The Jungle Part 2

The Jungle Part 2

\____-o(X)o-_____/​

"Ami!"

The trees flashed around me as I ran as fast as I could up the path, eyes darting about as I searched for any signs of anything that could help me pinpoint her location or even possibly indicate where Ami might be or have been taken.

"Ami! Are you out there?!"

Nothing. Nothing nothing nothing! I needed to find her, I needed to fine her now!

"Ami!!" my voice was getting hoarse as I shouted as loudly as I could again and again. So what if anyone that might have kidnapped her might do, I needed to find her before I did anything else!

What I wouldn't have given for super senses or even observation haki! Captain Billy had been teaching me about it but I hadn't figured it out yet! Damnit! Of all times!

"Aaamiiii?!"

The sun was high in the sky but the forest was dark and the path was shaded, the steps had leaves scattered across them as autumn approached. And I saw nothing. I strained my senses, hearing, eyesight, smell, touch, everything, searching for even the slightest hint or clue or indication of where my friend might be.

My small feet pounded against the stone steps as I ran, my muscles starting to ache as I stumbled to a stop on the steps, panting. Growing fear was not doing me any favors with this frantic rush up the steps. I took a deep breath in and cupped my hands on either side of my mouth, "AAAAMMMIIIII!!!"

I panted as I listened to the cry echo through the trees and down the mountain.

Nothing…

*Jacob-?!*

My head jerked up, "Ami…?"

I… I could hear her.

Off… in that direction…!

My chest heaving, I half stumbled as I began to run once more, this time snapping a branch as I ran into the forest away from both the town and the temple.

---

Slowly, I crept along the branch of the tree towards the end, gripping it tightly, sweat staining my shirt as I watched the men moving about on the ground.

"Damnit, this don't feel right."

My chest was practically trembling as I viciously suppressed my desire to pant, in through the nose, out through the mouth, count it out.

There were three men down there, and so was Ami.

"The hell are you talking about? It's just another ransom."

Two big guys, one with a pistol, the other with a sword and another with an ax. Ami's hands were bound behind her back and she was gagged. She was in a dress once more, and while it was dirty it still looked intact, her shoes and socks were gone though. She was glaring up at the men as she sat propped up against a tree near the small firepit.

This was a good fifteen minutes from the road at my top speed, and the sun was slowly starting to set.

"She's a fucking kid. She's what, ten?"

I didn't have my pistol, damnit. Momma was gonna spank me for forgetting it. But I wasn't willing to kill regardless. Ami was… using her toes to pluck green grass from around her and quietly toss it into the firepit even as she glared up at the men.

"So? It's not like we're selling her into slavery or anything."

The branch of the tree didn't creak, easily able to hold the weight of my runt ass as I came close to the end, crouched atop it like a monkey. I wasn't directly above the three men, but horizontally I was only about fifteen feet away from them. The three men were of good size, the smaller one with the pistol had been arguing with the one with the ax. The big man with the sword was nearby but silent.

"Yeah, but she's a kid, it don't feel right Kouta." The one with the pistol said.

I could stalk them until they fell asleep to free Ami… or if they put someone on watch, I should be able to choke them out quietly… Fighting three big men of unknown strength at once was a risky proposition on a good day, so I could afford to wait for an opportune moment.

"Too late now," the ax bearer said, "We've already snatched her up."

Ami was right there, but I wasn't some stupid shonen protagonist that just rushed off to save someone immediately without any concern for a plan.

The pistol-wielding bandit sighed, "Yeah, you're right Kouta."

I was a smart shonen protagonist. Heh. More seriously, Ami wasn't in any serious danger right now so I could afford to wait–

The swordsman stood off of the tree he'd been leaning against, starting to draw his sword, "We need proof that we've got her."

…

No more waiting. I drew my knife from my belt.

Ami's eyes widened as the man held his sword out before her eyes narrowed at him in defiance.

"Whoa! What the hell are you doing?!"

"He's right, but we can probably get away with just a piece of her dress."

"They need to know we're serious–"

And that's when I put the knife into his back.

My sandals slammed into the small of his back and the back of his neck as I threw myself through the air like a missile, slamming him into the ground and surfing his face straight into the firepit. His sword was pinned beneath him but I didn't have time to worry about how bad he cut himself up–

"The hell–?!"

