A/N: Sorry about the wait! I wanted to do something big for this one! Enjoy!

Chapter 30: Adventure in the Town of the Beginning and the End

Hook gaped as they entered the area, which was a fair reaction. Anybody, pirate or civilian, would have the same emotion when stepping foot into Execution Square. The square itself looked like any other city center – government building, ornate stone fountain – but the main attraction was the scaffolding in front of the government facility. It was old but well maintained… and, at least to Hook, held a sense of majesty as it stood there among the thrall of passer-by. "Whoa…"

"Yeah, there it is, alright," Ryuji grinned, knowing he had his captain's full attention. "The symbol of Loguetown's popularity for the last 20 years – before you and I were even born! Right there, 20 or so years ago… Gold Roger, the Pirate King himself, was executed, starting this whole wicked age!" Ryuji looked at it with his own level of reverence as well. "Just growing up here, a lot of people leave to be pirates! That platform, sittin' in the heart of the city… it's like…" Ryuji struggled with the words a bit, not really being one for poetic speech. "Kinda like Gold Roger himself is pushing people to follow in his footsteps… to try and surpass him. It's crazy, right!?"

"Yeah," Hook said, still breathless at the sight of the monument to Man's freedom everywhere. "I'mma climb it!"

"W-wha! No!" Ryuji just barely grabbed Hook's vest, not that it slowed him. A lot of people watched in bemusement as Hook dragged Ryuji slowly across the square, his heels doing nothing to slow him. "First of all, we're supposed to avoid being spotted, and just touching that is bound to get somebody's attention!"

Hook frowned at that, still walking to the platform. "Well, that's stupid! Who came up with that?"

"You! It was your plan to wear disguises!" Ryuji huffed at this idiot's weird mind before continuing. "Second of all, we're supposed to be picking up the others, remember?"

Hook frowned as he finally stopped, his tag-along slamming into his solid back with a groan before stumbling back and rubbing his sore shoulders. Mumbling and pouting like a little kid, he pointed a finger at the scaffold. "I'll be back for you later." Turning around, Hook's entire expression shifted back to speak to Ryuji. "So, where is this first guy?"

Still rotating his shoulder, Ryuji looked around the square. "Uh, I dunno. He said he'd be here to greet us and let me tell you, he's lousy for blending-"

"Wealth! Fame! Power!" A voice rang out across the square, drawing everyone's attention. As everyone looked around for the source, the voice went on. "The man who achieved all of this was the Pirate King, Gold Roger!"

"Huh?" Hook hummed. "Who's saying that? And where?"

"I don't know where," Ryuji muttered, "but that definitely sounds like-!" Ryuji looked toward the scaffolding and immediately facepalmed. "Oh, you gotta be kiddin' me!" Hook tilted his head at the expression, before following the punk's outstretched finger back to the platform… where somebody was up there, talking up a storm.

"Before he was executed, his final words sent countless men to the seas! He single-handedly started the Golden Age of Piracy we're living in today!" Even from a far distance, it was clear the outlandish man was shivering as he spoke. A few locals laughed like they were used to these outbursts, while many tourists looked astonished that someone would climb up such a place. "But, today stands before you a man who will soar higher than that!" The young orator pointed to the sky, sounding more excited than ever. "One day, I will be the man to explore the heavens we only dare to look upon! 'It's not possible!?' That's bull! I say-!"

"Hey, you!" Police came running into the square, the lead one whistling as he entered. "Get offa there! This is the last time we're telling ya, Kaito!"

Ryuji groaned. "That loud-mouthed idiot! He's the one that said we need to keep a low profile, and then he does this!"

"Uh-oh! The authorities!" The man waved at the crowd like he wasn't being chased. "Well, I gotta go everyone! When I come back, it'll be as the Luminary of the whoa!" As it turned out, waving while walking backward wasn't the safest thing, as the boisterous young man took one too many steps and tumbled off the platform. Good news: he landed on something to cushion the fall. Bad news: it was Ryuji, unable to react quickly enough to move out of the way.

"Ugh… that stung a little…" the fallen man took stock of his surroundings before his gaze finally zeroed in on who he dropped on. "Ryuji? You're here! Great! I knew you could do it, Ryuji! Good job getting the message out-"

"Kaito! Will you get off already!?" Ryuji pushed him off, nursing his head as the purple-haired man rolled over in the dust. "I swear, you-!"

