One Piece of Music: Chapter 6

One Piece of Music: Chapter 5

Forty-Eight Years Ago
''"Nyahahhaaa!" gleefully purred a twenty-five-year-old woman while frolicking along a battlefield of a pier as if it were a meadow of flowers. As she did so, the twenty-five-year-old kept a firm hold of both the hand of a fifteen-year-old girl within one ofher hands and the barrel of a flintlock pistol within another. Every now and then the twenty-five-year-old would skillfully twirl the flintlock so that she could wield it by its handle and then use the flintlock to place a bullet in someone's chest, frightening the fifteen-year-old into screaming at the very top of her lungs each and every time she did so. "Die, die, die! Dieyou filthy slavers!"''

''"A-A-Ai-chan!" uttered the fifteen-year-old in a stammer which was induced by bloodthirsty behavior. The twenty-five-year-old stopped her advanced before looking down upon the fifteen-year-old, quizzically blinking a few times as she did so. Before the fifteen-year-old could express her concerns to the twenty-five-year-old, an disturbingly lanky man approached the females with a sword raised overhead.''

''"Kobarabara..." guffawed the lanky man before attempting to bring the blade of his sword down upon the twenty-five-year-old's skull. It only took the twenty-five-year-old a moment to twirl the flintlock and then take hold of its by its barrel. Afterward the twenty-five-year-old pistol-whipped the blade of the lanky man's sword in order to deflect the lanky man's assault upon her."...bahahaaaa?"''

''"What is it..." begun the twenty-five-year-old an instant before she twirled the flintlock, took hold of the flintlock's handle, and then utilized the flintlock to put a bullet in the chest of the lanky man. Once again the fifteen-year-old girl screamed at the top of her lungs, prompting the twenty-five-year-old to roll her eyes before completing her inquiry. "...Ruru?"''

''"W-w-where are we going Ai-chan?" asked the fifteen-year-old of the twenty-five-year-old as the lanky man fell onto his back and then simply laid there. The twenty-five-year-old shook her head as if the fifteen-year-old was a child asking about the obvious before responding.''

''"I reckon that someone is eventually going to try and preserve his or her only source of labor, so the slave quarters aren't safe for us anymore. Instead of hiding out there, we're going to hunker down at the Neko no Soukutsu," responded the twenty-five-year-old much to the fifteen-year-old's confusion. The twenty-five-year-old then begun to make her way through the battlefieldonce again, dragging the fifteen-year-old along with her as she did so.''

''"Do you mean pier that's infested with cats?" asked the fifteen-year-old. The twenty-five-year-old answered with naught but a nod and a knowing smile, earning herself another question from the fifteen-year-old. "B-b-but why that place Ai-chan? Why don't we just make our way to Newgate-san's..."''

''"We are NOT boarding a pirate ship Ruru!" furiously hissed the twenty-five-year-old, unintentionally tightening her grip upon the fifteen-year-old's hand as she did so. "Surely you're aware of the goddamn fact that the people whom have been holding us as goddamn slaves are goddamn pirates! So what in the goddamn world makes you think it's a good idea to board a goddamn pirate ship?"''

''"N-N-Newgate-san..." the fifteen-year-old begun to explain in a stammer before abruptly swallowing her fear and speaking with confidence. "Newgate-san is different Ai-chan! He isn't the same as those pirates whom leaving nothing but suffering in their wake!"''

''"Ruru!" outright screamed the twenty-five-year-old with enough fury in her voice to cause the entire battlefield to go dead silent out of fear of her wrath. Accompanying the twenty-five-year-old's anger was the conjuration of a humanoid monstrosity. Said monstrosity was constituted of winds that could even put the gales of a hurricane to shame. Immediately the monstrosity begun to wreak an untold amount of havoc upon the combatants of the battle which surrounded the twenty-five-year-old and fifteen-year-old. "What have I told you about sympathizing with pirates? It doesn't matter what kind of person they are, a pirate is a pirate. To kill whomever they please, to steal the possessions of the deceased, and then to destroy anything that remains. That is the life of a pirate. No man, woman, or even a child who dares to associate his- or herself with such a lifestyle can be trusted! Regardless of their morality!"''

''"Ai-chan..." started the fifteen-year-old as she watched the monstrosity destroy everything in its path regardless of whether it was an inanimate object or even a living being. "...w-what. What is that?"''

