Captain Kuro.
At least now Luffy knew the real name of the man who had ruined his life.
"She was your friend!" Luffy grit his teeth as angry tears trailed down his face. "She trusted you!"
Kuro reached up to adjust his glasses with the heel of his hand again, being mindful to keep the blades of his fingers pointed away from his face. "Makino's death was always part of the plan. Regretfully, she saw something she shouldn't have, so I had to move forward with killing her much earlier than I would have liked to."
"She saw something?" Luffy furiously wiped at his face with his forearm. "What kind of a reason is that?!"
Alvida piped up from across the room as she struggled to her feet, using the wall for support. "When Bluejam and his men attacked, Kuro came back here to keep the devil fruit safe with him. Smart, but he didn't plan on the barkeep spotting him retrieving it."
Unable to hold himself back anymore, Luffy charged forward with no regard for his own wellbeing. "You killed her just because she saw you holding some stupid fruit? You–!"
Luffy's words were cut short as Kuro swung his arm around with a lightning quick backfist and sent the boy flying into a nearby shelf of mugs with a deafening crash.
"Don't be naive, brat. She was never my friend. She was just a prop in the alibi I've been constructing for myself—a stepping stone to help me obtain my true peace."
Alvida finally managed to stand, leaning forward on her club as she caught her breath. "Some pirate you are. If you didn't want someone taking the fruit from you then you should have just eaten it. With the kind of power that a devil fruit provides you can become the stuff of legends!"
Rolling his eyes, Kuro sharpened his claws against each other, sending off bursts of sparks. "Infamy and strength were never of any interest to me. My greatest tool is my intellect and my only goal is to live a carefree life of comfort. That is why I became a pirate—to earn my fortune and then quietly disappear from history."
Shaking her head in confusion, Alvida cautiously moved towards Kuro, holding up her spiked club defensively. "This fortune of yours; couldn't you have used the fruit's power to earn it?"
Seemingly unfazed by Alvida's approach, Kuro scoffed and walked towards the counter, reaching out to pick up a small wooden box that had been resting on its surface. "Stupid girl. The devil fruit itself is the fortune. Once I came into possession of it I reached out to any interested buyers. One such individual offered to purchase it from me for three-hundred million berry, no questions asked, and said that they would set sail to meet me at this island in one year's time. That was ten months ago, now.
"In the meantime, I've become a respected member of this filthy village. All of the local bumpkins hold me in high esteem and flock to me for friendly conversation and gossip. I made it so that nobody here would have ever suspected me of ill-intent when I was to burn this bar to the ground with all of the staff inside, once the fruit had been sold."
Alvida neatly sidestepped Koby's unconscious body, circling around Kuro as he bounced the box in his palm. "Why go through all the trouble of befriending these people just to kill them in the end?"
Tucking the box into the pocket of his jacket, Kuro lurched forward and let loose a volley of rapid slashes with his claws that left Alvida reeling and struggling to deflect them all with her club. "Though I had quickly gained a bounty of five million berry for my head, I was still only a rookie myself when I found this fruit. Through some great stroke of luck, my men and I happened upon two sinking ships one day when we were sailing. It seemed as if both crews had fought to the last with no survivors, and this devil fruit was among the spoils.
"My men were thrilled, thinking that I would eat the devil fruit myself and lead them onto greater heights." Kuro shrugged as Alvida skidded to a stop, struggling to catch her breath after his onslaught. "I waited until they were all asleep to slit their throats, out of respect for their service to me. My helmsman and I bore a passing resemblance, so I cut his hair, mangled his face and dressed him in my captain's garb. I fled the ship on a rowboat and one week later 'Captain Kuro' was pronounced dead by the marines. Thus, 'Kael Dahro' was born, and I started my new life here."
Before Alvida could fully recover, Kuro ducked low once more, dragging his claws against the floor and swiping upward at her in a vicious cross-slash that sent her careening to the ground, leaving ribbons of blood in her wake.
The young pirate tried to rise to her elbows but a razor sharp claw prodding at her jugular kept her prone on the floor, as Kuro perched above her with a malevolent grin stretching across his cheeks.
"You see, if 'Kael' just showed up somewhere with three-hundred million berry and no records to speak of, the World Government would have sniffed me out instantly." Kuro ran a claw against Alvida's cheek as she growled in frustration at how heavily she was outmatched. "I had intended to live here for one year while I waited for my buyer, to ingratiate myself with the locals and build a history. Then, once I had secured my fortune the workers of Partys Bar would regretfully perish in a freak accident.
"The pain of my dear friend Makino's loss would be too much for me to bear," Kuro tilted his head in faux-sadness as several strands of his neatly swept back hair sprung free. "Unable to continue living here in my grief, I would move across Dawn Island to the Goa Kingdom. It would take little effort for a man of my talents to launder my newfound riches through 'wise investments', and within months 'Kael Dahro' would be a man of considerable means, living out the rest of his days in the comforts of high society. The citizens of Foosha would of course remember me fondly and speak favourably of me on the off-chance any government officials came sniffing around."
For the first time in their encounter, Alvida's anger was overridden by anxiousness as she gulped, feeling her throat bump against his claws. "I'm no saint, but to think of everyone and everything as nothing more than expendable pieces on a board…You're sick…"
Kuro shook his head in amusement. "Think what you will of me—all that matters is that I'm a man who is on the cusp of achieving his dreams! There are very few who can claim such a thing and it's all thanks to this!"
As Kuro retrieved the box from his pocket to gloat some more, Alvida inwardly celebrated. Everyone had their weakness, and it seemed as if Captain Kuro's was his arrogance. With a deft swipe of her hand Alvida snatched the box from Kuro's grasp.
