AN: The only Devil Fruit I own is the Author-Author Fruit which I use to bring this story to you and the only magic within me is my imagination! So I can't own One Piece or Harry Potter!
AN2: Just so everyone knows- this story is rated M. It is rated that for a reason and if you don't think that's for you then please don't read it. I will NOT give separate warnings for each individual chapter. If you decide to read an M-rated story then any warnings fall right on your shoulders.
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!
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"Rou! Rou! 'ake up Rou! Now's not tha time to keep dreamin darl! It's- BOOM! - a pirate raid darl! Theys firein they cannons at tha i'land!" Rouge was dragged from her sleep abruptly. 'Wha…Aniki? What's he- Arrgh!' Rouge tumbled off her bed and onto the hard, dirt floor. Rouge smelled smoke nearby, and jumped up, running out of her room. Clad in only a long nightgown, she stood at the edge of the cliff and watched the pirate ship sail closer to the harbor; clearly they were intending to plunder the entire town. Rouge could only hope that they wouldn't look any farther than the town edge. "Rou! Wha ya doin! Don' just stan there! Ya need ta be in tha shelt'a- not out 'ere!" Rouge turned to see a fully armed Haru behind her and scoffed.
"Right! So while I go hide from the oh-so-scary pirates in the cellar, you get to go run them off! That makes so much sense! Oh, wait… no, it doesn't! Why can't I help? I-"
" 'Nough Rou! We talked bout this! And nows not tha time ta bring it up! Just git in tha cella' darl!" Haru retorted, barely glancing in her direction as he left for the village. And blast it if that didn't drive her up the walls even more! He'd been like this ever since they'd sent Momma to the sea. Treatin her like a little delicate angel. Bah! She was sure that was Momma's doin though. Probably told him to keep her safe. And of course he took it overboard! She was a legal adult- 19 years old- thank you very much, and that meant she could make her own decisions! So hah! Now…where'd she put her quiver.…
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Twang…shwick. Thud.
Twang…shwick. Thud.
Twang…shwick. Thud.
Breathe in- and out. Pull. Sight. Release. And repeat.
In. Out. Pull. See. Go. And repeat.
Again. And again…and again.
For every pirate taken down by the villagers, another two took his place. Soon, Haru knew, the villagers would give up and hope for the best. But, he had a feeling that wouldn't be for a while. These pirates, he'd heard of them. Almost everyone in South Blue had. The Split Skull Pirates, demons in human skin. Literally. They were known to decorate their ship with their enemy's heads- in various states of decomposition- and adorn themselves in the tanned skins of their prisoners. The look in these pirates' eyes, he'd seen it before, like every hunter before him. The look of a predator that circles the injured prey. The overflowing bloodlust. It was better to fight and die against them than to submit to their mercy- they had none.
Haru reached for another arrow, and was thrown off when he felt nothing but air. It seemed he had been firing without realizing it. But… he could still hear a bow…his eyes widened in realization. Rouge! Rouge! It had to be! There was that same waver to the sound that her bow made when she began practice! No! She was shooting an un-warmed bow! No! She was shooting an un-warmed bow at some of the most ruthless pirates in South Blue! And missing quite a bit by the sound of it. Not good! Not good at all! If one of them saw her… they'd take her. Use her. Dump her overboard. He couldn't let that happen. He had to find her. Now!
Haru peered through the smoke rising from the market, trying to get a glimpse of Rouge. There! A flash of what could only be the flower in her hair- she'd taken to wearing them after Momma had passed on. He quickly followed, hiding as best as he could around the buildings. As he exited an ally, he stopped short; Rouge was standing a few feet behind a pirate who apparently couldn't wait to take his conquest back to the ship. The screams from the crying woman beneath him hid any noise Rouge made. Rouge notched her last arrow and drew the string in a single, smooth motion. The pirate's victim went silent- she had finally found release into unconsciousness- and the twang-eh of Rouge bow echoed through the streets. And, unfortunately, Haru's worries proved well-founded. The string, thanks to its misused state, forcefully aimed the arrow so it punctured the pirate's side, instead of the heart- where Rouge had been aiming. The pirate roared in pain and turned to face Rouge. He trampled toward her and she scrambled for the knife on her belt. She managed to pull it out, only to have her wrists grabbed and thrown against the wall. Head ringing and sight blurry, all she saw was a flash of silver and the large pirate dropping to the ground.
