Gwenyth is right-handed, but for some reason she wears her shield on her right arm and uses her knife with the left... Mildly ambidextrous or just a total oddball?I have no clue. Anyways, try to remember that.
The last of the mothers waved as she walked away with a sleeping child in her arms. Gwenyth did the same. Night was going to fall soon. Before turning back to her guests, Gwenyth put on her small, but thick shield once again.
"All right, that's the last of 'em. Let's go find someone to take you back to your ships. Quickly." She said adjusting the straps and eyeing the darkening sky. She bit her lip, It might even be too late, she thought.
"You're coming too, right?" Luffy asked seated at the table, bouncing his legs.
"I'll help lead you back to the beach, but I can't leave with you."
"But you're part of my crew!"
"I never agreed to that."
"Please!" He demanded more than asked.
"No."
"Well, why not?" He pouted. Gwenyth looked at him seriously.
"I'm not leaving until I know what happened to Maaya and Katsuya. Not to mention, this place... These people are too important to me for me to just run away. I'm sorry, but that's my final answer."
"Soooo... If we help get rid of your pirate problem, you'll come with us?" Nami summarized with a greedy look in her eyes.
"Uh... Yeah, sure. I guess... But there's a whole shit-load of 'em. I don't know what you think you're gonna be able to do..."
Nami nodded. "Then it's decided. Luffy, Zoro, I'll leave it to you! Remember, my free, new clothing is on the line here!"
Luffy shouted joyfully about getting another crew member while Zoro complained that if her clothes were so important she should be the one to fight. Nami simply sighed with a smile and made some silly reason as to why she didn't have to. Something along the lines of: "Why should I, when I've got the two of you to do it?"
Gwenyth was in the middle of having second thoughts when the sound of a cannon shot out in the distance. She was out the door in less than a heartbeat. Her self-proclaimed crewmates-to-be rushing after her.
"Was that a cannon? Is it going to hit the village?" Zoro asked her from behind.
"No. Toguchi is too far inland, thank god. But that was the signal for them to come ashore."
"Are you sure you should be running into battle with that itty-bitty shield, Gwen?" Nami asked with concern. Gwenyth smirked over her shoulder at the girl.
"It's one of Old Jerk Katsuya's inventions, and I'm pretty sure he made it especially for me. It packs a bigger punch than you'd think."
Nami nodded, smiling in understanding.
They reached the edge of Toguchi in no time. The approaching sound of shouting and gunfire was all too common these nights. A blockade of sandbags, large rocks, furniture, and anything else the villagers had been able to spare was in place. As it had been for the past few weeks, with the only exits now closed by large items. The Yamata twins were shouting orders to the villagers.
"Doctor! Mayor! Our visitors are going to help us get rid of these assholes!"
"Wonderful! That's fantastic, Gwenyth!" They shouted in perfect symmetry patting down their clumpy hair. The only difference between them was the doctor's long white coat, the mayor's lack of glasses, and the colors of their archaic battle armor (the mayor's was silvery, while the doctor's was coppery). Gunshots, louder than before and hitting some of the buildings, caused more panic.
"Hit the deck!" Someone shouted close by. They all jumped to the ground moments before an explosion erupted just in front of the blockade.
A loud, pompous laughter rang out above all the commotion. The gunfire and animalistic shouting ceased for the moment. A tall, stick-like man dawned in a red coat, matching poofy pants, and a feathered hat moved forward. An long, ornate handheld cannon that seemed to double as a cane in his hands.
"So, we continue ourrrr nightly waltz yet again, eh? Wouldn't it be easierrrr just to give in?" He said rolling his R's far more than necessary.
"NEVER!" The Mayor, Doctor, Gwenyth, and Luffy all shouted at him, glaring over the sandbags.
"Huh?" Gwenyth turned to the Straw Hat, "Luffy, what are you yelling for? This isn't your island..."
"Yeah, but this place is your treasure and you're my Nakama. So I'll defend it too!" He said with his so-called 'serious' face on, as though that somehow explained it. She felt a drop of sweat roll down her neck.
"I'm your what-a?"
"Nakama!"
"What's that?"
"My friend! Kinda. And other stuff."
"That's not a very good explanation," She grumbled before continuing. "Who said this island was my treasure?"
"You did. Didn't you?" He asked naively.
"Well..." Gwenyth thought about it for a moment.
All the people here. How kind and close they were to one another and strangers alike. She had never come across such a thing back home. That place wasn't really a home. It was just a place filled with far too many people who were all at each others throats. Not like this island. This island and its people loved and cared for one another like family. What would she do if anything happened to this place? To the people that she had grown to care for? That was easy: she'd destroy whoever thought they could do such a thing and get away with it.