"The fuck is–?!"

I launched off of the swordsman's back spinning through the air, "Hurricane Kick!" I spun almost gracefully through the air before my leg snapped out like a whip and my shin slammed into the man's knee from the side and the leg buckled.

"Agh!" he began to collapse as I slowly dropped back towards the ground.

My foot hit the dirt and I planted it, spinning on my heel, "Diarrhea Joke Foot!"

"Diarrhea wha–OOF!"

My foot had lashed upwards, the blade of my foot burying into the solar plexus of the pistol wielder before I swung my arms and upper torso, flexing my stomach my other leg came up to slam into the man's gun-hand and knocking the half-drawn gun flying into the forest.

"Ugh-! You little shit-!" his other hand lashed out and clipped my face, pain flashing as my lip split. But I used that and spun with the blow, my arm cocking back and singing out like a piston, my fist slamming into the man's lowest ribs and I felt one buckle, getting a wordless sound of pain as the man buckled, leaning forward.

I planted my feet and with a growl threw several quick punches into the man's throat–

*Cut the little shit in half-!*

–before desperately launching myself to the side to avoid the ax that came from my right, the blade nearly clipping the man I'd been punching.

"I don't know who you are child, but you're not leaving here," he strode forward, raising the ax above his head, his face unchanging, "A noble's betrothed is worth a lot more than your stupid life."

I scrambled to my feet–! Not in time–!

With a grunt, I threw myself to the side, barely avoiding the ax that buried several inches into the dirt where I'd been, 'Shit-! Move-!'

Rolling to my hands and knees I scrambled– PAIN-!

"Agh!" I yelped as pain flared in my hip as the man simply took a big step and ripped his ax from the dirt like a trowel and slamming the broad side of the large ax into my hip and sending me tumbling through the air briefly before I rolled to a stop on my back in the dirt and grass, "Ahhh…" I grit my teeth, trying to push myself up, backing up on my elbows and feet as the man approached.

"Now die." The ax came down and I snarled–

It was at this point that Ami slammed bodily into the back of the ax-wielders knees, making the ax veer off and giving me time to get to my feet. She fell to the dirt with a grunt, her ankles bound together and unable to brace her fall.

Kouta's boot lashed into her side, getting a pained grunt from her, "Bitch-! And you-!"

The ax was raised again and I grit my teeth, no time to get away, my footing was shit, I was tired… no time! Desperation it is!

"Die!"

"Tekkai!" I leaned back and slammed my palms together in front of me as the ax came down, trying to catch the blade as I flexed everything, leaning back and bracing one foot behind me-! But the blade kept going, sheering some of the skin off my palms as I pressed my hands together as hard as I could, gritting my teeth as it slowed, and the world seemed to slow to a crawl.

I watched the slightly curved blade approach almost inch by inch as I flexed as hard as I could, it was slowing, but… but it wasn't enough.

The forefront of the curved ax blade slammed into my sternum, jerking to a stop as I screamed.

But I grit my teeth and flexed harder, pressing my palms together against the broad ax-head even as Kouta snarled, growling out, "You little shit." He pressed harder and a small, pained sound escaped my throat as more and more of the blade pressed into me, working its way through my bone and slowly splitting my skin. I could feel the cut lengthen as more and more of the blade was brought into contact with my skin and my legs began to buckle, my muscles trembling.

With a defiant, muffled cry, Ami threw herself onto the large man's back, throwing her bound arms over his head and pulling back, the bindings on her wrists digging into his throat as he reflexively pulled back some, the relief of pressure from the ax letting me pull my bloody palms from the broad blade to grab the handle and brace my arms.

Kouta's free hand went back over his shoulder to grab Ami, ripping the much smaller girl off of him and throwing her away with a snarl. My friend slammed into a tree with a grunt before dropping to the ground, unmoving. "Ami-!"

Any thought I might have had was gone as the already searing pain in my chest flared and I was bodily lifted, it was only my grip on the ax that kept the few millimeters of the curved blade form being yanked from my sternum as Kouta raised the blade. My eyes widened as I shouted, flexing everything-! "Tekkai-!"

The ax was brought down, and me with it, and the ax pushed further into my chest–! "Agh!"

Pain–!

I could feel my heart touching the blade with every heartbeat!

