...
"Come on out, Branchbreaker!"
My eye twitched again.
Nami's fingers tightened around my wrist.
"No."
I looked past her.
The fish-men had spread themselves across the main road through Cocoyasi. There were seven of them from what I could see, all bigger than the average man, carrying clubs, blades, spears and their stupid smug faces.
The one at the front stood with his arms folded. He wore a dark blue gi and a black belt. His build looked slightly less ridiculous than some of the others, aside from his weird-ass elbows.
Kuroobi.
Yeah. I remembered the name.
Sorta.
Look, East Blue was a long time ago in my previous life. I remembered Arlong because... obviously, and Hatchan.
Kuroobi was...the karate guy?
I mean he can't have been that strong...Sanji fought him.
Sanji slander aside, Nami leaned slightly closer without taking her eyes off him.
"That's Kuroobi."
"Yeah, figured."
"You said you barely remembered him."
"I remember enough now, aslo you mentioned he knew fish-man karate, and he's wearing a gi"
Kuroobi slowly folded my wanted poster and tucked it into the sash around his waist.
His eyes moved across the village.
People had disappeared into their homes, shifting their curtains closed, yet a few doors had remained cracked slightly open. A few men stood farther down the road, Genzo among them, though nobody had weapons raised.
Nobody needed to explain why.
They'd gone through this rodeo time and time again..
Albeit, not this exact situation, obviously. I doubted a wanted criminal getting personally hunted by Arlong was a regular Tuesday event.
Kuroobi looked toward Nami.
"Nami?"
Her shoulders stiffened.
"You've been gone a while."
"I've been working." She said, putting on her usual act.
"So I heard." He said sarcastically.
His eyes then landed on me, surprised.
"And apparently making strange friends."
"Partner," I corrected.
Nami looked up at me.
I looked down.
"What?"
Kuroobi's mouth tightened.
"You're Kai Voss."
"Just Kai"
He looked at me, sizing me up.
"You're the traitorous marine worth fifty million berries?"
"Amongst other things."
"Well, it doesn't matter, cause Arlong wants you alive."
"I heard"
His stare hardened. "Then you will come with us."
I looked toward Nami.
She was already looking at me.
There was an entire conversation happening in her face.
Don't.
I know.
No, you don't.
Probably not.
Do not hit him here.
I sighed. "Fine."
Nami blinked.
Kuroobi blinked.
Genzo, thirty metres away, blinked.
Kuroobi studied me. "Fine?"
"Yeah."
I stepped around Nami.
She immediately caught the back of my shirt.
"Kai."
I glanced over my shoulder.
"I'm going with them."
"You're what?"
"Kuroobi wants me at Arlong Park. I want to go to Arlong Park." I said it as a matter of fact.
"That doesn't mean you walk into his custody!"
"I said I'd go. I didn't say anything about custody."
Kuroobi apparently heard that.
His eyes narrowed.
I gently pulled my shirt free of Nami's fingers and started walking towards him.
One fish-man lowered his spear toward me.
I looked at it, then at him.
He slowly raised it again.
Smart lad.
I stopped a few metres from Kuroobi.
Up close, he was bigger than I expected. Taller than me, I'd say about 8 feet? He was broad through the shoulders, planted firmly into the ground.
I smiled.
"Nami," I called.
I turned my head slightly, through my eyes remained locked on Kuroobi.
"Which direction?"
She stared at me.
"What?"
"Arlong Park."
"You know which direction."
"Humour me."
Nami's eyes narrowed.
She looked at Kuroobi.
Then the other fish-men.
Then back at me.
Her shoulders eased by maybe half an inch.
"North-east," she said. "Follow the main road until the grove breaks, then the stone path along the coast."
"How far?"
"Not far."
"Great."
Kuroobi's expression remained hardened.
"You think you're deciding where this happens?"
I looked at the houses around us, then at him.
"Yeah."
His jaw tightened.
I started walking straight past him.
Kuroobi himself stayed still for perhaps two seconds; I kept going, my hands were in my pockets.
Nami hurried after me.
"Kai."
"Mm?"
"What are you doing?"
"Following the plan."
"This was not the plan."
"The plan was to get me to Arlong Park without damaging the village."
"The plan involved sneaking!"
"The quiet approach died yesterday, remember?"
"And whose fault was that?" She exclaimed
Behind us came several heavy footsteps.
Kuroobi and the other fish-men were following.
We reached the edge of Cocoyasi without anyone throwing a punch.
