One Piece: My Version
Part 2: Cruel Intentions Revealed, Kuro of A Thousand Plans, Alive?
As the veggies waited for their captain, Zoro was taking a nap on the road and Hawkins was continuing where he left off in his meditation, Nami stared at the two incredulously. "Will one of you speak already?" she said irritably.
Hawkins opened his eyes and turned his gaze to the navigator. "What is it you want?" he spoke flatly.
"Well… It's like Luffy said before, we should take the time to get to know each other." she half-lied, to which the mystic was able to catch.
"Really? Because your intentions say different… like how you are planning to steal all the possessions when the captain least expects it."
Nami narrowed her eyes at the seer. "Are you reading my mind? That's a violation of privacy you jerk!" she raised her voice angrily at him while he remained stoic.
"I don't read minds… a true seer… a true mystic… can only read intentions within people's hearts." he explained to her. "Yours is a myriad of emotions. You have hatred for pirates, that's simple enough, but there's more to it; you're driven to carry a heavy burden on your shoulders to save your precious people. Now what is the reason for your deep-seated hatred for pirates?"
Nami was shocked that this man was able to figure out that she was going to steal from Luffy the same way she stole from other pirates, and the reason why she did so. But still, she didn't have to tell him her whole story, he just asked for the reason for her hatred of pirates and she would give him that answer.
"When I was eight… pirates took the life of someone precious to me…" she tore away from his gaze as she unknowingly clutched her left arm.
Now Hawkins felt pain react from her heart. He didn't need to know anymore.
"I see…"
After an awkward silence, Nami regained some composure and decided to change the topic.
"So… Is this your hometown as well…?" she asked.
"No. I hail from an island of mystics, located in the North Blue. I was born and raised my whole life on that island learning the ways of mystics."
The surprise on Nami's face returned. "Wait… you're telling me that there's a whole island of psychics, mystics, and seers?"
"Yes…" he replied.
"Oh, my…"
"Among all the mystics in the island, I am the strongest because I could see premonitions of things to come within a week, while others could only see scattered visions within a day or two."
Just as the navigator was about to ask more, when Piman, Ninjin, and Tamanegi came running up to them with incredulous looks plastered on their faces.
"Guys, guys, guys! You're not gonna believe this!" exclaimed Piman.
"It's this weirdo guy who walking around the whole town…" Ninjin started.
"Backwards!" finished Tamanegi.
It was at this time that Zoro had awoken from his nap with great, big, yawn. He rubbed his eyes as he stared at the kids who disturbed him from his nap.
"What the hell are you brats screamin' about now?" he asked irritably.
"They just said that they saw a man walking backwards." Hawkins stated.
Zoro looked at him quizzically until the kids pointed behind them. All heads turned to a man wearing heart-shaped sunglasses, moonwalking right past them.
…
"That was weird." said Nami, while everyone voiced their own agreement.
Luffy caught up to Usopp to see that he was standing below a tree and facing the ocean.
"I know you're there…" the teen remarked. Luffy still walked up and sat down next to him and stared out to the sea as well. He sensed that Hawkins was correct in saying that Usopp did have mixed emotions about his offer.
"You really do want to go out to sea don't you…?" Luffy implied.
The sniper let out a long sigh. "It's not that simple; I have my home to think about and the Usopp pirates…"
Luffy smirked. "What about Kaya…?" Usopp hid his embarrassment but the blush was apparent on his face.
"W-What about her…?"
The captain's grin widened. "I see how she affects you, your heart nearly jumped out of your chest just by seeing her. You were extremely happy when you heard her laugh; see a pattern?"
After a few seconds, Usopp sighed in resignation, seeing as how the pirate wasn't going to buy his lies.
"Alright I'll be honest… I love her. I want to tell her how I feel, but I'm afraid she'll reject me, and I can't go out to see knowing she's still sick… she'll just worry herself to death and it'll be my own damn fault. So you see, you don't want me to join your crew… I'm too much of a coward to do so…" Luffy was about to interject when they both spotted two suspicious figures down at the bluffs beneath their location. Usopp turned to look at them. One of them wore a cowboy hat, heart-shaped sunglasses, and had some odd goatee. His wardrobe looked like it'd come out of the closet of some demented disco dancer, and he was toying with an odd steel ring in his hand. The other man was none other than Kurahadol, Kaya's caretaker.
