Author's Note: I just discovered the strangest coincidence with this fic. The morning after I published the last chapter, they showed vampire documentaries on the History Channel. And, tonight, the full moon is shining and i'm posting the last chapter of the Ghost Ship Arc. Weird, huh? I swear, I did not time this. XD
Disclaimer: I still don't own One Piece.
Ch. 20: "Vampires vs. Pirates!"
When Aki awoke, she could see a red sky above her.
"Am I… Alive?" Aki asked herself as she got up. When she got up, she noticed two things – She was now wearing the same white dress she wore the day her mother passed away and she was standing in a pool of black liquid. "Where am I?"
Aki then noticed that the pool of black liquid she was standing in was actually blood. Aki screamed.
"Help me!" Aki yelled before she ran. After running for what seemed to be hours, Aki arrived at the shore, where broken boats were floating upon the water.
"Hello? Is anybody here?" Aki called out. Then, something hit Aki's feet. She looked down, and she saw that it was the corpse of her mother.
"Noooooooo!" Aki cried before she awoke on board the Hyperion. Aki broke out into a cold sweat as she tried to mentally remind herself that it was a nightmare.
"Hey, you're up. And, you're not attacking me for blood, so, I guess that's good."
Aki looked over and saw Heathcliffe, who had a book on vampires resting on the table next to him.
"I'm… Not a vampire?" Aki asked Heathcliffe, who sat down on the bed.
"Nope, but, I imagine that you had quite the scare up on the ghost ship," Heathcliffe said.
"Yeah… And, on top of that, I just had a really scary nightmare," Aki explained.
"What happened?" Heathcliffe awsered.
"Well, I awoke in a pool of blood. Then, I ran to the shore to find survivors, only to find the corpse of my dead mother," Aki explained as her voiced cracked a bit as if she were going to cry.
"When did your mom die?" Heathcliffe asked Aki.
"Only a few days ago. She got really sick all of a sudden before she died. My mom and I were really close. We did almost everything together, since it was just us living in our cottage by the sea," Aki explained as tears began to fall.
"At least you were loved by your mother. My parents didn't even love me. They thought my brothers and I were the black sheep of the family and they shunned us. One day, I got very sick and I went to sleep. The next thing I know is that I'm in a coffin on the shores of an unfamiliar island. I was all alone, without Holden and Soren. I was all alone in filth, hunger, and misery for about a year, until Yuki-Rin found me and gave me a home on the ship. I feel… So grateful to Yuki-Rin because she took me in and gave me friends and my brother back," Heathcliffe explained before he broke down crying. He put his hand around Aki, who began stroking his hair.
"Don't worry, Sarutobi-kun, I'm here," Aki re-assued Heathcliffe.
"Sarutobi-kun? What?" Heathcliffe asked Aki, who giggled.
"It's a cute little nickname for you. I already feel close to you, even though we just met this morning," Aki explained. Heathcliffe smiled.
"Well, I actually kind of like it, so, I guess it's going to stick for a time being," Heathcliffe said.
"I glad you like it, Sarutobi-kun," Aki said before giving him a hug.
"You know what, Aki? We're going to be great friends. We already get along so well and we feel pretty close to each other. It's a shame you're probably going to leave," Heathcliffe explained.
"You… Want me to be a pirate?" Aki asked Heathcliffe.
"Yeah! Then, we can stay together forever!" Heathcliffe said.
"I-I –" Aki stuttered before Holden and Soren entered.
"Aki, you're okay!" Soren said.
"We heard about what happened on the ghost ship. It sounded fucking scary," Holden said as he and Soren sat down on the bed.
"It was scary. I thought I was going to die or be turned into a vampire," Aki said. Holden patted her on the back.
"It's okay. You've got me, Soren, and Heathcliffe to protect you," Holden said to Aki.
"Guys," Heathcliffe said to his brother.
"Yes, bro?" Soren asked Heathcliffe.
"Never leave me again!" Heathcliffe cried before he broke down crying.
"We won't, bro, don't worry," Holden said before the three siblings and Aki group hugged.
Back on board the Ghost Ship, the Capricorns who went to get Aki were still battling Kaoru and Mina.
"You've got to be kidding me! These guys are too fast for us!" Kazuma cried as he jumped up to dodge Mina. When he came back down, Mina grabbed him by the ankle and slammed him to the floor. Kazuma then stopped the impact with his hand, grabbed his nodachi with the other, and hopped back on his feet while giving a slash to Mina's chest. Kaoru then ran up behind Kazuma, and pushed him off of the ship.
"Kazuma!" Yuki-Rin cried as she ran over to the deck and grabbed Kazuma by the hand.
"Yuki-Rin!" Kazuma yelled as Yuki-Rin pulled him up to the deck. Kazuma then searched for his nodachi. "Damnit! Where the hell is my sword?"
"Looking for this?" Kaoru asked Kazuma as he held up his nodachi.
"Give that back!" Kazuma yelled. Yuki-Rin then ran up to Kaoru with her katana at the ready, but, Kaoru dodged the attack by hopping up onto the mast.
