I'm back! I know I said I hadn't much time to write lately, but after some thinking, I decided to make some time as an apology for only giving you those profiles the other day. Don't expect this too often though.
IMPORTANT STORY NOTE!
But first, I'd like to address anonymous reviews I have received and since removed. They were very hurtful, saying this story was "Sh*t" and no one cared about my "f****ing OCs" and how my story "made no f***ing sense anymore." I'm sorry if some of you have a beef with how I organize my writing or how I try to give you all something to read since I can't update as normally anymore, but hear this: PURPOSEFULLY HATEFUL REVIEWS AND FLAMES WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. This website is supposed to fun for writers and readers, and people like that make it less fun not just for the writer, but for everyone. So I've decided to go back and place all profiles into one chapter: the most recent one, in case if in some way that makes everyone happier.
Anyways, I had to look up actual fencing techniques for this chapter so I could make Yari's fighting style more realistic. It was so difficult to find an accurate list! I also re-watched Zoro's fight with Daz Bones for some of his techniques. Hopefully, you'll like the effort I put into this fight! :D
WARNINGS: Some disturbing imagery, possibly.
Disclaimer: I do not own the One Piece franchise or its characters. I only own my OCs (which people do care about, thank you very much).
Chapter 14: The Lion Sails With the Lamb
Time: Who cares about the specifics at this point? It's night, and that's all you need to know.
Location: A 'good ways west' of Carrion Bounty Hunter Base Camp
"Hmm," she noted aloud. "Day didn't last very long this time around. The full moon is nice, though."
There was no time to sweat the small stuff, however. She needed to find these ruins; by her calculations, it wouldn't be long before Luffy and her crew showed up, thus cutting her investigation time short. Who knew how much history Kāla could hold in its lone ruins... that is, if these were truly the only ruins on the island.
She frowned; she wasn't oblivious. When the little girl gave her information about the ruins, she could tell the child was holding something back. She was willing to bet there were more ruins, and for some reason Siobhan (that was what she'd heard guards call her) felt the need to protect them.
Was one young girl really the sole guardian of the entirety of Kāla? The fact she had such skill with Kenbunshoku Haki at her age was surprising, but one could not protect a whole island with just that. Perhaps she had a devil fruit of some sort? No, if that were the case, her cage would have been made of sea prism stone; the cage back in the tent was regular old steel. And what was she doing on the island all alone? Was she the sole survivor of the island's inhabitants? If that were the case, she could sympathize with her cynicism.
For some reason, she thought Luffy would like her. Siobhan had shown interest in piracy, and that alone was enough to at least strike up a conversation with the rubberman. Maybe when she found him and the others, she would introduce the two.
... They were fine, all of them. She wasn't worried, no matter what Siobhan said. Those hunter lieutenants she'd heard about from those she had 'interrogated' were nothing compared to her nakama. She wasn't worried.
"Sure you aren't."
... Okay, now she understood why the guards kept grumbling about how annoying Siobhan was. The girl really got into your head.
In her pondering, she had neglected to notice that she was no longer walking on grass and the ends of tree roots, but cobblestones.
She gazed around her surroundings. "Oh... oh my."
She had found the ruins... and though small, they were gorgeous. She was by no means an emotional woman, but even she couldn't stop the wide smile that spread across her lips.
Time to get to work.
Location: Deck of the Going Merry
"ARGGHHH!" Zoro cried out in agony, Wado falling from his mouth. His chest scar glowed with an eerie dark pink light, casting dark shadows all over his face and body.
"ZORO!"
Zoro couldn't be certain as to who called out his name, not that he cared much at the moment.
It wasn't just the pain from Mihawk's original attack he was feeling. The headbutt directly to his wound that stupid octopus gave him, the stab of Arlong's freakish nose, the pinch of a needle as Cocoyashi's doctor gave him stitches, the dull aches he'd felt for a week afterwards... it was as if he was experiencing every bit of pain he'd ever associated with his scar all at once.
... How the hell was this... this witch able to bring it all back?!
He immediately grit his teeth and bit that scream, stepping backwards away from the huntress. He wouldn't give the damn woman the continued satisfaction. As he stumbled back, Vivi and Carue came up behind him and kept him from falling over.
"Mr. Bushido!" she cried out, dismounting Carue and steadying the older man by his shoulders. "Are you okay?! Did she reopen your chest wound?! Is there-"
"Vivi!" he barked out. "Stop panicking. I'm fine."
That wasn't a lie. The pain had already muted into a dull throb, and was beginning to vanish as the pink light faded. Brook fought his way over to the pair (and duck), and Usopp actually rappelled down the mast while shooting Lead Stars at any hunter that got in his way. When both concerned pirates made it over to their comrades, Yari held up a hand, gesturing her men to stop fighting for a moment, and they did.
"Since I'm nice, I'll give Pirate Hunter a moment to catch his breath," she said coolly. "Don't worry, I didn't re-open the wound. It just felt like I did."
The pirates all gave her dirty looks. Usopp also quickly reached down and picked up Wado Ichimonji for Zoro.
"Pain is one of things we remember most," Yari said with a sadistic grin, going back over to her sword and removing it from the deck. "We remember it so we give ourselves a reason not to want to experience again. But I can make you experience it again. Over and over if I so desire. I can also make you more sensitive to pain, or take it away completely." She twirled around in a circle. "And I'm not limited to pain. Any kind of sensation is mine to control."
She held up he free hand, clenching it. This action made spots of that dark pink light appear across her skin, connected by veins of the same light. It took the more intelligent pirates (Vivi and Usopp) a few seconds to realize those spots were her nerve endings.
"And it's all thanks to the Nerve Nerve Fruit I ate once I left Alabasta." The light faded, and she smirked at Vivi. "In many ways, I should thank Cobra for banishing me and Runo. We would have never gained our powers if he hadn't."
Vivi scowled and whispered to her friends, "She reminds me of some people I knew back in Baroque Works; a competent braggart I doubt anyone will mind if I punch."
Vivi usually tried to avoid extreme violence. For Yari however, she'd be more than happy to make an exception.
"Doubt you could land that punch," Zoro muttered back, standing up straight and taking his sword from Usopp. "She's just like my older self; she can predict how you're going attack before you even do so."
"It's a technique called Kenbunshoku Haki, or just Observation Haki," Brook explained, getting everyone's attention. "Sanji-san tried explaining it to us once. It's an ability that allows the user hear someone's 'inner voice.' This gives them the ability to sense another's location, sense how strong they are, or predict their attacks. Many people in the New World use it, including multiple members our crew. You know Roronoa-san can do it, and it's not even his specialty!"