The sniper's eyes furrowed a bit. 'Odd… What's Kurahadol doing here?'
Luffy was also curious as to what the high-and-mighty butler was doing with a strange man doing the moonwalk, so both he and Usopp crouched down from their spot as to avoid detection while they while they quietly listened in on their conversation. They heard Kurahadol speak first.
"Jango, you were supposed to remain inconspicuous, yet I heard from a few of the townspeople that you were walking backwards along the way." The butler spoke with displeasure as he adjusted his glasses. This time, his attitude seemed a bit more… darker and sinister.
The strange, aloof man seemed to respond normally to this Kurahadol's attitude. "Calm down, captain. I was just walking through town practicing a little dance move, that's all. Anyway, why did you call this meeting, Captain Kuro? Are you finally giving the crew the signal to invade this village and steal that entire girl's money?"
Usopp looked scared for a moment as he shivered slightly. 'M-Masaka! Did that guy just call him Captain Kuro…? As in "Kuro of A Thousand Plans"? But… I thought he was caught by the Marines and executed…!' he thought frantically while Kurahadol, A.K.A. Kuro, continued the conversation.
"I told you before, Jango, I need you to hypnotize her into writing a will leaving everything to Kurahadol, i.e. me, then all you have to do is order your crew to ransack the town and make sure you kill Kaya. I didn't spend these past 3 years clawing my way through to gain her trust, even making her parents' deaths look like accidents."
The sniper's eyes widened in fury, replacing all the fear he had earlier, and clenched his fists. This man, who insulted his lineage earlier, was really the most infamous pirate in the East Blue who was still alive and hid inside his village for the past three years, and killed Kaya's parents, without her knowing, making him her only source of comfort. And now he was going to kill Kaya next, all the while posing as the innocent butler who 'failed' to 'protect' her.
"Don't worry, captain. You just leave the 'accident' to me, while my men do the damage to this village. We just need your signal at dawn, and we'll be there in 3 hours." replied Jango with a smug grin.
Usopp was contemplating on how tell everyone that a real pirate attack would come at 10:00 in the morning. That's when he saw Luffy standing up, practically giving away their position. But perhaps they hadn't noticed yet, if they could just slink away quietly, they could warn the villagers.
Sadly though, Luffy was not one to know silence.
"Oi, teme! You'd better think twice about attacking if you know what's good for you!" he shouted at the two, earning the attention of Jango and the annoyance of Kuro.
"It seems we have two insects on the wall." Kuro pointed out. "Jango, take care of loud one."
Jango used the same steel ring and began to swing it on a string. "When I say one, two, Jango, you'll fall asleep. One, two, JANGO!" All of a sudden, Luffy felt really odd, his eyelids started to droop and his body stopped listening to him, like he was about to keel over and fall asleep. Which was exactly what he did, only once he fell frontwards, thus falling from the cliff and came crashing down onto the stone terrain.
"Luffy!" Usopp cried out. He was certain he was dead, as he fell from a high ledge point of the cliff and landed headfirst into the rocky terrain.
Wasting no time, Usopp ran for his life back to onto the trail and warn the village of the upcoming invasion.
"Should we stop him, sir? He could ruin your plan." asked the hypnotist, earning a dark chuckle from the ex-pirate captain.
"It won't matter… after all; Usopp has the worst reputation as the Village Liar. I doubt even Kaya -ojousama will believe him, and that's all the edge I need."
Usopp ran and ran and just kept on running until he entered the village and began proclaiming another pirate attack; only this time, it was the truth.
However, the villagers did not think so, because they immediately came out of their houses with brooms and pitchforks (The pitchforks were mostly for intimidation…mostly.)
"Usopp, when the hell are you gonna grow up?" shouted a villager.
"Yeah! We know you just lie about pirate attacks to get a kick out of it, but enough already!" complained another.
