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. There's a bit of a spoiler of sorts in this part, but unless you already know about what I'm spoiling, you probably wouldn't pick up on it, so... 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 7- Showdown at the Bar K

Usopp and Nami watched three figures approach their barn hideout. The man in the heart-shaped glasses started to break off toward the main house, while the other two continued walking toward the barn.

"Kaya..." Usopp whispered. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he fired a shot right in front of the stranger with the spectacles. He paused only briefly before continuing toward the house.

"Usopp," Nami called softly, tugging on his sleeve, "what are we going to do about the other two?"

"Well, well, Butch, what have we got here?" a sneering voice drifted up to them. "We'd best be careful, the boy's got a slingshot!" The smaller man snickered at his own mocking words.

"Don't forget the girl, Sam," his much larger companion chuckled. "She's got a stick."

"Don't forget about the gunman, either," a third, familiar voice growled. "He's a mean one." The two outlaws were so busy looking up at their prey in the loft, they hadn't noticed Zoro walk up behind them.

"Zoro! It's about time you got here!" Nami called. "What took you so long?"

"I thought you said you didn't need me," Zoro retorted.

"Usopp and I can't be expected to do everything by ourselves!"

"Three guns, eh?" Sam observed as the pair continued bickering. "That seems a little excessive. Here, let me help."

He darted forward, and Zoro was stunned long enough by just where Sam's hands were for the outlaw to accomplish his goal. When he hopped back out of reach, Zoro's gun belt was clutched in his hands. The gunman's white weapon was kept in a special shoulder holster, so it still hung below his right arm, but he was now otherwise unarmed. He lunged forward, but Sam dodged backward again and tossed the gun belt off to one side.

"Much more fair, don't you think, Butch?"

Zoro hadn't noticed the larger man slip up behind him, until he found his arms roughly pinned behind his back.

"Much."

Sam chuckled evilly and flexed his hands before clenching them into fists. He hit Zoro with a right to the ribs, but it only earned a slight grunt.

"Aw," Sam taunted before following the first hit with a left, "did that hurt?"

"Not as much as staring at your ugly mug," Zoro spat. The comment earned him a backhand to the face, knocking his hat off again and splitting his bottom lip.

"I can't watch this," Nami commented with a frown before tossing her makeshift staff to the side and heading for the ladder.

"Where are you going?" Usopp asked, eyebrows high. "You shouldn't go out there unarmed!"

"I'm going to go get his guns. Don't let those two beat him to death, okay?" She waited for a nod of acknowledgement from Usopp before disappearing from his sight. When he hurried back to the edge of the loft opening, he could see her trying to slip out unnoticed. She darted around the corner of the building just before Sam glanced over. His frown looked as though he was uncertain he had seen anything.

"What's the matter?" Zoro drew the other man's attention back to himself. "Tired, already?"

"Just of using my fists," Sam sneered, pulling a thin blade from a sheath hidden somewhere in his clothing. "What say we bleed you a little?"

"Let's not." Zoro slammed his head back into Butch's face, shattering his nose and sending him backward. The gunman leaned into the falling man, pushing off to put force behind a kick with both feet that slammed into Sam's chest, knocking the wind out of him.

Zoro scrambled to his feet and stumbled toward where he thought his guns had been thrown. He was surprised to see Nami reaching out to pick up the gun belt, but he was even more surprised to see Butch aiming a throwing knife at her.

"Nami, look out!" Zoro hollered, before he found himself dragged to the ground by a strong pair of hands around his ankles.

Nami rolled to the side at the shout, gun belt firmly in her grasp, but still took a glancing cut to her right shoulder. Butch was already taking aim with another knife. He cried out and dropped his weapon when he was suddenly struck on the wrist by a small hard object. He looked up to see Usopp shaking his head, face stern, one hand poised over his bag of ammunition, the other training his slingshot on the large man.

In the meantime, Sam had worked Zoro into a full Nelson hold.

"That kick... wasn't very... nice of you," Sam panted, still regaining his breath. "Better... teach him... a lesson, Butch."

Butch wiped the blood from his face with a sleeve, expression twisted in a snarl. He slammed one meaty fist forward with the force of a charging bull. Zoro heaved himself forward, pulling Sam off his feet and over the gunman's shoulder. Butch was unable to pull his punch in time, hitting Sam square in the upper back.

While Butch surveyed the damage he'd inadvertently inflicted, Zoro pulled himself to his feet again.