''"Aibyouka no Jumon: Typhon! (Cat Lover's Spell: Typhon!)" declared the twenty-five-year-old, or in other words Aibyouka, with a demented expression upon her face. As Aibyouka did so the monstrosity begun to spin, engulfing the entirety of Tora no Tomarigi and the Tora no Tomarigi's piers within the confines of a tropical cyclone as a result of doing so. "It's his power! My "darling" Hyoukyo's power! The Majo Majo no Mi! (Witch Witch Fruit!)"''

"How did you-"

''"I killed him Ruri," answered Aibyouka without expressing so much as a morsel of regret for the murder she was speaking of, completing ignoring the fact the tropical cyclone she had brough about was demolishing just about everything but the Tora no Tomarigi and its piers. "And when I did so, by a stroke of luck, his power presented itself to me! So now it's MY power!"''

''"Ai-chan. Hyoukyo was..." sobbed the fifteen-year-old, or in other words Ruri Fujitani, in response to Aibyouka's revelation. Ruri then begun to shake her head in disbelief. "...Newgate's friend. He was my friend and your lover. Why would you. No. How could you-"''

''"Can't you see what's happening Ruri? Don't you understand the things Hyoukyo's death have brough about?" asked Aibyouka of Ruri before she outstretched her arms in presentation of the chaos around them. "Because of the death of Hyoukyo, I have a power that is worthy of a Tenryuubito! Not only that, but the one man who can counteract it is about to be defeated! So soon I may even be invincible!"''

''"Defeated by Newgate-san!" Ruri shriek at Aibyouka with tears pouring from her eyes. Much to Aibyouka's horror, Ruri then yanked her hand free of Aibyouka's grip. "And only because he thinks he's avenging his friend! Hyoukyo was your boyfriend Ai-chan! He loved you! Even after his crew told him that they wouldn't back him up, he was willing to fight every single pirate on the Tora no Tomarigi just so that he could be with you! How could you kill him Ai-chan? How could you?"''

''"You're missing the point Ruri," groaned Aibyouka at Ruri's objection to her actions. "None of that matters anymore. Don't you see? With this power I can turn all of the cats at the Neko no Soukutsu into soldiers that'll keep a lookout for invaders. With his power I can turn our very surroundings into a weapon that'll destroy anyone whom dares to harm us. With this power I can keep us safe and most of all free! Besides Hyoukyo was just a pirate and thus a means to an end. Nothing more. I never loved him,"''

''"Y-y-you what?" asked Ruri in a whisper before glowering at Aibyouka as if the twenty-five-year-old was a slaver herself. "Ai-chan. No. Aibyouka,"''

"H-h-hey! What's with this Aibyouka business? It's been forever since-"

''"You killed Hyoukyo. You stole his power. And now you're destroying anything that remains of him..." stated Ruri before walking away from Aibyouka and into the tropical cyclone.''

''"H-h-hey! Ruri! Ruru! Ru-chan! You can't go out! You just can't! You'll die! You hear me? You'll die! Ruri! RURI!" was the last Ruri heard of Aibyouka before she entered the tropical cyclone...''

The Present
"Mrs. Fujitani? It's time," said Kakuzatou to a reminiscing Ruri. Ruri sighed before grabbing onto the back of Shuga's clothing. "It's a little cramp underneath this rubble so I might be off my game a bit," warned Ruri, prompting a chuckle from Shuga.

"Oh I doubt that Mrs Fujitani," chuckled Shuga before utilizing her arms to cover her eyes. Ruri smirked at Shuga's confidence in her abilities right before she hurled Shuga with enough vigor to explosively launch into the air every single last morsel of the mound of debris which L'Origine's kitchen had been reduced. "Sui-to Furasshu!" (Sweet Flash!)"

Elsewhere...
“YOU CAN'T BE PISSED OFF IF YOU'RE DEAD!” roared Hanone an instant before he lunged towards Aharon.

“Now that's a surprise,” sarcastically responded Aharon with a roll of his eyes before utilizing the both of his arms to sling himself towards the lunging Hanone. Upon becoming within arm's reach of Aharon, Hanone abrupt took hold of the both of Aharon's shoulders.