Usopp shook his head fervently as he tried to organize his thoughts. "It's no lie! Pirates are coming tomorrow attack the village, and Kurahadol is really Captain Kuro! He's the one responsible for Kaya's parents' deaths, and now he plans to do the same to her!"
Of course that just made the villagers angry.
"How dare you make up lies about Kurahahol! He's the kindest man this village has!" voiced one villager.
"And he's been like a second father to Kaya ever since her parents died!" voiced another.
Usopp couldn't believe this; they didn't believe him. But he soon realized that it was his own damn fault for lying 24/7 all these years.
But there was one chance, and he hoped that she would believe him. So he ran away from the angry villagers who were throwing all kinds of garbage at him. He ran along a shortcut through and went through his usual secret door, and climbed his usual tree and threw rocks at the window. Kaya showed up instantly.
"Usopp-kun, what are you doing here? Do you have another story?" she smiled but then it faded and turned into worry as she saw him looking panicked and out of breath.
"Kaya…! You have to find someplace to hide… somewhere no one knows about and stay there!"
The girl looked confused. "Is this supposed to be a joke? I'm sorry, I don't quite understand it." Usopp shook his head and quickly organized himself.
"Kaya, listen to me! For your own safety, you have to come with me!" This caused the girl to blush a bit. "Kurahadol is really the infamous pirate Captain Kuro! He killed your parents to and made them look like an accident occurred. And now he plans to have you sign over the rights of your wealth to him. It's all been a lie! A glorious lie that he concocted for the past 3 years since he arrived!" he gasped as he ended his rant, but was disappointed by what the outcome was.
The girl that he secretly loved was close to tears.
"How could you….?" she spoke in a hushed whisper.
"Kaya…-"
"How could you say such things about Kurahadol! I know what he said about your father was out of line, but so is this! Your lies were actually enjoyable… they made me laugh… but now you're saying horrible things about a man who has done nothing but take care of me, while I was sick! I…I don't want to see you anymore… Usopp…"
Deep inside, Usopp's heart was breaking. She didn't believe him either.
"Oi, do you hear voices in the courtyard?" One of the guards asked. The other guard looked back and eyes widened.
"Hey! It's the liar! He snuck onto the estate again!" The other guard shouted.
Usopp panicked, and pleaded with Kaya hoping to tell her the right thing to say, but he couldn't find the right words to it.
"I'm…He isn't… I-I…Argghh!" without thinking he grabbed Kaya by the waist and made his way down the tree.
"Usopp! Let me go! You're hurting me!" Kaya cried.
Suddenly the guards came rushing in, led by another servant of hers who had the appearance of a sheep.
"Kaya-ojousama! Has that ruffian harmed you in any way?" the one called Merry asked.
"Merry…!"
Usopp wasted no more time, and pulled at Kaya's arm, but found that she wouldn't budge.
"Kaya, what are you doing? I have to-"
*SLAP!*
Usopp and Merry were both surprised, but none more so than the sniper. He stared at the heiress who had unshed tears pouring down the sides of her face. She yanked her hand away and turned away from him.
"Get out…"
"K-Kaya… P-Please-" Usopp practically begged, but was willing to get down on his hands and knees in front of her, to make her understand.
"GET OUT!" she screamed at his face, but had her eyes scrunched as she couldn't bear to look at him anymore. Usopp tried to take Kaya's hand again, only to hear a single gunshot and a sharp pain in his arm. The source of the shot came from Merry, who looked ready to kill him if he wasn't careful. In the end, Usopp had no choice but to run away, that was all he could do.
Opening his eyes, Luffy sat up, feeling a bit drowsy. He scratched his head as he examined the area around him, only to find that he was still at the bluffs, only it was now sunset. "Are… Where am I…?" his eyes widened in what had just transpired. That butler was really a pirate planning to kill that young girl Usopp had a crush on. He clenched his fists in anger at the thought of how cowardly Kuro was to plot in such a way; he didn't deserve to be a pirate.
Suddenly he felt a sense of vibration in his left side-pocket. He pulled it out and the source of it turned out to be the small, black ring he found of that pelican above Orange Town; the one bearing the mark of the Revolutionary Army. He eyed it curiously as to why it did so, until he saw a small, unseen latch that blended into the ring. He carefully opened the latch with his left index finger and thumb and found it surprisingly easy to open.
