5
It hurt. It hurt so much. The bleeding had stopped; the bullet just grazed his left arm. But that wasn't the wound that hurt.
It was the slap. Kaya's slap. The look on her face, of disgust. Of hate.
How she believed that he was willing to create such a horrible lie that he would imply that a good man, a man who cared for her for the past three years, could be a fugitive who planned to kill her just to get her money.
It hurt. The look of anger on the villagers faces. How they got fed up with his lies. How they couldn't trust anything that came from him.
Usopp stared at the village. He didn't live there. His house was in the forest, the same place where his parents formed their family before the sea called to his father. The same place where his mother raised him until her death. That was where he lived—his home. But he loved Syrup Village. He loved its people. He didn't want them to die. He didn't want Kaya to die.
"Captain!" Tamanegi, Peaman, and Nijiki were running towards him. Usopp wiped his tears; he didn't want the kids to see him crying. To see him afraid. Usopp was surprised to see that the trio wasn't alone; behind them were Zoro, Nami, Ashley, with Pikachu on her shoulder, and...
"Huh? H-h-how are you alive?!" He pointed at Luffy, trembling in shock at the site of the other boy standing there, with no wound or sign of injury. Nobody could have survived a fall that high without injury, more so falling headfirst.
"I was just sleeping. I woke up after a while," Luffy replied nonchalantly.
"Right, you don't know. Luffy is a rubber man; he ate a Devil Fruit. Blunt damage doesn't hurt him, see," Ashley grabbed one of Luffy's cheeks and began to stretch it as far as she could. Usopp looked amazed; the boy had never seen anything like it. The kids, too, looked amazed.
"That's so cool!" "Do it again, do it again!" "Can anybody do it?"
"Shishishishi! Nope, only I can do it. There is only one Gum Gum Fruit" Luffy stated proudly.
"Wait, Captain, what are we going to do?!" "Eh?" "Yeah, with that butler. Luffy told us that he is a dangerous pirate." "He wants to kill everyone. We have to warn them!"
'Stop lying, Usopp!' 'The only bad person here is you, Usopp!' 'Catch him now!' 'Make sure to kill just a few of the villagers, not the children' 'Not the children'
Usopp gulped. He knew what he had to do.
"Hahahahahahha!" Usopp began to laugh as hard as he could. "What are you three talking about? That was just another lie," he said to their faces. Luffy seemed confused. Nami exchanged looks with Ashley. Tamanegi, Peaman, and Nijiki just stared at him.
"I just said that the butler was a pirate and that he wanted to kill everyone to get even with him. Remember? He insulted my dad and said that I only cared about Kaya because of her money, so I said the same thing. I can't believe you three actually fell for it. I guess my lies are getting better."
His three friends just glared at him.
"That was a bad thing to do." "I didn't think you would be willing to fall so low." "Let's go home, guys; it's supper time."
They all watched the kids go. Usopp didn't let his smile drop until they were well gone.
"Why did you lie to them?" asked Luffy.
"Kuro told Jango not to kill the children; he doesn't want to draw too much attention to his raid. But if he thinks that they know the truth, then he will kill them. My word is worthless, but theirs is not."
"So you lied to them to protect them. That's brave" "It's just a lie." "That's not what I mean." Zoro's words surprised him: "You are willing to let the only ones who know the truth believe you're just a liar in order to protect them. That's brave, man." Usopp felt tears welling in his eyes.
"This place is my home. I don't care if they think I'm just a liar or a good-for-nothing idiot. I love them. I don't want to see them get hurt. I don't want their lives to be ruined. I want to protect them." Usopp gritted his teeth. "Even if it costs my life, I want to save them!"
"Ok. We will help you," Luffy stated. Usopp looked at him, surprised.
"Why? Why would you help me?" He didn't get it. He was a stranger; they barely knew him; this wasn't even their home.
"Because we want to, right guys?" Ashley turned toward her friends.
"You look half-scared to death." "There will be lots of enemies to deal with." "Any treasure that we find is mine," Ashley facepalmed at their words. Pikachu patted his trainer's head.
"I AM NOT AFRAID! I'm the great Captain Usopp, the bravest warrior of the sea! I do not fear anything!" Usopp's shaking knees betrayed him. He was extremely scared of facing real pirates.
"So what if I am afraid?! They are the Kuroneko´s Pirates! Kuro was known as one of the most sadistic pirates in the East Blue!"
"And we will help you against them," Luffy repeated his decision. Usopp couldn't help the tears that escaped. He never thought that he would be in a situation like this or that a bunch of strangers would be willing to help him.
