Brand New World

Ch. 23: The Fox and the Pheasant

-X-

Disclaimer: The following is a fan made work of fiction. One Piece is owned by Funimation, Toei Animation, Fuji TV, Shueisha, Shonen Jump Manga, and Eiichiro Oda. I do not own One Piece or any of its characters, nor any of the songs I put in here. The only thing I own here is Kakusei and a few fan characters.

Summary: I`m Kakusei. I have no idea where I am, or who I am, but I feel I m in a familiar world, just not my own. Mentions other mangas as the character is from our world. I`m being realistic. Also, Robin x OC later.

Rating: T for Language, Violence, and Blood.

-X-

"Round Three of the Davy Back Fight! A pitched "Combat" between both crew's captains for the fate of their own crews!" Tubiflex said enthusiastically. "The Boss's legend of 920 straight wins without a defeat is smashed, and the conqueror of the game is...!"

"...I'm not... going to let you have any of my Nakama, even if I die!" Luffy said in his mind.

"STRAW HAT LUFFY!" Tubiflex yelled at the top of his lungs.

"YEAH, LUFFY!" Usopp cheered loudly.

"LUFFY!" Nami said as she stood up and Sanji tried to hug and kiss her. The Bell rang, and the fight was over!

"Boss... lost...! Hey, don't just sit there! We gotta save him!" The Foxy Pirates said as they ran towards the front of the stands.

"The Foxy Pirates vs. The Straw Hat Pirates! Orthodox rules, three-coin game Davy Back Fight! We now conclude this competition!" Tubiflex announced as the stands collapsed due to the Foxy Pirates concentrating in one place.

"BOSS!" The Foxy Pirates cried out.

A bit later, Chopper had gotten Luffy patched up and we were waiting for him to wake up.

"...man, that was so insane. CRAZY! CRAZY BOY!" Usopp said as he poked Luffy several times.

"DON'T POKE HIM SO HARD! HE'S REALLY HURT, YOU JERK!" Chopper said yelling at Usopp.

"You had me so worried...! Especially with all that afro power garbage," Nami said as she was waiting for Luffy to wake up.

"The afro is a mighty thing, Nami-san," Sanji said trying to convince Nami.

"Ah! He's awake," Chopper said as Luffy slowly stirred to consciousness.

"Huh... W-what the? The game! What about the game? I... I thought I won... Was it all a dream?" Luffy said frantically as he sat up quickly.

"Don't worry, you won..." Zoro said calmly.

"That's good..." Luffy said as he dropped back and laid down in the grass.

"Yup," Chopper said calmly.

"Don't worry, I was watching over you," Usopp said in his braggart tone.

"Liar," Sanji said looking at Usopp.

"Now that I think about it, I have no reason to continue being a pirate, without this ship," Zoro said calmly.

"What about your bounty?" I asked.

"Oh yeah, that," Zoro replied.

"Haha..." Robin laughed at our side conversation.

"BOSS! You shouldn't be moving around yet...!" The Foxy Pirates said as Foxy walked towards us.

"Hey, Straw Hat...! You got a lotta nerve, ruining my legend!" Foxy said seeming a bit peeved. We all got a bit tense. "You win. Brother." Foxy said as he held his hand out in a congratulatory handshake. Luffy accepted while Porche and Hamburg were snickering. "DERYAAAA! OVERHEAD THROW OF VENGEANCE!" Foxy said as he tried to throw Luffy over his shoulder, but due to Luffy`s rubber nature, all he did was slam his head into the ground.

"BOSS!" The Foxy Pirates yelled.

"What an idiot," Zoro said.

"Fine! Pick your prize, already! Which one do you want?" Foxy said angrily.

"He's right! We're waiting for the final transaction! The winning team's captain gets to choose, "Straw Hat"! He appears to desire a shipwright! Will it be Sonier, the boss of our crew of fifty shipwrights? Will it be Donovan, our fighting shipwright? Or will it be Gina, our sexy shipwright babe?" Tubiflex said as he showed a guy with a goatee in a beret, a man wearing sunglasses and holding three nails in his teeth, and a provocative woman in a bikini licking her lips respectively. :You can choose anyone you want! Go ahead, champion!"

