[A/N] Well, this is the end of the Buggy arc and the beginning of the next one. Oh, and for you readers, I am thinking about doing a Fourth of July Special for one of my stories and I have put up a poll so you guys can decide on which one I will write for. Hell, I might even do a special for two stories, but it's all up to you guys so go and vote!
Thanks yous and replies to reviewers:
Leyshla Gisel: You mean treat Zoro like something cute? lol Nah, she only really acts like that around furry animals or cute plushies. The only human beings that she thinks are cute are small children and she just treats them better than adults XD
sunshineandmoonlight: Haha I can't wait until she meets Chopper! It will be very interesting ;)
livelavayomomma: Ahh! Don't be suicidal! I'll update, just take a deep breath XD love the name you chose btw lol
Buggy wore a disgusting grin and all Luffy wanted to do right now is kick his ass for the old man. His crewmates had done their parts, now it was his turn,
Nicole leaned her head against the wall as Buggy the Clown began to speak, "So you guys are pirates?"
"Yeah, we're searching for the Grand Line." Luffy replied swaying his hand lazily to the side.
"Ha! That's not an easy voyage, you know. And I don't think that the likes of you three half-wits could make it!"
"I'm a full-wit, thank you very much." Nicole mumbled as her eyes began to droop. She was always drowsy after using her powers, but it only hit her as soon as she rested and settled down. Every. Single. Time.
"And what would you do if, by some miracle, you make it there? Go on some sight seeing tour or something?" He began to laugh.
Luffy's face kept serious as he immediately gave an answer,
"Become King of the Pirates."
Buggy's laughing stopped and his jaw dropped at the insanity that came from the Straw Hat man's mouth.
"WHAT? You can't be serious, you idiot!" He yelled as he took a step forward, "If you were King of the Pirates, then that would make me god! There's only one who can be King of the Pirates and obtain all of this world's treasures and that's gonna be me! You got it?"
Nicole sighed in aggravation as her and Luffy spoke at the same time, "You're annoying!"
"Let's go ahead and settle this!" Luffy continued as he got in his fighting stance. Nicole was close to dozing off and snoring like the swordsman in her lap, so she didn't speak any further. After all, she did her part. Now Luffy could handle the rest. She could hear a clinging noise, which she assumed came from the Clown's knives.
Nicole zoned out. She had no intention of listening to anymore of that annoying Clown man's mouth. She was almost asleep too, if it wasn't for the name she heard Luffy mention.
Red Hair Shanks.
"Nani?" Nicole's eyes shot open and her body jolted up, still not waking the man lying on her legs. Buggy the Clown's eyes were staring straight at her as he spoke.
"That's right. I knew Shanks once." Nicole's eyes widened. She didn't recall her dad ever telling her about an annoying guy that dressed like he was in a circus and had a naturally circular red nose.
"Do you know where he is now?" Luffy asked impatiently, still holding his arm in his stance.
"I don't know. Maybe it depends, Straw Hat! Maybe I do, maybe I don't."
Nicole stiffened her jaw and clenched her teeth together as the clown smiled evilly. They turned back to Luffy, whose reaction wasn't as...
Well, his reaction should have been expected actually.
"What are you talking about...Did you forget?" He stared at Buggy clueless with a blank face. She face-palmed as Buggy seem to get angrier then he was before.
"No I didn't forget you moron! But I'm not just going to tell you where he is out of the kindness of my heart. You have to work for that info."
"Will you...just make it easier for everyone and just tell us?" She spoke slowly trying to stay awake. She had used a lot more energy than she thought trying to catch that mouse. If only it wasn't so damn cute...
Luffy reapplied his fighting stance as Buggy began to chuckle, "Fine I'll make you tell me! Hey Nicole, after I beat up this guy we can go-" Luffy stopped talking and his eyes popped out of his skull as he saw said girl hunched over sleeping.
This was something that was important to her...yet she was out like a light.
"Looks like daddy's little girl isn't exactly caring enough to want to know his where abouts!" Buggy laughed heartily as he got ready for an attack.
"That's not it! She's just...tired. Now, it's bout time I kicked your ass!"
Nicole moaned and rubbed her face as she awoke. She slowly yawned and stretched before fully opening her eyes to find Luffy, Zoro, and Namii staring at her incredulously. She jumped and stood holding on to the side the boat.
"Dammit you guys! You almost made me fall off the boat! What are you doing staring at me like that while I'm asleep? And... when did we get back on the boat?"
They all looked at each other before pointing at the top of her head.
"Your hair..." Nami said before Luffy interrupted her excitedly.
"It turned back red!"
Her eyes grew wide a she held the ends of her hair within her view. It was true, her hair had turned back to it's original rich and healthy scarlet red, just like her dad's. "Not again." She groaned. "It does this every time!"
