HAI! Please R+R and Enjoy! I don't own One Piece! Oh! And thanks to all of my wonderful followers, I'll give you a shout-out below!
At the Northern Shore!~
(Eve's P.O.V)
Usopp and I stood there in awkward silence, watching the first rays of sun tickle the clouds as it rose to begin the new day. Not able to stand his nervous glances in my direction, I finally sighed and said, "I'm not a witch Usopp, I've told you that already. I just have some powers, call it a Devil Fruit if you want, it's pretty much what it is anyways. You don't need to be wary of me, alright? I'm your ally and friend now, I'd never do anything to hurt you. Scare you? Maybe...Probably. Hurt you? Not possible, okay?" I said, turning to him with a small, friendly smile on my face.
It seemed to work, as his tense shoulders relaxed and he nodded with a smile of his own. "Y-Yeah, I got it. Thanks." We stood in a more comfortable silence after that, both of us smiling softly until the grimness of the current situation returned as the sun finally showed itself. Something seemed to occur to Usopp just then as he turned to me, a curious expression on his face. "By the way Eve, what can you do?"
I shrugged indifferently, thinking for a second. "I can stab people...Catch swords with my hands, maybe even flip someone. Nothing quite as exciting as stretching." I chuckled, noticing Usopp shudder at my blunt indifference. Suddenly, he hopped to his feet, his hand on his brow and shielding his eyes as he looked out towards the horizon.
"I can see it! Y-You were right! That's unmistakably the Kuro Neko Pirates' ship!" I smirked, yawning and standing up to stretch my arms before I clapped Usopp on his shoulder.
"Just remember Usopp," I said sagely, grinning at my successful prediction. "Women are always right. Now, how about that signal eh? Don't want the others to get stuck in that oil for nothing~!" I chirped happily, inwardly chuckling at Usopp's stunned reaction. As Usopp sent one of his "Kayaku Boshi"s skyward, I was watching the approaching boat with a dark look.
Boss? Everything okay? I'm going to rip that ugly mushroom stalk from Jango's face and make him eat it. I swear Puuya sweat-dropped and shivered as I internally laughed maniacally. I-I'm not so sure this fight is going to be healthy for you Boss...Are you sure you don't want to rest more? I mean, your wounds should still be pretty sore and- I am going to fight, Puuya, I refuse to let Jango go after what he did to my gorgeous face. I smirked, inwardly chuckling at my moment of egotistical fury. That MJ rip-off is going to find out the real meaning of dance once I twirl around his attacks and feed him his own fungus! E-Ew… MWAHAHAHHAHA!
I turned my head slightly to speak to Usopp, not taking my eyes off the quickly approaching ship. "Hey, chill man. You don't need your knees to knock with me around, okay? I won't let them kill you." Usopp merely gulped and nodded, trying not to cower behind me as the ship finally crunched against the beach. I heard footsteps behind me and I turned around to see Nami had arrived.
"What? Those two morons aren't here yet?" She huffed, hands on her knees as she regained her breath. I shrugged indifferently, knowing they'd get here eventually. I watched as the other crew started parading off the boat and onto the beach as they shouted "GO!" I gave Usopp a reassuring look and he pulled out his slingshot and ammo, sighting his first targets.
"Wagh!"
"Agh!"
"Ugh!" I grinned as the targets fell in quick succession under his shots. He's good, even now.
"Th-There's someone on the slope!"
I narrowed my eyes once I spotted Jango at the back of the group, looking up at us. I couldn't see his eyes due to his glasses, but I would bet on the bullets he was sweating, that he was surprised to see me breathing.
"How are you still alive?!" He shouted, paling slightly at the sight of my glare.
I didn't lessen my glare or turn my head as I said to Usopp, "The hypnotist is mine. You take out as many underlings as you can. I'll cut the ones in my way." My voice was not ice, but empty, emotionless. I think Usopp shivered, while Nami was nowhere to be seen. He nodded, strapping on his goggles before loading up more ammo.
I could see Jango gulp as he stuttered out an order to his men. "M-Men don't forget! If we fail in attacking the village, Captain Kuro will kill us all!" That spurred them into action, as they charged forward with a battle cry.
I casually swiped the bangs from in front of my eyes as I smiled sweetly, slowly lowering my hand as my eyes snapped open, a dark gleam to them. "I was hoping you'd say that…" I said quietly, unsheathing both blades with a quiet flick of my wrists. I started chuckling, my insane-side grinning with glee. "I won't let any of you pass me alive." I said, charging forward with my arms angled behind me, the ghostly smile still on my face.