"Rou! Rou! Are ya al' righ' Rou? Whadda ya doin 'ere Rou? Ya sup'ose ta be a' 'ome!" Haru pried open her eyes and cursed. They were out of focus and crossed. That could only mean a concussion and maybe internal damage. Calypso! This wasn't good. He had to assume he was alone in enemy territory with an injured dead-weight and only a couple of knives. Those were very low odds. The stench to sweat, blood, and tanned hide became sharper and Haru saw four pirates coming toward him. And the odds just got worse. Haru pulled Rouge behind him, grabbed her knife and his own, and braced himself for the fight that was sure to happen. Sure enough, when the pirates saw Haru they charged clumsily. The first two were knocked back fairly easily, but the third seemed to know how to really use a sword. While Haru fought the third pirate, the fourth noticed Rouge and tried to circle around Haru to grab her. Haru could feel what that pirate was trying to do though because of it. The pulsing, flowing feeling that helped him see things, scare people, and lift heavy things. So he knew that the pirate would try to take Rouge. And he was never going to let that happen! Haru saw an opening in his opponent's stance and –whak!- kicked him in the ribs. 'Now…where'd ya go…' Haru looked around, searching for the last pirate, seeing nothing until it throbbed with stinging intensity. Haru jerked his eyes to Rouge. He was fast enough to see her being pulled by translucent hands through the wall like it didn't exist.
"NO! ROUGE!" Haru bolted toward the wall, scraping the bricks with his fingers. He didn't notice. "Rouge…" 'No. No. Not again. Not again. Please! Please not again!' Haru's brain strained, trying to stave off the impending breakdown…and failed miserably. He dropped to his knees, clutching his head. It throbbed, magic fanned around him and faces he had never seen flashed through his mind. A woman with fire-red hair and his eyes, a man with his hair and glasses. Two more men, one brown-haired and amber-eyed and the other black-haired and gaunt-faced. A head of bushy brown hair and a gaggle of red-haired people. One woman with silver eyes and a gentle-faced man. An old man with a beard and a crooked nose. And finally, there stood a pale, bald creature; red eyes and a slit nose, sneering down at him.
"You couldn't save them Potter," it taunted, "and now you can't even save a pathetic little Muggle." Haru struggled to stand and the creature smirked. "Not much of a Savior are you Potter." Haru lifted his head. "Can't save your Mudblood mother." Haru met its eyes. "Can't save that flea-bitten mutt." He gritted his teeth. "Can't save your pet werewolf." He clenched his fists. "Can't save your friends." He straightened his spine. "Can't even save your blood-traitor girlfriend." He took a step forward. "What would the Light think of their savior now, I wonder. Covered in the blood of his kills." He took another step and raised his fist. "Are you going to hit me, Potter? Are you going to kill me, Potter?" The creature cackled.
"Yes." The creature stopped mid-chuckle. "I'm going to hit you. I'm going to kill you. And then I'm going to save my sister. And I'll kill anyone who gets in my way." The creature tilted its head-like a curious bird- and looked puzzled. "And the name isn't Potter. It's Portgaz. Remember it." Haru rushed forward without hesitation and as he brought down his fist, the creature burst into steam. Haru closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, found himself inside one of the dock boathouses with his knife and a large, capped quiver. He tapped the case. Waterproof and big enough to hold the bow and arrows, but small enough that it wouldn't get caught on anything. And brimming with the airy, floaty magic.