"Seriously?!" Usopp gasped quietly- but not really. "How are we supposed to fight someone if they know how we're going to attack?!"
"Sanji-san said there were two ways; either attack fast enough that she can't avoid it even if she knows its coming, or..."
"... Or...?!" Usopp prompted.
Brook shrugged. "... I don't remember the other one."
"THEN HOW DOES THAT HELP?!"
"SHH!" Vivi shushed him. Carue mimicked the motion by putting his wing up to his bill.
"Okay then, we'll do this," Zoro spoke up in an authoritative tone. He was doing something he rarely did; pull rank. It wasn't official or anything, but Zoro knew he was seen as the de-facto first mate on the crew. "Vivi- you, Usopp, and I will attack her all at once, and then when she's preoccupied, Brook can do his thing and take her down. Our main objective is to get her and her men off the ship and then to get out of here, alright?"
A small part of Zoro felt like he was running from a real fight. He welcomed the challenge Yari provided, but for once, he had to prioritize. Luffy expected them to locate the shipwright and the future ship; he wasn't going to disobey another order from Luffy all for the sake of duel with someone he wasn't ready to fight.
When the order was fulfilled, however, was another story entirely.
"Attack all at once?!" Usopp shout/whispered. "She'll skewer us!"
Usopp was ignored.
"What about her men?" Vivi asked.
"Ignore them for now. Only attack them if they get in your way, and let Brook handle them until he gets his opening."
"That's not a bad strategy, Zoro-san," Brook praised. "I'm quite surprised."
Brook probably hadn't meant as an insult, so the younger swordsman let it slide.
"The Great Captain Usopp could easily take her on," Usopp said, pretending not to be scared out of his mind seeing as everyone was ignoring his whining. "But I'm more than happy to let Brook have the limelight this time."
Everyone ignored him this time as well.
"Breath all caught?" Yari asked politely. "Good. Now we can continue."
She turned her attention to the waiting members of Theta Unit that were still conscious. "Men! You can take Pirate Hunter and his friends, but leave the skeleton to me! He is only one worth fighting around here at the moment."
"Yes, Ms. Yari ma'am!" the hunters agreed. Then they gave her cautionary looks. "Ma'am, they're charging you!"
She turned back to the Straw Hats and sure enough, they were all ridiculously close to her. Zoro had all three swords in their proper places and poised directly at her head, Vivi was riding on Carue's back again with with her Peacock Slashers spinning, and Usopp's goggles were lowered as he aimed three Exploding Stars at her.
"I see them!" she called back, holding up her sword.
Zoro made the first move, swing his swords towards Yari's head. The huntress dropped to deck below his katana, placing her free hand on the ground for balance, then thrusting her blade upward [1]. Zoro narrowly dodged the stab by leaning backwards, only to have his legs knocked from under him by Yari. He didn't fall over, instead turning the fall into a handspring by flipping himself off of his right hand, then landing in a crouch. As he did this, Yari did a backward handstand that ended up slamming the bottoms of her feet directly into Usopp's jaw, making the sniper misfire his Exploding Stars directly into the Merry's mast (which, thanks to the metal plates, suffered minimum damage).
When Usopp reeled back from the strike, Yari returned to a standing position just as Vivi got close enough slash the huntress. Yari let one of the slashers wrap around her sword, to which she then proceeded to yank the blade back. The resulting force pulled Vivi off of Carue's back and sent her crashing into the Merry's railing (it was a miracle the yank didn't break her pinky finger). For good measure, Yari crescent-kicked Carue in the side of the head, sending the giant duck down into the deck with a thump.
As this was happening, Brook had taken out another five men that were attempting attack his crew and prevent them from ganging up on Yari. He turned for brief second to check their progress.
This doesn't look good, he thought as another hunter fell, covered in ice. They still haven't created an opening for me yet. I hope Zoro-san knows what he's doing. My heart can't take this kind of worry... not that I have heart anyway.
Luckily for Brook's non-existent heart, the Straw Hats weren't down for long. Vivi jumped to her feet, ran forward, and swung out a string of jeweled ornaments from her waist.
"Peacock Slasher String!"
Yari quickly drew her sword far back, then flunged [2] in a manner that the very tip of her blade clashed the end of the string, causing the latter to coil up and rebound off. Despite this, Vivi took advantage of her closeness to aim a high kick toward's Yari's face, which the older woman blocked with her forearm. Yari then used said forearm to knock the princess's leg away. Vivi was pushed back toward Carue, but Usopp soon took her place (with a bleeding mouth) with a medium-sized mallet held high.
"Usopp Hammer!"
Yari leaned far enough backwards in time to avoid Usopp's swing, after which she cut the blasted thing in half and planted her foot into Usopp's gut.
WHY are they all aiming for my face?! Yari thought in aggravation.
Just as she recovered from Usopp's attack, Zoro- who had already gotten back on his feet- charged towards Yari, the swords in his hands held horizontally at opposite corresponding shoulders. Several members of Theta Unit tried to get in his way, but Brook intervened.
"Polka Remise!" the skeleton shouted, jabbing his Soul Solid rapidly without pulling it back. The Theta members received multiple stab wounds for their trouble.
Yari grit her teeth and took a solid stance, ready to take whatever Zoro threw at her. She knew what he was going to do, and knew she had no time for avoiding it completely.
Zoro finally reached her.
"Bull Needles!" he cried out.
Yari was met with an onslaught of rapid slashes, and she agilely met them with her own blade. She deflected them so fast that her sword looked like a blur of metal. As soon as it started, Zoro's attack ceased and he was now standing behind her, swords held out at either side of him.
Yari turned to stab at him, only to turn right back around so she could parry Brook's sword.
"Honestly, it is unsportsmanlike to gang up on a lady all at once!" Yari growled, pushing against Brook's sword. For a man with no muscles, he was pretty strong. "It has been a good effort, but clearly it has been all for naught! You have been focusing on me when it would been more strategic to take out my men first! You are all beat up but I do not have a scratch!"
"I wouldn't be so sure of that, my lady," Brook disagreed, pushing hard enough that Yari was forced to stumble back a few steps. He pointed at her face. "You seem to be an expert on pain; doesn't your face hurt?"
Yari raised an eyebrow, then her eyes widened. Some of the hair of her bangs gave way, and long cut appeared underneath her right eye, squirting out blood. Her hat also fell to pieces.
Yari bit back a cry and her free hand flew up to her face. How did... how did this...
"It's just like Brook said," Zoro spoke up.
