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Chapter 29

Jango smiled as the gates to the mansion slid open. The men who were guarding it were only too happy to open it for him. Not because they were traitors or anything of such dubious nature. No, they opened them after he employed his speciality.

Hypnotism.

It was through his expertise in the field that Kuro was able to fake his own death a few years back and instigate this little plan of his. Jango himself didn't understand why he would give up the life of piracy they enjoyed, but to each their own.

Of course, plans rarely survive first contact with the enemy, which is why Kuro had so many of them in his back pocket. Such as meeting the Bear King after Kaya's parents died at sea. His Captain claimed innocence, but Jango had his doubts. At the same time, it wouldn't surprise him if his Captain merely capitalized on the opportunity their deaths had provided.

Not that the ruthless man would have allowed them to live either way, but his plans did need to be altered quite a bit. Plans that now included selling off a young woman to a rather nasty pirate. Jango almost felt sorry for the girl.

The first part of the plan was to make her frightened, and to doubt her ability to lead the company her parents left her. That was Kuro's job, subtly whispering in her ear for years about how difficult it would be, especially with her ailing constitution.

Something else his Captain had a hand in.

But that plan wasn't bearing the tastiest of fruits, mostly due to that meddling Merry. Kuro thought of killing the man, of course, but such an action may have actually killed the girl. If Kaya perished before she turned 18, then it would be extremely difficult for the man to get his hands on the company.

Pesky laws and all that. Normally, a pirate wouldn't care about such things, but with Kuro trying to go straight, at least on the surface, it provided more than a bit of a challenge.

Once it was clear that he would be incapable of convincing her to give him the company, he switched tracks. Thus, the Bear King and the attacks. Not only would he frighten her into giving up the business, he would also use her empathy against her. She hated to see the townsfolk suffering due to her own decision after all.

And now, with the attack on the town itself, it was only a matter of time before the villagers turned on her. "If only you'd just married that man, we wouldn't have to suffer like this!" they would say. People could be so cruel. Perfectly willing to sentence another to a life of misery so long as it allowed them to live in relative safety and comfort.

So that was it. Make her doubt her own abilities, frighten her with the attacks, causing further doubt, and make the people of Syrup Village turn their backs on her by spilling their blood and worse. They would practically form a mob and force her to sign the company over, and who better than Kuro, who has ingratiated himself with the villagers and learned all about how the company is run.

Add to that the promise of safety from the Bear King if he marries her, or retribution if he doesn't. Given that ultimatum, they might even put her in a wedding dress themselves. And Kuro reaps the benefits of the alliance with the assurance of protection and cessation of all attacks.

That Bear King sure is a convenient scapegoat. Now, no one would suspect Kuro of foul play at all. The only real concern with the alliance, besides the threat of being backstabbed of course, is that machine he uncovered. Jango shivered at the thought of that man having so much power.

But Kuro didn't believe the rumor about it being true. For all of their sakes, he hoped it wasn't. Otherwise, the title of king might not be just wishful thinking on the man's part. God might actually be more appropriate.

Jango took his time to moonwalk up the path leading to the front entrance. With the house's main defender running off to save his pals, there was really no need to hurry. Once he was inside, it would be a simple matter to eliminate them or hypnotize them.

He walked up the steps and with a swagger like Jagger, knocked on the front door.

"Go away, no one's home!" shouted a young sounding voice. It wasn't that of a child, so Jango assumed it must have been the one called Usopp.

"Why would you say that!?" shouted a feminine voice. That must be the other woman Kuro warned him about. The one with orange hair and a temper. Better watch out for her.

"Sorry! I panicked!" shouted the first voice again. Jango waited there patiently for a moment, enjoying the fear his presence brought them. Usually it was due to his Captain that made people so afraid, so the fact that it was him and him alone brought some measure of satisfaction.

But no matter how much he enjoyed it, he still had a job to do. Reaching out for the door handle, he slowly turned it, surprised to see that it was in fact, unlocked.

"Oh crap he's coming in!" shouted who he believed was Usopp.

"Didn't you lock the door!?" screeched the woman.

"I forgot after Luffy ran out! Quick, run away!"

Grinning ear to ear, Jango opened the door and stepped inside, "Do you really think you can esca-ack!" but his cocky, self assured entrance was interrupted by something landing on his head.

"What the hell is-" but he was once again interrupted, this time by the sound of angry buzzing, all around him. It didn't take much more than a single sting for Jango to realize what happened.

"Ahh! Get 'em off! Get 'em off!" he yelled, as he started swatting at the pesky insects. But there were far too many of them, and he was soon overwhelmed by the sheer size of the swarm. Causing him to flee from the house

"Hahaha! You fell for it! My Trick Him Into Opening the Door so the Hive of Bees Falls on His Head Plan worked like a charm!" Usopp shouted from the balcony on the second floor, hands on his hips and looking way too pleased with himself.