'Buru-Buru-Buru…Buru-Buru-Buru…' It was a Baby Den-Den Mushi (Baby Transponder Snail); it was white with black stripes and incredibly small… smaller than a regular Baby Den-Den Mushi should be; it was practically as thin as paper. He pressed the small receiver button, awaiting who would it be.
'Luffy…' spoke a familiar, commanding voice. Luffy grinned, showing off his pearly whites to nothing.
"Tousan!" he replied, happy to hear his father's voice.
"I see you got the Slim Den-Den Mushi. It was designed by one of our scientists for covert operatives for you and Ace."
Luffy's grin lessened, but was still smiling.
"I'm also proud of what you did in Shell town. Thanks to you, we've won the town's trust and established another base of operations there."
"Cool!" Luffy exclaimed.
"Now then onto business; what is your current location?" Dragon asked.
"I'm at a small island in the East Blue called Gecko Island. We're currently in Syrup Village. I already have a first-mate swordsman, a navigator, a mystic, and I'm about to recruit a sniper."
"Syrup Village, huh…? Luffy, for your first mission, I want you to meet a contact of mine, he goes by the name of Merry, get him alone and tell him who you are, then he'll give you a ship to sail for the Grand Line."
Luffy nodded, but before he could say anything else, he heard footsteps echoing a few meters away. "Oops, gotta hang up tou-san." he spoke quickly as he closed up the communicator and slipped it back into his pockets. He got up on his feet and turned to see his crewmates and the Usopp pirates.
"Oh, hey guys." he greeted, but not before Nami bonked over the head.
"Where the hell where you?" yelled Nami, raising her steaming fist, and ready to deal another blow.
"Witch!" screamed the terrified veggie trio, before Nami tilted her heated glare at the boys, causing them to almost soil themselves... almost.(Yeah, she's that scary, O_O!)
Luffy looked confused until his eyes widened again. "Oh, shit! That's right! That butler's really a pirate captain and he plans to kill that girl and the villagers tomorrow!"
Nami's eyes widened at this new information while the kids were jaw-dropped. But Zoro merely raised an eyebrow and Hawkins remained stoic. It was then Usopp showed up clutching his wound, but once the veggie kids came into his view, he immediately hid his distressed face and used his small arm-warmer to cover up the wound. Immediately the kids ran up to him.
"Captain, we heard about that butler!" yelled Piman.
"Yeah, don't worry Captain, we'll help you fight off the pirates!" added Temanegi
"Because nothing's stronger than us, the Usopp Pirates, right Captain?" cheered Ninjin.
Usopp said nothing at the moment, but then let out an uproarious laugh.
"HAHAHAHA…! Boy I sure fooled you guys! I made up that lie about Kurahadol being a pirate to get back at him for bad-mouthing my dad!" Usopp grinned.
Luffy looked confused at his 'lie' until the answer came to him moments later.
"Really? So it was just another lie then?" asked Piman.
Ninjin sighed. "And I thought it would be something fun to do…"
"Yeah, I actually thought you were serious this time, Captain." added Temanegi.
…
…
…
"But…" this time, the veggie kids expressions fell to disappointment. "I never thought Captain would stoop that low…" said Piman.
Ninjin frowned and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I gotta say… not cool."
"I don't like that butler either, but, the Captain would lie just to hurt someone…?" Temanegi voiced his own agreement.
Afterwards, the kids departed down the road and back to their respective homes, leaving the village liar with the pirate crew. Then nightfall arrived and Usopp walked around until he found a rock to sit on and looked like a broken man.
…
"You did good Usopp, lying to these kids to keep them safe." said Nami.
"They would've just gotten in the way." Zoro added.
Usopp tilted his head up to face the crew. "Even so, the others don't believe me… not even… Kaya…" his voice cracked with emotion as he mentioned his crush. He turned his face Hawkins. "You were right, about that prediction…"
Hawkins just stared.
