Categories > Anime/Manga > One Piece > Sitting on the Waves
11 : End and Beginning
0 reviewsOn a little island, Nami has begun a big change. Is it part of a plan by a mysterious pair? What could their intentions be?
0Unrated
ONE PIECE
SITTING ON THE WAVES
CHAPTER 11: END AND BEGINNING
BY
Sgamer82
Huncaza assumed a boxing-style fighting stance as he held up his fists. On them were brass knuckle type weapons fitted with what appeared very much to be the fangs of an animal on them.
"I'll have to take you by force then, eh Captain Monkey?"
"No you won't. We'll beat you before you can do that."
Huncaza couldn't help but ask.
"Who's we?"
He regretted it almost immediately. Luffy whispered something to a boy standing next to him, who grabbed onto Luffy's wrist. With the boy still holding on, Luffy ran at Huncaza. Luffy zig-zagged his way through the crowd of children stuck in place by the Coverque's trapping gel, spread out along the yard.
"Gomu-Gomu..." Luffy began.
That seemed to be a signal as the boy suddenly threw Luffy's hand as high into the air as he could. Luffy's hand began its snap-back down from the air, far above the head of even the tallest child present.
"...BULLET!!"
Luffy's fist came down hard and hit Huncaza right in the face. Luffy pushed his fist downward, so that Huncaza would go straight to the ground rather than be sent flying. Luffy then stopped his charge and turned to face Huncaza.
"...and!"
Luffy shot his foot straight up into the air, so high up the foot itself could no longer be seen, and brought it stomping down with all his strength behind it.
"...BATTLE-AX!!"
Huncaza just barely rolled out of the way in time to dodge Luffy's attack. Huncaza was glad he had, as the force of it had made cracks in the rock hard gel they fought on. Luffy wasted no time with his next attack. As soon as his leg was back to normal, he ran at Huncaza to give him a good old-fashioned punch to the jaw. Huncaza was ready to charge himself and counterattack but suddenly found himself unable to move.
He looked down to see two of the orphanage brats holding on to his legs. He didn't get a chance to pry them loose before Luffy's punch hit him. The kids couldn't hang on to him so Huncaza fell backward a short distance before he hit the ground. Huncaza picked himself up and looked at the pirate, who was grinning.
"Still wanna know who 'we' are?" he asked.
Huncaza looked around. He saw that all the children around were looking at him. They were all smiling, but judging by the angry looks in their eyes that meant nothing good for Huncaza himself. Huncaza realized "we" meant Luffy and the children together. He wasn't protecting them at all. He was drafting them. Worse yet, all the childrens' fear evaporated at the sight of Luffy's fighting with the aid of the children who had helped him attack the bounty hunter.
"We're gonna send you flying outta here." Luffy told him.
"Oh, yeah?" Huncaza ran at Luffy. However, he wound up flat on his face when a little girl bent herself down in front of him to make him trip. The girl was rubbing her side here Huncaza's leg had hit her. But she smiled as she gave Luffy a thumbs up. Luffy laughed and gave one back.
This was not how Huncaza had planned for this to happen.
----------
Leda watched the fight in amazement. The children had been terrified until Luffy had entered the fray. She was furious he would so recklessly endanger them. However, she would have to admit that it seemed to be doing the children more good than harm. Thanks largely to them, Luffy was trouncing the bounty hunter.
Leda looked to Nami, who watched the fight and cheered Luffy on. She was holding Luffy's hat close to her head, determined not to let it get blown away or fall of her head. The children who were too far away to aid Luffy directly were cheering the pirate on. As she watched it all unfold, she considered all that had brought them to this point.
Truthfully, she couldn't have cared less that Huncaza was trying to capture Luffy. Luffy was a pirate. Huncaza a bounty hunter. She was not upset that she was lied to from the start. She could even forgive being tricked into regressing someone against their will. However, something stuck in Leda's mind. Something she wanted to make absolutely sure Huncaza regretted. He had endangered the lives of her children, for no purpose other than his own greed. That was something Leda absolutely would not forgive. She would not allow Huncaza to be defeated until she had her say.
"Quindecim."
