I want you all to read this before you begin. I changed Kakopp to just regular Kaku. I found a better role for Usopp that I had forgotten to fill, and our favorite liar fits in perfectly. So from now on, Kakopp is Kaku. A little ooc, but pretend it's the nice and funny Galley La-Kaku from Water 7 and not CP9-Kaku. I intend to go back to the earlier chapters and change this.
On another exciting note, by request of NinjaSheik, I am delighted to inform you that on July 28th, FUNimation announced that they have the rights to Season 5 and One Piece Film: Strong World! This is the first time we will hear Brook in English. Spread the word to purchase the sets and collections to support FUNi so they can dub faster! I know most of you probably prefer the sub to anything else, but I like both equally, so they still need the money.
After than announcement, please enjoy chapter five.
Chapter 5 – The Swordsman
Kaku watched as his companions disappeared around a dilapidated building an out of sight. He shook out his arms to relieve his tense muscles. Although the Man in Black was only a few feet from the cliff top, his movements were careful and painfully time-consuming. Not that Kaku was complaining of course; just looking at those three curious swords at his hip made his heart beat painfully fast. But if he looked at it in a different way, consider it as high-intensity training. For the day when he would finally show his face and allow himself to be made short work of.
Kaku looked over the Cliffside, watching the Man in Black's slow progress. "Hello, there!" he yelled, waving a friendly hand. The man looked up, what could be seen of his eyes narrow. "Slow going?"
The man's voice was low and controlled, but curiously emotional with a confident ring in it. "Look, I don't mean to be rude –" Despite his words, the man's tone suggested in all honesty he was pissed off. "—but this is not as easy as it looks, so do leave me alone until I reached the top."
"Sorry…" Kaku bowed his head and moved away.
"Thank you." He said, rather tersely.
The swordsman took a fighting stance on a flat ledge and began rehearsing his complex footwork, swinging his arm wide as if he held a sword in his hand. After a few moments of this, his patience ran thin and he peered back over the ledge. "I don't suppose you could speed things up?"
The Man in Black stared up at him again. He did appear to have made any progress in his climbing, and the tenseness in his fingers told Kaku that he was not pleased with this. "If you're in such a hurry, you could lower a rope or a tree branch or find something useful to pull me up."
Kaku pulled back his lips in a half-smile. "I could do that." He indicated behind him. "I've got some rope up here. But I don't think you'll accept my help, considering I'm only waiting up here to kill you."
The Man in Black gave a low chuckle. "That does put a damper on our relationship."
Kaku leaned lower, resting his hands on his knees. "But I promise not to kill you until you reach the top."
"Under different circumstances I would accept your offer, but I'm afraid you'll just have to wait.
"I hate waiting."Kaku turned away to find something else to do until an idea came to mind and he yelled, "If I give you my word as a fellow swordsman?"
The Man in Black had apparently taken Kaku's turn as a sign of resignation and was currently trying to fit his foot into a tiny crevice just above him. "No good," he said, his voice strained. "I've known too many swordsmen like yourself."
"So there's no way you'll trust me," Kaku said, more like a statement than a question.
"Nothing comes to mind. Now just go away and let me concentrate."
"I swear on the soul of my father, you will reach the top alive."
The Man in Black considered this for a moment before replying. "Throw me the rope."
Success well within his grasp, Kaku jogged to the thick rock where the remnants of Spandam's rope lay coiled. He unraveled several loops and tossed the thick string down toward the other man. He gripped the rope in his gloved hands and pulled himself hand-over-hand to the top of the cliff, where Kaku stood waiting to help him up.
The Man in Black and Kaku stood opposite one another, panting. Kaku had underestimated this man's weight. Not that his opponent was fat, but he was built of pure muscle. Even his jaw seemed to be slightly bulging with tendons. "Thank you," he said, this time sounding genuinely thankful.
