One Piece Fan Fiction ❯ Cursed Island of the Devil Fruit Gods ❯ Turning Point ( Chapter 20 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Tashigi was dying of hunger and thirst in her cave prison. Under the ground it was unnaturally hot and dry. She thought it might have been the volcanic soil but she wasn't near the volcano...was she? She had been captured near the Paramecian village, which was relatively far from the island's volcano...then again, she had been unconscious for any length of time and could have been taken anywhere while she was being kidnapped. The chains were starting to hurt her wrists and her clothes were stuck to her skin with dried sweat; she was worried that if she lived through this experience she was going to have some bad rashes. And of course her glasses were missing as well. She couldn't see a thing regardless of it being pitch-black inside the cave. "Smoker-san...I'm sorry...I can't do this any longer..." she whimpered, preparing to bite her own tongue off and bleed to death. But before her teeth could sink in, she felt a blast of cool water drench her. Coughing and sputtering, she managed to croak, "Who-what-what's going on? Who's there?"
A woman's kind, reassuring voice answered. "You are free."
Tashigi didn't understand what she meant, until she felt her shackles being sliced cleanly in half, liberating her arms. She collapsed forward, with barely any strength to keep herself on her knees. "Thank you..." she panted. "But who are you?" she asked her savior.
"That is not important right now. All you must know is this; you must escape from here. I am tired of this life and your friend inspired me to help you outsiders." the woman answered.
"My friend...? Oh, you must mean Smoker-san! Is he all right? When did you see him?" Tashigi asked excitedly.
"No...it was another man. Roronoa Zoro." the woman corrected her.
Tashigi fell silent. "He is not my friend...we have simply crossed paths. That man is bad. He is a wanted criminal who uses swords to commit acts of evil." Tashigi said slowly. She was trying to comprehend how Zoro could have inspired this woman to save her.
"Oh, you couldn't be more wrong, little girl." the woman laughed slightly condescendingly. "But he was ignorant of many things as well. As I expected, at least. I can see you lack his strength and skill, but you are a woman. You have your potential. But it is too late for any training to be accomplished. You must escape now and find your friends. I will try to do what I can to keep the others from stopping you but I know I can't stand up to all of them on my own. I hope what I have taught your friend Roronoa will help keep you safe. He seems to have a certain fondness for you, you know. He doesn't realize it fully, but the feelings are there, manifesting themselves as fear...that might be why he cannot say so. Maybe you should not be so hard on him."
Tashigi's mouth fell open. "I am grateful for you saving me but do not try and tell me how to do my job! I am a Marine Sergeant and I uphold the law of the World Government, and Roronoa Zoro is a scofflaw! I will bring him to justice with my own hands, my own sword! And if he has any 'feelings' for me, then he'd know that the only way I would put up with him is if he would defect to the Marines and use his swords to combat evil!" Tashigi growled.
The woman laughed. "I think not. But speaking of your sword...think fast."
Tashigi felt her sword hit her in the chest and caught it before it fell to the ground. She struggled to her feet and her legs trembled, feeling like jelly. "I can't see anything. I need my glasses...otherwise I can't get out of here." she told the woman, deciding to change the subject.
"I'm afraid you have no choice. Get going...we're about to have company." the woman warned her.
"Company? You don't mean...Kagemaru?" Tashigi gasped fearfully. She still remembered how easily he'd captured her. And in complete darkness, he'd be impossible to escape from.
"No...not quite. But just as bad. Run!" Shishou repeated.
A tsk-tsk-tsk-ing echoed from further down in the cave before them. Shuffling feet and a wheezing laugh followed. So many noises were popping up, Tashigi was beginning to freak out. Some things that sounded like dozens of slithering snakes were echoing softly all over the walls of the cave, even the ceiling. Tashigi realized it wasn't Kagemaru next, when she heard the approaching figure speak.
"Dear, dear Shishou...whatever shall we do with you? We were content to leave you be as long as you did not interfere with the master's plans. Kagemaru will not always tolerate your betrayal. I know he instructed me to brutally kill anyone who found this girl and helped her, but he didn't mention the possibility of it being you of all people. But...it's been a long time since I've been able to kill anyone myself. Maybe he'll believe me if I say I didn't know it was you...after all, we're in his element, not mine. It's fitting that you should die here...he told me when you were children that you were always afraid of the dark." the figure rasped.
"As if you could ever defeat me, Jigyousho. That is half the reason Kagemaru doesn't strike against me himself. You still have a chance for redemption, you know." Shishou, now revealed, sneered. "And as a master of fear...I fear nothing!" she added confidently.