A whistle cut off the building tirade, as Hook spotted the approaching police. "Chew him out later! We've got company!" Hook tensed his fists, ready for a fight.

"Hook! We're trying to avoid a fight, remember!?" Ryuji cut in, the reminder taking the fight out of Hook's stance.

Hook blinked. "Oh yeah. That's what the disguises are for. Well… run for it!"

As Hook prepared to take off, the figure from the docks approached, sunglasses shining in the light. "Ahh~ There you are, James Hook! You're not going anywhere!" As the figure began twirling around his sharper-than-necessary nails, a small wind circled his finger. "You face the great bounty hunter, Eric the Whirlwind! And with my Sickle-Sickle powers, I-!"

Whatever else Eric was going to say was lost to the wind, as Hook ran over him, leading the charge from the plaza. "Huh, did I hit someone?" Hook wondered briefly, before shrugging it off and getting back to running. The trio led the cops on a chase through several alleyways and quite a few bars. Ryuji and Kaito, having grown up in Loguetown, had the home-field advantage apparently, as Hook watched as their pursuers tapered off, strung up by terrain they were clearly unprepared to navigate. After about five minutes, finally alone, Hook and the other two were taking refuge in a dead end. After Hook determined they weren't followed, he turned back to his tagalongs, the newer one panting pretty heavily.

"Phew! That was... a good run." Catching his breath, he turned back to Hook, and dusted off his blue wool jacket and red shirt, before taking a stance. "Now! Captain! We weren't properly introduced before we went our separate ways! Allow me to introduce myself! I'm Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars! Remember the name, 'cause even crying children will brighten up when they hear the name of the man who will travel to the stars!"

Hook laughed lightly at the display. "Travel the stars, eh? Sounds fun! Let's do that together!"

"Ah ha ha!" Kaito laughed as he began slapping Hook's back very forcefully, not that the blonde noticed. "You bet! Let's see them together, Captain!"

"Oh, brother. There's two of them," Ryuji shook his head at the display, before shrugging. "Well, whatever. I got Hook here, so you can't say I'm slacking."

"'Course you're not! What'd make you say that?" Kaito asked, sporting a charming smile. "Never forget! I chose you to get the message to Hook, and you did it spectacularly! Well done, man! Just what I'd expect from my sidekick!"

"Sidekick?" Ryuji muttered in confusion before Kaito bopped him in the head. "Ow! The eff, man!?"

"Quit that muttering," Kaito said simply. "It'll become a habit if you're not careful. Remember, when you speak, say it with everything you got! I want to hear your passion, Ryuji!"

"That's three times you've given me a headache!" Ryuji roared back. "I'm this close to kicking your ass! How's that for passion!?"

"Yeah!" Kaito cheered. "Exactly! More like that!"

"Clakakaka! You guys are great!" Hook chuckled. "But anyway, what about the reward money, Kaito?"

Kaito blinked at that question. "Hm? Reward? What reward?"

"You know, the money we got from turning in Pearl?" Ryuji asked. "You said you'd take charge and hold onto it. So, where is it?"

Kaito seemed lost in thought as if confused by the question. "Reward… reward? Oh, you mean that sack of money we got from the Vice Admiral?" When Ryuji nodded stiffly, Kaito grinned back. "Well, I thought about it, and it didn't seem fair to hold onto it all myself. Halfway to Loguetown, I gave it to Rantaro to hold."

"Rantaro?" Hook questioned. "Which one of you's Rantaro?"

"That… would be… me," someone said. The group turned to address the new person… and were shocked speechless by his appearance. The teen was dressed pretty plainly in a long-sleeved blue shirt and gray trousers, broken up by the crystal pendant on his neck… and the blood pouring from a wound on his head, coloring his pale green hair into a sickly pink shade. "Hey, Rantaro… My name is Hook. It's you to meet nice…"

All three men gaped at the wounded and dazed man. "W-what the hell!? Rantaro!?" Kaito gasped. "What happened!? You weren't like this when I left you before!"

"Huh?" Rantaro blinked at that comment before understanding what they were referring to. "Oh, this? It's not as bad as it looks. I'm fine, really. A little dizzy, though. Kind of… light-headed too."