She chucked darkly. "I guess your right. This place is my treasure." She looked up at the pirate hoard. "And those bastards are trying to take it away from me..." Gwenyth growled.
"You gonna let 'em?" Luffy asked simply. There was a pause in the air. Such a simple question. The answer to which would shape everything after. All seemed to fall quiet while the world waited for her response.
"LIKE HELL I WILL!" She shouted into the silence with fire in her eyes. Luffy smiled and laughed good-heartedly, placing his hand on her back.
"I like you!"
"YOU'RE JUST NOW DECIDING THIS?!" His other crewmates shouted at him while Gwenyth stared in confusion.
"Excuse me," the feathered captain called out," How much longerrr arrre you going to keep ignorrrring me? We might as well leave at this point."
"THEN FUCKING LEAVE, DAMN IT. NOBODY WANTS YOU HERE, YOU SHIT-FACED MOTHER FUCKER!" Gwenyth shouted, trying to climb over the blockade to punch him, but Doctor and Mayor Yamata held her back. So she just flailed her limbs wildly in their grip.
"Such crrruel worrrds, from such an unculturrred girrrl!" The captain shouted.
"I'LL SHOW YA UNCULTURED YA POOFY-PANTS-WEARING, R-ROLLING ASSHOLE!"
"How rrrude! I'll stand forrr no morrre of this!"
"YANKEE DOODLE WENT TO TOWN, RRRRRRIDING ON A PONY! STUCK A FEATHER IN HIS GAY-ASS CAP AND CALLED IT MACARRRRONI!" She sing-shouted at him, mocking his R's. At this point, Luffy was rolling on the floor and laughing his lungs out, while Zoro was holding onto his gut and trying his damn hardest not to fall over.
"It wasn't that funny..." Gwenyth mumbled, sweat-dropping yet again.
"ENOUGH! MEN! RRROLL THEM INTO THE GRRRROUND!" Captain poofy-pants shouted.
"STOP ROLLING YOUR R'S LIKE THAT! YOU'RE NEITHER SCOTTISH NOR SPANISH! JUST STOP IT!"
Suddenly, the hoard of pirates began to rush towards the blockade. Those with guns, on both sides, shot at their enemy. Once they were close enough to the sandbags, villagers with weapons began to climb over and fought toe-to-toe with the pirates. But the villagers were untrained and the pirates were cruel. The blood of the innocent spilt so easily.
Gwenyth was about to climb over the wall herself when a pair of arms pulled her back. She shouted in protest but neither the mayor nor his brother loosened their grip.
"Gwenyth, you need to run back into the village! Now!" They shouted together, shoving her in that direction.
"What the hell?! No way! I'm fighting!"
"Listen, Gwenyth. They're are too many. I have no doubt they are going to break through tonight." The mayor explained.
"All the more reason to fight!" She shouted trying to get past them.
"No, Gwenyth!" The doctor shouted, pulling her back. "Think of the villagers! The children!" He shouted. She stopped fighting against him.
"The children?"
"They stay with the Smithy and his wife during the night shift, yes? You must go there and protect them! Please, Gwenyth!"
"But... You two... and everyone else..."
"Don't worry," Zoro said from behind her. She tuned to see all three of his swords drawn, the third in his mouth, and a bandanna fitted tightly upon his head. "Luffy and I'll stay here."
"And I'll go with you. No way I'm letting some scummy pirates get to those poor kids!" Nami snarled as though it were personal.
"You guys..." Gwenyth could feel a stinging sensation in her eyes. Luffy smiled at her with determination.
"I wont let your treasure be destroyed, Gwen. I promise!" There was still a childish look to him, but the true conviction in his eyes told Gwenyth he was dead serious. He would protect her home with everything he had, no matter what the cost. She could feel it all the way down to her core. Such a simple and pure dedication of will gave her the greatest sensation of hope she'd felt in a long time.
Gwenyth smile back at him, fighting her tears.
"Thank you. Thank you very, very much." And with that, she and Nami started running. "Smith's Smithy isn't too far from here. It's only a few streets away from the shop, but we can take a shortcut." She said sniffing.
"Don't worry." Nami reassured her as they turned down a different street. "No matter how far those pirates get, Luffy and Zoro will take care of them for good!"
"You sure?"
Nami smiled. "Yep. I've seen it before, when they fought Buggy and his men. Those two, Luffy especially... They'll do anything to keep someone's dream safe." This gave Gwenyth more peace of mind as they continued to run. They turned down the street to the smithy's workshop and abruptly stopped. Much to Gwenyth's fears, a small group of pirates was making their way down the very same street.
"Shit..."
"This is the place?" Nami asked, suddenly holding a long rod.