Yari turned to look at him. Zoro had a smug grin around the hilt of Wado, and Usopp, Vivi, and Carue stood with him in front of the mast.
"It doesn't matter if you can predict an attack if you can't avoid it," the green-haired man continued. "Guess this Haki thing does have its limits, huh?"
Yari wasn't really listening to him at this point. All she could do was focus on the pain her cheek was in.
He cut me, she thought.
"Uh, g-guys?" Usopp stammered. "She d-doesn't look happy."
He cut me, Yari continued to think. He cut me. He cut me...
Something inside her snapped.
HE FREAKING CUT ME!
As she appeared to not be paying attention, Brook ran towards her, planning fully to cut Yari before she even noticed. However, before he could even get close, something happened that did not usually happen.
She noticed.
Yari turned on her heel so fast it made anyone who saw dizzy, then drew her sword down in a curved arc.
"Voler Coupe de Nerf.[3]"
From the motion came a sharp vacuum that practically glowed (again, dark pink). The slash hit the bone swordsman, neatly decapitating him and avoiding his afro. His skull clattered against the wooden deck, though his body remained standing. It fell over a few seconds later though.
"BROOK!" Usopp cried out in horror.
"NO!" Vivi added.
"QUAW!" Carue agreed.
Zoro said nothing, but he did start to give off an aura of murderous intent.
"You know," Yari said in a dangerously soft voice, not giving the skeleton she just beheaded another thought. "This is the first time someone has managed to cut me in nearly three years."
At her tone, the remaining members of Theta Unit suddenly looked very, very scared.
Yari turned to face the remaining pirates, though her gaze was downcast. Her free hand tapped the cut on her face, causing the veins of pink light to form briefly before disappearing. Then using her sword, she cut away the skirt of her dress (revealing a pair of purple short-shorts), then did the same to her short puffy sleeves.
"I always thought the person to finally make me bleed would be a worthy opponent," she went on, finally looking up. Her visible eye was empty and cold, sending shivers down the more cowardly Straw Hats' spines.
Something's wrong, Zoro thought. She seems different from before. And why did she cut off parts of her dress? What's the point?
Yari scowled, gaining an aura that same dark pink light. "I did not expect, however, that the man who finally cut me would be some PATHETIC ROOKIE!"
With that angry shout, Yari messily slid her sword into her sash and ran forward. In a matter seconds she was close enough that she planted her right palm on Zoro's face- completely avoiding the sword in his mouth- and had clamped her left hand around both Vivi and Usopp's wrists.
"AHH, SHE'S GOT US!" Usopp panicked.
"Did she get faster?!" Vivi wondered aloud.
It dawned upon the trio that this was why she had cut off parts of her dress: she could move faster and with more agility without all that extra fabric in the way.
"Lien Sensoriel," she said with a snarl. "Décuplé![4]"
It was like the three of them had been hit with a defibrillator. A shock of energy ran through their bodies and sent Zoro slamming against the mast, while sending Vivi and Usopp tumbling into the storage room door. As soon as their backs bounced off of their respective hard surfaces, pain roared through their bodies. It felt much worse then it should have. Vivi and Usopp screamed, but Zoro bit down hard on his sword hilt to prevent any cries from escaping his mouth.
"Vivi! Usopp!" Zoro called out, though with some difficulty. For some reason, his jaw really hurt."You guys okay?!"
"I'm fine, relatively speaking!" Vivi replied breathlessly.
"Call Chopper..." Usopp said, slightly delirious.
Carue went over to Zoro and nudged him into a standing position with his bill. He nodded once Zoro was up, then trotted over to Vivi and Usopp to presumably do the same.
What did she do to us? Zoro thought. His back still throbbed from hitting the mast. Slamming into the mast should not have hurt that much, not to me anyway. And why does my jaw hurt all of a sudden? That witch didn't get anywhere near it!
Vivi had limped her over to Zoro; Carue was still working on Usopp.
"Mr. Bushido..." she said. "Is Mr. Brook...?"
Zoro's eyes softened slightly. "Don't think about that right now. Focus on the matter at hand."
Vivi's eyes teared up a bit, but she nodded. Then she winced, holding her jaw.
"Something wrong?" Zoro asked.
"Yeah, my jaw," Vivi replied. "It really hurts."
Alright, that was weird. He never saw Vivi get hit there at any point during the fight, so why did her jaw hurt like his did?
"Mr. Bushido!"
At Vivi's shout, Zoro whipped around, barely able to have Yubashiri meet Yari's blade. The woman grinned, then planted her hand on Zoro's face, forcing his head back and giving her leverage to flip over both him and Vivi.
"Nerf Coupé: Fleuve Douloureuse!"[5]
Yari landed on the deck behind them, and as soon as she did, a deep cut appeared on Zoro's right shoulder. Pain flared almost immediately, pain so bad that Zoro was forced to clamp down on Wado as hard as he could to keep himself from screaming. This proved to be a mistake, because biting down on his katana that hard hurt almost badly as the new wound on his shoulder.
"AIEEEE!" Vivi screamed all of a sudden, clutching her shoulder with one hand and slapping the other against her mouth. She fell to the ground and curled up her body into an agonized ball.
Meanwhile, Carue had just gotten Usopp to stand back up when he began screaming.
"ARGHHH, WHAT THE HELL?!" Usopp screeched, hand squeezing his right shoulder tightly. He fell over again as his other hand flew to his mouth. "IT FEELS LIKE SOMEONE'S BREAKING MY TEETH AND STABBING MY SHOULDER!"
Somewhere in Zoro's pain-ridden mind, he was able to put two and two together. The swordsman immediately stopped biting his sword so hard and willed himself to ignore the pain in his shoulder. Almost instantaneously, Vivi and Usopp gasped as the pain they were feeling dulled into soreness.
"Whoa, do you think Pirate Hunter figured it out?" one Theta member murmured.
"I doubt it," his comrade replied. "I heard Pirate Hunter is an idiot only marginally smarter than his captain."
"Perhaps, but that is not the case here," Yari disagreed. She strolled past Vivi where was and walked right in front of Zoro. With a smirk, she flicked the swordsman on the forehead.
Going off how much that flick hurt, she might as well have punched him. It didn't hurt enough that it made Zoro want to yell, but it succeeded in making him fall against the mast again. Vivi and Usopp did cry out, however, their hands flying up to their foreheads. Carue quacked frantically, unsure of what to do. Some of Yari's men tackled the duck and held him down, so he wouldn't keep getting in the way.
Yari knelt down and cupped her hand around Zoro's chin. "Lien Sensoriel. Sensory Link. Through the power of my Nerve Nerve abilities, I connected all you in your ability to feel sensation. But you already figured that, did you not?"