Leda concentrated. In less than a second she felt her body begin its change. The simple blue dress she wore began to feel loose around her shoulders. Her height decreased slowly, but steadily. The wisps of gray hair in her otherwise blonde head began to turn a bright yellow. The beginnings of wrinkles disappeared from her face. She transformed herself from a woman in her mid-thirties to a young teenager. Her younger, smaller body, had no problem stepping out of the green concrete she had been trapped in moments ago. Her shoes remained trapped inside, but her bare feet were small enough now that they came out with ease. She began to walk towards the battle, holding her skirt so as not to trip over herself.
----------
This wasn't how things were supposed to go at all. Huncaza had expected the brats to be wetting themselves in fright. Not aiding the person he was trying to capture. His every attempt to attack Luffy now was hindered by them. They would either grab or trip Huncaza or help Luffy stretch his body for attacks. Huncaza had to figure out something and fast. He saw his opportunity nearby. Immediately he got up and ran to Nami. Luffy stopped in his tracks when Huncaza stood behind her and held one of the animal fangs on his knuckles to her throat. Nami began shaking as she held on to Luffy's hat more tightly.
"Lookie, here, Captain Monkey!" Huncaza said, "I've got your little friend at my mercy!"
Luffy cocked back his fist.
"I wouldn't do that, Captain." Huncaza warned, "No matter how fast you move, I can slit this little girl's throat before you get anywhere near me."
Nami's body went limp at Huncaza's threat. Her hands fell from Luffy's hat to her sides. She was breathing heavily. She was frightened. But seeing what Luffy and all the other kids had done made her do something reckless. She clenched her hands into fists and, without warning, swung her head backwards to try and head butt Huncaza. This wouldn't have really done much, were it not for the fact that Nami's head was at the same approximate height as Huncaza's groin.
He howled in pain and staggered backwards. He heard Luffy call something, but didn't hear it. He also didn't see Luffy run at Huncaza as two children, a boy and girl, held their hands out in front of Luffy, palms up. Luffy stepped on their hands and leapt as they pushed up, giving Luffy a bit more height when he jumped.
Luffy got just high enough that he was able to land directly behind the incapacitated Huncaza. He took hold of the bounty hunter's shoulders and began twisting his torso around as tightly as he could. As soon his body was at its limit, Luffy used his feet to clamp onto Huncaza's sides.
"I told you before we would beat you!" Luffy told him, "Gomu-Gomu..."
Luffy let go of his enemy's shoulders, causing his body to start spinning in an attempt to regain its normal form. Luffy kept his hands open so that, as his body unfolded, he constantly kept slapping Huncaza in the back.
"...BOWGUN!!!"
When Luffy's body fully untangled itself he released his feet from Huncaza. The power of Luffy's blows sent Huncaza flying high into the air. A few seconds later, he plummeted to the ground, landing on the path beside the orphanage. He remained conscious, but he wouldn't be moving soon.
"We win!" Luffy yelled as Huncaza landed.
"We win!" Nami yelled, mimicking Luffy.
"So..." Luffy said as he looked at his fallen adversary, "What should we do with him?"
"I dunno." Nami said. Luffy and Huncaza were both behind her, so she had to turn in place as best she could to see them.
"I will handle that." a girl said.
Luffy and Nami looked to see a young teenage girl, no more than fifteen. She walked over to them, holding onto a dress that seemed a couple sizes too big for her.
"Who're you?" Luffy asked.
"I am Leda." she replied.
"Miss Leda?" Nami asked in astonishment. No way was this girl the nice lady who had taken care of her today.
"No way." Luffy said, "She's an older lady."
"I can change my age." Leda replied.
"Oh yeah?" Luffy asked, "Great. That must mean you're the person we're looking for who changed my friend to a kid."
"I will rectify that as soon as I can. But first thing is first."
----------
When Huncaza's vision began to focus properly again, he saw a girl who appeared very familiar standing over him. Half-conscious, it took him a moment to realize who he was looking at.
"Huncaza." she said, "There is something I need to tell you. This may not come as a shock, but because of my Devil Fruit's powers I have lived far longer than any normal human being. I gained the power of the Era-Era Fruit when I was seventeen. I ate it as a before-dinner snack. That was several centuries ago.
"At first, I used this power selfishly. I would become older, or younger, and allow myself to eavesdrop on people who thought I was some silly toddler, or a daft old woman who didn't know what they were talking about. I learned all kinds of gossip that way and passed it along. But that got tiresome after a while. I began to feel that I should do something more worthwhile with my powers. My opportunity came in the form of a medical ship that had stopped for repairs in Redisca. A patient aboard was a young man who had witnessed horrors that drove him mad.
