Disclaimer: All the characters herein, with the exception of some random extras, are the intellectual property of Eiichiro Oda and all the companies involved with publishing and production of the One Piece manga and anime. I just twisted 'em a bit.
Spoilers/Warnings: This story will eventually encompass the entire first season of the anime, which is up to about halfway through volume 11 of the manga, just so you know. This is an AU, so many things have been changed/altered/warped to suit my needs. Also, there is some language and violence.
Pairing: None. However, I like subtext, so you can probably find hints of just about anything, if you look for it.
Dedication: To the OP at the fanforall at LJ, for requesting a cowboy AU and spawning this in my brain. Many thanks to Dandy Wonderous for beta-ing.
A/N: Name order for all characters has been westernized. Don't like it? Tough cookies! I do not claim to be an expert on anything involving gun fighting, the old west, or the cavalry. I did some very basic research for some of this, but I probably got lots of stuff wrong. Humor me!
Part 5- The Black Cat
The Straw Hat Gang, as Luffy had insisted they refer to themselves, despite all protests, had left the horses stabled in town. As they walked toward the ranch, Nami continued to try and argue with the stubborn boy she refused to call "Boss."
"We're hardly a gang at all anyway, seeing as there are only three of us, and I'm not planning on staying!"
"We already decided, though..." Luffy frowned at her, bottom lip stuck out in a pout.
"No," Nami ground out between clenched teeth, "you decided, all on your own!"
"Well, I am the boss, you know," he declared, as though this logic should make everything clear as crystal.
Nami barely stifled a yell of frustration. Zoro found himself pinned by a death glare when he had the audacity to snicker.
"And you!" The angry redhead jabbed at Zoro's chest with a sharp finger. "Why aren't you putting up more of a fight? You didn't want to be in his gang, either!"
"I know better than to try arguing with somebody what can out-stubborn a mule," the gunman explained as he caught the girl's wrist in a firm grip. "Quit poking me. At any rate, the kid's starting to grow on me. Figure I may as well humor him, as long as I stick around."
"You'll call me 'Boss,' won't you, Zoro?" The pout was now directed full force at the gunfighter. Nami attempted to counter it with another glare. Zoro was decidedly uncomfortable. If only there was some kind of distraction...
"Hey, that fellow over there has red spectacles!"
"Really?" It worked like a charm on Luffy. Nami hadn't even flinched.
"Oh, please! That's the oldest trick in the-"
"They're a real funny shape, too!" Luffy hooted. That piqued her interest. She should have figured Zoro wasn't the creative sort...
The close proximity to the river gave the area an unusual lushness compared to the surrounding sands. Among the verdure were a smattering of trees. One such tree stood nearby, the man in the odd glasses leaning against the trunk. Spectacles were rather rare and expensive, as they had to be custom made, and these were not only unique in color, they were also made in the shape of hearts. He swung a large, gold pocket watch in front of himself like a pendulum.
Even though he had clearly drawn the attention of the passing trio, he didn't acknowledge their presence. Instead, he gazed expectantly down the road in the direction they had been heading.
"Right then," Zoro declared, "where were we?" He started off down the road again, taking advantage of the diversion to put a little distance between himself and the other two.
Nami started to follow, before she noticed Luffy was still gawking at the stranger. She pinched one of his ears between her thumb and the first knuckle of her index finger and tugged sharply.
"Hurry up," she chastened, "we've got things to do! Besides, it's impolite to stare."
"Ow! Leggo, Nami! I'm coming, honest..." She ignored his protests and continued dragging him along by his ear. "You're supposed to respect the boss," he whined.
"I thought I made it pretty clear that you aren't my boss!" Nami was so busy glaring over her shoulder at Luffy, she almost ran into the back of Zoro.
The gunman had paused to watch a man on horseback pass. The others joined him. The man on the horse gave off a stern aura. Like the other stranger they had met on the road, he wore spectacles, but his were of the typical variety. He gave them each a cool, disinterested glance in passing.
"I don't think I like him," Luffy observed in an unusually serious tone.
"Why not?" Nami asked, even as she suppressed a shudder.
"Dunno," Luffy shrugged. "I just don't." Just as suddenly as it had vanished, the boy's broad grin was back. "Look, it's Usopp!"
Sure enough, the long-nosed young man could be seen approaching. He looked surprised to see the three travelers again.