"No!" Kuro shouted, face screwed up in panic and rage as he reached forward to stop Alvida. But he was too late—Alvida unlatched the wooden box and tilted it to drop its contents into her waiting mouth.
…But nothing came out of it.
Both Alvida and Kuro were frozen in shock on the ground as they stared at the empty box. Frantically, Kuro scrambled forward on his knees and shook it fiercely as he peered inside.
"This isn't possible! I just saw it moments ago when I put it on-!" Kuro's face paled as something seemed to dawn on him. "When I put it on the counter…"
Alvida took advantage of Kuro being distracted by swinging her club up in a savage uppercut, connecting straight underneath Kuro's chin and knocking him flat onto his back. Following Kuro's logic, she looked towards the counter where the devil fruit had previously rested.
There, on the ground next to the counter laid a battered Luffy, halfway unconscious from the force of Kuro's fist. With a stab of horror straight to her gut, Alvida saw that the boy was struggling to lift the fruit to his lips with a hurt arm.
"Shitty little thief!" Alvida squealed, charging towards him with her club raised high above her head. "Don't you dare!"
With agility that belied her size Alvida leapt high into the air, falling back to the ground with her club poised to obliterate the annoying boy on impact.
CRACK!
She felt her clubbing blow strike full force into someone soft and squishy and hissed through her teeth in satisfaction as she smiled and opened her eyes. Alvida's cocky grin slipped away as she saw her club resting against a bloodied head of pink hair.
The newly awakened Koby looked as if he was on the verge of passing right back out but managed to remain standing through sheer force of will as he blocked Luffy's body with his own. Alvida's club left a gushing red wound in the shape of an X high on Koby's forehead, and she momentarily found herself at a loss for words as she looked upon what she had done to her servant. She had certainly roughed him up every now and then, but never to this degree. "Koby…"
"Hey! Are you crazy?!" Luffy shouted, eyes wide with anger and worry at the boy in front of him, shaking as he struggled to stay standing. "What did you do that for?!"
Koby had to take several steadying breaths, looking towards the floor as blood streamed down his face. "I always wanted to be a marine…"
"Huh?"
"For as long as I can remember, all I've ever wanted to do was become strong—to help people who needed it, like me…"Koby's lip wobbled as his hands clenched painfully at his sides, knuckles turning white. "Then I got kidnapped by pirates and was turned into a slave before I could get old enough to start training…"
Alvida sneered and huffed, removing the club from Koby's scalp with a nauseating wet squelch which made Luffy's stomach turn. "Bluejam was going to kill you. I gave you the opportunity to become a loyal servant to the most beautiful pirate in the sea instead, and this is how you show your appreciation?"
The older girl almost took a step back in surprise when Koby's bloodshot eyes snapped up to fix her with a burning glare from behind his bottle-thick glasses. "And now I'm going to die here anyway! Well, if this is it for me then I'll at least defend this innocent boy on my way out! Then, I can know how it feels to protect someone, even if it's only with my last breath!"
Luffy couldn't help but find himself captivated by this sudden change in the pink-haired boy's attitude. Just moments ago he was a snivelling coward, and now he was fearlessly staring down his former captor while keeping Luffy, someone he didn't even know, safe. It reminded him vaguely of his grandpa—going from a goofy guy to deadly serious whenever someone was in danger.
"Speaking of my last breath," Koby's glare intensified, tripping forward to stand toe-to-toe with Alvida. He craned his head up at her to shout, as blood and spittle flew from his lips. "I think I'll spend it now—to tell you; a cruel, ugly, miserable, stinking hag of a pirate to go to hell where you belong!"
Any sympathy or guilt Alvida may have felt for Koby after clobbering him instantly bled away, replaced by livid indignation as she reeled back and charged forward with her black club raised high. "Koby! I'll kill you for that!"
Luffy inhaled sharply at the look in Alvida's eyes. She really was going to kill Koby! He knew that there wasn't enough time for him to eat the devil fruit, learn what it did and how it worked in time to save Koby. In a last ditch effort, Luffy did the only thing that could possibly distract Alvida and pulled his bruised arm back, gripped the gritty sandpaper-textured fruit tightly and hurled it forward, belting it straight towards Alvida's screaming wide-open mouth.
"Idiot kid!" Captain Kuro shouted, scrambling forward to try and catch it. "What the hell are you doing?!"
He was too late. Alvida's steps stuttered to a halt as she felt the fruit fly into her gaping mouth, hitting the back of her throat before she swallowed it whole instinctively. Once she realized what had transpired all thoughts of caving in Koby's head were gone as she laughed and hopped in place excitedly. "Finally! The Smooth-Smooth fruit is mine! Not only will it make me more powerful, it will also enhance my beauty! Men all around the world will soon be begging at my feet with tributes for a moment of my attention!"
Her victory dance was short-lived as Captain Kuro sprang forward with his claws raised and slashed across her diagonally with great force, sending her booming through the wall of the tavern and onto the grass outside. "Fool! That's not the Smooth-Smooth fruit! Whoever tipped you off was dead wrong!"
Kuro growled in frustration and nimbly hopped through the destroyed wall in pursuit of Alvida. Luffy heard a soft exhale in front of him and turned back just in time to see Koby beginning to tip over, about to face plant onto the floorboards. Luffy quickly scurried forward and caught him, supporting his frail body by throwing Koby's arm over his shoulder. "You shouldn't have done that! I can take care of myself!"
Barely managing the strength to turn his head towards him, Koby met Luffy's eyes through the cracked lens of his glasses. "Everyone needs help. Sometimes people just go without it for so long that they convince themselves otherwise."