Zoro seethed. She was right. (That would explain why all their jaws hurt before. Hadn't Yari kicked Usopp there earlier?) He tried to slash her with Wado Ichimonji, but she calmly caught the blade between her fingers. She then stood up and planted her foot on Zoro's chest with an additional kick. Usopp and Vivi made wind-knocked-out-of-you noises in response. Zoro tried to push her off, but Yari wasn't budging. That on top of the fact he was pushing against Wado with all his might and she wasn't even moving, probably meant she was much stronger than she looked.
"Oh, do not be mad," Yari said politely. "Look on the bright side; you have never been closer as a crew! How many pirates can say they have shared each other's pain?" She kicked Zoro's chest again, trying to get him to drop Wado. It wasn't working. She frowned. "By the way, I feel it is only fair to mention that I also increased your pain receptors' sensitivity tenfold. That is why everything hurts more than it should. Now, drop the sword or I will keep kicking you. You may think you can take it, but can you say the same about your friends?"
Zoro glanced at Vivi and Usopp, who were now clutching their respective chests. Wado fell from his teeth, and Yubashiri and Kitetsu dropped from his hands.
"Good pirate," Yari said, patting his head and kicking the swords away. She looked down at him disapprovingly. "You know, I think I made you cry out at least once tonight and came close two more times. Your older self was much more impressive. I increased his pain sensitivity by 50 and he barely even blinked!"
Yari's smile became even more condescending, if that were even possible. She put the tip of the flat of her blade under Zoro's chin and forced him to look up. "You know, I heard that Straw Hat has the survival instincts of a lemming, and is constantly putting himself and his crew in danger. So one has to wonder; what does he put you through in the next few years that causes you build a pain tolerance so high that you barely even feel it anymore? I do not know, but I bet it was excruciating. Maybe it involves why you are a cyclops in the future."
Zoro's eyes widened.
"Don't make assumptions about events you know nothing about, brat."
-the gaze of a man who had been cracked in several places and welded back together. A man who had not quite been broken, but came pretty close-
Before either the swordsman or the swordswoman could make any further response, something sailed through the air and bounced off of Yari's forehead. The huntress growled out a few choice words under her breath while rubbing the spot it had struck, and then picked up the offending object.
It was a small bottle of perfume.
Zoro and Yari both turned to look at Vivi.
The princess was sitting upright, holding her side. Her whole body was shaking, but she never looked stronger in Zoro's opinion.
"You shut up, right now!" Vivi screamed. "Stop talking like you know Luffy! I don't want to hear another poisonous word out of your smug little mouth!"
If Zoro's eyes hadn't been wide before, now they were the size of dinner plates. He'd never heard Vivi this angry before. He didn't know she was even capable of this kind of rage. Yari looked slightly surprised as well.
"A perfume bottle? Really?" Zoro groaned. It had be to said.
"Shut up!" Vivi snapped. "It was the only thing I had!"
"You at least could have thrown it somewhere more damaging!"
"I wasn't really aiming! How am I supposed to know where it was going to land?"
Vivi turned her fury back on Yari. "And you! I've only known Luffy for a few weeks, and I already know he's not the kind of man who would be so careless with his crew! He's the kind of man who would run through a blizzard to get his friend to a doctor! He's the kind of man who would try to stop an honorable fight between two giants because it was tampered with! He's..." Tears began to fall from her eyes. "He's the kind of man who would help a girl he just met return home to her country, and stop the warlord that's trying to dominate it. He trusted me to help to find Mr. Roronoa's ship and crew, and I've already let one of them get killed."
Her tears came more rapidly now, but they weren't sad. They were furious. "So if you think I'm just going to sit here and let you say such horrible things about such an amazing person and kill more of my friends, then you've got another thing coming, you pompous masochistic bitch!"
No one said anything. They just let Vivi's words echo across the ship as they sunk in.
"Oh snap," a Theta member whispered.
Zoro and Yari stared in abject shock at the princess. The former hadn't known she was even capable of swearing.
"Vivi... Vivi's right!" Usopp's voice spoke up. The sniper had somehow found the strength to stand again, and was now aiming an unknown ammo at the violet-haired bounty hunter. "We've been doing pretty pathetic tonight, letting you have your way. But all that's going to change."
The long-nosed boy smiled. "I know your weakness."
He closed his eyes and changed the trajectory of his slingshot. It was now aiming directly up.
"Special Attack: Usopp Caltrop Rain!"[6]
Usopp released his ammo straight up into the air, revealing it to be a small bag filled with caltrops. As the name suggested, caltrops now rained down with extreme speed, like gun fire, due to their velocity being enhanced by a tiny explosion of gunpowder within the bag.
Yari swore under breath again as she maneuvered around the spiky objects. She was fast enough to evade a good chunk of them or knock them aside with her sword, but the rest ended up cutting into her and many of her lackeys.
As the caltrops fell, Usopp slowly walked over to Vivi and Zoro, the latter two managing to stand up. Zoro pulled himself up by hanging on to Merry's mast, and Vivi did so by forcing her legs to cooperate.
"Just as I thought," Usopp whispered triumphantly.
"She couldn't avoid them?" Vivi asked, confused.
"I thought this Haki thing let her predict attacks," Zoro added, painstakingly leaning down to grab his swords.
"Yes, but I think there's a down side," Usopp explained, wincing when Zoro leaned over. "I got the idea when Vivi threw that bottle. Why didn't Yari avoid it if she can predict how we're going to attack?"
Vivi and Zoro would have shrugged if their shoulders didn't hurt so much.
"Vivi said she didn't know where the bottle was going to land; the attack was random. It only makes sense."
Usopp held up one arm dramatically, then brought it down to point at Yari. "You couldn't avoid my caltrops because I didn't know where they would land just now! Your Haki can't predict random attacks with no intended target!"
The caltrops had stopped falling by this point. It hadn't downed any members of Theta Unit, but many more of them were bleeding now. Yari was yanking caltrops out of her arms, pinks veins of light briefly appearing on every wound she touched.
"Well aren't you a smart one, Sniper King," Yari said sarcastically. "Do not think you can beat me just because you know how to bypass my Haki."
"Maybe not," Zoro conceded. "But if we run into any more like you, we now know how to beat this stupid ability."
"There are not any more like me, Pirate Hunter," Yari disagreed. "True, some of the others do wield Kenbunshoku Haki, but think back on how badly I have been beating you here. Now, what if I told you I was only the fifth strongest member of the Carrion Bounty Hunters?"