I quickly dashed through the first two rows of underlings, my face impassive as my legs pumped and my arms worked as if dancing. My blades spun and dove through the air, cutting through arms, legs, ankles, wrists, backs, anything they could touch in the brief moment I passed.
I spun around to a halt, driving my blades into the lower backs of the last two idiots as I watched the two lines slowly crumple and cry out in pain. My eyes snapped to Usopp's as I flicked the blood off my neon blue blades. "Your turn, watch my back. Don't let them pass by you or your village will suffer because of it." Not waiting for his response, I turned to smile at Jango who was a few meters away now. I closed my eyes slowly, blinking away any mind-clouding fury. I exhaled slowly, my face determined as I pointed a thumb at myself while glaring into Jango's eyes, and then I pointed the thumb at him. By the way he was gripping his chakrams tightly, he got the message.
[Queue Music: "One, Two, Three" ]
I dashed forward, eating up the meters in mere seconds. I slashed at him with my right blade which he managed to block with one of his chakram. I stared up at him with an empty face as our blades clashed, each of us bringing up our other blade to push against the other. I kicked his knee, shocking the nerve momentarily. I socked him in the face while his guard was lowered, sending him skidding backwards as he wiped blood from his lip where he had bitten it.
He tried to use a chakram as a pendulum to hypnotize me, but I was having none of that. "I don't fall for the same trick twice 'Fungi Face'." I was suddenly in front of him, my fist crushing the bones in his face. He went flying as I let a small grin slip onto my lips for a flash of a second.
"Captain Jango!" His crew cried out in worry, I nearly looked back to glare at them, before remembering my number one rule: Never look away from your opponent. My eyes were glued to Jango as he picked himself up slowly, standing to face me again.
"How are you still alive, you brat!" He growled, gripping his chakrams as he reassumed his fighting stance, his blades in front of him and ready to strike. I tilted my head to the side and smiled wryly at him, my arms open in what would look like a hug if not for the blades on my arms.
"Even now I'm in this world, I still have a purpose to live. So long as that purpose exists, so shall I live." I was grinning now, but it faded into a cold frown as I straightened my arms and stood silently before speaking. "You will regret trying to hurt my Captain, and this village. Your plan ends now!" I roared, slamming both my blades into his, causing sparks to fly into existence.
I didn't let up as I kept swiping and slamming our blades together, barraging him with a furious array of chops, slices, arcs, and twists. I managed a cut on his left arm, but it wasn't deep as I had already begun to attack another part of his body. I got his right hip, his right cheek, his left thigh, and finally I jumped and caught myself on my hands, kicking him with both feet in the stomach. Hard.
"Eugh!" He spat out blood as he slammed into a decent-sized rock a few feet away.
Rolling to my feet and ignoring the pain in my back from maneuvering so much, I dashed forwards, grabbing the collar of his greasy jacket in my fingers. I pulled my right blade back, preparing to slice- I was suddenly in the opposite cliff wall, the breath driven from my lungs and blood filling my throat as I coughed, dazed and confused. Wh-...What?! I squinted through my blurry vision as my head swam.
My ears were ringing, I couldn't hear anything other than the Kuro Neko crew shouting joyfully "Buchi! ….am! We're-...ved!" I coughed weakly, blood seeping into the ground as I tried to piece together what the heck just happened to me. My body was on fire with pain, stuck in the rocky cliff wall with what I swore was a fist and a foot imprint in my stomach. I tried to move but my spine exploded with white, searing pain and I tried to scream past the blood in my throat.
"A-agh…! F-Freaking s-stupid baka…" I moaned softly, head hanging lifelessly. I heard the hurried crunch of boots as they raced towards me and I opened a squinting eye, looking up slightly to see Usopp's goofy boots. "..Hey.." I chuckled softly. "..Y..ou holding up alr-right?" I croaked, my throat burning painfully but I paid it no mind as I smiled weakly up at him.
He was shaking, poor guy. He stuttered and fumbled over his words for a moment, before he finally managed to speak. "ARE YOU INSANE?! YOU LOOK LIKE YOU'RE DEAD OR YOU'RE GONNA DIE ANY MINUTE! WHAT AM I GOING TO TELL LUFFY?!"
I raised an eyebrow at his outburst, before smirking wryly. "You don't have to...tell him, he's already h-here." I said, pointing behind him and up the slope to where Luffy, Zoro, and Nami (with her treasure) stood, glaring down at the pirates below. I saw Zoro spot me in the cliff wall and his eyes widened as he said something to Luffy. Luffy looked like he was shot with lightning. "Oops..Looks like I worried him...again..Dang it all..! …" I could feel the anger growing inside of me. I'm sick of being injured dang it! I hate this! I'm sick of making Luffy worry about me! I'm not weak! Boss- I'm not weak! I growled, slowly shifting in the wall of rock. "I'm...not..weak.." I mumbled.