"Oh, I beg to differ. While you've been rotting away on that beach the rest of us have been perfecting our powers. Nothing can stop the four of us put together. Not anything." Jigyousho argued. "Observe!" he cackled.
The slithering sounds began to snap like whips, and Shishou found herself bound with tentacles covered in tiny leaves. "Jigyousho, you are far dumber than even the outsider Roronoa Zoro. I actually had to probe his subconscious to find out what his fears were. Yours, on the other hand, are painfully obvious. Now burn." Shishou's eyes began to glow, a signal she was beginning to use her Devil Fruit powers. Tashigi was frozen in place, unable to turn away, paralyzed with fear, and yet also compelled to find out what was happening. The lashes around Shishou burst into flames and illuminated the cave, yellow and orange light bouncing off the walls every which way. The tentacles retracted as if alive, hissing in pain from the flames, and retreated from whence they came...which, in the gentle firelight, appeared to be from Jigyousho's very body! "I can bring your worst fears to life, you should know that. You are by far the weakest of the quintet." Shishou talked down to Jigyousho, who was shrieking in pain and alarm as the fire spread from his tendrils to his body. Tashigi realized that Jigyousho was no normal human; his skin and hair were all different shades of green and brown, and he had the odd leaf or thorn protruding from his skin, as though he was a hybrid between a plant and a man.
"Oh, dear god..." Tashigi covered her mouth, nearly sick at what was happening here, what the entire island was composed of, the grim situation they were in, and everything else, it was all so overwhelming. And she still hadn't the faintest idea of what in the world was going on.
Shishou whirled around. "What the hell are you still doing here, girl? I told you to run! There are three others including Kagemaru who may be here any minute! Get out while you still can!" she roared. The cave was still barely light enough for Tashigi to be able to find her way out, and she didn't argue; she wanted to get as far away from Jigyousho's anguished screams as she could, literally being chased out of the cave by the pained shrieking. She wished she had her glasses, but between staying there and getting to safety, even blind, she knew her choice.
Gasping and panting by the time she made it out of the cave, she collapsed to the side of the mountain the cave mouth was built into, still starving and feeling her tiredness and weakness returning two-fold. She began to weep softly. Shishou was in trouble, she could tell. Even if that Jigyousho wasn't able to defeat her, Kagemaru was still very powerful...and there were two more besides him, as well. And Roronoa Zoro was responsible for her release rather than Smoker...the shame of that was killing her inside. But suddenly a voice made her feel so light she would swear she was floating. She completely forgot about Shishou and Jigyousho...but if nothing else, she had confidence that Shishou could defeat him.
"On your feet, Sergeant!" Smoker's gruff voice barked.
Tashigi's eyes opened wide as she stared up into the face of her superior officer. Not even thinking she jumped up and wrapped her arms around him. Smoker was about to pull her off of him but he realized she was crying. "What's wrong? What happened to you?" he asked her, but she was unable to speak for a few moments. He pulled her glasses out of his pocket. "Here. You should know better than to lose these." he plopped them into her hand.
"I-but-Smoker-san-it-monster-fire-cave-fight-" Tashigi stammered, unable to think clearly. She was about to faint. Her stomach growled loudly and she blushed.
"Come on, let's find you some food. The Straw Hats are off fighting in that Zoan village. I came to look for you. And I think someone is trying to bump all of us off." Smoker explained to her. He didn't know how right he was. He knew the rock that had nearly killed him had he not de-solidified at the last moment. At least that bought him some time; his would-be killers clearly believed he was dead or they would have come after him again. But who were they? And why were they trying to kill him? They didn't appear to belong to either village...
Tashigi just nodded, staying silent, lost in thought. Shishou...Roronoa Zoro...Jigyousho...Kagemaru...and the 'master'...what was the connection? It wasn't exactly clear to her. "I have to see Roronoa Zoro." Tashigi suddenly said. "I have to know something from him."
"Calm down. Worry about yourself for a minute." Smoker smacked her softly over the head. "That's an order."
"Yes, sir." Tashigi agreed, starting to feel dizzy again.

Robin sat and watched as the Paramecian villagers trained, preparing for the upcoming battle. Some were sparring, some were practicing martial arts by themselves or in groups under an instructor, and some were testing the limits of their powers. Robin was very fascinated by some of them, but she wondered if perhaps she ought to try to delay the fight to give her friends more time. She was getting worried in spite of herself, even though she was in no danger on this side. She heard Daikyojin emerge from his dwelling and awaited his announcements, which he seemed to give more frequently lately. He gave great pep-talks if nothing else. "My brothers and sisters." he boomed, increasing his size until he towered over all of them. "Be vigilant. Rely not only on your powers, but your own inner strength, and we will surely triumph. Our strongest six soldiers shall battle their strongest six soldiers; step forward, you six." he ordered.