The Man in Black reached for one of his swords. Kaku, being an honorable man spoke up, holding out a hand. "Wait until you are ready."
The sword slid back into its sheath. "Again, thank you." He made himself comfortable on a small rock near the larger one that bore the rope. He pulled off his left boot and shook it, small rocks clattering from the leather. How the man had been able to stand that, Kaku had no idea.
Kaku himself sat on a vine-encrusted wall, watching the Man in Black curiously. "I don't mean to pry," he said finally. "But you don't happen to turn into a wolf at a full moon?"
The man watched Kaku curiously, lowering his boot. "Do you always start conversations this way?"
"My father was killed by a werewolf," Kaku said by way of explanation.
The other watched him for a moment before baring his teeth, displaying rows of normal human teeth. Though the werewolves of the world were extremely rare, it was not unheard of to witness one. A werewolf in its human form could be easily identified by the sharp canine teeth.
Kaku nodded and the teeth were concealed once again. "My father was a great shipwright and swordsmith. The werewolf, in his human form, came to the house asking for a special sword, my father agreed immediately. I had no interest in swordplay at the time, only focusing on my ship-building skills." Kaku drew the sword from his hip, displaying it across his fingers. "He slaved over it for a year before he was finally satisfied."
The Man in Black took the hilt when it was offered to him, twisting the blade to catch the sunlight. "I've never seen its equal. The balance is perfect, the blade tempered to perfection."
Kaku took his blade and resheathed it. "When the werewolf returned and demanded it for one tenth of its valued price, my father refused. Without a word, the man transformed before my eyes, ripping out my father's throat." Kaku's eyes grew misty. "I loved my father, so naturally I attacked the wolf. I failed. He left me alive, but with this." Kaku pulled open the front of his shirt to reveal three parallel scars running across his chest.
"How old were you?"
"Eleven. When I was strong enough, I dedicated my life to fencing. So the next time we met, it would not be so easy to defeat me. When I see him, I will walk up to him and say, 'Hello. My name is Kaku Fujaku. You killed my father. Prepare to die.'"
There was silence as the Man in Black absorbed Kaku's story. "You've done nothing but study swordplay."
Kaku shrugged, taking a seat next to him. "More of a pursuit than study, lately. You see, I can't find him. It's been twenty years and I still can't find him; I'm beginning to lose confidence. I just work for Spandam to pay the bills. There's not a lot of money in revenge."
The Man in Black rose from his seat. "Well, I hope you find him someday."
"You are ready, then?"
"Whether I am or not, you've been more than fair." The Man in Black drew one of this three swords, this one with a white hilt and a single hand grip.
Kaku nodded and stood, facing the Man in Black and drawing his own weapon. "You seem like a decent guy. I hate to kill you."
"You seem like a decent guy. I hate to die."
"Begin."
The two men took a stance. Their eyes roved over one another, slowly drinking in the opposite man's body and assessing it. Kaku was the first to strike. He waved at the man's face, which he easily blocked, leaning back to avoid a cut to his face. The Man in Black copied the maneuver, and Kaku leaned away. There was a pause, and the two swords immediately began to clang loudly as the two men collided.
They began exchanging light blows, merely getting a feel for the other's style. At one point the Man in Black was forced to duck in order to avoid decapitation, and he followed with a swipe to Kaku's legs, which he promptly hopped over.
The two men continued exchanging blows, with only the Man in Black guarding and only throwing in an attack every now and then. Finally, after blocking a particular jab to the face, Kaku realized what method he was using.
"Using Bonetti's defense against me, huh?"
"I found it suitable, considering the rocky terrain."
Kaku backed the Man in Black up a few stairs. "You must be expecting me to attack with Cappo Ferro!"
"True, but Thibault cancels out Capo Ferro!" The Man in Black jumped down from the small ledge which he had been forced to, backing away from where Kaku stood.
"Unless the enemy has studied his Agrippa…" Kaku ran forward into a front flip, landing directly behind his opponent. "Which I have."