"Usopp, you know this island; which are the ports where they could land?" "Mhh. The one closest to the town is actually the one where me and Luffy eavesdropped on Kuro and Jango. The rest is just cliffs." "What about the beach where we docked? There is a path there," Nami pointed out.
"Shit, you are right. The problem is that both places are in complete opposite corners of the island." "So we split," Ashley proposed. "If the pirates come from just one direction, the team in that direction sends a flare, and the other team rushes there."
"Then, how do we split?" "I´m not leaving my treasures! I will stay on the beach where we docked. Ashley will be with me." Nami was the first to decide, "Usopp, how do you fight?" "I use my slingshot." "You are with Luffy and Zoro." "THE HELL THAT MEANS! I beat Kaya´s bodyguards with my slingshot. "Then you are just with Zoro." "Wait, I have the disease of: I will die if I´m in a two-person team." "Fine, you get Luffy and Zoro; just remember, if the pirates attack our position, you need to lead these two idiots in the right direction."
Usopp gave a glance to the other two boys. That didn't seem too difficult. Luffy did manage to find him after he punched Kuro before. Besides, it was a small island; how could someone get lost?
The next few hours were spent planning and preparing. Usopp didn't want the villagers to think that pirates were attacking, so he prepared flares that he had used in the past. The villagers would only think it was one of his pranks again, instead of a signal. He wanted to pour oil on each hill in order to make the ground slippery and to make it difficult for the pirates to climb, but Ashley pointed out that it won't actually stop them because, at some point, the oil will dry and they will be facing a very angry crowd of pirates. Besides, if one of them slipped, they would be alone against the pirates and have no way out.
Ashley woke from her short nap to the sight of Nami gripping her bo staff. The trainer saw the infamous flag of the Kuro Pirates—a black cat's head with crossbones. And coming down from the ship, the crew.
"Why didn't you wake me sooner?" asked the trainer. "I wanted to make sure they were docking here. If they had changed course at the last second and we sent the flare already, then the others would run here and leave their position," Nami pointed out. Both girls kept watch as the ship crept closer and closer until it docked. Then Nami ignited the blue flare while Ashley grabbed one of her pokeballs. Pikachu was already storing electricity and getting pumped.
Ashley recognized the hypnotist, Jango, easily. The group, except for Luffy and Usopp, had met him the previous day, and he had shown them his hypnotist trick that, for some reason, backfired on himself.
Ashley had experience with mind control. Many Pokemon used the move Hypnosis; once she had been hypnotized multiple times by the same Elhyem, her own Noctowl favored the move. Accuracy was Hypnosis's biggest flaw. When she asked Usopp about Jango´s attack, the other boy mentioned that he thought it was some type of weapon and that he had ducked. That's when Ashley figured out that as long as one didn't look at Jango´s ring, they couldn´t be hypnotized.
The Kuro pirates noticed both girls. Jango recognized them from the previous.
"Eh? What are you doing here? Move along unless you want to entertain these gentlemen!" Behind him, the pirates chuckled and jeered.
"Leave right now and never return," Ashley said calmly. The pirates just laughed louder and grinned malevously.
Jango sighed and lifted his ring. "When I say-" "Grab that ring, Talonflame!" Ashley released the bird Pokemon, who rushed towards the hypnotist without a second thought. The pirates were so shocked that they didn't react to the fire type that blurred and crashed right into their captain. While Jango was regaining his wits, Talonflame grabbed his hypnotism ring and flew back to his trainer.
"Stop that bird! Shoot it!" His men began to pull their pistols and aim towards the Pokemon. Talonflame increased his speed and began to dodge.
"Hawlucha, Pikachu, let's go!" Hawlucha sailed right towards the pirates and began to unleash gales of winds that either hit them or cut them. Pikachu used his speed to circle around them and release thundershocks.
"Nami, take care of anybody that passes behind us!" Ashley ran straight for Jango. If there is one thing certain for any group, whether pirates, marines, criminal organizations, or rangers, good or bad, it is that if the leader is defeated, the underlings usually give up in fear and run away.
Jango, however, wasn't chosen Captain for nothing. The man grabbed another pendulum from his coat that he threw right at her head. Ashley slipped down, dodging the weapon and aiming for Jango's legs. The man jumped, avoiding her easily. Both sides glared at each other and began to fight earnestly.
Jango proved to be a more difficult opponent than Ashley thought. The hypnotist wasn't just a one-man trick; he lashed out with powerful kicks and used his pendulum to slash at her. He was also really agile and fast. Ashley wasn't able to hit him. She wasn't able to coordinate with her Pokemon, but they were holding on their own.