"Awesome Captain! You're the coolest!" shouted Akisu with stars in his eyes.

"Wow, it actually worked. But what's with that name?" Nami asked with a sweat drop. Usopp ignored her completely, choosing only to integrate the praise into his psyche.

"Yes, that's right, I am a genius! That will teach them to mess with the great Captain Usopp!"

Nami rolled her eyes at the pair, turning her gaze back towards the door. The door that was currently wide open.

"Hey, shouldn't we close the door?" she asked, interrupting Usopp and his gloating. He and Akisu turned to look at the door, blinking in surprise as the door squeaked slightly, swaying back and forth due to the wind.

"Oh crap, I mean, well done! You spotted my plan! I left the door open on purpose to lure him into another trap!" Usopp proclaimed, giving a nervous laugh, convincing no one. The other two gave him blank stares, not buying it for a second.

"And what trap might that be?" Nami asked. Much to her surprise, he actually did have another trap in place.

"I'm glad you asked! You see, it's never enough to just have one trap set up, you have to layer them. That's the mark of a true professional. In this case, we have these!" he yelled, grabbing a paint can off of the floor.

"Paint? What are you going to do with paint?" Nami asked in disbelief. Usopp made a tsking sound, much like earlier when she first caught him setting up his booby traps. It annoyed her then, and it annoyed her now.

"It's not the paint that's important, it's the cans. You see, all we have to do is fill them with rocks, tie the handle to one end of some rope, tie the other end of the rope to something high up, and viola, we can launch it right at them and send them packing!" Usoop explained.

Nami was actually somewhat impressed by the idea. If they managed to hit them in the head, it could do some serious damage. There was just one thing that was bugging her. "Why rocks?" she asked. They should be plenty heavy enough filled with paint, so what swap it out? Unless the cans were empty to start with.

Usopp appeared sheepish for a second, rubbing the back of his head. "There was a little accident…"

"Is that why Akisu's covered in paint?" Nami asked.

"Yes," Akisu stated plainly.

"Never mind that! Look, he's coming back in!" Usopp shouted, gaining their attention. Sure enough, they could see a swollen, bumpy hand grasping at the other door, the one that was still closed. Then, his face appeared, just as swollen and bumpy as his hand.

"Man, those bees really did a number on him," Akisu commented, wincing slightly at the numerous welts covering the other man. Sure he deserved it, but still…

"You little brats! When I get up there, you're dead!" Jango shouted from below, glaring daggers at them. Or at least that's what he intended to say, but considering his tongue was stung a few times, it just came out as garbled, slurred nonsense.

"Yoth bibble sshats! Woon og gerb oop fare, yora boob!" (You little shits! When I get up there, you're dead!)

"...Did anybody catch that?" asked Nami, a sweat drop falling down the back of her head.

"I think he called us boobs," Usopp commented.

"Well that's rude," said Akisu, giving the pirate below the stink eye.

"I don't know… You two look like boobs to me," stated Nami casually.

"Hey!" they both shouted at her, faces enraged.

"Stoop ingobing meh!" (Stop ignoring me!) screamed Jango from the entrance. The three of them turned back to him, as if just remembering he was there.

"Oh right. Listen, here's the plan. I'll distract him with a smoke bomb. Akisu, I want you to start heading down there. When the bucket hits him, he should go flying right out that door. When that happens I want you to lock the door and tie the handles together with some rope so he can't break it down. Can you do that?" Usopp asked.

"You can count on me!" Akisu answered, giving a salute. He then ran off towards the stairs, waiting for his cue.

"Good. Nami, do you think you can hit him with the can?" he asked next, turning to face the orange haired woman.

"Yeah, I think so. Shouldn't be too hard," she agreed.

"Great. Then on my mark," Usopp said, digging into his large, green satchel hanging from his shoulder. He grabbed a little ball, one that looked like it was covered in bandages. He placed it into his slingshot, pulling it back taut, aiming it right below the intruding pirate.

"Alright guys, let's do this!" he shouted.

"Yeah!" they agreed.

Jango looked up at the little shits who assaulted him with little flying demons. It was hard to see what they were doing, since the bees stung him around his eyes, and it was equally hard to hear as he was also stung in his ears. He knew they were planning something, he just didn't know what. Not that it would matter. They were just a bunch of kids. What could they do to a real pirate like him?

"Special Attack: Smoke Star!"

Jango's cocky self assurance was interrupted by being surrounded by smoke. He began to cough and his eyes burned even more. "Whag ish thizz!? ("What is this!?") he shouted. It was already hard enough for him to see before, but now he was completely blind.

The smoke gradually started to clear, though he still couldn't see anything. Tears fell from his eyes as he spun around, trying to see something.

"New Nabi!" (Now Nami!) he heard shouted from the floor above him. Confused, he turned to face the direction the voice came from.

"Root!" (Right!) shouted a female voice. But what did roots have to do with anything? Was it some kind of code word?