Okay, they had not been expecting that. It must have shown on their faces because Yari snickered evilly.
"Exactly, little pirates. Those who travel the New World have to go beyond the limits of normal people. I represent only a fraction of that power." She glared at Usopp. "I will deal with you in a moment, Sniper King. I still have not punished you for what happened in the jungle; I do not care if it was your elder counterpart that committed the deed."
"T-that's where y-you're wrong, vile huntress!" Usopp argued. "There is no 'older me' on the island; it was me the whole time!"
Yari raised an eyebrow. Her men copied the motion.
Zoro felt like slapping his forehead, and he would have if he hadn't known it would hurt more.
Vivi gave Usopp a reprimanding look. Now was not the time for a wild lie!
"I just haven't been using my venus flytraps because I don't want to damage the Going Merry further!" the liar went on. "And as for my skinny constitution, I also have devil fruit powers! Mine allow me to gain muscle mass whenever I desire! I have more than enough power to take you on!"
Yari gave him a deadpan expression. "Liar."
Usopp's bravado faded away. "Crap, she knows!"
"NOT IF YOU TELL HER!" Vivi and Zoro scolded him, slapping the air.
"Alright fine, I lied about having powers and flytraps, but don't think that makes me afraid of you!" Usopp corrected himself, speaking to Yari again. "Do your worst! I'm not scared of you!"
Yari glanced down. "Your knees are shaking."
"S-SHUT UP!"
"No, I do not think I will," Yari said silkily. "As I was saying before, I will deal with you in a moment. But first, someone here was very rude to me just now. I think some punishment is in order."
Yari jumped right between the three pirates. Zoro tried to attack her again, unsheathing two of his swords, but she artfully spin-kicked him in the side of the head. With the added pain factor, it felt to the trio like someone had just dropped one of Zoro's barbells on their skulls. Zoro went down (though to his credit he hadn't dropped his swords), Usopp cried out and held his head as he fell to the deck, and fresh tears of pain came to Vivi's eyes. But before she could fall over, Yari went up behind her and grabbed one of the princess's arms while laying the flat of her blade against her throat.
Location: Exactly one kilometer from the Going Merry, near the island's western beach
"What the heck?!"
The telescope had to be broken. There was no way he was looking at the Going Merry through his had-to-be-broken telescope. He had seen that amazing, brave little ship burn and sink with everyone else.
But there she was, plain as the metal nose on his face. A dead ship back from the dead...
... and a ship that appeared to be having a battle on her deck.
That super wouldn't do. If it really was the Going Merry (though he had no idea how it could be), there was no telling how a battle would affect her condition. He had to get over there, and fast.
Good thing he remembered to stock up on cola before leaving Dock Island.
Location: Deck of the Going Merry
"Vivi!" Zoro and Usopp cried out.
"QUAW!" Carue quacked worriedly from where Theta Unit was holding him down.
Vivi tried to struggle against Yari's grip, but that only made Yari angle her sword so that the edge cut into her throat ever so slightly. Vivi screamed as a fresh wave of agony coursed through her body, and watched helplessly as Zoro and Usopp grasped their throats, the latter screaming as well.
With all this pain they were feeling, it was a miracle none of them had passed out. That was most likely Yari's doing, if one really thought about it.
"You know Princess Vivi, you are a very beautiful girl," Yari complimented in a cooing tone, rubbing her thumb over Vivi's wrist. "But you would be prettier if you were not so unbearably rude. That is why I have decided to make you my new doll.
Vivi's mind felt hazy. Maybe the pain was finally catching up? "D-Doll?"
Yari nodded. "I have never had a genuine princess doll before, or a swordsman and long nosed puppet. This should be fun. Nerve Paralysie!"
From where Yari gripped her wrist, veins of pink light spread up Vivi's arm. Immediately, Vivi had felt a horrible, horrible numbing sensation crawl up her arm as her muscles stiffened to a point of rigidity. Below on the deck, Usopp and Zoro clasped their arms, once again sharing in their comrade's... pain? The sensation hurt and didn't hurt at the same time, like when your foot falls asleep, only more so. Vivi wasn't sure how to react, except grunting from the increasing unpleasantness and futilely struggling.
"Now, where is all that brass you were showing off earlier?" Yari asked. "Was it just a one time thing?"
If Vivi had been able to turn her head, the look she would have given Yari would have vaporized her.
The glowing veins had reached Vivi's shoulder now, a fact Yari looked proud of. "No matter. Soon you will not be feeling much of anything. I like my dolls to have the stoic look, you know? Much better than some snotty, teary little-"
"Flying ship!" Theta Leader hollered.
"-Flying ship," Yari finished. She paused for a second, her words registering. She turn to look at Theta Leader. "Flying ship? That makes no sense whatsoever!"
"No ma'am, not that!" Theta Leader pointed. "I meant that!"
Everyone aboard the Going Merry looked up. Sure enough, falling from the sky and silhouetted by the bright full moon was none other than a...
"FLYING SHIP!" Theta Unit shrieked.
"MORE LIKE FALLING SHIP!" Zoro argued.
"WHY IS IT RAINING SHIPS?!" Usopp screamed,
"WHAT THE HELL?!" Yari shouted.
Vivi had nothing to add, except staring at the falling ship in wonder.
The ship landed in the open sea next the Merry with almost planned precision. The resulting splash created a humongous wave that washed right over the deck. Several Theta Members were washed right overboard, just happening to be the ones holding down Carue. Those who had already been knocked unconscious from earlier in the fight were washed overboard as well. Zoro and Usopp were sent tumbling into the Merry's stairs, while the wave forcibly made Yari unhand Vivi as the huntress went spiraling into the railing. The glowing veins on Vivi's arm retreated, and the princess landed face-first on the wet deck. Zoro and Usopp's hands went to their faces, naturally.
The splash died down, and everyone who had previously been standing were sprawled on the wet deck. It was an almost comical sight, and a drastic change from the previous tense atmosphere.
Zoro stood up, spitting out water. "What. The hell. Was that?!"
A valid question, but apparently not the most important one to them at the moment.
"Who cares!" Usopp shouted. "Let's check on Vivi!"
Carue beaten them to it. He was helping the princess stand. The boys moved over to her as fast as their aching bodies would allow them.
"Vivi, are you okay?! What did she do to you?!" Usopp said with concern. "Please say you're okay, 'cause Sanji's going to kill me if you're not!"
Vivi looked puzzled. "I think I'm okay. But..."
She tried to lift her left hand to the wound on her throat, only to find that she couldn't.