A personal record so far.
The houses thinned out, replaced by tangerine groves and open patches of grass. The road curved along a low hill before disappearing toward the coast.
The moment the last house passed behind us, Kuroobi spoke.
"Stop."
I did.
Nami stopped beside me.
The fish-men spread out behind us.
Kuroobi stepped forward.
"You misunderstand your position."
"Do I?"
"You're surrounded."
I looked around.
Seven fish-men.
Me.
"I didn't notice"
One of them growled.
Kuroobi lifted one hand.
I liked that. Very disciplined.
"You humans are all the same," he said. "To think a bounty would give you such confidence. A fish-"
"Arlong do speeches too?" I interrupted
Kuroobi's mouth twitched, his hand closed into a fist.
"Arlong-sama asked for you alive."
"Convenient."
"That doesn't mean unharmed."
Ah.
Nami backed away a few steps, keeping her eyes on Kuroobi while the other fish-men spread out behind him. We were far enough from Cocoyasi now that the village had mostly disappeared behind the groves, which was probably the only reason she hadn't started screaming at me.
Probably.
"Kai," she called.
"Yeah?"
"Kuroobi is one of Arlong's strongest officer."
I looked him over again. "This one?"
Kuroobi's brow lowered.
Nami gave me a look. "Can you not?"
"I'm asking."
"You know exactly what you're doing."
Kuroobi stepped forward. "Your bounty has made you arrogant."
"Nah, I was like this before."
One of the fish-men behind him laughed before quickly shutting up when Kuroobi glanced back.
Nami sighed. "He uses Fish-Man Karate, so don't treat him normally."
"Anything useful?"
She thought for a moment. "His punches are strong enough to smash through a hundred tiles."
I looked at Kuroobi.
He looked back.
"One hundred?"
Nami nodded.
"That's what he claims."
"Why tiles?"
"I don't know." Nami shrugged
"Seems unnecessarily specific," I mumbled.
"Kai!" Nami exclaimed
"Sorry."
Kuroobi took one slow breath.
"The arrogance of humans never ceases to amaze me."
I pointed at him. "See! Speech."
Nami covered her face.
Then Kuroobi disappeared from where he stood.
[Hyakumaigawara Seiken!]
I barely raised my forearm before his fist drove it into my chest and sent me sliding backwards along the road. My heels carved through the dirt before I stopped several metres away, and when I rolled my shoulder, there was a proper ache running through the whole arm.
Okay.
That was pretty good.
The wheel shifted across my hand.
Clink!
Kuroobi didn't give me much time to appreciate it. He closed the gap and threw the same punch again, but this time my feet stayed where they were.
For the first time, his expression changed.
"Wanna go again?"
Nami stared at me from farther down the road. "That was quick."
"I've been punched before."
I gave her a thumbs-up.
Kuroobi switched immediately, bringing his finned forearm down toward my neck.
[Wanto Giri!]
The hit knocked me down slightly, but I caught myself before my knee touched the ground and swung back at him. Kuroobi blocked with both arms and slid away before I could follow.
Okay.
He was good.
Not in the overwhelming sense, but technically. He didn't throw himself around wildly or keep repeating the same attack once it stopped working, from the looks of it. When he saw that the first punch had already lost most of its effect, he changed what he was doing, which was promising.
It was definitely more fun that way.
Kuroobi stepped in again, throwing a short combination toward my head and body. I blocked the first, took the second against my ribs, then leaned away from a palm aimed at my chin. His leg came around low and caught the side of my knee before I could move.
I stumbled, and he followed up immediately.
His elbow hit my jaw, and my head turned.
Kuroobi stepped back into position.
I rubbed my face.
"You're pretty good."
His eyes narrowed. "Do not patronise me."
"I'm not," I said smugly
"You are smiling."
"I smile a lot."
"That's true," Nami called.
I looked at her.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome" She smiled
Kuroobi chose that moment to punch me while I was looking at her.
Boo!
I blocked it, and the wheel shifted again beneath my skin. Kuroobi noticed the mark move and pulled back.
"What is that?"
"What?"
He looked toward my hand.
"Your hand."
I glanced down.
"Oh. Birthmark."
Nami snorted.
Kuroobi looked toward her.
"He's lying."
"I know!" Kuroobi yelled.
"Traitor!" I feigned offendedly.
"You're terrible at lying," Nami replied slyly.
Kuroobi evidently decided he'd listened to enough.