The smoke had thinned out quite a bit by this point, and Jango could just barely see past his own nose. But through his blurry vision, he was able to make out something coming towards him. With a panicked expression he tried to move out of the way.

"I don't think so!" yelled Usopp, grabbing another ball from his satchel, this one with a familiar silver sheen. It was one of the pachinko balls he used to attack Luffy when he and his friends first arrived on the island. He loaded it into his slingshot and took aim, before firing it off.

"Special Attack: Bounce Star!"

The metal ball traveled fast, its form a blur as it sped towards its destination. It traveled under the swinging paint can that Nami chucked at the intruder, hitting the ground and ricocheting right at Jango, hitting him square in the nuts.

He let out a high pitched squeal at the impact, holding his family jewels in agony. It was unlikely he would ever be able to have kids. But more importantly than his impotence was the fact that getting hit in the nads prevented him from fleeing.

Allowing the paint can to strike him right in the face. And just as Usopp predicted, it sent him flying out the door. He flew several more feet, rolling across the ground before finally coming to a stop.

Akisu, seeing the unfortunate man go soaring out of the house, ran full tilt towards the door. He probably wasn't getting up any time soon, but why take the chance?

He slammed the door shut, locking it. He then grabbed some rome out of his own satchel, looping it a few times around the handles before tying the ends together.

"There, that oughta do it," Akisu stated as he finished his task. He turned to face the other two, who had big smiles on their faces. He gave them a thumbs up, matching grin on his face.

"Alright, we did it!" Usopp cheered, raising his hand to high five Nami. She stared at it for a second, before sighing with a smile still on her face, "Why not?" she lamented, before high fiving Usopp.

"We sure showed him! He'll think twice about tangling with the great and powerful Usopp!" he proclaimed. Nami shook her head in exasperation as Akisu made it back up to the group, getting his head ruffled by his older brother.

"Good job squirt."

"Aw, it was nothing," Akisu said, scratching under his nose in embarrassment. Nami smiled at the scene, her own mind going back to simpler times with her own sister. No matter how much they fought and argued, they never stopped loving each other. Not even when Nami joined the ones who killed their mother. Nojiko always believed in her.

"Right, that takes care of him, but who knows how many more are on their way. We better be prepared," Usopp said, getting serious nods from the other two. Nami wasn't so sure he was defeated, but it probably didn't matter either way. Usopp was right about one thing.

It was only just beginning.

Jango rose to his feet, slowly. He held onto his nose, feeling the telltale signs of it being broken, namely a warm wetness. Looking down, he confirmed it was leaking blood like a faucet.

"When I get my hands on them, they'll wish they were never born," Jango growled, clenching his fist in anger. He wasn't normally one for torture, but exceptions could be made.

He tried to take a step forwards, but a sharp, stinging sensation coming from his lower extremity halted his advance. He nearly collapsed back to the ground, but managed to keep himself up by clinging to a statue.

"I think I'm gonna…" Jango then proceeded to barf in the topiary. This was not his night. After expelling the contents of his stomach, he waited for a few minutes until his balls stopped hurting so bad. They still throbbed, but the pain wasn't so excruciating it prevented him from walking.

He made his way back towards the front door, each step leading to the porch was taken slowly and deliberately. One wrong move would send the agony racing back to his boys.

When he did reach the door, he grabbed the handle with a vicious smile, imagining what he was about to do to those damn kids. It would certainly put him on a list, just not one he would have to go door to door explaining.

But as he turned the handle, the door refused to budge. Frowning, he began to try and force it open, but much to his chagrin, it remained steadfastly obstinate. Growling, he tried to kick it open, forgetting about the delicate ongoing situation in his pants.

As his foot hit the door, which barely shook from the impact, powerful vibrations traveled up his leg right into his crotch. He stood still for a second, as a gust of wind blew past him. He then fell over, holding his crotch once more, with tears streaking down his face.

"I… Really… Hate… Those… Kids…" he ground out. At least he was able to keep his lunch down this time. A few more minutes ticked by before he made his way back to his feet, using the door to help himself up.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pocket watch, cursing when he saw the time. He needed to hurry up and finish this. If he kept lollygagging, his Captain would tan his hide.

But he couldn't get in through the front door, not anymore. Good thing there was more than one entrance. With a dark grin, he started walking around the massive house. He wasn't going towards the back door, they would be expecting that. Instead, he was making a beeline for the basement.

Nobody ever remembers the basement.

Sneaking around the corner of the house, Jango looked every which way he could. Seeing that the coast was clear, he continued on his journey, tiptoeing through the grass and ducking under windows.

Eventually, he reached his destination. He stared at the stone stairs leading to the basement landing with a smirk. Success. They wouldn't know what hit them.

However, upon taking his first step onto the stairs, something happened that he did not expect. Turns out, the steps were very slippery, and his vision was pervaded by the image of a starry night.