"My arm," she whispered, her tone panicky. She clutched her shoulder, which felt as numb as her arm. "I can't move my arm!"
Cold realization came upon her as she desperately tried to get her arm to move. That witch had paralyzed her arm! Paralyzed it! How could Vivi help Luffy, avenge Brook, and save her country with a crippled arm?!
She wasn't the only one having issues.
"AHHH!" Usopp squealed. His left arm hung uselessly at his side. "I CAN'T MOVE MY ARM EITHER!"
Zoro stared at his left arm quizzically, as if he had just now noticed it was no longer holding his sword. "Oh, that's right. Our sensations are still connected." He tried to move his arm to no avail. "Yeah, that's not good."
"HOW ARE YOU SO CALM?!" Usopp shouted. "THIS IS BAD! I CAN'T SHOOT A SLINGSHOT WITH ONE ARM, AND YOU CAN'T USE THREE SWORD STYLE WITH ONLY TWO SWORDS!"
"Usopp, this paralysis was caused by a devil fruit," Zoro reminded him. "Odds are it's temporary."
Usopp didn't looked any less perturbed, but he did quiet down some. Meanwhile, Yari pushed herself off of the Merry's railing, choking up water.
"What in the name of sanity just happened?" she asked a lackey that had been washed up next to her.
"I think a ship fell from the sky, ma'am," he replied.
"I meant besides the obvious, you buffoon!"
"Sorry!"
The Straw Hats overheard Yari's question, and turned to look at the ship in question. It was a brigantine sloop that was twice the size of the Merry, with two masts and painted in bright reds and yellows. The figurehead was some kind of lion/sunflower hybrid, and was smiling sunnily down at the little lamb next to it. The sails had all been rolled up, and the black flags on the top of the masts were slack from the absence of wind.
"Well, what do you know!" a voice called down from the deck of the larger ship. "I guess I wasn't hallucinating after all!"
The voice's owner stepped up to the brigantine's railing, and what everyone saw made their jaws drop from complete and utter dumbfoundment.
It was a muscular man in his late 30s; he was over seven feet tall with a blue buzz-cut and trim sideburns. That was where all normalcy ended. The man had gigantic metal arms; red globes for shoulders ('BF-37' was written on them in block text), light blue forearms with dark blue star designs on them, and light red metal fists. His chin had two sharp clefts in it, his nose was also metallic, and his legs appeared to be reinforced with mechanical parts. They could tell the latter because for some obscene reason, the man had foregone wearing pants, instead opting for a dark red speedo. The only other type of clothing he wore was a pair of dark sunglasses and a tropical-print shirt. The shirt was open, revealing two vertical scars running his chest.
The man smiled widely. "Yup, there's no doubt about it! I'd recognize this ship anywhere! It's none other than the previous ship of the Straw Pirates..."
The man leaned over, rolled his arms together, then stood straight and put his arms together over his head so that the two stars on his forearms were now one symbol.
"... THE SUPER GOING MERRY!"
For some reason a wave broke behind him as he did this, despite the fact the side of the ship he was on was facing the beach.
Zoro, Vivi, and Yari all sweatdropped at the man's exuberant display, but everyone else was taking it in a much different.
"Amazing!" Theta Unit exclaimed.
"Is that a real robot?!" one asked.
"That's so awesome!" another added.
"He's so cool!"
"It's as if he's full of a man's adventurous romance!"
Usopp wasn't much better. He and Carue both had stars in their eyes, taking in the sight of the robot speedo man.
"It's a... it's a real live robot! I can't believe it!" Usopp declared. "I knew the Grand Line would continue to show me the impossible, but I never expected something so manly!"
Carue quacked in agreement.
Zoro frowned. "You have got to be kidding me."
Vivi was confused. She didn't get what was so cool about a half-naked robot. Still, she and Zoro took the distraction as a chance to drag Usopp and Carue over to the opposite side of the deck, closer to the strange man and away from Yari and the hunters. Vivi even picked up Zoro's fallen sword with her good hand and returned it to him.
"Shut up, all of you!" Yari barked at her men. "He is not cool or whatever! He is clearly just some kind of pervert!"
The robot man pointed down at Yari. "Aw shucks, you don't have to be so nice to me! We've only just met!"
"THAT WAS NOT A COMPLIMENT, YOU ROBOTIC IGNORAMUS!"
"Hey now sister, I'm no robot!" the robot man corrected. "YOW! I'm way more super than any mere machine! I'm a cyborg!"
"Ma'am!" a Theta member called out, jumping to his feet. "If that's true, then that makes him the Straw Hats' shipwright! He's 'Cyborg' Franky!"
Yari looked extremely interested upon hearing that tidbit of info.
"He's Franky?" Vivi whispered to Zoro, seeing as Usopp was still in fanboy mode. "Luffy's future shipwright?"
Zoro stared blankly at Franky for a few moments, studying him closely.
"... Yeah, I can see Luffy recruiting someone like him into the crew," the swordsman said at last. "Guess that means the ship he's on is the Thousand Sunny."
The ship certainly looked sunny enough to have such a name. Vivi could definitely picture Luffy sailing on a ship like that.
"Now, I'm going to take a wild guess and say you're Baba Yari, right?" Franky went on, placing his large fists at his hips.
"How did you guess? I do not recall introducing myself!" Yari hollered up to him.
"You're just as your brother described you; violet hair, pointy sword, and all the personal charm of a rabid bobcat."
"HEY!" Yari protested, then paused. "Wait a minute. You spoke with Runo?"
"You could say that." Franky cracked his knuckles (or the cyborg equivalent of cracking one's knuckles). "He showed up on my ship yapping about toys and bounties, so he and I had a nice, long talk." He then just seemed to notice Zoro and the others. "Oi, Zoro, Usopp! You bros doing okay?! Who's the chick?! And what's Merry doing here?!"
"It's kind of a long story!" Zoro replied. "Listen, Yari paralyzed all our arms! Think you could lend a hand?"
"No problem, brother! I'll be right down!"
True to his word, Franky jumped off of the Sunny and landed right in front of the rest of the Straw Hats. Remarkably, the Merry's deck held under his weight.
Franky scanned over the deck, making a disapproving humming sound. He walked over to the still-in-place hooks. "Hmm, looks like Merry's taken quite a beating. You guys really should have moved this fight to the beach."
To make a point, he reached down and easily removed the hooks. He then tossed them over Yari's head and over the side of the ship.
"No worries though, I think some minor patchwork should be enough for now," he continued, dusting off his hands. "I'll do it after we swat these noisy flies and you all tell me how Merry even got here."