Talonflame kept to the skies, close to Nami, leashing Flamethrowers and Air Cutters. He knew to only use his more powerful and devastating attacks on large groups instead of individuals. She made sure to explain it to all her Pokemon before sailing.
Pikachu overused a combination of Quick Attack and Thundershock; her starter would use his speed to dart between the pirates, meanwhile releasing small amounts of electricity that shocked them and sometimes managed to paralyze them. When they tried to attack him with swords, the mouse used Steel Tail to deflect and counterattack.
Hawlucha was in his element. He was a brawler, a fighter. It was in his blood. Around him was a ring of his victims, all groaning in pain or passing out. The masked Pokemon was currently using his favorite move, Flying Press. His opponents tried to run away from it; obviously, Hawlucha had used it previously, and they were terrified of it.
Nami was barely holding her own; if it weren't for Ashley's Pokemon taking the brunt of it and for Talonflame protecting her, she would have already lost. The thief wasn't a strong fighter. Against one or two opponents, she was fine, but this was an army of them. And bigger than the one Buggy had. Where the hell were those three idiots!?
Jango snarled. "Idiots, stop wasting time with these girls and their monsters! Remember! If we don't kill the heiress and most of the village, then Captain Kuro will kill us!" The pirates froze at his words, knowing that he was right. If they didn't complete Captain Kuro's mission, then they would be the ones dead.
They ran. Completely ignoring the Pokemon and the humans trying to stop them.
"Electro-" "When I say One, Two, Jango, you will fall asleep!" The trainer closed her eyes immediately and jumped backwards. She pulled her arms in a defensive position, protecting her torso and head as much as she could. Jango took advantage of that and kicked right into her stomach. The kick knocked the wind out of her. It was strong. Not like her fighting types, but strong.
"Ashley!" "Pikapi!"
"Damnit, stop running!" Nami did her best, bashing their heads with her bo staff, but they just darted around her, and some just body-slammed her and stepped above her. She felt Talonflame's body protecting her from more harm. Where was Luffy?!
"Namaridoshi!" The pirate at the lead fell backwards; a projectile impacted headfirst. The others didn't have much time to think before they were beaten unconscious.
"Why the hell did you three take so long to get here?!" Nami screamed furiously at their missing teammates.
"It's not my fault! These two idiots have no sense of direction! I spend more time chasing them down and correcting their course than getting here," Usopp pointed at Luffy and Zoro.
"Your directions sucked! Where the hell even is the north?!" Luffy screamed back at Usopp.
"The stupid path kept shifting; it wasn't my fault," Zoro defended himself. Both Nami and Ashley blinked at their comrades' stupidity.
"Captain, those guys are really strong. We were already having trouble with those animals." "What are we going to do?"
"Don´t worry. We just need to get stronger. When I say One, Two, Jango, you will be incredibly stronger, 10 times stronger, and filled with energy!" Jango moved his pendulum at his remaining men and chanted his hypnotism. The defenders watched him warily. Surprisingly, it worked. The tired pirates were filled with energy; one of them punched one of the cliffs, breaking a part of it with ease.
"Shit, it actually worked?!" Zoro was shocked that a normal human could do that.
"We are dead! We are so dead!" Usopp and Nami were terrified.
Ashley prepared her last pokeball; she would have to unleash her final Pokemon now. She wanted to save him as a surprise, in case the others couldn't keep fighting. She didn't have that luxury any longer.
"Luffy, let´s get ready," Zoro said to his captain.
"GRAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH" Luffy's eyes were blank, like those hypnotized by Jango.
"HE HYPNOTIZED YOU TOO?!"
"Idiot, how could he be hypnotized so easily?"
"GRAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH" "GRAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH"
Luffy went straight for his opponents, and he defeated them even easier. After all, he too believed that he was ten times stronger and filled with energy. He beat them with his Gum Gum Battling and then ran straight for the ship. In his battle-lust haze, he managed to rip the figurehead and wave it around like a giant maze.
"Oy, boy, look here!" Jango called his attention as fast as he could. "When I say One, Two, Jango, you will fall asleep! One, Two, Jango!"
The moment he heard the order, Luffy started to snore. Unfortunately for the Kuro's Pirates he didn´t let go of his new weapon. He just fell on his back with it, crushing them. Because of his rubber body, he didn't have a single injury.
Jango was afraid. All his men were either defeated or hurt. He alone wouldn't be able to defeat the group. Not even with his hypnotism. Captain Kuro was going to kill him!
"Buchi, the figurehead is gone!" "What?! How the fuck did that happen?!" Two voices spoke from the ship. Jango felt hope. They were still there.
