We watched the slope carefully. For at least a moment nothing seemed to happen. No pirates or rocks were being sliced. Then out of the silence a whooshing sound echoed around us. I looked around frantically until Luffy pushed me back. A split second later Kuro appeared in front of him and slashed at him. Luffy managed to bend out of the way of Kuro's blades just in time. Kuro smirked and let out a chuckle as he faced Luffy. In the blink of an eye Kuro was gone again. I quickly spun to see Kuro standing further up the slope behind us. His blades clinked together as he turned back to face us.
"Aren't you tired?" Luffy asked as he turned towards Kuro as well. "I bet you are after all that dancing around you've been doing." I took a step back to stand next to him.
"I'd take that bet." I commented, earning a hidden smile from Luffy.
"Don't get cocky." Kuro declared. He had a smirk on his face as he reached up to adjust his glasses with both hands. "That was simply a warm up. The real fight begins now." Kuro continued to smirk as he lowered his hands. "Soon I will be feasting on your fear, complemented by the sweet wine of your agony."
"That sounds gross." I mumbled as Kuro hung his head to do his attack again.
"Now… OUT OF THE BAG ATTACK!" Kuro yelled as he swayed and then disappeared. My vision blurred slightly and I felt myself wobble a bit before Luffy grabbed my wrist.
"Let's finish this, Luffy." I stated as I regained my balance and shook my vision clear.
"Sure." Luffy replied as I created three long blades from my knuckles. Soon, just like every other time, rocks were cut to either side of us. I felt a shift in the air and pointed up the slope. Luffy then stretched his arms in that direction. His left arm missed, but his right arm latched onto something. "Got him." Luffy grinned. A giant cloud of dust went up as Luffy's left arm came back.
"Good." I muttered as Luffy launched through the dust up the slope. As the dust cleared, I followed him up to where he restrained Kuro. Luffy had his arms wrapped around Kuro's shoulders and his legs around Kuro's waist.
"Nice try, you jerk." Luffy grinned.
"Damn you! Get away from me!" Kuro shouted as he struggled against Luffy.
"Wow, Butler Man. Right now your life really sucks. Your plan of three years is a complete and total failure." Luffy continued. I walked around the two to Kuro's back.
"Let go!" Kuro shouted.
"I dunno, Luffy. I think we could make his life suck even more." I said, peering over Kuro's shoulder to Luffy.
"Let's do it." Luffy replied with a smirk.
"Get off me." Kuro ordered. It wasn't long before Kuro's crew started cheering for Luffy and I. Luffy then hit his head against Kuro's, causing his head to fall back and his arms to go limp.
"Shut up." Luffy growled before he stretched his head back towards the pirates below.
While Luffy was busy, and Kuro restrained, I did my damage. I swept the blades I had made across Kuro's back, creating cuts that weren't even close to as deep as mine felt. They would definitely hurt though. The blades tore up the back of his suit while keeping away from Luffy. Kuro then opened his eyes to glare at me.
"Yes, I did feel you stabbing me in the back." I stated, answering his question from earlier as Kuro rose his head back up. I quickly stepped forward and covered his eyes to block his view of Luffy, retracting my blades in the process. "Although, you are pretty good at guessing." I continued. "You indirectly, but correctly, guessed that my father was Shanks, Captain of the Red-Haired Pirates. Now as for my mother, she's a little more tricky. So, why don't you just tell me everything you know about the 'Blue Eyed Angel'." I offered, keeping my tone light.
"A family like that… It could cause chaos." Kuro mumbled after a long pause. He slowly seemed to be regaining his senses from Luffy's hit.
"That's not what I asked." I growled before pushing the heels of my palms against the side of Kuro's head which caused him to wince. "Now tell me what you know about her." I demanded, my tone becoming more intense. He has to know something. I mean, he's the infamous Captain Kuro.
"I won't tell you anything." Kuro stated.
"Well then I guess it sucks for the both of us." I told him before I removed my hands. I quickly stepped off to the side as Luffy's head stretched back to his body.
"You insects!" Kuro yelled. Luffy screamed as his head flew back towards us. "MY PLAN WILL ABSOLUTELY NOT BE DISRUPTED!" Then, for only a second, Kuro looked astonished. The expression quickly disappeared as Luffy's head connected with Kuro's. Kuro's head was flung back and his glasses flew off.