"Zoro!" Nami called, tossing the gun belt toward the green haired man. He snatched it out of the air and buckled it firmly back in place.

When he turned back around, Sam was still down for the count, and Butch looked decidedly nervous. He kept looking from the guns, which were now in Zoro's hands, to the gunman's face and back.

"Nobody needs to die here," Zoro informed him, "but we can't have you causing us any more trouble, either. Disarm him and yourself and don't hold back, because when I check, if I find anything, it's going to be worse for you." As he spoke, the gunman replaced his battered black hat, the brim drowning his eyes ominously in shadow.

Butch complied. Zoro gave both men a quick pat down while Usopp covered him from the loft. Then he knocked Butch out with the butt of one of his guns. Zoro was tempted to shoot the outlaws in the knees, but decided that might be overdoing it just a bit.

Usopp hopped down from the loft and hurried over to Zoro with a coil of rope in one hand. They hogtied the two outlaws before heading over to Nami. Usopp noticed that the gunman was limping slightly.

"You okay, Zoro?" the long nosed boy asked, concerned.

"I'll live. Hey, Nami, you gonna make it?"

"I'll live," Nami parroted, managing a small smile. She held her left hand clamped tightly to her wounded right shoulder. "I think it's just a scratch."

The trio made their way over to the main house, eying all the windows warily. The front door stood open. Zoro stepped through first, guns drawn, but called for the others to follow when he found the front room empty.

"It's too quiet in here," Usopp fretted. "What if we're too late?"

"Jango could still be in here, someplace." Zoro gestured at the multiple doorways leading from the room. "This place is huge."

"Maybe Kaya is hiding," Nami offered, resting a hand on Usopp's shoulder, "and she's still safe."

"They've gone," a voice called softly from the kitchen. A hunched figure appeared in the doorway, then slumped to the ground. "They've both gone..."

"Merry!" Usopp rushed to the man's side and fell to his knees. "What happened? Did Jango do this to you?" The butler was holding a hand to a bloody wound in his side.

"It was Klahadore," the older man sobbed. They all listened as he related the events of the morning.

He had risen early to start on the chores, since all the hands were away, except for Klahadore. The chief hand had approached him in the kitchen, overpowering and stabbing him. The man had taken a few moments to outline his plans to take over the ranch before he had left the butler for dead. Merry had been afraid that Kaya had been attacked as well, but she had discovered him in the kitchen a short time later, apparently awakened by a disturbance outside. He had tried to explain the dangerous situation, but then they had both heard the front door open. Merry pleaded with Kaya to run, and she left through the back door of the kitchen. He heard Jango search through the main rooms before entering the kitchen. Kaya had left the door ajar in her haste, and Jango had followed her outside.

"You don't suppose she headed for the main gate, do you?" Zoro asked.

"That's the quickest route to reach town and help," Merry nodded. Zoro frowned.

"What's wrong?" Usopp asked, face paling.

"Last I saw them, Klahadore and Luffy were fighting at the main gate. Kaya'll run right into them, if she goes that way."

"She can't turn back because Jango's right behind her!" Usopp surged back to his feet. "We have to go!"

"I'll stay here," Nami told them, "and patch the both of us up as best I can. You two go ahead and save Kaya."

They didn't need to be told twice.

Klahadore narrowed his eyes at the grinning boy in front of him. The young man seemed to have bottomless reserves of energy, but if Klahadore couldn't find a way to slow him down soon, the former outlaw was going to grow tired. The fight had been going on for near onto a half an hour now. Neither opponent had been able to land more than a glancing blow, as Luffy stepped lightly out of the way of Klahadore's knife work and Klahadore was careful to keep just out of Luffy's surprisingly long reach. Billy and Clyde's revival and departure had gone completely unnoticed.

Both eyes trained on his foe and a knife secure in his right hand, Klahadore surreptitiously ran his left hand over the derringer concealed at his left hip. He disliked guns, as a general rule, but he wouldn't hesitate to use it, if he needed to bring the confrontation to a quick close.

A quiet gasp behind them momentarily drew the combatants' attention from each other.

"Why, Miss Kaya," Klahadore's cool, collected tone never wavered, "what are you doing out here?"

"Why are you doing this?" she pleaded. She gazed at the drawn knife, eyes wide. "If this is about money or the ranch, I would gladly let you have them. There was no reason to hurt Merry. Please, just let me go."

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Miss Kaya. I have plans, you see."