"What do you mean by that?" Zoro asked leaning against the edge of the small boat.
She sighed, "My damn devil fruit power tampers with the chemicals in my body, and hair's made out of protein... so it changes my hair back to it's original color every now and then."
"Then why don't you just keep it that way? It seems kind of stupid to keep on dying it if it's just going to change back."
She sat down and crossed her legs, resting her head in the palms of her hands. "Do you know how high my bounty would be if people realized I was Shanks' daughter? I did it so I could still roam somewhat freely in the East, West, North, and the South blue..."
"Well now you don't have to since we are heading for the grand line and you're traveling with me, Zoro and Nami!" Luffy grinned flexing his rubbery muscles, "We're a crew now, and we can kick any marine's ass that gets in our way!"
Nicole smirked as she looked at the girl in the boat next to theirs. It was clear that she had stolen it from Buggy, it still had his Jolly Roger marked on the sails, "So, the navigator did end up joining our crew."
"That's not it!" Nami growled before placing a hand on her hip and holding the other one out, "It seemed more profitable to accompany you pirates for now, that's all. I am not joining a pirate crew!"
"You are a touchy one, aren't you?" Nicole said still staring at the ends of her hair. "Anyways, what happened with that Buggy guy?"
"He didn't know where Shanks was and he really pissed me off, so I kicked his ass." Luffy said as he picked up an apple from the barrel and ate it.
She frowned and nodded, "That guy really bugged me. If I wasn't so damn sleepy I would have been the one kicking his ass."
"By what Luffy told me you slept through the whole ordeal." Zoro said picking up an apple as well, "You were still asleep when I woke up and we couldn't get you conscious, so Luffy carried the both of us."
She laughed nervously and scratched the back of her head, "Sorry about that, Another one of my devil fruit disadvantages. It makes me really sleepy once I sit down. I've been trying to find a way to overcome it for years."
"That sucks!" Luffy laughed.
"You don't have to tell me twice. I'll find a way to beat it one day. Maybe the secret to it is in the Grand Line somewhere."
"You guys need to be more worried!" Nami scowled standing straight with her fists balled up, "There's absolutely no way we'll make it to the Grand Line at all if we stay in this condition."
"huh?" Everyone looked at the girl questionably as Luffy took the last bite of his apple.
"You're right, we are going to need a lot of more meat." He threw the apple core overboard as he sat on the front of the boat. "Eating fruit every day is going to get old."
Nicole twisted her body around cracking her back, "I'm going to need some equipment to train with. Being tied up at the marine base awhile back has left me a little rusty."
"We also need some booze." Zoro grinned, only to get his head knocked back by an apple thrown at him.
"Shut up you boneheads! Ugh, that's not what I mean. The Grand Line is a dangerous place we'll need more than beer, weights, and meats to survive there. Not to mention the place is crawling with pirates who are also in search of the One Piece, and they all have ships that are better than this!"
"I agree with Nami." Nicole said as she stood and jumped to the other stolen ship. "My dad told me a lot of things about the Grand Line, and we are far from being able to even think about crossing the red line yet."
Nami sighed before speaking with relief, "At least somebody here has some sense other than me."
Nicole smiled and nodded before turning her attention to their captain, which was eating yet another apple.
"You get that Luffy? Before we can set sail for the Grand Line we need a crew and a ship. Not to mention all of the supplies we need to stock up on."
"Got it!"
"Good, because there is no way that we can make it like this."
"Yep, we'll need a cook. Maybe a musician to keep us entertained!"
"A musician?" Zoro questioned before laughing, "Well we got a siren with us. We can just use her!"
"I am not a siren!" Nicole growled clenching her fists, "I can't believe people started calling me that! It was just a damn fluke!"
"Then what did you do?" Luffy laughed clapping his sandals together.
"Yeah, how did the Siren of the West get her name?"
Nicole shook her head and scowled. The story was fucking ridiculous, and she couldn't believe she was about to tell it.
Nicole had just sailed into a new village for supplies, some food, and some hair dye. The sun was bright and a light zephyr whipped through her hair as she walked through the streets of the town. The place seemed peculiar, but she disregarded the feeling and continued to hum a tune down the dusty path. The song had been stuck in her head for months ever since she visited a bar a few towns over, and if she didn't hum it she was afraid she would go insane.
Every store she stopped by refused to sell her any goods and closed up shop immediately, making the peculiar feeling come back along with a nagging annoyance. But she continued to the next one, singing along the way.
And at that last one, she completely flipped.
"What the hell is this towns problem? All I am trying to do is buy some supplies and you all continue to shut me down! Just let me buy my shit and leave!" She seethed, turning over a table next to her. The old man running the shop looked at her in fear, hiding behind the counter.