The two went flying as Kuro cried out in pain. Luffy had released Kuro as they both flew back parallel to each other. They flew past me and up the slope several feet. Kuro landed first. His head hit the ground as his body continued, turning him until he landed on his stomach. Luffy landed in a crouched position towards Kuro's head, but he didn't push himself to stand.
Kuro's glasses clattered to the ground just past Kuro's feet. No one spoke after Luffy's attack. The only sound that could be heard was a breeze in the trees at the top of the slope. For several moments Luffy hovered over Kuro, still not pushing himself to stand. Kuro on the other hand was completely unconscious. I slowly walked towards Luffy, but only got a few steps before my knees gave out. Luffy quickly turned around and caught me before I could drop.
"I told you to take it easy." Luffy stated as he pulled my right arm over his shoulder.
"I did." I told him, flashing him a smile as he stood up straight.
"Then why are you bleeding so much?" Luffy questioned.
"Because I was fighting along side my Captain." I answered. Not long after I replied to Luffy I noticed the men below beginning to talk.
"Just who are you?" One called up.
"I'm Monkey D. Luffy." Luffy began, turning us to face the crowd below. "The only time a pirate should abandon his name is when he dies. I would never lose to a coward who ditches his name, betrays his friends, and runs from life on the sea."
"Uh… Luffy? I never heard that name before." A pirate declared.
"You should remember my name for the rest of your lives." Luffy said. His gaze was covered by his bangs. He then looked up with a giant smile on his face. "Cause one of these days I'm gonna be King of the Pirates." Luffy finished, his entire tone changing.
"For a moment there I thought you were going to say something inspirational, but nope." I told Luffy with a grin.
"What'd you expect? I quoted your dad when we met Usopp." Luffy said with an even bigger grin as he sat me down on the ground.
"More like ripped off." I commented as Luffy turned away and grabbed Kuro's collar.
"You are?" A pirate asked.
"NOW GET OUTTA HERE!" Luffy yelled as he threw Kuro's body over his shoulder, down toward the pirates below. His body landed with a loud thud in between several of the men. "AND NEVER COME BACK!" Luffy finished. All the pirates began screaming and running to their ship as Nami ran up to us. She stopped and stood there without saying a word. A moment later Luffy tipped forward and Nami moved to catch him. His body seemed to go limp in her arms.
"You guys did good." Nami told us as I laid back. She then moved to lay Luffy on the ground near me. He sprawled out as he was laid down. His left hand grazed my neck slightly while Nami stood between us.
"If you want me to take it easy then stop tickling my neck." I declared as I reached up and moved Luffy's hand above my head.
"I'm more comfortable with my hand here." Luffy said as he moved his hand back to my neck.
"No." I stated as I moved his hand away again.
"Yes." Luffy replied as he moved his hand back. I turned my head to look at Luffy as he turned his head to do the same. We kept eye contact as we continued to move his hand back and forth.
"Stop." I ordered. I tried to keep a stern tone, but after a moment I had to choke back a laugh. This caused Luffy to grin at me.
"Even after you've both collapsed you still act so childish." Nami announced before she took a seat between us.
"I'll stop if you'll rest until we can find you a doctor. If your father knew I was responsible for this he'd kill me." Luffy told me, his face becoming fearful for a moment at the mention of my father.
"Fine." I huffed. Luffy then moved his hand and I closed my eyes. It didn't take long for the same black from early to take hold of me.
"AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I woke up to find myself screaming. A sizzling pain came from my back and I had some kind of metal rod clutched in my teeth. At some point, uncontrollably, my teeth had sharpened and pierced the rod. I reverted my teeth back to normal and looked over my shoulder. Kaya had a needle and thread in her hand. She looked at me and gasped.
"You're awake." Kaya smiled. Her face immediately fell. "I'm not hurting you, am I?" Kaya asked worriedly. I quickly shook my head as a reply. She breathed a sigh of relief before continuing to speak. "Nami and Luffy helped me get you here so that I could help with your back. I just finished cleaning the cuts out so I'm gonna stitch them up." She then leaned forward and began working on my back. As she stitched up the four long cuts she continued to talk to me.
