I'm back! Sorry it took so long for me to write this one, again blame Kuro! I HATE HIM! ..Snob.. Anyways, Please read, review, relax, read it again, realize I don't own One Piece, and just enjoy!~
Chapter Song: "Secret" By The Pierces
(Zoro's P.O.V.)
After we followed the kids to the cliff where Captain was supposed to be, he wasn't there. We searched around a bit until Nami spotted him at the bottom, sleeping. What is that idiot doing now? I grunted in irritation, climbing down while Nami helped the village kids down the rocks. I walked over to him and nudged him with a foot. "Hey, Luffy. Get up." No response. Of course he'd be so stupid as to sleep at the bottom of a cliff and never wake up. Nami and the kids ran over, the kids poking Luffy as they tried to get him up while Nami assumed a thoughtful pose. Suddenly, she snapped her fingers. "I've got it! Kids, step back." I watched with crossed arms. If I couldn't wake him up easily, what makes her think she can? Nami bent down until she could talk into his ear, then she whispered one word.
"Meat."
I cringed at his sudden movement as he jerked his head up, wide awake. "Baka Captain…" I grumbled. "Meat! Where?!" Was all he said, his head whipping around frantically until it looked up, confused. "Hey, what am I doing down here?" I watched as Nami sorted things out. Apparently he fell asleep and fell off the cliff. I snorted at the stupidity of the situation. "How did you manage to fall asleep standing?" I asked, looking down at my Captain. Luffy proceeded to explain how he and Usopp had overheard Klahadore and another man named Jango planning to kill Kaya. Suddenly Nami stiffened as Luffy was recounting the conversation "pretty much" word-for-word according to him.
"Wait, Luffy,what did you just say?!" Luffy blinked, and then repeated what he had previously said. "The butler-guy said 'They just keep coming...Jango take care of them like you did the girl.' And then I stared at that circle-thingy and I woke up here. Where's my meat by the way?" Nami and I shared a tense look, we had stopped listening after he said "like you did the girl". Nami had a hand to her mouth in horror and my mouth was set in a grim line. "Luffy." I said quietly as he looked up at me, head tilted in a silent question. "Where's Eve?" Luffy shrugged, before it clicked in his head. He stood up, his eyes shadowed by his strawhat. "We need to find her." I nodded as we fanned out, the kids freaking out about Kaya.
After five minutes I notice a thin trail of blood. Deciding to follow it, I walk for twenty feet before coming to a cluster of rocks shielded partially by the cliff side. "Oi! Luffy! I found her!" I hear running feet on the ground behind me as I start shifting rocks. She was unconscious, and had cuts all over. She didn't look good, she was pale, but it's a miracle she wasn't crushed by the rocks. "It looks like a rockslide...If there weren't clear impact marks behind her. Someone must've caused this." I reasoned. Luffy didn't say anything as he and I finished clawing her out of the rubble. She looked bruised and exhausted, but alive. She had three shallow cuts on her left cheek, a deep one on her right, and a small deep one on her nose. But she was breathing, and I saw the relief in Luffy's eyes. Thank Kami she isn't dead…
I gently lifted her out of the rocks and sat her down on the beach, only to watch as her gloves suddenly disappeared. S-So she caught the rubble and stopped it from crushing her as she lost consciousness?! This kid's stronger than I thought. I quickly checked her for broken bones, but found none. "Hey Luffy," I said, noticing my strangely silent Captain watching over my shoulder with Nami and the kids. "She's alright. Nothing's been broken. She should wake up soon." Luffy just nodded in reply, his fists clenched tightly by his sides. Standing back so Nami could do a more thorough job of making sure she's okay with her sewing kit, I turned to Luffy. "...What're we going to do?" I mumbled quietly, aware of the tension in his shoulders and posture.
He didn't say anything for a moment, before raising his head slightly and looking down at the unconscious form of his nakama. "We're going to help Usopp protect this village and the Mistress...Then I'm going to kick that butler's butt."
"In that order?"
"Whichever comes first."