"What in the world are you all doing out here?" he inquired.
"We were hoping the ranch might have a horse we could purchase," Nami explained. "What are you doing out here? I thought you said you lived in town."
"Yes, well, I happen to be a close friend of the, uh, ranch owner." Usopp flushed slightly. "It's a pretty small ranch, they have a few yoke oxen and some other cattle, but I think all the horses are in use."
"Well, it couldn't hurt to ask, I suppose," Nami persisted.
"There's no reason to bother the owner," Usopp insisted. "I suppose the person who would know best about the horse situation is the head ranch hand, Klahadore. I should probably warn you, though, he's not very friendly."
Nami and Zoro exchanged a pointed glance.
"Tall, dark haired man?" Nami asked.
"Wears spectacles and dresses in black?" Zoro added.
Usopp nodded, slightly dumbfounded. "Do you know him?"
"He rode past here a few minutes ago," Luffy contributed. "You're right, he wasn't very friendly at all."
"That's odd," Usopp mused, "he usually spends most of his time on the ranch. The butler, Merry, does most of the supply shopping. I wonder what he's doing..."
"Let's go see!" With no further warning, Luffy grabbed Usopp's wrist and dragged him back down the road toward town at a sprint.
"Luffy!" Nami called after him in vain. She turned her petulant frown on Zoro. "Well, aren't you going after him?"
"I ain't running," the gunman informed her. He began walking back toward town just the same. "How much trouble can he get into by the time we get there, anyhow?"
"I have a bad feeling about this," Nami confided to no one in particular, before heading off to catch up with Zoro.
Jango pushed his red glasses further up the bridge of his nose and watched the watch swinging back and forth. His old boss was sure taking his sweet time... There had been no contact whatsoever form the man for years, then a telegram had arrived at an old haunt of the gang's.
Meet me in two weeks at the live oak south of Syrup. Don't draw attention.
-The Black Cat
Jango supposed that the message could have been more vague, but it would have been damned difficult! Still, he knew better than to anger the man. The signature alone had sent a shiver down his spine. Bad luck always did seem to follow anyone who crossed his path.
"You were instructed not to draw attention." Jango jumped and whipped around to face the former boss of the Black Cat Gang. The address had not been loud, but the cold tone was as effective as any shout. "Those ridiculous glasses of yours are a nuisance..."
"I'm rather attached to them, myself. Many apologies, Kuro-"
"Never," this time the man's voice was raised, "use that name again!" The calm front was reestablished within moments. "In this town, I am known as Klahadore. Mark it well."
"Certainly, Boss," Jango settled on a neutral form of address.
"Did any of the old gang accompany you?"
"Sam and Butch came along. There are a couple of new faces, as well."
"I hope they prove dependable. I want tomorrow to go exactly as planned."
"A job?" Jango couldn't believe his ears. "I thought you'd left all that behind you, Kuro- er, Boss." That earned him an icy stare he knew was his last warning.
"This isn't going to be a robbery," Klahadore clarified. "At least, not of the sort to which you are accustomed." He took Jango's continued silence as an invitation to elaborate. "I've spent the last several years working as the head ranch hand at the Bar K ranch just down the road. The original owner and his wife both died suddenly and tragically from a mysterious illness a short time after I was hired."
"I wonder what that 'mysterious illness' could have been," Jango chuckled. Klahadore glared him back into silence before continuing.
"In the woman's case, I suspect consumption. As for the owner, well, perhaps he took ill from something he ate... At any rate, the entire estate was left to their only child, a daughter. From a thriving ranch, the place has dwindled to bare subsistence. The child knows nothing of business, poor dear." The seemingly kind words were belied by the man's sneering tone. "Living so far outside of town, with so few staff on hand nowadays, it would be understandable if a passing gang of cattle rustlers were to take advantage of the situation. It would be an unfortunate tragedy if the girl were to be killed in the process."
"I see," Jango nodded, "but what do you need the boys and me for? You could probably hire-"
"Are you still as... 'persuasive' as I recall, Jango?" Klahadore interrupted with a question. Jango swung the pocket watch in a lazy circle, grinning all the while. "Good. The ranch has great potential in the right hands: my hands. The young lady is going to write a will leaving everything to me, in the event of her passing. You'll see to that for me, won't you? I'll reward you and 'the boys' appropriately."