He rushed back in, he hit hard enough that even after the first adaptation I still couldn't ignore him, while his technique made it difficult to simply overpower him cleanly. Whenever I caught an arm, he twisted away or kicked himself free; whenever I tried meeting strength with strength, he changed position before I could settle on him.
"Fish-men are ten times stronger than humans." He exclaimed proudly.
"Yeah, I've heard that one." I mumbled
"It is not a boast." Kuroobi yelled.
"I didn't say it was."
At this point I was just taking the piss to see how mad he'd get
Kuroobi threw a straight punch and my hand knocked it aside before I really thought about moving. His next palm missed my chin by a few inches, then a low kick passed in front of my leg after I stepped out of its path.
He stopped.
Nami noticed before I did.
"You're copying him."
I glanced toward her.
"What?"
"Your stance."
I looked down.
Huh.
She was right.
Not exactly, but there were similarities. My weight had lowered and my hands had moved closer to my body. I wasn't blocking Kuroobi's attacks with the same large movements anymore either. Half the time, I was shifting them just far enough to miss.
Kuroobi had noticed too.
"You mock Fish-Man Karate!"
"I'm not mocking anything; I just happened to start doing this."
"And yet you imitate techniques you don't understand!"
"Dude, calm down, I ain't trying to."
That part was true.
My body had always done this in smaller ways. Rifle drills at Shellstown, fighting Marines, learning balance at sea. Repetition gave it something to work with, and apparently Kuroobi had just provided a much better lesson than most people I'd fought given his focus on technique over power.
He looked furious, and it felt great.
"Keep going."
His face changed.
"Excuse me?"
"You're teaching me."
"I am not teaching you."
"You kinda are."
"I will kill you human!"
"Arlong said alive though!"
"Then I'll make you wish you were dead!"
"That's the spirit Kuroobi!"
Nami groaned from the sidelines.
Kuroobi came at me again, though this time I was ready for more than the force behind his strikes as I started seeing the small things he'd been getting away with earlier, where one movement was used to set up another or where he wanted my guard before committing to the next attack. The important part was that fewer of them were reaching me.
One did.
Then another didn't.
He caught me across the shoulder with another Wanto Giri, and this time it barely registered before I answered with a punch to his stomach. Kuroobi folded, caught my wrist and somehow still managed to throw me over his shoulder.
I hit the dirt and rolled back to my feet.
"That was cool."
"Shut up!" He yelled frustratedly.
"No!" I cackled.
He came back in and headbutted me after I caught his arm. Bad choice.
Kuroobi staggered and I didn't.
Then my fist hit him in the chest and sent him flying backwards along the road. He bounced once before digging his hands into the dirt to stop himself.
That was when I finally noticed how quiet everyone else had become.
The fish-men who had walked out of Cocoyasi with us had stopped laughing a while ago. One still held his spear ready, although he no longer looked particularly interested in using it.
Behind Nami, several villagers had followed from Cocoyasi as well.
Genzo stood at the front with Nojiko beside him, while others hung back near the trees.
Nami turned toward them. "Genzo!"
He ignored her.
"Go back!"
Still ignored.
Nojiko lifted one hand. "We're far enough away."
"That isn't the point!"
I looked toward them.
I gave Genzo a little wave.
He stared at me and didn't wave back.
Rude-ass village, man.
Kuroobi got back to his feet and wiped blood from his mouth.
The villagers fell quiet again.
Something about seeing them there changed the fight for me.
I'd watched how everyone reacted when the fish-men entered Cocoyasi. With them closing their windows and shutting their doors. People getting out of the road before they were even told. These people had spent so long learning that when Arlong's crew appeared, you scattered or you paid the price.
That was the arrangement.
And now they were watching one of Arlong's strongest officers bleed.
Kuroobi noticed them too, his face tightening.
"You think this proves anything!?"
I didn't reply to that, I didn't feel the need to.
He planted his feet again and pulled one fist back.
Nami stopped arguing with Genzo immediately.
"The true essence of Fish-Man Karate." Kuroobi said
Oh.
That one.
I vaguely remembered this.
Sanji never let him land it.
[Senmaigawara Seiken!]
Kuroobi launched forward.
I could have moved.
Probably.
Instead, I raised one hand.
"Kai, don't you dare!"
Too late.
Kuroobi's fist hit my palm.
BOOM!
For a moment my arm bent with the impact, then it stopped.
His fist stayed in my hand.