"I felt a powerful sorrow for this man, who was to be taken to a sanitarium to live out his days because of something he could not have helped. It was then I learned my purpose. I explained myself to the doctors and convinced them of my intent. That was the first time I changed the age of another human being. I took the man all the way back to his infancy and personally raised him to adulthood. He grew up happy, healthy, and his descendants even now continue to live in this village.
"It became my calling. I would use my powers to help those whose lives had taken turns for the worse. Those who desired nothing but a second chance to do things right. Whether their suffering was from illness, trauma, or even their own actions it mattered not. I would grant any person who came to me the chance to start over.
"But I quickly realized just how powerful I could be. I realized just how much damage I could do if I ever misused my abilities. Therefore, after my first child grew up, I made a vow. I would never use my powers on someone against their will. If I wished to be successful in my desires, I had to be stern with myself."
She looked at Nami.
"I couldn't let myself be swayed into making a horrible mistake."
She returned her gaze to Huncaza.
"However, I make one critical exception to my otherwise ironclad rule. There is only one that that would make me use my powers on a completely unwilling subject. The rule is quite simple: Any person who harms my children shall become one himself!"
Huncaza listened to Leda's story with growing panic. He couldn't let her do it. He struck out with his fist, still armed with the shark-tooth knuckles, and punched Leda in the stomach. The fangs dug into her, but Leda did not allow that to stop her. Nami cried out and Luffy could only watch in confusion. Leda continued what she was doing, ignoring her injury. She held out her hand, and placed it on Huncaza's forehead.
"No..." he said weakly.
"Yes." Leda responded, "/Infantia/!!"
----------
As Leda stood over him, his fanged knuckles in her belly, Huncaza felt his body begin to change. As it did, he wondered to himself where it had all gone wrong.
Had he underestimated the Straw Hats? Most likely. He didn't know how the others had fared. But that meant little now.
Should he not have involved Leda? Bringing her in on the plan was certainly biting him in the backside now.
Were his plans not good enough? They had been. Unfortunately, he'd severely miscalculated on just what his targets were capable of.
In the end, Huncaza realized the answer to all his questions was "yes." He had, quite simply, gotten in over his head.
Huncaza's final thoughts as an adult, before his mind was lost to childhood, were "If I could do it again, I'd handle it all quite differently."
SITTING ON THE WAVES
CHAPTER 11: END AND BEGINNING
BY
Sgamer82
Huncaza assumed a boxing-style fighting stance as he held up his fists. On them were brass knuckle type weapons fitted with what appeared very much to be the fangs of an animal on them.
"I'll have to take you by force then, eh Captain Monkey?"
"No you won't. We'll beat you before you can do that."
Huncaza couldn't help but ask.
"Who's we?"
He regretted it almost immediately. Luffy whispered something to a boy standing next to him, who grabbed onto Luffy's wrist. With the boy still holding on, Luffy ran at Huncaza. Luffy zig-zagged his way through the crowd of children stuck in place by the Coverque's trapping gel, spread out along the yard.
"Gomu-Gomu..." Luffy began.
That seemed to be a signal as the boy suddenly threw Luffy's hand as high into the air as he could. Luffy's hand began its snap-back down from the air, far above the head of even the tallest child present.
"...BULLET!!"
Luffy's fist came down hard and hit Huncaza right in the face. Luffy pushed his fist downward, so that Huncaza would go straight to the ground rather than be sent flying. Luffy then stopped his charge and turned to face Huncaza.
"...and!"
Luffy shot his foot straight up into the air, so high up the foot itself could no longer be seen, and brought it stomping down with all his strength behind it.
"...BATTLE-AX!!"
Huncaza just barely rolled out of the way in time to dodge Luffy's attack. Huncaza was glad he had, as the force of it had made cracks in the rock hard gel they fought on. Luffy wasted no time with his next attack. As soon as his leg was back to normal, he ran at Huncaza to give him a good old-fashioned punch to the jaw. Huncaza was ready to charge himself and counterattack but suddenly found himself unable to move.
He looked down to see two of the orphanage brats holding on to his legs. He didn't get a chance to pry them loose before Luffy's punch hit him. The kids couldn't hang on to him so Huncaza fell backward a short distance before he hit the ground. Huncaza picked himself up and looked at the pirate, who was grinning.
"Still wanna know who 'we' are?" he asked.