"GIMME YOUR FLAG!" Luffy said bluntly.

"WHAAAAT?" The Foxy Pirates exclaimed in shock.

"H-hey Luffy! Are you sure?" Sanji said in protest. "You don't want Gina, the sexy shipwright babe? You won't regret this?"

"If I got something I really wanted, I'd forget why I accepted the game in the first place," Luffy said calmly.

"Thank goodness," Nami said with a sigh of relief.

"...you're insane! You're just gonna go right ahead and steal our pride and joy?" Foxy said protesting.

"It's okay, I don't want your sail. Otherwise you guys can't get anywhere," Luffy said still calmly.

"What? That's too merciful... And our sail has our mark on it! We can't keep it anymore...!" The Foxy Pirates said still protesting Luffy`s decision. "DON'T PITY US! TAKE WHAT YOU MUST TAKE!"

"...okay. I'll just erase the mark then. I'll draw you a new symbol for your sail. Then I don't have to take your sail," Luffy said showing a calm clear mind for once.

"Straw Hat... you're such a..." Foxy began saying in gratitude.

"All done!" Luffy said as he revealed a horrible depiction of their previous flag with the kanji for Kitsune written like it was scribbled. Well, Luffy is a horrible artist after all.

"HORRIBLE ARTIST!" The Foxy Pirates said in their minds in unison as they all went into depression mode.

"Boy, they sure are grateful," Luffy said calmly.

"NO WE'RE NOT!" The Foxy Pirates exclaimed.

I breathed a heavy sigh as I stepped forward. "You know what, you guys are a bunch of cheating, no-good, dirty assholes," I began, "but no one deserves that kind of torture especially after the defeat we`ve handed you today. I`ll draw you a new flag, as long as you never bother us again."

"Anything! I`ll do anything to change that horrible symbol!" Foxy said begging me and groveling as he tried to sway me to change the mark Luffy drew. So I grabbed some paint and brushes and got to work, after getting the deal in writing from Foxy. While I was working, Porche kept trying to hug Chopper, and Chopper ran from her in fear.

"Finished," I said a bit later. I had painted a fox`s head in front of nine fox tails, all in the same color of Foxy` s Noroma Photons, and the Fox head`s nose was colored like Foxy`s nose. The Fox was also holding an hourglass in its mouth sideways.

"It`s… AMAZING!" Foxy said happily as he looked at his new symbol. "You`ve done us a great favor Kakusei, and I`ll never forget this!"

"It`s so cool! That`s amazing! How`d he do that? Wish he was on our crew…" That was just a few of the things I heard from the Foxy Pirates in praise and thanks of my work.

"Wow, you really are a good artist Kakusei," Nami said to me in praise. "Really wish you had been around when we made our flag."

"Usopp did a fine job," I said trying to be humble. "Now, if you don`t mind, I need to change and wash up real quick."

"THE VICTORS, THE STRAW HAT PIRATES! AND THUS THIS INSTALLMENT OF DAVY BACK FIGHT COMES TO A CLOSE!" Tubiflex said as some fireworks went off and Foxy`s anchor claws were released.

"Thank goodness! The Going Merry is finally released!" Usopp cheered as I went inside the Going Merry after diving in the water to get the paint off me.

"...HEY! STRAW HAT!" Foxy said a bit angry as I jumped onto the Merry`s deck.

"Huh?" Luffy asked.

"I`ll get you for this!" Foxy yelled for no reason. Guess he just wanted to beat Luffy.

"They just don`t give up, do they?" Zoro asked as I went inside.

I got to my rooms and changed out of the t-shirt I was wearing and put on a new green tank top. I was wearing black Kung-fu pants now, cause they`re so comfy and roomy. Luckily, I took off my Gi and belt before I painted, so they were unharmed. I saw Tonjit`s house where the others were and I saw a very familiar figure with my friends and Tonjit. He was a tall man wearing a white button-up vest over a long-sleeved navy blue shirt and matching white pants and shoes. He also wore a yellow tie divided geometrically by black lines and a sleep mask on his forehead. It was the Blue Pheasant, Admiral Aokiji. I got within eyesight and earshot of them just as he was sticking his hand in the water.