The road went silent.
That one was strong.
Very strong, actually.
I tightened my fingers when he tried to pull away.
He couldn't.
The confidence disappeared from his face so quickly that I almost felt bad.
Almost.
"Thousand tiles?"
He said nothing.
"Was that the one?" I asked Nami.
"Yes."
"Huh." I said disappointed.
The wheel on my hand turned.
Clink!
Kuroobi threw his free hand at me and I caught that too.
Now I had both.
For a second, neither of us really knew what to do with this arrangement.
Then he started pulling.
I let go.
Kuroobi stumbled backwards before recovering, and I flexed my fingers while he glared at me.
"So are we going to Arlong Park now?"
"No!"
"Why?"
"You think defeating me gives you the right to approach Arlong-sama!?"
"I was going there before I fought you."
"And you will go no farther!"
I glanced past him toward the road.
Kuroobi stepped back into my path. Honestly, his dedication was almost admirable. He'd thrown his hundred-tile punch at me.
Stopped working.
Changed techniques.
Stopped working.
Used the thousand-tile punch he apparently expected to kill a human.
I caught it.
And he was still standing in the road like this was negotiable.
Very loyal or very stupid.
Perhaps both.
He threw another punch when I approached, but the fight had already ended even if he hadn't realised it. I caught his wrist, took the other when he tried to follow and stepped on his foot when he attempted to kick me.
I glanced down the road.
Then at Kuroobi.
I changed my grip, grabbed the back of Kuroobi's gi and lifted him off the ground.
"Put me down!"
"I will in a second, don't worry."
I pulled my arm back.
Kuroobi finally seemed to understand what was coming.
"Human!"
"Tell Arlong I'm coming."
Then I threw him.
The ground cracked under my foot and Kuroobi disappeared over the grove.
Nobody said anything.
Not immediately.
Everyone just followed the rapidly shrinking shape in the sky until it vanished behind the trees.
I raised one hand over my eyes.
Nami slowly turned toward me.
"Y-You threw him."
"Yep."
"You actually threw Kuroobi."
"Yep."
"To Arlong Park."
"That was the goal, yeah."
One of the remaining fish-men lowered his spear.
"Arlong-sama will kill you."
"Probably worth telling him I'm coming then."
I pointed down the road.
"Go!"
All six ran.
Nobody had to ask twice.
I watched them leave.
Genzo and the others remained where they were, and one of the villagers eventually broke the silence.
"Did he just throw Kuroobi?"
Nojiko nodded.
"Pretty sure."
Another man squinted toward the ridge. "How far?"
"Hopefully far enough."
Genzo kept staring at me.
His expression tightened.
"Arlong wants me alive. I'm being polite for now"
Nami walked over, and while she looked annoyed, though I knew she wasn't genuinely annoyed.
I was starting to learn the difference...I think.
"I guess the plan's sorta redundant now," she sighed.
"Not necessarily. Nobody in the village got hurt, no fish-man ran back toward Cocoyasi, and I didn't go anywhere near the water."
She looked toward the road where the six fish-men had fled, then toward me.
I smiled.
"That's three for three."
A laugh slipped out before she could stop it.
I pointed.
"You laughed."
"No."
"You absolutely did."
"I didn't."
"You're laughing at my jokes."
"Shut up."
A distant crash rolled through the trees.
Everyone turned.
Birds exploded from the ridge before another, louder crash followed.
Nami stared toward Arlong Park.
"No way."
"Sounds like he arrived."
"You threw him that far?"
"I honestly didn't think I'd get ther far."
She looked back at me.
"What now?"
I crouched.
Nami immediately understood.
"No."
"I have to catch up."
"Use the road."
"He has a massive head start."
"You gave him the head start!"
"Exactly."
"Kai, wait!"
I jumped.
...
The road dropped away beneath me, and by the time I cleared the grove I could already see the upper walls of Arlong Park beyond the ridge. I landed near the top, pushed off again and finally caught sight of Kuroobi below.
He had hit the road somewhere along the way, leaving a trench behind him, but apparently I had thrown him well enough that he was still moving.
Respectable.
I landed ahead of him.
"Hello."
Kuroobi hit me.
Or technically, I caught him.
"Round two?"
He tried punching me.
I ducked and threw him again.
This time he cleared the bottom of the ridge and continued straight toward Arlong Park while I ran after him.