"Huh?" he questioned at seeing this. But his confusion lasted for all of a second before his back hit the hard surface below him. He continued to slide painfully down the stairs, until he slammed into the basement door.

"Uhhhh," he moaned in agony. He lay there for a few minutes, waiting for the pain to dilute enough he could stand up. Once that happened, he tried to make his way back to his feet. But every time he did, he just kept slipping and falling.

"What is this stuff?" he complained, hands bracing against the wall. His legs kept just lept sliding in every direction, and it took all of his concentration not to fall. He looked over to the door, knowing he needed to somehow make his way over.

He tried to slide his left leg over, and was mildly successful, but in doing so, he forgot about his right leg, which decided it wanted to go backwards. Jango fell face first into the cobblestone floor, right into his already broken nose. Now there was a bit of red mixed in with the mysterious liquid.

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He groaned as he flipped onto his back, which was harder than you might think. Looking up, he saw something that gave him an idea. The door handle. If he could just reach that, he might be able to open the door and slide on in.

Literally.

It was difficult, but he managed to reach up and grab onto it. With his hands coated in the strange, slippery goop, it made holding onto it a challenge, but he managed through sheer determination. Slowly but surely, he managed to stand on his own two feet again.

"Hah, I did it!" he cheered. But his glee didn't last long. He tried rotating the handle to open the door, but it refused. He tried again, with more force, and yet it remained unmoved. There was no use denying it, the door was locked.

"Oh, come on!" he yelled. Unfortunately for poor Jango, this had a disastrous consequence. With his attention no longer on keeping himself upright he found his legs sliding in opposite directions, until he was doing a full split.

"Ah!" he squealed out, voice a few octaves higher, his hands once more holding his abused lower region. He fell backwards, moaning in absolute misery. His eyes clenched shut in agony, tears leaking from the corner of his eyes.

Once the pain abated somewhat, he opened his eyes to stare into the gleeful eyes of Usopp. It took him a moment to realize just what, or to be more accurate, who he was looking at, and when he did, he was absolutely livid.

"You! This is all your fault! Get down here so I can kill you!"

"I think I'll pass. But here, have a parting present. Just a little gift from me to you," Usopp said, holding up a box. With a grin, he dropped it, aiming right for the hypnotist's head.

"No, wait!" Jango yelled, but it was too late. The box slammed into his head, shattering it and releasing its contents all over. Once this happened, Jango heard, much to his horror, a familiar, angry buzzing.

"No! Not more bees!"

Usopp smiled at seeing the man flopping around trying to get the evil little creatures off of him. It brought him no small amount of joy to get one over on some evil asshole. But what he didn't notice was a single bee, its entire focus directed at him.

Or rather, his nose.

"Hmm?" Usopp hummed, feeling something on his elongated appendage. Staring down said nose, his eyes crossed as he spotted the bee, who he swore was giving him an evil grin.

"Now, wait a minute. We can talk this out," Usopp begged. But bees are just as big of assholes as pirates, and his begging would prove fruitless. His scream of pain would join the man's down below.

"Big bro, are you ok!? I heard you scream and-" Akisu exclaimed, bursting into the guest room. He saw his older brother on the other side of the room, closing a window. His concern ebbed away when Usopp turned around, revealing his predicament to the younger boy.

"Pfft, hahaha!"

Nami, who was wondering about the noise as well, entered to see Akisu on the floor rolling around in laughter. "Hey what's so-" she started to ask, before seeing the same thing as Akisu.

"Snrk, hahaha! Oh my god! Buggy, is that you?"

"Oh haha, very funny! Let's all laugh at Usopp!" he yelled, crossing his arms and turning away petulantly. The reflection in the mirror hanging from a wall revealed a big, red, throbbing nose.

"Oh come on, lighten up," Nami said, wiping a tear from her eye. "What happened anyway?"

"It doesn't matter! What does matter is I protected the house once again," Usopp proclaimed with pride. His accomplishment was diminished a bit by his nose, which caused the other two to snicker again, seeing it bob up and down with Usopp's head movement.

"Stop laughing!"

A loud crash interrupted their argument. "What was that?" Nami asked, concerned. Usopp ran back to the window, placing his face against the glass, trying to look down. He didn't dare open the window again, just in case some of the bee's buddies got any bright ideas.

To his surprise, he saw Jango flying backwards out of the basement, hitting the stairs hard. He laid there motionless, a bit red welt on his forehead.

"It's that guy. Somehow he broke the door down. But don't worry, looks like he was hit by a paint can," Usopp said smugly. It was always nice when a plan came together.

"Another one? Just how many did you rig up?" Nami asked in disbelief.

"A lot," muttered Akisu. Looking down at him, Nami could count several different colors of paint.

"Oh crap, he's getting up!" Usopp shouted. Nami and Akisu shared a look, worry in their eyes. "Where's he going?" she asked, as they turned back to look at him.