"Now, stay back…" Aokiji said as he stuck his hand in the water and a giant Sea King popped up out of the water to eat Aokiji.

"OH NO! IT'S THE SEA KING OF THESE WATERS!" Tonjit cried out.

"What is that? Get outta the way!" Usopp yelled.

"Look out!" Luffy yelled.

"Ice Age," Aokiji said as the sea surface and the Sea King froze over.

"Devil Fruit!" Zoro said shocked at Aokiji`s abilities.

"The ocean froze solid...!" A few crew members of our crew said simultaneously.

"He`s a Logia-type... He ate the Hie Hie no Mi... Aokiji is an Ice Man!" I said making known my presence to everyone but Aokiji, it seemed.

"This is the strength of a Marine HQ Admiral...!" Robin said still scared.

"It'll hold for a week..." Aokiji said calmly after he pulled his ice-covered hand out and began "de-frosting". "Take your time walking... And go find your village... Be sure to bundle up... it'll be a bit chilly..."

"...am I dreaming...? The sea has turned... into a plain of ice...!" Tonjit said in disbelief. "Shelly... We can cross the water. We can see our friends! For the first time in 10 years!" Shelly neighed in happiness. "Thanks, fella! Thank you! Thank you! What a miracle! Thanks for everything!" Shelly neighed again, thanking Aokiji. "...all right then, we'll be going." Tonjit, Luffy, Chopper, Usopp and Shelly all said their good-byes and Tonjit and Shelly left on a sled. Then we all realized how cold it was, and turned around to find Aokiji still waiting for us.

"Huh? ...what?" Luffy said as Aokiji scratched his head.

"I don't know, you're like... You're just like your grandfather... Monkey D. Luffy... Maybe it's the wildness... Or that you're hard to grasp...!" Aokiji said. Luffy`s grandfather… I felt like I`d read about him, but I couldn`t place a face to the person.

"G... Grandpa...?" Luffy said a bit scared now.

"What...? Luffy's grandfather? Huh? What's wrong, Luffy? You're sweating!" Usopp asked Luffy.

"N... n... no! It's... nothing..." Luffy said badly trying to cover up his fear of his grandfather.

"You see... I owed your grandfather a "favor" once, years ago..." Aokiji said calmly. "The reason I'm here is just to take a look at Nico Robin... and you. And I think... You ought to die now." That made us all tense up. "The governments aren't taking you all too seriously yet... But when you get down to the grit, you've got a tough crew here. Even with your small number, given the kind of manpower we're dealing with, you're going to be a big problem, in the future. How you received your initial bounties, The deeds you have carried out up until now, The rate at which you grow... I have dealt with the lawless for many years... and I know these signs are ominous...!"

"N... now wait a minute...!" Usopp said speaking up. "You just said you were only here to observe..."

"The most dangerous out of all of your crew... is you. Nico Robin," Aokiji said still calm as he was.

"You ARE after Robin, then!" Luffy said angrily. "I oughta crush you!"

"Luffy!" I said almost yelling at him. "Shut it!"

"Why should I?" Luffy retorted. "He wants to take Robin!"

"You don`t think I know that?" I yelled at him. "Your bounties don`t only reflect how strong you are, but also how much the government wants you dead! Robin got her bounty at age 8, and it`s 79 million!"

Aokiji seemed to take note of my knowledge and me for some reason, but kept his cool, as expected. "You made a good living, for a kid. Betraying others and surviving... Using those who would take you in... That lack of loyalty has helped you survive in the underworld. So this must be your newest hideout."

"Hey, I don't like that tone of voice you're taking! What do you have against Robin-chan?" Sanji yelled at Aokiji angrily.

"Stop it, Sanji!" Usopp said as he tried to calm Sanji down.

"I don't have anything against her..." Aokiji began again. "But if there was a motivation... It would be that I let her get away from me, once before... Years ago. You'll understand, soon enough. The day will soon come when you know the regret of harboring a troublesome woman. As proof of that... All the organizations that Nico Robin was once a member of... have all been destroyed. Except for she herself... Why is that, Nico Robin?"

"KNOCK IT OFF! That's all in the past!" Luffy yelled at Aokiji.

"I see... she has infiltrated the group well," Aokiji said still calm.