Gwenyth nodded as they moved forward once more. She pushed a small, discreet release button on the back her tiny shield and twisted it to the left. The shield spun outwards and lost the majority of its thickness, but gained a considerable size in return. It then clicked into place, large enough to cover her torso.
The two stopped directly in front of the pirates, who noticed the young women almost instantly. Some chuckled lecherously, while others made crude gestures and cat calls.
"Tch, pirates." Nami grumbled rolling her eyes.
"Don't you mean men in general?" Gwenyth asked equally unamused but refused to take her eyes off them.
"There's a difference?" Nami smirked before straightening up and dashing straight towards the pirates.
Gwenyth gasped, dropping her guard, afraid her new friend would to be caught. But Nami moved through the group of men quickly and unscathed, reminding Gwenyth of a fox. Once she made it past them, she continued to run and the seamstress started to panic. WAS NAMI LEAVING HER HERE TO FIGHT OFF ALL THESE PIRATES ON HER OWN!? THERE WAS LIKE, FIFTEEN OF THEM! NOT FAIR, NOT FAIR, NOT FAIR! Gwenyth was about to start crying and shout out in betrayal when the pirates began to yell.
"Hey, where'd all my treasure go?!"
"My money!"
"Mine's gone, too!"
"Where'd it go?"
A high pitched whistle caught everyone's attention. Nami, who was now at the end of the street, smiled sweetly while waving a couple of bags in the air.
"OUR TREASURE!" Judging by the pirates reactions, Gwenyth masterfully deduced that that was their stolen booty.
"Catch me if you can, boys~!" Nami shouted with a wink before dashing down another street. They all started shouting and a number of them ran off.
"Aren't cha gonna go get your treasure too?" She meekly asked the three who remained. Gwenyth hadn't been in an actual fight for years. The last time probably being in middle school. Even then it was only one other person. Now she was up against three. Two of which already had their guns drawn with the intent to kill. They simply laughed at her question. Fuck...
Gwenyth screamed when the first shot was fired, but ducked down onto her knees and shielded herself before it could hit. More shots were fired, but the shield absorbed the majority of their blasts. Gwenyth stared down at the straps of her shield, waiting for them to run out of bullets. She focused on the embroidered message that had most definitely been sewn by Maaya. For Our Dear Kid. This was why she thought the amazing shield was meant for her.
And it was amazing. For one thing, it could change sizes. Small for carrying, medium for offense and minor defense, which she was currently using, and large for major defense. Though the later was far too heavy for Gwenyth to even lift because of the way the weight was distributed. The shield was otherwise light enough for her to carry without problem, and could absorb the greater amount of shock-waves from that which hit it in every form.
The pounding of bullets finally ceased and one of the pirates cursed. Gwenyth peeked over the sides of her defense. The two shooters were reloading, but the third pirate had unsheathed his sword and was rushing towards her.
Gwenyth shrieked out of habit before jumping to her feet. The man made a roaring sound as he lifted his sword to strike. Gwenyth screamed again before swinging her shield upward and bashing the edge against something firm.
The man shouted, falling backwards clutching his face. Gwenyth stared at him dumbstruck as the other two pirates jumped to his side. One of them removed the man's hands from his face to reveal a bruising, bleeding nose. Gwenyth hissed some air between her teeth as she grimaced. She had done that just by swinging her shield at him? She hadn't even meant to hit anything, let alone break the guy's face. Talk about brutal. She almost mumbled an apology but decided he deserved since he was trying to ransack her island.
Oh yes, she suddenly seemed to remember, these men were her enemy. They were trying to take something precious away from her. It was their fault, and the fault of their entire crew, that she hadn't been able to go find Katsuya or Maaya. Because of them, she had no idea if the only family she had was even alive. And if they weren't, these men were the reason why. They killed Maaya and Katsuya. Maybe not these men specifically, and maybe the old couple was still alive, but they were a part of the crew that tired to. For that, Gwenyth decided, she would make them scream for mercy.
A sudden change in the air gained the pirates' attention. They turned to the blonde shield wielder and immediately wished they hadn't. Where that screeching, fearful girl had once stood was now a dark, vengeful woman surrounded by a murderous aura. The pirates felt the blood drain from their faces as they stared into livid sea-green eyes.
"You want to play, scum? Okay. Let's play." She growled. One of the men seemed to get over his fears and jumped up to face her. He removed a small dagger from his pocket.
"You'll pay for that girly!" He shouted charging her.
Gwenyth's face somehow became even less amused and darker than before. She pulled the large hunting knife from the sheath at her side, no longer afraid of getting hurt. Or even death. They were going to pay for what they had put her through. The pirate had more speed with his small dagger than Gwen did with her shield, but she nearly blocked all of his attacks. The ones that she couldn't, she was still able to evade.