Our attention was grabbed when we heard coughing. Eve was awake.
(Eve's P.O.V.)
I groaned softly as the aching cuts in my face throbbed, the few shallow cuts on my collarbone insignificant in comparison. I cringed against the sunlight and relaxed as someone shaded me. "Thanks…" I mumbled to the mystery person. Or was it people? I felt more shadows above me and managed to squint my eyes open slightly, hearing young voices exclaim concern. "Whoa slow down I can't hear you.." I said, my brain fuzzy and their voices sounding garbled. I looked up at the blurry form of Luffy crouching next to me, his head tilted to the side in confusion as he said something. "OI! Ibu wa, anata wa daijōbudesuka? ! Dare ga anata ni kore o shinakatta? Watashi wa karera no shiri o kikku suru tsumorida!" I blinked owlishly up at him, my sore brain not understanding what the heck just came out of his mouth.
"Um...What? I mean..Nani?" Luffy looked more concerned as he repeated his garbled sentence. My head was throbbing as I sat up and clutched at my forehead, drained of energy. "Um…" I said dumbly, listening to their cacophonous shouts of worried words. What are they speaking?...Ugh..My head… I couldn't feel Puuya and a shot of panic jolted through my body as I was suddenly on my feet. "P-Puuya? Puuya where are you?!" I shouted, panicked while my friends looked at me like I lost my marbles. Zoro walked up behind me, putting his hands on my shoulders firmly. "Chotto, ochitsui te. Kono yō ni shite iru toki, watashitachi wa anata o rikai suru koto wa dekimasen. Anata ga suwatte suru hitsuyō ga arimasu." He said it in a calming manner, but that only made my frazzled mine panic more as I realized I had no idea what he was saying.
Suddenly, my legs gave out and I crumpled to my knees, Zoro holding me up partially. W-What happened…? What's going on..? Come on...Remember! I was struck by a flashback and I stiffened, shocked as the vision played through my mind.
Queue the flashback!
"You will pay, foolish girl…" Kuro said, glaring coldly as I armed myself with my gloves.
"Probably." I agreed, trying to subdue the growing urge to slap myself at my stupidity. Luffy got hurt badly fighting this guy, and you think you can take him just because you have a nice pair of gloves? Baka you're going to die! I ignored myself as I focused solely on Kuro, determined not to die. He swiped at me experimentally with his sword-claws and I leapt back as if shot from a gun, my muscles tenser than they've ever been.
I inhaled deeply, trying to force myself to relax. I knew I would have to react quickly if I was to survive this hopeless fight. He lunged and clawed at me again, his face cold and furious. Grabbing his claws with a hand each, it quickly became obvious he was much stronger than me. I quickly twisted his hands to the side at a painful angle and kicked his exposed side harshly. He barely skidded backwards as I released his claws.
Oh come on! I'm not THAT weak am I?! This sucks! Kuro suddenly disappeared with his 'Silent Step'. I stumbled backwards in surprise, my head twisting this way and that to try and spot where he'd appear. I suddenly felt his presence behind me and spun around only to get clawed in the face.
"Agh!" I stumbled backwards blindly, my palms desperately wiping at the bloody cuts on my face. He got a direct hit on my nose and cheek, three cuts on my left cheek and one small one across the bridge of my nose. Gritting my teeth against the pain I swung a punch at his face, only to miss as he disappeared again.
"Kami Dangit!" I growled, tensely waiting for him to appear. Suddenly, I was on my back, my feet kicked from underneath me and the breath driven from my lungs. I tried to move my arms to push myself up only for Kuro to stomp on my stomach painfully, effectively pinning me to the ground.
"Tell me how you know, how you figured it out!"
"No! I don't like you! You suck and you eat way too much kitty kibble! Fatty, get off!"
I suddenly flicked my wrists and hidden blades slid out from the underside of my gloves, stabbing Kuro's ankle from both sides.
