The Meowban Brothers

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"It sounds like they have more men on the ship," Zoro speaks up just as Nami secures my bandage.

"It shouldn't be anyone that is better than you," I lower my shirt.

"Meowban Brothers!" Django shouts, raising his arms in the process. "Come on out!"

"Man, these guys are weird," Nami rolls her eyes.

"They just won't give up," I shake my head.

In the next moment, two guys leap off the now ruined ship and land right by Django. They look fairly the same with long cat-like nails, weird cat-like faces with sharp canines, and cat ears on top of their heads. However, one is big and round and the other is thin like a twig.

I rapidly blink to bring myself back to the present, looking away from the weird cat brothers to see a calm Zoro.

"How did they do that?" Nami's eyes widen.

"They jumped all the way from the deck and landed just like a cat would," Usopp adds.

"I don't like how they look," I puff out my cheeks.

"Butchie, Siam, we must get up that path and to the village," Django explains to the Cat Boys. "Though, as you can see, there is someone blocking our way. I need you to get rid of him."

"We, we can't do that, can we, Butchie?" The skinny one asks, making him Siam.

"He looks way too mean for us," the round one, Butchie, trembles.

"Geez, and here I thought they were a secret weapon," Usopp sighs.

"They are shaking with how scared they are," Nami taps her bo-staff against her shoulder.

I narrow my eyes at the Meowban Brothers, "I don't like how I'm sure they've done that whole routine before."

"Siam, attack that swordsman at once!" Django's voice slashes through the air.

In the next moment, Siam is rushing at Zoro as tears stream down his cheeks.

"He's crying," Nami exclaims. "Why would he be forced to fight if he hates it?"

"They guard the ship, but I guess no one has ever made it to them," Usopp shrugs.

"Ready or not, here I come!" Siam shouts, running at Zoro with flailing arms. "I am going to scratch your eyes out!"

"He thinks he can scratch me," Zoro grumbles. "I'll cut your head off if you don't stay away!"

I catch the brief glint of confidence in Siam's eyes before he slashes at Zoro with his clawed hand.

Zoro has just enough speed to block the claw with his sword.

"You fell for it!" Siam exclaims. "I was only pretending to be a scaredy-cat so you would underestimate me."

"He's not a coward?" Usopp gasps.

I try to shout out as Siam snatches Zoro's swords, but my breath catches in my throat at how everything is going wrong.

"Zoro! Your swords!" Nami shouts for me, even if it is too late.

"Aha, it looks like you have a bit of skill," Siam places Zoro's swords on his back in an 'x' formation. "But you should never take Siam Meowban, Guard of the Black Cats, too lightly!"

I watch as the panic begins to cross over Zoro's face.

"Looks like you lost a few things, bucko? How come your pretty swords are now with me?"

"He snatched Zoro's swords in the blink of an eye," Nami sighs. "How did Zoro not see him?"

"Give me back those swords!" Zoro growls, his panic turning to anger.

"Give them back?" Siam tauntingly chuckles. "Is one really not enough? Do you really need three?" He pulls the swords off his back. "These things are just going to weigh me down, so better get rid of them now," he carelessly tosses them behind him.

I shift in my seat, anger boiling inside of me for the act of disrespect that he just gave those swords.

Zoro wastes no time in charging at Siam, "Swords that don't belong to you need to be treated with more respect." He uses his one sword to slice the perpetrator across the stomach, and then he rushes for his swords.

But Siam isn't actually hurt, as he jumps on Zoro's back in the next moment, halting him in his tracks.

"How!?" I exclaim.

"There was no stomach under his shirt!" Usopp replies.

As Zoro is shoved into the ground, Butchie is called in to help finish the job. The round man jumps into the air, and I know that his next move is to crush Zoro under his feet.

"Watch out!" Nami cries out.

At the last second, Zoro is able to push Siam away and the two skid to the sides as the ground cracks from Butchie's impact. There's only a brief moment of rest before Butchie and Siam are slashing at Zoro with such speed that they turn into blurs. With only one sword, Zoro is at a disadvantage, but he is keeping up fairly well.