Usopp looked at me with wide eyes as I slowly started pulling myself out. "I'm...not...weak..!" I felt some pebbles skitter down the rock and bounce off my shoulder as I started shaking from the effort, blood threatening my throat again. "I'm not weak! I'M NOT WEAK DANGIT! LUUUFFFFYYYYYYY!" I roared, bursting forth from the wall, growling at the pirates as I shakily stood up. "JANGO IS MINE! I'M NOT DONE YET!" I shouted, grinning as I looked up at him. He was smiling too.
"Okay! Zoro, take out those two cats! They look weak!" Zoro merely grunted as he started walking down the slope while Luffy took out any remaining underlings Usopp hadn't gotten.
Zoro gradually led Sham and Buchi away from an injured Jango. I sighed as I realized I had a time limit before the wounds caught up with me.
"It's now or never I guess." I took a shaky step forward, my knee shaking slightly as I put weight on the leg. I took another step. Another. Another. Slowly I started to speed up on my wobbly legs, my eyes grim and determined as I stared at nothing but Jango. I rammed into his fist with my own, his chakrams lost somewhere when I knocked him back previously. I thanked the creator of the gloves for their foresight to add thickness to the knuckles as I watched Jango's mouth screw up in pain from the collision.
He stumbled back and I grabbed the front of his shirt with a cocky smirk. "When I say 'one, two, Jango,' you will fall asleep." I ignored his flailing as he tried to hit me. I swiftly swung him by his shirt sideways, smacking him into the cliff. "One," I jerked him back, driving my knee into his gut and making his lungs lose all their air. "Two," I grabbed his wrist and crouched, judo-flipping him over me and letting him slam into the ground with a painful twack! "Three," I pulled him up by his collar again and smiled a sickly sweet smile, plunging my fist into his face. "Jango~" He slumped to the ground, unconscious.
I sighed happily, waving to a stunned Usopp as I laughed and fell backwards, unconscious before I hit the ground.
On the Merry-Go!
(Eve's P.O.V.)
I smiled as the sea breeze teased my hair from my hoodie, my wounds only sore now, and a stab to my pride but nothing more. I glanced around the deck at my crewmates from my position leaning against the mast. Nami was at the rudder, making sure the Merry didn't drift as Zoro lowered the anchor. Usopp was fiddling with his stars and Luffy was messing around with of the cannons. I quickly slapped my hands over my ears as it went off. Hehehe I can't believe I'm on THE Going Merry! I think my inner fangirl is having her own noodle dance! AAAAAAAHHHH!
Oh~ Now I want noodles~! Just wait 'til Sanji joins! His food is supposed to be the best ever! Aw Boss, now my mouth is watering! Can I come out now?~ What? Dude, no way! I can't let my crew see you! Why noooooootttt? Because um..They might try to eat you! ...I suddenly don't need to go outside anymore…
I followed everyone inside after Usopp shot the rock like a pro, not wanting to be outside when Johnny comes and throws a tantrum. As everyone situated themselves inside I had walked over to the fridge and pulled out some limes, squeezing them into a bucket and earning myself a few weird looks. I shrugged and smirked mischieviously, trying to avoid getting the juice under my bandages. (Which were, thankfully almost non-existent. I only had a bandage across my nose and two on my right arm.)
A few minutes later we heard someone shouting on deck and the shattering of a barrel. Luffy rushed out as Nami and Usopp nervously peeked through the window on the door. "How many enemies are out there?" Zoro asked, sitting against the wall casually.
"Just one I think." Usopp and I said in sync, which made him flinch. "How did you know what I was going to say?!" He shrieked, knees knocking together.
I finished squeezing the limes at last, turning to smile at him before jabbing a thumb at my head. "I'm a psychic remember? I know all~" I chuckled. I don't giggle because that would require my IQ lowering about six percent. I need that six percent to come up with snarky undertones! Usopp just shivered while Zoro turned his eyes to me.
"So who's out there right now?" Zoro asked, a curious gleam to his eyes. I turned around with the bucket of juice in my hands and a smile on my face.
"It's Johnny and Yosaku! Your old bounty-hunting pals~!" He looked surprised and stood up, walking over to the door.
