes, her eyes begged. Her delicate features fell when he shook his head.
"Well, that's okay too," Luffy said, not at all discouraged. "We don't have one either, but once we do, I'll mail you the number straight away! And then you can get one, and we can talk all the time!"
Kaya laughed and nodded eagerly at her.
"Oi, Luffy!" The girl glanced up and waved at Nami, who stood waiting on the deck of their new home. "If you're here, we should get going already!"
"Not yet," Luffy replied. "We're waiting for one more person."
Kaya turned to look at her sharply. "You don't mean – "
"YOU HAVE DONE WELL WAITING!" someone announced loudly. "But fear not! THE GREAT CAPTAIN USOPP IS HERE NOW!"
Her new sniper stumbled towards them with an enormous backpack hitched to his shoulders, grinning from ear to ear. His expression faltered when he caught sight of Kaya, however.
"Usopp-san..."
"K-K-Kaya?"
Ah, it was a super private conversation. Makino had taught her not to listen to those. Not that she usually cared, but in this particular case...
Luffy rushed to the Going Merry with arms outstretched. Gomu Gomu no Rocket, she thought, shooting herself directly onto the figurehead.
She threw her bag of supplies - ropes and stuff like that, plus a little request of her own; she'd just given the shopkeeper Nami's list and he'd gotten everything for her - to the deck and plopped herself between Merry's antlers. Crossing her legs, she grinned impossibly large at the horizon.
A new friend, a new ship, and a new nakama. She was well on her way to the adventure of a lifetime; the crashing of waves challenged her to come try her luck.
So, for good measure...
"I'm gonna be the Pirate King!" she roared to the open sea and skies and wind.
Just you wait, Shanks!
AN
*Otsukare (lit. fatigued): The shortened, much more informal version of 'otsukaresama (desu)' (lit. you are a fatigued person). For those less versed in Japanese culture, that basically means 'you worked hard' or 'thank you for your hard work'.
- I'm trying to show Zoro and Nami becoming more devoted, little by little. Is it working?
- When it comes to pirates, Nami can be rather cruel, I think. Not so much now, but back when the threat of Arlong was still looming over her head... (And Luffy is not as innocent as she thinks.)
- And since so many of you asked, I guess I'll have to answer this:
No. No new nakama. Nope, nope, nope. I just... I can't. Recruiting is so darn hard. Too many heartfelt, inspirational speeches; it really saps my energy to write. So yeah, I'm drawing the line at canon Strawhat characters. Sorry if this disappoints you!
Now, friends and allies on the other hand...
- Next chapter is on the shorter side.
Reviews
Penny Pepperup: That's a pretty good idea! If you think about it, most accounts of sea journeys from long ago come from captain's journals. It'd make sense for Luffy to write down a log of what's happening to compare with her memories, because she's beginning to cotton onto the fact that her adventures won't quite be as she expected. Thanks! :) Also, I was actually just going to 'leave Kaya on that island', as you said, but people seem to have become fond of her? Somehow? So I added that last part. I dunno if that'll affect anything yet, but we'll see.
[03/22/2017: took out most the gratuitous Japanese.]