"Looks like… the basement," Usopp muttered, trying to control the wobble in his voice. Why did that guy have to be so stubborn? Couldn't he take a hint? They didn't want him here!

"I can't believe he got past the Super Secret Slippery Surprise," Akisu mumbled. Nami's eyes turned blank at the name. It was basically the same as the sticky one.

"I know, I can't either, but don't worry. He won't make it out of the basement," Usopp said with confidence. Nami gave him a confused look.

"Why? What's in the basement?"

*Line Break*

Jango stumbled into the basement, rubbing his head in pain. He was getting really sick of all these juvenile traps. He'd make sure to skin those brats alive if he ever got his hands on them.

He looked round the darkened room, trying to spot the stairs leading into the house. But it was so dark, he could barely see anything other than black. It was why he didn't see the paint can coming before it was too late.

The thought of removing his sunglasses never even crossed his mind.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a lighter. It was hard to start due to how slippery his hands were, but eventually, he managed to produce a small, flickering flame.

"There we go," he smirked, the glow of the lighter casting his face in an eerie orange light. He gazed out into the inky blackness of the room, sweat dripping down his brow. Who knows what they could have rigged up down here. He'd have to be extra careful.

What he saw was mostly wine bottles, placed neatly in racks. If he remembered correctly, the previous owners, Kaya's parents, were quite the wine connoisseurs. Something they shared in common with his Captain.

Other than that, there were several items placed in the corners. Since the young lady wasn't one for wine, they must be using it for a bit of storage. Once she was wed off, he had no doubt Kuro would clean this place out. A wine cellar was meant for wine after all, nothing else.

He cautiously walked further into the room, looking all around for any sign of danger. It could be lurking around any corner. Each step was taken deliberately, one after the other, in slow measured steps.

He stopped when he came to a table. Holding out his small light, he grinned when he saw what looked like an oil lamp, just waiting to be used.

Perfect. That would produce a much brighter flame, which would allow him to see even better. He eagerly grabbed the thing, completely forgetting his earlier caution. Something that would prove to be his undoing.

As he lifted the lamp off the table, he felt it resist, like something was trying to pull it back down. He also heard what sounded like a rope scraping across a surface, causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand up. Looking underneath, he confirmed the presence of a fairly thick piece of string.

He heard something click to his left, and he turned as fast as he could. But he couldn't see what it was. He placed the lighter in front of him, trying to spot what it could have been, ready to dodge whatever came his way.

But when nothing happened, he carefully made his way towards where the sound came from, completely ignoring the lamp. He followed the string to where it led, and what he saw made the sweat pour down from his brow even more.

It was a cage. An empty cage. The string tied to the mechanism that locked it. When he picked up the lantern, it must have opened the lock and released whatever was inside. But what could it be?

Bending down, he tried to spot any indication of what it could have been. There was a bit of fur, and upon closer inspection, appeared to be black, white, and gray. That didn't narrow things down very much.

Just then, a clanking sound drew his attention. He turned to try and spot the creature he knew was in the room with him, but all he saw was an empty wine bottle, softly spinning on the floor.

He heard the soft pitter patter of feet scurrying around him. He turned this way and that, trying to spot whatever it was, but it was too fast. The most he saw was a bushy tail, which narrowed it down some, but not much.

But soon, all he heard was silence. Whatever it was had stopped moving, and Jango got the feeling of being watched. He gulped, backing up until his back hit the table, the same one the lamp was on.

That's when he heard it. A growling coming from his left. Turning slowly, raising his light up, he finally saw just what it was. He first noticed the eyes, the light from his lighter reflecting off of them. Next was the face. Most of it was gray, but its eyes were framed in black, like it was wearing a little robber mask. The last thing was its tail, lined with several rings of alternating black and white.

All the anxiety melted away from his body as he realized what it was. "Whew, just a raccoon. I was worried it was a skunk or something," he said, wiping the sweat from his brow. But when he noticed the raccoon still staring at him, he tried to get it to leave. "Go on, shoo! Get out of here."

But it didn't. If anything, his actions just made it growl with even more anger. That's when he noticed something else about the racoon he missed the first time around. It was foaming at the mouth.

His eyes widened in fear and realization. The raccoon was rapid. "Oh, crap…"

The raccoon then leapt out of the wine rack, claws extended as it sank them into the soft flesh of his face. "Ahh! Get it off, get it off!" Jango screamed as he was clawed and bitten by the furry little monster.

He fell backwards onto the floor, still trying to rip it off his face, but it was latched on tight. He started punching the furious furry creature, but that only seemed to make it bite him harder.

Bottles of expensive wine crashed onto the floor from his flailing, but Jango barely noticed. He was far more preoccupied with the savage beast trying to, with more than a little success, claw his face off!

He flipped onto his front, leaning back till he was on his knees, back erect, before slamming his head into the floor. That seemed to do the trick, as the raccoon finally let go.

