One Piece: Gold And Fire

"Take your hands off the girl…or you will know why people call me the great Captain Usopp…" Usopp shouted as blood flowed from his head and his legs shook in fear but he still stood in his, his slingshot drawn at the dangerous man in front of him.

'How things turn out this way ?' Usopp couldn't help but gulp and ask this to himself as he saw the man glaring at him.

All his instincts were shouting at him to just run away but he didn't…

This was very un-Usopp like but he was still doing it…

To understand what was happening here we have to go a little back in time…

—-

[Flash Back]

Klahadore walked through the market beside Kaya, not in a very good mood all thanks to a certain swordsman. He noticed that Kaya's father didn't believe him. This was his plan was hard to fulfil, in his mind, he had no other option but to get rid of both Mister and Mistress of the house to annex all the property to his name, of course, even if they were gone he couldn't do that without this little idiot, he turned his head and said.

"Miss Kaya, I told you it's not wise for you to be out and about like this. You're still unwell! The mansion is where you should be."

Kaya smiled softly, ignoring his nagging. "But I want to see the town, Klahadore. It's been so long since I've been outside. I wanna go play." Right now Kaya was much better in terms of her health and mindset.

Though her body was still weak, just like in the cannon time, but she wasn't depressed due to her parents passing out. She was still only 14 and a happy cheerful girl.

Kuro adjusted his glasses with an annoyed sigh. "Fresh air? Hmph, what you need is rest. Not… vegetables and noisy merchants." Kuro had to say that acting like this was much harder than he anticipated. Acting as he cared for this little girl was actually sickening to him.

However, he must if he wishes to get all this little girl will possess in the future, so he was about to show a little more concern to earn some brownie points with her when his eyes landed on a figure in the crowd.

His eyes widened and his heart did a summersault.

"That idiot, what he's doing here ?"

There, in the middle of the marketplace, was none other than Jango, he was looking different due to finally putting on some normal clothing but he was definitely Jango, unfortunately his first mate, he only took the idiot because of his hypnotist power. And, much to Kuro's disbelief, Jango was with that long-nosed boy, the village's loudmouth.

"Idiot? Who's doing what?" Kaya asked, curiously as she looked around.

Kuro froze in place, gripping the handle of his basket tightly.

"No…nothing, I was just talking about troublemaker kids in the village, don't worry about it… let get going, we still have much to buy…" Kalahadore said and he changed the direction of their walking and sped up.

'I swear if that idiot cost me this chance to get rich then I'll cut him open…' Kuro's mood wasn't good.

Meanwhile, Jango suddenly noticed him. His eyes lit up. "Captain Kuro! There you are!"

Kuro cursed under his breath. "Miss Kaya," he said calmly, hiding his panic, "we must move. Quickly."

"But why, Klahadore?" Kaya asked, confused.

"Because… uh, the fish stall is having a sale. Yes, we mustn't miss it!" he said, rushing her forward.

Jango upon shouting immediately put a hand around his mouth, he almost forgot that Ragna was after Kuro. So before continuing he first looked around to make sure neither Ragna nor Nami were there.

"Captain!" Jango yelled, running after him, dragging a confused Usopp along. "Hey Wait! You got who you were looking for, what about my guy? Why you are taking me with you ?" Usopp shouted as he was dragged in by Jango.

Kuro's eye twitched seeing the idiot was following him. He couldn't let Jango ruin everything. But he can't continue like this either, Kaya might be small but she too will start to doubt him if this continues. So, he started weaving through the market, using every stall and crowd as cover.

"What's happening, Klahadore?" Kaya asked, struggling to keep up.

"Just avoiding… rowdy villagers. You know how unruly they can be!" Kuro said with a forced smile.

Behind them, Jango and Usopp chased after him, bumping into carts, knocking over barrels, and causing chaos.

"Why are we running?" Usopp asked, panting.

"Becuase he's running, maybe didn't notice me ?" Jango said.

This was also the time when Usopp started to get suspicious about Jango. He just calls the other person as Captain. Now this doesn't mean that he is a pirate but there are not many sailors who come to this island and he knew that just recently a pirate came here because of Ragna.

By the time Kuro finally lost them, he was drenched in sweat, muttering under his breath, "I'll strangle that fool Jango later." Kaya, oblivious, tilted her head. "Are you feeling okay, Klahadore? You look pale."

"Oh, it's nothing, it's just the sun…" Kuro somehow smiled and seeing he finally lost Jango he now immediately wanted to take the girl back to the mansion before going out there to kill that bastard Jango but that was when he heard someone shouting.

"KURO…"

The scream came out from a girl who was almost Kaya's age, with orange hair and a petite figure. She was looking at him like she saw a ghost.

This girl was none other than Nami, and unlike Ragna, she clearly knew what Kuro looked like.

He was stunned seeing the Pirate she was looking for right in front of her so suddenly. But then she immediately shut her mouth, just realizing what she just did.

Letting him know that she recognized him was dangerous. However, the deed was already done.

"Why everyone is calling you Kuro suddenly Klahadore…" Kaya asked seeing the girl also calling her butler Kuro.