"Damn it," Nami angerly sighs. "Zoro's giving up ground."

"If only he had his other swords, this would have been over ages ago," I mess with the now coming loose bun braid that my hair is in. I forgot that Nami styled it like that before we made it to this island, and now all I want to do is nervously play with my hair. "Screw it," I mumble, pulling the band out of my hair and untangling it with my fingers.

"Usopp, do something, will you?" Nami commands.

"He can only hold out for so long against their combined attack, so I will provide artillery support," Usopp pulls out his slingshot. "Eat lead, cats!" He lets a lead ball fly at the three men.

"Wait!" I call out too late, which is beginning to be a problem.

Zoro spots the lead ball, moving in front of it so it hits his shoulder, causing him to get slashed across the chest.

I hurriedly put my hair into a ponytail, freeing my hands for the fight that will be coming to us soon.

"Whose side are you on, Usopp!" Nami screams.

"No, that's impossible," Usopp shakes his head. "It was like, he moved to get hit on purpose."

"On purpose? Why would he do that?"

"I know many reasons why," I look down at Zoro who is getting up despite his new wound.

"Usopp, you dumbass!" Zoro calls out. "Are you trying to get killed?"

"Zoro saved us," I take a deep breath, relaxing for a moment.

"If you were to hit one of those guys with your lead ball, they could shift their focus to us, and we would be goners!" Nami grips her bo-staff.

"Zoro, how can he think to worry about others in a time like this?"

"There's no way that he can keep fighting them all like this," Nami stands up. "Akari, you ready to get some more fight in?" She smirks over at me.

I pop up onto my feet, "What do you have in mind?"

"We need to get Zoro's swords, and then he'll be able to take out those freaks in a second."

"No, I should get them," Usopp makes a move to get up, but he just sinks back to the ground.

"We've got this," Nami winks at me as I smirk. "You can barely walk, and we are a lot stronger than you think."

"The girls came to play, Usopp, so don't worry," I chuckle. "Let's go!"

Nami leads the way, jumping off the side of the platform we are on. Then we rush down the path, right at Zoro's swords and pass the fight between Zoro and the Meowban Brothers. They don't even notice us.

I pull some shurikens out just in case, ready to slice some more guys up.

"All we have to do is get them to him, and this will all be over," Nami says to me.

It all happens so fast as Nami goes to grab a sword, and Django uses his hypnotist tool to slice her across her shoulder blade. I turn to throw shurikens at him, but all he has to do is send a punch at me side and I am crumpling down next to Nami.

"Nami," I choke out, clutching my side as my head swims. I want to pass out, or throw up, or get back up and kill that bastard who hurt me.

Nami groans in pain.

"What in Neptune's name is going on!" The voice of Captain Kuro pulls me back from passing out. "Are you trying to tell me that these kids, and they are kids, are the ones holding you up!? Is this really what the Pirates of the Black Cats have devolved to? We can't even take down some kids?! Is that it, Django!?" He shouts the last sentence, making my stomach flip.

"You said that, you said it didn't matter if we let the kid go," Django stutters out. "That's what you said, I remember."

I take a deep breath, slowly sitting up.

"And I was right! He should have never been a problem!" Captain Kuro is furious. "Anyone with half a brain could have figured out he would try to stop us, but I didn't expect that your defense would be so week. Don't even try to come up with excuses, I am in no mood to hear them."

I watch as Butchie and Siam slowly make their way towards their captain, but they do not look friendly. In fact, it looks like they want to take him out for having left them to the seas while he got to spend time in a mansion for three years. A mutiny is just what we need.

The Meowban Brothers rush at Captain Kuro, but the man is out of the way in a blink of an eye. When he appears again, each finger looks to have a sword on the end of it. He's like a cat, which means he's evenly matched to the brothers.

"How can someone be that quick?" I spit out blood into the sand.