Luffy wished someone like Koby had been there for Makino. He wished he had been there for Makino. He shook his head, clearing his thoughts—now wasn't the time for that.
Some crackling embers from the burning village blew into the newly formed hole in the back of the bar with a black gust of smoke, and Luffy coughed, lugging his and Koby's injured young bodies outside. He limped forward and set Koby down carefully, propping him up against some nearby fencing. "Stay here! I'll try to find help!"
No response was received as Koby had already passed out again, undoubtedly suffering from a nasty concussion after the brutal blow to the head he had taken. Luffy would need to find a doctor…But they only had the one doctor in the village, and he had no idea where he was! So many people were hurt, and so many problems needed solving and Luffy had no idea where to begin. Embarrassingly, Luffy began to hyperventilate as angry tears obscured his vision, but his panic attack was shocked to a stop by a blood-curdling guttural scream.
"What have you done to me?" A deep, gravelly voice bellowed. "I'm a monster!"
When Luffy hobbled forward to peer at the commotion over the edge of a smoking shrub, his eyes widened at the sight of an ogre-ish looking beast weeping at Captain Kuro's feet.
The creature had skin like grey craggy rocks, with thick burly limbs and a stone-faced visage that looked as if it had been hastily carved from a cliffside. Luffy was bewildered at where such a thing may have come from when he noticed the torn naval coat and the ostentatious feathered cap. "…Alvida?!" He whispered to himself.
Though he was still furious, with angry veins thrumming visibly in his forehead, Captain Kuro seemed to take a small amount of vindictive pleasure in Alvida's distress. He sneered and adjusted his glasses with the palm of his bladed hand. "I did nothing to you. You only have yourself to blame for this. Mistakenly, you believed that I was in possession of the smooth-smooth fruit. Clearly, you need better informants because it was, in fact, the exact opposite—the Rough-Rough fruit."
"Rough-Rough fruit?" Alvida wailed, scrubbing at her tear-streaked face. Luffy watched in morbid fascination as the mere act of rubbing her forearm against her face caused sparks to pop off at the skin-on-skin contact. "What's that? How do I change back?"
"You don't," Kuro chuckled cruelly, crouching down to take her jaw in his hand. "The Rough-Rough fruit is a paramecia, permanently transforming the user into a 'friction human.' An adverse side-effect is, of course, the hideousness…"
Alvida's weeping increased in pitch, almost buckled over in sorrow. If it were anyone else Luffy might have maybe felt bad. As it stood, with the way Alvida had hurt Koby and so callously dismissed Makino's death, Luffy couldn't help but feel it was an appropriate punishment for her. Now her looks truly matched her personality.
Standing back up to his full height, Kuro swept a hand through his slicked-back hair and looked skyward, muttering to himself. "This can be fixed—Just need to pivot…I can't sell the devil fruit itself, but I could still sell you, I suppose…Yes, if I brought you to the slavers at Sabaody…They would surely pay a handsome price for a devil fruit user…"
Alvida's rocky feet thundered as she struggled to her feet, glaring at Kuro incredulously. "Bastard! How can you be so heartless? As if I would let you sell me! Are you out of your mind?"
A nearby tackle shop's roof caved in as it was engulfed in flames, causing the fire to reflect in Kuro's glasses as he glared down at Alvida. "I'm sorry, did you think I was asking you?"
"Ehh?"
"You might have a devil fruit now, but you're still just a snotty little rookie," Kuro's claws clinked sharply against each other as he flexed his gloved hand. "Meanwhile, I was once known as the black cat—Captain Kuro of a Thousand Plans, fastest and brightest in all of East Blue. I'll detain something like you without breaking a sweat, you jumped-up runt."
"Foosha Village is in shambles and everyone is running around like chickens with their heads cut off," Alvida spit, carefully circling around the stationary Kuro as she got used to the mobility of her hefty new body. "You really think you can capture me, get me on a ship and escape without any of these villagers seeing you? And then there's Captain Bluejam! He still hasn't realized I betrayed him! He'll come for me! Will your perfect plan allow for that many witnesses? Huh? You should just call it a loss and let me go!"
To Alvida's surprise, Kuro merely nodded, seemingly in appreciation of her reasoning. "Yes, you're exactly right."
"I- I am?"
"Yes," Kuro smiled, letting his hands fall to his sides. "This whole village is a lost cause now. Before I take you, I'll need to kill everyone."
Alvida stepped back in surprise, waving her hands. "That's not what I said! Don't put words in my mouth!"
Still hidden behind the bush, Luffy's eyes narrowed suspiciously as Kuro's torso went limp, and he began swaying in place. "What the…?"
Luffy's eyes shot wide open in disbelief after he blinked and Captain Kuro disappeared. He reached up to rub at his eyes, certain that it was a trick of the light, but Kuro was still nowhere to be seen.
Suddenly, a fierce gust of wind blew past Luffy's face and he fell backwards in surprise. When he looked back up his eyes bulged out of his head when he saw the branches and leaves from the corner of the bush slide off onto the ground. The cut was impossibly clean and had neatly sliced off one third of the bush, inches away from where his face had just been.
Another great whoosh of air was heard as a long, razor-thin slash burst in the earth several steps to Luffy's right, slicing a foot deep into the ground.
Luffy scrambled away on his scraped hands and knees as dozens of vicious cuts began tearing and gauging at everything in his field of vision, carving away randomly at everything in the surrounding area.
One of the cuts met its mark as Alvida just barely managed to block the blow by raising her toughened forearms up defensively. It didn't manage to fully break through her thickened skin, but it did leave a deep gash as Alvida got pushed back, yelping in pain.