The men continued battling it out, their complex footwork baffling to any non-expierenced swordsman. Their blades were a flash in the midday sun, and they each tried to use the glints to blind the other. Dust covered their shoes, rising up into the air.
The Man in Black raised his sword to block an attack from above aimed for his head. His white sword was above his head, and Kaku's weapon lay on top of it. The Man in Black slid his sword to the left, catching Kaku's blade in the hilt, and sending it to the earth. He rammed the pommel of his hilt into his adversary's stomach. Kaku doubled over, and the Man in Black kicked him away, and he stumbled back a few steps before jumping back into the battle.
The men exchanged several more furious blows. The Man in Black appeared to be enjoying himself; a gleam was lit in his eye with every thrust, and a defensive stare curved his features as he parried. Kaku was amazed at this man's skill; already his own arms were beginning to tire.
Kaku jumped back to avoid a slash to the ribs. "You are wonderful!" he praised, blocking another strike to his legs.
"Thank you," said the Man in Black, leaping forward with a thrust. "I've worked hard to become so."
"I admit it, you are better than I am!"
The Man in Black noticed the sly grin that was curving the other swordsman's lips, despite his unawareness at begin slowly backed up to the edge of the cliff where one false step would prove fatal. "Why are you smiling?"
"Because I know something you don't know."
"And what's that?"
Kaku grinned cheekily. "I'm not left-handed." In one fluid motion, Kaku's sword had been switched to his dominant hand and the Man in Black found himself slowly being herded up a longer winding staircase.
His boot slipped on a loose stone and he sat heavily on the hard rock. Kaku lunged forward to take advantage of this shock, and the Man in Black barely managed to divert it into a large stack of stone bricks to the side. Kaku slashed again, and he caught the attack under his boot, waving his own sword over Kaku's head, who ducked. This allowed the Man in Black enough time to scramble to his feet again and continue backwards up the stairs.
The two men converged on a high platform that had probably served as a lookout tower. "You're amazing," The Man in Black praised, the corners of his lips rising.
"I ought to be after twenty years." Kaku pushed his opponent up against the wall, their swords crossed at the chest. Both men's weight proved too much for the wall, and a large portion of it crumbled away, falling down the Gates of Justice to crash into the rocky surf miles below.
"There's something I ought to tell you," The Man in Black's voice was strained as he tried to fight off Kaku's blade.
"Tell me."
The Man in Black smiled widely. "These other swords aren't for show."
He pushed Kaku off him, and the other man scrambled back to watch his opponent sheath his white sword and draw the other two. The one he held in his right was a black blade with a purple glint, the hilt wrapped in a deep purple cloth. The other was of normal steel, the hilt a royal blue. The man chuckled softly, setting Kaku on edge.
His next attack was instant; Kaku found himself suddenly weaponless as his sword was knocked from his hands and sent flying halfway across the ruins. He stared at the shallow cut on his palm, then to the red liquid that had suddenly appeared on the blue-hilted sword's blade.
Desperate, Kaku turned and leapt into the air, grabbing hold of a thick root that had grown between two ancient pillars that supported an arch. He managed one swing before releasing his hold and stumbling through the landing, grasping his sword and assuming his fighting stance once again.
The Man in Black smirked. He sheathed his swords and followed, doing two full turns on the root like a gymnast, finally letting go and going into a front flip and landing firmly on his feet. He drew his two swords again.
"Who… are you?" Kaku asked, trying to hide the slight jealousy in his voice.
"No one of consequence," was the tart reply.
"I must know!"
"Get used to disappointment."
Kaku was, as the man said, disappointed, but shrugged all the same. "Okay then."
The battle resumed. With the Man in Black now using two swords against Kaku's one, the battle seemed almost one sided now. The man easily knocked Kaku's sword from his hands. He vaulted over a large rock and raised his hand just in time to catch the sword and block a fatal blow to his midsection.