"Sure thing!" Usopp agreed enthusiastically. He was happy to hear a real (super cool robot) shipwright was willing to look Merry over. "Now, get rid of that masochistic psycho!"
Yari crossed her arms. "I refuse to believe Runo fell to someone like you. In any case, it will be a simple matter to take you and your cohorts down, and collect your bounties. I am willing to bet even a metal man like you can feel pain."
A red light seemed to glow from behind one of Franky's sunglasses lenses. "Willing to test that theory?"
"Men!" Yari ordered. "Handle Cyborg while I finish off Pirate Hunter and his colleagues." She grinned coldly. "I still want my new dolls."
Her remaining men gave a battle cry and charged forward, weapons drawn and having the full intent to complete their boss's orders.
Zoro stepped forward, only one sword unsheathed now, but Franky stopped him.
"Take a breather bro," the older man said. "I'm feeling super helpful this week, so just let me handle this one."
The swordsman raised an eyebrow, but nodded and stepped back, giving the cyborg the okay to continue.
Franky grinned, then stuck out his left arm as a hole opened up in his palm. Air was sucked into the hole, and his forearm began to expand. Just as the bounty hunters got close, Franky's forearm seemed to reach its limit.
"Coup de Vent!"
All of the air that had been previously sucked in came exploding out in a powerful and solid burst. The hunters went flying back as if they had been hit with a cannonball. Every last one of them shot across the Merry's deck and landed either in the water, on the beach, or in the far off jungle. Miraculously, Merry's railing had not suffered any damage.
The only one who remained standing (and on board that wasn't a pirate) was Yari. Her sword was drawn and brandished directly in front her. She had cut through the attack to keep herself from being sent hurtling from the ship.
"AWESOME!" Usopp cheered excited, waving his good arm up and down.
"Super is more like it!" Franky added, lowering his own arm.
Vivi gaped in amazement. Even Zoro looked a little impressed.
Yari didn't seem to share any of the same sentiments. If anything, she looked more ticked off than she had over the course of the entire fight, and that was saying something.
"You... you think this means anything?" she said in a possessed voice. "I don't need any of those weaklings! If anything, they deserved to lose! The Carrion Bounty Hunters have no room for weaklings!"
The pirates knew this anger was beyond what they had seen already; she was using contractions.
Yari positioned her sword at her hip. "Cyborg; I bet it hurt when you had to put all those machines in your body. I plan to make you relive that pain 100-fold! NO ONE MAKES A FOOL OF ME!"
She ran forward, and this time Zoro prepared to intercept, paralyzed arm or not.
He never had the chance to. All of a sudden, Yari stopped running, her visible eye wide.
"Huh?" Zoro asked in confusion.
"Why'd she stop?" Vivi asked.
Franky smiled. "I think I have an idea why."
The former two gave Franky a questioning look, but it was Usopp who noticed first.
"No way..." Usopp whispered. 'Vivi, Zoro, look!"
"Quaw!" Carue added in excitement.
They did, and to their astonishment, one certain skeleton stood behind Yari, a sword in one bony hand and the sheathe in the other.
"That is quite enough," he said in a grim tone.
"Mr. Brook!" Vivi gasped.
"He's okay?!" Zoro shouted.
The musician was once again in one piece; it was as if his skull had never been cut off in the first place.
"I hope you'll accept my sincerest apologies," Brook said without looking at his crewmates. "It pained me to have to listen to your agony, but I was unable to pull myself back together in time; Yari-san's powers somehow disrupted my own. But I'm here now." He began to re-sheathe Soul Solid. "Three Verse Humming..."
Yari turned her head slowly over her shoulder to look at Brook. Her pupils were like pinpricks. "Y-You..."
The shikomizue slammed closed. "... Arrow Notch Slash!"
SHING!
Blood fountained from Yari's chest. The woman's eyes became blank, her mouth open in a wordless scream.
I was careless... she thought. I lost focus and my haki failed me... I didn't see him coming...
Despite all this, Yari didn't fall over. She was that stubborn.
"N-No..." she stuttered. "I... I r-refuse to..."
"Hey, Yari!"
Before Yari could look at the speaker, they ran over and punched her right in the face. That was the last straw; Yari was sent hurtling over the side of the Merry, landing in the water with a loud splash.
"That was for Alabasta, you sadistic sword freak!" Vivi shouted triumphantly waving her fists at the water below. "Now who has brass, huh?! Huh?!"
The boys all stared at her. Zoro looked at Vivi as if he couldn't comprehend that that had just happened, Usopp was slack-jawed, and Carue simply nodded, proud to have such a strong mistress.
Franky whistled. "I like her. Where'd you guys pick her up?"
No one really answered. They were still processing the scene before them.
Vivi grimaced as she held her fist and turned back to her friends. "Owww... her face is harder than it looks..."
"Wait, your fist hurts?" Usopp asked.
"Yes. Why?"
"Mine doesn't."
Vivi looked down at her hand, then noticed that she was holding it with her other hand.
"My arm isn't paralyzed anymore!" she announced happily. "And since you guys aren't feeling my hand pain, our senses aren't linked anymore either!"
Usopp and Zoro moved their own arms experimentally. Sure enough, they moved easily. And now that they thought about it, their bodies didn't hurt nearly as much as they did before.
"You did just knock Yari-san into the ocean," Brook pointed out. "That would have deactivated her powers quite quickly."
Vivi looked over at Brook, then grinned. Happy tears fell from her eyes as she tackled the skeleton to the deck in a joyful hug.
"MR. BROOK, YOU'RE ALIVE!" she cried out, squeezing the musician. She didn't care that hugging bones hurt a little. That pain was nothing in comparison to all she had felt that night.
"Yohohoho! It warms my heart to see that you were so worried about me, Vivi-san!" Brook laughed, patting the princess's back. "Oh, but I don't have a heart! Yohohoho!"
"I don't know about that," Vivi sniffed, wiping her eyes.
"Ah, Vivi-san! If you're that happy, then perhaps you could show me your-"
"Don't push your luck, Mr. Brook."
Brook only laughed again as the others ran over to join them.
"But we saw Yari cut off your head!" Usopp pointed out. "How did you survive?!"
"And how she didn't see your attack coming?" Zoro added, sheathing his sword. "That attack didn't look any faster than before and it sure as heck wasn't random."
"To answer Usopp-san; I'm a skeleton," Brook said as he stood up with Vivi. "It is not flesh or organs that keep me alive, but my very soul. Usually though my Revive Revive powers I can reattach any part of me that gets cut off almost instantaneously. This time though... something was different. Her cutting off my head hurt."