It only got worse from there, as the attacks sped up exponentially, dicing through homes, trees, pirates and civilians alike in large clouds of debris and blood. It was as if an invisible tornado of blades was dancing through the entirety of the humble windmill village.
Luffy could only watch on in horror as many of the people he grew up with fell to the ground, lifeless, caught in Kuro's relentless barrage as they attempted to flee from the chaos. "Stop it! Stop!" He shouted, unable to sit and hide quietly any longer despite his lack of a plan.
Skidding to a stop, as if appearing from thin air, Kuro stood towering over Luffy as he gazed down at him, taking a moment to readjust his glasses. "Hm. I almost forgot about you, Luffy. But you're used to that feeling, I'm sure."
"Shut up!" Luffy snarled and kicked at Kuro's shin, before lunging forward and battering Kuro in his midsection impotently with his little fists. "I'll kill you! Monster! Monster!"
The force of Luffy's punches weren't even enough to make Kuro budge a millimetre, as he stared down at Luffy's futile efforts impassively. "What's the matter, Luffy? You should be thrilled. I thought you loved pirates."
"You're not-! That's not-! Be quiet!" Luffy whimpered. His ineffective punches began to slow as exhaustion set in.
"You know, I've never had to kill a child before today," Kuro smiled down at Luffy, eerily similar to the way he had looked at him back when they would perform chores at the bar together. "You can cry if you need to. If it makes you feel better, most grown men I've killed also died with tears in their eyes. I certainly won't judge."
"I'm not afraid to die," Luffy tilted his chin up stubbornly, squaring up to the pirate on his quivering legs.
"No?" Kuro shrugged carelessly, and turned towards Koby's unconscious body slumped against the nearby fence. "Maybe I'll start with your new friend then."
"No-!" Luffy tugged at his elbow and dug his sandalled heels into the earth, trying to stop Kuro, but was merely effortlessly dragged along for his efforts.
"Hey! Pussycat bastard!"
Kuro's brow furrowed in consternation at Alvida's grating voice and he turned back around to find her scaling the wall of a half-ruined windmill across the pathway, using her abrasive skin to stick to the wood and climb up like a spider.
Once she reached the top she pointed down at Kuro with a scowl, silhouetted against the night sky. "Nobody hurts my Koby but me!" Alvida pounded her knuckles together like a flint-and-steel, igniting her fists in bright orange flames.
Kuro huffed an amused laugh, begrudgingly impressed. "You're adapting to your new abilities quickly. In another life I might have asked you to join my crew."
"No chance," Alvida grimaced, stepping back across the roof to gear up for a running start. "You're not my type, greaseball!" Striding forward on her heavy legs, Alvida leapt off of the windmill, diving down towards Kuro with her flaming elbow poised to crash down on him. "Rough-Rough Meteor!"
Not anticipating such a risky maneuver from Alvida, Kuro inhaled in surprise and hunkered down with his claws protectively crossed in an X above him.
Luffy yelped fearfully and just barely managed to dive out of the way as Alvida's burning elbow drop came crashing down on Kuro with an earth-shattering explosion. The very edge of the impact caught Luffy and sent him flying, plummeting down to the ground and rolling several feet away from Koby.
Breathing heavily, Alvida stood back up and wiped at her nose crudely. "How do you like that? Huh? Did you have a plan for that, kitty cat?"
Laying prone for a moment to compose himself, Kuro snapped up to a seated position with his usually neat hair in disarray and his ironed suit singed and torn at the edges. "You're lucky I intend to sell you off, else I'd hang you by your guts, you fat little whelp."
Before, the sinister rage radiating from Kuro might have had Alvida shaking in her boots, but she now felt emboldened by her previous show of strength and evenly met his eyes. "Just try it! You cut me before and I didn't even bleed!"
Kuro stood back up, causing his glasses to droop down the bridge of his nose. Instead of readjusting them like he typically would, Kuro snarled and tore them from his face before throwing them to the ground and grinding them underneath his heel. "It might take more than one cut, but everything bleeds eventually. My 'stealth walk' technique is unstoppable. It allows me to cut through everything around me at impossibly fast speeds, with the only drawback being that it lacks any degree of precision. But that doesn't matter in the end. I'll just keep cutting, and cutting, and cutting until I get to the centre of you, Alvida. It would be less painful for you in the end if you just gave me your neck now and let it be done with."
"I like my neck the way it is! Here, I'll give you a finger instead!" Alvida sneered, making a rude gesture with her hand.
Kuro tsked, unimpressed, and dropped his head as his arms went slack. Just like before, Luffy watched with wide eyes as Kuro began swaying in place.
Alvida seemed to recognize that Kuro was preparing his devastating stealth walk once more, and attempted to catch him while he was vulnerable. Luffy looked on anxiously as Alvida began feverishly rubbing her stone-like palms together, uncertain who he should be rooting for here, if anyone.
"Come on…" Alvida panted as she rapidly slid her hands against each other to take advantage of their extreme friction. She smiled in satisfaction as they began to fizzle with small pops of electricity.
Kuro continued to sway, side-to-side, like a marionette on strings as Alvida spread her arms wide. "Rough-Rough-!" Alvida breathed deep, before slamming her hands together in a booming clap which echoed like thunder. "Static!"
The surrounding buildings lit up brightly as a crackling bolt of lightning burst from Alvida's hands and streaked wickedly towards Kuro. She smirked in satisfaction as Kuro was engulfed in a massive explosion of electricity.