Huncaza looked around. He saw that all the children around were looking at him. They were all smiling, but judging by the angry looks in their eyes that meant nothing good for Huncaza himself. Huncaza realized "we" meant Luffy and the children together. He wasn't protecting them at all. He was drafting them. Worse yet, all the childrens' fear evaporated at the sight of Luffy's fighting with the aid of the children who had helped him attack the bounty hunter.
"We're gonna send you flying outta here." Luffy told him.
"Oh, yeah?" Huncaza ran at Luffy. However, he wound up flat on his face when a little girl bent herself down in front of him to make him trip. The girl was rubbing her side here Huncaza's leg had hit her. But she smiled as she gave Luffy a thumbs up. Luffy laughed and gave one back.
This was not how Huncaza had planned for this to happen.
----------
Leda watched the fight in amazement. The children had been terrified until Luffy had entered the fray. She was furious he would so recklessly endanger them. However, she would have to admit that it seemed to be doing the children more good than harm. Thanks largely to them, Luffy was trouncing the bounty hunter.
Leda looked to Nami, who watched the fight and cheered Luffy on. She was holding Luffy's hat close to her head, determined not to let it get blown away or fall of her head. The children who were too far away to aid Luffy directly were cheering the pirate on. As she watched it all unfold, she considered all that had brought them to this point.
Truthfully, she couldn't have cared less that Huncaza was trying to capture Luffy. Luffy was a pirate. Huncaza a bounty hunter. She was not upset that she was lied to from the start. She could even forgive being tricked into regressing someone against their will. However, something stuck in Leda's mind. Something she wanted to make absolutely sure Huncaza regretted. He had endangered the lives of her children, for no purpose other than his own greed. That was something Leda absolutely would not forgive. She would not allow Huncaza to be defeated until she had her say.
"Quindecim."
Leda concentrated. In less than a second she felt her body begin its change. The simple blue dress she wore began to feel loose around her shoulders. Her height decreased slowly, but steadily. The wisps of gray hair in her otherwise blonde head began to turn a bright yellow. The beginnings of wrinkles disappeared from her face. She transformed herself from a woman in her mid-thirties to a young teenager. Her younger, smaller body, had no problem stepping out of the green concrete she had been trapped in moments ago. Her shoes remained trapped inside, but her bare feet were small enough now that they came out with ease. She began to walk towards the battle, holding her skirt so as not to trip over herself.
----------
This wasn't how things were supposed to go at all. Huncaza had expected the brats to be wetting themselves in fright. Not aiding the person he was trying to capture. His every attempt to attack Luffy now was hindered by them. They would either grab or trip Huncaza or help Luffy stretch his body for attacks. Huncaza had to figure out something and fast. He saw his opportunity nearby. Immediately he got up and ran to Nami. Luffy stopped in his tracks when Huncaza stood behind her and held one of the animal fangs on his knuckles to her throat. Nami began shaking as she held on to Luffy's hat more tightly.
"Lookie, here, Captain Monkey!" Huncaza said, "I've got your little friend at my mercy!"
Luffy cocked back his fist.
"I wouldn't do that, Captain." Huncaza warned, "No matter how fast you move, I can slit this little girl's throat before you get anywhere near me."
Nami's body went limp at Huncaza's threat. Her hands fell from Luffy's hat to her sides. She was breathing heavily. She was frightened. But seeing what Luffy and all the other kids had done made her do something reckless. She clenched her hands into fists and, without warning, swung her head backwards to try and head butt Huncaza. This wouldn't have really done much, were it not for the fact that Nami's head was at the same approximate height as Huncaza's groin.
He howled in pain and staggered backwards. He heard Luffy call something, but didn't hear it. He also didn't see Luffy run at Huncaza as two children, a boy and girl, held their hands out in front of Luffy, palms up. Luffy stepped on their hands and leapt as they pushed up, giving Luffy a bit more height when he jumped.
Luffy got just high enough that he was able to land directly behind the incapacitated Huncaza. He took hold of the bounty hunter's shoulders and began twisting his torso around as tightly as he could. As soon his body was at its limit, Luffy used his feet to clamp onto Huncaza's sides.
"I told you before we would beat you!" Luffy told him, "Gomu-Gomu..."
Luffy let go of his enemy's shoulders, causing his body to start spinning in an attempt to regain its normal form. Luffy kept his hands open so that, as his body unfolded, he constantly kept slapping Huncaza in the back.