"What are trying to say?" Robin cried out a bit scared and frantic. "If you want to arrest me, then do it! Treinte Fleur!"

"ROBIN! DON'T DO IT!" Usopp and I said simultaneously.

"Uh-oh... maybe I went too far," Aokiji said with a set of hands under his chin and a few more holding his throat. "Too bad. I was under the impression that you were smarter..."

"He`ll just…" I said, but too late.

"CLUTCH!" Robin said as she snapped Aokiji`s back in half.

"UWAAAAAAH! HE'S DEAD!" Chopper yelled bugging out.

"Oh my god...! We gotta hightail it, everyone!" Usopp yelled in fear. Aokiji began to reform out of the ice around him, perfectly unscathed.

"Mmmmm... My... That wasn't very nice..." Aokiji said as he reformed.

"GYAAAAAA! GYAAAAAAA!" Usopp yelled in fear that Aokiji survived. Aokiji then grabbed a few blade of grass, threw them into the air, and blew on them, freezing them into a sword-like shape.

"Ice Saber. I didn't want to kill anyone..." Aokiji said slowly. He swung his sword at Robin, but Zoro blocked it, and Sanji jumped behind him. For some reason, I couldn`t move. Was I waiting, or was I afraid of this Admiral who had a Logia fruit.

"Slice SHOT!" Sanji yelled as he kicked the sword out of Aokiji`s hand and into the air.

"GOMU GOMU NO...!" Luffy began as he charged forward, stretching his arm back. Sanji and Zoro both flinched a bit as Aokiji grabbed Sanji`s leg and Zoro`s arm.

"BULLET!" Luffy finished as he slammed his fist into Aokiji`s stomach, but it began to freeze! "Cold! Whoaa!"

"Guaaah!" Sanji yelled in pain as his thigh was frozen.

"Aaaaaah!" Zoro yelled in pain as his right arm was frozen.

"GYAAAAA, THEY'VE BEEN FROZEN!" Chopper yelled as Usopp stood in fear, speechless.

"All three at once...!" Nami yelled in shock.

"GWAAAAAH!" Sanji, Luffy, and Zoro all yelled in pain as they clutched their frozen limbs.

"O... oh no!" Chopper said in worry. "We have to help them at once...! If they get frostbite, their limbs will rot!" Dammit, why couldn`t I move! My legs wouldn`t respond!

"...you've got some nice friends... But YOU... are still YOURSELF, Nico Robin," Aokiji said still calm. I snapped at that moment.

"NO, SHE`S NOT!" I yelled moving Aokiji and Robin`s attention to me. "She`s not the same person you met twenty years ago on OHARA!" What possessed me to say that name is beyond me. All I know is I shocked both Robin and Aokiji.

"He... He`s right! I'm not...!" Robin began before Aokiji hugged her in his half-ice form.

"Robin! Look out, run!" Luffy yelled still clutching his frozen arm.

"I'm..." Robin began.

"Robin-chan!" Sanji yelled. In a matter of seconds, Robin had been completely frozen. She was now an ice-covered statue.

"AAAAAAH! ROBIN!" Luffy yelled looking at Robin. "YOU BASTARD!"

"Chill kid... when you freeze them right, they're still alive..." Aokiji still said in his calm voice. "But look out... they're easy to shatter like this, and if that happens, they die. For instance, if I punch her like so..." He said as he began to try to punch Robin.

"AAH! STOP!" Luffy said as he ran to try to stop him.

"ROBIN!" The rest of us yelled out.

"Hahh... that was close!" Luffy said as he sat on his knees holding Robin so Aokiji missed her."Gueh!" Luffy said as Aokiji stomped him in an attempt to stomp the frozen body of Robin. Usopp however, had put his running skills to use and snagged her before Aokiji could hit her.

"BOOYAH!" Usopp yelled out.

"Good job, Usopp!" Nami cheered.

"What are they doing...?" Aokiji asked a bit frustrated.

"Nng! Usopp! Chopper!" Luffy yelled out as he rolled out from under Aokiji`s foot. "Run straight to the ship! Help save Robin!"

"O-OK!" Usopp and Chopper replied.

"Kakusei, you go too!" Luffy yelled realizing I was paralyzed by my fear.