But it was far from dead, scampering off into the darkness. Jango knelt there, panting with exhaustion, "What's wrong with these people? Who keeps a rabid raccoon in the basement?" he complained, wiping the blood, sweat, wine, and other mystery fluids off of his face.

"I need to get out of here, but where are the stairs?" he questioned, looking around the gloom for his escape. Unfortunately, he dropped his only source of light in the struggle, being left in near total darkness with a ravenous raccoon.

He began to feel around the floor, crawling on his hands and knees, trying to find his lighter. After what felt like hours, but was really only a minute or two, he finally managed to locate it.

"Aha, there you are! Now let's get the hell out of here," he said, flicking it on. And there, on the table to his right, staring directly at him and growling, was none other than his arch nemesis, the rabid raccoon.

Jango slowly turned his head, with an almost mechanical twist, staring right into the eyes of the devil. "...Please don't eat my face." But his request was denied.

*Line Break*

Nami, Usopp and Akisu were standing in the hall, hiding behind a corner as they stared at the door leading to the cellar, waiting to get the jump on the pirate they knew was down there.

"So, that's where he's at, huh?" said Nami, being between the two, casting suspicious glances at the door.

"Yup, that's it. But don't worry, I placed my most insidious trap of all time down there. I don't think we have to worry about him," Usopp said with confidence. Nami looked up at him, giving him a curious, yet doubtful look.

"And just what kind of trap did you put down there to make you so confident?" she questioned. Usopp stared down at her with a smug grin.

"Well, you see-"

"Ahhhh! My face!"

The three turned to look at the door, two pairs of eyes filled with recognition, and the other with worry. Loud crashes could be heard amongst the cries for help and pleas for mercy. Nami gave Usopp a wary look.

"Seriously, what did you put down there?" she asked.

"Cooper," Akisu responded, which did nothing to clear up her confusion. "Who, or what is Cooper?" she asked again.

"He's a racoon. One who just so happens to have rabies," Usopp responded. Nami's eyes widened, remembering them discussing something like that earlier.

"Where did you get something like that?" she asked.

"Never doubt the great and powerful Usopp! Something like that was child's play!"

Nami sighed as Usopp began to laugh boisterously. She fixed her gaze on the door once more, doubting something like a raccoon would be able to stop a pirate. At least, none of the ones she knew.

It was a temporary setback at best, and they needed to be prepared for anything. But there was one thing she didn't understand. How did he get inside the mansion grounds? The guards should have stopped him, and if they didn't those squirrels should have. But somehow, he got inside, without a single piece of clothing ruffled.

"Hey, Usopp?" she asked, making the long nosed sniper cease his laughter to give her a curious look.

"Where are the guards? Shouldn't they have come by now?"

Usopp opened his mouth to say something, but found himself pausing. That was a good question. The guards should definitely have heard the racket and come running. So where were they?

"Good question. Somebody should go and check it out. The dogs too. I haven't heard them bark once," Usopp said.

"I nominate you," Nami said quickly, making Usopp sputter indignantly.

"What? Why me?" he asked, hoping no one heard the stutter in his voice. He may have been a bit scared to run off on his own.

"Because you know the house better than I do. I might get lost, and we can't afford to waste time," she said. Usopp hated that she made so much sense.

"Curse her and her logic!" he thought to himself. But just when he was about to accept, or make a counter argument, Akisu spoke up.

"I'll do it!" he said, eyes gleaming with determination. The two adults gave him a look, before sharing one of their own.

"Listen, I appreciate the offer, but this is dangerous. Who knows what could be wrong? They could be working for the pirates," Nami stated as gently as she could. She didn't want to put the kid down, especially when he was showing more courage than his older brother, who was shaking in his boots, but she didn't want to risk something happening to the kid either.

"But-" Akisu said, but was interrupted by Usopp.

"No, she's right. You're too young to go off on your own and face real pirates. Just leave it to me. I got this!" he said. Though his proclamation was diminished somewhat by his knees clacking together.

Akisu glared at the ground, tears of frustration welling up in the corner of his eyes. "It's not fair! Treating me like a little kid. I'm braver than he is," Akisu thought to himself, glaring at the ground.

Just then, they heard a door slam from inside the basement, drawing their attention. Then, there was nothing but the sound of silence. That was more worrying than anything.

"Oh great, now what?" Usopp asked, fear in his eyes.

"I don't know. Be ready for anything," Nami said. The two of them had all their attention focused on the door, which means they weren't paying any attention to Akisu. Seeing this was his chance, he quietly backed away unnoticed by the other two, before turning around and sprinting away.

This made enough noise for him to be heard, causing Usopp and Nami to turn around.

"Hey, where do you think you're going!?" Usopp yelled. Akisu turned his head, giving them a determined glare while not slowing down in the slightest.

"I'm going to see what's wrong with the guards. I'll be back in a minute! Don't try and stop me!" he shouted back.

