Cursed Sword
Treasure
"Are we there yet?" Lami asked. Sweat rolled down her back from the heat of the jungle. Her feet throbbed from both the heat and from walking for so long. If it weren't for all the hazards on the jungle floor she would have ripped her shoes off and walked barefooted. But she knew her dad wouldn't like that one bit.
"If you ask that one more time, I'm going to purposefully lose you in the jungle!" Fugu said.
"Do that and you'll have one mad pirate crew breathing down your neck," Lami said. "You have no idea how sadistic my dad can be." She paused. "On second thought, do it. Go ahead."
"I'm not afraid of him," Fugu said.
"You should be." Lami grinned.
"How much farther is it?" Penguin asked breaking in between the two. "The sun's going to set before we get there. Can you make your way through the jungle at night?"
"Don't be stupid. Besides, we're almost there. Should be about four more minutes or so," Fugu said.
"Finally!" Lami said when the meeting spot came into view four minutes later. She then spotted a few of the crew had already made it there. They were sitting on the ground, looking tired from their own walk. "Bepo!"
Penguin placed Lami down on the ground.
Lami ran over to the bear and jumped in his arms. "I was hoping Daddy was with you."
"Sorry," Bepo said. "We got separated. I think he did get with Shachi and Ika though. I'm sure they'll be here soon."
"Good." She looked at the other four. "Did anyone get hurt?"
"No, we're fine," Bepo said. "Just hot."
"That's good," Lami said. "I'm glad to hear that. Here, I'll use my wind orb to give up a cool breeze for a while."
The group sat down and waited. Lami did as she said and her wind orb appeared. A half an hour later the rest of their crew finally came wondering through the jungle. Lami jumped to her feet and ran towards Law. She leaped into his arms. "Daddy!"
"Sorry I got separated from you." Law rubbed her hair.
"You're here now so it's fine. I was with Penguin," Lami said looking up at him with a smile. "Though I could do without the loud mouth blowfish."
"What did you call me?!" Fugu snapped.
"You heard me! Stupid, Blowfish!" Lami stuck her tongue out at him.
"Let's keep going," Law said. "Fugu?"
"Follow me." Fugu turned and stepped back into the jungle. He walked them around for fifteen more minutes.
"More walking? I think he doesn't have a clue where he's going," Lami said.
"Oh, I don't?" Fugu lifted a large leaf, revealing a small opening of a cave.
"It's a cave," Shachi said.
"No duh," Ika said.
"No pranks while we're inside the caves," Law said. "We don't want to cause a cave in. And, Lami, no joking around either. Keep your orbs under control."
"I will," Lami said.
"Let's go then." Fugu pulled out a flashlight, turned it on, and stepped inside of the cave.
The crew followed him. The walls were dark but for the small amount of light in front of them. It was a bit cooling inside, but still rather stuffy.
"We're going to get no where with that little light," Lami said. She summoned her fire orb. Lighting it up she formed a couple of flames all around them. The light washed over the walls, giving them more light to see.
"I hope this place doesn't turn into a maze of tunnels," Ika said.
"It shouldn't," Fugu said. "There's no way to mark the tunnels without someone noticing. So the pirates had to have a clear shot to the treasure and to get out of here."
"Blah, blah," Lami said. "How long is this going to take? We've already been walking for hours."
"We'll get there when we get there," Fugu said through clenched teeth.
"I'm getting hungry," Lami said.
"We'll get something once we're out of here," Law said.
"It better be soon," Lami said.
"Here eat this." Penguin pulled an apple out of his pocket.
"And Penguin saves the day! You're the best!" Lami took it and sunk her teeth into it. She hummed in delight of the treat's juices running over her tongue. Finally, after forty minutes of walking, they entered into a large cavern. Her flames flowed over room causing all of the gold and jewels to sparkle at them.
"It's real!" the crew cheered. They spread out around the room and started picking through the treasure.
"I knew it was real." Fugu stepped up to a pile. Kneeling down he started pawing through it.