"That's from the blood loss!" Ryuji pointed out, stomping on the ground. "You're clearly not fine!"

"Well," the wounded peer tried to focus on Hook, his good humor about the whole situation darkening a bit. "Things are a bit hectic right now, Captain."

Nami's quest for clothing had led the pair to a high-end boutique where, to Silk's confusion, she then stuffed the blonde into a changing room with some clothes and accessories before entering the stall next to hers. After a few minutes, Nami came back out, wearing an elegant red dress with a slit to show off a little leg. The store owner looked ready to have a heart attack at seeing Nami's attire. Nami playfully rolled her shoulders for the man and winked. "Oh~ How do I look, Mr. Manager?"

"Stunning, miss! Absolutely stunning!" the man cried out.

Nami smiled in an 'I know' way, before turning to the second stall. "Come on, Silk! I want to see what you look like."

"No!" Silk said sharply behind her curtain. "I'm not coming out in this… thing."

"But I'm sure you look amazing," Nami coaxed. "Please~?"

"No!" Silk said loud enough to startle the attendant and another customer nearby. "I don't want anyone to see me… you know, like this!"

Nami blinked in confusion. "Like what? Wearing a dress?"

"Forget it!" Silk snapped. "I tried it on! Isn't that enough!?"

"Excuse me?" A light tap on Nami's shoulders interrupted the proceedings. Nami turned to address the young lady in the big sweater but was put off for a second by her patient gaze. "If I may be of help? I think I know where she's coming from." Still gathering her wits, Nami didn't have time to respond before the girl walked closer to the curtain and began speaking to Silk. "Hello! I'm sure you don't like wearing dresses, but I'm here to say you don't have to wear them!"

'That's helping!?' Nami thought.

The fluffy-haired girl continued, "Growing up, I didn't like wearing dresses either. I don't know your story, but I was always afraid I wouldn't be taken seriously. My ambitions went beyond just looking like someone's doll, and that didn't sit well with everyone who wanted just that." Despite her quiet demeanor, a tiny bit of confidence showed off of her like the warmth of a fireplace. "Now that I'm on the path I choose to forge, I wear what I want because I want to. So, nobody should tell you what to wear. If you like to wear it though, don't let others stop you, okay? That is if that's what you're going through right now."

Silk grew silent in the dressing room for a few moments. Finally, the curtains shifted as she stepped out, now wearing a black dress that cut off just above her knees, with one strap as support. Nami made a noise that sounded like 'squee!' "Silk, you look-!"

"I know, I know! Shut up about it!" Silk's cheeks flushed from the attention. "I know it looks great, so now imma go change!"

As she rushed back into the room, Nami asked, "I don't get it. You look great! Why are you so against dresses?"

"I…" Silk's voice stopped for a moment, then she said, "Growing up, boys just picked on anything in a dress. I just… stopped wearing them to avoid all of that. When I got older, I just kept it up out of habit. Now, though… I just don't really care all that much, I guess." Stepping out in her previous attire, she dropped the pile of clothes in Nami's arms. "But… if I have to wear one now and again… just tell me beforehand. Like months beforehand."

Nami giggled at that. "Geez, that's quite the window to work from!" Turning to the sweater girl, she said, "Thanks for your help, miss…?"

"My name is Haru," the stranger introduced herself. "It's lovely to meet you!"

The crowd gave Hook a wide berth; even through his disguise, his snarl was evident. "Freakin' jackasses! They think they can get away with this! Wait 'til I'll-!"

"Geeze, you're a real force of nature when you're on the hunt, eh, Cap'n?" Kaito said as he matched his stride.

"Damn right!" Hook threw out. "Ryuji, show me where this place is!" Hook turned to find his fellow blonde… and found nothing but air next to him. "Huh? Now, where's Ryuji!?"

"Seriously?" Kaito voiced. "He said he was taking Rantaro to his mom's place. Even if she's a vet, it's the fastest way for medical care right now."

"What? That's impossible! Isn't he right…?" Hook turned to his other side to see just Kaito next to him. "H-huh!?"

The spirited young man just shook his head in amusement. "Wow, I've heard of blinding rage, but you take it to a whole new level, Cap'n. Anyway, Rantaro said it was this alley, I think."