Luffy had needed to shield his eyes from her blinding lightning attack, and lowered his hand to look towards the spot where Kuro had stood previously. The smoke gradually cleared and he groaned in disbelief when Kuro's body was not among the wreckage.
"Shit!" Alvida looked around nervously as sweat trickled down her face. "He got away just in time!"
A nearby tree creaked and groaned as its massive trunk fell down to the earth. Luffy gulped when he saw that it had been neatly bisected at the base by an invisible force. "It's happening again…"
A group of nearby pirates turned the corner with their sabres and flintlocks at the ready, cackling and drenched in blood. The pirate in front's eyes widened once he saw all of the destruction and focused in on Alvida. "Alvida?! Is that you? What the hell happened to you, girl? What's going on over here?"
Alvida turned to them with her golem-like face stricken in panic. "Get the hell out of here! Go find Captain Bluejam and tell him to bring everyone! Captain Kuro is here and he intends to kill everyone in the village!"
"Captain Kuro? What in the world are you talking about? Kuro has been dead for over a year! You-" Before the pirate could finish speaking, a deep gash suddenly split his body, slashing from his navel to his chin. "-Geurgh!"
The rest of the assembled Bluejam pirates' eyes widened in terror as they scrambled to make their escape only to inevitably met similar fates, getting caught in Kuro's incessant whirlwind and falling to the ground, clutching at their weeping wounds.
Alvida stumbled around, throwing punches and kicks in random directions, hoping to catch Kuro with blind luck as she received several deep slashes all across her tough hide for her efforts. "Damn it! He's too fast!"
A burst of dust from a nearby home caused Luffy to break out into a coughing fit as a deep groove was gauged across the front of the brick structure. He heard a high-pitched cry from his left and blindly reached out to the boy next to him. "Koby! Are you alright?!"
Once the dust cleared, Koby's bloodied face came into view with his features screwed up in agony. Both of his hands were clutching at a new wound in his calf. It seemed that the pain had been enough to wake him from getting clubbed earlier.
Not knowing what to do, Luffy could only hover close to him worriedly. "It doesn't look too deep. Don't worry, Koby! Shanks will be here soon!"
Meanwhile, Alvida grimaced in pain as the dozens of cuts she was withstanding began to take their toll on her. "I can't take much more of this…I may not be able to hit him, but I can protect myself! If I can't hurt him and he can't hurt me then he'll eventually have no choice but to give up and make his escape!"
Nodding to herself, Alvida unceremoniously plopped herself down on the ground and curled her thick arms around her knees before tucking her head down low. "Rough-Rough-!" As she was all curled up like a ball, her porous stone-like skin grew thicker and thicker, until she looked like a squat statue. "Daruma!"
A shower of slashes struck at her over the next few moments. Earlier, Kuro's attacks had managed to leave small nicks in Alvida's skin—whereas now, his claws clanged off her rough skin uselessly, unable to penetrate even slightly.
Kuro skidded to a stop once more, leaving a cloudy streak of dirt settling behind him. He grimaced at Alvida's immobile form, which was peering back at him mockingly. "I see…You've made your skin even rougher and increased its thickness in the process, making your body more durable."
Daruma Alvida's features quirked up smugly. "That's right! Even you can't cut me like this! So, you should just give up now and leave while you still can! Didn't you hear what that stupid little chimp said earlier? The Red Hair Pirates will be here soon! Do you think they'll take kindly to what you've done?"
Ignoring her words, Kuro began to circle Alvida consideringly, tapping his long claws against his pant-leg in thought. "However…you haven't moved an inch since you took this new form. So, I assume your newly thickened skin inhibits your mobility. Is that right?"
"Uhm…No?" Alvida gulped, unable to budge from her defensive position just as Kuro had deduced.
Kuro placed a finger across his chin and nodded, thinking aloud. "You can't hit me because I'm too fast. And I can't cut you because you are too fortified. A stalemate…"
"Yep!" Alvida laughed uncomfortably as she had no choice but to sit in one place as Kuro stalked around her like a panther sizing up his prey—truly living up to his former namesake. "So…Leave! Okay? Just go away!"
"Unless…" Kuro swept his unruly hair back flat against his head, as his lips turned up slightly. "I can force you to change back."
Alvida's eyes bulged out of her head comically. "Like hell! What would I do that for, idiot?!"
Kuro merely chuckled to himself and sharpened his claws as he remembered Alvida's words from earlier.
'Nobody hurts my Koby but me!'
With a sharp grin, Kuro took off in the opposite direction, away from Alvida. The girl was dumbfounded for a second before she realized that Kuro was sprinting straight towards Koby with his claws pulled back, ready to strike. "Don't you dare!" Alvida shouted angrily.
'Even now, she's still sitting there. She probably believes I'm bluffing,' Kuro thought to himself as he ran. 'She'll think differently once I bring her the brat's head. In her anger, she'll attack me and that's when I'll take her down…'
Kuro laughed victoriously as he lunged forward towards Koby. Seeing as the boy's head and leg were severely injured, he could do nothing but scream in horror as Kuro's claws whistled through the smoky night air towards his thin neck.
Just as Kuro was about to lob the boy's head off his shoulders, a tuft of messy black hair jumped in front of him at the last second. Kuro felt some resistance against his hand, but he could tell that he had mostly missed his mark. Frustrated, he looked down to find Luffy's teary eyes glaring back up at him.
Koby had been pushed flat onto his back by Luffy, away from Kuro's claws, and was now struggling to crawl his way back forward on his one uninjured leg. "L-Luffy!"