"Sorry, Boss. She knew I was coming somehow and tried to make a break for it." Kaya started when she heard the slightly out of breath voice close behind her.

"This is the second time you've failed me today," Klahadore berated, scowling. "That's most unwise, Jango..."

"Everything's well in hand now, Boss," Jango assured, roughly grabbing Kaya's arm.

"I certainly hope so. Take her back and complete the will."

Luffy moved to follow, as Jango dragged Kaya back in the direction of the main house, but Klahadore stepped into his path.

"I think not, young man. You've caused me quite enough trouble."

"You sure?" Luffy shifted back into a fighting stance. "There's plenty more where that came from."

Luffy lunged forward to strike, but Klahadore had learned to read some of the younger fighter's moves. He dodged back and to the side of the right hook, allowing Luffy's own momentum to carry him around in a half-circle. Before he could fully recover his balance, Klahadore stepped back a pace, drew his gun, and fired a shot at Luffy's back. He was not left-handed, and in his haste, the shot went a little lower than he anticipated, but Luffy went down, just the same. Satisfied that the fight was now over, Klahadore reholstered his gun, and turned to follow Jango and the girl. He was going to make sure things ran smoothly from this point.

Needless to say, he was taken completely aback when he was hit by a low tackle from behind. Nimble hands found his gun and belt of throwing knives and tossed them aside while he was still trying to regain his breath. Then Luffy stepped back and allowed Klahadore to regain his feet.

"How?" Klahadore snarled. "Why are you still alive?"

"Guess I'm extra lucky," Luffy shrugged. Then the wide grin was replaced by a serious expression. "Let's finish this, now that we're on even ground."

Klahadore had not fought bare-handed in years. He knew he was outmatched by the boy, who clearly had some training in bare knuckle boxing. He tried fighting dirty, kicking up dust in his opponent's face and gouging at his eyes, but any playfulness that may have been present in the boys tactics before was long gone. Each blow was carefully placed for maximum effect, and the force behind them never let up a bit.

Finally, as Klahadore swayed on his feet after a particularly vicious combination attack that had shattered his glasses, Luffy dashed forward, catching the former outlaw's throat in the crook of his elbow, dragging the taller man to the ground. A fist slammed into Klahadore's jaw, knocking his head back against the ground, stunning him.

"Don't pass out just yet," Luffy's voice filtered through the muzzy haze of Klahadore's thoughts. "I don't much like killing, but I don't much care for you, either. When you wake up, I want you to get gone, because if I see you again, I will make certain it's the last time I do."

Klahadore never even saw the last blow coming, as darkness overtook him.

Zoro and Usopp saw Jango and Kaya coming their way before they were noticed themselves. Zoro dragged the younger man down behind a low hillock and out of sight.

"I bet you'd like to be the big hero here, right?" Zoro asked.

"I really don't care," Usopp told him in all seriousness, "just as long as Kaya is safe, in the end."

"Well, I've got us a plan..."

Both Jango and Kaya jumped when Zoro rose suddenly from behind the hill, one gun ready in his right hand. The outlaw pulled the girl in front of himself, a knife held to her throat.

"Let me pass," Jango ordered, putting just enough pressure on the blade to make Kaya cry out. "I know you don't want me to have to hurt the little lady."

"He's bluffing," Kaya called defiantly. "He needs me alive."

Jango kept a hand at her throat, moving the knife lower, to just below the girl's ribcage.

"A gut wound will take a good long while to bleed out. Now, back away!"

Zoro didn't back away, but he didn't move any closer, either. He edged to the side, Jango turning along with him, still using Kaya as a human shield.

"You might as well put that gun away," Jango prompted, "seeing as you'll never get the chance to use it."

"I never planned to," Zoro answered, smirking.

Usopp sprang up from behind the hill and let off a shot to Jango's temple. Kaya elbowed her stunned captor in the gut and ran to hide behind Zoro. When Jango regained his balance after a quick shake of the head, it was only to meet with Usopp's fist to his face.

Jango crumpled to the ground and Kaya rushed forward, sweeping Usopp into a hug.

"Oh, Usopp, thank you! That was incredible! How did you know I was in danger? Never mind, you don't have to answer that! Are you hurt at all? No? My goodness, I'm running around in my nightdress! Oh and poor Merry, I must go check on him! Thank you again! You're my hero!"

Usopp was slightly taken aback by the sudden onslaught of words from Kaya. Usually, she only said a few soft words at a time! She planted a kiss on Usopp's cheek and hurried off toward the house.