"Roger!" I replied a bit uneasy as I turned around and ran for the ship with Usopp and Chopper.

"Don't bother. We'll all be better off without her around," Aokiji said calmly just as Nami swung the Clima-Tact at him. He still caught it though.

"I hate to ruin your fun, but... that's what pirates are like," Nami replied.

"I'm glad you understand...! Now move, girl," Aokiji said as he grabbed her staff and knocked her away.

"AAH!" Nami cried out as she fell.

"NAMI-SAN!" Sanji yelled from his sitting position as he and Zoro got up.

"WAIT! YOU GUYS!" Luffy yelled out. "Stay out of this. We'll handle this, one-on-one! THIS FIGHT IS BETWEEN ME AND YOU." Luffy said as he took his stance with a frozen arm.

"I don't mind..." Aokiji said still calm. "… but I don't have a ship to take you in with... that means I'll have to kill you, you know?"

-X-

Back at the ship…

-X-

Chopper and Usopp were in the shower room trying to thaw Robin as safely as possible. I just sat on the mast cross-beam as many thoughts ran through my mind. What the hell is Ohara? Why did I yell it out like that? Why couldn`t I move against Aokiji? Was I scared of him?

"CHOPPER!" I heard a familiar voice yell as I saw Nami, Sanji, and Zoro in front of the ship.

"AHHH!" Chopper said looking at them as did I. "Why are you three back?"

"Hahh... hahh...!" Nami panted.

"We'll talk later!" Zoro yelled at Chopper. "Right now we have to go back! So hurry up and thaw us!"

"Uh, okay!" Chopper said thinking. "Ummmm... We have to melt the ice with water right away...! But Robin's in the shower room..."

"Is Robin okay?" Nami asked.

"We don't know yet," Chopper said as I jumped off the cross-beam and Zoro and Sanji jumped into the sea.

"What?" Nami said trying to get what was going on.

"Huh...?" Chopper said also confused a bit.

"Bwah...! Will this work?" Sanji said as he and Zoro surfaced.

"Melt the ice at low temperature... heat up the part of your body by rubbing it, and come up on the ship!" Chopper said somewhat calmly. "Nami, help me with Robin!"

"Okay!" Nami said before she noticed me beginning to run back. "Kakusei, where are you going?"

"I`m going back," I yelled as I ran. "I`m the only one who can stop or at least stall Aokiji, and right now I don`t give a damn what happens to me!" I bolted as I heard Nami yell my name. I finally got back to the battlefield just to see Aokiji freeze Luffy. "LUFFY!" I yelled at the top of my lungs as Aokiji gently set him down. "Damn it!" I yelled getting Aokiji`s attention again.

"It`s you," Aokiji said calmly. "I may have spared Robin and him, but you, I may have to kill."

"That`s fine, but if we fight, we go further away from Luffy," I said staying calm. Inside however, I was scared out of my mind. I was taking on an Admiral. "I don`t want my captain to die on me."

"That`s fine," Aokiji said calmly. "I want to find out more about you anyway." We began to walk away and he spoke up. "I`ve never seen you on a wanted poster, and yet you seem familiar, but you know of Ohara. That alone puts you as a threat. Where did you learn of that name?"

"I can`t say myself," I said a bit calmer now as we walked. "I`ve lost my memory since before I met my friends." I pointed to my head. "All I know is I`m here and I have to fight with my friends to survive."

"How do you know they aren`t evil?" Aokiji asked me, almost sounding inquisitive.

"Let`s call it intuition," I said covering my real past. "I know what Luffy`s done, and up till now, he`s done nothing but good, and that includes our friends, no matter their pasts."

"You and he seem similar," Aokiji said as he began to slow down. "But I wonder, what else do you know? I guess I may not find out."

"We`ll see about that," I said as he and I got into battle mode. I took my improvised stance while he just stood there normally. "Cause I`m probably the one guy on this crew who can kick your ass!"

-X-

The Davy Back Fight is over, but a new much tougher opponent has appeared! And Kakusei shows he knows more than he thinks he does.

Next chapter, the fight between Kakusei and Aokiji begins! Can he beat this frosty Pheasant?

Tsugino jikan made! (Until next time!)