"As I cleaned out the rocks and gravel you bled a lot, which made it difficult for me to work. So, while I waited I sewed the cuts in the outfit I gave you." I looked over at the table next to us. On it, folded and neat, sat a pile of clothing that consisted of what I had been wearing earlier. I suddenly realized that all I was wearing was a pair of shorts that I had never seen before.
"Merry guessed that we were the same size, so he helped me find a pair of shorts that you could use. That way you wouldn't be completely naked while I tried to stitch your back. We also found a shirt that you can borrow once we're done. As for your friends, they care a lot about you. I have Merry preparing a gift for all of you as we speak." Kaya then stopped talking. I suspected that she was trying to focus because she was nearly done.
"Just about done." Kaya announced, confirming my thoughts. I then heard a snip of scissors before Kaya turned away and grabbed something from another table. "Can you sit up and lift your arms?" I did as she said, though most of my body ached a bit. I slowly sat up and lifted my arms with my back still to her. She then got to work wrapping a bandage around my entire upper body. With my arms still lifted I reached over and grabbed the metal rod from my mouth. There were lots of little holes in it's surface.
"Uh… Sorry about your rod." I stammered, setting it beside me. She stopped wrapping me and looked at the rod. She was silent for a moment and the moment seemed to go on forever before she burst into laughter.
"It's perfectly fine." She told me once she stopped laughing. Her hands then continued to work as she reached my chest. "You already broke several others that I had brought, most were wood. I should really be the one apologizing. You'll end up with a splinter on your tongue because of me." I chuckled slightly at the thought. It didn't take long for her to reach my arms. She then wrapped some around my right shoulder that held parts of the longer cuts. I could honestly say that I felt like a mummy. My entire upper body was completely covered in bandages.
"There all done. Now slip this on and we'll go find your friends." She told me, passing me a blue tank top. I quickly pulled it on and stood up off the bed I had been on. My bandaged shoulder could clearly be seen with the tank top. I then walked across the room to pick up the outfit Kaya had found and fixed for me. Kaya then lead me out of the house we had been in and down a street. The walk was mostly silent, up until we entered a restaurant.
"There you are." Kaya announced as I pushed open the door to see Zoro, Luffy, and Nami sitting at a booth. I quickly ran to the booth and stopped at its edge, only to find a bunch of empty plates.
"Hey, where's my food?" I questioned as I looked at my crewmates.
"Luffy ate it." Nami answered as she pointed across the table to Luffy. Luffy leaned back in his seat as he chewed on a fish bone.
"Luffy! I gotta eat too y'know." I growled. He looked up at me and shrugged. He then held up a hand to wave at Kaya as she joined us.
"Hello there, Miss." Luffy said.
"Are you okay being out of bed?" Nami asked as Kaya walked to the table.
"Yes. I think now I can truly start recovering. You see, my sickness this last year was caused by the mental shock of losing both my parents, and Usopp's friendship helped me start getting better. I can't stay in bed forever y'know." Kaya explained.
"Agreed, and you owe me a fish." I told Luffy as I snatched his hat. I managed to turn away, but before I could do anything else I was yanked back. I held in a groan of pain as Luffy took his hat back.
"My hat." Luffy declared before I turned and smacked him upside the head.
"That hurt, you Rubber Head." I whispered yelled as Kaya started talking again. I glared at him as he realized what he had done.
"Oh yeah, your back any better?" Luffy asked innocently.
"No, thanks to you." I grumbled. I moved to stand up, but Luffy grabbed my shoulders and kept me in the booth beside him.
"Why don't I carry you back to the ships after this, as an apology?" Luffy offered. Since he wasn't all that good at apologizing to me he would always offer something instead. Most of the time I couldn't refuse.
"Fine." I agreed before leaning back in the seat.
"You've all done so much for me, I can't thank you enough. I've prepared a present for you from the bottom of my heart to show you how grateful I am for everything you've done here. I'd be honored if you'd accept it." Kaya smiled.
"Well, lead us to it." Luffy announced.
"This way." Kaya told us. She then turned and walked out of the building. Nami and I were out of the booth first and we quickly followed Kaya as Zoro and Luffy followed.