"Ah I… " Kuro was getting frustrated, he wanted to just stop pretending but he couldn't or his entire plan would fall apart. He was about to come up with a believable lie but soon he heard the voice of the bastard who cost all of this in the first place.

Jango came running with Usopp in tow, again calling him Captain Kuro.

"Captain, it's important, the black cat…." Jango was about to say it but that was when Kuro intervened.

"Excuse me? Who are you calling 'Kuro'? My name is Klahadore, the butler of the Kaya family. I've never seen you in my life."

Jango blinked in confusion. "What? But you're—"

"Enough!" Klahadore cut him off, glaring at Usopp, who stood nearby. "I see what's happening here. You've brought this… lunatic to cause trouble, haven't you, Usopp? Just like you always do."

Usopp bristled, pointing at Klahadore. "Hey! I didn't do anything! He just said he was looking for someone and asked me to help." Usopp had a tick mark on his forehead, first Nami and then this man, both asked him for help without even a thank you and what did he get? Contempt!

"And why should anyone believe a word you say? I wouldn't if the man had fallen for your lies and mistook me for someone else, You shouldn't come to his talks, this boy here is the biggest liar in the village." Klahadore snapped, his voice sharp and condescending as said this to Usopp and then turned to Jango saying the last part.

"You're nothing but a liar, Usopp. Running around telling your silly stories, pretending to be some great captain, when in reality, you're just the son of a filthy pirate. A disgrace, causing trouble every day in this village!"

Usopp's face flushed with anger. "Hey, don't talk about my father like that!"

Kaya on the side was getting more and more anxious, Usopp was a friend to her, not as much as in the cannon timeline but still a friend. Not to mention, unlike the cannon, Kuro here have not worked for her for long enough for her to put unconditional trust in him.

Nami too was taken aback, seeing how the pirate wasn't accepting the fact about him being a pirate. And upon seeing them bicker like this, he was getting more unsure about her claim.

Pirates often hide but what Kuro was doing, pretending to be a butler was strange, Nami never have heard something like this.

Confuse and a little contemplating she took out a bunch of bounty notes from her invisible pocket to see whether she made a mistake.

And that when fate works against Kuro, a strong wind blows, making the bounty note from Nami's hands fly up, directly going toward Kaya…

She froze after seeing the face on the bounty, it was unmistakable: Klahadore. Only the name was different. Captain Kuro. 16 million berries.

Her heart pounded as the pieces came together. Klahadore's mysterious past, his strange behavior, his sharp tone when speaking of pirates. It all made sense now. She turned to confront him but saw his icy glare already fixed on her.

Kuro noticed the bounty in her trembling hands and sighed heavily, his mask of politeness slipping away.

"This…" Kuro was angry, he just wanted to kill all of them and be done with it, it was his nature but he couldn't do it.

However, he can't go on with his original plan anymore, the plan was a flop and he now had to improvise…

"Well, I suppose there's no point pretending anymore," he muttered, his tone growing cold.

"K-Klahadore… no, Kuro… you're a pirate?" Kaya stammered, she suddenly felt an unknown coldness in Klahadore's voice which she had never heard before.

"Was… if my plan were to be successful but this fools Jango and that liar Usopp ruin everything..."

Jango, who had followed them inside, flinched seeing his captain angry. "Captain, I was only trying to help—"

"Shut up!" Kuro snapped, his voice rising. "Do you know how much effort it took to pretend to be dead by replacing myself with a dead body, how hard it was to gain that old man's trust, my plan was flawless and you ruined everything." He paused, his sharp nails gleaming as he adjusted his glasses.

"Now, I'll have to do things the old-fashioned way."

Before Kaya could react, Kuro grabbed her arm and yanked her close, pulling her into his grasp. "Now listen to me and stay put. We wouldn't want to make this even more worse than it's already is. I'll demand your parents hand over everything they have, or they'll lose their precious daughter."

"No! Let me go!" Kaya struggled, but Kuro's grip was firm.

"And you," Kuro sneered, glaring at Jango and Usopp. "You two are the reason this all fell apart. An idiot who can't even follow orders and a useless coward who does nothing but lie. You both will die first."

Usopp by now was shaking, this was the first time he was dealing with a real Pirate. He didn't want to but his legs started to shake unknowingly. Kuro's presence was terrifying, somewhat similar to Ragna. But then Kuro's next words struck a nerve.

"And what kind of man grows up to be as useless as his mother, getting impregnated by a pirate only for him to leave her to her death bed?" Kuro spat, that last comment just hit on a personal level.

How even he know so much about Usopps family, well becuase it was quite a famous story here in the village.

"And you girl, you are the reason my identity came out." Kuro was ready to continue but that's when he heard this.

"Take them back…"

"Huh ?"

"Your words, take them back. No one had the right to insult my mother and father like this…" Usopp had a dark face as he stood his ground even after his legs were shaking.

Kuro turned, raising an eyebrow. "Oh? What will you do about it, coward…"

Usopp gritted his teeth's and took out his slingshot, aiming it at Kuro with piercing eyes.

"I'll make you fly…

xxx

[Word Count: 2000]

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