Kaku was getting desperate now. His attacks and footwork were becoming sloppy, and he knew it. Yet he still refused to show his distress and continued the fight. He gripped his sword with both hands and began randomly swiping toward the Man in Black's head. Said man easily dodged, weaving in between the attacks and giving Kaku a good gash on the thigh. This caused the other to lose his concentration.
With a double twist from the Man in Black's blade, Kaku's weapon was forced from his hand and clattered to the rocky landscape.
Realizing his defeat, Kaku got to his knees, staring up to the heavens. The Man in Black circled his defeated adversary, his swords still on guard in case he still had something up his sleeve.
"Kill me quickly," requested the defeated man, sweat dripping from his face.
"I don't particularly enjoy killing artists such as yourself," the Man in Black replied, genuine admiration in his voice. "Still, I can't have you following me."
A sharp pain exploded on the back of Kaku's head, and he fell forward, unconscious.
~X~X~X~
The man watched Kaku collapse, sheathing his swords. No one had been able to hold off his two-sword style for that long before, and he held the other in high respects. He nodded to the unconscious body before jogging to the small outcropping of rocks where he had placed the strip of black cloth he used as a kerchief.
He had no idea which direction those other men had gotten off to, so he figured if he just followed the footprints, he should be able to catch up with them fairly quickly. He looked to the ground, wincing at all the shuffling prints that surrounded him. With a grunt, he took off through a random archway, scanning the ground until he found two pairs of footprints, one rather small and the other wide and deep as though he was carrying something.
Or someone.
Smiling, he took off across the grassy field that lay beyond the rocky ruins, his heart beating a mile a minute in his chest.
Robin. I'm coming.
~X~X~X~
"Inconceivable!"
Spandam glared at the small dark figure that was slowly approaching them through the forest from whence they came over an hour ago. Luffy watched with interest; this guy had to be incredibly strong in order to defeat Kaku. He wanted to fight him. The only problem was…
"Give her to me," Spandam demanded, practically pulling the princess from his arms. "Catch up with us quickly!"
"Wait… I have to fight him?"
"Finish him! Kill him! Your way! Just make sure to follow quickly; my life is the most important." Spandam gripped Robin tightly by the arm and began dragging her out of the rock garden that surrounded them.
"My way." Luffy contemplated this. "Thanks, Spandam! Wait… what's my way?"
Spandam growled, whipping around and glaring at his subordinate. "Pick up one of those rocks. Hide behind a boulder. In a few minutes, the Man in Black will come running around the bend. The moment his head is in view, hit it with the rock!" Spandam and Robin disappeared behind a huge boulder behind him.
Luffy winced at his employer's harsh words hit his ears. "My way isn't very sportsmanlike," he muttered to himself. All the same, he knelt and grasped a large rock, weighing it in his hands. Satisfied, he slowly lumbered to the largest boulder he could find, ducking behind it, lying in wait for the Man in Black.
Hullo. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.
I have no idea what Kaku's surname is, so I made it up. Just putting Kaku in there sounded weird. Aaanyway, see if you can guess who the werewolf is. The original murderer of the father was the six-fingered man whose name escapes me, but I had a great idea for it anyway. He will be introduced next chapter I think.
And I recently realized I suck at writing swordplay scenes. So I tried to avoid as many named blows as I could, mostly just sticking with the initial battle scene from the movie. I apologize to Man in Black fans. But there was a little guessing game going on here now… Shishishi. Who is the Man in Black?
Next Time:
Kaku has been defeated by the mysterious Man in Black, who now chases after Luffy, Spandam, and the kidnapped Robin. However, Spandam has left Luffy to deal with their pursuer, finding sportsmanship not the best way to defeat him. Meanwhile, Prince Lucci and his guard have also fallen on Spandam's trail, and are closing in with rapid speed. Chapter 6 – The Giant