Immediately he stood up and put on the best 'brave' expression he could muster. "But… I love this village and everyone in it! If they think it's a lie, then fine… but this lie will reveal to be true come tomorrow morning…"
Luffy and the crew then saw blood trickling down his wound and seeping a little into his arm-warmer. Nami took the liberty of bandaging it up to stop the bleeding while Usopp continued his speech.
"I will protect this village with my very life, and I won't stop until they give up and run away! Kuro won't lay a finger on Kaya while I'm still alive and breathing!" The crew noticed his legs starting to shake. "Tomorrow, everyone will live another peaceful day and it'll be thanks to Captain Usopp!" tears were beginning to flow and he quickly wiped them away with his sleeve.
…
Luffy grinned while pulling out a piece of grass and putting it in his mouth. "Guess you'll need some help then, huh?"
Usopp looked confused for a moment. "Wha-"
"You're hopelessly outnumbered, you won't stand a chance. Plus you got guts for someone like you." Zoro pointed out.
"Just remember that all their treasure is mine." stated Nami.
Hawkins continued to remain mute.
"You guys…" Usopp almost started to cry again, but held it in and came back with a smile.
"Thank you!" he cried. "But what can you guys do?" Usopp inquired.
"I cut…" said Zoro.
"I stretch and absorb…" said Luffy.
"I steal…" said Nami.
"I levitate…" said Hawkins.
"I hide…" Usopp said before Luffy, Nami, and Zoro turned on him. "YOU'LL FIGHT TOO!"
Usopp chuckled nervously before telling them he would go to his house and gather every trick up his sleeve to prepare the battlefield. Hawkins pulled out a card, and Luffy turned his attention to the mystic.
"Hawkins, you've barely said a word… what's up?" asked Luffy.
With his usual emotionless expression he looked at his crew. "The Shadow of Death looms over Usopp tomorrow."
Later that night at Kaya's estate, Kuro was preparing his things and getting ready to enact his 3-year plan. He turned his attention to Merry who was just finishing fixing the chandelier.
"Merry, do you know where Kaya-ojousama is?" he asked.
"Ah, she upstairs in her room, sleeping. Poor girl, today she seemed really upset, no thanks to that ruffian Usopp. He even had the nerve of accusing you of being a pirate!" he spoke with slight disdain for the village liar as he climbed down the ladder.
"Mmm… indeed… I trust he has been taken care of..?"
Merry nodded. "Of course, he won't be bothering ojousama anymore. In fact, Kaya-ojousama said that she never wanted to see Usopp again.
Kuro smiled darkly. "That can be arranged…" he muttered.
"What was that?" Merry wasn't sure he had heard him correctly.
"Oh, nothing…." Kuro turned his attention outside the window he was facing until at the corner of his eye, he spied a small present on the table. "What's this?"
Merry saw the object that Kuro was referring to and smiled. "Oh, that's a present from Kaya-ojousama to you!"
"For me?" he asked as he started to open it, revealing a brand-new pair of glasses.
"Yes. Tomorrow will mark the 3-year anniversary of your arrival here on this island and into Kaya-ojousama's life. She noticed how much you fix your glasses, so she bought the right pair for you so they wouldn't fall off…Oh, she's such a kind and generous soul…" Merry said as he wiped away tears of mirth away from his eyes with a handkerchief.
Kuro turned back to the night sky. When he noticed a crescent moon was out, his expression went from calm to sinister. "The crescent moon is out tonight… it really brings out the worst in me…"
Merry looked puzzled at Kuro's meaning, until he saw said butler/ex-pirate smash the gift onto the floor. Merry looked appalled.
"Kurahadol… why would you-?" his queries were interrupted when saw that look in Kuro's eyes that he had never seen before.
"Interestingly enough Merry… that the village liar would actually tell the truth for once.
Merry's eyes widened in horror as he blanched a bit. "Nani? You mean to say that you're-"
"I am sorry Merry, but I can't let you live, now that you know…" Just as Merry was about to yell, his voice never got through as he felt a set of blades claw at his upper body.
Kuro put away his Cat-Claws into a duffel bag he had concealed from view. He took a deep breath to control his bloodlust. He only got this way during a crescent moon, which earned him the title of being the most ruthless pirate captain in the East Blue.
"Nothing will interfere with my plans…"
Chapter 8 done!