"Really? Those guys are here?" Then we discovered Yosaku was mysteriously sick with an unknown "disease". Nami looked like she wanted to facepalm, hard. I just patted her on the back comfortingly as she explained Yosaku had scurvy. I handed her the bucket of limes as realization flooded my crewmates' faces.
"Oh so that's why you were squeezing limes!" Nami said, suddenly realizing I had to have at least some perception of the future.
"W-Witch!" Usopp shrieked, hiding behind Luffy.
"...Maybe she is a psychic after all.." mumbled Zoro.
Luffy just took the juice from Nami and fed it to Yosaku, who then sprang to his feet in an impossible display of "health."...Until he collapsed a few minutes later like a proper human.
"Hahaha called it!" I did not really call it, but I did not care. I laugh when I wish to!
"We definitely need someone to think about our diet to see to it that we stay healthy." Usopp said, resting against the base of the mast with his hands behind his head as Yosaku was watched over by Johnny. Nami nodded in agreement, standing next to Zoro as I sat next to Luffy by the railing.
"If you think about it, that's one of the most important talents you should have out at sea." Luffy was just smiling excitedly, staring into the air, in his own little world before he suddenly stuck out his tongue cheerfully.
"Alright! I've decided then! Let's go look for a sea cook! Eating good food is never a bad thing!" I snorted, already thinking of how many dishes would pile up when Sanji joined. Poor guy.
"Bro!" Johnny said, standing by the stairs while raising his hand high as if speaking in a classroom. Zoro looked at him curiously, probably wondering why he was raising his hand to speak.
"What is it Johnny?"
"If you're looking for a cook, I know just the place. Of course, getting one to join you is another matter altogether…"
Johnny told us about "The Baratie, a restaurant on the seas!"
Of course Luffy was ecstatic, and even Nami and Usopp were smiling excitedly. Zoro was being Zoro and looking unsurprised. Of course.
As Johnny continued to explain how long it would take to get there, (two to three days,) a thought struck me. I quietly slipped inside the girls' quarters as Zoro started to get excited about the chance to fight Mihawk.
Whatcha' doin' Eve-Boss?
Searching for my torn jeans and my fedo...ra...That I don't have DANGIT! Ugh...I miss my fedora…
There, there, boss. I'm sure once we get to Loguetown you'll be able to buy a whole bunch of them!
I opened my clothes trunk and saw an orange bandana that wasn't there before.
How...convenient eh, Puuya?
Ehehehe~ I have no idea what you're talking about~
You're worse than Usopp at lying, and that is saying something.
I slipped on a plain red t-shirt and the jeans with holes at the knees, before tying the bandana on and concealing my long hair. I checked in the floor length mirror I shared with Nami and checked out my new appearance, making sure the bandages from my injuries successfully concealed my average bust. My light red-orange hair was successfully tucked up into the bandana, and only my bangs poked out slightly.
Not unusual, and the bandages plus the scar make me look less feminine. Even though I only have a big bandage on my right cheek, and above my left eye. The red t-shirt looked good enough underneath my white hoodie, and the ripped jeans just added to the "delinquent teenager" effect.
Why're you makin' yourself look like a boy?
Because, I don't want to lose all the respect that I have for Sanji's chivalry if he fawns over me like a puppy and a bone...Which is a pretty accurate metaphor.
Oh. So what happens if the crew tells him you're a girl?
I'll ride this train as long as I can, no farther. Though, I will ask them all separately to not tell him I am in fact, not a boy.
Whatever floats your boat Boss!~
After hearing the conversation outside die down, I individually pulled aside my crewmates and even Johnny (Yosaku was still resting,) and asked them to not tell. They looked confused at my get-up at first, but accepted it with little more than a shrug or a muttering of "weird fashions these days". Pleased that I would not lose any and all respect for my future nakama, I retreated to my bed and promptly fell asleep.
Ah geez, I couldn't find a better place to stop. XD Sorry it took me so long to update! I just bought Rune Factory 4 for the 3DS, and I LOVE it! It's like...A really fun, violent version of Harvest Moon :D
What more could I ask for from a game? Anyways! Next Chapter we finally meet the chivalrous cook himself, Captain Fullbod-*Sanji kick out the door* I mean, Sanji!
...Holy cow what the heck is Sanji's last name?! If you know please tell me. O_O
Please review and tell me how I'm doing!~ Have a nice uh...time-before-the-next-update-because-I-don't-have-a-schedule!
Ciaossu~! (That was Puuya btw, he just raided my fridge of carrots so I need to go make a new rabbit skin rug!) (P.S. What did you guys think of the song?~)
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