The tall stone walls came fully into view, along with the front gate and several fish-men standing outside. One pointed upward and shouted something, although whether he had noticed me or Kuroobi first was difficult to tell.
It didn't matter.
Kuroobi smashed through the gate.
Wood exploded into the courtyard, guards scattered and the man himself disappeared beneath the wreckage.
I slowed to a walk. It felt appropriate.
By the time I reached the broken entrance, everyone inside was shouting.
"Kuroobi!"
"What happened?!"
"Get him out!"
"Who did this?!"
I stepped through the hole.
The courtyard was large, and there were fish-men everywhere. Some had been drinking around tables, others stood near the pool, while a few had already grabbed their weapons.
Hatchan was difficult to miss.
Six arms helped.
Kuroobi lay amongst the remains of the gate while two fish-men tried pulling him upright. Damn he looked like shit. He shoved away the fishment forced himself onto one knee before finding me at the entrance.
"H-human." He heaved.
"You okay?"
"D-Do not speak to me!"
"Fair."
My attention moved past him and towards the pool.
My eyes stayed there a little longer than I wanted them to.
Yeah.
I hope that doesn't become a problem.
Then I noticed someone sitting farther back in the courtyard.
There he was.
The main fish himself.
Arlong.
For once, I had absolutely no difficulty remembering somebody.
He hadn't moved from his chair. His eyes went from Kuroobi, to the destroyed gate, then finally settled on me.
Kuroobi saw where I was looking and staggered back into my path.
I sighed.
"Oh, brother..."
"You will not approach Arlong-sama!"
"You're barely standing."
"That is irrelevant!"
I tilted my head.
"Move."
He raised his fists.
"Really?"
I rushed towards me.
"Alright then." I shrugged.
Kuroobi threw one last punch, and I stepped aside, caught the front of his gi and lifted him from the ground before he could try anything else.
Kuroobi struggled in my grip while Arlong watched us.
"R-Release me."
I glanced toward the building behind Arlong, then heard Nami reaching the gate behind me. She came through the wreckage breathing hard, looked at Kuroobi hanging from my hand and immediately knew something stupid was about to happen.
"Kai."
"How much building damage is acceptable?"
"What?"
"Quick answer."
"I don't care!"
I grinned.
"Haha! Good answer!"
"Kai!"
Kuroobi grabbed my wrist with both hands.
"Sorry about this."
"You bastard!"
I threw him.
He crossed the courtyard and passed Arlong before smashing through the wall behind him. Stone and timber burst inward, followed a second later by another crash from deeper inside the building.
I winced.
"Two walls."
Nobody else said anything.
They were all staring at the holes. Ayo?
Then at me.
Hatchan slowly lowered one of his swords, Chew put down his drink and somebody near the pool took a step backwards before realising he'd done it.
That was more like it.
These fish-men had walked into Cocoyasi expecting humans to move out of their way.
Now their best martial artist was somewhere inside his boss's house.
Arlong finally stood.
His chair scraped against the stone.
He was a little taller than Kuroobi.
Not that it mattered much.
I was getting pretty large myself.
I'm not coping.
Arlong looked toward the hole behind him, then back at me.
"Hmm. So you're the human causing trouble in my territory."
"Kai."
His eyes narrowed.
"What?"
"My name."
"I know your name."
"Then use it."
Nami reached my side.
Arlong looked at her.
The change was immediate.
Her shoulders tightened and whatever amusement had been left from earlier disappeared.
There it was.
That fear again.
I stepped forward until she was behind me.
Arlong's attention returned to me, and his mouth stretched into a grin that exposed rows of sharp teeth.
"You come into my home, attack my men, destroy my property and expect courtesy?"
"You sent people into her village looking for me. And you've done far worse here."
"My village." he corrected.
I stared at him for a second before laughing.
"Yeah, we're definitely gonna have a problem."
Several fish-men reached for their weapons, but Arlong raised his hand and stopped them.
He walked forward.
Kuroobi had been beaten in front of his own men and then thrown through Arlong's building, yet the confidence hadn't disappeared from Arlong's face. He still looked at me the same way he probably looked at every human who had ever stood in front of him.
Beneath him.
Then his eyes moved toward the pool.
Only for a moment.
Back to me.
Ah. He'd noticed me looking at it.
Of course he had.
Arlong's grin widened.
"Humans always get loud before they drown."
My eyes drifted toward the water once more.
Then back to him.
The wheel across my hand turned.
Clink!
...
End of Chapter!
Word Count - 3915!