"Please, just leave! I am not allowed to barter with pirates of any kind. Just be on your own way."
She growled once more before stalking out of the shop, breaking the door off of it's hinges as she slammed it shut. She began walking once more, trying to calm herself down. She didn't even think about the the hint the shop keeper had dropped about her identity:
Pirate.
A few more blocks she was singing once more, trying to forget about the jackasses that lived in the annoying village. All of a sudden, she heard yelling.
"Over there! It's the girl with the tattoo singing that drinking song!"
"Somebody capture her before the pirate kills one of us!"
She turned around with a dark scowl, which turned into a face of shock when she saw the dozens of marines pointing shotguns at her. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes before walking the other way and singing louder.
"This isn't happening. I am just having a drea,. A really, really irritatingly bad dream." She stopped and said as the marines called out her name and told her to stop.
"Nicole Le Roux, on behalf of the marines and the name of justice, I am placing you under arrest!"
"You are, are you?" She turned and faced them cracking her fists. She stared at them with a bored expression as she slowly walked toward them. "Let's see you try it."
"Fire!" The Marine leader commanded as they all directed their shots towards the Pirate girl. She easily dodged the bullets as she ran towards the subordinates and took them down one by one. The last one was the commander, which was easily defeated with a punch to the face.
"Well that was easier than expected." She chuckled stepping over the marines and walking towards the townspeople. They all stared with horrified looks as they whispered back and forth.
"She has to be a demon!"
"Did you see how she lured those marines into her trap?"
"No regular human could take out all of those marines like that! She doesn't even have a scratch on her!"
"What are you saying? What do you think she is then?"
"She's gotta be a... a siren! That's the only thing that makes sense!"
"A siren? but I thought they didn't exist?"
"I thought the same thing until today. All of the pieces fit. Don't you remember her singing? That's gotta be it!"
"I can still hear you!" She yelled, making the people all wince back and a few women to scream in fear. "And for fuck sakes, I am not a siren!" she then stormed off ranting about how stupid townspeople have such crazy imaginations. Before she faded off back to her ship, she heard one last brave soul speak.
"I bet that's what all sirens say."
"Are you serious?" Nami laughed along with Zoro and Luffy as Nicole's entire face twitched with anger. It wasn't a memory she preferred to go over with anyone.
Zoro smirked at her, "At least I got called a pirate hunter because I actually hunted pirates. You got called a siren because you were humming a song from a bar!"
"People make up things, it isn't my fault that the stupid song was stuck in my head!" She exclaimed as shark teeth replaced her regular ones.
"You know, you sure have bad luck with picking towns to explore Nicole." Luffy grinned as he rocked back and forth.
"Well hopefully her bad luck won't rub off on us. A little to the south of here is an island with some settlements on it, and it looks like we'll be able to get our ship and the supplies we need there!"
Luffy cheered and threw his hands up in the air, "Fresh meet at laaaast!"
"Lots of booze as well!"
"Is that all they think about? Ugh, what am I going to do with you two?" Nami yelled as the red-head beside her shook her head.
"They're men, Nami and not to mention pirates too. You can't exactly expect much more from them."
"Well this place doesn't look too bad." Nicole said as her and Zoro pulled the boats into the shore. She dusted off her hands and stretched as they walked onto the sand. The coast land was a drop from the mainland, leaving cliffs edging around it. There was only one path in the middle of it all ascending to the islands inland.
"It feels good to be on dry land again!" Zoro yawned as he stretched out his muscles.
Luffy looked around excitedly, "There's a village around here somewhere, right?"
"Yeah, it looks like a small one though." Nami replied looking at the map.
"Oh, oh! Then there's meat!" He said drooling as he ran over to her, "There has to be a place to eat meat in this village!"
"Just forget about meat for a minute, would ya'?" She said.
While they were bickering, Nicole and Zoro were observing the place. The green haired swordsman yawned and stretched yet another time before noticing something behind the bushes moving on the cliff.
He wrapped his hand around his katana and slightly unsheathed it with his thumb as he went on guard, "Careful, we're being watched."
"Huh? By who? Where are they? Do they have meat?"
Nicole rolled her eyes before stepping in front of them and looking for the peering faces, "Will you stop thinking about meat for one second Luffy? There's somebody watching us, you can get meat later."
"Look out!" Zoro said as small round objects shot out at Luffy's feet. He quickly danced around them as Nami hid behind a boat and Nicole put her fists up in defense. Then, just as the shooting ceased, several black flags with strange looking skulls popped out from the bushes.
"Whoa!" Luffy proclaimed excitedly as more popped up in rows of two. "That is so cool!" He waved his arms back and forth.