He grunted in pain, glaring and vanishing again. I stumbled to my feet grimacing, bent over slightly as I recovered some much needed air. Suddenly Kuro appeared and sliced at me with both hands. I quickly brought up both blades, my arms shaking as they overlapped the blades and barely caught the attack. His blades pressed against mine as my feet were slowly sliding back from his strength no matter how hard I pressed back. My arms were shaking from the strain, and my eyes squinting from the pain.
"U-Ugh...Dude lay off the catnip, drugs aren't the answer!" I grunted out, sweat on my brow as I dug my heels into the ground.
"Tell me or I'll kill you and your whole crew." He said, a deadly cold look in his eyes, our faces only separated by our blades.
I smirked at him weakly, kicking his… 'yarn balls'. He groaned in pain, stumbling back in obvious pain. I wiped some blood from my face with a hand as I gave him a determined grin.
"You can't beat Luffy. He's a true pirate, who doesn't run from his own name! And I'm proud to sail under him, the future Pirate King!"
Kuro scoffed, straightening and fixing his glasses, veins clearly bulging on his forehead.
"You and your friends are just foolish children playing pretend. You haven't been hardened by years on the sea and facing many enemies. You know nothing and you will all die because of your silly childish dreams."
Now it was my turn to glare, and glare I did. I clenched my fists and started shaking in anger.
"How dare you…" I glared up at him through my hair, my eyes cold and intense as he stood there indifferently. "How dare you…" I growled, gritting my teeth as my anger grew. I leapt at him surprisingly quickly, fury etched in my every feature. "HOW DARE YOU DOUBT LUFFY!" I roared, head-butting his stomach and slamming into him with my whole body. "YOU'RE THE ONE WHO KNOWS NOTHING YOU MORONIC ASPHALT-KISSER!" I shouted, rolling to the side as we lunged at each other, blades clanging against each other. He swiped at my side and I rolled out of the way, coming up and cutting into his hip slightly.
"LUFFY" I rolled backwards, barely dodging an attack.
"CAN" I dashed forwards, zig-zagging with my arms behind me.
"DO" I dove sideways to avoid becoming shredded cheese.
"ANY-" I jumped off the cliff side, coming at him from the air.
"THING!" I grabbed his blades head-on and crouched as I landed, flipping him over my shoulder and slamming him into the ground by his arms.
"DON'T" I stomped on his arms, raising a foot to one of his hands.
"YOU" I stomped down on the five blades on his right hand.
"DARE" They shattered and I stumbled away as he ripped his other claws across the back of my right calf.
"DOUBT" He lunged at me.
"MY" I blocked with one blade, pulling back my right fist. Somewhere behind him I heard "When I say one, two, Jango, you'll fall asleep!"
"NA-" He dodged my right fist and we broke apart, charging at each other again. "One!"
"KA-" Kuro suddenly disappeared and I saw a pendulum in front of me. "Two!" "JANGO!"
"MA-ah…" My eyes rolled backwards in my head as Kuro kicked my limp body into the side of the cliff and everything faded to black as I heard something falling above me.
"Ah! I remember! I was fighting Kuro! And then...Jango showed up? He must have hypnotized me and then Kuro kicked me!" The others looked at me with confused gazes.
"Kuro? Kuro wa anata ni kore o shinakatta?" Luffy asked, head tilted to the side in a confused manner.
Suddenly, something seemed to slam into my brain, not helping my headache at all. "Ow…Hai..." I moaned, holding my still injured or bruised sides. Zoro gingerly set my against the rocks, careful to not aggravate my injuries. Boss! I'm back! I did it! I hid your backpack! I silently heaved a sigh of relief. Thank Kami...Now quickly! Please fix my translator!
It was if a switch went off in my brain, one moment the others were spouting absolute gibberish and the next, sweet, sweet English.
"-at do we do now, Luffy? Eve can't talk for some reason and Usopp's nowhere to be seen." Said Nami, arms crossed with a worried expression on her face. Luffy wasn't looking at her though, he was looking straight at me as he walked over. Crouching down to eye level, he stared at me seriously.
"Eve, are you okay now?" He asked, a flash of worry in his eyes.