Haru looked out the window and saw what had to be the ship of the Split Skull Pirates- it was just as gruesome as it had been described. Blood ran down the sides and there were spikes welded into the hull. Each spike was two feet long and instead of replacing the skulls decorating them, a new one was simply pushed over the old. Haru left the old boathouse for the closest roof to the ship and froze when he saw Rouge being presented on the deck.
She was held up by the pirate who captured her- Haru remembered that nose- and was being shown to what had to be the fattest man Haru had ever seen. The pirates were obviously preparing to sail; the boarding plank was pulled up and the sails were released. Of course, Haru didn't see any of that- the moment he saw Rouge on the ship, he saw red.
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Loud. Loud. Loud. And dizzy. That was how Rouge felt. Oh, and nauseated. Can't forget nauseated, or the fact that she puked on her captor. Yup. Her captor. She knew she was a prisoner, an injured prisoner. Which was twice as bad. Ohhh…she was never going to hear the end of this when Haru took her home. His 'I told you so' rang so clear throughout the air that she could almost see him. Wait. Wait! That was him! Aniki! 'Uhhh…my head. Can't think. No! No shakey…so blurry…my eyes, my ears…hurt… Screams! Ouch! He dropped me! Wait…gotta get to life boat…hide…run…Aniki! There's…everything on fire…wha…whadda ya do Aniki…whadda ya do…so tired Aniki…so tired...'
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He couldn't believe how delicate she looked laying there on the bed. So broken. But…it was his fault too. If he'd just let her help, he could've stopped her from shooting with an un-warmed bow. But he ignored her. He should've known. Haru smiled softly. She was a trail blazer; she always made her own path, no matter what others might say. Perhaps…perhaps it was time. Time to let her do that…without his influence. He frowned suddenly. That, and the fact that he needed to learn to control whatever power he seemed to have. After the vision with the red-eyed creature, the magic and it had merged in a way. It worked like the stories he heard of the Devil Fruits, but he was sure he'd never eaten such a thing. But…he became weak in the water and he had set the pirate ship on fire…without matches, oil or powder. It'd probably be safer to work on it off the island, but…how to say good-bye? He couldn't just leave, even though the concussion would be nonexistent by now. He had to give a proper farewell. And pay his respects. There had only been a few casualties as most of the villagers had hidden, but Ji-chan had been one of the lost. He had been killed by one of the first cannon shots.
"Aniki. Aniki." Haru turned to Rouge from the window and cocked an eyebrow. "You get it, don't you Aniki? Why you can't just leave me in the cellar? Why I didn't listen to you? I know; I got caught. And I know you're blaming yourself, but it was both of us Aniki. Mostly me, actually. If I hadn't been so stupid.… Thank you for saving me Aniki." Rouge smiled sheepishly, waiting for her scolding from her 2 minute older brother.
"Rouge…what were you thinking? I was so worried when I realized you were fighting. And with an un-warmed bow! Don't ever do that again!" Haru exclaimed, throwing up his hands in exasperation.
"But… I'll have to Aniki. It's my duty to my island to defend it. I'll stay in the trees, but… it's what I've got to do Aniki. You can't stop me from doing that. You'll be gone anyway." Haru jerked and stared at Rouge. "What? You think you were fooling anyone with that 'I'm just curious' junk? Bah! I've got your clothes, a basket of food and a couple barrels of grog with our fishing boat in the cave beneath the house." Haru's jaw dropped. "And I pulled your half of the inheritance from the chest. Everything's ready. I've just got to say good-bye and you can be on your way." Rouge pulled Haru close to her by his shirt and placed her arms around him. "But I won't say good-bye. Instead, I think I'll say 'see you later' alright?" Haru hugged her back and nodded slightly. "Double-twist magic pinky promise, Aniki?"
"Double-twist magic pinky promise, Rou-chan."
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HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!
AN: Hey everybody! I've been getting some PMs asking when I'm going to have longer time-skips and move on to Ace. I'd like to make it clear that while Ace is an important part, he is not the focal point of this story! I'm going to focus on how Haru develops and changes the world around him. Ja ne minna-san!