"What did you-!? Hey, get back here!" Usopp shouted. What was his brother thinking, running off like that in the middle of a battle. If they made it out of this, he was so grounded!

"Don't worry, I'll get him!" Nami shouted, sprinting after the younger boy. Usopp gave her a wide eyed stare as she ran down the hall. "Wait, don't leave me!"

But his words fell on deaf ears as Nami disappeared around a corner. Now he was all alone, in the silent hallway, with a killer on the loose. That's when he heard the sound of footsteps coming up from the basement. He turned around to face the door once again, shaking like a leaf.

It sounded like he was coming up the stairs, which means he must have dealt with Cooper. "Oh man, this is bad… Hey guys, please come back!" he shouted. But no one heard him.

He squeaked when he heard the sound of the door handle rattle. He gulped, reaching a shaky hand into his satchel to grab a metal ball. But when he pulled it out, he dropped it onto the floor, watching it bounce and roll away.

The door handle began to shake violently, causing Usopp to back away, his legs barely able to support his weight due to the fear. A hard slam against the door made Usopp turn around to flee, but when he did, he saw a painting of a young Kaya with her parents. She was smiling happily while sitting on a swing, surrounded by flowers.

That made him stop. "What the hell do you think you're doing Usopp? Kaya's counting on you, and you try to run away? Why do you have to be such a coward?" he ground out in frustration, eyes becoming moist.

He wiped away the tears furiously before they could fall, and proceeded to slap himself good and hard in the face to psych himself up. "Right! You can do this. For Kaya. For Akisu. For everyone in Syrup Village. You can be brave!"

He turned around, knees barely shaking anymore, and confidently pulled out a metal ball, placing it in his slingshot and aiming it towards the door. "Alright you bastard, bring it on! Tonight, you have to deal with Usopp the Brave!"

*Line Break*

Jango slammed the door shut, having flung the rabid little beast outside where it belonged. Now he was the bees problem.

He turned around and rested his back against the door, panting. He was more than a little exhausted. His face had deep gouges in it from the raccoon's claws, and part of his lower lip had been bitten off. He thought back to when his Captain said these people wouldn't be a problem.

Well, guess who was wrong!

He heard the raccoon scratching at the door, snarling to get in, but it was locked good and tight. No way was that little monster getting back inside. Now he was free and clear to make his way inside the house, and kill everyone but Kaya inside.

And he was going to enjoy every second of it.

He made his way back through the room, found his lighter once again, and began making his way slowly up the stairs, each creak of the steps below bringing him closer and closer to his goal.

He reached the top of the stairs without issue, grinning as he reached for the handle. But that smile turned into a frown when he realized it was locked. He growled as he began to rattle the thing harder. When that didn't work either, he started shoulder checking the door.

Once…

Twice…

Three times he rammed into the uncooperative door. And you know what they say? Third time's the charm.

The door burst open and Jango stumbled forward. He turned and saw Usopp standing there, aiming his slingshot at him. "There you are-" Jango started, but his tirade was interrupted by a bucket landing on his head, covering him once more with a mysterious liquid. Only this time, it was sticky..

You'd think he'd learn to watch out for those.

He tried to get the bucket off his head, but no matter how hard he pulled, it refused to budge. Seeing this, Usopp let out a sigh of relief, nervous chuckle turning into a cocky laugh.

"Hahahaha, that's what you get! Thought you could one over on old Usopp did you!? Well you were wrong!"

But then a smell entered his nose, "What's that? Smells like something's burning," he mentioned. Then he heard the sound of sizzling. And finally, he could see smoke rising from Jango's bucket covered head.

He was confused about what was happening until he remembered something very important. The Super Secret Sicky Surprise and the Super Secret Slippery Surprise couldn't come in contact with each other. They had a chemical reaction that, when combined, caused them to explode.

"Oh crap! What do I do!?" he shouted in a panic. He couldn't just let an explosion occur in the middle of the hall like this. That would cause way too much damage to Kaya's house.

Thinking fast, he got an idea. He only had a few seconds until things went boom, and he needed to get rid of the source right? Well, it was a good thing he was standing right in front of the door leading to the basement. If the explosion happened down there, it wouldn't cause nearly as much damage.

Probably.

Pulling back the still loaded slingshot pouch, he took a tenth of a second to line up his shot. "Take this! Special Attack: Knee Breaker!"

He let loose the metal ball, watching it soar directly into his intended target, Jango's left knee. He heard a snapping sound and Jango's muffle screams of pain before his leg gave out and he tumbled down the stairs. A second later, a massive explosion rocked the house.

*Line Break*

Kaya screamed as the entire building shook, covering her head as dust and debris fell from the ceiling.

"Miss Kaya!" Merry shouted, rushing over to cover her body with his own. But as soon as the shaking occurred, it stopped, and the whole house seemed eerily silent as a result.