Captain Kuro disappears once again, before reappearing in between the brothers with an arm over their shoulders.

"Those idiots," Django places a hand on top of his head. "What did they expect would happen? Captain Kuro's Pussyfoot Maneuver is a technique for undetectable movement. You could gather dozens of assassins, and they would all meet death before they realized he was there. We have to carry out his plan. When I saw him for the first time after these three long years, and saw that habit of his with pushing up his glasses, I trembled. He does that to avoid scratching his face with those cat claws of his. It's all the proof I need to know that he hasn't forgotten to kill."

"Akari," Nami whispers to me as she slowly stands up, nodding her head at Zoro's swords that are mere feet away. The hand she has on her shoulder is dripping with blood.

I nod, pushing myself to stand.

We rush at the swords, Nami kicking one while I am able to scoop the other one and toss it, "Zoro!"

"Why you girls!" Zoro glares at us. "First you push me down oil, and then you kick my swords!?"

"I picked it up," I call back.

"Was that a thank you?" Nami chuckles.

"Sorry," Zoro catches his swords, a smirk playing on his lips. "Thanks you two!" He gets into his stance with all three swords ready to go as the Meowban Brothers rush at him ready to slash him like they were doing before.

"Zoro with three swords is a force to be reckoned with," I evilly smirk around at any pirates nearby. "Just you idiots watch, even with his injury, he'll take out those cat freaks."

"Tiger...hunt!" Zoro exclaims as he moves through the brothers without getting hurt, but he slices the two brothers across the chest.

"He beat the Meowban Brothers in one stroke of his sword!" The Cat Pirate crew explodes into murmurs.

"Don't worry," Zoro points a sword at Captain Kuro. "I don't need five minutes to take the rest of you."

"Try it," Captain Kuro taunts, pushing up his glasses in that bottom of his hand way he does.

Butchie takes deep breaths, pushing himself onto his hands and knees. "Cap, cap, Captain Django, hypnotize me!"

"Did he live because of how big he is?" I watch in awe as Django hypnotizes him to fight once more.

"Cover me, Akari," Nami rushes off towards the stem post and Luffy sleeping under it.

"Of course," I widen my stance, getting my shurikens ready to take anyone out.

"Where are you going, bitch!?" Django throws his hypnotist disk.

"Nami!" I throw shurikens to knock the disk off course, but the thing is going too fast.

"Everyone is fighting with serious injuries, and you have the guts to sleep!" Nami jumps, slapping the heel of her boot into Luffy's head.

"Nami, hit the deck!" Zoro cries out.

"That thing will split you in two!" I glare back at Django for a few seconds.

Nami screams in terror as she notices the device flying at her.

"It's a chakram!" Usopp shouts. "He uses it to hypnotize people, but can also use it to hurt anyone in his way!"

"Nami!" Luffy bellows as he pops up, now wide away and standing in the path of the chakram. "Why did you have to step on my head!? Was that really the best option?!"

"Luffy!" I scream as the chakram hits him right in the back of his head; his straw hat luckily not on his head.

Luffy stumbles, but the next step he places his foot down with conviction. Then he rips the chakram out of his head, tossing it to the ground.

"How is he still alive?" Django blurts out.

I rush over to the two, "Nami, that was great!"

"Luffy is back in action!" Luffy empties his lungs, "That hurt!"

"Anything to turn the advantage in our favor," Nami takes a deep breath.

"That really hurt!" Luffy screams at Nami as he places a hand on the back of his head.

"It wasn't her, Luffy," I stand in front of Nami. "It was those jerks over there," I point to the path.

Nami falls to the ground, heavily breath. "You really are an angel, Akari."

"Your shoulder is bleeding," Luffy calmly says. "Is your side bleeding?" He narrows his eyes at my wounded side.

"We're fine," Nami and I say as one.

"We've done all that we can," Nami nods. "The rest is up to you, so don't let us down. This is one fight that we have to win!"