Lami walked around the area, eyeing the treasure before a dark presence caused her to shiver. Turning she found the sword Fugu mentioned. The darkness was coming from it. The sword was taller then her dad. Its shield was black with white crosses over it. "Hey, Daddy? What's wrong with this sword? There's something coming from it."
"It's a cursed sword," Law said walking over. "Don't touch it. Curse swords can only be wielded by person that it wants to wield it."
"How can a sword be picky?" Lami asked.
"It just is," Law said.
"You going to try and pick it up?" Lami asked.
"Might as well. A sword would be a great weapon with my devil fruit." Law reached out. His hand paused an inch from the hilt before he finally grasped it. He pulled it from the pile and unsheathed it. The blade shimmered in her fire.
"You did it," Lami said. "The sword is yours now."
Law nodded. The sword felt right in his hand. He knew he found the weapon he was meant to find.
"Got it!" Fugu said.
Lami turned in time to see him shoving something into his pocket. He moved too quickly for her to see what it was.
"We should have moved the ship closer to this location," Shachi said. "It's going to take us forever to carry this all back to the ship. And not to mention keeping it a secret from other pirates that'll still be here."
"The captain can warp it to the ship," Penguin said.
"That's going to be a lot of warping," Shachi said. "His devil fruit zaps his energy, remember?"
"I can fly it with my wind orb," Lami said. "I don't want Daddy running out of energy."
"Good plan," Bepo said.
"We should wait a little longer before returning to the ship," Law said. "I want to make sure the Navy are gone."
The crew nodded in understanding. They continued to look through their find to see what all was in there.
"So does this mean the blowfish is part of the crew now?" Lami asked.
"If that's what he wants," Law said. "He's welcome to join the crew."
"Great." Fugu smiled.
Lami rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Great."
Over the next hour the Heart Pirates spent their time counting the money they had acquired. Lami helped them for a while before she grew bored and tired. So she curled up next to Bepo's side and fell asleep watching Law practice with his new sword.
"Lami, wake up," Law called for her.
"Huh?" Lami opened her eyes. "What?"
"It's time to go," Law said.
"Okay." Lami yawned and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She stood up. Next thing she knew, Law's Room was around them, and they were out of the cave. "Well, that was quick."
"I just hope the Navy's gone by now," Ika said.
"It's too bad you didn't have time to set up pranks for them," Shachi said.
"I know." Ika sighed. "Maybe next time."
"You set up pranks for the Navy?" Fugu asked.
"When I have time," Ika said with a big grin. "They don't call me the Jester of the Hearts for nothing."
"They actually call you that?" Fugu stared at him.
"Ika is the joker of the crew. And he's incorporated jokes into his fighting style," Penguin said. "So beware. He will target you at some point in time." He placed his hand on Lami's head. "And he pulls her along for the right."
"Hey! I do not pull her anywhere! She chooses to help me!" Ika said.
"Me? I'm only a child." Lami fluttered her eyelashes innocently.
"A child? More like a demon in disguise," Fugu said.
Lami kicked his shin.
"Ouch!" Fugu growled.
Lami dove behind Law. She peaked out and stuck her tongue out at him.
Law sighed while rubbing his temple.
"You are going to get on my nerves," Fugu said.
"Then don't join the crew," Lami said.
"Oh, I'm joining," Fugu said. "You're not going to stop me."
"Let's keep going," Law said. "I'm going to warp us a few more times. Lami, I want you to take over there. Fly us back to the ship. Can you handle that?"
"Of course I can," Lami said nodding.
"If you get tired tell me and I'll take over," Law said.
Lami nodded.
Law held up his hand. He warped them four more times before turning the control over to Lami.
Lami summoned her wind orb. Lifting them and their treasure into the air, she flew them towards the town.
"We better go a little higher and see if the Navy's still there," Shachi said.
"Okay." Lami took them a few feet higher. She flew them over the docks a couple times. They didn't see any Navy ships in the area. Panting, she lowered them down to the deck. When they were about twenty feet above it, her winds waivers. "I can't hold it any longer."
"Room. Shambles." Law warped them onto the ship.
Lami dropped to her needs, her orb faded. Sweat beaded on her forehead as she tried to catch her breath.