Looking down the length of his claws, Kuro found that the very tip of the blade of his forefinger had sliced across Luffy's face, just under his left eye. The point of the blade still rested there, as Luffy sniffled and huffed and glared up at him defiantly. "Oh, I'm sorry, Luffy," Kuro's lips twisted. "Did I give you a booboo? Do you want me to go see if Makino had any bandaids left under the counter?"
"Sh-Shut up!" Luffy's lip wobbled as he winced in pain, trying to pull away from the tip of the claw prodding against his face.
Kuro pushed his arm forward warningly, not letting Luffy escape. He pressed his claw further slightly, grinning when the boy yelped in pain. "Oh…All the way to the cheekbone. That's sure to leave a scar. No need to worry, I'm sure they'll have a closed-casket service for you. Dead children—it's too unsightly for most people."
With his free hand, Kuro pulled Koby forward by his collar and positioned him right next to Luffy. "There. I'm not an unreasonable man. I'll end you both in one swipe, so you won't have to see the other die. Let it never be said that I'm heartless."
All the boys could do was watch in terror as Kuro pulled back his clawed hand in preparation. Alvida abandoned her daruma form and sprung to her feet, running towards them. "Wait! I'll go with you, okay? Just stop!"
"No," Kuro's smile stretched wider across his pale cheeks. "I think I'll continue."
With catlike speed, Kuro's bladed hand swung forward in a crescent arc, poised to slice through the two young boy's necks like butter.
For Luffy it felt like time slowed down as his eyes tracked the razor sharp claws coming to take his life away. Despite all of the pain, both emotional and physical, he felt a sad smile tug at his lips. Growing up in Foosha, he had never really had any friends his own age. Koby had risked his life for Luffy, and Luffy has risked his life for Koby's in turn. And they both had the wounds to show for it. They didn't really know each other, but that alone had to count for something.
Luffy didn't want to die. There was a whole world out there, filled with wondrous sights and adventure, and he had only ever had the chance to experience this one tiny island.
But if he had to die now, it felt comforting to leave this world with something like a friend by his side.
Luffy closed his eyes-
"Get the hell away from him!"
-Only to immediately snap them back open.
Luffy's eyes widened as he watched a large fist collide with the side of Kuro's head. The strength of the punch lifted the pirate horizontally into the air as his eyes rolled back in his head. The force generated by the impact began to send Kuro flying away but Luffy's saviour's long arm shot forward and grabbed Kuro's ankle, pulling him back in mid-air.
Another strike landed with a sickening crunch directly into Kuro's face, slamming him down into the earth. The man's fist followed through with the motion of the punch, pounding Kuro's entire head into the ground in a small crater. The only sign that Kuro was still even alive was one finger of his clawed hand twitching weakly by his side.
Luffy shakily tilted his head up to look at the man who saved him. It was impossible to see his face, shadowed against the burning village behind him, but Luffy would recognize that bulky silhouette anywhere. "G-Grandpa…"
Garp wiped his bloody knuckles off on his white navy uniform and quickly took a knee in front of Luffy. His worried face came into view as he knelt at Luffy's eye level, gripping his slim shoulders reassuringly with his massive hands and holding him steady as he looked him over for serious injuries. "Luffy! Are you alright?"
Knowing that they were now safe from harm, the adrenaline from earlier faded, replaced by burning pain and grief. Ignoring his grandfather's question, new tears welled up in Luffy's eyes as he peered up at Garp. "Makino…Sh-She's-"
"I saw," Garp nodded gravely, gently squeezing his shoulder. "I'm sorry."
Over the top of Garp's broad shoulder, Luffy could see Alvida trying to escape from the incoming marine forces. Her exit was cut off as a severe looking man in a sharp suit and a lieutenant's coat stepped out from behind a collapsed building—Garp's righthand man, Bogard.
Alvida shrieked and dropped back down to the ground in her daruma form defensively. "Back off! Leave me alone!"
"Tch," Bogard shook his head as he strode forward with a hand resting on the hilt of the sword at his hip. "They're getting younger every year." Once he was stood before Alvida he casually flicked her in the forehead, sending her whizzing a dozen feet backwards into the side of Party's Bar. She fell to the ground, foaming at the mouth, as a pair of marine soldiers rushed over to shackle her in sea-stone chains.
"What're you doing here, grandpa?" Luffy sniffled.
Garp turned back over to Luffy from where he had been checking over Koby's wounds. "We received word that Captain Bluejam was headed for Foosha. We were already in the East Blue on other business, so naturally we rushed to try and intercept." He sighed, casting his eyes around the carnage around them. "I just wish we could have gotten here sooner…"
Luffy shook his head hard, refusing to let his grandfather feel guilty. "You saved us! I thought our only hope was Shanks but he didn't show up like he was supposed to."
"Red-Haired Shanks," Bogard hummed consideringly as he moved to stand beside Garp stoically. "He's on his way here? Tempting, no?"
Garp sighed and shook his head. "Today isn't the day for that. The people in Foosha have been through enough. We should clear out before Red Hair arrives, so that we have plausible deniability."
Nodding deferentially, Bogard accepted Garp's reasoning and stalked off to round up the last of Bluejam's men and provide aid to any surviving villagers.
Lost in his thoughts, Luffy jolted in surprise when he felt a warm comforting weight settle over his shoulders. He looked up to see that Garp had taken off his vice-admiral's coat and draped it over his and Koby's shoulders as they sat huddled together on the grass. His Gramps was such a big guy that the two of them were practically drowning in the fabric. Luffy swore he could almost feel the 'Justice' kanji emblazoned on the back of the coat radiating against his shoulders.
"I changed my mind…" Luffy murmured as his lower lip wobbled traitorously.
"What did you say?" Garp asked.