"...BOWGUN!!!"
When Luffy's body fully untangled itself he released his feet from Huncaza. The power of Luffy's blows sent Huncaza flying high into the air. A few seconds later, he plummeted to the ground, landing on the path beside the orphanage. He remained conscious, but he wouldn't be moving soon.
"We win!" Luffy yelled as Huncaza landed.
"We win!" Nami yelled, mimicking Luffy.
"So..." Luffy said as he looked at his fallen adversary, "What should we do with him?"
"I dunno." Nami said. Luffy and Huncaza were both behind her, so she had to turn in place as best she could to see them.
"I will handle that." a girl said.
Luffy and Nami looked to see a young teenage girl, no more than fifteen. She walked over to them, holding onto a dress that seemed a couple sizes too big for her.
"Who're you?" Luffy asked.
"I am Leda." she replied.
"Miss Leda?" Nami asked in astonishment. No way was this girl the nice lady who had taken care of her today.
"No way." Luffy said, "She's an older lady."
"I can change my age." Leda replied.
"Oh yeah?" Luffy asked, "Great. That must mean you're the person we're looking for who changed my friend to a kid."
"I will rectify that as soon as I can. But first thing is first."
----------
When Huncaza's vision began to focus properly again, he saw a girl who appeared very familiar standing over him. Half-conscious, it took him a moment to realize who he was looking at.
"Huncaza." she said, "There is something I need to tell you. This may not come as a shock, but because of my Devil Fruit's powers I have lived far longer than any normal human being. I gained the power of the Era-Era Fruit when I was seventeen. I ate it as a before-dinner snack. That was several centuries ago.
"At first, I used this power selfishly. I would become older, or younger, and allow myself to eavesdrop on people who thought I was some silly toddler, or a daft old woman who didn't know what they were talking about. I learned all kinds of gossip that way and passed it along. But that got tiresome after a while. I began to feel that I should do something more worthwhile with my powers. My opportunity came in the form of a medical ship that had stopped for repairs in Redisca. A patient aboard was a young man who had witnessed horrors that drove him mad.
"I felt a powerful sorrow for this man, who was to be taken to a sanitarium to live out his days because of something he could not have helped. It was then I learned my purpose. I explained myself to the doctors and convinced them of my intent. That was the first time I changed the age of another human being. I took the man all the way back to his infancy and personally raised him to adulthood. He grew up happy, healthy, and his descendants even now continue to live in this village.
"It became my calling. I would use my powers to help those whose lives had taken turns for the worse. Those who desired nothing but a second chance to do things right. Whether their suffering was from illness, trauma, or even their own actions it mattered not. I would grant any person who came to me the chance to start over.
"But I quickly realized just how powerful I could be. I realized just how much damage I could do if I ever misused my abilities. Therefore, after my first child grew up, I made a vow. I would never use my powers on someone against their will. If I wished to be successful in my desires, I had to be stern with myself."
She looked at Nami.
"I couldn't let myself be swayed into making a horrible mistake."
She returned her gaze to Huncaza.
"However, I make one critical exception to my otherwise ironclad rule. There is only one that that would make me use my powers on a completely unwilling subject. The rule is quite simple: Any person who harms my children shall become one himself!"
Huncaza listened to Leda's story with growing panic. He couldn't let her do it. He struck out with his fist, still armed with the shark-tooth knuckles, and punched Leda in the stomach. The fangs dug into her, but Leda did not allow that to stop her. Nami cried out and Luffy could only watch in confusion. Leda continued what she was doing, ignoring her injury. She held out her hand, and placed it on Huncaza's forehead.
"No..." he said weakly.
"Yes." Leda responded, "/Infantia/!!"
----------
As Leda stood over him, his fanged knuckles in her belly, Huncaza felt his body begin to change. As it did, he wondered to himself where it had all gone wrong.
Had he underestimated the Straw Hats? Most likely. He didn't know how the others had fared. But that meant little now.
Should he not have involved Leda? Bringing her in on the plan was certainly biting him in the backside now.
Were his plans not good enough? They had been. Unfortunately, he'd severely miscalculated on just what his targets were capable of.
In the end, Huncaza realized the answer to all his questions was "yes." He had, quite simply, gotten in over his head.
Huncaza's final thoughts as an adult, before his mind was lost to childhood, were "If I could do it again, I'd handle it all quite differently."
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