My arms locked as I gripped the handle behind the blade, and braced against the ground now, it could go no further, but my arms trembled with the effort of keeping a man that had to weigh nearly three hundred pounds of muscle from burying the blade into me and bisecting my torso-!

"Just fucking die already you brat!" Kouta snarled, both hands on the handle of his ax as he pressed it down with all of his weight.

Ami was having none of that. With an angry sound, she launched herself over me, grabbing onto Kouta's outstretched arms and levering her body forward, her bound legs slamming into his face with a crack, the bandits head snapping back briefly before one of his hands came off of his ax to grab the front of her dress and hold her away, "Enough of that bullshit!"

The pressure lessened, but my arms were too short to push the massive ax away-! Damnit-!

Blood dripped from Kouta's broken nose as he snarled at Ami as she struggled in his grip, "You stupid bitch! They don't need your legs do they?!"

There was a blur of black and silver across the entirety of my vision and there was red and a thump.

For just a moment, silence hung as all three of us in the melee stared. The pressure from the ax blade was now gone, merely the weight of the oversized weapon itself and the arm still gripping it going limp, Ami having dropped to the ground.

"You didn't need those arms, did you?"

Momma!

I made a little, happy, wordless sound as my head tilted up, finding my mother standing over me. The empty sleeve of red Ao Dai settling as emerald eyes nearly blazed with an inner fire, her massive blade in her hand. Kouta stumbled back, his brain trying to catch up as blood leaked from the stumps of his arms, "W-What-?!"

The world swam as I smiled, having no real thoughts other than relief.

My momma, chubby and out of shape, more barrel shaped than anything else and having avoided a fight for years, wielded Mountain Splitter like a short sword. Nearly six feet by one foot by one inch, Mountain Splitter was patently absurd in size for a cleaver, but she brought it above her head but was still razor sharp, "You hurt my son is what you spineless bastard."

Blackness began to creep in at the edges of my vision as I started to relax. I tried to flex once more, but my muscles didn't… they didn't… do the flexing thing…

"Who the fuck are you?!" the pistol user had reclaimed his gun and leveled it at my momma as Kouta fell on his ass, starting to scream as his brain finally processed the loss of his arms.

This… was bad… I knew it… but… but I was struggling to stay focused without the fear…

"I am Chikako the Chopper." Momma said, bringing the blade in front of her, "And you're a dead piece of shit."

Without the adrenaline… the… I didn't need to worry… momma was here… Ami was safe…

The bandit's gun went off and my momma was already there beside him, Mountain Splitter arcing through the air and bisecting the man in a single swing and sending the pieces flying into the forest. With a spin, the massive sword was used to pin the remaining bandit to the ground, impaling him like… like a bug…

I started to sigh in relief… but the pain of my heart nearly tapping against the edge of the ax blade in my chest made me whimper. The pain was horrifying, there was a line of fire in my chest from collar bone straight down, maybe all the way through me… I… I didn't know how I was doing…

"Baby!" momma was beside me in an instant, her hand hovering over me for just a moment in hesitation.

Each heartbeat was accompanied with a small pain in my heart and chest… each breath made the flesh around the embedded ax burn, just over an inch deep into my chest.

She bit her lip for just a moment, "Be strong honey, momma's here baby…"

I tried to grin, but I don't think I did a good job of it… I couldn't really see now… I could feel the hot hand of my momma on my arm… couldn't… couldn't see her…

"Baby! Jacob! Florida D. Jacob you stay with me!"

Ami made a sound… she was okay…? Good… she… she was okay…

"Jacob!"

-oOo-​

"Gyehihihihihihi!" Casey jiggled as he giggled. Having told the story of his entrance to the deck to the rest of the boarding party.

"You did well my friend!" Lucca slapped his friend on the back, sending a jiggling ripple through the shorter man. Though both were rather stout, Lucca was built more barrel than Casey's pear shape.

"Ach, I could have done better," Wallace grumbled, the kilted man nursing his rum.

There was a roar of laughter from the crew, and Rodger gave a hearty chuckle as he set the next platter of food on the center of the main table, "I doubt that you could."

"Oh yeah?!" Slamming his bottle onto the table hard, Wallace stood, "As if you could have!"

"At least I didn't scream like a little girl jumping through the air!" Daniel shouted from his side of the table, holding up his own rum and getting a round of laughter.