"What's wrong with her?" Fugu asked.
"Lami's powers are connected to her strength," Law said. Kneeling down he checked Lami's pulse. "The more she uses it the more physically tired she becomes. We think she'll grow stronger as she gets older, but we also think that she'll have a limited use of her orbs since it's connected to her strength."
"Does she have any other weaknesses?" Fugu asked.
"Why? You want to use them against me?" Lami glared at the man.
"I'm only asking in case you lose control over your orbs," Fugu said crossing his arms over his chest.
"We are unaware if she has any other weaknesses at this time," Law said. "I'm sure she does. If she didn't then she, and anyone else that might have this gift, would be over powerful. We just haven't run across them yet."
"So she's not the only one?" Fugu asked.
"We're not sure," Penguin said. "Like it's already been said, the captain found Lami when she was a baby. Considering she appears to have been born with this gift, we assume that she got it from her parents."
"I've never heard of anyone being born like this," Fugu said. "What if her parents are still alive and looking for her?"
"We'll deal with that if they show up," Law said.
"I'm not leaving you," Lami said. "You're my dad. And the crew's my family."
"Of course we are," Law said. "No one is ever taking you away from us."
"Good." Lami nodded.
"Let's get this treasure inside before someone sees it," Law said.
"Aye, Captain," the crew said. Some of them started moving handfuls inside of the ship while others grabbed some sacks to move bigger sections of it.
Law stayed on the deck. Half keeping an eye on Lami as she recovered and half keeping an eye out for anyone that would try and take their treasure.
"We're done," Penguin announced a little while later. "How about we go into town and celebrate?"
"Yeah!" the crew cheered.
"Can we, Captain?" Shachi asked.
"Fine. But do not talk about the treasure," Law said. "I don't want anyone knowing we found it."
"Aye, Captain," the crew said before heading off into town.
"Is it all right if I go with them?" Lami asked.
"It's fine. Just do not run off without someone with you," Law said.
Lami nodded. She ran down the gangplank and took a hold of Penguin's hand and Bepo's paw.
"You coming, Fugu?" Shachi asked when the man headed in another direction.
"There's something I have to take care of," Fugu said. "I'll catch up with you later."
"Okay," Shachi said.
"Hey! There's the tavern!" Ika said.
"Yuck," Lami said. "Do we really have to go in there?"
"This is a celebration, kid," Ika said.
"You're children," Lami said.
"We are not," Ika protested. "We're old enough to drink. Besides we're pirates."
"I can take Lami elsewhere," Bepo said. "I don't really drink anyway."
"Would you, Bepo?" Lami smiled.
"Yeah." Bepo nodded.
"Don't keep her out too late," Penguin said with a wave before entering into the building.
"I won't," Bepo said. "We'll get some ice cream and walk around for a while before heading back to the ship."
"See you later," Lami said. The crew bid her their goodbyes before heading into the tavern. "Before we get ice cream can we see what Fugu is up to?"
"Why would you want to do that?" Bepo asked.
"I'm just curious." Lami grabbed his paw and pulled his away from the tavern. "He took something from the pile. Only one thing. I want to know why. He went this way."
"Hey! Slow down!" Bepo said.
Lami continued to pull Bepo through the town. The chattering if people started to give way to crickets as the night grew closer.
"Are you sure you know where you're going?" Bepo asked.
"This place is big but not that big," Lami said looking around. She then spotted him coming out of a flower shop. "There he is! He brought flowers? Why? Think a jerk like that has a girlfriend?"
"It's possible," Bepo said. "Though I doubt he would willingly leave so easily if he did have one."
"Come on." Lami followed after him. They followed him all the way through the town and into a quieter neighborhood. The crickets became louder. Fugu walked up to a small house. He knocked on the door then walked inside. They snuck up to the window and looked inside. "What's he doing?"
"I don't know," Bepo said.
Lami grabbed the window ceil. She pushed it up and found it was unlocked. She pushed it open an inch so they could hear him.
"I finally found it," Fugu said.
"Really?" an elderly voice said.