"How is your back?" Nami asked as we left the building.
"It aches, but nothing I can't handle." I replied.
"Well, you're looking good." Zoro said as he caught up.
"I could say the same about you." I stated once I noticed that his shirt was no longer cut or bloody.
"We gotta get a move on!" Luffy shouted, catching our attention. He then ducked between my legs before lifting me up onto his shoulders. I let out a shriek at the sudden movement. As I started falling back I quickly tightened my grip. I hooked my legs around Luffy's shoulders and around his back as I grabbed his head with my hands.
"You can't just pick me up like that." I declared as I shoved Luffy's head down.
"Don't shove me." Luffy ordered as he forced his head back up, causing me to tip back. The action caused Luffy to stop and stumble back as he tried to regain his balance. This required a little help from Zoro.
"Could you two stop acting like kids for one minute?" Nami requested.
"No." Luffy and I replied simultaneously as he started walking again.
"They're better than those Usopp Pirates." Zoro told Nami as he let out a chuckle.
"I don't get it." I said as I gained everyone's attention.
"Yeah, you were with Kaya." Luffy replied. I glanced at the path ahead to see that Kaya was getting further away faster than we were walking.
"Well, those kids found us in that restaurant not long after we got here." Zoro began.
"We had just finished eating and Usopp had disappeared to go see Kaya." Nami continued. "Zoro basically told the kids that we ate Usopp, and they screamed at me for being a 'cannibal'."
"It was pretty funny. Now hold on." Luffy laughed before he suddenly took off running. I quickly tightened my grip as we left Zoro and Nami in the dust. Zoro and Nami then took off running in an attempt to keep up with us. It wasn't long before Kaya came back into view, along with the ocean.
Soon we all came to a slow stop, and I realized where we were. We were at one of the slopes and a huge ship sat near the beach before us. Luffy shrugged me off his shoulders and I slid down his back. I stepped around him and awed at the ship. It had a giant mast in the center with a crow's nest. A smaller mast that sat at the back. There was a cabin area with stairs leading up to it. The bow had a ram's head on it, and a cannon sticking out just below it. It was beautiful!
"Are you actually giving this to us?!" Luffy exclaimed.
"Mmhmm, as a token of my appreciation." Kaya replied.
"It's a slightly older model, but I personally designed it and she sails like a dream." Merry explained. The ship was huge with tons of space. This ship looked amazing. "She's a fine ship, and her name is 'The Going Merry'." Merry finished as I noticed I had zoned out for a moment.
"This ship looks absolutely wonderful! Thank you so much!" I awed as I ran over and hugged Kaya.
"It's my pleasure." Kaya smiled as we pushed away. "I hope you get to have some very fun adventures with her."
"I'm sure we will." I grinned as I turned to look at Luffy.
"What a cool ship!" Luffy awed. "Have you guys seen the front? It's totally awesome!"
"We've loaded it with all the previsions you might need on a long voyage." Kaya stated.
"Really?" I asked.
"Thanks, it leaves nothing to be tired." Luffy told Kaya, turning to face her.
"That's leaves nothing to be desired, idiot." Zoro commented. We then all turned towards the sound of someone screaming. A large green ball bounced down the slope towards us.
"Somebody stop this thing." Usopp yelled.
"Oh, no! Usopp!" Kaya gasped.
"Hey, what's he doing? Looks fun." Luffy commented.
"Or painful." I added.
"Well, we better stop him. That weirdo is on a collision course with our boat." Zoro announced as Luffy stepped forward to stand next to him. Together they both lifted a foot and stopped the green ball as it reached them. Unfortunately their feet hit Usopp's face.
"Hey, thanks guys." Usopp said, his voice muffled due to the feet placed on his face.
"Anytime." Luffy told him.
"Come on, let's get going." I stated as I moved to climb up the ladder.
"I get to go first!" Luffy yelled as he stretched his arms up to the railing and pulled himself onto the ship.
"Cheater!" I called up after him. I quickly climbed to the deck only to be met with Luffy staring at me.
"Takara. We have to celebrate. Your first job as first mate on our first ship is to get us our first round of drinks." Luffy ordered.