Wallace bristled all the way down to his curly brown beard, "It surprised me! And I dun' like heights!"

A small smile crossed my face as I flipped to the next page. I actually don't know who told on him, because it hadn't been me.

"Si si mi amigo, pero…" Jaime twirled the end of his mustache, his cheeks rosy from the amount of beer he'd consumed, "Tú eres un poco gallina."

I actually knew that one! Thank you years of Spanish far, far too long ago.

"Hey!" Wallace pointed accusingly at the leaner swordsman, "You say that in a language I can understand!"

The Mexican-esque man stood, grinning, "I said that you are a bit of a chicken amigo!"

"Ach! Like hell you get to call me that you toothpick wielding bastard!" Wallace's hand went to the hilt of the claymore on his back, half drawing it from its loop through his plaid sash.

"As if you could stop me with that iron column you call a sword tú punta!" Jaime grinned, grabbing the rapier he kept at his back–

*WHAM!*

All conversation in the room went dead as Bonney nearly split the table in two with a kick, sending a crack through the wood from her position leaning back in her chair, glaring down the table at the two dedicated swordsmen, "Oi! You know the rules! No swords in the galley!"

Two blades were immediately resheathed, "Yes ma'am." / "Sí senorita."

"If you're having it out, no swords, as per usual." Bonney said with finality before knocking back her own rum, crossing her ankles again with her boots propped up against the table as she tilted her chair back.

"You heard the Captain!" Tom shouted, the massive bearded man, looming over the two shorter swordsmen. Despite the brief glare the two swordsmen shot the bigger First Mate, they set their swords on the table and stepped away from the table.

"Fight!" Daniel shouted, reminding me briefly of quite some time ago, of middle school lunch rooms. Especially the cheer that went up after the call. There were whistles and shouts as the crew made room for the two swordsmen, spreading out the tables in the galley and forming a cheering ring around the two men.

"Three hundred belly on Jaime!" Daniel piped up, waving the money.

"Of course," Rodger said, taking the money. He'd swept his usually tall chefs hat out for one of those duck-bills attached to a strap. I had no idea where he'd put the chefs hat, but I didn't question it.

"Five hundred belly on Wallace!" Lucca shouted as the two men, both about six and a half feet tall, started to face off in the circle of the crew.

Rodger politely took the money, the chef nodding in acknowledgement of the bet with a serene smile. I actually found it kind of funny. He was nearly as tall as Tom and probably out-massed him by a bit, but he was definitely a dedicated cook, rarely saw him without his chefs hat honestly.

"Hah! You're only backing him because he's your partner!" Casey accused.

"He can win!" Lucca cheered for his friend, he'd left off his normal headband, and his curly black hair had froofed out in a wild black afro. A bit unusual for a large French-looking man really, but eh.

"Four hundred belly on Wallace!" Claude shouted across the circle.

"And you just want to add his name to your ink!" the cowboy-hat wearing Casey accused with a laugh.

The shirtless man laughed, his skin covered in names tattooed in a dozen different styles, "I certainly wouldn't mind getting under that kilt!"

"Ach! I don't swing that way you man-whore!"

"You never know until you've tried it~" Claude shouted back. He, like Daniel, was one of the leaner members of the Bonney Pirates, though he had much more in the way of muscle mass than Daniel and stood nearly a half a foot taller. He tended to only wear a pair of shorts, saying that 'the ink and love shall keep me warm!' The ink being the nearly innumerable names tattoo'd across his skin in a massive variety of styles.

Tom shook his head, putting a small stack of belly in Rodger's hands, "Put it on Jaime, he's had enough to drink that Wallace isn't gonna win."

"I'll show you! For glory!" Wallace charged, attempting to tackle the other swordsman, who flowed out of the way.

"This happen often?" I asked Bonney with an amused smile. We were two of the only ones still at our tables in the galley. There were a few of the others still sitting down, but all of the boarding party were up and shouting and cheering.

The pink haired woman snorted, an almost affectionate smile on her face, "Wallace does this almost every time we have a serious fight."

"Didn't happen after we got away from the Huns…" I noted between bites as the two swordsmen wrestled. The thinner Jaime stumbling and slipping out of the broader Wallace's strikes. The rest of the crew around them in a circle and alternatively cheering or jeering based on who they bet upon.