Lami turned to her right. There was an old woman sitting on the couch with a blanket over her lap.
Fugu reached into his pocket and pulled something out. "Here."
"Thank you." The old woman held up her hands. "Thank you so much."
A chain fell from Fugu's hand. At the end was a golden ring.
"I thought I'd never see it again," she said pressing the object to her chest.
"I'm sorry it took me so long to find it," Fugu said.
"It's fine," she said. "I can finally rest now. My dear Marcus is finally back with me."
"Marcus?" Lami asked.
"Maybe it's her husband," Bepo said.
"So Fugu only wanted to find that necklace to give it back to that old lady?" Lami asked. "Why?"
"Gifts can bring a person great joy. And a wedding ring is a very sacred one," Bepo said. "Since the ring and necklace was in a pile of treasure I think it's safe to assume that it was either taken away from her or her husband lost it and his life to pirates."
"Oh." Guilt tapped on her heart. Maybe Fugu wasn't as bad of a guy as she first thought, not that she still didn't think he was a jerk of course.
"We should get out of here," Bepo said. "The captain will not be happy to find us spying on a crewmate."
"Fine. Let's go get that ice cream," Lami said. She closed the window. The two walked away from the house. Getting back into town they got their ice cream from a stand, then a couple sandwiches from another stand, and headed back to the ship to help Law guard the treasure. Upon arriving they found Law was practicing with his new sword again. "Looking good, Daddy."
"How does it feel, Captain?" Bepo asked.
"Amazingly well," Law said swiping the blade through the air. "I never thought I would find a weapon that felt so natural to me. And one that fits in with my devil fruit powers."
Using her wind orb, Lami sat upon the railing to watch her dad practice with his sword. He swung his sword around, slicing up a barrel before putting it back together. "Hey, Daddy, will you teach me how to use the sword?"
"Remember, Lami," Law said. "It's a cursed sword. I'm the only one who can touch it."
"So we can get me a different one," Lami said.
"Why the sudden interest in swords?" Law gave her a curious look.
"Oh, no special reason," Lami said before licking her ice cream. She stiffened when Law walked over and took a lick of the vanilla ice cream.
"And I suppose this had nothing to do with Fugu coming onto the crew," Law said. "And you had better had something else to eat besides this ice cream."
Lami's cheeks flushed. "No! And yes. I also had a sandwich. Bepo had one too."
"Sure it doesn't have anything to do with him," Law said. "You're not allowed to handle swords. And you're certainly not going to learn how to use them."
"You're no fun!" Lami whined.
"I'm trying to preserve our crew," Law said. "We need them alive."
"They are alive," Lami said licking her ice cream. "I was just curious."
"You're bad enough with your powers." Law ruffled her hair before going back to his sword practice.
Lami long finished up her ice cream by the time the rest of the crew came back to the ship. Among them was Fugu. He had a bag slung over his shoulder, ready to leave with them in the morning. She frowned and wrinkled her nose when he shot her a smirk. Shachi led Fugu on a quick tour of the ship, mostly to separate her and the new crewmember.
"Lami, I expect you to behave," Law said.
"I always behave." Lami smiled.
"Lami," Law said with that warning tone that she knew all too well.
"Okay, okay," Lami said. "I'll try not to be a complete pain to him. But don't expect me to grow to like him."
"Well, it's a start," Law said. "Now, brushed your teeth and get to bed. It's getting late."
"Okay." Lami slipped off the railing and headed for the bathroom. By the time she got into her and Bepo's room, Law was waiting for her. She climbed into her bed that was across from Bepo's.
Law pulled the blanket over her and kissed her forehead. "Goodnight."
"Night, Daddy." Lami closed her eyes and snuggled into her blanket.
If anyone is interested in wasting a few seconds, I've a poll up on my profile. Thanks for reading and comment. I know I'm not the best writer.
Greer: Thanks. I wasn't sure how to writer her. Being raised by pirates I think she'll be a bit rebellious and headstrong.
Aurore Heart: Thanks. You're English is fine.
Sakihinata: I guess she does.
Rhatch89: Thanks.