"You have no idea what pirates are like, stupid boy."
"I always wanted to be a marine…For as long as I can remember, all I've ever wanted to do was become strong—to help people who needed it, like me…"
"What's the matter, Luffy? You should be thrilled. I thought you loved pirates."
"He'll save you, Luffy. He'll take care of you from now on…Make you strong…go with him."
A burning purpose flared to life between Luffy's ribs, threatening to burn him from the inside-out as his gaze shot up to meet Garp's, feeling hot tears stream down his frowning face. "I changed my mind! I want to be a marine!" He yelled, voice cracking.
Garp looked down at his grandson, eyes shadowed as he judged his sincerity. "This isn't something to commit to on a whim, Luffy. It's not an easy life. I did hope to make you into a fine marine someday, but not like this."
"I don't care!" Luffy wailed, ducking his head low to the ground in a rare showing of prostration as his tears pooled in the soil. "I need to! Please! And my friend Koby too!"
Koby himself was dipping in and out of consciousness with his vision swimming, but snapped to attention at the sound of his name as he had been conditioned to do. His eyes widened, both at Luffy referring to him as a friend, and at the opportunity that was presenting itself.
He wouldn't be forced to serve on Bluejam's ship anymore, and he certainly didn't want to go back to living with his aunt back home. He eagerly followed Luffy's example and bowed his bleeding head to the earth. "Y-Yes! I'll do anything! Please, sir! It has always been my dream to join the marines!"
After a brief moment of contemplation, a large calloused hand rested gently on Luffy's head. "Alright then," Garp whispered. He reached out to adjust his coat more firmly around their shoulders and stood up with a grunt. "Our ship will depart within the hour. I'll go retrieve our doctor to look you boys over. Just stay here and holler to one of my men if you need anything."
With a reassuring pat to Koby's shoulder, Garp left them there to catch their bearings while he tracked down his ship's doctor.
Luffy sat rigidly, watching as the marines went about their business—putting out fires, pulling villagers from the rubble and carrying them off on makeshift stretchers. He couldn't help but cast one last glare at Kuro and Alvida as they were brought back to Garp's ship in shackles.
"I'm sorry…" Koby muttered from beside him, hugging his knees.
"Huh?" Luffy frowned. "For what?"
Koby shrugged and looked down at his feet. "For everything—Your village, and the green-haired lady…I'm sorry this happened to you, and that I was a part of it."
"Shut up," Luffy huffed, punching at his arm.
"Ah, r-right…Sorry," Koby flinched, rubbing at his bicep.
"Don't say sorry!" Luffy growled, punching him again in the same spot as Koby squeaked. "You were forced to help Alvida! And when it counted you stood up to her and did the right thing! So quit saying sorry to me! It's stupid!"
Koby gaped at Luffy like a fish as he struggled to find a response. "B-But-"
"No!" Luffy huffed and crossed his arms, nudging at him with his shoulder. "You need to quit acting like a wuss all the time now that you're going to be on my crew."
"Ah, I guess you're right…" Koby nodded instinctively, before Luffy's words actually registered in his mind and his eyes blew wide in shock. "What do you mean I'm going to be on your crew?! We're just kids!"
"Well, yeah—But eventually I'll have my own ship and you're going to be my first mate," Luffy rolled his eyes as if it were already a foregone conclusion.
Koby looked between Luffy and down at his own frail malnourished body incredulously. "You want me on your crew?"
"Yeah?" Luffy tilted his head and squinted at Koby like he had two heads. "Obviously."
Realizing that he wasn't yet equipped to understand the inner-workings of the eccentric boy's mind, Koby merely sighed exasperatedly at Luffy and shook his head. "This will be the second time someone has ordered me to be on their crew."
At that, Luffy did pause and frown at the dripping wound Alvida's club had carved underneath Koby's hairline. "But this is different, because you want to be crewmates with me, don't you?"
Koby's gaze softened. He had been following orders for so long that he had forgotten what it was like to think about what he wanted. "I do…" Koby admitted, looking back over at Luffy uncertainly.
"Good," Luffy nodded. He didn't have it in him to smile at the moment, but it was a close thing. "Up until today I always thought I'd be king of the pirates someday. Now that we're going to be marines I guess that's not gonna happen…"
That did manage to shock a laugh out of Koby, despite the circumstances. He admired Luffy for shooting for the stars, but it was probably for the best that he'd have to settle for something more realistic. "Yeah, that'd be impossible."
Luffy nodded determinedly and gave Koby a thumbs up. "Yep! So you need to get real strong, Koby! That's what people will expect from the first mate of the future fleet-admiral!"
"Yeah, I-" Koby's eyes widened like saucers as his jaw dropped. "Fleet-admiral?! Are you insane?" He screeched, face paling.
"Well, they'll have to make me fleet-admiral once I find the One Piece for them, won't they?" Luffy asked, picking at his nose.
Koby proceeded to faint and fell flat on his back, gurgling incoherently.
Shanks had never felt more regret over being late in his entire life.
The red-haired man sat on the railing of his ship, docked near the beach of the recovering Foosha village. He tipped the brim of his straw hat up to better observe the civilians going about their day. All of the villagers were bandaged up, leaning on each other for support as they carted off debris in wheelbarrows and began repairs on their homes and businesses.
Shaking his head, shanks sighed and took another swig of the rum bottle held loosely in his fingertips. He and his crew had a bit of a scuffle with an old friend of his on their way to Foosha and it had delayed their arrival by two days.
He had thought it would be no big deal. He'd apologize to Makino for his tardiness, allow Luffy to batter him in the shins and knees for a while, and that would have been the end of it. He should have known better—life was rarely so kind.