"That means you need to go kick their ass," I grin, placing my hands on my hips.

Luffy smiles at us, snatching his hat up from the sand.

"There's a lot of treasure on the line," Nami grins, clenching the fist of her free hand.

"Ah," Luffy's smile changes to a serious frown. "Now that is more like you." He turns to face the path. "That evil butler is here." His fist clench into fists at his side.

"Three minutes before I slaughter everyone," Captain Kuro says as he looks at his watch.

"Three minutes? There's no way that this can all end in three minutes," I lean up against the stem post.

"Butchie, don't think, just go at the boy with the swords while I take the straw-hat brat!" Django commands.

"Klahadore!!" Kaya's sweet voice pierces the air, stopping everyone in their tracks. "Stop this right now!!"

"Kaya, what is she doing here? I thought she was trapped in her room?" I press a hand into my side.

"That's our real target!" Django exclaims for all to hear. "We don't need to plunder the village if she's right there. All we have to do is kill her."

"Now this is a lovely surprise, Miss Kaya," Captain Kuro pushes his glasses up. "What brings you here?"

"Merry, Merry told me everything," Kaya says.

"He did, did he? Hm, I thought that I killed him."

"I'm sorry, so sorry, Usopp! How can you ever forgive me for not believing you? I was in such denial that I could never believe that Klahadore was a pirate."

"It's okay, Kaya!" Usopp responds. "Why did you come here anyway! You need to leave right now! They are trying to kill you!"

"But aren't you fighting them!?" She now has tears streaming down her face. "Even if we treated you so horribly. Even though you are bleeding all over. You still fight to protect us?"

"Of course! I, I, I am a brave warrior of the sea!"

I let my mouth twitch up into a smile.

"Klahadore, if you want my fortune, you can have it!" Kaya shouts. "I will give it all to you. Take it all, and then leave the village alone!"

"Oh, I am afraid that that is not good enough, Miss Kaya. I want your fortune, yes, but what I want more than anything else, is piece of mind," Captain Kuro creepily grins. "I spend three years earning the trust of every one of the villagers. I have grown so comfortable. I can finally relax. Only with your fortune and peace of mind will I have accomplished my plan. That means that the attack on the village, and your accidental demise, are both essential. Both must happen to satisfy me."

"Kaya! Don't listen to him!" Usopp screams out. "Just run! You don't need to waste your breath on him! He's lost his mind."

Without hesitation, Kaya pulls a gun from her jacket, pointing it right at Captain Kuro. "Leave this village alone!"

"Now that is badass," I chuckle.

"You really have grown up over the three years that I have known you," Captain Kuro nods. "I've been by your side for all the changes, isn't that right? Even before you lost your parents and came down with your illness, we spend a lot of time together. We went sailing, took trips to town, when you had fevers, I stayed at your bedside all day and night. We suffered together, laughed together, and I was always your humble servant. All your silly dreams, I humored you, because I needed you to trust me. I endured it all, all of the crap for today. The day that you would die by my hand!"

The tears are now flowing like two waterfalls down Kaya's face.

"I was once dreaded as the fearsome Captain Kuro, I bowed and scraped and catered to a spoiled little girl every hour of every day for three years. Can you understand that kind of humiliation?!"

The gun falls from Kaya's trembling hands, but Usopp jumps into action with a cry, "KURO!"

Captain Kuro dodges with his technique, though his focus is now off the ones that he should be worrying about.

Luffy shoots his arm out to punch Captain Kuro right on the chin and send him flying to his butt. "If you don't like getting hit, I'll punch you a hundred times more!" He says, flexing his arm muscles as he grips the bicep of his punching arm with the opposite hand.

"How did he do that!?" The Black Cat crew is in a panic. "He was all the way over there and still decked the captain."

"That's Luffy for you," I sigh, feeling safe for the first time since this whole battle began.

Everyone is shocked at what just occurred, and no one dares to make another move. That is, until three little boys decide to make their entrance.

"Now!" The boys voices startle me.

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