"Is this supposed to be when we're impressed?" Nami spoke sarcastically as a seventeen year old boy came out of the bushes and laughed valiantly.
"I am Usopp! Leader of the invincible pirates who reign over this island! You stand before a living legend. The most revered pirate that has ever lived! I am the great Captain Usopp!"
He continued on as a smile grew on Nicole's face. There was no doubt in her mind that this was the famous son that Yasopp would go on and on about all those years. They even looked alike, though Yasopp didn't have the long nose or the dark hair. It just brought back many fond memories of the man while traveling with her father and his crew.
"What? He was lying?" Luffy exclaimed after Nami caught the long nosed man in his lie. He had been ranting on about how big of a crew he had and how dangerous it would be if they stayed on this island. Anyone could tell he was lying. Well, with the exception of Luffy that is.
"Okay, eighty million may have been an exaggeration, but I do have a great number of many men under my control!" The flags began to bob up and down at an attempt to prove his point.
Nicole laughed as her and Nami both held out three fingers, "There's definitely only three."
"Ahhh! They both know!" Three small boys sprung up from the bushes, hands full with the flags. They quickly dropped the said items and ran, leaving Usopp behind.
"Hey, where do you think you're going? Come back!" He called out to them as he stared at the four real pirates smirking in front of him. Sweat fell from his face as the orange-haired girl picked up one of his silver marbles from the ground.
"A pirate using a sling shot, huh? Well now I've seen it all."
Nicole smirked as she rested her elbow on the navigator's shoulder, "Well it looks like we have a little sharpshooter on our hands!"
"Hahahaha, That's cool!" Luffy laughed as he rested his hands on his waist.
"Shut your mouth! Or I'll shut it for you! I am a proud man and I won't stand for it!" He said as he dug around in his bag, pulling out his slingshot and one of his marbles, "This is your last warning. or you'll see why they call me, Proud Usopp, instead of pushover Usopp! Is that clear?"
Luffy hid his face under his hat as Nicole walked to his side, smirk still plastered on her face. She found the curly haired teenager amusing, especially since he was standing up to them even though it looked like his knees would give out at any second.
He pulled the slingshot back as he spoke, "You've already seen how good I am with this thing, So you know I can rival anyone carrying a pistol!"
"Now that you have drawn your pistol," Luffy said as a smile grew on his face. Nicole looked at him and her eyes widened as she realized what he was about to say. He continued, looking out from under his straw hat, "Are you willing to use it?"
Usopp gaped as the rest of his body began to shake.
"Guns aren't for threats, they're for actions. Are you willing to risk your life?" Luffy finished. Nicole chuckled darkly as her and Zoro stepped forward. He was smirking also.
"I can assure you we are real pirates. Consider your next move very carefully."
Nicole's smirk grew considerably wider across her face,"Think hard, Usopp. How much do you value your life?"
She was having a little bit too much fun messing with this guy.
Usopp and the three pirates stared each other down for a good amount of time before Usopp fell to his knees and he dropped the slingshot along with it's ammunition in defeat.
"Real pirates definitely pack more of a punch behind their words because the can actually back them up!" He said as water gathered up at the corner of his eye. "That's so cool!"
Nicole, Zoro, and Luffy all smiled at each other before bursting out with laughter.
"I stole that" Luffy said as Usopp looked over confused. "I stole those words from Red-haired Shanks! A pirate I know."
"What? You know Red-haired Shanks? You really are a real pirate! Wait, you have to be lying. Do you really know him?"
"He's not lying." Nicole said as she cocked her hip to the side and rested her hand there, "We definitely know Shanks."
"We know your dad too! His name is Yasopp, right?"
Usopp grinned and leaned forward, causing him to fall off of the small cliff he was sitting on and ungracefully fell in front of them. Nicole held her mouth trying to contain her laughter.
"You're right, my old man's name is Yasopp. But how... do you guys know that?"
"Well, Usopp my friend." Nicole said as she walked over to him and held out her hand, "How about you treat us to some food before you go asking all them questions. What do you say?" He nodded and took the red-head's hand as Luffy started to run around yelling about meat.
[A/N] Yay! I am super excited to have Usopp in the story finally! I really can't wait until Sanji comes into the picture, but that's irrelevant at the moment. Now for those out there who have been wondering about Nicole's nickname given by the marines, there you have it. She's not a real siren, people just spread the rumor and the marines took it. :D Anyways, Luffy is finally going to get his damn meat in the next chapter, thank god!
Luffy: Need meat!
Me: Hold your horses, Luffy. Meat will come soon enough.
Luffy: But I don't have any horses...
Nicole: It's a phrase, you idiot.
Me: Please review!