"What in the-" was all Aharon managed to say before Hanone pulled Aharon towards himself and then opened his mouth as widely as humanly possible in preparation for taking a bite out of Aharon's face. Much to Hanone's surprise, Aharon managed to sidewardly jerk his shoulders with enough vigor to send the both of them into a spin. As they spun, Aharon utilized his arms to remove Hanone's hold of his shoulders. The moment the two of them were no longer in contact with each other, they spun away from each other. Hanone painfully crashed into a pile of rubble which had once been the passageway to the cavern that leads to the Tora no Tomarigi. While Aharon landed into a skid that was only an inch away from taking him right over the Tora no Tomarigi and into a long fall. "That was a close one,"

"What incompetence," snorted Tsume at Hanone's failure. Tsume then outstretched his fingers in a manner which emphasized his claw-like fingernails before leaping directly above Aharon. "I'm going to kill you now,"

"Not likely," retorted Aharon before dashing towards a now rising Hanone in order to avoid Tsume's attempt to bifurcate from above. Unbeknownst to Aharon's, Tsume's failure to claw Aharon managed to leave a sizable gash upon the surface of the Tora no Tomarigi's zenith.

"What are you an idiot?" asked Hanone of Aharon in response to Aharon's approach. Hanone then utilized the entirety of his body to hurl a fist at Aharon. Aharon couldn't help but to beam at Hanone's choice of attack before meeting Hanone's punch with a punch of his own. Needless to say, the punch of the massive Hanone easily overpowered Aharon's and as a result Aharon was knocked into a backward roll towards Tsume. "Did you really think you were a match for me? If you allow that fluke from before to get to your head, you're a dead man Aharon-gochou!"

"He's a dead man regardless!" vehemently hissed Tsume who was more than a little pissed off by the fact that his prior assault had failed to so much as scratch Aharon. Without saying another word, Tsume outstretched his arms in preparation for piercing Aharon with his razor-sharp fingernails through the utilization of a clap. However, an instant before Hanone could have done, Aharon managed to backwardly roll himself into a handstand and then push off the ground in order to ascend above Tsume's range. Infuriated by Aharon's escape, Tsume zipped into the air after Aharon. In hopes of utilizing the velocity of his ascent to pierce Aharon, Tsume once again oustretched his fingers. Much to Tsume's chagrin, Aharon counteracted his assault by positioning his fingers in-between Tsume's fingers and then grasping onto Tsume's hands as a whole. "Y-y-you can't do that!"

"O'RLY?" trolled Aharon before front-flipping in a manner which allowed him to send Tsume hurtling towards Hanone by simply letting go of Tsume's hands. As to be expected from Hanone, his reaction to the incoming Tsume was to smack Tsume aside as if Tsume was Aharon's projectile rather than an associate of his. "You know working together isn't the same as having teamwork,"

"Like I care," snorted Hanone as Aharon landed into a kneel. Hanone then wasted no time in bum-rushing Aharon with another haymaker, forcing Aharon to with a counteract with a backhand. Just like before, Hanone's strike overcame Aharon's. However, took advantage of his failure to counteract Hanone's punch by allowing the punch to swing his arm in a manner that sent the entirety of his body twirling away from Hanone. Before Hanone could recover, Aharon twirled back towards Hanone in a manner that was reminiscent of a spinning top before utilizing the momentum provided by his twirling to deliver a powerful punch to Hanone's gut. With a retch, Hanone dropped onto his knees and then grabbed his stomach with his hands in a vain attempt to ease his pain. "I-i-it hurts!"

"W-we've underestimated you," muttered Tsume more to himself than to Aharon as he struggled to his feet. "And as punishment for that underestimation you've made fools of us!"

"You're both under arrest for piracy," stated Aharon before outstretching his limbs and then yawning. "Come quietly and I wont have to pummel you anymore than what I've already done,"

"D-d-darn you!" grunted Hanone as he withdrew a miniscule watermelon from his clothing. Aharon only managed to questioningly raise an eyebrow before Hanone quickly stuffed the watermelon into his mouth. "Darn you, darn you, darn you, darn you!"

"You'll pay for this humiliation," promised Tsume as he too consumed a miniscule watermelon. Immediately Tsume begun to shiver as if he was naked individual in the middle of a blizzard. "You'll pay, you'll pay, you'll pay, you'll pay!"

"Were there steroids in those fruits or something?" asked Aharon of himself more than Hanone or Tsume; however, before Aharon could contemplate the sitation any further Hanone and Tsume begun to change in an astonishing manner. Hanone and Tsume's height doubled at the very least. Their muscles enlarged themselves to the point where it appeared as if they would burst from Hanone and Tsume's bodies. Hanone's teeth widened by an extreme degree and become more pointed. While Tsume's fingernails were lengthened to the point where each of them could be used as the blade of a sword. Most prominently, the entirety of Hanone's and Tsume's skin was carpeted with the fur of a tiger. They had become the very same type of humanoid tigers that Iroppoi had encountered. "W-w-what in the-"

"DIE!" roared Hanone and Tsume in unison as the both of them pounced upon Aharon....