"God. Makino…" Shanks murmured, pulling a yellow scrap of fabric from his pocket—that old bandana that she always wore in her hair. He ran his thumb gently across the sheer cloth, lost in thought.
"There was nothing you could have done." Benn Beckman appeared at his side, looking over the village with his arms crossed—a steady and comforting presence that Shanks was always grateful for. "We had no way of knowing something like this would happen in Foosha of all places. You can't beat yourself up over this, captain."
"I know. I won't," Shanks nodded. He absolutely would.
Beckman sighed and clapped him on the shoulder. "Right. I'll gather the crew and we'll set off then."
"That's probably for the best," Shanks winced. The Red-Hair Pirates didn't exactly receive the typical warm welcome they were accustomed to when they docked at Foosha. Given recent events it seemed that the villagers were sick of pirates in any capacity. He and his men had offered to help them all clean up but the mayor, Woop Slap, had not-so-politely told them to take their leave. Shanks could hardly blame them.
Beckman's heavy footsteps faded away as he left the ship and Shanks looked down at Makino's bandana once more. "I always begged you to join my crew. A bartender at the ready, right on the ship? The guys would have loved that. Honestly, I just wanted to spend more time with you…"
"I suppose I can take you with me now, but I wouldn't have your permission, would I?" Shanks chuckled and held the bandana up against the sun. "Oh wait! I'm a pirate! I'll just kidnap you!"
Shanks reverently wrapped the yellow cloth around his wrist and tied it in a secure knot like a bracelet. "There. A favour to remember you by…Between this and my hat I'm getting richer by the day."
Kicking his feet over the edge of his ship, Shanks watched his men board the Red Force with a smile. Even in the darkest of times he still had his crew.
"Did you hear?" Shanks looked down at his new bracelet. "Luffy went and joined his old man behind my back! Their ship has already begun its course back to Marineford! The little turncoat!" Shanks laughed brightly. "After all that big talk about being the pirate king. Kids these days, eh?"
Shanks face sobered as the shadow of his straw hat fell over his eyes. "You know…I'm a pirate. Down to the marrow in my bones I'm a pirate, and I can't change that for anyone. Knowing Luffy, he'll become quite the formidable marine someday…"
"Two people like us, on opposite sides of the law…" Shanks laid his other hand over the bandana on his wrist. "I don't know if you're somewhere watching us, Makino—But I have this horrible feeling that one day Luffy and I may kill each other."
Shanks smiled softly and and patted the soft fabric. "If that happens, just look away and be ready on the other side with a smile and a drink ready for whoever loses, okay? You can beat up the winner once he catches up."
"Look," Yasopp stage-whispered from somewhere behind him. "The captain has finally lost it! He's talking to his hand!"
"He's talking to his girlfriend," another member of his crew interjected, sniffling and blowing his nose on a hankie.
"Shanks' girlfriend is his right hand?" Lucky Roo snickered, tearing off a scrap of meat from the drumstick in his hand. "That sounds about right."
The whole grew broke out in obnoxious laughter and Shanks fought back his own grin to play the part of the long-suffering leader. "Oi, oi! You can't talk to your captain like that, you know! I'll shove that turkey leg straight up your-!"
Everyone on deck gasped as a fierce gust of wind suddenly hit them and sent Shanks' precious straw hat flying away over the sea water.
Just as several of Shanks' loyal crew were about to dutifully dive in after it, a long rubbery arm flew past them and grasped it in mid-air.
The stretchy limb retracted and snapped back to Shanks' torso with a loud thwack as he placed his hat back on his head where it belonged. "Whew! Close one…"
Benn Beckman sighed and shook his head. "That's going to take some getting used to. And I suppose if you fall in the ocean I'll be the one that has to fish you out. What a pain…"
Shanks tossed his head back and laughed. "Well, I was going to 'accidentally' let Luffy to eat it while I was 'distracted,' but that was before I knew he was a rotten traitor! Little Luffy in the marines with the Gum-Gum fruit? No chance! The sheer indignity of it all!"
"It's just as well," Lucky Roo chuckled, tossing the picked-clean bone from his meat into the water. "He definitely would have overtaken you someday. And all of us would have had to ditch you to join the newer model's crew."
"You don't mean that!" Shanks pointed at him accusingly. "You guys love me! Right?"
A cricket hopped up onto the deck of the ship and started chirping as all of his men stared at Shanks blankly.
"…First round at the next island is on me?" Shanks offered with a quirk of his eyebrow.
"We love you, Shanks!" His crew all cheered uproariously. "Three cheers for Shanks—The future king of the pirates!"
"That's more like it!" Shanks cackled, grin sharpening as he approached the helm and grabbed hold of the ship's wheel, feeling his heart pound in his chest like a drum. "Now let's set sail, boys—to the New World!"
Author's Note:
Immediately after posting the first chapter of this fic my life got really crazy and I haven't had the chance to write in ages.
I received a few DMs and a comment about using original characters, and I will gently remind you that I'm not budging on that. Most of the primary, overarching antagonists will be remixed canon characters, and Luffy's crew will only have existing OP characters. However, the new islands will feature original villains, allies and civilians. Most of the fun of One Piece for me is going to new islands and meeting new people. I am sorry if OCs don't appeal to you, but if that is the case I would recommend you stop reading now—no hard feelings
This story is also available on Ao3 and SpaceBattles under the same name, featuring a tiny little sketch of Luffy and Koby that I did which I'm unable to embed on here—And you can follow the story directly or chat with me @Clear-Justice on Tumblr :) Thanks for reading and sorry again for the long wait!