There was a sudden rustling in the scrub nearby. With a lazy flick of his wrist, Klahadore sent a throwing knife hurtling toward the spot. There was no further noise or motion. He cocked his head to the side and stared at the spot for a moment, before deciding it had probably been some sort of vermin. Zoro and Nami could be seen in the distance, coming down the road.
"Be at the main ranch gate tomorrow at dawn," Klahadore instructed imperiously. He remounted his horse and rode back toward the ranch at a trot. Jango pulled his hat down lower and slouched off in the opposite direction.
Nami and Zoro paused at the tree. Zoro squinted toward town, but all he could see was the man with the strange glasses. Well, he was pretty sure it was the same guy. He looked a little different from behind.
"Shouldn't we have caught up with them?" Nami grumped, fists on hips. "We just saw that Klahadore guy on his way home; wasn't that who they were chasing?"
A wiry figure dashed out of the nearby brush. "Nami! Zoro! The ranch is gonna get attacked tomorrow!" Luffy was practically bouncing up and down in excitement.
"What?" Nami blinked at both Luffy's sudden appearance and the out of the blue proclamation.
"Hold still," Zoro commanded, grabbing the antsy boy's jaw and turning it to examine his ear. "You're bleeding." Something had nicked the shell of Luffy's ear, taking out a small chunk of the rim.
"Kuro almost caught us spying." Usopp rose slowly from the same clump of bushes from which Luffy had sprung, knees knocking, a bloody throwing knife in one hand.
"Kuro?" Zoro quirked one eyebrow. "As in the Black Cat Bandit?"
"Isn't he dead?" Nami wondered. "I thought you were chasing that guy from the ranch..."
"Klahadore is Kuro!" Usopp exclaimed, arms flailing. "He's not dead," he added, rather redundantly.
Zoro looked up from examining the knife. "It's possible," he conceded. The gunman ran his thumb over the rough shape of a cat's head burned into the leather wrapping the knife hilt. "They couldn't really confirm it was him after the shootout; he took a shotgun blast to the face."
Nami shuddered. "Well, that's an image I didn't need! What would he be doing here?"
"He's gonna kill Usopp's lady friend and take over her ranch!" Luffy informed them. Usopp glowed bright red.
"Sh-she's not my lady friend!"
"Sure she is," Luffy insisted. "You said she's your friend, and she's a lady!"
"Anyway, what's all this about killing?" Nami prompted. The explanation that followed was disjointed, full of random interruptions and tangents, and several parts had to be repeated. When the summation of the overheard conversation was complete, there was a moment of silence.
"So," Zoro finally spoke, "you gonna do anything about it?"
"What can I do?" Usopp asked helplessly. "No one's going to believe me if I try to tell them! You guys only believe me because Luffy heard it, too!"
"You should stop him," Luffy said, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"On my own?" Usopp squeaked. Then he looked at the knife and thought of what he had overheard, clenching his jaw and squaring his shoulders. "Well, I certainly can't sit back and do nothing!"
"I'll help, if you want." Luffy fingered the injury to his ear. "I knew I didn't like that guy..."
"You're just looking for an excuse to fight, aren't you?" Nami rolled her eyes. "Hey, Usopp, this girl? She's rich, right?"
"I guess. I'm not really sure..."
"Seems to me somebody might want to reward someone who helps save their life, right?"
"Um..."
"I'm not much of a fighter," Nami concluded, "but I'll do what I can."
"When's this going down?" Zoro asked.
"You, too?" Usopp couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"I don't need an excuse. I never turn down a fight," the gunman smirked.
"Tomorrow at dawn." Usopp held out his right hand, palm down. One by one, the others put their hands in as well.
"Tomorrow at dawn."
End Notes:
Regarding Jango's glasses, they did have colored glasses during this time period. It's highly unlikely any would be heart-shaped, but since my Jango is so toned down otherwise, I figured I'd leave him his eyewear.
I couldn't find any inspiration for an original ranch name, so I settled for a mash-up of Bar S and Circle K. What?
I started out telling myself that I wasn't going to change any of the names. Then I realized that the Meowban brothers (Siam and Butchy, was it?) were very close to classic western names: Sam and Butch. They're pretty much only there to look threatening and then get taken down several pegs, so I let that change slide.