"Brothers Nyaban! Come here now!" he invoked their only hope of survival.
Two figures jumped from the ship. They were two men, one thin and the other fat. Both wore gloves with claws and sported headbands with cat ears. The fat one wore no shirt, only a cape, trousers, and a necklace with a cowbell. The thin one had a sleeveless jacket and a bowtie.
"Bochi, Siam, take care of those people! They are blocking our path to the village," Jango ordered them.
The brothers began to shake in fear.
"Sir, we are just vigils; we can´t take care of them!" "Yeah, we are not strong enough to do that." "Just shut up and do what I say, Siam!"
The thin one, Siam, cried while running hearfelly towards the group. They were shocked that Jango would be so desperate to send two weak and cowardly pirates towards them. They were surprised that two weak and cowardly pirates were a part of that crew.
"I- I will rip you with my cl-claws!" Siam ran straight at Zoro. The swordsman was offended that such a weak opponent would threaten him. Even Usopp had more courage.
"Stop, or I will cut you!" Zoro answered, "Heh." Siam grinned, his fear evaporating. His speed increased, and his claw clashed against Zoro's sword. He was surprised at the strength of the cat man's grip.
"You didn't think I was strong, right? Big mistake! The cat is out of the bag!"
"Shit, it was a trick," Ashley realized what they did. Much like Baby Doll Eyes, Siam and Bochi pretended to be weak in order to have them lower their wards. And it worked.
"Zoro, your swords!" Nami pointed at his belt. Zoro only had one of his swords left. Siam had stolen the other two and wrapped them around his back.
Siam grinned, "Lost something? You may know how to fight swordsmen, but that won't be enough to defeat one of the Nyaban brothers of the Kuroneko Pirates!"
"Give me back my swords," Siam smirked and threw Zoro's swords like they were trash. Zoro grew enraged at the sight; he didn't think. He slashed Siam right in the abdomen and went to recover his weapons.
"Fucking bastard! How could I be so careless as to let that freak steal them from me?" Just when he was about to grab them, he felt a presence behind him. Siam jumped on his back and slammed him to the ground. The feline pirate grabbed his arms and wouldn't let him get up. How did this freak survive his slash?!
"Come on, Bochi, let's do it!" "I´m coming, Siam!" Bochi began to rush towards them, ready to execute his devastating move, when a flying fist collided with his face. The second pirate was sent flying to his back by Hawlucha.
"Bochi!" Zoro took advantage of Siam´s distraction and wrestled away from him. When he finally threw him away, he saw the hilts of his two missing swords. Ashley was holding them and giving them to him.
"Two against one isn't fair. Even among pirates. Zoro, Hawlucha and I will take care of the fat one; can you handle the other weirdo on your own?" Zoro smirked. If he had been fighting against another swordsman, then he would have refused the help. But neither of those weirdos were swordsmen, and he recognized the glint in Ashley´s and Hawlucha´s eyes. They wanted to fight. They wanted a real fight.
"Don´t get in my way, get it?" "Same. Pikachu, Talonflame, make sure nobody else intervenes and that nobody tries to get to the village!" "Pika!" "Flamee!"
Ashley and Zoro nodded to each other. This fight needed to end soon. After all, there was still one pirate missing, needing to be defeated.
The Nyaban Brothers snarled and leapt at their opponents in a flurry of slashes. Zoro went into his preferred stance, one sword held by his teeth horizontally and the other two held one by each hand, perpendicular to the first.
"Zoro, he is a hunchback. His stomach is deeper than it looks!" Usopp warned him. He had deduced Siam´s trick by seeing how he favored a hunched posture instead of a normal one. The feline pirate pretended to have a normal body in order to lure his prey, and when they thought that he had been injured, he struck back.
"Toragari!" Siam never saw it coming. It was as if Zoro´s speed, strength, sword style—everything changed from his first attack. Zoro had trained hard to create and master his unique three-sword style. He had mastered it to the point that it was leagues ahead of his one-and-two sword style.
Siam fell to the ground unconscious, covered in deep gashes.
While Siam lost to Zoro, Bochi ran towards Ashley and Hawlucha. Trainer and Pokemon didn't run away or flinch from their opponent. Hawlucha jumped to the sky, so high that he was barely visible, while Ashley ran straight for Bochi. When she was close enough to feel his claws, she slid and kicked his leg. Her goal wasn't to hurt him. Just to disequilibrate him. His entire body was suited to handle physical strength, but at the same time, it had a lower center of gravity. She just needed to weaken his equilibrium. And it worked. Bochi fell to his back. But that didn't stop him. It just made him angrier. The more Ashley toyed with him, jumping from one place to another and running in circles around him, the angrier he became, and the more he forgot about Hawlucha.