I blinked, the pounding in my head finally going down as Puuya started to numb the pain throughout my body with his influence. "Yes Captain, I can hear you now." I said, smiling reassuringly up at him as he broke out into a large grin.
"Good," he said, standing up with a hand on his hat as he turned to look up at the cliff. "Then let's go find Usopp."
At the Southern Slope!
(Eve's P.O.V.)
After I thoroughly explained what happened to me and Usopp accepted our help, he led us to the Southern shore. I tuned him out as he explained the situation to the others as I leant against a tree and conversed with Puuya. Where did you hide my backpack? Did anyone see you? Nope Boss! Just like you said, I stayed low and in the shadows~ No one saw nothin'!
I nodded to myself, relieved. Good, if they had found my iPhone...Man I don't even want to think about it.. How quickly can my wounds heal with your help?
Um...Well they'll be scabbed over by tomorrow, except the one on your nose Boss...That one's gonna be a um..
A what?
A scar, you'll have a scar by tomorrow morning.
I sighed quietly, grimacing slightly when my face wounds twinged. I had stopped by the village doctor who had quickly bandaged me while Nami paid.
I looked back at the others as they started putting the oil down. But this is the wrong shore, I need to stop them! But then they'll ask how I know...Maybe I can say I can see a person's future? It'll only go so far until I hit an obstacle but...Okay I need to do this.
"Oi! Minna! You sure this is the right slope?" I asked them, a small smirk on my face despite the annoying bandages. They looked at me blankly, about to waste more oil. I sighed and my eyes met Usopp's. "Dude, Northern beach, the other entrance to the village...Where we docked our ship, ringing any bells anyone?!" Realization slapped Usopp in the face as he jolted in surprise.
"She's right! Th-there's another beach! But why would they come from there and not here?" Asked Usopp, looking confused and worried.
I put my hands behind my head as I walked over to them, avoiding the little amount of oil on the ground. "'Cause they just will. I know it."
Zoro raised a doubtful eyebrow at my groundless claim. "And how do you 'know it'? Are you sure you're not just tired from all those hits you took? Maybe you lost too much blood."
I opened an eye to look at him lazily, confidence oozing off of me in waves. "Because I can see the future." I said simply, with varying reactions from my crew mates and soon-to-be-crewmate.
"REALLY?! SUGOI!" Luffy shouted, his eyes shining.
"What! No way!" Nami said, doubtfully.
"I'm with Nami for once, there's no way you can see the future." Zoro scoffed.
"W-What? F-F-F-Future?! Really?! Are you a witch?! Stay away!" And lastly, the cowardly Pinocchio himself, Usopp.
"It's true!" I protested, my arms swinging by my sides slowly. "The Black Cat Pirates will come at sunrise to the Northern beach and attack the village."
"Look," Nami said, walking up to me with a disbelieving expression. "While I agree it's possible they might come from that direction, there's no way to prove you can suddenly see the future. Though, we need to come up with a new plan now." She said, turning to Luffy who was thinking again. I hope his face doesn't turn red…
"How about we post Usopp and someone else people at the Northern slope and if they show up, Usopp can fire a signal into the sky and the three people down here will come running." Zoro suggested, and we all looked at him in surprise. He actually said something intelligent for once...Wow! Who knew?
"I'll go with Usopp." I volunteered, looking to Luffy for his decision. He nodded, suddenly putting his fist in his palm.
"Yosh! That's what we'll do! Now," he said, his trademark jaw-breaking grin on his face as he crossed his arms while addressing us. "Let's go kick those pirates' butts!"
Right now, I couldn't be prouder to be a Strawhat Pirate.
Hello Minna! So I'm putting the translations for the Japanese down here in the order they appear~
Looks like Eve finally has a new upgrade, and they're some kick-butt weapons of mass assassination! Or awesomeness, each to his own I guess. :D
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Translations:
Why can't we understand what she's saying?
Did she injure her throat after all?
Oh no! What are we going to do?! How are we going to save the village?!
Hey, settle down. We can't understand you when you're like this. You need to sit down.
Kuro? Kuro did this to you?