"Hah. Don't think you can get away so easily," Yuki-Rin said before she sliced the mast down with her katana. Kaoru jumped off of the mast and onto Molly, who slashed his legs with her sword.
"We've got to get off of this ship!" Matsu yelled.
"Going somewhere already?" Mina asked Matsu as she snuck up from behind.
"Matsu! Behind you!" Kartik yelled before he loaded up another arrow. "Fire arrow!"
Just as Matsu turned around, Mina grabbed her by the wrist. Mina then dodged Kartik's arrow, letting Matsu drop to the floor in the process. The arrow sailed into the wall, where it set it on fire.
"We're going nowhere with this fight!" Kartik cried before Kaoru put his hand over his mouth.
"Feeling that you're overstaying your welcome? We can arrange for you to go home… In a coffin!" Kaoru said before Kartik grabbed him by the wrist and threw him off of the ship and onto the Hyperion. Kartik then got off of the ship and onto the anchor.
"We are leaving right now! Nobody's winning or losing this fight, and we don't want anybody to die trying!" Kartik said.
"Not now, Kartik! We haven't defeated Mina yet!" Yuki-Rin yelled before she realized that everyone else left. "Goddamnit."
Mina then opened her mouth in preparation for sucking the blood out of Yuki-Rin, who tackled her to the ground.
"I will not let you kill me or turn me into a vampire! I'd rather lose this fight fair and square and not have anything done to me! We can't go on fighting like this until somebody gets seriously hurt or dies! So, please, listen to me! I… I forfeit this battle," Yuki-Rin explained. Mina smirked.
"Good for you. Now, we can let the afterparty begin," Mina said. Yuki-Rin then put her katana back in its sheath.
"Alright. Let's get it over with," Yuki-Rin said. Without a word, Yuki-Rin grabbed Mina and threw herself and Mina off of the burning, sinking ship.
"I. Will NOT. Lose. To a brat. Like you!" Mina yelled before Yuki-Rin punched her.
"Then, I will not give up fighting you!" Yuki-Rin said as they landed on the deck of the Hyperion. Yuki-Rin rolled over and began to strangle Mina.
"Hey, what's that in the sky?" Sebastian asked everyone as they made their way to the ship railing. From there, everyone could see the burning ghost ship fall from the sky and crash into the water.
"No… This can't be… We used that ship for our own gain, and, now, we're… Broke," Kaoru said to himself.
"Nooooo!" Mina yelled before she broke down crying.
"Uhh.. Anything wrong?" Hatori asked Kaoru and Mina.
"The ghost ship was the only thing we had besides the clothes on our backs! Now, we have nowhere to go!" Mina sobbed.
"Our only food was the fish we caught and the blood we sucked from humans! And, even now, I think we were complete monsters!" Kaoru sobbed. Yuki-Rin then took a moment to think about where to send the vampires.
"I've got an idea. It may sound crazy and controversial, but, here it goes – Do you want to join my crew?" Yuki-Rin asked Kaoru and Mina.
"Join… A pirate crew?" Mina asked Yuki-Rin.
"Yes, join a pirate crew. You'll get food, clothes, and even money. Does that sound like a good deal?" Yuki-Rin asked Kaoru and Mina. But, before Kaoru could open his mouth, Hana interrupted.
"No, Yuki-Rin. They were trying to kill us a few minutes ago," Hana stated.
"We're very sorry. We'll do whatever we can on this crew to atone for our old ways," Mina explained as she and Kaoru bowed.
"Okay, then, you can join. BUT, if you return to your old ways, I will kick you out of this crew. Got that?" Hana asked Kaoru and Mina.
"We accept!" Kaoru and Mina answered.
"Alright, welcome to the Capricorn Pirates," Yuki-Rin welcomed the vampires.
The next morning, Aria was carrying a tray with Aki's breakfast on it to Heathcliffe's room.
"Aki, I have your breakfast!" Aria announced as she ented the room. "Now, how are you doing –"
Aria then noticed that Heathcliffe, Holden, Soren, and Aki were all cuddled together. Aria smiled.
"I'll just leave this here for you guys for when you wake up," Aria said as she set the breakfast tray on the table, right next to the book on vampires Heathcliffe was reading.
Ending Note: Yeah! That was epic!
Here are the current crew standings.
Captain - Yuki-Rin
First Mate - Molly O'Flannigan
Musicians - Heathcliffe, Holden, and Soren Sarutobi
Fisherman - Hatori Chidori
Swordsman - Kazuma Miyafuji
"Resident Ghost" - Isabella Sarutobi
Shipwright - Kartik Abingdon
Snipers - Karin Kotetsu, "Blind" Drusilla, and Z.G.
Singer - Maki-chan
Tailors - Matsu Takeshima and Aki Chung-Feng
Navigator - Hana Yakushi
Gunner - Aria Yakushi
Thieves - Yulia Tadase and Daisuke Saburo
Chef - Sebastian Hozuki
Spies - Kaoru Kimura and Mina Nishikori
Boat Rigger - Showtarou Shinohara
Mascot - Ajax
Review if you want to see the person who could be the crew's doctor next!