Ashley grinned when she felt her back touch the stone and saw the self-satisfied grin that Bochi sported. More so when Hawlucha´s shadow covered the pirate´s head.
"Flying Press, Hawlucha!" Before Bochi could comprehend what was happening, Hawlucha slammed with all his strength on top of his head. The recoil made Hawlucha fly back to the ground. Bochi didn't move. Then blood poured from his forehead. Finally, he fell on his back, his eyes blank.
"How, how did they beat the Nyaban Brothers so easily?!" "We are dead; we are so dead!" "We need to leave right now!" The Kuroneko Pirates were terrified. They wouldn't be able to kill these guys, much less kill the villagers. If Captain Kuro found out...
"How did you know that he would fall for that punch?" Usopp was amazed at Hawlucha´s strength. When he first met Pikachu, he just thought that he was a big mouse and a pet. He never thought that there were animals capable of producing fire, electricity, or delivering devastating attacks.
"Hawlucha is part fighting type, so he can break stones and bend steel. Bochi´s body is made to withstand physical attacks and sharp blades. But his head isn´t. Pokemon with similar body types have the same weakness," she explained.
"Well, we just have to take care of the hypnotist, and that's it, right?" Nami pointed with her bo staff at Jango.
"Yep, if he is defeated, then he can't hypnotize Kaya and make her sign a false will. Kuro´s plan will fall then!" Usopp grinned happily. The villagers and Kaya will survive after all.
"We also have to figure out how to wake Luffy and move him from that thing," Ashley remembered about their captain, who was still snoring away. It reminded her a lot of her Snorlax. Now that she thought about it, they both really loved to eat...
Nah, Snorlax only woke up when he was really hungry or when she needed him to fight. Luffy only slept when he was tired. When he was bored, he just did stupid things.
Before they could move, they felt a presence. A menacing presence. Behind them, right at the top of the hill, was a familiar and dangerous person.
Kurahadol the butler. Captain Kuro.
The former pirate captain stared in rage at his former crew's failure.
"The sun is up. The village should be ransacked and Kaya killed. So why are you all here?!" Jango flinched at the rage in his voice.
"How did a bunch of kids defeat the Kuroneko Pirates? Since when have all of you been so weak?" The remaining pirates were angry at his accusation. They have all been living as pirates for the past three years, sacking towns and fighting against other pirates and marines, while Kuro hid as a butler in a little town, without fearing for his life or struggling to find food and water. How could he accuse them of being weak?
"Weak?" they began to mutter among themselves, "Who was it who chose to fake his death and run away to live a quiet life?" "It was you, Captain Kuro!" "We aren´t weak; you are the weak one!" "A real pirate would have just robbed this town the minute he reached it!" "Yeah!" They began to move towards their former captain, guns and swords ready.
Jango froze. The men were a bunch of idiots. They really thought that Kuro had grown weak.
"Stop idiots!" He yelled desperately, but they didn't listen. They were too angry at Kuro´s words.
Kuro lifted his glasses with his palm and moved. One second he was on top of the hill, and the next he had killed two of his former crewmates. Everyone was shocked. Not only had he been extremely fast, but he hadn't produced a sound. Large claws, larger than Siam´s and Buchi´s, were covered in blood.
"Idiots, I knew he was still strong the minute I saw how he lifted his glasses. He had to do it with his palm; otherwise, he would hurt himself with his claws. It's obvious that he never forgot how to fight," Jango muttered. Now Kuro will be more angry than he already was.
"Don't try to run," he warned the rest of his men. "He still has his Nuki-ashi. With that silent step of his, he can kill us whenever he wants. We won´t leave this island until the plan is completed.
"Five minutes. Kill this trash in five minutes, or I will kill you all," Kuro promised.
Desperation filled the Kuroneko Pirates. It was impossible. They were tired, a few dead, the rest unconscious, the Nyaban Brothers out of the fight. And their opponents were barely wounded. Even with Jango´s hypnotism, they had been defeated.
They were going to die.
There is a simple explanation as to why does it take me more than one week to write a chapter.
MY BACK! OH MY BACK!
Seriously, I write faster in my computer but the posture kills my back. Also I want to write better so I´m taking my time with that. I truly want my fics to be good and that people can enjoy the story and the writing. So, I take my time. Next chapter should be the final showdown of this mini arc. Have a crazy idea for a crossover, it won´t be released until much later. Mostly because I have no idea of fashion. Hint, Hint