Six average-looking villagers stepped forward, stopping right in front of Robin. They all had confident looks about them, so Robin figured she ought not to judge books by their covers. They must have been hiding amazing abilities.
"What say you, my Queen? Do they appear worthy?" Daikyojin asked Robin.
Robin looked up at him, not sure why he was asking her. Maybe this was her chance. "I do not believe so." she said, scratching her cheek softly, smiling. The six all looked at each other, unsure of what to make of that comment.
"Why? What is wrong, my Queen? They are very powerful, would you like them to demonstrate?" Daikyojin asked, wanting Robin's approval.
"Oh, I am sure they are, I have no doubt about that. It is just...well...look at them." Robin stood up. She was taller than three of the six; two of them didn't appear any older than Usopp, in fact, one appeared one or two years younger than that, and one of them was a midget. "They are hardly intimidating, don't you think? So young, too...it speaks a lack of experience. What we will be going up against are people in the guise of large monsters. Part of winning a battle is psychology. If you cannot intimidate your foe you are at a disadvantage. I would say the Zoans have the advantage in this fight." Robin began to explain. Perhaps this would force them to re-think their whole strategy and delay their attack...she crossed her fingers hopefully. "Not only that, but you are going up against foes you may know nothing about. What if you come up against one who has a large advantage over you? You'll have to switch partners to avoid being defeated. Do the six of you have the sort of coordinated teamwork skills to do that if necessary? They surely will...after all, it is extremely rare to find a species of animals that does not live and function in a pack or group." she explained.
The six all looked at each other; clearly they did not have this teamwork skill down. "I did not think so. Not that it's a bad thing. It takes a lot of practice and talent to be able to do that. We won't have enough time to learn proper retreating and tag-teaming tactics if we still plan to attack tomorrow. Perhaps if we put it off we can guarantee our succeess." Robin winked up at Daikyojin. Hopefully that would seal the deal. She held her breath while she awaited his response.
Daikyojin crossed his arms. "We shall wait two days. Until then you six will train under the Queen's guidance." he decided.
Robin breathed a sigh of relief. She may have forced herself into becoming a tutor for the six soldiers but at least she'd bought her friends some time to catch up and come save her. If they would come...she was still worried. That Shinigami from before was clearly very powerful and dangerous and if there were more, she shuddered to think what would become of her friends. She began to take another walk by herself that evening and went back to try and look for Tashigi; there was no sign of struggle around where she'd found Tashigi's glasses, but something strange happened; Tashigi's glasses were no longer there. But some heavy boot prints were now left in the dirt and the butts of a pair of cigars were left behind as well. "Smoker..." Robin said softly. "He'll find her...I hope..."
"I wouldn't count on that." a familiar voice grunted from behind her. Robin whirled around and found herself slammed against the cliff wall by a hard, heavy object that she suddenly realized was a fist composed of rock. Rikujou was holding her by the throat against the side of the mountain. "I killed him a little while ago...splat, with a rock as big as your husband-to-be." he laughed wickedly. "I'm getting a little tired of you poking around here...you don't seem to have the sort of reverence and fear of us Shinigami as the rest of the islanders. That sort of attitude could get you killed, bitch." he smacked her hard across the cheek with his other hand, which he mercifully left in its normal non-rock state. Nevertheless, Robin was bleeding from a cut on her cheek now. "If your meddlesome friends come looking for you, which I doubt...our other Shinigami friend is taking care of them as I speak...even though from what I've seen they have the damned devil's own luck...you'd better tell them to quit interfering with the will of the gods. The people here are perfectly happy serving us, so fall in line or we'll choke you with it." he threatened.
Robin was powerless. No matter how many hands she created she wouldn't be able to harm a man made of solid rock. She tried to choke out something, but all she managed to say was, "B-bastard..."
Rikujou growled. He knew better than to hit her again; Daikyojin would get suspicious if she got back and was brutally beaten. It wasn't exactly like it would be easy to blame it on the Zoans. "Tell Daikyojin you fell and cut your cheek, understand me? You may not believe in our divinity, but you'll find out soon enough. It's up to you whether it's going to be the hard way or not." he sneered. He lifted her bodily and tossed her hard against a large tree, knocking her unconscious but not causing any visible scars or bruises. Robin awakened a few minutes later, dizzy and feeling sick to her stomach. If there were more of these Shinigami...and Rikujou was this powerful, would her and her friends even have a prayer of stopping them?