"The only people that really fought were you and me," Bonney grinned, "And Wallace isn't that stupid."

"Mm." I grunted, flipping through another page of the book. Idly, I lifted my plate up and out of the way as Bonney practically lunged for another hunk of meat off of the large fish that the crew had caught. I slid the plate a bit out of the way and into my lap, safely out of the warpath of my voracious eater of a captain.

---​

"Come on! Is that all you've got?! Tchahah!"

I laughed as the saber in my hand danced and swept about. Daniel, Jaime, and Wallace all were trying to land a single hit, but they needed to work on their coordination more. Which is what we were doing… well… trying to do.

"For glory!" Wallace swung his claymore in a horizontal swipe at my side, and I moved the end of my saber in a circle, lifting his sword up over my head and bringing it down across the swords of Jaime and Daniel both, pinning all three swords to the ground.

"Find a tempo," I berated them, sweat beading on my forehead as I grinned, "Wallace has the slowest swings that take up the most space and threaten the most area. Jaime's strikes are the fastest but have the least threat. Find a beat!"

"Rrraagh!" Wallace roared and heaved his blade up, and I let it up, my saber darting back and then in to slap the flat of it across his scarred cheek before blocking a strike from Daniel.

"Less roaring more hitting!" Their rhythms were entirely off, my sword danced, even taking into account the fact that they weren't as fast as me and none of them even had an inkling of Observation Haki yet, they weren't even coming close to threatening me. They were getting in each others way.

Mind you, I wasn't helping. But the problem was that they hadn't even oriented in a good way. Jaime was right handed, Daniel was left, and Wallace used his weapon with both hands almost interchangeably. And yet, from my left to right, it was Wallace, Jaime, Daniel. Lucca was paired with Wallace mostly because he could work around and with the chaos the berserker pseudo-scotsman caused, but these three just weren't even thinking about how to coordinate, but rather about how to work around one another on this level. Heck, if it weren't for the fact that I'd been leaving my bones as metal to increase my weight and make this harder on myself I wouldn't even have been sweating yet.

Wallace swung and I took a half step back to let it sweep past me before lunging forward, knocking Jaime's blade aside and into Daniel's way–

*Thw-Thw-Thwack!*

And then I slapped all three of them, like the fucking three stooges.

"Gah!"

"Punta!

"The fuck?!"

"Enough." The three squeaked in unison as the saber I'd appropriated flashed within an inch of their faces, making them stumble back. I gave the saber a few idle twirls to dry the sweat on the handle, "Step back. Line up. Jaime, Wallace, Daniel, from my left to right."

After a brief pause of them processing that, they sort of shuffled back and reoriented themselves, keeping a wary eye on me as they did. Much better. I'd smacked them a good one for leaving themselves open in the middle of training.

With a small sigh, I wiped the sweat from my brow. They weren't bad combatants, heck, they actually were up to early Grand Line standards. But if they were going to be up to New World standards they had to be able to work together as well as approach that level of superhuman absurdity that I had started into and Bonney was already in.

"Alright. Here's what you're going to do," I pointed my saber at them as I spoke, "When Wallace swings, the person on the side he exposes attacks to cover that side. Figure out the rest on your own." I had wanted to let them figure it out on their own, but I was plenty willing to spell it out for them if I had to. The easiest and first step was to train them to work together. There was only so much progress that could be made in the few days we had between ports though. Thankfully, I didn't have to divide my attention between the almost two dozen members of the crew, just the boarding party of five plus Bonney and me.

I waited till they were vaguely in line before I snapped my blade up, "Swords up!"

The three brought their blades up, but we all paused when the man at the crows nest shouted out, "Port in sight!"

I looked out at the island as we approached, **Daniel lunges–** raising my appropriated saber and bracing it against my left forearm, Daniel's attack stopping dead against the blade, "Wha–" I levered the blade against my forearm and deflected Daniel's saber and swung it around such that the flat of the saber dropped down on Daniel's shoulder, "Ah!"

"Good initiative," I glanced over at him and smirked in spite of myself, "But that ain't gonna work on me."

The brown haired man hissed in pain, rubbing the shoulder as I walked towards the railing, sheathing the saber. "We're done for now. Cool down, stretch, and get some food in you."