Hook raised an eyebrow at that direction, before nodding in realization. "Oh, yeah. I guess all you guys grew up here, so any one of you can give me directions. OK! Let's go bust some heads!"With no preamble, Hook turned and ran into the alleyway… stopping short when he found several guys beat and bloody hung about the place like broken ornaments. In the middle of the carnage, a six-foot man with dark eyes was holding a man with a face so swollen it was difficult to tell if he was even breathing! The man turned to look sideways at the newcomers to the scene. "Hey. Whadda you guys want?" he said in a low, heavy voice.

Once they were further away from the group, Ussop let go of Zoro (well, rather Zoro's expression activated Ussop's large reserves of self-preservation, but semantics.). As the pair walked side-by-side, Ussop was rambling on at a constant stream. "As our newest member, it falls to me to make sure you know what you need to know about sailing!"

"I've been on the sea before," Zoro pointed out calmly. "I sailed with Johnny and Yosaku."

"Luckily for you, I'm an expert sailor!" Ussop bragged, not hearing Zoro's comment. "Before Hook recruited me, I was Master Sailor Ussop! One time, I traveled to an island entirely populated with snowmen! They'd never seen a human before, so I modeled for them, becoming the paragon they define all humans as!"

Zoro rolled his eyes at the tall tale. As Ussop launched into another one, unprompted of course, Zoro caught sight of two burly guys looming over a woman wearing glasses and a green and yellow floral shirt. While he could only see the back of her head, he frowned and squinted through his fake glasses, even pausing to better inspect her. 'Huh. She looks… kinda familiar…'

"Hey, Zoro! Where're you looking?" Ussop called out a few feet ahead. "Don't tell me your head can get lost too!"

"What's that supposed to mean!?" Zoro roared back to his walking buddy. "Do you want me to kick your ass?" All thoughts of the girl vanished from the swordsman's mind as he stomped after Ussop, replaced with a mental image of a certain man's strangulation.

As for the woman, when the offensive men tried to attack her, she was able to not only defend herself but defeat them in one sword strike! Unfortunately, in the same step she took to take them out, she also tripped, sending her glasses careening off her face and across the cobblestones. The audience she drew clapped at both the stroke and the stumble, a few even laughing at the clumsy lady, as she frantically searched for her lost eye-wear. "Oh, darn it! Next paycheck, get those things resized!"

As the crowd dispersed, only one individual stopped to pick up the glasses, since they rested at their sandaled feet. They brought them over to the frantic woman and squatted in front of her. "Hey, these are yours, right?"

The girl was started by the sudden appearance of the person but took back the specs gratefully. "Oh, thank you! Sorry for the trouble."

"Shishishi! No sweat!" the upbeat being replied, a blinding D-shaped smile on their face.

Now with her glasses on, the swordswoman could see that the mystery Samaritan was wearing a cloak and hood around himself, so she only saw their smile; even their voice sounded like that of either a young man or woman. At first, she considered if this disguise was for something nefarious, but dismissed that quickly. 'As a Marine, I shouldn't go accusing people without proof like that! Besides, he or she did give me back my glasses. Nobody shady would do that!' When the masked stranger tilted their head to the side in confusion, the young lady realized she'd been quiet the whole time. Trying to cover up the flub, she hurriedly said, "M-my name's Tashigi!"

"Nice to meetcha, Tashigi! I'm Lu-er," The person coughed suddenly before continuing. "I mean, my name's Lucy." It was an unconvincing cover-up, but Tashigi didn't press the issue, even if they topped it off with whistling really off-tune as if to seem innocent of some wrong-doing. "Anyway, I better go! Bye, Tamishi!"

With that, the young man (?) ran off down the street – and boy, were they quick! Tashigi barely had time to register he/she had left or mispronounced her name before departing. "How strange… I can look into that guy later. I need to pick up my sword before the shop closes." Putting the stranger out of her mind, Tashigi ran off in about the same direction Zoro and Ussop were traveling.

As for the hood person, they were walking down the street while scanning the area. "Geez, where is he!? Why drag us all the way to East Blue and then vanish? He doesn't tell me much, but then he goes and just vanishes on me? Gah, my head hurts! Where'd you go!?"

A/N: So, thoughts and comments? I'm a simple man who is fed on feedback. Thanks for reading, and see you soon!