"That's a lot of firsts." I laughed before running past him to the upper cabin. "I will gladly take that job." I added as I entered the cabin.
It was small but it had a kitchen space, a table, and a few crates of supplies. A barrel in the corner caught my eye as I moved to grab mugs. I then filled five mugs with what was in the barrel. I suspected that it was liquor based off the taste. I then carried them out to everyone standing at the back end of the boat. I set the mugs down on a barrel as I moved to stand next to Nami. Not too far away, Luffy leaned forward on the railing while Zoro leaned back against it opposite us.
"You guys take care. I hope we meet again sometime." Usopp called from the beach next to Kaya.
"Wait, Usopp's not coming?" I asked as I glanced over at Nami. She shrugged as we looked back down to him.
"How come?" Luffy asked Usopp.
"Well because I…" Usopp paused and mumbled something before looking back up at us. "... I'm taking off for life on the high seas and I hope that we'll eventually meet again. That's all." Usopp explained.
"What are you talking about?" Zoro questioned as he pointed down at the ship. "Get on already."
"We're friends, right?" Luffy continued after Usopp gave us a confused look. "So get on." Usopp stood still, gaping.
"I have a feeling we're gonna be outnumbered from here on out." I stated as I turned to face Nami. She glanced down to Usopp before turning back to me.
"As long as we stick together we should be fine." Nami shrugged.
"I'm really a pirate captain now!" Usopp exclaimed, drawing our attention back to him.
"Don't be stupid Usopp. I'm the Captain!" Luffy yelled back.
We all laughed as Usopp climbed aboard with his giant green bag. Once he was on board we set sail. I stayed at the back to wave to Kaya for a little while before moving to assist with the sails. Soon the island was tiny and the crew made their way to the back of the ship. As everyone got to the back of the ship they picked up a mug. Zoro took a seat on the barrel after everyone had picked up their mugs.
"Cheers to a new ship and a new crewman!" Luffy yelled. We all cheered as we hit our mugs together. Before I could even take a sip, someone had snatched my mug.
"Why'd you take my mug?" I questioned as I looked to Usopp who currently held my mug away from me.
"Your what? Sixteen? That's way too young to start drinking." Usopp answered before he took a drink from his mug.
"Hah! You can't be serious." I laughed. "Your what? Seventeen? Only a year older than me."
"I agree with him." Luffy stated as he also took a drink from his mug.
"Luffy, you're only seventeen too." I pointed out.
"You really shouldn't drink so young, Takara" Zoro chimed in.
"I was practically raised on this stuff." I stated.
"You're gonna need a better lie than that." Usopp told me. I froze for a moment, only blinking.
"As Captain, I forbid you from drinking." Luffy announced.
"Come on guys, give her a break." Nami tried to reason before I burst out laughing.
"What's so funny?" Usopp questioned.
"Usopp." I began as I snickered, my laughter slowly disappearing. "I just want you to know that unlike you all the stories I will ever tell are completely true. Including the one about the fact that I was raised on a pirate ship full of men." I paused and looked between the three men. "I could also beat you at most any pastime while on this ship."
"Yeah, right." Usopp huffed skeptically as he lifted his mug to take another drink. I quickly stepped forward and pushed his mug up. As the mug's contents spilled onto his face I launched forward and grabbed my mug. I then downed its contents before looking back at everyone.
"Just to make things clear… Don't tell me what to do because I can decide whether I can or cannot on my own." I declared, handing the empty mug back to Usopp with a grin.
"Woo! Good job." Nami cheered as I smiled at her. "I still get first dibs on beds." Nami announced before setting down her mug and running to the door below the kitchen area.
"Wait, Nami!" I called as I ran after her. I didn't get too far before my foot caught on something and I tripped.
"Don't trip." Luffy told me as I rolled over onto my back to look at him. Luffy had a giant grin while Usopp and Zoro laughed.
"Ha, ha. You're so funny." I said sarcastically as I climbed to my feet and followed Nami.
TA DA!
What'd you guys think?
I liked it, but I'm supposed to so since I wrote it.
Thought about this one a lot so please give me your thoughts! I'd love to hear them.
That's all for this story.
Thanks for reading.