"Hold her still!" One of the other pirates shouted. Both she and her opponent looked to the man to see him aim a pistol at the girl. The one with the broken nose back on his feet and scrambling to gather his sword, which was by Gwenyth's left foot. She kicked the sword as far down the street as she could, much to Broke Nose's displeasure. He chased after the blade, while her opponent thrusted his at her. Gwenyth blocked it then, rather childishly, stomped on his foot. The man hollered in pain.
"I said hold her!"
"I'm trying, ass-!"
Gwenyth cut him off by slashing his shoulder blade. The man screamed and grasped his wound. She cut him across his torso with the knife's jagged end, tearing both skin and clothing alike. Even as he screamed in pain, Gwenyth couldn't help but notice how similar the two were- flesh and cloth. Both could be torn up and sewn shut. Even so, human's were filled with blood, which fell through when the body was cut. Much unlike clothing, but much like the man before her now.
She watched him fall forward, blood gushing, gasping in pain. Not looking at him, but through him. Studying him like an old piece of fabric that she was debating on whether or not to keep or just get rid of.
Gwenyth didn't really feel anything for the bleeding man as she stared him down. Honestly, that scared her more than the fact that she had just mortally wounded him. This was another human being, and she was comparing him to a piece of sewing material? Not only that, but she had hurt him. She wasn't even sure if he would live through the night. She should feel terrible, or guilty, or sorry, or something. So, why was she so okay with it? Why didn't she feel any remorse? Why was she so comfortable with this man dying at her hand in cold blood?
A shot rang out and hit Gwenyth's shield, bringing her back into the moment. She looked to the shaking gunman in the same distant fashion. Wasn't she supposed to be upset or emotional? Or at least shaking? She wondered these things as she rushed the gunner from behind her shield. She tackled him as he continued to fire. He fell to the floor and a sickening crack was made when his head came into contact with the cobblestone street.
Gwenyth mildly noticed a small blood stain on her shield before turning to the last pirate. He, like the gunner before him, was shaking fearfully and hiding behind his weapon. In the back of her mind, Gwenyth felt his fear. He was terrified. Two of his crewmates were lying in the road, either dead or dying. The girl who put them there was standing before him, ready to do the exact same thing to him. He didn't mourn his comrades, he only worried for his own safety. This made Gwenyth angry once more.
"HOW DARE YOU!?" She shrieked at him, making him flinch. "THESE ARE YOUR COMRADES! YOUR FRIENDS! AND YOU'RE ONLY WORRIED ABOUT YOURSELF!? YOU FILTHY, DISGUSTING, BASTARD! HOW DARE YOU!"
The man's knees buckled and a trembling whimper could be heard.
"Don't you even think of running, you coward." She threatened lowly. Either the man hadn't heard her or his flight response overrode his brain functions, because he took off screaming at a speed that Gwenyth would never be able to match.
"WHY YOU LITTLE-!"
"Gwenyth, is that you?"
She turned to see Smith Black the blacksmith spying from behind his workshop door. He was in his late fifties and reminded Gwenyth of Albert Einstein, but with a larger gut and thicker mustache. A small group of children surrounded the man, trying to see what all the commotion was about.
"Hey, Smith." She greeted casually as though there weren't two possibly dead bodies in the street. As though she hadn't been the one to put them there.
"What happened?" He asked trying to keep the inquisitive children from looking outside.
"I..." She paused and looked to the pirates. Then glanced at whining children who couldn't see them. Then finally back to a shocked smithy. "I took care of it." She said simply.
"Gwen-y-chan! Gwen-y-chan! Will you sing us a lullaby?" One of the girls cried out. A wave of agreements spilled forth from behind the door, edging her for just one little song. Gwenyth smiled. They were so innocent.
"Not right now, guys." Disappointment filled their little voices. "Sorry. I'll sing for you tomorrow. I've got some more work I need to finish tonight." The dangerous tone in her voice flew over their heads as they dismally agreed. Smith however caught it quite easily. He glanced at the bodies once more before he began to shut the door.
"Be careful, Gwen. You mean as much to the rest of us as I believe we mean to you." With that he closed and locked his door, demanding the children go back to bed. Gwenyth smiled again, reveling in how lucky she was.
"Well, then. Guess I better get back to work now." She whispered sheathing her knife. Her grin still firmly in place.
Is okay to complain about how annoyingly simplistic Luffy is and how difficult that makes him for me to fucking write? Geez. That boy, I swear...
Anyway, I hope the fighting scenes were okay... I've never really written anything more than a single punch, so... Yeah...
This one feels like it was super long so I might not update tomorrow. But Saturday for sure. Unless I forget. Yeah.