"W-what was that?" Kaya asked, shaking, before having a coughing fit. Merry did what he could to ease her suffering, rubbing her back and offering her another cup of tea.

"I'm afraid I don't know Miss. I do hope the others are ok," he stated somberly.

"Oh, Usopp…" she muttered, looking down at the blue tea in her hand with worry. Merry could only give her a sad look as he stared out the window, seeing the dying embers of the fire from earlier.

*Line Break*

"Gotcha!" Nami yelled, as she grabbed onto Akisu.

"Hey, let me go!" he shouted, squirming in her grasp. But her grip was too tight.

"Will you cut it out! I know you want to help but it's way too dangerous for you," Nami said, glaring at the boy.

"Why, because I'm a kid?" he asked, giving up on trying to escape to glare at the young woman. Nami's eyes softened as she stared into his frustrated eyes. She understood exactly what he was going though.

"It's frustrating, isn't it? Wanting to help but being told you're too little or too young. I get that," Nami said, gently setting him down. "What would you know?" Akisu asked, wiping the tears from his eyes.

"When I was your age, all I wanted to do was help my mom with her orchard. We were very poor, you know, and she worked so hard to provide for my sister and I," Nami began, getting a far away look in her eyes. Akisu turned to stare at her. He could have ran, but he wanted to hear this.

"I would steal things sometimes. Things we needed or things I wanted, but I always seemed to get caught. Not like now. And when I did, she was always there to scold me. "Stealing is wrong Nami!" she would say. "If you want something, just tell me and I'll buy it for you!" But of course, that was a lie. We couldn't afford it. I'd yell back, "Just let me help you!" But she just wanted me to be a kid, to enjoy life and not have to worry about providing for a family."

Nami's eyes found Akisu's, who met her stare with a wide eyed one of his own. "And when she died, I was forced to grow up. I couldn't be a kid anymore. I had something I had to do. Something that no kid could hope to accomplish. Funny, isn't it? All I wanted to do when I was a kid was grow up so I could help my mom, and now that I'm a grown up, I'd give anything to be a kid again, safe in my mother's arms."

Nami wiped away tears of her own, before giving the boy a soft smile, ruffling his hair "So don't be in such a hurry to grow up, alright? It's not so bad to be a kid."

Akisu didn't know what to do, but he didn't feel so frustrated anymore. Mostly just sad. So he did the only thing he could think of. He hugged her.

Nami's eyes went wide as she gazed down at the little boy hugging her. She giggled a bit, returning the hug, "Ah, aren't you sweet?"

Akisu released the hug, giving Nami the biggest smile he could, before adopting a thoughtful look. "But, we still need someone to check on the guards, don't we?"

"Yup, so lead the way. I'll make sure nothing happens to you," Nami said, grinning. Akisu's eyes lit up with sparkles. "Thank you big sis!"

Nami chuckled again, "No problem. Now let's-"

But before she could finish, the house was rocked by a massive explosion. Nami and Akisu had struggled to keep their balance, grabbing onto the walls to keep themselves upright. The shaking didn't last very long, and the two stood on solid ground once again.

"What the heck was that?" Nami asked, sweat dripping down the back of her head. Did the pirates blow up a wall or something? Akisu wasn't sure what it was either, but it did mean they needed to hurry.

"Come on!" he shouted, taking off at a sprint.

"Hey, wait up!" Nami shouted, giving chase.

*Line Break*

Usopp stuck his head out from the doorframe, looking down into the cellar. "Hello… Anybody down there?" he asked. But he received no answer. As the smoke and dust cleared, Usopp was able to see the still form of Jango laying on the floor.

The long nosed liar sighed in relief, holding his chest. "I don't think he's getting up from that. And with the stairs all busted up, he won't be able to get in this way either. Guess my childish traps were more effective than you thought, eh Nami?" he said to himself.

"Now, let's just close this…" he muttered, gently closing the broken door. He then grabbed a fancy chair resting against the wall and shoved the back of it under the handle. The lock may have been busted, but the handle was still intact.

"There we go. Now, time to find the other two," he said, running off into the mansion. If only he'd stayed there just a little bit longer.

Down below, Jango opened his heart shaped eyes. They were filled with rage and pain in equal measure. He let out a ragged cough, flipping to his front and forcing himself to his feet. He stood on wobbly legs that barely supported his weight.

Looking over at the stairs, it was clear he couldn't go that way, not in the condition he was in. His body was burnt and charred, every movement causing his skin to crack and bleed. Most of his hair singed off, and one of his ears was missing. His knee was fubar, and his nose was shattered.

And don't even mention his poor, abused testicles.

But he was still alive, and that meant his job wasn't done yet. "I'll make those little bastards pay," he wheezed out as he hobbled over to the outside entrance, nearly falling several times. But eventually, he made it.

He swung the door open, but what he saw stopped him cold. It was the raccoon, who had seemingly formed an alliance with the bees. And they were waiting for him.

"Oh, come on…"