"We can fight longer!" Wallace protested, earning little glares from both Daniel and Jaime. Not that I could blame them, there were welts on their faces and exposed arms, with little lines of blood where the edge of the saber had nicked them. They were practically dripping sweat, all in little more than a tank top and shorts, or a kilt in Wallace's case. I remembered those times while I was training and they sucked.

"Fuck off, if you want to train more, you go with him this time!" Daniel said, waving it off as he spun on his heel and headed back towards the mess to get cleaned up. Jaime nodded in agreement before giving me a little salute with his rapier and following after Daniel.

"Ah…" Wallace seemed to have a moment of realization what he'd just been volunteered for and made a little noise. Then he rallied, "Ach! Of course! This is a great plan!"

I rolled my eyes, "We're not going to be training while we're out in the thick jungle looking for super dangerous native birds."

"… wait, these things are dangerous?!"

"Tchehehehahaha!" I couldn't help it, I laughed as I walkied over to the railing to get a better look at the town we were approaching. I wondered how it differed from the last town…? "McPuffins are supposed to be able to kill a man by stabbing through them apparently."

I'd slapped together a desalination system to get water for the shower that Bonney was… basically abusing. Not that I could mind too much since it meant she took her showers just outside my lab. And crazy she might have been, but god damn did I appreciate the view. The system just didn't create enough water to keep up with her and the demands of the over 25 members of the crew. It'd be nice to swap out some of the space we were using on storing water for a bigger desalination system that could keep up.

I took a slow breath, focusing my will to my eyes. All color bled from my sight and the world became black with white outlines, looking nothing so much as one of those wire-frames in a computer program. Armament Haki lenses had their faults. Carefully, I shaped the lenses and the island zoomed closer to my sight. I felt like a freaking kryptonian being able to zoom in like this with pseudo-x-ray-vision. I hadn't perfected it yet, but it was a wonderful side effect of trying to figure out how to see things on a cellular level.

… I think I have a name for the technique.

But right now I just wanted to practice it as well as get a better look at the… the utter lack of people at the port?

I frowned.

It was horrifically obvious to my Observation Haki focused through my lenses that there was no human life in the town anymore.

With a small frown, I turned on my heel and let the Haki Lenses fade, the coat on my shoulders flaring out as I walked back towards the mainmast. Wallace, startled out of his fretting by my sudden movement, looked at me curiously, "Ach… what is it?"

"Something's wrong." My legs bunched up, "Geppo."

I launched up to the crows nest, landing lightly on the lip of the basket, finding the large man scowling as he looked through the monoscope. "Oi." The crew member letting out a little yelp before realizing it was me. He blinked up at me as I extended a hand and made a little give-it-here gesture with my fingers.

He handed the monoscope over and I stood up, balanced on the edge of the crows nest, designed to look like a cupcake with the top bitten off. Bringing the monoscope up to my eye, I looked out at the port town we'd visited just under a month ago. Searching for a hint or clue as to why it was devoid of human life.

"Ironhide!" Bonney's voice came from the ship, she'd been at the wheel of the Cake, "What the hell you doing up there?"

"Something's wrong!" I called out as I swept the monoscope about slowly.

'Buildings are intact, no boats at the docks… wait, there's one that's been damaged… burnt from the looks of it… can't see if the windows are broken at this distance but…' I took in a sharp breath.

"What's wrong Ironhide? Don't be fucking vague!"

I lowered the monoscope from my face, swallowing back the bile that threatened to rise in my throat, the coat draped across my shoulders swaying in the sea breeze, "The streets ran red with blood…"

"Oi! Ironhide!" she shouted in frustration, more of the crew coming up on deck at the call of port, "The fuck'd you say?!"

Taking a steadying breath, I collapsed the monoscope and stepped off of the edge of the crows nest, dropping down towards the deck. My feet lashing out to kick against the air halfway down to slow my descent so that I landed softly beside Bonney. My Captain had her hands on the wheel, but was very much scowling at me, but her expression melted one of confusion as she likely saw the look on my face, "Ironhide…?"

"The streets are red." I said, still a little stunned and processing it myself.

The crew was starting to gather on the deck, and Bonney tilted her head to the side, "… okay…?"

"… Bonney…" I said softly, "There's no one alive in the town, and the streets are running red."

Slowly, realization dawned on her face and she blanched, her face paling, "You're shitting me."

"I really, really hope I am."

---

The Jungle Part 2 End