"You said something about her powers?" Usopp prompted.
"Yes. The attack that decapitated me glowed with the same dark pink light her powers give off. I no longer have nerve endings, but I remember what pain feels like. The pain from that attack kept me from focusing my abilities and therefore aiding you when she was torturing you all. I suppose it's just my luck she didn't use Haki in that attack; I might have died for the second time!"
"So how did you bring her down?" Zoro asked, repeating his question.
"I took advantage of her disturbed state," Brook replied. "I had a hunch she wouldn't be able to focus her Haki like that, and I was right."
"So you can lose your focus on your Haki?" Zoro said thoughtfully. "That's good to know."
"Hey, anyone want to tell me what's going on?" Franky spoke up. Everyone turned to look at him. "How come Usopp and Zoro are acting like they don't know you or what Haki is? And who's the girl and the duck?"
Before anyone could answer him however, they heard noises coming from the jungle beyond the beach. Someone was coming.
"On second thought, explain it to me once we make an escape," Franky said, changing his mind. "None of you look up for another dog fight."
He then pulled a rope out of nowhere and tossed one end to Usopp.
"Usopp, you and Zoro tie that around Merry's figurehead," he instructed. "Brook, you're with me!"
Brook saluted. "Aye-aye, Franky-san!"
Franky and Brook both jumped back aboard the Sunny as Zoro and Usopp did as they were told. Vivi decided to sit down with Carue and take a much needed rest. No one could really blame her.
"Alright, it's done!" Usopp called up. "Now what?!"
"Hold on tight, everyone!" Brook called down from the Sunny's railing. "This might get a little bumpy!"
How was it going to get bumpy? They were about to ask, when the mane on the Sunny's figure head began to spin.
"What the-" Zoro started to say.
"Emergency Evasion Technique!" Franky's voice echoed loudly across the sky. "Chicken Voyage!"
SHOOM!
"AHHHHHH!"
Time: Sunrise (roughly half an hour later)
Location: Kāla's southwestern beach
The first thing Yari realized when she came to was that someone was poking her face with a stick. She immediately swatted it away.
"Oh hey, she's not dead!"
She groaned internally; she knew that voice.
She opened her eyes to see a lanky young man in his mid-twenties kneeling over her. He had tanned skin and short, messy violet hair with bangs falling over his left eye. The visible eye was bright green, and had a small mole underneath it. He wore a loose torn-quarter-sleeved orange shirt that hung low on his shoulders but with the shirttail falling to his navel. The shirt was covered in swirling patterns and it made her dizzy to look at it. He also wore a tight tan sash around his waist, yellow knee-length cutoff pants with the Alabastan sun in red on the right pant leg, brown sandals, and wrappings in place of socks. He accessorized with gold wristbands, a gold-bead necklace with a red stone ornament, and small hoop earrings.
In short, it was her feral wild-boy of a twin brother, Baba Runo.
"Of course I'm not dead," she grumbled, forcing herself to sit up (ugh, she was lying in the sand). Although, she did dimly remember dreaming about a field of flowers[7]... what had that been about?
Her chest felt tight and stiff, so she looked down to see bandages wrapped tightly around her chest and arms. She even had a bandage across her nose and cheek cut. Someone had removed what was left of her dress for the gauze on her chest (her short-shorts were still on, thank heavens). She hoped it hadn't been Runo.
She remembered the last thing that had happened to her: that perverted skeleton had cut her and Princess Vivi had punched her in the face. Why did all those blasted pirates keep aiming for her face?!
"You may not be dead, but it wasn't from a lack of trying," Runo felt the need to point out, bringing Yari out of her thoughts. He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "You're lucky we came and fished you out of the drink when we did."
Behind him stood Erity, who was pouring seawater out of her shoes.
"Yeah, you're welcome," she said bitterly.
Yari suddenly looked horrified. "Erity fished me out? Hold on, she didn't-"
"Nope," Runo interrupted. "The honor of giving you mouth-to-mouth went to him."
He pointed to Vaughan, who was also standing behind him. The red-eyed man was brushing his teeth.
"I also took the liberty of sealing your wounds," Vaughan added, spitting toothpaste into the pink sand. "You're welcome."
Yari spit as well. It felt only fair. She then stood up with help from her brother.
"One of the men who regained consciousness filled us in," Runo said, handing Yari her shikomizue, once again a parasol. He crossed his arms and smiled smugly. "So, you got your butt handed to you by a pop star, a pervert, a bunch of rookies, the Princess of Alabasta, and a duck. How disappointing, baby sister. It's not like you to show such weakness."
"Shut up!" Yari snapped. "I am not weak; I just made the mistake of underestimating them! And for the last time, just because you came out of mother's womb a whole ten minutes before I did does not make you older!"
"Changing the subject won't change the fact you still lost. Carrion will not be happy."
"I said shut up!"
"Oh, ignore him," Erity broke in, slipping her shoes back on. "He's just in a mood because he lost his raccoon dog toy."
"Fluffy McFluffmeister wasn't raccoon dog! He was a reindeer!" Runo corrected her indignantly.
"Whatever."
"Like you are one to talk?" Yari said with a huff, ignoring the bit with the reindeer. She poked her brother's forehead. "You lost to Cyborg Franky!"
Runo calmed down and chuckled darkly. "Yari, Yari, Yari... do I look like a man who lost to a giant cyborg?"
Yari gave him a once over and had to admit that he did not. He didn't even have so much as a scratch or bruise.
"Then why-" she started to ask.
Runo pressed a finger to her lips. "Hush now, sis. There's a method to my madness."
Vaughan snorted as he reapplied toothpaste to his toothbrush. "You can say that again."
Yari ignored the sniper and gave her brother an expression that demanded an explanation.
"Tell me, Yari," he sighed. "Have you ever heard the story of two armies that fought a war for ten years, and to finally end the war, one side invaded the other's main city by hiding its army inside a giant gift horse?"
His sister shook her head.
Runo smiled. "Well, I didn't have a horse handy, but I did find this nice lion..."
Next Time:
Chapter 15- Finding the Rainbow Connection
[1] This is a fencing move known as a passata sotto.
[2] Flunge= Flying lunge. Pretty simple.
[3] Flying Nerve Cut.
[4] Sensory Link: Tenfold.
[5] Nerve Cut- River of Pain.
[6] This isn't actually one of Usopp's attacks. I made it up, but it sounds like something he would come up with.
[7} This is a joke from the Drum Island Arc. When Usopp and Zoro got caught in the avalanche, both claimed to have had a dream about a field of flowers. i.e. the afterlife.