Usopp waited until she was out of earshot before shaking his right fist loose with a hiss.

"Hurts like a sumbitch, don't it?" Zoro asked with a grin. Usopp nodded and he slapped the younger man on the back with a short, barking laugh. "Quite the rush, though, huh? You'll have to ask Luffy to show you how to throw a punch proper like, later!"

"You think he's okay?" Usopp wondered. "Should we go look for him?"

"Naw, I reckon he'll pop up any time now, cheerful as a fox in the hen house."

Sure enough, they heard a faint "Hey!" from the distance and Luffy jogged up to them. "There's nothing like a good tussle, eh, Zoro?"

"I take it you won, then?"

"Yeah, but he scratched me up a little." Luffy showed Zoro his forearms. "Oh!" Luffy reached behind his back and retrieved the borrowed knife. A flattened bullet was embedded in the sheath, and Zoro suspected the blade itself might be damaged. "Thanks for letting me borrow that. It was a big help!"

"You never even drew it, did you?" Zoro asked, shaking his head with a sigh.

"Nope! Who took out the man with the funny glasses?" Luffy wondered. Zoro cocked a thumb at Usopp. "Nice work!" Luffy also gave Usopp a slap on the back, rather harder than Zoro's.

"Thanks," Usopp acknowledged, cracking his first real smile of the day. "Let's head over to the house and check on Nami and Merry."

"Did Nami get hurt?" Luffy's smile faltered.

"Nothing serious," Zoro grunted, "she's fine."

"Who's Merry? Will there be food? I'm starving!"

Kaya insisted that her rescuers stay the night at the ranch. Usopp felt this was indeed a good idea, as he was worried some of the outlaws might return. When Zoro, Luffy, and Usopp had walked past the barn, there had been no sign of Sam and Butch. The ropes, which had clearly been cut, still lay on the ground. Either a blade had been missed in the search, or Billy and Clyde had rescued their cohorts.

It seemed Kaya had taken an interest in medicine after the illnesses of her parents, and she fussed a great deal over Merry's wound. She insisted on looking at Nami's shoulder, checking over Usopp for any injuries, and bandaging the shallow cuts on Luffy's arms. She found Zoro, however, to be a most belligerent patient. Nami finally had to threaten to sit on him before he allowed Kaya to place a dab of salve on his split lip and place a mostly unnecessary wrap on his ribs.

Merry, who was feeling much better the next morning (he insisted his distress the previous day had been chiefly due to the shock of it all), rode into town to inform the authorities. Usopp felt much better, knowing that the law would keep an eye on things.

"We haven't really got any horses to spare," Kaya apologized when Nami had inquired, "but I may have something almost as good."

She led the small group out to the barn and over to a large rectangular lump covered in canvas. It turned out to be a covered wagon with the hoops currently down. Kaya then led them to a corral nearby.

"The wagon is a gift to thank you all, and you may also take these two oxen. They were raised and trained together, but we've been unable to sell them since they don't match physically. We'll also outfit you with supplies."

The first ox was mostly a soft cream color, with a mop of white curls between his horns. Kaya told them he was named Merry, after the butler, as he was born on his birthday and had the same hair. The other ox was a yellowish tan with a white starburst on his face, and was named Sunny for his coloration and temperament.

"Golly, Kaya, thanks!" Luffy beamed.

Zoro eyed the rig skeptically, once it was all put together, but decided that the extra storage for supplies was worth any hassle.

Nami was genuinely looking forward to a more comfortable ride.

"It was an honor meeting all of you," Usopp insisted as he shook the hands of his new friends warmly. "You've encouraged me to do what I've only ever imagined. I think I'll set out from here and see some more of the world. Seize the moment, you know?"

"Ride with us, Usopp!" Luffy grinned down from his saddle. "There's room in the wagon!"

"I couldn't impose like that!"

"Who's imposing?" Zoro snorted. "You're probably heading our way anyhow, right? Besides, you helped earn us this rig."

Usopp grinned broadly, mentally preparing a momentous speech of acceptance, but Nami rained on that parade.

"Climb aboard, if you're coming! We're wasting daylight!"

After another warm hug from Kaya, Usopp hopped up onto the wagon seat beside Nami, and the wagon started with a lurch, heading for the ford across the river.

End Notes:

I really couldn't help myself with the oxen... I couldn't really think of any other way to incorporate the ships that didn't seem stupid to me.